Greek bronzes . \^<. Fig. 37.—Gaulish Statuette of Bacchus. British Museum. Bacchus holding in his right hand a wine-cup. But the wine-cup or can-tharus which he holds is not of the shape proper to Bacchus. It is, in fact, asmall amphora. No classical artist could have ever made that mistake. Thefigure itself has obviously been studied from a Greek original. Yet it isthroughout pervaded by a difference of artistic feeling, which it is easierto recognise than to define—a difference such as we perceive often in 90 GREEK BRONZES literature between an excellent translation and the original. The
Greek bronzes . \^<. Fig. 37.—Gaulish Statuette of Bacchus. British Museum. Bacchus holding in his right hand a wine-cup. But the wine-cup or can-tharus which he holds is not of the shape proper to Bacchus. It is, in fact, asmall amphora. No classical artist could have ever made that mistake. Thefigure itself has obviously been studied from a Greek original. Yet it isthroughout pervaded by a difference of artistic feeling, which it is easierto recognise than to define—a difference such as we perceive often in 90 GREEK BRONZES literature between an excellent translation and the original. The faceand disposition of the hair, together with the pose of the head, remind usof Praxiteles as we know him in the statue of Apollo Sauroctonos. Theattitude might pass for Praxitelian. But the extreme softness of thebodily forms goes beyond anything with which we are acquainted fromhis hand, though it must be allowed that at present we know nothing ofhow he had rendered such figures as the youthful Bacchus. There mu
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbronzesgreek, bookyea
