GREEK ART.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17813, 12 July 1923, Page 14

GREEK ART.

fourth century sculpture. A large gathering assembled last evening to hear tho fourth of Professor Stewart's popular series of lectureß on Greek Art and Sculpture. The lecturer took for his subject the sculpture of the fourth century. "In the fourth century/' began Professor Stewart, "we find that Idealism, the characteristic of the fith century, is replaced by Individualism.'' Thin was so with the employer, since th* State was so impoverished that it coul not afford the expenditure on marble, and its place was taken by private individuals. It was true also with the artist and with his treatment. I lie individual artist now was or more account than in preceding periods, when he waa so often merged in his school. It was once believed that the dinerences between the fourth and the lit*' century art was due to the fact that fourth* century artists despaired ot equalling the work of the fifth century sculptors who had once for all attained perfection, and therefore refrained from touching the grand themes, preferring to excel only in beauty of finish. ine difference actually corresponded wiu certain laws which govern the development of art, and also with changes m the social and political life of the time, the effects of which were seen in liters ture and philosophy as well as in sculpture. . , The rationalism of the' fourth century was shown bv the treatment of the god« in art and its less close connexion with religion. ALegorical and psychological motives camo into prominence. In th<* place of the grandeur and sublimity of the fifth century, tho art of the fourth century emphasised grace, softness and beauty. There was not, however, any marked languor and voluptuousnessThe fourth century was the period loved and copied by the Romans. The Roman artist sacrificed life and individuals to considerations of beauty of form and finish. In technique no improvement was possible in the art of the fifth century within its limits, but the wider range of subjects and difference in outlook caused distinctions. The colouring probablv improved with the technical advances made in painting, and there was a new skill in rendering a contrast of textures, as, for example, between a human skin and a beast's skjn. The question of the fifth century was: "What was the nature of the godP ; that of the fourth century: What was the feeling of the god? Professor Stewart went on to display, and briefly comment on, a large number of exceedingly beautilul and interesting slides illustrating the work of the great artists of the time., The three masters were Praxiteles, Scopas, and Lysippus. Praxiteles and Scopas both expressed emotion. But Praxiteles represented the soft, dreamy, pensive moods, whil" Scopas was the master of passion and was the most modern artist in antiquity. Praxiteles displayed exquisite curves, flowing lines in the hair, and a beautiful softness of outline. The eyes wer6 sunny and full of light. Scope" on the other hand represented the haru., often brutal, passion. The eves of his figures were heavy and shadowed. His work was quite unlike the innocence and simplicity expressed in that of Praxiteles. Lysippus concentrated hi* interest more in the technical questions of proportion and impressionism. _ H" worked in bronze and was bolder in his choice of subjects. He expressed vigour and manliness, which stood out in contrast to the sentiment of Praxiteles, and the passion of Scopas, his contemporaries. Several slides were shown representing the sculptural decoration in the temple of Diana at Epheeus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and various monumental reliefi. Particularly impressive were the slides portraying Praxiteles' Hermes and his heads of Aphrodite, the Maenad and the famous Charioteer of Scopas, and the friezes of the Mausoleum. In conclusion Professor Stewart dealt with the great influence that the three masters had on the Hellenistic Period (the subject of the next lecture)'Lysippus in the modification of proportions, Scopas in the dramatic quality of later art, and Praxiteles in its grace and delicacv and love of beautiful forms for their own sake. He also indicated the expansion of Greek culture into Asia Minor which the conquests of Alexander the Great were to make universal.