Stone Sculpture
History, Materials, Marble, Other Stones, Famous Sculptors.
Visual Arts

Stone Sculpture

Stone sculpture is one of the earliest forms of artistic expression. The Stone Age figurine known as The Venus of Willendorf dating from around 30,000 BCE is one of the oldest artworks in the world. Thereafter, Neolithic Man created numerous monumental stone works infused with ritualistic and religious significance. The original structure at Newgrange in County Meath, Ireland, included a series of sculptures in stone, and the monument at Stonehenge is itself an outstanding sculptural work. Egyptian, Greek and Roman art, gave birth to a huge range of stone sculpture including monumental artworks, as well as free-standing and carved relief sculpture.

One of its most famous examples of Greek sculpture was the 100-foot high Colossus of Rhodes - a huge statue of the Greek god Helios, built on the island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos about 280 BCE. Deemed one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was the tallest statue of the ancient world. Stone reliefs on public buildings in Athens (eg. Parthenon) and Rome (Trajan's Column, or Arch of Titus in the Forum Romanum) were created as a form of history narrative, celebrating the triumphs and achievements of Greek culture and Roman Empire.

Gothic Stone Relief Sculpture

The great Gothic-style Cathedrals of Chartres, Notre Dame de Paris, Amiens, Rheims and others, are studded with the greatest collection of Old Testament and New Testament relief stone sculpture the world has ever known. Like a 3-D version of Michelangelo's fresco paintings on the roof and walls of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, the exteriors and interiors of these monumental churches boast a massive array of Saints, Apostles, members of the Holy Family, along with various angels and other gospel figures, plus narrative reliefs depicting the Birth of Jesus, The Passion of Christ and other biblical events.

Sculpting Methods and Materials

Stone

The sculptural process starts with the choice of stone for carving. The artist may already have a clear subject in mind and set out to acquire a stone to facilitate his creative vision, and ensure it endures. The hardest and most weatherproof stone is igneous rock, formed by the cooling of molten rock, such as granite, diorite and basalt. Sedimentary stones like alabaster (gypsum) may also be used, although they contain noticeable strata. Metamorphic stones, formed by changes to igneous and sedimentary rock caused by extreme temperature or pressure, are very popular with sculptors: the best example being the different types of marbles. Greek artists employed Pentelic marble to create the Parthenon sculptures, while later Roman and Renaissance sculptors favoured the pure-white Carrara variety. Marble has a wonderful transluscent quality which lends added realism to figurative subjects. Also, newly quarried marble is comparatively soft and easy to sculpt, becoming more durable as it ages. Unfortunately, it lacks tensile strength requiring weight to be balanced, and can become discoloured over time, either with handling or because of the effects of acid rain.

Models and Tools

While the stone is being selected, the sculptor may make a start on his intended composition by making a small-size clay or wax model, or a sketch on the stone itself or other media. He might also assemble his tools. During the Renaissance period these implements would include the following. A set of chisels (Gli Scalpelli) including flat (Scalpello), pointed (Subbia), round-ended (Unghietto), toothed (Gradina), and splitting (Scapezzatore) chisels; a mallet (La Mazza) used to strike the chisel. As well as this, the sculptor would use several different hammers - to strike the edge-tools like the chisels and also the stone itself. Modern sculptors also employ a pneumatic hammer, an angle-grinder with a diamond blade, and differing hand drills.

Carving and Polishing

The carving itself begins with the chiseling away of large chunks of redundant rock, using the basic hammer and point work technique. Once a rough figure emerges, more precise markings are made with charcoal, pencil or crayon on the stone, and the sculptor employs specific tools (like a toothed chisel, claw chisel, rasps and rifflers) to reduce the rock further and create the figure. When the suculpture is complete, the final task is polishing, for which sandpaper, sand cloth and emery stone are used, in conjunction with tin and iron oxides to enhance the reflective quality of the surface.

The main alternatives to stone sculpture are bronze and wood.

• For details of stone sculptors in Ireland, see: Guide to Irish Art

• How to Update This Mini Review of Stone Sculpture

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