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Sculpture | Definition, Types, Techniques, Elements, & Facts | Britannica

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data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/sculpture">sculpture</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/art/sculpture">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref30278"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture#ref30278">Elements and principles of sculptural design</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref30279"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Elements-of-design">Elements of design</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref30280"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Principles-of-design">Principles of design</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref30281"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Principles-of-design#ref30281">Relationships to other arts</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref30282"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Materials">Materials</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref30283"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Materials#ref30283">Primary</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref30284"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Other-materials">Other materials</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref30285"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Other-materials#ref30285">Methods and techniques</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref30286"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Other-materials#ref30286">The sculptor as designer and as craftsman</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30287"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Other-materials#ref30287">General methods</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30288" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Carving">Carving</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30289"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Carving#ref30289">Indirect carving</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30290"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Carving#ref30290">Carving tools and techniques</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30291" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Modeling">Modeling</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30292"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Modeling#ref30292">Modeling for casting</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30293"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Modeling#ref30293">Modeling for pottery sculpture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30294"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Modeling#ref30294">General characteristics of modeled sculpture</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30295"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Modeling#ref30295">Constructing and assembling</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30296"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Modeling#ref30296">Direct metal sculpture</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref30297"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Modeling#ref30297">Reproduction and surface-finishing techniques</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30298"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Casting-and-molding">Casting and molding</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30299"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Pointing">Pointing</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30300" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Pointing#ref30300">Surface finishing</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30301"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Pointing#ref30301">Smoothing and polishing</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30302"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Pointing#ref30302">Painting</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30303"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Pointing#ref30303">Gilding</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30304"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Pointing#ref30304">Patination</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30305"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Pointing#ref30305">Electroplating</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30306"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Pointing#ref30306">Other finishes</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref30307"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Pointing#ref30307">Forms, subject matter, imagery, and symbolism of sculpture</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30308"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Sculpture-in-the-round">Sculpture in the round</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30309"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Relief-sculpture">Relief sculpture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30310"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Modern-forms-of-sculpture">Modern forms of sculpture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30311" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Representational-sculpture">Representational sculpture</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30312"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Representational-sculpture#ref30312">The human figure</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30313"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Representational-sculpture#ref30313">Devotional images and narrative sculpture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30314"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Representational-sculpture#ref30314">Portraiture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30315"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Representational-sculpture#ref30315">Scenes of everyday life</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30316"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Animals">Animals</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30317"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Animals#ref30317">Fantasy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref30318"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Animals#ref30318">Other subjects</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30319"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Animals#ref30319">Nonrepresentational sculpture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30320"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Animals#ref30320">Applied sculpture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref30321"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Symbolism">Symbolism</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref30322"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/art/sculpture/Symbolism#ref30322">Uses of sculpture</a></li></ul></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/sculpture/additional-info">References &amp; Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/sculpture">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/sculpture/images-videos">Images & Videos</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/75/181275-050-8D3541B6/Kara-Walker-Artisans-installation-A-Subtlety-American-July-2014.jpg" data-href="/media/1/530179/223395" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/75/181275-004-1943F65C/Kara-Walker-Artisans-installation-A-Subtlety-American-July-2014.jpg" alt="Kara