Greetings--
Carolyn Kayta Barrows wrote:
Sculptors likely did not have live models posing for them as they
chipped away at the stone; even when they are being realistic, there
was always the challenge of representing what the fabric does in
stone, a very different medium.
At least they were closer to the real thing than we are. And,
presumably, they saw a real one at some point.
That's why sculpture does have its attractions as a source. You just
have to know and work with the caveats, as you would any source, and
never assume they're being photographic-perfect in their
representations. Most of the twelfth century sculptures have a fair bit
of stylization, so you have to ask yourself what's accurate, what's
stylized, and what is limited by the limits of the medium itself.
One of the things I find fascinating about a lot of medieval sculpture
(and apparently, a fair bit of the classical stuff as well) is that it
was painted! I have no idea of whether these particular examples were
painted, but boy, wouldn't that have added an interesting layer of
detail....
Susan
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