The MAKING Of STONE CARVING And Its CONSERVATION

1. LECTURER : ASST. PROF. DR. SHAMZANI AFFENDY MOHD DIN
DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED ART & DESIGN
KULLIYYAH OF ARCHITECTURE & ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
AAD 3200 CONSERVATION, SEMESTER 2, 2015/2016
NURUL AQILA AHAMAD KAMAL, 1412832
STONEThe MAKING Of STONE CARVING And Its CONSERVATION
In FRANCE

2. CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1. Stone Carving 2-5
2.0 BACKGROUND HISTORY: FRANCE
2.1. History 6-9
2.2. Culture of France 10
3.0 MATERIALS & TOOLS 17-30
4.0 PROCESS/TECHNIQUES 31-40
5.0 CASE STUDY
5.1. Easy 42-43
5.2. Moderate 44
5.3. Complex
6.0 APPLICATION
45-46
7.0 CONSERVATION & PRESERVATION (CASE STUDY) 53-57
8.0 CONCLUSION 58-59
9.0 REFERENCES 60-62
1
2.3. Timeline 11-16
49-52

3. 1.0 INTRODUCTIONThe Making of STONE CARVING
2

4. • Stone was amongst the first material used
by prehistoric man to create tools.
• Carving, a direct subtractive process, is one of
the two ancient sculpture techniques.
Fig 1. Prehistoric man using stones
as a cutting stool.
Source: Hcalkins (2013)
‘Though items made from stone gave way to, items made from metal,
stone continued to be one of the preferred material for making
sculptures.’
• Stone carving is an activity where pieces of
rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled
removal of stone.
‘Owing to the permanence of the material, stone work has survived
which was created during our prehistory.’
1.1 INTRODUCTIONOFSTONE
3

5. • As being relatively easy to obtain, stone - at
least certain types of it is easy to carve and very
durable, without having (like bronze) any great intrinsic value.
• The term also refers to the activity of masons in
dressing stone blocks for use in architecture,
building or civil engineering
Fig 2. Architectural detail with
stone, France, Lot, Carennac.
Source: Jpazam (2011)
1.1 INTRODUCTIONOFSTONE
4

6. 1.2 HISTORYOFSTONE
• Remains of sculpted stone artefacts and
tools from the New Stone Age (about
10,000 BCE to 2,000 BCE).
Fig 3. Cherubs Playing with a
Lyre. French, 1629 - 1714,
Source: National Gallery of Art (2016)
‘Throughout the different eras of sculpture, trends and tastes
popularized specific artistic styles and the use of certain tools and
marks distinctive to that age.’
• Show that the craft of stone carving can be
traced back to ancient civilizations
found in many regions of the world.
5

7. 2.0 FRANCEThe BACKGROUND HISTORY and the CULTURE.
6

8. • France doesn't just have different cultures; the word "culture"
actually comes from France.
• Historically, French culture was influenced by Celtic and Gallo-
Roman cultures as well as the Franks, a Germanic tribe.
“ France was initially defined as the western area of Germany known as Rhineland but it later
came to refer to a territory that was known as Gaul during the Iron Age and Roman era.”
• Most people associate French culture with Paris, which
is a centre of fashion, cuisine, art and architecture, but life
outside of the City of Lights is very different and varies by region.
2.1 BACKGROUNDHISTORY
7

9. Fig 4. The
skyline of Paris
viewed from the
top of Notre
Dame.
Source: William
Perugini (2015)
8

10. Fig 5. Regions of France.
Source: National Gallery of Art
(2016)
9

11. 2.2 CULTUREOFFRANCE
• To say that the French revere their time spent soaking up
arts and culture is an understatement.
‘Particularly in Paris, where an abundance of venues is
concentrated within a few square miles.’
• It is common to find the French devoting
their weekends to exploring the wealth
of museums and cultural havens.
Fig 6. Inside The Louvre Museum, Paris,
France, Europe.
Source: Robert Harding (2009)
‘Many of the provincial areas are likewise blessed
with impressive monuments to art and architecture.’
10

