Find figurative sculpture for sale today. Whether you’re a well-seasoned collector or are new to the world of art collecting, let us guide you to buy figurative sculpture that suits your tastes. Take your pick from a range of different subjects, including Figurative Animal Sculptures, Figurative Nude Sculptures and many more.
Domenica de Ferranti is an Italian sculptor working in South London. Trained at an atelier in Florence, she works with a variety of materials including bronze, plaster and stone to create images of humans in the same vein as Rodin. Her work is an intimate exploration of human emotion, showing people of all ages and walks of life. Her sculpture Children beautifully captures the joy and exploration of youth through its depiction of two young children.
For sculptures of a completely different kind, take a look at Briony Marshall. Based in London, Marshall uses her background in biochemistry to create molecular structures that incorporate the human form. Her work is an interesting exploration of our relationship to science and nature, showing a unique way that figurative sculpture is being used today.
The easiest way to understand what is meant by figurative sculpture is to contrast it with the abstract. While abstract sculpture uses unusual lines and forms to create objects pulled from the artist’s imagination, figurative sculpture is that which aims to depict reality in some way. Some of the most popular figurative sculptures take the human form as a subject, although there are many other possibilities, including animals and inanimate objects. Figurative sculpture has been a point of interest for artists throughout the ages, and represents one of the most important mediums in the art world.
Perhaps one of the first things to spring to mind when thinking of figurative sculpture is the work of great classical artists. The Ancient Greeks were masters of sculpture, using bronze and marble to create sculptures that are staggering in their technical excellence and beauty. These sculptures mainly took people as a subject, as the Greeks believed that the gods had human form and that it was therefore sacred. Interestingly, the minimalist white marble sculptures that we know today were not what was actually produced at the time. Originally these sculptures were painted with bright colours, but these have gradually faded to white over the centuries.
In more recent times, Auguste Rodin was a French sculptor who is considered the father of modern sculpture. Although he was classically trained and had a strong work ethic, he struggled to get recognition and acceptance in the Parisian art scene due to the radical nature of his ideas and his unconventional methods. He left behind the ideals of antiquity and The Renaissance, favouring individuality and physicality over mythology and allegory. His works are an intimate portrait of human nature and surprisingly modern for their time, portraying a range of emotions and experiences.
Find out more in our Guide To Sculpture.