Repository: UIHistories Project: Book - Gregory Art Collection Catalog (Gregory) [PAGE 11]

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therefore it cannot be the former. The right arm is modern. The admirable freedo n of movement and ease of position is noticeable in thia statue. •20. .tchillcs.— Theoriginalof this cast, sometimes called Mars, is 1 1 the Louvre .Museum. It is supposed by some lo be an antique copy 1 of the bronze Achilles, the celebrated work of Alcameues, the pupil of Phidias. The hero of the Iliad wears a Grecian helmet, and just above (lie rigbt ankle a ring which, according to tradition, offered a protection for the only vulnerable portion of bis body. Winckelmann seems to consider the figure a Mare, nod then the riuy would indicate the ancient custom of some of the Grecian races, of chaining up this tod of battles thai be might never leave them. 2 1 . Torso Bctvidcre. —This torso of au heroic sized statue is found in the Vatican Museum at Rome. It was excavated toward the end of the fifteenth century on the site of the Theatre of Pompey, in Home. The Greek inscription ascribes it to Apollonius, son of Nestor, who probably came in the fourth epoch (or later). "This torso is the most beautiful known, and as regards grandeur it > excels all other antique statues." "So great is the resemblance it bears to human tlesh, that the eye almost fails to detect the difference." This Torso was highly esteemed both by Raphael and Michael Angelo, who took it as a model for their studies. Some critics have recognized Hercules as deified in tins fragment. Michael Angelo drew a design of the Torso, as he imagines it, perfected, representing Hercules resting from bis labors and standing in company with Hebe, his celestial bride. Venus is said by critics to be much more ancient than that period. This statue combines all of the usual characteristics of the mother of Graces : the apple of Paris in one hand, the tunic fitting the limbs so as to show (heir graceful outlines, the ears pierced to receive the gold pendants. There are many antique copies of this Venus in the various galleries. 2 4 . CincinnatUS.—Tbte statue called by various names, but probably representing simply a young Greek tying his sandals, is in the Louvre museum. It was found in Rome and purchased by Louis XIV for his palace at Versailles. The style of this piece resembles so much that of the Fighting Gladiator, that it lias been attributed to the author of that statue, it i s e a l k d Ciiicinnatus because of the ploughshare at the feel of the figure. The style is Grecian, liowever, and too young to represent the Roman hero. The titles of Jasuu and Mercury have also been applied lo the statue, from the sandals which he is fastening on bis feel. " The muscles of this statue are rendered with a finished art ; tiie pese, at the same time simple and graceful, recalls the best productions of Hellenic ait." A large portion of the CiucinoatUS consists of restorations by a modern artist. y 25 or Diana the ifO Louvre. atDiana of isVersailles, life-size and isHuntress, stands in the Paris. It more than the most celebrated of the antique representations of the goddess of the chase. It was taken to Paris from Pome under Francis I. The sculpture belongs to the GrSBCOKoman period of art,in the first century A. D. It is supposed to be a pendant to the Apollo Belvldere. There is, in the two works,such a conformity of motives, style and execution, that they must be attributed lo the same epoch, if no! the same artist, According to an ingenious hypothesis, they belonged to a group of Ihc divinities of Delphi who oppose the Invasions of the Gaols (279 B. C ) , but this is merely conjectural. Clothed in a short tunic, with her mantle around her neck and encircling her waist, the divine huntress stands ready to draw an arrow from her quiver. Her bead is slightly turned as though she heard a noise behind her. (Iflrj 2 0 . Dancing Faun of JTapleS. -This east is taken from a " J -mall bronze figure in the museum at Naples. It was excavated, with M-tf ' many other bronze antiquities, in the ruins of Pompeii or Herculaneum. It is one of the gems of the collection at Naples. " A v e r y marvel of grail-, ease and vivacity." 11. Faun wllh C o o t . — T h i s is a very graceful figure, belonging, probably, to the third period. The race of the Faun has an expression of mirthful jollity on it that is mo.-t charming in marble. 'IS. Flora.—The original of this cast, is a life M/.e figure in the JJ. CapitOline museum at Koine. It belongs to the Roman period of art, and is probably the likeness of some unknown beautiful woman. '»!>. Minerva Mtdica.-This is a life-size statue standing in the Vatican gallery. It was found in the temple of Minerva Medics a! Rome, 'l0'' and formerly belonged to the collection of the (iiustiniani family. This Minerva is a genuine work of the high style of Greek art, and is one of the l.'iost admired of the representations of the goddess. It has been

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I'liiniAS, (4!)0-432 B.C.), the most illustrious sculptor of antiquity. Pericles made him general director of all the great works of art in Athens. He built the Parthenon, for which he executed the ivory anil gold statue of Athena, which, with the statue of Jove, at Olyinpia, constitute the grandest productions of ancient art. He has been called the Sculptor of the Gods, and his age the Golden Age of Sculpture. 2 2 . Theseus — This torso is among the Elgin marbles in the British museum. The marbles consist of the statues and bas-reliefs from the Parthenon at Athens, and were taken to England by Lord Elgin, who was British Ambassador to Constantinople. They were the work of Phidias and show the highest development of art. The Theseus belongs to the eastern pediment, which represents the bir'h of Minerva. He was one of the heroes of ancient Athens, and Phidias placed him among the divinities who are receiving the tidings of the birth of a new goddess. " T h e body of the youthful hero exhibits a grandeur of conception, a nobility of action, and an harmonious beauty, such as is unequalled by any •>)her work in the whole range of art."—L. 2 3 . femis Gcnelrix.—The original from which this east is taken is a life-size figure in the Louvre museum at Parts. It was probably found at Frejus, near Nice, in 1650, and it has been supposed that the statue was made by the artist Arkesilaos for the temple of the Venus Genetrix at Pome, which was consecrated 46 B. C. But the type of this