Walker: A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/3948-050-73CA74AA/Torso-onyx-stone-base-Young-Girl-Constantin-1922.jpg" data-href="/media/1/530179/3040" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/3948-004-19265148/Torso-onyx-stone-base-Young-Girl-Constantin-1922.jpg" alt="Constantin Brancusi: Torso of a Young Girl" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/20/193320-050-F694EB12/pieces-The-Family-of-Man-Barbara-Hepworth-1970.jpg" data-href="/media/1/530179/229613" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/20/193320-004-0435977C/pieces-The-Family-of-Man-Barbara-Hepworth-1970.jpg" alt="Barbara Hepworth: The Family of Man" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/77/196577-050-1101EEBD/Michelangelos-David-Goliath-one-statues-world.jpg" data-href="/media/1/530179/249966" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/77/196577-004-924A8C37/Michelangelos-David-Goliath-one-statues-world.jpg" alt="Michelangelo: David" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/35/135235-050-7E419679/figurine-type-Kongo-Nkonde-object-protection-wood.jpg" data-href="/media/1/530179/189770" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/35/135235-004-32613337/figurine-type-Kongo-Nkonde-object-protection-wood.jpg" alt="Power Figure (Nkisi N'Kondi: Mangaaka)" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/16/19216-004-C4C56C50/Victory-stele-Naram-Sin-king-of-Akkad-sandstone-relief-sculpture.jpg" data-href="/media/1/530179/17065" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/16/19216-004-C4C56C50/Victory-stele-Naram-Sin-king-of-Akkad-sandstone-relief-sculpture.jpg" alt="victory stele of Naram-Sin" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/92/3792-004-CC3B5D19/view-marble-sculpture-The-Kiss-Auguste-Rodin.jpg" data-href="/media/1/530179/139454" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/92/3792-004-CC3B5D19/view-marble-sculpture-The-Kiss-Auguste-Rodin.jpg" alt="Auguste Rodin: The Kiss" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/3793-004-22005C39/Side-view-detail-marble-sculpture-The-Kiss.jpg" data-href="/media/1/530179/73949" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/93/3793-004-22005C39/Side-view-detail-marble-sculpture-The-Kiss.jpg" alt="Auguste Rodin: The Kiss" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/100789-050-4148093A/Hermes-marble-statue-Infant-Dionysus-Praxiteles-Greece.jpg" data-href="/media/1/530179/120846" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/100789-004-1559E079/Hermes-marble-statue-Infant-Dionysus-Praxiteles-Greece.jpg" alt="Praxiteles: Hermes Carrying the Infant Dionysus" height="50" /> </a> <a 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://boisestate.pressbooks.pub/arthistory/chapter/sculpture-and-installation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Boise State Pressbooks - Introduction To Art - Sculpture and Installation</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://human.libretexts.org/Courses/Prince_George%27s_Community_College/Introduction_to_Art__Art_History_Part_2/08%3A_Europe_(1800_-_1900)/8.09%3A_Sculpture" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Humanities LibreTexts - Sculpture</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Sculpture/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">World History Encyclopedia - Ancient Greek Sculpture</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sculpture" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Canadian Encyclopedia - Sculpture</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://artincontext.org/types-of-sculpture/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Art in Context - Types of Sculpture – Our Guide to 3-Dimensional Art Formats</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/sculpture-techniques" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Victoria and Albert Museum - Sculpture techniques</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/sculpture/353751" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sculpture - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/sculpture/276959" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sculpture - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Leonard-R-Rogers/2505" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Leonard R. Rogers</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Sculptor and writer. Former Head, Faculty of Three-Dimensional Design, College of Art and Design, Loughborough, England. Author of <i>Sculpture: Appreciation of the Arts; Relief Sculpture.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Leonard R. Rogers</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-14T00:00:00CST" >Nov 14, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/sculpture/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Key People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Ed-Dwight" topicid="2249618">Ed Dwight</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/El-Anatsui" topicid="1126851">El Anatsui</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Charles-H-Alston" topicid="1316570">Charles H. Alston</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Simone-Leigh" topicid="2226923">Simone Leigh</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Mickalene-Thomas" topicid="2241398">Mickalene Thomas</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show&nbsp;more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/art/Western-sculpture" topicid="530221">Western sculpture</a></dd> <dd><a href="/art/relief-sculpture" topicid="497046">relief</a></dd> <dd><a href="/art/figurehead" topicid="206664">figurehead</a></dd> <dd><a href="/art/wax-sculpture" topicid="638031">wax sculpture</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/lamassu" topicid="2213429">lamassu</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show&nbsp;more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Notable Honorees: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Francois-Boucher" topicid="75367">François Boucher</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show&nbsp;more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/sculpture"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">&#8226;</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/robots-future-of-sculpture-some-artists-embrace-change-others-push-back-60-minutes-transcript/" rel="nofollow">Robots chisel out the future of sculpture as some artists embrace change and others push back</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>&#8226;</span> Nov. 10, 2024, 11:42 PM ET (CBS) </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><!--[BEFORE-ARTICLE]--><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><!