This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1873 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VI. Beauty of the Extremities, Breast, and Abdomen. -- Drawing of the Figures of Animals by Greek Masters. 1. The beauty of form of the other parts of the figure -- the extreme parts, hands and feet as well as surfaces -- was determined by the ancient artists, in their works, with equal regard to congruity. Plutarch appears to show no more knowledge of art on this point than on any other. He asserts that the attention of the ancient masters was exclusively directed to the face, and that other parts of the figure were not elaborated with similar assiduity. It is not more difficult in morals, where the extreme of virtue borders upon vice, to practise any virtue within its just limits, than it is in art to execute the extremities, by the formation of which the artist displays his knowledge of the beautiful. But time and man's violence have left few beautiful feet, and still fewer beautiful hands, remaining. The hands of the Venus de' Medici (1), which have been the occasion of exposing the ignorance of those who, criticizing them as antique, pronounced them faulty, are modern. In this respect, the Venus resembles the Apollo Belvedere, whose arms below the elbow are also modern. 2. The beauty of a youthful hand consists in a moderate degree of plumpness, and a scarcely observable depression, resembling a soft shadow, over the articulations of the fingers, where, if the hand is plump, there is a dimple. The fingers taper gently towards their extremities, like finely shaped columns; and, in art, the articulations are not expressed. The fore part of the terminating joint is not bent over, nor are the nails very long, though both are common in the works of modern sculptors. Beautiful hands are termed by the poets hands of Pallas, and...

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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Excerpt from The History of Ancient Art, Vol. 2 29. These statements refer to art under the Romans at the time of the republic. Those relating to it between the point at which I here stop and the fall of Roman freedom will be found in the second part, because they are more intermixed with Greek history. They have this value at least that, if any one should wish to pursue them more at length, they will save him a portion of the labor which is occasioned by reading the ancient authors with so much care and with reference to the succession of events. 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.