NEW-YORK TRIBUNE ILLUSTRATED ST IMPLEMENT. THE …
1
NEW-YORK TRIBUNE ILLUSTRATED ST IMPLEMENT. THE WORLD'S SCULPTURE.* HOW IT IS ILJ.USTRATKD AT THK PARIS KXPOSITION. might have been handled with more suavity, that It might possess a more supple quality. but In the long run one feels with David, as with all really eminent artists, that despite all reservations he leaves the beholder impressed and content. In sheer originality and strength the man who looms largest in this group ci sculptors gone to their long rest is Antotoe Barye. The French have realized his impor- tance to them in this exhibition, and they have brought together a splendid collection of his works. These illustrate, even more than the sculptures of Rude and Carpeaux, a sacrifice of delicate, reposeful beauty to action and truth. But Ifbeauty exists as well in the storm as in the calm, then beauty exists in these extraor- dinary portraits of writhingbeasts of prey. No doubt, too, Barye saved something in his pas- tntSNCB MABTKBB AND FRKNCH MABTRUY- 6TYI.E AND TBCHNIQUH— BBBJODBWBOD IN AMEHICA AND GREAT HKJTAIN-THE DOLBKUIi TALE OF NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN EUROPE. (mOM A STAFF COIUtKFrONDKNT OF THE TRIBUNE.] Paris, August 11. If modern sculpture were to be considered from a certain point of view the title of this The French section In the show Is split Into two parts. One forms the "centennial exhibi- tion," and though men still living are repre- sented in it. they have, as a rule, more things In the later and larger wing, and leave the dead men to reap their glory practically undis- turbed. Among these deceased sculptors, aa among the deceased painters, there are at figures whose failure to found a school worthy of them Is their only serious demerit. Perhaps the violence of Francois Rude, whose nn t familiar work is that done for the embellish- ment of the Arc de Triomphe, may be counted against him; and Carpeaux, in his celebrated decoration for the opera, "La Danae," is pos- sibly more decorative than sculpturesque. Hut teenth rentury, and with It some odd con- trasts. A VIEW OP THE SCULPTURE COURT IN THE GRAND PA I, AIR (Equestrian statue of General Sherman. b> Augustus St Gaodena, on the right.) It apeaka of the g. od craftsmanship 'hararter- on a larg- r scale »h< would touch the imagine tlon more powerfully, p. rh.ips, bat not in so ar- tistic and haunting a manner. If the student doubts this he has only ta turn from BaryVa great little things te any of the colossal animals by Fremlet and others flung here and th*>r« in the Orand Palais or out among th- buil'iinps from the V'-rt- Monn- mentale to the Troeaderc H requires no great stretch of the irnagi! to conceive of th-y» lumbering perfenaaacea as they might be tf modelled with BaryVa art, and even so. It to legitimate to surmise, they would lack the ef- fectiveness of his typical designs. His n onA the size of life, are remarkable In their w*?, but they do not show him at his h~st Th« transition from the group traversed above to the jrreat company of living French alptors Is not, however, a rnaft-r of size. It Is from the masters to mastery, from the pane cf creative genius to that of pure craftsman- ship. The sculpto-s v,f an earlier generates had style. To-day they have simply tech- nique. There are. naturally. or.c or two ex- ceptions. Paul Dubois. for example, b worthy of the great men of the past. In the centen- nial exhibition is hla exquisite Florentine Singer Of the Fifteenth Century." that portrait of a boyish model in picturesque crptum* wh!-h first appeared in the Salon of l'.fL". has lone been one of the brightest po«e<: ? s on ,, of the Luxembourg, ar is known among students of sculpture all over the world as the symbol of the reincarnation in a modem Frenchman of the purest spirit of the Italian Renaissance Dubois, being an artist of th first rank, has a wide range. The "Florentine Singer" has the frail and evanescent beauty of a work by Mino da Fiesole. The imposing "Funerary Monu- ment to General Lamoriciere, in th* Cathedral at Xantes." with its recumbent figure beneath a graceful canopy, at the four comers of which seated figures are placed, la in a solemn, errand style, classical in its dignity, though lightened ev.