ART IN THE CITY.
Lorpolv CORPORATION, resolved to continue its apprenticeship in the study of the Fine Arts, is now proceeding in a manner to be highly useful. In the Egyptian Hall of the Mansionhouse there are sixteen niches, evidently intended to contain statues, but hi- therto left empty: it is now proposed by a committee of the Com- mon Council to fill up those niches at once, with statues of plaster; and then, each year, to place a new statue in marble as a substi- tute for one of the plaster statues. By this means, the general fe- feet will be promptly realized, and at a very moderate annual cost
—700/. a year—the niches will gradually be filled with original works specially designed for them. If the plaster statues be well chosen, they may serve more than a temporary purpose. In the first place, they will show what may be done with a very useful material. The finest works in the world can no longer be multiplied, since artists competent to the work do not exist; but casts, which are in the highest qua- lities of art but a shade inferior to the originals, can be multiplied indefinitely ; and thus the knowledge of those works might be ex- tended to multitudes who cannot hope ever to visit the originals. The greatest works in the gallery at Florence, for example, might be made familiar to every town in England. An extended use of plaster will illustrate this facility, and so help the disposition to establish a better knowledge of plastic art, by setting up high standards before the eyes of the people.
If the statues for temporary use at the Mansionhonse be well selected, they might serve some ulterior purpose : they might, for example, be given to some public institution, or to some provincial corporation too humble to vie with the marble magnificence of London City.' Another great advantage of the plan is that it affords an oppor- tunity for providing the decorations at leisure. We are not so richly endowed with sculptors, just now, that we can at once point to the very best men for an original work intended to last through generations; and the acquisition of works by hasty scramble at prompt completion has not proved very satisfactory, either in sculpture or painting. An annual statue will be a constant object of attention ; leisurely criticism will tend to Control the abuses that may be unavoidable in haste ; and probably the steady up- holding of public patronage may contribute to call forth young men of ability. If it should, the example will beget more public patronage from other public bodies; and thus the example bids fair to be extended. The plan proposed by the Common Council has the merit of being strictly applicable to the actual state of art affairs, and is likely to do more permanent good than some of higher pretensions. • a the proper use of plaster for casts of statues or busts, much depends on the coating given to the surface. It is common to paint plaster statues ; but the process is liable to two fatal objections. In the first place, the paint gives a coarse thickened surface, which disguises the true form. Next, it will not keep perfectly sound and clean ; hence the necessity for new coats of paint ; redoubling the first objection. For the little chimney-oasts a pre- paration is used, we believe, of wax and soap or tallow ; but it is too soft and delicate for large works. The best preparation that we know is a mixture, in the proportion of half and half, of raw and of boiled linseed oil, freely paid into the surface of the plaster as soon as it has been freed from the seams and other nnevennesses. Only one coating should be given. This sinks into the surface, without adding a particle externally ; and it hardens. When dry, the surface may be rubbed with flannel, which will give a polish, and further contribute to keep it pure. Thus oiled, the plaster becomes al- most as hard as stone, and very nearly the colour of old marble.
Previous page
