Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1881-01-21
Wlucl lur the Free r,sss
Sketches from Washington.

N ll'ltl lHl tue lAt ''77
Sketches from Washington.
No. |.
THE CoECnENN Art GALLERY.
The Corcoran Art Gallery n Washington
is situated ON Pennsylvania Avenue. The
ground, building, it, contents, and cnd""-
mcnt were the FREE @iIl Of William w.
Corcorln TO the public. Ia the deed the al.
jeci is stated as the perpetual establishment
and encouragement of Painting, Sculpture
and the Fine Arts generally. The ln-iiIu-
lion was chartered b; set 81 Congress, May
eth, $50 IS thu! at, The building and
ground was declared rVcmnt from taxation.
The cost OF both Was $500 o0 The en-
dowmcnt fund is S90o Qua, and 1t yields at
present an annual income Of >d!,0OO, which
is expended in increasing the colicr-
ton. Mr. Core rams private collection
giycu at the same time was valued
at $4,000 Besides that, the noble
donor Is constantly presenting WORKS OF arr
to the gallery. Thosr superb examples o.!
the Ceramic art of japan, standing in tie
vesibulc of the first floor and that wcFr made
expressly for the Centennial Exhibition, w'r"
his gift. The bUilling IS two stories Eisn.
of brick, in the Renaissance style, with
brown stone facings and ornaments. From
the entrance rises stairway ten feet Vide
to the picture galleries in ia" second stony.
On each side of the stairway is Il corrn!"r
LIGHTED from the open courts leading 10 tn"
vcstibuc of the fall of Sculpture. In lhi'
vcsiibuc is That sublime statue Of Ninccnl'
Gela's, The last days Of Napoleon First
1t is considered among the greatest scnlptnral
works Of modern times II is Of pure
white marble and represents Napoleon
seated in chair supported by Il
pillow. A blanket covers his body
and legs, hut his partly orcn mantle
shows lis broad but wasted chest. Has
right hand rests wcarily on an arm "l lhr
chair his left nervously Cluichcd, rests on q
map of Europe of 1874. spread on his lap
Ills head drnops forward, there is awful
speculation. in the glazed depths Of the
ewes gazing earnestly from beneath
lllt tltlSNN litN lih''-1h f'''H
ing into fu,uriv. An ndomitable splr-
it lives in the compressed lips ; the thin nos
tris breathe the scorn of the congueror, now
Welding to the last conqueror-de death. Not
all the presentations of the successful General
and the fallen Emperor stir the heart so
deeply as this pathetic image OF the dying
Imperial captive. What Il contrast is this
work of art TO that expire s>ionless figure OF
Washington, standing in front of the National
Capitol for which oar Government paid such
fabulous price
On entering the Hall Of Sculpture. Greek
Hall" as it is called. one will feel that Bculc
Justly saws that 'the Greeks invented hcau-
ly" The Corcoran Gallery has obtained au-
thcntic casts of the most notable examples
of Greek and GrTco-Roman sculpture in the
British Museum, and the galleries of Paris,
Rome, Florence and Naples. The most IA
nous of these casts are taken from the Elsln
marbles brought from the Parthcnon ut
Athens by Lord Elgin in 1900, monuments
of the genius of Phidias. who was born in
the wear sol Il. G.. ChrysostOm says: ii
any man be sickly, troubled, or cannot sleep
for grief. AMI shall but stand over one OF
Phidias's images, he will forget all care, or
whatever else may modest him, in an in
slant" Around the corniCc of the hall of
sculpture are placed 1874 feet of casts from
the original marble slabs that once formed
the trTe.G of the celia or inner temple
of the ParthcnOn These slabs, nearly
four feet square, represent in low relief the
great PanthcnaiC Procession, held every fifth
year in honor of Minerva. At the head of it
was borne aloft the sacred pclos or garment
to be placed on the statue of the Goddess,
which was made of ivory and gold, and was
forty feet high. standing in an inner chamber
of the temple. Then followed Virgins with
offerings animals for sacrifice. chlriOts, and
lastly. the mounted young nobility of Athens.
Dr. Lubkc says of this procession: They
represent every grade, from solemn rcpOSc 10
ardent action, and vet there is a calm tc5-
tivily. a breath of eternal chccriulncss and
beauty diluscd over them. We can imagine
the effect of such 4 procession ascending
the Acropolis, and passing along lis
classic fanes of pcniclican marble under
the bright shy of Attica, palIsing near
the famous bronze statue of Minerva standing
outside the temple 20 feet high, towering
over the buildings 50 that the sheen of her
spear point and helmet could I've seen hy the
mariner aiar as he rounded Cape Sunicum.
And yet in spite of all these works of art
here and in other cities of Greece, history
tells us that Phidias fell victim TO the envy
of his enemies. lie was first accused of
purloining part of the gold USED in the stat
lie Of Minerva and WAS acquitted, hut he
cause he placed his name with that of his
patron Periclcs upon the shield of the God
dess, he was accused Of profanity. thrown
into prison. and died there. OF the single
figures, of which there are several, one can
not fail to notice fIc elaborate finish Of the
backs of them. Placed at a hight of sixty
feet, it is not probable that human eyes