G92 SCULPTURE AND WORKS OF PLASTIC ART.—AWARDS AND NOTICES. XTass XXX.

Both the Government and the nation, however, arenow becoming conscious of the great importance of Art,not only in its Monumeutal character, but in its relationto Industry.

The vast range of comparison which the Exhibitionhas afforded, by the juxta-position of the products of somany nations/ has directed the English mind to moreenlightened views; and, from the energy of the nationalcharacter and institutions, these newly-awakened ideasmay ultimately prove of the greatest benefit in regardboth to the Fine Arts and the Manufactures of thecountry.

A. Sculpture and Works of Plastic Art.

1. Sculpture on a large Scale.

No other nation has exhibited so many works of tinsclass as Great Britain. This may be partly accountedfor by the fact that the English sculptors have not beenembarrassed, like those of other countries, by the cost oftransporting their works from a distance; but the fargreater wealth of the English , as compared with othernations, is another cause of this numerical superiority.

With regard to the quality of their sculpture, it mustbe confessed that the productions of the modern English school, till within a comparatively recent date, have notbeen such as to command the approbation of the mostcompetent judges.

In the earlier periods of English art the name ofFlaxman stands alone; and, fertile as this great geniuswas in invention, the execution of his works hardlyequals the beauty of their conception.

Ilis influence seems to have been scarcely felt for aconsiderable period: the strong tendency to Realism* inthe English school of sculpture found its natural expres-sion in portraiture. Cliantrey, long pre-eminent amonghis contemporaries, produced a great number of admirablebusts; but in all the works of this period which have ahigher pretension, and claim to rank as Ideal sculpture,there is a striking deficiency, not only in scientific know-ledge, but in taste and in genuine Plastic style.f

* A work is called Realistic when the artist restrictshimself to the task of rendering an individual model in allits parts, form, character, and the like, just as they appearbefore him. On the other hand a work of art is calledIdeal when the artist modifies the figure in these samerespects, according to his own feeling for its inner signifi-cance and outward beauty of form—attributes which neces-sarily vary in each case.

f When we say of a work of sculpture that it possesses“style,” the following qualities ought to be implied. Thesculptor must have so treated the solid material, such asstone, metal, wood, with which he has to deal, as not toremind the spectator of the nature of the substance em-ployed, but so as rather to suggest to the eye the characterof the object imitated, flesh, drapery, or whatever it may be.

Further, as we learn from the antique sculpture, in thetreatment of naked surfaces, the muscles should not berepresented by prominences so isolated and abrupt as toimpair the general breadth, but should be rather indicatedby moderate depressions in broad surfaces.

In drapery, again, to attain the same general breadth ofeffect in the larger surfaces, which are supposed to he de-fined by the forms and action of the body, the details of thefolds should be represented not by big, heavy projections,but by numerous contiguous channellings or markings.

The sculptor must, moreover, take care not to attempt,in every part of his work, as perfect an imitation as thenature of the solid material he employs would admit, but heshould adopt a treatment more and more conventional inproportion as the object he has to represent is less and lessimportant, flesh being the most important; for otherwisethe degree of illusion sought for in the imitation of fleshcannot be attained, because the imitation of many subordi-nate objects can be carried much further in the solid mate-rial with which the artist has to work. In sculpture “ inthe round.” it is also necessary that the centre of gravityhe so observed as to suggest to the spectator the idea ofsolidity and security. In reliefs, lastly, this rule is to befollowed,—that, whether the work be in high, middle, orlow relief, no single portion should project beyond theextreme limit of general relief in each case intended, but

To this general criticism E. H. Baily (p. 847), in hisbest works, forms a distinguished exception. Amongthese, however, we can hardly reckon the three statuesin the Exhibition, of a Hunter, a Young Girl, and Eve;of the latter a cast in zinc only was exhibited. But themerit of these works was not overlooked by the Jury,who have awarded them a Prize Medal. (P. 8, 6 and 7.)

Since the period referred to a new race of sculptorshas arisen in England, who possess in a remarkabledegree the qualities in which their predecessors weredeficient. Among the chief causes which have combinedto produce this school may be reckoned the influence ofthe genius of Flaxman, the study of the noblest examplesof Greek art preserved to us in the Elgin marbles, andthe example of the great Thorwaldsen , with whommany of the English sculptors at Rome had constantintercourse.

Among the most distinguished of contemporary sculp-tors we may specially mention the name of Gibson. Inhis Hunter and Dog a lively and imaginative conceptionis combined with an exquisite feeling for harmony oflines, and with thorough knowledge. The treatment isstrictly Plastic; the details carefully and conscientiouslywrought out. The unanimous award of the Jury wouldhave bestowed the Council Medal on this work had notthe artist been disqualified from receiving a prize byfilling the office of a Juror in this Class.

Next should be mentioned the name of Mr. RichardJ. Wyatt (Main Avenue, East, 120, p. 128G, and Illus-tration), whose death, in the full maturity of his powers,we have to deplore.

His statue of Glycera represents a girlish figure, slightand full of simple grace; the characteristics of femininebeauty are indicated in the modelling with great delicacy;the drapery is treated with good taste, and with a dueregard for style. One feeling pervades the whole design,and imparts to it a peculiar charm. This work, there-fore, united all those qualities which entitled it to receivea Council Medal (103, p. 11, second improved edition).

The following sculptors are well worthy to rank nextto the distinguished names already noticed:—

J. II. Foley, of London (p. 848, and Illustration), AYouth at a Stream : of this a cast in plaster, and anotherin bronze, were exhibited. The figure is about to plungeinto a river: he still clings to the branch of a tree risingover liis head, whilst he advances one foot somewhattimidly. The motive is remarkable for originality andgrace, and the conception is well sustained by the wholetreatment; in the slender proportions and finely modelledwell-turned limbs the artist has admirably expressed theattributes of youthful beauty. Another of his worksrepresents a group of Ino and the infant Bacchus, inplaster (Class XXV., 2, p. 711). Ino, reclining at herease, holds up to the infant god a bunch of grapes,towards which lie eagerly stretches his hands. There isa sprightly grace in the attitude of Ino, and much refine-ment of form; but on the whole this group is not sosimple in conception as the Youth at the Stream; thePrize Medal has therefore been awarded to the two worksconjointly. In his statue of Hampden, in plaster (p. 848,and see Illustration), executed for the new Houses of Par-liament, the same artist has shown that he can unite thepeculiarities of individual life, and the details of costumenecessary in an historical portrait, with a true Plasticstyle.

J. Bell, of London (Class XXII. 641, p. 661). TheEagle-slayer, cast in bronze, and also in iron. Thisfigure represents a powerful man in very strong action,at the moment after shooting an arrow into the air. Theviolence of the exertion has brought the muscles into fullplay. The artist has admirably succeeded in expressingthe momentary and transient character of the action, and

that the whole profile of the relief should be restrictedwithin a given scale ; that, again, there should not be morethan two distances in the composition, so that two figures atthe most can stand one behind the other; to attemptgreater depth is to invade the province of picturesquei composition, and by destroying the idea of relief from anactual plane, to cause indistinctness of outline.