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UNIVEKSITY OF CALIFORNIA.
FPOM THK
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(M-

BENJAMIN PARKE AVERY.

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AVERY.
Class No.

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v^-

WONDERS OF SCULPTURE.

WONDERS
OF

SCULPTURE.
BY

LOUIS VIARDOT

ILLUSTRATED WITH SIXTY-TWO ENGRAVINGS.

NEW YORK:
SCRIBNER, ARMSTRONG,
SUCCESSORS TO

AND COMPANY,

CHARLES SCRIBNER AND COMPANY.

1873.

(.30f
n V
I

p.

I>

C A

11

T>

rRlMl-.n

IIV

II.

0.

HOUGHTON ANP COMVANA

NOTE.
The
last

present volume

is

a translation of "

Les Mer-

VEiLLES DE LA SCULPTURE," by M. ViARDOT, published

year by Messrs. Hachette and Company.
is

The author
unneccssar}- to

so well

known

as an art critic, that

it is

we

regret the

recommend his work; but on this account more the incompleteness and injustice of
in

his chapter

on Sculpture

England.

In mourning over

our short-comings, and ridiculing our public monuments,

he has omitted to mention the works of Gibson, Bailev,

Mac-Dowell, Foley,

Bell,

Marshall, Woolner, and other

equally eminent sculptors.

The

rest of the work,

however,

is full

of interest.

The

antique schools, especially the Greek, are ably and fully

reviewed, and the reader
pieces of
is

introduced to

all

the master-

modern

sculpture in continental galleries.

In accordance with the usage of modern scholars, the

original

Greek names of the

in

divinities, as Zeus,

Poseidon,
for

Pallas, have been

most cases substituted

their

vi

NOTE.

Latin synonyms of Jupiter, Neptune, and Minerva; and,

in

the case of a well-known Venus, the proper name,

in

Melos, of the island

which the statue was discovered,

has been preferred to the generally used Anglo-French

corruption, Milo.

With these exceptions, the

to give a faithful
trusts that
it

translator has

endeavoured

reproduction of M. Viardot's work, and

pleasure and instruction to Enghsh

may give

readers.

N. d'Anvers.

CONTENTS.
BOOK
I.

ANCIENT SCULPTURE.

CHAPTER
Stitue of

I.

E(;yptian sculpture.

Ra-em-Ke, of Sepa, of Nesa

terms
in

The archaic

Meaning of Egj-ptian epoch The style The second

artistic

PAGK

renaissance of art in

the British

Egypt Egyptian statues Museum The Rosetta Stone

in the

...

Louvre,
5

CHAPTER
Influence

n.

ASSYRIAN SCULPTURE.
on the Greeks, Etruscans, and Khorsabad Discoveries at Koyunjik, Karamles, Kalab-Shergat Colossal Bulls in the Louvre
of

Assyrian art
of

Hebrews

Palace

Assyrian

bas-reliefs

in

the

British

Museum Obelisk

of

Kalab-Shergat

42

CHAPTER
Statucb in the Uffizi (iallcry
the Orator

HI.

KTKUSCAN SCULPIUKE.
:

the Idolino, the Chima-ra, and

The Lydian Tomb Etruscan Vases (so-called) Rhytons Amphorse Vetri Antichi
.

(j-

Tiii

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER
Influence of mythology on Grecian art

IV.

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.

Dsedalus Glaucus

PAC;8

Dipoenusand Scyllis Dameas Ageladas .-Eginetan marbles Munich Praxiteles Phidias Scopas Grecian Sculptures in the Louvre the Venus of Milo, Diana Huntress, Niobe and Achilles, the Dying Gladiator at Florence her Children, the Venus of Medici, the Apollino, the Faun, the Apollo Belthe Wrestlers, the Arrotino at Rome at Naples vedere, the Laocoon, the Torso Belvedere
at

the Flora,

and the Toro Farnese in the Marbles of Xanthus, the Elgin the British Museum Marbles, Sculptures from the Parthenon
the Hercules,
:

...

70

CHAPTER
ROMAN
Influence of Greece on

V.

SCULI'TURE.
of Emperors and
;

Roman art Statues

Empresses
Caracalla,

of Ciesar Agrippina, Augustus, &c.

of Anti-

nous, Balbus, and others

&c

Bas-reliefs
.

Busts of Agrippa, Nero, Domitian,

:

Suovetaurilia,
. . .

a Conclamatio,
. . .

the Pra;torian Soldiers

iSl

CONTENTS.

\x

BOOK

II.

MODERN SCULPTURE.
CHAPTER
Nicolas of Pisa
of working
I.

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.

Ghiberti Delia Robbia Sansovino Verrochio Agratus Michael Angelo his character and mode
:

PAGB

his sculptures

Bacchus, the
Pieta,

Tombs

of the

Medici,
Brutus,
the

the

Madonna
:

della

Moses,

the Captives,

&c

Cellini
:

his

group of Perseus and Andromeda,

Nymph

of Fontainebleau,
his

&c

Ammanato Bernini
201

Algardi

Canova

of Perseus with the Medusa's head, and Theseus with the

Minotaur

.........
CHAPTER
II.

Tomb

of Maria Christina, his groups

SPANISH sci;l?ture.
Vigarni

Berruguete Becerra Tombs of Isabella of Arragon

and Charles V., of Juana Cano Gines

........
la

Loca and Philip the Handsome

238

CHAPTER

III.

GERMAN SCULPTURE.
Erwin of Baden Schuffer Vischer Dannecker his group Ranch Kiss his Amazon on of Ariadne on the Panther horseback Rietschel Thorwaldsen h
:

....
:

249

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER
Tombs
of Charles
tlie

IV.
PAGE

FLEMISH SCULPTURE.

Sluter Claux
mann Glosencamp

Bold and Mary of Burgundy, at Bruges de Vousonne Jacques de Baerz Her-

his

chimney-piece of sculptured wood

264

CHAPTER
Sir R.

V.

ENGLISH SCULPTURE.

Tombs

Westmacott Statues of the Duke of Wellington the Sheemakers Roubiliac in Westminster Abbey

Chantry -Baron Marochetti

.270

CHAPTER
Its

VI.

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
development
in the

Gothic ages Michault

Colomb Juste
:

Texier Demigiano ^John of BolognaJean Goujon his Cousm Pilon Trebatti Pierre Jacques Puget
groups of Milo of Crotona, Hercules in repose, Coysevox Girardon The Coustous Bouchardon

&c
.

Hou283

don

Sculptures by

living artists in the

Luxembourg.

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
Absence of
interest in the early

days Mrs.

Patience Wright
first

Houdon Foreign
to

John Frazee, the Sculptor of American birth Indifference of prominent the Art Horatio Greenough His Statue of Americans Washington Greenough and Fenimore Cooper Hiram Powers The Greek Slave Thomas Crawford His Washington H. K. Brown His pheus His work Washington, Scott, and Greene Henry Dexter Cemetery monuments Erastus D. Palmer His popular works powand William Wetmore Story His Indian ers Thomas Ball John Quincy Adams Ward Hunter and Shakespeare Launt Thompson John Rogers Cleveger, Bartholomew, and Akers Womeii as SculpSculptors
(.)r-

at

literary

artistic
-

tors

336

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAI.E
I.

Pre-Historic Remains

2. 3-

Ditto

ditto

Ra-em-Ke
Schafra

45-

.... .... .....

.

8
8
51

Colossal Bas-relief, Nineveh, in the Louvre

6.
7-

The Infant Apollo with a Duck The Venus of Milo, in the Louvre
Achilles, in the

63 92 99
ic6 108
109
1

8.

Louvre
.

9lO. II. 12.

Pallas of Velletri, in the Louvre

Bacchus, in the Louvre

Mercury, in the Louvre

1314.
1516.

The Tiber, in the Louvre The Nile, in the Vatican Faun with a Child, in the Louvre. The Pretended Germanicus, in the Louvre

12

113
115

116

Discobolus, in the Louvre

of Praxiteles

118
119
125

1718.
19.

The Faun

at

Rome

20.
21.
22.

Niobe at Florence The Venus of Medici Apollino at Florence

at Florence
.

12S
131

2324.

The The The The

Musical Faun
Wrestlers

at Florence. Arrotino at Florence

Amazon
Laocoon
of the Capitol

at Florence
.

>3^

134
135
.

2526. 2728. 29.

30-

Dying Gladiator at Rome Venus leaving the Bath at Rome

136
139
'39 140
141

The The The The The The

at Rome
.

Apollo Belvedere

at Rome

at

Rome

Torso of the Belvedere at Dancing Faun at Naples Farnese Bull at Naples

Rome

142
143

146

xu

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PACB
Frieze of the Parthenon

32- Gods. Zi-

Young Man.

Frieze of the Parthenon

o\- Cavalier. 35- Cavaliers.

36.

Ditto Ditto
.

ditto

ditto
.

.... ....
.

.163
163

.164
164
171

37-

Metope of the Parthenon Heads of Horses from the Parthenon.

.166
.172

British
. .

Museum
.

38. Theseus, 39-

40. 41.
42.

from tlie Parthenon The Parcse, from the Parthenon Torso Agrippina of Germanicus at Rome Antinous at Rome
. .

43- Equestrian statue of 44. Ivy-crowned 45- Statue of

46.
47-

The Perseus of Canova at Rome. Mausoleum of Maria Christina Vienna

Theseus vanquishing the Minotaur Vienna Frankfort 49. Ariadne on the Panther Berlin 50. Bronze monument of Frederick the Great
48.
.

5152. 53-

The Amazon

545556. 5758. 59-

Goethe and Schiller Entrance of Alexander into Babylon Tomb of the Dukes of Burgundy at Dijon The Flying Mercury Fountain of the Innocents Paris.

Tomb
Ditto

of Pierre de Breze Riding-Master of Marly Paris

..... .... .... ....... .... .... .... ...... ....... .... ....... .... ......
.

'75

177 183
185

Bartolommeo Colleoni
at

207

Bacchus
at

Florence

.212
230
232

Moses

Rome

Frontispiece.

at Berlin

234 254 257 258 259 262 266 294 298

301

ditto

60. Voltaire,
61. 62.

The

Marseillaise,

by Houdon by J. Rude

..... ....... .....

. .

Pediment of the Pantheon,

Paris,

by David

318 319 327 333 334

TtIK

WONDERS OF SCULPTURE.
BOOK
I.

ANCIENT SCULPTURE.

IN

a former work, the "

Wonders of Painting^'
"

we made

the preliminary remark, that of the

three arts of design, universally styled

The Fine

Arts," painting was the latest in age, in historical

date.

For a long time

although
subordinate

it

was but the handmaid,

Sculppainting,

the accessory, the finisher of the other two.

ture,
also,
it

preceded
to

long
of

remained
course,
first

architecture,

which,

was the

earliest

of the three.

From

the

appearance of our race upon the earth,

man

required a habitation to shelter him from the cold

and

heat,

from the fury of the elements, and from

the attacks of wild beasts.

Soon arose a demand whose superior

chief? of tribes

for palaces as dwellings for those

.'trength or skill

had made them

;

and kings of nations

and temples had to be raised

ANCIENT SCU1.PTUBE.

honour of the powers of nature, which man, in his wondering ignorance and awe, deified and worill

shipped
their

invoking their blessings

and deprecating

wrath by presents and

sacrifices.

Sculpture, which
as
architecture,
in

employed the same materials wood, stone, and marble, soon

earliest

stepped

and supplied the

it

ornaments
content

and

like
its

architecture,

was
its

at first

to

derive

ideas as well as

materials from inortree trunk in white

ganic nature.
marble,
a

column was a
represented

capital

the

sprouting of

branches and leaves.

tecture

Gradually, however, arch";

became perfected, embellished, transfigured it became an art, and from the useful sprang the At the same time, sculpture insensibly beautiful. attained to importance and independence. Relics of the first crude efforts at sculpture and
drawing have been preserved to us from the Stone Age in the clumsy carvings on rocks or bones found
in

caverns, once

occupied by the

men

of that

remote period, and

sheltered the

in the ruins of those lake cities

which are almost as ancient as the caves which

first

inhabitants of our planet.

art,

Sculpture, as an

gradually advanced as

man
no

became interested in the study of organised nature,

of animals, and, finally, of himself.

He was

longer content to represent things, he endeavoured

ANCIENT SCULP TUL'E.

to imitate
living creatures,

and

to reproduce his

own

im:

^e.

"After admiring the universe," says

"

Charles Blanc,

man began

to contemplate him-

Fig.

I.

Stone Age.
human form
symmetry,
it

self

he realised that the

it
is,

is

adapted
clothing
;

to the spirit, that that

its

so to speak,
its

its

proportions,
its

its

ease

of

motion,

superior beauty, render

alone, of all

living forms, capable of fully manifesting thought.

Fig. 2.

Stone Age.

Therefore he copies the

is

born."

We

called statuary.

human body, and sculpture add from this moment it may be But as the human mind required
:

ANCIENT 'SCULPTURE.

the gradual training of ages before painting pro-

actual

duced what we call a picture, so a long period of and mature civilization was needed before
its

sculpture, freed from

vassalage to architecture,

could bring forth those independent works which

we name

bas-reliets

and

statues.


6
)

CHAPTER

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
I

^AR

back

in

that remote and primitive civiliza-

-^

tion

which witnessed the birth and growth

of the
of
all

fertile

the

arts.

sepulchres of

we must look for the origin The Egyptians excavated the Samoun and the temple of Karnak
Nile,

from the rocks, and raised the great pyramids

of Djizeh (Geezeh) on the borders of the desert
;

they engraved epitaphs on

stelae or tablets

they
in

placed rows of sphinxes resting on

pedestals

the avenues of the temples which contained the

images of their gods and

all

but deified Pharaohs.

day believed that Egyptian

Until
the

present

it

was not unreasonably

under the mflucnce of
progress

art

the priesthood, or rather, practised

alone

who
it

had

arrested

its

by the priests by con-

demning

to the limits of
it

an unchangeable law,

and placing

under the restrictions of religion

its

must have been purely sacerdotal from

origin

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
development
have
to
its

and

early

total

extinction.

Recent

discoveries

distinctly

proved

this

to be an error.
restricted

It is certain,

that before they were

by dogma, Egyptian artists were able freely and truly to represent animate and inanimate forms in all their variety. M. Francois
Lenormant
well
justly

remarks
its

"

Now

that

we
art

are
in

acquainted with
appears
its

various

phases,

Egypt
country.
dotal

to

liave

followed

contrary

direction in

development to that of any other

art,

Other nations began with purely sacerand only subsequently and gradually
true
all

attained to
.
.

and
to

free

imitation

of

nature.

Alone of

the world, the Egyptians began

finish

with living
vention.

reality

with hieratic

con-

The proof
most

of this well-founded assertion was com-

pletely seen in the last Universal Exhibition.

indifferent visitors,
art,

The

ignorant alike of archae-

ology and
before a

were struck

dumb

with admiration

wooden

statue which has

come down

to us

from these most remote ages. "A miracle alike of preservation and art," says M. F. Lenormant, this statue, as a study of nature, as a striking and
'

life-like

portrait,
.

is

unsurpassed by any Grecian

work.

From

the inscriptions on the

it

tomb

in

which

it

was discovered, we know that

represents

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
a certain Ra-em-Ke, a

man

of

some importance
.
.

during several reigns of the

sculptor has represented

fifth

dynasty.
foot,

The
Parts

him on

calmly walk. . .

ing in
of this

some town under

his

government.
;

figure have been much injured

...

it

has

lost the thin

coating of coloured stucco which oriit,

ginally covered

and on which the sculptor pro-

bably added
not

his finishing touches.

What must
free

it

have been when intact and

.'

from

the

ravages of time

Everything
;

is

faithfully copied

from living nature

trait.
. . .
.

...

it

is

evidently a true por-

The
it

modelling of the

body

is

marvellous,

but

is
it is

the head which most

challenges

admiration

a prodigy of

life.

The mouth,

parted by a slight smile, seems about to speak.

The expression of the eyes is almost distressing. The eyeballs are shaded by lids of bronze, and are
in the formed of pieces of opaque white quartz, centre of which are inserted rounded bits of rock
.
.

crystal to represent the pupils.

is

Under each
and

crystal

fixed a shining

nail,

which indicates the visual

life-like

point and produces the astonishing

expression.

As
his

this

Ra-em-Ke
B.C.

lived

under the

fifth

dynasty,

iconic statue

the year 40(X)

must have been executed about More than 5800 years have

therefore passed over these fragile pieces of cedar

EO YF TIAN SO ULP TURK

and mimosa wood without effacing the marks of the artist's chisel. At the same Universal Exhibition

was

to be seen the colossal statue in diorite

Fig.

3.

Ra-em-Ke.

Fig.

4.

Schafra.

substance harder than basalt) of a Pharaoh of the fourth dynasty, the celebrated Schafra (the
(a

Chephren of Herodotus), who had the second of

the great pyramids built as a sepulchre for him-

EG YP TIA N SCULPTURE.
self.

Schafra lived more than a century

before

Ra-em-Ke.

At
stone,

the Louvre

one of
Scpa,

we have two statues in calcareous the High Priest of the White Bull,
his wife Nesa, pre-

named

and the other of

served from

that early age which witnessed

first

the

elevation of the
third,
or,

great pyramids,

under the

perhaps, the second dynasty.

To

conat

clude,
Berlin,

the
in

Egyptian
addition to

museum
some

of

Montbijou

bas-reliefs

from the
I.

tomb

of

Amten

of the time of Senefru

of the

third dynasty, contains the entrance gate of the

pyramid of Sakkara (Sagara), the construction

which
fixed
carries us

of

back to the

still

more remote age

by the

tables of

Manetho

(the correctness of

which has now been so completely established) as

the
first

of the twenty-six there ascribed to Egypt.

this

The ornaments on
are

gate cannot be less than

old.
"

seven or eight thousand years

Such
for a

figures

ovenvhelming
true art.

it is

a stupendous antiquity
still

for the

work of a man's hand,

more

monu-

ment of
India,

No

relics

from ages so near to

that of the origin of our race have been found in

China,

or

Assyria.
is,

But the

most

over-

whelming thought

that instead of savage races,

we

find a firmly constituted society, the formation

of which

must have required long centuries of

/ -*./'

10

EG YP TIAN SCULP TUBE.

far

development, a civilization

advanced

in science

and

art.

and possessed of

mechanical

processes
of

suitable to the construction oi

huge monuments

indestructible solidity."

Francois Lenormant.
first

The

primitive period from the

is

to the sixth

dynasty

usually called

the ancient empire, or

Memphian Egypt. As we have before remarked, its monuments show freedom, indeed, secularity of
art.

Not

until

after

that confused and obscure

period between the sixth and eleventh dynasties,

did the middle empire or

Theban Egypt, known

to

to

the Greeks, commence, under which Egyptian

art,

condemned by

religion

immobility,

became

purely sacerdotal and hieratic.

We

must here
idea

call to

mind that paramount and

religion,

universal

which pervaded the

the

politics, laws, sciences, arts,

public and private cus-

toms, and, indeed, the very amusements and recreations of ancient Egypt.

We

allude to the belief in

immutability and eternity.

Nothing must change,

life

nothing must perish.

The4iving must lead a

of uniformity, and even the dead must last for ever.

Weary
It

of this perpetual monotony, foreign nations

pronounced Egypt dull and melancholy.

was

in

obedience to their national idea that

the Egyptians, from the earliest ages, built up the

pyramids of Djizeh on imperishable foundations,

EGYPTIAN SCULPTVJiE.

11

and excavated the ^aUs of the kings, the temple of Karnak, the sepulclires of Samoun and Thebes
from granite rocks, and
finally

condemned

arts of

decoration, such as sculpture, never to change their

subjects, their forms, or their proportions.

Fearing

that free imitation of nature in art might infect the

human

spirit

with
it

love

of independence,

the

by immutable rules, and imposed models, which it was bound to copy for ever.
priests restricted
It is also

very probable that, for greater security,

they reserved to themselves the exclusive culture

of the arts, as they had that of the sciences, astro-

nomy and
trades to the

medicine,

and of

literature

records and national chronicles

laity.

leaving only

public
the

Thus
it

limited, art could

merely

add

to the

images of the gods those of the kings,

pontiffs
;

ministers,

and

ignored the exploits of

in

heroes and conquerors, whether

or bodily capacity
;

trials

of mental

and thus checked

All

in its

develop-

ment,
ical

it

could only manifest itself in purely mechanits

delicacy and polish.

phases of progress,

elevation, debasement, renaissance,

and decadence,
could justly
in

were confined to the narrow

cution.

limits of simple exe-

So
for so

that

Plato,

in

his day,

observe that painting and sculpture, practised

Egypt
better

many

centuries,

had produced nothing

;

at the

end than at the beginning

and

12

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
:

M, Denon in our own age remarks with equal truth " The lapse of time may have led to some perfection
in

Egyptian

art,

but

each temple
it

is

so

exactly alike in

all its parts,

that

seems to have
;

been
better,

sculptured

by

the

same

hand

nothing

nothing worse,

no negligence, no sudden

flights of

a superior genius."

M. Denon's words
excellence

apply equally to statuary, which was but the accessory o( architecture.

We

think

would

have been a more accurate term to employ than

perfcctio7i.

We
works

will

presently endeavour to describe those

in the various collections of

Egyptian

relics

most worthy of study and admiration.

But before

we

turn to this world of the tomb, which seems

alive,

never to have been really

sleeping
lions,

and review

its

pensive sphinxes, sluggish heroes,

and recumbent gods, without speech, hearing, sight, or motion, and notice those strange and gross combinations intended to embody the divinity, and
which,
if

meant
to

to exalt, in reality

debased

it, it

will

be

as

well
first

In the

make some preliminary remarks. place, we may learn to recognise the

their forms

divinities

by

and symbols, which were

as unchangeable as the creed itself; and, secondly,

we may

discover at about what period their images

were made, and connect them with the correspond-

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
ing phase of Egyptian
art,

IS

so as to be able to
:

sa}'-,

when before any

such a divinity,

particular figure
it

"

This represents

belongs to a certain period of

to a corresponding

Egyptian

art,

and consequently

era of Egyptian history."

To begin

with, we gi\-e the

different parts of the clothing of

meaning of the names of Egyptian statues. worn by

divinities or

Pschent, a cap or crown

Pharaohs.

It

is

double,

composed of the sckaa

and the

teshr.

Schaa, a conical cap, forming the upper part of

the pschciit.
It is white.

Teshr, a cylindrical cap with an inclined jJeak

behind, and a spiral ornament in front, forming the

lower part of the pschent.

It is red.

Alf {diti ?),

goat,

the crown of Osiris and other divinities,

conical cap resting on the horns of a
ostrich feathers.

composed of a
has a disk
Tesch.
in

and flanked by two

Royal military

The alf

the centre of the frontlet.

cap.

Het, the cap of

Claft, a

Upper Egypt.

head-dress with long lappets pendent on

the neck and shoulders.

Oskh, a semicircular collar or tippet

neck.
Schenti, a short tunic

round the

worn round the

loins.

The

statues of the Pharaoh;? also wear the royal apron.

14

EGYPTIAN SCULI'TURE.
Gom,
a kind of sceptre, terminating in the

head

of the animal called Koukoitpha.

Now
we

follow the forms

and emblems of the chief

divinities of

Egyptian mythology.

When

possible,

add the name of the corresponding Grecian and Roman divinities, and that of the town where they were held in most honour.
shall

human form

(male),
;

wearing the
or a

tcsJir

sur-

human form with a mounted by two feathers Auien, Hamvioii, or Ammon, "the ram's head. The supreme God, king of the gods. hidden."
Zeus, Jupiter.

Thebes.

female

form

(woman),

wearing

the

tesJir.

Mouth, "the mother," wnfe of Avicn.

Thebes.

Hera, Juno.

A young
Chons,

man

with a single lock of hair upon his

Choiins or

head, and the crescent of the moon.

" force,"

son

of

Amen

and

of

Mouth.
Noiivi,

Heracles, Hercules.

Thebes.
with a goat's
head.

human form
called

" water,"

by the Greeks Zeus Chnotimis,

Poseidon,

" creator

of

mankind."

Neptune.
of

Elephantine.

A A

female form wearing a circular crown

feathers.

Aneka, wife of Noutn.

Hestia, Vesta.

Elephantine.

female form wearing the

het,

with a goat's

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
horn on either
side.

15

Sate, " sun's

arrow or beam."

Another Juno, another wife of Jupiter Chnoumis,

Elephantine.

A bandy-legged child
on
its

or dwarf, with a scarabaeus

like

head,

or

human form swathed

god of
fire,

mummy.
phis.

Phtah

or Phta,

creator of

the sun and moon.

Hephaestus, Vulcan.

Mem-

A
A
"

female form with a

"

lion's

head.

Pash't or

Pacht (Bubastis),
Artemis, Diana.

the

lioness,"

wife of

Phtah.

Memphis.
with the head surmounted with
lily.

human form

two high feathers and a

to be the son of

Atwn-Nefer, called

the guardian of the nostril of the Sun," supposed

Phtah and of Pash't.

Memphis.

human form

with a hawk's head, wearing two

long feathers.
Ares, Mars.

Mount, personifying the solar power.

Harmonthis.

A female
under her
arts.

form with a shield upon her breast, or

often w^ith two wings, trampling the serpent

feet.

Apoph Neith, goddess of wisdom and the

Sais.

Athena

{Athene), Minerva.

simple female form with the head of a cow.

Athor or Hathor, goddess of beauty, personification of the cow which produced the sun. Aphrodite, Venus. Latopolis and Athos.

human

form, hawk-headed, wearing the solar

10
disk.

EGYPTIAN

FCULl'TUEE.

Ra

(Re), son of Athor, personification of the

rising sun.

Helios.

Heliopolis.

A
A

human form wearing

kneeling

the pschent on the head.

Aio2iin, the personification of the setting sun.

human form

with the solar disk upon

personification of

her head.

Maoii,

" brilliancy,"

the light of the sun.

A A
A
head.

human form human form

with a crocodile's head.

Sebak,

"the subduer."
(Seb), " star,"

Crocodilopolis (Ombos).

with a goose upon

its

head.

Sep

god of time.

Chronos, Saturn.

female form with a pitcher of water upon her

Nupte, Niitpe or Ncpte,
"

abyss of Heaven,"

wife of Sed.

Rhea, Cybele.

A human
the word,"
writing,

form with the head of an

Thoth,

ibis,
'^

some-

times wearing the lunar crescent.

Logos, or

son of Ra,

inventor of
gods.

speech

and

scribe of the

Hermes, Mercury.

Hermopolis.

A human

form with four feathers on the head.

"

En-pe or Emcph,

leader of the heaven," son

TJioth.
het.

of

Ra, another form of the god

A mummy

wearing the

Ousri

(Osiris),

eldest son of Scb

and

Niipte, then called

Oun-Nefer

(Onnophris), "the manifester of good or opener of

truth."
Busiri.s.

Dionysiu.s,

the

Bacchus of the Greeks.

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.

17

A mummy wearing
PetJiempamentes,
"

the Alf.

Osiris,

then called

he

who

is

resident in

Hades."

The

Pluto of the Greeks.

Abydos.
his,

A female form with

" the seat,"

a throne upon her head,

the daughter of Seb and Noicpte, sister

Osiris.

and wife of

Demeter, Ceres.

Abydos.
Nep-t-a

female form wearing on her head the hierozxidi

glyphics of the words mistress

palace.

(Nephtys), "the mistress of the palace," another

daughter of Seb and Nonpte^

of Osiris.

sister

and concubine

Persephone, Proserpine.

Abydos.

A human
pschent.

form with a hawk's head, wearing the

Haroer (Harueris), son of Sep and Noupte. His eyes are supposed to represent the sun and

the moon.
polis

The

elder Horus, Apollo.

Apollino-

Magna.
and Horus represent the beneficent
with an ass's head, or an old
Seth, " the

(Osiris, Isis,

principle.)

A
ass,"

human form
in

dwarf

a lion's skin, wearing feathers. of 5rZ'

son

and Noupte, the

erect,

spirit

of

evil.

Typhon. Ombos. A hippopotamus standing

dile's tail

with a croc:o-

and a woman's head.

Taiir or

Ta-Hcr
the
evil

(Thoueris), wife of Seth.

Ombos.
Tniir

Seth

(Typhon) and

represent

principle.)

16

EGYPTIAN SCULP TUllE.

child with
its

weak
head.

legs,

and locks of hair on

"

either side of

Her,

the path of the sun,"

son of

Osiris

and

Isis.

The younger Horus,

head.

Harpocrates.

Apollinopolis Parva.

human form
surnamed

with a dog's
"

Anojip

(Anubis),

the

embalmcr
Lycopolis,

of the dead,"

and the "watcher of the gate of the Sun's path,"

son or brother of Osiris.

A A
Hepi

priest

seated in a chair unrolling a volume.

"

I-Emp-Hept,

coming

in

peace,"

son of

Tliotli.

Asclepios, .i^sculapius.

Philae (Philoe).
its

pied bull with the solar disk on

(Apis), " the

head.

hidden number," the eternal son

Bar, god

of PhtaJi.

Memphis.
ass.

A A

gryphon with the head of an

of the Assyrians

and Phoenicians
in

(Philistines), the

Baal of the

Bible.

human form

Asiatic

costume, with

diadem bearing an onyx cross on the frontlet. Renpoii (Rephan), god of the Semitic races. A human form with the head of an oryx. Nitbi
(Nubia), or Nashi, " the rebel,"
people.

god of the black

and carrying the
goddess of the

female form wearing the

/let,

An fa shield and spear. Armenians and Syrians.

After this long
list

(Anaitis),

of gods, or rather of different

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
manifestations
of

19

the

same

god,

which
forms,

the

Egyptians worshipped under so

will

many

we

pass to the

second part of our

preliminary

remarks.

have already stated the nature of early Egyptian art when still secular and free from the
restrictions of

We

dogma.

It

is,

believe,

admitted
art,

that after

its

submission to the hierarchy the

like the history of Egypt,

may

be divided into
the archaic

four principal epochs.

The

earliest, or "

style," is entirely included in the

middle empire, and

extends from the 6th to the I2th dynasty (about At that time architecture, the year 2000 B.C.)
simple,
piling

massive, and colossal, was content with up masses of stone and sculpture, equally
;

solid, seems to have entirely forgotten excellence and freedom from tutelage.

its

early

In

the

statues of this period the face

is

large

and common,
in

the nose long and coarse, the forehead projecting,

the
hair,

of scarcely varying thickness, falls

curls,

straight

heavy

and the body

is

thick-set

and

clumsy.

However the

execution, and to a certain

extent the style, improved steadily until the twelfth dynasty.

At

the second epoch,

when

architecture

was more

refined, varied,

binations,

and employing columns and triglyphs, &cricher in

ornaments and com-

20
(as

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
seen
;

in

the

sepulchres

attributed

to

Beni

Hassan)
fection,

statuary was advancing to relative perin

and growing

grace and delicacy.

We

more symmetry and proportion in the limbs of the figures, greater truth and finish in the features, the hair is better shaded, and falls in more

now

find

graceful curls

indeed,

some

statues are handled

and finished with the delicacy required for cameos.

Bas-relief

became more and more uncommon, and

disappeared entirely on the accession of Rameses

II.,

surnamed Sesostori ("the son reared by the

"),

Creator

who became

the Sesostris of the Greeks.

The

invasion

of the

Arab Kouschites,
immediate

called

shepherds (Hyksos), under the seventeenth dynasty

(about 2200
B.C.),

led to the

decline, or

rather cessation and disappearance of art in Egypt,

which did not reappear

invaders five centuries
of

until the expulsion of the

later.
(in

After the deliverance

Egypt by Amosis
III.,

the seventeenth century

B. C),

under the famous reigns of Mceris, Sesostris,

empire, there

and Amenophis, called the new was a renaissance of Egyptian art. Architecture reached its highest perfection. Vast

Rameses

rectangular temples were raised with walls covered

with sculptured ornaments, vestibules with conical

domes, columns surmounted by capitals representing

flowers

or

papyrus

and

lotus

buds.

The

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE

21

renaissance of statuary was remarkable for a complete

return

to

the archaic style,

and palpable
This,

imitation

of

early

sacerdotal

sculpture.

however, applies to the style alone, the execution

was

different.

The limbs were

more
fully

freer

and more
to

rounded, the muscles

features
sufficiently

developed, the
raise

refined

and varied

them

a second time to the dignity

of portraits.

The
care,

details

were completed with the most minute

effect
is

and the general

produced by the

finish of

every part, rather than by the breadth and

Ethiopians, after the 22nd
that of the shep-

harmony of the whole. The invasion of the

dynasty (lOth century

B.C.), like

herds, led to an interruption of Egyptian art, which,

however, again revived on the expulsion of these new

interlopers in the reign of

Psammetichus
B.C.).

I.,

founder
art of

of the 26th dynasty (about 600

The

this second, or Saite renaissance, lasted

no longer
Its

than the dynasty from which

chief characteristic

it

took

its

name.

was the appearance of a

totally

new

style, or rather the revival of the portraiture of

the ancient empire.

At

this

time the Egyptians

combined the study of nature and truth with that The iconic figures of traditional and hieratic art. of this epoch are numerous and excellent.

The conquest

of

Egypt by the Persians undci

22

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
(525 B.C.) again interfered with the prinart,

Cambyses
ciples

and practice of Egyptian and

final

and led to

its

third

decay.

It is true that after

Alex-

ander's

conquest, under

the

Ptolemies,

and the
into

Roman

conquest, under Adrian and others, effoits

civilization

were made to introduce Grecian

Egypt, and more especially to graft Grecian upon

Egyptian
almost
extinct in

art.

But these designs were frustrated

immediately,

and

art

Egypt under the

rule

became totally and worship of

sculptors

the Pharaohs.

The substances employed by Egyptian

were more numerous than those
in favour

with the

Greeks

they required longer work, and were gene-

rally harder, denser,

and more durable.

it

Artists were
said that
is

not content with marble, and

may be

every other substance suitable to sculpture

to

be

found
basalt,

in their

works

black, grey, and

red granite,

diorite,

porphyry, jasper, serpentine, cor-

nelian, aragonite, limestone, sandstone, gold, silver,

bronze, iron, cedar, pine, sycamore, ebony,

or acacia, ivory, glass, porcelain, terra-cotta.

bas-reliefs

mimosa The

were very low and depressed, and were sometimes hollowed out on the reverse side of the they were, relief, like those of engraved stones
;

however, but

little

employed by the Egyptians,

most of

their sculptures being in full relief.

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
In statues, at least in
all

28
in

but those

metal or

stone, the arms remain fixed to the chest, and

are not separated from the body, whilst a block of

the material employed connects the legs, which are

no

freer

than the arms.

At

the back a plinth

is

inserted for the

cartouche with

the

inscriptions.

To

this general

arrangement, combined with the

is

.solidity

of the materials,

due the strange preser-

vation of Egyptian sculptures as compared with

the terrible

mutilation

of

more recent Grecian

works.

The

hair falls in straight masses from the

top of the head, and the beard, instead of spreading

along the cheeks,

is

merely plaited under the

lashes extend almost
to

chin.

The eyebrows and

the

ears, the holes of which

are on a level with the

eyes, indicating to a phrenologist a limited supply

of brains, and consequently of intelligence.

lips are

The

very marked, dilated, and smiling, a pecuin

liarity

which also occurs

in

the marbles of yEgina,

even
dead.
relief,

those which represent the dying and the

the sculpture
is,

When

is

in

low or hollowed

the profile

of course, chiefly

employed

but even then the eyes and shoulders are seen in

full,

as in the Assyrian images,

and those by the

after the

earliest

Grecian

artists.

In

all

Egyptian sculptures produced

archaic epoch, the figures are long and thin, the

24

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
and without expression, the limbs
In addition to immobility,

features calm

and muscles

in repose.

the chief characteristic of the sculpture of this age

was a

regularity, a proportion, a perfect

it

symmetry,
with

which brought
architecture
fine polish
;

into
I

intimate connection

and, as

have before remarked, the

and the exquisite delicacy of the work

in statues and bas-reliefs of the hardest materials would have been suitable to cameos and precious stones. A modern sculptor would be puzzled to

carve

and polish

granite,

porphyry,

diorite,

and

basalt, in the

manner

of the Egyptians, and one of

their gigantic

works would require the labour of

statues of the gods, kings, priests,

a lifetime.

The

and
laws

officers of
;

the court, were subject to immutable

but often, especially during the later epochs,

the faces of the merely

to nature as to
deities

human

figures

were so true
different

become

portraits.

The

had a

settled type of

form and

feature,

by

which they could be recognised as readily as by

their symbols.

The

features of reigning kings Avere

often given to these gods,

and whilst
art

it

reflected

the tone of society, this was certainly

the most

shameful adulation to which

has ever stooped.

man who had been

throne
of
of
Osiris,

exalted, not

only to the
also
to
for

despotic
pedestal

Sesostris,

but
a

the
his

required

pyramid

KGYl'TJAS

SVUlPTi'lih:.

25

tomb, which was laboured at by a whole uation of

slaves.

These preliminary observations may be a useful guide to the visitor to the Egyptian rooms of the museums -in Paris and London, and may enable

him
and
It

to

examine

their contents with greater ease

profit.

would not be easy to rebuild the Pantheon of

;

Eg}'pt
to

the gods were few

indeed, we are inclined

also

believe that, like the Hebrews, the Egyptians

adored but one deity, probably the goddess Pash't,

the wife of Phtah,

known

by the names of

Artemis and Hephaestus.

In the Louvre
less

we have

but one image of a god, and no

than eleven

statues of this goddess, with the head of a lioness

wearing the solar disc upon her head.

of the lines and the finish of the

The breadth
of

work of four

them give a
third

high opinion of the artists of the

epoch under the iSth dynasty, yet we would willingly exchange some of these lioness'
heads
for those of dogs, goats, cows, or

hawks.
in

There are more

nasties.

kings

than

divinities

the

Louvre, and their images belong to various dy-

We
of

bitterly regret the loss of a cornelian

statuette

Sesurtasen
in
its

I.,

of the

I2th dynasty,
It

which disappeared

the July days of 1830.

kind,

was

the earliest of

more ancient than the

26

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE
and grey granite of Sevekhotep
III.

Statues in pink

of the

3th dynasty.

All three were executed long

before the invasion of the shepherds, whereas the

four king-sphinxes without cartouches,

who have
last

kind

of

lily

engraved on their basalt brows,

belong to the ages of the Ptolemies, to the

relics of

the national

art.

During the long

extreme

interval

included between these two

1

dates,

the
find

2th dynasty and that of the Ptolemies,

we

successively the head and feet of colossi in pink

granite,

which are fragments of images of

III.,

Amefirst

nophis

called

Memnon

by the Greeks, whose

In the ornamented
of the later

vocal statue at Thebes seemed to greet the

rays of the sun with singing.

cartouches which

encircle

the base

names of twentyby the Egyptian " Psalmist That thine enemies the idea borrowed by
colossus are decipherable the

three conquered races, followed

:

may

be thy footstool."

The

colossal statue in grey

and pink granite of Rameses-Meiamun (the Great), of the 19th dynasty (about 1500 B.C.), who, not content with raising the Rameseum of Thebes as
his funeral

monument, and sculpturing

his victories

at

Aboo Simbel and Luxor (Luqsor),

deified himself

under the figure of the sun, appropriated to himself the beautiful images of his father, Seti I., and of
his ancestors,

and substituted

his

own

history for

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
theirs even in the
(a lion

27

temple

at

Karnak.

sphinx

with a man's head, symbol of wisdom and

strength combined) in pink granite, a portrait of the

same Pharaoh,
base of which
is

in the

double inscription on the

a representation in beaten
ass's head, the

work of

a gryphon with an

type of the god

Seth or Typhon, then the impersonation of courage,

but later of the
spirit of evil.

Another magnificent
of the

sphinx

in

pink granite, portrait

son

of

Rameses, Menephtah, who, from certain dates and

events of his reign,
is

supposed

to

be the Pharaoh

who was embroiled in disputes with Moses, and perished in the Red Sea when pursuing his fugitive
slaves the Hebrews.

A colossal

statue in red sand-

stone of Seti

II.,

son of Menephtah (the Sethos

of Manetho

and Flavius Josephus), wearing the

of sceptre in his
left

pschent and holding a kind

hand, bearing his royal and pompous legend.

figure of the

The
head,
plinth,

god Seth, as a man with an

ass's

engraved several times on the base and the

is

also in beaten work.

In the

museum

images, there are

rarer

of the Louvre, amongst mere some monuments which are far

and more valuable than the statues of gods

and

kings.

The

chief of these are those already

named

of the priest Scpa and his wife Nesa, confirst

temporary with the

dynasties

of the great

28

EGYPTIAN

SCULPTUB!-:.

pyramids, and consequently belon;Ting to primitive

Egyptian
old.

art,

and not
is

less

than six thousand years

The man
his
loins,

naked, except for the schenti

round

fceptre in c ther

and he holds a large and small hand the woman wears a tunic
;

with a triangular opening on the

breast.

Two

other groups in calcareous stone, one of two men,

the other of a

man and woman,

also belong to the

remote antiquity of Memphian

art.

Another group,
son, Teti

on the contrary, of the father and

second era of

and

Pensevau, both great standard-bearers, are of the

portraits, that of the i8th

dynasty.

statue in grey granite

of Un-Nefru, the first

prophet of Osiris, or high-priest of the temple of

Abydos, belongs
black granite

to the beginning of the second

;

decadence under the 19th dynasty

whilst one in

of Horns, chief of soldiers, son

of

Psammetichus and Novrcii-Sevek, and another in black granite of Ensahor, surnamed PsammetichusMowieh, or the Beneficent, are splendid specimens
of the third and
last,

or Saite renaissance, which

preceded

the

Christian

era

by 600 years
for

only.
style

They
and
fection

are

absolute
in

masterpiec'cs

their

age,

and

them we

see in the greatest per-

the peculiarly

delicate

work of Egyptian

artists in

substances which appear to defy

human

strength and patience.

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.

29

We

have said that bas-reliefs are of rare ocin

currence

Egyptian sculpture, as their culture

was abandoned long before that of statuary indeed, from the time of Rameses the Great. Two fragments
one
in

the Louvre, representing a certain Totnaa,

of

whose numerous

titles

was Surveyor of

Royal Buildings, are attributed to the archaic Another fragment, a portrait of Seveperiod.
khotep
to
is

IV.,

wearing the royal

iirceus {aspic or asp),

whom
:

the god Tapherii, with the jackal's head,

life,

presenting the sceptre, or symbol of

"

with the

words

We

grant a

life

of peace to thy nostrils,

good God,"
it

is

of the 13th dynasty.

But although
of the

is

more

recent, an artist will value a bas-relief

from the tomb

dynasty, above

of
all

Seti

I.,

founder

19th

others.

It is of

calcareous stone

and
his

is

entirely painted.

Seti

I.,

who, according to

epitaph, conquered forty-eight nations in the

north and south of Egypt, and had the wonderful

hypostyle

room
in

(raised
this

on

columns)

made

at

Karnak, figures

bas-relief giving his

right

hand
the

to the

goddess Hathor (Venus, with a cow's

head), from
left

whom

he

is

receiving a necklace with

hand.

The goddess wears

a solar disc

between her horns, and the ura^us upon her forehead.

a long address to Pharaoh

The symbolic ornaments upon her robe are " Good god., lord of
:

80

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
mid of
of
*

diadems, loved of the gods, son of J7istice

truth ;' praying

him
life

to grant her " thousands

years of peaceful
in the

and myriads of panegyrics!'

Although we have few statues of Egyptian gods

Louvre,
in statuettes.

we have a complete series of them By means of these little figures in

bronze,

gold,

silver,

porphyry, basalt, stone,

or

wood,

in

many

cases covered with hieroglyphics,

which were household gods, we are introduced to

the widespread polytheism of Egypt, and
able to rebuild
its

we

are

pantheon

entirely.

Here we

have Anvnon-Ra, lord of the three zones of the

universe (the Egyptian Jupiter), his wife.
(Juno), his first-born,

Mouth

Chons (Hercules)
;

here are

Num (Neptune), and^;^^/^^ (Vesta)

and Pach't (Diana)
(Venus)
;
;

/////? (Vulcan),

Hunt

(Mars)

and Hathor
;

Thoth (Mercury), and Neith (Minerva)

Seb (Saturn),

and iV^?///^ (Cybele)

Ra, Phre,
;

A turn,

or the rising, midday, and setting sun

ficent triad of Osiris, Isis,

the benethe male-

and Horus
figures,

volent pair, Seth (Typhon) and Taur, &c.t

We

have even compound

;

which unite

several gods in one

* Panegyrics

they are double-faced and

when
princes and gods

were great
(Tr.)

state occasions

were

extolled.

+ These three Egyptian divinities,

Osiris, Isis,

Ammon, Mouth, and Chons

in the religion of the

and Horus, which occur again Brahmins as Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva,

and

in

that

of

the

EGYPTIAN fiCULPTURE.
shoulder to shoulder.

81

The symbols

of the divinities

arc as numerous as the gods.

We

know

that,

on

account of true or supposed analogies

and preor

tended resemblances of form and character, the

Egyptians consecrated to each of

manifestations of the
so

their gods,

same god, worshipped under

one
of
their

many

different

forms,*

native

animals, and those so set apart were called sacred.

The ram was

the

emblem
lion

of Amnion, the ichneuof

PhtaJi,

mon
sow

of Chans, the

the

cow

of

HatJior, the ibis

of Thot, the gazelle of Seth, the

of Taur, &c.

Again, as certain gods personified

many divinities

in one, different parts of the consecrated animals

stood for single divinities, and monstrous combina-

Buddhists as Buddha, Dliarmas, and

Sangghas are

all,

like the

On this Christian trinity, represented by the rectangular triangle. fact, already noticed by Plutarch, some learned travellers (M.
Tremaux amongst others) have recently relied to prove that the pyramids of Eg)pt, which appear triangular from every point of view, were religious monuments, in fact actual temples, the entrance to which was marked by pylons, and the interiors of which were
equally suited to the sacrifice of the living as to the burial of the pyramid would be a sepulchral chapel. dead.

* Plutarque diet

que ce

n'cstoit

pas le chat ou

le

bceuf (pour

exemple) que

les

yEgjptiens adoroient, mais qu'ils adoroicnt en

:

cs

betes-la quelque

image des facultes divines en celle-ci la patience, en celle-la la vivacite, ou I'impatience de se voir enfemiez par oil ils representoient la Liberie, qu'ils aimoient et adoroient au dela de
;

toute autre faculte divine; et ainsi des aultres.

(Montaigne.)

32

FMYPTIAN SCrLPTUBE.
were types of a complex unity.

tions of their limbs

They were

called

symboHc

animals.

The

sphinx,

as the impersonation of

united intelligence

and

power, could represent other gods according to the

emblem on
the ura^us

its

head.

The

different headdresses of
all

or asp
;

could severally typify

the

goddesses
all

in fact,

by heterogeneous amalgamation,

the sacred animals were converted into single

impersonations of

many
made

types.
in

The

beetle,

or

scarabaeus, generally

enamelled terra-cotta,

enjoyed the privilege of being a sort of

common

framework on which were engraved images of the

gods, hieroglyphics of their names, or the sacred,
typical,

and

symbolic

animals.

This

circumex-

stance,

which connects them with

sculpture,

plains the

immense number of amulets

of this form

found

tombs and collected in museums. Since our illustrious Champollion discovered the secret of the hieroglyphics, which had remained
in

hidden
with

for

two thousand years, the

ste/cs,

or tablets

historical

and funereal

inscriptions,

have

become the
sist

true annals of Egypt.

The

sU/cs con-

of a mixture of figures and symbols,

written,

some
relief,

merely

hollowed out, or

some engraved in produced by a combination

and

of the

two processes, so that they serve to unite sculpture and painting to writing properly so called and for
;

EGYPTUN SCULP TUBE.

these reasons they

33

may

be considered works of

art,

and

claim
like

a place in

museums.

The

historical

tablets,

the

Roman

Capitoline

tables,

were

destined to preserv^e the

events.
in

memory

of great public

Although the epitaphs were only written

of the dead, they form a collection of
relating to
history.
religious,

memory

useful

documents
Christians,

domestic,

and even national

The

the

Mahommedans, and the

Egyptians alike begin most of their epitaphs with

an invocation of the Supreme Being. The first call " on the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the

Holy Ghost

;"

the second, on that of

;"

"

Allah,
"

the forgiving, the merciful

the

third,

on

Baf,

great god, lord of heaven,"

whom

they represent

by the

solar disc

between two outspread wings.

Like the Ferouhcr of the Assyrians, the cardinal points are indicated in this figure either by one of
the mystical eyes of Horjis of the North and Horns
of the South, or

by the two sacred

jackals,

which
south.

typify the utmost limits of the north and

Then

follows the prayer addressed to Osiris, as the

supreme

deity

of

the

infernal
is

regions,

called

Pethempamcntes, because he
all

the

dispenser of

the blessings which the

its

in

pilgrimage across the

human soul can enjoy unknown world. As

and the

there

was no fixed formula

for this prayer,

34

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
if

words could be varied

ceased and the

the sense were retained,

Egyptian poets could sing the praises of the de-

hymn

to the

god oi Anient i

(hell)

which was sometimes addressed to other protecting

deities as well

in oriental style.

The beauty
the

of the figures and emblems, and the

stelcB

delicacy of the execution of the

passed through

same phases

of progress

interruption, renaisarchitoo,
in

sance,

and decadence

as

did the arts of

tecture

and statuary.

They,

had

their

four

epochs of relative excellence

the archaic ages

;

and under the

I2th, i8th,

and Saite dynasties

in

and

these historical phases can only be traced in the

Louvre with any exactness

far

the

steles,

which are

more

numerous than the statues

and bas-

reliefs.*

What we have
without
granite,

said of the steles applies equally

to the sarcophagi, a

name which has been

to
stone,

given

due consideration
basalt,

boxes or tubs of
intended to

or calcareous

contain

mummies.

In very early times, up to the

age of the Shepherds, these tubs, even those appropriated to royalty, were entirely without ornament.

the
*

Grand decorations were not used for them until dynasty, and then, during the second 1 8th
See the chapter on the Egyptimi

Museum

in the

^^

Museums of

Paris, '^ pp. 414-418.


EGYPTIAN SCULP TUIiE.
renaissance under the
pictures
35

Saitc kings, long funereal

and countless groups were engraved upon

ihem.

The

sarcopJiagl superseded
art.

the

stcl(S

in

hieroglyphic
stud}-

Champollion

commenced
"

the

of them,

and had
his

at

last

grasped their

meaning before
earthly
life

premature death.
of the soul in

As

the

was regulated by the diurnal course of

life

the sun, so the

after death

its

wanderings

was guided by the course of the god of

world,

the

lower

who was supposed

to

revolve

during the night."

Champollion himself brought home the chief of

the sarcophagi of the Louvre, the one which contains the
priest of

body

of a basilico-granimates called TaJio,

Imhotcp (the Egyptian yEsculapius), under

the 26th dynasty.

is

Every part of
It is

it,

inside
in

and

out,

covered with

inscriptions, written

groups on

the retrograde system.

considered the master-

piece of engraved sculpture of the Suite epoch

indeed, artists are never

weary of admiring these

which are cut with as
taste

thousands of

figures, all of

much

precision

and good

as

if

they were

on precious stones.

To complete
found
in

our account of the sculptured

relics

sepulchres of important personages,

we

must notice those funereal vases, improperly called canopi by the Romans, because they thought they

30

EGYPTIAN SCULV'IVKK.
in their

recognised

sculptured

lid

and rounded base

an image of the fabulous god Canopus.

The

canopi,

the use of which can be traced from the earliest

times and

is

lost sight of in great

under the Ptolemies, have

in

been found

numbers

the sepulchres of

Memphis, Thebes, and Abydos.

office

They were

the

vases in which the priests called diolchytes, whose

it

heart,

and
in

was to embalm the dead, placed the brains, all the intestines, which they separated
rest of the

from the

mummy.
\.\\<t

They

are invariably
;

found

series of four in

each tomb

their lids

four assessors of Aincnti, the dead before the bring who were charged to forty-two judges oi Avietiti, which were as numerous
consist of the heads of

as the different kinds of

sin,

and presided over by

These four
Osiris,

the goddess
genii of the

Rhmci

(Truth or Justice).

dead are Amset, son of

;

with a

man's head

Hapi, son of Phtah, with a baboon's

(or

head
head.

Sinmntf
2^nd

Tuautimitf), with
{or

a jackal's

head;

Kcbhsfiuf

Kcbsnif), with a hawk's

Each one

of these sepulchral vases has an

inscription, occasionally coloured, cut into its outer

surface.

Sometimes

it

is

an address from one

dvv'eller in

of the spirits or genii to the Osirien (the

the abode of other divinity.

Osiris), or

it

is

the speech of

some
one

On

the vase
Isis
;

Amset we

find

from

the goddess

on the vase Hapi the

KCIYPTrAN SCULPTUBE.
goddess Nephthys speaks
the goddess Neitli
Selk.
;
;

37

on that called Shitviutf

on that of Kebsnif, the goddess

The

four canopi

on the chimney-piece of the

room which contains those belonging to the Louvre are admirable specimens of these monuments. There, too, are to be found numerous relics of
the religious,
civil,

and domestic
fail

life

of ancient

Egypt, which cannot

to recall the
life

to interest those

who

care

of an extinct people, and, as the

geologist
fossils, to

builds

up the antediluvian world with

reconstruct a

bygone

civilization

from the

ruins

it

has

left.
is

The

astonishing preservation of

so

many

objects

easily explained.

They

are

all

from tombs which were, so to speak,

eternity.

built

foi

In a country where

it

was believed that

the dead would return to reassume and reanimate

their bodies
;

in

a country where the chief occupato prepare

in

tion

of

life

was

for

death

the very

corpses,

embalmed

their

swaddling wrappings
;

and bandages, must have an endless duration

and

to bear the

dead company

in their

long and
loved
these
art,

unknown wanderings, the objects they best when living were shut in with them. But

things belong rather to archaeology than to

and we must linger over them no longer.* It seems unnecessary to pass from the Louvre to
* See the chapter already quoted, pp. 420-429.

oar

38

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
Museum,
to describe the statues, statu-

the British
ettes,

tablets, sarcophagi, &c.,

that are
I will

London's

share of the spoils of Egypt.*

only

name one

small

figure

of the goddess
evil principle).

Taur, wife of Seth

She is represented as a hippopotamus, standing on its hind legs, with

(Typhon, the
pendent arms, a
lion's
tail.

head, a woman's breasts,

and a
recalls

crocodile's

This strange

figure,

which

the ChimcBra of the

the middle ages,
is

Greeks, and

certain

demons of

a very ancient proof

of the eternal truth that

man

can invent nothing

;

beyond what
progress
is

his senses

have realised

and that

in

the creation of any thing or being, his only idea of

a

monstrous combination of different

parts of creation.

We
known

cannot, however, leave the British

Museum

without saying a word of the celebrated

as the Rosetta stone.
It

monument

was found during

the French occupation of 1799, near the town from which it takes its name (the ancient Bolbitinum,
called

Rachid by the Arabs),

in

the ruins of a

temple dedicated to the god Atiini-Nefer by the

Pharaoh Nechao.
written

The

inscriptions on

this stone,

by order of the high priests, assembled at Memphis to invest Ptolemy V. (Ptolemy Epiphanes)
* See
tlie

cliapter British

Museum,

in the

^^

iVuseuiiis of England."

Pp. 82-88.

/;

a r tia n s c ul p tune.
)

39

with royal prerogatives

in

193

B.C.,

commemorate

the services rendered to the country by this prince. But it is not this which makes the Rosetta stone
so valuable and famous.

By
:

a fortunate coinci-

dence these inscriptions are engraved in three lan-

guages and three characters

hieratic writing
3.
;

i.

hieroglyphics or
;

2.

demotic or enchorial writing

Greek

writing.

The

last

was

easily read

and
it

interpreted,

and a comparison

instituted

between

and the hitherto unknown hieroglyphics, which repeated the same thing, so that the Rosetta stone became the first key to hieroglyphic writing. To Champollion the elder, the learned and regretted
author of Egypt under the Pharaohs, belongs the honour of this important discovery. But although

Frenchmen were the interpreters of this precious historical monument, on which they carried out
their first

researches, the English have obtained

it

as

trophy of war.
belonged.

We
We

think,

however, that

science, not arms, should

it

have decided to

whom

rightly

were

supposed to be

compensated

for its loss

by the too famous Zodiac

of Denderah, which will never lead to anything but great and complete mystification. It was supposed
to be of fabulous antiquity, to have

come down
is

from the most remote ages

and

it

in

reality,

perhaps, no older than the later Ptolemies or the


40
first

EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE.
Caesars.
It

was to throw a vivid

light

upon

the astronomical science concealed

in

by

the priests

the mysteries of their temples

it is
!

and behold we
figure,

discover that

but a simple astrological

a mere horoscope

What

a downfall

Alas, how-

can this useless and ridiculous Zodiac console us

for the loss of the

Rosetta stone.

Egyptian museum. It consome colossal statues in black and green granite, some sarcophagi with mummies, and ev^en
Berlin, too, has its

tains

a complete collection of sacred animals.

But
the

after

the bas-reliefs oi Aintcii,

and the gate of the pyramentioned,

mid of Sakkara,
important object
in 1823, in
is

already

most

a sepulchral cJiamber, discovered

the necropolis of Thebes, and removed

entire.

long quadrangular

tomb

rises

in

the

centre,

covered

with
are

hieroglyphical

paintings,
in

around

which

grouped

painted cedar

wood

two boats
escort

two
the

statuettes

exactly like those

now

in

use on the Nile, containing figures repre-

senting the

mummy's
Amenti

four amphorse

of the genii of

four

earthenware dishes

covered with sycamore branches

two priests' rods

This sepulchre,

an ox's head, and a wooden pillow. under

the
12th dynasty,
is

belonging to a high priest called Mentichetes,

lived

who
four

more

than

thousand years ago,

one of the most complete

EGYPTIAN SCri.rTVUE.
and valuable of
It relates at the
art.
all

41

the antiquities of

Upper Egypt.
and

same time

to history, religion,

But thanks to the untiring

discoveries of

efforts

and fortunate

M. Mariette, aided by the patronage

Egypt itself will soon possess the richest Egyptian museum. The marvellous wooden statue of Ra-em-K^,
liberality of the viceroy,

and

who
the

lived

under the 5th dynasty

that in calcareous

stone of Ra-Ncfcj\ priest of Phtah at Memphis, at

same time

and, finally, the earliest of

all,

that

of the Pharaoh Schafra IV. of the 4th dynasty,

which was found

Universal

at

the bottom of a well in the

temple near the great Sphin:

Exhibition
of

were

all

lent to the

1867

by M.

Mariette.

These invaluable monuments of primitive Egyptian

art

belong now to the rising

museum

at Boulak,

near Cairo.

42

CHAPTER

II.

ASSYRIAN SCULPTURE.

WE
tion, this

now come to consider the no less valuable monuments of that other ancient civilizatime Asiatic, which arose on the banks of
is

the Tigris and Euphrates, and

said to have been

founded by Assur an
our

'.

Nimroud, with the empires

of Nineveh and Babylon, forty-five centuries before

own age

(about 2680

B.C.).

By

the union of

the two empires under the great Semiramis, this

civilization spread
like a

even to the Indus, and rising

it

phoenix from the pyre of Sardanapalus,

lived

on through the second empire under Shalma-

neser, Sennacherib,

and Nebuchadnezzar,

until the

conquest of Nineveh by Cyaxeres, and of Babylon by Cyrus (600 and 538 B.C.). Assyrian civilization rivalled that of Egypt in antiquity and duration, and it certainly influenced
that of the Greeks and Etruscans, and consequently of
all

Europe, more than the Egyptian.

The most

ASSYBJAS SCULP TUBE.

ancient relics of Grecian and

43

Etruscan art bear

palpable marks of imitation of the early Assyrian

style.

