Bas-relief is a shallow carving or modeling technique where designs and figures protrude slightly from the background plane. It is created by carving into or building up material attached to an otherwise smooth surface. Examples of bas-relief artworks have been found across many cultures and time periods, including ancient Egyptian, Greek, Indian and Celtic artifacts as well as more modern architectural decorations and contemporary sculptures. The level of detail and depth achieved in bas-relief varies depending on the material and artistic style, but the figures and designs are generally no more than a few centimeters from the background surface.

1. An In-Depth Look at
Bas-Relief
Art I: Sculputre

2. Definition…..
 Relief: A Sculptured Art Work
 Bas-Relief: Also known as Low Relief – shallow in depth as opposed to high relief or alto relievo or
sunken relief also know as hollow relief.
High Relief (deep carving)
Bas-Relief (shallow carving) Hollow Relief – Carved into flat
surface

3. Or…..
A French term from the Italian basso-relievo ("low relief"), bas reliefis a sculpture technique in which
figures and/or other design elements are just barely more prominent than the (overall flat) background.
TheodoreRooseveltin Bas Relief
EgyptianPharaohin Bas Relief

4. Technique….
Bas relief is created either by:
• carving away material (wood, stone, ivory, jade, etc.)
•adding material to the top of an otherwise smooth surface (say, strips of clay to stone).
Copper Bas Relief
Ivory Bas Relief

5. Bas Relief is meant to be viewed
from one specific angle as opposed
to sculpture in the round, which is
to be viewed in 360 degrees.

6. Wood Bas Relief….
Wood Bas-Relief Sculpture Bas-relief by
sculptor Bekoin Kouame depicting the legend
of the queen Abla Poku. Her sacrifice of her
only child allowed her subjects to cross the
Comoe river with dry feet and so to escape the
armies of the Ashanti king.

7. Ivory Bas Relief….
18th-Century Ivory Plaque Depicting the Coronationof
Catherine I

8. Bronze Bas Relief….
Detail of Crowd from Moses Receiving the Tabletsof the Law
by Lorenzo Ghiberti
Deeper cuts indicate higher relief

9. Many reliefs contain both bas and high features
High Relief indicated by deep carving
Bas Relief indicated by shallow carving

10. Bas Relief is not specific to any one culture…..
This is a technique as old as humankind's artistic explorations, and is closely related to
high relief.
Some cuts here are reminiscent of Hollow Relief

11. Italian Reliefs…
Italian Nobility in Marble
Nice shallow cuts in the Marble make this an exquisite
example of Bas Relief

12. Detail of Crowd from Moses Receiving the Tabletsof the Law by
Lorenzo Ghiberti Detail showsthe fourth panel down from top, on
the left sideof the door.
Notethe intricate detailingof the fabric.
Deeper cutting in someareas

13. Indian Reliefs…
Nepal, Kathmandu Valley listed as World Heritage by UNESCO, Bagmati
Zone, Bhaktapur, detail of a door
Intricatedetailing mixed with deeper cutting of figures.

14. Painted details on the Lotus Gate of the Pitam Niwas Chowk, the inner
courtyard of the City Palace, Jaipur, India. The City Palace was the seat of
the Maharaja of Jaipur and was built between 1729 and 1732.
Color adds to the depth of this Indian Bas Relief and illuminates
facial expression

15. The complex detailing on this Indian statuary combines sculpture with bas
relief.
North Toranaat the Great Stupa at Sanchi

16. Greek Reliefs…
Archaic Greek Relief with Two Wrestlers A carved
marble relief depicts wrestlers at the National
Archealogical Museum in Athens, Greece

17. IMPORTANT ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY AT EVA (GREECE)
IMAGE:
Shallow detailing of an ancientbas relief

18. Egyptian Reliefs…
ReliefofRamosefromthe TombofRamoseDetail of a relief
from the Tomb of Ramose, Governor of Thebes, TT 55 in the
Tombs of the Nobles at Thebes. Ramose was Governor of
Thebes and Vizier during the reigns of Amenhotep III and
Akhenaten. His tomb is very important because it is one of
the largest tombs of a noble in west bank of Luxor.
The detailing of the wig is an impressive
display of bas relief

19. Egyptian Bas-Reliefs Painted bas-reliefs on the exterior of an Egyptian
building
Although the cuts are shallow on this Egyptian relief the depth of the color
adds dimension

20. Stone carvingson the wall of Angkor Wat, Camobia
Delicate Bird Carvings

21. Chinese Palm Trees in Bronze
Coloration of Bronze casts a shadow that provides
added depth to the relief

22. Japanese Bas Relief owned by the Erotica Museum in Berlin
Curvature of the sculpting adds to the fluid appearance of the figures and whimsical facial
expressions.

23. Most well know examples are the Celtic Crosses
Cross of the Scriptures at Clonmacnoise

24. Architectural Example of Irish Bas - Relief
Architectural Sculpture on St. Declan's CathedralRelief sculpture on the exterior west gable of St. Declan's Cathedral depicts scenes of Adam and Eve, the
Judgment of Solomon and the Adoration of the Magi.

25. Contemporary Bas-Relief….
Art Deco Architecture

26. Contemporary Bas-Relief in Concrete…
Tiles by Daniel Ogassian

27. Ceramic Tile…
Tiles by Daniel Ogassian

28. Pas de Deux – Erte’
And Fine Art….

29. Caryl Levy Installation Art

30. Insa Bas Relief Tile for “Squarity”
HappyValentinesDay
Note: I actually connected to of these images and used 3 D treatment to create
the corner.