DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0158
104 GREEK PERIOD
The same process was involved in carving the gems which
were mounted in rings and used as seals. Pl. 34 e shows Achilles
sinking backward, wounded, his right arm still in the strap of
his shield, his left pulling the spear from his heel, his one vulner-
able spot; about the edge runs a cable border. In Pl. 34 f we see
Eros carrying off a struggling girl. In these gems there is the fine
sense of design that we now see is so characteristic of all Greek
work, a sensitiveness for decorating a space. The circular move-
ment in the crouching figure of Achilles, accentuated by the re-
peating line of the shield, fits exquisitely the elliptical shape of
the gem. In the Eros example, two figures are skillfully grouped
and move rapidly to the right; yet the backward glance of Eros
and the deep sweeping lines of the wings which seem to frame
the figures balance the design and hold it easily in the space, al-
though rapid movement is suggested. The modeling is exquisitely
done with detail that is almost incredible, when we remember the
small size of the gem. Like the coins, the gems are sculpture in
miniature and exhibit, on the one hand, stiffness and inaccuracy
of drawing, on the other, a freshness of observation and an
eagerness for accomplishing a greater perfection.
SUMMARY
Thus it is not in the attainment of their ideal that the charm
of the artists in the early and archaic period lies — for their
knowledge of anatomy is deficient, and they lack the technical
ability to carve or draw correctly — but in their eager striving,
their earnestness, their simple directness, and vitality. These are
qualities that command a greater interest, if not a greater admira-
tion, than the supreme knowledge, the flawless technical skill,
and the decorative elegance of the over-ripe periods when the
artist had attained, and had begun to carry on the tradition
without the spirit.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abrahams, E. B., Greek Dress. London, Murray, 1908.
Anderson, W. J., and Spiers, R. P., Architecture of Greece and Rome. N.Y.,
Scribner, 1907.
Bell, Edward, Hellenic Architecture. London, Bell, 192.0.
British Museum, Guide to the Principal Gold and Silver Coins of the Ancients,
by B. V. Head. London, 1895.
-, Pictorial postcards. Set XXIV: Coins of Syracuse; XXVII: Types of
Greek Vases; XXX: Frieze of the Parthenon; XLVI: Greek Terra-cottas; XLVII:
Greek and Roman Reliefs; XLVIII: Types of Greek and Roman Statues.
Buschor, Ernst, Greek Vase Painting (tr. Richards). London, Chatto, 1911.
The same process was involved in carving the gems which
were mounted in rings and used as seals. Pl. 34 e shows Achilles
sinking backward, wounded, his right arm still in the strap of
his shield, his left pulling the spear from his heel, his one vulner-
able spot; about the edge runs a cable border. In Pl. 34 f we see
Eros carrying off a struggling girl. In these gems there is the fine
sense of design that we now see is so characteristic of all Greek
work, a sensitiveness for decorating a space. The circular move-
ment in the crouching figure of Achilles, accentuated by the re-
peating line of the shield, fits exquisitely the elliptical shape of
the gem. In the Eros example, two figures are skillfully grouped
and move rapidly to the right; yet the backward glance of Eros
and the deep sweeping lines of the wings which seem to frame
the figures balance the design and hold it easily in the space, al-
though rapid movement is suggested. The modeling is exquisitely
done with detail that is almost incredible, when we remember the
small size of the gem. Like the coins, the gems are sculpture in
miniature and exhibit, on the one hand, stiffness and inaccuracy
of drawing, on the other, a freshness of observation and an
eagerness for accomplishing a greater perfection.
SUMMARY
Thus it is not in the attainment of their ideal that the charm
of the artists in the early and archaic period lies — for their
knowledge of anatomy is deficient, and they lack the technical
ability to carve or draw correctly — but in their eager striving,
their earnestness, their simple directness, and vitality. These are
qualities that command a greater interest, if not a greater admira-
tion, than the supreme knowledge, the flawless technical skill,
and the decorative elegance of the over-ripe periods when the
artist had attained, and had begun to carry on the tradition
without the spirit.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abrahams, E. B., Greek Dress. London, Murray, 1908.
Anderson, W. J., and Spiers, R. P., Architecture of Greece and Rome. N.Y.,
Scribner, 1907.
Bell, Edward, Hellenic Architecture. London, Bell, 192.0.
British Museum, Guide to the Principal Gold and Silver Coins of the Ancients,
by B. V. Head. London, 1895.
-, Pictorial postcards. Set XXIV: Coins of Syracuse; XXVII: Types of
Greek Vases; XXX: Frieze of the Parthenon; XLVI: Greek Terra-cottas; XLVII:
Greek and Roman Reliefs; XLVIII: Types of Greek and Roman Statues.
Buschor, Ernst, Greek Vase Painting (tr. Richards). London, Chatto, 1911.