Types of sculpture in the visual arts. What types of sculptures exist. Types of sculpture by purpose

28.10.2021

In recent years, the interest of Soviet readers and viewers in the aesthetic understanding of the phenomena of both the classical artistic heritage and contemporary Soviet art, in the education of taste and a correct understanding of beauty, has significantly revived. This interest has especially intensified recently in connection with lively discussions around the problems of Soviet art, its features, its achievements and individual shortcomings. Attention to the development of Soviet art is shown daily by the leaders of the party, the government and all our people.

The achievements of the fine arts of socialist realism are very noticeable in various forms of art, and they are also noticeable in sculpture. Suffice it to say that four Soviet sculptors - masters of different generations and different creative styles - were awarded the highest award in our country for their works, marked by high artistic quality: party spirit, nationality and realism. In recent years, Lenin Prizes have been awarded to sculptors: S. T. Konenkov - for the sculpture "Self-Portrait", M. K. Anikushin - for the monument to Pushkin in Leningrad, A. P. Kibalnikov - for the monument to Mayakovsky and L. E. Kerbel - for monument to Karl Marx (both in Moscow). This is a great merit of all Soviet art, and Soviet sculptors can be proud of this.

If you ask any person if he knows what sculpture is, "of course, yes," he will answer. But if you ask him what he understands by the word "sculpture", the names of which great sculptors he knows, by what means the sculptor expresses his idea, why some phenomena of living reality are available for embodiment in statues, while others are not, what are, therefore, the possibilities and features of the art of sculpture, then not everyone will answer all these questions at once. Let's try to figure this out. The art of sculpture plays a big role in our life. Reflecting the beautiful in reality, it, in turn, forms our consciousness, our taste and our ideas about the beautiful. Every cultured person should learn to understand it, expand their horizons in this area.

Answering the question "What is sculpture?", the great French materialist philosopher of the 18th century D. Diderot said: "This is a strong muse, but silent and secretive." Indeed, understanding sculpture is somewhat more difficult than painting, to which we are more accustomed, since it can more widely, clearly and colorfully reflect the world around us.

However, if you are careful, you can be sure that the sculpture accompanies us everywhere. We stop in front of the grandiose equestrian statue of the founder or defender of the city, standing in the square; on the chest of a passerby we notice a medal with a profile portrait of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin; we are attracted by a beautiful bronze statue of an athlete in the park; we admire an elegant carved stone - a cameo that adorns the ring; on the pediments of theaters, we often see the chariot of Apollo, the god of arts... And all these works represent one or another type of sculpture, which, it turns out, is very diverse.

Sculpture is one of the fine arts. Like any other art, sculpture reflects the real world in artistic images and reflects it in its own way, using special means and methods.

This essay is devoted to the analysis of the features of sculpture, its specific artistic language, its creative possibilities, the analysis and systematization of its types and genres on the best samples, as well as the technique of its creation.

What does the word "sculpture" mean? Along with the term "sculpture", which comes from the Latin sculpere - to cut, carve, the word "plastic" is used as an equivalent, which comes from the Greek pladzein, which means to sculpt. Initially, in the narrow sense of the word, sculpture was understood as sculpting, carving, peeling, cutting, carving, that is, such a way of creating a work of art in which the artist removes, knocks down extra pieces or layers of stone or wood, trying, as it were, to free the prisoner lurking in block sculptural form. By plastics, they understood the opposite way to sculpture, the way of creating a sculptural work - modeling from clay or wax, in which the sculptor does not reduce, but, on the contrary, increases volume.

The emergence of these two terms is historically conditioned. The ancient Greeks, counting on the subsequent casting of bronze, as a rule, sculpted statues from clay, and therefore the term "plastic" was born, while the Romans, who predominantly sculpted from marble, called their works "sculpture" (hence the term "skarpel" or "scalpel" - a knife, a cutter). (From this it does not follow at all that the Greeks did not know sculpture in marble, and the Romans did not know bronze casting; it only means the predominance of some methods of creating sculpture over others, and then in separate periods, when, apparently, these terms arose).

In sculpture, the master's idea is embodied in a material real volume. Just as in painting the main expressive means is the image with paints on the plane of the canvas, the "language" of sculpture is a volume-plastic, three-dimensional form that has real weight. It is through the sculptural form that the content of the sculptural work is revealed, the sculptor's intention is conveyed to the viewer. The expressive possibilities in realistic art of this three-dimensional plastic form are truly endless. The nature of the three-dimensional plastic form in sculpture in different epochs of its development was different, as it expressed different content. Omitting the presentation of the history of sculpture (which is not included in the task of our essay), we will touch on only two main types of interpretation of three-dimensional form in sculpture, which manifested itself in antiquity.

Some Greek masters in their statues created a smoothly flowing surface of volume, which, being limited by a linear silhouette, seemed to be chained with lines. Others sought to make the volume more tense, as if filled from the inside with increased movement of muscles and joints. In this regard, it suffices to compare the interpretation of the form of a naked body in the statue of a young man of the 4th century BC. e., found near Marathon (NAL. 1), with an interpretation of this form in an ancient statue of the 1st century BC. e. the work of Apollonius, known as the "Belvedere Torso" (ill. 2), in order to feel the whole difference in understanding the volumetric-plastic form. These manners are basically repeated periodically in the history of world and Russian sculpture. It is difficult, of course, to reduce all the diversity of styles, national and individual manners to these areas, but if we take the heyday of plastic art - antiquity, the Renaissance and Russian classicism, then such a division, albeit somewhat schematic, will be true. Representatives of strict classics, and later - classicism, in order to reveal the majestic calmness of their images, preferred the continuity of silhouette outlines created by a calmly flowing volume. All the masters who gravitate toward the agitated dramatic nature of images used an emphatically dynamic, "baroque", pictorial form, in which the silhouette lost its continuously sliding line, acquiring, as it were, "torn" outlines, and intra-silhouette forms, as if moving and protruding from the inside, received much more importance. .

2. Apollonius, son of Nestor. The so-called "Belvedere Torso". 1st century BC e. Marble

But both systems in the treatment of surface and volume in sculpture were dictated by the content and historically established understanding of the image. Both of these systems gave the great masters every opportunity to reveal their ideas and create genuine masterpieces of fine art.

A feature of the sculpture, the originality of its content is that it depicts mainly a person. It is in the image of the person himself that the sculptor can reveal the life of society, the characters of people, their moods and actions.

In this regard, the art of sculpture is characterized by a certain range of topics: in sculpture, you can fashion portraits of contemporaries or figures of past eras, create compositions on everyday topics, depict allegorical figures that personify common concepts (labor, peace, friendship of peoples, victory, etc.). ).

Nature and the environment surrounding a person can be conveyed in sculpture only indirectly (this does not apply to the sculptural relief, which will be discussed later), with the help of some detail.

In his book "Experience on the rules of medal art", written in the first half of the 19th century, the president of the Academy of Arts A. N. Olenin, who correctly understood the uniqueness of sculpture, defined the possibilities and boundaries of this type of art in this way: metals in their works, should be limited to the representation of completely dense bodies.So, everything transparent or airy should not be the subject of this art.Consequently, fog, smoke, clouds, fire, expanses of seas or waters, even grass, fluffy trees, distances, in a word - everything where there are no large opaque smooth masses that can produce the opposite and striking effect of light and shadow, should be excluded from this art. Indeed, a landscape in which everything is built on the transmission of space, light and air cannot be depicted in sculpture (if it is not a relief). In this sense, the boundaries of painting are undoubtedly wider.

The picturesque picture is characterized by multicolor and illusory space. An artist can depict a moonlit night, a sunrise, fiery sparks of molten metal in a steel shop, a panorama of a seascape and much more that a sculptor cannot depict in his work. Nevertheless, the expressiveness and richness of the sculptural forms are extremely strong. No pictorial work can replace a monumental sculptural monument in a city square or garden and park sculpture, it will not be fully adequate to a sculptural relief, sculptural decoration of a facade or interior.

A particularly important quality of sculpture is that it can express the heroic ideals of its time in the most generalized, allegorical, monumental images. It is no coincidence that the heyday of sculpture coincides with those historical epochs when the importance of a human citizen rises high and the creation of a positive heroic image becomes the main task of art.

Creating a sculpture is an active labor process. The work of a sculptor is hard physical work, a struggle with material. A person, as it were, overcomes the lifelessness of stone, wood or clay, conquers the material, creates an artistic image full of life from it. Let us recall Pushkin's words addressed to the sculptor B. Orlovsky: "You give thoughts to gypsum, marble is obedient to you."

The perception of sculpture is also very active. The sculptural work makes the viewer want to go around it from all sides, to feel its three-dimensionality. Each new aspect helps to better understand the content of the sculpture. It is no coincidence that one wants to touch the sculpture with one's hand, since the sense of touch, as it were, complements the visual image. "Painting appeals only to the eyes ... Sculpture exists for both the blind and the sighted," Diderot said.

The Soviet sculptor Anna Semyonovna Golubkina in her book "A Few Words about the Craft of a Sculptor" spoke about the peculiarities of the sculptor's vision, about the ability to sort of probe the shape with the eye, to determine ("failing to cope with the profile") the depth of depressions and the height of bulges.

Perhaps, not to the extent that it is necessary for a sculptor, it is useful to develop the same vision in oneself for a sculpture lover, so that he can "see" a sculptural work with maximum completeness and understand it more deeply.

Sculpture in its form is divided into two main types: round sculpture and relief. In a round sculpture, all its sides are usually processed, and therefore the viewer wants to walk around it and examine it from all points of the circle in order to fully perceive the content of the image.

Consider, for example, a marble statue of Hercules by an unknown Russian master of the late 18th century (ill. 3). The sculpture is a copy of the famous statue of Hercules of Farnese, attributed to the Greek sculptor Lysippus (second half of the 4th century BC).

Hercules (otherwise Hercules) in ancient mythology personified strength and courage. According to legend, he performed twelve feats and was then accepted into the assembly of the immortal gods. The sculptor depicted a mighty bearded athlete resting after one of the feats. Naked Hercules stands, leaning heavily on a pillar covered with a lion's skin. His head is slightly lowered, his face is calm, but little expressive; but the strongly developed upper torso, the muscles of the chest and abdomen, the muscular shoulders, arms and legs, in comparison with which the head seems small, are immediately striking. strength. Such is Hercules, when viewed from the front. Walking around the statue, you can see it in profile and, finally, from behind, where Hercules' back draws attention (ill. 4). The whole figure seemed to lean forward. Slightly lowered shoulders, strong muscles steep shoulder blades and an arm wearily thrown behind his back give the impression of peace, relaxation after the efforts of a tense struggle.

If we began to turn this statue on a rotating machine, on which the sculptor usually works, we could notice how light and shadow, revealing the shape of the body, seem to move and move along the perfectly polished marble surface, forming highlights on the convex and shadows on the recessed places. If in a dark room a light source is placed behind the figure of Hercules from the side opposite to the viewer, then the glare of light will fade in front, the sense of volume will disappear, and the line outlining the silhouette will become more distinct. All these possibilities arise only when considering a round sculpture. Let us imagine the same statue of Hercules drawn on paper or painted with oil paints on canvas, and we will feel that we will consider it differently: after all, then the volume of the statue, its lighting will not be real, but illusory. A round sculpture is always associated with a certain spatial environment, illuminated by natural or artificial light. Light and shadow serve as a means of revealing the artistic and plastic essence of sculpture. They are located on the surface in accordance with the nature of the modeling, as well as the location of the light source. Leonardo da Vinci said that in sculpture "shadow and light are imposed by nature itself." Lighting can be good or bad. "Sculpture can be killed and revived by light," said V. I. Mukhina, worrying about whether the sculptural group "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" would be well illuminated at the Paris exhibition.

There are a number of varieties of round sculpture. The main ones are a statue, a group of two or more figures related to each other in content and composition, a head, a bust (chest or waist image of a person).

The principles of composition in round sculpture are somewhat different from the principles of composition of the same subject in painting. The sculptor strives for the utmost conciseness, severe selection and preservation of only those absolutely necessary details and particulars, without which the meaning of the work would be unclear. Such self-restraint follows from the nature of the sculptural block - stone or wood, the integral volume of which cannot be crushed too much. Fine detailing would break the unity of this sculptural block. Michelangelo believed that that statue is good, which, being lowered down a mountain down a slope, will roll down from it and remain unharmed, and since this can happen with a statue that is almost devoid of parts, any removed or partially separated from the marble block itself, then it becomes clear what exactly the great Florentine considered the ideal of sculptural form. Among his works, the “Seated Boy” (ill. 5), a statue located in the Leningrad Hermitage and, according to legend, carved by Michelangelo from a piece of marble that had an almost cubic shape, approaches this ideal; inside this cube, the sculptor, as it were, saw just such a composition of the figure, solving it at the same time with extraordinary naturalness.