We

find this in the buildings of the islands

of Cyprus,

Rhodes,

Crete,

and

Sicily
;

in

the

metopes of the temple of Selinuntium

in

the lions
at
;

and the
Mycenae
in
;

frieze

of

the

Treasure of

Atreus,

in the bas-reliefs collected at

Marathon
;

some

of the figures of the Greek zodiac

in

the

painted vases (called Etruscan) of Cervetri, Vulci,

Canino, and Nola
chalices,
;

in

the terra-cottas, the silver

and the jewels brought from Cyprus, Ccere

from Kertch
in

(the ancient Agylla), Melos, Delos, Athens, Corinth,

and

finally

the Crimea, which could

once boast of the palace and tomb of the great

Mithridates
;

we

find

it

even

in

the ornaments of

Grecian architecture at the zenith

tion,
in
its

of

its

perfec-

triglyphs,

palm-leaves, egg-mouldings, In
fact,

rosettes,

and maeanders.

agree with the antiquaries of the last century,

we can no longer who

must, on the
of

attributed the works of art in every material, at

Persepolis, to captive

Greeks.
the

We

contrary,

conclude that

productions

the

ancient Hellenes were largely borrowed from the

Assyrians, the predecessors of the Persians on the

borders of the Euphrates and Tigris,

latter were not their real authors.
It
is

if

indeed the

no

less evident that the civilization of

the

44

ASSYRIAX

sr'U/.PTilBE.
all

Phoenicians, like that of

Asia Minor, at the were brought

;

epoch preceding that of the Greek colonies, was

purely Assyrian.

The Hebrews,
and

too,

into close contact with Phoenicia

and Assyria

they

had the same

they often

origin

institutions,

and we may
;

almost say the same language as the Assyrians

fell

into their idolatries

they were conin captivity

stantly in subjection to them,

at

and were

Babylon

for

many

years after the division of

short,

Judah and

Israel

in

they borrowed their

civilization entirely

from their powerful neighbours

and conquerors, the Assyrians.

The proof
is

of this assertion, which would have

appeared very bold and audacious a few years ago,

to

be found

in a

thousand passages of Scripture,

many

of which, formerly unintelligible,

may now
in the

be explained by the aid of objects exhibited

museums

of

London and

Paris.

will

borrow a

few instances from the clear and learned review of

M. Adrien de Longperier "What were these lions, these bulls, these winged cherubims, which the
:

Phoenician

sculptors

sent

by

Hiram
of

to

King
.'

Solomon,

placed

in

the

temple

Jerus ilem

Mere
*

copies of symbolic Assyrian figures.*

of Moses, like that of

Who
shalt

The Law

Abraham

in

former days, and

subsequently that of Mahomet, was iconoclast.

" Thou

not

make unto

thee any graven image, or the Jikeness of anything that

was the personage described by the prophet Daniel (who was educated at the court of Nebuchadnezzar),

when he

said

'
:

His garment was as white

his

as snow,
wool.'

and the hair of

is

head Hke the pure

the tunic painted

The answer

seen

in

with white Assyrian

ringlets.

figures with tlieir hair in small

How
his

could this same prophet Daniel add

ten horns to the fourth typical animal which he

saw
say

in in

dream
:

and why did Samuel's mother

cxaltatuvi est conui

her song

maun

in

Deo

ineo ?

In the great winged bulls which are

the representations of the Assyrian kings as the

sphinx (man-lion) was of the Pharaohs of Egypt,

we
and

see that

ten

horns

could

be

placed

below
His

the tiara, and that the horn was the sign of power
glory.

Why
.-''

does

Daniel say again

' :

throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as

burning

fire

It i^

a vivid metaphor suggested

by

the chair on wheels which was the throne of the

is

or that is in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth thou shalt not bow down to them or serve them. If thou shalt make me an altar of stones, thou shalt not thou shalt build an altar unto the Lord make it of hewn stone thou shalt not lift up any iron tool thy God with whole stones
in

Heaven above,

that

is

(Exodus xx. 4, 5 Deul. xxvii. 5.) The Jews must therefore necessarily have borrowed the sculptured ornaments of their temple from the art of their neighbours and masters, the

upon them."

Assyrians.

46

ASSmiAN SCULPTURE.
What do
the allusions
in

Assyrian kings.

the

book of Kings, and that of Isaiah to Nisroch, the god-bird, signify ? It is the Assyrian divinity with
an eagle's head and a man's body, holding a
in
fir

cone
left
?

the right hand and a basket or pail in the

is

What
of the

the symbol of the old

Hebrew
It
is

shekels

called the budding

rod of Aaron

the stem

poppy with
I

three capsules which so

priests carr}- in the
in

many
and

divinities, kings,

and

Assyrian

bas-reliefs, &c.

must add that

mentions as

Ni?ieveh

Babylon Mr. Layard

five

many

as fifty-

names

of persons
also

and places taken from the

in

Bible which

occur
;

the Assyrian

annals

recently deciphered
this beautiful book,
its

and since the publication of

which followed Nineveh and
have been discovered proving

Reniai7is, others

how
the

great was the resemblance and

how

constant

communication between Nineveh and Jeru-

salem."

This visible influence of Assyrian civilization on

that of the Greeks on the one hand,

and on that of
it

the

Hebrews on the

other,

was so great that

may
it

be said to connect

Homer

with the Bible, whilst

necessitates the study of Assyrian

monuments by

any

artist

anxious faithfully to represent biblical

scenes,

and largely increases the importance, the

utility of

charm, and the

recent discoveries.

It

ASsyniAX SCULl'TURE.
promises to open a large
field for

47

the investigations
it

of science, at the same time that

adds an entirely

new chapter

to the history of art.

Thirty years ago the

name
;

of the Assyrians was

only to be found
in

in

books

it

had never appeared

It

the catalogue of a museum.

P.

was

in

1842 that

M.

E. Botta,

French consul

at

Mosul, guided

by by
be

hints given

by M. Rich

as early as 1820,

and
will

local traditions, conceived

the idea,

which

his glory, of searching the ruins of the ancient

capital

of the

Assyrian kings.
the
hillock

He

began
at

his

operations

under

Koyunjik,

the
of

north of the village

of NiiiioualL the
site

name

which

still

bears witness to the

of Nineveh,

on the eastern bank of the

said

Tigris, of that

Nineveh
days'

by the prophet Jonas

"

to

be

"

three

journey

in

circumference.
first

the paltry results of his

Not disheartened by efforts, he set to work

left

again near the village of Khorsabad, about sixteen

kilometres to the north-east of Mosul, on the

bank of a stream which

his

flows into the Tigris, after

passing over the walls of ancient Nineveh.

well-directed
;

There

efforts

were crowned with comdecorations perfect.

plete success
its

he discovered an entire palace, with

rooms, and

walls,

doors,

They were

laid bare

and dug from the depths of

the earth, and the principal objects which could be

48

ASSYJilAN SCULPTUJiE.

removed were taken to France by way of the Tigris and Bagdad, and arrived at Paris in February, 1847.
This palace of Khorsabad, the spoils of which have
enriched
the

Louvre, was probably a

pleasure

chateau, a Versailles of the princes

of Nineveh.

From

the royal inscription repeated several times

on fragments brought to Paris Sargon, great king, powerful king, king of the kings of the country of Assiir we may reasonably suppose that the palace

of Khorsabad was built

by Sargon, son

or father of

Sennacherib.

As
B.C.,

Sargon, according to the calcu-

lations of chronologists, reigned

between the years

720 and 668

the building of Khorsabad must

have preceded the reign of Cyrus, the destroyer of the Assyrian empire, by a century and a half it
;

must have been contemporary with Codrus, archons of Athens, and with the foundation
the
of

sons of

Rome at myth, Numa

the epoch assigned

to

the king or

Pompilius.
Botta,

Begun by M.
tions

these

fortunate

excava-

were continued with the same success by M. Victor Place, whilst MM. Jules Oppert and Thomas (after Fulgence Fresnel, who fell a victim to the climate) made others on the site of Babylon

and that of Borsippa, the Tower of languages, the

Tower
*
111

of Babel.*
M. Place discovored a
large

i860,

room

in tlie

Palace of

ASSVIiJAN SCULPTURE.

49"

territory that

But these excavations were made so near British the English were anxious to find
treasures
for

similar

themselves.

In

1845

Mr.

Layard discovered,
where the
four
palaces,

in a desert place called

Nimrod,

little river

Zab-Ala flows
most
ancient

into the Tigris,

the

of

which

was

founded by one of the predecessors of Sargon,

whose name read

thus,

Assur Ak/i-Ba/,
;

indicates
little

the Sardanapalus of the Greeks

besides two

temples, one dedicated to the Assyrian Hercules,

and the other

to the FisJi^god, probably the

Oannes

of the Babylonians and the

tines,

Dagon

of the Philis-

whose image

fell

before the ark, and whose

In 1849 Mr.

temple was destroyed by Samson.

Layard extended

his researches to

Koyunjik, even

Khorsabad, which he called the magazine of Jars, probably the It contained an immense number of clay jars, like the iridos of the Greeks, and the Tiiiajas, used for keeping wine and oil, introduced into Spain by the Arabs. He also discovered long colonnades of columns in moulded clay, the external ornaments of the palace, besides the eight doors of the old villa let into the walls and opening on to paved alleys, amongst which was one true monument of art, a triumphal arch. The
cellar of the Assyrian kings.

gynecrea of the palace

the buttresses entirely cased in painted and and some statues in gypsUrn marble, which were probably mere carj-atids, were also found by M. Place and he it was who had the immense bulls, of which we shall presently speak, brought to the Louvre, which weigh no less than 35,000 kilogrammes each, and had to be brought from Khorsabad to the Tigris, on *normous chariots drawn by a team of six hundred men.
;

enamelled bricks

50

ASSYBIAN SCULPTURE.

to the site of Nineveh, where he found a palace,

supposed to be that of Sennacherib himself,

larger

far

and richer

in art objects

than that of Khor-

sabad.*

He

then proceeded to Karamles and to

Kalab-Shergat, so that the British

turn received

Museum

in its

many

precious

relics

of Assyrian

civilization.

Since

then

excavations

have been

carried on simultaneously

by France and England,

are

and the interesting

results

divided between
British

London and
larger,

Paris.

We

must own that the

itself

Museum may

justly pride

on possessing a

more varied, and more choice collection than the Louvre a collection which offers a wide field for archaeological discovery and study, and

must challenge the surprise and admiration of every

artist
;

but at the same time, the inferiority

in

num-

ber, variety,
relics in

and excellence of workmanship of the

is

manner atoned for by the paramount importance of some of the single monuments in the French museum. In the first rank are the four immense colossi
the Louvre,
in a

from Khorsabad, the height of which exceeds four

Mr. Layard explored which form a series of sculptures about two English miles long and Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, who succeeded him as director of these excavations, discovered other rooms, better preserved and elegantly furnished with
* In the subterranean palace of Koyunjik,

sixly-one rooms, all covered with sculptured slabs,

;

alabaster tables, which were destined for the British

Museum.

JSS YRIA N SCULP TUIlE.

metres.

51

Of equal

size

and symmetrical with each

other on opposite sides, pairs of them formed the

front pilasters or frames of one of the doors of the

palace.

In front they have a

mans

head,

with

Fig.

long:

hair, and a beard curled and arranged in a marvellous manner, and wearing a double row of

horns,

and

dotted

mitre or tiara

surmounted

62

ASSmiAy SCULPTURE.
feathers,

by

placed on the chest and legs of a

left

bull.

On

the inner side, the right of one, the

of the

other, these colossi

have

bulls'
tail

bodies with the hair

;

on the flanks and of the

and, as

curled like the beard

in the Chimaera of Lycia,

bearing long
other winged

wings upon the shoulders.

bulls

Two

with

human

faces,

exactly like those just

described, only
right angle,

rather shorter, were placed at a

decoration of the door.

head to head, to form the external As other doors opening

in the fagade of the building

had similar ornaments,

at

the backs and wings of the bulls almost touched

each other.

Between them, and consequently

an equal distance from each door, there was a high

and deep niche cut out of the wall, which supported one of the two other colossi brought to the Louvre, those gigantic men holding a sort of rounded club
in

the right hand, and strangling a

itself

lion,

which

is

defending

with

its

claws, under the left arm.

This

lion,
is

instead of the ordinary length of five

metres,
colossi,

no larger than a small dog.

bulls, are of alabaster.

All the

men and

The symis

bolical

meaning of the giant with the club

out, but
it is.

not

no doubt, a pensonvet entirely made ification of strength, perhaps the Assyrian HerThe man-bull was evidently the Assyrian cules. symbolic image of the king, whose name occurs in

; ;

ASS rn IAN scriPTUiU':.

the legend inscribed between
the

53

animal's legs
force,

and

it

signified intelligence

combined with

just as the sphinx, or man-lion, a type of the

things,

same

was

to the

Egyptians the image of the

is

Pharaoh whose name

on the body and

decided by the inscriptions

of Assyrian art

at the base.*
relics

At London,

as in Paris,

consist almost entirely of bas-reliefs sculptured on

tablets or grey alabaster slabs,

which were used to

cover the walls of clay bricks.

These

reliefs

are
all

very low and

flat,

in

fact,

scarcely raised at

they are finely carved and carefully polished, and

the

design would be truly beautiful,

if

pure,

and

severe,

the eyes and shoulders were not almost

in profile figures,

always both seen

and

if

the shape

of the hands and legs were not merely conventional.!

But we must own that the features and muscles

are often so well brought out as to express cha-

At Nimroud and

Koyuiijik, lions with a

human head have

;

l^een

found, which exrcdy resemble the sphinxes of Egypt

only they

have the Assyrian tiara on the head, instead of the Egyptian cla/t. + It has been conjectured that these tw eyes in a profde have a typical meaning, and may signify that the god or king could see on but is it not more reasonable to ascribe them to every side at once convention and the inexperience of the artist ? We must also bear in mind the undeniable physical fact, that in the eastern races, whose faces are far rounder than those of Europeans, the eye is never seen
;

in profile in the

same

clear

and marked manner as with

us.

54
racter,

ASSYRIAN SCULPTURE.
and that the compositions on these Assyrian more varied and fuller of movement and

tablets are
life

than the hieratic sculptures of Egypt.

Some

are of opinion,

we

ourselves

amongst

others, that

the exaggeration of physical activity and of expressive gestures

marks a very advanced

19th

state of art,

or rather a decadence from

a superior style like

in

that

of the

dynasty

Egypt.

New

dis-

coveries are foretold which will prove this theory,

and bring
also,

to light earlier
art.
it

and more crude specibe

mens of Assyrian
and hope that

Let us become prophets

so.

may

The Assyrian

tablets

must have been

history of the

pictorial

annals, stone chapters of history

commemorating
Assyrian

the chief events of the

people,
or,

rather, of their kings.

The king (what

king none know with any certitude)* appears again

and again

in all

these sculptured pictures.

He

is

easily recognised because

he

is

always followed by
;

an umbrella-bearer, a fly-flapper, or by musicians

and because he wears the

tiara,

and the Ferouher,

or winged image of divinity, hovers above his head.

In one of these representations of the king wearing

* It
is

however agreed

that this figure represents one

in the Scriptures (the

of the

Assyrian monarchs alluded to

Isaiah,

book of Kings,

Ezra, &c.), such as Sargon, Sennacherib, Assur-Akh-Bal,

(or

Nebuchadnezzar

rather
!").

Naboucojidourroitssour,

"The

god

Nabou

protect

my

family

ASSTBJAN SCULPTURE.
the tiara, the figure
in different
is

55

entirely painted

on alabaster
of

colours.

The

soles of the king's san-

dals were red.

Versailles did not guess

fashion.

The wearers of how very

the fed

Jiccls

old was this neiv

The

subjects of these bas-reliefs are very varied,

in
;

very complicated, uniting

one frame, men, aniin

fact,

mals, plants, and buildings

historical pictures.

forming true

abound.
his

In the

first

Of course, battles and sieges we generally see the king on

led

war

chariot, charges of cav^alry, archers launch-

ing their arrows, prisoners

along with their

hands bound, corpses devoured by eagles and vultures.

In the second, the besieged town

is

gene-

rally
triple

surrounded by water, and has a double or

tier

of walls

with battlements

and

it

is

attacked by rolling towers or battering rams, the

besieged pouring
fire

upon

their enemies,

and entaken,

deavouring to avert the blows of the engines by

entangling them
in chains.

When

a town

is

we

see

oxen,

women or a man

flying in chariots

drawn by young
These repreremote

escaping on a camel.

sentations of battles and sieges give us a clear and

complete idea of the mode of warfare

age
;

in this

and bearing

in

mind

that these alabaster slabs

it is

are about three thousand years old,

surprising

how

little

the art of war changed until the intro-

56

ASSYRIAN SCULPTUBE.

Almost everywhere, and in almost every age we find the same weapons, the same operations of attack and defence. Amongst
duction of gunpowder.
the bas-reliefs of London, the best for study, as

being

fuller of

movement and

variety, are the Sie^e

of a town by a king, supposed to be Assur-AkhBal I. a battle of Assur-Akh-Bal III. against the

;

Susians

the triumph of this king after victory; and

the Erection of a colossal bull by a gang of slaves

under the orders of Sennacherib.

The chase

of the lion or the wild bull, which

is

were hunted with spears and arrows,

the subject of bas-reliefs.
sent
in

also often

The king

is

always preslain
;

his

chariot,
is

receiving the victims

indeed,

the king
his
is

everywhere.
or

Sometimes we
portrait

have only

full-sized

half-length

march of troops across the mountains or through the woods sometimes

sometimes he
he
directing the
;

is

receiving

ambassadors

and

offering

them
is

peace, holding two arrows in his

hand

or he

celebrating
tree
;

some
is

religious rite before

still in

the

sacred

or he

crossing a river,

his chariot,

on a boat with a helm, manned by four rowers and

swim horses and fishes. This boat is guided through the water by a man who swims before it, kept afloat by an inflated leather bottle. Even now the rafts used on the Tigris and
a pilot, around which

ASSYRIAN SCULP TUBE

Euphrates are balanced by leather bottles
with
air.

57

filled

We

have already remarked that

the

canoes used on the Nile at the present time exactly

resemble those found

in

the sepulchral chambers

probably the gondolas of the lagoons of Venice

will

be retained
the

for centuries.
is,

One

of the tablets in

Louvre

without doubt,

the

account and
In

memorial of an expedition by river or by sea.

fishes several boats

water without perspective, we see amongst the

one above the other, with prows

in the shape of horses' heads, and half-open sides,

showing the rowers bending over

their oars.

Some

of these vessels are loaded with the trunks ot trees,

which explains the answer of Hiram, king of Tyre, to Solomon, when he was asked for some cedar

wood
and
I

for the building of the

temple

"

My

servants

shall bring
will

them down from Lebanon unto the sea, convey them by sea in floats unto the

place that thou shall appoint

me"

(i

Kings
are

v. 6-9).

Another, more true to

represents
several
led

life

and better executed,

horses.
iii.

We

told

by

Xenophon (Cyropaedia

ch. 5)

that their horses

were so wild and spirited that the Assyrians were Faithfully obliged always to keep them bound. all the have bas-reliefs copied from nature, these
delicacy of limb and graceful vigour of the

Arab

horses

and, combined with the testimony of the

58

ASSYIiJAN SCULPTURE.

book of Job, these monuments incontestably prove

that this race has been perpetuated to our

own

day, without alteration or the admixture of alien

blood, as the primitive
beautiful
"

and perfect type of that

and useful

servant, justly called

by

Bufifon,

man's noblest conquest."

From another

slab

we

learn that horses, oxen,

and dromedaries were not

the only animals employed in war, or as beasts of

burden by the Assyrians.

prisoners, serfs, or subjects,

We

see a

team of men,
pairs to the

yoked

in

pole of a car.

It

was these human teams which

quarr}-,

diew the alabaster from the

colossal

and took the

images of the kings and gods to the gates

of the palace. In

some of the Assyrian marbles the kings

for
divinities.

are

exchanged
and
in their

The

latter

generally

wear a conical cap adorned with two or three horns,

hands they hold
different

symbols

an

ear of bearded wheat, a fir-cone, a reed basket, or

a flowering

tree.

At

the Louvre

we have

a curious

personification of the roch)

god (probably Baal or Nes-

with four large outspread wings, like the

Egyptian Neith or Minerva, the cherubims of the

temple of Solomon, the Proserpine (Persephone) of

paganism and the

A/>//( (Apollo),

divinities of

ancient

Etruria,

Hcrcla (^Hercules), Tinia (Bacchus),

Thalna (Juno).

ASSYB/AN SCULPTURE.

59

We
first

see that in giving this

emblem

to the mes-

sengers of the Most

High, the old legends of the

Christian era introduced no

more of a novelty

than the marquises of the CEil-dc-Boeuf when they

put red heels to their shoes.

At

the British

Museum

there are but two Assyrian

objects which are neither in the form of tablets nor

of slabs.

One

is

a statue found at Kalah-Shergat,

the only one as

of

> et

discovered
It
is

in

the excavations

Assyrian
;

towns.

headless

and

much
it

damaged
is

it

represented a king on a throne, but

of no interest to the artist or archaeologist except

its

from

own

insignificance.

The

other,

which

is

far

more important, is
decreasing
in size

a small obelisk of blackish marble,

of about two metres high, cut into four sides, and

towards the top.

it

In addition to

ten lines of cuneiform writing,

reliefs,

has twenty bas-

with a great

many
It

figures of animals, lions,

rhinoceroses,

monkeys, horses,

carrying presents.

&c., led by men must have been a trophy of

victory and conquest, representing offerings brought

to the king

by the subject people.

so

And
of a

as the

intention

is

very

clear,
in

the

little

obelisk

oi

Kalah-Shergat

may,

the

hands

future

Champollion, become a guide to the deciphering of

the hieroglyphics of the cuneiform character.*
*

Dr. Hincks already asserts that the two hundred and ten lines of

GO

ASS FBI AN SCULPT CUE.

The English and French museums

tiles

cjntaui

many

or bricks with inscriptions in this cuneiform

writing (the letters of which are shaped like the

heads of

nails),

called Keilschrift

by

the Germans,

and arroiv-headed character by the English. Throu2[h the efforts which have been mads since
the time of the traveller Chardin,

by Niebuhr the Dane, Grotefead, Rask, Lassen, E. Burnouf, by Colonel Rawlinson and Dr. Hincks in England, and by MM. Jules Oppert and Joachim Menant at the same time in France, modern science will. perhaps, at last discover the meaning of this writing, and learn to decipher it as it has the hiero.

glyphics of Egypt.

We
and

will

conclude by noticing the clear proofs

in

the Louvre that Assyrian civilization had a great

direct influence

upon that of the Greeks. These

ornamented with a sunken
in relief.

proofs are, so to speak, written on two silver gilt

cups, one of which
frieze,
is

and the other by subjects

These
Citium,

cups were found

in the ruins of the ancient

a town of the island of Cyprus.

Their Assyrian

the Assyrian writing contain the royal annals during a period ot

thirty-one years,

and that amongst the

:

tributaries of the king

of

Assyria are enumerated successively

Jehu, king of .Samaria (called

B.C.

by Racine

in Athalit the

proud Jehu), and Hazael, who was made

king of the same country by the prophet Elisha, about SS5

ASSYBJAN SCULPTURE.
origin
is

61

quite

evident.

They

are

of the

same
in

shape as those held by the king of Assyria

bas-reliefs of

the

Khorsabad and Nimrod.

as well as of
;

the bronze cups found in those palaces

besides

which, the subjects of the friezes of the cups and

those of the bas-reliefs are identical, the symbols

and the
engraved

details are the same.

When we

look at

these Asiatic cups,

silver

we can fancy what

like,

that vase of

was

which Achilles proposed

as a prize at the race at the funeral of Patroclus,

the vase brought

by

sea

by the Phoenicians

to

Troas, and which was of exceeding beaut)\ (Iliad,

Book

xxiii.)

We

understand also how merchants of Tyre and

Sidon brought similar vases and other products of Assyrian art, not only to the Archipelago and the
continent of Greece, but even as far as Sicily and
Central Italy, where flourished the art of the Etruscans,

who were

as

renowned
keramic

for their
art.

works

in

bronze

as for those in

62

CHAPTER

III.

ETRUSCAN SCULPTURE.

WE
tive

must now say a (ew words on Etruscan

sculpture before passing to Greece.

Etruria, a near neighbour of our own, situated at

the gate of Gaul, can also pride itself on a primicivilization,

which although at

first

purely-

national, except for a slight Asiatic element, sub-

sequently
finally
it

fell

under Greek

influence,

and
with

was
the

absorbed into that of Rome, after giving to

creed and
superstitions, together

its

rudiments of every art and industry.

this
in

Pliny asserts

twenty passages.

The most

important

was every kind of metal work, the chasing of jewels of gold and silver, the
national art of Etruria,

casting

of

bronze

statues,

the

manufacture

of

armour,

altars,

tripods,

and

all articles

made with
in

the hammer.
the

There are three of great value

Florence
is
;

[/^si

at

the

little

statue called
;

Idolino,

wliich

probably

Mercury

the

ETRUSCAN SCULPTURE.

03

ChimcBra, with a lion's head on the shoulders, a

goat's

head on the back, and a dragon's head at the end of the tail and lastly, the beautiful and cele;

brated statue of a magistrate haranguing the people,

Fig. 6.

Statue of the Infant Apollo with a Duck.

(Museum
of Antiquities, Paris.)

which
relics

find many other of this great industry in most of the museums,

is

called the Orator.

We

the Louvre amongst others, but

they are gene-

64

ETRUSCAN SCULPTURE.

rally mixed with the Grecian and Roman bronzes. The Campana collection, recently obtained, has,

however, supplied us with interesting specimens of

this

hitherto

little

known
mere

Etruscan
terra-cottas,

art.

The
they

greater
are

number much better

are

yet

preserved than the marbles and

bronzes, and give a very fair notion of what the

sculpture of ancient Etruria was before the

Roman

conquest and subjugation.

busts,

There are a great many

wearing crowns
these

most of them of
But of

divinities
all

and diadems.
plastic art, the

monuments of
light

one which throws most

on the

confused and mysterious history of the Etruscan

people,
is

certainly the

ornamented sepulchre called

a funeral couch repose

the Lydian tomb.

On

two

half-recumbent figures, one of a man, the other

of a

woman, in Asiatic costume, which circumstance must have given the name to the tomb, as
it

is

evidently Etruscan.

It

is

agreed that this

precious
(the

monument

is

earlier

than the ruin of Coere

Cervetri),

more ancient Agylla, the modern

is

that

to say, that

it

belongs to the fourth century

before the Christian era.

But the term Etruscan

very

art will

probably remind
painted
call

many

readers of those
it

carved and

vases which

has long been the fashion to

is,

Etruscan.

It

however, a mistake to apply this

ETRUSCAN SCULPTURE.

f:r>

term to the greater number of objects indicated by

it.

It is true that

the twelve patriarchal states of

the ancient Etruscan

league

extended from the

Magra

to the Vulturnus,

from Verona to Capua.

cities
;

But they formed a mere confederacy of

Etruria, properly so
limits of
called,

did
it

not

exceed the
to the south

Tuscany
in that

itself.

Now
of

was

of

Rome,

part

Magna

Graecia called

Apulia (the modern Puglia), that the numerous

and beautiful so-called Etruscan vases were manufactured,

which are really

all

of Hellenic origin.

We

only allude to them here on account of their

name.
It is also

easy to class these valuable products of

early Italian industry according to their dates and

places of manufacture.
peculiarities,

Such are

their

striking

that
a

their

age and source

may

be

decided at
Etruria

glance.

The

earliest,

those

from

proper, chiefly found

all

at

Cervetri {Caere,

Agylla), are

black,

and either without orna-

ments or with clumsy

colour.

figures in relief of the

same
a

Others,

also

Etruscan,

although called

Egyptian and
better

Phcenician

eastern
white
painted

would be
dark

term

have

nearly

grounds, with
in

figures of

men and animals

in

red.

The next

date in the history of keramic art are

those vases called primitive, with pale grounds and

60

ETJiUSCAN SCULPTURE.

no ornaments, but zones or horizontal divisions

crossed by concentric semicircles.

Vases of a date

posterior to that of the latest already

have been found

in

enumerated more southern neighbourhood

:

round Rome,

at Vulci, Canino,

and

in the Basilicata.

They have red or orange grounds, with figures of men only, painted black. All the subjects of these
reliefs

and paintings are mythological, and are

borrowed from the worship of Bacchus, the

chiefly

polymorphous
forms and

and

polynomial

god

(of

many

many

names).

To

this

age and country belong the rhytons, or

in imitation

drinking cups shaped

different

of the heads of
later
still

animals

and,

lastly,

and

farther south in

ancient

Apulia, were

fabricated

the celebrated vases of Nola, so

called

because

they were found

in large

numbers

in

the neighbour-

hood of that Augustus

died,

city of the

Campagna, which was

in

defended by Marcellus against Hannibal,

which
in-

and

St. Paulinus

is

said to

have

vented bells

{campajicB).

Unlike those of the agro

in brick

romano, the vases of Nola have the figures

or antique
jet
'ed {rosso antico),

on a clear and shining

surpass
in
all

black

ground.

They

others

in

elegance and
subject,

variety

of form,

choiceness
grace,

of

beauty of design,
fact,

in taste, spirit,

and

ease

in

they

fulfil

the true requirements of

ETRUSCAN SCULPTURE.
art.

67

Their perfection was so great th.l they soon

doivje.'^tic

ceased to be regarded as mere

utensils,

and became decorative luxuries

pictures.
It is

like statues
first

and

remarkable that at
for

the ancients
in clay
;

made

all

their vessels

household use

the jars or amphorcB, called ^pa/io<; or

iriOo'i

by the
oil,

Greeks, for instance, in which they kept wine,

honey, drinking water, &c.

even the tub of Diogenes

was only a large earthenware pot. These domestic vases were improved upon
their form

until

and the ornaments on them attained

to

such surpassing beauty as to be true art-objects.

In
of that ingenious theory which required the

them we can mark the unconscious development same

in

harmony
is

the proportions of a vase or building as

the rule in the

human

limbs

the

symmetry

of

the height and breadth of the designs was regulated

by one of nature's laws it was thought that this symmetry produced beauty of form, and that an elegant vase might be compared to a young girl
;

risine with her

It is their

arms

raised to her head.

form alone which connects these vases

with our subject, their ornaments belong to painting-

It will suffice to state

that there are large

in the chief

and
in

choice collections of

them

museums

London,
last

Paris,

St.

Petersburg, and

Naples, which

contains no less than three thousand.

e,S

E TBI' SCAN SCULP TUBE.

For the same reason, on account of their form,

\vc

may

notice the vetri aiitichi, glass objects preIf there

served from antiquity.

were

still (for

there

have been) scholars who denied that glass was known to the ancients although it is spoken of by

Job and
its

in

the Proverbs, and Pliny has alluded to

fortunate discovery
skill

by the Phoenicians, and

its

to

the

of the Egyptians in

fabrication

they

could not but

own

their mistake before the glazed

cabinets of the Etruscan

St.

museum

of the Louvre.

Thomas
fail

could no longer doubt, and subterfuges

would

even

Escobar.

They would be commoderns

in
fall

pelled to acknowledge that the

short

of the ancients in their facility

this

industry.

From

these vctri anticlii

we can

learn the

early

forms and the use of ancient glass objects.

On

the

one hand, we have vases of every kind, small

amphorae, flagons,
foot-goblets,
;

and goblets with

glasses.

handles, lacrymatories, &c.

tinted,

on the other, white,

the ground for

coloured,

chased,

and enamelled
in

Most of them having been buried

centuries, are
still

stained with the thin coating or

film produced by mineral decomposition, called patina by the Italians, which is also found on

marbles which have been long underground.

glass
it

On

produces beautiful golden and

riilver tints,

or colours which change and blend like those of a

ETRUSCAN SCULPTURE.
rainbow.

69

But

it

tarnishes enamels

they require

to be cleaned

by a very

delicate process.

Many

ancient statues were

damaged by being merely

scraped before the art of washing them was discovered.

We

must, however, acknowledge that the ancients

did not turn this most useful

practical

discovery to such
In

advantage as we do.

windows glass

admits external light whilst retaining the internal in mirrors it reflects our heat of our dwellings
;

own images
of vision
of

in spectacles

it

lengthens the range

the short-sighted,
;

and makes that

the microscopes

of the far-sighted clear

and

in

of the physiologists, and the telescopes of the

astronomer,
littleness

it

opens to us the marvels of

infinite

infinite

and of

grandeur.

70

CHAPTER

IV.

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.

WHAT
found

Pliny says

of painting

De

pictur<B

initiis

imerta

is

equally true of sculpture.

in the history of Assyrian and Egyptian art

cannot go back to the beginning

we we have only
fact,

monuments
proofs

of

settled,

in

of

an

advanced
visible

civilization, of

which they are alike the

sacred
relics.

and

the

We

have

equally decisive evidence that the art of the east

exercised great influence over the early civilization
of Greece
claimed,
;

indeed, although the ancient

Greeks
to

and were

too

long
is

believed,

have

invented everything, there

art

no doubt that Grecian

began with imitation.

Greeks
earned

But, at the
glory,

same

time,

the

eternal

and

became

worthy of our unchanging admiration and gratitude, by at once freeing themselves from the spirit of
convention and routine
;

they soon burst the chains

of dogmatic and sacerdotal laws, and inaugurated

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
a
free, original,

71
"

and individual
"

art.

Unlike the

other nations of antiquity," says

M. Beule, with

equal truth and elegance,

react

they took lessons only to

upon

their masters, they

adopted their models,

surpassed, rejected them, to conceive others of in-

comparable beauty.
invented beauty.

They did not invent art, they The artists of Egypt and Assyria

could produce deep, religious, and striking impressions they never attained to thosesuperior principles
;

which exalt human ideas into divine types, and enable man to contemplate beauty face to face.

No
aided

doubt

art

in

Greece,

as

elsewhere,
;

was

connected with the faith of the country

its

religion
its

birth

and

its

development

it

was alike

support and

its

controller.

Fortunately the religion

of the Greeks was never narrow, jealous, or bigoted.

It

had no colleges of
of faith,

priests,

no theology fixed by

a symbol
creed.

no immutable and prescribed

Daughter of imagination and mother of

first

poetry, religion from the

child, with the
spirit of
"

imbued

art,

her other

independence and with her

own

liberty of genius.

Mythology," adds M. Beule,

fiction

"that immense and magnificent tissue of

which pervades the entire universe, like a net-work of gold and light, ... is the most brilliant creation
of the

human
:

intellect.
it is

Who made

it?

Everyone

and no one

the

work of a people."

72
It

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
was the same with
free
art.

Grecian art only

;

borrowed what was technical and mechanical

and

when

to

wing

its

flight

towards the lofty

it

regions of the sublime and beautiful,

was unbarrier.

checked

by any Daedalus was able

;

religious

or

political

to shake off

Egyptian traditions

with impunity

he could free the legs and arms of

;

statues from their bodies

he could impart move-

ment and
his bold

life

to them, without incurring the censure

of a priest or the anger of a king.

Instead of

this,

ration of all Greece

and happy innovations excited the admiand the envy of every rival.
piety.
" It
"

With the Greeks enthusiasm was

the

was
the

longing

for

clearness," says

M. Taine,

perception of proportion, the hatred of the clumsy

and outrageous, the taste

outlines,

for

marked and

distinct

which led the Greeks to embody their

in

conceptions

a form easily understood

by the

senses and the imagination, and to produce works

intelligible to

every race

in

every age

works which,
;

being human,

may be
as

eternal."

However,
Grecian art
"

free

it

subsequently became, even

was

for a long time

debased

poetry

was already
In
fact,

at its zenith
is

when
a
it.

it

scarcely existed.
of

poetry

but

flight

fancy with
to struggle

language ready to express

Art had

with and subdue materials, and this process often

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
required centuries.

73

At

first,

then, sculpture
;

was

humble, embarrassed, and timid

the certain to attempt the

it

dared not leave

;

unknown
first

it

could take
;

no step
as
it

in

advance without
it

looking back

but

sfrew,

left

behind
.

it
.

an indestructible chain,
.

the
for

chain

of tradition,
in

which finds strength

the
past.
it

the future

respect

for

Grecian

sculpture advanced slowly, because

sought not

novelty but progress.

The aim

of each school was

to copy the master, to excel

To

obtain certainty
err,

rather than to

him if possible by repeated trials, to pause to soften by shading without

abrupt transition. ...

rests the blame,
.

On

art itself, not

on

religion,

if it

remained stationary long;

;

but condemnation
lofty education

is

misplaced

in this slo.v

but

we must

recognise the source of

the grandeur and admirable principles of Grecian Thus," continues M. Beule, "we find the true art.

theory of liberty applied to the

of Grecian
art w^e claim

arts.

In the

name

not only that outward

liberty which depends on the weakness of men and the freaks of fortune, but the true freedom

independence.
Grecian
It
art."

which fears no attacks, which is more than liberty Independence was the soul of

would be impossible now to write the history of the schools of Greece from the time when Cupid

74

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
;

was represented by a stone at Thespiae Juno by a column at Argos Castor and Pollux at Sparta, by two beams joined by a cross-bar in token of
;

fraternity

to
will

the age of Pericles.

suffice.

very brief

summary

The

first

statues,

made

of

wood, are attributed to Daedalus,

claim as a fellow-citizen, but
native
of Crete,

whom

the Greeks

who was probably

industrious,
is

and a contemporary of Minos.

Daedalus, whose

name means

said to

have invented the saw and the plane, and to have

introduced his art into Sicily and Apulia.
this all

Who
all

is

but fabulous person

all

.'

Probably a myth, to
the

whom

early inventions are attributed, as

great national

poems
very

to

Homer.

We

only know,

that even in the time of the traveller Pausanius,

there

existed

old

wooden
life

statues,

called

Daedali, in

which movement and

were imitated,

the legs being separated from each other and the

arms from the body.

In the Isle of Samos, on the

B.C.,

coast of Asia, between the years 570 and 525

a family of artists arose to

the

whom

the Greeks gave

name

of

stone

scrapers,

because

they sub-

stituted harder

and more durable materials, such

marble,
his for

as

stone and

wood.

Their

names
grand-

were Rhoecus,

son, Telecles,

and

his

son, Theodorus.

To them
art,

is

also attributed the

invention of the plastic

or that of modelling

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
clay, of

75

engraving on metals and precious stones,

statues.

and even of the casting of bronze

The
have

last-named invention, which the Samians

may

borrowed from Egypt, was also practised by the

Etruscans and

known

in Sicily,

where

at the

same

epoch the sculptor Perillus made the celebrated

brazen bull for the tyrant Phalaris,
burnt
his
in

which he
says
that

enemies

alive.

Tradition

Theodorus engraved the famous ring which Polycrates threw into the sea, to change his too constant
ill

fortune

that he recast the silver krater given

;

by

Croesus to the temple of Delphi

and chased the

of

golden vine with grapes of precious stones, found

at Sardis,
Persia.

by Cyrus, on the throne of the kings

also, to

Glaucus

whom

is

attributed the inveniron,

tion of the art of smelting

and soldering

was

perhaps an inhabitant of Samos or of Chios.

And

we know, on
First,

the

authority of Pliny, that these

islands can boast of another family of sculptors.

Melas, then his son Miciades, his grandson

a

Anthermus, who mado

winged Victory

for Delos,

and the sons of Anthermus, Bupalus and Athenaeus, who worked together. Bupalus is the most celebrated of this generation of
of Augustus,
artists.

In the time

many

of his works were collected at

simplicity of his

Rome;

the

unaffected

archaic

76

GRECIAN tiCUirTUBE.
Romans.

style found favour with the

The

school

cf Chios took root in an island of the yEgean Sea, near Paros, and, laying aside the wood with which

Daedalus was content, and the bronze of Theodorus, This was decided proit adopted white marble.
gress in statuary a great step towards perfection
!

In

carving

Parian

marble

the

Chiote

sculptors

were able to give

elegant,

full

scope to the vivacious, pliant,

Ionia, which, sub-

and delicate genius of

sequently combining with the more sober, vigorous,

and austere talent of the strong Dorian race, produced that dualism from which sprang true Grecian
art.

In those Ionian islands where the

artists

first

Greek
There
of

appeared, the

first

poets also arose.

were born the Iliad and the Odyssey, from which

sculptors

took their

inspiration.

One word

Homer
locks,

or of Hesiod Jupiter with the powerful

smile,

Venus with the sweet

to fix a type,

Juno with the

it

beautiful arms,

Diana, the fair-limbed goddess

was enough
artist, for

and make

traditional,

without interfering with the independence of the

a symbol
is

not a dogma.

When

fleeing

before the conquests of Cyrus and the domination

of the Persians, the Ionian artists spread over the

continent

of Greece, they introduced,

if

not

an

absolutely

new

art

Corinth had

already produced

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
the ancient colossal statue

77

of Jupiter Olympius,

and the celebrated carved chest of Kypselus, two

important works
of
art,

in cast

metal

but new elements

materials.

new

style

and new

Cretan

artists

founded the school of Sicyonia.

neighin

bour of Corinth, and far inferior to that

population and

town

commercial wealth, Sicyonia ex-

celled her in the arts.

There the Dorian was

"

first

blended with the Ionian genius.

Sicyonia," says

The

schools of

M. Beule,

"

united the principles

liberty

and the
longr

stability of the one, with the

and
had

grace of the other."

Sicyonia, like Corinth,

carvers.

had her metal-founders and

The

Cretans, Dipcenus and Skyllis, introduced, with the

employment
It
itself,

of marble, the true art of statuary.

fifteenth

was about the

Olympiad,

in

Sicyonia
at the

that Dipoenus

and Skyllis produced,

cost of the state, the four statues of Apollo, Artemis, Herakles,

and Athene, besides other gods,

for

Ambrosia, Cleonae, Argos, and Tirynthus. Their school spread throughout Greece, and even
to the Italian

Magna

Graecia, for the sea, instead

of separating, united the Hellenic races.

Dameas, of Crotona, who made

of

for the

temple

Olympia

that celebrated bronze statue of the

athlete Milo, which the latter carried on his shoulders,

was the pupil of Dipcenus and

Skyllis.

Their

78

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
also

lessons

formed the talents of

;

Phlius (untis)

Eucheir of Corinth, Eutelidas,

Laphaes of Chy-

sothemis, and Aristoniedon, of Argos,

who

after-

wards educated Ageladas, the master of Phidias, It is probable that of Polycletus, and of Myron. the two Cretan sculptors were afterwards sum-

moned

to

Athens

and

it

is

certain

that,

after

being under the direction of the bronze-founder,

Theodorus, the Spartan school was developed by

the instructions of disciples of Dipoenus and Skyllis

Doryklidas,
taught

Dontas,
to

Theokles,

Medon

who

them

carve

Parian

marble.

Sparta,
in all
its

which cherished the old Dorian genius

early austerity,

and rejected painting as too effemiadmitted sculpture, whilst

style, "

nate

an

art,
it

strictly

confining

within the limits of morality and utility.

She retained the archaic

(Beule),

which did not trans"

fer the attractions of living nature to inert material

and never attempted the

ideal expression

of beauty.

Her

school of sculpture was prolific

and celebrated

in the
it

age of Pisistratus

but

in

the

time of Pericles

was

supplanted by that of

Athens, and the rugged Dorian genius disappeared,

buried beneath the

innumerable and

surpassing

works of her conqueror, the charming genius of

Ionia.

Before this period of Athenian supremacy, how-

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
ever,

79

we
of

find the old Doric style,

Ionic, in the

though alreadyArgos,

tempered by the
chus

works

Sikyonia,

Ageladas of
;

the whole school of yEgina

flourished
after

to

by Kanaand by Kanachus, who

left

about

500

B.C.,

and did not die

is

until

the invasion of the Persians,

ascribed a

statue of Apollo,

made

for the sanctuary of

Didy-

mae, near Miletus, in Asia Minor.

This Didymaian
in his
flight,

Apollo was carried away by Xerxes

and returned
statues

to the

Milesii

two centuries

after:

wards, by Seleucus-Nicator.

Cicero's

words

"

The

by Kanachus

are too stiff to

be true to

nature," prove that the Sicyonian sculptor remained

faithful to

the archaic style, so

much admired by
a

the Romans. The Argian Ageladas was

contemporary of

Kanachus,

for

we know

that,

aided

by

third

sculptor, Aristokles, they

produced a group of the

flute of

three Graces.

That by Kanachus held the

Pan
that

that by Aristokles the lyre by Ageladas the Barbiton,

of tortoise-shell
or great lyre of
life

Apollo.

We

know

little

of the

of Ageladas,

but tradition has preserved the remembrance of

some

of his most celebrated works.

first

He was
;

pro-

bably the

of Grecian

sculptors

he

made

statues of different athletes

Anochus
and

of Taren-

tum,

Timosithae of Delphi,

Kleosthenes of

80

OliECIAN SCULPTURE.

Epidamnus,

uhom

he represented

on a

chariot

drawn by four

horses,

guided by a

driver.

The
But

beauty and entirely novel grandeur of

this rich

offering excited the admiration of all Greece.

Ageladas gained more renown by

his disciples than

by his works. was the master

age of Perikles
It

We

have already slated that he

of the three great sculptors of the

Pheidias, Polykletus, and Myron.*

yEgina that the fusion of

was

in the school of

the Doric and Ionic styles was most apparent, and

in that of

Athens that the victory of the Ionic over

rival of

the Doric was consummated.

The constant
and absorption
Attica,

Athens, until her

" situated

final

decay
island

into the great republic, "

The
in

of yEgina," says M. Beule,

front of

was

like

the

advanced

sentinel

of

the

Peloponnesus, the protector of the Dorians from

* It
is

unfortunate that no authentic

work

of

preserved to the time of our

modern

collections.

We

Myron has been know that he

was admired by all Greece, because he expressed life better than any other artist. His Cow suckling her calf, of Eleutheris, was as celebrated as the Venus of Knidus. It has suggested numerous epigrams " Shepherd, take thy cows further away, lest thou also take that of Myron." "No, Myron did not model this cow: time changed it into bronze, and he passed it off as his work." "O Myron when thou didst model this cow which the shepherd mistakes for his own, and the heifer for her mother, thou didst more than the immortal gods for they are gods and thou art but a man. It would have been easier for them to create thy model, than for
:
!

thee to imitate

it."

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
the
Tonians."

81

Over ^gina reigned -^^acus, the whom pubhc veneration made one of the judges of hell, and from whom descended

Numa

of the Greeks,

long

line

of heroes, called
Peleus,
later,

yEacides,

amongst
Ajax,

whom

were

Telamon,

Achilles,

Patrocles,

and

Miltiades and his son Cimon.

rise

Rich and powerful before the

of the city of

Minerva, ^Egina dates the origin of her school far

back

in

history.

According to Pausanius, Smilis

This
also

of yEgina was the contemporary of Daedalus.

is

to

make him
to

fabulous

myth.

Then

follows Callo, the sculptor,

compared
his son

whose works Ouintilian those of the Etruscans Synnoos and

;
;

Ptolycus

Glaucius,

who was ordered by

for

Gelon of Syracuse to make an extra quadriga

the temple of Olympia
;

and, lastly, Onatas, the

most celebrated
lived after the

of

the

.^ginetan

School.
a

He
of

Median
in

wars,

made

number

images of gods for different sanctuaries of Greece.

and took part

temple of

the ornamentation of the great

his country, of

give a few details.

which we shall The .Eginetan marbles

presently
rival

even

those of the Parthenon, and are the most valuable

treasure of the Glyptothek of

Munich
art

in fact,

none

of the

sacred
at

relics
all

of ancient

in

Northern

Europe are

to be
in

compared
Greece

to them.

Whilst travelling

the

year

i8ii.

82

GRECIAN SCULP TUBE.

when

Messrs. Haller, Cockerell, Forster, and Linkh,

measuring the height of an old temple of ^gina,

found a number of sculptured fragments, seventeen nearly perfect statues amongst others, almost
at the

surface of the

soil.

They were bought

at

Rome by

the prince royal of Bavaria, afterwards

Ludwig I., taken to Munich,and successfully restored by the celebrated Danish sculptor, Thorwaldsen they excited great and general interest. German
erudition
rejoiced
in

this fortunate windfall

the

learned archaeologist Ottfried Muller, the philosopher

Schelling, Messrs
&c., built

Wagner,

Hirt, Thiersch, Schorn,

up vast

historical

and

aesthetic

systems

on these

fragile ruins.
art.

We

see in

them nothing

more than works of

The seventeen

statues of

Munich are the most

;

precious relics of yEginetan art

they were ornaments

of the chief building of ^gina, thought by

to

be

the

temple of

Minerva,

alluded

some to by

Herodotus and

others, the Panhellenion, or

temple

of Zeus Panhellenios.

To

give an idea of the use

and position of these figures, an imitation pediment in relief has been placed in the tympanum of and they the vault of the room in which they are
;

are arranged at
relative

its

base on stylobates
apart

in the

same
they

position,
in

only further

than

occupied

the original temple.

This contrivance

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.

83

gives a good idea at a glance of the general appear-

ance and detail of the groups.

front

By

this

means the

and back pediments of the temple of Jupiter have been reconstituted with the seventeen statues. Five figures form the eastern,
Panhellenius

and ten the western pediment at the apex of the angle of the latter two little figures were probably
:

placed as external

ornaments.

This opinion

is
is

borne out by the appearance of the objects, and

so well founded that
fear or hesitation.
it

may

be adopted without

But when thus^rranged, what do these seventeen

statues

represent
field

.-*

This

question

leads

to

boundless
trial

of conjectures and opinions, to a

without a

judge

but

they are evidently

memorials of combats and victories dear to the

pride of the small race of iEgina.
this

No

one denies

but
'

are they victories gained

by the Greeks
Plataea,

over the

Persians
or

at

Marathon, at

at

Salamina

must we go back to heroic times, and

seek their explanation in the wars of the Greeks

against the Trojans
.'

They would

still

celebrate
recalling

the triumph of Europe over Asia, and

past
victories,

by

symbolically represent the actual

success

of the age.

The

latter opinion

is

most
the

widely entertained, and also the most probable.

We

will

suppose then that the

five figures of

84

GRECIAN SCULP TUliE.

back or eastern pediment describe the struggle of

Hercules and Telamon with Laomedon, the king
of

Troy.

The kneeling

Sagittarius,

or

archer,

letting fly an arrow,

and wearing a leather cuirass

and a

lion's

head as a helmet, would be Hercules.

warrior on foot, acting on the offensive,
a helmet
hero,

The naked
and wearing
and

and

shield,

would be Telamon,

tlie falling

Laomedon.
is

The king

is

still

supported by his shield, he

naked, and wears

a metal helmet with straps to cover the cheeks,

and an

iron point

extended to the
is

tip of the

nose as

a protection.
historical

This

the Homeric helmet.

No
;

names have been given to the warrior bending forwards, as if aiding a wounded man or
to the other soldier, lying on his back in the hollow

of his shield,
his hands.

group,

who appears to be still fighting with The last is the most beautiful of this and that of Laomedon, and it was only by
its

accident that

singular attitude was discovered.

As we have
pediment
is

seen, the explanation of the eastern

very arbitrary.

That of the western

is

more

plausible.

The

ten figures of the principal

to represent
Iliad,

group are supposed

Greeks

one of the most

the struggle of
the

celebrated episodes of the

the

and"* Trojans

round

body

of

Patroclus.
centre,

A full-face figure of Minerva stands in the

and from the position of her f^et and the

GBEi.'lAN bCULl'TUnE.

85

direction of her javelin, she appears to be siding

with the Greeks against the Trojans.

the peplitvi
or pep/us,

She wears
(-x^ltcov),

and

tlie

tunic

the

borders of which are painted red; the helmet

is

blue,

the shield Argolic, and on the breastplate there was

probably a Medusa's head

is

in

bronze.

Patroclus

on the ground, supporting himself on his right

;

hand

Ajax, the son of Telamon,

lancing his
javelin
;

is

protecting him
is

whilst

and

followed

by

Teucer, wearing the short cuirass of an archer, and

Ajax, the son of Oileus,

who

is

lifting

the shield
of a

and javelin with both hands.

The

figure

wounded
breast,

warrior trying to tear the steel from his

completes the Greek group to the right

of Minerva.

On
;

the

left

are placed Hector, with

closed vizor
a high

Paris as a kneeling archer, wearing

tight-fitting coat
in

Phrygian cap and a

of
;

mail, reaching to the feet,

and painted

lozenges

^neas,
hand
;

also kneeling, but holding a sword in his

and

lastly,

a Trojan

wounded

in

the thigh,
figure,

who

has fallen to the ground.

fifth

not

must have completed the Trojan part of the group, with the erect Minerva in the centre of the triangular pediment, and the recumbent warriors
recovered,
in

the extreme angles.

The

little

figures

placed on the outside of the

alike,

pediment are of two small goddesses, exactly

66

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.

except that the long folds of their robes, which they

raise with

one hand, are so arranged as to fall towards

each other.

They

are called

Damia and Auxesia, as

away from
in

they are supposed to be statues of the goddesses of

Epidaurus, which the <^ginetans carried
that town,
recover.

and the Athenians

related

tried

vain

to

The
is

entirely legendary history of these

goddesses
Lastly,

by Herodotus and Pausanius.

two gryphons with outspread painted wings

ought to be seated face to face on the corners of the

pediment.

The only one

recovered has been placed

near the capital of a column of the temple, and the

two

largest fragments are surrounded

four smaller pieces of statues, the greater

by twentynumber

of which properly belong to the eastern pediment.

The

fifteen

statues preserved, the arrangement

and attitudes of which we have indicated, are of

various sizes, but except that of Minerva, they are

none of them of the medium height of a man.

They

are

all

of Parian marble,

and so great

is

the

care and delicacy of the execution, that the very

wrinkles of the naked parts are rendered, and this

without any aid from polish, as the statues were

entirely finished with the chisel.
at

Two salient
delicately

points

once attract

notice

the

moulded
and

limbs have great energy of action, a kind of convulsive ap-itation

;

the

attitudes

are forcible

GllEClAy SCULPTURE.
expressive, the outlines striking angles.

87

These are
style,

the characteristics of the

first

grand

which

Pausanius declares to have been begun by Daedalus,

and which was adopted by the two celebrated

.^ginetans, Kallon and Onatas
the sublime
;

of that style called

by Winckelmann, and the square or angular by Plin\', which preceded that of calm and tranquil beauty followed by Praxiteles and Pheidias.

The

heads, on the contrary, long ovals ending in

a pointed beard, like those of the earliest Etruscan

figures,

are

but rough

casts, like

the terra-cotta

masks, \\hich were finished off with colouring.

The

oblique eyes, the slightly retrousse nose, the sharp

chin,

do not

in

the least resemble the type which

has been called Grecian since the time of Pheidias.

The

unfinished features are devoid of expression,

idiotic smile,

except for an

which
alike.

distorts the faces

of the dying and victors

beautiful

Placed on such

and perfect bodies, we cannot believe that

were
left

the heads

in

a crude state

from

the

sculptor's inability to complete them.

marks design on
explanation of
obtain
at

his

this

The contrast part, and what we want is an design, which we can only
the
first

by determining, in which these complex

different

place, the

epoch

statues,

and the temple

returned to this

which contained them, were produced.

So

are

the answers

88

GRECIAN SVULPTUBE.

question that some, looking upon the temple of

^gina

as Doric

the Dorian race

were ascribe
for
?

not the yEginetans of

its

construction to the
it

fabulous times of Acachus, and others count

sign of the

progress of the arts

are

under

Pericles.
:

These extremes

equally

improbable

it

is

more

likely that the

temple of ^gina was

built at

an intermediate period, directly after the second

Median war and

spoils

the victory of

Salamina, the
town.

of which were shared

by

this

The

name

of Panhellenion clearly indicates the alliance

of the Greeks for the

moment

against the
their
civil

common
discords

enemy, and the oblivion of

before a great danger.

The presence
a

of Minerva

on the pediments
It

is

no

less

decisive

proof

was only

at this exceptional time of fellowship

that the ^Eginetans

hitherto

jealous rivals of the

Athenians and leagued with Sparta against them,

subsequently driven
isle

could
their

have

set

by them from their native u]) the Athenian goddess

of
this

in

temple.

The acceptance

date

dispels the notion that these

two groups represent

Greeks never
their temples,
in

battles against the Persians, for the

depicted

contemporary events

and
It

it

will

add new weight

to the generally received

opinion.

appears proved then that the Panhellenion

ORECIAX SCULPTUBE.
preceded the Parthenon by forty or
fifty

89

years,

and that the marbles of ^Egina are half a century

older than the masterpieces of Pheidias
their double character
if is
;

so that

easily explained, especially

we adopt Winckelmann's opinion

others."

that

"the
longer

artists of this island retained the early style

than any

were content to
altars,

As long as the first sculptors make images of the gods for the

they remained under hieratic influence and

employed conventional types, as did the Egyptians and Assyrians. It was when they moulded statues
of heroes and athletes for the public squares, that they gave life to the limbs and tried to express

power and beauty.

the two styles

There was of necessity a

sort

of conflict, a compromise, an inevitable blending of

;

as at the beginning of the Renais-

sance there

was a combination of the Byzantine types with a growing refinement of action and
expression.

The
art.

statues of

^gina belonged

to a

transition period

between the age of dogma and

the age of

The immobility

of the features

belongs to the former, the freedom of the limbs to

the latter.

The heroes

of Greece and

Troy had

the heads of gods and the bodies of athletes. Such is the explanation of the famous and remarkable marbles of /Egina, which to

me

appears to be

the most simple, complete, and

.satisfactory.

90

GliEClAN SCULPTURE.

Whilst the ^ginetans were adorning their Panhellenium with these hybrid statues, the school of Attica was gradually freeing itself more and

more from dogma, and advancing towards pure

art.

No

doubt, in spite of their just pride, the

Athenians ought to have owned that their city, of Ionian origin, received the first rudiments of the
arts

from the islands of Ionia, and that their very literature was founded on the Homeric forms which
also sprung from the shores of Asia Minor.
ever, aided

How-

by the neighbourhood of Pentelicus and Hymettus, which supplied them with marble in abundance, they soon had a national school. They
boast of their sculptor Endoeus, who, rather later than the 54th Olympiad, made a seated Minerva
for the Acropolis,

and who was probably the author

Ephesus.

of

the

Diana

of

They

also

claim

Simmias,
of

Antenor,

who

sculptured

the

group

Harmodius
filled

and

Aristogiton,

which

Xerxes
after-

carried into Asia,

and the place of which was

wards

by

a group of the murderers of Hip;

Amphiparchus from the chisel of Praxiteles crates, who immortalized, under the form of a
lioness, that Lea^na, the friend of

Harmodius, who

bit out her tongue that she might never betray her

accomplices

Hegias,

or

Hegisias,

who taught

Pheidias before he

took lessons from the more

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
learned Ageladas
of Argos.

91

But

according to

Ouintilian and Lucian, the statues

by these

old

masters were
ease,

still

stiff,

cold,

and

coarse, without

grace,

or

suppleness.

They had what M.

Beule called the ideal lower than nature

those

that

of

Egyptians who endeavoured to produce a

effect

moral

by means

of

conventional

types.

Soon, however, after the Median wars, came the great age of Pericles, when the Athenian artists
strove after the ideal higher than nature

beauty
life.

and
but
"

grandeur

combined
first

with

truth

and

Pheidias took his

it

lessons from an Athenian,

his education.

was
of

at

Argos that he completed

M. Beule,
Dorian
"

So

that." says

he united the characterthe

istics

the

with
the

Ionian

genius

the severe

simplicity,

practical

knowledge,
with
the the

the
rich

masculine
elegance,

grandeur of
the

the

first,

movement, the
principles
.

grace, of

second.

In

him the two

created

were blended,
.
.

producing an incomparable whole.

