Relief
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[[Image:Qajari relief.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Persian low relief from [[Qajar]] era in the style of [[Persepolis]], located at [[Tangeh Savashi]].]] | [[Image:Qajari relief.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Persian low relief from [[Qajar]] era in the style of [[Persepolis]], located at [[Tangeh Savashi]].]] | ||
Revision as of 17:21, 24 December 2008
A relief is a sculptured art work in which figures are carved into a level plane or the plane is removed to reveal images sculpted on its surface without disconnecting them from the plane. It is therefore not free-standing or in the round, but has a background from which the main elements of the composition project (or sink).
Bas-relief has a notable history dating back over 20,000 years in both eastern and western cultures. Reliefs are common throughout the world, for example on the walls of monumental buildings. The frieze in the classical Corinthian order is often enriched with bas-relief (low relief). Alto-relievo (high-relief) may been seen in the pediments of classical temples, e.g., the Parthenon. Several panels or sections of relief together may represent a sequence of scenes. The same material for figures and objects and the background in relief is used, but there are a few exceptions to this in Greek art, and in the decorative work of the Chinese and Japanese who used inlaid ivory, gold and cloisonné.
Bas-relief
Relief sculpture probably originated with the stone-cutters of pre-history. Yet, clay and wood, both easier to mold and carve, were probably the earliest mediums of bas-relief.
This type of art comes closest to painting, both of which have composition, perspective, and the play of light and shadow. Relief focuses more on contour than line and the use of chiaroscuro in defining form. It is believed to have pre-dated sculpture in the round as it is easier to create than a free-standing full-figure. Bas-relief is very suitable for scenes with many figures and other elements such as a landscape or architectural background. A bas-relief may use any medium or technique of sculpture, but stone carving and metal casting are two traditional ones.
The human form was most commonly used in the Greek and Roman classic reliefs, quite often in processional order of historic or military events, or in the ceremonial of worship. It also is well suited to the use of a series of scenes. A number of bronze doors of Italian baptisteries show illustrations of the Old and the New Testament.
In larger reliefs marble, bronze, and terra-cotta were used. While in smaller reliefs precious metals and stones, such as ivory, stucco, enamel, and wood, are used more often. The reliefs of the Egyptians and Assyrians, not highly plastic (plyable), were made more effective by the introduction of strong colors. The early Greeks also made use of polychromy, as seen in the metope relief in the Museum of Palermo. In Gothic art and in the Renaissance it was the custom to tint wood, terra-cotta, and stucco, but not marble or stone.
Types of relief
There are three main types of relief. The distinction between high and low relief is often determined differently, and in fact the two are very often combined in a single work - in particular most "high-reliefs" contain sections in "low-relief." An even shallower type is rilievo-stíacciato which is a depressed or flattened relief. (Dashes may or may not be used in all these terms).
Low relief
A bas-relief (pronounced [baʁəljɛf] ("bah relief") in French; French for "low relief," derived from the Italian basso rilievo) or low relief is a form of surface-ornamentation in which the projection is very slight or shallow. The background is very compressed or completely flat, as on most coins, on which all images are in low-relief.
The finest known example of low relief is the frieze around the cella of the Parthenon, (huge portions of it are in the British Museum). The lowest kind of relief is the Tuscan term, rilievo-stíacciato, this type scarcely rises from the surface upon which it is carved, and is mostly fine lines and delicate indentations. The best examples can be found in Donatello's Florentine Madonnas and saints.
High relief
High relief or Alto-relievo, from the Italian, is where at least the most prominent elements of the composition are undercut and rendered at more than 50% in the round against the background.
If more than half of most rounded or cylindrical elements such as heads and legs project from the background, and are given their natural volume in the projecting parts, a sculpture is usually considered to be "alto rilievo" or "high relief," although the degree of relief within both types may vary across a composition, with prominent features such as faces in higher relief. Themetopes from the Parthenon-now in the British Museum-is among the best examples of alto-rilievo.
All cultures and periods where large sculptures were created used this technique as one of their sculptural options. Seen in "monumental sculpture" and architecture from ancient times to present.
