New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1858-02-17
Napoleon's Head.

A few hours after his DEATH a cast of Napoleon's
face and the anterior half of the skull was taken by
Dr. Antomarchi 1t is not often that the actual skull
Of great man is thus offered to our inspection.
Busts and portraits are utterly Enthusiastically. We
know few more instructive lessons, in this respect,
afforded by the jnxtapositon of the actual skull
with the bust or portrait which friends you
IS E" exactly like" We were one day examining the
bust OF Schiller, by Danneker, in company with a
person who knew Schiller well and on our remarking
that the sculptor had given the poets head very
different shape from what we remembered having
noticed in the skull we were assured that, on the
contrary, the sculptor had given the most truthful re-
presentation of the head as every one would certify
Is there not a cast Of Schillers skull IN the Ii
bTaryl' we inquired. &" Let us bring 1t here, and
compare it with the bust" On making the com
paTson we were both amused to see how utterly the
sculptor had alsifed nature there was scarcely one
characteristic point reproduced. Instead OF the
narrow and soping forehead, the sculptor had made
it broad and square instead OF the very large ami
NAL and emotional regions, he had moulded mOder-
ate and graceful contour And so, we may be pretty
sure all artists deaze nature. The real skull there
fore or a cast is of some value to the phrenoogist
no bust or portrait can be accepted as evidence
In NapoeOns cast il is greatly to be regretted that
we have only half the skull. That half comprises
indeed the greater number of the chronological or
gans and all those of the higher faculties but it is
a pity that we have no trace of the others. What
exists, however is remarkably unavorable to phreno
logical OSCILLATIONS. We learn from M. Pesse that
ulsdNONtu Iucllly OF the cast,
taken as it was by one not expert in the art Faith
fn or not faithful it is the only authentic cast which
exists and even its errors, supposng there are er
rors, cannot much affect the general masses and
Characteristic Details The first remark made by NJ
Pesse is, that all the portraits of Napoleon are I'M
taithial those made of him on his return from
Egypt most resemble the cast for although bis fame
was then splendid the artists had not begun to ideal
ze him as they subsequently did. But what says the
cast The head is decidedly a small one. Canova's
bust, that also by Chaudet, and the heads all
COINS, have so exaggerated the dimensions of Napo-
Icons skull, and principally those of the frontal re-
gion, that compared with the ideal head, this real
cast appears miseraby small. It is, however, ex-
tremely well proportional. Its circumference being
20 inches 10 lines, (French measurement its dimen
sion is by no means remarkable = out of every ten
skulls, the half of them would present circumer-
ence OF 20 to q inches So that regards size the
skull of Napoleon was not more remarkable than
that Of his chamberlans.
l am aware, adds NJ. Peisse, that the measure of
the horizontal circumference does not suffice to deter
mine the absolute capacity Of the SKULL and that we
must also estimate its diverse dameters. / have
taken these, and they furnish but insignificant re.
suits. He gives the measures, and concludes that,
although well proportional the skull is not remarka
BILE IN any respect OF size. Not that NJ Peisse laws
much stress on this matter of size he is aware that
phrenologsts themselves lay more stress on the de-.
yelopment OF particular proportions than that of
the general mass but, inasmuch they point with
triumph to those cases in which large skull CORE
spends with great intelligence it is but right that
the contrary cases should be noted also and great in
telligence with small skulls have their pace-as in
the cases OF Descartes, Voltaire, Raphael and Ma
poleon.
NJ Peisse has exclaimed how he arrived at this precise
Measurement IN the absence of the back part of the skull
from the specific size presume he had positive