Sculpture - Chokoku

Japanese: 彫刻 - ちょうこく

A field of plastic arts. In the past, in Japan, the words chōru (carving) and chōtaku (carving) were used, but when ivory carvings and wood carvings were exhibited at the Vienna World Exposition in 1873 (Meiji 6), the word chōsō was used as a translation of the English word sculpture, but later the meaning of sozō (modeling) was added and it came to be called chōsō (carving). In the 20th century, with the emergence of various objects (French for objet) and construction, sculpture went beyond its literal meaning and today includes installation, expanding the concept even further. Therefore, it has become extremely difficult to give a single definition for all of these, and it would be appropriate to loosely define sculpture as an art form that uses materials to create a three-dimensional image in three-dimensional space.

[Mitamura Shunsuke]

Types of engraving and materials

Types are divided by material and production method, which includes direct methods, in which the material itself is turned into a work of art, and indirect methods, in which the prototype is replaced with another material.

[Mitamura Shunsuke]

Direct Method

Also called solid material carving, this can be broadly divided into a system that developed as small craft decorations using materials such as shells, animal bones, horns, and tusks due to the limitations of the material, and a system of larger scale sculptures using wood or stone. Both types started out as simple line engravings, and progressed to bas-relief and deep engravings, before developing into independent carvings in the round.

Animal bones and tusks are suitable for intricate craftsmanship, and Japanese netsuke carved from ivory are still prized around the world today. Shells are used in relief carvings (such as cameos) for their beautiful luster and color. Wood has a pleasant feel and scent and is easy to carve, so it has been widely used for sculptures of all sizes. In Japan, Buddhist statues made from cypress are particularly popular, and techniques have developed from a single piece of wood to inlay wood made with joints and hollowing out to reduce weight. In Western Europe, wood carvings were also made in ancient Egypt and during the Gothic period, but stone carvings are more common. After the brittle sandstone, shale, and rhododendrons that would have crumbled, sculptures were made from calcite and limestone, carved with hard flint chisels, and with the development of metal tools, images of immovable time were carved into harder granite and basalt. However, marble was the most commonly used material. Named after the place of origin in China, this stone is a coarse-grained crystal that has been transformed into calcite by the metamorphosis of limestone. It is often white in color and has a moderate viscosity, so it has been the main material for sculptures from Egypt to Italy, where it is found in large quantities.

While this type of sculpture is primarily carved centripetally within a limited amount of material, modeling is shaped centripetally. Developed from mud clay, which was made by simply hardening and drying clay, it was called so or nen in ancient Japan, and clay was mixed with ash to prevent spalling, and mica powder was added to make it easier to paint. Terracotta is made by baking the clay, and some are glazed and fired a second time to become ceramic sculptures. Another unique material from China and Japan is dry lacquer, called soku, soku, or kyocho. Wood core dry lacquer is made by kneading raw lacquer with wood chips and building it up, while de-lacquered dry lacquer is made by layering hemp cloth with lacquer on a rough clay model and then removing the clay to finish it.Furthermore, there is extrusion, which is made by stamping out a metal plate into a relief shape and then joining the front and back of the relief together to make a single piece called tsuichou.

[Mitamura Shunsuke]

Indirect Method

Most sculptures are not very durable, so are usually replaced with other materials. Small pieces and precise prototypes are made with wax, but today, prototypes are generally made with natural frog-eye clay or artificial clay (oil clay). A layer of plaster dissolved in water is applied to the prototype to create a thickness, and when it hardens, the clay inside is scraped out to create a female mold. Liquid plaster is poured inside and after it hardens, the female mold is broken and removed to create a plaster statue. Casting is when a female mold is made from sand and metal is poured into it; an alloy of copper and tin is called bronze, and when this is plated with gold it is called gilt bronze. If the female molds are preserved, it is possible to make many identical copies.

In addition to these traditional materials and techniques, various developments are active in modern times. Metals, which have been shaped by casting and forging since ancient times, have become easily produced in thin plates and rods through industrialization, and can now be cut and welded freely. The way wood is handled has changed significantly due to the spread of laminated plates and the development of power tools. Furthermore, new materials such as plastic sheets, transparent acrylic, and mirror-finished stainless steel, combined with the development of joining and adhesive technologies, are producing unprecedented compositions and collective sculptures. Casting and molding with cement and polyester resin are also popular. In addition to objects made from ready-made products that are difficult to call materials, and assemblages made from a collection of waste materials, there are also attempts to return to original materials such as land art that digs into the earth, and soil, sand, water, air, fog, bubbles, and smoke. Mixed media that combines light, sound, and video images, and kinetic sculptures that move with wind, magnets, and electricity have also appeared, and sculptures that were once considered immovable are fluctuating with the times.

[Mitamura Shunsuke]

History of sculpture

Western

The oldest sculpture in existence is a deep relief, an intermediate form between painting and sculpture, made by hunter-gatherers in the late Paleolithic period around 30,000 years ago, in which animals were carved into the clay walls of caves, and the one in Angles-sur-Langrin, France, spans an area of 10 meters. Round carvings came a little later, and include a small limestone statuette measuring 11 centimeters in height that is thought to have been made by pastoralists to pray for fertility and abundance, the nude female statue (Venus of Birendorf) excavated in Birendorf, Austria.

