Muiredach's High Cross

We just learned about the Aberlemno Sculptured Stones.

Another ancient sculpture is the Muiredach's High Cross in County Louth, Ireland.

This is 19 foot tall sandstone cross, with many carvings on it of biblical scenes like David and Goliath or Moses.

It was made to honor either an old king or monk named Muiredach.


(from: wikipedia - muiredach's high cross)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Black Square - Malevich

Aberlemno Sculptured Stones

We just learned about the Stenkvista Runestone.

Another ancient sculpture is the group of sculptured stones in Scotland, called the Aberlemno Sculptured Stones.

This is a group of 5 stones, all carved hundreds of years ago and placed as markers in important areas.


(from: wikipedia - aberlemno sculptured stones)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dynamic Hieroglyph of the Bal Tabarin - Severini

Stenkvista Runestone

We just learned about the Gero Cross.

Another ancient sculpture from the same time, was the Stenkvista Runestone.

This was made in Sweden, and it was a large stone carved near a grave to honor someone who had passed.
In the northern countries of Europe, they believed in the mythical Norse gods like Thor.

On the rune stone, you can see what looks like an upside down capital letter T.
That is Thor's hammer Mjölnir.

The words carved in the stone are in old letters called runes, and the words mean:
Helgi and Freygeirr and Þorgautr raised the rune-decorated landmark in memory of Þjóðmundr, their father.


(from: wikipedia - stenkvista runestone)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: The City Rises - Boccioni

Gero Cross

We just learned about the Golden Madonna of Essen.

Another ancient sculpture is the Gero Cross, carved around 965 AD.

This crucifix is over six feet tall, and is made out of oak wood, painted, and gilded with some gems.
The oval and sun rays behind the crucifix were added about 700 years later.

It is different from other sculptures of the time, because other crucifixes showed Christ alive with his eyes open looking out.
This crucifix shows him after he died on the cross, looking sad.
Many other crucifixes made after this one copied the same style.


(from: wikipedia - gero cross)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash - Balla

Golden Madonna of Essen

We just learned about the Archangel Ivory.

Another ancient statue is the Golden Madonna of Essen.

This is a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus.
The Virgin Mary is sometimes called the Madonna.

It has a wooden sculpture inside, and is wrapped in gold leaf, which is thin sheets of gold.
The eyes are made from a type of colored glass.

It was made around the year 980, so it is over 2,000 years old.
It is the oldest known sculpture of the the Madonna.


(from: wikipedia - golden madonna of essen)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Le Bal élégant, La Danse à la campagne - Laurencin

Archangel Ivory

We just learned about the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus.

Another famous sculpture is the Archangel Ivory.

This is a carving in ivory of a powerful angel called an archangel holding a scepter, which is like a staff that rulers use, and an imperial orb, which is a ball with a cross on top.

This carving is the right half of something called a diptych, which is almost like the front and back covers of a book that opens, and the carving is on the inside.

Some people think the other half of the diptych was a carving of the emperor, and the archangel was giving him those gifts.


(from: wikipedia - archangel ivory)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Personnage Écrivant - Marcoussis

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus

We just learned about the Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs.

Another ancient Roman sculpture is the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus.

A sarcophagus is a large decorated coffin.
This sculpture shows many different stories from the bible, because Junius Bassus became a Christian before he died.
There are sculptures of Adam and Eve, Daniel in the Lion's Den, the Trial of Jesus, Moses with the ten commandments, and many more.


(from: wikipedia - sarcophagus of junius bassus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Woman with a Fan - Metzinger

Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs

We just learned about the Great Cameo of France.

Another ancient Roman sculpture is the Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs.

Around 300 AD, the Roman empire was ruled by four emperors.
Two senior emperors that were called Augusti, and two junior ones that were called Caesars.

This sculpture was made to show that the emperors were all working together.


(from: wikipedia - portrait of the four tetrarchs)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Portrait of Jacques Nayral - Gleizes

Great Cameo of France

We just learned about the Gonzaga Cameo.

Another Great Cameo of France.

10 12 This is another cameo carving of a sardonyx stone.
It is 10 inches by 12 inches, and has three different layers of people.

It is twenty four different people in the sculpture, and it is a picture of famous Roman people.


(from: wikipedia - great cameo of france)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Simultaneous Windows on the City - Delaunay

Gonzaga Cameo

We just learned about the Gemma Augustea.

Another ancient Roman sculpture is the Gonzaga Cameo.

Just like the Gemma Augustea, this is a cameo that is made from carving a stone.
This stone was called sardonyx, and is carved into a male and female person.

No one knows who the people were supposed to be when they were carved, but many people think they were supposed to be Zeus and Hera.


(from: wikipedia - gonzaga cameo)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Woman in Blue - Leger

Gemma Augustea

We just learned about the sculpture the Campana Reliefs.

Another ancient Roman sculpture is the Gemma Augustea.

This is a sculpture made out of a type of gem stone called Arabian onyx.
This type of stone has both black and white colors in it, and the gem was cut until there was white on top and black in the background.
When a stone is carved like this it is called a Cameo.

