FINE ARTS (GREEK)
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FINE ARTS (GOTHIC)
amphorae for storage; the hydria for drawing and carrying; the lekythps for pouring; and the kantharos for drinking. Primitive sculptures at Selinus interpret the Greek idea of strength in short legs, thick bodies and exaggerated muscles. A perpetual smirk, supposed to indicate joy, is found on the round faces with their bulging eyeballs and spiral twists of hair.
The transitional period is illuminated by such productions as Myron's Discobolus and the pediments at Olympia. The Discobolus is a bronze of a young Greek throwing the disc. In the face and form we have the generalized type of masculine beauty and grace which nad reached its height at that period. The art of Myron was not obscured by that of Pheidias, for the sequence of productions in Greece flows on like a splendid river, where each bend or turn lends a charm all its own.
The architectural feature of the age of Pheidias was the Parthenon, the Doric temple of Athene, the patron goddess of Athens, as well as the treasury of Athens. It was the background for the most important group of sculpture the world has known.
The Panathenaic (all-Athens) procession was a celebration of civic pride, combined with religious sentiment. Therefore, it was logical that Pheidias should choose the subject of this procession for the magnificent sculptured frieze within the portico. The exquisite grace of the maidens who lead the van, the spirited steeds and athletic figures of the young men, the whole play and movement of this wonderful presentation in marble are indescribable. The remnants of the frieze and fragments of two splendid pediments are housed in the British Museum, but only a supposed model, combined with historic descriptions, suggests the beauty and grandeur of a statue once within the building.
This figure of Athene was thirty-nine feet in height and of wood and stucco. The flesh-parts were covered with ivory, with eyes of painted marble to imitate nature. The hair and draperies were of solid plates of gold, so made as to be removable in case of war and yet leave the figure uninjured. It is said that eight statues of Athene were executed by Pheidias, as well as the colossal figure of Zeus at Olympia.
Writers declare that in this last work the sculptor reached the climax of portraying divine excellence, serenity and joy. The ruling power with Pheidias was the ideal; with Polykleitos the sublimest beauty is the real, but in Praxiteles we find the sculptor of gods, not men.
In a room at Olympia, especially designed for its occupancy, stands the Hermes of Praxiteles, the most beautiful of marbles. The smile of the mobile mouth is as gentle, the curling locks as crisp, as when the
master sculptor gave the last touch to that serene brow. To see it is to know that the essence of divinity has manifested itself in a materialized thought.
The important sculptures of the Hellenistic period were the figurines in terracotta found at Tanagra and three statues in marble. These three matchless works are the Apollo Belvedere in the Vatican; the Venus of Melos; and the Victory of Samothrace in the Louvre. The last is the most interesting of all, for, headless and armless though she is and though poised at the top of a flight of stairs instead of upon the prow of a ship, she seems to rush onward, her vibrant wings spread to meet a fresh sea-breeze. See A. S. Murray: History of Greek Sculpture; F. B. Tarbell; History of Greek Art; and J. H. Huddilston: Greek Pottery.
Gothic Architecture and Sculpture. Greek temples are beautiful without, Moorish mosques within, but the Gothic building is beautiful both within and without. It stands as an expression of the freedom of thought between feudalism and the crusades. It was the result of the brotherhood of Masons, who, together with the clerical authorities, desired to build royal monuments to one living and ever-present God. Because of this the great Gothic cathedrals have eternal youth. "Gothic implies a building in which stone vaults are supported by a framework of independent ribs." This skeleton is supported vertically by heavy piers, and the combination is prevented from falling in or out by thrusts in the shape of arches and buttresses, that distribute the weight of the vaults and ribs.
Walls proper scarcely exist, because the usual wall-space is occupied by enormous windows above the ground-story of the exterior and within by colonnades. Huge outer abutments are the bases for what are called the flying buttresses. These are a form of arch which rests at one end on an outer pier, while the other presses against the upper or clerestory. The flying buttress, the skeleton-framework and the prolific use of the vertical line are the characteristic features of Gothic art. Among the most important examples are the French cathedrals of Chartres, Amiens, Beauvais, Rheims and Notre Dame de Paris; the English cathedrals of Lincoln, York, Winchester and Canterbury; the German cathedrals of Cologne and Strassburg; and the Italian Duomo at Milan.
The notable feature of the perfected Gothic, which is found in France, is its adherence to fixed structural laws. In the other countries features have been added that are neither useful nor more beautiful than the French plan, but lend a local touch to the edifice.
The square east end of the building and the lancet, decorated and perpendicular styles
