sculpture

Table of Contents

Introduction
Elements and principles of sculptural design
- Elements of design
- Principles of design
- Relationships to other arts
Materials
- Primary
- Other materials
Methods and techniques
- The sculptor as designer and as craftsman
  - General methods
  - Carving
    - Indirect carving
    - Carving tools and techniques
  - Modeling
    - Modeling for casting
    - Modeling for pottery sculpture
    - General characteristics of modeled sculpture
  - Constructing and assembling
  - Direct metal sculpture
- Reproduction and surface-finishing techniques
  - Casting and molding
  - Pointing
  - Surface finishing
    - Smoothing and polishing
    - Painting
    - Gilding
    - Patination
    - Electroplating
    - Other finishes
- Forms, subject matter, imagery, and symbolism of sculpture
  - Sculpture in the round
  - Relief sculpture
  - Modern forms of sculpture
  - Representational sculpture
    - The human figure
    - Devotional images and narrative sculpture
    - Portraiture
    - Scenes of everyday life
    - Animals
    - Fantasy
    - Other subjects
  - Nonrepresentational sculpture
  - Applied sculpture
  - Symbolism
- Uses of sculpture

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For Students

sculpture summary

sculpture

Written by Leonard R. Rogers

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jan 21, 2025 • Article History

Key People:: Gego; Ed Dwight; Selma Burke; Jaune Quick-to-See Smith; El Anatsui

Related Topics:: Western sculpture; relief; figurehead; wax sculpture; lamassu

Notable Honorees:: François Boucher

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Suit Disputes Ruling That a Sculpture Is Too Broken to Still Be a ‘Calder’ • Jan. 17, 2025, 7:47 AM ET (New York Times)

Butter fingers: Couple crafts 1,000-pound sculpture that will melt your heart • Jan. 11, 2025, 9:39 PM ET (USA Today)

Bradford Tower of Now interactive sculpture gets go-ahead • Dec. 26, 2024, 1:39 AM ET (BBC)

sculpture, an artistic form in which hard or plastic materials are worked into three-dimensional art objects. The designs may be embodied in freestanding objects, in reliefs on surfaces, or in environments ranging from tableaux to contexts that envelop the spectator. An enormous variety of media may be used, including clay, wax, stone, metal, fabric, glass, wood, plaster, rubber, and random “found” objects. Materials may be carved, modeled, molded, cast, wrought, welded, sewn, assembled, or otherwise shaped and combined. Sculpture is not a fixed term that applies to a permanently circumscribed category of objects or sets of activities. It is, rather, ...(100 of 17683 words)

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