The sculptor then carved out a picture of Ceasar Augustus, surrounded by mythical Roman gods on the top row, and a bunch of workers putting up a trophy on the bottom row.

The artist was Dioscurides, who was a famous gem cutting sculptor for Caesar Augustus thousands of years ago.


(from: wikipedia - gemma augustea)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Fruit Dish on Checkered Tablecloth - Gris

Campana Reliefs

We just learned about the Arch of Constantine.

Another bunch of ancient Roman sculptures are the Campana Reliefs.

These were small art tiles that were at the top of walls below the roof.
They are terracotta reliefs.
Terracotta is clay that was baked and cooled when it hardened.
A relief is a sculpture that is connected to the background.


(from: wikipedia - campana reliefs)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Houses at L'Estaque - Braque

Arch of Constantine

We just learned about the Ara Pacis.

Another ancient Roman sculpture is the Arch of Constantine, in Rome Italy.
It is a large cement arch that is over 60 feet tall and over 80 feet wide.

This was built to honor the Emperor Constantine, and has many sculptures of soldiers and battles from the bottom to the top.

Many of the stone statues are twice as tall as a person.


(from: wikipedia - arch of constantine)


(from: wikipedia - arch of constantine)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Farewell - August Macke

Ara Pacis

We just learned about the ancient Roman sculpture the Capitoline Brutus.

Another ancient Roman sculpture is the Ara Pacis, which means "Altar of Augustan Peace".

This was a sculpted building made for the mythical Roman god of peace named Pax.
The building is over thirty feet wide and thirty feet tall.


(from: wikipedia - ara pacis)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: The Tower of Blue Horses - Franz Marc

Capitoline Brutus

We just learned about the Roman Sculpture Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus.

Another Roman sculpture was Capitoline Brutus.
It is a bronze statue of a head and shoulders, called a bust.

This statue was of an ancient Roman person named Lucius Junius Brutus.
He was an important person in Rome hundreds of years ago, when the country decided to get rid of their kings, and instead have a bunch of people running the country that were chosen by the people.



(from: wikipedia - capitoline brutus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: When Will You Marry? - Gauguin

Trajan's Column

We just learned about the the ancient Roman sculpture the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus.

Another ancient Roman sculpture is Trajan's Column.

During the time when Rome was at war, sometimes they would make large sculptures and columns to celebrate battle victories.

This tall cylinder column was made for a Roman Emperor named Trajan.
There is a statue of him at the top, and the outside of the column has carvings showing his army winning battles.


(from: wikipedia - trajan's column)


(from: wikipedia - trajan's column)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: La Blanchisseuse - Toulouse-Lautrec

Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus

We just learned about the Alexander Sarcophagus sculpture.

A famous sculpture from the Roman art period is the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus.

It is split up into three parts.

The first part on the left is the census, where the Roman person in charge took notes of every person in town, where they lived and what they did.


(from: wikipedia - altar of domitius ahenobarbus)

The second part is where some animals are being given as sacrifices to the mythical Roman gods.


(from: wikipedia - altar of domitius ahenobarbus)

The last part on the right is soldiers with horses.


(from: wikipedia - altar of domitius ahenobarbus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Le Pont de Moret, effet d’orage - Sisley

Alexander Sarcophagus

We just learned about the sculpture Lady in Blue.

Another famous sculpture is the Alexander Sarcophagus.

A sarcophagus is like a very fancy coffin, a place where the body of someone rich or powerful was buried after they died.
If someone was very famous, their sarcophagus would have a lot of art and sculptures on it.

This one was made of marble, and has some marks on it showing that it was painted in color long ago but has faded.

The carvings tell a story of Alexander the Great fighting the Persians, over 2,300 years ago.



(from: wikipedia - alexander sarcophagus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Le Boulevard de Montmartre, Matinée de Printemps - Pissarro

Lady in Blue

We just learned about Athena Parthenos.

Another famous Hellenistic Greek sculpture is the Lady In Blue, also known as Dame en Bleu.

This type of sculpture is called a Tanagra figurine, because it was made in a town of Tanagra Greece, where artists made many of the same type of sculpture long ago.

The sculptures were painted with a liquid white coating, and then painted over with other colors like blue, red, pink, yellow or brown.

The tanagra figurines were sculptures of real women and men just wearing normal clothes, with hats, wreaths or fans.
They were made in layers, so there would be a sculpture for the clothing that was made over top of the sculpture of the person.


(from: wikipedia - tanagra figurine)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Woman with a bag - Schmidt-Rottluff

Athena Parthenos - Phidias

We just learned about Statue of Zeus at Olympia.

Another famous sculpture from ancient Greece is the Athena Parthenos.

This was also made by the famous sculptor Phidias, who made the famous Zeus statue.
It was over 70 feet tall, and made of ivory and gold.
A fancy word for a statue made of ivory and gold is Chryselephantine.
The arms and face were made of ivory, and the gown and other parts were gold.

When the Romans came and took over, they destroyed the statue, but there were many writings about it, and some drawings.


(from: wikipedia - athena parthenos)

Some people have tried to make statues just like the old one to put in museums.


(from: wikipedia - athena parthenos)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Broadway Boogie Woogie - Mondrian