The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-11-25
siasue.MakIng.

The experiment OF porirair.staiue in
gray granite which has recently been made
under the auspices OF Mr. John e.. Hamil-
ton Is not success. The statue OF his great
father, the patriot Hamilton, which be do.
mates to the Central Park, and which was
unveiled Yesterday. Is, ii must be admitted,
a rough, coarse affair OF very mechanical
nature, In which the artist has been utterly
unable 10 cope With the rudeness OF his
material. IL Is evident that the sculptor
| Conrads Is not a man OF any emf
nence, but a simple plodder not much
above the level OF The stnne-cutters who
work in The monuments OF cemeteries.
| The bead has some little vitality, and
| Is not so utter botCh as was an
| ticipated, but the rest OF the statue
is more grotesqae in its attempt to be his
torically accurate than had been foresfen
even by those who were most dubious Of
the wisdom Of choosing such material
But II might be wellif we should begin 10
insist upon coed stone masonry>if we C; n
get no good artistic work 10 public s'alueS.
TIE granite blocks OF which the pedestal Is
composed have been carefully dressed, but
between them the critical eye discerLs line
OF cement an eighth OF an. inch IN thick
ness. 1t is just as well that The public
should he aware that this Is Yery
bad masonry. In all monumental work
the edges should be so dressed as 10
come completely together and not leave a
line deep enough 10 admit hair. The
artistic wave which has done 50 much good
in American manufactures seems to have
passed architecture by, for in ibis respect
the Americans OF the nineteenth century
cannot for one moment be compared with
tloI H. .In, "a hu <.f onea4a
It ayails nothing to put mp monuments il
they are only TO bear witness TO our de-
ficieneles In artistic powers, and even in
good ban0icrait work. Nor can IL be truly
thought that any honor is done TO the
memory OF Hamilton by the erection Of a
statue that Is not artistic even in intention,
mounted upon pedestal that Is positively
bad in construction.
The object OF all these statues which des-
ecrate Central Park has been in every in
stance so laudable that criticism has been
dumb. But an end must come sooner or
later 10 such state OF things. We see one
OF the results in the paliry character OF The
carved oruamenta'ion and the badly
wrought stoncwork OF many pretentious
buildings, both public, seml-pubic. and
private. Whereas when we look at Greek.
Roman, or Byzantine stOnework we snail
find, in spite OF the lapse OF time,
edges as citan and fine rs the edges
of knife blade. When we examine
the sculptures OF antiquity, not mere
" the grand masterpieces, but also those
that were sem-arcbitectural in character.
we find the same cleanncss OF execution.
Wherever we find an old Byzlntine church,
whether ii be in the narrow, crooked streets
OF old cities or in out-of-the-way places
among the mountains, we invariably find
that the work il nobly done. IL We exam
inc the courses OF masonry, we shall as
cover that they do not deviate one hairs
breadth from the exact level, and 1t shall
not be possible to detect speck OF cement
between the stones. Thinking over this
perfection OF mere handiwork. this
loving determination to be as fault
less as possible, we as Americans
must blush for our complete disregard OF
such matters. We have perfected many
things in our manufactures. We hear from
foreign sources that our silverware and our
watches are astonishing instances OF the
most refined taste and admirable workman-
ship, and yet our buildings are inferior to
every other civilized nation. Architoc ure
is not critically regarded as an art. and
sculpture is 30 little studied that ii is &C.
u
ing of Mr. Hamilton TO offer this botcb, and
for our mayor TO accept 1t.
Obviously no one can be blind to the i'm
periections OF the offering, but they are lald
10 the material. But why choose that ma
terial! II is very probable that the donor
had set his heart upon something more
durable than marble, more pleasing tban
bronze. He decided upon gray granite, a
substance in which 70 sculptor who respec's
himself would make a statue, and more es-
pecialy porrail-statne. The material IS
so intractabie that nothing can be done
with ii here anything like accurate rem
dering Of costume is desired, and II Is so
Incapable OF giving any idea OF plastici-
ty that it is equally unified for The
partial nudity OF the heroic style. There
| have been scalptors who in despair OF poet
| izing modern costume have rcsorted TO the
old system Of nude form diaped In Ro-
man toga; bat whatever reason we may
have for finding serious fault with the sculp-
tor OF the Hamilton statue, we are at least
thankful that he spared Us the pseudo
classic. Our climate is such that sculp'ors
are debarred the use of marbles, and We
have not vet acquired sufficient ability in
the handling of bronZes. Perhaps, then,
an attempt ought 10 be made in sculpture
| i'm the direction OF terra-cotta, which IS
as lasting as granite, no more liable to
fracture by falls or the presuma6le shock
OF an earthquake, very much cheaper, a
thousand times more artistic, giving re-
sources Of costume-reproduction TO the art
ist impossible OF realization in any other
material. and far more plastic even than
marble. II is the material Of the ptor
above all Others, and has this important adj
yantage-that it would be IN reality the work
! of his hands and not the translation, mechan-
ically made, OF the statuary. For, as almost
every one is aware, the sculptor models
his object in clay and then sends 1t to
the staiuary, who, by mathematical work,
blocks it out OF the marble and brings 1t to
as high a degree Of mechanical perfection
as the artist desires. Some artists add
themselves the finishing touches; some are
satisfied to leave the work exactly as the
statuary left it. IL would be greatly for the
Interests OF art in this country II the next
committee OF gentlemen who propose TO
donate statue to the much-wronged Cen.
tral Park would take new departure aud
insist upon IFS being OF .terra.cotta.
| A FOrty-MilIiOn Loan Reported.
n l. H..