Especially effective is the rhythmic movement of the body. The right thigh, sustained by the resting foot, is carried slightly forward; the chest on the left side swings back, while in consequence of the extension of the right hand the shoulders remain horizontal. Notwithstanding the felicity of the pose, it must be confessed that the modelling as a whole is somewhat lacking in vigor, the treatment of details being superficial.
Fig. 260.—Bronze youth. Naples Museum.
In Greece, before it was carried off to Italy, the figure may have been set up as a votive offering in some sanctuary, or have stood in a gymnasium. From indications on the under side of the feet it is clear that the statue, after the manner in vogue in Greece, was mounted on a stone pedestal, being joined to the pedestal with melted lead; the round bronze base found with it is of Italian origin. Probably when it was being transported from Greece the eyes, of marble, became loose in their sockets and fell down into the hollow interior of the statue; they were replaced by glass eyes. The breaking of the right arm, which was severed when found, made possible the recovery of the original eyes, which have now again been set in place.
Insensible to the charm of the figure when seen as the sculptor designed it, the Pompeian owner, deciding to turn it to practical use, converted it into a lampholder. In the right hand was placed a short bar of bronze, to either end of which was fastened a small ornament with a projecting arm, for a hanging lamp; the whole statue was then coated with silver. However barbarous the taste that prompted the transformation, the decorative effect of the silvered statue with its lighted lamps must have been far from unpleasant.
Regarding the place of the statue in relation to the development of Greek sculpture, it is yet too early to speak.
Had the ruins of Pompeii not been systematically searched, after the disaster, for works of art and other objects of value, they would have yielded a far richer store of sculptures. But while the specimens recovered add little to our knowledge of types, they give a new insight into the application of the sculptor's art in antiquity to the beautifying of the surroundings of everyday life.
CHAPTER LIV
PAINTING.—WALL DECORATION
The inner walls of houses and public buildings at Pompeii were plastered, and usually decorated with colors; only storerooms, kitchens, and apartments designed for the use of slaves were left in the white. Outer walls were as a rule plastered, except when built of hewn stone, a kind of construction not employed after the Tufa Period. Stucco was occasionally used on façades of ashlar work where special ornamentation seemed to be needed, as at the entrance of the house of the Faun; and in later times, now and then, a front with reticulate or brick facing was left unplastered. Previous to the time of Augustus the stucco coating of outer walls ordinarily remained uncolored. Afterwards color was employed, but only to a limited extent, as in the addition of a dark base to a wall the rest of which remained white.