Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/historyofsculptu01lubk HISTORY OF SCULPTURE, FROM THE EARLIEST AGES TO THE PRESENT TIME. DR WILHELM LUBKE, PROFESSOR OF ART-HISTORY AT THE POLYTECH NICUM AT STUTTGART. TRANSLATED BY F. E. BUNNETT. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. SECOND EDITION. LONDON: SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 15 WATERLOO PLACE. 1878. «** FROM THE PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. I DO not offer this book to the public without some hesitation. My encourage- ment to bo so lies in the fact that it is the first time the attempt has been made to write a general history of plastic art. For years I had conceived the plan ; for years, both at home and abroad, I have been gathering material for it. It is true, on the conclusion of the work I might have delayed for some time, in order to fill up many gaps in my personal investigations ; but, in the meanwhile, old impressions might have been easily effaced, or might not have blended well with those newly received. Thus I undertook to bring the work to a conclusion, and to let the public share all that I had, until now, accumulated. Although, as regards the general history of art, since the first work of the kind by Kugier, an almost boundless abundance of new material has been amassed, and the examination of the mutual relations of the arts has been ably investigated, it is scarcely necessary to prove how much knowledge on the other side has to be acquired with regard to each special art, if we would separate it from its connexion, and follow out its distinct course of develop- ment. On many important questions, this would lead to profound research, and to a survey of the whole from new points of view. In this conviction I have narrowly inspected the field of plastic art, which seemed to need espe- cially a separate investigation. For here, longer than in any other art, the exclusive appreciation of the antique has been longest maintained ; and this with good reason, because in antique sculpture an absolute perfection is attained, from the bright heights of which we descend, with unwillingness, to the lower and less satisfactory standards of later times. Far more alluring was it, on the other hand, to devote this separate consideration to painting ; for here, the antique could not, by comparison, place the importance of later productions in the shade, and this all the less as the spirit of the Christian age evidently favoured painting, and even at the present day the general IV Preface. predilection is bestowed on this art. Thus sculpture, in the Christian age, was treated grudgingly, and, for the most part, only received a side glance, as it were, of attention. It is true Schnaase, in his masterly history of art during the Middle Ages, exhibited the new and wide scope afforded to sculpture in the thirteenth century ; it is true, Burckhardt in his Cicerone, gave, in his succinct but animated representation, a survey of Italian sculp- ture, generally ; it is true, Cicognara had, before this, made a valuable attempt to delineate, by a series of illustrations, the development of the plastic art of his country. But what was then done for separate sections or local groups had to be carried out with regard to all the production of this branch of art, if a survey was to be obtained of the internal and external Q relations of the different periods. My leading principle has been, above all, to support my representation by personal inspection of the monuments of art, and, as far as possible, to see everything, and to judge of everything for myself. This has been done with regard to Oriental and Greek sculpture by studies in the British Museum ; with regard to antique art, by a long sojourn among the collections of Italy, Germany, and France ; and with regard to the monuments of the Middle Ages and modern times, by extended journeys in Southern and Northern Germany, in most parts of France, in the most important provinces of Italy, and lastly, in no' small measure, by' repeated visits to the Crystal Palace at Sydenham. In most cases I have been able to judge from the originals or from plaster-of-Paris casts. The material collected through many years, I have now endeavoured to combine into a whole, in which the development of ideas, as well as of form, has been of equal importance to me. For I need scarcely say that a true examination of the history of art can only be obtained by a blending of both elements, inasmuch as they mutually necessitate each other. That which, however, makes the true study of the history of art so difficult and so rare, is the fact that not merely learned study, but also innate perception of that which is truly artistic, quickened by uninterrupted exercise, is requisite for it. I wish nothing more than that somewhat of both of these qualities may be recognized in my work. In the criticism of my work I request that one point may be borne in mind, namely, that throughout the whole range of sculpture there were no previous satisfactory works open to me, but those that referred to the antique limits of the art. And as since Brunn’s excellent history of Greek artists, Greek sculpture has been treated so attractively by J. Overbeck, I should have preferred, agreeing as I do on the whole with the author, simply to refer to this book, did I not differ from it in several points where I have had personal acquaintance with the originals. My remarks on the latest acquisi- Preface. v tions of the art of Asia Minor are among these. Elsewhere, also, I have added- many important facts to my work from the most recent discoveries in Egypt, in the East, and in Greece. As regards the art of the Middle Ages, I have adhered to the principle of selecting all that is artistically valuable from the range of works purely remarkable in an antiquarian point of view. I need hardly say that I do not question the merit of pure archaeological investigation respecting this class of works. I should, otherwise, not have myself expended so much time and trouble in similar researches. But in the history of art we must keep other points in view. Those sections of my work, in which the great epochs of northern mediaeval art are delineated, the periods from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, will, it is hoped, prove that an abundance of new material, as regards the history of art, has been brought to light. A comparison with the existing works on these epochs, will evidence that I have myself added many a contribution to the history of sculpture in no inconsiderable number of monuments hitherto scarcely heard of or not sufficiently known. Zurich , May 5 , 1863 . PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. For a work of this nature, I had scarcely ventured to hope such success as would afford me the opportunity of seeing the work in a new and improved edition. All the more pleased am I, after seven years, to have received this opportunity. All capable critics have acknowledged and encouraged my attempt, and a considerable part of the cultivated public have received my work with interest. This has decided me, in the new edition, to subject my work to a thorough revision, to fill up former gaps, to remove inequalities of treatment, and throughout to strive after greater finish, both as regards subject and form. Above all, I have enlarged and revised the antique sections, in which the results of recent researches, as well as my own continued studies, have been turned to account. A special section on the plastic lesser arts of the ancients has been added. I have had less to alter, as regards the Middle Ages and modern times ; yet Italian sculpture has been more thoroughly investigated in my repeated v j Preface. journeys. Much that is new will be found respecting the Casa Santa at Loreto, and the schools of Upper Italy and the March. Elsewhere, moreover, there are numerous additions, improvements, and completions. The plastic art of the present day is also more fully delineated, so far as seemed to me suitable for an historical work. Special care, lastly, has been bestowed on the illustrations, for which I have procured, as far as I was able, good prints, photographs, and engravings, and have had copies taken from them, which, for the most part, are, in themselves, small works of art, and an ornament to the book. From 231 illustrations the number has been increased to 377. From all this I venture to hope that I shall succeed in a still greater measure in awakening interest throughout wider circles in the noble art of sculpture. Stuttgart, November, 1870 . "W. LUBK.E. ADDENDA. To page 400, Vol. I. When in the autumn of 1858, I visited Parma, with my friend Schnaase, we both read the inscription on the south portal of the Baptistery, EGO SVM PHAETO (cf. Schnaase, Gesch. d. b. K. vii. 295). It was not till afterwards that I found that the local investigator, Lopez, reads the inscription quite differently, and evidently correctly: EGO SVAL- PHAETO. We have thus overlooked the stroke indicating the M, and out of the AL we have read an M ; a very possible error, owing to the distance of the inscription from the eye. To page 59, Vol. II. R. Bergau has shown in the Niirnberger Korres- pondenten , 1870, No. 579, that the existence of an alleged sculptor, Sebald Schonhofer, rests on no reliable records. He makes it probable, as regards the porch of the Frauenkirche, at Nuremberg, that it was a later addition, perhaps belonging to the beginning of the fifteenth century. That its statues indicate a different hand to the sculptures in the church, is also apparent to me. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. INTRODUCTION. PAGE NATURE AND COURSE OF DEVELOPMENT OE SCULPTURE . FIRST BOOK. ORIENTAL SCULPTURE. First Chapter. — India and the Adjacent Countries. . . . . n Second Chapter. — Egypt .......... 20 Third Chapter. — Central and Anterior Asia . . . . . . 32 I. Babylon and Nineveh ........ 32 II. Persia ............ 49 III. Asia Minor and Syria. ........ 54 SECOND BOOK. GREEK SCULPTURE. First Chapter. — Origin and Nature of Greek Plastic Art . . . .61 Second Chapter. — First Period of Greek Sculpture. Until the Persian Wars 69 I. To the End of the Eighth Century ...... 69 II. To the End of the Sixth Century ...... 75 III. To about 470 b.c. ......... 97 Third Chapter. — Second Period of Greek Plastic Art. From the time of Cimon to the end of the Peloponnesian War. c. 470 — c. 400 123 I. Attic Artists . . . . . . . . . . .124 II. Monuments of Athens ........ 144 III. Artists and Works of Art in the Peloponnesus .... 161 Contents. viii PAGE Fourth Chapter. — Third Period of Greek Sculpture. From the Freedom of Athens to the Death of Alexander the Great, c. 400 — c. 323 175 I. The Attic School . . . . • • .177 II. The Monuments in Preservation . . . . . . 200 III. The Artists of the Peloponnesus ....... 216 Fifth Chapter. — Fourth Period of Greek Sculpture. From the Death of Alexander to the Conquest of Greece by the Romans, c. 323 — c. 146 '229 I. The School of Rhodes ........ 232 II. School of Pergamus ......... 240 III. Works of Art in the Rest of Greece ...... 247 THIRD BOOK. ANCIENT SCULPTURE OF ITALY. First Chapter. — S culpture among the Etruscans . . . . . .257 .Second Chapter. — S culpture among the Romans ..... 272 First Period. — From, the Conquest of Greece till Augustus. 146 b.c — 14 a.d. ......... 274 Second Period. — F rom Augustus to Adrian. 14 — 138 a.d. . . 285 Third Period. — F rom Adrian to the Decline of the Roman Empire 297 Third Chapter. — A ntique Plastic Lesser Arts. Preliminary Remarks . . 308 I. Coins ........... 309 II. Cut Stones . . . . . . . . . . . 319 III. T oreutic Works .......... 326 FOURTH BOOK. SCULPTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. First Chapter. — E arly Christian Epoch ........ 335 Second Chapter. — T he Byzantine Romanesque Epoch . . . . 357 I. The Tenth and Eleventh Centuries 359 II. The Twelfth Century . , . . . 371 ILLUSTRATIONS OF VOL. I. FIGURE PAGE 1 Eight-armed Divinity. Mahamalaipur 13 2 Indian Goddess of Beauty. Bangalore 16 3 Relief from a Temple at Mahamalaipur 17 4 Siva and Parvati. Relief from Elephanta 18 5 Ramah and Setah. Relief from Ellora 19 6 Relief from the Tombs at Memphis 22 7 Egyptian Heads in Relief. Thebes 23 8 King, killing his Enemies. Ipsambul 27 9 Contest Scene. Relief from Thebes 28 10 Pillar from Karnak 29 11 Rameses III., between Thot and Homs. Thebes 30 12 Figure of Lion. Steps of the Capitol. Rome 3! 13 Head of Nimroud 34 14 Siege. Nimroud 35 15 Assyrian King in the battle. Nimroud 35 16 Horse Encounter. Mmroud 35 17 Figure of the King. Nimroud 36 18 Winged eagle-headed figure. Nimroud 27 19 Relief from Nimroud 38 20 Winged portal figure. Nimroud 29 2 1 Relief from Khorsabad 40 22 Portal of Khorsabad 41 23 Servant with Horses. Kujjundschik 42 24 Dying Lioness. Kujjundschik .. 42 25 Battle Scene. Kujjundschik 47 26 Persian King. Relief from Murghab , 49 27 King killing a Winged Monster. Persepolis 28 Tribes bringing Tribute. Relief from Persepolis ~ 2 29 Relief of Nymphi 22 30 Relief from the Lion Gate at Mycenae. (From the plaster cast in the Berlin Museum) 73 31 Reliefs from the Temple at Assos g 2 32,33 Metope from Selinus. Museum at Palermo g2 34 Ancient Relief at Sparta g2 35 Apollo at Tenea. Munich gj 36 Seated Figure of Minerva... 37 Monument of Aristion. Athens gg 38 Monument of Orchomenus gg 39 Statues from Miletus. British Museum..... g 2 40 Relief from the Harpy Monument at Xanthus. London 94 41 Relief at Villa Albani 92 42 Relief from Thasos. Louvre gg 43 Apollo after Canachus. British Museum gg 44 Harmodius and Aristogiton, after Critius and Nesiotes I02 45—'47 W'est Pediment at Egina. Munich io ^ VOL. I. a X Illustrations of Vol. I. FIGURE PAGE 48 — 50 West Pediment at Egina. Munich I0 5 51 Woman entering a Chariot. Relief from Athens 107 52 (Hestia) Vesta Giustiniani. Rome I0 9 53 Metope at Selinus 110 54 Pallas (archaic). Dresden 112 55 Artemis (archaic). Naples 112 56 From the Altar of the Twelve Gods. Paris 113 57 From the Tripod Basis at Dresden * 114 58 Mercury bearing a Ram. Wilton House 115 59 Marsyas, after Myron. Lateran 118 60 Disk-thrower, after Myron. Vatican 119 61 Horse-breaker. Relief in the British Museum 120 62 Relief from Eleusis. Athens 121 63 Statuette of the Parthenus 127 64 Bust of Pallas. Glyptothek 128 65 Athene Polias. Villa Albani 130 66 Coins from Elis with Phidias’ Jupiter. (After Overbeck) 131 67 Bust of Jupiter, from Otricoli. Vatican 132 68 Head of Asclepius. British Museum 136 69 Venus of Melos. Louvre 137 70 Amazon, after Cresilas. Capitol 142 71. From the P'rieze, in the Temple of Theseus at Athens 146 72 Torso of Theseus. From the East Pediment of the Parthenon. London . 149 73 Cephisus. West Gable of Parthenon. London 150 74 Aglaurus and Herse. On the East Gable of the Parthenon. London 152 75, 76 Metope, from the Parthenon. British Museum 153 77 From the Parthenon Frieze 156 78, 79 Groups of Gods from the Parthenon Frieze 156 80 From the Parthenon Frieze 157 81 Horsemen from the Parthenon Frieze 1 57 82 Fiom the Parthenon Frieze 157 83, 84 Reliefs from the Parapet of the Temple of Nice. Athens 159 85 Caryatide from the Erechtheum. Athens 161 86 Orpheus and Eurydice. Villa Albani 161 87 Amazon in Berlin, probably after Polycletus 163 88 Head of Juno, probably after Polycletus. Naples 166 89 Head of Juno, probably after Alcamenes. Villa Ludovisi 167 90 Disk-thrower, probably after Naucydes. Vatican 168 91 Aphrodite, after Daedalus. Vatican 170 92 — 94 From the Frieze of the Temple at Bassae 172 95—97 Fiom the Frieze of the Temple at Bassae 173 98 Irene with the Young Plutus. After Cephisodotus. Munich 179 99 Apollo, probably after Scopas. Vatican 182 100 — 102 Marriage of Neptune and Amphitrite 184 103 — 105 Marriage of Neptune and Amphitrite 185 106 Ganymede, after Leochares. Vatican 187 107 Cnidian Coin 188 108 Cupid on the Vatican 190 109 Head of Cupid. Vatican 190 110 Satyr, probably after Praxiteles. Capitol 19 1 111 Apollo Sauroctonus. Louvre 191 1 12 Apollino. Florence 193 1 13 Narcissus. Naples 193 1 14 Son and Daughter of Niobe 198 1 15 ' r utor and Son of Niobe 198 1 16 Niobe 199 1 1 7 Head of Niobe 199 118 From the Monument of Lysicrates. Athens 201 Illustrations of Vol. I: xi FIGURE 1 19 Bacchus. From the Monument of Lysicrates 120, 121 From the Reliefs of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus 122, 123 From the Reliefs of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus 124 Medea and the Daughters of Pelias. Lateran 125 Bust of Alexander. Louvre 126 Head of Alexander. Capitol 127 Portrait Statue of Alexander 128 Apoxyomenus of the Vatican 129 Mars Ludovisi 130 Mercury resting 13 1 Statue of Antiochia, after Eutychides. Vatican 132 Boy with Goose, after Boethus. Louvre 133 Thorn-extractor. Capitol 134 Barberini Faun. Munich .* 135 Laocoon Group. Vatican 136 The Farnese Bull. Naples 137 The Dying Alexander. Florence 138 Group of Wrestlers. Florence 139 Fallen Warrior. Venice. (After Overbeck.) 140 The Dying Gaul. Capitol 141 Group of Gauls. Villa Ludovisi 142 Apollo Belvedere 143 Head of Apollo Belvedere 144 Apollo Head at Basle 145 Medusa Rondanini. Munich 146 Ivory Relief from Corneto 147 Chimsera. Florence 148 Etruscan Candelabrum. Florence 149 Sarcophagus of Caere. Louvre 150 Brazen Wolf. Museum of the Capitol 151 Statue of Aulus Metellus. Florence 152 Boy with Goose. Leyden 153 Sarcophagus of Vulci 154 The Torso of the Belvedere. Rome 155 Farnese Hercules. Naples) 156 Medicaean Venus. Florence 157 The Borghese Gladiator, by Agasias 158 Merope and zEpytus. Group by Menelaus. Villa Ludovisi 159 Sleeping Ariadne. Vatican 160 Statue of Agrippina the Elder. Capitol 161 Youthful Centaur. Capitol 162 Pallas Giustiniani. Vatican 163 Cupid and Psyche. Marble Group in the Capitol 164 Statue of Faun. Capitol 165 Bust of Galba, in the Capitoline Museum 166 Portrait-like Statue of Juno in the Capitol 167 Relief from the Arch of Titus. Rome 168 From the Reliefs of Trajan’s Column. Rome ... 169 Statue of Isis in the Capitol 1 70 Amazon Sarcophagus in the Capitol. Long Side 171 Amazon Sarcophagus in the Capitol. Narrow Side 172 Adam and Eve. The Four Elements. Eros and Psyche and the Goddess of Earth Pamphylian Sarcophagus in the Capitoline Museum 173 Form and Life bestowed on Man. Death and Ascension to Heaven. Pamphylian Sarcophagus in the Capitoline Museum .' 174 Mercury Psychopompus. Prometheus Liberated by Hercules. Pamphylian Sarcophagus in the Capitoline Museum 175 Coin from Corinth PAGE 201 210 21 1 215 218 218 219 219 221 221 224 226 226 227 235 238 239 240 242 245 246 248 250 251 254 259 260 264 266 267 269 269 270 276 277 278 280 281 283 284 288 289 290 291 292 294 295 296 299 302 304 305 306 310 Illustrations of Vol. /. xii FIGURE PACK 176 Coin from Athens 3 10 177 Coin from Caulonia 3 11 1 78 Coin from Syracuse 3 1 i 1 79 Coin from Sicyon 3 1 3 180 Coin from Arcadia 3 r 4 181 Coin from Heraclea 3 J 4 182 Pentecontalitron from Syracuse 3 ! 4 183 Alexander Coin 3 J 5 184 Coin of Lysimachus 3 J 5 185 Coin from Ptolemy 1 3*6 185a As from Rome - 3 r ^ 186 Denarius of L. Manlius 3*7 187 Coin of Germanicus 3*8 188 Coin of Vespasian 3 J 8 189 Cameo Gonzaga. Petersburg 321 190 Cameo at Vienna 3 22 191 Cameo by Athenion. Naples 3 2 3 192 Gemma Augustia. Vienna 324 193 Cameo of Germanicus. Rome 3 2 5 194 Bowl of Hildesheim. Berlin 330 195, 196 Drinking Goblets from Hildesheim. Berlin 331 197 Cauldron at Hildesheim. Berlin 332 198 Statue of St. Peter. Rome 337 199 From the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus 340 200 Early Christian Sarcophagus. Lateran 343 201 From a Sarcophagus in S. Apollinaire in Classe at Ravenna. After Rahn 347 202 From the Cathedra of Maximianus. Ravenna. After Rahn 352 203 Relief Figures from Cividale 353 204 Early Christian Lamp. Vatican 354 205 Diptych. Zurich 355 206 Relief Tablet of the Abbot Tutilo. S. Gall 361 207 Ivory vessel at Milan 364 208 From the Cathedral Gate at Augsburg 369 209 Relief on the Extern Stone 374 210 From the Font of S. Barthelemy at Liege 381 21 1 From the Portal of Autun Cathedral 388 212 From the Facade of Chartres Cathedral 391 213 Fragment of the Descent from the Cross, by B. Ante'ami. Pai-rna. (Perkins.) 399 214 Relief from S. Leonardo at Florence 403 215 From the Main Portal of the Baptistery at Pisa 404 216 From the Eastern Bronze Gate of Pisa Cathedral 407 INTRODUCTION. NATURE AND COURSE OF DEVELOPMENT OF SCULPTURE. Accordance The same material is common to both sculpture and architecture. with Both form their works out of the material of inorganic nature. Stone or clay, wood, and various metals, are used in the produc- tions of both arts. Thus both are subject to the law of gravity. The works of both arts require equally a fixed point at which they can stand securely on the soil from which they spring. In architectural works we demand the clear and distinct expression of this pervading law, because architecture is nothing else than the artistic manifestation of the law of gravity. Hence architecture deals throughout with forms mathematically arranged, for it is her object to evidence the law that lies concealed in all fixed masses. Sculpture has also to obey the same law ; but in sculpture Difference, it is expressed, as it were, in a subordinate manner, and only as a sort of restful counterpoise. For the difference between the two arts is the subject of their works. While architecture exhibits in its just harmony the beautiful in inorganic nature, sculpture has no other aim than the complete physical representation of the animate and organic form. Hence, like painting, this art stands in true contrast to architecture. For painting, like sculpture, aims at the imitation of the organic form. But the one is satisfied with its coloured semblance, sketched on a surface, and by accurate attention to the laws of perspective, the reality is depicted to us with the utmost power of delusion. Sculpture, on the other hand, separates the organic form from all associations, gives it a basis of its own, fixes it in a moment of existence, and places it before us isolated and complete, and as Vischer strikingly says, as an object of “tangible sight.” Thus it is necessary in sculpture that the work should stand out distinctly on all sides, so that from every point the idea may be intelligible, and may be both recognized as beautiful in the harmonious flow of the lines, and distinct inthe definite character of the attitude. This is only perfectly attainable in the single figure ; in the VOL. T. B 2 Introduction. highest sense, therefore, the statue is the task of sculpture. Very narrow limits are thus prescribed to plastic art. Yet these are scarcely Statues. felt so long as she is engaged in giving expression to the popular ideas with regard to the Supreme Being. The divine form alone presents the idea of an absolute existence, it is thoroughly imbued with the spiritual feeling underlying the religious representation of it, and it fully rejects the idea of a momentary condition, however significant. And even in works in which sculpture strives in lasting memorial to perpetuate some human excellence, she scarcely conceives a passing emotion or an isolated moment, but she rather endeavours to represent her subject, satiated and filled, as it were, with the enduring qualities on which the worth of the character depends. Nevertheless, she soon seeks to extend her narrow sphere. She is not satisfied with merely depicting the individual in his separate condition ; the task rises before her, especially when she is associated with architecture, of exhibiting the individual in his relations to the community, and of representing the actions of his time. She is not content with depicting, she wishes at the same time to narrate. For this she must have recourse to a Groups. combination of several figures — that is, to groups. These, how- ever, may be of various kinds. If associated with architecture, for instance, in the filling of a pediment or an arch, she is more strongly affected by architectural laws ; she is compelled above all to regard symmetry and parallelism. But the separate figures stand out distinctly on the architectural background ; only the spectator must dispense with the back- side, and expect rather the effect of a relief. Or the group may consist of a close union of two or more figures, as in the Wrestlers at Florence or in the Laocoon. In that case the parts cover each other, and there is no attempt at a plastic effect in each separate figure ; a more picturesque composition is produced. Yet even here the harmonious combination of the whole can and must produce a rhythmical plastic work. The outline of the group in its general form, in its harmonious balance, and in the rounded flow of the lines, must obey the fundamental laws of sculpture. Still more extensively, however, sculpture employs Relief Relief. when she undertakes historical narration or the delineation of events. This evidently originated in a mere design, to which the artist endeavoured to give prominence, not only by means of colour, but still more by deepening the surrounding ground. It is, therefore, dependent on the surface to which it is attached, and never for a moment loses its affinity with painting. But this picturesque freedom to which the relief inclines, requires the strictest restraint, if the limits of the plastic art are not to be transgressed. It is true, a perspective effect may be approximately produced by the different gradations from the slightest and merely outlined relief (bas-relief) to the Litre due tion. highest relief which stands almost free from the background (haut-relief) ; but the most important means for such representations — namely, aerial perspective, the distribution of light and shade, and of stronger and weaker tints, must be reserved for painting alone, and sculpture is compelled to rest satisfied with a modest intimation of it, if she would not fall into styleless feebleness. Among the Greeks, where the relief conforms most purely to the laws of plastic art, it is restricted to one uniform level, and to the representation of only two figures side by side. Among the Romans and in the Renaissance period, as well as in the Middle Ages, this law is set aside, and representations too picturesquely crowded are the result. In the present day, the unity of plastic composition is only preserved in the relief in such cases where, as in the metope, in the slender obelisk, and in any narrow circumscribed space, a single scene in the spirit of the plastic group is composed of few figures capable of being comprehended at one glance. In longer spaces, as in the friezes of the Greek temples, or the wall decorations of the Assyrian palaces, the delineation is continuously carried on, and thus the unity of place, as well as that of time and action, is. relinquished. The law of sculpture can thus here be only expressed in the rjiythmical character of the whole. Limits- of the The representation of vegetable life is excluded from the Subjects of sphere of sculpture. The vegetable world does not belong to Sculpture. order of organic beings endowed with free will and with self- determination. Trees, shrubs, and plants only vegetate, and are fettered to the sod in which they have taken root. Wherever capability of motion and of spontaneous change of place is lacking, there is no material for plastic art. And to this another reason is added : the form of each vegetable organism is so rich in detail, they are so freely grouped together, the one concealing and intersecting the other, clustering in dense or loose masses, that sculpture would seek in vain among the multitude for the simple and distinct form which alone can bear the impress of perfection. Wherever, consequently, a vegetable creation is introduced into a work of sculpture as an aid to the understanding of local and other relations, sculpture is obliged to give up all detailed delineation, and rather to produce a symbolic intimation than an imitation of actual reality. This is always necessary when, as is so frequently the case, the vegetable kingdom lends its forms as an ornament to architec- tural works. It is then also permitted to select from the variety produced by Nature in her luxuriant creative power, those few essential features which decide the character of the plant and suit the style of the architectural work. The Greek treatment of the acanthus and other vegetable forms is a model for all ages. Roman art also has produced leaf work which is thoroughly perfect in style. Less can be said of Gothic ornament, which is too strongly inclined to naturalism. From all this, however, we sufficiently perceive that vegetable 4 Introduction. Animal Forms. life only appears in a subservient position, and never as the independent subject of the representation of plastic art. The case is otherwise with the animal world. This affords an organic life in its full completeness and clear impress, each member betraying with exactness and distinctness its object and relation to the whole, so that the sculptor feels himself especially attracted to follow the law of nature with glad eye and imitative hand. But here, also, the fundamental laws of sculpture produce a limitation. Only those animals in which Nature herself, in simple and distinct touches, has stamped a higher organization, and which, therefore, whether in friendly or hostile relation, come into contact with man, are suitable for plastic representation. In these the sculptor will, indeed, with especial delight endeavour to conceive and to depict the simple exhibition of natural life. Nevertheless, he finds himself limited here to the narrow range of purely sensual passions, and however freshly and vigorously he may be able to depict the pulsating life in its desires, wrestlings, and struggles, a higher intelligence, a ray from the self-conscious soul, only glimmers forth from such creations as a kind of dim anticipation. Thus plastic art resorts to man as the highest form of creation, if she would attain to the perfect beauty of organic life. She Representation of Man. examines into the laws of his structure, she measures the pro- portions of his limbs, she discovers their internal connection, and, with faithful emulation, she exhibits his form, detached and perfect as a living organization. While she thus isolates him, she strives to conceive him in the highest perfec- tion and in perfect beauty. She seeks in him the “ image of God,” the spark of divine life, and when she fails to find this in the separate parts, she searches for it in the whole, and, by thoughtful comparison and examination, she obtains the reflex of immortal beauty — the image of deity. This is called idealizing; it maybe just as well called artistic creation, for without this striving after the spark of divine fire, nothing is produced but lifeless handicraft, and there is no animated and spirit-breathing art. Hence, the first task of sculpture is the representation of the divine and the heroic. The vague ideas of the popular mind respecting an imaginary perfection reaching beyond earthly limits are here enshrined. The sculptor, while he endeavours to realize these forebodings, gives a distinct and tangible expression to the highest ideas. The true task of sculpture, therefore, is to conceive man in his A r udity. full natural beauty. Hence the nude figure in its strictest sense is required. The perfect harmony and beauty of the whole can only be displayed in the unclothed form. Strict limits are thus prescribed to sculpture. She can only attain to her highest aim in such epochs and among such nations as universally recognize the beauty of the human form, in which it Introduction. 5 is promoted by natural capacity and by favourable conditions of climate ; in which it is developed by uniform exercise ; and in which, lastly, the perfection of mind and body is equally cultivated. Wherever, on the contrary, mental culture surpasses all other, repressing the development of physical power and beauty, or wherever exclusive exercise of any distinct point of physical capacity, as is the case in almost every mechanical employment, produces an inharmonious development of the body, there sculpture finds only limited scope. If the perfect beauty of the human form is to be represented “ in its utmost harmony, all superior intellectual expression in the head must be repressed and moderated, in order that no breach may be revealed between the natural and mental qualities by undue prominence in purely mental matters. By its very position the head is denoted as the superior and crown of the whole ; all the less, therefore, must it stand out in contrast to the rest. On the contrary, the rest of the body must be, as it were, spiritualised in the same proportion, it must be elevated by the highest expression of beauty and nobleness of form, so that both parts harmoniously meet and combine in perfect unity. Thus alone is the law of plastic creation preserved in all its truth and purity. Drapery , as the product of that higher civilization which Drapery. makes man shun the mere state of nature, is only to be employed in sculpture as an expression of this civilized condition, and then it is not fully to conceal the body nor to disfigure its outline and structure, but to harmonize in its folds with the form and organization of the body and with the grace of its movements, clinging to it and receiving from it its law, just as in music the instrumental accompaniment follows the melody which the human voice gives forth. In other words, it is only when civilization develops and respects the noble capacities of nature, and not when she represses and distorts them, that her productions can be applied to the highest aims of plastic art. The question is a difficult, though important one, how far Polychromy. colour may be allowed a place in works of sculpture. If we reply to it regarding sculpture in its abstract nature, we should say that it is the art of pure form, and that every intermixture of coloured, and therefore picturesque, appearance is strictly precluded. Since the beginning of the sixteenth century plastic art has adhered to this, and whether in marble or other stone, in wood, ivory, metal, or bronze, she exhibits her creations in the material selected without the accessory of colour. But history shows us another law. We know not merely that the entire Middle Ages, that the Egyptians, Assyrians, and all Oriental antiquity added colour to their sculptures, but the Greeks also in the days of their prime painted 6 Introduction . their marble statues, coloured the eyes and other parts in their bronze figures, and, lastly, in the much admired gold and ivory works in their temples, made the combination of various coloured materials indispensable. With such a precedent before us, we are compelled to decide that the absolute purity of form and freedom from picturesque ornament demanded by the principles of style, were not practised even in the prime of the art by the nation most gifted in plastic genius. The effect produced by those Greek works, we can no longer ascertain ; but this at least may be said with certainty, that an effect at once naturalistic and picturesque, or a delusion like that of waxen figures, was never intended, and that by a careful addition of colour the plastic work was probably only designed to harmonize with its architectural surroundings. At any rate, the Greeks have satisfied the highest demands of plastic art in their works of sculpture. With such strict laws imposed upon her, the history of sculpture would have indeed arrived at its early termination with the antique world ; every- 7/r c-'-i // /- produced in the art under the influence of Christianity Conception of would necessarily be regarded as a decline, as an evidence of decay and degeneration, and only works conceived in the antique spirit would have a claim to consideration. In strict application of the principles of sculpture, this must certainly be our verdict. But in order to judge rightly of the Christian art epoch, we must not forget to contemplate painting as well as sculpture, for in her creations the spiritual value of the Christian age is more fully and powerfully expressed, and for this reason it was only through Christianity that she obtained her complete freedom and highest perfection. That sensuality ennobled by beauty, such as classic heathendom conceived, must pass away with the- dawn of the spiritual doctrines of Christianity. The heathen idea had exhausted its cycle of creations. With Christianity the individual asserted his right as regarded his innermost nature. Physical beauty now became indifferent and even despised. Purity of soul, nobleness of feeling, were the highest aims of representation. No more was required of the physical form but that delusive glimpse of the outline conveyed by light to the retina of the eye. Here painting found her true mission. Pre-eminence given to the physical form, the reality of the encumbering body, would have been an impediment to the elevation of the soul. Plastic art might thus have been regarded as set aside ; her part seemed played out. Nevertheless she soon sought to recover a humble place on the lost territory. This she could only obtain by renouncing her true vocation. Thus she yielded to the new spirit, effaced from her recollection the remembrance of the perfect beauty of the human form, and inscribed on her programme the intellectual importance of the individual man and the expression of the free and ransomed spirit. It is Christian Sculpture. Introduction. 7 self-denying" humility, which Christianity demands from all, and also from plastic art. And this act of renunciation met with its reward — it brought to sculpture a second life and new undreamt-of fruits. Struggling against the disfavour of the age and its intellectual ideas, and in still more dangerous rivalry with her favoured and flourishing sister, painting, she gathered strength by degrees for successful work. Faithfully and patiently she strove to produce in her far more unfavourable material the expression of intellectual, individual, and spiritual life. With energetic hand she chiselled the marble, and stamped on the bronze the exact character of each separate nature, called forth as it was by the new order of things, in infinite variety and alternation. She even overcame her innate abhorrence of that which was devoid of beauty, and with resolute touch gave the stamp of intellectual value and personal attraction to the lineaments of ugliness. It was impossible but that on this narrow path she oftentimes overstepped the limits, and in her compulsory emulation with painting, encroached upon the territory of her sister art and endeavoured to produce effects rather by picturesque than plastic means. There are epochs in which, mistaking her limits, Dcui#’ °f was sec i ucec i i n to the utmost excesses ; in which in wild jbrro7\ anarchy she painted with the chisel, and compelled the patient stone to the production of caprices unworthy of the art. Revival Nevertheless, after such errors and such sickly fever-dreams, of the plastic art by strict discipline recovered her healthfulness. Plastic Art. reca u ec j to mind the old laws which had once guided her. The forms of beauty of the Greek gods were again brought to light, an object of admiration, reverence, and study. Health and purity emanated from them, and while sculpture imparted to her new works a reflection of that eternal beauty, while she invested the exact impress of the individual character with the breath of the ideal and the imperishable, in a new manner she attained her aim of manifesting in finite forms the presence of the Infinite. The style produced from such circumstances and changes exhibits, indeed, important differences to the strict plastic style of the ancients. It places far greater stress on the perfection of the head and on the features of the countenance, it attends with care to every line which expresses any special characteristic. The face which, in the antique ideal statue, was wrapt in a smile of eternal beauty, here beams with the life of the soul within and with the reflection of the individual mind. The rest of the body is only regarded as the bearer of the head, but even amid the concealing and disfiguring drapery, it is called upon to evidence the expression of the will, the distinct nature of the character, and the importance of the individual. Here also, therefore, prominence is given to the mental element, and thus alone is the breach between mind and nature avoided, for beauty Modern Plastic Style. 8 Introduction. of physical form is no longer the aim in view ; but even in the drapery the physiognomy of the age and the character of the individual man are the points considered. Where so much that is incidental and unfavourable obtrudes itself, the full importance is felt of that feeling for beauty and harmony which the sculptor has gained from the study of the antique. In a manner scarcely perceptible to the superficial observer, his art understands how to impart such flow and finish to the sharp stamp of peculiarity, that, even in the representation of a thoroughly characteristic figure, the thoughtful spectator catches in its noble rhythm the echo of ideal beauty. In conceptions such as these we will not designate the subsequent course of sculpture simply as one of decline and degeneration, but we will attentively follow the important mental phases by which plastic art, amid unfavourable circumstances and an apparently hostile aspect of things, obtained new life and independent acceptance. FIRST BOOK. ORIENTAL SCULPTURE. VOL. I. C FIRS T CHAPTER, INDIA AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRIES. ... The extensive territories of Eastern Asia were, in the earliest C ivilization of ages, the seat of highly-developed civilization. In India, that Eastern Asia. f a ; r yj anc i G f the £ as t, we find primaeval systems of religion, as fantastically extravagant as the forms of exuberant nature ; and corresponding with them we see in the whole life of the country an order and organization, opposed to everything presented to our view by the other nations of antiquity. That remote East turns her back on the rest of the Oriental world, so far as it is interwoven with the history of the Greeks and Romans, and thus with the history of mankind. From the first she has led a retired life within herself, she has unfolded within her own secluded circle, and up to the present day she maintains that reserve with regard to the rest of the world, which once frustrated the mighty power of Alexander, and which in recent times has suffered the most violent political revolutions to pass over her without leaving a trace behind. The Mohammedans have put an end to the supremacy of the old Brahminical emperors, but the religion of Brahma has remained unshaken. The English, by cunning and violence, have subjugated Eastern India; but they have never been able to force the life of the Hindoos out of its ancient track. Equally vainly have the waves of European culture beaten for centuries against the bulwarks of Chinese and Japanese civilization. Everything rebounds against the strength and obstinacy of Asiatic life. Unchangeable stability is inscribed from the earliest ages on Stability. the existence of those great eastern families of nations. The Christianity, the cannons, the superior culture of the Europeans could avail nothing against it. The nations of central and anterior Asia, even the Egyptians themselves, were affected by the mighty current of events, and carried along in the vortex of its changeful destinies. The most powerful kingdoms and the most settled arrangements of life are subject to decline. Eastern Asia, in the midst of this unceasing change, stands forth as the witness of the inflexible strength of immutable permanence. It is this contrast to all other civilized nations which justifies us in placing these tribes of the remote East at the head of our remarks upon art. Oriental Sculpture. 1 2 Although recent investigations have placed the monuments of these countries p at a far later period than they formerly appeared to the astonished of the eye of the traveller, still, on account of this same unchange- Monuments. a | 3 i eness G f the East Asiatic mind, they must be regarded as evidences of a far older civilization and art-culture. This is confirmed also by the character of their architectural designs. Let us first look at the works of India. They are almost without exception — so far as we can judge — religious monuments. Religious ideas governed the whole life of the Hindoos in the greatest and smallest matters. They assigned the man even before his birth to a distinct caste, they prescribed him unalterably his whole course of life, and they made him a powerless tool in an inexorable system. It is significant enough that the only mental and historical movement which we know of in India, should have been a religious one. It is connected with the appearance of Buddha, whose heart was so touched by the needs of the people, groaning as they were in dull misery, that he introduced more consoling doctrines and a purer worship of God in the place of the fantastical superstitions of Brahminism. But even Buddhism, pure and noble as it was in its original form, did not escape the fatal influence of the old ineradicable delusions ; and just as in India, the indestructible productive power of nature ever covered the mightiest creations of the hand of man with its luxuriant growth, so the imagination of the Indian mind stifled continually all purer and nobler ideas. In such a tendency of mind, the works of sculpture have suffered most. No religion ever brought to light such bombast of confused and mystical ideas as that of the Brahmin. The character of the 1 "Forms P eo pl e inclines more than that of any other race to effeminate self-absorption and brooding speculation. Thoughtfulness degene- rates at once into distorted ideas. The dreams of their wild imagination produced a mythology, the forms of which seem to ridicule all plastic repre- sentation. The divine beings are opposed to ordinary men by the unnatural number of their heads, arms, and legs (cf. Fig. i). Thus the god Ravana is represented with ten heads and twenty arms ; Brahma and Vishnu with four ; Siva with four or five heads — the latter sometimes, indeed, with one head, but in that case it is furnished with three eyes. Occasionally, Vishnu appears with a bear’s or lion’s head, and Ganesa even with that of an elephant ; and, lastly, there are three-headed figures, denoting nothing less than the Indian Trinity (Trimurti), Brahma, Siva, and Vishnu. The form, therefore, that would appear to us as a monster is by them regarded as a god. How low is the stage of consciousness which can recognize the divine only in that which is unnatural, distorted, and monstrous ! And how should sculpture ever rise to higher forms when hand in hand with such a India and the Adjacent Countries. 13 religion ! Langles, in his Monuments of Indian Art,* gives the copy of a drawing by a Brahmin, from the Imperial Library at Paris, which exhibits better than many words the unplastic spirit of these religious ideas. The subject is the birth of Brahma. Vishnu is represented as a woman, lying feebly on a lotus leaf. All round are to be seen small fishes, and among them a floating man. This is the expiator, Markandeya, who swims about in the Milky Way to save the world from destruction. Vishnu is naked, and is adorned with foolish ornaments ; after the fashion of a child, he holds his left foot, with its large toes, in his mouth. The many-headed, many-armed, and many-legged Brahma is fastened to his umbilical cord. This one instance of the theological ideas of Brahminical dogmatism will suffice. Fig. 1. Eight-armed Divinity. Mahamalaipur. Subjects It i s almost exclusively subjects of mythology which engage of Represent a- Indian sculpture. A simple representation of actual life seems tlon ‘ almost entirely lacking. How should art be inspired to delineate the circumstances of daily existence, when, according to the teaching of the Brahmins, the world was only to be regarded as a dream of Brahma’s or the production of Maya (delusion), and when, moreover, by the assumption of an * L. Langles; Monuments Amiens et Modenies de V Hindoustan. Paris, 1821. Fol. 2 vols. 14 Oriental Sculpture. endless transmigration of souls, the value of each individual creature became illusory ? Equally little can we look for the vigorous life of historical art on such a soil of mystical and speculative confusion. It is only exceptionally that we hear of such works, created as they are in a clearer and purer atmosphere. Yet we must not forbear here to point expressly to the scantiness and unreliable nature of our sources of information. Much as has been said of the splendour and fabulous magnificence ot Scanty Information. Indian works, the value of most of these reports is but small in a critical point of view. We lack, moreover, satisfactory drawings, which might compensate for the deficiency of information. For this reason, therefore, any accurate appreciation or historical representation of Indian sculpture has been hitherto impossible. We must, in consequence, limit ourselves entirely to certain general remarks. We find the great mass of Indian sculpture as reliefs on the facades of their rock-temples, or on the outside of the pagodas. These productions of an extravagantly luxuriant architecture are often completely On/ "uncut;. covere d with sculptures. Equally frequently are they introduced also in the interior, in niches, and on capitals and cornices. The Brahminical temples surpass in richness and fantastic wildness the Buddhist shrines, although at a later period .Buddhism also could not resist the more splendid decoration of its monuments. The insulated statue, the highest and truest production of sculpture, is lacking to Indian art. Even the frequently colossal images of the seated Buddha, in the principal niche of Buddhist caves, are not statues but haut-reliefs. Deficient in freedom as she appears intellectually, Indian plastic art shows herself thus also outwardly ; she is the slave of architecture, to which she must be subservient in all its caprices ; mistress and slave alike devoid of all pure artistic intention, com- bined in mystical confusion— wild, fantastic, and monstrous. Chronology So ^ ar as we can judge from the present stage of investigation, of the earliest monuments preserved of Indian art seem connected Imhan Art. w qp the victory which King Acoka achieved for the new doctrines of Buddhism, about the year 250 B.C. More brilliant and varied works were produced in consequence of the rivalry of the two religious systems. The greatest and most distinct influence upon the progress of Indian plastic art was, however, exercised by Brahminism, and the art of the Hindoos witnessed her most brilliant epoch about the thirteenth century — at a time running parallel with our Christian middle ages. The monuments of a third and more recent sect — the Jaina — occupy a central position between the Brahminical and Buddhist works. It is, moreover, certain that, unaffected by political revo- lutions, Indian art produced a number of splendid works until late in the seventeenth century, according to our own computation. Yet in all these we India and the Adjacent Countries. 15 can scarcely discover a trace of diversity of style or of true progress ; but our information on the subject is in nowise sufficient to allow us to express any certain opinion on it. It will suffice, therefore, to mention some of the most important monuments by way of example. Relie jr s Among the earliest works of Indian plastic art we may of number the representations in relief which adorn the entrance of agreat tope— i.e. of a Buddhist tomb — at Sanchi, in Central India.* They are warlike scenes, depicted in an historical, realistic manner, and executed in a narrative, chronicle-like style, with sober fidelity and yet life. We see trains of armed men — the leaders on horseback and others riding elephants, while the infantry are equipped with shields, lances, and bows. The siege of a town is depicted with great intelligibility. The assailants are gathered before the walls and are endeavouring to cover themselves and to drive back the garrison by their arrows. The defence, however, is carried on with equal vigour. The besieged appear behind the battlements of the walls that rise one behind the other, hurling stones and blocks of rock down upon the assailants. In the lofty towers of the pavilion there are also to be seen figures of the besieged, although they seem rather to have the bearing of spectators. The historical and distinctly realistic spirit of these representa- tions is so diverse from the other works of Indian art, and has such a far greater affinity with the sculptures of the Assyrian monuments, that it is difficult not to trace in this one instance the influence of Western Asiatic art. Was the political lethargy of the Indians temporarily roused by some special circumstance, so that a spark of historical life touched them, causing them to produce works which are foreign to their usual feeling ? We know not. We cannot even say whether these Sanchi works are really so isolated among the great Indian monuments. For the present we can only regard them as exceptions to the general rule. All the other sculptured works in India with which we are B ima«es acquainted belong to religious subjects. We may mention above all several colossal images of Buddha originating in the earlier Buddhist period. These are to be found in Ceylon of about 90 feet in neight, others still mightier, reaching to about 1 20 feet in height, are to be seen in the extreme west of India on a rocky wall at Bamiyan. The latter had drapery affixed of stucco, but this at the present day is much injured. The effect obtained in these by size is sought for in other cases by number. In the chief temple at Boro-Budor in the island of Java, four hundred of these Buddha figures may be reckoned in the niches which enliven the whole exterior. In these figures we shall scarcely discover the thirty-two tokens of perfect beauty and the eighty-four tokens of physical perfection, which are T. D. Cunningham, in the younial of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, T. xvi. II. p. 739. Oriental Sculpture. 16 assigned to Buddha in the legends by his ardent panegyrists ; nor would the sight of them have such a powerful effect on us that, like other unbelievers, we should fall into a swoon before them as these same legends relate. These and the numerous other Buddha images which fill the temple niches, exhibit the divinely honoured sage sitting, generally with the feet tucked under after Eastern fashion, and with an expression of deep absorption. The dreamy, languid, and abstracted mood of brooding speculation, gives a heavy death- like impress to these images of true Asiatic passiveness. Representations of a vigorous or passionately agitated life A Scene? are on ly exceptionally to be found among Indian monuments. Thus, in one of the celebrated caves of Ellora, Siva is depicted with six arms, rushing along in his chariot with bent bow in pursuit of a hostile demon ; another time in the same cave the eight-armed Bhadra is to be seen preparing for the fight with similarly powerful action. Human skulls form the border of his girdle ; with one of his four right hands he is grasping the leg of a human figure, and another figure is transfixed by the sword which one of his left hands is brandishing.* Still more passionate is the subject of a number of reliefs in a somewhat rude style on a rocky wall of Mahamalaipur (Mahavellipore), on the coast of Coromandel ; the most remarkable of these is a contest, the heroine of which is Durga, the wife of Siva. Boldly mounted on a lion, eight-armed and well equipped, she is pursuing a colossal bull-headed demon, who is endeavouring to escape her darts. All round there is a crowd of figures, some lying down, others run- ning, others squatted on the ground : among them there are archers and warriors of every kind : the whole presents a scene of wild confusion, lively and varied enough, but indistinct and without artistic arrangement. Yet, as we have said, such scenes of violence only rarely interrupt the dim dreamy life of Indian sculptures. The gods are for the most part represented in inactive repose and dreamy enjoy- ment. All the figures have a weak, effeminate, and indis- tinct character. The ideal of beauty, as we find it in th’e female figures, is deficient in decision and in vigorous stamp of form. A striking example of this is given in the figure of the Goddess of Beauty in the Pagoda at Bangalore (Fig. 2) ; voluptuous in form, she is poising herself on her hips with graceful action, her attire is Life of the Gods. Fig. 2. Indian Goddess of Beauty. Bangalore. * See this and other representations, evidently much beautified, in the second volume of the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society. India and the Adjacent Countries. 17 wonderful, and she has a ring on each finger. There is a similar goddess in the Indra temple at Ellora, enthroned on an elephant, under the shade of a tree. The sitting position is generally the favourite one. One leg is then usually tucked up in Oriental fashion, or the figure is seated on both legs crossed. The organic structure of the body, the articulation of the bones, and the network of muscles and sinews, disappear beneath the veil of soft voluptuousness (Fig. 3). Everything indicating vigorous strength, energy, and determination of will, is utterly repressed ; the figures are only qualified for a passive life of enjoyment and for vague dreaminess. They appear to us as devoid of free-will as the flower quivering on its stalk or the leaf trembling in the breeze. Characteristically enough, Sacontala’s arms are compared in poetry to supple stems. An insipid smile, indiffereni and stereotyped, rests on the features of these figures (Fig. 4). It might, indeed, be asserted that a touch of naive grace marks the best of these works, but this grace breathes no animation of mind nor power of thought or will ; at the most it may be compared with the loveliness of the flowers of the field, there is nothing in it of moral consciousness. Whenever a higher divine power is to be represented, this is not attempted by means of intellectual expression, but a significant effect is aimed at by multiplying the limbs or by a fantastic combination of heads of beasts and human bodies. Thus, in the Kailasa at Ellora, the four-armed Siva is represented sitting VOL. L D i8 Oriental Sculpture. holding his wife Parvati like a child on his lap ; at his feet lies the ox Naudi, and on both sides other fantastic figures are introduced. In another temple at Ellora, the Dumar-Leina cave (Fig. 5), a relief depicts a divinity supporting with her ten arms the projecting stonework of a wall, a representation which is frequently repeated with various alterations. These instances may suffice to give an idea of the character Progress. of Indian sculpture. In glancing at their numerous works, we perceive at once that so long as the spirit of simple belief animated the people, their art creations, in spite of their fantastic wildness, frequently bear a mild and almost agreeable expression of harmlessness and softness. When, however, the creative power among the Indians had outlived itself, it could only express itself by repeating the dogmatically lifeless forms. But nothing is more repugnant than a symbolism grown feeble with age and fantastic designs that bear the stamp of decay. . This state of things is especially evident in the works of and art of those countries which have received their religion and Japanese A/t. c j v jij za q on f r0 m India — namely, China and Japan. While, however, among the Indians the imagination choked all the powers of the mind, in China and Japan the understanding predominated with equal one-sidedness. A practical, sensible, and one might almost say precocious perception of things regulates the whole life and gives its bias to art. Hence India and the Adjacent Countries. 19 the technical perfection of most of their productions is as highly developed as their intellectual value is low and their beauty limited and even quaint. Fig. 5. Ramah and Seta. Relief from Eliora. All these observations may be applied especially to the Woils in i mmense bronze works, in the production of which not only bronze. India, but Java, Pegu, and the Chinese and Japanese have attained masterly pre-eminence. In the castles and museums of Europe these works are to be found in great abundance. They consist, in the first place, of small idols, so fantastic and tasteless as to become foolish caricatures ; there are also various strange animal designs. Among these a favourite device is the tortoise, which is provided with a long tufted tail. So far as the forms of nature are simply imitated, we are surprised at the faithful and frequently life-like conception of real life in both plants and animals. This is sometimes pleasingly exhibited in Japanese vessels. As an instance of this we may mention a kind of candlestick, the slender shaft of which represents the body of a long-legged and long-necked water-bird. While the stork-like animal is striding over a tortoise, the broad extent of which 20 Oriental Sculpture. serves as a suitable foot for the vessel, it holds in its beak a water-plant just gathered, which twines its long tendrils round the neck of the animal, and with its open calyx affords a place for the candle. When, however, this adherence to nature is disregarded, Japanese art lapses into all kinds of ugliness in its designs. The glasses, perfuming pans, and vases, are awkward and clumsy, bulging out broadly, bombastic in form and rude in construction ; repulsive and almost ghastly caricatures are added as un- pleasing ornaments. We seem here already at the limits prescribed to Oriental art. It is denied her to soar into the realm of free beauty. She clings either to the imitation of nature, or she lapses into unrestrained and almost caricatured extravagance. Incapable of rising to intellectual freedom, she remains the slave of nature or of her own fancy. SECOND CHAPTER. EGYPT. Earlier than any other nation, the ancient Egyptians have left the impress of their historical existence in enduring monuments. In proud seclusion on the banks of the Nile, a rich, independent flourished, the commencement of which reaches back to ages which, in all other countries, are veiled in the impenetrable mist of legend. Nowhere in the world has the spirit of historical life been so early awakened ; and nowhere in remote antiquity has it been so forcibly embodied in mighty works. While among the Indians, even in recent times, their mystic specu- lative ideas veil all traces of historical existence in fabulous twilight, as with the luxuriant creepers of some primeval forest ; among the Egyptians, three thousand years before the commencement of our era, the effort after some distinct memorial of their historical circumstances is plainly manifested in a highly cultivated art. That art, which, at that time, produced in Lower Egypt the monuments of Memphis, the pyramids, and the rocky tombs, had reached a high stage of perfection in every branch of technical skill, was thoroughly acquainted with its aims, and with the means of expressing them, and was the result of a civilization extending into an unknown antiquity. This distinguishing feature of the Egyptian nature has its root in a mental capacity thoroughly opposed to the Indian character. While in the one, in the remote East, the interest was Character of the Egyptians. Antiquity of Egyptian Civilization. civilization Egypt. 21 diverted from the true aspect of things, among the Egyptians the utmost stress was laid on the exact conception of reality. Possibly even in the earliest times, the nature of the country may have promoted and fostered a spirit inherent in the race. It was necessary to secure by dams the level banks of the river against the overflowings of the Nile, and by canals and reservoirs to transform the devastating waters into a means of blessing. The continuous struggle with the elements in these river lands must have awakened the latent powers of the mind to energy, and to active co-operation with the forms of outward life : courage, persistency, sagacity, all the qualities of the understanding would thus be developed to the utmost. Thus' was it with the old Egyptians. They had no time for Political Life, speculative Hindoo dreaming ; no scope for world-despising asceticism. All must hurry, work, and act; all must gather under one strong guidance, and form one strict political union. Hence Oriental despotism meets us here for the first time in its finished form ; hence we find here a primeval political life with strictly organized degrees of society, united, strong, and granite-like, as the monuments which are its, witness. Se . nlar With contemplative races, such as the Indians, the gods form Character of the central point ; with practical, acting nations, such as the Egyptians, man occupies this position. Secular life, the history of the state, that is of the ruler, is the subject of representation ; it inspires the artists, and covers the monuments with its thousand-fold detail. Celestial life casts only a reflection on this present existence, and the gods are only intro- duced in their relation to the life of the Pharaohs ; while in depicting super- human nature, mythological emblems of the natural events of the country (Isis, Osiris,) are mingled with an old worship of animals, giving rise to the most varied forms of the few traces of fantastic caprice exhibited in the usually sober and intelligent character of the Egyptians. Tomhs The earliest works of Egyptian plastic art * are to be found of in the extensive tomb-caves which surround the pyramids of Memphis. anc i en t Memphis. As monuments of the period of the Fourth Dynasty, they are an evidence of the high perfection to which the sculpture of the Egyptians had attained even so ‘early as the twenty-second century before Christ. They cover the walls of the tomb-chambers, and of the apart- ments connected with them, with extensive bas-reliefs. The figures stand out moderately raised from the surface, and only obtain a more powerful effect from the fact that they are painted with lively colours which have preserved their original freshness through the lapse of nearly five thousand years. In their gay colouring, the representations remind us of the brilliancy of Oriental * See copies of Egyptian sculpture in the Description de l’Egypte, Antiquites. — R. Lepsius: Denkmakr aus Aegypten, &c. Gau : Alterthumer von Nubien. Rosselini : Mon. dell’ Egitto, &c. 22 Oriental Sculpture. tapestry, and there is no doubt that this low relief style, with its affinity to painting, proceeded from an imitation of tapestry work. The subjects of these reliefs relate to the person and life of the deceased, in whom, by means of the richly annexed hieroglyphic documents, we recognize high function- aries, princes and princesses of the old Memphis dynasty. The figures of the deceased are executed on a large scale, with a certain amount of expres- siveness. They are surrounded by numerous representations of a smaller dimension, depicting with considerable life their possessions in flocks and other property, with all the relations and employments of every-day life (Fig. 6). The labours of agriculture, navigation, and cattle-keeping, alternate with scenes from the chase and fishing ; these are followed by incidents of domestic life, merry feasts, and social conversations, and lastly the influence of religion is exhibited by the presentation of sacrifices. All this is related with great fidelity and fulness, but also with much life and freshness ; the artist evidently has the same aim in view as that after which a conscientious chronicler strives in his records, namely, a careful and clear transmission of actual events. Hence these representations breathe an air of freshness and naturalness, which, however, with their utter want of all higher aimand of any ideal con- ception, is not devoid of insipidity, and with all their truthfulness to life, they are not free from the coldness of a merely realistic representation. The whole mode of treatment corresponds with this. Even the arrangement betrays the lack of an organizing ideal principle, and with this is combined the most unqualified subservience to the architecture. Without regard to composition, the scenes are extended tapestry-like in motley confusion. The human figures, which exhibit somewhat of constraint in Shares their position, are conceived with tolerable understanding of form and action, and in some cases even the muscles are justly indicated. / Egypt . 23 All the more striking are certain errors, which are in contradiction to the organization of the body and to its action. Among these there is not merely that of the sole of both feet being placed on the ground in advancing figures, but still more that while the head and legs are seen in profile, the whole of the upper part of the body is represented in front view. This latter anomaly, to us so striking, seems less to proceed from a want of just observation, as to belong to a certain awkwardness in the management of the relief style. For as in these representations there is no idea of any roundness of form, and as the figures only stand out slightly elevated from the surface, it must have seemed impossible to Egyptian art to give a satisfactorily clear idea of the broad upper part of the figure by a profile position. The Egyptian artist had a distinct and essentially just conception of each separate part, but not of the whole of the human form ; for, for this he lacked the knowledge of perspective. How, therefore, should he have been inclined to relinquish the complete view of both arms, and this at their union with the body! His whole endeavour aimed at distinctness and correctness, and as he only conceived the latter in a mechanical sense, and not in that of a higher organization, he fell into a real error, from which Egyptian art in her whole historical course has never been able to free herself. A striking evidence that a mental barrier lay at the root of this external defect. Fig. 7. Egyptian Heads in Relief. Thebes. The heads bear the distinct impress of the Egyptian type (big. y ) the low forehead and flattened skull, the long narrow eye, and slightly raised eyebrow ; the long nose, with its beak- like curve, the full sensual lips, and the short but decided chin. But here * In illustration of the Egyptian head we have given the copy of a relief belonging to the brilliant epoch of the new kingdom. Form Head. 24 Oriental Sculpture. also the representation is satisfied with giving the outward form ; there is nowhere a trace of individual expression, or of intellectual life. The coun- tenances are stiff and uniform, as if they had no concern with the body attached to them, and as if they belonged to it neither in joy nor sorrow. „ In these works the animals are the most happy in their Figures of treatment. As the exhibition of intellectual life is not necessary Animals. j iere , anc | observation of the outward demeanour is sufficient for a life-like representation, Egyptian art is equal to this part of her task. Thus the delineations of animal life are pleasing from their very naive and vigorous reality ; the herds of cattle, goats, asses, and sheep, the slender greyhounds which accompany the hunter, the game of which he is in pursuit ; all this is depicted with surprising understanding and acute observation. s Another work of earliest Egyptian antiquity, according to Colossus at the inscription built by Schafra, the Chephren of Herodotus, at Memphis. t j ie samc t j me as seC0 nd pyramid, is the famous Sphinx Colossus among the tombs at Memphis. Art has here transformed a natural rock into the gigantic form of a sphinx 172 feet in length. It represents a recumbent lion with outstretched claws, and with a colossal human head. This strangely fantastic combination, as well as the gigantic character of the work, infer plainly that it was designed to give significant expression to some higher spiritual idea. With our astonishment at the gigantic size of the design, and admiration of the energy and boldness of the execution, is mingled the characteristic perception of the mental limits which this work, no less than others, evidences. For here also, as among the Indians, in a true Oriental manner, the spiritual significance of the structure is displayed by strange fantastic combinations, and by excessive size. p arlir - t Lastly, in this earliest period of the Pyramids of Memphis, insulated we find numerous specimens of true insulated sculpture, the Sculpt m t . examination of which affords us a complete insight into the extent of the Egyptian plastic art of that time. They consist of sitting statues of the deceased, executed in granite, or in other hard material, with a perfection of technical skill that is not to be surpassed. Among the ablest of these we may reckon the seven sitting colossal statues of Schafra, which have been excavated from a temple belonging to the giant Sphinx, Executed in a masterly manner, in a green yellow-veined marble, they are distinguished by grand severity of style. In all these works the head bears the stamp of individual features, although, with all their diversity, the same national type 'is apparent. Surprising, however, as it is to see Egyptian art so early attaining to portraiture, it appears yet more striking' that there should have been no onward advance towards mental characterization. They remain satisfied with the most acute observation and exact impress of every peculiarity of the Egypt. 25 outward form, without revealing aught of the mysteries of the inner life. Still greater constraint is evidenced by the rest of the body, which, whether seated or squatted down, has the arms fixed closely to the side, and the feet placed in a strict parallel position. Occasionally, even the separate parts of the figure are so slightly executed, that the whole presents the appearance of a block of stone, the upper surface of which bears a few general indications of the outline of a human figure. This brings us to the question how far a knowledge of natural organization is to be recognized in Egyptian statues. The plastic art of the Egyptians exhibits even in the earliest Relation to Nati we. ages a surprisingly distinct understanding of the human form, proceeding evidently from acute observation, and promoted by the exercise of the artistic eye. What the eye had grasped with certainty, the hand was able to reproduce with rare dexterity, and even to execute with exactness and nicety out of the hardest stone. It is true this ability was considerably assisted by the monotony of the subjects. The statuary art of the Egyptians dispensed from the first with all expression of life and action. Unap- proachable in their solemn repose and stiff bearing, with eyes fixed in rigid gaze, and their arms attached to their sides, the thousands of Egyptian statues sit before us as if in dreamy silence. This almost unearthly repose appears in strong contrast to the naive life of the relief representations, and proves that something different, something higher and ideal, was here aimed at. Is it an instinctive consciousness that only really free natures can obey the impulse of the soul without renouncing aught of their dignity ? Certain it is, that in this world of Egyptian statues, the death-like repose produces the effect of dignity and stateliness preserved with effort. The fettered spirit, lacking true human cultivation, seeks the maintenance of its dignity in out- ward ceremonial laws. Thus, in the Egyptian statues, everything is external, typical, and conventional. Even the artistic execution has to yield to this necessity. Plastic art, which had shown such an inclination to a natural con- ception of form, stood still in her course. It is true she designed her figures with strong exhibition of the organic structure, and with exact display of the muscular system ; but the fresh pulsating life congealed under her touch, and the harmonious flow of the limbs froze into an empty model ; conventional consideration, linked with religious ceremonial and court etiquette, cast over the figures the chains of architectural regularity, and stifled the spirit of creative work. Hence, among the Egyptians, all the acuteness of the artistic eye failed to produce a truly free and spiritual creation. From this strict constraint the Egyptian statues may be regarded as works without any inde- pendence of their own, acquiring their full importance only in their indissoluble union with architecture. The museums of Europe, especially those of Paris, VOL. I. E 26 Oriental Sculp hire. London, Berlin, and Turin, afford in their Egyptian works numerous exem- plifications of this fact. it The inability of Egyptian art to rise from this state of of constraint into one of freedom, results in the absence of true Progress. historical progress. We understand, therefore, the statement that among the Egyptians a mathematical canon was employed in the repre- sentation of the human form. It is true that this was subject to many changes in the course of time, because the tendency from the heavier to the lighter style, and from the compact to the slender form, is inherent to man’s sense of beauty ; but as one set form was only changed for another, the spirit of plastic art remained essentially the same with all its apparent diversities, and, therefore, we cannot speak of the internal progress of Egyptian art. On the contrary, we might rather assert a gradual retrograde movement, for the grand naturalism of the earlier works never appears with the same freshness in the productions of later epochs, and is lost in external formalism. Even the most thorough historical revolution, such as resulted from the invasion of the Hyksos from Asia, could not change the character of Egyptian art. Not long ago, on the site of ancient Tanis, four Lion Sphinxes were found, which belonged to the epoch of that foreign rule, and these throughout bear the type of Egyptian works. Monuments f What the art of the old kingdom of Memphis had begun, the new was taken up and continued in a kindred spirit in the monuments Kingdom. |.] ie new kingdom and its capital, Thebes. Only the works now become richer, more splendid, and more full of figures ; and their hieroglyphics mainly glorify the life and actions of the divinely honoured Pharaohs. Now, for the first time, moreover, the multiform Olympus of the Egyptian mythology is developed into a variety scarcely imagined before. The prime of the new empire embraces the epoch from the sixteenth to the end of the thirteenth century before Christ. But the succeeding period also, down to the time of the Ptolemies, continues to produce mag- nificent monuments and to adorn the earlier ones ; in fact, up to the period of Roman supremacy, Egyptian art steadily preserves its strict national stamp, though with certain alterations of style. The greatest abundance of monu- ments are to be found in the ancient Thebes, with its hundred gates, the principal buildings of which are now designated after the districts — Karnak, Luxor, Medinet-Habu, and Kurna. But the supremacy of Egyptian art extends at this period also further upwards as far as Upper Nubia. The rock-temples of Ipsambul, of Girscheh, and Wadi Sebua, rank in grandeur and richness with the works of the lower country. In all these works, the extent and architectural massiveness of which excite our admiration, the hand of the sculptor has umveariedly and inex- Egypt 27 haustibly for more than a thousand years followed, as a faithful chronicler, c . , the life of the Pharaohs, and depicted with astonishing: patience the Life of in countless scenes, their private and public existence, their the kuier. ac tj 0 ns in peace and war, and their life at the chase and at home. Everything refers to the sovereign ; his form towers with colossal magnitude above all the other figures. He is rushing in his war chariot to the battle, and crushing crowds of the pigmy race of his enemies. Another time he is to be seen in his vessel of war sinking an entire hostile fleet and driving his foes to flight. Again, he is depicted grasping the united heads of a prostrate and conquered race, that at one blow he may annihilate them with his upraised battle-axe (Fig. 8). Another time we see him in solemn dignity enthroned beneath a baldachin, to receive the homage and tribute of subject races. The whole aim of the sculptor here was to relate as plainly and distinctly as possible, and especially to characterize faithfully the different races bound to offer tribute. How often we recognize in these long-extended 28 Oriental Sculp here. scenes, which cover the walls row above row, the strongly-marked physiognomy of the children of Israel, appearing side by side with many other races — with the sons of the desert, the Arabs, the Nubians, and the dark forms of Abyssinia. All that is told us in the earliest records of mankind stands here before us in life-like pictures as distinctly and strikingly as if it had happened yesterday. The whole life of the Egyptians is depicted with a minuteness and plainness which leave no deficiency and no vagueness behind. If we ask, however, as to the higher intellectual value of th^lV^L these representations, we find it in no proportion with their immeasurable extent. It is true, they are not without a certain life and freshness, especially in scenes of contest (Fig. 9) and of the chase ; Fig. 9. Contest Scene. Relief from Thebes. men and animals are frequently executed in bold attitudes, and the slender, fiery war-horse particularly is depicted full of sparkling energy, and in the midst of his eager course. But the idea of the figures and their attitudes appear almost unalterably fixed from the first, and are repeated in all succeeding sovereigns with unwearying monotony and tautology. In this barren oneness all individual characterization is lost, and the art leaves it entirely to the accompanying hieroglyph to designate the name and acts of each separate sovereign. Artistic imagination has only a small share in the execution of these works, the dry insipidity of which is rarely interrupted by any touch of inventive power. Even the fact that the higher Egypt. 29 Figures of the Gods. importance' of the royal personage is solely expressed by his colossal size, is a proof of that absence of imagination which is compelled to compensate for the want of intellectual life by such insipid hyperbole. Equally little can we here speak of compositions in an artistic spirit, for all the repre- sentations, without distinction, are scattered over the walls within and without, and even over the columns, pillars, and architraves. Architecture and sculpture are here linked indissolubly together, and the latter accepts blindly every surface, suitable or unsuitable, which the former presents to her. In this abundance of works of sculpture, the figures of the Egyptian gods appear in considerable numbers, but they are never introduced for their own sake, but only for that of the sovereign, that it may be seen how the latter stands under the protection of the divine powers, and, together with his house, has served the gods. For the most part, the sacrifices are repre- sented with which the Pharaohs have done honour to the gods, or various mystical acts of consecration are de- picted, in which the gods are dispensing their blessing upon the prince. The forms of the gods are only distinguished from the mortals by the fact that they have animal instead of human heads (Figs. 10, 11). Not merely the ram, the dog, the wolf, the cow, and the lioness lend their heads to characterize the gods, but even the heads of birds are similarly applied. Fantastic as this at the first glance appears, yet the imagi- nation of the artist but little blends these strange combinations into one common life. They remain in an external and material union which cor- responds with the whole mode in which the subject is treated. Again we find our opinion confirmed as to the narrow limits of the Oriental mind, which, in its inability to give expression to the Divine Being in a human form, sees itself compelled to have recourse to strangely quaint combinations and even to borrow from the animal kingdom. The Egyptians have an especial predilection and genius for animal life, and this is connected with the significance of the animal form in their Mighty lions or rams are frequently couched at the portals Fig. 10. Pillar from Kamak. Animal Figures. religious ideas. Oriental Sculpture. \o of the temples ; whole alleys of such figures, in double rows, occasionally form the approach to them. A fine sense of nature is admirably combined in these works, with the strict law of architectural form ; solemn repose is breathed Fig. ii. Rameses III. between Thot and Homs. Thebes. forth in the noble flow of the lines, raising these creations among the most excellent that the Egyptian chisel has produced. The basaltic lions at the foot of the steps of the capitol in Rome (Fig. 12), the granite lions in the British Museum, and the gigantic rams in the museum at Berlin and elsewhere, are characteristic specimens of this style. As regards the artistic skill of all these representations, it remains throughout on a level with that of the earlier works. Style and Treatment. The reliefs neither advance to greater roundness and completeness of form nor to freer life. The effect of these splendidly painted works at any period scarcely exceeds that of wall-paintings. It is true, on the other hand, that we must not forget another style of relief, which is constantly employed instead of that previously described. We mean the representations designated by the Greeks as koilanglyphs, by the French bas-relief en creux, and which we might call concave reliefs. In these the figures are cut deeply on the surface, and the edges all round are left higher. Although this style is opposed to the true relief, the effect remains about the same, as in both the outlines are made perceptible on the one side by a shadow, but the two styles alike disregard all the more perfect finish of form. Lastly, we have yet to mention the predilection for colossal fig Ur es which, through all epochs, marks Egyptian art. Whole alleys of gigantic sphinxes, or rams, frequently form the approach Egypt. 3i to the temples ; mighty figures of seated Pharaohs guard the entrance to the facades ; at the large rock-temples at Ipsambul, the four sitting figures of Rameses the Great reach the height of sixty-five feet, while, in the smaller temple in the same place there are six statues of the same prince and his family, thirty-five feet in height. The world-famed statue of Memnon, at Medinet Habu, reaches a height of seventy feet ; and lastly, in the courts of the temple, countless figures of priests larger than life stand in solemn seriousness against the front surface of the pillars. In all these works we admire not merely the unwearied energy and skill of the Egyptian chisel, but frequently also the vigorous and grand treatment of the forms, although, in an intellectual point of view, the monotony displayed in the repetition of the same figure and posture, and the typical sameness of the creative power, testify to the same lack of all higher life and all freer development. Here, also, the character of Egyptian art is stereotyped and monotonous. If we glance at the countless number of plastic works pro- Resu.lt. duced by the Egyptians through thousands of years, we strikingly perceive that, in spite of such long and splendid exercise of the art, there has been no advance towards freedom. Like the Oriental mind generally, the Egyptian also has remained fettered through all ages. Hence the different arts do not stand distinct from each other, but are linked to architecture by indissoluble bonds. Sculpture only appears as decoration, and thus exists only within the frame of architecture ; in fact, the mixture of all the arts is carried to such an extent that the low painted relief is scarcely distinguishable from wall-painting. A necessary consequence of this connec- tion is that Egyptian art has never produced an insulated plastic work ; even the colossal statues, which she has executed in such numbers, only appear as integral parts of an architectural whole. Thus, then, through all ages this art has been denied the breath of intellectual freedom, and even the fresh sense of nature which belonged to her in the earliest period has stiffened in course of time into conventional formalism. 3 2 Oriental Sculpture. THIRD C H APTE R. CENTRAL AND ANTERIOR ASIA. I. Babylon and Nineveh. CENTRAL Asia has never been a secluded land like India and ^Out’lhrl Egypt. Far rather from the earliest ages, mighty internal commotions, changing destinies, and convulsing catastrophes have followed each other in quick succession on that vast territory. The oldest organized states meet us on the banks of the two streams, the Euphrates and the Tigris, in the broad alluvial basin of Mesopotamia. The supremacy of ancient Babylon emerges from bygone ages with almost mythical outline into an historical epoch. The heritage of its power passes, nearly two thousand years before Christ, to Nineveh, a city situated on the upper stream of the Tigris, and this, after a rule of about four hundred years, yields to the new Babylon and Median Empire. With the beginning of the sixth century the Persians rise to the dominion of the whole land from the Indus to the western boundaries of Assyria, spread over the whole of anterior Asia, Syria, and Egypt, and even threaten the liberty of Greece, until they, too, fall a sacrifice to the conquering power of Alexander. „ As these great masses of land are linked by a common of destiny, they are also united by the bond of a kindred civiliza- Monuments. j.j oru j s true q lcre are only scanty and isolated ruins left of their brilliant prime ; it is true the hand of history has visited all those giant cities with such utter destruction, that it is only recently that their shattered remains have been with difficulty brought to light. Yet we may venture the attempt to draw some conclusions as to what has perished from the fragments still preserved, and to combine the scattered traits into a picture of grand civilization. For such an undertaking, a basis is formed in the first place Excavations, by the excavations which were set on foot among the heap of ruins lying nearly opposite the present city of Mosul, on the I. Babylon and Nineveh. 33 Affinity with Egypt. banks of the Tigris. These were first begun by the French consul Botta, then in a more energetic and extensive manner by the English Govern- ment through Layard, and lastly, most thoroughly by the French consul Place. It is believed that at this spot the principal palaces of Nineveh, and other places connected with it, have been discovered. Affording as they do but scanty results in an architectural point of view, these excava- tions are of the utmost importance with regard to the portraiture of the ancient Assyrians. The character of that people, and the life of its rulers in war and peace, are depicted to us with the greatest life. At the first glance, we are struck with a pervading similarity with the Egyptians. The similarity between them is based on an affinity of natural qualities, on similar relations of life, and even land, and on the consequently similar stamp of their political existence. Both nations, from the nature of their watered valleys, were too early forced to laborious work to gain any thorough civilization ; both, from this circumstance, acquired a practical intelligence, a fixed political system in that form of despotism peculiar to the East, and an interest in giving monumental permanence to the external facts of their historical existence. In Assyria we find, therefore, as in Egypt, the whole extent of their plastic representa- tions devoted to the life and deeds of the rulers. Indeed, the monuments of Nineveh refer even more exclusively than those of Egypt to the king as the one central point of all sculptured delineation, although, from the sporadic nature of our knowledge, we can draw from this no very deep conclusions. Here also, as in Egypt, the gods and divine beings are not depicted for the sake of their own importance, but are introduced in their relations to the sovereign. In one word, the same historically-insipid chronicle-like spirit seems to animate Assyrian as well as Egyptian sculpture, and the same fantastic expedients appear in both in the representation of spiritual beings. It is only by closer inspection that we perceive that with all this great similarity, diversities equally striking exhibit themselves throughout. We will endeavour to make this apparent. From the heaps of ruins at Nimroud, Khorsabad, and Monuments Kujjundschik, extensive palace-like designs have been brought to light, of which, however, only the lower story is preserved. They appear to be an irregular combination of many different apartments, the largest and most important of which are like narrow galleries. All these apartments are lined inside with several rows of large alabaster Reliefs. slabs, the surface of which is completely covered with representa- tions in relief. These bring before us the life of the Assyrian sovereign, with a completeness which is in nowise inferior to the Egyptian monuments, and considerably surpasses them in life and naturalness. The VOL. I. F 34 Oriental Sculpture. most favourite representations seem to be hunting scenes, which are ever depicted with fresh and lively interest. We see the king accompanied by his suite, pursuing the buffalo and lion in his light two-wheeled chariot. Frequently an animal, covered with arrows and bleeding from several wounds, is already lying stretched on the ground, while his companion, filled with fury, attacks the chariot and receives his death- wound from the king. Hunting g cenes su c h as these, which remind us that the Assvrian king's were tiue followers of the fabulous Nimrod, are depicted with the utmost distinctness, and are full of life and action. The human figures, a short compact race, inclining to Oriental fulness, and forming a striking contrast to the slender, delicately formed Egyptians, likewise afford a contrast to them in their long, heavy, close-fitting garments, richly adorned with borders, fringes, and other ornaments. The heads of the Assyrians, full and coarse, with hooked nose, volup- tuous lips, and strongly projecting chin, have long hair and still longer beards, arranged, like the hair, in stiff rows of regular curls (P'ig. 13). All this is opposed tp the Egyptian custom. The bare arms and legs are extremely sinewy, coarse and muscular, and the bones and muscles are indicated with understanding, though for the most part in an exaggerated manner. Thus Assyrian art is distinguished even in its earliest works from the Egyptian by greater power, fulness and roundness in the reliefs, by a fresher conception of nature, and by a more energetic delineation of life, but it lacks on the other hand the more delicate sense of form, and the stricter architectural law that marked the other. This may be traced in the first place to a difference of character, of their relations to nature, and of their artistic taste ; but it was induced also undoubtedly by the slighter connection with architecture, and by the more tractable material for work afforded by alabaster. In other scenes we meet the sovereign in his warlike under- '^Sc’nes takings. At the head of his army he goes forth on his conquests, transporting his troops over a broad river, over which he, with his chariot of war and his archer, is conveyed in a boat drawn by men and impelled by rowers, while the horses, held by the bridle, swim after him, and Fig. 13. Head of Nimrod. I. Babylon and Nineveh. 35 the warriors endeavour to gain the shore with the help of air-bladders. Next come sieges of turreted battlement-crowned fortresses, which are valiantly Fig. 14. Siege. Nimroud. Fig. 15. Assyrian King in the battle. Nimroud. defended by numerous combatants (Fig. 14). Battering-rams are brought against the walls and successfully applied to the work of destruction, the king Oriental Sculpture. 36 stands protected behind bulwarks, by his side is his shield-bearer, coverin 0- him with his shield, while he discharges his fatal darts upon the enemy. In this, as in all similar situations, we see that Assyrian art, like the Egyptian, places an unmeaning distinctness as the principal aim in its representations ; for the string of the bow, and even occasionally the arrow, which in reality must have intersected the lines of the countenance, are interrupted in order to give the figure in all its integrity. Strangely in contradiction to this is the custom of allowing the explanations of the sculptures inscribed in cuneiform characters to be continued in unbroken lines overall parts of the figures (cf. Figs. 17 and 18). The next scene represents the taking of the city, the inhabitants of Fig. 17. Figure of the King. Nimroud. which arc carried away into captivity, or humbly surrender themselves to the king with all their property. Occasionally rows of impaled enemies bear witness to the cruelty of the victors. Again another time (Fig. 15) we see the king in his chariot of war putting to rout the almost flying foe. Near him hovers his protecting genius, the Feroher ; and close by we see one of the 37 I. Babylon and Nineveh. Fantastic Figures. slain, whose eyes a vulture is picking out. In contrast to Egyptian art, which in similar scenes depicts the sovereign as towering in colossal size above all, a more realistic style of delineation prevails here, and the expression of life and action is vividly obtained. The same may be said of another scene in which armed horsemen with their leader mounted on a dromedary are in full pursuit of the enemy (Fig. 16). The wild train rush unsparingly over fallen and wounded. But there is no lack also of Court Life, peaceful scenes. We see the king solemnly walking in the midst of his court and body-guard in splendid attire, covered with jewels, and holding the sceptre in his right hand. As in Egyptian works, the soles of both feet are placed on the ground, and, in spite of the profile position of the whole figure, the upper part of the body is seen in a front view, although not so strikingly as in Egyptian art. In the train surrounding the king we observe here also figures of a fantastic kind, winged human figures with eagle heads, vividly reminding us of the personification of Egyptian divinities (Fig. 18). Others have a fish’s head drawn over the human head, and the rest of the body of the fish hangs down behind like a mantle. Further, we find the king seated on a splendid throne, holding a drinking- cup in his uplifted right hand. He is surrounded by an armed body-guard and with servants carry- ing sun- screens and fans and his bow and quiver, and musicians with harp-like instruments are playing before him. Again, on another occasion the enthroned king is represented as giving audience to whole rows of tribute-bringing subjects. Thus the life and acts of the king are the central point of the whole, and even the fantastic forms of mythology refer to them. As regards these we will add a few instances to those already mentioned. We frequently see in the Assyrian monuments the human figure with an eagle’s head and four mighty wings. Another equally fantastic combination is a man with a horned lion’s head, with a mane of bird’s feathers and large bird’s claws instead of feet. Then, again, we find a winged human figure pursuing a winged and horned lion, with gigantic bird’s claws and a feathered matte Fig. 18. Winged eagle-headed figure. Nimroud. 38 Oriental Sculpture. (I'ig. 19). Assyrian art evidently surpasses the Egyptian in these grotesque creations, but she invests them also with so much life and blends the heterogeneous elements so harmoniously together, that the imagination is scarcely shocked by the improbability. Thus, in the last-mentioned repre- Fig. 19. Relief from Nimroud. sentation, the pursued half-birdlike lion is depicted with such life, as in its flight it rears itself erect on its hind feet and turns to face the foe, that no doubt remains of its capability of existence. On the other hand, Assyrian art has produced no creation of such mystically solemn and architecturally grand majesty as the Egyptians have done in their sphinx. Yet another form of Assyrian sculpture comes tolerably near it in effect. We refer to the colossal figures of winged lions or bulls with human heads which are placed as sentinels at the entrance of the Assyrian palaces (Fig. 20). In both sides of the gateway they stand out in strong relief from one of the gigantic plinths covering the wall. As the front part projects almost freely from the wall, but in the side-view the animal is represented as advancing, the cool sagacious mind of the Assyrians decided on giving the animals three fore-feet, an arrangement which is executed with tolerable regard to organic structure in both views, both the front and the side one. The mighty forms of these animals, the strong display of their muscles and sinews, and the imposing dignity of the human head with its high priestlike tiara, combine to produce a general solemn effect. At one entrance, instead of these fantastic figures, gigantic lions, twelve feet in length and of a corresponding I. Babylon and Nineveh. 39 height, have been discovered. These also are depicted as advancing, and exhibit much power and strong vigorous treatment, and with their widely- opened jaws they still more produce the effect of awful sentinels. The works we have hitherto described belong to the earliest Succession of j cnown monuments of Assyrian art, found in the north-west palace at Nimroud.* The building of this palace is ascribed to a King Assurnasirpal, whose reign is placed at the end of the tenth century B.C. (923 to 899). The vigorous, and in many instances rude, execution of the sculptures corresponds well with such an early epoch. Remarkable changes of style are exhibited, however, by the later monuments, affording us for the first time the evidence of a true mental advance. The next in succession, Fig. 20. Winged portal figure. Nimroud. in the course of the eighth century (up to 702), are the works belonging to the palace of Khorsabad ( Hisir-Sargon), the building of which is assigned to King Sargon. Then follow the works of Kujjundschik, which are ascribed to his successor Sennacherib (702 to 680), and lastly Assurnasirpal closes the list (668 to 660) with the south-west palace of Nimroud, which was partly constructed out of the material of an earlier and ruined building, and may be regarded as the latest work of Assyrian art. An accurate comparison of these important works is rendered possible from the fact that the sculptures of Nimroud and Kujjundschik are to be seen in the British Museum in London, and those of Khorsabad in the Museum of the Louvre in Paris. See Layard : T]ic Monuments of Nineveh. Fol. London. 1849. 40 Oriental Sculpture. ] he sculptures of Ivhorsabad * accord in grandeur of design Sculptures of , . . , , Khorsabad. anc m severe energy with the treatment of the earlier works of Nimroud, but they surpass them considerably in their greater variety and life. A relief slab in the Louvre, representing two advancing figures, exhibits the old rudeness of conception. The relief, which is raised strongly and suddenly above the sur- face, remains almost invariably the same level throughout ; yet the dis- tinct muscles of the arm and the folds of skin on the fat neck manifest the same strict observance of nature which we have before found at Nimroud. In the same manner, everything that be- longs to the costume is chiselled with stiff accuracy. In another advancing figure, with bow and short robe, the arms are excellently rounded and are finished with life-like perception of nature ; equally so are the legs, al- though in these the knee and sural muscles are exaggerated after the manner of the earlier style. We see plainly how seriously the artists of Khorsabad laboured to rise above the strict constraint of the ancient style and advance to freer and more flowing forms. This is evidenced also in the mighty figure of a lion-tamer which stands out in strong relief from the surface (Fig. 21). The man is holding a young lion, firmly grasped in his sinewy arm ; the expression of the lion is a lively protest against the un- comfortable position : he is gnashing his teeth and rolling his sparkling eyes. Here, as in the other animal figures* the muscles of the legs and head are carefully and strongly characterized. The colossal figures at the entrance exhibit all the grandeur and power of their earlier companions at Nimroud (Fig. 22). In the reliefs of the lion-hunt, the animals are well conceived and display great understanding of their structure, movements, and passionate expression. Fig. 21. Relief from Khorsabad. * See Botta et Flandin : Le Monument de Ninive. FoL Paris, 1849. I. Babylon and Nineveh. 4i If the works at Khorsabad mark the transition from the Sculptures at ^ s jyi e t 0 one Q f greater freedom, the latter acquires full Kujjundschik, J 1 sway in the palace at Kujjundschik. It is true, even here, the extent of subject-matter, the idea and its intellectual importance remain unchanged. The Assyrian artists were compelled to restrict themselves, as their forefathers had done for centuries, to the glorification of the life and actions of their princes. But while the ideas were limited to the old narrow circle, the observation of nature had increased so considerably in acuteness, extent, and delicacy, the representations had gained such ease, freshness, and variety, and the power of characterization had become so enlarged by the study of individual life, that an advance proclaims itself everywhere. At the same time the art had lost nothing of its earlier excellencies, except perhaps the powerful gloomy grandeur of the principal figures ; this was exchanged for the softer, but in nowise feeble grace of a more animated style, and for the wealth of an imagination that had thrown aside its fetters in various new ideas and pregnant subjects. Yet we must limit this verdict to prevent misunder- standing. All these famed excellencies are confined almost exclusively to the animal kingdpm. The human form maintains its old typical and conventional constraint, and with all their genius the artists of this last Assyrian period never succeeded in breaking through the ban which frustrated in the East the representation of free thoughtful human life. The animals of the late Assyrian art are far superior to the men in nobleness of structure, in power and grace of action, and even in depth of expression. We must, however, here also not forget that the earliest works of Nimroud, in their ruder and more simple style, form the basis of the subsequent rich and delicate advance in the treat- ment of animals. VOL. I. G 42 Oriental Sculpture. Even among the sculptures at Kujjundschik we can distin- Two Epochs, guish two separate epochs. The earlier may be designated as that of Sennacherib, whose reign is said to have begun about 702 ; the later, which also formed the close of Assyrian independence, is the period of his grandson, the younger Sardanapalus or Assurbanipal, who lived till 660. The monuments of Sennacherib’s time are, for the most part, in alabaster, like the earlier ones ; those of his grandson’s reign are executed in a harder limestone. The former, with all their nicety, are somewhat coarsely treated, and do not exhibit the perfect softness and beauty of the latter. They are tolerably equal in richness and variety of idea. Here also, as we have before said, the life of the sovereign forms the exclusive subject of representation ; his hunts, his military expeditions, and his private life, are depicted with unwearying completeness. All this we have already seen at Nimrou’d. But while there the reliefs manifest a certain brevity, and the incidents are expressed by a few powerful touches, which recur again and again without perceptible altera- tion ; in Kujjundschik all is richer and more full of life, and exhibits an inexhaustible abundance of new features. The laconic and somewhat stereo- typed chronicle of Nimroud is exchanged at Kujjundschik for the eloquent narrative of events relating to the chase and war, the narrator filling his records with all the detail that a keen observation of life can furnish. Thus the delineation here becomes a vivid picture of life, pourtrayed in all its breadth and fulness, and the effect produced is all the greater, because originally it was increased, as in all Assyrian sculptures, by a vigorous colouring. If we next examine the war scenes we shall find no end to War Scenes, the rich information which is unrolled to our view. A series of slabs represent, it seems, a military expedition of Sennacherib into Southern Babylonia. The country is accurately characterized ; the marshy land is indicated by numerous reeds ; the river is full of fish and large crabs, which are holding smaller fishes in their claws. A fortified city is being besieged by the Assyrians ; the warriors are marching through a wood of palm-trees and cedars, round the stems and branches of which vine-branches are climbing ; the trees with their pointed spines, the graceful vine-leaves, and the grapes, are executed with unsurpassable tenderness to the utmost detail. With the same care the triumph over the enemy is represented. The warriors are bringing their sovereign as a fearful token of victory the severed heads of their enemies, the number of which is conscientiously recorded by a secretary on a small tablet. Though in this, and in similar scenes, long lines of similar figures are marching past, they no longer exhibit the monotony which the earlier art imparted to such subjects; but throughout in the attitude, in the gait, or in the movement of the arms, variety is aimed at, and frequently I. Babylon and Nineveh. 