Sculpture
Sculpture is one of the types of fine arts. In sculpture, a human or any depicted object is created in a three-dimensional form.
There are two main types of sculpture:
- volumetric or rounded
- relief (bas-relief, relief)
The basic plan, the plane of light, the mass and the volume play a big role in the better acquisition of the statue.
Different materials are used in the manufacture of sculptures: stone (marble, limestone, sandstone, granite, etc.), wood, bone, metal (bronze, iron, bronze, etc.), clay, burnt clay, ceramics (terracotta, majolica, pottery, porcelain, etc.) gypsum and others. In addition to traditional materials, completely different materials are used in modern sculpture: glass, ice, snow and paper.
Three areas of sculpture have been known since ancient times: monumental, decorative and bench sculpture.
Monumental sculptures are often placed outdoors, in large city squares, gardens, and sometimes inside public buildings. In the squares of large cities, magnificent sculptural monuments are erected in honor of important historical events, political figures, commanders, thinkers, writers, personalities who have won the sympathy and respect of the people.
The three-dimensional sculptures displayed at the exhibitions are examples of bench sculpture.
The most primitive form of sculpture is stone figures. Stone human figures dating back to the Middle Ages, found around the cities of Shamakhi and Aghdam, are considered to be more advanced examples of our sculpture. Examples of stone carvings in Bayil Castle (XIII century), horse and ram figures placed on tombs (XV-XIX centuries) can be considered as such. . Among the most famous examples of sculpture are the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, built in the 13th century in the port of Baku, and an architectural monument called "Bayil Castle" or "Sabail".
Azerbaijan's professional sculpture was formed and developed in the early twentieth century. More precisely, the main development of our national sculpture dates back to 1930-1940. It was connected with the names of Jalal Qaryagdi, Fuad Abdulrahmanova, Pyotr Sabsay, Mirali Mirgasimov, Tokay Mammadov, Omar Eldarov.
Fuad Abdulrahmanov still preferred monumental forms in the images he created in the thirties. One of the images in Firdovsi's poem Shahnameh, the figure "Young archer" can be a good example of this. The monument to Fuad Abdulrahmanov "Nizami" is especially noteworthy. In the works of Jalal Qaryagdi, based on the motives of the poem "Khosrov and Shirin", it is necessary to emphasize the bas-relief "Farhad Mountain is splitting". The further development of Azerbaijani monumental sculpture dates back to 1950-1960. Along with T.Mammadov, O.Eldarov, M.Mirgsimov, E.Huseynova, E.Shamilov and others can be mentioned among the sculptors of this period.
The monument to Mohammad Fuzuli, where T.Mammadov worked with O.Eldarov in 1963, is considered a great achievement of Azerbaijani sculpture. Examples of interesting monumental sculpture created in these years include the monuments of I. Zeynalov "Shah Ismail Khatayi" and A. Askerov "Academician Y. Mammadaliyev".
Along with the monumental genre, Azerbaijani sculptors have achieved great success in the field of portraiture.
The names of O. Eldarov, T. Mammadov, M. Mirgasimov, F. Najafov, A. Askerov can be mentioned in this field. O.Eldarov's wood-carved portraits "Sattar Bahlulzade", "Shaira Natavan", T.Mammadov's "Nizami Ganjavi", "Samad Vurgun" can be shown as examples.
Azerbaijani sculptors achieved a lot in the field of small plastics made of different materials in 1970-1990. A.Asgarova, N.Aliyev, N.Dadashov, H.Ahmadov carried out very active creative work on the works created in this genre. Modern Azerbaijani sculpture is looking for new forms, taking advantage of the sculptural traditions of the twentieth century.