Relief
From Free net encyclopedia
- For other meanings, see relief (disambiguation).
Image:Centaur from Parthenon.jpg Image:Liegende Hetäre.jpg
In the art of sculpture, a relief is an artwork where a modeled form projects out of a flat background. Tensed musculature itself may be seen to be in relief. Depending on the depth involved, it may be termed a bas relief ("low relief") – as seen in numismatics – or it may be a high relief, with much undercutting, rendered almost in the round against its flat background. Reliefs are a common type of artwork found throughout the world, particularly to decorate monumental buildings, such as temples. The frieze in the classical Corinthian order is often enriched with bas-reliefs. High reliefs may been seen in the pediments of classical temples, e.g. the Parthenon. Reliefs can be used for a single scene, or ordered into a narrative.
Grades of "relief"
At least two levels of "relief are commonly used and defined. Bas relief (pronounced "bar"), which mean low relief, and Alto-relievo, meaning high. In both cases the images must attach to the background. Bas relief may show faces and even bodies in natural relief, though usually not. The backgrounds are always compressed for depth in "bas relief". In "alto relief" the figures are usually near natural depth and the background is more detailed and deeper.
Famous examples of reliefs include:
- Great Altar of Pergamon, now at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin
- Lions and dragons from the Ishtar Gate, Babylon
- Temple of Karnak in Egypt
- Angkor Wat in Cambodia
- Lion Capital of Asoka, the national symbol of India
- glyphs and artwork of the Maya civilization
- The monument to the Confederacy at Stone Mountain, Georgia
- Borobudur temple, Java, Indonesia
- The representation of Monticello on a US nickel.
 Greek couple in high relief Template:3d glasses |
 Palmyra Figure in British Museum Template:3d glasses |
 Persian relief from Qajar era in the style of Persepolis, located at Tangeh Savashi. |