Joseph Pennell's Pictures In The Land Of Temples - free ebook by Joseph Pennell

Read as playlist

Joseph Pennell's Pictures In The Land Of Temples

Joseph Pennell

43 chapters

50 minute read

Read as playlist

Selected Chapters

43 chapters

IN THE LAND OF TEMPLES BY J O S E P H P E N N E L L

IN THE LAND OF TEMPLES BY J O S E P H P E N N E L L

colophon LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN JOSEPH PENNELL’S PICTURES IN THE LAND OF TEMPLES JOSEPH PENNELL’S PICTURES OF THE PANAMA CANAL. FIFTH EDITION. Reproductions of a series of Lithographs made by him on the Isthmus of Panama, together with Impressions and Notes by the Artist. Price 5s. net. ———— THE LIFE OF JAMES M C NEILL WHISTLER By E. R. and J. PENNELL. Fifth and Revised Edition, with 96 pp. of Illustrations. Pott 4to. Price 12s. 6d. net. LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN. ———— Copies of the

1 minute read

Read Chapter

NOTES—ON MY LITHOGRAPHS IN THE LAND OF TEMPLES

NOTES—ON MY LITHOGRAPHS IN THE LAND OF TEMPLES

I WENT to Greece for two reasons. First, because I wanted to see Greece and what remained of her glory—to see if the greatest work of the past impressed me as much as the greatest work of the present—and to try to find out which was the greater—the more inspiring. And second, I went because I was told by a Boston authority that I was nothing but a ragtime sketcher, couldn’t see Greek art and couldn’t draw it if I did. I have been there—and did what I saw in my own way. To me Greece was wonderful

3 minute read

Read Chapter

INTRODUCTION.

INTRODUCTION.

I T is a happy thing that the Greek race came into being, because they showed the world once at least what is meant by a man. The ideal Greek virtue σωφροσὑνη means, that all parts and faculties of the man are in proportion, each trained to perfection and all under control of the will: body, mind, and spirit, each has its due place. Elsewhere we see one of these in excess. Thus the Indian philosopher soars in the highest regions of speculation, and sees great truths, but they intoxicate him: he

33 minute read

Read Chapter

I AETNA OVER TAORMINA

I AETNA OVER TAORMINA

F OR years I wanted to make this drawing—and for days after I reached Taormina I had to wait before I could make it: for a curtain of mist hung over the sea and land. Then suddenly in all its glory the great white, snowy cone, borne on clouds, came forth above the sea and shore. And Hiroshige and Claude and Turner never imagined or dreamt of anything so glorious—and I had it all to myself, for it was tea-time. image not available...

25 minute read

Read Chapter

II THE THEATRE, SEGESTA

II THE THEATRE, SEGESTA

N OTHING, not even Taormina, is more magnificent than the set scene of the Theatre; how poor and mean must have been the forgotten mummers! The scene will exist till the end of time—even though scarce anyone climbs the mountain-side and, fagged out, drops in one of the thousands of empty seats hewn in the living rock, which will never again be filled. image not available...

20 minute read

Read Chapter

III THE TEMPLE OVER THE CAÑON, SEGESTA

III THE TEMPLE OVER THE CAÑON, SEGESTA

E VERYONE advised me to go to Segesta, and I am glad I went; but I should never have known how wonderfully the Greeks made architectural compositions if I had not seen the Grand Cañon. There I saw Nature’s compositions: here was one made by man—finer, though not so big—for bigness has nothing to do with art. image not available...

19 minute read

Read Chapter

IV FROM TEMPLE TO TEMPLE, GIRGENTI

IV FROM TEMPLE TO TEMPLE, GIRGENTI

N OT only are the lines of the hills, looking toward the sea, perfect, but the builders of these, as of all the temples, took advantage of the lines in the landscape, making the temple the focus of a great composition; an art no longer practised; but the temples of the gods of Greece were more important than the notions of local politicians and land-owners and architects. image not available...

22 minute read

Read Chapter

V THE COLUMNS OF CASTOR AND POLLUX, GIRGENTI

V THE COLUMNS OF CASTOR AND POLLUX, GIRGENTI

T HIS is not a restoration, but a re-building. The rebuilders worked better than they knew, and made a delightful—and popular—subject for every artist who goes to Girgenti. image not available...

12 minute read

Read Chapter

VI SUNRISE BEHIND THE TEMPLE OF CONCORD, GIRGENTI

VI SUNRISE BEHIND THE TEMPLE OF CONCORD, GIRGENTI

T HE Land of Temples is the land of effects—and they must be seized when they are seen. I had no idea of making this drawing; but as I reached the temple, the sun rose behind it, and I never saw it so huge, so mighty, as that morning. So I drew it—or tried to—while the effect lasted. image not available...

