DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68516#0240
GREEK ART
clearer understanding of what are the possibilities of plastic expression.
The poses become freer, with a greater sense of the balance of opposing
inclinations of planes, and at times the sculptors became aware of the
possibilities of chiaroscuro—they discovered the baroque.
The Attalids in Asia Minor were one of the contending dynasties
among which Alexander’s empire had been divided. They were rather
Asiatic tyrants than the heads of a free Greek state, but they were great
patrons of art and it was under them that some of the most interesting
new developments took place. The altar, dedicated to Zeus in 180 b.c.,
is the most striking evidence of that new feeling. Students of Greek art
having once fixed on the Parthenon sculptures as the high-water mark
of Greek art found in the Pergamene works a conveniently striking
contrast. They have been used constantly as proof of the decadence of
Greek art, and this could be agreeably enough correlated with the loss
of political independence. The Pergamenes were accused of vulgar
realism and forced exaggeration in contrast to the serene calm and
dignity of the Olympian and Parthenon figures (324). But if the theme
chosen is one of conflict (here the battle of the gods with the Titans)
there is nothing reprehensible in allowing the design to be expressive of
conflict rather than suggestive of repose. The theme may indeed inspire
another kind of rhythmic idea, and that not necessarily an inferior one.
And here we see that it led to certain very striking results. Almost for
the first time in Greek sculpture a plastic rhythm has been set up strong
enough to bring the individual figures into close relation with each
other so that they fuse into a single plastic unity. I do not pretend that
this is an impeccable composition. The modern world has pushed the
study of rhythm so much further than the ancient that we have a higher
standard. This would not have satisfied Raphael or Poussin, but at
least it shows an awareness of the need to establish systems of corre-
spondence and balance throughout the whole design. This complex
group is far more closely knit than were any of the two figures in the
metopes of the Parthenon, and it was a great step thus to extend the
unity beyond the single figure. And in the execution the artist has used
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clearer understanding of what are the possibilities of plastic expression.
The poses become freer, with a greater sense of the balance of opposing
inclinations of planes, and at times the sculptors became aware of the
possibilities of chiaroscuro—they discovered the baroque.
The Attalids in Asia Minor were one of the contending dynasties
among which Alexander’s empire had been divided. They were rather
Asiatic tyrants than the heads of a free Greek state, but they were great
patrons of art and it was under them that some of the most interesting
new developments took place. The altar, dedicated to Zeus in 180 b.c.,
is the most striking evidence of that new feeling. Students of Greek art
having once fixed on the Parthenon sculptures as the high-water mark
of Greek art found in the Pergamene works a conveniently striking
contrast. They have been used constantly as proof of the decadence of
Greek art, and this could be agreeably enough correlated with the loss
of political independence. The Pergamenes were accused of vulgar
realism and forced exaggeration in contrast to the serene calm and
dignity of the Olympian and Parthenon figures (324). But if the theme
chosen is one of conflict (here the battle of the gods with the Titans)
there is nothing reprehensible in allowing the design to be expressive of
conflict rather than suggestive of repose. The theme may indeed inspire
another kind of rhythmic idea, and that not necessarily an inferior one.
And here we see that it led to certain very striking results. Almost for
the first time in Greek sculpture a plastic rhythm has been set up strong
enough to bring the individual figures into close relation with each
other so that they fuse into a single plastic unity. I do not pretend that
this is an impeccable composition. The modern world has pushed the
study of rhythm so much further than the ancient that we have a higher
standard. This would not have satisfied Raphael or Poussin, but at
least it shows an awareness of the need to establish systems of corre-
spondence and balance throughout the whole design. This complex
group is far more closely knit than were any of the two figures in the
metopes of the Parthenon, and it was a great step thus to extend the
unity beyond the single figure. And in the execution the artist has used
< 204 >