New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-12-06
THE SCULPTURES OF rHIDAs.

Essays ON TUE ART OF rlIEGDNs. By CHARLES
WALp-rIt>. N. A. syo. pr. NtS.. tjl. Cambridge:
Ihe Conversely fre7' No"-ho'"' ih' OeH-hry Com
Tduy.
Mr. Walst in is young gra luate of Columbia
College. whose namo has become widely known
duung the past three or four years through his
brilliant contributions u the study OF ancient
Greek art. lie has lplde II c,sary to revise
most of the leading authorities on certain branches
Of the subject and the thorOughnr~s of his SchO ar
ship. and tho originality and force Of his con-
ciu.lon, have been signally recognized BY his
appointment ~ Director of the FitzwIlliam Museum
and Reader OF Classical Archaeology at the Un'ver-
,ity Of Cambridge England, where he seems to
have gwen a fresh Impetus to the pursuit OF ms
fayonte science some account OF his work has
appeared in Tho Century ma game; but We bei'cvo
that the contents of tho present noble volume. eX-
crpt an appendix of papers reprinted from foreign
Journals. ar now published tor the first time.
Cast IN the form of separate essays. tho divisions
OF the work have. nevertheless. close organic con
nection. Beginning with admirable exposition
of tho province. aim and methods OF the study OF
classical archaeology. IN the course OF which he Is
od into an acute aud very clear discrimination be-
tween the of painting and sculpture. aud an
estimate oil the character of the Crock mind nd-
| catod IN the monuments of Greek art, the author
passes on to consideration of the art of Phidia+
/
at tho very summit of its glory. Here, in the
second essay Mr. Wald,tcn attracts even the least
expert reader by The argcness of his view and. at
the Same time. the singular precision of has state
ments There Is never any dticulty IN following Il
train of thought which proceeds by direct and woll
marked paths and avoids tho macs Of rhetoric and
| sentiment so allurng to mtny writers upon Dsthct-
! les rhe first and second essays arc not 80 much
| the Introduction ~ the groundwork for n detailed
! examination Of the eXiant works of Phidias. the
sculptures of the ParthcnOn. With respect to both
the friczo and the twopcdments Mr.. Waldstoln pres
ents some hypothesis which will have to be most
carefully weighed In any future treatise Oh those
| famous monuments his theories being founded upon
"A thorough examination of the technical work
manshp, the Characteristic grouping, and the easily
recognized spiritual expression of Phidias and con
stantly tested by reference back 10 these guide
marks; whllo his conjectural solutions of of
the problems which have long puzzled restorcrs of
! tbs mutlatcd figures remarkable for ingenuity,
felicity and Independence But besides this ho has
! had the good fortune to make some startling dis
coverles which add largely to the interest and value
of the Parthcnon relics; aud to these discoveries
the attention of the reader of the present volume
will naturally be first directed
One u tie finest and most complete of the
! metopcs of tho ParthenOn the soul ptured marble
slabs OF the outer trcIo-wa5 spirited representa-
ton of a cOKllict between Lapith and Centaur
| The action OF the supreme Ihomont was windy n-
Dictated but unfortunately the head of the LapitI
was missing. Mr.. Waldstoin happened to notice
| one day. in an obscure case IN the Museum of the
| Louvre, n marble head which to his trained eye
exhibited the traces of Attic workmanship of the
time of Phidias 4 little study convinced him that
it belonged to the ParthenOn metopcs He obtained
| "A plaster cast of it, and on examining the original
marbles in tho British Museum the east was found
to fit exactly, In every line Of fracture the neck OF
the Lapith III the slab of which we have just
spoken. There could DO no doubt about the gen
unoness of this discovery and whoever studies the
admirable plato illustrating the restored figure in
this volume will form an idea of tho valuable
service which art has received through the quick
observation of a Young American scholar. The
identification OF a fragment of q seated female 6g
ure. now preserved IN the Ducal Museum at Venice
with one Of tue missing figures of the Western ped-
ment IS less satisfactory. The author puts forth
the with great reserve but statos his reason
for the opinion at which he has arrived with consd
| cradle cogency. If the opinion should be sustained
lt would no doubt have an important bearing upon
the cOnjeotural restoration of the pediment dis
oovery in connection with the great frieze Of the
celia Is even moro interesting than the finding OF
the missing head Of the Lspith. In the group OF