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Bas-relief

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	Topics Bas-relief Topic Home A Bas-relief ( in FrenchFrench language Overview French is the third-largest of the Romance languages in terms of number of native speakers, after Spanish and Portuguese, b... ; French for "low relief", derived from the ItalianItalian language Italian is a Romance language spoken by about 70 million people, primarily in Italy.... basso rilievo) or low relief is a sculptureSculpture A sculpture is a three-dimensional, human-made object selected for special recognition as art.... which is not free-standing or in the round, but has a background from which the main elements of the composition project. Bas-relief is very suitable for scenes with many figures and other elements such as a landscape or architectural background. A bas-relief may use any medium or technique of sculpture, but stone carvingStone carving Stone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone.... and metal casting are the traditional ones. If more than 50% of most rounded or cylindrical elements such as heads and legs project from the background, a sculpture is usually considered to be "alto rilievo" or "high relief", although the degree of relief within both types may vary across a composition, with prominent features such as faces in higher relief. The advantage of the natural contour of the figures allows the work to be viewed from many angles without distortion of the figures themselves, but the background depth is only suggested. There is a continuum of the bas-relief technique into the next category, alto-relievoAlto-relievo Alto-relievo or high-relief, are figures carved out of a tablet that project at least one half of cross-section from the... , or high relief. Composite works Occasionally, free standing sculptures are set in front of a relief sculpture to deepen the scene. Only those figures that are supported by attachment to the vertical stone background are considered to be part of the "relief". Foreground sculptures may be part of the final "grouping", but not of the "relief". History Bas relief has existed in all civilizations creating stone sculpture from ancient EgyptAncient Egypt Ancient Egypt was a long-lived ancient civilization in north-eastern Africa.... , MesopotamiaMesopotamia Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, and southeastern Turkey.... , IndiaIndia India , officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia.... , and ChinaChina China is a cultural region and ancient civilization in East Asia.... , to classicalClassical antiquity *Classical antiquity* is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, which begin... , Middle AgesMiddle Ages The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the clas... , and RenaissanceRenaissance In the traditional view, the Renaissance was understood as a historical age in Europe that followed the Middle Ages and ... periods in Europe. A world-wide use of this and the "alto" technique in public or political sculpture exists throughout the modern world. The Elgin marblesElgin Marbles *The Elgin Marbles, sometimes called the Parthenon Marbles, are a large collection of marble sculptures brought to ... are a prime example of this form of art, and Stone MountainFacts About Stone Mountain Stone Mountain* is a granite dome located in Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, at .... is the world's largest bas-relief. Europe Prehistoric examples of bas-reliefs can be found with other kinds of art in the caves of EuropeEurope Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth.... . The method used here was to etch the shape of an animal or other form around the natural features of the rock surface creating three-dimensional sculptures that stand out in natural light. The world's most extensive collection of paleolithicPaleolithic Overview The term Paleolithic was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865, and refers to a prehistoric era distinguished by the... bas-reliefs was found in Creswell CragsCreswell Crags Creswell Crags is a limestone gorge on the Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire border, in the East Midlands of England.... , UK in 2003; this cave art has been dated at almost 13,000 years old. Egypt Mostly used sunken relief, where the figures are cut into the stone, rather than the stone being cut away to reveal them. It is thought to have existed before sculptures that are in the round. This form of art has coexisted with full round sculpture since ancient Egypt. The EgyptEgypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a Middle Eastern country in North Africa.... ians used relief sculptures to decorate the interiors of their buildings. India Descent of the GangesDescent of the Ganges (Mahabalipuram) Descent of the Ganges at Mahabalipuram, in the Tamil Nadu state India, is one of a group of monuments that were designated ... at MahabalipuramMahabalipuram Mahabalipuramis a 7th century port city of the South Indian dynasty of the Pallavas around 60 km south from the city of Chen... is a giant open air monolithic bas-relief dating to the 7th century and is in the group of monuments designated a World Heritage SiteWorld Heritage Site A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained ... . Greece The Greeks achieved the greatest mastery of this form of art. They used the bas-relief sculptures as an ornamental and integral way to decorate buildings. They used friezeFrieze In architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain or — in the Ionic or Co... s and sculptureSculpture Summary A sculpture is a three-dimensional, human-made object selected for special recognition as art.... s as backgrounds for the interior and exterior walls. Many of their sculptures were models of the Greek gods. Persia Bas-relief stone carvings of PersepolisPersepolis Persepolis was an ancient ceremonial capital of the second Iranian dynasty, the Achaemenid Empire, situated some 70 km north... , built during the Achaemenid EmpireAchaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire with high cultural and economical achievements during its ... , are among the works of this art. Rome The Romans owe some of their relief sculptures to the Greek artists they employed. Christian The Christian relief were mainly used on sarcophagi to depict religious and symbolic subjects. Relief was also used in ChristianChristian A Christian is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, referred to as Christ.... art to recreate scenes from the Old and the New TestamentNew Testament The New Testament , sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures, and sometimes also New Covenant... ; some of the scenes include Daniel in the lions' den and MosesMoses Summary Moses or Moshe is a legendary Hebrew liberator, leader, lawgiver, prophet, and historian.... striking water from the rock. Rilievo schiacciato A term, meaning "squashed" or "flattened" relief in Italian, for a very low type of relief, generally accepted to be an invention of DonatelloFacts About Donatello Donatellowas a famous Florentine artist and sculptor of the early Renaissance.... when used for a whole composition, although it was used early in the backgrounds of conventional bas-reliefs. In architecture It is most commonly used for the architecturalArchitecture * Architectural history* Architectural mythology... adornment of building surfaces, both inside and outside, where the stone is part of the building, rather than as a free-standing piece of art to be hung on a wall. Sometimes the resulting image has been painted, and other times it has been left in the natural state of the material used. Bas-relief should not be confused with an etching, as the latter requires cutting into a flat surface, leaving indentations within the flat surface, which becomes suitable for printing by applying ink and pressing paper to the surface. See also Alto-relievoAlto-relievo Alto-relievo or high-relief, are figures carved out of a tablet that project at least one half of cross-section from the... ReliefRelief A relief is a sculptured artwork where a modeled form projects out from a flat background.... Sunken-reliefSunken-relief Sunken-relief, otherwise known as intaglio or sometimes hollow-relief, is a method of sculpting which entails ca... 2.5D (machining)2.5D (machining) In machining, 2.5D refers to a surface which is a projection of a plane into 3rd dimension - although the object is 3-dimens... 2.5D2.5D 2.5D, short for two-and-a-half dimensional, although technically incorrect, is a term that has become popular to descr... External links