Pueblo chieftain. (Pueblo, Colo.) 1889-current, 1921-07-15

BY FREDERIC J. HAsKIN
Washington. II. G, July l2--London
now has a bronze copy OF the Houdon
statute or George Washington. Paris
has had its bronze copy since 1910, in
the Palace OF Versailles. Washington
has its bronze and plaster copies. The
Richmond state capitol has the orisi-
nal Besides the various copies OF his
famous work, Houdon has been further
immortalized in that almost every
sculptor who has eesayed to make
figure Of Washington has gone to his
model for correctness of features ana
dimensions, Houdon's statute has be
come the accepted likeness Of toe
Father OF His Country as he really
was,
That Houdon's Washington is a
piece of authentic realism there can be
no doubt. Houdon, painter to kings.
came from France to spend two weeks
a. Mt Vernon studying his subject.
Al this time, Washington allowed the
sculptor to make mask of his face,
head, and chest, and from the mask
Houdon modelled his statue that was
to make Il impossible for later genera
tons of sculptors to speculate as 10
the length OF the first Presidents nose
or the set OF his jaw. Painters may
make portraits OF Washington so DIFF
ferent in expression and feature that
we can scarcely Imagine the same
man as the subject of all OF them, but
Hodon's mask is Washington.
| A mask. 1T is true. does not show the
face in any animated expression. II
must necessarily be a face in absolute
repose. For this reason. some artists
have claimed that tho best paintings
OF Washington and other heroes come
nearer to creating n true Impression
OF the man al he actually looked than
sthtutee made from masks. On this
Iconnoisseurs differ. Tho statue OF
Houdon shows Washington strong and
- ha pfr
have looked at the age Of 81, after he
had weathered the battles OF the
revolution.
Mask. In the Making
The stories of Houdon's visit do not
show how he persuaded Washington
to allow a mask to be made. 1t is we'll
known that n year or two before. JOS
eph Wright, n young American artist.
had painted Washington and then re-
lcoivcd permission to make a life mask.
This is always a trying operation. The
subjects hair must he oiled to keep
1.-The plaster from sticking. and silk
| thread placed on the face SO that II
can be pulled Mt the risht moment to
break the cast. Arrangements must
be made for breathing. And then the
plaster must DE laid on the features
Iuntl the face is entirely covered and
the plaster hardens In the mold.
| All the preliminaries, the young
Iartist managed successfully. But
when II came to removing the cast. he
was nervous. He was aware, no DOUBT.
that his distinguished sitter must be
uncomfortable beneath the Btiffening
weight OF plaster, and with scant OPP
lnortunity to breathe. At any rate. he
removed the mask too soon and II
broke in a number Of fragments too
small to be Of any use. Washington ie
said to have been so annoyed that the
work had gone for nothing that he
lvowed-one historian SAYS profanely-
THAT never would he have another
mask made. Yet Houdon overcame
this antipathy, and his mask was
perfect.
washinEtons greatness was appre-
ciated by his contemporaries, and even
before he became president statues of
him were being urged. The Houdon
statue was approved by a resolution
Of the assembly of the state Of Viz
Einia In 1884. The state wished TO
honor Its most illustrious citizen. and
lhlso IL wanted a permanent souvenir
of him jefferson. who was in France,
was asked TO commission tho best
| 'etatuary" in Europe to preserve tho
face Of the general. He chose Houdon.
| II Ia said that the French sculptor
was eager to make also an equestrian
statue Of Washington which was urged
as a national monument to he placed
in the residence Of congress- Plans
for this were delayed and Houdon
never made tho national monument to
the first president
Immediately after Washington died,