Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1905-11-15
souptors Learning Clay.

And that's what counts IN this pro
fession, anyway. It's mostly matter
of good drawing or bad drawing.
Do you paint in oils or water
colors" is the stock question asked of
every painter. until he gets as weary
of it as he does Of the remark, Why,
1 couldn't draw a cat to save my life.
| Ii, however, he is wise, he replies
gently, 4 draw in either So the sculp-
tor is primarily engaged in drawing.
AS far as his actual professional work
lis concerned, involving statuary In
the round or in relief, it matters lit
tie IL he does not learn It's mechanical
parts for several years after he has
begun to study These things are
quickly learned by the man who has
discovered how to draw the human
figure SO that it will stand on its feet,
in graceful pose, with construct.
ed ankles. elbows ana knees. Conse-
quently, the longer the sculpture stu.
dent can be kept on the general work
OF drawing and painting from the live
model, under such painters as Mr..
Tarbell. Mr. Chase MIR. Benson or
Ar Eakins. the better for him in all
his subsequent career.
Half an hour Of explanation OF this
sort left the layman with a little
clearer understanding of the reasons
why a considerable part of the train
ing of the prospective sculptor is car
ried on in the drawing classes. IL
such a school as the one connected
with the Boston Museum OF Fine Arts
the number of pupils in the sculpture
department properly is strictly limit
ed, and there is always found a good
sized waiting list: and the instructor
Mr. Bella l.. Pratt. sculptor among
many other works OF the Governor
John Winthrop statue recently IN.
stalled at New London, Ct. regards
this waiting as involving no hardship
Once the student has been admitted
to the sculpture classes proper he
does right over again in clay what he
has already done in charcoal ana
paint. He reproduces the human
skull, studying all the reentrant sur.
faces. He models from the anatomical
casts that show the superficial mus
/ cles OF the figure He later makes
large-size reproductions from the llv
/ ing model And always he listens tc
the familiar instruction Get the
shape Of tie DARN spots. Find out &C
curately where shadow and light
meet There must be a place some
| where where one leaves off and the
other begins, Secure that and you
viii have made the first step toward
beautiful simplifcation, Model Ia the
light deliestely; keep the shadows
very simple"
1 Most American art schools for var
7 ious reasons have only small depart
ments of sculpture. One main cOnsid
Grafton is unquestonably the expense
IL costs a great deal to maintain
classes in modelling. At one Of the
| New York art schools the average
loss from the sculpture studies is said
to have averaged more than thou
sand dollars a year for many years
and there have at several times been
proposals that the Society Of Amer
lean Sculpture should endow the
classes. The school at the museum
in Boston is. fortunately. endowed tc
such an extent that the financial side
does not especially trouble the man
agement, though there viii probably
always. for purely educational rea
sons, be a policy of keeping the mum
Der Of students small
American students OF sculpture tend
more and more to stay on this side oil