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No. ^9 K^t^^ 943
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FINE ARTS COMMISSION. The Commissioners ...
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theatres and public entertain-- , '¦ ¦ ¦...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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No. ^9 K^T^^ 943
No . ^ 9 K ^ t ^^ 943
*R R~I ' ¦ ¦ I. ¦% ($Bn£ ^Lti 1 ^ ^J^. —R*— ¦ ¦
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Fine Arts Commission. The Commissioners ...
FINE ARTS COMMISSION . The Commissioners appointed by her Majesty for the purpose of inquiring whether occasion might not be taken in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westjninstor to promote and encourage the Fine Arts , have presented to the Queen their Eleventh lleport . We print their names as appended to that docuznent : — Albert Eversley Sutherland Willoughby D'Eresby Newcastle Lyndhurst Lansdowne Macaulay ,
Aberdeen John Evelyn Dernson Carlisle J . R . G . Grahani Stanhope B . Hall Palmerston B . Haves J . Russell H . Hallam — " , all honourable men ; " but , in the name of private knowledge or public rumour , what evidence have they ever given , that their taste , instincts , or education have rendered them capable of justly defining or rightly asserting the laws which should -direct the application of recondite principles to the recognised Art capabilities of the Palace of Westminster ? From evidence in the report , from glaring inconsistencies and negation of taste in the Palace' itself , we broadly and distinctly answerlittle or none .
It is not our intention to print this remarkable document in extenso , but there are two paragraphs so extraordinary in their revelations that we subjoin them in their entirety :-r—In our last report we proposed to commission Mr . Daniel ]\ Iaclise , K . A ., to paint a suject in fresco in the apartment called the Painted ^ chamber or Conferencehall ; but some difficulties having been found to existwitli regard to the lighting of some compartments in that locality , the work was postponed , and the artist was , at his
own request , finally released from such undertaking . A grant of public money , amounting to 1300 / ., which had been voted by Parliament for this object was , With the consent of the Lords' Commissioners of your Majesty ' s Treasury , appropriated to the painting of twenty-eight whole-length portraits of personages connected with the Tudor , family , to be placed in the apartment called the Prince ' s Chamber , as proposed in the appendix to our seventh report .
Of such portraits , executed by or under the direction of Mi-i Richard . Burchett , fifteen have now been oonir pleteJ . Being taken from authentic sources , and e xccuted in methods fitted to reproduce the style of the original works , they at once serve a decorative purpose and constitute trustworthy resemblances of the historical personages represented . It would be difficult to characterise otherwise than as a desertion of public truet the transaction set forth in the first remarkable paragraph ; we believe it is impossible the House of Commons can allow it to pass sub sikntio . Here are eighteen gentlemen , with an amiable Prince at their head , obtaining
money for a specific use , contravening its specific purpose , and applying it in a manner that , judging from results , looks exceedingly like a job . " Appropriated ! " Appropriated is a good word , but in this instance , to give the word its full force and applicability , another syllable must be added . The said Pulaec of Westminster has had more money ineffi . cicntly " appropriated" upon it than nny other building erected " in recorded time ; " and who can wonder at it when the ill-organised constitution of its directors and conservators 'betrays complete failure of qualifications as judges , and indefensible recklessness as dispensers of moans
entrusted to them for the purpose " promoting and encouraging the fine arts , " "These are bitter words , captain , " truly 1 and we have ho doubt , ore wo have done , that our readers will , fully coincide in our views about reforming altogether this inefficient body called—Heaven save the wmrkl- — Tho Fine Arts Committee . " The Palace of Westminster is the shrine of the ** How-not-to ~ do-it" deity , Pray lot our readers run their eyes through the names subscribed to the report once ngain : ia there the name of one single sculptor , painter , or architect ? No , not oncL anot
^ yj ^ r , , prep Wed-toTecBivrtl »' e ' assertiori , » that the high personage who hoadB the list is master of overy known development of intellectual knowledge , and never maddfawlth anythinghe does not understand , " because , it that be so , how came ho not to discover the non-necessity of applying for 1500 ? .-which was afterwards " appropriated" ( we thank the © for that word ) to another use ? v , «« ?! str , oU throu ff » St . Stpphen ' 8 Hail . Heroin wo lind twelve marble statues of men Whq rose to emiaonoe by the eloquence and abilities which they
displayed in the House of Commons . ; These twelve figures of statesmen embody the physical individualities of men who marked the various periods in which they lived , from the reign of the First Charles down to the domination of George IV ., and the result is , or rather , we hope , will be , for ever to set aside the favourite dogmas of incompetent sculptors , about 4 ' generalisation , " " abstract form , " " Greek idealisnS " and " classic taste , " as applicable to
