The Portland daily press., 1878-05-08
Art and Music.

Art and Music.
A Paris paper announces that Gc,anod ia
writing an opera in five acts, enttlea "Heloiss
ct Abeilard." In the first two acts the cbarac.
ter OF Abeilard will oe sung by oass, and ia the
last three by soprano in Disguise.
An art which has been reintroduced in Rome
Rome during the last thirty years, after having
long been abandoned, in that of the iniaying
OF ivory and jasper in wood. Various designs
are traced upon the ivory, or it is sometimes
carved into canoes which are set into the
1fame, the box or the article of furniture.
81 knor Gatti is as passionately devoted to this
srt as were the alchemsts of the Middle
Ages to their fantastic chimeras, and he has
neglected no study to perfect his system or to
arrive at greater fineness of execution and
richness of design. One of the articles he
sends to Paris is an ebony desk inlaid with
sculptured ivory. 1t is three feet long by one
apd half feet high, aud the design is in the
pure style OF the fifteenth century. Upon the
ivory are sculptured six views of churches or
monuments 10 Rome and at the sides are four
medallions in ivory.
Leo XIII. is about to deserve well Of the au-
thorities at South Kensingtou, and all others
interested 10 art needlework, says the London
World. Hanging on the walls of many of the
IL 900 rooms of the Vatican, into which stran-
gers cannot penetrate, and hidden away in
nuberless cupboards are an infinite number of
pieces OF ancient tapestry. There are those
saved from the sack of the city 10 1927, for
which Raphael made the cartoons; there are
splendid examples of Flemish work of the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and anv
number of Gobelins, for during two centuries
the French kings kept up the custom of send
ing the Pope an annual present of a piece of
tapestry. An these Leo XIII. has decided
shall be gathered together and placed where
they can be seen, arranged chronOlogically and
formed into collection unique of Its kinda
new museum, 10 fact, 60 be added to the many
the Vatican contains Perhaps Leo XIII. un-
consciously acquired taste for ancient tapes
try when, 60 years ago hs was playing at
horses up and down that long hall hung with
arras in the family manor.house at Carpineto.
where he was born.
Bouguereau, an artist whom all good Amer
leans are believed to bold in reverential esteem,
sends to the French Exhibition large picture
of mother with five charming babies. The
mothers name is "Charty." Her features are
said to have the dignity of a goddess rather
than the commonplace sobriety of mundane ma
ternity, and her hands rest with "infinite ten-
derness" upon the round little heads of three of
her offspring, whom she holds in her lap.
"The youngest baby" says the Paris correspon-
dent of the London News sis asleep: the other
two wide awake. From the soft flesh tints the
eye passes to the deep red of the woman's
drapery down to the two other children at her
feet; one, seeming little pleased at the results
OF having slipped from his mothers lap into
the cold world. is seeking shelter close to her
dress; the other, with iuqu.sitiye fingers. is
meddling with the my steries of small scroll of
paper, while his arms rest upon pile of books
whose contents are later to be learned. The
beautiful nude feet of the woman rest upon an
overturned vase, whence is lavishly flowing
stream of golden coins This Charite keeps
back nothing for herself, but gives all to Ithe
world-knowledge, riches and love-
telegram from Olympia, dated the 4th of
April, announces that there has been found
the body of the infant Bacchus, who sat on
the arm of Hermes''-the beautiful work of
Praxiteles The two figures being both now
found, the group must be almost compl.te.
The absence of the Bacchus was greatly re-
GREETED when this famous statue of Hermes
was first found. Among other valuable objects
just found at Olympia are a great marble bull
with which Regilla, wife of Herod, ornamented
the conduit which she made for the use of the
inhabitants of Olympia; also the head of GEN.
taur from the pediment of Alcamenes, which is
biting the arm of a Lapith, who has clutched
his throat from behind and is try Jog to throttle
him; an archaic draped statuette of Minerva in
bronze Of great beauty; the head of the kneel.
lag charioteer, and fragment OF the Victory,
from the pediment of Peonius. This treasury
OF ancient art buried so long in the plain of the
Alpheus promises to afford museum of art
which will surpass in wealth all other collec-
tions in the world.
OF Flotow's new opera, Alma, the London
Daily Telegraph says, SIT will scarcely add
to the reputation of that facile composer. The
easy grace of the fortunate author of Martha
is to be found in every page of his latests score;
but A ma is less bright than her popular prede-
cessor, while the serious portions of the work
are not sufficiently original to compensate for
its deficiency in other respects. The themes,
however, are always elegant, the orchestraton
is never labored, and the composer has, as
matter of course, throughout written admirably
for the various voices. More praise than this
it would be rash to bestow. Alma is, in short,
an opera comique OF the lightest description.
The composer mas, perhaps, been most happy
| in the cOntralto songs-the first of these, a
sort of habanera being highly original and
characteristic; and the second, with a choral
refrain, being equally bright and spirited.
There is also q baritone bolero that deserves
notice, and an ensemble passage for soprano
and tenor, at the Close OF the third act, which
has the ring of true passion. But the best
number q the score is beyond all doubt the
trio des cigarettes for contralto, tenor and bar
itone, an exceedingly bright and piquant NOR
cedu, which is destined to outlive the work in
winch it is imbedded. The theme of the finale
to the opera again is SO tne as to make the
nearer regret that the composer has not turned
his troaU0ille to fuller account. The perform
ance on the tirst night was, on the WHOLE ex-
| cellent."
The correspondent of the London Athe-
r@um writes in the following glowing terms of
picture Meissonier will exhibit at the Inter.
national Exhibition: IN. Meissonier will ex-
hibit at the International Exhibition remark
adle painting, which he completed in the
course of last year, and the subject Of which
| is the review of the Cuirassiers by Napoleon L.
on the eve Ofthe battle of Leipzig. Tradition says
that one regiment displayed on this occasion a
military ardor, passionate enthusiasm. which
went beyond all bounds, and that on
the following they fought with such desperate
rage that not a man survived. The Cuirassiers
| in M. Meissonier's picture dash up from the
| left in mad gallop, trampling under foot the
| standing corn and wildly hailing the Emperor,
who is seen on a slight emlnence a little to the
right, surrounded by his staff They are led
| by their colonel, who ii les in advance his
bare sword clutched and waved above his head,
and obey his signal by presenting arms, but
| the disciplined movement of parade IS animated
| by an intense passion, which gives a peculiar
and varying physiognomy TO the action. The
space to the right across which the Cuirassers
are about to pass is held by detach pent in
front of which are three mounted 'Guides".
These three figures are oe extraordinary nobili-
ty and beauty. The immobility of their atti-
tudes and the solemnity OF their regard not
only give an immense value to the furious on
coming Of the Cuirassiers, but profoundly i'm
press the Imagination. In their impassive and
heroic calm they bring before US all that there
ls OF poetry and tragedy in the scene as these
martyrs OF glory sweep by aud with sacred en-
thuslasm devote themselves to death uuder the
| eyes of him they serve
| The African Methodist Conference in Balti-
more, have under consideration a series of