The Sun.
London, England, 1855-09-20 00:00:00

EAST INDIA HOUSE.

The statue of the late Duke of Wellington, executed
in white marble, by Mr. Matthew Noble, occupies its
final resting-place among those of several other heroes
and statesmen which decurate the old hall of this build-
ing. To ray merely that this statue bears comparison
with the other works of art by which it is surrounded
would be to underrate it greatly, because they are spe-
cimens of a style of sculpture deservedly past; and as
we now aim at better things, it would be more just to
assert that this whole-length portrait of the great cap-
tain deserves to hold a prominent position among the
best of those things, as a worthy representative of the
progress to which modern sculptural art has attained at
the present day. The attitude is easy and graceful, the
right hand holds a telescope, and behind,.at the feet,
part of a cannon is seen, which serve to indicate the
military attributes of a soldier and a commander ; and
the position of the head is so expressive of thought as
to illustrate the administrative capacity for which the
Great Duke was so remarkable. The tranquillity of the
features is equally appropriate, and assist in supporting
the latter intention. They are characteristic of the
famous original, and although they are chiselled in a
bold and an expressive manner, they are not so over-
wrought as to disturb the harmony of the general ef-
fect, but are nicely composed to convey the idea of re-
flective occupation, and suggestive in themselves of natu-
ral and life-like motion. The erection of this statue was
decided by a vote which was passed at a general court of
the East India proprietors, as a mark of respect towards
the illustrious deceased, as a testimony of their estima-
tion of the services rendered by him in the East, and
as a record of their veneration for his memory. Mr.
Matthew Noble was the sculptor chosen by the East
India proprietors to carry their wishes into execution.
This artist being aware, no doubt, that it would be
im-
proper, if not impossible, to convey an idea of the mar-
tial deeds of the hero separately from his devotion to his
legislative labours, has very consistently given his statue
the emblems of war, thrown a cast of tranquil mediation
over the whole, by the inclination of the head and the
calmness expressed in the countenance. This treatment
is the more appropriate, a 3 the noble duke did not pass
the later years of his valuable life on the field of battle,
but bestowed his best energies with equal advantage
upon his country, and the benefit of his experience ou
the councils of his Sovereign. The artist has, therefore,
displayed refined taste as regards the conception of his
subject, and at the same time exercised a sound discre-
tion with respect to the proper employment of the ma-
terial in which he works. He has been quite as success-
ful in the management of the modern dress, which al-
ways presents so great an obstacle to the desire to
render it subservient to the demands of picturesque
arrangement, but Mr. Matthew Noble very skilfully,
while meeting the requirements of art, without becoming
eccentric, has described it by lines both flowing and
graceful, so as to remind the connoisseur of the purity of
feeling peculiar to the Greeks, and has also carried the
imitations of the reality just far enough to satisfy the
expectations of the ordinary observer.—Morning Post.