SCULPT I 



SCULPTM:,:. 



they wrr ; he represented them sa they appeared to b." TUU seems 

 to be a paradox ; but it in not to, and iu meaning and the value of the 

 principle are quite intelligible to artis**. It shown that Lyaippus oou- 

 idwwl that very minute detail and oloae mechanical copying should 

 be nude aubssrrieot to MMnl effect Lytippu* left several scholars, 

 three of whom, hii on* Daippus or Laippus, Bedai. and Kuthycratos, 

 are mentioned amongst the moat eminent of hi* successors. The last i* 

 aid to have imitate, I the tiruintoM. or the austerer parU. of hi* father's 

 practice, rather than hit man elegant and pleasing qualities. " There- 

 fore,* ay Pliny ( Hut. Nat.,' xxxiv. 8), "he succeeded admirably In 

 a statue of Heroulea at Delphi," Ac. There i a fine bronze statue of 

 Hercules in the Townley Gallery in the British Museum, which has 

 every indication of being of this school. 



The perfection of sculpture seems to have been attained under 

 Praxiteles and Lyiippu*. They were contemporary, and each effected in 

 hi* way what was before wanting to iu completion. It is believed that 

 there are imitations of some of the works of Praxiteles in the various 

 modern collections of sculpture. Among these are the Sleeping Kami, 

 at Munich; the Cupid of the Vatican, at Rome; statues of Y,uu*. 

 believed to be copies of the far-famed Venus of Cnidus ; and the Apollo 

 Sjauroctonus, at Rome. 



The death of Alexander the Great (324 B.C.) was followed by the 

 dismemberment of his vast empire. The art* Buffered in some measure 

 by these divisions and contentions; but it is difficult to assent to 

 Winckelman's opinion, that after the death of that prince there wan 

 nothing left except a class of mere imitators. Each of the artiste above 

 mentioned left numerous scholars, who still preserved the high cha- 

 racter of sculpture by their own successful practice. Among the most 

 distinguished of these sculptors are Cephiaodotua and Eubulus, the 

 sons of Praxiteles ; Pamphilua, hia scholar ; the before-mentioned Daip- 

 I>u, Bedas, and Euthycrates, the sons, and Tisicrates, the scholar, of 

 I.y -ippui (the works of the latter are said to have been so excellent 

 that they were often mistaken for those of Lynippus himself) ; Xeno 

 crates, who also wrote a treatise on his art ; Chares, the Lyndian, the 

 author of the famous Colossus of Rhodes ; Dameas, Eutychydes, and 

 1'hiL-nix. Hermooles of Rhodes is mentioned as having been employed 

 by the earlier Seleueidaj. Isigonus, Pyrouiachus, and Stratoni. us 

 illustrated liy their art the victories of Attains and Kumcnes over the 

 Gauls ; and the Ptolemie* also for a time were protectors and patrons 

 of artist*. To the above names many others might be added, sufficient 

 I xitb in number and talent to warrant the belief that sculpture was not 

 only still encouraged and practised on the best principles, but that 

 there were artists living quite capable of aiding it* progress by tlieir 

 own genius. The assertion therefore of Pliny i\\xiv. S), that from 

 the 120th to the 155th Olympiad the Art wax almost extinct, seems 

 utterly groundless. To this or about this period antiquaries have 

 attributed gome of the moat interesting remains of ancient sculpture 

 that have reached our times. Amongst these may be noticed Un- 

 well-known statue of the Hermaphrodite, at Paris ; the fine fragment 

 called the Torso of the Belvedere, at Rome ; the Hercules, called the 

 Farnese, at Naples; and the statue called the Fighting Gladiator. To 

 these some have added the group called the Toro Farnese, at Naples, 

 representing Dirce, Zethua, and Amphiou with the bull, and even the 

 group of Laocoon and his sons. 



The fatal blow to the existence of the arts in Greece was given by 

 the success of the Roman arms. Lucius Miimmius li.-i I been sent by 

 the senate against the Achtcans. He engaged the Greek army near 

 C'lirinth. tin- principal city of the famous Admin League, m. I com 

 plrti-ly defeated it. The city was immediately devoted to destruction, 

 and sacked by the conquerors. The Romans carried away from this 

 celebrated seat of the arts, as well as from the other cities of ' 

 u Inch fell into their hands, the greater part of the line prodiu-tioiiK 

 both in painting and sculpture, which had been accumulated for cen- 

 turies. These were forthwith transported as spc.il to Hume, which 

 became tilled, for the first time, with the most splendid monuments of 

 Grecian tante and genius. This event occurred in the ISSth olympiad. 

 or 146 B.C. Athens, whieh may 1 ntrc of 



art, and the favourite asylum of the must distinguished artists of 

 Greece, hail suffered a variety of fortune since the time of Pericles, 

 when her glory may be said to have been at its zenith. Her )wlitical 

 importance declined from about that jicriod. l,ut .-.In- still K.TIMS to ha\e 

 maintained a character as the abode of literatim and of art 1m. 

 her political inHiieiice was at an end. At length sin- was do. ; 

 share, in full, the calamities and humiliations 



1 id been subjected by the victories of the Human-. Having 

 vainly endeavoured to ini|-d.- the progress of the Roman army int.. 

 Greece. Atli. n- had to submit to what she might fairlv c..n-id. i a 

 barbarian conqiieior. In the year ,M! u., ,cd as her . 



the haughty and unrelenting Sulla. The historv of ancient sculpture 

 in Greece may be raid to close at this time. i.-iblMimciit 



of the Roman empiie, the Greeks n.i I..,,-.] | K ,d either the higher 

 inducement, or the mean* to carry on the exercise of the art* in what 

 may be considered their native country; and th. -ir profess.., 

 driven to seek employment and an asylum among their conquerors. 