Further down in Egypt, from the 28th to 23rd centuries BC, when the pyramids were being built, the Sphinx and other painted thin reliefs with both front and side views, wooden statues, and stone monumental portraits of kings and queens with frontal contemplation had already reached a state of classical perfection. Around the 20th century BC, bronze statues were also cast, and several centuries later, magnificent decorative sculptures such as the golden "Mask of Tutankhamun" were created. In Mesopotamia, which had developed earlier, dynamic expressions were soon seen, such as the imposing stone sculptures such as the "Winged Bull-God Statue" and the glazed brick bas-reliefs that decorate the Ishtar Gate of Babylon.

In Greece, which inherited the Aegean civilization centered on the island of Crete, marble sculptures larger than life-size developed greatly from around the 6th century BC. In the early period, the figures were unable to escape from the stone pillars and had awkward poses, but many of them were of pure young men with archaic smiles. In the Classical period, which lasted less than 100 years from the middle of the 5th century BC when the Parthenon was built, statues were liberated from frontality and took on freer poses, establishing the beauty of ideal harmony. In the early period, Phidias, who sculpted the Parthenon pediments, Milon, who created the Discus, and Polykleitos, who created the Spear-bearing Man, were active, while in the later period, Scopas, who applied Pythagorean mathematical theory to establish the canon, Lysippos, who created the beauty of eight-body proportions, and Praxiteles, who created the Statue of Hermes, are well known names. During this time, powerful bronze statues such as "Poseidon" unearthed off the coast of Cape Artemision were also produced, but few of these remain. In the Hellenistic period, which lasted for about two centuries from the middle of the 4th century BC, masterpieces shrouded in mystery and whose makers are unknown were produced, such as "Venus de Milo" and "Winged Victory of Samothrace," while sculptures with stronger emotional expressions, such as "Laocoön" and "The Dying Gaul," eventually fell into decline.

After destroying Greece, Rome inherited its sculpting techniques and left behind many copies. At the same time, its interest shifted from ideal beauty to reality, and, influenced by Etruscan portrait sculpture, it showed realistic strength in works such as "Agrippa," "Brutus," and the bronze "Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius."

After the 4th century, when Christianity was officially recognized, idols were banned and sculpture was limited to decorative reliefs of plants and animals, but in the 10th century, the Romanesque era began, when churches were built of stone, and in the 12th century, when the Gothic era began, sculptures began to be carved in great numbers into the pillars and walls of church buildings as stone bibles for the purpose of spreading Christian beliefs. The long-bodied apostles and strange animals of Chartres Cathedral in France and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris well illustrate the religious ideas of the time.

The Renaissance in Italy was inspired by the Roman classics found throughout the country, and artists began to look to mythology rather than the Bible for their subjects, leading to a revival of realistic human figures, which had been despised in the Middle Ages. In Florence, which began with the competition for the Baptistery Doors in the early 15th century, Ghiberti first made a name for himself with his perspective reliefs, followed by Donatello, who left many portraits using naturalistic techniques, Luca della Robbia, who sculpted ceramics, and Verrocchio and Cellini, who excelled in bronze statues. Among them, Michelangelo, who announced the arrival of the 16th century with his over 4-meter-tall "David," carved many magnificent human figures during his long life, including his unfinished masterpiece, the "Pietà Rondanini," and was praised as the greatest artist of the Renaissance, for his participation in the design of the Vatican Palace and painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The 17th century Baroque period is said to be a successor to the Mannerist style of Michelangelo. Bernini carved sensual fantasies with outstanding technique, which his disciples applied to fountains and gardens, and then moved to France, where they transformed into Rococo-style interior decoration sculptures that freely incorporated curves. Houdon, who excelled in portraits, also traveled to the newly emerging nation of America, where he left behind works.

In the modern era, classicism modeled on the Hellenistic period of Greece became popular. Canova and Thorvaldsen, among others, carved elegant marble in Rome and became all the rage under the patronage of royalty and aristocracy. The next generation, Rude and Carpeaux, were more passionate and fluid, and promoted a tendency towards romantic nationalism. Rodin, who was active in the second half of the 19th century, is said to be the father of modern sculpture in that he liberated sculpture from the decoration of power and architecture and established it as an independent art. In his sculptures, The Age of Bronze, he pursued the reality of life with thorough realism that sometimes even appears ugly, rather than neat beauty, and in The Burghers of Calais, he attempted to pull the sculpture down from a high pedestal to the horizon of the people. His disciples, Bourdelle, Maillol, and Despio, tried to construct sculptures with a more spatial quality.

In the 20th century, representational sculpture gradually disintegrated. Brancusi pioneered a new style with his series of works such as "The Birds," which imbued purified forms with mystical meditation. Around the same time, Rosso created fantastical figures, the Futurist Boccioni tried to depict dynamic movement, and the Cubists decomposed the subject matter into multiple perspectives. While these still remained within the realm of representation, the Constructivists in the early period of the Russian Revolution aimed for more radical abstraction, liberating sculpture from its subject matter. At the same time, Pevsner and the Gabo brothers pioneered the composition of open spaces using transparent synthetic resin panels and wire instead of solid materials made of mass, Malevich advocated the Architectonics, which combined geometric shapes, and Lissitzky advocated the constructive Prawn. Gabo also created vibrating sculptures driven by motors, and Moholy-Nagy incorporated light into his "Spatial Adjuster." Tatlin, who created a movable model of the Monument to the Third International, opened up new areas of wall composition such as "anti-reliefs."Furthermore, France's Duchamp created ready-made objects, America's Calder created wind-activated mobiles, and Spain's Gonzalez created collective sculptures using welded iron.

