FINE ARTS.

STATUES AND THE PLACES FOR THEM: MINIATURE BUSTS.

DEAN IRELAND'S death has revived the question of the admission into Westminster Abbey of THORWALDSEWS statue of BYRON; which, shrouded in sawdust, is still buried in the vaults of the Customhouse. Its right to a place in the Abbey can only be denied with consistency by ejecting the monuments of those who held similar religious opinions 'with Lord BYRON, which would thin the church of sculpture to a considerable extent : but we question the expediency of insisting on this right. The exclusion of BYRON'S statue from Westminster Abbey would even be beneficial, if it should tend, as is likely, to put a stop to the custom of converting cathedrald into museums of statuary, or temples of human glory, exhibited like a show, for pelf. It is to be hoped that ere long the dust and the effigies of the dead will be alike excluded from places of worship : cemeteries where the bones of mortals are interred are the fittest places to receive the memorials erected by surviving relatives.

Where, then, it may be asked, are the statues of worthies to be placed whom the country delighteth to honour ?—we have no Pantheon, as the French have ; nor can we boast of a Walhalla, such as the King of Bavaria has erected to commemorate the celebrated men of Germany. Let us take a hint from the Council of Bruges ; which has set an example worthy to be followed by every enlightened nation who desire to honour greatness and perpetuate the memory of the excellent of the earth. The Provincial Council of Bruges has just come to a resolution ordering that statues of the illustrious men of the province of which Bruges is the capital shall be erected in the towns and villages in which they were born ; and has voted the necessary funds for that purpose.

This is an act of wise munificence. How much better than the system of monopolizing statues by large cities, is this plan of perpetuating the fame and features of great men in their birth-places, where their memory would be most proudly cherished and their example have a beneficial influence. It is a grateful return to make to the places that sent forth such virtue or genius, and one that cannot fail to be as gratefully received. The mention of " villages " calls up a lively idea of the admiration and delight of the rural population at receiving such a noble gift as a monument intrusted to their care for the benefit of future generations. Some of the elders, perchance, may have been playmates of the boy, the image of whose manhood now presides in majestic grandeur over the scene of his childish sports; placed within sight, it may be, of the cottage where he first saw the light, and over whose lowly roof the colossal statue throws the shadow as it were of his greatness, when, burnished by the rays of the evening sun, it seems invested with a halo of glory. How much more deeply impressed would be the mind by the sight of a statue so placed, than of one forming part of a crowd in a cathedral or a temple of fame : there it is the place which honours the man, here it is the man who honours the place. With what different feelings we regard the bust of SHAKSPERE in the church at Stratford and his statue in Westminster Abbey : we scan the one with cold curiosity, we contemplate the other with fond reverence. The homely statue of Dr. JOHNSON at Lichfield is more to be venerated than the classic absurdity in St. Paul's ; and Cassellev's statue of WArr is much more impres sive seen in Scotland than in Westminster Abbey. What a far higher interest would be excited by a statue of Bums in the place of his birth,

than ever can be by the unmeaning and misplaced monument to the poet in Edinburgh. It is so much more hopeful and cheering to look upon the breathing image of a man in the midst of a living scene that his presence has hallowed, than surrounded with the emblems of mor tality: we make pilgrimages to visit the birth-place of genius rather than his grave. Why should our associations with the illustrious de

parted be mournful ? The birth-place of a great man has a claim upon the country for his statue. Therefore we say, let the statue of Brawl find a pedestal at Newstead.

The incongruity and inappropriateness of the modern sculptured groups in Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's are very generally felt; people have begun to discover that they are misplaced, and out of harmony with the edifice. But no one doubts the fitness or impressive..

ness of the old monumental effigies,—outstretched, supine, with calm faces, rigid limbs, and hands in the attitude of prayer. These are the proper characteristics of figures placed over tombs ; which should denote passive resignation and devout tranquillity, as typifying the stillness of death and the hope of immortality, whether in kneeling or recumbent postures. The monumental "brasses" are outlines of the same charac ter of forms engraved on a flat surface ; and we are glad to find that these simple, expressive, durable, and inexpensive monumental records, are coming into fashion again. Animated statues over a tomb have an impertinent and theatrical effect : even the busts should have a grave and severe character, and an air of fixedness becoming a sepulchral effigy.

