V modern world a huge number of various sculptures for every taste are presented. Perhaps, each of them will have their own admirers, but only a few are known to a wide audience. We offer you to familiarize yourself with the Top 20 of the most famous and best sculptures in the world.

Let's start with the most replicated sculpture, namely “ Venus de Milo "... It is no secret that copies of this work can often be seen in the halls of various institutions. The author and date of creation of the sculpture are unknown, but it is assumed that it appeared around 130 BC. The original is on display at the Louvre.

For a long time, the statue by Michelangelo adorned the central square of Florence. This work appeared, illustrating biblical story about David and Goliath, in 1504. On this moment sculpture more than 5 meters high is located in the Florentine Academy fine arts, and the main square is decorated with a copy of it.

The most famous sculpture by Auguste Rodin ”was completed in 1882. And in 1906 this masterpiece was cast in bronze and increased to 181 cm. Now the original is in the Musée Rodin in Paris. And in different cities of the world you can see copies of it.

The statue is one of the most popular antique sculptures. The original bronze statue, presumably by Myron, has been lost, but you can admire its copies made in Ancient Rome.

Bronze - Donatello's creation, created in 1440. The sculpture illustrates the victory of David, with a mysterious smile looking at the severed head of the defeated Goliath. The original is located in the Florentine National Museum.

The sculpture by Michelangelo was created in 1499. Depicts the Virgin Mary with the crucified Jesus in her arms. The original is at the Vatican. The height is 1.74 meters.

The statue is the embodiment of the goddess Themis. There are many sculptures of this theme, it is difficult to select the best one. But we can say for sure that this antique image is very popular.

Sculpture made of marble by Auguste Rodin in 1889. It is one of the illustrations for the work "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri. The original is on display at the Musée Rodin in France.

The only work of the ancient Greek creator Praxiteles that has survived to this day. The approximate year of its creation is 343 BC. Height with a pedestal is 3.7 meters. Now it is in the Olympic Archaeological Museum.

Sculpture Christ the Redeemer 38 meters high, finished in 1931, she was elected to the seven New Wonders of the World. The monument is located in Rio de Janeiro and is the main attraction of Brazil.

The most mysterious sculptures are located on Easter Island. The statues were knocked out of monolithic stone. There are 887 of them in total, all different sizes and weight. The method, and most importantly, the reason for their establishment is unknown.

"Great Sphinx"- the oldest of the grandiose sculptures that have come down to us. It was carved in the form of a huge sphinx from a solid rock. The length is 73 meters, the height is 20 meters. Located on the banks of the Nile River in the city of Giza.

The statue "Freedom" made by French craftsmen and donated to the USA in 1885, it is a symbol of America. The height is 46 meters, with a pedestal - 93 meters, located on Liberty Island near Manhattan.

The most famous statue in Belgium. Exact date and the details of the creation of the 61 cm high bronze sculpture are unknown. Located in Brussels.

The statue is a landmark of Copenhagen. Created in 1913, the height of the sculpture is 1.25 m. It has been repeatedly vandalized.

Statue of buddha height of 71 meters is located near the city of Leshan, this is one of the tallest images of Buddha. The construction of this monument lasted 90 years, and the beginning was laid in 713.

Shiva statue 44 meters high is located in Nepal, it was built for 7 years from 2003 to 2010.

located on Trafalgar Square, this monument was erected in honor of Admiral Horatio Nelson in 1843. The 5.5-meter-high statue stands on a 46-meter pillar.

Copper statue "Buddha of the Spring Temple" the highest on Earth, its height is 128 meters. It is located in China in the village of Zhaocun, completed in 2002.

To paraphrase the German art theorist Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, we can say that sculpture is music frozen in stone. While millions of tourists are photographed against the backdrop of the world famous masterpieces Bernini, Michelangelo and Rodin, we bring you a selection of 25 lesser known but noteworthy stone, bronze and steel statues.

Funny and cute, sometimes strange and frightening, they cheer up passers-by and make the cities they are in a little more unusual.

Mustangs of Las Colinas in Irving (Texas, USA)


It is one of the largest sculptured groups of horses in the world. It symbolizes the dynamics and the liberated spirit that were inherent in Texas during the period of its development.

