INTRODUCTION
I. ON SOME CHARACTERISTICS
OF GREEK SCULPTURE.The history of Greek sculpture covers a period of some eight
or nine hundred years, and falls into five divisions.[1]The first is the
period of development, extending from 600 to 480 B. C. The second
is the period of greatest achievement, under Phidias and his
followers, in the Age of Pericles, 480-430 B. C. The third is the
period of Praxiteles and Scopas, in the fourth century. The fourth
is the period of decline, characterized as the Hellenistic Age, and
included between the years 320 and 100 B. C. The fifth is the
Græco-Roman period, which includes the work produced to meet the
demand of the Roman market for Greek sculpture, and which extends
to 300 A. D.[1]See Gardner'sHandbook of Greek
Sculpture, page 42.Modern criticism differentiates sharply the characteristics
of the several periods and even of the individual artists, but such
subtleties are beyond the grasp of the unlearned. The majority of
people continue to regard Greek sculpture in its entirety, as if it
were the homogeneous product of a single age. To the popular
imagination it is as if some gigantic machine turned out the Apollo
Belvedere, the Venus of Milo, the Elgin Marbles, and all the rest,
in a single day. Nor is it long ago since even eminent writers had
but vague ideas as to the distinctive periods of these very works.
Certain it is that all works of Greek sculpture have a particular
character which marks them as such. Authorities have taught us to
distinguish some few of their leading characteristics.The most striking characteristic of Greek art is perhaps its
closeness to nature. The sculptor showed an intimate knowledge of
the human form, acquired by constant observation of the splendid
specimens of manhood produced in the palæstra. It is because the
artist "clung to nature as a kind mother," says Waldstein, that the
influence of his work persists through the ages.Again, Greek art is distinctly an art of generalization,
dealing with types rather than with individuals. This
characteristic is of varying degrees in different periods and with
different sculptors. It is seen in its perfection in the Elgin
Marbles, in exaggeration in the Apollo Belvedere, and at the
minimum in the work of Praxiteles. Yet it is everywhere
sufficiently marked to be indissolubly connected with Greek
sculpture.The quality of repose, so constantly associated with Greek
sculpture, is another characteristic which varies with the period
and the individual sculptor. Between the calm dignity of the
portrait statue of Sophocles and the intense muscular concentration
of Myron's Discobolus, a long range of degrees may be included. Yet
on the whole, repose is an essential characteristic of the best
Greek sculpture, provided we do not let our notion of repose
exclude the spirited element. Fine as is the effect of repose in
the Parthenon frieze, the composition is likewise full of spirit
and life.A distinguishing characteristic of the best Greek sculpture
is its simplicity. Compared with the Gothic sculptors, the Greeks
appear to us, in Ruskin's phrase, as the "masters of all that was
grand, simple, wise and tenderly human, opposed to the pettiness of
the toys of the rest of mankind." Their work is free from that
"vain and mean decoration"—the "weak and monstrous error"—which
disfigures the art of other peoples.As we turn from one Greek marble to another in the great
sculpture galleries of the world, the best features of the art
impress themselves deeply even upon the untutored eye. The Greek
instinct for pose is unfailing and unsurpassable. Standing or
seated, the attitude is always graceful, the lines are always fine.
The best statues are equally well composed, viewed from any
standpoint. The camera may describe a circumference about a marble
as a centre, and a photograph made at any point in the circle will
show lines of rhythm and beauty.The faultless regularity of the Greek profile has passed into
history as the accepted standard of human beauty. The straight
continuous line of brow and nose, the well moulded chin, the full
lip, the small ear, satisfy perfectly our æsthetic
ideals.The art of sculpture was an essential outgrowth of the Greek
spirit, and perfectly suited the requirements of Greek thought. In
the words of a recent writer, "it was the consummate expression in
art of the genius of a nation which worshiped physical perfection
as the gift of the immortals, which honored the gods by athletic
games and choral dances, and whose deities wore the flesh and
shared the nature of men."[2]It was moreover a
national art, entering into every phase of public life, and
embodying the Greek sense of national greatness.[2]FromItalian Cities, by
E. H. and E. W. Blashfield.Greek sculpture can be sympathetically understood only by
catching something of the spirit which produced it. One must shake
off the centuries and regard life with the childlike simplicity of
the young world: one must give imagination free rein. The same
attitude of mind which can enjoy Greek mythology and Greek
literature is the proper attitude for the enjoyment of Greek
sculpture. The best interpreter of a nation's art is the nation's
poetry.II. ON BOOKS OF REFERENCE.