In a round sculpture it is very difficult to solve a multi-figured scene. The figures must be brought as close as possible and at the same time take care that one figure does not obscure the other, since their fusion will prevent the identification of a clear silhouette. When working on multi-figure compositions, sculptors build them with a view to a circular view and think over the silhouette of the entire work as a whole. This is how the composition of many monuments is built: "The 1000th anniversary of Russia" in Novgorod, Catherine II in Leningrad, Shevchenko in Kharkov, General Efremov in Vyazma and others. In each of these monuments, the figures are deployed in all directions, like rays from the compositional center, and in order to inspect the entire monument, the viewer will definitely walk around it.

"One of the most difficult tasks, - according to the sculptor SD Merkurov, - is the arrangement of two figures in the sculpture." World sculpture in this sense is not rich in examples. The sculptor Martos brilliantly solved this problem in the monument to Minin and Pozharsky: from whichever side you approach, you see and feel that these are not just figures mechanically placed side by side, but an organically connected group where you cannot change a single gesture, not a single volume, not a contour , not a silhouette, without breaking their organic connection.

The content of this monument is remarkable: Minin, with an outstretched hand, is turned to the sitting Pozharsky, he calls on him to lead the people's militia, to go to save Moscow from foreign invaders. The idea of the monument, matured in the circles of A. N. Radishchev's followers, was embodied by a great artist, which is why the progressive patriotic theme is so eloquently expressed in it. In this monument, the role of Minin, a remarkable Nizhny Novgorod citizen, the initiator of the campaign, is especially emphasized. The theme of the monument is the people, under the leadership of their best sons, rising to defend the fatherland.^ The bas-reliefs on the pedestal depict scenes of the formation of the militia, the collection of funds and the expulsion of foreign invaders from Moscow. These reliefs, as it were, concretize and develop the main idea of the monument.

The role of relief as a type of sculpture is very significant. It has an ancient history, great artistic potential, has its own artistic and technical features.

The relief (from the Italian relievo - protrusion, bulge, rise) occupies an intermediate place in its pictorial possibilities between a round sculpture and an image on a plane (drawing, painting, fresco). The relief, like a round sculpture, has three dimensions (although the third, deep dimension is often somewhat abbreviated, conditional). The composition of figures in relief unfolds along a plane, which serves both as the technical basis of the image and at the same time as a background, which makes it possible to reproduce the landscape and multi-figured scenes in relief. Such an organic connection with the plane is a feature of the relief.

There are low relief, or bas-relief (from the French word bas - low), that is, one in which the image protrudes above the background plane by less than half its volume, and high relief, or high relief (from the French word haut - high), when the image protrudes above the background plane is more than half of its volume, and in places it rounds off, partially even breaking away from the background.

The relief in relation to the background may not be convex, but concave, deepened, that is, as if reversed. Such a relief is called a "koylanoglyph". It was common in the art of the Ancient East, Egypt and in ancient stone carving.

"Classic relief", especially characteristic of the art of antiquity and classicism, has a mostly smooth background.

An example of such a relief is the world-famous frieze of the Parthenon (ill. 6), depicting the solemn procession of Athenian citizens to the temple of Athena on the day of the great Panathenaic feast. The high mastery of the composition, rhythmic and at the same time unusually natural, the charm of sculpting graceful draperies make us suggest that Phidias himself (5th century BC) or his closest talented assistants may have been the author of this frieze.

The classical relief has features of monumentality: the image on a smooth background does not destroy the plane of the wall, but, as it were, spreads parallel to this background. Such a relief is easy to imagine as a frieze - a horizontal strip running around the wall of a building. Therefore, the "classical relief" can be attributed to the section of monumental and decorative sculpture, usually associated with architecture.

Not only a bas-relief, but also a high relief can be associated with an architectural structure. So, for example, the Arc de Triomphe in the Place des Stars in Paris is adorned with a high relief by the French sculptor F. Ryud "Speech of the Volunteers in 1792", or, as it is usually briefly called, "La Marseillaise" (ill. 7).

Created under the influence of the July Revolution of 1830, this high relief is perhaps the most remarkable sculptural work of the 19th century on a revolutionary theme. Its composition is, as it were, divided into two tiers. At the top - an allegorical female figure of the winged Liberty, hovering against the background of the banners, calls for an uprising, it is, as it were, an expression of the revolutionary spirit of the people. In the lower one - a revolutionary detachment - six figures of people of different ages - rushes to defend the republic. Closely placed in the center of the first tier, the figures of a bearded warrior and a teenager amaze with powerful energetic volumes. A contrast is created between sharply protruding illuminated parts and deeply sinking dark depressions between the figures; this enhances the sense of dynamics and drama of the images. However, this high relief does not destroy the plane of the wall, its forms seem to develop from flat stone blocks directly towards the viewer, they live in real, not illusory space. The background in the Marseillaise relief is the masonry of the arch array itself; the volumes of the figures seem to be crowded, piled one on top of the other, creating a feeling of swiftness, energy and onslaught, which helps to reveal the revolutionary impulse of the popular movement. The sculptor managed without framing this relief, but simply spread it over the stones, which further emphasizes the organic connection of the relief with architecture.

But there is a kind of relief that is not at all connected with architecture and is even "contraindicated" for it. This is the so-called "scenic relief". In terms of its tasks, it is close to a painting, has several plans, creates the illusion of a space that goes deep into the depths. It can combine the principles of bas-relief and high relief; an architectural or landscape background built in perspective can be introduced. The depth and illusory nature of such a relief, as it were, destroy the plane of the wall. Being an independent easel work, not related to architecture, it can be placed in any interior, just like a painting.

An example of a "picturesque relief" is the work by the Russian sculptor F. P. Tolstoy "Mercury leads the shadows of Penelope's suitors to hell" (ill. 8), performed on the theme of Homer's Odyssey. Its plot is a dramatic story about how, during the twenty-year wanderings of Odysseus, many suitors wooed his faithful wife Penelope. Odysseus, who suddenly returned, killed his rivals, the gods also condemned them: the shadows of the suitors were supposed to follow to hell.

Let us consider this relief carefully: in the foreground, framed by a powerful arch of the infernal gates, built of huge stone slabs, in the cracks of which snakes wriggle, shadows moving through the air are visible. Ahead, flying Mercury - the executor of the will of the gods - points the way with a rod. To the left of the entrance are two figures of warriors. The grooms' shadows are wrapped in burial shrouds. Various poses and gestures convey their mental anguish, horror or woeful resignation.

F. P. Tolstoy, a sculptor-medalist and miniature painter of the first half of the 19th century, sculpted his reliefs from pink wax on a black slate board. Translucent through the thin molding of the figures of the second plan, the black background creates the illusion of chiaroscuro and air space of the landscape. The sculptor sculpted the figures of warriors and Mercury in higher relief, as well as a stone entrance to hell overgrown with stunted vegetation. The second plan is a group of flying shadows. The illusion of the third plan is created by the Styx - the river of oblivion. It is depicted in the finest wax relief, through which the black surface of the board shines through. Finally, the fourth plan is the opposite bank of the Styx with figures of sinners and the boatman Charon, who is about to transport a new batch in his boat. The figures of people of the fourth plan are greatly reduced in comparison with the figures of the first and second plans, which gives an idea of its remoteness. It is also sculpted in very low relief, through which a black background shines through, giving the impression of night darkness. Thus, this bas-relief of excellent craftsmanship is an example of the use of purely pictorial techniques in the transfer of space in sculpture: the effect of black and light, the translucence of the background through thin layers of wax molding. The movement comes from the illusory-spatial depth, which is also more typical for painting, rather than sculpture. All these features indicate that the sculptor created this relief as a work that was not intended to decorate architecture. Such a work is called easel. It is fundamentally different from monumental reliefs, where the movement of the figures, developing parallel to the wall, does not threaten to "break" through its illusory perspective, but, as it were, affirms the plane of the wall.

According to its purpose, the sculpture is divided into monumental, monumental-decorative and easel. Each of these sections has its own characteristics.

Monumental sculpture serves the cause of propaganda of the most important transformative social ideas. The monument always appeals to the broad masses of spectators and affirms a positive image (of course, from the point of view of those who build this monument). City monuments (their construction is usually under the control of the state) commemorate those people who have gained general fame. It is impossible to erect a monument in the city square to a person who is close only to the sculptor himself - wife, brother, friend (not only for technical and economic reasons), while it is quite possible to create their portraits for an exhibition or museum in the easel plan. It is here that the watershed between easel and monumental art passes.

City monuments are also erected in honor of any major socio-historical events: a monument to the 1000th anniversary of Russia in Novgorod, a monument to the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War in Kaliningrad, and many others.

The impact of the monument standing on the square and created "for everyone" would like to be called categorical. You can not go to the theater, to the cinema, to an exhibition, you can not read books, but you can not help but notice the monument erected on the square! And our people do not remain indifferent to the works of monumental sculpture: near the monument you can always see people stopping to carefully examine the sculpture. On granite pedestals of monuments to Marx, Lenin, Pushkin, Mayakovsky, Gorky, Tchaikovsky, bouquets of flowers often lie - a touching sign of respect and love of the Soviet people for these great people.

The master of a monumental monument must be able to correctly "place" the figure, make the silhouette expressive and beautiful from all sides and from various distances. The content of the monument must be perceived both at first sight and when moving past the monument or around it - from many points of view. Various aspects, developing the main idea of the monument, make it more multifaceted and richer. The pose, gesture of the figure, its movement must be compositionally solved in such a way as to make its content understandable. The expressiveness of not only the face, but the whole statue, the complete correspondence of the external plastic appearance to the inner world of the hero is a prerequisite for a monumental monument. Some perceive it from afar and, therefore, as a whole; others, those who come close to the monument, can peer into the expression on the face of the statue.

The monument should not only have an expressive silhouette, but also be commensurate, proportional, should be an integral work of art. After all, along with the ideological content, the monument also carries architectural and artistic functions. This is not just a beautiful vertical, volume or rhythmic alternation of volumes, but an expressive image of a person who gives meaning to the whole architectural ensemble, he centers, crowns the space of the square.

Everyone who comes to Leningrad without fail in the very first days goes to look at the famous monument to Peter I (“The Bronze Horseman”) by E.-M. Falcone (ill. 9). The equestrian statue of Peter I was erected on a granite pedestal, representing an uneven rock, similar to the crest of a petrified wave. This wave crest rhythmically repeats the movement of a rearing horse. A rush forward and upward, and at the same time majestic, affirming for centuries the wave of Peter's outstretched hand ("...here the city will be founded...") - this is the main emotional content of the monument. Movement and peace, impulse and disciplined will, passion and wisdom are synthesized in this wonderful monument.

It is difficult to convey in words all the richness and variety of shades of thought contained in it. When walking around the monument from all sides, the beautiful silhouette of the equestrian statue against the sky changes all the time, and the content of the image is revealed to the viewer. With each new step around the monument, the sculptor’s thoughts about Peter, about his daring, will, creation, energy, intelligence, fearlessness, love for the fatherland and pride in him seem to arise before the viewer ... The Bronze Horseman is beautiful both near and far . The expressiveness of its silhouette confirms the need for the monument to be surrounded by air space; the open space of the square, the sky are the most favorable background against which the sculpture emerges, giving a special exciting beauty, "picture" and meaningfulness to the urban landscape.

A group, an equestrian statue, and a standing human figure almost always require a wide area of the square, since in their purpose they are likened to an agitator, as if entering into communication with the mass of people flowing around them on all sides. Usually such a monument is placed in the center of the square or at the intersection of streets facing the square, so that the sculpture can be seen from afar.

However, not every monument will look good against the backdrop of the open space of the square. If the sculptor decided on the composition of the monument in the form of a seated figure, this monument is more appropriate in a park, in the "interior" of a courtyard, or against the backdrop of an architectural structure, than in the middle of a large city square. It is much more natural and organic to place such a statue where there is no noisy traffic, where the environment invites viewers to stop near the sculpture, sit and, without hurrying, examine it at close range. In addition, the viewing radius of the sitting figure is reduced to 180 degrees of a circle due to the inexpressive point of view from the back, and therefore it is better if the seated figure adjoins the wall of the building or the greenery of the park with its back side.

