The anatomy and philosophy of expression

Abstract

t ¢ 2 ipl y)'"' Unless an age too late, or cold Climate, or years, damp my intended wing."Winckelman, in his history of ancient art, seems to attribute all to climate; not only the perfection of form of the inhabitants of Greece, but their serenity of mind, sweetness, and love of beauty.Such a theory would imply that the people of Sparta and Athens must have had the same qualities.But when Sparta triumphed, it was in pride and rapacity: neither the general intercourse between nations, nor commerce, nor intellectual nor moral excellence, derived any benefit from her ascendancy.*Athens has been the mistress of the world, leaving the examples of the greatest virtues and excellence in philosophy, eloquence, poetry, and art; yet she has also left humiliating instances of tyranny, cruelty, and blood.The history of Greece is the record of incessant wars, where towns were sacked and citizens inhumanly massacred ; and in Athens, war was always justified if it promised advantage.When tried by misfortune, she was found * Arnold's " History of Rome."IN TR OD UC TI ON .ae want ing: durin g pesti lence , every affec tion was blun ted ; and licen tious ness abou nded to such a degre e, that histo ry infor ms us the peopl e beca me bruta lised .It is stran gethat Winc kelm an shoul d give so much to the influ ence of clima te, seein g that where the olive still ripen s, in the long summ er of Greec e, there exists not a vesti ge of those virtu es which were the admir ation of the world ; and centurie s have passe d witho ut a poet or philo sophe r appea ring in the count ry of Home r and Plato .In the soil and clima te of Italy, there have exist ed toget her states of socie ty the most dissi milar .The arts and civil isati on of Egyp t and Phoen icia had taken root amon g the Etrus cans, and the cities of Centr al Italy had made a great advanc e in civilis ation, and certai nly in the arts, when Rome* arose to crush them.Her policy, and the leanin g of her most virtuo us citizen s, were advers e to * A more just estimate is now made than formerly of the early Romans, and of the virtues of the surround ing tribes.(Dr.Arnold's " History of Rome.")The remains discover ed in the tombs of Tarquinii, Tuscania , Argylle, Veii, and Clusium, leave no doubt of the * See Roscoe 's introd uctory chapte r to the "Life of Lorenz o di Medici ."* See Pri cha rd' s " Phy sic al His tor y of Man ."He jus tly con tro ver ts the ide a of Bl um en ba ch .+ On thi s sub jec t, see the Pre fac e to Vis con ti' s " Ico nog rap hie ."INTRODUCTION.9 These must have been the studies of Donatello* andGhiberti, as afterwards of Buonarotti; for sculpture led the way to painting.Our countrymen , pursuing their studies there, are placed under similar influences, and give proof that it is neither genius nor devotion to the imitative arts which is wanting in the north.But the time is past when the people knelt down before the works of a sculptor's hands; when the Amphictyo ns, the council of all Greece, gave him solemn thanks, and assigned him a dwelling at the public expense in every city!tIt is in vain that we dream of equalling the great works of antiquity; they were raised under tyranny and false religions.We must hope for excellence, in a different condition, as the fruit of a religion of love, joy, and peace.If the arts of design bear no relation to that which has the greatest influence on mankind; if a * Tf all the great works of Grecian art had been at once disclosed, it might not have produced the happy effect of the successive exhumation of the splendid works of antiquity ; the excitement or, as Cicognara has expressed it, " un certo fermento," kept up by the contest of princes for these works of art, gave importance to all who sought to imitate them, and raised them in the estimation of even the most vulgar minds.The progress in the history of art seems to have been -First, the establishment of new families; then, the erection of splendid palaces and the necessity or convenience of digging for materials in the foundation of ancient buildings; next, the exhumation of fine statues, and the emulation thence arising; lastly, the desire of having professors and universities arose, and this took place at a time when the pontiffs were banished from Rome.+ Tirabosc hi refers to an ancient chronicle regardin g the Dominic an church of Reggio, erected in 1233, for an example of the enthusia sm under which great edifices were built, and where all grades of society wrought as common labourers , like emmets in an ant-hill." Tam parvi, quam magni, tam nobiles, quam pedites, tam rustici, quam cives,

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