The earliest sculpture in the west is the sculpture art Venus of Willendorf, which was produced at the same time when human beings created labor tools with extremely low productivity-stone tools for labor and life needs. The work was made 25,000 years ago. These sculptures are so small that primitive people can carry them. They look like the sacred fertility gods of primitive tribes and have been circulating in Europe for a long time. After the Neolithic Age, human beings were forced to give up hunting and become shepherds and farmers, and all kinds of handicrafts were fully developed. Since then, pre-classical culture, Olmec culture, has appeared in the Gulf of Mexico. In order to meet the religious needs, sculptors carved many huge stone statues. Ancient Egyptian sculptors also started their creation and made great contributions. As one of the important birthplaces of human civilization, ancient Egypt once produced rich fruits in sculpture art. With the development of social productive forces and the disintegration of primitive communes, the earliest slave countries appeared in the world, and ancient Egypt was one of them. Around 4000 BC, the ancient Egyptian kingdom was established, slave owners ruled despotically, and the king Pharaoh held military and political power. The sculpture art in Egypt began around 4000 BC, and the birth of the construction industry gave birth to the bud of art decoration. In the long years from the ancient dynasty (4000-3000 BC) to the middle dynasty (3000-2000 BC) and the new dynasty, ancient Egypt preserved the remnants of primitive society for a long time, and Egyptian myths and religious beliefs dominated the formation and development of sculptures. The conservatism of myth and religious belief is the main reason for the slow development of Egyptian sculpture.
Egyptian sculpture served the Pharaoh regime and a few slave owners and nobles. Dominated by religious ideology and strictly following the aesthetic views and needs of the upper class, artists stick to the rules and strictly adhere to the "formality" in round carving. No matter whether the character is standing or sitting, the human body is still, and the facial expression is always solemn and calm to the audience. Most statues stand stiffly, in a vertical line from the top of the head through the chest and waist to the heel. An upright person, with his left foot forward and his center of gravity on the sole of his foot. Sitting is always sitting on your knees and feet. On the surface, Egyptian sculptures seem to be similar, but if you look closely, you will find that their faces have their own characteristics and are quite detailed. The ancient Egyptians believed that people could enjoy everything before they died, including waiting on their slaves. Therefore, in addition to the statues of the deceased and the reliefs of the deceased's activities before his death, there are a large number of figurines of dead slaves and relief compositions depicting the life of Egyptian slaves or lower-class people. The figurines are not bound by stereotypes, so the characters are more natural and vivid. Apart from some works in tombs, the most influential Egyptian sculptures are decorative sculptures and memorial sculptures in front of tombs and temples. The pyramid is the tomb of the Egyptian king-Pharaoh. Its shape is a square cone with four sides facing forward, so it looks like the word "gold". In today's Cairo suburbs, there are pyramid of khufu, Hafra Pyramid and Monkara Pyramid. Among them, the tallest pyramid of khufu, the huge Sphinx in front of the pyramid, is carved from a huge rock, which is the largest and most famous sculpture in ancient times. Since the new dynasty, pharaohs no longer built pyramids. In order to prevent the tomb from being stolen, the temple of Pharaoh was separated from the tomb, usually built on the hillside in the wilderness. Most Egyptian sculptures are made of stone, wood, ivory, copper and clay, while giant sculptures are made of granite, amphibole and basalt. Generally, sculptures are made of limestone and sand, while small sculptures are made of wood or copper, and sometimes some of them are made by mosaic technology. The remarkable achievements of Egyptian sculpture are the result of long-term exploration by Egyptian sculptors. Egyptian sculpture has left a brilliant page in the history of ancient world art. Ancient Greece is located in the southern Balkans of Europe, including the Aegean Islands and the coast of Asia Minor. At that time, some enlightened rulers not only devoted themselves to internal affairs and armed forces, but also advocated the development of art and literature. In the hundreds of years after the 6th century BC, famous scientists, writers and artists in ancient Greece made brilliant achievements, and sculpture was an important aspect of the brilliant cultural achievements in this period.
The themes of Greek sculptures are mostly taken from myths or sports competitions. There are many small islands in the Aegean Sea, among which Barros Island is rich in marble, which provides the best material for carving. The ancient Greeks loved sports, and athletes took off their clothes and took part in competitions without scruple. In the bright sunshine, the athletes' bodybuilding was praised by the audience. Therefore, the appreciation of the beauty of men and women naturally developed in the minds of ancient Greeks, and sculptors also like to show various postures of male or female bodybuilding and liveliness.
As far as the change and development of artistic style are concerned, Greek sculpture can be divided into three periods: ancient style period (transitional period), classical period (heyday) and Hellenistic period.