relief, in sculpture, three-dimensional projection from a flat background. In alto-relievo, or high relief, the protrusion is great; basso-relievo, or bas-relief, protrudes only slightly; and mezzo-relievo is intermediate between the two. Ancient Egyptians and Etruscans also used cavo relievo,
intaglio intaglio (ĭntăl`yō, –täl`–)
..... Click the link for more information. , or sunken relief, in which the design is incised deeper than the background. High relief, although also used in ancient times, reached its climax in the baroque period. Bas-relief is commonly employed on coins and on medals.
relief
or
rilievo
Athena mourning, mezzo-relievo from the Acropolis, 5th century BC, in the Acropolis Museum, Athens
(credit: Alinari/Art Resource, New York)
(from Italian, rilievare: “to raise”) In sculpture, any work in which the figures project from a supporting background, usually a plane surface. Bas-reliefs (“low reliefs”), in which the design projects only slightly, were common on the walls of stone buildings in ancient Egypt, Assyria, and elsewhere in the Middle East. High reliefs, in which the forms project at least half or more of their natural circumference, were first employed by the ancient Greeks. Italian Renaissance sculptors combined high and low relief in strikingly illusionistic compositions, as in
Lorenzo Ghiberti's bronze doors in Florence. Baroque sculptors continued these experiments, often on a larger scale (e.g.,
Alessandro Algardi's Meeting of Attila and Pope Leo, 1646–53). The dramatic possibilities of the Renaissance concept of relief were later notably employed by
François Rude (The Marseillaise, 1833–36) and
Auguste Rodin (The Gates of Hell).
relief
Public or private aid to people in economic need because of natural disasters, wars, economic upheaval, chronic unemployment, or other conditions that prevent self-sufficiency. A distinction may be drawn between relief targeting upheavals and natural disasters and relief of chronic social conditions, now usually referred to as welfare. In 17th-century China the government maintained ever-normal granaries for use in the event of famine. Through the 19th century, disaster relief in Europe consisted largely of emergency grants of food, clothing, and medical care through hastily organized local committees. In the 20th century, disaster relief became one of the chief activities of the International Red Cross and other international agencies. Assistance to the needy from public funds has traditionally been strictly limited; in England, the Poor Law Reform Act of 1834 required people able to work to enter a workhouse in order to receive public assistance. The U.S. government responded to the Great Depression with the New Deal, which emphasized work relief programs such as the Works Progress Administration. In the later 20th century, the work requirement was abandoned in most countries, and the needy received direct cash payments, though in the U.S. the movement for welfare reform resulted in the passage in 1996 of “workfare” laws cutting off relief for most able-bodied welfare recipients who failed to find a job or perform community service.
relief1. a. help or assistance, as to the poor, needy, or distressed
b. (as modifier): relief work
2. a road (relief road) carrying traffic round an urban area; bypass
3. Sculpture Architecta. the projection of forms or figures from a flat ground, so that they are partly or wholly free of it
b. a piece of work of this kind
4. variation in altitude in an area; difference between highest and lowest level
5. Mechanical engineering the removal of the surface material of a bearing area to allow the access of lubricating fluid
6. Law redress of a grievance or hardship
7. European history a succession of payments made by an heir to a fief to his lord: the size of the relief was determined by the lord within bounds set by custom
8. on relief US and Canadian (of people) in receipt of government aid because of personal need
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