The Philosophy of Fine Art, volume 3 (of 4): Hegel's Aesthetik
Georg Hegel · en
(_γ_) In asserting this, however, we do not maintain that sculpture,
where, in the case where it adheres to its principle in all its
severity and attains its highest point, must necessarily exclude
entirely the attitude of movement. If it did so it would merely
present to us the divine in its indeterminacy and indifference. On the
contrary, in so far as it is its function to comprehend the substantive
as individuality, and to present it to our vision in bodily form, both
the ideal and external condition, in accordance with which it brings
its content and form to an impression, is necessarily individual. And
it is this individuality of a definite situation which is pre-eminently
expressed by means of the pose and movement of the body. Inasmuch
as, however, the substantive in sculpture is of most importance, and
individuality is not as yet itself extricated from the same to the
point of particular self-subsistency, the specific determinacy of the
situation must not be of a kind that it impairs or annuls the simple
sterling character[169] of that substantiveness, by either making
it one-sided or drawing it into the conflict of collisions, or in a
general way by placing it without reserve under the overmastering
importance and variety of what is particular. It must rather remain,
independently regarded, a determinacy less essential in its result, or
rather we may say a vivacious play of vital force, harmless in effect
over the superficial features of individuality, whose substantive
character in no respect suffers loss thereby in depth, subsistency, and
repose. This is, however, a point which I have at an earlier stage of
this investigation already[170] discussed at length in relation to the
Ideal of sculpture when the situation itself was under review, in which
the Ideal ought to appear in definite relation to the presentation:
further discussion may here be consequently dispensed with.