BAAO COMMUNITY COLLEGE

San Juan, Baao, Camarines Sur

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College of Education

SCULPTURE

JESUS B. RANCES, LPT MARICON B. RANCES, LPT

Instructor, Baao Community College Instructor, Baao Community College
The Development of Sculpture
Sculpture is an art form which employs
modeling. Modeling refers to the technique by
which a material is shaped and formed into a
single mass or a block of material having tri-
dimensional form.
Kinds of sculpture
Example of Relief
Example of Alto relievo
Example of Basso-relievo
Example of Free Standing
Example of Kinetic/ Mobile
Example of Molding
Example of Carving
Example of Fabrication
Example of Casting
 Types of Sculpture
The Four Sculpture Types
Sculptures fall into four basic categories: molded, cast,
carved or assembled. The media an artist uses for molded
sculptures include clay, wax, papier-mache and plaster.
Cast sculptures involve modeling the sculpture, then
making a mold and casting it in a metal or other medium.
The Development of
Sculpture
PRE-HISTORIC SCULPTURE
Pre-historic sculpture consisted of rude forms
carved in stones and wood. These figures and images
were created to commemorate heroes and heroines and
perpetuate the memory of men.
 EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE
Pre-historic Egyptian sculpture had gone through four
(4) periods.
1. First Dynasty Period- this period occurred 5,000 years
ago. The sun, moon, stars, and sacred animals were
common subjects of sculpture in this period. The sculptors
decorated the tombs of the dead with scenes from his life
and signs of his rank and profession with assurance that his
spirit may continue his existence within the tomb. Statues
began to flourish in this period.
 EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE
2. Old Kingdom Period- Portrait sculpture was
emphasize. Five life-like structures existed in every home.
Statues were either single figures or in family groups. The
faces of statues were always calm and grave. Statues of
royal personages were much larger than ordinary
personages to give impression of movement splendor.
 EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE
3. Middle Kingdom Period- Faces of statues made during
this period depicted individual moods but their bodies were
still rigid and straight in posture.
 EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE
4. New Kingdom Period- Figures of this period were life-
like and vigorous looking. They were depicted in usual
poses- walking, dancing, and bending. Figures showed
dignity and serenity.
 EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE
The form of Egyptian sculpture are palettes (shield
pieces of stone with relief carvings); wall carvings (bas-
relief or high reliefs found in walls of tombs) and statues
(figures of men and women in sitting and standing
positions, usually impressive). An example of Pre-historic
Egyptian sculpture is the Great Sphinx of Giza.
 GREEK SCULPTURE
Pre-historic Greek sculpture had gone through three (3) periods:
1. Daedalic Period- Marble was heavily used as material. Nude male
statues were usually produced.
2. Classical Age- This was the golden age or Age of Pericles in Greece.
Temples of gods and goddesses were adorned with sculpture figures.
Many Statues depicted young victors of Greek games and athletic
contests. The human body with all its beauty and splendor was the
emphasis of art in this period. Male figures were always naked; woman
figures were fully draped.
 GREEK SCULPTURE
3. Later Greek Period- Male and Female figures were shown
with very little or no clothing at all. An example of pre-historic
Greek sculpture is the famous Venus de Milo.

Kritios Boy (490-480)

Acropolis Museum, Athens.
 CLASSICAL HELENISTIC GREEK
Archaic Greek
sculpture GREEK SCULPTURE
SCULPTURE begin with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC
and end with the conquest of the Greek world by the
(from about 650 to 480 BC)
Romans
  from about 500 BC to around 200 AD