12. IMPRESSIONISM
AND AFTER
HEROIC AVANT-
GARDE
DEPRESSION
AND WAR
POST WAR-
WORLD
CONTEMPORARY
ART
1870 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 2000
2.3 TIMELINEOFFRANCEART
ALBERT
MEMORIAL,
1864-76
AGE OF
BRONZE,
1875-6
PABLO
PICASSO
(1881-1973)
UNIQUE
FORMS OF
CONTINUITY
IN SPACE,
1913
SUSPENDED
BALL, 1930-1
ENDLESS
COLUMN,
1938
STANDING
WOMAN, 1947
MONOGRAM,
1955-6
EQUIVALENT
VIII, 1966
UNTITLED
(STACK),
1967
11

13. ALBERT MEMORIAL, 1864-76
Rich use of allegorical figures to its ennobling and dignified celebration of
A figure from contemporary public life. The gothic style of the canopy is A
typical of Victorian design.
AGE OF BRONZE, 1875-6
Rodin is often considered the first modern sculptor because
of the dramatic ways he departed from the tradition of
academic figurative sculpture. He handled materials more
expressively, lent new dynamism to the figure, and replaced
dignified idealism with realism.
IMPRESSIONISM AND AFTER
12
Fig 4. Albert Memorial, 1864-76
Source: The Art Story Foundation
(2016)
Fig 5. Group of allegorical sculpture in antique
style, albert memorial
Source: The Art Story Foundation (2016) Fig 6. Auguste Rodin The Thinker, 1840
Source: The Art Story Foundation (2016)
Fig 7. Monument to Balzac, 1891
Source: Musee-Rodin (2014)

14. PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973)
Head of a Woman,
Picasso's first Cubist
sculpture,
demonstrates his
interest in the problem
of rendering volume.
Rather than model the
sculpture to depict the
actual contours of the
figure's head, he chose
to translate them into
rugged masses and
almost geometric
forms, a new
approach to rendering
volume.
UNIQUE FORMS OF CONTINUITY IN
SPACE, 1913
Futurism found
expression most often
in painting, but
Unique Forms of
Continuity in Space is
one of the influential
examples in which
Boccioni successfully
translated the style
into sculpture. It
captures the essence
of a figure in motion,
rendered in forms
that convey power,
grace and speed.
HEROIC AVANT-GARDE
13
Fig 8. Head of a Woman (Fernande), 1909
Source: The Art Story Foundation (2016)
Fig 9. Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, 1913
Source: The Art Story Foundation (2016)

15. SUSPENDED BALL, 1930-1
Although best known
for the slender
figurative sculptures he
produced after the
war, Giacometti also
made ground-
breaking Surrealist
sculpture. Inspired at
times by toys and
games, his work
explored our
unconscious feelings
toward objects and the
body.
ENDLESS COLUMN, 1938
The Endless Column is the
most famous element of a
war memorial that Brancusi
produced for Tirgu-Jiu in
Rumania. Its primitivism,
abstraction and qualities of
repetition have inspired
many subsequent artists,
particularly Minimalists. It
references the concept of
the axis of the world, crucial
to many different cultures'
beliefs. The concept
appealed to Brancusi's
affinity for the sacred,
cosmic and mythical.
DEPRESSION AND WAR
14
Fig 11. Endless Column, 1938
Source: The Art Story Foundation (2016)
Fig 10. Suspended Ball, 1930-1
Source: The Art Story Foundation (2016)

16. STANDING WOMAN, 1947
In the year that he
made this piece
Giacometti
commented, "lifesize
figures irritate me, after
all, because a person
passing by on the
street has no weight; in
any case he's much
lighter than the same
person when he's dead
or has fainted." To
evoke this "lightness",
he typically showed
the figure so slender
that she is barely
present.
MONOGRAM, 1955-6
Although
essentially a
painter,
Rauschenberg's
built out his pictures
so much in the mid
1950s that they
verged on
sculpture. In this
regard they are
typical of
Assemblage, a
collage-influenced
trend in sculpture
of the period that
pre-figured the
emergence of Pop.
POST WAR-WORLD
15
Fig 13. Monogram, 1955-6
Source: The Art Story Foundation (2016)
Fig 12. Standing Woman, 1947
Source: The Art Story Foundation (2016)