After the Second World War, the sculptures of Arp, Moore, and Giacometti, who tried to express the depths of humanity through organic semi-figurative forms, and the Italians Marini, Manzu, and Emilio Greco, who returned to the traditions of Western sculpture and tried to revive the figurative with a new sensibility, won the sympathy of the general public. On the other hand, from the end of the 1950s, there were noticeable signs of going beyond the traditional concept of sculpture, and pop artists with a background in modern consumer culture, mainly in the United States, appeared, such as César Baldaccini (1921-1998), who compressed and solidified waste materials, Segal, who took human forms directly from the human body, and Oldenburg, who made cloth objects. Furthermore, the kinetic works of Tinguely and Schaeffer, Minimal Art which eliminates materiality and uses color, Christo's packaging and Land Art, as well as the introduction of actions and immaterial media, are not only forcing a change in the concept of sculpture, which was previously the display of form using immovable objects, but are also bringing about a change in the conceptual definition of visual art in general.

[Mitamura Shunsuke]

Japan

The oldest surviving sculptures in Japan are the clay figurines, made in the Jomon period as talismans and childbirth charms. Following these loosely sculpted, surreal dolls, the more regular clay figurines began decorating burial mounds in the Kofun period for funeral rites. All of these date back to before the import of Buddhist culture and were created with little influence from continental sculpture, so while they are simple and unadorned, they honestly express the generous human emotions of ancient people and are noteworthy for their insight into the primordial sensibilities of the Japanese towards sculpture.

In the Asuka period, Buddhism was rapidly introduced from the continent along with the techniques of Buddhist sculpture, and many Buddhist statues were created, mainly by artisans who had come to Japan from overseas. Most of these statues were front-facing, contemplative figures with archaic smiles, and representative works include the Shaka Triad at Horyu-ji Temple, the Guze Kannon statue, the Kudara Kannon statue, and the Miroku Bosatsu statues at Chuguji Temple and Koryuji Temple. From this point on, Japanese sculpture was dominated by Buddhist statues, and the Nara period is said to be its heyday, when great advances were made in the techniques of wood carving, modeling, dry lacquer, and casting that had been passed down from the continent, and expressions became more realistic, seeking ideal images while frankly expressing the realities of human beings, such as quiet spiritual beauty, richness, grandeur, elegance, grace, and anger. His representative works include the Yakushi Triad at Yakushi-ji Temple, the Ten Great Disciples and Eight Deities at Kofuku-ji Temple, the statues in Todai-ji Temple's Hokke-do Hall, the Ganjin statue at Toshodai-ji Temple, and the Gyōshin statue at Horyu-ji Temple, and many other numerous works, truly embodying the golden age of Buddhist sculpture.

In the Heian period, clay statues and dry lacquer fell into decline and wood carving became more popular. The so-called Jōgan sculpture, which occurred in the first half of this period up to around the mid-10th century, was characterized by the use of a single piece of wood to carve the main body parts, and many statues were made without lacquer or paint, making use of the beauty of the wood's grain. Also, influenced by esoteric Buddhism, which began around this time, many statues were made with a mystical severity and strength, such as the Yakushi Nyorai statue at Jingo-ji Temple and the Nyoirin Kannon statue at Kanshin-ji Temple. In the late Heian period, Japanese sculpture styles, which had developed under the influence of the continent, gradually changed into something uniquely Japanese. Jocho, who was active in the first half of the 11th century, is known as the Buddhist sculptor who perfected this Japanese style. The Amida Buddha statue in the Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in Temple, which he created, is filled with a calm brightness and refined beauty, and this style was called Jocho-yo and became the model for Buddhist statues in later generations. He is also said to have perfected the revolutionary method of mosaic construction, which replaced the traditional one-piece wooden construction, and is known for organizing Buddhist sculptors. During this period, statues of gods also began to be made, influenced by Buddhist statues, and the three gods statues at Toji Temple (9th century) are said to be the oldest of these.

In the Kamakura period, when realistic sculpture was revived, Unkei, who followed in the footsteps of Jocho, his sons Tankei, Kōben, and Kōkatsu, and fellow disciple Kaikei appeared and each left behind unique works. Representative works include the statues of Asahara and Vasubandhu at Kofuku-ji Temple by Unkei, the statues of Tianlantern Demon and Ryulantern Demon at the same temple by Kōben, the statues of Tamonten at Sekkei-ji Temple in Kochi by Tankei, and the statues of Amida Nyorai, Jizo Bodhisattva, and Sogata Hachiman at Todai-ji Temple by Kaikei. Although the artists are unknown, the statues of Chogen at Todai-ji Temple and Uesugi Shigefusa at Meigetsu-in Temple in Kamakura are excellent examples of portrait sculpture that embody the realism of the era.

There are no outstanding Buddhist sculptures from the Muromachi and Momoyama periods, but the names of Shakuzuru and Ryuemon, who were active as makers of Noh masks used in the Noh theater that was perfected around this time, are unforgettable, and decorative sculpture of architecture became popular in the Momoyama period, with luxurious reliefs and openwork carvings being used on transoms and other surfaces. This trend continued into the Edo period, and the decorative sculptures of Nikko Toshogu Shrine are one of the most representative examples of this splendor. Many Buddhist sculptures were made during the Edo period, but there were few masterpieces, and only a few wooden statues by the traveling monks Enku and Mokujiki could be counted. Rather, it is noteworthy that in the culture of Edo townspeople, inro (seal cases), netsuke (decorative ornaments), combs, hairpins and other daily necessities and accessories were made in great numbers, with intricate carvings of people, birds and animals made of gold and ivory.

