The text discusses admiration for the classical figures of Laocoön and his sons, emphasizing their aesthetic perfection. It highlights the Gladiator statue at Borghese Villa by Agazius, noting its ideal representation of human anatomy and movement during a vibrant age. The passage underlines the detail and execution excellence that makes these figures prime subjects for study.
THE DRAWING.
It must be admitted that these two figures do not arouse a feeling of admiration to the same degree as that of the father, which not only leaves nothing to be desired, but whose perfection even goes beyond what the knowledge of nature can make one expect from a great Artist.
The figure of Laocoön, as well as that of his two children, is measured on this plate 65, by the size of the nose of each of these figures (it has been seen previously that the nose is a third of the face); each nose is subdivided, as usual, into six other small parts.
The Gladiator. Plates 66, 67, 68 & 69.
This beautiful ancient figure, which is seen at the Borghese Villa, outside the walls of Rome, is the work of a Greek Sculptor named Agazius, from the city of Ephesus. It is truly in this figure that one must study humanity, as we know it. I mean to say that the Artist did not exaggerate it, and that it is the nature of the choice, the most perfect, and in the most favorable age, which is between adolescence and manhood. The position of this posture is in one of the liveliest movements that a man can make: all parts of the body are in action, making most of the muscles work, which, by revealing the deep knowledge that this Sculptor had of Anatomy, makes this figure one of the most suitable for study, among all those that have remained from Antiquity. Moreover, when one examines it attentively, what beauties of detail and what fineness of execution does one not discover? If Artists and Connoisseurs are divided over the choice of Antiques and the preference that can be given to them,
Translation Notes
Laocoön: Refers to a classical subject in art of Laocoön and his sons from Greek mythology.
Borghese Villa: A reference to a historic site in Rome.
Agazius of Ephesus: A noted sculptor from ancient history.
'Antiques' here refers to ancient art forms appreciated by both artists and connoisseurs.