35° 
The moit Beautiful monuments of art 
which we are acquainted with, preient to 
us: 
Nature to the life, and of an elevated or- 
fentaivn. , 
Above all things we expe& to find 1m it 
= knowledge of the human body in all its 
parts, dimenfions, interior and exterior, 
m its forms and its movements in 
general. Uy ¥ 
Charafers. A knowledge of the dif- 
ference of thefe parts, as to form and 
effect. ualities are ieparated and pre- 
fent themieives ifolated , trom thence arile 
choracters, and it is by this means that 
we can trace a fignificative reciprocal re- 
Iation between the different monuments of 
art; jult asthe parts of a compound work, 
may have a fignificant relation between 
themlelves. The olje& is: 
in vepofe or in motion. A work and its 
parts may be prefented either fubfifting of 
themielves, and only indicating their ex- 
##ence ina tranquil manner, or as very 
animated, afting, impaffioned, and full 
of expreflion. 
The Iaea?. Toattainthis, a profound, 
folid fenfe, endowed with patience, is re- 
quired in the artiff ; to which should be 
joined an elevated ienie to be able to em- 
Brace the fubject in its whole extent, to 
find the higheit degree of a&tion which it 
means to reprefent, and contequently to 
make it exceed the bounds of its limited 
reality, and give it in an ideal world, 
meaiure, limits, reality, and dignity. 
Grace. But the fubjeét and manner of 
reprefenting it, are fubmitted to the fen- 
fible laws of art, that is to fay, to order, 
perfpicuity, fymmetry, oppofition, &c. 
which renders it to the eye, beautiful, 
that is to lay, graceful, agreeable. 
Beauty. 
ee 
n) 
he law of intellectual beauty, which re- 
ults from the meaiure, to which man 
erined to figure and produce the beauti- 
ful, knows how to fubmit every thing, 
even extremes. 
After having firfe indicated the con- 
ditions which we require in a work of 
elevated art, I may fay much ina few 
words, wvhen EF maintain that our groupe 
contains them almoft all, and that we can 
even develop them, by the obferyation of 
this groupe alone. 
It will not be expeéted of me to prove 
that the artifthas fhewn a profound know- 
fedge of the Luman body, that which cha- 
racterizes it, together cvith the expreffion 
and the pafion. Wt will appear, from 
what I fhall fay in the fequel, how 
fabject is conceived in an ideal and 
teh. het 
The 
Seas 
Obfervations en the Laocoon. 
It 1s moreover fubmitted to, 
[June 
elevated manner ; fio one will doubt that 
we ought to give the epithet of beautiful 
to this monument, that can conceive how 
the artitt has beenable to repre.ent the ex- 
treme of phytical and intellectual {ufferings, © 
But fome may think it perhaps paradoxi- 
eal, that I dare advance; that.this groupe 
is at the fame time full of grace.” I fhall 
fay a few words on this head. 
Every work of art muft announce itfelfas 
fuch ; which can only be done by what we 
call fenfual beauty or grace. The antients, 
far enough in this refpe@t from the modern 
opinion, that a monument of art fhould 
become again to appearance, a monument 
of nature, would characterize their works 
of art as fuch, by a feleét order of the 
parts: they aflifted the eye to inveftigate 
the relations by fymmetry, and thus an 
embarrafled wark became eafy to compre- 
hend. From fymmetry and eppofitions 
refulted the poflibility of ftriking out the 
greatelt contrafts by differences hardly 
fenfible. The care of the antient artifts 
to oppofe varied maffes to each other, to 
give elpecially a regular and reciprocal 
polition to the extremities of bodies in 
groupes, is very happy and very well 
imagined, in order that each work of art 
may appear to the eye like an ornament, 
and abitraétion made from the fubjeé 
which it reprefents, and by feeing the 
moft general contours only at a diftance. 
The antique vafes turnifh us with a num- 
ber of examples of fimilar groupes, very 
graceful; and it would be p‘fidle to pro- 
pofe aleries of the moft- beautiful examples 
of a compofition fymmetrical and agree- 
able, beginning with the groupe of the 
moit tranquil vafe to the extremely ani- 
mated groupe of Laocoon. FE think, there- 
tore, I mutt repeat that the groupe of 
Laocoon, befides its other acknowledged 
merits, is moreover a model of fymmetry 
and st variety, ot repofe and of motion, of 
oppofition and of gradation, which pretent 
themielves together, to him who contem- 
plates ic in a fenfible or intelle€tual man- 
ner; that thefe qualities notwithftanding 
the great pathetic diffufed over the repre- 
fentation, excite an agreeable fenfation, 
and moderate the violence of the paffions, 
and of the fufferings, by graceand beauty. 
It is a great advantage.in a work of art, 
to fubfift by itielf, to be abfolutely termi-- 
nated. A tranquil obje& only fhews 
itlelf by its exiftence, itis terminated by 
and in itfelf. A Jupiter with a thunder- 
bolt placed on his knees, a Juno who re- 
poles with majefty, a Minerva abforpt in 
reflection, are fubjeéts which have not, 
fo to speak, any relation to what is out of - 
them 3 
