Early figure modelling—Statues in public places—Replicas in miniature.

The art of sculpture was practised by the ancients, and long before the beautiful bronzes for which the artists of Greece and Rome were famous carvers of wood, and sculptors of stone and marble, had cut inscribed, and fashioned human figures, animals, and fabulous creatures according to their whims and fancies. In moulds cut in stone the early casters in metal produced the objects which we roughly class as bronze, and they are preserved to-day as reminders of those who lived before history was written. When the early Bronze Age had passed away and the use of iron was understood, the art of sculpture in stone was practised by the Egyptians and by other Eastern nations. Then came the beautiful metal-work of Ancient Greece; the statues, trophies, and groups, produced in those days when Greece excelled in the fine arts, have acquired a fame which has never been exceeded by sculptors or workers in metals in modern days. The Italians of a later period showed their religious emotions in the metallic works of art they produced in early mediÆval days; and still later French modellers have excelled in human expression.

Many of the great works of the old masters in bronze are unique, and they are retained as great treasures in the national museums where they have found lasting homes. For the benefit of connoisseurs of art many of the great works have been copied, and in the Victoria and Albert Museum at South Kensington and in other places there are replicas in metal and in other materials, faithful copies of the original bronzes which are so rare. The educational value of a gallery of ancient art, whether expressed in marble, bronze, stone, or other materials, is considerable; it not only tends to the appreciation of modern art as represented by the statues and monuments in our parks and gardens, and in those smaller works which adorn public buildings and private mansions, but it leads to the appreciation of the lesser replicas of great works, such as artistic groups, figures, and bronzes which have been copied in miniature. Many of the most important works of the modeller and caster of bronze groups and figures are familiar to students of art and collectors of curios, in that so many of these important studies have been reproduced or copied; sometimes the copies are equally as beautiful as the original, although on a smaller scale, and many of them have quite an antique appearance, for they are by no means modern, such works of art having been reproduced very many years ago.

Early Figure Modelling.

The human figure in its most perfectly known form was early made the model from which artists sculptured stone and moulded figures. Even some of the crude attempts of native races have evidently been intended to represent human beings with whom they associated or races they held in fear, but they were not always successful. Bronze statues cast in moulds were known in Egypt, and throughout later periods most of the civilized races have employed methods by which they have been able with more or less accuracy to reproduce in other substances of a more lasting character the perishable flesh and blood of the human race. In a similar way the personified deities have been perpetuated in bronze and many of them are simply idolized humanity. Sometimes these statues have been very large, far beyond what is generally known as life-size. It must be remembered, however, that many of these colossal statues when raised to a great height are by no means out of proportion to the buildings on which they were placed, and assumed a normal size when viewed from below. It is said that one of the most striking colossal figures was that of Minerva, crowning the summit of the Acropolis. The largest statue seems to be that of Nero, which rose 150 ft. In more modern times statues have been brought down to normal size. Visitors to Rome, however, recognise what a wonderful achievement it must have been to place that immense statue of St. Peter in position. The artists of old were indeed clever, and not only have they justly been accorded fame for the size and beautiful proportions of their statues, but many of the ancient bronzes have gained their greatest notoriety from the great beauty with which the sculptors must have idealized their models. Many of the antiques are almost perfect in form, and we are forced to wonder what kind of men and women their models were.

Classic Models.

The classic bronzes were almost invariably conceptions drawn from imagination, but the beautiful forms of the athletes and Greek maidens helped the artist in his estimate of the deities he personified. In those bronzes we see the magic touch of the master hand, and perhaps of the belief in the mystic attributes so cleverly designed. Thus we have figures of Hercules, Mars, Venus, and many others, which can be copied, and now and then by some stroke of good luck a genuine antique is added to the collector's museum.

Statues in Public Places.

During the last half-century simple statues erected to the memories of noted politicians and military men in public parks, streets, and open places, have been added to by more realistic groups. It would be beyond the scope of this work to attempt categorical descriptions of such bronzes to be seen in the public places of our great cities, and it would be still more difficult to rightly classify them either in their order of merit or of the appropriateness of their selection. It seems justly fit that those who have been associated with the metallic art should be commemorated in copper and brass. To Pittsburg belongs the honour of having remembered the father of the art of hammering into shape the metals. In that city, on a massive pedestal, stands a colossal bronze figure of Tubal Cain, who, in his brief life's history given in Genesis, is spoken of as an "artificer in brass." He fittingly heads the list of metallurgists and scientists, to many of whom monuments have been erected.

The use of bronze in monuments is not confined to figures of great men, for bronze and brass ornament often adds to the magnificence of a national memorial. As examples of the use of bronze for that purpose mention may be made of the bronze lions, after Landseer, at the four corners of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. The use of bronze, as adding to the adornment or appearance of an antiquity in stone, is exemplified in the two bronze sphinxes at the base of Cleopatra's Needle on the Thames Embankment.

The bronzes of comparatively modern days are mostly the work of the founder, cast after the sculptor has done his work. Some of the early examples of Etruscan and Egyptian art consisted of bronze or brass hammered into form by hand, or made of plates riveted together. Others appear to have been beaten or embossed into high relief in a mould. Some of the cleverest castings of bronze, however, are found in the work of Eastern nations, the best examples being idols and temple ornaments (see Chapter XIV).

Replicas in Miniature.

The so-called miniatures range from important reproductions for household and gallery ornament to the quite miniature bronzes which adorn the mantelpiece or cabinet. Many of the statues and groups of ancient and modern forms have been copied. There is, however, another school of art which to many is very attractive. Just as pictures of animal life are appreciated by many, so the sculptures and bronzes of well-known animal artists have been justly appreciated. In France there are the works of Antoine Louis Barye, who was born in Paris in 1795. It is said that Barye discovered his real bent from watching the wild beasts in the Jardin des Plantes. Some of his great works were exhibited early in the nineteenth century, and his beautiful models have been much copied. Three of the most popular are shown in Figs. 61, 62, and 63. There is the tiger which he exhibited in 1830, and the lion and the beautifully formed stag. Such works of art are worthy of a place in any collection of metal, for they represent an important French school. Of men who have made names for themselves there are many whose statues are found in private collections. A very favourite one is that of Robert Burns, whose colossal statue was erected at Ayr on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the poet's birth. Burns is reported to have said on his deathbed: "They'll think mair o' me a hundred years after I am dead," a truism none will deny.

XIII
ORIENTAL
BRONZES
AND
BRASSES