Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1893-07-18
IN WONDERLAND.
italy's Exhibit In the Manufae-
tures Building.
TEE THREE PRINCIPAL HEATURE0

soes OF Sunny Italy Excel In ne Ast Of
Carving In Wood. Sculpture In Marble
and the Making Of Lssss-0riginai ..
Dssign, Bold and Ingenious In Exsea.
tiss-Pooriy Paid Artista
WORLDS Fam. July la -lspecial.l -
Nowhere In this exposition are the crowds
hicksr than in the Italian section Of the
Ianufacturss building. Here the sons Of
inny Italy have created veritabls won.
.erland. Though Italywa the last Of the
;reat foreign nations TO decide TO make .
howing at this fair. her exhibit Il one Of
he most interesting to bs found within
he grounds. Practically all shs has to
isplay Il displayed In this one spot, and
ere shs has only half enough space for Q
roper showing Of the surprising number
nd variety Of articles which shs has sent.
hero u no other place In the building
where the lack of sufficient room is 20
.)ainfully apparent. The Italians have
,een compelled to pile their stun together
n the best shape they can. and to make
the most Of . belAtsd bargain. Hence we
zee here the odd effect Of exhibits and vis-
iton 20 run and mixed together that the
wonder Il people do not destroy half the
wares while on their Sightseeing rounds.
II IL easy to see that the Italians excel
all other peoples In three great arts-thoss
Of carving In wood. sculpture In marble
and making lsces. On these three fea-
lures Of their display alone they could
confidently rest their claims, though Of
course they have many things besides to
show. Some Of their wood carvings are
amazing. There Il nothing else like them
In the world. What other artists arc able
to do In marble or bronze the Italians
alone show In wood. The only people. 20
far a. have been able to zee, who can
rival them In their carvings are the Jspa.
nese, and the handiwork of these wonder
| ful Ortsntals we shall consider In fature
letter. OF hundreds Of specimens Of this
Italian Art can pause to mention but Q
few. Here is q beautiful desk. carved ON
every square inch Of Its surface In appro-
pirate figures, and with four little Cupids
sitting on the top. One Il singing Srom
music book, another reading from ledg-
er. . third holding his pen listlessly and
leaning his head on his hand In WEAKNESS
from the days work, while the fourth Ii
gladly making ready to quit the Office.
This splendid piece, duty paid, Is only $3.50,
not much moro than one would pay for
heavy pressed desk OF similar size made In
this country. When one considers the
amount Of work put upon those decorative
carvings be will understand the patience
Of the workmen who made II. and the
small wrges which they must receive for
their toll IL evidenced by the price at
which the article IL sold. In fact, the
whole Italian exhibit speaks eloquently Of
patient, artistic work poorly paid.
Here Is most elaborate carved cabinet
from Milan. II Is enormous I'm size. splen.
did In workmanship looked at purely
from the jolner's standpoint, and Ii be-
sides marvel Of carving from top to bot.
tom. How many year, work were put In
upon Il one can only guess. The price II
only si, 100. a Venetian bed Of dark wood
like mahogany. simply superb. Is only $500,
and the wonder Is how IL could be made
sum. Here are some vases In light-colored
wood, which may be either Italian ash OF
maple. One Is somewhat like the famous
Dore vase In bronze. In that II has Bac.
chante for It's topic, the swelling vase with
vines and flowers, and cupids struggling
to reach the top, lifting one another up,
frisking toward the summit OF their ex.
cited ambition. II has not as much detail
an the bronze vase. but is strong and i'm.
pressive In the few figures which II has;
besides, you must remember this was cut
out of solid wood, not fashioned In plastic
clay.
With their srt In carving one would
suppose the Italians to be proficient In
furniture. They are. For beauty and
workmanship think the Italian furniture
excels that Of France and Germany. IL Il
simply indescribable. Take, for example.
the room fitted up NJ reproduction Of
the bed chamb Der of the Queen Of Italy. II
Is q dream. II all the work to be seen ip
Il had been paid at our American wages ]
dare say the cost Of the apartment would
run above ti0O00.
The Italians are not only patient and
deft, but decidedly original In design.
They are bold and ingenious. For In
stance, an old wood carver from Venice
shows US combination Of two figures in
one, back to back. which he 30 places IN
front of q mirror that the observer sees
two figures each distinct from the other.
One Is Marguerite and the other Mephisto
pheles. In another example Of this sort .
country girl has run away from her par
ents to visit her lover In the city. While
the pair are paradlng the streets the par
ents suddenly appear. The girl suggest,
TO her lover that he stand behind her, and
she partly covers him with the drapery oi
her skirts. In front you see the demurs
face of the girl, behind the alarmed yet
cautious countenance Of the secreted lover
These trick pieces are very effective.
The Italians have caught the electric
pirit. They make some dazzling cleo
lroliers Of wood. often colored with bronze
Or gold or black. Very successful are theii
ebony figures. Ethiopians and Moors with
parted lips and golden headdress. There
l. nothing the Italian carver cannot dc
with piece of wood and chisel.
The most fascinating part Of the Italian
exhibit are the marbles. OF course II you
want to SEQ the finest examples Of Italian
sculpture you will have TO 20 70 the Fine
Arts palace. There the sons OF Italy show
their most ambitious pieces. But nothing
In their section of the fine arts, or any
other section, can equal what they have
here In their commercial display In gen
uine human interest and I'm expressiveness
which the multitude understands and ap
piauds. II Il . saying that In Italy every
artisan II an artist, and we have here am.
ple proof that In that country II Is difficult
TO tell where the workman In left behind
and the artist begins. You will zee what
mean when you come here aud walk
through these collections OF marbles.
They are not exhibited a. high art, but ~
the figures and statuettes Of commerce.
They are bewildering In number and fas-
cinating In expression.
Visitors. wander among them till they
almost lose the sense OF enjoyment, %
numerous are tho examples, 20 enhancing
the figures. These Italians appear 10
make statues llfe-liks and beautiful. ~
We make chairs or tablesor any other arti.
cles, by the Wholesale. One exhibitor has
no fewer than $50 men ~ WORK AL TINS
time turning out these marbles OF all
sises. ChIldren's faces and figures arc
favorits topics with these artists. Here 10
Q little girl with dead bird, . sad face.
tears starting In the big brown eyes.
Near by another u,iss with her live song.
stsr In her hands. both csrolling out OF
their overAowfng hsartA A group OF
tnrce children leaning against the balcony
rall Of theatsr givss IN ideal picture OF
Juvenile happiness. a girl II out hshing.
and her roll IL carried aloft ~ she leans faf
s.,t cv., ths vvafsr,s adm for n throw.