The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1875-10-20

1rEvaRb,s GnEzr PICTURE.
A PAINTING ONE THOUSAND FEET LONG AND
FIFTY FEET WIDE, BY PARTISAN MASTERS,
COMING TO AMERICA.

PAINTING ONE THOUSAND FEET LONG AND
FIFTY FEET WIDE, BY PARTISAN MASTERS,
COMING TO AMERICA.
PANS, SEPT. 20, 1875.
recently inspected the " Siege of Paris, .
now painting in the vast building originally
occupied by Les Pompes Fuae6ras, and des-
tanned for exhibition at the American Cen
tennial. The great success of the similar
work exhibited ON the Champs Elysees evil
IDENTIFY fired the American soul with the des
sire of possession for negotiations of all kinds
were opened, not only for the existing pic
ture. but for another of the same subject by
the same artist--M. Philppteaux. The first
was found impracticable with lie Compagnie
General des Panordmas except an enormous
advance upon its cost, for the reason that its
powers of attraction remained as great as
ever, after two years of continuous exhibition.
Notwithstanding the high price charged for
admission, it continues to be one of the most
popular and literally -frequented of all the
sights of Paris.
M. Philippteaux was then appealed to, to
duplicate it, but he could not conceive the
practicability of painting such a picture any
where except in the building wherein it was
to be exhibited. and he positively declined a
journey to America for that purpose.
The enterprise was not abandoned, but
Col. Lienard, the most competent person, per-
haps, in Paris, for the work, was induced to
become its director. Under his intelligent
and skillful management, the picture has
steadily progressed for about year, and is
now nearly completed. The mechanical diff
cuitics of the work have been marvellously
overcome.
The great canvass is stretched fiat upon the
floor of the great buildings. As soon as a
portion of the painting-which is worked up
from miniature sketches in sections-of sufi-
Gent Dimensions is finished, the surface is
covered with paper aud the complete part is
rolled up, thus bringing new and unfinished
section upon the vast easel, and within reach
of the artists brush.
The finished picture will be over fifteen
metres wide and about 800 long-say so by
1000 feet. 1t will be oven finer than its pro-
totype i'll the Champs Elysees, being taken
from a far more advantageous point of view
namely, the position of the Prussian batteries
on the heights of Cbatillon, which overlooked
all Paris and its environs and from which a
superb view of the whole city was obtained.
A peculiar and attractive feature in this ex-
hibitien will be the introduction of superb
life. sized figures, in papier mache, of men and
horses occupying the foreground of earth in
front of the canvass, by means of which the
eye will insensibly be carried from reality to
the painting perfect Illusion. These
figures arc modelled with painstaking accu-
racy and ability, and are even startlingly life
like. Special messengers were despatched to
Metz for the necessary Prussian uniforms,
helmets, weapons, battle paraphernalia, etc.
The artistic portions of the work were con-
fided to corps of illustrious painters, among
whom are some of the leading exhibitors at
the Salon of this year, and notably NJ. Betsel-
lier, whose fine equestrian portrait of Marshal
Mcmahon was SO eagerly admired. Over four
hundred sketches were painted to serve as
models for the work.
The painting--eomple in all it's details
will be ready for shipment by the steamer OF
September 25th--(which, by the way, is the
only vessel of sufficient capacity to store it
safely)-and, l suppose, it will arrive in New
York about the 10th of October. Col. Lie
nard, who expects to accompany the painting,
and produce it under his personal supervision,
informs me that it will first be exhibited in
New York, and finally transferred to Phila-
delphia for the Centennial Lucy HOOPER,
in Appleton's Journal.