20 minute read

Read Chapter

VII THE TEMPLE BY THE SEA—TEMPLE OF CONCORD, GIRGENTI

VII THE TEMPLE BY THE SEA—TEMPLE OF CONCORD, GIRGENTI

I HAVE never seen long, level lines of temple, land, and sea so harmonise and work into a great composition as at Girgenti. image not available...

11 minute read

Read Chapter

VIII THE TEMPLE OF CONCORD ON THE WALL FROM WITHIN, GIRGENTI

VIII THE TEMPLE OF CONCORD ON THE WALL FROM WITHIN, GIRGENTI

H OW it piles up! What a perfect goal for the pilgrim; so noble is the sight, he must in awe have mounted to it on his knees. image not available...

13 minute read

Read Chapter

IX THE TEMPLE OF CONCORD ON THE WALL FROM WITHOUT, GIRGENTI

IX THE TEMPLE OF CONCORD ON THE WALL FROM WITHOUT, GIRGENTI

T HE TEMPLE OF CONCORD ON THE WALL FROM WITHOUT, GIRGENTI WHEN the glow of the sunset falls on it, and when the shadows block out the great rifts in the walls—walls which are like cliffs—and when the tourists and archaeologists have gone to dress for dinner and left one alone, one learns in the silence that the Greeks were divine artists. image not available...

22 minute read

Read Chapter

X COLUMNS OF THE TEMPLE OF JUNO, GIRGENTI

X COLUMNS OF THE TEMPLE OF JUNO, GIRGENTI

A S the sun sinks into the silent sea, these battered, beaten columns take on a dignity which proves how impressive this temple was when their art was a living thing. Only from within comes a voice, in English or American, which proves that art is dead—Greek art. image not available...

17 minute read

Read Chapter

XI THE TEMPLES ON THE WALL, GIRGENTI

XI THE TEMPLES ON THE WALL, GIRGENTI

T HERE they stand on the outer walls, the long line of them—and there are more than I have drawn; but how magnificently they stand—these everlasting monuments to great art. image not available...

12 minute read

Read Chapter

XII THE TEMPLE OF JUNO FROM BELOW, GIRGENTI

XII THE TEMPLE OF JUNO FROM BELOW, GIRGENTI

O UT of the dark river-bed and the huge boulders: some real, some blocks that have fallen from the wall above, slid down the high scarred hill and come to rest in confusion at the bottom. Above the shattered wall silently stand in the pale morning light the long line of pillars of the temple. And all the while I drew, the Sicilian glared at me from behind the great rocks, and I was glad when I had finished and could come away. image not available...

27 minute read

Read Chapter

XIII PAESTUM. MORNING MIST

XIII PAESTUM. MORNING MIST

W HEN, after a night of horrors at the inn of Pæstum, I rose before day, the temples were veiled in mist; the fences were lost; the factory chimney had vanished—the guardians were asleep—the place seemed far away; but soon a motor hooted and an engine whistled, the mists vanished, the guardians came out, the tourists flocked in; the sadness, the loneliness of Pæstum are gone with the malaria and the buffaloes—only the mosquitoes remain. image not available...

23 minute read

Read Chapter

XIV PAESTUM. EVENING

XIV PAESTUM. EVENING

O NLY in the mists of the morning and the glow of the evening is Pæstum impressive any more. It is dignified, but the mystery and melancholy have gone. image not available...

10 minute read

Read Chapter

XV CORINTH TOWARDS THE GULF

XV CORINTH TOWARDS THE GULF

H ERE the builders had tried for a wonderful scheme, and worked it out wonderfully, light against light—the glittering temple against the gleaming sea—the rigid, solid lines of the building telling against the faint, far-away, half-revealed, half-concealed silhouettes in form and colour of the mountains; over whose sides the cloud-shadows slowly moved. On one side my countrymen have built a shanty where they lived while excavating; on the other is a bare barrack, in which they have stored the st

37 minute read

Read Chapter

XVI ACRO-CORINTH FROM CORINTH

XVI ACRO-CORINTH FROM CORINTH

T HE way the great mountains pile up behind the great temple is most impressive. image not available...

7 minute read

Read Chapter

XVII OLYMPIA FROM THE HILLSIDE

XVII OLYMPIA FROM THE HILLSIDE

T HE Olympian groves are a fraud; they are mere bushes and only hide the temples amid which they sprout; but by dodging around the hillside one can see how finely the temples were placed and how lovely were the lines of the meandering river backed by the beautiful, ever-changing coloured mountains. image not available...

17 minute read

Read Chapter

XVIII THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER. EVENING

XVIII THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER. EVENING

N IGHT was falling as I was coming back from drawing by the river Ilissos. The subject was the most impressive I saw in the Land of Temples, and in the gathering darkness I drew it as well as I could. image not available...

