New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-06-07

e Of an extraordinarily uniform excel
nee Houdon's facility did not betray
I'm into carelessncss or supericiality.
IT, was. indeed. ono Of those sCuptors
Eho are born not made. His father be
iug attached as an humble functionary
10 the art school establishment under
royal protection I'm Paris. Houdon had
every opportunity as child TO breathe
an atmosphere favorable TO the stimula-
tion Of his gift, He tiptoos into the
classroom" according to a contemporary
note "and is happy If he can snatch 4
few pieces Of moist clay I'm order TO imi-
tate the work of the students. The at
tention Of the professors. especially Of
Pigalle. was attracted to the zeal ami
talent which his attempts showed and
he considered it worth while 10 give ad-
vice and encouragement to the boy, hard
~ more than ten or twelve years old AT
shet time"
He was soon set decisively upon the
career of an artist, and in his twentieth
year he won the Prix de Rome. Three
years later he proceeded to Italy, and
in the mean time had so far disciplined
and strengthened his abilities as to have
made himself a master rather than a
pupil. That, at all events, is the con-
olusion TO be drawn from the "St.
Bruno which he modelled in Rome. the
lBtatue Of which Pope Clement said:
""Twould speak did not the rules Of its
order cniofn silence" Thenceforth Hou-
dons rise was rapid. Officially, and In
the public eye. he ranked as one Of the
Headers OF French sculpture, II not as
its principal figure. and in the field Of
portraiture especially he enjoyed a ire
mendous vogue. Posterity has confirmed
his fame, and, in fact, he remains to-
day the great master OF his time.
His present ,biographers have per-
formed valuable service in, sitting and
clearly recording the salient facts Of his
career. Their narrative is rich in we'll
documented information. II must re-
gretfully be stated, however that sle
book has not been very judiciously
: planned or executed with an exact sense
of proportion. There are various ques-
l
matters of controversy. The Identified
tion Of his bust of Voltaire as the one
used at the ceremonies in honor Of the
author Of Irene" at the Theatre Fran
Gals in IT'S; the friction between him
and Caffieri, where Benjamin Franklin
and the statue OF Washington were con-
cerned; the hearing of his bust Of Paul
Jones upon the whole matter Of the re-
cent elimination of the body Of the noted
sea fighter, are all topics demanding
some comment I'm a biography of the
sculptor. But in every case these
authors unduly expand their text with
the result that they dislocate the balance
of the portrait they have undertaken to
paint. Houdon's personality and the
evolution Of his career are almost lost
sight Of in mass of detail which could
easily have been condensed without the
sacrifice of a single essential. point.
There is for example, whole chapter
given to the Montgomery tomb produced
by Caffieri and placed in the portico of
ST. Pauls Church I'm New York The
substance of this chapter might have
been relegated TO brief appendix If
not confined to footnote. II is difficult
to see, too, why full chapter should
have been assigned to the Lodge Of the
Nine Sisters, especially as next to moth
ing Is made IN II of Houdon's Masonic
association All that the authors have
to say Oh that subject they might have
interpolated quite casually in the main
body Of their work. The truth is that
there IS serious excess Of historical
data in this book, both as regards French
and American affairs, which If not who'll