He

it

was

who

at

Athens

the

unity of

Grecian

sculpture."

Now

that

we have come

to the age of the final

to the time of great

development of Grecian
works, of grand

art,

masterpieces,

subject differently, resume the

we can treat our travels we began at

relics

Munich, and

examine the marvellous

of

92

GBECIAN SCULPTURE.
in

Grecian sculpture collected

modern museums.

We
first.

will visit

our national collection in the Louvre

After ascending the

stairs

of the peristyle and

advancing a step along the gallery, we see at the

end of a long
a god

vista,

standing out against

its

red

drapeiy, a female figure, alone on

in

pedestal like

his cella, grand, severe, a flowing robe

loins.

about the
plete
;

It is

much

mutilated, very incomfoot,

both arms are gone, and one

which was

evidently stretched forward.

is

This damaged statue

the most precious

It is

relic

of ancient art which Paris

called, partly

possesses.

the Venus of Jl/e/os, so

because a greater number of antiquaries consider

Vemis Victrix (or a Venus triumphing and Juno, and proudly holding the Minerva over apple, the award of Paris, in her hand), and partly
it

to be a

because

it

was found near the

little

town of Melos

in

an island of that name, one of the Cyclades, famous

for its catacombs, amphitheatre,

and the cyclopean

very different

ramparts of

its

vast harbour.
to
it.*

Many
It

names have been given

*

was accidentally
its

Some

think

it

a sea nymph, the protecting nereid of

isle

others a Nemesis, and they have considered the forty-three surnames

gesture.

of the ancient Venus, to see which would best suit this attitude and But a bronze statuette discovered later at Pompeii, which

must be a small copy of our Venus of Melos, seems to settle the She must have questioi), by showing what our statue originally vias.

Fit:. 7.

The Venus of Melos.

(Paris.

Museum

of the Louvre

U51VBRSIT
ov

^IPO

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
discovered
in

93

February,

1820;

and

bought

by

M. de Riviere, then French ambassador at Constantinople, who generously presented it to the

museum

of the Louvre.

Although we must regret the damage done by time and by the hand of man, we have reason to rejoice that the Venus of Melos has not shared the fate of her sister the Venus of Medici, which
has

been

ruined

by

useless

and

unskilful

reis

storation.

Imagination can readily supply what

missing, and Michael

Angelo himself might well

the
case of

have

refused

as
The

in

the

Farnese
re-

Hercules

to

attempt the impossible task of

construction.

the

most

Venns of Melos is certainly magnificent specimen of Grecian art

:

of which Paris can boast

produced

in that great

period of artistic excellence between Pheidias and was probably moulded by the Praxiteles, it
great
sculptor

who

supplied the gods of

or

all

the

temples

of Greece,

by the bold

artist

who

held a mirror in her left hand, and "this" says M. "would be Venus smiling at her unrivalled beauty."
nation
is

H. Lavoix,

The

expla-

ingenious, and bears the impress of probability, almost of majestic Venus of .rertainty ; and yet I can scarcely think that this But if we do not know what Melos is no more than a coquette.

The Greeks cared ner action, her gesture, was, it matters little. Has she life ? Has she beauty .lothing for action or its absence.
''.

It is

enough.

94
first

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
attempted a nude Venus with Phryne
remarkable not only
for his

model.

This statue

is

for the dignity

of bearing, the undulations of the torso, the delicacy

of the skin, and the ampleness of the drapery

also for
its

but

unaffected simplicity, and the perfect

agreement
Indeed
from
it is

between the subject and

the

style.

worthy

to rank

above

all

the achieve-

ments of Greece, whether

its

in literature or art,
it it

and

first arrival in

Paris

has met with such

unanimous admiration, that

has even eclipsed

the Stag, the

Diana Huntress,
sister

or

Diana with
Apollo,

worthy
of

of the Pythian

the

pride

the

Vatican.

The
It is

latter,

however,
it

long

reigned

supreme.

supposed that
I.

was brought from and

fall

Italy for Francis

by

Primaticcio,

at

first

placed in the palace of Fontainebleau, which Vasari

called " a
"
"

Diana

new Rome." Perhaps in the we may trace the influence of

class.

of the

the love of

novelty and the necessity of a change of idols so

common in every Stag may contest

Melos.

Certainly

Diana

ivith the

the

palm even with the Venus of

Slender but vigorous, masculine but chaste,

she better represents the austere goddess of the

Ephesians
love in

in that there is

none of the softness of

her form or attitude, and she seems more

ready to punish Actaeon than to awaken the beau-

GBECIAN SCULPTURE.
tiful
is

95

sleeper of

Mount Latmos.
and

Diana Huntress
theatrical than the

also

much

less affected

Apollo of the Belvedere, which has perhaps been too much praised on the authority of Winckelmann.

As

the

stag

goddess has horns on

surmised that
it

which bounds by the side of the its head, M. de Clarac has

may

be the stag of Cerinia, with

feet,

golden antlers and brazen

which Hercules was

ordered to bring alive to Eurystheus, and which he

caught in Arcadia after a long pursuit, and retained, although Diana at first wished to take it from him,

and threatened him with her arrows.

in Diana's history

This episode

may have

been the subject of

to us

the statue, which

is

considered the most admirable

left

representation of the fair-limbed goddess

by

antiquity.

any case these two illustrious rivals, the Venus of Melos and the Diana with the Stag, together with the other gods and goddesses which we
In
are able to admire in Paris and elsewhere, are a
striking testimony to the useful influence exercised

over the arts by mythology.

In the belief that

men were made

say, conceiving

in

the likeness of the gods, and

all

that the gods .shared

gods

in

human emotions, that is to their own image, the Greeks

all

had
in

to strive to

combine

that

was most beautiful

human

forms, in order adequately to represent

96
divinity

GRECIAN SCULl-TULE.

the

model, the prototype, the apotheosis

In addition to
this,

of humanity.*

there was a

perpetual

rivalry

between

the

temples

of

the

different states

and the various colleges of

a burning

priests,

which did not then, as they do now, form one

single corporation
;

and ceaseless
the

riv^alry,

which led to an endeavour to obtain

altars,

for the gods,

tripods,

vases,

and

all

accessories

of

worship, the most beautiful, elegant, and

perfect
lose

forms which art could produce.

We

must not

sight of the fact that the old Grecian idols were not

only painted, but

dressed,

and that

their toilette

was attended
dressed,

to

by

priests

and women.

"They

were washed," says Otfried Miiller, " waxed, rubbed,

brushed,

decked with crowns, diadems,

This was the act both
of
find equivalents of

necklaces, earrings."
religion

and ignorance, and we

countries.

the Grecian idols in the

Madonnas

of Italy, Spain,
;

and other

crude faith

a crude

art.

In order to attract offerings, and

if
it

we may

so

express ourselves, to obtain custom,

was necessary,

* " The gods," said Epicurus, quoted by Cicero (de Natura Deor), being perfect creations, could only choose from the most admirable nor could they take any other of the forms of the human body In our endeavour to discover shape tlian that proper to man.
;

nature's

proportions and grace of the

in

most perfect work, what can we conceive superior to the human body ? Is there any one who, a dream or awake, could fancy gods under any other form ?"
justified Christian artists

Epicurus

beforehand.

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
in

P7

this rivalry of

temples and priests amongst a

people of excellent taste, to endow a new god with

supreme beauty, without which he could not successfully contend with the old fetiches which had long
enjoyed the adoration of the people.

Hence sprung

the Minervas of Athens, the Jupiter of Olympus, the Juno of Argos, the the

Venus

of Cnidus, and also

Venus of Melos and the Huntress Diana.

from
their

They
the

might easily seduce

allegiance

adorers of the horrible bearded

Venus of Amathus

and the old Diana of Ephesus, which was a triformis monster with numerous breasts* This is not the only debt of gratitude which art
owes to the
religion of the Greeks.
It

was poly-

theism which invested each divinity with a suitable peculiar and easily recognised symbol, and not only
assigned to
it

a particular attribute of moral power,

to

as majesty to Jupiter, grace

Venus, force to
caduceus,
or

Hercules
the

but also certain tangible types, such as

the
quiver,

thunderbolt,
the

the

the

thyrsus,

corytnbos
etc.

(the

knot

bunch

on

Apollo's head),

These fixed symbols, these

which,

dogmas,

so

to

speak,

however,
left

differed

materially from those of Egypt,

*

the artist free

Poliadis, which was replaced by the was a mere puppet without arms wrapped It was to them much what the Madonna of Loretto in a peplum. of the present day is to a work of Michael Angclo or Canova.

The

primitive

Athena

three Miner\'as of Pheidias,

98
in the

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
treatment of forms and action, whilst they

protected beauty

by making it in a manner unchangeable either by caprice of fashion or frivolity " The benefit was reciprocal," adds of judgment.
Emeric
" religion,
its

David

{Rccherchcs

siir

I'art

statuaire)

by combining with good

seems

taste,

assured
effec-

preservation,

and aided her own cause so

tually that she

to live again in the master-

pieces she has bequeathed to us."

Venus and Diana

respectively

reign

supreme

over two rooms of antiquities.

of two other apartments
different order, not

The

masterpieces
of quite a

are statues

gods but men, the Achilles and

the Fighting Gladiator.

The

first

is

supposed to

be an antique copy of the bronze Achilles, the celebrated work of Alcamenes, the beloved pupil

and

rival of Pheidias.

It is

evident that

it

belongs

to the age of that simple

and calm beauty which

sublime style."

Winckclmann
is

called

"

the

The

regularity of the shape, the

symmetry

of the limbs,

such that, like the celebrated Doryphorce (standardit

bearer), called the rule of Polycletes,

for a metrical

might serve

model of the beautiful proportions of

the

human body.

The hero

of the Iliad has no

garment but the elegant Grecian helmet, covering

the long hair which he cut off the corpse of Patroclus.
in

his despair over

The

episphyrion ring, or

Gil ECJ

AN SCULP TUBE.

99

that

worn above the ankle on the

right leg, was,

according to a tradition not adopted by Homer, a protection for the only vulnerable portion of the

body of the son

of Thetis.

It

may, however,

merely typify the chief excellence of the swift-

Fig. 8.

Achilles.

(Museum

of the Louvre, Paris.)

footed Achilles, as he

by the poet no light praise, as the prize in the races, was always the most honourable trophy of the public games of
is

called

Greece.

It

was Visconti who gave the nam.e of

Achilles to this statue.

Wiuckelmann

is

disposed

100

on EC TAN SCULPTURE.
it

to consider

a Mars, and then the episphyrion ring

would indicate the ancient custom of some of the

Grecian races, of the Spartans amongst others, of
chaining up this god of battles in their
cities, "

that

he might never leave them

"

(Pausanias, chap. xv.).

The Fighting

Gladiator, which

ruins of the Palace of the

was found in the Emperors at Antium, is

It

of later date than the Achilles.

belongs to the

more vigorous and energetic

this

style introduced

by

Lysippus, less than a century after Pheidias.

At

second epoch,

artists

had acquired a habit of

signing their works, and the age of the Fighting

Gladiator
of
its

is

proved, beyond a doubt, by the

name

author, Agasias of Ephesus, son of Dositheos,*

is

which
figure.

legible

on the trunk which supports the

is

In any case, this statue

it

Greek, and

it

is

misnamed, because
of the

does not represent a gladiator

Roman

circus,

but an athlete of the games

of Hellas.

Bernini was right to carve gymnastic

exercises as bas-reliefs on the pedestal.

it

But does

represent a dancer of the Pyrrhic, or war-dance,

In

which attack, defence, and

.''

all

the gestures of a

struggle are imitated

* In reference to
tl>is

Is

it

an athlete contending
that the affection

title,

we must remark

Detween master and pupil, and the gratitude of the

So great that the teacher

was

called father.

"it

is

doubtful,

when we

find the father's

latter, were often " So that," says Pliny, added to the artist's name,

whether that of the true or adopted

])arent

be intended."

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
for the
it

101 Is

boxing prize

in the

Olympian games

a warrior in a real battle,

tending on foot
of these
three

who seems to be conwith a mounted foe ? The choice explanations remains open. The

form and attitude are very beautiful, the execution is delicate and bold, and the energy of strength in
action, as seen in this dancer, athlete, or warrior,

reminds us of two celebrated groups at Florence

and Rome, which belong

beeinnincf
of

to the
:

the

decadence

same epoch, at the we allude to the

Wrestlers and the Laocoon.

In our notice of the Vemis of Melos and the Huntress Diana, we alluded to the services rendered to art by polytheism. In speaking of the
Achilles

and the Gladiator, we may remark that

national education and customs aided to complete From their infancy the superiority of Grecian art.

men

practised gymnastics

naked

athletes wrestled
;

naked on the
victors

stage

and race-course

and the

were represented naked

in the statues raised

to their

honour by the pride of

their native cities.

This spread a general knowledge of plastic anatomy,

of the play of the muscles, and the fitness of the
limbs, according to the laws of their construction,
for the various functions of the

body.
in
in

It

was by

the examination of his naked figure the (lance, the throwing of the quoit,

the race,

wrestling

102

OREUIAN SCULPTURE.

and boxing, that the master of the gymnasium decided for what a youth was fit. The exceptional
man, whose proportions were
perfect,

and whose

powers were well balanced, was declared pentathlon

(five,

or perfect-powered), fitted for the five exer;

cises

his

was
taste,

perfect beauty.

Hence arose the

rage for
physical

common
and

the

universal
"

beauty, called
useful."

by Socrates
it

the result of the good

In the solemn games of Olympia, of

Nemaea, or of Corinth,

was not only the

;

citizens

who

wrestled before assembled Greece

in

the States the persons

themselves contended for the prizes,

of the choicest of their sons
contests, as
;

and

to these public

to

the processions which bore their

offerings to the great divinities, they sent their

most

beautiful

young men " in order," says Plato, " to Zeno give a good impression of their republic." f' and Socrates calls beauty the "Flower of Virtue
;

said, "

My

eyes turn towards the beautiful Autoly-

cus, as to a torch

burning at midnight."

From

this

double current of ideas tending to the same end, which led to the public games and the religious the law of beauty creeds, sprung a unique law

by which the sculptors of the statues of athletes They had a and gods were entirely bound.
hundred
living

models before their eyes,

in

the

schools where dancing and wrestling were taught,


GRECIAN SCULP TUBE.
and
love
in the beautiful

103

was

learnt.

women of Ionia, from whom What is beauty A " blind man's

?

question," replies Aristotle.

We

must

not, however,

imagine that physical

Greece to the exclusion

beauty was sought

of moral excellence.

after in

On

the contrary, as remarked

by

Aristotle,

the

Greeks required indications of

in

intelligence

and goodness, and

skill
;

addition to those of

health, power,

they knew that without

them mere bodily

gifts

were of
results.

little

worth, and
to

might lead to prejudicial

They wished
;

know
body

of a virtuous soul in an agile

and powerful
cor-

mens sana in corpore sano

and, according

to Plato, he alone

was
his

beautiful

whose mental
"

responded
natural

with

bodily perfection.
of
this

As

consequence
"

philosophy,"

says

M. Louis Menard,

we

find, in

the effective works

is

of Grecian sculpture, that

man

always reprepath of
just,

sented as above passion, and stronger than suffering.

In

leading minds

along the enchanted

boauty to the conception of the true and

as to translate them, in her plastic art,

Greece so blended the laws of art and conscience

the

by one and same expression." Honours and rewards were not then awarded only to victorious athletes and
all

heroic warriors, but to

Lrilliant success of

who obtained

sufficiently

any kind in

literature

and

art,

KM
as well as in

GliECIAN SCULPTUBE.

games and war to become the pride

of their country.*

We

will

now continue our review

of Grecian

works of

art in the Louvre,

Aphrodite, the type of supreme beauty, had so

great a charm for the artists of Greece, and they

were able to vary her statue

in

so

many

different

ways without radically altering the form, that the number of images of Venus is greater than that of The Louvre all the other divinities put together.
contains eiehtcen statues and three busts of this

goddess.

After the

another

Venus

Vants of Mdos, we come to Victrix, not now victorious on

Mount
She
of a
*

Ida, but vanquishing

Mars by her charms.

holds his

sword with the timid awkwardness

side Cupid, like an inquisi-

woman, and by her

their great citizens, and amongst them their more honours and rewards than did any other ancient or modern people their gratitude and lijjerality -were alike "There vas a theory in the act of recompense," says excessive. Emeric David, " and the honours accorded by the Athenians were graduated in such a manner that there was ceaseless emulation. Proclamation in the tlieatre of the name of the man they desired to honour proclamation at the public games a crown conferred by

The Greeks loaded

great artists, with

a crown conferred by the people ; a crown given at the fetes of the Panathenrea ; a portrait placed in a national palace ; a support in the Prytaneum ; support granted to portrait in a temple
the senate
;
;
.

the father, the children, to the descendants of the hero for ever ; a statue in some public place ; a statue in the Prytaneum ; a statue in

the

temple of Delphis

tomb; public

games and

periodical

celebrations at the tomb."

OnECIAN SCULPTURE.
tivc child,
is

105

trying on the hchnet of the

God

of

War.

Venus Genitrix, a beautiful statue of the

art,

best era of

which combines

all

the usual cha:

racteristics of the

mother of the Graces

the apple
ears

of Paris

in

her hand, one

breast bare, the

pierced to receive the valuable rings, and the tunic

fitting

to the limbs so as to

show

their graceful

outlines.
teles

draped Venus, with the

name

of Praxi-

written

on the

plinth,

supposed to be an
inhabi-

imitation of the clothed

tants of
to rival

Venus which the

Cos demanded of the illustrious statuary, A the nude Venus of Gnidus (Cnidus).
is

libertine Venus, which, as restored,

crushing under

foot a

human

foetus,

typifying the destructive effect

of vice
in

that

upon mankind. The Venus of Aries, found town in 165 1. This was another Venus
remarkable
for

Victrix,

the beauty of the head,

In
left

decked with graceful

of the helmet of

ribbons.

restoring

the

arms, Girardon put a mirror in the

hand, instead

Mars

or yEneas.

The Venus of
her feet
is

Troas, an imitation of a celebrated .statue from the

temple of

this

Phrygian town

at

pyxis, or jewel-case.
]

Two Marine

Venuses, one

ising

from the waves at her

birth, the other called

upl.x-a,

or goddess of fortunate voyages, etc.

is

If

Venus represents physical beauty, Minerva

ihc type of moral perfection.

On

this account,

and

too

GUECIAS StULFTUllE.

as protectress of Athens, she was as great a favourite with the Greeks as the sea-goddess.
statues are plentiful everywhere
;

Het
the

there are nine in

will

the

Louvre, amongst which

we

notice

Fig. g.

Pallas of

Velletri.

(Museum

of the Louvre, Paris.)

Pallas of

Velletri, semi-colossal,

wearing a helmet,

with a mitopon (closed

the a;gis on

visor),

a lance in her hand,

her breast, modestly confining the

GRECIAN SCULPIUJIE.
tunic,

107

and an

ample pcplum

falling to

the

feet.

The

severe and noble attitude of this fine statue,

the fTowing folds of the long draperies, the calm

and sweet expression of the majestic countenance

in

the martial head-dress, are as characteristic as

her symbols of the goddess of armed peace, of the

arts,

of letters, and of wisdom.

The Minerva with

the Necklace, another Pallas in armour, of the exalted

style peculiar to the

age of Pheidias, supposed to be

in

a copy in marble of the Athena

great
sculptor, also

bronze by the

she

is

called tlie beautiful, because adorned with the pearl necklace usually

reserved for Venus.

Minerva
idol,

Hellotis (whose
is

helmet

is

decked with myrtles), which

probably a

copy of some old wooden

stuffs,

draped with heavy

plaited in perpendicular flutings on the body.

Apollo, the usual type of manly beauty, afforded

as

sculptors.

much scope as Venus for the skill of Grecian The French museum also contains nine
is

statues of this god, including that of the Sun, with

rays about the head, which

not, strictly speaking,

an Apollo, but Helios, the son of Hyperion and Thy ia, who was only worshipped at Rhodes and Corinth.

Although four of the nine are Pythian Apollos, the best in the Louvre is one of the two called Lycian,
because the attitude, that of repose, with the arms folded above the head, and the serpent crawling at

108

QREVJAN SVULPTUHE.
feet,

the

are suggestive of the Lycian Apollo, to

raised

whom Athens

celebrated temple.

We

must also admire the young Apollo

Saiiroctonos, or

Fig. lo.

Hacchus.

(Museum

ot

the Louvre, Paris.

Lizard
restored,

slayer, the
is

head of which, although only

antique, supposed to be a

good copy of

the bronze Saiiroctonos of Praxiteles.

(J

n E CJA 1 : bcuiri uue.

luy

and scantily clothed, as Fontaine would express it, a Diana may always be recognised by the
Agile,
tunic raised above the knees, which has gained her

Fig. II.

Mercury.

(Museum

(;f

the Louvre, Paris.)

the

name

of the Fah'-Hinbcd goddess.

Of

the six

sis-

ters of the

Huntress Diana

in
is

the collection of the

Louvre, the Diana of Gabii

the most celebrated.

110

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
to be fasten-

With a graceful movement she appears

ing her chlamys
()(Xa/xu'i,

a linen mantle caught to-

gether on the shoulder).

Of
is

the three statues of

Bacchus
one

in

our museum, one

the Indian or bearded

;

(irwyov) Bacchus,
in repose,

and the two others are Grecian

ivy,

the other drunken, both wearing the

CredemnoH, or diadem with

but a fawn's skin.

and no garment

Three Hercules, amongst others

a semi-colossal group, in which the god of strength

holds his delicate child Telephus in his powerful arms, with the hind which suckles
him.
it

close beside
in

Three Mercuries, one with Vulcan,

arts

which
a

group the gods of the mechanical

are in

manner united. As Vulcan

two
figures

is

not here deformed, the

were long taken

;

for

Castor and Pollux,

or for Orestes and Pylades

ugliness,

but the Greeks hated

to the Parcae, the

and gave beauty even

Eumenides, to Nemesis and to the Gorgon.

Cupids, all charming.

Three
bow,
per-

The one

trying his
face,
is,

with a graceful body and a bright arch

haps, a copy of the bronze statue

made by LysipAnother
still

pus

for

the
full

town of Thespiae.
of tender grace,
is

younger,

considered a t}pe

of infant beauty

by Winckelmann, and may be a

itself

copy of the one which Parium prides

having received from Praxiteles.
sphffirist

on
a

The

third

is

kicking

ball

as

he

springs

along.

GRECIAN SCULPTUHE.
Butterflies, the

Ill

emblems

of the soul, were, however,

affections.

the usual toys of the god of the

Nemesis, interesting from the position of the right

arm, which

is

so bent as to represents a cubit, the of the Greeks.

common measure

The

allegorical

proportion of merit and reward, this metre was the

type of the goddess of distributive

solitary Jupiter, coarse, short, heavy,

justice.

and of clumsy

execution.

The small number

artists

of statues of the

king of the gods found anywhere, would seem to

imply that Grecian

despaired of representing

him

in all his

serene and majestic beauty, after the

Olympian Jupiter which Pheidias translated from a

verse of

Homer
his

"He

bent his brows, the hair

all

shook upon
bled
"

immortal head,
the

Olympus tremmasterpieces,
itself,

that

Jupiter,

chief of

which should have been as eternal as art

v/as destroyed at the taking of

but

Byzantium by the
five of the

crusaders of Baldwin.
In the

Louvre there are but

First the colossal

nine

Muses which form the family

mosyne.
from the theatre of

of Apollo

and MneIt is four

statue of Melpomene,
at

Pompey

Rome.

metres high, and none of the entire statues bequeathed to us by antiquity are of greater dimensions.
colossi,

Fragments alone suggest the idea of larger

such as the Hippomacin of Lysippus, or the

112

G 11 ECIAN SOUL P TURK.

brazen Apollo raised
his pupil Chares.
in the tragic

gigantic

over the

port

of

Rhodes by
size, this

In spite of her massive

Muse

buskin

is

as graceful

and elegant as the Farncsc Flora, the giantess of

Naples.

Urania holding up the

skirt of her tunic

with her

left

hand, which really rather resembles

iini'iiiiii

"

It'll. ':ii[i

iiini iii!iiiiiiiii(iiiiini<iiniiiinitimiitiiiiiii!iiiiiiiniiHiifi'iiiiinMt

rpimiimminniiiti

ni

Fig.

12. The Tiber.

(Museum

of the Louvre, Paris.)

a personification of Fate, but has

become the Muse

of astronomy, because Girardon has chosen to put

a sidereal crown upon her head.

also

Polyhymnia,

called Study and Reflection, the head and upper part of the body of which are modern, but which is nevertheless admirable on account of the

o
rt

I?.

GRECJA N SCULPTURE.

1 ?,

wonderful arrangement of the draperies by which

the figure
is

completely covered.

A
gods.

few local divinities complete the collection of

The

Tiber, another giant, near to

whom

the

she-wolf of Mars suckles the two founders of Rome.

This colossal Tiber was discovered about the beginning of the fifteenth century, amongst the ruins of
the

Rome

of the Caesars.

It

remained

at the Vati-

can, with the

group of the Nile, and was one of

those days.

the very few ancient statues which the papal city

possessed

in

These two old

men
urns

with long beards,

carelessly resting on the

from which their waters

flow, are characterised

by

symbols and emblems.

laurels, to

The
is

Tiber,

crowned with
whilst the

suggest the glory of Rome, holds an oar

navisrable
;

as a si^n that his bed

Nile, leaning

on a sphinx and holding the cornuis

copia or horn of plenty,

little sprites,

surrounded by sixteen

which typify the sixteen cubits of inun-

dation necessary to produce a good harvest.

Ge7iiiis

of Eternal Repose, supposed to be a type of the endless rest conferred by death a charming
;

youthful figure, calmly beautiful, leaning against a

pine,

from which tree resin was obtained

for funeral

purposes

the legs crossed, the arms resting

art," justly
I

above

the head, which were the three emblems of repose.

"

Grecian

remarks M. Menard, "always

114

ORECIAN SCULPTURE.

avoided expressing the idea of death by repulsive

representations
;

it

was never alluded

to but with

a severe decorum which bordered on affectation."

The

BorgJicsc Hermaphroditus, said to be the

most

beautiful of the

many

copies in marble of the cele-

brated

bronze

Hermaphroditus of Polycles, who

the age of Polycles,

must not be confounded with the great Polycletus

of Sicyon.

Of

centuries after Pheidias,

more than three when Roman influence was

already
of

felt, it is

evident that this statue of the son

Hermes and Aphrodite, who had become androhis

gynous by

union with the

nymph

Salmacis,

belongs to that age of

disordered

imagination,
of fancy

when, as Vitruvius remarks,

" caprices

were more sought after

tion of nature."
in

in

works of

art

than imita-

Chastity, almost entirely

enveloped
Fauns,

her

veil

and long

robes.

Two Dancing
rest a

one with a beautiful body from the shoulders to the middle of the thighs, and the
tion,

mere restorasmall

plays with
;

little

crotali,

or

Grecian

cymbals
a

the other with the scabilinm or scabelliim,

small

instrument which was pressed with the

full

foot.

Both are

of the vivacity, the impetuosity,

and the infectious gaiety always characteristic of

these singular beings.
Finally, the

group called

the
the

Fann witli the Child, the same as Silcinis zvith young Bacchus. The elegance and beauty of

GliECIAy SCULtTURE.

115

form and expression, and the delicacy of the execution in this group, entitle it to rank amongst the
chief sculptures
in

the

French museum of anti-

Fig.

14. Faun with

a Child.

(Museum

of the Louvre, Paris.)

quities.

It

was found

in the sixteenth century,

in

the gardens of Sallustius near the Ouirinal. Besides the divinities, there are many important

and excellent statues of human heroes and athletes

no
in

GRECIAN
the Louvre.

SCULl'Ti'RE.
others, a very beautiful,

Amongst

youthful figure, which might have disputed the palm

v.ith the Achilles,

had not the head been restored

for the

and made too small

body.

For a long time

Fig. 15.

Tlie pretended Germanicus.

Louvre, Paris.)

(Museum

of the

it

was

called Cincinnatus, on account of the ploughfeet.

share at the

It

cannot, however, represent

is

the

Roman

senator, as the style

Grecian and the

after studying

figure too youthful.

Winckelmann,

GRECIAN kCULPTUB E.
it,

117

decided that

it

must be Jason, because the youth

according to the account of

fastens his sandal on to his right foot, leaving the

left

bare.

In

fact,

Pherecydes, Jason
labourer, in order

assumed
to

the

character of a

allay the

suspicions of his

uncle Pelias
of lolchus

and when the messenger of the king

to bid

came

him
in

to a

solemn

sacrifice,

the hero set out half-shod,

Pelias as t/w oracle

order to appear before

wan

ivitJi

a single sandal,
his future

whom

the

had designated as
called Jason

murderer.

This

scientific

explanation appears incontrovertible, and

is
:

the statue
skilful

it

appears to be from the

hand of the author of the Fighting Gladiator.

supposed to be a repetition of one of

Ccnta2ir,

those by Aristaeus and Papias of Casius.

victorious genius on the crupper,
his victim's

The
is

little

who
is

fastening

hands behind

his back,

not love but

his

intoxication, as proved

by the wreath of ivy on

brow.
taur
is

By

a strange whim, the nose of this cen-

distorted

and wrinkled

like that of a neierh-

ing horse.

A Marsyas, hanging by the

God

arms

to the

branches of a pine, and about to suffer the mar-

tyrdom he has provoked by

flute of the

his challenge

on the

of the Lyre, the pitiless god of the

genus

irritabile
for the

vatum.

This beautiful

figure, re-

markable

profound knowledge of muscular

in
it,

anatomy displayed

is

thought to be one cf

118

OR ECIAN SCULPTURE.
full

the numerous copies in sculpture in

relief of the celebrated picture

or bascalled

by Zeuxis,
to be seen at

the

Bound Marsyas, which was

time of Pliny,
in

Rome
happy
called

in the

the temple of Concordia.

quoit, a

A Discobolus, or athlete, throwing the

We
now come

imitation of the celebrated Discobolus of Naucydes.

to that class of statues

Fig. 16.

A Discobolus.
by
the

(Museum

of the Louvre, Paris.)

statues iconiccE

Romans,

i.

e.,

statue-portraits

(from

eUcov,

image).

They

became

fashionable

when Grecian
public games.

sculptors were commissioned to im-

mortalise the athletes

who were

victorious in the

them all notion of the ideal beauty given to the gods was laid aside all flattery, and nature was faithall deception, was forbidden
In
;

*s~^

Fig.

7.

The Faun

of Praxiteles.

(Rome.)

GREJIAN SCULP TUBE.

fully copied
;

110

actual proportions were retained, and

even faults were not disguised.

seated philosopher meditating

There are but few

of these Grecian iconic statues in the Louvre.

is

called Demosthenes,

because the features, which are restored, resemble

those of the great Athenian orator.

The volume
the History

he

is

unrolling upon his knees

may be

of the Pelopomicsian
ten times.
inscription

War, by Thucydides, which

it

Demosthenes admired so much that he copied

It

would be well

to write that beautiful

on the pedestal which was, according to

engraved on the statue raised to the
his fellow-citizens
:

Plutarch,

orator

by

" If

thy powers, oh,

Demosthenes, had been equal to thy genius, the

Macedonian armies would never have triumphed over Greece." We recognise Alexander the Great
in

a hero on foot wearing a helmet, with effeminate

features and an arrogant expression.

This statue,

which

is

of the heroic style,

is

probably a copy of
like

an Alexander by Lysippus, who,

painting,

Apelles

in

had the exclusive

right of sculpturing the

conqueror of Darius.

This Alexander of haughty

Jupiter, as in the epi"

mien seems to be saying to

gram of Archelaus
king of the gods
earth
!"
!

Our

division

is

made, oh,
to

To
of

thee, heaven,

me, the

The

large

number

Hermes make up

for the

120

GliEClAN SCULPTURE.

scarcity of Grecian statue-portraits.

The name

of

henncs (which

is

not that of Mercury, but comes

is

from

e/3/xa,

stone)

given to short busts, cut off at

the elbow, without arms or body.

there
is

Amongst them

a Homer, or at least the figure said by

to

tradition

represent the
is

poet of Achilles and

fillet,

Ulysses.

He

crowned with the sacred

he

is

the divine Homer.

Miltiadcs, distinguished

by

the bull of Marathon, engraved on his helmet.

Socrates, the face of

which

is

a true portrait, because

being the son of a sculptor, and himself a sculptor

in

his early years, the wise

Grecian was the friend

his

and councillor of the

artists of

time

;*

and

because after his death the remorseful Athenians

made Lysippus man they had

which
preserved.
ing,

raise a

bronze statue of the great

unjustly condemned,

by means of

his features, since so often

repeated, w^ere

An

unfinished Alcibiades, very intereststill

because the head

retains the projecting

points

employed by Grecian sculptors

to assure

the correctness of their measurements.

bicippns (or a terminal
* Socrates

Henna-

hermes with two heads back

TIn-ec Graces, whicli

was the author of a group of The

second century of

was
city,

still

in

a public position at Athens

in

the

when Pausanias visited that our era. In Xenophon (Famous

he gave
the soul

Sayings of Socrates)

to artists as to the best

we may find the excellent advice which mode of expressing the passions of

as well as the forms of the body.

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
to back) of Epicurus

121

and

his friend

Metrodorus.

In

the fetes called Icadcs, because they were held on

the 20th of each month, the Epicureans carried the

bust

of

the

philosopher,

crowned with
which

flowers,

through their houses.

Amongst
religious,

the

bas-reliefs

may be

called

because they have reference to the various

will select for

cre\ds,

we

notice the Muses, a large

design which covered the three principal sides of a sarcophagus.

In
it

we

see the nine daughters of

Clio,
;

Genius and Memory.

holding a volume

in

which to write history

mask, pastoral
typify the
license

Thalia, wearing a comic

buskins,

and with bare

;

legs,

to

of

comedy
all

Erato

is

merely
which

noticeable on account of the

fillet

{cecryphalus)

binds her hair, and

presiding
spirit

is

that

marks

her for the

of

of erotic
;

poetry, of wit, and

philosophic converse
{tibia;),

Euterpe holds her two

flutes

and

in

addition to the laurel of Apollo she

lyric singers {ortliostadus)

wears the robe of the

Polymnia, wrapt
in

her vast mantle, meditates on

;

poetry and elegance

a tablet
verses
;

Calliope, a stylus in
is

one hand,

in

the other,

preparing to write epic

TerpsicJiore plays on tiic lyre to incite to a

;

choral dance

Urania with her radius traces the

;

movements

of the stars upon a globe

and

la.stly,

Melpomene, wearing the cotlmrnus and the regal

122
tunic, raises

GBECIAN SCULFTURK.
the tragic

mask from her

thoughtful

and gloomy brow. The Nereides, another sepulchral ornament of excellent workmanship, in which are seen four sea-nymphs, escorting the same number
of
little spirits,
isles.

typifying

fortunate

happy human souls, to the The Birth of Venus, the same

In

subject as the Veniis Anadyoniejie of Apelles.

this group we see the beautiful Aphrodite emerging from the spray of the waves (a^po?), surrounded by

an escort of Nereides and

celebrate the arrival

Tritons,

who

joyfully
in

of the Mother of the Loves

our world.

Amongst
are

the bas-reliefs the subjects of which

historical

rather

than

mythological,

we

will

name

the
is

Obsequies of Hector, a vast composition,

which includes the greater number of the personages immortalised by the Homeric poems. The ancient

Priam

at the knees of Achilles, of

whose statue
In

there remains unfortunately only a fragment.

default of the hero of the Iliad, however, the hero

of the Odyssey

of the shape of half an egg.

by his cap (7n\iBio)v), Agamemnon, between his herald Talthybius and Epens, who built the famous
is

recognisable

Trojan horse.
style, earlier

This bas-relief

is

of the very ancient

than that of the second or choragic

the

style.*

The Presiding Spirits of

Games, a work
art raised at

This name was appropriated to the monuments of

GRECIAN SCUL PTUR E.

full

23

of grace and
all

spirit,

where children instead of

of the

men show

the

exercises

gymnasium.

Under the superintendence compete at races, games of

matches
;

of a president, they
quoits,

and wrestling-

and the
the

victors

proudly display their

palms and crowns.

Amongst

many

objects

employed

in

the

worship of the gods and of the dead, we

notice the grand

will

only

and celebrated Altar of

the Tzvelve

Gods.
in the

It

is

of triangular form,

and on each side

upper division are four of the twelve great Neptune, Ceres, Vesta

gods, beginning with the five children of Saturn,

Jupiter, Juno,

and

ending
In the

with the seven children of Jupiter, Mercury, Venus,

Mars, Apollo, Diana, Vulcan, and Minerva.

lower division, the figures being larger, are only

nine in number, three on each face
;

on one side a

dancing group of Graces

on the other the Hours or

Seasons, Eunomia, Dice, and Irene, who, as they

typify spring, summer, and autumn, carry leaves,

flowers,

and

fruit.

On

the other side are three

in

goddesses, with the sceptre

their

the right hand, sup-

own expense by

the choragi (from x^P*^^* choir, and Syetu, to

conduct), or directors chosen by each of the ten parties or classes of Athens, to preside at religious ceremonies and the games in the
theatre.

The

office of
it

choragus was a high public post, and rich pledged their honour to deserve the prizes

citizens in accepting

which were kept

in the temples

and preserved

their

names.

124

GRECIAN SCULiTURE.
Eilythise,

posed to be the
birth

who

presided over the

of mortals, in

opposition to the Parca, or of different

archaic cha-

MoircB.
racters

These

figures

have been thought to be of the /Eginetan

choragic monuments.

style, or at least of that of the

This would account for Mercury's long beard, and

for the

modest clothing of Venus and the Graces.

the other hand, the calm repose of the

But, on

attitudes, the fulness of the draperies, the refinement

of the drawing, and the delicacy of the carving,

which does not bring the figures into greater pro-

minence than the very depressed

frieze of the

bas-reliefs of the

Parthenon, connect this altar with that

later

age when Grecian sculpture was at the zenith

glory.

of

its

To

reconcile the conflicting characters

of form and execution, the ingenious suggest that

it

may

be an imitation of the choragic style pro-

duced

after the

age of Pheidias.
pass to Italy, and according to

From France we
before

the usual custom of travellers,

we go

to Florence

Rome and
series

Naples.

The
second

of

antique

marbles begins
degl' Uffizi.

in

the
will

hall of the

museum

We

merely name the two immense wolf-hounds with

gaping mouths and
fiery eyes,

which seem to guard

;

the entrance to the galleries

and the celebrated

marble boar called the Boar of Florence, of which

GUECIAS bCULFTUBE.
SO

125

many

copies

have been made

and pass on

to

the room of

Niobc, set apart for the valuable series

of Greek
children,

statues called Niobe,

and those of her

and

the

pedagogue.

They were

all

Fig.

8.

Niobe.

(Florence.)

discovered together in

1583,

at

Rome, near the

Florence.

gate of

St. Paul.

The

Medicis, .who obtained pos-

session of them, took

them

to

Every

one

is

well

acquainted

uith

the

mythological

ti

^ii

*v

126

GHECIAX SCULPTURE.
by Ovid and Apollodorus, of
mother of a numerous family
she had but

history of Niobe, told

that Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus and wife of

Amphion, who
two
of
children.

as the

d..'pised her sister Latona, because

Apollo and Diana cruelly avenged

their

mother by slaying the sons and daughters

whom

Niobe was so proud, before her

is

eyes.

The scene of the massacre

upon.

not

quite

agreed

Ovid says

it

took place on the Hippo-

drome

of Athens, other at Thebes, others again on

Sibylus, a mountain of Lesbos or Lesbus.

The

number of

children

is

equally disputed, different

five,

authors state there were three,

ten, fourteen,
it

and even twenty.

The- group

Homer

has fixed

at

twelve.

of Florence consists of sixteen statues,

and includes the mother and the pedagogue. two of them certainly do not properly belong and
If
it is

But
to
it,

therefore

reduced

to twelve

statues of

children, the

number chosen by Homer.

a passage in Pliny, which

we

refer to

may

apply to them, as well as to an old

the group of Niobe would
Praxiteles,

Greek epigram,

seem
Niobe

to be the

work of
it

but some antiquaries

attribute

to

Scopas.
girl

It is certain that
left,

herself, the

young

on her

the dying boy and the two children

placed on either side of the pedagogue, are of such sublime beauty that they are worthy of the greatest

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
Grrci.iii sculptors.

127
rule

Winckelmann, who as a

is is

equally ucscrvx^d and enlightened in his criticism,

lavish in his praise of them.

He

justly remarks

that the daughters of Niobe, at

whom Diana

is

aiming her murderous arrows, are represented

the unutterable anxiety, the stupefaction

in

of the

senses engendered by the inevitable approach of

death

and, to quote Montaigne, " in the gloomy,

deaf and

dumb

stupidity which

paralyzes
casts

us."

Niobe
ings,

herself, so well

known from
latter
is

and drawthan
the

expresses

suffering even

better

Laocoon.

That of the

physical suffering,
like

which he shares with

in the
coils of the

his sons,

who

himself are
is

serpent

that of the Nicbe

;

nobler,

an entirely moral agony

in

no danger of

being struck herself, she suffers only in the pain of

her children.
with eyes
full

She does but gaze up

of reproach.

to

Heaven

The
by the

four or five best

statues of this fine group will always be models of

true beauty as understood

It

ancients.

remains to be seen how this group of Niobe was

originally arrayed,

and what purpose was served

by the statues thus united in one conception and one scene. According to Pliny, there was a group of Niobe and her children at Rome, taken fiom the Temple of the Sosian Apollo, and a
skilful

English architect, Mr. Cokerell, has argued

128

QBECJAN SCULtTUIiE.
this

from
in

that the fourteen statues found together

one excavation once decorated the pediment of

Indeed, in a drawing

a temple.
his

made

to support
it

opinion,

he reconstructed the pediment as

Fig. 19.

TTie Venus of Medici.

(Florence.)

woula have existed before the Romans despoiled

the temples of Greece.
a

In the centre Niobe holds

dying maiden

in

her arms, and on either side six

GUECJAN SCULPIUUE.
riir^ires

129

arranged to suit the triangular tympanum,

complete the group.

In the Tribuna, that

room of masterpieces, that

relics

sanctuary of

art,

where the most precious

best

of

ancient statuary and the

modern paintings
of the
rich

meet face

to face, is

preserved the most celebrated

the possession

piece of sculpture in

museum dcgP
It

Uffizi,

the Venus of Medici.

the

was found

in

middle

of the fifteenth

century, broken in thirteen places

at the shoulder,
howit

the middle of the body, at the thighs, the knees,

and the ankles.

ever,
it

The

fractures being regular,

was

easily put together,

if,

and

would have

been a thousand times better

instead of feeling
v/ere missing, the

bound

to restore the arms,

left
it

which

owners had

mutilated,
spectator's

like

our

Vejius of

Melos, leaving

th("

own imagination

to

supply what was wanting.

Although the

restora-

tions are very clever, Bernini says that they are

noticeable,

more

especially in the hands, in which

there

is

now a kind

of

awkward affectation,
in

a prudery

in fact,

which could not have existed

the antique

work.

This Venus was brought to Venice during the

reign of

Cosmo

III.,

and the name

delicate, for

it

still

retains

was then given

to

it.

Although so small and

it is

no higher

130

GliJ'CIAN SCULI'TUnE.
feet,

than four

or eight inches old French measureis

ment, the VC71US of Medici

of

considered the model

as

the

proportions
is

of a

woman,

the Apcllc

Belvedere
is

of the proportions of a man.

The work
body so

so perfect, the head so beautiful, the

delicate,

graceful, all the details so

and the whole

so

full

of charm, that

it

would doubtless have been

;

attributed to one of the great ancient sculptors

Pheidias, Praxiteles, or Scopas, for instance,
inscription
if

an

on the base copied from the original, did not prove it to be from the chisel of Cleomenes, the Perhaps instead son of Apollodorus, an Athenian.
of the

name Cleomenes we ought

to read

Alcamenes,

also an Athenian, and the greatest Grecian sculptor

between Pheidias and Praxiteles, author of a famous Venus alluded to by Pliny, which was at Rome in
his time.

Otherwise

this

is

the only

of an

unknown

artist,

not
it

once

work we have mentioned by

in

Pausanias.

In any case
if

must be placed
to

the
it

highest rank, for

profusion,
it

copies had not multiplied

to

would be worth while

go

to Florence

to admire the

Venus of Cleomenes, as the temple of Gnidus (Cnidus) was visited from all parts of Greece by admirers of the Venus of Praxiteles, of which it was said, that it was to the statues of Venus what Venus herself was amongst the
godde.s.ses
;

indeed

it

appeared so instinct with

life,

GREVIAN SCULL'TUKE.
tb.at

131

Ovid

said, " If

she remained motionless,

it

was
the

because her divine majesty enjoined immobihty."

little
is

Apollo of four

feet

high,

called

Apolliiio,

also attributed to Clcomenes, but for

no

Fig. 20.

Apoir.no.

(Florence.)

other reason
Vejius in style

than a certain

resemblance to the
It

and execution.
in

has an advantage
If the

over the latter

Apollo Belvedere

being entirely antique.

called the

may be

model

of the

132

GliEClA S S

Uir TURK.

sublime, the Apollino certainly deserves to be considered the model of the graceful.
tion,

This observais

made by
first

the discerning Raphael Mengs,

also

the

to occur to the observer,

The

careless

Fig. 21

The

Musical Faun.

(Florence.)

attitude,

the

free

and supple

action,

the

finely

moulded
to

limbs,

the

pose of the

head, with the

all

almost ironical smile and expression,

combine

make

the Apollino the most graceful form which

Gii EciA

N scuL p run

/:.

^3

ever arose before the creative imagination oftlie

sculptor.

The work

of the chisel

is

no

less perfect

the details of the flesh are rendered with a delicacy, a morbidezza which
is

actually deceptive.
this style in his

Canova

seems to have imitated

rate works.

most elabo-

The

Apollino was

preceded at the gallery of

relic

Florence by the Faun, a

of the best age of

Grecian sculpture, which was admirably retouched

and

finished

by Michael Angelo.
full

This

Faun,

entirely
osity,
is

naked and

of gaiety,

life,

and impetu-

generally attributed to Praxiteles, for no

other reason than the perfection of the shape and

of the execution.

Near

to

it

we
is

find the

famous
gives a

group of the Wrestlers (La Lotta), attributed to

Cephissodotus.
Its chief merit

that

it

most accurate representation, not of a

in repose,

human body
all

but of one

in

motion, showing the tension

of the muscles, the swelling of the veins, in fact,

the

phenomena

of active power in the excitement In this

respect the group of the

of a struggle.

Wrestlers

may

challenge the examination of the

strictest anatomist,

and the precision of the drawing,

lines
in

and grace of the

the entangled limbs of

invite the criticism of

these two prize-fighters,

may

the most exacting judge.

The

expression, too,

is

equally

faithful

to

anatomy.

The head

of the

134

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
is

vanquished
distorted

puro'.y antique,

and the gloomy and

fury,

features

express

impotent

whilst

those of the conqueror, although finished by modern

retouches, are
full-

of the pride of victory.

Fig. 22.

The

Wrestlers.

(Florence.)

There remains a

figure difficult to

name, of which
garden
of

we have
Tuileries.
face,

a bronze
It is a

copy

in

the

the

man

with a coarse and

common
in

a low foreliead and short rough hair,

cons:;raincd position, neither seated nor kneeling;

GRKCIAS SCULriURE.
he
is

];;-.

crouching before a stone on which he

is

him the Arrotino, and we have given him various names the Knife-grmdcr, the Rotator, and the Spy, besharpening his knife.
Italians call

The

Fig. 23.

The Arrotino.
one

(l'"Iorence.

ca^se, his head being on

raised,

side,

and

his eyes
in

he would appear to be interested

some-

thing beyond his

mechanical occupation.
to be the slave

Some

have supposed

it

who
first

discovered

the conspiracy of the sons of the

Brutus for

]3r,

GllhUIAN SCULf'TU/iE.
the Tarquins
;

restoring
slave

others,

that
plot.

it

was the

who

revealed the

Catiline

None

of

these conjectures could be true of a Grecian work,

and they have been proved to be

clusive evidence.

false

by conin

Amongst

the engraved stones

the collection of the

described

King of Prussia, there is one by Winckelmann, which represents the

Before the condemned,
tree, is

torture of Marsyas.
is

who

already bound to the

the figure, exactly

resembling the

Ar7'otijio, of

the Scythian ordered

by Apollo
bas-reliefs

to flay his unfortunate rival.

The same
in

personage, in the

same

attitude, occurs

many

and on the reverse side of numbers of There is no doubt that the antique medals.
Grinder, the Rotator, the Spy, the Cincinnatus, the
slave

revealing secret

conspiracies,

are

all

none
of

other than the Scythian

who

put Marsyas to death.

At Rome
antiquities,
in

there

are

two chief collections

in

the

Vatican and

the

Capitol.

We

will

say a tew words of the

latter, in

which a

few beautiful Grecian works are

immense number
a

of

Roman.

mixed with an First we must notice

Batli., "Oa^

charming statue

'of

Venus leaving the

subject of which allows of freer action than

was
suffi-

usual in the goddess whose beauty was

cient
;

all

next comes a colossal Mars, who

;

is

perhaps

"a Pyrrhus

then the celebrated Dying Gladiator

'

Of THK

>^

yiri7BESIT7]
i^irov.-^-

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.

137

then a majestic ynno, called the Jimo of the Capitol then a finely-draped Diana
(Neith)
;

an Egyptian Minerva

crown

by his lotus a Disconsolate Hecuba, and two Amazons

a Harpoerates, distinguished

one of them, with a short tunic which does not cover the legs, who is grasping her bow in an
energetic

manner, might be called

Huntress

Diana,

if

she had the symbol of the Goddess of

Night on her brow.

.

From

the Capitol

we pass
modern,
is

to the Vatican.

Although

very

almost

recent,
in

the
anti-

museum
quities.

of the popes

extremely rich

The

various vestibules, halls, and galleries,

especially the portico called della Corte, contain an

immense number of
sarcophagi,
statues,

bas-reliefs,

columns, capitals,
animals,
busts,

vases,

candelabra,

and

fragments of every kind, selected from

those which have been dug from the ground of that

which Pliny said contained more statues than inhabitants, and from the soil of which, according to the Abbe Barthelemy, no less than

Rome

seventy thousand have really been exhumed.

realise

To

these

figures,

we must
temple

remember that
five

Pausanias asserts

that

Nero took

hundred
at

bronze

statues

from the

of

Apollo
?

Delphis alone.

How many

of marble

can
vast

but select the best specimens for notice

in so

138

GRECIAN SCULFTUl.E.
and mention such masterpieces as might
in

field,

be collected

another Tribuna*

The

most celebrated statue of the Vatican, and

Fig. 25.

Venus leaving the Bath.

the

(Rome.)
is

so

to

speak,

most popular,

certainly

the

Pythian Apollo, better known under the name of

the Apollo Belvedere, because
it

was

at first placed

* We refer the reader to the Itineraire ot Italic, by M. Du Pays, which mentions the different parts of the Museum of Antiquities, and their most interesting contents.

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
in that

139

room by Michael Angelo.

This statue was

in

found at the beginning of the i6th century,

the

baths of Nero, at Porto d'Anzo, the ancient Antium.

Every one knows that Apollo

is

represented

in

Fig. 26.

The Amazon of the Capitol.

(Rome.)

the act of discharging a mortal arrow at the Pvthon,

from which

his statue acquired the

name

given

it

by the Athenians and preserved by This explains the somewhat theatrical

Paiisanias.

attitude of

140

GREC'IAX SCULPTURE.

the body, and the proud and triumphant expression

of the face.

Winckehnann, Mengs, and a hundred

others have pronounced this Apollo the most beautiful

of antique statues, the perfect

"

model of the
master-

sublime.

To

realise the merit

of this
"

piece of art," says Winckelmann,

the

mind must
is

soar to the realm of incorporeal beauty, and strive

to imagine a celestial nature, for there

nothing

mortal here.

."

But other enlightened judges

exclusive right to the
it

have contested

its

first

place.

Canova and Visconti think

is

copy,

more

delicately executed, of the ancient bronze Apollo

by the

sculptor Calamis, erected in Caria

;

by the
Is

Athenians after the great plague

briand declares
there then no
that,
it

and Chateauappears to

to be

"too much vaunted."

}

medium term
it

It

me

although

does deserve most of the praise

admirers,
first

of

its

enthusiastic

the Pythian Apollo

it

ought not to hold the

should share
it

rank alone, but that

with such works as the Venus, the

;

Diana, and the Gladiator, of Paris

Niobe^ the
;

the Venus, the

Faun of Florence the Laocoon and the Mercury of Rome, etc. Perhaps it would appear
more superior
if it

were

less celebrated.
visit

As

it is,

every traveller on his

first

to the deep

and

illuminated niche, in which a kind of altar has been

raised,

when he hears from

the lips of the guide the

fig. 27-

The Apollo

of the

Belvedere.

{Rome.

Vatican.)

Fig. 28.

The Laocoon.

(Rome.)

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
solemn words ''Apollo
Belvedivc',' anticipates

141

such

surpassing beauty, such

passionate emotion, that

disappointed in his expectations, he either mutters

or exclaims aloud the dictum
It is the

of Chateaubriand.
all

same with the

ocean, the Alps, and

great things which have been

first

much

eulogised

the

view does not do them

patience
is

justice.

little

time,

little

needed
better

before

appreciation

comes.

The Laocoon can

ordeal of the

undergo the

terrible

first sight.

All imitations and copies,

even that of which Bandinelli was so proud, are so

inferior to the

original that the first introduction

is

to

its

real

beauty

almost an unexpected surprise.

first

We

understand

why

Pliny,*

and

later

Michael

Angelo, Lessing, and Diderot, awarded the palm

to this

famous group
in

we comprehend
ist
its

the

fete

held

by the Romans on the

II.,

of June,
discovery.

1506,

under Julius

honour of

The
will

Laocoon

expresses physical

agony, and

stronger than agony, better than any other piece of

Not even the family of Niobe, or that embodiment of active resisting force, the Wrestlers,
sculpture.

the chiselling of which has seldom been excelled,

can

be said to surpass

it.

It

is

the
his

work of
sons,

Agesander, of Rhodes, aided by

*

two

Opus omnibus

et picturae et statuariae artis

prseponendum.

142

gr::cian sculpture.
According
to Pliny,

Polydorus and Athenodorus.

this

whole group was wrought out of one block of

marble.

As

the subject

is

from the second canto

of the y^neid, in which Virgil tells the fate of the

high priest of Neptune,

of the age of the
first

we may conclude that it is emperors, when even Greek

calm
simplicity

statuary

had
a

left

the

of

the
(or

time of Pericles
Meleagcr)
vation,
is

far fine

behind.
statue,

The Mercury
in

perfect

preser-

replete at once with grace

it

and vigour, of
it

which

is

enough
to

to

state

that

is

justly

classed with the most valuable works which have

come down

us

from antiquity.
all

it

in

the
to a

opinion of connoisseurs, they are

inferior

mere broken fragment, a

Belvedere.
It
is

Torso,

also

called

The

in

white marble, the remains of a

statue of Hercules in repose,

Miston or Nestor of Athens, as stated

inscription on the base, so

by ApoUonius, son of in the Greek that it must belong to

p. 144.)

the great age of Greece.

(See Fig. 30,

It is

remarkable

for

every beauty possible

in

a single

form, and combines the most opposite excellencies,

such as energy and grace, strength and

elasticity.

Michael Angelo called himself the pupil of the

Torso.

He

copied the

details

effect in his figure of St.

and the general Bartholomew in the Last

extreme

Judgment ; and

it

is

related that in his

Fij. 29.

The Torso of the Belvedere.

(Rome.

Vatican.)

of IBM

GRECIAN SCUl.rrURE.
old aee,

143

when he was almost

blind,

he

still

liked

to trace those outlines with his trembling fingers

at

which he had so often gazed with admiration.

false, this

True or

anecdote shows the

spirit of the

Fig.

2'j.

The Dancing

I-',iun.

(Xaples.)

age,

quity

and the enthusiasm of great artists for antiand it paints the portrait of the man" who,
;

from his birth to his death, loved art and art alone,
In the

museum

dcgli Studj at Naples, there are

144

GRECIAN SCULPTUIiE.
antiquities obtained in excavations at

some bronze
rare, as
in

Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae.

They

are very-

numbers of the same kind were destroyed

barbarous times, for the sake of the valuable

material.

Of about
little

a hundred of these figures, the

best are

the

Dancing Faun, a

perfect gem,
;

a very marvel of grace, ease, and vivacity

the

Sleeping
his

Fami ;

the

Drunken Faun, leaning over

his

bottle

and snapping

fingers

the Seated

Mercury, which evidently belongs to the best age

of Grecian art
;

the figure called Sappho, also the

is

bust of Plato, the hair of which

chiselled
;

most delicately

a horse, sole
part.

remnant of the quadriga^ of

which

it

formed

Amongst

the marbles of the Stndj, the Vejius of

Capita and the

Venus Callipygos take

first

rank.

The

first,

grouped with Cupid, represents the god-

dess victorious over her rivals in the meeting on

Mount
where
that

Ida.
it

Although the amphitheatre of Capua, was found, was built under Hadrian in the

best age of
it

Roman

art, this

Venus

is

so beautiful,

is

supposed to belong to the grand era

of Greece, and to be from the chisel of Alcamenes or Praxiteles.

The

graceful attitude of the Venus

Callipygos explains the

translatable.

Greek name, which

is

un-

Casts have

made

this fine, delicate,

and bewitching statue familiar

to every one,

and

it

GRECIAN SCULP TURF..

is

145

justly called the rival of the Venus de Medici.

The

Apollo with the

Swan

should be classed with

these celebrated statues of Venus.

Winckelmann,
it

forgetting that of the Belvedere, pronounced

to

be the

finest of the statues of Apollo,

is

and that the

head

the perfection

of

human

beauty.

The

name
found

of Farnese has

been given to three very

valuable antiquities of great renown, which were

in

1540, in the thermal baths of Caracalla,

during the pontificate of Paul

Farnese).
like the

III. (of the House of The Flora, although a colossal statue, Melpomene of the Louvre, is light, animated,

and

full

of grace.

Greek characters inscribed on

it

the base of the Farnese Hercules prove

to be the

work of the Athenian, Glycon. At first only the torso was discovered, and Paul III. ordered Michael Angelo to supply the missing legs. But the Florentine had scarcely finished his clay model, when he
broke
it

to

pieces with a

hammer, declaring he

would not add a finger to such a statue. It was a less celebrated, and less scrupulous artist, Giacomo
della

Porta,
later,

who

restored

the work

of Glycon.

little

the legs were found in a well, three

miles from the baths, and the Borghesi presented

them
left

to the king of Naples,

who was
wanting.

thus enabled

to complete the antique statue almost entirely, the

hand alone being

still

The
L

history

14G

GRECIAN SCULPTURi:.
its

of this colossus sufficiently proves

value.
in It
is

beauty and

a marvellous representation of power

repose

of

the calm, self-sufficient strength de-

scribed

by

Aristotle {de Physiognomia)

'& 3'-

T'lc

Fariiese KuU.

(Naples.

The enormous group

Flora and the Hercules.

to

which the name of the

Toro Faniese has been given, was found with the

According to Pliny,
it

it

was Asinius PoUio who brought

from Rhodes to

OREGIAN SCULP TUB K.

147

Rome. A whole family of artists, father and sons, worked together at the Laocoon, and in the same manner two sculptors, Apollonius and Tauriscus, combined to produce the Toro. In fact, it is th most extensive work which has been preserved to us from ancient statuary it is more than a group,
;

it is

a complete scene.

It is

the history of Dirce.

