FINE ARTS.
DRAItINO-CLASSES AT EXETER HALL.
EXETER HALL is now the scene of another Popular Education move- ment, in a new direction : Drawing has succeeded to Music. Numbers of Mr. Hur..r...sn's pupils proceed from his class-room to one where Linear Drawing is taught to large classes of adults, by Mr. BUTLER Wtwasts, according to the system of M. DUPUIS pursued at the Normal School of Versailles. The principles upon which this system is founded are similar to those that were explained last year in our co- lumns;* that is, the understanding is enlightened, by means of the science of perspective, to perceive accurately the forms of objects, the band being at the same time exercised in delineating them. This me- thod of teaching entirely repudiates the old practice of copying from drawing-books ; and aims not at making artists, but at developing the perceptive faculty, and enabling every one to express ideas of form by means of line& The teacher employs a set of models, very ingeniously contrived, re- presenting lines, angles, and the simple geometrical forms, in stout wire : these are fixed upon a stand provided with a ball and socket joint, which allows them to be placed in any position required. The pupils are seated in rows at desks, each one having before him a black board, with a sponge attached ; and they draw with white chalk in portcrayons. The object of this initiatory practice is to train the eye to perceive with accuracy the inclination of lines, and to illustrate the elementary laws of perspective : the pupils in this first stage are only required to indicate the direction of the solid lines, as they appear to each : neatness of hand and exactness of measurement are not regarded, but merely attention to the inclination of the lines.
Mr. WILLIAMS has commenced with three classes of adults ; each succeeding the other, on the evenings of Monday and Thursday ; one class consisting of ladies. It was only the second lesson that we saw ; and, of course, no opinion can be formed of the progress of the classes at this early stage : but the teacher is so thoroughly master of his sub- ject, and his method of exemplifying the theory is so explicit and in- genious, that there can be no doubt of the ultimate success of a sound system of instruction. At a more advanced stage we shall report further progress ; and shall watch with much interest for the result, having strong confidence that it will demonstrate the truth of the axiom we Isid down, that everybody may be taught to draw. We may remark in passing, that the difficulty of teaching drawing in classes is greater than that of teaching singing ; because each pupil, though copying the same object, sees it under a different point of view, and therefore the draw- ing of every one differs from the rest—except in the solitary instance of a perpendicular line.
• See Spectator, NOP. 654 and 655.
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