FINE ARTS.
THE NEW SCHOOLS OF DESIGN.
Is going over the Palace at Versailles, the guide who conducted us through the suite of state apartments not commonly shown to the public, vented many a " sacre " at the impracticable fastenings. He had to lock and unlock many doors; and in almost every case the key seemed to be strangely unacquainted with the ways of the lock, and lost its way among the wards, though they were certainly not very intricate; and it was not till he had turned it to the right and to the left with a force that would have hampered any English lock of ordinary construction, that the refractory bolt yielded to a vigorous shaking of the door. The contrast between the crazy fastenings and the shabbylooking handles, that would hardly be thought fit for a stable in England, and the gorgeous splendour of the apartments, in which the carving and gilding of the walls are exquisite as works of art—where whole suites of apartments are literally lined with paint- ings? and the corridors are sculpture galleries—struck us very forcibly. The magnificence, it is true, is oppressive to the sense ; the eye is fatigued with the glitter of gilding, the glow of colour, and the multitude of costly objects that attract notice on every side: there is a want of repose and variety in the effect, that makes the transition to the stately gardens outside a welcome relief; and one feels even the clipped foliage of the lofty alleys—verdurous walls o'ertopped by waving boughs, like feethe:s round the hat of the Grand Monarque—a refreshment after the heat and glare of the Pomp of royalty. Still the grandeur of the Museum Palace is cha- racteristic of regal state and national ingenuity : it exemplifies the love of ornament and the scientific skill of the nation, as the pictures Illustrate its history and achievements; and altogether Versailles is a place that Frenchmen may well be proud of WhaL a contrast to our Pimlico Palace ! There the locks and door- handles are of the most approved manufhcture; but the costly decora- tion! of the hall and staircase only make the low, narrow, petty pro- portions of the building more apparent ; while in the apartments the upholsterer usurps the place of the artist, and sculpture and painting are subsidiary to hangings and furniture. This is an apposite illustration of the state of the arts in this country. Human ingenuity has been taxed to improve our locks, which not only resist all attacks, but tell tales of attempts on their virtue; but our walls are bare of ornament, and the struggles of taste are more amusing than attractive in the furniture of our rooms. Capi- tal, the motive power in the advancement of civilization in a commer- cial country like ours, has directed science to the improvement of the useful arts ; our docks are perfect if our dining-rooms are not. Taste is an intellectual appetite, however, wbose cravings once felt will be gratified in some way : at present it is satisfied with coarse and homely food, but when better is placed within its reach that it will have. A fine picture or a beautiful statue are still " caviare to the general ;" but cultivation will rapidly effect an alteration in this state of things. The system of education for the eye, now in course of operation, will bring about that desirable state of things in the world of art so happily expressed by Professor WAAGEN as prevailing in the time of RAF1AELLE, " when the artists were more workmen and the workmen more artists." It is this connexion between the arts and manu- factures, by the union of science and fancy, that it was the object of Mr. EWART'S Committee to effect ; and the new Schools of Design are the first fruits. In them are contained the seeds that, cast into soil pre- pared by the spread of intelligence to receive them, will germinate and spring up into a harvest of beauty and delight. The one thing wanting is education: our grand defect is a deficiency of method; and in nothing is it so evident as in the arts of design. From the humblest mechanic to the greatest artist, a want of exact and systematic knowledge is felt. The Schools of Design are intended for artisans only ; but instruct them, and the artists will educate them- selves : feeling the upward pressure of the lower ranks of art, they must take a higher and stronger position, which a solid and extended course of study will give them, and from that elevation they will have a more exalted and enlightened view of their art. At present we rely too much on the patronage of fisshion and wealth : this is useful in fostering exotic luxuries and elegancies till they become naturalized among the people, but it is only by public encouragement that they Cars become perma- nently established as a branch of productive industry. National sup- port is the only sure and solid foundation for art ; and education is the lever by which to raise it on that basis. Of the new Schools of Design there are at present but two esta- blished in London,—one by the Government, occupying the apartments formerly appropriated to the Royal Academy, at Somerset House; the other formed by the Society for Promoting Practical Design, of which Mr. EWART is President, at Saville House, Leicester Square. The object of both is the same, but the course of instruction at the Society's school includes the study of the human figure ; which, it may be remembered, was expressly excluded from the Government school, to allay the jealous fears of the Royal Academy: moreover, there are lectures delivered at Saville House, and a library of books and prints and a museum of casts and models are in course of formation ; the price of admission, too, is very much lower, being less than the terms of the Mechanic's Institute ; and there are evening as well as day classes. The course of lectures for the summer quarter will be concluded on Tuesday, the 25th instant ; when Mr. LOFT will deliver a lecture on Sculpture, to be illustrated by a numerous selection of casts from the antique and modern statues, furnished from his galleries in Dean Street. The subjects of the other lectures have been as follows Fresco, by Mr. LATILLA ; Anatomy and Physiology, by Mr. CARPUE ; Chemistry, by Mr. MAIIGHAM ; Botany, by Mr. CIIATTERLEY ; and Modelling, by Mr. RIVERS. The institution being as yet in its infancy, no extraordinary results are to be looked for ; but thus far, we believe, its progress has been satisfactory. We take occasion to hint that con- tributions to its library and museum would be very acceptable. A class for the instruction of females in drawing is about to be formed, under the direction of competent teachers of that sex; and from the number of occupations in which women are engaged requiring a cultivated taste and an educated eye, the advantages of such an arrangement are at once apparent : the making of artificial flowers, so long monopolized by the French, though a principal, is only one among many. The prospect of usefulness of the Government School of Design, we are glad to find, is extending and brightening, under the influence of its new director, Mr. WILLIAM DYCE. The prohibition of the human figure is so far relaxed, that the study of it from casts is per- mitted. A striking proof of the pernicious consequences of neglect- ing the study of the figure occurred very lately, in the instance of some rich hangings made for Mr. HOPE'S villa at Deepdene the execution of the design was beautiful, with the exception of the human forms in- troduced, which were so ill-drawn, that the effect was destroyed ; one portion of the pattern being as defective as the other was perfect. We believe that even Sir FRANCIS CHANTREY, who was most decided in his opposition, has qualified his opinion ; and that the anatomy of the human form, as well as of the brute, will become a recognized part of the education of the mechanic artist.