Antiope, the wife of Licius, king of Thebes, being

divorced on account
of Dirce, ordered her sons,
rival to the

Zethus and Amphion, to bind her

of a wild bull
;

horns

but just as the savage beast was

starting forward,

Antiope
is

v/as softened,
;

and par-

doned
figures

her.

Such

the subject

the four
life,

human
and on

and the

bull are all larger than

the base, or rather theatre of the scene, there are

plants, a Bacchus, a dog,

and other animals.

Ac-

cording to Pliny, this immense work was chiselled

from a single block of marble, fourteen hands long

and sixteen

high.

Its

size

alone,

which

is

quite

exceptional for a sculpture, would suffice to

this

make

composition

in

marble important, but although

it is also worthy of attenand admiration on account of the vigour and delicacy of the workmanship. Although not ccjual

restored in several parts,

tion

in this respect to the

marvellous Laocoon, the Toro

Farnese

may be

classed

amongst the most beautiful

us.

Grecian statues which have come down to

148

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
following statues must also take high rank
the
:

Ganymede aftd
rial,

The

Eagle ; a semi-colossal

sitting

statue of the Apollo CitharcBdjis, playing the lyre,

finely draped, in spite of the hardness of the

mate-

which

is

all

of porphyry, except the head,

hands,

and
a

feet

of

white

marble

an

Atlas

stistahiing
figure,

Celestial

Globe, a fine

and powerful

which admirably renders the exertions of a

his

man

bending under

burden

and, lastly, the

admirable Greek statue, by an unknown author, of

Aristides.

As

there

is

no acknowledged portrait
evident that the statue
a supposed resemblance to

of the wise Athenian,

it is

has been

named from
It
is,

his character.

in fact,

an unpretending, calm,
Canova, who had a

honest

face,

with the serenity of virtue on the brow,

and

is

well

named

the Just.

great affection, almost a reverence, for this statue,

has marked on the floor of the room in which

it

is

placed the three best points of view for thorough

appreciation of
its

beauties.
relics

We

might mention other important

of

Grecian art scattered over Europe.

The Museum

of the Hermitage at St. Petersburg, for instance,

which long possessed a beautiful Chaste Venus,

given to Peter the Great
a Jupiter Serapis, a small

by Pope Clement XL,

statue of Hygeia, the
;

draperies of -which are excellent, &c.

has lately

GRECIAN SCULFTUUE.
acquired, from the
series of

149

Campana Museum,
all

a valuable

Nine Muses,

Greek, and of about the

same

which make the Russian an entirely unique collection. But we must hasten to London, and reverently admire those most marvellous relics
size,

of the genius of the Greeks, exhibited in the British

Museum. The Lycian room contains

Scamander,
in

the remains of the

ancient city of Xanthus, on the river Xanthus or

Lycia, which was immortalised

by

Homer. They

belong to the epochs included

between

The the year 545 B.C. and the Byzantine Empire. most ancient are bas-reliefs from the Harpy Tomb,
which stood on the Acropolis, on the origin and meaning of which various conjectures, founded on
mythology, have been hazarded.
reliefs there
is

With these

basfire-

a figure of the Chimcsra, that

breathing monster whose body was a combination of

that of a lion, of a dragon,

and of a

goat.

native

of Lycia, the offspring of

slain

Typhon and Echidna, and

by Bellerophon, this fearful creature was in reality nothing more than an impersonation of a small volcano on the summit of Mount Cragus.

The more recent bas-reliefs are Roman works, with which we have nothing to do at present, and which
merely
illustrate the

different conquests of

Lycia

and her changing creeds.

The

principal are of

an

150

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.

They come from what is simplystyled the Monument of Xanthus. Sir C. Fellows, who collected them, made a little model of the
intermediate age.
original block
in

painted wood, which gives the

form, size, and

site,

and by means of which an

been rebuilt with the
ruins.

entire lateral wall has

We

see that

it

was an Iconic
in the

peristyle building,
cella,

with fourteen columns, running round a solid

and the statues

intercolumniations placed on
attic.

a base, and supporting a light

Two

sculp-

tured friezes decorated the upper and lower part

of the base.

Although much mutilated, the best

and the most interesting parts
are

preserved, the finest,

of

this

ruined

temple,

some

of the

female

statues,

which alternate with the columns of the

circular gallery.

The

heads, hands,

and

feet are

wanting, but the bodies, the arms, and the legs are

admirably proportioned, the action

is full

of grace,
in

and the execution very

transparent stuff
vitrece,

superior.

Robed

which the Romans called

togce

nebula linea, ventus textilis (robes of glass,

clouds of linen, wind tissue), they are, so to speak,

chastely nude.
cleave the
at their
air, in

Agile and slender, they seem to

running or dancing.

Some have

feet

marine emblems, such as dolphins,

crabs, or sea-bird halcyons,

and they are therefore

supposed to

form the escort of Latona, on her

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
arrival at

151

Xanthus, with her children, Artemis and

Apollo.

If this mojiuinent of
it

of a Persian victory,

is

Xanthus be the trophy a Grecian work of art and Lysippus.

of the great age between Pheidias

As

a proof of this assertion

inscriptions, in

Greek

we may refer to the which occur some verses by

and
style

the poet Simonides, the flatterer of tyrants

princes
;

and also to the

and the perfection

of the remains, especially of the statues, which are

such that no other people and no other age could

have produced them.

The

PJiigaleian Saloon

is

so called

because

it

contains two friezes, in bas-relief, which adorned

the interior of the

cella,

or sanctuary, of the cele-

brated temple of Apollo Epicurius (or the deliverer),

built

on Mount Cotylion, at a
occupies eleven

little

distance from

the city of Phigaleia, in Arcadia.

friezes

One

of these

slabs of marble,

and the

other twelve.

The

first

represents the Battle of the

treated again and again
antiquity, because they

Centaurs and LapithcE, the latter that of the Greeks

and Amazons, two subjects by the artists of heathen

combined beauty of form,
justify the interest
tures,
it

variety,

and

action.

To

taken
to

in

these Phigaleian sculpthat they belong

is

enough

remember
which
is

to the age of Pericles,

to say that they are

contemporary with the sculptures of the Parthenon.

152

OliECIAN SCUIA'TURE.
interest of the Phigaleian saloon really

But the
centres in

have been better placed

the marbles of Xanthus.

some other antique remains, which would in the Lycian room with
It is

well

known how

the

second queen, Artemisia,

JMausolus,
raised
in

widow

of her brother

King

of Caria, had a celebrated

tomb
in

honour of her brother-husband,

the

town of Halicarnassus. about 353 years B.C. This monument was at first called Pteron, but subsequently Mausoleum, and from
it

all

future

tombs

took their name.

It

was considered one of the

seven wonders of the world, and was built by

Phiteus and Satyrus, and adorned by five sculptors, viz., Pythis,

who made

a quadriga for the top

bas-reliefs
for the
;

Briaxis,

who
;

sculptured

the

for

the
;

northern side

Timotheus, those

southern

Leochares, those for the western

and the

cele-

brated Scopas, or Praxiteles, those for the eastern

side.

The

date of the
all

monument and

their

names

prove that

these artists belonged to the latter

days of

the

great

Athenian school.

But they

neither copied Pheidias nor his style.

Asia,

fellow

Working for they assumed a different manner to their countrymen and contemporaries. As M.
In the conquests of

Viollet-le-Duc remarks, they might have been called

.'omantic at that early date.
[he

Romans and Parthians, the Maiisolcuin shared

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
the fate of
all

ir.3

buildings raised

by Grecian

genius.

We

know

positively that in
its

1322

the knights of

Rhodes employed

walls and fragments in the

construction of the castle of Halicarnassus, which,

under the victorious Turks, soon became the forIn 1846 they were presented tress of Boudroum.

by the

Sultan Abd-ul-Medjid

to

Sir

Stratford

Canning, and

by him

to

the

British

Museum.

Since then Mr. Charles Newton has joined together the fragments of one of the horses of the colossal

quadriga by Pythis, and of a statue supposed to be

Iconic, or

a portrait of Mausolus.

In

passing to the

Athenian room, the Elgin

called the true sanctuary of
briefly

Saloon, which
the British

may be

Museum, we must

name

certain

objects which are classed with the marbles of the

Parthenon.

They

are

worthy of

notice, not only

because they are

all

Grecian, and mostly Athenian,

but because of their great value as monuments

of the architecture and sculpture of the ancients.

Amongst various remains of temples, altars, and tombs, we must name a capital and a piece of the
shaft of a Doric

column of the Parthenon.

These

two fragments give a just idea, without measurement, of the proportions of the temple of the
Acropolis of Athens.*

capital

and some
'if

frag-

To

explain

how

a single fragment of the mins

a Grecian

154

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
column
of

merits of the shaft and base of an Ionic

the portico of

The Erectheum, which surrounded

temple can give an idea of tlie whole, we must remember that certain constant principles were followed in the religious architecture of Greece. We will give a brief summary of an explanation of this
fact

from the Course of Architecture by M. Beale.

first,

"At

when Hellenic

society

was

still

in

its

infancy,

the

temple was but a shelter for the god, and as clumsy as himself. Upright trunks of trees were stuck into the ground in such a manner as to form a long square, then a beam was transversely laid along
the two elongated sides, to support the sloping rafters of the roof. The trunks being liable to decay, both at the end in the earth and
that under the beam, cubes of stone were inserted at either extremity.
Little by little columns in stone or marble supplanted the frail and rough trunk, the stone dice at the top and bottom became respecThe lateral beam tively the capital and the base of the column.

changed into the architrave,

frieze,

projections of the rafters of the roof

and entablature. The points or became the triglyphs, and the

By sloping to the right hollow spaces between them the metopes. and left in obtuse angles, the roof formed the triangular pediment on either fa9ade, and, finally, the ornaments of detail, such as
bucrania,
mea-nders,

(heads of victims,) egg-mouldings, palm-leaves, rosettes, had all been employed by nature before they were etc.
,

borrowed by art. " The orders then developed themselves

combinations.
First

historically

by natural

came

the Toric order, or that of the rough

and

vigorous Dorian race, which, like them, was strong, austere, and masculine. Then the Ionic order, that of the soft and voluptuous
race of Ionia,

was

pleasing, elegant, and feminine.

The

flutings of

the small columns

be likened to the plaits of dresses, and the Finally the festoons of the capitals to wreathed head-dresses. Corinthian order, that of refined civilization, combined the

may

characteristics of the

two sexes and the two races

fixed,

in

its

complex

beauty.

" This primitive type became

it

that all the temples of Greece

other merely in size

and it was in accordance with were erected, differing from each and amount of decoration. But the parts always

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.

15c

the double temple, dedicated to Minerva Polias

and
are

to

Pandrosus (the daughter of Cecrops whc

kept the secret of the birth of Erechtheus).

precious
relics

These

of Grecian

architecture, very

finely finished,
in

which prove the exquisite manner

this

which every part of

up.
It

temple by Pheidias was

worked

contained one of his three Pallases,

the Polias, which was no less celebrated than the Lemnian and the Warrior Pallas ; some fragments
of
(or

Propylaea from
victory

the temple

of

Nike Apteros
at

without wings),
the

from the temple of

of

Theseus,

from
etc.

tomb

Agamemnon,

Mycens,
there
is

Amongst

various inscriptions of laws and annals,

It relates to

one styled the Sigean.

the

presentation of three vessels, a cup, a saucer, and a

strainer, for

the Pjytaneiim or hall

of justice
in

at

Sigaeum, a
the

little

town of the Troad,

which was
being

tomb

of Achilles and Patrocles.

is

This insigniits

ficant inscription

valuable on account of

written in the most ancient Greek characters, in the

style called boicstrophedon, because the lines follow

remained in accordance with the whole, both in their proportions and in their style. As a fossil fragment of an antediluvian animal gives a geologist a measure of the whole, so any portion of a Grecian temple gives the size of the edifice, the architectural order adopted, and even the amount of general decoration employed."

156

GRECIAN SCULPTUBE.
in

each other

the same direction as furrows

is

made

by an ox
from
left
;

in

ploughing, that

to say, one line goes

right to

left

to right,

and the next back from

says
Pausanias,
"

" like those,"

who run

the

double stadium," and so on to the end of the page

or tablet.

Inscriptions in this primitive form of

rare.

Grecian writing are very

Amongst
and study

the sculptures which do not belong to

the Parthenon,
a

we must single much mutilated

out for admiration

colossal

statue of

Bacchus, which was on the top of the choragic

monument
the

raised to the

remorseful

Athenians,

memory of Thrasyllus, by who had put him to

;

death after the naval victory of Arginusae

still

and
arin its

more must we admire a

It is

well-preser\'ed

chitectural statue which all

may

gaze upon

primitive perfection.

one of the four caryatides

roof under which the
in

which supported the

olive-tree of Minei-va

little

was sheltered

the temple

of Pandrosus.

It

has been placed on the capital of

It is

a Doric column of the Propylaea.

on

foot,

upright
falling
slightly,

and immovable, but beneath the heavy

folds

of the long tunic, one

life

knee moves

and by suggesting
gives
a

and animation,
trifling

breaks and

kind

of

undulation to the

general outline of the body.

This

action
art.

marks

the great difference betv/een

Egyptian

GliECJAN SCULPTUnE.
servilely submissive to

157

an inflexible creed, and that

of Greece, which was as free from

dogmas and
this

as

independent as the democracy of Athens.

An emblem

of

calm

power,

admirable

caryatid might be taken for a Kancphora, for she

seems to bear the capital which crowns

entablature supported

her,

and the

by

this capital, with as

much
This

ease and grace as

statue
is

if it

were a mere amphora.

style,

of the

same age and

and perhaps
;

from the same hand, as the Pallas Polias

case
it

in

any
the

is

worthy of the author of the

to the

latter,

divine Pheidias.

We

now come

marbles of the Parthenon.

In the centre of the Acropolis (upper town) or

fortress of

Athens, stood the temple of the guardian

goddess, Athena, from

whom

the city took

its

name.
it

Dedicated to the Virgin Minerv^a (Parthenos),

called the Parthenon (or Virgin's Chamber).

was

The

Persians under Xerxes, w^ho were iconoclasts like the

jews, utterly demolished

it,

when, before the battle

of Salamis, Themistocles withdrew the Athenian

troops to their ships.

the

After the glorious victories of

re-

Median

war,

when Athens, her democracy

stored, occupied the first rank

and

states of Greece, Pericles

amongst the towns had the Parthenon reand proportions of

built (about

440

B.C.).

The

site

the ancient temple, which was called Hccatompedon,

158

GBECIAN SCULPTURE.
facade measured
a

because the
feet,

hundred Greek
Ictinus

were retained, but the form and decorations of

the later building were entirely new.

Callicrates

and

were charged with

voice,

its

construction,

and
to

Pheidias,

who had been

elected president of public

works by the popular

supply the ornaments.
this great

was commissioned

work

alone.

He cannot have executed When we remember how

for the

many

statues he

made
that

temples of Greece,

we cannot doubt

he received help from his

colleagues and pupils.

But Pheidias

in

the Parthe-

non, like Raphael in the Stanze

and Loggie of the

:

Vatican, had supreme control over the works

he

chose the subjects, drew the plans, the pediments

the

metopes, the

friezes

corrected, touched
his helpers,

up,

and finished the works of

and himself
Warrior,

chiselled the chief figures of the large compositions.

The
which

colossal

Pallas Promachos,

or

occupied

the most prominent part of the

Acropolis on a high pedestal, and which rivalled

that great
his

Zeus Olympms which was accepted as image by the king of the gods himself,* was
;

evidently from the hand of Pheidias

* Jupiter himself approved this
;

because on the

Pheidias entreated the od

satisfied
;

to

give

work for when it was finished, him some token if he were

the

and it is related that a thunderbolt immediately struck pavement of the temple on the spot where a bronze urn is still
Pausanias, Eli..e, chap,
xi.)

to be seen.

GRECIAN SCULPTUBE.
regis of the

\b>

goddess who sprung, not from the brain

of Jupiter, but from his

his

own

genius, he has inscribed

own

portrait

by way

of signature.*

Some Anytus
each other than

(artists are

no

less

intolerant Oi

theologians)

charged him with

impiety, as the son of the sculptor Sophroniscus

was afterwards accused. Pheidias had to flee his ungrateful country, and thirty years before Socrates drank the hemlock he died in exile. But his work was finished, and when the few last fragments have
crumbled into dust
will
still

in

the course of ages, Pheidias

be immortal.

As

long as the traditions of

the

upon our earth, he will retain the name bestowed upon him by the admiration of the Greeks he will be the " Homer

human

race are preserved

of Sculpture."

Unfortunately the natural

ravages of twenty-

three centuries have not alone wrought havoc in the

works of Pheidias which adorned the

Parthenon.

Man
time.

has too

much aided
of the

the destructive action of earth

;

No

corner

was

richer

than

Attica in monuments of art no corner of the earth was oftener or more cruelly devastated by all the enemies of art, by war, conquest, and the fanaticism
*

At

the foot of his Jupiter Olympms, which, hke the

Warrior

Minerva, was a chryselephantine statue, that is, one formed of gold "Pheidias, Athenian, son of Charmides, and ivory, wa? inscribed made me."
:

100

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
The
destruction of the buildings

of religious sects.

of Athens must have begun with the conquest of

the

Romans under Mummius,

laid a desecrating

Metellus, and Sylla

all

who

hand on

the temples of

Greece, that they might accumulate a promiscuous

collection of spoils in those of

Rome. Under the when the double throne of the empire was under Christian sway, the monuments

Romans

again,

of Greece, especially the temples,

fell

a prey to the
their

rage of

the

first

converts,

who,

in

blind
of

fanaticism, broke all the idols

and other objects

heathen worship.
took
place

third

and

terrible devastation

during the heresy of the iconoclasts,

in

which was rampant

the
fifth

the Byzantine empire from

to the eighth century.

Then came

the

crusades,

and the conquest of Greece, and taking

in pieces

of Constantinople under Baldwin of Flanders (1204).

These barbarians of the West, who broke

the Zeus Olympiiis and the

Hera of Samos,
And,

until
of

then preserved

in

the city of Constantine, did not

course spare the Pallas of Athens.

v.'hen

lastly,

Roger de Flor and

his

Aragonese adventurers

took Attica from the Grecian empire (1312J, when the Venetians took it from the Aragonese (1370),

and

when

Venetians,

Mahomet II. wrested it from the we can imagine that no class of pillage or
But the conquest of the

devastation was spared.

GMECIAN SCULPTURE.
zealous

ifil

Turkish

iconoclasts

was
city

not

the

hist

calamity which
Pallas.

fell

upon the

and temple of
in 1687,

The Venetians reconquered Greece

not

by the Turks and and when in battles, until 17 1 5, after many bloody 1821 all Greece rose against her Egyptian and
were
expelled

from

it

Turkish masters, and during the nine years that the war oi independence lasted, until the French
expediton
in 1828, there

was not a town which did

Situated as
it

not have to resist assaults, not a building which

was not converted

was, in
the

into a fortress.

Acropolis, the

Parthenon could not

the bullets of Islam

escape the

common doom, and

all

destroyed
of Selim

that

had been spared by the Turks

iconoclasts,

and Mahomet, the Venetians, the Ara-

gonese, the crusaders, the Byzantine

the bigoted Christians, and the barbarous Romans.

France, the disinterested liberator of Greece, might

justly

collecting the remains of the

have claimed the privilege of reverently Parthenon she had

but the English were before her, not
in

freed

the

service rendered, but in carrying off the prize.

We

know

that during his

embassy

to Constantinople,

from 1799 to 1807, Lord Elgin, profiting by the

weakness of Sclim

III.,

whose policy and actions

he guided, pillaged the temples of Greece without ceremony, although not without excuse, and took

162

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
all

possession of
still

the sculptured decorations which

remained

in the

Parthenon.

Though

satirized

by the personal
pillage,

enmity of Byron, Lord Elgin brought to England the produce of his successful

and the marbles of the Parthenon were

in

then placed

the

room

in

the British

Museum
were
they

which

is

named

after their ravisher.

To
before

illustrate

what these precious

torn

spoils

they were

from the building

decorated, two

small

models of the temple of

in

Minerva have been placed

the age of Pericles

the

same room.
it

One
was
in

represents the Parthenon as a whole, as

;

the other, what

it

has been
;

reduced to by time and the hand of

choly heap of ruins

man

a melan-

and
it

rubbish.
requires but

With
little

these
atten-

models before our eyes,

tion

and consideration

to restore everything to its

place in our imagination, and from these scattered

fragments entirely to rebuild the work of Pheidias.

It consists of three

principal

parts the

frieze,

the metopes, and the

pediments.

The

exterior

frieze of the cella, or sanctuary, inside the

colonnade
the
cella,

or peristyle, which

entirely surrounded
It consists

was simply
series

called the frieze.

of a long

of

marble

slabs,

succeeding

each
all

other
sculp-

without interruption, of equal proportions,

tured
in bas-relief,

and

all

relating to one subject,

GE A CJA X SC ULPTUn E.
so that
it

163

is

easy to see what place each one oc-

cupied
o-eneral

in

the original plan.

The
grand

subject

is

the

procession

of

the

Panathenaic

(Panathenaia)

fetes, instituted in

honour of Minerva,

by the old King Erichthonius (1500 B.C.), when the goddess of Athens was proclaimed goddess of
all Attica.

They were

celebrated once every four

-'SUii^Jti'

Fig. 32.

Gods.
lesser

Fig.

33. Youug Man.

(Frieze of the Parthenon.)

years,

and

the

Panathenrex' appointed by
In the grand fetes a rich

Theseus were annual.

peplos,

embroidered by the maidens of Athens, was

It

presented to the goddess.

the temple, on a ship

was borne

in

pomp
in

to

moved by hidden machinery.

slabs are wanting

Some
British

of these marble

the
the

Museum

Collection (we have one in

l()4

GRECIAN SVULPTUME.
t!ieir

Louvre), and
plaster
casts

places have been supplied

by
is

to

complete

the
in

series,

which

arranged
it

in the

Elgin Saloon

the

same order

as

was on the outside of the

cclla of

the temple of

Minerva.

The

subjects of the bas-reliefs of many of the

first

of the slabs are gods and goddesses or deified heroes,

Fig. 34.

Cavp.lier.

Fig. 35.

Cavaliers.

(Frieze of the Parthenon.)

all

seated in pairs

Jupiter and Juno, Ceres and

Triptolemus, ^Esculapius and Hygeia, Castor and

Pollux.

Trains of females follow^ with their faces

directed to the
gifts.

gods to

whom

they are carrying

Certain of the directors or regulators of the

procession receive the presents oft'ered to the gods.

After the females

come

the victims

destined for

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
sacrifice,

165

the chariots and charioteers, the metcsci,

or strangers resident in Athens, bearing on their

shoulders

tray
;

filled

with

fruits,

cakes,

other offerings

lastly

came

the horsemen,

and young

men

of high rank from the towns of Attica, un-

armed and wearing the cJilamys only. The groups of horsemen and women, the former especially, are
certainly the best part of the frieze of the

Par-

thenon.

Nothing can

exceed the

variety

and

boldness of the attitudes of horses and men.

The
and
the
of

elegance of the forms, the accuracy of the proportions,

the

powerful

modelling, the

delicacy

finish of the chiselling,

combine

to

make them

masterpiece, the
bas-relief.

unattainable ideal of the art

The

sculptures of the great external frieze were

called metopes, because they occupied the spaces

between

the

architectural

ornaments, called

tri-

glyphs, which surmounted the entablature of the

colonnade.

The metopes
in

w^ere square niches,

which

formed a kind of frame for the subject represented.

They were painted

antique red (rosso antico),

blue.

and the intervening triglyphs were

statues,

As
far

these

niches were, on the one hand, not deep enough for

and on the
be
in

other, too high

visible,
relief

up and

back

for bas-reliefs to

they were supplied with

ornaments

high

which were of a medium

166

GRECIAN SCULPIURE.
between
full

character

and

low

relief.

These
represent

metopes, of which there are sixteen,

all

episodes of the conflict between the Centaurs and

Lapithae,

or

rather

between

the

Centaurs

and

Athenians who, under Theseus, joined the Lapithse,

Fig.

36. Metope of the Parthenon.

people of

Thessaly then g-overned

by King

Pirithous the friend of Theseus, for the destruction

of the Centaurs, a race of the valleys of Ossa and

Pelion,

the

licentious

robber sons of Ixion and

the

Phantom

or cloud,

who were supposed

to be

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
half

167

men and

half horses, because like the gauchos

their

and pampas of South America, they passed

lives

on their steeds.
in

In the greater
is

number

of the

metopes,

which the struggle

between one Cen-

taur and one Athenian, the Athenians are victorious,

in

accordance with the traditions of the heroic ages

In

of Athens.
victory,
It is

some few the Centaurs have the

again
it is still

and

in others

doubtful.

believed that the whole series of the me-

topes

is

the work of Alcamenes, the beloved disciple

to

of Pheidias, because, according

Pausanias,

he

placed Centaurs

in

the pediment of the temple of

Olympus.
tion,

As

they were more exposed to destrucfrieze,

on account of their form, than the

the

metopes of the Parthenon are much more mutilated

and disfigured

and

it

should be borne

in

mind, in
frieze,

looking at them, that they were not, like the

placed opposite to and within easy range of the

spectator, but along the top of the temple, to be

looked at from below.

Having two entrances, the Parthenon had two and therefore two pediments in the triThe facades turning towards tympanums. angular the east and west, as was customary in Grecian
facades,

temples,

have

been

points opposite to them.

represents
the

named after the cardinal The eastern pediment

Birth of Pallas, when she sprung

1G8
fully

ORECIAN SCULPTURE.
armed from the brain of Zeus, under the

hatchet of Vulcan.

sented the Dispute of Poseidon

honour

of

giving

The western pediment repreand Pallas for the name to the native city of
that the producer of the
victor.

Cecrops.*

They agreed

most useful invention should be the

tree to spring

Po-

seidon formed a horse, and Pallas caused an olive-

up

the latter, being the

emblem

of peace, Athene

won

the prize.

Both subjects

stood out from a red ground like the metopes, and

the artist so arranged
its

them that each statue had

due share of
I

day.
*

and shade every hour of the say the pediments represented, not reprelight

" You then come to the temple called the Parthenon. The hisMinerva fills one pediment, and her dispute with Neptune about Attica, the other." (Pausanias, Attica, chap, xxiv.) With the exception of a few details apropos of the fable of the Griffins and Arimaspi, this is all that the artist rhetorician of the
tory of the birth of

second century of

Rome

tells

us of

the

Parthenon.

Neither

^heidias, Ictinus, nor Callicrates, are even mentioned.

Such coldness

and indifference is astonishing. A few lines further on, Pausanias adds: "Near the temple is a bronze statue of Apollo Pa.nopos
(from iTapvoi\/, a locust), said to be the work named Parnopos, because Apollo promised
of Pheidias.
It is sur-

to deliver the country

from the locusts which were wasting it. We know that he kept his word, but we do not know by what means. I have seen the locusts destroyed on Mount Sipylus three times, and each time in a different manner. The first were carried away by a violent w ii;d, the second were destroyed by heavy rain, and the third perished from cold.
All this happened in

my

day."

This
a statue

is

the

way

in

which the

celebrated traveller of Caesarea,

the great critic of ancient times,

judged works of

art

and spoke of

by Pheidias

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
sent,
for

169

alas

we only know from

history

and

conjectures

what were the subjects and who were

the

personages

who

figured in th ^m.
fail

The most
one

masterly scholarship would

distinct scene

to construct

from the ruins which were collected

in

from the temple and are exhibited

London.
dis-

Not only
appeared

are the remaining figures

chief,

mere fragments,

but many, and those the

in

have entirely

the battles, the assaults, the ravages, of

which the city of Pallas was so often the theatre

and the

victim.

We

will

tiy

and give some idea

of the magnitude of these irreparable losses.

I

do not know the exact difference between the

old Athenian and the

modern English

foot

meaof the

sure

but

it

is

supposed that the facade of the old

Hecatoinpedon, or at least of the

tympanum

pediments, being exactly one hundred English feet

long,

might have been so called before the age of

Well, then, to confine myself to the eastern
{the

Pericles.

pediment
of
all

Birth of Pallas), there remain, out

the figures which

left

composed
right

it,

but

five frag-

ments of the
twenty-seven

angle, in length thirty-three feet, angle, in length

and four fragments of the

feet.

most

careful search has been

all

made, but not a vestige has been discovered of

that filled the forty feet in the middle
say,
;

that

is

to

the

principal

scene.

Zeus,

surrounded

by

170

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
is

the great gods,

annihilated
!

altogether broken,
the
lost
;

destroyed,
Scriptures,

Art, like Rachel in

must weep
children,

for ever, for she too

has

her beloved

her

noblest

productions

she too can

us

never be comforted.

Et noluit consolari* Let

now

return to the fragments which remain to us,

mere

fragments of almost shapeless stone, yet more precious in spite of their terribly mutilated condition

than the richest diamonds of Golconda.

to Otfried Muller,

According

who was

followed by M. M. Beul^

and Menard, the subject of the eastern pediment is taken from a hymn of Homer, in which the
*

When

the

Marquis of Nointel was sent as ambassador to

Constantinople, in 1674, he had good drawings made by Carrey, the pupil of Lebrun, of the frieze, the metopes, and the two

pediments, and sent tliem to Paris to be carefully engraved.

building was already

The
at

much

injured but

still

complete.
in

It

was

the attack of the Venetians, under Morosini,

1687,

that the

Parthenon suffered most.

their

war material

in the

had bombs thrown

into

it,

Having heard that the Turks concealed temple of Minerva, the Venetian general and on the night of the 26th of September,

a terrible explosion burst open the cella, and cut the Parthenon in When, rather later, Morosini was compelled to abandon his two.
enterprise,

he wished to carry off the richest trophies to Venice. But the removal of the principal statues was so hastily and awkwardly effected, that they were thrown to the earth and broken (M. Leon de Laborde, "Athens in the fifteenth, to pieces.
It

sixteenth,

and seventeenth centuries.") was then at the end of the learned and polished seventeenth
the death of Moliere,

century, in the middle of the reign of Louis XIV., fourteen years

and seven years before the birth of supreme deed of barbarism was perpetrated, the destruction of the central figures of both pediments of the Parthenon
after

Voltaire, that this

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
sovereign of gods and

171

men

is

introduced presenting
divinities.
"

his daughter to the other

All the

immortals were struck with admiration when the

ardent goddess flung herself before her divine
sire,

with the aegis in his hand.

The

great

Olympus

trembled beneath the pointed lance of the warrior

Fig- 37-

Heads of Horses.
and wide

(From the Parthenon.)

maiden with the piercing glance

sounded
waves
;

the

earth

re-

far

the

sea

held
;

back her

the purple billows quivered

in

the brilliant

son of Hyperion reined

time, * * *

his swift steeds for a

and the wise Zeus

from the
left

rejoiced."

As we

have before stated, there remain nine fragments of

this pediment, five
left

side

and four from

the right.

Of

the

beginning at the extreme

172

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
of the
angle,

point

we

find

first

the

head

of

Hyperion (Hehos, the sun) leaving the sea in the early morning, his arms raised from the water
holding the reins of his chargers
;

then two heads

the waves
;

of the horses of the sun, rising from

then Theseus, the Athenian hero, half-recumbent

Fig. 38.^

Theseus.

(From the Parthenon.)

lion,

on a rock, covered with the skin of a

imitating the attitude of Hercules
;

and

then a group

of two goddesses on low seats, which are alike in

their construction.

They
;

are supposed to be Per-

sephone and Demeter

one of them leans her head

other, that her figure

on the shoulder of the

may

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
be lower.
height

173

of the

Then rising gradually higher, to suit tympanum, a statue of Iris,

appears
in

the the

messenger

of the gods, who, with her veil inflated

by

the wind,

haste

to

execute her

mission of communicating to the world the Intelligence of the birth of Athena.

Passing over the

deplorable break of forty feet in the centre,

successively, in

we

find

the right angle beginning at the

torso

the

highest
to be a

point

of a

statue

supposed

winged Victory, the wings of which were

doubtless of bronze, for the holes on the shoulders

in

which they were fastened to the marble

be seen
;

may
is

still

then

in

two fragments, the famous

under her
seat,

group called the three Farces; one by herself

seated, with her feet tucked

like

a spinner at a distaff; the other two, connected,

repose on

Thalamos,

onis

resting

against

the

bosom
side

of the other, so as to suit the slope of the

angle, like Ceres

;

and Proserpine on the opposite

is

lastly, the head of one of the horses belong-

ing to the chariot of Selene (night), which

plung-

ing into the ocean at the extreme end of the angle,

and corresponds with the car of Hyperion on the of I do not know if the marvellous group left.
three
If so,

women
it

really represents

the
in

three Parcse.

will justify

my

remark

speaking of the
that the

picture of the Fates,

by Michael Angelo,

174

OB E CIAN SCULPTURE.

Greeks, in their excessive love of the beautiful,

made
and

the Parcce, and even the Furies, not old and

hideous witches, like the

powerful matrons,

moderns, but beautiful

although
not
quite

so

charming as the young virgins who represented

the Graces.

The

subject of the western pediment

was the
remains

dispute of Poseidon

and
figure

Pallas.*

With the exleft, its

ception of the
are in a
still

first

on the

worse condition of ruin and mutilation

than those of the opposite pediment.

Nothing

is

preserved but a shapeless mass of fragments, the

Three different traditions of this dispute have come down to According to Herodotus and Pausanias, Neptune caused a spring of salt water to spring from the Acropolis, and Minerva made an olive-tree grow up. According to others and this is the more generally received version Neptune and Minerva, the one with a blow from a trident, the other from a spear, produced a horse and an olive-tree from the earth. A third story relates that Neptune created a wild horse, and Minerva tamed it by putting on the bit. This is why the latter was called Hippia, and to her favourite Erectheus was attributed the honour of having taught men the use of the bridle and reins. It must be acknowledged that the last subject is better suited than the other two to the picturesque arrangement of the groups of a pediment, and Carrey's drawing authorizes the belief that Pheidias adopted it. "The meaning," says M. Louis de Ronchaud, "is the same as that of the tradition The defeat of brute force by intelligent of the birth of the olive. energy is more strikingly typified than in the myth quoted by Herodotus, because Minerva, after having subjected the force created
us.

in opposition to her, to her laws,

Blind impetuosity

is

made it subservient to her designs. converted into regulated activity under the

guidance of wisdom."

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.

175

meaning of which we could not even guess without At the extreme end of the left the aid of history.
angle, resting like a river

god upon

his urn,

is

the

figure of Ilyssus, a small stream

in

which took

its rise

Mount Hymettus, and ran down to the sea by way of the plain south of Athens. Pausanias says

Fig.

39. The

Parcce.

(From the Parthenon.)

that

it

was dedicated

to the Muses.

This admirable
fortune of being

statue, doubtless,

owed the good

better preserved than

to
its

any other of the Parthenon Had Michael Angelo well-sheltered position.

it,

known
ture,

he would doubtless have called

master

it,

as well

as the Torso of the Belvedere, his

in sculp-

and he would have

felt its

outlines with loving

176

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
in his

hands
figure

extreme old age.

After this immense

colossal
torso

of

Ilyssus,

comes the

of a

man
some
tions,

called Cecrops, the founder of Athens.

Then

superior fragments, also of colossal propor-

of a

head of Pallas, originally wearing a

;

bronze helmet, and with eyes of coloured stone

a fragment of the

then

body of the same

aegis,

Pallas, a part
is
;

of the chest covered with the of Medusa, with

that

the head

the serpents in bronze

then a

fragment of the torso of Neptune (Poseidon) "of

the
majestic
chest."

Then

the

torso of
\\\io

Nike

Apteros, or Victory without

Wings,

was thus

represented by the Athenians to indicate that they

held her in perpetuity, and she could never desert

them.

drew the car on which Minerva was to ascend to Heaven, after her victory
This
faithful Victory

over Neptune.

Lastly, at the right angle of the

pediment, a small fragment of a group of Latona

and her

Children.

When

Marie Joseph Chenier said of the inspired

:

blind poet of Chios

Brisant des potentats la couronne ephemere,

Trois mille ans ont passe sur la cendre d'Homere,

Et, depuis trois mille ans,

Homere

respecte
;

Est jeune encor de gloire et d'immortalite

he had before

his

mind two Homeric poems which

first in

had been preserved without alteration,

the

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
memory
in

Ill

of men, then in
printing.
;

frail

writing,
arts

and
are
their

lastly

imperishable

The

not so

fortunate as letters

for,

inasmuch as

works

cannot

be multiplied by copies, and a single specimen of course occupies but one spot in the world, neither the canvas of the painter, the

marble of the sculptor, nor the

pillars

and vaults

Fig. 40.

Torso.
The
rests

of architecture, can resist the destructive action of

time as well as printed or written matter.

Iliad
still
is

remains complete, and the

in ruins.

less

aged Parworks,
left

thenon

Whilst the glory of

foundation
of

Homer
his

on

the

imperishable

ruthless

time and sacrilegious

men have

to

Pheidias nothing but pitiable remains, of which

we
:

may say,

as of the mutilated
oil

body of Hippolytus
de son pere.

Triste objet

des Dieux triomphe la colere,

I'ceil

Et que meconnaitrait

meme


178
\^\xt

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
these relics are so beautiful, so wonderful, so
;

divine

the feeblest imagination can so readily re;

combine and complete them they address the soul they awaken in language so lofty and profound
;

such

insatiable curiosity, such fervent

admiration

they justify so
their author

entirely the verdict of Cicero

on

Menti insidebat
centuries

idea pulchritudinis

that

although

have

not

spared

him,

Pheidias,

Hke Homer,
Est jeune encor de gloire
et d'immortalite.

more measured terms It would be of the marbles of the Parthenon.

I

could

not

speak

in

culpable neglect of duty to do

that
I
I

so.

should

feel

was

as sacrilegious as their destroyers.

But

must remind the visitor to the British Museum, when he makes his sacred pilgrimage round the Elio-n room, of one or two facts, viz. the mutilated metopes are not now seen from the same point of
:

view as when they occupied the entablature of the colonnade the frieze, which is in parts better pre;

served than the metopes, does not present the same aspect in the inside of a room as it did in the

pronaos of the temple, round the outside of the cella; and lastly, that there remain fragments only
of

the lateral figures of either pediment

least

that they

were the

important

in
is

the groups, and that the

absolutely wanting in

centre or principal part

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.
both
facades.
If

179

these

incomplete

fragments,

these accessory portions, be so fervently admired,

so

passionately worshipped,

wliat

would be

felt

before the figures of the great gods of the centre,

before

the

imposing
" in
is

pediments,
fect detail

harmony of the complete which," says M. Menard, " each perin

blended

the general excellence, like

individual free will in a Grecian city, like the eternal

laws,

which are gods,

?"

in

the concert of the uni-

verse

To

these

remarks

must add another.

The

marbles of the Parthenon belong to that supreme

moment in the history of the arts of a polished nation, when with the innocence and purity of the
early ages were

combined the

science, the grace,

and
For

the force of the mature epoch, as yet without any

intermixture of the faults of the decadence.

the arts of Greece, this exceptional the age of Pericles.

moment was
Something

Pheidias

is

the connecting link,

he lived at the time of the assimilation.

of the

same kind would have occurred had Raphael Michael Angelo, more nearly resembled Giotto
;

Nicolas of Pisa

Palladio, the Gothic architects

;

the

music of Mozart, the chorales of Luther

in

a word,
spirit

had masterpieces always retained more of the

of early
efforts.

In this sense the sculptures

of

Pheidias appear to

me more

perfect even than the

180

GRECIAN SCULPTURE.

pictures of Raphael, the statues of Michael Angelo,

the

This
art
it

monuments of Palladio, or the operas of Mozart. is why we may call them the finest works of " To believe ever produced by human genius.

possible to surpass them," says Montesquieu, will

always be not to know them."

It

cannot be denied that

the Greeks

of the

present day, seeing the

ancient
its

temple of their

Acropolis despoiled of

all

ornaments, have a

right to curse the depredators.

But when

it

is
ill-

remembered how
treated,

often these works have been

destroyed,
lated,

how totally the chief statues have been how much the others have been mutilatter

and the danger the

in

were

in

of being

destroyed

their turn

these precious relics of art are

safety, in the

when they consider that now in a place of

Europe
;

centre of artistic

the wish,

and almost the

right to reproach the English for

dismantling their temple must pass away.

And

if

a regret has marred the intense pleasure of

my

own admiration
them was not
Paris.

in

my many
it is

and reverent

visits to

the marbles of Pheidias,

that the thief

who stole

a Frenchman, and that the receiving

in

house which took them

was not the Museum of

181

CHAPTER

V.

ROMAN SCULPTURE.

OUR

remarks

in

a former

ing apply equally to sculpture.

and subdued, reduced to

work on Roman paintConquered the condition of a mere

province of the Republic, and subsequently of the

Empire, Greece was nevertheless the instructress

of

was her sons who introduced all the We have them in Rome. of the groups famous the that noticed already produced Laocoon and the Toi'o Farnese, although after the Roman conquest, were executed by Greeks

Rome.

It

arts

and cultivated

and

in Greece.

Cicero, Pliny, Quintilian, Pausanias,

have transmitted to us the names of all the great they do not mention a single sculptors of Hellas
;

The Romans borrowed theii Rome. as in letters, and in everything arts in and subjects, else, they always cared more for the real than the
native
of
ideal,

they were ever nearer earth than

heaven.

The

sculptures

by native

artists,

or those

by Greeks

182

ROMAN SCULPTURE.
to the positions of artisans
in

who were reduced

and

Rome, were but images

imperial palace.
art,

of

their deified

Caesars

their Hbertine wives, or of the favourites of the

Industry, usurping the place of

of emperors

manufactured statues

and em-

presses

before they were needed, and the heads

dif-

were added according to the requirements of

ferent
far

reigns.

Statues iconicce of this kind were

more numerous in Rome than in Greece. The same kind of public homage rendered to the family
of the reigning emperor in the capital of the world, was accorded in the provinces to the proconsuls, the prefects, and the powerful patrician families who

held whole towns under their control.

The
will

nine

statues of the Balbus family, found in the theatre of

Herculaneum, are a proof of

the

this.

We

content

ourselves with noticing those grand specimens of

Roman
begin

era contained
art,

in

different collections

of works of

which seem to us to merit attention.

Uffizi possesses a collection

We

in Italy, at Florence.

The museum degV

called

that

of

the

Roman

emperors,

which
in

is

generally
world. In

considered the most

it

complete

the

there are, in fact,

some very

rare busts,

such as those of Caligula and of Otho.

Including
;

men, women, and children, there are sixty-nine

from

Pompey (who would

doubtless

be rather

ROMAN SCULPTURE.
surprised at being included

183

amongst the emperors)

the series,

and

Caesar,

who should properly begin

Fig. 41.

Agrippina of Gernianicus.
and even

(Rome.)

to Constantine.

Quintilius,

who

reigned
are less

but twenty davs.

The Roman

statues

184

ROMAN SCULPTURE.
:

numerous

we can only quote one Augustus hafor

relics
in

ranguing the people, one Trajan, and one Hadrian.

At Rome we must look

national
art in

of ancient

the Capitol,

not

the Vatican.

the Colosseum,

The modern Romans, who have partly demolished who have called the Forum the Cattle Market (Campo Vaccina), and planted artiTarpeian

chokes on the

Rock, have
the

not

even

respected the ancient

for

name

of Capitol, which should

fortress
it

ever

have
City.

designated

of
into

the
a

Eternal

They have

converted

strange word, Campidoglio, which

a field of colza, a field of
rising
oil,

signifies

rather

than the citadel of

the

Rome, which became

temple

where
in

victorious
their

Roman

generals sung the

Te Deum,

imposing triumphal ceremonies.

Capitol

Ascending to

the

new

by the double

staircase of Michael

Angelo, we pass between the two black Egyptian

lions,

the colossal statues of Castor

the

and Pollux,

called

Trophies

bowing before the Marcus Aurelius, on the noble head of which the
ancient gilding
is still

of Marius, and reverently bronze equestrian statue of

visible, "

In

it

there

is

another

we enter the Museum. room of Emperors," conis

taining

an Agrippina, which
ladies of the age
;

a fair type of the

finest

Roman
of
all

an Antinoiis, the
;

the statues of Hadrian's devoted friend

and a

ROMAN SCULPTURE.
The last-named

185

Julius Ccssar, placed under the portico of the palace.

is

said to be the only authentic

portrait of the founder of the

empire which the

Fig.

42. Antinoiis.

(Rome.)

Papal
says
"

city

has
is

preserved.
at

The proverb which

in

a saint

home

his

shrine,"

would

apply to Caesar

in the Capitol,

near to a fine statue

186

ROMAN SCULPTURE.
Triumphant
Rome, and seated between two
the celebrated
Wolff,

of

captive kings, not far from

venerated by the ancient Romans, and immortalised

b^ Cicero

in his Catiline Orations,

and

in his

poem

on the Consulate.

At Naples we

find the nine statues of the

Balbus

family already alluded to

the

father,

mother, son,
the theatre
this

and three daughters

of

found together
town

in

Herculaneum,
a

over which

family
the

exercised

protectorate.

Two

of

them,

equestrian statues of Marcus Nonius Balbus and of

his son, are very fine

and very

curious.

The

horses

are ambling, that

is

to say, they raise both legs on

one side

in trotting

a strange
in

attitude, not repre-

sented, to

my

knowledge,

modern
younger
of

equestrian

statue.

any other ancient or The head of the

to

Balbus

was
ball,

broken

pieces
in

by

French cannon
the
Portici,

when
1799,

it

was

the Palace

new head was fragments. The best of the other statues of the same family are those of Balbus the father, and of Ciria his wife, who is represented as Polymnia. We notice them for
in

and a

made from

a cast of the

several reasons

in

the
;

first

place, the execution

them is good secondly, and lastly, together was curious

of most of
;

their discovery
their

arrangecon-

ment

in the theatre as tutelary divinities of a

SOMAN SCULPTURE.
in those

187

siderable town, proves the high position occupied

days by the patrician famihes, who held

in
fief.

whole populations

The
is

series of

Roman

emperors
in

in

the Louvre
;

not so complete as that

the UJzsi at Florence

is

but the
increased

French

collection

very

rich,

and

is

by

statues of

many

illustrious

personages

who

did not occupy the throne.

iconiccs,

taining their

or portraits,

The room conis in a manner

beauty

presided over

by two

principal statues, which have

attained this distinction

by

their superior

and the imposing

is

titles

they bear.

an

Aicgiistiis,

the

other

One of them a Marcus Aurelius.

title

Julius Caesar,

whose name became the

of the

head of the state as long as the

lasted,

Roman Empire
these masters
in

and afterwards passed to that of Germany

ought to be the chief of
;

(Kaiser),

all

of the world

but the only statue of Caesar

the

Louvre

is

not merely of doubtful authenticity, but

also of no artistic value whatever.

His immediate
to

successor has

therefore

been

preferred
as

him.

This really
foot,

fine statue of

Augustus

an orator on

was found near

" I

to Velletri (Velitrae), the birth-

place of the conqueror of Actium.

He

seems to be

proudly saying,

found

Rome
;"

a city of bricks
not,

and leave
however,

it

a city of marble

which would

justify

the

crimes

which

marked

his

188

ROMAN SCULPTURE.
Had
not the

accession to supreme power.

name

of

the third Caesar, Tiberius, been disgraced by blood-

shed and debauchery, and branded by Tacitus, his

statue might have claimed
at
first

rank.

It

was found

Capri {Caprea), the favourite residence of this

tyrant,

gloomy

who

is

represented
(staff),

holding the
it

small sceptre called scipio

and

may

be

considered one of the finest works of the Imperial

epoch.
It

gives a perfect specimen of the toga,

the robe of which the Romans were so proud, and on account oi which they were called by foreigners

gens

togata

the use of which was

discontinued
the edicts

soon after the age of Augustus,

of the emperors.

in spite of

Marcus
Tiberius.

Aurelius

was

totally

different
:

from
will

He

justified Plato's

dictum
are

"

Men

happy unless they philosophers." He was a royal

never be
Socrates crowned.
therefore

governed

by

was The second place of honour is

philosopher, he
:

rightly given to one of his statues

t\\Q

he

wears the military costume,

the cuirass
shape,

paludamentiim and
the
bare, as in the

of ornamented

leather, fitting to

and leaving parts of the body

images of heroes and gods.

This second statue

death of

was probably not raised

until after the

M. Aurelius, when the excesses of his successor had increased the regret of the world for his loss.

ROMAN SCULPTURE.

189

In both, Marcus Aurelius wears the beard, which was again introduced by the family of Antoninus,
after being

discontinued for four centuries, from

the time of the old Scipio (Barbatus), grandfather

of the
first

Africanus.

Amongst
notice
:

the

other

imperial

statues

we

will

a Livia, the wife of Augustus, reprebented

as Ceres,

whose tunic
;

is

as worthy of study as the

;

toga of Tiberius
and,
like

a Julia, daughter of Augustus

her

mother-in-law,
this

dressed

as

Ceres

(the left

hand of

infamous woman, who was

of Marcellus,

successively the

wife

Agrippa, and

Tiberius, has fortunately been preserved, an exceptional

circumstance, as

the hands and often the

;

arms of most antique statues have been restored) a Caligula, or rather a head of Caligula, on a
strange body, for the feet are without the simple
leather

boots

(caligae)

which

that emperor wore

from his infancy,

in

the

camp

of his father, Gerhis

m aniens,
(this
it

and from which he obtained

is

surname
for

head

valuable on account of

its rarity,

is

well-known that the sword of Chaereas had

scarcely freed the earth from the furious

madman
but
that

who wished
people,

that

"

the

Roman
off at a

people had
blow," when

one head, to be struck

who always

survived their masters, threw

all

down and destroyed

the images of the tyrant)

190

ROMAN SCULPTURE.
or that of Vindex,

a Victorious Nero, triumphant, not over the conspiracy of Piso,

but

in chariot

races, or in trials of skill

on the cithara

(y^iOapa)

or on the that
is,

flute.

He

wears the heroic costume,

nudity, and on his head rests the diadem,

not of a king, but of a victorious athlete.

Who
figure

would recognise

in this beautiful

and tender
Lucan, and

of the son of Agrippina, the assassin of his mother,

his brother, his wife, of Seneca,

many

others, the incendiary

of

Rome, and

the torturer

of the Christians

Ti/us, doubtless sculptured

when he returned from the sack of Jerusalem before he became the peaceful and benevolent prince who
was called
delici<2

generis huniani.

He
is

is,

in fact,

in the attitude of a general

addressing the military

adlocutio to his troops.

His armour

remarkable

for the ocrecB or greaves (the Kv^yahe'^ of the Greeks),

which covered the leg from the ankle to the knee,

and

also

for

the

short

heavy
the

sword

hanging

from a
emperor,

belt.

Trajan, that great

and noble and

his

praised

by

Pliny

younger
after

by

Montesquieu

seventeen

centuries

reign,

the conqueror
;

of the Dacai, and the Par-

thians

he wears an
in war.

Isis

on

his breastplate instead

of the Medusa, and his feet are bare, as was his

custom

Lastly, a Pupienus (or

in

Maximus),

almost nude, as required

the so-called heroic

ROMAN SCULPTURE.
costume.

191

This

last

statue

has an interest of

its

own,

for

Pupienus,

we may say that after who was massacred in

art truly

the death of

236

by the

Praetorian guard, the ancients did not produce a

single

work of

worthy of the name.

statues, not

will

Amongst name
:

the

iconic

imperial,

we

a Tiridates, to

kinsrdom

of Armenia,

whom Nero gave the and whom he received at

This figure
is

Rome

with oriental magnificence.

for
its

remarkable

Asiatic

costume, the

purple

candys on the white tunic, the pantaloons called

atiaxyrides,

and the samphera, or sword of the

Parthians.

Two

figures

of Antinous.

We

know
life

that Hadrian's beautiful favourite lost his

in

saving his

master from drowning

in

the Nile.

The
says
the

emperor was so inconsolable

for his loss

that he

made him

god.
"

"That
he

extra

god,"

Chateaubriand,

whom

bequeathed to
the
gift."

Romans, worthy
just at the time

recipients of

It

was

when Roman
life

artists (or

perhaps

we should say

those of

Roman

Greece), in their

endeavour to infuse new

sought for models

into enervated sculpture,

in ancient Greece, Etruria,

and

even Egypt.

The

beautiful

youth of Bithynia
they converted him
of

became
into a

their constant

model

new Apollo, a new type

manly beauty.

Of

the two statues in the Louvre, one represents

102

JiOMAN SCULPTURE.
as

him

Hercules, but probably the

head only

is
;

that of Antinous, and the

body

that of

Commodus

the other, as Aristseus, the Thessalian hero, became the god of bees, of flocks, and of olives.
latter,

In the

which

is

perfectly well preserved, Antinous

wears the costume of a shepherd

the

petasiis, or

straw hat, the half tunic which leaves the right arm
free,

and the leather boots

the

called perones.

Amongst

Roman
order
:

busts w^e will briefly

name

in chronological

an Agrippa, an excellent

portrait of the real conqueror of

tiiis

Actium.

A Doniiinto the

Corbido,

whom Nero

never forgave for intro-

ducing' the

honour and virtue of

Rome
crimes

camp,
Caesars.

thereby

condemning
in

the

of

the

A Nero,
rare

which
is

this last offshoot of the

hateful race of

Augustus
rays.

represented in a sideral

crown with eight

traits

A
his

Domitian, whose por-

are as

as

those of Caligula, for the

senate proscribed even

memory.

colossal

Antinous, as Osiris,

who once had

gilt

the lotus, the

sacred plant of Egypt, on his head, precious stones

in

his

eyelids,

and

bronze draperies on his

shoulders.

Lucius Vcrus, a delicate and pleasing

portrait of the

adopted brother of Marcus Aurelius,

of that effeminate type o{ Koimni petits-inaitres,

who

powdered

their hair

and beard

with

gold

dust.

Septimus Severus. wearing the ancient mantle

ROMAN SCULPTURE.
of heavy
stuff,

193

')(KaLva or yXoevrj

by the Romans, and by the Greeks. It is mentioned by Homer, and by a return to ancient fashions,
called Iczna
it

finally

superseded the toga.

Caracalla

and

a Geta, the brothers

who shared

the imperial throne

for a short time, until

one stabbed the other.

his head Alexander the Great.

We
tc)

recognise Caracalla not only by his ferocious expression,

but also by the inclination of

left, in

the

imitation of

A.

Plautilla,

the

wife

of

this

insane

monster.

A
;

Matidia, the amiable and virtuous niece of Trajan.

Faustina, mother of the

first

Antoninus
strange
in

younger Faustina, the lascivious wife of Marcu;>

Aurelius, give
dresses adopted

instances

of

the
ladies

headof the

by Roman

lieu

simple braids of hair which the Greek ladies bound

so tastily with coloured ribbons.

The former wore

large ugly wigs called casque {galerus ov galericuium),

of every fantastic, absurd,

and inconceivable shape,

portraits of this

which were usually made of red hair imported from

Germania.

There are some bust

period, which, for greater accuracy,

have the wig

of coloured stone,
it

made

to take off

and

on, so that

could be changed at
Lastly, of the

will.

bas-reliefs
all

made
notice

at

Rome, and

which were nearly

phagi,

external ornaments of sarcofor

:

we

will

select

two of those

194

B OMAN SCULP TUBE.

sacrifices

solemn
years
in

which were offered up every

five

each quarter of the Eternal City, called

siiovetaurilia,

because the magistrate ordered the

{sus),

victimarii to immolate a pig

a sheep

{pvis),

and

a bull

{tauriis).
all

The
more

larger

and coarser one better

one
will

illustrates

the details of the sacrifice, and the

delicate execution
;

smaller

is

of

delight antiquaries, the other artists.

?.

Conclamatio,

funeral ceremony, in which the dead are loudly

to

called

the
if life

sound of warlike
be really extinct.

instruments, to

ascertain

In this bas-reliet

W't see the straight

trumpet of the

Roman

infantry

(the tuba), and the curved trumpet of the cavalry (the litims).

The

Prcstorian soldiers, to

whom
the

an

adlocutio
bas-relief

is

perhaps being addressed.

In this grand
entire

we

costume of

may Roman

profitably
soldiers
;

study

the long, oval shield,

the breastplate fitting to the chest, the short, broad,

and heavy swords, which

blows
that
in

inflicted

such terrible

a hand-to-hand conflict.

The

centurion

has a winged thunderbolt on his shield, as a token

he belonged to the famous

twelfth

legion,

called legio fidminans.

With regard

to these iconic statues, both

Greek

and Roman, I may perhaps be allowed to make one closing remark applicable to the works of our

own

day.

In

almost

all

these marble

portraits

ROMAN SCULPTURE.
even by enamels.

195

the pupils of the eyes are represented, sometimes

Remembering this, and

also that

Donatello, Michael Angelo, and the great artists of their age added pupils to the eyes of their statues,
I

sculptors,

would no longer accept the excuse of modern who omit this most essential part of the
head, even in their portraits,

human

urging the

interests of the

honour of art, and the example of

the ancients

On

the contrary,

could wish them

to imitate the ancients in this particular,

and

their

contemporary, Houdon, who, following Coysevox,

the

Constou,

Girardon,

and

Pigalle,

made two

marble portraits of Voltaire and Moliere, which are admirable because he succeeded in giving expression to the eyes, without which there can be neither
life

nor resemblance.

196

BOOK

II.

MODERN SCULPTURE.
the happy age called IN nines, from Nerva to
especially
orbis,

the reign of the Anto-

Marcus Aurelius, and

surnamed
effort

under

Hadrian,
noble

reparator
renaissance

great

and

of

The nuwas made in every branch of art. with the merous statues of Antinous, together images of the Csesars, and the bas-reliefs of the Trajan column, suffice to show us that the
sculptors

of

Imperial

Rome

were

able,

at

this

time, to contest the

palm with those of Republican

after
all

Greece.
art

Before the era of the Antonines, however,

it

had declined, and

true culture

was

entirely abandoned.

When Rome

had enriched

herself with the spoils of the world, her wealth, as

we have
for

before observed, vitiated her taste, and

she learned to care more for riches than for beauty,

the

precious

metals than
arts.

for

the

ordinary
his

materials
portrait

of

the
in

Pompey

exhibited

made

pearls,

and Nero conceived the

MODERN SCULPTURE.
having
picture

197

idea of gilding the bronze Alexander of Lysippus,

after

painted

of

himself

one

hundred and twenty

insanium
in pictura.

feet high,

which Pliny called

We

have also noticed that the

killed in a revolt

statue of the
in 236, is

Emperor Pupienus,

the last work of antiquity

that

is

to say,

executed before the triumph of Christianity

to be

found

in the

museums

of Europe.

When

Constantine transferred

the seat of the

new empire to Byzantium, he took with him many of the objects of art which had embellished Rome.

We

know,

for instance, that

he had four hundred

and twenty-seven statues placed in the temple of The gods and heroes of Sophia alone. St. paganism were adapted to suit the requirements of the new religion, in the same manner that basilicas
and praetorian justice halls were transformed into But Constantine was not accompanied chuches.

by
and

artists

capable of producing statues of equal

merit, although he ordered

images of Jesus, Mary,

material,

the apostles.
of

It

was the

not the
valued.

execution

these

statues,

which
gifts

was

When

Anastasius enumerates the

presented to

the churches by Constantine, he mentions eighteen

statues
in

solid

silver,

namely

"
:

The

Savioui
;

seated, weighing

one hundred and twenty pounds

ninety

the

twelve

apostles,

pounds each

four

198

MODERN SCULPTURE.
made

angels of one hundred and twenty pounds weight

each, with eyes

of precious stones," etc.

to prove to

single fact

is

enough

what an extent

the horrible taste for the fantastic and impossible

was carried
relate that

at this time.

Constantine's historians

he also ordered a group which combined

porphyry,

the portraits of his three sons, Constantine, Constantius,

and Constans.

