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vV‘. . “ lllrL ji k, r> H;iK/ . vS;:V.vr* 'ir'iixvi HMwil - ; : - ' ;i - : ■ V;:^: §|| \& >-:'V if- . 'A&&X -. K9m$mmm0 mMmmmmmim ■ •' ;>iK»rr **■;,* ’^V- 'S’ -: :.-■ tiMflMfe '■.rjjr - -"■: .'3:,;. -;. ■• --vi *e? s& SSKrv^ . kV N * f . , V' 'v f ■ ■ ' ' ‘ : ./- ■-■ ; .- - - + ^ ?: k-iki V.: ?v 4 <nsV« V >:v* I. .?g -:5C- ••*>•3 ’hife': 4 'Kiiv.i*: /:• ■ : ■ , >:;"\?v ; , ■' ; .. r v '5. « . ::- Ai - •$Vi;.y :• ' S inglP 'Sffc -S,M ;; viOT fj ' ht* •r.:S.“fe.-i»:»i.-f*i. x-uf '>'■•?£ NHi;x.-::>:;,-n. iw ■•; ;-f • ■' ' <1$ NEW SERIES. VOLUME IV. IIIMW] am all 1852 Mia m i h i I m\ • iiiiuiiiir.r, | " '■ ! •!•; HKNRV 1 LINTON Sc PUBLISHED (EOR THE PROPRIETORS) BY GEORGE VIRTUE, 25, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON ; AND 26, JOHN STREET, NEW YORK. BRADBURY AND EVANS, TEES EXTRAORDINARY’ TO THE QUEEN, 'IIITEFR1 A I DEDICATED 33g (JTainntaiRr, ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE ALBERT PRESIDENT COMMISSION ON THE FINE ARTS, . ' ‘ - illpJlPS - y OSAty. U 1/3^0 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 1. 2_ 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 12. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 22. 23. 24. 25. 1. 2. 3. 4 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. ENGRAVINGS FROM THE VERNON GALLERY. THE CAVALIER’S PETS THE DANGEROUS PLAYMATE. THE STOLEN BOW YORICK AND THE GRISETTE. THE TAMBOURINE THE NEWSPAPER THE CASEMENT REST IN THE DESERT THE FISHERMAN’S HOME CROSSING THE FORD JULIET AND THE NURSE SEA-SHORE IN HOLLAND THE BAGPIPER THE LANDING OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE THE RAFFLE FOR THE WATCII A PERSIAN WARRIOR THE INFANT BACCHUS LADY GODIVA THE TIRED SOLDIER CUPID BOUND. THE COUNCIL OF HORSES THE FARM- YARD THE INSTALLATION FLORIMEL AND THE WITCH RUINS IN ITALY NIGHT MORNING PROTECTING ANGELS. THE FILATRICE. HEBE MUSIDORA THE MOTHER .... THE SON OF NIOBE HIGHLAND MARY. THE MOTHER OF NAPOLEON. THE FAITHFUL MESSENGER THE BASHFUL BEGGAR RESIGNATION WISDOM HOPE PAINTED BY . . Sir E. Landseer, R.A. . . W. Etty, It, A. . W. Hilton, R.A. . . . G. S. Newton, R.A. . P. Williams. . . T. S. Good . . G. S. Newton, R.A.. . . W. Muller . F. Danby, R.A.. . . W. Mulready, R.A. . . H. P. Briggs, R.A. . . Sir A. W. Callcott, R.A. . . Sir D. Wilkie, R.A. . . J. M. W. Turner, R.A. . . E. Bird, R.A. . . W. Etty, R.A. . Sir M. A. Siiee. . . G. Jones, R.A. . . F. Goodall. . . T. Stotiiard, R.A. . J. Ward, R.A.. . . T. S. Cooper, A. R.A. . B. West, P.R.A.. . . . F. R. PlCKERSGlLL. . . R. Wilson, R.A.. SCULPTURES. SCULPTOR . . Thorwaldsen . . Tiiorwaldsen . . E. Rletschel. . R. Schadow . . . Canova .... . R. J. Wyatt . , J. H. Foley, A.R.A. . . J. Leeb . . B. E. Spence. . Canova . . J. Geefs .... . Gandolphi. THE CARDINAL VIRTUES. DRAWN BY . . . Professor Mucke. ENGRAVED BY J. Ontrim PAGE 8 E. J. Porlbury. 16 P. Lightfoot. 48 11. Bourne. 60 C. Bolls. 87 94 110 J. Cousen. 124 A. Will more. 152 L. Stocks. 158 S. Songster ISO J. C. Bentley 188 E. Bell. 208 I V. Miller. 226 240 C. Cousen . » 252 T. Vernon 284 J. B. Allen. 2S7 256 E. B. Whitfield. 301 T. S. Prior 332 J. Godfrey. 353 J. Taylor 350 G. A. Periam 367 T. S. Prior. 3S1 ENGRAVER IV. Boffe. . . 21 W. Boffe. . 21 E. Boffe . . 40 . . 76 W. 11. Mote. . . 104 J. H. Baker. . 140 B. J. Artie tt . . 194 . 216 E. Boffe . . 259 W. II. Mote. , 272 . . 316 W. II. Mote. . 344 ENGRAVED BY M. Jackson. . . 17. . . 81 • . . 2-56 SELECTIONS FROM THE PORTFOLIO OF MORITZ RETZSCH. THE BENEVOLENT GENIUS EngrnTed by G. $ E. Vahid 18 THE SYLPHS OF THE WIND „ „ 10 THE FORCE OF TEMPTATION „ „ 51 THE SWAN’S LAKE „ „ 65 THE PILGRIMS „ „ S3 THE YOUNG MOTHER „ „ 125 FANCY ,, „ 224 THE GENIUS OF POETRY „ „ 320 «twywiiwj»iiH ii 1 1 iiiifpiiiiiiii ronjj ' ' ' ijgjTljn^JHi^liri^rill.Ill .-"li'l '|~rTii"'in!inr.Tii]i?in!iinr • CONTENTS. African Scenery, 229, 292 Artists' General Benevolent Institution, 162, 351 Coloured Prints, Baxter's, 66, 161, 263 Amateur Artists’ Exhibition, 1 80 — Sketching Companion, 99 Colours employed in Mural Painting, 22 American Exhibition of Industrial Art, 66, 98, Art- Manufacture, Progress of : — Colours used by Rubens, 354 129, 161, 231, 322, 382 Ansdell’s Picture of the “ Fight for the Standard,” Architectural Ornaments by Bowers, 254 Conolly, Testimonials to Dr., 161 Californian Gold Plate, by Ball & Co., 27 Copeland's Statuette of the Greek Slave, 162 262 Candelabrum, by Trentanove, 319 Copyright in America, 354 Antiquarian Etching Club, 382 Casket, by S. Wertheimer, 63 — in Foreign Designs, 161 Antwerp Exhibition, 231, 262, 286 Chandelier, by M. Matifat, 254 ■*— International, 97 Application of Science to the Fine and Useful Clock, by Moore & Sons, 126 — Law of Patent and, 359 Arts : — — by J. Hux, 63 — of Designs’ Act, 34 Metals and their Alloys, 7, 74, 149, 268, 366 Clock-Case, by M. Matifat, 336 Cork Exhibition of Art and Industry, 98, 198, 225 Stereoscope, The, 59 Ewer and Basin, by M. Matifat, 336 Correspondence : — Architectural Association, 353 FJower-Pot, by W. T. Copeland, 223 Amateur Exhibitions, 158 Architectural Exhibition, 67 Flower-Stand, by W. T. Copeland, 61 Antwerp Exhibition, 366 Art and Law, 109 Fountain, from Grangemouth, 62 Art in India, 22 Art Exhibitions, 380 — by Ransome & Co., 153 Decorative Art, 309 Art, Foreign Criticism upon English, 328 Hair- Brooches, by M. Forrer, 26 Exhibition at Antwerp, 158 Art for the Cottage, 131 Harness, by — Penny, 336 Female School of Design, 1 96 Art in Continental States, &c. : — Inkstand, by W. G. Rogers, 26 Harmony of Colours, 158 America, 24 Inkstands, by C. Asprey, 31 8 Highland Costume, 22 Antwerp, 96, 110, 160, 231, 262, 286, 321, Jewellery, by Watherston & Brogden, 255 Photography. 