17. EQUIVALENT VIII, 1966
Andre played a
central role in
Minimalism. He
abandoned
sculpture's
traditional
techniques of
carving or
modelling, and
made works
simply by placing
ordinary, factory-
finished objects
on the ground.
UNTITLED (STACK), 1967
Untitled (Stack) is typical
of a series of pieces
Judd began producing
in the 1960s. They
employed industrial
materials, like the
lacquer and galvanized
iron used here, and serial
composition - one thing
after another - to
remove all suggestions
of personal expression.
CONTEMPORARY ART
16
Fig 15. Untitled (Stack), 1967
Source: The Art Story Foundation (2016)
Fig 14. Equivalent VIII, 1966
Source: The Art Story Foundation (2016)

18. 3.0 MATERIALof STONE CARVING in FRANCE
17

19. • 5 kinds of stone to carve, from the softest to the hardest;
1. Soapstone
3.1 MATERIALSOFSTONE
18
• Available in many different
colours and textures.
• Polishes to a smooth finish
and scratches leave a
white mark which makes it
easy to texture.
Fig 16. Metamorphic Rock Soapstone
Source: Qrius (2013)

20. Fig 17. Soapstone: Ile De France,
"Mother and Child".
Source: Deja Vu (2014)
19
Fig 18. Virgin Mary Soapstone Statue
Source: Jeanne d'Arc living. (2016)

21. • Alabaster is a porous stone and can
be "dyed" into any colour or shade,
usually light-coloured, translucent and
soft stones
• 5 kinds of stone to carve, from the softest to the hardest;
2. Alabaster
3.1 MATERIALSOFSTONE
20
• Good as a starting stone both
because it is easy to carve and
because it is extremely beautiful.
Fig 19. Fine-grained Alabaster
Source: Imperial College London (2013)

22. 21
Fig 21. Little 19th Century Alabaster Sculpture, France
Source: Proantic (2011)
Fig 20. Alabaster: The Archangel
Gabriel, c. 1350 France.
Source: Deja Vu (2014)

23. • 5 kinds of stone to carve, from the softest to the hardest;
3. Limestone
3.1 MATERIALSOFSTONE
22
• Limestone is a sedimentary rock
composed primarily of calcium
carbonate (CaCO3) in the form
of the mineral calcite.
Fig 22. Sedimentary Rock Limestone
Source: Qrius (2013)
• This stone does not polish well
but is one of the best stones for
showing details carved into it.

24. 23
Fig 24. Recumbent effigy of an abbess in Limestone.
France. 14th C.
Source: Kim J. Nazzi (2016)
Fig 23. Limestone: A pair of fragmentary
French Burgundian figures.
Source: Finch & Co (2012)

25. • 5 kinds of stone to carve, from the softest to the hardest;
4. Marble
3.1 MATERIALSOFSTONE
24
• Its well worth the work involved
to shape it but it does help to
have a good set of tools since
it is a harder stone.
Fig 25. Metamorphic Rock Marble
Source: Dorling Kindersley (2017)
• Marble is a metamorphic rock
that forms when limestone is
subjected to the heat and
pressure of metamorphism.

26. 25
Fig 27. Marble Sculpture of Venus c. 1860 France.
Source: Herwig Simons (2016)
Fig 26. Handel, Marble statue by Louis
Francois Roubiliac, 1738
Source: Victoria and Albert Museum (2016)

27. • 5 kinds of stone to carve, from the softest to the hardest;
5. Granite
3.1 MATERIALSOFSTONE
26
• Granite is a light-colored
igneous rock with grains large
enough to be visible with the
unaided eye.
Fig 28. A felsic rock known as Granite.
Source: R. Welleror of Cochise College (2008)
• Needs specialized power
tools and recommended only
for advanced carvers.

