62 SECOND ANNUAL MEETING. 
Amongst other disadvantages under which this work was 
produced, Flaxman observes, “ there were neither prints, 
nor printed books to assist the artist ; the sculptor could 
not be instructed in anatomy, for there were no anatomists.”* 
This must be received with some qualification, for though 
in the middle ages the knowledge of the human frame was 
probably very limited, yet our sculptors, many of whom 
may have travelled, must, as men of observation, have availed 
themselves of every opportunity of gaining knowledge, and 
was it possible for them to have acquired the grace observ- 
able in many of these groups and single figures, especially 
in the female form, without some anatomical knowledge of 
the human frame? Early medical writings, though not 
generally accessible, may have become familiar, from their 
contents being quoted, and they may have given hints both 
as to proportions and outline. In Mr. Winston’s able work 
on a sister art, are some valuable remarks which closely 
apply to the present subject. 
“ Notwithstanding their rudeness, and defective drawing, 
the early English figures in general possess great merit— 
simple and unaffeeted, they are often grandly conceived, 
though they may be imperfectly executed through the 
artist’s want oftechnical skill. A deep and lively feeling often 
pervades the entire figure; and its countenance, though 
frequently distorted and exaggerated, is apt to exhibit both 
expression and character, in a far more striking degree than 
is usually the case with later works. The early English 
artists were particularly happy in their representations of 
deified and sainted personages ; the peculiarity of the style, 
as shown in the formality and severity of the countenances, 
and the stiffand unnatural character of the draperies, contri- 
buting to produce a solemn effect wellsuited to the subject.”f 
* Lectures ut supra, p. 39. 7 Winston on ancient glass painting, p. 48. 
