Star.
London, England, 1818-03-04 00:00:00

SCULPTURE

Mon* sennight Mr. FLoSa4PIs, B.A. the Profes-
sor of Sculpture, &livered his First Lecture for the
seasou. It eonthsted in a general introductory view
of the iMmess of the art in ancient and modern
times. Professor observed, that in rude times,
before the art of printing was known, and for a con-
siderable time after, the has-relievo ornaments on
churches formed the great source of instruction to
the people; and that even at this day many thousands
in zza Catholic countries derive their chief infor-
mation from them. The Professor, in alluding to
the advantages afforded to Students at the Academy,
tnentiodat the valuable Collection of Casts pi esented
to it by the Prince Regent, and expressed great sa-
tisfaction at the restoration of the Origir.als to the
Room States, where they had been raised, at a
great expense,. from the earth, under which they had
been bunt:opt The diseotcry of the edebrated
alo-
saic, eo ending the battle of the Centauoresd
Llpithe, and the lntons and Sea Monsters, had mere
' cost 30,0001. sterling. Mr. l'oszu was in the Chair,
and the Lecture was well attended.

1 On Thursday night Mr. FLAXMAN delivered his
Second Lecture. He commenced his discourse by
stating that his inquiry would be directed to theori-
gin of Sculpture in Greece. This was at, first said
to be confined to the rude representation in stone and
wood of the twelve divinities then worshipped. Ex-
amples of these figures would be found in ancient
bronze, in their best finished state, they had a diadem
round the head, on which theit was a sort of engra-
ving like that on the tomb of Agamemnon • t' e
arms were fixed downwards, close to the side c:f the
body, and the legs close together. About 1::00
years before the Christian era, Sculpture began to
attract universal attention ; and Daedalus, the fnuaill
of Theseus, is described by Diodorus Siculus, by Pau.-
sanias, and others, as a distinguished artist; of his
style, some idea may be formed from the small bronze
figures in the British Museum, representing the
naked Hercules advancing with the right arm ready
to strike, and on the left the shield of the lion's skin.
This shewed that energy and strong feeling were stu-
died in those early ages in the statues of which these
figures must be copies. The early Greeks employed
theists in the representation of their choruses. Pau-
sanias saw the celebrated statue of Minerva, by Da.-
dalus; from which the Greek coins are taken ; but it
must be observed, that though they gave energy to
their figures at this period. they wanted distinctive
and characteristic expression ; their figures had ad
the same faces, and were only distinguishable from
each other, their Jupiter by his thunderbolt, the Nep-
tune by the trident, and the Hercules by the bow and
i pulp. After the'burning of Athenoby Xerxes, 'Pericles
empllbied Phidias to work at an 4 superintend the rt-
edifying the city. The superior.i emu's of this gre-t
artist as a painter before he practised sculpture,
gave a softness and delicacy to his Figures,om whicii soon
established a style very different that it pre.
ceded, and which was stiff rather than dignified, and
the drapery arranged rather in geometric lines than
in the simple form and beauty of nature. The Pro-
fessor here quoted the splendid testimony borne to
Phidias and his works by Pliny, Quintillian, and other
writers. The magnificent temple dedicated to 11.-
nerva, at Athens, from which the Elgin Marbles were
taken, would immortarise his fame. Here the Pro-
fessor described the dimensions of the pediments, and
the different allegorical subjects of which the b.s-
relievos consisted-; such as the mythological proces-
sions, the contests between the Lapithe and Centaurs,
and concluded his discourse by observing, that it
took ages entirely todestroy the genius of grace in the
arts—it did not lose its graces until the time of the
Antonines—it preserved much of its character in the
fifth and sixth centuries, when the breaking of images
obliterated its works ; and even until the overthro a
of Constantinople, the little islands of Greece were
celebrated for some perfection in small works ;—this
taste sill subsisted in the Christian era in those scat -s,
from the Scriptural embellished missals at present its
existence.

On Monday evening Mr. FLAJCMAN delivered his
Third Lecture upon Sculpture, to a crowded audience;
many Royal Academicians were present, and Itlr.
Feseti was in the Chair.—The relation which the
arts of design hear to all the branches of know-
ledge, and the powerful illustrations they afford, were
first considered. They were the arts of design, which
enlivened early ages with the first dawn of knucw-
ledge, and which poured a fuller blaze upon succeed-
ing generations. The Professor commented upon the
subjects in which the arts would be most advan-
tagecusly employed ; and this would appear to Le
(in the words of Socrates) the human form, animated
by the human soul. The great powers that the an.,
cients possessed in expressing actual life in stone, were
displayed
Sin the ar.imals of the Popes Museum, and
rficrfe particularly in the horses of the Elgin Marbles.
The state of art among barbarians was noticed, - and
the first rude attempts at expressing that form, which
'they did not completely understand The Lennie./
Professor then went through the rise and progress of
Sculpture in antiquity, from the rode and still figures
of the earliest ages to the splendid works of Phidias%
in the time of Pericles, and concluded his observa-
tions by pointing out the imperfect perspective in the
drawings of the ancients, and referring for a proof
of this defect to Vitrueius, and the work called
Euclid's Optics, but which was in fact a collection and
compilation from those who preceded him. By the
modern' improvement, such as was exemplified by
Michael Angelo, a depth in perspective was given
greatly superior to the drzwing in this respect of the
ancients. Through this imperfection the drawings
of the architectural works of antiquity were too often
incorrect and inadequate tar the display of their
beatitiv..—The Lecturer was greeted, at his conclu-
sion, by land anddeserved applausefrom the tku4ents.