DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5253#0480
446 THE AGE OF SCOPAS, PRAXITELES, AND LYSIPPOS.
is in perfect proportion to the manly shape of its guardian. The mutual devo-
tion of Silenus and infant-god are, besides, beautifully expressed in their absorp-
tion in one another.
Returning to the Hermes, still another sign of the young master's feeling
his way to more perfect things, is found by Brunn in the peculiar character of
the drapery. In older times, were a support required, it was naively placed,
with no attempt at concealment, directly where it was needed ; as we have
seen was the case with the pillar supporting the hand'of Pheidias' Parthenos.
In his Hermes, Praxiteles evidently rebels against such bald accessories, and,
by means of the full mantle, tries to hide it. But in the very multitude of its
crowded, heavy folds, especially under the arm, and in the extraordinary detail
of the surface, there is apparent a surplus of labor such as we might readily
imagine a beginner, dazzled by the sight of nature, would expend upon inci-
dental objects, and which are not in keeping with the work of a perfect master,
who clarifies and ennobles nature. And so in the copies of Praxiteles' other
and probably later works, such as the Sauroctonos and Silenus, wc shall see
that this superabundance has made way for a delightful simplicity, and that
details are subordinated to the main lines ; thus bearing witness to the noble
moderation of maturer powers. There is, besides, in the treatment of the
Hermes, especially about the shoulders, a massiveness, seemingly a reminis-
cence of older art, not perfectly in harmony with the gentle-flowing impression
left by the composition as a whole. If such was the budding spring, what
must have been the high summer of Praxiteles' powers ?
In the Hermes group, so unquestionably an original by Praxiteles, we have
the master's own handwriting, as it were; and, by comparison with it, we are
brought nearer to an appreciation of his other celebrated works, which, alas!
only exist for us in feeble copies.
Besides this Hermes group, Pausanias saw, in the western part of the Pelo-
ponnesos, a marble statue by Praxiteles, representing Dionysos in his temple,
near the old theatre of Elis.8-*2 Of the statue, we are told, unfortunately,
nothing further ; but tradition has piously transmitted much concerning the
miracles performed by the god during his festivals, when, as was said, wine
flowed out of his sanctuary, and mysteriously filled empty vessels locked up
within the building.
But Attica, not the Peloponnesos, was the main field of Praxiteles' activity.
Some of his works long remained in Athens, and were seen there by Pausa-
nias ; many more were removed to Rome, where they enriched the collections
of Roman statesmen, adorned their gardens, such as the Servilian, and beau-
tified their sacred places, such as the Capitol. Of very many of these we have
only vague, unsatisfactory notices ; but a summary of them will open up to our
vision the master's productiveness, as well as the variety of the subjects he
treated. A group of the Eleusinian deities, Core and Iacchos, in marble, was
is in perfect proportion to the manly shape of its guardian. The mutual devo-
tion of Silenus and infant-god are, besides, beautifully expressed in their absorp-
tion in one another.
Returning to the Hermes, still another sign of the young master's feeling
his way to more perfect things, is found by Brunn in the peculiar character of
the drapery. In older times, were a support required, it was naively placed,
with no attempt at concealment, directly where it was needed ; as we have
seen was the case with the pillar supporting the hand'of Pheidias' Parthenos.
In his Hermes, Praxiteles evidently rebels against such bald accessories, and,
by means of the full mantle, tries to hide it. But in the very multitude of its
crowded, heavy folds, especially under the arm, and in the extraordinary detail
of the surface, there is apparent a surplus of labor such as we might readily
imagine a beginner, dazzled by the sight of nature, would expend upon inci-
dental objects, and which are not in keeping with the work of a perfect master,
who clarifies and ennobles nature. And so in the copies of Praxiteles' other
and probably later works, such as the Sauroctonos and Silenus, wc shall see
that this superabundance has made way for a delightful simplicity, and that
details are subordinated to the main lines ; thus bearing witness to the noble
moderation of maturer powers. There is, besides, in the treatment of the
Hermes, especially about the shoulders, a massiveness, seemingly a reminis-
cence of older art, not perfectly in harmony with the gentle-flowing impression
left by the composition as a whole. If such was the budding spring, what
must have been the high summer of Praxiteles' powers ?
In the Hermes group, so unquestionably an original by Praxiteles, we have
the master's own handwriting, as it were; and, by comparison with it, we are
brought nearer to an appreciation of his other celebrated works, which, alas!
only exist for us in feeble copies.
Besides this Hermes group, Pausanias saw, in the western part of the Pelo-
ponnesos, a marble statue by Praxiteles, representing Dionysos in his temple,
near the old theatre of Elis.8-*2 Of the statue, we are told, unfortunately,
nothing further ; but tradition has piously transmitted much concerning the
miracles performed by the god during his festivals, when, as was said, wine
flowed out of his sanctuary, and mysteriously filled empty vessels locked up
within the building.
But Attica, not the Peloponnesos, was the main field of Praxiteles' activity.
Some of his works long remained in Athens, and were seen there by Pausa-
nias ; many more were removed to Rome, where they enriched the collections
of Roman statesmen, adorned their gardens, such as the Servilian, and beau-
tified their sacred places, such as the Capitol. Of very many of these we have
only vague, unsatisfactory notices ; but a summary of them will open up to our
vision the master's productiveness, as well as the variety of the subjects he
treated. A group of the Eleusinian deities, Core and Iacchos, in marble, was