The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-09-29
UNFnusHED FRIEzE.

of many of Them rested upon the scat
folding which is suspended half way up
the; great height. Tomany Of these OBJ
servers this scafFolding had long been a
familiar object. For many years now it
has hung there and for five or six years
has not been occupied, except by the ac-
cumulation Of dnst, cobwebs and cigar
and cigarette stnmps thrown from the
gallery, which is far above it and just
underneath the beautiful allegorical
canopy. The scafolding was placed there
for the accommodation of the italian
artist who was engaged for long time
In painting the frieze which traverses
the whole circuit Of the rotunda.
was one of those who gazed at this
scafolding, as I had gazed at it many
times before. On this occasion it oc-
CURED to me it was about time this
unsightly object In the beautiful rotun-
da were removed. Ithas obviously been
kept there all these years waiting for a
renewal Of the work upon the frieze,
which is nearly completed and could be
finished by few weeks work. This
frieze is really one Of the admirable
works of art in the capitol. To the OBJ
server who stands on the floor of the
great rotunda, far below it appears to bea
sunken space or kind of shelf eight or ten
feet high completely surrounding the ro-
tunda. 1t is painted with fresco in a
style which the artists call chiaro oscurO
in imitation of alto relieve, though am
sure do not know what that means.
But if one is unable to determine what
chiaro oscuro alto relieve is, he has no
difficulty in understanding the wonder
full series of sketches of American his
tory with which the frieze is adorned,
nor is 1t difficult to perceive that the ex-
ecution of this work, SO far as it has
gone, has been so perfect that while the
scenes and figures are mere paintings
they appear to stand out in the high re-
lief of statuary.
1t occurred to me to ascertain why this
work Of art has not been completed and
the unsightly scaffolding torn down. So
called upon Architect Clark, one Of the
grand old men of this capital city-the
man who for many years has had sole
control Of the American statehouse, and
who loves the great building as if it were
his own child. Mr.. Clark quickly in
formed me that the frieze had not been
finished for the simple reason that the
two committees on library, which have
supervision over the capitol, had not as
yet been able to agree upon the historical
! incident or episode which was to form
tho subject of the final painting. But
one cartoon is now needed to complete
the frieze and thus to encircle the mag
nifcent rotrnda with a series of pictures
designed represent climaxes in the his
tory of the republic. Mr.. Clark said the
time had now come in all probability
when the topic for the last cartoon could
be decided upon and the work completed.
Some years ago the library committees
Of the house and senate, which have the
very good fashion of leaving these mat
5 ters very much to the control of the
architect, had about concluded, on his
recommendation, to fill up the series Of
pictures with cartoon which should
represent completion of the Pacific rail-
way. That was indeed a great episode
in the history Of western civilization. It
marked an era in the westward march
Of progress. But some difficulties and
objections arose, and it was pointed out
that not only had there been scandal in
connection with the building Of this rail
road, but that too many of the chief
actors in the work were still alive to
make it an appropriate topic for histor-
ical treatment. In other words, it was
too oontemporaneous to be good history.
This idea was at length abandoned, and
20 other incident in the latter part of the
career of the country appearing to be of
sufficient Importance to deserve treat
mens in this manner, completion of the
series was postponed.
But now the incident has come. The
historical climax worthy representation
b. this series of the centuries has made
IT'S appearance. 1t is, of course, the four
hundredth anniversary of the discovery
of America and the memorable manner
in which that discovery has been cele-
brased by the Worlds Columbian expo
sition at Chicago. While it has not yet
been officially decided to employ this
topic IN compaeton of the frieze. little