100 Greatest Sculptures Ever
List of Top 100 Works of 3-D Art By the World's Best Sculptors: Most Popular Sculpture, Like Statues, Reliefs.
Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art - HOMEPAGE

The Greatest Sculptures Ever (c.33,000 BCE-Present)

• List of the Top 100 Works
• Prehistoric Sculpture
• Ancient Greece
• Celtic Sculpture
• Chinese Sculpture
• Dark Ages
• Renaissance Era
• Mannerist School
• Baroque School
• Rococo and Neoclassical Schools
• Modern Era
• Contemporary School
• Greatest Ever Relief Sculpture
• Altarpieces

List of the Top 100 Sculptures

This list of the world's greatest sculpture encompasses works by the greatest sculptors in the history of sculpture. It features masterpieces of the Neolithic epoch, the ancient Bronze Age civilizations of the Mediterranean, India and China, Classical Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Baroque eras, as well as the modern and contemporary periods. It incorporates miniature carvings, statuettes and free standing statues, as well as contemporary forms, but it excludes reliefs, the greatest of which are listed separately. Our 100 Greatest Ever Works of Sculpture includes objects created or carved out of stone, marble, steel, iron, fiberglass, clay, bronze, gold, copper, plastic, all types of wood, fur, satin, foam rubber, and "found" objects. It includes abstract as well as representational and figurative sculpture. Inevitably, given the preponderance of antiquities and early masterworks, late 20th and early 21st century sculptures are less well represented. Also, aside from works of pre-history, we have been forced to focus exclusively on Western sculpture. Nevertheless, the list includes examples from most major movements in the history of art, and is an excellent starting point for further study.

The list was compiled and selected by our Editor, Neil Collins LLB MA, who also compiled our Greatest Ever Paintings: Top 300. For a list of the greatest artists, see: Best Artists of All Time: Top 10. For more information about important dates in the chronology and evolution of the "plastic arts", see: History of Art Timeline. For works dating back to the Paleolithic or Stone Age era of prehistory, see: Prehistoric Art Timeline.

The Greatest Ever Prehistoric Sculptures

Artist Unknown
Ivory Carvings of Mammoth, Lion, Horse: Vogelherd Cave (Swabian Jura) (33,000 BCE)
The oldest piece of European sculpture; an outstanding example of late Prehistoric art

Artist Unknown
Most famous Venus Figurine; the most graphic representation of an obese female
Venus of Willendorf (Austria) (25,000 BCE) Oolitic limestone

Artist Unknown
Greatest ever contemplative sculpture of prehistory
Thinker of Cernavoda ('Ganditorul') (c.5000 BCE) Terracotta, National Museum of Romania

Artist Unknown
One of the most arresting 3-D artworks of ancient Antiquity
Ram in the Thicket (c.2500 BCE) Gold leaf, copper, lapis, lazuli, shell & red limestone, British Museum, London

Artist Unknown
One of the greatest gold artifacts made in Bronze Age Russia
The Bull of Maikop (c.2500 BCE) Gold, Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

Artist Unknown
Perhaps the greatest ever statuette of the Indus River Valley Civilization
Dancing Girl (c.2000 BCE) Bronze, National Museum, New Delhi
See also: Paintings and Sculpture from India

For more about Stone Age sculpture, see: Oldest Art: Top 10 Works and Oldest Art: Top 50.

The Greatest Ever Greek Sculptures

Myron (fl.mid-5th century BCE)
Iconic work of Greek sculpture
Discobolus (c.450 BCE) Marble, Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome

Artist Unknown
One of the great Classical works of Ancient Greece
The Farnese Heracles (5th Century BCE) Marble copy, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples

Artist Unknown
Fabulous balance
Zeus or Poseidon (c.460 BCE) Bronze copy, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Phidias
Athens-born craftsman, considered the greatest ever Greek sculptor
Riace Bronze A (c.450 BCE) Bronze copy, Museo Nazionale, Calabria

Polykleitos (fl.450-420 BCE)
One of the greatest ever Greek sculptors
Wounded Amazon (440-30 BCE) Marble copy, Musei Capitolini, Rome
Doryphorus (440 BCE) Marble copy, Museo Nazionale, Naples

For ceramic sculptures of Ancient Greece, see: Greek Pottery.

