The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1853-06-25
From the Buffalo (N. - Express, June ID
Mtlls's Equestrian Statue OF JaeGsor

MINIS equestrian statue OF Jackson
In the June number Of Harper's Magssine theirs
occurs communication from Mail Cop,ractor -
criticisng, among other matters seen bv the wr;
ter at the Federal city, this work of art The
correspondent, a gentleman of playful mind 6nd
facc'ou- enough on subjects which be cornnre
nehds, hae fallen however, upon one which -.
.ure or education has not fitted him to Thoroughly
| understand at present, and he should therefore
have confined hiGsef TO detailing the sutficentIy
well-told incidents connected with the rush for
Office which enlivened the few weeks of mis- sta
| in Washington.
We do not intend entering into a description q,
defence Miiiss Statue; the former has been done
| for Us a hundred tiuIes, and the latter il NOT
needed, cave SO far as The correction Of errors ia
always desirable. But our writer has evinced go
much ignorance OF the subject, and has done 40
much injustice to the artist, that we cannot hest
tate TO lay before readers some statements that
may exhibit at once the carelessness of the CORE
spondent and the nsufhciency of the charges
brought by him
In the fret place, he finds fault with the cola, of
the bronze, and patronizngly speaks of the work
as being ''highy creditable fret specimen of
heavy brenze casting in this coUntry.'' Does ga
Contractor know that all bronze statues or bronze
work, is Of this color when cast, and that the two
efvases purchased in Paris by the late lamented
Downing" must have been of the same before
they were arhfcially oxidizsd? The process some
well known to workers in the metals, and is very
simple. II was Miils's intention thus to treat the
jackson, but want Of time prevented bis doing
this, or even permanently securing the feet 10 the
pedestal, the latter itselfincomplete al the uau.
guration. The static actually stood. when first
exposed TO the view of the thousands that day as
sembled. by its self balancing power no STAY or
support having been given to the feet and yet the
united force OF several men insufficient 70
sway or stir 1t from It's centre of gravity
AS for the coloring, that can be done at any mo-
ment, or the elements may be left TO perform
the work, as they have already done for the pen-
sive Jefferson over the way, as they do constantly
Tor neglected bronze guns, and sometimes, as ga
Contractor" may have noticed, for the conner
buckles upon harness or the handles of post-cosch
doors where the silver plating Is worn off But
lest 1t should be deemed important that the color
should be changed to the orthodox green, at once
we advise the Com missioner of Public BuiIdinps
to investa few shilin &c in sal amnoniac and pro-
cure few buckets Of sea -weter, which together
with a whitewash brush, will be all the capital
necessary to the undertaking of turning the old
hero rusty.
But the statue is balanced upon its hinder feet.
the forward ones being projected in the attitude of
paving the air, while the rider calmly extends his
hand, holding the chapeau, in saIutation to the
troops he is supposed to be reviewing Our aCon-
tractor thinks the placing the horse in this posi-
tlon ian American, palpable and unfortunate
evidence of the way in which we graft our every
day mechanism even upon the highest order of
art,' and exclaims, GA horse upon two Iegsp'
with much the same horror that might paraIvze
my Lord Verlaopht on seeing s staiwart Yankee
eat corn from the ear
Yes dear sContractor,' with all due Difference
TO your "four-horse post coach'' service and the
experience you may have had in s.stock" bronze
horses do sometimes stand upon their binder feet
however lnconvenient continuance Of that atti.
tude might be found in your business Ever since
the art OF casting in bronze became such artists
have strlven TO overcome the difficulties In the wav
OF balancing equestrian statues in such wov "a
that the spirit and fire of the animal might act at
once as foil and an accessory 10 the calmuess
and self possession of the rider. The first approach
de nv EaIc III
ter the Great, at ST. Petersburgh wherein the
horse stands upon his hinder feet but is partially
supported by a serpent, writing beneath the
'oh hind" one, (that comes home 10 vour business
and bosom, Mr. ''Contractor,'D and, with it's BODY
carried little way up the leg of the horse then
back to meet the tip of the tail, which is at
tached to the serpent This wac great triunpb
for Falconet, and the world of at ranp with
the plaudits that be received. the echoes Of
winch died away, probably, before thew reached
the sphere where ''daily mais'' and 6sschedue
time form the chief topics of conversation From
the dateof the erection of the statue in 1882 we
believe, down TO the year 1851, no attempt had
been made TO equal Falconet's mastery perform
ance; but IN that year, or the succeeding one am
equestrian statue OF the Duke of Wellington was
erected in Edinburgh, where the horse rearing ia
supported by the two feet and the tin of his tail
liked to the pedestal, in position which no living
horse with ordinary muscles could assume; so
that before Mills, Faconet still stood as the most
successful artist in the line that had excited the
ambition of hundreds before him But the Emo
sh papers have teened with praises of the Edin-
burgh artist, who though he had violated the
rules of anatomy, had still produced result
nearer that so long desired and never attained,
Now we have Mills's statue, balanced exactly and
GA Contractor" cornmiserates the faulty that has
led an American to rival and surpass the artists
of Europe in a particular that hundreds of wears
have not sufticed them to attain.
This is an 'Amercanism. and we rather like II
Would to Heaven we had more such and less
Washlngtons IN togas, Columbuaes rolling ten
pins and Indian women ia ptris, whom any Seneca
squaw would blush TO hear termed aboriginal.
Had we our way, would deferentially remove
all such mistakes to that gogotha where members
OF Congress are buried with pomp and comment
GRATED by contract, and would replace them
wanting something better, with the fearful Aztez
images that render hldeous the corridors of the
Smithsonian Institute.
But there stands the Jackson challenging the
criticism OF the world Its history is that of most
great works in this country. Trace almost any of
them back to lie origin and you shall find, at the
beginning, poor boy, struggling, barefooted and
ragged-hungry, oitener than not-against the
opposition of the world, but ever with steady
eye upon some object, far away to him, further
yet TO those whose vision has no ambitious stretch
Against poverty and want of means to reach that
end; against the adverse bUffetings of scorn. and
ridIcule, and reproach; against misfortune in its
direet forms, and disappointment tending almost
to despair, he piunges on and faters not till his
labor Is complete. So has it been with Clark
Mills, the plasterer's boy, and 50 may ii be ever
with all such Americans snd "Americanisme.n
@. w. ii.