What is relief in architecture. Differences between high relief and bas-relief, as well as other forms of relief

  1. relief - A set of forms (irregularities) of the earth's surface, different in shape, size, origin, age and history of development. It is composed of positive (convex) and negative (concave) shapes. Geography. Modern Encyclopedia
  2. relief - relief I m. The structure of the earth's surface. II m. 1. Convex image on the plane (usually sculptural). 2. trans. Something that stands out noticeably from something homogeneous. Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova
  3. RELIEF - RELIEF - payment of a vassal to a lord upon receipt of a fief. RELIEF - in art - a type of sculpture in which the image is convex (or recessed) in relation to the background plane. The main types are bas-relief and high relief. RELIEF (French relief, from lat. Big encyclopedic dictionary
  4. relief - RELIEF, a, m. 1. The structure of the earth's surface, the totality of uneven land, ocean and sea bottom. Mountain river. R. terrain. 2. Convexity, a convex image on a plane. Globe with reliefs. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov
  5. relief - Relief, m. [fr. relief]. 1. Convex image on a plane (special). 2. The structure of the earth's surface (geographic, geol.). Rugged terrain. Mountain relief. Large dictionary of foreign words
  6. relief - Relief/. Morphemic spelling dictionary
  7. relief - RELIEF-a; m. [French. relief] 1. Convex image on a plane. Feel the river letters (a way of reading a blind man in a special alphabet with such an image). Embroider with relief (create a relief pattern on the fabric). Explanatory Dictionary of Kuznetsov
  8. Relief - (Latin relevo - I raise) - a type of sculpture in which the image is convex (or recessed) in relation to the background plane. Main types: bas-relief and high relief. Dictionary of cultural studies
  9. relief - -a, m. 1. Convex image on a plane. I admired the Chinese furniture --- with reliefs and wooden mosaics. I. Goncharov, Frigate "Pallada". It is generally difficult for a blind person to use sheet music. They are pressed, like letters, in relief. Small Academic Dictionary
  10. relief - RELIEF, -a, m. Figure, forms (about the body). Download (or work on) relief - build muscle. - from sports. Explanatory Dictionary of Russian Argo
  11. RELIEF - (French relief, from late Latin relivium - liberation, resolution) - feud. payment of a vassal to his liege, provided for by the feud. the law of the countries of the West. Soviet historical encyclopedia
  12. Relief - Sculpture on a plane. The inextricable connection with the plane, which is the physical basis and background of the image, is a specific feature of the relief. Architectural Dictionary
  13. Relief - (French relief, from Latin relevo - I raise * a. relief, topography, terrain; n. Relief, Oberflachengestalt der Erde, Bodenerhebungen; f. relief; ... Mountain Encyclopedia
  14. Relief - See Sculpture. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  15. relief - Relief, reliefs, reliefs, reliefs, reliefs, reliefs, reliefs, reliefs, reliefs, reliefs, reliefs, reliefs Zaliznyak's grammar dictionary
  16. relief - RELIEF m. fr. (accidental consonance with the next rol) something convex, elevated on a plane; more talk. about sculpture, modeling, carving, chasing. Relief work, thick, armored, imposing, wallowing; thick work is distinguished by the degree of convexity: full flesh, half flesh, quarter flesh, etc. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary
  17. Relief - (French relief) - convex formations on a plane, on a part, on a material. (Terminological dictionary of clothes. Orlenko L.V., 1996) Encyclopedia of fashion and clothing
  18. relief - orff. relief, -a Lopatin's spelling dictionary
  19. Relief - I Relief (French relief, from Latin relevo - I raise) (geographical), a set of irregularities in the surface of the land, the bottom of the oceans and seas, diverse in shape, size, origin, age and history of development. Great Soviet Encyclopedia
  20. Relief - (fr. relief from lat. relevo - I raise) - a set of forms of the earth's surface, different in shape, size, origin, age and history of development. It is composed of positive (curved) and negative (concave) forms. By scale, they distinguish: macrorelief, mesorelief, nanorelief. Environmental terms and definitions
  21. relief - RELIEF, relief, male. (French relief). 1. Convex image on a plane (special). Reliefs are slightly convex - bas-reliefs and strongly convex - high reliefs. 2. The structure of the earth's surface (geographic, geol.). Rugged terrain. Mountain relief. Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
  22. relief - noun, number of synonyms: 19 bas-relief 2 badlands 1 high mountains 1 high relief 3 landscape 10 macro-relief 1 mascaron 3 mega-relief 1 meso-relief 1 small hills 1 micro-relief 1 nano-relief 1 low mountains 1 paleorelief 1 panel 7 middle mountains 1 tondo 2 topography 1 photo-relief 1 Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language
  23. relief - RELIEF The totality of unevenness of the earth's surface. It can be varied in size, shape, orientation. Relief elements: ridge, spur, mountain, hill, mound, ledge, ledge, terrace, edge, slope, sole, saddle, basin, pit, valley, hollow ... Glossary of sports terms
  24. relief - RELIEF a, m. relief m. 1. Convex image on a plane. BAS-1. The hall of four tiers is decorated with bulges (reliefs) from the best dramatic contents. 1821. Sumarokov Walk 2 40. I admired the Chinese furniture.. Dictionary of Russian Gallicisms

