Used good. Has some foxing in the cover.
PREFACE
I
A descriptive catalogue of the Acropolis Museum, the work of students of the
nBritish School at Athens, was published some years ago-the first volume in
1913, the second in tg21. The first of these, by the late Guy Dickins, deals with
the archaic sculpture, and the present photographic catalogue is complementary to
it. The production of a volume of photographs to accompany the descriptive
catalogue may have been part of the original plan, for the descriptive catalogue
contains illustrations which are intended only to bring to mind the particular object
with which the writer is in each case concerned. we have confined ourselves to the
archaic marble sculpture, omitting the limestone works which Dickins includes:
these are already admirably publiahed, and further, since they are all architectural,
they could not have been satisfactorily illustrated without their setting, and this
would greatly have extended the scope of our book.
In taking the photographs we have tried, wherever posible, to follow certain prin-
ciples. First, to throw the main light on cach object from one point, a point above
the object and in front of it. Almost all sculpture is meant to be illuminated from
above, and this is certainly true of the archaic sculpture on the Acropolis, since it
stood in the open air; naturally open-air lighting varies, but if one effect must be
chosen, that which we have just described is plainly the most important. How easily
a horizontal light can rob a statue of its true effect may be appreciated by anyone
who will compare our pl. g2 with what he sees in the Museum. Subsidiary light has
usually to be thrown on other aspects of the object, but strong illumination from
opposing points (though often effective in other ways) is generally destructive of
plastic character: everyone knows that by manipulation of opposing lights a sphere
or a cube may be made to appear flat. We have been at some pains to obtain exact
frontal and profile views. All views of works in the round are thecoretically valuable,
but these are plainly essential. Nearly all the photographs were taken by daylight,
about twenty by artificial light: we are much indebted to Mr. Emil Seraf of
Athens for helping us to take these last, and to the Electric Company for proid-
ing the necessary current. Save in the special case of pl. 11A, where a composite
photograph is reproduced, in pls. 4o and 41, 1, where an iron bar behind the …