Top 100 Sculptures in History

Article-100-Greatest-Sculptures-of-All-Time

Subjects: Art history ; Sculpture history ; Top 100 sculpture ; Greatest sculptors
Author: Dylan B

There are so many magnificent sculptures through out time, to make a list of the top 100 sculptures in history is a difficult task.

There are three main concepts that are considered by many art academics that make a piece of art a “masterpiece”, whether it is a sculpture, a painting, or any other form of art;

– The first is that the work is so original that it overwhelms us with its power.

– The second is that it continues to be seen as a masterpiece throughout time.

– And the third, is that is changes the way generations of artist think about their own style.

Contrary to this, popularity in the 21st century can play a factor in the assessment of a masterpiece of art. Social platforms can easily create popularity through a high volume of impressions. This creates a disproportionate view of what is considered “high-value art”.

We have put together a list of the Top 100 Sculptures ever made. The list is obviously based on subjective views of individuals, as with all art. However, we have cross-referenced our list with other considerations in the art community. We have not listed them from one to one hundred. Every sculpture in the top one hundred sculptures list could be in contention as the greatest sculpture of all time. They are all masterpieces, all are from different periods, with artists from different countries, and with different styles.

The list includes bronze sculpture, marble sculpture and speciality sculpture that are made with all different materials. We have segmented what we have discussed as the top 10 sculptures of all time. Many are from some of the greatest sculptors of all time, such as Auguste Rodin, and Michelangelo where their mastery across time is uncontested. We will be doing a separate article on the greatest sculptors, for now, we are focusing on individual pieces.

View large image of all 100 Sculptures

Our top 10

: Moses – Michelangelo

: Veiled Vestal – Raffaelle Monti

: Venus de Milo – Alexandros of Antioch

: Little Dancer aged Fourteen – Edgar Degas

: The Thinker – Auguste Rodin

: Apollo and Daphne – Gian Lorenzo Bernini

: Ecstasy of Saint Teresa – Gian Lorenzo Bernini

: Leda the swan – Timotheus

: Winged Victory of Samothrace – Pythokritos

: David – Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

: The Veiled Virgin – Giovanni Strazza

: Laocoön and His Sons – three Greek sculptors from the island of Rhodes: Agesander, Athenodoros and Polydorus,

: Madonna of Bruges – Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

: Pietà – Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

: The Shade – Auguste Rodin

: David – Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (Donatello)

: Balloon Dog – Jeffrey Koons

: Adams Memorial – Augustus Saint-Gaudens

: Nuclear energy – Henry Moore

: The Gates of Hell – Auguste Rodin

: Fiorenza – Giambologna (Jean de Boulogne)

: Atlas – Lee Lawrie

: Le Génie du Mal – Guillaume Geefs

: La Donna Velata – Raffaelle Monti

: Reclining Figure – Henry Moore

: Diana – Augustus Saint-Gaudens

: Oval with points – Henry Moore

: Triton blowing a conch shell – Adriaen de Vries

: Atlas – Adriaen de Vries

: The Three Graces – Antonio Canova

: Hiawatha – Augustus Saint-Gaudens

: Milo of Croton – Pierre Puget

: The Couple – Alberto Giacometti

: The Rape of Proserpina ian Lorenzo Bernini

: Chicago Picasso – Pablo Picasso

: Venus of Willendorf – Unknown

: Perseus with the Head of Medusa – Antonio Canova

: The Little Mermaid – Edvard Eriksen

: Paris – Antonio Canova

: Bird – Fernando Botero

: Lobster Trap and Fish Tail – Alexander Calder

: Untitled (for Stephanie) – Joseph Cornell

: The Endless Column – Constantin Brâncuși

: Woman with Her Throat Cut – Alberto Giacometti

: Neptune and Triton – Gian Lorenzo Bernini

: Mademoiselle Pogany – Constantin Brâncuși

: Walking man I – Alberto Giacometti

: Cristo della Minerva – Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

: Head of Pierre de Wissant – Auguste Rodin

: Maman – Louise Bourgeois

: The Deposition – Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

: Grosse tête; Henriette, III – Henri Matisse

: Baboon and Young – Pablo Picasso

: Spring Temple Buddha – (Group)

: Large Seated Nude – Henri Matisse

: Apollo Citharoedus, also known as Apollo Musagetes – Unknown

: Bird in Space – Constantin Brâncuși

: Moscow Kremlin – Peter Carl Fabergé

: Leshan Giant Buddha – (Group)

: Worker and Kolkhoz Woman – Vera Mukhina

: Man with the Broken Nose – Auguste Rodin

: Guitar – Pablo Picasso

: Barberini Faun – Unknown

: The Walking Man – Auguste Rodin

: The Burghers of Calais – Auguste Rodin

: Hercules and Cacus – Bartolommeo Bandinelli

: Monumental Head – Alberto Giacometti

: Dying Gladiator – Pierre Julien

: Venus Urania- Giambologna (Jean de Boulogne)

: Neptune – Adriaen de Vries

: Monument to Balzac – Auguste Rodin

: Mercury Abducting Psyche – Adriaen de Vries

: Mercury Attaching his Wings – Jean-Baptiste Pigalle

: La Serpentine – Henri Matisse

: La Paix de Nimègue – Martin Desjardins

: Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss – Antonio Canova

: Dog – Alberto Giacometti

: Borghese Gladiator – Agasias

: Bust of Suzon – Auguste Rodin

: Judith and Holofernes – Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (Donatello)

: Cupid – Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

: Femme qui marche (Woman walking) – Alberto Giacometti

: Femme qui marche (Woman walking) – Alberto Giacometti

: Janus Fleuri – Louise Bourgeois

: The Serf – Henri Matisse

: The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun – Gian Lorenzo Bernini

: Spoon woman – Alberto Giacometti

: Moondog – Tony Smith

: Unique Forms of Continuity in Space – Umberto Boccioni

: Bacchus Giambologna (Jean de Boulogne)

: Prodigal Son – Constantin Brâncuși

: Fonte Gaia Fountain – Jacopo della Quercia

: Hercules slaying Antaeus – Antonio del Pollaiolo

: Monument to Bartolomeo Colleoni – Andrea del Verrocchio

: David – Andrea del Verrocchio

: The Head Of St Anne – Tilman Riemenschneider

: Statue of St Andrew – Francois Duquesnoy

: Tomb of Pope Leo XI – Alessandro Algardi

: Apollo Attended by Nymphs of Thetis – Francois Girardon

: The abduction of Proserpine by Pluto – Francois Girardon