DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.22421#0116
52
THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
Letter III.
pediment, and in Visconti's opinion represent Vulcan and Venus.
A male torso, of which the epidermis is much injured, called
Cecrops (100). The fragments of the statue of Pallas, viz., a, a
piece of the upper part of the head, consisting of the root of the
nose, the eyes, a piece of the forehead, and some hair (101). The
helmet was of bronze, as appears from the holes in the marble to
which it was fastened. The eyes, now hollow, were also filled
up with some other material, which was doubtless intended to
represent the owl-eyed <y\a.vx.w7ns ; the hair is treated in the old
fashion, like strong packthreads, very simply twisted, lying
closely to each other, b, A portion of the chest, very much
broken (102), of colossal proportions. A piece of one of the
serpent feet of Erichthonius, whom Pallas is teaching to yoke the
horse created by Neptune, and who thereby tames him. Next
follows the upper part of the torso of Neptune (103), extremely
vigorous. These statues, being the principal figures, were in
the centre of the pediment. Of those on the other side of it,
there remain only, 1—the torso of the unwinged Victory (105),
so represented by the Athenians, in order that Victory might
never depart from them. This torso, of which no cast has yet
been taken, and which extends from the neck to the half of the
thigh, is of very noble form, and astonishingly animated in the
motion forwards. There is now also a cast of the head of this
statue (105*), from the original in the possession of the Count
Leon de Laborde, and presented by that gentleman. The style
of the forms is very noble, but there are very great restorations.
2. The lap of Latona, with a small fragment of the infant Apollo
(106), belonging to a group of that goddess, with her two
children, Apollo and Diana.
All the thoughts which the study of the plaster casts of these
works had formerly suggested to me, now took a more distinct
form in their presence. The peculiar excellence which distin-
guishes the works of the Parthenon from almost all other sculpture
of antiquity arises chiefly, in my opinion, from the juste milieu
which they hold in all respects between the earlier and later pro-
ductions of art. Sculpture in Egypt, as well as in Greece, was the
daughter of Architecture. In Egypt, the mother never released
her from the strictest dependence ; in Greece, on the other hand,
Sculpture, after a long education, very favourable to her growth,
THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
Letter III.
pediment, and in Visconti's opinion represent Vulcan and Venus.
A male torso, of which the epidermis is much injured, called
Cecrops (100). The fragments of the statue of Pallas, viz., a, a
piece of the upper part of the head, consisting of the root of the
nose, the eyes, a piece of the forehead, and some hair (101). The
helmet was of bronze, as appears from the holes in the marble to
which it was fastened. The eyes, now hollow, were also filled
up with some other material, which was doubtless intended to
represent the owl-eyed <y\a.vx.w7ns ; the hair is treated in the old
fashion, like strong packthreads, very simply twisted, lying
closely to each other, b, A portion of the chest, very much
broken (102), of colossal proportions. A piece of one of the
serpent feet of Erichthonius, whom Pallas is teaching to yoke the
horse created by Neptune, and who thereby tames him. Next
follows the upper part of the torso of Neptune (103), extremely
vigorous. These statues, being the principal figures, were in
the centre of the pediment. Of those on the other side of it,
there remain only, 1—the torso of the unwinged Victory (105),
so represented by the Athenians, in order that Victory might
never depart from them. This torso, of which no cast has yet
been taken, and which extends from the neck to the half of the
thigh, is of very noble form, and astonishingly animated in the
motion forwards. There is now also a cast of the head of this
statue (105*), from the original in the possession of the Count
Leon de Laborde, and presented by that gentleman. The style
of the forms is very noble, but there are very great restorations.
2. The lap of Latona, with a small fragment of the infant Apollo
(106), belonging to a group of that goddess, with her two
children, Apollo and Diana.
All the thoughts which the study of the plaster casts of these
works had formerly suggested to me, now took a more distinct
form in their presence. The peculiar excellence which distin-
guishes the works of the Parthenon from almost all other sculpture
of antiquity arises chiefly, in my opinion, from the juste milieu
which they hold in all respects between the earlier and later pro-
ductions of art. Sculpture in Egypt, as well as in Greece, was the
daughter of Architecture. In Egypt, the mother never released
her from the strictest dependence ; in Greece, on the other hand,
Sculpture, after a long education, very favourable to her growth,