Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1881-02-24

passion may be uppermost we are aware of
the existence of a self mastering spirit. This
spirit shows itself in the sufferings of the
LAGOON. The agony that twists the mus
cles and strains the tendons produces no vio-
lence in his eountenance nor In his attitude |
He utters no such cry as Virgil forces from
his LAGOON. His mouth indicates rather a
suppressed sigh of agony. Physical suffer-
and harmoniously distributed over the I
whole body. LAGOON suffers, but /
but suffers as the Philocletes of Sophocles. I
His suherings pierce our soul, but inspire |
the desire to be able to bear suffering as he |
does.' This passage is celebrated in the his |
tory of literature for having provoked the |
opposition of Leasing, who in his work en- |
titled 1.-THE LAGOON" not only confutes |
many of Wincklemann's views, but lays down |
for the instruction of all generations the ses-
thetical rules which govern exclusively in the
art of design as distinguished from those
which govern the art of poetry. Winckle- 4
mann's reference to Philocletes was unfor-
tunate. He is the most clamorous of Grecian
heroes to all whom Greek poets accord the
privilege of most emphatic expression of Ell
Their rage, pain or grief. In Homer the gods
themselves cry out. Venus shrieked when
wounded, and when Diomede reached Mars
with his spear
"The furious god uttered a cry of ten thousand
men rushing to the fight.
The Greeks and Trojans stood apart with fear
To hear that terrible cry of him whose thirst
VI bloodshed never Ii appeased by blood"
Lessing's general charge against Winckle-
| mann is that he applies to other arts the
| rules which govern alone in sculpture, and
applies to sculpture rules which govern alone
in other arts.
Leasing also differs from Wincklemann as
1 to the period to which the LAGOON is to be
| assigned. Considering it work of the time
| of the Roman Emperors Ennius, Quinnius,
| Visconti a learned Roman who wrote at the
| time of the first Napoleon, and whose books
| give him high place in the list of art histo-
rians and critics. adds his testimony to that
of Leasing, also assigning the group to the
| time of the Roman emperors. In 1897
| Goethe. who bothered himself little with the
question of date, wrote his opinion of the
group. In it is this notion rightly to ap
prehend the intention of the LAGOON place
| yourself at proper distance from 1t, then
| quickly shut and open the eyes.
The whole marble will appear in motion.
You will fear, when you look again, to find
the entire group changed. I might compare
it to fixed flash of lightning, to a wave
turned to stone as it dashes against the shore"
Further along Goethe adds: ITO under
stand the action of the father, as well in the
whole body as in its several parts, let the in
| Simultaneous sensation of the serpent's bite be
regarded as the chief cause of every motion.
The serpent has not bitten it bites, and that
| too in that sensitive part of the body Just
| above and back of the hip, where the slight
| leads to motions similar to those we see in
here produced by the bite. The body con-
tracts and draws itself away to the other
side; the shoulder is pulled down, the breast
| projects, the head inclines to the wounded
| side AS in the legs and arms there is still
| a residue of the energy of the resistance that
proceeded the bite, then results in the whole
body combination of struggling and yield
ing, of action and suffering, of effort and
pain, impossible under any other conditions.
Direct the bite to any other part and you
will be lost in establishment at the skill of the
artist in placing it where he did. The entire
| attitude would be changed and artistic effect
lost. This then is the idea; physical action
of the human body of which the artist
: shows US the physical cause. From the
point of the bite, I repeat it, proceeds the
| force that controls the action of the limbs,
the contraction of the body, the bending al
the loins, the projection of the breast and
the sinking of the head and shoulders. Even
; the action of the features themselves is de-
l termined by this sudden unexpected, agon-
izing wound.'' This wound theory, as it may
| be called by Goethe, was passlvely accepted
by the Germans until it was attacked but q
few years ago by Overlook, not the great
Munich painter, but Johannes Overlook, pro
fessor of History of the Fine Arts at the
: University at Leipsic. Overbeck's opinion is
that the action of LAGOON is not directed to
any one purpose such as freeing the body
: from the serpent, nor is it the result of any
cause such as a bite in particular part, but
consists in the agonizing, purposeless move
ments that mark the extremity of suffering
Pain has driven the will from the throne
The members through which the serpent's
venom is moving struggle convulsively. In the
? face alone fingers the spirit of the man cal
ling heaven to witness to the injustice of his
I fate. In amplifcation of this idea OVerbech
calls attention to the action of the limbs
The left leg is full of the most intense mus
Il tod m M
ticular object. The leg is not being used te
: Praise the body, for the foot is not placed
: firmly against the ground, but only touches
it with the toes. The same may be said Of
the right foot It is not pressing downwards
| the contracting muscles draw it back against
the altar. In the left arm, too, the action is
involuntary. LAGOON seizes the serpent al
too great distance from it's head to remove
it from his side, and the action of the muscles
of the arm indicates a downward pressure
rather than an outward pull. Overlook re-
iects the present reservations, because they
g are not in accordance with his theory
On the question of date he argues
with Winck1emann, at least SO far al
4 to deem it impossible that such work eoulG
have been executed during the time of the
3 Roman emperors. In 1857 Heinrich Brunt
9 published his famous history of Greel
! artists. 1t contains most elaborate crit
eism of the LAGOON and an exhaustive re
1 view of the many questions it has excited. IL
s the course of the article Brunn calls atten
ton to the manner in which three stages Of
a catastrophe are presented. Gin the younger
3 son on the fathers right the limbs re
S lapsing in death. ALI resistance is at an end
} The left hand has been reached to the ser
pent's head, but the motion is hopeless an6
I without power. The elder son has not yet
l entered upon the struggle. If we did not
know the story hope for his escape might
i | be entertained. His distress is still not sc
, great as to prevent him being chiefly occu-
4 pied with his fathers misery. In this son
we have an indication of the condition OF
1 LAGOON when the serpent first seized him
! | In the other son is shown the inevitable end.
| Brunn also calls attention to the fact that the
i marble is not finished with file or scraper
, | The marks of the chisel are all over it, Civ
ing it strained and dry appearance, sugges
tive of anatomical preparations. AS to the
t question of date, Brunn substantially agrees
, with Overlook, Schnaase, Lubtke, Friedenchs
l Bottiger the late, and Konze, the present, di
s rector of the Berlin Museum, are but few
> of those who have contributed to LAGOON Lit
2 erature.
Proceeding, the lecturer discussed another
? branch of his subject, giving delightful Sc
a ries of rarely interesting artistic comparisons
between the LAGOON and various of the best
j and most typical works of art of known dates
5 and known periods of development, the whole
> rich in scholarly information and fertile il
artistic suggestion. The lecturer concluded
as follows:
In conclusion, one word to the young art
student It seems to be an unfortunate me-
l cessity of the period in which we live tina!
5 drawing must be learned from casts of the
antiques, and SO the LAGOON, as much from
the difficulties it presents to the draughtsman
$ as from the technical excellencies of its exc
cution, is often presented as model. Study
| it carefully, if you must, for its technique
examine it closely in every part, but keep
> it off from your thoughts; let not its spir-
l it come near you. Seek rather in the
academy those works of pure Greek
r art which manifest grace and beauty.
, In artistic labor the connection between the
mind and the fingers is SO close and strong,
that as the fingers move, the mind is affect
! ed If the hands follow lines that are beau
tiful the mind will be filled with the comfort
and calm of beauty. But let not antiques
long control attention. Seek nature. Love
her; love the beauty and the life. Love
your home, your surroundings. your country
L Il 80 a-k II