INDIAN SCULPTURE under INDIAN AND SINHALESE ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY, and GREEK ART, judging which best express the material in which they are wrought and which are weak in this qualification. Thus the first step in critical judgment may be arrived at.
Finish.—The finish of the surface is a matter of great impor tance; it should be appropriate to the material, and at the same time to the subject portrayed. It must, moreover, be such that it creates a surface not harmful to the modelling. Many Renais sance bronzes lose all quality of their modelling because of the confusing highlights caused by their too-highly polished finish.
It is offensive to see a beautiful piece of marble capable of sustaining a fine polish, upon which have been left careless chisel marks. This indicates that the artist was either too lazy or too hurried, or perhaps too interested in creating a style of his own. On the other hand an over-polished finish upon a material which is too rough and crude to sustain it is also lacking in good taste.
How is the artist to know just how deeply his carving should go; just what degree of detail to use; and what texture of surface is best suited to his work? Only through a long study of the works of others both contemporary and ancient and through many experiments of his own; and the critic judging a piece of sculpture should always think of this element as well as that of the material and judge as to whether or not the sculptor has been successful in this work.
Detail and Design.—The addition of decorative detail to a figure is a question which has been much discussed and it is well enough for the purist to point to the Greeks and Michelan gelo and say : "There stands a beautiful form needing no decora tion," but he certainly can never disprove the beauty, largely due to the ornamental treatment of drapery, hair, and other details existing in the best of the Chinese and East Indian sculp ture. It is true that form must grow from within, but form is only seen on the surface. A surface decoration may be quite separate and distinct in detail from the underlying form; its design and texture may have little to do with that other more powerful element, but it must never conceal the life within.
Think of the beauty of the swell, only faintly suggested, of a rounded breast, or of a firmly curved thigh as revealed under the draperies of surface decoration of many Greek and Chinese figures. Are they not more enchanting in a way than the more obvious beauties of the nude? But the sculptor must not approach his problem thinking only of design, whether it be the design of surface or of structure, for his work will then lack life as did some of the Gothic, and may appear self-conscious and strained. It is better to "find" design in one's natural surroundings than to attempt to "construct" it. The observant artist often thrills with a sense of surprise and discovery at the sight of a quite accidentally occurring design which nature weaves into the tapestry of her days and nights. It may come when least expected and from the most unlikely source. It is not inspiration but the lucky chance of a certain combination of light and action and mood which must be grasped and noted at once before it is lost forever. By being always on the alert, the artist can keep himself ready instantly to take note of it. Through the accumulation of his notes he can always be equipped with a stock of designs which may be brought into his work. Korin, that great Japanese screen painter, executed in a perfectly naturalistic and direct way each fragment of nature which impressed him with its expressive design, and so the sculp tor may see in the grace of a poised head, the crouch of a cat, or the shrug of a greyhound, a design which needs no enhancement; in the ruffs of fur, the ripples of muscle, the rhythm of ribs, the curling of hair, or the wrinkles of age, he can find a thousand sincere decorations infinitely better than anything he can imagine. He may find them in the folds of clothing, and even a short pleated skirt is a motive in surface decoration which the Egyptians would have employed in making a beautifully successful design.