Statues destined for living scenes, on the contrary, should have the characteristics of vitality and animation expressed in the most lively manner possible, but without violent action : the posture may be peculiar even, if it be characteristic of the individual; for it is the expression, not the attitude of a statue, that confers dignity and grandeur upon it. The personal individuality, in features, posture,

and costume, should be faithfully preserved, yet made subordinate to the moral and intellectual development of character in the head. This

class of statues should be colossal ; a figure the life-size, viewed at a

moderate distance in a large space, and much more in the open air, always looks less than life: monumental effigies, on the contrary, should

be the exact proportions of healthy nature. Both classes, we think, ought to represent the person in his habit as he lived; but the treatment of the costume would in every case be regulated by the requirements of the style. Busts intended for a large hall or any spacious place should likewise be colossal; not merely on account of the insignificant appearance of a bust the natural size seen from a distance, but also because the linea ments of the face are not strongly enough marked to tell upon the eye : a colossal bust of a noble head has a most majestic presence. We

lately entered a room where, among several busts of life-size, stood a colossal one by DAVE) of HAHNEMANN, the discoverer of Homeopathy : it is a capacious and well-formed head, with a countenance expres

sive of benevolence, sagacity, and calm determination : its effect was grand and impressive ; and, compared with the other busts, it was as a demigod among an assembly of men. The colossal size, however, is only adapted to heads of fine character ; a weak face and ill-formed head would look ludicrous on a large scale : it also requires a sculptor of superior skill to mass the forms of the features so as to produce a grand and striking effect without losing the appearance of flesh and life. The face of a statue should not resemble a mask of bronze or marble, but be a representation of the living reality in stone or metal: we do not remember to have seen a colossal bust by any English sculptor, except CHANTREY, which is comparable with this of HAHNEMANN by DAVID. There is a miniature copy of it, which is not faithful either as regards form or spirit : the medallion is much better, though the face is not so noble : the air of majesty belongs exclusively to the colossal bust.

The mention of miniature busts reminds one of a want that might be well supplied by our sculptoas, if they would condescend to think of something besides canvassing for jobs ; or, while waiting for commis sions for life-size busts and colossal statues, occupy their time in catering for the many whose only sculpture-gallery is the chiffonier or the mantelpiece. Dawrow, the famous French sculptor, besides his hu morous caricatures in clay, has executed some exquisite little busts of musical composers and performers, which have all the character and

elegance of life-size busts : no lover of music need be without the like nesses of those who have ministered to his delight adorning his room; for the casts are not expensive, and small as they are, they still have

that "presence" which is the peculiar charm of sculpture. DatiroN is now in London, and has added Miss ADELAIDE KEMBLE to the number of his musical celebrities. Why should we not have similar little busts of popular authors as well ? The Italian image-venders who deal ia

"Honeys " will supply you with Santsesass and MILTONS WO, but these are worthless, being only made to sell. Good miniature copies of

SHAKSPERE'S bust, from Stratford, of CHANTREY'S bust of SCOTT, and other authentic resemblances of England's worthies, would be acceptable to thousands who cannot afford room or money for the larger ones. Mr. MOORE would sell hundreds of his admirable busts of his illustrious namesake the poet, CURRAN, and O'CONNELL, in Ireland, if they were of small dimensions. Mr. PARK, among other busts of public men, has modelled an animated and characteristic bust of Mr. CHARLES DICKENS, and intends making a miniature statue of" Boz." This one thing should be borne in mind, that miniature-sculpture requires to be cast as well as modelled with extreme nicety ; and if the plaster-cast be not sharp and clean, and the seams or edges formed by the pieces of the mould very skilfully pared down, the expression of the original model is injured : a sculptor's cast, like an engraver's proof, therefore, would be far preferable to an ordinary cast ; and the publishers of such busts cannot be too careful in issuing none but what have passed through the hands of the artist after leaving those of the moulder. The casts might be protected from dust by a thin white varnish, such as is applied to plaster medallions.