Full text of "Modelling and sculpture;"

MODELLING
ND SCULPTURE

ALBERT TOFT

LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA

SAN DIEGO

ONE OF THE FIGURES OF THE WELSH NATIONAL
WAR MEMORIAL

By the Author.

A FULL ACCOUNT OF

THE VARIOUS METHODS AND PROCESSES
EMPLOYED IN THESE ARTS

ALBERT TOFT

HON. A.R.C.A., M.S.B.S.

With 118 Illustrations 5* Diagrams

LONDON
SEELEY AND CO. LIMITED

38 GREAT RUSSELL STREET
1911

THE NEW ART LIBRARY

EDITKI) BY

M. II. SPIELMANN, F.S.A., and P. G. KONODY
Vol.. I

Square Extra Crown 8vo.

6s. NETT.
\Viin EIGHTY ILLUSTRATIONS &* DIAGRAMS

THE PRACTICE OF OIL PAINTING
AND DRAWING

By SOLOMON J. SOLOMON, R.A.

"If students were to follow his instructions, and, still
more, to heed his warnings, their painting would soon
show a great increase in efficiency." Manchester
Guardian.

" Eminently practical. . . . Can be warmly recom-
mended to all students." Daily Mail.

" The work of an accomplished painter and experienced
teacher." Scotsman.

VOL. II

HUMAN ANATOMY FOR ART
STUDENTS

By Sir ALFRED DOWNING FRIPP

K.C.V.O., C.B., M.B., M.S. (Loud.). F.R.C.S. (Eng.)

Surgeon-in-Ordinary to H.M. the King; Lecturer

upon Anatomy at Guy's Hospital, London

and

RALPH THOMPSON, M.B., Cn.M., F.R.C.S. (Eng.)

Senior Demonstrator of Anatomy, Guy's Hospital

With an Illustrated Appendix^on Comparative Anatomy

By HARRY DIXON, M.S.B.S.

Photographs and Drawings

By INNES FRIPP, A.R.C.A.

Life-master, South London Technical Art School, City Guilds

Square Extra Crown 8vo.

75. 6d. NETT
WITH 151 ILLUSTRATIONS

VOL. Ill
MODELLING AND SCULPTURE

By Au-.ERT TOFT, A.R.C.A., M.S.B.S.

Profusely Illustrated with Photographs
& Drawings. Square Extra Crown 8vo.

6s. NETT.

WITH 119 ILLUSTRATIONS

To be followed by many others

S E E L E Y fr> CO., LIMITED

PREFACE

INNUMERABLE books on almost every conceivable
phase of Art have been published in recent years,
and it may be asked why I, a sculptor by profession,
have chosen to tread the thorny path of literature
and add to their number.

I know of no work dealing exclusively, like this,
with the purely technical side of plastic or glyptic
Art, and affording the student, so far as a book can,
every practical detail necessary to a complete know-
ledge of his craft.

I have endeavoured, as plainly and directly as
possible, to place before him the result of many
years' practical experience, and to show him how the
knowledge acquired, stage by stage, of the modeller's
and sculptor's art can be utilised ; for I believe that
this experience will be helpful to all those students
who have an honest and whole-hearted desire to suc-
ceed in their profession, which has so many famous
names on its roll of honour.

A book cannot make a man an artist that is a
matter depending solely on the possession of real
artistic gifts but many difficulties may be sur-
mounted and unnecessary errors avoided if the
student be shown at the beginning of his career
the right way to go about his work.

No artistry worth the name can ever be fully
attained without hard work, and without passing

PREFACE

through much humiliation, before even the lowest
peaks of the heights are reached. All who follow
the glyptic art must understand at the outset that
they will pursue no primrose path. Mere trifling
with it will avail them nothing ; and unless the heart
is in the work, it would be far better to abandon all
pursuit of a profession that is so beset with diffi-
culties and so disappointing in its results. But to
those who really mean to succeed, resolved at all
cost to surmount every obstacle, I say, Be of good
cheer ; Art has no limitations, and the vagueness of
a dream may, with absolute faith in it and in one-
self, become immortal accomplishment.

As in all effort towards achievement, it is the
little things that count. The apparently insignifi-
cant minutiae make the complete and perfect whole ;
and, as will be pointed out in these pages, it is the
insistence on the truth of every detail that produces
the greatest and best effects.

Inspiration is indisputably the supremest gift any
artist can possess, but without hard work it must
necessarily remain useless, because until it finds ex-
pression there is no realisable result of his imagi-
native power. Thought is indispensable to creation,
but labour alone gives thought expression ; and in
the art of the sculptor, labour much actual physical
labour is demanded from its votaries.

No matter how great the natural artistic gift, it is,
at best, undisciplined and crude in its expression
without the most rigid training and strict obedience
to well-defined rules ; and although at times but
vei*y rarely the world is startled by some tour de
force of absolutely untrained genius, in Art, as in
everything else, such a work of genius would have
undoubtedly been even greater had the artist had

PREFACE

a thorough grounding in technical skill and a com-
plete knowledge of those details necessary to a
perfected art.

In these go-ahead days of hurry and hustle, when
advertisers guarantee to make any person educated
in well-nigh any subject under the sun in twelve
lessons, it is well to remember Longfellow's words :

" In the elder days of Art,

Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part ;
For the Gods see everywhere."

Who can enter some cathedral or historic abbey,
hallowed by the memories of a glorious past and
sacred with the dust of centuries, without noticing
this minute care exemplified in the least prominent
parts of those magnificent edifices ?

Men then worked for love of it, master sculptors,
whose names have perished, although their exquisite
work remains imperishable. They put their very
best all of which they w r ere capable, their very
souls into the labour of their hands, making the
stones immortal poems of praise and beauty. Yet, I
doubt not, these sculptors of a distant past received
a thorough and comprehensive training.

I cannot too strongly urge on the student
" thoroughness." Disappointments he will have
many, many failures, and much hard work before
any attainment is possible ; but having mastered the
necessary drudgeries which attend all proper train-
ing, let him aim high, never despairing, nor doubting
that his work will in time receive its due recognition
and reward.

I speak out of experience when I say there is in
all creative art a pleasure, almost a rapture, which

vii

PREFACE

is in itself one of the most exquisite delights given
to man ; the sense of having accomplished worthy
work, however far short it may fall of one's ideal,
is "no matter for scorning A moment's success
pays the failure of years."

Even to such as do not pursue the sculptor's art as
a profession, I am hopeful my book will be of service ;
for, whether as a means of living or a mere enjoy-
ment for leisure hours, " Art colours Life as the Sim
colours flowers," and no one, whether amateur or
professional, can be the worse for the knowledge
of the Beauty and Power of Art.

viu

CONTENTS
PART I

CHAP. PAGE

I. A SHOUT DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRESS MADE IN

ENGLAND DURING THE LAST THIRTY YEARS. . 19
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD TRAINING, AND THE
FACILITIES AFFORDED THE STUDENT IN VARIOUS

ART SCHOOLS ....... 26

III. MODEM. ING IN ITS ELEMENTARY STAGE A\D THE

TEC UNIQUE ........ 33

IV. MODELLING A PORTRAIT BUST .... 46

V. BUILDING UP A FIGURE OR GROUP IN THE ROUND . 72

VI. WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING .... 90

VII. THE PROCESS OF GELATINE MOULDING AND CASTING 122
VIII. MODELLING FOR TERRA-COTTA . . . .135

IX. MODELLING IN RELIEF ...... 152

X. MODELLING FOR BRONZE, &c. .... 175

XL MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY TO BE CARRIED OUT

AFTERWARDS IN MARBLE OR OTHER STONE . .197

CONTENTS

XII. MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY TO BE CARRIED OUT IN
WOOD FOR ARCHITECTURAL DECORATION, INTERIOR
AND EXTERIOR ....... 208

XIII. COLOURING, WAXING, AND BRONZING PLASTER CASTS 217

XIV. ENLARGING A SMALL MODEL TO HEROIC SIZE BY

THE CHASSIS ....... 237

XV. MARBLE CARVING ....... 246

XVI. A FINAL NOTE 260

PART II

A FEW MASTERPIECES CONSIDERED 2(>5

LIST OF PLATES

ONE OK THE FIGURES OF THE WELSH NATIONAL

WAR MEMORIAL .... Frontispiece

PI.ATK PAGE

I. EGYPTIAN CARVING IN RELIEF .... 270

II. . 270

III. AN EGYPTIAN PRIEST AND PRIESTESS. . . 272

IV. ASSYRIAN RELIEF CARVING .... 276
V. .... 276

VI. THESEUS 278

VII. ILISSOS 278

VIII. THE THREE FATES 280

IX. BAS-RELII;F FROM THE PARTHENON FRIEZE. . 284

X. . . 284

XI. SCULPTURED PIER FROM THE TEMPLE OF DIANA 286

XII. THE NIKE OF SAMOTHRACE .... 288

XIII. SEPULCHRAL MONUMENT OF HEGESO . . . 290

XIV 7 . LES ADIEUX 292

XV. THE VENUS OF MELOS ..... 294

XVI. ASKLEPIOS ........ 296

XVII. HEAD IN BRONZE OF APHRODITE . . . 300

XVIII. HOMER 302

XIX. TORSO OF APHRODITE ..... 304

LIST OF PLATES

1'I.ATK PAOK

XX. HKAD OK A YOUNG MAN . . . 306

XXI. MIDAS . 308

XXII. A PORTION OK A TABERNACLE . . . .310

XXIII. HEAD OK JOHN THE BAPTIST .... 314

XXIV. I'KHSKUS . . . . . . . . 31(j

XXV. TERRA-CoTTA OK THE FlKTEENTH CENTURY . 318

XXVI. BUST IN TEHKA-COTTA ..... 320

XXVII. A CHIMNEYPIECE ...... 322

XXVIII. VIRGIN AND CHILD . .... 324

XXIX. BIST OK A LADY ...... 326

XXX. BUST OK A YOUNG MAN . ... 328

XXXI. HEAD OK THE VIRGIN ..... 332

XXXII. MOSES . 334

XXXIII. TOMB OK LORENZO DE MEDICI .... 33(>

XXXIV. ONE OK THE FIGURES FROM THE TOMB OK

LORENZO DE MEDICI ..... 338

XXXV. LA RKPUBLIQUE .... . 340

XXXVI. WELLINGTON MEMORIAL 342

GLOSSARY

Airjcts. Tubes arranged in a bronze founder's mould through which the
air can pass when the molten metal is poured in.

Armature. A structure made of wood, iron, compo-piping, or wire, upon
which to build up a work in clay, plaster, or wax.

Banker. A strong pedestal upon which to place a heavy block of marble
or other piece of work.

Battinr/. The act of stirring up plaster in a manner somewhat similar to
that of beating up an egg. Beating up clay is also spoken of when
making it from a hard or dry state into a workable condition, which is
done after it has been saturated with water in a water-tight bin, by
placing the clay upon a bench or table and beating it with an iron
rod or stick.

Bronzing. A word generally used to describe the process of colouring a
plaster cast to imitate bronze.

Bust peg. An upright post of wood fixed upon a fiat board to form the
main support upon which a bust is modelled.

Butterfly. Two pieces of wood joined together by wire in the shape of a
Latin cross, used for the purpose of attaching to the armature to
carry a weight of clay.

Case, The. An outer shell to hold the parts of a mould.

Chassis. A framework used in the process of making an enlarged or
reduced copy of a plaster model.

Chipping out. The act of taking away with chisel and hammer the waste
mould from the plaster cast.

Cire-perdue (lost wax). A process of casting into metal from a wax
model or cast.

Clay bat. A flat slab of clay upon which to build, or from which to cut
out (carve away) a work in relief.

Clay washing. Paint ng over the outside of a mould with clay water before
putting on the outer mould or case.

Clay water. Water with a little clay mixed into it to somewhat the con-
sistency of milk, and used in some instances instead of soft soap to
prevent the joint of one mould piece from adhering to another.

