74 



CARTILAGE CARTOUCH. 



CARTILAGE is a semi-pelJucid substance, of a 

 milk-white or pearly colour, entering into the com- 

 position of several parts of the body. It holds a 

 middle rank, in point of firmness, between bones, or 

 hard parts, and the softer constituents of the human 

 frame. It appears, on a superficial examination, to 

 be homogeneous in its texture ; for, when cut, the 

 surface is uniform . and contains no visible cells, ca- 

 vitirs, nor pores, but resembles the section of a piece 

 of glue. It possesses a very high degree of elasti- 

 city, which property distinguishes it from all other 

 parts of die body. Hence it enters into the compo- 

 sition of parts whose functions require the combina- 

 tion of finnw-s with pliancy iuul flexibility, the pre- 

 servation of a certain external form, with the power 

 of yielding to external force or pressure. Anato- 

 mists divide cartilages into two kinds, the temporary 

 and the permanent. The former are confined to the 

 earlier stages of existence ; the latter commonly re- 

 tain their cartilaginous structure throughout life. 

 The temporary cartilages are those in which the 

 bones are formed. All the bones except the teeth 

 are formed in a nidus of cartilage. The permanent 

 cartilages are of various kinds. They compose the 

 external ear and external aperture of the nostrils and 

 eyelids. The larynx is formed entirely of this sub- 

 stance, and tlie trachea or windpipe, with its branch- 

 es, is furnished with cartilaginous hoops, by which 

 these tubes are kept permanently open for the ready 

 passage of air to and from the lungs. The bodies 

 of the vertebrae are joined by large masses of a pecu- 

 liar substance, partaking of the properties and ap- 

 pearance of cartilage and ligament, which allow of 

 the motions of these parts on each other, without 

 weakening the support that is afforded to the upper 

 parts of the body in general, and to the head in par- 

 ticular, by the vertebral column. These cartilages 

 impart great elasticity to the spine, by which the 

 effects of concussion from jumping, from falls, &e., 

 are weakened and destroyed before they can be pro- 

 pagated to the head. When the body has been long 

 in an erect position, the compression of these carti- 

 lages, by the superior parts, diminishes the height of 

 the person. They recover their former length when 

 freed from this pressure. Hence a person is taller 

 when he rises in the morning, than after sustaining 

 the fatigues of the day, and the difference has some- 

 times amounted to an inch. Cartilages are some- 

 times interposed between the articular surfaces of 

 bones, where they fill up irregularities that might 

 otherwise impede the motions of the part, and in- 

 crease the security of the joint by adapting the arti- 

 cular surfaces to each other. These surfaces are, in 

 every instance, covered by a thin crust of cartilage, 

 having its surface most exquisitely polished, by which 

 all friction in the motions of the joint is avoided. 



CARTOON has many significations. In painting, 

 it denotes a sketch on thick paper, pasteboard, or 

 other material, which is used as a model for a large 

 picture, especially in fresco, oil, tapestry, and, for- 

 merly, in glass and mosaic. In fresco painting, car- 

 toons are particularly useful ; because, in this, a 

 quick process is necessary, and a fault cannot easily 

 be corrected. In applying cartoons, the artist com- 

 monly traces them through, covering the back of 

 the design with black lead or red chalk ; then, lay- 

 ing the picture on the wall, or other matter, he 

 passes lightly over each stroke of the design with a 

 point, which leaves an impression of the colour on 

 the plate or wall ; or the outlines of the figures are 

 pricked with a needle, and then, the cartoon being 

 placed against the wall, a bag of coal-dust is drawn 

 over the holes, in order to transfer the outlines to 

 the wall. ' In fresco painting, the figures were for- 

 merly cut out, and fixed firmly on the moist plaster. 



The painter then traced their contour with a pencil 

 of wood or iron ; so tliat the outlines of the figures 

 appeared on the fresh plaster, with a slight but dis- 

 tinct impression, when the cartoon was taken away. 

 In tlie manufacture of a certain kind of tapestry, the 

 figures are still cut out, and laid behind or under tlie 

 woof, by which the artist directs his operations. In 

 this case, the cartoons must be coloured. 



The most celebrated cartoons in existence, are 

 those in tlie royal palace of Hampton Court, which 

 are seven in numlwr, and were executed by Raphael, 

 at the command of pope Leo X., to serve as 

 models for a set of tapestry hangings to be executed 

 at the Gobelines, and presented to king Charles I. 

 They were originally nine in number, but two have 

 been lost. By a singular revolution of events, the 

 tapestry hangings themselves, after having been sold 

 to a Spanish nobleman, at tlie sale of the effects of 

 the unfortunate king Cliarles, were purcliased by a 

 British consul in Spain, and sent back to this coun- 

 try. The subjects of the cartoons are, the mira- 

 culous Draught of Fishes, tlie Sacrifice to Paul at 

 Lystra, Christ's Charge to Peter, tlie Apostle's 

 Healing the Cripple at the Beautiful Gate of the 

 Temple, the Sorcerer Elymas struck with Blind- 

 ness, Death of Ananias, Paul preaching at Athens, 

 and of the two in tlie tapestries, one is the Con- 

 version of St Paul, and the other, our Saviour teach- 

 ing in the Temple. These drawings have all the 

 usual excellencies which characterize the works of 

 that divine painter. The cartoons have been en- 

 graved by several artists, particularly Dorigny, and 

 Holloway, and Gribelin ; and copies painted by Sir 

 James Thornhill are suspended in the great room of 

 the Royal Academy, Somerset House. 



The cartoon of the school of Athens, carried to 

 Paris by the French, and a fragment of the battle of 

 Maxentius and Constantine, are preserved in tlie 

 Ambrosian gallery at Milan. There are, likewise, 

 cartoons by Giulio Romano in the Sala Borgia, by 

 Domenichino and other Italian masters, who caused 

 their pictures to be executed, in a great degree, by 

 their scholars, after these cartoons. The value set 

 upon cartoons by the old Italian masters may be seen 

 by Giov. B. Armenini's Precetti dello Pittura (Ve- 

 nice, 1687, 4to). In later times, large paintings 

 particularly in fresco, were not executed so fre- 

 quently. The artists also laboured with less care, 

 and formed their great works more from small 

 sketches. In modern times, some German artists 

 have prepared accurate cartoons. Among them is 

 Cornelius, whose cartoons, for his fresco paintings in 

 Munich, have acquired much celebrity. He pre- 

 pared, too, a cartoon for the fresco picture repre- 

 senting Joseph interpreting the Dream. Overbeck, 

 also, has made cartoons, from which he has painted 

 the Seven Years of Famine, and the Selling of Joseph. 

 The Seven Years of Plenty he executed, with the 

 assistance of William Schadow and Philip Veit. The 

 representations of Joseph's history, just mentioned, 

 the late Prussian consul-general Bertholdy has caused 

 to be executed in fresco, at his residence in Rome, 

 by the above-named artists. For the villa Massimi, 

 near Rome, Overbeck has prepared cartoons repre- 

 senting scenes from Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered ; 

 Julius Schnorr, illustrations of Ariosto, and Veit, 

 scenes taken from Dante. 



CARTOUCH, in architecture, sculpture, &c., de- 

 notes an ornament representing a scroll of paper, 

 being usually in the form of a table, or flat member, 

 with waving, whereon is some inscription or device. 

 In heraldry ; a name given to a sort of oval 

 shields, much used by the popes and secular princes 

 in Italy, and others, both clergy and laity, for paint- 

 ing or engraving their arms on. In the military art ; 



