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Renaissance Artists And Antique Sculpture

Posted in Uncategorized | September 22nd, 2010

Five Sculptors Who Have Inspired The Art Of Modern Sculpture

In the world of art, the term “modern” refers to either the artist, the artwork itself or the style used which have been popular during the past decade or century. It does not signify that an art is “modern” just because it is young or new.
As time passes, an art can turn into a “classic” which signifies timelessness just like the Medieval, Baroque and Renaissance styles. This likewise applies to sculptures and sculptors.
Sculpture as a form of art has been in existence for centuries. Many have been coined as classics while others were tagged as modern. A lot of today’s sculptures, paintings and metal wall art sculptures were influenced by contemporary sculptors.

Constantin Brancusi (1876 – 1957).
Constantin Brancusi, who was born in 1876, was Romanian born sculptor but made France his home. Brancusi refined the art of making sculptures as an art form instead of part of architecture.
He was mainly influenced by Auguste Rodin from whom he discovered that a force from within a sculptures brings it to the surface.
“Corche” was made by Constantin Brancusi in 1902 and is still used by medical students in Bucharest. His reputation is one of providing an air of the mysterious in his work while still exhibiting the basic beauty of the sculpture.
Later, he concentrated more on the most basic form of the sculpture using a minimalist approach.

Naum Gabo (1890 – 1977).
Gabo was born in Russia but the sculptor later migrated to America. He lived in Norway during the World War I and it was during this time that he was developing the “stereo metric method” of sculpting.
The following years, the stereo metric method became a great influence in the art of sculpting even in today’s wall sculpture art making.
His first sculptures were the Cubist wherein he used the celluloid and sheet metal as his materials. As a sculptor, Gabo is very adventurous and experimental with his materials. He has known to use materials including plastic, wire and glass. This experimentation resulted to many great works and influenced today’s creation of outdoor metal wall art, plaques and other art forms.

Ivan Mestrovic (1883 – 1962).
Mestrovic was a Croatian-American sculptor who drew inspiration from classic Greek styles as well as those of Auguste Rodin.
His works are typically huge and somber. The work of Mestrovic includes sculptures crafted from wood, bronze, and marble. His interests in Yugoslavian history and folklore provided the inspiration for his main subjects, including biblical scenes and churches.

Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973).
One of the more popular artists, Picasso was first known as a painter. His paintings are now widely popular because of its originality and emotion.
Unknown to some, Picasso has also dabbled in the creation of sculptures and other forms of art. It was stated that some of his paintings were even influenced by sculptures. Picasso’s mythical style of painting was owing to his inspiration of Iberian sculpture. An African sculpture influenced his use of Cubism.

Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917).
As a source of inspiration by many artists, Rodin’s works were seen as visionary. His work has influenced great many artists that ultimately shaped some of today’s art.
This French sculptor looked at sculpture-making as allowing the shape of his materials to come out. He perceived his materials as objects that only require shaping to create different effects on its surface.
One of his greatest works of art, the Age of Bronze, was the result of a trip to Italy in 1875. Scholars believed that he used a human being as a mold due to the fact that it was so lifelike in form.
In modern times many forms of art have been greatly influenced by these revolutionary artists. Although most may not recognized it but in one form or another we have brought it a little part of their art in our home.

Read another article about vintage and antique styles.

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