Artist Unknown
Sculpture of the legend surrounding Romulus and Remus, and the foundation of Rome
Capitoline She-Wolf (Romulus & Remus) (c.450 BCE) Bronze, Musei Capitolini, Rome

Artist Unknown
Classical Greek statue
Youth of Antikythera (4th Century BCE) Bronze copy, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Praxiteles (fl.mid-4th century BCE)
After Phidias, the greatest ever sculptor of Ancient Greece
Apollo Sauroktonos (4th Century BCE) Marble, Museo Pio Clementino, Vatican
Capitoline Colonna Venus (350-40 BCE) Marble copy, Musei Capitolini, Rome

Lysippos (fl.mid/late 4th century BCE)
Greatest Corinth-born sculptor, said to have created 1,500 works all in bronze
The Farnese Hercules (350-300 BCE) Marble copy, Museo Nazionale, Naples

Artist Unknown
One of the most famous sculptures of Antiquity
Dying Gaul (c.240 BCE) Marble copy, Musei Capitolini, Rome

Artist Unknown
Stunning semi-relief
The Barberini Faun (c.220 BCE) Marble, Glyptothek, Munich

Artist Unknown
Famous Hellenistic headless statue
Nike of Samothrace (c.190 BCE) Marble, Louvre, Paris

Hagesandrus, Athenodoros & Polydorus
The greatest ever sculpture of Greek art
Laocoon (c.150-50 BCE) Marble copy of bronze original, Museo Pio Clementino, Vatican

Apollonius of Tralles (fl. mid-2nd century BCE)
Famous for its dramatic movement, part of the celebrated Farnese Collection
The Punishment of Dirce ("The Farnese Bull") (2nd Century BCE) Marble copy, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples

Artist Unknown
Three Classical female nudes
The Three Graces (2nd Century BCE) Marble copy, Louvre Paris

Artist Unverified
Most famous Greek statue, signed: "...andros of Antioch on the Maeander"
Aphrodite of Melos ("Venus de Milo") (c.100 BCE) Marble, Louvre, Paris

• For more sculptors, see: Skopas (Active 395-350 BCE);
Leochares (Active 340-320 BCE), Callimachus (c.310-240 BCE).

• For more information about the plastic arts of Ancient Greece, see Greek Sculpture.
For details of specific eras and styles of work, see: Daedalic Sculpture (650-600 BCE); Archaic Sculpture (600-500); Early Classical Period (c.500-450); High Classical Period (c.450-400); Late Classical Period (c.400-323); Hellenistic Period (c.323-27) and Statues and Reliefs.

• For more details, see Sculpture of Ancient Greece and Roman Sculpture.

The Greatest Ever Celtic Sculpture

Artist Unknown
From the famous Broighter Collar Hoard, one of the treasures of Celtic art
The Broighter Boat (1st century BCE) La Tene Style, gold, National Museum of Ireland

For another example of Celtic pagan sculpture, see: Turoe Stone.

The Greatest Ever Chinese Sculpture

Artists Unknown (700,000 workers used)
Arguably the greatest ever body of sculpture created in a single location
Terracotta Army (246-208 BCE) clay, Tomb of the Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, Shaanxi

For more ceramic sculpture from ancient China, see: Chinese Pottery.

The Greatest Ever Sculptures of the Dark Ages

Artist Unknown
Celtic High Crosses constitute the most significant body of free-standing sculpture produced between the end of the Roman Empire (c.450) and the start of the Italian Renaissance (c.1400)
High Cross of Muiredach (9th Century)sandstone, Monasterboice, County Louth.

More Information
Medieval Sculpture (c.400-1000)
Romanesque Sculpture (c.1000-1200)
Gothic Sculpture (c.1150-1280)
English Gothic Sculpture and German Gothic Sculpture.

