The earliest undisputed examples of sculpture belong to the Aurignacian culture, which was located in Europe and southwest Asia and active at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic.

As well as producing some of the earliest known cave art, the people of this culture developed finely-crafted stone tools, manufacturing pendants, bracelets, ivory beads, and bone-flutes, as well as three-dimensional figurines.

[1][2] Two of the largest prehistoric sculptures can be found at the Tuc d'Audobert caves in France, where around 12–17,000 years ago a sculptor used a spatula-like stone tool and fingers to model a pair of large bison in clay against a limestone rock.

Early Christian symbolism soon appeared in sculptural works such as sarcophagi, but it was largely discouraged by church leaders who feared a return to the worship of idols.

The earliest sculptural decorations on altars and the interior surfaces of churches, on lintels, over doorways and particularly on the capitals of columns, which were commonly adorned with images of biblical figures and real or mythical animals.

[7] This "Christ in Majesty" design over the central doorway became a common feature for churches and Cathedrals across France in the Romanesqua dn Gothic period.

Sculptors also depicted a large number of animals, both real and imaginary, including chimeras, sirens, lions, and a wide range of monsters.

The Typanum of Vézelay Abbey, a pilgrimage church dedicated by the Pope in 1132, shows the state of the art of Romanessque sculpture at the end of the Romanesque and beginning of the Gothic period.

Abbot Suger, who directed the construction of the first Gothic abbey in Saint-Denis, observed, "Art conducts human souls by the use of material things to reach the immaterial."

Despite this Italian competition, the best-known French sculptors, including Ligier Richier and Michel Colombe, continued to work in the traditional Gothic style, particularly in the statuary of tombs.

[11] The first major French sculptor of the Renaissance was Jean Goujon (1510–1565), also a noted graphic illustrator, whose work in bas-relief perfectly captured and refined the Italian style.

The major stylistic innovation in French sculpture was the introduction of the equestrian statue of the King on horseback, designed for placement in central city squares.

The first example was the bronze equestrian statue of Henry IV of France, with the horse by Jean de Boulougne, a French sculptor employed in Florence by the Medicis, and the King by Ferdinando Tacca, his student.

The great master of Baroque sculpture, Bernini, made one trip to Paris, and criticized the work of French sculptors as "a style that is small, sad, and gloomy."

He also created sculptures portraying members of the Court or nobility in mythological costume, such as Duchesse of Burgundy represented as the Goddess of the hunt, Diane.

He made numerous naturalistic sculptures, including Love and Friendship for Madame de Pompadour, and a monument of Louis XV on horseback for the city of Reims.

The theatrical rococo style was common; The themes of the small works were usually pastoral, romantic and mythological scenes, with cupids, shepherdesses and satyrs, charm and mild sensuality.

[17] The French Revolution med to the destruction of sculpture on a large scale; the equestrian statues of the Kings and the sculpted facades of Gothic Cathedrals were pulled down or defaced.

His works include sculptural decoration of the July Column in the Place de la Bastille, and four groups on the facade of the Pavillon Denon of the Louvre (1854).

This appeared in is his first important sculpture, of a young Neapolitan fisher-boy (1833), and in his most famous work, The Departure of the Volunteers, (1836), a bas-relief on the base of the new Arc de Triomphe, which became a classic example of the movement of romanticism.

He also made a celebrated work of Flore for the facade of the Louvre, and the statuary for the Fontaine de l'Observatoire, to the south of the Luxembourg Gardens.

[18] Jules Dalou (1838-1902) a pupil of Carpeaux, followed him as an important monumental sculptor, Triumph of the Republic, (1889) marking the centenary of the French Revolution, in the Place de la Nation.

When he died some one hundred fifty terra cotta and wax sculptures of dancers, women at their dressing table, and other subjects were found in his studio.

By the time of the 1900 Paris Exposition, he had so many commands that he served principally as a modeler, employing a large studio of assistants to actually make the statues.

[20] The students of Rodin modified and created new variations, many expressing the sense of movement, speed and change felt at the end of the century.

Important sculptors in the early century included Aristide Maillol (1861-1944), who began as a painter and switched to sculpture, He particularly portrayed, in natural and sensual form, the female nude.

[21] François Pompon, who had worked in the studio of Rodin, inherited the role of animal sculptor that Bayre had occupied, though unlike Bayrle he had no interest in realism.

Many of the major modernist painters of the early 20th century also experimented with sculpture; these included Henri Matisse, André Derain, Fernand Léger, Georges Braque, and others.

Henri-Georges Adam made very large abstract works of concrete, such as his 22-meter long Signal at the Museum of Fine Arts in Le Havre.

César was at the forefront of the Nouveau Réalisme movement with his radical compressions (compacted automobiles, discarded metal, or rubbish), expansions (polyurethane foam sculptures), and fantastic representations of animals and insects.