Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-20
sH0REY ON REALISM
CHIcAGoAN DISCUSSES GREEK
ART. AND LITERATURE.
Interesting Lecture Before the Wash
ington Society of the Archaeological
Institute Of america.

Before the Washington Society of the
Archaeological Institute of America in CO.
lumbar University Hall yesterday after
noon Prof. Paul Shorey Of the University
Of Chicago delivered an exceedingly In
teresting lecture on Realism in Greek Art
and Literature"
Modern critics." Prof. Shorey said, "hold
that the Greeks attempted to represent the
ideal in art, while, according to Plato and
Aristotle, art is imitation. The terms
realism and idealism are often used today
as words of controversy rather than ac-
cording to scientific nomenclature, and Van
Dyke advises art students to Danish the
two terms for at least ten years.
with the Greeks the idea was the FORM
the ideal the phantasm. The idea was the
harmony Of the Hellenic mind with the
real. This is exemplifed in sculpture by
the Lateran Sophocles and the Doryphor-
GUS. The Parthenon, again, was the idea
entire unity and beauty reconciled with ma
ture. The idea is the logical framework
of Plato's Republic and Of other fifth CEN
fury writings.
Modern realism Is a conscious, verbal
reaction against a faulty idealism. The
Greeks however, never lost sight of the
real. In the earlier forms Of sculpture
the artist struggled to conform his lines to
the sternest realism, but this was prior to
the development Of the freedom Of the
golden age Of Pericles. The sculptors of
this era aimed at the embodiment Of type
rather than the individual. This came as
the outgrowth Of a long period Of develop
ment, beginning with Homer.
Homer the Most Objective.
HE is the most objective Of all the poets,
and in that sense is realist, but his real
ism is unconscious HIS representations
are ideal, unmarried by exaggeration and
1,1yr fr{x 81 -
set the idealistic types of the gods, and
this, too, 500 years in advance Of the great
age Of sculpture. The path to this IDEAL
ism Of Homer lay through realism. Before
sculpture could typify the gods it must
first master the human form-man. When
this freedom was attained the sculptor
could do what he would.
1.-THE extent to which the early sculptors
were Influenced by oriental civilization was
that these social organizations supplied
setting, background for sculpture The
human body was the chief interest for the
ism and tdealism. Plate said that we are
satisfied in art with imitation, and 1t is
the case that the preserved vase paintings
and Pompeiian frescoes indicate the power
and mastery Of the Greek artist over his
brush and canvas. They could yaint land
scapes II they chose and might be con-
tent with the definition OF; Plato here, but
the human form Is too well known to ad-
NIT of imitation simply, and nature for
the Greeks remained as az mere stage for
the actions and passions of mankind. They
even personified nature, using every agency
to gain mastery over the human form.
Sophocles Representative Idealist.
Then sculpture overlook the sister arts
of poetry and harmonics and contested for
the palm Of mastery. in idealsm Sophie
cles Is the representative idealist in poetry
in the fifth century. He portrayed pure
humanity, slightly ennobled and idealized
No other writer succeeded as he succeeded
in concentrating perfectly every faculty
of the soul on unity of form with perfection
Of spirit. We prefer this exhalauon Of the
spiritual. and cannot accept Plato's' def
milton entirely.
ITO reach this ideal sculpture borrowed
from the sister arts. In architecture the
aim was to embody completely the Platonic