CARICATURE SCULPTURE.
BANTON, the French caricature-sculptor, who modelled a pair of mi- niature busts of the celebrated pianists, THALBERG and Hinz—which are exquisite specimens of' sculpture as well RS admirable likenesses— has caricatured them also, very cleverly, in such a manner as to embody in a striking and amusing shape not only their personal peculiarities, but the character of the musical style of each. THALBERG is represented with a preponderance of brain, in a state of pensive abstraction, brooding over the musical ideas that he is mould. mg into shape (so to speak) on the instrument, with a pair of bands from which fingers seem to sprout ad libitum as occasion requires. HERZ is in a furor of excitement : his head is thrown back, and its " fell of hair" looks as if, anticipating the fatal shears, it were rushing off his scalp to relieve the over-heated cranium : his lips are in a pre- ternatural state of prolongation and protrusion, and lie is tossing his arms about in a paroxysm of display—he might be thumping a tam- bourine rather than playing the pianoforte. This is as capital a bur. lesque of HERZ'S "dashing execution," as the other is an ingenioue compliment to the combination of mind and inimitable manual skill in
THALBERG. This is true caricature, where praise and satire ere blended with the ludicrous. We would suggest to the sculptor, that in exaggerating peculiarities of feature, he should take care to preserve the physiognomical characteristics—that is, to caricature the expression of the face as well as the form and manner.
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