Stone sculpture is the result of forming 3-dimensional visually interesting objects from stone.
Carving stoneStone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, evidence can be found that even the earliest societies indulged in some form of stone work....
into
sculptureSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard and/or plastic material, sound, and/or text and or light, commonly stone , metal, glass, or wood. Some sculptures are created directly by finding or carving; others are assembled, built together and fired, welded, molded,...
is an activity older than civilization itself. Prehistoric sculptures were usually human forms, such as the
Venus of WillendorfThe Venus of Willendorf, also known as the Woman of Willendorf, is 11.5 cm high statuette of a female figure estimated to have been made between 24,000 BC – 22,000 BC. It was discovered in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria near...
and the faceless statues of the Cycladic cultures of ancient Greece. Later cultures devised animal, human-animal and
abstractAbstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
forms in stone.
Stone sculpture is the result of forming 3-dimensional visually interesting objects from stone.
Carving stoneStone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, evidence can be found that even the earliest societies indulged in some form of stone work....
into
sculptureSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard and/or plastic material, sound, and/or text and or light, commonly stone , metal, glass, or wood. Some sculptures are created directly by finding or carving; others are assembled, built together and fired, welded, molded,...
is an activity older than civilization itself. Prehistoric sculptures were usually human forms, such as the
Venus of WillendorfThe Venus of Willendorf, also known as the Woman of Willendorf, is 11.5 cm high statuette of a female figure estimated to have been made between 24,000 BC – 22,000 BC. It was discovered in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria near...
and the faceless statues of the Cycladic cultures of ancient Greece. Later cultures devised animal, human-animal and
abstractAbstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
forms in stone. The earliest cultures used abrasive techniques, and modern technology employs pneumatic hammers and other devices. But for most of human history, sculptors used hammer and
chiselA chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal...
as the basic tools for carving stone.
The process of stone sculpture
The work begins with the selection of a stone for carving. The artist may carve in the direct way, by carving without a model, creating a form or figure from scratch, with only the idea in his mind as a guideline, sketching on the block of stone and developing the work along the way. This method can be inspiring but can also present major problems when too much stone is removed in previous stages.
Or the sculptor may begin with a clearly defined model to be copied in stone. Frequently the sculptor would begin by forming a model in clay or wax, and then copying this in stone by measuring with
caliperA caliper is a device used to measure the distance between two symmetrically opposing sides. A caliper can be as simple as a compass with inward or outward-facing points...
s or a
pointing machineA pointing machine is a measuring tool used by sculptors to accurately copy plaster, clay or wax sculpture models into wood or stone.The device is a contraption of brass or stainless steel rods and joints, which can be placed into any position and then tightened...
. This method leaves much less chance for error, so the desired result can be achieved as expected. This method is also used when the carving is done by other sculptors, such as artisans or employees of the sculptor.
Some artists use the stone itself as inspiration; the
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
artist
MichelangeloMichelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer...
claimed that his job was to free the human form trapped inside the block.
Roughing out
When he or she is ready to carve, the carver usually begins by knocking off, or "
pitching", large portions of unwanted stone. For this task he may select a point chisel, which is a long, hefty piece of steel with a point at one end and a broad striking surface at the other. A pitching tool may also be used at this early stage; which is a wedge-shaped chisel with a broad, flat edge. The pitching tool is useful for splitting the stone and removing large, unwanted chunks. The sculptor also selects a
malletA mallet is a kind of hammer, usually of wood, smaller than a maul or beetle and usually with a relatively large head.-Tools:Tool mallets come in different types, the most common of which are:...
, which is often a hammer with a broad, barrel-shaped head. The carver places the point of the chisel or the edge of the pitching tool against a selected part of the stone, then swings the mallet at it with a controlled stroke. He must be careful to strike the end of the tool accurately; the smallest miscalculation can damage the stone, not to mention the sculptor’s hand. When the mallet connects to the tool, energy is transferred along the tool, shattering the stone. Most sculptors work rhythmically, turning the tool with each blow so that the stone is removed quickly and evenly. This is the “roughing out” stage of the sculpting process.
