The most famous statue. Famous antique sculptures

To paraphrase the German art theorist Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, we can say that sculpture is music frozen in stone. While millions of tourists are photographed against the backdrop of world-famous masterpieces by Bernini, Michelangelo and Rodin, we bring you a selection of 25 lesser-known but noteworthy stone, bronze and steel statues.

Funny and cute, sometimes strange and frightening, they cheer up passers-by and make the cities they are in a little more unusual.

Mustangs of Las Colinas in Irving (Texas, USA)


It is one of the largest sculptured groups of horses in the world. It symbolizes the dynamics and liberated spirit that were inherent in Texas during the period of its development.

Expansion, New York, USA

The author comments on this sculpture: “From the moment of our birth, the world offers us a ready-made shell, into which we must fit: social security number, gender, race, profession. I thought: what we really are - this outer shell in which we live, or what is under it, inside each of us? Do we recognize ourselves if we go beyond our body? "

Monument to an Unknown Passerby, Wroclaw, Poland


The sculpture symbolizes the suppression of the individual during communism and the underground anti-communist activities of the Poles in the 1980s.

Salmon, Portland, USA


Portland is a major port city and this fish attracts visitors to one of its most famous restaurants.

People by the river, Singapore


The author of this composition, Chong Fah Cheong (Chong Fah Cheong) is known for the large number of sculptures depicting people who live and work on the banks of the Singapore River.

Shoes on the banks of the Danube, Budapest, Hungary

The sculpture commemorates the Jews killed by the Nazis in Budapest during World War II. They were ordered to take off their shoes and were shot by the water. The bodies of the victims fell into the river and were carried away by the current. Only shoes remained as a reminder of the tragedy.

Sculpture "No to Violence" (also known as "The Knotted Pistol"), New York, USA


It was created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd in late 1980 to commemorate the murder of John Lennon, who was a friend of the sculptor.

Break through from your mold, Philadelphia, USA


This composition symbolizes the desire for immortality. 4 figures are one and the same person who gradually awakens from sleep, throws off the shackles, and breaks free to meet eternal life.

Black ghost (Juodasis Vaiduoklis), Klaipeda, Lithuania


According to the legend, in 1595 one of the guards of the Klaipeda castle saw a ghost who warned the guard that the city needed to increase its grain and timber reserves. Having said this, the spirit evaporated. It is believed that making friends with a supernatural being will bring wealth and good fortune.

Travelers (Les voyageurs), Marseille, France


A series of sculptures by the Frenchman Bruno Catalano was installed in the port of Marseille in 2013. Each figure is missing a significant part of the body. One can only guess about the reasons for such emptiness: is it because these people lack something, or did they just leave a part of their soul somewhere while traveling?

Nelson Mandela Memorial, South Africa


The composition was installed in honor of the 50th anniversary of the arrest of a human rights activist during the period of apartheid. The monument was erected where Mandela was arrested, and consists of 50 steel columns, symbolizing the prison bars, behind which the 8th President of South Africa was held for 27 years.

"De Vaartkapoen", Brussels, Belgium


Created in 1985, this playful statue shows a police officer tripping over an intruder hiding in a manhole.

Cattle Drive, Dallas, USA

Maman (giant spider), London, UK


A bronze sculpture of a giant spider is in the Tate Modern.

Hippos, Taipei, Taiwan

Sinking Building at the State Library, Melbourne, Australia

Iguana Park, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Observer, Bratislava, Slovakia


On English language this sculpture is called "Worker", however, its name is translated from Slovak as "observer". This bronze plumber is watching passers-by right from the manhole. Tourists believe that if you rub the hand of the sculpture, then all wishes will come true.

Mihai Eminescu, Onesti, Romania

Monument to the classic of Romanian literature
Episode of the First World War with figures of soldiers in full growth, Eceabat, Turkey


During the First World War, land battles of the Dardanelles operation took place on the territory of the region.

