The text discusses an artist's remarkable talent which led to creating a colossal statue for Nero in Rome and explores the idea that casting bronze had become a lost art. The passage also mentions how the artist precisely replicated classical features from ancient works. A reference is made to Zenodore's skills and the continuous tradition of these ancient art practices.
THEORY
After this artist had introduced his talent in the country, he was called to Rome by Nero, for whom he created a colossal statue one hundred ten feet tall. It was later dedicated to the sun after the crimes of that prince caused his memory to be detested. In his workshop, we admired the perfect likeness not only in the clay figure which served as the model for the work, but also in the small models or sketches that were used for studying the large piece. This statue demonstrated that the art of casting bronze was lost, as Nero was willing to spare neither gold nor silver, and Zenodore was no less skilled than any of the ancient sculptors in the science of shaping and restoring. While he was making his statue in Auvergne, he copied for Vibius Avitus, Governor of the Province, two vases carved by the hand of Calamis, which Caesar Germanicus, who greatly valued them, gifted to Casius Silanus, Avitus's uncle, and his tutor. The copy was so precise that barely any difference could be seen in the work. Thus, the more skilled Zenodore was, the easier it is to see that the art of casting bronze had been lost (1). Pliny, continuation of section XVII above.
The plates XXXIII & XXXIV, XXXV & XXXVI offer representations of various characterized heads, for statues larger than life.
Plate XXXVII contains four heads of Athenians in different attitudes, drawn from ancient monuments.
(1) See the refutation of this absurdity by Pliny, in one of the notes that Mr. Falconnet added to his translation of books XXXIV, XXXV, & XXXVI of this author, printed in Amsterdam in 1772, in-8°. page 41.
Translation Notes
Zenodore is a name without direct English equivalent. The art of 'casting bronze' refers to the process of making sculptures from bronze by pouring molten metal into a mold. 'Calamis' is an ancient sculptor noted for his refined and delicate style.