Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/380

Rh 358 A II C H M L G Y [CLASSICAL- Gem- Painting. cletus the younger, of Argus, who is known as the anther of several statues of victors at Olympia, and of a statue of Zeus Philius (Pausauias, viii. 31, 4), in which the expres sion resembled that of Dionysus. In addition to the existing sculptures already mentioned in connection with one or other of the ancient masters, there are others which, though their authorship has not been ascertained, undoubtedly belong to the period now before us. From these Ave select (1.) A marble relief in Athens, found at Eleusis in 1859, and representing Demeter, Cora, and boy, for whom the name either of Triptjolemus or Jacchus would be applicable (Mcnumenti, vi. pi. 45.) With the exception of a marked severity both in the composition and in the details, which may be due either to archaism or to a studied solemnity, this relief compares admirably with the frieze of the Parthenon. (2.) From Eleusis also comes the upper part of a female figure supporting a basket on her head (Calathephorus), now in Cambridge, in a large fine style (Wieseler, Denlanaler, ii. pi. 8, No. 92). (3.) Marble relief of Orpheus and Eurydice, in the Villa Albani, with its two replicas in Naples and Paris. (4.) Fragments of the metopes from the temple of Zeus at Olympia, found in 1829, and now in Paris. Doubtless these reliefs were executed at the time when Phidias was at Olympia engaged on the statue for this temple, and when his pupil Alcamenes was at work on the figures for the western pediment of it. In style, however, they differ considerably from that of the Attic sculptors ; nor are there any means of identifying them with the style of Pseonius of Mende, who executed the statues for the eastern pediment (Expcdit. Scientifique de la Moree, i. pis. 74, 78.) (5.) The metopes and inner frieze of the temple of Theseus at Athens are still in their original place, the style being compared with that of the metopes of the Parthenon, though the temple itself is usually believed to have been built by Cimon (Stuart s Antiquities of Athens, 2d ed.. ii pi. 19) Examples of what may be called a lower branch of sculpture (gem-engraving ) are exceedingly rare in this period. So far as Athens is concerned, this will appear loss remarkable if we suppose that gem- engraving and die-sinking were one profession, and remember that at least the latter must have been, with few exceptions, unpractised there in the best period, the coins being allowed, probably for commercial reasons, to retain the old stamp with which people were familiar. Possibly also the high ideal of the times was above the grasp of such artists, though it was seized pretty generally by the sculp tors of stelae, who could hardly have been men of note. In the British Museum is a carnelian (fig 8) repre senting a youthful figure, seated, and playing on a harp-shaped instrument, which, with a little severity, admir ably reflects the style of the Parthenon frieze. Of the coins of Sicily, the large piece known as the Demaretion, and struck in the year 479 B.C., fur nishes an example of the rendering of horses, which compares finely, if more advanced, with the archaic frieze from Xanthus. Similarly worthy of study &quot; !.. are the coins of Gelon, which are pro- **&quot;&amp;gt;. s.-CarmT.an intaglio. ._ . ., lint. Mus. From the col- bably as early as 4i B.C., and certainly i t. C Hon of the late Mr are anterior to 410 B.C. Woodhouse, Corfu. In the records of painting during the previous period it was noticeable that painters even then, in what ap peared to be one of the earliest stages of the art, were accustomed to execute large compositions, such as battle scenes. The essentially decorative character of the art required that it should be so, just as in early sculpture, in which also the decorative element prevailed, our principal records are those of large compositions, such as the chest of Cypselus or the shield of Achilles. While the epos flourished, and the country was full of heroic legends, there can be little doubt but that the principal pleasure derived from works of art lay in the variety of the subject and the manner in which it was presented, that is, in the composition, and not in the truthful rendering of individual forms. To heighten the interest of the spectator, it was usual to write the name beside each of the persons that appeared in a picture, as we see it done on the early vases. The same was the case with the sculptured reliefs on the chest of Cypselus, which on this account presents a remarkable contrast to the shield of Achilles, on which, as in Assyrian sculptures, there is no prominence of individuals, and therefore no accurate study of the human form. It is not to be supposed that in the early stage of Greek painting individual forms were studied with any other view than that of rendering the characters more intelligible ; but with this a beginning was made to lift the art into a higher sphere. At this stage appeared Polygnotus, a native of Tliasus, and a son of the painter Po!y- Aglaophon, of whose probable connection with the early guotus. Samian school mention has already been made. Attracted to Athens by the opportunity presented by the new build ings which were then being erected, Polygnotus, either owing to some family tie or through the recommendation of his own ability, found favour with Cimon, to whose zeal and taste the new impulse for the improvement of the city was due. In company with, or perhaps rather with the assistance of, the Athenian painters Micon and Pansenus (the brother or cousin of Phidias), he was em ployed to execute wall paintings for the Stoa Pcecile, the Theseum, and the Anaceum, or temple of the Dioscuri at the northern foot of the Acropolis. For his services, and especially for the disinterestedness of his character, Polygnotus received what was then regarded as the highest distinction the freedom of the city of Athens. His friendship with Cimon was intimate, and led, it was said (Plutarch, Cimon, 4), to an affectionate acquaintance with Cimon s half-sister, the beautiful Elpinice. From Athens he was called to Delphi to execute a series of paintings for the two long walls of the Lesche, a building erected there by the people of Cnidus. The paintings, however, appear to have been commissioned by the Amphictyonic council, if it is right to be guided to that conclusion by the state ment that the painter was rewarded with the rights of hospi tality throughout the states included in the Amphictyonic league. On the wall to the right after entering the Lesche were painted scenes illustrative of the old epos of the taking of Troy ( JAt ov Tre pcris). On the left was the visit of Ulysses to the lower world, as described in Book xi. of the Odyssey. The names of most of the persons were written by the side of the figures. The various groups and incidents depicted we know from the description of Pausanias (x. 25-31); and with the help of existing works of art in which the same subject recurs, we can form an idea of the composition (0. Jalm, Die Gemdlde dcs Polygnotiis in der Lesche zu Delphi, 1841; Welcker on the same subject in the Abhandlungcn of the Berlin Academy, 1847; Watkiss Lloyd, in tha Jfuseum of Classical Antiquities, i. p. 44). Heydemann (Iliiipcrsis, Berlin, 1866) republishes, for the illustration of his other figures, the famous Vivenzio vase in Naples (Mus. Borl., xiv. pis. 41, 43), which, pregnant with pathos as no other vase in existence, cannot well be identified with the style of Polygnotus, unless perhaps as regards the composition. He was employed at Thespiaj on a stoa or temple, but from some defect his work had perished so far within a century after it war,