22, 159 352, 366 Jugs, by Green & Co., 127 Ruskin's Writings, 48 Athens, 24 — by M. Matifat, 319 Surplus Funds of the Great Exhibition, 109 Belgium, 120 — by Ridgway & Co., 153 Costumes of various Epochs, 20, 108, 212 Berlin, 24 Lace Flounce, by — Vickers, 127 Cottingham Museum. 34 Bologna, 353 Looking-Glass, by — Perrv, 61 Council of Horses, 332 Breslau, 230 — by Potts & Co., 26 Creswick’s Views in North Wales, 198 Brussels, 96, 353 Monuments, by Smith & Thurston, 154 Papier-Mache, bv Clay & Co.. 223 Crossing the Ford, 158 Cape of Good Hope, 366 Cupid Bound, 304 Copenhagen, 196 Dresden, 24, 96, 321 Phaeton, by Holmes & Co., 25 Piano Forte, by — Chickering, 61 Crystal Palace, The New, 283, 322 Hamburgh, 96 — by H. Palmer, 154 Dangerous Playmate, The, 1 6 Havre, 288 Picture Frame, by Hay & Co., 126 Decorative Art Analytically Considered, 233, 293 | Konigsberg, 24 Shawl, bv E. T. Blakely, 25 Delineating Apparatus, Palmer's, 162, 199 Leipsic, 24 Sideboard, by J. M. Levein, 62 Deville’s Phrenological Museum, 35 Madras, 323 Statuary Porcelain, by W. T. Copeland, 337 Dictionary of Terms in Art : — Memphis, 24 Tankard, by D. C. Rait, 223 Jagerant to Lakes, 56 Munich, 24, 40, 251, 288, 321, 365 Toilet Table, by F. Wirtli, 222 Lamp to Magdalen. Ill Paris, 23, 96, 110, 130, 160, 195, 230, 250, Vase, by — Pulliam, 27 Mahl Stick to Model, 1S5 287, 321, 352, 365 Prague, 96 — and Pedestal, by Ransome, 222, 337 Modillon to Petasus, 345 Vases, by Battam & Son, 63, 318 Peacock to Zone, 368 Rome, 24, 131, 321 — by W. T. Copeland, 27 Diorama — Salzburg, 24 — by — Plows, 126 St. Mark’s, 33 Stockholm, 2S2, 314 Art-Union of London : — Wellington Campaigns. 198 St. Petersburg, 321 Annual Meeting, 194 Domestic Manners of the English in the Middle Washington, 96 Exhibition of Prizes, 269 Ages, 92, 247, 310 Art in the Provinces : — Proposal for a Wellington Bas-Relief, 354 Drawing, Public Education in, 97, 322 Alnwick, 21 Bath, 129, 150 Selection of Prizes, 228, 247 Dublin Industrial Exhibition Invitation to Artists, 290 Belfast, 129, 196, 229 Birmingham, 95, 150, 260, 350, 3S0 Brighton, 96 Bagpiper, The, 208 Preparations for, 322, 353 Barry, Sir Charles, 97 Bashful Beggar, The, 344 Dudley Gallery, 198 Carlisle, 65 Baxter's Gems of the Great Exhibition, 161, 263 Eaton Hall, 291 Colchester, 272 Bayeux Tapestry, 323 Elementary Drawing Schools, 97 Cork, 98, 196, 198, 309 Beehives, 199 Elgin Marbles, Casts of the, 67 Cornwall, 350 Belgium, Memoranda from, 120 Embellishment of Public Buildings, 236, 265, Dartford, 96 Bible, Illustrated by German Artists, 53, 82, 301, 341 Dublin, 259 128, 253, 278, 317 Enamelled Pottery of Italy and France, 329 Edinburgh, 65, 95, 129, 229, 272, 309 Binocular Perspective, 89. Foley’s Statue of Selden, 198 Foreign Criticism upon English Art, 328 Gallery of Illustration, 354 Geefs’ Zinc Casts, 261 Gerard’s Hall Crypt, 262 Glasgow, A Visit to, 201 Globe, Wyld's, 34 Gold, Its Uses in Art and Manufacture, 257 Goldsmiths’ Company, The Prizes of the, 66 Great Masters of Art, The : — Du Jardin, K., 209, 241 Lo Sueur, E„ 272, 296 Potter, Paul, 105, 141 Rubens, Sir P. P., 9, 41, 77 Ruysdael, J., 143, 181 Velasquez, Don Diego, 333, 361 Grey, Park's Bust of Dr., 199 Grosvenor Gallery, 291 Guild of Literature and Art, 33 Gutta Percha applied to Lithography, 353 Halls of the City of London, 236, 265, 301, 341 Hamilton Palace, 352 Hampstead Couversazione, 99 Harmony of Colours in its application to Ladies' Dresses, 13, 58, 90, 117 Haydon, R. B., Auecdote of, 162 — Picture by, 291 Hebe, 104 Heidcloft's Costumes, 20, 108, 212 — Gothic Furniture, 49 Highland Mary, 259 Holford's Mansion, Mr., 322 Hospital for Consumption, 162 Houses of Parliament, 34, 64, 129, 19S, 349 Hungerford Hall, 34 Improvements in the City, 34 — recently patented, 76 Industrial College, 34 Industrial Instruction. 205 Infant Bacchus, The. 284 Installation, The, 360 Institute of British Sculptors, 97 International Copyright, 97 Ireland, Tours in, 198 Iron Books, 291 Iron Gates of Coalbrooko Dale, 383 Jerichau, Pictures by Madame, 231 Journal of Desigu, 99 Juliet and the Nurse, 180 Ivaulbaoh’s Works, 323 Koh-i-noor Diamond, 231 Lady Godiva, 287 Lambeth Palace, Casts found in, 131 Lectures to Working Men, 124 Lesson for Humanity, 261 Lind, Mdlle Jenny, 161 Literary, Scientific, and Mechanics’ Institutes, 205 Longfellow's Poems, 88 Mansion House, Decorations of the, 23 9 Marble Arch, The, 355 Metals and their Alloys : — Brasses, 366 Bronze Castings, 268 Copper, 74, 149 Introductory Remarks, 7 Military Costume, 35 Millais's Pictures, 280 Monument to the late Duke of Cambridge, 66 — to T. Obituary : — Allen, J. W., 316 Bentley, J. C., 15 Calvert, C., 150 Carpenter, J., 150 Cave, M., 150 Cumberworth, M., 316 D'Orsay, Count. 