Sunken relief
Sunken-relief, also known as intaglio or hollow-relief, is where the image is made by carving into a flat surface - usually the images are mostly linear in nature. It is most famously associated with the Art of Ancient Egypt, where the strong sunlight usually needed to make heavy shadow is present most of the time, known by the Greek term Koilanaglyphs. During ancient times: 2800 B.C.E. to 300 C.E., writing, using hieroglyphs, was used to inscribe images on stone monuments and Egyptian reliefs. The Egyptians used both the high relief and low relief in painted form, on metal or wood, in cast form and incised form. Hieroglyphs are also seen in various kinds of metal and wood inlay.
In the sculpture of many cultures, including Europe, it is mostly used for inscriptions as often seen on headstones or buildings.
Ancient examples
Ancient cave art in the Franco-Cantabrian area of the Upper Paleolithic period included not only cave paintings and engravings but a few bas-reliefs sculpted in clay in the French Pyrenees. Ancient man used art primarily for religious purposes and to record events in the lives of cave dwellers.
Indian sculpture in the second and first centuries B.C.E. find bas-relief sculpture in western India. The earliest find is on the porch of a small monastery at Bhājā, thought of as being the god, Indra, seated on his elephant and Sūrya, the sun god, in his chariot.
Later in first through fourth century India CE, individually carved figures-either in high relief or in the round-replaced the earlier narrative tradition edifying rulers and gods.
The Babylonians, Assyrians, and Hittites practiced both bas-relief and sculpture in the round at the same time. The Greeks achieved the greatest mastery by conceiving relief sculpture in a plastic sense-embodying all types of high and low together. They used relief both as an ornament and as an integral part of a plan in conjunction with architecture.
They used the high bas-relief between the triglyphs and the tympana of the temples, and low bas-relief in friezes, tombstones, etc. One unique Greek standard was that the heads should be at the same height from the base, whether the figures sat, rode, or stood (Isokepholeia).
The Hellenistic period saw a more picturesque carving style. The Etruscan's relief was mainly in artistic handicrafts. In Rome, the Arch of Titus, the continuous winding reliefs of the Column of Trajan, imperial sarcophagi (in the Vatican), and reliefs of the Capitol Museum all reflect a pictorial style, revealing the influence of the Greeks.
Christian and modern styles of bas-relief
Early Christian examples show much similarity to antique models in the form, pose, and drapery of subjects. Most examples can be found in the sarcophagi and catacomb burials with Biblical, Apostolic, or symbolic subjects such as Daniel in the lions' den, Moses striking water from the rock, the adoration of the Magi, and the Good Shepherd. The myths of heathen beliefs were utilized and changed into Christian themes, such as Ulysses attached to a mast representing Christ on the cross.
Not until the fourth century did Christian relief work prove to be of quality, the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus in the vaults of St. Peter's is highly esteemed as a work of art, as are some works in the Lateran Museum. Later basilicas, cathedrals and churches reflected the Byzantine character, followed by the Frankish and Teutonic styles. The bronze reliefs of the church of St. Michael, Hildesheim, Germany, are one of the best legacies of the eleventh century; those of the Golden Gate, Freiburg, are considered the finest work of the late Romanesque period.
As the Romanesque period merged into the Gothic, relief sculpture developed a new character and special importance because it was used in many aspects of the architecture of the time. Relief reached its fullest development in Florence with examples like the baptistery doors of Ghiberti and the marble pulpit of Santa Croce by Benedetto da Majano. Donatello used both high and low reliefs. And Michelangelo and others utilized bas-reliefs in architecture and funerary work throughout the late Renaissance and through the nineteenth-century in Europe and America, especially on civic buildings. But reliefs became popular as an independent art form at this time especially for outdoor commemorative sculptures.