Hanging Man, Prague, Czech Republic
25 unusual sculptures you may not have known about


Who do you think this sculpture represents? Oddly enough, this is the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. The sculptor David Černý created this piece in response to the question of what role intellectuals will play in the new millennium. According to the author, the founder of psychoanalysis is the embodiment of the 20th century intellectual.

Kelpie, Grangemouth, UK


Kelpies in Scottish mythology are a water spirit hostile to people that lives in many rivers in lakes. He appears in the guise of a horse grazing by the water, but can turn into a sea lizard, and therefore he is often associated with the Loch Ness monster.

Pigs in front shopping center Rundle Mall, Adelaide, Australia


The pigs are named Oliver, Augusta, Horatio and Truffle.

Unidentified official, Reykjavik, Iceland

Perhaps the only statue in the world dedicated to faceless bureaucratic work.

Headington Shark, Oxford, England

The shark created by sculptor John Buckley caused a lot of controversy when it first appeared in public. Oxford City Council attempted to remove it from the building for security reasons, and then on the grounds that it did not give planning permission for the installation of the shark statue. It was proposed to move it to a local pool, but many local residents supported the idea of ​​leaving the shark on the building. By the way, the meaning of the sculpture is much deeper than it might seem at first glance: it was installed on the 41st anniversary of the fall of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. In a sense, the shark represents a beautiful but potentially deadly rocket.

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The silence of the great statues holds many secrets.

When Auguste Rodin was asked how he creates his statues, the sculptor repeated the words of the great Michelangelo: "I take a block of marble and cut off everything unnecessary from it." This is probably why the sculpture of a real master always creates a feeling of a miracle: it seems that only a genius is capable of seeing the beauty that is hiding in a piece of stone.

We are in site we are sure that in almost every significant work of art there is a riddle, a "double bottom" or a secret story that you want to reveal. Today we will share a few of them.

Horned Moses

Michelangelo Buanarotti, "Moses", 1513-1515

Michelangelo depicted Moses with horns on his sculpture. Many art historians attribute this to a misinterpretation of the Bible. The Book of Exodus says that when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the tablets, it was difficult for the Jews to look into his face. At this point in the Bible, a word is used that can be translated from the Hebrew as both “rays” and “horns”. However, according to the context, we can unequivocally say that we are talking about the rays of light - that the face of Moses shone, and was not horned.

Colored Antiquity

Augustus from Prima Porta, antique statue.

For a long time it was believed that ancient Greek and Roman sculptures made of white marble were originally colorless. However, recent research by scientists has confirmed the hypothesis that the statues were painted in a wide range of colors, which eventually disappeared under prolonged exposure to light and air.

The Little Mermaid's Suffering

Edward Eriksen, The Little Mermaid, 1913

The statue of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen is one of the most distressing in the world: it is she who is most loved by vandals. The history of its existence was very turbulent. It was broken and cut into pieces many times. And now you can still find barely noticeable "scars" on the neck, which appeared from the need to replace the head of the sculpture. The little mermaid was beheaded twice: in 1964 and 1998. In 1984, her right arm was sawed off. On March 8, 2006, a dildo was hoisted on the mermaid's hand, and the unfortunate woman herself was splattered with green paint. In addition, on the back there was a scrawled inscription "From March 8!" In 2007, Copenhagen authorities announced that the statue could be relocated further into the harbor to avoid further incidents of vandalism and to prevent the constant attempts of tourists to climb it.

"Kiss" without a kiss

Auguste Rodin, The Kiss, 1882

The famous sculpture by Auguste Rodin "The Kiss" was originally called "Francesca da Rimini", in honor of the noble Italian lady of the 13th century depicted on it, whose name was immortalized by Dante's Divine Comedy (Circle Two, Fifth Canto). The lady fell in love with her husband's younger brother, Giovanni Malatesta, Paolo. When they read the story of Lancelot and Guinevere, they were discovered and then killed by her husband. The sculpture shows Paolo holding a book in his hand. But in fact, lovers do not touch each other with their lips, as if hinting that they were killed without committing a sin.

