Gateway to the Classics: Famous Sculpture by Charles L. Barstow

Sculpture is the art of carving, cutting, or otherwise shaping solid material such as marble, clay, wood, ivory or any of the various metals, so as to represent the human figure, or a group of figures, or any natural object, or even a mere pattern. Clay was the first material used. In far distant ages, man used soft clay to build his hut, and from it he also fashioned rude pots and utensils that he baked in the sun. Then some one discovered that if the clay was placed in a hot fire it would become hard and keep its shape. We do not know who made this discovery, but, however it came about, it was a great step forward in the progress of the human race.

We practise clay-modeling in our schools and it is a great teacher. When we try to imitate the form of some object, we learn to observe carefully, to be persistent and industrious, to be truthful and neat, and to remember. It trains the mind, the eye, and the hand. And in the same way it trained the mind, the eye, and the hand of primitive man.

When it was found that baking would make clay permanent, people began to use more care in shaping the articles made from it. Handles were added to the pots and more and more beautiful shapes were designed. Lines were drawn on it to record the history of the tribe, or to express some thoughts of the worker, or to tell a story, and, as time went on, a sense of proportion was developed and there came a love of symmetry and grace.

It is hard to realize that the rude work of savage man in clay, wood, or stone should have been the first steps in the art of sculpture as we know it to-day. In these pages we cannot hope to do more than make the acquaintance of a few of the great works in this field of art, and to learn something of their meaning, but if this knowledge leads to a love of them, our study will have been well worth while.

For the influence of the best sculpture is beneficial to both mind and body. A famous specialist in London used to send his patients suffering from nervous strain, to the British Museum to pass an hour now and then among the antique statues, and they always came away refreshed and calm.

Without some knowledge of sculpture, we should be unable to understand the conversation of educated people, much less could we understand good literature.

Kinds of Sculpture

When we study a work of sculpture it is well to remember that the sculptor was trying to express something. We should try to find out what it was.

We may divide sculptures into groups according to the subjects they depict. First, there is religious sculpture. The finest sculptures in the world are those of Phidias and Praxiteles in which they embodied the Greek idea of the gods. Michelangelo, as we see in his Pietà and his Moses, also found his greatest expression in this field.

Then there is a sculpture of sport. We shall see that the Greeks were so devoted to athletic contests that they raised monuments to the victors. Even to the present day much of the best work would fall under this head.

What can produce greater emotion than the heroic deeds, the sorrow, the devotion, the exaltation of war? So in war the sculptor finds many inspiring subjects for his chisel. Stand before the statue of Farragut in Madison Square, New York City, you will catch a breath of the choking powder-smoke, with the salt tang of the sea, and feel the whipping of the battle-flags in the breeze which tugs at the coat of the hero. If you do not perceive this, you have not seen the statue at all; you have not comprehended what the sculptor was trying to say to you.

There is still another group of subjects which has for its theme beauty pure and simple. Idealism here creates forms that speak to us of the truth of beauty.

In sculpture, as in painting, there is the field of portraiture, and much the same standards apply to both. One man will represent his subject just as he actually is when measured by the tape line, and show us only the external man without attempting to portray the deeper likeness that lies in the pose and other expressions of character. In contrast to this realist is the idealist, who gives us a sculpture that reveals the whole man, not merely his outer form, but his character as well. Such portraiture is not less true because it may be less literal.

By giving noble expression to the heroes of a nation the sculptor inspires true patriotism. The thousands who see our finest statues of Lincoln come to know the man as he was; to feel an affection for him and for the great things he stood for and fought for. So the personality of this great American is carried on through the ages and becomes intimately known to generation after generation of people. "Fine art," says the critic Winckelman, "is the most trustworthy expression of the faith, the sentiments, and the emotions of past ages, and often of their institutions and modes of life." It is thus the chief record we have of the various stages of civilization.

These are a few of the essential points about the several kinds of sculpture. The oftener we see good work, the better we shall be able to appreciate it. The same is true here as in music or literature. Familiarity with great works educates the judgment and helps the beholder to understand what the artist has tried to express, to catch his message and his meaning, and to judge for himself whether the work is worthy. One thing we have a right to expect of the sculptor—that his work be honest and sincere. This is of the first importance. If the man does not try to give us an honest piece of work and a true and worthy message, we must have none of him.

If you love good pictures and good books, you will learn to love good sculpture and to understand it.

The Nude in Sculpture

"The true task of sculpture," said Lübke, "is to conceive man in his full beauty." Hence, in this art, the nude or unclothed figure is often represented. The nude in sculpture is the attempt to express thoughts, ideas, beauty, by means of the human form. It is the human form ideally conceived.

