Statue

Statue

A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger. [See Oxford English Dictionary] Its primary concern is representational.

The definition of a statue is not always clear-cut; sculptures of a person on a horse, called Equestrian statues, are certainly included, and in many cases, such as a Madonna and Child or a Pietà, a sculpture of two people will also be. A small statue, usually small enough to be picked up, is called a statuette or Figurine.

Many statues are built on commission to commemorate a historical event, or the life of an influential person. Many statues are intended as public art, exhibited outdoors or in public buildings for the edification of passers-by, with a larger magnitude than normal words could ever have for the common man.

On rare occasions, statues themselves become historic and inspire their own historic events. In 1986, when the Statue of Liberty marked her one-hundredth anniversary, a three-day centennial celebration in her honor attracted 12 million, said to have been the largest public event in the world as of that dateFact|date=June 2007. The guest list was unique. "We invited all the great statues of the world to her birthday party and created giant puppets to represent them," said Jeanne Fleming, director of the event. "Each one arrived accompanied by native music."

There is an urban legend concerning a code for mounted statues, whereby the horse's hooves are supposed to indicate how the rider met his end. One hoof off the floor would indicate the rider died of wounds received in battle, or perhaps was just wounded in battle; two hooves off the floor would indicate the rider was killed in battle. An examination of the equestrian statues in most major European cities shows this is not true. If it ever was true, the practice appears to have died out in the 19th century. [http://www.snopes.com/military/statue.htm] [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_074.html]

Statues are amongst the wonders of the world, with the Colossus of Rhodes and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the Moai of Easter Island among the wonders of the modern world.

Gallery

See also

* Bronze sculpture
* Bust
* Colossus
* Equestrian sculpture
* Figurine
* History of sculpture
* List of statues
* List of statues by height
* Living statue
* Memorial
* Monument
* Sculpture
* Statues of Gudea, c.2100 BC
* Stone carving
* Stone sculpture
* The Thinker
* Venus of Willendorf

References

External links

* [http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk/index.htm UK Public Monument and Sculpture Association]


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Synonyms:
(made of some solid substance)


Look at other dictionaries:

  • statue — [ staty ] n. f. • 1120; lat. statua ♦ Ouvrage de sculpture en ronde bosse représentant en entier un être vivant. ⇒ atlante, cariatide, colosse, gisant, idole, image, orant, statuette. « ces myriades de statues [...] à genoux, en pied, équestres,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • statue — Statue. s. f. Figure humaine de plein relief. Statuë de marbre, de bronze, d or, d argent, de bois, d argille, &c. statuë de grandeur naturelle. statuë de grandeur extraordinaire, ou colossale. statuë equestre. statuë pedestre. la statuë de… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • statue — Statue, Statua. Statue ou peincture faicte sur le vif, Icon iconis. Statue qu on eslevoit à l honneur de ceux qui avoyent triomphé, Statua triumphalis. Statues massives et especes qu on faisoit le temps passé en l honneur de quelqu un, Colossus… …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • Statue — Stat ue, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Statued} ( [ u]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Statuing}.] To place, as a statue; to form a statue of; to make into a statue. The whole man becomes as if statued into stone and earth. Feltham. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Statue — Sf bildhauerisches Kunstwerk erw. fach. (17. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus l. statua, zu l. statuere (statūtum) hinstellen, aufstellen , zu l. stāre stellen . Diminutiv: Statuette.    Ebenso nndl. statuette, ne. statue, nfrz. statue, nschw. staty …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Statue — Stat ue (st[a^]ch [=oo]; also, st[a^]t [ u]; 135), n. [F., fr. L. statua (akin to stativus standing still), fr. stare, statum, to stand. See {Stand}.] 1. The likeness of a living being sculptured or modeled in some solid substance, as marble,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • statue — (n.) c.1300, from O.Fr. statue (12c.), from L. statua image, statue, prop. that which is set up, back formation from statuere to cause to stand, set up, from status a standing, position, from stare to stand (see STET (Cf. stet)). The children s… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Statŭe — (lat. statua, franz. statue, spr. statǖ , Stand bild), die durch die Tätigkeit des bildenden Künstlers in irgendeiner, meist harten Masse dargestellte volle Gestalt, besonders des Menschen. Im Altertum und in der neuern Zeit bis zur Zeit der… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Statue — Statŭe (lat.), Standbild, Bildsäule, eine in Stein (Marmor), Erz oder auch Holz gebildete Menschengestalt, entweder Porträt S., getreue Nachbildung einer histor. Persönlichkeit, oder Ideal S., Darstellung einer Gestalt aus der Mythologie,… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Statue — (v. lat.), so v.w. Bildsäule, s.d. u. vgl. Statua. Man nennt häufig die nackten S n griechische, die bekleideten römische, die als Säulen dienende persische S n; ferner unterscheidet man Idealstatuen, Darstellung höherer, übermenschlicher od.… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Statue — Statue, s.v.w. Bildsäule …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

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