Johannes Benk, the well known Austrian sculptor, designed and executed
the last mentioned group. The two figures at the left hand end of this
group represent Science and Literature, and those at the right hand end,
Industry and Commerce. The entire group consists of nine figures, the
middle figure being seated and the rest standing, sitting, and lying, as
the space in the pediment allows.
A seated female figure studying a papyrus roll represents Science, and
the adjacent female figure, resting one arm on the figure representing
Science, and the other, on a lyre, represents Literature or Poetry.
Industry is represented by a strong and powerful woman holding a hammer,
and the figure of Mercury and the prow of a vessel represent Commerce.
[Illustration: STATUARY FOR THE VIENNA HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT.--INDUSTRY
AND COMMERCE. (GROUP TO THE RIGHT.)]
The modulation and formation of each figure conform strictly to Grecian
models, as does also the entire arrangement of the figures in the group;
and yet there is much of modern life in the figures, especially in the
faces, in which the stereotyped Grecian profile has not been adopted. The
attitudes of the figures are also freer and more easy than those of the
Grecian period.
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