Sculpture

Sculpture is a part of the visual arts that is concerned with three-dimensional representations. It is considered to be a kind of plastic art. A variety of durable sculptural procedures were previously used in stone, metal, ceramic, wood, and other materials to remove material and model material (such as clay), but since Modernism there has been an almost total flexibility in terms of materials and process to choose from. A broad range of materials may be manipulated by removal techniques like as carving, constructed by welding or modelling, or moulded or cast in various forms.

Sculpture in stone has fared significantly better than works of art made of perishable materials, and it often constitutes the bulk of the surviving works of art (apart from pottery) from ancient societies. On the other hand, traditions of wood sculpture may have almost disappeared. The majority of ancient sculpture, on the other hand, was brilliantly painted, and this has been destroyed.

Sculpture has always played an important role in religious devotion in many cultures, and until recently, enormous sculptures that were too costly to be created by private persons were often used to convey religious or political sentiment. The civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean, India, and China, as well as numerous others in Central and South America and Africa, are among those whose sculptures have survived in large numbers.

Ancient Greece is credited with establishing the Western heritage of sculpture, and the country is usually regarded as having produced great masterpieces throughout the classical period. Gothic sculpture, which was popular throughout the Middle Ages, reflected the agonies and emotions of the Christian religion. The Renaissance saw the resurgence of classical models, which resulted in the creation of notable sculptures such as Michelangelo's David. Using constructed sculpture and the presentation of found objects as finished art works, modernist sculpture shifted away from traditional processes and the emphasis on depicting the human body, and towards the creation of constructed sculpture and the presentation of found objects as finished art works.