National Casting Establishments, 33 



in it, is the certain cause why taste erred so greatly in every 

 other "European country. 



In England, we find no traces of classic purity of taste, ex- 

 cept in its architecture. Foreign professors of the sister arts 

 imported the bad taste prevalent on the Continent, and nothing- 

 can be more melancholy than a retrospective glance at the state 

 of our national art, till the period when it awoke to a better 

 existence in the middle of the last century. But even then the 

 art adopted as a model, was not that of the highest schools, and 

 it cannot be asserted that what is termed high art has ever 

 flourished amongst us. The Venetian and Flemish schools 

 have exercised a fatal influence over us, and whilst we have 

 many artists remarkable for their powers of colour and chiar' 

 oscuro, we fear that we cannot boast one great historical 

 painter. 



Let us look back at the history of every thing connected with 

 art in the last century ; for instance, the costumes on our stage, 

 and the various products of our national industry ; and we may 

 reflect with a feeling of shame on the ignorance and want of 

 taste displayed. 



English sculpture should have been mentioned before the 

 foregoing paragraph, but its history brings us to a new era. 

 The degradation of this art is painfully evinced in our Cathe- 

 drals. When classic art, however, became more an object of 

 study, sculpture rapidly rose ; the Elgin marbles have contri- 

 buted immensely to its improvement, and sculpture now takes 

 a prominent place amongst our arts ; adding yet another to the 

 many proofs of the advantage of studying and being guided by 

 classic models. 



In the late Parliamentary inquiries instituted regarding the 

 state of the industrial arts in England, numerous witnesses exa- 

 mined by the committee attested the superiority of French 

 taste in ornamental manufactures, and this has been chiefly 

 attributed to the number of schools in France for the education 

 of mechanics in the arts of design. The excellence of the 

 models and of the examples set before the pupils has also been 

 dwelt upon in evidence ; and this is of great importance, as we 

 know from the history of art, that schools may exist which do 

 nothing but propagate bad taste. The taste in French orna. 



VOL. XXV. NO. XLTX. JUNE 1838. c 



