New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-03-04
THE ITALIAN SALON.


POPULAR AND PROFESSIONAL CRITICISMS SOME
NOTEWORTHY WORKS.
IFRoM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT THE TRTBUSE.I
ROME, January 30
Judged according TO the standard of art employed
by the average En- Glish or American tourist
and the tourists are the lOudest in proclaimng
their opnions-the department of sculpture
in the present exposition Is singularW weak
and meagre Nay, it is worse than tnis
I have 1t on the authority of a most estimaole
lady from Lancashire that il is absolutely shame
and a disgrace" But judged according 10 tne
standard which art siuOents are guided ny IL 10 on
the whole extremely crediable and worthy OF care
full study. Briefly stated, the points which the
average tourist requires of sculpture would appear
to be these u PrettIness and conventional grace;
l2 An imitation OF the form, If no repetition OF the
spirit of he antique (3l he marble must be per-
fectly smooth and spotless a. Nudi Y must be I'M
finchngly avoided (5) l.; not necessary that the
artist should strive 10 reproduce nature-lmpossi-
ble limbs are not a blemish-and If he can fashion
the work out of his head" without recourse 10
model he is so mucn the greater man. There Is
comparatively little i'll the exposition that can be
SAID 10 come up to these demands, ana what
there is is chiefly from the manufactured English
and American commandments the Italians style
those English and American sculptors resident here
who devote their energies TO drumming up
orders and then hire other people 10 do the work.
OF course all intelligent critics are ready to confess
ha. there Is a good deal OF rubbish IN the EXPOSE
tion-in what exposition u there nonei The enter
prise is a one and those III authority could not
afford To offend TOO many people at the outset by
system of wholesale rejection. But the rubbish is
of two sorts only There Is that from the shops
Just referred to and then there are several car
loads OF millinery which have come down over tie
railway from Milan. You &C familiar with the
NIlauese school-wondeTtul laces and parasols ana
satin dresses chisellcd figures as yapid as 50
many Paris dolls. Even the Lancashire lady was
discriminating enough 10 object 10 these, Out a
| Roman answered her: Yes, madam. they are be-
meath contempt But why thew here Because
II is known thai the English and American tourists
will buy them This is the fact,
Among the fine thing, H1sO anu greatest tneIo 10
. irupalra by Masini. | have been told that he
gave tive years to the modelling OF this figure. III he
had gwen fifteen years. indeed tho whole of his
hie ais time would have been well spent. The IDEA
is high and beautiful, and the ex cutlon Is well
nign faultless TIE Egyptian queen, her sensuous,
| fascinating face shaded bg grief and bent by anX'
lous thought, recliues upon sphinx hewn from
| granite, and at Ter eet there is basket of Wild
frult from the depths of which an asp is slowly un-
! folding his Loaf hsome coils. Mssin has combined
the spirit of Egyptian art with the freedom OF the
| Greek. Cleopatra is naked 80 her waist The
drapery which cOnceais her legs is yet 50 transpar-
ent that it almost reveals them, and is at once 50
rich SO light and so perfect in its folding that you
are vertically inclined to believe that has
thrown garment Of real gossamer over her. until
you feel of it and are convinced that it is marble.
In painting according to the prevailing modern
not on. if you can GET tho right effect ii does not
mat CT how you get 1t. But sculpture there IS
only one method of arriving at the night effect, and
that is by the stuctes aten IN TO details AasinTs
detail is altogether praise worthy. The dimples in
| The breast and elbows the yielding of the flesh
| where there is pressure upon It, as where her
cheek rests on her hand and where bracelet clasps
! her arm and the consequent fuiness IT the flesh
adjoining; the bones in her hands and feet the
"bapQv of the necklace around her throat the
dropping OF the skin above her eyclids-bctIay the
most careful study and are as excellent anything
that have seen in the antique. The attitude is
| graceful Spontaneous and abuudantiy expressive
of what II seek, to eXpfess-passIon disappointed,
pride st down with lts lace Ia me aust, ADDITION
defeat d, "a soul eHyiOus of death but unable quite
10 pui de the love OF life, the tempt nope OF
new riunpas, The eagerJess for new pl as res the
| dreadful uuc rain, fear of the undiscovered
coun ~ into which the asp has power to procure
franceschi has piece here in plaster which as
strong and rs intelligent rs II Is terrible Ii Is en-
| titled "Ad Brstia~," and represents one OF the
! cary ChIlsuans-an old man with hollow checks
aud drawn kIn--JuSt at tne moment Wien he l. SGT
loose III the arena of the COlOs5eu for he satlsac
| non OF the wd beasts and the meFrlmrnt OF tho
| Roman audience. HIS body is bent forward. aud
his uecrepit limbs s,,m actually o quaNe with nor
ror His hanus are fastened behind him by rope
which cuts aud chafes the flesh. His eyes start
from their sockets and his lips are parted. lie
| waits tneTe for tigers 10 come down upon him,
! and The awful suspense OF the moment mas over
! thrown his mind and made an idIOt Of MIN. You
erceiVe all this and the suggestveness Is 30 great
| tnat YOU fancy YOU hear tue growing OF
the ANIMALS and the cues OF the victims and tho
din of applaus aud laughter from the spectators.
The detail here also extremely careful. the anat
| Omy SHOWS that Frauceschi has passed many hours
i'll tie dlss citing room.
| The we-knOWn German, SOmmer, has a very
clever If sOmew nat gToesque de-Vn for fountain.
A silly faun is bent unter the burden OF all enOr-
NOUS VINE skin mo which LuDid mas shot "a quiver
1ull oil aTroSs rne VINE coAsequ snty, Of course,
| is streaming down on all sides Of him. and the
start ed ana puzzled expression Of his face N very
laugnabie II no. yery lofty rs work OF ART Waldo
iory, the son uf W. ". Story, has couple OF dec
| oIatIve basreiels but they are poorly drawn, not
! sI1xInKY original, and display an unsuccessful
str.ying after classical eject. KcySer has a most
graceful urOnze representing IItau1a diving u "A
trysL with BOLtOm. Inc chariot IN Gala leaf the
wheels are suuiOweTs, tde steeds are squirrels aud
| Puck cross-le ged, sils behind us iootnan.
|
| THE LITERARY INFLUENCE OF DEMOCRACY
Some OF artistic. as well as may o. thc SOCIAL Pec
iartes the UnlleI STATES may, doubtless DC Traced
1 ut ffPFf