MR. CAREW'S DEATH OF NELSON.
The front of the Nelson column in Trafalgar Square is now adorned with a high relief, representing Nelson, at the point of time when he told Captain Hardy of his fatal wound, and ordered the tiller-ropes, which had been shot through, to be supplied. The Admiral is borne by two sailors and a marine; Hardy is turning round at the sound made by Nelson's fall and the efforts to raise him; on one side, men are taking a vengeful mark at the Redoutable; on the other, sailors are at their labour in working the damagedyictory. Two of the figures are portraits,—Nelson, from a mask in the possession of the sculptor; Hardy, from a portrait taken some twenty years after the event here recorded, but altered by the artist: it is pronounced by Sir Thomas Hardy's widow to be the best portrait of him. The figure of Nelson is good—easy, and expressive. Hardy is a fine fellow, in a posture of majestic energy. As a whole, however, although SO many figures are in action, there is a want of movement—ascribable to one principle of monotony which runs through all: the line of gravitation falls uniformly almost down the middle of each figure as it is placed before the spectator. With a good deal of force and freedom in the handling, and some ingenuity in arranging the groups so as to be uncrowded, there is an unfortunate set look in the figures. The work is executed in bronze, very perfectly cast in three pieces. The material possesses an interest of its own—it once formed the guns taken by Nelson in the action; and very pure metal it is.
Previous page