286 Ebelman, M., 150 Elkington, H., 374 Essex, W., 76 Fairland, J., 375 Fillans, J., 350 Findcn, W., 350 Fourchier, M., 286 Hawkins, G., 375 Jobannot, M., 286 Landseer, J., 110 Pradier, J., 229 Prout, S., 75, 138 Pugin, A. N. W., 319 Scrope, W., 286 Turner, J. M. W., 36 Vanderlyn, J., 374 Wachter, E., 316 Watts, W., 76 Wilkin, H., 286 Woodward, 3., 375 Ocean Penny Postage, 355 Oersted’s Soul in Nature, 215 Ornamental Art, Museum of, 322 — School of, 196 Painted Ceiling Decorations of Italy, 79 Palissy, Bernard, 329 Palmer’s Patent Delineating Apparatus. 162, 199 Panopticon of Science and Art, 23, 220, 355 Panoramas of — Australia, 291 Hiudostan, 33 Life of N. Buonaparte, 3S2 Nimroud, 66 Salzberg, 161 Paris in 1852, 304 Park’s Bust of Dr. Grey, 199 Peel Testimonials : — Bury, 291 Gibson’s Statue, 98 Leeds, 21, 98, 198 Salford, 196 Tamworth, 272 Pencil Drawings, Method of fixing, 323 Pencil-Cutter, New, 199 Periodical Literature, 263 Persian Warrior, A, 252 Photographic Collodion, Martin's, 291 — Patents, Resignation of, 270 — Pictures on Artificial Ivory, 193 — Portraituro, 99 — Publications, 374 Photographical Society, 103 Photography, 23, 65, 101, 159 — and its Patents, 193 — in Africa, 262 ; in France, 262 ; in Rome, 159 Picture Catalogues, 261 — Dealing, 94, 151, 246 — Forgeries, 284 — Galleries, New Method of Lighting, 3S2 — Galleries, Royal, 322 Picture Sales : — Clows's Collection, 195 Haydon’s, R. B., 129 Miscellaneous, 152, 195, 216 Moray’s, Count de, 230 Rucker’s, 152 Soult's, Marshal, 230 Wells’s, W., 216 Pictures, Destruction by Fire of, 161 Pilgrimages to English Shrines Chertsey and N eiglibourhood, 14, 84, 155, 279 Pilgrimages to English Shrines ( continued ) : — Day at Chatswortb, A, 28 Village of Eyam, 307 Polytechnic Institution, 33 Postal Arrangements, 98 Prince of Orange landing at Torbay, 226 Prints in Oil Colours, Baxter’s, 34 Prize Essay on Portugal, 198 Protecting Angels, 40 Prout, Recollections of S., 188 — Sketches, Sale of, 291 Provident Associations, 355 Public Education in Drawing, 322 — Walks, 355 Pugin, A. N. ■ i Reviews ( continued ) : — Reviews ( continued ) : — Salutation of the Aged Friar, 131 Sliakspeare's House, 34 Silesian Exhibition of Industrial Art, 230 Hero and his Horse, 3G Saturday Night: Sunday Morning, 264 Silicious Stone, 3S2 History and Description of Ashby de la Scenery and Events in South Africa, 292 Sketches of the Crystal Palace, 33 Schule Scalin, 131 Sketching Easel, 262 Scotland Delineated, 132 Slingeneyer at Walmer Castle, 382 Series of Twelve Views of the Principal Society of Arts and Scientific Institutions, 1 97 House on the Rock, 100 Buildings in London, 264 Society of British Artists : — Household of Sir T. More, 100 Sketches in New Zealand, 356 Alteration of Rules, 382 Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, 263 Soul in Nature, The, 215 Exhibition, 135 Industrial Arts of the Nineteenth Centuiy, Spain as it is, 99 Society of Water-Colour Painter?, The Old : — 35, 264 Specimens of Tile Pavements, 200, 384 Election of Members, 33, 97 Investigation of the Principles of Athenian Stothard, Life of Thomas, 67 Exhibition, 177 Suggestions for a Crystal College, GS Remarks upon, 331 Iris, The, 100 Symbols and Emblems of Early and Medi- Society of Water-Colour Painters, The New : — Journals of a Landscape Painter in Southern icval Art, 232 Exhibition, 179 Calabria, 355 Technical Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, 36 Remarks upon, 360 Labour Stauds on Golden Feet, 264 Ten Centuries of Art, 132 Son of Niobe, 216 Lady and Spaniels, 35 Text Book of Geometrical Drawing, 132 Soult Gallery, 230 Lady of the Lake, 384 There’s no Place like Home, 36 Starch as a Vehicle for Painting, 271 L’Allegro ; 11 Penseroso, G8 Tragic Muse, The, 164 Statues of : — La Lumiere, 292 Transept of the Exhibition Building, 292 Achilles, 99 Lancaster, View of, 292 Turner and his Works, 200 Hardinge, Lord, 34 Landscapes of Interesting Localities men- Useful Arts : their Birth, &c., 36 Peel, Sir R., 98, 198 tioned in the Scriptures, 2G3 Vasari’s Lives of the Painters, 164 Wellington, Duke of, 229, 355 Law of Patents and Registration of Inven- Views in South America, 163 Stephenson Testimonial, 263 tions, 36 Waverley Novels, 164, 356 Stereoscope, The, 59 Laying down the Law, 36 William of Wykeham and his Colleges, 292 Stereoscopic View of the Exhibition, 34 Lecture on Elementary Education in the Wren and his Times, 131 Stokes’s New Light, 290 Arts of Design, 132 Reynolds, Portrait of Sir J., 161 Stolen Bow, The, 48 St. Paul’s Cathedral, 323 Letter to the Council of Design, 132 Rictschel, Memoir of, 95 Lewis Arundel, 324 Romano, Fresco by Julio, 19S Suburban Artisan Schools, 103, 259 Lion Dog from Malta, 35 Little Sister, 100 Rosso’s Picture of the Adoration, 34 Royal Academy : — Tambourine, The, 87 Lives of the Friends and Contemporaries of Annual Dinner, 197 Tired Soldier, The, 296 Tombs at Westminster, 184 Lord Clarendon, 92 Associate Engravers, 290, 353 Luther de Deutsche Reformator, 35 Distribution of Prizes, 24, 66 Turner, J. M. W Machinery of the Nineteenth Century, 132, Election of Members and Professors, 97, Blue Lights, 199 264 381 Drawings by, 198 Manual of Artistic Anatomy for Sculptors, Exhibition, 165 Engravings after, 263 &c., 263 Professor of Anatomy, 66 Exhibition of his Pictures, 66, 290 Manual of Universal