THE LITERARY PANORAMA. AND National Register: For AUGUST, 1816. NATIONAL and PARLIAMENTARY it glares with its eyes: it gnashes with Notices, PROSPECTIVE and RETROSPECTIVE. (BRITISH & FOREIGN.) ELGIN MARBLES. REPORT FROM THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE EARL OF ELGIN'S COLLECTION OF SCULPTURED MARBLES, &c. its teeth, it roars-such, at least, is the action of its mouth, with a vehe mence and contortion equally expressive and terrific. Such are the idols of most uncivilized nations they are rude, barbarous, disproportionate: they observe no order, and they follow no rules. They attempt not to please; they neither attract nor charm; they neither soothe nor delight. Diametrically contrary are the finished productions of natious distinguished by over refinement.-They usually proceed from a studious correctness to grace, and from grace they sink into the decripitude of elegance, affectation, and mi Ordered by the Hon. House of Commons to be micry. This is the extreme of princi printed, 25 March, 1816. ples good in themselves, but suffering abuse; the result of that sickly state of the human mind when it hankers after unattainable novelty; a something to gratify its caprice; a something which it cannot define; but which eludes or defies the application of judicious theory, or of masterly practice. ARE the Arts of Design natural to mankind? They are certainly superfluities, refinements, and to be placed after the necessaries of life, in the order of importance; yet, so it is, that scarcely have the most destitute savages satisfied It were perhaps rather paradoxical to the cravings of nature, 'ere they proceed describe Art as most impressive at the to embellishments derived from fancy; point antecedent to absolute perfection; they tax their imitative powers to form when there yet remains only a certain resemblances of beasts or men, to be re-insensible step to be taken to attain garded as objects of terror by their enewies, or of patronage and protection by themselves. completeness; or certain defects, invisible except to masters of the greatest skill, to be removed, as the only impediments Such as are the passions of man, such that withhold the competent judge are the images he forms: ardent and from pronouncing a work perfect. And uncontrolable himself in his wild state, yet, so narrow is the line that bounds he delights in fierce and violent expres- perfection, that much greater is the sion: that he may render his work strik-danger of overpassing it, aud much more ing, he makes it extravagant; under his is the satisfaction of the critic diminishforming hands it becomes a monster, that ed by over-refinement, than by the reit may not be feeble: it frowns, it stares, mains of that energetic emulation strugVOL. IV. No. 23. Lit. Pan. N. S. dug. 1. 2 C gling after consummate excellence, which | sideration of all Greece, from the day bas almost succeeded in fully embody-they were completed, till that country ing the idea it contemplated. Such is the lost its liberty, and sunk under the ferojudgment formed on the works of mas-city of the sons of the desart. ters of the highest class; and such is thecharacter of national Art, which is but the result of a combination of masters and their works, whose general merit entitles them to rank among that class by which their country is distinguished. "They raised and distinguished Athens;" for, it is the property of exquisite works of Art to attract the notice and admiration of strangers, no less than of natives. What numbers might resort to Athens expressly for the study Art is like a flower, most attractive of these works, we know not; but we when not quite full blown ;-but if over- know that great multitudes piqued them-. blown, every beholder detects the redun- selves on having taken lessons in the dancy; in the first case, the eye and the Polite Arts in that celebrated seminary. heart supply the deficiency, with advan- A famous instance we have in Cicero's tage, by the mere force of expectation; son, Marcus, to whom his father writes in the latter case, a latent conviction in praise of the opportunities he enjoyof no further improvement to be hoped ed at Athens, as well to learn as to for, dissipates the delusion on which the judge:-ad dicendum, et ad judicaneye and heart would rest, but cannot. dum. That the concourse of strangers Art is like the animal frame, most enwas great, there is abundant evidence; gaging, if not most lovely, when on the and that they gratitied their curiosity point of filling up its parts and propor- and their taste by contemplating the very tions to the dimensions of maturity; but, figures now under report, admits of no if those dimensions be exceeded, though question. It is true, they beheld them by ever so little, the impossibility of re-in situations for which they were pecuturning to the just point, more effectually damps delight than many petty imperfections, discoverable only by scrutinizing correctness. And further, it must be recollected, that the mind of a great master may occasionally betray his hand into slight inadvertencies, from which inferior talent may be free, because it acts under no equal impulse of genius. To this must be added, the consideration, whether such seeming blemishes as may sometimes be detected, are really faults, when the nature, purpose, and situation of the work have been fully considered. liary adapted, and therefore to greater advantage than we behold them; but, if we learn from these figures on what principles to adapt our own works to their proper places, as intended, the possession of these master-pieces cannot possibly but be deemed of the first im portance. All the world readily allows that works to be seen from a distance may, and must, differ in their execution, from those which are to be examined close at hand. The figures in the pediment of St. Paul's Church, differ essentially from a miniature picture; those in the fron To apply these leading principles to tispiece of the India House, though the instance of the Elgin Marbles; it much nearer than the former, differ may be remarked, that there is no ques- from the tablet of a dining room` chimtion on their originality and identity. ney-piece. Distance demands effort; They are, beyond all controversy, the that which would be violent, immediatesame figures