Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-01-19
THE HUMAN FIGURE.
Edward Robinson Tells of Its
Place in Greek Art.
A Large Attendance at the Lecture of the
Worcester Art Society-An Abb
stract of the Talk,

Edward Robinson of the Boston Ndu-
scum of Fine Arts delivered the second
lecture in his course before the worces-
ter Art Society on Greek art, at Asso-
citation Hall, Tuesday evening. The at
tendance was very large, showing an in
creasing interest in the course.
AT our last lecture" said Mr.. Rob
lnson, Il called your attention to some
of the conditions that influenced the de-
velopment of Greek art-the nature of
the landscape, the religious influence
and the rich Greek Imagination. But
one condition L reserved, partly because
L wanted to emphasize it particularly.
and again because it has a direct bear
ing on what have to say tonight, This
was the great respect the Greeks had
for the human body. They saw in it
nothing indecent, nothing to be ashamed
OF, nothing to be hidden or distorted by
unartistic raiment. These things We're
absolutely incomprehensible to the
Greeks. After Heroditas returned from
MS travels abroad, one of the things that
he dWeiled particularly upon was sur
prise at the garments of the nations he
visited. The garments we find on the
statues, we are sustained in believing
were the garments worn by the people,
with few minor changes. This shows
us that the larger part of the body was
left exposed by such dress. The Greeks
great respect for the body enabled them
TO treat it with great frankness and
naturalness. 1t was considered one of
the important gifts of God. The Greek
logic made all feel that perfection of
body was essential to mental and moral
perfection. They had not only a respect
but an enthusiasm for the body. They
delighted in watching a perfectly
formed body in action as shown by their
love of sport. This delight inspired them
to represent the figure in its various
phases, and this combined enthusiasm
and respect for the human figure made
Greek sculpture largely what it is.
The first principle of the Greeks was
that all art must be beautiful. Beauty
was to them the essential element Of
art. Today we find that this principal
has been sometimes disregarded. The
art of the Greeks was wholly in the di-
rection Of the beautiful, there was no
swerving aside from this point. They not
only avoided the terrible, but anything
that was physical distortion they abb
horred. The thought of representing it
was absolutely ncomprehensible to
them as was anything that was aged,
emaciated or decrepid. This love for the
beautiful linked the Greeks to the prin-
ciple of idealization. They realized that
nature did not give absolute perfection;
that the work of art was not to copy
mature as she is; that art was not imi-
tation. If the sculptor copied, he could
not arrive at the highest pinnacle. This
principal put forth by the Greeks has
been followed ever since by the artists
of all ages. The Greeks established the
fact that nature furnishes only the
material out Of which art may be
evolved.
The figures you see in Greek sculpture
are not to be considered literal repre-
sensations Of the men and women who
walked the streets. The forms have
been idealized. The sculptors saw the
most beautiful in all forms of life and
combined it into one.
In classifying the types represented,
we find that they are comparatively
small in number. In the female types, |
we find two, the maid and the matron.
About the Venus of Melos, all matronly
types centre. 1t is absolutely perfec-
ton in health and strength 1t is full
of yigor, with full chest large waist, |
feet and hands. In the maid, we find
the undeveloped woman and through all
this class the same elements. In the
male figure, the three types were the 1
boy, the youth and the man.
We ask what makes the surface |
beauty of these figures from a technical /
standpoint. l find no word to express
it other than to say that it is the /
beauty of elimination All petty details I
are left out, everything is reduced to
the general features. This made the |
statue nude, but not naked
Pose had a great deal to do with this
beauty. The Greeks had a consummata
art for posing. One word, "rythm,"
seems only to express this. There is
one waving, undulating line of beauty
to which all others are subordinate, a
quality lacking in much of modern
sculpture. AS you look at a Greek
statue, even though it may have other !
defects, you cannot but feel its grace
full ease.
number of lantern slides were
shown in connection with the lecture, I
TO Illustrate the various points brought |
out. The next lecture will be on Ora |
perry and the head"