--[PREMOD1]--><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref400864"></span>sculpture</strong>, an artistic form in which hard or <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/plastic" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">plastic</a> materials are worked into three-dimensional <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/visual-arts" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">art</a> objects. The designs may be embodied in freestanding objects, in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/relief-sculpture" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">reliefs</a> on surfaces, or in <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="environments" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/environments" data-type="MW">environments</a> ranging from tableaux to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="contexts" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contexts" data-type="MW">contexts</a> that envelop the spectator. An enormous variety of media may be used, including <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/clay-geology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">clay</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/wax" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">wax</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/stone-unit-of-weight" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">stone</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/metal-chemistry" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">metal</a>, fabric, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/glass" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">glass</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/wood-plant-tissue" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">wood</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/plaster" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">plaster</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/rubber-chemical-compound" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">rubber</a>, and random “found” objects. Materials may be carved, modeled, molded, cast, wrought, welded, sewn, assembled, or otherwise shaped and combined.</p><!--[MOD1]--><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD2]--><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><em>Sculpture</em> is not a fixed <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/term-architecture-and-sculpture" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">term</a> that applies to a permanently circumscribed category of objects or sets of activities. It is, rather, the name of an art that grows and changes and is continually extending the range of its activities and evolving new kinds of objects. The scope of the term was much wider in the second half of the 20th century than it had been only two or three decades before, and in the fluid state of the visual arts in the 21st century nobody can predict what its future <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="extensions" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/extensions" data-type="EB">extensions</a> are likely to be.</p><!--[MOD2]--><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD3]--><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Certain features which in previous centuries were considered essential to the art of sculpture are not present in a great deal of modern sculpture and can no longer form part of its definition. One of the most important of these is <span id="ref400865"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/representation-art" class="md-crosslink ">representation</a>. Before the 20th century, sculpture was considered a representational art, one that imitated forms in life, most often human figures but also inanimate objects, such as game, utensils, and books. Since the turn of the 20th century, however, sculpture has also included nonrepresentational forms. It has long been accepted that the forms of such functional three-dimensional objects as furniture, pots, and buildings may be expressive and beautiful without being in any way representational; but it was only in the 20th century that nonfunctional, nonrepresentational, three-dimensional works of art began to be produced.</p><!--[MOD3]--><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD4]--><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Before the 20th century, sculpture was considered primarily an art of solid form, or mass. It is true that the negative elements of sculpture—the voids and hollows within and between its solid forms—have always been to some extent an <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="integral" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integral" data-type="MW">integral</a> part of its design, but their role was a secondary one. In a great deal of modern sculpture, however, the focus of attention has shifted, and the spatial aspects have become dominant. Spatial sculpture is now a generally accepted branch of the art of sculpture.</p><!--[MOD4]--><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD5]--><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">It was also taken for granted in the sculpture of the past that its components were of a constant shape and size and, with the exception of items such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Augustus-Saint-Gaudens" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s</a> <em>Diana</em> (a monumental weather vane), did not move. With the recent development of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/kinetic-sculpture" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">kinetic sculpture</a>, neither the immobility nor immutability of its form can any longer be considered essential to the art of sculpture.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/everything-in-art-and-design-part-one-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/11/215711-131-2294A72C/Edward-Lear-drawing-poem-old-man-tree-bee-buzz-circa-1902.jpg" alt="Drawing by Edward Lear for his poem &quot;There was an Old Man in a tree, who was horribly bored by a bee; When they said, &quot;Does it buzz?&quot; he replied, &quot;Yes, it does!&quot; (cont'd)" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Everything in Art and Design (Part One) Quiz</div> </div> </a><!--[MOD5]--><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD6]--><span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Finally, sculpture since the 20th century has not been confined to the two traditional forming processes of carving and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/modeling-sculpture" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">modeling</a> or to such traditional natural materials as stone, metal, wood, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/ivory" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">ivory</a>, bone, and clay. Because present-day sculptors use any materials and methods of manufacture that will serve their purposes, the art of sculpture can no longer be identified with any special materials or techniques.</p><!--[MOD6]--><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD7]--><span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Through all these changes, there is probably only one thing that has remained constant in the art of sculpture, and it is this that emerges as the central and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="abiding" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abiding" data-type="MW">abiding</a> concern of sculptors: the art of sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that is especially concerned with the creation of form in three dimensions.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=black-friday-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><!--[MOD7]--><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD8]--><span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Sculpture may be either in the round or in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/relief-sculpture" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">relief</a>. A sculpture in the round is a separate, detached object in its own right, leading the same kind of independent existence in space as a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/human-body" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">human body</a> or a chair. A relief does not have this kind of independence. It projects from and is attached to or is an integral part of something else that serves either as a background against which it is set or a matrix from which it emerges.