Relief

Centaur from the pediment of Parthenon

Relief is a way of making sculptures or carvings. You start with a flat stone or wooden base, and take small parts away until you have made the art you want.

Reliefs are found around the world. They can be used to decorate buildings, such as temples. Usually the artist makes reliefs of figures, such as people or animals.

Roman Hetaera, Relief, around 2nd century, Head is missing

In bas-relief, only a bit of the base is taken away. The figure is quite flat and this is especially common in friezes. An alto-relief is where the artist takes away a lot of the base material. This can be very detailed.

Famous reliefs

Famous reliefs include:

Great Altar of Pergamon, now at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin
Lions and dragons from the Ishtar Gate, Babylon
Temple of Karnak in Egypt
Angkor Wat in Cambodia
Lion Capital of Ashoka, the national symbol of India
glyphs and artwork of the Maya civilization
The monument to the Confederacy at Stone Mountain, Georgia
Borobudur temple, Java, Indonesia
The Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon now housed at the British Museum.
The representation of Monticello on a US nickel.

Gallery

Greek couple in high relief
Palmyra Figure in British Museum
Persian relief from Qajar era in the style of Persepolis, located at Tangeh Savashi.
Angels from Clonfert Cathedral, Co Galway, Ireland (adjusted to highlight relief)