DOI Artikel:
Essay II: The spirit of the art of Pheidias, in its relation to his age, life, and character
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11444#0080
6o
ESSAYS ON THE ART OF PHEIDIAS.
[II.
great monuments in their massive forms, a Pindar with the
heroic tone of his lyrical lays, stronger and more lofty than
they are sweet or feeling, an Anaxagoras in whose philosophy
the infinite particles are all set in motion by the one great
conception of a world-soul, all these, however varied and
opposed to one another their forms of thought may be, have
in common the largeness which emanates from that great age.
We can thus imagine how a boy, gifted by nature with
strong impulses, a receptive heart, a rapid intelligence, and a
creative imagination, should, from the earliest age, be imbued
with the spirit of greatness: how the youth was affected by
the stirring events of the overthrow of the Persian supremacy,
and how his desire for work and for the effectuation of his
inner great feelings in outer production would be nurtured by
the activity and energy which surrounded him at the close of
the war. The rebuilding and fortification of Athens, begun by
Themistocles, and completed by Kimon, who also began to adorn
the city, presented a spectacle of activity and work, of which his-
tory rarely presents an equal display. From all parts of Greece
and Asia Minor artisans and artists flocked to Athens, sure
of finding occupation and remuneration. And the wealth of
Athens enabled the people to undertake whatever they desired,
and to carry into effect whatever they undertook. A double
wall was to be built from Athens to the Piraeus, as well as one
of equal height round the Piraeus five miles in circumference.
It was done. Expenditure of labour and of money were of no
consideration. Something conceived by an imagination satu-
rated with well-balanced thought, whose conceptions, however
lofty, were never fantastical, had to be realised ; and there was
no question of weakness or powerlessness for the victors of
Marathon and Salamis.
An artist bred in this world of human exertion and of its
products, surpassing all that ordinary minds were accustomed to
expect, could but feel the desire for great, immense works, such
as should correspond to the simultaneous uprising of a whole
nation for the purpose of peaceful exertion ; as the interesting
small picture of the Dutch artist corresponds to the thrifty
occupation of a well-to-do and portly merchant ' house-father'
in the domestic Netherlands. Moreover, the great wealth of the
ESSAYS ON THE ART OF PHEIDIAS.
[II.
great monuments in their massive forms, a Pindar with the
heroic tone of his lyrical lays, stronger and more lofty than
they are sweet or feeling, an Anaxagoras in whose philosophy
the infinite particles are all set in motion by the one great
conception of a world-soul, all these, however varied and
opposed to one another their forms of thought may be, have
in common the largeness which emanates from that great age.
We can thus imagine how a boy, gifted by nature with
strong impulses, a receptive heart, a rapid intelligence, and a
creative imagination, should, from the earliest age, be imbued
with the spirit of greatness: how the youth was affected by
the stirring events of the overthrow of the Persian supremacy,
and how his desire for work and for the effectuation of his
inner great feelings in outer production would be nurtured by
the activity and energy which surrounded him at the close of
the war. The rebuilding and fortification of Athens, begun by
Themistocles, and completed by Kimon, who also began to adorn
the city, presented a spectacle of activity and work, of which his-
tory rarely presents an equal display. From all parts of Greece
and Asia Minor artisans and artists flocked to Athens, sure
of finding occupation and remuneration. And the wealth of
Athens enabled the people to undertake whatever they desired,
and to carry into effect whatever they undertook. A double
wall was to be built from Athens to the Piraeus, as well as one
of equal height round the Piraeus five miles in circumference.
It was done. Expenditure of labour and of money were of no
consideration. Something conceived by an imagination satu-
rated with well-balanced thought, whose conceptions, however
lofty, were never fantastical, had to be realised ; and there was
no question of weakness or powerlessness for the victors of
Marathon and Salamis.
An artist bred in this world of human exertion and of its
products, surpassing all that ordinary minds were accustomed to
expect, could but feel the desire for great, immense works, such
as should correspond to the simultaneous uprising of a whole
nation for the purpose of peaceful exertion ; as the interesting
small picture of the Dutch artist corresponds to the thrifty
occupation of a well-to-do and portly merchant ' house-father'
in the domestic Netherlands. Moreover, the great wealth of the