--r ywh- re by subtlety of line and surface. Dubois's "Jeanne d'Arc" strikes still another note. It is archaic, where it neec!s to be. and at the same time is quivering with life. But Dubois is like a lonely pillar in the desert. He is not typical. The typical French sculptor of the present time is. say. a man like M. Felix Charpentier, the author of "Les Lutteurs," that astounding marble. n which the stronger of two struggling men has set his antagonist on the earth upside down. The poor victim 3ticks hi= leg frantically up in the air. and 31. Char- pentier seiz-s the opportunity with rapture. Could anything be more inartistic, more ugly? It seems hardly possible. * Certainly no human being of normal ideas— to say nothing of taste — could care" to contemplate for more than two minutes this egregious spectacle of muscular humanity arrested in a painful position. Yet, it may be repeated, this statue is more typical than anything else in the whole "exhibit of modern French sculpture. sage from the still air of Greek art— in which he learned much— to the exciting scenes of the forest and the menagerie, by working on a small scale. His little bronzes of tigers devouring their quarry, of horses, lions and inth-rs, t.-nse with surprise or passion, are fascinating, wh-re both those men had gifts which permitted the one to lie violent, the other to be not only ani- mated, but restless. They had power r.-d they had style. Their works can never be mistaken for the works of other men. The produe' s of both have Ik en freely drawn upon for the centennial exhibition and their figures, por- trait busts and reliefs bring into the galler-s an atmosphere <>f original force. They had executive ability of a high order, but they w e thoughtful artists, too. and each saw his ma- terial from a new angle If Kude profited by a study of Michael Angelo he had too much individuality to be a copyist of the master. In the presence of his art, or of that of Carpeaux. •me is convinced that at least in the earlier nineteenth century French sculpture had vi- article would be inexact. Plastic art. as it was understood in ancient Greece and in the Italy of the Renaissance, has almost ceased to exist. A chapter on The World's Sculpture" might tie made as brief as the famous chapter on snakes in Iceland. Hut there are isolated cases of genius, there are hundreds of "statuaries," if the old word may be used in its baldest sig- nificance "i ne who makes statues" is the terse explanation of the dictionary — and, .further- more, if thi mere quantity of images in marble, plastei and bronze at the Exposition is to be taken Into account, the world is full of Bculpt- ure. Such as it is tin- French have made, on the whole, the best of it. There has always been an active plastic Bense in the French genius, as the beautiful carvings on the early -GENU GARDANT LE SEl'lL DE LA TOMBE.* (From the statue by St. MarceauxJ tality and distinction. Whether it had also i" ;tiity is another question. Neither of the sculptors just mentioned seema t>> have cared much for sensuous charm. David d'Angera Bough! it, perhaps, but he, too, missed it, prob- ably through the austerity of his ideas. But that verj austerity puts David <<n \u25a0 biga level. His busts are fine, but Ins medallion portraits art finer In fa I David expressed the most characteristii elements of his genius in these severe bronzes Hi gave them a noble slm- I'luity. Often one v/i&bea that liit contour •The prevli.uh artlclea In (his Mrlea will be found In *h. Trtbuna <.f JuU U. 22. 21): Auk'UMt 0. 12. cathedrals alone would Bhow. Tiny have : id, too, notable sculptors in the fast, like Goujon and Pilon in the sixteenth century. Coysevox and the Coustous in th>- seventeenth, and Houdon in the I; ;t. Tin- French decorative sculpture of the eighteenth century was pro- duced by numerous men of talent, who still exert a trifling, facile) l>ut artistic charm. Then comes modern sculpture, tin- work of the nine- "FRAGMENT OF A SION TMES'I T<> THE I»!:.\l>." (Fi \u25a0!\u25a0! Ihi monument I>J Burl h.olomtS I 6
Transcript of NEW-YORK TRIBUNE ILLUSTRATED ST IMPLEMENT. THE …
NEW-YORK TRIBUNE ILLUSTRATED ST IMPLEMENT.
