The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1896-11-28

ne Must he Something OF Mechanic a.
Well AZ Artist.

Well ~ Artist.
II Is said OF Michael Angelo that he
carved some of the greatest master
pieces directly from rough blocks OF
marble without any preparatory stu
dies or models; but, then. the great
Florentine was a genius, and his knowl-
edge of the human form and his powers
in delineating IL were supreme.
The model appeared to him superfiu-
Gus, but he sometimes miscalculated
how far his blocks Of marble would ear
| ry him in the realization OF his ideas. IL
cannot be wondered at that his method
has been followed by few. on account OF
the colossal difficulties involved in car
rying II out, and few scrlptors would
consider themselves competent TO at
tack mass of stone and carve there
from a figure almost breathing with
life. Even In the old days sculptors re-
sorted TO more artificial and prosaic
methods for the evolution of their ideas
in bronze and marble.
When we look upon finished rnarble
statue we rarely think of the time and
labor that has been expended on IL.
First, a model must be made, but even
| preliminary to this the sculptor puts
his ideasin the form of rough sketch"
in clay or wax, according TO the delicacy
required.
Here the main points arc rapidly
nodded in, and some idea is obtained of
how the statue will look when II is
finished. A passing thought. an idea, is
in this way fixed, and is more carefully
worked up in the model.
AS a rule, tlie first model IL small, and
Is of clay or wax, and at fist consists
of a nucleus of tow or some such ma
terial, on which the clay is laid. BIT by
bit IL is built up, until by trimming and
adding, fattening and rounding OFF, the
figure comes 10 assume its proper pro-
portions.
The rough outlines OF the sketch"
are developed, new ideas are added.
others are altered and by degrees the re-
alization of the sculptor's thoughts be-
gins TO appear in the clay.
In the actual manipulation great care
must be taken that the clay Is of the
proper consistence and possesses tho
requisite amount of moisture, other
wise il may become dry and crack.
A still more serious accident Is where
the clay crumbles to pieces. In this way
the labor OF months may in few min
utes vanish into mass of debris, an
experience which many sculptors have
had.
To guard against this the clay must
from time 10 time be molstened, and
when work Is finished for the day the
model must be carefully covered with
| -. T.. Al. T. Il
may be prevented.
When large models have to be made
extra precautions must be taken
| against drying. The nucleus must be
made strong, OF iron rods along the
lines where there is least support, as i'm
the case of outstretched arms or legs.
and the rods must be properly fixed in
a stable basis.
| At first the figures are modelled nude,
and full regard is paid TO all anatomical
details. The drapery is added after
ward, from studies arranged on lay fig
ures.
When the model is finished according
to the taste of the sculptor, second
one is made OF the exact size intended
for the final piece of work. Where the
statue is TO be made OF bronze, the full
size model is an absolute necessity, as
the casting In bronze is made from the
model, and il reproduces the latter In
every detail.
Where the statue Is to be of marble,
the final model need not necessarily
be full size, and many sculptors prefer
working from small, highly finished
models. Usually, however, full-sized
model is made I'm clay.
The sculptor can still alter or modify
his original design, bringing certain
features into greater prominence, sub
DUNG others.
When the model Is finished, cast OF
1t is taken in plaster, and this latter Is
used as the final model, and, with IL as
guide, the block of marble Is carved
by skilled workmen. This is an art
which has been carried TO high de-
gree of perfection in Italy, and the
workmen OF Carrara are famous.
The sculptor makes his model i'm clay
and takes plaster caSt, and then sends
IL TO the works of Can rara, where IL IN
chiseled and then returned TO him for
the final touches.
After the choice of suitable block
of stone, n most important piece of
work has to bc done. namely, the mark
ing of certain points on the plaster cast
and the determination Of similar points
In the marble. Various methods and
instruments have been recommended
for this purpose.
In practice a divided frame is used,
and the exact distance Of certain
marked points ON the plaster cast Is nc
cufatdy measured. Fixed points on the
stone are marked and from these the
other points are measured With instru-
ments, and the depth to which the stone
must be cut or drilled Is determined
with great accuracy.