History on the Basis Soirde at, 290 Pictures for the Nation, 231 of Ethnography, 164 Varnishing Days, 197 Portraits of, 66, 198 Mark Seaworth, 68 Royal Scottish Academy : — Wreck of the Minotaur, 130 Mehemet Ali, Portrait of, 356 Memories of the Great Metropolis, 164 Annual Report, 80 Exhibition, 133 Ultramarine, 354 Metal Work and its Artistic Design, 324 Monumental Brass for the Officers of the Preparations for Exhibition, 95 Rubens, Colours used by, 354 Vehicles for Painting — Starch, 271 Punjaub, 164 — Pictures by, 162 Velasquez, Portrait by, 98, 291 Museum of Classical Antiquities, 264, 292 Ruins in Italy, 381 Ventilator, Moore’s Patent, 161 Natural History of Animals, 264 Nell Gwyn, Story of, 232 Sangiovanni’s Models, 35 Vinci, Sketch-Book of Lionardo da, 45 Visit to Glasgow, 201 New Tales from Fairy Land, 100 North Ferriby Church, 132 Scenery of the Stage, 158, 261 Scenes of Artist Life : — Walesby's Gallery, 323 North Transept of the Crystal Palace, 68 Gerard, F., 15 Mignard and the Abbess de Fontevrault, 251 Ward’s (E. Shakspeare, New Edition of, 291 Zinc, Ornamental, 263 THE ART-JOURNAL. it ; effigies which meet us at every turn and are so innumerable and so much alike that they leave scarcely a trace in the memory except in the aggregate. Sometimes they are pictures painted on the walls ; some- times sculpture enclosed in a shrine ; some- times in conspicuous public places to excite the piety of the indifferent ; sometimes in the most retired by-ways to attract the homage of the thoughtful ; sometimes on the outsides of houses ; at the corners of streets ; over the gates of gardens, where in ancient times gods of a far different aspect leered or frowned ; sometimes in the leafy depths of a wilderness, suspended against the trunk of an aged tree ; sometimes in a solitary shrine in the midst of a wide desolate plain. In most cases these per- petually recurring images of the Mother and her Son are the workmanship of local artists, whose skill in our Protestant coun- tries would never have aimed beyond the conception of a red lion or a blue boar on a sign post. In Italy they have often, however badly executed, a certain pathetic elegance ; partly from the inherent sense of grace in the people ; partly because copied from tra- ditional models, so that it is not unusual to trace in the rudest of these representations a classical beauty of design, which no deficiency of the workman could wholly ruin or eclipse. But in the Roman Catholic countries of the south of Germany, all through Austria for example, they are generally in the most execrable taste and style ; the Virgin like a formal painted and gilt doll ; the Redeemer — but I will not make profane comparisons. I will only allow myself to remark, that however its sacred significance to the popular appre- hension may place such image-work beyond the reach of criticism or ridicule in every thoughtful mind and kindly heart — yet to the educated eye and refined understanding, it remains repulsive, deformed — almost intolerable. The case is different at Nuremberg ; and it was certainly a happy thought to preserve through these drawings, some few of the very beautiful figures of the Madonna which still adorn the antique houses of that venerable city, before modern innova- tions and improvement have banished and dispersed them. The superior grace and workmanship of these figures show the influence of that excellent school of Art which flourished at Nuremberg during the fourteenth, fifteenth, and down to the middle of the sixteenth, century ; the THE NUREMBERG MADONNAS. ll who have travelled in Roman Catholic countries will remem- ber the effigies of the Virgin Maiy bearing her divine Son ; — ei- ther throned in her arms, as the smiling infant come to bless the world, or laid across her kuees as the dead sacrifice, slain to redeem THE AET-JOTTKNAL. period in which Schonhofer, Peter Vischer, Bell am, Burgmaier, Adam Kraft, and Albert Durer, and many admirable artists with less celebrated names, lived and worked, and gave to this particular school that strong impress of individuality, truthful- ness, and deep feeling which make amends for the want of knowledge in some instances, and the want of grace in others. But it seems to me that the interest attached to these charming Nuremberg Madonnas, con- sists not alone in their intrinsic beauty, but in the sentiment in which they were created, and yet more in the feeling through which they have been preserved. That which the religious piety of one church had reared, the religious zeal of another church has spared. In England, and far more in Scotland, our Puritan or Calvinist pro- genitors— our Cromwells or John Knoxes . — had inevitably demolished these graceful figures, or with painstaking and most ignorant barbarism have defaced in them every trace both of the human and the divine. The Nurembergers, among the most zealous Protestants of Europe, have thought fit to respect these and other monuments of the faith of their fathers. Not that the good city of Nuremberg, Catho- lic or Protestant, was ever very remarkable for its tolerance. When it was Catholic and prosperous, it banished and burned the Jews, after the fashion of the good old medieval times ; when it became Protestant and pugnacious, it