Core, The, is that portion of the mould which forms the solid inside of a
cast in metal, and which decides the thickness of the metal, by the
space between it and the hollow mould surrounding it.
xiii

GLOSSARY

Cottle, A band of clay to put round a work when moulding it to form a

wall which will prevent the plaster going beyond a particular point.
Darks. Those parts in a work which are in shadow as contrasted by the

parts which are intended to catch high lights, or half tones.
Death mask. A plaster mould taken from the face of a person after death.
Distance down. Measurements taken down from the chassis on the

hanging T scale, stick, or rule.
Distance in. Measurements taken horizontally by the pointing stick in to

a point on the clay or plaster model from the plumb lines over the

chassis.
Ducts. The channels through which the molten metal runs into the

mould.
False cores. The pieces made (of sand) by the bronze founder to form the

mould on the outside surface of the model.
Feather edge. A piece of wood tapered off at one edge to the thinness of

a feather.
Filling -in. Making the cast in a mould ; the moment or time of pouring

or putting into a mould the plaster.
Firing. The process of converting a clay model into terra-cotta by baking

it, so to speak, in a kiln.
Free pieces. Pieces jutting out freely from a body or mass, as a piece of

drapery blown from a figure and almost disconnected at its junction.
Qallows. See illustration.
" Gits" or " Gets." The Gates. The opening or point of junction where

the metal runners join the work.
Going-off. When plaster is just beginning to set, or get firm, or become

less liquid.
Hollowing out. Scooping out clay from the inside of a model, as is done

in the case of a work which it is intended shall be fired or baked so as

to convert it into terra-cotta.
Joint lines. Ridges in the cast formed by a division where two parts of a

mould have come together.
Keyholes. Notches cut or holes drilled into one side of a mould before

making the mould piece which is to come next to it.
Keys. The pieces formed by the plaster running into the keyholes on the

plaster piece previously made.
Killed plaster. A term applied to plaster when a certain amount of the

strength of the lime contained in it has been destroyed by its re-
maining for a short period under water before mixing.
Lanterns. Tubes of iron placed in the sand cores to allow the gas and air

to pass through when the molten metal is poured into the founder's

mould to form a cast.
Life. Plaster is said to have lost its life when, through its having been

kept in a damp place, it will not set hard when mixed with water.

Again, the "life" is partially taken from plaster when it has remained
xiv

GLOSSARY

too long in the water before being beaten up, when we speak of it as

" killed " (see Killed plaster), as is necessary when stopping holes in a

plaster cast.
Modelling stand. A table with a revolving top upon which to work, made

of various proportions according to the size of the intended work.

The one used for busts and works of not larger scale are usually about

3 ft. 6 in. high, with an 18 in. square revolving top. It is advisable to

have the one used for this purpose made to stand on three legs only.
Mould box. The box used by bronze founders to hold the mould pieces

together, and in their respective places.
Parting dust. A dust or powder used by founders to prevent one portion

of a mould adhering to the next piece made up against it.
Pdtc-sur-pdte. A method of modelling in very low relief by painting one

layer, or coat, after another on to a background with a brush. The

clay is made to the consistency of a thin paste, and in this way the

desired relief is built up.
Patina. A colour formed on metals by the atmosphere, or other natural

causes, or by various acids.
Piece mould. A mould made of a number of pieces over a work, so that the

original shall be preserved undamaged ; from such a mould a number

of copies can be taken, whereas from the waste mould but one cast

can be taken, the mould being destroyed in the process thus the

term "waste."

Pins. Metal rods used to secure the bronze founder's mould box or frame.
Pitcher. A heavy blunt steel tool used by the Pointer to remove some of

the rough pieces from the block of marble before he commences to

take any definite points.
Pointing stick. A piece of wood in the shape of a foot-rule with a pointed

end, upon which the scale measurements are set out. It is used

for taking horizontally measurements when enlarging a model by the

chassis process.
Preparing. The second stage of progress in carving a work in marble

after the pointing stage is finished ; it is then prepared, or carved

down closer to the surface.
Projection. Distance out from a surface, as in the case of a relief; the

distance out from the background.
Pulling. When a clay model or portion of it will not easily leave the

mauld by reason of some undercutting in the mould.
Runner, A . A stick of wax placed inside a founder's mould to form a

channel through which the molten metal passes.
Running a moulding. A term used in making mouldings by running a

template over liquid plaster.
Running up. Plaster or metal finding its way through and into all the

parts of a mould.

Sand holes. Small holes sometimes found in marble.

GLOSSARY

Sflwm. The waste matter (in the form of froth, bubbles, and dirt) which

appears on the top of plaster whilst mixing.
Setting. Plaster is spoken of as setting when it begins to stiffen or get

firm after having been mixed with water.
Setting back. Cutting clay away from a part which has been built too far

forward, or made of too great a projection.
Setting out a line. Drawing a line on clay or other material, which is to

serve as a guide from which other lines or points can be made or

taken.
Shellac. A solution of shellac and methylated spirit. Commonly called

french polish, but known in the studio as shellac.

Slip. Dry clay crushed to a powder, then mixed with water to the con-
sistency of a thick cream.
Soaping. Applying a solution of soap and oil to a mould to prevent a

further coating of plaster adhering to it.
Squeeze, A. An impression of a work taken with clay or wax from a

mould by the action of squeezing or pressing the material into it,

or, in case of a relief, on to it.
Stearinc. A kind of wax.
Stcarining. The act of applying a mixture of wax and turpentine to

a work.
Strickle. A template or straight-edge for levelling down to a desired

depth.
Taking a point. The process of taking the distance in measurement on

a model by the needle on the pointing machine ; or with the pointing

stick, when enlarging a work.
Tcrcbcnc. A mixture of oil of turpentine with sulphuric acid, used as a

medium for painting a plaster cast before bronzing.
Tiijht, or Close. When clay is tough and of a very close nature, and

will not cut freely, it is spoken of as tight or close.
Undercutting. A term used to describe the carving of a projection just

behind and beyond where it is visible to the spectator, in order to

give " snap " and sharpness of effect.
Waste moulding. A process of converting the wax or clay model into

plaster. By this method one cast only can be obtained, as in the

process the mould is broken up (chipped away) and thus is wasted.
Waxiny. The act of applying a solution of wax and turpentine over

work in plaster, or other material which will absorb it.

XVI

PART I

MODELLING AND SCULPTURE

CHAPTER I

A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRESS
MADE IN ENGLAND DURING THE LAST
THIRTY YEARS

IT is a notable and inspiring fact that the past
quarter of a century has witnessed the renaissance
of the sculptor's art in Great Britain. Previous to
this, with a few exceptions, sculptors lacked distinc-
tion, inspiration, and artistic taste.

Nothing so mediocre as certain phases of art during
the early and mid Victorian period could possibly find
acceptance to-day ; and the marked advance, alike
in treatment and every other quality, is cause for
rejoicing among all art lovers more especially among
those who are earnestly striving to raise British
sculpture to a dignity which shall entitle its produc-
tions to rank with the noble achievements of classic
and Renaissance times.

Giants among the pigmies, a Flaxman and a Stevens
arose, almost isolated cases of genius, and it is a
marvel that these artists were able to give us such
splendid work, considering the extremely low level
of their contemporaries in the British School of
Sculpture.

The apotheosis of the Deadly Commonplace, the

PROGRESS IN ENGLAND DURING

environment of Unloveliness and the admiration of
the Ugly Utilitarian made any genuine artistic effort
during this period all the more remarkable.

But since then men of high intelligence, originality,
and rare technical skill have arisen, whose sculptural
work will compare with many of the lofty achieve-
ments of Greece and Italy ; men whose individuality
and creative genius render their work "a thing of
beauty and a joy for ever." And yet it was but
an accident of Fate that poor Stevens, perhaps the
greatest sculptor since Michael Angelo, ever became
known in his supreme greatness. How much poorer
would the world of art have been by the exclusion
of such a transcendent genius ?

Happily, to-day, things have considerably changed
for the better.

It is not only genius that arrests attention ;
numbers count also, and the number of men pro-
ducing good sculpture in Great Britain at the present
day is surprising. This is all the more significant
when we remember that they are, one and all,
remarkable for their individuality, whereas in some
foreign schools, especially in the French, the system
of education tends to produce a sameness in tech-
nique, a general likeness in selection of subject and
arrangement, that suggest too great an influence of
one or other professor or master, until individuality
is lost, and the student becomes a copyist, even of
the most marked faults of his master.

Fortunately, this is not the weakness of the British
sculptor, whose dominating ideal is Truth, originally
expressed through the mind as well as through the
eye.

The French sculptor is distinctly more facile in
execution, but the Briton stands pre-eminent in con-

THE LAST THIRTY YEARS

ception and those qualities which go to make his
labour of lasting value.

There can be no question, however, that France
has produced, during the last half-century, sculp-
tors whose work shows exceptional originality and
genius ; whose statues are not only of national but
of world-wide fame ; and although we may differ
and that seriously as to the form, treatment, and
selection of subjects, we are compelled to the greatest
admiration of the inspiration and exquisite technical
skill which have produced work beyond and above
all carping criticism.

All mannerism in art is objectionable. The British
student of sculpture is usually endowed with an
individuality of his own, a something that develops
after he leaves the modelling class, and soon becomes
a recognisable quality of all the work he produces,
a peculiarity to himself. He is no mere copyist.
And it is this very quality about the British school
of sculptors that makes it so strong and virile. For
proofs of its excellence and of the progress made
during the last thirty years in the art, one needs only
refer back to the magnificent collection of exhibits
at the Franco-British Exhibition in 1908, or to look
round any one of our big provincial cities to-day, and
compare the many fine recent memorials there erected
with those of an earlier date, often in juxtaposition,
as if to make the comparison more striking with
those Early Victorian " horrors " !

London, at once the greatest city and the wealthiest
in the world, magnificent in many of its architectural
structures, with schools of art second to none in
Europe, has failed signally to beautify her squares
and public places with the sculptor's art. She has a
notable few r very few good statues, and a host of

PROGRESS IN ENGLAND DURING

villainously bad ones, which create ridicule rather
than respect in the mind of the passer-by ; but the
time will surely come, and this perhaps at no distant
date, when our great city will awaken to the fact
that great sculptural monuments are not only wanted
to beautify her streets, but have distinct educational
value. They elevate the intelligence of the people,
by keeping green the memory of our noblest heroes
who have built up for us the history of this mighty
empire.

There is no doubt that French art and the method
of French training have influenced British sculptors,
inasmuch as they demonstrated to us emphatically
that there is only one course open if we desire to
attain the Ideal, and that is to study, with infi-
nite care, closely and conscientiously, the Real, the
Natural ; to study Nature in her every possible mood
or phase, to learn her ways, and having so absorbed
her teaching, to make use, so far as in us lies, of
whatever study comes nearest to our hearts, and to
select the best from the good.

The more we study Nature, the more intense grows
our love and reverence for her, and we become in
the real sense students able to penetrate and repro-
duce her mysteries.

Selection is one of the most important factors in
an artist's career, for how is it possible to distinguish
the best from the merely good unless we have studied
both?

"Try to be Shakespeare, leave the rest to Fate !
The aim, if reached or not, makes great the life,"

may be applied, beyond the poet's intention, to all
art students.

Michael Angelos will never, at any period of the

THE LAST THIRTY YEARS

world's history, become common ; but we can all, at
least, strive for our supreme ideal.

To become an idealist you must necessarily first
be a realist. So taught the Greeks, the Italians, and
our friends on the other side of the Channel. And
their axiom is true. Realism broadens, deepens, and
expands our vision. It makes us more capable of
appreciating the great Greek works, and of under-
standing how, by the closest study of Nature, they
were wrought. This is a fact which no student of
the classic sculpture of ancient Greece could deny.
They went direct to Nature the only Eternal and
in mere human models saw, as with an inspired in-
sight, the God-like forms we recognise to-day as the
master-work of men themselves divine, whose statues
have, through the passing of the ages, remained
examples for subsequent artists, even to our own
century.

True art it is impossible to produce without that
actual technical knowledge which is only to be
acquired by patient and painstaking study. What
musician could compose any work worth listening
to, unless he had mastered the intricacies of har-
monies and counterpoint ? What writer could hope
to take rank in literature without the most perfect
command of grammatical expression and of the
proper formation of sentences ; and what sculptor
can possibly hope for success to crown his labours,
unless he has thoroughly mastered the technique of
that most difficult of arts ?

A Spanish writer has said that " Sculpture is crys-
tallised Poetry ; the Music of the Spheres made
visible, the Ideal manifest unchanging and unchange-
able through the Ages ! " and, allowing for the
rhapsodical temperament of a southern author, it

PROGRESS IN ENGLAND DURING

is not altogether an untrue description of all that
sculpture should be.

The great masters only wrought their master-
pieces after such a study of Nature as we have
indicated, although that alone could never make a
great sculptor or painter. It is merely a proper
training for all following or practising art, alike for
the genius and the others.

The fact is, that with such a training we are able
earlier in our career to realise the grandeur of
the classic and antique sculptures in our museums ;
and these have increased in such numbers during
recent years, either in their originals or plaster
replicas, that the present generation of sculptors
have had a great advantage over their earlier
brethren. But these great Greek works have not
alone inspired us to enthusiasm.

