IDENTIFICATION OF THE AETISAN AND ARTIST. 311 



a poor scliool-boy, who, liuding the heavy blacksmith's work too much 

 for him, took to drawing and coloring little images of saints, to be 

 given out in processions, and thus rose to be a painter and an artist, 

 finding his lirst profession too heavy for his strength. But this iron- 

 work is a work of art; it is not a work merely cast in the lump, and 

 then put together; but it is a work that required genius, that required 

 great artistic skill; it shows that the artist even worked in iron; that a 

 man who belonged to the very lowest branch of what may be considered 

 the arts — laboring in metal — was able, notwithstanding, to imagine and 

 to carry out the most beautiful conceptions. 



l!^ow, coming to modern times, do we find anything of this sort? I 

 content myself with referring to that last report which I have just men- 

 tioned — of the department of practical art. In that report there 

 are incorporated letters from some of our best silver and goldsmiths 

 upon the character of the artistic proficiency of the workmen. I will 

 only read one, for all in reality repeat the same sentiment. "At present 

 we seldom find an English workman who understands drawing. Not 

 one of our English workmen has a knowledge of drawing;" and it is 

 said that, without exception, these men will not even go to the school. 

 Attemi)ts have been made to bring them to the school of practical art, that 

 they may learn something of the principles by which the works in their 

 branch of productive art should be conducted. They cannot be induced 

 to go and obtain that information, though it is nearly, or entirely, 

 gratuitously given. So little taste, so little feeling of art is there in 

 oiu' workmen now. Can we expect they will produce works that will 

 rival those of ancient times ? For there is this broad, immense differ- 

 ence: in one, the artist was the workman; now, the workman has only 

 a degree of intelligence above the machinery vrhich he uses. He can 

 apply those means which are put into his hand; but can have no artistic 

 feeling to give the last touch, or even to bring things to ordinary perfec- 

 tion. On the other hand, we must be struck with the difference, that 

 in France there is much more taste, much more knowledge, much more 

 intelligence, in the actual artificer; the exhibition showed, that, though 

 we had magnificent things in silver-work, and gorgeous objects in 

 metallic productions, beautiful and splendid, yet, when you came to 

 look at them with the artist's eye, you could not help observing the 

 immense difference between our English i)roductions and those of France; 

 though, be it spoken to the glory of our English goldsmiths, they have 

 both the taste and the generosity and munificence to bring over and to 

 employ the very first foreign artists; and it was thus we did lU'oduce 

 some objects that stood in competition, not with those of the workman's 

 rivals, but with those of his own countrymen. 



In Vecht there is an example of what the artists in old times were. 

 He began as a cotton-spinner ; he became a manufacturer of toys ; then 

 a button-maker ; and then he began to work with the chisel. His ge- 

 nius developed itself. He began to retouch and repair ancient armor, 