Refining
Once the general shape of the statue has been determined, the sculptor uses other tools to refine the figure. A toothed chisel or claw chisel has multiple gouging surfaces which create parallel lines in the stone. These tools are generally used to add texture to the figure. An artist might mark out specific lines by using calipers to measure an area of stone to be addressed, and marking the removal area with pencil, charcoal or chalk. The stone carver generally uses a shallower stroke at this point in the process. .
Final stages
Eventually the sculptor has changed the stone from a rough block into the general shape of the finished statue. Tools called rasps and rifflers are then used to enhance the shape into its final form. A rasp is a flat, steel tool with a coarse surface. The sculptor uses broad, sweeping strokes to remove excess stone as small chips or dust. A riffler is a smaller variation of the rasp, which can be used to create details such as folds of clothing or locks of hair.
The final stage of the carving process is polishing. Sandpaper can be used as a first step in the polishing process, or sand cloth.
EmeryEmery is a very hard rock type used to make abrasive powder. It largely consists of the mineral corundum , mixed with other species such as the iron-bearing spinels hercynite and magnetite, and also rutile...
, a stone that is harder and rougher than the sculpture media, is also used in the finishing process. This abrading, or wearing away, brings out the color of the stone, reveals patterns in the surface and adds a sheen. Tin and iron oxides are often used to give the stone a highly reflective exterior.
Rough and unfinished statues
Rough block forms of unfinished statuary are known, and are in museums. Notable are the
AkhenatenAkhenaten was known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV . A Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, he ruled for 17 years and died in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
,
Amarna PeriodThe Amarna Period was an era of Egyptian history during the latter half of the Eighteenth Dynasty when the royal residence of the pharaoh and his queen was shifted to Akhetaten in what is now modern-day Amarna...
statuary found at Akhetaten. One known sculptor,
Thutmose (sculptor)"The King's Favourite and Master of Works, the Sculptor Thutmose" is thought to have been the official court sculptor of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten in the latter part of his reign...
, has his entire shop excavated at Akhetaten, with many unfinished block forms.
Other stone sculpture
Asthall ManorAsthall Manor is a gabled Jacobean Cotswold manor house in Asthall, Oxfordshire. It was built in about 1620 and altered and enlarged in about 1916The house was the childhood home of the Mitford sisters.-History:...
has a biennial exhibition
on form; a showcase for sculpture in stone.
Stephen KettleStephen Kettle is a British sculptor who works exclusively with slate. His best known works include Supermarine Spitfire designer R. J...
is notable as a sculptor who creates stone statues by stacking stone fragments.
See also
- List of stone
- Marble sculpture
Marble sculpture is the art of creating three-dimensional forms from marble. Sculpture is among the oldest of the arts. Even before painting cave walls, early humans fashioned shapes from stone. From these beginnings, artefacts have evolved to their current complexity...
- Stone carving
Stone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, evidence can be found that even the earliest societies indulged in some form of stone work....
- Stoneware
Stoneware a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic ware of fine texture made primarily from non-refractory fire clay.-Description:Stoneware's maturation temperature ranges from about 1200 °C to 1315 °C . In essence, it is man-made stone...
- Statues of Gudea
Twenty-seven statues of Gudea have been found so far .A-K were found during Ernest de Sarzec's excavations in the court of the palace of Adad-nadin-ahhe in Telloh/Girsu. M-Q come from clandestine excavations in Telloh in 1924; most of the rest come from the art trade, with unknown provenances and...
; 2120 BC, Extreme polishing of the GudeaGudea was a ruler of the city of Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia who ruled ca. 2144 - 2124 BC. He probably did not come from the city, but had married Ninalla, daughter of the ruler Urbaba of Lagash, thus gaining entrance to the royal house of Lagash...
statues.