This group,

in

had three

bodies, six arms,

and six

legs,

but only

one head, which alternately gave the likeness of

each of the three brothers, according to the point
of view of the spectator.

The

first

Christians

had
for

none of the enlightened taste and enthusiasm

the fine arts of the polytheists
prejudice were alike profound.
;

their ignorance

and
pos;

When

the Apostle
it

Paul visited Athens (about A.D. 50)

sessed almost
all its

still

masterpieces of ancient times

the Acropolis was

all

still

an unrivalled

museum; "but
" affected

these wonders," says M. E. Renan,

little
;

the

apostle

he saw the most perfect things thai

. . .

ever existed, that ever will exist,

and he was

unmoved

he did not tremble.

the iconoclast

The prejudices of Jew blinded him, and rendered him

;

insensible to the beauties of plastic art

he took

these incomparable images for idols.

Ah,

fair

and

chaste

images,

true

gods,
will

true

goddesses,

tremble before him

who

raise

the

hammer

MODERN SGULFTUBK
against you.
are idols
;

199

The
will

fatal

word

is

pronounced, you

the error of this ill-favoured

Jew

(ce

laid petit Juif)

be your death warrant."

altar to the
"

Athens Paul saw only the

God," and of
his

At Unknown
it

own

authority he conferred
Jews, the

upon
It

the

God

of the

only God, the

unnamed God.
stupid and lamentable hatred.
reaction
of
Julian,
in blind

was indeed a death warrant pronounced by a After the pagan

surnamed

the Apostate,

the

Christians
all

fury set to

work
the

to destroy

the vestiges
"

of antiquity,

all

objects of

art.

Burning to annihilate

all

that could recall

"

paganism, the Christians," says Vasari,

destroyed

the marvellous statues, sculptures, paintings, even

the images of great
buildings."

men which adorned

the public

Rome, Athens, and Constantinople

else

alone were able to preserve a few relics of antiquity

Everywhere

pagan works were thrown under

into burning
fury, that
it

the hammer, the wheels of chariots, or and such was the popular furnaces
;

was necessary, when antique statues were

to be

removed from one capital to another, to bind them like criminals, and give out that they were going to
be exposed to the ridicule of the
places of execution.
faithful
in

the

The

writings of the fathers,

and

the

sermons of the bishops, excited such

20

MODERN SCULP TURK

first

violent prejudices, that the

Christian emperors
edicts
for

were compelled

to

issue

several

the
so

destruction of idols, and this destruction was

general and complete, that

the

when Honorius renewed

be
broken, for the remain, si qua

order that

they should
:

fourth time, he

added

" If

any

still

etiani Jimtc in templis fanisqiie consistunt!'

Need
clasts
?

say more of the outrages of the iconoI

need
least,

repeat that these sectarians, in the

in

East at

succeeded

destroying

all

ancient

sculptures,
literally,

and

that, interpreting the sacred text

they prevented any new cultivation of the

jewellery was preferred to everything
to enamels,

art

When

else,

and when painting was confined

gold
miniature

gems, and chasings on

or silver, sculpture
figures
in

produced nothing but

metal, or in

one

a combination of different metals.

only architectural art of the

mosaic.

The Lower Empire was the

to the west
for
all

We
arts.

must therefore return

the

revival of sculpture

and the renaissance of

the

901

CHAPTER

I.

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.

WE
said,

cannot pause to notice the crude profirst

ductions of the

Christian age in Italy

they are not even essays

in art.

When

beauty was
are

proscribed as fatal and culpable,

when the Fathers

spirits

with
in

Minucius
statues,"
?

Felix,

"impure

hidden

what use could

In the ruins of
find thick

art

make

of

stone and marble

earliest

some
to

of the

churches

we
a

and clumsy blocks,

repre-

without shape or expression, supposed

sent

god
or

or

saint,

reminding
monsters

us

of

the
of

primitive divinities of Greece before the time

Daedalus

chimerical

forming

the

gargoyles of the roofs of churches, disguised under

name of devils that is all. In France and Germany alone we find the beginnings of a national In Italy, then, we will pass with art at this epoch.
the
;

one hucfe stride over the entire interval between

the Antonines and the Renaissance, and begin our

work with the Middle Age.

202

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
was not
and
at

It

Rome, but
first

in

ancient Etruria, in

republican Tuscany, that the revival of the arts

beean,

the

result

was
this

the

reform of

sculpture.

The

chief

honour of

reform belongs

to Nicola of Pisa,

who was
to

the Giotto of statuary.

repre-

He

was the

first

study the bas-reliefs

senting a chase of Hippolytus or of Meleager, on

the sarcophagus containing the

body of

Beatrice,

mother of the
in imicating

famous
in

Countess

Matilda.

He

mastered the style of the ancients, and succeeded

it

the pulpits of Siena and Pisa, of St.

a.id later in the

tomb

Dominic

at Bologna.
in

He

was called Nicola deW nrna, because,

123

1,

he made the beautiful urn of the founder of the

Inquisition.

What

a difference between the works

of this

first

reformer of art and the rough bas-reliefs

less

produced
certain

than half a century earlier by a

to

Anselm called, however, commemorate the retaking

!

Dcedaliis alter

of

Milan

from

Frederic Barbarossa

After Nicola of Pisa come,

;

successively, his son Giovanni

his pupil

Arnolfo
;

the brothers Agostino and Agr.olo of Sienna

then

Andrea of
artist,

a Michael

Ghiberti,
all
*

Andrea Orcagna, a universal Angelo anticipated ;* and lastly, Donatello, Delia Robbia, and Sansjvino,
Pisa
;

of Florence.

He

signed his sculptures, Fece Andi-ea di Cione, pittore; and

his paintings,

Fece

An

Irea di

Cione, scultore.

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378
as
tlie

203
chiefly

1455)

is

known

author of the bronze gates of the Baptistery

of Florence.

He was

not more than twenty years

old

when

the great work ordered by the

Commune
even of

was awarded

to him, with the approbation

his rival competitors Brunelleschi

and Donatello.*

In his biography of Ghiberti, Vasari describes in

detail the sixty subjects

of the bas-reliefs of the

three gates, at which Ghiberti

chaser,

worked
years

as sculptor,

and founder,

for

forty

of his

life.

Although the plans and groups of these bas-reliefs

may

with justice be called too complicated, Michael

said that the gates of the Baptistery were
"

Angelo
piece,"
is

worthy to be those of Paradise.

adds
Vasari, " is

This

master-

perfect in every part,

and

the finest in the world."

Donato (1383 1466), who was an orphan, educated by charity, succeeded equally well with full relief, high, low, and very low relief,
Donatello, or

and has

left his

best works to his country.

To

the

carpenter's guild, a marble St.

Mark;

to the

Piazza
of

del Palazzo Vecchio, a bronze Judith; to the Uffizi

Gallery, an

Elfin

Dance, a David, conqueror

Goliath, and a St.

*

John

the Baptist, emaciated

was
five years

by

So

says Vasari, but as Donatello

it

younger than

Ghiberti,
is

is

probable that the historian of painters and sculptors

wrong

in placing

him amongst the CQmpetitors.

204
fasting.

ITALIAN SCULPTUBK.
This
last

work

is

marvellous

repre-

sentation of the inspired forerunner, of the zealous

locust eater;
it

is

one of the productions of that

Donatello,

stern

and conscientious

who,
in his

in

the

midst of the fetes given at Padua

could write

honour,

down
I

the

profound thought:
flatters
in

"If
I

remained here, where everyone

soon forget what
criticism will

me,

should

know

but

my own

country
to ad-

keep

me vigilant and compel me

vance."

Connoisseurs compare this jfohn the Baptist

to the St. George of the Or-Saii-MicJiele at Florence

alone,

and the Fra Bardiiccio

Cherichini, in one of
is

the niches of the Campanile,

preferred to
lo
it.

the only sculpture

The

last

named, commonly called

finished
"

Zuccone

{t\\Q

bald-head), was Donatello's favourite

it,

work, and
like

when he had
to
!)

he exclaimed,
!

Pygmalion
!

Galatea,
in

Speak

speak

!"

(Favella

favella
faith

and was
have
in

the habit of swear-

ing

"

by the

my

Zuccone
is

!"

Luca

della

Robbia (1400

1481)

supposed to
;

have invented the process of enamelling terra-cottas

but neither of them
enamel.
claim to the invention

he preceded Bernard Palissy by about a century,

laid
of

The

Greeks, the Phoenicians, even

the

Egyptians, were familiar with the art of coating

terra-cotta

objects
it

with

glazed

colours.

Della

Robbia adapted

to sculpture, Palissy to pottery*

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
and the enamellers on metal
the Louvre
a St. Sebastian
to
painting'.

205

We
in

have some very valuable works by Delia Robbia

;

bound
is

to a trunk of
trial

a tree, which seems to be merely a

style, for the

of the

onl)-

part glazed
T/ie Vij-giu

the white cloth

round the
Savio7ir,

loins.

adoring the Infajit

the centre of a
is

a kind of bas-relief in
like

round frame rather

a large plate,

another
also, for

specimen of the process, but incomplete

the entire group, figures

(with the exception of the eyes, which are black)

and

draperies

alike,

is

glazed white, on a ground of two colours

the sky, and green for the landscape. invention

blue for
see the

We
a

brought

to

perfection

in

Madonna
full all

holding the Infant Jesus, a very fine group in

relief,

the different parts of which are glazed in

in

the colours which would be employed

a painting,

with the beautiful varnish called invetriato by the

Tuscans.

Sansovino (Jacobo Tatti) was born

in

at

Florence

1479, ^"<^

Isf^t

a Bacchns to the Uffizi Gallery,

which will bear comparison with that by Michael Angelo but he took up his abode at Venice, where he was summoned and retained bv the dosre. Andrea Giitti, after having first worked at Rome
;

under Julius

II.

Duke Cosmo, Duke

III.
all

Hercules,
hi.s

and Pope Paul

urged him to devote

^V.*/

206

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
talent,

double
their

as a sculptor
'.apitals,

and an

architect, to

respective
;

Florence.

Ferrara,

and
all

Rome

but according to Vasari, he replied to

:

their solicitations

"

reside in a republic,
live

Having the good fortune to it would be madness to go and

prince."

under an absolute
for

The

principal

works produced
remained
of St.
in

Venice by

Sansovino

have

the rich and altogether oriental church

Mark.

The most important

is

are the four

bronze statues of the Eva7igclists

still

in the choir,

and
an

more admirable
behind

the magnificent gate of the

altar,

sacristy,

the

also

of
is

bronze

astonishing work, at which Tatti

said to have

laboured for thirty years.

Amongst
his

the designs

on

this gate,

Sansovino has placed

his

own

bust

in

relief,

between those of
however,

tuo

friends, Titian
little

and
to

Aretino, who,
sanctity.

can

lay

claim

The

equestrian statue of the famous cojidottiere

Bartolommeo Colleoni of Bergamo, in the small lateral piazza of the church of San Giovantii San Paolo (in common parlance, San Zanipolo) at
Venice, also belongs to the fifteenth century.
It

was designed by the Florentine Andrea Verrocchio who was a painter, sculptor, engraver, jeweller,

and musician

and

was

cast in bronze

by Ales-

sandro Leonardo,

who

also executed the graceful

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
Corinthian pedestal which supports
it.

201

This cele-

brated equestrian statue, one of the

first

produced
in

by the Renaissance,
the following terms
:

is

eulogised

by Cicognara
are

"

The

horse seems ready to

Its

descend from

its

pedestal.

movements

full

Fig.

43. Equestrian

statue of

Bartolommeo Colleoni.

of energy, without being exaggerated.

is

The

rider

majestic, and, although clothed

sit

in

iron mail, he

could not

more

easily

and

gracefully.

Without
that no
in

prejudice to progress,

we

think

we may say

more

beautiful

work has since been produced

this style."

208

ITALIAN SCULP TUBE.

^llso

This age can

claim one of the most mar-

vellous works ever produced

by

sculpture, which

is

placed

in

the kind of semicircular gallery which

It is

runs round the choir of the Djiomo of Milan.

the statue of a flayed man, called St. Bartholomew,

on account of the legend.

as large as
life,

Imagine a human body,

its skin,

entirely deprived of

from
feet,

the crown of the head to the soles of the

standing
pain,

in

the natural position of a

man

free

from

and wearing

this skin flung over his shoulder

hke a mantle.

Imagine, further, the greatest beauty

truth

of form, the strictest

of action, the

most
of

incredible perfection of execution of the muscles,

the nerves, the bones, the sinews, the veins

all

the details

revealed by anatomy, and you

will

have

an

idea of this

strange

masterpiece,
is

which, for

patient and scrupulous chiselling,

probably un-

surpassed by any ancient or modern work.

The
the
is

very colour of the marble, which has assumed a

reddish
tint,

aids

the

illusion this

and adds

to

admirable

effect.

Beneath
:

strange statue

the following inscription

" Non me

Praxiteles, sed
is

Marcus
all

finxit

Agrates."

The name
history.

of the author

that

is

known

of

its

This
is

Agratus,
called,
is

Agrates,
in

or

Agrati,

or

whatever he
in

alluded to

no biography,

no book on

art

his birth, his death, his country,

ITALIAN SCUJ.PTUnE.
the time at which he Hved, are aUke
I

209

know

of no other production of his chisel.

probably, like a Benedictine,

unknown and Most he worked all his life

ano died content

dt this kind of infolio in marble, after

having proudly compared himself to Praxiteles.

This statue of the Flayed

appropriately
church.

Man

would be more
in

placed

in

museum than

We We
born

have now come to Michael Angelo.

know
in

that Michael
in

Angelo Buonarroti was

of Caprese,
in

1474,

the

castle

the

Casentino.

He was

of

noble

family,

which
its

reckoned the famous Countess Matilda among

ancestors.
cutter,
artistic

His nurse was the wife of a stone-

and the young Angelo showed germs of his genius even in his cradle. Speaking of him,
:

Vasari says

"

While the best

artists

were

en-

deavouring by the light of Giotto and

to give the world

his followers

examples of such power as the

benignity of their stars and the varied character of

their
A-hile

fantasies

enabled

them

to

command, and

desiring

to imitate the perfection of nature

art,

by the excellence of
attain that high
Intelligence,

they were struggling to

comprehension which

men

call

and were universally

toiling,

but for

the most part in vain, the Ruler of

Heaven was
r

pleased to turn the eyes of his clemency tow9rdti

210
earth,

ITALIAN SCULPTUBE.
and perceiving the
the
fruitlessness of so

many
spirit

efforts,

ardent

studies
to

pursued without any

result,

.... deigned

send to the world a

endowed with universality of power* in each art and in every profession, capable of showing by himself alone what is the perfection of art, .... in
painting,
. . .

sculpture,

and architecture.

The Almighty

Creator was also pleased to accom-

pany the above with the comprehension of true Philosophy, and the adornment of graceful Poesy,
to the

end that the world

might admire
life

in

him an example
action, as well

of blamelessness in

and every
his

as of perfection in

all

works

insomuch that he might be considered by us a nature rather divine than human." f

The mask
Angelo
in

of a faun's head, sculptured

by Michael
child,

marble as an amusement when a

his

and which revealed

the
Magnificent,
is

vocation,

and led

to his

immediate admission into the academy of Lorenzo

carefully

preserved

in

the

"Your faun is young artist, " and old," the Duke had said to the you have left him all his teeth. Have you not noticed that old people always have some missing

museum

dcgl' Uffizi at Florence.

.?"

* Hi-.'.crJan of painters and sculptors, you are now Fra Angelico, Masaccio, and Leonardo da Vinci
i

forgetful of

ivirs.

jonac'nan Forster's translation.

Vol.

v.

pp. 227 and 228.


ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
Michael Angelo
teeth,
at

211

once broke one of his faun's

out
the

and

scooped

gum.

Near

this

youthful
relief of

attempt are his

great
St.

unfinished
;

bas-

Mary,

Jesus,

and
;

John

his Apollo, a

mere rough-hewn block

scarcely even that.

and

his Brutus,

which

is

Michael Angelo often set to

work on a block
tion,

of marble without

any prepara-

without a sketch or a clay model.

Sometimes
it

he had not enough marble for his plan, or he cut

too deeply, and then, unable
to realise his idea,

he

But no would leave the block but half-hewn.* amateur or artist will grumble at not seeing these
excellent works finely finished
;

for,

as in a painter's
first

sketch, they can here see the sculptor's

crude
is

thought, and the secret of his

mode

of working

Beneath the Brutus, the following distich has been engraved

"

Dum
In

Bruti effigiem sculptor de

marmore

ducit,

mentem

sceleris venit, et obstupuit."

(When the sculptor was carving the figure of Brutus he remembered his crime, and, in his stupor, he paused.)
The
President

in marble,

De
at

Brosses relates that one day Lord Sandwich

this great

was looking
republican,
distich
:

at the

Brutus, and shocked at the blame of

he

once

composed the following contradictory

" Brutum efiecisset sculptor, sed mente recursat Tanta viri virtus, sistit et obstupuit." (The sculptor would have finished Brutus, but at the thought of the virtue of this great man, he suddenly stopped, discouraged,)

212

ITALIAN SCULP TURK.

Truly
this secret
is

revealed.
it is

worthy of study, and

artist

easy to see to what perfection the

could

attain

when he chose to work patiently, because the Dninkcn Bacchus, which is probably his most

Fig. 44.

Ivy-crowned Bacchus.
finished work,

(Florence.)

delicate

and highly

is

near at hand.

Instead of the passion, the stern pride of the Moses

at

Rome, the Bacchus ness. Crowned with

is

full

of grace and tenderleaves,

ivy

and vine

he

is

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
pressing
satyr,

213

grapes
in

into a

cup, from
is

which

little

wrapped

a goat's skin,

trying to drink

unobserved.
the languid

The smiling mouth,

attitude,

the sleepy eyes,

in

the
all

apparent difficulty
express

remaining
efifects

standing,

admirably

the

of drunkenness.

Florence

may

count herself fortunate

in

having
;

collected these productions of her illustrious son

for

we

learn with

dismay how many of Michael

perished

Angelo's works, besides his celebrated cartoon of

the Pisan War, have

and disappeared

from the world, leaving no trace but their name.

In 1492, a Colossal Heracles, sent to Charles VIII.
of France
;

in 1495,

Sleeping Cupid, sent to the

Mantua; in 1501, a bronze David, obtained by a certain Florimond Robertet of Blois in 1507, the bronze statue of Pope Julius II., broken by the rebellious Bolognese then a picture of Leda, sold to Francis I. by the servant at Michael
of
;
;

Duke

Angelo's

studio,

and

burnt

one

hundred years
;

afterwards by order of a confessor of the queen

and

lastly,

the

Marginal Dante,

in

which he had
inci-

sketched the greater part of the figures and

dents of the Divina Commedia.

All these form a

very long and sad catalogue

table.

gloomy mortuary

The

chief of the

works which Florence prides

214

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
possessing are not
in

herself on

the

Museum

of

Florence, but in the sacristy of the old church di

San

Lore?i2o, originally built in the fourth century,

St.

and consecrated by
splendid
edifice, built

Ambrosius,

but

recon-

structed in 1425, after Brunelleschi's designs.

This
is

by order

of Clement VII.,

called the Medici Chapel.

It
is

a strange

fact that

Michael Angelo was

working

at this funereal chapel

when he was
altar, in

called

upon

to

defend

republican Florence against the

in
it,

Medicis.

Everything
is

even the

front
is

of which

the Virgin nursing the Ittfant Jesus,

from the hand of the great master, with the exception of the statues of Saints Cosmo and Damian,

by

his pupils

Montorsoli and Raffaello da

is

Monplaced

telupo.

On

one side

the Mansoleiim of Giiiliano

Medici, in which the statue of the

Duke

is

over the figures of the

the other, the

Day and

of the

Night ; on

Mausoleum of Lorenzo Medici, Duke of Urbino, with whose statue are the Early Dawn
and Evening.
pieces of

This statue, one of the

sculpture,
is

master-

modern

famous under the

name
has

of Pensieroso, on account of the melancholy

in

and thoughtful attitude

represented
this

which Michael Angelo

precocious tyrant.

Of

the

four allegorical

figures,

equally

gloomy, morose,

and

terrible,

the Evening and Night are the most


ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
admired.

215

To

the

latter

Giam-Battista
:

Strozzi

addressed the following verses

La Notte die
Dormire,
fu

tu vedi in

si

dolci atti

da un angelo
;

scolpita

In questo sasso

e,

perche dorme, ha vita

Destala, se no'l credi, e parleratti.*

The
in

Stern Michael

Angelo made
:

his statue

answer

the following bitter epigram, a satire on his

own

age,

and on many another

Grato m' e il sonno, e piu I'esser di sasso, Mentre che il danno e la vergogna dura Non veder, non sentir, m'e gran ventura. Pero non mi destar deh parla basso.f
: !

Rome, where Michael Angelo spent the second

part of his long
life,

and

for

which he executed

his

great

works

in

painting

and

architecture,

has

also inherited
chisel.

some

of the fine productions of his

The

cathedral of Christendom, St. Peter's,

celebrated

possesses

the

Madonna

della

Pieta,

sculptured

by Michael Angelo when eighty-four

years old, after the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel,

before the erection of the cupola.
*

And

the church

"Night, whom you see sleeping so calmly, was sculptured in by an angel she sleeps, she lives. Awake her if you doubt, and she will speak to you." t " It is pleasant to me to sleep, and still more do I prefer to be of
this stone
;

stone, in this age of the triumph of advantage to me to see nothing, to me not.,- ah speak low."
!

evil
feel

and shame.
notliing.

It is

a great

'Iherefore

wake

21fi

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
still

of Minerva, which

retains the

name

of the

heathen temple, contains the no

statue called

less

celebrated
;

the Christ of Michael

Angelo

an
in

angry

and

avenging

Christ,
least,

the

repetition,

marble, of the thought, at

of the Last Judgment.

embodied
shall

in that

But we
Vicus

find
hill,

still

more famous work

in

if

we ascend

a steep

called

ancient
is

Rome

the

Sceleratics

because
enter

Tullia

said there to have crushed her father's

body under the wheels

in Vincola),

of her chariot

and

the old basilica of St. Peter in chains (San Pietro

which has been restored several times

primitive form.
II.

since

its

foundation under Pope Leo the Great, but

its

has always retained

the

It

contains

mausoleum of

Julius

and the Moses of

Michael Angelo.

One word of preliminary explanation. There were points of similarity in the genius and character of the two men, pope and artist, which
tended both to unite and separate them. And the event proved this. Julius II. had hardly ascended
the pontifical throne before he conceived the idea
of

perpetuating

his

memory by

magnificent

mausoleum, and having chosen Michael Angelo to execute it, he summoned him from Florence for
the

purpose.

Michael

Angelo,
old,

who was

then
to

only

twenty-nine years

soon

presented

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
the pope a plan of the most colossal

217

tomb

that
It

modern was to

art

ever
a

attempted

to

construct.

be

combination of

architecture

and
exthe

sculpture, a decorated edifice.

Imagine
niches
in

an
in

tremely massive quadrangle, with

sides,

containing

Victories,

and

the

angles

terminal

figures forming pilasters,

on
;

which the
this large

figures of captives

were to be placed

on

basement a second narrower massive block, surrounded with colossal statues of prophets and

was to be added and that, in its turn, surmounted by a pyramidal mass, entirely covered Such was the with allegorical figures in bronze.
sibyls,
;

composition

of

which

engraving
It

has

preserved
as

Michael Angelo's sketch.

large as the

would have been

above
artist

all

the buildings of heathen

mausoleum of Augustus, which towered Rome. The

his disagreements with
fled to Florence, to

began the work, but

Julius II. soon ensued,

and he

Bologna, to Venice, and even thought of going to

Constantinople, where he was invited

by the Sultan

Soliman, to erect a bridge between that town and

the suburb of Pera.

He

did not return to the

pope

at

Bologna

until

he was sent as Florentine

After
to

ambassador by the Gonfalonier Soderini.

their reconciliation, the
his

pope ordered him

it

make

statue in bronze, but

was broken

by the

218

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
in

Bolognese
Paul
the

a revolt,
It

and

made

into

a cannon

called the Giulia.*

III.

was long afterwards, when

to paint the fresco of

commanded him
that
into,

Last Judgment,
at

an

arrangement was
of
the
pontiff,
II.,

entered

the suggestion

between Michael Angelo and the heirs of Julius

which resulted
to
its

in the

reduction of the

mausoleum
plan,

actual proportions.
finished

Of

the original

nothing was

but

one Victory, now at

Florence, two Captives, in the Louvre,

and one of

the prophets, the Moses, an allegorical portrait of

Julius
II., forming part of his actual mausoleum, and entirely executed by Michael Angelo himself.!

This colossal Moses

of the

is

seated, holding the tables

Law

in his right

hand, and stroking the long

beard, which flows over his breast, with one finger.

On

his head,

which

is

slightly turned to the

left,

are the two horns, ascribed to

him by

tradition,

which, springing from his thick hair, exactly re-

semble those of a young calf or goat.

Michael Angelo,
like all his

Perhaps
artists,

contemporary

was in love with ancient

mythology, and wished

* It was when he was making the model of this statue, that Michael Angelo said to the warrior pope " Would it not be well, Holy Father, to put a book in the hand?" "Put a sword," answered Julius " I know nothing of letters." Active and Cont There were to have been four large figures (Vasari.) templative Life, St. F(7u/, and the Moses.
: ;
:

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
to give

219

Moses the symbols of the god Pan, of the

which metaphorically represented
all

Great-All,
nature,

all

embracing

creatures,

and was

at that

time confounded with the Egyptian Osiris.

Or he

may have

intended to produce a portrait of his

regretted master, Savonarola,

whose

face

somewhat

resembled a goat's, and whose peculiar eyes were

called occhj caprini

by

his contemporaries.
;

Many
the head

things have been criticised in this figure

is

said to be too small for the

feet,

beard, the legs too long for the

immense the body thick,

is

and the
other.

gaiters

and

flannel robe unsuitable to each

Lastly, with

more

truth,

it

urged that
out,

some of the

details are scarcely

worked
it

hardly
is

even rough-hewn.

The
all

last

fault, if

be one,

common

to nearly

Michael Angelo's works, for

effects
in

he cared no more for small

statue than he did
in

chiselling a

painting a picture, or in
It

sketching the plan of a building.

should also be
figure,

remembered that the Moses

intended
to be seen
at

is

a colossal
height.

certain

But

however much foundation there

criticisms,
this faulty

may

be for these
less
its

Moses

is

none the

author's masterpiece
also of all

of sculpture,

and probably
its

modern

statuary.
to
in

To

find

equal
for

it

would be necessary
see

go back to antiquity,
the works
of

nothing like

it

Donatello,

220

ITALIAN SCULP TURK.

I

Sansovino, Puget, or Canova.

fore,

shall not, there-

pause to defend
but remark,
in

it

from the charge of faults of

turn, that the anatomical

detail,

my

drawing of the

feet,

hands, arms, and face,

may

be

compared to that of the most perfect specimens In speaking of Michael left by the ancients.
Angelo,
the arts
I
;

prefer to follow his

mode

of procedure in

and

to say, that taken as a whole, his

Moses

is

the grandest and most admirable

emblem
;

of strength, severity, and

power, ever produced

and

that never have those various qualities which

give authority, and constitute the superiority of one

man

over his fellows, been so fully expressed.

His

irresistible

glance seems to be overawing a mutiat

nous people, and reducing them to submission

his feet.

He

is

indeed the stern legislator of the

terrible

Hebrews, armed with the

believe that, celebrated as

Law.
in

do not

they were

antiquity,

the Jupiter Olympius, the Juno of Samos, or the

Minervas of Athens, were more majestic, more

fearful, or better calculated to inspire

the populace

with terror and religious awe.

statue
:

Vasari says of this

ren-

"

So

well,

at a word, has the artist

dered the divinity which the Almighty had

im-

parted to the most holy countenance of that great

lawgiver.
his

At
in

a word, the sculptor has completed

work

such a sort that Moses

may be

truly

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
affirmed
friend of

221

more than ever

to merit his

name

of the

God

preparing his

and to Michael Angclo the care of resurrection was intrusted. Nay, the
their
this
visit

Jews are to be seen every Saturday, or on

Sunday, hurrying ... to
figure,

and worship

not as a work of the

divine."

human
Forster's

hand, but as
translation,

something
p.

(Mrs.

249.)

We
art.

have already said that the Louvre

may

pride itself on possessing a work

by

this

Titan of

We
II.

allude to the two Captives which were to

in

have been placed

Julius

the angles of the

monument
beautiful,

to
is

One, perhaps the

more
itself.

incomplete, like the

is

monument

The head

scarcely chiselled, the neck hardly rough-hewn.

Fortunately no sacrilegious hand has dared to finish

the work
of

Michael Angelo.

And who

could

complain at seeing his mode of working revealed

to them, as in the B^'utus of the Uffizi*

Are not

the features of the one Captive, barely indicated as

they

are, as suggestive,

indeed as
its

full

of admirable

expression, as those

of

highly finished comof

panion
*

.''

Is

not

every
how
to

limb

both

full

of

We

can

see, for instance,

in the first

rough hewing of the

sinuous lines,
the

marble

Michael
figure

Angelo

tried

imitate the

curves, the serpentine fortns, as he himself called them, of which the

human

is

always made up in every attitude and every variety

of action.

222

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
and humiliation
in
;

suffering

in

the one borne with

resignation,

the

other

with

gloomy
are,

im-

patience

Rightly to admire these grand

to

figures,

we have only

remember what they

;

or

rather what they were to have been

and before

them we repeat the exclamation of the sculptor " I have seen Michael Angelo Falconnet he is
:

appalling

!"

On

the high altar of Notre

Dame

at

Bruges,

a celebrated

Madonna
its

is

shown, said to be by
is

Michael Angelo.

In the north, where statuary

chief
material,

always

poor,

marble,

being

wanting, this ordinary

Madoima was
It
is

sure to excite extra-

admiration.

indeed a

very

fine

group, in a noble,

lofty,

and solemn

style.

The

Virgin
she
is

is

seated, and, like a Byzantine

Madonna,
is

clothed to the throat, and her head

veil,

covered

with a
graceful.

but

all

the

draperies are light and

The Holy Child stands between

her
;

knees, as in K3.pha.eV s Mado/ina with the Goldfinch

he

is

naked, his attitude easy, and the modelling

of his flesh perfect.

On

the whole,
title

admit that

the too often misapplied

of masterpiece

may
But

rightly be bestowed on this beautiful group.

is
it

this

by Michael Angelo } Doubt is justifiable on question, and I do not hesitate to doubt.

a fine piece of Italian sculpture arrives in

When

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
Flanders, and
is

223

enthusiastically

admired,

it

is

naturally at once ascribed to the greatest Italian

sculptor.
tale, I

But where

is

the historic proof?

of
its

Some

on
a

its

know not what, is told way from one town of

corsair,

Italy to another,

an Algerian

which

in its
is

when by turn was taken by

capture,

Dutch

vessel.

But

this

only one of those

vague traditions which do not establish a

may
It

sanction a fable, but

truth.

undoubtedly requires
a
sculptor's

more

insight

to

recognise

than

painter's touch,

and to ascribe a piece of statuary

is

to the right author with absolute certainty

difficult.

very
at

But

for

this

reason

we

are

more

liberty to deny, or at least to doubt, that such a

work
that

is

by such a
to

sculptor.
is

In this case, most

decidedly, the chiselling

is

softer

and more

delicate,

say, less energetic

If,

and powerful, than

to his

Michael Angelo's.

however, this group were by

it

the great Italian master,

would belong

youth, to the
not
to

time
the

of the Bacchus of Florence,

that

of

Moses of Rome.
I

But one

material and palpable fact ought,

think, to settle

the question.
child

It is

that neither the Virgin nor the

in

have any pupils

their eyes

and

know
This

that
is

amongst
to

all

the great Florentine's works there

not one statue or bust

without

pupils.

seems

me

decisive.

The- style

of the group,

2L'4

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
is

although noble and dignified,

not very severe

fastidious

and

this,

together with

the

somewhat

deHcacy of many
it

details, leads

me

to suppose_that

does not belong to the epoch closed by Michael

Angelo, but might

be ascribed, for

instance, to
It

Donatello, Delia Robbia, or John of Bologna.

resembles

still

more the works of Sansovino, who

for the lightness of
his

was renowned
children.

draperies,

and the refinement of the heads of

But might not
of
this

women and Madonna of Bruges

his

be the work
Torregiani,

the

Florentine

Torregiano,

or

who

left his

own land

out of jealousy of

the success of Michael Angelo, and after wandering

through

France,

Flanders, and
}

England,

finally

died miserably in Spain

Torregiano was called

in

Michael Angelo's he broke the

with
his
fist.

rival,

and

a boyish

quarrel

future

master's

nose by a blow

This would be enough to lead

tradition to ascribe his \vork to Michael

himself.

Angelo

At
living

the
at

native

same time that the great Florentine was Rome, and Sansovino at Venice, another of Florence was rising into notice and
;

having
bleau,

left

Italy, established himself at

Fontaineto

where he rendered

the

same

services

French sculpture as Andrea del Sarto, Rosso, and

Primaticcio had to painting.

We

allude to Ben-

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
venuto Cellini (1500

225

1570),
He

who was
metal,

a jeweller,
founder,

an engraver on stone and

chaser,

and

sculptor.

struck
at

the beautiful

coins used

by Clement VII.
jewellery,

Rome, and Alex-

ander Medici at Florence, and wrote treatises on

sculpture,

and the casting of metals,

besides the curious Memoirs, in which he relates

his strange

adventurous

life.

He

left

a group of

Perseus cutting off the Medusa's head, at Florence,

in front

of the fine portico of Orcagna called the

in

Loggie de' Lanzi ; and

France he sculptured the

in

Nymph

of Fontaineblcan,

now

the Louvre.

It is

scarcely a group or a statue, but rather

relief cast
size,

a high
colossal

in

bronze.

A
in

nude female of
length,

with

limbs of

inordinate

supports

herself on the left

arm

a semi-recumbent posistag,

tion, whilst the right is

round the neck of a

its

the head of which, with

huge horns, projects

Cellini
I.

beyond the

rest

of the group.

driven from the court of Francis

was soon by the scorn of

the Duchesse D'Etampes, and this

nymph

of the

woods, this huntress Diana,

of the works produced
there.
It

is

the most important

his sojourn

by him during
in

was

placed

an arched frame, and

intended to decorate the

tympanum
;

of the Porte of
Poitiers

Doree

at

Fontainebleau
II.

but Diana
it

persuaded Henry

to give

to her,

and placed

226
it

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
Near
in

over the entrance of her chateau of Anet.

this

Nymph

are

two

splendid

chased
to

vases

Florentine bronze, also

Cellini,

attributed

Benvenuto
he
is

but there
:

is

no proof

that

their

author

the material, style, and beauty of workidea.

manship alone warrant the

Ammanato,

a worthy pupil of Sansovino, con-

structed the inner court of the Pitti Palace, and

sculptured the beautiful fountain, which bears his

name,

for the public

garden

the
the

colossal Neptune,

drawn

by

four

sea-horses.

After

him,

Italian

sculpture passed into the hands of a Neapolitan,

Lorenzo Bernini

and

at

painting, finally deserting the Bolognese,

same time Italian was most

of Naples,
sisters, as

successfully practised

by another native

Luca Giordano.
calls

The two great

(1598

Vasari

them, simultaneously declined.

Cavaliere Bernini
the

The

1680),

who was
and the
a

ostentatiously called

second Michael Angela

was the
judge of

arbiter of the taste of Europe,

all

artistic

matters

in

Italy for half

century, and under nine different

popes.

Louis

XIV. summoned him to Paris in 1665, to advise him about the restoration of the Louvre and we
;

think that had Bernini lived

zenith,

when

art

was

at its
;

he

might have been a great

man

but

comnig

as he did,

when the decadence had

set in,

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
he yielded to
its

227

influence,
its

he encouraged

progress.

and instead of checking, As an architect, he

erected the pretentious circular piazza forming the approach to the cupola of St. Peter's, by the great
Florentine.

As

a sculptor he executed the pulpit

pontiff

and canopy of the sovereign

of

and the tomb

Urban

VIII., with

its

two huge masculine-

looking attendant figures, from whose breasts the milk of Justice and Charity flows upon the body
of the dead pope.
Bernini's

The

last

named
style

is

probably
sculpture

best

work.

His

of

somewhat resembled Rubens's

colour.

painting,

minus the

Algardi was as

full

of affectation as Bernini of

pretension, and he flourished about the same time,

1583 to 1654.

As

a sculptor he scarcely equalled

chiefs of

Albano.

Encouraged by these two

the

decadence, and also by Luca

taste

Fa

presto,

depraved

now sanctioned even

visitors are

frivolous

productions.

At Naples

always taken to the San

Severo chapel and expected to admire the sculpThere we see r^ recumbent tures which it contains.
Christ under a sheet, through which the outline of the nose, shoulders, and knees
statue of a

may be discerned

the
is

woman,
lastly,

called Modesty, because she

completely covered with a kind of damp, clinging

garment

and

the allego.ical personification

228

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.

of a
is

human
say,

soul extricating itself from vice

that
break

to

a sort of

human
it.

fish

trying to

the meshes
devil

of a marble net, in which, of course, the

had entangled

There may be a certain

there

ease of workmanship in these strange productions

of Antonio Corradini, even as
of touch in
is

dexterity
;

the works of Van Loo and Boucher

but for
still

all

that they evidently belong to a school

more

inferior

than that of Bernini

;

a degeneis

ration from his, in fact

fatal to

and

their influence
at

so

the cause of

art, t

we only

allude to

them

for the

sake of warning every one against

even looking at them, and urging sensible men never to sanction the production of such monstrous
anomalies, either by visiting or praising them.
In

them we have execution without

manual power without soul or
spirit.

style or taste,

To

find Italian sculpture once

more

rising to the

position of a great art,

and

realising the ideal,

we

nmst pass on to Antonio Canova (1747 1822), who, like Giotto and Mantegna, rose from the In the position of a herdsman to that of an artist.

room appropriated

to bas-reliefs in the
is

Academy
his
rest

of the Fine Arts at Venice

preserved the precious

;

porphyry urn containing Canova's right hand heart is in the church of the Frari, and the
of his body
in

the village of Possagno.

Beneath


ITALIAN SCULP TUBE.
this urn his chisel
is
:

229

suspended, and the following

inscription

engraved
Idem

Quod mutui amoris monumentum

glorias

incitamentum

sit.*

Canova only
his earliest

left

to Venice, although he died there.

one group, Dcedalus and Icarus, It was one of

it

productions, yet

fully

revealed his

powers.

formed part of the Barbarigo collection, now dispersed. We must look for Canova's works In the church of the Holy Apostles at Rome.
It

(SS. Apostoli)

we

find the

mausoleum

of

Clement

XIV.

in

the basilica of St. Peter's, the

Pius VI., that of the Stuarts, and the

celebrated

still

tomb of more
Clement
honour
relics

vwnuumito
lastly,

di Rezzonico

to

XIII.

and
as

in

the

Vatican,

such of his

sculptures
of of

have

received the

perilous

beine mixed
ancient

v.'ith

the

most valuable
are,

Greece.

These

the

Wrestlers,

Damoxcnus and Crcugas,\ which are very inferior to those of Florence they are appropriately called
the boxers, for they express

nothing but clumsy

brute force

and the statue of Perseus, which Canova did not hesitate to undertake, although he was familiar with that by Benvenuto Cellini, and
*

May

this

monument,

the memorial of a mutual affection, be also

an incentive to g'oiy. t See the histoiy of these

chap. 40.)

pugilists

in

Fausanias.

(Book

xiii

230

ITALIAN bVULVTUBE.
filling

which received the signal honour of

of the Apollo Belvedere
off to Paris

the place

when

the latter was carried

by the French.

The

beautiful title of

Fig. 46.

The Perseus of Canova.

it.

(Rome.)

Consolatrice

was also given to

The
is

face of the
is

Perseus resembles that of the Apollo, and this

fault

rather than a merit.

It

very delicately

finished,

and

slightly affected.

The Medusas head

ITALIAN SCULVTUllK.
held
it is

231

in

the hero's

hand
in

will

not terrify any one, for

that of a

young and

beautiful

woman, with the

Faithful

serpents arranged

such a manner as to resemble

the symmetrical locks of the Assyrians.

to the Grecian type,

and taking the antique Medusa

of

Munich

for his

model, Canova succeeded in com-

bining moral deformity with physical beauty, and

has given his Gorgon that expression of freezing

disdain which pierces the soul, and

may

be

fatal.

Canova shared the fate of his country and became a subject of Austria, and his chief works are to be found, not at Rome, but at Vienna. One of them, the mausoleum of Maria Christina of Austria,
a daughter of Maria Theresa,

and the wife of Duke

in

Albert of Saxe-Teschen,

is

the church of the

Augustines, where are also to be seen the entire

skeletons of Saints Clement and Victoria, in bro-

cade garments,
spectacle,

under glass cases

an

edifying
fine

no doubt, but not so attractive as a

statue

funeral procession

advances along an

open pyramid, the shape of the great sepulchres of Veiled Virtue carries an urn containing antiquity.
the ashes
of
the princess, preceded

by weeping
followed

maidens

typifying

Innocence, and
okl

by
the the

Benevolence supporting an
threshold a weeping
spirit,

man.

On
of

the

symbol

husband,

left

behind upon the earth, leans against

2.'^2

ITALIAN SCULPTURK.
Although
this ostentatious

a Hon.

tomb

is

some-

what
it

theatrical,

is

undoubtedly a

and may almost be called heathen, fine work, and the style and
All these figures combine
well,

effect

are alike grand.

and harmonise

they are admirably grouped,

"i;,'i"fi-

Fiy- 47

Grouii from the

Mausoleum

of IMaiia Christina, by

C'anova.

(Vienna.)

and many of
old

them one

of the

young

girls,

and the

man supported by Benevolence, for instancewould be excellent statues if seen alone. On the whole, we think that the mausoleum of Maria
Christina, which
is

the most important of Canova's

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
monuments,
is

233

as likely to preserve his

fame

to future

generations as any of the tombs whicli he erected

under the vast dome of the Catholic metropolis.

Another of Canova's works, the

celebrated in the art world.

colossal
is

group of

Theseus conqueror of the Minotaur,

still

more
re-

For the worthy

ception of this Italian guest a temple

structed
in

was con-

the Volksgarten (People's Garden) of

Vienna, which was an exact copy, in size and shape,

of the temple of Theseus at Athens
;

the material

alone

is

different

plaster has taken the place of the

white marble of Pentelicus.

Canova's group,
is

like
in

the old statue of the demi-god,

this temple,

worshipped

and

its

priests are a kind of policemen,

who open
for

the doors at promenade hours.

is

Except
and
is

Grecian helmet, Theseus

nude,

raising his club, the

weapon of the companion of

Alcides, to despatch the monster

whom

he has just
is

thrown down
compositions,

at his feet.

This attitude

perhaps
large
is

theatrical, the

ordinary fault of Canova's

but the statue

;

as

whole

splendid study

every limb, every muscle perfectly

in

expresses strength
ever,
I

action.

For

my

part,

how-

consider the finest part of the group to be

the Minotaur

if

such

it

may

still

be called, now

that sculpture, sacrificing historic truth to beauty

of form, has converted the son of Pasiphae, the

234

ITALIAN SCULP TUBE.

His action

man-bull, into a man-horse, a centaur.*

under the weight of Theseus, who presses his throat

Fig. 48.

Theseus vanquishing the Minotaur,

(Vienna.)

by Canova.

with the
is
*

left

arm and

his

stomach with one knee,

full

most happily rendered, and

It is

of energy.
to this

The
famous

possible, tliat in spite of

tiie

name given

group,

the sculptor intended to represent not

Theseus slaying the

the

Minotaur, but Theseus killing the Centaur Euiytion, who carried

off the beautiful

Hippodamia

at the

wedding of

Pirithoiis.

It is

subject of one of the most valuable

found at Pompeii, and collected

in

monochrome drawings on marble the museum of Naples.

ITALIAN SCULPTl'HK
head, flung back to the crupper, which
sively
is

235

convul-

struggling to raise

tlie

double body, the

heaving chest, the legs bent under him and apparentl)' broken, the exhausted arms, which only
retain sufficient strength to seek a support

upon

the ground,

all

together form

splendid whole,

which reminds us of the famous antique group of the Wrestlers, in which also the conqueror is exIn this part of the huge celled by the vanquished.
group, even the marble
is

more

beautilully veined
is

and of a closer
rendered
if

grain.

Suffering

as wonderfully

in the

Minotaur as

force in

Theseus

and
a

we must needs be

critical,

we may

notice

decided resemblance between his head and that of

the Laocoon.

The

features of Theseus, too, which

express anger and scorn, are somewhat like those The artist may have inof the Pythian Apollo.

tended to render a sort of homage to the two great masterpieces of Grecian art in the Vatican, which

had served him

fact

as

models.

noticed one slight

which proves how thoroughly the young Pos-

sagno peasant studied the smallest archaeological details, and how well he knew how to turn his improvised education to account.

He

has given his

hero the crushed ears of the pancratiast athletes.

It

was

this

Theseus,

in

fact,

who, when king of

in

Athens, founded the lesser Panathenaea,

which

236

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
;

gymnastic games were celebrated

and, like

many

other illustrious Grecians, even after the heroic age,

Pythagoras, Chrysippus, and even the divine Plato,

for instance,

he

is

supposed to have taken part

in

them personally. Canova also erected another tomb at Florence, that of Alfieri, and was afterwards invited to Paris by Napoleon, and made a member of the Institute.
There he
left

his

charming statue of Repentant

has passed through so
;

Magdalene, which
different collections

many

and one other work, the group

of Zephjrus carrying off the sleeping Psyche to the

mysterious abode of Cupid, which justly enjoys the

exceptional honour
of

being the

only piece

of
of

statuary by a foreigner in the French

sculpture
in

museum

the Louvre.

This charming,
all

light,

and airy group, reproduces

tale of

the charms of the

It

Apuleius as translated by La Fontaine.

worthily represents the herdsman transformed into

a great artist
;

so great, indeed, that no modern, not

in

even Michael Angelo himself, succeeded better

imitating the beauty of form, the charm of expression,

and the delicate workmanship of the produc-

tions of antiquity.

In 1S15 he undertook to restore to Italy those

objects of art which were seized

by France

in the

time of the exactions of the Empire, that

they

ITALIAN SCULPTURE.
might adorn the capital of the continent.
this

237

he has

been condemned
?

but was

For Canova

French or Itahan
he restored to
it

Were
if

not the treasures which

first

his

country by force

taken from
as

by

force

And
?

regret his mission,

we blamed how could that

as mucli

we

affect the merit

of his works

Let us be as just to talent as to

valour, even in our enemies.

Canova's was the reigning school of Italy until

our

own

age,

and

is

so

still.

It

produced the Dane

a few years ago
artist

Thorwaldsen, of

whom we
Bartolini,

shall presently speak,

and the Florentine

who

might have been called the only

of Italy.
this

To

the

lessons,

example, and traditions of

all

school also,

we owe
notice

those rising sculptors

the

who

came
Messrs.
etc.,

into

at

Universal

Exhibition,

Dupre, Vela, Argenti, Luccardi, Strazzi,

feeble

whose works, although somewhat

and

affected, yet possess true grace.

The
;

delicacy of
the

the execution
is

is

really marvellous

marble

made

to
;

accommodate
it

itself to all

the vagaries

of fashion
laces

is

bent, plaited,

and covered with

Italy

and embroidery,

like a textile fabric.

produces
alas,

many
:

successful imitators of Canova, but,

not one disciple of Michael Angelo.

Let her
in

take heed

beauty there

is,

but no grandeur

such an imitation.

238

CHAPTER

III.

SPANISH SCULPTURE.

OCULPTURE
find scarcely

did not occupy an equal or even

a proportionate position to painting in Spain.

We

any

traces of the culture of this

;

art, at least

and no marble or bronze work equal to the canvasses of

its

of

highest branch, statuary

Velasquez, Murillo, or Ribera, has ever been produced.

The Arabs

could teach the

Spaniards

nothing but architecture, as the Koran had pro-

nounced an anathema on sign, and even on music.

all

the other arts of dethe Arabs

It is true that

of Spain submitted to these restrictions less scru-

pulously than their Syrian brethren

but the lions

of the Alhambra, although merely fanciful creatures,

chimeras, monsters,
heretical offence.

etc.,

in reality

constituted an

Neither the Mussulmans of Africa

nor of Andalusia were ever allowed to

make any
to

but clumsy imitations of certain noxious animals,

such as
rats, scorpions,

and serpents, which were

SPANISH SCULP TUBE.

serve as talismans, amulets,

239 to drive
;

and scarecrow s,

the latter from dwelling-houses and mosques

so

that the Spaniards could receive no lessons from that quarter.

little

later,

when

the

Florentine,

Gherardo

Stamina, and the Fleming, Pierre de Champagne

(Pietro Campaiia), introduced the
first

examples of

the art

of painting into

Spain,

other foreigners

brought models of that of sculpture.

Among them
Bourgogne,
he was
court of dukes
for

was Filippo Vigarni,

doubtless because he

called Philippe de

came from the

Philippe-le-Hardi

or Jean sans-Peur,

more

likely a

Fleming than a Burgundian.

He

executed some important works

ones, such as pulpits

in the cathedrals

of Burgos and Toledo, but principally ornamented

and choir

seats.

Torregiano,

the rival of Michael Angelo in Italy, already mentioned,

was another of these

artists.

We

know

that after his quarrel with the illustrious pensioner

of Lorenzo Medici, he fled to Florence, enlisted as a

soldier,
artist,

gained the rank of ensign, again became an

to Flanders,

and travelled

England, and lastly

far as

to Spain,

where he penetrated as

Andalusia.

In 1520 he
for the

made

a celebrated statue of St. Jerome,

convent of Buenavista, near Seville, which

the Moses of Michael

Goya ranks higher even than

Angelo
;

and

at Seville, also,

he executed another


24C
statue, the

SPAXISH SCULP TUl.'E.

Madonna
holding the Infant Jesus, for a

for some unknown reason, by paying for it in maravedis, which were carried in sacks by two men. Torreglano at first thought he had received an immense sum but when he discovered that all this heap of copper money was not worth thirty gold ducats, he took a hammer and broke his statue. Incensed at

duke of Arcos, who,

insulted the sculptor

this offence against a

grandee of Spain, the duke

the Inquisition of impiety,

accused the

artist before

and the unfortunate Torregiano starved himself to

death
in

his

prison (1522).
is

One

of the hands of
is

the broken Virgin, which

very beautiful,

pre-

served at Seville.
it is

Resting on one of her breasts,

la teta,

called the

mano de

and has been reprocasts.

duced many times by copies or

Of

the Spanish artists

who went

to Italy, in the

Aragon and Charles V., to take lessons in all the arts, only two, Alonzo Berruguete and Jaspar Becerra, learnt and pracThe former (1480 tised the three arts of design. 1 561) was taught by Michael Angelo himself, and was invited to Rome by Pope Julius II., to assist
reigns of Ferdinand of
his
illustrious

master

in his

works of every kind.

1520, rich in

He

returned to his native land in

experience and talent, and was distinguished by

Charles V.,

who nominated him

his painter

and

SPANISH SCULPTURE.
sculptor de cdmara, and later, to honour
further,

241

him

still

appointed him to the

office

of

valet de

chambre.

After

this,

Berruguete was

intrusted

with some important commissions at Valladolid,

Toledo, and Granada.

At Toledo he
Our Saviour,

sculptured

the throne of the Primate-Archbishop, and executed

the

Transfiguration of
is

in

marble.

He

said to have given the emperor the design

for the

unfortunate and pretentious palace which

in

Charles V. had erected

the very heart of the

Alhambra, destroying part of the delicate moresque

structures to

make room

for

it

but this

is

a mis-

take

the architect of the unfinished palace was

Pedro de Machuca. Berruguete only worked at the details and ornamentation, in which he excelled

and even now,

to
it is

in spite

of the barbarous mutilations

still

which they have been and

are

subjected,

easy to see that they were of the finest taste

delicacy.

and the most exquisite

bas-reliefs

They

are chiefly

executed on plaques of marble of a

greyish violet colour, very hard to work, but very

pleasant to look at
;

and they do great

credit to

Berruguete,

who was always more

successful as a

sculptor than as a painter or an architect.

subjects are the triumphs of Charles V.,
to be

The who chose

Later we

represented as a nude

Hercules, with the

lion.

club and the skin of the

Nemaean

2-12

SPANISH SCULP TUBE.

XIV. as Apollo, with the rays and thc^ The emperor, however, was not content with lyre. the motto of the demi-god. The Ne plus ultra of the columns of Abila and Calpe seemed too modest
see Louis
for him,

and he changed
in

it

into

Phis

oultre,

which
the

was written

the French of the day on

all

decorations of his palace, and under his successors

became the Plus ultra of the coat of arms monarchy on which the sun never sets.
Caspar Becerra
>ably mentioned
(i

of that

520

1570), who

is

very favour-

by Vasari as the author of the on anatomy, published at Rome book drawings in a in 1554 by Doctor Juan de Valverde, and of two
anatomical statues highly esteemed
in

the schools,
II.
:

had scarcely returned to Spain

for

when

Philip

did

him what Charles V. did for Berruguete he him with several works in the old Alcazar at Madrid, and the new Pardo palace, and to mark his royal approval, nominated him his sculptor in
intrusted
1562,

and

his

painter in

1563.

Like Berruguete,

Becerra was a greater sculptor than painter.

Cean
pre-

Bermudez does not

ticular

hesitate to say that in this parall

he excelled

the Spanish artists

who

those

ceded him, and that he was surpassed by none of who succeeded him. His masterpiece is said

to be a statue of

Our Lady of

Solitude (Nuestra

Senora de

la

Soledad), which was ordered

by the


SPANISH SCULP TUBE.
Infanta
Philip
243

Dona

Isabella
in

de

la

Paz,

daughter of

II.,

and placed

the chapel of the convent

at

of

the

Brothers

Minimes*

Madrid.

Many-

miraculous tales \vere told of this statue and col-

by the monk, Fray Antonio de Arcos, in a book published expressly in 1640 but confining
lected
;

our criticism to
impossible
to

its

artistic

excellence alone,
this

it

is

deny that

statue,

in
all

which
vividly

tenderness, suffering, and resignation are

expressed,
in the

is

a work worthy of the greatest names

centuries.
II.

most famous

To

the age of Philip

and Charles V. belong

in

also the

two celebrated tombs erected

the reign

of the emperor and

by

his orders in the old chapel

royal {capilla real) of the

cathedral of Granada.

In one repose the Catholic sovereigns, Isabella of

Castille

and Ferdinand of Aragon, whose marriage

united the entire Peninsula in one monarchy, from

which Portugal was subsequently again separated

in

the other, their daughter, Juana la Loca (Joanna

the Crazy), and her husband, Philip the

of Austria, father

Handsome,
V.,

and mother of Charles

to

whom
of

their

combined inheritance gave the empire

Germany, with the Iberian kingdom and the Indies. These tombs are both sculptured in white

marble, and on each are statues of the famous pair

* Religious order of St. Francis

de Paula.

(Tr.)

244

SPANISH SCULPTURE.
inclose.

whose royal dust they

The

first is

a solid

socle or pedestal, the enlarged base of which gives

it

an appearance of strength and

is

solidity, whilst

the other

finer,

that the styles

more delicate, and elaborate, so of the two tombs correspond with

their

the

character

of

respective

tenants,

who

would seem
for the
last

to be resting on them, as beds of state, time.

Looking

at

these
it

fine

tombs

from an

artistic

point of view,

is

impossible to

avoid a mental comparison with those of Charles

the Bold and
at Bruges,

Mary

of

Burgundy

in

Notre

Dame

and again with those of the dukes of

Burgundy, Philip the Hardy and John the Fearless, which were transferred from the old Carthusian
convent of Dijon to the museum.
teresting to
It

would be

in-

draw a parallel between these six tombs, French, Flemish, and Spanish, made for princes of the same family, in the course of a century and a half For my part, I certainly prefer those at Granada to
;

those at Bruges

and those

at Dijon, at

which are the

most

ancient, to the

tombs

Granada.

For a

long time the last-named enjoyed the advantage of

standing in a vast and beautiful chapel, the walls,

pavement, and roof of which were entirely com-

posed of black stone, the

pilasters, voussoirs,

and

pendentives being marked out in fine gold

lines,

the white tombs alone standing out from the dark

SPANISH SCULP TUBE.

and solemn surroundings.

245

The

canons, however,
it

considered the chapel royal too gloomy, and had

whitewashed from top to bottom.

pavement,
colour,
all

The tombs,
all

roof,

and walls

are

now
in

of

one

equally bright,

and

the

universal

whiteness nothing stands out but the black cassocks

of the clergy.

At Granada another Spanish

who,
like

was born, Berruguete and Becerra, has been comartist

pared to Michael Angelo, because he cultivated

the three arts of design.
C^uno

His name was Alonzo

(1601 1617).

His father was a

art of his trade,

common
altars

carpenter,

who made an
call retables.

and was a

joiner {ensamblador) of those

huge decorated

which we
to
Seville

When Alonzo Cano went

his

and took up

abode amongst the

who founded the school of this Athens of Andalusia, he made up his mind to do something
masters

more than
father
;

learn to put a rotable together like his

fact,

in

to

compose one
and

entirely himself,
;

with

its its

columns, statues, and pictures

architect, sculptor,

to be at

once

painter.

This was

how he became
in sculpture

a threefold

artist.

He

took lessons

from a certain Juan Martinez Montailes,

;

but at once departed from his master's style

as
all his

and

works are remarkable

nobility of form,

for a simplicity of

attitude, a

and a good

taste in

24G

SPANISH SCULP TUBE.

arrangement unknown before him, we must conclude that he studied

in

preference the few statues

at Seville, in the
if

and Greek busts which were then

palace of the

Dukes

of Alcala, at least

we

sup-

pose that he mastered the antique without having

seen Italy.

About

1635,

Alonzo Cano erected the high

is

altar

of the church of Lebrija, which

beautiful works of the kind.

one of the most

statue of the

The

Virgin holding the Holy Child, which occupies the

central niche of the retable,
is

especially admirable.
all

His other sculptures, nearly

in

wood, are

dis-

tributed in different churches at Seville, Cordova,

Granada, and Madrid, where some

still

proudly shown.
taste with

of them are Alonzo Cano combined a

fastidious

a very hot

temper.

It

is

related of him, that being at the point of death, he

threw a crucifix which was offered to

clumsily carved, and
cross.

his lips in the

face of the officiating priest, because he thought

it

died

embracing a plain

wooden
It

may
in

extinct

be said that the art of statuary became Spain on the death of Alonzo Cano.

Its cultivation

was neglected, the

carving, even of

simple wooden ornaments, was discontinued, and

retable.

soon no one could be found able to set up a church The two great sisters had expired to-

SPANISH SCULP TUBE.

gether.

247
his

At

the

same time
as

that

Goya made
returned
the

unexpected
sculptor,

appearance

painter,

a young

who had
France,

doubtless just

from
justly

Italy or

suddenly

produced

famous group of Daoiz and Velarde (the two chief victims of the 2nd of May, 1808), which has been
kept ever since
Sola, the
in the

Mitseo del Rey.

group, died

Antonio
before

author of this

he

attained maturity.
least

No

one took up

his chisel, at

with

any
a

success,

and

at

the

Universal

Exhibition not

single Spanish

work obtained
of

any

distinction

in

the

open competition

the

sculptors of every nation.

There
which
allude
at

is,

however, a kind of scnlptnre

deserves
little

in

Spain

least

to

be mentioned.
in

We
paste,

to

the

figures

coloured

manufactured at Malaga, Granada, and Valencia.

This
style,

though small,

is

pleasing,

and
at

it

has

been practised

by some
is

true artists.