 kouros  the standing male nude

Laocoon and His Sons
The Peplos Kore’, c. 530 BC  excavated in the 16th century
 ROMAN SCULPTURE
Pre-historic Roman Sculpture portrayed famous men and
woman in bust forms. The personalities were represented as if in
real life, including their individual imperfections.
 BYZANTINE SCULPTURE
Byzantine sculpture is classified into two:
1. Early Byzantine Sculpture- During this period, no statues
can be seen in churches and basilicas only symbols or signs as
mosaic. For example, fish symbolized Christ; hand protruding
from the clouds symbolized God.
 BYZANTINE SCULPTURE
2. Later Byzantine Sculpture- Statues replaced mosaic
symbols and signs. Biblical statues adorned churches, basilicas,
and even home. These statues are tall, dignified, straight,
exquisitely carved, sometimes covered with jewels. Christ was
shown as fully garbed, mature, and has a dark-beard and
haunting eyes.
 ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE
Romanesque Sculpture gave prominence to Biblical
characters and human figures as subjects. Biblical characters and
human figures were carved in statues or in reliefs, with the
bodies fully clothed, flat, and elongated and the faces grave and
remote. Draperies were usually swirled in whirlpool patterns
around theses figures. Arches of churches were decorated with
zigzag and geometric designs.
 GOTHIC SCULPTURE
Gothic statues of human figure were given a natural and life-
like look, both in bodies and facial expressions. They wore
garments to give the impression of real-bodies.
 RENAISSANCE SCULPTURE
Renaissance sculpture is divided into three periods:
1. Early Renaissance Sculpture- Great and detailed attention
was given to anatomical shapes, proportions, and perspectives to
indicate a more scientific attitude towards art.
2. Middle Renaissance Sculpture- By the end of the 15th
century, sculpture became more secular than religious. Palaces
were adorned with sculpture cast in bronze.
 RENAISSANCE SCULPTURE
3. Later Part of the Renaissance- The subject matters of
sculpture were legends and myths of Greece and Rome. The
Artists were given complete freedom on their choice of subject.
 High Renaissance
Early Renaissance Northern renaissance

David(Michaelangelo) Bacchus (Michaelangelo)