43 successfully obtained. Thus we see troops of warriors riding in succession, and not only are the horses frequently turning round, but the horsemen are also depicted in various relations with each other. One of the most lively scenes is that of a victory of Assurbanipal over the tribes of Susiana ; espe- cially striking in it is the unmistakable pleasure with which the artist, with his neat and careful chisel, revels in delineating horrors. We see the dead bodies of the enemy piled in heaps, for the most part with the heads cut off. The artist has not omitted to add vultures picking at the eyes and noses of the corpses, or preying on their legs or feet. Close by there still prevails the tumult of flight ; some of the horses of the fugitives are rearing wildly, while others are plunging with boldness into the stream, the eddies of which carry away man and horse. Besides the fish and crabs, there are to be seen in the water numerous drowning or even dead bodies, which are still pursued with darts from the shore. Side by side, in horrible union with the decapitated corpses, the river carries along with it living forms, who seek to save them- selves by swimming. The horses make the most various attempts to breast the current ; they try to rear, to swim, to drag themselves along, and at length they fall, dying, on their backs, overpowered with wounds and fatigue. They are a noble breed (Fig. 23), with short slender bodies, arched neck, sagacious and fiery head, in fact in everything closely allied to the still more noble and beautiful horses of the Parthenon frieze, which Greek art and civilization produced. 44 Oriental Sculpture . Delineation A more pleasing picture is afforded by the great building of Building undertakings of the sovereign, perhaps the very history of the Undertakings. erec p on of the palace which these works once adorned. Numerous workmen, full of varied life both in gesture and attitude, in several rows above each other, are to be seen engaged in transporting a gigantic portal bull on a sledge moved on rollers ; others are occupied in erecting an earthern wall as the terrace-like substructure of a building ; overseers are everywhere urging to industrious work. Others again are helping with levers to transport bulls, or are carrying building materials up the steep hills ; one group is joining in the work with saws, axes and spades, another is bringing wood for building on a two-wheeled waggon. All this, however, fails to satisfy the artist ; he must give us also the natural surroundings of the building site. We see the Tigris not merely animated with fishes, snakes, and crabs, which a fisherman is represented as catching, but rafts and boats indicate a lively trade. In the reedy banks of the river a stag and hind are concealed, and not far from them we see a wild sow with her young ones, one of which is sucking her. Although all these scenes are full of vigorous life, yet the hunt- ing representations possess the highest value. While in the earliest works at Nimroud, a few main ideas were unceasingly repeated, an inexhaustible variety prevails here. Moreover, the right of hunting did not merely extend to lions and buffaloes, bu.t to wild horses, gazelles, and stags. Large nets were placed which the alarmed animals endeavoured to break through. The king lurked in ambush with his quiver-bearer, and sent a hail of arrows on the animals. The artists delight here, also, in crowding together a number of separate scenes, and they dispose of the space at will without regard to prospective treatment or architectural arrangement. While in the representations we have hitherto discussed, great care was expended on the landscape portion of the scenery, in the hunting scenes the sculptor of Kujjundschik seems to have judged it more suitable to give no indication of the actual locality, but to spread his groups of animals at will over the surface. The gazelles especially are full of grace and charm ; they are advancing forwards half-shyly, half-trustfully, two young ones are confidently following the track of the mother ; presently arrows whiz through the air, one of the animals struck by them falls backwards on the ground, the leader of the flock looks round startled, and the others set off in precipitate flight. The lion hunts rise to a pitch of grand effect, and indeed of Lion Hunts, dramatic importance. The kingly animals are depicted with unsurpassable truth in all their majestic power and beauty, and their contest against the superior strength of man, which is brought before I. Babylon and Nineveh. 45 us in all its stages up to the heroic defeat, produces almost a tragical effect. Lions are the true heroes of Assyrian art. Generally, however, they are not exhibited in the forest, but in the confined space of the royal hunting ground. The keepers draw back the bolts, and the imprisoned kings of the desert break roaring forth seeking their foe. The sovereign with his suite are mounted on fine, able, and fleet horses. The lion crouches ready to spring, and horse and rider stand as if fascinated, awaiting the attack. Incomparably true and life-like are the scenes that follow, and which constantly end in the destruction of the noble animal. In one, the lion has rushed at the horse with the rapidity of lightning and has fixed its claws into its neck ; but the king seizes the animal by the throat and gives it its deathblow. Another lion falls to the ground in the very act of springing, struck by an arrow through the head. Similar scenes, with unceasing variety, are depicted with life-like truth and interest. There a dead lion is lying on its back with its huge paws dropped powerless ; here a lioness is stretching out her mighty limbs in the agony of death, half upraising herself with failing power, and with such truth of expression that we can fancy we hear the roar of pain and our hearts are touched with pity. (Fig. 24.) Another lion, fatally wounded. raises its foot and licks the paw, the lower surface of which is shown in masterly perspective ; another of these splendid animals is dragging itself along with a last effort, but we see that life is ebbing with the stream of blood flowing from its jaw. Many no less excellent touches might be cited. Next we see the return from the hunt. Swift mules, packed with nets and other hunting implements, pass along in the midst of the huntsmen. A train of men follow, bearing the slaughtered lions on their shoulders. These they lay down before the king who is awaiting them, surrounded by his halberdiers, 46 Oriental Sculpture. and who, standing before an altar, pours a libation over the animals that lie stretched on the ground. Musicians strike their harps, while the huntsmen have with force to restrain the dogs from rushing on their prey. Thus there is life and action everywhere. Lastly, we see the king resting from his labours. On a D 0 'iife ' C splendid couch, over which an artistically worked coverlet is spread, he is lying carelessly stretched, after Oriental fashion, holding a drinking-cup to his lips. Opposite to him, on a prettily carved stool, sits the queen, pledging him in his drink — perhaps the only time that a female figure (except those of captives or foreign races) meets us in an Assyrian relief. On a no less richly adorned table, the king’s arms are lying ; a servant is placed beside it, who is fanning the air to bring coolness to the sovereign. Nothing is forgotten which can give the scene a pleasing idyllic character : cedars and palm-trees, linked with luxuriant vines, form a shade over the group, and even the trees are lively with birds, one of which is watching for a grasshopper close by, preparing for it the same fate that another of these little animals is just experiencing from a second bird. Lastly, the fact that a decapitated human head is suspended from the branch of a tree, possibly does not disturb the ease of the Oriental ruler, but rather serves to increase it. The last mentioned scene is, perhaps, the most elegant, g race f u fi and finest that the Assyrian chisel has produced. The ornament of the vessels and furniture, of the chairs, tables, and couch, is executed to the smallest detail, with a care that reminds us of the most delicate ivory carving. We perceive that Assyrian art inclined with predilection to a genre style. We have, therefore, felt ourselves compelled to speak thus fully of these later works, because, until now, they have never met with due appreciation, and. the greater and more valuable portion of them are not yet made publicly known.* It is only by their accurate examination that we perceive that Assyrian art during the entire epoch of her prime, so far as we can follow it, made no inconsiderable artistic advance from the strict, constrained, and simple style of the early period to the freer, richer, and finer style of the concluding epoch, and in this, therefore, is decidedly superior both to East Asiatic as well as to Egyptian art. The cause of this striking fact is certainly to be looked for in the ready appreciation of nature and in the life-like adherence to her forms. Among the Indians, where the mental eye turned within rather than without, art was allured into want of moderation * A number of reliefs from Kujjundschik have been published by Layard in his work, A Second Series of the Monuments of Nineveh (Fol. London, 1853) ; this, however, does not contain the richest and most beautiful slabs, for which we have to thank the more recent excavations of Messrs. Rassam and Loftus. I. Babylon and Nineveh. 47 and form by the lack of calm observation ; among the Egyptians, where an intelligent contemplation of actual life had early led the artistic taste into a healthy course, all advance was soon checked by an inflexible obedience to conventional laws, and it could no longer save itself from the weak repetition of formal types by fresh observation of life and by the acceptance of new ideas. That the Assyrian artists, on the contrary, were never weary of learning and of exercising eye and hand, we perceive from several outward improvements which they subsequently introduced. Thus, at Kujjundschik, we never find the disregard of the earlier period which needlessly allowed the rows of cuneiform letters to pass across the figures represented ; in the same manner, the bowstring, which should be seen across the face of the archer, is never now interrupted, but is quietly continued (Fig. 25). Thus we find everywhere new and juster observations carried out, and even many per- spective foreshortenings are successfully introduced in a moderate but gracefully finished relief. That which, in spite of such undeniable excellencies, con- ^lis Arf s tit u t es the limits of Assyrian art, and, therefore, gives it the stamp of Oriental constraint, is the lack of feeling, of style, and, combined with this, an incapability for true artistic composition. Still less than the Egyptian was Assyrian art able so to arrange her means of repre- sentation as to procure in a fixed architectural space an harmonious expression corresponding with the idea. Yet, like Egyptian art, she stands in close connection with architecture, being nothing else than the decoration of given surfaces, and she is as little able as the entire’ art of the East to A Co!! strain^ r ‘ se a ^ ove this fetter into freedom and independence. Still, the slighter connection with architecture may also be perceived in her, 4 8 Oriental Sculpture. from the fact that she never advances to a rhythmical architectural compo- sition. The only exception to this is in the portal figures or the occasional representation of two standing or kneeling priests, enclosing between them, in strict parallelism, an ornamental design, the so-called tree of life. This prolific idea has even passed into Grecian art, and has experienced numerous variations. In the temple decoration of Jerusalem, also, a similar composition plays an important part. The result, however, of all these limits to Assyrian plastic art is that, able as she is to depict natural life — and, indeed, the closer to nature the more successful is she, and, therefore, especially so in animal life — man, in his intellectual freedom and majesty, is beyond her domain, because the East knows him not in such a condition. Hence it comes that insulated statues are as little found in this art as in the Egyptian. The Deficiency in Statues. insignificant, isolated works of this kind, which have been discovered in Nimroud and recently in Khorsabad, belonged likewise to architectural decoration, and evidence by their heavy awkwardness and little life-like feeling, how far Assyrian plastic art was from attempting to form a just conception of the human figure. In conclusion, we have still to mention a few small but Stnalle) excellent works of sculpture, a considerable collection of which Plastic Works. 1 from the excavations of Nimroud and Kujjundschik are in the British Museum. In the first place, there are a number of bronze weights of different sizes, all marked with Assyrian and Phoenician characters, and, therefore, evidences of the trade existing between the two nations. They prove that the inhabitants of Nineveh also desired an artistic form for the vessels in daily use, for, without exception, they exhibit the favourite design of a couchant lion, on the back of which the ring-shaped handle for use is fastened. The animals are executed with as much natural feeling as archi- tectural harmony. Various bronze cups furnish an evidence of the high excellence of Assyrian bronze-work. Several of these have merely ornaments cut on the mirror-like surface ; but there are also representations in relief of lions as well as hunting scenes. In one we see winged lions with eagles’ heads, which are not adorned with the Assyrian diadem but with the Egyptian pschent. Is this an intimation of the victory which the Babylonish-Assyrian empire, under Nebuchadnezzar, gained over Egypt ? Or do they imply, like many other small works of art, the influence of Egyptian civilization ? The latter, at least, may be said with certainty with regard to some ivory works found at Nimroud, which point to the land of the Nile, not only from their splendid enamel in blue and gold, but also from their sphinx figures bearing the high Egyptian crown- the pschent. At any rate, in every epoch, whether early or late, from ancient Thebes down to mediaeval Byzantium and modern Paris, smaller works of art are more exposed to foreign influences than I. Babylon and Nineveh. 49 monumental creations are. It may also be assumed that the ancient civilization of Egypt was the teacher and model for the most various styles of artistic skill in the Asiatic lands. II. Persia. When the powerful mountain tribes of Persia emerged from 1 Notices 1 their seclusion into the foreground of history, and for several centuries, from Cyrus to Alexander, obtained dominion in central and anterior Asia as far as Egypt, to all appearance they had not yet acquired any independent artistic importance. Hence with this dominion, they inherited the splendidly developed civilization and art of the lands of the Euphrates. But even from beyond these narrow geographical limits, Per- sian art gathered various ideas which she was able to blend with the native Asiatic forms into a new and original whole. Although this, we might Monuments, almost say, eclectic ten- dency of Persian art is ex- hibited especially in the splendid works of architecture, in the palaces of Persepolis and in the tomb facades of the royal sepulchres, a similar ten- dency is plainly enough indicated in plastic art. We should have, indeed, a more comprehensive idea and ap- preciation of this fact if the ruins of the old Persian capital Susa, near the Schusch of the present day, and many other remnants of Persian cities, had experienced a thorough investigation. For the present* we are limited to a small number of monuments, which scarcely afford us a sufficient idea of the art. We must content ourselves with attempting a suggestive sketch of the character of Persian sculpture possess. Fig. 26. Persian King. Relief from Murghab. from the few remains which we VOL. 1. H 50 Oriental Sculpture. Among the monuments still in preservation* those of the Fasar'cidi f° rmer capital Pasargadae, in the neighbourhood of Murghab, hold the first rank as regards antiquity. They refer partially, according to the evidence of the inscriptions, to the time of the elder Cyrus, the founder of the Persian monarchy, B.C. 559 - 530 . On one pillar of a palace-like building we see the figure in relief of a man walking (Fig. 26). He wears the long, richly-fringed, close-fitting garment, with which we have become acquainted in the Assyrian sovereigns ; from his shoulders come four mighty wings, likewise after Ninevite models, which are extended in pairs before and behind, and which, as is well known, were also assigned to the figures of the cherubim among the Israelites ; the head, however, is crowned with two large horns and with one of those high fantastic ornaments which we find among the Egyptian Pharaohs. This strange mixture affords a striking evidence of the ability and inclination of the Persians to adopt the elements of culture belonging to different nations. If the figure really designates the great conqueror, as the inscription found close by — “ I am Cyrus the King, the Achaemenidte ” — seems to denote, it would be difficult to recognize the Egyptian crown, as Egypt was not conquered before Cambyses. We must, therefore, leave it uncertain whether we have here before us a figure of Cyrus. Still more important remains are furnished by the plains Ruins of of Merdascht, on the' terrace-like confines of which rise the Persepolis. ruins of the royal palace of Persepolis, popularly called “ the forty columns” (Tschihil-minar), or “ the Throne of Dschemschid ” (Takht-i- Dschemschid). These works owe their origin to the reigns of Darius Hystaspis and Xerxes, that short period of half a century (521-467 B.C.) which marks the height of the Persian power. On a terrace, to which a magnificent double flight of marble steps leads, there are still preserved, amid a heap of wildly-scattered ruins, some colossal marble columns and fragments of pillars and walls. Wherever a suitable surface was afforded, plastic art has adorned it with reliefs. Much as these may be traced in their principal features to the influence of Assyrian models, and some figures are even directly borrowed from them, a complete diversity and almost contrast is displayed in the fact that, in the Persian works, no delineation of historical events is to be found, although their plastic art is likewise exclusively devoted to the glorifi- cation of the kingdom. But instead of depicting the ruler engaged in the chase and in war, as the Egyptians and Assyrians have done, the king is depicted only in the solemn pomp of receiving public homage, or in the * See Illustrations in Ker Porter : Travels in Georgia , Persia , Cfc. (Fol. London) ; Coste ET Flandin : Voyage en Perse, &e. (Fol. 5 vols. Paris); TEXIER : Description de V Armenie, de la Perse , &c. (Fol. 3 vols. Paris.) II. Persia. < i Subject of the Reliefs. splendour of his private life. In harmony with this, the character of the representation assumes a tone of calm dignified seriousness and ceremonial gravity. This is the case even in the few scenes of contest in which the king appears in action ; for instance, in a relief of an evidently symbolic purport, in which the sovereign with calm assurance is vanquishing a mon- ster advancing upon him (Fig. 27). The animal, probably the representative of hostile demon powers, bears a form which we have seen before in Ninevite works : a lion’s body with wings and a feathered mane, which stands up round his arched neck like a comb. The head seems to be crowned with three horns, by one of which the king is seizing the monster. The greater viva- city which the latter exhibits proves that, in the representation of animals, the Persians also had not lost the fresher observation of nature. This Is still more forcibly evidenced in another relief scene, likewise to be found there, in which a mighty lion, this time without any fantastic addition, is depicted attacking with all its force a rearing animal, the fabulous unicorn, in order to tear it to pieces. This unicorn is nothing but a bull, which has one single large horn in the centre of the brow instead of two horns. The dramatic action of both animals, as well as the vigorous display of the muscles, and the conventional style of the hair on head, neck, side, and tail, call to mind Assyrian models. Still more patent is this in two mighty human-headed and winged bulls, which adorn the pillars of the former main portal. Only In one point do they differ from their Assyrian predecessors, namely, that the artist has wisely omitted the fifth leg. All the other representations to be found depict the king in the midst of his rich court receiving the tribute-bringing embassies from his subject tribes. Immediately on entering we are met by the body-guard of the king, chiselled in bas-relief on the sides of the flight of steps, and whole rows of tribute-bringing races accompany Fig. 27. King killing a Winged Monster. Persepolis. Scenes of Court Life. 52 Oriental Sculpture. us. Thus, probably, long ago the trembling deputations from the tribes of the vast kingdom may have ascended these low broad marble steps to offer their solemn homage to Darius or to Xerxes with reverentially bowed head, just as the reliefs exhibit them in the present day. The sovereign himself also we can distinctly realize, for he appears on the relief of a pillar in the palace advancing with dignity, the sceptre in his hand : behind him are two halberdiers bearing sun-screen and fan. The figures are more elegant, calm, and gentle than those of Assyrian art. The long flowing garments conceal the entire body, and give no occasion to the artist to test his study of nature in the exhibition of naked legs and arms as at Nineveh. The soft breath of a calm, mild solemnity is spread over the whole. We might imagine in it a touch of idealism if the purport of these representations could at all be raised above the level of simple reality. It is an important fact also that, instead of the richly-adorned but close and heavy Assyrian dress, a wide and light garment is worn, the rich folds of which are, it is true, exhibited in somewhat monotonous parallel lines, but still the movement of the limbs is not ungracefully indicated through them. Although, in the first place, the faithful imitation of the Persian dress led to this change, we can scarcely fail to perceive that the special stamp it bears is due to the influence of the Ionic Greek works of art of Asia Minor. Here also we find the Persians, as in all cases, accessible to the influence of foreign culture. Lastly, the most varied interest is afforded also by the trains of tribute- bringing tribes (Fig. 28). They are arranged in groups according to the different nations, so that the figures follow in a sort of procession, one after another, in shallow bas-relief. Each separate group is conducted by an armed Persian, who holds the hand of the first man of the division entrusted to him. Thus the whole scene has a somewhat pleasing and patriarchal effect. The different nations are plainly distinguishable by their dress and type of countenance. A calm expression and a submissive bearing are common to all. They are bringing the productions of their lands ; some II. Persia. 53 whom from their long narrow garments we are inclined to regard as Assyrians, have skins, costly carpets, — the old glory of Mesopotamian industry— mighty rams, and those graceful vessels with which we have become acquainted from the excavations of Nimroud. Others are bringing majestic oxen, others again splendid utensils, bracelets, chariots with a pair of powerful and fiery horses, which bring to mind the Assyrian breed. The human figures are rather uniform in their bearing, but the animals, on the contrary, display life-like action. Besides these remarkable representations, there are a few Royal Tombs, reliefs on the rocky walls of the royal tombs of Persepolis. These are always placed on an entablature surmounting columns, and consist of a stage-like scaffolding supported by several human figures, on which the king is depicted in a solemn attitude, in adoration before a fire- altar raised to the Ormuzd, god of light, according to the pure doctrine of Zoroaster. These scenes breathe forth, still more perceptibly, the calm, dignified spirit of the other Persian monuments. We must not omit to remark the form of the Feroher, i.e. the protecting spirit, which here, as elsewhere, hovers over the king : it is here represented as a human figure within a zone, with the wings and tail of a bird. Lastly, we must mention an important monument, which Behistan a ^ one > °f ah Persian works of sculpture, depicts a distinct historical incident. On a high and steep rocky wall at Behistan or Bisutun in the Kurdistan of the present day, on the old highway leading from Babylon to the East, a large frieze-like work in relief is hewn out with astonishing power and boldness three hundred feet above the ground. It represents a Persian king with two attendants, placing his foot on a prostrate enemy. The king is holding a bow in one hand, and is raising the other in a threatening attitude. For, opposite to him, we see nine human figures standing, all in different dress, but in the same position, their hands bound together at their backs, besides which they are all fastened together by a rope passed round the neck. Over the king the Feroher is hovering. The execu- tion of this colossal work nearly equals those of Persepolis in care and delicacy ; only the prisoners are treated more superficially. Frcm the numerous inscriptions subjoined, we are informed that we see before us Darius Hystaspis, the great renovator of the kingdom, and the restorer of the doctrines of Zoroaster, triumphing over different rebels, all designated by name. The most dangerous of these is the one lying beneath his feet, the Magician Goma'tes, known in history under the name of the false Smerdis. From this, Rawlinson places the origin of this remarkable monument in the year 516 B.C., the period at which Darius, after quelling the revolutions broken out in Babylon, Susiana, and other provinces, rejoiced in a short repose. 54 Oriental Sculpture, Comparison ^ a rapid survey we compare Persian sculpture with its with Assyrian parent, the Assyrian, we shall quickly perceive that a greater effort after idealism, and an almost tender breath of feeling, mark the works of Persepolis ; with these are combined greater calmness of tone, greater distinctness of arrangement, and greater perfection of style. But in the effort after calm dignity and stateliness, Persian art sacrifices too much of that fresher and more lively action of Assyrian sculpture, for her ever to attain to a higher and more significant result. In order to perceive the reason of this, we must bear in mind that the Persians were only the inheritors and the recipients of central Asiatic civilization, and that they too speedily relapsed into enervation, the common fate of the East. And, in conclusion, it was never, and could never be assigned to the despotism of the East to give the human race a free art, possessing equal truth to life and perfection of style. All that Persian art could devise, and the Persian artist could execute, culminated in the glorification of the “ great king ; ” beyond this they had no ideas. Whilst, however, in Persepolis, the forms of the deified Xerxes adorned the walls and pillars of the palace, which was designed to be the symbol of the majesty of the immense Persian kingdom ; the Hellenists in Greece were preparing to drive despotism back within its limits, to save Europe from dependence, and to form in freedom the basis of that highest art, for which all the old civilization of the East had only been a preparation. III. Asia Minor and Syria. The lands of anterior Asia have ever been the meeting-place lm wns D f q le mos t; different races. Along its broken coast in the earliest Influences . & ages, colonies settled, contingents for which were furnished by most of the neighbouring nations on all sides. The influences of Phoenician, Babylonian and Egyptian civilization were here mingled ; even in the struggle of surging conquests, many a germ of progress fell on the receptive soil. But a common culture possessing a stamp of its own was denied these regions by the victorious advance of Grecian art. In fact, we find only sporadic traces of isolated influences which seem to have remained without deeper results. Epvpiian I n Asia Minor, we will consider in the first place an extremely Influence in ancient testimony of the supremacy and influence of Egypt. Asm Minor. j n neighbourhood of Smyrna, at the village of Nymphi (Fig. 29), we find the colossal figure of a sovereign* cut in bas-relief on a rocky Texier : Asie Mineure, vol. ii. p. 132. III. Asia Minor and Syria. ' 55 wall. The head bears the Egyptian crown; he is holding in his hands the lance and bow ; the firm tread on both soles, the broad front view of the chest, and the whole structure of the body, call to mind the works of the Egyptians, although the execution is considerably inferior in finish to the works of the Nile-lands. In Galatia, also, similar influence may Fig. 29. Relief of Nymphi. be shown in a sculpture in the neighbourhood of the present town of Uejtik ; colossal harpies, birds with lions’ claws and Egyptian-like human heads, are Egyptian represented on two mighty entrance pillars.* In Syria also there Influence in are traces found of Egyptian art. In the ancient highway leading along the sea-shore, that very road along which Alexander’s army passed into Egypt, several representations in relief are chiselled on the high rocky wall at the mouth of the little river Nahr-el-kelb, north of Beyrout, and in these reliefs we recognize the monuments of the victory of the great Ramesis in honour of the gods Ammon, Ra, and Phtha. When subsequently the Assyrian power had supplanted the sway of Egypt, Assyrian reliefs were introduced at this place side by side with the Egyptian ones, in confirmation * Texier : Asie Mineure, vol. i. p. 224. Even in the Mohammedan period the favourite harpy appears on a tomb fagade at Nigdeh in Cappadocia. Ibid. vol. ii. p. 95. Oriental Sculpture, 56 of this historical event ; these are also extant, and, according to Rawlinson, they relate to the son of the builder of Khorsabad.* * * § Other Syrian works after Egyptian models, now preserved in the museum of the Louvre in Paris, may be here mentioned. These are sarcophagi of a mummy-like form. The one discovered at Sayda, built of black marble entirely in the Egyptian style, although the proportions of the figure are unnaturally broad, is ascribed to King Esmunazar of Sidon ; the four others, of white marble, found at Sidon, Byblos, and Tortosa in Phoenicia, retain the Egyptian mummy form, but combine with it the stamp of Greek art in the heads ; one of them exhibits a strict antique expression, the others belong to the freely developed style, evidencing that even at a late period Egyptian models still combined with Greek influence. 0 j If we turn back to Asia Minor, we are met again by Influence in numerous traces of Persian art. The lion conquering a bul', Asia Minor. SQ f re q uen t]y seen j n the reliefs of Persepolis, repeatedly appears, only that here the bull is without the fantastic characteristic of the unicorn. A surprising similarity with the Persepolis group is displayed in the relief on a pediment of a tomb at Myra.-f- the facade of which is built, it is true, in the Ionic Greek style, but this has not prevented the builder from placing lions’ heads over the capitals of the pilasters, thus preserving a reminiscence of the Oriental mode of treatment which delighted in employing animal figures in the characterization of architectural forms. When we find on a tomb at Aizani two lions depicted disputing over a stag ; or when, in the same place, on the proscenium of the theatre, we see a frieze with a hunting scene, and stags, dogs, and boars, and also a lion attacking a bull.j it is a proof how long the earlier Oriental traditions were preserved there. Among the most ancient monuments of the country, we Monuments of Pterium. must number the extensive rock-reliefs which have been preserved at the town of Bogas-Koei in Galatia, and which are thought to be remains of the old city of Pterium. § They consist of two processions, each containing thirteen figures in relief, represented in a coarse, powerful, and tolerably rude style. In one train they wear pointed shoes, trousers, short garments and high pointed hats ; only three bearded old men at the head of the procession are furnished with longer garments. Some are carrying clubs, others strangely formed devices or various weapons. We recognize in their dress the costume described by Herodotus (vii. 64) as worn by * A Commentary on the Cuneiform Inscriptions of Babylonia , &c., by Rawlinson. London, 1850, p. 70. t Texier : vol. iii, p. 225. £ Ibid. vol. i. plate 37 , for the first, and plates 45, 46, for the second representation. § Ibid, plates 75-79. Cf. Gerhard’s Archdol. Ztg. Jahrg. , xvii. p. 49, et scq. III. Asia Minor and Syria. 57 the Sacae. In monotonous repetition they follow each other with almost dance-like step. The other group, robust and broad figures, in long garments with low diadems, are evidently women. At the head of each group are the chief personages, conspicuous from their larger size ; the Sacae leader is placing his feet on the necks of three men ; the princess, who is meeting him, is standing on a lioness. Fantastic emblems of the strangest kind increase the enigmatical and strange character of the representation, which probably was designed to commemorate the union between a prince and princess of different races. The artistic character, in spite of the rudeness of the work, is decidedly old Asiatic, chiefly influenced by Babylonish-Persian monuments. Similar influences are indicated also in a marble chair in the same place, on the sides of which there are two figures of lions in relief, similar to the portal lions at Nimroud.* Rdie j The same style, lastly, is perceived in a relief discovered in of Ghiaur- the year 1 86 1 at Hoiadja, nine leagues south-west of Angora, the ancient Ancyra. It is to be seen near the entrance of an ancient fortress-like ruin, called by the inhabitants of the neighbourhood Ghiaur-Kale-si.-f- The masonry consists of a mighty structure of polygonal blocks ; the sculptures exhibit in strong relief two colossal figures of men walking, of about nine feet in height. Both have the same action, and the same dress, only the foremost is youthful and beardless, while his companion has a long beard falling on his breast. On their heads they wear a pointed tiara, from which a broad neck-piece lies upon the shoulders. A short dress, not reaching quite to the knee, and confined by a girdle, conceals their powerful figures. On their feet they wear pointed shoes, such as appear in the reliefs of Nymphi and Boghas-Koei. Each carries at his side a short sword. Both figures are depicted advancing, with both soles on the ground ; the left arm is strongly bowed, so that the clenched fist, which seems holding something, is pressed against the side ; the right hand, on the contrary, is raised, and is stretched out almost with emphatic gesture. The whole stamp of the figures points to the influence of Assyrian-Persian art. * Texier, vol. i. p. 82. t Cf. Revue Archcol. 1865, tom. ii. with plate. VOL. I. I SECOND BOOK. GREEK FIRST CHAPTER. ORIGIN AND NATURE OF GREEK PLASTIC ART. The mighty revolution, known in history under the name of the ^Mioration “ Doric Migration,” gave the Greek nation the impetus to that grand development, which assigned her for ever the indisputable position of the first cultivated people in the world. While the rude mountain tribes of the Dorians from the North forced themselves like a wedge among the people of Hellas and Peloponnesus, throwing all races into com- motion, driving back the greater part of the Ionians to the islands and coasts of Asia Minor, and calling forth the sparks of a new and vigorous life by bringing together different characters, the old civilized relations were shattered and broken through, before they could pass into Oriental deadness. Hence- forth the life of the Grecian people begins to be remodelled as upon a new basis ; without breaking entirely with the past, it gains an expression of variety and versatility, and it acquires the impress of the utmost freedom and of the purest human culture, which classical perfection has procured for it in all ages. In contrast to the East, where an oppressive monotony of culture is diffused over vast tracts of country, in Greece, in a narrow but variously organized space, a richness of individual life is developed, the two poles of which may be regarded as the Doric and Ionic races. Forms In the struggle after freedom and independence, the of State old monarchies fell to the ground, and on the ruins of tyranny and Life. there arose, with youthful vigour, a succession of free consti- tutions, which in various degrees, from aristocracy to pure democracy, afforded the world, for the first time, the noble spectacle of popular will enjoying unlimited authority. On this soil of freedom, those higher purer habits flourished, which, with their gentle breath, ennoble every form of Grecian life. Under Oriental despotism, where the king and the priests ruled with unlimited power, life could only be regulated by outward laws ; hence also, in all their works of art, we find the strict rule of pure conventional precept. Among the Greeks, in the light of freedom, there appeared the first blossoms of that true morality which, with its soul -breathing expression, animates everything which has been created by artistic hand. 62 Greek Sculpture. Purport of Greek Plastic Art. Among such a people sculpture must obtain a wholly new and different purport. Not merely among the Orientals, but even among the ancestors of the Greeks in the heroic age, all higher artistic work aimed at the glorification of the ruler. It could, therefore, have no higher ideal purport ; for when one rules, and all others blindly obey, all work is actuated by outward necessity, and not by the inward impulse of free feeling. It was otherwise with the Greeks in the historical period. Art first obtains with them a lastingly ideal purport, for with them plastic art is but the glorification of their own national mind. This national mind stamped its highest creations in the form of the gods ; no separate priestly caste, as among the Orientals, laid down its ideas of deity, but the poetic imagi- nation of the nation, embodied in the immortal songs of Homer, called forth the living creations of the Greek Olympus. Homer, as the ancients said, created the gods of Greece. That is to say, the poetic mind of the people fashioned the figures of the gods from their own moral ideas. Comparison If we wou ld rightly estimate the relation of Greek art to its with the Oriental predecessor we shall find important suggestions afforded by a comparison of Greek mythology with that of the East. With- out here entering into details, we need only remember the well-known fact that the Greeks have completely remoulded all those forms of the gods which they received from the East. In a word, they have transformed mythical symbols into life-like representations of moral ideas and concep- Religion. tions. While the divinities of the East tower above all in fantastic grotesqueness, because the priests endeavoured to impose on the fettered minds of the people by means of mystic monstrosity, among the Greeks the gods are ideal representatives of the highest human attributes, and the free people find in them the bright models of all that appears good and beautiful to themselves. While in Egypt, Assyria, and Persia, sculpture never surpassed the limits of a mere chronicle, and thus was only thoroughly external, and dry historical representation, among the Greeks, she first became a high ideal art. Among the Orientals, the Indians alone, kindred in origin as they were with the Greeks, manifested that taste for the ideal, inherent, perhaps, by nature to all Indo-Germanic races ; but in them the form of the gods degenerated into wild fantastic misformations, because they also lacked freedom of moral life, and with it distinctness of plastic ideas. If, therefore, the Greeks, undoubtedly in the earliest ages, received the elements of the art from the East, — this refers chiefly to the transmission of certain technical rules, namely, those of bronze sculpture, fashioning in clay, and weavingi With these arts the forms of the East also at first made their way, just as the Christian West, up to the eleventh and twelfth centuries, at first imitated the works of Byzantine skill, until out of them it developed Origin and Nature of Greek Plastic Art. 63 a style of its own. In the same manner the Greeks received their alphabet also from the Semitic races, and the Grecian characters have, as is well known, a similar nomenclature, as for example, with the Hebrew. But the form of the characters altered according to their own sense of the beautiful ; the language, however, to which they applied the foreign and borrowed alphabet, shows no trace of Semitic influence and is purely Greek. Thus it was also not long before all Oriental traces were completely effaced from art. But in other and no less essential points Greek art seems ^ Mature ° °PP 0Se< 3 to the Oriental — namely, in her relation to nature. The Oriental does not take his stand freely and self-consciously in reference to nature, but he is entangled with her fetters, whether he is over- whelmed with her tropical luxuriance or dependent in his whole existence on her overpowering requirements, as Egypt is on the Nile. Hence, in the plastic works of the East there is never a perfectly free and completely noble human form ; on the contrary, ruler and slave alike are depicted in the same constrained unlife-like mode, which betrays an inward want of freedom ; hence the animal world only, in which there can be no idea of mental freedom or of the lack of it, is conceived with any truth to life. The Greek was the first, set free as he was from the ban of nature, who was able to conceive the human form in all its depth, and to depict it in its natural beauty and intellectual freedom. Wholly ideal in her ptirport, Greek sculpture reverts to nature for her forms. But just because the purport powerfully reacts on the form, this adherence to nature is combined with a grandeur and majesty of feeling, which never allows it to degenerate into aught that is base or little. As Greek plastic art originates with the divine image, so in Fo,,, Jp°f the j-j er advancing progress she seeks to realize the highest ideas of beauty and dignity in the forms of these supreme beings. It is true she creates in her gods a series of characters ; but these characters are not to be measured in the scale of ordinary humanity and of individual casualty. They rather rise into ideal types , in which distinct sides of the human character are grandly and strikingly depicted according to the difference of sex, age, disposition, and mental qualities. If we survey the series of Greek gods, we are amazed at the delicacy and acuteness with which ail the degrees of human character, conceivable to the Greek mind, are expressed in these powerful creations. The truth of these original types of a noble and freeborn humanity is so convincing, that, up to the present day, long after the mythological value of the gods has passed away, every one must recognize in a Jupiter the image of the supreme and divine power, and in Apollo, Hercules, Athene, Artemis, and Aphrodite, the personifications of intelligent youthful manhood, of vigorous heroism, of graceful wisdom, of maidenly strictness, and of perfect womanly beauty. Thus everywhere it 6 4 Greek Sculpture. is an idealized nature which speaks to us in grand and spirited touches from the creations of Greek sculpture. In addition to all this, there is yet another important point in Architecture Greek sculpture is fundamentally diverse from, and, indeed, opposed to her older Oriental sister. In the East we have seen the plastic art develop side by side with architecture, in her, through her, and for her. She was from the beginning a slave in the house of her mistress, whose laws became hers, sealing for ever her own subject condition. Wholly otherwise was it with the Greeks. Their plastic art originated with the image of the gods, for whom architecture had to raise a protecting house. The entire Oriental art in her independent national existence never arrived at the production of a true statue, for all works of this kind were, without exception, created for architecture, and evidence by their want of freedom and constraint that they were only conceived as integral parts of the buildings to which they belonged. On the other hand, the independent figure of the divine image forms the basis of the whole development of Hellenic sculpture, which, starting with the stiff inanimate wooden doll, rose by intelligently adhering to nature to the sublimest and freest creations of god- like humanity or of manlike divinity. The hide We can now mee *- t ^ le m uch discussed question as to how far pendence of Greek art was independent of Oriental art, and how far she had Grech Ait. b orrowec i f r om it. After, what we have said, there can be no doubt that Greek art was not merely outwardly, but far more inwardly, totally diverse from Oriental art generally, and even thoroughly opposed to it. Nevertheless, there are those who believe themselves justified in asserting the complete deduction of the younger art from her older Oriental predecessors. In pointing out the germ of truth that lies in this hypothesis, we must use careful discrimination. On a closer examination we shall then see that, in the first place, no certain evidence is to be found of any Egyptian influence. With regard to the old Babylonish Assyrian art, on the contrary, there is no doubt that the Greeks in the earliest ages experienced important influence from it. How far the civilization of the heroic age was dependent on that of Asia, we shall demonstrate in the historical survey. But we know, moreover, that with the Doric migration a new spirit pervaded the Greek people, calling forth a breach with the East, and an independent assertion of the true Greek nature in forms of government, life, and art. All that had been learned and acquired from the East in the earlier epoch — not merely technical skill, especially in the working of metals, but also the outward character and even the artistic form of the representations — was firmly retained ; but from the still strong Oriental form there struggled forth to light a new and genuine Hellenic spirit, which soon burst asunder the stale, traditionary types as a burdensome fetter, and Origin and Nature of Greek Plastic Art . 65 National Type. created for itself a peculiar and independent utterance. The relation of Greek art to the Oriental bears an unmistakable similarity with that of mediaeval art to the antique. The art of the Christian middle ages was also originally a derived one : she received her forms throughout from the old Roman art. But here, also, in the course of time, the new spirit came to a breach with tradition, or rather — as this state of things was one of gradual growth, and not the sudden result of any single act of will — it accomplished a slow but continually advancing change, tjhis time, also, promoted by a kind of national migration, namely, the Crusades, and the final result of this movement in civilization — the perfect Gothic art — just as fully lost all traces of antique influence as the perfect Greek art had done of those of her Asiatic predecessor. Thus, there- fore, the art of the Hellenists may not, perhaps, be recognized as the completion of that of the East, but, in the strictest sense of the word, as the foundation of a thoroughly new and independent art. If we examine more closely into the natural qualities of the Greek people, we shall perceive a similar state of things. M igrating from the East in the dim ages of antiquity, the ancestors of the Hellenists had an Asiatic type of form, although, perhaps, not so much the Semitic character prevailing on Egyptian and Ninevite monuments as an Arian character. In the earliest productions of Greek art, especially on the ancient vases, we do not find the Greek profile, but the remains of the more marked features of the Asiatic countenance. Even in the Eginetan statues we can perceive a trace of this earlier form, although relapsing into the well-known outline of the Greek profile. Thus, in their works of sculpture, we can perceive the development of the Hellenic race and their advance from the universal Asiatic type to the special Greek character. The strongest agent in this transformation must be sought for in the natural conditions of Greece and in Natm-c * ts c b mat e. Far from tropical superabundance, the soft Hellenic of the sky awakens and promotes all the germs of culture in the highly Country. enc iowed race, and elevates them into a free and noble humanity. The land itself, rich in harbours, with deeply indented bays, and divided into various small, independent territories by numerous mountain ranges, affords in its outline and in the profile of its heights, a true model of plastic beauty. The same plastic character is expressed also in the nature of the Greek people. The eye, which is constantly surrounded by a clear, transparent atmosphere, drinking in all forms, even in the far distance, in all their distinctness and with the infinite charm of their slightest play of lines, must acquire the utmost amount of susceptibility for plastic beauty. And this eye of the Greek artist, thus susceptible as it was ^2;t the f° r beauty, found its immediate object of contemplation in the Grecian race, in a form noble by nature, developed by favourable K VOL. I. 66 Greek Sculpture. climate, steeled by gymnastic exercise, and ennobled by habits of freedom. Here there was nothing more of the oppressed and constrained nature of the Orientals — nothing more of the spiritless monotony of their heads and the angular fettered movements of the limbs, but a noble and free spirit shone forth in the utmost harmony from a free and noble form. Added to this, the Greek dress, which was equally the result of refinement of manners, displayed the form while it concealed it, expressing every movement in the fall of its folds, and, like a second animated body, proclaiming the nature of its wearer. The value of such an object of contemplation to the eye of the artist can, indeed, scarcely be realized amid the tailor barbarism of our fashionable world. Among the Greeks alone, every element of culture stands in a > "“onions p er f eC (- un j son with nature ; among them alone is there that Development. 1 ’ & harmony of mind and body, the healthful soil of which produces a thoroughly natural art, in which the moral ideas of the people are expressed intelligibly and attractively to all. There is here no artificial conflict, no spiritualism hostile to nature : it is all one, it is all the beautiful and pure result of true human culture, and therefore an imperishable model for all ages. If the works of India and Egypt, of Assyria and Persia, possess an historical interest on account of the constraint predominant in their subjects, every Greek work gains a lasting moral significance for mankind generally, because here for the first time a people rose through independent culture and faithful adherence to nationality to a high' point of freedom and civilization, thus becoming the teacher and the unequalled model for all future ages. The same may be said equally of the poetry and architecture as well as of the sculpture of the Hellenists. That which, however, constitutes the moral value of the Greek creations, is their high attribute of noble moderation, their religious dread of excess and of overstepping the law innate in man. This attribute is only aimed at by the free self-conscious man, and never by him who is slavishly oppressed, and thus we find that from whatever point of view we consider the wonderful structure of Greek art, freedom throughout is its basis. Such then is the pure ethical foundation of that art, the characteristics of which are designated by Winckelmann as “calmness and repose, noble simplicity and silent grandeur.” We can now understand why it was that the Greeks were Internal ^he first with whom a true internal history of artistic work begins. History. There can only be progress in the true sense where freedom rules, and where the mind is not fettered by dogmatic forms, but obeys its own laws. From the first commencement of its true national development, we find the Greek mind acting with perfect independence. Even the earliest rude wooden idols of the Gods, which the legends not unusually report to have fallen from heaven, and which a childishly pious feeling dresses up in garments Origin and Nature of Greek Plastic Art. 6 7 and motley ornaments, exhibit no relation to any foreign models. We never find among the Greeks an attempt to express divine ideas by monstrous formations. The four-armed Apollo of the Lacedaemonians, the hundred- breasted Diana of the Ephesians, the horse-headed Demeter Melaina at Phigalia, are exceptions which certainly indicate remains of some ancient Asiatic tradition. Grecian sculpture borrows certain fantastic forms from the East, but she degrades them into subordinate figures which hold their distinct place in local legends. Thus is it with the sphinx, the harpies, and the griffins. Wherever for some object she combines the characteristic forms of the human and animal bodies, she proceeds in exactly the opposite way to Assyrian and Egyptian art ; she retains the human head and assigns the animal form only to the lower parts of the body. Thus, for example, is it in the centaurs, satyrs, and giants. The Minotaur alone forms an exception to this, and this exception is explained by the vicinity of Crete to Egypt, We can understand that a people who perceived the higher importance of man as a free moral being, should place the head, as the thoughtful token of this intellectual value, above the animal body, and not, on the contrary, the animal’s head as dominating over the human body. But Greek art knew also how to impart a higher life to the animal form and to shed on it a ray of the nobleness that marks her human forms. Here also she adhered to her abiding principle, namely, so to grasp nature in all her truth that the inner structure of the organization gleamed forth in every line of the outward form, but at the same time to find the most perfectly beautiful and harmonious expression for every creation. If we now cast a glance at the series of monuments, we shall quickly perceive that a great number of them — and among these, works of the highest importance — appear as decorative Combination with Architecttire. parts of temple structures. But how far is Greek sculpture removed from that dependence which fetters the Oriental art to architecture ! Among the Greeks, plastic art, after she has assumed an independent position of her own accord as it were, attaches herself to architecture as a friendly and adorning companion. She is not, as among the Orientals, the slave who in all plans good or bad must afford her help ; she is far rather a noble free-born guest who delights in adorning the house that has received her at her own will and in obedience to the impulse of her own heart. Hence room for the guest is care- fully prepared ; she does not lavish her gifts without distinction over the whole surface, as in the East, with the obtrusive eagerness of a thoughtless bondmaid, but with judicious choice the metope and the frieze receive the reliefs, the pediment has its group of statues, and the roof itself its graceful acroteria. Thus assigned to distinct places and confined within fixed limits, plastic art displayed among the Greeks what she never could have done in the East, 68 Greek Sculpture' namely, the gift of artistically balanced, rhythmical and symmetrically perfect composition. While in the East, plastic art was too inseparably merged into architecture for her to become anything higher than a conventional imitation of tapestry work, among the Greeks sculpture acquired from her distinct position in architecture a second ideal sphere, and by acute observation of the law of proportion and symmetrical structure she attained to that free adoption of architectural organization which opened the way to the highest perfection of style. Far, therefore, from forfeiting aught of her own nature by her submission to architecture, she gained for it even a greater and more manifold completeness. It now only remains for us to mention the material which the Material. Greeks used in their plastic works. As we have already observed, the earliest figures of the gods were rude wooden dolls. This skill in wood-carving developed as the art acquired its highest perfection into the production of the famous gold and ivory works (chryselephantine statues), which were so executed on a wooden base, that the nude parts were in ivory, and the drapery in gold. The eyes, as in many other cases, were formed of precious stones. This splendidly rich art also came originally from the East. Occasionally we hear of similar statues, the nude parts of which were formed of marble ; a style of work to which the name of “ acrolith ” was given. Very early, however, and again through Eastern influence, bronze work was intro- duced, and this subsequently became employed for plastic objects, at first in embossed works (sphyrelaton), and afterwards in splendidly finished casts. As the art reached the height of perfection, the fine white marble with which Greece abounds, became the choice material for works of sculpture : Parian marble especially was regarded as most suitable for representations of the life-like human form, on account of its faint golden play of light, and the almost transparent porousness of its grain. The question of Polychromy * presents many difficulties, or Polychromy, rather that as to the extent in which colours were employed in works of Greek sculpture. It is certain, that on many works there are remains of colour on the borders of the drapery, on the ornaments, and even on the eyes of marble statues. There are also gilt diadems, wreaths, and weapons, and even golden hair is no rarity. In bronze statues we find the eyes inserted in silver, and the pupil is marked either by dark enamel or by a sparkling gem. There is no doubt that all these accessories denote a step into the domain of painting, and that the Greeks in the days of their prime, repeatedly applied coloured ornaments to their works of sculpture. * Cf Kugler’s AbJiandlung iiber die Polycliromie der Gricch. Archit. und Sculpt ur, new edition, with additions, in his Klehun Schiiftcn und Studien zur Kunstgeschichte. Stuttgart, 1853. 1 vol. Origin and Nature of Greek Plastic Art. 69 There is no single art so abstract in its nature that it may not acquire a more natural and varied expression of life by encroaching on the territory of kindred arts, and therefore the same liberty could not be denied to Greek sculpture. When, however, a party of modern art-investigators go so far as to assert that the best Greek statues and reliefs were fully painted, we can only reply that such an hypothesis is neither confirmed by the written nor by the monumental testimony of antiquity, that on the contrary, the idea of plastic art is in oppo- sition to such a completely picturesque proceeding, which is based on illusion, and that we cannot imagine such a mistake on the part of the Greeks. If in the earliest works, there was a greater use of colour, this may have proceeded from Eastern influences, and from the deficient powers of the plastic art, which involuntarily would have recourse to the assistance of painting ; but at the period of her prime, Grecian sculpture, fully possessed as she was of masterly power, was sufficiently competent to accomplish with the utmost life, all that she desired, and all that fell within her sphere of representation, without the assistance of colour. SECOND CHAPTER. FIRST PERIOD OF GREEK SCULPTURE. UNTIL THE PERSIAN WARS. I. To the End of the Eighth Century, Earliest When we speak of the ancient civilization of the lands of Traces of the Mediterranean, there rises at once before us a brilliant picture of Greece, spreading her morals and her arts in every bay, and along eveiy coast-land of the vast Mediterranean basin, from the Pillars of Hercules to the Hellespont, in the remotest corner of the Black Sea. But before the human mind had reached this incomparable height of culture, before the civilization of the West had attained such supremacy through Grecian influence, for centuries long in this vast territory, an earlier culture had existed, which at the first glance exhibits itself as the offspring of the East. In order to understand this, we must call to mind that in the pre-historic ages those races had migrated from the remote East, which subsequently spread over all the west of Europe ; that the earliest monuments of European civilization, the languages of the Greeks, Romans, and Germans, 70 Greek Sculpture. point to a connection with the East ; and that lastly the ancients compre- hended this common origin and civilization among the coast tribes of Asia Minor and among the Greeks and Italians, in the idea of the Pelasgians. There is, however, great difficulty in pointing out the early Lijlucmc connection between the civilization of the Mediterranean nations, and that of the East. Not only does the lack of all historical record impede every step, but the scantiness of all remains of a civilization, subsequently supplanted as it was by one so far more brilliant, prevents the completion of any perfect sketch. Lastly the versatile character of these lands, and their impulse after rapid progress, proves itself fatal to any distinct survey of their past. For in the East, we had to deal with inland territories, where civilization almost secretly advanced in the valleys of the great rivers ; here, on the contrary, races engage our attention, who are scattered over vast tracts, peopling the bays and coast-lands, and are thus continually exposed to various influences. Hither came the Phoenicians in their light trading vessels, filling the whole Mediterranean, bringing the artistic productions of Egypt, Babylon, and Syria, seeking the purple fish, indispensable in the preparation of their costly tapestries and garments, digging for copper, iron, and silver, and becoming not merely the dissemi- nators of Asiatic art, but stimulating also to independent work. The poetic picture of that early period, called by the Greeks The Age of p ero j c a g C) lives immortal in the verse of Homer. It Homer. 0 depicts to us that early civilization in its latest and most brilliant stage ; and if we turn our eyes from the legendary and mythical character of the incidents, we find in the delineation of the circumstances so much that reveals to us in all essential features the stamp of reality, distinctly conceived, however poetically represented. One of the most important facts, unmis- takably evident in the description of the Trojan wars, is the similarity in language, manners, and religious ideas, among the Achaeans and the races of Asia Minor ; no less do the allusions to state life exhibit the same affinity : the king is everywhere supreme and is surrounded by a body of knightly nobles ; throughout there is a mild form of Asiatic despotism ; and the sovereign is depicted in the splendour of Oriental luxury, in palaces, the walls of which glitter with bronze and gold and silver, amber and ivory. Just in the same manner do the ancients describe to us the splendour of the Babylonian and Assyrian, Median and Persian palaces. When we hear Homer relate with so much delight of the beautiful chariots, with their richly harnessed steeds, of the gracefully embroidered beds, of the magnificent seats and thrones, of the ornamented weapons, and the ingeniously worked tapestries, do we not imagine we see before us the reliefs of Nineveh? If we add to all this the effect of the rock-like walls which still cover the lands of Asia Minor, I. To the End of the Eighth Century. 7i Greece and Italy, ruins of fortified castles, built on steep inaccessible heights, works which even the Greeks regarded as pre-historic and Cyclopean monu- ments, the picture of that heroic age is not without architectural verification. We will now seek to obtain some definite waymarks in our examination of the plastic arts. The earliest Greek art is represented to us as the rich and Works var ' c d working of metals.'* The dwelling-houses, especially the palaces of the sovereign, had walls lined with bronze; thus Telemachus breaks forth ( Od . iv. 72) to his host, on seeing the dwelling on Menelaus, in those words of admiration : — “ Above, beneath, around the palace shines The sumless treasure of exhausted nvnes : The spoils of elephants the roofs inlay, And studded amber darts a golden ray.” Still more splendid is the description of the palace of Alcinous, which was also richly adorned with bronze and precious metals ( Od . vii. 86, ct scq.). At the gate stood gold and silver dogs, fashioned by Hephaestus, and guarding the royal hall. How this reminds us of the Eastern custom of placing the figures of animals as portal guards! In the hall, on “refulgent pedestals, boys of gold” are introduced as torch-bearers. No less rich are the ornaments which adorn the weapons, armour, and vessels of every kind. The Sculpture in zone t { iat enc i rc l e s the breast of Hercules (Od. xi. 610) shines Homer . with golden devices, representing contests between men and animals. Even the mantle clasp of Ulysses is adorned in gold, with the representation of a dog grasping a roe-calf. Frequently magnificent shields are mentioned, above all, that famous one of Achilles (It. xviii. 478, ct scq.), worked by Hephaestus himself, and on which, in five concentric divisions, are depicted heaven, earth, the ocean, the life of man in peace and war, in the town and country, “ the solemn dance and Hymeneal rite,” the popular assembly with its lawsuit, the employments of the seasons, sowing and reaping, the peaceful pasturage of flocks, and the attack of two lions on a herd of cattle. Who does not at once perceive, in glancing at this description, that the range of artistic subjects is the same here as that presented to us in the works of Eastern art. The delineation of the reality of the life of man and beasts is the exclusive subject of this plastic work. If we compare with it the description of the shield of Hercules, given us in a well-known poem, ascribed to Hesiod, we perceive, from the very fact, that scenes from heroic legends appear as subjects of representation, that it belongs to a decidedly later date. * Cf. II. Brunn : Die Kunst bei Homer und ihr Verhallniss zu den Anfdngen der Griech. Kunstg. Abh. d. k. Bair. Ak. i. ch. xii. Bd. 3. Abth. 7 2 Greek Sculpture. We have, indeed, no idea of the characters of these works, but if we examine the animal forms, ornaments and striped divisions of the oldest Greek vases, they will allow us to form a general conclusion with regard to plastic works, and will bring unmistakably before us the remembrance of Asiatic models. But in the Homeric period this working of metals was Empastics. nothing but the art of fashioning thin metal plates, which the Greeks designated empasstics. Metal casting is nowhere men- tioned ; it was a much later invention. The art of carving also was held in almost equal estimation. Gracefully ornamented domestic Carving. utensils, as well as images of the gods, proceeded from the hand of the carver. Even heroes occasionally practised this art, and it is a naive trait of patriarchal simplicity that Ulysses with his own hand carves his artistic hymeneal couch. These works were also constantly adorned with plates of metal and ivory. Combined with carving, repeated mention is made of cabinet-making. Modelling in clay also was attempted, for the art of the potter and the potter’s wheel are alluded to in the Homeric poem, and Hesiod speaks of Prometheus fashioning Pandora in clay. Lastly, weaving was already practised in an artistic manner in the production of the garments and tapestries, which, according to Eastern custom, were used in various manners. There is no lack, moreover, of legendary traditions, which have their basis in a true, historical fact, and certify that the art, and especially that of the working of metals, was brought from Asia. We call to mind not merely that according to the legend, King Proteus had Cyclops sent from Lycia for the castle walls at Tirynthus ; far more important, in our present considerations, seems the tradition which assigns Asia Minor as the locality from whence were brought the tools and the various branches of technical work belonging to the preparation of metals. The legendary artist-families of the Dactylae, among whom the “ smelter,” the “tongs,” and the “ anvil,” have their special personal representatives, dwelt in the neighbourhood of Troy, on the Ida ; the Telchinai, who likewise denote nothin" else than “smelters,” and to whose art even the gods owed their implements (Poseidon, for example, his trident), had their abode in the island of Rhodes. Among the monumental works of this early period, the Niobe on the co j ossa i j-qcP statue of Niobe on Mount Sipylus is the first we Sipylus. will mention. It is probably the earliest attested work of plastic art, for the Iliad speaks of it,* and Pausanias -f- describes it when he states that when near it looked like a rude reck, but that, when seen afar off, it Clay Modelling. Weaving. Legendary Artist- families. * Homer, xxiv. 614, et se.j. f Paus. i. 21-3. I. To the End of the Eighth Century. 73 had the appearance of a weeping woman bending down. More recent travellers, who have again discovered this remarkable ancient work, give the same account of it. In a niche-like hollow in the rock, about 200 feet above the ground, rises the figure of a woman, sixteen feet in height, and in strong haut-relief. It is plainly evident that she is absorbed in grief, but from the utter absence of all accurate representations, we cannot judge of the style of the work. Still the subject implies Greek origin, although the chiselling of the natural rock corresponds rather with Oriental than Greek sculpture. Fig. 30. Relief from the Lion Gate at Mycenae. (From the plaster cast in the Berlin Museum.) More important still is a monument belonging certainly to a pre-Homeric age, and recently made accessible to all by plaster casts — namely, l.wn Gate famous Lion Gate at Mycenae. At the main entrance of the old royal castle of Mycenae, in a pediment inserted above the upper beam of the portal, there is a slab of limestone with two lions in haut- relief standing erect on either side of a column (Fig. 30). They guard the entrance, and, probably, formerly had their now fully-destroyed heads turned towards those who approached. The constrained style, and almost heraldic attitude of the animals, resulting from their architectural position, is combined VOL. I. L 74 Greek Sculpture. with a tolerably life-life adherence to nature, a circumstance which might infer Ninevite influence. On the other hand, there is a striking diversity to all Assyrian works in the apparently utter absence of the hair of the mane and body which is characteristic of their productions. We may, therefore, assert, with regard to this earliest work of European sculpture, that, in severity of style, it perceptibly surpasses the works of Nimroud. But, at the same time, the design itself, in its architectural framework, calls to mind those figures of Assyrian art which are grouped in symmetrical parallelism round a decorative centre (p. 47). There it was an ornamental creation of free art ; here, in the column with its substructure and entablature, we find a miniature imitation of the earliest wooden building. j,' iV lj. st The oldest Pelasgic age of Greece * knew no idols. On the Divine mountain height, under the ancient oaks, the imageless worship 0 lshi P- G f t p e supreme Jupiter was performed. When, subsequently through Eastern influence, new and various idolatries were introduced among the Greeks, the fantastic forms which the East had given to its gods were, with rare exceptions, not accepted with the new worship ; on the contrary, the Greeks at first were satisfied to designate their gods with simple symbols. Rude pillars, heaps of stones, even rough beams and boards, were all that the imagination at first required to convey the idea of a distinct divine being. Thus in Samos, Juno was represented by a board ; at Lindos, Minerva was symbolized by a rude beam ; and in' Sparta, the Dioscuri were indicated by two beams connected by a cross-piece of wood. Even the old colossal bronze figure of Apollo at Amyklie, near Sparta, had the appearance of a column, with slight indication of the head and hands which held spears and bows.J- Even the forms of the gods in Homer are nothing else than plastic creations ; their characteristics, both in their outward appearance and actions, become, in the poet’s description, so uncertain and fantastic, that we readily perceive that no actual image formed the basis of his representation. Little, however, as we can realize that early period in its course of development, the fact of a rapid advance to the finished sculptured divine form is unmistakable. For these rude symbols were soon followed by human figures carved in wood, still stiff, indeed, and lifeless, with parallel undivided legs, arms attached closely to the body, and often even with closed eyes. Motley attributes and # Our historical remarks are based on H. Brunn’s Gesch. d. Griech. Kiinstler (1 Bd. Stuttgart, i 853 k whose able investigations also formed the foundation of J. Overbeck’s Gesch. der gr. Plastik (2 Bde. Leipzig, 1869). Also the valuable work of C. Friedrichs, Bausteine zur Gesch. der Griechisch- rbntischen Plastik , Diisseldorf, 1868. A careful but concise sketch of Greek sculpture is given by C. Bursian in Ersch it. Gruber Encykl. Erste Section, lxxxii. The monuments of ancient art by C. O. Muller and C. Oesterley in Wieseler’s new edition are highly to be recommended as engravings, f Paus. iii. 18-6. I. To the End of the Eighth Century. 75 glaring colours, moreover, generally gratified the childlike love of ornament. These accounts harmonize in essentials with the form of Egyptian statues, although, from the utter absence of all monuments of this antique style, we cannot decide how far Egyptian art may, perhaps, have exercised an influence on early Greek sculpture. Supposing, however, such an influence to have existed, we can yet distinctly prove that, even in the pre- historic age, the Greeks did not long remain satisfied with these lifeless wooden dolls. The undeniable fact of an important advance is connected by legend with the mythical name of Daedalus. It is said of him and his numerous followers that he brought life and movement into the dead forms, placing the feet in an advancing position, separating the arms from the body, and opening the slumbering eyes into wakeful life. If we compare with all this the stiffness and monotony pervading Egyptian works for thousands of years, we are astonished at the freshness and intellectual life evidenced by the Greeks from the very beginning of their appearance in the history of art. We distinctly feel the breath of a new spirit in that western mind, which, even in its cradle, is here beginning its mission. From the first, therefore, Greek art knows no stand-still ; even while all facts lie veiled in the garb of legend we still find evidence of the advancing development of mind. About the beginning of the seventh century B.C., distinct historical records and persons rise before us, and with these we may venture to begin our historical survey. II. To the End of the Sixth Century. If, for the sake of arrangement, we compress nearly three Advancing cen t ur i es j n to the narrow limits of an epoch, we must remember. Development . above all, that here also we have to do with a period of uninter- rupted striving and progress, in which Greek sculpture gradually advanced from her ancient constraint to complete command of her material and thorough perfection of the physical form. Every new name and almost every work which will meet us here denote either a new stage or a special direction in this brilliant course of progress, the aim of which is the representation of the highest Greek ideas in perfectly beautiful forms. The earliest work of which we have any information, and this CrgsUns through the statement of Pausanias (v. 17, 2, et scq.), is the famous chest of Cypselus, which was probably given to the temple of Hera at Olympia, in the course of the eighth century, by the ruling family of the Cypselidse at Corinth. It was a long chest of cedar-wood, on the sides of which, in five rows, there were numerous representations in relief, partly 76 Greek Sculpture. carved in the wood and partly laid on in gold and ivory. Figures of the gods alternate with scenes from various heroic legends with a richness of delineation that affords evidence of the eagerness with which plastic art at that time placed herself in possession of the vast material of poetic legend and of the superiority she thus acquired to the art of the heroic age, both as regards subject and composition.* Nearly a century lies between the date of this chest and the S'S earliest artist-name that meets us in old records. In spite of this Artists. r deficiency of information, we cannot imagine this long space of time to have been a period of complete stand-still. The new art, which had begun to develope herself on the soil of renovated Greece, needed time in order to take possession of the whole extent of material which gushed forth so richly from the poetic forms of the mythological and heroic legends. We shall find a somewhat similar state of things at the beginning of the Romanesque art of the middle ages, when, amid kindred circumstances, the art of the young Teutonic nations slowly accustomed herself to the new views presented by Christianity, and amid this eager and constant striving after significance of purport we see nothing for a long time but apparent stagnation. Epochs like these are, therefore, none the less full of intellectual effort ; and when once the new range of material is successfully appropriated, the mind of the artist turns with redoubled energy to the perfection of the form and to the necessary enrichment of the technical skill. Advance of Greek art we meet, in the first place, with a group of Technical masters to whom a series of steps in technical progress are ascribed. Thus, the Sicyonic potter, Butades of Corinth, invented the art of moulding in clay, prompted, so the legend tells us, by his daughter’s love. She sketched the outline of her departing lover on the wall, and her father, filling this up with clay, burnt the relief thus produced in the furnace with his other potteries. It is said that until the city was destroyed by Mummius this portrait was preserved in the Nymphseon at Corinth. The anecdote affords, as is so frequently the case, l Varies in Clay. evidently nothing more than the fact of a higher advance in the art of moulding in clay, which is connected with Corinth and with the name of this ancient artist ; for, at such a comparatively late period, to speak of any real invention, cither of reliefs in clay or of portraiture, is plainly impossible. Indeed, the first employment of a red mixture in the clay is also ascribed to Butades, as well as the idea of placing ornaments on the front tiles of roofs, Corinth being the place where the frontals of temples were first * Respecting the composition of this frieze cf. H. Brunn in the Rh. Mils', v. s. 321-335, et seq., and for the connection of the scenes, see Welcicer in the Zeitschr. f. alte Kunst. Th. i. p. 270, ct saj. II. To the End of the Sixth Century. 77 devised. It is a fact that Corinth was one of the earliest places for the art of moulding in clay, and that immense painted clay vases executed there were sent into Italy. Butades is supposed to have lived before 660 — a date by no means too early. For the advance in metal work, tradition points us to the Ionian Islands of Asia Minor. Glaucus of Chios is said to have devised the art of soldering iron about the beginningof the seventh Metal Work. Glaucus. century. The ancients justly attached great importance to this advance in technical skill, which at once undoubtedly was applied to the working of bronze. There is a famous iron stand executed by him for a silver censer, which King Alyaties of Lydia sent to Delphi. It is described as consisting of metal supports, connected together by cross-bars, and the parts were no longer united by nails or rivets, but were joined by soldering. It is also said to have been adorned with plants and animals, and even with human figures— a description which exactly harmonizes with the ornaments on Etruscan bronze candelabra (cf. Fig. 142). We have all the less cause to doubt the early date assigned to this work, as about half a century later, in 630, merchants from Samos, in gratitude for a successful voyage to Tartessus, gave the Herseum of their native city an artistic censer, resting on three kneeling figures, . twelve feet high, and ornamented round the edge with griffin’s heads. This description is all the more important because there are two Samian masters — Rhaecus and Theodoras— to whom the great invention of casting in bronze is attributed. All information with regard to these artists is un- fortunately confused, as it is mixed up with later masters of the Rhaxus and Theodurus. same families and bearing the same names ; but so much seems certain that these two old Samian artists lived contemporaneously with Glaucus, about 680 B.C. Whether they themselves invented the casting of bronze, or whether they learned the art from Eastern masters, is not to be ascertained. That in the East the casting of bronze was practised with masterly power at least one thousand years before Christ, we know not merely from the works dis- covered in Egypt and Assyria, but also from the description of the molten sea, which, with the ornamented pots and the two colossal figures, the Syrian master Hiram Abif fashioned for Solomon’s temple. But even if the two Samian masters had only the merit of introducing this great invention into Greece, this act was important enough to transform the entire bronze work of the Greeks, which had hitherto been limited to the production of metal plates (sphyrelaton), and to stimulate them to an independent advance on a path of their own. Probably at this time not merely was the art of casting practised after a manner sufficient for all small objects, but after the example of the East, larger works were produced by concave casting on a fire- proof substance, and in works of considerable extent the parts were cast 78 Greek Sculpture. separately and were afterwards joined by soldering. Not much, is known of works by the two Samian casters in bronze. Pausanias relates that he had seen in the temple of Diana in Ephesus a female statue, alleged to be that of Night, and he describes it as very ancient and rude in execution. He had seen no bronze work by Theodorus. All the various artistic and, for the most part, smaller works attributed to Theodorus — such as the ring of Polycrates, the silver censer, sent by Croesus (about 560 B.C.) to Delphi, a golden censer, found in the palace of the Persian kings, as well as the gold vine with grapes formed of precious stones, likewise discovered there— are evidently the pro- ductions of an artist of the same name, living a century later, and who probably was a descendant of this older Theodorus. He seems to have been an antique Benvenuto Cellini, to whom, with no more reason than to this artist of the Renaissance period, many splendid works have been attributed. The brazen portrait of the artist himself, mentioned by Pliny, can also only be referred to the younger Theodorus. The new art seems next to have been transmitted to Crete, where we find two artists of note, Dipcenus and Scyllis, though chiefly distinguished for their marble sculptures, working also in bronze. They carried the art of bronze-casting to Sparta, which subsequently produced several artists of its own, among whom Gitiadas holds the first place. He must Gitiadas. also have been distinguished as an architect, for the temple of Minerva Chalciaecus, cm the citadel of Sparta, was attributed to him ; a shrine, as the name implies, covered with bronze, that is, with bronze plates, and the statue of the goddess herself, which was likewise in bronze. There are numerous representations, also in relief, executed in bronze, among them the deeds of Hercules and other scenes from the heroic legends, besides the birth of Minerva, and that of Amphitrite and Neptune. When these reliefs were on the walls of the temple, they were perhaps embossed ; but from the evidence of old Spartan coins, there is some probability that the reliefs were placed in horizontal strips on the column- like statue of the goddess, and in this case we may assume that they were done by casting. At Amyclae in Sparta there are two brazen tripods by Gitiadas, under which stood the statues of Venus and Diana. A third tripod with the statue of Cora was the work of Callon of SEgina. Although we know nothing accurately as to the style of all these works, they sufficiently testify to the rapid and wide dissemination of the art of casting in bronze. But the art of working in marble also rose to artistic import- Mo-rble ance a fter the middle of the seventh century through Melas of Chios and his son Mikkiades. These masters formed the nucleus of a school of sculpture which continued unbroken through several generations, and which produced about the middle of the sixth century two II. To the End of the Sixth Century. 79 famous artists, Bupalus and Athenis, the sons of Archermus. Works by both of these artists are to be seen at Delos, and so highly were Athenis' 1 ^ t ^ ie y esteemed and so great was their own feeling of self- reliance, that they placed on them an epigram of the following proud purport : “ Chios is not merely rendered famqus by its grapes, but also by the works of the sons of Archermus.” That their works were esteemed even at a time when art had freely developed, we learn from Pliny. For at Rome, in the pediment of the temple of Apollo on the Palatine, and in other buildings of the period of Augustus, there were numerous works by them, which the Emperor had sent for from Greece. We see from this, not merely that the art of the old masters of Chios was already capable of producing complete marble groups, but that these works were able to satisfy the artistic taste of a later period. This is also in accordance with the statement that these artists employed in their works the noblest Parian marble, which, on account of its crystal-like and almost transparent grain has since remained the chief material of Greek sculpture. They seem for the most part to have worked together, yet Bupalus was evidently the more important, and separate works are ascribed to him alone. Thus there are figures of the Graces in the Nemesis Shrine at Smyrna, and in the chamber of Attalus at Pergamus, which are imputed to him. He also executed a Tyche for the people of Smyrna, representing it for the first time with the Polus (the celestial orb) on the head and the cornucopia of Amalthea on the arm. The statement that both artists executed a caricature of Hipponax, a poet famed for his sarcastic verses, and were in consequence punished by him with such annihilating irony that they killed themselves, is an anecdote invented from beginning to end, and has no foundation beyond the enmity that existed between the two artists and the ugly poet. For in that early period of Greek art, we can scarcely imagine portraits, much less caricatures. Far more famous, however, were the two Cretan artists D '^Scyllh" d Dip 0611113 and Scyllis, born about 580, and not merely expert in works of marble and bronze, but also in wood and ivory carving. We find traces of them principally in the Peloponnesus, for even before their time a lively artistic intercourse had existed between Greece, the adjacent islands, and the coast of Asia Minor. They had been invited by the Sicyonians to make them statues of Apollo and Hercules, of Diana and Minerva. Probably the robbery of the tripod, a subject so often depicted in ancient art, was here represented. Before the works were completed, they quitted Sicyon, feeling themselves annoyed there, and went to SEtolia. But when a severe famine fell upon Sicyon, and the oracle assigned the non- completion of the statues as the reason of it, they were induced by a high reward to return and finish the work. Statues of the gods are also ascribed 8o Greek Sculpture. to them, and among these a group found in the temple of the Dioscuri at' Argos is especially important. It represented the Dioscuri on horseback with their sons and wives, and was executed in wood and ebony inlaid with ivory. We here see the old wood carving enriched, and the transition to gold and ivory works begun. In Sicyon there was a wooden statue of Diana Munichia by these artists, and the gilt-bronze statues of Hercules, Apollo, and Diana executed by them, were found in the possession of Crcesus. Their works were moreover dispersed through Ambracia and Cleonre, so that they present a picture of extensive work and of great and varied technical skill. A numerous school of sculptors, having its seat in Sparta, Their School, followed in their track. They took up the wood-work inlaid with ivory, which their masters had begun, and they developed it into the perfect chryselephantine art. To these Spartan artists belong the brothers Dorycleidas and Dontas, who executed a large heroic group in cedar, inlaid with gold, for the treasure-house of the Megaraeans at Olympia. It shows us these artists already expert in the arrangement of compositions rich in figures, for the group represented the contest between Hercules and Achelous, in the presence of Jupiter and Deianira, as well as of Minerva, who assisted Hercules, and of Ares, who assisted Achelous. Other works also by these artists, chiefly statues of the gods in gold and ivory, were to be seen in the Temple of Hera at Olympia. Hegylus and his son Theocles also proceeded from this school, and an heroic group in cedar wood executed by them, and depicting the adventure of Hercules among the Hesperides, was found in the treasure-house of the Epidamnians at Olympia. To this school also belonged two artists of unknown origin, Tectaeus and Angelion, especially famed for an Apollo at Delos, bearing in his right hand a bow, and in his left the three Graces. Subsequent copies of this work are extant on coins, and on a gem. These two artists are, however, still more important from the fact that the famous vEginetan master, Callon, proceeded from their school. An artist from Lower Italy, Clearchus, of Rhegium, also belongs to this school ; he executed for the Spartans a figure of Jupiter in embossed bronze plates riveted together, to be placed near the shrine of Minerva Chalccecus. We see from this that, in single instances even at this time, recourse was had to the ancient style of workmanship. We have still further evidence of the lively artistic intercourse which even at that time was enjoyed between the Greek continent and the adjacent islands. Thus about this period we find an artist of the Pelopon- Smilis. nesus at work in an island of Asia Minor ; namely Smilis of yEgina, who executed the wooden statue of the goddess for the Hera Temple at Samos. For the temple of the same goddess at Olympia, he II. To the End of the Sixth Century. 8 r made, in gold and ivory, figures of the Horae seated on thrones. In Argos, also, there is a statue of Juno by the same artist, who evidently belongs to those sculptors who brought the art of working in gold and ivory to its utmost perfection. With regard to another famous work of the same epoch, the throne of Apollo at Amyclae in the state of Lacedaemon, we know neither its form nor its technical character.* The work was of an unusual kind both in its whole design, and in its ornament. It was intended as an architectural framework to an antique colossal statue of Apollo, sixty feet in height, executed in bronze and standing in the open air. For the work of Bathycles could not appropriately be termed a throne, as the figure was represented standing, and not sitting. The throne therefore probably enclosed the statue on three sides, as a kind of barrier. Several seats were introduced at the sides. It was an artistic work, richly adorned with scenes in relief from the legends of the gods and heroes. Besides these there were at various parts independent statues, two Hors and two Graces at the feet, Tritons and other figures at the elbows, and at the back the Dioscuri. Although we can gain no clear idea of the whole work from Pausanias’ indistinct and ill-arranged description, yet so much is certain, that it must have been a creation of great artistic importance. Bathycles of Magnesia, therefore, another Bathycles. master from Asia Minor, was apparently invited to undertake this work with a number of other artists ; when it was completed the master executed the Graces and a statue of Diana Leucophryne, in commemoration of it. , If we now inquire what monuments are preserved of a period still in so full of lively activity and versatile progress, the result proves Preservation. scan ty. Most of these antique works have been devoted to destruction either by time or by the costliness of their material. We find, indeed, even at the present day in different centres of old Hellenic art, numerous small bronze figures of antique stamp ; but the slight artistic value of these productions does not allow us to consider them as any standard of the artistic capability of their time. On the other hand, there are fortunately some stone sculptures in preservation, which at least afford a worthy idea of Sculpture the art of the sixth century, if not even of that of the seventh. The most primitive of these, in fact, still evidencing strong tokens of the influence of Oriental art, are the Greek sculptures of this period in the temple at Assos,J- which have been brought to the Museum of the Louvre in Paris. The highly antique and Oriental style of sculpture at Assos. * Pausan. iii. 1 8-6, et seq. With regard to the arrangement of the sculptures, cf. H. Brunn in the Rhein. Mils. v. s. 325, et seq. f Texier : Asie Mineure, ii. pi. 112, et seq. Mon. dell ’ Inst. iii. tav. 34. VOL. I. M 82 Greek Sculpture. contrasts with the Hellenic advance in composition (Fig. 31). We find animals fighting, then a lion tearing a roe to pieces ; then sphinxes and centaurs, human figures with fishes’ bodies, and other fantastic devices, side by Fig. 31. Reliefs from the Temple at Assos. side with scenes from actual life, such as men reclining at a social feast ; and all in a heavy stiff style, the figures strangely out of proportion, and varying in II. To the End of the Sixth Century. 83 size, and the whole executed on an ash-grey coarse-grained limestone, and evidencing but little understanding of form. In the little feeling betrayed for rhythmical architectural arrangement, and in the partly fantastic, partly realistic subject of most of the scenes represented, we trace an affinity with Assyrian art. Only in one instance does a mythological incident appear, in the contest of Hercules with a Triton, terminating in a fish’s body, and this ’ furnishes an evidence, that these works have proceeded from a Greek hand, though one still fettered by Oriental influence. The striking circumstance, not elsewhere seen in Greek monuments, that the architrave is used for the sculptures, and not the frieze, as is usually the case, likewise indicates an Asiatic bias. The whole artistic treatment, however, reminds us, in the bluntness of the forms, which are but slightly in relief, of the empaestic works, with which buildings and utensils were covered in the East and in early Greek art. Figs. 32 and 33. Metope from Selinus. Museum at Palermo. If Greek art is here strongly biassed by the realistic traditions of the East, in another work scarcely less strict and antique in style, it finds its own true soil, namely, the representation of ideal Metope of Selinus. life in myth and legend. We refer to the metope reliefs, in the central temple at Selinus, now in the Museum at Palermo (Figs. 32 and 33). Besides several fragments, there are two metope reliefs in complete preservation, representing scenes from the heroic legends. On the one, Perseus is depicted in the presence of Minerva, holding the distorted and ghastly Medusa * by the hair, and smilingly severing the neck; on the other, Hercules is carrying * The Medusa head appears in a similar manner in a bronze relief on that splendid car found in Perugia, and now in the Glyptothek at Munich. (Cf. later.) Also- on a supposed Athenian silver coin in Muller and Oesterley’s work. Denkm. i. Taf. 16, Fig. 68. 8 4 Greek Sculpture. away on his back the Cercopes, a race of way-laying goblins, who are fastened to a cross-piece of timber. These works are grotesque at the first glance ; the exaggerated compactness of the figures, and the antique distortion of their positions, presenting a profile view below and a front view above, have even reminded many of Oriental art. Nevertheless they possess qualities which we look for in vain in Eastern art, namely, the movement of a fresh and youthful mind, seeking forcibly to break through the stiff constraints of tradition, and to emulate the epic poet in lively delineation. Wherever the muscles are powerfully shown, as in the legs, thighs, knee, and foot joints, the old artist evidences no contemptible striving after truth and life ; though, it is true, he is still far from organic perfection and from any clear idea of physical proportions, each of the six figures differing in this respect from the others. All this is far removed from the conventional stamp of Eastern art. This diversity is increased, moreover, by the great skill with which the figures are represented in strong haut-relief, partly even, as the feet of Hercules, com- pletely detached from the surface ; but still more by the truly admirable, although (as in the kneeling leg of the Medusa) constrained filling of the given space. In this especially, this remarkable work exhibits that high idea of arrangement, that requisite of composition, which distinguishes Greek from Oriental art at the very outset, and which results from freedom of action within self-imposed limits, combined with the noble ethical characteristics of the Hellenic nature. With regard to the form and execution of these old sculptures, we have yet to remark that the heads, with their broad foreheads, conventionally curled hair, strongly projecting straight noses, large prominent eyes; full and compressed lips, drawn up into a perpetual smile, have some- thing mask-like and stiff in them. The material is a tufaceous limestone ; on the edge of Athene’s dress, and in the background, there are distinct traces of red colouring. The origin of these works cannot, for historical reasons, be dated later than the beginning of the sixth century.*' A great part of their antique character must be ascribed to the fact, that we have here before us the works of a colony somewhat remote from the mother country, and that a Doric colony. * Selinus was founded 627 b.c. Overbeck accordingly ( Gesch . der Griech. Plastik, i. p. 90) reckons the oldest of the temples there, as well as the Metope reliefs, to have been completed before 600, as “the plan of the temple and the city walls, market-place and harbour, belong to the first acts in the foundation of a new city.” We must distinguish, however, between the first design of a temple, and the execution of such a large work, carried out as it was with all the expedients of a highly developed art ; in the natural course of things they must be separated by a considerable space of time. We have only to compare the numerous examples afforded by the early Middle Ages, where, as a rule, it is not for some time after the first design of a monastery that leisure and means are found for carrying out the church belonging to it. And these works of the Middle Ages afford many analogies with those of antiquity, II. To the End of the Sixth Century. 85 Fig. 34. Ancient Relief at Sparta. R Another work, important as regards our insight into early at Doric art, has recently been discovered and published. It was found Sparta. j n Sparta, in the house of Demetrius Manusakis, and, it appears at the first glance, more than any other known monument, to exhibit affinity both in style and character with the Selinuntian metope* It is a stone slab, on each of the narrow sides of which a snake is curling itself, and on the two broader sides there are two almost similar representations (Fig. 34). A man, with a drawn sword, is piercing a woman, whose neck he is firmly clasping with his left hand ; probably the murder of Clytemnestra. She is standing immoveably calm, only with her left hand she is endeavouring to wrench his sword, while she raises her right towards his brow, as if to implore pity. The other side has the same subject, yet with a complete change in every action. The figures are very thick- set, and, at the same time, are just as uncertain in their proportions as the Selinuntian ; like them, they are stepping forward, with the sole of each foot firmly placed on the ground ; they have the same exaggerations of form, especially in the strongly developed thighs and hips ; and, like them, the legs are seen in profile and the breast in a front view. In the one point alone, that the heads are represented in profile and wear a somewhat milder expression, do we recognize an essential difference to the works of the Sicilian colony. In the lively efforts after variety, which is evident, in spite of the stiffness of the representation, and also in the excellent manner in which the space is filled, we perceive another unmistakable characteristic of Greek art. In reviewing the most ancient works of Greece, and of the islands of the Egean Sea, our attention is attracted by a number of very antique figures, which we are inclined to regard as statues of Apollo. The best example of these, which was brought from the Peloponnesian city Tenea (between Corinth and Argos), is now in the Glyptothek, at Munich (Fig. 35). It is the life-size marble statue of a man in the prime of youth, r/Vi yj Apollo of Tenea. Fig- 35- Apollo of l'enea. Munich. * Cf. the statement of A. Conze and A. Mich^elis in the Ann. dell' Institulo, i. xxxiii. p. 34, and Tav. d'Agg. C. 86 Greek Sculpture . who, with a stiff smile, open eyes, long arms hanging straight down, and clenched hands, is standing with the sole of each foot firmly placed on the ground, although the left leg is somewhat in advance. If we add to this the wavy hair, which is curled behind the ears in a broad mass like a wig, and falls down over the shoulders, and the strongly marked nose, receding brow, and staring eye, we have the aggregate of that which, according to the idea of the ancients, constituted a Dedalian divinity. With this antique constraint, the accurate and acute study of nature evident in the execution, and the excellent skill in working the marble, seem at variance ; yet we can well conceive that in tasks of this kind, art adhered to the old sacred type, in order to impart a higher solemnity and dignity to the works themselves. Thus even the conventional smile may be regarded as an attempt to give the statue the expression of life. Nevertheless one perceives that even here the artists did not yet possess the ability to fashion the body harmoniously in all its parts ; the upper parts, especially when seen in front, appear feeble in comparison with the sharp and accurately executed legs. If this work concurs in this, as well as in the strongly developed thighs, with the Selinuntian metope and the relief at Sparta, it is strikingly distinguished from both by the slenderness of the figure, which is expressed in every part, in the long neck, sloping shoulders, lengthened thighs, and almost fragile shin- bones. How great, therefore, even in the art of the sixth century, are the differences and even the contrasts exhibited in Hellenic sculpture ! The same characteristics of form, the broad but falling shoulders aijd the slender body with its rounded but long hips, are to be met with in an antique bronze figure in the Berlin Museum, Similar Works. which represents Apollo or Hermes (Mercury) with the lamb on his shoulders.* The stiff parallelism of the whole attitude, and the position of the arms, and the vacant countenance with its wig-like hair, remind us strongly of the Apollo of Tenea. Perhaps we may consider it as a work of old Attic art ; at any rate the fragment of a Mercury -f* bearing a calf, found in 1864 on the east side of the Acropolis, exhibits great affinity with it both in the character of the head and in the form of the shoulders. The figure, only the upper part of which is in preservation, and that greatly injured, evidences in its softer and fuller treatment a more advanced age, and also a regard to material, Hymettus marble being used for it. Other Figures A polio. Among similar works, one found on the Doric island Thera, and now preserved in the temple of Theseus at Athens, bears most affinity with the Apollo of Tenea, although it is designated as * Cf. Friedrichs in the Berliner Winckelmonnprogram, 1S61. f Conze in Gerhard's Arch. Z., 1864. Taf. 187. II. To the End of the Sixth Century. 87 softer and more flesh-like in the treatment of the form.* * * § In the same place # there is a similar unfinished copy, found in a quarry at Naxos. To the same list we may also add a statue, recently discovered at Megara, and likewise one lately found at Orchomenus.