(from the Italian relievo - protrusion, bulge, rise) occupies an intermediate place in its pictorial possibilities between a round sculpture and an image on a plane (drawing, painting, fresco). The relief, like a round sculpture, has three dimensions (although the third, deep dimension is often somewhat abbreviated, conditional). The composition of figures in relief unfolds along a plane, which serves both as the technical basis of the image and at the same time as a background, which makes it possible to reproduce the landscape and multi-figured scenes in relief. Such an organic connection with the plane is a feature of the relief.

There are low relief, or bas-relief (from the French word bas - low), that is, one in which the image protrudes above the background plane by less than half its volume, and high relief, or high relief (from the French word haut - high), when the image protrudes above the background plane is more than half of its volume, and in places it rounds off, partially even breaking away from the background. The relief in relation to the background may not be convex, but concave, deepened, that is, as if reversed. Such a relief is called a "koylanoglyph". It was common in the art of the Ancient East, Egypt and in ancient stone carving. "Classic relief", especially characteristic of the art of antiquity and classicism, has a mostly smooth background. An example of such a relief is the world-famous frieze of the Parthenon, depicting the solemn procession of Athenian citizens to the temple of Athena on the day of the great Panathenaic feast. The high mastery of the composition, rhythmic and at the same time unusually natural, the charm of sculpting elegant draperies make us suggest that Phidias himself (5th century BC) or his closest talented assistants may have been the author of this frieze.

The classical relief has features of monumentality: the image on a smooth background does not destroy the plane of the wall, but, as it were, spreads parallel to this background. Such a relief is easy to imagine as a frieze - a horizontal strip running around the wall of a building. Therefore, the "classical relief" can be attributed to the section of monumental and decorative sculpture, usually associated with architecture. Not only a bas-relief, but also a high relief can be associated with an architectural structure.

But there is a kind of relief that is not at all connected with architecture and is even "contraindicated" for it. This is the so-called "scenic relief". In terms of its tasks, it is close to a painting, has several plans, creates the illusion of a space that goes deep into the depths. It can combine the principles of bas-relief and high relief; an architectural or landscape background built in perspective can be introduced. The depth and illusory nature of such a relief, as it were, destroy the plane of the wall. Being an independent easel work, not related to architecture, it can be placed in any interior, just like a painting.

They are created from carving, modeling or embossing - depending on the material, which can be clay, stone or wood. The difference between bas-relief, high relief, counter-relief and coyanaglyph lies in the ratio of the volume of the image and the background.

bas-relief

Bas-relief in "low relief". On such a relief, a convex image protrudes above the background by half its own volume or less. If we imagine that the image is a collection of full-fledged sculptural figures, and the background is the sand in which they are partially immersed, then in the bas-relief they turn out to be “immersed” by half or even deeper, their smaller one remains “on the surface”.

The very first bas-reliefs appeared in the Stone Age - they were images carved on the rocks. Bas-reliefs are found in almost all cultures of the Ancient World: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Persia, India. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome, bas-reliefs were most often placed on the pediments of temples, becoming, as it were, a “calling card” of a religious building. The art of bas-relief existed both in the Middle Ages and in modern times.

