The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-03-30

w co ptompS IN payments as those Wuo eeuu
~ ORDERS for goods after carefully considering
the demands of their business. Hence the
drummer system is a cause OF numerous fall
ures.
4. Indeed the entire system tends to false
hood, dishonesty, and bankruptcy"
Art and Artists,
A valuable addition to the history of early
Greek sculpture has been made to the collec-
ton in the British Museum. 1t is a marble
figure about half the size of life. Both arms
and feet are wanting. "The nose," says the
London Academy, sis almost entire and has
the nostrils curiously marked off by deep lines
The eyes slope considerably the ears are placed
high, and the lips are marked with incised
lines as if copied from bronze original in
which the inner parts were made separately
and let 10, leaving sort of seam, a popularity
observed in several archaic male heads in
marble. The hair falls in a thick square mass
on the back of the neck, and shows very little
modelling, but is marked off into tresses by
crossed lines. The chest is broad and strong,
the body narrow and flat and the hips small,
the breadth of the figure increasing at the
thighs to be nearly to that of the shoulders.
The profile of the face is curious for the strong
angle at which the nose projects. The chin is
small and projecting. The lips are small and
me, with the corners turned upward
tHcAo oiC CauaiS Tue Ct1blcal QlllcGaQtS
of the country by whom hitherto any question
by layman of Turner'S Slave Ship would have
been received with derision; be would have
been set down promptly as an ass, if he did not
see or pretend to see, in the chaotic colors of
that performance vast artistic or poetic sig
nifcance-just as one must admire Browning
because he is OBSCURE Baudelaire because he is
indecent Gautier because he is fantastic, Swim
burne because he is all three, and all poets and
painters who bring into art tumult, vagary and
the incomprehensible. 1t is, therefore, delight
full to see the doctors disagree One may now
say what he thinks of The Slave Ship and not
have his head whisked off. He may utter a
doubt as to Corot or Daubigny, or Fortuuy,
and trust to find learned judge to agree with
him. He may have his preferences just as the
critics have-his likings, his tastes, his sympa-
thies either for color over form or form over
color; his inclinations for this or that school
may affect his appreciation and determine his
praise or censure just as unreasonably and as
arbitrarily as they do the praise and the cen.
sure OF the whole army OF those who, carrying
their heads in the air, manifest their mental
limitations under show of critical authority"
-Appleton's Journal.
A correspondent of the London Athenaum
writes, what are we to think of the scores
and scores of so-called artist proofs from the
poor modern plates after Reynolds, the enor-
nous numbers from popular Landseer, or tho
still greater quantity from such picture as
Mr.. Holman Hunts Shadow of Dsath?' This
fact is. nine .tenths, sometimes ninety-nine hun
dredths, are nothing better, really, than prints
on Indian paper without letters. So CONNER
ciap has the trade in art become that even
painters OF high honor and repute will sign any
number of artist proofs getting, 1 presume,
royalty on EACH. All art-lovers know how true
art interests suffer by such practices, and how
ultimately the fashionable printsellers are nat
urally tempted to push what pays rather than
what is good. OF course 1 know that these
so-called proofs are stamped by the Printsellers'
association, and those in the secret of the mys-
tic letters can tell how far on each copy is; but
the buyers, the public, are simply ignorant as.
to whether the copy before them is No. or No.
zoo. A common dodge of the fashionable
printseller is 10 offer premium on so-called
proofs few months after their issue. This on
the stock exchange is called "bulling," be-
lieve. 1t should be clearly defined what is an
artist proof, and each copy of plate should
bear progressive number in plain English.
1t this be done, engravers may yet become
artists again, and take a pride in doing fine
work rather than pretty work"
The New York Tribune of a recent date
says, "The manufacture of cheap paintings
has become an established industry in this city.
Hundreds of daubs are produced here daily,
and sent out over the country to be sold as good
oil paintings. There are two kinds of cheap
paintngs-known among the picture dealers
as "pot-boilers' and buckeyes" Paintings of
the class first mentioned are produced by strug
CLING artists, who prepare them, as they say,
ITO keep the pot boiling" Many of them are
attractive enough in form and color to deceive
some buyers, although they are dashed off in
q few hours. Not few good artists paint "pot
boilers when orders are scarce. Many other
artists paint them regularly, and supply them
to the auction stores. Some of these artists
are said to be in the employment of dealers in
cheap pictures, and to receive stated sums for
their paintings, and without regard to the sub
jects treated. They paint many duplicates of
their pictures, and thus turn out large num-
Der with small variety of subjects. "Buck-
eyes are manufactured by thousands in vari-
GUS shops in this CITY,, They are generally SO
Door in finish and in color that only the poorest
Judges of painting can be deceived by them.
They are rude copies of landscapes and marine
pieces, in which there is little diversity of color.
About nine-tenths of them are copies of land
scapes. The workmen employed to paint these
daubs are either common house painters or per-
sons who have learned to handle the brush
without having acquired any knowledge of art.
They paint entirely by rule, using paints and
canvas prepared by the manufacturers The
about eight cents per square yard. When
workmen paint by the piece the pieces range
from fifty cents to two dollars for each painting.
In some shops girls and boys are employed for
work by means of stencil plates. Poor artists
are employed by the day to touch I'D the pic
lures afterwards. The paintings are covered
with a thin coating of varnish, which hides
some OF their most Rlaring faults. The daubs
are offered for sale in frames covered with an
imported composition known as "Vienna
metal cheap Imitation of gilt. Frames of
this sort are made from good models, and, when
new, closely resemble gilt frames The entire
cost OF pictures and frames is about one-fifth
OF the cost of good frames. They are sold un-
der gaslight in auction stores, where they
appear to great advantage. When hung up in
the trying light of parlor they appear 40 flat
that many of the buyers take them to regular
dealers to be sold at any price they will bring.
The frames crack and tarnish after few
months exposure to the air, and what was
bought for an ornament becomes an eyesore.''
A correspondent of the Athenaum gives the
following account of the richest treasure vet
unearthed at Olympia: 81 may now add some
particulars with regard to the statue of Prax-
iteles. 1t is intact as far as the knees, and
though the arms are missing, the head, which
was never broken off, adheres closely to the
neck, just as the master fashioned it, 1t is
never to be forgotten that here we have an
original work of one of the first of Greek sculp.
tors of the best time, and not copy like those
found In the palaces and villas Of Roman en-
perors and mobiles. The young Mercury stands
before us, his head covered with short curly
hair, his ears small and finely moulded; the
lines and features of his face are loyable in
their beauty; the nose is in profile, a straight,
sharply-cut line, the so.called Greek profile;
the forehead above the eyebrows projects, and
indicates strength of thought, energy and reso-
luton; the upper lip is short, the mouth is
slightly open, the chin recedes. The whole
head is bent downwards; the eyes are directed
with thoughtful and somewhat sentimental
but still charming and friendly glance down to
the infant The manner ia which the head is
placed upon the neck has excited the greatest
admiration and enthusiasm among our sculp-
tors. II may be compared in this point with
the Apollo Sauroctonos in the Vatican. More.
ever, this youthful body, what picture it is of
beauty, health, strength, agility; what elias
ITCHY 10 the limbs; what proportions and
lines! From whatsoever side the figure is
looked at, the winning roundish shape of the
head, the broad stalwart breast, the fine profile