No, we have also to be thankful to the directors of
the various museums for having placed within our
reach, for our constant study, so many wonderful
examples of the finest Italian sculpture of the
fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. There
can be no doubt that these glorious works have
exercised an immense influence on the workers in
England at the present day. Indeed, I am inclined
to think that we really owe the greatest debt of
gratitude for the high excellence of our sculpture at
this hour to the influence and inspiration of the best
examples of the Italian Renaissance, which appeals
more readily to us, alike in its treatment, tempera-
ment, and subjects, than the Greek.

This especially applies to Renaissance portraiture,
which not only arouses our enthusiasm and ambition,
but has moved us to emulation, with the most grati-
fying result to art.

Yet it is a strange and significant fact, that Italy
to-day produces little or nothing notable in sculpture.
Her day of mighty works in this art seems for ever
past, and while her greatest musical composers have
achieved a world-wide renown, no really great
sculptor lives to carry on the traditions of her
gloriously artistic past.

Facilities, almost unknown half a century ago, are
given to students to study at first hand the noble
examples of Italy's former supremacy in the sculptor's
art. Of such facilities the British school has not
been slow to avail itself. It is w r ith the most hope-
ful feeling that we look around at the many workers
in art to-day ; and seeing so much that is excellent
in their work, we have no fear that any decadence
will set in, but rather rejoice in the prospect that
it will continue to hold the high position it now
occupies in the world's achievement.

CHAPTER II

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD TRAINING, AND
THE FACILITIES AFFORDED THE STUDENT
IN VARIOUS ART SCHOOLS

THE importance of good training from the very first
attempts at modelling cannot be regarded too seri-
ously, for it is in the earliest days that the student
requires the greatest attention and direction in the
right way. Whether it be his intention to take up
the art as an amateur, or for the purpose of making
it his profession, or for teaching it to others, it is
equally important that in each case he should be
trained with the utmost care and correctness for
some years.

I have known pupils come to me asking how long
it would take them to learn to model, and on the first
occasion I was somewhat at a loss to answer this
question.

My would-be pupil, seeing that I was puzzled,
endeavoured to assist me out of the difficulty by
remarking that she only wished to learn enough
to be able to teach !

Imagine my feelings at the moment ! for, I may
say, I have found, after many years of practice in
the art of modelling and sculpture, and moreover
in giving instruction, that the difficulty of teach-
ing is no light matter. Indeed, it is a great task,
when done thoroughly and conscientiously, and of

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD TRAINING

the most fatiguing nature, requiring tact, patience,
and no little skill. In fact, good teaching is an art
in itself.

It is not unusual to find men who, though splendid
teachers, are almost utterly incapable of producing
anything fine themselves.

For this reason it is better for the student to place
himself in the care of a man who has the reputation
of being a good instructor, rather than in the care of
one whose work may have arrested his attention at
an exhibition, or on the gallery wall, unless such an
one be known to be capable both as a teacher and
producer.

Good training is most essential, no matter how
much or little natural ability the pupil may possess.

It is not surprising that many of our art schools,
the London County Council and others, attract so
many students to their institutions, when we know
that the staff of professors and masters are carefully
chosen for their reputation as teachers, and not alone
for the works they have produced.

Besides the excellent teaching, the facilities afforded
to students in these schools leave nothing to be
desired. Indeed, I often tkink that there is too much
consideration lavished upon them, and I am not so
sure that more difficulties to contend with would not
in some instances prove beneficial and produce better
men ; although it must be granted that the lack of
such facilities might handicap the bulk of students,
and especially those who make the best use of the
opportunities afforded.

But I question whether most of the students fully
appreciate, or appreciate to any extent, what is thus
done to render it easier for them to make progress
in their calling. These schools are equipped with

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD TRAINING

every requirement, and are open to all, with an
entrance fee which is practically nil.

Such splendid opportunities must bear fruit in
time to come, and it will be the fault of the student
if he has not availed himself to the fullest extent
of such chances as are offered him, and if he fails
to give proof of this in after life.

How different things were thirty years ago ! A
boy had then to knead his own clay, and perhaps
wheel his own model to the mould-maker's work-
shop, unless he could mould it himself; and, even
then, there was no convenience for moulding and
casting being done in the art schools of that day ; and
certainly no instruction was given in the process of
converting a clay model into plaster. As for the
material used for this purpose, well, that was in no
instance provided, as it is to-day, but had to be paid
for out of the student's own pocket.

Few of our leading sculptors of to-day had any-
thing but hardships to fight through, and immense
difficulties to surmount in their student days. Yet,
look at the successes they have achieved.

What would they have done, given the same
opportunities as are afforded the student at the
present time ? Perhaps less ? ?

But given all these chances, they will not make a
boy an artist ; they may help him to become a better
workman, but that is all. There must exist a natural
love for the work, combined with the determination
to achieve something great. These are factors which
alone make the art student worthy of his chosen
calling.

I do not say he should not reach the goal all the
same, if he has the love and determination, and all
the quicker when he receives the assistance he is

AND FACILITIES AFFORDED

able now to get at these institutions ; but it makes
the end no less far off and little less difficult of
achievement, for, before you arrive at the produc-
tion of great art, you will find the path beset with
obstacles which cannot be overcome except by your
own individual struggling, no matter how much out-
side help may be given by Boards of Education or
other governing bodies. And the young student
whose desire it is to produce work worthy to take
place in the loftiest realms of art, having fixed his
mind upon a distant summit, must rely mainly on
himself if he is ever to arrive at the height of his
ambition. The genuinely ambitious man rarely gets
there at all in his own mind. No matter what goal
he reaches, there are others stretching beyond, limit-
less and unattainable.

The student cannot have too much good training
if it is applied in the proper direction ; the artist
always remains a student, ever ready to learn. But I
would warn the student that, with the many oppor-
tunities and the facilities afforded him in the various
branches of certain schools, there is a temptation
open to him and, indeed, in many instances he is ex-
pected to divide his attention too much by joining
other classes, all of them excellent in their way, but
of no use whatever to the student who is seriously
taking up modelling.

He who takes up this art should devote the whole
of his time to modelling and drawing, and only those
things which have a distinct relation to modelling
and sculpture ; leaving all other classes to those
students who can directly benefit by one or other
of them.

The art student cannot expect to become proficient
in more than the one great subject during his life-

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD TRAINING

time, for not alone does he live in a day of specialists,
but he has taken upon himself a huge task when
he has started on the career of a modeller or
sculptor.

Too many students in these schools try to get a
smattering of many subjects, and they become " Jack
of all trades and master of none." They obtain, per-
haps, a little knowledge of many things, and a little
knowledge is a useless thing in this case, because
it has robbed the student of much valuable time
which would have proved of better service had it
been devoted to the furthering of his knowledge of
one particular subject ; for many of the things the
students do learn in these schools can be of no use
whatever to them in their calling.

What need has a modelling student to know
anything about bookbinding, or a student studying
figure-painting to take up the hammering of iron
or copper work? Very nice work, perhaps, if he
wishes to take it up as a hobby, but the artist does
not want a hobby.

An artist's every thought and all his energy must
be bestowed upon his work, and such time as he has
to spare were best spent among the meadows and
hedgerows, where under clear skies he can breathe
fresh air, which will do him far more good and help
him better in his inspired calling.

No one, nowadays, wants to know a little about
everything. What would be the value of a medical
man who had tried to specialise on a dozen different
subjects ?

The only person connected with art whose training
should have been general, and who of necessity re-
quires a general all-round knowledge of all the arts
and crafts, is the principal or head-master. He holds

AND FACILITIES AFFORDED

his position because he possesses this knowledge and
is able to see the general working of the whole school.
Such a man seldom professes to do or practise any
one thing in particular. Therefore he is the right
man in the right place, and it is his duty to see that
the students should attend those classes, and those
classes only, which can be of direct use to them, and
from which they can derive the most benefit.

I do not say that some of them are not quite
capable artists, and with time at their disposal would
not produce fine works ; but the set duties, official
and general, are too numerous to allow of their
practising.

There can be no doubt that the facilities afforded
to students in these schools have proved of use, to
judge from the number of attendances and the work
done ; for, generally speaking, it is of a distinctly
higher order than the work of students who enjoy
fewer advantages.

These schools are perhaps of greater use to the
student who is employed during the daytime in one
of the trades or crafts, for which instruction is given
at such institutions ; for here, at night, he may study
seriously, from pure love of it, some examples which
may be of use to him in the work which he has to
execute during the day, in the course of his regular
occupation, from a commercial point of view, for a
subsistence.

For such students the training and facilities of the
L.C.C. schools leave nothing to be desired, and if kept
open for them, and them alone, there should be no
need of complaint ; for the student who has been
toiling all day long, say at some work which has
been more or less uninteresting or even very tedious
to him, and yet goes to a school of art for two or

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD TRAINING

three hours in the evening to improve himself, is
deserving of every encouragement.

For a student who is, say, a stone-carver by day,
it would, I think, be a good course of training if he
were to follow up his day's work at night with
attendance at the modelling class, where he can
rapidly improve his knowledge of ornament and
figure. There are many reasons why I advocate
a change from one material to another, principally
that I find if a student is working all day, say, on
stone, his vigour becomes less if he continues his
studies at night on the same material. But let
him take up modelling, and he comes with a
freshened appetite for work. Then as he grows
facile with the clay, he will feel drawn to his
evening work, and, come what may, the value of
his experience in modelling will be a useful asset to
him all his life.

This has been the foundation of many a sculp-
tor's career stone-carving by day, modelling at the
schools by night. To those genuine hard-working
students who arc anxious, ambitious, and determined
to improve, the masters give their time and their
interest ungrudgingly. It is satisfactory to know
that the facilities afforded at the institutions of
to-day are duly taken advantage of and thoroughly
appreciated by all students, whether amateur or
professional.

CHAPTER 111

MODELLING IN ITS ELEMENTARY STAGE
AND THE TECHNIQUE

THERE is perhaps no more fascinating or agreeable
material to work in than clay, and this chiefly because
of its plasticity and the ease with which it can be
manipulated. Moreover, it can be made to any con-
sistency, from " slip," which can be applied with a
brush after the manner of painting, as is done by the
pdte-sur-pate modeller, to such hardness that it needs
to be carved or scraped into form. Therefore,
naturally, these extremely diverse possibilities place
clay before all other materials for the modeller, who
can finish his work as highly as he pleases, or leave it
merely as a sketch in clay.

But it is when it is in its medium or soft state
that it is most pleasant to manipulate not so soft
as to be sticky, nor yet so hard as to resist the touch
of the fingers. Once it gets into this latter state it
not only loses much of its oily value in appearance,
but is past being worked with Nature's best tools,
the human fingers.

It is important that the beginner should first learn
how to manipulate the clay, how to spread it cleanly
over such parts, and in such shapes, as he may wish
to make, so that every piece put on shall express
something of the form ultimately intended, in a
modified degree,

33 C

Such pieces should be put on deliberately, and not
at haphazard or fingered about carelessly until they
find their place. Therefore the student should en-
deavour to know the form his clay is going to take
before it leaves his fingers, and do this without his
hands getting all muddied up.

A clever student will soon learn how to model
and use a great mass of clay, almost without soiling
his hands ; whilst another, less advanced, will have
his hands so covered that there would be sufficient
material on them to make a miniature statue. This
is unquestionably bad, because with the hands in
such a state the sense of touch (in a beginner) is con-
siderably handicapped, the clay refusing freely to
leave the fingers, and the work in consequence be-
coming dirty in technique.

The student should learn how to build up gradually
until he gets the clay to the desired form, and should
not pile up a lot of clay and start cutting down ;
for, properly considered, the method of modelling is
building up. In this way the student always obtains
the best results. The technique of cutting down
belongs to the carver, whose material, stone or wood,
must of necessity be larger than the object it is his
purpose to make.

Moreover, a student of modelling would not learn
as much by cutting down as by building up, for the
reason that by the latter principle he is putting on a
number of pieces of clay, each piece, almost from the
first, bearing some resemblance to the shape which
the parts will finally assume. Thus he will under-
stand the shapes and they will become impressed
upon his memory; and, besides, the work will be
fresher in touch, through all its stages, until the
completion.

AND THE TECHNIQUE

By this method also the student is not so likely to
get lost, for he may, and indeed should, in building
up insert into his model little pieces of wood, some-
what the size of common matches, broken, or better
still, cut into halves, to indicate the position of certain
points and their projections, these points being taken
most carefully with compasses or callipers from the
particular example he has before him.

For this purpose I advise every student to equip
himself with these instruments when first begin-
ning to model, using them frequently and with great
accuracy, and applying every other means available
to get his work as nearly as he can like unto the
original; for with all this help he will have to con-
quer many a difficulty before he will be able to
model or copy well (Fig. 1).

