Editing Relief (section)

==Types==

The distinction between high and low relief is somewhat subjective, and the two are very often combined in a single work. In particular, most later "high reliefs" contain sections in low relief, usually in the background. From the [[Parthenon Frieze]] onwards, many single figures in large [[monumental sculpture]] have heads in high relief, but their lower legs are in low relief. The slightly projecting figures created in this way work well in reliefs that are seen from below, and reflect that the heads of figures are usually of more interest to both artist and viewer than the legs or feet.  As unfinished examples from various periods show, raised reliefs, whether high or low, were normally "blocked out" by marking the outline of the figure and reducing the background areas to the new background level, work no doubt performed by apprentices (see gallery).

{{anchor|Bas-relief or low relief}}

===Low relief or bas-relief===
[[File:PupienusSest.jpg|thumb|left|Low-relief on Roman [[sestertius]], 238&nbsp;AD]]
A low relief  is a projecting image with a shallow overall depth, for example used on coins, on which all images are in low relief. In the lowest reliefs the relative depth of the elements shown is completely distorted, and if seen from the side the image makes no sense, but from the front the small variations in depth register as a three-dimensional image. Other versions distort depth much less.  The term comes from the [[Italian language|Italian]] {{lang|it|basso rilievo}} via the French {{lang|fr|bas-relief}} ({{IPA|fr|baʁəljɛf}}), both meaning "low relief".  The former is now a very old-fashioned term in English, and the latter term is becoming so.

Low relief is a technique which requires less work than high relief, and is therefore cheaper to produce, as less of the background needs to be removed in a carving, or less modelling is required. In the [[art of Ancient Egypt]], [[Assyrian palace relief]]s, and other [[ancient Near East]]ern and Asian cultures, a consistent very low relief was commonly used for the whole composition. These images would usually be painted after carving, which helped define the forms; today the paint has worn off in the great majority of surviving examples, but minute, invisible remains of paint can usually be discovered through chemical means.

[[File:Rock Relief of Iddin-Sin, King of Simurrum.jpg|thumb|upright|A low-relief dating to {{Circa|2000 BC}}, from the kingdom of [[Simurrum]], modern [[Iraq]]]]
The [[Ishtar Gate]] of [[Babylon]], now in Berlin, has low reliefs of large animals formed from moulded bricks, glazed in colour. Plaster, which made the technique far easier, was widely used in Egypt and the [[Near East]] from antiquity into Islamic times (latterly for architectural decoration, as at the [[Alhambra]]), Rome, and Europe from at least the Renaissance, as well as probably elsewhere. However, it needs very good conditions to survive long in unmaintained buildings – Roman decorative plasterwork is mainly known from [[Pompeii]] and other sites buried by ash from [[Mount Vesuvius]]. Low relief was relatively rare in Western [[medieval art]], but may be found, for example in wooden figures or scenes on the insides of the folding wings of multi-panel [[altarpiece]]s.

The revival of low relief, which was seen as a classical style, begins early in the Renaissance; the [[Tempio Malatestiano]] in [[Rimini]], a pioneering classicist building, designed by [[Leon Battista Alberti]] around 1450, uses low reliefs by [[Agostino di Duccio]] inside and on the external walls. Since the Renaissance plaster has been very widely used for indoor [[ornament (art)|ornamental]] work such as [[cornice]]s and ceilings, but in the 16th century it was used for large figures (many also using high relief) at the [[Chateau of Fontainebleau]], which were imitated more crudely elsewhere, for example in the Elizabethan [[Hardwick Hall]].

Shallow-relief, in Italian {{lang|it|rilievo [[stiacciato]]}} or {{lang|it|rilievo schicciato}} ("squashed relief"), is a very shallow relief, which merges into engraving in places, and can be hard to read in photographs. It is often used for the background areas of compositions with the main elements in low-relief, but its use over a whole (usually rather small) piece was effectively invented and perfected by the Italian Renaissance sculptor [[Donatello]].<ref>Avery, vi</ref>

