PARK'S STATUE OF MR. TENNANT, OF GLASGOW.
WE have been especially gratified by the sight of a colossal statue of Mr. TENNANT, the founder of the great chemical works at St. Rollox, which has been modelled by Mr. PATRIC PARE, and is to be sculptured in Ravaccione marble for the purpose of being erected in Glasgow ; not only for that it is a noble 'work of art, but because it proves that the effigy of a man in a coat and breeches, without cloak or gown to hide the angular edges and buttons of modern clothes, may be a grand ob- ject. Mr. PARK would prefer to represent the man naked, or with only a loese drapery round him, as he did Mr. SADLER ; but he wisely defers to the prejudices of the public. Having already discussed the question of the "Clothing of Statues" at some length, we need not revert to the subject further than to say that the sculptor has in this statue modelled the dress with such exactness as to defy the criticism of both tailor and shoemaker ; while he has given such dignity and character to the figure that the attention is directed to the man and not to his attire : you don't think of that till afterwards, and then it is to admire the skill of the artist in overcoming the unpicturesque character of ordinary apparel.
The figure is seated, in an easy attitude-one arm thrown over the back of the chair, the other resting on the thigh ; and the head is bent forward in the attitude of thought. The character of the man-clear- sighted, energetic, and persevering-is strongly expressed in the face ; 'which is modelled with scrupulous regard to truth, and with that vigour and breadth of light and shadow necessary to give the effect of life to the beholder at a little distance there is a sharpness in the modelling, too, which is calculated to give spirit to the markings of the coun- tenance.
The Ravaceione marble is a good material for masses of sculpture in the open air, being equally hard, and not so transparent or so purely white, as the Carrara: it is mottled, but not so much as to detract from the effect ; it is easily wrought, and is of course much cheaper than Carrara ; and it is a better material than bronze, for it does not blacken.
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