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Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique where the sculpted elements remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term relief is from the Latin verb relevo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane. What is actually performed when a relief is cut in from a flat surface of stone (relief sculpture) or wood (relief carving) is a lowering of the field, leaving the unsculpted parts seemingly raised. The technique involves considerable chiselling away of the background, which is a time-consuming exercise. On the other hand, a relief saves forming the rear of a subject, and is less fragile and more securely fixed than a sculpture in the round, especially one of a standing figure where the ankles are a potential weak point, especially in stone. In other materials such as metal, clay, plaster stucco, ceramics or papier-mâché the form can be just added to or raised up from the background, and monumental bronze reliefs are made by casting.
There are different degrees of relief depending on the degree of projection of the sculpted form from the field, for which the Italian and French terms are still sometimes used in English. The full range includes high relief (alto-rilievo, haut-relief), where more than 50% of the depth is shown and there may be undercut areas, mid-relief (mezzo-rilievo), low-relief (basso-rilievo, or French: bas-relief ), and shallow-relief or rilievo schiacciato, where the plane is only very slightly lower than the sculpted elements. There is also sunk relief, which was mainly restricted to Ancient Egypt (see below). However the distinction between high relief and low relief is the clearest and most important, and these two are generally the only terms used to discuss most work.
The definition of these terms is somewhat variable, and many works combine areas in more than one of them, sometimes sliding between them in a single figure; accordingly some writers prefer to avoid all distinctions. The opposite of relief sculpture is counter-relief, intaglio, or cavo-rilievo, where the form is cut into the field or background rather than rising from it; this is very rare in monumental sculpture. Hyphens may or may not be used in all these terms, though they are rarely seen in “sunk relief” and are usual in “bas-relief” and “counter-relief”. Works in the technique are described as “in relief”, and, especially in monumental sculpture, the work itself is “a relief”.
Reliefs are common throughout the world on the walls of buildings and a variety of smaller settings, and a sequence of several panels or sections of relief may represent an extended narrative. Relief is more suitable for depicting complicated subjects with many figures and very active poses, such as battles, than free-standing “sculpture in the round”. Most ancient architectural reliefs were originally painted, which helped to define forms in low relief. The subject of reliefs is for convenient reference assumed in this article to be usually figures, but sculpture in relief often depicts decorative geometrical or foliage patterns, as in the arabesques of Islamic art, and may be of any subject.
Rock reliefs are those carved into solid rock in the open air (if inside caves, whether natural or man-made, they are more likely to be called “rock-cut”). This type is found in many cultures, in particular those of the Ancient Near East and Buddhist countries. A stele is a single standing stone; many of these carry reliefs.
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Relief (noun)
The removal of stress or discomfort.
“I sighed with relief when I found out that my daughter hadn’t got lost, but was waiting for me at home.”
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Relief (noun)
The feeling associated with the removal of stress or discomfort.
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Relief (noun)
The person who takes over a shift for another.
“Officer Schmidt can finally go home because his relief has arrived.”
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Relief (noun)
Aid or assistance offered in time of need.
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Relief (noun)
Court-ordered compensation, aid, or protection, a redress.
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Relief (noun)
A provisions; short for tax relief.
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Relief (noun)
A type of sculpture or other artwork in which shapes or figures protrude from a flat background.
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Relief (noun)
The apparent difference in elevation in the surface of a painting or drawing made noticeable by a variation in light or color.
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Relief (noun)
The difference of elevations on a surface.
“the relief on that part of the Earth’s surface”
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Relief (adjective)
Characterized by surface inequalities.
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Relief (adjective)
Of or used in letterpress.
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Relieve (verb)
To ease (a person, person’s thoughts etc.) from mental distress; to stop (someone) feeling anxious or worried, to alleviate the distress of. from 14th c.
“I was greatly relieved by the jury’s verdict.”
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Relieve (verb)
To ease (someone, a part of the body etc.) or give relief from physical pain or discomfort. from 14th c.
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Relieve (verb)
To alleviate (pain, distress, mental discomfort etc.). from 14th c.
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Relieve (verb)
To provide comfort or assistance to (someone in need, especially in poverty). from 14th c.
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Relieve (verb)
To lift up; to raise again. 15th-17th c.
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Relieve (verb)
To raise (someone) out of danger or from (a specified difficulty etc.). from 15th c.
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Relieve (verb)
To free (someone) from debt or legal obligations; to give legal relief to. from 15th c.
“This shall not relieve either Party of any obligations.”
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Relieve (verb)
To bring military help to (a besieged town); to lift the siege on. from 16th c.
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Relieve (verb)
To release (someone) from or of a difficulty, unwanted task, responsibility etc. from 16th c.
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Relieve (verb)
To free (someone) from their post, task etc. by taking their place. from 16th c.
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Relieve (verb)
To make (something) stand out; to make prominent, bring into relief. from 18th c.
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Relieve (verb)
To go to the toilet; to defecate or urinate. from 20th c.