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]STo. 383, Jxji,t 25, 1857.] _ TJT B-' L...
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THE NATIONAL GALLERY. The affirmation of...
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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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The Sleepers Awakened. The Duchy Of Lanc...
creating law , not quoting it , and laying down judgments which , we fully believe , the opinion of any competent constitutional lawyer would reverse . Lord Hatjkowb y chooses to sneer at ' Lord Coke , and all other sorts of antiquarian li \ w ; ' but upon such stands the constitution of England . Lord Haebowbt violated charters and acts of parliament , and chooses to despise them ; he claims , in the words of his Vice-Chancellor aud Attorney-General , ' autocratic power' in the Duchy , acts aloue and without his Council , debars the Auditor from the performance of his functions , dismisses him illegally , and when the statutes are referred to , jests at them as ' antiquarian . ' Upon public grounds Mr . BertoT ; ACCI was appointed . Upon public grounds lie came before the Committee for justice . His statement is met by assertions unsupported by evidence , and by a tangleinent of quibbles . Thus , General Fox says , " Mr . Bektoxacct stated that nay father appointed me ! Receiver- General , which is so far true that he did appoint me , " and then he weaves a complaint against ' the gist of that assertion . ' The Receiver-General adds that , when Mr . 1 Hawker was nominated Auditor , he had no 1 knowledge that this Mr . Hawker was his 1 own nephew . From Mr . Danvers—who I was frequently compelled to correct his own . ; £ statements—was extorted this testimony : I * ' TTnrlfir \ - \\ p-. liAn . rl ' T" ) iinhv of TiSinnnsfifitv 1
Rents received from the i ^ ewcastle-under-Lyne Mines for ten years from Michaelmas , 1846 , to Michaelmas , 1856 , ' what alterations would be necessary to make the account correspond with the fact ?" " It would be sufficient to leave out the word received . " Now , is this not a justification of all that has been urged ? There was one important word in tlie account , and that was false . If it be added
that , by the admission oi the officials , Mr . BjERTOiiACCi ' s suggestions were frequently of great value , we do not . see what is wanting to complete his case . He Avas appointed upon public grounds for public services ; he discovered mismanagement and endeavoured to remedy it ; he was obstructed ; he was deprived of his functional authority ; he was insulted ; he was illegally superseded ; he has proved that the accounts of the Duchy had been systematically tampered with , and that Lord GRANViiiiiE held au improper position , and what remains ? It remains to be showa that the Duchy of Lancaster has been converted into an engine- for party purposesbut that is not an auditor's affair .
]Sto. 383, Jxji,T 25, 1857.] _ Tjt B-' L...
] STo . 383 , Jxji , t 25 , 1857 . ] _ TJT B- ' L E A D E B . y
The National Gallery. The Affirmation Of...
THE NATIONAL GALLERY . The affirmation of the vote of 23 , 000 / . for the establishment and expenses of the National ( gallery , three weeks since , was a dereliction of duty on the part of the Commons . Lord Eloho deserves great credit for the manner in which he stood out to explain the absolute necessity of withholding a part of that vote . It comprises the expenses aud uttujr wj
»* . u . ^ euruLiuy uuu a travelling agent , and the price of an . ill-selected picture . Now there can be no desire on the part of Lord Eloho , or of any who think with him , of stinting the reward for any public officer engaged in the formation aud custody of the National Gallery . But it was shown , unanswerably , that the present servants of the public do not fulfil their duties ; that , on the contrary , both high and low , they sacrifice the public interests to personal objects , For the Secretary , 7502 . a year is paid—a comparatively large sum . For the travelling ftjjent , a low salary , but Q 501 . under the nanie oi ' travelling expenses . And how do these
