Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-11-28
THE scuLProR.s WORK.
He Must BE Something of . Mechanic n
Well ~ Artist,

1t 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 genius, and his knowl-
edge of the human form and his powers
in delineating it were supreme.
The model appeared to him superfu-
| Gus, but he sometimes miscalculated
| how far his blocks of marble would car
ry him in the realization of his ideas. 1t
cannot be wondered at that his method
| has been followed by few, on account of
| the colossal difficulties involved in car
rying it out, and few scrlptors would
consider themselves competent to at
tack a mass of stone and carve there
from n figure almost breathing with
| ife. 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 marble
statue we rarely think of the time and
labor that has been expended on it.
First, a model must be made, but even
preliminary to this the sculptor puts
his ideas in the form of a rough sketch"
in clay or wax, according to the delicacy
required.
Here the main points are rapidly
nodded in, and come idea is obtained of
how the statue will look when it is
finished. A passing thought, an idea, is
in this way fixed, and is more carefully
worked up in the model.
As a rule, the first model is small, and
is of clay or wax, and at first consists
| of a nucleus of tow or some such ma
| terial, on which the clay is laid. Bit by
| bit it is built up, until by trimming and
| adding, flattening and rounding off, the
| figure comes to 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 manipula ton great care
| must be taken that the clay is of the
| proper consistence and possesses the
| requisite amount of moisture, other
wise it 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 a few min
| utes vanish into a mass of debris, an
| experience which many sculptors have
had.
To guard against this the clay must
from time to time be moistened, and
| when work is finished for the day the
model must be carefully covered with
damp cloths. In this way accidents
| may be prevented.
When large models have to be made
extra preca utions must be taken
against drying. The nucleus must be
made strong, of iron rods along the
| lines where there is least support, as in
| 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, a 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 it 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, a full-sized
| model is MADE IN 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, a cast of
it is taken in plaster. and this latter is
used as the final model, and, with it as
a guide, the block of marble is carved
| by skilled 1vorkmen. This is an art
| which has been carried to a high de-
gree of perfection in Italy, and the
worEmen of Carrara are famous.
The sculptor makes his model in clay
and takes q plaster cast, and then sends
it to the works of Carrara, where it is
| chiseled and then returned to him for
the final touches
After the choice of suitable block
of stone, a most important piece of
work has to be 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.
Il In practice a divided frame is used,
and the exact distance of certain
marked points on the plaster cast is ac-
curately 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.
In this way all prominent points are
L l., J,-sI ~.