-f The latter is in good preservation, with the exception of the legs from the knees downwards ; thin and angular in form, it is remarkably distinguished from the other works by broad shoulders, short neck, and by the large-boned character of the broad flat face. Another series of monuments of the same kind differ chiefly from these in having the arms bent forward, as if to hold something in the hand, instead of hanging straight down. Among these we may mention that unfinished colossus, thirty-four feet in height, which is lying, even at the present day, in a stone quarry at Naxos,]: also the ruins of a destroyed colossal work of similar size, found at Delos ; and above all, the valuable bronze statue in the Louvre at Paris, which was found at Piombino, a work in which, with all its antique severity of conception, there are traces of a higher understanding of form and of more delicate execution. § Corresponding with these works, Attic art is represented by a sitting marble statue of Minerva (Fig. 36), which was found at Athens on the north side of the Citadel, and has been preserved at the Acropolis. || Although the lower part of the arms and the head are destroyed and the left foot is broken off, we recognize the goddess by the long peplos with its undulating folds, and still more by the TEgis on her bosom, on which, probably, the Gorgon’s head was painted. The forms are soft and round, and the attitude, from the slightly reclining position of the upper part of the body, and the receding left foot while the right is somewhat drawn up and rests only on the ball of the toes, is calm, but in nowise stiff or awkward. On the contrary, the scarcely per- ceptible motion which pervades the calm attitude, harmonizes well with the expression of mild majestic dignity. Attic Works. * Conze and Micilelis, p. 79. t Ibid., p. 79, with plate, Tav. d’Agg. E. Fig. 1. J Ross, Inselreisen, i. p. 39, with plate. § “After repeated and accurate examination of the statue, I consider it antique, though not archaic.” Cf. the analysis of it in Overbeck’s Gesch. der Griech. Plastik, i. p. 143, et seq. || Cf. Muller-Scholl’s Arch. Mitth., Taf. I., Fig. 1. Also Falkener’s Mus. of Cl. Ant. i. p. 192. 88 Greek Sculpture. Attic A valuable evidence is afforded of the Attic relief style of Relief. P er *°d> in the monument of Aristion (Fig. 37), found in the neighbourhood of the ancient Brauron, and now preserved in the museum of the temple of Theseus at Athens. According to the inscription it is a work of Aristocles. The figure represented wears the complete armour of the Hopletes, and is executed in rather bas-relief. He is standing calmly with the left leg advanced, the right arm is hanging down by the side with the hand closed, as in the statues of Apollo, and the left, which is raised, is grasping a lance. The head is slightly bent forward, the hair is arranged in regular parallel curls, and the full beard is equally conventional in its treatment. As is the case in most of the antique works which we have been considering, the legs are executed with greater accuracy and care, so that the muscles and sinews may be seen even through the shin bones ; the rather marked development of the thighs and hips also exhibits a resemblance with the works described above. The upper part of the body and the arms are tolerably flat and blank, the wrist of the right arm is not marked at all, and the hand itself is formally delineated without any deeper under- standing of its structure ; lastly, the eye lacks the perspective foreshortening which the profile posi- tion requires. While all these are genuinely antique characteristics, we find here also, in spite of external constraint, an attractive expression of calm inner security, based on honourable uprightness. Art has preserved to us in this simple relief the unpre- tending portrait of one of those good Attic citizens whose valour was to crush the barbarian hordes of Persia. We must here also remark the masterly adaptation to the space, the beautiful balance observed !n the distribution of the masses, and, Fig. 37 . Monument of Aristion. Athens. Iastl y. the traces of former Colour. The gTOUIld was painted red, the rims of the eyes and the pupils were darkened, and various traces of colour appear in the different parts and in the ornaments of the armour. A similar tombstone, but in less good preservation and less carefully II. To the End of the Sixth Century. 89 executed, has been discovered in the neighbourhood of Athens. It likewise represents a warrior standing in a calm attitude.* On other similar monuments we see the deceased in the dress of a citizen and engaged in peaceful employments. The most interest- ing of these works is a monument in grey marble found at Orchomenus *f- in Bceotia (Fig. 38). A bearded man, enveloped in a mantle, is supporting himself with his left shoulder on a tall staff, and is bending down to his dog, which is jumping con- fidingly up to his master. The latter, with his right hand, is holding out to his faithful companion a grasshopper, which he seems to have just picked up on his rounds through the fields. Thus- the simple representation transports us into the very life of the deceased. In an artistic point of view, it possesses similar excel- lencies and defects as the Aristion Column ; there is the same remnant of antique severity and constraint which strikes the eye, especially in the delineation of the different parts ; at the same time there is a striving after anatomical distinctness amounting even to detail, particularly in the bare and sinewy arms ; there is also an effort to fill up the space equally, and to this may be ascribed the somewhat constrained position of the dog. Over the whole, however, there rests a breath of thoughtful and loving nature, and a pleasing warmth. The artist of the work, Anxenor of Naxos, has placed his name to it, and this not without a certain self- satisfaction, for the inscription runs thus : “Anxenor the Naxian made me; only behold.” The same subject appears with slight variation on a similar Fig. 38. Monument of Orchomenus. * Cf. Conze in Gerhard’s Archaol. Ztg. i860. Taf. 135. Fig. 2. t Cf. Conze and Mich.'ELIS in the Annali dell' Inst, xxxiii., and also Conze : Beitrdge ztir GcscZi. d. gr. Plastik. 1869. Taf. II. VOL. I. N 90 Greek Sculpture. tombstone at Naples, bearing, however, a somewhat later date, evidenced not merely in its corona of palms which accurately corresponds with the acroteria of the Parthenon, but in the softer style and more flowing treatment of the relief. In this work, a small vessel for ointment is suspended from the man’s wrist. How high must the taste for art have risen even at that time in when such monuments could be erected to otherwise unknown and simple citizens ! A similar feeling is excited in us by some antique reliefs in burnt clay, which have been found in the islands of the /Egsean sea, and which, as productions of a subordinate branch of skill, afford important evidence of the general discrimination of artistic taste. Several of these works have been found in the Doric island Melos. One of them represents Perseus galloping away and looking round triumphantly, as he holds in his hand the head of the Medusa ; the Medusa herself is kneeling under the horse with outspread wings and arms, and Chrysaor is springing from her neck. The same fantastic mythological material forms the subject of a second relief found in the same place, representing Bellerophon, on a similar horse, killing the Chimaera. The style of these reliefs is severe and sharp, though not so much so as that of another terra-cotta found at Egina, which, however, has that antique predilection for fantastic figures that reminds us of the East. A goddess — perhaps Hecate or the hyperborean Diana — is guiding a chariot drawn by a magnificent griffin, and a winged genius — perhaps Eros — is on the point of attempting to enter it : it is a composition full of life and freshness. Softer and more finished is the style of another clay relief at Melos, which is completely coloured and represents the meeting of Orestes and Electra at their father’s grave.* Electra, absorbed in grief, has sunk down on the upper step of the tomb, which is marked by a column. The bowl at her feet shows that she is come to pour out a libation for the dead. Behind her the old nurse is standing. At this moment, Orestes approaches, accompanied by Pylades and a servant. He has quietly dis- mounted and advanced towards the tomb, on the middle step of which he places his foot, and, bending forward, endeavours, with tender shyness, to attract the attention of his unconscious sister. Although betraying a certain angular sharpness, the attitudes are full of expression and the composition is distinct and lively, and evinces how rapidly Greek art had advanced in the delineation of touching and feeling incidents. But still more remarkable is another clay relief found in the same place and now in the British Museum, in which the sphere of heroic legend and mythology is left, and a step is taken into real life and even into the domain of artist anecdote. The representation * Monum. dell' Inst., tom. vi. tav. 57. II. To the End of the Sixth Century. 91 refers to the love with which Alcaeus was burning towards Sappho, and which once drew from him the words, “ Thou black-haired, chaste, and smiling Sappho, I should like to say something to thee, but shyness restrains me.” To which she replied, “ If a fine and noble feeling impelled thee, and thy lips desired not to speak evil, thou wouldst not cast down thine eyes with shame, but wouldst speak what was right.” This scene has been well depicted by the old sculptor. Sappho is seated on a stool, with the lyre in her hand. In the midst of her playing she is interrupted by Alcaeus, who, leaning on his staff, has been listening to her till he is so carried away by love that he seizes her lyre and accosts her. She drops her right hand that holds the plectrum and, with the left, she draws from the instrument a few strong tones, while she looks at him sharply, and the keen rejoinder hovers on her lips. It is one of the most spirited compositions in relief, perfectly surprising in an art that still preserves the naive expression of an earlier period. We must here further mention the well-known marble relief Relief fiom f ounc j j n g ae j s i anc | Q f Samothrace, and now in the Louvre — a work distinguished by its peculiarly simple style and ancient inscrip- tions. On a fragment which may have belonged either to a stool or to some similar article of furniture, a seated figure of Agamemnon is represented in bas-relief, and behind him, almost in the same manner as we see in Assyrian sculptures, stand Talthybius, the herald, and Epeius. The relief is very shallow, the attitudes are stiff .and constrained, and the faces exhibit an expressionless smile ; the flower ornament which is introduced on the upper edge shows more affinity with Assyrian forms than with the Greek. Nevertheless, the work can scarcely bear an earlier date than the end of the sixth century. . Lastly, Asia Minor affords a number of works, some of which Monuments J 9 1 in may be classed among the antique productions of this epoch. We Asm Minor. muS j- re g arc j these as works of Ionian art. The oldest of them are the colossal marble statues which, as in the Egyptian sphinx avenues, lined „ the sacred way at Miletus from the harbour to the temple of the at Branchidse, dedicated to the Didymsean Apollo.* They are now Miletus. £ 0 k e seen j n the British Museum, so that we are not alone able to contradict Muller’s verdict respecting them — which he based on faulty drawings — that they were “extremely simple and rude,” but we can also notice the peculiarities which even escaped Ludwig Ross (Fig. 39). There are altogether ten statues of sitting figures of both sexes, varying in size, but all of them larger than life. They are stiff and motionless, the arms closely attached to the body, and the hands placed on the knees ; the physical proportions are Cf. Newton : Hist, of Discoveries at Halicarnassus , Cnidus, and Branchidce, pi. 74 and 75. 92 Greek Sculpture. heavy and almost awkward, the shoulders broad, the forms vigorous and rounded, and the breast, especially in the female figures, full and high. The execution is throughout architecturally massive, and the organic structure is but slightly indicated. Still the fingers and toes intimate rather than exhibit a just understanding of physical form. Only one of the heads is preserved, Fig. 39. Statues from Miletus. British Museum. and this is round, full, and broad, with a stereotyped smile on the lips. The hair is parted in waving curls and is passed behind the ears in rich masses. The ears are good, and, on the whole, justly conceived, though they also lack accurate execution. The statues are draped in an under-garment, the parallel folds of which fall perpendicularly, while the wide, mantle-like upper garment is drawn closely to the figure, and is accordingly characterized by similar folds in oblique parallel lines. Of all Greek works, we can assert of these that they are executed with that adherence to nature that marks Egyptian statues, fettered, as in them, by typical and conventional ideas, and subject to archi- tectural rules. Notwithstanding, the fulness and breadth of the forms, the type of head, and the treatment of the drapery, differ equally decidedly from the Egyptian works and evidence an independent and early Greek style. Two of these statues bear the names of their authors, one of which is Terpsicles and the other probably Echedemus. In addition to these seated human 93 II. To the End of the Sixth Century. figures, there are a number of marble lions, equally antique, which, with all their strictness of typical treatment, betray the same just observance of nature. Certain details — as, for example, the ribs — are distinctly given ; the manes, on the other hand, are only indicated by a few engraved strokes. The more decided the difference thus exhibited to the graceful naturalism of Assyrian works, the more closely do they resemble certain Egyptian produc- tions, especially the two granite lions of the British Museum, brought from Mount Barkal, and bearing the date of the eighteenth dynasty, and which, like the Branchidean lions, are lying with their fore-paws crossed, though they differ from these also in their more strict typical style. Probably these oldest sculptures of Asia Minor belong to the middle of the sixth century. Other important monuments meet us in Lycia, the rocky Momments coas ^ s °f which present an incomparable abundance of ancient tombs. The most important of the sculptures belonging to them have been collected together in the British Museum. Most of them proceed from the acropolis at Xanthus, and among them we must first mention a frieze (Nos. 17 to 21 in the catalogue) containing a festive procession of two chariots with charioteers and several figures of priests and other attendants, executed in a style which we might designate as a transition from the Assyrian to the archaic Greek. Other fragments, probably also belonging to a tomb, contain the figures of a harpy and a sphinx, (Nos. 23 to 27,) fantastic creations, which like the Chimsera belong peculiarly to the Lycian soil. We must not forget to draw attention to the fact that Lycia in the earliest ages was probably one of the most important points from which Eastern art was transmitted into Greece. Lycian architects were summoned by the Argive Kings to construct the citadels of Mycenae, Argos, and Tirynthus ; the ancient worship of Apollo was carried from Lycia to Delos ; and through the Phoenicians, the Lycians were in connection with the lands of the Euphrates ; thus we have here one of the most important stations for 'that movement in civilization which in the earliest ages extended from the East as far as Greece.* In a most remarkable manner the elements of both civiliza- Monument tions are combined in the reliefs of the famous harpy monument of Xanthus.-f* Strange myths are here represented in an artistic form, which we can designate as nothing else than essentially Greek, and that in the latter part of the seventh century. The marble slabs of reliefs, now also in London in the British Museum, were introduced as a frieze at the * With regard to Lycia, cf. the valuable work of J. j. Bachofen : Das Lykische Volk u. s. Bedeutung fiir die Entwickl. des Alterth. Freiburg, 1862. | Cf. FELLOWS: Account of Discoveries in Lycia. London, 1841. 94 Greek Sculpture. upper end of a quadrangular tower-like monument, and are thirty-one feet in length, and three and a half in height. In the sculpture (Fig. 40), the symbolical representation of death is ingeniously combined with the anticipa- tion of a permanent existence in another life. On two sides of the monument there are figures of harpies with the bodies of women and with large wings and birds’ claws, which with irresistible power, but at the same time with loving care, are carrying off children. Between them, on the two other sides, are three male and two female divinities, represented sitting on beautiful and highly-ornamented thrones of genuine Greek form, receiving various offerings of symbolic significance from men and women. All the figures are executed in a pure profile position, and in distinct and simple relief, with fine and neat outlines ; the forms are moulded with vigour and softness, and the attitudes are antiquely strict, and yet full of charm, both as regards graceful action and the pleasing variety of the rich folds of the drapery, and of the hair, which is arranged with the utmost diversity. Thus these excellent works are among the noblest germs of true Greek art. „ , The closest affinity with these works is displayed in the Relief at famous relief at Villa Albani, known under the name of the / ilia Albani. L cuco thea, and respecting the origin of which nothing is to be II. To the End of the Sixth Century. 95 ascertained (Fig. 41). On a seat, similar to those in the Harpy monument, a woman is represented, holding in her arms, a child, who is caressingly stretching out its right hand towards her. In front of her stands another female figure, holding in her hands some object which we cannot distinctly recognize. The head and hands of this figure have been moreover much repaired. By her side in striking perspective diminution, there are two smaller Fig. 41. Relief at Villa Albani. figures, which, with the entire right side of the relief, have been erroneously supposed to have been later additions on account of this unusual mode of representation. The artist was driven to this expedient by the limits of the space, and the whole relief, in which we recognize a family group such as is not unusual on tombs, is one of the most attractive works of that early Greek art. 96 Greek Sculpture. A , ^ In this series, we must next mention the important monument from which was discovered by E. Miller on the Ionian island Thasos, in l ha sos. i86^ ) a nd was brought to the Museum of the Louvre.* It is a marble relief, covering three sides of a tomb (Fig. 42). The front and broader Fig. 42. Relief from Thasos. Louvre. side, which is 2'io metres long, and 92 centimetres high, exhibits in the centre a doorway, on the right of which are three female figures, and on the left Apollo with the cithern, and a maiden crowning him ; on the two narrow * Cf. Revue Archeolog. 1865, ii. pi. 24 fg,, and A. MiCHaiLis in Gerhard’s Archdol. Ztg. 1867. No. 217. II. To the End of the Sixth Century. 97 sides the scene is continued : on the left one there are three other female figures, and on the right one Mercury and a maiden. The female figures are designated in the inscription as Nymphs and Graces. The subject is evidently some ceremony of dedication, for the women are carrying fruit, flowers, and ribands. The expression of calm solemnity, especially in Apollo, who is turning away with an averting gesture, is naive and ingenuous ; this is also the case in Mercury, who is advancing cautiously, and still more so in the eight women, who are moving gently forwards with modest bearing. After the antique fashion, all of them, even Mercury, who is striding out considerably, are resting on the entire soles of both feet, and a certain constraint and angular stiffness of action is not yet overcome. Still, in the more life-like attitude of Apollo, the artist displays a touch of greater freedom. The work evidently stands at the close of the old period, the fetters of which it still bears in almost all points, whilst here and there we can trace the germs of a more perfect art. In the same manner the creations of a Perugino and a Francia, stand on the threshold of the sixteenth century, and exhibit antique constraint mingled with, and pervaded by, a breath of freer life. It is interesting to observe the nice care shown in the execution of the drapery, which differs in each of the female figures. This wealth of invention early distinguishes Greek works from the monotony of those of the East, and of Egypt especially. III. To ABOUT 47O B.C. While in the period we have just considered a few local schools of art already exhibited independent advance and characteristic differences, this variety assumes a more decided and more indi- vidual form at the close of the sixth century. This was the epoch which witnessed in Greece the disappearance of the last remains of the former tyrant rule, and the establishment of a new era in the entire life of the nation. In every branch of intellectual effort the breath of freedom kindled enthusiastic industry, and gave a higher aim to the powers of each individual artist. Lyric poetry dated its beginning among the Dorians and 4Eolians, and at the end of this epoch reached its height in the stately songs of Pindar. At the same time in Attica the germs of tragedy unfolded, and speedily, through the grand power of MIschylus, advanced to the utmost importance. Animated by the same spirit, famous masters in the plastic art also appeared everywhere, and from their creative genius, according to the records of the ancients, now acquired a thoroughly individual stamp. Emanating from the older schools of art, they adhered to all the earlier traditions, but they VOL. I. O 9 8 Greek Sculpture. transformed the stiff outline into a more life-like flow of lines, they breathed a new spirit into the forms, and with unremitting advance, they carried art to the very threshold from which she was to rise to the highest and freest perfection. A rt itfs in The sea ^ these artists, and their noblest works, are still S icy o)i. connected with the places in which art had flourished hitherto. Lama kits. qq U]S Sj C y 0n produced the two artists, Aristoclcs, principally known as the founder of a distinguished and lasting school of importance, and Canachus, who is famed as a worker in bronze, though he also used other material, as is evidenced in a gold and ivory image of Venus, which he executed for Corinth, and a colossal statue of Apollo in cedar- wood for Thebes, Of his Venus we only know that, after the antique fashion, she was represented with the celestial orb on her head, and holding a poppy-head or apple in her hands. Undoubtedly this statue also was a colossal work. Canachus likewise executed boys on race-horses, statues of victors, and a Muse with the shepherd’s flute, which was placed with two other works by his brother and Ageladas. The most important of his works in our estimation is a colossal brazen Apollo, which was placed in the Didymaean Temple of the Branchidae, at Miletus, and with which we are acquainted from various copies, and also from Milesian coins. As Pausanias designates this statue as perfectly according both in size and style with that at Thebes, we gather from the copies of it an idea of both originals. Both the Milesian coins and an antique bronze statuette in the British Museum (Fig. 43), represent the god standing calmly, with one foot slightly advanced, one hand holding a fawn and the other a bow. (The latter attribute, although now lacking in the bronze statuette, undoubtedly originally belonged to it.) In its strict antique bearing this figure reminds us in every line of the marble statues of Naxos and Delos, which we before mentioned. If, therefore, a famous artist like Canachus adhered thus entirely to tradition, his especial merit must have rested exclusively Fig. 43. Apollo after Canachus. British Museum. III. To about 470 b.c. 99 in the artistic perfection of each separate part. As the Apollo was carried away at the destruction of the temple by Darius, in the year 493, we obtain an approximate date for the origin of the statue, and feel ourselves justified in placing the works of the master at the end of the sixth and the beginning of the fifth century. Another idea of the strictly antique character of the head of Apollo is probably afforded by a marble copy of it in the British Museum, which, with all the rudeness of its execution, bears the stamp of magnificence. In Argos also, from an early period, an independent school Arvos” had flourished, which reached its height about the year 515, in the much esteemed master .Ageladas. While Canachus was an artist who excelled in technical skill of various kinds, Ageladas is exclusively famous as a worker in bronze, though he is no less versatile in the Ageladas. subjects of his art. We know as his productions two statues of Jupiter, one as a boy, the other as a man; one of Hercules, whom he likewise once depicted as a beardless boy; besides statues of victors and more extensive works, for instance a chariot with four horses and a group of horsemen and captive women. The latter work he executed for the Tarentines, who placed it at Delphi as a dedicatory offering for a victory over the Messapians. He was also the master of the three greatest sculptors in Greece — Myron, Phidias, and Polycletus. From this fact we may perhaps infer that Ageladas was especially distinguished in that which may be learned from a master, namely, technical skill. We know, on the other hand, nothing with regard to the style of his works. But there are other artists of the same period in Argos, and from these we gain a fuller picture of the progress of plastic art. In the first place, there is Aristomedon, who, soon after 496, executed a dedicatory offering which the Phocians presented to Aristomedon. Delphi for a victory over the Thessalians. It represented the Phocian generals, surrounded by the heroes of their country, and was therefore an extensive group of bronze statues, a subject capable of exhibiting the art of an able master. About twenty years later we find in Argos two masters skilled in bronze casting, namely, Glaucus and Glaums and ;pj on y s j us w ho produced a still more extensive dedicatory Dionysius. J A ' offering, which Micythus of Rhegium, the guardian of the children of the tyrant Anaxilaus, placed in Olympia, in consequence of a vow which he had made for the recovery of his son. The larger statues of Neptune, Amphitrite, and Vesta, were by Glaucus ; Dionysius’ work was the smaller statues of Cora, Venus, Ganymede and Diana, Homer and Hesiod, Asclepius and Hygiea, besides the personification of the contest ; and lastly, Dionysius, Orpheus, and a beardless Jupiter. Other statues belonging to the work were taken away by Nero, so that the connection of the motley IOO Greek Sculpture. assemblage has been made perfectly unintelligible. There is also at Olympia, in a dedicatory offering of the Arcadian Phormis, a horse by Dionysius, of which Pausanias relates that, though inferior to the rest of the work in size and importance, it had acquired great celebrity from the fact that horses neighed after it as a living animal. The prime of Eginetan art, which still preserved its uninter- 'r''//'/ ‘i" ru pted independence and freedom, is connected at this period chiefly with the name of Callon, whose severe style is compared by the ancients with that of Canachus, and by Quintilian, with that of old Etruscan works, and with that of Onatas, who seems, according to Pausanias, to have surpassed all the other masters of Enina in Onatas. 1 ° importance and perfection of style. Only two works of Callon’s arc mentioned ; one was a wooden figure of Athene on the citadel of Trcezcne ; the other was a bronze statue of Cora, placed beneath a brazen tripod at Amyklae, by the side of the two works of Gitiadas, which have been already alluded to (p. 78). Onatas, however, seems more important. Some works by him, of considerable extent, are mentioned ; for, besides several statues of gods in bronze, he executed two large groups which were placed at Olympia and at Delphi as dedicatory offerings. In one, which was sent to Olympia by the Achaeans, the Grecian heroes are represented before Troy, just as they were on the point of casting lots for the contest with Hector; in the other, which was placed at Delphi, and which memorialized the victory of the Tarentines over the Peucetians, the body of the fallen king Opis seems to have formed the central point. If we compare with these statements the famous groups in the temple at Egina, which we shall hereafter mention, we can scarcely withstand the temptation to refer these also to Onatas.* A third large dedicatory offering consisted of a brazen chariot with four horses, which King Hiero of Syracuse vowed to Olympia, but which was placed there after the king’s death, in 466, by his son. We, thus obtain a date for Onatas’ works, and this at the epoch of his greatest excellence, for such an order from a remote country usually only fell to the lot of artists of note. Among his statues of the gods, the brazen Apollo of the Pergamenians was admired both for its size and artistic workmanship. The figure of Herculds also, which was placed at Olympia by the Thasians, was among his colossal works ; it was twenty feet high, and the left hand carried the bow, and the right the club. A Hermes, bearing a ram under his arm, and attired in helmet, chiton, and chlamys, was dedicated to Olympia by the Pheneates. The most remarkable work, however, must have been the Ceres Melaina, at Phigalia, which he « Cf. Overbeck’s Gesch. do- Griecli. Plastik, i. p. 1 10, and the same author’s Aufsatz in der Zeitschr: / . Altcrlhiimswisscnscluft, 1856, No. 52, III. To about 470 b.c. 101 was called upon to execute in bronze, after the old wooden statue had been destroyed by fire. This ancient statue was one of the last traces of the Eastern ideas of deity, for it had a horse’s head. The artist was obliged to adhere to this old and sacred type, which he is alleged to have remodelled partly from a drawing and partly through the inspiration of divine apparitions. Lastly, the Athenian school is represented by several masters ^AthenT re P u tation, wood carving having already long flourished in Athens, at any rate under the Dasdalidae. While in the earlier period the art-loving Pisistratus had here promoted large undertakings, it is remarkable that at this epoch the expulsion of the Pisistratidae gave occasion for the erection of many public monuments. Thus Antenor executed statues of the tyrannicides Harmodius and Aristogiton, which were carried away by Xerxes in the year 480 ; and the heroic courage of the loved one of Harmodius, who, even when put to torture, could not be brought to confes- sion, was immortalized by a monument from the hand of Amphicrates, which was erected in allusion to her name, Leaena, in the form of a lioness, and was placed at the entrance to the Acropolis. As contemporaries of Onatas and Ageladas, we hear of Hegias (Hegesias), who is mentioned as the master of Phidias, and who executed the statues of the Dioscuri at Rome, in front of the Temple of J upiter Tonans ; also the closely united masters Critius and Nesiotes, who produced another monument of Harmodius and Aristogiton, which was erected in the year 476. If the works of these three artists are designated by the ancients as light, compact, sinewy and cold, we can gather from this verdict no special characterization of them, as it harmonizes with the pecu- liarities of all existing works of the epoch. On the other hand, Friedrichs has made the important discovery of copies of the tyrannicides of Critius and Nesiotes, and these afford us a clear idea of the composition of their work. Even before this, small representations of the work had been found. Both on Attic coins (Fig. 44), and on a marble seat (depicted in the middle of the figures), copies had been known, which, exhibiting the group as they do from different sides, furnish a proof that the original was an insulated work. We see the two friends closely united, shoulder to shoulder, rushing forth on their dangerous undertaking ; the youthful Harmodius is the assailant ; hastening quickly forwards, unconcerned for his own life, he raises his sword for the fatal blow. His companion, Aristogiton, characterized by the beard as the older, steps forward as a careful second ; with the left arm, he is stretching out his mantle to protect his friend, while his right hand grasps the dagger to support the attack with vigour. We have evidently here before us a work of well weighed and carefully balanced composition. In two marble statues in the museum at Naples (the right and left figures in the plate) 102 Greek Sculpture . Friedrichs had discovered repetitions of the original. It is true the arms of both statues have been restored, not to speak of other renovations, and in the left hands of each we have to imagine the sword-handle, and to complete the swords in the right hand ; moreover the head of Aristogiton is not the one that belonged to the figure, and in the freer treatment of the hair it presents a contrast to the antique and regular curls of the other; on the whole, however, the compact sinewy frame is a true remnant of the old art, which we find confirmed by subsequent copies. Gnv/fs in tin- F ar better, indeed, is our position when we proceed to criticize Temple at the contemporary Eginetan art ; for among the most important discoveries we may reckon that of the famous pediment group of the temple of Pallas at Egina, which was accomplished in 1811 by a society of archaeologists. The most reemarkable of all the works preserved of that early period (it was executed about 475), was restored by Thorwaldsen in a masterly manner, and was obtained by King Louis of Bavaria for the Glyptothek af Munich. Each of the two pediments contains a group of eleven marble statues, those of the western pediment being for the most part in complete preservation, that is to say, ten figures and the fragments of the eleventh ; while of the eastern pediment there are still five figures left, and considerable fragments of the others. In both pediments the scene is taken from the contests of the Greeks before Troy ; in both, the corpse of a fallen III. To about 470 b.c. 103 Greek forms the point of a dispute, which is decided by the interference of Athene in favour of the Greeks. In the west pediment, the body is recognized as that of Achilles, which Ajax, in company with Ulysses and others, is defending against the Trojans; in the east pediment, the contest concerns the fallen CEcleus, who is protected by Telamon and Hercules against Laomedon and other Trojans. The goddess is standing erect in the centre of the pediment, and endeavouring with uplifted shield and half lowered lance to cover the body of the fallen man (Fig. 45) ; the latter is lying outstretched at her feet, just where the fatal missile had cast him down, and a Trojan warrior is bending forward to draw him away. This attempt is covered by the shield of an advancing Trojan, who is defending it with uplifted lance (Fig. 48), while on the other side a Greek in similar position is hastening forward to attack him (Fig. 45). Each of these two figures is followed * by a kneeling archer (Figs. 46 and 49), the only warriors who are clothed, and the Trojan, in whose bearing we recognize Paris, wears the curved Phrygian helmet and the close-fitting coat of mail. These are each again followed by a kneeling warrior, who is bending forward to give force to the thrust of his lance. The extreme corners of the pediment are lastly filled, each with a fallen warrior, one of whom is endeavouring to draw the arrow out of his wound. This composition which, with slight deviations, is repeated in all essentials on each pediment, is well adapted to the space, and is arranged with strict symmetry, the freer rhythmical con- 77 ^ Composition. struction being only broken by the figure of the falling man and of the warrior who is seizing him, and even then the balance is restored by the principal figure of the goddess who is advancing as a protectress. With all this strict architectural distribution, each figure, with the exception of Athene, who appears antiquely stiff and constrained, exhibits a freedom of movement and position, which, while it betrays a certain perceptible regard to the effect of the whole, reveals an admirable acquaintance with the human form. The more, however, we consider this work in detail, the higher is the idea we form of the artistic merit of its master. The figures which are not quite life size, are executed with unsurpassable anatomical accuracy and correctness, and this in a style which gives with distinctness the play of the muscles, the swelling of the veins, and the organic connection of the limbs, which traces the outline with the utmost truth and delicacy, and which in every line exhibits the manly strength of an athletic frame. We have here • * Brunn’s idea of letting the archers change places with the lance-bearers kneeling behind them, is not to my mind convincing ( Sitzangsber . der bayr. Akad. d. Wissensch., 1868, Bd. II.). The form of composition thus obtained appears to me to lose much of its repose and of the beauty of its lines. 104 Greek Sculpture. a perfect adherence to nature, combined with masterly power over the subject and perfection of technical skill, though without rising to any ideal height. Nevertheless, even here, there is no lack of that idealism without which we cannot conceive Hellenic art ; for apart from the ideality of the III. To about 470 b.c. 1*05 subject, the nudeness of most of the figures is in itself a conscious and artistic deviation from sober reality. High, however, as the Eginetan artist stands in the perfect Want of execution of the natural form, well as he succeeds in every expression, m J indication of physical power, he is unable to denote the emotions of the mind by any variety of expression. The heads of his warriors have VOL. I. p Greek Sculpture. io 6 all the same stiff smiling character which is common to the old statues of the gods, and is also apparent in his Minerva. Hence the figures are deficient in that high intellectual life which is only felt when every action receives its explanation and reflex in the accompanying expression of the countenance. The eyes are large with strongly projecting lids ; the nose is prominent, the lips sharply defined, the chin largely developed, and lastly, the hair, when not covered by a helmet, is conventionally treated in small curls in parallel rows. We must also mention the numerous traces of colour and metal ornament which all the figures evidence. The bodies, it is true, with the exception of the hair, eyes, and lips, were without colour ; but the weapons, helmets, shields, and quivers were either red or blue; the coats of mail were also painted, and the sandals, and the edge of Athena’s garment, and the holes in the brim of her helmet, in the ears, and in the aegis denote the presence of bronze ornament. A higher stage of development is, however, indicated, as East Group. Brunn * has demonstrated in his acute investigations, in the execution of the eastern pediment. The strict, compact, and dry style of the western group is here exchanged for a mode of treatment which gives greater animation to the forms, and invests them with a more perfect feeling of nature, besides adapting itself more to the requirements of the marble. This is especially the case in Hercules as the dying warrior, in whose head there is a surprising truth of expression, contrasting strongly with the conventional stamp of the heads in the western group. At the same time, we cannot overlook the fact that not all the figures of the eastern pediment exhibit the same degree of finish. In all this we must agree with Brunn, when he recognizes in the west gable the work of an art which, when separated from external influence, has remained stationary ; and in the east pediment, on the contrary, the power of a later stage of development, striving after a higher feeling of life ; when, in conclusion, he sums up the matter by saying, “ That the west group may correspond with the idea which we have been wont to form of the art of Callon, while the east group reminds us of the higher eulogiums with which Pausanias mentions the art of Onatas.” Hitherto, in the contemporary art of the Ionic races, we can Attic Works, find nothing even approximating in importance to these valuable works, which we may, without doubt, assign to the greatest masters of Egina. That the art of Attica, however, was at that time in nowise subordinate to the Eginetan, we gather not only from the statements of the ancients, but we also find these confirmed by the few specimens pre- * H. Brunn : Uber das Alter der aginetiscficn Bildwerke. Sitzungsber. der bayr. Akad. der IVissensch. tS67- 4 III. To about 470 b.c. 107 served. Among the most important of these is the marble slab of about three feet high, found in the Acropolis at Athens, and still kept there (Fig. 51), on which a female figure, driving a chariot, is represented in the slightest bas-relief.* The action is that of the moment, for she seems to have just got into the chariot, but gracefully bending forward, she is holding the reins with outstretched arms. A garment, gracefully falling in parallel folds, covers her shoulders and flows down to her knees. Although this beautiful work is in a sad state of preservation, and the head especially has suffered much, there is such grace about it, such softness and such delicacy of outline, that we feel something of the charm of that noble womanhood which subse- quently meets our eye in still higher perfection on the frieze of the Parthenon. We may perhaps recognize the peculiarity of Attic art, in the greater depth and sanctity of the figure, and in a certain ethical beauty and purity, in contrast to the more vigorous action, aimed at in the Eginetan groups. The same feeling is awakened by a marble statue in the Vatican, Uie'vatkli. thou g ht to represent Penelope. She is sitting on a rock with her knees crossed one over the other, as if absorbed in longing or sadness, her beautiful head is bent forwards, and her right arm rests on her knee, while her left hand lies on the rock. The utter carelessness of the attitude betokens a deep sadness ; this is still further indicated by the sorrow- * Copied in Scholl’s Mittheilungen , taf. ii. fig. 4. io8 Greek Sculpture. ful expression of the finely drawn head, which is covered with a veil, from beneath which the hair falls loosely over the face and the shoulders. The figure is relief-like in its composition, and belonged probably to a group in which Ufy sses may have been represented as the old nurse Eurycleia is pre- paring a bath for him, while Penelope sits by absorbed in grief. A com- position of the same kind is found in antique terra-cotta. In the constrained and faulty drawing of the left hand the style reminds us of the period in which Attic art was yet incapable of combining the expression of spiritual life, after which she strove, with the full perfection of the forms of nature. This is the effect almost always produced by the works of Calamis, whom we shall presently have occasion to mention as the principal master of this transition period in Athens.* Among the works in which we can trace the advance of Af) ['thcu‘ Attic art shortly before the period of her highest development, we may mention the marble statue of Apollo, recently found at Athens, in the Theatre of Dionysus, which was excavated by Strack.j- It is true both feet and the forepart of the arm are broken off, but the rest of this interesting work, even to the nose, is in all essentials, in good preservation. An omphalos, found in the neighbourhood, with traces of feet on the upper surface, seems to have served as a basis for this figure of Apollo. The style of the work is antiquely rude and strict, and still adheres to the characteristics of the Apollo statues of Tenea and Thera ; but what is only indicated in those is here achieved with masterly skill and acute understanding of the forms of nature. This is especially the case in the delicately executed knees and muscular back. The whole conception is vigorous ; the broad shoulders, the powerful chest, the slender hips and sinewy thighs, give an idea of strong manly power. At the same time the proportions are extremely slender, and the head is small when compared with the breadth of the figure. The arrange- ment of the hair, too, is remarkable, for the god has his long locks plaited in - two tails, which are fastened round the head, and are joined in front over the curls that hang over the forehead. It is evidently a work of the transition period, even in the earlier copy, which is executed with great understanding ; for we find a repetition of the same original in the excellent and almost perfect marble statue of the British Museum, which forms the centre of attraction in the Phigalian Hall. It shares all the essential characteristics of the Athenian work, except that the figure is supported against the bough . * Cf. C. Friedrichs : Bausteine , s. 36. The position of the figure recalls to mind that of Electra in the clay-relief at Melos, mentioned p. 90. 'Whether, therefore, Penelope is the correct explanation, must remain all the more doubtful as the rocky background argues rather against the supposition than in favour of it. f Publ. by Conze. Beit rage, taf. iii., et seq. III. To about 470 b.c. 109 of a tree. Another repetition of a much weaker kind is to be found in the Capitol. If, in these works, we have only copies of some famous „ H \ st a . original of the time of Calamis, the famous Vesta Giustiniani — now rather difficult of access in the Museo Torlonia in Rome — seems, on the contrary, to be an original creation of the same epoch, and probably proceeds from the Attic school (Fig. 52). Calm and solemn, the goddess stands there almost motionless ; her garment flows down in strict parallel lines, concealing even the feet, thus affording a faint resemblance to the column-like form of the earliest divinities. The leather-like and stiff upper garment which falls down over her broad bosom, scarcely even permitting an indication of its form, also belongs to the same antique style. The head, moreover, is still motionless, the stiff curls are half covered by the veil, the eyes are wide-open, with sharp rims, and the lips, as in the Eginetan group, are hardly outlined. Thus there is something solemn and unapproachable in the whole figure. Never- theless, in the slight turn of the head, in the position of the right hand, and in the beautiful arrangement of the veil falling over the left arm, we have evidence of an art struggling after life and freedom. The left hand evidently holds the sceptre, and, therefore, the completed fore- finger is an' error. In no other known work of antiquity is the solemn dignity of a temple statue of the old time so distinctly expressed. A similar stage of progress is indicated also in the valuable marble relief, which adorned the mouth of a temple-fountain (Puteal) at Corinth, and is now in England, in the possession of Lord Guildford. It is unquestionably one of the noblest works of the period previous to the highest development ot Greek art. In the understanding of the physical form, it is in nowise inferior to the Eginetan works ; but in various points, such as the whole of the sole being placed on the ground, it is still fettered by the limits of an antique mode of conception, though this has not prevented the artist Puteal from Corinth. (Hestia) VesLa Giustiniani. Rome I IO Greek Sculpture. from expressing with great delicacy all that he intended. The subject is the betrothal of Hercules with Hebe, or, rather, the delivery of the bride to the bridegroom. The figures are executed in bas-relief as a frieze round the circular enclosure, and are so arranged at equal and tolerably easy intervals that a procession of seven figures meets a smaller train of three. The latter consists of Hercules, attired in the lion’s skin, with the club on his right shoulder, and holding the bow in his left hand, accom- panied by his protectress, Minerva, and followed by his mother, Alcmene. The other procession is led by Apollo and Diana ; then follow Hera, as the mother of the bride, and Mercury, as representative of her father ; and the train is closed by the modestly resisting bride, who is led forward by (Aphrodite) Venus, and gently urged on by Peitho, who is following behind her. This last group is better devised than anything we know in Greek art. At the same time, not these figures only, but all the others are full of characteristic action and are distinguished by the most ingenious variety in the drapery. Apollo, Diana, and Minerva are the only ones in pure profile position ; all the others, in spite of the strict profile outline of the legs, have the upper part of the body more or less strongly turned front-wise, the heads being sometimes in a corresponding position and sometimes, again, more in profile. These are, of course, remnants of the antique style ; but there is, nevertheless, a freedom of movement and a softness in the transitions which scarcely allow us to perceive any trace of restraint. It is a pity that most of the heads are too much destroyed for us to form an opinion as to the amount of expression ; yet sufficient is preserved to show us that the countenances are no longer moulded in Eginetan stiffness. Contrasting with this 'twLT -Attic st yl e > and, there- fore, standing in greater affinity with the Eginetan, are a number of metope reliefs in the museum at Palermo, belonging to two temples of a later date- — pro- bably the middle of the fifth century.* They contain several scenes from the battles of the giants, in which Minerva is remarkably conspicuous ; also a very life-like representation of Actseon attacked by his dogs at the * See Serradikalco’s Antiquita della Sicilia, taf. 28-34. III. To about 470 b.c. 1 1 1 command of Diana (Fig. 53), besides Hercules fighting with an Amazon, and the meeting of Jupiter and Hera on Mount Ida, as depicted in the Iliad (xav. 152 , et seq.). The representations are executed in strong relief on tufaceous limestone, which has suffered much from the weather ; the heads, hands, and feet of the female figures are laid on in white marble and, there- fore, are in good preservation. The figures are compact, and in this they resemble those of the Eginetan work, but they are not so well finished, nor do they evince such perfect understanding as those. On the other hand, the composition, in spite of the constraint which it evidences in many points, exhibits surprising life and freshness, the heads even displaying a variety of expression and a stamp of free intelligence far superior to the stiff smile of the Eginetan countenances. We must, however, mention that the type of heads exhibits the same characteristics as the earlier Selinuntian works (p. 83), only that the forms are more life-like and harmonious, the proportions more correct, the eyes smaller, though with the same defined lids, and the lips more natural, and even full. To about the same period belongs the only work of import- ance which affords evidence of the advance of early Greek art in central Italy; we allude to the marble relief of Orestes Relief from Ariccia. avenging his father, found at Ariccia, and now in the Despuig collection at Majorca. It consists of six figures, among whom the fatally wounded and falling H£gisthus appears to be the best and most original. The avenger with naked sword is striding over him to commit some fresh act of murder, though yet uncertain and doubtful of his victim, for his mother, who is grasping his shoulder imploringly, is supplicating him to forbear. By her side stands Electra, who is casting a speaking glance at her brother, as though to strengthen him in his resolve ; lastly, at both ends of the relief are two mourning attendants, in whose expression of horror the effect of the terrible deed is vividly depicted. This remarkable work, which in its coarse outline, and in many external points, adheres to the strict antique style, is evidently the production of an art striving after freer expression and dramatic life, and wrestling to shake off the restraint of conventional ideas. Hence the advancing figures are still stiff and constrained, while that of the falling yEgisthus is ingeniously imagined and excellently executed. Lastly, among the most remarkable remains of this earlier art, is a marble head, found at Tivoli, and since presented by the Knight Azara to the Museum at Madrid. Without Head at Madrid. any reason, modern restoration has assigned to it the name Pherecydes ; but it is certain that we have here one of the rare portra : ts executed in this early stage of art, and that in all probability it is not to be regarded as a mere copy of a later date. The expression evidences I I 2 Greek Sculpture. the latent power of an archaic period, when the mental energies have not yet been deeply aroused, but at the same time the individual traits are distinctly defined, although perhaps more externally revealed. The parted mouth with its heavy lips, the high and sharply outlined eyes are significant, and still more so is the peculiar treatment of the short hair, which the artist has rather conventionally indicated by obliquely crossed lines, while the full beard in its rich flow betrays an advance towards greater freedom of conception. Thus this work also, like many others, is an evidence of the strong artistic impulses of this epoch. III. To about 470 r.c. 1 1 Archaic From all these works of a true archaic art, isolated as they Slain t are ’ we mus t carefully distinguish a number of other monuments which apparently belong to the same style, but in truth are pro- ducts of a more recent love of antiquity, and an imitation of the antique style of those old works. The heads have been given the same smiling expression, the hair has the same stiff curls, and the drapery the same parallel folds, nevertheless the fuller and more finished forms of an advanced art have not been set aside, and these contrast sensibly with the assumed con- straint. While therefore in really antique works, a true feeling is apparent in spite of all their strictness and imperfect development, these imitation works only exhibit an affected grace, and are devoid of all warmth of feeling. Of this kind is the marble torso of Minerva in the Museum at Dresden (Fig. 54), in which the ten battle scenes, executed in the liveliest relief on the front fold of the peplos, evidence most unequivocally a later origin. Fig. 56. From the Altar of the Twelve Gods. Paris. In the same series we may also reckon the figure of Diana, a marble statue executed with great industry, discovered not far from Torre del Greco, and now in the Museum at Naples (Fig. 55). The rich drapery bears many traces of colour on the edge, and colour is also discernible on the sandals, quiver, and head-band, with its graceful rosettes. The hair also shews the remains of gilding. There is a marble statue of a woman in the Glyptothek at Munich, which is of a similar kind ; it is alleged to be a figure of Hope, and the precise folds of the chiton and peplos harmonize but little with the soft and full outline of the head. VOL. I. Q Greek Sculpture. 1 14 Still more frequent are the reliefs in an archaic style, which we constantly find on altars, or as supports to tripods, or on the edge of fountains, or on the feet of candelabra and other things. Of this kind is the famous altar of the twelve gods, formerly in the Villa Borghese, and now in the Louvre ; we subjoin the lower scene on one side, representing three Graces advancing (Fig. 56). There is also a marble tripod basis in the Museum at Dresden, depicting the robbery of the Delphic tripod by Hercules (Fig. 57), its reconsecration, and another scene less distinct in character. The exaggerated affectation of the walk, and the fine understanding of the physical form, betray the imitative hand of a later artist. All these works, a great number of which are to be found in the different museums, bear the same relation to the creations of really antique art, as in our own day the forced imitation of the constrained works of mediaeval art bear to their models. Masters of the Before we proceed to consider the epoch at which Greek art Transition reached its height, we must mention three great masters, who stand on the threshold of the new period, and yet, in many respects, belonged to the earlier art. The first is Calamis, whom we may designate as an Athenian both from the locality and style of his Calamis. works. He must have attained to considerable reputation as early as 468, for at that time he was engaged with Onatas of Egina in III. To about 470 b.c. 1 15 executing the brazen chariot with four horses, which the tyrant Hiero of Syracuse sent to Olympia. Calamis appears far more varied in his subjects than any of the earlier masters. Not merely did he produce figures of the gods, such as Jupiter Ammon, which Pindar consecrated in Thebes, three Apollos, and one as Alexicacus in the Ceramicus at Athens, a Mercury at Tanagra in JBceotia, a Bacchus in Parian marble at the same place, a Venus (Aphrodite) at the entrance of the Acropolis in Athens, and a beardless , Asclepius in gold and ivory, holding a sceptre and pine-apple in his hands, at Corinth ; but he also executed heroic scenes : for instance, Alcmene and Hermione, the latter of which was dedicated to Delphi by the Lacedaemonians, a representation of boys with race-horses, placed in Olympia, in remem- brance of a victory of Hiero, and chariots with four or two horses. For the Agrigentines he made some bronze figures of boys praying, which ■ were dedicated to Olympia, after the victory over Motya. In addition to all this, he was skilled in every kind of technical art, for he worked in marble, gold and ivory, and bronze ; he produced, moreover, colossal designs, as is evidenced by that colossal bronze figure of Apollo, sixty feet in height, which was brought from Apollonia to Rome, and was publicly erected there, and he was famous for the engraving of silver goblets. Among the ancients his horses are the most extolled ; their unsurpassable beauty and life were so great that Praxiteles replaced the charioteer of four of Calamis’ horses, by a new one from his own hand, so that the horses might not surpass their driver in perfection of form. Among the other works of Calamis we must award the praise of noble and modest grace peculiarly to his Alcmene and to the figure of Sosandra, on the Acropolis at Athens, and we will conclude our sketch of the artist, by stating that with all the perfect beauty and freedom of his animal figures, his human forms are not wholly free from the constraint of conventional art, though executed with grace, and exhibiting the expression of tender feeling. A marble copy of one of his works, Mercury (Criophorus), bearing a ram, which was executed for Tanagra, is in Lord Pembroke’s posses- sion, at Wilton House ; the symmetrical constraint and stiff attitude of the god, and the life-like and natural character of the animal, well express the artist’s bias, although in the finish of the work, the antique character is almost Fig. 58. Mercury bearing a Ram. Wilton House. 1 1 6 Greek Sculpture. lost sight of (Fig. 58). A coin from Tanagra evidently points to the same model. The second of these masters is Pythagoras, from Rhegium, Pythagoras, in Magna Graecia. In contrast to the more ideal tendency of Calamis, he exhibits a stricter adherence to nature, and in intel- lectual merit and technical skill, appears more one-sided than the other, for almost his only famous works are statues of athletes, and these always in bronze, and heroic and mythological subjects are only exceptionally under- taken by him. But with all this one-sided restraint, he seems to have essen- tially advanced the art by the extraordinary acuteness of his observation of nature and by his delicacy of finish. In this respect Pliny says of him that he indicated the nerves and veins, and carefully executed the hair, from which it is thought that he consistently adhered to the truthful delineation of the figure in every part. This characterization is still further confirmed, when we find it said of him that his first object was rhythm and symmetry, that is, that he aimed at the harmony of the entire figure, at the perfect agreement of each separate part, and its accordance with the whole. This is especially apparent in his figure of the limping Philoctetus, at Syracuse, in which the spectator seems to feel the man’s pain, and hence an epigram appeared, which makes the wounded man complain that the artist has immortalized his suffering in bronze. Two gems, one in the Museum at Berlin, the other in private possession at Bonn, give a lively idea of the original. Among his numerous figures of athletes, a pancratist statue at Delphi is specially famous, as having out-rivalled a work of Myron’s. He was also a master in animal figures, as is evidenced in the chariot drawn by four horses at Olympia, in which the victor is represented as accompanied by Nice. At Tarentum his group of Europa on the bull was highly esteemed. He depicted more animated scenes in a group of Eteocles and Polynices, and in an Apollo killing the Python. Among his figures of heroes we may also mention a winged Perseus, and among his statues of the gods an Apollo Citharoedus. The latter received the title of the Just, because at the taking of Thebes by Alexander, he faithfully preserved the gold which a fugitive had concealed in his garments. The third and greatest of these artists, whose works, like Myron. those of Calamis, belong to Athens, is Myron of Eleutherae, in Bceotia. Like Phidias and Polycletus, he was a pupil of Ageladas of Argos, and he appears evidently older than his two fellow scholars, as he contended with Pythagoras. Great was his fame among the ancients, and great also is the number of works imputed to him, which extended as far as Asia Minor and Sicily. The material employed in these works was almost exclusively bronze, and Pliny mentions that he used the bronze of Eg in a. III. To about 470 b.c. 11 7 while his fellow scholar Polycletus preferred that of Delos. Yet occasionally we find mention made of works in wood, such as the Hecate at Egina, and also of silver vessels engraved by him. His works comprise a wide field of subjects ; statues of the gods, heroic and athletic figures, and animals. Among his ideal statues, an Erechtheus at Athens is praised as a work of great excellence, and also a Bacchus, which Sulla took from the Minyians at Orchomenus, and placed on the Helicon. A group of Jupiter with Minerva and Hercules stood in the Hypaethron of the Hera temple at Samos. Antony carried it to Rome, and Augustus gave it back to the temple, with the exception of the figure of Jupiter, for which he erected a small shrine on the Capitol. A similar fate befell a statue of Apollo, executed by Myron in Ephesus, which likewise was carried away by Antony, and which Augustus, warned in a dream, sent back. Another Apollo on whose thigh the master’s name is cut in silver letters, was carried away by Verres from the temple of Asclepius at Agrigentum. The same Verres took a Hercules from a private shrine, and this statue, according to Cicero, is justly assigned to Myron. Another Hercules by the same master was to be found, according to Pliny, in the house of Pompeius, in the Circus Maximus. These works, as well as a Perseus who had just vanquished the Medusa, aim chiefly at the representation of heroic power and strength. This is especially expressed in the numerous statues of victors which are to be seen as his works at Olympia and Delphi, and among which the Lacedaemonian Ladas is especially famous. A work of peculiar importance to us, however, is a group of Minerva and a satyr, full of wonder at the flutes, that is, Marsyas, who finds the flutes thrown away by the goddess and picks them up ; for a copy of Marsyas is preserved in a marble statue in the Lateran, which was discovered on the Esquiline in the early part of the present century. If we ask what was Myron’s distinguishing characteristic, we ofJris'Art* 1 ' mus t i n th e fi rst place give the somewhat negative answer, that, in the large series of his works there is scarcely a single indepen- dent representation of a female figure, and none in which grace and sweetness are expressed. This is of characteristic importance, as forming a striking contrast to Calamis, who from the ethical expression of his female figures manifests a tendency to delineate the inner life. Myron, on the other hand, applies himself predominantly to the representation of manly vigour and athletic or heroic strength, which he depicts not merely with the utmost life, but generally by catching a moment of great excitement.* Thus we recognize * Brunn : Ann. dell ’ Inst., 1858, and Mon. vi. pi. 23, to whom we owe this discovery, which is of the greatest value in our characterization of Myron, whether supported or not by the passage in Pausanias, i. 24, and by the copies on Attic coins and on a relief. The work is certainly Myronic. 1 1 8 Greek Sculpture. the tendency of his art in the large statue of the Lateran, which betrays the Fig. 59. Marsyas after Myron. Lateran. master’s hand in the exact, and perfectly finished delineation of an athletic frame, and the exact representation of the action of the moment (Fig. 59). III. To about 470 b.c. 1 19 We see the lively and rudely expressed delight in which the simple child of nature bursts forth at the sight of the flutes which the goddess Marsyas. has rejected, and we have only in imagination to restore the arms which have been unsuitably finished with castanets, in order without distraction to enjoy the effect of a work full of striking truth to nature and surpassing life. The same peculiar truth to life must The Cow. have marked the famous cow, which was the subject of many epigrams among the ancients, although none of them contains an idea of the position and action of the much extolled animal. On one point only all are agreed, and that is in praising its truth and naturalness, in fact, they seem scarcely able to lay sufficient stress on its possible mistake for reality. “ A lion will tear the cow, a bull leap upon it, a calf suckle it, and the rest of the herd will follow it ; the shepherd throws a stone at it to move it from its place, he strikes it, he beats it, he blows his horn to it ; the husbandman brings collar and plough to harness it, a thief tries to steal it, a gadfly settles on its coat, in fact, Myron even confounds it with the other animals of his herd.” (Gothe.) This wonderful work stood in Cicero’s time on the Acropolis at Athens, but subsequently it was conveyed to the Temple of Peace at Rome. Scarcely less famous was the statue of the Lacedaemonian Ladas, the victor in the Olympic race, Ladas. who died immediately after the exertion. The artist has given him such an expression of life that it seems as if the runner would leap down from the base, and as if in his effort to win the race, the breath was still hovering on his lips. If, from all these works, we ' thrower. ma y regard the most life-like truth to nature as the principal characteristic of Myron’s art, another great work from his hand — the Disk-thrower — affords us a further evidence of this quality, as we possess several marble copies of it, especially that in the Vatican (Fig. 60) and that beautiful one in the Palazzo Massimi. in Rome. The latter evidences, not merely in the design, but in the sharp delineation of the form and in the treatment of the head and hair, that it approaches most nearly to the original. Lucian, in a few words, gives a striking description of this work. “ Thou speakest of the 120 Greek Sculpture. disk-thrower, who is bending forward for the throw, with his face turned away towards the hand that holds the disk, and with one foot slightly pointed, as if he would raise himself with the action of throwing.” In fact, we can imagine nothing more life-like than this noble image of youthful power and beauty, and this moment of rapid action thus caught in marble — the whole play of the muscles manifesting a tension which, in the next moment, must take a new direction. Looking at such works as these, we feel that Greek art at that time had attained to the highest freedom in the conception and representation of the physical frame and in the delineation of the most difficult and boldest actions, and that she only lacked for her perfection the intellectual depth and thoughtful feeling of a Phidias. How closely the art of this period approached to the admired Ri/nf of the mas t er - WOr ks of Phidias and his school is, in conclusion, evidenced Horse-breaker. by an excellent marble slab in the British Museum in London (Fig. 61). Found in the Villa of Hadrian at Tivoli, it represents Castor as a horse-breaker, just as he is in the act of vigorously holding back by the bridle the fiery steed, and is endeavouring to bring him to a halt by the weight of his own body. The composition is full of life and beauty, and is especially masterly in the figure of the hero, in which the double action of advancing forwards and of holding back is harmoniously combined, and the attitude of the horse alone makes the narrow limits of the space perceptible. While the III. To about 470 b. c. 121 insurpassable delicacy of the outlines and the slight elevation of the relief are in nowise inferior to the Parthenon frieze ; it is only in the treatment of the forms themselves that there is something cold and poor, and there is a hard- ness in the execution which deprives this excellent work of that effect of ideal grace and softness which marks the sculptures of the Parthenon. Still, in its whole stamp, we may regard it as a production of Attic sculpture which may represent to us the treatment of such subjects in the period preceding that of Phidias. We must express a similar verdict with regard to the splendid Relief ft' out E leads, large marble relief which was excavated at Eleusis in the year 1859, and was conveyed to Athens (Fig. 62). It represents the two great Eleusinian divinities, Ceres and Cora, who are performing some sacred rite upon Triptolemus, who is standing between them. The relief is of the most delicate character, especially the youthful figure of the boy, which VOL. I. R 122 Greek Sculpture. is full of noble grace, and also that of Cora, which, in its easy action and charming flow of drapery, already betrays a breath of the time of Phidias, while the conventional treatment of the hair and the constraint exhibited in the arms of Ceres, testify that the stiffness of the earlier art is not yet wholly overcome. It evidently belongs to those works which were produced at the period of the greatest perfection of Attic art, while the master who created it has not yet wholly freed himself from the trammels of a stricter and earlier style. Female Runner Corresponding with these Attic works, we find in the Gallery in the of the Candelabrum in the Vatican the charming marble statue of l atican. a woman prepared for the race, a work which is probably a copy of a bronze original of Peloponnesian art. The maiden is attired in a short, close-fitting chiton, open at one side, such as virgins were wont to wear at the races held at Olympia in honour of Hera. A broad girdle confines the garment, and the action of the figure, which, with the body bent forward, and the right foot slightly raised, is on the point of beginning the race, has some- what of that momentary character and that naive freshness, which meets us in Myron’s works. Thus the graceful figure presents to us one of those numerous positions with which the Greek artists gave an interest to their statues of victors. That we have here the marble copy of a bronze work, is evident from the stem of the tree, the removal of which would give greater lightness to the figure. Among the most beautiful remains of this transition period, AnniAvi at mus t next mention the marble torso of a dying amazon in the cabinet of coins and antiquities at Vienna. It is true both arms are lacking, and the right leg from the knee downwards, as well as the whole of the left leg : but the attitude is not to be mistaken. It depicts an Amazon, who has received a fatal wound in the left breast and is just falling in a swoon. The head, covered with a half-destroyed helmet, is drooping down on the left shoulder, and the closed eyes betray the fact that life is ebbing. True to life as the action is, there is still no deeper expression of feeling mingled with it, and the double garment, that conceals the full form, reminds us of the style of earlier art ; but there is greater life apparent in the arrange- ment of the folds. From an antique gem in the possession of Herr von Pulszky, at Pesth, we may suppose that we have before us only the fragments of a group, which represented the dying Penthesilea, supported in the arms of Achilles. It is one of those fertile subjects for plastic art, which in the succeeding period produced works of the highest importance. Lastly, belonging to the same transition period, there is the l ouu at excellent bronze statuette in the cabinet of antiques at Tubingen, lubingen. ^ 0 a work of all the more importance, as artistic bronze designs at III. To about 470 b.c. 123 this early time are extremely rare. It represents the charioteer Baton, in the act of restraining the horses of his companion, Amphiaraus, from falling into the abyss which has swallowed their master. The life-like character of the action is displayed in a masterly manner, and the style, though sharp, betrays an understanding of form, so that here also the antique strictness of the work is pervaded by a breath of natural life. THIRD CHAPTER. SECOND PERIOD OF GREEK PLASTIC ART. From the time of Cimon to the end of the Peloponnesian War. c. 470 — c. 400. The Persian Wars. The Persian wars form the turning point between the first and second period of Grecian history. The Hellenic people had even in the former epoch freed themselves by unremitting mental culture from all Asiatic influence ; in every department of active life they had turned away from the East, and had signed for ever the breach of union with her. In the Persian wars this renunciation received its bloody ratification. It was necessary to save the new European freedom, just developing in Greece, from the encroachments of Asiatic despotism. How the Greeks dis- charged this noble task, is inscribed with imperishable characters in the annals of history ; and how truly, moreover, they understood its importance and depth, we still read in the incomparable works of /Eschylus and Herodotus. , , And as if it were now incumbent to show what was the New Advance in Civiliza • civilization which the barbarians would have crushed in the um. germ, the Greek national mind unfolded in all its splendour immediately after the Persian wars. In political life, as well as in art and science, the bands were loosened, and released from its former restraint, the Greek mind developed with perfect freedom and beauty. Athens, the champion in the great wars for liberty, was the central point of this development. Pier statesmen and heroes — Aristides and Themistocles, Cimon and Pericles — ■ opened the way for the free advance of civilization. The great tragic w r riters, Hfschylus and Sophocles, celebrated in ideal creations the grandeur of Hellenic life ; history and philosophy rose into freedom of investigation and Greek Sculpture. 1 24 fulness of representation ; and lastly, the plastic arts, with architecture at their head, combined to take the final step towards complete perfection of beauty. All that was achieved in the short space of one generation (from 460 to about 430), belongs, even in the poor mutilated remains which have come down to us, to the most splendid possessions of the human mind ; and so long as a trace remains of them, they will afford the purest enjoyment and the noblest element of culture to all generations to come. For, although this period of incomparable perfection, like all that is beautiful on earth, lasted but for a short time, although the Peloponnesian war, kindled by jealousy and discord, speedily destroyed the power and vigour of Greek life, yet the fruits of that which was then created, lasted for thousands of years. And so mighty was at that time the intellectual impulse of the Greek people, that even the confusion of an almost thirty years’ civil war could not repress the growth of civilization ; but, on the contrary, in uninterrupted progress the Hellenic mind continued to advance to further stages of development both in art and science. We will take a glance at these changes in the separate states within this short period. I. Attic Artists. The advance of plastic art to its utmost height of beauty Phidias. is connected with the name of Phidias. This greatest sculptor of all ages was born at Athens about the year 500. His father’s name was Charmides. The great Persian wars occurred in the boyhood and youth of the rising Phidias. What enthusiasm must the great deeds of his country have excited in the sensitive mind of such a boy ! At that time, undoubtedly, that spark of enthusiasm was kindled in his soul, which gave birth to those sublime works which embodied the highest ideas of the Greek mind. Phidias seems at first to have devoted himself to painting, but he soon perceived his true vocation and repaired to Hegias for instruction. He then turned to Argos, where he completed his artistic studies under Ageladas. He first worked independently in the time of Cimon (c. 460-463), who began the splendid restoration of the shrines destroyed by the Persians. When, after Cimon’s banishment, Pericles stood at the hea-d of affairs, Phidias, then about thirty-seven years of age, was at that turning point in life when youthful ardour and manly vigour are combined. He became the friend of the great statesman and his right hand in the splendid artistic undertakings with which Pericles proposed to complete the work which Cimon had begun for the restoration of Athens. The monuments of the Acropolis now rose from the I. Attic Artists. 125 ashes more stately and more beautiful than before, and all that art could produce that was new and magnificent was added to increase the splendour. When, with the completion of the Parthenon (437), Phidias had finished the work of his ripest manhood, at the age of sixty-three he obeyed a summons to Elis to adorn the temple of Jupiter at Olympia. A numerous train of pupils followed him. He was received with the greatest honours, and the Elians erected for him in the court of the temple an atelier, which has since been carefully preserved and shown with reverence to travellers. After the completion of his work, the colossal statue of the Olympic Jupiter, which in grandeur and majesty surpassed all his former tasks, the master returned to Athens in 432. Party spirit had, meanwhile, begun to rise against Pericles. His friend and adherent, Phidias, was the first victim on whom the power of the opposition vented itself. He was accused of having embezzled a part of the gold assigned for the execution of the statue of Minerva. As, however, as Pericles suggested, the gold in every chryselephantine work was in reality capable of being removed, the emptiness of this accusation could be proved. A new and more dangerous charge of blasphemy was next brought against him, because Phidias had introduced his own likeness and that of Pericles on the shield of the goddess. The great master was thrown into prison, where a short time after he died, some say of poison, in the sixty-eighth year of his life. This account of the end of Phidias, which we gather from ^of’hisEnd™ P^ utarc h’ s hfe of Pericles, certainly sounds fictitious, and it is undoubtedly not free from invention. The other version, however, contained in the Scholium to Aristophanes’ Peace, sounds no less improbable. According to this he is said to have gone to Elis in order to escape the law at Athens, and while there to have created his Jupiter for Olympia. He is said to have perished there, likewise under a charge of having embezzled gold. This double embezzlement, the unworthy flight from Athens, and the apparently casual commission to undertake the great work for Olympia, are all circumstances which appear to us even more improbable than the first account. However scanty are the records of his life, the richer is the ]] phidnu ^ ow i n f° rma ti° n with regard to the world of works of art which he produced. We can only draw attention to the most important of these. To his early epoch several works belong, the origin of which is immediately connected with the Persian wars. Thus, for instance, First Epoch, there was the dedicatory offering which was presented to Delphi by the Athenians, on account of the victory at Marathon. It represented in an independent group of thirteen bronze statues, Miltiades, surrounded by Minerva, Apollo, and the Attic heroes. The central point was Greek Sculpture. i 2 6 formed by the hero of Marathon, at whose side stood the two protecting deities. Then followed the heroes of seven of the Attic districts, probably originally of all the ten, besides Theseus, Codrus, and Phileas, the ancestor of Miltiades. It was thus a group, such as we have already become familiar with in the works of Ageladas and Aristomedon, the earlier masters of Argos. Phidias also executed several colossal statues of the tutelar goddess of Athens, and it is his merit to have been the first to produce a characteristic representation of her. Among these statues was one in gold and 1 ivor y> the temple of Pellene in Achaia, apparently one of the master’s earliest works ; also the Colossal Minerva Aria at Plataea, which was an acrolith, i.e., a wooden figure covered with gold, the nude parts being formed of Pentelican marble; above all, however, the famous brazen statue of (Athene) Minerva, about seventy feet in height, which the Athenians caused to be executed out of the spoils of Marathon, in remembrance of the Persian victories, and which they placed on the Acropolis, at Athens. We know with regard to this work, that the crest of the helmet and the point of the lance were seen miles away, and the mariner, sailing by Sunium, caught a glimpse of his national goddess. On the other hand, we are not accurately informed either as .to the position or the attitude of the statue ; in fact the question becomes all the more confused from the various representations on Attic coins. For sometimes the goddess appears with the lance in her outstretched left hand, while the shield, held in her right, rests on her foot ; another time she is holding the shield, as if for defence, in her left arm, and grasping with her right hand almost the point of the firmly planted lance. We must confess that this more vigorous position corresponds better with a champion goddess, as the people styled her, than the calm b;aring of a Promachus.* Another bronze statue of Minerva, which the Lemnians placed on the Acropolis, exhibited the peaceful goddess, and, on account of its beauty, it was even preferred to that of Promachus. Lastly, in this first epoch of the artist’s career, we may Amazon. probably place the Amazon, which he executed for the temple of Diana, at Ephesus, in competition with Polycletus, Cresilas and other artists. She is represented as supporting herself on a spear, and * From the fact that the sculptor Mys, about a generation after Phidias, engraved on the shield a battle of the Centaurs and other scenes, it is sometimes inferred that the shield was only then so placed, because otherwise such delicate works of art could not be seen and enjoyed ; but this arises rather from a modern than an antique view of things. For the Greeks (and it was so also repeatedly in the art of the Middle Ages) aimed in such tasks above all in honouring the Divinity with the highest ornament and the richest work : the enjoyment of the work of art w'as thoroughly subordinate. A proof of this is the fact that in great monuments, such as temples, those parts which from their locality were never seen, such as the back of pediment statues, were just as carefully executed as the front side which -was open to the view of all. I . A ttic A rtists. 127 though the figure is especially esteemed for the expression of the mouth and the form of the neck, it was surpassed by the works of the other two masters. We may infer from this, that with all his excellence in such subjects, the lofty mind of Phidias found its peculiar attraction in tasks of a purely ideal character. In fact, the two principal works, which the creative power of Second Epoch, his riper years produced, belong to this sphere. The second epoch of his realistic career is filled with the works with which he embellished the Acropolis at Athens. Pericles caused the Parthenon, the festive temple of the virgin and tutelar goddess (Athene) Minerva, which had been destroyed by the Persians, to be splendidly rebuilt ; and Phidias not merely superintended all the artistic work connected with it, but, with the aid of numerous coadjutors, he created the rich plastic ornament of the Parthenon. Above all, the colossal gold and ivory temple statue of Minerva Minet va p ar th C nus, formed out of the booty taken at Salamis, was the ■ work of his hand. The statue was fifty-two feet in height, and represented the goddess, not in her warlike aspect, but as peaceful and bestowing victory. We know that the goddess was depicted standing, that she had in her hands a golden Nice and a spear, that her shield was lowered, and that at her feet there was a model of the sacred serpent. For- tunately we are able, from a marble statuette found in the Pnyx in the year 1859, and now in the Museum of the Temple of Theseus, to form a more accurate idea of the composition of this magnificent work. This small statue, only thirty-four centimeters in height, which, with the exception of the head, has been left unfinished, and even on the right side is not wholly hewn out of the stone, exhibits the goddess in a calm attitude, with her garment falling in strict folds, which only acquire a slight air of freedom from the left foot being some- what drawn back. The expression of the round head, from which the long hair falls down on both sides over the shoulders as far as the aegis- covered bosom, is calm, and the eyes are looking gravely straightforward. The whole figure produces an effect of solemn majesty. Not less important is the work from the fact that it exhibits the shield in the left hand, and in the hollow of it the sacred serpent in an erect position. We must assign the spear also to the left hand, and imagine the winged Nice on the right. The short compact proportions of Greek Sculpture. 1 28 the figure are striking. The head must have presented an aspect of serious and elevated beauty. The golden helmet that covered it was adorned in front with a sphinx, and on each side with a griffin. The other parts of the armour were also richly ornamented. The breast was enclosed in a coat of mail, with the Gorgoneum, which bore the Medusa’s head. On the inside of the shield the contest between the giants and the gods was depicted, and on the outside the battle of the Amazons, in which Phidias had introduced his own likeness and that of Pericles. A copy of this work has recently been discovered on a marble shield in the British Museum,* which is unfortunately much injured; it exhibits the scenes spread over the whole surface round a Medusa head, which is introduced in the centre. Even the edge of the sandals of the goddess was covered with a relief depicting the contest between the Lapithse and the Centaurs, and on the base of the statue was engraved the birth of Pandora, in the presence of several of the gods. The nude parts of the statue were of ivory, sparkling gems were inserted for the eyes, and the drapery, arms, and rich ornaments, were fashioned in gold. The gold alone amounted to the enormous sum of 44 talents, about 1 17, 975 pounds of our money. The statue was com- pleted in 437 B.C. ; Aristocles must have restored the base about the year 400. In spite of its partial spoliation by the tyrant Lachares (296 A.D.), it was standing in all its majesty at the end of the fourth century of our era. Since then it has vanished entirely, and the spot alone on which the base stood has been recently discovered on the rocky soil of the Acropolis. When we consider that besides this chief work of Phidias, Copies. five other statues of Minerva may be authenticated as his pro- duction, one of which was also of bronze, and was carried to Rome by SEmilius Paulus ; we may well assume that he had established for ever the essential lineaments of the character of the solemn goddess. What Fig. 64. Bust of Pallas. Glyptothek. Conze in Gerhard’s Archdol. Ztg. 1865, taf. 196, et seq. I. Attic Artists. 1 29 variety he nevertheless displayed in these works, is evident from the records of the ancients. In one the goddess wore a more peaceful expression, in another, as in the Parthenus, she assumed a more warlike mien. The Lemnian Minerva on the Acropolis at Athens, was especially beautiful ; but even this beauty we cannot conceive to have been either soft or feminine, but rather of a masculine character, somewhat in the style of that most exquisite head of Minerva in the Munich Glyptothek (Fig. 64). The refined smallness of the cheeks, the sharply cut, but intellectual mouth, the strongly marked chin, and the calm eye, somewhat looking down, are characteristics such as belong to a Minerva of Phidias. Of a similar kind, and at the same time corre- sponding in its solemn bearing with the character of a temple statue, is the colossal figure of the Pallas of Velletri, in the Louvre, although the cold treatment of the marble indicates it to be a later Roman copy. The more compact figure and round form of the head, which from the evidence of the statuette mentioned above, the Parthenhus of Phidias seems to have had, are apparent also in the splendid marble statue of the Villa Albani, which in its bearing reminds us of the Promachus (Fig. 65), and which Winckelmann recognized as a work of grand and solemn style. While we mention these copies, we must guard against the assumption of pointing them out decidedly as direct offsprings of the creations of Phidias, but we may certainly regard them as indications of his influence and as works in which, more or less distinctly, the great master’s ideal of Minerva may be traced. While Phidias, in his much-extolled work, stamped the ^Olympia characteristic form of the virgin goddess of wisdom and the peaceful, victory-bestowing protectress of Athens, the main features of which recur in all subsequent representations of the goddess, a still higher task was assigned him at Olympia — in fact, the highest which could present itself to the Hellenic mind. This was to create for the temple at Olympia a statue of the supreme ruler in Olympus — the father of the gods and of men. This mighty work also, more than forty feet high, was formed of gold and ivory on a wooden foundation, but the figure was not depicted standing, as in the Minerva, but seated on a splendid throne. The head was crowned with a wreath of olive ; the left hand held the sceptre, bearing the eagle — the bird of Jupiter ; a winged Nice hovered on the outstretched right hand. Thus the god, like the Minerva Parthenus, was characterized with reference to the Olympic games as the bestower of victory. A gold mantle, adorned with inlaid figures and lilies, covered his mighty form. Still more rich than the statue itself were the throne and footstool of the god, which were executed in gold and precious stones, ivory, and ebony. The seat of the throne, besides its four feet, had an equal number of columns for the support of the immense weight of the colossal figure. At the feet, twenty-four Nice VOL. I. S 130 Greek Sculpture. were introduced as dancing figures; at the cross-bars, which connected the feet and strengthened them, eight ancient forms of contest were depicted in separate figures, besides the battle of Hercules and Theseus against the Amazons. Between the lower parts of the feet, bars were inserted, the front side of which was simply painted blue, as it was for the most part concealed by the feet and the falling mantle of the god ; on the three other sides, Pancenus, the nephew of Phidias, painted nine scenes from the heroic legends. There were also, probably on the arms of the throne, sphinx figures carrying away boys, and Apollo and Diana, who killed the children of Niobe. On the back there were the Horre and the Graces, and, on the footstool, golden lions and the contest of Theseus with the Amazons were introduced. Lastly, the base on which the throne stood was also entirely covered with figures of I. Attic Artists. the gods. The majestic figure of the god must have stood out all the more grandly from this rich splendour. Phidias had represented him not merely as the gracious and benevolent father of all, but also as the mighty ruler of Olympus. In this he had followed the description of Homer, who depicts the god, even when gently acceding to the request of Thetis, as shaking Olympus by his nod — “ He spoke, and awful bends his sable brow ; Shakes his ambrosial curls, and gives the nod, The stamp of fate, and sanction of the god ; High Heaven with trembling the dread signal took, And all Olympus to the centre shook.” Our knowledge of this perished work is exclusively based on C ° (Coins? a few coins from Elis ’ which, either like that at Paris (Fig. 66b), represent the head of Jupiter, or, like the Florentine one (Fig. 66a), the whole figure. The god is sitting erect, in a dignified attitude, holding the sceptre perpendicularly in his left hand, which is slightly raised, and supporting it on the ground ; in his right hand he bears the Nice, who hovers towards him Fig. 66. Coins from Elis with Phidias’s Jupiter. (After Overbeck.) holding out the victor’s band. The head, wreathed with olive, is surrounded down to the shoulders by the rich mass of hair which encircles the forehead with its waving locks. The full beard also indicates manly vigour. The face is inclined somewhat forwards, as if the god were condescendingly bending towards the approaching suppliant ; the forehead projects above the nose, and this increases the expression of reflective seriousness, and the large open eye seems to gaze forth with penetrating power from beneath the strongly over- hanging brow. There is something strict, majestic, and solemn about the whole figure.* * The more accurate study of the type to which Jupiter belongs is due to Overbeck. Cf. his paper in the Ber. der k. sachsgescllsch. d. IVissetisch. 1866. Greek Sculpture. i \ 2 Later The characteristics of the supreme god of the Hellenists were Alterations henceforth so completely established for all ages by Phidias’ master-work that they even appear in the feebler copies of a later period ; only, for the most part, the forms are more free and natural, and the air of solemn earnestness has been succeeded by less strictness of conception. Among the subsequent works, in which we can trace a faint gleam of the original, the most important are the marble statue of Jupiter Verospi and the marble head discovered at Otricoli, both of which are now in the Vatican Museum. The latter work, although inclining to mannerism and bombast in its treatment, and not devoid of certain exaggerations, gives us an idea of the Fig. 67. Bust of Jupiter from Otricoli. Vatican. original, though but a feeble one (Fig. 67). This is, indeed, to be explained by the fact that it is a copy executed in the Roman period, the original of which undoubtedly, judging from the whole character of the forms, and especially from the hair, belongs to no earlier epoch than that of Alexander. Neverthe- less, we mention it here because we can still trace in its characteristics the leading ideas that marked the conception of a Phidias. In fact, perhaps I . A ttic A rtists. 133 the Jupiter of Otricoli, in spite of its modern style, affords a more lively idea than any other copy of that powerful effect which this master-work exercised on antiquity. The main point of the characterization lies unmistakably in the abundant hair falling on both sides in thick masses, and in the bold, elevated brows, beneath which the eyes seem to gaze over the vast universe. The compact brow and prominent nose complete the expression of wisdom and power, while the full, slightly-parted lips imply mild benevolence, and the luxuriant beard and firm well-formed cheeks betray sensual vigour and imperishable manly beauty. The Jupiter of Phidias received the highest admiration from all antiquity; it survived the god himself, for it was not till the fifth century of the Christian era that a fire destroyed both the statue and the temple. Every Hellenist went on a pilgrimage to it ; he who had seen it was pronounced happy. “ Even on a Roman, as yEmilius Paulus for instance, the Olympic Jupiter produced the most powerful effect ; to him, at least, it was the embodiment of the Homeric Jupiter, if not the god himself. Pliny speaks of it as inimit- able ; later writers extol the view of it as a magic charm, which makes all care and suffering forgotten ; and Quintilian says that the Jupiter of Phidias has even added a new impetus to the existing religion, so much does the majesty of the work equal the god himself.”* The ruler of Olympus did not, it is said, disdain to give the master a proof of his satisfaction. For, so says the religious legend, when Phidias, standing before his finished work in the temple, prayed the god for a token that the work was pleasing to him, a flash of lightning suddenly passed across the unclouded sky, and thi'ough an opening in the temple roof, touched the ground by the side of the master. Phidias’s This work of Jupiter affords us the most valuable assistance Artistic Spirit * n estimating the importance of the great master. We see in his art the idea of the supreme god of the Hellenists embodied with a perfection which must have been irresistible to every Greek. Never was the conception of the god of a whole people expressed in such a complete manner in the creation of an artist. How deeply must the soul of the master have been imbued with the universal feeding, and with the national idea of God, thus to produce a work which exercised such absolute power on the minds of men ! While in this statue the supreme Being was embodied in mortal form, his other statues of the gods also exhibit a similar spiritual nature. Above all, this is the case with the tutelar goddess of his native city, whom he so often delineated. In whatever form he conceived her — whether as the warlike champion, or as the peaceful maidenly protectress, with all her beauty, * Brunn : G. d. Gr. K., i. p. 203. J34 Greek Sculpture. the character of a High spiritual dignity was always predominant. Hence a Greek epigram, comparing the Minerva of Phidias with the Venus of Praxiteles, says that it could only occur to a cowkeeper like Paris to prefer the Venus to the Minerva. Still even several statues of the Goddess of Love which Phidias executed, especially a famous gold and ivory one, at Elis, bore the stamp rather of a spiritual and divine beauty, than of sensual loveli- ness, for the master never represented her but as Venus Urania. If we connect with this the verdict of the ancients, that Phidias alone had seen the true likeness of the gods, and that he alone had rendered them visible, we may say of him what has been said of Homer, he created the gods of Greece. In this lies the immeasurable advance which he made beyond his predecessors. Plow lifeless and stiff, in comparison, is the figure of the goddess in the temple of Egina ! In the works of Phidias the plastic repre- sentations of the gods first acquire spirit, character, and life. He, therefore, may eminently be styled the sculptor of the gods. And the fact that we before mentioned, that he was surpassed by others in his figure of the Amazon, accords with this. His genius had no inclination for works in which there was no scope for spiritual expression. It is no less evident that, with all their spiritual excellence, Phidias's Technical the works of this master were equally distinguished for the Skill. highest artistic perfection of form. We do not refer merely to his complete mastery over every kind of technical art, such as marble sculpture, gold and ivory work, and bronze casting, each of which he employed in colossal designs, and even the delicate engraving which, in the midst of larger tasks, he cultivated, as it were, as a recreation, though for special objects ; but in a higher sense also he must have had full sway over the vast field of the plastic art of that day. We have yet to know him as the thoughtful creator of whole cycles of sculptures ; he was a master in com- position ; the organic structure of every kind of form lay distinctly before his view, and he knew how to apply the most delicate and hidden laws of perspective. Antiquity furnishes us with a characteristic anecdote on this point. The Athenians once ordered Phidias and Alcamenes to execute statues of Minerva, which were to be raised upon columns. When the works were completed, though not yet transported to the place destined for them, the people gave the preference to Alcamenes’ statue ; but no sooner were they raised on their columns than the verdict was at once changed in favour of Phidias.* From all this we may say that it was Phidias who carried Greek art to the height of spiritual beauty, while previous to him, perfection of physical form had been principally aimed at. That, however, the spiritual * Brunn : G. d. Gr. K., i. p. 195. I. Attic Artists. 1 35 expression reacts on the outward form, is a fact no less evidenced in the works of Phidias, for the grandeur of his forms and figures would have been previously inconceivable. But before we adduce proofs of this from his Parthenon sculptures, we must take a glance at the pupils of this great master. Pupils of Alcamenes, the Athenian or Lemnian, ranks evidently as the Phidias. first. We know of him that he executed the group of statues on Alcamenes. wes j- g a bi e of the temple of Jupiter at Olympia. Undoubtedly he therefore belonged to the artists summoned there with Phidias. He next produced, probably about. 402, the statues of Minerva and Hercules, which Thrasybulus and his colleagues dedicated to the temple of Hercules at Thebes, as a token of gratitude for their success in freeing the country from the thirty tyrants. Alcamenes was chiefly famous as a caster in bronze, although the works just mentioned and others were executed in marble, and there was a Bacchus in Athens by him which was fashioned in gold and ivory. While, therefore, in the versatility of his technical skill he appears a worthy pupil of Phidias, he evidently stands in still closer affinity to him in the spiritual tenor of his works. Alcamenes, like Phidias, was above all a sculptor of gods, for with the exception of the bronze statue of a victor in the Pentathlon, which was so esteemed that it received the designation of the model, all his separate works belong to an ideal sphere, and although we can form no idea of his productions, we can infer the character of his art from the tasks which he executed. It is significant that besides statues of Minerva and Venus Urania, he also represented gods not treated by Phidias, such as Asclepius, Bacchus, Ares, Hephaestus and Hera. His statue of Plephaestus at Athens was especially admired because the artist had contrived slightly to indicate the lameness, as a characteristic attribute, yet without detracting from the dignity of the god.* This statement determines the importance of the master, for it shows that he possessed great delicacy in the characterization of the gods. This quality is confirmed undoubtedly in his other statues of the gods. As in the greater number of these he created characters which art hitherto had been wont only to fashion in a conventional form, it was asserted of Alcamenes that, treading in his great master’s footsteps, he introduced new types for a series of gods, bearing an inner affinity to those called into life by Phidias. This may be said, in the first place, of his Bacchus, which Bacchus. he executed for one of the two Limnaean shrines of the god at Athens. It was a colossal figure of gold and ivory, copies of which, in all probability, are still preserved on Attic coins. The god is repre- * Brunn : G. d. Gr. A'., i. p. 236. 136 Greek Sculpture. seated with a beard, enthroned in solemn state, holding the sceptre in his left hand, like the Olympic Jupiter, while in his right he is holding out the goblet as if the God of Wine were dispensing the refreshing draught to his votaries. As we might expect from the time of Phidias and from one of his pupils, the idea was not that of the youthful God of Joy, such as we find him depicted in the following epoch. The principal difference to the Jupiter apparently rests in the fact that the mantle of Bacchus has fallen down, leaving the upper part of the body bare. Another type of god, first fashioned by Alcamenes, is that of Asclepius, which he executed for the temple of that god at Asclepius. Mantinea. We may, perhaps, regard the most beautiful of the Asclepius heads, which was found at Melos and has been placed with the Blacas collection in the British Museum (Fig. 68), as a free copy of the type created by Alcamenes ; for, in the form of the head, and the execu- tion of the hair and beard, we perceive an unmistakable affinity with the idea of Phidias’ Jupiter, only that here the sublime character of the supreme god is exchanged for something more human and kindly, in harmony with the attributes of Asclepius.* Praxiteles, however, conceived the god in a more youthful form. We know nothing of his Ares in the temple of Other Works, that god at Athens, and of the Hecate, which stood on the tower- like bastion at the entrance to the Acropolis, and from this cir- cumstance bore the name of Epipyrgidia : we have only the statement that the artist had formed it of three figures, and thus of three statues standing with their backs to each other. We hear more, on the other hand, of his Venus, which carried away the palm in his competition with Agoracritus. It stood in the temple of the goddess which was situated in the garden outside the eastern wall of Athens. It was highly esteemed for its beauty, and especial praise was awarded to the outline of the head and cheeks, the eurhythmy in the action of the wrist, and the delicate form of the pointed fingers. If in the type of this goddess, Alcamenes nearly approached the majesty of a Phidias, there was at the same time a grace in his work, and with all its loveliness and tender sweetness there was a truly divine and ideal expression which we can perhaps best realize in the famous Venus of Melos in the Louvre Fig. 68. Head of Asclepius. British Museum. * Possibly the Asclepius of Colotes or that of Thrasymedes has equal claim to this head; but at any rate, we may assign its origin to the direct influence of Phidias and his school. I. A ttic Artists. 1 37 (Fig. 69). We are far from assuming this to be a copy after Alcamenes ; but we mention it here because it affords an approximate idea of the majesty of the types of this epoch. This is the only statue of Venus that has come down to us which represents the goddess and not merely a beautiful woman. The power and grandeur of form, over which the infinite charm of youth and beauty is diffused, is in harmony with the pure and majestic expression of the head, which, free from human infirmity, proclaims the calm self-sufficiency of divinity. The magnificence of this work, which, in spite of its excellence, was in no wise famed among the ancients, allows us to infer to some extent what must have been the beauty of those vanished creations which excited the admiration of all antiquity. At any rate, we must recognize in Alcamenes the master who approached more nearly than any other to the greatest sculptor of the Hellenists. That Alcamenes was also distinguished for his dramatic compositions, we may conclude, from the sub- ject of the pediment which he executed for the temple of Jupiter at Olympia. He had here to represent the contest of Theseus with the Centaurs at the marriage of Perithous, a subject which Greek art in the height of her prime depicted in creations of the highest dramatic power. VOL. I. T E.AflL STUTfG. Fig. 69. Venus of Melos. Louvre. Greek Sculpture. 