We make no allusion to the first display of the works of the stu- dents; fur, though far from being discreditable to a young institu- tion, it does not call for particular remark. Two or three years must elapse before the genius of the artisans can be fully developed by the educational process. From the talents and zeal of Mr. DYCE, we augur the best results. He is a young painter from Scotland ; and his first great picture, " The Descent of Venus," which was exhibited at the very last display made by the Royal Academy at Somerset House, excited general admiration, and gave promise of future distinction : it was preeminently remarkuble for beauty of colour and graceful design— two qualities most essential to the perfection of ornament. It is not only in fancy and executive skill, however, that Mr. DYCE IS so highly qualified for his office ; he brings to hi a duties a theoretical and prac- tical acquaintance with the various styles of decorative art. 1'be just and enlatged views be takes of the course of study, are developed in a published "Letter to Lord .Meadowbank and the Committee of the Board of Trustees for the Encouragement of Arts and Menu- factures," Edinburgh ; wherein he lays down a complete and compre- hensive plan of art education and sound principles : we hope he will be enabled to carry it into operation. We cannot go into the details: but one feature of it is particularly good and striking, from its novelty; this is the separation of the study of form and colour into two distinct pursuits, capable of being combined at pleasure, of course. It often happens that an individual has a lively and correct perception of the beauties of form, who has no aptitude whatever for colour ; and some- times, but the instances are more rare, vice versa : the bias is soon made evident, without any phrenological examination ; and in such cases, the separate course of study will be attended with the most sa- tisfactory results.
The student, gifted with "an eye for colour" only, would direct his attention to the invention of patterns, depending for their effect on the arrangement of hues; while one who possessed "an eye for form," would apply himself to the modelling of ornaments in relief for metal and marble, and the designing of shapes for useful and ornamental ves- sels and furniture ; and he who combined the two faculties, would be employed in designs where figures and colours were equally required, as in arabesques. A principal department of the "school of colour" would be the practice of painting in fresco and distemper, as well as in oils and water colours ; and the study of the harmonies of hues as ap. plied to architectural decoration, glass-painting, china, hangings, &c.
The foliage of living plants is a source of endless variety of grace- ful ornament; but, for want of the power to trace their characteristics to the geometrical elements of beautiful forms, and develop them in an architectural shape, nature has been a sealed book to the decorator we have never evolved the elegance of our indigenous plants and flowers, as the Greeks did in the instance of the honeysuckle and acanthus—they would have discovered a principle of grace in a cabbage. We are surrounded by lovely combinations both of form and colour, and gifted with a perception of them in nature; but, for want of sciential observation, we can make no use of these riches. Why should not we be able to originate a new order of architecture ? or at least new capitals to columns, something better than the rams' horns in Regent Street ? We do not lack inventive genius, but the channel for it to flow in. What lavish beauty, what fertile ingenuity is shown in the quaint ornaments of Gothic architecture ! The same fancy, con- trolled by classic taste and directed by the light of science, would pro- duce yet happier results. With reference to carpets, silks, and calicoes, the most accomplished artist would fail of producing a workable de- sign, for want of acquaintance with the process of weaving or printing. In short, the union of science with art has got to be affected, to bring the genius and talent of the country into operation. We have had enough of the art of war ; it is time that we begin to cultivate the arts of peace.
In connexion with this subject, we may observe that several German works of coloured architectural Ornaments and Designs for Furniture, publishing in numbers, are imported in this country.
Among them are series of Pompeiian decorations, Moorish devices, arabesque scrolls' Gothic ornaments, Italian mosaics, and modern German designs for walls and ceilings. They are executed in litho- graphy, printed in colours and gold, in the same manner as the superb polychromatic print of the Court of Lions in the A lhambra, published by Mr. JONES, separately from his large work on that unique relic of Moorish magnificence.
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