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1. Surface and texture I
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| Analysing Sculpture: Techniques > Analysing Sculpture > 2 | |
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1. Surface and texture I |
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| Although the different techniques dictate to some extent the sort of surface and texture that is possible, artists use sculptural materials with great diversity. | |
| Working subtractively in stone in early periods when tools were limited meant that surfaces were broadly defined. With more sophisticated tools it became possible to create complex, undercut surfaces, and to mimic closely the different textures of hair, flesh and cloth, for example. Sculptors also choose whether to leave the stone surface dull or to polish it. Sculptors sometimes elect to leave the marks of the tools they are using to give the surface texture and directional marks, as Michelangelo did when he left the parallel grooves of the claw chisel on the surface of some of his carvings, showing the direction in which he had cut the stone. In his case, works that show this characteristic were unfinished, but later sculptors have deliberately used this kind of texture to enliven the surface. | |
| To find out more about marble carving click here. | |
| Similarly, wood carvers often prefer the lively texture of chisel marks to smoothly sanded and polished surfaces. | |
| In additive sculpture, the modeled form allows more freedom to create a variety of textures that closely mimic or create the impression of different surfaces. This can be copied almost exactly in bronze, which can in addition be chased and engraved to add further surface detail. | |