</p><!--[MOD8]--><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD9]--><span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The actual three-dimensionality of sculpture in the round limits its scope in certain respects in comparison with the scope of <span id="ref400866"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/painting" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">painting</a>. Sculpture cannot conjure the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="illusion" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illusion" data-type="MW">illusion</a> of space by purely optical means or invest its forms with atmosphere and light as painting can. It does have a kind of reality, a vivid physical presence that is denied to the pictorial arts. The forms of sculpture are <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="tangible" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tangible" data-type="MW">tangible</a> as well as visible, and they can appeal strongly and directly to both <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="tactile" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tactile" data-type="MW">tactile</a> and visual sensibilities. Even the visually impaired, including those who are congenitally blind, can produce and appreciate certain kinds of sculpture. It was, in fact, argued by the 20th-century art critic <span id="ref400867"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herbert-Read-British-art-critic" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sir Herbert Read</a> that sculpture should be regarded as primarily an art of touch and that the roots of sculptural sensibility can be traced to the pleasure one experiences in fondling things.</p><!--[MOD9]--><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD10]--><span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">All three-dimensional forms are perceived as having an expressive character as well as purely geometric properties. They strike the observer as delicate, aggressive, flowing, taut, relaxed, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="dynamic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dynamic" data-type="MW">dynamic</a>, soft, and so on. By exploiting the expressive qualities of form, a sculptor is able to create images in which subject matter and expressiveness of form are mutually reinforcing. Such images go beyond the mere presentation of fact and communicate a wide range of subtle and powerful feelings.</p><!--[MOD10]--><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD11]--><span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="aesthetic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aesthetic" data-type="MW">aesthetic</a> raw material of sculpture is, so to speak, the whole realm of expressive three-dimensional form. A sculpture may draw upon what already exists in the endless variety of natural and man-made form, or it may be an art of pure invention. It has been used to express a vast range of human emotions and feelings from the most tender and delicate to the most violent and ecstatic.</p><!--[MOD11]--><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD12]--><span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">All human beings, intimately involved from birth with the world of three-dimensional form, learn something of its structural and expressive properties and develop emotional responses to them. This combination of understanding and sensitive response, often called a sense of form, can be <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="cultivated" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultivated" data-type="MW">cultivated</a> and refined. It is to this sense of form that the art of sculpture primarily appeals.</p><!--[MOD12]--><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span><!--[PREMOD13]--><span class="marker PREMOD13 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">This article deals with the elements and principles of design; the materials, methods, techniques, and forms of sculpture; and its subject matter, imagery, symbolism, and uses. For the history of sculpture in antiquity, see <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Anatolian-art" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">art and architecture, Anatolian</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Egyptian-art" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">art and architecture, Egyptian</a>; <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Iranian-art" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">art and architecture, Iranian</a>; and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Mesopotamian-art" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">art and architecture, Mesopotamian</a>. For the development of sculpture in various regions, see such articles as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Western-sculpture" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sculpture, Western</a>; and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/African-art" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">African art</a>. For related art forms, see <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/mask-face-covering" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">mask</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/pottery" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">pottery</a>.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><!--[MOD13]--><span class="marker MOD13 mod-inline"></span></section> <!--[H2]--><span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref30278"><h2 class="h1">Elements and principles of sculptural <span id="ref400868"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/design-arts-and-technology" class="md-crosslink ">design</a></h2> <!--[PREMOD14]--><span class="marker PREMOD14 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The two most important elements of sculpture—<span id="ref400869"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/mass-art" class="md-crosslink ">mass</a> and <span id="ref400870"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/space-physics-and-metaphysics" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">space</a>—are, of course, separable only in thought. All sculpture is made of a material substance that has mass and exists in three-dimensional space. The mass of sculpture is thus the solid, material, space-occupying bulk that is contained within its surfaces. Space enters into the design of sculpture in three main ways: the material components of the sculpture extend into or move through space; they may enclose or enfold space, thus creating <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="hollows" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/hollows" data-type="EB">hollows</a> and voids within the sculpture; and they may relate one to another across space. Volume, surface, light and shade, and colour are supporting elements of sculpture.</p><!--[MOD14]--><span class="marker MOD14 mod-inline"></span> </section><!--[END-OF-CONTENT]--><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><!--[AFTER-ARTICLE]--><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script> <!-- Ortto ebmwprod capture code --> <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":15,"pageId":530179,"pageLength":1230,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"D","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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