Daily national Republican. (Washington City [D.C.]) 1870-1872, 1870-05-07

qualities not fouud IN tins one. Such pie
lures tend 20 codfuse and mislead the In
quirer afier truth, do little credit 10 the art,
and are yalueleas a. educators. Il might,
Indeed, be we'll 10 Inquire whether the APP
pearance Of tho rotunda would not DO i'm
proved by the removal OF such pictures and
the Substitution Of something better Ia art.
THu "nArTLE OF CHKfuLrEPEc."
| Thla picture nils one OF the large spaces
lfronnng The atalrs leading 10 the Senate gal
iery,and IL BY an artist By the name Of Wal.
kcr, who accompanied our army to Mexico,
and on his return painted number OF
sketches OF the scenes Il participated In.
/ These scenes were spirited and fall Of prom
lse. Mr.. Walker had genuine love for his
art, and worked hard 10 the pursuit. Of IL.
But bis ability did not rise equal 10 tho pro-
ductlon Of. large picture suitable for the
Capitol. Tho "Battlo Of Ohepultepec" ls
| generally set down a. 4 failure. Nor Il Il
large enough 10 nll the place Il holds prop
efly, II would, perhaps, appear to much
better advantage II placed 10 some less con-
spicuous part Of the building. This picture
was painted BY order Of the Committee on
Military Aasirs, In 1900, and cost the Gov
, wLsHISGToN" AND "LAFAYErTR."
The full length portraits ln the new House
Of Representatives, on the right and len OF
the Speakers desk, are works OF consldera-
bio merit, especially that Of Lafayette. Con-
siderable controversy has taken place as to
who painted tho Washington" and not
few persons have credited Il to Stuart. No
name appears on l.. II has none OF sluart's
color, however, and close examination will
convince any one familiar with the subject
that the flesh tlnts are not such as that
artlst was famous for. Mr.. CLARK, the pres
| emit architect Of the Capitol, aays Il Is by
Sully, OF Philadelphia, and that ho has the
authority OF Mr.. Peter RlchiuEs for his as.
seftlon, that gentleman Informing him that
ho stood for the figure. This IL uudoubted-
/ Iy correct, but the statement will seem
strange, considering how much has been
written 10 prove 10 the work OF some other
artist. That OF Lafayette was by the cele-
| brated French artist, AIRY Shelter, q personal
| friend OF lAiayette, aud was present from
the artist TO our Government. What the
| portrait Of Washington cost the Government
We have not been able to learn, nor can We
| get the desired Information from any one Of
the departments. I-0-0- = I--I-. ,.
There Il on one Of the panels OF the hall
a slngulariy bad picture, in d'stemper,
representing Washington receiving a mum,
her OF commlssiouers, Tho ngures arc
All out OF drawing, especially that OF
Washington, who is made 10 appear
as a gentleman OF extraordinary propor.
lions, The whole picture IA ast. had in
/ CnlOF. CnllTnlV dNVOl0 nf nFtlntlr mnFils In 4
| word one Of the mnet crude exaRperatIons.
No American nrtist would have dared 10
stake hIa reputatlon on aueh a picture, and
We arc relieved In saVInE II was painted by
/ Mr. RrnmIlI an Italian sytIst and N n ma
War Department Is reeponsIble for il. The
artlst was plid for executing tbis plcture AT
Inc rate or $40 a day, but exactly now
MANY davs he was empioyed on n W. have
not been able 10 nscertaln. General Meigs
/
what was expected. but that the artlst was
| Halted "a ~ tIme ana ana "a we'll as he
no,IJ nrdor ~. sirc,,n ncs. Trhis aDoI,
oSy IA esStaIniy the yeTT heal Thai eopId he
800. - n, o.,,ao ~, nch ,in, Sou ~
S nSea IN ,S SacGsS t1T snSu Pe'prS
tnres ana Seis What Ia Sntlreiv dsvoid of
artistic merits Inc damaging Effects 10 Inc
in,aroS, ~ e., Canned , III To- hi,hiS esiI.
,.stnd W N''' - -
n was tntenAea that these paneIs shouid
ba re.ervsS foS naintings tbat Wonid 40
credit 10 the Capitol, and :hnt American
artlsts shonld al least have an oppoTtnnIly
Of competIn0 equally for n plaee 10 dIsplay
thsIr tsIents A SreIgn aItist. hoWeyer
was empIoyed 10 set me example. and the
rrsnit /. an Seknowledged failupe. The
nirtnrs erecnted nv Mr., RrumIdI for mia
nanel IL almost entirely devoid of merit.
and Indeed haS nothing 10 dIstinguIah il
| from an ordinary III OF diStemper Painting.
This was yeTy Unfortunate, since II 90 dls.
couraged the friends Of art in Congress- "a
10 makn them indliferent when tho question
of extending ~ announcement 10 art was
called M. such a picture. indeed, IL little
less than standing Impeachment 70 the in
terests OF art al the Capitol. Members may
Justly say IL were batter 10 let the papels re-
main as they are than 10 run the expensive
rIsk Of 0etting another perhaps Equally bad !,
and which would dIsfcure rather than i'm.
prove the appearance or the hall, And vet,
singular as II may seem, this very same
artist was employed 10 paint tho great pic
ture which now dls1gures the dome Of the
Capitol.
With the extension Of the Capitol a now
era Ia the art began. Decoration took the
widest and most fanciful range; money was
spent in useless frescoes, and apparently
with the object ofseelng how little that was
useful could be done for the largest amount
OF money. In short, the building was almost
entirely given over 10 foreign artists, not
wlthstandlug their previous failures and the
evident fact that they were Incapable OF
graSplnR the spirit OF our institutIons. Those
Ia power seemed almost 10 forget that there
were American artists who had gained some
reputation for their works at home as well
as abroad, and whose services might have
been probably called In to decorate the
Capitol Of the nation. Motives Of patriot
ism, ii nothing else, one would have thought,
should have prompted such a course; nor
I must II DO forgotten in this particular that
In what few works Of art had been executed
, for the Capitol, American artists had GER
, tAlnly been more successful than foreigners,
and, indeed, had given us works more 10
, accordance with correct taste. "....
Il was not, however, whether foreign OF
American artists were employed 10 do the
work as tho system OF extrayagant and
alvr,ost useless decoration that We object to
) | Fresco and dlstemper palntlng, tho mos
D elaborate and costly, In bright colors ant
, designs better suited 70 the barbarlc taste Of
| a past age, were resorted 20. That a NOR,
: subdued, leaa expensive and more impress.
Z alive style Of decoration wonld have suited
] our taste better, and have been more expires.
slye Of our national character, never seems
] to have entered tho mind OF those In charge
| Of the work. Il Is dlfiicult to make foreign.
| ers, and especially foreign artists, under
J stand that our taste for the snowy and nm
/. 49,. ~ kaa n vary ,tnaa ras hia ~