From the first a student should pay particular
attention to the importance of keeping his work in a
good condition and even consistency, not allowing it
one day to be too soft and another day too hard,
and taking care that such tools as he may be using
are also kept clean.

Unfortunately, most beginners are as careless about
these matters as they are about the wrapping up of
their work at night, or at such times as they may be
covering it and putting it aside for the time being.

They invariably saturate the cloths with enough
water necessary to wet treble the amount of material,
and throw these cloths over their work with as little
respect for what may have been weeks of labour,
and teaching from their instructor, as though they
were covering so much mud ; instead of which the
work should be protected from becoming rubbed or
smeared, which can easily be done by the careful
insertion of small wooden pegs into the clay model.

MODELLING AND THE TECHNIQUE

or round it, upon which the cloths can hang and
still serve the purpose of keeping moist the work
under a canopy or cover-
ing.

If the work be an im-
portant one, it is better to
get a wooden frame made,
just larger than the work,
and lined with some water-
proof material (Fig. 2).
This can easily be placed
over the whole model,
which should be sprayed a
little every day, and, if
made fairly air-tight, will
keep the work for a long
time in quite a good con-
dition. It is only when
the work is kept in such
good condition that the WOODEN
student can expect, not
alone to progress, but
to enlist the interest of
the teacher, who never
feels any great enthu-
siasm in a pupil's work
when these instructions
are disobeyed or disre-
garded.

In starting upon a work,
it is better to use clay
of a fairly stiffish consis-
tency, rather stiffer than that used afterwards (by
the addition of a little water), to model up the
parts, for the reason that it binds better round the

Fig. II

FRAME OB
CASE, TO PLACE OVER
A CLAY MODEL

(Lined with a waterproof mate-
rial, and closed in with a frame-
work door covered with the
same material), to form an air-
tight box. In the framework
of this door holes are made
through which the pegs,
indicated in the framework
above, pass to hold it in its
position.

MODELLING AND THE TECHNIQUE

armature, 1 making a firmer substance upon which to
build more clay, and is also less liable to fall away.

It should therefore be remembered that the clay
with which you provide yourself each day before
starting to work (that is, supposing you have a
work previously begun) should be slightly softer
than the body of such work already begun, because
when it is being applied, instead of it getting em-
bedded into a softer body, it can be spread, or laid
upon the surface, as desired. The only reason for
adding clay is to increase the particular part to which
it is applied, and not to drive it into the surface.

The intelligent student, with but little experience,
will readily appreciate the importance of these
points, he himself having so frequently seen others
working by different means, almost obstinate in
their foolish disregard of these matters, until, fail-
ing utterly, they have given up in despair. I am
sure few among the many who start modelling
would give up, at least in despair, if only they paid
attention to the simplest rules necessary to progress.

I recommend any one starting to model to take as
a copy a work simple and broad in treatment, defined
in shape, and with well-marked planes ; examples
such as the eye, nose, or mouth of the " David " of
Michael Angelo. These can be obtained heroic in
size, and are the best things I know to begin with,
so healthy and full are they in line and shape,
so definite and sculpturesque in form, simple, yet
well marked. With these examples the student
cannot help feeling hopeful of making a fair copy,
and this hopefulness gives him such courage that
he immediately begins to manipulate his clay with
confidence (Fig. 3).

1 See pp. 51, 75, 76.
38

ELEMENTARY MODELLING

This confidence is an all-important factor in the
student's progress, as he should not start by being
timid if he means to be a modeller or sculptor, but
must make up his mind to battle ; for, as he advances
and takes up larger work of greater importance, he
will find that a great deal of physical, as well as
mental, energy is needed ; and although his initial
efforts be confined to the simple examples I have
named, he will soon discover that learning to model

them is not a thing
one can go to sleep
over, or even sit
down to do, as one
might toy with a
piece of embroidery.
In modelling, so
many views have to
be considered and
drawn that you must
be on the move the
whole time, con-
stantly comparing
your work with the
cast, from the top,

sides, and underneath. The student too seldom does
this. He should frequently go down on his bended
knees and look up, first at one, and then at the
other, and compare his work with the original.

It is also most necessary that he should study the
sections of both, for, as a rule, the student too often
looks at one view only, namely, the front.

In modelling, a work should be drawn from every
conceivable view for modelling is drawing in clay
and from every point and every direction. The
better it is done, the better will be the result,

Fig. IV

HOW TO MAKE A " BUTTERFLY,
FIRST STAGE

AND THE TECHNIQUE

although I do not say that this alone will produce
a great work of art.

" The master " alone can do this, but the student's
duty is to learn how to copy well, intelligently, with
reverence and with the determination to do his best.
This he cannot do until he has learned how to
manipulate the clay with freedom, and in such a
way as to suggest good technique, or I should per-
haps say handling, for, properly speaking, technique
is a thing formed
after the student has
left the class-room
and has started to
do something origi-
nal of his own, being
left entirely to his
own resources,
without the master
behind him.

A technique (or
method of handling)
formed and deve-
loped at this time
is a style of treat-
ment individual to the man himself, and comes about
in an almost inexplicable way whilst he searches
closely into Nature and into every detail. It is
individual, and is necessarily the personal expression
of the true artist, whatever medium he may choose
for such expression.

When a student has had a course of study from
these simple examples, having perhaps built up a
bust or other studies from the cast, then the sooner
he begins to work from Nature, the better ; for the
plaster cast is not alone less inspiring than the living

Fig. V

HOW TO MAKE A "BUTTERFLY,"
SECOND STAGE

ELEMENTARY MODELLING

model, but it is more difficult to understand for the
beginner. It takes really years of study from the
life before he can fully appreciate the charm and
beauty of antique great art, whose masterpieces
are the examples provided for pupils in most schools
of art.

The student cannot be expected to understand
these great works, and therefore should not take
them as something to copy, but as examples to in-
spire him in later life, when he has learned some-
thing of Nature and her ways. No, it is far better
that he should start early to work from Nature,
a hand, a foot, a toe, a leaf, a bird, or whatever
he pleases, copying these with infinite care, study-
ing their construction, and observing closely their
minutest details. Imitate and copy their regularities
and irregularities, their true form and deformity if
you choose so to call it in all their beauty and
ugliness if ugliness you think it is at the moment.
When you come to making your selection in building
up your ideal, you will at least recognise it with
reverence and wonder.

No sooner have you started upon these studies
from the living model than you should acquaint
yourself with the anatomy : not so closely as would
the student who intends to become a surgeon, but
sufficient to assist you in the main construction of
each particular part, its purposes and influences on
surface form. Particularly should you make draw-
ings and studies of, and model, all the principal bones,
carefully observing their direction, the position they
occupy in the figure, and their proportions.

Supposing, for instance, you are copying a head,
a foot, or a hand from the living model, it is more
than important that you should, at the same time,

AND THE TECHNIQUE

be learning something of its skeleton and its mus-
cular form below the skin by making a model
of it, when this is possible. You will then observe
the difference between those parts of the skeleton
of the human frame
which are merely cov-
ered with skin, and the
more fleshy parts.

The former have a
tight appearance, and
upon close examination
will be found to be made
up of a number of small
planes or angles, whilst
the fleshy parts are
looser, and fuller in
quality, and rounder.

Take, for instance, the
ankle-bones and regard
the position of the inside
bone compared with the
outer one. It will be
seen that the one is much
higher than the other,
and the set-back from
the front also of a dif- Flg V i

ferent distance ; but the
student's study of the
skeleton, at this period,
need not be too deep.

He need only take a little at a time, and even then
such parts only as may be of use to him at the parti-
cular moment; but as he advances he will find it neces-
sary to learn thoroughly the exact shapes of such bones
as are always seen, at some points, even upon the

A " BUTTERFLY,'
THIRD STAGE.

ELEMENTARY MODELLING

fleshiest of models the patella, the pelvis, the clavicle
(or collar-bone), the scapulas, the tibia and the
fibula, the radius and the ulna, all of which, at some
time or other, are seen and exert their influence on
the surface of the figure, and are clearly defined in
their shape.

By knowing these thoroughly, the student will be
greatly assisted when he has to build up his armature
for the whole of a figure.

Fig. VII

THE MOVEMENT AND PLAY IN THE LINES OF THE
MOUTH

A student may not wish to become a figure
modeller or sculptor, preferring the study of animals
or foliage. Even then the same principles apply,
and a knowledge of construction of those parts
beneath the surface is necessary to obtain a suc-
cessful result.

Who can expect to produce anything really great

AND THE TECHNIQUE

with but a superficial knowledge? We have to
wrest Nature's secrets from her by ceaseless watching
and patient study, before we are able to reveal the
beauty of her mysteries to others.

Apart from its service to the student, the search
after the knowledge requisite to his art will prove
delightfully interesting, and as enjoyable as it is in-
structive. He will gladden at the beautiful forms
and shapes which are somewhat hidden beneath the
skin.

It is the artist's privilege to discover beauty in
much that others call ugly, and the student would
do well to cultivate an ambition in this direction,
endeavouring to enjoy every phase of Nature, as he
should enjoy everything he has undertaken in his
work.

With this sense of self-surrender, out of pure love
for his calling, he will find 110 tedium in its perform-
ance, but without this enjoyment in it the work
becomes cold and lifeless, a mere perfunctory task,
not worth the time expended upon it.

It is far better for a student to relinquish any
work in which his heart is not wholly centred, and
to start something fresh, than to continue that
which at each new attempt becomes more and more
distasteful to him.

CHAPTER IV

MODELLING A PORTRAIT BUST

ALMOST the greatest gift a portrait painter or sculptor
can wish to possess is that of being able to catch the
portrait or actual likeness of the sitter. This faculty
needs a different training to that of the artist who
produces ideal works, and whose great ambition is
to get perfection of form, of rhythm, of line, and a
beautiful sense of feeling and composition, born of
the beauty which exists in his own mind.

In portraiture it is absolutely necessary to study
the type and character of one's sitter in all its
idiosyncrasies : to write, as it were, indelibly in clay
or stone, the man's history as it is written on his
physiognomy; for truly on every feature is carven,
to a greater or less extent, his past and present, and
particularly are those parts developed which have
been most brought into constant action.

Let us take, for example, the preponderant brow of
a Napoleon ; the lips of a Demosthenes, instinct with
divine oratory ; the almost ideal profile of a Byron
or Shelley; and contrast these with the jaw, heavy
and underset, of a pugilist.

One has only to look at a group of professional
men gathered together barristers, doctors, actors,
musicians, orators, and artists to detect that each
one among them has a distinct and separate entity
to the particular profession he follows ;

Fig. VIII

SHOWING THE GENERAL LINES AND MASSES TO BE
OBSERVED WHEN BUILDING UP THE HEAD

and although they may not be specially gifted in
any of the various branches they represent, still the
constant exercise of certain muscles and expressions
must become more noticeable, as the muscles do in
the legs of a dancer or runner, or the biceps of a
gymnast. In the same way, the exercise of intelli-
gence develops to a marked degree the character-
istics of its possessor.

All students of physiognomy are agreed that a man
in time becomes, more or less, like the people with
whom he is in constant association. This fact is
especially to be noted in married people, who have
lived in harmony together for many years ; and also
in a distinct resemblance to his confreres, in action
and manner, of the artist, the musician, the preacher,
and the actor.

Never could we confound them with the butcher,
baker, clerk, or butler, or even the prosperous city
merchant ; yet each alike has marked characteristics
to the physiognomist, and all are equally interesting
types of humanity to the painter and sculptor.

I have indeed seen men grow like unto their dogs
when they have been particularly attached to a
certain breed, as others come to resemble their best
fancied birds, in an almost comical verisimilitude.

These are traditional characteristics from time
immemorial, and I remark upon them only to show
how intimately the portrait painter and sculptor
should study each detail in the facial expression of
all and every type of men with whom he comes in
contact.

"The maniac's form we turn with loathing from,
Became immortal in its agonies
When Michael Angelo prisoned it in stone !
And peasants rough, uncouth, for ever Jive
.48

MODELLING A PORTRAIT BUST

As Millet fixed them with his deathless Art.
So all the ancient myths of Satyr, Nymph,
Goddess and Dryad, are alive to-day
In classic silences of Greece and Rome.
Beauty is fleeting, but the sculptured form
Endures through ages ever beautiful."

Whilst the caricaturist seizes upon some salient
peculiarity of physiognomy and exaggerates it, until
the portrait may be said to be more like the original
than is the caricatured person to himself yes, laugh-
ably so the student who intends taking up portraiture
may take a lesson, and indeed learn much, from ex-
amining the best specimens of the caricaturist's art,
although in his own work he should most carefully
avoid exaggeration ; for caricature in portraiture
proper would rightly be considered vulgar and in the
worst taste.