28. 27
Fig 30. Granite sculpture of the Church of Saint Suliau de
Sizun (France).
Source: Édouard Hue (2013)
Fig 29. Granite: La Défense - Paris Business District.
Source: Travel France (2017)

29. 3.2 TOOLSOFSTONE
• The principal stone carving tools
needed by the sculptor include:
- Point chisel
- Tooth chisel (rake)
- Flat straight chisel
- Hammer (all of varying sizes and weights)
• All tools are usually forged from high
carbon steel and tempered for strength.
Fig 31. Heat treating process in a steel mill.
Source: Pål-Nils Nilsso (2002)‘Steel has the ability to become harder and
stronger through heat treating.’
28

30. • Point Chisel: removes the primary bulk material and comes in
three sizes, small, medium and large.
• Tooth Chisel or rake: for the second stage of removal, is a flat straight
chisel with slightly bevelled teeth.
Fig 32.
Point Chisel
Source: Harbor
Freight (2012)
Fig 33.
Tooth Chisel
Source: 2SCULPT
(2015)
3.2 TOOLSOFSTONE
29

31. • Flat Straight Chisel: the finishing tool used before the final
abrasive finishing, rasping, and sanding.
• Stone Carving Hammers: are made of soft iron, so the percussion is
easier on stone, tool, and user.
Fig 34. Flat
Straight Chisel
Source: Harbor Freight
(2012)
Fig 35. Stone
Carving Hammers
Source: Harbor Freight
(2012)
3.2 TOOLSOFSTONE
30

32. 3.2 TOOLSOFSTONE
• A master stone carver understands
the exact angle, amount of applied
pressure, and the sound of the perfect
pitch from the hammer’s blow.
• These chisels and other tools become
a physical extension of the artist’s
translation of two-dimensional shapes
into three-dimensional forms. Fig 36. Point chisel in action.
Source: Jessica Pissini (2016)
“Working with these tools for many years, master stone carvers know how
to manipulate the chisels precisely.”
31

33. 4.0 METHODof STONE CARVING in FRANCE
32

34. 4.1 METHODSOFCARVING
• There is two main method in stone carving which are
direct method and indirect method.
• In the direct method of stone carving, the work usually begins with the
selection of a stone for carving, the qualities of which will influence the artist's
choices in the design process.
‘The artist may use sketches but eschews the use of a physical
model.
The fully dimensional form or figure is created for the first
time in the stone itself, as the artist removes material, sketches
on the block of stone, and develops the work along the way.’
Fig 37. Drawing on stone.
Source: Martin Cooney (2015) 33

35. • On the other hand, is the indirect method,
when the sculptor begins with a clearly defined
model to be copied in stone.
‘Once the model is complete, a suitable stone must be found to fit
the intended design.
The model is then copied in stone by measuring with callipers or a
pointing machine.’
Fig 38. Plaster carving in making.
Source: Martin Cooney (2015)
• The models, usually made of plaster or modelling
clay, may be fully the size of the intended
sculpture and fully detailed.
4.1 METHODSOFCARVING
34

36. 4.2 PROCESSOFCARVING
• The carving begins with the chiselling away of large
chunks of redundant rock.
• The process are following by ‘roughing out’, ‘refining’, and lastly are
‘polishing’.
1. Roughing Out:
• The initial stage of shaping of the form in a very rough way.
• Often carried out at the quarry to reduce the weight of the object
ready for onward transport.
‘The basic forms of the final design are defined at this stage and as much excess material as possible
removed.’
35

37. 4.2 PROCESSOFCARVING
1. Roughing Out:
Fig 39. Roughing out the
stone into the shape.
Source: Media Gang (2011)
36

38. 4.2 PROCESSOFCARVING
2. Refining:
• Once the general shape of the statue has been determined,
the sculptor uses other tools to refine the figure.
• A toothed chisel or claw chisel has multiple gouging surfaces which
create parallel lines in the stone.
‘The stone carver generally uses a shallower stroke at this point in the process.’
• An artist might mark out specific lines by using callipers to measure an
area of stone to be addressed, and marking the removal area with
pencil, charcoal or chalk.
37

39. 4.2 PROCESSOFCARVING
2. Refining:
Fig 40. Refining the shape
of carving.
Source: Jennifer Tetlow (2011)
38