After the Meiji Restoration, in 1876 (Meiji 9), an Italian named Ragusa came to Japan at the invitation of the government as a professor at the Technical University's Art School, where he introduced Western techniques such as modeling and marble sculpture, and large works such as outdoor monumental statues began to be made by Japanese hands. In 1887, the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Tokyo University of the Arts) was opened, where traditional Japanese woodcarving was rediscovered by artists such as Ernest Fenollosa and Okakura Tenshin, and in 1898 the school also opened a modeling department, where Takeuchi Hisakazu, Takamura Koun, and Hirakushi Denchu taught woodcarving, while Ogiwara Morie and Asakura Fumio taught modeling. Works from this period include Ragusa's "Portrait of a Japanese Woman," Kokun's "Old Monkey," Morie's "Woman," Fumio's "Gravekeeper," and other well-known bronze statues such as the "Statue of Saigo Takamori" and "Statue of Kusunoki Masashige," which Kokun created under the guidance of the staff of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. Later, the works of Rodin were introduced by the Shirakaba School of Literature, and Japanese sculpture began to be given a sense of volume to its external realism, and from the Taisho to Showa periods, new styles by Maillol, Bourdelle, and others were imported.

In 1935 (Showa 10), the reorganization of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts led to a rapid tightening of bureaucratic control over the art world, which intensified the movements of groups opposed to this, but the expansion of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the outbreak of World War II, which then bogged it down, left the art world completely exhausted and in stagnation. It goes without saying that the defeat in 1945 (Showa 20) marked a turning point for the art world to revive, but it was not until the 1950s that a breath of freedom, free from all forms of oppression, began to fill the art world and that full-scale activities began. In addition, in 1958, when the Nitten Exhibition was reorganized from the pre-World War II official exhibition to a privatized one, academicism still dominated the Nitten Exhibition, and in opposition to this, independent groups such as the Nikakai, Kokugakai, Shinseisakuha Association, Jiyu Bijutsu Kyokai, Ichiyo-kai, Niki-kai, and Modern Art Association established sculpture departments, paving the way for collective contemporary sculpture and achieving unique results in avant-garde sculpture.

However, a notable trend after the Second World War was that the focus of activities, which had traditionally been centered on art groups, shifted to individual activities, and direct stimuli from overseas due to internationalization spurred the modernization of sculpture. Abstract sculpture emerged in this context, and traditional realistic sculpture also showed a trend toward simplification and simplification of its form by shedding the mass. In terms of materials, attention is also turning to the use of not only wood, stone, and bronze, but also iron, stainless steel, aluminum, cement, plastic, glass, and even waste materials and utensils. Furthermore, as a result of the expansion of the concept of space, sculpture has advanced from the small, enclosed space of a room to the outdoors, incorporating light and even elements of movement, and taking into account the surrounding environment, moving toward composing urban spaces instead of traditional bronze statues as monuments. Now, the classical concept of sculpture as a unique domain has disappeared, and the boundaries between it and genres such as painting, crafts, and architecture have become blurred, and it can be said that contemporary sculpture is changing into a three-dimensional form that requires a new name.

For details on Buddhist sculptures from India, China, Korea, and other countries, including Japan, see the "Gilded Bronze Buddhas" and "Buddha Statues" sections.

[Akio Sato]

"The History of Sculpture, by Luc Benoist, translated by Nishimura Shigeto (Hakusuisha, Quessais-Ju paperback)" ▽ "The History of Modern Sculpture, by Herbert Read, translated by Futami Shiro (1965, Kinokuniya Shoten)" ▽ "Contemporary Sculpture, by Nakahara Yusuke (1982, Bijutsu Shuppansha)" ▽ "World Art 12: Japanese Sculpture, edited by Kawakita Michiaki et al. (1976, Sekai Bunka Publishing)" ▽ "Japanese Sculpture, edited by Kuno Ken (1959, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Complete Collection of World Sculpture Art, edited by Zayuho Publishing Association, 13 volumes in total (1974-1977, Shogakukan)"

Statue of a young man (Kouros)
590-580 BC Marble Height 194.6cm Archaic period Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Greece

Statue of a young man (Kouros)

Robbia's Madonna and Child in the Niche
Circa 1460 Glazed terracotta 47.3 x 38.7 cm Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Robbia's Madonna and Child in the Niche

Canova "Perseus with the Head of Medusa"
1804-1806 Marble Height 242.6cm Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Canova's "Perseus with the Head of Medusa"

Rodin's "The Bronze Age"
1876 (original model), circa 1906 (casting), bronze, height 182.9 cm, owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rodin's "The Bronze Age"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

造形芸術の一分野。古く日本では、彫鏤(ちょうる)、雕琢(ちょうたく)などの語を用いてきたが、1873年（明治6）のウィーン万国博覧会に牙彫(げちょう)や木刻などの彫り物carvingを出品するに際し、英語のsculptureの訳として彫刻の語をあてたが、のちに塑造(そぞう)modelingの意も加えて彫塑ともよぶようになった。20世紀に入り、各種のオブジェobjet（フランス語）や構成物constructionが出現するに及び、彫刻は字義を超えて、今日ではさらに配置や設置installationまでも含むこととなり、その概念をますます拡張しつつある。したがって、これらをまとめてひと口に定義することはきわめて困難になってきており、彫刻とは素材を用いて三次元空間に立体形象を造形する芸術形式である、と緩やかに規定するのが妥当であろう。

