© Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg, Best. 340 Grimm Nr. Z 47
464
flO.ME SCULPTURE IN BALTIMORE.
It is doubtful if there is anywliere a finer group os out-of-door
statuary than that possessed by the city of Baltimore in one of the
four public squares whicli adjoin its Washington Monument.
Engravings were given in the Weekly of January 24 of the four de
signs of “ Peace,”
“War,” “Strength,”
and “Order”—repro
ductions of the mod-
els which the great
sculptor Antoine
Louis Barye made
for the exterior déc
oration of the Lou
vre.
It was of these
noble créations that
a great artist made
this mémorandum in
his note - book : “ I
went yesterday to
the Louvre, and
climbed the scaffold
to see the Barye
groups, which are
just being finished.
Nothing save Nature
herseif could have
so moved me. They
positively made me
tremble. As I eame
in front of the
‘War’ the sun was
setting, and its gold
en rays feil oblique-
ly upon the group,
and illumined the
head of the warrior.
I continually see the
powerful movement
of his arm seeking
thehiltof hissword.
I continue to hear
the trumpet - blast
of the child and
the neighing of the
steed. In front of
the first group I had
met a single figure.
It was that of Guil
laume, the sculptor
of the ‘ Gracchi,’
and he stood with
bowed head, com-
pletely absorbed in
its contemplation.”
The four groups,
admirably repro-
duced in bronze by
Barbedienne, are
mounted upon plain
granité pedestajs,
which stand ttpon
the trim grass-plots
on either side of
the square. In the
centre is a circular
basin inclosing a
fountain which is
an exact reproduc
tion of one that all
visitors to Paris
have admired in the
Avenue des Champs
Elysées — a bunch
of cat-tail reeds and
leaves of aquatic
plants—a very sim
ple and graceful
fountain, and one
which, thanks to
the wonderful water
supply that Balti
more enjoys, maju
almost always be
Seen discharging its
proper function, in-
stead of restin g in
desiccated decay,
like those of New
York. At the ends
of this little square
—the most beautiful
and the most rieh ly
endo w cd in our
country — are two
other remarkable
sculptures, making
^the whole group to
^onsist of six pièces,
âne, the great lion
’jiich Barye made
1847 for the
Tuileries, his mas-
terpiece, and the
most majestic piece
of sculpture that
has been achieved
si nee Michael An-
gelo lived, has been
a! ready described in
these columns. The
other, which has
just been added to
complote the group,
is the work of Paul
Dubois, the first of
living French sculp-
tors, and an engrav-
!»g of it is given on
this page.
Dubois was born
1829, and in the last twenty-two years he Kss taken every honor
vfhUh it has been in the power of his country Yo confer. All of
Vbr» tbdals and distinctions have fallen to him one"by one, his last
decbwym having been a membership in the InstituTisöf 4ra»ee^
to " ■’.J.'C was elected in 1876. He is now alt, st equally dis-
h portrait painter, and many people have failed to
HARPER’S W[EEKLY.
identify the Paul Dubois who has figu -ed for the last five years as
the most sueeessful exhibitor in portraiture in the Salon with the
Paul Dubois who made the “St. Jean” of the Luxembourg, the
“Narcissus” which captivated Théophile Gautier, and the noble
designs of “ Prayer,” “ Charity,” and r Military Courage” for the
Lamoricière monument at Nantes.
^gulsvw
PÜBLIC SCULPTURE IN BALTIMORE—A FIGURE
It is a reproduction in bronze by Barbku t
which Mr. William T. Wal
a little large,- than lise, is that of a youiTL
inclinod in the aspect of thoughtful repH
verted upon his knee, the other resting upoiH
VOLUME XXIX., NO. 1491.
sword. A leathern garment eovers the torso, and leathern buskins
fit closely the feet and ankles, while upon the head is worn a
graceful casque of the Renaissance. The impression which it
conveys is that of some mythical, humanly personified élément of
strife, ideal, spiritualized, and subdued in treatment, and very
beautiful in its whole conception. In all of its purely physical at-
tributes it is most
signifikant and Com
plété, and there is
an ever-present in
timation as ,to how
this young warrior
could, were he so
minded, rise up and
lay about him. It
reminds one strong-
ly of the well-known
meditative figure of
the tomb of the Me
dici, and may have
been in some de-
gree inspired by it;
but that will detract
in nothing from it,
unless it be a crime
to do a thing so well
that it recallß Mi
chael ANGELD.
There is, porhaps,
not in our time an-
other sculptor than
Dubois of whose
work any example
is worthy to stand
with that of Barye.
Ilis “ Military Cour
age” is perfectly in
its place in this
group ; and the
whole, for its beauty
and interest, and for
its inestimable value
from the point of
view of its instruct
ive influence, is a
possession that Bal
timore may well be
proud of. With all
her treasure of
modern sculpture,
France has nothing
quite as fine in it-
self as this Balti
more group. The
venerable Barbedi-
enne, first of all
bronzefounders and
French artists in
métal, and a patron
of the fine arts un-
rivalled in his intel
ligence and liberali-
ty, has taken the
deepest interest in
it. He speaks of it
as the neblest mon
ument that there is
to the memory of
his friend Barye,
and he déplorés the
fact that nowhere
in France is there
any such opportuni-
ty to study and be-
come acquainted
with the gen ins of
France’s greatest
sculptor as exists in
far-off Baltimore.
There are many
admirers of Barye
in America, and
many students of
art visit Baltimore
to see the groups
in Mount Vernon
Place. They will
be interested in
learning of the late
additions to the
Barye Gallery in the
Walters Museum of
the Fine Arts, as
the different collec
tions in Mr. Wal
ters's house may
now fairly be terra-
ed. First in import
ance of these is the
“ Kilver Lion,” a re
production upon a
grander scale of the
celebrated “ Lion
qui Marche.” It
was a commission
from the city of
Paris for a trophy
for the Grand Prix
of 1865, and is per-
haps as fine a piece
of work as anything
that Barye ever did.
Next to it must be
accounted the “ Bull
Hunt,” one of the
four unique designs
exe'cuted for the
Duke of Orleans, a
most dramatic and
PAUL DUBOIS. wonderful composi
tion of exquisite
workmanship. To
these must be added
two candélabra in bronze, of singularly beautiful design—three
perfectly classical figures sustaining an ornate column surmounted
by the three Grâces. Nothing finer of its kind can be imagined
than this work, and it was Barye’s own spécial treasure, and only
recently passed from his widow to Mr. Waltrrs’s possession.
W. M. L.
