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Bas-relief

Sculptural relief that projects very little from the background.

Also called bas-relief, basso-relievo.

A technique of sculpture in which subjects are defined by being slightly raised from a flat background.

Also known as low-relief.

A kind of carving or sculpture in which the figures are raised a few inches from a flat background to give a three-dimensional effect.

The term is French for "low relief."

Sculptural form in which figures are carved in a flat surface and project only slightly from the background rather than standing freely.

Depending on the degree of projection, reliefs may also be classified as high or medium relief.

Bas-relief may show faces and even bodies in natural relief, though usually not.

The backgrounds are always compressed for depth in "bas relief".

Bas-relief is a method of sculpting which entails carving or etching away the surface of a flat piece of stone or metal.

The word is derived from the Italian basso rilievo, the literal translation meaning raised contrast.

To explain simply it is a sculpture portrayed as a picture.

The portrayed image is raised above the background flat surface.

For example, if a stone slab is two inches thick before sculpting begins,

then the non-image (background) area might be, say, one inch thick when the art work is done,

and the image area will vary between one inch to two inches, depending on the final image.

That would be considered to be "low relief" within the context of Bas-Relief.

In a few major works of art, the actual human figure may have "near natural" depth,

but still, the background is greatly flattened and is only a few inches behind the rounded figures.

This might be characterized as "high bas-relief".