DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9188#0052
36
The Lamps of Greek Art
VIII
The eighth light of Greek art is Fellowship. Perhaps there
is no quality in it which is more instructive for our days
than this. The extreme individualism which is the most
remarkable characteristic of modern times lays the utmost
stress on the right or the duty of an artist to express himself
in his work, to work out his own vein of originality, to give to
the world a rendering of his own qualities and individuality.
And no doubt no great artist can help doing this in a measure.
When he works he must be himself ; he can only.see the world
through the medium of his character and talents. And as
every man is a microcosm, a reflection in miniature of the great
world of human beings, what is really good and original in
an artist must appeal to something in the human world ; must
have a meaning for people of a certain class or a certain training,
or a certain country. But whether an artist is the better for
a conscious attempt thus to externalize his personality ; whether
he is improved by being self-conscious and reflective in his
art is a different question.
Scarcely any feature of Greek art is more impressive to
a student than its continuous and uninterrupted course.
When once it has started it does not turn back, but goes forward
steadily, for a time rising superior to difficulty after difficulty,
attaining a higher and higher level, then in the fifth century
branching out in various directions into styles and groups,
then going on with great technical skill, but with a loss of
inspiration. It is a course of evolution as steady as that of
any kind of plant or animal. This shows that it did not
depend upon the rise of successive men of talent or genius,
each of whom was intent on expressing himself ; but upon the
rise and influence of successive artistic schools, each of which
did not merely follow the personality of a founder or teacher,
but stood for a phase in the development of the common life
The Lamps of Greek Art
VIII
The eighth light of Greek art is Fellowship. Perhaps there
is no quality in it which is more instructive for our days
than this. The extreme individualism which is the most
remarkable characteristic of modern times lays the utmost
stress on the right or the duty of an artist to express himself
in his work, to work out his own vein of originality, to give to
the world a rendering of his own qualities and individuality.
And no doubt no great artist can help doing this in a measure.
When he works he must be himself ; he can only.see the world
through the medium of his character and talents. And as
every man is a microcosm, a reflection in miniature of the great
world of human beings, what is really good and original in
an artist must appeal to something in the human world ; must
have a meaning for people of a certain class or a certain training,
or a certain country. But whether an artist is the better for
a conscious attempt thus to externalize his personality ; whether
he is improved by being self-conscious and reflective in his
art is a different question.
Scarcely any feature of Greek art is more impressive to
a student than its continuous and uninterrupted course.
When once it has started it does not turn back, but goes forward
steadily, for a time rising superior to difficulty after difficulty,
attaining a higher and higher level, then in the fifth century
branching out in various directions into styles and groups,
then going on with great technical skill, but with a loss of
inspiration. It is a course of evolution as steady as that of
any kind of plant or animal. This shows that it did not
depend upon the rise of successive men of talent or genius,
each of whom was intent on expressing himself ; but upon the
rise and influence of successive artistic schools, each of which
did not merely follow the personality of a founder or teacher,
but stood for a phase in the development of the common life