Polyeletus of Sicyon was one of those who eminently contributed to ennoble art, and to carry sculpture to perfection in what has been called the sublime style. In one respect he is said to have been supe rior to Phidias himself ; inasmuch ss he was considered to have carried to perfection the Toreutic art, which Phidias had only, as it were, commenced. Polycletus was the author of that perfect rule of pro portion called, by way of distinction, the Canon of art. [Possess:sus, in Bios. Div.] The name of Phidias completes, or rather crowns, this list of the great originators of the highest style of sculpture. [Pninias, in Bioo. Div.] The most splendid and the most perfect productions in the art were executed by him, and as long as the principles which he taught were retained, sculpture seems truly to have merited the epithet of sublime. Phidias was called the sculptor of gods; and the majesty of his Olym pian Zeus was declared, in the forcible language of an ancient writer, to have added something to the beauty or sublimity of religion. That works of art are capable of exalting the mind, and rendering it sus ceptible of the most pure and elevated feelings, there can be no question, and this doubtless was the effect produced by the awful grandeur of this far-famed statue. Panegyric has almost been ex hausted in recording the merits of this sculptor ; but there is no reason to doubt the justness of the honour paid him. Many of his finest productions were in existence when, even comparatively late writers were living, so that the accounts that have come down to us are not merely the repetitions of unsupported or unproved traditionary en comium. The statue of the Olympian Zeus was existing till the year 475 of our era. It was then destroyed by fire at Constantinople ; whither it had been transported by the emperor Theodosius the First.
Unfortunately no remains of the greater works of Phidias have reached our times ; but we have abundant opportunity of judging of his excellence, from the sculptures which, under the title of the Elgin Marbles, form a part of our national collection of antiquities. There Is no doubt that these are the productions of this great artist ; many of them probably from his own hand, and all executed under his immediate direction. They formed part of the decoration of the Par thenon at Athens, of the building and enrichment of which Phidias bad the entire direction. The architects Callicrates and Ictinus worked under him. These sculptures consist of the statues and groups which were placed in the pediments of the temple; of several metopes, in alto-rilievo ; and of a considerable portion of the frieze of the cella, in basso-rilievo. [ELGIN 31austss ; ALTO-RILIEVO.] The perfect acquaintance which the best sculptors of this time had with the anatomy and character of animals is worthy of remark. The skill of Myron has already been alluded to. The horses in the Elgin Marbles are admitted by competent judges to be representations of the finest shape and of the best blood. The commonest observer is struck with their spirited and at the same time graceful action. In short these works may be studied with advantage for every quality that sculpture should possess ; for truth, beauty, expression, and com position, united with the purest style and most masterly execution ; and they may justly be considered the finest specimens of ancient sculpture that are known to exist.
It may be as well to offer in this stage of the history of the art some observations upon the combination or mixture of materials in sculpture.
The custom of using a variety of materials for the different parts of statues, as marble, or stone, or wood for the heads, hands, and feet, and metal for the draperies and accessories, was very general throughout Greece and Asia Minor from a very early period ; and although it militates against the received notions of a pure taste, the practice was in full force during what has always been considered the best period of art, namely, the age of Pericles and Phidias. Nor was this mixture of materials the only interference with the simplicity which some have supposed a principle and essential quality of Greek art. The hair of marble statues appears in some instances to have been gilt, and even colour was added to heighten effect. The background of works in rilievo was frequently painted blue, remains of which may still be traced on many ancient works. (Kugler, Polychromie,' &e. ; Millin gen ; 31filler.) The occasional practice of introducing eyca of silver, glass, or paste, has already been alluded to in the introductory part of this essay, in speaking incidentally of Polychromic and Polylithic sculpture. The injurious effect of this introduction of gaudy and sparkling foreign substances upon the higher qualities of any work, such as its com position and expression, seems to be beyond dispute. It may be judged of in wax figures, and in some of the richly dressed and elabo rately worked and ornamental images in Roman Catholic churches, and in Hindu temples. No arguments, even when supported by the authority of ancient practice, can render such works otherwise than disagreeable as imitative art to any but vulgar minds. An artist of superior power might possibly so treat his work that its expression, the beauty and grandness of its forms, and the scale on which it is executed, might take such entire possession of the spectator as to make Lim overlook the incongruous mixture of materials ; but it is incon ceivable that, with their refined taste, extreme sensibility to beauty, and great knowledge of the essentials of art, the Greeks could ever have preferred works of this kind to those of more simple composition. The probability seems to be that the employment of ivory and gold was owing as much as anything to the desire to use the most costly materials, as all the important works so composed appear to have been executed under peculiar circumstances, either as great national contri butions, votive offerings in honour of the gods, or as trophies. In the case of tenths of spoils, when vast riches had fallen into the hands of the Greeks, and were devoted to a particular purpose, it was essential to find employment for them in exclusive furtherance of that object ; and as the architectural details of their temples were richly ornamented and painted, and even golden shields were suspended over the architraves and friezes, it was natural to expend a liberal portion of enrichment on the statue of the presiding divinity. This opinion receives some sup port from the fact that the practice seems to have been almost if not entirely discontinued as the taste for art for general purposes increased. When we read of exquisite productions by Praxiteles, in marble, or Lysippus in bronze, there is no mention of works executed at the same period in richer materials.