15 minute read

Read Chapter

XIX THE ACROPOLIS FROM THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER, ATHENS

XIX THE ACROPOLIS FROM THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER, ATHENS

T HERE is as much charm in the clearness of the day as in the mystery of the night, in the Land of Temples. And though I only moved from one side of the columns to the other, when I drew the Temple of Jupiter, Evening, the composition is as different as the effect. image not available...

19 minute read

Read Chapter

XX THE WAY UP TO THE ACROPOLIS

XX THE WAY UP TO THE ACROPOLIS

T HE fragment of the steps that is left shows how imposing the whole must have been. In making this lithograph I could not help noting—though I did not put them in—the endless races that mounted; and although the costume of each group changed, and often the nationality and language, there was almost always someone amongst them who could read the ancient Greek of the tablets built into the wall; and always the whole party seemed to under-stand it. But the modern Greek is, I imagine, the greatest

30 minute read

Read Chapter

XXI DOWN FROM THE ACROPOLIS

XXI DOWN FROM THE ACROPOLIS

B ETWEEN Athens, the pavement of the Temple of Nike, and the roof of the Temple of Theseus, there is a great gulf fixed, and this gives an amazing idea of height and depth; and beyond, stretching to the mountains, with the feeling of the sea beyond that, is the sacred way. It is the way to Eleusis and the Sea. From the road, as it mounts the distant hills, the way leads straight to the Acropolis, which grows more and more impressive and imposing as you approach, till modern Athens hides it. imag

29 minute read

Read Chapter

XXII SUNRISE OVER THE ACROPOLIS

XXII SUNRISE OVER THE ACROPOLIS

E VERY morning the sun, coming in at my bedroom window, woke me when it touched the topmost part of the Parthenon; and then the light spread down to the battlements, then to the cliffs, showing the horrid caves and strong ribs over and upon which the fortress temples stand; and by the time the sun had reached the forum, the forum woke up and all the beauty fled—till another day. image not available...

23 minute read

Read Chapter

XXIII STORM BEHIND THE ACROPOLIS

XXIII STORM BEHIND THE ACROPOLIS

A ND when the clouds of a spring afternoon gather behind the Acropolis, you realise why it was built on that barren rock: because the builders saw it would be the most impressive shrine on this earth. image not available...

13 minute read

Read Chapter

XXIV THE PROPYLAEA, ATHENS

XXIV THE PROPYLAEA, ATHENS

T HIS is pure architecture; it interested me. I tried to draw it, as it looked to me; but no draughtsman—no painter, either—will ever get that wondrous warm glow which seems to come from within the walls and suffuse them with light and colour. image not available...

15 minute read

Read Chapter

XXV THE PORTICO OF THE PARTHENON

XXV THE PORTICO OF THE PARTHENON

T HIS is the greatest architectural art in the world. image not available...

6 minute read

Read Chapter

XXVI THE PARTHENON FROM THE GATEWAY

XXVI THE PARTHENON FROM THE GATEWAY

D ID these temples always grow out of the bare rock as now, or was the rock, too, overlaid with marble pavements? It must have been, for it is incredible that people with such a sense of beauty should have built such beautiful things on a stone pile. image not available...

17 minute read

Read Chapter

XXVII THE FAÇADE OF THE PARTHENON. SUNSET

XXVII THE FAÇADE OF THE PARTHENON. SUNSET

J UST as the bell rings at sunset, from between a rift in the clouds of the spring evening the last ray of the setting sun strikes the pediment of the Parthenon. And against the black clouds over the mountains, it is transfigured, and then slowly one leaves—turning from the wonder of man’s work to the wonder of God’s sunset, and the wonder of the afterglow over Eleusis. image not available...

22 minute read

Read Chapter

XXVIII THE FALLEN COLUMN, ATHENS

XXVIII THE FALLEN COLUMN, ATHENS

O N either side of the Parthenon the columns thrown down by the explosion of a powder magazine within, are lying, not as they fell, but each section carefully rolled into its proper place. The disorder at Olympia, when earthquakes destroyed the temples, is far more convincing and impressive, for there the columns lie in confusion, here in archaeological order. image not available...

19 minute read

Read Chapter

XXIX THE LITTLE FÊTE, ATHENS

XXIX THE LITTLE FÊTE, ATHENS

A LITTLE fête of some sort was being held at the little church by the little river, and the way to it was lined with them that sold things; beyond was the rocky river-bed; then the Temple of Jupiter; and away above all, the Acropolis—framed in by the black trees, the most romantic subject I ever saw. image not available...