persons perform their duty ? The travelling agent , the officers of the National Gallery , and the Director , are chargeable witli two of the last purchases that have been made , not for something more ; we refer to the two pictures by Patji , Veronese , the 'Adoration of the Magi' purchased for 15771 ., and the picture from the Pisani Palace , purchased for 13 , 650 / . But how is that money laid out ? Here is the account : — The money given to Count Pisani was 12 , 360 / . ; banking commission to Mr . Valentine at £ per cent ., 70 ? . Commissions on the picture—1 , Signor Enrico Dubois , banker ( son-in-law of Pisani ) , 621 . 10 s . ; 2 , Carlo Dubois ( banker ) , 62 / . 10 s . ; 3 , Caterino Zen , Pisani ' s steward , 300 ? . ; 4 , Pietro Dezan , 2 nd idem , 271 ? . 10 s . ; 5 , Dr . Monterumici , lawyer , 271 ? . 10 s . ; 6 , Paolo Fabris , restorer , 200 / . ; 7 , Giuseppe Conurato , Pisani ' s valet , 12 ? . ; 8 , Caterina Rini , camereira ( chambermaid ) , 10 ? . ; 9 , Pietro Galperti , gondoliere , 61 . ; 10 , Angelim Comini , idem , 61 . ; 11 , Riccardo de Sandre , cook , 61 . ( laughter ); 12 , Pietro Dorigo , porter , 6 / . ; 13 , Angela Dorigo , porter ' s wife , 61 . "
Sir Charles Eastlake confirmed the purchase of that picture . The travelling agent was Mr . Otto MttndIiER . Mr . Euskim 3 ays that one third more might have been ^ iven without exceeding the market price ; jut even if that were true , which is doubtful , ; here are many circumstances that render the purchase an entire breach of duty . If the ) icture were a fine one- — -and the highest mthorities say that it is not—it would still ) e objectionable . ~ We already had pictures by ? ATJTi Veuosthse : he is not a master of the
highest ranlc ; his anatomy is not very striking , the expression is not remarkable , his power of telling a story is weak—in fact he seldom attempts a stoiy . He has some faculty for painting costume , he is a colorist of the second rank , and that is saying much . But while our National Gallery is so small , it was not very requisite that we should have further specimens of this painter . " We are exceedingly poor in specimens of much higher masters , —of Titian , for instance , and still more of Eaphaei . And while we have thousands of pounds to lay out , the object of any honest or intelligent public servant would be to secure those pictures in which we are poor , and thus to give us our money ' s worth . Mr . Wilson , Mr . La . t $ ouchere , and after him Lord Paj / MEeston , opposed the amendments suggested by Lord Eloho , which would have reduced the vote by about 65001 ., as a refusal so far to ratify that bad bargain . The officials gave no facts to combat those stated on the other side , they only gave authorities , and those authorities bad . Principally they IVAt * A "ItIva iranrr r \ nna / Mi a i \ -v \ rvn rvt * Ai-I on /•*!•» *\ a . CJ i n WUAOUUtJ
» l v * w i / llV TUl ^ AlXlUUgUVU p OL 1 UIJ , & l £ ) KJ LL Charles Easti . ake . But the strongest point rested on the personal ground . Mr . Labouchere ' regretted these " personal attacks upon Sir Charles Eastj & ake . ' How Sir Charles is personally answerable , and he has before been condemned . It was he who made tlie purchase of that ' Holbein , ' which was no sooner oxposed on the walls of the Gallery than the merest tyros in painting at once pronounced it to be spurious , and it was withdrawn . While he was Keeper , the ' Youthful Saviour , by Guido , wap purchased , Guido being a painter of the third or
rourtn ranlc ; ana tms picture—a design entirely without moaning—one of the very worst from his peuoil . Sir Charles connived at tho flaying of the pictures under the name of ' cleaning . ' Hia administration , in fact , occasioned such an outcry on tho part of the public , that he was compelled to resign . But he then became connected with a clique in itself very highly connected ; ho became professionally related , it may be said , to < Germany . J 3 r . "Waagbn" is an authority for 1 Sir Chaklbs Eastlake ; if Sir Charles is r attacked tho Doctor will come forward « nd ( attack hia assailants . Tho same system has } been , carried on in Berlin that we havo wit- i