An example of a successful solution of the monument in the form of a seated figure is the monument to the fabulist I. A. Krylov by P. K. Klodt, located in Leningrad, in the Summer Garden (ill. 10). The great fabulist sits deep in thought; around it, tall two-hundred-year-old trees form, as it were, a green gazebo, conducive to silence and relaxation; the pedestal of the monument is filled with relief images of the four-legged heroes of Krylov's fables. Leningrad children always play near the monument, who loves to look at "grandfather Krylov" and his animals so much.

The role of the pedestal is very important in the artistic conception of any monument. This is not just a stand under the figure (to be seen better). This is precisely the pedestal on which the hero is raised for his services to the people. The pedestal must correspond to the architectural environment, character, style and scale of the monument as a whole. Often its faces are decorated with reliefs, which reveal the hero's historical significance more fully. The most accepted ratio of the figure to the pedestal is 1:1, although there are other proportions.

A significant role in the installation of the monument is played by its position in relation to the cardinal points, which determines the nature of its illumination at one time or another of the day.

The monument is sometimes historically and plotly connected with the place where it was built, for example, the monument to V.I. Lenin at the Finland Station in Leningrad, where Vladimir Ilyich, standing on an armored car, delivered a speech to the people in April 1917. But sometimes a monument can become the semantic and compositional center of a city or a significant part of it. Such are the monuments to V. I. Lenin in Ulyanovsk and in Georgia at the head dam of the ZAGES, the Bronze Horseman in Leningrad, and many others.

Let's take a look at one of them, built in 1940 by the Soviet monumental sculptor M. G. Manizer. This is a monument to V. I. Lenin, installed in his hometown on the Volga - in Ulyanovsk (ill. 11).

V. I. Lenin is depicted standing to his full height, in a coat draped over his shoulders. Set firmly and stubbornly, the figure of Lenin is deployed in a leisurely and confident movement. The statue serves as the center of the city's main square. It seems to "hold" the surrounding space, looming beautifully with its silhouette against the sky, resisting the gusty Volga wind, as if waving the floor of a coat thrown over the shoulders. The oscillating folds of clothing on the left side of the statue are replaced by tight-fitting folds on the right side, which enhances the feeling of a strong wind, as if pressing a heavy fabric against the figure. A person withstands the pressure of the elements, resists it and, as it were, challenges it.

The master worked with special attention on the face of Vladimir Ilyich, preserving the familiar Leninist, unique individual features. He depicted Lenin with an open head, thanks to which Lenin's huge forehead is visible. The face of Lenin is remarkable: it is full of nobility, beauty and strength of the all-conquering human mind and creative will. Lenin's inspired gaze is beautiful, as if looking into the bright future of mankind. The master conveys this with the appropriate fit of the head of the statue, expressive modeling of the generalized volumes of the face. The plastic language of the statue is simple and concise. Rejecting any gestures, the sculptor sought to express the inner movement of the image through the majestically constructed and unfolded volume of the statue, its expressive silhouette, clearly readable against the sky.

Highly developed in the Russian sculpture of the classical school, of which Manizer is a follower, the art of drapery is completely rethought by him in relation to the plastic interpretation of modern clothing. The modeling of volumes and folds is expressive, creating deep moving shadows. In the city, known for its violent winds, the motif of clothes fluttering by the wind turned out to be successful (Simbirsk in Tatar means "city of seven winds").

A version of this statue of Lenin was installed in the Soviet pavilion at the 1958 International Exhibition in Brussels, where its author was awarded an Honorary Diploma. In 1960, this sculpture was installed in Luzhniki, on the territory of the Central Stadium. V. I. Lenin in Moscow. Similar works of monumental sculpture define the ideological and artistic center of the city; they are deservedly considered its attraction.

If the city monument seems to appeal to everyone, then the tombstone - most often only to a person who has come close. The sound of a memorial tombstone is usually lyrical and intimate. But the high structure of thoughts and feelings expressed by such works, their purity from everyday bustle, give them undoubted features of monumentality. Telling about the dead and reminding them of them, the tomb sculpture is emotional in nature and appeals primarily to feelings. However, in different historical epochs, the coloring of these feelings acquired very different shades: from pathetic despair in the multi-figured aristocratic tombstones of the 17th century to elegiac poetry in the tombstones of the remarkable Russian sculptor I.P. Martos.

Consider one of the tombstones by this master, created by him for the grave of Kozhukhova (ill. 12), in which the great tradition of antiquity, manifested in Russian classicism, is especially strongly felt. On the tomb, bowed on one knee, a beautiful winged genius sobs over the urn. The clothes lightly drape his strong youthful body. The soft rounded lines of the urn echo the outlines of the bowed figure, contrasting with the straight, rhythmically and beautifully flowing folds. The theme of sorrow and courageous chaste fidelity, expressed by the plastic language of forms and lines, sounds like music here.

The theme of separation, passing away from life is filled with deep reflection in the tombstone of E. N. Nemirovich-Danchenko, the work of the largest Soviet sculptor I. D. Shadr (ill. 13). It was installed in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery.

The shape of the headstone is extremely different. This is either a portrait of the deceased (statue, bust, relief), or allegorical figures of geniuses, mourners, sometimes also accompanying the portrait image of the deceased, or, finally, it is simply the architecture of the so-called "small forms", sometimes decorated with an urn, draperies or various allegorical signs, symbolizing the short duration of human life.

Monumental and decorative sculpture solves great ideological and figurative tasks. This can be seen on the example of such wonderful classical buildings in Leningrad as the Admiralty, the Stock Exchange, the Narva Gates, the buildings of the General Staff Building, the Public Library and others. Their high artistic expressiveness is determined by the fact that they represent the unity of the image of architecture and sculpture. Sculpture develops and clarifies the idea and purpose of a structure, while at the same time enhancing the sound of architectural forms (sometimes in correspondence, and sometimes in contrast).

An example of a successful synthesis of architecture and sculpture is the famous Leningrad Admiralty, built according to the design of the great Russian architect A. D. Zakharov and decorated with sculptural figures and reliefs by F. F. Shchedrin and I. I. Terebenev.

The main tower of the Admiralty ingeniously combines the heavy array of the lower tier with a light colonnade on it, passing through the semicircle of the dome into a gilded spire, sung by Pushkin ("Admiralty Needle"). Like a lace pattern, a relief by I. I. Terebenev looms on the smooth wall of the lower tier, telling about the creation of the Russian fleet.

On both sides of the gate, framed by a semicircular arch, there are eleven-meter (together with a pedestal) sculptural groups (see cover). Each of them depicts three beautiful women - "sea nymphs" carrying a globe. These groups - the best work of the sculptor F. F. Shchedrin - amaze with their majesty, strength and at the same time feminine grace with which the nymphs support the huge sphere. The noble outlines of these statues stand out beautifully against the background of the walls of the central tower. Reliefs depicting flying geniuses of glory with a banner in their hands crown the arch of the gate.

Round sculptures decorate the corners of the roof of the lower tier and the top of the colonnade. Harmony, proportionality and consistency of parts of architecture and sculpture create a single artistic whole. The viewer's eye notes with satisfaction the rhythm of the recurring forms; the horizontals and verticals of the building are emphasized by the roundness of the statues and the light openwork of the relief friezes, enlivening the calm surface of the wall, and this wall itself helps to focus our attention on individual sculptural motifs glorifying Russia as a great maritime power.

A brilliant example of architectural and sculptural synthesis in the art of socialist realism was the Soviet pavilion at the World Exhibition of 1937 in Paris, built according to the project of B. M. Iofan and crowned with a sculptural group by V. I. Mukhina, which has become famous since then (ill. 14). The whole building is permeated with movement, conveyed in the growth of horizontal forms, turning in the main central part into the vertical of the soaring pylon. The "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman" group, mounted on the roof of the pylon, consistently repeats this movement in its composition: first, forward, and then upward. Throwing up the hammer and sickle high, young and beautiful giants march forward together - a worker and a collective farm woman, personifying the entire Soviet people. The compositional axis of the group is a powerful diagonal, which gives this movement swiftness. With these means, the sculptor vividly expressed the idea of the nationwide movement of the Soviet people forward towards communism. Concretized by plot and revealed in the sculptural group, this movement, as the main melody (I would like to say: "the march of the victorious people"), receives preparation and support, as if in an orchestral instrumentation, in the sound of the architectural forms of the entire building.

Garden and park sculpture also belongs to monumental and decorative sculpture: statues, busts, fountains, decorative vases, etc. This sculpture is closely connected with the landscape of the park, harmonizing well either with a green background or with the colors of autumn foliage.

The best works of garden and park sculpture are covered with high poetry. Remember the full of deep feelings, sounding like music, Pushkin's poems "Tsarskoye Selo Statue":

"Having dropped the urn with water, the maiden broke it on the rock. The maiden sits sadly, idle holding a shard. A miracle! The water does not dry up, pouring out from the broken urn; The maiden, over the eternal stream, sits forever sad..."

These poems are dedicated to a small bronze statue, the so-called "Girl with a Broken Jug" by sculptor P. P. Sokolov (ill. 15), located in the park of the Catherine Palace in the city of Pushkin near Leningrad.

Probably, many have been to Leningrad and admired the beautiful marble statues of the Summer Garden. There is a wonderful collection of decorative sculptures of an allegorical nature: in an allegorical form, they reveal certain ideas and concepts. On the main alleys of the park, you can find marble human figures, personifying such concepts as youth, truth, and mercy. In the form of a beautiful woman wrapped in a cloak sprinkled with stars, the statue "Night" is depicted (ill. 16). She seems to be struggling with sleep or daydreaming. Some sculptures are associated with historical events. So, for example, the allegorical composition "Peace and Abundance" is dedicated to the Treaty of Nishtad (1721), which ended the victorious Northern War of the Russians with the Swedes.

16. D. Bonazza. Statue "Night". Summer garden in Leningrad. Early 18th century Marble

Sculptural allegories are also found in the design of the famous fountains of Petrodvorets. These fountains leave an unforgettable impression on everyone who has seen them. The greenery of the park, crystal jets and iridescent splashes of water, the whiteness of marble, the soft tones of green bronze - all this is perfectly combined with one another. Smooth, as if flowing lines and volumes of statues, washed by water, acquire special beauty and expressiveness in the brilliance of sunlight.

The center of the composition of the Grand Cascade is the gigantic allegorical figure of Samson, who tears apart the mouth of a lion. A strong jet of water bursts out of the lion's mouth, flying up to a height of twenty meters. This sculpture is the personification of Russia (shown here in the image of the biblical hero Samson, who possessed great power) and the victory of the Russians over Sweden, in whose coat of arms there was an image of a lion.

The method of allegory and symbol, so widespread in the art of the past, is also successfully used by Soviet sculptors. We have already talked about the monumental and decorative group of V. I. Mukhina "Worker and Collective Farm Girl". This is one of the brightest examples of the allegorical solution of the theme. The allegorical form, according to V. I. Mukhina, is a strong figurative means of expressing fine art. Allegory makes it possible to convey in sculpture such logical concepts as courage, kindness, agriculture, fertility, etc., translating them into the plane of personified images, which expands the pictorial possibilities of realistic sculpture.

At the entrance to the Rybinsk Reservoir, you can see a huge statue of a beautiful girl in a Russian sundress, with a flying seagull at her feet. This sculpture by S. D. Shaposhnikov (ill. 17) does not need a signature. It is immediately clear that the image of the majestic Russian beauty, reigning over the wide expanse of the Rybinsk Sea, depicts the Volga. Thus, the river, beloved by the people, was glorified not only in songs, poems, paintings and music, but also in the art of sculpture. This was helped by the allegorical, but nevertheless understandable and expressive language of allegory.

We talked about the features of monumental and monumental-decorative sculpture. And now let's dwell on the third large section of sculpture, which is not connected either with architectural structures or with urban or park ensembles. This is an easel sculpture. It is called so because it is installed on a machine or stand and is intended for exhibitions, museums, public and residential premises (the latter even gave rise to the special concept of "cabinet sculpture"). Easel sculpture is viewed at a close distance, regardless of its environment, neighboring works or interior architecture. In terms of size, easel sculpture is usually either less than natural size, or slightly exceeds it. This is done in order to avoid depicting a person in full size, as it can look like a model (an exact cast), which is unartistic and unpleasant.