THE WORLD'S SCULPTURE.*
HOW IT IS ILJ.USTRATKD AT THK PARIS
KXPOSITION.
might have been handled with more suavity,
that It might possess a more supple quality.
but In the long run one feels with David, as
with all really eminent artists, that despite all
reservations he leaves the beholder impressed
and content. In sheer originality and strength
the man who looms largest in this group cisculptors gone to their long rest is AntotoeBarye. The French have realized his impor-
tance to them in this exhibition, and they havebrought together a splendid collection of his
works. These illustrate, even more than thesculptures of Rude and Carpeaux, a sacrifice of
delicate, reposeful beauty to action and truth.But Ifbeauty exists as well in the storm as in
the calm, then beauty exists in these extraor-dinary portraits of writhingbeasts of prey. Nodoubt, too, Barye saved something in his pas-
tntSNCB MABTKBB AND FRKNCH MABTRUY-
6TYI.E AND TBCHNIQUH—BBBJODBWBOD IN
AMEHICA AND GREAT HKJTAIN-THE
DOLBKUIi TALE OF NORTHERN
AND SOUTHERN EUROPE.
(mOM A STAFF COIUtKFrONDKNT OF THE TRIBUNE.]
Paris, August 11.
If modern sculpture were to be considered
from a certain point of view the title of this
The French section In the show Is split Intotwo parts. One forms the "centennial exhibi-tion," and though men still living are repre-sented in it. they have, as a rule, more things
In the later and larger wing, and leave the
dead men to reap their glory practically undis-turbed. Among these deceased sculptors, aaamong the deceased painters, there are atfigures whose failure to found a school worthy
of them Is their only serious demerit. Perhaps
the violence of Francois Rude, whose nn tfamiliar work is that done for the embellish-ment of the Arc de Triomphe, may be countedagainst him; and Carpeaux, in his celebrateddecoration for the opera, "La Danae," is pos-sibly more decorative than sculpturesque. Hut
teenth rentury, and with It some odd con-trasts.
A VIEW OP THE SCULPTURE COURT IN THE GRAND PAI,AIR(Equestrian statue of General Sherman. b> Augustus St Gaodena, on the right.)
It apeaka of the g. od craftsmanship 'hararter-
on a larg- r scale »h< would touch the imaginetlon more powerfully, p. rh.ips, bat not in so ar-tistic and haunting a manner.If the student doubts this he has only ta
turn from BaryVa great little things te any ofthe colossal animals by Fremlet and othersflung here and th*>r« in the Orand Palais orout among th- buil'iinps from the V'-rt- Monn-mentale to the Troeaderc H requires no greatstretch of the irnagi! to conceive of th-y»lumbering perfenaaacea as they might be tfmodelled with BaryVa art, and even so. It tolegitimate to surmise, they would lack the ef-fectiveness of his typical designs. His nonAthe size of life, are remarkable In their w*?,but they do not show him at his h~st Th«transition from the group traversed above tothe jrreat company of living French alptorsIs not, however, a rnaft-r of size. It Is fromthe masters to mastery, from the pane cfcreative genius to that of pure craftsman-ship. The sculpto-s v,f an earlier generateshad style. To-day they have simply tech-nique. There are. naturally. or.c or two ex-ceptions. Paul Dubois. for example, b worthyof the great men of the past. In the centen-nial exhibition is hla exquisite FlorentineSinger Of the Fifteenth Century." that portraitof a boyish model in picturesque crptum* wh!-hfirst appeared in the Salon of l'.fL". has lonebeen one of the brightest po«e<: ? son,, of theLuxembourg, ar is known among studentsof sculpture all over the world as the symbolof the reincarnation in a modem Frenchman ofthe purest spirit of the Italian RenaissanceDubois, being an artist of th first rank, has awide range. The "Florentine Singer" has thefrail and evanescent beauty of a work by Minoda Fiesole. The imposing "Funerary Monu-ment to General Lamoriciere, in th* Cathedralat Xantes." with its recumbent figure beneatha graceful canopy, at the four comers of whichseated figures are placed, la in a solemn, errandstyle, classical in its dignity, though lightenedev.--rywh-re by subtlety of line and surface.Dubois's "Jeanne d'Arc" strikes still anothernote. It is archaic, where it neec!s to be. andat the same time is quivering with life. ButDubois is like a lonely pillar in the desert. Heis not typical. The typical French sculptor ofthe present time is. say. a man like M. FelixCharpentier, the author of "Les Lutteurs," thatastounding marble. n which the stronger oftwo struggling men has set his antagonist onthe earth upside down. The poor victim 3tickshi= leg frantically up in the air. and 31. Char-pentier seiz-s the opportunity with rapture.Could anything be more inartistic, more ugly?It seems hardly possible.
