Allegorical sculpture

Allegorical sculpture

Allegorical sculpture refers to sculptures that symbolize and particularly personify abstract ideas.

Common in the Western world, for example, are statues of 'Justice', a female figure traditionally holding scales in one hand, as a symbol of her weighing issues and arguments, and a Sword of Justice in the other. She also wears a blindfold to represent her impartiality. This approach of using human form and its posture, gesture and clothing to wordlessly convey social values may be seen in funerary art as early as 1580. They were used on Renaissance monuments when patron saints became unacceptable. Particularly popular were the Four cardinal virtues and the Three Christian virtues, but others such as fame, victory and time are also represented. Allegorical sculpture fully developed under the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. It is usually associated with Victorian art, and is most commonly found in works from around 1900.

Notable allegorical sculptures

*The Statue of Liberty.
*The figures of the four continents and four arts and sciences surrounding the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens
*Statue of Justice on the Old Bailey in London
*The Four cardinal virtues, by Maximilian Colt, on the monument to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury in Bishop's Hatfield Church in the English county of Hertfordshire
*In Pan-American Exposition of 1901 in Buffalo, New York had an extensive scheme of allegorical sculpture programmed by Karl Bitter.
*The allegorical group on top of Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, carved by the French sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan in 1912, represents the Roman gods, Hercules (strength), Mercury (speed) and Minerva (wisdom), and collectively represents 'Transportation'.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Western sculpture — ▪ art Introduction       three dimensional artistic forms produced in what is now Europe and later in non European areas dominated by European culture (such as North America) from the Metal Ages (Europe, history of) to the present.       Like… …   Universalium

  • Mannerist architecture and sculpture in Poland — Mikołaj Przybyła s House attic (1615), Polish style mannerism (Lublin type), Kazimierz Dolny. Mannerist architecture and sculpture in Poland dominated between 1550 and 1650, when it was finally replaced with baroque.[ …   Wikipedia

  • Outdoor sculpture in Washington, D.C. — The bronze statue of George Henry Thomas is considered one of the finest equestrian monuments in Washington, D.C.[1] There are many outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C. In addition to the capital s most famous monuments and mem …   Wikipedia

  • Royal Entry — Entry of John II of France and his Queen into Paris after their Coronation at Reims in 1350, later manuscript illumination by Jean Fouquet. The Royal Entry, also known by various other names, including Triumphal Entry and Joyous Entry, embraced… …   Wikipedia

  • Allegory — Tempera on panel, 61 × 51 cm, c. 1500.The Allegory of Music is a popular theme in painting; in this example, Lippi uses symbols popular during the High Renaissance, many of which refer to Greek mythology.] An allegory (from el. αλλος, allos,… …   Wikipedia

  • Albert Memorial — The Albert Memorial is situated in Kensington Gardens, London, England, directly to the north of the Royal Albert Hall. It was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband, Prince Albert who died of typhoid in 1861.The memorial …   Wikipedia

  • Nature Unveiling Herself Before Science — The original La Nature se dévoilant à la Science in the Musée d Orsay …   Wikipedia

  • Architecture parlante — The phrase architecture parlante (“speaking architecture”) refers to the concept of buildings that explain their own function or identity.The phrase was originally associated with Claude Nicolas Ledoux, and was extended to other Paris trained… …   Wikipedia

  • Metropolitan Museum of Art — Coordinates: 40°46′46″N 73°57′47″W / 40.779447°N 73.96311°W / 40.779447; 73.96311 …   Wikipedia

  • History of Buda Castle — Infobox World Heritage Site WHS = Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue State Party = HUN Type = Cultural Criteria = ii, iv ID = 400 Region = Europe and North America Year = 1987 Session = 11th… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”