In museums and exhibition halls, sculptures are usually exhibited together with paintings. Meanwhile, the viewer is tired. Human vision is arranged in such a way that it cannot perceive color on a plane and volume in space with the same attention, quickly switching from one to another. Therefore, it is best to focus on one thing, for example, first consider all the sculptural works, then move on to painting (or vice versa).

Easel sculpture in content is extremely diverse. Thus, portraits of F. I. Shubin, and almost all the statues of M. M. Antokolsky, and small bronze statuettes by E. A. Lansere, depicting people and animals, and some works by I. D. Shadr are easel works.

Easel sculpture covers a very wide range of subjects. It can depict a genre scene where the characters are connected by a kind of "dialogue" that reveals their essence in all social or national characteristics, for example, "A Peasant in Trouble" by M. A. Chizhov. A work of easel sculpture can also be a psychological portrait or even a dramatic contradictory image of a hero, which is revealed to the viewer not immediately, but in the process of a long in-depth examination. These works include the statue of M. M. Antokolsky "Ivan the Terrible" (ill. 18). The sculptor depicted the Terrible Tsar in a state of painful concentration, immersed in the experiences of the atrocities committed by him.

Strong anxiety is felt in the convulsive movements of his right hand and impotence - in the heavily lowered left, head sunk into his shoulders, fixed gaze - all this simultaneously conveys the pangs of remorse, anger, uncertainty, suspicion and the boundless power of Ivan the Terrible. His complex psychological image is revealed with great force by a realist sculptor.

An easel work requires the viewer to stop in front of it for a long time, plunge into the world of feelings, experiences and characters, as if reading an interesting story, looking into the soul of the characters.

The remarkable master of easel portraiture, the sculptor F. I. Shubin, the son of a fisherman-pomor of the Arkhangelsk province, a countryman and, they say, even a relative of the great scientist and poet M. V. Lomonosov, created portraits of Catherine's nobles, conveying their appearance and characters with a sense of such truth, that, it seems, when you look at the marble busts of these people in wigs with curls, you hear their arrogant voice, imagine their walk and demeanor. These excellent works, which are artistic images and documents of the era, adorn the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the Russian Museum in Leningrad, and the Kuskovo Estate Museum near Moscow. Among the most remarkable works of Shubin is the portrait of M. V. Lomonosov (ill. 19). The genius of Russian science and art appears before us in a bust portrait (common composition for Shubin's portraits, inside which he found, however, every time new solutions), with a face that strikes with liveliness, intelligence and inquisitive energy. Lomonosov is depicted without a wig, which gives his image a business-like simplicity and democracy. The round, kind, Russian face of the scientist is illuminated by a friendly smile, apparently characteristic of Lomonosov when he was among people close to him. This is how Shubin remembered him for a long time (the portrait was executed posthumously), and this is how the great sculptor preserved his image for posterity.

The most characteristic example of easel sculpture is the statuettes of E. A. Lansere, which, due to the amusing nature of their subjects and excellent realistic modeling, almost approaching jewelry, were very popular in the second half of the 19th century. Such is his bronze group "Zaporozhets after the battle" (ill. 20). A Zaporozhian Cossack wearily wipes his saber after a battle; his horse, also tired and exhausted, bowed his head and slowly scratched his leg. Another, apparently alien, horse, taken in battle, behaves quite differently when tied on a leash. Stretching out her neck, she neighs sadly, as if complaining about her bondage, and reaches somewhere to the side, probably towards her master, who remained somewhere nearby, wounded or killed in battle. With all plastic means, posture, gesture, expressiveness of facial expressions, the sculptor reveals the state of his characters with remarkable persuasiveness.

Easel works are also diverse in Soviet sculpture. One of the outstanding easel works is the sculpture "Cobblestone - the weapon of the proletariat" by I. D. Shadr (see frontispiece), created by him in 1927, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of October. You can see this sculpture in the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery.

A young worker, bending down, breaks a heavy stone out of the pavement and is about to throw it at his oppressors. The expression of his face is full of severity and anger, his gaze is directed forward, the whole figure in its movement resembles an unfolding spring. The sculptor sculpted the forms of a body naked to the waist in large volumes, the muscles are given in motion. Thanks to his excellent knowledge of the structure of the human body, the artist arranged the figure in such a way and filled his statue with such excited expressiveness that, looking at it, the viewer immediately grasps the whole situation. So you imagine this giant worker in 1905, on the street, where he is involved in a fight with the police. And although his only weapon is a cobblestone broken out of the pavement, the young worker is filled with such strength and determination that you believe in his victory. The image of the worker is interpreted in such a way that it convinces the viewer not only of the victory of the Russian proletariat, but also of the historical inevitability of this victory, of the justice and rightness of the workers' cause.

Another remarkable work, created thirty years later, in 1957, by the young Soviet sculptor F. D. Fiveysky, is a group called "Stronger than Death" (ill. 21). It was exhibited at the International Exhibition in Moscow during the VI Festival of Youth and Students, at the All-Union Exhibition dedicated to the 40th anniversary of October, where it was noted as one of the outstanding works of modern sculpture, and at the exhibition in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Leninist Komsomol. At the 1958 World Exhibition in Brussels, Fiveysky received an Honorary Diploma for this sculpture.

There are three figures in the group. All three are fighters for their beliefs, ready to die for them, boldly looking death in the eye. Facial expressions, postures, tense figures, interpretation of the forms of strong young bodies that resist physical suffering (pay attention to the right figure of a tortured, but still stubborn man) - everything speaks of the courage of these people. The artist does not clarify the plot with excessive narrative: it is already clear to everyone that these images are inspired by the heroism of the Great Patriotic War and express the spiritual strength and resilience of the Soviet people.

Both of these works - both Shadr and Thebes - are distinguished by great psychological content and social pathos, they contain a whole world of passions and experiences and require the most careful and thoughtful consideration. Precisely because of its narrative, psychologism, dramatic expressiveness and emotional depth, easel sculpture needs appropriate conditions for exhibiting. The conditions of a museum or exhibition are best for her. This was well understood by the masters of easel sculpture themselves. Interesting in this sense, for example, are the considerations of M. M. Antokolsky, who did not want to exhibit one of his works in the yard (that is, in the open air) and wrote to I. E. Repin: "... my works require intimacy, and only then they can produce a certain desired impression ... ".

Here it is necessary to clarify the following provision: due to the insufficient development of terminology issues in the theory of fine arts, the concept of "monumentality" is often perceived as a qualitative assessment, as praise for the artist. Meanwhile, the artistry, the high quality of a work does not at all depend on its purpose - to be in a museum or on a city square. Monumentality (as well as easel painting) is an originality of the plastic thinking of this or that artist, and not a question of the quality of the created work. Creative success or failure of an artist can equally manifest itself in both monumental and easel sculpture. As pointless to argue which of the writers above is the author of famous historical novels, or the author of small but excellent stories, it is just as wrong to oppose the masters of easel and monumental art. Many great sculptors of the past were predominantly masters in the field of easel sculpture, among them the names of Michelangelo and Rodin, Shubin and Antokolsky, although their work is completely different in nature.

In this essay, the understanding of genre boundaries and other problems of sculpture is presented as they have developed, mainly in our time. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that each genre or section of sculpture (as well as other types of art) is not at all something frozen and unchanging. The history of art tells us that in every era the boundaries of genres fluctuate, shift, the genres themselves are filled with new life content, different from the previous one, and the latter gives rise to new forms, expands or narrows the boundaries of genres. However, even taking into account all the relativity of these boundaries, they cannot be considered insignificant, they cannot be abandoned or artificially violated. It is in such cases that artistic failures usually occur, when everyday scenes are unnecessarily interpreted in monumental forms, and easel figures, if they are erected on a pedestal, seem unjustifiably crushed. The loss of originality of one or another genre in sculpture or neglect of them has always accompanied the decline of this art as a whole.

A special type of easel sculpture is the so-called "small forms" sculpture. These are small figurines made of cast iron, bronze, glass, faience, terracotta, plastic, wood and other materials depicting people and animals. Particularly common are easel figurines of animals and domestic animals, performed by masters who are called animalists (from the Latin word "animal" - animal). In general, the section of animalistic sculpture has an ancient history and cannot be included only in the genre of easel sculpture. The chariot of Apollo on the pediment of the Bolshoi Theater or the lions standing on the Neva embankment are essentially an animalistic sculpture, but in its purpose it is monumental and decorative, as it is associated with the architecture of the city. But in this case, we are talking only about the type of small plasticity that adorns everyday life. Among the Soviet masters-animalists working in this area, it is necessary to name first of all V. A. Vatagin ("Walruses", ill. 22), I. S. Efimov, P. M. Kozhin ("Badger, walrus and otter ", ill. 23), A. G. Sotnikova; there are also many young and talented craftsmen. All of them are distinguished by a loving, humanly warm attitude towards the animal world, knowledge of the habits of the beast, and sometimes subtle and observant humor in the depiction of the animal. Such a sculpture of small forms also contains some features of decorativeness, since it is mainly intended to decorate the life of a person, his home. This is especially true for works made of porcelain and faience, which are usually colored with different colors, so that their expressiveness is created not only by volume, but also by color. In sculpture of small forms, satirical images, caricatures are possible. Being a large-circulation art by its nature, that is, such that a work created by an artist is then repeated (in conditions of industrial production) in thousands of copies, sculpture of small forms borders on applied art with this feature. The field of applied art is unusually wide: carpets, lace, embroidery, leather stamping, jewelry, painting and wood carving, artistic varnishes and much more, and sculpture is used here in many sections. Chased medals, plaquettes and coins, sculptural decorations on household items, jewelry sculptures made of precious metals, artistic stone, wood and bone carving - all these are various types of applied sculpture.

We will talk here about such an interesting art form as glyptic, or intaglio (the Italian word intaqlio means "stone carving"). This is the art of carving various gems and cameos from precious or semi-precious stones. They can also be considered works of applied sculpture, with the difference that they retain their uniqueness and, as a rule, are not replicated. Gems are a reverse (concave) relief carved on a stone, which gives a convex impression on a plastic material (wax, plasticine, clay). Legend attributes the creation of the first gem to a Greek carver of the 6th-5th centuries BC. e. Mnesarchus (father of the philosopher Pythagoras). He carved inscriptions and images of mythological scenes in the form of a concave relief on the side planes of a cylindrical stone; rolling it over wax or clay, he thus imprinted a relief plaquette in the shape of a rectangle. Later, gems were carved on the ends of the stone cylinder and used as a seal or a sign of ownership. Greece did not know the art of cutting precious stones, and gems were carved on carnelian, chalcedony, agate and other semi-precious stones, which were then inserted into rings.

Cameos originated around the time of Alexander the Great. They are no longer concave, like a gem, but a convex relief. For a cameo, a two-layer stone is usually chosen, so that the image that is cut in the upper layer differs in color from the background (the lower layer of the stone). The Hermitage collection contains the famous Alexandrian cameo (3rd century BC) from the collection of Duke Gonzaga (ill. 24). It is made of three-layered olive-white sardonyx and represents the portraits of Ptolemy Philadelphus II and his wife Arsinoe. In terms of craftsmanship and size, this is a real "queen of cameos". Usually cameos are small; like gems, they are used as inserts in jewelry.

Now let's talk about such important aspects of the art of sculpture as color and material.

Almost all modern sculpture (with the exception of porcelain and majolica) is made monochromatic, evenly colored (tinted gypsum, patinated bronze), or has the natural color of the material from which it is made (marble, wood, granite). We are so accustomed to the fact that the sculpture is one-color that any attempt to paint it is ready to be considered a manifestation of bad taste. Meanwhile, we must not forget that the ancient Greeks painted their sculptural works. In the era of Hellenism (III - I centuries BC), colors continued to be used. In ancient Rome, one could find a combination of white and colored marble, gilded wood and marble, although basically Roman sculpture had already become one-color. In the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque, coloring was used in wooden sculpture.

