SCULPTURE BY POINTS

SCULPTURE BY "POINTS"

 

Method

One of the oldest ways of replicating a sculpture or passing from model to work of art was an indispensable tool known as the "definer", a kind of circle with a rod sticking out on which a wire with a lead weight hung.  With the device placed on top, the points of the shape, which were sticking out, could be detected thanks to this weight which could be regulated at various points along the rod.  The tool was then applied to the block of stone which was to be sculpted on which the same points were created by making holes of depth, they then proceeded to eliminate material up to those points.

The "Cross" method allows the sculptor to detect a greater number of points and therefore reproduce the model very accurately.  The cross is a tool with 3 wedges that are fixed to 3 points chosen among those sticking out the most on the draft, and to find new ones an articulated arm with a 4th point is used, fixed to the cross and free to swing in any direction.