St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-09-26
EXPOSITION ART.
.bo roo+nros Prominent in the
Galleries and Hall OF
Sculptures.
A stndv of the Classics in Clay, and
Some of the Alleged Old Mas
ters in Oil.
Ancient Art in Marble brou"'
Modern View in EcohoHA
teal Plaster.
Priceless Paintings Which deceive
Connoisseurs--O Masters
Aged to Sell.

Tho e+udv of art means culture anu re-
e,on,on+ Familiarity with beauty is in
ronarabIe with elevation of the soul, and is
maxim handed down from time lmme-
mortal that crime in the presence OF high
art * iplpossibie. 1t is true that imperial
Cesar was assassinated before the statue
of Pompev. which. tradition says, looked
down in triumph at the purple stream
which stained its base; but that was not
crime. but political necessity. 1t was no
crime for ULYSSES to enter Troy and steal
the Palladium. for the fates had made
such a pilfer Indispensable TO the
caDture of Ilium, and Ulysses was a
soldier with whom to hear was to obey.
Art IS the embodiment Of beauty, and the
love OF the beautiful. once it enters the
heart. inspires it with purer, better lite and
urges the soul to higher, holier aims. But
fine love of art is so often a mere affectation
that the psychologist is puzzled when he
looks Tor effects, and bafied when he seeks
causes. Minneapolis is too new a city and
has been too entirely absorbed in the race
for wealth TO be called an art center. yet 1t
cannot be denied that its studies III that
direction are marvellous. indicating the APP
Droach of that period when wealth has been
attained and its pOsseSsOrs are casting about
for The highest enjoyment OF it. 10 this
end the
EXPOSITION ART GALLERY
is lending a powerful aid, and the magnifi-
cent collection there displayed will cover at
2 bound the upward road which would
otherw lse have required years to pass. EN-
intnf critics have pronounced this collection
iii. second best ever gathered in America,
the first having been that displayed in Me-
moral hall al the centennial. lis adjunct
the antique collection of casts. is only
les, perfect. though appealing to an edu-
Gated sense CT appreciation far less common.
In entering the hall. about which CLEAN
these casts the first sense IS that of disap
poiuuuent. An idea had become general
that priceless figures in Parian and Pentel-
leon marble filed the hall and that the ac-
tuaI treasures of the Louvre and Vatican
had been given up Tor the occasion. AS
result there Is a natural feeling of diSap
poinrment at the sight of the plaster casts
ami especially so where the exact copies
reproduce the mutations Of the orig
inaIs. Disgust is often apDar-
ent when rural critics gaze deprecatingly
4 POOR SURGICAL OPERATION
on the remnants of once grand Olympian
sjCNe anu MOiltGI Miltb Uuil2liliS SUISGOU 50
roughly amputated his legs. 1t must be re-
membered that these casts are designed to
show. in perfect imitation. those priceless
works of antiquity which few are ever
permitted to gaze upon. The vast majority
of us may never be able to visit the
British museum, the Louvre or the
Vatican, and there see the originals,
but in these casts are seen, repro
duced, the marble masterpieces of the
sculptOrs of antiquity. To the student of
mythology. as well as the lover of art, the
casts answer every purpose Of the original.
while to the ordinary thrOng, after the first
careless inspection, they are overlooked and
forgotten. Some few will find in them III
terest inspired by neither art nor mythol-
ogy, while others feel only awe as the pres
ence carries them back to the days of
Phidias and PraxiteleS, LysippuS and Poly
cletus.
The figure of Venus de Milo, recognized
as the leading piece in the hall, is not given
position to accord with its fame. The
original stands in the Louvre, the pride of
Paris and the admiration of the world. IT
has companion piece not here, the Her
cules of Milo, both of them having been
found in the island of Milo, in the Greeian
archipelago. 1t is the work of an unknown
sculptor of the time of Phidias. whose
statue of Jupiter Olympus was one
of the seven wonders of the world.
and is held by competent critics TO
be ''the greatest statue of woman's form
the world now holds" while Lubke saws
sit displays the goddess" Volumes of its
praises have been written and 1t probably
deserves them. 1t embOdies the sculptor's
idea of the goddess in her moment of vic
tory. where. on Mount Ida. the golden
apple OF discord was awarded her An
other figure Of Venus adorns the gallery
and though deserving it less. at
tracts far greater attention than the
Milo. 1t was found i'll an excavation
IN the Esquiline hill, one of the. seven upon