What is a bust: the characteristic features of this direction in the sculpture

Almost in any city you can see monuments to famous people. All of them are executed in different forms and carry absolutely different meaning. Also, you can often see busts of famous people. They are found both on the streets of the city and in museums. Many of these sculptures are real works of art. Now it is worth more to highlight the question, what is a bust in terms of sculpture. Many objects of cultural heritage are made in this form.

What is a bust in sculpture?

So, it is necessary to understand what is called a bust. Bust is a sculptural work that depicts the head, shoulders and part of the human chest. Most often this statue is located on a stand. Thus, the question of what a bust is, has been considered, now it is worth noting its features.

The main characteristic feature of this direction in sculpture is a three-dimensional shape, thanks to which it becomes possible to recreate similar features. Bust - this is one of the most popular directions of the sculptural portrait. It refers to the round kind of sculpture (which means three-dimensional objects - such as a statue and a sculptural group). Objects of this kind differ in that they can be viewed from any point, since they are three-dimensional. Such figures are usually made of very strong materials, most often you can find marble and bronze busts.

A bit about the history of the direction

As you know, the development of sculpture began in time immemorial. Especially popular was and still is the portrait genre. It is to him and refers to the bust. When answering the question of what a bust is, people usually recall a lot of examples that they have ever seen. According to some reports, many sculptures appeared even before the birth of states and nationalities. However, if we talk about a round sculpture, and accordingly, and about busts, then a large number of them can be observed in the art of ancient Egypt and ancient Greece.

Famous busts in world culture

A striking example of this direction is the bust of Nefertiti, which is now stored in one of the museums in Berlin. This work is rightfully considered the culmination in the development of the fine arts of Ancient Egypt. Bust of Nefertiti is a three-dimensional sculpture of extraordinary beauty, with a magnificent blue tiara on its head. Archaeologists have found not only the work of art itself, but also many casts and masks that were used as models for creating the masterpiece.

If you look at the history of ancient Greece, you can also find a lot of wonderful examples. One of the main ideas of the ancient Greek sculptors was to convey and show the world all the beauty of man. With this task, this art direction does an excellent job, because where else, if not in sculpture, there is an opportunity to convey all the features of a person. A fine example of the busts of that time is the bust of Pericles, the famous statesman.

Period sculptural portrait in the art of ancient Rome

In ancient Rome, many unique works of art were also created in the form of busts. It is important to note that in ancient Roman culture there was a special period of the sculptural portrait, it is rightfully considered one of the most important stages in the development of the art of ancient Rome.

This period is primarily characterized by the fact that the masters sought to accurately convey the character of a person and realistic appearance in their works. This direction took the first place in the ancient Roman art.

Known examples of the busts of that time are the bust of Emperor Augustus, the bust of Claudius and many others. Now these magnificent works of art are kept in many museums around the world.

Busts in our country

Of course, for many years of our country's existence talented sculptors have created many busts of great and famous people. However, this trend was most widely spread, perhaps, in the Soviet era. Bust of Stalin or Lenin could be seen in almost every city in our vast country. They really got wide distribution and were mainly made of bronze. The opening of the bust of Stalin was always accompanied by solemn events. These sculptures can now be seen in many cities of Russia, both on small streets and on huge squares. For example, in Moscow the bust of Stalin is installed in several places at once. They were installed both in Soviet times and in the post-Soviet period.

Why is this art direction so popular?

As already mentioned above, busts have always occupied an important place in the culture and art of many peoples. What is most interesting, this happened throughout most of the history of mankind. So why is this direction always so interested in people and made them create more and more new objects?

First, people have always been interested in realism in art, so they sought to convey real individual features in stone and metal. Secondly, such a work of art is a kind of monument. Bust allows you to perpetuate a famous person and to convey the memory of him through many generations. The third reason is the interest directly in the technique of accomplishing this task, for the creation of such a sculpture is not an easy task. However, many masters are interested in trying to solve this problem in their own way, so they are looking for more and more new methods.