Sculpture

The technique used in the creation of bronze sculptures has changed very little since Antiquity. The sculptor begins by fashioning the subject in wax, then covers it with clay, pours on the bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, then breaks open the terracotta, leaving only the bronze object behind. Highly valued by sculptors, bronze is a robust and resistant material that fairs well outside. Using wax to create the initial mould allows for a high level of detail on the final sculpture, unlike steel sculpture. Certain nuances in colour can be produced through the use of patinas. These qualities explain why bronze is one of the oldest materials to be used by humans. Indeed, bronze tools were used in Mesopotamia, Egypt and China in around 2,800 BC. In Mesopotamia, near to present-day Iran, bronze was used to depict animals in sacred art. In Egypt, it was was used to personify the gods, and also to create small sculpture statues placed in the tombs of the deceased. However, it was Ancient Greece, where craftsmen began to sculpt human figures and deities with remarkable realism, that gave bronze its prominent place in the history of art. Many pieces of work were imported to Rome, where the production of bronze sculptures developed. Bronze sculptures soon began to decorate the theatres and the homes of the rich. Admiring the skills of the Greeks, the Romans began ordering sculptures from merchants and craftsmen, who made copies of the moulds of the statues. With the birth of Christianity, evangelisation and the building of churches became the priorities, and bronze creations were replaced by stone sculptures for decorating churches. It was only in the 14th century that masterpieces were rediscovered during excavations of Italian archaeological sites. A century later, Brunelleschi and Ghiberti set the Renaissance in motion by decorating the doors of the Florence Baptistery in bronze. Donatello, inspired by ancient Roman sculpture, was the first to excel in the art of expressing emotions through bronze sculptures, followed by Verrocchio, his pupil (and master of Leonardo da Vinci). Although the practice spread throughout Europe, it was mainly focussed on Italy, where sculptors competed to obtain the most convincing results. During the 16th century, the Flemish Jean de Bologne established himself as the undisputed master of bronze. He was the most copied artist in the 17th century, and it is partly due to him that the bronze sculpture spread across Europe. In Italy, production of bronze sculpture was fairly constant, irrespective of the period. In France, on the other hand, this technique depended on the political regime. When Louis XIV invited sculptors to his court (essentially to decorate Versailles) demand for bronze reappeared as a form of courtly art. Bronze sculpture underwent a resurgence during the 19th century, with Rodin and Camille Claudel, and then with Cubism and the Art Deco movement. Bronze is an expensive, heavy material and costly for collectors to buy and its use has become less prevalent in the 20th and 21st centuries, but some artists use it nonetheless: Marc Quinn, Giuseppe Penone, Germaine Richier, Alberto Giacometti with his strange silhouettes, the animal bronzes of Brigitte Téman, the compressions of César Baldaccini, the Philippe Pasqua's butterflies and Olivier Messas's dancers or just still life sculpture can all be seen on Artsper !

