The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 6 (of 6)Pliny, the Elder
History
The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 6 (of 6)
Pliny, the Elder
Natural history -- Pre-Linnean works
Phidias, besides the Olympian Jupiter, which no one has ever equalled,
also executed in ivory the erect statue of Minerva, which is in the
Parthenon at Athens.[1392] He also made in brass, beside the Amazon
above mentioned,[1393] a Minerva, of such exquisite beauty, that it
received its name from its fine proportions.[1394] He also made the
Cliduchus,[1395] and another Minerva, which Paulus Æmilius dedicated at
Rome in the Temple of Fortune[1396] of the passing day. Also the two
statues, draped with the pallium, which Catulus erected in the same
temple; and a nude colossal statue. Phidias is deservedly considered to
have discovered and developed the toreutic art.[1397]
Polycletus of Sicyon,[1398] the pupil of Agelades, executed the
Diadumenos,[1399] the statue of an effeminate youth, and remarkable for
having cost one hundred talents; as also the statue of a youth full of
manly vigour, and called the Doryphoros.[1400] He also made what the
artists have called the Model statue,[1401] and from which, as from a
sort of standard, they study the lineaments: so that he, of all men,
is thought in one work of art to have exhausted all the resources of
art. He also made statues of a man using the body-scraper,[1402] and
of a naked man challenging to play at dice;[1403] as also of two naked
boys playing at dice, and known as the Astragalizontes;[1404] they are
now in the atrium of the Emperor Titus, and it is generally considered,
that there can be no work more perfect than this. He also executed a
Mercury, which was formerly at Lysimachia; a Hercules Ageter,[1405]
seizing his arms, which is now at Rome; and an Artemon, which has
received the name of Periphoretos.[1406] Polycletus is generally
considered as having attained the highest excellence in statuary, and
as having perfected the toreutic[1407] art, which Phidias invented. A
discovery which was entirely his own, was the art of placing statues on
one leg. It is remarked, however, by Varro, that his statues are all
square-built,[1408] and made very much after the same model.[1409]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account