kicked, and cuffed, and oppressed, and suppressed the Catholics, —and this so effectually, that at present there are, I believe, not more than 2000 Catholics in a city with near 50,000 in- habitants. Yet how rich is Nuremberg in the beau- tiful and interesting relics belonging to a banished faith ! In former days, when it was wealthy and Catholic, and produced and patronised artists, it was called, not inappropriately, the gothic Athens ; now it might almost ' be styled the Rome of Pro- testant Germany, so teeming with romantic, and religious, and artistic interest ! When in the old churches of St. Sebald and St. Lorenz a new and simple worship re- placed the grand ceremonial of the Roman Catholic Church, it was not thought neces- sary to desecrate altars, deface pictures, demolish shrines, or hire ruffians to break the gem-like windows, and knock the heads off saints and martyrs. And in this calm self-confidence there was more security against re-action than in all the brutal violence and cruelty which accompanied our Reformation. But to return to our Nurembergers. Their strength and glory had been founded on the arts of peace, in commerce, and in the excellence of their mechanical inventions. It was the land- Venice, the mart, the half-way exchange between the east and the west. Like Y enice, it had an aristocracy of merchants ; while its populace was more like that of the Flemish cities, both in the love of splendour and art and the propensity for jollity and turbulence. After bravely defending their religion against Wallenstein during the thirty years’ war, they retained their municipal rights till 1806, when Napoleon gave the death blow to their civic freedom, and handed over them and their city an apanage to Bavaria. Since then no royal petting, nor even new manufactures, new railroads, new privileges, seem to have quite consoled the inhabitants for the loss of their former freedom and importance ; though here, as elsewhere, the slow but sure march of progress is felt and seen. Between my first visit to Nuremberg in 1833 and my last in 1845, so many changes had taken place, that I began to feel alarmed for the fate of some of the fine antique build- dings and their singular local physiognomy. I am not one of those who regard with indiscriminate admiration mediaeval man- ners, or taste, or faith, or art. With a deep respect for all that lias been produced in the spirit of enthusiasm, I have small respect for what is produced merely in the spirit of imitation. The angular draperies, the meagre limbs, the fantastic exaggera- tion which is so deeply interesting m the early German masters, who did their best according to their power, are repulsive and THE ART-JOURNAL. SW I I ridiculous when reproduced by doing our worst. But we are on the way to amend this error ; there is the dawning of a truer light and a healthier spirit among our artists ; — and in the meantime return we to our Nuremberg Virgins. There is in truth no subject on which the impress of originality is more felt than in this eternally repeated group of the Virgin Mother and her Child. Nothing but the deepest feeling of faith and veneration, the highest appreciation of the pure and beau- tiful, can, in its endless repetition, strike out the new without bordering on the fantastic, preserve its tenderness from be- coming sentimental, its grace from man- nerism, and its simplicity from insipidity. First set up as a badge of belief, then cast down as a badge of idolatry ; a con- secration here, an abomination there ; at one time elevating and softening the religious principle, at another materialising and de- basing it ; — it has been degraded in every possible way — morally, spiritually, artisti- cally. But in the hands of great and good artists we may hope to see it yet nobly reproduced : as long as there is Christianity in the world, it cannot lose its sacred sig- nificance ; as long as there is natural affec- tion in woman’s heart, or in man’s heart the sense of the holiness of motherhood and childhood, it cannot lose its charm. We must observe first the purpose of these beautiful images. Such a figure of the Madonna placed on a house was supposed to give at once sanctity and pro- tection. She is here in her character of protectress. In Italy such figures are often over the doors. At Nuremberg they are affixed to the houses, generally to a corner house, where two streets meet, and just at the angle, about half way between the roof and the ground. They are, in many cases, part of the original design, the niche being hewn in the stone ; in general there is a gothic canopy, and a pedestal more or less enriched. In Italy the ancient sculptured Madonnas have more dignity, and the drapery flows in more easy and tasteful lines, borrowed from nature and the antique, which we call a classical style, though the term would not express what we find in the elegant figures by Nicola Pisano, Mino da Fiesole, and Donatello, touched as they are with a sentiment altogether different from that which prevails in Greek or Roman art. In the German virgins thei’e is equal purity of feeling, but less grace of form ; the face is rounder, the features less fine and regular, the expression more girlish. They are oftener crowned with the regal crown, than