History of European sculpture: the top 10

From humans to hamburgers, from marble to rabbit fur, sculptors have created some of art history's most significant works. Here's 10. The earliest sculptors made images of birds, animals and women. The so-called Venus of Willendorf, found at Willendorf in Austria, is more than 25,000 years old. This limestone figurine might represent a goddess, or an ordinary woman, or might be a self-portrait of the sculptor. Ancient Egyptian sculptors carved images of queens and pharaohs out of stone and slate to decorate royal burial places. The almost life-size sculptures of this royal couple, made about 2,500 BC, illustrate the Egyptian use of a formulaic and highly This changed very little over the centuries. Greek sculptors probably learned how to make life-size sculptures of human figures from the Egyptians. But during the 6th and 5th centuries BC, the Greeks wanted their figures to look beautiful, lifelike and calm. The Greeks consider the nude males to be the most beautiful. Sculptures of females, like this late 6th century BC marble sculpture, were clothed. All sculptures were brightly painted, like the reconstruction on the right. The Romans loved monuments showing important people participating in significant events. A huge structure enclosing an altar was commissioned by the Emperor Augustus in the late 1st century BC. It's called the Altar of Augustan Peace. Some of its marble and relief sculptures feature portraits of famous Romans participating in the altar's dedication ceremony. Most surviving Gothic sculpture is found on church exteriors. This pair of limestone figures was made for one of the doors of the Cathedral at Chartres in the 12th century. The two women are the Virgin Mary on the left and her cousin Elizabeth. Mary is visiting Elizabeth to share the news that she is to be the mother of Christ. True to Gothic art, the sculptor infuses the figures with feeling through their glances and gestures. Florence in the 15th century was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. One of Florence's most famous Renaissance sculptures was Nicolangelo. His lifelike, idealized and calm David epitomizes the Renaissance style. The marble sculpture is four meters high. David, an Old Testament character who kills the giant Goliath, became a symbol of Florentine virtue and military strength. Italian sculptor Bernini was one of the early practitioners of the Baroque style which followed the Renaissance. Baroque art embraced drama and energetic movement. Like Nicolangelo, Bernini created a marble David, but his David, made around 1620, is more agitated both emotionally and physically. To get the expression right, Bernini probably made faces in a mirror. Rodin, a late 19th century artist, worked in a traditional lifelike style. But as a modernist, he left parts of his sculptures unfinished, drawing attention to the material the work is made from. The kiss illustrates the story of two lovers, Paolo and Francesca, doomed to death by their affair. Many 20th century modernists abandoned traditional materials. Merit Oppenheim used mass-produced ordinary objects. She turned them into something unique and extraordinary by reworking them. In 1936, she made art by covering a porcelain cup and saucer and a metal spoon with rabbit fur. Claes Oldenburg used non-traditional materials like cloth for his sculptures, and he sought out the most ordinary of objects to monumentalize. When he made a 700 pound fabric hamburger in 1962, he created a monument to everyday contemporary life and junk food.