the exception of the Olympian Jupiter of Phidias, has received higher and more unqualified eulogiums from ancient writers, than any other work of Grecian art. These two great artists may therefore be considered as standing at the head of their respective schools; Praxiteles, the delicate and beautiful—Phidias, the grand and sublime.
THE WORKS OF PRAXITELES.
Praxiteles was eminent for his works, both in
bronze and marble, but he seems to have had the
highest reputation for his skill in the latter. Among
those in bronze, Pliny and Pausanias mention a statue
of Bacchus; and one of a Satyr so excellent,
that it was called Periboetos, or the Celebrated.
He also made a statue of Venus; a statue of a Matron
weeping; and one of a Courtesan laughing, believed
to be a portrait of the celebrated Thespian
courtesan, Phryne. His Apollo Sauroctonos (or
the Lizard Killer), was the finest of his works in
bronze, and was greatly distinguished for purity of
style, and graceful beauty of form. In the Vatican
there is a well-authenticated marble copy of this
work, which is justly considered one of the greatest
treasures of that storehouse of art. Among the
works in marble by Praxiteles, the famous Venus
of Cnidus takes the preëminence.
THE VENUS OF CNIDUS.
Praxiteles executed two statues of Venus—the
one draped, and the other naked. The people of
