The French word "relief" comes from the Latin verb "relevo" (I raise). So what is relief? Relief is either some elevation above the surface (convexity), or, on the contrary, its concavity. The word "relief" is used in several ways.
Instructions
Step 1
Topography of the earth: the surface of the land or the seabed. It is the terrestrial relief that is studied in schools in geography lessons. Landforms, folds of the earth's crust, can be very diverse. Our planet has both mountains and hills, and valleys. Depending on their size, we are dealing with different categories of relief. The mega-relief is the protrusions of the continents and the bed of the oceans. Macro-relief is huge mountain ranges and deep depressions. Microrelief - canyons and steppes. Mesorelief - ravines and hills. Nanoreliefs are wormholes and anthills under your feet. The terrain of the earth changes over time under the influence of processes taking place deep in its depths and the climate. The science that studies relief is called geomorphology.
Step 2
A sculptural image, parts of which protrude above the plane, is also called a relief. Such a relief is deep and convex, low, protruding less than half of the image (bas-relief) and high, protruding more than half (high relief). Even in ancient times, Greek and Egyptian sculptors created similar images, similar to paintings that came to life. Reliefs can often be found on temple pediments and tombstones. The reliefs of the Parthenon and the richly decorated marble altar from the Ludovisi collection are widely known. Reliefs are also used in modern sculptural monuments. Various materials can be used to create the relief: stone, clay, gypsum, ceramics, wood
Step 3
By analogy with the previous two meanings, in the modern world we often use the word "relief" when talking about body shapes: "abdominal relief", "muscle relief". The word "relief" is also applicable to the texture of various surfaces, such as wallpaper or carpet. Any protruding pattern that can be felt with your fingers will be called "embossed". There is, for example, the term "embossed knitting". And for the blind, a "relief font" has long been invented.