［三田村畯右］

彫刻の種類と素材

種類は素材と制作工法で分けられるが、制作工法には、素材そのものを作品に仕上げる直接法と、原型を他の素材に置き換える間接法とがある。

［三田村畯右］

直接法

実材彫刻ともいう。これには貝殻や動物の骨、角(つの)、牙(きば)などその素材の制約から小品の工芸装飾として発達してきた系統と、木や石などによるより大掛りな造形とに大別できる。いずれも、まず単純な線刻からしだいに浅浮彫り、深彫りへと進み、独立した丸彫りへと発展した。

　獣骨や牙は精緻(せいち)な細工に向いており、象牙を彫った日本の根付けは今日でも世界で珍重されている。貝類はその光沢や色合いの美しさから、浮彫りして装身具（カメオなど）に用いられている。木は肌触りや香りがよく削りやすいので、大小の彫刻に広く用いられてきた。日本ではとくに、ヒノキ材による仏像彫刻が盛んで、その技法も一木造(いちぼくづくり)から、矧付(はぎつ)けによる寄木(よせぎ)造、軽量化のための内刳(うちぐ)りなどが発達した。西欧でも、古代エジプトやゴシック時代には木彫もつくられたが、石彫がより一般的である。崩れてしまったであろうもろい砂岩や泥板岩、蝋石(ろうせき)などのあとに、硬い燧石(ひうちいし)の鑿(のみ)で刻んだ方解石や石灰岩による彫刻がつくられ、金属製の工具の発達に伴い、より硬い花崗(かこう)岩や玄武岩に永遠不動のイメージが刻まれた。しかし、もっとも多く用いられたのは大理石である。中国の産地名からとってよばれているこの石は、石灰岩の変成によって方解石化した粗粒の結晶で、多くは白色、適度な粘性を有するので、これを多く産するエジプトからイタリアにかけて彫刻の主要な材料とされてきた。

　こうした彫刻が、おもに限定された大きさの素材のなかで求心的に彫り進められるのに対し、塑造は遠心的に形づくられる。土を固め干しただけの泥塑から発展したそれは、古来日本で素(そ)あるいは(ねん)などとよばれ、塑土に寸莎(すさ)を混ぜて剥落(はくらく)を防ぎ、雲母(うんも)粉を混ぜて彩色を容易にした。素を焼き固めたのが素焼（テラコッタ）であり、釉薬(ゆうやく)をかけて二度焼きし陶彫としたものもある。また、中国や日本の独特な素材に、(そく)または即(そく)、夾紵(きょうちょ)とよばれた乾漆(かんしつ)がある。木を心材とし、生漆(きうるし)を木くずと練り合わせて盛り上げたものを木心乾漆、粘土の大まかな原型に麻布を漆で貼(は)り重ねたのち、粘土を取り除き仕上げたものを脱乾漆という。さらに、金属板を打ち出してレリーフ状にした押出し、それを表裏あわせて一体とした鎚鍱(ついちょう)がある。

［三田村畯右］

間接法

塑造の多くは、耐久性に劣るので、通常、他の素材に置き換えられる。小品や精密な原型は蝋(ろう)で形づくられるが、今日、一般には、天然の蛙目(がいろめ)粘土や人造粘土（油土）で原型をつくる。その原型に、水で溶いた石膏(せっこう)を塗布し厚みをつけ、硬化したところで内部の粘土を掻(か)き出して雌型とし、その内側に石膏液を流し込んで硬化したのち、雌型を割って取り出したのが石膏像である。雌型を砂でつくり、金属を流し込んだのが鋳造で、銅と錫(すず)の合金を青銅、それを金で鍍金(ときん)（めっき）したものを金銅(こんどう)という。これらは、雌型を保存しておけば、いくつも同型の複製品をつくることができる。

　こうした伝統的な素材、技術のほかに、現代ではさまざまな開発が盛んである。古来、鋳造や鍛造によって形づくられてきた金属も、工業化によって薄板や棒材が容易に生産されるようになって、切断や溶接も自由になり、木も積層板の普及、電動工具の開発によって、その扱われ方が大きく変化した。さらに、プラスチック板や透明アクリル、鏡面加工されたステンレス鋼などの新素材は、接合・接着技術の進展と相まって、従来にない構成物や集合彫刻を生み出している。セメントやポリエステル樹脂による注型や成型も盛んである。また、素材とはいいにくい既製品によるオブジェ、廃品を寄せ集めたアッサンブラージュなどのほか、大地を掘ったりするランド・アートとか、土、砂、水、空気、霧、泡、煙といった原素材への回帰も試みられている。また光、音、映像イメージとのメディアの混合mixed mediaとか、風や磁石、電気によって動くキネティック彫刻も現れて、永遠不動とされてきた彫刻も時代とともに揺れ動いている。

［三田村畯右］

彫刻の歴史

西洋

現存するもっとも古い彫刻はおよそ3万年前、旧石器時代後期の狩猟民が洞窟(どうくつ)の粘土壁に動物を刻んだ絵画と彫刻の中間形式の深浮彫りで、フランスのアングル・シュル・ラングランのものは10メートルにわたって展開されている。丸彫りはやや遅れて、牧畜民が多産・豊穣(ほうじょう)を祈願して制作したと推定される石灰石製の高さ11センチメートルの小像、オーストリアのビレンドルフ出土の女性裸像（ビレンドルフのビーナス）などが知られる。