The renaming of the sculpture to a more abstract one - The Kiss (Le Baiser) - was made by critics who first saw it in 1887.

The secret of the marble veil

Raphael Monti, Marble Veil, mid-19th century.

When you look at the statues covered with a translucent marble veil, one involuntarily thinks about how it is even possible to make such a thing out of stone. It's all about the special structure of the marble used for these sculptures. The lump, which was to become a statue, had to have two layers - one more transparent, the other more dense. Such natural stones are difficult to find, but they are. The master had a plot in his head, he knew what kind of lump he was looking for. He worked with it, respecting the texture of a normal surface, and walked along the border separating the denser and more transparent part of the stone. As a result, the remnants of this transparent part "shone through", which gave the effect of a veil.

Perfect David made of tainted marble

Michelangelo Buanarotti, "David", 1501-1504

The famous statue of David was made by Michelangelo from a piece of white marble left over from another sculptor, Agostino di Duccio, who unsuccessfully tried to work with this piece, and then threw it away.

By the way, David, who has been considered a model of male beauty for centuries, is not so perfect. The fact is that he was squint. This is the conclusion reached by the American scientist Mark Levoy from Stanford University, who examined the statue using laser-computer technology. The "visual defect" of the more than five-meter sculpture is invisible, since it is erected on a high pedestal. According to experts, Michelangelo deliberately endowed his brainchild with this flaw, since he wanted David's profile to look perfect from any side.

Death that inspired creativity

Kiss of Death, 1930

The most mysterious statue in the Poblenou cemetery in Catalonia is called the Kiss of Death. The sculptor who created it remains unknown to this day. Usually authorship of "The Kiss" is attributed to Jaume Barba, but there are those who are sure that the monument was sculpted by Joan Fonbernat. The sculpture is located in one of the far corners of the Poblenou cemetery. It was she who inspired the filmmaker Bergman to create the painting "The Seventh Seal" - about the communication of the Knight and Death.

The hands of Venus de Milo

Agesander (?), "Venus de Milo", c. 130-100 BC

The figure of Venus takes pride of place in the Parisian Louvre. A certain Greek peasant found her in 1820 on the island of Milos. At the time of discovery, the figure was broken into two large fragments. In her left hand, the goddess held an apple, and in her right she held the falling robe. Realizing the historical significance of this ancient sculpture, the officers of the French navy ordered the removal of the marble statue from the island. As Venus was being dragged over the cliffs to the waiting ship, a fight broke out between the bearers, and both hands broke off. The tired sailors flatly refused to return and look for the remaining parts.

Nice imperfection of Nika of Samothrace

Nika of Samothrace ", II century BC

The statue of Niki was found on the island of Samothrace in 1863 by Charles Champoiseau, French consul and archaeologist. A statue carved from golden Parian marble on the island crowned the altar of sea deities. Researchers believe that an unknown sculptor created Nika in the 2nd century BC as a sign of Greek naval victories. The arms and head of the goddess are irretrievably lost. Attempts were also made to restore the original position of the goddess's hands. It is assumed that the right hand, raised upward, was holding a goblet, wreath or horn. Interestingly, multiple attempts to restore the statue's arms were unsuccessful - they all spoiled the masterpiece. These failures force us to admit: Nika is beautiful just like that, perfect in her imperfection.