Separate attempts to color sculptural works were made in the 19th century. For example, the great Russian art critic V.V. Stasov believed that the coloring of a sculpture enhances its realistic expressiveness. There is a bust of Stasov by M. M. Antokolsky, painted by I. E. Repin. V. I. Mukhina spoke out more than once in defense of color in sculpture, which would enhance its decorative possibilities; S. T. Konenkov also likes to lightly color his marble portraits here and there. Nevertheless, it should be said that the problem of coloring a sculptural work must be approached very carefully, since the established traditions of one-color plasticity have brought up in us a certain understanding of beauty in sculpture.

An important and complex issue is the choice of material for sculpture, the connection of material with content and form, the admissibility of translating one and the same work into different materials.

Creating a sculptural work, the master thinks it in a certain material. The material, with its qualities, introduces certain shades into the characterization of the image, because "... the physical properties of paints and marble do not lie outside the field of painting and sculpture," as Karl Marx wrote ( "K. Marx and F. Engels on Art", Art Publishing House, 1938, p. 210.). We know that the 18th-century sculptor M.I. Kozlovsky created "Cupid" in marble, and the monument to Suvorov in bronze, because "bronze ringing" better conveys the military prowess and military genius of Suvorov, and rich in shades and, as it were, luminous marble - tenderness and grace of the naked childish body of the young god of love. However, recognizing the enormous role of the material in revealing the content of the image, we should not understand this too simplistic. A well-chosen material alone cannot be a guarantee of success. One thing is clear: the artist must own the material, and not the material to dominate the artist. When choosing a material for a monument, it is important to take into account the intended composition. For example, stone is characterized by solidity and simplicity of forms, while bronze is more convenient for free composition and helps to create a beautiful silhouette, but the intra-silhouette details of the form in bronze are more difficult to see, as this is hindered by the darkness of its tone. Thus, the material with its character, color, strength, weight and other properties is one of the artistic and visual means of sculpture, helping to reveal the ideological meaning of a realistic work.

To realize his idea, the sculptor chooses some solid material that is well resistant to the destructive influence of time. But at the initial stage of work, they use plastic, viscous materials (clay, wax, plasticine), which freely lend themselves to the hands of the master. These materials serve to sculpt the form by increasing the volume. By themselves, they are not suitable for maintaining their shape for a long time, so the sculpture usually made in them is then molded and cast in plaster.

Imagine the very process of creating a sculptural work. First, the sculptor sculpts a small sketch of plasticine or clay, conveying the original idea. Then he reproduces the sketch in clay in a larger size and finalizes it. A large clay sculpture is made on a frame (made of iron rods, wire and pieces of wood) mounted on a machine - a tripod with a rotating horizontal board.

A plaster, so-called "black form", consisting of two or more parts, is removed from the original sculptural work molded from clay. It exactly repeats the model, only in the reverse, concave form. In this case, the original clay model is destroyed, since, when freeing the mold, it is necessary to remove the clay from it. Then, an exact plaster reproduction of the model, the so-called "casting", is cast into shape. When the casting is released, the mold breaks and thus this so-called "black mold" is destroyed. If you need to make several plaster copies, then a second, so-called "piece form", consisting of many parts, is removed from the already obtained casting. Laid in a casing (a common tire that unites all the pieces) "lump form" makes it possible to mold and cast the following specimens from gypsum, concrete, plastic or some metal.

That is why the problem of authenticity in sculpture is fundamentally different from the problem of authenticity in painting. A copy of a painting is made by another artist “by eye”, while in sculpture it is a mechanical reproduction of the original, which is inevitably lost at the first casting. However, at the same time, according to Leonardo da Vinci, "... in terms of merits, the print is the same as the original."

A very complex and lengthy process is the casting of a sculpture from bronze and other metals.

Metals: bronze, copper, cast iron, zinc, silver and various alloys - reproduce the sculptural work, only when they themselves are brought into a liquid state. They are first melted and then poured into molds.

Metals can also be processed cold - by forging, chasing, that is, knocking out a relief with hammer blows from the inside on a sheet of metal (according to a finished, concave shape). The concept of "chasing" has another meaning: usually they are minted, that is, all the seams and irregularities that form in the process of casting from metal on the surface of the sculpture are leveled and sealed. Currently, pneumatic jackhammers are often used for coinage. Chasing was known in ancient Greece. So, the statue of Athena Parthenos by Phidias, the famous sculptor of the 5th century BC. e., was made of chased sheets of gold, depicting clothes, and ivory plates, depicting the body of the goddess. These plates were fixed on a wooden frame. This technique of combining gold and ivory was called the chrysalephantine technique.

Stone (granite, marble, limestone, sandstone) and wood are processed by chopping, carving, sculpting, that is, removing "extra" parts and "liberating" the artistic form contained inside the block. When processing stone, the sculptor uses various tools: , troyanka, scalpel, drill and mallet - an iron hammer.A fluted or rasp (file) is also used.Wood is processed with chisels of different profiles and a drill.

The translation of a plaster, clay or bronze sculptural work into marble (or stone) is carried out using the so-called dotted machine: all the bulges and recesses of the form on the plaster model are accurately measured and transferred to the marble, in which everything superfluous is removed according to these marks, cut down. This work, which requires great physical labor and skill, is now not always carried out by the sculptor himself - his assistants, marble specialists, can participate in it. But the final stage of work - surface finishing - is always done by the author himself.

Ceramic sculpture is made from various clays and fired in special kilns. Majolica, porcelain and faience are covered with paints, multi-colored or colorless glaze (glaze) even before firing, and are also fired. In museums, you probably have seen small figurines made of a material called "biscuit". This is white unglazed porcelain with a matte finish.

The creation of a sculptural work, even a small one, requires a huge expenditure of creative energy, funds, materials and skills not only of the author himself, but also of marble makers (if the sculpture is translated into marble) and casters (if it is cast in bronze).

Architects, excavators, and workers - several dozen people, as well as institutions in charge of art, design and urban improvement, participate in the creation of a large-scale work, for example, a monument.

Who among us did not admire the ingenious creation of the 18th century sculptor E.-M. Falcone - a monument to Peter I in Leningrad? He inspired Pushkin to create the poem "The Bronze Horseman".

How was this monument created?

Falcone worked on it for over twelve years. Having made a model that corresponded to his plan, he began to search for a natural stone block for the pedestal. In a swamp on Lakhta, in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, a suitable stone more than five meters high was finally found. With incredible difficulty, this "thunder-stone", as it was called, was taken out of the swamp, transported across the bay and along the Neva and unloaded on Senate Square. The work on the delivery and installation of the stone in place took a whole year and a half! A medal was issued in honor of this event.

The casting of the equestrian statue also took a long time. The sculptor himself directly supervised the work, having previously studied the foundry business, which was previously unknown to him on such a scale. During the casting of the statue, an accident occurred: molten bronze gushed out of the burnt-out form, a fire started. Falcone himself was wounded, and only the resourcefulness of the artillery foundry worker Mikhail Khailov, who courageously, risking his life, closed the crack, saved the whole thing. In 1778, the decoration of the statue was completed. However, the opening of the monument took place only in 1782, since the intrigues of the courtiers of Catherine II forced Falcone to leave Russia, and the construction of the monument was already completed by the Russian sculptor F. G. Gordeev.

Let us recall one more work - the sculptural group "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" by V. I. Mukhina, which we have already examined. It was created, albeit in a shorter time, but with the expenditure of even more labor and with the participation of a huge team. For this group, according to the plan of the architect B. M. Iofan, the author of the project for the building of the Soviet pavilion at the exhibition in Paris, a completely new material was chosen and had never been used in sculpture before - chromium-nickel (stainless) steel. V. I. Mukhina said that this steel in sculpture "turned out to be an absolutely exceptional material in terms of color, due to the fact that its surface is colorless-silver, it perceives all shades of lighting and, as it were, grows into space." The height of this group was huge - 24.5 m. Due to the tight deadlines of the government assignment, Mukhina managed to sculpt a model only 1/15 of the given size. From this model, engineers and designers, together with the author and her assistants - sculptors Z. G. Ivanova and N. G. Zelenskaya - had to make giant wooden forms of individual parts of the statues. Sheets of steel were knocked out in these forms, which were then strengthened on a metal frame. Particular difficulties were in the fact that each detail of the sculpture was increased fifteen times, but any mistake could increase fifteen times!

Wooden forms - "troughs", as the workers called them - gave a reverse relief: everything that was convex on the statues became concave, the sculptors had to get used to feeling and correcting the volume, as they say, "inside out". And these forms were of extraordinary size: "the cross-section of the arm at the shoulder," as Mukhina recalled, "served as an inlet for a whole team of carpenters who worked in the form of a female torso ..."

When the gigantic frame, installed in the yard of the plant of the Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering, began to be "dressed" with ready-made knocked-out steel parts, new difficulties arose. Here is how Mukhin describes this moment of work:

"February and March this year were unkind, there were almost no sunny days - either frost, or rain, or blizzard. The frame and scaffolding were icy, but two giants were steadily growing and covered with steel. A slender handsome "derrick", a crane, stood His mighty iron arrow lifted the pieces of the statue one by one... The legs fell into place, the torsos were put on, the arms floated through the air and fused with the body, the heads were strengthened, and, finally, two arms with crossed hammer and sickle crowned the front facade statues.

But there was still the most important and difficult part - a scarf flying through the air; the huge arc had only two points of contact with the statue; she retreated between two torsos, and, flying along a horizontal circle 30 m in diameter with a reach of 10 m, was grabbed by the girl's hand. The scarf-holding farm, extraordinarily elaborate and whimsical, had no precedent in the past; the honor of its construction belongs to the engineers Dzerzhkovich and Parishioner. Several times this "squiggle", as it was called at the factory, was removed from its place, the fastenings were checked again and again and its power increased. Mounting it and "dressing" it with steel were the hardest parts of the job.

The deadlines were running out, the work went on day and night, no one left the work site to go home... The awareness of the importance of the task entrusted to us and the wonderful Soviet pride made these people work 3-4 shifts in a row, work in a blizzard, on icy forests... ". So, in a record short time, in just over three months, this wonderful work, innovative in technique and artistic image, was created. When the statue was assembled in Paris, then, in addition to Mukhina, her assistants and five engineers, over sixty workers again worked .

In this way, many large works of monumental and monumental-decorative sculpture are created, which are destined to glorify their homeland, its heroes, and at the same time those who created these wonders of art for centuries.

In this brief essay, we have sought to show how significant the role of the art of sculpture in our life is, what various tasks it performs, embodying large and complex thoughts and feelings, how diverse the art forms and materials used by the sculptor, and how much creative effort and money are invested. in the creation of sculptures.

Mastering the knowledge and understanding of this or that type of art enriches a person, gives him genuine joy, makes him appreciate works of art, keep them as the fruits of inspired creativity, as the cultural values of the people.

Sculpture is the art of creating volumetric works of art by carving, carving, modeling or casting, forging, chasing.

There are two main types of sculpture: round (statue, sculptural group, figurine, torso, bust, etc.), which is freely placed in space and usually requires a circular view, and relief, where the image is located on a plane that forms its background.

The first and, perhaps, the main one is the section of monumental sculpture, which includes one-figure and multi-figure monuments, monuments in memory of outstanding events and busts-monuments. All of them are installed in public places, most often in the open air. They are always generalized in design and artistic form, they are distinguished by their large size and durability of the material. Monumental sculpture serves the cause of propaganda of the most important transformative social ideas. The monument always appeals to the broad masses of spectators and affirms a positive image. City monuments commemorate those people who have gained universal fame. It is impossible to erect a monument in the city square to a person who is close only to the sculptor himself - his wife, brother, friend, while it is quite possible to create their portraits for an exhibition or museum in the easel plan. It is here that the watershed between easel and monumental art passes.

Monumental art includes: - Monuments and monuments; - sculptural, picturesque, mosaic compositions for buildings; - stained-glass windows; - urban and park sculpture; - fountains, etc.

This monumental composition was created by the famous sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich. On a high pedestal, a Soviet soldier clutches a punishing sword in one hand, and carefully picked up a little German girl with the other. This image of a warrior-liberator with a child in his arms has become a symbol of the great feat of Soviet soldiers and is located in Treptow Park in Berlin. And the prototype of this image of a soldier was Nikolai Ivanovich Massalov. In the yellowed newspaper photo, you see him already a war veteran, an elderly man with a girl in his arms.

monumental easel decorative sculpture

Bronze sculpture "The Bronze Horseman" (St. Petersburg), 1768--1770 (Etienne Falcone)

Concrete sculpture Motherland (Volgograd), 1959--1967 (E. V. Vuchetich, N. V. Nikitin)

The role of the pedestal is very important in the artistic conception of any monument. This is not just a figure stand. This is precisely the pedestal on which the hero is raised for his services to the people. The pedestal must correspond to the architectural environment, character, style and scale of the monument as a whole. Often its faces are decorated with reliefs, which reveal the hero's historical significance more fully. The most accepted ratio of the figure to the pedestal is 1:1, although there are other proportions.