The difficulty of avoiding exaggeration on the one
hand, and tameness on the other, is a great test of
the power of the artist, who, if he be clever enough,
will infuse a "subtlety" into his portrait, a success
which can only be attained by a close, careful, and
constant study of the features and expression, a
ceaseless observation of the varied types of features
he sees everywhere around him. He must note the
contrasts each presents to the other, and endeavour
to form in his own mind some idea of what their
respective callings, trades, or professions may be ; and
though he may never have any proof of the correct-
ness of his surmises, he will thus be trained in the
habit of minute observation.

When a student is about to start upon a portrait,
either a bust, statue, or statuette, he usually knows
something of his sitter and his calling in life. He

49 D

MODELLING A PORTRAIT BUST

therefore looks out for indication of this something
denoting his calling.

It is not often that a man or woman is asked to
undergo the ordeal of sitting for their portrait, in
clay or marble, until they have in some way or
other become distinguished ; and their personality
and character having been developed, the sculptor
will experience less difficulty in seizing instantly
upon their characteristics.

It is different with the portrait painter. He may
paint a young girl solely by reason of her prettiness
and exquisite colour, though she herself be utterly
devoid of any marked character or fine form, whilst
to the portrait sculptor true or fine form and char-
acter are all-important.

I advise all students, when choosing a head to
model from for practice, to select one with well-
marked features, an old man for preference, and,
when possible, one with little or no hair on his face,
clean shaven, so that the jaw, chin, and upper lip, in
which so much character lies, may stand clearly forth,
undisguised by beard or moustache. A face three
parts hidden by hair is not the sculptor's ideal for
clay or marble.

In building up a bust, the student has first to pro-
vide himself with a modelling stand, one with a
revolving top, and also with what is called a "bust"
peg (Fig. 9), which is an upright piece of wood
about 14 inches high, 2 inches square in thickness
at bottom, tapering up to about 1| inches square.
This is inserted firmly into a flat board or platform,
about 18 inches square by 2 inches thick, which is
made so that it will not warp or twist with the
moisture from the wet clay. Near the top of this
upright peg fix a couple of jiieces of lead or compo

Fig. IX

BUST PEG SHOWING " BUTTERFLY " SUSPENDED BY A PIECE *

OF WIRE FROM WHERE COMPO PlPES CROSS OVER
ONE ANOTHER

Note piece of wood to carry shoulders. From this, " butterflies " can be
suspended when thought necessary.

MODELLING A PORTRAIT 1HJST

tubing as shown in Fig. 9; and from where these
two pieces of tubing cross, hang what is called a
" butterfly " two pieces of wood bound together by
copper wire, in the shape of a Latin cross. The
" butterfly " is suspended from above, and left to
hang quite freely, so that it may easily be pushed
from one side to the other, should it project too far
out at any one place, when the clay bust is built up,
or during its progress of being built. The purpose
of this " butterfly " is to carry the weight of some of
the mass of clay in use for the head ; whilst the
advantage of the piping is that it gives or moves
quite easily if it be thought desirable to turn or
change the action of the head, after the bust is com-
menced. It also retains the ease in the poise of the
head on the shoulders much better than if any
material less pliable than lead piping were used.

It should be remembered that the appearance of
ease in the growth of the neck out of the shoulders,
and of the head thereon, is very important.

If it is intended to model the shoulders or
draperies out any distance, which may need an
abundance of clay, it is advisable to nail a piece of
wood across the upright peg in the direction of the
shoulders, as this will carry and support the clay ;
from this may also hang more " butterflies."

We will now suppose that the armature is ready,
the clay prepared, and the model or sitter arrived.
He shall from the first, and through all the stages,
be seated at such a height that his head and the one
being built up in clay are as nearly as possible on
the same level. Before settling on any definite pose
or attitude of the head in relation to the shoulders,
it is always as well to allow your model to place him-
self in some position natural to himself, which he

MODELLING A PORTRAIT RUST

will undoubtedly do, if he be sufficiently interested
in some agreeable conversation to lose his self-con-
sciousness.

You are then more likely to catch him in some
characteristic attitude, and likewise with his natural
expression. Whilst he remains in this pose, view
him all round to make sure that he appears equally
interesting and well-balanced from everywhere, arid
that no alteration will be necessary in the arma-
ture.

Particular attention should be paid to the arma-
ture to see w r hether any change is necessary, whether
it requires turning or twisting in another direction
to that in which it now is, so that it may better serve
its purpose, always remembering that it must be well
within the mass of the head, and also at its narrowest
points, so that the full amount of clay, which is to
contain the features, will leave the (armature) lead
piping below the surface.

When due consideration has been given to this,
then a start may be made upon building up the clay.
Squeeze or press it well round the lead piping and
woodwork (which previously cover with a little
water to make the clay stick to it), forming it roughly
into the shape of a skull, in a direction suggesting
that of the poise of the head of the model or sitter,
especially in relation to that of the shoulders.

Then set out a line up the middle of this skull
shape, and others horizontally on this line, about the
position where brow, nose, and mouth will come, for
upon these lines the perfected features will be built
(Fig. 10).

It is all-important, in the earlier stages, that the
position of the pit of the neck be taken, as the pro-
jections of the features of the face are judged and

Fig. X

SHOWING FIRST CLAY STAGE

Horizontal ami perpendicular lines indicating brow and mouth and central
line up face and through middle of the features. Also position of the
pit of the neck.

MODELLING A PORTRAIT BUST

governed by this point, in the hollow or pit of the
neck.

Great care must be exercised to avoid setting this
point in too deep, or bringing it too far forward, on
account of the thinness of the neck and the necessary
thickness of the armature through it (the neck), and
up into the head.

From this point the distance through to the back
of the neck, i.e. to the seventh cervical, and to either
shoulder may be obtained.

It will be noticed that the projection of the chin
and face from the pit of the neck varies consider-
ably, according to the tilt of the head and to the
position in which a person is sitting. There may,
indeed, be little or none in front of this point, when
a person is leaning or sitting with his head thrown
far back and chest brought forward ; whereas, if
posed with the head and shoulders forward, the
features are naturally much in front of the pit.
Therefore this point should be taken, as I have
already said, during the earliest stage, as soon, indeed,
as the sitter is in the correct position or pose which
you have decided upon for the clay bust.

When you have made quite sure that the position
or attitude of your sitter is as you desire it, and have
fixed upon a point in your clay for the pit of the
neck, from this point take the first point in the
features that is to say, the chin and from this same
pit point its projection out or forward, as seen in pro-
file, by means of a plumb-line held up against the
chin and the distance in to pit, taken with a compass
or pencil held horizontally.

This measurement cannot, however, be taken in
the way here indicated if the head is turned to look
much towards or over either shoulder, as in such a

MODELLING A PORTRAIT RUST

case it must be judged only by the plumb-line, which

must be held as you would hold it to obtain the

projection in making a drawing on paper from the

model.

The same means should be applied in getting the

position of the chin, in relation, vertically, to the pit

from the front view.

The plumb-line may frequently be of use, although

this, like all other means of getting points or rela-
tive positions, must be used with care and extreme
accuracy, because in holding up a plumb-line it is the
easiest thing imaginable to get very wrong if you
happen to stand a little more to the right or to the
left (when trying it on your clay) than you stood
when deciding it on your sitter.

The point of the chin having thus been obtained, it
can be used as basis for further measurements, which
must be taken very carefully from the sitter, and set
or marked out on the clay model with small pieces of
wood, like matches, these being inserted to indicate
more surely the position of the points. These little
pegs can be pushed in or pulled out to increase or
diminish the distance or projection, should this be
found necessary, so that they may correspond to the
measurements on the life model, if it be discovered
at a later period that a measurement has been in-
correctly taken.

All measurements should be taken from well-
defined parts which are not likely to alter much by a
change in the expression or countenance of the sitter.
It is very advisable to take the following points :
from the centre of the chin to the top of the nose
between the brows, and then from the chin to the
projecting pieces of flesh (called the Tragus) on the
sides of the face next to (and part of) the ears directly

MODELLING A PORTRAIT BUST

above the lobes ; the width across the face at these
points; then again from these points to the tip of
the nose, and the projection between the brows over
the nose ; then from either of these last taken points
to back of head. The further points to be taken are
the extreme width across at ears, temples, cheek-
bones, jaws, as also across eyes at outside corners ;
size of ears, length and width ; distance up from
centre of chin to the inside corners of eyes ; length
from under chin to top of forehead and top of head,
but into these last-mentioned measurements pegs
need not be inserted in the clay.

It is safer, when you have several points correctly
put in, to use these all in taking further measure-
ments or points, as in doing this you are not only
testing each and all, but you are sure of getting
them in their relative places, with greater accuracy
and speed ; for it must be remembered that from
any three given points any other may be obtained by
striking out from each a portion of a circle. Where
these circles intersect, or cross, must be the mean
distance.

Numerous other measurements may be taken, but
those mentioned are the most important for the
correct modelling of the face.

Never depend upon measurements taken from one
side of the face to serve for the other side, because
it invariably occurs that they differ somewhat, and
thus the nose and other features are pressed a little
out of the centre, sometimes to a marked degree ;
these differences are not only interesting, but go a
long way towards making the characteristics of the
sitter.

Then, again, it will often be found that one eye is
not only set deeper in the head, but in some instances

MODELLING A PORTRAIT BUST

higher up or lower down than the corresponding
one ; perhaps, too, one corner of the mouth will be
lower and deeper than the other ; but by all means
avoid any exaggeration of such differences, as your
face will easily look all askew. Any little exaggera-
tion will be clearly seen by viewing your work
in a looking-glass, and I strongly recommend the
constant use of this means of discovering faults ;
more especially as the work becomes advanced, look
at both sitter and work in the mirror, comparing
both.

The student is advised to note down the measure-
ments of the sitter on a sheet of paper for future
reference, in order to save his sitter the annoyance
of repeated touching with the callipers.

When the student has taken note of a fair number
of measurements he may go to work a little more
freely, modelling or building up anatomically the
bony structure of the face and head, leaving the
fleshier parts until a little later.

On no account should he work too long, from any
one view, without turning both the sitter and the
clay model ; it is most advisable to turn both round
at frequent intervals. Looking too long from any
one point of view is an error far too common with
most of us, and one which invariably causes us much
trouble in undoing, \vith consequent loss of precious
time, besides bringing about greater difficulties, such
as setting back, or having to cut away an always
troublesome task which tends to depress and dis-
courage the beginner. Besides, it brings about a
different treatment and manipulation to that of
going straight ahead, as in the case of the build-
ing-up method or principle.

The next, and final, stages (Fig. 11) have few if

MODELLING A PORTRAIT BUST

any limitations as regards the amount of time or
finish that may be spent upon the portrait bust ; but
I should strongly advise the student to carry his
work as far as he possibly can whilst he has interest

Fig. XI

SHOWING THE PRINCIPAL MUSCLES IN THE NECK
WHICH GO TO SUPPORT AND EFFECT THE MOVE-
MENT OF THE HEAD

Observe the strength in the arrangement of these muscles which make
this column-like form, and the decorative character of the same.

in it, studying and modelling very closely every little
detail, learning its direction of growth, imitating its
movement, and using every endeavour to put into
his work the value of the numerous flat planes as
contrasted with the more rounded parts.

On close examination it will be seen that all the

MODELLING A PORTRAIT BUST

features, more particularly the bony parts of them,
are made up of an enormous number of small and
varied planes, some slightly fuller than others ; but
seldom, if ever, is any part found so rounded in its

Fig. XII Fig. XIII

DIAGRAMS SHOWING POINTS FROM WHICH TO TAKE MEASURE-
MENTS AND HOW TO PUT IN THE PEGS

form as to suggest that it might have been turned
on a lathe.

The growth of each and every muscle is varied in
direction ; it is never monotonous.

It is when these things are not attended to, or are
missed, that a bust looks empty and uninteresting.

MODELLING A PORTRAIT RUST

A change in the light on your sitter and on your
work will be of considerable help in finding details.
A strong top light is good for searching out minute
details which undoubtedly would otherwise escape
observation, although it may be remarked that this
is not the light which is
generally supposed to flat-
ter the sitter in the minds
of the outsider or relation,
who prefer to see a more
direct front light upon it,
that obliterates entirely the
details in a face.

It is important that every
piece put on should not only
be considered, but looked
at and judged from other
views, even from under-
neath, at the time of put
ting it on ; otherwise it is
more than likely that it
will be found, when seen
from a new outline, that
time has been wasted,
as well as much worry
brought about, because it
will not look right, for
some reason difficult to understand or ascertain.

