New-York tribune., 1903-04-24

In 1.-The Sculptures Of the Parthenon'' (E. P
Tyutton & Co1 Dr. a s Murray, Keeper OF
Greek and Roman Antiquities in the British
Museum has prepared a volume which snould
be of great value to the student whether ne uses
81 in his library or in the presence OF the mas
-erpieces described The author states that ne
.oox as his starting point certain lectures which
he delivered to the students Of the Royal Aoao-
amy several years ago, and his pages have
something Of the tangible and practical charac-
Ter which belongs to a good lecture. He taxes
~, The different sides Of the Parthenon, one by
one and paws minute attention to the sculpture
belonging to each. There is also a chapter on
the colossal statue Of Athene, compared with
which as he says. the external sculptures OF
the Parthenon. extraordinary as they were IN
extent. in grandeur and beauty, were Of second
arv importance" The book is peculiarly well
illustrated. In fact, with the aid Of the plates
il contains Dr. Murray enables his reader TO
ge4 q very clear idea Of the entire scheme he
treats: one sees it in detail and at the same
time appreciates its character as the Athenians
saw il Carrey's drawings are reproduced, and
there are many plates in halfrone and in pho
-ogravrre from photographs One Of these
f,-a-7 fn tre hzck Of the book. shows tie
<rieze magnihcently. We must quote Dr. Muir
IA. : cun,iloing words on the colossal statue
aforesaid:
Fxcept on the colossal gold and ivory Zeus
at Olympia there has never been in the wnole
history Of art, we believe, statue enriched
with accessory sculptures 10 tenth OF the de-
gree Of the Athene PaTthenos. Inere was d
time when II hard to understand how SO
much sculDtured decoration could be ADDED 70
q statue without IN some manner detractnS
from the simplicity and grandeur Of the whole
effect But the finding Of the marble statuettes
-7u6e as they are-has removed every doubt on
that score. because they have shown the one
Eupplerrenting the other how completely the
vast wealth Of sculptured ornament had been
treated as so much accessory. serving, in feet
10 intensity the simplicity and grandeur of the
colossal figure We see now how the enor-
rnouslv rich decoration of the golden helmet was
necessary a set-off to the large, simple forms
Of the ivory face. neck and arms how the
heavy. massive folds of the d~apery. especially
those on the right side found count 7rpoiSe
tn the richly scuIptured sh ed on the left, with
The eDaTreiled serpent beside il: how the ivory
OF her feet must have cleaned above the
golden sarEais- how the long strip of scuptured
base in low relief. with heavy mouldiugs above
and below would appear TO re6uoe the sense of
weight in the statue. and so help 10 etherealize
The whole effect. Ard what must h0ve been the
splendor Of such a statue forty feet high. stand
ing in the gloom Of d great interior, reaching
almost from floor to ceiling and representing
the goddess 10 whom the Athenians ascribed
their triuu7phs In peace as in war, the work Of
the greatest sculptor In the greatest age OF
Greece!
Captain Brindey has brought TO conclu-
zion his work in twelve volumes, the first six
~ which we have already noticed. published by