Animal sculpture is a sculptural style in its own right. This specific genre deserves the same recognition as nude, marble, bronze and resin sculpture. The representation of animals and the animal body has long been a source of inspiration for sculptural creations and yet it was once considered a minor genre in Western European decorative arts. Ironically, animal sculpture was of the utmost importance to Ancient civilisations. Countless ancient Egyptian buildings for example were adorned with grandiose representations of felines and Sphinxes. More generally within the visual arts, animals were rarely represented in their own right, and were often depicted accompanying or symbolising mythological figures or even character traits. Aside from its mythical representations, animal sculptures were also popular with suzerain states who used monumental bronze sculptures of lions or eagles to symbolise the immensity of their power. However it wasn't until 1831 that the sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye finally established animal sculpture as a noble art, thanks to his work Tiger devouring a Gavial Crocodile at the Salon de Paris. It was no longer fashionable to depict animals as unreal, mythological creatures in the decorative arts and instead naturalism and realistic representations of animals characterised the sculpture of the period. Ideas about nature's wealth and abundance meant that all creatures deserved to be carefully and meticulously recreated in the closest likeness possible. Mythical animal interpretations were left behind and artists concentrated on capturing the finer details of an animal's fur, muscles or mouth. A new wave of renowned sculptors emerged. Pierre-Jules Mêne, Antoine Aigon and Jean Germain Demay are just a few examples of some of these pioneering artists. Particularly interested in 'exotic' species (snakes, gazelles, elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses…), they all explored representing the natural world in a variety of different ways. In the 20th century, realist tendencies gradually faded away and a new group of creative minds began to experiment with animal sculpture as part of the shift towards modern sculpture. Numerous artists tried their hand at animal sculpture whilst applying new aesthetic criteria which was largely influenced by modern and contemporary art movements: Abstract art, Impressionism, Cubism, Expressionism. Guided by key surrealist influences, which could not have been further removed from the traditional styles of the past century, a new bestiary was created. Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti were among the key figures who helped to reinvent the way artists endeavoured to sculpt animals. In contemporary animal sculpture, radically redefining artistic techniques and the way we represent living beings has taken precedence over realistic proportion sizes and lifelike features. Artists no longer refrain from accentuating a particular body part, removing a limb for example or creating an entirely new hybrid beast. However, many artists are also skilled at creating hyper realistic animals that seem so real they almost appear to be alive. To help you get an idea of the latest animal sculptures, take a look at Artsper's collection of sculpted animals, selected from some of the best contemporary art galleries and made by artists including Jacques Dufrane, Raymundo Fabian Melchor and Roxana y Jesus Hernandez.

Wood and stone were the some of the first materials carved by humans to make tools. Although wood was very commonly used, only few objects survived through the centuries as its decomposes faster and can be destroyed more easily than bronze or stone for example. Between 700 and 900, most woodcarvers lived in monasteries. Travelling from monastery to monastery, these carvers were few and far between. The was a relatively prescriptive style and many remaining sculpturesfrom this period are quite similar. This era was marked by the constraints of iconoclasm: many religious objects made of wood were destroyed because of the condemnation of representation of religious subjects. Many sculptures have also been found in England and Scandinavian countries. Wood is also widely used in Africa to create masks, small statues and objects, as well as in India and by aboriginal artists in Australia. In Europe, it was in the 15th and 16th centuries that wooden sculpture became highly developed, especially in Germany. This was thanks to Gothic sculptors such as Tilman Riemenschneider, Veit Stoss, Michael Pacher, Gregor Erhart and Jorg Zurn who pushed the medium to its limits, creating astonishingly detailed works. Woodcarving reappeared in the 17th century in England as Baroque ornaments grew in popularity. Master Grinling Gibbons's was a leading artist of the time and one of the few woodcarvers to be widely recognised in his homeland. In France, Rococo brought woodcarving back into fashion, with designers such as Lelange, Foliot and Cressent, who focused on creating furniture. Several modern artists also used wood, notably Brancusi, who was influenced by the classical tradition which emphasised the finish and materiality of the wood. Henry Moore preferred using this valuable material to create his abstract and evocative shapes, while Barbara Hepworth created incredibly modern works of art and Paul Gauguin used wood to reconnect with and learn from primitive techniques... Wood is very different from other materials, such as resin or bronze, as it is quite fragile and requires a wide range of tools.The technique to be used differs according to the desired shape because the sculpture can take the form of a low-relief or be carved in the round (a sculpture on base that the viewer can walk around). One must first source planks of wood, flattened, dried and calibrated. Next a sketch of the sculpture is drawn onto the support, the bulk of the wood is then removed and the object is shaped more carefully using u-gouges to remove as much excess material. Next the finer details as well as shadow play are added using a range of tools including flat gouges, chisels, and carving knives. Artsper features a wide selection of modern wooden sculptures byNando Stevoli, Gaspard Mitz, César Orrico, Marc Laffolay, Lesley Hilling or Valérie Carmet.