Many learned works on the subject of Greek Sculpture have been
written in various languages. Three standard authorities are the
English work by A. S. Murray, "History of Greek Sculpture," second
edition, London, 1890; the French work by Collignon, "Histoire de
la Sculpture Grecque," Paris, 1892; and the German work by
Furtwängler, translated into English by E. Sellers, "The
Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture," London, 1895. Naturally these
three writers are not always of one opinion, and the student must
turn from one to another to learn all the arguments concerning a
disputed point.For the practical every-day use of the reader who has no time
to sift the evidences on difficult questions of archæology,
Gardner's "Handbook of Greek Sculpture" is an excellent outline
summary of the history of the subject.Charles Waldstein's "Essays on the Art of Pheidias," New
York, 1885, is an exceedingly valuable and suggestive
volume.Two small books, written in a somewhat popular vein, make
very pleasant reading for those pursuing these studies: "Studies in
Greek Art," by J. E. Harrison, London, 1885, and "Greek Art on
Greek Soil," by J. M. Hoppin, Boston, 1897.Besides the works devoted exclusively to the subject of Greek
sculpture, the subject receives due attention in various general
histories of art, of which may be mentioned, Lucy Mitchell's
"History of Ancient Sculpture," Lübke's "History of Sculpture," and
Von Reber's "History of Ancient Art."A valuable bibliography is given in Gardner's
"Handbook."III. HISTORICAL DIRECTORY OF THE MARBLES REPRODUCED
IN THIS COLLECTION.Frontispiece.Terminal bust of
Pericles, after an original by Cresilas. Approximate date, 440-430
B. C. In the British Museum, London.1.Bust of Zeus Otricoli.Considered by Brunn and others a copy from a head of the
statue by Phidias. Later critics do not agree with this opinion,
and Furtwängler calls the head a Praxitelean development of the
type of Zeus created in the time of Myron. Now in the Vatican
Gallery, Rome.2.Athena Giustiniana(Minerva Medica).
Considered by Furtwängler a copy, after Euphranor, of a statue
dedicated below the Capitol, called Minerva Catuliana, set up by A.
Lutatius Catulus. The ægis and sphinx are copyist's additions.
Found in the gardens of the convent of S. Maria sopra Minerva,
Rome. Both arms are restored. Now in the Vatican Gallery,
Rome.3.Horsemen from the Parthenon
Frieze.The frieze of the Parthenon is part of
the decorative scheme of the marble temple of Athena, built during
the age of Pericles (480-430 B. C.) on the Acropolis, Athens, and
decorated under the direction of Phidias. The frieze consisted of a
series of panels or slabs, about 3 ft. 4 in. in height, and was set
on the outer wall of the cella. Being lighted from below, the lower
portion is cut in low relief (1¼ in.) and the upper parts in high
relief (2¼ in.). The panel of the Horsemen is one of the Elgin
Marbles, removed by Lord Elgin from the Parthenon in 1801-1802, and
now in the British Museum, London.4.Bust of Hera.Considered by Murray a copy after Polyclitus. Regarded by
Furtwängler as a "Roman creation based on a Praxitelean model."
Catalogued in Hare's "Walks in Rome" as a probable copy after
Alcamenes. In the Ludovisi Villa, Rome.5.The Apoxyomenos.. A
marble copy of the original bronze statue by Lysippus, who
flourished in the 4th century B. C. According to Pliny the original
was brought from Greece to Rome by Agrippa to adorn the public
baths. This copy was found in 1849 in the Trastevere, Rome, and is
now in the Vatican Gallery.6.Head of the Apollo Belvedere.According to Gardner, a marble copy (Roman) of a bronze
original of the Hellenistic Age (320-100 B. C.). Some (Winter and
Furtwängler) have assigned the original to Leochares, a sculptor of
the 4th century, and others to Calamis, in the 5th century. This
copy was found in the 16th century at Antium, and was purchased by
Pope Julius II. for the Belvedere Palace. Now in the Vatican
Gallery, Rome.7.[...]
