Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-10-30
TRUE WORK OF ART.
T,tbusa fo the Artissic Merit or the
sIatue by Professor Davidson.
New York WOrld.l -

Among works OF plastic art symboliz,Jg
those more or less extensive ideals TO which
men pay homage or worship some have
their place by the household hearth, some
i'm narrow temples built with human hands,
some under the sky.roof OF cities or nations.
some in the boundless, star-dOmed tenn
ple OF the universe. As each ideal has it,
own particular range, so the symbol OF
each ideal has its own proper back.
ground, from that OF the fair, narrow ideal
Of domestic fidelity, whose place is on the
hearth, TO that Of far.reachng. human lib.
erty, which claims the whole material
world for lis ioOtstool. Nay, more; each
symbol ought to be suited TO Its back
ground and express the power and range
OF the ideal which il symbolizes. House
hold fidelity will stand with her foot upon
the housekeeping turtle. National virtue
will be set upon the nations chief citadel.
with helmet thrown back, but not dotted,
with spear at rest, and shield lowered, to
protcc ct the oartb-bOrn serpent, the emblem
Of wisdom; and so on.
What, then, are the fitting place and atti-
tude for the symbol OF that grandest and
migbtiest OF ali human ideals, that which.
most OF all, men have worshipped with SER
vice OF heart and hand. lived for, bled Tor,
died for-Liberty, the light and the load
tar ~ civilization VIII IL not stand
where heaven and earth and sea meet, by
the highway Of the worlds lirgest activity,
in the semblancc OF goddess, crowned
with rays, and bearing al0ft in her hand
torch, light to mems feet and lamp TO
their path, even TO the utmost horiZOng
Such Is the place and such the attitude OF
the symbol OF Liberty, which the Old
World has col ceded TO the New as its more
proper immediate background.
Bartholdi's Statue OF Liberty answers all
the conditions Of a true york Of art. IL ex-
presses in plain symbols Sbat IL was meant
to oxTress, and II admir-; iysuits the back
ground proper for sucl asymbol. Fault
will TO doubt be found v liiby pedantic
critics, who always seekt judge the new
by the standard 0f the old. and can never
rise to any new, great, genial conception
like that which underlieS the present work,
and which places il In class 10y Itself apart
from all other works, whether ancient
or modern. No other work OF plas-
tic art that | know oi seeks to
symbolize an ideal requiring the whole
wide world for its realization and
demanding for It's symbol the whole wide
world as a background. When one looks
for ANYTHING resembling it in ancient art
there instantly come into his mind the
Athena Promachos Of Phidas. on the Athe-
uian AcrOpOlis and the Colossus OF Chares,
near the barbOr Of Rhodes. The former,
which represented tue pltrOn-divinty OF
Athens, was so high that the gilded bead or
the spear in the goddess right hand cOnld
be seen far ont at sea. Whilethe latter, winch
represented Ilelios llhe sun), was l26 feet
high and seems 10 have been used as bea-
con, Regarding the details OF these
works we know very little. III we
think of modern works where With
TO class the new Statue OF Liberty
We most readily think Of the Bavaria at Mu-
mich and the statue OF It. Charles Borro-
meO at Aroma. But not one OF all these can
be used as q standard whereby TO try the
new work, any more than play OF SOpho-
cles can be used as standard for a crii-
cism on "Hamlet" or "Faust." A na-
tional art-woIk, embOdyiug a national ideal,
can be no model for world art-wOrk, en-
body ing the desire OF all nations. The
thought that shaped the Statue OF Liberty
was as foreign to the men who raised the
Athena and the Colossus a. 10 tbO'e who
reared the II. Charles and the Bavaria. as
the thought OF The telephone or the Al.
lantic cable. The ideal OF universal
liberty il new and must find a new eX.
preston. Moreover, it is so sublime, SO
incomprebensible in its Omnipotence and
far-reaching results, that lis perfect express
sion will not be easily found, and VI. Bar
thodi doubtless knows too much to think
he has found il. II took ages Of efforts
from the greatest OF artists 10 settle the
types OF even such narrow ideals az the
Greek gods; how much more must 1t take
to settle the type OF the diyinest OF all
ideals-LibertyI But NJ. Barthodi has
done well. He has seized the essentials OF
the conception and, in the large,
generous spirit OF the ancient Greeks,
has given them Olympian expression.
Eschewing all manDerism, all puerie detail,
all microscopic effects, he has aimed at d
large simplicity. Not scorning the sugges-
tons 81 his predecessors, be has combined
In one the promachos Of Pbldias and the
Colossus OF Chares and added universally
10 the result. Hence bis work Is not only
the first notable product Of world-srt en-
bodying true world ideal, but 1t will be a
model TO future artists for the expression
nay, even the creation-of world Ideals.
With this work new era in the history OF
plastic art begins-the era OF humanity.
Bartholdi's Liberty is to future plastic art
what Faust" is TO future dramatic art,
and "Lohengrin" f" to future musical art.
Only by remembering tba, all these works
belong 10 new and sublime order OF art,
dealing with new themes and demanding
new forms Of expression, can we do them
or ourselves justice.
In conclusion, LET NE protest against the
name currently given to the statue, " Lib
erty Enlightenlng the World In all the
world, what else should she doi IL Sue
did not enliphten the world, would she be
Liberlyi The only proper name for the
great work is Liberty-pure and simple.