A significant role in the installation of the monument is played by its position in relation to the cardinal points, which determines the nature of its illumination at one time or another of the day.

A special section of monumental sculpture is memorial sculpture (tombstone), which is installed on graves in memory of the merits and moral virtues of the dead. The history of art knows a huge number of types of tombstones - from the majestic Egyptian pyramids to the modest Russian wooden cross in a rural cemetery. If the city monument seems to appeal to everyone, then the tombstone - most often only to a person who has come close. The shape of the headstone is extremely different. This is either a portrait of the deceased (statue, bust, relief), or allegorical figures of geniuses, mourners, sometimes also accompanying the portrait image of the deceased, or, finally, it is simply the architecture of the so-called "small forms", sometimes decorated with an urn, draperies or various allegorical signs, symbolizing the short duration of human life.

Let's get acquainted now with a monumental and decorative sculpture. It can be found literally at every turn. It is closely connected with architecture, and more broadly, with the environment in general, and includes all types of sculptural decoration of buildings, both inside and out: statues on city bridges, groups on building facades, in niches or in front of a portal, reliefs, etc. Monumental and decorative sculpture solves great ideological and figurative tasks. Sculpture develops and clarifies the idea and purpose of a structure, while at the same time enhancing the sound of architectural forms (sometimes in correspondence, and sometimes in contrast).

A brilliant example of architectural and sculptural synthesis in the art of socialist realism was the Soviet pavilion at the World Exhibition of 1937 in Paris, built according to the project of B. M. Iofan and crowned with a sculptural group by V. I. Mukhina, which has become famous since then. The whole building is permeated with movement, conveyed in the growth of horizontal forms, turning in the main central part into the vertical of the soaring pylon. The "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman" group, mounted on the roof of the pylon, consistently repeats this movement in its composition: first, forward, and then upward. Throwing up the hammer and sickle high, young and beautiful giants march forward together - a worker and a collective farm woman, personifying the entire Soviet people. The compositional axis of the group is a powerful diagonal, which gives this movement swiftness. With these means, the sculptor vividly expressed the idea of the nationwide movement of the Soviet people forward towards communism. Concretized by plot and revealed in the sculptural group, this movement, as the main melody (I would like to say: "the march of the victorious people"), receives preparation and support, as if in an orchestral instrumentation, in the sound of the architectural forms of the entire building.

The Museum and Exhibition Complex "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" is located in a giant pedestal of the famous statue of the sculptor Vera Mukhina and architect Boris Iofan, which was created in 1935-1937 for the Soviet pavilion at the World Exhibition in Paris, and then found its place at the northern entrance to the All-Russian Exhibition Center . In October 2003, work began on its reconstruction. In autumn 2009, she reappeared at the All-Russian Exhibition Center. The USSR pavilion was located on the territory of the Trocadero park along the Seine River embankment and represented an elongated volume 160 meters long, the height of the main building (pedestal for sculpture) was 32 meters. The uniqueness of the constructive solution of the building was that it was faced with Gazgan marble of various shades. A wide front staircase led to the main entrance, flanked by four-meter propylaea. Bas-reliefs on the theme of the brotherhood of the peoples of the USSR, made by the sculptor I.M. Chaikov, were placed on them. The entrance to the pavilion was decorated with the coat of arms of the USSR by V.A. Favorsky. The pavilion was crowned with a sculpture of a Worker and a Collective Farm Woman, made according to the project of V.I. Mukhina from chrome-plated stainless steel. It was the first time such material was used for sculpture. The frame of the statue was made at the TsNIIMASH pilot plant under the guidance of Professor P.N. Lvov. The height of the statue to the end of the sickle was 23.5 meters, the length of the worker's arm was 8.5 meters, the height of his head was more than 2 meters, the thickness of the steel sheets was 1 mm. The total weight of the sculpture was 75 tons.

In monumental and decorative sculpture, as well as in monumental sculpture, the proportionality of the scale and the ratio of the volume of the monument and the space in which it is placed are of great importance. At the same time, the sculptor needs to keep in mind not only the mathematical scale and the correct relationship with the proportions of architecture, but also the possibilities of human vision and perception. Garden and park sculpture also belongs to monumental and decorative sculpture: statues, busts, fountains, decorative vases, etc. This sculpture is closely connected with the landscape of the park, harmonizing well either with a green background or with the colors of autumn foliage.

Easel sculpture is called so because it is installed on a machine or stand and is intended for exhibitions, museums, public and residential premises (the latter even gave rise to the special concept of "cabinet sculpture"). Easel sculpture is viewed at a close distance, regardless of its environment, neighboring works or interior architecture. In terms of size, easel sculpture is usually either less than natural size, or slightly exceeds it. This is done to avoid depicting a life-size person, as it can look like a dummy, which is unartistic and unpleasant. Easel sculpture in content is extremely diverse. Easel sculpture covers a very wide range of subjects. An easel work requires the viewer to stop in front of it for a long time, plunge into the world of feelings, experiences and characters, as if reading an interesting story, looking into the soul of the characters.

Bust of M. V. Lomonosov. Sculptor F.I. Shubin. Biscuit. Copy. 1792. Museum of M. V. Lomonosov. St. Petersburg.

By and large, sculptures can be made from anything. Classical sculpture - marble sculpture. It was this magnificent material - luxurious in appearance and easy to process - that was used by the artists of antiquity and the Renaissance. But times are changing, and at the beginning of the twentieth century, sculptors began to carve their creations mainly from granite. It's not that the world's marble reserves have run out. It's just that this stone cannot stand modern ecology and is steadily destroyed under the influence of the environment. Modern urban and park sculpture is most often carved from granite or cast from metal - mainly bronze or other alloys resistant to corrosion. The most important material for sculptures, along with marble, is bronze; marble is most suitable for reproducing delicate, ideal, mostly feminine forms; bronze - to convey the forms of courageous, energetic. Moreover, it is a particularly convenient substance in the case when the work is colossal or depicts a strong movement: figures animated by such movement, when executed in bronze, do not need supports for legs, arms and other parts, which are necessary in similar figures carved brittle stone. Finally, for works intended to stand outdoors, especially in northern climates, bronze is preferred because not only does it not deteriorate from atmospheric influences, but also receives, as a result of its oxidation, a greenish or dark coating that is pleasant to the eye on its surface, called patina. A bronze statue is made either by pouring molten metal into a pre-prepared form, or knocked out with a hammer from metal plates.

One of the ways to produce bronze sculptures is the hollow bronze casting method. Its secret lies in the fact that the initial form for the figurine is made in wax, then a clay layer is applied and the wax is melted. And only then the metal is poured. Bronze casting is the collective name for this entire process.

As for the knock-out work (the so-called work of repussy), it consists in the following: a sheet of metal is taken, it is softened by heating on fire and, striking the inside of the sheet with a hammer, give it the required convexity, first in a rough form, and then, with gradual continuation of the same work, with all the details, according to the existing model. This technique, for which the artist must have special dexterity and long experience, is used mainly when performing bas-reliefs of a not particularly large size; in the manufacture of large and complex works, statues, groups and high reliefs, it is now resorted to only when it is necessary that they have a relatively small weight. In these cases, the work is knocked out in parts, which are then connected with screws and fasteners into one whole. Since the 19th century, punching and casting have in many cases been replaced by the deposition of metal into molds using electroforming. For Russian-Soviet parks, wooden sculptures are traditional, headed by the national symbol - a clubfoot bear. Wood, as a material for sculptures, was used in ancient times; but wood sculpture was especially respected in the Middle Ages and in the early days of the Renaissance in Germany, endowing temples with painted and gilded statues of saints, intricate altar decorations, figured zhyuby, pulpits and seats for choirs. For such handicrafts, a soft, easily cut linden or beech tree is used. Noble metals, as well as ivory, are used, due to their high cost, exclusively for small sculptures. However, during the flourishing period of ancient Greek art, ivory also found its use in large, even colossal works - in the so-called chryso-elephantine sculptures. Finally, with regard to hard stones, it should be noted that since ancient times they have played an important role in small plastic works, such as cameos and gems. For such works, onyx is most often taken, which allows the artist to obtain very picturesque effects due to the multi-colored layers of this stone.

Artistic casting of sculptures according to models in earthen forms. This is the simplest way to obtain castings of sculptures. The sculpture template can be made of any material - plasticine, gypsum (the most acceptable and convenient materials), wood, plastic, metal. The sculpture itself can serve as a model; if it is necessary to make the same one (to restore its original appearance), then the missing parts are built up on the restored or restored sculpture with plasticine according to the initial sample.

Materials for making models of sculptures:

1. Plasticine, plaster, plastic, wood.
2. Wax, paraffin, stearin; technical gelatin, wood glue.
3. Polystyrene (polystyrene) - cellular plastic.

To obtain several identical models of wax sculptures, an elastic form is used. In order to replicate wax models for casting identical sculptures or details of artistic works, for example, cast ornaments for an artistic fence, a rubber mold is made. Sculptural works made of metal - colored, black or precious - as the completion of the entire manufacturing process, they definitely need a decorative finish. Moreover, it not only improves the appearance of a sculpture, an openwork or forged grate of a fireplace, a chased relief or artistic casting, but also protects works created in any technique from the effects of the external environment, prolongs their age. There are many recipes for applying the thinnest protective coatings of different colors, which have their own technology. The choice of one or another type of decorative finish of a metal sculptural product is dictated by the qualities of the metal itself, as well as the purpose of this or that product.

- Soft substances (clay, wax, plasticine, etc.) are used for modeling; while the most common tools are wire rings and stacks, "plastic".
- Solid substances (various types of stone, wood, etc.) are processed by cutting (carving) or carving, removing unnecessary parts of the material and gradually releasing, as it were, a three-dimensional form hidden in it; for processing a stone block, a hammer (mallet) and a set of metal tools (tongue, scarpel, troyanka, etc.) are used, for processing wood - mainly shaped chisels and drills.
- Substances that can change from liquid to solid (various metals, gypsum, concrete, plastic, etc.) are used to cast sculptures using specially made molds.
- Electroplating is also used to reproduce sculpture in metal. In its unmelted form, metal for sculpture is processed through forging and embossing.
- To create ceramic sculptures, special types of clay are used, which is usually covered with painting or colored glaze and fired in special kilns.

Undertaking any work, the sculptor, first of all, sculpts in a small form from wax or wet clay a model that conveys the idea of his future work. Sometimes, especially in the case when the intended sculpture must be large and complex, the artist has to make another, larger and more detailed model. Then, guided by the layout or model, he starts working on the work itself. If a statue is to be executed, then a board is taken for its foot, and a steel frame is approved on it, curved and fitted in such a way that not a single part of it extends beyond the future figure, and he himself served as a skeleton for it; in addition, in those places where the body of the figure should have a significant thickness, wooden crosses are attached to the frame with steel wire; in the same parts of the figure that protrude into the air, for example, in the fingers, hair, hanging folds of clothes, wooden crosses are replaced by twisted wire or hemp, saturated with oil and rolled up in the form of bundles. Having placed such a skeleton of a statue on a tripod, stationary or horizontally rotating machine, called a filly, the artist begins to overlay the frame with stucco clay so that a figure is obtained that is in general terms similar to the model; then, removing in one place the excessively applied clay, adding its lack in another, and finishing the figure part by part, he gradually brings it to the desired resemblance to nature. For this work, he is served with palm or steel instruments of various shapes, called stacks, but even more so with the fingers of his own hands. During the entire duration of modeling, it is necessary, in order to avoid the appearance of cracks in the drying clay, to constantly maintain its humidity and for this, from time to time, moisten or sprinkle the figure with water, and, interrupting work until the next day, wrap it with a wet canvas. Similar techniques are also used in the production of reliefs of considerable size - with the only difference being that instead of the frame, large steel nails and bolts are used to strengthen the clay, driven into a plank shield or a shallow box that serves as the base of the relief. Having completely completed the modeling, the sculptor takes care of making an accurate photograph of his work from a material stronger than clay, and for this purpose resorts to the help of a molder. This latter removes from the clay original the so-called black form of alabaster, and a plaster cast of the work is cast on it. If the artist wants to have a cast not in one, but in several copies, then they are cast in the so-called pure form, the manufacture of which is much more difficult than the previous one.

