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Stone Sculpture: History, Types, Materials, Techniques
Stone Sculpture: History, Types, Materials, Techniques
Stone Sculpture
History, Types, Materials, Techniques: Famous Stone Statues, Reliefs.
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Contents
• Introduction
• History
• Prehistoric Stone Sculpture
• Ancient Stone Sculpture
• Romanesque
• Gothic
• Moai Sculptures from Easter Island
The famous Easter Island Moai • Modern Stone Sculpture
stone sculptues (c.1250-1500 CE). • Sculpting Methods and Materials
• Types of Stone
• Stone Carving Techniques
• Famous Stone Sculptures
Introduction
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Stone Sculpture: History, Types, Materials, Techniques 26/09/2023, 10:36
History
Leaving aside the earlier but more controversial effigies, and the flat
engravings seen in Paleolithic rock art, the first prehistoric sculpture in stone
was the series of Venus figurines which began appearing across Europe from
about 30,000 BCE. They include: the Austrian Venus of Galgenberg (also
known as the Stratzing Figurine), the French Venus of Monpazier (Steatite), the
Italian Venus of Savignano (Serpentine), the Russian Venus of Gagarino
(basalt), and the Swiss Venuses of Engen and Monruz/Neuchatel (both carved
in jet stone). Friezes of stone relief sculpture were also a popular feature of
Paleolithic cave art, as exemplified by those at Cap Blanc, Roc de Sers and Roc-
aux-Sorciers. Examples of Neolithic stone sculpture have also been discovered
in various parts of Central and Eastern Europe, including Turkey (see the
animal reliefs at Gobekli Tepe c.9000 BCE) and Serbia (see the Fish God of
Lepenski Vir c.5000 BCE, National Museum, Belgrade). See also: Ancient art.
Egyptian sculpture also made full use of stone in both statues and reliefs - see,
for instance, the sandstone Statue of Akhenaten (c.1350 BCE), and the
greywacke Psametek Protected by Hathor Cow (c.550 BCE) both in the
Egyptian Museum, Cairo - as well as monumental works like the Great Sphinx
at Giza (c.2575-2465 BCE). Stone was also used heavily in Ancient Persian art
and also in Mesopotamian art and Mesopotamian sculpture. See for instance
the Human-headed Winged Bull and Lion (859 BCE) from Ashurnasirpal's
palace at Nimrud, a typical example of Assyrian art (c.1500-612 BCE). Stone
masons and craftsmen from these ancient cultures are believed to have been a
key influence on Greek sculpture, notably the less sophisticated style of Archaic
Greek sculpture (c.650-480 BCE), as in the limestone statue known as "The
Auxerre Kore" (c.630 BCE, Louvre). Thereafter most 3-D Greek art, including
that of the Parthenon, created during the glorious golden age of High Classical
Greek sculpture (450-400 BCE), was made out of marble or bronze. An
exception was the 100-foot high Colossus of Rhodes - a huge statue of the god
Helios, built on the island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos about 280 BCE, during
the era of Hellenistic Greek sculpture. Deemed one of the Seven Wonders of
the Ancient World, it was made from stone (and earth) decorated with bronze
plates. Before its rickety structure collapsed in 226 BCE, following an
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The use of stone sculpture was widespread during the Roman Empire, which
made full propaganda use of items like portrait busts of the Emperor, as well as
historical stone reliefs such as Trajan's Colum (106-113, Rome), designed by
Apollodorus of Damascus; the frieze on the Ara Pacis Augustae (13-9 BCE), the
frieze on the Column of Marcus Aurelius (c.180-193 CE), and the reliefs on the
Arch of Constantine (312-15 CE). Stone sculpture was also a decorative motif
of Christian sarcophagi, during the era of early Christian art (c.150-550).
