Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-01-10
B
A CrIticisRa Of his WOrks-ERs-
&c and "WasseEgIas."

A CrIticiam of his WOrks-Ers-
&c and "Easse-RIas."
Wilhelm von Kaulbach, in his youth
. scholar Of Cornelius in the school Of
Dusseldorf, has now at the mature age
of sixty-three, won the very highest
position among living painters. The
artists studio IS at this moment once
more in the academy Of Munich, but
his greatest achievements are IN Berlin.
The new Museum in that city contains
a vast "Treppsnhaus." On this stair
case Ksulbach, In imitation Of Rafaelle
in the Stance Of the Vatican. has devel-
oped a grand pictorial scheme which in
Its ambitious range, claims 10 illustrate
the history Of the world and to show
forth the destiny Of the human race.
T~wenty-four engrayings Of these large
and complex compositions are now be-
fore rs. The pictures themselves, which
We have known while IN execution. we
have recently examined carefully in
their finally complete condition. The
whole work has been elaborated slowly
and studiOusly, through the best years
of the painters life thus, as far back as
the Paris Exposition Uniyersalle de
1853, We found nine cartoons for these
wall paintings, while in the last great
French exhibition the cartoons for
the Era Of the Reformation gained
for Bavaria its one grand prix."
II Is impossible, within the compess
At our command, to do Justice
10 these grand compositions exc
euted in water glass. We NAV, however.
say that the painters object has BEEN
IN series Of six compositions, each
some thirty feet long. and comprising
over one hundred figures shove life size
to seize upon salient turning points.
and 10 elucidats certain ep0chs in the
worlds progressive civilization. The
epOehs chosen are the Tower Of Babel.
the Era Of the Greeks, the "Destruc-
ton Of Jerusalem, the Battle Of the
Huns the Crusade and the Era Of
the Reformation.
We wish it we're possible to give here
an adequate idea Of those imposing
mural decorations, the GROWING pro
duct Of the modern German school. We
have already spoken Of the general idea
or conception, and we have incidentally
indicated the art character of the work
and the position which that work has
made for the painter himself. A few
words may be fifty added on these latter
points. We would say, then, that Kaul-
bach, in historic STYLES. stands Oh
frontier lines between classic territories.
Rensissant epochs and modern times.
Thus the offspring Of the painters mag
nation is hybrid. 4 Venus from his
pencil is a fashionable coquette Publ
ciZis a courtezsn his cherubs are
Cupids, his Christs Apollos, his MadoD-
mas JuDos. his Jehovahs Jupiters.
Hence it will be easily understood that
the great German has slight claims to
the title Of a religious artist; and here /
IN he differs from the great Italian '
painter to whom otherwise he is akin I
for be it remembered that RafTaelle, even q
the year when Ruskin tells Of his
apostacy, painted the divine San Sisto. $
Kaulbach's genius, indeed, is sometimes (
the converse Of serious and sedate a
into the midst Of historic scenes the i
most solemn, the painter is accustomed @
TO thrust q humor essentially German a
and absolutely grotesque. So indomi-
table indeed Is the comic sense within Z
bis mind, that the broad farce Of Rein q
exc Fuchs, which some hold to be the q
master product, he would not .
TO place on Olympus or the r
Mount Of TRANSPORTATION. 1t must be b
confessed that the ancient Greeks aud a
the middle-age Italians did not permit 2
themselves such license. But c~osmepol- {
itan keulbach ssDires to some ching b
more universal than Michael Angelo or (
Da Nlnei his art Is at once Cisalpine L
and Transalpine, it ia ut home with
DureT and Martin SehoB. il a
migrates to distant lands, it passes our d
Channel In kindred with G
Hogarth and Leeeh, in fellowship with Il
Chaucer and Shakespeare. Yet it IS 60 7
70 add that kaulbaeh. in tbas 3
distending himself to uniyersalitv. and ;,
TO be the equal Of the greatest Y
of men collectively, incurs the danger Of 0
becoming less than the least individually.
Such, in fact, has always been the f
paid by electicism c
The T~reppenhaus in the New Museum Y
aims, in common with the most pretep- Il
tious Of German rivals, to gain united 81
force through the combined master arts d
Of architecture, sculpture, and painting. D
The structure is designed expressly to Il
the decorations, and consequently 81
ornament holds its due place in the con il
whole, and performs Just its ap- b
functions and no more. The h
architecture is perhaps rather more mon a
yrel than We could desire it Is Of the e,
and illicit school ef Sehiakle. A
xbo. ike Klenzie, Of Munich, has done q,
nueh both to make and to MAJ the CITY
.urrendered to his genius. The polyeh- O,
applied to this architeetonic stair 81
,ase is not. ike that in Munich, Byzan- Il
inc or medieval, but Is rather allied TO "
.lassic and Pompeian styles. Indeed the v
jingle and subsidiary figures which Ii
Ka1lbach has made to float on a field Of "
chocolate are directly PomPeian In color j