Italian relief sculptors introduced the art to the United States when they were working on the Federal buildings in Washington, D.C. The most adept American Neoclassical sculptor was the prolific relief artist, Erastus Dow Palmer from Albany, New York. He originally trained as a cameo-cutter. He produced many portraits and idealized subjects which inspired other American artists including his assistants Charles Calverley and Launt Thompson. Henry Kirke Brown studied in Italy (1842 to 1846) and moved the art form from Neoclassicism to naturalism and from marble to bronze. He created bronze high-relief medallions of the American founding fathers which were highly realistic with much textural variation, strong modeling, and an authentic likeness.
But Augustus Saint-Gaudens was America's greatest relief sculptor and technical innovator. Also trained first as a cameo-carver, he developed a mastery in delicate cuts in shell and stone. Inspired to "paint in bas-relief," he produced a group of portraits of artists and friends in Paris in the late 1870s. These were remarkable intimate, low-relief bronzes. His work inspired future sculptors toward greater experimentation and refinement. By World War I, relief sculptors pushed the limits of the art to more innovative approaches utilizing diverse materials, and modernist forms replacing the traditional standards.
Contemporary bas-reliefs can be found in the façades and interiors of numerous buildings in the United States, such as the Supreme Court in Washington, DC and in many nations of the world. Many are in the classical Roman or Greek style while others reflect a more natural approach to form, even some in an unfinished style reminiscent of Michelangelo's later sculpture.
Famous reliefs
Famous examples of reliefs include:
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Keystone, South Dakota, high relief
- Great Altar of Pergamon, now at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, mostly high relief
- Lions and dragons from the Ishtar Gate, Babylon, low relief
- Temple of Karnak in Egypt, sunken relief
- Bayon, Angkor showing Cham soldiers in the boat and dead Khmer fighters in the water
- Angkor Wat in Cambodia, mostly low relief
- The images of the elephant, horse, bull and lion at the bottom of the Lion Capital of Asoka, the national symbol of India (the capital itself is a full sculpture)
- Glyphs and artwork of the Maya civilization, low relief
- The monument to the Confederacy at Stone Mountain, Georgia
- Borobudur temple, Java Island Java, Indonesia
- The Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, now housed at the British Museum, high and low relief
- Frieze of Parnassus, high relief
- Robert Gould Shaw Memorial, Boston, mostly high relief
See also
- Mount Rushmore
- Temple of Karnak in Egypt
- Angkor Wat in Cambodia
- Lion Capital of Asoka, India
- Maya civilization
- Parthenon
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Conlin, Diane Atnally. The Artists of the Ara Pacis: The Process of Hellenization in Roman Relief Sculpture (Studies in the History of Greece and Rome), The University of North Carolina Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0807823439
- Cook, Brian. Relief Sculpture of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (Oxford Monographs on Classical Archaeology) The first complete catalog of its friezes and other decorative reliefs with descriptions. Oxford University Press, USA, 2005. ISBN 978-0198132127
- Davis, Anita Price. New Deal Art in North Carolina: The Murals, Sculptures, Reliefs, Paintings, Oils and Frescoes and Their Creators, McFarland, 2008. ISBN 978-0786437795
- Dryfhout, John, and Beverly Cox. Augustus Saint-Gaudens: The Portrait Reliefs. Exhibition catalog. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1969. ASIN B001NALPQO
- Gerdts, William H. "The Neoclassical Relief." In Perspectives on American Sculpture before 1925, (edited by Thayer Tolles) pp. 2–23. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. ISBN 9781588391056
- Marconi, Clemente. Temple Decoration and Cultural Identity in the Archaic Greek World: The Metopes of Selinus, Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0521857970
- Rogers, L.R. Relief Sculpture (Appreciation of the Arts), Oxford University Press, 1974. ISBN 978-0192119209
- Ridgway, Brunilde S. Prayers in Stone: Greek Architectural Sculpture (c. 600-100 B.C.E.) (Sather Classical Lectures), University of California Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0520215566
- Tolles, Thayer, ed. with Lauretta Dimmick; Donna J Hassler. American Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2 vols. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999–2001. ISBN 9780870999239
External links
All links retrieved December 19, 2008.
- Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, "American Relief Sculpture", Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
- Melissa Hardiman, "Bas-Relief Pathfinder"
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