A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture

by Clara Erskine Clement Waters

Fig. 62.—The Steinhäuser Head.

I come now to the Apollo Belvedere, one of the most celebrated of all the statues in the Vatican, and the best known and most universally admired of all the ancient statues which remain to us. It was found at about the end of the fifteenth century at the ancient city of Antium, where it probably made one of the ornaments of the Imperial Palace. The authorities upon such subjects have never yet agreed as to whether the marble from which it is cut is a marble of Greece or of Italy (Fig. 60).

This statue has been lauded in all tongues of the civilized world, and nothing could be added to what has been said in its praise; and yet all who see it wish to exalt it still higher if possible. A few years ago another head of Apollo, of Greek marble, was found in a magazine in Rome, by Herr Steinhäuser, by whose name it is known; it is now in the museum at Basle (Figs. 61, 62).

Fig. 63.—The Stroganoff Apollo.

Though this statue has been so much studied and admired it has never yet been satisfactorily explained, and there are several important questions about it which cannot be answered with certainty. Nothing is known of its age or of the name of its sculptor. It is not described by any ancient writer, neither can any one say whether it is an original or a copy; and above all in importance is the question of what this beautiful young god is doing—what is the meaning of it?

The answers of the authorities to these queries vary so much that here I shall only mention the theory which I love, and which is accepted by many. When the statue was found the left hand was missing, and a bow was believed to have been the article which it held; and it was said that Apollo had just shot an arrow on some dreadful flight, and was watching for its effect. This theory was the principal one until 1860, when a scholar, Stephani, called attention to the fact that in St. Petersburg there is a bronze statuette, less than two feet high, which is almost exactly the same as the Apollo Belvedere—too nearly the same to be an accidental likeness. Now, as this is an antique bronze, it seems to prove that both it and the marble of the Vatican are copies of an ancient work. The statuette is called the Stroganoff Apollo, because it belongs to the collection of a nobleman of that name. It is believed to be one of a number of bronzes which were found near Janina in 1792, and given by the son of Ali Pasha to his physician, Dr. Frank (Fig. 63).

The chief importance of this discovery was the fact that the left hand was perfect, and did not hold a bow, but some soft, elastic substance which Stephani believes to be the ægis, or shield, of Jupiter, on which was the head of Medusa. The sight of this shield paralyzed those who saw it; and though it belonged to Jupiter and Minerva, Jupiter sometimes lent it to his son Apollo to aid him in his warfare; such instances are recorded by Homer. After Stephani had told his idea of it, the German scholar Ludwig Preller pointed out what seems to be the true meaning of it by suggesting that Apollo was extending this dreadful ægis before the sight of the Gauls at Delphi, in B.C. 279. History relates that when the Gauls approached Delphi the people asked the oracle if they should carry away and conceal the treasures of the temple. The oracle replied, "I myself and the White Maidens (meaning Athena and Artemis) will take care of that." Then four thousand Greeks stood by ready to defend the sacred place; but in the midst of the battle the youthful god came down through the roof of the temple, and the White Maidens left their own altars to aid him in driving back the barbarous foe. A great tempest arose, and rocks fell from Parnassus on the heads of the Gauls, and it seemed as if all the powers of heaven and earth had united to sustain the Greeks against their enemies. It is also written that the spectres of Greek heroes who had long been dead were seen in the midst of the battle dealing death upon the Gauls. But above all the fury of the tempest and the noise of war the clashing of the shield and spear of Athena and the twanging sound of the oft-discharged bow of Artemis were heard, while the flash of the awful shield of Apollo was seen to be even more vivid and terrific than the forked lightnings themselves.

It is recorded that after this victory two statues of Apollo and one each of Athena and Artemis were offered in the temple of Apollo as thank-offerings for its preservation and the victory over the Gauls. It is delightful to regard the Apollo Belvedere as a copy of one of these, and this view of it is most satisfying. Lübke, in speaking of this theory, says: "Not till now have we understood the Apollo Belvedere. In unveiled beauty we see the elegant form of the slender figure, the left shoulder only being covered by the chlamys, which falls down over the arm, which, far outstretched, holds the ægis with its Medusa head. The right arm is slightly turned aside, but both hands have been unskilfully restored. The attitude of the god is full of pathos, and is conceived at a dramatic moment. Ardently excited and filled with divine anger, with which is mingled a touch of triumphant scorn, the intellectual head is turned sideward, while the figure, with elastic step, is hastening forward. The eye seems to shoot forth lightning; there is an expression of contempt in the corners of the mouth, and the distended nostrils seem to breathe forth divine anger. It is a bold attitude thus transfixed in marble, full of life-like and excited action."