In one of the

rooms of the Academy of San Fernando

for instance, there
figures,

Madrid,
little

a long series of these

rather larger

than

usual,

being about a

quarter the size of

life,

which are of perfect workinto

fifty

manship.
groups,

They

are

divided
different
;

or sixty
of

representing

incidents

the

Massacre of

the Innocents

and

their author,

Juan

Gincs of Valencia, flourished

in the first half of the

248

SPANISH SOULPTUBE. The

;

present century.

details

of these groups are

is

of an infinite variety

the execution
;

strangely
fault,

and wonderfully powerful

it is

and

if

they have a

that they are too exactly copied from nature,

as the colours on
figures.

them make them look

prove,

like

wax

They

however,

that

Spanish

sculpture might have kept pace with the progress

of painting, had
after
it

not been so entirely neglected

his beautiful works.

Alonzo Cano produced

249

CHAPTER

IV.

GERMAN SCULPTURE.

OCULPTURE
*^
ditionally,

was

cultivated

even

less

in

Germany than in Spain during the Middle Ages. Indeed we may assert, almost unconthat

not

single

piece

of statuary

was contributed
artist

to the

common

until the present century.

of the Rhine to those of the

German From the banks Niemen we shall find

stock by a

no works of the

chisel but a few decorations of

no

particular style in the old Gothic cathedrals.

It is

but a popular legend which attributes the delicate

stone carvings, which adorn the tower of the wonderful cathedral of Strasburg, erected

by Erwin

of

Steinbach, to his daughter Sabina

history has preserved the

and although
architects

names
I

of

some
of

of the

same

age, such as

Puchspaum, author of the

Saint

Stephen of Vienna,
different in the

know

no other

sculptor besides this daughter of Erwin of Baden.

It

was

time of the Renaissance.

2cO

GERMAN SCULPTURE.
Germany then
practised their art
:

Sculptors from

even

in Italy, for

Vasari says explicitly

"

Nicolas

of Pisa surpassed the

Germans who worked with

artists,

him."

But these modest

simple artisans,

did not put their

names

to their works, so that the

Calvary of Spires and the copper Baptistery of

Saint

Sebald

at

Nuremberg,

are

by unknown
later, is

authors.

We

know, however, that the beautiful

fountain

of Nuremberg, erected rather

by

Sebald Schuffer, and that the long bas-reliefs of

the Passion in the

same town
Krafift.

are the

work of Hans
too,
is

Decker and
the beautiful

Adam
tomb

At Nuremberg,

of St. Sebald, which has justly

established the fame of Peter Vischer.

This tomb

combines a number of figures of

saints, apostles,

and
foot

angels, with

many

others which belong not to

history.
"

Christianity

but to

universal

At

the

of

St.

Sebald's

tomb,"

says

Woltmann,

"Vischer has grouped the heroes of Judaism and of

heathen antiquity
cradled
tritons,
in
;

children play with lions or are

;

the calyx of flowers

satyrs, the

a host of sirens,

and

entire ancient

mythology,

defile

before our eyes.

The whole

universe ad-

vances to render praise to the Saviour." Vischer

left his

Peter

own

portrait in the dress of a

;

work-

man amongst

these figures

and

it

must be remem-

bered that he lived very near the time of Albert

GERMAN 8CULFTURE.
Durer,
so that he

251

does not belong even

to

tne
art.

Renaissance, but to the golden age of

German

In the room leading to that devoted to French

statuary in
in

the

museum
room,

of

modern
account

sculpture

the

Louvre, which
the
foreign
it

might
on
of

appropriately be
of

called

the

variety of objects

contains,
art

a few small speci-

mens of German
the sixteenth

plastic

the

fifteenth to

century have been collected.

.''

Can

they be called sculpture

think not, for they do

relief,

not include one statue, one high

or one piece

of large proportions and grand style.

figures
in

All are

little

very low relief

Neither marble nor

else-

bronze are used, but materials not employed

where.

They

are rather carvings than sculptures,

is

and not one

accompanied by

its

author's name.

The

hung on the walls in the embrasures of the windows a Descent from the Cross, in yellow copper the Triwnph of Maximilian, delicately and carefully carved in wood the Repose in
following are
: ;
;

Egypt, after Albert Diirer, another tedious work,

cut in the hard calcareous stone called hone-stone
;

some armorial bearings

hard stone, the
aquafortis,
relief

slightly incised

on the same
This was a

being obtained by the use of

and afterwards coloured.

revival of the old process

which led to the discovery

of lithography.

252
It

GERMAN 8CULPTURK.

was the same during the age of the three schools of German painting at Nuremberg, Augsburg, and Dresden, represented by Albert Durer,
Holbein, and Lucas Kranach.
arose

Not a

single sculptor

capable
if

of

competing

with

these

great

masters, and

we wish

to find a piece of sculpture

their canvases,
like

worthy to be compared to
turn
to
artists of Italy,
artist.

we must

one of themselves, who,

aspired to

the great

becoming a universal
in

Albert Diirer executed sculptures

wood

and such are the grandeur of style and skill of workmanship, that they may be considered true works of art in spite of the unsuitablein ivory,

and

ness

of the

material

employed.

In

the
is

small
a
little

museum

at Carlsruhe, for instance, there

ivory group in high and low relief of three nude

females, which might be called the Three Graces,

only one of them

is

a dignified matron, and

on

the ground a fourth

is

woman, not

so well preserved,

distinguishable,

a round dance.

who is apparently taking part in The figures are not only correctly
full

proportioned, they are so

of graceful and pleas-

ing beauty, that

the celebrated
forgery
is

we are not surprised to discover monogram cut in relief also, so that

impossible

so

often traced on austere

paintings and powerful engravings.

Diirer has proved that vigour

Here Albert

was not the only

G Eli MA N SCULP TUBE.

characteristic of his masculine genius.

2'

With the
curiosity
it it

graver or brush

in

hand he was Dorian, ivory made

it

him

Ionian.

The name
the

bears, the

awakens, and
inspire,

admiration which

ought to

combine

to render this

group of inestimable
of the two

value.

To understand

the sudden decline

great sisters in Germany,

that there the Protestant religion, less

we have only to remember showy than

arts,

the Catholic,

checked the progress of the

whilst the terrible Thirty Years'

War {i6iS 1648),

with

its

attendant

ravages and desolation, soon

followed to complete their ruin and deal their deathblow.

In speaking of

German

sculpture,

as

of

painting,
interval

we must

therefore pass over the entire

between the three schools already men-

tioned, which

became

extinct with their founders,

at the

and the renaissance attempted

their followers.

beginning of

the present century by Overbeck, Cornelius, and

marble group of importance, and worthy

of

the notice of visitors for

many

reasons,

was placed

among
modern

the plaster casts of celebrated ancient and

statues at Frankfort-on-the-Main,

by one
still

of

richest bankers of that

commercial

city, in

which
be

the cradle of the Rothschild family

may

seen

in

the Judengasse (Jews' Street).

We

allude

l;54

GERMAN SCULPTURE.
Ariadne on
1

to

the.

Panther, signed, Danneckcr,

is

of

Stuttgart,
at least

8 14.

This Ariadne

very celebrated,

on the borders of the Rhine, from Mann-

heim- to Coblentz.
pride themselves on

The
its

hihabitants of Frankfort

possession,

and have treated

^^>-|il|i,i|g|ij|jl^.^j^li
Pli"i-

^^^iiilfiiiiiiii

iiiiiiiiiiiiiii

III!

III! II

mil

FiJ,^ 49.

Ariadne on the Panther.

By DaunecKer.

(Frankfort-on-the-Main.)

it

as the Neapolitans did the great mosaic of

Poma fine
repu-

peii,

reproducing

it,

as a national glory, in bronze,

in stag's horn.
it

plaster, ivory,

and even
I

It is
its

work, certainly, but

thinlc

far

beneath

GERMAN SCULP TUIIK.

tation.
1l\\q

255
imi-

Ariadne

which appears to be an
full

tation

of an

antique fresco, Nereis carried by a

length on the back of

Monster

is

stretched at

a panther,

or, rather,

chimera, for the mythological

is

animal which supports her

creature.

not a

known

living

Her

attitude

is

graceful and

pleasing,

although slightly distorted.

figure of the beloved of

The upper

part of the

Bacchus

not yet deserted,

and
not
the

but triumphant
limbs.

is

less

beautiful than the lower

The
;

legs are very fine, both in design

execution

the torso

is

also very good, but

to

equal to the legs

and the head appears

Ariadne
broad.
is

me

feeblest part of the group.

guilty of

the vulgar gesture called turning up the nose ; her

forehead

is

narrow,

her chin

The

artist

evidently intended to give her the antique shape,

the Greek type of face

in

but he has only succeeded

producing a cold and clumsy imitation.

is

The
too

studied style of coiffure

a failure also
is

it is

modern, too coquettish, nor

the

execution re-

markably
for

delicate.

We
we

need not go back to the

Dannecker's Ariadne

great age of the Donatellos and Michael Angel os

comparisons

find

iz.x

surpassed by the Magdaleiie and Terpsichore of his

immediate predecessor, Canova, and it is excelled by many later works bearing the names of Rauch, Schadow, Schwanthaler, Rietschel Kiss Drake,

256

GERMAN
etc.

."SCULPTURE.
its

Begas,

Nevertheless
If I

fame

is

justifiable,

and

easily explained.
its

were to be asked to state

merit,
I

chief

and most indisputable

Its

should

answer:

date,

1814.

After the
all

interminable
the arts
in
lay-

wars of the Empire, during which

dormant, Germany greeted their revival

this

Ariadne with as much joy and pride as

itself.

peace
the

It

was the glory of the

his

artist,

and

is still

honour of
sance.

work

to

have inaugurated

this renais-

The Belvedere

of Vienna possesses one of the

best productions of this

German
Fleece,

revival, the

Jason

carrying away the Goldeji

by Joseph Kaeschmann, executed at Rome in 1829, in the more graceful than powerful style of the Canovas and
Thorwaldsens.

Amongst

the

monstrosities

sur-

rounding

it,

this

Jason appears an incomparable

masterpiece.

At

the

same

time, but at Berlin, Christian

Rauch

(1777 1857) not only opened

a school.

a studio, he founded
at

The work which placed him

all

once at
is

the head of

the sculptors of Germany,

the

tomb
tiful

at Charlottenburg, of Louisa, called the beau-

queen, wife of Frederick William

his

III.,

and

mother of the present king and

he

predecessor.

Rauch represented her reposing on her tomb, and

made another

statue of her on foot for Potsdam.

Fig. 50.

Bronze monument erected to the memory of Frederick the

Great.

By

Christian Ranch.

(Berlin.)

GERMAN SCULP TUHE.

This queen was his benefactress
;

257

she removed

him to Rome, where he made rapid progress

under the
enlightened guidance of

from the obscurity of the palace, and sent

in

him

his art

the

learned

William von Humboldt.

On

his return to Prussia,

Ranch devoted a long life to the production of a number of great works, mostly portraits. The best
of these numerous statues and busts are, the bronze
statues

of

Generals

Scharnorst,

Bulow, Yorck,
at

Blucher, of

King Maximilian of Bavaria

at

Munich,
at

of Luther

Wittemberg, of Albert Diirer

Victories in
his

Nuremberg, and six marble

halla, etc.

But the chief work of

Walwhole life was

the
1851,
in

the magnificent bronze

monument
in

erected to the

memory

of Frederick the Great,

the

grand square (Unter den Linden) of Berlin.

base of the pedestal, which
is

The

is

twenty-five feet high,

surrounded by the chief characters of Frederick's

reign, including

men

of letters, such as

Kant and

Lessing, as well as warriors, like Ziethen and the

Prince of Anhalt-Dessau

whilst the king himself,

on horseback, seems to tower above the city which

owes

its

pre-eminence to him, and over the whole

trnt:

of that mighty monarchy of which he was the

founder.

We
it

said that Christian

5tiU exists, carried

Rauch founded a school on by his pupils, amongst

:

>58

GERMAiJ SCULP'lUliE
Kiss

whom Augustus
of the

and Frederic

Drake

are

especially distinguished.

The

latter

is

the author

charming

high-reliefs

which embellish the

pedestal of the statue of Frederick William III in

llinili!iliiilinwilliil!llltlll!l*lkffillWNRiM

Fig.

The Amazon, 51.

by Aug. Kisa

(Berlin.)

the

T/iiergarten of Berlin,

and the former of the

of the
full

Amazon on horseback
in

attacked by a lioness, placed

front

of the
is

peristyle

museum
and

This
life.

bronze group

splendid,

of action

GERMAN SCULPTURE.
The warrior-maiden
desert,

?59

of the Thermodon, excited by;

anger rather than by terror

the

queen of the
horrible

chnging to the horse's neck with teeth and

the horse, quivering beneath her
all

claws

embrace, are

most powerfully rendered, and

Fig. 52.

Goethe and

Schiller.

form an admirable whole.

We
!

are

tempted to

address the horse as the Greek poet did that of

Lysippus

"

What

a grand head

what flames are

emitted from his nostrils!

If the rider touch

him

260

(iKUMAN SCULPTURE.

with his heels, he will carry him onwards, for the

bronze
to find

lives."

(Grec. Anthol.)
fault

venture, however,
I

one

with this beautiful statue.

do

not approve of the rough locks worn

beneath her
face with

Phrygian cap.

by the heroine They surround her

the

a kind of aureola, which

material

renders

stiff

and

heavy, and

they give her the

ser-

appearance of a Gorgon with the headdress of

pents.

Unfortunately an early death prevented Kiss

from making a companion statue to his Amazon.

After the Prussian Ranch, Ernest Rietschel,
a

Saxon (1804
sculpture.

86i),

took

the

lead

in

Germa

Amongst
him
:

others, the

following works

are ascribed to

a line group of the

Madonna

adoring Iut Dead Son, which the Italians called a

Pieta
;

the marble statues of the four great sculpin

tors of Greece, placed

;

the facade of the

new

museum of Dresden and

in 1857,

the beautiful bronze group

of Goethe and Schiller, which

was

cast at Munich,

platz

by Herr Miillcr, and now adorns the Theate?-Whilst preserving the approat Weimar.
express the
till

priate character of each of the illustrious friends,

Rietschel has endeavoured to

warm
death,

and

tender affection

which united them

and which nothing, not even their success and fame, The great minds of both poets were could alter.
above jealousy.

GEBMAX SCULPTURE.
The
reputation of
in

261

German sculpture is worthily own day by Herr Frederick Drake, who gained a valuable prize at the Universal Exhibition, and by Herr Reinhold Begas, who would
sustained

our

certainly have been successful

had he competed.

Dane Thorwaldsen (Albert Bartholomew, 1770 1844), as we cannot

Wii
will

now speak

of the

devote a chapter to one man.

He was

the con-

temporary and

rival of

Canova, and they are justly

classed together as the

period, including the

two great sculptors of the

last

end of the

century and
in Italy,

the beginning of the present.

Educated

whither he was enabled to go by a drawing prize

awarded
of their
style, the

to

him,

studying the same models as

Canova, with the same opinions on the practice

art,

and forming himself

artist

after the

same
the
pre-

Danish

necessarily resembled the

also,

Venetian.

Thorwaldsen,

counteracted
Italian
art,

influence of Michael
ferring, like

Angelo on

Canova, grace to power, and delicacy

avoiding, like his rival, the affec-

of execution to boldness and originality of thought,

at the

same time

tation of Bernini.

When
Many

still

young, he became

known by
production

a colossal statue of Jason bringing others followed this

at

home
first

the Golden Fleece.

:

a colossal

Mars, v/hich

once became

famous

an Adonis, which Canova himself called

262

GERMAN SCULPTURE.
masterpiece
;

the

Graces,

the

Muses,
for

Venus,

Apollo,

Mercury ,

then a j\Iadon7ia

Naples,

Christ

and

the

Twelve Apostles

for the cathedral of

at

Copenhagen, the equestrian statue of Poniatowski Warsaw, that of Gutenberg at Mayence, etc.
bas-reliefs as
relief

Thorwaldsen was as successful with

with works in
full

great

many by him
and
1

have been reproduced

in casts or engravings,

GERMAN SCULPTURE.
Thorwaldscn devoted part of
the foundation of a
his

263

large fortune to

museum

at

Copenhagen.

This

building bears his name, and contains a considerable

number

of the diverse works which rendered

him

illustrious.

264

CHAPTER

V.

FLEMISH SCULPTURE.

WE
useless,

gave the name of the Painting of the

Lozv Countries to the
sister

schools

of

Flanders and Holland, looking upon them as two

manifestations of one

grand

style.

It

would be
title for
little

however, to try .and find a

common

the two schools of sculpture, which was but

and very
not
at

indififerently cultivated in
all

Flanders, and

in

Holland.

Possessing

no marble
stone,

quarries,

no copper-mines, not

even

and

drawing her very timber supplies from

abroad,

Holland appears from the

an
art
for

first

to have renounced

which

nature

had

denied

her

the

materials.

No

sculptor rivalled Lucas van Leyden,

Potter, nor

Rembrandt, and Paul

Chevalier

were there any

or marble

statuettes or carvings equal to the porcelain of the

Van

der Werff

The bronze

statues in the public squares,

museums, or town-halls
artists,

of certain

Dutch towns, are the work of foreign

so that

we have only

to treat of Flemish sculoture.

FLEMISH SCULPTURE.
It is at

265

Bruges, the town rendered illustrious by

the. brothers

Hemling and

Van Eyck,

that

we

find

not merely the best but the only proofs that the art
of sculpture was practised in Flanders at the

same
oil-

time as that of painting.

Whilst Jan

Van Eyck

was inventing and teaching the process of

painting,

some

artist

fellow-countrymen were work-

ing

in

wood, marble, and bronze.

On
is

entering the
at

church of Notre Dame, the visitor

once con-

ducted to the celebrated tombs of Charles the Bold

and

his daughter,

Mary

of Burgundy, from which

the movable planking

is lifted

with great care and

ceremony.

These two tombs are simply black

on which repose
effigies in gilt copper. in

marble
Charles

slabs,
is

warlike costume, wearing a beautifully

chased

suit of

armour, the ducal crown, and the

badge of the Golden Fleece

founded at Bruges
in

an

order of chivalry

1429 by

his father, Philip the

Good, the collation of the insignia of which has

been divided between the king of Spain and the

emperor of Austria since the death of Charles V. The duke's helmet and gauntlets lie beside him,

and

his feet rest

on a

lion.

Round

the frieze are

arranged the coats of arms of his different dominions

;

on the sides of the

slab, those of his con-

temporary sovereigns, of the emperor, kings, dukes,

counts,

crowned

prelates, etc.,

and on the surface

is

266

FLEMISH SCULPTURE.
this enterprising

engraved the motto of

and per-

severing prince, Je I'ay ampris, bien en aviengne.

It

the words pronounced

would have been well to inscribe on his tomb by Duke Rene of Lorraine
the corpse of Charles was found after the

when

battle of

Nancy
of

Voire dine ait Dieu, bean cousin,

car vons avez fait moult

manx
rests

et doulenrs.

The
is

head of

Mary
feet

Burgundy

on a large cushion,

and her

on two small lapdogs.

Her

statue

chiefly remarkable for the delicate carving of the

draperies and clothes.

twenty-five, from
a
fall

Mary

died, as

we know,

at

from her horse, and her

tomb, made several years before that of her father,

is

the better of the two.

copper, and the
little

The branches
angels of the

of the trees

in

same metal
all

which support the armorial bearings

ments,
in fact

are of the most delicate execution.

this

the orna-

But although

tomb

of

Mary

of

Burgundy

may
we

surpass those of her son, Philip the Good, and

oi her daughter-in-law, Joanna the Crazy, which

noticed in the cathedral of Granada,

it

is

by

no means equal to those of her ancestors, John the

Fearless and Philip the Hardy,

Dukes
the

of Burgundy,

now

in

the

museum

of Dijon.

All the details of

pointed
arches

these

Lilliputian

buildings,

three feet high, the cloisters, in which pace figures

fifteen inches long, the pinnacles, the little angels,

o 3

C
C-

o 3

FLEMISH SCULPTURE.

267

the marble and alabaster lacework, are remarkable,

not only for exquisite finish and perfection of work-

manship, but also for elegance of design, harmony

of proportions,

and suitable arrangements.

is,

The
are

statuettes of the mourners, that

of the praying
palace,

monks and weeping

really wonderful.

officers

of

the

There are eighty small

is

figures,

each of which taken alone

little

masterpiece,

and seen together,

their

beauty and excellence are

enhanced by contrast.
ordinary variety, are
all all

The

attitudes,

of extra-

natural, the

expressions

true and

full

of feeling, whilst the style of the

heads, the

fall

of the draperies, and the delicacy of

all

the execution, surpass

that

we should have
will

ex-

pected from the age in which they were produced.

These tombs, the

Goujon,
relics

details of

which

bear com-

parison with the bas-reliefs of Ghiberti and of Jean

may

well be considered the

most precious

of

the period

immediately preceding the

great Renaissance.
I

mention them here because they are connected

art.

with Flemish

The
Claux

first

named, that of Philip

is

the Hardy, finished in 1404,

the work of three

assisted

Flemish

artists,

Sluter,

by

his

nephew, Claux de Vou.sonne, and by Jacques de

Baerz,
all

three image-makers to the

duke of Burwas erected

gundy.

The tomb

of Jolin the Fearless

268

FLEMISH SCULPTURE.
by a Spanish
artist,

forty years later

Juan de

la

Huerta, a native of Daroca in Aragon,

who was

aided by two Burgundian artisans, Jehan de Drogues

and Antoine Lemouturier.

Charles and

could not find out at

the tombs of
for-

Bruges who were the authors of

Mary

their

names are probably

gotten there now.

We
Palais
juries

must not leave Bruges without

de Justice.
delibe
;.!e
is

visiting the

In

the

room

in

which

the

the famous chimneypiece of

is

carved and sculptured wood, of which the cast

the Louvre.
this

in

There

is

a
is

legend connected with

said

chimneypiece.

It

that
to

certain

Hermann Glosencamp, condemned I know not what misdeed, asked

produce one
last

death for

permission to

specimen of

his handicraft.

He

was a wood-carver.

With the

aid of his dausfhter

he undertook this famous mantelpiece, which saved

him from the gallows, and gained his full pardon. The statues which embellish it are nearly the size
of
life.

In the centre

is

Charles V., on foot and

in

armour, holding a naked sword in one hand and

the globe in the other.

On
;

the right are his great-

grandfather, Charles the Bold,

and Margaret of
left,

England,
parents,

his

third wife

on the

his

grand-

Mary

of

Burgundy and Maximilian of

Cupids, armorial
bearings,

Austria.

Spirits,

and

FLEMISH hCVLP'lUBE.
different

209

fill up the spaces between these and complete the general decoration above the frieze of the chimneypiece, which latter represents the history of Susannah in very low alabaster bas-reliefs, and is by a certain Guyot de

ornaments

five statues,

Beaugrant.

It

would be

difficult to

excel the good

taste of the arrangements

and the beauty of the

workmanship of
to

this masterpiece.

No

artist,

even

save his head, could have

I

done better than

careful not to say

Hermann Glosencamp.
the art of

am

cou/d do better, for the art of sculpturing in wood,

Germany

as well as of Spain, of the

is

North

as well as of the South,

almost
it

lost

and when

we look
reeret
is

at the fine

works
it

has produced, our

increased that

should hav^e been so

completely abandoned.

Between
I

this

age and the beginning of our own

find

no other Flemish work to mention worthy

of being classed

amongst the wonders of sculpture, and Rubens, Vandyck, and Teniers had no sculpIn our tors to rival them more than Rembrandt. own day Messrs. Gallait, Leys, and others, are considered the renovators of painting, as these artists

were formerly
Geefs, Fiers,

and with them we must

class Messrs.

Sopers, and Wiener, who are equally

eminent and successful revivers of sculpture.

270

CHAPTER

VI.

ENGLISH SCULPTURE.

THE

first

British

thing we see when we enter the Museum, to visit the basalt and por-

phyry images of Egypt, the alabaster slabs of

Assyria, and the marbles of Halicarnassus and the

Parthenon,

is

the pediment of the

modern
fifteen

building,

which contains from twelve to

figures, the

allegorical

work of the most celebrated sculptor

Sir

of

England,

Richard

Westmacott.

Taken

separately, these marble statues are not without

a certain merit, for they are finely and carefully

executed

more

so,

indeed, than the point of view

requires, as they can only be seen

at a distance.

from below and

in

But as a whole they are wanting

harmony, grace, and dignity, and a more striking

and unpardonable defect
subject they represent
If the
is

the pretension of the

the Progress of Civilization. English had chosen this subject for the chief

entrance of the docks of London, the naval arsenal

ENGLISH SCULPTUBE.
at

271

Woolwich, the observatory of Greenwich, or the

these places
that

northern railway, nothing could have been more

suitable,
for
it

is

in

they can

prove the superiority of the present over the past,

and the continuous progress of mankind

retical

in

theoarts,

and
is

practical

science
gift

but
artist

in

the

talent

an individual

an

cannot transsoul.

mit his talent at his death any more than his

And

does modern London hope to have excelled

?

ancient Greece

A strange
the

mode

surely of proving

the progress of civilization, to place English and

Grecian art
parison

in

juxtaposition
brick

to

challenge comof
Sir

between

architecture

Robert Smirke and the marble buildings of Ictinus

and
In

Callicrates

between
in

this

tympanum by

Sir

Richard Westmacott and the pediments of Pheidias!

my

brief review,

a former work,

of the

richest collections in

London, including the national

sculpture.
is

museum,
to find

my

readers were doubtless surprised not

a word on
"

But what can be

said

.''

Where

there

nothing," says the popular

proverb, " the king loses his rights," and so does

criticism.

Except

for

an inferior marble statue of

the painter, David Wilkie, the National Gallery contains as yet nothing but pictures
;

and

have met

with no single work worth mentioning by a native

sculptor
in

any public or private

collection

or


272

ENGLISH SCULF'IUBE.
It is

drawing-room.
parks,

the

same
I

in

the public gardens,

and

squares.

Could

write a description

of the bronze equestrian statue

of the

Duke

of

Wellington, erected
residence,

in

Piccadilly in front

of his

and opposite that other grotesque statue

perfectly

representing this illustrious statesman and warrior

on foot as a Fighting Achilles, which

is

nude and perfectly black

is

.''

The
;

equestrian statue
that
is

seen in

profile,

not full-face

to say,

it is

placed sideways on the miserable triumphal arch

which serves as a pedestal, and

it

most resembles
it

Punch mounted on Balaam's

to
if

ass

at least so
On
the

has

been caricatured by the witty Charivari of London,

whose pages
I

it

properly belongs.

the whole,

am

not

mistaken

and

few pieces of
this

London appear to confirm the English work with good taste and
statuary in
in second-rate styles.

view

real success

In painting they excel in

;

water-colours, either cabinet-pictures or portraits

in engraving,
in

mezzotinto,

copperplate,

or

the

Keepsake

in sculpture, in

bust portraits.

In the

true national

museum

of sculpture, Westminster

Abbey, we

shall find this last assertion justified.

In the chapel of

Henry
in

VII.,

the

largest

and

most profusely decorated

installed,

the old monastery of

the west, where the knights of the Bath are

now
of

we

find the

best and

earliest

piece

ENGLISH SCULPTURE.

273

sculpture which England can pride herself on possessing

tomb of the founder of the chapel. It is the work of the celebrated Florentine, Pietro Torregiano, whose tragic history we have already

the

related.

On

the tomb, which

is

of black basalt,

covered with various ornaments and surrounded by a rich and massive chantry of cast brass, recline
the effigies of

Henry VII. and

his queen, Elizabeth.

We

will

not

attempt to review thoroughly

the

other

ten

or twelve

chapels of the abbey, but

briefly notice the principal tombs, not according to

their positions, but according to the rank occupied

in the

world by the

illustrious

dead whose ashes

they cover.

First, then,

royal personages.
beth,

we will complete the list of Here we find the great Eliza-

whose marble statue immortalises the round eyes and hooked nose, the cold, imperious, and
haughty

manner

characteristic

of

the

maiden

queen

Mary
and

Stuart,
frail

more
;

beautiful,

lovable,

more

Edward

V.

more and his

II.,

brother Richard,

both assassinated;

Charles

the restored monarch, not far from the instrument

of his restoration. General

called to the throne
his wife,

Monk
;

William

III.,
;

by the glorious Revolution Queen Anne and, lastly, George II., who prepared his own grave in the vault of Henry VI I. 's chapel.

Mary

274

ENGLISH SCULPTURE.
is

Westminster, however,
of England,
it is

not only the

St.

Denis

also the Pantheon.

All the

men

who have rendered

or

great services to their country,

whose works have made them illustrious, share the honour and the fame of those whom accident
or birth called to the throne.
warriors amongst

There are but few

look in vain for the

them

we

Black Prince, Talbot, Marlborough

in St. Paul's,

Nelson

rests

almost alone.
officers

Westminster contains
in action

more simple

who

died

than great

naval or military commanders.

Near the gorgeous

monument
elegant

to Captain

bas-relief

sea-piece
rest

James Cornewall, with its beneath a pyramid

General
Wolfe,
Field-

shaded
one
Paoli,

by

palms,

marshal Lord Ligonier, and Major Andre,* with

foreigner,

the

Corsican

chief

Pasquale

de

who was

hospitably received by the English

even

in their national temple.

The
I

statesmen,

who were more numerous

in

England, are also better represented

shall not

in the abbey.

enumerate the eminent

politicians of the

Tudors and Stuarts, but pass on

to those of our

own age

Lord Mansfield, whose magnificent mausoleum was erected in 1805 by

: ;

Lord Stanhope

* This Major Andre was unjustly shot as a spy by the Americanr., on October 2nd, 1780. A monument was erected to him in the Abbey, but he was not buried there, as M. Viardot implies. (Tr.)

ENGLISH SCULPTURE.
Fiaxman,
the

275

great

illustrator

of

Homer and
;

Dante
two

the earl of Chatham, father of Pitt

rivals,

the

illustrious
;

William
;

Pitt

and Charles
George
the forerunner

Fox

the

orator

Grattan

and,

lastly,

Canning, the successor of

of Robert Peel.

Fox and

to

Amongst these numerous men little known beyond

sepulchral

monuments

the Channel, there are

of

some commemorating names

celebrity, before

more European

which the foreigner pauses with

greater respect.

antiquary

Sir

Such are Camden, the learned Godfrey Kneller, who was court
II. to

painter under five kings, from Charles

I.,

George

and who

filled

the mansions of Great Britain

with historic portraits ;* the chemist, Sir

Humphry
not,
its
it

Davy, to

whom

trade
;

and philanthropy owe as

is

much

as science

James Watt, who did

but
;

true, invent steam,

who

controlled

power

and regulated

its

use

William Wilberforce, a good

man and

true philanthropist,

separated from Howard,

and, lastly, the

who ought not to be who rests in St. Paul's

Isaac

great

Sir

Newton, whose

* More modem painters, such as Sir Joshua Reynolds, Benjamin West, Sir Thomas Lawrence, and David Wilkie, are buried in the

vaults of St. Paul's.

In the centre of the

it,

same building
is true,
it
:

rests also

under a plain slab it the following magnificent sentence engraved upon tnonununtum, circums/>ki.^'
the architect

who designed

but with
rei/uiris

^'

Si

276

ENGLISH SCULPTUBE.
like the

tomb,

sanctuary of God, should be, not

in

building, not in a country, but in the universe, the

laws of which he recognised and laid down.

On examining

his statue,

which

is

a fine work by

Scheemakers, we are struck by his resemblance to

another great worker
of
a

wide views

Michael
certainly,

Angelo.
for his

Newton was
his

handsomer man,
in

nose was not broken

;

his

youth by a

choleric rival

face,
all

too,

is
I

gentler and

more

thoughtful

but for

that,

repeat, the resem-

blance

is

striking in the general outline of the head,

in the lines of the face, in the features, in the entire

appearance.

Beneath the statue of Newton are

taiiUimque

inscribed the true and beautiful words, Sibi gratu-

lenUir

nwrtales

talc

extitisse

;*

and

lower down, Hiimani generis decus.^

of the Pajitheon of England which delightful and suggestive was the most found
part
transept,

The

south

or

Poets'

Corner.

Before

the

effigies of

kings or politicians
;

we experience

a mere

cold curiosity

but

in this silent funereal

academy,

amongst the men whose memory will live for ever, and who still speak to us in their works, heart and mind alike burn within us we seem to be in the actual presence of the imposing assembly, and
;

Lei mortals rejoice that such a great genius

otice existed.

Honour of the human

rcue.

ENGLISH SCULPTURE.

211

under the scrutiny of these acknowledged masters,

whom we

admire, reverence, and love.

all

There,

in

narrow space, are collected nearly

the writers

who have rendered

of

the rich and powerful literature

England
at

illustrious,

and with

whom we

are

familiar through the lab')urs of our translators

critics

and

least:

old

Ben Joason, Chaucer,

\V.

called

the Eiinius of England, Spenser, William Shakespear,

John Milton, Thomas Gray, Butler,

Con-

greve.

Mason, Gay, Wyatt, Isaac Casaubon, Dryden,

Pope, Addison, Oliver Goldsmith, Rowe, Thomson,

Sheridan.
ing,

We

regret the absence of Swift, Field;

Sterne,

Hume, and Richardson

modern

but of the

greatest authors four only are missing, two belong-

ing to past ages and two to

times.
friar,

The
and

former are Roger Bacon, the learned

Francis
Britain,

Bacon, Lord High

Chancellor of Great

and the

still

greater author of the Instau-

ratio

Magna; and
I

the latter, Byron and

that

Walter
for

Scott.

believe

a place

is

reserved

Macaulay.*

The
quite

sepulchre of the illustrious author oi Parais

dise Lost

not worthv of him

to

the

little

tomb
great
of the
and Tr.

close

the
it

door

is

shabby

for

so

a name.

Can

be
now

that the reputation

tilled,

* Macaulay's place

is

and

tl

names of

I'liaekeray

Charles Dickens must be added to

this

list

of illustrious authors.

278

ENGLISH SCULPTURE.
injured

republican pamphleteer has

Scriptural poet
?

that

of
is

the

The

great Shakespear
is

more
work
length

suitably treated.

His tomb
is

a remarkable
full

by Scheemakers, and he
figures.

represented at

on a pedestal decorated with symbols and allegorical

There

is

a natural nobility about this statue,

stiffness,
full,

without any theatrical

to

but the face appears

me

too round, too

too smooth.

We

could

wish the immortal dramatic poet to have the long,

grave,

and thoughtful countenance of

his

engraved

portraits.

At Shakespear's
marble,
lies

feet,

beneath a simple

slab of black

Sheridan,

who might

have had a statue amongst those of the statesmen,

had he not preferred

to

remain with the authors

little,

and opposite, a man who wrote

Shakespear

but was a

comedian, and doubtless a greater comedian than

David

Garrick.

His presence here

might be taken as a proof of the tolerance of English

churchmen, so often denied, did we not remember
that the choir alone of the old

Roman

Catholic
of

church

is

consecrated

to
is

the dominant form

worship, whilst the rest

but a secular building.

Amongst
Paoli,

the warriors the

we found
of

the Corsican the

amongst

men

letters

Swiss

Casaubon, and

now, in the Poets' Corner,

we meet

with another foreigner, a great poet, truly, although

he did not write

in

English, or

in

any spoken

ENGLISH SCULPTURE.
tongue,

279

but

in

that

universal

language

called

music

we
their

refer to the

Saxon, George Frederick

Handel.
retain

Grateful to this fine genius, the English

reverence for his

name and
in

works,

many
his

of

them innocently imagining, on account of

London, that he
Handel's monutheir

long residence and death

was actually

countryman.
is

ment, by Roubiliac,

fantastical

and

theatrical.

In a kind of niche, or marble cabinet, the

German

composer stands beside a

table,

on which are spread

musical books and instruments, amongst others a

horn, doubtless to indicate that he introduced the

brass

instruments of his time into the orchestra.

greatest
fault

The
done
I

of

the
;

statue

is,

think,

the lowness of the forehead

justice to the massive

the sculptor has not

his

head of

model

and
I

am

justified in this criticism,

I

not because

am
his

a phrenologist, but because

portrait of Handel,
in

have seen an authentic

which the vivacity of

somewhat whimsical humour, the energy of his determined disposition, and the fire of his prolific
creative genius are all clearly rendered.
If,

now,

instead

of noticing

the

fame of the
of art only,
of

celebrities

admitted to Westminster Abbey, we

v.'orks

were to consider the tombs as

we should have
remarkable
far

little

to

say.

Some

them

are

size rather than grandeur, for

odd

280

ENGLISH SCULPTURE.
The
best are

fancies rather than true originality.

the simplest, such as statues and busts, but none of

them appear to us
nico at

to bear

comparison with the tombs

of the Medici at Florence, of Paul III. or Rezzo-

Rome, of Turenne

at Paris, or of

Marshal

Saxe

at Strasburg.

We

have already mentioned

:

the principal

monuments Henry VII. by Torregiano

of Newton,
;

of the ancient, that of

;

of the modern, those

of Lord Mansfield,
wall,

by Flaxman, of Captain Corneand of Shakespear by Scheestatue of

makers and to them we must add the Watt by Chantrey, which is said to be
likeness.

a perfect

There

are,

however, two other tombs,

if

both of women, which deserve mention,

account of the fame which they enjoy.
of Elizabeth Warren, represents a

only on

One, that
girl,

young

half

nude,

in

the semi-recumbent position of the

dalene of Canova.*

This figure appears

is

Magto me
g-ar-

well studied, happily rendered, but what

perhaps

most admired
be counted

is

the imitation in marble of a

cloth,

ment of coarse

of which the threads

may

a
is

childish fancy, reminding us of the

Christ beneath the sJirond and the Fish in the net in

*

This figure

not intended

to

represent

Elizabeth

Warren

herself, as the text implies,

but a houseless wanderer, with an infant

Elizabeth Warren was the widow of the Right Rev. in her arms. John WaiTcn, D.D., Lord Bishop of Bangor, and was remarkable
for her benevolence.-

(Trans.)

ENGLISH SCULPTUBE.
the San Severe Chapel at Naples.

281
for the other

As

tomb,

failed to

discover either the

name
it

of the
is

sculptor or that of the person to

cated,
for

whom

dedi-

the

guides at Westminster hurry the

visitor past the

tombs,

much

as

Sancho Panza's
All

doctor did the dishes at the governor's table.

that
to
I

could

make

out was that

it

had something
in

do with a lady who was shut up so long

dungeon that she died on again seeing the daylight,

when her husband came

is

to rescue her.

This

scene

represented on the upper part of the

monu-

ment

beneath, lean Death, coming through the

half-open door, turns back and touches the expiring

captive with his scythe.*
It is

a strange, theatrical,
in

and pretentious composition,

*

the style
to a

of the
to the

We

presume that M. Viardot alludes

monument

memory of Joseph Gascoigne Nightingale and

his wife, in the chapel

of St. John, St. Michael, and St. Andrew, by Roubiliac, described in the verger's guide-book in the following words: "The lady is

represented expiring in the arms of her husband

beneath,

slily

creeping from n tomb, the King of Terrors presents his grim visage, pointing his unerring dart to the dying figure, at which sight the

husband, suddenly struck with astonishment, horror, and despair, seems to cla^p her to his bosom to defend her from the fatal stroke.
Inscription
:

Here rest the ashes of Joseph Gascoigne

in the

Nightingale,

of

Mamhead,

county of Devon, Esq.,

;

aged 56, and of I.ady Elizabeth, his wife of Washington, Earl Ferrers, who died August 17, 1734, aged Their only son, Washington Gascoigne Nightingale, twenty-seven. Esq., in memory of tiieir virtues, did by his last will order this

died July 20, 1752, daughter, and co-heiress

who

monument

to be erected."'

(Trans.)

282

EXGLISn SCULPTUJiE.

mausoleum of Maria Christina of Austria, erected

by Canova in the church of the Augustines Vienna but we must acknowledge that some
;

at of

the details are very finely executed.

The

skeleton

of Death, for instance,

the action
is

is

powerfully rendered and

the shades
it

good.
in

When

of night

begin to gather

the spacious aisles

must form

an appalling apparition.
English sculpture sent no choice work to the
Universal Exhibition, and only gained one insignificant distinction.

An
a

Italian artist,

educated
high

in

France,

Baron

Marochetti,

long held

and

undisputed

rank as

sculptor in

London, but

death has lately removed him from the country of

his adoption.

288

CHAPTER

VII.

FRENCH SCULPTURE.

WE
in

have already remarked that even

in Italy,

throughout the true Middle

Age

(from the

fourth to the eleventh centuries), there

was a long
France

pause, during which the arts were almost entirely

abeyance.

In

Gaul,

which

became

under Clovis, bad taste and

universal, mechanical

ignorance were so

and

intellectual

power so en-

tirely wanting, that, as

we

are told

Pepin the Short, Charlemagne, and Louis

by M. Menard, le Debon-

naire used antique engraved stones for seals, and

signed the decrees of their reigns with the impression of a Jupiter, a Cupid, or a
It

Marcus Aurelius.

was during the Crusades, at Constantinople and Antioch, that eastern and western art were
first

brought into contact, and the result was a

in

kind of faint revival

the Middle

Ages

of ancient

284

FRENCH SCULP TUBE.

;

Grecian art
style

for

it

may

be said that the Byzantine

was the old Grecian, coloured and modified

ideas of the East, of Persia especially,
arts

by the
those

which

subsequently

became

by Arab

architecture and decoration.

At
in

the beginning of the eleventh century,

when

the terrible year looo had passed away, and belief

the world's continued existence was restored, the

art of sculpture

and that of staining glass appeared

together in France.

The
in

influence of the Crusades

was naturally seen

of
all

religious buildings,

and

first

in

the

imitation

of

Byzantine paintings.
this imitation
is

According to M. Viollet-le-Duc,

most evident
remote age of
Vezelai
in

in

the sculptures belonging

to the

St.

Bernard, in the abbey church of

in

Burgundy,

which he
little,

preached the

second crusade.
art freed itself
its

Little

by

however, Gothic
it

from the tutelage to which

Christ,

owed
and
the

birth.

The Byzantine
men, soon

blessing

judging

became no more than

Crucified ; the glorified Virgin, crushing the serpent,

and resting her

foot

on the crescent of the moon,

was transformed

into the

Madonna, mother of the

Holy The monks

Child.

of Cluny, whose order was founded

by

St.

Bernon as early as the end of the ninth

not

century, were

only

better scholars, but also

FEElJdH SCULPTURE.
better
artists

285
institutions.
friars of

than

those

of

other

Stonemasons worked under the abbots or

this order
skilful of these artisans

who had studied architecture, and the more

became
carvers of images,

and were intrusted with the most important and

delicate works.

They made
;

the statues, or the heads

and hands of the statues

their

but they did not give

names there was no Pheidias, no Praxiteles, amongst them. " Their figures," says M. Taine,
"

are destitute of beauty, thin, attenuated, mortified,

;

and suffering

motionless
frail

in

expectation or

and impassioned to live, they are already promised to heaven." And yet strict judges found fault with them. Gregory VII.
rapture, they are too

and
in

St.

Bernard condemned the license indulged

art.

by the nascent
to
all

They were
\'irtuous,

hostile to all

beauty,
saints

shape.

not

beautiful

were required, with nothing about them to

eye or the mind, or to excite earthly
Shoulders and hips were not to be repre-

distract the
love.

was forbidden, the hands must be folded in the attitude of prayer and meditation. In these images, whether of the elect or the
sented, action

condemned, of angels or of
generally obtained
grimaces.
"

devils,

expression was

by means of contortions and The whole period called Gothic," says M. Menard, "was divided between two equally


286

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
extremes

vicious

absolute

rigidity or

degrading

mannerism."

We

must here remark that the Greeks aspired

the true and beautiful.

not only to the true and the beautiful, but also to

right balance in

Hence
if

the comparative calm of their statues, the absence

of
all

forced or painful expression, and even,

you

will,

of tenderness.

The

Christians, on the contrary,

in their

endeavour to supply the want of beauty

condemned by their creed

naturally
fell

by power of expression,
;

into

extremes

and

this fault, con-

tracted in the Middle Ages, characterised Christian

art until the

time of Michael Angelo, of Bernini, of

still

Puget, and exists

in

our own day, under the

name of mannerism.
However, taking into account the ideas universally entertained at this time, with regard

to the

impossibility of representing the nude, the mortification of the flesh,

and the superiority of

ascetic

piety over mobile beauty,

the lay artists of the

we must acknowledge that Middle Ages at least, who had

individuality of character

more independence and

excellence, a certain ideal,

than their religious brethren, did attain to a certain

and

in

many cases

even to

true and powerful expression. Beauty certainly was but, in the Vv-ords of M. Viollet-le-Duc, wanting
;

"

the

.style

and the thought were never

at fault."

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
The
artists

287

were

in

perfect accord with the ideas of

reflection of society.

their time.

Art was indeed a

At

the end of the twelfth century, and through-

out the whole of the thirteenth, sculpture

more and more

the
direction

secular.

It

became was no longer under

of the

monks, but of the bishops,

and the secular clergy proved themselves better

informed and more independent than the professed.

The

bishops, less completely subject to the

Pope

than the monastic body, resembled the feudal lords

under the monarchy before the

its

latter acquired all

centralised authority.

The

result of this in art

was the greater variety of subjects represented,

together with increased freedom in their treatment

from the thraldom of tradition.

legends were abandoned for the
facts of the

False and childish

all

but historical

Old and New Testaments. The happy result of this new state of things was
production of some fine pieces of statuary,
in

the

including groups,
skilful

which we already notice a

lines,

arrangement of

a felicitous choice of

attitudes, with pure

and devout expression.

of crude efforts
;

This

era resembles that of the /Eginetans in the history

of Grecian art.

The time

was

past,
full

the true renaissance was dawning

liberty to the artist.

the age of
in

Indeed,

we

recognise

this

progress of

art

the

same

love

of independence

288

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
And

which, in the body poHtic, led to the institution of

communes.

this
"

independence was

often

carried to audacity.

The works
"

of this time,"

says M. Viollet-le-Duc,
cratic

show a marked demo-

tendency

a hatred of oppression, which

;

was
of

then spreading everywhere

sentiment, and renders
art,

and, which

is

a nobler

them worthy

of the

name

the liberation of the intellect from feudal and

priestly bondage."

The

artists

of this time were thoroughly well

acquainted with
spective.
reliefs,

the

laws of proportion

in

per-

Their statues, groups, high

suited
to

and

low

are
if

the position

they occupy

faulty

seen close, correct at a distance, they are

almost always intended to be looked at from below.

Their authors were also conversant with the laws of

light
;

which was the

more necessary,

as

many

sculptures of the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries are coloured.

We may
fall

add that the groups,

in
fact, at

statues,

and

bas-reliefs

were adapted to the amount

of light which would

that time, sculpture
cipal

upon them

was

still

an adjunct, the prinIn speaking of

decoration of architecture.

the

monuments

of

this

epoch we

can

neithci

separate the sculpture from the architecture, nor

the architecture from the sculpture.

Like

the

Mahommedan

mosques, a

Christian

FliENCH SCULPTURE.

289

cathedral was intended to be a representation of

the world, a cosmos.

iconoclasts, artists

But

after the downfall of the

were

free to represent all living

things,

and the cathedral became a more complete

of the
to
;

picture

universe.

We
an
that
;

are

therefore

not
of

surprised

meet

with

infinite
is

variety

ornaments
animals of

a stone fiora,

to

say, plants
is,

freely imitated with the chisel

all

a fauna, that

sorts,

mostly fabulous or chimerical,

and nearly always symbolical, such as the phoenix,

the
griffin,

the harpy, the basilisk, the salamander

together
gods.
that
It

with

men,
in

saints,

demons, angels, and

constructed

was

accordance with ideas of this kind

cathedrals were

the

great

and
as

decorated at Rheims, Chartres, Amiens, Laon, Sens,

Paris,

and

in the central district

formerly

known

the Isle of France, which M. Viollet-le-Duc justly

calls the "

Attica of the Middle Ages."

will

After these general remarks, we

notice

proceed to

those

pieces

of sculpture

best

known

to

fame, which are mostly by artists whose originality

has rescued their names from oblivion

artists

who were

by nature
in

as well as

by education, combining
refinement.

true

genius with

great

delicacy and

Such were,
his

the fourth century, Jean

after

Ravi and
the

nephew, Jean Bouteiller, who,

mis-

fortunes of the reign of Charles VI., and the ex-

290

FRENCH SCULPTURE.

pulsion of the English, worked together at a Life

of the Virgin,

in bas-relief,
;

round the

cloister of

Notre-Dame at Paris the unknown author of the fine tomb erected in the cloister St. Victor, by
Bishop Guillaume of
Paris, to

his

cook Jacques

Hennequin de la Croix, author of the magnificent mausoleum, dedicated by Charles V., Charles le Sage, to his fool, Thevenin de St. Legier Conrad Meyt and Andre Colomban, who executed the
;

tomb
and
(143
1

of Philibert
lastly,

le

Beau, in the church of Brou

Michel Colomb, or Michault Colomb

author of the

to

5 14), II.

monument

at

Nantes

to Francois

due de Bretagne (duke of Brittany)

and

his wife

Marguerite de Foix.

He it
to the

is

who has
of the

the honour of giving his

name

first

rooms dedicated
of the Louvre.
to
St.

to the Renaissance in the

Museum

In the marble bas-relief attributed

him he has introduced the Struggle between George and the Dragon, in nearly high relief,
in

but

reduced proportions.

The

delicacy of work-

manship and the boldness of

scaly monster pierced

style in the figures of

the mail-clad Christian Perseus on horseback, the

by the
in

lance,

and the Princess

Whilst

Theodelinda* kneeling

the distance, would have

at this age.

done honour to Italy herself

Colomb was

at

work on
* (Qutere.

this
S.

bas-relief

and other

Saba? Tr.)

FBENCH SCULPTURE.
ornaments
a
for the

291
built

Chateau de Gaillon,
of Louis
XII.,

by

Cardinal Amboise, Jean Juste of Tours was making

name by

his

tomb

and Jean

Texier by the forty-one groups or bas-reliefs of the

cathedral of Chartres
;

the Marriage of the Virgin,

the Visitation, the Circumcision, the Massacre of the

Innocents,
etc.

"It

is

not

Perugino

whom we
" it
is

recognise

here,"

exclaims

Emeric David,
in

Raphael himself, as seen

Vatican."

the

loggie

of

the

Juste and Texier both lived earlier than

the Italians of Fontainebleau.

In the

same room, near an alabaster statue of

in

Louis XII.,

the costume of a

Roman
is

emperor,

by

a Milanese sculptor, Demugiano, are two other

entirely

French monuments.

One

the

tomb

of

the celebrated friend of Louis XI. and Charles VIII., the historian,
1509,

Philippe de Comines,
his wife,
in

who

died in

and of

Helene de Chambres, who

followed

him

1531.

The

figures,

of coloured

stone, are only half length, in the attitude of prayer

and they are so carefully chiselled and painted

as to be true portraits in full relief

The other

monument
52
1,

consists of a pair of separate tombs, ol

Louis Poucher, secretary to the king,

1

who

died hi

and of
took

his wife,

Roberte Legendre, whose

later.
its

death

place

year on

According

to

custom, each figure

lies

back, with

folded

292

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
and
closed

hands

eyes

the
;

man,
the

in

warlike
in

costume,

rests his feet

on a lion

woman,

close-fitting

cap and flowing robe,

with no ornament
All
the

but a long rosary, uses a dog as a footstool.

these details
material,

are

common
names

even
is

to triteness,

mere

lias limestone,

not valuable, nor

do the

insignificant

of the

persons com-

memorated

justify the exceptional

measures taken

to preserve their

tombs from

oblivion.

Do we

even
}

know

the

name

of the sculptor of these images

and the dates prevent us from attributing them to Michault Columb, who died many years Why then were their before these worthies.
;

No

monuments brought from

main I'Auxerrois
Because their
double
to the

the church of St. Ger-

Museum

of the Louvre

.?

unknown author has produced

because the
exquisite
(of

miasterpiece,

sim-

plicity of these

memorial figures

the

woman

especially)

is

such, that they

art

may
it

be considered

models of French

before

was transformed

by

Italian

influence.

They

are fortunately well

preserved and uninjured.

Benvenuto
Francis
I.

at

Andrea

del

was invited to France by the same tinie as Leonardo da Vinci, We Sarto, Rosso, and Primaticcio.
Cellini

have already noticed his NyjupJi of Fontamebleau it is in the in our chapter on Italian sculpture
;

FRENOH SCULPTURE.
same room
Captives.
in

293

the Louvre
also

as

Michael Angelo's
a
statue

We may
by
a

mention
Pietro

of

Friendship,

certain

Paolo

Olivieri.

She and

half unbares her heart with one hand, a stranee

far

from pleasing fancy, intended to typify the

of her feelings.

warmth and purity

good
taste

But does not

condemn

the use of physical symbols to

?

represent moral sentiments

Is

not expression the

only legitimate means at the

artist's
?

command for

the
is

embodiment of

his

thought

To

attain to this

the chief difficulty, but also the chief triumph of

art.

At

the

same time
first

that the Italians introduced

the grand style into France, a

rank amongst the

sculptors
at

Frenchman took of Italy. This was

in

Jean
lived

de Bologne, born
at
;

D :iuai
good a

1524.

He
Giam-

Florence,

where he was
as-

called

Bologna

but

we have

right to class

him amongst French sculptors as we have sider Claude and Poussin French painters.
probably a

to con-

whim

of the

It was gloomy Michael Angelo

which led to
that

the

his becoming a great artist. It is said young Jean de Bologne, shortly after
in Italy,

his arrival

presented the old P^lorentine

with a very finely-finished plaster-work.

Michael
the chisel
his cele-

Angelo broke
claimed
:

it

with a blow of his stick, and exlearn

to

"

Young man,

use

before finishing."

Jean de Bologne

left

294

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
in

brated bronze group of the Kape of a Sabine

the

Palazzo

Vecckio,

and
;

several

statuettes

in

the

museum
Venus,

Degl' Uffizi

am.ongst others, a Jimo, a

Vulcan,

an Apollo, a

and

the

Alerairy,

Fig. 55.

The Flying Mercury.

Giam-Bologna.
This

known everywhere
is

as that of

well-known Mercury, which has been often copied,

a perfect masterpiece of lightness, equilibrium,
;

and grace

and

is

as true to

life

as the Dojicing

FRENCH
FmiH
to us

SCULPTUIiE.

295

of Pompeii, and the finest models bequeathed

by Grecian
rests

antiquity.

The messenger
is

of the

gods

one foot upon a zephyr, and

the
air.

about to

spring into

One

of

the

rooms of the
sculpture
of

Louvre
which

is

named

after

Jean de Bologne, because

for a long
it

time the principal piece of

contains,

the nearly colossal group

off Hebe,

Mercury carrying
It is

was attributed

to him.
it

indeed a magnificent work, but

it

we

think

pity that

was not turned round the other

\vay,

so as to let the light from the

windows

fall

on to

the figure of Mercury instead of on that of Hebe.

The

latter

is,

in

fact,

somewhat heavy,
is

stiff,

and
agile,
It
it

awkward, whilst the former

supple and

with attitude and action alike well rendered.

has been ascribed to Jean de Bologne, because

resembles the wonderful
Florence.
little

But

it

is

now

called

Flying Mercury of Mercury and Psyche,

Vries,

and attributed to a certain Adrian of

Fleming probably, who must have executed this group at Prague in 1593, for the Emperor Rudolph 1 1.

We
this

believe

proofs

have been found

to justify

change of authorship.
after

This room should then

no longer be named
after

Jean de Bologne, but

it

Michael Angelo, because

contains

his

Captives.

To

follow

the

progress

and

development

of

296

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
art,

we must pass without pausing from the room of Michault Colomb to that of Jean Goujon
French

(who hved about

530

1572). We

shall see at

a glance that French statuary did not, like painting,

need to await the lessons of Italians, but that the

sculptors of the Renaissance took their inspiration

from the image-makers of the middle age.

A
St.

few choice works, by a great

lost

artist

who

is

said

to have been

to

France

in

the massacre of

Bartholomew, have been reverently preserved.

largest

The

and most celebrated

is

the

m^arble

group of Diana, made

for the old but still beautiful

lady of Anet, Diana of Poitiers.

On

a pedestal

of strange shape, rather like a ship, adorned with

crabs, lobsters,

and amorous

figures, the

goddess of

the chase, in a semi-recumbent position, leans upon

a stag with golden antlers, her golden

bow

in

her

hand, her two guardian dogs beside her.

colossal

This half
the
hair

and
in

entirely

nude

figure,
is

with

dressed

the style of the day,

portrait of the

universally looked
rival of the

upon as the

haughty

Duchesse d'Etampes and of Catherine de Medicis,

who

ruled France until the death of

Henry
ears,

II.

To

complete the group, two noble and powerful-looking

bronze hunting dogs, with drooping
judiciously placed at either end.

have been
fine

These

dogs

are those described and represented in his book on

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
hunting-

207

by Jacques du Fouilloux, huntsman to

They may be quoted as models of now flourishhig art of representing animals. The only other work in full relief by Jean Goujon is a bust portrait of Henry II.,
Charles IX.
race and also of the

framed

in

the

ornaments

of

chimney-piece

modelled by Germain Pilon.

But we have and excelled

his bas-reliefs, in which, if

we may
himself,

so express ourselves, he was

all

more truly

rivals.

We

could imagine that

the great artist

who was

called the French Pheidias

really

and the Correggio of sculpture had

his

been able

to study the frieze of the Parthenon, so

bas-reliefs

much do
they,
too,

resemble those of the Pheidias of

only in
their
effect

Athens,

not

form,
is

for

although the striking

in

not

lessened, are
style,

very low

relief,

but also in the grandeur of

the correctness of drawing, and the grace

of the attitudes.

and truth
in
is

M. Alexandre Lenoir has reprohis

duced Goujon's Deposition from the Cross Miiseum of French Mojz?ime?zts, and there
paradox
in his

no

eulogium

"

The Greeks produced

will

nothing more perfect," for none

deny

its justice.

The

Deposition from the Cross

is

now in

the Louvre,
it is

in the

midst of the four Evangelists, with which

worthy to rank.
style are others

Opposite these works of a sacred

which are profane.

These

are.

be-

298

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
Seine,

tween two gracefully recumbent NympJis of the

water.

a fine group of Tritons and Nereids playing on the

"Whence

did he obtain these charming forms,"

wi(iia^iwWH"H;f^^Sftj'-i^i HHt$?S(MinjKl<w{JujM>AloiO ^WU^UM^i^

''flTJ^f^

~(

i.<^L'i>.i!.
"

Ill

\^}}i"' ""
i.tr.inn'.iif'mi

'

I'^i'lli^liii'''

''I'i'iii

'''Frz.'jr~^_jii^z_
iiii iilliiil.llm
ii

lllil'li'li

Fig. 56.

Fountain of the Innocents.

nymphs
figures
.'

says Michelet,

"

these strange unnatural

with their

immensely long and supple

its

Are they
rushes of

the poplars of the Fontaine-Belle-Eau, the

stream, or the fantastic branches of

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
the
vines

299

of

Thomery which have

?"

clothed

the

human

figure

(History of the Refor.)

These

various bas-reHefs are in Has Hmestone, as well as

some other small

and of the Marne.
relief,

figures of

nymphs

of the Seine

There

is

but one marble bas-

the small, but beautiful and powerful

com-

position, called the Azvaking,

which seems to

me

to

be rather
rection.

g.

symbolical representation of the Resurspirit

has thrown

near a kind of nymph,

death, not from sleep.

down the torch of life who is awakening from The allegory is as clear as
works makes us

an allegory can

be.

