Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-02-16
CRAWFoRD's EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF
WASHINGTON.

WASHINGTON.
The following letter from J. p r. James, ESQ in
reply TO our enquiry, will speak for itself.
We deem it r:'pt- simply to add, that ws learn
from an officer of the United States Navy that he
has often seen the splendid horse from which Craw
f)rd modelled his great creation was one of the
fnest animals in Queen vctoria's Roys Stables, and
Crawford bad photographs taken Of the horse in
every conceivable attitude:
TO Wa. F. RIrcHIE, ESQ.,:
My Dear Sir:-You wish ma to write to you sim
cerely what think of the Equestrian Statue of
Washington Just erected in your Capitol Square.
No great work of nature or Of art can be rightly
judged of without ample opportunity for long and
minute study and examination. On The continent of
Europe we often see specimens of the genus cock.
ney, that most critical of all genera glancine for Ave
minutes at come magnhcent specimen of ancient art,
and going away with IN opinion cut and dried for the
next hand book or r5view; but such opinions nfiu.
ence little public taste, and the final decision is formed
upon the accumulated judgments of those who, be.
sides other qualification for the task have had oppor
tunty and time for full examination. 1t Ia all very we'll
10 throw up the hat and shou OF to turn up the ncss
and sneer, the first view OF any great work; but
that first view offer only one side of the uss
ton, even with those most fitted for critical iudg
ment-the general effect. Beauties and defects in
the details must naturally BIZ left out of such es,i.
mates.
l SAW the statue by Crawford twice. and only
twice. and much, both Of excellence, and of defect,
il there be any, may have been overlooked; bat STILL
as you requesti it, will present to you fully the gen
fess, il that of unmiIed admiration To give il
no other credit beisve no one Can doubt that this
is Of tho most striking statues in the world The
positions Of both horse and man perfectly natural.
The horse full of fire, and of ardour, subdued but
not e1tingushed by the strong hand upon the snale
the man full of calm power, as if he felt that he could
rule the future destinies of bis country with the same
vigor that governed the lightning creature be-
meath him. In the horse there is effort to osey at
once, in full career, the mighty hand that rules him
In the man there is no effort. Itis all power.
Such, | think the general expression OF the group
The particular expression, rather the nterpretstop
to be given to III for statusry is written language
hierogyphic if you please but still needing inter.
preter-hss been read wrong, think, by nIany re-
sons. / heard it stated By gentlemen around, 'ha,
the moment chosen for the depletion OF Washing
ton, was at the battle of Monmouth, at half do
zen other battles. But il seemed to that such gu
idea all mistake. II cannot of course, enter into
the mind of the great artist, now, alas gone, and say
what was in his thoughts; but do not believe Crsw.
ford intended to represent any particular moment
| any particular event in Washington's life. II
was only Washington Washington embslmed in
| memories, such as leave behind all spices of the
Egyptian tomb-the love of his countrymen, the
gratitude of ages, the admiration of a world-Wssh
ngton leading on, not 30 much TO victory and fame
as to duty and liberty.
If We must give q more material view of the con
cepton, it presents the colossal figure Of man oil
| fine and dgniied deporu"n:, and OF form, powerful
yet. graceful, riding splendid charger IN full action
The mans left hand is on the enale bride, which be
has drawn tight enough to suddenly check the horses
course, but not to throw him far back upon h.s
hauuches. Ii is position we have all seen hundred
times in the mango, when young horee ia between
the pillars, and the ground ia lightly struck with the
| craoache behind him. The man ss the beest with
| majestic ease, and, as if something had suddenly
caught his attention in the distance, he s point
| ing forward, and rather upward with hid hand
while his head and face are slightly turned
to the left and might indicate that he was
either calling the object that had jus struck his
eyes 10 the notice Of his companions, was giving
command to be executed at the spot 10 which he
points. Tho figure is erect, the chest thrown for.
ward the knees pressed TO the saddle the heel nearly
beneath the shoC!der aud the cole of the almost
horizontal. The seat is military and not hunting
seat and the whole impresses the mind with the i'd
of perfect ease calmness and command.
The horse is full of restrained eagerness. The bronze
eye to fash fire. aud the nosriis sto snuff the
battle from affair."" The model must have heen most
carefully selected to afford such combustion, oi
blood, bcne and muscle. To have mounted man OF
| Washington's size and weight upon a full blooded
Arab would have been to reduce the warrior to the
mere sporsman or horse jockey and every ,yro knows
tina! for service and for the hunting ieId cross
of other blood is absolutely necessary for the sake of
muscular power probably for the purpose of marking
that ne Yas nodelins ." charger, and no: merely II
fine booded horse, Crawford d,.is..d do
between the root of the ear and the maxisry angle
while he retained most OF .ae other characteristics OF
| the Arab. adding, however, great muscular develop.
ment to give the impression of strength. That mus
cular development is most apparent in the limbs on
which the strain caused by the sudden check, must
have beeE thrown; and probably there is not finer
illustration of equine anatomy in the world than in
the near (ef) hindleg and Group of the charger The
IS
hut, if this be little too much for charger, some
thing must be allowed for the beau ideal. do not
suppose that Crawford strove 10 represent the horse
that Washington actually rode, but horee, in blood
and spirit, fit for such man.
The ancients delighted ip representing action both
in marble and bronzei but most of the fDest sps.
cmeGs of equestrian s'atuary, at the high period
of Athenian art except those from the reze OF the
Parthenon, are gone. The famous bronzes, once
on the uippndroms a. Constantinople, were melt
ed by the Latin invaders Of the lower empire,
to make into serviceabe pennies. We have
thus lost the means of comparing Mr.. Crawford =
statue with tie hnest specimens Of the horse in action,
which Greece could imagine or portrayi but am
inclined to believe that the horse under Washington,
ON the Capitol Square, would not suffer Huch by the
comparison, ct Id il be made. This may provoke q
smile in those who think that moderns eau, in de
gree, rival the ancients, but would only suggest
that before they SMILE they will compare the charger
we speak Of with most OF those represented on the
Elgin Marbles. They will find there beyond doubt,
extraordinary beauties of conception and design; but
they will fnd also a great number Of cobb shaped
yewnecked beasts, very different in every form from
what We expect in q fine horse.
Since the revival OF the arts, till after the com.
mencement of this century, We have had very few
equestrian groups. which show the horse really n
tion. In Venice Paris, London, Berlin, Lisbon and
elsewhere, there are several fine statues, on horse.
back, by Donateo, Baroccbio, Schutcr jacob, &C.,
but in almost ALL the horse is at most, paving the
ground or slowly advancing. There is one fine group
with more action, If recoect right, in Paris, and one
splendid bronze horse sculptured, by Bailey think
in London, some 20 or rs years ago. The auitna ia full
of fire and le but, unfortunately, he has got George
III with long, straight, scking-out pig tail on his
back and there was little to be done with him in the
way Of beau ideal. The statue Of Frederick in Ber.
lin, and The famous equestrian figure in Lisbon ss
we'll as the fine, but rude end hard, figure Of Peter
the Great, have all, as far can recollect-I will
not call them defects, but wsnls-which do not exist
in this statue.
On the whole, may sincerely congratulate you on
having in Virginia. not only the finest work of art in
the United States, but one as 6re as any in the
world-one worthy to commemorate man whose
mind WAS capable Of comprehending, that duty is