Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1821-06-19

Mr.. Bowles bave made him kick them with his foot,
or smack them with his hand, being more unso-
phisticatcd
In Grays ElcS, is there an image more striking
than his g shapeess sculpture ?" OF sculpture in
general IT may be observed. that il is more poeti-
cal than nature itself, nasmuch represents and
bodies forth that ideal beauty and sublimitv which
is never TO be found in actual nature This at
least IS the general opinion. But, always excepting
the Venus d Mcdcis, differ from that opinion nj
least as lar as regards female beauty r,r the head
OF Lady Ch;,rlcmont (whcn first saw her nine
years ngo,) seemed TO possess all that sculpture
could require for its ideal rccocct seeing some
thing of the same kind in the head OF an Albanian
girl, who was actually employed in mending "a road
in the mountains, aud in some Greek and one or
two Italian faces. But of Subiimi,u | have never
seen any thing in human nature at all TO approach
the expression of sculpture, either in the Apollo,
the Moses, or other OF the sterner works OF ancient
or modern art
Let us examine little further this "babbie of
green fields and Of bare nature in general as supe-
nor to artificial imagery, for the poetica purposes
of the fine arts In landscape painting, the urea,
artist does not give you literal copy of country,
but he nrents and composes one. Nature, i'm her
actual aspect, does not furnish him with such cx-
isung scenes as he requires. Even where he pre-
sents YOU with some famous city, or celebrated
scene from mountains or other nature, il must be
taken from some particular point of view, and with
such light and shade, and Distance &c, us serve not
only to hcishten its beauties, but shadow its de-
iormtcs. The poetry of Nature alone, eryrctiu as
she appears. is not sufficient to bear him out. The
very sky OF his painting is not the portra Of the
sky OF Nature it is composition Indifferent skies,
observed at different times, and the whole co..
pied from any particular day. And why ? Because
Nature is not lavish other beauties they are wide
" scattered, and occasionally displayed, 10 be Sc
lecied with care, and gathered with difficulty
Ofsculpture have just spoken. Ii is the great
scope OF the sculptor to heighen Nature into hero
&c beauty c. in plain English, to surpass his model
When Canova forms statue, he takes mb from
one, hand, from another, feature from third,
and share, it may be, from fourth, probably at
the same time improving upon ALL as the Greeks of
old did III cmbodying his Venus.
Ask portrait painter To describe his agonies in
accommodating the faces with which Nature and
his stcrs have crowded his painting room TO the
principles of his art with exception of perhaps ten
iaces in ms many millions, there not one which he
can venture TO give without shading much and adj
ding more. Nature, exactly, simply, barely Ma
ture, will make great artist of any Kind and least
OF all poet-the most artificial, perhaps, of all ar
fists in his very essence Viii, regard 10 natural
imagery the poets obliged To take some of their
best illustrations from art. You say that " foun-
tain IS rs clear or clearer than glass" to express
its beauty
oh fons Brandusie, splendidior, vitro -
In The speech of Mark Antony, the body OF Cesar
| is displayed, but 50 also is his r.,niie:
" You all do know this mantle"&c,