1821.] 



Register of the Fine Arts. 



other sitter till the heap of unfinished 

 pictures that grace his auti-moni, as 

 so many tropies to his talents, be 

 all finished ! ! admirable reasoners ! ! ! 

 Let them know, however, tliat the 

 munumeut, or cenotaph Ave believe it is 

 called, will be finished and open to the 

 public sooner than they wish, and 

 sooner tJian any other work of equal 

 inaarnitudeever was in this country. 



Next, Mr. Wyatt is an architect., and 

 they hope that no Ettyllsh sculptor will 

 be fomnl base enough to execute his de- 

 sign. Mr. Wyatt is not an architect, 

 although he is the son of one of the 

 ablest England ever produced, and 

 brother to anotiier of splendid talents. 

 He was educated a painter, and de- 

 signed the beautiful monumental 

 group at Liverpool to the memory 

 of the heroic Nelson, wJiich Mr. 

 Westmacott executed in bionze from 

 Mr. Wyatt's model, and under his di- 

 rection, superintended by his late ai)le 

 father. Mr. Wyatt does not require or 

 seek, in this instance, the assistance of 

 any sculptor ; for his own experience in 

 modelling, carving in marble, and the 

 more difficult material ivory ; founding 

 in brass and bronze, render him more 

 than adequate to theaccomplishmentof 

 his design. So, therefore, these block- 

 heads would restrict a painter from 

 modelling or carving, would have 

 stop])ed thepaiuterMichael Augelo from 

 sculpture, would have hindered the 

 painters Proctor,* West and Behnes, 

 from their successful attempts in scidp- 

 ture ! ! Excellent critics and rulers iu 

 art ! : ! 



Next, he is inexperienced in hmnze 

 casting. This we liave answered be- 

 fore, and cite as proofs the casts he has 

 already made, and tlieir beauty owing 

 to his practice, which is the result of 

 his studies and acquirements in Paris. 



Then, the horses are stolen from the 

 horses at Venice : " look on this picture 

 and on this ;" look, we say, at least to 

 those who can understand the difference, 

 to Mr. Wyatt's horses and the Venetian ! 

 True, a horse is a horse, in the eye of a 

 tailor., but any accomplished equestrian 

 or able critic in animal nature, can see 

 the force of this comparison. To this 

 test also we leave; tire charge of the car, 

 being fiom that of the Place de Carou- 

 sal at Paris. The objectors to the 

 costume of the principal statue of the 

 late King, must strip that of Charles 



* And in a Proctor's fate a Phidias 

 mourn. — ^T. Shek. 

 Monthly Mag. No 3;1.j. 



565 



Fox in Bloomsbnrj^-square, of the late 

 Earl of Chatham in fiuildhaU, and most 

 of our best public siatues of theirgreatest 

 sculptural beauties, and reduce them to 

 the army clothier's model of the Duke 

 of Cumberland in Cavendish-square. 



Next Mr. Wyatt lias had the pre- 

 sumption to engage a numerous and 

 hig/ily respectable open comiititlee., to 

 conduct the concern of tin; subscription 

 while he is at work in his atelier under 

 their guidance. Shocking crime! it is 

 really indefensible. 



Next, he hasliad the temerity to engage 

 in his service an able and acconipUsltcd 

 nobleman, wliosti high public character, 

 known taste in art, and friendsliip for 

 his quondam schoolfellow and brother 

 Etonian, has led him to speak the 

 truth openly and boldly of the work, 

 the artist, and his detractors. Alike 

 indefensible with the last, and with 

 which we leave it. 



Next and lastly, ^o /«ri,'6' a subscrip- 

 tion, and/or a national purpo.-^c, ought 

 to be throiv?! open to p-iblic compeliHon, 

 This is more specious, and apparently 

 more just, than (he others, but equally 

 futile and untenable as the rest. Pub- 

 lic competition for public works if con- 

 ducted fairly, and justly decided, is 

 generally the best mode of action ; but 

 the decisions of tlie unexecuted public 

 monuments of Trafalgar and Waterloo, 

 and the Post-office, have made us sick 

 of the cant of public competKiou. Be- 

 sides, however fair a competition may 

 be for a monument of which the money 

 is raised jmd to be decided by the 

 providers o;- trustees of that money, it 

 is' inapplicable and unjust in this case. 

 Here the proposal for erecting a jniblic 

 monumentemauates from the artist, .rho 

 v.ith his proposal, oilers his design and 

 a list of a committee, trustees, &c. to 

 guarantee his faiiuess, and to manage 

 the conduct of the money. The objtict 

 is specific. The lloyal Didce at the 

 head, is solicited, and complies, to ])a- 

 tronize — What? a monument to his 

 revered father, generally? No! but 

 Mr. M. Wyatt's mcmument, and that 

 he patronizes, tliat he subscribes to, 

 that the subscribers patronize, and to 

 tfiat they pay their money; and we 

 confess we would rather subscribe 

 our mite, as in this instance, to a spe- 

 cific design, the merits of which we 

 can appreciate, than to a nonentity yet 

 to be designed. With as much justice 

 might a rival bookseller have dfnnand- 

 ed of Boydell to give up his Shakspeare 

 to a competition among the trade; or 

 -i B Mr. 



