No hard and fast rules can be formulated; yet the principle
is plain--there should be realism in one aspect, above all in shape,
in order that there may be an aesthetic semblance of life, but not in
all, in order that the statue may not be a mere substitute for life,
awakening the reactions appropriate to life. Moreover, appreciating
the beauty of his material, the sculptor may not wish to cover it up,
as he would if he tinted it. As in painting, the attainment of beauty
in the medium may interfere with full realism in execution. For the
sake of beauty of color, the worker in bronze will be content to see
the white man black, and for the sake of beauty of line he may even
sacrifice something of exactness in the rendering of shape.
For there is a beauty in the media of sculpture, apart from what they
may represent, quite as real, if not as obvious, as in the other arts.
And without this beauty, there is no artistic sculpture. Its subtlety
does not diminish its importance or its effect upon our feeling, for
it makes all the difference between a mere imitation of nature and a
work of art charming and compelling. We do not need to recognize its
existence explicitly in order to appreciate it; yet, as soon as our
attention is called to it, we admit it and accord to it that rare
influence which before was felt but nameless.
In the first place, the color of the material is expressive. The black
and gold of bronze have a depth and intensity, the whiteness of marble
a coldness, clarity, and, serenity, inescapable.
Pages:
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306