Mystical Bronze Horseman

Etienne Falconet, Monument to Peter I, 1768-1770

The Bronze Horseman is a monument surrounded by mystical and otherworldly stories. One of the legends associated with him says that during Patriotic War In 1812, Alexander I ordered to take out of the city especially valuable works of art, including a monument to Peter I. At this time, a certain major Baturin made a meeting with the Tsar's personal friend Prince Golitsyn and told him that he, Baturin, was haunted by the same dream ... He sees himself on Senate Square... Peter's face turns. The rider drives off his cliff and goes along the Petersburg streets to Kamenny Island, where Alexander I then lived. The rider enters the courtyard of the Kamennoostrovsky palace, from which the sovereign comes out to meet him. “Young man, what have you brought my Russia to,” Peter the Great tells him, “but as long as I’m in place, my city has nothing to fear!” Then the rider turns back, and again there is a "heavy-ringing gallop". Struck by Baturin's story, Prince Golitsyn conveyed the dream to the emperor. As a result, Alexander I canceled his decision to evacuate the monument. The monument remained in place.

Sculptors are masters of 3D art who have worked throughout human history to shape marble, bronze, wood and other materials into incredible shapes. Sculpture has always been an important way to understand culture and society, whether it is portrait busts of great leaders or symbolic depictions of ethical principles.

If you try to count everything famous sculptures in the history of mankind, you will find that the list is endless. Today we'll show you 15 of the most iconic and great pieces of this amazing visual art that everyone should know about.

Bust of Nefertiti, Thutmose, 1345 BC An image that has long been a symbol of the ideal of female beauty. Now stored in the New Museum in Berlin.

Terracotta army, 3rd century BC An incredible example of funerary art: 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots, 670 horses. The army was created to protect the Chinese emperor in the afterlife. It was only discovered in 1974 when farmers were digging a well.

Nika of Samothrace, 190 BC An iconic example of Hellenistic Greek sculpture at the Louvre.

Venus de Milo, 130 BC Legendary marble sculpture dedicated to the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Also located in the Louvre.

David, Donatello, 1430-1440 The Italian Renaissance sculptor Donatello created his David almost 100 years before the legendary David Michelangelo.

David, Michelangelo, 1501-1504 One of the most iconic sculptures in human history.

Statue of Liberty, designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel, 1876-1886 The copper statue depicting the Roman goddess Libertas is a symbol of US freedom.

The Thinker, Rodin, 1880 (cast in 1904). A masterpiece by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, who has become a symbol of philosophy.

Unique forms of continuity in space, Umberto Boccioni, 1913 (cast in 1931). The stunning sculpture by the genius Italian artist Umberto Boccioni, who died at 33, is now on display at the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Fountain, Duchamp, 1917 Marcel Duchamp once put the art world on his ears with his Fountain, a sculpture that is essentially a porcelain urinal. The groundbreaking work has challenged all art connoisseurs and made them think about traditional concepts of craftsmanship and aesthetics in art.

Lincoln Memorial, designed by Daniel Chester French and cast by PICCIRILLI BROTHERS, 1920 Sculpture of the contemplative Lincoln sitting inside the majestic temple that forms the rest of the Lincoln Memorial. In the 1930s, this space became a symbol of racial relations in the United States.

Bird in Space, Constantin Brancusi, 1923 A series of sculptures by a Romanian artist in marble and bronze, depicting, rather than the physical likeness of a bird, a sense of movement. The original version is currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Inflatable Dog, Jeff Koons, 1994-2000 The artist, who became the author of some of the most outstanding works of the 20th century, has created a series of similar sculptures of sparkling toy dogs. One of them went under the hammer at Christie's for $ 58.4 million in 2013.

Mom, Louise Bourgeois, 1999 The masterpiece, considered a symbol of the fusion of physical and psychological strength, is located near the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

Cloud Gate, Anish Kapoor, 2004. One of the most famous works of the scandalous sculptor is located in Chicago. The artist was inspired to create such an object by liquid mercury.

By planning travel to greece, many people are interested not only in comfortable hotels, but also the fascinating history of this ancient country, an integral part of which are objects of art.

A large number of treatises by well-known art historians are devoted specifically to ancient Greek sculpture, as the fundamental branch of world culture. Unfortunately, many monuments of that time did not survive in their original form, and are known from later copies. Studying them, one can trace the history of the development of Greek fine art from the Homeric period to the Hellenistic era, and highlight the brightest and most famous creations of each period.

