The Fortnightly Review: No. CCCCLXIII, New Series [‎588v] (67/239)

36
A MORNING IN THE GALLERIES.
Sir Visto, rather a testy amateur of the old school, who had seen
all the galleries in Europe and often dined with the E.A.’s.
“ You call that scare-crow Art? ” he said. “ Why, it is a mere
cast from a very ill-shapen pugilist. And the attitude is only fit
for a Fiji Islander’s wooden idol.”
“ My young friend here,” I said, ” has been telling me of the
magnificent modelling of the back, the ribs, and the thighs. Isn t
there great merit in the way these muscles stand out clean and
taut? ”
“ Well? ” said Visto, ” I grant him there is good modelling in
the trunk. The pectoral muscles are well marked, and the scapula
show's pow ; er, crude as it looks. But just look at those saucers
above the collar bones. The arms are those of an Egyptian
mummy, and can anything be more spidery than those skinny
thighs and calves? ”
” Truth, fact, realism,” cried Van Dyke with warmth.
” Lycidas is not intended to be pretty. He is not one of your
androgynous hermaphrodites, but a man in fighting condition,
trained to the last ounce, and no girls’ fancy man.”
” Oh ! I grant you he is a man, plain enough and no mistake ;
he would serve on a stand for a lesson in anatomy at a hospital.”
” Is not that the highest praise? ”, asked Van Dyke. ” He is
meant to teach, to display, to exhibit fact, not to be a type of
prettiness.”
” Oh ! dear no !, he is a type of ugliness. He is a mere cast, or
facsimile, of an emaciated bruiser, with his four limbs stuck apart
like a child's doll undressed. Look at his flat splay feet, the corns
on his long toes, and the bunion of the right foot joint. Look at
him from behind, and you will see a big letter W stuck upon a
pair of tongs.”
“Well! ”, said Van Dyke rather peevishly, ” we have happily
got rid of the conventional Pyramid in a work of sculpture, and
all the stale nonsense about symmetry in composition, a right
arm to balance a left leg, and the centre of gravity to fall in the
middle of the base.”
I grant you,” said Visto, ” there is neither symmetry, nor
balance, nor centre of gravity about Lycidas. 1 was always
taught that the first condition of a statue is, that it has to be
viewed all round in every position. It should have at least eight
characteristic points of view—and all eight ought to be at once
impressive and graceful. But in Lycidas all points of view r are
equally ugly, ungainly, and unmeaning.”
t > ungainly, as you please,” cried Van Dyke, ” but true
to fact. Art needs no meaning. It does not mean anything,
except ‘ So it is—I see it so ! ’ ”