Works, vol 3 | Page 7

Then you have seen the Aphrodite, of course?
Poly. That masterpiece of Praxiteles's art! I have.
Ly. And heard the story they tell there,--of the man who fell in love
with the statue, and contrived to get shut into the temple alone, and
there enjoyed such favours as a statue is able to bestow.--But that is
neither here nor there.--You have seen the Cnidian Aphrodite, anyhow;
now I want to know whether you have also seen our own Aphrodite of
the Gardens,--the Alcamenes.
Poly. I must be a dullard of dullards, if that most exquisite of
Alcamenes's works had escaped my notice.
Ly. I forbear to ask whether in the course of your many visits to the
Acropolis you ever observed the Sosandra of Calamis. [Footnote: This
statue is usually identified with one of Aphrodite by the same sculptor,
mentioned in Pausanias. Soteira ('saviour') is known as an epithet of
Aphrodite: but Sosandra ('man-saving') is explained as a nickname of

the particular statue, in playful allusion to Callias, the donor, who was
apparently indebted to Aphrodite for his success with a certain
Elpinice.]
Poly. Frequently.
Ly. That is really enough for my purpose. But I should just like to know
what you consider to be Phidias's best work.
Poly. Can you ask?--The Lemnian Athene, which bears the artist's own
signature; oh, and of course the Amazon leaning on her spear.
Ly. I approve your judgement. We shall have no need of other artists: I
am now to cull from each of these its own peculiar beauty, and
combine all in a single portrait.
Poly. And how are you going to do that?
Ly. It is quite simple. All we have to do is to hand over our several
types to Reason, whose care it must be to unite them in the most
harmonious fashion, with due regard to the consistency, as to the
variety, of the result.
Poly. To be sure; let Reason take her materials and begin. What will
she make of it, I wonder? Will she contrive to put all these different
types together without their clashing?
Ly. Well, look; she is at work already. Observe her procedure. She
begins with our Cnidian importation, from which she takes only the
head; with the rest she is not concerned, as the statue is nude. The hair,
the forehead, the exquisite eyebrows, she will keep as Praxiteles has
rendered them; the eyes, too, those soft, yet bright-glancing eyes, she
leaves unaltered. But the cheeks and the front of the face are taken from
the 'Garden' Goddess; and so are the lines of the hands, the shapely
wrists, the delicately-tapering fingers. Phidias and the Lemnian Athene
will give the outline of the face, and the well-proportioned nose, and
lend new softness to the cheeks; and the same artist may shape her neck
and closed lips, to resemble those of his Amazon. Calamis adorns her

with Sosandra's modesty, Sosandra's grave half- smile; the decent
seemly dress is Sosandra's too, save that the head must not be veiled.
For her stature, let it be that of Cnidian _Aphrodite_; once more we
have recourse to Praxiteles.--What think you, Polystratus? Is it a lovely
portrait?
Poly. Assuredly it will be, when it is perfected. At present, my paragon
of sculptors, one element of loveliness has escaped your comprehensive
grasp.
Ly. What is that?
Poly. A most important one. You will agree with me that colour and
tone have a good deal to do with beauty? that black should be black,
white be white, and red play its blushing part? It looks to me as if the
most important thing of all were still lacking.
Ly. Well, how shall we manage? Call in the painters, perhaps, selecting
those who were noted for their skill in mixing and laying on their
colours? Be it so: we will have Polygnotus, Euphranor of course,
Apelles and Aetion; they can divide the work between them. Euphranor
shall colour the hair like his _Hera's_; Polygnotus the comely brow and
faintly blushing cheek, after his Cassandra in the Assembly-room at
Delphi. Polygnotus shall also paint her robe,--of the finest texture, part
duly gathered in, but most of it floating in the breeze. For the flesh-tints,
which must be neither too pale nor too high-coloured, Apelles shall
copy his own Campaspe. And lastly, Aetion shall give her _Roxana's_
lips. Nay, we can do better: have we not Homer, best of painters,
though a Euphranor and an Apelles be present? Let him colour all like
the limbs of Menelaus, which he says were 'ivory tinged with red.' He
too shall paint her calm 'ox- eyes,' and the Theban poet shall help him
to give them their 'violet' hue. Homer shall add her smile, her white
arms, her rosy finger-tips, and so complete the resemblance to golden