French term for direct carving: carving the final block of stone or wood directly, with the sculpture resolved in the material rather than mechanically copied from a completed model.
Taille directe is the French term for direct carving. It describes a sculptural method in which the artist works directly into the final block of stone, wood, or another carvable material and develops the form through the carving process rather than mechanically transferring a fully resolved model.
The phrase should not be taken to mean that the sculptor works without drawings, measurements, maquettes, or other references. Its emphasis is on direct engagement with the final material and on resolving the sculpture through carving.
Etymology
French taille, 'cutting' or 'carving,' from tailler, 'to cut or shape,' + directe, feminine form of 'direct.' Literally, 'direct carving/cutting.'
Sculptor Notes
In twentieth-century sculpture literature, taille directe became closely associated with artists who emphasized carving as a primary act rather than treating stone or wood as a material for reproducing a previously completed model.
References
https://vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/fiche-gdt/fiche/8367575/taille-directe; https://www.getty.edu/vow/AATFullDisplay?subjectid=300053150