CURRENT LITERATURE.
History of Sculpture, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time. By Dr. Wilhelm Ltibke. Translated by F. E. Bennett. 2 vols. (Smith, Elder, and Co.)—We cannot do more than notice, we cannot pretend to criticise, this elaborate and valuable work. The greater part of the first volume is devoted to ancient art, the sculpture of Babylonia, Egypt, and Persia being first discussed, and the subject of Greek art being subsequently treated with considerable fullness. A supplementary chapter deals with what are called the "plastic lesser arts," coins and gems. The first twelve centuries of the Christian era are disposed of within a brief compass. To the next two hundred years, rich as they are in monumental and architectural sculpture, three chapters, com- prising about a third of the second volume, are devoted. A section, interesting and only too short, is given here to England. " The Sculpture of Modern Times " is taken as beginning with the fifteenth century. The great Italian masters of the sixteenth century are spoken of at considerable length. Of artists more peculiarly modern, Canova and Thorwaldsen receive the more detailed notice. Flaxman gets only a paragraph, which scarcely represents his deserts; and Gibson, character- ised as " the noblest and most distinguished of the English sculptors," not more than two or three lines. We may say, generally, that the plastic art of the last fifty years might well have been treated at greater length. Possibly, however, it would more properly belong to a separate work. Nearly four hundred illustrations, some of them of great excel- lence, and all creditably executed, adorn the two volumes.
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