veiled, as in the Italian figures. The long abundant hair, most elaborately waving and floating on her shoulders, is also a characteristic of the German repre- sentations, both in painting and sculpture. I would advise any one who has the oppor- tunity, to take up Cicognara’s Storia della Scultura, and compare the Italian figures of the Virgin with those of the Germans. The editor of the Art- Journal would do good service if he would follow up this series, by a series of twelve taken from the most beautiful examples in Italian Art, and twelve, if they could be collected, from the English remains. In these Nuremberg figures we must ob- serve that we have the protecting Virgin in two different characters. Where she has the i crown on her head, and the sceptre in her hand, and the Infant God-head enthroned I on one arm, she is the Regina Coeli — the Queen of Heaven ; and the Regina Ange- j lorum — the Queen of angels. In the other I figures, where there are no emblems of I sovereignty, where she stands with her long hair flowing over her drapery, and THE ART-JOURNAL. sustains the infant in both arms, or con- templates him with an affectionate expres- sion, she is the Alma Mater Redemptoris , the Mother of the Redeemer. In most instances, the Infant Christ holds an apple, the emblem of the fall of our first parents, which rendered the Advent of the Divinity in the form of a child born of woman, necessary to our redemption. In Italian sculpture, she often holds a flower — a rose or a lily, emblems of herself and her own character ; or the Child holds a bird, the emblem of spiritual life ; or his little hand is raised in benediction — circumstances more rare in the German school, where the conception has always been more uniform. We will now consider each figure sepa- rately. In the Kdnigstrasse , close behind the beautiful Church of St. Lawrence, stands a very ancient mansion, quite in the Gothic style, which formerly belonged to the family Glockengiesser. (It is curious and interest- ing to remark how many of the noble family names of Nuremberg are derived from handicrafts : Glockengiesser signifies bell- caster.) On the front of this house stands the figure of the Virgin, No. 1. She is without the crown, her long hail’ flowing unadorned over her shoulders, and holds the apple to which the Infant Christ extends his hand. The drapery is a good deal broken and not very graceful in its folds ; the head however of the Virgin and the general pose of the figure are fine. Upon the pedestal is the date 1522, and a shield containing the family arms, in which the bell is conspicuous. Of more distinguished beauty is the next figure (No. 2), which stands on the corner of a house in the Albrecht-Durers-Platz. She is here crowned and sceptred as the Queen of Heaven. Her long hair flows from beneath her diadem over her shoul- ders. The child holds the apple in his hand. In the simplicity and dignity of the pose there is something that reminds us of Nicola Pisano ; but the modelling of the drapery is quite German and in a veiy beautiful style ; this Virgin is one of the earliest in date, and is supposed to be of the time of Schonhofer. Opposite to this, on the house of the family Von Thon, we find the Madonna marked No. 3. She wears a splendid crown over a profusion of hair, which streams down below her waist. The child is sus- tained by her right hand, and she places her left under his foot. He holds the sym- bolical apple as usual. The drapery is well and boldly designed, though a little too much broken in the German style. At her feet is the crescent moon with a human face. This figure is about the time of the fifteenth century. The next figure, No. 4, is on a house at the back of the JEg idien- Kirch e, the Church of St. Giles ; it is very much in the manner of Adam Kraft, to whom it has been ascribed. The Virgin with her long hair flowing over her shoulders, and without crown or veil, holds the apple in her right hand, and seems to present it to Christ, who bends forward to receive it. There is much sentiment in the air of the head ; the drapery however wants simplicity of treatment, and is too much broken up. Opposite to the Moritz Kapel , or Chapel of St. Maurice, now the Picture Gallery, there is a large and ancient house, on which is the figure of the Virgin marked 5, bearing her crown and sceptre as Queen of Heaven, but looking down with a very soft pensive expression. The child, which rests gracefully on her left arm, holds the apple in his hand. On the pedestal is the date 1482, the best period of Nuremberg Art. The careful execution and fine taste of the drapery, as well as the general grace of this figure, are very remarkable. Of singular beauty also is the figure No. 6, which belongs to an older style. It is on the angle of a house in the Obst Markt, behind the Frauen-Kirche. The Virgin wears a crown over her veil, and no hair is seen. She holds the child sustained in both arms, and bends her head as if adoring him. The calm simplicity in the pose of this figure, the formal Gothic style of the drapery, which is notwithstanding very beautiful in its way, and in harmony with the conception of the whole work, recall the manner of the sculptures at Bamburg. THE ART-JOURNAL. 