Post by ndrthl on Dec 15, 2005 18:31:28 GMT -5
that's right:
"According to anatomists three quarters of the population have a so-called Egyptian foot which is characterized by a great toe longer than the second toe, 1/6 of the population have a so-called Greek foot where the great toe is shorter than the second toe, while the rest of the population have a square foot where the great toe has the same length as the second. The reference to Egypt is due to the fact that in Egyptian paintings (where usually feet were shown from a profile point of view) the great toe appeared longer than the second toe. The reference to Greece is due to the fact that Greek statues showed feet having the second toe longer than the great toe. Notwithstanding the prevailing anatomy, nearly all the Roman statues, often copies of Greek originals, have Greek feet. It is not easy to find a statue with an evident Egyptian foot, because even Egyptian statues have Greek feet. Anyhow maybe by chance, maybe on purpose the colossal statue of the Nile in Piazza del Campidoglio was restored by replacing its lost foot with a distinctly Egyptian foot. Neoclassic artists had such an admiration for Greece that their statues have Greek feet bordering deformity. Rinaldo Rinaldi, a scholar of Canova, provided a perfect example of this tendency in his statue of Faith in S. Marcello".
members.tripod.com/romeartlover/Feet.html
"According to anatomists three quarters of the population have a so-called Egyptian foot which is characterized by a great toe longer than the second toe, 1/6 of the population have a so-called Greek foot where the great toe is shorter than the second toe, while the rest of the population have a square foot where the great toe has the same length as the second. The reference to Egypt is due to the fact that in Egyptian paintings (where usually feet were shown from a profile point of view) the great toe appeared longer than the second toe. The reference to Greece is due to the fact that Greek statues showed feet having the second toe longer than the great toe. Notwithstanding the prevailing anatomy, nearly all the Roman statues, often copies of Greek originals, have Greek feet. It is not easy to find a statue with an evident Egyptian foot, because even Egyptian statues have Greek feet. Anyhow maybe by chance, maybe on purpose the colossal statue of the Nile in Piazza del Campidoglio was restored by replacing its lost foot with a distinctly Egyptian foot. Neoclassic artists had such an admiration for Greece that their statues have Greek feet bordering deformity. Rinaldo Rinaldi, a scholar of Canova, provided a perfect example of this tendency in his statue of Faith in S. Marcello".
members.tripod.com/romeartlover/Feet.html
