Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Stray Thoughts On The Origin And Progress Of The Fine Arts.
STRAY THOUGHTS ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE FINE ARTS .
LOKDOF , SATURDAY , OCTOBER 20 , I 860 .
NO . III . Br DlAGOKAS . Next in chronological order , after the Egyptian , is the Phoenician style ; but of this I will attempt no description , for although , we read of temples adorned with statues ,
ancl glittering with gems and gold , all these haA'e been destroyed , and the medals ofthe Carthaginians , ( a colony of Phosnecians ) do not help us to arrive at a proper knoAA'ledge of the artistic merits of their ancestors . The Basena or ancient Tuscans , called by . the Greeks
Tyrsenians , and by some Etruscans , inhabited ancient Etruria , and at a period when the rest of Europe was yet under the cloud of ignorance and barbarism , attained a high degree of social refinement ; ancl some writers have alleged that they also made considerable progress in sculpture at an earlier period than the Greeks , but this
has been doubted by many , and it is even questionable whether the Etruscan has any right to be considered a distinct school of sculpture . Works of art Avere probably executed in Etruria , before the arrival of the Greek colonists in Northern Italy and Southern France ;
but the earliest of such specimens , are identical in style Avith the very ancient Greek specimens , and from the ancient Greeks they appear to hai'e derived all their learning , as they even continued to copy and perpetuate the primitive st ^ yle , after the Greeks had adopted a more elegant and dignified manner , founded on purer ancl more
enlarged principles of taste . Thence their ivorks may be justly considered as Greek , or at least a A'ery close imitation , The authenticity of many of the specimens denominated Etruscan , ivhich are UOAV in existence , is open to question . Of the marble statues , it is difficult to state , whether they are early Greek or Etruscan ; of
the ancient relievos found in various parts of Italy , several are generally admitted to be genuine Etruscan , but the most beautiful specimens are supposed to have been executed , after the conquest of Etruria by the "Romans , 280 years before Christ . Tlie style of Etruscan
sculpture is hard aud crowded and became proverbial among tlie Eomans on account of those defects . The most curious and interesting among Etruscan remains are the engraved Patera—small vessels used in sacrificingcircular and , in the Etruscan specimens only , with a
handle . Several engraved gems , said to belong to the Etruscan period , are of exquisite workmanship . Closely folloAving on the foregoing style comes the Grecian , and it may be useful to make a few inquiries here as to the reasons why the artists of Greece produced works so
greatly superior to all other nations . Ancient history records that the Greeks wez'e in a state of barbarism and ignorance long after the Egyptians and Chaldeans had attained to a considerable degree of civilisation . By means of colonies of Phoenicians and Egyptians setling in Greece , the rude and barbarous Greeks were gradually
induced to practise the arts ancl adopt the religion of those countries . The first efforts of Grecian art in no Ai'ay excelled those of other nations , and the arcliaic period , as it is called , of Grecian art extended through many centuries , almost to the time of Phidias . The causes which appear to have been conducive in rendering
the Greeks famous as sculptors are numerous . The fervid imagination of the Greeks , peopled their beautiful country with those beings , ivhich constituted its theology . Their streams and plains and mountains were regarded as the residences and representatives of their
gods , and attempts to present these in a more tangible form , exercised their skill and genius , and excited their emulation . The influence of climate on the human body is too obvious to require that it should be dilated on here , and Greece enjoyed the climate most favourable for- the development of the human form , in its most beautiful
symmetry , all the robust firmness of muscular strength , and all the delicacies of female beauty , ivere nowhere to be seen in greater perfection than in Greece . The opportunities afforded to artists for studying their art , and the high regard bestowed on eminent artists , may also be set ; down as reasons for the wonderful progress of
the Greeks in sculpture . In one of ray former papers I spoke of Daedalus , the first sculptor who attained sufficient celebrity to ensure his fame—more than one artist hoAvever bore this name , indeed its use among the ancients appears to have been a synonym for universal
genius , for , Dso & iHus is said , besides constructing the labyrinth of Crete , to have invented the wedge , and to have made wings , in addition to being tlie greatest sculptor of his time . Theivings formed the means of his escape from ete to avoid the revenge of Minos ; some eminent scholars understand by this merely that he put suit ' s to the vessel which bore him from the island . Daedalus
executed his works in wood . The first Greek sculptors AVIIO became famous for working in stone were Dipcenus and Scillis , about 580 years before Christ ; at about this time Ehcecus and Theodoras , both Samians , taught the art of casting in metals . The life-size head ofDiomede
in tlie British Museum , is said to he ihe work of Bhcecusr . From this time , till the 73 rd Olympiad , Greek art was gradually becoming more and more refined , till at Athens , 408 years before Christ , Phidias , the great master of the art of statuary , was born . He early
excelled in every science connected with his profession he was learned in history , fable , poetry , geometry , and optics , and under the patronage of Pericles , who commande d the treasury of Athens and the allied states , he had most favourable opportunities of exercising his
talents . He delighted to represent the diA'inities of his country . He did not copy visible objects , but formed for himself an ideal beauty , upon which he fixed his attention , which became his rule and model , and guided , at once his design and hand . Under his superintendence
the famous temple of the Parthenon was produced , the wondrous beauty of whose embellishments may be seen from the remains , known as the Elgin Marbles , in
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Stray Thoughts On The Origin And Progress Of The Fine Arts.