The creation of not a single more or less large work of sculpture, whether it be stone or metal, is indispensable without preliminary modeling of the clay original and casting of its plaster cast. True, there were sculptors, such as Michelangelo, who worked directly from marble; but imitating their example requires extraordinary technical experience from the artist, and yet he runs the risk of falling into irreparable mistakes at every step with such bold work.

With the receipt of a plaster cast, an essential part of the sculptor's artistic task can be considered completed: all that remains is to reproduce the cast, depending on one's desire, in stone (marble, sandstone, volcanic tuff, etc.) or in metal (bronze, zinc, steel, etc.). .), which is already semi-handicraft work. In the manufacture of marble and stone statues in general, the surface of the plaster original is covered with a whole network of dots, which, with the help of a compass, a plumb line and a ruler, are repeated on the block to be finished. Guided by this punctuation, the artist's assistants, under his supervision, remove unnecessary parts of the block using a chisel, chisel and hammer; in some cases, they use the so-called dotted frame, in which mutually intersecting threads indicate those parts that should be beaten off. Thus, from an unworked block, little by little the general form of the statue arises; it is more and more finely finished under the hands of experienced workers, until, finally, the artist himself gives it the final finish, and polishing with pumice gives the various parts of the surface of the work a possible resemblance to what nature itself represents in this respect. For a greater approximation to it in optical terms, the ancient Greeks and Romans rubbed their marble statues with wax and even lightly painted them and gilded them.

Dictionary

Acroterium is a sculptural decoration placed over the corners of the pediment of an architectural structure built using a classical order.

Alabama is the name of two different minerals: gypsum (calcium diquasulfate) and calcite (calcium carbonate)

Biga - a sculptural image on a building or on the arch of a chariot drawn by a pair of horses.

Bromnes are a series of double or multicomponent copper-based alloys, where the main alloying component is tin, beryllium, manganese, aluminum or another element, sometimes with the addition of additional components - zinc, lead, phosphorus, etc. However, alloys cannot be called bronze copper with zinc (this is brass) and nickel (copper-nickel alloys).

Bust - a sculpture depicting the chest, shoulders and head of a person, usually on a stand.

Electroplating is a department of applied electrochemistry that describes the physical and electrochemical processes that occur during the deposition of metal cations on any type of cathode. Electroplating is also understood as a set of technological methods, regime parameters and equipment used in the electrochemical deposition of any metals on a given substrate.

Gemma is a product of glyptics, a jewelry stone, usually round or oval in shape, with carved images. There are gems with incised images (intaglia) and with bas-relief convex images (cameos).

A chisel is a carpentry or carpentry tool designed for gouging holes, nests, grooves, etc. It usually looks like an oblong metal bar mounted on a handle with a sharpened working end. A metal ring must be installed on the handle to prevent splitting of the handle from impacts. When working, the chisel is usually held with one hand, applying the working end to the surface to be treated and with the other hand striking with a hammer on the other end.

Cameo - a kind of gem, a piece of jewelry or decoration made in the technique of bas-relief on precious or semi-precious stones or on a sea shell. The opposite of intaglio, which is done using the technique of deep relief.

Mascaron - a relief sculptural detail made in the form of a head or mask. The mascaron is placed on the keystones of the arches of door and window openings, on consoles, walls, etc.

The monument is a significant monument of artificial origin.

Monumental sculpture - these are monuments, monuments, sculptural complexes that either complement and enrich architecture or independently express and promote a monumental image, but not without the help of architecture (pedestal, organization of a platform around a monument).

MONUMENTAL DECORATIVE SCULPTURE is a kind of sculpture, which by its nature is a synthetic art, closely related to architecture and natural landscape: it decorates facades (porticos, niches, parapets) and interiors of buildings, is introduced into the composition of bridges, triumphal arches, fountains, small architectural forms (grottoes, gazebos, decorative structures), is included in the natural environment of gardens and parks.

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed only of calcite CaCO3.

An obelisk is a tetrahedral, tapering column at the top, topped with a sharp point in the form of a pyramid.

Omnix is a mineral, a chalcedony (fibrous) variety of quartz, in which minor impurities create plane-parallel colored layers. The striped-colored variety of marble is often referred to as Mexican onyx or Algerian onyx.

Monument - a work of art created to commemorate people or historical events: a sculptural group, a statue, a bust, a slab with a relief or an inscription, a triumphal arch, a column, an obelisk, a tomb, a tombstone.

A monument is a structure designed to commemorate people, events, objects, sometimes animals, as well as literary and cinematic characters. Most often, the monument does not carry any other function, except for the memorial. The most common types of monuments are a sculptural group, a statue, a bust, a slab with a relief or an inscription, a triumphal arch, a column, an obelisk, etc.

Pemmza is a porous volcanic glass formed as a result of the release of gases during the rapid solidification of acidic and medium lavas.

Hemp - fibers of hemp stalks. It is obtained by long (up to 2 years) soaking the hemp mass in running water.

A pedestal is either an architectural foundation for a piece of sculpture (a pedestal); - or a stand on which the work of easel sculpture is installed.

Protoma - a sculptural image of the front of a bull, horse, other animal or person.

A pedestal is an artistically designed base for a sculpture, vase, obelisk, or column.

Pedestal - the same as the pedestal; an artistically designed base on which works are installed - a sculpture (statue, sculptural group, bust), vase, obelisk, stele, etc.

The cutter is a cutting tool designed for processing parts of various sizes, shapes, accuracy and materials. It is the main tool used in turning, planing and grooving work (and on related machines).

Relief is a type of fine art, one of the main types of sculpture, in which everything depicted is created using volumes protruding above the background plane. It is performed with the use of contractions in perspective, usually viewed from the front. Relief is thus the opposite of round sculpture. A figurative or ornamental image is made on a plane of stone, clay, metal, wood using modeling, carving and embossing.

Terrain types:

- Bas-relief - a type of sculpture in which a convex image protrudes above the background plane, as a rule, by no more than half the volume. High relief - a type of sculpture in which a convex image protrudes above the background plane by more than half the volume.
- Counter-relief - a type of in-depth relief, which is a "negative" of a bas-relief. It is used in seals and in forms (matrices) to create bas-relief images and intaglios.
- Koilanaglyph - a type of in-depth relief, i.e. contour cut on the plane. It was mainly used in the architecture of Ancient Egypt, as well as in ancient Eastern and ancient glyptics.

Sculptumra is a type of fine art, the works of which have a three-dimensional form and are made of solid or plastic materials - in the broad sense of the word, the art of creating an image of a person, animals and other objects from clay, wax, stone, metal, wood, bone and other materials nature in tactile, bodily forms.

Statuette - a small sculpture made of wood, bone, clay, stone, metal and other materials, depicting anthropomorphic images, animal figures, inanimate and abstract objects. It refers to sculpture of small forms, that is, no more than 80 cm high and no more than 1 m long.

Stammtuya is one of the main types of round sculpture, which is a three-dimensional image of a human figure or animal. Statues can be placed in front of the facade of the building, in special niches on the pedestal, on the eaves at the corners of the pediment, or in special garden pavilions.

Stela - a vertically standing stone slab with an inscription, relief or pictorial image.

Torso - the torso of a person, as well as a sculptural image of the torso.

Chrysoelephantine Sculpture - a sculpture of gold and ivory. It was characteristic of ancient art (mostly colossal statues of the gods). It consisted of a wooden frame, on which ivory plates were pasted, conveying a naked body; clothes, weapons, hair were made of gold.

SCULPTURE(lat. sculpture, from sculpo - cut, carve), sculpture, plastic - a type of fine art, the works of which have a three-dimensional and tangible form.

Sculpture is divided into round, freely located in space, and relief, in which volumetric images are located on a plane.

Sculpture can be divided into types − easel, monumental, monumental and decorative sculpture, small plastic. The real world is reproduced in sculpture, but the main object of the image is a person, through whose external appearance his inner world, character, psychological state, as well as the human body, the transmission of movement (head, bust, torso, statue, sculptural group) are transmitted. Images of the animal world make up the animalistic genre of sculpture.

The expressiveness of sculpture is achieved through the construction of basic plans, light planes, volumes, masses, rhythmic relationships. Of great importance are the clarity and integrity of the silhouette. Textured surface treatment and details complement the expressiveness of the plastic solution of the sculptural image. The sculpture materials are stone (marble, limestone, sandstone, granite, etc.), wood, bone, metal (bronze, copper, iron, etc.), clay and baked clay (ceramics - terracotta, majolica, faience, porcelain, etc.). ), gypsum.

The complex and multi-stage technology of sculpture is associated with great physical labor. Various technical methods are used - modeling, carving, carving, casting, chasing, forging, welding, various materials are used - stone, metal, wood, clay, gypsum, ceramics, glass, plasticine, wax, synthetic polymer compounds. In addition to the author's work of the artist (molding, carving, processing of hard materials), an important role in sculpture is played by the auxiliary work of craftsmen (cutting stone, molding, casting, chasing, etc.).

One of the oldest art forms. Various forms of sculpture existed among all the peoples of the world for a long time: female figures and Neolithic reliefs ( Venus of Savignano(Modena), 10-8 thousand BC). Developed forms of sculpture are known among the peoples of the Ancient East ( Queen Nefertiti, 14th c. BC, Berlin State Museums; reliefs from the palace of Ashurnasirapal II at Nimrud, 883–859 BC, London, British Museum), Ancient America. An important stage in the history of sculpture is antiquity, the ideals of which were the creation of the image of a harmoniously developed person (Myron, Phidias, Poliklet, Praxiteles, Skopas).

European sculpture of the Middle Ages existed in close connection with architecture. In the 15th–19th centuries sculpture becomes freer in compositional solutions, creates images of a person that are complex in terms of psychological and plastic concepts (Donatello, Michelangelo, L. Bernini, A. Houdon, O. Rodin, F.I. Shubin). In the 20th century the methods and materials of sculpture are updated, sculptors (A. Mayol, A. Bourdelle, G. Moore, S.T. Konenkov, V.I. ensembles, museums and outdoor sculpture complexes, etc.).

One of the types of sculpture, visible from all sides, is called a round sculpture (statue or composition). Bypass is one of the most important conditions for the perception of round plasticity. In order to view the three-dimensional volume of the sculpture, to imagine the solution of the statue as a whole, or to see all the figures of the sculptural group, the viewer needs to walk around the sculptural work. A feature of the round sculpture is that the image can be perceived differently from different points of view: new impressions are born that reveal the model in continuously changing silhouettes. Plastic expressiveness acquires a special power of influence through the use of transitions of light and shadow. Myron Discus thrower(c. 450 BC, Rome, National Roman Museum) (), Venus de Milo(c. 130–120 BC, Paris, Louvre) (), Donatello St. George(1415–1417, Florence, National Museum), Michelangelo Pieta(1498–1501, Rome, St. Peter's), L. Bernini Ecstasy of St. Teresa(1645–1652, Rome, Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria)

Relief (fr. relief) is a type of sculpture in which the depicted figures and objects are placed on a plane and protrude from it. The background of the relief can be protruding images (landscape, architecture). Relief images are connected with the plane and do not reproduce the full volume of the depicted body. Masters of relief often use the means and possibilities of painting and graphics. Often when creating reliefs, color is used. The relief appeared in Ancient Egypt, Assyria, was further developed in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, in medieval Europe, during the Renaissance, and exists at the present time. L. Ghiberti, doors of the Baptistery in Florence (1404–1424) (), bas-relief by F. Ryud Marseillaise(1832, Paris, Arc de Triomphe) ().

A variety of convex relief is bas-relief(French bas-relief - low relief) - low relief, in which the images protrude above the background plane by no more than half of their total volume. The walls of buildings, pedestals of monuments, steles, memorial plaques, coins, medals, cameos adorn the bas-relief.

Another type of convex relief is high relief(French haut-relief - high relief) - high relief, in which the image rises above the background plane by more than half of its volume and can be perceived as an almost round sculpture, slightly in contact with the plane. Convex relief, bas-relief and high relief has been known since the Paleolithic era, it is widespread in the art of the Ancient East, antiquity and the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and in subsequent eras as part of the architectural decoration.

