Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 6th August 1859, Edition 1 of 2, Page 911, ^ at I (jjwittC ^tttfn • ' . ~

Page 911
Page 11
11 of 24

On this page

  • Departments (2)
    • ^ at I (jjwittC ^tttfn • ' . ~
    • . ^]tf»»fi*^ Jtttll ViJ;ltilM*f)tmin:imf« ^flWiHra «IIU UPIU«ri««nW*flT^+ ?
  • Text (5)
  • Transcript

    • 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.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Untitled Article

      Thb Commission ,: appainted to consider the subject htS 2 ££ 82 m % S £ '< 8 %$ & is the cream : — '' ¦ ¦ ¦ i * r . „ " There is nothing innate in coal gas which ren-Ss&rssss srfo' « i ^ a sufficient distance between the gas jets and the SiSSS white the--heat of combustion may be rendered eminently serviceable in promoting

      yen-« Cc £ l eas maybe free from sulphuretted hydrogen compounds , and in London is so at the present tSSe- it then has little or no direct action on pictures' But it has not as yet been cleansed from sulphide of carbon , which , on combustion , yields sulphurous acid gas capable of producing 223 grains of sulphuric acid per 100 cubic feet of present London coal gas . It is not safe to permit this product of the combustion to come in contact with pictures , painted either in oil or water colours ; and the Commission are emphatically of opinion that in every system of permanent gas lighting for picture or sculpture galleries , provision should be made for the effectual exclusion or withdrawal of the products of combustion from the chambers containing the works of art . " . ¦

      attended the inaugiiratioii of this Art-Union has been largely dependent upon the facilities and the accommodation which they have afforded for its working operations . Exhibition-space in one of the most important and most eligible situations in the Palace , together with secretary ' s and clerk ' s offices , store-room , and all the appliances which were necessary , have been placed at the disposal of the Council ; whilst for such accommodation the directors have only received little more than the rate of the ordinary agents ? commission .

      | Morris Moore ' s hostility to H . R . H . Prince Albert has carried hiin to the length of a two-column advertisement in a morning paper now before us . Mr . Moore has certainly a fair ground—as who has not—for disliking fine-art cliquism , and especially the combination , or , in his own words , conspiracy , by which he and his painted idols have been so wounded : but his tone , though not his manner of righting himself , is objectionable , as being most unnecessarily ferocious . Mr . Moore , who arrogates such infallibility to himself , should not so savagely deny the right of private judgment even to a German Prince , who has taste , time , and money to cultivate the fine arts . Heaven has not—we venture to say .

      without much sympathy with either of these belligerents about " Raphaels , Gorreggios , and stuff' — poured its choicest gifts of taste upon Morris Moore so exclusively that a wretched printer ' s error in a catalogue privately printed for almost secret circulation , should be construed into Use majestc . The Eastlake , Miindier , Wagner tribe have a perfect right and title , we imagine , to reciprocate Mr . Moore ' s cordial hatred . So have they , if they please to print their private catalogues upside down , Or from left to right , or any way so as . most to displease , to worry , or to . carry on war with so deadly Morris The whole affair

      an antagonist as Moore . interests , can injure , or can profit , such an infinitesimal portion of the public , that the two columns of clamour we allude to , even with the flavour they derive from being directed against the fine-art party at court , will not advance him who raises it in the opinion of sensible men . He has put so much vinegar into his ink that he has quite destroyed the black . The whole thing is a-storm in a teapot , and a row between a lot of enthusiastic connoisseurs , who so often are more or less jealous and uncharitable , that we cannot consider Mr . Morris Moore , who evidently possesses these properties , as any very rare bird . .

      . The referees , Messrs . Paraday , Hofmann , Tyndall , Redgrave , and Captain Fowke ( Royal Engineers )* announce that they were perfectly unanimous . The value of their labours against that old bugbear > the injurious effect , of gaslight , hurled by the obstructives against all advocates of evening exhibitions of picture collections , needs no illustration . The report of the Council of the Crystal Palace Art-Union extends to far too great length for entire re-publication here . It recites at some length the preamble and clauses of the original scheme , which has been stamped by the tasteful portion of the public as an interesting and valuable one . It appears that the amount of subscriptions has been

      4 . 51 OZ , and that the Council have appropriated 1 , 2007 . to the purchase of works of art for distribution by lot . Both these items , it is needless to say , might have been larger had country agencies been appointed , and , indeed , may be considered as large and very encouraging in an infant concern . The prizes to be distributed at the drawing of this present year comprise paintings , works in metal , examples of ceramic statuary * of porcelain , of glass , of pottery , and of terra cotta , together with a variety of photographs . The pictures that have been selected are , Louis Haghe , " Choir of Santa Maria Florence" ( canvas— -5 ft . by 3 ft . 6 inches ) ; E . W , Cooke , A . R . A ., " Venice" ( canvas—1 ft . 6 in .

