The Brochure Series
OF ARCHITECTURAL ILLUSTRATION.
| Vol. I. | AUGUST, 1895. | No. 8. |
FRAGMENTS OF GREEK DETAIL.
The Art of Greece during the fifthcentury, B.C., was developed inan amazingly short time from acondition of almost archaicrudeness to that of the greatest perfectionwhich the world has ever seen.
At the close of the Persian wars theAthenians, under Pericles, began rebuildingtheir city and perfecting themselvesin all the arts of civilization, and theirprogress in the next half century willalways be a subject for wonder. It isespecially wonderful that works of art ofthe character produced at this timeshould have been the outcome of politicalmaneuvering: for if Plutarch is to becredited the scheming of Pericles to obtainand hold possession of the governmentof Athens was the immediate causeof the erection of these marvellous monuments.In order to increase his influencewith the common people Pericles devotedthe treasure which had been contributedby the other Greek cities for defenceagainst the barbarians to the beautifyingof Athens, and to furnishing them withgames and amusements, and especially tothe erection of the group of temples uponthe Acropolis, in this way distributing patronageand keeping his people employedmuch as a modern political "boss" doesthe same in our day.
The Parthenon, which is esteemed thegrandest of all monuments of Greek art,embodying as it does the highest achievementin sculpture and architecture, wasbuilt just after the middle of the fifthcentury, although the precise date atwhich it was begun and finished is uncertain.The Erechtheion and Propylæawere probably built a few years later, buttheir exact dates are also in doubt.
The sculptor, Phidias, was the friendand adviser of Pericles and to him wasgiven the general charge of all mattersrelating to art. Under him were groupedarchitects, sculptors, and artisans of allschools and trades—Ictinus and Calicratesas architects of the Parthenon,Mnesicles of the Propylæa, and manyothers—such an assemblage as onlyGreece in her most glorious epoch couldbring together. The work of this periodshows that happy union of technical perfectionand the expression of only theloftiest ideas, in which, as Plutarch says,the architect made it his ambition to"surpass the magnificence of his designwith the elegance of its execution."
The skill and delicacy as well as thesubtle appreciation of refinements ofform and finish exhibited in the treatmentof details such as those shown in ourplates are almost beyond comprehension.The workmanship is so perfect that it isdifficult to see how it could be improvedupon. Stuart, in his account of the Parthenon,states that he found two stones,one merely laid upon the other in thestylobate of this building, which had beenground to so fine a joint that they hadactually united and become one. Therefinements in measurements are suchthat it has been asserted that a variation[117]of one twentieth of an inch from thedimensions intended is all that need beallowed—the width of the two ends ofthe building agreeing to within this amount.The entasis of columns and curvature ofwhat would ordinarily be straight lines isfamiliar to all students of architecture.
Photographs of Greek architecture areby no means common or easy to obtain,and the subjects given as illustrations ofthe present issue o