A variety of bas-relief, common in the Renaissance, is scenic relief, in which the figures, objects are strongly flattened, and the background - the landscape, architecture - is outlined in a weak relief. The picturesque relief occupies an intermediate position between sculpture and painting and is similar to a painting, because. it can use perspective cuts and painterly effects (sunbeams, clouds, waves). The difference between strongly and weakly protruding images in pictorial relief is small, an almost graphic linear drawing plays an important role. Picturesque relief was often used in reliefs to convey a distant plan, but sometimes an image was made in the way of picturesque relief, including foreground figures (relief of the altar of the Church of San Antonio in Padua, 1446-1450, Donatello).

Relief in which the image is located in several spatial plans , called multifaceted relief. This makes it possible to depict many figures against an architectural and landscape background, which in turn visually recreates the space going deep into the space using perspective cuts. The multifaceted relief uses light and shadow contrasts, falling shadows, elements of architecture and landscape to create the illusion of space. "Paradise" eastern gates of the baptistery in Florence (1425-1452, L. Ghiberti).

The type of bas-relief in which the image rises above the background to a minimum degree is called flattened relief. Requiring special virtuosity, subtlety of spatial relationships, flattened relief originated in Italy and was highly developed in sculpture in the 15th century. (Donatello).

The relief can protrude above the background plane (convex relief) or deepen into it. Recessed Relief has two varieties: counter-relief - a kind of negative of a convex relief (on intaglio seals it serves to produce prints in the form of a miniature bas-relief), and koilanaglyph (en creux - French "hollow relief"), with a deep contour and convex modeling. Recessed relief is found in the architecture of Ancient Egypt, on ancient Eastern and ancient intaglios, which served mainly as seals. Intaglio (it. intaglio - carving) - a stone with a carved in-depth relief, as opposed to a cameo, which had a convex image and was an ornament

Easel sculpture is a kind of sculpture that has independent significance. It includes various types of sculptural composition (head, bust, figure, group), various genres (portrait, plot, symbolic or allegorical composition, animalistic genre). Easel sculpture is designed to be perceived from a close distance, not connected with the subject environment and architecture. The usual size of an easel sculpture is close to life size. Easel sculpture is characterized by narrative, psychologism, the language of metaphor and symbol is often used. One of the most developed genres of easel sculpture is the portrait (bust, portrait statues, relief), which provides a unique opportunity for perception - viewing sculpture from different points of view, which provides great opportunities for the multilateral characterization of the person being portrayed. The sculptural portrait has been known since ancient Egypt ( Statue of Scribe Kai, ser. 3 thousand BC ., Paris, Louvre).

Monumental sculpture is one of the oldest types of sculpture, which had a cult, memorial purpose. Monumental sculpture includes one-figure and multi-figure compositions, equestrian monuments, memorial ensembles, monuments in memory of outstanding people and events, commemorative statues, busts, reliefs. Located in an urban or natural environment, it organizes an architectural ensemble, organically enters the natural landscape, decorates squares, architectural complexes, creating spatial compositions that may include architectural structures, memorial forms (triumphal arch, triumphal column, obelisk, slab with relief and inscriptions), monumental sculpture. Monumental sculpture, designed to be perceived from great distances, is made of durable materials (granite, bronze, copper, steel) and is installed in large open spaces (on natural elevations, on artificially created mounds). An active silhouette and a generalized interpretation of volumes are of great importance in monumental sculpture. Marcus Aurelius, 161-180, Rome, Capitol Square; P.K.Klodt horse tamers, St. Petersburg, Anichkov bridge, 1849-1850.

The type of sculpture closely associated with architecture and natural landscape is called monumental-decorative sculpture. She is engaged in the design of facades and interiors of buildings, bridges, triumphal arches, fountains, small architectural forms, included in the natural environment of gardens and parks. Sculpture can serve as a support in an architectural structure (atlantes, caryatids) or decorate buildings (pediments, metopes, portals, stucco ceilings, panels). Park sculpture interacts with the natural environment, which determines its lyrical sound and attraction to allegorical images. Monumental and monumental-decorative sculpture is closely related to architecture.

Sculpture, being a three-dimensional art, requires an appropriate organization of the surrounding space, the architectural environment. The result is a synthesis of architecture and sculpture, which greatly enhances both the ideological and artistic power of the work. The issues of synthesis with architecture are one of the most important in the understanding and perception of monumental and monumental-decorative sculpture. A unique example of a highly artistic synthesis of architecture and sculpture is the Athenian Acropolis (450–410 BC) (), the palace ensemble of Versailles (). Monumental and decorative sculpture began to develop from antiquity: Marcus Aurelius(161-180, Rome), Michelangelo David(1501–1504, Florence), E.M. Falcone Peter I(1766–1778, St. Petersburg), V.I. Mukhina Worker and a collective farmer(1935–1937, Moscow).

Small plastic, small plastic, sculpture of small forms - the most common type of sculpture. Small plastic originated at the dawn of human society, it is found during excavations of the most ancient settlements: baked clay products, wood carving, bone, stone. Small-form plastic arts are small works of genre and household subjects, portrait figurines, etc., made in many copies and designed for wide distribution. Small plastic includes both round sculptures and reliefs: decorative medallions, commemorative medals, glyptics. Glyptika (Greek glyptike, from glypho - I cut out) is the art of carving on precious and semiprecious stones, on glass and ivory. Carved stones (gems) served as amulets, seals, decorations ( Cameo Gonzaga, 3 in. BC, St. Petersburg, Hermitage). Small figurines include antique terracotta figurines, bronze figurines, Japanese netsuke (since the 17th century), porcelain figurines, and folk toys.

The main genres of sculpture (French genre - genus, type) are portrait, everyday sculpture, thematic composition (two-figure, multi-figure composition), animalistic genre.

One of the oldest genres of art in sculpture is portrait - an image of a person or a group of people, giving an idea of the appearance, the inner world of the person being portrayed. There are certain generalizations in this genre: a portrait-character, showing the natural properties of a person; a portrait-type that characterizes a certain type of people; portrait-mood, giving an emotional description of a person; portrait-symbol. The portrait in sculpture is subdivided into the following forms: head, bust, half-figure, generational image, figure. A bust (fr. buste, from it. busto - torso, torso) is a chest image of a person in a round sculpture. Having appeared in Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, the bust received a bright development in the art of Ancient Rome, was widespread in the art of the Renaissance, 17-20 centuries. (Donatello, L. Bernini, Houdon, F.I. Shubin, V.I. Mukhina).

Sculpture household genre shows people in their usual environment, for a constant occupation. The sculpture of this genre is small or medium in size. Works can be single-figure and multi-figure. Works on everyday topics have existed since ancient times, are close to folk art, and are popular in small plastic.

Sculptures related to thematic composition, can show one shape or several. Most often, the figure is given in close-up, and this large-sized work of round sculpture, depicting a human figure in height, is called a statue (lat. statua). For a multi-figure composition, it is important to build a group in which each figure is consistent with the others, without losing its own role. (Miron Athena and Marsyas; Michelangelo Pieta, 1498-1501, Rome, Cathedral of St. Peter; A. Mayol Three nymphs).

The genre of sculpture dedicated to the depiction of animals is called animalistic genre (from lat. animal - animal). The animalist refers to the artistic characteristics of the animal, its habits. The expressiveness of the figure, silhouette, coloring are especially significant in park sculpture, small plastic. Often in the sculpture there are both an animal and a person. Sculptors depict animals starting from the primitive communal system, they are widespread in the art of Ancient Egypt, in ancient sculpture and in subsequent eras.

lat. sculptura, from sculpo - cut out, carve) - sculpture, plastic, a type of fine art, the works of which have a three-dimensional, three-dimensional shape and are made of solid or plastic materials. Distinguish between a round statue and relief, as well as monumental and easel. Materials - metal, gypsum, wood, clay, etc. Processing methods - molding, carving, cutting, casting, forging, chasing, etc.

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SCULPTURE

from lat. scutpo - carve, cut out), or sculpture, plastic (from the Greek plastike - modeling) - a type of fine art, the specificity of which is in the volumetric implementation of the artist. forms in space; represents mainly figures of people, less often - animals, sometimes - a landscape and a still life. There were two main varieties of S.: round (statue, group, torso, bust), designed for inspection with many others. t. sp., and relief, where the image is located on a plane perceived as a background. Typologically, S. according to its content, approach to the interpretation of images and forms, and functions is divided into monumental (including monumental-decorative), easel, and so-called. S. small forms, to-rye develop in close interaction, but also have their own specifics, historically concretized. S. as prod. monumental art is usually of considerable size (monument, monument, decoration of a building) and is designed for complex interaction with the architectural or landscape environment, addressed to the masses of spectators, actively participates in the synthesis of arts. Developing from the XV-XVI centuries. easel S. has a chamber character, designed for the interior. Her genres - portrait, everyday life, nude, animalistic, S. small forms is intermediate between easel and arts and crafts. It also includes medal art and stone carving - glyptic. In the construction of the artist. S. forms of great importance is the choice of material and the technique of its processing. Soft substances (clay, wax, plasticine) are used for modeling, when a plastic form is created by applying the material layer by layer and fixing them to the c.-l. basis. Solids (different types of stone and wood) require carving or carving, i.e., removing parts of the material to reveal the shape. A number of materials that can change from liquid to solid (metal, gypsum, concrete, plastic) are used for casting products. S. according to special models. To achieve artistic expressiveness S. its surface, as a rule, is subjected to additional processing (coloring, polishing, tinting, etc.). Since the aesthetic perception of the sculptural product. carried out due to vision, it is very important to provide for the reaction of the material to light, to convey a sense of its weight and volume, osn. compositional rhythms. Having arisen in the primitive era, S. reached a high development in the art of major eras, often most fully expressing their aesthetic ideals, worldview attitudes and artistic. style (S. Ancient Egypt and Greece, Roman art and Gothic. Renaissance and Baroque, classicism and art of the XX century. ). The power of the impact of S.'s images is in their visual persuasiveness, in the ability to visualize both concrete and abstract (allegory, symbol) phenomena. The history of S. reflected the process of deepening the figurative characteristics of a person in world art. The avant-gardism of the 20th century, which strove to change plastic forms in a grotesque way, often receded before S. or sought to replace it with abstract constructions (Constructivism). C, in the socialist claim-ve serves to affirm advanced social ideals; its formation is connected with the Leninist plan of monumental propaganda.

Sculpture is usually divided into 2 main types: round and relief. Round is freely placed in space, it can be bypassed and seen from all sides. The works of this type include a statue, a figurine, a bust and a sculptural group.

The three-dimensionality of the sculpture is a very important quality. When examining it, the image can be perceived differently from different points of view. For example, the famous “Maenad” by Scopas, when the angle changes, seems to take another pose of a frantic Dionysian dance.

A relief is a three-dimensional image on a plane that forms the background. Depending on the height and depth of the image, the reliefs are divided into bas-relief, high relief and.

A bas-relief is a low relief in which the image protrudes above the background plane by no more than half of its volume. Bas-reliefs were often found in ancient Egypt.

High relief is a high relief in which the image protrudes above the background plane by more than half of its volume. The high reliefs of the Parthenon, depicting the battle of the Titans and the battle with the Amazons, were widely known. High reliefs adorn one of the seven wonders of the world - the Pergamon Altar.

A counter-relief is an in-depth relief. Most often it was used for the manufacture of seals. One of the monuments to Anna Andreevna Akhmatova, erected in 2006 in St. Petersburg, was also made in the technique of counter-relief.

Classification of sculpture by content and function

In addition, according to the content and functions, the sculpture is divided into monumental, easel and small sculptures.

Monumental sculpture is placed on the streets and squares, in city gardens and parks. It includes monuments, memorials and monuments.

Easel sculpture is designed for small spaces and close distances. It includes such types of composition as a head, bust, figure or group. For example, the world-famous bust of Queen Nefertiti can serve as a classic example of easel sculpture.

Sculpture of small forms is designed to decorate the interior. As a rule, it includes small figurines, as well as medals, gems and coins.

Sculpture is one of the most popular forms of fine art to this day. Sculptural works adorn the squares and streets of large cities, landscape gardening complexes and fountains, museum halls and ordinary residential interiors.

Types of sculpture in the visual arts. What types of sculptures exist. Types of sculpture by purpose

SCULPTURE

Classification of sculpture by content and function

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