The Greatest Ever Sculptures of the Renaissance Era

Artist Unknown
Almost Expressionist in its emotional appearance
Rottgen Pieta (c.1300 CE) Limewood, Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn

Donatello (1386-1466)
According to some critics, Donatello's David is the greatest ever statue
David (c.1440) Bronze, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence
Mary Magadalene (c.1455) Painted wood, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence
Equestrian Statue of the Gattamelata (Condottiere Erasmo da Narni) (1444-53) Bronze, Piazza del Santo, Siena

Antonio Pollaiuolo (1432-98)
The two grappling figures show the artist's mastery of movement and balance
Heracles & Antaeus (c.1470) Bronze, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence

Andrea del Verrocchio (Andrea di Cioni) (1436-88)
The greatest Florentine sculptor between Donatello and Michelangelo
David (c.1475) Bronze, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence
Equestrian Statue of the Colleone (Bartolomeo Colleoni) (1480-95) Guilded bronze, Campo di Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice

Tilman Riemenschneider (1460-1531)
The greatest wood-carver of the Northern Renaissance
The Head Of St Anne (c.1500) Limewood, Hermitage St. Petersburg

Niccolo Dell'Arca (Fl.1462-94)
Huge emotion from the six figures around the body of Jesus
Deploration of the Dead Christ (c.1463) Terracotta, Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna

Gregor Erhart (1469-1522)
Noted for its finely detailed hair and bloody shin
Mary Magdalene ("La Belle Allemande") (c.1500) Polychrome limewood, Louvre, Paris

Michelangelo (1475-1564)
The greatest ever sculptor in the history of art
Pieta (1497-9) Marble, Saint Peters Basilica, Rome
David (1501-4) Marble, Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence
Dying Slave (1513-16) Marble, Louvre, Paris

Veit Stoss (1477-1533)
Second greatest woodcarver of his age after Riemenscheider
Raphael and Tobias (1516) wood, Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nuremberg

Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570)
Florence-born classical sculptor, active in the Venetian Renaissance
Venus and Cupid (c.1550) Bronze, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

See also: Renaissance Sculptors.

The Greatest Ever Sculptures of the Mannerist School

Benvenuto Cellini (1500-71)
One of the greatest examples of Florentine Mannerist sculpture
Perseus with the head of Medusa (1545-54) Bronze, Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence

Giambologna (1529-1608)
Flemish-born Italian sculptor, the greatest ever exponent of the Mannerism school
Mercury (1564-80) Bronze, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence
The Rape of the Sabine (1581-3) Marble, Piazza della Signora, Florence
Hercules and the Centaur (1594-1600) Marble, Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence

Greatest Ever Sculptures of the Baroque/Rococo School

Francois Duquesnoy (1594-1643)
Flemish sculptor who with Algardi were the top sculptors in Rome after Bernini
Statue of St Andrew (1629-33), Marble, Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican

Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654)
The favourite sculptor of Pope Innocent X in Rome
The Ectasy of Saint Philip Neri (1638) Marble, Santa Maria in Vallicella, Rome

Giovanni Bernini (1598-1680)
The greatest ever Baroque sculptor
The Ectasy of Saint Teresa (1647-52) Marble, Capella Cornaro, Rome
Pluto and Proserpina (1621-2) Marble, Galleria Borghese, Rome
Apollo and Daphne (1622-5) Marble, Galleria Borghese, Rome
Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) Piazza Navona, Rome
Death of the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni (1671-4) Marble/jasper, San Francesco a Ripa, Rome

Pierre Puget (1620-94)
The greatest French sculptor of the 17th century
Milon of Croton (1671-82) Marble, Louvre, Paris

Francois Girardon (1628-1715)
Ranks with Coysevox as the finest sculptor of Louis XIV's reign
Apollo Tended by Nymphs of Thetis (1666-72) Marble, Chateau de Versailles
Pluto Abducting Proserpine (1693-1710) Bronze, J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Jean Baptiste Tuby (1635-1700)
One of the world's greatest site-specific stone works, rising from the water
Fountain of Apollo (1671) Stone, Chateau de Versailles

Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721)
Intricate work by England's greatest wood-carver
Woodcarving of a Cravat (c.1690) Limewood, Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Balthasar Permoser (1651-1732)
Wonderful movement and drapery
Apollo (1715) Marble, Staatliche Kunstsammulungen, Dresden

