A Bas-relief (pronounced [baʁəljɛf], French for "low relief", derived from the Italian basso rilievo) or low relief is a sculpture which is not free-standing or in the round, but has a background from which the main elements of the composition project. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. 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 carving and metal casting are the traditional ones. Stone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone Casting is a manufacturing process by which a liquid material is (usually poured into a mold which 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. Alto-relievo is translated from Italian as high-relief, a technique in Classical antiquity sculpture to reveal human or animal figures that project out from a
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-relievo, or high relief. Alto-relievo is translated from Italian as high-relief, a technique in Classical antiquity sculpture to reveal human or animal figures that project out from a
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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 Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China, to classical, Middle Ages, and Renaissance periods in Europe. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere A world-wide use of this and the "alto" technique in public or political sculpture exists throughout the modern world. The Elgin marbles are a prime example of this form of art, and Stone Mountain is the world's largest bas-relief. The Elgin Marbles, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, are a collection of Classical Greek Marble sculptures inscriptions and architectural members This article is about Stone Mountain in Georgia USA For other uses see Stone Mountain (disambiguation.
- Europe
- Prehistoric examples of bas-reliefs can be found with other kinds of art in the caves of Europe. 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 paleolithic bas-reliefs was found in Creswell Crags, UK in 2003; this cave art has been dated at almost 13,000 years old. The term Paleolithic (or Palaeolithic) (from Greek παλαιός palaios, " Old " and λίθος Lithos, "stone" Creswell Crags is a Limestone Gorge in North East Derbyshire, England near the villages of Creswell, Whitwell and
- Egypt
- Mostly used sunken relief, where the figures are cut into the stone, rather than the stone being cut away to reveal them. Sunken-relief, otherwise known as intaglio or sometimes hollow-relief, is a method of Sculpting which entails Carving or Etching 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 Egyptians used relief sculptures to decorate the interiors of their buildings. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics.
- India
- Descent of the Ganges at Mahabalipuram is a giant open air monolithic bas-relief dating to the 7th century and is in the group of monuments designated a World Heritage Site. The Kingdom of Cambodia ( formerly known as Kampuchea (, transliterated: Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea) is a country in South East Descent of the Ganges at Mahabalipuram, in the Tamil Nadu state India, is one of a group of monuments that were designated as a World Heritage WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Mahabalipuram (மகாபலிபுரம் also known as Mamallapuram (மாமல்லபுரம் A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex
- 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 friezes and sculptures as backgrounds for the interior and exterior walls. In Architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an Entablature and may be plain or &ndash in the Ionic or Corinthian order &ndash Many of their sculptures were models of the Greek gods.
- Persia
- Bas-relief stone carvings of Persepolis, built during the Achaemenid Empire, are among the works of this art. Persepolis ( Old Persian: Pārsa, Modern Persian: تخت جمشید/پارسه Takht-e Jamshid or Chehel Minar) was the ceremonial The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of
- 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 Christian art to recreate scenes from the Old and the New Testament; some of the scenes include Daniel in the lions' den and Moses striking water from the rock. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ
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 Donatello when used for a whole composition, although it was used early in the backgrounds of conventional bas-reliefs. Donatello ( Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi; c 1386 &ndash December 13, 1466) was a famous early Renaissance Italian
In architecture
It is most commonly used for the architectural 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. The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation 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.
3D Gallery
These images are designed to appear in 3d with the use of colored glasses, and may not appear correctly without them.
 Hellenist-influenced Indian Buddhist bas-relief. Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelt Graeco-Buddhism, refers to the cultural Syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices
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 Woman with servant girl.
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See also
External links
- http://www.artloversguide.com/basrelief_article.htm
- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02341a.htm
- http://www.mhcrafters.com
- http://www.mhc-online.com
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