Bas-relief

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Bas-relief is a method of sculpting which entails carving or etching away the surface of a flat piece of stone or metal. The word is derived from the Italian basso rilievo, the literal translation meaning raised contrast. To explain simply it is a sculpture portrayed as a picture. The portrayed image is raised above the background flat surface. For example, if a stone slab is two inches thick before sculpting begins, then the non-image (background) area might be, say, one inch thick when the art work is done, and the image area will vary between one inch to two inches, depending on the final image. That would be considered to be "low relief" within the context of Bas-Relief. In a few major works of art, the actual human figure may have "near natural" depth, but still, the background is greatly flattened and is only a few inches behind the rounded figures. This might be characterized as "high bas-relief". The advantage of the natural contour of the figures allows the work to be viewed from many angles without distortion of the figures themselves, but the background depth is only suggested. There is a continuum of the bas relief technique into the next category, alto-relievo, or high relief. This technique combines the rounded figures with significantly deeper backgrounds. Instead of the backgrounds being a few inches deep, they may be a foot to several feet deep. To qualify as relief, of either kind, the sculpture figures must float out from the background. A good rule of thumb, to classify a work, might be that the "bas" technique always has less depth behind the faces or figures than the actual faces or figures would have, when measured. In "alto" technique, the depth behind the figures may equal or exceed the depth of the faces or figures, which are usually natural in depth.

Composite works

Occasionally, free standing sculptures are set in front of a relief sculpture to deepen the scene. Only those figures that are supported by attachment to the vertical stone background are considered to be part of the "relief". Foreground sculptures may be part of the final "grouping", but not of the "relief".

Historical Context

Bas relief has existed in all civilizations creating stone sculpture from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China, to classical, middle ages, and renaissance periods in European arts. A world wide use of this and the "alto" technique in public or political sculpture exists throughout the modern world. Bas-relief is an art technique that has been used since ancient times; the Elgin marbles are a prime example of this form of art. Stone Mountain is the world's largest bas-relief. The process is still in use today. There are countless examples both on display in museums and in the regular world. Most cultures of the world have utilized the technique.

Use in architecture

It is most commonly used for the architectural adornment of building surfaces, both inside and outside, where the stone is part of the building, rather than as a free-standing piece of art to be hung on a wall. Sometimes the resulting image has been painted, and other times it has been left in the natural state of the material used. Bas-relief should not be confused with an etching, as the latter requires cutting into a flat surface, leaving indentations within the flat surface, which becomes suitable for printing by applying ink and pressing paper to the surface.

Please note: Images in 3D may appear slightly degraded without 3D glasses	Classic bas-relief Template:3d glasses	Late Roman bas-relief Template:3d glasses	Palmyra bas-relief figure 2nd Cent. C.E. Template:3d glasses
Hellenistic influenced Indian Buddhist bas-relief Template:3d glasses	Madonna and child Template:3d glasses	Greek bas-relief, girl with a dove Template:3d glasses

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