Aphrodite of Milo

The world famous Aphrodite from the island of Milos dates back to the Hellenistic period of Greek art. At this time, by the forces of Alexander the Great, the culture of Hellas began to spread far beyond the Balkan Peninsula, which was noticeably reflected in the fine arts - sculptures, paintings and frescoes became more realistic, the faces of the gods on them have human features - relaxed poses, an abstract look, a soft smile ...

Statue of aphrodite, or as the Romans called it, Venus, made of snow-white marble. Its height is slightly more than human height, and is 2.03 meters. The statue was discovered by chance by an ordinary French sailor, who in 1820, together with a local peasant, dug Aphrodite near the remains of an ancient amphitheater on the island of Milos. During its transportation and customs disputes, the statue lost its arms and pedestal, but a record of the author of the masterpiece indicated on it has been preserved: Agesander, the son of a resident of Antioch Menides.

Today, after careful restoration, Aphrodite is exhibited in the Parisian Louvre, attracting millions of tourists every year with her natural beauty.

Nika of Samothrace

The time when the statue of the goddess of victory Nike was created dates back to the 2nd century BC. Studies have shown that Nika was installed above the sea coast on a steep cliff - her marble clothes flutter as if from the wind, and the inclination of the body represents a constant forward movement. The thinnest folds of clothing cover the strong body of the goddess, and powerful wings are spread in joy and triumph of victory.

The head and arms have not survived, although fragments were unearthed during excavations in 1950. In particular, Karl Lehmann with a group of archaeologists found the right hand of the goddess. Nika of Samothrace is now one of the outstanding exhibits of the Louvre. Her hand was never added to the general display; only the right wing, which was made of plaster, was restored.

Laocoon and his sons

The sculptural composition depicting the mortal struggle of Laocoon - the priest of the god Apollo and his sons with two snakes sent by Apollo in revenge for the fact that Laocoon did not listen to his will, and tried to prevent the entry of the Trojan horse into the city.

The statue was made of bronze, but its original has not survived to this day. In the 15th century, on the territory of Nero's "golden house", a marble copy of the sculpture was found, and by order of Pope Julius II it was installed in a separate niche of the Vatican Belvedere. In 1798, the statue of Laocoon was transported to Paris, but after the fall of Napoleon's rule, the British returned it to its original place, where it is kept to this day.

The composition, depicting Laocoon's desperate dying struggle with divine punishment, inspired many sculptors of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, and gave rise to a fashion for depicting complex, vortex-like movements of the human body in visual arts.

Zeus from Cape Artemision

The statue, found by divers near Cape Artemision, is made of bronze and is one of the few pieces of art of this type that has survived to this day in its original form. Researchers disagree about the belonging of the sculpture specifically to Zeus, believing that it can also represent the god of the seas, Poseidon.

The statue has a height of 2.09 m, and depicts the supreme walnut god, who raised his right hand in order to throw lightning in righteous anger. The lightning itself has not survived, but the numerous smaller figures show that it looked like a flat, highly elongated bronze disc.

After almost two thousand years of being under water, the statue was hardly damaged. Only the eyes disappeared, which were supposedly ivory and inlaid with precious stones. You can see this work of art in the National Archaeological Museum, which is located in Athens.

Statue of Diadumen

A marble replica of a bronze statue of a young man who himself crowns himself with a diadem - a symbol of a sporting victory, probably adorned the venue of the competitions in Olympia or Delphi. The diadem at that time was a red woolen headband, which, along with laurel wreaths, was awarded to the winners of the Olympic Games. The author of the work is Polycletus, who performed it in his favorite style - the young man is in easy movement, his face reflects complete calmness and concentration. The athlete behaves like a deserved winner - he does not show fatigue, although his body requires rest after the fight. In sculpture, the author managed to very naturally convey not only small elements, but also general position body, correctly distributing the mass of the figure. The full proportionality of the body is the pinnacle of the development of this period - the classicism of the 5th century.

