SCULPTURE 



5273 



SCULPTURE 



Molten bronze is then poured in, filling the 

 space formerly occupied by the wax, and when 

 the metal has hardened the mold and core are 

 removed, leaving a hollow metal statue, perfect 

 in every detail. 



The figures so far considered are examples 

 of sculpture in the round. Figures are also 

 carved upon a solid surface, so as to project 

 from it, and are said to be in relief (see RE- 

 LIEF). 



History of Sculpture 



Egypt. It was in the valley of the Nile that 

 sculpture first developed as a fine art. It is 

 an interesting fact that in all other nations 

 sculpture was in the beginning conventional, 

 and later became free and natural, while in 

 Egypt the reverse is true. The earliest forms 

 of this art, reliefs in the tombs of the dead, 

 are realistic portrayals of the daily life of the 

 deceased and his family, or pictures of life after 

 death. Statues in the round were also pro- 

 duced in the early period, and these have a 

 freedom and a naturalness that make them 

 comparable to Greek works of a later date. 



As Egyptian sculpture developed it came 

 under the influence of the priests, and the colos- 

 sal figures of gods and kings, typical of the 

 art in the height of its development, represent 

 certain fixed conventions and limitations. The 

 figures seem to belong to a "world of the 

 tomb, one which never was alive." Yet they 

 have a grandeur and dignity that make them 

 very impressive. In the underground temple 

 tombs of Abu-Simbel there are statues ranging 

 from sixty to ninety feet in height. The 

 Egyptian artists worked in marble, black, gray 

 and red granite, basalt, limestone, bronze, wood, 

 porcelain, ivory and many other substances, 

 and the skill exhibited in the carving and fin- 

 ishing of hard materials indicates that they 

 used very ingenious tools. The most remark- 

 able monument of ancient Egyptian sculpture 

 is the Sphinx at Gizeh, a huge figure with the 

 head of a human being and the body of a lion. 

 Nearly all statues, except those carved from 

 colored material, were painted. For illustra- 

 tions of Egyptian sculpture see page 1971 in the 

 article EGYPT, and page 3070, under Isis. 



Assyria. See ASSYRIA, subhead Art. 



Greece. While the earliest examples of sculp- 

 ture in Greece indicate the influence of Oriental 

 ideals, in its development this branch of Greek 

 art bears out forcibly the saying that the 

 "Greeks did not originate art but they in- 

 vented beauty." There was not only a com- 

 plete breaking away from Oriental tendencies, 

 but an independent development in which sculp- 

 ture reached the greatest heights it has ever 

 attained. The first period of Greek sculpture, 



sometimes called the Archaic, lasted until the 

 end of the Persian Wars, or about 480 B.C. 

 From about 700 B. c. to 500 B. c. there was a 

 formative era, in which the artists were gain- 

 ing control of their 

 materials, and defi- 

 nite schools were be- 

 ing established. The 

 statues of this era 

 are stiff and con- 

 ventional, and many 

 of them are draped. 

 Following this era 

 there was a period 

 of development, in 

 which the sculptor 

 worked towards a 

 freer, more natural 

 expression of his 

 ideal. 



Then came the Per- 

 sian Wars, the vic- 

 torious outcome of 

 which was a wonder- 

 ful stimulus to the 

 creative forces of the 

 Greeks. As Athens, 

 in Attica, was the 

 center of the finest 

 achievements in sculpture, the period of glory 

 (480 B. C.-323 B. c.) is known as the Attic Period. 

 Greek sculpture in Athens came into full splen- 

 dor under the inspiration of the great states- 

 man Pericles (which see), with whose name is 

 always linked that of the supreme genius of an- 

 cient sculpture Phidias. There was, however, 

 a transitional period in which sculptors all over 

 the Greek world were giving expression to that 

 love for physical beauty which was stimulated 

 by contemplation of the noble athletes compet- 

 ing in the national games. To this period be- 

 longs Myron, sculptor of the celebrated bronze 

 Discobolus, or Discus Thrower (see illustration 

 on page 1803). 



Under the rule of Pericles Athens became a 

 city of noble temples adorned with statues of 

 the gods. Phidias not only designed the famous 

 frieze for the Parthenon (see illustration at the 



PAN 



Statue in the Pitti Pal- 

 ace, Florence. 