Andreas Schluter (1660-1714)
The greatest German Baroque sculptor
Equestrian Statue of Prince Elector Friedrick William The Great (1689-1708) Bronze, Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin

Guillaume Coustou (1677-1746)
Immense equine power and movement
Horse Restrained by a Groom ("The Marly Horse") (1739-45) Marble, Louvre, Paris

Jean Baptiste Pigalle (1714-85)
Walked to Rome to study at the Academy; became one of the richest French sculptors
Flawless pose and anatomy
Mercury Tying his Talaria (1753) Lead, Louvre, Paris

Etienne-Maurice Falonet (1716-91)
Most quintessentially Rococo of all French sculptors
Monument to Peter The Great ("The Bronze Horseman") (1766-78) Bronze, Decembrist Square, St Petersburg

For a review of sculpture during this era, see: Baroque/ Rococo Sculptors

The Greatest Ever Neoclassical Sculptures

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736-83)
Austrian sculptor noted for his caricature busts and statuettes
The Hanged Man (1770-83) Alabaster, Osterreichische Gallerie, Vienna

Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823)
One of the Englishman's most serene Neo-classical works
Venus (1773) Marble, J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)
Neoclassical French sculptor noted for his portraits
Portrait of Voltaire, seated (1781) Marble, Comedie-Francaise, Paris

Franz Anton von Zauner (1746-1822)
Imposing example of Neoclassicism by this Austrian artist
Equestrian Statue of Joseph the Second (1795-1806) Bronze, Josefplatz, Vienna

John Flaxman (1755-1826)
English Neoclassical sculptor, lifelong friend of William Blake
The Fury of Athamas (1790) Marble, Ickworth, UK

Antonio Canova (1757-1822)
The greatest ever Neoclassical sculptor; hugely influential
Apollo Crowing Himself (1781) Marble, J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Psyche Awakened by Eros (1787-93) Marble, Louvre, Paris

Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1884)
Danish artist second only to Canova; after Rodin the best of the 19th Century Sculptors
Jason with the Golden Fleece (1803-28) Marble, Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen
Hebe (1806) Marble, Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen
Three Graces (1817-19) Marble Statue, Thorwaldsen Museum, Copenhagen

For a review of sculpture during this era, see: Neoclassical Sculptors.

The Greatest Ever Sculptures of Modern Art

Jean-Joseph Perraud (1819-76)
One of the artist's classical masterpieces
Despair (1869) Marble, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

Pierre-Louis Rouillard (1820-81)
One of the world's great equine sculptures
Horse with a Harrow (1878) Bronze, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

Jean-Baptise Carpeaux (1827-75)
A copy of this famous work stands in the facade of the Paris Opera House
The Dance (1865-9) Stone, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

Jean-Alexandre-Joseph Falguiere (1831-1900)
The dying child retains a uncanny serenity
Tarcisius, Christian Martyr (1868) Marble, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

Lord Frederic Leighton (1830-96)
One of the leading figures of Late Victorian art
The Sluggard (1885) Bronze, Royal Academy of Arts, London

Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904)
Probably the most famous statue in the world
Statue of Liberty (1886) Copper, Liberty Island, New York Harbour

Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
Made in wax but cast in bronze after Degas' death
Little Dancer aged Fourteen (1879-81) Bronze, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
The greatest ever sculptor in the history of modern art
The Age of Bronze (1876) Bronze, Musee d'Orsay, Paris
The Thinker (1881) Bronze, Musee Rodin, Paris
The Kiss (1888-9) Marble, Musee Rodin, Paris
Burghers of Calais (1889) Bronze, Musee Rodin, Paris

Marius Jean Antonin Mercier (1845-1916)
Beautiful modernistic interpretation
David (c.1872) Bronze, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

Daniel Chester French (1850-1931)
Celebrated public monumental sculpture
Statue of Lincoln (1922) Stone, Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC

George Minne (1866-1941)
This modern-style work by the Belgian artist has a Donatello feel about it
Kneeling Youth at the Fountain (1898) Bronze, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

James Earle Fraser (1876-1953)
One of the most evocative sculptures of the early 20th century
End of the Trail (1915) Bronze, Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, USA

Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957)
One of the greatest ever sculptors of the 20th century
The Kiss (1907) Stone, Hamburgerkunsthalle, Hamburg
Sleeping Muse (1910), Bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Bird in Space (1925-31) Grey marble, Kunsthaus, Zurich

Anna V Hyatt Huntingdon (1876-1973)
A masterpiece by a specialist animal-artist
Fighting Stallions (1950) Aluminium, Hyatt Huntingdon Sculpture Garden, S. Carolina

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Perhaps the most famous 20th century sculptor (and painter)
The Chicago Picasso (1966-7), Steel, Daley Plaza, Chicago - foremost example of public art

Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916)
Italian Futurist sculptor and painter, this work is his masterpiece
Unique Forms of Continuity in Space (1913) Bronze, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Elie Nadelman (1882-1946)
Polish-born artist, married wealthy widow, noted for witty "high-society" works
Standing Nude (c.1908), Bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Man in the Open Air (c.1915) Bronze, Museum of Modern Art, New York City

Henri Laurens (1885-1954)
French sculptor, trained as ornamental stonemason, influenced by Rodin & Cubism
Crouching Woman (The Farewell) Bronze, Private Collection

Jean Arp (1887-1966)
French avant-garde artist, Dada artist and Surrealist, noted for sensuous abstract pieces
Torso (1932) White Marble, Georges Pompidou Centre

Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986)
Pioneer of modernism in America
Abstraction (1946) Cast Aluminium, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe

Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967)
Russian-born expressionistic sculptor; this is one of the greatest ever sculptures
The Destroyed City (1953) Bronze, Schiedamse Dijk, Rotterdam

Naum Gabo (Naum Neemia Pevsner) (1890-1977)
Russian-born American artist, trained as an engineer, member of Constructivism school
Linear Construction in Space, No. 4 (1962) Plastic/stainless steel, Whitney Museum of Art
Head No. 2 (original 1916), enlarged version (1964), Tate Collection, London

Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (1891-1915)
Short-lived avant-garde French sculptor & draughtsman, active in London
Red Stone Dancer (1913) Sandstone, Tate Gallery, London

Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973)
Lithuanian-born artist, knew Matisse, Modigliani & Picasso, pioneer of Cubism
Mother and Child (1930) Bronze Sculpture, Honolulu Academy of Arts

Alexander Calder (1898-1976)
American artist, inventor of the 'mobile', pioneer of Kinetic art & "motion in art"
Myxomatose (1953) Sculpture of Sheet metal/paint, Calder Foundation, New York
Man (1967) External Sculpture of Metal Plate/Bolts, City of Montreal

Henry Moore (1898-1986)
The greatest ever British sculptor
Reclining Figure (1936) Elmwood, Wakefield Gallery, West Yorkshire
Draped Reclining Mother and Baby, (No date) The Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK
Moon Head (1964) Bronze, Henry Moore Foundation, Leeds
Two Forms (1966) Soraya marble, Staehein Private Collection, Zurich

Note: For more information about the world's greatest modernist art styles and periods, please see: Modern Art Movements.

The Greatest Ever Sculptures of Contemporary Art

Louise Nevelson (1899-1988)
Russian-born American sculptor, noted for her assemblage art and "sculptured walls"
Sky Cathedral (1958) Painted Wood, The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Alberto Giacometti (1901-66)
Swiss sculptor active in Paris, noted for his distinctive emaciated elongated figures
Woman with her Throat Cut (La Femme Egorgee) (1932) Bronze, Private Collection
Cat (1954) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Walking Man I (1960) Bronze, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul-de-Vence

Marino Marini (1901-80)
One of the most outstanding Italian sculptors of the 20th century
Horse (1950) Bronze, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg

Barbara Hepworth (1903-75)
Key figure in the development of British abstract sculpture
Three Forms (1935), Marble, Tate Collection, London
Construction (Crucifixion): Homage to Mondrian (1966), Winchester Cathedral

Salvador Dali (1904-89)
The most famous Surrealist sculptor
Mae West Lips Sofa (1937) Wood & satin, Private Collection
Lobster Telephone (1936) Plastic, painted plaster and mixed media, Tate Collection