Although the bronze original has not survived to our time, copies of it can be seen in many museums around the world - the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the Louvre, the Metropolitan, the British Museum.

Aphrodite Braschi

The marble statue of Aphrodite depicts the goddess of love, who was naked before taking her legendary, often described in myths, bath, returning her virginity. Aphrodite in her left hand holds the removed clothes, which are gently lowered onto standing next to jug. From an engineering point of view, this solution made the fragile statue more stable and gave the sculptor the opportunity to give it a more relaxed pose. The uniqueness of Aphrodite Braschi is that this is the first known statue of a goddess, the author of which decided to portray her naked, which at one time was considered unheard of insolence.

There are legends according to which the sculptor Praxitel created Aphrodite in the image of her beloved - the hetera Phryne. When her former admirer, the orator Eutias, found out about this, he raised a scandal, as a result of which Praxiteles was accused of unforgivable blasphemy. At the trial, the defender, seeing that his arguments did not match the impressions of the judge, pulled off Frina's clothes to show those present that such a perfect body of a model simply cannot harbor a dark soul. The judges, being adherents of the concept of kalokagati, were forced to fully acquit the defendants.

The original statue was taken to Constantinople, where he died in a fire. Many copies of Aphrodite have survived to our time, but they all have their own differences, since they were restored from verbal and written descriptions and images on coins.

Marathon youth

The statue of a young man is made of bronze, and presumably depicts the Greek god Hermes, although there are no preconditions or his attributes in the hands or clothes of the young man. The sculpture was raised from the bottom of the Marathon Bay in 1925, and since that time has been added to the exposition of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Due to the fact that the statue was under water for a long time, all its features are very well preserved.

The style in which the statue is made gives the style of the famous sculptor Praxiteles. The young man is standing in a relaxed position, his hand resting on the wall against which the figure was installed.

Discus thrower

The statue of the ancient Greek sculptor Myron has not survived in its original form, but is widely known throughout the world thanks to bronze and marble copies. The sculpture is unique in that for the first time a person was captured on it in a complex, dynamic movement. Such a bold decision of the author served as a vivid example for his followers, who, with no less success, created objects of art in the style of Figura serpentinata - a special technique depicting a person or an animal in an often unnatural, tense, but very expressive, from the point of view of an observer, posture.

Delphic charioteer

The bronze sculpture of the charioteer was discovered during excavations in 1896 at the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, and is a classic example of ancient art. The figure depicts an ancient Greek youth driving a cart during Pythian Games.

The uniqueness of the sculpture lies in the fact that the inlay of the eyes with precious stones has been preserved. The young man's eyelashes and lips are decorated with copper, and the headband is made of silver, and presumably also had inlay.

The time of the sculpture's creation, in theory, is at the junction of the archaic and the early classics - her pose is characterized by stiffness and the absence of any hint of movement, but the head and face are made with quite a lot of realism. As with later sculptures.

Athena Parthenos

Majestic statue of the goddess Athena has not survived to our time, but there are many copies of it, restored according to ancient descriptions. The sculpture was entirely made of ivory and gold, without the use of stone or bronze, and stood in the main temple of Athens - the Parthenon. A distinctive feature of the goddess is a high helmet decorated with three combs.

The history of the creation of the statue was not without fatal moments: on the shield of the goddess, the sculptor Phidias, in addition to depicting the battle with the Amazons, placed his portrait in the form of a weak old man who lifts a heavy stone with both hands. The public of that time ambiguously assessed the act of Phidias, which cost him his life - the sculptor was imprisoned, where he took his own life with the help of poison.

Greek culture has become a pioneer in the development of the visual arts around the world. Even today, looking at some modern paintings and statues, one can find the influence of this ancient culture.

Ancient Hellas became the cradle in which the cult of human beauty in its physical, moral and intellectual manifestation was actively nurtured. Residents of Greece of that time, they not only worshiped many Olympic gods, but also tried to resemble them as much as possible. All this is reflected in bronze and marble statues - they not only convey the image of a person or a deity, but also make them close to each other.