The origins of abstract sculpture lie in the artistic developments of the 19th and 20th centuries. By ceasing to use antiquity as a source of inspiration, which had previously dominated sculptural creation for centuries, Auguste Rodin led the way for modern sculpture. Although Rodin’s sculptures continued to respect the principles of classical art, his work encouraged many 20th century sculptors to break away from traditional conventions. Rodin’s sculptures were a source of inspiration for Brancusi and his distinctive use of clean, simple lines. He later went on to pave the way for abstract sculpture. The beginning of the 20th century was marked by several discoveries including key mathematical advances which fascinated intellectuals. At the same time, many exiled European artists arrived in Paris seeking refuge, and formed various different art movements, each one hoping to lead the way for a better world. The World Wars were fundamental in encouraging artists to detach themselves from the violence of their lived realities. A new form of expression appeared; abstraction! Artists no longer wanted to represent reality in a figural way but explored expressing the immaterial using shapes, colour… Cubism was responsible for introducing the use of geometric shapes to modern art. Representing real life objects as shapes from different angles allowed the artist to create completely new perspectives. Thank you Pablo Picasso! Sculpture was no longer obliged to represent reality in a literal sense as we see it before our very eyes. Sculpture became the object in its own right, embodying its very essence. Perhaps out of necessity, Cubists imposed few limits in regards to the materials they worked with, many of which were not as ‘noble’ as those previously used in sculpture and included steel and cardboard. Several movements were to follow, including Dadaism, Neo-Dadaism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism, all of which helped to expand abstract art. Marcel Duchamp, who had shown interest in the movement, introduced the art world to his ‘ready-mades’, establishing the idea that an artwork can be a manufactured object. In his view, it was up to the artist to decide whether something is worthy of being called a work of art or not. Italian Futurism focused on the representation of movement and was responsible for the creation of kinetic art, in which movement is the artwork itself. One artist in particular had a profound impact on abstract sculpture and that was Thank you Alexander Calder. His famous mobiles were made of thin strips of smooth metal, tied together with strong wire. His colour palette was inspired by Piet Mondrian and he was even quoted as saying: ‘I want to make Mondrians that move.’ Jean Tinguely and Nicolas Schöffer also explored kinetic art and the use of robotics. As art continued to deal with objects taken from daily life, artists increasingly used poorer materials or objects that had been recycled. After the Second World War, sculptors could start to be creative on an even bigger scale. Thanks to increased industrialisation, they could produce larger sculptures which were highly weather-resistant, creating possibilities for outdoor creations. Within the Land Art movement, Christo and Jeanne Claude create sculptures which are directly part of the landscape. In Minimalism, the sculpture and its material are determined by its environment so as to highlight the sense of emptiness and space which surrounds it. An excellent example of minimalist sculpture would be Richard Serra’s gigantic creations which allow visitors to explore and wander around inside them. Some of the biggest names incontemporary sculpture include Anish Kapoor, Donald Judd, Louise Nevelson, Henry Moore Barbara Hepworth, Louise Bourgeois and Sol LeWitt. Discover Artsper’s collection of abstract sculpture from contemporary artists such as Man Ray, Victor Vasarely, César and Nando Stevoli...