138 It represented the victory of civilization over barbarism, of humanity over half-animal rudeness, and it afforded plastic art an abundance of the most effective contrasts. In the centre of the pediment, according to the statement of Pausanias, stood Perithous, in contest with the Centaur Eurytion, who was endeavouring to carry away the birds of the prince of the Lapithae, and was defended by Caeneus. On the other side, Theseus was keeping back the Centaurs, one of whom had carried off a maiden and another a beautiful boy. Our informer is silent as to the other figures ; but we have to imagine various groups of combatants up to the wounded and fallen who must have filled the corners. Alcamenes, undoubtedly, had in view the metope of the Parthenon and the frieze of the Theseon. He may even himself have executed many of the works of the Parthenon. The Parian Agoracritus is mentioned as the favourite pupil Agoracritus. of Phidias. The master is said to have given him several of his own works, and to have allowed him to place his name to them. This anecdote can mean nothing else than that Phidias did not disdain to place a finishing touch to the works of his favourite pupil which had been executed in his atelier , and that he assisted him with advice and help in designing them. Hence the statues by Agoracritus — as for example, the great mother of the gods at Athens — were not seldom ascribed to Phidias himself. This was the case, for instance, with a marble statue of Nemesis at Rhamnus, a work twenty feet in height, and which must have possessed great excellence. On her head she wore a diadem (Stephane) adorned with stags and figures of Victory in relief ; in her hands she held an apple bough and a shell, on the inside of which Ethiops were depicted ; and on the base was represented the surrender of Helena to Leda, according to the myth, which designates Nemesis as Helena’s mother, and Leda only as her nurse and protectress. At any rate, from the few works which are ascribed to Agoracritus we see a close affinity to the ideal bias of his master, although it seems that his productions were not distinguished for any higher inde- pendence of their own.* It is an interesting fact that Varro declared this Nemesis to be the best work of Greek art, and that Agoracritus really at first designed it as Venus for competition with Alcamenes ; but subse- quently, being surpassed by his rival, he changed its attributes into those of Nemesis. While most of the works of Agoracritus were ascribed doubtfully to him or to Phidias, two bronze figures in the Minerva temple * To infer from this inclination of Phidias that Agoracritus was “a highly-gifted artist,” seems to me hazardous. Personal amiability, combined with a confiding affection, may have been a sufficient basis for such a connection. It is not always to the most distinguished pupils that masters feel the greatest personal inclination. We have only to recall Raphael and his favourite pupil Francesco Perini, and many other more recent instances. I. Attic Artists. 139 at Coronaea were unanimously assigned to him. They were statues of Minerva Itonia, and of Jupiter, the latter of which is designated by Strabo as Hades. This fact plainly indicates that this Jupiter was essentially different to the Olympic statue by Phidias, and that in its character there was a touch of gloom such as would make it resemble a god of the lower world. An evidence, therefore, of independent power of invention. But far more important appears another pupil of Phidias, Colot es. Colotes of Heraclea, or, according to others, of Paros, for he not only assisted the master in the execution of the Olympic Jupiter, but he evidenced in several large works the skill he had thus acquired in the use of gold and ivory. Among these works we may mention a statue, on the citadel at Elis, of Minerva with a cock on her helmet, and a shield painted on the inside by Paeonius, a work which Pausanias even ascribes to Phidias himself ; and also an Asclepius at, Cyllene in Elis, which Strabo mentions with admiration, and a table richly ornamented with reliefs for the wreaths of the victors at Olympia. We imagine these representations to have been on the broad margin of the table. They were for the most part figures of the gods, but on the back there were scenes referring to the combats. Among the artists who were not exactly pupils of Phidias, but who were biassed, undoubtedly by the great master of Athens, Paeonius of Mendes in Thrace must be the first mentioned ; he executed the group of the eastern pediment in the temple of Jupiter at Olympia, representing the preparation for the contest between Pelops and CEnomaus. The centre of the pediment is occupied by the statue of Jupiter, beneath whose eyes, as the supreme umpire, the contest is to take place. On the right stands CEnomaus with the helmet on his head, and by his side is his wife Sterope. His steeds are held by Myrtilus, who is sitting in front of the horses. Then follow two further attendants, and the whole is concluded by the recumbent figure of the river god Cladeus. On the left of Jupiter stands Pelops with the Hippodamia, the charioteer with the horses, then again two attendants, and the angle is filled with the figure of Alpheus. The composition corre- sponds in its principal features with that of the west pediment of the Parthenon, only it is still more strictly symmetrical and full of repose, the moment depicted being previous to the combat. The animated scene which Alcamenes executed on the west gable affords a striking contrast to it. An older artist — the Athenian Praxias — who belonged to the Praxias. school of Calamis, seems also remotely to have felt the influence of Phidias. In this, as in many other points, the time of Phidias reminds us of that of Raphael, in which, likewise, older artists as well as those of the' new era either continued steadfastly the earlier mode of art of the 1 40 Greek Sculpture. fifteenth century or endeavoured to follow the new tendency introduced by their more gifted contemporaries. If we mistake not, Praxias, in a similar manner, pursued the latter course. We know of him that he worked at the gable groups for the temple of Apollo at Delphi, which contained, on the one side, the god with his mother, sister, and the Muses, and on the other the destruction of Helios, with Dionysius and the Thyiades. As the master died during the execution of his work, it was finished by another Athenian artist, Androsthenes. It is evident what activity the great epoch of Androsthenes. Phidias universally called forth, and how great was the emulation displayed in adorning the temples in other parts of Greece with sculptures after the model of Athens. Before, however, we proceed to examine more closely all that remains to us of these monuments, we must take a glance at the rest of the artists of Athens. There are two other artists of this epoch who stand in a Theocosmos. certain relation to the art of Phidias. One of these is Theocosmos of Megara, who, incited probably by the Olympic Jupiter, executed a statue of the god for the temple of Jupiter in his native city. This work was to have been formed of gold and ivory, but as, at the breaking out of the Peloponnesian war, the means for its continuance failed, they were satisfied with only executing the head in these noble materials, and with temporarily completing the rest in clay and gypsum. Even in the time of Pausanias, the half-prepared wood intended for the substance of the statue was still preserved in the temple. On the back of the throne, the Fates and Hours were introduced, because, according to Pausanias’s explanation, destiny alone belonged to Jupiter, and he dispensed the seasons as they were required. Phidias himself is said to have helped the artist in his work. Theocosmos was employed even after the Peloponnesian war, for, in the elaborate work which the Lacedaemonians presented to Delphi in gratitude for the victory of yEgospotami, he executed the statue of Hcemon, the steersman on the vessel of the Spartan admiral. The other artist is Thrasymedes of Paros, who executed the gold and Thmsymedes. ivory statue of Asclepius for the famous temple at Epidaurus — a work half the size of the Olympic colossal figure of Jupiter. The god was represented as seated on a richly ornamented throne ; in his left hand he held the staff and his right hand rested on the head of the serpent which was raising itself in front of him ; by his side lay the do", as a symbol of watchfulness. Thus he appears on the coins of Epidaurus, where he is depicted sitting, bearded and Jupiter-like, with the upper part of his body bare, the hirnation having fallen down. The deeds of Argive heroes were represented on the throne, such as Perseus’s victory over the Medusa and Bellerophon’s contest with the Chimsera. The I. Attic Artists. 141 work was ascribed by Athenagoras to Phidias, undoubtedly from its similarity with the Olympic Jupiter. Conceivable as it is that a mind like that of Phidias should almost irresistibly carry with it the artists who surrounded him, we must not forget that, besides Phidias, the somewhat older Myron had also his atelier in Athens, and that he likewise exercised a con- siderable influence on his contemporaries. It is true, only one artist is expressly designated as the pupil of this excellent master ; but it could not be otherwise bht that a number of able sculptors, whose natural talents inclined them rather to the Myronic style, should have followed his example. At the same time, the high ideal style of Phidias may have imparted to their works a breath of similar feeling, just as we see the spirit of Raphael in the sixteenth century irresistibly pervading all the art schools of Italy, without detracting from their own characteristic development, and yet producing everywhere a modification of the various tendencies. Lycius, the son and pupil of Myron, was born, like his father, Lycius. in Eleutherse, and seems to have flourished about the year 420. This is the date, at any rate, of his principal work — an elaborate bronze group, which the citizens of Apollonia, in Asia Minor, dedicated to Olympia in gratitude for a victory. It was an insulated group of thirteen figures, arranged on a semicircular base. It depicted the moment previous to the outbreak of the contest between Achilles and Memnon. The two adversaries were standing at the extreme ends of the semicircle, armed for the conflict and awaiting each other. The centre of the composition was occupied by J upiter, under whose supreme control the contest was to take place. Close to him were the mothers of the two heroes, Thetis and Hemera, both imploring the father of the gods to assist their sons. Between this central group and the two combatants, four Grecian heroes were confronted with an equal number of Trojans. Ulysses was opposed to Helenus, as the wisest chiefs of the two armies ; Menelaus to his old mortal enemy, Paris ; Diomed to y-Eneas ; and Ajax the Telamonian to Deiphobus. It may be imagined that each figure was executed with life-like characterization. The bronze statue of a boy with a vessel of holy water is also mentioned as the work of Lycius, and a* boy with incense, who is blowing the expiring flame — evidently genre works, the subjects of which were taken from the business of the temple boys, just as the Italian masters of the fifteenth century, Donatello, Luca della Robbia, and others, delighted in depicting choir-boys singing or holding holy water. The blowing of the fire was, moreover, a subject which afforded the artist opportunity for the expression of that life-like nature which appeared so prominently characteristic in the runner, Ladas, and in the disk-thrower of his father. 142 Greek Sculpture. A similar bias seems to have marked the works of Cresilas of Cresilcis. Cydonia, in Crete, a younger contemporary of Phidias. At any rate the statue of a wounded man, lying in the last agonies, and showing “how much life was still left within him,” exhibits close affinity to the style of Ladas. Cresilas also took part with Phidias, Polycletes, and Phradmon in the competition in the delineation of an Amazon, of which mention has been already made. His Amazon was wounded, Pliny tells us, and hence several later copies in marble, one of the most beautiful of which is to be found in Rome (Fig. 70), are thought to be based on his work. A certain sharpness in the treatment of the physical form and of the drapery, indicates certainly a bronze original, and the effect of the figure, graceful as it is in spite of the fulness of the form, would be thoroughly harmonious if the right hand had not received, in its restoration, a sprawling position which but little corresponds with the subject. For evidently the Amazon is raising her arm, in order that with her left hand she may keep her garment from touching the wound. There is another work of Cresilas, the Spear- bearer, of whom we know nothing accurately ; on the other hand, there is a portrait of Pericles which is highly praised : it is worthy of the surname of “ the Olympian,” which was given to the great statesman, and it shews us a noble man rendered still nobler by art. The beautiful bust of Pericles in the Glyptothek in Munich, executed in Greek marble in a rather strict style, may, perhaps, be taken from the original of Cresilas. Similar busts of the great Athenian are in the British Museum in London and in the Vatican in Rome. The influence of Myron is still further observable in the Styppax. Cyprian Styppax, whose fame was based on the statue of a slave blowing with dilated cheeks the fire that was roasting his entrails; a genre work after the style of the incense boy of Lycius. Strongylion also belongs to this list of artists : he was esteemed for his excellent delineation I . A ttic A rtists. 143 of animals, especially of bulls and horses. He executed a brazen copy of the wooden Trojan horse, the base of which, eleven feet in Strongylion. length, as well as the dedicatory inscription and the name of the artist, were discovered on the Acropolis in the year 1840. Mention is also made of statues of the Muses, and of the beautiful figure of a boy, which was much admired by Brutus, and of an Amazon extolled for her “ well-formed thighs,” a work which afterwards came into Nero’s possession and was always carried about with him. Lastly, we must add the names of two artists who pursued a Callimachus, special and self-created course. One of these is Callimachus, who was remarkable for his excessive care and ingenuity of execution, and whose love of accuracy was scarcely to be satisfied ; and thus his most elaborate works, statues of dancing Laconian girls, are robbed of the charm of nature. His knowledge, and especially his technical skill, are highly extolled, and in working marble he is said to have introduced the use of the borer. In the Erechtheum, there was an artistic golden candelabrum, executed by him, with a brazen palm spreading over it up to the ceiling, to intercept the smoke ; a work which was probably contemporary with the completion of the Erechtheum soon after 409. He is also mentioned as the inventor of the graceful Corinthian capital, which certainly harmonizes with the whole tendency of his art. Very different to him, and yet in a certain sense allied to him, Demetrius, is Demetrius, who lived about the year 420, and affords a remark- able instance of the fact that the highest ideality may verge upon terrible realistic error. For this artist was principally engaged in portraiture, but in his works he aimed more at resemblance than at beauty, and fell into a petty detailed style of execution, not even avoiding points of ugliness. His statue of the Corinthian general, Pellichus, is thus described by Lucian : — “ Hast thou seen him, with his corpulent stomach and bald pate, half devoid of drapery, the stray hairs of his beard blown by the wind and the veins so marked, that he is like a man just as he is ? ” Fortunately the genius of Greek plastic art preserved the artists of that day from an imitation of this insipid realism, and Demetrius stands out as a wonderful exception in the midst of his contemporaries. T 44 Greek Sculpture. II. Monuments of Athens. If we now cast a glance at the incomparable works, in spite of their destruction, which were destined to adorn solely the temples of Athens, we must, in the first place, gain a distinct idea of the relation in which these monuments stand to the great masters of Athenian sculpture. There is no doubt, both from the extent of these sculptures, and from their mode of execution, that they may be essentially regarded as works proceeding from the atelier of Phidias and kindred masters. If we consider, moreover, that these remains constitute by far the most splendid productions of plastic art which the world can exhibit, we may venture to infer in some measure what must have been the irrecoverably lost works of Phidias himself. We shall then easily understand the enthusiastic admiration of antiquity for these marvellous works, the like of which the world has never again witnessed. The series opens with the sculptures of the beautiful temple, Sculptunof p as b een regarded as the shrine erected to Theseus by Cimon. Although this opinion has been attacked with some reason, still there are evidences of equal weight which proclaim it to be at any rate a monument of Cimon’s time. While we have no knowledge of the architect, the records are also silent as to the sculptors who executed the plastic decorations. There is something, however, in the character of these excellent works which allows us to conjecture that the youthful Phidias had an important share in their production. Yet in saying this, we would only indicate the position they occupy in relation to the sculptures of the Parthenon. As the groups on the pediments have entirely vanished, we must begin with the metope reliefs.* These only appear in the ten Metope. metope of the last side, and in each of the four nearest metope of the adjoining north and south sides. All the other metope were smooth ; perhaps they had scenes painted on them, or perhaps they were entirely plain. It is remarkable that the ten metope in front were filled with scenes from the labours of Hercules, and the eight adjoining ones, on the other hand, with the deeds of Theseus. We find Hercules combating with the Nemsean lion, and with the Hydra of Lerna ; we see the capture of the Cerynitic hind, the delivery of the Erymanthine boar, the taming of the horses of Diomedes, the subjection of Cerberus, the contest with Cycnus, the obtaining of the belt of Hippolyta, the combat with the monster Geryon, and the acquisition of the apples of the Hesperides. The scenes from the life of Atelier of Phidias. See Stuart’s Antiquities, iii. vol. II. Monuments of Athens. 145 Theseus are not all of them to be determined with certainty, yet we recognize the victory over the Minotaur, the capture of the Marathon bull, the taming of the Crommyonic sow, and the subjection and punishment of several robbers and monsters — Sinis and others. Greek art could not do greater honour to heroes than by depicting the deeds by which they overcame the rude enemies of culture, and prepared the way for a higher state of civilization. Moreover, no more favourable opportunity could be afforded sculpture for obtaining life-like subjects for representation, than such scenes of contest, in which the noble human figure, with its more supple action, and with its powers directed by higher intelligence, triumphed over the unmanageable forms of a ruder race. Such is the subject executed in the metope of the Theseum with great freedom and masterly boldness. Each contest is con- ceived at the decisive moment ; the two contending figures are so skilfully balanced in the struggle, that the spectator, full of suspense, seems to await the move that must result in victory. If Myron, perhaps, did not himself take part in the designs for these compositions, we can scarcely withhold the conjecture that, at any rate, they manifest the influence of his style. The life-like truth to nature in the forms, which is combined with a strict and grand mode of treatment, would certainly correspond with the idea which we have of Myron’s art. The most difficult positions, and the boldest actions, are depicted with playful ease, and we perceive at once the great advance made when we compare these works with the constrained conception of the Eginetan groups. The figures also are softer in their outline, although they are on this account none the less vigorous, but rather grander in their effect. Still more important, perhaps, are the friezes which are in Frieze °f Ou p ronaos an( j the hinder hall of the temple, those on the front being far more extensive than the opposite ones. They are the first comprehensive frieze compositions which meet us in Greek plastic art. The subject of the longer eastern frieze is a contest between armed and nude men in the presence of six enthroned divinities. The supposition that the latter represent the protecting deities of the two parties, because they are divided into two groups, and are placed opposite each other, is certainly without foundation. This arrangement is necessitated by the law which regulates such symmetrically - constructed compositions ; moreover, the sculptor apparently wished to give greater variety of rhythm to his frieze by the alternation of calm and agitated groups. Undoubtedly the ' subject is a contest of Greeks with ruder races, for the unclothed combatants are defending themselves against their opponents with huge blocks of stone. The gods, therefore, are certainly the defenders of the Greeks. Minerva is readily to be recognised on one side, and a male and female figure follow her, the former of whom exhibits such lively interest vor,. 1. u 146 Greek Sculpture. in the contest, that he seems almost inclined to interfere. On the opposite side there are two male deities and a slender and delicate goddess. The female figures are entirely veiled in full and beautiful drapery ; in the male figures the upper part of the body is bare, displaying a grandeur of form indicative of divinity. The battle scenes are full of life and freshness, and exhibit great variety of subject ; victory and subjection alternate between the two parties, so that the interest of the spectator is aroused in the most lively manner, as in a play. The same may be said of the somewhat shorter frieze on the west side, where the contest of the Athenians and Lapithte with the Centaurs is depicted (Fig. 71). This subject is one of the most familiar and • Fig. 71. From the Frieze in the Temple of Theseus at Athens. favourite of Greek art at that period. It affords not alone a great scope to plastic art, but it undoubtedly acquired a deeper symbolic significance at a time which had just, by the defeat of the Persians, confirmed the vocation of the Hellenists as protectors of civilization. In this frieze we find no gods represented ; but the composition is so arranged that a symmetrical and rhythmical law regulates the groups on either side, without in any way affecting the freedom of the actions. On the contrary, here also all the excitement of a contest is aroused, the scenes are full of bold and vigorous attitudes, and the architectural fetter is only slightly perceived in a somewhat monotonous repetition of the same Centaur form. The relief stands boldly out, in harmony with the life-like vigour that pervades these splendid compositions. Fric-e of the In close affinity with the works of the Theseum are the frieze Temple of reliefs of the small Ionic temple * of Minerva Nice, or of Nice Apterous (the wingless goddess of victory), which, on its high terrace, hangs over the ascent to the Acropolis and terminates the facade of * The design of the Propylea, its southern wing projecting far less than the northern, evidently on account of the Temple of Nice, which must have been already built, compels the supposition that the Nice Temple had been erected earlier, and therefore even before the period of Cimon’s administration. II. Monuments of Athens. *47 the southern wall of the citadel. Like this portion of the wall, the little temple seems also to have been built under Cimon. The frieze sculptures on the front side contain in strong relief an assemblage of gods standing and sitting, noble figures, which, however, are too much destroyed to admit of explana- tion. The southern and northern sides exhibit contests of Greeks with horsemen in the attire of barbarians, and on the west side we see Greeks fighting with Greeks. We have, therefore, before us the representation of a battle, in which Greeks, leagued with Persians, fought against the Athenians, and this, with great probability, indicates the battle of Plataea. The groups throughout exhibit lively action ; the incidents are spirited, new, and original ; the battle scenes, with their rich variety, are depicted in a bold and passionate style; and the figures, so far as the sadly injured slabs, partly on the monument itself, and partly in the British Museum, allow us to judge of them, are executed in a noble and flowing mode of treatment. Still many incidents are repeated, and this, with the bearing of the gods on the east side, indicates an art not yet arrived at its utmost height and freedom of imagination. On the other hand, these sculptures are the first which were executed in Pentelican marble, those on the Theseum being still worked in Parian. From these works we must next proceed to the grand Uie ‘‘parthawn scu lpt ures of the Parthenon. They were executed by Phidias and his school until the year 437, when the temple was completed. Although antiquity possessed larger, and, perhaps, more splendid monuments, no work was ever achieved which could be compared in nobleness andbeauty of artistic execution with the temple of the virgin goddess on the Acropolis of Athens. Above all, the plastic ornament must be designated as the most perfect work which sculpture ever produced for similar purposes, for even the mutilated remains of these incomparable works exhibit a magnificence of artistic completion surpassing all others. Unfortunately, the building has in the course of time suffered ^"rempL - 6 suc h sa d destruction, that we can no longer distinctly realize the whole connection of its extensive plastic ornament. How far its transformation into a Christian church, and subsequently, in 1456, into a Turkish mosque, may have destroyed the sculptures, we know not ; but as in the seventeenth century the central group of the eastern sculptures was missing, it is not improbable that this may have fallen a sacrifice to early Christian zeal. A lamentable fate, however, befell the Parthenon, when, in the year 1687, the Venetians besieged the Acropolis with its Turkish garrison. A bomb pierced the marble roof of the temple, and, meeting with the powder- magazine placed within it by the Turks, the explosion sundered the building into two separate ruined masses. When the Venetians then occupied the 148 Greek Sculpture. Acropolis, enchanted by the beauty of the sculptures, they endeavoured to carry away as much as they were able. Above all, they strove to obtain the steeds of Minerva in the western gable, the fiery life of the coursers delighting them especially. But in bringing down the colossal marble horses, they fell to the ground, and were dashed in a thousand splinters against the rocky soil of the Acropolis. Other smaller portions were carried away, and in recent times have come to light in remote places, as, for example, the head of a Centaur and that of a youth on a metope in Copenhagen. A new depredation on the Parthenon was committed in the year 1801, when a firman of the Sultan allowed Lord Elgin to carry away as many works of art from Greece as he desired. Although this was done with such rude regardlessness that a column was broken away from the eastern vestibule of the Erechtheum, and a caryatide from the southern entrance, still, since the English nation purchased these works, and placed them worthily in the British Museum, both the study of these masterpieces and their maintenance have been better promoted than if they had remained in Athens. We will now endeavour, from the examination of the remains, to form some conception of the idea and importance of the entire work.* The Gable Groups. We will begin with the groups of statues on the two pedi- ments. All that is left of them is, almost without exception, in the British Museum ; still these remains are so incomplete that they alone would afford us no idea, and scarcely even a conjecture as to the compositions ; and we must, therefore, have contented ourselves with the brief notice of Pausanias, that the front gable related to the birth of Minerva,' and the west gable to the dispute of the goddess with Neptune respecting the land of Attica. Fortunately, however, shortly before the destruction of the Parthenon, the French painter, Carrey, went to Athens in the year 1672, and took sketches of the sculptures, which are now in the library at Paris, and afford the most important assistance in the examination of the pediment groups. Carrey also, however, only saw the groups occupying the two ^Gabi" angles of the eastern pediment, the principal and central group having, even then, entirely disappeared. Yet, as the artist here represented the birth of Minerva, we can imagine that this was- conceived as just accomplished, and that Minerva was appearing in maidenly majesty amid a group of astonished gods. But the joyful event must be proclaimed to the world, to the land of Attica ; hence, on the right of the pediment, we find Iris, the messenger of the gods, hastening towards an expectant group of two seated female figures. In these two noble women, who are turning with lively * A work 011 the Parthenon is in progress by A. Michaelis, reference to which is here made. II. Monuments of Athens. 149 interest to the messengers, it is imagined that the Attic Horae, Thallo and Auxo, were depicted, while the youth stretched at their side seems to be Theseus, the hero of the country (Fig. 72). In the left of the pediment is the winged Nice, missing in Carrey’s sketch, but fortunately, recently discovered, who is bring- ing the glad message to a group of three wonderfully beautiful female figures. We recognize in these the daughters cf Cecrops, Pandrosus, Aglaurus, and Herse. One of them is reclining in an easy attitude on her sister’s lap (Fig. 74), while the third is turned towards the divine messenger. The extreme angles are ingeniously filled on the right with the rising Helius, and on the left with Night descending with her chariot, as if the artist intended to show that with Minerva’s birth the night disappeared and the new day dawned. The western gable, which is almost perfect in Carrey’s sketch, West Gable, though now existing only in a few fragments, exhibited in the centre the contending gods, Minerva and Neptune. In vain had the latter made the salt-spring gush forth by planting his trident in the soil. Minerva has conquered him by producing the olive-tree, and the matter being thus decided, both gods are turning as if angrily from each other. Poseidon is hastening with wrathful mien back to his chariot, while the sea-horses attached to it are held by his wife, Amphitrite. A sea-goddess, possibly Thetis, is accompanying her. On the other side Minerva, exulting in victory, is hastening to her waiting steeds, who are held by a beautiful female accompanied by Ares. In the centre of the pediment, between the two contending figures, rose, as the token of victory, the newly-created olive- tree, a fragment of which has recently been discovered. The first place in Minerva’s train is occupied by Cora, leading the youth Bacchus by the hand, who, with lively delight, is turning towards Ceres. We have here the old Attic divinities of Eleusis, a worthy and fitting train for Minerva. Next follows the beautiful group, still to be found in Athens, in which Cecrops and his wife have been recognized, and these are also turning with lively interest towards the principal group. In the extreme angle, as if to designate the Attic locality, lies the figure of the river god Cephisus ; he likewise manifests excitement in the incident, and is raising himself supported on his Fig. 72. Torso of Theseus. From the East Pediment of the Parthenon. London. i5o Greek Sculpture. left arm (Fig. 73). On the other side, in the train of (Poseidon) Neptune, we see in the first place, Leucothea and her son, and then, in a reclining attitude, Thalassa, the sea goddess ; on her lap is the lovely nude figure of (Aphrodite) Venus, the offspring of the sea, and behind her the train is terminated by a seated female divinity. Lastly, in the extreme angle, we find two closely- linked figures, which are ingeniously indicated as the river god llissus and the nymph Callirhoe ; they are thus closely united, because the spring of this name originates in the bed of the llissus. Fig. 73. Cephisus. West Gable of Parthenon. London. Few as are the remains which are left of all these magnificent tlrsflVoiks wor ^ s ’ y et sma Fest part of them is incomparable in its style. While the composition, as a whole, so far as we can judge of it, must have excited surprising admiration from its grand freedom and life, and from the artistic ease with which every architectural requirement is fulfilled in it and every difficulty overcome, this feeling is increased by the examina- tion of each separate figure. No plastic work has ever again been executed with such elevated power and, at the same time, such graceful beauty. There is a breath of imperishable youth about every figure ; nature is conceived with such grandeur and might, that one feels one is looking at a race of a higher order, at a race of gods. An abundance of effective contrasts are furnished by the draped female and nude male figures ; but, besides this, the most delicate distinctions are exhibited with such truthful characterization, that everything seems to flow in harmony with the laws of nature. How mighty are even the shattered remains of the torso of Neptune ; how plainly do we recognize in the powerful structure of the frame, in the play of the muscles, and in the dilated veins of the upper arm, the ruler of the sea in all the passionate agitation of defeat ! What youthful beauty and vigour are expressed in the form of the softly-reclining Theseus, which, with the exception of the hands, feet, and nose, is still preserved in all its magnificence ! IIow grand and life-like, though far more destroyed, is the figure of 1 1 . Monwvients of A thens. 1 5 1 Cephisus, who is also calmly reposing, though with incomparable truth of action ! he is slightly raising himself, supported on his left arm, as if to express that no part of the Attic land remains unmoved at the important event ; and how powerfully is even Helius characterized ! though the artist could depict no more of him than the sinewy arm and the head emerging from the flood ; little enough and yet perfectly sufficient to show the divine power which could restrain the fiery coursers of the sun. And, lastly, how splendid are the heads of the coursers themselves, which, so full of fire and life, are rising from the waves, that we almost fancy we can hear them snorting through the widely-dilated nostrils ! Equally splendid is the head of the single steed of Night, which, like the others, combines the profoundest knowledge of anatomy with the utmost boldness and freedom of execution. No less true is the life and action expressed in the rich and graceful play of the drapery in the female figures; most perfectly exhibited perhaps, in the form of Aglaurus and Herse, the grand beauty of which is perceptible in the flow of the well-arranged folds of their garments (Fig. 74). Equally excellent is the figure of Pandrosus, who is seated beside them, and which, in the flowing and graceful treatment of the drapery, and in the soft youth of the form, is in nowise inferior to the two sisters. The two sitting figures of the Attic Horae on the other side of the same pediment exhibit also similar beauty, only that their rich garments are somewhat more simple and not quite so elaborate as the others. It is perceptible, moreover, that in them, as well as in the figure of Iris hastening forward, the back is a degree more superficially executed than the front, while in all the other statues, even the parts which were never intended to be seen, are finished with the same equal and unwearied artistic perfection. Altogether, never has the most careful nicety of execution been so combined, as in this work, with the utmost simplicity of noble form. This is even perceptible in the small fragment of Athene on the west gable, of which nothing is left but the right side of the bosom and the joint of the corresponding arm ; but this is sufficient to indicate the divine sublimity of the entire figure.* Looking at these works, which could alone proceed from the atelier of Phidias, we can understand what the ancients meant when they designated grandeur of conception and the utmost care of execution as the characteristics of his productions. Too little has come down to us of the heads, and that little is mutilated ; that of the Theseus and the beautiful female, so-called Weber, head now in the Louvre, possess, however, a softness * On the other hand, I do not feel inclined to assign a place among the Parthenon sculptures to the alleged fragments of the head of Athene (No. ioi), likewise in the British Museum, the treatment of the forms and of the hair especially being sharp and hard, and at the same time cold and strict. 152 Greek Sculpture. and power, a grandeur of form, and a nobleness of expression with which no subsequent creation can be compared. A second extensive series of plastic works are afforded by the ninety Fig. 74. Aglaurus and Herse on the East Gable of the Parthenon. London. II. Monuments of Athens. 153 two metope of the outer frieze of the temple, each of which contains a composition in relief. Thirty-nine of these are still in the temple ^Parthenon* seventeen are * n the British Museum, one is in the Louvre, another has recently (1838) been discovered in Athens, and two heads are in Copenhagen. The Carrey sketches also contain a great number of now- destroyed metope. Nevertheless, the destruction even of those still preserved is for the most part so considerable, that we are no longer able to form an opinion respecting the internal connection and the leading idea of the whole. A great part of those belonging to the south side exhibit scenes from the battle of the Centaurs ; others contain mythical and heroic figures, sometimes in peaceful union and sometimes in contest. The most important and generally the best preserved are representations referring to the Centaurs (Figs. 75 and 76). We see these coarse, bearded, and powerful monsters Figs. 75 and 76. Metope from the Parthenon. British Museum. stealing beautiful women and carrying them away in triumph, or engaged in contest with elastic and nobly-formed youths. Sometimes the latter gain the victory, sometimes their half-brutal adversaries. Occasionally the Centaur is seen galloping away in wild triumph over the corpse of his fallen foe ; but generally the victory remains undecided, and as in the temple of Theseus, the uncertainty of the issue fills the spectator with intense excite- ment. These scenes are arranged with the utmost vigour, they are boldly devised and the equilibrium of the groups is strictly maintained, so that in them also, as in the Theseum, we are involuntarily reminded of the influence of another school, especially of that of Myron. That very different hands are to be recognized in them is apparent to every impartial observer, not merely in the execution but also in the composition, in the general conception, and in the expression of the figures. Phidias cannot even have designed VOL. I. X 154 Greek Sculpture. these metope ; on the contrary, it seems more probable that the subjects of the separate slabs having been fixed upon, perfect freedom was allowed to the different artists in the composition and execution of the work. Some of these scenes are unsurpassable in their composition, and are full of fire and boldness ; the space is filled in a masterly manner, and the figures are treated with great energy and, at the same time, with perfect nobleness of form, imparting a breath of beauty, if not of powerful grace, even to the monsters themselves. Others evidently betray difficulty and constraint in filling the space allotted, nor do they adequately fill it ; there is something strict, hard, and even antique in the forms, the positions are angular and without life, and the Centaurs lack all idea of nobleness in their wild long- bearded heads as well as in their bodies. The conjecture naturally arises that these slabs proceed from artists who belonged to the earlier schools, and could not entirely follow the spirit of the new art created by Phidias. The strong relief projecting about ten inches, which in some parts — as, for instance, in the legs — stands out entirely from the surface, betraying an astonishing boldness of technical skill, reminds us of the reliefs in the temple of Theseus ; still, in the most beautiful of these Parthenon metope, there is greater delicacy of detail, life, and truthfulness of form than in the sculptures of the Theseum. The female figures are throughout not so successful as those of the men and Centaurs. In these metope, artists were employed who were more skilful in depicting manliness and vigour than grace and delicacy, and this also is explained by the influence of Myron’s art Lastly, we must mention the Freize, which, extending 522 feet. The Fruze of j en „ t p q nec i the cella walls of the colonnade surrounding- the the Parthenon. ^ entire temple. The marble slabs of it are, for the most part, in the British Museum, and as, on the whole, more than 400 feet of it are in preservation, we can satisfactorily form an opinion respecting the idea and connection of the composition. The frieze represents the festive procession which ascended the Acropolis at the close of the Panathenaea, in order to bring the goddess the peplos, a garment woven and embroidered by Athenian maidens. It was the highest festival of the Athenians, both in its religious and political importance; it comprised in its splendid procession all that the first city of Greece possessed of youth, beauty, nobleness, and honour, assembled to render homage to the virgin goddess of the city. The artist could not more beautifully indicate the object of the festive temple than by representing on its frieze the procession of the Panathensea. But the spirit in which he conceived and executed this task evidences most distinctly the highly ideal mind of Phidias. On the east side, the side of entrance, he arranged an august assembly of the gods, in whose presence the peplos is delivered to the guardians of the temple (Fig. 77). These are attended by II. Monuments of Athens. 155 officials and heralds, followed by trains of noble Attic maidens. The proces- sion is continued along the north and south side, proceeding in both towards the entrance porch, as though on the west side it had been divided into two. Bulls and rams for sacrifice follow with their leaders, interspersed with groups of men and women ; some bearing gifts in baskets and beautiful vessels on their shoulders (Fig. 80). To these are added players on the flute and cithern, who march in front of a train of men and chariots, probably the victors in the contests. The procession is terminated on the two long sides by Athenian youths on horseback (Fig. 81), and on the west side we find others still engaged in preparation, in bridling, restraining, and mounting horses (Fig. 82). Artistic It would be vain to attempt to point out the truly immea- lmportance of surable wealth of beauty that is displayed in these most splendid this Frieze. a p f r j eze compositions. But if we reflect how monotonously such processions were depicted by Oriental art, and if we compare with them the inexhaustible power of imagination, the variety, the charming animation, the alternation of quiet grace, of solemn dignity, of vigorous life, and of sparkling and spirited action, which meet us in the countless figures of this frieze, we perceive that such a work could alone have proceeded from the great master of a perfectly untrammeled art, and could only have proceeded from him, when a people exuberant in beauty, nurtured in freedom, and conspicuous for nobility of manners and cultivation, such as the Athenians of that period, presented the most beautiful models to the eye of the artist. All is so homely, so simply natural, and so bright with life, that one might imagine oneself transported into the streets and squares of the Athens of that day ; but at the same time there is the charm of festive joy resting on every figure, and they all bear the reflex of the presence of the gods. Let us only examine the group who are sitting waiting on the east of the procession (Figs. 78 and 79) ; they are reclining unconstrained, at their ease, in the most charming- and natural positions; the figure of Jupiter supported against the arm of the throne, just unveiling his countenance to Juno: or, the beautiful youth, sitting by the side of Ceres, spanning his right knee with both his hands, in an easy rocking attitude (Fig. 78) ; or, again, that youthful pair, leaning familiarly shoulder against shoulder [Ibid). But what nobleness, what silent majesty is diffused over these figures 1 The artist has everywhere had recourse to the most varied observation of nature, and in unconstraint, easy grace, and. distinctness of attitude, he has far surpassed the group of gods in the temple of Theseus ; yet it is the grandeur of his conception that raises even the most insignificant incident of daily life into the sphere of lofty ideality.. The same may be said of all the groups of this grand frieze composition,, and we need only examine the train of slowly and modestly advancing maidens to be full Greek Sculpture. J56 II. Monuments of Athens. 157 Fig. 80. From the Parthenon Frieze. ) I Fig. 82. From the Parthenon Frieze. 158 Greek Sculpture. of wonder at the genius of a master who could introduce such charming diversity into an action so uniform and so confined. Equally admirable are the troop of horsemen, who, with their fiery life and easy bearing on their spirited steeds, exhibit the utmost variety of attitude. So inexhaustible is the imagination of the master that, amid all the hundreds of figures, no two can be pointed out alike. Like some great musician, he is able to produce wonderful stores from the simplest theme, and, from an insignificant germ, he brings forth a blossom fraught with perfect beauty. It can scarcely be doubted that this frieze could proceed fk^Fric-e ^ rorn 110 °th er than Phidias himself. The perfection of the design, the delicacy of the outline, and the nicety of the finish in a relief which is so slight that it never stands out more than three inches from the background — all this indicates that the master himself completed a great portion of the frieze. We have only, for example, to look at the foot and leg of different horsemen, seen, as they are, behind the horses, and to perceive the almost breathing and yet inimitable warmth and truth of nature, the soft and yet vigorous and elastic life of the limbs, in order to estimate thoroughly these works of the great master. Nevertheless, we must not omit to mention that some of the slabs belonging to the west side, with all their freshness and beauty of design, exhibit less perfection in their execution, the forms are treated in a colder and sharper style, and there are even some defects of out- line — for instance, exaggerated length of limb and slenderness of body in a horse, and a certain awkwardness in the neck of a horse which is rubbing its head against the fore-leg. In such an extensive work, however, we do not so much wonder at these small inequalities as at the rareness with which they appear, being almost imperceptible in the general effect. We have only to add, in conclusion, that the Parthenon sculptures are executed in Pentelican marble — a material difficult to work, because it breaks in parallel strips, while the sculptures in the Theseum consist of the far easier Parian marble : another evidence of the high and versatile perfection of the school of Phidias. Though the completion of the Parthenon formed the climax Other Works, of the perfection of Athenian sculpture, still several other artistic undertakings followed almost immediately, and in these we recognize a continuation of the style which had already reached its highest finish. Next to the sculptures of the Parthenon, I am inclined to rank the „ , , y. reliefs on the balustrade of the terrace on which the temple of Balustrade of L the Temple Nice stands. Although these works, now preserved in the cella of Nice. Q f q ie sma n temple, are much destroyed, still sufficient remains to show that they represent winged goddesses of victory, engaged in various actions. Two of these graceful figures are leading along a bull, which one of them is endeavouring to restrain, while the other, by a rapid movement, II. Monuments of Athens. T 59 evades the butt of the wildly resisting animal. Another, raising her right foot, is loosening the sandal, as if she were preparing to enter a sacred shrine (Fig. 83). A fourth, and, so far as the small remains allow us to infer, a fifth, seem occupied in erecting and adorning a monument of victory (Fig. 84). Figs. 83 and 84. Reliefs from the Parapet of the Temple of Nice. Athens. This inclines us to suppose that the whole composition treats of the celebra- tion of a victory, and that the trophy which the two Nice figures are erecting formed the central point of the representation.* The artist is evidently a follower of Phidias, in his ability to conceive with enchanting grace and freshness the various attitudes which such a ceremony presents, and the figure of Nice loosening her sandal, is the model of a youthful form depicted with ingenious acuteness. But in one point our artist considerably surpasses Phidias, namely, that he exhibits the charm of the physical form with all the appliances of refined technical skill. Hence the limbs have the effect of being apparent through the drapery, with its exuberant and sometimes almost over-abundant folds. Of course this is only said in comparison with the noblest and purest works of the Parthenon, for, in all other points, these graceful reliefs are full of charming beauty. It is in accordance with the characters of these works, if we accept the supposition, that they are possibly * A. Michaelis in Gerhard’s Denkm. und Fot schungen, 1862, p. 249, et seq. i6o Greek Sculpture. connected with the building of the Propylea, which was executed by Mnesicles between the years 436 and 431.* In this case they must have been produced at the time that Phidias was at Olympia, and were perhaps the work of one of the younger artists of this school. f Only scanty remains are preserved to us of the frieze which extended along the elegant building the Fiie.e of t!u • on the other hand, we have the distinct date, that isrechtheum. in the year 408, therefore during the confusion of the Pelopon- nesian war, this monument was in progress, and a marble tablet has even recorded the names of several of the sculptors, and the price at which they were paid for the execution of the separate figures of the frieze. We thus, obtain an interesting insight into the manner in which the artistic work of that day was carried on, and in the mode of executing such extensive com- positions. Pbifortunately in this frieze the usual plan was not observed, and the separate figures executed in Pentelican marble were fastened with metal rivets on the slabs of the frieze, which were formed of blackish Eleusinian stone, so that even the few fragments discovered seem incapable of all con- nection. Nevertheless we see from them, as well as from the names on the tablet, that probably here also the preparations and scenes of a festive pro- cession, likewise in the presence of the gods, were represented. The style of the much injured figures displays beauty, nobleness, and even grandeur ; yet occasionally there is a superabundance of folds in the drapery and a striving after effect is here and there evident. , Charmingly graceful are the six Caryatidse, statues of Caryatids, noble Athenian maidens, which support the light roof of the southern porch of the temple. They are depicted as calmly and slowly advancing, dignified and collected, as if in a solemn procession ; they are full of grace and festive joy, the forms are perfectly beautiful and grandly treated, at once combining in pleasing rhythm, power and tenderness, repose and motion : they form indeed animated and life-like supports to the baldachin roof of the most elegant of all temple porches (Fig. 85). With these original works we must, in conclusion, mention Orpheus and Eurydice. one relief, which is undoubtedly to be traced to an Attic original of this epoch, and which is preserved in several copies, for instance, in the Villa Albani (Fig. 86), in the Museum at Naples, and in the Fouvre at Paris. The slab, which is executed in a bold style, depicts the parting of Orpheus from Eurydice, after he has seduced her into the lower regions, though from having transgressed the prohibition not to look at her, * See A. Michaei.is, p. 267. f From the decided inclination for effect exhibited in these works, we cannot place them earlier than the end of the fifth century. Cf. R. Kekule, die Balustrade des T. der Athena- Nike. Leipzig, 1869. II. Monuments of Athens. 1 6 1 she is ost to him a second time. The spirit of the highest Greek art, and the breath of a deep but restrained feeling, rest on these figures. Eurydice is grasping the shoulder of her husband, who is turning towards her once more, and looking into her eyes with one deep last look, which meets with a fond reply. But Mercury, the guide of spirits, gently touches her right haind, to conduct her into the land of shadows. The composition evidences an artist of importance, and the pain of separation, tempered by the finest feeling, is not here made a subject of pathetic delineation, such as this welcome theme would have afforded in the succeeding epoch. It reminds us rather of the famous farewell terzetto, in Mozart’s Flauto Magico, where a similar situation is depicted by means of an art of a very different kind, though with equal majesty and grandeur of feeling. Fig. 85. Caryatide from the Erechtheum. Athens. Fig. 86. Orpheus and Eurydice. Villa Albani. III. Artists and Works of Art in the Peloponnesus. Next to Athens, at this period, Argos appears as the central Polycletus. point of a second important school. At the head of it stands Tolycletus of Sicyon, a younger contemporary of Phidias and his fellow pupil with Ageladas. In him the art of the Peloponnesus culminated and reached a height of perfect freedom. In contrast to the idealism of the VOL. I. Y 1 62 Greek Sculpture. Attic school, the sculptors of the Peloponnesus aimed rather at an artistic adherence to nature. Polycletus, with his lofty genius, adopted this style, and imparted to it all the perfection of which it was capable. The tendency of his works does not so much lie in ideal creations as in the unsurpassable per- fection of human physical beauty. Above all, he loved to represent the elastic beauty of manly youth, harmoniously developed by gymnastic exercise. His most famous works belonged to this class. Thus, for instance, his Spear- bearer (Doryphoros), and still more, his Diadumenos, a beautiful youth, of more delicate frame than the former, occupied in fastening the fillet round his head. The Diadumenos was so highly esteemed that it was subsequently sold for a hundred talents. We gain some idea of the easy grace of this figure from subsequent marble copies, among others, that formerly in the Farnese Palace, and now in the British Museum, although it is not clear from doubt whether this is to be traced to Polycletus’ Diadumenos. No less famed was an Apoxyomenos, i.e. an athlete, who is cleaning himself with a scraping- iron from the dust of the Palaestra ; also two naked boys, playing with dice, which, in the time of Pliny, stood in the Atrium of Titus, and, from its high finish, was regarded by many as the most excellent work of antiquity ; lastly, two Canephorae, which Verres subsequently took from the Mamertine Idejus, and the Amazon at Ephesus, with which he is said to have won the palm from Phidias and other masters. On the other hand, he executed but few statues of the gods, for with the exception of the Juno of Argos, which we shall presently mention, the only works that can with certainty be ascribed to him are a Mercury at Lysimachia, and a Hercules Ageter at Rome, nothing accurate with respect to which is known. From this brief survey we perceive that power, softness, and suppleness, especially constitute the value of these works of of Polycletus. 1 r 1 J Polycletus. So much importance, however, did he attach to truth of form and correctness and harmony of proportion, that he wrote a book on the structure of the human figure, and executed a statue which was called the Canon, because he depicted in it the normal beauty of a thoroughly perfect youthful form. It was of consequence for the able, careful, and finished execution at which he aimed, that he almost exclusively fashioned his works in bronze. When, however, he desired to express with speaking truth the elastic agility of youth, it is a no less essential fact that he, as we are told, was the first who represented the figure as resting on one leg, leaving the other, which was slightly raised, in a free and playful position. Although Attic art exhibits figures in a similar attitude, the advance made by Polycletus consists in the fact that he made this kind of graceful position a principle in his representations, and thus gave his figures the appearance of extreme lightness and elasticity. III. Artists and Works of Art in the Peloponnesus. 16' Copies Preserved. With all this, we gain, however, no very clear idea of the character of Polycletus’ art, and the attempt has therefore been recently made to discover in the boundless stores of works belonging to the period of Roman art, copies from originals by this master ; for that such must have existed, may be expected with certainty from Polycletus’ high reputation. In the first place Brunn has pointed out the head of a Juno* in Naples, to which we shall subsequently return; and Friedrichs -f- recognizes the Doryphoros in a copy in the Naples Museum, and in other copies in the Braccio Nuovo Qf the Vatican at Rome, and elsewhere. On the other hand, the type of head has been objected to, as presenting rather the delicate oval form of the Attic countenance, than that of Peloponnesian art, and ConzeJ has the merit of having drawn attention to a marble head at Bologna, which he regards as probably due to Polycletan influence. The heads of this kind with which we frequently meet, have a broad forehead and prominent cheek-bones, though with a small chin into which the cheek passes with a delicate but somewhat narrowed outline, so that the form of the face is almost tri- angular. The Attic heads, on the contrary, are oval in form, with fuller chin, and more rounded cheeks. In the profile, also, similar differences are perceptible, affecting even the form of the back of the head. In short, they are two essentially different types, no less diverse than the Madonna heads of a Raphael and a Leonardo. What we here demonstrate as probably Polycletan, is exhibited not merely, as we shall presently see, in the Juno head at Naples, but in a number of Amazon figures, one of the most Fig. 87. Amazon in Berlin, probably after Polycletus. * Mon. dell ’ Inst., viii. tav. 1 and Annali, 1864, p. 297 et seq , t Berliner Winckelmann’s Programm von 1863. J Bcitrdge znr Gesch. d. Gr. Plastik, taf. 1 . 1 64 Greek Sculpture. beautiful of which was discovered in the year 1869, near the Baths of Diocletian, and was placed in the Berlin Museum (Fig. 87). We Amazons. mentioned before (p. 126) the tradition that Phidias, Polycletus, Cresilas, and Phradmon competed in the execution of an Amazon for the Ephesian Temple of Diana. The artistic idea of the subject lay in the charming contrast afforded by maidens, who, from warlike habits, had overstepped the barriers of their sex, being from wounds or exhaustion placed in a state of suffering, which brought them back to the con- dition of tender helpless womanhood, and thus rendered them objects of deeper human interest. Moreover, the Amazons, better than any other female forms, afforded an opportunity for introducing into art the nude female figure. We know that the statue of Cresilas was repre- ^'crAhf sented as wounded, and a number of copies (Fig. 70) have from this been traced back to his original. It is more difficult to authenticate the Amazon of Phidias, which was depicted as supported on a spear, and was especially admired for the form of the mouth and Of Phidias, neck. Nevertheless, the much questioned copy engraved on a stone* seems to me inexplicable in any other manner than by referring it to Phidias’ work. We cannot explain it as a staff, and though the position is rather formal, it harmonizes without effort, with that described. The artist evidently selected it, in order to obtain in the attitude an interesting contrast between the firmly resting right side, of the figure and the slightly raised left leg, which is steadied by the spear, and between the uplifted right arm and the left one, which is hanging down. The idea is beautiful and life-like, and is continued even in the arrangement of the drapery, for from the left knee being somewhat raised, the chlamys falls lower over the right one, leaving a part of the left thigh bare, and the left bosom is also uncovered. In the Amazon of Cresilas (Fig. 70) the right bosom on the contrary is left bare, in order to show the wound that has been received below it. The Mattei Amazon in the Braccio Nuovo of the Vatican is without doubt a copy taken from a gem, with the erroneously restored arm in its correct form. It is distinguished from the wounded Amazon by the essential difference that the figure is resting on the right foot and the left breast is bare, while in the other the reverse is the case. The drapery is rich and pretty, though limited to the chiton with its graceful folds, the arrangement of which seems to betray Attic elegance. The head shews no expression of suffering ; on the contrary, the traces of passing emotion vanish behind the calm impress of a general and more ideal character. In this sense we can award to it the praise of a graver * Muller : Denkm. I. xxxi. 138, b. III. A rtists and Works of A rt in the Peloponnesus. 165 or, rather, calmer beauty, * while the form, though in itself softer and milder, appears to be a copy of the wounded Amazon. The third type, lastly, which is represented by the Berlin Amazon, as well as by a very beautiful copy in the Braccio Nuovo of the Vatican, seems to me the most traceable to Polycletus. In the first place, the head, which is in excellent preservation, even to the nose, is one of the finest specimens of the type which Conze denominates as probably Polycletan : broad in the forehead and cheek-bones, refined and narrow in the cheek and chin, it has at the same time the projecting eyelids and finely cut lips, which denote the copy of a bronze work and the character of an art still adhering to the strict and grand style. The legs, especially the knees, are very beautiful ; the breast is particularly well executed ; and the artist has surpassed both his competitors in having not only left the right bosom uncovered, but also part of the left. This is, however, an advance towards a more free and lifelike representation ; for in older Amazon statues, as in that at Vienna (p. 122) the bosom is entirely concealed. If we connect with this the fact, that in Polycletus’ works the breast was regarded as a standard, just as in Myron’s works, the head ; while in those of Praxiteles, the arms were extolled ; we have another reason for assigning this statue to the influence of Polycletus. The treatment of the drapery also surpasses that of the two other statues, ar.d thus we can readily account for the preference which Polycletus’ works gained over those of his competitors. From all this we feel, that among all the Amazon statues in preservation, none merits so well as this to be referred to the great master of Argos ; and that no copy should be preserved of his highly-esteemed work it is difficult to suppose. If, however, the wound which the Berlin copy displays under the right arm should infuse a doubt on the point, we may either suppose that Polycletus’ Amazon was also repre- sented as wounded, though we have no written evidence of the fact, or that the copies were executed freely ; and as is often unmistakably the case, ideas taken from one original were adopted in another, and were blended into it.*f* Although, according to the testimony of the ancients, Polycletus did not excel in representations of the gods, but rather in human statues, giving beautiful expression in these to all that was worthy and honourable, yet he produced in his later years an ideal figure which acquired a typical import- ance for succeeding ages. This was the colossal gold and ivory image of Juno for the temple of the goddess in Argos, which was rebuilt after a fire * Friedrichs : Bausteine, s. 1 1 5 . f I see that Overbeck, in the new edition of his G. der Gr. PL, s. 347, comes to the same result, and is inclined to refer the Florentine bronze to Polycletus, a work in all essentials identical -with the marble statue at Berlin. 1 66 Greek Sculpture. in the year 423. She is seated on a throne, her brow crowned with a diadem, on which the Graces and Horae were introduced in relief. In one hand she held the sceptre, in the other a pomegranate ; the throne was grown over with a vine, and her feet rested on a lion’s skin. For some time it was, imagined that an idea of the majestic effect of the work was afforded by a copy of a later period, the colossal marble head of Juno in the Villa Ludovisi in Rome (Fig. 89). It is certainly a work which, in the grand Sl "at ' c ^ aracter °f its forms, combines the unapproachable majesty of the queen of the mighty Jupiter with womanly grace and feminine dignity. The severe commanding brow is softened into gracious loveliness Fig. 88. Head of Juno, probably after Polycletus. Naples. by the soft waving hair — imperishable youthful beauty blooms on the deli- cately rounded cheeks, and the powerful outline of the nose, lips, and chin expresses an energy of character based on moral purity, apd invested with a gleam of marvellous beauty. But on more accurate examination this head exhibits too much softness of form, too much loveliness and grace of ex- III. Artists and Works of Art in the Peloponnesus. 167 pression, for it to be referred to any but a decidedly later original. In fact, the type of the countenance, with its perfect oval, its rounded cheeks and full chin, may claim an Attic origin, so that we may imagine it to be an excellent and more recent copy of the work of one of the later masters of Athens. We may, perhaps, be allowed the conjecture, though at present we have no means of confirming it, that this head may be traced back to the Hera (Juno) of Alcamenes, which was found in a temple between Athens and Phaleros, and -was ascribed to this gifted pupil of Phidias. At any rate, we imagine the Juno of Polycletus to have been more severe in its conception, and more in harmony with the general character of earlier Peloponnesian art, and for this reason the head pointed out by Brunn in the Naples Museum (Fig. 88), has greater claim than any other to be re- garded as executed after Polycletus. If we compare it with the Ludovisi head, we find in both the same fundamental elements of charac- terization, only that in the Naples head there is a stricter, coarser, and more serious stamp, the difference between the Attic and the Peloponnesian type. Fig. 89. Head of Juno, probably after Alcamenes. Villa Ludovisi The sharply defined eyelids, the almost hardly cut lips, and, above all, the broad forehead, contrast with the slender cheeks and rather bony than plump chin, and seem to indicate the Argive master. The artist had to embody in the goddess of marriage less a distinct spiritual power than a moral influence,. .the sacred significance of a common human relation ; and in this Greek Sculpture. 1 68 lie succeeded with a masterly hand, if we may regard the Naples head as a standard work. That the colossal statue was executed in all the ornamental details with the utmost neatness and delicacy may be inferred from the fact that Polycletus was also famous as an excellent engraver. A numerous school followed in the track of the Argive School of master, though we are unable to characterize the works of the Polycletus. ’ ° various artist names transmitted to us. They probably fol- lowed their master in life-like truth to nature and correct beauty of pro- portion, and thus established a firm basis for further progress. Naucydes of Argos comes before us, not exactly as a pupil of Polycletus, Naucydes. but as, probably, stimulated by his influence. Pie executed the gold and ivory statue of Ptebe, which stood by the side of Poly- cletus’ Juno, and was certainly a work of merit. There was, moreover, in Argos a bronze figure of Iiecate by him, and a Mercury is also mentioned as his work. Pie produced, besides, statues of victors and the bust of the poetess Erinna ; he also executed a man offering a ram, probably Phrixos, which was placed on the Acropolis of Athens in the temple court of the Ergane, and a disk-thrower. A copy of the latter is attempted to be recognized in several marble statues, the most excellent of which is in the Vatican at Rome (Fig. 90). The beautiful and athletic youth is standing in the attitude of action, testing in his left hand the weight of the quoit, but holding the right ready to receive the disk in a moment and to hurl it with a powerful throw. The right foot is advanced, while the body is still firmly resting on the left, and the head also exhibits that expression of intense self - collectedness which must precede such a moment. It is the sus- pense of the attitude, the life-like action in seeming repose, the manner in which the slender, youthful, and agile figure balances itself on the left leg, — it is all this which marks an original of the school or tendency of Polycletus. The head, indeed, seems rather to Fig. go. Disk-thrower, probably after Naucydes. Vatican. III. A rtists and Works of Art in the Peloponnesus. 169 belong to the Attic type. As a pupil of Naucydes, we may here mention Polycletus the Younger, who created in his Jupiter Philius at PO \'oun"c!- lL Megalopolis a new type of the supreme deity, depicting him in his cheerful and kindly aspect, similar to Bacchus. He, there- fore, carried the cup in one hand and in the other the thyrsus, the eagle on which was the sole token of the power of the supreme ruler. A marble figure of Jupiter Meilichius (the mild and friendly) at Argos, is also ascribed to the younger and not to the older Polycletus. It likewise exhibits the effort to transform the character of the supreme god from the aspect of sublimity into that of human kindliness. A bronze figure of Hecate is also mentioned at Argos ; it was placed by the side of that by Naucydes, and by a marble statue of the same goddess by Scopas. Besides these artists, many other names of Eginetan and Other Artists. Sicyonic sculptors have been transmitted to us, who, however, scarcely claim any high independent importance. Many of them probably took part in the execution of the dedicatory offering which the Spartans presented to Delphi on account of the victory over the Athenians at yEgos-potamos (404). It consisted of more than thirty-eight bronze statues, arranged in two insulated groups. The front group exhibited the Admiral Lysander crowned in the presence of Jupiter and other gods ; the other group contained those personages who had specially distinguished themselves in the victorious contest. It is a remarkable token of the vicissitudes of fate, that this work which celebrated the ruinous discord between the Greek races, formed the conclusion of an epoch, which had been so gloriously begun with the group of statues presented to Delphi in honour of the battle of Marathon ; and it was a bitter irony on the part of destiny that both these votive offerings should be placed near each other. The votive offering presented to Delphi by the Tegeates in honour of a victory gained over the Lacedaemonians, was also executed, though somewhat subsequently, by the later Peloponne- sian school (about 368-364). It represented Apollo and Nice (Victory) with the heroes of the country, and, like the former work, it proceeded from various artists. Among the sculptors who were employed in these two large groups, we may distinguish Antiphanes ; he was, moreover, the author of a third dedicatory offering, which the Argives placed at Delphi in commemora- tion of a victory over the Lacedaemonians. It consisted of a bronze copy of the Trojan Horse, similar to a work of the same subject by Strongylion which we have already mentioned. Daedalus also, the son of Patrocles of Sicyon, took part in the Tegean work; and Pliny mentions a bathing figure of Venus at the porch of Octavia, in the Temple of Jupiter in Rome, by the same artist. We can probably form some idea of this work from the various copies of Venus in this attitude, as, for example, that in the Vatican VOL. I. z 170 Greek Sculpture. Sculptures from the Temple of Jupiter at Olympia. (Fig. 91). It affords an evidence of how much the art of that day delighted in combining representations of the gods with the spirit of graceful genre works. Among the monuments of Peloponnesian art still in preser- Sculpturcs from the Juno nation, the remains of the sculptures from the Juno temple at T emple at Argos probably belong to the school of Polycletus. The metope contained scenes from the battles of the giants ; the pediments were filled with representations of the birth of Jupiter and the taking of Troy. The numerous fragments of these sculptures, which recent excavations have brought to light, would probably furnish important information with regard to the tendency of the Argive school, but they are still waiting the expert artistic hand which is to combine — it is to be hoped speedily — the scattered fragments into a whole. Several fragments have also been found of another great Peloponnesian monument, the Temple of Jupiter at Olympia, and these have been conveyed to the Museum of the Louvre in Paris. We know from Pausanias, that the twelve labours of Hercules were represented over the door on the front and back of the temple. The remains that have been found belong, probably, to these sculptures, which are in the form of metope. On one of the best preserved, Hercules is depicted as the subduer of the Cretan bull. The hero is opposing the butting animal with the whole weight of his athletic frame, and with the jerk of his strong arm is pulling the creature’s head. The action is bold, free, and life-like, the composition is well balanced, and the figure of Hercules exhibits a broad, vigorous, and grand style of treatment, and a sharpness of outline, which, though far more free in manner, betrays more affinity with Eginetan than with Attic works. These sculptures seem, therefore, to proceed from Pelopon- nesian artists, who, perhaps, were employed with the school of Phidias in the adornment of the temple. Another fragment contains a youthful female figure seated on a block of stone and watching some transaction. The vigoious and healthful forms breathe an air of fresh naturalness, which, if it is not exactly an ideal expression, possesses, at any rate, the charm of simple grace. Fig. 91. Aphrodite, after Daedalus. Vatican. III. Artists and Works of Art in the Peloponnesus. 1 7 1 Sculptures of The most important of the monuments of Peloponnesian art the Temple still in preservation, is, undoubtedly, the frieze of the Temple of at Bassa. Apollo at Bassse, near Phigalia, in Arcadia, which was discovered in 1812, and soon after was obtained for the British Museum.*' The temple was erected shortly after the completion of the Parthenon, by the Athenian architect Ictinus, the builder of the Parthenon. In the interior of its cella, a frieze in relief was carried along the top of the projecting Ionic columns, and this frieze evidences in its arrangement a new mode of applying plastic ornament to Greek temples, though it is still more important from the artistic importance of its subject. The frieze, which extends along the two narrow sides and the two long sides of the cella, is divided into two unequal parts ; the smaller part, which, according to Stackelberg’s idea, embraced the northern long side, depicted the battle of the Centaurs at the marriage of Peirithous ; the larger part representing an Amazon contest, probably, according to the same authority, extended along the other three sides, with the exception of a part of the west side lying opposite the entrance, where Apollo was depicted hastening to the assistance of his people in a chariot driven by Diana and drawn by stags. This arrangement has, however, recently been overturned by accurate investigations and measurings,' f and it has been settled that the battle of the Centaurs occupied the narrow entrance side and was continued along the long right side. Then followed the slab with Apollo and Diana, who, after they had assisted the Greeks to conquer the Centaurs, turn to the battle with the Amazons, and succour the Athenians there likewise. The second and more extensive division begins, therefore, at the long right side, and is continued along the narrow side opposite the entrance, and the long left side. The two contests depicted here were, as we see from numerous examples, the favourite themes of the Hellenic art of that day ; but nowhere are they treated with such excess of imagination, and with such power of invention and sparkling fire as here. They are composed in a furioso style which irresistibly carries all with it. With all the fearful fury of an actual fight, there rages on unfettered the annihilating storm of the passionate desire for combat, which has seized all the figures of this compo- sition, some of them entangled in wild indissoluble knots, and others hurled pitilessly to the ground. It is as if the consuming fire of the civil war, which was then beginning to lacerate Greece, were even now thrilling Invention, th r ou gh these figures. The artist, who created this frieze, must have possessed a depth and power of invention thus to depict with astonishing variety and ever new incident, the common theme of contest, * Cf. V. Stackelberg: Dev Apolloteinpel zu Bassce. Fol. Frankfurt, 1826. f By Ivanoff : Ann. d. Instit. 1865, xxxvii. p. 29 et scq. 172 Greek Sculpture. victory, and defeat (Figs 92-97). But spirited and life-like as his groups are, how far removed are they from the beauty of the Attic works, so full of modera- Fig. 92. Figs. 92, 93, and 94. From the Frieze of the Temple at Bassse. tion even in their passion ! How regardlessly does he outstep the barriers which hitherto Hellenic art had prescribed to herself! Never until now had the III. Artists and Works of Art in the Peloponnesus. 173 contending groups in combat scenes been so furiously entangled with each other; never before had the combatants fought so desperately. Here one Fig. 95- Fig. 96 . Amazon is pulled to the ground by her hair, there another is seized by the legs and hurled from her horse, and a Centaur is depicted as biting the shoulder 174 Greek Sculpture. of the warrior, who is giving him his death-thrust. All these incidents are devised with an art nearly allied to that realism which is not too scrupulous in the choice of the means used to produce the desired effect. But the effect is produced; the scenes affect us with almost painful truth, and every step shows us the independent and boldly artistic spirit of their author. While the design exhibits such incomparable energy, the Execution, execution, on the contrary, is unequal, and is not free from errors, both as regards correctness and beauty, being in some parts carelessly decorative, and in others somewhat mechanical. The nude portions are, it is true, for the most part excellent, although rather coarse in their extremely strong relief ; but the hands are frequently too large and heavy, the lower part of the thigh is too short, and the upper part too long ; though this perhaps may have been done on account of perspective foreshortening, as the frieze was placed high in a rather narrow space. Added to this, many of the actions are uncouth, violent, and exaggerated, though this indeed may result from their immense vivacity. The female figures appear especially coarse, and are even somewhat awkward and heavy ; grace was evidently iess aimed at by the artist than power, and even Amazonian grace consists with him only in the compact form of a body steeled by combat. The treatment of the drapery is the artist’s weakest point. It is arranged in large masses, inflated, fluttering, and crumpled, or in a still more ungraceful manner, stretched tightly, though this is indicative of the violence of the contest. Simplicity and distinctness are equally deficient ; the effort after effect has led the artist into conventional mannerism, and for the sake of filling the space he has had recourse to fluttering garments and mantles. Still we must not omit to remark that from the slight relief in which these accessories are executed, the principal parts of the composition and the prominent figures of the combatants stand out clearly and effectively enough. That ideal figures form the weaker side of this artist, is Tin ideal ev id en t from Apollo and Diana, who in no wise surpass the Figures. 1 1 other personages in nobleness and majesty. Whether the colossal acrolith statue of the god was of a higher type, is no longer to be decided. The marble hand and foot that still remain, indicate, the latter especially, a peculiarly fine and soft mode of treatment, and certainly allow us to infer higher purity of form. Of the metope remains, there is only a pair of com- batants in tolerable preservation, and these exhibit the same vivacity of style and freshness of conception, and the same restless and exaggerated drapery. We know nothing of the master of the Phigalian frieze. Authoi of we imagine ourselves justified in assigning the conception at least to an Attic artist, and the execution to Peloponnesian workers, we perceive on the other hand that the spirit of the composition is III. Artists and Works of Art in the Peloponnesus. 175 just as contrary to the Attic as the mode of representation, and that both subject and form have evidently emanated from the same artistic source. It is true much that is ruder and more decorative in the execution may be ascribed to the hand of the workman, but in all essential points, everything breathes the bold life-like naturalism of Peloponnesian art. And, we may add, equally plainly do we feel in this forcible and animated composition the breath of that new period which we must now proceed to consider. FOURTH CHAPTE R. THIRD PERIOD OF GREEK SCULPTURE. From the Freedom of Athens to the Death of Alexander the Great. c. 400 — c. -323. G al .j n THE Peloponnesian War had given the signal for the disruption meter of the which uncontrollably burst over Greece. Even during the war New Period. we p erC eive from infallible tokens, the indications of a moral, political, and social revolution gradually advancing. These symptoms are embodied, as it were typically, in the prominent characters of the time. What a gap separates an Alcibiades from the representatives of the earlier honour- able age, from a Miltiades, an Aristides, a Themistocles, a Cimon, or even a Pericles ! When discord and jealousy among the Greek races had once been let loose, they were no longer to be appeased even by the lengthened horrors of the Peloponnesian War. Civil war henceforth inflicted its scourge upon Greece, and even the noblest heroes of this later epoch, a Thrasybulus, a Pelopidas, and an Epaminondas, suffered under the curse of the age, which urged Greek against Greek, and stained their most glorious laurels with the blood of their own people. And yet the artistic spirit was so powerful, and the delight in the beautiful so great, that in spite of the storms of the period, a new era in art began, an era scarcely surpassed in. splendour by the former one, though inferior to it in grandeur and purity. In the dramatic sphere, Euripides represents the transition from the high style into one of a more pleasing character, which by new attractions, and by a rather pathological interest, endeavoured to fascinate the multitude. Aristophanes, also con- spicuous in the commencement of this, period, appears, it is true, in his ij6 Greek Sculpture. powerful arid clever comedies, as the defender of the grand dignity of an Aeschylus, and endeavours to fight against the current of the new tendency ; but this very effort displays the character of a new epoch, which, at the first glance, appears like an age of Epigonae in contrast with the mighty past. And yet this same period produced the philosophy of a Plato, and of his no less great pupil Aristotle ; systems, in which the two contrasts pervading all Greek life, appear just as distinctly as those of the high ideal art of the Attic school of Phidias, and the thoroughly natural conception of the Peloponnesians, which meet us in sculpture. But plastic art also experienced at this epoch a rich and splendid development, which, while embracing the former styles, fulfilled its special tasks, and asserted its special ideas as the offspring of its own age. Yet what field remained open to sculpture at such a period as this ? a period which no longer knew any enthusiasm for a high and common national life ; in which the separate interests of the Fate of FI a stic Art. different states strove with regardless egotism for the mastery ; in which a similar egotistic spirit filled individuals, leading each to care for himself, and to forget the general good ; in which, as Demosthenes laments, public buildings were neglected or miserably built, and private dwellings, on the contrary, were more and more splendid in their structure : while formerly the houses of a Miltiades, an Aristides, or a Themistocles were in nothing distinguished from the abodes of ordinary citizens. Added to this, the great types of the gods had been created for the most par-t in the former epoch, the new temples already possessed most of their splendid decorations and statues, and lastly, the resources of the states, exhausted as they were by endless wars and disorders, were no longer sufficient for great undertakings. And yet art in this period of confusion found a new stimulant in this very predominance of individual life. In the vicissitudes of war which had made themselves felt in each separate existence, a more passionate tone of feeling had taken possession of all minds. Men sought in art no longer the grandeur and dignity, no longer the solemn repose and moderation, of an earlier period ; they aimed at a deeper pathos and a more excited expression of feeling. Instead of the serious and sublime gods of a Phidias, the divinities bore the stamp of an ardent and joyous enthusiasm ; instead of the physical wrestling of heroic figures, they depicted the struggles and sorrows of the soul, and endeavoured in every respect to fascinate the spectator by the utmost charm and beauty, and, in fact, to make the finest, deepest, and tenderest feelings of the mind gleam forth through the almost transparent form. In addition to all this, art was increasingly promoted by the favour of the rich and powerful, and thus all the more decidedly produced works of a more subjective character, instead of those grand objective creations in which the thoughts and strivings of the whole people were expressed. From the Freedom of Athens to the Death of Alexander. 177 I. The Attic School. Before this subjective feeling predominated in works of Transition, sculpture, an important artist appeared in Athens, who, standing on the boundary between the two periods, represents the transi- tion from the sublime art of a Phidias or an Alcamenes, to the graceful and passionate style of a Scopas and a Praxiteles. This is the elder Cephiso- dotus, who was most probably the father of Praxiteles, and perhaps the son or pupil of Alcamenes, thus occupying a central position between the two artists, both by blood and affinity of style. He was a native of Athens, and Phocion’s first wife was his sister. His works belong to the Ce fhcEitk U ‘‘ S ^ rst ^ iree d eca -des of the fourth century. Cephisodotus shows in this his affinity with Phidias and Alcamenes, that he was almost exclusively a sculptor of gods, for the statue of an orator with uplifted hand, “ name unknown,” is of little importance compared with his other works, and was, as the clause seems to imply, probably likewise a work of ideal conception. Among his statues of the gods, Pliny mentions the bronze figure of Minerva in the Peiraeus as an admirable work ; and an altar in the Temple of J upiter Soter he ranks so highly that few can compare with it. It is probably referred to in a notice of Pausanias, who extols a bronze figure of Jupiter as well as that of Minerva, and says that Minerva carried a lance, and Jupiter held the sceptre and the Nice. These works were probably executed with the buildings erected by Conon in the Peiraeus in the year 392. Whether we may connect with the statue in the Peiraeus the nude standing figure of Jupiter with the sceptre and Nice, which appears on coins of the Achean League* must be left uncertain ; nothing, however, is thus gained with regard to Cephisodotus himself, as the J upiter is not designated as his work. The enthroned J upiter, however, which still bears the marks of the earlier style, he executed with the assistance of Xenophon, a contem- porary Attic artist, for the shrine of Jupiter Soter in Megalopolis ; and at the same time the statues of Diana Soteira, and of the tutelar goddess of Megalopolis, which stood on either side. These works were of Pentelican marble, so that we thus find Cephisodotus skilled both in the use of bronze and marble. As Megalopolis was founded in 370, we thus acquire a further date for the works of this master. Cephisodotus also executed for the Helicon the statues of three Muses, and again those of all nine, probably the first time that art had attempted the characterization of all the Muses. Perhaps copies of the works of Cephisodotus may be seen in some of the oft-repeated statues of the Muses. VOL. I. * Muller : Denkm. ii. 20. A A Greek Sculpture. Irene with Plutus. A certain basis for our criticism of this master has, however, been recently obtained in a beautiful discovery of Brunn’s. Pausanias speaks with praise of a group of Irene with Plutus, which stood on the Agora in the Tholus at Athens. Attic coins frequently exhibit a representation of this work, and a masterly marble copy of it has been authenticated in the splendid group in the Glyptothek at Munich (Fig. 98). This figure, formerly regarded as Leucothea, and subsequently as Gse Curotrophus, is therefore the Goddess of Peace, bearing Wealth, as a faithful nurse, in her arms. The worship of Irene was established afresh after the battle of Leucas, in 375, by Timotheus, the son of Conon, and pro- bably the execution of Cephisodotus’ work was connected with this event. In its subject it was the embodiment of an allegory; but the artist has imbued the grand figure with the warmth of life, and in her solemn bearing there is a remnant of the high art of Phidias, while a touch of tender feeling betrays an affinity with the later school. Executed in Parian marble, and more than life size, the figure exhibits the sublime form of a goddess bending in motherly tenderness towards the child whom she is holding on her left arm. The boy, both whose arms are new, and whose head is bor- rowed from an antique Cupid, is turning to the goddess with a childlike display of tenderness, and with a lively action, and is trying caressingly to stroke her chin. She, on the contrary, is pointing upwards with her right hand, which has been erroneously restored, as it must have held the sceptre. The vessel, which the little one is grasping with his left hand, has been intro- duced in the place of the cornucopia, which the God of Riches, according to the .evidence of the coins, held in his arm. The grand treatment of the forms, the nobleness of action and expression, and the admirably executed drapery, which betrays in every fold the form and movement of the sub- lime figure, and yet is arranged with the utmost simplicity all this claims for this master’s work a place among the noblest productions of this epoch. We imagine the original, however, to have been in bronze. Lastly, a Mercury with Bacchus as a child on his right arm, is men- tioned as the work of Cephisodotus, and in its composition it reminds us of the Irene. Nearly allied to this work must have been the Tyche with the child Plutus, which Xenophon, whom we have already mentioned as a fellow- worker with Cephisodotus, executed at Thebes. Among other contemporary Attic artists we have yet to mention Eukleides, whom we likewise find to have been a sculptor of gods. He executed a marble statue of the enthroned Jupiter for Higira in Achaia ; and for the city of Bura, in the same province, he made the temple statues of Ceres, Venus, and Bacchus, besides the Eilethyia, probably on the rebuilding of the city, which had been destroyed by an earthquake in 372. As the figure of Ceres is expressly stated to I. The Attic School. 179 have been draped, we may imagine the rest to have been nude : an interesting fact in which we cannot mistake the dawning of a new era in art. A./w TLLGL/. ' Fig. 98. Irene with the yotnig Plutus. (After Cephisodot us.) Munich. i8o Greek Sculpture. We first find the art of the later school in its full development Scopas. in Attica, in one of the principal masters of this epoch, namely, Scopas.* His fatherland was the island of Paros, the home of the finest Greek marble ; but the main seat of his labours during the early part of the fourth century was Athens. Still we also find him occupied in other parts, in the Peloponnesus, as well as in Asia Minor. His works were spread throughout the whole of Greece, in the Peloponnesus, in Hellas, in Ionia, and Caria, although from this we have no reason to infer his presence in all these places. We only know with certainty, that at the beginning of his career he worked in the Peloponnesus, in the prime of his life at Athens, and in his later years in Asia Minor. As a sculptor and architect he superintended in his early life the building and decoration of the Temple of Minerva Alea in Tegea, which had been burnt down in the year 394. This was one of the most celebrated and splendid monuments _ . , of the Peloponnesus, and it was remarkable also in an archi- Athene at tectural point of view from the introduction of the three orders of legea. columns, the Ionic in the outer hall, and the Doric and Corinthian in the interior, for the gallery and roof.*|* Its rich plastic ornament consisted principally in the marble groups of the two pediments, also executed by Scopas, and representing the combat of Achilles with Telephus, and the pursuit of the Calydonian boar. Pausanias affords us some information with regard to the composition of the front pedim.ent. Almost in the middle was the mighty boar, and near it on one side were Atalante, Meleager, and Theseus : and on the other Ancaeus, who, just wounded by the infuriated animal, had thrown away his battle-axe and was caught in the arms of Epochus. Next to them followed Castor, Amphiaraos, Hippothous, and Peirithous. On the other side, in correspondence with the group of the falling Ancaeus sup- ported by Epochus, there was a representation of Telamon falling over the roots of a tree and raised by Peleus. This group comprised Polydeuces and Iolaus, as well as Prothous and Cometes, the two brothers of Althaea. The central group, therefore, was formed of Atalante, Meleager, and Theseus with the boar ; on each side followed four other heroes, so that the number of the figures, besides the boar, amounted to fifteen. In addition to these there were probably in both corners wounded and fallen, whom Pausanias does not mention, because they were not designated by name. Of the group in the western pediment we have only a general idea of the subject which related to the invasion of the country of Telephus by the Greeks on their way to Troy. Telephus was wounded by Achilles in the defence of his kingdom, * Cf. L. Urlichs : Scopas Leben und IVerke. Greifswald, 1863. t Cf. Lubke : Gescli. d. Architektui , iv. edit. p. 153. I. The A ttic School. 1 8 j but successfully repelled the attack. Although from the desultory allusions of Pausanias, we can form no accurate idea of these compositions, still their subject is indicative of the new tendency of the period. For the pediment groups of the former epoch were, so far as we possess any knowledge of them, always so arranged that the animated group of one pediment contrasted with the calm group of the other. Here, on the contrary, we find both pediments filled with scenes of passionate contest, and this we may certainly ascribe to the increased delight in representations full of ardent excitement. This master also executed a number of statues of the gods, Statius of the f rom their different objects, intimate a great variety of types, and great versatility of imagination. There was an Apollo Smintheus (the mouse-killer), represented with a mouse beneath his feet, in the shrine of that god in the island Chryse. A group of Latona, with the sceptre, and Ortygia by her side, carrying in her arms Apollo and Diana, the two children of the goddess, was in the new temple at Ortygia, near Ephesus. The master executed a statue of Diana Euleia for the temple of the goddess at Thebes, and the Ismenion, in the same place, possessed a Minerva by his hand, which stood in front of the temple. Another Minerva and a Bacchus he made for Cnidus. Twice he made statues of Pentelican marble of Aesculapius and Hygeia, for Tegea and for Gortys, in Arcadia. The statement that Aesculapius was depicted beardless is of importance, inasmuch as it proves a more youthful characteristic, and differs from the idea formerly conceived. Two Erinnys, in Parian marble at Athens, are also described as graceful figures, having, according to Pausanias’ statement, nothing terrible about them. Besides these, we may mention a Hercules in the Gymnasium in Sicyon, a Hecate at Argos, a seated figure of Vesta, with two candelabra, in the Servilian Gardens in Rome, a Venus with Phaeton or Porthos in Samothrace, a brazen Venus Pandemos, sitting on a goat, in Elis ; and, lastly, a colossal seated figure of Mars in the Temple of Brutus Gallsecus, near the Flaminian Circus in Rome. We do not possess any known copy of any of these works ; that of Mars alone was formerly supposed to have been the original of the beautiful sitting figure of Mars, in the Villa Ludovisi. With more justice, the idea of Scopas’ statue has been traced in a relief of Trajan’s time on Constantine’s Arch of Triumph; for the god is represented sitting, holding in his right hand the spear, and in his left the winged Nice. We approach nearer to the spirit of the great master when Apollo. we examine those statues of the gods which evidence a deeper enthusiasm as the fundamental principle of the artistic compo- sition. This is the case, above all, in the statue of an Apollo, who is advancing in a long flowing garment, his head crowned with laurels, and touching the 182 Greek Sculpture. strings of his cithern. Augustus caused this highly extolled work, which originally stood in the Temple of Nemesis at Rhamnus, to be brought to the Palatine in Rome, where it was placed between the statues of the Diana of Timotheus and the Latona of the younger Cephisodotus. A well-known marble statue in the Vatican (Fig. 99), which exhibits the god with an almost womanly fulness of form, has been thought to be a copy of this work. Although only indifferent in its execution, still in its grand pathos, graceful move- ment, and flow of drapery, it pos- sesses traits which appear most nearly .allied to the character of a Scopas. Other no less famous works by this master are also to be found in Rome. Thus, above all, in the Temple of Domitius, in the neighbourhood of the Circus Flaminius, there is an extensive marble group, originally perhaps composed for a temple pedi- ment, and representing Achilles receiving the arms of Flephaestus from his mother. Besides the figure of Thetis, Neptune, and a band of Nereids and Tritons, riding on sea- monsters, were also introduced, giving the whole scene much animated life, and a touch of festive merriment. We can best realize the spirit of this composition from a beautiful marble relief in the Munich Glyptothek,* which represents the marriage of Neptune and Amphitrite (Figs. 100 to 105). Executed in Parian marble, 79 centimeters high, and 8'88 meters long, it seems as if it had been made for the porch of a temple. The two short pilasters which separate the outer panels from the broad central parts, also indicate an architectural object. The central point of the composition is formed (Fig. 103) by Neptune, who is seated in passive repose, with Amphitrite in her bridal veil, in a chariot drawn * Published by O. Jahn in the Ber. d. Sachs. Ges. d. Wissensch. 1854, taf. iii.-viii., and from which our figures are copied. Cf. Brunn : Beschr. dcr Glyptothck , s. 143 ft seq. I. The Attic School. 183 by two Tritons. The trident, in his right hand, which was probably added in bronze, is not perfect. The Tritons are making wedding music on sea-shells and lyres. Corresponding with this principal group, on the other side, is a female figure seated on a sea-horse, and holding out two bridal torches to the newly betrothed pair (Fig. 100). She is the mother of the bride, the Oceanide Doris. She is followed by three Nereids, the foremost of whom, bearing a small casket, is riding on a sea-ox, which is led by a roguish Cupid. The second (Fig. 102), seated cn a fantastic sea-dragon, also holds in her hands a gift for the bridal pair, while her companion, borne by a Triton, and turning her bare back to the spectator, points to the central group. In easy paral- lelism three Nereids also follow the chariot of Neptune on the other side. The foremost (Fig. 104), carelessly reclining on a sea-horse, is holding in her left hand a bowl, while a Cupid is sitting on the annulated tail of her horse ; the following (Fig. 105) is seated on a sea-dragon, which a Cupid is leading by the bridle, while the last is enthroned on the mighty body of a Triton. The noble style of the work, and the sparkling richness of imagination, displayed in all its freedom, in a space thus architecturally limited, and producing in it such life-like contrasts ; and, lastly, the perfect artistic characterization which is imparted to the fantastic figures of the sea, prove the work to be an emanation of that style in which Scopas was a master, while the spirited t reatment of the whole production evidences a Greek original of a good period. As the work comes from the Palace of Santa Croce, in Rome, which is situated in the same neighbourhood as the Temple of Domitius, which con- tained the group of Scopas, it is difficult to avoid the supposition that the relief likewise adorned that temple, and perhaps emanated from the atelier of Scopas. There was also an admirable marble statue of Venus in Rome, in the Temple of Brutus Gallsecus, a work especially remarkable, because in it Scopas for the first time depicted the goddess in all the unveiled splendour of her perfect beauty. We cannot fail to perceive in it most truly, in contrast to the noble seriousness of the figures of a Phidias, the dawn of a new style, aiming rather at grace and loveliness. Still more plainly is this characteristic evidenced in the group of the Temple of Venus at Elis, in which the master depicted “Love, Longing, and Desire” (Eros, Himeros, and Pothos) ; un- doubtedly a work which could only produce an effect by the finest shades of characteristic expression. His powers of representation rose to the height of agitation in the statue of the raving Bacchanalian, who, seized with a passion for Bacchus, is rushing away with her garments fluttering, her head thrown back, her hair dishevelled, and her hands holding a kid which she has torn asunder in her fury. When we read of such works, we understand the ex- pression that Scopas had “ animated ” marble, and had made his Bacchanal “rave.” The principal characteristics of this bold and masterly creation 184 Figs. 100— 105.— Marriage of Neptune and Amphitrite. Fig. 100. Fig. 101. I' IS- 102. Relief in Munich. Fig. 103. Fig. 104. VOL. I. Fig. 105. B B 1 86 Greek Sculpture. I re-appear decidedly in the numerous representations in relief of Bacchanal scenes. Lastly, we learn that about the year 350, Scopas, with several other artists, adorned the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus with sculptures, which we shall hereafter mention. From all this we perceive that this master’s represen- tations ranged within the sphere of ideal subjects, but that within this sphere he especially delighted in figures of tender beauty, either in passionate emo- tion or in profound mental agitation. In harmony with this we find that, almost without exception, he executed his works in marble, for the light and transparent texture of this material was peculiarly suited to the delicate gradations of the youthful figure, and the life-like expression of the emotions of the mind. We know nothing of any real school of Scopas ; but we may Colleagues of . Scopas : suppose that his colleagues m the decoration of the Mausoleum Timotheus. belonged to his style. Among them Timotheus is mentioned ■' also elsewhere as a worker in bronze and a sculptor in marble: Bryaxis, who lived till about 312, produced several statues of the gods, and above all, a figure of Pluto, executed in precious metals, which was placed by Ptolemaus on the headland Rhakotis. This statue of the god of the lower regions, who is identified with the Egyptian Serapis, appears as a new creation in the list of ideal figures, as in it the character of Jupiter is transformed into a gloomy aspect. Leochares, whose works bear the date of about 328 B.C., Leochares. seems to have been still more important than these artists. He was a sculptor of versatile powers, for he executed not only — with another famous artist, Sthennis of Corinth— the portraits of the family of an Athenian citizen, but he also subsequently was employed with Lysippus in the bronze group of a lion-hunt of Alexander, and moreover depicted the great king, with all his family, in magnificent gold and ivory statues, which, as may be inferred from the use of this material, were executed in an ideal and heroic style, and were placed at Olympia. Another work in an ideal style was his bronze group of Ganymede, carried away by the eagle of Jupiter, a work which is preserved to us in several marble copies, especially in an excellent group in the Vatican (Fig. 106). Though the representation of a soaring figure verges on the limits of the sphere of plastic art, yet the artist has excellently expressed the hovering movement of the graceful and youthful form, and we may rest assured that in the original the action was rendered ” we his two sons, Cephisodotus and Timarchus. They executed several works in common, and among these many portrait statues, which henceforth were increasingly in demand owing to the growing magnificence of private life. Cephisodotus, the younger of this name, seems, however, by far the more important of the two. He was excellent both in bronze and marble work ; in fact, with regard to one of the latter, an apparently erotic group (Symplegma) in Pergamus, which was extolled as the most famous of all works of the kind, we learn from Pliny that the fingers of one figure were so imprinted on the body of another, that Greek Sculpture. 