Customer Reviews

Sculpture: Principles and Practice (Dover Art Instruction)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are a beginning sculpture student, this might be a book for you. Althought the information is somewhat dated (original copyright is 1949) the book is fairly direct and straight-forward in its writing style. Primary interest of the author--and the bulk of written information--is directed to modeling in clay and casting in plaster. The section on stone carving is short, but fairly complete. The woodcarving section is sketchy and, other than a good list of the tools needed, inadequate.
The sections on cast stone (concrete) and casting metal are outdated. Certain steps are still the same, but the materials currently in use are so different as to be almost another whole chapter.
A great deal of space is given to architectural sculpture, but again, the info is outdated. The book gives information on producing a stone monument, but does not address the cost factors (nor the steps in computing costs)of assembling the materials and placing the finished work. Nowadays that is of prime importance if a sculptor wants to compete for art in public places.

I am a novice and am in the process of reading and learning all I can about the technical foundations of sculpture. I found this book very easy to understand and well organized. The photographs and illustrations are top notch and add greatly to the understanding of the subject. This book is worth its price.

I agree with the comment below - this is a beginner's book. More power to it. It was written by someone who has taught as well as practiced & focuses on the sculpting process rather than on artistic technique. Some of the mediums he covers (casting stone, glue molds) have advanced in ease of use since this book was written, but this guide has stood the test of time.

I found this book to be overly simplfied and not very helpful accept maybe to the most novice sculptor. The appoach is that of amateur craft not serious art. I thought the photos of examples to be most uninspiring.

I really liked his style and I enjoyed reading it, this book is a stimulance if you want to be active in sculpture !!!!! Lango Metten, the Netherlands

If you purchase this book knowing you are getting an outdated book you may enjoy it more. It has some good info in a few areas, especially in basic clay-up, but lacks in most modern mold making techniques. The sculpture in this book is basically classical to put it simply. I would still recommend this book especially to beginners.

This book was purchased as a gift for a student majoring in sculpting at the Academy of Art in San Francisco.
He has found it to be very useful and informative while pursueing his studies.

I was thinking that this book would give me tips and ideas... its more of a history then how to.