　ずっと下ってエジプトでは、ピラミッドも建造された紀元前28～前23世紀にかけて、スフィンクスをはじめ正面と側面が併存した彩色薄肉浮彫りや木彫像、石による正面観照性の王や王妃の記念碑的肖像彫刻が早くも古典的完成の域に達していた。前20世紀前後には青銅像も鋳造され、数世紀後には黄金の「ツタンカーメンのマスク」のように華麗な装飾彫刻もつくられた。先行して発達したメソポタミアでは、やがて「有翼人面牛神像」など堂々たる石彫のほかに、バビロンのイシュタル門を飾る彩釉(さいゆう)れんが製の浅浮彫りなど、力動感にあふれる表現が見受けられる。

　クレタ島を中心とするエーゲ文明を受け継いだギリシアでは、前6世紀ごろから大理石による等身大を超える彫像が大いに発達した。初期には石の柱身から抜け出しきれず姿態もぎこちないが、アルカイック・スマイルをもつ清楚(せいそ)な若者の像が多い。パルテノン神殿が築かれた前5世紀なかばから100年足らずの古典期には、正面性から解放されて、より自由なポーズとなり、理想的調和の美が確立された。前期にはパルテノン破風(はふ)彫刻のフェイディアス、『円盤投げ』のミロン、『槍(やり)をかつぐ男』のポリクレイトスが活躍し、後期にはピタゴラス派の数学理論を適用しカノンを定めたスコパス、八等身の美を創造したリシッポス、『ヘルメス像』のプラクシテレスらの名が知られている。また、この間に、アルテミシオン岬沖出土の『ポセイドン』など気迫に満ちたブロンズ像も制作されたが、現存するものは少ない。前4世紀なかばからおよそ2世紀間のヘレニズム期になると、『ミロのビーナス』『サモトラキのニケ』など、作者不明の謎(なぞ)に包まれた傑作が生まれる一方、『ラオコーン』『瀕死(ひんし)のガリア人』のように感情表現が激しくなるが、やがて彫刻は衰退する。

　ギリシアを滅ぼしたローマは、その彫刻技術を受け継ぎ、多くの模刻を残すとともに、理想美から現実へ関心が移り、エトルリアの肖像彫刻の影響から『アグリッパ』『ブルータス』、青銅の『マルクス・アウレリウス帝騎馬像』などに写実的な力強さを示した。

　キリスト教が公認された4世紀以降、偶像が禁じられて、彫刻はもっぱら装飾的な植物や動物のレリーフに限られたが、10世紀に石で教会が建てられるロマネスク時代に入り、さらに12世紀にゴシック時代に移って彫刻は教旨伝道のための石の聖書として、教会堂建築の柱や壁面におびただしく刻まれるようになった。フランスのシャルトル大聖堂、パリのノートル・ダム大聖堂の胴長な使徒や怪奇な動物群は、この時代の宗教的イデーをよく物語っている。

　イタリアにおこったルネサンスでは、国内の随所にみられるローマの古典に着想を得て、聖書からではなく神話に題材を求めるようになり、中世には軽蔑(けいべつ)された写実的な人間像が復興した。15世紀初頭の洗礼堂門扉(もんぴ)のコンクールで幕を開けたフィレンツェでは、ギベルティが透視法にのっとった浮彫りでまず名をあげ、自然主義的技法で多くの肖像を残したドナテッロ、彩色陶彫のルカ・デッラ・ロッビア、ブロンズ像を得意としたベロッキオ、チェッリーニらが相次いで活躍した。なかでも、4メートルを超える『ダビデ』像によって16世紀の到来を告げたミケランジェロは、未完の絶作『ロンダニーニのピエタ』に至る長い生涯に、数多くの壮大な人像を刻むとともに、バチカン宮殿の設計に加わりシスティナ礼拝堂の天井画を描いて、ルネサンス期最大の芸術家とたたえられた。17世紀のバロック時代は、マニエリスティックなミケランジェロ様式の継承ともいわれる。ベルニーニは際だった技巧で官能的な幻想を刻み、それを弟子たちが噴水や庭園に適用し、フランスに移って曲線を自由に取り入れたロココ様式の室内装飾彫刻へと変容する。また、肖像を得意としたウードンは、新興国アメリカにも出かけて作品を残した。

　近代に入ると、ギリシアのヘレニズム期を範とした古典主義が盛んになる。カノーバやトルバルセンらは、ローマにあって優美に大理石を刻み、王侯貴族の庇護(ひご)の下に一世を風靡(ふうび)した。次の世代のリュードやカルポーはより情熱的、流動的で、ロマン的ナショナリズムの傾向を鼓吹している。19世紀後半に活躍したロダンは、彫刻を権力や建築の装飾物から解放し、自立した芸術として確立させた点で近代彫刻の祖ともいわれる。塑像『青銅時代』では、整った美というより、ときに醜いとさえみえる徹底した写実で生命の現実を追求し、『カレーの市民』では、彫刻を高い台座の上から人々の地平に引き下ろす試みをしている。その弟子ブールデル、マイヨール、デスピオらは、より空間的に塑像を構築しようとした。