      by 1 ft . ) i Henry O'Neil , " The Flower Girl ( canvas —1 ft . 6 in . by 1 ft . 4 in . ); P . M . Craus , " Match Seller" ( panel— 1 ft . 8 in . by 1 foot 4 in . ) ; J . Hayter , " A Quiet Square" ( panel—1 ft . by 2 ft . 11 in . ) ; Miss Mutrie , " Hoses" ( panel—11 in . by 9 in . ) ; Drawing by Do Noter , " The Fantry" ( 1 ft . 10 in . by 1 ft . 6 in . ) In ceramic-art , now held in such high estimation , the Council are able to direct the attention of their subscribers to an important group of works , that will bo found to exemplify in the most characteristic manner all the leading branches of this manufacture . To this class of objects the Council in determining upon the prizes have devoted especial consideration , sinco they have observed

      that its exponents amongst the presentation works have been received with marked expressions of public favour . Having been unable to obtain such examples of carving in wood as they considered to be desirable as prizes for the present year , the Council have determined to defer any selection from works of this class until another season . The Council havo much pleasure in acknowledging the liberality with which they havo been met by both artists and manufacturers . To the Earl of Yarborough they are indebted for the facilities which lie afforded for the modelling of the statuette of " the Nymph at the Bath , " from the original marble by John Gibson , R . A ., that is in his lordship ' s

      possession . They desire also to express their obligation to Mr . Gibson for the valuable and gratuitous services lie performed in aiding in the production of this worlc , so faithfully rendered by Mr . Theed . To Mr . W . Calder Marshall , R . A ., the Council feel undor peculiar obligation for the liberal gift of the copyright of his tvfo charming busts of" Ophelia " and " Miranda , " which have become bo deservedly Popular . The Council have also the greatest ) satisfaction in recording the high sense they entertain of the valuable services of Mr . Thomas Battam , P . S . A ., to whom the society is mainly indebted for its origin ma the successful conduct of the enterprise . It is Put an not of justice to the directors of the Crystal ¦ Palace Company to state , that the success which lias

      Untitled Article

      notes ibr his temerity an crossing the Channel . The crowd soon appreciating these circumstances avoided the theatre . The feshionable world , regarding Smith and Smithian from their own point of view , abstained also from Drury-lane , and the fate of the affair trembled in the scale . But a realnovelty of the first water soon arrested the unfavourable current , when the attractive Gruarducci made her appearance , though the " Favorita " is barren of grand opportunities for winning " the public" proper . This lady came out with Giuglini , and an excellent artist ( also a novelty ^ Sighor Fagotti * in the opera just named ; and , though at first we thought her uncertain , her fine mezzo-soprano voice , and excellent acting , not to speak of her handsome person , soon established her as a success of the first class .

      The nightly performance of opera demanding , of course , a double or treble company , we were not long without the necessity for Madame Titiens , whose magnificent singing and acting Lucrezia Borgia enhanced , if possible , the general admiration of the Teutonic artist . This lady was afterwards the mainstay of the " Don Giovanni "in which , as Donna Elvira , she utterly throws into the shade the heroine Zerlina , however piquantly delineated by a Piccolomini or a Balfe . But the triumph of triumphs of this imposing can atrice was towards the season ' s close in Norma , which with her grand tragic power and the admirable performance of Mongini fnow in first-rate form ) as Pollib , was one of the

      completest hits of the year . We may not here enumerate all the casts of all the fourteen ^ operas produced ; but of songstresses we had Madame Eorichetta Weiser in a flat failure , " H Giuramento , of Mercadante ; Mademoiselle Sarolta de Buganowicz , a pretty " Traviata" from Paris ; La Guarducci , superb as Azucena in the " Trovatore , " Mosina in The Barber" ; La "Vaneri as Elvira , m the •' Don" and lastly , La Piccolomini , bristling with , laurels from the new world , as Zerlina , and Vtoletta Among the men were Marini , Vialetti , Belart , t to mention

      Aldighieri , with others oo numerous . Messrs . Benedict and Arditi , have held the conductors baton , and have made all they could of an unsatisfactory band . Mr , Gye , it would appear , had as cleanly swept the market of orchestral talent , before the commencement of the season , as the agents of the Smith partyhad of vocal celebrities . By a mere fluke the Drury-lane management lost their very dear Graziani , and had they made some reprisals to the same extent from the Co vent-garden orchestra , they would have found them more than counterbalance the loss sustained through the absence oi

      ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA , DECRT-I-A 3 SE . Mr . Smith brought the first season of liis grand opera enterprise to a close on Saturday last . The "Vepres Siciliennes" was the solemnity of the evening , and at its welcome close a more entertaining transaction took place , in the shape of an ovation , of which the most Protean of managers was the hero . Mr . Smith in deference to a loud call , made a short and telling speech , in which he returned thanks for public favour , past and present , gave a rapid view of his operations ; triumphantly claimed credit for good faith basisdrew

      with the public , and , on this metallic , a bill upon the future , which we hope and doubt not w ill be duly honoured . The programme of the managerial firm of which Mr . Smith is the girant has certainly been carried out with abnormal fidelity . The promises of Smith may be set down as being made to be kept . Ta the astonishment of all the jnusical world , not only has this been the case , but Mr . Smith avors , in spite " of all the ' sinister auguries to which wo havo once or twice alluded in these columns , that the speculation has " pulled through" in spite of an outlay of 24 , 000 / . We may tell our readers , should any be sceptical as to these figures , that the sum mentioned

      must not bo far short of the payments and liabilities of the Drury-lane management on account of their opera , though some portion of it must be obviously chargeable as sunk capital outlay , against a series of seasons which may be therefore anticipated . Still , the weekly or monthly pay of such artists as Mdllo . Tietjens , Piccolomini , Guarducci , Giuglini , and Mongini , not to mention a host of minor stars , may be judged of from the recent revelations in the Graziani case , is a vast sum to make head against , before oven the vast accessories of a grand opera

      house are taken into consideration ; and that Mr . Smith ' s enterprise has not collapsed is clear evidence of his oapital and pluck , as well as of a good deal of publio support . On Easter Monday the campaign opened . It was an experiment to invite the masses , on Easter Monday , of all places in the world , to their national Drury-lano , to hear grand opera , without a grain of allurement in tho ehnpe of novelty or comicality . But tho experiment was made . Pretty Miss Jialfo , with all her brilliancy and agagerio , was hoard to disadvantage as Amina on a stago iUr two largo for her povors . Signor Mongini was paying in ftvlso

      the bari . * t , ~« - \ r ,, At the close of the opera on Saturday , the National Anthem" was sung by the whole company . The solos were gloriously taken by Madame Titiens , who has done the nation the becoming reverence of studying con amove both the music and true expression of the song . After it came Mr . Smith and the speech , towards the close of which that gentleman gave the following glimpse of the " Next season would find him again at his post , as zealous and strenuous in the public cause as ever __ determined that Italian opera should no longer be a monopoly , since it was now high time its barriers should be broken down , and the million allowed to take their places among intelligent audiences . The same magnificent company should be

      retained , and all Italy searched to find youthful ana fresh voices , to delight and gratify the supporters of his establishment . " He concluded by iterating Ins thanks to his kind patrons for past favours , and paid a public compliment to the principal -artists , the band , chorus , and ballet , and , in fact , to all concerned in his new undertaking , for thoir unvarying attention and thoir unceasing endeavours to uphold tho character of the now Royal Italian Opera . ' J ? he speech and the concluding announcement ; were received with loud applause , For our parts , we are heartily ready to join m encouraging the undertaking , Which we hope . and trast the ¦ Drury-lane Committee will not Wg to a s [ andstiin for should even some miraculous adjustment of e&ttng difficulties enable the " * £ ' % ; , £ move to the Hayinarket Opera-house , tlcappllances umSmm class w « hove lm ° on to favour the speculation , and wishiTsuccoss . Ho is entitled quaai manager to Ssidorablo praise , for that he redeems ob igat ons , or common custom never eonsidered binding j honest y pays his W , to the uttermost shilling , in a walk of life whore shortness of capital and credit are both woll known ; behaves most respootably as a man of businoss ) and , by keeping perpetually open ho doors of a large establishment , fills a large num-

      ^ At I (Jjwittc ^Tttfn • ' . ~

      4 ine iW * .

      . ^]Tf»»Fi*^ Jtttll Vij;Ltilm*F)Tmin:Imf« ^Flwihra «Iiu Upiu«Ri««Nw*Flt^+ ?

      @he&tri& amt ( BnUtMnnumts . mm .

      Untitled Article

      TSfo . 489 W < H « "M " TH : fe ^ fr ***' * - - , . 9 U

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 6, 1859, page 911, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2306/page/11/