196 it resembled living flesh and not marble. This evidences a tendency degene- rating into excess, and the voluptuous character of the work also denotes an exaggeration of that sensual beauty which appeared so pure and natural in Praxiteles. Still Cephisodotus produced works also of a more serious tenor, and statues of gods and heroes, so that we must be careful of judging the tendency of his art from the Symplegma of Pergamus alone. We must here mention a few other masters who stand forth Silanion. more conspicuously among the great number of artists known only by name. The first of these is Silanion, who gave occasion- ally even a pathetic character to his portraits, as in that of the sculptor Apollodorus, who was never satisfied with his work, and, therefore, was represented by Silanion in such a manner that it was said of the portrait that it did not so much depict a human being as the quality of anger. It is said of the dying Jocaste, by the same artist, that in the countenance he added silver to the bronze, in order better to depict the pallor of death ; a somewhat improbable anecdote, though there may be a general truth in it with regard to many of the errors which at this time were befalling plastic art. Lastly, one of the most interesting of the artists of that day Euphranor. was Euphranor, by birth an Isthmian. Endowed with various gifts, skilful both as a painter and a sculptor, he worked, Pliny tells us, in metal and marble, formed colossal figures and engraved goblets, wrote books upon symmetry and colour, was remarkable for docility and activity, was distinguished in all he did, and was ever equal in merit. Among his plastic works we find every subject depicted, from figures of the gods to representations of animals, and several of these works aimed at the delineation of an animated and elevated state of mind. Moreover, this active and skilful artist seems to have adopted a vigorous type of form in his works, for he himself is reported to have said of a Theseus which he painted, that his Theseus was fed upon beef, and that of Parrhasius on roses. Lastly, it is evident that he began to introduce more slender proportions into sculpture, forming the body on a more refined scale, while the head and limbs retained the old proportions. We must now turn to the grandest and most extensive work Niobe Group, of statuary, which the Attic art of that period produced, namely the famous group of Niobe with her children.'* Probably origi- nally placed in the pediment of a temple of Apollo in Asia Minor, it was subsequently brought to Rome by C. Sosius, who ruled as governor in Syria and Cilicia in the year 38 B.C., and was placed in the Temple of Apollo Sosianus, which he had built. It was doubtful, even in antiquity, whether this work * Cf. Stark : Niobe und die A r iobidcn. Leipzig, 1863. I. The Attic School. 197 were to be ascribed to Scopas or to Praxiteles ; how far less, therefore, are we able to decide the matter, only possessing the work as we do in later, and, for the most part, indifferent copies. Although from the passionate nature of the subject we should be rather inclined to attribute it to Scopas, we cannot even venture to offer this as a conjecture. The subject of the composition, which is familiar to us in various copies and alterated forms in sarcophagus relief, is, as is well known, the punishment of the Theban queen Niobe, who had boasted of her fourteen children compared with Latona, who was only blessed with two. Apollo and Diana undertook to avenge their insulted mother, by destroying, with their fatal arrows, the whole family of Niobe. We find here, therefore, the same moral idea so often expressed in Greek poetry : namely, the punishment of human arrogance, which, presuming on good fortune or on power, rebels against the gods. The group was found in Rome at the Porta S. Giovanni, in C ’w/iiim the year 1583, and was subsequently conveyed to Florence, where it is now preserved in the gallery of the Uffizi. It consisted of the mother with the youngest daughter, three other daughters, the tutor with the youngest son and five other sons. The seventh son has since been dis- covered in a kneeling Florentine statue, but the alleged daughter of Niobe at Berlin can scarcely have belonged to the group. With greater justice, on the contrary, a statue at Florence, formerly designated as Psyche, and restored according to this idea, has likewise been recognized as one of the Niobe group. On the whole we have the mother with the youngest daughter, the tutor with the youngest son, and six sons and four daughters besides, whom we may accept with certainty. Possibly, however, these may not complete the group, as tradition speaks of seven sons and as many daughters. Of all the various copies of the separate figures, the escaping daughter in the Museo Chiara- monti in the Vatican holds the first place. The vehemence of flight which flings back her garments and betrays itself with the utmost truth in her whole figure, is expressed with such life-like freshness that we are inclined to regard it as an original from the hand of Scopas or Praxiteles. It is a pity that the head and arms of this valuable work are lost. We possess besides two copies of the son lying outstretched in death, one in the Museum at Dresden, the other in the Glyptothek at Munich, the latter of which, found in the Pal. Bevilacqua in Verona, is the more excellent of the two. As regards the splendid torso of the so-called Ilioneus, in the Glyptothek at Munich, it is so far superior to all the other statues of this group in nobleness and beauty, in the delicacy of feeling expressed in the representation of a lovely youthful form, and in perfection of outline, that it must be considered as a masterpiece of genuine Greek work and not as a copy. But certainly it does not belong to a Niobe group, a fact evidenced by the complete nudity of the figure, and also Greek Sculpture. 1 98 by the style of base, the rocky ground common to all the Niobe figures being absent. Th If we examine the group as it now exists, we must conceive Composition. *h e g ran d form of the mother as the central point of the compo- sition.’' Apollo and Diana may be supposed as outside the group. Unseen from above, they have just begun their avenging work of destruction ; this is expressed in every attitude, in the turning of the fleeing figures, who are looking upwards in alarm, or are endeavouring to screen themselves with their garments. One of the sons is already extended lifeless : he probably filled the left angle of the pediment. Another is supporting himself against a rock, and is gazing upwards with an eye already almost fixed in death, to see from whence the destruction has overtaken him. One brother is endeavouring, too late, to protect his sister with his garments, and to clasp her in his arms ; she has fallen wounded at his feet, “ inanimate as a broken flower ” (Fig. 1 14) ; another has dropped on his knees, and thrilling with pain, is endeavouring to touch the wound on his back, while the tutor is trying to shield the youngest (Fig. 115). All the others, full of terror, instinctively flee to the mother, as if she who had so often afforded them protection, could * The purely picturesque arrangement which Friedrichs proposes in his Bausteine is so much opposed to the plastic spirit of antique art, that we cannot consent to it for an Attic work of this epoch. I. The Attic School. 199 preserve them from the avenging arm of the gods. Thus, on both sides, the waves of this terrible flight surge towards the centre, where they break as if against a rock, in the sublime figure of Niobe, this “Mater dolorosa ” of antique art (Fig. 116). She alone stands undismayed in the sad scene, a mother and a queen to the last. While she clasps in her arms her youngest daughter, whose tender childhood had not preserved her from the avenging missiles, bending as if protectingly over the sinking form of her darling, she turns her proud head upwards, before her left hand can raise her garment to conceal the agony of her countenance, and gazes towards the avenging goddess with a look in which sorrow and nobleness of mind are mingled (Fig. 1 1 7). In this look there lies neither defiance nor supplication for pity ; nothing but the agonized and yet majestic expression of heroic resignation to the unalterable destiny decreed by the gods, is worthy of a Niobe. In this wonderful figure the whole point of the composition is centred ; in it lies that atonement for error which, in a scene full of such horror and destruction, moves the heart of the spectator to tragic sympathy. And the same beauty is diffused over all the other parts of the composition, and over every figure, imparting to them a nobleness which purifies and moderates the horror of such a fearful catastrophe. 200 Greek Sculpture. Croup of A spirit similar to that of the Niobe group is evidenced in Menelans and the splendid group of Menelaus, who is bearing his fallen friend, Patrodus. p a t r oclus, from the conflict. The best but most mutilated copy of this work, though only containing the upper part of the body of Menelaus, is the famous “ Pasquino ” which is placed at the corner of the Pal. Braschi, in Rome, where it was found. There are other copies in better preservation, such as the one in the Loggia de’ Lanzi, at Florence ; another excavated near the Porta Portese in Rome ; and the one placed in the court of the Pal. Pitti, which was brought from the Mausoleum of Augustus. The fragments of a fourth copy, which has come to light in Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli, have been placed in the Vatican. At any rate the original was a famous masterpiece of the good Greek period. The composition presents in grand outline, and with perfect plastic finish, the touching picture of the noblest heroic friendship. At the moment in which Patroclus has fallen, bleeding from several wounds, Menelaus hastens forward, seizes his sinking friend by the right arm and below the left shoulder, and endeavours with all his power to raise him and carry him from the fight. But while the mighty form of the hero displays the straining of every muscle, he turns his helmet-shaded face with sorrowful glance upwards, as though he were expressing to the gods his grief at the fall of such a hero. In this touching expression of feeling, and in this grand pathos, lies the inner affinity of this work with that of Niobe. The work is the offspring of a tendency which delights in depicting the passionate emotions of the mind. We may venture to ascribe it, perhaps, to the Attic school of a Scopas or a Praxiteles ; this is also implied in the character of the forms, which indicate a marble original, and as such the Pasquino itself has been regarded. II. Tiie Monuments in Preservation. There are no larger works of this epoch in Attica worth men- Momun. nt oj j.j on j n g. on (-p e other hand, there are some sculptures Lysicrates. ° 1 belonging to smaller monuments, and these charmingly represent the spirit of Attic art. The foremost among these are the frieze reliefs on the monument of Lysicrates at Athens, which was erected in the year 334 in honour of a choragic victory. They represent the punishment of the Tyrrhe- nian pirates by Bacchus, who had been carried away by them, and who transformed them for their offence into dolphins. This scene is executed by the sculptor with great ingenuity, and not without amusing humour, so that this charming frieze stands in about the same relation to earlier compositions as comedy does to tragedy (Fig. 118). Bacchus, a grand and handsome II. The Monuments in Preservation. 20 r youthful figure, appears in the centre, resting at his ease against a rock, and playing with a lion (Fig. 1 1 9)- The god quietly leaves the act of revenge to his companions, the Satyrs, whose wanton exuberance vents itself in the most varied persecution of the malefactors. Some are breaking off branches of trees for the chastisement of the pirates ; others, armed with cudgels, torches, and thyrsus staves, are accomplishing their vengeance on the victims of their fury who have already fallen ; one pirate is dragged by his leg into the sea, while the rest, in whom the transformation into dolphins is beginning to take place, are springing with bold leap into the waves. These latter have dolphin heads, terminating, however, in a human body ; a combination which is executed with as much artistic feeling and regard to organic form, as lively humour. This frieze, which is treated in an easy and flowing style, and in moderate relief, affords a valuable testimony to the artistic spirit which at that time pervaded all Attic life. VOL. I. D D 202 Greek Sculpture. Monument of Thrasyllus. A similar testimony, though in another sense, is afforded by a work of larger size, the statue of Bacchus on the monument of Thrasyllus at Athens, erected in the year 320, in commemoration of a victory. The statue, now in the British Museum, represents the god seated in rich attire, and although the head and arms are gone, it is in general design and style perhaps the grandest and noblest sitting statue left us from antiquity. In the treatment of the drapery it exhibits great affinity with the Aphrodite of Melos. This statue may afford us a fair idea of the type under which Praxiteles and his school conceived the God of Wine. We must here also mention some works which must be ( ‘ 'tVorl-!' 1 re g ar d e d as the productions of the Attic art of this epoch. In the first place, the colossal female figure in marble, which was found in Athens in the year 1837, and has been preserved in the museum of the Temple of Theseus ; in the position of the head, and in the arrangement of the grand and simple drapery, it calls to mind the figure of Niobe, although it cannot be thus designated, as the expression of the face is rather calm than agitated with sorrow. The outline of the head is too full and vigorous for Minerva, who has been also suggested.* Executed with greater softness and grace, and at the same time equally grand in conception, is the female marble torso found on the island of Ceos ; though the head is lacking, as well as the arms and lower parts, still the drapery, with the flowing and graceful peplos falling in a loose garment over the bosom, exhibits ideas worthy of a great master of the Attic school.f We also find the same Attic character in the marble torso of a recumbent male figure, which has been designated as the river god Inopus, because the work was found in the island of Delos, from whence it has been conveyed to the museum of the Louvre. The style in its grand simplicity approaches that of the Parthenon sculptures, only that the treatment of the nude form and of the flowing hair is a degree softer. Pro- bably the figure filled the angle of a temple pediment. Lastly, I must here also name the wonderful female bust, which was conveyed from Naples to the Munich Glyptothek,- and is placed there in the Hall of Apollo, No. 89. J Executed in Parian marble, it represents a youthful female head, displaying such grandeur of conception, and at the same time such refinement of feeling- pervading every detail, that in its noble and intellectual features we are inclined to recognize the original work of an important Attic master of this epoch. The slightly waving hair also, which is drawn back, is perfectly charming in its softness, though it betrays exaggeration and striving after effect. * See Ross : Arch. Aufs., taf. 12 and 13, Text I., p. 149. f Cf. Borndsted : lleisen in Griechenl. I., taf. 9. + Publ. in C. Von Lutzow’s Miinchener Antiken, taf. 19. II. The Monuments in Preservation. 203 To about the same period belongs a monument, the erection Cturomva w h' c h is connected with the important event of the decline of Greek independence. This is the colossal marble lion, about twelve feet in height, which was erected in memory of the Greeks who had fallen at the battle of Cheronaea (338), and the fragments of which are still existing on its old site. A similar monument, that of Cnidus Lion of Cnidus. Lycian Sculpture. recently placed in the British Museum in London, is considered to be a memorial of the naval victory which Conon gained at Cnidus over Lysander (394). It is, perhaps, the most beautiful figure of a lion which we possess in sculpture. The animal, which is ten feet in length, is lying quietly outstretched, with his head turned to the right. The fore-feet are broken off, and the lower jaw, and the claws of the right hind-foot are wanting. The head, like the rest of the body, is effectively treated, though still in a softer and more natural style than the lion heads on the roof of the Parthenon. The mane, which is in great tufts, is vigorous and effective ; the hair also on the body is excellently portrayed, and the veins are free from all exaggeration. Important works of this period are to be found in Lycia, with its wealth of monuments, where we have before, at an earlier epoch, traced the influence of Greek art in the Harpy monument at Xanthus (page 94). Besides a number of less important tomb-reliefs at Telmessus, Cadyanda, Tlos, Pinara, and Xanthus* * * § representing contests or scenes from family life, we must mention, above all, the Nereid monument at Xanthus, which was formerly designated as that of Harpagus. Naeid Ti ia t this historical interpretation was inadmissible, has been loner Monuments . 0 acknowledged ; but the true explanation of this important work has, as we shall presently see, been only recently discovered. We will first speak of the monument itself, which, with its mass of sculptures, was discovered by Sir Charles Fellows and brought to London to be placed in the British Museum.-f- After its restoration by Falkener,j; it was perceived to be a Hero monument, displaying a temple-like cella with a gabled roof raised on a basis adorned with a frieze in relief. Ionic columns surrounded the cella at a wide pseudo-dipteral distance, four on the narrow sides and six on the long ones. The whole monument was lavishly decorated with sculptures : both pediments contained haut-reliefs — on the one side the representation of a contest, and on the other a calm scene according to a custom frequent in Greek monu- ments ; § in the centre of the latter was a seated group of divinities, supposed to be Jupiter and Juno, with other gods, and accompanied by some youthful * See Fellows’ Account of Discoz'eries in Lycia. Lond. 1841. t Ffllows’ Account of the Ionic Trophy Monument, Sic. Lond. 1848. | Museum of Class. Antiq. by Falkener. § Cf. W. W. Lloyd : The Nereid Monum. Lond. 1845. 204 Greek Sculpture. figures, diminishing in size as the angle converges. Juno is removing the veil from her head as in the Parthenon frieze ; her attitude has the same easy grace as Jupiter’s exhibited there. Jupiter, on the contrary, is standing before her in all his dignity, and has grasped his sceptre. Several fragments of separate statues, and even of groups, have been assigned, though, perhaps doubtfully, and not quite suitably, to the acroteria of the roofs. Numerous torsos of female figures have been also discovered, but the heads of all are lacking. They seem to have stood between the columns. Remains of sea animals of various kinds are supposed to be Nereids, who have been chased from their watery element by a battle, and are hurrying away in passionate excitement. Besides these, considerable remains of not less than four relief friezes of various height and length have been found, the two larger of which have been assigned to the upper and lower edge of the substructure, and the two smaller ones to the wall of the cella and to the architrave above the columns. Lastly, four figures of lions, combining strictness of style with the most life-like expression, are justly supposed to have formed the entrance to the cella. While Falkener’s restoration forcibly united almost all the Ntiad essential parts of the monument into a whole, the connection of Monuments . r the various parts has recently been denied. The reason for this seems to me to rest in the fact that the Nereid statues have been regarded with too favourable an eye, and the friezes — especially the two smaller ones — have been viewed too unfavourably. As regards the Nereids, it is granted that these fugitive figures are depicted with the utmost life and Statues of the g 0 y ness _ qq ie fluttering and distended garments, which, in the Nereids. action of flight, cling close to the form and betray its proportions, remind us of the fleeing daughters of Niobe, especially of the splendid figure in the Vatican. Their forerunners and models we have met with, however, already in certain figures of the Phigalian frieze, and even in the Victory temple at Athens. Several of these statues possess great beauty, and are graceful and lovely even in passionate action. Others, on the contrary, have ugly and even incorrect physical proportions, and exhibit a certain awkwardness of movement. The more Welcker’s opinion, therefore, appears confirmed, the less am I able to designate them all as “ beautiful, lovely, and charming beyond most works of antique art,” and to ascribe them even “ to a sculptor of the first rank.” The largest relief-frieze, which extends along the lower edge First Frieze, of the substructure, approaches most nearly to the statues in style. It depicts a battle between horsemen and foot-soldiers, not only, as Welcker observes, “with all the fire and life of the scenes of Phigalia, but with that of an actual contest, the armour of the combatants being an imitation II. The Monuments in Preservation. 205 of reality.” To this I must add that we find constant reminiscences here of earlier Greek works, especially of those of the Victory temple and of Phigalia, and that the execution in parts appears somewhat dry, spiritless, and conven- tional. Both the statues and these frieze slabs give me the idea of being the works of an artist who had made studies from Attic sculptures, and intro- duced them here. The characteristic of the representations is in the frieze also essentially Greek ; and if, on the other hand, a foreign style cannot fail to be recognized in some casual external points, we must bear in mind that the monument under discussion was not in a Greek city, although in one into which Greek culture had early found its way. If we keep this in view, the upper frieze presents no difficulty Second Frieze, to us, as it evidently, in the realistic conception of its subject, betrays in many points greater affinity with the spirit of Eastern art. On one of the sides we find an animated battle scene, on the opposite side a city standing on a steep height is besieged by the conquerors. On the battlements there appear wailing women, and also a few defenders. The besiegers are already beginning to mount the walls by means of scaling- ladders, when the city resolves to surrender. Two bearded men in long full garments appear before the general, who is seated on a throne, dressed in oriental attire, wearing, for instance, the Phrygian cap ; he is surrounded by warriors, and a servant is holding a sunshade over him. All this is depicted in that naive narrative style which we have seen in the Assyrian palaces ; the representation of reality, the fortress with its towers and battlements, the rows of marching warriors, all is so oriental in conception, though undoubtedly depicted by a Greek chisel ; this is evidenced in the light refined style of the figures, the drapery, and the movements. Lastly, we have still to mention the two friezes of the cella wall, and of the outer architrave. On the latter, battle scenes between horsemen and foot-soldiers are again depicted ; then follow hunting scenes with bears and boars, and lastly we see a satrap, to whom horses and other gifts are brought. The cella frieze contains scenes of cheerful repose ; a banquet is depicted, at which the guests are lying on cushions, regaled with wine, and entertained by singers and musicians ; then follow offerings of rams, oxen, and goats. All these scenes are kindred in spirit to the representations of a similar character on Assyrian reliefs ; but a glance suffices to show that the simple and distinct style has been essentially ennobled by Greek art, both in the arrangement of the groups, and in the outline of the forms. It is true these representations rank far below pure Greek works in intellectual value, but when they are designated as “ poor and empty, insipid and unmeaning, bombastic and weak in design,” and are asserted to be “quite late Roman works,” this is only to be accounted for by Third and Fourth Friezes. 206 Greek Sculpture. the unwarranted pretension claimed for them of being purely Greek. If we bear in mind that they are executed by Lycian artists trained under Greek influence, and that after the custom of the country, they depict scenes of home life in war and peace,'* we shall find no cause to object to their contemporaneous origin. Even the two smaller friezes, although they are not so cleverly executed, differ in their moderate and easy style so entirely from Roman art, that they can be placed in no other epoch than in one of pure Greek influence. It seems to me, therefore, that they were ordered for the adornment of the monument of an Attic artist, who himself executed the essential parts of the Nereid statues and the pediment reliefs. In this work, he could without restraint abandon himself to the ideal Greek mode of conception, while the owners of the monument, on the contrary, without doubt, according to Asiatic custom, desired in the actual delineation of the definite historical event which the monument memorialized, the realistic representation which was alone intelligible to them. The Greek would yield with reluctance to this desire, and as the required task would be alien to his own views, he would seek the help of native artists, though trained in Greek schools, not merely for the execution of the work, as in the largest lower frieze, but even for the composition, as is the case in the three other friezes. Thus this small but interesting monument was the result of a compromise between Greek art and Lycian oriental ideas. The period of its execution may, I think, be tolerably accu- Date. rately determined from the facts already pointed out, and from other grounds. The numerous reminiscences it contains of Attic works, especially the architectural forms copied from the Erechtheum, indicate a period not earlier than the fourth century. The bold and passionate attitudes of the Nereids reminds us strongly of Scopas and his school, but as, in the large frieze, there is no trace of the reliefs of the Mausoleum in the * X remember numerous scenes on the facades of Lycian tombs, which combine the Greek style of sculpture with the peculiar and genuine Lycian forms of architecture in imitation of wood-woik. For the realistic representation of buildings in a style far removed from Greek plastic art, I refer my readers to the remarkable reliefs of Pinara (Fellows’ Lycia, p. 142), which are entirely devoted to architectural scenes of this kind, and introduce human figures merely as subordinate accessories. f In the architecture of this monument we refer principally to the columns. While their base is purely Ionic, with a double trochilus below the horizontally-fluted torus, the capital displays not only the Attic - Ionic form, but even direct imitation of the capital of the Erechtheum ; for instance, the intro- duction, nowhere else used, of a double pulvinated form, ending in front in rich volutes and fastened at the sides with a scaly band and two strings of beads ; on the echinus also, as in the Erechtheum capital, above the cymatium, a kind of network is introduced. Only the garland which, in the Erechtheum, adorned the neck of the column, is here wanting. The influence is, therefore, scarcely doubtful, for the apparently more primitive style at Xanthus may be regarded as a provincial modification, and the shorter proportion of the columns was necessitated by the peculiar form of the monument, by the wide spaces between the columns, and by the no less wide space intervening between them and the cella wall. II. The Monuments in Preservation. 207 adjacent Halicarnassus, the monument must have been erected previously to this splendid work, probably about 370 B.C. This decision, resulting from the artistic forms, accords perfectly with the historical interpretation afforded by Urlichs. His explanation of the work as a triumphal memorial of the conquest of Telmessus by the Xanthians under the command of a prince of the Persian-Median house of Harpagus, probably gives the real design of the mcnument. As this campaign took place about 01 . 101, we have an historical confirmation of the date which resulted from its artistic examination.* The sculptures of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, which Mausoleum of wer£ (ji scoverec j a t Budrun, next claim our attention. Among all Halicarnassus . ° the monumental works of this period which have come down to us, they hold the first place as regards extent. As early as the year 1522, several marble slabs of reliefs were found ; other sculptures, both reliefs and grandly designed lions’ heads, were discovered walled up in the castle of S. Pietro, which had been built there by the Rhodian Knights of St. John. That Budrun was the site of the old Plalicarnassus, Ijas long been known, but that the fortress was erected on the same spot as the much famed Mausoleum, and that it was built out of its ruins, was only recently established with certainty as the result of Ch. Newton’s investigations. J- We owe, therefore, to this brilliantly successful undertaking, the remains of that wonderful monu- ment which Queen Artemisia of Caria raised to the memory of her husband, Mausolus, who died 353 B.C. It is probable that the King himself began the building during his life-time. We are informed by Pliny that its decoration was not completed until after the death of Artemisia (351). Pliny tells us that Scopas, with three other Attic masters, was summoned to execute sculptures for the monument ; but that as the Queen died before their completion, the artists remained to finish the work for the sake of their own fame. The monument is described as a rectangular building Fjammment (Pt e ’' on )> surrounded by a colonnade, the whole resting on a substructure containing the funeral vault, and surrounded by a gradated pyramid of about the same height. The whole was crowned with a colossal marble quadriga placed on the top of the pyramid, and con- * Cf. the Transactions of the xix. Philologen Versammlung. Urlichs’ conjecture that Bryaxis may- be the author of these sculptures is opposed by the age of this artist ; for that Bryaxis, who was employed with Scopas twenty years later at the Mausoleum, should have had 'orders in remote countries at twenty-five years of age, such as the monuments at Xanthus and the statues of Apollo and Jupiter with the Lions in the neighbouring Patara, is less probable than to suppose that he was first known in these neighbourhoods by his works at the Mausoleum, and was entrusted with independent tasks at Patara. f Cf. C. T. Newton : A Hist, of Discoveries at Halicarnassus, Cnidus, and Branchida. London, 1862. Fob and 8vo. 2o8 Greek Sculpture . taining the figure of Mausolus. The latter was executed by Pythis, who was also probably the architect of the building. While hitherto we have only possessed a number of relief slabs from Budrun, the greater part Remains. of which are in the British Museum, in London, and a smaller number at Genoa, in the possession of the Marchese di Negro, the recent excavations have not alone added new relief slabs to the old ones in the British Museum, but have brought to light a great number of other sculptures, which have at present been only partially arranged. For the state of destruction in which most of these works have been found, may be inferred from the fact that the colossal statue of Mausolus had to be put together out of six and thirty fragments, and that notwithstanding, no part was missing but the left foot and the two arms. The grand monument must have been destroyed by an earthquake between the twelfth century, when Eus- tachius praises it as a wonder of the world, and the year 1402, when the Knights of St. John took possession of the place and began to build their castle there. For the ruins of the shattered quadriga were found scattered all about : considerable fragments are preserved of the horses belonging to it, which were twelve feet in length. Besides these, there have been found in more or less preservation, twelve marble lions, a colossal ram, and a number of remains of separate statues, which in their restoration have been assigned positions between the columns of the Pteron ; also considerable fragments of horsemen, which Newton supposes to. have stood at the four corners of the structure that forms the base of the whole ; lastly, the slabs of the frieze have been increased from twelve to sixteen, and this, when combined with the piece now at Genoa, gives a total of eighty-five feet and nine inches. As Newton, in the restoration of the work carried on by himself and the archi- tect Pullan, assigns to the substructure an extent of eighty-eight feet six inches broad, by 1 1 9 feet long, we no longer possess even the fourth part of this frieze. Originally, therefore, the frieze must have been of dimensions (415 feet) only surpassed by those of the Parthenon frieze. Added to this, there was such a rich abundance of plastic works of every kind, from lions, separate statues, and horsemen, to the colossal quadriga of Mausolus on the platform of the pyramid, that the splendour of its ornaments alone raised the monument to be regarded as one of the most magnificent productions of antiquity, and one of the wonders of the world. When we proceed to examine more closely the separate The Frieze, remains, we cannotconceal the fact that they are of very different value. This is especially the case with the frieze. Its subject is the favourite old theme of Attic sculpture, namely, a battle between the Greeks and the Amazons. The latter fight partly on horseback, and this con- firms a passage in Lucian, who speaks of “ figures of men and horses ” on the II. The Monuments in Preservation. 209 Mausoleum. The most beautiful of these relief slabs — and among these there are several of those in Genoa and in the British Museum— may be ranked unhesitatingly with the most excellent works of Greek art. In nobleness of form they are only surpassed by the sculptures of the Theseum and the Parthenon ; and in fire, boldness, and power, as well as in richness of invention, they are alone inferior to the friezes at Phigalia. In style they approach to no other work of Greek sculpture so closely as to the frieze of the Victory Temple at Athens ; in fact, everything indicates that in the frieze of Halicarnassus we may recognize the further development of the tendency which that small but graceful Attic monument represents. This may be said not merely of the separate figures, several of which exhibit almost similar attitudes, nor alone of the flowing arrangement of the drapery and the slenderness of the forms, but still more of the general outline of the groups, which are arranged with rhythmical balance, and with a rich sym- metrical justness, heightened by spirited interruptions. True it is that several of the slabs are somewhat hasty in their composition, and even weary from the constant repetition of the same idea ; but similar inequalities are dis- played in all works with the exception of the frieze of the Parthenon and of Phigalia, and they even mark the sculptures of the Theseum and the Victory Temple. If these slabs had been preserved complete, and if we possessed the groups to which these tamer parts belong, our severe judgment of them would probably be considerably softened, and we should hesitate before we spoke of them, as has been the case, as “ bungling work.” None of the slabs call forth this harsh verdict ; there are, indeed, parts where the artist has regarded the composition with too much indifference, and errors, repe- titions, and superficial work has been the result ; but all this indicates rather too easily flowing work than actual inability. On the other hand, we must draw attention to a series of Composition, scenes, which are conspicuous not only for effectiveness and freshness, but also for their originality and boldness, and which furnish distinct evidence that the artists of the Mausoleum added a number of new, surprising, and masterly ideas to those already repeated with such variety. Among these we may mention above all, among the recent dis- coveries, the Amazon who has thrown herself backwards on her galloping courser after the fashion of the Scythian races (Fig. 122), and in this position continues the contest ; also the Amazon who, placed in sharp profile, is defending herself with uplifted weapon against the charge of a Greek, and whose soft and supple limbs, almost left bare of the garment which is blowing back, are outlined with a grace that betrays a decided striving after effect (Fig. 123). Even in the groups of Phigalia there is nothing bolder and more passionately animated than the Greek who, on the same slab, is advancing VOL. I. E E 2 10 Greek Sculpture. upon an Amazon falling backwards, or than that other who, with vigorous steps, is evading an adversary who is pressing close upon him (Fig. 122), and who, while defending himself, is watching for a favourable moment of attack ; besides many other scenes on the slabs already discovered. Figs. 120-123. From the Reliefs of If we next inquire as to the execution of these works we Execution, shall find, as far as their destroyed condition allows us to judge, that it also is not of equal merit ; still the diversities are not of such a kind as to raise a doubt regarding the connexion, or even the common date of the different parts. On the contrary, we quickly perceive the soft elegant II. The Monuments in Preservation. 21 1 style with its marked striving after effect, which was exhibited in the Attic works at the close of the former period ; for instance, in the balustrade reliefs of the Victory Temple. Characteristic of this is the somewhat lavish employ- ment of fluttering garments, and the style of their arrangement, which is the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. always in the rich and flowing manner of the Attic school, and in nowise manifests the abruptness and sharpness of the Thigalian works. In fact, the very abundance of ideas displayed in the charming, beautifully arranged and finely finished drapery, corresponding as it ever does with every move- ment of the body, is a genuine evidence of the Attic origin of these reliefs. 2 I 2 Greek Sculpture. The case is different with a number of errors of outline, which sometimes strikingly obtrude themselves, as, for instance, when both the legs of the figures galloping on horseback are visible. In such cases, the leg on the further side is generally too long. The fault may partly be the result of carelessness ; but in many instances the high position which the reliefs had to occupy, may ' have been the cause of these perspective errors, just as we have similarly pointed out in the figures of the Phigalian frieze. We are, however, bound to add that the errors at Halicarnassus are far more striking to the eye than in those earlier works. But is all this really sufficient to deny the reliefs the honour Author. of having belonged to the famous Mausoleum ? In other words, to assert that they could not have proceeded from Scopas and his colleagues ? We know with certainty that this great master worked at the east side of the Mausoleum, and that Bryaxis adorned the north side with sculptures, Timotheus the south side, and Leochares the west side. If, among these artists, Leochares is the only one known of any importance, still it may be inferred that the others could not have been deemed unworthy to work beside a Scopas. As, moreover, Scopas was the most famous of all, and had long stood at the zenith of his fame, we may suppose that his colleagues, being besides younger than he, as was the case at least with Leochares and Bryaxis, were subordinate to him as the designer of the entire plan. All this pre-supposed, there seems to me nothing in the reliefs to prevent them from being assigned to these masters. If we call to mind what we learned regarding the execution of such great works, both from the records of the Erechtheum and from the character of the sculptures themselves in the Parthenon, we shall naturally conclude that Scopas sketched the design of the whole, and retained for himself the execution of the works on the east side, while his colleagues divided those of the other side among themselves. This individual work consisted probably in following out the designs under the direction of the superintending artist. How far with liis own hand he co-operated in working the marble ; whether his assistance was limited to after-touches and final revisions, or whether it extended to a more thorough participation, must remain uncertain. It is, however, probable that in such extensive works the co-operation of several hands, some of them of course less practised and experienced, may be supposed, and this circumstance explains the different value of the compositions and of the execution of the separate parts. Do the existing reliefs, however, correspond with the high Value of the Reliefs. idea which we have formed of such a master as Scopas ? As regards the design, the sketch, and the main idea of the best slabs, this seems to me beyond a doubt, especially as we have explained the different value of the separate parts as the result of the various degrees of talent II. The M ointments in Preservation. 213 possessed by the different artists. All that we know of the art of Scopas, of that passionate fire of emotion expressed with such power in figures, such as the raving Bacchanalian, we meet with again in the best groups of these frieze compositions. That Amazon who has thrown herself backwards on her horse, and many other scenes, displaying all the bold eagerness of contest, are certainly worthy of having been designed by him. If, however, the execution is inferior to the brilliant idea which we must form of the art of Scopas, not merely the hand of the workman, but perhaps in a still greater measure the spirit of the time, may be answerable for this. Let us not forget that we have to do with an epoch which is materially different to the days of a Phidias. In artistic works we may observe an increasing effort after effect. With such a tendency, a more superficial and decorative conception of monumental tasks goes hand in hand. In the time of Phidias these great undertakings claimed the main attention, and refined taste and strict artistic feeling were only satisfied with the thorough perfection of every separate figure. In the time of Scopas, artists derived their fame less from monumental works than from separate productions, which owed their origin not so much to a general national religious idea as to a subjective inspiration. If I do not err, at such periods other and less strict laws must have been allowed to decorative works, and from this it follows that at such epochs monumental tasks are conceived in a predominantly decorative style. If, after all this, I cannot agree, even as regards the most beautiful parts of the frieze, with those enthusiastic eulogiums which declare them equal to the sculptures of the Parthenon, I am still further removed from designating even the more inferior compositions as “ bungling work be'onging to a barbarous art epoch.” P'ar rather an unbiassed examination and thorough study of the originals, have proved to me that in all essential points the same spirit of Attic art meets the spectator at every part. Otlrr Sculp Of the other sculptures of the Mausoleum, so far as they tures of the have been put together,* I must first mention the remains of a Mausoleum. seconc } frieze, representing contests between Greeks and Centaurs, and betraying some bold attitudes in spite of its lamentable destruction. There has also been found an extremely beautiful colossal female statue, without arms and head, it is true, but combining with grandeur of form so much natural softness and delicacy in the execution of the bosom, with its graceful drapery and the advancing foot, that it might be imagined a portrait, perhaps that of Artemisia. The mantle is wrapped round the figure with large and effective folds. Another torso, possibly belonging to a male figure, shows similar treatment. A splendid female head, soft and full in outline, of * The most important are to he seen in Newton’s works. Greek Sculpture. 214 a somewhat broad, oval, and open expression, is characteristic of the prevailing type. The neck is slightly inclined, the head is turned a little to the right, and the hair is curled prettily, and almost in an antique style, and is fastened under a cap. Another female head, also of great softness and fresh youthful grace, was found walled up in the chimney of a Turkish house, completely blackened by the. fire. Above all, however, the colossal statue of Mausolus is of great interest, as being one of the earliest original works that we possess of Greek portraiture. The figure has been completely put together, with the exception of the left foot and the two arms. The head, with its broad brow, its substantial firm chin, the crisp downy beard on the well-rounded cheek, the hair on the upper lip, and the arrangement of the short curls, betrays a thoroughly individual stamp, and this is even expressed in the peculiar fall of the mantle. Nevertheless, there is an ideal character unmistakeably seen in the soft treatment of the nude parts, and in the grand drapery which is arranged with effective simplicity. All that is left of the quadriga is the forepart of one of the hinder horses, with remains of the bronze bit, and the hind part of one of the foremost horses. The work exhibits a certain coarse solidity in its strong and massive forms ; it is evident that distant effect has been pro- minently regarded. In the fragments of the twelve lions there is the same broad and even somewhat decorative appearance, while the heads, which are turned sidewards, display more detailed, soft, and natural execution. Such are the most important remains of a monument on whose original splendour even these ruined fragments cast a brilliant light* * We should here also allude to the reliefs from the Temple of Diana at Magnesia on the Meander, which are now in the Louvre, if their entire artistic character did not proclaim them to be works of the Roman epoch. It is one of the most extensive relief compositions of antiquity, being 240 feet in length, while the frieze at Bassae, to which that of Magnesia most nearly approaches, is only about too feet long. Battles with the Amazons are the exclusive subject of this extensive composition, which by some has been too highly esteemed and by others too utterly condemned. It cannot certainly compare with Greek works either in fineness of style or nobleness of conception. Even the vigorous and sometimes even coarse figures of the frieze of Bassre, appear elegant compared with these clumsy thick-set forms. But this must not prevent us from estimating its other merits. Although the composition and execution are unequal, although many ideas are repeated, and some seem directly borrowed from Bassre, still we must have due regard to the extraordinary length of the frieze, which offers much excuse for the author, especially as a fair number of new and ingenious incidents are introduced. The arrangement is clever, for the Amazons being all mounted, a monotonous and occasionally too regular distribution of the figures might arise. The attitudes are for the most part full of life and energy, only from the greater robustness of the figures, they are not so fiery and sparkling as those at Bassre, and proceed rather from physical might than from mental excitement, and from vehemence rather than passion. Hence many more barbarities mark the contest, and while the Greeks on the frieze at Bassce fight like knights, those of Magnesia act like soldiers. While at Bassae it is only occasionally that an Amazon is seized by her hair, here we see t hem in the most various attitudes pulled down by the hair and hurled to the ground. If we add to this the dress of the Roman warriors, which in many of the combatants increases their clumsy effect, while at Bassae nearly all the male forms are naked, and also the height of the relief, which exceeds the extreme size of the projection usual in Greek works, the conjecture that these works are Roman and not Greek, will be further confirmed. (Copies of the entire frieze in Chirac's Musee de Sculp, ii. pi. 1 17. B — J.) II. The Monuments in Preservation. 215 Lastly, we may regard as apparently an Attic work of about same P er i°d, the beautiful relief in the Museum of the Lateran, which represents Medea, with the daughters of Felias, making preparations for slaying their father (Fig. 124). The •■wicked enchantress is approaching with solemn step, wearing the Phrygian cap and the Asiatic sleeved-jacket, and is preparing to cast the magic charm from her mysterious casket into the cauldron, which she assures the unsuspecting maidens will restore youth to their aged father, when he has been thrown Fig. 124. Medea and the Daughters of Pelias. Lateran. piecemeal into the cauldron. In contrast to her, the two daughters appear in the light garments of Greek maidens, lovely and graceful, like the most refined figures of Attic art. One, quickly deluded, is bending forward to adjust the cauldron, while the other, who in the composition forms a contrast, and at the same time the symmetrical balance to Medea, is thoughtfully resting her right hand with the dagger against her cheek, as though a doubt were arising in her mind as to the good result of such a horrible design. The beauty of the composition lies in the simple distinctness and intelligibility of 2 1 6 Greek Sculpture. the scone, and in the just architectural balance of the figures, which is similar to that exhibited in the Orpheus relief which we have before mentioned (p. 160). Like that, we might therefore regard this work also as designed for the' metope of a temple. III. The Artists of the Peloponnesus. Next to Athens, the Peloponnesus was also in this epoch the Lysippus. principal seat of art. Lysippus stands at the head of the masters who remodelled the style, which had been brought to perfection by Polycletus, in harmony with the spirit of the new age. Born in Sicyon, Lysippus was in his youth a worker in bronze, and by his own study, without a teacher, he formed himself into an artist, and, if he did not lead Pelopon- nesian sculpture into new paths, he assisted in its more general and life-like development. He was at the height of his artistic labours in the time of Alexander. The great king esteemed and favoured the famous Peloponnesian master so highly that he would allow no one else to represent him in sculpture, just as he would only be painted by Apelles and be cut in stone by Pyrgoteles. When we are told of Lysippus that he executed 1,500 works, we may gather from this perhaps exaggerated statement, the indication of an extraordinary fertility of mind combined with a rare masterly power in the working of bronze, a material which he exclusively used. Bronze, however, is less adapted to ideal figures, and least of all to delineations of soft and graceful womanhood. Closely connected, therefore, with this choice of material is the fact that Lysippus’ art betrays unfailing adherence to nature, and that he devoted himself principally to the representation of male figures. But even in this special sphere the variety of his works appears considerable, and furnishes a proof of the versatility of his inventive powers. Although representations of the gods seem to be remote Figures of the p rom suc h a style of art, w r e are informed of several statues of the Gods. gods by Lysippus. He had four times to execute a figure of Jupiter, one of these being the bronze colossus at Tarentum sixty feet in heio-ht. Besides these, he made a statue of Neptune for Corinth, and one of Helios with his chariot for Rhodes, which, being afterwards gilt by the order of Nero, lost much of its effect, and only recovered its former beauty on the removal of the gold. Bronze statues of Apollo and Mercury, disputing about the lyre, were placed on the Helicon ; a Bacchus, a Satyr at Athens, and lastly a Cupid at Thespia conclude the series of the few statues of the gods executed by this master. It seems characteristic of Lysippus that he attempted a representation of Cairos, the “ favourable moment,” a work III. The Artists of the Peloponnesus. 217 which, from its description, presents to us for the first time in the history of Greek art, the insipidly conceived figure of an actual allegory. If Lysippus appears less original in purely ideal works, we S Herades ma y unhesitatingly on the other hand assign to him the formation and perfection of the Hercules type. This hero, whose nature necessitated the greatest exhibition of physical power, must be regarded, as it were, as the highest combination of the ideal element with a naturalistic style of art. There is another colossal work of the same character, and also in Tarentum. It is a bronze statue which, having been brought to Rome by Fabius Maximus, was subsequently taken to Constantinople, where it was melted down by the crusaders in the year 1202. The hero was depicted unarmed, and lamenting over his fate, seated on a basket covered with the lion’s skin. His right arm and leg were stretched out, the left leg was bent in, and the left elbow was supported on the thigh, so that the head, sunk down in sorrowful thought, rested on the hand. The figure was nervous and muscular, the breast and shoulders broad, the arms ponderous, and the hair short and thick. Another Hercules, by the same master, was, in all pro- bability, also represented sitting: Cupid had robbed him of his weapons, thus indicating an enamoured Hercules. There was also a little Hercules Epitrapezias, i.e. a table ornament, scarcely a foot high, which was highly esteemed. He was sitting on a rock, looking upwards, and holding in one hand the club and in the other the goblet. Lysippus also executed the labours of Hercules, copies of which we probably possess in various later reliefs. Lysippus’ principal importance, however, lay in his por- Portraits. traiture. He executed not only a number of statues of victors for Olympia, but, in still greater accordance with his style, he depicted several famous personages of an earlier period, such as the Seven Wise Men, and zEsop, investing them with characteristics derived from legendary traditions and from their mental nature. How perfectly he understood in these works how to combine striking individuality with the utmost purity of execution, we can infer from the circumstance that he was the favourite statuary of Alexander. We are told that he alone was able to produce out of the various peculiarities in the appearance of the great prince a result which duly expressed the heroic elements of his character. This was attained by the moist enthusiastic eye, and by the manner in which he inclined his Statues of j iea q to t h e i e f t s j<-i e . a i so j n th e waving hair which gave the head a lion-like appearance, similar to Jupiter. A bust found at Tivoli', and now in the Louvre (Fig. 125), pcrtrays, though in a very indifferent manner, the features of Alexander, yet we are scarcely authorized to regard it as a copy from Lysippus. Such an origin we should rather assign to the VOL. I. F F ¥ 2 I 8 Greek Sculpture. far cleverer bust in the Capitoline Museum in Rome, which depicts the hero with flowing locks and gazing upwards (Fig. 126). Fig. 125. Bust of Alexander. Louvre. We learn from Pliny that Lysippus depicted the king at every stage of life, from boyhood upwards. This must have made an artist as susceptible as Lysippus to the characteristic of individuals, perfectly acquainted with all the peculiarities of the youthful hero who had thus developed beneath his eyes. In contrast to Apelles, who had painted Alexander with the lightning as an earthly Jupiter, Lysippus portrayed the conqueror of the world with the spear in his hand, and his eyes upraised, as though he would demand from Jupiter a share in his sovereign sway. A bronze statue from Gabii (Fig. 127) seems ro have preserved us an idea of these statues, more than one of which evidently existed. Twice the master depicted the king as the centre of large bronze groups ; once in the splendid monument raised in memory of those who fell at the battle of Granicus, consisting of twenty-five horsemen and nine foot-soldiers, and ranking among the most extensive monuments of the kind in antiquity. It stood in the Macedonian capital, Dion, and was subsequently brought by Metellus to Rome and placed in the Porticus of Octavia. The second was the lion-hunt, in which Alexander’s life was saved by Crateros. In this work, which must have been distinguished for dramatic action, Leochares was also engaged. Crateros, by whose order it was executed, presented it to Delphi. It is brought forward as a great merit regarding Lysippus, that, starting with the canon of Polycletus, he introduced a new and more effective treat- III. The Artists of the Peloponnesus. 219 ment of the human form by making the proportions on the whole more light and slender, the limbs more refined, and the head smaller. He Lysippus wont to say that the ancients had represented men as artistic Spirit . J r they were, but that he represented them as they seemed to be. This 'ndicates a refinement of effect, proceeding from acute observation of the perspective appearance of figures. However much we are, therefore, justified in designating Lysippus a close adherer to nature, such statements prove that he was so in a higher sense than we understand by the expression in Fig. 127. Portrait Statue of Alexander. the present day. His famous Apoxyomenus, of which we can probably obtain some idea in the excellent marble copy found at Rome in the year 1846, and now in the Braccio Nuovo of the Vatican (Fig. 128), exhibits this 220 Greek Sculpture. refinement of form, increased by the animation and rhythm displayed in the attitude. The intelligent, and, at the same time, youthfully beautiful head, with its freely-flowing hair, the slender and compact growth of the athletic frame, the elastic movement of the finely-formed limbs — all this, as seen in this beautiful statue, conveys an impression of the elegance which marked the figures of Lysippus. The original, which Agrippa placed in front of his Thermae, and, therefore, in the vicinity of the Pantheon, was so popular in Rome, that when Tiberius attempted to remove it to his palace, the dis- pleasure of the people was so great that he was obliged to restore it to its place. Lastly, we must mention a work of the low genre style, a drunken flute-player, and several representations of animals, dogs, and a hunting scene ; a fallen lion, and chariot horses of Genre Works and Others. various kinds. A wild horse was especially famous for its life ; it was represented standing with pricked-up ears and with the fore-foot raised as if in action. If we combine all this together, it is evident that Lysippus continued to adhere to the life-like truth to nature of the earlier Peloponnesian art, and developed it into the characteristic delineation of individual life. He followed out, indeed, all that Pythagoras, Myron, and Polycletus had begun in an earlier epoch, but he increased the truth of expression, he refine the physical proportions, he even more carefully finished every detail, and, as for instance in the treatment of the hair, he reached the final stage of a free and more picturesque characterization, transforming the sternness more or less adhering to all former works in bronze into effective life. While the distinguishing feature of Attic art was soul- Ares Ludovisi. breathing beauty, Lysippus raised to its utmost height the effort of Peloponnesian sculpture after life-like truth. The spirit of his art seems displayed to uS in a series of works, which, for the most part, we possess in copies, but the originals of which, even if not to be ascribed to the master himself, were at any rate executed by his school. One of these is the marble statue of a seated Ares (Mars) in the Villa Ludovisi, a work which was formerly generally assigned to Scopas (Fig. 129). The god is sitting in a careless easy attitude, absorbed in a dreamy reverie. The shield is resting unused at his side, his left hand inactively and almost absently holds the sword ; the Cupid playing at his feet indicates to us, moreover, that it is love for Venus which has overcome the God of Battles. A mark on the left shoulder seems to indicate that Venus herself stood behind him, and that thus originally the work was a group. The treatment of the slender figure, especially the type of head with its refined features and flowing hair, calls to mind the Apoxyomenus of Lysippus. We fancy we can trace the extolled elegance of the same master in the III. The Artists of the Peloponnesus. 221 marble statue in the Glyptothek at Munich, brought from Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli, and which was formerly designated as Jason, but is now justly declared to be Mercury.* It is a figure of Mercury bending ^Munkh* f° rwar d to fasten the sandal on his right foot, and thus preparing himself for his service as a messenger. The foot, therefore, is placed on an elevation, so that the figure rests on the other in an elastic manner, thus producing a life-like effect which is heightened by the turn of the head. We must bear in mind that this is a copy after a bronze original, which could dispense with the prop added in the marble work, and must thus have appeared even more slender. We find the same spirit of Lysippus’ art in another statue of Mercury, the splendid bronze seated figure of the god which was discovered at Herculaneum, and is now in the Museum at Naples (Fig. 130). We here see the messenger of Jupiter resting for a moment, At Naples, his right hand supported on the rock, and his left, which holds the rod, carelessly hanging over his knee ; one leg is stretched out, * See C. V. Lutzow : Muncheiier Ant ., taf. 32. 2 2 2 Greek Sculpt lire. the other drawn back, and the head is slightly bent forward with an intelligent expression of countenance. It presents a fresh picture of elastic youth, resigning itself to a moment’s easy repose after preceding effort ; one of the numerous ideas which the Palaestra afforded to Greek sculptors. While we have here evidently an original, probably of the time and school of Lysippus, we find a later marble copy of an original belonging, probably, to the same period and style, in the excellent Mercury statue Vatican * n ^ ie Vatican, which formerly was designated as the Antinous of Belvedere. We may see in this tall, slender figure, with its broad and powerful chest and small intelligent head, a specimen of those productions in which Lysippus adhered to a more strict style in the exhi- bition of athletic power and ability. The original of this beautiful work may belong at any rate to his school. If we endeavour to form an idea of the school of the Lysistratus. Sicyonic master, we are met, in the first place, by a re- markable instance of the true delineation of nature passing into insipid realism in Lysippus’ brother, Lysistratus. We know nothing from him, it is true, but a female portrait statue ; but Pliny tells us of some characteHstic innovations which he introduced into art. For he was the first to whom it occurred to make plaster casts after the living model, to mould these in wax, and to work on the form thus produced. We need scarcely say that works produced in this manner portrayed the most insignificant peculiarities ; it is, however, equally evident that this petty striving after mere similarity, or lather, after realistic congruity of form, was an error which tended to divert from the true aim of art. A bronze head, which was found in the Apollo temple at Cyrene, and which has been recently placed in the British Museum, seems characteristic of the style of Lysistratus. The cold treatment of the forms, the detailed execution of the curling hair and of the short downy beard on the chin and upper lip, and above all the indication of every hair of the eyelash by means of small points, all these marks, which are found in no other antique production, imply that the work was executed after a cast from life. The eyes which were inserted, but have now disappeared, must have increased the life-like effect almost to deception. Lysippus was followed by a great number of pupils, so that School of the influence of his teaching and instruction rivalled that of his Lysippus. artistic works. We must first mention his sons, among whom Euthycrates merits the highest place. We know not merely a Hercules and a statue of Alexander executed by him, but also the extensive group of a skirmish of horsemen, which was placed at Thespia, and probably represented some definite combat. Besides these genre works, chariots, hunting dogs, and portrait statues, evidence the versatility of his genius, in which the art of his III. The Artists of the Peloponnesus. 223 father is frequently manifested. Still he seems to have adopted rather the severe style than the effective elegance of his father’s works. His Da'ippus. brother Dai'ppus is only known for some statues of athletes, and for a wrestler cleaning himself with a scraping-iron. Of Lysippus’ third son, Boedas, nothing is mentioned but the statue of a praying figure, which some have conjectured to be the splendid bronze figure of Boedas. the praying boy in the Museum at Berlin. Others contradict this supposition ; yet there are some essential points which speak for its probability, if not absolute certainty. Among these I reckon, above all, the slight proportions, the slender build of the figure, and the refined, delicate, and yet in no wise effeminate form of the limbs, which, in their beautiful harmony, present the most perfect characterization of boyhood developing into youth. All this implies the period and school of Lysippus ; this is also indicated in its insurpassable delicacy and life-like truth, and in the naive and pure expression of the head, which betrays an affinity with that of the Apoxyo- menus of the Vatican. We are reminded of the same statue in the light grace and harmonious rhythm of the attitude which displays, even in the upraised arms, the most beautiful finish and softness of outline ; and also in the easy resting on the somewhat advanced left foot, while the right leg, which is rather drawn back, is supported only on the toes. This suspension between rest and action, which also in the Apoxyomenus marked every line, seems, when combined with the character of the forms, the sharp and yet flowing outline of the limbs, the expression of the head, and the whole physical proportions, to indicate the school of Lysippus. Of the other followers of this school we must next mention Eutychides. Eutychides, whose representation of the tutelar goddess of Antiochia, on the Orontes, is known to us through a beautiful copy in the Vatican (Fig. 131)- The figure, which is wrapped in rich drapery, and wears the mural crown, is sitting on a rock, at the foot of which the river god, Orontes, is emerging. While in her right hand she holds ears of corn as a symbol of fertility, she is supporting herself with her left against the rock, in order to give a counterbalance to her figure, which is inclined towards the right. Thus she is enthroned in pleasing grace, with her feet crossed, the picture of peaceful ease, charming above all from the beautiful idea of the attitude, and from the rich arrangement of the drapery which it entails ; rather more indeed a genre- like than a divine being. Such .works indicate most distinctly the change of the times, for the objective tendency formerly developed from the ideal character of the task, now gave place to the subjective fancy of the artist. Whether the original of this work was in bronze or marble, we know not, as Eutychides was skilled in the use of both. On the other hand he executed the river god, Eurotas, in bronze, and this 224 Greek Sculpture. with such life-like characterization that an epigram speaks of the statue as “ more liquid than water.” The most famous artist of the school of Lysippus was Chares Chares. of Lindos, who is important in the history of the advance of plastic art from the fact that he transplanted the Sicyonic style to his native island, Rhodes. His masterly power was exhibited, like that of Lysippus, in the execution of colossal works. His statue of the God of the Sun at Rhodes, at which he is said to have laboured for twelve years, was world-famed. It was 105 feet high, and when, sixty-six years after its completion, in 291 B.C., it was destroyed by an earthquake, it excited the astonished admiration of all beholders. “Few,” says Pliny, “are able to span the thumbs with their arms, and the fingers alone are larger than most statues.” In such striving after colossal size, which was no longer counter- balanced by power of spiritual expression, we cannot fail to see a dangerous tendency of art. III. The A rtists of the Peloponnesus. 225 Besides Athens and Sicyon, some independent schools of art Other Schools, flourished at this epoch in the states of Messene and Thebes, which, from political circumstances, were rising into temporary importance. Messene produced an artist of note in Damophon, who is all the more remarkable as his works exhibit a complete contrast to the Damophon. aim of Peloponnesian art. More exclusively than any other Greek sculptor he devoted himself to representations of the gods, a great number of which are attributed to him. With this is connected the fact that he is not at all known as a worker in bronze, but only as a sculptor in marble. He also several times produced acroliths, some of them of colossal size, so that in various ways he seems to have devoted himself to an earlier style of art. That the working in gold and ivory was also not unknown to him, is proved by his restoration of the Olympic Jupiter of Phidias. In Thebes we find a series of able sculptors, whose style 7 h./mu seems h ave been based on the Sicyonic school. Among them we may consider the two masters Hypatodorus and Aristogeiton as the most distinguished, on account of an extensive bronze group of the Seven against Thebes, which the Argives dedicated to Delphi in commemo- ration of the victory of CEnoe, gained over the Lacedaemonians. It seems to have been only a combination of heroes, characteristically depicted, and to have possessed no dramatic excitement. The next artist of this epoch whom we must mention is the Aristodcmus. onze sculptor Aristodemus, whose technical skill and sphere of art exhibit affinity with the Peloponnesian style. His range of subjects excludes gods, heroes, and, in short, all ideal personages, and seems to indicate rather a naturalistic tendency. Especially interesting to us is the mention of a statue of the fable-writer MLsop, for as we also know of a statue of him by Lysippus, we may refer the excellent marble figure of Hisop in the Villa Albani at Rome to one of these two originals. In the latter, the crippled figure, which tradition assigns to the old fable-writer, is depicted almost to repulsiveness ; but it is so counterbalanced by the amiable and thoroughly clever expression of the head, that it awakens rather a strange interest than aversion. This intellectual character stands, as Brunn strikingly remarks, not merely in harmony with the physical infirmity, but it really arises from it. We imagine we see before us one of those acute and pene- trating minds, such as are frequently linked in actual life with a crippled form. Lastly, mention has still to be made of Boethus of Chalcedon, Boethus. the famous engraver, who, from the character of his works, seems to belong to this place, although he cannot with perfect certainty be assigned to this epoch. We only know of three statues of boys, and a G G VOL. I. 226 Greek Sculpture. Hydria, which lie executed ; one of the boys, however, was depicted in the naive genre style, and numerous copies of the work are preserved to us (Fig. 132). It represents a strong boy, who, like a small Hercules, is seizing a goose almost larger than himself, by the neck, and is pressing it to him with his vigorous little arm. The fresh grace and cheerful play of childlike unrestraint in this group are expressed with the happiest life. Fig. 133 Thorn-extractor. Capitol. Several other works of antiquity, which we meet with in Genre Works, copies, are imbued with a similar spirit. Thus, for instance, the Thorn-extractor in the Capitoline Museum in Rome (Fig. 133), which, in truthfulness of attitude, and in its fine sense of nature, shows a purity and simplicity which seem to point to this epoch. The Dice-players, which we find in several museums, also belong to this class. “ Works of this kind,” says Welcker, “ breathe an idyllic spirit ever since the prime of Greek art.” Another work by a Greek chisel, the famous Barberini ^ Faun'" Faun at Munich (Fig. 134), seems to belong to the close of this epoch, from the grand character of its forms, which evidence, notwithstanding, the simplicity of a genre idea. It depicts a youthful Faun, who, overcome with wine, has sunk back on a rock, and is sleeping himself sober. Found in the vaults of the Castle of St. Angelo, the statue probably belonged to the plastic ornament of Hadrian’s Mauso- leum, and with many other works by Greek chisels, was hurled down by the Goths under Vitiges, upon the Byzantine besiegers under Bclisarius, in III. The Artists of the Peloponnesus. 227 587. The lower parts were, therefore, so much destroyed that they had greatly to be restored, as was the case also with the suspended left arm. “ The cleverest representation of drunkenness,” as Schnaase calls it, this important work evidences how the Greeks were able to ennoble even sub- jects of low sensual life. Portraiture at this time also rose to great importance. While Statues Greek sculpture at the period of its prime, when it embodied the ideas of the whole nation, had excluded the characteristic traits of individual life, at an epoch which gave corresponding weight to subjective feeling, portraiture was more and more admitted into the sphere of repre- sentation. Still so much of that Hellenic sense of beauty remained, that even these figures were conceived under an ideal aspect, and their forms were imbued with a breath of noble grace. The essential character, the mental expression became the central point, and from this the whole being received its peculiar life. Everything casual and petty was repressed, the Greek Sculpture. 228 drapery was only used suggestively and in an idealized form ; and even points of ugliness were ennobled with the stamp of significance through the clever and life-like conception of the artist. In the best genuine Greek copies which have come down to us, we especially trace this grand superior style of treatment which distinguishes these works most plainly from the more exact and realistic manner of the Roman portraits. Foremost of all we must place the heads of Homer, which are familiar to us in several copies. (Museum at Naples, Capitoline Museum at Rome, and others.) Burckhardt thus speaks of this head : “ I confess that nothing gives me a higher idea of Greek sculpture than that it should have devised and depicted these features. A blind poet and bard— this was all we know of him. And art placed on the brow and countenance of the old man, this divine mental struggle, these marks of foreboding efforts, and at the same time that perfect expression of the peace enjoyed by the blind.” Among the most excellent of these por- trait statues are the Sophocles of the Lateran, the model of a highly culti- vated, noble, and intelligent Hellenist ; the SEschines of the Naples Museum (formerly designated Aristides), not equal to the other in beauty, but certainly in power and depth of characterization ; also the stately figure of Euripides, and the two sitting statues of Menander and Poseidipp in the Vatican, remarkable for the lightness and freedom of their attitudes, an excellence not often seen in seated figures of a modern period. We must also mention the Aristotle in the Palazzo Spada at Rome, the speakingly life-like Amazon, and the grand and passionate Pindar in the Villa Borghese, and lastly, the simple heroic figure of the so-called Phocion, and the almost coarsely characterized form of Demosthenes in the Vatican. Thus we see art at this epoch investing its ideal figures with an air of grace and gentleness, but at the same time turning with loving devotion to the whole range of actual life, and striving afterlife-like truth in portraits, genre works, and animal representations. Alexander the Great marks a turning point in Greek art as well as in Greek life. As he was the first sovereign whose head was stamped on the coins instead of the figures of the gods, he was also the first whose form wore the impress of the divine image. The severe Greek style was thus concluded, and deified man took the place of the humanized god. ( 229 ) FIFTH CHAPTER. FOURTH PERIOD OF GREEK SCULPTURE. From the Death of Alexander to the Conquest of Greece by the Romans. c. 323. — c. 146. In the course of the former period the way had been pre- 6hsolui°/on P' 1r ‘ n & f°r changes in the entire life of Greece ; and from the time of the Macedonian supremacy, with all its consequences, a complete political and moral transformation had become more and more plainly apparent. Alexander had broken down the freedom and individual independence of the separate states in order to form an empire, the internal bond of which was to be Hellenic culture. The Greeks were filled with enthusiasm at the idea of bearing Hellenic civilization to the East under Macedonian sway. The results could not fail to appear. The East was imperfectly Hellenized, but Greece, was completely Orientalized. Despotic Greek governments were formed, after the division of Alexander’s empire, in the East, in Egypt, and in Asia, while Greece was consumed by petty feuds under constant Macedonian oppression. The power of the national mind, which had once appeared so glorious in contrast to barbarism, was broken, for its freedom, the very nerve of its life, had been severed. There was no longer any animating idea which could have united the Greeks. Their political life was without dignity ; their morality had become degenerated ; their belief in the gods had waned, and scepticism and superstition had taken its place. While some sought for stupefaction rather than for happiness in the frivolous and empty systems of an Epicurus and a Pyrrhus, others turned to mysticism and embraced the Oriental worship of Mithras and Isis. The splendour of the Royal Courts, and the luxurious wealth of the great commercial cities, completed the transformation, and materialism, but slightly veiled beneath the refinements of an exaggerated civilization, became the idol of the time. 23 ° Greek Sculpture. Such epochs are always the ruin of all life-like national art. Fate of Art. Among the Greeks this decline must have been ail the more sensibly felt, because their art had reached its prime on the very soil of free and nobly developed nationality. No wonder, therefore, that poetic enthusiasm was now supplanted by dry learning, whic was especially nurtured by the Royal Courts of Alexandria and Antiochia. In poetry, comedy alone flourished, but the bold idealism of an Aristophanes was superseded now exclusively by low comedy with its delineation of everyday life. The last final independent effort of Greek poetry, the Idylls of Theocritus, owed their origin, like the village stories of the present day, to the contrast they afforded to the refinements of civilization. Architecture and sculpture were to be found exclusively in the service of the rich and powerful. The grand designs of cities which accompanied the foundations of new kingdoms, must, it is true, have afforded remunerative work to artists ; and sculpture must have found a rich field of labour in the adornment of the palaces, halls’, theatres, temples, and even in the splendid decorations which were employed only for passing objects, the gigantic vessels, festive chariots, and the like ; but all this, in spite of its costliness, was only superficial work, for the most part mechanical in its character, and true art acquired as little by such monstrous undertakings, as it has gained lately in the rebuilding of half Paris. And in what a playful and almost childish spirit does artistic orna- ment appear to us when compared, to the Eastern imagination and extra- vagance displayed in the festivals and pageants of the princely Courts in the time of the Diadochce. Even the funeral pile which Alexander raised to the memory of his favourite Hephaestion in the form of a Babylonian pyramid, was certainly as ostentatious, but artistically it was a superficial work, with its crowded plastic ornament of kneeling archers and standing warriors, its torches with eagles and dragons, its animal hunts, its centaur combats, its lions and bulls, and lastly, its hollow colossal statues of Sirens. Foolish con- fusion marked the scenic arrangements at the banquets of the Ptolemies ; as at that Adonis feast of Arsinoe, the consort of Ptolemy the Second, where the figures of Venus and Adonis were to be seen outstretched in repose in a luxuriant arbour, with small automatically moved cupids dancing round them, and two eagles carrying away Ganymede. In a similar manner, but with still greater extravagance, was the magnificent tent arranged, which was erected by order of Ptolemy II. at a feast to Bacchus, where the procession consisted of automatically moved figures of the gods. In the upper story of the tent sixteen grottoes were introduced, and in these banquets were represented, the guests being automaton figures, who appeared in real gar- ments. These devices, which rival the foolish jokes of our own rococo period, and in which art degenerated into mere puppet-shows and imitation From the Death of Alexander to the Conquest of Greece. 231 of living forms, could not, with all their costliness, afford the slightest advance to plastic art, and at the most were only likely to lead it astray. Moreover, whence could art seek inspiration for new ori- W l'deaf works ? The ideal sphere was exhausted, and the range of poetic subjects had been concluded with the unattainable plastic creations of earlier epochs. If, therefore, the new temples and theatres were to be furnished with statues of the gods, they could only imitate what already existed. Thus the statue of Jupiter, which Antiochus IV. placed at Daphne, was in form and material a copy of the Olympic Jupiter of Phidias. Probably even at this time they began, after the example of the poet Callimachus, to adopt an antique style occasionally in these works. At any rate they were not able to create anything new in this sphere, as at this sceptical period, the imagination of the artist could no longer find food in a belief in the gods. Even in the immense number of portraits of the ruler that were required, they began to take it easily and to adapt existing portrait statues to the varying need by inscribing other names on them, or even by adding other heads to them. It is, moreover, very characteristic of the period that soon after Alexander, the custom of raising statues to athletic victors became more and more rare, until with the decline of Greek indepen- dence it entirely ceased.* This is the most striking proof of the increasing effeminacy of a people and of the extinction of all national spirit. And when we finally survey the list of the artists and artistic works of this epoch, it appears no less characteristic that all the places originally famous as schools of art lie fallow ; and that neither in Athens nor in Sicyon, nor in other cities of Greece, was anything of note produced ; that, on the contrary, foreign sovereigns sent artistic works to Athens or had new buildings erected there, while the people themselves were sunk in apathy. In Athens we know only of one work which we can specify as belonging to the close of this epoch ; namely, the figures in relief of the eight winds on the frieze of the “Tower of the Winds,” built by Andronicus of Cyrrhus. The characterization of these figures indicates most distinctly the rougher or softer, and the stormy or the mild nature of the different winds ; *f* but the arrangement, and especially the hovering movement of the figures, betrays something of awkwardness, and the treatment exhibits feebleness. When, therefore, Pliny says in a well-known passage that art ceased after the 121st Olympiad and did not flourish again till the 156th, the statement possesses a certain amount of truth. Still the vitality of Greek sculpture was so enduring that even at this period a few works were produced which touch wholly new * Cf. Brunn’s Kiinstlergesch. i. 520. t See plates in Stuart’s Antiquities, i. ch. 3. Greek Sculpture. chords, and, therefore, in a- certain sense evidence even progress. But where do we find the most important productions of the art of this epoch ? In the luxurious commercial city of Rhodes and at the Court of Pergamus ; in places, therefore, where an effeminate public of rich merchants or of spoiled princes and their courtiers called for the unwonted application of increased effect. A similar state of things is exhibited in the sixteenth century of our era by Venetian painting, which continued to flourish a generation after the other Italian schools had long sunk into feeble mannerism. It is only when we reflect upon the position of art, that we fully under- stand the importance of its productions compared with those of former epochs. If we inquire, however, what style of works must have especially interested such a public, we feel that it would be sensual charms and pathetic passions combined with virtuoso-like treatment, and a striving after extreme effect. This is what we find, therefore, in the masterpieces of this epoch. That, however, from this point of view, the best productions of this period are among the most excellent works of antiquity which we possess, must at once be distinctly asserted to prevent any unjust standard. We must not forget that there are works among them which Winckelmann reckoned as the most exquisite creations of antiquity, and the high merit of which, since the discovery of the Parthenon sculptures and other genuinely Greek works of sculpture, has been meted by the just standard of historical and aesthetic appreciation. We shall find, therefore, in a few places, where the circum- stances of the time proved favourable, some highly important productions of Greek sculpture, and these we will now consider separately. I. The School of Rhodes. The school of Rhodes is connected with that of Lysippus, S ‘ n l°°j and is, therefore, a final offshoot of Peloponnesian art. It was the Lindian Chares (p. 224), who, as a pupil of the great Sicyonic master, transplanted his art to Rhodes. If, however, his colossal figure of the God of the Sun betrayed already a doubtful tendency to exaggeration, this may be explained by a predilection of the Rhodians ; for Pliny mentions that besides the God of the Sun, the most gigantic work of antique sculpture, the city was adorned with a hundred other colossal figures. We trace in this the arrogance of a rich commercial city, which cared more in artistic undertakings for the pompous exhibition of immense resources, and, therefore, for unusual size and costly material, than for idea and beauty. It is also characteristic of the Rhodians that we can trace no nursery of art among them at an earlier period, but only now in the height of their prosperity do they seek to procure I. The School of Rhodes. this luxury, for art was regarded by them in another aspect. Moreover, recently on the Acropolis of Lindos, several inscriptions have been discovered by Ludwig Ross, which furnish a number of names of Rhodian and foreign artists, and afford a proof that Rhodes during this whole epoch was the seat of lively plastic industry, in which not merely native artists took part, but also others from Asia Minor. For the most part, the inscriptions refer to portrait statues of priests ; occasionally, however, they are to be found on pedestals, the size of which indicates larger works, and even groups. There is an important notice in Pliny respecting the Rhodian Aristonidas. sculptor, Aristonidas, who executed a statue of the repentant Athamas. The hero, who in a fit of fury had killed his son Learchus, was represented sitting full of repentance and shame at the deed. In order to express the glow of shame, the sculptor, Pliny tells us, added an alloy of iron to the bronze. Though we are inclined to consider this process as improbable as the silver infusion in the Jocaste of Silanion (p. 196), yet we may conclude that by some artifice the effect was produced which was imagined to result from the intermixture of iron. At any rate, such effects prove a dangerous inclination to that strict adherence to nature, which sought by outward expedients to compensate for what could not be attained by the mere intellectual value of the work. This indicates, however, also in the Rhodian school a tendency to increased pathos, and this we shall find exhibited in the famous principal work of this school. This is the Laocoon group, which, as we learn from Pliny, ^Group was execu * :e d by the Rhodian masters, Agesander, Athenodorus, and Polydorus, and stood in the Palace of Titus. This work, which Pliny prefers to all other creations of painting and sculpture, was found in the ruins of the Palace of Titus in the year 1506, and now belongs to the most famous treasures of the Vatican. From the inaccurate wording of the old writer,* it has been inferred that the work was only produced in the time of Titus, and that it was expressly designed for the emperor’s palace ; this, however, is not only not distinctly expressed in any word of Pliny’s, but the supposition is in contradiction to the whole course of the development of Greek plastic art. It is only when we place the origin of the Laocoon in the Diadochae period, that it appears as the necessary result of a long course of development, in which we find Greek art more and more inclining to give * Pliny’s expression that the three artists had executed their work “de concilii sententia ” can only be interpreted that they produced the group as the result of their common deliberation. When Friedrichs (Bansteine, p. 413) explains this as intelligible of itself, he does not reflect that there is a difference whether three artists execute the design of one of the number, or whether all three unite in designing the composition. The latter, according to Pliny, was the case with the Laocoon. VOL. I. H H Greek Sculpture. 234 decided preponderance to pathological subjects.'*' If we defer the origin of the work to the time of the emperors, it appears at the least an anomaly, if not a downright impossibility. In addition to this, we have now learned from the above-mentioned inscriptions that the main industry of the Rhodian school is proved to have been at the beginning of this epoch, and we even find on one of the inscriptions the names of Agesander and Athenodorus, the two first of the artists of the Laocoon, mentioned as father and son. From this fact it has been inferred, with some probability, that Polydorus also was the son of Agesander. The subject of the group is the punishment of Laocoon, the Subject. priest of Apollo, for a crime which he had committed against the god. Sophocles had treated the same matter in a tragedy that has been lost, and this probably suggested it as the subject for plastic art. Tradition, as is well known, tells us that Laocoon was just on the point of offering a sacrifice to Neptune when two immense serpents from the Island Tenedos, sent by Apollo, hastened through the sea and killed the priest with his two sons, who were assisting in the sacrifice. This catastrophe decided the ruin of Troy. For as Laocoon was opposed to the reception of the horse left behind by the Greeks, and had warned the Trojans of evil, his terrible fate was regarded as a divine judgment, and a breach was made in the city walls in order to admit the horse. If Laocoon had been punished by the gods on account of his patriotism, the subject might be called an immoral one ; the case is different on the other hand, as he is punished on account of a former crime at a moment when his ruin entails the fall of his native city ; this renders the catastrophe in an eminent sense tragical. The sculptor conceived the incident at the decisive point, Composition, and, with astonishing art, formed one united and closely con- nected group from three successive moments of action. The sudden violence of the evil is depicted with a life which verges on the extreme limits of plastic art, and even encroaches upon the picturesque. On the steps of the altar, which serve the group as a base, destruction has at one blow overtaken the father and his two sons. The magnificent figure of the father is falling on the altar, for one serpent has just inflicted a furious bite in his side, which must be fatal, for Laocoon, contracted with pain and throwing back his head, gives vent to an agonized groan from his parted lips. His body is convulsively contracted, and the pi'ojecting chest heaves with the excess of misery ; his right hand (incorrectly restored, though correctly completed in * All this is excellently shown by WELCKER, Alte Denkm. i. p. 322 et seq., 330 et seq., 501 et seq., and by BrUNN, Kiinstlergesch. i. 474. et seq., where an analysis of the work is given, with which I fully agree. I. The School of Rhodes. 235 our illustration) is grasping the back of his head in the overwhelming agony of death, while the left hand is still mechanically endeavouring to remove the serpent. In the physical pain which marks the expression of countenance, there is also mingled a look of profound sorrow, for a moment before the younger son had already received the bite of the other serpent, and we see the tender youthful form writhing and sinking in the convulsive movements of death. The elder son has a serpent just winding itself round his right arm and left foot, and he is endeavouring to disentwine it with his free hand. But in vain, for the death-cry of the father draws away his attention, and horror threatens to paralyze his movements ; in the next moment we feel that he will yield to the combined fury of the two monsters. Sudden and inevitable ruin could not be more strikingly Execution, depicted. There is no escape, no help. There is something lightning-like in the composition, for although it embraces three separate moments, it combines them so completely that they appear as one. The terrible truth of the representation could scarcely be endured, if it were not softened by the beauty of the figures and by the wisdom of the 236 Greek Sculpture. composition. The latter is so perfect, that after long contemplation of the work the horrible nature of the scene is almost forgotten in the increasing admiration felt for the manner in which the task is executed. The pyramidal structure of the whole, culminating in the figure of Laocoon ; the arrangement of the serpents, which are coiled indissolubly round the three bodies, separating them and yet uniting them into a whole, and in nowise concealing their perfect beauty ; and lastly, the contrasts in the movements of the manly figure and of the two youthful ones, and the gradations of expression; all these are excellen- cies meriting high admiration. Equally excellent is the execution in its detail, thorough anatomical study being expressed in every figure. But it can also not be denied that the treatment betrays much intentional exhibition of this study, and that thus the conception lacks that naive naturalness which imparts such a charm to works of a simpler style. The distinct tracing of the muscles in Laocoon’s figure indicates something of consciousness and boasting, and the form of the heads, especially those of the two boys, exhibits a slight mannerism. And what, after all, is the intellectual value of the work ? lnt Valu‘ al can un d° u btedly recognize in it only the agitating represen- tation of extreme physical suffering. Some have tried to find in Laocoon’s expression the sorrow of a father for the destruction of his sons. Whether this is indicated or no, the immediate cause of Laocoon’s agonized contractions must ever remain the bite of the serpent, and therefore his own physical suffering. He cannot even cast a glance to help his son, for the sudden bite of the monster had robbed him of his senses. Very different is it in the Niobe group, where the mother is solely tortured with sorrow for the suffering of her children, and where her look expresses all the consciousness of a queen and all the grief of a mother. In the Niobe we are touched with the moral power of the tragedy ; in the Laocoon we are seized with horror at a pathological catastrophe. In the latter no ethical idea atones for the delineation of the terrible, nothing but the nicety of the execution mitigates the effect produced. The longer and the oftener, therefore, that we contem- plate the Niobe, the more deeply does it take possession of our imagination ; the Laocoon group, on the contrary, becomes gradually indifferent to us, because the violent expression of physical suffering at length deadens the feelings. Tlic Thus we see in works like the Laocoon the last stage of an Pathological independent development of Greek sculpture, and the extreme Element. p e jgpt of which pathos was capable. For the form is in harmony with the subject treated of: all earlier groups, even that of Niobe and her children, were composed of a number of separate figures, standing to each other in a sort of epic relation. In the Laocoon, for the first time, we perceive I. The School of Rhodes. 2 37 a thoroughly dramatic combination of several figures in a whole. Such a style of grouping verges on the limits of plastic art and encroaches upon the picturesque ; for the separate figures are only partially displayed, and by com- bination and contrast they stand rather in a picturesque than in a plastic relation to each other. In this respect also the Laocoon may be designated as marking the extreme limit of Greek sculpture. In close affinity with the' Laocoon is another work of this T/U Bull P er i°d> which is likewise to be traced to Rhodes and to her school ; we allude to the so-called “ Farnese Bull,” executed by Apollonius and Tauriscus of Tralles, in Caria. We may reckon these artists among the foreign masters who worked in Rhodes and supplied her demands. At any rate the colossal group was brought, we are told by Rliny, from Rhodes to Rome, where it became the property of Asinius Pollio. Under Pope Paul III. (1534-49) it was found near the Baths of Caracalla, and passed with the Farnese inheritance to Naples, where it is still in the Museum. Although in some parts much restored, its composition is correct in all essential points, and corresponds with the accounts which Pliny gives of its subject. This is based on a legend which frequently appears at this time in the art of Asia Minor, and with a number of other representations of filial love was repeated in the Temple of Apollonis in Cyzicus, which towards the close of this epoch, about 150 B.C., was consecrated to the memory of his mother by Attalus II. of Pergamus. The Farnese group seems, however, to have been the earliest representation of the subject, which must certainly have been especially con- genial to the spirit of the time. The subject of the composition refers to the punishment Subject. which Zetheus and Amphion, the sons of Antiope, destined for Dirce, in order to revenge their mother. For Dirce had not alone tormented Antiope with signal barbarity, but had even ordered her two sons, who had grown up unknown as shepherds, to bind her rival to the horns of a wild bull and let her be dragged to death. The murder of their mother was on the point of taking place, when the recognition between mother and sons was brought about by a fortunate chance. The tables were now turned, and the furious sons inflicted on Dirce the punishment which she had devised for Antiope. The group represents this moment (Fig. 136). According Composition, to tradition, the scene takes place on the Cithasron, which is indicated by the rocky soil and the small figure of a shepherd who is looking on, and by various animals of the chase. Zetheus and Amphion, two vigorous, though slender youthful figures, are standing opposite each other on a projection of the rock, endeavouring to restrain the wildly resisting bull, and to fasten the victim to it. Dirce, whose beautiful body, Greek Sculpture. only partly concealed by the drapery, has fallen helplessly, as if paralyzed with horror, is imploring in vain for pity, and clasping the leg of one of the brothers. Inexorably they both continue their work, while Antiope is quietly looking on in the background. In the next moment the voluptuous beauty of the splendid female figure will be for ever annihilated. The group has similar excellencies with that of the Laocoon, and is perhaps even more artistically and boldly constructed ; it merits admiration also in a technical point of view as the most colossal marble work of antiquity. Appreciation. Besides the dramatic life, the distinct, and at the same time thrilling arrangement, and the rapid action expressed in the scene, there is a special fascination in the splendidly formed figures, which have Fig. 136. The Farnese Bull. Naples. all something heroic in them, and the treatment of which, though betraying accurate knowledge, is less detailed than those of the Laocoon. Common, however, to both groups, is the picturesqueness of the arrangement, and the extreme pathos, which culminates in both in a tragic catastrophe. For although, in harmony with the nature of the subject, the moment previous to I. The School of Rhodes. 239 the agonies of death is selected, while in the Laocoon several monuments are combined ; still though the spectacle in the one is not so immediately revolting as in the other, the subject on the other hand is decidedly more repulsive. For it treats of an act of brutality, which nothing tends to mitigate, for here, just as little as in the Laocoon, does the moral idea which lay at the foundation of the incident, appear in the work itself. To the same period and school, I feel compelled to ascribe Alexander a ^ so famous head in the Uffizi in Florence (Fig. 1 3 7 )> known as the dying Alexander, though the designation has been frequently disputed. The thoroughly individual type, exhibiting the same characteristics, and especially the mane-like hair, as the acknowledged head of Alexander, is invested with such pathological feeling, that, as in the Laocoon, we are touched by the expression of physical suffering. Burckhardt strikingly remarks, “The son of Philip is like a youthful Laocoon.” While, on the other hand, it has been asserted that no Greek artist would ever have represented an idealized portrait with the expression of a painful death, this holds good assuredly with regard to earlier epochs, and indeed to the entire antique period, when a representation was executed only as a portrait. As, however, Alexander even in his lifetime was depicted as an heroic statue, there is no reason why his sudden and almost mysterious death may not have afforded art in the Diadochse period a subject for pathological representation.* The effective conception and treatment of the head is in harmony with this idea. Lastly, the famous marble group of the wrestlers in the G’v’rf tiers Tribuna of the Uffizi in Florence, belongs to this period (Fig. 138). It represents two youthful figures, wrestling with the utmost might of a physical strength, that has been trained in gymnastic exercise. Both are so ingeniously entwined in each other, that the group is beautifully constructed, and yet the two figures are everywhere distinctly separable. The one thrown down seems for the moment to have the worst of it, though not to such an extent that the issue is already decided. On the contrary, the uncertainty of the result keeps the spectator in the same * Cf. C. V. Lutzow : Miinchener Antiken. Lief. 1. (Miinchen, 1861) relative to a similar terra- cotta in the Munich collection. 240 Greek Sculpture. suspense, as in similar scenes in the gymnasium. Art has here admirably transformed into marble one of those scenes which the Palsestra daily afforded to the attentive observer. The treatment of the figures, in spite of their power, is full of tender softness, the attitudes betray elastic movement, the outlines are full of expression, and everything indicates profound anatomical understanding. The fact that this group was found with that of the Niobe, formerly occasioned the idea since refuted that it represented the two sons of Niobe. Its excellent execution, which is superior to the statues of that group, leads us to infer that it is an original of the Greek period. The masterly balance displayed in the composition of such a closely entwined group, the bold life exhibited in the delineation of a momentary action, and the perfect and effective treatment, all seem to me to indicate the Rhodian school. Fig. 138. Group of Wrestlers. Florence. II. School of Pergamus. Closely allied in feeling,, though differing in subject, are the School of con temporary works of the artists of Pergamus. Pliny mentions Pergamus. 1 . four distinguished masters, Isigonus, Phyromachus, btratomcus, and Antigonus, all of whom represented the battles of Attalus and Eumenes with the Gauls. These battles were part of a campaign carried on by the II. School of Perganms. 241 princes of Pergamus against the hordes of Gallic tribes who penetrated into Greece about 280 B.C., annihilated several Macedonian armies, and were first subdued by Eumenes I. and Attalus I. In remembrance of his great victory, (239 B.C.), Attalus presented four extensive groups to the Acropolis of Athens, representing in four separate scenes, the war of the gods with the giants, the battle of Theseus against the Amazons, the victory of the Athenians over the rrj . Persians at Marathon, and the Gallic defeat under Attalus. Just Offering of as Christian mediaeval art placed scenes from the New Testament Attains. j n opposition to corresponding ones from the Old Testament ; so here two historical contests found their parallel in two mythical battles. The work occupied the southern wall of the Acropolis, and both from its subject and from the recently discovered traces of it, it must have been of some extent, measuring about fifty feet long and sixteen feet broad. From one of the most successful recent discoveries, which we owe to Brunn, a number of marble figures in different museums have been recognized as originally belonging to this great monument.* The statues are somewhat below life-size, which corresponds with Pausanias’ statement, who speaks of them as four feet in height. Three figures are in the Doge’s Palace at Venice, where they were conveyed by Cardinal Grimani in the beginning of the sixteenth century ; four have passed from the Farnese collection to the Naples Museum ; one is in the Vatican ; another in the Louvre ; and a tenth has been discovered in Castellani’s possession in Rome. This does not, of course, comprise all the existing remains of the great groups, especially as those hitherto discovered have been all statues of defeated warriors, and therefore those of the victors have still to be sought for. It is not all the existing statues that can be interpreted with Remains. certainty. Among those which are at once intelligible, are the three Venetian ones, which represent Gauls. One of these (Fig. 139) is a bearded warrior with rough hair. Fallen on his left knee, and supporting himself with his left hand on a slight elevation of the ground, he is extending his right foot and endeavouring with uplifted sword to defend him- self against an adversary who is probably mounted. The other, beardless and younger, is a counterpart to the former. His attitude appears still more masterly and bold, for a violent blow has just thrown him backwards; he has not, however, yet reached the ground, but with his hand stretched behind he has broken his fall, and is endeavouring with the left hand, which was probably guarded by a shield, to screen himself from his enemy. The third is a beautiful youthful warrior, whom the bitter lot of battle has already overtaken. Bleeding from deep wounds, he is outstretched, having already Cf. the excellent analysis in Overbeck’s G. der Gr. PI. 2 edit. ii. p. 177 et set]. 