DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0198
130
GREEK PERIOD
proportions and small head; the suppleness o£ the figure, as if of
an organism that could move naturally and easily; the position
of the arms extended freely from the body without fear; and
particularly the fact that, seen from any point of view, the
planes appear to flow into each other, giving the truly three-
dimensional feeling. Greek sculptors up to this time had not
succeeded in realizing that quality. The earliest sculpture was
distinctly a block of stone with four faces; the Discobolus of
Myron is felt in one plane, as a side view of the statue easily
shows; even the Hermes of Praxiteles is best seen from one position
— otherwise there are awkward passages. About 300 b.c. the
scientific study of the human body through dissection began at
Alexandria in the study of medicine, and the result of such work
was destined to react upon the sculptors, making their modeling
more scientifically accurate and bringing them more and more to
a unified aspect of the figure in space.
The tendency toward an expression of restless emotion is well
seen in the Nike of Samotlorace^ (Pl. 47 b). The figure is electric
with the thrill that comes from rapid, buoyant movement. The
twist in the torso produces great vitality, felt through the
clinging, wind-swept drapery, the restless curves and the minute
folds of which are so complicated that they almost become a
tour de force. As it is, the sculptor just saved himself by bringing
the main lines into harmony with the lines of the figure in a
manner that deepens the feeling of elation and the joy of swift
movement. Here, as in the best Greek sculpture, the whole
figure expresses the conception of the artist, which is not only
the personified Nike, but an abstract expression of the very es-
sence of victory. Because of this essential unity of feeling in all
parts of the figure, the loss of the head and arms is not so discon-
certing as in the case of a statue where the sculptor has concen-
trated upon a certain part, such as the face, to express his thought.
The tendency toward restlessness and the expression of intense
feeling reached a climax in the Altar at Pergamon, on the frieze
of which is represented the battle between the gods and the giants
(Pl. 47 c). Athena, moving rapidly toward the right, clutches
one of the winged giants by the hair, forcing him to the ground;
on the right Earth, mother of the giants, a half-length figure,
looks appealingly to Athena; above her, Victory approaches to
crown the goddess. It is hardly less than wild disorder that fills
the group. Force is there, powerfully displayed. The artist
4 Erected to commemorate the naval victory of Demetrius Poliorcetes over Ptolemy in 306 B.c.
The pedestal has the shape of a prow. The goddess held a trumpet to her lips as we know from
a coin Pn which this statue was used as the coin-type.
GREEK PERIOD
proportions and small head; the suppleness o£ the figure, as if of
an organism that could move naturally and easily; the position
of the arms extended freely from the body without fear; and
particularly the fact that, seen from any point of view, the
planes appear to flow into each other, giving the truly three-
dimensional feeling. Greek sculptors up to this time had not
succeeded in realizing that quality. The earliest sculpture was
distinctly a block of stone with four faces; the Discobolus of
Myron is felt in one plane, as a side view of the statue easily
shows; even the Hermes of Praxiteles is best seen from one position
— otherwise there are awkward passages. About 300 b.c. the
scientific study of the human body through dissection began at
Alexandria in the study of medicine, and the result of such work
was destined to react upon the sculptors, making their modeling
more scientifically accurate and bringing them more and more to
a unified aspect of the figure in space.
The tendency toward an expression of restless emotion is well
seen in the Nike of Samotlorace^ (Pl. 47 b). The figure is electric
with the thrill that comes from rapid, buoyant movement. The
twist in the torso produces great vitality, felt through the
clinging, wind-swept drapery, the restless curves and the minute
folds of which are so complicated that they almost become a
tour de force. As it is, the sculptor just saved himself by bringing
the main lines into harmony with the lines of the figure in a
manner that deepens the feeling of elation and the joy of swift
movement. Here, as in the best Greek sculpture, the whole
figure expresses the conception of the artist, which is not only
the personified Nike, but an abstract expression of the very es-
sence of victory. Because of this essential unity of feeling in all
parts of the figure, the loss of the head and arms is not so discon-
certing as in the case of a statue where the sculptor has concen-
trated upon a certain part, such as the face, to express his thought.
The tendency toward restlessness and the expression of intense
feeling reached a climax in the Altar at Pergamon, on the frieze
of which is represented the battle between the gods and the giants
(Pl. 47 c). Athena, moving rapidly toward the right, clutches
one of the winged giants by the hair, forcing him to the ground;
on the right Earth, mother of the giants, a half-length figure,
looks appealingly to Athena; above her, Victory approaches to
crown the goddess. It is hardly less than wild disorder that fills
the group. Force is there, powerfully displayed. The artist
4 Erected to commemorate the naval victory of Demetrius Poliorcetes over Ptolemy in 306 B.c.
The pedestal has the shape of a prow. The goddess held a trumpet to her lips as we know from
a coin Pn which this statue was used as the coin-type.