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HAS 







were seen, owing to the narrowness of the space between 

 the exterior columns and the cella, may also be mentioned 

 in considering the reasons which rendered projection unad- 

 visable. That this confined view was not, however, the sole 

 reason, may appear from the hold relief of the Phigaleian 

 marbles, which, in the interior of the narrow cella of the 

 temple they adorned, must have been seen, on the side 

 walls, at a very inconsiderable distance compared with their 

 height. The Phigaleian temple was built, according to 

 Pausanias, by Ictinus, the chief architect of the Parthenon ; 

 and although the sculptures are inferior, as works of art, 

 to the generality of Greek specimens, their style of relief 

 is precisely the point where the architect may be supposed 

 to have influenced their execution. 



As projection commands shade, so flatness commands 

 light, and the llattest relief is hence fittest for an invari- 

 ably dark situation. The same principle is observable in 

 architecture in the treatment of mouldings in interiors, 

 the form and projection of which differ materially from the 

 corresponding members in the open light, and which are 

 intended to be seen at a distance. The flatness which in- 

 sures light would, however, be altogether indistinct and 

 formless unless the outlines were clear and conspicuous 

 at the first glance. The contrivance by which this is effected 

 is by abruptly sinking the edges of the forms to the 

 plane on which they are raised, instead of gradually round- 

 ing and losing them. The mass of the relieved figure 

 being sometimes very little raised in its general surface, 

 its section would thus almost present a rectangular pro- 

 jection. In many instances the side of this projection 

 is even less than rectangular ; it is undercut, like some 

 mouldings in architecture which require to be particularly 

 distinct, and thus presents a deeper line of shade. But 

 if the figure can thus command distinctness of outline, not- 

 withstanding the inconsiderable light it may receive, it 

 is obvious that its lowness or flatness of relief will in such 

 alight greatly aid its distinctness: above all, this contri- 

 vance gives the work thus seen in an obscure situation the 

 effect of rotundity. Indeed, it is a great mistake to suppose 

 that the Hat style of relief was intended to appear flat, and 

 it is a great mistake to apply it in situations, as in the open 

 air, uhere it must appear so, and be indistinct besides. The 

 conventions of the arts are remedies, adopted in certain 

 situations and \mder particular circumstances, and are sup- 

 posed to be concealed in their results : their ultimate resem- 

 blance to nature, and their successful effect in those circum- 

 stances, are the test of their propriety and necessity. The 

 absence of all convention in alto-rilievo (as opposed to the 

 flat style), thus fits it for near situations, if not too near to 

 expose it to accidents. The excellent sculptures which de- 

 corate the pronaos and ppsticum of the Temple of Theseus, 

 although under the portico, are in bold relief. They were 

 not only nearer the eye, and seen at a more convenient 

 angle than the flat rilievi of the cella of the Parthenon, 

 but the reflected light which displayed them would neces- 

 sarily be much stronger. 



Lateral portico of the 

 Parthenon. 



End portico of the Temple 

 at Theseus. 



It is also to be remembered that only the end porticoes, 

 where the sculpture could be more conveniently seen and was 

 belter lighted, were decorated with rilievi ; the side walls of the 

 rolla were unornamented, and undoubtedly bold relief would 

 have been less adapted for them. The Temple of Theseus 

 w*s built about thirty years before the Parthenon; and it 

 is not impossible that the satisfactory effect of the flat rilievi 

 on the cella of the latter might have suggested a similar 

 treatment, or some modification of it, in the Temple of 

 T heseug, had it teen erected later. It may be observed in 

 general, that alto-rilievo can seldom be fit for interiors, not 

 only from its liability to accident, but from the difficulty of 

 displaying it by the full light which it requires. A super- 



ficial light, especially if in a lateral direction, necessarily 

 throws the shadows of one figure on another. Instances of 

 this occur in some of the palaces in Rome where works of 

 sculpture have been injudiciously placed. A room, for ex- 

 ample, lighted in the ordinary way will have its walls (at 

 right angles with that occupied by the windows) adorned 

 with a frieze in considerable relief; the figures nearest the 

 light consequently project their shadows so as to half conceal 

 the next in order. 



