Relief

Relief is a type of sculpture in which volumetric forms project from a flat background, remaining integral with it; such a work is usually attached to a wall and intended to be viewed mainly from the front. Depending on the height to which the image projects above the plane, one distinguishes low relief (bas-relief), where the forms are barely raised; high relief (haut-relief), where they project by more than half and in places almost detach from the ground; and sunken relief, where the forms are cut below the surface. Relief is one of the most ancient forms of sculpture: it adorned the temples of ancient Egypt, Assyria, and Greece, notably the celebrated frieze of the Parthenon. In the Renaissance, Lorenzo Ghiberti created unsurpassed bronze reliefs for the Florence Baptistery, employing perspective to create an illusion of depth. Relief has long united sculpture with architecture in the decoration of façades, portals, and tombs. In the art of Ukraine, relief is widely represented in the carved decoration of churches and in monumental sculpture.