As one of the oldest art forms, wood carving is a popular art form in every culture, from the Stone Age onwards, not least because of its widespread availability, plasticity and low cost. Its only real limitation as a sculptural medium is its fragility. Being absorbent and susceptible to airborne insects and fungi, wood can deteriorate quite quickly. Therefore, bronze, marble and other types of stone are preferred for monumental structures. Despite this, wood remained the main form of African sculpture used to produce masks, figurines, religious objects, and ornaments in general. The medium was also widely used in Oceanic art to carve ceremonial canoes and other objects, as well as in the totem pole culture of American Indian art and Australian Aboriginal art. Unfortunately, most of this ancient tribal art form has died out. Wood carving was also common in Greek sculpture, although it was much less prestigious than ivory carving and was mainly used for small-scale works. The medium flourished later in Europe, alongside medieval, Romanesque and Gothic architecture, mainly in churches and cathedrals, and later alongside fine furniture and decorations. interior decoration, especially in the expression “rococo art.” During the 20th century, the visual arts used wood in a number of innovative ways, especially in the assemblage art of Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) and others, while 20th century folk art continues to depend on this material. By taking a quick look at some of the world's leading art galleries and auction houses, we can see that carved wood works of art are as present and popular as ever. For example, Saatchi Art offers an impressive multi-page display of works done in wood carving, from figurative to abstract, and even references some of the most famous works such as Broadway Boogie Mondrian's Woogie on Weiwei Liang's chair is also inspired by Ming-Tsing Dynasty Furniture, and Greg Joubert's color blocks are reminiscent of Donald Judd's untitled works (stacks).
Easily available and relatively easy to carve, wood has attracted the interest of artists and designers for centuries. Its trajectory in art closely follows the general artistic progression that has taken place over the years - from being used primarily for votive and religious sculptures to its transition to abstract forms. statue . From being polished and colored to its natural quality and texture, wood not only takes on the shape that artists envisioned but is also prized for its aesthetic quality in its intact form.
However, besides its material quality, wood also carries different cultural and social meanings that influence how it is used. In Western art, wood went from being widely used, considered a material of lesser cultural value, such as marble, to being widely praised and used by modern artists. modern and contemporary.
Although the history of using wood carving in art dates back to prehistoric times when wooden objects had specific ceremonial functions – the oldest wood sculpture is the Shigir Idol carved about 11,000 years ago – we will start with a historical overview from the Middle Ages. Christians discovered relatively early the uses of wood for religious purposes, by carving crosses and many religious figures and saints from the material. However, due to their perishability and vulnerability to water, insects and fungi, many masterpieces of wooden sculpture have been damaged over the centuries.
The Middle Ages were also limited to a limited number of stories that artists could convey in visual form, mainly decided upon at religious gatherings where dogmas were strictly adhered to. and regulations about what is and what is not guide the majority of their creative output. Stage. Among the many outstanding works are Gero Crucifix, Tilman Riemenschneider's Holy Blood Altar and Röttgen Pietà . Germany is one of the most developed regions for the art of wood carving, leaving behind countless masterpieces. In addition to statues, wood is also carved to make ceilings, altars, busts and reliefs.
Paleolithic art and culture is full of examples of prehistoric sculpture, the most famous of which are the statues of Venus, carved from a variety of ivory, animal bones and rocks. Undoubtedly, wood was also widely used, although very little of it survives. The fact that we have the Shigir Idol (7500 BCE, Yekaterinburg, Russian Urals) - a masterpiece of Neolithic art - is a miracle. Wood was also widely used in all ancient civilizations, especially in Japanese art, as well as Mesopotamian art and Egyptian art. . It was also popular in ancient Greek sculpture, although as first marble sculpture and then bronze sculpture became popular, the use of wood as the primary material declined. fast. In early classical Greek sculpture (c.480-450), wood carving was limited to small-scale works. Even here, chryselephantine sculpture dominates. Note: In Korea and China, jade carving is the most prestigious type of carving.