242 Greek Sculpture. breathed his last sigh, for the limbs are contracted with the rigidity of death, d he hexagonal shield and the metal girdle (torques) which is drawn round his naked body, seem to designate him as a Gaul, although the character of the head and figure exhibit a moderation of the rude barbarian type. As a Gaul, we may also regard the Paris figure of a completely naked youthful combatant, who, wounded in the thigh, has fallen on the left knee, and, turning towards the left, is endeavouring to defend himself against his adver- sary with sword and shield. Of the four figures at Naples, three are lying perfectly lifeless, while the fourth, bleeding from a fatal wound in the side, is calmly awaiting his end. The last, completely unclothed, but wearing the Greek helmet, presents difficulties of interpretation, for the hair on his mouth and face seems to denote him as not a Greek, while the figure exhibits the noble proportions of an Hellenic warrior. May this beard fashion possibly have been adopted by the combatants of Pergamus ? We have certainly here before us neither a Gaul, nor a Persian, nor a giant. Of the three fallen figures, one is that of an Amazon, the second is a youthful Persian, recog- nizable as such by his Phrygian cap, broad trousers, and curved sabre, and the third, in all probability, is a giant. The characterization of all these figures is II. School of Pergamus. 243 exhibited in a masterly manner even in their various attitudes in death. The Amazon, bleeding from several wounds, has fallen backwards, and in the turn of her head and upraised arms, exhibits the same idea familiar to us in former representations of Amazons and popular with the Greeks. The giant also has been thrown down in a similar manner ; but in the stiff convulsive appearance of the limbs, especially of the arms, the left hand still grasping a lion’s skin and the right the sword, there is the expression of wildness apparent even in death, and this is also evidenced in the rough hair and beard. A finely felt contrast to both is afforded by the Persian. If the artist wished to depict Asiatic effeminacy in contrast to Greek strength, he could not have attained his object more perfectly than in this graceful youthful figure, which has received its death-blow in no apparent wound, and instead of the tokens of a violent end almost bears the expression of peaceful slumber. That the Persian dress is not completely adhered to, the upper part of the body being represented bare, cannot astonish us in a work of Greek art, for up to the very last Greek sculpture preserved its ideality. This artistic freedom goes still further in the Vatican figure of a youthful warrior, entirely bare of drapery, and likewise designated as a Persian by the Phrygian cap. In Greek art only such outward attributes were required as were necessary for the characterization. Indeed, in the Castellani statue, which bears great similarity to that in the Vatican, there is an absence of all such characterization, unless we regard as such the piece of stuff twisted round the Waist. That, however, here also a Persian is intended, is tolerably evident from its affinity with the Vatican figure. The comparison of these two similar, and yet different figures, gives a high idea of the fineness of the composition. Both are kneeling, one on the left, the other on the right knee ; both, however, are turning towards the same side, and are endeavouring, by bending forwards, to defend themselves against an enemy, while with the left hand they support themselves on the ground, the right hand bearing the sword, being raised above the head as if in protection. But the Vatican figure is completely bent down, as if to avoid a horseman galloping towards him ; while the Castellani figure shows in the slight bend of its attitude, that the threatening foe is not in such immediate vicinity. If the composition of the separate figures lead us to infer Execution cons iderable artistic power, the execution exhibits a freshness and life fully equal to the conception, and allows no idea of copies. The variety of the characterization has even attained a degree of individual and subjective truth, not apparent in Greek art formerly, and marking here an advanced stage of development. For the full nature of the conception amounts to a working out of historical and ethnographical details, evidencing to us that Greek art, at the close of its independent career, ventured with bold genius 244 Greek Sculpture. upon historical subjects. And yet the love of the ideal still remained so mighty, that it was guarded from dull realism. , ... We shall, however, obtain a still more comprehensive idea of mid Arrange- the importance and effect of these groups when we are able to form even an approximate notion of their original connexion and position. Yet this is all the less to be hoped for, as we possess no notice respecting them, and the few remains furnish us with mere fragments of the great work. At a moderate reckoning we may suppose twelve figures at least in each group, for with a smaller number, the artists could scarcely have made the various battle scenes intelligible. The recently discovered base has, however, an area of 800 square feet, so that with forty-eight figures, each on an average would occupy sixteen square feet, which agrees with the size of the statues. The form of the base, however, affords us a hint as to the arrangement of the work, which is worthy of notice. For from the great breadth of the base, sixteen feet by fifty feet long, a relief-like succession of figures, as in the temple pedi- ments, could not evidently have been intended, but a picturesque grouping must have been designed. The same picturesque and realistic element of com- position, which we perceived in the Farnese Bull as a characteristic of this epoch, was therefore here exhibited in a still stronger manner, and must have led to an arrangement in which all the groups might be seen as separate perspectively placed works, though they were undoubtedly all linked together by the flow of the lines. It is highly probable that, the large groups of Lysippus, representing Alexander’s Lion-hunt and the Battle of the Granicus (p. 218), were composed in a similar picturesque manner. That the Attalus group had a lower position than the others, is undoubtedly evidenced in the character of its remains. Besides this great monument at Athens, Attalus unques- Dying Gaul, tionably adorned other places, and at any rate his royal city, Pergamus, with similar memorials of his victories. But little of these in any connected form has come down to us, though possibly the famous marble statue of the Capitoline Museum in Rome (Fig. 140), known under the erroneous designation of the “ Dying Gladiator,” may afford us an idea of their nature. For there is no longer any doubt that we possess in it an original work of the Pergamus school. It depicts a Gaul, who at the victorious approach of the foe, when all prospect of deliverance has vanished, plunges his broad battle-sword in his own breast to escape ignominious slavery. He has thrown himself on his large shield, as becomes a valiant warrior ; the broken battle-horn lies beneath him, and the broad sword has fallen from his hand, when it has rendered him the last service of love. The head of the dying man is falling heavily forward, while the right hand on which he is resting, with difficulty supports the sinking form. The eye is already dim with the shadow of death, the broad brow is furrowed with pain, and a sigh escapes the lips. II. School of Pergamus. 245 Thus, with agitating truth, is the terrible necessity of death expressed, yet it is not ennobled by heroic elevation of soul in the hero ; the artist rather allows us to drink the bitter cup to the dregs, inexorably reminding us of the common lot of men. The figure exhibits none of the noble form and 246 Greek Sculpture. harmonious perfection of the Greek type, but is that of a Gaul born under a rude northern sky ; this is evidenced in the harsh lines of the joints, in the coarse and even hard texture of the skin, in the indubitable type of head with the hair standing up in thick rough tufts and growing down into the broad neck ; and, lastly, in the ring round the throat (torques), an ornament con- stantly found in Celtic tombs. We must accurately observe the dry weather-- worn skin, the small leather-like wrinkles at the joints, the hard hand, and the coarse soles of the feet, to convince ourselves with what power of realistic individualization the artist executed his work. This realism, however, was employed in an historical subject, which brings before us a touching scene of Gallic warfare. Fig. 141. Group of Gauls. Villa Ludovisi. s 0 call'd A similar origin seems to belong to the group in the Villa “ Arria and Ludovisi in Rome, which is known under the erroneous name of P.vtus. “Arria and Psetus” (Fig. 141). Executed in the same kind of marble, it exhibits similar treatment in the base, and still more, the accordance of its intellectual tenour assigns this place to it. It is another scene from II. School of Pcrgamus. 247 those Gallic contests, but it is filled with more passionate action and more powerful pathos. The foe is evidently approaching, and the danger of captivity and slavery admits of no delay. The death-defying warrior uses the moment to give the fatal blow to his wife, who, after the fashion of the northern races, accompanied him to the battle. While he supports his victim with the left arm, letting her fall gently on the ground, with all the power of his uplifted right hand he plunges his short broadsword in her breast. The same truth to nature in every detail, and the same exact characterization which distinguishes the dying warrior of the Capitol, gives this work also the stamp of realistic and historical distinctness. Important as these works are,* and worthily as they conclude Appreciation, the independent creative productions of Greek sculpture, they cannot be regarded as ideal representations. We see in them, on the contrary, Greek art treading a new path, that of historical characteri- zation, and thus opening new scope for subsequent development. Scarcely can a larger cleft be imagined than that between the ideal battle scenes of Pericles’ time and these scenes of Gallic combat.-f- And yet Greek art made no leap between the two, but gradually advanced from ideal statues of the gods to the representation of individual life, and ended by including within the sphere of its delineations, in spite of the lack of innate beauty and of all harmony of physical form, the individual impress of a type, not Greek, but essentially barbarian. This forms the limit of Greek art, and with it the close of independent and original works. III. Works of Art in the Rest of Greece. The monuments of Pergamus were not the only works of art TJu In ™ ad °f called forth by the victories over the Gauls in Greece. In other the (rants, J places, also in Greece Proper, monuments were erected, and this even without royal assistance, in memory of the happily averted danger and in gratitude to the gods, and it is a beautiful token of the spirit of Greek art that the last independent efforts of its failing life were called forth by victorious contests against the hordes of hostile barbarians. It was in the * Cf. the able investigation in Brunn, Kiinstlergesch. i. p. 444 et seq. t Though it was formerly supposed that the groups to which these two works belong could scarcely have been intended for anything but a pediment, there are grave objections to such an idea. Each of these works is complete and finished in itself, a fact confirmed by the careful execution of the base : each is finished with extreme accuracy, evidently intended to be looked at closely ; and in the Dying Gaul of the Capitol, the back is also so finished that it was evidently designed to be seen on every side. I am therefore convinced that the separate groups and statues to which both the remains possibly belonged, were placed on moderately high bases in a public square, or in a portico. 248 Greek Sculpture. year 280 B.C. that the wild troops of the Gauls, under Brennus, invaded northern Greece and threatened to plunder the shrine of Apollo at Delphi. The Hitolians, in league with the Phocians and the Patraeans, opposed them, and the enemy, who had surrounded the narrow pass of Thermopylae, and had spread devastation through Hitolia, suffered a decisive defeat at Delphi. The gods themselves, so tradition says, afforded assistance to the Greeks in the defence of their shrine. When the affrighted Delphians had inquired of Apollo, whether they should save the temple treasures, they had received the reply, “ I myself will take care of them and of the temple virgins ! ” During the battle a mighty tempest arose, with thunder and lightning, hail and snow, but in the storm Apollo’s radiant form was seen descending through the hypa- thron of his temple, accompanied by Diana and Minerva, and seized with panic horror, the enemy took to flight. According to an old and beautiful custom, the victors raised a monument to the delivering gods in gratitude for the victory Offerings. 000 j • The Hitolians erected a group at Delphi, which contained their generals, together with Diana, Minerva, and Apollo, who was even twice represented. The Phocians likewise dedicated a statue of Aleximachus, who had signalized himself in the contest, and had met his death in battle. A statue of Apollo, mentioned by Pausanias as “ worth seeing,” was erected by the Patrmans on the market-place of their city, out of the spoils of victory. And once more, as in the grand old times, a sacred enthusiasm was kindled throughout Hellas, and found expression not only in these votive offerings, but in the establishment of a feast of deliverance, celebrated at Delphi with music and gymnastic games. Connected with these events we may place the origin of one of the most famous statues of antiquity, the key to which has recently been afforded through a fortunate discovery. I allude to the Apollo Apollo Belvedere, found at the close of the fifteenth century, in the ruins of ancient Antium, probably be- longing to the Imperial Palace there, and now one of the most celebrated sculptures in the Vatican (Fig. 142). The god is represented radiant with youthful beauty, full of lively animation, and Fig. 142. Apollo Belvedere. III. Works of Art in the Rest of Greece. 249 advancing rapidly ; the addition of the bow in the restored and out- stretched left hand caused, until recently, the erroneous idea, and one universally accepted, that the figure was intended for the god whom the attribute characterized.* This supposition explained but little the idea of the attitude, and therefore all the more welcome was the recent discovery of a bronze statuette found about 1792 in Paramythia, not far from Janina, and now in the possession of Count Sergei Stroganoff, at St. Petersburg. This statuette agrees so exactly in all essential points with the marble statue of the Belvedere, that they must both have been executed after the same original. The statuette allows no doubt of the fact that a bow in the hand of the god is no longer to be thought of, but that he held the aegis with the gorgoneia in the act of putting to flight a fatal enemy. The aegis with the Medusa head is, however, the symbol of storm and tempest ; the sight of it had a paralyzing aind even petrifying effect, and as such it is the attribute of Jupiter and Minerva. But Apollo also used it occasionally, as we find in Homer {Iliad xv. 318 et scq.), where with the aegis lent him by Jupiter, he puts to flight the hosts of the Achaeans, while “ Deep horror seizes every Grecian breast, Their force is humbled, and their fear confessed—” or, as in Sophocles ( CEdipns Rex, 139 et scq.), where Apollo, as the averter of evil (Alexicacus, Apotropaeus) drives away the plague-bringing Mars. These scenes were the first thought of in the explanation of Apollo as the bearer of the aegis, and it was Ludwig Preller who first pointed out the true interpretation by suggesting the battles with the Gauls before Delphi. Not till now have we understood the Apollo Belvedere. In unveiled beauty we see the elegant form of the slender figure, the left shoulder only being covered by the chlamys which falls down over the arm, which, far outstretched, holds the aegis with its Medusa head. The right arm is slightly turned aside, but both hands have been unskilfully restored. The attitude of the god is full of pathos and is conceived at a dramatic moment. Ardently excited, and filled with divine anger, with which is mingled a touch of triumphant scorn, the intel- lectual head is turned sidewards (Fig. 143), while the figure with elastic step is hastening forwards. The eye seems to shoot forth lightning ; there is an expression of contempt in the corners of the mouth ; and the distended nostrils seem to breathe forth divine anger. It is a bold attitude, thus trans- * Cf. Feuerbach’s famous treatise, which takes this work of sculpture as the starting point of a series of archaeological and a:sthetical investigations. See also Stephani’s paper ( Apollon Bo'cdromios, • Bronze Statue da- Giafen Stioganoff. Petersburg, i860) for an explanation of the work, and the acute and able treatise of Wieseler (/At Apollon Stroganoff und der Apollon vom Beliederc. Leipzig, 186 1 . VOL. I. K K 250 Greek Sculpture. fixed in marble, full of life-like and excited action, indicating, it is true, a distinct aiming at theatrical effect (this is increased by the faulty restora- tion of the hands) and therefore only calculated to be viewed from one aspect. The smooth sharpness of the form which rivals the lustrous effect of the metal, and the finely-cut folds of the slight chlamys, indicate a bronze original as distinctly as does the stem of the tree. The bronze statuette of Count StroganofT does not exhibit the stem of the tree, and altogether in its more simple treatment it probably approaches nearer the original than the Apollo Belvedere does, in which we perceive the intelligent and masterly work of a Greek artist of the early Imperial period. That there were other copies besides of the work is proved by Apollo Head mar ble head recently discovered by Steinhauser in Rome, and placed in the Museum at Basle (Fig. 144). Its much disputed value can scarcely be perceived in an illustration, or in a cast, and can only be distinctly estimated by a view of the original. The treatment unques- tionably is more simple, innocent, and fresh ; the hair especially exhibits, none of the affected nicety of the Apollo Belvedere, but displays more III. Works of Art in the Rest of Greece. 251 natural feeling. The chiselling is soft, and full of life, and more in accordance with marble, while the other, with all its finish, betrays a striving after effect : and that indeed of a metal work. Equally little, however, can we overlook the fact that the master of the Apollo Belvedere remains unsurpassed in the expression of intellectual power and subjective excitement. All the copies may be traced undoubtedly to one original, The Original, and this original we may assuredly seek among the statues which were executed as votive offerings in the year 279, in memory of the defeat of the Gauls. Whether an earlier existing type of Apollo was made use of and transformed for the occasion we cannot ascertain, although it is not improbable. The question, however, assumes a new aspect from a conjecture of Overbeck’s, who imagines that the Delphic group of the yEtolians can be restored in its principal parts out of the Apollo Belvedere, the Diana at Versailles, and a figure of Minerva hastening to the combat, which is in the Capitoline Museum. This idea, which is at the first glance very pleasing and attractive, and which is supported by a long-felt affinity between the Diana of Versailles and the Apollo Belvedere, must, however, on more 252 Greek Sculpture. accurate observation, be received with hesitation. The god, which would occupy the central place, is represented like the two goddesses at his side, rapidly advancing, for he is touching the ground so slightly with the point of his left foot, that to remain in such a position is not conceivable. To combine, however, three figures in such an attitude seems to me transgressing the limits allowed to plastic art, and Overbeck himself raises a similar objection to the grouping of an Apollo Citharoedus with the Latona and Diana, all of whom display the same agitated movement.* If, however, we may also assume that the picturesque style of sculpture in the Diadochae period would not have avoided such a transgression of the limits of the art, we have still to consider whether such an almost tautological attitude of three statues would not have considerably weakened the splendid idea of the Apollo, and whether such an arrangement could be ascribed to an epoch which so well understood effect. However gratifying it would be if the proposed combination could bring us an explanation of two works of sculpture hitherto not fully under- stood, the doubts which arise on the subject cannot be denied. Connected with the worship of Apollo is another group, which is not, indeed, fully preserved in any copy, but which we gather from representations of it in relief, namely, the flaying of Marsyas Apollo and Marsyas. in the presence of Apollo, or rather the preparations for his execution. The legend is well known, how the satyr Marsyas, having been audacious enough to enter into a musical trial of skill with the god, was flayed alive as a punish- ment. Zeuxis had already produced a painting of the subject, in which the preparations 'for the accomplishment of the sentence were depicted. A wall- painting at Herculaneum, and various reliefs, -f- possess in all essential points the same characteristics. The audacious Marsyas, with his arms upraised, is fastened to the trunk of a tree and is awaiting his fate. Opposite to him Apollo is sitting or standing in triumph, holding in his right hand thg lyre, and in his left the plectron, while a slave at his feet is engaged in sharpening the knife for the terrible operation. The latter figure is preserved to us in an excellent marble copy in the famous Grinder of the Ufifizi at Florence. Eagerly whetting his knife, and crouching on the ground over his work, he casts a grinning glance at his victim, whose sad expression and desperate con- dition produce a painful effect. The figure of Marsyas, several copies of which we possess — among the best the torso in the Berlin Museum — has afforded the artist scope for exhibiting his perfect anatomical knowledge, while the slave, who is performing the office of executioner, displays in its utmost exactness the barbarian and, indeed, Scythian type. We see in this * Gesch. d. Griech ., pi. ii. edit. 2, p. 20. f Cf. Ad. A/ichaclis, in the Ann. d. Inst., 1858, p. 298 et seq. III. Works of Art in the Rest of Greece. 253 bias a direct affinity with the Gallic representations so familiar in the works of Pergamus. The figure of Apollo necessarily belonging to the group, has not as yet been authenticated ; it seems to me, however, most closely in harmony with the laws of plastic grouping to suppose that he was either standing or sitting on a rock. Subjects of this kind are characteristic of the art of the Diadochae period ; for although antique sculpture never wandered into such unaesthetic excesses in the delineation of the terrible, as Christian art did in the flaying of St. Bartholomew, still the representation of the mere prepara- tions for such a scene is sufficiently repulsive to make it acceptable only to the blunted nerves of a generation accustomed to such works. In this respect the Marsyas group exhibits unmistakable affinity with the Farnese Bull. More harmless representations are frequently taken from the sphere of Satyr-life, in which the art of that epoch especially delighted, and in which it found opportunity for displaying its masterly power and anatomical know- ledge.- Among the most attractive of these we may mention the Silenus leaning carelessly against the stem of a tree, and holding an infant Bacchus in his arms. In his loving care of the little one, on whom his eye rests with tender feeling, the rude nature of the satyr gains a charming expression of softness, and no less naive are the actions of the child, who is caressingly stretching out his little hand towards his protector. Several copies, among which that of the Louvre at Paris, and of the Glyptothek at Munich, seem to be the most excellent, indicate a famous original. The form of Silenus exhibits an affinity with that of Marsyas. Probably at this time also we may date the type of the Gorgoneium, a masterly copy of which we possess in the famous Medusa Rondanini, in the Glyptothek at Munich. Even in the Medusa Rondanini. age of Phidias, as we know from terra-cottas and from the copy of the shield of the Parthenon, the Medusa was depicted with frightful severity, in the character of a terrific phantom. The age of Praxiteles, which inclined to the graceful rather than to the noble and serious, softened the old distorted form and pervaded it with a breath of beauty. The last stage of development in this direction is to be seen in the. Medusa Rondanini. The form is perfectly beautiful, and the older type is only recognizable in the broad forehead and cheek-bones. The snakey hair and the unearthly wings are arranged with exaggerated taste, and strengthen the effect of deathlike horror which meets us like a chilling blast of ice in these features of cold beauty (Fig. 145). On the other hand the exaggerated style of art of this period is exhibited in those representations which aim at the voluptuous delineation of sensual Flora at Naples. charms, verging on the extreme limits of the art, or even trans- gressing them. This tendency is displayed with refinement and moderation in figures, such as the colossal Farnese Flora, which 254 Greek Sculpture. passed from the Baths of Caracalla into the possession of the Farnese, and from them to the Naples Museum. The voluptuous character of the colossal form is combined with graceful elegance, though in the treatment of the transparent drapery this is carried to excess. The same style may be per- ceived in the Venus Callipygus at Naples, who, with her back Caiupv'Uis un 4 raped, is looking over her shoulder at that part of her figure which, from its beauty, gives its name to the work. The design in this exhibition and the prominence of hidden charms is, it is true, more offensive to us than it was to the ideas of the ancients. In Syracuse there was a shrine to Venus Callipygus, dedicated by two poor girls out of gratitude, because, from their beauty of form, they had won two noble youths in marriage. The extreme height of this tendency is characterized by the representations of the sleeping Hermaphrodite, which, from its various copies, especially the Borghese copy in the Louvre, leads us to infer an original of merit, although it is doubtful whether it may be assumed to be the famous Hermaphrodite of Polycletus, an artist of the second century B.C. which Pliny mentions. The Hermaphrodite is, it is true, an ideal figure ; but not proceeding from any true form of worship, and merely trace- Herm- aphrodite. able to Oriental influence, it marks, even as regards the freer con- ception of the antique world, the extreme point at which art, freed from all ethical restraint, yields to the caprice of unbridled subjectivity. At this point the independent development of Greek art reached its climax. Fig. 145. Medusa Rondanini. Munich. THIRD BOOK ANCIENT SCULPTURE OF ITALY. FIRST CHAPTER. SCULPTURE AMONG THE ETRUSCANS. Eastern Influence. Among the Italian races in the earliest ages the Etruscans were distinguished for special artistic gifts. So far as we can judge, they early surpassed the neighbouring nations in general culture, although we must ascribe to other tribes, particularly to the Latins, a certain share in the artistic efforts of that early period. Without the idealism of the Greek mind, a more sober intelligence, and a talent for appro- priation and imitation, led the Etruscans betimes to produce monumental works of architecture, and to cultivate a series of decorative arts. In the early ages, like the other coast tribes of the Mediterranean, they were influenced by the antique culture of the East. Phoenician vessels may have been here also, bringing with them the splendid productions of Oriental art : still wider commercial intercourse by sea would have made them acquainted on a more extensive scale with that which Egypt and Mesopotamia had produced in buildings and sculpture. The historical importance of the earlier art of Etruria rests in nowise on its perfection of style, but on the important fact that the Etruscans, adhering tenaciously to tradition, maintained the types and technical skill of the ancient art of the East, at a period when the restlessly aspiring Greeks had long laid them aside, and had developed them into an art of their own full of noble and independent beauty. It is especially the Etruscan tombs in which we find evi- dences of that earlier art, though much intermingled, it is true, with a later Hellenic influence. Thus there are numerous smaller Etruscan Tombs. tombstones and sarcophagi, on the sides of which are represented in tolerably simple relief-style, scenes of funerals and lamentations for the dead, beside those referring to the enjoyments of life, such as banquets, dances, music on stringed- instruments, and others. The figures exhibit heavy stunted pro- portions : the upper part of the thigh is excessively large, the chest broad, and generally seen in a front view, while, as in Asiatic and Egyptian sculpture, the rest of the body is in a profile position. The large foot also, resting the whole sole on the ground even when advancing, recalls to mind the earlier monuments of the East. At the same time, the heads present great affinity VOL. I. L L Ancient Sculpture op Itaiy. with the Egyptian type, and have the flat skull, the receding brow, the obliquely placed eyes, and the strongly projecting mouth. The drapery, it is true, usually lies close to the figure, yet throughout there is an evident effort after a conventional and lifeless arrangement of the folds. A number of such works are to be met with in Rome, in the Gregorian Museum of the Vatican, in the Museum at Perugia, and in other collections. No less do the fantastic animal forms on the stone sculptures which have been found in the tomb of Cucumella at Vulci,* evidence an inclination to Assyrian-Persian art. Among them Fantastic Animals. we find figures of Sphinxes and Harpies, winged lions, and griffins, all of which indicate an Oriental model both in their fantastic form and treatment. The predilection for these strange creations of a grotesque fancy is to be seen in their frequent recurrence in relief representations on the black clay vases, which have been discovered in the tombs at Chiusi, and in other Etruscan burying-grounds.f They are, however, like the other Etruscan works, executed in a dry and hard style, which harmonizes with the angular and inelegant form of the vessels, and betrays the same national feeling for art which has imparted its stamp also to the architectural productions of this people. We must further mention the high reputation which the Metal and Etruscans enjoyed among the ancients in various kinds of metal work. Bronze sculpture, the art of casting metal, besides engraving and embossing, had all reached with them' a high state of per- fection. Their cities were filled with bronze statues ; their tombs, according to existing traces, were constantly covered with bronze plates ; and, lastly, numerous vessels and utensils, mirrors, caskets, and candelabra, evidence the skill which they possessed in the working of bronze. Although the greater number of existing works belong to a period subject to Greek influence, yet there is no lack of specimens of an earlier epoch. All this indicates Eastern influence ; for from the East the working of metals was first brought by the Phoenicians to the land of the West. It may be readily supposed, therefore, that smaller works, such as bronze, gold, or silver ornaments, and carved works in ivory, must have given the first impetus to the adoption of Oriental forms. This supposition is confirmed by the discovery of several tomb remains, and recently by an important excavation at Palestrina (Praeneste) where side by side with works of the old Italian style, there have been found silver vessels of Egyptian form, and an ivory carving with two lions fighting * A restoration of this work in Noel des Vergers’ VEtrurie et les Etrusques , (Paris 1862. 8 et fol.) p. 20. t See examples at p„ 17, 18, 19, of the above-mentioned work of Noel des Vergers. Sculpture among the Etruscans. 259 in relief, and thoroughly bearing the stamp of Assyrian art.* Similar evidence is also afforded by the four ivory tablets found at Corneto (Tarquinii), a specimen of which is given in Fig. 146. Like the old Eastern ivory works they show traces of gold and painting. Here also we find scenes from actual life predominating. A man and woman reclining at a meal, and waited on by a boy ; a huntsman on the point of capturing a stag a figure holding a fish in each hand, and probably designed for a sea-god, has a mythological significance ; and the man in a biga driving winged horses also belongs to a mythical class of subjects. A comparison with the works of Assos shows that they possess a close affinity with them ; though the carving has already reached the stage of a technical and finished art.f Fig. 146. Ivory Relief from Corneto- Especially important are the fragments of a bronze chariot found- at Perugia, in 1812, and now in the Glyptothek at Munich. They consist of a number of embossed reliefs, the subject and style of which point to Egyptian and Assyrian art. Among them we find long figures of animals, either quietly walking or fighting, just as they appear in the earliest vases and in Ninevite works. A minotaur, with his broad chest, represented as seen in front, and the upper part of the thigh strongly developed, belongs to Egyptian influ- ence. To the same influence we may also assign the reed cornice which crowns the separate parts. Curiously formed fish-like men, hunting scenes, a man kneeling between two lions, whom he holds by cords, remind us of works of Assyrian art. Lastly, a couching female figure exhibits the same * Cf. the accounts of a meeting of the Archceol. Institut. at Rome. A llg. Ztg ., 1862. No. 137, supplement. f Cf. H. Brunn in the Ann. dell' Inst., xxxii. i860, pi, 46. 260 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. repulsive Medusa head, which we meet with again somewhat later on a Selinuntine metope. Thus this work affords us a survey of the various influences which mark the first beginnings of the earliest Italian art. We must here also mention the bronze figure of the Chimaera Chimara. (Fig. 1 47), a work distinguished for its life in spite of the hard- ness of its outline and the coldness of its style. It was excavated at Arezzo, and is now in the Museum of the Utifizi in Florence. Inseparably connected with bronze sculpture is the clay work clay connected with it. The Etruscans were also distinguished for the Sculpture. 0 manufacture of works in burnt clay. Not merely those antique vases of black earth, which are adorned with fantastic Oriental reliefs, and are often furnished with a lid in the form of a human head, but numerous works of extent and importance for the decoration of the temples were also formed of clay. The relief compositions in the temple gables, the decorative ornaments for the acroteria, and even the statues of the gods in the interior of the temples, were thus depicted. In Rome also, previous to the intrusion of Greek influence, this Etruscan style prevailed ; the Temple of the Capitoline Jupiter had a clay relief in its pediment ; it was crowned by a quadriga of burnt clay, and the statue of the god in its cella was of the same material. All that is left us of these works of the early epoch evidences the same fantastic taste, influenced by Asiatic models, and combined with this, the same hard and insipid treatment of form as the bronze works. Among the most interesting works of this kind are a rich series of clay reliefs from the tombs of Corneto, which have been recently brought to light. They consist of acroteria, friezes, and fragments of cornices, all of them bearing traces of red, white, and black colouring, partly architectural ornaments — among Sculpture among the Etruscans. 26 r others, the fluted cornice with red leaves painted on it, — and partly also figures of an antique stamp. Thus, one of theacroteria is a Harpy, carrying away in its arms a smaller human figure. In all works of the kind it is, however, just as if in old Etruscan sculpture, the contrast between Oriental fancy and Western intelligence were revealed in its utmost distinctness ; and we may perceive from this, that the old Italian races lacked the power of a higher ideal capacity, so superior to pure technical skill, and which alone was fitted to blend the contrasting characteristics, and to reconcile them in the pro- duction of perfect masterpieces. As, however, the teachable races of. the West began to out- R evolution, grow the influence of the East, an independent sense of the beautiful, and with it a national art, was necessarily developed among them. This transformation, as we have seen, took place earliest and most decidedly among the Greeks. The high artistic capacities of this people speedily placed them at the head of the Western nations, and procured for them the leadership in all intellectual matters. From this moment Greek art began to exercise a decided Influence influence on the Italian races. As, moreover, lower Italy (Magna 'Grnecia) and Sicily were imbued with Hellenic culture from the numerous Greek colonies, the rest of Italy inevitably fell under the influence of a race superior both in intensity and expansive power. There is no lack of historical traditions, which even at an earlier period evidence this condition of dependence. Thus we are told by Pliny, that at the expulsion of the ruling family of the Bacchiadse from Corinth by Cypselus (about 660 B.C.), the artists Eucheir, Diopus, and Eugrammus migrated to Italy with Demaratus, and introduced there the art of sculpture. Though these names betray a mythical sound, still an historical germ lies within them, and they convey the fact that this art was transmitted to Italy from Corinth, which was especially famous for the working of clay. This harmonizes, moreover, with the circum- stance that we early find the Etruscans extolled as sculptors in clay. For we are told that the oldest temples in Rome were not only built in the Etruscan style, but were adorned with clay statues by Etruscan artists. And Pliny informs us that Tarquinius Priscus summoned the sculptor Volcanius of Veii* to Rome, in order to execute the statue of Jupiter and the quadriga for the pediment of the Capitoline Temple. The statue of the god, we learn from the same authority, was usually painted red. We cannot point out the various stages of this new process ^Progress development, but we see on the whole that Greek influence asserted itself more and more among the races of Italy ; first Formerly from erroneous reading of the name, designated Turianus of Fregellte. 262 Ancient Sculpture oj Italy. making its way principally among the Etruscans, and subsequently among the Romans, just as these two nations historically follow each other as leaders in Italian culture. At the same time, however, we quickly perceive that Etruscan and Roman sculpture never for this reason becomes purely Greek, and that, on the contrary, the different national soils on which the foreign art was trans- planted, give an unmistakable impress to its entire character. Among the Etruscans the long adherence to antique forms is I 'f.h m-iii's 1 P lainl y stamped. If we reflect how slowly, in spite of steady progress, such a gifted and privileged nation as the Greeks rose from strict restraint to noble freedom, we shall not be surprised at a much more tardy movement on the part of a people far less endowed. We find in Etruscan art, at a period when Greek influence was already potent, striking remains of the older style borrowed from the East, which here expressed itself with a harshness sometimes fantastic and sometimes insipid. This may even be perceived in the range of subjects that mark early Italian art. For, side by side with representations of the gods and heroes borrowed from the Greeks, we meet, both in wall-paintings and tomb reliefs, with those chronicle- 1 ike delineations of reality peculiar to the East; various scenes of life, festivals, banquets, and funeral ceremonies, are spread before us in detailed representa- tion, and even where such scenes betray a breath of Greek feeling in their forms, the spirit of the delineation ever remains the realistic one of earlier Oriental art. The deeper reason for this lies in the character of the people. National 'ppg Etruscans seem to combine two elements of a northern Character. race ; yet much in their earliest traces of civilization seems to imply that originally this ever mysterious people was a branch of the great Pelasgic family, to which the Greeks also belonged. While the Etruscans rivalled the Greeks in their active commerce, navigation, and versatile industry, they were deficient in that higher order of mind which produces an ideal art. Even the gloomy superstition of their religious ideas, so far removed from the distinct and luminous worship of the Greeks, prevented any free development of art. An evidence that they felt this deficiency themselves, is shown by the fact that they admitted into their world of art not only the gods of Greece with all the myths belonging to them, but they even appropriated the national heroes of Greece, especially those famous in the Trojan war. Yet what is borrowed in this way can never become a perfect mental possession. Thus the best works of Etruscan art bear a certain stamp of vacillation, and with this is combined an involuntary exaggeration of form. Hence Etruscan art displays mannerism rather than style. We feel in their works that they are not the result of enthusiastic feeling for an ideal, but that they are produced by skilful imitation and by intelligent calculation of the object for which they Sculpture among the Etruscans. 263 are designed. No favourable testimony is given by the ancients of their temple buildings ; but even at an early period they were masters in designs for dams and canals, and for every kind of aqueduct. They were, moreover, famous in all technical works ; their ingenious candelabra, mirrors, toilet caskets, and tasteful and valuable ornaments were highly extolled. But even in these things, as regards invention and form, the best part was always the result of foreign ideas. Nothing, perhaps, affords us such a clear idea of the various Vessels and j n f[ uences w hich may be traced in Etruscan art, as an examina- tion of the vessels, utensils, and ornaments. The former are chiefly of bronze and are executed with masterly skill ; the latter rest princi- pally on a virtuoso-like working of gold in the most delicate leaves and in the thinnest threads of filigree. Many of the beautiful things in the Gregorian Museum of the Vatican* remind us both in their ornament and their figures of the works of art at Nimroud. Thus, for instance, the circlets terminating in volutes and fastened with palms, in which an ornament is frequently set ; also the repeatedly occurring winged bulls and human figures, Harpies, and other fantastic forms. But even in the candelabra, the most insignificant and sharply cut forms put us in mind of vessels which we have seen among the reliefs at Nineveh as the productions of Assyrian artificers. Moreover, in many of the ornaments of Etruscan tombs, we meet with a rich display of purely linear forms, consisting of right lines, circles and spiral curves, such as recur in the vessels in Celtic tombs and on the columns of the Treasure House at Mycenae. The later works are distinguished by the noble grace of Later Works. Greek ornament, often so imitated in all its beauty by Etruscan workers in gold and bronze that its national peculiarities are perfectly rendered. Where, however — and this is the case in most bronze works — the Etruscan mind preserves its independence in spite of the foreign element, we recognize it at once in the absence of that fine feeling for organic connection which belongs to the Greeks alone. The candelabra and vases afford numerous specimens of this kind. Some parts are frequently of great beauty, but their combination is devoid of harmony, so that the whole, though outwardly united, seems to be without internal connection. Angular profiles, sudden intersections, and the termination of lines without a cause, characterize the greater number of these works. Added to this, on the feet, handles, lids or knobs, various small figures of men, animals (Fig. 148), or fantastic creations are introduced, striking the eye either from their awkwardness, their unskil- * Cf. the splendid work, Mnsei Etrusci Monumenta (Roma, 1842, 2 vols. fol.), vol. i. of which, taff. 11, 16, 17, 64, gives examples of Eastern influence. 264 Ancient Sculpture of Italy . fill combination, or even from their inhuman misshapenness. Thus, for instance, on the handles of vases or at the feet of candelabra, little figures appear, drawn out to an unnatural length, and pro- ducing an unpleasing effect from their grotesque exaggeration. This brief glance at a field of Material art: on ly indirectly connected with sculpture, leads us now to the examination of the sculptures themselves. We have already mentioned that even in the earliest ages, working in clay was practised by the Etruscans with considerable success. Moulding in clay, however, soon gave way to casting in bronze, an art which this people exercised with no less skill. This material suited the sharp hard outline, which, with a certain exaggeration, prevailed in all older Etruscan works. Numerous specimens of an equally antique stone sculpture are also pre- served in tombs and small altars. We can perceive in these works the successive stages of an, art, at first imbued with eastern influence and subsequently transformed by the archaic style of the Greeks. Among the most antique Tombstones, works are the reliefs of some tombstones, which represent in an extremely heavy style various funeral scenes, besides dances and other festivities. The relief is boldly effective, and executed with an adherence to nature which verges on that of Assyrian works, especially in the exaggerated display of the muscles. The figures are broad and clumsy, the hips and calves extremely prominent, the soles of the feet unusually long, and always resting Fig. 148. Etruscan Candelabrum. Florence, entirely on the ground even when advancing. We have met with the latter peculiarity both in Egypt and Assyria, as well as in the earliest works of Greek art. Also the upper part of the body is depicted as seen in front, while the legs and head appear in profile. This profile with the low receding brow, flat skull, Sculpture among the Etruscans. 265 and projecting jaw, bears greatest affinity with the Egyptian type, although far inferior to it in delicacy of individual form, and therefore it may be denominated as specifically Etruscan. Many of these works, all of which belong to the archaic style, evidence an advance towards more life-like delineation.* Thus, on a sandstone relief at the Casa Buonaroti in Florence, a youthful warrior, having in one hand a lance and in the other holding a flower, is represented advancing in a purely profile position. Both the feet rest on the entire sole, the figure is compact and exaggerated in parts, and the profile of the head and the arrangement of the hair, — small round locks in front and long parallel rows of curls hanging- down behind, — remind us of the earliest works ; but the whole is true to nature and produces an harmonious effect. Of a similar character is the relief figure of a bearded warrior from a tombstone of tufa, now in the museum at Volterra, only that, even though advancing rapidly, both feet rest with the entire sole on the ground. Freer action in walking is displayed on the other hand in the relief figures of a four-sided altar-like monument in the Casa Connestabile at Perugia, in which the effort at expression leads occasion- ally even to curious distortions and to complete misrepresentation of the strongly marked figures. Everything is angular and abrupt, the arms are thrown up above the head in various gestures, forming sharp angles and ungraceful lines. In one instance, a figure, in the effort to turn to a com- panion, is depicted partly in profile, partly in a front view, and partly even turned to the opposite side, as if the limbs were all out of joint. This exaggeration and abruptness in the attitudes remains a characteristic of Etruscan art, even appearing anew at a later period amid all the grace of Hellenic forms. Among the most ancient works of sculpture we may reckon Ea ’vcssfs laV a ^ so ^ ie decorative parts of the curiously formed black vases of unburnt clay ; most of these have been found in the tombs at Chiusi, and a selection of them is in the museum of the Uffizi at Florence. The lid in many of these vessels is formed as a human head, in a style probably borrowed from Egypt. These heads, antique and rude as they are, display, nevertheless, the appearance of characteristic portraiture, and prove that the Etruscans, like the Egyptians, even at an early age, possessed a mature taste for the delineation of the individual form. This is also a point in which they were distinguished from the Greek nature, which aimed rather at general and ideal representations. Several of these vases have small grotesquely fantastic figures on the handles, feet, and sides, or weak reliefs of animals, men, and * See Micali, Sloria degli antichi popoli italiani, tom. iii., especially pi. 14, 16, 17, &c. VOL. I. M M 266 A ncient Sculpture of Italy. monsters in an extremely antique style. Some vases of this kind were formerly in the Museo Campana, and arc now at Paris. Scarcely anything is preserved of the numerous clay sculptures Sailptiins adorned the temples both within and without. On the other hand various ornaments have been found in the catacombs, such as acroteria and frieze decorations, interesting specimens of which are to be seen in the Museo Gregoriano of the Vatican and in the Campana collec- tion in the Louvre. Fantastic forms such as Sphinxes and Harpies play a great part in these works, the harmonious effect of which is increased by the application of strong colouring, and they afford us an idea of the decoration of Etruscan temples. We also gain an idea of these decorations from the frieze-like coloured clay reliefs of Velletri, now in the museum at Naples.* Fig. 149. Sarcophagus of Caere. Louvre. They bring before us, with great freshness, scenes of actual life, especially horse-races, in a style which, though antique, evidences distinctly Greek influence. The horses are the same slender high-legged race which we find on earlier Greek vases. On the other hand, a seated clay figure of a youth with the lion’s skin, now in the Museum at Perugia, and bearing the artist’s name, C. Rupius, belongs to the later development of Etruscan art. Also the vase of Calenus Canoleius, brought from Vulci, with the small relief figures on a plain ground, exhibits the stamp of the time when Greek ideas had obtained a preponderating influence on Etruscan art. How popular clay sculptures were, and with what great technical skill they were executed, is proved by the * Cf. Mus. Borb. x. taff. 9-12. Sculpture among the Etruscans. numerous large sarcophagi, specimens of which we find in the Museo Gregoriano of the Vatican. Like all antique terra-cottas, they are painted throughout, and this in a sober and harmonious tint, having as its ground- work the most powerful colours, especially black and red. A spendid work of this kind is the sarcophagus, found at Caere, and now in the Museum of the Louvre (Fig. 149). It represents a deceased married couple lying out- stretched after the Etruscan manner on a couch, which in its construction and graceful ornament calls to mind Oriental and, indeed, Assyrian sculptures. Half raised, resting on cushions and leaning on the left arm, they are lying close to each other, the right arm of the husband being drawn round his wife. The attitude is without grace, the organic structure of the figures shews striking errors, and the drapery lacks the nobler style at which Greek art early aimed. At the same time the treatment of the hair, the form of the nude parts and something of antique constraint in the head, as, for example, the oblique position of the eyes, are characteristic ; nevertheless, from a certain touch of naive heartiness, such groups produce an effect of solid respectability. The whole is painted, and this with a sober and harmonious effect.* - Fig. 150. Brazen Wolf. Museum of the Capitol. Many of the bronze works that have been preserved are also of great antiquity. We have spoken before (p. 258) of works of this kind, shewing a decided Oriental influence. Among these Brazen Statues. we mentioned the famous Chimaera, at Florence. Scarcely less primitive is the brazen she-wolf, in the Museum of the Capitol in Rome (Fig. 150), a work, rude in form, and exaggeratedly sharp in treatment, but executed with a strong and effective adherence to nature. If this is the votive statue erected at the Ruminalian fig-tree in the year 295 B.C., it affords us an evi- dence, which we are far from rejecting as improbable, of the state of Italian Mon. d. Inst. vi. T. 59, and' also the paper by H. Brunn. 268 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. bronze sculpture at that time in Rome. There is no mention of anything of the kind in the chief cities of Etruria; for though thirty years later the city of Volsini, on its conquest by the Romans, could produce about two thousand brazen statues, the technical skill in the casting of bronze must by that time have reached a higher stage of perfection than can be perceived in the Wolf. Moreover, we know from Pliny, that the Etruscans at their most brilliant period introduced gilt bronze figures into their temple pediments instead of the clay figures used before, and they understood how to cast weighty colossal statues as well as graceful statuettes. Few of these works have, however, come down to us. We may reckon the bronze statuette of a draped female figure Bro'trfiVorks (Sp es - ? ) in the Museum at Florence, as one of the oldest of the works still in preservation. The broad, unattractive, and insipid head encircled with curls, and covered with a high-pointed cap, and the affected grace with which the left hand holds the narrow garment, is a type of the hard inelegance, peculiar to genuine Etruscan sculpture.* Better, and in a freer style, is the small bronze figure of a beardless man, wearing a light mantle, in the Ivirscher Museum, at Rome, which, according to the inscription, is the work of the artist C. Pomponius, and in all probability was executed about the year 200 B.C.t This small figure, coming from Etruria, furnishes another proof that at that time, side by side with Greek influence, a distinctly Italian art was flourishing. On the other hand, the life-like and finely-executed statuette of a youthful warrior advancing to the attack, and covering himself with his shield (Museum at Florence), is an excellent work, and shews more affinity with Greek ideas.]; Among the numerous small bronze works which are frequently to be found in Museums, and which may be readily distinguished from Greek works by a certain coldness, and by their grotesquely fantastic character, we must mention the interesting group in the Museum at Florence, of two warriors bearing a fallen comrade from the fight. It lacks, indeed, rhythmical arrangement both as regards composition and the flow of lines, still it is pleasing from its truth of expression and attitude. Like the smaller works, the larger bronze statues also for „ Lar ff , the most part are deficient in the noble rhythm and free grace of bronze works. 1 Greek art. In the best instances, such as the statue of the orator Aulus Metcllus, found on the Fake of Thrasymene, and now in the Uffizi, at Florence (Fig. 1 5 1 ), they afford from their cold but characteristic treatment a true picture of an honourable, sensible, and somewhat homely personage ; or, as in the boy with the goose, in the Museum at Leyden Micali, taf. 15. t Cf. Brunn, Gesch. d. Griech. K. vol. i. S. 533 et seq. I Micali, taf. 14. Sculpture among the Etruscans. 269 (Fig. 1 52), they produce an effect of simple naturalness and ease. The life- size statue also of a youthful warrior, found at Todi, and now under the erroneous designation of Mars, in the Museum of the Vatican, is distinguished above most of these works, both by its able and careful treatment, and by the stamp of life-like truth, and still more by the unconstraint of the attitude* Fig. 151. Statue of Aulus Metellus. Florence. Fig. 152. Boy with Goose. Leyden. Lastly, we must mention the sarcophagi and urns which Sm Rdi"fi“ S a PP ear in g reat numbers, the sculptures of which indicate the latest style of Etruscan art, for the most part already verging on decline, and, moreover, displaying rude mechanical execution. They are formed in burned clay, or in stone; and the small urns are principally of alabaster, covered with rich painting, and gilding. The sculptures on the side walls contain in strong relief, either scenes connected with death, funerals, or the destiny of the soul in the next world, or representations of * See Mus. Gregor ., taf. 44 and 45. 270 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. life, dances, banquets, and triumphal processions, sometimes combining with them suitable incidents from the mythology of the Greeks. The arrange- Fig. 153. Sarcophagus of Vulci. Sculpture among the Etruscans. 271 merit is overloaded, and the relief has the crowded picturesque style which Greek art disdained, and which, it seems, may be regarded as a genuine Italian production. The conception of the figures, which in the earlier works evidences traces of Hellenic style, indicates in later works the influence of Graeco-Roman sculpture, under Italian transformation. The figures of the deceased, which rest on the cover (Fig. 149), exhibit generally in the heads a hard and insipid portraiture, while the figures, as a rule, are executed without any feeling of physical connexion, and as if all the limbs were out of joint. Still, among these indifferent works there are some of a more able character in which Etruscan sculpture rises to great importance, in spite of its ungraceful realism. As the first of these we may reckon the two sar- cophagi at Vulci, which Brunn has made known,'*' and which are among the greatest and most important works of their kind (Fig. 153). One of them, executed in alabaster, contains on the side an heroic battle scene, and a representation from the battle of the Amazons, in which ideas from Greek works of art are freely introduced. On the lid rest the husband and wife, not as usual, in a half erect position, but outstretched, lying in hearty embrace, as if on the same couch. Stiff as are the attitudes, and faulty as is the execution of the physical forms, the whole arrangement, and especially the artistic folds of the linen drapery which envelops them both, furnish ' evidence of a more ideal power of conception. These works, however, are exceptional. The greater number Urns. of these sarcophagi afford little that is pleasing either in arrange- ment or composition. In the short urns we meet with grotesque and exaggerated heads, while the rest of the body attached to them is a feeble and distorted mass. Thus, in these later works we find mirrored with unpleasing accuracy the political and moral dissolution of the Etruscan people when overshadowed by the Roman power. * Mon. d. Inst. viii. T. 18-20. Ann. 1865., T. 37, p. 244. 272 4ncienl Sculpture of Italy. SECOND CHAPTER. SCULPTURE AMONG THE ROMANS. The Romans were not predominantly an artistic people, and kl, " t ff would scarcely have produced an art from their own mental capacities. Their whole aim centred with grand vigour on the practical fashioning of outward life ; and so energetic were they in this sphere of action that they brought the known world under their sway, first as con- querors and afterwards as statesmen, and as acute lawgivers they regulated all the relations of private life and property by a code of admirable organization. This energy of mind, combined with strong power of will, gave also the art of the Romans at first a tendency to practical aims, which found expression in grand architectural works ; on the other hand it was deficient in plastic genius, and we meet with only isolated names of Roman sculptors. Still the Romans, from the beginning, were in no wise devoid of susceptible feeling for the art itself. They were, at first, readily pupils of the Etruscans, and subse- quently the bountiful patrons of the Greeks. And if art with them never became such a matter of affection as among the Hellenists, of whose very nature it formed a paid, yet there was never a nation of aristocrats who gratified their love of luxury with such noble productions of art as the Romans. It has been already said that the Etruscans, at first, built the Influence of j> omans their temples and adorned them with sculptures ; that the Etruscans . Volcanius of Veii, who executed the plastic works of the Temple of the Capitoline Jupiter (p. 261), is only one of the great number of Etruscan artists who were engaged in Roman tasks. But side by side with Etruscan influence, Greek art also began betimes to find admission into Rome. Never- theless, in the earlier epochs, the Roman mind inclined undoubtedly more to the Etruscan style. The honorary monuments, which were early erected to citizens of merit, and the ancestral statues of coloured wax which every patrician house preserved, all this indicates a predilection for that portrait-like conception which we meet with also among the Etruscans. Etruscan art was undoubtedly more adapted than the Greek to satisfy such requirements. The first Greek artists who worked in Rome are Damophilus and Gorgasus, who Sculpture among the Romans. 2 73 adorned the Temple of Ceres in the Circus Maximus with Influence paintings and sculptures. Up to that time, we are informed, everything" in the Roman temples had been Etruscan. If the decoration of the temple was contemporary with its consecration in the year 493 B.C., we are furnished with an early date for the beginning of Greek art in Rome. However this may be, the older Etruscan style of art was in no wise completely repressed by such isolated instances of foreign influence. But when, after the Samnite war, through the conquest of Lower Italy, which had been completely Hellenized, Greek works of art were brought in greater abundance to Rome, the influence was felt in a much more decided manner. About this time (250 B.C.) Novius Plautius, most probably a Campanian, executed that famous Cista in the Kirscher Museum at Rome, the surface of which is adorned with the most beautiful engraved designs in the style of genuine Greek art, while the small plastic group on the lid, of a youth and two satyrs, was added by another hand in the ruder manner of Etruscan art. Another Italian artist, whose name, C. Ovius, is preserved on a small bronze bust of the Medusa in the same Museum, cannot be much later : his work also displays the purifying influence of Greek art. It needed, however, only a closer acquaintance with the works Art-spoils Greek art > incomparable as they were in mind and beauty, to gain for them an ascendancy in Rome. Opportunity for this closer acquaintance was fully afforded by the conquests in Lower Italy and Sicily, and subsequently by those of Greece and Asia Minor. What astonish- ment must have seized the conquerors when they became acquainted with this world of works of art, and gained possession of them in their grand scheme of art spoliation. Marcellus, in the year 212 B.C., carried in masses to Rome the works of art which had been obtained at the taking of Syracuse, exhibited them in his triumphal procession, and afterwards consecrated them to the Temple of Honour and Valour erected by him. Henceforth it became the custom to produce as many splendid works of art as possible in the triumphal processions of the sight-loving Romans. The number of Greek statues and paintings by the first masters accumulated in Rome in the short period inter- vening between this time and the taking of Corinth by Mummius in 146 B.C., exceeds all idea. When Flaminius celebrated his victory over Philip of Macedon, the removal of the plundered works of art occupied two full days. Seven years later Fulvius Nobilior exhibited no fewer than 515 statues of bronze and marble in his triumph over the yEtolians ; he also brought with him Greek artists to arrange the festivities of his feast of victory. When yEmilius Paulus made his triumphal procession after his victories over Perseus of Macedon, 250 waggons were required to carry the spoils of statues and paintings alone. From the abundance and splendour of the numerous monu- VOL. I. N N Ancient Sculpture of Italy. 2 74 mcnts which all belonged to the prime of Greek art, love and understanding of art was awakened in the Romans. It is true they did not feel themselves incited to personal emulation ; Coponius, who lived in Pompey’s time, and his countryman and contemporary Decius, a colossal bronze head by whom was placed on the Capitol, appear as exceptions. • On the other hand, delight in the possession and enjoyment of plastic works was developed. Wealthy private people emulated each other in the acquisition of valuable paintings and statues ; a fine knowledge of art was cultivated, and Greek art became henceforth an indispensable accompaniment to the nobler enjoyment of life. From this period the history of the revival of Greek sculpture under Roman supremacy begins. FIRST PERIOD. From the Conquest ok Greece till Augustus. 146 b.c. — 14 A.D. With the decline of Greek freedom, the source ot that Tmpo> taucL of en th us ; asm was quenched, to which the highest works of art owed their origin. The genius of the Hellenic people had exhausted itself ; it could no longer, produce new ideas in any sphere of art. How wonderful, however, must the artistic gifts of the nation have been when, in spite of this, they produced a revival in plastic art, the resu’ts of which are among the most beautiful and splendid antique monuments which we possess, and are only surpassed by the original works of the time of Phidias. The greater part and the best of the works to be found in the Museums of Italy, France, and Germany, belong to this period of revival, and we may infer how great was the artistic value of these works from the fact that they were considered unsurpassable, so long as the monumental remains of Attica continued unknown and were veiled, as it were, in oblivion. Thus Greek sculpture throughout the long twilight preceding its complete decline, casts a glow of light over several centuries of the Roman empire. From the middle of the second century B.C., we find a series Artistic ar Fsts from all parts of Greece employed in Rome, and engaged in adorning the city. Foremost among them are the masters from Athens, which witnessed a brilliant revival in the new Attic school. These artists were not really inventive, but they were so far creative that they appreciated with fine feeling the works of the previous age, and copied them with great perfection. Such power of reproducing not merely required masterly skill in technical matters, but liveliness and warmth of From the Conquest oj Greece till Augustus. 275 A rtists about 150 B.C. artistic conception. Hence, from their delicacy of finish, perfect rhythmical arrangement, softness of transition, and life-like flow of lines, their works possess a charm which secures them the admiration of all times. Only one thing they lack, the naive freshness and the unconscious grace which, in the originals of the earlier epoch, strike us with the sparkling life of creative power. Compared with these, we feel in these late productions of the Greek chisel the bolder breath of a reflective mind, which sets to work with conscious intention, and can no longer attain to the sublime inspiration of the times of a Phidias, a Scopas, and a Praxiteles. For in this lies the barrier which fetters even the most spirited reproduction. Among the artists, by whose means Greek art attained supremacy in Rome, several are mentioned, who in all probability were summoned from Greece by Metellus. Timarchides, who executed a statue of Apollo with the cithern for the porticus of Octavia erected by Metellus, was one of these ; also his son Dionysius, who. with the Athenian Polycles, made the gold and ivory statue of a Jupiter for the temple of the god near the same place. The statue of an Hermaphrodite by the same Polycles is much extolled ; the subject had been already treated in Greek art, and from the soft voluptuousness of the conception it especially suited this later period. This is evidenced by the numerous monuments of the kind, especially the frequently recurring statue of an Hermaphrodite resting in uneasy slumber (cf. p. 254) : there are even two copies of it in the Louvre in Paris. More important than these isolated records of perished works, Attic School are a ser ^ es °f monuments, in which the activity of the new Attic school meets us in its full importance. Chiefly adhering to the sphere of ideal subjects, they afford us splendid reproductions of the master- pieces of the previous age, either as borrowed from them, or as the^Jiclvfderc co P* es more or less free. This is the case with the famous Torso of the Belvedere in Rome, according to the inscription, a work of the Athenian Apollonius (Fig. 154). This is probably the same artist who, in Sulla’s time, executed a gold and ivory statue of the god for the temple of the Capitoline Jupiter, which was being restored after a fire. The torso, which, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, was found at a place where formerly the theatre of Pompey had stood, was probably formed after the model of some original by Lysippus, and represents the figure of Hercules resting from laborious work. Seated on a rock, the powerful frame bending forwards, the hero seems to have supported himself on his club. Grand as is the whole design, and powerful and ideal as is the entire conception, still in the exaggerated softness of the execution, and in the evident aiming after effect, we trace the tendency of an art, which could only in external 276 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. mannerism reproduce the sublime simplicity of an earlier period. Of course this verdict only refers to a comparison with works of the highest art, as for example, the Theseus of the Parthenon, for on the other hand, the torso occupies the first place among all contemporary works of the kind, and still more among all later ones. Far more mannerism is displayed by another no less famous Famest wor p so-called Farnese FTercules, from the Baths of Caracalla, now in the Museum at Naples ; it is likewise the work of an Athenian, Glycon, by name, and is likewise the copy of an original of Lysippus (Fig. 155). Here also the hero is conceived as resting from his work, but he is standing erect, and supporting himself only with his left shoulder on the club, which is covered with the lion’s skin. In the right hand, which is resting against the back, he is holding the apples of the Hesperidae. Here also the design is extremely grand, and the figure has something of the ideal form of From the Conquest of Greece till Augustus. 2 77 a deml-god, not merely from its colossal size, but still more from the powerful structure of the limbs. The exceeding smallness of the head also, combined Fig. 155. Farnese Hercules. Naples. Ancient Sculpture of Italy. 278 with the exaggerated breadth of shoulder, chest, and thighs, may be justified as characteristic of the Hercules type. The bombastic manner, on the other hand, with which the muscles are exhibited, expressing rather outward show than inward power, cannot certainly be attributed to the original of Lysippus, but only to the exaggerated style of Glycon. A third, much-extolled work of the new Attic school, is the Midi. u an s j a (- ue c f q ie Medicaean Venus, executed by Cleomenes, of Athens, the son of Apollodorus, and now in the Tribuna of the Uffizi at Florence (Fig. 156). High as this work stands from the softness of its treatment, from the harmonious rhythm of the lines, and from the delicate beauty of the slender youthful form, it remains far inferior in feeling to the works of the earlier period. The beauty of a goddess in her unconscious majesty is not represented here as in the Aphrodite of Melos (p. 137) ; we see nothing but the charms of a coquettish woman, who, from her appa- rently modest bearing, seems to challenge the admirer, whose notice she is seeking. For it is this very look, and this turn of the head, combined with the position of the arms, which rob this statue, exquisite as it is in itself, of its highest charm, namelv, that of chaste in- genuousness. The great number of copies of this work sufficiently prove how much it harmonized with the spirit of the time. Among these statues, in which the theme of female beauty is treated, as here, in a purely genre-like manner, we may number the Venus couching in her bath in the Vatican and other places (p. 1 70) ; also the frequently repeated work of Venus loosening her sandal ; the Aphrodite Callipygus in the Museum at Naples (p. 254), and the Medicaean Venus in the Capito- line collection at Rome. From another Athenian, Cleomenes, who is designated as the son of Cleomenes, proceeds the so-called Germanicus in the Louvre at Paris, evidently the statue of a Roman, who with upraised hand, is represented in the expressive attitude of an orator, and hence bears the form of the god of eloquence Hermes Logius. Life-like and fine, in his eager action betraying careful avoidance of all that is pathetic and declamatory, the work is, Other New nevert ] ie i ess inferior from the coldness of its execution to Attic Works . those before mentioned. Among the other Attic productions So-called Germanicus . Fig. 156. Medicaean Venus. Florence From the Conquest of Greece till Augustus. 279 of this period we must mention, as an able and careful copy of an older work, the much injured statue of a Pallas in the Villa Ludovisi at Rome, according to the inscription executed by Antiochus of Athens. Equally important are the Caryatidae, which Diogenes of Athens executed for the Pantheon of Agrippa about the year 27 B.C. The beautiful Caryatide of the Vatican, so well restored by Thorwaldsen, and probably originally belonging to the Pantheon, has been authenticated, though displaying somewhat more stoutness of form, as a faithful copy of the Caryatidae of the Erechtheum. On the other hand, the Caryatide of the Athenians, Criton and Nicolaus, in the Villa Albani at Rome, is not a wholly successful attempt to give greater richness and grace to the transmitted form. In this respect it stands in the same relation to those simpler forms as the Corinthian column does to the Ionian. As relief compositions, a marble vase by the Athenian Sosibius, and a marble crater by Salpion of Athens, the one in the Louvre at Paris, and the other in the Museum of Naples, deserve mention on account of the skilful application and combination of earlier ideas. „ , . The two marble colossi of the horse-breakers of Monte of Monte Cavallo in Rome belong to this same Attic school. They are, Cavallo. without doubt, copies of famous originals of the best Greek period, although not exactly, as the inscription implies, those of Phidias and Praxiteles. The grandeur of the design, the bold freedom and certainty of the treatment, and the powerful and life-like character of the attitudes of the rearing horses, and of the youths who are restraining them with a vigorous jerk, all this is worthy of high admiration as the production of the genuine Greek spirit of art. In connection with this large number of important works, we isia Minor must mention some productions by artists from Asia Minor, also evidencing a revival in the schools which existed there. The most famous of these monuments is the so-called Borghese Gladiator of the Ephesian Agasias (Fig. 157). The statue was found *at Antium, where it Gladiator ma y ^ ave sto °d in an imperial palace. In all probability it belongs at the latest to the Augustan age. It is now in the Louvre at Paris. It represents an athletic combatant, who, rapidly advancing, is defending himself with the left hand against an adversary apparently mounted, while the right hand with the sword is raised for a mighty blow. The head shows the intensest strain of attention, and the attitude displays the rapid vehemence of the action, to an extent that verges on the limits of the power of which plastic art is capable. At the same time the due balance of the figure is well preserved, and the movement of every muscle is developed with such deep understanding that the statue may be called a marvel of anatomical science. But its intellectual value is small, no touch of inward 2So Ancient Sculpture of Italy. excitement awakens our sympathy, and we feel that the work was the result of cool reflection and not of transporting enthusiasm. While, therefore, the execution exhibits much affinity with the dying Gaul and the Ludovisi group of Gauls, the work is destitute of that spark of deep pathos, which so tragically affected us in the others. We are vividly interested in the brilliant solution of a difficult problem, but our heart takes no part in it for a moment. Fig. 157. The Borghese Gladiator, by Agasias. Louvre. The relief of the Apotheosis of Homer, according to the A ^ 0 }lom-r"^ inscription, by Archelaus of Priene, is also the work of an artist of Asia Minor. It is now in London, in the British Museum. Discovered in the ancient Bovillae, it was probably executed by order of Tiberius for a shrine at that place. This work, however, with its insipid allegory, presents a critical decline of the relief style into the picturesque ; and this, combined with weak execution, robs it of all artistic importance, whatever may be the interest attached to the small monument itself. More important, evidently, were some other artists whose Other Artists, country is not established, but of whom we know enough to assign them an independent position by the side of the new Attic masters and of those of Asia Minor. The first of these was Arcesilaus, who was especially held in estimation on account of the excellence of his clay From the Conquest of Greece till Augustus. 281 models, which were executed with such care, that a jiigher price was paid for them than for the finished sculptures of other masters. He executed for the Temple of Venus Genitrix, which Caesar consecrated in the year 46 B.C., a statue of the goddess, which has come down to us in several copies. It seems to have been distinguished from the earlier representations of Aphrodite by greater fulness of form and by a more womanly character. This was increased, in contrast to the nude or half-draped figures, by the full drapery, which however, even in the copies, is designed to let the form be effec- tively seen through the transparent material. For Lucullus, the master executed for 60,000 sesterces a statue of Felicitas, which remained unfinished, as Lucullus fell at Philippi. Lastly, he produced a humorous genre work of a marble lioness, teased and restrained by roguish Cupids. His contemporary was Pasiteles, a Greek of Lower Italy, who worked for Pompey and Augustus, and was distin- guished no less for the versatility of his technical skill in gold and ivory, marble, silver, and bronze, than for the careful execution of his clay models. There is a correctly finished statue of an athlete in the Villa Albani at Rome, which is ascribed to his pupil Stephanus. We possess, however, in the Villa Ludovisi, a marble group by his pupil Menelaus, which, in grandeur.of composition and depth of feeling, is so far superior to the cold though careful technical execution, that we are inclined to suppose this also to be the copy of an earlier work. The beautiful group (Fig. 158) depicts the meeting of a mother with her long lost son, at the moment when, as Welcker says, the first agitating emotion at meeting is followed by calm and joy, and when under the sense of happiness, the question arises, Is it really thee? After various interpretations have been attempted, such as Penelope and Telemachus, Theseus and CEthra, Electra, and Orestes, Otto Jahn at length has given an explanation of the scene which Fig. 158. Merope and /Epytus. . Group by Menelaus. Villa Ludovisi. VOL. I. O O 282 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. more than any other elucidates the work. It is /Epytus, who returns after a long absence to avenge his mother, Merope, on her consort Polyphontes, the murderer of her first husband. In order to make sure of the offender, yEpytus has assumed to be the murderer of the son. Merope, beside herself with grief, is on the point of avenging her child on the stranger, when the former pupil is recognized by an old tutor and the son is restored to the mother. This subject, which is dramatically treated by Euripides, and also employed by the Roman poet, Ennius, is depicted in the marble work at the touching moment of recognition. The group exhibits fine action and depth of feeling, but the execution, from the great care displayed in the arrangement of the drapery, is not free from forced elegance, and this takes away from the freshness of the first impression. To about the same epoch belongs the Apollo Belvedere, Versailts we ^ lave discussed above (p. 248), and which, from its spirited treatment, furnishes an evidence of the excellence of the artists appearing at this late period. The scarcely less famous, though far inferior statue of the Diana of Versailles in the Louvre, stands in affinity with this masterpiece. She is represented as a slender huntress in a short Doric chiton, hastening forward with her hind, as if in pursuit of game. In harmony with this idea is the position of the right hand, which is on the point of drawing an arrow from the quiver. The treatment of the forms, though not equal to the Apollo in masterly display of technical skill, manifests, neverthe- less, much delicacy and care. The excellent marble statue of the sleeping Ariadne in the Ariadne. Vatican belongs also, probably, to the same period (Fig. 159). Its grand form is executed with masterly power, and contrasts effectively with the drapery, and it presents, especially in the gentle inclination of the head and in the turn of the beautiful arms, the unsurpassable picture of deep slumber, bearing even in its repose the traces of preceding passionate excitement. Side by side with this brilliant revival of Greek art, a style Roman scu ipt ure peculiarly Roman was developed shortly after the Sculpture . 1 y end of the Republic. In harmony with the realistic character of this world-subduing people, their sculpture was chiefly confined to portraits and historical representations. Roman portraits are distinguished from Greek ones by the Portraits. more distinct exhibition of individual traits, and by a deeper appreciation of individual peculiarities. First in importance stand the statues of the emperors. When these are simply taken from life in strict adherence to the Roman style, they have either the peaceful costume of the toga thrown over the head in indication of their priestly office, and From the Conquest of Greece till Augustus. 283 this recurs constantly in the same stereotyped and effective arrangement (“ statuae togatae ”), or they appear in full warlike equipment, often in the animated attitude of addressing the army (statuae thoracatae). In these works the true and accurate imitation of the complete costume is just as characteristic as the more suggestive and lighter treatment of the drapery in the Greek portrait statues. There were also constantly statues on horseback or on quadrigas, the latter being usually employed to crown the triumphal arches. A second kind of portraits were the so-called Achilles statues. These aimed at a combination of the individual and real characteristics with general and ideal ones, conceiving the emperor generally as Jupiter, the empress as Juno — and even, especially at a later period, —as Venus. A,mong the portraits of this epoch that have been preserved, Examples, there are many spirited and masterly treated works. One of the most imposing is the colossal Achillean statue of Pompey, in the Spada Palace in Rome, perhaps the very monument at the feet of which Caesar fell when pierced with the daggers of the conspirators. There is a grand toga statue of Caesar (with restored, though antique head) in the Museum at Berlin. Among the statues of Augustus, the best is a marble one, more than life-size, found in the year 1813, in the Villa of Livia, near the Porta del Popolo, and now in the Vatican ; it represents the emperor 284 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. in richly decorated armour.* From the subject of the relief, its origin has been fixed at about 17 B.C. In delicate grace of action, dignity and nobility of expression, and freedom of style, which is heightened by rich colouring, it belongs to the most excellent portrait statues of the Roman epoch. The same may be said of the one in priestly toga, in the Vatican Museum, which was found in the Basilica of Otricoli. In the same place there is also a spirited and life-like marble bust of the youthful Augustus. A series of excellent colossal statues, which were excavated at Cervetri, are collected in the Museum of the Lateran. They represent Germanicus, Agrippina, Drusus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Livia, and Augustus, though the bust alone of the latter has been found. The two marble reliefs which were discovered in S. Vitale, at Ravenna, walled up in the passage to the sacristy, are also elegant works of the Augustan period. One of them exhibits the fragment of a bull, which six men with garlands on their heads are accompanying to the altar ; the other contains the idealized figures of Augustus, Livia, and Tiberius, besides a military general, in full armour, possibly Vipsanius Agrippa, and a seated female figure partially destroyed. Both works evi- dently belonged to a great architectural whole, perhaps to a trophy of victory erected in honour of Augustus.-)- Agrippina the Elder, in the Museum of the Capitol, is one of the noblest female portraits (Fig. 160). Sitting, * An unsatisfactory illustration of this is in the Mon. d. Inst. vi. t. 84, and in Jahn’s popular edition. See a better in my Grundriss der Kunstgesch. iv. edit. p. 205. f Cf. A. Conze : Die Familie des Augustus. Halle, 1867. From the Conquest of Greece till Augustus. 285 leaning back on her chair, and resting on her left arm, she presents in the perfect ease of her high bearing, a graceful and dignified picture of the noble consort of Germanicus. The development of historical sculpture was greatly promoted ^StUTies * 1 ky the Roman custom of erecting triumphal monuments. While in the triumphal processions the Romans delighted in exhibiting the noble captives of the foreign conquered races, they soon introduced figures from the conquered nations on their triumphal arches. As early as Pompey, fourteen statues of subject tribes were placed in the portico of his theatre, which received in consequence the name of the Porticus ad Nationes. It is significant enough that it was a Roman sculptor, Coponius, who executed these statues. Such works were not, however, allegorical abstractions, but life-like portraits, typically expressing, as it were, the character of the bar- barous races. In most, an expression of sadness, spread like a fatal shadow over the strangely characteristic features, imparts to these works a touching and almost tragic stamp. We recognize in these productions the continua- tion of the same style as that displayed by the earlier art of the Pergamus school in its Gallic figures. Of this kind is that sadly beautiful marble statue of the Loggia de’ Lanzi, in Florence, which is designated as Thus- nelda. Representations of the same sort were extensively introduced on the great altar which was erected to Augustus, at Lyons, and which was adorned with the figures of no less than sixty Gallic tribes. A remarkable specimen of the same kind of monument is afforded by the base of a statue of Tiberius, found at Puteoli (Pozzuoli), and now in the Museum at Naples, and which is the copy of a memorial of fourteen cities of Asia Minor, erected in Rome in the year 30 A.D., to the same emperor. In the lively and spirited personification displayed, we are reminded of that figure of the city of Antiochia, by Eutychides, which we have before mentioned (p. 224). We shall meet in the following epoch with a richer development of this branch of plastic art. SECOND PERIOD. From Augustus to Adrian. 14 — 138 A.D. AMONG the emperors of the Julian and Flavian house, sculp- pate °fP lastK ture advanced more and more decidedly in Rome in the path it had taken under Augustus. It was increasingly admitted into the service of architecture, and was compelled to satisfy the demands 286 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. of a refined luxury. Thus it constantly retained masterly power in all works of technical skill, without advancing, however, in freshness and naturalness. It is true these qualities appear most in the productions of genuine Roman sculpture ; in fact, historical sculpture, this genuine offspring of the Roman mind, produced now, for the first time, grand and thoroughly characteristic works. Portraiture also was encouraged, and captivated all by spirited conception and brilliant execution. All the more sensible, however, was the decline of the ideal sculpture of the Greeks. It is true a great number of able works of the kind were still constantly executed for the adorn- ment of public and private buildings ; but the fresh noble spirit wafted from Greece even in the previous epoch was dying away, and the mass of productions were merely superficial copies of earlier works. More and more the soul was lost, and the entire stress was laid on the outward form. The pure tradition of the working of marble was indeed long preserved, and attempts were even made for its improvement. But all this only led to the display of brilliant technical skill, and the works bear predominantly the character of smooth elegance. In bronze sculpture at the time of Nero, Zenodorus, it is true, exhibited remarkable technical skill, casting a colossal statue of the emperor 1 1 5 feet in height ; but according to Pliny’s verdict, it was nevertheless evident that “ the science of casting in bronze was declining.” Yet we must not forget, that among existing monuments of art, many very able works belong to this epoch, and that sculpture maintained a high position up to the time of Adrian. F The whole series of emperors, from Vespasian to Adrian, Vespasian to unceasingly endeavoured to emulate each other in the erection Trajan. G f magnificent buildings. Whatever was thus produced in temples, theatres, forums, baths, basilicas, honorary monuments, palaces, and villas, was decorated with statues and reliefs, with a lavish grandeur and splendour surpassing all idea. Under Adrian at length, plastic art seemed inclined to take a fresh start. Owing to the emperor’s predilection, Hellenic Adrian. art was again revived, though only in the sense of a technically correct and cold copy of earlier masterpieces. Even chrysele- phantine colossi were once more attempted, as, for instance, the gold and ivory image of Jupiter, ordered by Adrian for the Temple of the Olympic God at Athens, and Herod Atticus dedicated a group of Neptune in the same material to the Temple of Neptune, on the Isthmus of Corinth. But we learn at the same time that error and caprice prevailed in the use of the different materials. To Adrian’s antiquarian predilection we may ascribe also the greater number of the archaic copies of works of art in the strictly antique style, which, from their forced and affected character, are strikingly distin- guished from the simple naivete of their models. From Angus tics to Adrian . 287 Amid the great number of works of art which undoubtedly Herculaneum b e j on g to t hj s e p OC h we w ;q seek j n the first place to point out a few, the date of which we can approximately ascertain. Among these the first rank is held by the numerous monuments which have come to light from the buried cities, Herculaneum and Pompeii. Among these again, the highest esteem is merited by the splendid bronze works, now in the Museum of Naples. We find among them statues, such as the reposing figure of the youthful Hermes (cf. p. 221) and the sleeping and drunken Faun, which betray the genuine spirit of Greek art in their life-like truth and simplicity of treatment. Next to these the bronze figures of dancing girls, also found at Herculaneum, may be mentioned as works of great importance. Pompeii has produced the graceful statuette of the Dancing Faun, an especially beautiful Diana, together with an Apollo of similar treatment and conception, and the effeminate though elastic figure of an Hermaphrodite, who is holding a lyre while resting — not to speak of many other able works. A remarkable specimen of decorative sculpture of a somewhat F°uim of ] a j- er p er iod has been preserved in Rome in the remains of the Nerva . 1 Forum of Minerva, built in the time of Nerva. The figure in the attic represents the goddess in a solemn attitude, and betrays a pleasing affinity with earlier Greek models. On the frieze, which extends round the outer wall and along the receding pilasters, supported on columns, various scenes are represented in distinctly arranged and strong haut-reliefs, and in these, in spite of the destruction of the work, we can trace Minerva Ergane as the teacher and director of female labours. When we reflect that this was a purely decorative work, we shall not be inclined to estimate too low the ability it displays. Towards the close of the epoch we meet with two original Ceniaurs of monumen t s j n the Capitoline Museum, discovered in the Tiburtine the Capitol. Villa of Adrian, and in all probability executed for it. From the inscription we here become again acquainted with two artists of Asia Minor, Aristeas and Papias of Aphrodisias, who made two Centaurs in black marble, a youthful and an older one (Fig. 161). Both originally, we infer from copies, carried a winged Cupid. While, however, the youthful Centaur is enduring his teasing rider with laughing humour, the elder one, with fettered arms, is sighing over the pain which the tyrannical God of Love is preparing for him. This ingenious idea indicates an older Greek original, and the choice of the black marble, as well as the technical skill evidenced in its treatment, seem to infer that the artists worked after a bronze production. To Adrian’s time also belongs the last ideal figure which Antinous. antique art has produced. This is Antinous, the favourite of that emperor, who suffered martyrdom for his master in Egypt, in a 288 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. mysterious manner, and was deified by the emperor’s order. Countless statues, some of them even in the strict Egyptian style, afford evidence ; of this fact, for they depict the youth in a god-like ideal form, while the broad chest and the half-visionary, half-sensual expression of the head, which verges on the Oriental type, retain the stamp of individuality. One of the most excellent statues of this kind, found in Adrian’s Tiburtine Villa, is in the Museum of From Augustus to Adrian „ 2S9 the Lateran ; a second, equally excellent, is in the Vatican, not to mention many others in various places. The feeling in these works, which are often really noble, is so subjective and melancholy, that it scarcely comes within Ihe limits prescribed to antique art. Only a few examples Other Works, need be given of the nu- merous works of this epoch which fill the museums of Europe, and which are to be traced to no definite master, nor to any certain date. Many of theseare executed inthegenuine Hellenic spirit, such, for instance, as Kile. the colossal marble group of the Nile in the Vatican, a masterpiece of fine characterization in the grand and free treatment of the forms, and a masterpiece also of the humor- ous genre style in the sixteen pigmy rogues who are playing about the mighty giant. In this ingenious manner has the artist indicated the various stages in the rising of the flood. A counterpart to this work is the Tiber in the Louvre, at Paris, which is likewise grandly treated. There are also a great num- ber of statues which afford us copies of the masterpieces of Greek art. Thus the colossal marble statue Statues of Minerva ofVelletri, now in the Louvre and the similar but more spirited bust of Minerva in the Glyptothek at Munich (cf. p. 128), point perhaps to one of the Minerva statues by Phidias, while the Pallas Giustiniani, of the Vatican, erroneously styled Minerva Medica (Fig. 162), seems to indicate a no less majestic and more graceful model. Among groups, the Capitoline one of Cupid and Psyche (Fig. 163) is distinguished by its tenderness of expression and fine flow of lines as a work of Greek design, although more indifferently executed. The subjects of Cupid and Venus, and of Bacchus also, with the whole array of his lively companions, were especially popular at this time, judging from the numerous and varied representations. VOL. I. P P Cupid and Psyche. Among the ablest works of this kind is the 290 Ancient Sculp hire of Italy. Silenus, holding the child Bacchus carefully in his arms, and regarding him with tenderness ; a work, the repeated copies of which, in the Vatican, at Paris, Munich, and other places, are undoubtedly to be traced to a famous Greek original (cf. p. 253). The extravagant humour of Bacchanalian figures is depicted in the excellent statue of the dancing Faun in the Borghese Villa at Rome, which must likewise be based on some famous Greek model. Full of naive life is the well-executed Faun treading on a scabillum in the Tribune From Augustus to Adrian. 291 of the Uffizi at Florence, and equally distinguished for its truth to nature and elegance of attitude is the Faun in the Capitol, executed in red marble (rosso Fig. 164. Statue of Faun. Capitol. 292 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. antico), besides exhibiting a certain display of technical skill (Fig. 164). The statue was found among the ruins of the Villa of Adrian, and like the two Centaurs of black marble also found there, it testifies to the predilection strongly exhibited at that time for costly and various coloured kinds of stone, which, from the difficulty of working them, prevented any distinct prominence of form, and only served to display a vaunted technical skill. To this series also belongs the unpleasing colossal figure of a young Hercules sculptured in green basalt in the Museum of the Capitol, as well as a colossal gilt bronze statue of Hercules, recently discovered and placed in the Sala Rotonda of the From Augustus to Adrian. 293 Vatican, a work of importance, but heavy in design and in the treatment of the form. The numerous statues excavated in Pompeii and Herculaneum Portraits. are of the greatest importance as regards the portrait sculpture of the beginning of this epoch. Some of the most beautiful of them are the three marble figures, more than life-size, in the Museum at Dresden, a matron and two maidens, insurpassably noble in form and expression, and the drapery splendidly treated. These are the works, in the chance excavation of which at the beginning of the eighteenth century, the traces of the buried Herculaneum were discovered. Besides these, the Museum at Naples contains a number of excellent portrait statues, both in bronze and marble. Among the former we find several busts of peculiarly delicate workmanship, and some statues, both colossal and life-size, and all excellently executed. One of these, which without reason is designated as Augustus, bears the name of an Athenian artist, Apollonius, who calls himself a son of Archias. Among the marble works, seven excellent ones were found in the Basilica of Hercula- neum, and are designated as daughters of the family Balbus. The equestrian statues of the two M. Nonius Balbus, the elder and the younger, were also found at Herculaneum, — works which remind us of the spirit of Greek art in their nobleness and simplicity. We cannot here enter more closely upon the numerous and often excellent statues and busts of the emperors and empresses of this epoch, however great may be their artistic and historical interest. As a specimen of their spirited and life-like conception, we have selected the bust of Galba from the rich collection of the Capitol (Fig. 165) ; and as a model of the ideal portraits of empresses, who delighted in being represented as Juno, we have given the grand statue from the same museum, the beautiful attitude and solemn dignity of which certainly point to a Greek original, though the position of the arms belongs to modern restoration (Fig. 166). Roman sculpture attains the height of its peculiarity in the Ilonoiaiy decoration of the massive and richly-finished monuments erected Monuments . ' to the honour of the emperors. The little that remains of all their splendid works affords us some clue as to their general character. They are partly historical representations, glorifying the life, deeds, and triumphs of the Caesars, and partly sculptures of an allegorical and mythological kind, which bring a rich symbolism to bear on these realistic delineations. Genuine Roman art, under the despotic rule of the Caesars, wonderfully harmonizes in style with those works produced for the glorification of their rulers by ancient Eastern sculpture in Egypt' and Assyria. The same exact detail, the same chronicle-like fidelity, the same realistic minuteness of narration ; but over Roman sculpture there hovers a breath of Greek beauty which imparts a grace to the variety and life of the representation. Yet the fundamental law of 294 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. Greek reliefs, which excludes any perspective deepening of the ground and aims at displaying each figure in its perfect outline as distinctly as possible on the same level, is no longer observed in these eloquent compositions. The Fig. 166. Portrait-like Statue of Juno in the Capitol. From Augustus to Adrian. 295 figures are crowded, the groups heaped together, and in the spirit of eastern sculptures the landscape and architectural surroundings are given with realistic exactness, so that the dense mass of figures are placed one above another, as in a painting, on a gradated background. The front figures are thus in haut- relief, at times even passing into insulated sculpture ; the whole character, however, of these representations acquires an air of extreme life, which, in contrast to the simple distinctness of Greek reliefs, produces a crowded effect. On the other hand, it is not to be denied that these works, in combination with the rich ornament of the Roman buildings, present an aspect of exuberant life and solid splendour, such as no other architecture in the world can rival. Among the earliest works of this kind are two fragments of a Claudius triumphal arch of Claudius, which are in the Villa Borghese at Rome. They are well executed, but much destroyed representa- tions of a triumphal procession bearing trophies, and the figures are vigorous and full of life. Of a similar character, but in a better state of preservation, are the two larger reliefs in the inner walls of the Arch of Titus at Rome, which was erected to the emperor in the year 81 A.D. on account A Titus victory over Jerusalem. One of the two large reliefs (Fig. 167) depicts that part of the procession which is on the point of entering the triumphal arch, with the sacred vessels of the Temple, the Ark of the Covenant and the seven-branched candlestick. The figures are densely crowded, but are depicted with the utmost life and power, and with the firm and elastic tread of victors. The other relief presents the terribly destroyed figure of the emperor on the quadriga, accompanied by the goddess Roma, and surrounded by lictors. The conqueror is crowned by the figure of Victory who is standing beside him. In the centre of the arch, the emperor is depicted, borne upwards by an eagle. Lastly, on the two fagades of the monument, the frieze is adorned with a small representation in relief 296 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. of a sacrificial procession. The victims are accompanied by priests and attendants, among- others, by victorious warriors in the garb of peace, and bearing shields and field-badges ; the recumbent statue of the river god, Jordan, is also borne along. These friezes, poor as they are in invention, and monotonous in arrangement, are utterly devoid of the animation of Greek works, and stand on a level with the similar sculptures at Perse- pohs. We perceive at once the clumsi- ness of Roman art, so soon as we require from it Greek simplicity and, the absence of picturesque effect. To Trajan’s time Tiajans belongs most of the plastic ornament of the Arch of Constantine at Rome, for the decoration of which an arch of Trajan was despoiled. The most excellent arc the haut-reliefs in the inner walls, depicting the triumphant entrance of the emperor and an ani- mated horse encounter, which, in spite of its picturesquely crowded arrangement, fascinates the spectator from its abundance of vigorous and touching incidents and from its pas- sionate life. On the two facades are the eight relief slabs of the attic, and the eight medallions over the side entrances, besides the characteristic statues of conquered barbarians, stand- ing-on pedestals above the columns and likewise taken from the arch of Trajan. The reliefs of the attic depict scenes from the public life cf the emperor ; his triumph over the Dacians, the enlargement of the Via Appia, his care for orphans, the judgment of a noble Dacian, the appoint- ment of a Parthian king, the capture of several enemies, and a sacrificial From Augustus to Adrian . 