Have you ever been confused about the terms statue and sculpture especially when referring to a piece of three-dimensional art? Do you think it can be used interchangeably and like me, always wondered what the defining difference is? Well, I did the research so you don't have to and I got the most illuminating discovery. And of course, I am more than willing to share with you.

As an art lover and enthusiast, it is imperative to be knowledgeable about art forms, their terms, and the variations within terms. Knowing the difference between a sculpture and a statue is even more relevant in curating African art because they feature prominently in both historical and contemporary African art.

In fact, Aworanka, the leading online aggregator of Africa art and art galleries, has a whole section dedicated to contemporary African sculptures and statues and a look through the artworks will show just how dominant these two art forms are within the context of African art and cultural heritage.

The differing characteristics between a sculpture and a statue can be discussed under three broad features:

1. Theme of the art

2. Size of the art

3. Material composition of the art

1. Theme of the art

Defining the difference between a sculpture and a statue using the theme of the art requires you to understand their general definition. While a statue is defined as a three-dimensional representation of a human, animal, mythological, or imaginary animate being in a fairly realistic manner, sometimes with some degree of stylization, a sculpture is defined as a three-dimensional work of art, made by almost any material that doesn't have to be in the image of an animated figure. 

From the descriptions above, it can be inferred that while many statues are sculptures, all sculptures are not statues. 

2. Size of the art

In terms of size, statues are often life-sized or larger to reality at scale. Statues that are on a scale smaller than the figures they are meant to represent or symbolize are referred to as 'statuettes' and even they are proportionally representative of reality. Whereas, sculptures have no limit in size.

3. Material composition of the art

The material used to make statues are usually limited to durable materials like stone, metal, wood, clay, plaster, glass, concrete, resin, wax, ice, etc. While for sculptures, the range of materials that can be used is limitless. It can be composed of textile, paper towels, plastic bottles, rubber, leaves, etc.

In conclusion, the difference between a statue and a sculpture is as simple as asking the question; is it a life-like object of art in the likeness of an animate realistic, mythological, or imaginary figure? Is it made of durable materials or formless with completely organic or abstract composition? Most importantly, it is handy to remember that even though both are three-dimensional art forms, a sculpture can be a statue, but not all sculptures are statues. However, many statues are also considered sculptures, depending on if the artist used sculpting methods to make the statue.

Now when you browse the Aworanka African art gallery aggregator, you won't be confused anymore on which is a sculpture and which is a statue. Happy art collection!