　20世紀に入ると、具象彫刻はしだいに解体していく。ブランクーシは純化した形態に神秘な瞑想(めいそう)を込めた『鳥』などの連作で、新しい様式の先駆けをなした。同じころ、ロッソは幻想的な人像を、未来派のボッチョーニはダイナミックな動きを試み、キュビストたちが対象を多角的に分解した。これらはまだ具象の域を出なかったけれども、ロシア革命前期の構成主義者たちは、より急進的に抽象を目ざし、対象物から彫刻を解放した。と同時に、ペブスナーとガボの兄弟は量塊による実材のかわりに、透明な合成樹脂板や線材を用いて開かれた空間の構成を開拓し、マレービチは幾何形体を組み合わせたアーキテクトニックを、リシツキーは構築的なプロウンを提唱した。また、ガボはモーターで動く振動彫刻をつくり、モホリ・ナギは『空間調整器』によって光をも要素に取り入れた。可動な『第三インターナショナル記念塔』の模型をつくったタトリンは、「反レリーフ」などの新しい壁面構成の領域を開いた。さらに、フランスのデュシャンは既製品によるオブジェを、アメリカのコルダーは風で動くモビールを、スペインのゴンザレスは鉄の溶接による集合彫刻を生み出している。

　第二次世界大戦後は、有機的な半具象形態によって人間の深層を表そうとするアルプ、ムーア、ジャコメッティ、西洋彫刻の伝統に回帰し新しい感覚で具象を復活しようとするイタリアのマリーニ、マンズー、エミリオ・グレコらの塑像が一般の人々の共感を得た。一方、1950年代終わりごろからは、従来の彫刻概念をはみだす兆候が目だち、廃品を圧縮固形化するセザールBaldaccini César（1921―1998）、人体からじかに人型を採取するシーガル、布製オブジェのオルデンバーグら、アメリカを中心に現代消費文化を背景とするポップ・アーチストたちが出現してきた。また、ティンゲリーやシェフェールのキネティック、物質性を排除し彩色するミニマル・アート、クリストの梱包(こんぽう)やランド・アート、さらに行為や非物質的メディアの導入は、不動の物体による形体表示であった彫刻概念の変更を余儀なくさせるだけでなく、ひいては造形美術全般の概念規定の変革をもたらしつつある。

［三田村畯右］

日本

縄文時代に魔除(まよ)けや出産の呪物(じゅぶつ)としてつくられた土偶(どぐう)が、日本に現存する最古の彫刻である。このおおらかに造形された超現実的な人形像に続いて、古墳時代にはやや形の整った埴輪(はにわ)が葬送儀礼用に古墳を飾るようになる。これらはいずれも仏教文化輸入以前のもので、大陸彫塑の影響をほとんど受けずに生まれたものだけに、単純素朴ではあるが、古代人のおおらかな人間感情が率直に表れており、日本人の彫刻に対する原初的な感覚を知るためにも注目すべきものである。

　飛鳥(あすか)時代に入ると、大陸から仏教とともに仏教彫刻の技法も急速に伝えられ、渡来した技術者を中心に多くの仏像がつくられた。その多くは口もとにアルカイック・スマイルをたたえた正面観照性の像で、法隆寺の釈迦(しゃか)三尊像、救世(ぐぜ)観音像、百済(くだら)観音像、中宮寺と広隆寺の弥勒菩薩(みろくぼさつ)像などが代表作である。これ以後の日本の彫刻は、ほとんど仏像彫刻によって占められることとなるが、奈良時代はとくにその最盛期といわれ、大陸伝承の木彫、塑造、乾漆、鋳造の諸技術が大きく進歩し、表現も写実的となって、静かな精神美、豊かさ、雄大さ、高雅、優美、怒りなど、人間の現実性を率直に表しながら理想像を求めた。代表作としては、薬師寺の薬師三尊像、興福寺の十大弟子像、八部衆像、東大寺法華堂(ほっけどう)の諸像、唐招提寺(とうしょうだいじ)の鑑真(がんじん)像や法隆寺の行信像などきわめて多くを数え、まさに仏像彫刻の黄金時代を現出している。

　平安時代になると塑像や乾漆が衰えて木彫が盛んになる。この時代の前半10世紀なかばごろまでのいわゆる貞観(じょうがん)彫刻においては、1本の木で体躯(たいく)の主要部を刻む一木造(いちぼくづくり)が特徴で、漆箔(うるしはく)や彩色を施さず木肌の美しさを生かした像も多い。またこのころ始められた密教の影響で、神護(じんご)寺の薬師如来(にょらい)像、観心寺の如意輪観音像など、神秘的な厳しさと力強さをもつ像も多くつくられた。平安後期になると、大陸の影響下に発展してきた日本の彫刻様式は、しだいに日本独自のものに変化していく。11世紀前半に活躍した定朝(じょうちょう)はこうした和風化を大成した仏師として知られる。彼の手になる平等院鳳凰(ほうおう)堂の阿弥陀(あみだ)如来像は穏やかな明るさと洗練された美しさにあふれ、こうした作風は定朝様とよばれて後世の仏像の規範とされた。彼はまた従来の一木造から画期的な寄木造の造像法を完成したといわれ、仏師の組織化をはかったことでも知られている。なおこの時代には仏像の影響を受けて神像もつくられ始めており、東寺の三神像（9世紀）はその最古のものとされている。

