Page:An Elementary History of Art.djvu/198

168 Sculpture. infinity of form. Freely drawn curves, and the oval, are the materials for all fine outline, and one of the most beautiful forms in which such outline is to be found is the human body. The nude figure is the most suitable for sculpture ; where drapery is employed, it should follow the lines of the body, and indicate, not conceal, its contour. Next to man, the most highly organized animals, such as the horse and the dog, are the finest subjects for the sculptor. Groups, in which the figures do not stand out separately, but partly hide each other, afford scope for the highest artistic genius, and should form a rhythmic whole, with all the parts well balanced — producing a pleasing effect of variety in unity. As sculpture deals with plastic form alone, it has generally been supposed to disdain the aid of colour ; yet the Egyptians, and probably also the Assyrians, invariably coloured their sculpture, except perhaps those statues which were of hard basalt or highly-polished granite. It is known that the Greeks also coloured their sculpture, but it is difficult to ascertain how far they carried it in imitation of nature. In our own day, the celebrated sculptor John Gibson tinted parts of several of his statues.