New-York tribune., 1875-10-16
FINE ARTS.
JEANBAPTisrE CARPEAUX.


The death OF this much talked-of il he can
not be allowed distinguished, sculptor, which was an
nounced by cable to be reckOned an irretrevabe
loss general for French art in particular
Doubtless in quarters il may he looked upon IA
more great calamity for hs nation, like those wbch
ha bere her Of Reguaut of COrot OF Met, oi Barye
even bGt the general voice. which in the end speaks true
and gives the note PANE, will never reckon him
among the splondors Of France He was the product
OF the Second Empire, and lie represented all
that was vulgar meWricious, and loud in the
society created by that vulgar pail Napoleon Ill and hs
Eug,nic
He vss the pupil OF Rude, great sculptor, for
whose Immortal "MlrSciilaise" " the Arc dc TIiomphe
NAV well be proud serve pedestal and all that was
worthy Of admiration in Crpeauxs work was inherited
from his master But no master could save MN rCl nm
self, and Rude who threw not only aboundlnS life ana
energy but heroic grace aud dignity INTO whatever sub
ject c touched could not teach his pupil how to escape
from that yu srty and that were transmitted
from his nature his work II IL not 10 fan into the
cant Of purism to object to the work OF Carpeaux
for it, yulgaTy and These are not quail
ties that critic educated by the nohest
standards possibly deny In him. He had
remarkable yigor OF conception and an r1uilly
remarkable mastery his material and one Judges
his work perhaps more harshy than ii really deserves
because nothing he has produced TO answer to the
power expended in its creation lie was the least poetic
Of all modern scup,ors who have at least had greatness
thrust upon them il they have not Themselves achieved
IT, His art is all sound and fury, but in sober sadness
signifies nothing. He enjoyed the human f"rm but in
his treatment it he lowered it 10 the level OF the
animals He could not perhaps even do 50 much a. that
for the animals are clean and graceful, bu; his women
are OF the earth earthy they daughters Of the clay
ana TO be painfully Wrigsing ont Of the uneeal
Carpealx could not make Fauns and Satyrs-these
harmless people in his hands were Parslans VINO
knew the sluns and liked them. His group, "The
n,.ar. a. anIif
was quite worthy of it is not the Dance" Of the poets,
"Hespcrus and his daughters three
That sing about the golden trte,P
nor tie Nyniphs on Olympus any ideal Dance what
ever IL is not the ballet IN lis poetic Development
in the movements Of an Elscr, Taglioni, ora Certo;
il Is the mad caperng OF tpsy, naked herwomen oyera
lucky haul.
II certainly was not in Paris that people were going
to be shocked with the sight Of naked women In
pictures sculptures, aud it cannot he denied that
people shocked by Carpeauxs work What was the
reasoni Simply because there was enough sense or
what Is the true province Of art which is one with
poetry left in the world 10 see that CarpeMK had Vo-
lated all the conditions by which Art holds her place on
the steps Of Gods throne. Here was neither beauty OF
fo nor grace of motion, expression OF character
nor thoughtnothng but the savage energy of brutal
life. There was not passion; one might
say there was not even lust. 1t too
vulgar for that distinction As everybody knows,
this statue, after IL tad stood or some time in ts dcS-
tined place front of the against one OF the
piers was by whom from what motive could never be
known, dissuled by bottle OF ink which was thrown
at it one night In the morning all Paris was IN an up
roar AlciLiades's dogs tail nothing to it. Even
the violation Of the Hermcs sank into nslgniAaanceif
one could believe the newspapers The incident set
hundred work Pictures o the statue with its
stains produced BY process known TO human
ingenuity. Certain photographers made small fortune
by the monopoly Of the right purchased from CapeauN
10 make pictures Of the statue with the stains Pictures
Of the statue without the stains did not sell at all Casts
of the group in plaster, AT which swarns ot apprentices
were kept busy night ard day sbyng bottles OF uk-ad
they learned hit the marx with amazing deNtorty-
were sold only in the shops but In the street al for
these also Cavpcaux's authorization made profitable
monopoly Unfortunately, If people hiuted that perhaps
the artist himself SHE'D the nkbotte by proxy there WAC
nothing I'm the character OF the 10 make it impos
sibe. The charatansm Of Carpealx's art came from
out his character. He did not love his art
for its sake, nor for what he could
win for the world of Imagination and Poetry and Love
by her aid but onyat least it always seemed so-for
the attention he could draw upon himself
His latest work. the fountain he designed for the Gardens
Of the Luxembonr and only lately MP teies Illus
tratlon OF all bis faults The subject is "Tc Four Quar-
tcs OF the World sustaining the Sphere" Here are the
old Europe Asia, Africa and America, who have been
engaged for so many years showing OF their masquerade
in so mary scenes. Here Imagination and fancy have
utterly deserted tho unhappy sculptor, and let
him TO the poverty Of his studio resources.
We look in vain for nothing to redeem the
commonpIa and wUrnout subject. II seems strange
that France where alone the art Of sculpture has
vyed Europe, should have so long allowed name
Ike that of Carpeaux stand that Of the i
heror and The cOntinuGr of her glory. Yet so II
and CareSux Ia tho Second Empire carried on nearly an
The honors and for long his led all the rest His
best work among his larger pieces is the sOcaled-tor
what matter how an aliegorical ,siOup Is called
France Protecting Agriculture and science" In the
peiimtnt OF the Pavilion dc Flore. Here ts
some grace and beauty well as lie, but
the position OF the group viii prevent II ever being fairly
secn thoroughly enjoy cd Some OF Capenuxs smaller
and brunLes good OF thcr kind but they
have not the stamp of originality or individuality. IL
was cruel whn Of Fate that this man. who made II his
boast he nped the classic aud the received
laws sculpture under his feet, should have produced
no work thai ustfed his rebellion, or made hls protest
seem tbe uttcrncr Of conviction His work IN its total
iiy Is commonplace md ynlgaT aud the fate of the com
mOnpace AID vulgar must enc day surely overtake IT,