Greek Sculpture Part 1

Greek Sculpture.

by Estelle M. Hurll.

PREFACE

Within the limits of this small collection of pictures an attempt is made to bring together as great a variety of subjects as possible.

Portraiture is ill.u.s.trated in the statue of Sophocles and the bust of Pericles, _genre_ studies in the Apoxyomenos and Discobolus, bas-relief work in the panel from the Parthenon frieze and the Orpheus and Eurydice, and ideal heads and statues in the representations of the divinities. Both the Greek treatment of the nude and the Greek management of drapery have due attention.

As cla.s.sic literature is the best interpreter of Greek sculpture, the text draws freely from such original sources as the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Homeric hymns, and Ovid's Metamorphoses.

ESTELLE M. HURLL.

NEW BEDFORD, Ma.s.s.

January, 1901.

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 h.e.l.lenistic Age, and included between the years 320 and 100 B. C. The fifth is the Graeco-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's _Handbook 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 h.o.m.ogeneous 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 palaestra. 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 a.s.sociated 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 unsurpa.s.sable. Standing or seated, the att.i.tude is always graceful, the lines are always fine. The best statues are equally well composed, viewed from any standpoint. The camera may describe a circ.u.mference 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 pa.s.sed 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 aesthetic 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 G.o.ds 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] From _Italian 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 att.i.tude of mind which can enjoy Greek mythology and Greek literature is the proper att.i.tude 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 Furtw.a.n.gler, 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 archaeology, 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 Mitch.e.l.l's "History of Ancient Sculpture," Lubke'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 Furtw.a.n.gler 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 Furtw.a.n.gler a copy, after Euphranor, of a statue dedicated below the Capitol, called Minerva Catuliana, set up by A. Lutatius Catulus. The aegis 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. _Hors.e.m.e.n 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 (1 in.) and the upper parts in high relief (2 in.). The panel of the Hors.e.m.e.n 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 Polyc.l.i.tus.

Regarded by Furtw.a.n.gler 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 h.e.l.lenistic Age (320-100 B. C.).

Some (Winter and Furtw.a.n.gler) have a.s.signed 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. _Demeter_ (_Ceres_) Considered by Furtw.a.n.gler a copy from an original by Agoracritus, who was a pupil of Phidias, and whose works are closely allied to those of Alcamenes. By the same authority the statue is called the Nemesis. In the Vatican Gallery, Rome.

8. _The Faun of Praxiteles._ A copy of the original statue by Praxiteles, which was in the street of the Tripods, Athens. In the Capitol Museum, Rome.

9. _Sophocles._ Referred to by Collignon as a faithful copy of the bronze statue raised by Lycurgus. Found at Terracina in 1838, and now in the Lateran Museum, Rome.

10. _Ares Seated._ Considered by Furtw.a.n.gler and others a copy on a reduced scale of a colossal statue by Scopas. The little G.o.d Eros is the copyist's addition. Found in the portico of Octavia, and restored by Bernini. Now in the Ludovisi Villa, Rome.