40. 4.2 PROCESSOFCARVING
3. Polishing:
• Sandpaper can be used as a first step in the polishing
process, or sand cloth.
• This abrading, or wearing away, brings out the colour of the stone,
reveals patterns in the surface and adds a sheen.
‘Emery, a stone that is harder and rougher than the sculpture
media, is also used in the finishing process.’
• Tin and iron oxides are often used to give the stone a highly reflective
exterior.
39

41. 4.2 PROCESSOFCARVING
3. Polishing:
Fig 41. Finishing by using sand
paper.
Source: Jennifer Tetlow (2011)
40

42. 5.0 CASE STUDYof STONE CARVING in FRANCE
41

43. ‘It is presented here carved in the stone of
Avy, a hard white limestone extracted in a
quarry near Bordeaux and that is both frost
and salt resistant.’
Fig 42. Florale Grand Modèle, Atelier
Alain, France.
Source: Bidal (2017)
5.1 CASE STUDYMOTIF: SIMPLE
A beautiful French garden fountain with the
breastplate carved in relief, 2 side curls and
a beautiful floral decoration in its centre.
(Direct Carving Method)
42

44. 5.1 CASE STUDYMOTIF: SIMPLE
‘Corinthian’ capitals on two sides of the building.
(Direct Carving Method)
Fig 43. Jean de la Fontaine
Source: Alex Wenham (2014)
43

45. Endless yards of egg-and-dart
and other classical motifs.
(Direct Carving Method)
Fig 44. Grand Palais des
Champs-Élysées, Paris, 1900.
Source: Alex Wenham (2014)
5.2 CASE STUDYMOTIF: MODERATE
44

46. Dozen modillions and rosettes
underneath replaced sections of
cornice. (Direct Carving Method)
Fig 45. Grand Palais des Champs-
Élysées, Paris, 1900.
Source: Alex Wenham (2014)
5.3 CASE STUDYMOTIF: COMPLEX
45

47. 5.3 CASE STUDYMOTIF: COMPLEX
A pierced vine-leaf surround
in the arch of one of the
windows. (Direct Carving Method)
Fig 46. The Church of Saint-Martin at
Harfleur, Normandy, France c.1832.
Source: Alex Wenham (2014)
This was very challenging as the
vine-leaf motif needed to span a
hollow moulding, and a profile to
follow the curve of the window
arch needed to be worked behind
the suspended vine leaves and
grapes.
46

48. 5.4 CASE STUDYOF FIGURATIVES
• The relief panels decorating these urns,
one of which is illustrated here: satyr
families tussle and frolic in bucolic
settings, playing music, and riding seesaws.
‘Best known today and was most celebrated in the
eighteenth century for works of vivacity and charm.’
Fig 47. Clodion, Monumental Urn, Marble,
131.5 x 97.1 cm, 1738 – 1814, France.
Source: National Gallery of Art (2015)47

49. 5.4 CASE STUDYOF FIGURATIVES
• One of four that were meant to
bring to life the abstract concepts of
the arts and sciences.
‘Painting, sculpture, music, and literature are
celebrated by the young cupid like figures in the
two works here; other children carved by two
other artists represented geometry, geography,
architecture, and astronomy.’
Fig 48. Jean-Pierre-Antoine Tassaert, Marble,
98.3 x 87.2 x 63.8 cm, 1727 - 1788.
Source: National Gallery of Art (2015)
48

50. 6.0 APPLICATIONof STONE CARVING in FRANCE
49

51. COLUMN CAPITALS in various different stones and architectural styles.
6.1 APPLICATIONOFCARVING
Fig 50. Egg Dart motif.
Source: Alex Wenham (2014)
Fig 51. Nautical Villa column.
Source: Alex Wenham (2014)
Fig 49. Acanthus motif.
Source: Alex Wenham (2014)
50

52. VILLAGE FOUNTAIN - has Octagonal shaft, various mouldings, eight
magnificent sculpted Gothic heads as water outlets.
6.1 APPLICATIONOFCARVING
Fig 52. Stone
Fountain.
Source: BIDAL
(2017)
51