Expansion, New York, USA

The author comments on this sculpture: “From the moment of our birth, the world offers us a ready-made shell that we must fit into: social security number, gender, race, profession. I thought: what we really are - this outer shell in which we live, or what is under it, inside each of us? Do we recognize ourselves if we go beyond our body? "

Monument to an Unknown Passerby, Wroclaw, Poland


The sculpture symbolizes the suppression of the individual during communism and the underground anti-communist activities of the Poles in the 1980s.

Salmon, Portland, USA


Portland is a major port city and this fish attracts visitors to one of its most famous restaurants.

People by the river, Singapore


The author of this composition, Chong Fah Cheong, is famous for big amount sculptures depicting people who live and work on the banks of the Singapore River

Shoes on the banks of the Danube, Budapest, Hungary

The sculpture immortalized the memory of Jews killed by the Nazis in Budapest during World War II. They were ordered to take off their shoes and were shot by the water. The bodies of the victims fell into the river and were carried away by the current. Only shoes remained as a reminder of the tragedy.

Sculpture "No to Violence" (also known as "The Knotted Pistol"), New York, USA


It was created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd in late 1980 to commemorate the murder of John Lennon, who was a friend of the sculptor.

Break through from your mold, Philadelphia, USA


This composition symbolizes the desire for immortality. 4 figures - this is the same person who gradually awakens from sleep, throws off the shackles, and breaks free to meet eternal life.

Black ghost (Juodasis Vaiduoklis), Klaipeda, Lithuania


According to the legend, in 1595 one of the guards of the Klaipeda castle saw a ghost who warned the guard that the city needed to increase its grain and timber reserves. Having said this, the spirit evaporated. It is believed that making friends with a supernatural being will bring wealth and good fortune.

Travelers (Les voyageurs), Marseille, France


A series of sculptures by the Frenchman Bruno Catalano was installed in the port of Marseille in 2013. Each figure is missing a significant part of the body. One can only guess about the reasons for such emptiness: is it because these people lack something, or did they just leave a part of their soul somewhere while traveling?

Nelson Mandela Memorial, South Africa


The composition was installed in honor of the 50th anniversary of the arrest of a human rights activist during the period of apartheid. The monument was erected where Mandela was arrested and consists of 50 steel columns, symbolizing the prison bars, behind which the 8th President of South Africa was held for 27 years.

"De Vaartkapoen", Brussels, Belgium


Created in 1985, this playful statue shows a police officer tripping over an intruder hiding in a manhole.

Cattle Drive, Dallas, USA

Maman (giant spider), London, UK


A bronze sculpture of a giant spider is in the gallery contemporary art Tate Modern.

Hippos, Taipei, Taiwan

Sinking building near State Library, Melbourne, Australia

Iguana Park, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Observer, Bratislava, Slovakia


On English language this sculpture is called "Worker", however, its name is translated from Slovak as "observer". This bronze plumber is watching passers-by right from the manhole. Tourists believe that if you rub the hand of the sculpture, then all wishes will come true.

Mihai Eminescu, Onesti, Romania

Monument to the classic of Romanian literature
Episode of the First World War with figures of soldiers in full height, Eceabat, Turkey


During the First World War, there were land battles Dardanelles operation.

Hanging Man, Prague, Czech Republic
25 unusual sculptures you may not have known about


Who do you think this sculpture represents? Oddly enough, this is the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. The sculptor David Černý created this piece in response to the question of what role intellectuals will play in the new millennium. According to the author, the founder of psychoanalysis is the embodiment of the 20th century intellectual.

Kelpie, Grangemouth, UK


Kelpies in Scottish mythology are a water spirit hostile to people that lives in many rivers in lakes. He appears in the guise of a horse grazing by the water, but can turn into a sea lizard, and therefore he is often associated with the Loch Ness monster.

Pigs in front shopping center Rundle Mall, Adelaide, Australia


The pigs are named Oliver, Augusta, Horatio and Truffle.

Unidentified official, Reykjavik, Iceland

Perhaps the only statue in the world dedicated to faceless bureaucratic work.