Every bit of modelling, especially in the round,
means the drawing of an object with innumerable out-
lines, each of which requires to be correctly drawn ;
if it be not, the result is certain to be wrong.

The difference between the character of the draw-
ing and modelling of the fleshy or muscular parts
and that of the bony construction, where the bone-

Fig. XIV

Note the flat plane in the
shadow leading up from
the wing 1 to the tip of the
nose.

Fig. XV

THE HEAD WITH ITS PRINCIPAL MASSES PUT IN

It is now that details should be modelled into these masses to obtain a
smaller scale, after which subtleties in the modelling should be sought
after.

MODELLING A PORTRAIT BUST

forms are seen on the surface, is considerable. It is
therefore a matter to he studied most carefully.

The position of the inside corners of the eye, and
the modelling around, cannot be treated too con-
scientiously. The neglect of these parts, and of the
hollows everywhere, invariably brings much unneces-
sary trouble. Such trouble) is bound also to ensue

Fig. XVI

THE DRAWING OF THE EYELIDS AND PARTS AROUND
THEM AS SEEN FROM A SLIGHTLY LOWER LEVEL

if too little attention is given to the sections of the
face as seen from underneath and above.

To some extent the modeller and sculptor must
view his sitter as the painter does, in order to ob-
tain the relative colour or tone of part to part, and
therefore he to some degree runs astray in places
from the true form. Especially is this so in treating
the eyes and hair, which in one person may be very
dark and in another quite light. For this reason

MODELLING A PORTRAIT RUST

some difference must be made if a close resemblance
to the life is to be obtained. Blank eyes seldom look
intimate, especially with our modern realistic treat-
incut in portraiture, and so we endeavour to get
the relative colour value by cutting in or hollowing
out the pupils to such an amount as to resemble the
depth of the colour of the eyes of the sitter or model ;
in fact, we go so far as to incise lines to indicate the
rings in the pupil, and a spot or deeper hole in the

Fig. XVII

THK DRAWING OF THE EYES AND THE PARTS
AROUND THEM AS SEEN FROM THE SAME LEVEL

centre to resemble the dark spot in the middle of the
pupil ; and further, in some instances a little project-
ing bit of clay is put in the pupil, above the dark spot
just spoken of, to get the effect of the angular-shaped
high light generally to be seen on the eye. This
cutting in of the pupil not only serves to get a dark
effect, but helps by its contrast to make the white
part of the eye appear even \vhiter.

In treating the eyes in this way care should be
taken to avoid making them look like holes cut in
the clay ; it is not necessary to dig very deep to

MODELLING A PORTRAIT 15UST

obtain the appearance of the darkest eye, and the
effect of light eyes can be got by very little sinking.
An incised circular line alone serves to give the effect
in some cases ; but you may try a dozen times before
the resemblance is good.

The correct effect is not obtained by one dig, as may
be imagined, but requires studying as all other parts
do. And it should not be regarded as a trick. It
must not be thought that the making of a hole or
line in the eye does anything more than give some-
thing of the colour or tone ; it cannot even give you
the correct direction of sight, unless the upper and
lower lids are correct in their construction over the
form of the eyeball. But if the lids are properly con-
structed and properly drawn, especially as seen from
underneath, then the direction of sight will be easily
observed ; and there is no need to indicate the pupil,
unless it is for the purpose of relative tone or colour.

As the sight moves from the middle to the inner
or outer corner, so it affects the lids very consider-
ably, and you will observe, by looking from under-
neath at the eye, that, as the pupil moves to look
either inward or outward, the lid follows the move-
ment. The flesh of the lids stretches over to the
greatest projection, which is the centre of the pupil.

The hair also has to be regarded as colour, and
this colour taken into consideration, though no laws
can be laid down as to the modelling of hair, for
almost every man has his own particular way of
treating it.

It can only be regarded more or less en masse, the
difference between light and dark hair being obtained
by undercuts of more or less depth.

Of course, in dark hair one would naturally keep
the hollows deeper, and cut in such a direction as to

65 E

Fig. XVIII

Fig. XIX

Fig. XX

THE EYES AS SEEN FROM UNDERNEATH

Observe the drawing of the eyelids, and the change brought
about by the movement of the pupil.

MODELLING A PORTRAIT RUST

obtain as dark a shadow as possible, and it might be
more cut up ; whereas with fair or white hair the
hollows would be

kept shallow, and
undercuts would be
avoided as much as
possible, whilst the
detail should be kept
very quiet.

In dealing with the
hair, whether on the
head or face, take
care not to cut into
the skull or fleshy
parts ; this too often
occurs in students'
work. Let the draw-
ing and construction
of the head and face
be felt through where
they have hair cover-
ing them. Hair is
always a very diffi-
cult thing to treat,
and I cannot do more
than advise the stu-
dent to regard, to
study carefully, the
drawing from all
views of the general
mass and its minor
masses ; the growth
from where it starts,

and the movement it takes to the end; the shapes
and design of the masses. Note also the parts where

Fig. XXI

THE DRAWING AT THE BACK
OF THE EAR, TOO OFTEN
NEGLECTED BY STUDENTS

Fig. XXII

A SCULPTURESQUE TREATMENT OP THE HAIR

Showinjr the beautiful shapes iit the masses and detail.

Fig. XXIII

A STUDY OF THE HAIR, SHOWING THE DECORATIVE
CHARACTER TO BE FOUND IN THE HAIR

Note the lines and masses. See how definite these are.

Fig. XXIV

THE DESIGN IN THE HAIR AS SEEN FROM BEHIND

Note the radiation of the lines from the crown.

MODELLING A PORTRAIT BUST

the start of the hair is seen from the skull, as on the
temple bones, and contrast these with the direction of
growth of the masses hanging over, which perhaps
do not expose themselves at their roots.

View from the back of the head the manner in
which the hair grows out from the crown, radiating
from a centre, and forming a beautiful design. The
back of the head is rarely studied as much as it
should be. It is a very characteristic part, and
should be regarded seriously. Most people are
recognisable from the back of the head, which goes
to show the importance of studying that part.

Nine times out of ten the ears are grossly neglected
by the student, and are in almost every case made
too heavy. The ear is a very delicate shell, in parts
very thin and transparent. A general fault is to
make the hollows too deep, which makes them look
too black ; the shadows in the ear are never black,
by reason of the hollows being so beautifully clear
and shallow that they collect light.

The ear should be drawn from the back and three-
quarter view, as seen from behind. This is also a
most useful view from which to study the whole of
the outline of the face.

CHAPTER V

BUILDING UP A FIGURE OR GROUP IN
THE ROUND

IT is with the group or figure in the round that
so much work and care is needed in the beginning,
when building up the armature ; for unless this is
properly started and put up with the utmost correct-
ness, it is sure to cause serious trouble later on, and
perhaps despair. The narrowest parts are so very
narrow as, for instance, across the wrists and ankle
joints, and in the fingers that the adjusting of such
armature as may be necessary for these parts is a
matter calling for extreme care and minute calcula-
tion, without which the armature will be found to be
out of the centre of the parts, and thus fail to serve
its purpose properly. The importance of this exact-
ness in the adjustment of the armature will be more
plainly seen when it is pointed out that, through
such of the parts as I have mentioned, it is necessary
to use a lead or compo piping, or maybe iron, almost
as thick as the parts themselves, so that there is but
little clay covering the surface of the armature when
the work is finished. Any miscalculation will lead
to the armature being exposed outside the outline of
the clay, which is a sure proof of bad craftsmanship.
When lead or compo piping or other pliable
material is vised, as may be the case in small works
or anything under life-size figure proportions, the

BUILDING UP A FIGURE OR GROUP

difficulty in rectifying an error, or making any change
in the armature which it may be thought desirable
to effect, is not nearly so great as it would be in a
work of greater proportions where it is necessary to
vise iron rods, in place of the softer material, for
strength and for the purpose of preventing any
movement or change being brought about through
the weight of clay or for other reasons. In setting
up the armature, it should be borne well in mind
from the first that it shall be so arranged as to pass
as nearly as possible through the centre of all the
parts. It must serve as the skeleton upon which to
build the flesh. It is advisable to connect to the
piping in the arms, i.e. at the extreme ends, twisted
wire to carry the fingers, though this may not be
absolutely necessary if the hands are closed or at-
tached to a body or other mass. But when the
fingers are disconnected and extended, or in any way
parted from one another, it is certain that they will
break off many times before the work is completed,
unless wire has previously been pat in to carry them.

Build up a good skeleton of piping, &c., and you
will have an excellent armature upon which to model
a figure. Bend the piping and wire in the general
form and direction of the bones, and tie to it pieces
of wood to carry the larger groups of muscles or the
heavy parts of the body, where masses of clay will
be required. The wood will keep the work lighter
and serve as a basis for building up the clay. It
will also be less likely to fall down a contingency
against which it is advisable to take the further pre-
caution of suspending butterflies from any parts of
the armature that will permit this usefvil expedient.

A well-put-up armature should exactly give the
action and the general proportions of the work to be

BUILDING UP A FIGURE OR GROUP

carried out. For this reason no time or care should
be spared in putting it up thoroughly well, for it will
be found a gain in the long run (Figs. 25 and 26).

Where the lead piping in the limbs or other parts
will not allow of any wood being introduced on
account of the narrowness at such points, it is advis-
able to bind or twist copper wire round it (not too
tightly). This will form a ledge or key upon and
around which the clay can tighten, and will thus
serve to hold up the weight ; for lead or compo piping,
being of a very smooth surface and round form, does
not hold the clay firmly in its place, and soft clay
has a tendency to turn or move round while you
are working upon it unless something has been done
to prevent it. With an armature fashioned in the
manner which I have suggested, and which is shown
in Figs. 25 and 26, the student may set to work to
build up the figure. I must point out here that it is
a wise plan to give sufficient depth to the ground-
work or clay base upon which the figure will stand,
for it may happen that you desire, or even find it
necessary, to lengthen your work, which cannot be
done by extending the top portion of the figure with-
out considerable difficulty. On the other hand, it will
be found quite a simple thing to lengthen the legs by
cutting a slice off the top of the base, and then press-
ing the feet down to the new level.

The first measurements to be taken are :
1. From ground level up to pit of neck (i.e. top of
sternum). This measurement being so long,
its exact half length is usually found ; this
is put on the reducing scale, and the result
afterwards doubled to give you the full re-
lative length from ground to pit on your
reduced work.

Fig. XXV

AN ARMATURE MADE OF COMPO PIPING FOR A STATUETTE

Note the main iron support is bent in a direction to follow the line
of the body and to pass through its centre.

BUILDING UP A FIGURE OR GROUP

2. From ground level up to patella, on standing

leg.

3. From patella to anterior superior iliac process.

Fig. XXVI

THE ARMATURE COMPLETE

4. From this last measurement across to opposite

anterior superior iliac process.

5. From anterior superior iliac on standing legs

to pit of neck.

6. From pit of neck to top of skull.

IN THE ROUND

7. From pit of neck to tragus.

Then up the opposite side of figure to the cor-
responding points, starting with the point
from ground level to patella.

8. From patella to tibia at anterior joint, on

both legs. Further measurements to be taken :
From pit of neck through to seventh cervical
vertebra.

This, it will be found, is rather higher than the
pit, and its exact position above this point must be
obtained by means of a straight-edge held hori-
zontally and on the level with the pit, as seen from
profile.

Down from seventh cervical to posterior iliac
processes.

Distance across iliac processes and through from
each of these to anterior iliac processes.

From pit of neck to extreme end of either clavicle.

From the acromion process or end of clavicle to
the head of ulna.

From head of ulna to end of radius and ulna at
wrist.

From the two last-named points to the first articu-
lations of the fingers. And then to further joints in
fingers.

From all the main points many further minor,
though important, points may be taken. You can-
not be too careful in putting in all these points
accurately.

The student will find it an excellent plan to com-
pare measurements with one another. This will not
only be interesting, but also instructive, although
they must be regarded more or less as approximate
only. They are not to be relied upon altogether, but
will serve to point out something of the relative

proportion ; and they are of great assistance when
a figure has to be put up without a model.

Having obtained most of the main points, you
may begin to build in between these (Fig. 27). Be
very careful not to put on a great amount of clay,
or so much as to be anything like the size the parts
will be eventually, i.e. when finished.

By all means content yourself with letting the
work grow up gradually, and under no condition
get a lot of clay round the joints at the ankles and
wrists, an error too frequently made by students.
It is better to err on the side of keeping these parts
rather thinner than they are in nature (in propor-
tion) until almost the finish ; but in the end have
them the exact size, and measure through at such
points to the greatest nicety.

