DRAWING. 



107 



Drawing, 

 or Design. 



The Torso. 



PLATE 

 ccxxxiv. 

 Fig. 3. 



Hercules 

 Farnese. 



PLATE 



( ( -XXXIV. 



Fig. ?. 



Apollo Bel. 

 vedere. 



PLATK 

 re vxxv. 



-M. i. 



Group of 



tli. I. mi. 



PLATE 

 ccxxxiv. 

 Fig- 1. 



eyes. Hence that singular simplicity which character- 

 ises their works ; for though at times, as in the Venus 

 de Medici, and the daughters of Niobe, they rise to an 

 assumed gracefulness, yet this is confined to so simple 

 a contour, it is so little above the measure of ordinary 

 action, that it appears less the effect of study, than the 

 natural result of a superior character, or an habitual 

 politeness. 



We have selected the following statues as speci- 

 mens of ancient art ; each possessing a distinct and 

 well-defined character, in form, proportion, and ex- 

 pression, and may be considered as the head and re- 

 presentative of the class to which it belongs. 



Of all the remains of ancient art, there is none that can 

 be compared to the fragment of the Hercules, commonly 

 called the Torso of the Belvedere. In point of sublimi- 

 ty and grandeur of stile, it is unique ; it is the most 

 complete system, or combination of parts, that can pos- 

 sibly be conceived, for the idea of corporeal force, 

 which it was intended to convey ; the character of all 

 the parts most perfectly corresponds with each other, 

 and with the general idea of the whole. The length and 

 taper form of the thighs are well calculated to obtain 

 the victory in the foot race, which Hercules won at 

 Olympia ; but their agility appears more the effect of 

 force than of lightness, and they are in perfect unison 

 with the loins, abdomen, chest, and back, which exhibit 

 a power that might well crush Antaeus. Compared 

 with this, the Hercules Farnese, though possessing 

 much beauty, is heavy and inert. In order to give a 

 more decided character of strength, as is thought by 

 some, the artist has borrowed from the bull the thick- 

 <if his neck, and the hair of his forehead. The 

 practice of the ancients in giving a character of divinity 

 to their gods and deified heroes, was to suppress the 

 veins and sinews, as is observed in the Torso, Apollo, 

 and others. In the Torso, he is represented as purified 

 from the grosser parts of human nature, and arrived at 

 the felicity of the immortals. The Farnese Hercules is 

 still in the middle of his labours, and man is impressed 

 on the whole figure. 



Of all the productions of art, which have escaped 

 the ravages of time, next to the Torso, the Apollo Bel- 

 vedere is by far the most sublime : his stature is above 

 that of man, and his whole attitude breathes majesty. 

 Here is nothing mortal, nothing that seems subject to 

 the wants of humanity. His body is not heated by 

 veins, nor agitated by nerves, and a celestial spirit is 

 spread over the whole figure. He has overtaken Py- 

 thon, and, in his rapid course, has just transfixed him 

 with his mortal weapon. 



In the group of the Laocoon, the great aim of the ar- 

 tist has been to impress on the mind of the spectator, 

 those emotions of terror and pity, which arise from 

 that climax of distress, exhibited in the unavailing ef- 

 forts of an agonised father and his children ; the chil- 

 dren calling on the father for assistance, and he upon 

 heaven, which has abandoned him to his fate. The 

 forms of the children are full of grace and beauty, and 

 the noble, vigorous, athletic figure of the father, is ad- 

 mirably calculated to exhibit those convulsive writhings 

 which agitate every member. Besides the variety ari- 

 sing from the different ages and characters of the figures, 

 their actions are so diversified, that, in every point of 

 view of this admirable group, the eye is presented with 

 a combination of circumstances and aspects, so beauti- 

 fully varied from each other, that it is difficult to say 

 which is most to be admired, the vehement, direct, and 



uniform address of the subject, or the graceful and 

 skilfully variegated manner in which it is communicated. 



The Venus de Medici is remarkable for the beautiful 

 expression of her countenance, the elegance and grace 

 of her attitude, and the sweetness and delicacy of her 

 form. This figure has always been considered the mo- 

 del of female perfection, and is a fit representative of 

 the queen of beauty. 



The Antinous of the Belvedere, as it is commonly 

 called, has a just claim to be ranked among the finest 

 remains of ancient art ; but more for the beauty of the 

 parts, than the perfection of the whole. The lower 

 parts of the body, the legs and feet, are much inferior, 

 both in form and execution, to the rest of the figure : 

 the head is, without controversy, the most beautiful of 

 that class of character now extant. The face of the 

 Apollo Belvedere indicates stateliness and majesty ; but 

 that of the Antinous presents the graces of youthful 

 beauty, accompanied with native innocence, without 

 the indication of any passion capable of disturbing the 

 harmony of parts, and the repose of mind, impressed 

 on every feature ; his eyes, arched with a gentle in- 

 flexion, speak a language full of innocence ; his cheeks 

 form a fine combination with his elevated and rounded 

 chin, and complete the graceful contour of this noble 

 youth. His chest is powerfully elevated ; his shoulders 

 and sides are of a most finished beauty, but his legs are 

 deficient in that fine form, which such a body requires, 

 and his feet are of a coarse and ordinary execution. 



The statue known under the name of the Gladiator 

 Borghese, comes next to be considered. The Torso of 

 the Hercules, and the Belvedere Apollo, above describ- 

 ed, offer the ideal in its greatest perfection. The group 

 of the Laocoon presents nature elevated and embellish- 

 ed by the ideal, and by expression ; but the merits of 

 this statue consist in the assemblage of the natural beau- 

 ties of an adult man, without the addition of any thing 

 from the imagination. 



The preceding figures are like an epic poem, which, 

 passing from the probable beyond the true, leads to the 

 marvellous ; whilst the Gladiator is like history, which 

 candidly exposes the truth, but with the finest choice 

 of thought and expression. The air of his head shews 

 clearly that his form is taken from an individual model; 

 his whole physiognomy presents the idea of perfect 

 manhood, the structure of his members, the traces of 

 a life constantly active, and a body hardened by fa- 

 tigue. 



The arts of design had long been cultivated in Greece, 

 and by the time of Pericles they had arrived at the 

 highest perfection. From that period to the time of 

 Alexander the Great, history presents us with a long 

 and brilliant list of men, whose works in art, as well as 

 letters, have been the admiration of every succeeding 

 age. During this period were produced almost all those 

 stupendous works of ancient art, which have ever since 

 been the standard of legitimate taste, and to which we 

 are solely indebted for all that is great or excellent in 

 modern art since its revival. This was the age of Phi- 

 dias, Polycletes, Myron, Parrhasius, Zeuxis, and Apel- 

 les : and although a general purity of conception is ob- 

 servable in almost all the works of the ancients, even 

 to the lowest class ; yet it is to the productions of this 

 time only that the term antique, as a model of per- 

 fection, can properly be applied. 



Our limits do not permit us minutely to trace the 

 various fluctuations of the arts of design, from this pe- 

 riod to their total extinction during the middle ages ; 



Drawing, 

 or Design. 



Venus de 

 Medici. 



PLATE 

 ccxxxv. 



Fig. 4. 



Antinous. 



PLATE 

 ccxxxv. 

 Fig. 2. 



Gladiator 

 Borghese. 



PLATE 

 ccxxxv. 

 Fig. 3. 



History of 

 ancient art 

 in Greece. 



