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in the tfniple of Apollo ;it D^lphos. It hus heen fieqiicntly 

 repeated by the ancients in l)us-reli<. fs and gems. A bas-rclicf 

 of this fubjcft, brought from Greece, was prefcrved in the 

 Miifeuni Nani at Venice ; befides two others in the Albani 

 cnllcdion. Thus we afcertain this to be a Grecian work, 

 although in a ftyle which has been fuppofed Etrufcan ; and 

 by the likcnefs of its manner to the Bacchanalian dance 

 above mentioned, its age may be nearly afccitained. 



Our fiihjeCt now prefcnts the moft important and per- 

 feft period in the art of fculpture, beginnincc with the great 

 works executed by Ph.idias and under his direftion, during 

 the adminillrativin of Pericles. Greece enjoyed phyhcal advan- 

 tages, as well as moral and political iniUtutions, peculiarly 

 adapted to give the arts of dcfign that perfeiition which 

 could not be looked for in other countries. The climate was 

 temperate, warm, and genial, which, to penetrating and ele- 

 vated genius, added beauteous perfons in its inhabitants : 

 their games and cxercifes gave vigour and perfection to their 

 forms ; which initiated and familiarized the fpectator with 

 all the appearance of beauty in the human figure, in the 

 diflerent ilatcs of exertion or repofe, whether naked or 

 clothed. The practice of the arts of defign was the pecu- 

 liar privilege of thofe who poffefied the greateft natural ad- 

 vantaees, snd were the bed inflrufted ; and in the perfon 

 of the artill, as well as the fuhjeil reprefented, were fre- 

 quently united the philofopher, the lawgiver, and the heroic 

 defender of his country. Such were the ftudies for the ar- 

 tills, and fuch were the men who praftifed the art. The 

 llores of theological and metaphyfical knowledge had been 

 laid in from Egypt and the Eall ; fcience had accumulated ; 

 and commerce, cultivation, and patriotifm, I'upplied the 

 means of raifing thofe monuments which were to be the 

 admiration and ftudy of all future ages. 



Thefe were the times and circumllances in which Phidias 

 was employed by Pericles to adorn Athens with architefture 

 and fcnipture, with the affiftance of the architects Callicrates 

 and Iclinus, who worked under his direAion. Under thefe 

 illuftrious men, the Propylxnm, the Temple of Minerva or 

 the Parthenon, in the citadel, and the Temple of Thefeus in 

 Athens, were erefted. The decorations of fculpture in thefe 

 buildings are the m.oft perfeft fpecimens of art ; which we 

 mull apply ourfelves to with the utmoft diligence to under- 

 iland, if we would entertain hopes of producing any thing 

 excellent in the fame kind. The baflTo-relievos w°hich'fill the 

 friezes which go round the pronaos, cell, and porticus, of 

 the Parthenon, reprefe:it the panathenaic proceffion in ho- 

 nour of Minerva ; which confiiis of a numerous company on 

 horfeback, viftors in chariots, men leading oxen to facrifice, 

 tray-bearers, chorulTcs of virgins, fome bearing candlefticks 

 and fome baOvets, with their affiilants and attendants. The 

 facred veil is produced and examined, the hierophantes ex- 

 plain the niyfteries, and the gods themfelves are leated, be- 

 holding, direding, and approving the whole. The alto- 

 relievos in the metopes are the contefts of the Lapiths and 

 the Centaurs. The alto-relievos in the tympanums of the 

 eafl and well ends, are, alas ! no more ; war has deprived 

 us of them. That of the eaft end was a miracle of art, from 

 the remaining fragments (fee Stuart's Athens, vol. W.) ; 

 and fuch it appeared to Sir G. Wheeler, who had the hap- 

 pinefs to fee it entire. However, we know by Sir George's 

 defcnption and drawing, that the fuhjeft of the eaft end was 

 the birth of Minerva, or rather Minerva introduced by Ju- 

 piter to the gods ; that on the weft end, the conteft of Mi- 

 nerva and Neptune for the patronage of Athens. As thefe 

 fubjeds are of the higheft kind the mind can conceive, fo 

 they are the nobkll the hand can e.\ecnte : they are theo- 



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logical and moral, as tliey rcprefent the gods, t]'»ir opera- 

 tions in the governiueut of the univerfe, and providence in 

 the difpofition of human affairs ; the heroLS are exerted in 

 the caufe of juftice, and the deftru6tion of monfters. 