In later Western art, until a 20th-century revival, low relief was used mostly for smaller works or combined with higher relief to convey a sense of distance, or to give depth to the composition, especially for scenes with many figures and a landscape or architectural background, in the same way that lighter colours are used for the same purpose in painting. Thus figures in the foreground are sculpted in high-relief, those in the background in low-relief. Low relief may use any medium or technique of sculpture, [[stone carving]] and [[metal casting]] being most common. Large architectural compositions all in low relief saw a revival in the 20th century, being popular on buildings in [[Art Deco]] and related styles, which borrowed from the ancient low reliefs now available in museums.<ref>Avery, vii</ref> Some sculptors, including [[Eric Gill]], have adopted the "squashed" depth of low relief in works that are actually free-standing.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Amarna Neues 05.JPG|"Blocked-out" unfinished low relief of [[Ahkenaten]] and [[Nefertiti]]; unfinished Greek and Persian high-reliefs show the same method of beginning a work.
File:Nowruz Zoroastrian.jpg|Persian low or [[bas-relief]] in [[Persepolis]] – a symbol of [[Zoroastrism|Zoroastrian]] Nowruz – at the spring [[equinox]] the power of the bull (personifying [[Earth]]) and lion (personifying the [[Sun]]) are equal.
File:Sculpted reliefs depicting Ashurbanipal, the last great Assyrian king, hunting lions, gypsum hall relief from the North Palace of Nineveh (Irak), c. 645-635 BC, British Museum (16722131531).jpg|[[Assyrian palace relief|Assyrian low relief]], ''[[Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal]]'', North Palace, [[Nineveh]]
File:Atropos.jpg|[[Atropos]] cutting the thread of life. Modern Greek low relief.
File:Assunzione della verginje, donatello.jpg|[[Donatello]]'s ''[[rilievo stiacciato]]'' or shallow relief of the "Assumption of the Virgin" on [[Tomb of Cardinal Rainaldo Brancacci|a tomb]], 1420s
File:Henri Lebrand 2.jpg|French 20th-century low relief
</gallery>

===Mid-relief===
[[File:Banteay Srei in Angkor.jpg|thumb|Low relief, [[Banteay Srei]], [[Cambodia]]; [[Ravana]] shaking Mount [[Kailasa]], the Abode of [[Shiva|Siva]]]]

Mid-relief, "half-relief" or {{lang|it|mezzo-rilievo}} is somewhat imprecisely defined, and the term is not often used in English, the works usually being described as low relief instead.  The typical traditional definition is that only up to half of the subject projects, and no elements are undercut or fully disengaged from the background field.  The depth of the elements shown is normally somewhat distorted.

Mid-relief is probably the most common type of relief found in the [[Hindu art|Hindu]] and [[Buddhist art]] of [[India]] and [[Southeast Asia]]. The low to mid-reliefs of 2nd-century BCE to 6th-century CE [[Ajanta Caves]] and 5th- to 10th-century [[Ellora Caves]] in India are rock reliefs. Most of these reliefs are used to narrate sacred scriptures, such as the 1,460 panels of the 9th-century [[Borobudur]] temple in [[Central Java]], [[Indonesia]], narrating the [[Jataka tales]] or lives of the [[Buddha]]. Other examples are low reliefs narrating the [[Ramayana]] Hindu epic in [[Prambanan]] temple, also in Java, in [[Cambodia]], the temples of [[Angkor]], with scenes including the [[Samudra manthan]] or "Churning the Ocean of Milk" at the 12th-century [[Angkor Wat]], and reliefs of [[apsaras]]. At [[Bayon]] temple in [[Angkor Thom]] there are scenes of daily life in the [[Khmer Empire]].

===High relief===
[[File:The Parthenon sculptures, British Museum (14063376069) (2) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|High relief [[Metope (architecture)|metope]] from the Classical Greek [[Elgin Marbles|Parthenon Marbles]]. Some front limbs are actually detached from the background completely, while the [[centaur]]'s left rear leg is in low relief.]]

High relief (or {{lang|it|altorilievo}}, from [[Italian language|Italian]]) is where in general more than half the mass of the sculpted figure projects from the background. Indeed, the most prominent elements of the composition, especially heads and limbs, are often completely undercut, detaching them from the field. The parts of the subject that are seen are normally depicted at their full depth, unlike low relief where the elements seen are "squashed" flatter. High relief thus uses essentially the same style and techniques as free-standing sculpture, and in the case of a single figure gives largely the same view as a person standing directly in front of a free-standing statue would have. All cultures and periods in which large sculptures were created used this technique in [[monumental sculpture]] and architecture.

