The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-07-31
Sculpture at the Worlds Fair Critical Inspection Shows That America Leads
 the World in This Art

St. Louis, July 30.-When the Palace of Fine Arts at the Worlds Fair was erected, it was thought that the great central hall would suffice for all the | sculpture. However, the application | for space was so far in excess of the available area that a separate pavilion | had to be erected. This is the pressed
 brick and staff building beyond the | decorative gardens that occupy the
 open space south of the main building | It is devoted entirely to the work of European artists, and it was not for | mally opened until July 13, although the public had been admitted for some time previous to the opening.
 | Those who have seen the strong, earnest, artistic work in the American | Sculpture hall, anticipated something | positively superhuman from the foreign | artists. for the Old World must surely
 surpass the New World in art A care full inspection of the collection in the | International pavilion fails to justify the expectations; it cannot but afford a feeling of grati1cation to those Americans who for two years past. have been insisting that the sculptors of the United States are the best in the world.
 The American statuary exhibit is dignified and satisfactory. It reveals | llIt ldtl that Jne AlIltTlcdH SCuIptpT IdS "arrived." On the other hand, the in- ternational shows plainly that the art ists of the Old World have overshot l tho mark and arc fioundering about in a chaos of new ideas and methods that as yet have not given evidence of their adaptability to the requirements of art.
 For the most part, the creations are grotesque realistic or trivial There hN n1 \
 tales of anthology, that are charming
 and really beautiful. and some of the
 portrait work Is good; but the exhibit
 as a whole Is disappointing from the
 viewpoint of one who looks for Euro
 pean supremacy. There Is the concep-
 tlon of Sisyphus by that eminent Bel
 gian, Baudrenghein, that is carefully
 modelled and well posed; but the body
 Is that of a mere stripling who seems
 incapable of even moving the stone he
 Is supposed to roll to the top of tho
 hill. In contrast with this. the Icarus
 of Maillard. suplime In its marble sim
 plicity. Is altogether pleasing,
 One group that attracts rather more than its share of attention is Leveque's Struggling Amazons." composition that follows the lines of the famous old Greek wrestlers. It is not tho mus cular power nos S,e intricate pose that causes the paSsCr @Y to stop and won der. but the altogether indescribable expression of the two faces. Whether the artist intended to portray tocuni banter or undying hate. the faces do not reveal. He has not taken the pub lie into his confidence. It is a genius far removed from the commonplace that Is capable of creating such an express sion. It Is "The Lady or the Tiger" and Is certainly cIever-but we are not altogether sure that it Is the province of art to be clever.
 La Spiras so-called Naughty Satvr" in the Italian section. is another ap- parent attempt to dress old ideas up in strange, new garb. The satYr with which we have been familiar since first we saw the plaster casts of glorious old Greek figures and the bits of black and red decoration on genuine Greek vases. is a joyous, roguish fellow, a persOnification of the breeze that fits In mclOdious inconsistency from hill top to valley This satvr of the modern Italian is n demonlacal. brutish crea- ture, without one redeeming line. He is anything but naughty" He IS rather villainous.