The

sight of these

beautiful

deeply regret that the bas-reliefs which are considered Jean Goujon's masterpiece are not also in the Louvre.
Innocents,
I

allude to those of the Fontaine des

now

erected in the vegetable market.*

to take the best

As

it

was very sensibly decided

groups or statues of the age of Louis XIV. from

the gardens of Versailles,
in

order to

form the

museum

of

modern

sculpture, as these

works are

* This fountain

up

at the corner of the

was designed by Pierre Lescot, in 1550, and put Rue St. Denis and the Rue Aux Fers, and

Jean Goujon had then only sculptured the ornaments of the three In 17S8, the architects Poyet and Molinos -rnioved visible sides. fourth side became necessary it to the centre of the market, and
->

to
of

make

it

complete.

Pajou executed an imitation of the sculptures

Jean Goujon.


300

F BENCH t^CULPTUBE.
the

now preserved fiom

are not only under

ravages of

time,

some

traces of which were ah-eady visible,

and as they
in

good
the

shelter,

but also

a place

where they are admired by better judges than the

few stragglers
in

now

deserted gardens,

why

has not the masterpiece of the French Renaissance

of the sixteenth century had the honour of beincr

included

in

our national treasury

its

Th(;re

it

could

be better kept,
seen,
for
it it

exquisite details could be better

would be an object of study and admiration artists and amateurs of all nations in its turn
;

would be
it

visited

by those
in
little

better able to appre-

ciate

than the dealers

feel
its

cabbages and
its

lettuces,

who would
do pride

as

regret for
It
is

loss as

they

in

possession.

undecided what

shall be put in the

middle of the square court of

the Louvre, which awaits.

Heaven knows what

which a revolu-

some equestrian
Louis XIV.
be set up
It

statue, probably,

tion will throw down, like those of Henri IV.

is

and

really

useless

to

go to the

expense of bronze.
in

Let the Fontame des Innocents

the court of the Louvre, in the centre

of the art collections.

That

is

its

true place,
is

and

there

it

would remain as long as Paris

customary
to call

Paris.

It is

Jean Goujon the restorer

it

of sculpture in France. Far be

or detract from his glory.
I

from

me

to dispute

would gladly own him

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
to be the creator of French statuary.

301

But

this title
artists,

can only be his

in

common

with two other

Jean Cousin and Germani Pilon. They may, indeed,

have preceded him.

Although we do not know the

"I>/Dl.,.J

^'S- 57-

Tomb of Pierre de Breze.

exact date of the birth of Jean Goujon, he is supposed to have been born about 1530. Jean Cousin

and Germain Pilon were therefore his seniors by some twenty and fifteen years respectively The

302

FRENCH SCULVTURE.
were
in

three

contemporaries,
the

rivals,

and

fellow-

labourers

common work

of the

French

Renaissance.

The
Cousin

fine

tomb of
at
in

Pierre de Breze, high seneschal

of Normandy,
;

Rouen,

is

attributed

to

Jean

but

the Louvre

we have only one

The former
masterpiece

piece of sculpture and one painting from his hand

both,
is

however, equally excellent.

the Mmisolejwi of Philippe de Chabot, admiral of

France,

which

Cicognara

calls

the

of French sculpture in the sixteenth century.

The
arm.

semi-recumbent figure

of

the

brave and noble

left

admiral leans upon the helmet with the

But the author of the Last Judgment and the Art

of Designing {U Art de Desseigner) \vz.?> so entirely occupied in painting glass windows and writing
precepts, that he has only left a few easel paintings,

and
it

still

fewer sculptures.

Chabot's mausoleum,

if

be indeed by Jean Cousin, combines

:

in itself all
its

that gives value to art objects

it is

a fine work,

author

is celebrated, and his productions are rare. Germain Pilon (about 1515 1590) was a sculptor

only,

and as industrious as he was

and Henri

skilful.

There
Louvre
It

was no need to rob the vaults of

tombs of Francois
I.

St.

Denis of the

II.,

for the

contains a large collection of his works.

sesses, for instance, the

pos-

mausoleums of the Chan-

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
cellor of France,

303

Rene Birague (or Birago, for he was an Italian, like Gondi, Concini, and Mazarin), and of Valentine Balbiani, his wife. It was of him
that
St.

Michelet said
Bartholoinew,
that

"

Birague,

the

man

of

the

who was

so impatient to be a

cardinal,

he suddenly became a widower."

spirits

These tombs, with the two

their

extinguishing

torches,
is

originally
divided.

formed one

monument,

which

now

On

one tomb the bronze

figure of the chancellor, in his long robes, kneels in

the attitude of prayer.

possible to find a
statue.

It would perhaps be immore natural and life-like bronze

On
is

the other tomb, which formed a kind

of pedestal to the former, the

marble

figure

of

Valentine
pillows,

extended, supporting herself on her

cast eyes.

and reading the holy scriptures with downNear her is a little dog. What con-

stitutes the great originality of this

monument,

is

that the

same person

is

seen

in

very low relief on

the front of the base, not

now

living

and clothed,

but nude, emaciated, and

lifeless.

This admirable

bas-relief sculptured beneath the statue affords a

visible contrast

between death and

it

life

it

teaches

contempt

for the flesh,

embodies the grand but

false idea of the Christians.

After this double mausoleum, the most celebrated

work of Germain Pilon

is

the group of three

women

C04

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
gilt vase,

supporting a
tain
tiic

intended,
II.

it

is

said, to

con-

hearts

of

Henri

and Catherine de was chiselled

in

Medicis.

This group, which

single block of marble,

was ordered by the mother

II.,

of the three kings (Francois

Charles IX., and

Henri

III.),

and placed by her

in the

church of the
.''

Celestines.

What
that

does

it

represent

For a long
it

time
this

it

was called the Three Graces, and

it is

is

under

name

known

others, however,

have
three

contended that

they were

meant
of

for

the

Theological Virtues.

Hence

a learned controversy.

On

the one side, in support

is

the

old belief,

attention
Charities

called to the inscription of the

word
;

{')(apLTe<;),

the Greek

name

of the Graces

whilst

holders

of

the

modern

opinion

have

replied that
read,

this name, badly written or badly was merely Charity, and that the Christian

Virtues

were more

likely to

be represented on

a sepulchral

the heathen Graces.

monument placed in a church than Adhuc sub jiidice lis est. But
is

the latter supposition

*

the

more probable.*
say

"With
' '

regard to the Greeks,"

MM.

Louis and

Reue

which these goddesses are the expression, has been generally ill comprehended by the moderns, as is always the case with a synonym. The word grace signifies both beneficence and elegance, and the former meaning has been forgotten whilst the second has been adopted. The inhabitants of Siena were nearer the truth when they took the
Menard,

we must remark,

that the great idea of

FBENCH SCULPTURE.
With
which
I

305
will

this

famous and puzzling gioup we

the
shrine of

notice four other figures, female also, but of wood,

supported

St.

Genevieve.

shall not

attempt to explain them, for according

it

to the
difficult

adage, Niimero Dens impure gaudet,

to find a religious

is

meaning
III.,

in the

number

four.
II.,

Together with the bust portraits of Henri

Charles IX., and Henri
a

small child's

bust (probably that of Catherine's other son, the

Duke
the

of Alencon), and, lastly, a bas-relief in stone,

St.

Sermon of

Paul at Athens, which formerly

adorned the pulpit of the Grand Augustines.

have now mentioned
all

We

the works of the illustrious

Germain

Pilon.

Amongst
monuments

the works of the three founders of the

French school of sculpture are to be found two

erected by Paolo -Ponzio Trebatti, of

Florentine oriein,

who

is

often called Maitre Ponce.

three giaces for the three theological virtues, Faith, Hope, and Charity ; and as the name of graces no longer suggests anything to

the

mii.<i,

but the childish fancies of the last century, their Greek

name,

ch.irities,

should be restored to these goddesses.

signified

ancients
gratitude.

this

word

joy and

affection,

generosity

With the and

The symbols

of these three inseparable sisters, called the

beneficent,

the charities simultaneously expressed the gifts of the

gods and the bleaiings of men." Can Germain Pilcn have anticipated as early as the sixteenth century the learned modt-m discoveries in symbolism ?

306

FRENCH SCULPTUEE.
to
I

He came
remained

ranee with Primaticcio, and, like him,

there.

of Alberto Pio,

These monuments are the tombs of Savoy, duke of Carpi, one of the
I.,

generals of Francois

and of Charles de Magny,

a bronze
;

or Maigne, captain of the watch under Henri H.

The Duke
reclines

of

Carpi's effigy,

likeness,
is

upon the base of the tomb

left

he

leaning

on the

elbow, meditating on an

open book.
portrait also,
in

The
but

statue of Charles de
in

Magny, a

stone,

is

completely clothed

mail

he
:

sleeps in a sitting posture, his halberd in his

Tie
is

hand

at his

post.

These two

figures

by Trebatti

give

us

very high opinion

has been

of

the frenchified

Italian,

who

of his style, and to

much lauded for the boldness whom many of the best works
Colomb,

of other artists have been attributed, such as the

St.

George

of

Michael

and

even

the

Admiral Chabot of Jean Cousin. Above the Duke of Carpi, in a terra-cotta medallion, we see a head of Hercules in high relief,
wearing the
lion's skin.
It

belongs to the decora-

tions of a house at Rheims,

and

is

attributed to
.'*

Can it by happy chance be that Mattre Jacques, native of Angouleme, who, in 5 50, competed with Michael Angelo at Rome for a figure of St. Peter, and who has left some excellent wax models of a living,
Pierre Jacques.
is

Who

Pierre Jacques

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
a flayed, and a dissected
is

307

man

If so, this

Hercules

very valuable.

We

will

now

continue

our study

of

French
scarcely

sculpture in the Louvre, which contains

any but the greatest works. If the room next to that of Jean Goujon contained any more important works by Sarrazin than
a bronze bust of the chancellor, Pierre Seguier, the

Mausoleum of

the Prince of Conde, or that of the

it would certainly him and not after the

Cardinal de Berulle, for instance,

have been named

Anguiers.

after

This honour should legitimately belong

to the sculptor who, in conjunction with the paintei

Lebrun, founded the

Academy

of the Fine Arts^

in Italy,

and who, being born

between Jean
I.

in 1590,

and educated

forms a connecting link and represents the transition

Goujon

and Pierre Puget,

But
if

Frangois
set

and Louis XIV.

his

Sarrazin

be

aside,

immediate

predecessor,

Simon
right

Guillain (1581-1658)

would perhaps have the

of

naming

this

second French room.

Guillain

was

the author ofthe bronze statues of Louis XIII.,

of Austria, and Louis

Anne

XIV. as a child, which formerly composed the Monument of the Pont an Change, and are now in the Louvre. He was the master ofthe two brothers Anguier, who have been preferred
to him.
.

Let us resign ourselves to this choice.

303

FRESCH SCULPTURE.
room
four
rises

In the centre of their

an obelisk

in

decorated

marble with

symbolical
Justice,
it

figures

round the base, Truth, Union,

and Force.

An

inscription informs

us that

is

the funereal

monument of Henri de Longueville. Of which ? Of the Henri I., who gained the battle of Senlis on the Ligne in 1589, or Henri H., who was one of the
chiefs of the Fronde, in conjunction with his wife.

Cardinal de Retz, and the Prince of Conde

In

any case the

1669),
is

elder of the Anguiers, Frangois (1004

the author of the

mausoleum and

also

of the tombs of Jacques-Auguste de

Thou and

of

the Princess of Conde, Charlotte de la Tremouille,

two marble
sepulchral

figures

kneeling

in

prayer.

Another

monument,
are

that of Jacques de Souvre

de Courtenvaux, together with a bust of the great

Colbert,
(1

by the

younger

Anguier,
to

Michel
in

61 2- 1 686),

whose name ought

be popular

Paris, for

he executed, after the designs of Lebrun,

the triumphal arch ^^hich has
fine Christ

the ornaments of

become the

St.

Denis gate, and the

on

the O'oss set

up on the

theatrical decoration introSt.

duced into the church of

Calvary,

Roch, and called the

Although executed with care, knowledge, and talent, these various works by the two Anguiers
are spoiled

by

their heaviness, the fault

in handli^ig

which should

be especially avoided

marble and bronze.

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
It

303

appears that F'rench sculpture was for a long

in

time chiefly employed

others in the

tombs.
:

There are two

the
battle

same room

that of the constable

at

Anne de Montmorency,
St.

killed

of

Denis

in 1567,

and that of

his wife,

Madeleine
figures

de Savoie-Tende.

These are two marble

lying on their backs, with folded hands, in the old

form of the tombs of the Middle Ages. These mausoleums, together with the busts of Henri IV. and
the president Christophe de Thou, are

Barthelemy
ing

Prieur,

an
is

artist

but

little

by a certain known now,

Judg-

and of whom there by

no record

in biographies.

his style, however,

he must have preceded

the Anguiers, and probably even

Simon
a

Guillain.

He
cessive
last

would thus be the contemporary of Pierre

.
.
.

Francheville (1548-

),

whom

somewhat ex-

generosity has

made

the godfather of the

room. Surely the distorted and unsightly statues

of

Orpheus and of David, conqueror of Goliath,

this
;

have not obtained

pupil of

honour

for the enervated

Giam-Bologna

but rather, we

imagine,

the four bronze figures of vanquished and chained

nations,

made by him
a

for the

four angles of the

pedestal of Henri IV.'s statue on the Pont Neuf,

of which

few

fragments only
in

now

remain,

it

having been destroyed

*

the Revolution.*
The horse was given
to

The work

of Jean de Boulogne.

310

FllENCn SCULPTURE.
is

Michael Anguier's

the last of the rooms of the

first

Renaissance

and the
is

of

those

containing

modern sculptures
Jacques

named
the

after Pierre Puget.

Sarrazin,

companion
and son-in-law

of
in

Simon
France,

Vouet

in Italy, his friend

played the same part

painting
;

in sculpture as the latter in

and Pierre Puget's

to

(1622-1694) was
Poussin

analogous
with

that

of Nicolas

indeed,
the
chief

all his faults,

he was, and

still is, in

my opinion,
enthusiasm

the greatest

of

PVench sculptors

In

beauty of
for

his character, in his love, his

independence, he again resembled Poussin, and

at the

same time Eustache Lesueur.

for a
;

Like Poussin,

Puget

time tried living at court under royal

but, soon

patronage
servitude,

disgusted with

this

gilded

and rebelling against the exactions of

the Inspector-general of the Fine Arts,

who wished
he

him

to adopt his ideas

and even

his designs,

returned to his native place, Marseilles, as Poussin

did to

Rome, and gave himself up

in

solitude to

the suggestions of his genius.

There he became

a painter, sculptor, and architect, after having been

a ship-builder in his youth.*

His paintings, which

Marie de Medici, widow of Henri IV., by her fatlicr Cosmo II., Grand Duke of Tuscany. The statue of the royal horseman was

added later. * Puget first conceived and carried out the idea of those huge

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
are

311

pretty
in

numerous, and
the
:

of

every style, have

remained

owns

in

wliich

he successively

resided, Genoa, Toulon, Aix, Marseilles;* but his

sculptures, which are far superior,

to Versailles,
chisel

were mostly sent

his

and

it

was the productions of

titles

which earned him the beautiful

of the

Riibcns of sculpture and the French Michael Angelo.

Although resembling Poussin

of his
differed
life,

in

the circumstances

and

in his character,

Puget as an
great

artist

essentially

from

the

painter

of

Andelys.

He was
;

carelessly

and

inadequately

educated

he had no instructor
classical models,

in art or in letters,

he saw few

and he never atoned

poops, with double galleries and

wooden

figures,

which were soon

imitated eveniwhere in the decoration of clumsy high-decked vessels.

At

the age of twenty-one he made his first attempt on the ship Queen, and later he applied his invention with the greatest success,

to the Magnificent of 104 guns,

equipped by the Duke of Beaufort,

to aid the

the old Roi des

Hulks (Market King), when he went

Venetians in Candia.

Vessel and Admiral perished together on the

the Baptism of Clovis and the Baptism of Constantine, bearing date 1652 (when Puget -vas thirty years old), and much spoilt by unskilful restoration; \hc Salvator mundi oi 1654, better preserved and quite Italian, in and lastly, the portrait of the debased style of Pietro da Cortona Puget himself, of which M. Leon Lagrange Kays "It represents a man forty years old, whose expression it is difficult to define it is a combination of natural roughness, acquired refinement and restless eagerness, the brow is full of genius, and we read the consciousness of his own genius in the eyec and mouth."
: ; :

25th of June, 1669. * The museum of the last-named town contains four

312

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
early training
in

for the faults of his

reflection.
in

He was wanting
he
neither
;

by study and knowledge and

the

taste

knew nor understood

beauties of antiquity

but he was as original as he

was

eccentric,

the dictates of

and yielding himself unreservedly to his mighty genius, he was prein

eminently
power, and
celled
I

successful

expressing

life,

action,

sometimes
in

even passion.

None exand
Like

him

giving

warmth

to

marble,
colour.

might add, without

hesitation,

Michael Angelo, he often set to work on a block

without preparation, design, or sketch.
hit off his

Puget has

own likeness at one stroke, in the letter written when he was already sixty years old to Louvois, with his group of Perseus and Andromeda " I am nourished by great Avorks I labour at them,
;

and the marble trembles before me, however large be the piece." *

Who
the

could recognise in the Hercules in repose,

lion,

without the club, or the skin of the Nemaean

demigod

whom

the Greeks called the most

beautiful of the pentatldi, because his limbs were

not only the most muscular, but

slender and supple.
*
in

also

the

most

Looking

at this coarse head,

The

translator adds the original,

:

English

"Je
le

suis nourri

j'y travaille, et

which cannot be well rendered aux grands ouvrages, je nage quand marbre tremble devant moi, pour grosse que soit

la pi^ce."

FRENCH SCULPTUBE.
with

313

turned up nose,

we say

to

ourselves

that

Puget has merely copied some porter from the

time, how happily imhow well the flesh and muscles are rendered, how instinct with life is the whole body Take from this statue the name of

wharf.

But

at the
is

same

passive action

given,

Hercules,

call

it

only a wrestler, a market porter,

and you have a perfect work.

Still

more

perfect, in spite of the unjust disdain

is

of Cicognara,

the

group

of

devoured by a

lion.

As

he

is

not a god,
in

Miio of Crotona, we do not

expect him to be. represented

a conventional and
fair

sacred form, and the Crotonian gives us a very

idea of an old athlete.

The

life

and action of the

wonderno
less excellent.

body and the

ful,

finished execution are alike

is

whilst the moral expression

In

every

line,

from head to

foot,

the rage and

in

the Greek games are admirably rendered his powers weakened by old age, and his hand caught in the cleft tree, he feels himself torn by the teeth and claws
suffering of the

famous conqueror
;

of his

treacherous enemy, without the power of

defending and avenging himself with the mighty

fist

which once
it

felled

an ox.

This group not only

resembles,

rivals that of the

Laocoon;

and we
it

understand that when the case which brought

Versailles

to

was unpacked before Louis XIV., the

3J 4

FRENCH SCULP TUBE.

full
le

tender-hearted Maria Theresa,

pity,

of fright and

exclaimed,

"

Ah, mon Dieu,

pauvre
is

homme

!"

We

believe that this 3Ii/o of Crotona

considered
all

the chef-d'oeuvre of Puget, and perhaps also of

French sculpture.
In speaking of the group of Perseus delivering'

Andromeda, which
aiding the son of

is

enlarged by a figure of Cupid

to cut the chains of the
"

Danae
I

beautiful victim, Puget

might well say,

however
"

large be the piece," for

know

of no

modern group

of greater size, and to find " a

larger piece

we

must turn
been
in

to the Toro Farnese at Naples,

which has

five figures.

The author does

least

not appear to have

the

embarrassed by the extreme

;

difficulty of so

complicated a work

neither the

clearness of the subject, the general action, nor the

workmanship of the various

the whole, are at
all

details

which make up

affected

or impaired

by

it.

Andromeda
Jupiter
in

is

pretty,

delicate,

and

pleasing

Perseus, strong, bold, irresistible, like the son ot

mounted on Pegasus.
of the
is

But the difference

exaggerated
;

the size

sexes

is

either

Andromeda

little girl,

or Perseus a giant.
in

We
is

notice the

same disproportion
to

an eques-

trian statue of the Victorians Alexander, the horse

enormous compared
this

the rider.

But perhaps

Puget intended

powerful Bucephalus, trampling

FRENCH SCULPTURE.

315

under foot confused heaps of conquered nations, to

represent the various forces which the genius
of

Alexander held united

dous conquests.

for his distant

and stupenworks
in the

The

rest of Puget's

Louvre are a plaster copy of two caryatides which

he made
for the

balcony of the Hotel de Ville of

in

Toulon

a small tomb,

which two angels and

urn,

two cherubims are grouped round a sepulchral and the large and singular
This was Puget's
last

bas-relief representing

the well-known scene of Alexander

and

Diogenes.

work, which he only finished

In

just before his death, at the age of seventy-four.

this

he again resembles Michael Angelo, whose old

prolific.
is

age was so laborious and

better name, this group
in

For want of a
of
sculpture.

called a bas-relief, but

reality

it

contains

eveiy kind

Those parts which stand out, the head of Alexander's horse, and the legs of Diogenes lying near
his

tub

(which should be
are
necessarily in
is

a
full

large
relief;

earthenware
whilst the
in

vessel),

foreground
relief,

in high,

and the background

in

low

which decreases gradually

the
is

distant

perspective.

This sculptured picture

an extra-

ordinary

feat,

and

own

that

its

very strangeness

makes
still

its

author near akin to Michael Angelo, and

it

nearer to Algardi, but

;

removes him

far

from

Pheidias

which

fact, if

am

not mistaken, proves

316

FRENCH SCULPTURE.

that the arts should not encroach on one another that there should be no debateable land between
their domains.

The

mission

of

sculpture
;

is

to

gratify the taste with beautiful forms only

at her

command
projections

she has nothing but

;

lines, hollows,

and

she

is

to

enable

us to touch

what

painting lets us see, and sculpture

has no

more

right to attempt pictures in marble than painting

to

make monochrome

statues, with all the resources

of colour, chiaroscuro, and perspective at her com-

mand. Puget's example is decisive, as is proved by no one having followed it. The second room, that of Antoine Coysevox
(1640-1720),
contains

fine

collection

of

the

works of

this

eminent

artist,

who
in

lived shortly after

talent.

Puget, and

resembled

him

Amongst
of

them we

notice

particularly

the

Mausoleum
figures,

Carditial Mazarin, with a spirit bearing the lictor's

axe and three

allegorical

bronze

which
con-

makes us

regret the

Mausoleum of

Colbert,

sidered Coysevox's principal work.

statue of the foolish Duchess of

poor enough

Burgundy, who

wished to be represented as Diana, the fair-limbed

goddess;
a statue of Louis XIV., w^ho, when the character of Apollo, but is now assumed young, depicted as old, devout, and kneeling in prayer.

The

busts of Richelieu, Bossuet, and Fenelon, which

FliEXCII SCULPTURE.

317

were not successful likenesses

are
flat,

the faces of

all

three
;

the foreheads low, the heads narrow

not

at all like their painted portraits preserved to us

by

Philippe

de Champagne and Hyacinthe Rigaud. on the contrary, very

The

busts of Pierre Mignard and Charles Lebrun,

are,
fine,

which
that

and good

likenesses.
it is

They

are

so superior to the former,

difficult to believ^e

they are from the same

hand.
sevox's

There were,
life
:

in

fact,

two periods
power,
;

in

Coy-

one

of vigorous

when he
the other

sculptured the two celebrated painters

of unskilfulness or weakness,

when he produced the

the

busts of the great ministers and

writers.
It is
*

celebrated

a pity that there

his rival

is

no work

in

the Coysevox

room by
"

Prancois Girardon (1630- 17 15),

Boileau," says

whom La
compared

Fontaine and

Thore,

"

to Pheidias, as Moliere
It
is

compared Migpro-

nard to Raphael."
court to Louis

true that Girardon paid

XIV. and Lebrun, and only

duced

in

marble the designs imposed on him by

the arrogant president of the

that the gigantic
Proserpine,

Academy
to

but for

all

groups of Pluto carrying away

Thetis, with

and Apollo descending

which he adorned the gardens of Versailles, have

earned him a distinguished position amongst the
sculptors of the reign of the

grand monarque.

318

FRENCH SCULPTUBE.
third

The

room

is

named
is

after

the

brothers

Coustou,

Nicolas

(1658-1735),

and

Guillaume

(1678-1746).

The former

the author of the

group called the Junction of

tlw.

Seine and Marjie,

'^<:^

Fig. 58.

Riding-Master of Marly.
Champs-Elysees.)
;

(Paris,

in

the Tuileries Garden

and the

latter

of the

famous Eciiyers or Chevaux de Marly, now placed at the entrance to the Champs Elysees. The works contained in this room would not alone have earned for

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
the Coustous the honour of

31 y

naming

it.

On one side
;

we have Louis XV^ as Jupiter, in Roman costume, and Queen Maria Leczinska, as Juno pretentious
figures
in

bad

taste, at

once feeble and theatrical,

^'o- 59-

Ridin5,'-Master of Marly.
Champs-Klysee.)

(Paris,

in

the false and ridiculous antique style which was

introduced on the stage

his dav.

by Lekain and

others of
rectal

On

the other side Louis XIV., in

mantle, holding his crown and sceptre, but kneeling

320

FliENCH SCULPTURE.
in the

and bending forward

humble

attitude of his

Vow

to the

Virgm,

like

the princes of the

Lower
figure

Empire naming the mother

of their armies.

of Jesus generalissimo

The execution
and
it is

of

this

renders
style.

it

beautiful,

not even spoilt by the

it,

M.

Ingres, probably without having seen

it

has reproduced

exactly

in

his

picture

on the

same

subject

the
it

Voiv of Louis

XIV.

This Coustou room would

therefore be nearly

empty, were appear to

not

filled

with other works, which

me more
the

interesting

and remarkable.

We

allude to

diploma subjects successively

of the

presented

by the members

Academy
They

of

Sculpture on their admission to that body, which

preceded the Institute of the Fine Arts.

all little

are

groups of figures a foot and a half high,

Christian,
subjects.

some representing number mythological

to compete,
pieces,"

but

the

greater

The

rule as to size

better enabled those enervated successors of Puget

them."

who knew not how to carve "large and to make the " marble tremble before As most of these sculptors are entirely
in

unknown,
it

spite of their title of

academicians,

will

be

useful

to

recall

their

names, and to

mention one work characteristic of each.

We

begin, then, with a Hercules on the pile,

;

by

Guillaume Coustou

a Hercules crozoned by Glory,

FULWCII SCULPTURE.
in

3L'l

high rehcf, by Dcsjardins (the Fleming, Martin

Bogaert)
; ;

Van
lion,

JesJis

bearing His

Cross,

by
the

Bouchardon

a Milo of Crot07ia, devoured

by

by Etienne Falconnet* (1706^1791), the of Diderot a Mercury attaching the wijigs Jicds, by Jean Baptiste Pigalle (17 14 1785)
;

friend
to his
;

and

a River God, pouring water from his urn, by Jacques

Caffieri (1723

1792).

All these became celebrated

;

by more important works

left

Caffieri, for instance,

has

excellent busts of Rotrou and the two Corneilles,

in

the lobby of the Theatre Franqais.

:

M. Thore
the
of

very justly remarks

ness
of Puget, the

"These busts have the boldgrace

of

Germain

Pilon.
spirit

skilful

execution of Coysevox, and

the

Coustou."

We
which

now proceed
is

to

enumerate those who are

oblivion.

nearly or entirely unknown, with the single work

to rescue

them from

The Leda

and

Swan, by Jean Thierry (1669 anticipated the Pompadour style by

the
*

1739), which
thirty years.

Falconnet
St.
:

is

the author of the fine bronze equestrian statue

II.

which Catherine
Square, at
inscription

had raised

to Peter the Great, in Saint Isaac's

it

Petersburg.

Set up on a granite rock,

bears the

Pefro primo Cathcrina seninda.

it

To

express the tnie

to
:

thought of the foundress,

should

now be changed
that the

Petro

Magna
Neva;

Cathcritia

Magna.

" The statue

Empress of Russia
Beaux-

raised to Peter the Great speaks to all nations from the banks of the
it

says

await that of Catherine."

(Voltaire, art.

arts, in the Diet. Philos.)

322

FRENCH SCULFTURE.

St. Sebastian at the Pillar,

(1678

1727)
style.

and

St.

Andrczv before
;

by Francois Coudray his Cross, by

Jean Baptiste d'Huez

sacred

two good studies of the

vanquished by Love, by

Hercules

Joseph Vinache (1697 1744), which shows more knowledge and appreciation of the antique than
the Hercules of Puget.
(.
. .

Plutus,

1730).
(.
. .

Ulysses bending his bozv,

,

Rousseau
finished

by Anselme Flamen by Jacques

finely-

1740),

powerful and

work. A Titan struck by thunder, by Edme. Dumont (.... 1755), which merits the same praise. Polyphemus on the rock, with the one eye in his forehead above the two empty sockets, by Corneille Van Clev^es, who was no doubt a

Fleming, like Desjardins.

waves, the Quos ego of
Virgil,

Neptune calming the

Adam

(1700

1759).

by Lambert Sigisbert Prometheus and the Vulture,

by Nicolas Sebastien

Adam
is

(1705

1778),

who

has well expressed the contortions of acute agony

and powerless rage (this Prometheus of ^Eschylus).

out the author's

not the indomitable

Lastly, a Charon, \\ithis,

name

which

however, one of

the best of these academic the

pieces,

remarkable

for

gloomy and reserved expression

hell.

suitable to the

ferryman of
In the

room

of

Edme Bouchardon

(1698

1762),
we
are

containing works of the eighteenth century,

FniiNCJI SCULI'TIRE.

3':3

surrounded

by Cupids and Psyches

style.

in

the

true

Pompadour
spirit

And
less

yet no

one shared the

himself.

of his

age

than Bouchardon

Well-educated, conscientious, and of quiet appearance,

he avoided

pomp, and
fashionable

lived

in

solitude,

because, enamoured as he was of the antique, the

absurdity

of

the

costumes was
His

re-

pugnant to
correct

his taste

and

predilections.
cold,

style,

and noble, but somewhat

needed only

a few sparks of Puget's fiery enthusiasm to give

it

animation.

We

can appreciate his statues of

Christ,

Mary, and of eight Apostles which adorn

St. Sulpice,

the church of

and the

fine sculptures of

the fountain of the

Rue

dc Greiielle ; and

we might

have appreciated

his equestrian statue of

Louis XV.,

the horse of which was considered a masterpiece,

had

it

not been destroyed in 1793.

stand to what an extent this

But to undereminent artist loved

in

and understood true beauty,

insipid shepherdesses of

this

age

of the

Boucher and
Louvre.

his fellows,

we

have only to examine the Young

stag by a cord,
pleasing
attitude,
in

Girl, holding a

the

The
form,

soft

and
head,

the graceful

the

which

is

more than

beautiful, almost grand,

and the

delicacy of the execution, combine to render this

charming statue the most antique of modern works.

Canova

is

anticipated, his spirit

is

here.

Similar,

if

324

FliENCII SCULPTURE.
})raise
is

not equal

due to the Victorious Cupid, a

beautiful youth, cutting out his

bow

in

Hercules'

club with the sword of Mars, as well as to the

group of Psyche and Cnpid.

fatal lamp.

We

sec the inquisitive

beauty drawing near to her sleeping lover with the

He

will flee as
is

soon as he
as
little

is

known,

to typify that happiness

enduring as a

passing

illusion.
in

Bouchardon's room rejoices

another Psyche, by

Augustin Pajou (1730

1809), which represents her

That there

inconsolable at the flight of the fickle god, and

given up to the vengeance of Venus.

may
line

be no mistake as to the name and meaning of he has written the following mischievous
:

his statue,

round the pedestal

" Psyche
lost

Love

in

wishing to know him."

This inscription, beneath the nude figure of a clumsy and ungraceful courtesan, who is neither the Phryne of Praxiteles nor the Venus of Gnidus,

reminds us of that painter of Ubeda,

vantes makes fun
to
of,

whom

Cersalira

who worked
"

at

random,

que

saliere,

and wrote beneath the chance proThis

is

duction of his brush,

a cock," that

it

mig-ht
this,

not be taken for a fox.

Pajou atoned for

however,
Bufifon
;

in a fine, life-like,

and speaking portrait of

he was always successful with sculptured

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
likenesses,

325

those of

women

especially,

and knew

how

to

make them
fashion.

pretty and pleasing in spite ol

the shapeless head-dresses to which they were con-

demned by
Diana

Two

other nude figures, by

called Venus

Chretien Allegrain (1705

at the Bath,

1/95),

and

are scarcely worthy of even

a passing notice..

The room named

to

after

him

alone, but to all

Houdon is not reserved those who may be con;

sidered his contemporaries

for,

with the exception

it

of one, the sculptors whose works

contains died

after the beginning of the present century.

Jean

BaptistePigalle (1714
tury
;

I785)livedand died last cenin

he has only one work

the Louvre, a bustin

lias
;

portrait of

Maurice of Saxony
preferred truth to

limestone.

This

artist

beauty

he was a
skilful,
it

most persevering worker, as

and, good and life-like as

prolific as

he was

is

this

one likeness,
in

is

not enough to represent such a

of France.

man

the

museum

must seek him rather in the Library of the Institute, where we find his strange statue ot
Voltaire,

We

whom

he insisted upon representing nudo,

;

although he was old and emaciated

chapels of Notre Dame, where

in

one of the

we

find the

Tomb

of

Marshal Harconrt, which he composed in accordance with a dream of the hero's widow, and last, not
least,
in

the

Protestant church of St. Thomas, at

326

FRESCn SCULPTURE.

Strasburg, which contains the celebrated Momiuient

to

Maj'shal Saxe, executed

in

marble by

Pigalle, after

the designs of his friend Charles Nicolas Cochin.

Death opens a grave at the Fontenoy, and weeping France

feet of the hero

of

strives to retain him.

We

will

now name
that
is,

the other sculptors of the

same room,

of the same, age, as Pigalle,

according to the date of their birth.

By Jean

Antoine

Houdon

(1741

1828),

to

whom

\\&

owe the Flayed

art,

schools of

we have

for the crescent

and the

known in bronze Diana, whom, but bow, we should scarcely

so well
is

Man

take for the chaste goddess of Ephesus, for she

a fine study in a pure style,

represented entirely nude, without veil of any kind.

It
is

own, although
it

somewhat heavy for the nimble spoiled by the stiff action and There is far more disinvoltura,
in

huntress, but

is

strained attitude.
grace,

and charm

the marble group of Cnpid

butterflies,

and

in

and Psyche chasing Psyche zvith the Lamp, Psyche

for

punished for her curiosity, and weeping

lost

her

happiness.
for

Can
by the

this

difference

of style be
1

accounted
metal

difference of material

Is

less subservient to the will of the artist

}

than

marble

This question
himself,
for

is

answered on the spot by

bronze
bust
of Jean
of the

Houdon

the

Jacques Rousseau, wearing the narrow

fillet

FRENCH SCULrTUHE.
conqueror
in

3L'7

the 01)'mpic games,

is

placed near
I

that in marble of the

Abbe

Aubert, and

do not
is

think that this portrait of the author of Emile

Fig. 60.

Voltaire,

by

Hou

ion.

inferior in

beauty of workmanship and truth

to that

of the

La Fontaine of children. Houdon is however, better

represented

in

the

328

FUENCU SCULP TUBE.

in

Theitre Fran^ais than

Louvre.

his

own room
in

in

the

The

bust of Moliere, in the lobby, and

the vestibule, are

the statue of Voltaire seated,

excellent and superior works, which will bear

combe

parison with any of those by his contemporaries.

In

them Houdon has showed how the

real,

ideal

may

combined with the

the
his

the quickening spirit ^vith

body

it

animates.
;

He

has

in

every case given

models expression

an expression as keen as
I

that of the portraits of Titian and Rembrandt.

like to think that the statue of

Washington, made
equally worthy
of

by Houdon

for Philadelphia,

is

the virtuous and illustrious founder of American

independence, of the greatest public

times, on

man

of

modern

whom Byron
Ode
to

pronounces a eulogium at

the end of his "

Napoleon
;

:"

" Wliere may the wearied eye repose, When gazing on the great

Where neither guilty glory Nor despicable state ?

Yes

glows,

one the first the

last

the best,

The Cincinnatus

of the West,

Whom envy dared not hate. Bequeath the name of Washington,

To make man
blush there was but one.'"*

On

the

new monument
:

to

Washington,

at

Philadelphia, the

Americans have inscribed

"The
The

first

in war,

first in

peace.
in the hearts of his fellow-citizens."

And

the

first

FRENCH
By
in P. L.

SCULPTUL'E.

329

Roland (1746 18 19) we have a Homer rhapsody, accompanying himself on his lyre.
(1765

By Antoine Denis Chaudet

seizing a butterfly, the

18

10)

a Cupid

symbol of the

soul,

and the

group of the Shepherd Phorbas carrying aivay the

young CEdipus, which

woi'ks,

is

considered the best of his

and

is

certainly one of the best of the time

of Louis David.

By Adrien

Gois (1765

1823) an
de Stael's

alabaster bust of Corinjia.

Is this the ancient rival

of Pindarus, or the heroine of

Madame

romance (Corinne)
and two youthful

By Joseph

Bosio (1790

1845)

an Aristmis, not as a hero, but as the god of bees,

figures,
:

male and female, which

one
is

would make a good pair

the

Hyacinthns, the

beloved child of Apollo, by

whom

he was struck on
of

head with a

quoit,
;

in

consequence
is

the

jealousy of Zephyrus

the other

the

nymph

Salmaeis, dying of love for the son of

Aphrodite, with

whom

she was united

Hermes and in one body

(Hermaphrodite).
It is a pity that a

bust of the Virgin Mary, with

a sanctimonious and imbecile expression, has been

placed near these fine works.
author,
religious
It

shows that
to
in

its

Bosio,

knew no
in

better

how
than

express
painting.

feeling

sculpture

He

was foolish enough to attempt the sacred style

with
still

in his old age, and,

greater foolishness, he

330

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
By
Charles

took the public into his confidence.

Dupaty (1775

1825)
By

we have
P. L.

a Byblis changed

into a fountain.

Roman

(1792

1835)
By
J.

group of Nisus and Euryalus dying together, as

related in the sixth canto of the

^neid.

P.

Cortot (1787

1843) another group,

CJdoi'

less tragic,

and

better suited to the requirements of sculpture, of

DapJinis

and

learning to

play the double

tale of

pipe, a piece as pretty

and pleasing as the

Longus

in the translation of

Amyot.
In this

We

have now passed through the Louvre and

are at the entrance to the Luxembourg.

museum we

find

none but the works of contemfor the reason

all

porary painters and sculptors, and

given in a former work,
criticism

we

shall

abstain from

on those groups of statuary.

We will merely
of living

mention the names and works of those who have

been worthy to pass through
artists, to

this

museum

be reckoned after their death amongst

glories.

our national
will

For greater impartiality we

order
:

arrange them

in alphabetical

JagiM

devouring a Hare, by M. 'Antoine

Louis Barye (1795

.),

a bronze
;

group cast

in

one mould, the wax being broken

a process fallen

into disuse since the Renaissance.

Amongst

the

other state collections there are more works

by

M. Barye, such as the four figures of Peace, War,

FBENCH
Force,

SCULPTUllE.

331

and Order, which adorn the pavilion of the

;

new Louvre
famous
animals.
is

and the Lion dciwuring a Boa,

in

the

Tuileries Garden.

Every one knows how

for

justly

M. Barye

his
/lis

representations
zvings,

of

Cupid clipping

Marie Bonnassieux (i8io

....).

by M. Jean Truth, by M.
are also

Pierre Jules Cavelier (1814), to

whom we

indebted for the statue of Blaise Pascal, on the

ground

floor of the

tower of

St. Jacques,

and the

beautiful Sleeping Penelope, for which the

Due de
in

Lu\-nes had a special pavilion constructed

his

Young Hunter playing Antoine Laurent Dantan zvith his Dog, by M. Psyche deserted by Cupid, by M. Antoine (1798). Desboeufs (1793). Innocence, by M. Louis Desprez
Chateau de Dampierre.
(1799).
Butterfly,

Cupid tormenting a Soul, symbolised by a

by
is

M. Augustin

Alexandre

Dumont

(1801)

who

also the author of the fine Genius of

Liberty, on the

Column

of July.
b>^

Young Fisher
companion

DaJicing the Tarantella,

(1804-),

Francois Joseph Duret

who has

since produced the

groups of the Young Neapolitan Dancer, and the

Improvisatore at the Vintage.

Woiinded Dog, by
is

M. Emmanuel Frdmiet
imitation of M. Barye.

(1824-), which

merely a
in

sample of the numerous animals executed by him

Minerva

after the

Judgment

of Paris, by M. Nicolas Marie Gattcaux (17S8-),

who

332

FRENCH SCULPTURE.

was more celebrated and successful as an engraver of medals, Miitius SccBvola, by M. Charles Theodore
Gruyere.

The Gicardian Angel

leading a Repentant

Sinner

to

God, by M. Jean Aristide Husson (1803-).

The by M. Leon Louis Nicolas Jaley (1802-). Innocence, a young girl confiding her first secret to Venus. A Young Girl Frightened by a Snake, by M. Philippe Henri Lemaire (1797-). Ariadne, by M. Aime Millet (1816-) for which his
Naiad, by M. Georges Jacquot (1794-).
Prayer, and Modesty,
;

Bacchant o( the: Universal Exhibition, 1855, would be

a good companion
by a Snake,
s-tatue. A Young Hunter Woimded by M. Messidor Lebon Petitot (1794-).

The Luxembourg
deceased sculptors.

also contains a few

works by
a Vesta,

We

find, for instance,

by Houdon
defence,

Pomona, by Dupaty (1771

1825)

a bas-relief of France, calling her children to her

by Moitte (1746^1810)
the

a Psyche, an Atalanta, by
Pradier (1794

a Son of Niobe, Genevese James

1852), who

is

also the author of the

Fontaine Moliere in the

the

Rue

Richelieu

and

lastly,

Young Fisher Playing with a Tortoise, a Mercury, and a Joan of Arc, by Frangois Rude, who is famous for numerous other works, such as the powerful bas-relief of the Arc de Triomphe de
called

V Etoile,

the Departure, or the Marseillaise.

We

regret not meeting with a single

work

in

the

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
Luxembourg by

333

the two Rameys, father and son by Foyatier, author of the celebrated Spartacus Dantan the of the Tuileries by Charles Simart inexplicable But more still is the younger, &c.
;

or

is;';ii.6ii.T,;.i....i

Fig. 6 1.

The

Marseillaise,

by F. Rude.

absence of Pierre Jean

David, called

David of

Angers (1789 1856).

of the

Pantheon,

of

The author of the pediment the monument Aux grands

334

FRENCH SCULP TUME

honimcs la Patrie Recoiinaissante, of the statue of

P hilopccmcn
o{

in

the Tuileries, of Condi at Versailles,

of Corneille at Rouen, of

La

Fayette at Washington,

Armand

Carrel ^i

St.

Mande, where the famous

and of the busts or
celebrities,
in

political

writer

was
all

killed,

medallions

of

the

contemporary

ought to

occupy a

distinguished

place

the

Museum

of France, especially

when we remember

e-JfttfiaytXi

t^TOV^ ^

/tf.

Fig. 62.

Pediment of the Pantheon, by David.

noble

that, like

Puget and Poussin, he combined great

a

talent with
spirit,

mind and an independent

life

and, like his illustrious predecessors, he has

left

an example of a stainless

from birth to

death.

To
to

carry our account of French sculpture

present

down

the

time we have only to add that

MM.

Guillaume, Perraud, Carpeaux, Crauk, Fal-

guiere,

Gumery,

Aime

Millet,

Thomas,

Paul

FRENCH SCULPTURE.
Dubois, &c.,
at

335

who obtained

the highest distinctions

the Universal Exhibition of 1867, have main-

tained their art on a level with that of French

painting,
nations.

namely,

in

the

first

rank

amongst

all

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
In the early days of our American history,
al-

though the art of Painting excited a considerable degree of enthusiasm, there was no corresponding interest in the sister art of Sculpture. This is, perhaps, the more worthy of notice, because the early men were not indifferent to architecture, and the styles of architecture which pleased them best were the classic, to which, statuary is popularly supposed to be a natural ornament. Yet, while buildings, public and private, in the style which Wren and his scholars had introduced into England, were put up in many of our cities and and, while later, the fashion prelarger towns
;

vailed

all

over the country of erecting Grecian tem-

ples to serve as churches, banks, mints,

;

town halls, and dwellings yet it was long before it was proposed to adorn any one of these buildings with sculpture, and long before an American was born who showed any aptitude for making stat-

ues.

The

real reason of this

neglect

is

to

be

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
found in the poverty of the country.
ings that
often to

337

The

build-

we have

referred to, although they

for a

harmonious proportion and simple well-executed details of ornamentation were nevertheless built of inexpensive matedignity
result

the

be praised

certain elegance

were and

of

rials,

often of wood, and,

when

costliest, of

brick

overlaid with stucco, or of a coarse-grained marble.

But statues must be of marble, and of marand when the labor of the sculptor was added to the price of the material, there were few of the American communities, hardly here and there an individual
ble fetched from over seas
;

citizen,

who

could

afford

the luxury of giving

commissions.
the
first

At

the very end of the last cen-

tury, however, the influences

that were to have shaping of sculpture in America had

begun
ing to
Lovell.

to exert themselves.
trifle

At

the risk of seemI

with the subject,

shall

mention

Mrs. Patience Wright, whose maiden

name was

She

was

born

at

Bordentown,

New

Jersey, 1725, and

made
In

a considerable reputation

both at home, and afterward in

England, as a
like-

modeler

in

wax.

England, she made

people, the

nesses of

many

distinguished

king,

the queen. Lord Chatham, Temple, Barre, Wilkes,

and others. Dunlap, in his " History of the Arts of Design in the United States," mentions meeting
22

338

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

Mrs. Wright in 1784, the year before her death. At that time a full-length effigy in wax of Lord

Chatham, made by
been
tion

her,

case in Westminster Abbey.

was standing in a glass She seems to have

natural
talent,

an
in

artist

of

considerable

but hard circumstances, the want of early instrucart,

and the absence of an art-atmos-

phere, both here and in England, desire a barren tree that

made her inborn

fruit.

bore no lasting

Her

exhibition of wax-work figures was,

we

be-

lieve, the

predecessor of
as
in

Madame

Tussaud's, and

was reckoned Mrs. Adams,

one of the sights of London. first of her lively letters written from England, where her husband was ambassador to the Court of St. James, describes
the
in

an amusing way her and her wax- work and,

;

visit
later,

to in

Mrs.

Wright
from
his wife

a letter

Philadelphia, Mr.

Adams

himself gives

an account of some of the pieces which had been sent over from England to this country to be shown. Thus while West, a great name at Trumbull, and Stuart, and Stuart that time, Newton, were doing us honor with foreigners

and the English, in the art of painting, Mrs. Wright was the only rival we had to offer to Flaxman and NoUekens in sculpture. It was a pity that she should have been more thought of by the public, and we fear she was,' than a

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
genius like Flaxman, but
she

339

much

than the
flattering

we have no doubt that name of statuary Hon. Anne Seymour Darner, of whom
better deserved the

Horace Walpole made, or

sculptor

tried to

make,

a tenth muse.

The next

we hear

of in

America was

one whose fame

is

rests

mainly upon two statues

it

those of Washington and Voltaire, each of which

held in high honor in the city for which
:

was

executed

the Washington for Baltimore, the Vol-

taire for Paris.

whom
to this
for the

This was Houdon, a Frenchman, Franklin and Jefferson persuaded to come

country to
State

make

a statue of

Washington
in the

of Virginia, to
at

be placed

State
1785,

House

Richmond.

He

arrived here in

request,

and visited Mount Vernon, at Washington's where he took measurements of Washpresence of Mr. Madison.

ington's body, in the

executed a bust in marble of the General's head, which he took back with him to France,

He

where the whole the model made

still

figure

was put

into marble from

here.

stands in the

With this statue, which State House at Richmond, and

with Stuart's portrait, in the Boston Athenaeum, we may believe we have the means of judging how Washington looked all contemporary testi;

mony

is

unanimous

in asserting that

each

artist

achieved a remarkable portrait of his illustrious

340
subject.

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
Good
casts from

Houdon's statue are to be seen in the Capitol at Washington and in the Boston Athenaeum. The casts from the head alone are very common. Houdon's original marble bust was for a time in the possession of the sculptor Henry K. Brown, who used it in modeling the head of his equestrian Washington, in Union
Square,
to Mr.

New

York.

Mr. Brown afterward sold

it

Hamilton Fish, who still owns it. A few years later than Houdon, came John Dixey, an Irishman by birth, but brought up in London, where he was a student at the Royal Academy, and he was among those selected to be sent to Italy to finish their studies. But he

came to America instead, arriving here in 1789. He was elected vice-president of the Pennsylvania

Academy
left

of the Fine Arts in 18 10 or 18 12,

but he seems to have lived chiefly in

New

York.

behind him no work of any importance so far as we can learn indeed, he seems to have been principally occupied in ornamental stoneIn wood-carving, cutting and in wood-carving.
;

He

and

in

modeling
earned

in clay,

William Rush, of Phillocal

adelphia,

considerable

reputation.

was born in 1757, and died in 1833. Next to Houdon in importance was another foreign sculptor, an Italian this time, though well Giuseppe Ceknown in France and England

He

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
racchi.

341

He was born somewhere about 1740, in Rome, and was employed together with Canova He
left

and executing sculpture for the PanItaly for England in 1772, and was well received, says Dunlap, by Reynolds, who sat to him for his bust, and he became the teacher in modeling and sculpture of Mrs. Damer, of
in designing

theon,

whom

he made a

full

length statue as the

Muse

But though called upon to execute a few unimportant works, he found so little to do in England, where even the native sculptors earned
of Sculpture.
their bread with difficulty, that he returned, ac-

cording to some accounts, to Rome, and resumed

work as a sculptor. In 1 791, he came to America, where he did what he could to awaken an interest in the fine arts, uniting himself with C.

W.

and William Rush, the carver in wood, in an abortive attempt to establish an Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. He had also a scheme of his own for a mountain of allegory which he would pile up somewhere in marble in honor of Liberty. It was to carry out this idea, in fact, that he came to America; but however well disposed toward his scheme. Congress had not the money necessary, and in 1 795 Ceracchi returned to Europe. During his short stay he made several fine busts. One of Alexander Hamilton, now in the possession of the
Peale, the painter,

statesman's grandson,

is

deservedly admired.

342

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

Dunlap praises highly Ceracchi's bust of Washwhich was purchased of the artist by the Spanish ambassador as a present for his king, but he not caring for it, it remained with the ambassador, of whose widow Richard Mead, of Philaington,

back to America. which he says is at Monticello of another of George Clinton, the governor of New York, and of busts of Paul Jones and John Jay. This was a memorable four years' work, and Ceracchi deserves to be gratefully remembered for it. His after history is a melanit,

delphia, bought

and sent

it

Dunlap speaks

also of a bust of Jefferson,

;

choly one.

He became
;

fanatically interested in

and when the first Napoleon overthrew liberty, he joined himself to those men who determined to rid the land of him by assassination. He was accused of being concerned in the plot of the infernal machine. This we believe is doubtful but there can be no doubt, we fear, that he had plotted a more disgraceful crime, to poniard Napoleon while the First Consul was sitting to him for his bust. But he was arrested on the failure of the infernal machine, and was
the French Revolution
;

guillotined in i8oi.

The names
this

of a few other sculptors

country to practice their art

who came to may be here set

behind them

down, not because the work they

is

left

of

much

importance, but because they no doubt

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

343

exerted some influence, however slight, in advan-

A bass-relief in the RoWashington is signed N. The subject is Penn making his Gevelot, 1827. But we know nothing treaty with the Indians. Another tablet in the Rothis sculptor. more of
cing the general culture.

tunda of the Capitol

at

tunda
is

The subject Pocahontas saving Captain Smith. The same

is

signed A. Capellano, 1827.

sculptor carved the bass-relief in the pediment of

the Capitol, -^ a bust of Washington with Peace on

and Dunlap one side and Victory on the other, ascribes to him the statue on the column of the battle-monument in Baltimore, and the bass-reliefs on the pedestal.

Two

other bass-reliefs in the

Rotunda of the Capitol are signed Enrico Causici of Verona, but without the date. Dunlap says that it was he made the Washington for the monument at Baltimore, and that he competed for the prize of one hundred and fifty dollars raised by subscription in 1 8 16, for a model of a statue of Washington to be placed in the Pennsylvania Academy. The model was set up in the park in 1826. Causici

called himself a pupil of Canova, but he aplittle skill in his art.

pears to have had but

In 1790 was born John Frazee, the first sculpHe was tor of American birth, and parentage.

born at Rahway,
perience of
life

New

Jersey, and had a bitter ex-

in his early years.

In 1815, he

344

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

and having been brought up as a mason and stone-cutter, he attempted to forget his grief in making a portrait in marble of his dead child. This was in 1815, and it was not until 1820 that he saw a statue, and even then his first idea of what could be done in sculpture was gained at second hand by a sight of the plaster casts from the antique sent by Napoleon to the New York Academy of the Fine Arts. His portrait bust of his child procured him *an introduction to Trumbull, then president of the academy, who graciously informed him that " nothing in sculpture would be wanted in this country for a hundred years." No wonder that Frazee ex" such man fit for a president of an a claimed, Is arts There is no excuse for " academy of fine Trumbull, who was himself an artist, but it is worth remembering that about the same time (18 18) a much greater and a clearer-headed man, John Adams, wrote to Binon, a French sculptor, who
lost his only child, a son,
!

applied to
in

him
:

for

permission to take his portrait

of sculpture

has not yet arrived in this country, and

and painting I hope it I would not give will be long before it does so. a sixpence for a picture by Raphael, or a statue by These were the old man's words, but Phidias." He invited Binon hospithis acts were different. him for his bust, and showed sat to Quincy, ably to
marble

"

The age

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
real
to

345

kindness by consenting at his advanced age, have a mould taken of his face in plaster a

most disagreeable experience. We may remark in passing that Binon made a very characteristic bust of Adams, which is now in Faneuil Hall, Boston. Trumbull was discouraging to artists in his acts as well as his words, and Frazee is not alone in his condemnation of his manners. Mr. Frazee made, according to Dunlap, the first marble bust by a native hand. It was of John Wells, Esq., and was executed from imperfect profiles, after the death of Mr. Wells. It was placed in Grace Church, in New York. He gained much employment by this commission, and made busts from
the
ster,
life

of Chief Justice

Marshall, Daniel

Web-

Jay, and judges Story and Prescott, with Thomas H. Perkins and John Lowell, of Boston. In 1831, Frazee entered into a partnership with Robert E. Launitz, and it was with Launitz, in the marble yard where he and Frazee had worked, that Crawford first

Dr.

Bowditch,

Jackson,

practiced his

art.

From this time, cans who have won

abroad
year
in

the

names thicken of Ameri-

distinction at

home

as well as

the difficult art of sculpture.

In the

were born, Horatio Greenough and Hiram Powers, Powers a few months earlier than two men who have exercised a very Greenough,
1805

346

AMERICAN SCULPTURE

wide, but a very different, influence on American

and on the art culture of Americans. Arand scholar, Greenough has never had any equal in America. Story is the only man that can be compared to him, but Greenough excelled Story in largeness of mind, and in the ardor and energy of his nature. He died in 1852, at the ripe age of forty-seven, having executed comparatively few works, but, one of them the Washington of the Capitol a work which has given him a place at the head of American sculptors, among all who are accustomed to judge of the productions of art by the success with which
art,
tist

they unite intellectual or moral qualities with that

beauty of line and form which, with many,

is

reck-

oned the only legitimate object of the artist. It must always be remembered in looking at this statue, that it was designed by the sculptor, to be placed in the centre of the Rotunda, and that it
is

seen to great disadvantage in

its

present posi-

open air. When Greenough learned that the statue was to be removed from the place " Had I for which he had intended it, he wrote been ordered to make a statue for any square, or similar situation at the metropolis, I should have represented Washington on horseback, and in his actual dress. I would have made my work purely an historical one. I have treated the subject
tion in the
:

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
poetically,

347

and confess
life.

should feel pain at see-

ing

it

placed in direct and flagrant contrast with

every-day

Moreover,

modeled the figure

frost,

without reference to an exposure to rain and

so that there are

where the water would collect and disintegrate and rot the stone, if it did not by freezing, split off large
parts of the statue

many

fragments of the drapery."

The

fears expressed

by the sculptor

in this

to-day to be fully
fore long

modest statement are seen justified, as the weather is tellBe-

ing seriously upon the statue year after year.

it

begin to show cruel signs of the power of rain and frost. It ought to be restored
will

to its original place

American
the

artists

under the dome and if our have the sense we believe they
;

have of the merits both of the work

itself

and of
in

man who made

it,

they will unite in a petition

to Congress, to

have Green ough's earnest wish

the matter carried out, even at this late day.

The
chest,

statue of

Washington

is

a colossal sitting
life.

figure, nearly

twice the size of

The

head,

arms, and feet are bare, the lower limbs

is

covered with drapery, which

the right arm.
points upwards, while with his

brought up over
his right

Washington with
left

arm

he holds out a

Roman

sword, the action being symbolical of his

resignation of his commission, and of his recom-

mendation of

his

countrymen

to

the

care

and

348

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
The
chair in which the hero
is

guidance of God.
seated
is

of a grand

design,

the

back of open

work

is

an antique pattern, the sides carved with

bass rehefs of the infant Hercules stranghng the

serpent, and of Apollo guiding the chariot of the

One end of the back of the chair, where it above the sides, is supported by a statue of Columbus contemplating a globe which he holds in his hand the other end has for support an Indian chief. The whole is executed in the finest Carrara marble, and with the most admirable workmanship. Greenough made another statue
sun.
rises
;

for the Capitol

which he called " The Rescue." head of the steps leading to the eastern entrance of the Capitol, and opposite the statue of Columbus, made in 1844 by an Italian, L. Persico. It typifies the conflict between the American and the Indian, by the rescue of a woman and infant from the tomahawk of a savage, by a brawny hunter. To Greenough must be given the credit of having been the first American to exe" The Chanting Chercute a group in marble " ubs and it is pleasant to associate with this most beautiful work the name of Fenimore Cooper, who both suggested the design, and gave Greenough the commission to execute it. The story is, that the daughters of Mr. Cooper were engaged
It stands at the

in

copying a print after the picture in the

Pitti

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
Palace

349

the
to

Madonna
Raphael.

del

Trono
in

which

is

attributed

In the foreground are

the

two cherubs, similar

to those

Madonna

di Foligno, who are singing from an open book which they hold in their hands. Cooper asked Greenough whether he did not find the cherubs well suited for reproduction in marble and Green;

ough

cordially assenting, the

the design

was

given.
little

however, that the

commission to execute It must not be supposed, group is a servile copy of

the figures in the picture.

The
it

idea

is

borrowed,

but Greenough, in rendering

fused into
of his
it

in marble, has in-

most tender and

feeling beauty born

own

nature.

We

cannot do better than to

quote the late Henry T. Tuckerman's description of this group,^ which gives a very clear idea of
a

work

that,

both on account of

its

intrinsic beauty

as well of execution as of design,

toric

and of

its

his-

importance as the first group of statuary by an American hand, deserves to be placed in some important public collection. "The scope of the work," says Mr. Tuckerman, " is obviously It consists merely of two nude cherubs. hmited.

Yet a

careful scrutiny will reveal those niceties of

artist.
Life.

execution which proclaim the true

1

One

of

7^e Book of

the Artists.

American Artist

By Henry

T. Tuckerman.
256.

New

York, George P. Putnam

&

Sons, 1867, p.

