Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
half-relief

half-relief

9.5
A sculpture that sticks out halfway from a flat background
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : medio relieve
  • You can see the difference between high relief and half-relief on the museum's sculpture tour.

Examples

  • The ancient frieze was carved in half-relief to give depth without overwhelming the wall.

  • Many Renaissance artists preferred half-relief for depicting figures with subtle modeling.

  • The artist created a stunning half-relief sculpture for the exhibition.

  • Can you explain what a half-relief is?

  • Many Renaissance artists preferred half-relief for depicting figures with subtle modeling.

  • The ancient frieze was carved in half-relief to give depth without overwhelming the wall.

  • You can see the difference between high relief and half-relief on the museum's sculpture tour.

Synonyms

mezzo-relievo
vshalf-relief
  • Specialized
9.9

Figures carved to stand out partly from a flat wall or stone background

is the same idea expressed with a general descriptive phrase
mezzo-rilievo
vshalf-relief
  • Specialized
9.9

A carving where people and objects are raised a medium amount from the background

is the same idea expressed with a general descriptive phrase

How Raised

high relief
  • Specialized
1 8.2
half-relief
  • Specialized
9.5
low relief
  • Specialized
7.8

Surface Forms

half-relief singular
half-reliefs plural

Morphology

half-relief = half + relief (transparent) = half + relief

Direct combination of 'half' and 'relief' where 'half' specifies the degree of projection, making the meaning compositionally predictable.

Etymology

The word half-relief combines half ('partly') and relief, which comes from an old word meaning 'to raise'. So it means 'partly raised' and describes a sculpture that sticks out about halfway from the background.