The work of the sculptor is not an exact copy of any individual form. He combines the best points of several models in producing a single figure that will express the idea he wishes to portray. If, when we look at a statue, we try to find the idea the sculptor was trying to express, we shall never think of a statue as unclothed.

How a Statue is Made

The first thing for the sculptor to do, as for the painter, is to decide on the subject that he wishes to portray. Having determined this, he must try to select a suitable pose for his model. Suppose you were to design something for the outside of your own school building. There are many ideas that would be appropriate. Most boys would think of a ball game or some athletic contest. Suppose it to be a race. This very subject has been treated by many fine sculptors. If you will try to plan out such a thing for yourself, it will help you to see some of the problems the sculptor has to think of. But first we will see how he goes about his work when he has decided on the pose he will use.

Light and plenty of room are necessary requirements for the sculptor. He has the advantage over the painter in that he can use artificial light. Michelangelo, it is said, often worked at night with a candle fastened to the front of his cap. Having invented or conceived his subject, the artist usually begins by making a small sketch of it in some soft substance, such as clay or wax. Clay is the simplest and best material, although, for small objects, wax is a good substitute. To be in good condition the clay must be kept moist. It can be used over and over again, and improves with handling. The best tools are the hands and fingers, but implements of straight or twisted wire and a flat steel are also used. Besides these, a plumb-line, a spirit-level, and wooden or iron calipers are needed.

The work is done on a modeling-stool with a revolving top, so that the model may be constantly moved without difficulty and be seen in different lights and from different points of view. As a basis for the statue there must be a strong framework, usually of iron, to support the clay and hold it in place.

To work from life is the constant aim of the sculptor and it is only by the study of living models that he can attain a high degree of excellence in his art. The student usually begins by making a bust—that is the head and shoulders only of his subject. The sitter and the work should be close together, and the young artist proceeds as if he were copying another statue. But although he measures each point, and tries to reproduce exactly what he sees before him, something of his own personality will go into all that he does. In planning out a figure it is common to have a scheme of measurements by dividing the figure into a certain number of equal parts or faces, the distance from the top of the forehead to the chin, forming the unit. The Greeks did this, and they went even further, having model statues and measurements which they considered to be those of the perfect human figure. The careful study of anatomy is as necessary to the sculptor as to the physician.

If the final work is to be in marble or bronze, the next process, after finishing the model, is to mold it. This is done by applying patches of wet plaster of Paris (which quickly sets, or hardens) in such a way that they can be removed piece by piece from the model and then fitted together again, making a hollow mold. The inside of this is then brushed over with oil or some greasy substance, which prevents it from adhering to the casting. The material is then poured in, and when it has set, the mold is taken away and a true cast appears. If the final work is to be of marble or stone, this casting will be made of plaster.

The next step is to procure a marble block of the required size, from which skilled workmen then cut the statue, copying the plaster model by the aid of an instrument having arms, and a needle, which, being placed against the plaster model, can be made to indicate mechanically a similar point on the rough marble. The marble is then chiseled away until this exact point is reached, and this operation is repeated until the statue exactly reproduces the cast. The master sculptor may then do some chiseling with his own hand, but often does not, as his art consists in fashioning in the clay the statue which the workmen have merely imitated in marble.

Other Forms of Sculpture

We have been speaking of statues made to be seen from all sides, or "in the round," as it is called; but there are other methods of producing figures in stone or metal. The most important of these is known as "relief," that is, the figures project from a ground, or plane, upon which they are formed. There are three principal kinds of relief: high relief, low relief (or bas-relief), and middle relief. High relief projects from the background more than one half its natural circumference. Low relief, which we are most accustomed to from seeing it on the coins we sometimes carry in our pockets, projects only a little.

Wood carving is a form of sculpture. At one time it reached a point of much beauty and perfection. The difference between modeling and carving is that, in the former, one starts from nothing and builds up some thing, while in the latter he starts with a piece of something and takes away what is not needed. The carving of ivory is another beautiful art, and the art of the goldsmith has been the school that has produced many sculptors.

The Story of Sculpture

In the history of sculpture, two periods, each with its group of great men, overtop all the rest. These are: first, the period of Greek sculpture, several hundred years before the Christian Era; second, the period of Renaissance sculpture in Italy in the fifteenth century. Each of these was followed by a period of decline. The great names in Greek sculpture are Myron, Phidias, Scopas, and Praxiteles. The great names in Renaissance sculpture are Pisano, Donatello, della Robbia, Cellini, Verocchio and Michelangelo.

Greek sculpture was preceded by Oriental and Egyptian sculpture, but they were crude by comparison; while between the sculpture of the Greeks and that of the Renaissance (and of less importance) came Roman sculpture and the Church sculpture of the Middle Ages. Following the decline of the Renaissance came the later period called modern. If we bear these few great divisions in mind, we have a sort of bird's-eye view of the whole subject as it has grown in history.