Wooden sculpture, woodcarving, production of wooden sculpures, tradition of woodcarving
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Woodcarvings
The wooden sculptures are the product of a famous handcraft: the woodcarving in Val Gardena, in the heart of the Dolomites.
A natural material suitable for any type of work, wood has always accompanied the mans activities. According to a legend, the tradition of sculpture in wood has been started by a young shepherd, in the seventeenth century, who began to carve wood scraps in order to fill his time while the sheep was grazing.
In the 7th Century the production of wooden sculptures in Val Gardena was already a developed and mature art, as evidenced by the vast collection of sculptures on display in the Museum of History and Culture of the Ladina in Ortisei (Museum de Gherdeina). Here you can admire, among other wooden sculptures of great sculptors, statues of religious art and also many wooden sculptures of profane art like allegorical figures, animals and chess.
The wooden sculptures of sacred subjects were generally ordered and included statues of various types, the Madonna, Saints, Jesus on the cross, the angels, but even whole altars and cribs that became increasingly elaborate and increasingly wealthy of characters. The profane sculptures in wood were on the other hand made thanks to the creativity of the individual sculptors of the valley and included dolls, rocking horses, toy soldiers, figurines of characters in costume and everyday objects.
The wooden sculptures were directly sold by their producers through a sort of itinerant trade. The sculptures were produced during the long winter months, when all other activities in fields were impossible; in the summer months, the craftsmen used to travel around Europe to sell or barter their statues.
The production of wood sculpture has always been very spread if you consider that at the beginning of 9th Century two thirds of the population of the Val Gardena were dedicated to this activity and that the Habsburg Empire intervened to reduce the cutting of trees that threatened the extinction. While the production of wooden sculptures of sacred art was a particular niche of a few excellent craftsmen devoted exclusively to this activity, the production of profane sculpture art developed quickly within families in the valley. This production increased continuously because of the continuous increase in the request.
In 10th Century the desire of strong gains developed a strong competition among the individual artists in the valley, the prices drop and woodcarvings made in Val Gardena invaded worldwide the market. After the Second World War the production of wooden sculptures in the family stopped, a new business became more attractive to the valley: tourism and winter sports occupied since then the thoughts of the local people and their interests. The production of profane wooden sculptures are concentrated in large and small companies where the quality has remained very high. The production of religious art remained in the hands of skilful masters.
The master craftsmen of DpWoodcarvings are children of this old tradition; they put in the production of wooden sculptures all their experience and the passion that has always characterized the activity of woodcarving in Val Gardena.
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