Under These Folds There
Must Be Breath, There Must Be Blood; They Indicate A Glowing Life.
The
immense vitality of the form appears in them, and even as an athlete's
muscles are exhibited in relief at his exercises, so exceeding strength
of life is evident in these grooves.
A heart throbbing steadily and
strong, veins full of rich, pure blood, a warm touch, an eager wish to be
affectionate, and self lost in the desire to love - this is the expression
of the folds. Full of the energy of exceptional vitality, she gladly
gives that energy for the delight of the little one.
There are no grooves on the torso of the Venus de Medici or of the Venus
of Cnidus; they are sculptured in attitudes chosen to allow of the body
and the limbs presenting an unbroken smoothness. They have the roundness
of the polished column. They are ideals, but do not live. Here the deep
grooves and the large folds are life.
As we move slowly around the statue from left to right, after observing
it in front, the right breast gradually advances, and its outline
appears. The act of stooping and leaning to one side causes the right
breast to be lower than the left. By degrees the right breast recedes and
the left advances, and, standing at the full left of the figure, there
are three chief lines to notice - that of the back seen in profile, of the
torso, and of the left thigh. The thigh is raised, and, so stretched,
seems slightly compressed near the knee. It is more rotund than thick or
heavy; it is not so much size as roundness; it is not mere plumpness, but
form.
A step farther and the back begins to appear, and the outline of its
right edge. Standing exactly at the back, there is a remarkable flatness
at the lower end of the mesial groove. This flatness is somewhat in the
shape of an elongated diamond; it is rather below the loins, and is, I
think, caused by the commencement or upper part of the pelvis. In
stooping and at the same time leaning to one side, the flesh at this spot
is drawn tightly against the firm structure under the skin, so that the
flatness is almost, if not quite, hollow. Had the sculptor been
representing a goddess he would have concealed this flatness in some way
or other, or selected a position which did not cause it, for the
conventional art - beauty must be equally rounded everywhere. Had he been
poorer in conception he would have slurred it over, or not even observed
it. The presence of this flatness or slightly hollow surface demonstrates
how true the work is to reality. The statue is a personality, a living
thing. As the line of the horizon recedes at sea, and that which now
appears the edge or boundary is presently sailed over, so the edge or
outline of the body recedes as you move around it. Another step, and the
right thigh and the right breast are in sight, with the ends of the
grooves. Lines that look almost straight are changed, as you approach,
into curves. The action of the limbs is most apparent when viewed from
the right side of the statue; but its most beautiful aspect is exactly in
front. In moving round, it is very striking to observe how the least
change of position - if you do but move an inch - alters the outline and
curve of the work; the breast, not visible before, is now apparent as the
bust rises; another inch and it becomes a demi-lune, till it swells to
its full undulation. At every step the figure alters, but no matter at
how many angles it is looked at, it always has beautiful curves. They
adapt themselves, these curves, to the position of the eye, and wherever
the eye is placed they satisfy its demands for beauty. Examine any part,
and it is found perfect; for instance, the inside of the right knee
(visible from the left of the statue) slightly bulges, being pressed out
by the stooping position.
At a third visit it seemed to me that the statue had grown much more
beautiful in the few days which had elapsed since I first saw it.
Pondering upon the causes of this increasing interest, I began to see
that one reason was because it recalled to my memory the loveliness of
nature. Old days which I had spent wandering among deep meadows and by
green woods came back to me. In such days the fancy had often occurred to
me that, besides the loveliness of leaves and flowers, there must be some
secret influence drawing me on as a hand might beckon. The light and
colour suspended in the summer atmosphere, as colour is in stained but
translucent glass, were to me always on the point of becoming tangible in
some beautiful form. The hovering lines and shape never became
sufficiently defined for me to know what form it could be, yet the
colours and the light meant something which I was not able to fix. I was
now sitting in a gallery of stone, with cold marbles, cold floors, cold
light from the windows. Without there were only houses, the city of
Paris - a city above all other cities farthest from woods and meads. Here,
nevertheless, there came back to me this old thought born in the midst of
flowers and wind-rustled leaves, and I saw that with it the statue before
me was in concord. The living original of this work was the human
impersonation of the secret influence which had beckoned me on in the
forest and by running streams. She expressed in loveliness of form the
colour and light of sunny days; she expressed the deep aspiring desire of
the soul for the perfection of the frame in which it is encased, for the
perfection of its own existence.
The sun rolls on in the far dome of heaven, and now day and now night
sweeps with alternate bands over the surface of hill, and wood, and sea;
the sea beats in endless waves, which first began to undulate a thousand
thousand years ago, starting from the other rim of Time; the green leaves
repeat the beauty that gladdened man in ancient days.
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