It is advisable from the very start of putting on
the clay to build up your figure in proportionate
quantities all round, so as to get a general covering.
Avoid the mistake so often made of working too
long from one view, but have the model and your
work frequently turned, every fifteen or twenty
minutes for the first day or two. When you have
something like a general resemblance of the life
model, but in a much thinner state, you may put
in further points.

The pegs I advise you to use for indicating the
points should be made rather thicker than a common
match and about three-quarters to one inch long,
square at the top and pointed at the end which is
to be inserted into the clay. These pegs should be
pushed in to their correct distance, and always pushed
in directly from a front surface, and not carelessly
at any angle (see diagrams 12 and 13, page 60).

The reason for using these carefully made pegs is,

Fig. XXVII

FIRST STAGE OF BUILDING UP A FIGURE IN THE ROUND

Jt will be seen that the figure is developing equally all over, and that no one
part is being neglected whilst another is advancing. Note that the pegs at
points are carefully put in and are to be clearly seen. Observe the position
of each point in relation to its corresponding one.

BUILDING UP A FIGURE OR GROUP

that they form a firm surface upon which the points
or legs of the callipers can rest firmly without getting
embedded in the softer surface of clay ; for points
made on a clay surface would not only get easily
lost, hut would always he unreliable.

The student may now continue to build up be-

Fig. XXVIII

AN ENLARGING SCALE

Draw a line A ; describe arc B. Mark off on this arc half the height
of your model, and if your work is to be enlarged to three times
its size, set off three times the distance A B along line A ; then
describe another arc C.

Draw a line from the point A, through arc B, at the point previously
marked off, and indicating half the size of your model ; continue
this line up through the arc C.

Strike off all measurements taken from the model on the arc B, and
draw lines from A through these measurements, continuing these
lines until they cut through arc C as shown by dotted lines.

Then the distance from C on line A to the point where the line cuts
through arc C is the enlarged measurement required.

tween the points (though not covering them), by
putting on the muscles in as correct a manner as
his knowledge of anatomy will allow him.

IN THE ROUND

If the student knows but little of anatomy, he had
best learn more with as little delay as possible, for
he will find, as he goes on, that the more he knows
the quicker his progress will be, and the better and
more intelligently put up will his work appear.

As I have said in another chapter, it is most
essential that the artist should have a thorough

Fig. XXIX

A REDUCING SCALE

Draw a line A A. Take half the height of your model with compasses,
and strike an arc as shown at H. Then take half the height of
your proposed figure, and measure it off on this arc HC ; next
draw line A D rutting through ('. When taking measurements,
strike off each one in this way, taking A as a centre, and the
distance from the point of intersection on the line A A to the
point of intersection on the line A D will give you the size
required.

knowledge of the anatomy of everything he under-
takes.

It is very necessary to study the sections of the
model from underneath and also from above. Much
can be done at all stages with constant attention to
these matters. It is only from looking down upon
the shoulders that you can judge the shape made by
the clavicle and scapulas. If you cannot get to see

81 F

WILDING TP A FIGURE OR GROUP

the model from above whilst he is on the elevated
throne, get him down on to a lower level. Consider
how well you get to know the plan of the horse from
the toj) of an omnibus. We study too little the
human form as seen from above and below. We
usually and quite properly pose the model on a
higher level than ourselves, but it is well to see the
model at other levels also. The figure modeller or
sculptor should know the form from every conceivable
view, for he cannot complete a figure in the round
until he has every section of each particular part
correct and true in all its views. This applies also
to the innumerable details, made up as they are of
many varying outlines, each and all equally beautiful
and requiring to be mastered.

The student cannot do better than study carefully
the grand shapes formed by the groups of muscles ;
he will, in fact, do well in remembering that all
nature provides the loveliest shapes, and designers
must look to her for the best patterns.

Though I strongly urge the student to build up
his work anatomically, it should not in the end look
like an anatomical figure cut up, as it were, but
should be a complete whole.

It has been said that there is not a straight line
in the human form. Truly nothing with life in it,
and nothing that has possessed life, could have a
line in it so straight as the one made with a straight-
edge. Nature's lines have a living quality which will
never be formed in a mechanically drawn line a
certain fulness, contrasted by beautifully clean, full
hollows.

The student pays far too little attention to the
hollows, making them usually small and invariably
too deep. I cannot too strongly urge upon all who

IN THE HOUND

study modelling the great importance of giving due
consideration to these parts. A figure can never
hold together, can never possess its full rhythm of
line, and must ever look not only lumpy, but empty,
unless the hollows are properly modelled. To get
the depth and drawing of these hollows, it is an
excellent plan to place a straight-edge upon the
muscles or parts projecting on either side above
such hollows as you may wish to see. It will often
be a surprise to you to find how shallow parts are
that looked quite deep, and when the figure upon
which you are working is a reduction, say, to half
the si/e of nature, the hollows must necessarily be
half the depth, so that what would appear fairly
hollow in life-size will be quite shallow in half life-
size.

The method I have suggested for obtaining the
depth of the hollow applies to such parts as cannot
be seen in the drawing on the outlines, though this
method may be applied at times to all the outlines.
It will enable you to judge and understand the
shapes enclosed within these lines. All nature is
extremely subtle. It is never cut up to the extent
the student makes it, and this chiefly because of the
drawing and modelling in the hollows between the
projections all the bones and muscles and tendons
are brought together, veiled with the skin, and form
one complete and harmonious whole.

Note the simplicity and breadth of the hollows in
the finest examples of Greek sculpture, or, indeed,
in all the best sculptured works, both ancient and
modern. Every part, as well as the whole the face,
the hand, and foot must look poor and wanting
in richness till these things have been given their
proper attention. The fulnesses only get their proper

HUILDIXG UP A FIGURE OH GROUP

value by contrast with the true value of the hollows,
and if the student would only bear this in mind, his
work would more speedily progress, and less frequent
would be his fits of depression and his anxiety to
find out what is wrong with his work.

Another and very important matter the student
Avill do well to study is the different scale of propor-
tion between the fleshy and bony parts. For this
purpose he cannot do better than measure with
great exactitude these parts and their relative posi-
tions. Here again, as in the hollows, the student
often goes wrong. He generally makes the bony
parts too big and too thick, especially across the
ankles and the wrists, and shows little or no differ-
ence in the quality of surface as between bone and
flesh. For this reason I advise students to make
separate and specially careful studies, either in clay
or drawings on paper, of the parts at (and immedi-
ately around) which the bone is exposed, noting the
difference of surface and the number of small firm
planes thereon. The fault of making the parts about
the ankles and wrists too thick is often brought about
by the armature being out of place.

With the exercise of care the lead piping can be
easily moved a little to one side or the other, or back
or forward, at any stage, without doing much damage
to the part, although the more advanced a work or
any part of it becomes, the greater will be the difficulty
of making any change or rectifying any error.

Generally speaking, the chief reason for these
parts becoming too thick is that the student goes
on building up the clay without troubling to take
measurements, or if taking any, doing so carelessly.
He forgets, or does not know, that it requires but
the fraction of an inch to make quite a big difference

Fig. XXX

Si<:< OND STAGE, SHOWING ALL THE GENERAL MASSES AND
QUANTITIES PUT IN

It is now that the details should he introduced, the modelling and drawing
carefully studied, and the whole brought together to refine it.

BUILDING UP A FIGURE OR GROUP

in the appearance of parts so narrow as the width
of the ankles or wrists, even in a figure of life-size
proportions.

There is nothing easier than to get such parts too
thick, even if the greatest care has been taken over
the measurements, for the reason that in modelling
up such parts, putting on the smallest portion of
clay imaginable means increasing the size. It is
therefore advisable, as I have said before, to keep on
the small or narrow side at these points until the
finish, though in the early stages of building up the
figure the student will do well to put these parts in
very carefully, and all similarly exposed bony parts
from the first equally clean and well-defined.

To shirk the head, hands, and feet is another error
far too common with the student engaged upon
modelling the human figure, and one which leads
quite often to his losing interest in the work, and
consequent despair. I have seen students model
nearly the whole or greater part of a figure quite
beautifully up to a stage approaching finish, whilst
the extremities have remained just as they were put
in perhaps months previously, and the student has
gone on worrying all the good out of his work
because he has not known what has been wrong
when an advancement of these extremities was all
that was required, these parts which have been
shouting out for help and attention having been too
long neglected.

It is especially advisable that the student, who
cannot be expected to see in his mind the whole
work complete from the beginning as an experienced
artist can see it, should build up the whole work, so
to speak, equally all over, and take care that each
part develops together with the rest. The figure

should advance in proportion, just as all nature does
from its infancy to maturity.

To put an extreme case, I may point out how
absurd it would appear if in modelling a human
figure you were completely to finish a head or limb
before having begun to model the body under or
above it, merely having an armature with perhaps
a little clay roughed over it. It is equally wrong to
carry, say, the torso to a high state of finish and to
leave the other parts merely roughed in, or, in the
case of the hands and feet, perhaps the armature
still exposed arid free from clay.

The student should endeavour so far as possible to
keep every part advancing, and the whole gradually
growing like the life model, in all its views and
parts. It is only by the comparison of part with
part that the student can expect to get one har-
monious whole and the true balance of the human
form.

The complete character of the model can only be
obtained in this way; and the character of the
model should be striven after very seriously, for a
student who makes all his figures alike, one man
or woman like unto the other, is riot going to
produce much of importance at any time of his
career.

The difference in the character of one figure from
another is as marked as the difference between the
features of one person to another.

It will be found that every figure has more or less
a particular character peculiar to itself, arid every
detail is stamped with the same character. For this
reason the student should riot even if the practised
artist should think proper to do so work from more
than the one model on the same work. If he does.

HUILDING UP A FIGURE OR GROUP

he cannot make a complete study ; for I hold it im-
possible to use one model for one part and another
for another part, and get one harmonious whole true
in character throughout. You cannot successfully
graft on in this way. Better far to copy faithfully
each and every detail from one model, and though
you may feel prompted to modify such parts as may
he over-developed, undeveloped, or even deformed,
such over-development or deformity is of nature's
forming, and you will learn more by copying it than
by trying to make some improvement without pos-
sessing a vast amount of knowledge of nature.

To a great extent the student's object should be
to imitate what he sees before him, and in doing this
well he will find difficulties enough to contend with.
Moreover, he will be training the eye to see correctly.
Then, when he has stored up an abundance of know-
ledge, he may discriminate and try to select the
better from the good; but a student should not
attempt to make any selection until he has made
himself a master copyist and can model every little
detail with great accuracy and facility, and at the
same time get the true character of the model
throughout. If he attempts to improve upon nature
by leaving out or modifying before he has learnt how
to copy thoroughly, he must surely produce a very
tame and unprofitable work and fail to seize the true
character of the model.

A student should endeavour to get the character.
A figure may be well modelled and yet lack character,
in which case it is cold and uninteresting.

Many fine works which exist to-day would long
ago have been destroyed as poor examples of the art
of sculpture, had it not been that they are master-
pieces of character.

IN THE ROUND

Character is as fine and important as any of the
other qualities which are to be obtained in art.

In studying each model it will be found that all
the parts are alike in character. There is a relation-
ship ; the legs and feet are similar to the arms and
hands in line and planes.

Indeed, I say from head to toe all is alike in
character, detail, as well as mass, some figures show-
ing it to a greater and more marked degree than
others, and for this reason will two figures but rarely
be found even similar. When one does come across
such an instance where one figure resembles another,
it will invariably be found that they not only re-
semble one another in general form and detail but
in disposition, manner, and, indeed, more strangely
still, in voice, movement, and poise when walking,
standing, or sitting.

CHAPTER VI
WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING

THE tenn " waste moulding " implies that the mould
is only made to serve the purpose of taking one
cast, the mould itself being chipped away and de-
stroyed in the process of getting out this cast.

Every one practising modelling, no matter how
little, should have some knowledge of making a
mould of his work, or of mould making and casting,
for the moment will come, sooner or later, when he
will require such knowledge.

To he skilful as a mould-maker means serving
an apprenticeship to this craft, and much practice ;
although to learn enough to be able to convert a
not too ambitious work from clay into plaster is not
a great task.

The little knowledge required for this gives an
insight into moulding and casting of models on a
larger scale, though the student need only learn
the principles of mould-making sufficiently to do a
bust or small figure, to begin with.

Before a student attempts to make a mould of
anything, however unimportant, he should first know
well how to mix plaster of a proper and even con-
-i-t.-ucy. With pi-act ice lie will learn how to judge
to ;i nicety the amount of water and plaster that
will be required to cover a surface. For the mixing

Fig. XXXI

MOULDING A LARGE FIGURE

Men arranging' iron and wooden struts to support the mould.