FE McWilliam (1909-1992)
Northern Ireland's greatest ever sculptor
Eyes, Nose and Cheek (1939) Tate Collection, London (1939)
Legs Static (c.1960) Bronze, Banbridge, Co.Down
Woman in a Bomb Blast (1974), Bronze, AIB Bank Collection

Louise Bourgeois (b.1911)
French-American sculptress, one of America's leading contemporary artists
Maman (1999) Bronze, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Crouching Spider (2003) Pier 11, San Francisco, California

Meret Oppenheim (1913-85)
German-Swiss artist, Surrealist with Dada tendencies; this is her masterpiece
Object ("Furry Breakfast") (1936) Fur-covered cup, saucer & spoon, MoMA New York

Cesar Baldaccini (1921-98)
French experimental artist noted for his "Compressions" and "Expansions" series
Divided Head (1963) Bronze, Fiorini, London

Glid Nandor (1924-97)
A former camp inmate, noted for his Holocaust art and sculpture
Holocaust Memorial Sculpture, Dachau, Germany

Duane Hanson (1925-96)
American noted for Superrealism life-size sculptures of people in everyday life
Young Shopper (1973) Polyester/Fibreglass Lifesize Sculpture, Saatchi Gallery, London

Sol LeWitt (b.1928)
American conceptual artist and sculptor noted for box-like constructions
Open Geometric Structure IV (1990) Painted wood, Lisson Gallery, London.

Claes Oldenburg (b.1929)
Most famous Pop art sculptor
Floor Burger (1962) Canvas, Foam Rubber and Cardboard, Gallery of Ontario

Jasper Johns (b.1930)
American painter, sculptor, printmaker, pioneer of early Pop art
Ale Cans (1964) Oil on Bronze, Offentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel

Jonathan De Pas (1932-91), Donato D'Urbino (b.1935) Paolo Lomazzi (b.1936)
These three Italian artists designed this masterpiece of Pop art
Joe Sofa (1968) Private Collection

Mark Di Suvero (b.1933)
American sculptor noted for his large scale iron/steel public sculpture
Storm Angel (1973-4) Iron, Square Chabas, Chalon-sur-Saone

Walter de Maria (b.1935)
American contemporary artist noted for his minimalist sculptures and conceptual art
Cage II (1965) Stainless steel, MoMA New York

Richard Serra (b.1939)
Leading American creator of huge sculptures for public spaces
Berlin Junction (1987) Steel, Philharmonic Orchestra Building, Berlin

John De Andrea (b.1941)
American Superrealist sculptor noted for his hyper-realist nudes
Couple (1971) Acrylic on Polyester, Georges Pompidou Center, Paris

Anthony Gormley (b.1950)
This work, by the A1 motorway, won this British artist the Turner Prize in 1994
The Angel of the North (1998) Steel, Gateshead, UK

Rowan Gillespie (b.1953)
Arguably Ireland's greatest ever figurative sculptor
Echo (1981), Bronze, AIB Bank Collection
The Famine (1996-7), Bronze, Custom House Quay, Dublin
The Cashel Dancers (1991), Bronze, Rock of Cashel, Tipperary, Ireland
Aspiration (1995), Bronze, Treasury Building, Dublin

Anish Kapoor (b.1954)
British abstract sculptor, won the Turner Prize in 1991
Cloud Gate (2004) Stainless steel, Millennium Park, Chicago
Taratantara (1999) (Installed at Baltic Flour Mills, Gateshead, UK)

Jeff Koons (b.1955)
American sculptor and conceptual artist, famous for his Neo-Pop art
Michael Jackson and Bubbles (1988) Porcelain/Gold, Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art
Puppy (1992) Flowering Plants, steel, wood, earth (Bilbao Guggenheim)
Balloon Dog (1994-2000), Stainless steel with colour, Metropolitan Museum of Art New York

Sudobh Gupta (b.1964)
Contemporary sculptor
Very Hungry God (2006), kitchen utensils, pots and pans, Private Collection

Damien Hirst (b.1965)
Britain's greatest ever exponent of postmodernism
Virgin Mother (2005) Plaza of Lever House, New York City

Damian Ortega (b.1967)
Contemporary sculptor
Controller of the Universe (2007) Found tools and wire, Private Collection

Note: For more information about the world's greatest contemporary and postmodernist art styles and periods, please see: Contemporary Art Movements.