STRAY THOUGHTS ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE FINE ARTS .
LOKDOF , SATURDAY , OCTOBER 20 , I 860 .
NO . III . Br DlAGOKAS . Next in chronological order , after the Egyptian , is the Phoenician style ; but of this I will attempt no description , for although , we read of temples adorned with statues ,
ancl glittering with gems and gold , all these haA'e been destroyed , and the medals ofthe Carthaginians , ( a colony of Phosnecians ) do not help us to arrive at a proper knoAA'ledge of the artistic merits of their ancestors . The Basena or ancient Tuscans , called by . the Greeks
Tyrsenians , and by some Etruscans , inhabited ancient Etruria , and at a period when the rest of Europe was yet under the cloud of ignorance and barbarism , attained a high degree of social refinement ; ancl some writers have alleged that they also made considerable progress in sculpture at an earlier period than the Greeks , but this
has been doubted by many , and it is even questionable whether the Etruscan has any right to be considered a distinct school of sculpture . Works of art Avere probably executed in Etruria , before the arrival of the Greek colonists in Northern Italy and Southern France ;
but the earliest of such specimens , are identical in style Avith the very ancient Greek specimens , and from the ancient Greeks they appear to hai'e derived all their learning , as they even continued to copy and perpetuate the primitive st ^ yle , after the Greeks had adopted a more elegant and dignified manner , founded on purer ancl more
enlarged principles of taste . Thence their ivorks may be justly considered as Greek , or at least a A'ery close imitation , The authenticity of many of the specimens denominated Etruscan , ivhich are UOAV in existence , is open to question . Of the marble statues , it is difficult to state , whether they are early Greek or Etruscan ; of
the ancient relievos found in various parts of Italy , several are generally admitted to be genuine Etruscan , but the most beautiful specimens are supposed to have been executed , after the conquest of Etruria by the "Romans , 280 years before Christ . Tlie style of Etruscan
sculpture is hard aud crowded and became proverbial among tlie Eomans on account of those defects . The most curious and interesting among Etruscan remains are the engraved Patera—small vessels used in sacrificingcircular and , in the Etruscan specimens only , with a
handle . Several engraved gems , said to belong to the Etruscan period , are of exquisite workmanship . Closely folloAving on the foregoing style comes the Grecian , and it may be useful to make a few inquiries here as to the reasons why the artists of Greece produced works so
greatly superior to all other nations . Ancient history records that the Greeks wez'e in a state of barbarism and ignorance long after the Egyptians and Chaldeans had attained to a considerable degree of civilisation . By means of colonies of Phoenicians and Egyptians setling in Greece , the rude and barbarous Greeks were gradually
induced to practise the arts ancl adopt the religion of those countries . The first efforts of Grecian art in no Ai'ay excelled those of other nations , and the arcliaic period , as it is called , of Grecian art extended through many centuries , almost to the time of Phidias . The causes which appear to have been conducive in rendering
the Greeks famous as sculptors are numerous . The fervid imagination of the Greeks , peopled their beautiful country with those beings , ivhich constituted its theology . Their streams and plains and mountains were regarded as the residences and representatives of their
gods , and attempts to present these in a more tangible form , exercised their skill and genius , and excited their emulation . The influence of climate on the human body is too obvious to require that it should be dilated on here , and Greece enjoyed the climate most favourable for- the development of the human form , in its most beautiful
symmetry , all the robust firmness of muscular strength , and all the delicacies of female beauty , ivere nowhere to be seen in greater perfection than in Greece . The opportunities afforded to artists for studying their art , and the high regard bestowed on eminent artists , may also be set ; down as reasons for the wonderful progress of
the Greeks in sculpture . In one of ray former papers I spoke of Daedalus , the first sculptor who attained sufficient celebrity to ensure his fame—more than one artist hoAvever bore this name , indeed its use among the ancients appears to have been a synonym for universal
genius , for , Dso & iHus is said , besides constructing the labyrinth of Crete , to have invented the wedge , and to have made wings , in addition to being tlie greatest sculptor of his time . Theivings formed the means of his escape from ete to avoid the revenge of Minos ; some eminent scholars understand by this merely that he put suit ' s to the vessel which bore him from the island . Daedalus
executed his works in wood . The first Greek sculptors AVIIO became famous for working in stone were Dipcenus and Scillis , about 580 years before Christ ; at about this time Ehcecus and Theodoras , both Samians , taught the art of casting in metals . The life-size head ofDiomede
in tlie British Museum , is said to he ihe work of Bhcecusr . From this time , till the 73 rd Olympiad , Greek art was gradually becoming more and more refined , till at Athens , 408 years before Christ , Phidias , the great master of the art of statuary , was born . He early
excelled in every science connected with his profession he was learned in history , fable , poetry , geometry , and optics , and under the patronage of Pericles , who commande d the treasury of Athens and the allied states , he had most favourable opportunities of exercising his
talents . He delighted to represent the diA'inities of his country . He did not copy visible objects , but formed for himself an ideal beauty , upon which he fixed his attention , which became his rule and model , and guided , at once his design and hand . Under his superintendence
the famous temple of the Parthenon was produced , the wondrous beauty of whose embellishments may be seen from the remains , known as the Elgin Marbles , in