350
the figures
tion
is

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
is

planted on
;

its little feet,

and

its

posi-

upright

his

bosom heaves with

;

a gentle
his
;

exultation, as

if

inspired by the song

is

panion, quite as beautiful,

slightly

awed

comone

has ringlets that suggest more strength than the smooth flowing hair of his brother, whose face is
also longer

and more

spiritual

and subdued
is

he

is

more and delicate

in the

up-looking, less self-sustained.

principle of contrast,
faces.
;

A most true
thus unfolded

two forms and

blended

The

celestial

and the

child-like are

we
;

realize, as

we

gaze, the

holiness of infant beauty

a peaceful, blessed charm seems wafted from the infantile forms, whose contour and expression are alive with innocent, sacred, and, as
it

were, magnetic joy."

in the possession of

This group having

been long
afterwards

Mr. Cooper, passed

late

into

the hands of the

John L.
it still

Stephens, with whose family

mains.

we

believe

re-

in Woodstock, VerHis family emigrated from Vermont to western New York, and thence to Ohio. His early life was passed in a variety of employments, chiefly mechanical every sculptor is a mechanic by nature, his art is the child of Vulcan and Venus and he gained experience as a collector of debts, as keeper of a reading-room, in

Hiram Powers was born

29, 1805.

mont, July

tending a steam-engine, and as

workman

in a clock

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
factory.

351

ing
of a

itself in

Afterwards a talent for modeling develophim, he was engaged by the owner

show to make wax figures for it, and these were so clever that the exhibition gained a great local repute. Still later Powers made and exhibgions," in which he
" Infernal Recombined his mechanical turn with his artistic skill and with dancing devils, advancing and retreating demons, grim skeletons, and the sheeted dead, made the not over particular hair of western backwoods audiences stand on endThis was not a very promising beginning, and it must be confessed that Powers' art has always savored more of the mechanical and the sensational than of the purely artistic but he did honestly and energetically what he found to do and when he had once found out that there was an art of sculpture, he labored long and earnestly according to his gift, to win a high place in the field.

ited a horrible spectacle called the

He

has long enjoyed a reputation that

first

we cannot
of Ameri-

believe time will confirm, as the

can sculptors. That must be the reward of the arit tist who can produce the noblest ideal work
;

can never be earned by the making of busts, howand some of Powers' busts are among ever fine His " Greek the finest made in modern times.
;

Slave

"

once enjoyed a fame that seems aston-

ishing to those

who

look back upon

it

but

we

352

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
that
it

must remember
public
full

came

for

judgment
art,

to a

of honorable enthusiasm for the

work
be-

of

its

native artist, but very ignorant of

it

cause

had never seen a masterpiece.

is

His bust

of Proserpine
the ideal
;

the best result of his search for

final

but his

reputation will not be

made

up from a consideration of any of the once eulogized, now forgotten marbles, the Greek Slave, the
Fisher Boy, the Eve, the America, California, Penseroso
;

it

will rest,

we venture

to think, entirely

upon a few manly and characteristic busts. In 1810, Joel T. Hart was born. He is a native of Kentucky, and has resided since 1849 in Florence. He made a statue of Henry Clay, which is in Louisville, in his native State, and he has also designed several ideal figures, none of them of any great value as contributions to art but showing careful study of the human form, and considerable skill in the mechanics of his profession. He has invented a clever machine by which the labor of transferring the model to marble will be greatly
;

lightened.

Three years

later

Thomas Crawford was born

22,

in
is

New

York, March

1813.

Crawford's work
if it

of considerable importance, and

must be con-

ceded that he worked too

his production
is

yet

it

must

also

fast, and that much of marked by too superficial thought, be acknowledged that, like Green-

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

353

ough though with far inferior mental and artispower he was a worshipper of the poetry of his art busts and portraits were the drudgery of the studio he wanted to put ideas into marble, a high aim, but sometimes dangerously alluring the artist into regions where he cannot travel with Crawford began to profit to himself or the world. work in the marble yard of Launitz, who had been the partner in business of Frazee. He then went to Italy, where the good Thorwaldsen, who encouraged everybody, helped him with cheerful auguries and with earnest study of the best models, and close application, he fitted himself to bring all his powers into play in his chosen proGreenough had learned modeling of Bifession.
tic

non^ a

Frenchman who resided a long time in whom we have already spoken as Powers the author of a bust of John Adams. was taught by a German, a mechanic rather than an artist. Crawford was the first American who
Boston, and of

had a thorough training from the start, and it One of his first works, stood him in good stead. the Orpheus descending into Hell to seek Eurydice, now in the Boston Athenaeum, was, we believe, a commission from Charles Sumner, who always
cherished a lively interest in the work of his proall deductions made t6g6. It is to our thinking

for

the defects in execution

23

of a

first

youthful

354

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

work
later,

one

of Crawford's
to
it,

most

original

and poetic

statues.

Next

perhaps, comes one

made much
part of the

the Indian Chief, which

makes

group in the pediment of the Capitol at Washington, and of which a repetition is in the New York This is the figure Historical Society building.

which Gibson, the English sculptor, admired so that he proposed it should be cast in bronze and set up as a monument to Crawford in Rome. Crawford's work at Washington comprises, with the exception of the Equestrian Washington at Richmond, and the Beethoven of the Music Hall,

much

Boston, his principal performance.

We have there
its

the pediment of one of the Capitol wings, with

rather incongruous assemblage of allegorical realistic figures, typifying,

perhaps, the growth of

Amer-

ican civilization, but in a disconnected, alphabetic

fashion.

The

separate figures are conceived in a

as

and make allegory as tolerable There are the School-master and the School-boy, the Merchant, the Woodman, each is doing the Indian Hunter, and the Sailor what he pleases, and necessarily careless of the occupation of the others. This is not to make a group for a pediment, it is merely to force statues into a given space, and lacking the necessary unity of idea, and the moral as well as the artistic connection of the assembled personages, it must be
manly, free
it

spirit,

can be made.

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
admitted a failure as a pediment.

355

much

in praise of the

that crowns the

Nor can we saymuch criticised " Liberty " dome of the Capitol. This is a
still

heavy, unmeaning figure, rendered

graceful and
after

more un-

incongruous by the helmet adopted,

originally

much

discussion, by the artist as a substitute

for the

Cap of Liberty with which he had

covered the head of the goddess, but with which

Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War,
tented.

was discon-

There can be but

little

doubt,

we

should

think, that both on artistic

and moral grounds the secretary was wrong. He had a show of sense in his argument, that the liberty cap was not a fit emblem for a people who had been born free, and who had never been enslaved but the liberty cap is an accepted type, and could hardly have been misunderstood, while its simple form makes it very effective in the hands of the artist. At all events the substitute adopted has a very uncouth effect. It is a combination of an eagle's head and a bold arrangement of feathers, but it has neither mean;

ing nor artistic beauty. Crawford died in London, October

in his forty-fourth year.

The cause

i6, 1857, of his death

was a tumor that formed on the inner side of the His remains were brought to America and buried in Greenwood Cemetery, December 5, 1857. He left the carrying out of his
orbit of the eye.

356

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

unfinished works to his friend and fellow-sculptor, Randolph Rogers, and on the return of Mrs. Crawford to Italy, she offered the entire collection of casts from her husband's sculptures to

any instiAmerica, that would pay for bringing them from Italy, and would agree to put them in a
tution
in

suitable

building for free exhibition.

This has

since been done by the Commissioners of the Central

Park,

who have arranged

The
casts are too

the casts in the

St.

chapel of what was once the Convent of Mt.

Vincent.

crowded

in their pres-

ent situation to be well seen, but

projected building for the
finished

when

the newly
is

Museum

of Fine Arts

they

will

be more

fairly treated.

Seen

thus, collected into

one room, crowded together

and badly

lighted, they yet give the impression of

a decided talent in the sculptor, of a vigorous mind

trying earnestly to express itself in various directions,

but nowhere satisfying either

itself or us.

Certainly,
for

we

look in vain

among

all

these figures
It is

one that

will dwell in the

memory.

mel-

ancholy to record that so

much

enthusiasm, such
art,

high-hearted endeavor, such love of his

should
good,

have

left

so

little

that will

make

the sculptor's

name dear

to the

coming

time.

What

is

endures, however, and there are qualities in some

of the works of Crawford, that will be respected to
the end, though the verdict on his collective per-

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
formance should
will,
fall

3o7
it

short, as

we

think

surely

of the high estimate his friends have placed

it.

upon

Henry Kirke Brown was born

chusetts, in
1

at

Leyden, Massa-

8 14, a year later than Crawford.

He

was drawn first to painting by I know not what influence, and when eighteen years old went to
Boston to study with Chester Harding, with whom he stayed three years, but, as Tuckerman tells us, while modeling the head of a lady, he found he liked sculpture better, and henceforth gave his time almost exclusively to that art. He is however, so essentially an artist that his giving himself up to sculpture was rather a concession, instinctive, probably,

and unconscious,

to the public

opinion that demands a

man

should be one thing

and stick
sible for

to

it,

than such a decided preference for

would make it imposany other way than by statue-carving. For Brown is an excellent painter, having produced several pictures
that particular form of art as

him

to express himself in

particularly

some

portraits of horses

that show

he might have made himself a name with his brush, and he has the making of a good architect in him beside, and is at home in almost all the mechanic
arts.

In 1837, being then twenty-three years

old,

he went to Cincinnati with Dr. Willard Parker, under whom he had been studying anatomy, and

358
it

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
his first

was there he made

marble bust.

In

1840, he returned to the east, and divided two

years between Albany and Troy.

time, for

This was a busy

that in those

we

learn from

Tuckerman

two years he made forty busts, beside other work. In 1842, he left America for Italy, and remained
there for
four years, returning

home

in

1846.

While

sons statues, mostly of the ideal sort, " Adonis," " David," " Ruth," " Rebecca," of which the public

in Italy,

he did

much work

for private per-

knows

little,

sential reason for being

and which doubtless had no esno reason of any sort,

;

money-making one, the root out of which most modern statuary springs, and which sets most young sculptors at work. Brown, however, was not to remain long tied to such performexcept the

ances

the real
;

is

his
it

chosen
is

field

the real and

the present

and

there

that he has

made

After his return to America he lived for some time in Brooklyn, and it was in his
his reputation.

studio there that the statue of Washington,

in

now

Union Square, was modeled, and the bronze chiseled and set up after having been cast at Chicopee. This statue first made Brown known to the general public, and gave him that place as chief American sculptor which, up to this time, he easily holds. It is a noble monumental work, simple in conception, resting in the truth, the sculp-

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
tor's

359

aim, and satisfying the eye from whatever

It is

point of view.

not a mere correct perfunc-

tory performance, but, lively

and

full

of

fire,

the

horse a strong high-mettled beast, looked at with

pleasure daily by horse-loving and horse-knowing

men and
The

boys, the rider a hero not of the stage or

the circus-ring, but of history and

artist

common

sense.

contemplating this work without prej-

udice,

acknowledges its kinship with Verocchio's CoUeoni and Donatello's Gattemelata. I may remark in passing that Mr. Tuckerman's statement

("Book of the
ue)

Artists," p. 575), that "it (the stat-

was projected by Horatio Greenough, who was to have undertaken it with Brown, but finally abandoned the enterprise alter having efficiently ])romoted the enterprise," is founded on an entire misunderstanding, for which, however, there is no excuse, since the writer had only to have made a slight examination to have discovered the facts. Mr. Greenough had nothing whatever to do either with projecting the statue, or with promoting the subscription, nor was he to have undertaken it with Brown. Mr. Lee projected the statue and secured all the subscriptions. The work was
offered in the first place to Mr.

ward, a proposition was

made

Brown alone afterto him to admit Mr.

;

Greenough,

for

whom

he had an affectionate admi;

ration, to a sort of artist partnership

but, such a

360
partnership,

AMERTCAX SCULPTURE.
hardly Hkely to prosper under any

circumstances, was

made impossible

in this affair

by Mr. Greenough's mental condition. He behaved in a manner so unaccountable, that Mr. Brown withdrew from the enterprise, but in a few weeks it appeared that Greenough's conduct, so inconsistent with his noble and generous nature, utterly unselfish, and free from mercenary taint, was sadly explicable. A few weeks later he was carried to an asylum for the insane, where he
shortly after died.

Another

fine statue

ing to an earlier period,

by Brown, though belongis the recumbent figure

of the late Shippen Bird in St. Stephen's Church, in Philadelphia. I have never seen another statue
of this class that

seemed

to

me

so perfectly to

render the beauty of death.

Hundreds of people

go every year to this church to look at the fine group by Steinhauser, in memory of the children
of Mr. Bird,
notice.

who

pass Brown's statue with slight

this neglect is, no doubt, owing to its unsuitable position, but its simplicity and the quiet voice with which it speaks to the

Something of

passer-by has also

latest statue, the

up

in

much to do with it. Brown's General Scott, is soon to be set Washington, an event on which we congratthe
Capitol

ulate

and

all

lovers

of Art.

The

statue of General

Greene, for which Brown re-

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
ceived the commission from the State of
Island,
is

361

Rhode

at

present in the old Representatives

Hall, in the Capitol at Washington, where one should go who wishes to see how like a magnet a free and royal work of art draws all beholders, and
blots out of existence a

room

full

of mediocrities

or worse.

We

leave out of this condemnation the

Houdon's Washington, and a figure of Roger Williams, by Simmons, which latter is a respectable work in point of execution and pose, though unsatisfactory as a conception of the founder of Rhode Island. No one who has seen the statue of General Greene will question, we should think, that it is one of the finest statues of
plaster cast of

our time;

it

rejoices

every beholder.

In 1858,

Mr. Brown received a commission from the State

make a group of thirteen pediment of the State-house to be built at Columbia. While the sculptor was engaged upon the work, having gone to Columbia with his wife, to carry out the commission on the spot, the War of Secession broke out, and the work was interrupted when near completion. When Columbia was burnt, the State-house went to destruction with the rest, and all the finished
of South Carolina to
figures for the
statues, with all the studies, casts, drawings, and,

indeed, the greater part of Brown's possessions in

this world,

were destroyed at the same time.

Pros-

3G2

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

trated by a serious illness, in nearly ruined circumstances, and in an enemy's country, many a man would have lost heart and hope, but Brown
is

of too male a strain for that.

He came

back

to the North,
left
it,

and took up

life

again where he had

with that strong serenity, that quiet con-

fidence, that silent delight in work, that

make his name mean what it does to those who know him. Henry Dexter, whose work does not need the
it

recommendation that

is

produced by a

man

who never had

ble,

the least instruction,

who never

saw a sculptor strike a blow on a block of marand who never had an assistant, but has done

everything with his

traiture

own hands

is

one of the

best of our sculptors in his special branch of porto him a large number of busts Americans strong, individual, truthful work, which will long keep in memory the sculptor, and the men and women who have sat to him. The well-known Binney monument in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, the recumbent figure of the
;

we owe

of well-known

little

child

who

lies

buried beneath,

is

the best
cities

known
grew
in

of

Mr. Dexter's works.

As

our

and the people, used to taking holiday in the suburbs, began to find themselves cut off from their walks and drives by the encroaching shops and houses, there sprang up first
size,

in

Boston,

then

in

Philadelphia,

last

in

New

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

363

York, the fashion of great public cemeteries, the sad forerunners of our later parks. The first

was Mt. Auburn, and it soon became a It was a spot of considerable natural beauty, and it was skillfully laid out in walks and drives. Some of the earlier monuments were remarkable for the good taste displayed in them, and gained much local fame. The tomb of the celebrated Spurzheim was a careful copy of the tomb of Scipio the tomb of one branch of the Appleton family was a delicately designed Greek temple, made in Italy of the finest white marble, and was called " The House of Death," but the marble figure of the little Binney child, lying in a sweet and peaceful slumber, was the
of these

great resort.

itors.

to the greater number of visNot only was it the first marble statue placed in Mt. Auburn, but it was, we believe, the

chief attraction

first

statue

made

in the

United States, by an

American who had never been abroad.

in

One who

boyish days has often visited the cemetery for

the pleasure of seeing that statue, thinks of the

place always as the green

the

home

of that

little child,

baby-leader of the great

company

that has

since

come

to

share

its

pleasant

resting-place.

in the part

Henry Dexter was born in the town of Cazenovia, now called Nelson, Madison County, When York, on the nth of October, 1806. New

364

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

he was twelve years old, his father died, and his mother and sisters went to live in Connecticut. The boy had the usual training went to schoolin the winter, and worked on a farm in the sum:

mer. His mother wanted to make him a minister her friends pushed him to a trade, and succeeded
;

him apprenticed to a blacksmith. Never was a more striking instance of the impossibility of driving out Nature, who yielded no more to the Connecticut forge-hammer than of old to the
in getting

Roman

pitchfork.

We
it is

cannot here

tell

Dexter's

story at length, but

good

to read in his

own

words, in Tuckerman's book.

the portrait-painter whose

Francis Alexander,
experience in youth

own

had been hard enough, was Dexter's earliest adnot a flattering friend, rather viser and helper chilling and depressing than encouraging, until he saw the boy's steadfast temper and firm will then he did his best to open a way for him. The first bust he made in marble was that of the Hon. Samuel Eliot. At that time Dexter had never handled a block of marble, and had no one to show him how to go to work. But he bought the marble, and when the bust was finished, not knowing its value, he left the payment to Mr. Eliot, who generously gave him two hundred dollars for it,

and afterward added fifty dollars more. This, says the modest artist, was the way I became a sculp-

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
tor.

365

In 1859, ^^- Defter formed the design of

making the busts of the President and of all the Governors who were in office on the ist of January, i860. To make his studies, he was obliged to
visit all the States

but, difficult as the

to a

except California and Oregon, undertaking was, it was brought

all

good ending, and when

the busts were set

up

in the

Rotunda

of the Boston State House,

thirty thousand people, says

Tuckerman, went

to

see them.

If they are all as fine as the bust of

the late

Mr. Felton, or as that of Chief-Justice

Chase,

saw a
in his

we must think the thirty thousand people very uncommon sight. Mr. Dexter, now sixty-sixth year, has his studio in Camand
is
still

bridge, Massachusetts,
ing.

actively work-

Erastus D. Palmer, was born in Pompey, OnonHis daga County, New York, April 2, 18 17. parents were farming people, but the boy had a strong bent to mechanical arts was " born with a thumb," as the country people say, and went out into the world at the age of seventeen, to find employment as a carpenter. He worked long at this trade, and in the small leisure that steady employment gave him, tried his hand at cutting on a shell Even in this first a cameo portrait of his wife. effort of an untried hand, the artist was discovered, and he soon found that more people were
;

366

AMETHCAN SCULPTURE.
For, in two years, the incessant

eager to have his cameos, than he had strength of

eyes to serve.
application
to

a labor

that

demanded absolute

steadiness of eye, so wearied that delicate organ

as

made

it

necessary for him to give up his cameo"

cutting.
shall

Good," said one

who heard

of

it

"

we

now have
!

a sculptor in exchange for a

maker

And, in fact, Palmer, with energy " and longings for art not to be thwarted, took up modeling in clay, and soon after produced a small work in marble, " The Infant Ceres." This was the beginning of a long prosperity, for Palmer's work was popular from the first, and the pleasure taken by the people in his statues and bas-reliefs,
of brooches
" The Infant Ceres," first exAcademy of Design, was followed by several bas-reliefs, " The Morning Star," " The Evening Star," " The Spirit's Flight," then, busts

has never flagged.

hibited at the

called " Resignation,"

and

" Spring," all of these,

sweetly pretty girlish

or childish heads without

and which were hurt a little by their fine names. Soon, Palmer attempted a statue, and the " Indian Girl," and " White Captive," were hailed by the public with extravagant
individuality,

much

praise

praise

that their that of

own

merit, great indeed

compared with
is

most of the home sculpture

This
its

already produced, has helped us to outgrow.

not to depreciate Palmer's work, which has

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
own undeniable excellences, but to
the fashion.
marble, but
substitute
is

3G7

mod-

eration for the extravagant eulogy that

so

much

Palmer has great

it

skill in

working
to small also the

is

a skill

better

suited
is

works than
artist's

to large ones, as indeed

invention.

The

"

Indian

Girl,"

and the

White Captive," are better studies from the nude, is Power's " Greek Slave," but they are hardly more alive, and the soft pretty style of handling makes them look tamer still. We hear much of
"

than

Palmer's theories, of his indifference

tique,

to the an-

and dislike of mannerism, of his receipt for hair and eyes but his theories are of small value when his work is here to show us how little they stand him in stead. Just what Palmer never gave one of his statues, busts, or bas-reliefs, is a fine, well-opened eye, and though his hair is sometimes
;

soft

enough,

it

has never strength nor character.

For mannerism, too, that does not come out of Academies, nor can it be shied by turning one's back on Italy. It comes out of the man himself, and is likelier to be strengthened than weakened by rejecting the experience of other men and ages. No American sculptor of note is more mannered than Mr. Palmer, albeit his manner has proved pleasing to a very large number of people. William Wetmore Story, was born in Salem, Massachusetts, February 12, 18 19. His father

368

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

was Chief Justice Story, a great name in Massachusetts, and in the history of the American bar, for learning and character. The career of his son has never been hindered by any of the material
wants and anxieties that have made life so hard a school to many of our best artists. When he was born, Competence received him into her lap he was tenderly nurtured, and well taught he was
;

a graduate of Harvard, and after leaving college, studied law and wrote treatises on law matters
;

he did
ry,

not,

however,

feel specially

drawn

in that

direction, but rather to the arts.

He

wrote poetit,

and has always continued

to write

but the

world has not

that

much
in

cared for his performances

way

we

are always thinking

we have heard
Tennyson,
in

the strain before,

Browning,

in

De

Musset.

As

a writer of prose, Mr. Story has

had a larger audience, and would have had a larger still, for his book about Rome, if he had known how to be less diffuse, and to digest his multifarious learning better. We have heard it said that Mr. Story would prefer to be reckoned a poet
rather than a sculptor, but the world, so far as
it

him at all, knows him by his statues, though the American public has had little chance to become acquainted with him this way, seeing that few statues by him, and none of those in which his friends take most pride, have been ex-

knows

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
hibited

369

on

this side the water.

His earHest work,

is

a full-length statue in marble, of his father,

the chapel at Mt.

in

Auburn
some

it is

a respectable perit

formance, but nothing more, though when

was

no Chief Justice's son in that quarter having done the like before. There is also a bronze statue of Edward Everett in the Boston Public Garden, and here, we think,
it

made

caused

flutter,

the artist has done

subject
;

all
is

that

was possible with

his

the likeness
It

undeniable, and the action

much joked over, but and personality in it, and these are much to find in a statue nowadays. Many Americans, too, have seen the bronze statue of George Peabody in London. These three are, we believe, the only important works of Story that
characteristic.

has been

unjustly, for there

is life

are to be found outside of private houses, at

home

and abroad.

Brompton

two

In the great Exhibition of 1862

statues

by Story were more

"

looked at and more admired, than any other two.

These were the

patra,"

"

Libyan Sibyl

and the

"

Cleo-

the latter now in the possession of John

New
York.

Taylor Johnston, of

Another

statue,

" Sappho," belongs to Mr.

Peterson, of Philadel-

phia. These three are Mr. Story's best works, and though the time has not yet come to judge them fully for no statue nor work of art, of whatever kind, can be fully judged until it has stood in the

24

870
light of the

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
pubHc square

the

final verdict will

probably be that his work shows culture, study,

native refinement, and talent of an elegant, scholarly sort, but
little

imagination and
in

little

creative

power.

Thomas
3,
1

Ball,

born

Charlestown, Mass., June

8 19, is

known

to

the

pubhc

chiefly

by
a

his

equestrian statue of Washington, set up not long

ago

in the

Boston Public Garden.

It is

manly

work, faithful in portraiture, carefully studied, a conscientious performance, having much the same
interest to us as the

Houdon

statue

the

straight-

forward truthfulness of the daguerreotype.

Ball,

Mr.

who has long lived in Italy, began life as a painter, and made some mark in that direction he is a man of many accomplishments, has a fine
;

voice,

and was

at

one time counted a remarkable

singer.

As

much
those

in

name has not been so men's mouths as that of some others, but
a sculptor his
his
;

works know that they are in works " they are not trifling, mercenary performances, but sincere and earnest the artist putting his best self into them, and thus
the best sense "

who knov/

making sure in every case of a result with its own and that lasting. John Quincy Adams Ward was born in Urbana, Champaign County, Ohio, June 29, 1830. His father was a well-to-do farmer, working his own
value,

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

371

three hundred acres, and his son had the usual

advantages in the way of schooUng that were open

to

boys in those days, in what was then the Far

West. His father knew the vakie of education, but he had sense to see that it does not all come
from books, so that young Ward, getting the rudiments of learning easily in the winter schooling,
learned as easily in the out-of-door
sion held

summer

ses-

by

Dame

Nature,

all

the athletic arts, and

could ride, drive, shoot, swim, and skate, with the

best of his fellows.

But Nature had a

fine les-

son to teach her boy,^ and wooed him by means of

bank and a friendly potter, up through the low degrees of pots and pipkins, to pots ornaa clay

mented with bas-rehef which the future talent

"

then to ingenious toys in seen in bud,

for the real is

churches, saw-mills, and whole villages of people,

and a representation oi a train of cars, then a novelty to western villagers." Later he gets hold

some wax out of which his make flowers, carries it off by

of

sister

had meant
after

to

stealth to the fields,

and there
tion,

in a

shady spot works day

day

fashioning without a model and without instrucgetting

hints

from engravings mainly, a

small female figure.

1

As

he grew older, his dis-

For a readable, accurate sketch of Ward's life thus far, see an article by M. D. O'C. Townley, in Scribner's Monthly, August, 1871, to which I am much indebted for my own condensed account.

372

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
showed
to
;

inclination for the farm-life

his family

itself plainly

gave him permission

study medicine,
finally,

but this suited him no better

as often

growing boys restrained by kind unwisdom from a natural bent, he fell ill, and his good sister, divining his trouble, went to Henry K. Brown, and asked his help in making a
to

happens

sculptor of her brother. Mr. Brown, with great good sense, discouraged the boy at first, but in a 'wz.y that showed him the door was not shut, and later in the year, after Ward had made proof that he could do something, he entered Brown's studio in Brooklyn, and remained with him seven years. While with Brown, Ward assisted him in making the " Washington," in Union Square, and afterward, having taken the studio as his own when

Mr.

Brown

left

model of the

"

Brooklyn, he made there the Indian Hunter," and of " Simon

In
1859, during

Kenton," the pioneer of Ohio.

a visit to Washington, he
P.

made

busts of John

Hale, Joshua

Giddings, and
In
"

Alexander

H.

Stephens, and he also produced copies in bronze

of the " Indian."

1863

Ward was
in
"

elected a

member of the Academy, and

the setting up of his

1864 he completed
in

Indian

clay.

Later

it

was exhibited in New York in plaster, and in 1867, having been cast in bronze, it was sent to the memorable Paris Exposition of that year, where it

A^fERICAX SCULPTURE.

373

was one of the very few works of art from America that received any notice from the French artists and critics. When it was brought back to New York it was placed in the Central Park, having been purchased by the commissioners. Ward's statue in bronze of Commodore Perry, a commission from a gentleman who married into the Perry family, has been set up at Newport, Rhode Island, and another bronze, like that of Perry, of heroic size, a young soldier in the uniform of the Seventh Regiment, New York State Militia, a commission from the Seventh Regiment, has been set up in the Central Park as a memorial of the " The part played by the regiment in the war. Good Samaritan," carved in granite, a most unwas a commissatisfactory material for a statue, sion executed by Ward to commemorate the Mor-

ton-Jackson application of ether as an anaesthetic.

It is

will

be known until
in Boston,

one of the sculptor's best works but it never it is taken down from the abit is

surd pedestal on which

hoisted in the Public

and placed on a pedestal which shall bring it, as every statue ought to be brought, on a level with the eye. Ward's latest statue is the " Shakespeare," long ago finished, but not set up in the place destined for it in the Park until

Garden

April of the present year, 1872.

The

statue has

been variously

criticised, but,

on the whole,

Ward

374

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

is reckoned to have met the difficulties of the problem he had to solve with more success if success can be comparative than could have been looked for. Next to the " Indian Hunter," the " Shakespeare " is Ward's best work, and there can be no doubt that it has much increased his

reputation.

Here we

close our too slight notice of the

Amer-

ican sculptors, for lack of space forbids our taking

up every name.
in

Ireland {1833), and not seeing

old,

Launt Thompson, though born America until

has yet so identified

he was fourteen years

himself with America, that his

name should
stands

not

be omitted from any

list

of

American

sculptors,

though

no

one

work of

his

out very

strongly from the general.

rather exaggerated

bust called

Hamlet,
facial

in

" The Trapper," a head of Booth as which the formality and fatal lack of

expression of the original are well reprea

for

sented, and

colossal

statue

of

Napoleon the
soldiers,

Great,

made

one of the Emperor's old

of Mr.

Thompson's works. The small groups in plaster, made by John Rogers of Salern, Mass., the subjects drawn from the war and from every-day American life, have had such an immense popularity that the making of them has become a regular business, and brings him in a large income. Two or three of them have
are the best

known

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

375

considerable artistic merit, and in many of them there is a certain cleverness and naturalness that
justify the

popular liking.

They

are certainly a

godsend to the public with small means to expend on works of art that has so long been wearily stranded on the abominable casts of Venuses and
Apollos with the Canova Graces.

Names of more significance are those of Shobal Vail Clevenger, born at Middletown, Ohio, in 1812,
died at sea, September 28, 1843
;

Edward
;

Sheffield

Bartholomew, born
1822, died at Naples,

at

Colchester, Connecticut,

Akers,
86 1.

known

and Benjamin 2, 1858 Saccarappa, at born Akers, as Paul

died at Philadelphia,

May

Maine, July
1

10, 1825,

May 21,

These three were artists, born with the true temperament of genius, and able to have made a strong mark upon the world had not ill-health Of stayed their hands and baulked their efforts. the three, Bartholomew accomplished perhaps the greatest amount of actual work, and, thanks to the collection of his casts and marbles preserved at Hartford, his performance can be studied and
rated at
its

just value as that of

it

no other Amer-

ican sculptor can, unless

be Ward, whose best

works are in the Central Park, and Crawford, of whose statues there is a complete collection of
casts in a building in the

same

place.

Barthol-

omew's best work,

the "

Eve,"

is in

the possession

376

AMERICAN SCULPTURE.
Jr.,

of Mr. Joseph Harrison,

of Philadelphia.

In

conclusion,

we must mention

the fact that a

num-

ber of American
efforts to
if it

women have made praiseworthy accomplish something in sculpture, and would be mere flattery to admit that any one

them has done work worthy of lasting admirait is no less creditable to them to have tried, and they may at least be judged the peers of many men calling themselves sculptors, and called so by
of
tion,

an easy world.

INDEX OF SCULPTORS AND

SCULPTURES.

378

INDEX.

Ailegrain (Chr'^tien).

" Altar of the Twelve Gods" " Amazon attacked by a lioness

Amazons
Amenopliis (Image
of)

Amenti

(Assessors of)

Ammanato Ammon Ra
Amphicrates

(Figure of)
.

Amset (Head of) Amten (Tomb of) Andrea of Pisa Andre (Monument Aneka (Figure of)
Anguier (Francois)
(Michel)
.

to)

Anochus (Statue Anthermus

Apelles
.

of)

Antinoiis (Statue of)

184,

Aphrodite (Statue
Apollino (The)

ol

ApoUodorus
Apollo and the Swan
Belvedere
.
.

95

I'iO

I3I'

138,

(The bronze)
Citharoedus

descending to Thetis

(The Didymoean)
Epicurius

(The Lycian) Parnopos (The Pythian)

of

9+

107,

Rhodes
77,

Sauroctonos
(Statues of)
107,

ApoUonius " Arc de I'Etoile

Argenti
.

" (The)

INDEX.
" Ariadne on the Panther"
(Statue of)
Aristaeus

.379

PACK
254, 25s, 256

333

(Statue of)
Aristides (Statue of)
.

148
79

Aristocles

Aristomedon

78

Assyria (Bas-reliefs of)

-53

54, 55. 56

57, 59,

270
77 142

Athene (Statue of) Athenodorus Athens (Terra-cottas of) " Atlas sustaining a celestial globe
.
.

43
148

Atum

(Figure of)
)

30

Aubert (Bust of Augustus (Statue of) Auxesia (Figure of

)

327 184, 187 86

" Aux grands hommes

la palrie reconnaissante "

(Bas relief)
233,

"Awaking"

(The) (A)

234 299
332

Bacchante

Bacchus (The Drunken) (The Indian, or Bearded)

(Statue of)
0,
.

212, 223

no
156, 205
.

Baerz (Jacques dc)

Balbiani (Valentine,

267

Tomb
.

of)

303
186

Balbus (Statues of)

Bartholomew
Bartolini.

(Saint, Statue of)

208
237
66 202
56
151

Barye (Antoine Louis)

Basilicata (Vases of the)
Bas-reliefs
.

330, 331
.

by Anselm " Battle of Assur-Akh-Bai " (Bas-relief) <' of the Centaurs and Lapilhce". " of the Greeks and Amazons "

Becerra (Jasper)

Begas

.... ......
.

240, 242, 245 256, 261

Bernini (Lorenzo)

loo, 129, 226, 227, 228, 261,

286

Berruguete (Alonzo)

240, 241, 242, 245

380

INDEX.

INDEX.
Canino (Vases of )
.

381
PAGE

43.

66
37

Cano (Alonzo). "Canopi" Canova (Antonio)

....
97, 148, 220, 228, 229, 230,
2, ;r,
.

245, 247, 248

35.

3^

232, 233, 234,

236, 237, 255, 261, 280, 282, 323.

" Capitoline Tablets" (The) Captives (The, by M. Angelo)

Caracalla (Bust of)

!i8, 221, 293,

33 295
193

Carpeaux Cairrel (Armand, Statue of)

Caryatid (A)
.

334

334
156

Caryatides (by Puget)

Casaubon (Tomb of) Castor and Polhix (Statues of)

Cavelier (Pierre Jules)

315 277 184

331 176
225, 229, 292

Cecrops (Torso of) Cellini (Benvenuto)

Centaur (A) Cephisodotus

117 133
43. 65

Cervetri (Vases of )

Care (Antiquities of) Chabot (Statue of) Chambres (Helen de, Tomb
.

43- 65

306
of)

291

Chantry

280
of,

Charles V. (Triumphs
the Bold

Bas-relief)

241
244. 265

(Tomb
.

of)

IX. (Bust of)

Chares

...
of)
.
.

305 112

Charon (Statue

Chastity (Statue of)

322 114
275 277

Chatham (Tomb of). Chaucer (Tomb of)

Chaudet (Antoine Denis)

Chephrem

(Statue of)

329 80 3'8 268

38, 52, 63, 149

" Chevaux de Marly or Ecuyers

Child's Bust by Pilon

"Chimjera" (They Chimney-piece by Glosencamp

.

268
30

Chons (Figure of )

382

INDEX.
PAGE
197, 262

Twelve Apostles" beneath the Shroud " Christ by Bouchardon by Fa Presto by M. Angelo on the Cross Chiysothemus "Circumcision" (The)
'*

Christ and the

"

227, 2S0

323 227 216

308 78 291
60, 61

Citium (Antiquities of) Claux de Vousonne Clement XIII. (Tomb of)

.

267
239 229
79

XIV. (Tomb
Cleomenes

of)

130. 133
.

Cleosthenes (Statue of)

Cleves (Corneille Van)

Colbert (Bust of)

(Tomb

of)

Colleoni (Statue of)

Colomb (Michault) Colomban (Andre)

Colossi of Khorsabad

322 308 . 316 206, 207 290, 292, 296, 306 290
. .
.

47. 50, 52

Commines (Tomb of) " Conclamatio " (Bas-relief) Conde (Statue of) (Tomb of) Congreve (Tomb of)
" Consolatrice " (La)
Constance Constantine Constant
j

291

194

334 307 276 230

198

WCompound
'

Statue of)

Corinna (Bust of

Corneille (Statue of)

Corneilles (Busts of the)
.

329 324 321

of)

Cornelius

Cornewall (Captain,
Corradini (Antonio)

Tomb
.

253 273 228

Cortot

(J.)

Courtenvaux (Tomb

of)

Cosmo

(Saint, Statue of).

330 308 214

INDEX.
Coudray (Frau9ois)
Cousin (Jean) Coustou (Nicolas)
.

383
PAGE
301, 302, 306

318, 3i9> 321

318, 319
.

(Guillaume)

"Cow
Crauk

of

Myron"
6,

80
3-^4

Coysevox (Antoine)
Croix (Hennequin de
la)

317, 321
.

Cuneiform Inscriptions "Cupid and Psyche" clipping his wings

290 60
326
331

(A

sleeping)

213
329
331

seizing a Butterfly

tormenting a soul

(A Victorious) Cupids
.

324

no

Cypselus (Carved Chest of

77

Cyprus (Terra-cottas of)

43
77

Dameas
Damia (Figure of) Damian (Saint, Statue of) " Damoxenus and Creugas
.

86

214 229

Dannecker Dantan (Antoine Laurent)

254
333 247

"Daoizand Velarde" ' Daphnis and Chloe "

David (by Francheville)
(by

330
309 213 203

M. Angelo)
.

(by Donatello)
(Louis)
Pierre Jean

329
333 275 214

Davy (Tomb

of)

"Day"

(by

M. Angelo)

Decker (Hans) "Dardali"

Diedalus
72, 74,

250
74

Si, 87, 201

.

" Daedalus and

Icarus

"

De

la

Croix (Hennequin)

229 290

384
Delos (Terra-cottas of)
Delia Robbia (Luca).

INDEX.

Demigiano Demosthenes (Statue of)

Denis
(St.,

Gate of)

"Departure" (The, Bas-relief) " Deposition from the Cross "

Desboeufs (Antoine)
.

" Descent from

Desjardins

the Cross "

De Thou (Tomb
" Diana
at the

of)

Bath of Ephesus
Huntress
of Gabii
.

94> 95

97>

with the Stag

Statue of

Dip^nus "Discobolus" (The;

" Dispute

of Poseidon and Pallas

Djizeh (Sculptures of)

Dogs (Bronze)

Domitian (Statue of) Domitius Corbulo (Statue of)

Donatello
202,
21

Dontas

Doryclidas

" DoryphorEe
Drake (Fred)

" (The)
.

Drogues (Jehan de)

Dryden (Tomb
Dubois (Paul)
,

of)

Dumont

(Alexander)
.

(Edme) Dupaty (Charles) Dupre

Duret (Fran9ois Pierre)
Diirer (Albert)

(Statue of)

INDEX.
*'

385
PACK

Early

Dawn "

(by

M. Angclo)
.

Eg>'pt (Black Lions of)

214 184
9 203

(Pyramids of) "Elfin Dance" (The)

Elizabeth
.

(Tomb

of)

Endoeus Ensahor (Statue of) " Entrance of Alexander into Babylon

.

273 90 28 262
122
121

Epeus
Epicurius (Statue of)

Erectheum " Erection of a Colossal Bull Evwin of Steinbach

.

(Portico of the)

" (B; relief) ias-r

154 56

249
78

Euchir
EuteVidas

78

Evangelists (Statues of the)

206, 297
.

" Evening" (By M. Angelo)

214
321

Falcon NET
Falquiere

(Etienne)

Fa

Presto (Luca)

334 227
114
144

Faun's

Head

" Faun with

(by M. Angelo) . the Child "

.

210, 211
.

(The Dancing) (The Drunken) (The Musical)

Faustina (Statue of)

43, 144, 294

32, 133. 140
.

Fauns (Two dancing)

.

114
193

Fenelon (Bust of) Ferdinand of Arragon (Tomb

Fiers
. .

316

of)

243. 244
.

"Fish Flaxman "Flayed Man" (The)

in a

net"

269 280 280 326

146

Flora (The Farnese)

Florence (Baptistery of)
.

i:-,

145
.

203
332

" Fontaine dcs Innocents

.

"

299, 3CHD
.

de Moliere dc
la

t.

Rue de Crenelle

323

38G
Force "

INDEX.

*'

Foyatier

Fra Barduccio Cherichini (Statue

of)

"France"

(Bas-relief)

Francheville (Pierre).

Fran9ois de Bretagne

(Tomb

of)

Fremier (Emmanuel) Frederick the Great (Monument William III. (Statue of) " Friendship" (Statue of).

"

Ganymede

and the Eagle "

of)
.

Garrick

(Tomb
of)

Gatteaux (Nicolas Marie)

Gay (Tomb
Geefs

....
of.)
.

Genevieve (Saint, Tomb of) " Genius of Eternal Repose " " Genius of Liberty "

Georga (Saint, Statue Geta (Statue of)

Ghiberti (Lorenzo)

Giam-Bologna
Gines (Juan) Girardon (Fran9ois)
.

Giovanni of Pisa Gladiator (The Dying) (The Fighting)

.

Glaucias

Glaucus

Glosencamp (Hermann) Glycon Gnidus (Venus of) Goethe and Schiller (Statues
. .

of)

Gois (Adrian)

Goldsmith (Tomb of)

Goujon (Jean) "Graces" (The Three) Gray (Tomb of)

.

267 296,

387
PAGB

Gruyere (Charles) " Guardian Angel leading a Repentant Sinner Guillain (Simon)
Guillaime

to

God
,

332
307 309

Gunnery

Gutenberg (Statue of) Guyot de Beaugrant

Jj4 334 262

269
184

Hadrian

(Statue of)
.

Handel (Tomb of) Hapi (Head of)

279 36 325

Harcourt (Tomb of). " Hannodius and Aristogiton "

Harpocrates (Statue of)
.

90
137 149
29.

Harpy Tomb (The)

Hathor (Figure of )
Hector (Obsequies

30
122
137

of,
.

Bas-relief)

Hecuba

(Statue of )

Hegias or Hegesias Henri H. (Bust of ) in. (Bust of) IV. (Bust of)

90
297, 305

305 309

IV. (Statue of).

Henry VII. (Tomb

Heracles (Statue of

of)
).

309 2 So
77

" Heracles crowned by Glory " (The Farnese) (Head of) in Repose on the Pile vanquished by Love
.

3-0
3,

I45> 146

306, 307

312

320 322
84,

(Various statues of)

.

no,

213, 321

Hermabicippus (A) Hermaphrodite (The Borghese)

120
114
9,

"Hermes"
Hippomachi of Lysippus " Homer in rhapsody "
.

120
III

Horus (Statue of )

329 28, 30
.

Houdon

(Jean Antoine)

325, 326, 327, 328, 332

388

ISDEX.
PAGE
(Jean Baptiste)
(Jean)
.

Huez

322 332
.

Husson

Hyacinthus (Statue of ) Hygeia (Statue of Hyperion (Head of).

) .

329 148 172

158, 168, 271

ICTINUS "Idolino" (The)

....
.
'

62
175. 176

Ilyssus (Figure of, Parthenon)

" Improvisatore at the Vintage Innocence (Statue of)

Iris (Statue of)

331

33 I. 332 173

Isis (Figure of)

Ivory Group by Diirer

30 252

Jacquot
"

(Georges)

332

j3-g"^r devouring a

Hare

"

Jaley (Leon Louis Nicolas) Jerome (Saint, Statue of) .

332

239
'

" Jason bringing home the Golden Fleece carrying away the Golden Fleece
(Statue of)

261

....
.

256

"7
321

Jean de Boulogne [See Giam Bologna) "Jesus bearing His Cross"

Joan of Arc (Statue of) John the Baptist (Statue of) John the Fearless (Tomb of) Johnson (Tomb of " Juana la Loca " (Tomb of) Juan de la Huerta
)

332
203, 204

244, 266, 268

.

277 268 203

1S9

242, 266
.

Judith (Statue of)

Julia (Statue of)

Julius II. (Statue of)

[3,

2:7, 218

(Tomb

of)

216, 217

" Junction of

the Seine

and Marne
.

"
. .

3'8
97
137

Juno of Argos (Statue

of

of)

of the Capitol (Statue of)

Samos
.

160,
.

220 294

(Statue of)

INDEX.
Jupiter Olympius (Statue of)
Paiihellenios (Statue of)
77. 97.

389
PACK

I".

158, 159. 160,

220 82,83
148 291

Serapis (Statue of)

Juste (Jean)
Justice (Statue of )
.

308 256
of)

Kaeschmann

(Joseph)

Kalah Shergat (Obelisk

Karamles (Relics from)

59 59

(Statue found at)

50
at)
5.

Kamak

(Hypostile

room
. ,

29

(Temple of ) Kebsnif (Head of)

Kertch (Palace and Khorsabad (Colossi
(Palace of)

". 27
36. 37

Tomb
of)

of)

43
50, 52

47

47,
.

48

Kneller

"

of) Knife Grinder " (The)

(Tomb

Koyunjik (Palace of)

Krafft

(Adam)

275 35, 136 50 250

.

Krater (The Silver, of Delphi)

75

La Fayette
"LaLotta"
.

(Statue of)
.

" Laocoon " (The)

.

loi, 12:

140, 141,

47,

81, 235,

Laphaes " Latona and her Childrei " (Parthenon) Lebrija (High Altar of) Lebrun (Bust of) Leda and the Swan " Legendre (Roberte, Tomb of) Lemaire (Philippe Henri) Lemonturier (Antoine) Leonardo (Alessandro)
'
'
.

334 313 133 78

176

246
317 321
29

332 268 206

152

Leochares

" Life of the Virgin

Livia (Statue of )

" (Bas relief)

.

290
189

Ligouier (Lord,

Tomb

of)
"

274
33c'

" Lion devouring a Boar

390 " Lo Zuccone"

Longneville (Henri,

INDEX.
PAGE
.

Monument

to)

Lorenzo de Medici (Mausoleum of) Louisa of Russia (Tomb of)

(Statue of)

204 308 214 256 256

291 291

Louis

XIL (Tomb

of)

(Statue of)

Xin.
XIV.

(Statue of)
(Statue of)

307

242, 307, 316, 319

XV.
Luccardi

(Statue of)

319
192

.237
. .

Lucius Verus (Bust of)

Luther (Statue of) Lydian Tomb (The) Lysippus

257 64 259 277

309 260

no,
of )
.

III, 119, t20, 151,

Macaulay (Tomb

Madeleine de Savoie Tende (Tomb of) " Madonna adoring her dead Son "
of Bruges
della Pieta

222,
.

224
215

holding the Infant Jesus

of Naples

205, 240
.

262 280
306
9

" Magdalene " (Repentant) Magny (Tomb of) Manetho (Tables of)
Mansfield

36, 255,

(Tomb

of)
.

*'Mano de

la teta"

274 240
184

Marcus Aurelius (Equestrian Statue

(Statue of)

of)

186, 188, 189 of)

Maria Christina (Tomb

Marius (Trophies of)

231, 232, 282

Leczinska (Statue of)

319 184

Mark

(Saint, Statue of )
.

Marochetti (Baron)

203 282
291
117

Marriage of the Virgin (Bas-relief)

Mars

(Statue of )

136, 261
.
.

Marsyas (Statue of ) (The Bound)

118

INDEX.
Mary
of

391

Burgundy (Tomb

of)

Stuart

(Tomb

of)

(The Virgin, Statue of)

wife of William III. (Tomli of)

Mason (Tomb

of

Matildia (Bust of)

" Massacre of the Innocents " Maurice of Saxony (Bust of) Mausolus (Mausoleum of)
Maximilian (Statue of) Mazarin (Tomb of Medici (Tombs of the)
)
.

Medon

Melas Meleager (Statue of)

.... ....
(Statue of)

Memnon
Memphis

(Sepulchres of)
(Statue of)

Menephtah

Mentichetes (Sepulchral
carrying off

Room

of)
to his heels
'

" Mercury attaching the wings

Hebe
.

(The Flying) and Psyche

of

Rome

(The Seated)
(Statue of)

lO,

" Metrodorus and Epicurius " (Statues

of)

Meyt (Conrad)
Micciades Michael Angelo {See Buonarotti)
. . .
,

Mignard (Bust of )
Millet (Anne)
)

....
.

Milo (Statue of of Crotona (Statue of)

.

Miltiades (Statue of)

Milton

(Tomb

of

" Minei-va after the Judgment of Paris of Athens

Hellotis
.

392
Minerva (The Lemnian)

INDEX.
PACK
.

-155

INDEX.
Nile (Statue of the) . Niobe and her Children

303
PAGE
125, 126, 127, 128

(A Son

of)
of;

Nisus and Euryalus (Statues

332 330
43.
"66

Nola (Vases of) " Nuestra Seilora de

la

Solidad

242

Num

(Figure of)

Nuremberg (Fountain of) Nupte (Figure of) " Nymph of Fontainebleau

.

30 250

30

'

(Th

225, 226, 292

298, 299

"

Nymphs

of the Seine

"

Cannes (Temple
.

of)

Olivieri (Pietro Paolo)

49 293

Onatas Orpheus (Statue of) " Orator " (The) Orcagna (Andrea) "Order"' (Statue of
Osiris (Figure of)

81,87
. .

309 63 202
331

(Statuette of)

30 30
182

.
.

Otho (Bust Overbeck

of)

253 30 324 204 180

106

Pasht

(Figure of)

Pajou (Augustin)
Palissy (Bernard)

Palladio

.
.

Pallas of Velletri

Pantheon (Pediment of
Paoli (Pasquale,

the)

Tomb

of)

Papias

333 274 117

Parcx (Statues of the) Parthenon (Cella of the)

(Frieze of the)

173. 174. 175

162, 163 170, 178 162, 163, 164, 167, 170

162,165, 166, 167, 170, 178 (Metopes of the) 178 (Pediments of the) 162, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 174, 176,
.

....

(Various Sculptures of the)

172, 178, 179. 270.

151, 153, 154. 157, 159. 161, 170,

394
Pascal (Statue of)

INDEX,
PAOE
. .

331

Passion (Bas-reliefs of the),

Paul

III.

(Tomb

of)

250 280

" Peace" (Statue of) Pedro de Machua Pensevau (Statue of) " Pensieroso" (The)
Perillus
.

330
241

28 214
75

Perrand . " Persephone and Demeter" (Statues of)

Perseus (Statue of)
.

334
172

229, 230
.

and Andromeda
cutting off the Medusa's
delivering

Head

312 225 3'3

321

Andromeda
.

Peter the Great (Statue of) Petitot (Messidor Lebon)

332

Pheidias 78, 80, 87, 89, 90, 93, 97, 98, III, 114, 124, 130, 151, 152, ISS. 157, 158, 159. 162, 167, 168, 177, 179. 180, 271,
285, 297, 315, 317.
Philibert le

Beau (Tomb

of)

Philippe de Chabot (Mausoleum of) Philip the Handsome (Tomb of)

the

Hardy (Tomb
.

of)
.

Philopoemen (Statue of)

Phiteus
.

Phre (Figure of) Phtah (Figure of ) Pierre de Breze (Tomb of)

.

Pierre Jacques

Pigalle (Jean Baptiste)

Pilon (Germain)
Pisa (Pulpits of)

Pius VI.

(Tomb

of )

Plautilla (Bust of)

" Pluto can-ying away Proserpine

Plutus (Statue of) Pomona (Statue of)
Polycles
. .

"

Polycletus

INDEX.
Polydorus

3!)5

PAGE

Polyhymnia (St.tue of) " Polyphemus on the Rock " Ponipey (Bust of)
Poniatowski (Statue of)

142 112

322 182 262 277

291

Pope (Tomb of) Porta (Giacomo della)

Poucher (Tomb of)
Pradier (James)
.

"Prayer"
Praxiteles 87, 90, 93, 105, 108,

332 332

no,

126, 130, 133, 144, 152, 209,

285, 324.

" Presiding Spirits of the Games " " Prretorian Soldiers " (The, Bas-relief)
Prieur (Barthelemy)

122

....
.

194

" Progress of Civilization " (Bas-relief) " Prometheus and the Vulture ". Psammetichus-Mouneh (Statue of) " Psyche and Cupid " deserted by Cupid
(Statue of)

309 270

322 28

324
331

324, 332
.

with the

Lamp

326
152
81

" Pteron
Ptolycus

" (The)
.

Puget 220, 286, 307, 310, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 320, 321, 322,
323. 334-

Pupienus (Statue of)

Pythis

190, 197
152, 153

Ra

(Figure of)
of)

Ra-em-Ke (Statue of) Rameses-Meiamun (Statue Rameys (The two)

.

7.

30 9 26

Ra-Xefer (Statue of) " Rape of a Sabine "

41

Rauch

(Christian)

255, 2 56, !57,

.

294 260
289 303
2;i

Ravi (Jean)

Rene Birague (Tomb " Repose in Egypt "

of)

(After A. Diirer)

30(J

INDEX.

Rhsecus

Rhytons

Riclielieu (Bust of)

Rietschel (Ernest)

" River god pouring water from

Roland
(P. L.)

his

urn "

Roman (P. L.). Rome (Vases found

Rosetta Stone (The)

at)

Rotator (The)

Rotrou (Bust of) RoubiUac Rousseau (Jacques)

(Bust of Jean-Jacques)

Rowe (Tomb
Rude

of)

(Francois)

Sabina

of Steinbach
his Cross

" Saint Andrew before

"

Saint Sebastian at the Pillar

(Statue of)

Sakkara (Pyramid of)

Salmacis (Statue of).

Samoun

(Sepulchres of)
202, 20 D'

Sansovino (Jacobo Tatti)

Sappho (Figure
Sarcophagi

of)

Sarrazin (Jacques)

Saxe (Marshal,
Satyrus
.

Tomb

of)

ScarabKus

Schadow.
Schafra (Statue of) Scharnost (General, Statue of)
Schuffer (Sebald)

Schwanthaler Scopas . Sculptors of Greece (Statues of)

.

Scyllis

INDEX.
Seb (Figure of)
Sebald (Saint, Baptisteiy of)
(Saint,

397
PAGB

Tomb

of)
.

30 250 250

Seguier (Bust of )

Selinuntium (Temple of)

Sepa (Statue of) Septimus Severus (Bust of) " Sermon of Saint Paul at Athens
Sesurtasen (Statuette of)
Seti
I.

9.

43 27
192

305 26 29 27
27,

(Tomb

of)
.

II.

(Statue of)

Seth (Figure of)

Sethos (Statue of)

30 27

Sevekhotep (Statue of) Shakespear (Tomb of) Sheemakers " Shepherd Phorbas carrying away Sheridan (Tomb of)
.

26, 29
77, 278,

280 329
56 202
155 114

276, 278
th

young Oedipus

'

277, 278

" Siege of a

Town "

(Bas-relief)

Siena (Pulpits of)

Sigean Inscription (The) " Silenus with the young Simart (Charles)

333

Simmias Siumutf (Head of)

.

90
36, 37 " (The)

" Sleeping Penelope

Sluter (Claux)
.

331

267
81
.

Smilis of yEgina

Socrates (Statue of)

120

Sola (Antonio)

Sopers
Sophroniscus
.

247 269
159
5>

Sphinx
Spenser

41, 45. 53

Spartacus (Statue of)

(Tomb

of)

333 277
135, 136

Spy (The)
Stanhope (Tomb of)

274
34, 35

" Statuae Iconicse" " StelK "

\i8, 182, 187

5. 32,

398

INDEX.

INDEX.
PACK

"

Transfiguration of our Saviour

"

241

Trebatti (Paul Ponce)

305, 306

Tremouille (Charlotte,

Tomb

of)

"Tritons" "Triumphant Rome" " Triumph of Maximilian

308 298 186

251

II."

"Truth" (Statue of) Turenne (Tomb of)

308, 331
.

227
28

Un-Nefru (Statue of) "Union" (Statue of)

Urania (Statue of)
.

308 112
227 322
32t
61

Urban VIII. (Tomb of) " Ulysses bending his Bow

"

Van Bogaert

(Martin)

Vase (The Grecian) with three Graces

Vases (by

303, 304
.

Cellini)

226
64, 65

(Etruscan)

Vela

237

Venus of Amathus Anadyomenes

at the

97
122

Bath

325
144 144 148
105 105 105

Callipygos
of

Capua

(The Chaste) (A Draped) Euplcea .

Genetrix
.

.
.

of Knidus

80, 97, 105,

324
los

leaving the Bath

a Libertin of Medici
of

136, 138

Melos

93. 128, 129, 130, 140, 145 loi, 104, 129, 140 93^ 94, 95 97,
.

of Praxiteles of Troas Victrix

.

130
105 105

92, 104, 105

.

Venuses (Two Marine)

400
Verrocchio (Andrea).

INDEX.

INDEX.
" Young Fisher dancing the Tarantella "
playing with a Tortoise "
.

401
PAG a

332

" Young

Girl frightened

by a Snake "
"

with the Stag

332 323
331

" Young Hunter playing with his Dog wounded by a Snake Young Neapolitan Dancer "
'

332
331

" Zephyrus carrying

Zeuxis

.......
off the
.

Sleeping Psyche "

256 ii8
39.

"Zodiac of Denderah" (The)

40

INDEX TO AMERICAN SCULPTURE.

"

Adams, John " (by Binon) Akers (Paul)

(Thomas) Bartholomew (Edward " Beethoven "
Ball

345 375

370
375

Sheffield)

354

Binney Monument Binon

" Bird, Shippen "

....
. . .

362, 363
344, 353

360

Brown (Henry Kirke)

Capellano (A.)
Causici (Enrico)
" Chanting

357, 358, 359, 360, 361, 362, 372

343
343

Ceracchi (Giuseppe)

340, 34 r

Cherub " (The)

348, 349, 350

" Cleopatra "

369
375

Clevenger (Shobal Vail) Crawford (Thomas)

352, 353, 354, 355, 356

.

Dexter (Henry) Dixey (John)

363, 363, 364

.

340

402
"

INDEX.
PAGE

" Everett, " "

Edward

Eve

375

Frazee (John)
Gevelot (N.)

343. 344, 345

343 373
361

"Good Samaritan"
" Greek Slave "
.

(The)

351. 352, 367

. .

"Greene"

(General)

Greenough (Horatio)
Hart
(Joel T.)

345. 346, 347, 34S, 349. SS"^. 359

352

Houdon
" Indian Chief" " Indian Girl "
.

339

354
372
355 369

"Indian Hunter"
" Liberty "
.

" Libyan Sibyl "

"

Orpheus "

353
365, 366, 367 345. 350, 351, 352

Palmer (Erastus D.) Powers (Hiram)

.

" Proserpine "

352

"Rescue" (The)
Rogers (John) Rogers (Randolph)

348
374, 375

Rush (William)
"^

356 340
369

Sappho

"

"

Shakespeare "

373
346, 367, 368, 369, 370

Story (William Wetmore)

Thompson (Launt) "Trapper" (The)

374

374

INDEX.
Ward
(John Quincy Adams)

403
PAGE
370, 371, 372, 373

"Washington" (by Ball) " Washington" (by Crawford) " Washington " (by H. K. Brown)
"Washington"
"

370

(by Ceracchi)
.

Washington " (by Greenough) " Washington " (by Houdon) " White Captive Wright (Mrs. Patience)

"...

354 357 342 346, 347> 348 339 366, 367

337, 338

A.

NEW AND VALUABLE

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TI^AVEL, EXPLOITATION,

AND ADVENTURE.
EDITED BV

BAYARD TAYLOR.
Illustrated Libr.\ry op Wonders (nearly one. and in France) is considered bv the publishers a suflBcient guarantee of the success of an Illustr,\ted Library of Traveju Exploration, and Ad\"enture, embracing the same decidedly interesting and permanently

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15

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'
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ARABIA.
TRA VELS IN ARABIA.
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Compiled and arranged by Bayard Taylor.

l2mo., 18 full-page Illustrations and a Map, $1.50.

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In

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J^or

Specimen Illustration

see

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12.

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'

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[JVill be ready in Scpumber.'^

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travels

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Magyar,

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e.xplorer,

are duly described.

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else

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other explorers in this region.

For Specimen

Illustration see

page
Ml

13.

'

^ -^

I.M

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