Bas-reliefs have been used and continue to be used to decorate coins, medals, buildings, pedestals, monuments, memorial plaques.

High relief

In contrast to the bas-relief, the high relief is called "high relief. The image here protrudes above the plane by more than half of its volume. Individual figures can even be completely separated from the background. High relief, more than bas-relief, is suitable for depicting landscapes, as well as scenes that include many figures.

Examples of high relief can be found in ancient art. One of the most famous examples is the Pergamon altar dating back to the 2nd century BC. BC. The high relief depicts the plot of the ancient Greek myth - the battle of the Olympian gods with the titans.

In ancient Rome, triumphal arches were often decorated with high reliefs. This tradition was resurrected in modern times - there are also high reliefs on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Other types of relief

The counter-relief is something like the "negative" of the bas-relief, its print, deepened into the background. The counter-relief is used in matrices and seals. A different understanding of the counter-relief can be observed in the avant-garde art of the 20th century, in particular, in the works of V. Tatlin. Here the counter-relief is interpreted as a "hypertrophied" relief, completely getting rid of the background - the exposure of real objects.

Coyanaglyph is an image carved on a plane. It does not protrude from the background and does not deepen into it - only the contours of the figures deepen. Such an image compares favorably with bas-relief and high relief in that it is not in danger of chipping, therefore, it is better preserved. Coyanaglyphs are found in the art of Ancient Egypt and other civilizations of the Ancient East.

The word relief comes from the Latin verb relevo, which means "to raise". The creation of a sculpture in the form of a relief on a monument creates the impression of an elevation of the image above the surface of the stone.

In fact, the stone or wood carver selects certain parts of the plane, leaving the future relief untouched. This work requires considerable skill, a lot of time and excellent use of the cutter. If we consider this as a disadvantage, then the advantages of the technique of artistic relief include:

  • no need to form the back of the sculpture;
  • increased strength of the sculpture, especially in comparison with figures carved from stone.

When using materials such as metal, clay, plaster or ceramics, the relief can be added or extruded from the plane, and monumental bronze bas-reliefs are produced by casting.

Depending on the height of the relief image, its types are distinguished using Italian or French terminology:

  • high relief (Italian alto-rilievo - high relief) - a sculptural image that protrudes above the plane by more than 50%, and often has elements partially separated from the plane;
  • bas-relief (Italian basso-rilievo - low relief) - a sculptural image protrudes above the surface of the stone by no more than half
  • koilanaglyph (fr. en creux) - the relief has a deep contour and a convex sculptural image
  • counter-relief (Italian cavo-rilievo) - relief-negative or in-depth relief

In modern monumental sculpture, the techniques of high relief and bas-relief and their variations are most often used. However, this does not mean at all that there is no place left for other types of relief sculpture in contemporary art. Let's consider them in more detail.

Bas-relief or low relief

The simplest example of using this technique is ordinary coins. It is quite obvious that the images on them have a minimum relative height, which is practically indistinguishable when viewed from the side. If you put a coin on your palm and look at it from the front, then the three-dimensional effect will be maximum.


The very idea of ​​making a bas-relief suggests ease of cutting, low manufacturability and cheapness in production, therefore it has become most widespread in most of the world's cultures, starting from Ancient Egypt, the countries of the Middle East and the civilizations of Central and North America. In addition, the bas-reliefs were often painted over with paints of various shades in order to “raise” the image as much as possible. To this day, ancient bas-reliefs have survived mostly unpainted - time does not spare the paint much faster than the statue itself. However, chemical analysis allows us to state with certainty that most of the bas-reliefs were painted.

Historians also know more exotic types of bas-reliefs, for example, the Ishtar Gate from ancient Babylon. The sculptures of animals on them are created using molded bricks. Egyptian and Roman bas-reliefs were made using plaster, and, as a result, most of these bas-reliefs have hardly survived to this day.

In European culture, the most famous bas-reliefs were made of wood and used as elements of church altars.


Bas-reliefs of a Buddhist temple,
Eastern India

But most often bas-reliefs are found in the technique of making Buddhist monuments in India and Southeast Asia. The temples in the caves of Ajanta and Ellora contain colossal images of the gods, carved from solid pieces of stone. The temple of Borodulur in Central Java (Indonesia) contains almost one and a half thousand bas-reliefs telling about the birth of the Buddha. On the same island is the Prambanan temple, with bas-reliefs illustrating the plot of the Hindu poem Ramayana.