53. SCULPTURE
6.1 APPLICATIONOFCARVING
Fig 53. Jean-Baptiste
Carpeaux, French,
1827 - 1875, Girl with
a Shell, Marble, France
Source: National Gallery
of Art (2017)
Fig 54. Representation of the famous character
from the novel "Notre-Dame de Paris" by Victor
Hugo : Quasimodo.
Source: National Gallery of Art (2017) 52

54. 7.0 CONSERVATIONand RESTORATION of STONE CARVING in FRANCE
53

55. THE 1912 MARCONI BUILDING February –
March 2013, Stone and Brick Restoration
7.0 CONSERVATIONandRESTORATION
• Early in 2013 London Stone Conservation was
commissioned by Bellway Homes, to transform the Main
Entrance Portico of the 1912 Marconi Building
back to its former glory.
• The aim was to re-use as much of the existing
stone as possible, whilst re-moving corroded, heavily
weathered and failed or lost sections of the stonework,
replacing these sections with new carved stone
to match the existing original stone in texture, colour
and finish as closely as possible.
Fig 55. The Portico before restoration.
Source: London Stone Conservation (2016)54

56. THE 1912 MARCONI BUILDING February – March 2013, Stone
and Brick Restoration
7.0 CONSERVATIONandRESTORATION
1 2 3 55

57. THE 1912 MARCONI BUILDING February –
March 2013, Stone and Brick Restoration
7.0 CONSERVATIONandRESTORATION
• Part of the works saw failed and dilapidating brickwork replaced, and re-
pointed, sections of the chimney stacks removed, replaced and rebuild, and parts
of the ornate stone work of the pediment sculpture re-carved.
• The existing Name Plaque reading: MARCONI’S was re-painted and re-gilded. On
completion of the works the entire Portico was cleaned using the English Heritage
approved Doff Cleaning System.
• The result enhances the appearance of the Portico and makes it a focal point of the
front façade of this historically important building.
56

58. THE 1912 MARCONI BUILDING February – March 2013, Stone
and Brick Restoration
7.0 CONSERVATIONandRESTORATION
4 5 7 57

59. 8.0 CONCLUSIONof STONE CARVING in FRANCE
58

60. 8.0 CONCLUSION inFRANCE
• The most famous stone carving work comes from sculptures. The most famous one are
during the late-19th-century French sculptor Auguste Rodin where he exploited all
aspects of classical sculpture.
on stone carving
• However, during the 20th century, sculpture underwent the most radical changes in its
history. The emergence of CUBISM and ABSTRACT ART brought down the dominance
of Greek and Roman principles of ideal form and realistic detail on stone carving in
France.
• In France, most of the people revere their time spent soaking up arts
and culture and the most appreciated work are stone carving.
• Many of the provincial areas are likewise blessed with impressive monuments to art
and architecture which the reason why a lot of people came to the France to
appreciated the artwork.
59

61. 9.0 REFERENCESof STONE CARVING in FRANCE
60

62. 9.0 REFERENCES on stone carving
I. The History of World Sculpture, trans. by Madeline Jay (1968), Retrieved
5th February 2017.
II. "History of France". Retrieved on Discoverfrance.net. Retrieved 6th February 2017.
III. The Art of Sculpture in France (2011), Discover France, Retrieved from
https://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Art/DF_sculpture.shtml, Retrieved on 8th
February 2017.
IV. The 1912 Marconi Building, February, Stone and Brick Restoration (2013), Retrieved
From http://www.londonstoneconservation.co.uk/stonework_mar.html Retrieved on 8th
February 2017.
61

63. 9.0 REFERENCES on stone carving
V. Musée Jean De La Fontaine, Château-thierry (2016), Retrieved from
https://www.alexwenham.co.uk/chateau/thierry/rpmqevidau5rwamslzev980
hgqptv6, Retrieved 9th February 2017.
VI. Marble Sculpture from France, (2011) Retrieved from
http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/features/slideshows/marble-sculpture-from-
france.html#slide_9, Retrieved 10th February 2017.
VII. Process: Roughing-out (2009), Art of Making in Antiquity, Retrieved from
http://www.artofmaking.ac.uk/explore/processes/9/Roughing-out, Retrieved on 11th
February 2017.
62