The conditions of proximity and distance, as well as the 

 quantity and direction of light, were carefully attended to by 

 the Greek sculptors, and suggested new varieties of relief. 

 The end of the art, as far as relates to execution, is accom- 

 plished when the work is distinct and intelligible at the 

 distance whence it is intended to be viewed. Hence the 

 conventions which are intended to correct the defects of 

 distance, of material, want of light, &c., are evidently un- 

 necessary where the work admits of close inspection. The 

 style of mezzo-rilievo, which in its boldest examples pre- 

 sents about half the thickness of the figure, is, on many 

 accounts, least fit for a distant effect: the figure is nowhere 

 detached from its ground ; at a very little distance its sha- 

 dowed side is lost in its cast shade, and its light side in the 

 light of its ground ; the outline, in short, soon becomes in- 

 distinct; but the semi-roundness of the forms is directly 

 imitative, and thus again the absence of all conventional 

 treatment fits the work for near situations. The style was 

 preferred to alto-rilievo in such cases, as the latter would 

 have been more liable to accidents, and would besides in 

 some measure deform the outline or profile of any object 

 which is circular in its plan. The figures which adorn 

 sculptured vases are thus in mezzo-rilievo : these works pro- 

 bably ornamented interiors where any indistinctness in their 

 distant effect or in an unfavourable light might be obviated 

 by closer inspection. Two specimens may be seen in the 

 second room of the Gallery of Antiquities in the British Mu- 

 seum. The celebrated Medicean and Borghesan vases, the 

 finest known examples, are in like manner ornamented with 

 mezzo-rilievo. The same consideration applies to all works, 

 however unfit for a distant effect, which can, or in their ori- 

 ginal situation could, only be seen near. Even the mixed 

 style of relief in the sculptures which occupy the internal 

 sides of the Arch of Titus at Rome, would hardly be objected 

 to, since the objects represcntea are distinctly seen, and can 

 only be seen, at the distance of a few feet. The style of 

 semi-relief (much purer than that of the Arch of Titus) 

 adopted by Flaxman in front of Covent Garden Theatre may 

 be defended on the same principle, since the utmost width of 

 the street is hardly a more distant point than a spectator 

 would naturally retire to in order to see them conveniently. 

 The still flatter style which has been introduced on the ex- 

 terior of several buildings in London cannot, however, be de- 

 fended on any grounds ; and there can be no doubt, from the 

 reasons adduced, that bold relief is generally fittest for the 

 open light. The mezzi rilievi on the miniature ehoraio 

 monument of Lysicrates (casts from them are in the British 

 Museum) may be admitted to have been fitly calculated for 

 their situation because they must have been seen near; but 

 there was in this case an additional consideration to be 

 attended to; the building is circular, and alto-rilievo was 

 avoided in order to preserve the architectural profile : on the 

 other hand, the frieze of the small temple of Victory, which 

 was rectangular, was adorned with alti-rilievi ; and in this 

 case it appears that they did not even extend to the angles. 

 The objections to sculpture on monumental columns will be 

 obvious from these considerations ; it has been observed, 

 that in attempting to preserve the architectural profile, as in, 

 the Trajan column, and its modern rival in the Place Ven- 

 dome at Paris, the sculpture thus slightly relieved soon 

 becomes indistinct, nor indeed would this indistinctness be 

 obviated at a considerable height even by alto-rilievo, the 

 figures being necessarily small, while the evil is only in- 

 creased by substituting the dark material of bronze for 

 marble. 



We proceed to consider the varieties of style in this art as 

 affecting composition. In rilievo, and in sculpture generally 

 (a colourless material, or a material of only one colour being 

 always supposed), it is evident that shadow is the essential 

 and only source of meaning and effect. In works placed in 

 the open air, and visible in one point only, as in the case of 

 alto-rilievo, a certain open display of the figure is generally 

 adopted ; the shadows, or rather the forms which project 

 them, are so disposed as to present at the first glance an 