19 minute read

Read Chapter

XXX THE GREAT FÊTE, ATHENS

XXX THE GREAT FÊTE, ATHENS

O N the afternoon of St. George’s Day I wandered out of the city up to the Acropolis, and found the whole plain and the approaches crowded; while the stairs were black with people, and so were the lofty platforms. The fête that afternoon, as I saw it from Mars Hill, was more real than any restoration or imaginations. image not available...

20 minute read

Read Chapter

XXXI THE TEMPLE OF NIKE, ATHENS

XXXI THE TEMPLE OF NIKE, ATHENS

O NE has but to cross to the other side of the Propylaea from the top of the steps—from the great platform and altar before the wall, to find an equally inspiring—or inspired—arrangement. For there is no accident in these compositions. The way the line of the sea cuts blue against the white temple walls and shows through the columns at either end, and the way the nearer hill of Lycabettus piles up dark against the shining base on which the temple stands and that is accented, too, by the one dark

36 minute read

Read Chapter

XXXII THE TEMPLE OF NIKE FROM MARS HILL, ATHENS

XXXII THE TEMPLE OF NIKE FROM MARS HILL, ATHENS

T HIS is the grandest grouping of the Acropolis. The way in which the whole, in solemn square masses, piles up—the temple dominating all—is marvellous. It is finer, I am sure, in ruin, than ever it was in perfection. image not available...

15 minute read

Read Chapter

XXXIII THE ODEON, ATHENS

XXXIII THE ODEON, ATHENS

L OOKING down from the Acropolis, one sees the theatre—even the Greeks mostly placed the theatre before the temple. But what I saw that afternoon was a school of small Greek boys studying and reciting in the Odeon, because the school had been taken for barracks. But as a soldier said to me, Mars was more real to him than the Turks he had been fighting. image not available...

21 minute read

Read Chapter

XXXIV THE STREET OF THE TOMBS, ATHENS

XXXIV THE STREET OF THE TOMBS, ATHENS

T O be buried under the shadow, or in sight of the Acropolis must have been glorious. Nowhere else is there such a decorative arrangement of death. image not available...

11 minute read

Read Chapter

XXXV ELEUSIS: THE PAVEMENT OF THE TEMPLE

XXXV ELEUSIS: THE PAVEMENT OF THE TEMPLE

S WEPT away is everything, mysteries and all—all that remains is the great pavement on which stand the stumps of columns; yet I doubt if it was finer ever. And the long drive out over the sacred way, the long, quiet day; and the long drive back, with the Acropolis growing more and more majestic in the twilight, were perfect. image not available...

20 minute read

Read Chapter

XXXVI AEGINA

XXXVI AEGINA

O NLY at Aegina, so far as I have seen, is there a real—yet it is so beautiful it seems unreal—forest in Greece. Nowhere in the world do the trees in dense, deep shade so cover the slopes that lead down, almost black, to the deep blue sea; and where have I ever seen such a contrast between the bosky woods and the barren cliffs that tower above them? And all this is but a background for one of the most beautiful temples in this beautiful land, placed perfectly, by the greatest artists of the past

36 minute read

Read Chapter

XXXVII AEGINA ON ITS MOUNTAIN TOP

XXXVII AEGINA ON ITS MOUNTAIN TOP

A S, after the long ride across the island, ever climbing, one comes from the dense wood, suddenly in front is the splendid pile, on either side the forest, beyond the sea; and in the airy distance, Athens and the Acropolis. image not available...

15 minute read

Read Chapter

XXXVIII THE SHINING ROCKS, DELPHI

XXXVIII THE SHINING ROCKS, DELPHI

A FTER I had made this drawing, after I had had it transferred to stone and printed, I showed it to the Director of the Greek School, and he said: “Why, you have drawn the Shining Rocks.” All I tried to do was to draw Delphi and the rocks behind the ruins. That in the light the rocks did shine was nothing to me, save that they showed the way the cliffs were built up. I have since learned, however, that I have shown one the great things of Greece. image not available...

28 minute read

Read Chapter

XXXIX THE TREASURY OE ATHENS, DELPHI

XXXIX THE TREASURY OE ATHENS, DELPHI

T HE Treasury is a restoration; but, even so, it is charming, standing by the rough paved way, which is bordered by the semi-circular seats, placed always with the most wonderful views before them, and backed by the black mountains, up whose sides wind trails leading, in the spring, to the clouds. The loneliness of the land, and the hugeness of the temples and theatres built to hold the people who are no longer there, was intensified last year when all the able-bodied men had gone to the war, an

29 minute read

Read Chapter

XL THE WINE-DARK SEA, SUNIUM

XL THE WINE-DARK SEA, SUNIUM

F ROM without and from within, either bright against the dark waters, or dark against the bright sea, the Temple of Poseidon piles up. One could stay on that mud-swept, sun-beaten headland for months; but without a camp, one can only stay a day. image not available...

15 minute read

Read Chapter