The History of Sculpture . The earliest sculpture was probably made to supply magical help to hunters. Stars gather to honour Sir David Frost. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The Prince of. In a series of interviews with Sir David in 1977. After the dawn of civilization, statues were used to represent gods. Ancient kings, possibly in the hope of making themselves immortal, had likenesses carved, and portrait sculpture was born. The Greeks made statues that depicted perfectly formed men and women. Early Christians decorated churches with demons and devils, reminders of the presence of evil for the many churchgoers who could neither read nor write. From its beginnings until the present, sculpture has been largely monumental. In the 1. 5th century, monuments to biblical heroes were built on the streets of Italian cities, and in the 2. New York City. Great fountains with sculpture in the center are as commonplace beside modern skyscrapers as they were in the courts of old palaces. Recent listings of Stone Age artifacts from around the world with pictures and descriptions.The ancient Sumerians celebrated military victory with sculpture. The participants of World War II also used sculpture to honor their soldiers. Prehistoric Sculpture. Sculpture may be the oldest of the arts. People carved before they painted or designed dwellings. The earliest drawings were probably carved on rock or incised (scratched) in earth.
Therefore, these drawings were as much forerunners of relief sculpture as of painting. Only a few objects survive to show what sculpture was like thousands of years ago. There are, however, hundreds of recent examples of sculpture made by people living in primitive cultures. These examples may be similar to prehistoric sculpture. From recent primitive sculpture and from the few surviving prehistoric pieces, we can judge that prehistoric sculpture was never made to be beautiful. It was always made to be used in rituals. In their constant fight for survival, early people made sculpture to provide spiritual support. Figures of men, women, and animals and combinations of all these served to honor the strange and sometimes frightening forces of nature, which were worshiped as evil or good spirits. Oddly shaped figures must have represented prayers for strong sons, good crops, and abundant game and fish. Sculpture in the form of masks was worn by priests or medicine men in dances designed to drive away evil spirits or beg favors from good ones. Sculpture in the Ancient World. The earliest civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and China gradually developed forms of writing about 3. B. C. The people of these civilizations, like their prehistoric ancestors, also expressed deeply felt beliefs in sculpture. Egypt. Egyptian sculpture and all Egyptian art was based on the belief in a life after death. The body of the Egyptian ruler, or pharaoh, was carefully preserved, and goods were buried with him to provide for his needs forever. The pyramids, great monumental tombs of Giza, were built for the most powerful early rulers. The pharaoh and his wife were buried in chambers cut deep inside the huge blocks of stone. Life- size and even larger statues, carved in slate, alabaster, and limestone, were as regular and simple in shape as the tombs themselves. Placed in the temples and inside the burial chambers, these statues were images of the rulers, the nobles, and the gods worshiped by the Egyptians. The Egyptians believed that the spirit of the dead person could always return to these images. Hundreds of smaller statuettes in clay or wood showed people engaged in all the normal actions of life: kneading bread, sailing, counting cattle. These statuettes were astonishingly lifelike. Scenes carved in relief and painted in the tomb chambers or on temple walls described Egyptian life in all its variety. Egyptian sculptors always presented ideas clearly. The pharaoh or noble is made larger than less important people. In relief sculpture every part of a figure is clearly shown. An eye looking straight forward is placed against the profile of a face, the upper part of the body faces front, and the legs are again in profile. The Egyptians often combined features from various creatures to symbolize ideas. For example, the human head of the pharaoh Khafre is added to the crouching figure of a lion to form the Great Sphinx. This composition suggests the combination of human intelligence and animal strength. Egyptian sculptors made standing and seated figures in the round and in relief. Changes in style reveal changed circumstances. The portraits of rulers of the Middle Kingdom (2. B. C.) lose the strength and vigor of those of their ancestors at Giza. The faces are drawn, sad, and weary. A greater energy and force returns in the period of Egypt's greatest power, the New Kingdom (1. B. C.). Colossal figures like those of Ramses II at the entrance to his tomb at Abu- Simbel are broad, powerful, and commanding. A smaller portrait of Ramses II shows the smooth finish, precise craftsmanship, and elegance of late New Kingdom art. Mesopotamia. The . Its cities were often destroyed by floods and invading