Although very many of the statues have not survived to the present day, exact copies of them can be seen in many museums around the world.

Kastoria, the fur city

The name Kastoria, from the word kastoras, which means, translated from Greek, BOBER. It is large trading city... For many centuries Kastoria has been famous for the work of mechotraders. A visitor to the city cannot fail to notice the noise of sewing machines that emanates from every house. Kastoria, 50 miles from the Albanian border in a remote corner of northwestern Greece, is a cosmopolitan city. The location of Kastoria is nothing short of impressive. Surrounded high mountains Pindus, narrow streets, and countless alleys are characteristic of the city located on Lake Orestiada.

Greece - Pelion village Zagora

Disaster in Crete

Mark Cicero

Restaurants and taverns in Greece

The most common buildings in Greece after residential buildings are churches and taverns. The first satisfy the mental hunger, and the second, of course, the bodily one. And if the history of the Church in Hellas has almost 20 centuries, then the history of cooking is 40! The very first cookbook on earth was written by the Greek chef Archestratos in 330 BC. Greek cuisine has always been distinguished and has the most favorable influence on the human body and his way of life.

The first creations of human hands that can be called sculpture appeared in prehistoric times and represented the idols worshiped by our ancestors. Over the past hundreds of thousands of years, the art of sculpting has reached unprecedented heights, and today in museums and on the streets of many cities around the world you can see real masterpieces that invariably cause admiration among visitors and passers-by. So who of the famous Russian and foreign masters of different eras can claim that his name be classified as “famous sculptors”, and what works of theirs were included in the golden fund of world art?

Famous sculptors of the ancient world

As already mentioned, the art of sculpture originated many millennia ago, as evidenced by the numerous stone and clay volumetric images of people, animals and mythical creatures found during archaeological excavations. Of course, no one knows who their authors were, but history has preserved the names of some of the great sculptors who worked from the 14th century BC. NS. and up to the 1st century AD. NS.

For example, when asked who are the most famous sculptors the ancient world, among others, the great ancient Egyptian sculptor Thutmose the Younger is necessarily mentioned. He worked at the court of Pharaoh Akhenaten and created one of the most famous works of art of the Amarna period - the bust of Queen Nefertiti. There is much more information about who the most famous sculptors of Greece and Rome of the antique period are. In particular, the masters Kritias and Nesiot created in the 5th century BC. NS. the magnificent composition of Harmodius and Aristogiton, which subsequently more than once inspired the sculptors of later times. Even greater heights in the skill of sculpting were achieved by the great Phidias, who is the author of gold and ivory, recognized as one of the wonders of the ancient world. One cannot fail to note the enormous contribution to the development of ancient art made by such famous sculptors as Scopas, Praxiteles and Lysippos, who created the so-called St. Mark's quadriga. As for the Roman sculptors, most of their creations, for example the famous Apollo of Belvedere, are copies from the Greek originals.

Famous sculptors of the world: the Middle Ages

As you know, the beginning of the historical period that followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire was not best time for the development of art. That is why no particularly significant sculptural works of art dating back to the 5th-12th centuries are known today. Fortunately, over time, the dictatorship of the church began to weaken, and sculptures of saints and rulers appeared, the authors of which allowed themselves to deviate from the strict canons of religious art and make their creations more realistic. As an example, one can cite such masters as the father and son of Pisano, who worked in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. And, of course, when it comes to who the most famous sculptors of the Gothic period are, one cannot but mention Adam Kraft, who created the magnificent altarpiece of the Tetzel Chapel.

Renaissance Sculpture

Perhaps, there is hardly a person who does not know who the most famous sculptors and their works of the Renaissance period are. After all, such masterpieces as the statue of David and copies of which adorn Catholic churches around the world, as well as the monument to Gattamelata Donatello and “Perseus” by Benvenuto Cellini, belong to this era. Of the French masters, it is worth noting Jean Goujon and Germain Pilon, who worked under the influence of their Italian colleagues.