5 We may contrast this beautiful figure with one at the corner of a house, nearly opposite, in the same locality. The Virgin (No. 7) here stands with her crown and sceptre. The exceeding bad taste of the drapery, which is broken up into the most unmeaning folds ; a mannered pretension in the attitude of both mother and child, show that this figure belongs to a later and de- graded period of Art, probably about the end of the sixteenth century. At the corner of the We in Markt stands a large and very ancient mansion, now con- verted into the well-known inn, Am Rothen Ross. At the corner of this building is the singular Madonna, marked No. 8. There is something peculiar in the attitude of this Virgin, and in the fall and management of the drapery, part of which is drawn over the child, which, together with the work- manship, show it to be of an early date, probably about the end of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century. The next Madonna, No. 9, from the Burg- Strasse, is peculiar, part of her drapery being drawn over her head as a veil, from which her hair escapes, and surmounted by the regal crown. The drapery is in a large style, but not flowing, and the figure, on the whole, does not seem to belong to the best period of Art, and is probably of the 16th century. Much superior is the next Madonna, the figure marked No. 10, and which stands at the corner of a remarkable house in the Binder-Gasse. This house, built before 1500, lias retained, untouched and un- altered, its antique form and material. It is a beer-shop and the sign hangs out close to the beautiful tranquil Madonna. She stands holding her Child, and looking down upon him pensively, with her long luxuriant hair falling over her drapery. In the opinion of the artist, Herr Wagner, this figure is of the same date as the building to which it is affixed, that is, about the end of the loth century. The very German Madonna, No. 11, stands in a niche in front of one of the houses in the Biding JStrasse . It is not of stone like the others, but carved in wood, and has probably been coloured. It is dis- tinguished by the peculiar drapery, or rather costume, which is national and picturesque rather than ideal. The dress and style of execution belong to the sixteenth century. The last of the series, perhaps the most beautiful of all, is a figure over a house in the Hirschel Gasse. It is in quite a dif- ferent style from the rest — altogether Italian in the pose of the figure, in the antique air of the head, and the exceedingly grand and graceful drapery which follows, without effort or exaggeration the lines of the form beneath. It is probable that this figure, which is quite in the taste of the old Tuscan school, may have come from Florence, together with bales of woollen cloth — the fine woollen dyed cloths for which Florence and Siena were as famous, as Nuremberg for its watches — in times when Leeds and Birmingham were not. In conclusion, we may recommend these figures, generally, as studies in style ; and, specially, as comparative examples of treat- ment and feeling in a particular subject. Their interest, both historical and artistic, as connected with one of the most remark- able cities in Europe, and the memorable artists who flourished there, adds greatly to their value.* ON WOODS USED FOR ORNAMENT AND PURPOSES OF ART. I. INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. So much of the beauty and comfort of the interior of a modern mansion depend upon its woodwork and furniture, that a study of the properties and relative capabilities of the various kinds of ornamental and useful woods, becomes of considerable economical and tasteful interest. To banish from our rooms the work of the turner and wood- carver, would be to deprive them of some of their principal adornments. In our climate, wooden decorations suggest the ideas of comfort and warmth, so that we could ill spare our furniture, or exchange it for the finest marbles. The roughest log is a pleasanter seat under a British sky than an elaborately carved alabaster chair. The sight of a brightly polished expanse of mahogany cheers the soul of John Bull, and fills his imagination with pictures of merry feast and hearty cheer, such as the most exquisitely inlaid round table of Florentine marble-work would fail to inspire. Natuially, in our love of Comfort, and increasing taste for elegance combined with that British household idol, we are inclined to bestow much decorative skill upon our chairs, couches, tables, and side- boards. The visitors in a drawing-room scan the furniture with a critical yet not invidious eye, to note its curves and carvings, colour, and harmony with the carpeting that is spread on the floor and the curtains that drape the windows. The inspection is for something to admire, not for something to condemn. Good taste cherishes good humour, and extinguishes envy. And as good taste in these matters of housefitting is daily becoming more and more diffused, it is not undesirable that we should make ourselves acquainted with the history of the woods to which we are in- debted for so much of our beautiful furniture. The beauty and variety of ornamental woods depend on minute peculiarities of structure. The patterns they exhibit when sliced and polished, the colours that