por-On / statue—that of Selden , by John Henry Foley —is faipereminently good ; that of Fox , by Edward HodgesBailey , dejectedly bad ; and the others oscillate between these two extremes . Where or on what is the judgment based that could have selected either Bailey , Theed , or Carew for these particular works , in preference to Henry Weeks , A . R . A . ?—_ a man thoroughly conscientious in purpose , clear in conception , and eminently competent in performance . In the Commons' corridor we see Mr . Ward ' s two frescoes—pah ! the sense aches at them—and in the Lords ' corridor Mr . Cope ' s pair incontestably prove his progression to be that of the crab ; yet , in the face of these glaring evidences , the Committee have the folly to propose that these same artists shall undertake the remaining compartments in these said ¦
passages . . . ,,. Only three painters have succeeded , in mastering the inherent difficulties attendant upon fresco delineation ¦ : ¦ Herbert entirely , Maclise and Cope comparatively ; all the rest run the gamut in weakness , not only in degree but kind , and so long as many of the frescoes remain on the walls , so long shall we , as a nation , in the matter of taste , remain a " fixed figure for the hand of scorn to point'his slow and moving finger at . " Proceeding through the House of Lords ( where it is impossible to see either of the six frescoes ) , we enter the Prince ' s Chamber , and experience a feel - ing of comfort from the general tone of the apartfrom umber
ment , caused by the colour ranging ; deep to bright yellow gold ; " but we have not remained there a minute before we find our eyes uncomfortably attracted to some glittering objects above us . This we discover to be due to the intrusive glare of the backgrounds of some—fifteen portraits , executed ( apt Word ) by Mr . R . Burchett and others , which the Committee further inform us have been " taken from authentic sources , and ' executed in methods fitted to reproduce the style of . the original works . " In the name of Art , dothe " Committee of Taste" mean to tell us that they have fifteen authentic portraits of the Tudor family , ranging from Henry VII . to Elizabeth , painted by Holbein , in this style ? or do others have in
they mean that BIr . Burchett and - cluded in this bookbinding manner of art the various styles of Holbein , Titian , Sir Antonio Moore , and Frederico Zucchero ? If the answer to one or both these questions is in the affirmative , we join issue at once , by asserting that we d . them to produce either of the above artist ' s works life-size wherein the gold work is not modified in some way , or tinted down , so as to become subservient to the character thereon delineated . For this there is an obvious reason : they knew what they wore about , and understood the principles which actuated them . That Mr . Burehett does not , is at once proved by the fact that , at first ,
one cannot see the individual portions inside the outline because the yellow has proved so powerful as to induce a strong complementary violet "fata morgana" on the retina . Even when that is overcome , with some straining , the portraits look exactly as if they had been cut out like theatrical tinselled figures and pasted on gold leaf . No sooner is this shock over , and we turn to seek some relief , when , Whatseo—you— -there ? A large mass of cold white Carrara marble , facetiously called by the Committee , " Her Majesty , with . figures , of Justice and Clemency at the sides . " Indeed ! all we can
say is , our sensation on first beholding it was a shudder ; the next , a tendency to laughter ; and lastly , a deep mournfulncss . We have always hold distinct opinions about Mr . Gibson ' s qualifications . One is , that he lias never been a sincere worshipper of Nature , but an adorer of Greek art , an adopter of the formula of a plastic priesthood , not an earnest seeker after immutable principles in the well of truth . Wo know of no example of his work wherein is proved that he could delineate the marked characteristics of individual semblance . The unuablo simplicity of nature seonis to bo utterly ignored by
tlKSi rpmiea form and genial qualifications of our rospectcd Sovereign ! Again , his so-callod " idealisms" have never elevated his theoretic productions . Wo have no proof that ho can depict the angular rugged ness of stormy passions or the rounded dimpling of hilarious mirth , the all-enthralling ontrancoment of absorbed woo or " the serene calmness of majostip grandeur . No , he must always be on the stilts of Greek scholasticism , " his vaulting ambition falls o' tho other siuo , " and the result ie mere inanity . If any doubt our
conclusion , we confidently refer them to this work in tht Palace , and also to the statue of Sir Robert Peel ir the Abbey opposite . We said it ( Her Majesty ' s statue ) made us shudder , That arose from its utter incpngTuoUsness , and also dissonance in tone from the rest of the room . Surely here Mr . Gibson might have revelled in his . pet theory of colour and gilding . We would , were we empowered , for once coincide with him , and grain it in a deep oak colour that at least : would prevent its defects being so obvious . But who so utterly supine as to see the hard-earned money of a nation so ruthlessly and injudiciously wasted without
feeling a deep mournfulness at the entire want of judgment in requirement , and of taste in selection ? We know the cause of it ; but the time is out of joint for us to state it . Some space hence , and shortly , we hope , we shall be able to propound a modest theory for its cure . Meantime , as we were not permitted to see the other works in progress , we resign further consideration of this the " Eleventh . Report , " with a fervent aspiration for the future ; but , as we cannot have , as far as the present constituted Committee is concerned , any indemnity for the past , or security for the , future , we can but echo the sentiment that prompted Cromwell ' s protest against Sir Harry Vaue .
