The Judgment of Animals in Classical Greece: Animal Sculpture and ...

Although this deviation does not feature in Vermeule’s discussion of the continuity from
Bronze Age to Classical naturalism, he does take notice of it when he speaks of the
doglike appearance of fifth- and fourth-century Attic funerary statues of lions. In this
way, his discussion takes us back to examples of the treatment of the problematic style of
animals in Classical sculpture.
Vermeule does not talk about the elements of Classical Attic statues of lions that are
at home with leonine anatomy. His bafflement, however, over their problematic style
becomes evident when he identifies their canine characteristics:
Lions [produced by Greek artists between 420 and 320 B.C.] crouch like dogs
over bones. Their bodies are as well-proportioned and smoothly ideal as those of
Hegeso herself and her servant girl. Manes are like ruffs, and it is only close to
the beginning of the Hellenistic Age, around 330 B.C., that they begin to look like
the hair on lions seen nowadays in zoos and circuses. Round eyes, broad, canine
snouts, and ears like those of a Doberman pinscher add to the image of friendly
conceptualism. Toward the end of the hundred years of Attic funerary lions,
some beasts look like as if they might bite but most of them are placid,
occasionally even playful. The emotional faces which can be identified with the
style of Scopas around 350 B.C. enter the repertory of lion sculpture, and the
elongation of athletes by Lysippos in the generation after 340 B.C. 155
Vermeule clearly states that Classical Attic funerary statues of lions follow the same
development as that of the human form in Greek art, that is, they become more
convincing in terms of appearance at the end of the Classical period. Still, however, what
catches his attention is the presence of canine anatomical characteristics, such as the eyes,
snouts, and ears of these lions, which “add to the image of friendly conceptualism,” as he
says. It is unclear what he means by “friendly conceptualism.” A possible meaning
emerges when one looks at his interpretation (especially its second component) of the
problematic style of these lions as a mixture of: a) artists using Near Eastern models, and
b) thoughtful observation of comparable dogs and cats. As he characteristically states:
155 Vermeule, “Greek Funerary Animals” 51.
108