Masters in Art (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Masters in Art

Among all the innumerable antique statues that have come down to us there is no least fragment which we can certainly identify as from the hand of the greatest of all Greek sculptors, - Phidias. Indeed, we have not even a single adequate copy of any of his celebrated works; for the supposed copy of his 'Lemnian Athena' has not yet had its claims generally admitted, the copies of his 'Athena Parthenos' are the wretched attempts of bunglers, and his 'Zeus' is chiefly known through small reliefs on coins. On the other hand, the information which ancient writers have bequeathed to us concerning his life and works is, if inexact, considerable; and above all, we possess, in the sculptures of the Parthenon, works some of which may have been touched by his own chisel, which were certainly executed under his immediate supervision, if not after his designs, and which bear the direct impress of his genius.

Of the life of Phidias little is known; calculating from contemporary events, his birth may be placed at about 500 B.C. When the word "Marathon" was sounding from the lips of every exulting Athenian he was a mere lad. When he was approaching manhood the vengeance of the Persians broke out afresh upon his native land, and the immense army of Xerxes crossed the Hellespont and approached on the north, while Persian galleys swarmed in Greek waters. Anguish and distress accompanied their course. Athens became a waste, the Athenians were fugitives on the neighboring shores, their homes and sacred places a prey to the flames. Again the Persians were driven back, but they carried off many art-treasures sacred to the Athenians. Such memories could not have failed to leave their impression on the young Phidias. His pulse must have quickened with fevrish anxiety when the news came that Greek soldiers had defended to the death the Pass of Thermopyl, and his soul must have glowed with patriotic fervor as the shouts of victory rang through the streets after the battles of Plata, Salamis, and Mycale.

Old Athens had been destroyed, but, fired with new life, it was to be made glorious and powerful for the future.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.