New-York tribune., 1907-06-30

the Individual character or each lear ana oios-
som. and for what can only be described as al
mospheric effect. Mrs Strong declares that as
we sit In the oloisters Of the Terme studying
these floral decorations 1.-The sensuous sounds
and fragrant warmth OF an italian garden seem
to surround us and though the figure is per-
haps a little forced. IL is not altogether map
propriate. She points out. too. that the tech
nique employed in the rendering OF these howerS
is far more flexible than the technique disclosed
in Greek treatment OF similar motives The
Roman sculptor's conception of his task and OF
his art may have been nOurished at Greek
sources in the beginning. but as the years went
on and he found himself. he developed an artistic
language which Mrs Strong is surely JUSTIFIED IN
considering largely original
1t wakes stronger. too. with the passage OF
time On the foundations laid in the Ausustan
age the Romans built to amazingly good pur-
pose in the Fllvian and Trajanic ages Mrs
Strong is especially eloquent. and with good
reason on the reliefs of the Trajan column. the
significance of which she thus tersely brings
out:
Let for one moment e0mpaTe our 1tbrT n s e2
expression Of the anticue-not IN oraer 70 eePFe P,
Ci4te elIileI - - -, -tS..-
well come to understand how great artists ce1
@4ks Pefods '9g agbssrTs Sf7y their PurPesS
The Greek artist Of the Panathenac frieze con-
ceives an 'idealzed'' state, whole nation raised
momentariy To higher power OF existence 5y is
@ssion of the Tarthenon frieze is severely local
lied in free IDEAL space: which IS nowhere de-
fined by the introduction Of monuments or OF land
The RSman RG aT artistic on the ether hd % are ar da @
want to transport their subje-t into an ideal SPACE
re real ait Fri ToI9fs in word as PEI eat
critic has acut,ly pointed out. are the splendid
counterpart Of their historic prose ttel'- no ie-
Character ESCAPE them; clinical trait IS too
trivial to be noted and expressed
There is an elaborate description Of the coll
umn in this book accompanied by photographs
showing details. and. written with positive
susto it leaves a singulavy exhilaratinS impress
sion The work is placed in a new HEh1 and
the reader is bound look at it with heightened
appreciation ever after. no matter how wei he
knew it before. Mrs. Strong is equally stimuat-
ing in her studies of other and later monuments.
and gives a particularly stirring accent to her
chapter on Roman port-aiture. There can be
no doubt at all about the success of her effort
10 expose in Roman sculpture a technique.
note of design. a character, and especially a
kind Of vitality. distinctly different from the
kindred clements in Greek sculpture,
Roman sculpture. then. is 70 be accepted IS
forming an independent episode" In SO ac-
cepting it. however. We must be upon our guard
against Il confusion OF values Mrs Strong, IS
has already been limited. does not dll.SVl e.
cape this danger Her tendency is 70 view
Roman sculpture as not merely more different
from Greek than has generally been admitted,
but as 4 finer product in every way than c-iti-
cisnl has allowed it to be. She might argue thus
within limits and still hold her reader who
must indeed b. grateful 10 her for pOintinE out
beauties that have perhaps been veiled from
him But there are occasions which she is
carried away by her enthusiasm. SpeakicE. for
example OF g certain relief on the Arch 0t
Trajau at Benevento. she says that mot even
the gods created by Pheidias for the Parthenon
surpass in nobility of conception the group on
this arch" one does not need TO be rabid
HeIIeuist in order 10 deprecate this cycrstate-
meut of the point. 10 discern in the similar
drift of much that Mrs. Strong says elsewhere
a snare for the feet Of the Unwary Roman
sculpture at its best remains iTnme asurll-y in
ferior 10 Greek in spirituality. and. above ALL
in sheer beauty. The inexperienced student
might he tempted to forget this as he IS swept
along in the tide of Mrs Strong's aIvoc1cy -
the art to which she is so sincerely devoted on
the other hand il would be positively dis
courteous to attach too much import1rCe t1 her
perfervid moments. To one rendering so solid
a service to the study of the antique as IS rem
dered in this book. much may be granted