The concept of proportion in sculpture was created by a Greek artist named Polykleitos around the year 440 B.C. Ancient Greek sculptures often took exemplified human form; sculptors aimed to express perfection in nature through the perfectly-proportioned human body. According to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, some historians claim that Greek sculptors based the proportions of all elements of the human body on the proportions of human fingers. Even in the 21st century, sculptors must be concerned with the proportions of their sculptures; incorrect proportions render unrealistic works.
Balance is another important element of sculpture. Symmetry is the essential basis of sculpture: if a sculpture is symmetrical, it will appear to have physical balance. Alternately, a sculpture that is asymmetrical may appear to be off-balance or moving. Sculpture need not be perfectly balanced to be considered art. Off-balance sculpture is every bit as valid as balanced sculpture.
In the world of sculpture, “scale” refers to the size of the sculpture. When sculpting, an artist must consider the size of her sculpture and its eventual placement. The scale of a sculpture can influence how a viewer perceives that sculpture; a sculpture that is massive in relation to its surroundings -- such as the Washington Monument -- can communicate power and awe through that scale.
Sculpture always has function, even if that function is solely to communicate a certain perception to viewers. Other sculptures have practical functions; the Pyramids of Egypt, for example, served as tombs for Ancient Egypt’s pharaohs. The function of Greek sculpture was to express the harmony present in nature through the perfectly-proportioned human body. The function of Roman sculpture, by contrast, was not only to depict perfect-looking Caesars, but to communicate the godliness of those leaders.
Shapes are formed when lines meet, and these shapes are the basic elements of sculptures. Simple shapes such as spheres, cubes or cones are examples of basic shapes that can be put together to create sculptures that are either two- or three-dimensional.
Sculptures are composed of two different kinds of space: positive space and negative space. Positive space is the space made by the materials of the sculpture itself. Negative space, on the other hand, is created by the spaces left between parts of the sculpture. Positive space of the Egyptian Pyramids, for example, is composed of the pyramids themselves. The negative space is the tunnels inside the Pyramids and the gaps in between the Pyramids.