Headington Shark, Oxford, England

The shark created by sculptor John Buckley caused a lot of controversy when it first appeared in public. Oxford City Council attempted to remove it from the building for security reasons, and then on the grounds that it did not give planning permission for the installation of the shark statue. It has been proposed to move her to a local pool, but many locals supported the idea of ​​leaving the shark on the building. By the way, the meaning of the sculpture is much deeper than it might seem at first glance: it was installed on the 41st anniversary of the fall atomic bomb to Nagasaki. In a sense, the shark represents a beautiful but potentially deadly rocket.

Art cannot be complete without sculpture.

The carving and sculpting of people, animals and various objects appeared in the history of mankind almost simultaneously with rock painting... Sculptures are the same pictures, only bodily, which means they express emotions a little differently. What the statues tell us, we perceive in many ways easier, because they are tangible and more similar to us than works of any other kind of art.
In this article, we have collected 15 famous and significant sculptures created in different times from different materials for different purposes. Please share your favorite sculptures in the comments.

David

Michelangelo

The five-meter statue of the biblical hero David, created by Michelangelo when he was only 28 years old, is perceived as a symbol of the Florentine Republic and one of the heights of not only Renaissance art, but also human genius in general.
The most replicated sculptural image in the world.

Thinker

Auguste Rodin

Another extremely popular image was created by Auguste Rodin in 1882. Initially, the sculpture was supposed to be called "The Poet" and be part of the composition "Gates of Hell" based on " Divine Comedy"The sculpture is modeled on a Frenchman named Jean Bo, a muscular boxer who performed mainly in Paris, in the red-light district.

Walking man

Alberto Giacometti

The most expensive sculpture in the history of mankind. In 2010, the 183-centimeter sculpture "Walking Man", made by a Swiss sculptor in 1961, was auctioned by Sotheby's for a record $ 104.3 million.
The sculpture is considered one of the most important in the work of this master; its image is also featured on the 100 Swiss francs banknote.

Venus de Milo

probably Agesander of Antioch

The famous ancient Greek sculpture, created around the middle of the second century BC, was found on the island of Melos in 1820 by a French sailor looking for antiquities on the coast for sale. The hands were then safe and sound, but were lost at the time of the conflict between the French (who found) and the Turks (the owners of the island).

Nika of Samothrace

An ancient Greek marble sculpture of the goddess Nike was found on the island of Samothraki at the Kabir sanctuary in April 1863. The statue was erected by the inhabitants of the island of Rhodes in memory of the victory they won over the fleet of the Syrian king. She stood on a sheer cliff above the sea, her pedestal depicted a nose battleship... Mighty and dignified Nika in clothes fluttering from the wind is presented in an uncontrollable forward movement. It is currently in the Louvre.

Pieta

Michelangelo

Pieta is a common name for images of the scene of the mourning of the Virgin Mary for her son. The best of them was made by Michelangelo at the age of 24. The impeccable composition, emotionality, humanity and deep symbolism of the sculpture made it a model of the High Renaissance culture.

Nefertiti

One of the most famous sculptural monuments culture of Ancient Egypt. Nefertiti was the wife of the reformer Pharaoh Akhenaten. The bust is entirely made of limestone and completely painted. Especially preservation of beautiful flowers, giving a great contrast between brown Nefertiti's faces and crown jewels make it a unique piece of art. Egypt and Germany, where the bust of the queen is kept, have been quarreling over her for many years, but they cannot come to an agreement in any way.

Capitoline wolf

Etruscan bronze sculpture, stylistically dated to the 5th century BC, never left Rome, a city founded by those who were fed by a she-wolf. During the time of Benito Mussolini, the Capitoline Wolf was used as a propaganda symbol, embodying the desire of the fascist regime to revive the Roman Empire.

Motherland

Vuchetich and Nikitin

One of the tallest statues in the world is located in Volgograd and is perhaps the main symbol of the struggle Soviet people with fascism. The 52-meter figure of a woman stepping forward calls her sons to fight the enemy.