The zenith of stone carving occurred during the period 1000-1300, when Rome
and its monastic orders instituted their massive program of church building,
based on a new style of church architecture, known as Romanesque. (See also:
Medieval sculpture.) This led to a huge demand for a wide range of new statues
and reliefs to decorate each new cathedral, church and abbey. In France,
important centres of Romanesque art included Cluny, Autun, Vezelay, Toulouse
and Moissac. In Italy, there were located at Como, Modena, Verona, Ferrara,
Parma, Pisa, Lucca and the Apulian cities. In Spain, Romanesque sculpture was
centred at Leon, Madrid and Santiago de Compostela. In Ireland, the monastic
authorities erected Celtic High Cross Sculptures - the largest body of free-
standing sculpture since the Renaissance. Famous stone sculptors of the period
included: the Frenchman Gislebertus (noted for his work at the Cathedral of
Saint Lazare); the Master of Cabestany (named after his Romanesque-style
tympanum, at Cabestany); the Spaniard Master Mateo (famous for his Portico
de la Gloria at Santiago de Compostela cathedral); and Benedetto Antelami
(known for his work at Parma and elsewhere).
After the Romanesque era came the golden age of stone work, in the form of
Gothic architecture, exemplified by the great French Cathedrals of Chartres,
Notre Dame de Paris, Amiens, and Reims, with their soarching vaults, huge
stained glass windows, perched gargoyles, Biblical relief sculpture and ranks of
column statues. In fact these awesome structures contained the greatest
collection of three-dimensional religious art ever seen in the history of
sculpture. Like a 3-D version of Michelangelo's fresco paintings on the roof and
walls of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, the exteriors and interiors of these
monumental churches displayed a massive array of Saints, Apostles, members
of the Holy Family, along with various angels and other gospel figures, plus
narrative reliefs depicting the Birth of Jesus, The Passion of Christ and other
Biblical events. Famous Gothic sculptors, all of whom sculpted in stone,
included: Nicola Pisano (c.1206-1278), the leader of the Italian school; his son
Giovanni Pisano (c.1250-1314), who created the marble altar at Arezzo;
Arnolfo di Cambio (c.1240–1310), who specialized in tomb sculpture and
funerary art; and Giovanni di Balduccio (c.1290–1339), noted for the Shrine of
St Peter Martyr at S. Eustorgio, Milan. Late Gothic stone sculptors included
Andre Beauneveu (c.1335-1400), who served the French King Charles V, and
Duke Jean de Berry; and Claus Sluter (c.1340-1406), leader of the Dijon
school.
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Types of Stone
In general, the softer the stone, the easier it is to carve. According to the
MOHS Scale of Mineral Hardness, invented by the German geologist Carl
Friedrich Mohs (1773-1839), Soapstone, with a MOHS hardness of about 2, is
one of the easiest stones to work. Next, comes Alabaster, and softer kinds of
serpentine, all with a MOHS value of about 3. Stones that have a value of 4
include Limestone and sandstone. Harder stone, with a MOHS value of 6,
includes travertine, marble, and onyx, with granite and ultimately basalt (both
8) being the most durable but the most difficult to carve.
The carving begins with the chiseling away of large chunks of redundant rock
(a process known as "roughing out", "pitching", or "knocking off"), using a
point chisel and a wedge-shaped pitching chisel, together with a masons
driving hammer. Once a rough figure emerges, more precise markings are
made with charcoal, pencil or crayon on the stone, and the sculptor then uses
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basic hammer and point work technique to create more definition. Other
specific tools (like a toothed chisel, claw chisel, rasps and rifflers) are used to
create the final figure.
During the Renaissance period these the main tools for a sculptors would
include: a set of chisels (Gli Scalpelli) including flat (Scalpello), pointed
(Subbia), round-ended (Unghietto), toothed (Gradina), and splitting
(Scapezzatore) chisels; a mallet (La Mazza) used to strike the chisel. As well as
this, the sculptor would use several different hammers - to strike the edge-
tools like the chisels and also the stone itself.
Celebrated stone statues and reliefs can be seen in some of the best art
museums and sculpture gardens around the globe. Masterpieces include:
Romanesque
Gothic
Oceanic
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• For more details about stone carving, see: Visual Arts Encyclopedia.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCULPTURE
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