as were really placed by ly before the eye, is in danger of becom→ Phidias in the Parthenon, or Temple of ing tume, when removed to a distance Minerva, and that of Theseus, at Athens. for which it is not calculated. And this Whether they are the workmanship of consideration enters powerfully into the Phidias's own hand is not so clear. They maxims on which a competent master are the same as were admired by the anti-proceeds: hence too, we conclude, that ent connoisseurs two thousand years ago. the antient artists had profoundly They contributed to establish the fame of studied the powers of Perspective; and the master; and they raised and distin- that they directed those powers to their guished Athens in the opinion and con-professional advantage. Instances of this are notorious, in their most capital works; one leg of the famous Apollo Belvidere is longer than its fellow, by five minutes of measurement; but this was not discerned, from a proper point of perspective view. The Hercules of Glycon, has muscular protuberances to an excess, absolutely unnatural; but, these disappeared, when seen remote; while, the anatomy of the upper part of the back of this figure is neglected, and in fact, is treated in a slovenly manner, because it could not be seen, at all, by the people standing devotionally before it. principal frontispiece, as a composi- And the illustrious Artist whose works form the leading subjects of this Report, avowedly studied and practised the same principles. It is said, that, when his favourite pupil, Alcamenes, produced a figure of Venus, Phidias also submitted another to the public. The public voice was decidedly in favour of that by the Phidias has been reproached with younger artist, the proportions of which falling into errors, in consequence of his appeared to be most correct, standing desire to obtain a greatness of manner. where it then stood;-but, when these His Olympian Jupiter, a sitting figure, works were placed in the situations they was of such magnitude, that it was said, were designed to occupy, the sanction of should the god rise up, he would make the critics was reversed; and now the his way through the roof of the Temple, principles of the elder master obtained of which he was the chief ornament. their reward, as being the best calcu- But this criticism was the suggestion of lated to present the most beautiful pro- a mind at ease; not of a mind steeped portions. The same principles he follow-in the solemnities of worship; whereas ed in the sculptures placed in the front of Minerva's Temple. As no spectator could approach them closely, they are treated in a large, bold, broad manner: they admit no minute lineaments, for such could not be seen, at the height for which they were designed. The selection of parts, then, is their merit they derive a grandeur from the rejection of all meagre, feeble, petty lines, markings, and members; and from the adoption of whatever is noble, expanded, dignified, in the human frame. They are nature, exalted by skilful association and adaptation. It must at the same time be acknowledged, that in point of grouping and composition, we cannot infer from what remains of them, or did remain of them, before the explosion by which the Temple was destroyed, that they equal the demands of modern art. To say truth, Mr. Stuart's sketch for restoring the the calculations of the artist were combined with the rituals of the service; with time and place. Who that was filled with awe, from a sense of majesty received by the sight, could cooly calculate the proportion in feet and inches between this representative of Divinity, and the abode in which he resided? Had the Temple been open to the sky, the statue would have been equally grand; though it must be accepted as probable that the learned artist would have studied to direct the difference of light, and exposure, to the generation of effects essentially varied from those he now adopted. It is not, then, merely from the satisfaction of possessing these works of the greatest master of antiquity, nor thentic and original, that we estimate because they are unquestionably au *The temple of Jupiter Olympius was destroyed in the time of Jerom, (the 4th century). Cont. Jovian, lib, ii. lents of every citizen were called into activity: and their utmost energies, moral and personal, were demanded by the urgency of the time, for the service of their country. the value of these sculptures; but, to these reasons we add the persuasion that they contain the power of instructing those who closely examine them; those who by diligent study constrain them to reveal the principles which guided the Amidst the ravages of war, the Arts hand of their author. These principles enjoyed advantageous intervals, when, are susceptible of infinite variation, ac-after the revolution of every four years,, cording to the application demanded the Olympic Games, and after every from their powers. These instances of three years, the Isthmian Games, suswhat has been done, will animate many pended hostilities, and allowed all the instances which will be done. They will youth of Greece, with every person of become a school in which the lesson will be taught, how to accomplish purposes without alarm. To these the artists exany consideration, to travel the country of the utmost moment to art, and how hibited their works: they derived adto direct exertions of skill to their most vantage from the criticisms of the liberal; perhaps from the sarcasms of the censorious: they had much to endure, no doubt, from the errors of ignorance; yet something they might learn: the cobler who could not judge of a leg, might criticise a sandal; and a foreigner might hazard a remark, which would have been ill taken from a fellow-citizen of the artist. desirable ends. The foregoing remarks refer chiefly to those figures which were placed at a great height in the temple of Minerva, and were to be seen from a great distance. The collection contains others, less prominent, perhaps less skilful, but not less interesting, because they represent the most pompous annual procession that took place in honour of the Athenian Goddess. These could be seen by reflected light only; and the artist depended for their effect on the general appearance of the whole extensive mass, when in a perfect and finished