The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-03-22


ANCIENT MYrHoLoGIoAL WALL PAINTINGS
LECTURE BY REV. HENRY G. sPAuLDINd.
The Rev. Henry Il. Spaulding delivered yesterday
morning, his sixth lecture upon Pompe CHECKER
ing Hall was well filed with audience principally
composed of ladies. The theme was 1.-The Mytho-
logical Wall Paintings of Pompeii." and the lecturer
commenced by stating that attention would first be
called to the NEUROLOGICAL paintings found in the
buried city. In the old Roman world Greek art
stood in peculiar relation to the Greek mythology
The images of the gods which the Greek sculptors
created not only moulded by the artistic
conception of the divine in nature and life.
but soon became the normal type of the
various deities. One result of this intimate
relation between Greek art and Greek religion
in the comparatively few representations of
outward life and historic events. In this respect
painting followed the example Of sculpture and it
is most remarkable that among the two thousand
wall pictures which have been found in Pompeii and
Herculaneum there was an almost entire absence Of
any attempt delineate from either the real
or the legendary history OF Rome. There two
or three gratifying changes that had come the
modern ideas Of ancient mythology 1t was no
longer looked upon with horror. but in 1t was CRATE
fully recognized the neradcabe religious sentiment
that found in the breast of man. When we
tered the realm of art lost the corrupng stories
| that had been grouped around the old mythology.
The lecturer then turned to the illustrations OF the
old mythology that had been gathered from the POM
peiisn house walls and the first class was that which
embraced scenes OF epic Overwhelmingly, scenes
that the artist had created in way that
darkened and the lantern threw upon the screen
of Theseus receiving the thanks of the youth
and children of Athens upon his return from Staying
! the Minotaur in the labyrinth of Crete. In
| this picture shown the characteristic traits
NEXT Ma'sA view 'A showed ' Heraces. with his wife
and child, upon the occasion OF the Centaur Nessus
Offering to carry his wife across the sIream The
the confidence shown in the face OF his wife, the alb
sence OF all thoughts of danger. are finely shown.
Another feature OF the series the hero
| when he under subsection to the voluptuous
| Lydan Queen. Omphale. Then came series of
| paintings in which the Centaurs appeared, and in
this connection there were shown upon the screen
| four paintings from the P0mpean house walls
| where Centanrs either male or female, were shown
Us though prancing through the air. In this
ton the lecturer said that the myth Of the Centaur
is supposed to mean the clouds. and from their
passage everywhere and observing everything they
often represented teachers. The next series,
comprising dyllic paintings. contained representa-
ton OF Narcissus gazing down into pool OF clear
water wherc was portrayed his own beautiful face,
with which, says the myth he fell in love. Another.
ana one Of the loveest specimens of ancient paint
| ing, was u scene which represented Heracles as
| gazing upon his infant Telephus, who
| posed on Mount Parthenius in Arcadia, where he
| was watched by the divinity OF that pastoral
region. and sucked. according to the legend by
wild deer. In this connection were also shown two
dancing girls female fgures-in coior-taken from
| Pompean house walls. They appear floating in
the air. with no support. and the rich coorng Of
the drapery, the grace and softness Of its flowing
lines and the airy, graceful yet vigorous pose of the
half nude figures were very beautiful A painting
| Of Orpheus, In color. was also shown.
The next series that Of the dramatic compo-
sitions The first shown was the Sacrifice of Iphi-
the wrath Of Diana. 1t is supposed to be late copy
| Of painting dating back to the fifth century,
Priest about to make the sacrifice Of the human yc
tim reflects that the lovely girl may be saved for the
| gods will furnish victim. But the best OF this
class of dramatic paintings, and the which Sir
William Coll regards AZ the finest specimen preserved
from antiquity was picture taken from the "iliad"
I where the herads of Agamemnon to the tent of
Achilles demand that he shall surrender his lovely
captive Briseis. The heads OF Achilles and Briseis
taken from this painting. were then thrown upon the
scription given above. Another class of painting,
the deneation of the gods was then shown, and the
| series contained some very fine specimens.
This lecture Mr.. Spaulding will give again in his
Monday evening course The subject of next Mon
days lecture will be the ornamental Paintings Of
| the Pompean Houses"
AUTHORITY VERSUS INFALLIBILITY.
The old Church. said DE-. Morgan Dix. lecturing
last nightin Trinity Chapel had its divine head its
| traditions and household words. its schools OF
Thought and debate. and. over all. the influence Of
genial family life; but those halcyon days gone
the look the house the same; the children
have quarrelled and the elder brother has exalted
| himself and claims supremacy over the rest. The
claim first set up not at Rome. but at Byzantum,
| and from this strife Of East and West sprang the
Papal Kingdom. half spiritual. half temporal
from its burst the reformation creating new
ministries and new rites. leaving nothing 1t was
making men law to themselves and enthroning in
dvidual judgment so that between Papal despot-
| ism and Protestant communications Of tyranny
on the one hand. extreme Of license on the other
Pagansm Is reviving to-day; materialistc atheism
| Is openly preached and drift about uncertain
what to think or whittier to turn Nevertheless tho
old Church, unable to catch its sweetness and
tty accepting the heritage OF it's creeds and
liturgies, but scornng the temper which submits 10
no authority but its own and no power beyond the
power Of man. For that is the spirit OF antChrist
ORGAN RECITAL AND LECTURE.
| Chickering Hall has probably never held such
large audience that assembled there yesterday a.
ternoon. Not only was the hall filled TO the walls,
but there between three hundred and four hun
dred people turned away from the door. The
| occasion was an organ recital and n lecture
| before the Teachers Association OF the City
| of New York. Mr.. Frederick w. Mills. of st.
Marks Church, Philadclphis presided at the organ
ana rendered wen cn1sen gs,s. colsisung
| Kulluk. with excellent effect. He warmly ap-
| plaudcd. After the concert which occupied some
forty-hve minutes. Dr. John Lord delivered his Loo
"Mohammcd. This lecture has been deli vered
in New York several times. and is too well known to
need special mention this occasion. 1t
ccived with all that which is usually bestowed
| upon old friend, and the lecturer had
to think that its popularity is diminishing.
THE AVERY COLLECTION OF ORR
ENTAIL PORCELAIN.
| To THE EDITOR OF rHR HKRuD:-
As your readers have been informed, ''The Avery
collection of Oriental porcelain" has been removed
TO the gallery. No. sA5 Broadway upon the temporary
closing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art In Mr.