Relief is a sculptural technique where the sculpted elements remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term is from the Latin verb
relevo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background
plane. What is actually performed when a relief is cut in from a flat surface of stone (relief sculpture) or wood (
relief carving) is a lowering of the field, leaving the unsculpted parts seemingly raised. The technique involves considerable chiselling away of the background, which is a time-consuming exercise. On the other hand, a relief saves forming the rear of a subject, and is less fragile and more securely fixed than a sculpture in the round, especially one of a standing figure where the ankles are a potential weak point, especially in stone. In other materials such as metal, clay, plaster
stucco, ceramics or
papier-mache the form can be just added to or raised up from the background, and monumental
bronze reliefs are made by
casting.