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Sculpture facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Lammasu
An ancient Assyrian lamassu (a mythical creature) that guarded a gate, from around 800–721 BCE.
Moses San Pietro in Vincoli
Michelangelo's famous Moses statue, made between 1513 and 1515, found in Rome.
Miyasaka Hakuryu II - Tigress with Two Cubs - Walters 71909
A small, detailed Japanese netsuke (a type of miniature sculpture) showing a tigress with two cubs, from the mid-1800s.
Angel of the North 2016 006
The Angel of the North is a large sculpture by Antony Gormley, created in 1998.

Sculpture is a type of art that creates objects in three dimensions. It's one of the oldest forms of art. Early sculptors used methods like carving (removing material) and modeling (adding material, like clay). They worked with stone, metal, ceramics, wood, and other materials. Today, artists have much more freedom with materials and methods. They can carve, assemble pieces by welding, or use molding and casting techniques.

Sculptures made from stone last a very long time. This is why many ancient sculptures from old cultures are still around today. However, most ancient sculptures were once painted in bright colors, but these colors have faded away over time.

For many cultures, sculpture was very important for religious purposes. Until recently, large sculptures were very expensive to make. They were usually created to show religious beliefs or political power. Many sculptures have survived from ancient cultures in the Mediterranean, India, China, Central and South America, and Africa.

The Western tradition of sculpture started in ancient Greece. Greece is famous for its amazing sculptures from the classical period. During the Middle Ages, Gothic sculptures showed the strong feelings of the Christian faith. Later, during the Renaissance, artists looked back at classical styles. This led to famous works like Michelangelo's David. Modern sculpture moved away from old methods and focusing on the human body. Artists started making constructed sculptures and showing everyday objects as art.

Exploring Different Types of Sculpture

There are two main types of sculpture. One is called "sculpture in the round." These are free-standing statues that are not attached to a background, except maybe at the bottom. The other type is relief sculpture. These are partly attached to a flat surface.

Relief sculptures are often grouped by how much they stick out from the wall:

  • Low relief (or bas-relief) sticks out only a little.
  • High relief sticks out a lot.
  • Sometimes there's a mid-relief in between.
  • Sunk-relief is a special technique only used in ancient Egypt.

Relief is often used for large groups of figures or to tell a story. It's also common for architectural sculpture (sculpture attached to buildings) and for decorating smaller items like pottery, metalwork, and jewellery. Relief sculptures can also be found on steles, which are upright stone slabs that often have writings on them.

Another way to tell sculptures apart is by how they are made.

  • Subtractive carving means removing material from a block, like stone or wood.
  • Modelling means shaping or building up the work from a material.
  • Techniques like casting, stamping, and molding use a special form (a matrix) to create the design. These methods allow artists to make many copies of a sculpture.
龙门-Buddha
Large Buddhist rock reliefs carved into the open air at the Longmen Grottoes in China.

The word "sculpture" often makes us think of big artworks. These are sometimes called "monumental sculptures." This can mean they are very large or that they are part of a building. But sculpture also includes many smaller three-dimensional works. This includes coins, medals, and hardstone carvings, which are small, detailed carvings in stone.

Very large or "colossal" statues have always been popular since ancient times. The biggest one ever recorded is the Statue of Unity in India, which is 182 meters (597 feet) tall. Another grand type of sculpture is the equestrian statue, which shows a rider on a horse. These are not as common today.

Smaller types of portrait sculpture include:

  • A "head," which shows only the head.
  • A bust, which shows a person from the chest up.

Even smaller sculptures include:

  • The figurine, which is usually a statue less than 18 inches (46 cm) tall.
  • For reliefs, there are plaquettes, medals, or coins.

Modern and contemporary art have brought in many new forms of sculpture. These include sound sculpture, light sculpture, environmental art, environmental sculpture, street art sculpture, and kinetic sculpture (which involves physical motion). There's also land art and site-specific art, which are made for a particular place. Sculpture is an important part of public art, which is art displayed in public spaces. A collection of sculptures in a garden is called a sculpture garden.

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Escultura para niños

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