variegate their surface and substance, their hardness or softness and adaptability for the purposes of the cabinet-maker, are all due to causes which cannot be made out unless we study the anatomy and physiology of plants, and use the microscope as well as our unarmed eyes. To give an account of the attractions and relative excellencies of ornamental woods without noticing the organisation to which their merits are owing, would be to leave out of sight much of the interest of our subject, and to treat empirically that which may be much more useful if examined into scientifically. In this, as in all other investigations of natural objects, the more we bear in mind the results of philosophical research, the more clear do our ideas become respecting the matter we seek to know and understand. There is no depart- ment of art or workmanship that cannot be regarded in a scientific as well as a popular point of view, ami it often happens that when the former is made manifest, through untechnical language, to ordinary readers or persons, it proves to be as popular or even more so, than the imperfect notions of the nature of things which usually appropriate to themselves that much misused epithet. Popular and practical are two words often used to signify an imperfect sort of knowledge, that suffices to content those who will not give themselves the trouble to acquire more precise and accurate information. A brief outline of the scientific bearings of our subject is best given at commencement. The term wood is commonly applied to those portions of the vegetable axis that are sufficiently hard to oiler considerable resistance and solidity, so as to be used for purposes requiring various degrees of firmness and strength. Every flowering plant is composed of an axis, and the appendages of the axis ; the former consist- ing of the stem and root, the latter of the leaves and flowers. In trees, shrubs, and under-shrubs, the axis is said to be woody , in herbs it is termed herbaceous. In the former the stems are permanent and do not die to the ground annually, as is the habit of the latter. A shrub, a tree, an under- shrub, a bush, are merely gradations of magnitude in perennial plants ; woods valu- able for purposes of Art and Manufacture are derived from all of them. But as bulk and dimensions are necessary to make timber available for extensive use, by far the greater part of our ornamental woods are derived from trees. There are, however, as we shall afterwards see, some remarkable exceptions. The wood of roots is different in structure from the wood of stems, and the same tree may furnish two very different kinds of ornamental wood, accord- ing as they are derived from its ascending or its descending axis. The wood of the inner portions of a stem may be of very different colour and quality from that of its outer parts. In the immediate neighbour- hood of the origin of branches, it may exhibit varieties of pattern, such as to render it greatly more ornamental than elsewhere, and in some cases, when under the influence of morbid growth, reveals additional beauties, so as to be prized for qualities which in nature are defects. If we take a number of transverse sec- tions of wood, and compare them one with another, it will soon become evident that there are two principal types or modifica- tions of structure. Compare a cross cutting of oak or plane with a like portion of “ Palmyra ” wood, and you will see the differences between them strongly con- trasted. In the former, the layers of wood are ranged in concentric circles round the central pith, and are encased externally in a binding of bark, itself composed of distinct and differently organised portions. In the latter, there is an uniform appearance throughout the section, the substance not being disposed in concentric rings, but appearing as if a bed or ground of one kind was studded with specks of another order of tissue. These are not slight dissimilari- ties : they indicate differences of the great- est structural importance in the economy of the respective trees. Corresponding with them are peculiar modifications of every portion of the plant’s organisation. The external aspect of the plants of either type is altogether unlike that of the other. The part played by the tree in the landscape ; the share it has in determining the peculi- arities of scenery ; the sentiment, so to speak, that it gives to the living picture — are mainly the results of the modifications of external form, originating in minute structure. Were it not that among woods used for ornamental purposes, the first- named type has by far the most numerous representatives, these differences would affect still more than they now do, the operations of the cabinet-maker. If we place a thin slice of a young oak or plane under the microscope, we see how complicated is its anatomical structure. In its central portion is the pith, composed of minute and mostly hexagonal cells, — little membranous bladders, that in the early stages of the tree’s growth play a more important part than they do during its * It may be well to mention that the series of drawings here engraved, were made expressly for the Art- Journal, by Hen- Wagner, the distinguished artist and engraver of Nuremberg. THE ART-JOURNAL. 