Low Relief – High Relief – Bas Relief
Each is a type of sculptural rendering. They all share in common, the orientation of the image and a background. Relief carvings are not designed for “in-the-round” view.
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The seal for Stevens College is an example of “Low Relief” carving. To create this effect, the graphic is first outlined with a stop cut, and the background is then taken back – or “relieved” a set depth. This leaves the graphic projecting slightly from its background and visually, toward the viewer. The gold leafed lettering is incise carved – a frequent treatment for signs and seals. |
| This sign incorporates low relief, shaped carving with flat high relief letters. The lettering is closest to the viewer, but because of the shaping of the low relief fist, it seems to project through the lettering. |  |
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The cross in the center of this sign is high relief, but like the lettering on Kim Studio, is not complexly carved. This treatment helps emphasize graphic elements, and outlines. |
Ancient relief carvings were depictions of heroic deeds, myths, legends and religious tales, so the figures and elements were intricately shape. The techniques of relief carving lend themselves to the creation of images in realistic dimension. Highly carved bas relief such as is found in many churches can have a breathtaking effect. But even the ornate and symbolic religious figure within its niche has a hollow back, and many figures and scenes have elements fore-shortened following the rules of perspective and vanishing points that disappear through undercutting. Bas relief, is more defined by technique and though material elements can be thick, the composition still yields to the rules of perspective, and ground surface.
These are both examples of ornate bas relief used as sign decoration. The pomegranate drop at the bottom of the “Belvedere Inn” is 11″ in diameter, and hollow, used here to counter balance the large bas relief crest at the top. The family coat of heraldry for Pius X required laboriously carving the back of each 1″ layer prior to assembling and carving each layer continuous with the previous one. There were 5 layers, and the carving was affixed to a separate background, with a separate oval for the lettering.
But not all bas relief needs to be thick, some can be no thicker than a board, and either applied to the background, or hanging on their own.
Each of these examples has an over-all material thickness of 1″. Notice that although the dove of peace is a cut-out carving, that the wall on which it is mounted becomes the background.
There is really no need, from a design viewpoint, to worry about these kind of definitions. It is helpful for defining price, and aids the discussion about the finished quality of the carved image. In the execution, there are often results that exceed definition.
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This sign, for example, is difficult to define as “low or high” relief. The deepest points of this carving are in the features of face and hair. The initial background into which the incise lettering “sculpture” is carved is also the surface the image is delved out of.
However it is defined, the effect works, and is appealing. |
