The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-11-12
Art, Music and The Drama,


Anne Whitney, Thomas Ball and Martin Mil
more. Whether the committee win make a
selection from these three models or decide 10
contract with some one else will be decided
hereafter
Miss Thompson, painter of the now famous
picture 'The Roll Call, owned By Queen VIC
toria, is engaged upon large work represent
ing the cavalry charge at Balaklaya. The pet.
ure is entitled Ths Valley of Death
Mr. Milais, the celebrated English artist.
passed the summer in Wales and in the old
Birnam district in Scotland, and he was so i'm.
pressed with the scenery which came under his
observation that be is painting landscapes for
the coming Royal Academy exhibition.
One of the first daguGreotypes taken by the
inventor himself, on the ID of October, 1883,
and representing view of the Pavilion de
Fiore at the Tuileries, and part of the gallery
facing the river from the Quai Voltaire, has
just been presented to the Conservatoire des
Arts ct Meters.
The belief that there is large amount of
talent for dramatic writing, which only fails TO
make itself known TO the world from the obsti.
macy or dullness of managers, seems to be as
vigorous in France. remarks the Academy, as
in other countries; but, fortunately fer the un.
acted authors, an experiment is shortly 10 be
made in Paris with view to bringing to the
test this popular notion. During the approach
ing Winter it is intended to give at the vaude.
vile Theatre weekly representations of Plays
by unknown writer's which have hitherto been
in manuscript.
Kate Field writes that there is not much
popular enthusiasm in England over the Byron
memorial, only $4,000 having been raised,
thus far. There is considerable opposition to
the city of London granting aid toward the
monument, and the question has even been
raised whether Byron deserves a memorial, by
Cambridge high wrangler. who has attacked
the literary merit of the poets works.
1t is reported that Ofenbach, the composer
is to visit the United States next year. He Is
said to be delicate, pensive, reiEed-lookipg
gentleman, with decidedly Jewish physiog.
nomy, long, carefully cultivated -whiskers
and general air of melancholy and ill-healtb'
His retirement from the management of the
Gazette Theatre was due to the successive fail
ures of "La Haine" and "Genevieve de Bra
bant," which cost him together over 100000.
This was too much even fer his ardent nature
and long purse
A Spanish correspondent of the Pail Mall
Gazette writes. Before quitting San Lucar
we had an opportunity OF witnessing gypsy
concert. The performers were three men and
woman. the latter in light muslin gown.
The audience, with occasional exceptions, be-
lopged to the gypsy race. The singing of the
men was highly characteristic, and very much
after the Arab style. A few words in half
Spanish, half Gitano dialect sung in high.
pitched and somewhat melancholy key. were
succeeded by pause, filled up By some weird
notes of the guitar, the audience keeping time
by loudly clapping their hands, and indulging
in frenzied acclamations of delight whenever
any fayOrite passage caught the car. The
singing was varied from time TO time by the
women dancing ore Of those slow, languid,
semi-voluptuous movements common in the
East, with the guitar accompanying each sue
cessive motion of her flexible Frame"
Heredity shows itself more markedly in the
arts than in the sciences. Taking music we
find some remarkable instances. The Bach
family, which took its rise in 1850 and became
extinct in 1900, presents an unbroken series of
musicians for nearly two centuries of that
interval. The head of the family was veit
wero the first of the family who were musicians
by profession The descendants literally "over-
ran Thuringia, Saxony ard Franconia," says
Papillon. "They were all organsts, church
singers, or what is called in Germany city
musicians When they became too numerous
to live all together, and the members of this
family were scattered abroad, they resolved to
meet once year, on a stated day, with view
to keep up sort of patriarchal bond of union.
This custom was kept up until nearly the
middle of the eighteenth century, and often
times more than one hundred persons bearing
the name Of Bach-men, women and children
were TO be seen assembled. In the family
! are reckoned twenty-nine eminent musicians,
and twenty eight OF the lower grade" Ros-
sinis family played music at fairs; Beetho-
vens father and grandfather were musicians;
Mozart's father, was second capelmeister TO the
prince bishop of Salzburg. In Titian's family
we find the names of nine painters. The
Caracas, Teniers, VandeIveldes, Van Ostades,
Hondekoeters, and others, viii occur at once.
Thorvaldsen visited Lucerne for the purpose
of inspecting fitting site for the famous mon
ument to the Swiss Guards who fell at Paris on
the 10th of August, 1892 Thoryaldsen had ac-
the lion which lies mortally wounded, with his
head ard one paw resting on the shield Of
France. 1t is said that the sculptor had never
seen living lion-a story that has too much
the appearance of the marvellous TO be readi-
ly credited. He had, at all events, already
| modelled or e both in the Triumph of Alex.
ander" and in the bas relief of "Cupid and the
Lion" and 10 neither is any deficiency appar-
ent in the conception of the Ling Of beasts.
| The Intention was to have executed the monu-
| ment in bronze and placed it in some promi-
nent part of the picturesque city OF Lucerne;
| but his presence there altered his views He
| saw at glance the capabilities of the peculiar
| rock in the vicinity, in which the lion, solidly
hewn in an excavated niche. has far finer ef-
| feet than any separate structure OF marble or
| bronze could have produced -Edinburgh Re-
| rie,c
Through his impatience and enthusiasm,
| Michael Angelo ruined block after block of
marble by working with too great vehemence
near the surface. He had wonderful faculty
as mere workman in marble, but his genius
and impetuosity of temperament would not
brook the oppo stion of so stubborn material,
| and untitled him for those first processes Of
roughing out into shape the block, which re-
| quires patience and precision. Too eager to ar
IiNo nv poiuG WHeIo genius WOulQ
| find play, he assailed the marble with such vic.
lence that he often struck off pieces which
trenched into the just limits of the surface; and
as they could not be replaced, he was forced to
| finish as he could-not as he would. Had he
| confined himself more to celebrating bis work
| in clay, and then intrusted the blocking out in
marble to mechanical workman, we should
have had not only much larger number OF
grand works by him, but they would have been
freer of great defects. For instance. the back
Of the head of Moses has been chiselled away
until it is an impossible head. Again, the Da-s
vd is sacrificed TO the exigencies of the marble.
And the head OF his famous Day was probably
left unfinished because he perceived that it was
turned beyord the limit permitted to nature
without breaking the neck.-Blackuoods Maq.
dzine
The GROWTH OF AMERICAN CHEEsE PRo-
DUcrIoN.-A writer in Harper's Magazine gives
some very interesting and curious facts In rela-
ton 10 the astonishing growth of American
cheese nroductinn Tn 1870 the AGGREGATE value