28( > ON TASTE IN ORNAMENTAL DESIGN. Paet II. 



by Scopas, and another, the famous Cnidian Venus, by 

 Praxiteles, which he tells us* was considered so " superior to 

 any other ever executed by him, or by any other sculptor, that 

 many undertook a voyage to Cnidos for the express purpose 

 of seeing it." I do not know for what reason Signor Monti, 

 and others suppose this to be the first time the goddess was so 

 represented ; but even if it were so it would not be sufficient 

 to support the assertion that naked figures of Venus were 

 unknown in sculpture during the most flourishing era of 

 Greek art. If, however, we consult the same writer, Pliny, 

 we shall find that he mentions (xxxvi. 5) another naked 

 Venus of an older sculptor than Praxiteles, which he thinks 

 worthy of notice, even in the midst of so many works col- 

 lected in the Flaminian Circus, and of a style " which would 

 ennoble any other collection." 



68. I have spoken of the proper place for pictures; and as 

 they require a suitable and independent position, so do good 

 statues ; for as a Raphael should not be part of the mere 

 ornamentation of a room, so would it be an error to place the 

 Apollo, or any other first-rate statue, in a subordinate position, 

 as if it formed part of a building. Such works of art claim 

 exclusive admiration ; and should not hold the rank of ac- 

 cessories, like Caryatides, or other architectural statues. And 

 if figures by first-rate sculptors were placed in the tympanum 

 of a temple, it was owing to their being parts of the subject 

 that decorated it ; and their excellence as works of art did not 

 of course exclude them from that position. Being from the 

 hand of skilful sculptors, they could not fail to be good ; for 

 the devoted affection of the Greeks for art would not allow 

 them to spare their best efforts in any work, and they gratified 

 their own feelings while they did honour to the Deity to whom 

 it was dedicated. It is true that such a position for figures 

 was too high to exhibit their full merits, however grand might 

 • Plin. N. H. xxvi. 5; Paus. ix. 27. 



