Image-making has always been predominant interest of mankind. Even Neanderthal men used this form of art to shape and decorate the rocks of caves. In the beginning, those were themes from their everyday life, mainly various species of animals. Later on, their focus of interest became the swelling curves of female form emphasizing the fertility on which the survival of the tribe depended.
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Sculpture
Image-making has always been predominant interest of mankind.
Even Neanderthal men used this form of art to shape and decorate
the rocks of caves. In the beginning, those were themes from their
everyday life, mainly various species of animals. Later on, their
focus of interest became the swelling curves of female form
emphasizing the fertility on which the survival of the tribe
depended. However, the birthplace of first masterpieces of
sculpture trace to Greece with the anthropomorphic representations
in general and the nude male in particular are considered the
greatest achievement of Greek sculpture. The ancient art of
sculpture is regarded as one of fine arts and visual arts at the
same time, since it denotes three-dimensional works employing
materials that can be moulded, shaped or manipulated, such as
stone, clay, plaster, bronze, metals or wood. The sculptures in the
main represented an object or person of religious worship.
Furthermore, apart from human figures, and its tendency to large
works, sculpture arsenal was and still is abundant in ordinary
tools, weapons, vessels or even animals. Throughout history, an
interest for art of sculpting has never decreased. Every cultural
period has its traditional processes of carving and modeling and
once again with the emphasis on the human body. Renaissance can
boast about famous sculptures such as Donatellos Bronze David and
Michelangelos David. The main distinction is between sculpture in
the round i.e. free standing sculpture and the various types of
relief, which are at least partly attached to a background
surface.