High relief

Relief sculptures, in which at least half of the volume is above the plane, first appeared most noticeably in the art of ancient Greece. Often these were almost independent sculptures, separated from the surface of the stone and intersecting with each other to create the full effect of depth.

The high reliefs of Greek and Roman sarcophagi were made by drilling, without chisels. Their compositions were maximally saturated with figures and characters - for example, the Sarcophagus of Ludovisi. The Middle Ages marked the full spread of high relief technique, especially among the Greeks. During the Renaissance, high reliefs were given a second life. Their use was especially noticeable in funerary art, later - in neoclassical pediments and urban monuments.


In Hindu monumental sculpture, high reliefs coexisted with bas-reliefs, not much inferior to them in popularity. The Khajuraho group of temples is the most obvious example of the use of high relief techniques by Indian sculptors.

Counter-relief and coilanaglyph

These types of relief have not received global distribution in funerary art. Separate civilizations, for example, Ancient Egypt, used in-depth relief quite widely, but outside this state this type of sculpture did not receive significant distribution.

Various types of reliefs are often used in the manufacture of monuments for the grave and as superimposed elements for them, as well as in the creation of ritual and memorial plaques, including for a columbar wall or a family columbarium. A less time-consuming and, accordingly, more affordable bas-relief is the best suited for decorating a tombstone or granite slab. This technique is excellent for creating dynamic full-length sculptures, as well as for small, "bust" formats.

You can find the company that makes tombstones in your area in the Tombstone Making section of our ritual guide.

RELIEF (in art) RELIEF (in art)

RELIEF, in art - a type of sculpture in which the image is convex (or recessed) in relation to the background plane. Main views - bas-relief (cm. BAS-RELIEF) and high relief (cm. HIGH RELIEF) .


encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

See what "RELIEF (in art)" is in other dictionaries:

    In art, a type of sculpture in which the image is convex (or recessed) in relation to the plane of the background. The main types of bas-relief and high relief ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

    - (French relief, from Latin relevo I raise), a sculptural image on a plane. The inextricable connection with the plane, which is the physical basis and background of the image, is a specific feature of the relief as a type of sculpture. ... ... Art Encyclopedia

    Relief, sculptural image on the plane. The inextricable connection with the plane, which is the physical basis and background of the image, is a specific feature of the R. The most important expressive means inherent in the R. are the deployment of the composition on ...

    Akhenaten and his family. Stele. Cairo Museum. Egypt The ancient Egyptian relief is a characteristic area of ​​​​fine art that has not lost its relevance since the beginning of the dynasties ... Wikipedia

    I Relief (French relief, from Latin relevo I raise) (geographical), a set of irregularities in the surface of the land, the bottom of the oceans and seas, diverse in shape, size, origin, age and history of development. R. is made up of ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

    1. Sculpture on a plane. It can be in-depth (coilanogriff) and protruding (bas-relief, high relief). 2. The configuration of the surface of the land (terrain). Source: Dictionary of architectural construction terms ... ... Construction dictionary

    Relief- sculptural image on the plane. The inextricable connection with the plane, which is the physical basis and background of the image, is a specific feature of the relief. The most important expressive means inherent in relief, deployment ... ... Architectural Dictionary

    A; m. [French. relief] 1. Convex image on a plane. Feel the river letters (a way of reading a blind man in a special alphabet with such an image). Embroider with relief (create a relief pattern on the fabric). 2. A sculpture with a convex ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

    Bronze has been used in art since ancient times as a material for decorative and applied products and sculpture (mostly tin bronze, in which silver was added when casting bells, and in medieval China when casting vessels). Powder and thin sheets ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

    - (French haut relief, from haut high and relief relief, bulge), a type of sculpture, high relief, in which the image protrudes above the background plane by more than half of its volume. High reliefs were often used in architecture. ... ... Art Encyclopedia

Books

  • Relief in Russia of the 18th - early 19th century from the collection of the Russian Museum,. The publication introduces the history of Russian relief from the moment of its appearance in the art of the Petrine era to the present day on the example of works from the collection of the Russian Museum. Album of illustrations…

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