MR. LEYLAND'S STATUE OF KILMENY.
MR. LEYLAND, a young sculptor, is exhibiting privately at his studio, No. 6, Seymour Place North, Euston Square, a statue in plaster, the life size, of Kilmeny, the heroine of one of Hoon's romantic poems. The lovely damsel is represented awakening in fairy-land to the sound of unearthly music. She is just rising from her reclining posture, and
rests on one arm, while with the other band she is putting back her long hair from her ear. Her look is expressive of pleasurable surprise; and her attitude is simply and gracefully natural, displayingthe beauties of her fine form to great advantage.
The conception of this figure is happy; and the execution, though immature and unequal, as may be expected in the work of a student, is highly meritorious. In one respect, indeed, it afforded us more gratifi- cation than many works of matured skill have done. It is a bold at- tempt, and in a great measure a successful one, to throw off the re- straint of academic rule that fetters the modern sculptor in his imitation of nature, by compelling him to follow not only the proportions, but the cold and rigid outline of the antiqne, as it is seen in casts that con- vey but a faint idea of the beautiful modelling of the originals. "The antique" is a vague term, comprehending the styles of various schools, and almost different was; many of them not fitted for imitation, though worthy of study. The sight of the Elgin Marbles should have made the scales drop from the eyes of the blind worshippers of "the antique ;" and shown them that they had been admiring much that was but ele- gant mannerism in comparison with the variety and reality of nature. The ideal form that the sculptor has to strive at imitating is only nature perfected by the omission of the defects of individual models. Such are the Theseus (so called) and the Ilissus ; whose grandeur is the result of the perfect truth and simplicity of their representation of the abstract idea of manly beauty, dignity, and strength. To omit the indication of prominent veins, and to soften, or rather harden, down the musculation, and the fleshy outline, is to become artificial, not ideal. Perfect form and proportions, with as correct an imitation of the fleshy substance and bony structure of the human figure as can be given in marble, constitute the true ideal in form. Smoothness is not elasticity, nor the absence of folds and wrinkles, and of indications of tendons, beauty—though some sculptors would seem to think so— any more than the literal and mechanical imitation of the texture of worsted hose and the peculiarities of individual form and feature is nature.
As far as the light would allow us to view Mr. LEYLAND'S figure, he appears to have successfully combined crispness and firmness with the appearance of elasticity and fleshiness in the body and lower limbs. The arms and shoulders are, however, somewhat of the pipe-clay order; and the modelling of the features is not so distinct as could be desired : the hair also flows too much like wet hair, like that of BAILEY'S" Eve ; " which statue, by the by, this figure reminds us of, though it Is no imitation, and the artist has evidently modelled from the life, which be has studied attentively. Nothing can be finer and truer than the front view of the torso and the lower limbs.
Previous page
