352 



FINE AETS. 



by his painting of the "Derby Day." The 

 scene is the Eoyal Chapel at Windsor, and the 

 rather commonplace and conventional details 

 of the work, which cannot claim to rise higher 

 than an elaborate portrait piece, are said to be 

 managed with masterly effect. In particular, 

 the distribution of the lights is very happily 

 rendered. At last accounts the embellishments 

 of the interior of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, 

 were temporarily suspended for want of funds. 

 The metropolitan journals evince their mortifi- 

 cation at this fact, while stating that some of the 

 recent provincial restorations have cost a much 

 larger sum than that required for the cathedral 

 of the richest city in the world. It is said that 

 Mr. "Watts has undertaken to make designs for 

 mosaics to represent the four evangelists in as 

 many pendentives of the Church, exclusive of 

 one by the same artist already executed ; also 

 that Mr. Stevens is engaged to furnish designs 

 for mosaics of three prophets of the Old Testa- 

 ment, in addition to that of Ezekiel, now in its 

 place. The Cathedral of St. Patrick's, Dublin, 

 restored at an immense expense by the munifi- 

 cence of Mr. B. L. Guinness, was early in the 

 year again opened for divine service. 



In the department of plastic art the greatest 

 activity seems to be now exhibited in the erec- 

 tion of statues or monuments to public men. 

 The number of those in honor of the late Prince 

 Consort is limited only by that of the chief 

 towns in the United Kingdom, and affords a 

 touching illustration of the affection with which 

 his memory is regarded. In several of the re- 

 mote colonies of Great Britain memorials of 

 the same kind are in process of erection. The 

 National Memorial to the Prince, to be erected 

 in London, is still under way, and judging from 

 its great size and multiplicity of details, a long 

 time must elapse before it is completed. The 

 model of the statue of the Prince, to be designed 

 by Baron Marochetti, is not yet sufficiently ad- 

 vanced for the purposes of description ; but the 

 four large compositions representing Europe, 

 Asia, Africa, and America, which have been in- 

 trusted respectively to Messrs. McDowell, Foley, 

 Theed, and Bell, are making satisfactory prog- 

 ress. These are intended to occupy pedestals 

 removed from the main structure, with which 

 they will be connected by marble projections, 

 containing on each side flights of steps. More 

 immediately connected with the base of the 

 principal erection are four other groups, Indus- 

 try, Agriculture, Commerce, and Engineering, 

 to be executed by Weeks, Marshall, Thorny- 

 croft, and Lawlor; while the four sides of the 

 pedestal supporting the statue of the Prince 

 will be ornamented with subjects representing 

 Painting, Sculpture, Music, Architecture, etc., 

 by Armistead and Phillip. The completed work, 

 which will be one of the most considerable of 

 its class in Europe, will thus present specimens 

 of the art of the best living British sculptors, 

 and, in spite of a want of congruity in idea and 

 treatment, will illustrate the present condition 

 and development of sculpture in the United 



Kingdom. The predilection for colossal statues 

 in England is somewhat remarkable at present, 

 and the number of such works now executing 

 for London, the provinces, and the colonies, is 

 described as beyond all precedent. It is satis- 

 factory to know also that these works exliibit in 

 general an improvement upon recent produc- 

 tions of their class, which have not the credit 

 of being even questionable as to their degree 

 of merit. The money which the latter have 

 cost, however, is not considered to have been 

 entirely thrown away, as they have subserved a 

 useful purpose in instructing sculptors what to 

 avoid. These are all private or subscription 

 commissions, and do not include the series of 

 statues of English Kings ordered by Govern- 

 ment for the new Houses of Parliament, which 

 is rapidly approaching completion. In March 

 the statues of Professor John Wilson (" Chris- 

 topher North") and Allan Eamsay, both by 

 John Steell, were unveiled in Edinburgh with 

 much ceremony in the presence of the municipal 

 authorities and a large assembly of spectators. 

 A design for an Equestrian statue of the Prince 

 Consort for Edinburgh, by the same sculptor, 

 is said to have been approved by the Queen. 

 Among other testimonials to distinguished men 

 in progress are a statue of Sir Joseph Paxton, 

 for the Crystal Palace grounds ; a bust of Thack- 

 eray, by Baron Marochetti, to be placed in 

 Westminster Abbey, between the monuments 

 of Addison and Macaulay ; a statue of Burke, 

 by Foley, for Trinity College, Dublin ; and a 

 statue of Macaulay, by Woolner, for the Uni- 

 versity of Cambridge. A monument to Shake- 

 speare, from penny subscriptions, it is in con- 

 templation to erect on Primrose Hill, near Lon- 

 don. Any thing like a complete enumeration 

 of the works in marble or bronze now in prog- 

 ress would be inconsistent with our plan. It 

 may be sufficient to say that the art of sculpture 

 is practised by considerably over one hundred 

 persons, the best of whom receive more com- 

 missions than they can execute. 



The British Museum, the repository of so 

 much that is precious, in certain respects per- 

 haps priceless, in art material, has received 

 during the last year some valuable examples of 

 ancient sculpture purchased from the ex-king 

 of Naples, and which formed part of the famous 

 Farnese collection. They comprise an eques- 

 trian statue of the Eoman emperor Caligula, 

 one of the only four known ancient marble 

 equestrian groups existing; an Apollo, appar- 

 ently of the Athenian school ; a Mercury, 

 identical with one in the Vatican ; a group of 

 Mercury and Herse ; the famous Diadumenos or 

 Polyclitus ; an heroic figure ; a Satyr, and a 

 colossal bust. It Avas mainly through the inter- 

 vention of Mr. W. W. Story, the American 

 sculptor, residing in Eome, that these treasures 

 were secured to the museum. From the Pour- 

 tales sale hi Paris the same institution also pro- 

 cured some fine specimens of antique art, in 

 eluding the bust known as the " Guistmian 

 Apollo ;" a seated Jupiter hi bronze but eighteen 