nessed in London ,.-arid a somewhat similar circumstance is related in a pamphlet called ' The Picture Baptism of Dr . Waagen ' pubhsU-edat . Leipb'ig in 1832 , read by Mr . ConiNGKAM in the recent debate : — " The State having purchased that enormous quantity of Mr . Solly ' s pictures , there was a great mystery about them . It was considered a rare favour to have a look at them ; perhaps they feared public opinion , and wished to make everything fine and shiny by restoration and varnish , in order to deceive the public . Berlin painters consequently were not just wished for to do this work of restoration ; the workmen were sent for from abroad , and especially by Dr . Waagen , who had made proper acquaintances at Munich while he lived there . If any offer was made to a Berlin artist , the pay was so paltry that the man could not but refuse . Now , restoration began to be carried on on a grand scale , a quantity of pictures were transformed into the style of famous painters and their pupils , and enormous sums—for which real old original pictures might have been boughtwere thus spent . In Mr . Solly ' s collection were a great nany which could not be exhibited without undergoing retry important restorations . For this nurnose there
arrived , first , a Mr . Horack from Saxony , who had been a tailor , but then felt inspired to restore old pictures . With pompous words , he praised his own skill , and assured them that he was able to take off pictures from wormeaten wood and draw them over new wood or anvas . He , moreover , pretended to possess a water to wash With and clean pictures without washing them away . This master tailor , after having spoiled a number of pictures entrusted to him by private persons , was engaged "by the committee of the Museum , and received a large picture from the Solly collection to take it oft ' , from the wood . Horack asked for an advance , and obtained the money . Somewhat later he asked for another advance , and obtained it . Now he went On working a ¦ fiaw W € * TTa I / tit may ' tKon It a onii f" n rt Viig aKn ^ a o »¦»/¦ " ? /^ tenn t ± \ CilUU
» % * » u . t * r < J AUUgVt J ' ifJJL ^ U M-J U X - * - * l . » J MWUV C % UU . UldUU ¦ peared from Berlin . The committee finding the door locked , and obtaining no answer to their rappings ordered the door to be opened , and satisfied themselves that their artist had bolted with the money , but left them the corpse of the picture to bury . An eternal silence , of course , is kept about the fate of this picture . Meanwhile Dr . Waagen had carried out his plan . For a high annual . salary , the restorators , his old connexions , were appointed—namely , Mr . Schlesinger , Mr . Koester , and Mr . Xler . Now , the high synedrium was complete , a Restoration-atelier was arranged , and all the pictures of the State entrusted to it to be sentenced to life or death . "
Like Waagien like Eastxake . Sir Charles , who frequents good society , is , says Lord Palmerston , ' an amiable , accomplished , and distinguished man . ' Jjord Palmers ton cannot abide this kind of fuss , which compels public servants to account . Mr . Coningham having brought forward these facts as a public duty , the noble Premier presumes that it is simply the indulgence of a personal feeling . He hopes that ' now they have had their swing on the favourite topic , ' the business of the evening will proceed . In fact , the object is to have a I - *•« 11 £ \ r *\ r i" * . / % »¦*•* o 4 * 4 * n-n i * t n of l a 1 r \ if TNT r \ 4 * 4 r \\ «•» # -
VIUUV * . ¥ ± J , \ S J . AJft . tlUVWs . J , TT UlbU Ak ? AJLJ , JLVm JL . 1 KSW VXli ^ U the public servants understand anything about pictures , or know how to choose the best ; but as a gentleman must have a collection , so the nation must have a collection , estimated by its high prices . As there is the National Gallery , there must be offices for it ; a charming opportunity for putting in ' an amiable , accomplished , and distinguished man , ' who has the personal acquaintance of noblemen in authority ; or for giving Travelling Commissions to Jfavourite Germans . And as large sums must bo paid for—pictures which are estimated by their price—there is a still more charming opportunity of handing over the distribution oi gold , with little ad-1
denda in the name of * travellingexpenses , ' to tho favourite Germans and their friende . Questions of this kind nro necessarily matter of fact , If a committee of iive members of the House of Commons had been appointed to oxamine the accounts and to compare twenty characteristic pictures , all in this country , all , perhaps , i" London , they could havo formed a distinct judgment , and they would havo ratifiocl the amendment , cutting lown tho vote . But the House of Commons , vill not take the trouble , to look into facts : t takes thp pxplanj > t ; pne on . trust " .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 25, 1857, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_25071857/page/13/
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