Hoy at Academy. 223 



little islands of Greece were celebrated for some perfection in 

 small works ; — this taste still subsisted in the Christian sera in 

 those states, from the Scriptural embellished missals at present 

 in existence. 



March 2. — Mr. Flaxman proceeded to consider the relation 

 which the arts of design bear to all the branches of knowledge, 

 and the powerful illustrations they afford. They were the arts 

 of design, which eidivened early ages with the first dawn of 

 knowledge, and which poured a fuller blaze upon succeeding ge- 

 nerations. The Professor commented upon the subjects in which 

 the arts would be most advantageously employed ; and thi.'t would 

 appear to be (in the words of Socrates) the human form animated 

 by the human soul. The great powers that the ancients possessed 

 in expressing actual life in stone, were displayed in the animals 

 of the Pope's Museum, and more particularly in the horses of 

 the Elgin Marbles. The state of art among barbarians was no- 

 ticed, and the first rude attempts at expressing that form which 

 they did not completely understand. The learned Professor then 

 went through the rise and progress of Sculpture in antiquity, 

 from the rude and stiff figures of the earliest ages to the splendid 

 works of Phidias, in the time of Pericles, and concluded his ob- 

 servations by pointing out the imperfect perspective in the draw- 

 ings of the ancients, and referring for a proof of this defect to 

 Vitruvius, and the work called Euclid's Optics, but which was 

 in fact a collection and compilation from those who preceded 

 him. By the modern improvement, such as was exemplified by 

 Michael Angelo, a depth in perspective was given greatly su- 

 perior to the drawing in this respect of the ancients. Through 

 this imperfection the drawings of the architectural works of an- 

 tiquity were too often incorrect and inadequate for the display 

 of their beauties. 



March 16. — TheProfessor entered into the detail of the science 

 of disposing Drapery, imder two heads ; first, as it is subject to 

 the laws of gravity ; and, secondly, as it is influenced bv the laws 

 of motion. — With respect to the former, he observed, that dra- 

 pery, in its simplest state, represented one fold hanging from the 

 principal projection of the body, and becoming complex according 

 to the number of folds from different parts of the body, and their 

 rariation into different courses as they fall bv gravity. The tu- 

 nic of the Romans was particularly noticed, as were likewise some 

 beautiful figures in Henry the Seventh's Chapel. Some ancient 

 draperies were much finer and more transparent, and their folds 

 strongly resembled modern muslin; this was particularly the case 

 ji) figures of nymphs, terrestrial and marine, Bacchanalians, ^'c. 

 As a specimen of this description of drapery, a very beautiful 

 drawing from an antique of Iris was exhibited. 



In 



