Six Greek sculptors . ry, have almost always fallen intoone extreme or the other; either its breadth and sim-plicity has led them to an undue severity, and even,sometimes, to a dry mannerism ; or else its richnessand sense of texture has induced them to adopt thosedevices of clinging, sweeping, or contorted folds of whichwe notice the absence in the Parthenon is most fortunate that chance should have preservedfor us these figures, which enable us to see what Greekwork was like in Attic originals of the greatest period;without them, we could never have inferred their finerqualities
Six Greek sculptors . ry, have almost always fallen intoone extreme or the other; either its breadth and sim-plicity has led them to an undue severity, and even,sometimes, to a dry mannerism ; or else its richnessand sense of texture has induced them to adopt thosedevices of clinging, sweeping, or contorted folds of whichwe notice the absence in the Parthenon is most fortunate that chance should have preservedfor us these figures, which enable us to see what Greekwork was like in Attic originals of the greatest period;without them, we could never have inferred their finerqualities from any copies or imitations. The drapedfigures from the Parthenon pediments show the samebreadth and majesty of type that we may see in thenude male figures. The horses* heads, too, show similarcharacteristics, both those of the Sun, flung up to catchthe breath of morning, or those of the Moon; for meresense of texture nothing can rival the head now in theBritish Museum from the extreme end of the east XXIII. FIGURE FROM W. PEDIMENT OF PARTHENON To face p. 100 PHIDIAS 101 pediment. The soft, quivering skin around the nostrilis so delicately rendered that it is difficult to realise, aswe look at it, that it is marble and not living flesh ; yethere again the effect is gained with the utmost direct-ness and simplicity. It is, in fact, difficult not to believethat some, at least, of the sculpture of the pedimentsmust have been executed as well as designed by the handof the master; if not, it would be even more wonderfulthat he should have been able to inspire his assistantswith a skill and sureness of work so worthy of the design. The frieze of the Parthenon has much in common xwith the pediments, but it is far more uneven in thequality of its execution. For its position on thetemple, for the choice of a processional subject,admirably suited to be seen between the columns asone walks along outside the building, and even for thelow relief, slightly higher at the top than a
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublis, booksubjectsculptors