The greatest inllux of Greek artist* into Italy occurred when 

 Augustus had obtained the sovereignty, though earlier than this 

 period there had been some effort* made by individual Romans to 

 introduce a taste for art among their countrymen. A slight general 



view of what bad been effected in this respect, or rather, of the means 

 usftd to effect this end. will not be out of place here, as introductory 

 to the examination of what haa been called Roman sculpture, ; but the 

 art iii ver appear* to have been naturalised among this people, and, as 

 will be seen, it was always rather an exotic in Rome, nur- 

 U-nded by its own natural cultivators, Greek sculptors, than a : 

 brought to any jierfeution by the people in whose stranger soil it had 

 accidentally, and almost forcibly, been planted, 



Roman Sadptturt. It is not easy to determine when tli.- !. 

 began to pay attention to the art* of painting and sculpture. For a 

 long period they were too much occupied iu insuring their safety and 

 strengthening and extending their state, to think of arts w hi. i 

 could then only have looked upon as umvuithy of a warlike people. 

 Thi-ir lir-t pul.lic monuments were doubtless trophies. The trunk of 

 a tree, stripped of it* branches, and bearing the arms of the \ ,m. pii-h.-.l. 

 proclaimed the achievement of the victor, and at the same time incited 

 the young Roman to exertion in his country's cause. The sculpture 

 mentioned as existing iu Rome at a very early date was, there can be 

 no doubt, of foreign growth, the production of their neighbor 

 Etrurians ; and the celebrated she-wolf still existing in the Capit 

 of the most ancient and interesting monuments, whether considered 

 historically, or as an example of early bronze sculpture, may fairly be 

 attributed to that people. 



It is recorded that after the victories of Camillus and Mionius over 

 the Latins, equestrian statues were erected in Hume in their 1 

 This was above 850 yean before our era, or about 406 year after Un- 

 building of Rome. In the 3rd century B.C. one of the Fabii devoted 

 himself to the arts, and acquired, from his success, the sum 

 Pictor. Pliny (' Hist. Nat.,' xxxv. 4) says that he decorated with his 

 paintings the temple of the goddess of Health at Rome, and t hat the 

 pictures existed in his time. A bronze statue of Apollo, made 

 spoils taken from the Saiunites, is said to have been dedicated in the 

 Capitol about this period. After the conquest of Syracuse by Marcellus, 

 Rome became enriched with the s]>oils which fell into the hands of the 

 victors. The reply of Marcellus. when he was accused of rajiacity for 

 stripping the conquered city of its works of art, is remarkable : he 

 declared he had done it in order that the public edifice* of Home 

 might be ornamented, and also to introduce among his countrymen a 

 taste for the arts and elegance for which the Greeks were so distin- 

 guished. The power and greatness of Rome were now being extended 

 in all directions ; and, by some caprice of fancy, generated probably by 

 tin- facilities that were offered for ita gratification, it became a rage to 

 collect specimens of sculpture. Notwithstanding the opportunittM 

 thus offered for acquiring some knowledge of the beauties ..f art, from 

 tin- mere habit of having the most exquisite examples of sculpture 

 brought before them, it does not appear that any decided taste dis- 

 covered itself till about 86 years B.C. Sulla, in his victo 

 through Greece, destroyed several of the most magnificent temples and 

 monuments of that country ; but he also collected a great quantity of 

 spoil, which he forwarded to H and which consisted chiefly ui tin- 



i ks which were preserved in the temples or adorned the public 

 places. This enormous accumulation of such objects seems at I. 



to have amuse. I in tlui Humans some feeling of admiration favourable. 

 to the existence, at least, of art in their own country. The fashion, or 

 rather passion, to form collections at any price incrca-i d. \.nes is 

 han. led down to posterity among the most zealous and at the same 

 time the most lawles; ..f dilettanti ; but the character of the works he, 

 possessed, several of which are mentioned by Cicero in his celebrated 

 orations against tin pra-tor of Sicily, gives him a claim t i be 



c'm-idcred )'.. nee in art. The 



that he adopt, d i"i- : ratifying his tjiste merit : 

 tion ; but he probably preserved from neglect and destruction u, 

 the most valuable monuments of sculpture. 



In the last cent ir i.rist various sculptors of di 



name were resident in Home, or were practising their art n 

 of Italy. .\ may particularly be mention. , 



ArcesiUu or -A he author of a group of boys with a 1: 



Saurua and Pat radius. as, and F.\ 



- much employ. M is honour- 



He also i. 



of Muses; ami 1'ausania.s, who allude- t . them, adds In 

 skilful in his representations of animals. Olym. ..-outed 



three Muses, Pliny sjK-aks in the hi.diest terms of the i it of 



<. He became a Homan eiti/en. and anioiiL,' his works is men- 

 tioned a statu, i. of ivory, which was placed in the i 

 lifi/i I of .Metiillns. It i- t.. i .1 literary work of this 

 artist, nn nlione.l by Pliny.no longer exists. II 



lune* containing descriptions ..i 1 the most, remarkable works in 

 the whole world." from an artist of the character of 



- would be a treasure. 



Among other fine woi ks in sculpture which are snpp.i-.ed t.. 

 been produced in the earlier pan ..! thi- p.-ii. neularly be 



menti I the st.ituc. known ih.- l.oim 



doubtless is intended for a In i: but it seems : 



agreed that it cannot lie u portrait of the prince whose name il 

 but is D .T date. On the pedestal, immediately und. 



falling folds of the drapery, is a tortoise. As thin animal was sacred 



