Olympic Victor Monuments and Greek Athletic ArtHyde, Walter Woodburn
History
Olympic Victor Monuments and Greek Athletic Art
Hyde, Walter Woodburn
Olympics; Sculpture, Greek; Sports -- Greece
Apart from these surface differences in the structure of the head
and face, it is in the resultant expression that we see the greatest
divergence from the Skopaic type. This seems to me to be fundamentally
different in the Sparta head. In the _Herakles_, as in all the other
Tegea male heads, and even in those of the boar and the dogs, the
really characteristic feature, which differentiates them from all
other works of Greek sculpture, is the passionate intensity of their
expression. The one unforgettable impression left on the spectator by
them all is this expression of violent and unrestrained passion, which
the sculptor has succeeded in imparting to the marble. This is what
marks him as the master of passion and the originator of the dramatic
tendencies carried to such lengths in the Hellenistic schools of
sculpture; it is this which explains Kallistratos’ characterization of
his works as being κάτοχα καὶ μεστὰ μανίας.[2141] The head from Sparta
shows only a little of this intensity. Notwithstanding the similar
upward gaze and slightly parted lips, the intention of the artist
seems to have been to portray the hero in an attitude of expectancy,
tempered by a look almost of calmness. The look is deeply earnest,
but not violent; it is even melancholy. It is this last feature, the
delicate and compelling melancholy of the face, which impressed me
most on first viewing it. This is further enhanced by the full, soft
modeling of the lower face, that gives to the whole a delicate, almost
effeminate character, which strongly reminds us of Praxitelean heads.
In fact, the shape of the lips and the modeling of the flesh on either
side of the mouth, together with the soft, dimpled chin, have little
in common with the massive strength and remarkable animation of the
Tegea heads. As Dr. Caskey has intimated, if we had only the lower
portion of the face for comparison, we should be inclined to ascribe it
to the influence of Praxiteles. If we considered the upper part only,
resemblances to Skopaic work seem well marked; but if we take into
account the expression of the face as a whole, we see that it lacks the
most essential of Skopaic features, the look of passionate intensity.
Consequently we shall find it difficult to bring the head into such
close relation to that artist; for here there is little analogy to
the vigorous warrior types of the Tegea pediments. For its quieter
mien it might be better to compare it with the head of Atalanta,[2142]
though none of the gentle pathos or eagerness of the Sparta head is
there visible. The _Atalanta_, though full of vigorous life, utterly
lacks the unrestrained passion so characteristic of her brothers; her
eyes are not so deeply set, nor so wide-open; they are narrower and
longer, and are not over-hung at the outer corners by heavy masses of
flesh.[2143] In speaking of the absence of these rolls of muscle, E.
A. Gardner notes a curious peculiarity: “This is a clearly marked,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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