armies. The earliest examples of sculpture in this region were formed of light materials: baked and unbaked clay, wood or combinations of wood, shells, and gold leaf. A group of stone figures from Tell Asmar depicts gods, priests, and worshipers in a way very different from Egyptian sculpture. These figures are cone- shaped, with flaring skirts, small heads, huge, beaklike noses, and large, staring eyes. Stone sculpture from such heavily fortified city palaces as Nineveh, Nimrud, and Khorsabad reveal the aggressive, warlike character of later (1. B. C.) conquerors of this region, the Assyrians. At the entrances of their palaces the Assyrians placed huge symbols of the king's might and majesty in the form of colossal guardian monsters- -five- legged, winged bulls with human heads. Slabs of stone carved in relief with scenes of hunts, battles, victory banquets, and ceremonial rituals were placed along the lower walls inside the palaces. A greater lightness and brilliance can be seen in a still later center of this region, Babylon. The Babylonians used brightly colored tiles in their reliefs. Persian conquerors who occupied Babylon in the 6th century B. C. This skill persisted as they continued creating superb designs in bronze and gold. Sometimes the designs are purely abstract ornamental patterns; sometimes they are animal forms freely shaped into graceful figures. Relief sculpture from the great palace of Darius at Persepolis (begun about 5. B. C.) retains some Assyrian features. The figures have heads with tightly curled hair and beards. Flat areas bounded by sharply cut lines contrast with richly patterned ones. The figures in this sculpture are softly curved and rounded; draperies are fine and light. The easy, natural movements of these figures marching in stately procession along the walls of the palace at Persepolis may well reflect qualities of the most original sculptors of the era (6th century B. C.), the Greeks. Aegean Civilization. Just a few examples of sculpture remain from the colorful Minoan civilization on the island of Crete. Ivory and terra- cotta; small statuettes of snake goddesses, priestesses, and acrobats; and cups with such scenes in relief as a bull being caught in a net or harvesters returning from the fields give lively suggestions of Minoans in action. Just a few examples of sculpture remain from the colorful Minoan civilization on the island of Crete. Ivory and terra- cotta; small statuettes of snake goddesses, priestesses, and acrobats; and cups with such scenes in relief as a bull being caught in a net or harvesters returning from the fields give lively suggestions of Minoans in action. Power passed from Crete to the mainland, but little sculpture from such sites as Tiryns or Mycenae has been found. The Lion Gate at Mycenae (about 1. B. C.), with its two massive beasts guarding the entrance to the fortified city, is an exceptional monumental sculpture from this time. The beaten- gold mask of Agamemnon is memorable for its suggestion of the great heroes of Homeric legends. The mask was found buried with golden cups, daggers, breastplates, and other objects in the tombs and shaft graves of Mycenae. Greek Sculpture. Around 6. B. C., Greece developed one of the great civilizations in the history of the world. Sculpture became one of the most important forms of expression for the Greeks. The Greek belief that . The human figure was the principal subject of all Greek art. Beginning in the late 7th century B. C., sculptors in Greece constantly sought better ways to represent the human figure. The Greeks developed a standing figure of a nude male, called the Kouros or Apollo. The Kouros served to depict gods and heroes. The Kore, or standing figure of a draped female, was more graceful and was used to portray maidens and goddesses. The winged female figure, or Nike, became the personification of victory. The fact that Greek sculptors concentrated their energies on a limited number of problems may have helped bring about the rapid changes that occurred in Greek sculpture between the 7th century and the late 4th century B. C. The change from abstraction to naturalism, from simple figures to realistic ones, took place during this period. Later figures have normal proportions and stand or sit easily in perfectly balanced poses. Historians have adopted a special set of terms to suggest the main changes in the development of Greek sculpture and of Greek art in general. The early, or Archaic, phase lasted about 1. B. C. A short interval called Early Classical or Severe, from 4. B. C., was followed by a half century of Classical sculpture. Late Classical indicates Greek art produced between 4. B. C., and Hellenistic art was made from 3. B. C. The most important function of Greek sculpture was to honor gods and goddesses. Statues were placed in temples or were carved as part of a temple. Greek temples were shrines created to preserve the images of the gods. The people worshiped outdoors. Greek sculpture changed with Greek civilization. Praxiteles' Hermes is slimmer and more elegant than the strong, vigorous Spear. Bearer, by Polykleitos.
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