Theatres And Public Entertain-- , '¦ ¦ ¦...
theatres and public entertain-- , '¦ ¦ ¦/¦ ¦ ments . - . . , ¦ ¦; ¦ ¦ Hayjuheet Theatbe ;— -After a vacation of unwonted length , during which w e are bound to say the interior decorations of the Hay market have been liberally renovated , and the comfort of visitors consulted in one or two new arrangements Of importance , Mr . Buekstone once more opened his doors ( and cellar flap , by which Avernian descent the pit is reached ) to his admiring public . Murphy ' s comedy , The Way to Keep Him , -which , was revived with Mrs * Charles Young as the Widow Bebnour , on the last night of the old season , was selected , with Mrs ; Sinclair ks heroine , for the opening of the new one . The smart sayings and doings of the play were intensely relished , and the exertions of the dramatis 2 ) er . sonm welcomed with every sign of appreciation . The cast was as follows : —Lovemore , Mr . Howe ; Sir Bashful Constant , Mr . Bjickstone ; . Sir Brilliant Fashion , Mr . W . Farren ; William , Mr . Clark ; the Widow Bdmour , Mrs . Sinclair ; 3 Irs . Lovemoi-e , Miss Reynolds j Lady Constant , Mrs . Buckingham White ; Muslin , Mrs . E . FitzwilUam . We are indebted to the acumen of a contemporary for the discovery that , like some dramatists of to-day , Murphy built his comedy upon a French foundation , if he did not entirely borrow his materials from the works of a Monsieur Destouches , sometime ambassador from the court of the French Regency to that of England , and a member of the
French Academy . The reappearance of Senora Perea Nena in a ballet called the Daughter of the Guadalquivir , created no small sensation among the numerous admirers of this artist ' s peculiar and captivating style , in which very few of her imitators have as yet approached her . The divertissement , which has an unmistakable family likeness to all others of its school , was warmly received by a crowd of saltatory connoisseurs who thronged every available corner of the salle to a degree that must liave reassured the lessee , if indeed he had any question upon the subject , of the yet unfaded popularity of the Spanish dancer . the fair
Sxuand Tukatue . —On Monday evening , lessee of this theatre inaugurated her winter season by the production of a new and very agreeable petite comedy from the facile pen of Mr . Charles Selby , whose previous successes as a dramatist , and well-known excellence of taste , preclude at once the idea of failure . We cannot stretch our complaisance so far as to state that The Last of tha Pigtails has a plot . It is the mere exposition in pleasaut talk , by pleasant people , and with very excellent stage accessories , of an episode of ordinary occurrence in the private life of new-m , arried couples . For the comfort of the audience , too , it is carried to a most harmonious conclusion , though a fatally discordant one might quite as legitimately have been anticipated . The ' moral—for we arc bound to seek that
a moral in . the piece—is , we apprehend , { though the old song Buys to the contrary , the allianco of May and December , where the first is sunny and smiling , and tho latter kindly though frosty , may be made productive of happiness on both sidos . A . pig ^ aUed ^ baehelarj ^ QfHihe ^ eal-n ^ Starahiuyton ( Mr . Charles Solby ) , appears in tho opening as tho bridegroom of Lady Sturp / Uiiytoit ( Miss Swanborough ) , a young lady of tho ultra-Crinoline faction . Tho knee-brooohea and buckles , pie ^ 'h aurt gaiters , of tho worthy baronet , who must nave lain dormant in ,, some crypt — for by no other stretch of ' imagination can wo * » ey u » sty *© of dross to bo contemporaneous with that or ms bride-. find littlo favour in the ejwJgWJ of the latter . Lady < St «)> oian (< j > t , resolves to romodel , not only her LrU and muster , but his ancient body-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 11, 1858, page 23, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_11091858/page/23/
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