297 bull, all represented in vigorous, though somewhat crowded relief. In the medallions, there are incidents of imperial private life, such as hunts and sacrifices, all executed with great life and with skilful adaptation to the space. Far more one-sided in their strict realism are the 'cohi'rin s P irall y arranged reliefs which adorn Trajan’s Column in the Forum of the same emperor. This monument, which was erected in the year 1 1 3 A.D., in memory of the successful termination of the Parthian War, contains, in an unbroken line of relief, more than a hundred compositions of about three hundred figures, and represents the various events of the campaign. The emperor is conspicuous above all, offering sacrifices, addressing his army, leading the troops to battle, receiving embassies, judging captives. These are varied by scenes of warfare, rich in figures : marches, with fording of rivers, building of bridges, combats of all kinds, assaults and conquests of strongholds ; these and many other incidents are represented with astonishing life, and in a thoroughly realistic style. The illustration of the siege of a Roman castle by enemies on horse and foot will afford some idea of the abundance of incidents introduced (Fig. 168). The enemy has to swim through a rapid stream, the wild waves of which place several in peril and occasion many animated groups. Although in all these works, the repre- sentation is too picturesque and realistic, this must not make us blind to their peculiar merits and to their healthy power and historical life. Lastly, as belonging to this epoch, we must mention the Arch A>ch at Q f Trajan, at Beneventum, the attic and broad wall surfaces of neneventutn. J which, on both facades, are almost too richly adorned with repre- sentations in relief. They contain separate scenes of a triumphal procession, which in power and solemn dignity seem not much inferior to those of the Arch of Titus, while the smaller representation of the sacrificial procession on the frieze is here and there poor and monotonous in composition. This implies that Roman sculpture had irrecoverably lost the fine thoughtful treat- ment of the Greeks in such simple tasks, and only felt at home in representa- tions of intensely animated life, or of the intoxicating joy of victory. THIRD PERIOD. From Adrian to the Decline of the Roman Empire. “ Had it been possible,” says Winckelmann, “to raise art to its In ])“]'■ °! former splendour, Adrian was the man capable of the task both as regards knowledge and endeavour ; but the spirit of freedom had vanished from the world, and the fount of sublime thought and of glory VOL. I. Q Q 29S Ancient Sculpture of Italy. had disappeared.” In fact, Adrian's love of art is a proof of the truth that all princely patronage, and all the lavish encouragement of noble Maecenas, are in vain, when the inner main-spring, enthusiasm for the ideal, has left the national mind. It is true, in the time of the Antonines, there was a short continuance of the late revival ; but soon after we see art more and more declining into weakness and degeneracy, and gradually falling into complete decay and dissolution. This decline was, as is well known, no isolated fact. It was Causes of this, connected with the decline of the entire antique life. The strength of the old Roman nature had long utterly vanished amid the confused mixture of the various nationalities of the east and west. All that seemed left of the old nature was nothing but barbarous rudeness, unpleasingly blended with the vices which marred the civilization of three- quarters of the world. Whilst society was more and more divided between the two contrasts of a profligate proletariate and a still more profligate class of nabobs, the power of the state soon became a plaything in the hands of an arrogant soldier}-, and for the first time in the world the spectacle was presented of the sure ruin impending over the mightiest states, when mercenary soldiers, spoilt by the favour of the supreme commander, assume political authority. And while thus the mighty empire slowly but unceasingly advanced to its ruin, the minds of men were seized with general unhappiness and despair, presenting no way of escape, and at length equally vainly they endeavoured to cling to the superstition of Asiatic religion. What, at such a time, could be the lot of noble sculpture? It is true it was still in large demand, as many of the emperors to the very last continued to emulate each other in splendid buildings. Nor must we imagine these works insignificant either in style or value, for many of the able and splendid treasures of our museums owe their origin to the commencement of this epoch. But the treatment became more and more spiritless, the composition poorer in inventive power, the conception more cold and superficial, and finally, the decline of technical skill more and more frightfully apparent. This is plainly evidenced in a series of works still in preservation. As regards the sphere of ideal subjects, we meet, at any rate, Eastern Gods, with new conceptions. It is, however, characteristic that the representation of eastern divinities became more and more frequent. Thus the Egyptian Serapis, whom we find in Hellenic art in the time of Alexander, appears repeatedly in monuments. Still more influence was gained by the worship of Isis, which was introduced into Rome soon after Augustus, and from the time of Commodus became universally disseminated. Even in Pompeii there is a temple of Isis, as well as a number of statues of the goddess and of her attendants. The greater part From Adrian to the Decline of the Roman Empire. 299 of these works, however, belong to a later period. them a freer Either there prevails in style of Graeco-Roman treatment, only the fringed upper gar- ment and the sistrum or lotos flower in the hand indicating their foreign origin, as in the well-known marble statue in the Capitol (Fig. 169), or — and this is the case with the greater number — the stiff architectural style of Egyptian statues is imitated with affecta- tion. Very numerous also are the re- presentations of the Assyrian and Persian Mithras-worship which gained ground in the time of Domitian, and still more in that of Commodus. To this worship belongs the frequently-recurring sacri- ficial bull, which is occasionally executed with life and power, though the greater number of these productions appear to be mechanical and bungling work. There is always the same prostrate bull, on which the same youth in a Phrygian cap is kneeling to give the fatal blow, while a dog is licking up the blood trickling down from the sacred animal. One of the principal specimens of this subject is the great relief in the Louvre, another is in the Museum at Carlsruhe. Most of the grotesque representations of the hundred-breasted Diana also belong to this period. The statues and busts Portraits. of the later emperors furnish an important chronological record of the gradual decline of portrait sculpture. We possess a work of lasting importance, executed at the beginning of this period, in the brazen equestrian statue of M. Aurelius on the Capitol ; Fig. 169. Statue of isis in the Capital. ft ; s true ft i ac ft s the ideal breath of those Herculaneum equestrian statues, and a certain cold insipidity is apparent 30 ° Ancient Sculpture of Italy. in the place of a more elevated conception. The last important portrait of a Roman emperor is the often repeated one of Caracalla, psychologically interesting from the pitiless accuracy with which the vicious countenance of the monster is portrayed. “ At this head,” says Jacob Burckhardt, “ Roman art pauses as if in horror ; from this time it has scarcely produced a portrait with any higher life-like feeling.” Henceforth the conception became more and more spiritless, the treatment increasingly weak and superficial, or by petty prominence given to externals, it sought to surpass itself, especially in the detailed delineation of the hair. It is also characteristic that at this time the abbreviated portrait, that is, the bust, superseded the statue. In the female heads we find the preposterous habit of moveable stone wigs, which could easily be replaced by others, and thus follow the tastelessness of the rapid changes of fashion. The warrior-like statue of Constantine on the Capitol is hard and stiff, and no better is the alleged toga figure of Julian in the Louvre. A remarkable proof of the continuance of a certain kind of technical skill is, nevertheless, furnished by the bronze Colossus at Barletta, eighteen feet in height, probably a statue of Theodosius the Great, and this is also evidenced by other plastic works.* Some of the monuments of this epoch possess historical isivna scu ipj- ures _ They appear to be imitations of similar works of the Sculptures. 1 sir time of the Flavians and of Trajan, but they are far inferior to them both in power and life, as well as in nobleness and rhythm of com- position. To this class belong the reliefs on the foot of an honorary column erected to Antoninus Pius by M. Aurelius and Lucius Verus, now in the Vatican Garden in Rome. Two of the sides present a lively representation, though rather faulty in perspective, of the equestrian games, customary at funeral rites. The third side contains the apotheosis of the emperor and his consort Faustina, depicted in a somewhat stiff but carefully and cleverly treated allegory. Similar in character also are the reliefs on the column of M. Aurelius, representing the emperor’s campaign against the Manpomanni, an evidently weaker imitation of the works on Trajan’s column, — a proof how quickly Roman sculpture failed in the thankless task of depicting such masses of figures. This is also evidenced in the great reliefs from a triumphal arch of M. Aurelius now on the steps of the Conservatore Palace at Rome ; in every detail an imitation of earlier works, the slab alone, with the apotheosis of Faustina, displaying any independent ability. On the other hand, art presents a complete decline in the reliefs on the arch of Septimius Severus (201 A.D.), and all that was added to the noble Trajan works in the Arch of Constantine, proclaims the absolute decay of Roman art. Not much higher Cf. J. Friedlander in Gerhard’s Archdol. Zeitg. xviii. Jahrg., No. 136. From Adrian to the Decline of the Roman Empire. 301 in merit are the reliefs on the base of the obelisk which Theodosius erected in Constantinople. Yet they prove, like the representations on the column erected by him in the same city, which we know only from illustrations, how completely the monumental works of ancient Rome were imitated in Byzantium. Before, however, the spirit of antique sculpture died away, Sarcophagi, it once more, in the relief representations of sarcophagi, gave remarkable proof of its inexhaustible wealth and indestructible vitality. The custom of interring the dead is authenticated throughout antiquity as existing together with that of burning ; but from the time of the Antonines it came into general use, and produced that immense number of sarcophagi which fill the Museums and Palaces of Italy. Most of these works, which are generally worked in white marble, have reliefs on the front long side and on the two narrow sides, and some of them on all four sides, — these reliefs being sometimes continued in unbroken course, or broken into separate scenes. The narrow edge of the lid is also adorned with reliefs, and these are often superior to the others in artistic value. On the top of the lid the figures of the deceased, life-size, as in the Etruscan sarcophagi, are placed in an easy and half-erect position. The artistic worth of these works is rarely more than that of mechanically manufactured productions ; for the ateliers of the sculptors contained stores of such objects of daily need, in order to allow the purchaser a choice. We still find sarcophagi, in which the countenances of the principal personages are only rudely sketched out, it being usual after- wards to give the features a resemblance to the deceased, for whom they were intended. Yet there is also no lack of separate works, remarkable for artistic understanding and noble execution, such, for instance, as that most beautiful of ail sarcophagi, the so-called Fugger-monument in the Ambraser Collection at Vienna, containing scenes of Amazon contests, which are evidently a copy by a Greek hand of some splendid ideas belonging to the best art epoch. For in this principally rests the importance of even the more insignificant works of this kind, that their author drew from the treasures of the noblest and most famous antique ideal works, and frequently compressed within the narrowest spaces the grandest compositions of antiquity. It is true the arrangement is thus often crowded, and this results also from the picturesque tendency of Roman reliefs. But whoever will take the slight trouble to separate single groups from the dense masses, will often be rewarded by charming touches of Greek design, and will be able from these small works to draw important information as to finished masterpieces of Hellenic sculpture. In these works Roman art is almost always ideal. Only occasionally they depict scenes of actual life, referring either to the position or the .calling of the deceased, the events of his life, his death, or the sorrow of relatives. A remarkable work of this kind is the sarcophagus in the Uffizi at Florence, which depicts the whole life of a Fig 170. Amazon Sarcophagus in the Capitol. Long Side, From Adrian to the Decline of the Roman Empire. 303 Roman, in a series of interesting scenes. To the same class also belongs the sarcophagus in the Museum at Lyons, which represents a triumphal pro- cession, and Romulus and Remus under a wolf. Also the splendid sarco- phagus of FI. Val. Jovinus in the cathedral of Rheims, which presents an animated delineation of a boar or lion chase. Frequently we find repre- sentations of battles between Romans and barbarians ; this is the case in a sarcophagus in the Capitol, and in another in the Campo Santo at Pisa. When scenes from circus games are given, as we see in several sarcophagi in the Vatican, they generally refer to the passionate contest of life itself. As a rule, however, the scenes are taken from the legends of Greek gods or 304 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. heroes, which are especially attractive from the variety and beauty of the incidents. Among these also, several are without any deeper symbolic From Adrian to the Decline of the Roman Empire. 305 purport, and have been selected only because they recall to mind some famous work of the Greek period. This, for instance, is the case in the con- stantly repeated battles of the Amazons, which, from the earliest age of Greek art, have ever been a favourite subject. A specimen of this is afforded in a sarcophagus (Figs. 170 and 171) in the Capitol, in a state of good pre- VOL. I. R R Ancient Sculpture of Italy. 306 servation, and displaying surprising life and variety in spite of all clumsiness of execution. Another of a somewhat earlier period, but much injured, is in the Museum at Naples. Others exhibit the famous Niobe group in excellent compositions ; specimens of these are to be seen, above all, in the Doge s Palace at Venice, and in the Vatican. Several splendid sarcophagi, with trains of Nereids, for example, those in the Palazzo Corsini in Rome, in the Capitol, and in the Vatican, may probably have borrowed their best ideas from a famous From Adrian to the Decline of the Roman Empire. 307 work of Scopas. To the same series also belong monuments, such as the colossal sarcophagus, with the history of Achilles, in the Capitol, a work remark- able also from the two portrait-like figures reclining on the lid. On the other hand, we find, on several sarcophagi, scenes from the labours of Hercules, evidently referring to the hardships of earthly life ; there is a specimen of these in the interesting work in the Villa Borghese, where the separate scenes are divided, metope-like, by small columns, while, in a sarcophagus in the Uffizi at Florence, eight works are united in one unbroken representation. The greater number of these works contain such mythical Signification, subjects as bear a deeper relation to the life of man, his death, and the hope of meeting again. There frequently occur scenes from the story of Bacchus, all referring to the pain and struggle of earthly existence and to the prospect of future bliss. Thus, for instance, the splendid Bacchanal on a sarcophagus in the Capitol ; also Bacchus finding Ariadne, in the Vatican ; and other Dionysian sarcophagi in the Farnese Palace at Rome, in the Campo Santo at Pisa, in the Museum at Naples, and in that at Lyons. More distinctly still do the representations of Luna surprising her lover, Endymion, in his slumber, point to a blissful awakening ; specimens of this subject are in the Vatican, and an excellent one is in the Capitol. No less popular was the Rape of Proserpine, which we find on a sarcophagus in the cathedral of Amalfi and frequently elsewhere. The representations of Protesilaus or of Alceste (Villa Albani, Santa Chiara at Naples) both returning from the world below, refer still more distinctly to the idea of reunion after death. Peculiarly deep feeling is, however, expressed in the representations which are based on the myth of Cupid and Psyche, as, for instance, on a sarcophagus in the Museum at Arles, and the remarkable Pamphylian sarcophagus in the Capitol, which treats in an ingenious manner of the destiny of the human soul (Figs. 1 72-1 74). The relief, which we have given divided into three parts, extends in an unbroken course along the sides of the sarcophagus. On the left we see Vulcan at his forge, and close by, Cupid and Psyche embracing. The two principal scenes, however, depict the birth and death of man ; Prometheus is just forming a human figure, to whom Minerva is imparting life, holding Psyche, in the form of a butterfly, over his head. Close by, the genius of death is letting fall his inverted torch, on which Psyche is again sitting, on the breast of the dying youth, while Mercury, as Psychopompus, is carrying away the soul in his arms to the lower world. The whole is concluded by the figure of Prometheus chained to the rock, while the vulture resting on him is shot by the advancing Hercules. Lastly, on the left we see Adam and Eve, the original parents, seated under a tree, and if in the animated figure of the man going up to heaven in a chariot, we recognize Elijah, we plainly perceive how Christian ideas were already 3°8 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. blending with the allegorical myths of the Greeks. Thus we stand on the threshold of the antique world, and just as in the long northern summer days, the late evening glow of a declining sun meets the first rays of the dawn of a new era. - €^ . £L/c> - T HIRD C H A P T E R. ANTIQUE PLASTIC LESSER ARTS. P KELIM INARY REMARKS. All great art epochs have one point in common, namely, that Han [il 'raft t ^ e ' r highest artistic creations have all been produced from the healthy soil of the national life, so that ideal masterpieces are the final and highest result of that feeling of the beautiful, which is wrestling for utterance in every expression of the national mind, and which even imparts an ennobling stamp to mechanical productions. At such period every vessel and utensil of daily life is an emanation of the same artistic genius, and from the able handicraft, with its aesthetic instinct for correctness and beauty, springs the high art of distinguished masters, who fashion the ideas of the people into forms of immortal beauty. On the other hand, however, in epochs of art perfection there streams forth from the works of high art into those of daily necessity a flood of artistic ideas and suggestions, of valuable devices and noble forms, raising the production of handicraft not unfrequently to the rank of true art creations, and lower branches of industry to the level of artistic handicraft. In our own days the unhealthy separation of true art from the basis of ordinary life has resulted in an impoverishment of handicraft and a one-sided development of all the plastic arts, including architecture, a result which has only recently been perceived, and has lately led to lively endeavours towards the improvement of such a humbling state of things. If this tendency, which cannot easily be too highly estimated, remains within due bounds, it will arouse the sympathy of every friend of art ; only it must not go so far as to lay too great importance on the advance of the so-called lesser arts. It would thus fall into the error of placing the tributaries of a river, however rich they may be, in the stead of the necessary and fertilizing parent stream. But on the other hand, no one can assert a knowledge of the entire territory watered by the river, who has not gained an insight into the extensive network of the Preliminary Remarks. 309 tributary streams. As regards the entire antique art of the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans, the examination of the lesser arts is, however, all the more important, because almost more forcibly than the creations of ideal art, they afford an evidence of the unsurpassable delicacy of artistic feeling which pervaded the entire life of those nations, and of the Greeks especially. It will not, therefore, be superfluous to gain a general idea of these productions, although our material is not sufficient for a strict historical examination of them. For the few written records respecting them do not correspond with the works that are still in preservation, and we must therefore be satisfied with taking a brief survey of the most important. I. Coins. Nothing perhaps is so adapted to give an idea of the lively Importance of ar (.} s j.{ c f ee }j n a- existing among the Greeks as the perfection of the Coins. 000 1 coins.* Although they were only the money in daily use, they were early subjects of artistic design. In the period of the perfection of art, coins rose from their finished style, delicate execution, and noble adaptation to the space, into true masterpieces, so that the die-cutters who executed these small works, with just artistic pride, frequently placed their names, or, at any rate, the first syllable of them, on some part of the coins less striking to the eye. Nevertheless their work and importance was of so modest a character, that we seek in vain among the ancient writers for information respecting these artists, and are obliged exclusively to have recourse to the works them- selves in delineating the course of progress. The use of gold and silver in the stamping of coins was Earll Coim ^ brought from Asia, and, indeed, directly from Lydia to the Greeks of Asia Minor, from whom it spread to the Greeks of the European continent. King Pheidon of Argos is said by some in 01. viii., and according to others not till 01. xxviii., to have struck the first silver coins in European Greece in his island kingdom of 3Egina, instead of the gold bars previously in universal use. Whether this novelty took place in the eighth or seventh century B.C., the antique coins of M£gina seem, at any rate, to confirm the historical circumstance. These earliest coins display in their technical execution the immature clumsiness of an infant stage of art ; consisting of thick oval pieces of silver, they contain on the upper convex side the rude device of a tortoise, the symbol of 3Egina, while on the reverse side we find * Cf. K. O. Muller, Handbuch, sections 97, 131, 1 6 1 , and Muller-Oesterley, Dcnkm. i., taff. 16, 17, 39, 41, 42, 52, S3, 54. 3io Ancient Sculpture of Italy. the quadrangular hollow left on the coin by the instrument that held it during the stamping. Various coins of other cities of Greece, and of the adjacent islands, exhibit the same imperfect technical knowledge. They also have the quadratum incusum, but on the face they contain the simple symbolic device of the city to which they belong, and, soon after, the initial letter of the place of coinage. Thus, on the coins of Corinth we find (Fig. 175) Pegasus ; on the Athenian, the rude design of the Medusa head ; on the Boeotian, the shield ; and on those of Ephesus, the bee. On the earliest gold staters also of Asia Minor, as, for example, those of Phocia, Clazomene, Lampsacus, Cyzicus, and Samos, we find the same primitive style,— on the face the simple arms of the city, and on the back the quadratum incusum. The lion attacking a bull, on the coins of Samos, reminds us of subjects in early Assyrian and Persian art, which have passed from them into Greek sculpture. The lion with the bull or boar testifies to the same Eastern influence as the occasional silver coins with the acanthus. Soon, however, these rude beginnings gave place to a richer 1 mproi'emcnis f° rm > an< ^ the quadrangular hollow on the reverse side likewise contained a design, sometimes the same symbolic arms, and sometimes we even find them beginning to introduce upon it the head or the entire figure of the tutelar goddess of the city. Thus the earliest large tetradrachms of Athens have on the face the antique Pallas head, and on the reverse side the owl with the olive branch (Fig. 176). Another silver coin likewise ascribed to Athens exhibits on the front side the Gorgoneion, and on the reverse side a lion’s head in the concave square. Still, progress in these richly ornamented works was very slow ; for the forms ever bring to mind the earliest works of that stiff and rude style, which had scarcely begun to free itself from Oriental trammels. Nevertheless, Graecia Proper for a long while adhered to this primitive coinage, and perhaps in no branch of antique skill is the persistency in the old conventional forms so apparent as in the art of stamp-cutting. „ . Another style of treatment early appeared in the coins of Coins y of Gracia the Greek colonies of Lower Italy and Sicily. Thin silver plates Magna. were employed of a circular form, and on these the figure was so stamped that, on the reverse side, it exhibited the concave device of the other I . Coins. 3 1 1 side (nummi incusi). Of this kind are the old coins of Metapont, with the wheat ears sacred to Apollo, and those of Sybaris, Siris, and Pyxoeis, with a bull. Occasionally we find also the figures of the city divinities, as, for instance, the figure of Apollo in the coins of Caulonia (Fig. 177). Sometimes on the reverse side an independent design was stamped, as, for example, at Crotona, where the raven of Apollo appears on one side, and the tripod on the other, or at Tarentum, where the face contains a satyr with the lyre, and the reverse side the fabulous founder of the city, Taras, riding on a dolphin. Still more finished are the Sicilian silver coins ; they evince greater elegance of treatment, although the style of the figures still betrays the strict antique manner. Of this kind are the coins of Gela, with the river god Gelas, and a chariot accompanied by a Goddess of Victory ; those of Syracuse, which have also a chariot and horses on the reverse side, and on the face the head of the nymph Arethusa (Fig. 178), or those of Rhegium, on the face of which is a hare, and on the reverse a chariot drawn by mules. These coins, remarkable as they are for the variety of their devices, and often for the excellent expression thrown into them, in spite of their strictness of style, must belong to about the period of the Persian wars. The coins of Thrace and Macedonia belonging to the same Ml 1 Coins™' P er *°d> are remarkable for sharpness of treatment and for a striving after nice finish of detail. It is true, here also we find a few instances of the earlier rude style of the quadratum incisum, as, for example, in the oldest coins of Thasos, which bear the device of a satyr carrying away a nymph, the style of which appears similar to the earliest metopes of Selinunt. Other coins from the same island exhibit the same subject in a more flowing mode of treatment, and with greater freedom of composition. To the same place also belong the acanthus coins already mentioned. Frequently, however, we find in these districts imitations of Greek coins of a barbarous stamp. Such, for instance, are the silver coins of Mende, with a mule or donkey, and a raven sitting on its back ; those of Lete, in Macedonia, with a centaur carrying away women, and a helmet on the reverse side in a quadratic 3 1 2 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. enclosure; and thoseof Orrhescus with a similar device, or with a warriordriving oxen. The reverse side of these coins generally contains the empty square. The second epoch of Greek coins may be traced as a conse- Second Epoch, quence of that revolution in art which, soon after the Persian wars, led to the perfection of artistic skill, especially in sculpture. It required, however, some time before the ideas of the great artists, with their free and finished style, extended to the circle of the die-cutters. In many places, and even in Athens itself, the latter clung unusually long to the conventional types of a still rude and antique ebneeption, affording a fresh evidence of the exclusiveness with which Attic art, in its highest stage, only thought of works of an exalted character. But in spite of this stricter sense of form, a great abundance of ideas, variety of composition, and skill in adapting the design to the narrow space, were gradually developed. Above all, the refined mind of the Greeks gave even this branch of art an ideal tendency, and this is evidenced in the more symbolic and suggestive character of the design. This alone could give the art of the die-cutter its classical stamp, while, as we learn by a glance at modern coinage, the effort after realism dooms these works to the loss uf all artistic style. Moreover, Greek art adhered to the tendency which she had formerly pursued with insufficient means, but with just instinct. She placed on the coins the arms of the city, but generally, as the imperfect forms of the quadratum incisum and the nummi incusi vanished, she added on the other side the head or the entire figure of some specially honoured divinity. In these figures of the gods we soon feel a touch of that noble beauty which at that time filled the great works of sculpture ; in fact, the enthusiasm felt for the much-admired master- pieces of the Coryphafi of plastic art soon led to the imitation of their chief works on coins. Thus we find on the coins of Elis (Fig. 66, p. 13 1) the head or the entire figure of the Olympic Jupiter of Phidias; on the Athenian coins the statue of the goddess of the city by the same master, the Bacchus of Alcamenes, and the Irene of Cephisodotus ; on those of Epidaurus the Asclepius of Thrasymedes ; on those of Cnidus (Fig. 107, p. 1 88) the Venus of Praxiteles and others. Hence the coins afford an inexhaustible source of information with regard to the history of Greek sculpture. From these small works also, however, great enjoyment may be drawn, for in the most confined space a spirited device, displaying much vigorous characterization, is frequently clothed in perfectly beautiful and free forms. It especially claims admiration to see how the creators of these small works have contrived to give them the essential features of those great masterpieces. They have thus produced ideal copies of enduring value, which could never have been done by spiritless realistic imitation, with all its anxious attention to subordinate detail. Coins. 3 r 3 Until th ? earl y P af t °f e P oc h, until the Peloponnesian War, Peloponnesian there prevails in the grand designs of the coins an antique War - hardness and sharpness, such as mark all plastic works until the beginning of the Persian wars. This is the case especially in Athenian coins, where the long adherence to the earlier constrained style is here peculiarly striking. Other cities at this time exhibit a more spirited treatment in their coins in spite of the hardness of outline. Thus, for example, the beautiful silver coins of Sicyon (Fig. 179), with the animated figure of the Chimaera on the face, and the dove hovering within an olive-wreath on the back. More simple are the silver coins of Argos, the face of which contains the forepart of a wolf, while the quadratum on the back is filled with the initial letters of the name. The Sicilian coins belonging to this period are those of Naxos, with the bearded Bacchus head, and the old satyr crouching down and swinging a drinking-vessel ; those of Agrigentum, with Scylla and the lobster on the face, and the two eagles tearing a hare to pieces on the reverse side, dated about 405 ; also those of Selinus, the reverse side of which contains the arrow- darting Apollo, seated with Diana in a chariot, while the face exhibits the river god Selinus, offering a libation on the altar of TEsculapius. This interesting coin is one of the numerous instances of similar representations, alluding to distinct events, and thus giving variety to the already rich symbolic language of coins. In the case before us, the device alludes to the circumstance of Empedocles having warded off a threatening plague, by turning the waters of the swamp Selinus, which surrounded the city, into another channel. The coin must, therefore, have been designed soon after 450. With the beginning of the fourth century the last traces the Fourth of antique hardness vanish, and coins universally obtain an Century. expression of perfect freedom and graceful beauty, combined with characteristic distinctness. Both sides are now almost always used for representations of the gods, and present a series of splendid heads and animated figures. Thus, for instance, the coins of Pheneus, with the beautiful head of Ceres, and with Mercury advancing and carrying in his arms the child Arkas ; also those of Stymphalus, with the laurel-crowned head of Diana and Hercules struggling with the Stymphalian birds ; and those of s s VOL. L 3 l 4 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. Arcadia (Fig. 180), probably coined about 360, when the Arcadian provinces, united in a league, had taken possession of the treasures of Olympia, and hence acquired the right to regulate the Olympic Games. This is referred to in the head of the Olympic Jupiter with the olive-wreath on the face of the coin, and in the Arcadian god Pan, resting on Olympus, which appears on the reverse side. In all these works we perceive the influence of Peloponnesian art as cultivated by Polycletus and his school. More "insignificant, on the contrary, are the coins of the newly-founded cities of Megalopolis and Messene, which were designed soon afterwards, those of Messene having a head of Jupiter and a tripod on the reverse side. Excellent, on the other hand, are the coins of Opus, with the head of Ceres on the face, and a hero engaged in battle, probably Ajax, on the reverse. To this- period also belong the coins of the Chalcidians, with the Apollo head and the cithern, designed about the year 376, when Olynthus stood at the head of the confederacy. The beautiful custom of bearing in remembrance special events, victories or divine deliverances, is evidenced in the coins of Philip of Macedon, bearing on the front side the head of the Olympic Jupiter, and on the back a victorious race-horse, ridden by a boy. In Lower Italy several coins from Metapontum, Thurii, Velia, Tarentum, and Heraclea, belong to this epoch. We give a specimen of the latter at Fig. 181. The face bears the head of Pallas, with the figure of Scylla visible on the helmet, while the back exhibits the tutelar hero of the city engaged with the Nemean lion. Fig. 180. Coin from Arcadia. Fig. 181. Coin from Heraclea. Fig. 182. Pentecontalitron from Syracuse. The coins of the Sicilian cities at this epoch attain the Sicilian Coins, utmost perfection, especially the splendid large Pentecontalitres, or Demaretiae of Syracuse, which belong to the reign of Dionysius Coins. 3*5 the First and Second. They exhibit (Fig. 182) on the face the beautiful head of the fountain nymph, Arethusa, a design which before appeared in an antique style in the earlier coins of the city (Fig. 178), surrounded by dolphins, one of which bore the name of the die-cutter, Cimon. On the reverse side we see a chariot with four horses, just on the point of victory. Other coins from Syracuse exhibit on the face the head of Pallas, others again that of Diana and the artist’s name Eucleidas. These, however, are not equal to the first in finished beauty. Fig. 184. Coin of Lysimachus. With Alexander begins the third epoch of Greek coins. For Third Epoch, the first time the custom now appears in Greek art, of placing the head of princes on coins instead of representations of the gods, but with the idealistic tendency still pervading Greek sculpture, this was done at first in the form of an apotheosis. The art of the die-cutter still for some time retained its perfection, although elegance rather than power characterizes the works. Of this kind is a coin, stamped in Asia Minor in the time of Alexander (Fig. 183), the face of which contains the head of the king as Hercules, while on the back Jupiter appears enthroned and bearing the eagle on his outstretched right hand. On another coin (Fig. 184) which King Lysimachus of Thrace ordered to be struck, the head of Alexander is repre- sented with the ram’s horn as a son of Jupiter Ammon. Lastly, a coin of Ptolemy the First (F'ig. 185) exhibits the head of the king, or, as some think, of his son, with the exuviae of an elephant. Besides these, the coins of Antigonus, and Demetrius Poliorcetes, of Seleucus Nicator, and of Antiochus Soter, display considerable artistic merit. The same may be said of the coins of Philippus Arrhidaeus, of Perseus, and of the peculiarly finely finished Sicilian, coins of Agathocles and Pyrrhus, which, after the earlier fashion, display predominantly figures of the gods, while on the coins of Hiero and Gelon of Syracuse the heads of the rulers are depicted. Among the Greek States, the coins especially of the Achaean and TFtolian League, and the Rhodian and Athenian coins, betray effective treatment, though no high degree of artistic ability. In the time of the Roman supre- ,i6 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. macy the Cistophorse of Asia Minor are remarkable from the fact that they return to symbolic and attributive forms of representation. A Bacchical cist, from which a serpent is curling, occupies the face of the coin. There is an evident decline of plastic power perceptible in the work ; a great contrast to that high artistic life of the fourth century, when every coin contained in the smallest space a plastic creation full of mind and beauty. Among the Italian tribes the Etruscans claimed superiority Etruscan .... „ Coin*. aiso 111 their coins.* I hese are at first rudely fashioned in an independent style, betraying no evidence of Greek influence. This is the case, for instance, in the ms, large-moulded copper pieces, originally about six centimetres or more in diameter, but, in course of time, diminishing in size as the value of copper became greater. An as of Volaterra exhibits the youthful head of Janus on the face, and the club, the symbol of the as and the inscription Felathri on the reverse. Similar coins are found in other Etruscan cities. The earliest Roman coins also display Etruscan style. Thus, for instance, an as (Fig. 185^) bears the Janus head on the face, while on the back we see the sign of the as and the clumsy repre- sentation of the city arms, the prow of a ship. Fig. 185. Coin from Ptolemy I. Greek Influence. Other Etruscan coins, as, for instance, those of Tuder with the wolf, the beast of Mars, and the cithern, betray the influence of Greek art. This is predominantly the case in gold and silver coins, such as have been found at Populonia, Volsinii, and other places. The vigorously designed boar and the Gorgoneion on the silver coins of Populonia are unmistakably to be traced to Greek ideas. „ . Roman coins -f* first obtain a higher importance in the latter of the time of part of the last century B.C., at the close of the republic. The denarii the Republic. eS p ec ; a py ) with the names of the mint-master, who usually belonged * Cf. K. O. Muller, Handbuch, section 176, and also Muller-Oesterley, i. taf. 63. t Cf. K. O. Muller, Handbuch , sections 182, 196, 201, 204, 207, and Muller-Oesterley, Den km. i. taf. 65, ct seq. Coins. 3T7 to the noblest Roman families, and the so-called consular and family coins, often display an ability of execution all the more remarkable from the rudeness and clumsiness so long apparent. As regards the composition, the face of the coin generally contains a representation of the gods, and the reverse side, on the contrary, some attribute or symbol of a personal character. The arrange- ment is frequently well balanced, as in the denarii of Nerius with the head of Jupiter, and in those of Cornuficius with the head of Ammon, and the treatment in many cases betrays a delicacy which leads us to infer Greek artists. As a specimen, we give at Fig. 186 a denarius of L. Manlius, with the head of Roma on the face, while the reverse displays Sulla seated on a quadriga and crowned by victoiy, in remembrance of the battle that Manlius, under him, had fought against Marius. Occasionally, however, the arrange- ment is unskilful, and the composition poor, as in the back of the denarius of A. Plautius, containing the representation of a subdued Jewish prince, who is leading a camel by the bridle. A certain coldness of style also betrays occasionally, that we are looking at Greek influence transported to a Roman soil. This is the case in the denarius of the Pompeian house, with Roma and the she-wolf, or in that bearing the head of the great Pompey on the face, and on the back Neptune, as a token of his maritime power, and the Catanaean brothers, who saved their parents from the lava stream of Etna, as an int'mation of his filial devotion. Fig. 186. Denarius of L. Manlius. In the early imperial period, the bronze medals cast by the I "coins I sena -te of the emperors of the Julian and Flavian house, are especially worthy of notice. In these, Roman coinage reaches the height of its perfection. It is true their subject refers exclusively to the person of the sovereign : but the heads display a characteristic, life-like, and occasionally even noble conception, and in the symbolic and mythological representations of the reverse side, ideal art also asserts its sway. These compositions are for the most part remarkable for spirited design and delicacy of treatment, although the relief is not always marked by the purity and severity of the Greek style, but constantly falls into the error of picturesque crowding, an error to which Roman sculpture is generally liable. All kinds of Apotheoses are favourite subjects, as, for example, triumphal arches with the statue of the sovereign, or the representation of the emperor enthroned as Ancient Sculpture of Italy. a god, as, for instance, Augustus, with the inscription “ divus pater,” on a coin struck by Tiberius. The representation of a sovereign addressing his army (the adlocutio), is also frequent, as in an excellent coin of Galba. Germanicus also we find in this attitude on a coin (Fig. 187), in which he is depicted as bearing in his hand the eagle lost in the defeat of Varus and recovered by him, while the face shows him seated on a quadriga as a victor. We find the deified Vespasian on a coin cast in the reign of Titus ; he is depicted as the Olympic Jupiter enthroned on a triumphal car drawn by four elephants. Nero was the first emperor to assume the halo, the face of the coins hitherto having generally borne the laurel crowned head of the Emperor, as in the coins of Vespasian (Fig. 188). Allusions to triumphs also repeatedly appear, as in the same coin, where the reverse side represents a beautiful group of Judaea mourning under a palm-tree, and a captive and fettered warrior. Until Antoninus Pius, the stamping of coins rose to a great Decline. height of artistic perfection, although the clever characterization of the heads gradually vanishes, and gives place to an elegant and careful, but also apathetic treatment. Extravagant crowding of figures prevails in the contemporary bronze medals of the cities of Thrace and Asia Minor, just as over-refinement marks the productions of the late Greek orators. With Marcus Aurelius the decline of the art becomes evident also in coins. Towards the close of the third century the style degenerates as the ideas increase in feebleness, until the characterless coins of the Byzantine emperors exhibit mere mummy-like lifelessness. Fig. 187. Coin of Germanicus. Fig. 188. Coin of Vespasian. ( 3i9 ) II. Cut Stones. Allied with the work of the die-cutter is that of the stone- ^ these ‘works cu tter,* which had risen to such importance in ancient times, that in several records of old writers we possess, at any rate, information with regard to some of the most famous artists of this branch of art. We find also a number of artists’ names on gems, and this allows us to connect a series of masterpieces with distinct individuals. We gain, however, little in this way in an historical point of view, for these records and names almost without exception refer to later periods of antique art, and in the representations themselves we rarely find the historical clue so frequent in the coins. Never- theless it is important to cast a glance at this branch of art, rich as it is in beauty, though within such narrow limits, because even in a higher degree than in the coins, we catch glimpses of the clever invention and wonderful freedom, certainty, and power of the old artists. It is true, no kind of artistic work has been so much the victim of spurious fabrication as this. We shall therefore adhere to those works which are above all doubt. The use of cut stones as signet-rings was universal in eastern C °"iiicn/ lCL ~ antiquity, especially among the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians. From the east, this custom early spread to the Greeks, as well as to the ancient races of Italy, especially the Etruscans. There are still a number of dactylioglyptic works, in which the antique sharpness of outline, the mode of conception, and the choice of subject, indicate an epoch when all the nations of the Mediterranean were under the influence of Eastern art. Such, for instance, are the scarabaei, originally Egyptian works, which exhibit on the flat lower side representations in an eastern style. The custom of antiquity to seal everything, and to be richly adorned with rings, led to an extraordinary diffusion of the art of stone- cutting. The Etruscan works especially were distinguished for rude but frequently careful work. The famous ring of Polycrates is connected with the name of Theodorus of Samos, although it is still doubtful whether it contained a cut stone, and whether this part of it is to be ascribed to the artist. More definite is the record that Mnesarchus, the father of the philosopher Pythagoras, was a gem-cutter, exercising his art rather for fame than gain. This notice likewise leads us back to the school of Samos. Early, however, the increasing luxury of the age drew this Prime. branch of art into its service, and besides the cut stones used as seals, embossed cameos came into general use. Especially after the * Cf. K. O. Muller, Handbuch, sections 97, 131, 161, 200, 313. Respecting the artists, Cf. Brunn, Gesch. d. Gr. Kiinstlcr. ii. 443, et seq. 320 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. fourth century, when art attained its height under Scopas, Praxiteles, and Lysippus, the art of gem-cutting cast aside the last traces of antique strictness, and raised its small productions to the rank of masterpieces, from their clever- ness of design, successful adaptation to the space, and nobleness of execution. In Alexander’s time there lived Pyrgoteles, a famous artist in this branch of art, the only one whom the king allowed to cut his portrait in stone. After Alexander’s death, this noble offspring of luxury rose to the highest perfection through the influence of the luxurious East. Cut stones were not merely used for rings and other ornaments, but goblets, censers, lamps, and other metal vessels were studded with them. In Alexander’s Persian booty, such masses of gem- adorned goblets were found, that the weight amounted to thirty-four mina. This luxury was indulged in to a great extent at the court of the Seleucidae. There were even numbers of goblets and vases, completely cut out of precious stones, especially out of onyxes, and their costly setting claimed all the art of the goldsmiths. Mithridates alone possessed two thousand onyx goblets set in gold. For cameos, many-coloured stones were chiefly used, especially onyxes formed of white and brown strata, or the still more richly shaded sardonyx stone, by the skilful use of which, the design stood out on a coloured background. The East furnished these stones in surprising abundance and splendour ; still more astonishing, however, is the masterly power displayed by the early artists in working them. The most splendid work of the Diadochae period is the D f d f , f famous Cameo Gongaga (Fig. 189), about six inches long, and four inches broad, now in the Imperial Collection at St. Petersburg. Clever in conception, and masterly in execution, it exhibits the half-length figures of the youthful Ptolemy I., with the Egis and the laurel-crowned helmet, and his first consort, Eurydice. The two heads were formerly styled Alexander and Olympias, and Visconti equally arbitrarily designated them Ptolemy Philadelphus and his consort, Arsinoe. Its accordance with other representations, speaks, however, in favour of Ptolemy I., as well as the Egis, which always appears with him in coins. Not quite so grand, but equally excellent in the work, is the cameo in the Cabinet of Antiques at Vienna (Fig. 190), which probably represents Ptolemy II. and Arsinoe the daughter of Lysimachus. Our illustration shows it also in the size of the original. The same Ptolemy and his sister and second wife, Arsinoe, have been pointed out on the fragment of a cameo in the Museum at Berlin ; but the comparison of the features indicates undoubtedly the same persons as those on the Cameo Gongaga. The helmet of the king displays the eagle, which also appears on the coins of the Ptolemies. A11 excellent cameo, with the heads of the Syrian King, Demetrius I., and his consort, Laodice, was in the possession of the Empress Josephine. II. Cut Stones. ,21 Ideal Not merely, however, was the art of the stone-cutter at this ' Representa- epoch, occupied with the glorification of princes, but it produced also ideal representations, either copies of famous plastic works Fig. 189. Cameo Gonzaga. Petersburg. or inventions of the artist himself. Thus, according to Pliny’s statement, King Pyrrhus possessed an artistically-cut agate on which Apollo and the T T VOL. I. Ancient Sculpture of Italy. Nine Muses were represented. We are reminded of the style of Phidias in a cameo engraved in Millin’s work, representing Pelops giving his horses water after his triumph over ALnomaus. A number of the most beautiful works of this kind now existing probably belong to the Diadochai period. The amount of mind and beauty which is here expressed with unsurpassable distinctness, in the smallest space, is admirable. No later age has even remotely reached the importance of this epoch in works of the kind. The art of cut stones passed next to the Romans, and the Roman Epoch, early part of the Imperial period rivals that of Alexander in its productions. There are a number of splendid works of this kind, all devoted to the glorification of the emperors of the Julian and Flavian houses. Occasionally, in a somewhat crowded style, they exhibit the apotheosis of the sovereign in a mythological or allegorical representation; but they combine with these various scenes from his life, and especially II. Cut Stones. from his warlike career. Life-like and expressive as they are in invention and design, they are far inferior to the grand freedom and ideal character of the earlier works ; they afford, however, a specimen of the fine taste which, at this period, marked the revival of Greek art among the Romans. The greater number of the names of stone-cutters, which are found on a series of gems, probably belong to this epoch. It is a characteristic fact that here also there are but few Greek names, and that the only certain Roman name is written in Greek characters. This is the name Felix, which is to be found on a sardonyx in the Marlborough Collection, on which is a representation of the plunder of the Palladium. The most famous artist of this branch of art in the early Dioscurides. part of the Imperial period was Dioscurides, who, according to Pliny’s testimony, cut the Imperial signet-ring, with the head of the emperor, for Augustus. The name of this famous artist is found on a number of stones, several of which seem to be genuine. Thus, for instance, the large cameo, with the youthful head of Augustus looking towards the right, in the Piombino Collection at Rome ; the deeply-cut head of Demosthenes, on an amethyst, in the same collection ; the Mercury, which calls to mind the so-called Phocion of the Vatican, and which passed from the Stosch Collection into the possession of Lord Holdernesh ; and lastly, the splendid cornelian, with the head of Io in the Poniatowsky Collection. We may also, perhaps, add to these a cornelian in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire, representing Diomedes with the Palladium, and Hercules with the Cerberus in the Berlin Museum. Two sons also of Dioscurides have become known to us by Other Artists, inscriptions on stones. Eutyches has inscribed his name on an amethyst with the half-length figure of Minerva, in the possession of Prince Avella, at Naples ; Herophilus’s name appears on a crystal of unusual size, with a laurel-crowned head of the emperor, formerly in the 324 Ancient Sculpture of Italy. convent of Echternach, and now in the Imperial Cabinet of Antiques at Vienna. Hyllus also, whose name appears on several inscriptions, may, perhaps, be another son of this famous master. Among other names appearing on gems, the most important seem to be Solon, Teucros, and Apollonius, whose splendid figure of Diana reposing is in the Museum at Naples ; Aspasius, whose Minerva in the Cabinet of Antiques at Vienna is no less famous ; and Athenion, whose masterly composition of Jupiter fighting with the giants, cut on an onyx, in the Naples Collection, is to be seen in our illustration at big. 191. Besides these, we may mention Enodus, whose name Fig. 192. Gemma Augustia. Vienna. appears on an unusually large crystal, with a concave representation of the head of Julia, the daughter of Titus, which originally belonged to a reliquary of Charlemagne, and subsequently was presented by Charles the Bald to the church of St. Denis, from whence it passed into the Imperial Library at Paris. Among the most excellent artists were also Protarchus, who executed a beautiful sardonyx cameo now in the collection at Florence, representing Cupid playing the lyre and mounted on a lion, and Pamphilus, whose name is on an amethyst in the Library at Paris, bearing a representation of Achilles reposing on a rock and playing the lyre. II. Cut Stones. 325 The largest and most splendid cameos of the Imperial period Impenal exhibit no ar tist names, but they are most valuable evidences both of the prevailing taste and of the technical skill of the stone-cutters of that time. One of the most important is the cameo in the Antique Cabinet at Vienna (Fig. 192), representing the apotheosis of Augustus, and measuring nine inches by seven. In the upper division Roma appears enthroned beside the deified emperor, holding in his right hand the lituus, and in the left the sceptre of Jupiter ; he is crowned with a wreath of victory by the Goddess of Earth, at whose side Oceanus appears, while Abundantia is seated near, with her cornucopia. Close to the figure of Augustus is a medallion containing Capricornus as a horoscope of blessing. Tiberius, just returning victorious from Pannonia, is descending from his car, the reins of which are held by Victory, and is on the point of prostrating himself before Augustus. The lower representation exhibits an animated group of captive barbarians, who, with gloomy brooding, are watching the erection of a trophy of Victory by some Roman soldiers. The entire composition, somewhat crowded with figures, but carefully executed, presents a characteristic picture of the spirit and style of these works, in which allegorical and mythological elements are mingled with a realistic and historical mode of conception. Similar in character, but inferior in workmanship, is the great cameo of the Paris Collection, which Baldwin II. brought from Byzantium and presented to Ancient Sculpture of Italy. 326 Saint Louis, who placed it in the Sainte Chapelle. It is the largest of all cut stones known, a sardonyx of five strata, eleven inches by thirteen in size, and it contains the same subject of the apotheosis of Tiberius. A third cameo, in the Hague, in the possession of the King of the Netherlands, ten inches in height, represents Claudius enthroned as Jupiter. The execution, however, is in a slight degree inferior. On another cameo at Paris, beautifully worked and ingeniously designed (Fig. 193), we find Germanicus and Agrippina as Triptolemus and Ceres, borne over the earth on a car drawn by dragons. They appear with a flattery frequent in this courtly art, as blessing-dispensing divinities, he scattering fruit-giving seed from his paludamentum, and she bestowing her mild laws on nations. Several instances are also left us of the luxury in which the Vessels. ancients indulged in the use of vessels formed of precious stones. Thus, there is the famous Farnese vase, cut out of a sardonyx, with figures in relief, which was found in Adrian’s tomb, and is now in the Museum at Naples ; the base exhibits an excellent Medusa head, and the interior a symbolic representation of the fertility of Egypt ; the so-called Mantuan vessel, similar in treatment, in the ducal collection of Brunswick ; the beautiful onyx vessel in the Berlin Museum, depicting the birth of Caligula ; the so-called Mithridatic vase at Paris ; and lastly, the excellent onyx vessel in the church of St. Maurice, in the Valois. The same skill is exhibited also in the glass vessels, which have a layer of milk-white over a coloured and generally deep-blue ground, the figures being cut with great delicacy, on the outer layer, and standing out distinctly, as in the onyx cameos from the coloured ground. The most famous work of this kind is the Portland Vase, in the British Museum, the fine reliefs of which betray the masterly hand of a Greek artist, probably of the Augustan period. III. Toreutic Works. Throughout antiquity, toreutic * works, those executed by Importance, the true worker in metal, have been highly esteemed, so much so that even the great sculptors themselves have frequently turned their attention to this branch of art. Nevertheless, as a rule, toreutic works are distinct from other artistic styles, as marking, in fact, the point at which works of handicraft designed for daily use . rise to artistic importance. The noblest toreutic work consists in the fashioning of various * Cf. K. O. Muller, Handbuch, section 31 1. Respecting the artists, see II. Brunn, Cesch. d. Gr. Kiinstler, ii. 397, et seq. III. Toreutic IVorks. 327 Earliest Period. vessels and utensils in use at sacrifices, or at meals and banquets. The love of the beautiful possessed by classic antiquity gave to all these productions the stamp of art, charming the eye of the spectator by their noble form, ingenious ornament, and perfect grace of execution. Not merely in bronze were works of the kind formed, as costly candelabras, mirrors, caskets, and various other vessels of daily life ; but, with still greater predilection, silver was employed for vessels and utensils, weapons, and armour, because it was especially adapted to such purposes from its light and yet soft lustre, and from its extraordinary malleability. Gold also was worked into ornaments with unsurpassable delicacy ; and the investigation of Etruscan tombs, and espe- cially the discoveries in the tomb mounds of the Crimea, have brought gold ornaments to light, bearing an artistic stamp of unsurpassable nobleness, both in form and execution. Even in the heroic age the productions of gold and silver workers play a great part, and Homer indulges with delight in descriptions of ingenious arms, utensils, and ornaments. In these works the old art of hammering and embossing was retained, because the noble metals became brittle from casting, and this prevented all finer work. With the end of the heroic age this luxury, however, seems to have been long repressed among the Greeks, all artistic work having reference to the erection and adornment of temples. The ornaments found in Greek tombs bear traces of the art in its perfection. On the other hand, in Etruria many works of the strictly antique style have been preserved, and the Gregorian Museum in the Vatican is specially rich in specimens of this kind. „ , It was not till the beginning of the fourth century, when the Art in the Greek art was declining and was employed more entirely for the Fourth Cen- adornment of life, that toreutic works reached their full import - tary. ance, and exhibit in every production the charm of graceful beauty. Not only bronze works in vessels of every kind, in armour and weapons, were adorned with reliefs chased in the noblest style, and thus became art-creations of the first rank ; but in gold and silver also, vessels and ornaments were fashioned, the artistic importance of which far surpasses their material value. Several artists who acquired fame in these works, and were exclusively designated toreutae (cselatores), belong to this epoch. About a generation after Phidias lived Mys, one of the Mys. most famous workers in metal, who designed on the shield of the brazen Minerva of Phidias the battle of the Lapithae and Centaurs. The design for this work proceeded from the hand of the famous painter Parrhasius, who is said to have frequently furnished Mys with designs for his works. The merit of Mys, therefore, consisted principally in delicacy of execution. There are also goblets with Silenus and Cupids in the Temple Ancient Sculpture of Italy. 328 of Bacchus, at Rhodes, which are ascribed to him. On another goblet, with ingeniously entwined handles, he depicted the taking of Ilion, perhaps in a similar manner to the beautiful relief on a silver goblet in the Antiqua- rium at Munich, on which Neoptolemus is represented sitting in judgment over captive Trojans. Still more important was Mentor, who is extolled by Pliny Mentor. as the most famous toreutic artist of antiquity. On a vase executed by him a lizard was so well depicted that it seemed to live, and people feared to touch the work. His productions received fabulous prices from Roman lovers of art ; we hear of the orator L. Crassus paying a hundred thousand sesterces for two silver goblets made by him, though • without ever using them on account of their artistic value. He seems to have been as famous as Benvenuto Cellini in later times, and, as in his case, many works may have been erroneously ascribed to him. His most famous works were in the Diana Temple at Ephesus. He must, therefore, have lived in the early part of the fourth century.. Scarcely less famous, according to Pliny, was Boethos, whose plastic works- for instance, the Boy Boethos. with the Goose — were mentioned before at p. 226, but whose principal fame rested on his toreutic works. Some of these were in the Temple of Minerva, at Lindos ; and a large and splendid Hydria was taken by Verres from Pamphilus of Lilybseum. Akragas also was an artist in this style, who executed goblets with reliefs of Centaurs A/.ragas. and Bacchanals in the Bacchus Temple at Rhodes. We see from this and similar statements that at this epoch such works were not merely employed for purposes of luxury, but still more for the worship and adornment of temples. Goblets with hunting scenes were also executed by Akragas. ^ , „ Among' the noblest remains of this epoch are the numerous 1 omu bxcciva- ° 1 tions in the ornaments found in the Crimea, in the tombs of the ancient Crimea. Panticapaeon, now known as Kertsch, and which have been placed in the Museum of the Hermitage, in St. Petersburg. Circlets, frontlets, ear and finger rings, pins, chains, neck-bands and bracelets of gold, exhibit un- surpassable beauty of design and fineness of execution, and betray the hand of Greek, and some even of Attic, masters. In some of these works figures' of Scythians are introduced, affording an evidence of the life-like characterization with which Greek art portrayed the type also of barbarous nations. Among the silver vessels several are treated in an antique style, especially some goblets with representations of scenes of animal life, such as lions destroying stags — a favourite subject with Oriental art. Also bronze vessels, partly gilt, have been found; among others, a vase with Medusa heads at the ears, a work of perfect beauty. III. T oral tic JVo rks. 329 The British Museum possesses several excellent gold and Eh me an s jj ver things from the Etruscan investigations, among others an especially beautiful neck-band of gold, and a piece of the head- band ofa bronze horse, of masterly workmanship. The Museum Gregorianum of the Vatican has an abundance of splendid and artistic ornaments from Etruscan tombs. Other collections, especially that of the Antiquarium at Munich, possess excellent works of this kind. Among the most beautiful remains of the bronze work of this epoch are, however, the bronzes of Siris, in Lucania, the shoulder-pieces of a coat of mail, with spirited scenes from the battles of the Amazons, and the bronze plate found at Paramythia, in Epirus, probably belonging to the case of a mirror, and on which Venus is represented in the act of unveiling herself to Anchises in the presence of Cupids ; a work equally graceful in design as it is perfect in execution. The luxury of the Diadochae period brought toreutic art to D Period 1 its utmost perfection. The love of splendour that had come from the East increased the requirements for ornaments of every kind, but ingeniously worked goblets, vases, and censers for the tables of the rich and great, became especially objects of general demand. Pliny mentions a number of artists who were famous as toreutic masters at this period. Thus, for instance, Stratonicus, who is mentioned as a sculptor among the artists who represented the Gallic battles for King Attalus ; Tauriscus, of Cyzicus ; Ariston and Eunicus, of Mitylene, in connection with whom Hecatseus is also spoken of ; and Diodorus, whose silver goblet, with its representation of a sleeping satyr, reminds us vividly of the Barberini Faun. Lastly, we must here also mention Callicrates, the Lacedaemonian, and Myrmecides, who enjoyed a reputation of doubtful value as wonderful masters of the lesser arts. Their work consisted in ingenious devices in ivory, which excited astonishment from their microscopic fineness, after the fashion of similar works in modern cabinets of art, such as a chariot with four horses, which, with its charioteer, was covered by the wings of a fly, likewise cut in ivory, and similar trifles. Under the Romans we find an equal amount of splendid 1 Period 1 toreutic works, and several Greek artists are still mentioned as able masters in this branch of art. Thus, for instance, Poseidonius, of Ephesus, who was also a sculptor in bronze ; Parthenius, whose silver dishes are extolled by Juvenal ; and Zopyrus, whose two silver goblets were estimated at twelve thousand sesterces. A copy of them is probably preserved in the well-known silver vessel of the Corsini Palace in Rome. Pytheas also, a bowl by whom, bearing the representation of the rape of the Palladium, although only two ounces in w r eight, was valued at ten thousand denarii. His works were of such minute fineness, that no copies could be vol. 1. u u ~o Ancient Sculpture of Italy. taken of them. Lastly, Teucros, who chiefly executed mosaic subjects ; that is, small relief figures, each worked separately, and then fastened on the vessels. Several excellent works of this kind, affording us an idea of Preservation. ^ ie perfection of the caelatores of this period, are still in preservation. Among the most excellent are the splendid vessels found at Hildesheim in the year 1867, which have been placed in the Berlin Museum. They evidently belong to the table service of some noble Roman. There are among them several bowls with figures in strong relief on the inner surface, plainly, therefore, merely ornamental vessels for the embellish- ment of the table. On one we see the elegant figure of Minerva seated on rocks, resting on her shield, while her outstretched right hand holds a plough- handle (Fig. 194). AEgis, helmet, and plough are gilt ; also the splendid palm ornament round the edge. Two smaller bowls are adorned with the half- length figures of Cybele and Deus Lunus, a third contains the half-length figure of the young Hercules, who is strangling the serpents sent by Juno. A drinking goblet with two handles has some expressive satyr heads appearing amidst vine and ivy leaves (Fig. 195) ; another is adorned with nobly-designed laurel-leaves. It is remarkable that niello and enamel are both frequently employed in these works ; thus, for instance, on one vessel we find an ivy sprig inlaid in niello work, with green enamelled leaves. One III. Toreutic Works. 335 drinking goblet (Fig. 196) exhibits faces of satyrs appearing above a lion’s skin, and between them thyrsus staves, and other Bacchical emblems. The most perfect work of all is, perhaps, the large silver cauldron, more than a foot and a half in height, and completely covered with delicate tendrils, among which small naked genii are represented, roguishly contending with various kinds of sea monsters (Fig. 197). At the foot of the vessel are two heraldic- looking griffins, from which the branches emanate. Among the silver vessels earlier known we may mention those found at Pompeii and now in the Museum at Naples, consisting of fourteen goblets, with representations of Centaurs and Cupids in wanton play ; and especially the splendid vase with the apotheosis of Homer, found at Herculaneum. Besides these vessels, there are several round disks or shields of silver, adorned with representations in relief of a mythological and historical character, probably used as votive offerings. Fig. 196. Drinking Goblet from Hildesheim. Berlin. Rich ornaments were also executed for the armour of the Armour. warriors, not merely embossed representations in relief, but also military badges of honour peculiar to the Romans, which were bestowed on the soldiers, and were fastened sometimes to the coat of mail, 33s Ancient Sculpture of Italy. and sometimes to the leather straps of the horses, t hese phalerae were medallions embossed with ornaments, generally heads, and were either formed of bronze or silver, and occasionally even of gold set with jewels. The silver phalerae found in 1858 at Lauersfort, on the Lower Rhine, now in the posses- sion of the Empress Augusta of Prussia, afford an excellent idea of these splendid works. Fig. 197. Cauldron at Hildesheim. Berlin. Lastly, we must mention the numerous vessels, principally Bronze Vessels, bronze, the lamps, candelabra, and tripods, domestic utensils of every kind, stools, bedsteads, mirrors, pins, and other ornaments, which have reached various museums from the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and from the investigation of the tombs of Campania and Etruria ; all evidences of the high feeling for art, and of the refined and cultivated taste which distinguished all classic antiquity until the time of the Romans, and even imparted to works of handicraft a touch of artistic perfection, and to Greek life generally the ennobling breath of beauty. FOUR T FI BOOK. SCULPTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. FIRST CHAPTER. EARLY CHRISTIAN EPOCH. EARLY Christianity inherited from Judaism an abhorrence of the AbhoiniHLoj ar( . scu w ure> j(- s s i m ilar dread of sculpture arose from the sculpture. 1 r similarity of circumstances which ushered it into life. Like the followers of the Mosaic law, the early Christians lived in the midst of a heathen world, whose demeanour appeared to them as vain superstition and idolatry. “Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, to bow down unto it.” This strict commandment of the Old Testament acquired increased significance in the new doctrines. It is true, faith in the old divinities no longer lived in the hearts of their alleged followers ; scepticism and frivolity had stifled it, and the fantastic worship of the East, like rank weeds, had overgrown it ; but in the temples and in the public squares there yet stood the splendid creations which the plastic art of the Greeks had called into being more than 500 years before, and had filled with the undying breath of their spirit and beauty. Whatever love for the beautiful yet remained in the hearts of men must have been magically attracted by this eloquent array of bronze and marble beings which survived the ruin of the world that had produced them. Cause indeed had early Christianity to fear the power of these old divinities and to protect the minds of its adherents against the seductive allurements of beauty by the armour of asceticism. Yet plastic art was not utterly interdicted ; in fact, even the s'lilj’ctf avers i° n undoubtedly felt with regard to it by the Christian mind would have been easily overcome by the long-tried and favourite art of the old world, had the age assigned to it new and great tasks. We know, indeed, that the Emperor Alexander Severus even ordered a statue of Christ to be executed! But the attempt must have been an isolated one. In whatever ideal form they would have clothed Him, involuntarily it would accord with the type of some antique divinity, and would necessarily recall to mind Jupiter, Apollo, or zEsculapius. Thus they would have fallen thoroughly into the very snare which it was necessary to avoid to the utmost. Yet to depict the Saviour in the form in which He had walked upon earth was nowhere so much avoided as in plastic works. It is true there were traditions 'y 1 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. respecting his actual form, which were carried from lip to lip by the band of his faithful disciples and were lovingly preserved and cherished ; but the deeper this remembrance lay, the less was the necessity felt to give a tangible form in stone to the image living in the heart. And when in the course of time the desire was awakened, to bring the figure of Christ before the eyes of the faithful, the long-neglected art of sculpture had wholly lost the ability to meet such a desire. Its competence passed entirely to its younger sister, painting. If sculpture had given form to the ideal figures of the antique gods, painting was now called upon to render the idea of the Christian God percep- tible to the senses. That perfect beauty of form, the representation of which had Inner Hindrances. been the aim and object of plastic art, was indifferent to the early Christians, and, in fact, unpleasing to them. There was but one mode of deliverance from the sensual passion into which the antique world, grown at length enfeebled and spiritless, had fallen ; and this was the avoid- ance of reality and the renunciation of nature. This ascetic view occasionally went so far as to produce the belief that the Son of God had not appeared on earth in a perfectly beautiful form, but had assumed features of positive ugliness. With such a tendency of thought, which elevated the mind at the expense of the body, and even in contrast to it, which crucified the flesh and waged war against beauty, plastic art must soon have become a loser. „ . In the early Christian art, the works of sculpture, therefore of occupy a subordinate position both as regards value and extent. Monuments. as were> as jf the early Christian period had to be satisfied with the remains of the rich banquet on which antique plastic art had feasted. The form and technical treatment are throughout those of the late Roman art ; even the novelty of the subject was not yet powerful enough to give new expression to the old forms. Separate statues are rarer than any other works.* If there Statues. is occasional mention of a statue of Christ, such as that said to have been raised to Him by the woman whom He healed (Matt. ix. 20), and which was destroyed by the Emperor Julian ; or the statue of Christ, reported to have been carved by Nicodemus out of cedar- wood, these traditions rest just as little on historical evidence as the portrait of Christ alleged to have been painted by St. Luke, or the representation of his countenance on the handkerchief of St. Veronica. All the statues that we know of are limited to some marble figures found in the catacombs, and now * The monuments which the Byzantine emperors raised to themselves and their deeds have nothing to do with early Christian sculpture, and were therefore mentioned among the late Roman works, p. 301. Early Christian Epoch. o n *7 00 / in the Christian Museum of the Lateran. These do not depict the figure of the historical Christ, but represent him under the symbolic designation of the Good Shepherd, which he himself delighted in assuming. We see him in the short shepherd’s dress, the antique tucked-up chlamys, youthful and beardless, bearing in his hand the shepherd’s staff, and with his right hand stretched out towards a lamb which is confidingly nestling towards him. Another time he is the Good Shepherd, bringing the wandering lamb on his shoulders back to the flock. Although inferior in execution, these works breathe the naive grace of antique art, and this at once becomes the natural expression of Christian humility. By far the most important statue of the early Christian period is the large brazen figure of St. Peter in St. Peter’s at Rome (Fig. 198). The prince of the Apostles is represented sitting, attired in antique Roman drapery, and with his right hand solemnly uplifted. The work displays a care and accuracy of technical skill astonishing in the fifth century ; the intellectual merit of the work is, however, small, and we trace in every line the laborious imitation of antique senatorial figures. Another work of the same period, the VOL. I. X X 33^ Sculpture of the Middle Ages. marble statue of St. I lippolytus, now in the Christian Museum of the Lateran, is old only in the lower half. It betrays throughout similar affinity with antique plastic works. We find plastic art principally employed in the reliefs of the Sarcophagi, sarcophagi, the adornment of which was continued according to the former Roman custom into the early Christian period. The arrangement remained as before, only the subjects were borrowed from the Christian range of ideas. The surfaces were either adorned with a continuous frieze-like representation, or they were divided into separate compartments by columns with pediments and arches, and these were filled with groups of figures. The forms of antique art constantly recur in these representations. This is the case in the great porphyry sarcophagus of Constantia, the daughter of Constantine, a clumsy though splendid work, which has been removed from the church of Sta. Costanza to the Museum of the Vatican. The awkward sculptures, laboriously chiselled out of the hard material, display on the two long sides, genii amid rich branch-work, engaged in gathering and pressing grapes : representations belonging originally to the worship of Bacchus, but speedily receiving a Christian signification owing to certain similes in the Bible. A similar tendency of thought is shown in the lamb and the peacock which fill the angles, the latter being conceived as the symbol of immortality. On the other hand, in the same hall of the Vatican Museum, there is a similar porphyry sarcophagus of Helena, the mother of Constantine, which is entirely free from all Christian emblems, exhibiting, on the contrary, secular subjects, which are full of expression and animation in good antique style. Other monuments, of a simple and unpretending character, are satisfied with generally intelligible Christian symbols. Constantly we find only the cross surrounded by two peacocks, as on an urn in S. Stefano at Bologna. The sarcophagi, no less than the paintings of the catacombs, Symbols. testify the symbolic character of early Christian art. The cross and the monogram, with the Alpha and Omega, the lamb frequently combined with the cross, the fish likewise having reference to Christ, the peacock as the emblem of immortality, the dove and birds which are often seen beside a vase, as tokens of the Christian’s soul, the laurel- wreath, the vine-stock, and the palm-tree, these are the most important of the symbols appearing on sarcophagi. On other sarcophagi of the fourth century we find historical Historical . Representa- scenes from the life of Christ introduced. In a genuinely antique tions. style Christ appears in these representations in youthful form, attired in suitable antique drapery, as a teacher and worker of miracles, and surrounded by his Apostles. On the other hand, we nowhere at this period Early Christian Epoch. 359 meet with delineations from the history of the Passion. That antique charac- teristic of cheerfulness which prevailed in the sarcophagus sculptures of an earlier period is still ever perceptible. Scenes from the Old Testament are also introduced, and are used as types of the incidents in the life of Christ. We find here the first traces of that typological series of representations which play such an important part in the works of art belonging to the later middle ages. Even in the second century the great fathers of the church had by their writings given an impetus to this tendency, which was well suited to exercise the ingenuity of the artists and to impart to art a depth of thought and a richness of idea. A glance at these representations will best introduce us to the ^ s ph ere of ideas which fill the works of the early Christian period. If we were to designate their general character in a few words, it would be sufficient to state that purely theological and dogmatical subjects have no place in these monuments ; that, on the contrary, everything is devoted to genuinely human relations, to matters that elevate the mind and attest the certainty of redemption. Hence, above all, Christ is represented as a teacher, and this in a youthful and beautiful aspect. He is either standing on some mountain, or seated on an elevated throne, and the Apostles are crowding eagerly round him. With antique symbolism, at the same time, there is generally a male or female figure represented as half-emerging from beneath the seat, with an outspread veil, intended either for the heavens (Uranus) or for the earth (Gea, Tellus). The miracles of Christ are also frequently depicted. Thus the raising of Lazarus, the giving sight to the blind, the sick Testament woman healed, the lame man made to walk and carry away his bed. Also the water turned into wine at the marriage at Cana, and the wonderful increase of the loaves and fishes. Among other scenes in the life of Christ, the adoration of the kings is constantly repre- sented, with the three Magi in Oriental dress and Phrygian caps hastening rapidly forward with their gifts. Scenes from the Passion are almost entirely omitted ; only Christ before Pilate, who is washing his hands, or Peter’s denial, in which the characteristic cock is never lacking, frequently occur, the latter evidently in allusion to human sinfulness and frailty. From the Old Testament we find occasionally scenes from Old Testament. the Creation, for instance the creation of Adam, and Adam and Eve under the Tree of Knowledge, and the Fall of Man. Also Moses receiving the Tables of the Law from the hand of God, or striking water from the rock ; besides the deliverance of Noah, and the story of Jonah, types of Christ’s death and resurrection. Pharaoh’s ruin affords, again, an instance of the safety of the chosen people. Abraham offering up Isaac is a type of the sacrifice of Christ, and Daniel in the Lions’ Den, who is frequentlv 340 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. represented, and always as a naked youth between two lions, presents an example of faithful worship of God. The spirit of these representations is still thoroughly that of Treatment. the antique mind. The style of the figures, the attitudes, the drapery and its arrangement, and even the types of the heads, are all an heritage of the old art. Especially, however, these early Christian sculptures owe to their predecessors their manner of pregnant and brief characterization, everything essential being expressed with few figures and simple symbols. But the Christian masters display independence in the employment and transformation of characteristic features, and, indeed, in their continuation and remodelling. As a rule, moreover, they aimed at combining, as far as possible, several phases of a scene on the same monument, and for this reason on larger sarcophagi we constantly find the representations in two rows, one above another (Fig. 199). Occasionally they give the whole an Fig. 199. From the Sarcophagus' of Junius Bassus. architectural arrangement, the separate scenes being enclosed within small columns, and the pediments or shell-like arches give the appearance of niches. Most frequently, however, this arrangement is set aside as occupying space, and the train of figures, without interruption, is allowed to extend over the surface. The separate representations in this case follow each other without any division, and thus appear like one unbroken frieze. A few indications suffice to render them intelligible, and this all the more as the early Christian period, like the antique, adhered unalterably to a few accepted means of expression. If we see a youthful figure touching with a rod some Early Christian Efoch. 34 r vessels standing on the ground, we know that Christ is changing the water into wine. If the same youth is standing between two rows of baskets and out- stretching his hands in benediction over the vessels, which two men standing near him are holding, we know it is again Christ multiplying the loaves and fishes. At the raising of Lazarus we only see Christ, at the touch of whose rod the grave opens and the dead man comes forth as a wrapped mummy, while a female figure is kissing the hands of the Saviour. The latter is repre- sented on a diminutive scale, and this is constantly the case also with the blind and lame, who are healed by the power of Christ. Crowded as the figures on these sculptures are, the relief Style. cannct be called picturesque in the sense of the Roman sarco- phagi. The deepened background is wanting, and almost all the figures stand on the same level. Nevertheless, we can also scarcely speak of a strict relief style, after the Greek model, because the continuous procession of moving figures, which is chiefly produced by the profile position, is given up, and most of the figures are seen in a front view. Hence the effect, on the whole, is partly architecturally symmetrical and partly picturesquely effective ; and in these plastic works, therefore, we may trace the predo- minance of the two powers which were to become pre-eminent in the Christian era, namely, architecture and painting. Entirely, however, as the early Christian period adheres to ideas once accepted, the combination of the separate scenes displays the utmost variety. Evidently no fixed and prescribed connection of ideas prevails here, but the freedom of artistic choice. From this point of view also we perceive the absence of all dogmatic rules, and of all assumption of ecclesiastical precept ; and to this element of freedom Christian art owes its capability of development and perfection, while among the Byzantines art was so repressed by strict ecclesiastical fetters that it was at length utterly stifled. A glance at the most important of the works still in preser- Monuments. vation will exhibit these characteristics more in detail. Thus, on a sarcophagus in S. Ambrogio at Milan,* we see the youthful figure of Christ standing on an elevation, with a book in his hand, as a teacher among the Twelve Apostles. On the edge of the lid the ^at'tiUan' half-length figures of the two deceased personages are represented in the centre in a medallion, held by genii. On one side of this medallion we see the Madonna enthroned with the Child, to whom the three kings are bringing offerings ; on the other side are the three youths who are refusing to sacrifice to the idols of Nebuchadnezzar. Thus the contrast between the true worship of God and idol-worship is ingeniously exhibited. Illustration in the Oesterreich. Denkm. of Heider, Eitelberger, &c., vol. ii. p. 27, et seq. 34 - Sculpture of the Middle Ages. On the back Christ is standing in the midst of the Twelve Apostles on a rock in front of the temple, and at his feet are the kneeling figures of the two deceased. On the narrow left side the offering of Isaac is represented, evidently referring to Christ’s sacrificial death ; on the right side we see Adam and Eve by the Tree of Knowledge and several other scenes from the Old Testament, besides the Infant Christ in the manger, between an ox and ass. The greater number, and the most important of these monu- Sancpkagus men f. s are to f ounc } j n the vaults of the Vatican, and in the Christian Museum of the Lateran. Above all, we must here mention the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, found in the vaults of St. Peter’s Church, and bearing the date of 359. While on the narrow sides we find genii, who are occupied in the harvest, and in gathering and pressing the grapes, on the front side we see in two rows one above another, ten groups of scenes from the Old and New Testaments, enclosed between elegant columns (Fig. 199). We find from the Old Testament, the Fall of Man, the Offering of Isaac, Daniel in the Fions’ Den, and the suffering Job ; from the New Testament, Christ teaching, his entry into Jerusalem, his being brought before the Judgment Seat, his sentence by Pilate, Peter’s Apprehension, and one other scene difficult to explain. These scenes display much antique simplicity and distinctness of arrangement, and especially that wise economy of ancient art, which employed as few figures as possible in the expression of each incident. Another sarcophagus, in the same place, dedicated to the deceased Probus, in the year 395, is far inferior in work and design. The Apostles are arranged in pairs, between columns, and in the centre Christ appears on an elevation, holding a large cross in his right hand, and likewise accompanied by two Apostles. The sarcophagi, in the Christian Museum of the Fateran, afford us a rich idea of the material open to early Christian art. Among the miracles of our Saviour we find most frequently the Turning of Water into Wine, the Miracle of the Foaves, and the Healing of the Man sick of the Palsy, which, after the fashion of antique art, is rendered intelligible, by the cured man taking his bed on his shoulders and going joyfully away. The most frequent scenes from the Old Testament are the Creation of the first Human Pair, the Fall of Man, and Moses striking water from the rock. But, beyond these, we find in the stores of this rich museum further specimens of the range of ideas open to early Christian art. The sarcophagus, represented in Fig. 200, is among the most beautiful. In the centre are the half-length figures of the two deceased in an elegant shell-like frame ; on the left, in the upper row, is the Raising of Fazarus, with the expressive figure of the sister of the restored man humbly kissing the hand of Christ ; next to this is the Denial of Christ by Peter, and 343 Early Christian Epoch. * - Moses, this time in a youthful form, receiving the Tables of the Law. On the right the Sacrifice of Isaac is depicted, and next to it appears the 344 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. unusually detailed representation of Pilate washing his hands. The lower row begins on the left with Moses striking water from the rock ; then Peter’s Apprehension, and then the elegant figure of Daniel in the Lions’ Den. On the right is the Healing of the Blind Man, who, as usual, is represented as a boy, and next to this appears the miracle of the Loaves and Fishes. Next to this excellent work stands one no less excellent, likewise containing two rows of reliefs.* In the centre of the upper row the half-length figures of the deceased pair, for whom the sarcophagus was intended, are introduced in a medallion ; on the left is the Creation of Man, in which, in all probability, the Trinity are intended by three similar bearded figures, one of which, designed for God the Father accomplishing the work of Creation, is seated on a throne ; next follows a youthful figure of our Lord, giving to Adam a bundle of ears, and to Eve a lamb, thus indicating to them their future sphere of action, while the serpent with the apple is seen to be winding itself round the Tree of Knowledge. On the right of the medallion, which is held by two small genii, are the miracles of Christ, the Turning of Water into Wine, the miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, and the Raising of Lazarus. The lower row, beginning from the left, contains the Adoration of the Kings, next to this the Healing of the Man born Blind, and then Daniel in the Lions’ Den, which, with effective architectural arrangement, occupies the centre of the row. Then follows St. Peter’s Denial, his Apprehension, and the miracle of Moses when he strikes water from the rock, which the Israelites are at once thirstily attacking. We see, therefore, how the selection and combination of the separate scenes are subject to no inner connection of thought. While in these works the treatment of the forms stands in affinity with that of the better antique productions of the same kind — for which reason they may be ascribed, at the latest, to the fifth century, and perhaps even to the fourth — another no less rich sarcophagus displays, in spite of similarity of arrangement, far more superficial and inferior work. It is, however, still richer, for even the edge of the lid is adorned with sculptures. In the centre, genii are holding an empty inscription-tablet ; on the left of it are Adam and Eve in the Eall of Man, and the Adoration of the Kings ; on the right the story of Jonah, and Moses striking water from the rock. In the upper row, the half- length figures of the two deceased personages occupy the centre in an elegant shell-medallion ; on the left is the Raising of Lazarus, St. Peter’s Denial, the Healing of the Blind Man, and Moses receiving the Tables of the Law from the Hand of God. On the right is the Offering of Isaac, in which, again, the hand from above is visible, the Raising of the Young Man at Nain ; and, lastly, Christ seated on a stool teaching, and crowded by eager listeners. In Illustration in Schnaase, Gcsch. d. b. Kiinste. 2nd edit., vol. iii. p. 91. Early Christian Epoch. 345 the lower row Moses appears striking water from the rock, then follow St. Peter’s Apprehension, the Turning of Water into Wine, and, in the middle, Daniel in the Lions’ Den ; on the right the increase of the Loaves and Fishes ; and, lastly, the Healing of the Lame Man. This work affords us a distinct idea of the caprice that prevails in the arrangement of the scenes. Far less loquacious is another sarcophagus, which, as regards the work, belongs to the better sort. It consists of five compartments, which are formed by spiral-fluted columns. In the centre one we see the Watchmen at the Tomb of Christ sleeping beneath a Cross. On the cross-beam of the Cross birds are sitting, and at the upper end the monogram of Christ appears enclosed within a wreath. The other compartments contain scenes from the Passion, which only rarely occur on early Christian sarcophagi, and these in the most stenographic style. On the right Christ is being led by a soldier before Pilate, who, in the next division, is sitting in front of his palace averting his head, and resting it on his hand in token of deep reflection, while a servant is pouring water into a bowl for him to wash his hands. On the left Christ is crowned by a soldier with the crown of thorns, but next to this appears the Bearing of the Cross, and this, not by Christ, but by a soldier, and a youth holding the Cross, who seems to be Joseph of Arimathea. Another sarcophagus, which must be reckoned among the earliest and the most beautiful, contains columns placed closely together ; the shafts being completely covered with vine tendrils, and between the columns, in seven divisions, are represented Christ Teaching among the Apostles ; below him Oceanus emerging ; on the right Christ brought before Pilate ; and on the left the Offering of Isaac, this time bearing intelligible reference to the Sacrifice and Death of Christ. The greater number of the other sarcophagi adhered to the favourite range of subjects, afforded by the miracles of Christ, and the frequently-mentioned scenes from the Old Testament. There is only one worthy of mention, though otherwise indifferent in execution, because it introduces in the centre, without distinction, in the midst of the Biblical incidents, the figure of the deceased, a woman in the dress of a Roman matron, and on the lid there are some rather rudely- delineated lambs, with crosses in their mouths, under the shade of palm-trees. In some sarcophagi the architectural design usually predominant throughout gives place to a purely picturesque treatment, utterly at variance with the laws of architecture. Thus, for instance, in one sarcophagus evidently belonging to an early period — perhaps to the fourth century — the front side is completely covered with an effectively-executed vine, in the branches of which numerous genii are carrying on the merry life of gathering and press- ing grapes. In the midst there appears three times, standing on graceful pedestals, the figure of the Good Shepherd, bearing the lost lamb on his shoulders, an idea evidently drawn from the antique myth of the ram-bearing VOI.. I. Y Y 346 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. Hermes. The edge of the lid contains genii holding a half-length figure and the inscription-tablet, the three youths in the furnace, and Noah planting a vine. Another sarcophagus, which Marcus Vitellianus dedicated to his wife, shows how the intended architectural divisions have been broken through by the picturesque luxuriance of the lower part, for the story of Jonah depicted there with all its details entrenches upon the more modest repre- sentations of the upper row, where, among other scenes, we see the Raising of Lazarus, and Moses striking the Rock. The prophet is resting on a grass-plot under a large fig-tree, which spreads its branches and gigantic leaves as far as the upper edge. On the other side we see the ship in full sail, out of which Jonah has been cast, while a gigantic sea-monster is opening its jaws to receive him. This fantastic sea-dragon is again represented in another com- partment casting forth the prophet on the land. The story of Jonah recurs again twice on the remains of sarcophagi, once in the Palazzo Rondanini in Rome, and once Other Sarco- phagi in Rome. combined with a representation of the Agape (thus the early Christian love-feasts were styled) in the Pal. Corsetti a Monserrato. We also find there on another similar fragment of very rough workmanship, two representations of the Good Shepherd, combined with idyllic scenes from antique shepherd life. The Agape is repeated in a similar manner on the remains of a sarcophagus in the Villa Borghese, and another in the catacombs of S. Calisto. We see the Christians after the antique fashion reclining at a banquet, while eager servants are hastening by with dishes. This representation was best adapted to the narrow rim of the sarcophagus, and for this reason it was usually introduced there. Genii gathering and pressing grapes, such as we have met with already on the sarcophagus of Constantia, recur again on a fragment in the Pal. Rondanini, otherwise very rude in workmanship. Besides these latter scenes, which originally sprung from antique myths, and, indeed, from the worship of Bacchus, we find occa- sionally still more unmistakable ideas borrowed from ancient mythology. On a rudelv-worked fragment in the catacombs of S. Calisto, we see close by the Good Shepherd with the lamb, a group of Cupid and Pysche in loving embrace ; on another fragment in the same place we find Ulysses fastened to the mast of the vessel, while sirens are vainly endeavouring to allure him with their music. In the one there is evident reference to the relation of the soul to Christ, and in the other the allurements of the world which threaten the Christian are undoubtedly symbolized. A number of sarcophagi belonging from the sixth to the Sarcophagi in Ravenna. eighth century are to be found in Ravenna, especially in San Apollinare in Classe, and San Vitale. They are, on the whole, far poorer in artistic embellishment than the Roman, and we soon perceive that Early Christian Epoch. 347 the Ravenna Christians had not such means for sculpture at their disposal as were open to Rome, with her antique works of art, and every kind of artistic skill. Even on such distinguished occasions as were frequently afforded by royal monuments, it is evident that only limited powers were possessed by them. Thus, for instance, the colossal marble sarcophagi in the tomb of Galla Placidia (about 440) which were designed to contain the ashes of the empress, of her husband Constans, and her brother Honorius, are most simply adorned with the Cross and lambs, and in one part with crowns suspended in very shallow and weakly-executed arcades. The splendid porphyry sarco- phagus of the great Theodoric, now walled into the outside of his palace, is an antique bathing-tub. The same character of simplicity is displayed in the ten large marble sarcophagi of Ravenna bishops, which are to be seen in the side aisles of San Apollinare in Classe. They afford us an idea of the early Christian sculpture of Ravenna from the sixth to the eighth century ; but they prove, at the same time, how inflexibly, under the increasing influence of Byzantinism, they endeavoured to fall back upon the scanty language of the earliest Christian symbols. Feebly-designed arcades frequently form the divisions, though the execution is often careful and painstaking. Thus, on the sarcophagus of Bishop Theodoras, the monogram of Christ is introduced seven times, occasionally encircled with a laurel- wreath ; there are also peacocks under vine- branches, and on the sides doves, and amongst them the cross amid tendrils. On the next sarcophagus, in the right side aisle, we find, indeed, a representa- tion of the youthful Christ enthroned, surrounded by Apostles ; but here also, the composition, as well as the execution, is poor. In all the others, the artist is satisfied with the constantly-repeated mono- grams, to which are added sometimes peacocks with the Cross, lambs under palm-trees, a vase with two birds as emblems of the soul, or the dove among festoons of flowers (Fig. 201). On the sarcophagus of Bishop Gratiosus there are nothing but rude crosses, with volutes and scrolls, and still poorer is the ornament on the sarcophagus of Bishop Johannes 0 1 J S. Apollinare in Classe at Ravenna. The two sarcophagi in the right side aisle of the After Rahn. cathedral are better, especially the colossal one resting on lion’s claws, which exhibits Christ between St. Peter and St. Paul in shallow niches, but beyond these it is satisfied with the usual symbols laboriously executed. Among these, we see large golden crosses set with 348 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. jewels after the Byzantine fashion. The other sarcophagus, likewise of colossal size, contains a youthful figure of Christ teaching, and two men approaching Him with wreaths. Far better than these works, Byzantine in their stiffness, is the representation of Christ with the Apostles on the sarcophagus which stands on the right of the entrance of San Francesco. This is one of the finest Ravenna works, displaying good and life-like action and youthful features. In San Vitale, there are two sarcophagi, with compositions rich in figures, but poor and disconnected in arrangement, and rude in execution. On one, to be found in the vestibule, we see the Adoration of the Kings, and on the other, in the passage to the sacristy, we see Christ Teaching, Daniel among the Lions, and the Raising of Lazarus. Lastly, on the great sarcophagus in front of S. Giovanni Battista, the decoration is limited to crosses and peacocks.* In other places works are occasionally met with which are distinguished for artistic importance. Of these we may first mention an especially interest- ing sarcophagus which is in the Franciscan church at Spalato, in Spalato. Dalmatia, and which, from the subject of the representation, belongs to the most remarkable of the early Christian monu- ments.-f- On the front side we see the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt, and the Ruin of Pharaoh and his Host. The pursued, with their children, have already reached the shore, and are peacefully continuing their way under the protection of Heaven. In lively contrast to the festive and cheerful aspect of this group stands the wild tumult of the pursuers, who, with horse and car, are sinking in the surging flood. Pharaoh himself in his chariot, followed by his mounted body-guard, is just on the point of perishing. In genuine antique style, the whole scene is densely crowded, for the last of the train is galloping away out of the city gate. The three figures also, which arc lying on the ground, and personify the locality of the Nile and Red Sea, are completely designed in the antique style. This work, which probably belonged to the fifth century, affords a lively idea of the ingenious manner in which the incidents of the Old Testament were applied to Christian views and to the doctrine of redemption. Another splendid work is the large sarcophagus of Gor- Ancona. gonius, in the southern crypt of the Cathedral at Ancona, a work, indeed, displaying no great delicacy of execution, but * The two fragments of the old ambo walled into the apse in the Cathedral of Ravenna likewise contain only symbols : compartments with branch work, and stags, peacocks, lions, and birds. The inscription, Servus XPI AGNELLUS EPISCOPUS HUNC PYRGUM fecit, can only be understood to mean that Bishop Agnellus (t566) gave the pulpit. To make a bishop a sculptor in marble would occur seriously to no one. t Illustration in Eitelberger’s Aufsatz itber JDalmatien , in the Jahrb. der Wiener Centr. Comm. 1 86 1. Vol. v. Early Christian Epoch. 349 with rich sculptures on all four sides, and in excellent preservation. On the front side, in the centre, is the enthroned figure of Christ, and at His feet are the two deceased personages, in a humble attitude, and ten of the Apostles. One side contains Moses receiving the Tables of the Law, and the Offering of Isaac — the other side Christ before Pilate. The back side exhibits the husband and wife, in full-length figures, embracing each other, and in the corners are the two Apostles omitted on the front. On the edge of the lid, which is here likewise decorated, two angels are holding the inscription-tablet ; beside this, there are the Three Kings, the Birth of Christ, and the Healing of the Blind Man ; on one of the narrow sides Christ appears as a teacher, and on the other making His entry into Jerusalem.* The museums in the south of France also possess a number France. of early Christian sarcophagi.-]- Several in the collection at Mar- seilles exhibit Christ with the Apostles in small compartments between columns. The ruin of Pharaoh in the Red Sea is found on an interesting sarcophagus in the Museum at Aix ; yet combined with it on the narrow side we find Joseph before Pharaoh, and the Gathering of the Manna. There is also another in the same place, containing various miracles of Christ, and Moses receiving the Tables of the Law. A great number are also in the Museum as well as in the Cathedral of Arles. Lastly, various miracles of Christ in compartments, divided by columns, appear on a sarcophagus in the Museum at Lyons. This is also a suitable place at which to mention the fate ] lanu Ait w k e f e i} early Christian sculpture in Byzantium, under the rule of the Byzantine emperors.J In the beginning, under the first Eastern emperors, a visible eagerness showed itself to adorn the new capital with works of sculpture. But the circumstances of the time were little favourable to this effort, and it was found necessary to satisfy the demand for monu- ments by bringing to Byzantium many of the treasures of Greek sculpture that had been carried to Rome from Greece. Nevertheless, the desire for fame was not satisfied with this ; it demanded monuments of its own. Con- stantine, therefore, erected a porphyry column, a hundred feet in height, on which his statue was placed. Theodosius also had a column erected, and an obelisk in the Hippodrome, of which mention has been already made (p. 301). The most important work, however, must have been the colossal * In Ancona, the pulpit of the Mad. della Misericordia affords an instance of the last feeble efforts of early Christian decoration. According to the inscription, it was executed in the time of Pope Sergius, probably the second of this name (died 847). f Illustration in Mii.lin’s Voyage dans les Departements du Midi de la France. (Paris, 1807-11.) J Cf. chiefly F. W. Unger in his Darstell. d. Byzant. Kiinst. Ersch and Gruber’s Encyclofi. i., section 84. 