　写実的な彫刻が復活した鎌倉時代には、定朝の系統を引く運慶(うんけい)、その子の湛慶(たんけい)・康弁・康勝、兄弟弟子の快慶らが現れて、それぞれ個性的な作品を残した。運慶による興福寺の無著(むじゃく)像、世親像、康弁による同寺の天灯鬼像、竜灯鬼像、湛慶による高知雪蹊(せっけい)寺の多聞(たもん)天、快慶による東大寺の阿弥陀如来像、地蔵菩薩像、僧形八幡(はちまん)神像などがそれらの代表作であり、作家は不明ながら東大寺の重源(ちょうげん)像、鎌倉明月院の上杉重房(しげふさ)像などは、この時代の写実性をよく体現した肖像彫刻の秀作であるといえる。

　室町・桃山時代には仏像彫刻に優れたものはみられないが、このころ大成された能楽に用いる能面の作家として活躍した赤鶴(しゃくづる)、竜右衛門らの名は忘れられないし、桃山時代には建築の装飾彫刻が盛行し、欄間などに豪華な浮彫りや透(すかし)彫りが行われるようになった。この傾向は江戸時代にも引き継がれており、日光東照宮の装飾彫刻はその華麗を極める代表例の一つである。江戸期には仏像彫刻も数多くつくられてはいるが秀作は少なく、わずかに遊行の僧円空(えんくう)や木喰(もくじき)らによる木彫像が数えられるにすぎない。むしろ江戸町人文化のなかで盛んにつくられた印籠(いんろう)、根付け、櫛(くし)、簪(かんざし)などの日用品や装身具に、金や象牙(ぞうげ)を用いて人物、鳥獣などの精細な彫刻がなされたことが注目される。

　明治維新後は1876年（明治9）に政府の招きで工部大学美術学校の教授としてイタリア人ラグーザが来日し、塑造や大理石彫刻などの西欧の技術を伝えたのを皮切りに、野外の記念像などの大作も日本人の手でつくられるようになった。1887年には東京美術学校（現、東京芸術大学美術学部）が開かれ、フェノロサや岡倉天心によって日本古来の木彫が再認識され、1898年には同校に塑造科も開かれ、竹内久一、高村光雲、平櫛田中(ひらぐしでんちゅう)らが木彫、荻原守衛(おぎわらもりえ)、朝倉文夫らが塑造の指導にあたった。この時代の作品としては、ラグーザの『日本の婦人像』、光雲の『老猿(ろうえん)』、守衛の『女』、文夫の『墓守(はかもり)』などのほか、光雲が東京美術学校の職員たちを指導してつくった『西郷隆盛(さいごうたかもり)像』や『楠木正成(くすのきまさしげ)像』などの銅像もよく知られている。その後、白樺(しらかば)派の文学者によってロダンの作品が紹介されて日本の彫刻にも外面的写実性に量感が与えられるようになり、以後大正から昭和にかけてはマイヨール、ブールデルらの新作風が輸入された。

　1935年（昭和10）には帝国美術院改組を契機に美術界に対する官僚統制が急激に強化され、それに対立するグループの運動が激化する局面も生まれたが、日中戦争の拡大、第二次世界大戦の勃発(ぼっぱつ)とその泥沼化によって、美術界は完全に疲弊し沈滞した。1945年（昭和20）の敗戦がそうした美術界にとって蘇生(そせい)の転機となったことはいうまでもないが、あらゆる抑圧から解放された自由な息吹が美術界にみなぎり、その本格的な活動が始まるのは1950年代に入ってからのことである。また、第二次世界大戦前の官展を民営に改組（1958）した日展にもなおアカデミズムが支配的であることに対抗して、在野の二科会、国画会、新制作派協会、自由美術協会、一陽会、二紀会、モダンアート協会などが彫刻部を設けて集団現代彫刻の道を開き、前衛的彫刻に独自の成果をあげたことも特筆される。

　しかし第二次世界大戦後の著しい傾向は、従来の美術団体中心の活動が個人的活躍へと重点を移したこと、また国際化によって海外からの直接的刺激が彫刻の現代化に拍車をかけたことである。そのなかで抽象彫刻が出現し、伝統的写実彫刻も量塊をそぎ落として造形の簡素化・単純化の方向をみせた。また素材の面でも、木、石、ブロンズなどにとどまらず、鉄、ステンレス、アルミニウム、セメント、プラスチック、ガラスをはじめ、廃材や器物の利用にまで目が向けられている。さらに空間の概念が拡大した結果、彫刻は室内という狭い密閉空間から野外へ進出し、光を取り入れ、動きの要素まで組み入れ、四囲の環境を考慮して、従来のモニュメントとしての銅像などにかわり都市空間を構成する方向へも進んでいる。いまや彫刻という古典的な独自の領域をもつ概念は消え、絵画、工芸、建築といったジャンルとの境界も薄れて、現代彫刻は新たな命名を必要とする立体造形に変わりつつあるといえよう。

　なお、日本を含めたインド、中国、朝鮮などの仏教関係の彫刻については、「金銅仏」「仏像」の項目に詳述してある。

［佐藤昭夫］

『リュック・ブノワ著、西村滋人訳『彫刻の歴史』（白水社・文庫クセジュ）』▽『ハーバート・リード著、二見史郎訳『近代彫刻史』（1965・紀伊國屋書店）』▽『中原佑介著『現代彫刻』（1982・美術出版社）』▽『河北倫明他監修『世界の美術12　日本の彫刻』（1976・世界文化社）』▽『久野健編『日本の彫刻』（1959・吉川弘文館）』▽『座右宝刊行会編『世界彫刻美術全集』全13巻（1974～1977・小学館）』