Torso (English spelling) torso Italian

A sculptural term referring to a torso figure. From the meaning of a tree stump, the term has come to mean the torso of a human body, and in art it refers to a statue of only the torso. Sometimes some limbs are left intact. During the Neoclassical period, copies of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures were popular, and studies were made based on missing pieces of excavated art. In modern times, after Rodin, the formative qualities of the mass became recognized, and sculpture began to be produced as independent works. This can be seen as a process in which sculpture was moving away from concrete objects.

[Mitamura Shunsuke]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

彫刻用語で胴部像のこと。木の切り株の意から転じて人体の胴、美術上は胴体部分のみの彫像をいう。ときに、四肢の一部を残したものもある。新古典主義時代に古代ギリシア・ローマ彫刻の模刻が盛んで、欠けた発掘品に倣って習作がなされていた。近代になってロダン以後、その量塊（マッス）のもつ造形性が認識され、独立した作品として制作されるようになった。彫刻が、具象物から離れていく一過程と考えられよう。

［三田村畯右］

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