SCULPTURE. 



mifliofiaries who went over in the fourteenth century, their 

 arts received a further improvement from the learned and in- 

 genious Jefuits who vifited them in the beginning of the fevcn- 

 teenth century; and again in the beginning of Louis XVIth's 

 reign, fixteen Chinefe in the city of Paris were inftruded 

 in the European arts of defigning, light, and (hadow ; optics, 

 colour, and perfpeftive; fince which the painting and fculpture 

 of China have become more nearly allied to the European 

 praftice of thofe arts than ever. Thefe fafts are attelted 

 by the known attainments of the feveral miflionaries who 

 have vifited China ; by the teltimonies of the bell writers who 

 have written on that country ; by tlie reprefentation of Eu- 

 ropean head-dreffes and falhions in their works ; and by 

 Chinefe fubjedts drawn and engraved by Jefuits who were 

 refident in that country, and whofc ttyle of defigning fliew 

 that the Chinefe artifts, of the fame ages, formed their 

 fchool of art upon the works of thefe men. 



Motives for tht Employment of Sculpture in Greece, and the 

 Encouragement given to the Art — The firfl motive for the 

 encouraijement of fculpture in Greece was religion, which 

 induced the feveral Hates and opulent individuals to vie with 

 each other in employing the choiceil talents of their country- 

 men for the production of the moil beautiful and approved 

 works, to adorn their temples and public places in honour 

 of the different divinities, wliich they believed to be their 

 more immediate patrons and protedlors in that Hate of poly- 

 theifm. This fpecies of piety became more popular ; and 

 its effefts became more general from another motive, the 

 relation which moll of the powerful families of Greece 

 claimed with the feveral divinities and heroes, by deducing 

 their own genealogies from fome one or more of them. 



In a (late of fociety where the families of all lived nearly 

 in the fame habits of fimplicity, becaufe the luxury and 

 magnificence of private life created a jealoiify among fellow 

 citizens, likely to terminate in mod tragical confequences ; 

 in this ftate of fociety the more wealthy employed their 

 ftores in building and equipping fliips, railing troops of 

 horfe or foot, increafing the temples, placing in them magni- 

 ficent tripods, beautiful ftatues, or other collly gifts ; in 

 ftrengthening the walls of their cities, and all fuch public 

 works as provided for the fafety, or increafed the fame of 

 their country. 



Patriotifm, in addition to religion, was another motive, not 

 much lefs powerful than the former, for the encouragement 

 of fculpture in Greece. The Olympic games, inilituted at 

 an early period in that country, encouraged thefe trials of 

 flcill to the utmoft extent, which educated the human frame 

 in the greatelt habits of ilrength, adlivity, and promptnefs 

 of exertion, for all the moll ufeful employments of peace 

 and war. They alfo publicly exhibited the fineil forms and 

 examples of perfonal beauty to the aifemblies of Greece at 

 the Olympian exercifes, and by that means enabled the 

 philofopher to analyfe, the phyfician to enquire and deduce, 

 the artift to form principles from nature for the pcrfeftion 

 of his works, and the generality of fpeftators to judge of 

 the phenomena of health, ilrength, aftivity, proportion, 

 and pleafing parts of the human form, among thofe who 

 were engaged in the exercifes, and rendered themfelves, by 

 their prowefs, abihty, and fortitude, theobjefls of univerfal 

 admiration and applaufe. 



The immediate honours bellowed on the viftor was an 

 herbal crown, rendered equal in value to the richeft diadem, 

 by the approbation and congratulations of the whole Hate. 

 The vidlor was likewife honoured with a brazen llatue on 

 the very ground where he had fhewn himfelf properly quah- 

 ficd to be a defender of his country in war ; and for prudence, 



aftivity, and fortitude, a valuable citizen in time of peace ; 

 and if any one obtained the crown three times in thefe ex- 

 ercifes, he was not only honoured with a bronze llatue on 

 the fpot, but that (latue was made an exaA portrait of him, 

 not only in the face, but every part of his body and limbs. 

 Thefe general remarks on the religion and public inllitutions 

 of Greece, will fufficiently account for the immenfe fums 

 expended in works of fculpture, and the prodigious multi- 

 tude of thefe works produced in that country. 



The llatue of the Olympian Jove, made of ivory and gold 

 by Phidias at Elis, was paid for by all the fpoils taken from 

 the Pifans. If we might calculate a fmall part of thi; 

 llatue, only by the price of ivory at prefent, the covering 

 of ivory only, which mull have been perhaps the leall article 

 of expcnce in it, without the workmanfhip, could not have 

 coft lefs than 2000/. There were 80C0/. Iterling of gold in 

 the (latue of Minerva made for the Acropolis, belides the 

 ivory, workmanlhip, and all other expeiices. 



We are befides told of another llatue of the fize of nature, 

 valued at 19,200/. ; and of another, the Venus of Gnidoi, 

 which was refufed to be given up for the payment of the 

 debts of a whole city ; and thus we cannot wonder that 

 works produced froRi the noblell motives, and rewarded by 

 tlie highell gifts that man can bellow on man, were of a fu- 

 prenie excellence, which have commanded the admiration and 

 interell of all fucceeding ages. 



Concerning general Beauty in the ancient Works of Sculpture. 

 — After a general view of the motives and circumllances 

 which produced theie works in public, we fhall next enquire 

 into the more private motives, attainments, and qualities 

 which enabled the artilts to produce inch works, and here 

 we mull remember the obfervation of Socrates, that the 

 difpofitions of the mind may be exprefled by the forms of 

 the body ; and as Socrates himfelf was a Iculptor of no 

 mean excelitnce, and a philofopher of the highell characler 

 alio, what ho fays upon this fubjeft cannot be too carefully 

 attended to ; and indeed it applies to the progreffive improve- 

 ment in this art from the moll rude reprelei.tation of the 

 human form to tlie moll perfecl ; and to the feparate confi- 

 deration of the mind and i(s quahties, by which the human 

 form is animated. 



As It has been obferved in a former part of this article, 

 the earliell attempts to reprefent the human form in all na- 

 tions are almoll equally barbarous and imperfect; we fhall, 

 therefore, begin our defcription of Grecian imitation, when, 

 bv a more general comprehenfion of fcience, her imitation 

 of its archetype was fuperior to fuch barbarous primeval at- 

 tempts in general. 



Thefe attempts and their improvement have always fuc- 

 ceeded bell in thofe parts of the human figure which are 

 nearell to our view, or prefent themfelves to us as moll 

 flriking and important. In fuch reprefentations, the fea- 

 tures of the face are more accurately reprefented than any 

 other part of the figure. The body, the arms, and legs at- 

 traft the mod general and lefs dillindt notice ; therefore the 

 firll improvements in the earliell ftatues of Greece remain- 

 ing, approach only to fomething like a more tolerable propor- 

 tion, exprefs the arms in general meagre long forms, with 

 the (houlders fomewhat more round and prominent, and the 

 fingers feparated by nearly parallel channels. The body is 

 diitinguilhed by the paps of the breaft, the line of the ribs, 

 and the navel. The legs and thighs have little more 

 of variety in their forms than a fmall knee-pan, and 

 fome projetlion of the calf of the leg, with feet and 

 toes formed with as little attention to nature as the 

 hands. In this itate of improvement little variety of aAion 



will 



