THE LAW OF EVOLUTION CONTINUED. 3d 



with more truth and in greater detail; and in the winged 

 lions and bulls used for the angles of gateways, we may see 

 a considerable advance towards a completely sculptured 

 figure; which, nevertheless, is still coloured, and still forms 

 part of the building. But while in Assyria the production 

 of a statue proper, seems to have been little, if at all, at- 

 tempted, we may trace in Egyptian art the gradual separa- 

 tion of the sculptured figure from the wall. A walk through 

 the collection in the British Museum will clearly show this; 

 while it will at the same time afford an opportunity of ob- 

 serving the evident traces which the independent statues 

 bear of their derivation from bas-relief: seeing that nearly 

 all of them not only display that union of the limbs with the 

 body which is the characteristic of bas-relief, but have the 

 back of the statue united from head to foot with a block 

 which stands in place of the original wall. Greece 



repeated the leading stages of this progress. As in Egypt 

 and Assyria, these twin arts were at first united with each 

 other and with their parent, Architecture ; and were the aids 

 of Eeligion and Government. On the friezes of Greek 

 temples, we see coloured bas-reliefs representing sacrifices, 

 battles, processions, games — all in some sort religious. On 

 the pediments we see painted sculptures more or less united 

 with the tympanum, and having for subjects the triumphs of 

 gods or heroes. Even when we come to statues that are defi- 

 nitely separated from the buildings to which they pertain, 

 we still find them, coloured ; and only in the later periods of 

 Greek civilization, does the differentiation of sculpture from 

 painting appear to have become complete. In Chris- 



tian art we may clearly trace a parallel re-genesis. All early 

 paintings and sculptures throughout Europe, were religious 

 in subject — represented Christs, crucifixions, virgins, holy 

 families, apostles, saints. They formed integral parts of 

 church architecture, and were among the means of exciting 

 worship: as in Roman Catholic countries they still are. 

 Moreover, the early sculptures of Christ on the cross, of 

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