The weekly intelligencer., 1900-09-29
scULPTORs BROKEN HEART.
A PEDESTAL In Central Park which is
Likely 10 Rrmain without
a statue.

On the brow OF a hill in Central
Park opposite West Eighty-fourih |
street. stands a pedestal without q
statue On II orce rested the eques-
trian statue Of Ger. Simon Bolivar, |
iberator Of Colombia. h is not likely /
that it will ever hold another. As It
stands now il is a monument 10 a
sculptor wlo died Of broken heart.
lie was Giovanni Turini, who expired
suddenly one morning IN August last
year in the midst Of his labor on the
Dewey arch. says the New lorb sun.
The statue OF Bolivar was calculated I
to startle man and BEAST and for that I
reason. presumably It was almost I
completely hidden by foliage. The
Venezuelan government offered TO re- |
place It with one Of the same subject |
Z that would be more in keeping with |
the Surroundings The park commits
sioners accepted the offer without hes
! itation, They saw in it a chance 10
/ get rid Of an obiectionao.e monument
without giving offense to It's donors,
and so great vas their zeal to do
away with the statue that they did
not wait to tear u down until its
successor was completed. Turiui was
selected by venezuela to make the
new monument. At the same time
that government commissioned him
20 execute n gigantic statue oiLiberty
and bronze memorials to Gen. Sucre
and Gen. Pacz, all of which were TO
be erected in the city Of Caracas.
The sculptor took up the work with
nll the enthusiasm Of his race. lie
was an Italian and he was sure that
both fame and fortune were now
within his grasp. lie used up all his
reaty money, and when that was gone
he mortgagcd his house. Finally The
clay model Of the Bolivar statue was
completed and ruriui eagerly sought
the Judgment Of the committee Of The
National Sculpture society, which
acted as an advisory board to the park
board in all matters pertaining TO
public art. To him there could he but
one decision. The visit Of the com
T mittee to his studio was simply mat
Z ter Of form, he thought, and the art
isis who composed it would not onls
, pass favorable Judgment on the statue
: but would congratulate him on hi.
g splendid treatment OF the design. II,
i had chosen as his model the eqnestri
!, an monument of BOLIVAR which Tado
t. hni executed for Caracas He sought
( no originality being content to pro
n luee q replica Of what he considered (
I great work Of art. But alas, for al
/, his fine hope The committee studie,
u his model with the 'charactersticalll
S cold precision OF the American exper
= and straightway reported against IL
= acceptance by The pnfk authorifie.
F! The members said that the mode
5 failed to reach The standard OF an
,istic excellence that It should have 4
> order to cntitle il 10 a place in an
II of the public grounds or parks Of III
VI CITY
e. The blow crushed the sculptor.
~ came as a boil from a clear Sky. Angi
n' succeeded profound grief. It was a
Us conspiracy to cheat him out OF IN
DE Victories he had won IN art, he n
" clared He wrote a letter to ihe par
US board denouueinc the society and Il
&c Judgment Of ia committee. Th,
~, were un'ayorahly disposed towal
ii him because he WIS not q member
" the society, be mid and they br
m l1 come with their decision prepared b
OF forehand There was an art trust. /
ne said, with an office IN WaH stree
which controlled the public art
the city. and none could break IN sa
y those who were favored. lie beegl
for another Judgment by untrai
'e' meled experts by seulptors who we
not controlled bv the trust. The q
peal fell upon deaf ears. The pa
., board referred bis passionate lett
w. TO the society against which It was
~. W rected and nothing more wns heard
w It.
IL Then The government OF Venezuc
,l. ~ refused 10 pay him for his work. 4
~ statues Of Ger. Sucre and Gen. Pa
N.Y. had been sent 20 Caracas, hut the 81,
Nv, ne Of Liberty was still IN the fonndi
.sn Turini WAS In despair lie had
.or. money and he knew not where
ne. turn for financial assistance. T
III mortgage on his house fell due n
cl. the property was sold.
M Whom the Dewey arch project 10