Another place

Anthony Gormley

Landscape installation "Another Place" - an example of contemporary art, causing philosophical reflections and suggestive of melancholy. Exactly one hundred human-height cast-iron sculptures were placed in 2006 on a three-kilometer beach line north of Liverpool. They face the sea, and during high tides, some of the sculptures are partially or completely submerged under the water.

Calais citizens

Auguste Rodin

The sculptural group Citizens of Calais, commissioned by the municipality of Calais, was completed by Rodin in 1888. During the Hundred Years War, the English king Edward III laid siege to the city, and after a while famine forced the defenders to surrender. The king promised to spare the inhabitants only if six noble citizens came out to him in rags and with ropes around their necks, giving themselves up for execution. This requirement was met. One of the main wealthy, Eustache de Saint-Pierre, was the first to volunteer to give his life to save the city. The English queen Philip was filled with pity for these emaciated people, and in the name of her unborn child she begged forgiveness to her husband for them.
Rodin insisted on the rejection of the pedestal in a revolutionary way, although his will was carried out only after the death of the sculptor, and the figures are on the same level with the audience.

Pissing boy

The main attraction of Brussels. The exact time and circumstances of the appearance of the statue are unknown. According to some reports, the statue already existed in the 15th century. Some Brussels residents say that it was installed as a reminder of the events of the Grimbergen war, when the cradle with the son of Gottfried III of Leuven was suspended from a tree in order to inspire the townspeople with the view of the future monarch, and the child from there urinated on the soldiers fighting under the tree. According to another legend, the statue was originally intended to remind the townspeople of the boy who put out the ammunition laid out by the enemy under the city walls with a stream of urine.
Beginning in 1695, the statue was repeatedly stolen, in last time the statue was stolen in the 1960s, after which it was once again replaced with a copy.

Terracotta Army

At least 8099 sculptures Chinese warriors and their horses are the property of China. Terracotta statues, each of which is absolutely individual, were buried in a battle formation together with the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, who unified China and connected all the links of the Great Wall in the 3rd century BC.
The warriors were supposed to support the power of the emperor in the afterlife as well.

Golden buddha

The world's largest solid gold statue is located in the Bangkok temple of Wat Traimit - it is about three meters, and it weighs more than five tons.
During the war with Burma, the statue was intended to be covered with plaster, and then no one could reveal the secret of this Buddha. Until 1957, little attention was paid to the statue - until it was moved to a new location. According to rumors, during the transportation it began to rain, in front of which the statue, due to its weight, also fell from the crane carrying it; it was sheltered from the rain, but the water still washed away the coating from one of the sites enough for one of the monks to notice the strange shine. According to another version, the plaster was cracked from the fall.

Choose a certain number of the most famous statues in the world it is not so simple, because for every nation the concept of "the most famous" is different. If, for example, for New Yorkers it is the Statue of Liberty, for Copenhageners it is the Little Mermaid, for Volgograd residents it is Motherland, and for the inhabitants of Prague it is a monument to Kafka.

1. The work of the great Michelangelo "David"- is a symbol of the Renaissance and personifies the power of human creative genius. The young and ambitious Michelangelo created his David in 1501. to decorate the Florentine cathedral. Unlike the traditional depiction of David with the head of the defeated Goliath, the sculpture is young hero preparing to join the battle. Today "David" is one of the most copied sculptures in the world.

2. Venus de Milo by an unknown author. This legendary statue has adorned the Louvre since 1821. According to experts, the statue was made in the period from 130 to 100 BC. Presumably, the authors of the work could have been the ancient masters Agesander or Praxitel. The height of the white marble statue is over 2m. Found a statue in the ground on Milos in 1820. Then she was whole and had hands, but in the course conflict situations for its possession, the hands are injured and are considered lost.

3. Rodin's work "The Thinker". She was also recognized by herself better work author, although the Thinker was originally planned as part of sculptural composition which was supposed to decorate the gates of the museum decorative arts in Paris. But after completing the work, Rodin realized that the statue reveals a broader theme - a person going through a deep inner struggle. Dante himself became the image for the future sculpture.