*
Certainly no humanbeing of normal ideas— to say nothing of taste
—could care" to contemplate for more than two
minutes this egregious spectacle of muscularhumanity arrested in a painful position. Yet,it may be repeated, this statue is more typicalthan anything else in the whole "exhibit ofmodern French sculpture.
sage from the still air of Greek art— in whichhe learned much— to the exciting scenes of theforest and the menagerie, by working on a smallscale. His little bronzes of tigers devouringtheir quarry, of horses, lions and inth-rs, t.-nsewith surprise or passion, are fascinating, wh-re
both those men had gifts which permitted theone to lie violent, the other to be not only ani-mated, but restless. They had power r.-d theyhad style. Their works can never be mistakenfor the works of other men. The produe' sof both have Ik en freely drawn upon for thecentennial exhibition and their figures, por-trait busts and reliefs bring into the galler-san atmosphere <>f original force. They hadexecutive ability of a high order, but they w ethoughtful artists, too. and each saw his ma-terial from a new angle If Kude profited bya study of Michael Angelo he had too muchindividuality to be a copyist of the master. Inthe presence of his art, or of that of Carpeaux.•me is convinced that at least in the earliernineteenth century French sculpture had vi-
article would be inexact. Plastic art. as it wasunderstood in ancient Greece and in the Italy
of the Renaissance, has almost ceased to exist.A chapter on The World's Sculpture" mighttie made as brief as the famous chapter onsnakes in Iceland. Hut there are isolated casesof genius, there are hundreds of "statuaries," ifthe old word may be used in its baldest sig-
nificance "ine who makes statues" is the terseexplanation of the dictionary
—and, .further-more, if thi mere quantity of images in marble,plastei and bronze at the Exposition is to betaken Into account, the world is full of Bculpt-ure. Such as it is tin- French have made, onthe whole, the best of it. There has alwaysbeen an active plastic Bense in the Frenchgenius, as the beautiful carvings on the early
-GENU GARDANT LE SEl'lL DE LA TOMBE.*(From the statue by St. MarceauxJ
tality and distinction. Whether it had alsoi";tiity is another question. Neither of thesculptors just mentioned seema t>> have caredmuch for sensuous charm. David d'AngeraBough! it, perhaps, but he, too, missed it, prob-ably through the austerity of his ideas. Butthat verj austerity puts David <<n \u25a0 biga level.His busts are fine, but Ins medallion portraitsart finer In fa I David expressed the mostcharacteristii elements of his genius in thesesevere bronzes Hi gave them a noble slm-I'luity. Often one v/i&bea that liit contour
•The prevli.uh artlclea In (his Mrlea will be found In*h.Trtbuna <.f JuU U. 22. 21): Auk'UMt 0. 12.
cathedrals alone would Bhow. Tiny have : id,too, notable sculptors in the fast, like Goujon
and Pilon in the sixteenth century. Coysevoxand the Coustous in th>- seventeenth, andHoudon in the I; ;t. Tin- French decorativesculpture of the eighteenth century was pro-duced by numerous men of talent, who stillexert a trifling, facile) l>ut artistic charm. Thencomes modern sculpture, tin- work of the nine-
"FRAGMENT OF A SION TMES'I T<> THE I»!:.\l>."(Fi \u25a0!\u25a0! Ihi monument I>J Burl h.olomtS I
6