350 Sculpture of the Middle Apes. monument which Justinian, after his victory over the Persians, in the year 543, placed on the Augusteum, near the Church of St. Sophia, which he had built, and opposite the Senatorial Palace. It was a column of about 105 feet in height, formed of brick, and covered with plates of bronze ; and on a pro- jecting slab on the capital of the column stood the colossal bronze equestrian statue of the emperor. This was so large that one finger measured a span in length, and the height of the whole figure was estimated at thirty feet. Eustathius, of Rome, is named as the artist employed on it. When the statue was declared by the court flatterers of the day to be equal to the works of Phidias, Praxiteles, and Lysippus, we cannot, of course, give much credence to such a statement. Yet we may infer, from the descriptions, that the work was unusually good for this period. The horse was placed eastward, towards the Persians. The head, full of fiery animation, was turned side- ward : the wind seemed to play in the fluttering mane, and the high-arched tail reached the ground. It was depicted in rapid advance, the left forefoot raised, and the muscles of the chest swelling with excitement. The youth- ful emperor was formed like Achilles, and wore tunic and mantle, which fell low over his charger’s back. The tiara-like helmet of the emperor bore moveable plumes, which fluttered in the wind. The emperor held a golden orb, with the cross in his left hand, while the right was extended as if in command. In the sixteenth century the colossal work lay in ruins, and its remains were melted down. If we rank the artistic importance of the Augustio — thus the monu- ment was called — as high as possible, it will probably have stood about equal with works such as the bronze statue of St. Peter in Rome, which bears the venerable character of a Roman senator. More than this Eusta- thius could scarcely have produced ; but even this must have won the admira- tion of his contemporaries, as such works belonged to the exception ; and even its colossal size must have excited astonishment, from the technical skill required in it. It is, however, characteristic, that the artist for such a work was not found in Byzantium, but was sent for from Rome, while Byzan- tine masters were employed for the erection of the Church of St. Sophia. A proof this that the soil was not favourable to that plastic art which still found sustenance in Rome from the traditions of antique ages. In Byzantium, on the contrary, not only were these antique traditions lacking, but the tendency which Christianity soon assumed there impeded the progress of sculpture far more than in the West. From close contact and affinity with the East, Byzantine Christianity speedily admitted a spirit of theological subtlety and of dogmatizing criticism, which had much similarity with that of ancient Judaism, and like this, therefore, felt an aversion to the life-like creations of plastic art. An instance of the chilling influence of this tendency Early Christian Epoch. 35i is to be found in the series of Ravenna sarcophagi, which we have discussed above (p. 347 ), and the origin of which occurs at the period of Byzantine rule. That in them sculpture is limited almost exclusively to the repetition of conventional symbols, and that only a scanty use is made of the rich store of ideas afforded by Roman monuments, is principally to be ascribed to Byzantine influence. The Byzantine style, however, spread after the sixth century ^Influence over ^ ie whole of Italy, even gaining a firm footing in Rome, and for several centuries over almost the entire West. To this supremacy, which is principally apparent in painting, may be ascribed the superior certainty of technical skill, the well-defined sense of form, and the graceful neatness of the work, with which it imposed upon the nations of the West, who were sinking deeper and deeper into barbarism. A further result of this Byzantine influence was the gradual decline of plastic art. At any rate, this was the case as regards larger monuments. On the other hand, it was in Byzantium that a predilection in favour of works of lesser art developed itself, and among these, the productions in ivory occupy the first place. Ivory carving was one of those ancient arts which had been brought from the East by the Greeks ; and in the golden age of art it had received considerable improvement in the chryselephantine statues of the Ivory Work, temple. The Byzantines employed ivory generally for smaller works, principally for the diptychs and small double writing-tablets, the outer sides of which were adorned with reliefs. They were frequently used as New Year’s gifts, and so great was the luxury displayed in them that a law of the year 384 restricted the right of using such ivory diptychs to the consuls. A few diptychs of the fifth and sixth centuries have been preserved, and to these we shall return presently. The style of these works may be traced, like all early Christian art, to the imitation of the antique, which is adhered to in all the subordinate parts, such as the ornaments and architec- tural frame-work. The Byzantine productions are, however, especially characterized by nicety and elegance of workmanship. This is combined in the better works with many good and life-like ideas ; but in the principal figures the stiff constraint of Byzantine life, culminating in genuinely Eastern etiquette, produces an unpleasing and paralyzing effect. The figures are for the most part stiff and motionless, and this effect >s increased by the drapery being overloaded, after the Byzantine fashion, with embroidery, beads, and jewels, giving them a puppet-like appearance. Episcopal The P r * nc iP a l Byzantine work in ivory, especially valuable, Chairof moreover, from its fixed date, is the episcopal chair of Maxi_ Maxvmanus. m j anus (546-552) in the sacristy of the Cathedral at Ravenna. 352 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. Entirely composed of plates of ivory, it is a work of great artistic value, and though the various parts are unequal in merit, this inequality is not of such a kind as to lead us to infer different periods for their production. The most beautiful parts are the ornamental frameworks, which surround each compart- ment, consisting of branchwork with animals, peacocks, stags, lambs, and birds, all exhibiting wonderful delicacy of execution and life-like design. This is especially the case in the lower arabesque frieze of the front side, which contains lions, stags, and other animals, delineated with truly antique life amid vine-branches. Also the ten are attired in simple priestly robes with the full flowing casula, the female figures (Fig 203) exhibit the Byzantine costume, overloaded with heavy ornaments of beads and embroidery. Stiff in bearing, with expressionless heads, and drapery laboriously arrayed in parallel folds, they present a distinct picture of the lifeless solemnity of Byzantine art, though softened by a certain fulness and vigour in the forms. From the want of larger plastic works of this school, which generally assigned Early Christian Epoch . 353 to painting the adornment of sacred buildings, these works possess all the more importance in the history of art. Fig. 203. Relief Figures from Cividale. Another work in the same town, the Altar of Duke Pemmo, difai at executed at about the same period, and now placed in C iv 1 dale, r 1 St. Martin’s Church, displays in its relief figures of the enthroned Christ, surrounded by puppet-like angels, an example of the extreme coarseness into which early Christian art at length degenerated.* * Cf. Ejtelberger, in the Jahrb. d. Wiener Centr. Comm. 1857, p. 243, with illustration. VOL. I. Z Z 354 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. Besides these larger works, several smaller plastic works Works belonging to the early Christian period have been preserved. Among these, in the first place, are the few bronze works such as the lamps found in the tombs of the early Christians, a great number of which are in the Christian Museum of the Vatican. These are, indeed, chiefly productions of handicraft, but the influence of antique art may be perceived in them from their gracefulness of form and often elegant finish. They are generally adorned with the sacred monogram or other emblems, and hence also afford an evidence of the impulse of the first Christian centuries to consecrate everything with the blessed symbols of the new faith. A laurel- wreath of vigorous design frequently surrounds these emblems, and forms an effective framework to the whole (Fig. 204). Especially numerous and interesting are also the ivory Ivory Works, carvings. Thus the art cabinet in the Museum at Berlin possesses a cylindrical ivory vessel, containing on one side the youthful figure of Christ teaching in the midst of the Twelve Apostles, and on the other the representation of the offering of Isaac. The freshness with which the antique mode of conception is here displayed places this work in the early period of Christian art. Another similar vessel of a somewhat later period — perhaps the sixth century — is to be found in the Hotel de Cluny in Paris. It represents Christ and the Samaritan woman, the healing of the Early Christian Epoch. 355 man born blind and the sick of the palsy, and lastly, the raising of Lazarus. An ivory tablet of excellent workmanship, and still entirely in the antique style, is to be seen in the sacristy of the cathedral at Salerno.* The relief represents the story of Ananias and Sapphira, the dramatic catastrophe of which is depicted with genuine antique life. The use of consular diptychs,*f* or double ivory tablets, the Diptychs. inner waxed sides of which were used for writing, while the outside was richly adorned with reliefs, was continued in the early Christian period, and had subsequently a decided influence on the form of altars and altar ornaments. A diptych of this kind is that of the Consul Areobrudus in the year 506 in the Antiquarium at Zurich, j representing, with Fig. 205. Diptych. Zurich. a good deal of life, a contest between lions and bears. We see the consul enthroned on a richly-adorned seat, bearing in his left hand the golden staff as a token of his power, while his right hand, holding the handkerchief or mappa, is giving the signal for the commencement of the sports. The grated gates of the circus are already opened, and the wild animals are rushing out to meet their death by the gladiators (Fig. 205). These scenes, * Illustration in Lubke’s Grundr. d. Kunstgesch. 4th edit. p. 254. t Cf. the well-known work by Gori, Thesaut 11s veterum Diptych. Flor. 1759. | Fublished by S. Vogelin in the Mittheil. d. ant. Gcs. in Zurich , Vol. xi, No. II. 4, p. 79, ct seq. 356 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. with all their rudeness, are delineated with much life, and even in the circle of spectators who surround the amphitheatre, the artist has endeavoured to give a certain variety of expression. The consul himself, however, in his stiff and over-embroidered toga and lifeless bearing, presents, in contrast to the rest, the style of Byzantine art. Similar in kind is the diptych of Anastasius of the year 517 in the Library at Paris. Another of about the same period is in the cathedral at Idalberstadt. In the centre are the somewhat short and awkward figures of the two consuls with their attendants : above they appear again in a public council in the presence of Apollo and Minerva, and below are groups of captives, among them a princess suckling her infant. In Byzantium these works have that conventional and stiff elegance which gradually robbed the antique traditions of all life. We see this in a diptych of Constantius, and in another of Justinian, in the library of the Palazzo Ricardi at Florence. In the Christian period we find these diptychs made in imitation of portable altars and book-covers, as in the ivory tablet of Duke Urso, in the eighth century, now in the archives of the Chapter of Cividale,* which bears an expressionless and antique representation of the crucified Saviour, with the soldier piercing his side, while Sol and Luna, as half-length figures in medallions, look mournfully down upon the scene. Lastly, we must mention the lavish use of choice metals, Rich Metals, which were employed in ecclesiastical vessels and utensils. The costliness of these works has for the most part occasioned their ruin ; yet one of the most extensive works of the kind is still preserved in the antependium of the high altar of St. Ambrogio in Milan, a work of the ninth century, according to the inscription executed by Wolvinus. It is a covering of gold or gilt-silver plates, divided by raised and richly ornamented strips, into several small compartments. These compartments are filled with embossed reliefs. On the front side we see Christ, surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists and the Twelve Apostles, and twelve scenes from His life, from the Annunciation to the Ascension. The two narrow sides contain only separate figures of angels and adorers. The back side exhibits the story of St. Ambrosius, and in the centre the archangels Michael and Gabriel, besides the blessing of one Angilbertus and Wolvinus, probably the donator and the executor of this splendid facing. The style shows few traces of antique purity, although the antique manner is adhered to in the drapery. But both in the spirit of the representation, and in the nicety of the workmanship, we perceive the preponderating influence of Byzantine art. In other works of the kind, sculpture is superseded by enamel and niello work, or it is only allowed a subordinate place in combination with these more favourite arts. Cf. Eitelberger, p. 246, a scq. Early Christian Epoch. 357 If we survey the five hundred years of early Christian art, Results. based as it is on reminiscences of the antique, and repeating in an even ruder and more spiritless manner the few new types and ideas produced by Christianity, we must confess that the new religious feelings brought for the time no advance to plastic art, but only led to its deeper decline. This could not be otherwise, so long as Christianity was fettered to the forms of antique life, and found its chief disseminators in the races of antique civilization. Even when France, under Charlemagne, assumed the place of the old Roman empire, the forms of art and civilization remained subject to antique views and to their Byzantine transformation. It was only when the Carlovingian empire was sundered by the impulse for freedom excited in the Teutonic nations, and the individual independence of these races asserted itself in new national institutions, that this breath of life found its way also into plastic art, and opened to it the prospect of new development. It could not, however, have entered upon this new stage of progress, had it not previously found expression for a new range of subjects into which it was now to infuse a fresh life. The development of this range of ideas, and of the grand fundamental types in which its principal figures are expressed, is the no small merit of the early Christian period. SECOND CHAPTER. THE BYZANTINE ROMANESQUE EPOCH. In order to understand the remarkable process of the develop- Christianity anc { ment of a new Christian art, we must not, above all, forget that the Teutonic Christianity was forced upon the Teutonic races as a foreign product, brought from the remote East. Hostilely opposed to all national hallowed relics, it destroyed the notions of rude and simple nature, proscribed the national ideas of a deity, and placed in their stead something foreign both in form and subject. We know with what tenacious adherence our ancestors clung to heathenish traditions, with what heroic valour they defended their freedom, their hearth, and their ancient gods ; with what obstinacy they long revolted against subjection to the Cross, and openly and secretly adopted the proscribed opinions. But when these efforts proved vain, and the new doctrines were permanently established by the force of arms, there arose a period of revolution which threatened again to destroy the work thus laboriously accomplished. It was the Teutonic love of liberty which rose against the Roman centralization of the Carlovingian empire, and dashed 358 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. asunder the iron bonds which would have stifled the individual life of races. A state of confusion was the result, plunging everything into the wildest anarchy. There seemed to be no inner support on which men’s minds could rest. Driven away from the natural basis which had been once familiar to them, they felt themselves aliens on the new soil of Christianity. For the higher spiritual demands of the new faith took all the less hold of them, the more keenly they were opposed to the laws of nature. Thus here also there arose that deep discord between the natural law and the commands of a spiritual doctrine, the first stage of which must necessarily have been negative. Such was the state of things at the end of the tenth century. 7 A' h !- ' d Then arose a fear in superstitious minds, communicating itself speedily to the entire West : the fear that the year one thousand would bring the return of the Messiah and the ruin of the world. The feeling of utter depravity took possession of all, and with it came a passionate longing for repentance and expiation. This impulse co-operated in bringing about the mental revolution which now soon became apparent. Christianity had had time to take root in the heart, though for the most part it was only embraced superficially. And thus arose that long contest of mind, in which, standing between the commands of nature and the religious moral law, men endeavoured to reconcile the two. While the Church enjoined strict unity, subjection of individual will, and the mortification of natural feeling, the Teutonic love of liberty endeavoured, on the other hand, to enforce individual independence. At first this opposition showed itself in the unbridled wildness of a natural power, which only with defiant resistance submitted to a more powerful adversary. Hence, in the early Middle Ages, we find such numerous instances of violent opposition and wild arrogance, alternating with sudden repentant contrition. But as this contrast of feeling gradually relaxed, and men’s minds opened to a higher state of culture, this opposition assumed another form. It now sought expression for the freedom of individual feeling within the Christian law, and it found the aptest form for this in works of art. Hence the history of sculpture in the Middle Ages affords us the elevating spectacle of a struggle, rude indeed, and indistinct in the outset, but working its way to ever purer expression, and, at length, displaying in works of the utmost,, perfection, a beauty in which the opposing powers for a moment appear reconciled. This is the period of the thirteenth century. Then again, for a short time, there is an interval of decline, but only to resume the task with still greater distinct- ness, and to bring about a new and higher solution of the difficulty. Well may we extol the happiness of Greek art, which simply based on the soil of nature, gave glorious expression to ideas which knew not the opposition of mind and nature. Hence, in the perfect works of Greek sculpture, everything is pure, harmonious, and without blemish. If Christian art cannot reach the The Byzantine Romanesque Epoch. 359 same perfection, the ground for this lies in the fact that its task is far wider and higher. It can only remotely reach its goal, and can never wholly attain to it, because this dualism exists indissolubly, and is not to be fully reconciled either in belief or in works. But it is through this very expression of deep passionate struggle that Christian art, in its whole development, acquires a character which, perhaps, more warmly claims our sympathy than perfect beauty could do. In sculpture the interest is increased in the same measure, although in the Christian period it must stand far behind painting. I. The Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. All the great tasks in the Romanesque style were exclusively of Paintin' <■ reserve 9 for painting. Fainting adorned with mosaics or frescoes the sacred aisles of the church ; painting was allowed to adorn its walls with mighty representations of Christ and of the Apostles and Saints, with incidents from the Old and New Testaments, and with legends of the martyrs. No small range of subjects was open to it. For Christianity offered it a compensation for the lost national themes of art, an abundance of religious material, which was continually increasing, and which afforded ever fresh variety from the legends of a countless number of local saints. The architecture of the Romanesque epoch, with its large smooth surfaces, was, moreover, especially favourable to painting, while it at first offered no scope to sculpture. For even purely ornamental sculpture is even in the eleventh century in many cases extremely feeble, and scarcely ventures a few timid lines. This explains the abundance of pillared basilicas, the orna- mented cubic capitals of columns, and the highly simple portals, which at first are entirely without ornament, as for example, the west door of the Cathedral at Wurzburg, and many others. Sculpture, therefore, during the first epoch, almost until the twelfth century, remains exclusively a lesser art. She is the Cinderella, and must be glad even to be assigned a place in subordi- nate works. It is pleasing to observe with what cheerful readiness she accepts her thankless and difficult tasks, and how she thus gradually in this hard school becomes strengthened in technical skill and inventive power, so that she subsequently comes forward well prepared for all grander tasks. First in importance stands ivory carving. Like all the arts duvino °f this period, it was almost exclusively employed for eccle- siastical purposes. It adorns the inside of the small portable altars after the fashion of the former diptychs ; it furnishes carved work for the cover? of books, and occasionally the vessels for the host and other Sculpture of the Middle Ages. 160 religious utensils. Here and there we find also caskets, combs, hunting- horns, and drinking-horns executed in ivory. In these works we may dis- tinguish two styles. One is that barbarous style based on the Two Styles, declining remnants of the antique; the other follows Byzantine models. We see into what coarseness the first of these had fallen, in the alleged reliquary of Henry I., in the castle church at Qued- linburg, in which are represented the three Marys at the tomb of our Lord, Christ blessing His disciples, the washing of St. Peter’s feet, and the Trans- figuration of Christ. The figures are awkward and heavy, and the style clumsy.* We can easily understand that, compared with these works, the neat and graceful productions of Byzantine artists must have had ^inflirnc- an i m P os i n £> effect. For the portable works of this kind were carried to the West, as articles of merchandise and personal possession, and were received there as objects of admiration and imitation. An especial stimulant to the dissemination of Byzantine art was given to Germany by the marriage of Otto II. and the Greek Princess Theophano (972). The Hotel de Cluny, in Paris, possesses an ivory tablet with the representa- tion of Christ placing His hands in benediction on the heads of the far smaller figures of Otto and his consort. The two latter are attired in stiff Byzantine drapery ; the figure of Christ, on the other hand, has something solemnly grand both in dress and bearing : the execution is careful and finished. A great number of similar works evidence the wide dis- Further Ex- amples. semination of this style. Thus, for instance, there are some relief tablets in the library at Wurzburg, which contain St. Nicholas adoring the Madonna, the martyrdom of St. Kilian, and Christ with Mary and St. John. Two relief tablets in the library of St. Gallen, ascribed to the famous Abbot Tutilo, who died in 912, are especially remarkable. On one (Fig. 2o6)J* we see in the centre, the youthful figure of Christ enthroned, surrounded by two cherubim with six wings, who are stretching out their hands in a stiff attitude. Far more life-like, on the other hand, are the four Evangelists in the corners. St. John, an old man with a long beard, is writing on a roll of parchment ; St. Matthew is writing in a book ; St Mark is mending his pen with great care ; and St. Luke is dipping h ism West ^ Cathedral at Metz, and now in the Library at Paris,* contains a somewhat rudely executed though spirited representa- tion of the crucified Saviour, also surrounded by the figures of Mary and St. John, by the Church triumphant, and by the four Evangelists with their symbolic animals, while between them Sol and Luna occupy a subordinate place as half-length figures, and below Tellus and Oceanus appear in passionate animation with two groups of risen figures. A similar scene, with other variations, appears on an ivory tablet among the treasures of the Liebfrauen Kirche at Tongern.J- Here, above the cross, there are two angels with the crown to which the hand of God is pointing from the clouds ; below the cross' are to be seen the Virgin and St. John, with the vanquished Synagogue and the triumphant Church, the latter bearing the standard of victory ; in the lower corners, between the somewhat rude figures of Tellus and Oceanus, is a group of risen forms, the expressive actions of which strangely contrast with the misconceived physical structure. Of great value is also the cover of a Gospel given in 1054 by the Abbess Theophano to the church at Essen, and which is still to be found among its treasures. Neatly executed and divided into three compartments, it contains the Birth of Christ, the Redeemer between the two Thieves on the Cross, and the Ascension of our Lord, with the Evangelists and their symbols in the corners. This work is, moreover, a well-preserved specimen of the splendour with which the sacred books were ornamented at this period ; for- the tablet is framed in a broad margin of gold plates, on which, between filigree work and various precious stones, there appear Christ as judge of the world and the enthroned Madonna, surrounded by several saints held in honour by the Abbess Theophano. Another ivory work in the same place, containing a representation of the crucified Saviour and of the * Melanges d' Arched. II. pi. 5- t Ibid., II. pi. 6. The succeeding plates (7, 8) also furnish examples of the same kind. 3 6 4 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. Resurrection, though probably not much later in date, exhibits a far ruder style of conception, yet it also is attractive from its naive life. In other countries there is no lack of isolated works charac- Countrics teristically displaying the style and ideas of the eleventh century. Thus, for instance, in the Bodleian Library at Oxford there is an ivory tablet, on which Christ is represented amid the symbols of the Evangelists as Lord of land and sea.* The artist has here also had recourse to the antique, and has introduced the well-known figures of Gea and Oceanus as a footstool, as it were, at the feet of the Saviour. How popular ivory carving was at this time, may be gathered from the fact that this material was even employed for such vessels as were far more easily fashioned in bronze. In Milan Cathedral there is a holy water vessel which is adorned with reliefs of the Madonna (Fig. 207) and the four Evangelists. Serious and dignified, and, at the same time, well arranged in the allotted space, these representations afford us an idea of the artistic advance that marked the end of the eleventh century. To about the same period belongs an ivory tablet in the Library at Paris, which dis- tinctly exhibits the difference between Byzantine and western art.-f- Christ is standing on a pedestal - like elevation, solemnly attired in an antique toga, and is crowning the puppet-like figures of the Emperor Romanus IV., and his consort Eudocia, who are stiffly draped in splendid garments (1067 — 1071). This small selection of works will suffice for our consideration. Survey. We see ivory carving from the tenth century, and repeatedly in the course of the eleventh century, cultivated with especial predilection in Germany, and promoted by the artistic feeling of the emperors, and by the wealth of the monasteries. The technical execution that had lapsed into coarseness acquires a stricter school in Byzantine models. But while it thus adopts a better and more skilful treatment, it does not assume Fig. 207. Ivory vessel at Milan. * Illustration in Didron’s Ann. Arched, vol. xviii. f Ibid. I. The Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. 365 the stiffness of the Byzantine style. On the contrary, it strives everywhere after new expression, life, and action. In Tutilo’s work we trace, for the first time, evidences of that intellectual movement which, in the course of the eleventh century, became more and more apparent. In the endeavour to impart a deeper expression to the figures and dramatic life to the scenes, the formal external laws became once more neglected, the proportions of the physical frame became unjustly and hastily conceived, and heads, hands, and feet, in short, all the more delicate parts of the human figure, were delineated with undue size and clumsiness. We can plainly see that, in the same proportion as the new impulse after truth and life increased, the antique traditions died away and Byzantinism receded. The young Teutonic spirit was stirring and wrestling to burst forth. It was not satisfied with thoughtlessly repeating the same subject in the prescribed manner, but it imparted to it a new conception, it enriched it with an abundance of symbolic relations, it animated it with the expression of feeling. The result of this endeavour is a youthful naturalism, not as regards the outward form but the inward nature, and this naturalism takes its own path and arrives at special revelations. It expresses itself falteringly in violent and even exaggerated attitudes, it works its way laboriously in the fetters of a traditional and long empty form, and still the eye is closed to nature as her safest model, because the church has prohibited all reference to natural life, and has transmitted her sacred figures in a typical form. But even now, from these significant beginnings the confidence is arising that they will ere long, as soon as circumstances permit, produce a great art. Working in costly metals went hand in hand with ivory Metals. carving. The churches emulated each other in the splendid adornment of their sacred vessels, and especially of their altars and sanctuariums. The altar tables were covered with antependiums of embossed metal plates, on which reliefs, filigree ornaments, enamel paintings, and costly jewels, among them even antique gems and cameos, were combined with splendid effect. Thus we are informed, respecting the completion of the Abbey Church of Petershausen near Constance, in the year 983, that the baldachin of the altar rested on four richly-carved columns covered with silver plates, and that the arches of this canopy were overlaid with gilt, silver, and copper plates. The lid of the tabernacle was a gilt copper plate panelled with silver. The front of the altar was adorned with an antependium of gold inlaid with jewels, and the back was a silver plate on which was a gilt image of the Virgin. Metal columns were also in the choir of the Abbey Church at St. Gallen. At the end of the tenth century Archbishop Willigis presented the Cathedral at Mainz with the costliest vessels, fashioned for the most part in the form of dragons, griffins, cranes, and lions. To a mighty crucifix \66 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. covered with plates of gold was affixed, in embossed gold, an image of the crucified Saviour, the empty cast of which was filled with relics and precious stones, the eyes having an unearthly lustre from the large carbuncles inserted in the sockets. Although the costliness of these works has, in a great measure, brought about their ruin, many a splendid crucifix, many a richly- ornamented chalice, and works of a similar kind, are still to be found among the treasures of cathedrals and abbey churches, and in several art collections. The most extensive and important monument of this kind is ' BaOc' the a ^ ar table of Basle Minster, which has recently been placed in the Hotel de Cluny in Paris. It contains in embossed gold the figures of Christ, the Archangel Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and St. Benedict, distributed in five arcades supported by columns. The attitudes are con- strained though solemn and dignified, the expression of the heads has a stiff Byzantine stamp, and the drapery, with the exception of that of St. Benedict, has an antique and somewhat constrained nicety in the arrangement of the folds, especially perceptible in the fluttering ends of our Saviour’s garments, and seems to denote the work of the eleventh century. At the feet of the Redeemer, in an attitude of devotion, lie two diminutive human figures, a man and a woman, undoubtedly the donators of the work, and as such designated by tradition as the Emperor Henry II. and his consort Kunigunde.* In medallions above the arcades the four cardinal virtues are represented as half-length female figures, and the other surfaces, the edges and cornices, are magnificently filled with elegant branch-work and all sorts of small animal figures. The style of the figures in this splendid work does not certainly agree with the life and freshness of the ivory works, and this may be regarded, perhaps, as resulting from less able technical skill. Other works of a smaller size adhere to the stiffness of the Byzantine style. Among the treasures of the monastic church at Essen is a 1 u fff at gold crucifix, which was presented by the Abbess Mathildis (died 997) towards the end of the tenth century. The thinness of the body of Christ and the austere expression call to mind Byzantine art. Still more is this the case in another crucifix of a similar kind, which was also the gift of the same abbess. There is also at Essen a still more richly-executed crucifix of a somewhat later date, given by the above-mentioned Abbess Theophano about the year 1054. Equally unmistakable is the Byzantine influence manifested in a seated statue of the Madonna in the same place, the stiff expression of countenance being rendered still more striking from the enamelled eyeballs. * Cf. W. Wackernagel : Die Goldne Altartafel von Basel (Basle, 1S57): and Kugler’s doubts respecting tile early date assigned to it. D. Kunst. bl. 1 857 j P- 37 ? I. The Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. 367 Besides these splendid works, bronze casting acquired con- siderable importance after the beginning of the eleventh century, and formed" a transition to the more extensive employment of sculpture. Here also it was again Germans who took precedence and became famous in this as well as in other branches of art. Theophilus, in his paper De Artium Schedula , extols Germany as skilled both in working gold and casting bronze. In England, metal works executed after the German fashion (opere Teutonico) were known and esteemed in the eleventh century. In the Abbey Church at Corvey we find, about the year 990, six brazen columns given by the Bishop of Verden, to which six more were added by an artist of the name of Gottfried who resided in the monastery. The same part of ancient Saxony witnessed further advances in the art of casting bronze, at the beginning of the eleventh century, under the rule of an art-loving ecclesiastical prince. Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim is one of the first of the prelates of that period, whose learning and artistic culture actively promoted the advancement of both sculpture and architecture. He had a large brazen gate cast for the cathedral he had recently built, and this gate, which was completed in 1015, still forms the Gate at Hildesheim. main entrance to the church. In sixteen quadrangular compartments, arranged in two rows, it contains, on the one side, scenes from the history of the Creation until the death of Abel, and, on the other, four incidents from the history of our Saviour’s youth, and four from Christ’s Passion. It is especially worthy of remark, that, in spite of the arrangement of the scenes, there is no typological connection between them. Both in the conception and execution the artist naively adheres to antique principles. In this respect it was a avourable circumstance that there existed no Byzantine models for bronze casting, for in Byzantium the art of inlaying was employed in works of the kind, instead of relief. The Hildesheim master portrays the incident with few figures, but with great life. His figures appear in an antique costume ; they manifest no understanding of form, the bodies are thin and tall, the heads larger than life-size, the noses clumsy, and the eyes staring, thus producing strange and barbarous misproportion. At the same time the countenances are of an old, ugly, and insipid type, though they have nothing in common with the morose senility of Byzantine figures. Yet, when the first impression of this repulsive effect is overcome, we perceive various characteristics testifying to a fresh conception of life. The different gradations, from the utmost calm- ness of demeanour to passionate emotion, are successfully portrayed, although the awkward body with difficulty obeys the bidding of the mind. Naive and highly natural characteristics are those of Eve, calmly hushing her child to repose, while Adam is working in the field ; also in the Expulsion from Paradise, the gesture with which Eve turns curiously round ; and, in the Death 368 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. of Abel, the violent fall of the murdered man, while, on the one side, Cain is preparing to repeat the blow, and, on the other, the murderer appears again, starting with alarm at the hand of God, which is stretched forth from the clouds. The arrangement of the figures within the space is unequal, and the composition poor, plainly indicating want of practice, and the helplessness of an art still in its infancy. The figures arc in strong relief, as is the case also in all metal works of the period ; but it appears especially worthy of remark that the upper part of the body and the head are, for the most part, entirely free from the background, and inclined towards the spectators, thus making still more striking the want of organic understanding of the human form. _ How little, at that time, there was any distinct knowledge of Column at the laws of relief, and how falteringly they groped after a fixed Hildesham. ru } Cj j s evidenced by another of Bernward’s works, namely, the brazen column, executed in 1022, formerly belonging to the Church of St. Michael, and since placed in the cathedral square.* After the loss of a capital and a crucifix affixed to it, the column is still fifteen feet high, and completely covered with reliefs, which are twisted spirally round the shaft. These depict in successive scenes the history of Christ from the Baptism to the Entry into Jerusalem, and thus complete the gap which was left in the representations on the gate. Although columns of this kind were in no wise rare at that time in the choir of churches, such plastic decoration of them was most unusual, and can only be explained by Trajan’s Column at Rome, with which Bernward was familiar. We have here, therefore, a new and remarkable proof of the lasting power of antique traditions, and of the eagerness with which antique works were studied at that time by the artists and scholars of Germany. Bernward’s column is, in this respect, a plastic counterpart to the Latin dramas of the Gandersheim nun Roswitha. The treatment also of the reliefs, differing as it does from the almost scanty distinctness of the gate sculptures, adheres to the more crowded style of the Roman model. The figures themselves are perhaps still ruder than those on the gate, but the conception is equally naive, and is occasionally full of life. Both works plainly show that the young art lacked practice and stricter architectural rule, and this could only be acquired when plastic art was allowed larger scope in connection with archite:ture. That casting in brpnze was practised considerably in Germany 0th S , during the further course of the eleventh century, without, however. Bronze Works . 0 making much progress, appears from a number of works to be * Unsatisfactory illustrations of the column in Kratz. der Dom zu Hildesheim. A relief of the gate appears in Kugler’s Kunstgesch. 4th edit., I. p. 397. Some of the plates are in E. Forster’s Den km . iv. I. The Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. 369 found in different places. The greater number of these belong to North Germany. One of the earliest is the bronze figure of Archbishop Gisilerius (died 1004), executed in strong relief in the choir of Magdeburg Cathedral ;* the face is stiff and staring, the drapery is formally arranged, and the whole work betrays such slight adherence to nature, that the ears are formed as double volutes. On the other hand, we find artistic feeling evidenced in the animal ornaments of the dress, and the work in its independent character and in the absence of Byzantinism, affords a valuable specimen of individual artistic power. In the Cathedral at Erfurt, there is a bronze statue of a draped male figure bearing a lamp, which exhibits much rude severity of style. In the vestibule of the Cathedral at Goslar, there is a splendid altar formed of bronze plates, and supported by four kneeling male figures, similarly hard and stiff in treatment.-]- At the same time the decorative element frequently displays great grace and delicacy, as in the two coronae of the Cathedral at Hildesheim, in the second half of the eleventh century, and especially in the splendid seven-branched candelabrum, in the Monastery Church at Essen, the * Illustration in E. Forster’s Denkm. v. t Illustration in Kugler’s Kl. Schr. i. p. 143, and in Mithoff’s Air hi fih Nieder sticks, Kunstgesch. Section iii. pi. 7. VOL. I. 3 B 370 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. rich arabesques of which stand foremost in beauty and nobleness of style among all the Romanesque works of this kind. South Germany possesses also in the folding-doors of the Cathedral at Augsburg an important specimen of bronze casting, although no longer existing in their original form, but composed of two works which belong to the beginning of the eleventh century. It contains some easily intelligible representations from the Old Testament ; for instance, the Creation of Adam and Eve (Fig. 208), Samson’s Victory over the Lion and the Philistines, and several enigmatical figures, besides some animals and fantastic creations, such as lions, centaurs, and the like. The scenes, in all thirty-two, and divided into four rows, are treated in shallow relief, without understanding of human organism, it is true, and with too large heads and hands ; but the requirements of the relief style are decidedly better conceived and more distinctly followed than in the Hildes- heim works, while the antique style displays the spirit of ancient Greek rather than of Roman art, and both in action and gesture a naive feeling of nature is perceptible.* These few examples must suffice us, as they have so often done before, for the rich number of perished monuments. Of other lands, Italy alone affords us a few larger works °in lt 'u'y ! " S bronze casting. In most cases, however, these completely dispense with plastic ornament, and, after Byzantine fashion, prefer the use of inlaid silver wire. Only at the principal portal of San Zeno, at Verona, we find a number of scenes in relief on embossed and not cast plates, the oldest of which, on the left wing, are extremely rude and devoid of style, and prove how far inferior at that time Italian sculpture was to the German. The gilt wooden crucifix also, which, in the southern side aisle of Milan Cathedral, marks the tomb of Archbishop Heribert, who died in 1045, exhibits all the stiffness of Byzantine constraint, without a trace of life or nature. The small figures, too, at the end of the Cross, display the same stiffness. There is little, lastly, to be said of the stone sculpture of the period, which only acquired greater importance in the following century, when architecture began to be more richly cultivated. In France the yearning for plastic work led to the strange unfitness of over- loading the capitals of columns, for want of other places, with historical representations. Apart from the fact that the distinct character of the' architectural form was thus destroyed, plastic art could gain but little from such close crowding within a narrow space. Confused compositions, con- * Very characteristic illustrations of two figures in Kugler’s Kl. Sc/ir. i. p. 150. The whole is -ven in F. J. v. Allioli, Die Bronzethiir des Dorns zu Augsburg. , 1853. Cf. SlGHART, Gesch. d. Jit Id. Kiinste ini Konigr. Bayern. Munich, 1862. I. The Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. 37 1 strained and even distorted attitudes, combined with barbarous awkwardness of physical structure, were the inevitable results. Numerous instances of this are furnished by the porch of the Abbey Church of St. Benoit-sur- Loire (built about 1026). Among the independent works of stone sculpture which may be ascribed to this epoch, two relief slabs in Basle Cathedral, formerly belonging to an altar, hold the first place as regards finished style.* On one we find six figures of Apostles in compartments divided by columns, and on the other four representations from the Martyrdom of St. Laurentius and St. Vin- centius. The style is still strictly antique, the figures are dignified, the arrange- ment of the drapery distinct and well-conceived, and the composition of the small scenes full of life and action. Far more severe in style are the figures in relief of the Archangel Michael and two Saints, in the St. Michael’s Chapel of the Castle of Hohenzollern. Of works in wood we may especially mention the haut- Sa ‘lVood Ul re ^ e ^ s 011 the pillars of the niches of the northern portal of St. Emmeran, at Ratisbon. They contain a grand, though rude representation of the enthroned Saviour, at whose footstool a half-length figure of the Abbe Reginward (1049-64) is introduced in a medallion in an attitude of adoration. St. Emmeran and St. Dionysius also appear in episcopal attire, in the same stiff and lifeless style : the drapery is arranged in parallel folds, and completely coloured, thus affording one of the earliest evidences of mediaeval polychromy.-f- The wooden folding-door on the northern portal of Maria auf dem Capitol at Cologne, seems also to belong to the end of the century. A number of scenes from the history of Christ are here represented in strong relief, their rude undeveloped style contrasting strangely with the well-conceived ornament of the framework. II. The Twelfth Century. ^ . While hitherto the plastic art of the Romanesque epoch Art by mentis found free scope in the smaller works which occupied its especial of Architec- attention, and even in larger works was but slightly connected ture. with architectural creations, in the course of the twelfth century it was predominantly claimed by architecture, and thus acquired a new object and a new advance. The reason for this change lies in the general condition * See E. Forster’s Denkm. ii. f Sighart, p. 105, contains an illustration of the Saviour. He assigns in p. 61 of his hook the years 1059-63 as the period of the Abbe’s rule, and at p. 104 the years 1049-61. F. v. Quast, in his paper in the D. Kunstbl. 1852, p. 175, speaks erroneously of stone reliefs. 37 2 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. of the civilization of the period, which evidences an increasing mental move- ment within a more extensive range. The Western world was affected and carried away by mighty currents of thought ; religious enthusiasm found fantastic expression in the Crusades ; chivalry flourished ; and citizen feeling acquired independent development. The higher interests of life obtained a wider scope ; increased intercourse with the East brought new ideas to the West ; commerce sought and found new paths ; everything was stirring and displaying youthful vigour. The increased intercourse of nations developed their peculiarities with greater exactness and character, and this more vigorous independence gives a new stamp to all artistic works. It is true this affected architecture predominantly. It was no longer, as before, the leading art, for the great newly-developed national types naturally first gained expression in the works of that art, whose especial vocation it is to embody the general ideas of the age and people. But this change made itself also at once felt in works of sculpture. The greater vivacity of mind, and the striving after richer forms, which henceforth imparted to architec- tural works greater strength of organization, increased variety of ornament, and especially a new style of portal and fagade, could not be realized without the liveliest participation of plastic art. Formerly the gay colouring and gilded splendour of the interior — the heritage of Byzantine and early Christian art — had been deemed sufficient. Now, a decoration was required which had immediate connection with the architectural organization, or rather, which grew out of it. The old splendid materials were not relinquished, but were limited to a certain class of works which acquired variety and life from the architecturally-used sculpture. But especial stress was now laid on solid monu- mental sculpture in stone and in a plastic stucco that hardened like stone. The altars, pulpits, and the screens which separated the choir from the rest of the building were executed in this manner, and were richly adorned with sculptures. In baptismal fonts stone sculpture entered the lists with bronze casting. Lastly, the more stately portals, and, in fact, whole fagades, and frequently ihe choirs of churches, afforded rich scope for the sculptor’s skill. We should, nevertheless, err if we believed that these various Lvmfs oj objects speedily brought about a higher perfection of plastic works. The fruits °f this advancing movement were not reaped' till the thirteenth century. We may even assert that the plastic art of the twelfth century was in nowise superior to that of the former period in beauty and dignity, in appreciation of the physical form, and its natural movements. Repeatedly it lapses into awkwardness and stiffness, and even into extreme rudeness and barbarism. Even lifeless Byzantinism for a time, though but transitorily, acquires a certain influence. Nevertheless, the gain which plastic II. The Twelfth Century. 3 73 art obtains from its new position is not to be lightly estimated. Above all, it learns to adapt itself to given proportions of space, and to obey architec- tural laws of composition. How little it could do this in the former epoch was evidenced in the ivory tablets, often excellently executed in detail, but the reliefs of which were scattered in the most capricious manner, as if by accident, over the given surfaces. How laboriously and vainly an equal balance in the arrangement was sought for, we have seen in the gates at Hildesheim and Augsburg. It was, therefore, high time for sculpture to be admitted into a strict architectural school, where it could find a law of its own. How hard it was for it often, even now, to bring all the treasures of dark sym- bolism which it had amassed, into harmony with the distinct rhythm of architecture, is evidenced in the various portals and fagades, which jar against artistic taste in the same degree as they enchant the Mystics ; it is proved also by the often-repeated error of overloading the capitals of columns with historical or symbolic scenes. We perceive in all this the impulse of an art, stirred to its very depths to express everything at once, and to withhold none of the secrets entrusted to it. Not until the following epoch did architectural and plastic laws combine to regulate this super- abundant fulness. But yet another advantage fell to the lot of sculpture. Since it was compelled to co-operate with a style of architecture, now wholly freed from antique influence, and exhibiting in every part Change in Sculpture. of its organization a new and characteristic form, no union could have been effected by plastic art in its former antique fashion. Internal as well as external necessities therefore impelled a change in sculpture parallel with that in architecture. Thus it was that sculptured figures, though they still retained a touch of the antique, broke with the trammels of tradition both as regards feeling and details of form. A completely new spirit appeared in the works, and that revolution was effected, which in the strictest sense of the word we call Romanesque. The difference was traceable in every detail of drapery, in every exhibition of passion, and in every physical conception. All still rested on an antique basis, but throughout changes were introduced which strongly counterbalanced the antique spirit. The figures are more compact and resolute ; the drapery sometimes more simple and sometimes fluttering loosely, with an evident effort at elegance and novelty, and over- loaded with details, while the gestures and attitudes breathe a fresh and naive life. All this, however, does not for the present lead to higher nobleness of conception or purer perfection of form. On the contrary, as we have before said, the works of the twelfth century frequently do not in this respect surpass the earlier ones. Nevertheless, progress is unmistakable. 374 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. If we survey the productions of this period we shall still ever Germany. find Germany taking the lead, though other nations henceforth participate more generally in the advancing movement. To the beginning of this epoch belongs the relief of the Extern Stone at Horn in West- phalia,* a grand and remarkable composition, representing the ri/'ni ^stone Descent from the Cross (Fig. 209). It is hewn out of a rocky wall in the vicinity of a cave-like shrine, the consecration of which in the year 1 1 1 5, probably, also marks the date of the origin of the sculpture, In spite of its destroyed condition it still produces a striking effect, owing to the peculiar energy of the conception. The attitude of the Virgin is especially expressive of feeling ; she is supporting with her hands the drooping head of her Son, and, full of sorrow and love, is resting against Him her own counte- nance, which is now much destroyed. The sun and moon are represented in Cf. Massmann : JJer Externstein in Westfalen. II. The Twelfth Century. 375 medallions after the antique style ; the artist makes them testify their sympathy by weeping. The attitude of St. John, who likewise expresses his pity, is certainly constrained ; but his connection with the rest of the group betrays a feeling for rhythm and even balance, and in this respect the composition deserves our admiration. Not quite distinct is the signification of the figure, which appears above the cross-beams of the cross bearing the standard of victory ; perhaps it is God the Father who is carrying in His arms the soul of Christ in the form of a child. The lower part of the composition is so sadly destroyed that it is omitted in our illustration. It seems to have contained two human figures, round whom a dragon is twisting. These were intended for our first parents entangled by sin, and redeemed by the death of Christ on the Cross. In the adjacent districts of Westphalia several other works phatian Works are to f° un d, far inferior, it is true, in extent and importance, but manifesting similar strictness of style and distinct architectural arrangement. In the church at Erwitte, in the arched compartment above one of the portals, there is a representation of the victory of the Archangel Michael over the dragon, a composition grandly designed and well-arranged within the allotted space ; while in another portal there is a half-length figure of Christ with the symbols of the Evangelists St. John and St. Matthew, which exhibits a strict and typical mode of treatment. A similar subject, though with all the Evangelist symbols, is to be seen at the north portal of the Cathedral at Soest. Even insignificant village churches contain plastic portal ornaments belonging to this period, though rude in style ; as, for instance, at Obertudorf, near Paderborn, there are two monstrous lions on the projecting imposts, and above them, on the head-piece of the door, is a representation of Christ amid the puppet-like figures of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. Far better, far more life-like and well-arranged within the space, is the relief of an Adoration of the Kings in the parish church at JBeckum. In the northern main entrance of the church at Balve there is a figure of Christ enthroned, in a medallion borne by two angels, and evidencing great life in the conception, while in the southern portal, at the same place/there is a relief of the crucified Saviour with St. John and the Virgin, which is inferior and more rudely finished. A number of fonts, with rich plastic ornament, also evidence the lively attention to sculpture which prevailed in these districts. Thus in the church at Freckenhorst there are some clumsy scenes from the life of Christ, according to their inscription, belonging to the year 1129. Similar in subject, but peculiarly hard and typical in the mode of treatment, is the font in the church at Aplerbeck, and the same subject is again repeated in the Roman Catholic Church at Bochum ; others, with representations of the Apostles, are to be found in the churches at Elsen and Boke, and there is one of far nobler 376 Sc nipt tire of the Middle Ages. style in the church at Beckum. Lastly, as further evidences of the numerous works of sculpture at this epoch, we may mention the two corner pillars in the choir of the church at Erwitte, ornamented rather rudely with relief figures of angels ascending and descending Jacob’s Ladder. Fewer in number and less important in their character, are Rhine Works, the plastic works in the more western part of the country. How little at this period was produced even in Cologne, is evidenced by several sculptures from St. Pantaleon in the Museum there, and by the figures at the portal arch of St. Cecilia. The sculptures also at the portal of the parish church of Remagen are rude and fantastic. No less clumsy and coarse are the reliefs on the font of the Castle Church at Pont a Mousson, near Metz, in Lorraine, containing several baptism scenes and the preaching of John the Baptist. In the adjacent districts of the Netherlands the sculptures in the Cathedral of Tournay are worthy of attention. At the portal of the northern transept the Victory of the Virtues over the Vices is depicted in a hard and heavy style, though not devoid of life. Far more important, on the other hand, are the plastic works Sculpture Saxony. It is true even here there is no lack of works which, with their clumsy rudeness, represent the typical style of the period, such, for instance, as the coarse figures at the porch of Goslar Cathedral, and the no less awkward figures in relief of the Apostles on the font of Merseburg Cathedral, besides the earlier of the symbolic sculptures on the confessional of the church dt Gernrode. On the other hand, a better style and a more lively feeling speedily displayed itself in a series of stucco reliefs in the interior of the churches, and this, undoubtedly, was favourably promoted by the more plastic material employed. The earliest of these are probably the seated figures of Christ and the Apostles, which are introduced on the parapet of the western empore of the church at Groningen, near Halberstadt, and which still exhibit a severe style in their mode of treatment.* In spite of this, there is great variety in the arrangement of the drapery, and the figures are turned towards each other in different attitudes. A further advance is displayed in the seated figures in relief of Christ and two Apostles on the northern breastwork of the choir of the church at Hamersleben, and in a similar manner, though still somewhat typical in expression, attitude, and drapery, the seated figures of Christ, the Virgin, and the Apostles on the two side walls of the presbyterium in the Church of Our Lady at Halberstadt, are executed in a more flowing style.-f* Even on the exterior of churches the more flexible stucco commended itself for use, as for instance, in the north * See illustration in my Grundriss der Kunstgesch. p. 353. f See an excellent illustration in Kugler’s KL Sc hr. i. p. 138. II. The Twelfth Century. 377 portal of St. Godehard at Hildesheim, where the representation of Christ and the Bishops Godehard and Bernward must have been executed about the middle of the twelfth century. The grandest monument is, however, the plastic ornament of the Church of St. Michael’s in the same city, which, probably, belongs to the rebuilding of the church in 1186. Here we find on both sides of the choir the figures of Christ and the Virgin with the Apostles, all more than life-size, standing under baldachins in rich niches. The style is almost harshly severe, though in the rich and somewhat extreme detail of the drapery, there is a perceptible effort to produce an air of freer life ; but the whole effort is architecturally grand and significant. On the inner side of this partition wall the pendentives of a small open gallery are ingeniously filled with hovering figures of angels, affording another lively proof of the architectural feeling pervading the sculpture of this epoch. Lastly, all the insides of the arches of the arcades are richly covered with stucco ornaments, and on the splendidly-decorated capitals in the nave there are figures of saints with scrolls, likewise severe and rude in style, but forming a worthy completion to the splendid decoration of this grand building. The ingenious introduction of hovering angels with outspread wings appears again on a grand scale in the arcades of the Church at Hecklingen, likewise belonging to the latter part of the twelfth century. It is worthy of remark that the distinct artistic effort of the Saxon school, like that of Westphalia, seems to avoid the abstruse fantastic element which we find in the sculptures of other parts. All the more easily, therefore, scope is here afforded to a free artistic humour, as for example, in the reliefs on the outside of the choir of the Church at Konigslutter, where scenes of hare-hunting are introduced, and, with a touch of parody, the two pursued hares at length overcome the hunts- man, bringing him to the ground, and maliciously tie his hands together. In South Germany the Bavarian lands hold the first rank in Plastic Ait richer exercise of plastic art.* While here also, there is no lack of works of a simple and distinct character, in nowise conspicuous for a typical mode of treatment, towards the end of the epoch we find an evident effort to extend an abundance of symbolic allusions throughout a wider range of subjects. Side by side, with various vague Christian allusions, the half- forgotten figures of the old Northern sagas obtain a new life, both blending together in a fantastic style, which, with inartistic confusion, falter out their wild aphorisms over the portals and facades of the churches.-f- A splendid work * See numerous notices in Sighart’s Mittelalt. Kunst in der Erzdioz. Miinchen- Freising (Freising, 1856) and in the same author’s Gesch. d. bi/d. K. im IConigr. Bayern , p. 177-199. The illustrations subjoined are deficient in accurate characterization. f Cf. the excellent remarks in A. Springer’s Ikonographischen Studien in d. Mittheil d. Wiener Central-Comm., i860. No. 2. VOL. I. 3 C 37 & Sculpture of the Middle Ages. of this kind is the portal of St. Jacob at Ratisbon, a monastery of Scotch monks', probably executed about 1184. In an artistic point of view these works are strikingly rude and utterly deficient in all life-like feeling. At Ratisbon the symbolic and heraldic figures on the bridge, over the Danube, belonging to a somewhat earlier period (about 1140), afiford a remarkable proof of the varied tasks at that time required of sculpture. A slight touch of the fantastic style of St. Jacob at Ratisbon, appears again in the facade of the Church of Gocking, which probably, as affiliated with the Scottish monastery, received its architects from thence.*' The confusion with which Christian forms are here blended with fantastic figures of men and animals, furnishes a fresh evidence of the manner in which the plastic impulse of the age began to cover with sculpture the narrow frame-work of Romanesque portals. On the other hand, in the main portal of the Monastery Church at Windberg, built about 1167, the rich plastic life is confined to the decoration of the capitals and to the repre- sentation in the arched compartment of the Virgin between the two founders of the building. Similar portal sculptures are to be seen in the Church of Ainau, where Christ appears in the midst of five saints, and where, in the relief of the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, lively expression and happy attitudes are combined with coarseness of form ; at Biburg, where Christ is represented as a Judge, surrounded by curious animal figures ; and at the •Minster Church at Moosburg, where Christ appears with the Virgin, St. Castulus, and two benefactors of the church, Heinrich the Saint, and Bishop Adalbert of Freising, short- and clumsy figures in simple drapery and strict architectural bearing. At the portal of St. Peter’s Church at Straubing, and also in the Church at Altenstadt, the representation of a contest with the dragon lapses entirely into the ornamental, so much so that, as in many of the initials of manuscripts, the figures are little more than calligraphical flourishes. If all this bespeaks a specially lively fancy in the works of Freising. Bavarian sculpture, the great column in the crypt of Freising Cathedral must be designated as the most splendid specimen of this tendency. J* From the base to the capital the whole is a medley of human figures, dragons, and other monstrous combinations, a true study for the investigation of the learned. These creations, which, according to the inscription, proceed from a master Fuitfrecht, have been endeavoured to be explained by old Northern sagas, an interpretation which seems all the more probable, as, at the same time in South Germany, Teutonic legends were revived in poetry, and besides many other works, they formecj, in the Nibelungen Died, the main production of our earliest national poetry. From * Sighart : Knnst. in Bayern, p. 187, with illustration, t See illustration in Sighart, p. 182, 183. II. The Twelfth Century. 379 this comparative survey we perceive how far more favourably, because more free and unfettered by ecclesiastical considerations, this material presented itself to the poet than to the sculptor. Equally fettered was the sculptor in the rare cases in which he had to treat of secular subjects. An instance of this is to be seen in the relief of the Emperor Frederic I., in the transept of S. Zeno at Reichenhall, an extremely rude work ; it is also apparent in a not much better specimen, though more animated in style, namely, the statues of the same emperor and his wife, Beatrix, and of Bishop Adalbert, near the portal of Freising Cathedral. Besides these Bavarian works, the artistic importance of which is far surpassed by their richness of symbolic allusions, some Swabian sculptures may be mentioned as belonging to this Swabian Sculpture. epoch. At the portal of the Church at Alpirsbach, executed in the latter part of the twelfth century, there is the favourite representation of the enthroned Christ in a medallion, supported by angels, in attitudes of lively action. In the Church of St. John at Gmiind, probably belonging to the beginning of the thirteenth century, there are a number of diminutive reliefs, not merely at the portals but over the whole facade, and even scattered on the wall-surfaces of the southern side aisle. Christ on the Cross appears at the west portal, and on the south side, among others, are the two Marys and St. John ; the latter supporting his head on his hand, as if expressive of sorrow ; also the enthroned Virgin and Child, who is grasping an apple held out by His mother. In vain, however, feeling endeavours to find its way into these separate touches. The figures are incredibly puppet-like and immature. Close beside, moreover, are to be seen centaurs, stags, birds, fishes, and huntsmen blowing 1 horns, and pursuing a stag with their dogs, evidently chiselled by the same hand, but with a life and freshness of action that form a striking contrast to the stiffness of the other figures. The accompanying architectural forms are of the utmost elegance. In Switzerland, the extremely rich ornaments of the Cathedral at Zurich, both in the numerous pillars of the interior, and in the north portal of the exterior, afford an evidence of lively plastic Swiss Sculpture. taste, but at the same time of clumsiness, and of a fantastic conception. Somewhat later, in the beginning of the thirteenth century, the still richer ornament of the transept was executed, a work scarcely equalled in its rich variety.* Here, as in other places, it is scarcely possible to follow plastic art in its wonderful vagaries. Wild deformities, dragons, and monsters of every kind, alternate with hunting scenes and ludicrous representations, all in a tolerably rude style, but evidently striving after life and action. There is * Cf. Mitth. d. Ant. Gesellsch. in Zurich , VoL. I., Nos. 5, 6. 380 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. no idea here of symbolism, even historical scenes only exceptionally appear, such as the sleeping Samson, with Delilah cutting off his hair ; all the rest seems left to the wanton caprice of the stone-cutter. To about the same period belong the portal sculptures of the Monastery Church at Neufchatel, two saints executed in a rude and barbarous style, and kneeling beside them a grotesque fantastic demon. The decorative sculptures of Basle Minster may also be added here, as they belong to the thirteenth century. On the outside of the choir we see rich friezes, with humorous representations from animal fables ; in the inside the columns of the choir aisle are adorned with naive scenes from the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. A special kind of monuments, which subsequently acquired Tombstones, great importance in the history of plastic art, are the tombstones, which, at this epoch, were only exceptionally executed with artistic skill. They were constantly nothing more than a cross engraved on a slab, and it was very rarely that there was any attempt made to represent the figure of the deceased either cut on the surface or in bas-relief. The alleged tombstone of Plectrudis, in the choir of Sta. Maria im Capitol, at Cologne, is of the latter kind ; so is also the monument of Wittekind, in the Church at Enger, in Westphalia, belonging to the close of the Romanesque epoch, and probably not previous to the thirteenth century, with a youthful head, the eyes of which were formerly marked by jewels, dressed in a long garment, in the severe style, and formerly coloured throughout. In the Church at Freckenhorst there is also a female figure in a garment, arranged in delicate folds ; in Wurzburg Cathedral there is the tomb of Bishop Gottfried of Hohenlohe (died 1198), still exhibiting hardness and stiffness of style, with little feeling of nature, and very weak outline both of head and drapery; lastly, in St. Thomas’ at Strasburg, there is the tomb of Bishop Adaloch, which is adorned with clumsy representations of figures. Next to stone sculpture, bronze-casting occupied an important position in Germany at this period, for it adhered not merely to the technical productions of the former epoch, but in arrangement and in general organization, it knew how to turn to account the results of recent times. Even in the beginning of the century, in the western district, the artists of Dinant acquired such reputation in the working of bronze, that in the adjacent French provinces the bronze-casters for a long time were called Dinandiers. An important work of this school is the Baptismal Font in St. Barthelemy at Liege, which was executed about the year 1112, by Lambert Patras of Dinant.* The basin, in allusion to the molten sea in the porch of Solomon’s Temple, rests on twelve brazen oxen, * See good illustration in Diiiron’s Ann. Arch., Vols. V., VIII. II. The Twelfth Century. 381 symbolically referring to the Apostles. The side of the basin is adorned with five scenes in relief, which are explained by detailed inscriptions. We see St. John preaching repentance, the Publicans, Christ baptizing, the Baptism of the centurion Cornelius, and, lastly, the conversion of the Philosopher Craton through the preaching of St.John the Evangelist (Fig. 210). If we compare these works with the gates at Hildesheim, executed a century before, the advance made is unmistakably great. The relief style is recognized in its essential conditions, and is treated with artistic knowledge ; the attitudes TITUSS 0 BAPTIST A° °?VB LI CANI° are simple and striking, the style of the drapery is a free imitation of the antique, and the heads alone are still devoid of the life that animates the rest of the work. A similar, though smaller work of the twelfth century, is the Font in Osnabriick Cathedral, which contains five relief scenes of the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan, and half-length figures of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. Here also the style is fine and freely antique, but in the figures, especially in the angel hastening rapidly forward with a cloth for drying, a lively feeling of nature is expressed. The work of Saxon bronze-casters is, in all probability, to be seen in two bronze gates executed for the Sclavonic 382 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. East. 1 he Korssun gate of the Church of St. Sophia at Nowgorod, seerps to be the earlier of the two, and is supposed to have been completed between 1152 and 1156, by a master Riquinus, at the order of Bishop Alexander of Plock, and of Archbishop Wichman of Magdeburg. The Fall of Man and his Redemption are represented in several scenes, and other figures are added to fill up the whole. The other gate, belonging to the Cathedral at Gnesen, consists of two folding panels, dissimilar both in composition and work, and depicting in eighteen compartments, surrounded by branch-work, scenes from the life of St. Adalbert, likewise treated in a somewhat typical manner. To the same period also belongs the Brazen Lion in the Cathedral Square at Brunswick, erected in 1166, a work which, with all its severeness of style, is not without a feeling of nature. Among other important and principally decorative works of bronze- casting is the foot of the candelabrum in the Cathedral at Prague,* and various splendid candelabra belonging to this period, which, like those of the pre- ceding epoch, were intended to prefigure the Heavenly Jerusalem. Candelabrum. Especially elegant in execution, and well preserved, is the can- delabrum in the Abbey Church at Komburg, a work of perfect beauty of ornament, with splendid arabesque branch-work, in the intertwined leaves of which all sorts of animal life are introduced; on the other hand, the embossed figures of the Apostles in the turrets, and the half-length figures of the Prophets, are stiff and undeveloped. In spite of this the work, evidently from the style of the ornament, belongs to the end of the Romanesque epoch. Equally magnificent is the candelabrum in the Minster at Aix-la-Chapelle, presented, about 1165, by Frederic I. and his consort; it has, however, lost much of its sculptured ornament. To the same category also belong, although scarcely executed before the beginning of the thirteenth century, the splendid brazen Font in the Cathedral at Hildesheim, a, grand monument with its rich symbolic allusions of the old Hildesheim foundries. It rests on the vigorous figures of the four rivers of Paradise, characterized by urns, from which water flows. On the basin itself, the four Cardinal Virtues, the Evangelists, and the four great Prophets, are represented ;, also the Passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea; Joshua’s Passage of the Jordan ; the Baptism of Christ ; and the figure of the donator adoring the Madonna. On the lid there are likewise various scenes, among others, Mary Magdalene wiping the feet of Christ, and the Drink given to the Thirsty, besides other works of mercy, all of which bear reference to the same fundamental idea. The style is coarse and typical, in the usual Romanesque manner, but the execution is able and careful. * Cf. Mittelalt. Kunstdenkm. des osterr. Kaiserst. I. pi. 35. II. The Twelfth Century. 383 Bronze work was also occasionally used as before (cf. p. 368) B '^Slabs'" l> t° m t ) slabs. One of the earliest examples of this is the monu- ment of the anti-king Rudolph of Swabia, in the Cathedral of Merseburg, a work belonging to the close of the former epoch, and probably finished not long before his death in 1080. The deceased is represented in bas-relief ; the features of the somewhat roundly formed head have a typical character, with a fixed staring expression ; the drapery is richly covered with small engraved ornaments, and, like the eye-balls, was formerly studded with gems. The ears have still almost a volute-like form : the mouth is scarcely delineated at all ; the hands have long, thin, sprawling fingers, hardly capable of holding the orb and sceptre. The figure is slender and almost emaciated. The other works of this kind all belong to Saxony. They are episcopal monuments of a simple style — one in the Church of Our Lady at Halberstadt, the other in the Cathedral at Magdeburg. The latter, representing the Arch- bishop Frederic I. (died 1152), is an able work, in which a higher understand- ing of nature is evidenced in the fall of the drapery, though the head is devoid of expression and life. The figure is, moreover, represented in strong haut- relief, the head being almost entirely insulated.* The few plastic works in wood are just as little of importance as regards the progress of sculpture, as the ivory carvings, which, during this epoch, present, on the whole, no new stage of advance. On the other hand, in the works of the goldsmith a new spirit is perceptible, both in their conception and execution. This is, indeed, less remarkable in the numerous metal crucifixes and similar small works manufac- tured on a large scale, and which, from the antiquarian eagerness of the present day, have received an unjustifiable aesthetic admiration — an admiration which would have much astonished the innocent producer of these manufactured works. On the other hand, there are splendid shrines for relics, which are designed in an architectural manner, and are finished with all the decorative magnificence of the Romanesque style. From the architectural bias of the age they assume the form of small buildings, the sides of which are con- structed with miniature columns and graceful arches. In the arcades are the figures of Christ, the Virgin, the Apostles, and specially of the Saint, whose bones rest within the chest, the whole being formed of costly metal plates. On the roof there are similar figures in bas-relief, or legendary scenes, in medallions. The whole surface is adorned with rich ornaments, and lavishly inlaid with enamel, precious stones, and antique gems. The main seat of these works seems to have been the Rhine lands, for the churches there still Valuable Metals. * Lotz, in his Kunst- Topographic, i. 417, speaks erroneously of “very shallow relief” both as regards this and the earlier monument. 384 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. contain the greater number of these splendid productions. The figures on them, remain, however, throughout typical and stiff, although most of these works belong to the close of the Romanesque epoch. One of the grandest is the shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral, executed about the year 1198 ; two splendid ones are in the same city in St. Maria, in the Schnur- gasse ; others are in the St. Ursula and St. Scverin ; the chest of Heribert is in the Church at Deutz ; several of great interest are in the Church at Sicgburg ; and one of the most magnificent, the shrine of Charlemagne, is in the Minster at Aix-la-Chapelle. In Osnabriick Cathedral there are the two reli- quaries of St. Crispinus and St. Crispianus ; and in the Cathedral of Hildes- heim there is the shrine of St. Godehard. The splendid antependiums, one of the richest, most beautiful, and best preserved of which is in the Church at Komburg, are of similar workmanship. It belongs to the close of the Romanesque epoch. The chief importance here rests on the extremely elegant enamels, consisting of ornamental designs of great variety and beauty ; on the other hand, the embossed figures in relief of the enthroned Saviour and the Apostles, are stiff and Byzantine in style. (The splendid work of German goldsmiths, the antependium of Kloster-Neuburg, near Vienna, is utterly devoid of plastic ornament, and therefore cannot be mentioned here.) Next to Germany, France occupies the first place. Here also France. the higher decorative claims advanced by architecture led to a more extensive application of plastic art. This first appeared in the southern provinces, where the numerous antique remains awakened the taste for plastic form, and early incited the hand of the artisan to rich deco- rative productions. The artist generally attempted to emulate Plastic A>t m graceful splendour of the antique fragments constantly used in new buildings, and this in a style which certainly approached the Byzantine type in the conception of form, but in composition and execu- tion adhered closely to the antique sarcophagus sculptures. Among the most extensive works of this kind is the plastic ornament of the St. Gilks. facade of St. Gilles, not far from Arles, in Provence. The building, begun in 1116, exhibits the richest introduction of antique frag- ments in its marble columns, with their delicately executed Corinthian capitals, connected after the antique fashion by architraves, the latter produced by a broad horizontal band, extending along the whole facade, and forming the head-piece of the door at the three portals. This band in its full extent is treated as an uninterrupted relief frieze, which, in the spirit of antique sar- cophagus reliefs, is covered with scenes from the Passion of Christ, from the Entry into Jerusalem which forms the head-piece of the northern portal to the Resurrection at the southern portal ; the Last Supper, and the Washing of St. Peter’s feet, being ingeniously contrived to occupy the broad space II. The Twelfth Century . 335 above the main portal. As the artist required a higher space for the Cruci- fixion he introduced this scene in the pediment of the southern portal : and, corresponding with it, above the northern portal he placed the enthroned Virgin and Child receiving the adoration of the Three Kings ; while above the main portal appears the representation of the Judge of the World in the midst of the four symbols of the Evangelists. Lastly, in the lower compart- ments of the fagade he introduced the almost life-size statue of the Twelve Apostles in niches, framed by fluted pilasters. These figures of the Apostles, conceived in a severe and solemn style, with antique drapery arranged in hard and delicately fine folds, remind us surprisingly of the Apostles in St. Michael’s Church at Hildesheim. While in these the typical and severe element predominates, the small relief representations on the architraves exhibit all the freshness and life belonging to this epoch ; not, it is true, in the still conventionally treated heads, but in the gestures and attitudesof the figures. Scenes such as the Expulsion of the Sellers and Buyers from the Temple ; the Washing of St. Peter’s Feet ; the Scourging; and the Bearing of the Cross, are full of speaking dramatic expression. There is scarcely a more remarkable proof of the struggle between the newly-awakened feeling of nature and the stiff traditionary form, and at the same time, of the increasing skill in the dis- tinct arrangement of the whole in obedience to architectural and plastic laws, than this grj.nd work affords. To about the same time (alleged to Arles. be about 1 154, but probably, like the former, not executed till the later decades of the twelfth century),* belong the equally extensive and important sculptures on the fagade of St. Trophime, at Arles. The extensive sculptures which have been preserved in the Abbey Moissac, northwest of Toulouse, are ascribed, on the contrary, to the beginning of the twelfth century. On the capitals of the columns of the Moissac. transept we find not merely the most important incidents of the Old and New Testament, but also various legends of martyrs represented amid fantastic monsters ; on the pillars there are life-size figures in relief of saints carefully executed in white marble. In the porch of the main portal there are some frieze-like arranged scenes from the youth of Christ ; beneath them, on one side, the Four Cardinal Virtues, and on the other the two fatal sins of Avarice and Sensuality, besides forcible delinea- tions of the Punishment of Sin, and the Torments of Hell. In the portal sideposts the chief Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul appear ; and two prophets, close beside several lionesses, advancing erect. All these works evidence great freshness and vigorous life. Inferior and ruder in style is the enthroned * That in the Middle Ages the plastic decoration of churches was frequently added subsequently, is, in many cases, expressly testified, and may, in many others, be assumed. VOL. I. 3 d Sculpture of the Middle Ages. 386 Christ in the midst of the four Evangelists and the four-and-twenty Elders of the Apocalypse, which occupies the tyinpanon. It does not, however, seem necessary to regard this part of the work as belonging to an earlier date ; on the contrary, we find the same thing repeated in the facade of St. Gilles, and in several other cases, so that it seems as if at times less importance was attached to such typically recurring representations, the execution of which was committed to inferior hands, while the more interesting and more various historical scenes were reserved for more skilful artists. It is worthy of remark, that in these western provinces, where antique influence was less felt, the dis- tinctness and harmony of the Provencal monuments gave place to a more fantastic and wilder character. This is the case, for instance, in the portal of the Church at Souillac, and, combined with much grandeur of Souillac. conception, in the main portal of the Abbey Church at Conques, which contains one of the most extensive representations of the Last Judgment. These works, nevertheless, afford further proof of the fact that, simultaneously, in the different schools of France, there was Conques. a visible effort to obtain a distinct arrangement within an archi- tectural framework for the profound symbolic and historical ideas which agitated the age. This gift had hitherto, as we have seen, been denied the German schools, and it was only aroused by French influence in the fol- lowing epoch. The further westward we go the more extravagant is the spirit FI "ur IV-!/ ni ^ ese ^presentations. Among the principal works in the provinces of old Aquitaine is the fagade of Notre Dame at Poitiers, executed at the end of the twelfth century. A distinct architectural organization is, indeed, produced by the large and small arcades Poitiers. formed by clumsy columns and repeated in several stories ; but the entire surface, capitals, friezes, and archivolts are covered with such a flood of arabesques rudely executed, that the eye is lost as in a maze of fantastic flowers, and has to force itself to pay attention to the independent sculptures. Above the three large arched openings of the lower story, in an utterly unsuitable position, are representations in relief from the Fall of Man to the Annunciation of the Virgin, the Visitation, and the Birth of Christ, scattered over the whole surface in a somewhat confused manner. The relief is coarsely treated, the figures are heavy, and the drapery is executed in a hard style, and yet, though the movements are angular, there is a vigorous feeling of nature. There are not a few expressive touches, such as the nurse, who, while she helps to wash the new-born infant, looks round anxiously towards the bed in which the mother is lying. Above, in two rows of arcades are the figures of the Apostles and two bishops, the lower ones sitting and the upper ones standing, all executed in a hard and severe style, II. The Twelfth Century. 387 but with graceful arrangement of the drapery ; still higher, in a concave oval compartment in the central pediment, Christ appears surrounded by the tokens of the Evangelists. Here also the framework, graceful stone filigree, is so predominant that, as in all the other parts of the facade, it appears rather to resemble the art of the goldsmith than an architectural A ngoiileme. work. Still richer must have originally been the plastic ornament of Angouleme Cathedral, which not only displays a similar style and arrangement with numerous figures of apostles and saints, and in the upper central compartment the figure of the Judge of the World ; but it also contains an extensive representation of the Last Judgment, which the eye has to trace with difficulty among the reliefs scattered over the whole fagade. In Auvergne there are some specimens of decorative sculp- Clermont. ture which, like the architecture of this district, exhibit much affinity with the style of Provence, although inferior to the works of that country in technical finish. The most important is the southern portal of the Cathedral at Clermont, the sideposts of which are covered with reliefs of sacred personages, and above the door is a frieze-like relief of the Adoration of the Kings, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. The beautiful arrangement of the whole, and the lively style of the representation, call to mind the works of St. Gilles. In the arched space above the door is a representation of Christ enthroned and attended by two seraphim. The style of plastic decoration in the stuccoed capitals of the choir of the church at Issoire, evidently belonging to the close of the century, is especially perfect. The sculpture in the Burgundian churches is extremely Autun. richly developed. Foremost of all is the Cathedral of Autun with its grand but wild compositions in the arched space sur- mounting the principal portal (about 1150). The space is filled with the representation of the Last Judgment, into which are introduced several appalling wild colossal devils, who seize and torment the figures of the condemned (Fig. 21 1). St. Michael, also exaggerated in size, is weighing a soul and protecting it against the combined efforts of two demons, who are endeavouring to press down the other side of the beam of the scales. Art rises in these scenes to a height of striking grandeur, which, after the fashion of the age, appears in the introduction of fantastic demon forms. The master who executed this work is Gislebertus. We find similar dispropor- tioned figures in garments with formal folds and fluttering ends, in the important sculptures of the Abbey Church at Vezelay. At the Vezelay. principal portal we see the solemn figure of Christ enthroned among the Apostles, accompanied by a number of smaller scenes. Here also we perceive how the artists of these provinces struggled to produce 3^8 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. a new conception of sacred personages, and thus fell into a new kind of formalism strangely combined with fantastic devices. In the capitals in the interior of the church this exaggerated tendency gave place to a far coarser and more naturalistic style. ,, . , The plastic works of this epoch found in French Switzerland French also belong to this group. These monuments exhibit the Switzerland. erroneous custom, more prevalent in France than in Germany, of covering the capitals with representations of an independent purport. The sculptures of this kind in the Church at Grandson proceed from the end of the eleventh or the beginning of the twelfth century. Figures of men and animals, lions, eagles, and distorted heads, alternate with figures of the enthroned Madonna, and with St. Michael killing the dragon ; everything is coarsely treated and rudely conceived. Still more wild is the fancy exhibited II. The Twelfth Century. 3 8 9 in the capitals of the Abbey Church at Payerne, where all sorts of battle scenes are introduced w r ith evident delight in the passionate dramatic element. Lastly, the same unfettered style appears in the form of a violent reaction in the works of the Church of Notre Dame de Valere at Sion. The capitals and coping-stones here are covered with figured representations of the most grotesque character, some symbolic, some historical, and some purely fantastic ; dragons devouring small human figures, the jaws of hell from which fishes are emerging, which also are swallowing men ; then, again, the enthroned figure of Christ, hideously mis-shapen, in the midst of adoring angels ; and lastly, serpents, lions, eagles, goats, some of them in the most distorted attitudes. These works must belong to the close of the twelfth century. To the end of this century, or, perhaps, rather to the beginning of the thirteenth, belongs the extremely rich ornament of the Cathedral at Geneva. It covers all the capitals of the rich pillars, which are formed of clusters of small columns, and it combines the elegance of the Corinthian leaf-work with a strange rudeness in the figures.* Side by side with a series of historical scenes, Abraham, Melchisedek, Christ, Mary at the Tomb, and others, we find all sorts of fantastic forms, such as Sirens and the Chimera, which is even designated by an inscription for the benefit of the ignorant spectator, besides birds, dragons, griffins, and other monstrous forms. The excessive pleasure manifested in these creations contrasts strangely with the extremely faulty sense of form. This rich decoration is, however, confined to the lower parts ; everything above, the supports of the roof and the triforiae, displays the old conventional early Gothic leaf-work. Works in Lastly, great excellence was attained by the plastic school, Central which developed itself in the latter part of the twelfth century France. j n cen tral provinces in the heart of France. It is connected with the advance made by architecture at the same period, an advance which ( after a short time, was to produce the .most splendid creation of the Middle Ages— namely, the Gothic style. The architectural tendency was here so predominantly strong, that plastic art was compelled to yield more than elsewhere to the ruling law of architecture, and, in fact, became the slave of its severe mistress. And yet it was from this profound subjection that sculpture was in a short period to come forth with new freedom and life. One of the most important specimens of this tendency are the sculptures Chartres. on the facade of the Cathedral of Chartres. Here, for the first time, we see in the three combined portals that grand system of a perfect plastic ornament, which was subsequently to impart such incom- parable splendour to the portals of the early Gothic style. But we perceive * See illustration in Blavignac , Hist, de l' Archil. Sacree, &c. Atlas pi. 65-73. 390 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. also how the sculptor had still to struggle with the utterly different require- ments of the Romanesque style. The arched space above the portal afforded the only satisfactory place, and this, after the usual fashion, was filled with the representation of the enthroned Christ, who, thin and stiff, appeared amid the four symbols of the Evangelists. Below, in four divisions, were the four Apostles, likewise conceived in the usual manner, and exhibiting somewhat of the nice and careful treatment which meets us in the Provencal sculptures. All the rich historical scenes which, in those southern buildings, were spread so happily over the architrave, were here confined to the capitals, which, like a broad band, were prolonged above the columns and pillars. Here, in small and clumsy figures, the Life of Christ, especially His youth and His passion, was depicted. As, however, the necessity was felt to give these frieze-like representations some vigorous finish, the whole was crowned with a succession of small arches, which were, on their part, again overloaded with perforated galleries and turrets. The erroneous French custom of making the capitals passive vehicles for historical representation, was here, therefore, formed into a complete system, and both arts, to the disadvantage of each, were inter- mingled. This, however, was still more strikingly the case on the lower parts of the portals. Here figures of male and female saints more than life size, for the most part crowned with richly-adorned diadems, were introduced on consoles affixed against the tapestry-like decorated shafts of the columns (Fig. 212). Above their heads baldachins were placed, which appeared attached quite externally to the shaft of the column. We see how plastic art was here forcibly pressed into the service of architecture. The life of the figures in consequence became petrified, they became integral parts of the architecture, and rested, as passive and expressionless, against the columns, as the priestly figures rest against the pillars in Egyptian temples. Stiff, typical, and column-like, unnaturally tall, with drapery arranged in precise parallel folds — which, in its deeply-cut lines, calls to mind the fluting of column shafts — the feet side by side and pointed downwards, they remind us of the primitive sculptures on tombstones. Thus they stand there, not as crowned princes, but as a band of subject servants, all with the same bent heads, the same narrow shoulders, the same prescribed position of the arms, not venturing to move, because any freedom of action would bring them into conflict with their neighbours and with the architecture. Whilst, however, the figures thus even surpass in their motionless stiffness the extreme of Byzantine formality, art attempts to indemnify herself in the heads. It is true she cannot yet give them life-like expression of feeling, but she strives after an individual impress, and she does this by a free attention to nature. For here, for the first time in mediaeval art, which hitherto had retained the antique form of head though utterly degenerated, we meet with II. The Twelfth Century. 39i the Teutonic type of countenance, with its simple true-hearted lineaments, as with the first smile of spring. It is true this is but timidly expressed, the figure is bent forward, the eyes are at times cast down, the thin lips are drawn into a smile, as if betokening modest embarrassment. But with all this modesty of demeanour a new spirit is wafted towards us as from the Fig. 212. From the Fagade of Chartres Cathedral. genuine archaic creations of Greek art, which were likewise the harbingers of its glorious prime. Involuntarily we are reminded of the statues in the temple of JEg ina, but the comparison shows at once the contrast. For there everything was already pervaded with the feeling of organic life, and the heads 392 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. alone remained stiff and expressionless ; here, on the contrary, the new life appears in the heads, while the rest of the body is bound in formal constraint by the fetters ofarchitecture. The sculptures on the facade of the Abbey Church of St. Denis. St. Denis at Paris, are less well preserved, and recently have been much repaired and thoroughly restored. As they belong to the building consecrated in 1140, by the Abbe Suger, they are important as regards the date of these works. The pilasters, on the southern portal, are covered with a representation of the twelve months, amid elegant arabesque branch-work ; the pediment contains a legendary scene ; on the northern portal there are the signs of the Zodiac, and on the main portal there is a repre- sentation of the Last Judgment ; yet all is so much restored, that we are no longer able to form an opinion respecting the style. The sculptures on the north portal of the transept are in better preservation, though this part also undoubtedly belongs to Suger’s building, which was begun in 11 40, and was completed in less than three years. The statues of royal personages on the two walls exhibit great severeness of style, and this also prevails in the reliefs of the pediment. Far more important, however, is the main portal of the southern side aisle of the Cathedral of Le Mans, one of the richest Le Mans, and most splendid works of Romanesque art. In style it may be compared with the works of Chartres, but it marks a higher stage of progress, and thus must be ascribed to the close of the Romanesque epoch. The capitals, for instance, are executed in the most elegant and freest Corinthian style, even the coping-stones are covered with the most graceful branch-work, and the shafts of the columns on which the figures stand, as at Chartres, are rich with various designs. All the rest, on the other hand, is devoted to insulated works of sculpture. On the capitals there stand ten column-like and stiff figures in antique drapery, variously arranged, but throughout exhibiting the same parallel folds, and the heads and limbs are stiff and constrained. Nevertheless, even here, in the slender proportions, and still more in the type of the heads, there breathes forth a strong presenti- ment of a new life, though still too dependent on the architecture. We recognize St. Peter and St. Paul, and other saints, and, finally, kings and queens, all full of youth, and in spite of the severe style of conception, imbued with a breath of grace and feeling. In a small colonnade, above the door, are seated the Twelve Apostles, short, heavy, compact figures, again evidencing that the sculpture of this period had no fixed laws for physical structure, and had scarcely an idea of true proportions. In the arched com- partment above, solemn and severe, is the enthroned figure of Christ, with the four symbols of the Evangelists, again displaying vehement gestures. This also is a constantly recurring trait in the plastic art of the period, which, in its naive II. The Twelfth Century. 393 manner, endeavoured by lively action to indicate the Divine inspiration of the Evangelists. Lastly, all the four archivolts surrounding the tympanon are covered with sculptures ; in the centre angels, swinging vessels of incense, form a solemn circle round the figure of the Redeemer ; in the outer circles the whole history of the Life of Christ is depicted in distinct and simple reliefs, and in a naive manner not devoid of life. The whole arrangement presents an important advance compared with the works at Chartres. Still more splendid, and entirely similar in design, is the Bourges. portal of the southern side aisle of the Cathedral of Eourges, probably belonging to the close of the twelfth century. The richest Romanesque ornament is lavished over every part. On the side walls there are again six statues of saints and royal personages, in the same stiff and undeveloped style. We see from this how much this new design was delighted in, and how highly this peculiar architectural rather than plastic beauty was esteemed. On the capitals of the indescribably rich columns there are again small scenes in relief, depicting in a life-like, though still thoroughly Romanesque style, the Fall of Man, the Expulsion from Paradise, and a series of other incidents from Sacred History. Over the door are the stiff compact figures of the Apostles, just as at Le Mans, and in the tympanon above, just as there, we find Christ with the symbols of the Evangelists, while on the archivolts there are adoring angels and saints, so that there is no spot unornamented on the whole portal. (The figure of Christ blessing on the central pillar was subsequently added.) Every part of this splendid portal has still the old rich colouring. Somewhat simpler is the portal of the northern side aisle, which, though similar in design, exhibits more architectural decoration in an elegant late Romanesque style, and less true plastic ornament. The pediment contains the enthroned figure of the Madonna in a stiff attitude, though not without a calm grace, receiving the adoration of hovering angels. On the walls there is only one statue on each side in the same stiff antique style. Both portals, as well as that at Le Mans, are protected by projecting porches, a design which we find continued in the following epoch, and which subsequently led to the exuberant employment of plastic art. The plastic ornament, on the south portal of the facade of Paris. Notre Dame at Paris, belongs to the same style, and may have existed previous to the re-building of the cathedral, begun in 1163, which appears to me probable, or else it may have been brought from another building. In the pediment of a pointed arch, which was subsequently heightened for the sake of the two other portals, the Madonna appears enthroned, surrounded by adoring angels, and a king and bishop ; the figures have the same coarse and painfully detailed style of the fagade sculptures at VOL. i. 3 E 394 Sculpture of the Middle Ages. Chartres. Below, in Small and severe Romanesque reliefs, are the Annun- ciation, the Visitation, the Birth of Christ, and the Adoration of the Kings. The style of all these works is so uniform that it can only be ( /f s fj'f regarded as the production of the same school. A series of other similar works, however, give a lively idea of the advance and important influence of this school. Foremost of these are the sculptures of the Cathedral at Angers, which seem to mark the western boundary of this style ; also those in the Churches of St. Loup and Rampillon, south-east of Paris ; and, lastly, several statues of the portal of the former Abbey Church of Corbie, now in the crypt of St. Denis, which may, perhaps, mark the extreme north-eastern boundary of the extension of this school. We see it, therefore, predominating just in those districts which were, at the same time, the disseminators of a new advance in architecture. But while architecture, in its restless progress, marked out within a few decades the leading features of the Gothic system, sculpture adhered from about 1140 to the end of the century to the same stiff and strange style. We must explain this fact, which seems so strikingly to contrast with the restless mental movement of the age, by the same reasons which caused at the same time the long adherence to Romanesque ornament. The masters of the period, both architects and sculptors, were so exclusively filled with the desire for a new advance in construction, and for a thorough remodelling of the whole architectural work, that they were satisfied for a long time with established forms for all the merely decorative parts. The rrtoment had not yet come when the new architecture, surely established, advanced to a general revision of the separate parts, and these, especially the portals, were transformed according to the higher requirements of the style. Hitherto there had only been the endeavour to give richer ornament to the usual Romanesque framework of the portal, and with the most extensive and most distinct distribution of plastic ornament to produce a style which was not secure, as we have seen, from various errors, as, for example, in the historical sculptures of the capitals at Bourges. But the new spirit was only waiting on the threshold for the fitting moment when it should pervade Sculpture also with a hitherto unthought-of life. Compared with the plastic wealth of the southern, western, Pr