New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-18
A NEW HOME OF ART IN ROME.
THE OPENING OF THE ITALIAN SALON

ALWAYS held in dark little bul dlng OH .i'o i'N"
del Popolo and owing to its small size anu unhappy
ARRANGEMENTS very few OF the pest aI'is'' 0'oi
Thought it worth while to contribute '"oil WIN
The late King Victor Emmanuel however "heh io
800 tho pone across the river into the Vatican and
est blished his own Court In the Quinnal Palace
at once conceived the idea of establishing III the
.on,,ol of his dominion an institution that
sbou1d stand to Italy as the yearly Salon AT Paris
stands to France But during Victor Emmanuefs
reign. and until now, during the reign OF
his son. the immediate sanitary and prac-
tical needs of the city, needs which the ropes
had entlr ely overlooked, were so pressing tnat DO
time OF money was left for the carrying out OF thls
as hetic purpose. Hospitals had to be Dult Schools
founded, and sldew ks laid; and 1t was not uhtil
within the last two wears that definite plans could
be formed for the erection of suitable edihce lor
the receplion and exhibition of works of ART Then
the distinguished architect Pho Piaceniini, was en-
Gagged and he assisted by Fallana and several
others at AN expense of rather more than 2,OOOOoo
lire. or about 100000, has at last presented
us with the handsome building whicn
-, j.; tho Via Nazionale and
which has been the centre OF atraonoh "
the colony of artists here for the last three MONTHS
The buildipg is of white stone in renaissance syle
handsomely decorated within and without by bas-
and FiIippo Ferrari and yesterday the King opened
n in person amid the universal joy and enthusiasm
of his peopIe 1t was q national gala day, ana the
reioionps were intended tribute to the artlsts
md az n confession that art is no trivial ma'er
worthy simply to amuse mankind In leisure nouis'
Let MS hope that America will soon learn, rs ltay
has apparently succeeded in learning. that the art
gallery is on the whole as important an edlhce rs
the stock exchange.
Yesterday the Via Nazionae, the broad ne"
street on which the permanent exposition puhuihs
stands. was decorated by flags and coats-ol-ac"s
ranrssenting every Italian city. and by streamers
and garlands of green leaves and origh' reu
and NV hammers and rugs hung from the windows OF
the houses for the whole distance fromitS
at the Corso to its termination at the Baths OF
Diocletian And from early morning I'LL lale d.
night 1t was thronged by thousands OF people OF
both sexes and of every age and condition OF hle;
no sold,ers and firemen In glstentng helmets, Dy
oensF ay,nes in stately cockaded hats, by men ana
women and boys and girls from Trastevere ana rom
the Ghetto. and from the Campagna villages ny
neasants in their gayest holiday petucoatS anu
breaches. by noblemen with golden orders strung
actos, their breasts, by models IN ther lreShes Gus
Times of scarlet and blue and yellow 10y artists III
dress coats chapeaur oacques and white Kid gloves
and by newspaper vendors and vendors OF matches
and fruits and flowers, surgng, crowding, ous'lns
To and fro smiling and chattering IN the dehghtiul
sunshine. as though forsooth, existence were Ne"
acquaintance and JOY for everybody insteau Vi d
reocR AMIGO with cracked voice ana pockc'iui u,
h;tter mills and disagreeabe doses of care and
orrv 70 he delivered gratuitOusly without respect
for persons, early the next morning How
many merry laughs and many roillcklng songs
ond how many flashes of wit In how
many tongues of Europe, mingled their Denlgnant
nnroar Yesterday with the STUNNING OF mahdo
Inns and the CRYING of wares and the tumultuOus
music of military bands! 1t was verltaoly a inau'
motley. seething, confused and confusing VISTA
this Via Nazonale as beheld it from the top OF an
omnibus and it ouivered aud gllttered so that my
eves were well-nigh blinded; but realized that the
madness had method, and the confusion pur-
nose. This was at IL o'clock. Then my companion
and went off to lunch, and, as we swallowed our
macberoni. he drew strange pictures OF
49, Alnha and Beta and Gamma, old
Rohemiaps of the true klnd VINO hau
forsworn the gores of evening costume for so longs
!. tina that the memory of man runneth not to the
coptrarv. had managed to force themselves into
rented suits. and of how rdculous they appeared
.y;tbal and of how Delta had borrowed shirt
from Fpsilop which he would be compelled to wear
unsdorned and unfastened by studsor buttons; and
of how because a neckte could cover multitude
of sins Zeta had converted his wonderfully deco
ratiye Persian scarf into an abundant cravat'-
etc. until Omega and the last drop oil Chant
had been dlsposed of, when it the hour for be
taking ourselves to the scene of the inauguration
Nobodv was admitted to the buildings ex
cept the city authorities. the Senators ah'
Deputies with their wives, the artists Wh'
exhibited few representatives OF the press ah'
tbe Cmrt. but the exceptions numerous
al halI of
nent building most uncOmfOrtably full L shoulC
cav there were upward of three thousand peopl
nresent. The King with his beautiful queenly Queer
on his arm arrived at o'clock, and after listening
IN Duke Torlonia's short and sensible speech de
clared the exposition an established thing. IheI
amid cries of "Viv' il Re" and "FTva la Regina
the royal pair followed by their suite and the Para
ment began the tour of the galleries, and then th'
crowd distribute ted itself among the various rooms
An idea Of the enormous size and excellent arrange
nents of the exposition may perhaps be obtained
whom saw that with this large number of peopl
there. every one had plenty of elbow space AM
plenty of wholesome air to breathe
Of course. amid such excitement prevaile
pnon all sides of me | could not get any very vlyl'
or distinct impression of the special works whic
rander this exposition striking and great Perhap
Twas too much absorbed in noticing the absur
effect Of those old Bohemian fellows, decked out Il
tbreadbare black and crumDled linen, to pay sui
fclent attention TO the results of their labor who
were hanging upon the walls. But this much ma
saw: that have never seen such fine array q
modern sculpture as is here displayed and that o
the whole the collection Of paintings is OF line an
commendabe order. To be sure, there are a fe'
poor things-but very few. Such, for OK
ample, as portraits OF humoeit WIN III
eternal wiseacre expression ana terrible mus
tacbe. and of Margherita with her everlasting mech
lace of pearIs about her throat which were admtte
without respect to their merit simply because the
were por rats of the King and Queen. Then ther
are a great many mediocre things, not bad by an
means, though not singularly good. But there al
some truly great things-and if beauty Is its ow