state. ceeded a peace, which was celebrated At length to a vigorous war sucwith almost endless rejoicings; and now Phidias astonished enraptured Greece by the sublimity of his productions. Hence Aristophanes says, that Phidias was in alliance with the Goddess of Peace." Need we say, how nearly our country finds itself in a similar situation: we have attained a peace, after a struggle equally arduous, and infinitely more costly than that of the Greeks: shall we emulate, shall we now surpass them, in the skill of our artists, in the merit of their works? Shall we more than equal the school of Athenian Phidias; whose labours at this moment excite our admiration? Of course, this procession represents the dresses, the accoutrements, the forms and usages of the city of Athens, at the time when it was sculptured: it is therefore a school of antiquity, as well as of art. There are many other things in this collection, of which the same may be said; but, we must not suffer the subject to incroach too far on our pages. Winkleman observes, very justly, that the most favourable time for the Arts in Greece, and especially for Athens, was the forty years, during which Pericles It will be recollected, that to these governed the Republic with all the pre-works Athens owes whatever of remidominance of royalty. Nor was this niscence attaches to her renown. Syhappy time interrupted, by the obstinate nesius informs us, that about sixty years war that preceded the famous contest after Byzantium had become the seat of for superiority between Athens and the empire, Athens fell into total decay. Sparta, in the eighty-seventh Olympiad. Deprived of all magnificence, it now. In some respects, that period resembles presented nothing but the feeblest echo our own; for the necessity of exertion of its once mighty name, and the wrecks had stimulated both parties to the dis-of its once glorious edifices. In later play of their utmost strength and re-ages so greatly was it reduced, that its sources, each endeavouring to turn the very name was lost; and Settines was balance to its own advantage. The ta- the appellation given to what was descri bed as a poor, pitiful, deserted village, | tion, now in England, was removing, I where Athens had stood, where once can venture to say that the absence of the Parthenon glittered over the sur- what was actually taken down from the rounding plains, and the Areopagus Parthenon will scarcely be felt. Had gave laws, and administered justice, to the Erectheum been suffered to remain an extensive dominion. So deeply de- untouched, his Lordship might have graded was "the city," par eminence! escaped all well-grounded censure. The If we ask, what has restored it to any advantages, however, that we may conconsideration, what has led thither the fidently expect to derive from the pos learned, the intelligent, the judicious? session of the collection, are of too great "we must answer, it was to contemplate magnitude to permit us long to regret the works of Phidias; these very works the loss the originals have sustained." which are now before us the number Here we close these remarks, trusting of centuries that had rolled over them that time will more than verify our was lost in the mind's eye; they were utinost hopes. still fresh in the esteem of the Connoisseur; they still continued to convert admiration into astonishment. * We have already given the second part of the Committee's Report* : in that paper the subject of the Frontispiece of We are to consider these sculptures the Temple of Minerva, is stated to be as having escaped the destruction of the the introduction of Minerva to the asGoths, Vandals, and fanatical Chris-sembly of the Gods, by Jupiter: we tians. The major part of these were beyond the reach of the Iconoclasts; the plunderer wanted means to displace and transport them; the Mussulman passed them by with neglect and abhorrence. They are still existing documents, in justification of antient authors; and they are now in the custody of a nation, not merely sensible of their value, but disposed to derive all advantages from the favourable opportunity they afford for the most improving contemplation and study. believe that, opinion, at present, accepts as a figure of Neptune, that which had been mistaken for Jupiter; and we advise whoever may atteinpt to restore this composition, to give aimple dimensions to the Trident of this Deity; with sufficient length to the spear of Minerva, also; both of them rising considerably above the roof of the temple. Though the Christians destroyed from motives of zeal, the temples consecrated to heathen worship, yet they conde scended to imitate their construction and their ornaments. Most of the churches built while the temples were standing, have historical figures in their frontispieces; and some, as is well known, were foaded with Prophets, Saints, Martyrs, and Kings, in incalculable numbers. and historical sculptures, was general, all antiquity shews, and we have in the British Islands abundant testimonies. We have even noticed on some of our antient cathedrals, heads, and figures, ex A question has been raised, whether it were to the real benefit of taste, to remove these figures, from the place to which they were originally destined. We believe that this question originated with those French agents at Athens, who were commissioned to watch over That this custom of decorating the and secure the possession of these sculp-outside of Christian temples with figures tures for their master, Napoleon. It is certain, that the French removed the first stone of the procession some years ago, under the authority of Count Choiseul Gouffier; and that sculpture continues in their possession, a deinon-ecuted in a style, not unequal to these strative evidence of the fact. As to any robbery felt, or feared, by the present owners of the locality, Mr. Wilkins completely meets that idea: "I am far from joining, says he, in the clamour which has been unjustly raised against Lord Elgin, by some recent travellers. As I resided at Athens while the collec works of Phidias. We do not, indeed, know of any composition comparable to these, already executed; but, far is it from impossible, that such a work should be the gratification of no distant period. Sculpture is an ornament almost re * See page 440. |