The portrait statue has much the same purpose as
the bust, and hence should be draped. The heroic, equestrian statue,
however, expresses rather the imposing, socially perceptible side of
the man, than the inner life of thought and sentiment revealed in the
bust.
The development of sculpture has produced nothing more beautiful than
the solitaire statues which the Greeks have left us; and when we think
of Greek sculpture we usually have in mind these marble or bronze
images of gods and heroes. But we should not forget the figurines of
terra cotta, a genre sculpture, representing men and women in the acts
and attitudes of daily life, at work and at play. The ideal of sculpture
should not be pitched too high. There is no reason why, with the example
set by the Greeks, sculpture should not portray the lighter and more
usual phases of human life. If sculpture is to strike new paths, and
be something more than a repetition of classical models, it must become
more realistic. And, as we have already noted, by making use of the
block as a sort of background, even some relation of man to his
environment can be represented. Through the group the simpler relations
of man with his fellows--comradeship, love, conflict, or common
action--can be expressed; although the power of sculpture is greatly
limited in this direction. Sculpture is often taxed by people who
emphasize the importance of the political and industrial mechanism
with inability to portray large groups of men and the more complex
relations arising out of the dependence of man upon nature and society.
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