Wonders of sculpture . sonof Hermes and Aphrodite, who had become andro-gynous by his union with the nymph Salmacis,belongs to that age of disordered imagination,when, as Vitruvius remarks, caprices of fancywere more sought after in works of art than imita-tion of nature. Chastity, almost entirely envelopedin her veil and long robes. Two Dancing Fauns,one with a beautiful body from the shoulders to themiddle of the thighs, and the rest a mere restora-tion, plays with little crotali, or small Greciancymbals ; the other with the scabilinm or scabelliim,a small instrument which was pressed with t
Wonders of sculpture . sonof Hermes and Aphrodite, who had become andro-gynous by his union with the nymph Salmacis,belongs to that age of disordered imagination,when, as Vitruvius remarks, caprices of fancywere more sought after in works of art than imita-tion of nature. Chastity, almost entirely envelopedin her veil and long robes. Two Dancing Fauns,one with a beautiful body from the shoulders to themiddle of the thighs, and the rest a mere restora-tion, plays with little crotali, or small Greciancymbals ; the other with the scabilinm or scabelliim,a small instrument which was pressed with thefoot. Both are full of the vivacity, the impetuosity,and the infectious gaiety always characteristic ofthese singular beings. Finally, the group calledthe Fann witli the Child, the same as Silcinis zviththe young Bacchus. The elegance and beauty of GliECIAy SCULtTURE. 115 form and expression, and the delicacy of the execu-tion in this group, entitle it to rank amongst thechief sculptures in the French museum of anti-. Fig. 14.—Faun with a Child. (Museum of the Louvre, Paris.) in quities. It was found in the sixteenth century,the gardens of Sallustius near the Ouirinal. Besides the divinities, there are many importantand excellent statues of human heroes and athletes no GRECIAN SCULlTiRE. in the Louvre. Amongst others, a very beautiful,youthful figure, which might have disputed the the Achilles, had not the head been restoredand made too small for the body. For a long time
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublis, booksubjectsculpture