Greatest Ever Relief Sculptures

See below for a list of the most famous sculptural reliefs: that is, sculptures that project from a background surface, rather than freestanding. Most often used for architectural decoration, especially in cathedrals and churches. Reliefs are tradionally classified according to their degree of projection, and include categories such as high (alto rilievo, haut-relief), medium (mezzo relievo), low (basso rilievo, bas-relief), or very low (rilievo schiacciato).

Best Reliefs

• Venus of Laussel (c.23,000 BCE) limestone, Musee d'Aquitaine, Bordeaux
The earliest known bas-relief in the history of art
• Tuc d'Audoubert Bison (c.13,500 BCE) unfired clay, Tuc d'Audoubert Cave, France
• Parthenon Reliefs (c.446-430 BCE), Acropolis Museum, British Museum, Louvre Paris
• Temple of Apollo Epikourios, East Frieze (c.420 BCE) Marble, British Museum
• Mausoleum of Harlicarnassus, Bodrum, Amazon Frieze (c.350 BCE), Marble, British Museum
• Ludovisi Sarcophagus (3rd Century BCE) Marble, Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome
• Altar of Zeus, Pergamon, East Frieze (c.180 BCE), Marble, Pergamon Museum, Berlin
• Ara Pacis Augustae, North Frieze (13-9 BCE), Marble, Ara Pacis Museum, Rome
• Trajan's Column (113 CE) Memorial Narrative of Trajan's Dacian War, Marble, Rome
• Arch of Constantine (c.312 CE), Marble, Rome - see also: Relief Sculpture: Ancient Rome
• Gates of Hell (1880-1917) bronze, by Auguste Rodin: Rodin Museum Philadelphia

The Greatest Romanesque Relief Sculpture includes works at:

• Canterbury Cathedral (10th/11th Century) Canterbury, England
• Saint-Lazare Cathedral (10th/11th Century) Autun, France
• Sainte-Marie Abbey (10th/11th Century) Souillac, France
• Sainte-Foy Abbey Church (10th-14th Century) Conques-en-Rouergue, France

The Greatest Gothic Relief Sculpture includes works at:

• Abbey Church of Saint-Denis (1140-1281) Near Paris
• Notre Dame Cathedral (c.1160-1250) Paris
• Chartres Cathedral (after 1194) Chartres, France
• Reims Cathedral (begun 1211) Reims, France
• Canterbury Cathedral (after 1100), England
• Wells Cathedral (after 1230), England
• Westminster Abbey (after 1245), London

For more about the development of architectural art, including examples of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical styles, see: Architecture: History

Greatest Ever Altarpiece Sculptures

The finest altarpiece sculpture includes works at:

• Eglise Saint-Didier, Avignon (1481) in stone, by Veit Stoss
• St Wolfgang Altarpiece, Austria (1481), in wood, by Michael Pacher
• Church of St Mary, Krakow (1489) in wood, by Veit Stoss
• St Jakob Kirche, Rothenburg (1504) in linden wood, by Tilman Riemenschneider
• Benedictine Abbey Church, Blaubeuren (1494) in wood, by Gregor Erhart
• Herrgottskirche, Cregligen-am-Taube (1510) in limewood, by Tilman Riemenschneider
• Altarpiece of the Passion/Childhood of Christ, Anvers (1520) in oak, anonymous
• Uberlingen Kirche, Uberlingen (1616), in oak, by Jorg Zurn

Note: For details of the world's highest-priced art, together with prices and auction details, please see: Top 10 Most Expensive Paintings Ever.

Note: We welcome any suggestions for the inclusion of additional works of art in our
Top 100 Greatest Ever Sculptures, or additional Old Masters or other famous artists from the 20th century.

• For biographies of famous sculptors from Ireland, see: Irish Sculpture.
• For information about the greatest artworks from Ireland, see: Irish Art Guide.