Many say that sculptures are the only form of art that completely embody everything that art is. A sculpture isn’t only the reproduction in three dimensions of a person event, object animal, or something abstract. Every sculpture says something about the artist, about what feelings he wishes to transmit, what he wants to tell us. From the prehistoric era to modern times human beings have made sculptures. But in almost every era, a sculpture was not the exact replica of the thing in nature it depicted. It was much closer to a perfect version of thing it depicted. Having said that, here are what I consider to be some of the most famous sculptures of all time.

1.      The Venus of Willendorf. This is one of the oldest sculptures dating back from around 22,000 – 21,000 years BCE. Its craftsmanship is amazing for the tools of that era. Because it was just 11 cm high, and it couldn’t stand on its feet, scientists have speculated, that it was carried around by early humans. Its features are exaggerated, with enormous breasts, belly, and buttocks, and archeologists have said that it had something to do with the fertility myth. For early humans, these were the characteristics that made a woman fertile. Other things, like the hands of the statue aren’t important, so they don’t appear. As well, the head of the statue has no face. From my point of view this one of the most important and also one of the most famous sculptures of all time.  

2.      The Riace Bronzes. These are a group of bronze statues depicting men, which from my point of view should be some of the most famous sculptures of all time. That is because they define the way sculptures needed to be. Not realistic, because that was boring for the ancient Greeks, but exaggerated, with certain features that couldn’t exist in real life. For this purpose the human body was split in four specific parts, one axis going vertically thru the middle of the body and one going horizontally, so that the symmetry and therefore the perfection would be highlighted. This way, the muscles that separated the pelvis from the abdomen are greatly exaggerated, to make the separation between top and bottom very clear. As well, the abdomen and pectoral muscles, are relaxed, but have a bigger than possible groove thru the middle. The muscles on the back are tense and so the column groove is greatly exaggerated. The legs are unrealistically long, so the bottom part of the statue would be just as tall as the top part.

3.      The Terracotta Army. These are definitely some of the most famous sculptures of all time. The Terracotta Army is made up of a whole army of life size soldiers, horses and chariots that were sculpted in order to be buried and presumably protect the first emperor of China Shi Huangdi in his journey to the after-world. The accomplishment was amazing if we take into account the sheer number of sculptures: 8000 soldiers, 520 horses, 150 cavalry horses, and 130 chariots. As the name suggests, these sculptures are made from bunt earth.  They were made approximately around the year 210 BC, and were discovered by accident, by a Chinese farmer in 1974.

4.      David. Michelangelo’s David is probably one of the most famous sculptures of all time. Being a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, the sculpture was made between the years 1501-1504. It is a very large statue, measuring 5.17 meters, and it is made out of marble, depicting the biblical character of David. The sculpture is a nude, and it was originally commissioned to be placed on the roofline of the Florence cathedral, but it ended up being placed in a public square. While other sculptures of the biblical hero always depict him with the head of the slain Goliath in his hand, in this version, Michelangelo seems to depict him right before the battle. His muscles seem tense, and his eyes are fixed, suggesting that he was starring down his opponent.

These are just a few of the most famous sculptures of all time. Art strives towards perfection, and isn’t just meant to depict forms or shapes as they are seen in nature but to interpret them and give them different connotations. The artist must let his talent mold what he sees and senses. That’s the only way he can create a masterpiece. For me sculptures represent the ultimate form of art. I believe that a sculpture has not only the advantage of another dimension, but also has the presence of another sense, the tactile one, that paintings don’t have. You can see the material and you can appreciate it, feel it move, as light bounces of its surface.

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