Marble Sculpture

Introduction: What is Marble Sculpture?

Marble sculpture is the traditional plastic art of carving three-dimensional forms - statues, high or low reliefs - out of recrystallized limestone (marble). Ever since the invention of metal tools during the Bronze Age, marble stone has been highly prized by sculptors and architects alike. Famous examples of marble sculpture (originals or copies) include: Discobolus (c.450 BCE) by Myron; Wounded Amazon (440-30 BCE) by Polykleitos; The Farnese Hercules (350-300 BCE) by Lysippos; Apollo Belvedere (c.330 BCE) by Leochares; Laocoon and His Sons (c.150-50 BCE) by Hagesandrus, Athenodoros & Polydorus; Aphrodite of Melos ("Venus de Milo") (c.100 BCE) by Andros of Antioch on the Maeander; Pieta (1497-9), David (1501-4) and Dying Slave (1513-16) by Michelangelo.

MEDIEVAL SCULPTURE
For details of the plastic arts during
the Middle Ages, see these resources:
Medieval Sculpture (c.400-1000)
From Late Antiquity to Romanesque
Romanesque Sculpture (1000-1200)
Rounded-arch Architecture/Sculpture
Gothic Sculpture (1150-1280)
Cathedral Art, Ile de France.
Renaissance Sculptors
From Italy, France & Spain.
Baroque Sculptors
Of the 17th century
Neoclassical Sculptors
Return to Classical Antiquity
19th Century Sculptors
Plastic Art of the Victorian Age

What is Marble? Why is it a Popular Material For Sculpture?

The stone we call marble is a metamorphic rock (mostly composed of calcite, a type of calcium carbonate) formed as a result of changes brought about in the structure of sedimentary or igneous rocks by extreme pressure or heat. Sculptors like marble because, while relatively soft and easy to work when first quarried, it becomes extremely hard and dense with age, and is also available in a variety of shades and patterns. White marbles are especially prized for fine art sculpture because of their relative isotropy and homogeneity, and resistance to shattering. In addition, the low refractory index of refraction of calcite permits light to penetrate into the stone (as it does the human skin), resulting in the typical "waxy" look which gives the stone a human appearance. Marble can also be highly polished, making it ideal for decorative work.

EVOLUTION OF SCULPTURE
For details of the origins and
development of the plastic arts
see: History of Sculpture.

BEST WORKS OF SCULPTURE
For a list of the world's top 100
3-D artworks, by the best sculptors
in the history of art, see:
Greatest Sculptures Ever.

BEST SCULPTORS
For a list of the world's most
talented 3-D artists, see:
Greatest Sculptors.

On the other hand, marble is weaker than bronze, and significantly less weather-resistant than granite. It will also absorb skin oils when handled.

What Are the Main Types of Marble?

The most popular types of marble stone employed in sculpture are Pentelic, Parian and Carrara marble. During Classical Antiquity, the most famous type was the close-grained, golden-toned Pentelic variety, quarried at Mount Pentelicon in Attica. The famous sculptures obtained by the Earl of Elgin from the Parthenon in Athens, in 1801-3, known as the Elgin Marbles, were carved in Pentelic. Another popular variety was Parian marble, a coarser-grained but translucent white stone obtained from the Aegean islands of Naxos and Paros. This type was used to create the renowned Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. A third type, used for the masterpiece Apollo Belvedere (c.330 BCE), was the pure white Carrara marble, found at Carrara and Pietra Santa in Tuscany. It was the favourite of the Florentine genius Michelangelo.

Carving a Sculpture Out of Marble

A large-scale sculpture is typically prefaced by the creation of a small maquette in wax or clay, over an armature. From this initial model, a full-size model is developed, into which tacks are inserted at key reference points. A measuring frame is then placed over the model which records the locations of the tacks, which can then be transferred to the raw marble block, in a process known as pointing. Then, in his hammer and point work, the marble sculptor must master a variety of tools, including hammers, edge tools like chisels and hand drills, rasps, files and rubbing stones. Greek sculpture was usually tinted. On marble this process of polychromy was translucent (on terracotta it was opaque), with colours being applied over a gesso ground. Roman sculptors sometimes achieved polychrome effects by using several different coloured marbles for a group sculpture.

Famous Marble Sculptures

• Discobolus (c.450 BCE) Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome
By Myron (fl.mid-5th century BCE)

• The Farnese Heracles (5th Century BCE) Museo Archeologico, Naples
By Unknown Sculptor

• Wounded Amazon (440-30 BCE) Musei Capitolini, Rome
By Polykleitos (fl.450-420 BCE)

• Apollo Sauroktonos (4th Century BCE) Museo Pio Clementino, Vatican
By Praxiteles (fl.mid-4th century BCE)

• Apollo Belvedere (c.330 BCE) Vatican Museum
Attributed to Leochares (fl. mid/late 4th century BCE)

• The Farnese Hercules (350-300 BCE) Museo Nazionale, Naples
Lysippos (fl.mid/late 4th century BCE)

• Dying Gaul (c.240 BCE) Marble copy, Musei Capitolini, Rome
By Unknown Sculptor

• Nike of Samothrace (c.190 BCE) Louvre, Paris
By Unknown Sculptor

• Laocoon (c.150-50 BCE) Museo Pio Clementino, Vatican
By Hagesandrus, Athenodoros & Polydorus

• Punishment of Dirce (The Farnese Bull) (c.150 BCE) Naples
By Apollonius of Tralles (fl. mid-2nd century BCE)

• Aphrodite of Melos ("Venus de Milo") (c.100 BCE) Louvre, Paris
By Andros of Antioch on the Maeander

• Pieta (1497-9) Marble, Saint Peters Basilica, Rome
• David (1501-4) Marble, Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence
• Dying Slave (1513-16) Marble, Louvre, Paris
By Michelangelo (1475-1564)

• The Rape of the Sabine (1581-3) Piazza della Signora, Florence
By Giambologna (1529-1608)

• Pope Leo Driving Attila from the Gates of Rome (1646-53) St Peter's Rome
By Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654)

• The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (1647-52) Capella Cornaro, Rome
• Pluto and Proserpina (1621-2) Galleria Borghese, Rome
• Apollo and Daphne (1622-5) Galleria Borghese, Rome
By Bernini (1598-1680)

• Milo of Crotona (1671-82) Louvre, Paris
By Pierre Puget (1620-94)

• Portrait of Voltaire (1781) Comedie-Francaise, Paris
By Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)

• Apollo Crowing Himself (1781) J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
By Antonio Canova (1757-1822)

• Jason with the Golden Fleece (1803-28) Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen
By Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1884)

• The Kiss (1888-9) Musee Rodin, Paris
By Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)

• For more facts about plastic arts in Ireland, see: Irish Art Encyclopedia.
• For details of sculptors in Ireland, see Irish Sculpture.
• For the evolution and development of the visual arts, see: History of Art.

• To update this mini-review of marble sculpture, click here.