Steel sculpture appeared in art during the twentieth century. In previous centuries precious metals were the most frequently used in sculpture but the industrial revolution and urbanisation led to a wider use of more commonplace metals, including steel. Before that, bronze, a very resistant material, had been the medium of choice for sculptors creating artworks that would be installed outdoors. Unlike other metals, steel is easily malleable at a high temperature. Stainless steel has the advantage of being very resistant to rust and harsh weather conditions, making it an ideal choice for outdoor sculptures. Indeed, over the course of the twentieth century it was often used for this purpose. Steel sculptures were used, and continue to be used, to decorate and enhance public spaces in cities as well as gardens. One of the artists most well-known for his use of steel is Richard Serra. The material occupied a core part of his minimalist practice. In his early work, he used sheets of steel as well as steel rolls which were carefully balanced on the ground. To prevent the material from degrading and changing over time in an uncontrolled way, he coated the pieces with a solution which made them appear rusted. Later on in his career, Serra focussed on site-specific, monumental sculptures. His works were influenced by the environment they were destined for and thus perfectly suited to it. The curves of the sculptures encourage viewers to walk around them while the their impressive size dwarfs the viewers and leads them to reflect on the perception they have of their bodies in relation to indoor and outdoor spaces. Another artist famous for his gigantic steel sculptures is Bernar Venet. You can find his huge steel arches in cities all over the world and you’ll also find some of his artworks on Artsper. Amongst the greatest sculptors working in steel, there is of course Alexander Calder, who succeeded in creating sculptures of surprising delicacy despite the hardness of the material. His colourful mobiles have become iconic artworks. How can such a dense material appear so light and frail? His sculptures are part of the kinetic art movement and the careful equilibrium that Calder achieved so deftly continues to fascinate viewers. In a very different style, César also used steel, among other materials, to create works that are far less elegant. His “Compression” sculptures used lead, iron and steel to criticise our consumerist society. Steel continues to be used by today’s contemporary sculptors, mainly for monumental sculptures. Indeed, several contemporary artists have demonstrated a mastery of steel. Chief among them, is Jeff Koons and his famous "Balloon Dog" made of stainless steel with a coloured mirror finish surface. With steel, Jeff Koons turned the ephemeral balloon dog into an almost eternal work. Another well-known example is Chicago’s "Cloud Gate" sculpture by Anish Kapoor. On Artsper, discover modern sculptures and contemporary sculptures from the best art galleries. Explore Japanese artist Tsuyu’s elegant and poetic steel sculptures, Nicolas Dubreuille’s colourful and minimalist works and Paradox Creations’s sculptures inspired by Alexander Calder’s mobiles.

In a similar way to other art forms, sculpture is made up of a wide variety of subgenres which have emerged throughout history and across the world. Among them, there is wood sculpture, nude, bronze, animal and even resin sculpture. A sculpture’s genre is defined either by the subject or by the material used to create it. The use of resin in sculpture is a relatively recent technique in art history. It wasn’t until the 20th century that sculptors slowly started to move away from plaster or bronze casts as well as stone carving in favour of this new synthetic medium. Compared to other materials used in sculpture, resin has several key advantages. Its chemical composition make it much lighter than other traditional types of sculpture, making it easier to transport. It can also be easily adapted to fit work for a variety of creative needs and is highly weather resistant, making it a good choice for both indoor and outdoor sculptures. Its creative and innovative possibilities quickly made resin an essential material for sculptures. Duane Hanson was a key Pop Art and Hyperrealist artist whose use of polyester resin to create his sculptures helped to popularise the medium in modern and contemporary art. Hanson works creates lifecasts from live models and he chose resin because its chemical properties allowed him to capture the smallest of details in his models’ clothing, body shape or facial features. Never before had such a likeness been achieved and the success lies partly with the revolutionary discovery of polyester resin. Although the use of resin has helped artists to achieve wonders when it comes to faithfully representing their subjects, it has been also been used by Nouveau Réalisme artists whose sculptures are not intended to be realistic or representational. The famous French artist Niki de Saint Phalle, whose real name was Catherine Marie-Agnès Fal de Saint Phalle, regularly worked with polyester resin to create her works, including her monumental sculptures of women, the Nana statues. A recent scientific invention, resin has seduced a wide range of sculptors, including many French artists who use the material to either portray their model as realistically as possible or, on the other end of the spectrum, to create unrealistic dreamlike figures. Artsper has a large collection of modern and contemporary resin sculptures from internationally renowned artists such as Xavier Veilhan, as well as up and coming sculptors including Bernard Rives, Anne Juliette Deschamps and Maria De Campos. The variety of the works on offer is an excellent testimony to resin sculpture’s diverse possibilities.

With its smooth curves and velvety texture, clay sculpture has the advantage of being both soft to the touch and easy on the eye! Clay is a mixture of earth and water, which is easier and better for modelling. This raw material is often favoured by sculptors particularly inspired by nature and life because, as organic matter, it reveals their ephemeral beauty. Indeed, a crumbly and hydrophobic material, clay has a fragile beauty which reinforces its purity and rarity. White, grey, red, terracotta or ash clay: it's used today by many artists such as Reno, Kazuhiko Tanaka, Cecilio Sanchez Fierro, Anna M. White and Maxime Piccoli.