Notable masters of sculpture of the 18th century

The famous Trevi Fountain at Palazzo Poli in Rome, considered one of the symbols of the Italian capital, is a magnificent example of the art of modern sculpting. Its authors are Nicolo Salvi and Pietro Bracci, who executed the figure of Neptune and tritons. In the 18th century, Edmond Bouchardon and Jean Baptiste Pigall, famous sculptors from France, also worked, famous for his gravestones. As for the English masters, among them a peculiar trio can be distinguished, consisting of John Flaxman, Joseph Nollekens and Thomas Banks.

19th century European sculpture

The beginning of the 19th century was marked by the appearance of a bright star of world sculpture - Bertel Thorvaldsen, who in 1803 presented his "Jason" to the public. After a resounding world debut, he became an extremely popular master among eminent customers from different countries, and during his rather long creative life he sculpted many excellent compositions and portraits famous people... In particular, it is worth mentioning a huge frieze depicting the exploits of Alexander the Great, created by him in 1812 to decorate the Quirinal Palace.

When considering who the most famous sculptors and their works of the 19th century were, one of the first names that comes to mind is Auguste Rodin. And this is not at all surprising, since his works "The Thinker" and "The Kiss" are recognized as the greatest masterpieces of world art. As for the German sculptors, L. Schwanthaler deserves a special mention, who created many wonderful works decorating the palaces and other significant buildings in Munich.

Sculptors of the 20th - 21st centuries

In the last century, the traditions of the great Italian masters were continued by Giacomo Manza, who became famous for his creation “The Gate of Death”, made for in Rome. In addition, it is worth mentioning such masters as Jacques Lipschitz and Osip Zadkin, who worked in the surreal style. The category “The most famous sculptors of the world” also includes the work “The Walking Man”, who created in 1961, which was estimated at Sotheby’s auction at 104.3 million US dollars. Among the sculptors of the late 20th century, Lynn Chadwick and Barry Flanagan are also worth mentioning.

Famous Russian sculptors from the 18th-19th centuries

There is no need to talk about the art of sculpting in Russia in the pre-Petrine era, since it simply did not exist. The founding of St. Petersburg made people think about decorating its palaces and squares with sculptural compositions, as was customary in European countries, so they began to invite foreign masters to the court. Thus, the first known "Russian" sculptors were foreigners. For example, several voluminous portraits have come down to us, cast by the father of the future great architect - KB Rastrelli.

After the founding of the Academy of Arts by Catherine II, Russians began to study there. In particular, during the years of her reign, such pioneers of the domestic art of sculpture as F. Shubin, M. Kozlovsky and F. Gordeev, who created the famous Samson, distinguished themselves. Especially many gifted craftsmen appeared in the 19th century. In particular, it was during this period that such famous sculptors of Russia as M.M.Antokolsky, the author of the monument to Peter the Great in Peterhof, A.M.

One of the most recognizable works of sculpture of the first half of the 20th century, of course, is the famous monument to Vera Mukhina "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" - a recognized masterpiece of socialist realism. No less interesting are the works of E. Vutechich, who created the "Warrior-Liberator" for Berlin's Treptow Park and the world-famous statue "Motherland", and M. Anikushin - the author of the monuments to A.P. Chekhov and A. Pushkin, which was installed in Leningrad in 1957.

As for who the most famous Russian sculptors of the post-Soviet period are, then probably Ernst Neizvestny, who, having started his work back in the Soviet era, was forced to emigrate to the USA, and his most significant work - "Mask of Sorrow" for the Magadan memorial to victims of Stalinist repression - created in 1996. Another sculptor who has received wide recognition in recent decades is M. Shemyakin, among whose works the multi-figured composition “Children - Victims of Adult Vices” deserves special mention.