Statuary
The Statuary Pavilion houses Ballarat's finest collection of marble statuary and was unveiled on the 3rd of August 1888 by the Premier of Victoria, the Honourable Duncan Gillies, who years before had been a fellow miner working shoulder to shoulder with the donor, James Russell Thomson. This friendship had been started when they were in the mine on the present site of the Ballarat Base Hospital.
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EasternThe first sculptures in India date back to the Indus Valley civilization (3300–1700 B.C.), which are among the earliest instances of sculpture worldwide. During the 2nd to 1st century B.C. in far northern India, which is now southern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, sculptures became more anatomically correct and centered on the worship of Buddha. Although Siddhartha Gotama, Buddha, lived in the 6th century BC, it was not until the 1st century AD that his likeness regularly appeared in statuary, with the finest known examples of Buddhist sculpture being produced in the Gupta period from the 4th to the 6th century AD.
Greek & RomanThe Roman policy of expansionism beginning in the late 4th century B.C. resulted in domination of the Mediterranean states. Roman legions returned from campaigns in Greece with plunder that included Greek statuary, which impressed the Roman aristocracy and created demand for reproductions. Molds were created from the original Greek sculptures and were used to make plaster casts that were shipped to Greek and Roman sculptors for reproduction in bronze and marble.
ModernRodin (1840-1917) laid the groundwork for modern statuary by breaking from the long-standing Greek sculptural ideal and the trend toward extreme realism of the preceding period. With innovations in hand and facial expressions he was able to convey deep feelings through his sculpture, which were vacant in that of his predecessors. Rodin further accentuated the mood of his statuary by manipulating shadow and light with deep concavity and subtle variations in texture.
ReligiousThe Roman Empire accepted the Christianity as its religion in the 4th century, which gave rise to Christian religious art in the region. Inspired artists began to create religious art, which the church used to advantage. The vast majority of the populace could not read or write, so the church substituted religious sculpture and paintings to help the illiterate masses interpret Christian ideals.
ReproductionsSculpture is created in limited quantities and is often expansive costly to produce, while statuary is cast in molds of comparatively inexpensive materials. Ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, statuary encompasses frivolous lawn ornaments to reproductions of museum quality works. Providing an inexpensive means of emphasizing decorating themes, reproduction statuary can accentuate artistic ambiance.
SouthwesternSouthwestern cowboy art depicts the history and development of the American west spanning from the struggles of the pioneers through that of modern western culture. Although cowboy art prints are particularly popular, southwestern statuary recreates western historical events in a three dimensional format. Providing tangible art form, the southwestern sculptor captures the spirit American west by conveying untold historical events of the era.
WildlifeDating back to prehistoric cave paintings, wildlife is perhaps the first artistic theme known to man. Mirrored by virtually every primitive culture, the presence of wildlife as a fundamental artistic subject illustrates early mans vital connection to nature. Although mans immersion in nature has been diluted by industrialization, wildlife remains a major topic of art.