 BAROQUE SCULPTURE
Baroque sculpture started in the 17th century. It depicted the
beauty of art and stressed on the expression of emotion. The
works of Gian Lorenzo Bermini and the La Piedad of Gregorio
Fernandez, a famous Spanish sculptor, were representative of
Baroque Sculpture.
 BAROQUE SCULPTURE
Rococo sculpture, being ornate and exquisite, designed purely
for ornamental purposes. This art appeared largely in furniture,
panels, vases, and urns. Rococo sculpture was first used in the
court of the French King Louis XV.
 20 TH
CENTURY SCULPTURE
20th century sculpture was mainly concerned with the human
body.
1. Pablo Picasso, the Father of Abstract sculpture and Julio
Gonzales advocated a regeneration of plastic shapes through
geometric organization of the human body. Abstract sculpture
remains tide to biology.
 20 TH
CENTURY SCULPTURE
2. Henry Moore and his associates depicted anxiety and terror in
their sculpture. Through this form, the sculptor’s view of life is
shown.
3. Alberto Giacometti carved a figure endowed with either
action or feeling by using thinned-out matter rising upward in
empty space- the expression of being lost in infinite
nothingness.
 20 TH
CENTURY SCULPTURE
4. In 1910, a sculpture of geometric shapes emerged. This led to
a new tool in sculpture – the blow torch. Through the
presentation of marred and tangled shapes, contemporary
sculpture showed fear and terror.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF
SCUPLTURE IN THE
PHILIPPINES
SCULPTURE DURING THE
SPANISH PERIOD
Even before the Spaniards arrived in the Phil. in the
16th Century, some forms of native sculpture, mostly of
idols, existed. Because of their pagan origin, the native
idols were destroyed by the Spaniard. In time,
Christianity spread, and so sculptors turned to religion
for their subject matter. They carved images of saints,
crosses, cruxifixes and other religious objects.
SCULPTURE DURING THE
SPANISH PERIOD
The blossoming of Filipino sculpture started in the 19th
century. An example of sculpture during this period is
the Virgin, an Araneta collection which displays an
unconventional figure of the Virgin. In this particular
sculpture, her arms are bent, the neck thick, the face
chubby and masculine, and the eyes are large and set
widely.
 SCULPTURE DURING THE
SPANISH PERIOD
Sculpture developed very slowly in the Phil. The sculptors
learned from their predecessors or from the experience of fellow
sculptors.
The best examples of the 18th century images are the bas-
relief Estaciones in the church of Tanay; the image of the La
Purisima Concepcion presumably left by Salcedo’s men, also in
Tanay; St. John and Christ at the Morong Chruch.
 SCULPTURE DURING THE
SPANISH PERIOD
Realism developed fully in the Manila area in the 19th century-
there were not only native sculptors but also Sangleys who were
skillful in the craft. The well-carved images and ornamentations
in the Patio of San Augustin Church were of Baroque Art. They
were done mostly in the 18th century.
 SCULPTURE DURING THE
AMERICAN PERIOD
After the revolution in 1896, Filipino sculptors began to erect
monuments. The monuments of Jose Rizal were constructed in
plazas all over the archipelago. In 1905, a full-figure monument
was undertaken by Ramon Martinez. The monument was
erected at the site of “Cry of Balintawak” in honor of Andres
Bonifacio. It also displayed other heroes but it was popularly
known as the Bonifacio Monument.
 SCULPTURE DURING THE
AMERICAN PERIOD
At the turn of the second decade, an international competition
for the design of a Rizal Monument was held. Carlos Noli, an
Italian sculptor, won first prize. However, it was the entry of a
Swiss national, which won the second prize, that was finally
chosen to be erected at the Luneta. The first prize winner did not
have the money to post the required performance bond. The
Rizal figure with a book and topcoat became the prototype of
Rizal Monument all over the Phil.
 SCULPTURE DURING THE
AMERICAN PERIOD
In some towns, the monument of Rizal is elaborate, such as
those in Baliwag, Bulacan and in Plaza Rizal in Naga City
(Cam. Sur). In Naga City, the stereotype Rizal figure stands atop
a quadrangular shaft, a book in the crotch of the left arm and the
right arm half raised. An angelic figure clings with her left hand
on the edge of the top of the shaft, her right arm outstretched,
offering a crown of olives. On the stepped sub-vase are female
figures.
 SCULPTURE DURING THE
AMERICAN PERIOD
Also in Naga City are the impressive monuments of the
fifteen martrys (Quince Martires), located at the Quince Martires
Plaza. The 15 martyrs are carved in bas-relief on 15 medallions
around the sub-vase. Four vases with female figures holding
electric bulbs surround the monuments. The monument bears the
ffg. Inscription: “El Pueblo de Camarines Sur a sus Quince
Martires.”
 SCULPTURE DURING THE
AMERICAN PERIOD
In Cebu city plaza, Rizal is depicted writing his “Last
Farewell”. An oil lamp sits beside the parchment on the four-
legged table.
In sorsogon city, the monument of Rizal was done in realistic
proportions. The figure stands with an overcoat crotch of his left
hand. Three figures (doctor, priest, and officer) are sculpted in
high relief on the base below the main Rizal figure.
 SCULPTURE DURING THE
AMERICAN PERIOD
In Carcar, Cebu, the Rizal Monument has an impressive
setting with an ornate base built on a wide, tapering platform
with balustrades and form stairs of twelve steps.
Guillermo Tolentino sculpted the Rizal figure in Binan
Laguna. Other sculptors like Ramon Martinez, Eulogio Garcia,
Vidal Tampingco, and Ambrosio Morales were also engaged in
the making of Rizal Monuments.
 SCULPTURE DURING THE
AMERICAN PERIOD
Tolentino has developed a mastery of the human figure which
is very essential in molding figures for monuments. He was
commissioned to do the statue of the Oblation which was
constructed at the Rizal Hall area. Later, it was transferred to the
UP in Diliman.
 SCULPTURE DURING THE
AMERICAN PERIOD
The works of Francisco R. Monti heralded the Modernism
movement in sculpture. The Metropolitan Theatre was the
largest of the buildings erected during the Modernism period.
This building is characterized by a round façade and low and
high figural ornaments in the lobby.
REFERENCES:
▪ Ariola, M.M (2014). Introduction to Art
Appreciation: A Textbook in Humanities (Second
Edition). C & E Publishing, Inc., Quezon City,
Philippines.
▪ Sanchez, C.A., Abad, P.F., Jao, L.V., & Sanchez,
R.A(2012). Introduction to the Humanities(Sixth
Edition). Rex Book Store, Manila, Philippines.