Mr. Fufeli, the able and learned profeffor of painting in 

 the Royal Academy of London, has judicioufly applied 

 Ariftotlc's divifion of poetiy to the arts of defign ; and he 

 confiders the greater productions, as either epic, dramatic, or 

 hiftoric. According to thefe claffcs, the fculpture in each 

 tympanum was entirely epic, as the gods only were repre- 

 fented in thtm engaged in fingle afts ; the groups in the 

 metopes are dramatic, becaufe they reprefcnt a feries of ac- 

 tions ; and the frieze which goes round the temple is epic, 

 inafmuch as the gods are prefixing ; and are perhaps alfo hif- 

 toric, as particular perfons and events may be reprefented in 

 the prociflion. In the Temple of Thefeus, the alto-relievos 

 formerly in the pediments are gone entirely; nor do we know 

 even what the fubjetls were. In the frieze round the pronaos 

 is the battle of Marathon, in which the apparition of The- 

 feus calls great iloncs on the Perfians ; Jupiter, Juno, and 

 Minerva, Neptune, Apollo, and Diana, lit, behold, and de- 

 termi:;e the viclory, the trophy of which is railed by the 

 Athenians. The battle of the Lapithse and Centaurs is 

 in the frieze of the porticus : the metopes are filled with the 

 labours of Thefeus and Hercules. 



The execution of thefe works is equal to the conception ; 

 the fentiment is elevated and fit, the compofition is noble, 

 full, and various ; the gods are f ublime and beautiful, their 

 pofitions prefent dignity and repofe ; the heroes are vigo- 

 rous and aftive, and an admirable fimplicity reigns through 

 the whole ; whether you are rouftd by the terrific engage- 

 ment of a Centaur and a Lapitha, or captivated by the 

 modefty of the virgin chorufTes. In the battles, the 

 figure is fhewn in thofe elaftic curves and varied movements, 

 thofe uncommon but advantageous fituations, which equally 

 excite furprizc and admiration ; every part is intelligible ; 

 they occupy luch fpaces of the ground as leave fuffieient 

 blank to render the outline diftinifl ; and their quantities are 

 fo diftributed, that one part is not bare while another is 

 crowded : the lines themfelves alfo become an ornament. 

 The ftories are told by one plan or ground of figures ; and, 

 like the principal charadlers in the tragedies of iElchylus, 

 Euripides, and Sophocles, their effeft is weakened by no 

 under-plot of inferior heroes. The drawing of the figures 

 is of the fineft ftyle, the outhne and forms are chofen, the 

 greater parts boldly exprefTed, the lefTer parts delicately in- 

 dicated, but not more than neceflary. The heads fine, the 

 drapery rich in folds, but perfeftly natural ; fome of the re- 

 maining hands and feet of the moft perfeft beauty ; and 

 the horfes may be defcribed in the words Sir George 

 Wheeler ufed to exprefs his opinion of thofe he faw in the 

 eaftern tympanum of the Parthenon: " The horfes are made 

 with fuch great art, that the fculptor feems to have outdone 

 himfelf, by giving them a more than feeming life ; fuch a 

 vigour is exprefltd in their prancing and ilamping, natural to 

 generous horfes." The edges of the figures have been kept 

 fquare in the working, to give tha bolder effecl to the relief; 

 which was not high in the proceffion round the frieze under 

 the portico of the Parthenon, in order that the fculpture 

 might not overpower the architeftural members. The 

 fculpture in the two pediments of the Parthenon, the me- 

 topes in that temple and the temple of Thefeus, as well as 

 that round the frieze of the latter temple under the portico, 

 are in alto-rehevo. This Phidias difcovered ; it is called 

 toreutlceu, rounded, by Phny (lib. 34. cap. 8.) ; and he 

 fays, Polycletus " fo taught toreutieen, alto-relievo, rounded 



work, 