4. Pietta Michelangelo "Lamentation of Christ". The 174cm high sculpture was created in 1499. and today is a decoration of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. "Lamentation of Christ" is Michelangelo's first and most famous pietta, it represents two figures - the Virgin Mary and Christ in life size: a mother holds her dying son in her arms. The author carved the composition from a single piece of marble.

5. Sculpture of Octavian Augustus. The first Roman emperor is known to everyone since school bench, his main achievements were the end of internecine wars and the establishment of peace in Rome. Found a two-meter sculpture in 1863, it is a copy of a bronze original, which was created in 20 BC. The sculpture is said to represent a portrait resemblance to Octavian himself.

6. Sculpture by Rodin "The Kiss". Love has always been the main inspiring force of artists. Rodin, imbued with the vibes of one of the most romantic couples in the history of Paulo Malates and Francesca Rimini, created and dedicated his sculpture "The Kiss" to them. During the creation of the composition, the author himself was absorbed in a wave of love for the young Camille Claudel, who was 26 years younger than Rodin, and therefore his work was superbly able to convey all the sensuality and passion of such a classic plot.

7. Statue of Themis - the goddess of justice. She is one of the most recognizable in the world. A woman, blindfolded, with scales in one hand and a sword in the other, determines the "weight" of a person's good and bad deeds in order to decide his posthumous fate. The double-edged sword not only promises retribution, but also warns of responsibility.

8. Masterpiece ancient greek sculptor Mirona - "Discobolus". The original bronze sculpture, dating from the 5th century BC, is kept in the National Museum of Rome. Miron's contemporaries describe him as an unsurpassed connoisseur of anatomy, but, unfortunately, not possessing the talent for reflecting feelings on people's faces. The main heroes of Miron's works were animals, gods and famous warriors.

9. Ancient sculpture"Hermes with the Child Dionysus" by the Greek Praxiteles. The author created his masterpiece in about 330-340. BC. His work in marble was discovered in 1877. during the excavation of the temple of Hera. The height of the sculpture on the pedestal was 3m70cm, Hermes himself is 2m12cm tall. - he leans against a tree trunk, resting on the way. A baby reaching out, probably for a bunch of grapes (it has not survived, like one hand of Hermes), has, according to tradition classical art proportions of an adult.

10. Sculpture by master Silvio Gow Jadson "A girl from Savannah feeding the birds." The work was completed relatively recently - in 1936. The author created it as a garden sculpture to decorate the Massachusetts garden. Four copies were made of the statue and one of them was installed on the territory of the Savannah cemetery in Georgia.

Back in the days of living in caves, people came up with the idea of ​​creating rock carvings, perpetuating memorable historical dates... And then man learned to carve and sculpt sculptures from various materials... Today, there are many of the most famous sculptures in the world that attract the attention of people interested in this kind of art. And who created the most famous sculptures world, what meaning do they carry in themselves and where are they?

This most famous sculpture in the world depicts ancient greek goddess love Aphrodite. The date of its creation is approximately the 2nd century BC. It is believed that the sculpture was made by Agesander of Antioch. The marble-carved statue is just over two meters high. The statue was found by a French sailor in 1820 (on the island of Milos), who went ashore and carried out excavations at the site of the ruins of an ancient amphitheater together with a local peasant. Aphrodite's hands were at first in place, but later lost during a dispute that occurred between the French, who decided to take the sculpture to their homeland, and the owners of the island, the Turks, who did not want to release such valuable antiquities from their homelands. Today this sculpture is in the Louvre.

This sculptural image was created by the hand of Michelangelo (at the age of 28). The 5-meter statue of the second king of Israel, who ruled for 40 years, became the real pinnacle of the art of the Renaissance. Jewish prophecy said that the Messiah would come out of the line of David. And, according to the records of the New Testament of Christians, the origin of Christ from King David took place. That is why this image of the ideal ruler is the most replicated in the whole world.

This 1.5-meter bronze sculpture was created in 1440 by Donatello. This sculpture is the first of those that depict the naked body of a person. David mysteriously smiles and contemplates the head of the just killed Goliath.

