Greek Sculpture. Edmund von Mach
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Название: Greek Sculpture
Автор: Edmund von Mach
Издательство: Parkstone International Publishing
Жанр: Иностранные языки
Серия: Temporis
isbn: 978-178310-752-0, 978-1-78042-977-9
isbn:
In the same way the horse’s head appears to be removed from the spectator by at least the thickness of the man’s body. In reality, however, it is carved on the same front plane as he. This shows that in low relief farther objects need not be carved on more distant planes. The front, even in low relief, is the most prominent part of the composition. The artist may therefore pick out those details to which he wants to call special attention and carve them on this plane, provided he manages their contours so that not even the slightest shadows contradict the illusion. This device was a favourite with the Parthenon sculptors. Hebe, the messenger of the gods, is thought of as standing behind Hera on the east frieze.
The lower half of her figure is carved on a distant plane. The upper half, which could not be seen if it were carved there because at the height of thirty-nine feet the projecting lower limbs of Hera would have hidden it, curves forward to the front plane, on which her breast, head, and shoulders are represented. The result is as pleasing as it would have been painful if the drapery on Hera’s lap had shut Iris from view. Many such and similar devices or conventions are at the disposal of the sculptor of low relief. In the absence of prominent shadows and great distances he takes the spectator at his weakest point – his uncertain vision – and works an illusion wherever he can. The facility with which such an illusion is wrought is a dangerous boon for the artist. He carves one thing and wants the spectator to see another. If he actually represents his figures bulk for bulk, as in the round, or largely in high relief, there is little danger of having anyone imagine his seeing anything but what was actually represented; but when the sculptor makes use of conventions, and does not truthfully represent his figures, then the spectator is at liberty to pick out any possibility that may offer itself. This compels the artist to design his composition so that its lines cannot be interpreted in more than one way. The Parthenon sculptors have done this, and of the many hundreds of figures on the frieze not a single one can be misunderstood, although not one is carved as it is meant to be seen. The figures are good because they appear correct, and they appear so because the artists who carved them knew how to reconcile the claims of objective and of subjective nature. The means by which this is done are nowhere less disguised than in reliefs, which is the reason why the study of these reliefs is of the greatest importance for the student of ancient art.
Nereid, Nereid Monument, Xanthos, c. 390–380 B. C. Marble, h: 140 cm. British Museum, London.
Exit of Besieged, slab 869, second frieze of the pedestal, Nereid Monument, Xanthos, c. 390–380 B. C. Marble, h: 55 cm. British Museum, London.
Greek Relief Sculpture in its Relation to Architecture; Reliefs on Rounded Surfaces
Greek relief sculpture is closely related to architecture. In the Parthenon frieze frieze (Illustration 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) the artists never forgot that their figures were seen as carved on the temple walls. Moving figures are readily imagined as passing by a solid wall; trees or other indications of landscape are out of place. A few large stepping-stones, which in the absence of stirrups in ancient times were used to mount on horseback, are introduced, although they do not disturb the uniformity of the conception. The close adherence to such limitations of design imposes great restrictions upon the sculptors; for while they must refrain from filling occasional gaps with trees, houses, and the like, they must also design the ground upon which the figures move as a perfect plane. Uneven ground cannot be permitted to bring variety into the grouping; whatever variety exists must result from the figures themselves.
The sculptors of the Parthenon seem to have accepted these laws as binding principles. Once or twice, however, even they deviated from strict adherence. On the southern frieze, in front of the cavalcade and ahead of the chariots, is the slow procession of men bringing cows and sheep to sacrifice. Men and chariots proceed at full speed; cows naturally walk slowly. The difference in rapidity between these two integral parts of the pageant would have been noticeable, and probably painful in its effect, if easy transitions had been lacking. The second cow, therefore, is represented as bolting. She has almost broken away from the man who is holding her by a rope. He throws the entire weight of his body against her, but is irresistibly swept along, when suddenly his right foot strikes a boulder in the road, against which he can brace himself. The cow’s headway is broken; the next minute she will be under control. The bracing attitude of the youth is splendid – human skill against brute force and victorious! Without the slight unevenness of the ground such a figure would have been impossible. The entire group is so full of life that one forgets the device of the artist.
Warriors, slab 868b, second frieze of the pedestal, Nereid Monument, Xanthos, c. 390–380 B. C. Marble, h: 55 cm. British Museum, London.
A similar instance occurs on the west frieze, but such deviations from strict principles on the Parthenon are rare. They occur with increasing frequency in the later buildings, where the copious representations of battle scenes offered unusual temptations. No Greek battle scene is complete without numerous dead or wounded on the ground. When the ground is flat the comparative similarity of all these figures becomes monotonous. Reclining figures, moreover, which are flat on their backs on a horizontal plane appear out of proportion if accurately represented, because the human eye moves on horizontal and vertical lines with unequal rapidity. The Greeks obviously felt this, although it was left to modern experimental psychology to explain it.
The conscious, or perhaps unconscious, desire of the Greeks to comply with this law of nature made them at first carve the dead in contorted positions; for instance, on one of the metopes of the Parthenon, where a victorious centaur is swinging his panther skin in exultant glee over the dead Greek. Later, in an attempt to avoid such awkward positions, they resorted to the introduction of uneven ground in their temple reliefs.[10] On the poorly preserved but splendid frieze of the little Athena-Nike temple in Athens (Illustration 1, 2, 3), some of the most pleasing lines are seen in the conquered warriors who in death have fallen over the slight hillocks which break the ground’s dead level.
The frieze was designed to encircle the outside of the low temple. The figures, therefore, which could be seen at rather close range and under strong light, had to stand out in bold relief. They are not undercut, but they nevertheless throw noticeable shadows, and are designed in open action. Since the frieze is Ionic, continuous, and not broken up in triglyphs and metopes, as the Doric frieze on the outside of the Parthenon, the strict adherence to the principles of high relief would have resulted in occasional spaces of absolute emptiness between the figures. This led to further deviation from the laws observed in the Parthenon; for the gaps could not always be filled with fluttering folds of drapery, such folds at times contradicting the figures’ action. In such cases the well-known Greek horror vacui tempted the sculptors to introduce trees. These were treated with such tact that they cannot be said to interfere with the uniform enjoyment of the composition. The inevitable result of such moderate deviations from a law, which once must have seemed irrefutable to the Greeks was the gradual introduction of other, less judicious practices. Two of the most important examples are found on the Athena-Nike temple frieze. Several warriors (Illustration 1, 2), are represented with their backs to the spectator, a design which under ordinary conditions would compel one to think of them as actually pressed against the background. They are, nevertheless, shown in violent motion and with sufficient freedom of action to continue a vigourous fight. Other warriors spring from the side СКАЧАТЬ
The uneven ground occurs on the frieze of the Theseion in Alheim, built