COT
Class XXX.]
furniture and objects. Most of these articles are executedfrom his own drawings. The merit of the collection hasbeen duly acknowledged by the Jury.
THE ZOLLYEREIX.
I. PRUSSIA.
Since the year 1815 great efforts have been made inPrussia, by the successive monarchs and administrationsof Prussia, to encourage the Fine Arts in that country.Museums, and other buildings of a similar character,have been erected; sculptors, and more recently painters,have been employed in the execution of monumental•works, and the cultivation of all those manufactures onwhich art can exercise any influence, has been greatlypromoted by the foundation of the “ Institution forTrades” (Gewerbe-Institute under the energetic andjudicious management of Privy Councillor Beuth. Thatthese efforts have led to the happiest results has beenproved by the Exhibition, which has furnished to Prussiaa long-desired opportunity of showing what progress hasbeen made.
A. Sculpture and Works of Plastic Art.
1. Sculpture on a large Scale.
Until the commencement of the present century, theBerlin sculptors continued to imitate the false and man-nered style of the contemporary French school. Thefirst who returned to the principles of nature, and to acareful expression of details, was the sculptor Schadow .
But the Berlin school owes its present excellence tothe auspicious co-operation of three great men, who de-voted themselves to its improvement. These were, thelate architect Schinkel , the late sculptor Frederick Tick,and Christian Rauch, a sculptor whose active energiesstill remain unimpaired notwithstanding his great age.These three artists had profoundly studied the master-pieces of ancient art; the contemplation of these hadimbued their minds with an intense feeling for beauty,and revealed to them the great laws of style. Inspiredby these models, they did not attempt to reproduce themby a servile and spiritless imitation, but rather to applythe principles therein developed to works fitted for thewants of modern times, combining this reverence forantiquity with an earnest study of nature, aud a mostdiligent and scientific carefulness of execution. It is tobe regretted tliat Rauch himself contributed none of hisworks, if we except one or two copies from his Victories;and that many of his distinguished scholars, such asA. Fischer, Gustav Blaeser , Wredow, and Schievelbeiuwere also absent.
But though the school of Berlin was thus only partiallyrepresented in the Exhibition, yet many of the works itcontributed gave ample proof how great have been theresults of the combined influences which have aided inthe development of German art.
A. Kiss, of Berlin (279, p. 1065). An Amazon onHorseback attacked by a Tiger . With a ferocious boundthe animal has leaped upon her horse, and fastened onhim with teeth and claws. The Amazon is about totransfix her assailant with her spear. This work, whichis on a colossal scale, has been cast in zinc by Geiss fromtire original model, and bronzed by electro-deposit. Inthis group the artist has, by au original and powerfuleffort of invention, placed before our eyes the mostcritical moment of the action. The whole expressionand character of the Amazon are very nobly conceived;the anatomy displays consummate knowledge; great styleis shown in the general treatment of the surface, and thedetails are wrought out with wonderful force and truth.The whole work is full of soul; it seems the full earnestutterance of a true artistic nature.
The great qualities of this work called forth, at thetime of its completion, the most unbounded admirationon the part both of artists and friends of art. It wasexecuted in bronze by a public subscription, and nowornaments one side of the staircase of the Royal Museumat Berlin .
The approbation which it has received proves that.
where a work of art possesses striking merits, even con-siderable faults cannot counteract the favourable im-pression which is produced. It is one of the fundamentallaws of sculpture “ in the round,” that from many, butat all events from the principal, points of view the out-lines of the figures shall be distinct, and at the same timebeautiful; and this rule is signally transgressed in thework of Kiss. The forms of the tiger and the horse areblended together in one confused mass, so that the frontview is very unsightly, and even in the side views welose on one side the head of the horse, on the other thatof the tiger. Council Medal.
F. Drake, of Berlin (273, Prussia, p. 1065). Thepedestal of a statue of King Frederick William III. ofPrussia, erected by the inhabitants of Berlin as a tokenof their gratitude for the embellishments which thismonarch has bestowed on their Thiergarten (ZoologicalGardens). The work exhibited is in plaster, half thesize of the original pedestal. In the reliefs with whichit is ornamented the sculptor selected subjects whichcontain allusions to the local destination of his work.Thus he has represented a number of figures, of everyage and sex, enjoying themselves in the open air. Wesee groups of children looking into a bird’s nest or feed-ing the swans, young maidens weaving garlands, oldpeople leading children to the scene of the sports, orcontemplating their youthful gambols with an air of calmenjoyment. There is much beautiful feeling in the treat-ment of this subject: the heads are full of expression,the movements of the figures very spirited, and the differ-ent groups are skilfully connected. The composition isexecuted in a very good style of alto-relievo, the detailsfinished with the greatest care.
On the whole, this work is deserving of the very greatand general admiration that has been bestowed uponit. It may however be noted as a defect, that the artisthas not throughout preserved the relative proportions ofthe figures. Prize Medal.
Alrkkt Wolff, of Berlin . A statue in marble of ayoung maiden holding a lamb in her arms. This figureis entitled by the sculptor “ Innocence,” and its purityand simplicity of character fully express such an idea.The drapery is throughout treated in a plastic style, andthe execution is very careful. Prize Medal. (No. 307,p. 1067.)
T. Kalide, of Berlin . A Group. A Boy, lightlygrasping a swan and looking upwards, holds up his leftarm as if to guard himself. The group is designed for afountain, the water being meant to issue from the beak ofthe swan.
The figure of the boy is very prettily conceived, and theaction very spirited. The whole work is executed withcare, and in a good style. Duplicates of this group wereexhibited; one in bronze, the property of His Majesty theKing of Prussia, the other cast in zinc by Geiss. Honour-able Mention. (No. 285, p. 1066. Prize Medal awarded,Class XXII.)
C. Moller, of Berlin . Several bronze casts of animalsfrom models by this artist were exhibited: a Newfound-land Dog, cast by Friebel, of Berlin ; a smaller Dog , ofthe same kind, with a Boy, and a Bulldog with a Girl, byH. Fischer. These works are distinguished by greatlife and truth. They are very carefully executed, andin a good style. Honourable Mention. (No. 292,
p. 1066).
Ludwig Wichmaxx, a pupil of Gottfried Schadow .A Young Maiden in the act of filling her pitcher withwater. Cast in bronze, and tooled, from the model ofthe original, in the foundry of Count Einsiedel, atLauchammer, in Saxony . This figure is distinguished bybeauty of proportions, good anatomy, and careful execu-tion. The Jury were, however, precluded from noticingit, because it was not exhibited in the artist’s name, butin that of the foundry where it was cast.
2. Sculpture on a small Scale.
The Shield of Faith. This work was a present fromHis Majesty the King of Prussia to Ilis Royal Highness