The Greek sculptor worked with a variety of materials.
Wood was in common use during primitive times. Terra cotta was employed at all
periods for statuettes a few inches in height. Productions in gold and ivory,
from the costliness of these objects, were extremely rare. Bronze was the
favorite material of some of the most eminent artists. The Greek sculptor
especially relied on the beautiful marbles in which his country abounded.
TECHNICAL PROCESSES
The methods employed by the ancient sculptor differed in
some respects from those followed by his modern successors. A Greek marble statue
was usually built up out of several parts. The joining was accomplished with
such skill as to escape ordinary observation. The preliminary work of hewing
out from the rough was done by means of chisels. The surface of the marble
afterwards received a careful polishing with the file, and also with sand.
Marble statues were always more or less painted. The coloring seems to have
been done sparingly, being applied, as a rule, only to the features and
draperies. Still, it is worth while to remember that the pure white statues of
modern sculptors would not have satisfied Greek artists of the classical age.
