low relief
- noun
- /loʊ rɪˈliːf/
- Specialized
:
bajo relieve
- This example, with its registers of figures carved in low relief, is typical of the genre.
- low relief carving
- low relief figures
Examples
-
The walls of the corridor were carved with elaborate low-relief sculptures—mostly astronomical motifs, but there were some earthly landscapes among the stars and comets.
Fiction book (2001) -
In this low-relief carving on painted wood, the dominant image is derived from the artist's study of the Baga Nimba mask.
Academic text (1997) -
Around the border are figures in low relief, half a centimeter higher than the rest of the board.
Academic text (1994) -
Though initially trained as a printmaker, Zerihun produces two-dimensional and low-relief art in a variety of media.
Academic text (1997) -
The vestibule features low-relief ceramic tiles with motifs representing African sculpture.
Academic text (2003) -
The various low-relief figures and intertwined patterning have a complex iconography related to Ifa ritual.
Academic text (1995) -
The large crocodile (or lizard) and the three zigzag lines seem to me the only original elements of the low-relief decoration.
Academic text (1994) -
Carved in low relief, the decorative motifs include animal images, floral scrolls, an inscription, and three zigzag lines encircling.
Academic text (1994) -
The artist created a beautiful low relief of a tree with delicate branches and leaves.
-
The museum displayed ancient artifacts with intricate low relief designs depicting scenes of daily life.
Synonyms
2
9.3
A sculpture with figures that stick out a little from a flat background
A shallow carving in which figures just slightly stand out from the background
A design with shallow figures raised slightly from a flat surface
Antonyms
How High
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'forms project only slightly from the background' follows directly from combining 'low' (small/short in height or projection) with 'relief' (a sculptural work that projects from a background). This is a transparent, compositional art-term found across languages (e.g., Spanish 'bajo relieve', French 'basse-relief'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can reasonably infer the meaning.
Etymology
Low relief comes from the simple image of sculpted shapes that sit just above the background. Here low means 'barely raised' and relief refers to the parts that stick out, so the phrase describes a carving where the figures project only a little from the surface.