The record-union., 1897-10-17


tweedledurn and tweedledee, many of
them, it appears, cannot distinguish be-
tween art and life. A bronze Bacchante
Is, TO them brazen young woman; and,
while pagan muses. decorously draped,
and an Astarte tricked out in gauze
and gold, may find admission unques-
toned, a dancing girl with a baby on
her arm, and lust a drappie in her
ee," is too suggestive to obtain a
place in their Public Library.
The discussion of the morality of his
Bacchante has made Mr.. MacMonnies
more celebrated than the merits or de-
merits of his work ever could: but,
while the good sense of the public is on
his side, it cannot be quite pleasant to
acquire notoriety in that manner. 1t
is to be said, however. that it may lead
to appreciative study of his work, and
ultimately to frame worth having.
The Bacchante is one of Mr.. Mac
Monies best things so far. 1t is one
which any living sculptor might gladly
own. But it has now been so often de-
scribed and pictured that it is hardly
necessary to describe it again, or to say
that the sculptor's motive has plainly
been to represent the beauty of a sud-
den and spontaneous movement, and
not to glorify either inebriety or naked
ness.
The dancing Bacchante-need we
Fay?-ls a well-known subject in classic
art. And it should hardly be necessary
TO tell anyone that bodily action is
best seen when the body is nude. Ger
tain necessary conventions Ito say
nothing Of the northern climate) re-
quire that in actual life we shall usual
ly go clothed, but these have never, in
any wholly civilized time, been applied
to bronze and stone. There is a differ
ence, though it may not everywhere be
perceptible.
Spirited and graceful line has always
had strong attraction for MacMon-
nies. One of his first essays, the little
Pan of Rohallion, illustrates his ten
dency to fasten on the beauty of a
mOmentary pose. Although the boy is
standing and piping away unconscious
of the effort he is making to maintain
his balance every muscle is adjusted
to keep his position on the globular sup
port, and we are made to feel the
rythmical movement that must accom-
pany the strain. It is a f1eeting har-
nony made permanent; and we may, if
We ike, take it as a symbol of that
broader harmony, which it is the aim of
all good people to bring about.
At times this insistence on move-
ment has interfered with the intended
effect of a figure. The statue of Ma
than Hale is an example. In spite of
our sympathy, we find that the contrast
between the activity of the youthful
figure of the hero and the restraint to
which he is supposed to be subjected
approaches the ridiculous. In the
smaller group of Venus and Adonis, the
conception is similarly self -contradic-
tory. The action of the boy is suffi-
GENTLY decided. He is for parting, but
the young woman, who does not act the
goddess, like an Impractical hostess, ig-
nores his determination to be off. One
anticipates embarrassment on their
part; and this, perhaps, is the cause of
the curious unclothed look of the fig
ures. One associates them with even
ing dress.
But in the much larger and more i'm
po~tant group Though but of staff
that decorated the great fountain in
front of the Administration Building
at the Chicago Worlds Fair MacMon-
mics showed that he could bring many
figures into concerted action. The COM
position was a very fine one from every
point Of view, and Notwithstanding GER
tain claims of a disappointed sculptor,
all that was especially good in it was
original.
The general idea of a marine triumph
is, Of course, as old as the Romans.
and it might not be difficult to guess
where the sculptor got hints for his
trftons and nymphs and horses, and
so forth But no one, before. had got
the same or even similar effect with
those Well-known ingredients. 1t is one
of the things that one regrets most in
connection with the fair, that the mon
ument was not carried out in lasting
material. AS whole, and in all its
parts, it showed the sculptors pecul-
iarly decorative talent, and his love of
graceful motion, while it was not lack
ing in dignity. Perhaps the groups for
the Washington arch in New York NAV
surpass it, but as the subjects do not
permit of the finest decorative treat
ment, it is possible that they will not.
Henry MacMonnies was born in 1863
and is now 81 years old. His first studies
were made under the direction of the
New York sculptor St. Gaudens. whom
he assisted in some of his most frnpor-
tant works, getting thus. from the
start, practical education in the tech
nical part of the sculptor's art which
has been of the greatest service to him
and partly accounts for his rapid adj
vance. In 1885. having already made
much progress in his studies, he entered
the EcOle des BeauX-Arts in Paris, and
three years later set up studio of his
own. In his earlier work, the influ-
enee of both st. Gaudens and his second
teacher. Falguiere. is easily traceable;
but the personality which is Fisible even
In his first essays has asserted itself
more and more in his recent work, and il
Is now difficult to detect more than 2
general bond of sympathy between him
and his masters
This progress has not been even II
has been marked, at times, by extra
ordinary efforts. not all of them success
fui Thus on his statue of Diana, which
certainly is not to be reckoned among
his best, he spent year of hard work
endeavoring, it would appear, to follow
IN Falguiere's footsteps, and yet pass
MIN at some point. AS usually happens
ne found that progress was impossible
for him IN this way, and he turned to the
study that offers free path for all who
choose 10 follow it-that of nature
His attempt at the ideal brought him
only an honorable mention at the Salon:
while the year after, with portrait OF
Mr. Stranahan, he gained a second me-
dal. The work upon the Chicago foun-
tain, which established his reputation
as a decorative sculptor in America. was
the next of Importance. His Racchante
-