The statue was created in honor of the goddess Nike. It was erected by the people living on the island of Rhodes in honor of the victory they won over the fleet of the king of Syria. The statue of the goddess was installed on a rock, and its pedestal was made in the form of a ship's bow. The sculpture was found in 1863 on the island of Samothraki. Just looking at this statue with fluttering clothes, you can feel the immense power and an irrepressible desire to go only forward. The statue is housed in the Louvre today.

This is one of the most famous sculptures in the world, which was created by Auguste Rodin in 1882. At first, the author decided to name his creation "The Poet" - the sculpture was to be included in a composition called "The Gates of Hell" ("Divine Comedy"). But then the author's intention was somewhat changed, and the image of Dante was replaced by a unique creator. The model for this sculpture was the Frenchman Jean Bo, who personified physical strength. Currently, at least twenty copies of this sculpture have been created in bronze and marble. One of the bronze sculptures is located on the author's grave in Meudon.

In this sculpture, the famous sculptor Michelangelo conveyed all the grief of the Virgin Mary for her lost son. This creation was created by the author at the age of 24 and is one of his best works, which is simply saturated with emotions, humanity and deep symbolism. In addition, Pieta is the only work by Michelangelo that bears his signature.

This is the goddess of justice in Ancient Greece... Themis has a blindfold, and also holds a horn and scales in her hands. The bandage signifies equanimity, the scales signify the weighing of good and evil, and the cornucopia indicates retribution or non-retribution of the one who was brought before the goddess's judgment. Such a sculpture was installed at the entrance to the building of the Russian Supreme Court, but without a blindfold, which caused a lot of harsh comments in the media.

The bust of Nefertiti is one of the most famous sculptures in the world. The ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti was the wife of Akhenaten, who was known as an excellent reformer. The bust of the queen is made of limestone and is completely painted. Enough long years Egypt and Germany do not compromise on who should own this sculpture.

The characters in this marble sculpture, also a creation by Rodin, are taken from The Divine Comedy. It was created by its author in 1889. This creation of the great sculptor depicts an aristocrat from Italy who fell in love with younger brother her husband - it happened while reading a work of love. As a result, the husband, upon learning of this, killed both of them. The sculpture is made in such a way that the man does not touch the woman's lips, which indicates that they did not commit a sin, but were still killed.

This is the first antique statue, which depicts a person in motion. The first such sculpture was created in 450 from bronze - the sculptor Miron is considered its author. What we can see today is already a copy of the original sculpture (the original was lost in the Middle Ages). In addition, there are quite a few copies of the Discobol in our time.

Hermes with Dionysus in his arms

This statue, depicting Hermes with the infant Dionysus, is made of marble. It was found during excavations of the Temple of Hera (Olympia) in 1887. In height, Hermes reaches 2.12 m, and together with the pedestal, the height of the sculpture is 3.70 m. Today, this sculpture with partially lost limbs of Hermes and Dionysus is in the Olympia Museum.

This sculptural group created in 1888 by Rodin at the request of the authorities of Calais. It contains a part of the history of the city, when the English king Edward III took the city under siege, and the people tired and exhausted from hunger were forced to surrender. Then the king demanded that six noble people come out to him with ropes around their necks and in rags to allow themselves to be executed - in this case, he promised to leave all the inhabitants of the city alive. Seeing the exhausted and emaciated people of Kale, British Queen she took pity on them and begged the king in the name of their unborn child to save their lives. Rodin categorically refused to create this composition on a pedestal - the figures of the citizens of Calais are located on the same level with those who want to look at the sculptural group.

This is one of the most famous and tallest statues in the world, which is located in Volgograd. The height of the statue is 52 meters. The figure of a woman who has taken a step forward calls her sons to defend the Motherland.

This statue, installed in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), is famous all over the world. It is located at an altitude of 700 meters above the sea. The height of the Christ figure is 30 meters. A statue was installed on the Corcovado hill in 1931. This is a fairly popular statue, so in some other countries they even tried to repeat it.

This sculpture found in Brussels is very famous. When and by whom this sculpture was created is unknown. Many legends and traditions are associated with it. But we can definitely say that the sculpture is more than one hundred years old - there is some evidence that it already existed in the 15th century.