Most of the many grand figure reliefs in [[Ancient Greek sculpture]] used a very "high" version of high relief, with elements often fully free of the background, and parts of figures crossing over each other to indicate depth. The [[metopes of the Parthenon]] have largely lost their fully rounded elements, except for heads, showing the advantages of relief in terms of durability. High relief has remained the dominant form for reliefs with figures in Western sculpture, also being common in Indian temple sculpture. Smaller Greek sculptures such as private tombs, and smaller decorative areas such as friezes on large buildings, more often used low relief.
[[File:Western Group of Temples, Khajuraho 20.jpg|thumb|High-relief deities at [[Khajuraho]], India]]
[[File:Olhares sobre o Museu do Ipiranga 2017 021 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Very high relief at the [[Monument to the Independence of Brazil]] in [[São Paulo]]; derivative representation of [[Pedro Américo]]'s 1888 painting ''[[Independence or Death (painting)|Independence or Death]]'']]

[[Hellenistic]] and Roman [[sarcophagus]] reliefs were cut with a drill rather than [[chisel]]s, enabling and encouraging compositions extremely crowded with figures, like the [[Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus]] (250–260 CE). These are also seen in the enormous strips of reliefs that wound around Roman [[triumphal column]]s. The [[Sarcophagus|sarcophagi]] in particular exerted a huge influence on later Western sculpture. The European Middle Ages tended to use high relief for all purposes in stone, though like [[Ancient Roman sculpture]], their reliefs were typically not as high as in Ancient Greece.<ref>Avery, ii and iii</ref> Very high relief re-emerged in the Renaissance, and was especially used in wall-mounted [[funerary art]] and later on [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] [[pediment]]s and public monuments.

In the Buddhist and Hindu art of India and Southeast Asia, high relief can also be found, although it is not as common as low to mid-reliefs. Famous examples of Indian high reliefs can be found at the [[Khajuraho]] temples, with voluptuous, twisting figures that often illustrate the erotic [[Kamasutra]] positions. In the 9th-century [[Prambanan]] temple, Central [[Java]],  high reliefs of [[Lokapala]] [[devata]]s, the guardians of deities of the directions, are found.

The largest high relief sculpture in the world is the [[Stone Mountain#Confederate Memorial Carving|Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial]] in the U.S. state of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], which was cut 42 feet deep into the mountain,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-will-happen-stone-mountain-americas-largest-confederate-memorial-180964588/|title=What Will Happen to Stone Mountain, America's Largest Confederate Memorial?|author=Boissoneault, Lorraine|magazine=[[Smithsonian Magazine]]|date=August 22, 2017|accessdate=May 26, 2021|archivedate=August 22, 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822212142/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-will-happen-stone-mountain-americas-largest-confederate-memorial-180964588/}}</ref> and measures 90 feet in height, 190 feet in width,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/entertainment/celebrity-news/things-you-might-not-know-about-stone-mountain-park/bdffmFbsNskCuHX2mgEHpO/|newspaper=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|title=50 things you might not know about Stone Mountain Park|date=July 10, 2018|accessdate=May 26, 2021|archivedate=November 11, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111190336/https://www.ajc.com/entertainment/celebrity-news/things-you-might-not-know-about-stone-mountain-park/bdffmFbsNskCuHX2mgEHpO/}}</ref> and lies 400 feet above the ground.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-race-usa-stone-mountain/the-worlds-largest-confederate-monument-faces-renewed-calls-for-removal-idUSKBN2441C7|author=McKay, Rich|title=The world's largest Confederate Monument faces renewed calls for removal|publisher=[[Reuters]]|date=July 3, 2020|accessdate=May 26, 2021|archivedate=July 3, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703135728/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-race-usa-stone-mountain/the-worlds-largest-confederate-monument-faces-renewed-calls-for-removal-idUSKBN2441C7}}</ref>

===Sunk relief===
[[File:Akhenaten, Nefertiri and three daughers beneath the Aten - Neues Museum - Berlin - Germany 2017 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|A sunk-relief depiction of Pharaoh [[Akhenaten]] with his wife [[Nefertiti]] and daughters. The main background has not been removed, merely that in the immediate vicinity of the sculpted form. Note how strong shadows are needed to define the image.]]

Sunk or sunken relief is largely restricted to the [[art of Ancient Egypt]] where it is very common, becoming after the [[Amarna period]] of [[Ahkenaten]] the dominant type used, as opposed to low relief. It had been used earlier, but mainly for large reliefs on external walls, and for [[hieroglyph]]s and [[cartouche]]s. The image is made by cutting the relief sculpture itself into a flat surface to enhance the impression of three-dimensionality.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wang |first=Meili |last2=Chang |first2=Jian |last3=Kerber |first3=Jens |last4=Zhang |first4=Jian J. |date=2012-11-01 |title=A framework for digital sunken relief generation based on 3D geometric models |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00371-011-0663-y |journal=The Visual Computer |language=en |volume=28 |issue=11 |pages=1127–1137 |doi=10.1007/s00371-011-0663-y |issn=1432-2315}}</ref> In a simpler form, the images are usually mostly linear in nature, like hieroglyphs, but in most cases the figure itself is in low relief, but set within a sunken area shaped round the image, so that the relief never rises beyond the original flat surface. In some cases the figures and other elements are in a very low relief that does not rise to the original surface, but others are modeled more fully, with some areas rising to the original surface. This method minimizes the work removing the background, while allowing normal relief modelling.

The technique is most successful with strong sunlight to emphasise the outlines and forms by shadow, as no attempt was made to soften the edge of the sunk area, leaving a face at a right-angle to the surface all around it. Some reliefs, especially funerary monuments with heads or busts from ancient Rome and later Western art, leave a "frame" at the original level around the edge of the relief, or place a head in a hemispherical recess in the block (see Roman example in gallery). Though essentially very similar to Egyptian sunk relief, but with a background space at the lower level around the figure, the term would not normally be used of such works.

It is also used for carving letters (typically ''[[om mani padme hum]]'') in the [[mani stone]]s of [[Tibetan Buddhism]].

===Counter-relief===
Sunk relief technique is not to be confused with "counter-relief" or intaglio as seen on [[engraved gem]] [[Seal (emblem)|seals]] – where an image is fully modeled in a "negative" manner. The image goes into the surface, so that when impressed on wax it gives an impression in normal relief. However many engraved gems were carved in [[Cameo (carving)|cameo]] or normal relief.

A few very late [[Hellenistic]] monumental carvings in Egypt use full "negative" modelling as though on a gem seal, perhaps as sculptors trained in the Greek tradition attempted to use traditional Egyptian conventions.<ref>Barasch, Moshe, ''Visual Syncretism: A Case Study'', pp.&nbsp;39–43 in Budick, Stanford & Iser, Wolfgang, eds., ''The Translatability of cultures: figurations of the space between'', [[Stanford University Press]], 1996, {{ISBN|0-8047-2561-6}} ({{ISBN|978-0-8047-2561-3}}).</ref>

===Small objects===
[[File:French - Diptych with Scenes from the Passion of Christ - Walters 71179 - Open.jpg|thumb|left|French Gothic [[diptych]], 25&nbsp;cm (9.8&nbsp;in) high, with crowded scenes from the ''[[Life of Christ in art|Life of Christ]]'', c.&nbsp;1350–1365]]
Small-scale reliefs have been carved in various materials, notably [[ivory carving|ivory]], wood, and wax.  Reliefs are often found in [[decorative arts]] such as [[ceramic art|ceramics]] and [[metalwork]]; these are less often described as "reliefs" than as "in relief". Small bronze reliefs are often in the form of "plaques" or [[plaquette]]s, which may be set in furniture or framed, or just kept as they are, a popular form for European collectors, especially in the Renaissance.

Various modelling techniques are used, such [[repoussé]] ("pushed-back") in metalwork, where a thin metal plate is shaped from behind using various metal or wood punches, producing a relief image. [[Casting]] has also been widely used in [[bronze]] and other metals. Casting and repoussé are often used in concert in to speed up production and add greater detail to the final relief. In stone, as well as engraved gems, larger [[hardstone carving]]s in semi-precious stones have been highly prestigious since ancient times in many Eurasian cultures. Reliefs in [[wax]] were produced at least from the [[Renaissance]].

[[Ivory carving|Carved ivory]] reliefs have been used since ancient times, and because the material, though expensive, cannot usually be reused, they have a relatively high survival rate, and for example [[consular diptych]]s represent a large proportion of the survivals of portable secular art from [[Late Antiquity]]. In the [[Gothic art|Gothic period]] the carving of ivory reliefs became a considerable [[Luxury goods|luxury]] industry in [[Paris]] and other centres. As well as small [[diptych]]s and [[triptych]]s with densely packed religious scenes, usually from the [[New Testament]], secular objects, usually in a lower relief, were also produced.

These were often round mirror-cases, combs, handles, and other small items, but included a few larger caskets like the [[Casket with Scenes of Romances (Walters 71264)]] in [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], in the United States. Originally they were very often painted in bright colours.  Reliefs can be impressed by stamps onto clay, or the clay pressed into a mould bearing the design, as was usual with the mass-produced {{lang|la|[[terra sigillata]]}} of [[Ancient Roman pottery]]. Decorative reliefs in [[plaster]] or [[stucco]] may be much larger; this form of architectural decoration is found in many styles of interiors in the post-Renaissance West, and in [[Islamic architecture]].

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