WASTK MOl'LDIXG AND CASTING

he will therefore use a basin, or other vessel of such
proportion as to hold well the amount, and thus
avoid, wherever possible, mixing twice for a covering
which should he done in one mixing.

Always keep your plaster in a very dry place, and
>ee that your basins and water be perfectly clean;
never mix your plaster too thick or strong, nor beat
it up too long, or start to heat it up too soon. Wait
until it has absorbed water and has become moistened.
Let it sink to just below the surface of the water
before starting to stir or "beat" it up. In putting
plaster into the water, sift it carefully, though not too
slowly, through your fingers; do not drop it in in a
mass or body, or it will not "beat" up well, but will
be lumpy and cause trouble afterwards.

You should next learn to know its " life " in its
moist state, when the water has been added to it.
Although this "life" may vary somewhat, the differ-
ence is only a matter of seconds. Yet it is important
to know such difference when it comes to covering
a work with plaster, or filling in a mould.

By "life" is understood the interval that passes
between the actual mixing of the plaster and the
time of its "going off" or "setting." For when it
has once reached the "going off" state, the applica-
tion is not only risky, but dangerous, as will be
pointed out later on.

Let us suppose you wish to mould a very simple
work in relief. Begin by mixing the plaster with
clean water in a pail or basin, according to the
amount you may require, but add first to the water
a little colouring matter, yellow ochre, or, better still,
the squeezing from a blue-bag, sufficient only to
make it distinguishable from white. This is for
making what is called the first coat or covering

WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING

of plaster. The reason for the adding of colouring
matter will be seen presently.

Next, sift through your fingers carefully into the
vessel of coloured water sufficient plaster to form a
little mound standing just above the water in the
centre of vessel.

When this has sunk down (which it should do in
a few seconds), beat the mixture up with a large
spoon, as one whips an egg, though not so quickly,
and in such a way as to avoid making a froth.

Remove such scum as may rise to the top, and
then splash or throw the plaster lightly with the
hand in sufficient quantity over your model to form
a coating of about a quarter of an inch in thickness,
so that the form of your work can still be traced.

Only two or three minutes elapse between the
moment of beginning to sift the plaster into the
water arid the time of its application on to the
model. It will therefore be seen that one's atten-
tion is wholly occupied for the time being.

Do not attempt to smooth the top surface of the
coat of plaster. It should be left irregular and
rough ; and it is as well even to drop little blobs of
plaster on it to get an uneven surface, if too smooth,
which will form, as it were, keys to hold this coat
to the next and thicker one, which is to be made
over it.

When the first coat has become sufficiently hard
which may be a matter of ten to fifteen minutes
smear it over with a little clay water. To prepare
this, mix a small quantity of clay with water, until
it is dissolved and presents a liquid of a little thicker
consistency than muddy water. This is to prevent
the thicker or outside coat sticking to the thin or
first covering of plaster.

\VASTK MOCLDINC AND CASTING

Now mix a sufficient quantity of plaster with clean,

uucoloured water to form the second coat, which
should he ahout four or five times the thickness of
the first. Apply this second coat equally over, and
following the form of. your work. At this stage of
the work, while the plaster is still in its liquid or
.-oft state, thin strips of hent iron may be put
arross it and slightly embedded. These will help to
-treiigthen your mould and at the same time serve
to prevent its warping. When this last coating of
plaster has become properly "set," which will happen
in some ten or fifteen minutes, you may begin to
remove the clay from the mould.

All these remarks refer to the making of a mould
of a relief, and not of a work in the round some-
thing that may have been built or worked upon a
hoard covered with a slab of clay as a background.
To separate the mould from the clay, you should
first place the whole thing on a table, then wet the
hack of the mould a little so that the moisture, when
it gets soaked through to the clay surface, will soften
t he clay ; then with the end of a broad chisel inserted
in several places between the mould and the board
upon which your model is made, you will easily prise
the mould off the clay. It will facilitate matters if,
when prising it, you pour a little water between the
opening, i.e. between the hoard and the plaster where
your chisel enters. When you have taken your
mould off the body of the clay, it will probably be
found that some few pieces of the clay have come
away with the mould and remain inside it. Remove
these by taking out small amounts at a time with
a wire or scoop tool, unless the pieces left in are so
-mall as to he easily taken out with a small wood or
-ted tool. Never attempt to pull out the whole or

WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING

great pieces bodily, or you will break off pieces of
your mould, and perhaps the whole mould itself will
be broken. This is likely to occur more especially if
the clay be hard or stiff. The removing of the clay
must not be hurried. A fault far too common with
the beginner is that of being in too great a hurry at
this stage (as in the chipping-out stage). It is well
to remember that it is the purpose to get the clay
from the mould, and not the mould from the clay.
The greatest care is needed to remove the clay from
the " undercuts." We will now suppose that all the
clay has been taken from the mould. The next
process is to clean the mould thoroughly, by washing
it with water, by means of a syringe, soft brush, or
sponge, taking care not to use such force as will
destroy the surface of your mould, which, it will be
remembered, is far from hard or strong. For this
reason the syringe is distinctly the best thing to use
- an ordinary garden one with as fine a " rose " on
it as it is possible to get, for the finest spray that
you can blow on to your work is enough and the
best. If the syringe be used, do not put it too close
to your mould or the force may injure the surface.

When your mould appears quite clean and free
from clay, let it stand for a few minutes in order
that the water lying on it and in the crevices may
drain away. It will then be ready for "soaping,"
which is a method of applying a mixture of soft-soap
and a little oil in the proportion of two tablespooii-
fuls of soap and one teaspooriful of sweet oil to one
pint of water. Put the mixture into a saucepan and
boil it. This mixture, if bottled, will keep some time.

It is better to allow the newly made mixture to
cool a little before using it. It should then be applied
freely to the mould with a soft brush for a quarter

WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING

of ;iii hour. Hemove from time to time the soap
which may have lost its nutriment, adding a little
more of the fresh soap, and continue brushing. If
now the mould presents a somewhat shiny or glossy
surface, sponge or get out with a soft brush the re-
mainder of the soap and throw it away ; for having
been once used, it is of no further value.

He particular that every particle of soap is removed
from crevices in the mould; otherwise it Avill "kill"
the surface of the plaster which is afterwards poured
in to form the cast.

Another and final mixing of plaster is now neces-
sary. This must be free from colouring matter,
and is poured gently into the mould to the thickness
of the cast desired, the mould being shaken slightly
to expel any air that may have prevented the plaster
running up into the smaller parts. This should be
done at the moment of pouring in a little of the
plaster, just enough to cover the surface when this
thin coating is covering the mould. Another good
method is to blow it up into the crevices. But in
no case should the plaster now in the mould be
allowed to show signs of setting, or the other, which
is to be poured in from the same mixing to fill the
mould, will when poured in remove or wash up this
first coating from the surface in parts; whilst if it
be poured in soon enough, it will mix properly with
the plaster already in the mould, both being of an
equal consistency. Wait now for at least fifteen or
twenty minutes, when the plaster will have become
hard, then turn the whole over, i.e. the cast down-
wards, and on to a little softening, a folded sack or
other material, which serves to resist somewhat the
jarring caused by the continual hammering in the
course of chipping away; and begin by removing

WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING

such irons as you may have found needful to put into
the mould. Then chip away the white coat with
a wooden mallet and a blunt chisel. Chip this away
bit by bit fairly equally all over, continuing until
you get through to the coloured or first applied coat
of the mould, the exposure of which is a warning
that the surface of your plaster cast is near. This
will explain the reason for the use of coloured
matter.

The greatest care and skill must be exercised in
chipping away without cutting into the surface of
the plaster model, for it will be found the last or
coloured coating, the surface of which was made
somewhat greasy and non-porous by the soaping of
the mould, will come away in pieces quite easily from
the cast.

WASTE MOULDING IN THE ROUND

In dealing with a work in the round, the mould-
ing process becomes more difficult and complicated,
especially in the case of a full-length figure or group
of large proportions, which requires a professional
moulder.

But, to say the least, a student should be capable
of moulding a half -life-size figure or a life-size bust,
and I now purpose to deal with this subject.

Up to a certain stage the principles are the same
as those previously described in moulding the simpler
work on the flat, but the difficulty is increased by
the fact that the bust, figure, or work in the round,
has to be moulded in a number of parts or pieces,
and judgment is required to know how best to divide
up these parts.

In a bust only two or three such pieces may be

97 G

\VASTK MOl'LDIXG AND CASTING

necessarx . and so the work is somewhat lessened, at
least. MS compared with that in the moulding of a
figure.

The student, in making the mould of a bust, should
first start by determining where a joint will best be
made, so as to do as little disfigurement to the features
of his work as possible ; and he will do well to follow
the course usually adopted of having this joint up
the side round the back of the ear, directly over the
top of the head, and down to the base in a line cor-
responding with that on the other side.

He should now prepare small strips or bands of
clay, smoothly flattened out, and cut in lengths of
eight or twelve inches, barely a quarter of an inch
thick, resembling narrow laths of cleanly planed
wood.

These bands are put where the joint of the mould
is to be made, i.e. up the sides of the base, over the
shoulders and head, following the line already decided
upon, to act as walls to form the joint, and also to
prevent the plaster going beyond them. See Fig. 32.

These bands, before being put round the clay
model, should be cut very cleanly on their edges
which come next to the work, so that they fit closely
to it. leaving no apertures between them and the
modelled surface work, through which the first coat
of plaster might find its way.

It is usual to mould the front first, and therefore
the wall or band should be fixed, or supported, by
little struts of clay from the back, to prevent the
bands being washed down or moved when the plaster
is put on the front

The back of the bust should be covered with wetted
ti-Mie-paper. to pi-event the work getting splashed
with the plaster about to be used to cover the front.

( J8

Fig. XXXII

JJl'ST WITH THE WALLS OF CLAY PLACED KOUNU IT
It is now ready to have the first or coloured coat put on.

WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING

This first coat of plaster has to be mixed with colour-
ing matter, and applied in the same way as in the
smaller work, except that it has to be done more
speedily, and flicked on more cleverly with the fingers
all over the front, with as little delay as possible,
special care being taken to let it find its way into
every minute hollow or crevice ; otherwise holes will
be found in the mould where the plaster has not
" run up " to the surface of the clay, and your cast,
in these particular parts, will not represent the form
you had in the clay model.

This first and coloured coat (Fig. 33) having become
sufficiently hard, brush over the surface a little clay
water, and then cut some pieces of iron, long enough
to reach from the top to the bottom of the bust, and
bent so as to follow the corresponding general shape
of the work on the front.

These rods of iron should be about half an inch in
thickness for a mould of such proportions as we are
now making, and are used to strengthen the mould,
by being bedded into the outer or second coating
of plaster, just at the time when this coating is
beginning to set.

Strips of this iron may also be put horizontally
across the mould to give extra strength, and to
prevent the mould from warping, as it may do with-
out this additional strength.

The front being made, remove the " cottle " or clay
wall, and clean the edges and sides of any roughness
of the plaster formed by this wall. Then cut some
V-shaped and round keyholes into both sides and
top, a few inches up from the base, and others about
every four or five inches or so apart, making in all
about ten or twelve. (See Fig. 34.)

Now clay-wash or soap these edges well, carefully

100

Fig. XXXIII

BUST WITH ITS FIRST OR COLOURED COAT PUT ON

It will be seen that the surface is left rough, and in places undercut, to
form keys to hold this and the next coating of plaster together.

\\.\STK MOrLDIXC; AM) CASTING

avoiding to touch the clay model with soap, and then
proceed to cover the hack with plaster, in exactly the
-a me way as you did the front, not forgetting to put
in the iron rods when applying the second coat.

When the last coat of plaster has sufficiently
hardened, clean down your joint, removing with a
knife any plaster which may have overlapped these
joints when the last coat was applied. Next take a
syringe, sponge, or hrush full of water, and wet both
the hack and front of the mould until the moisture
has penetrated to the clay, and at the same time
apply a little water down the joints and on the top.

It is now possible to see the joints separating to
the smallest degree, and you may start upon open-
ing the mould by inserting into these joints, between
tin- keys, a broad chisel, tapping it slightly with a
hammer or a wooden mallet, repeating this in several
places round the joints. Even a little suggestion of
prising may be indulged in, but a little only, and
equally at each place where the chisel has been
inserted, otherwise the keys will be broken, and
more than probably the mould as well. With care
and patience the mould will give evidence of parting,
at which moment more water should be squeezed
in at the top. This softens the clay, swells it, and
helps to separate the two mould pieces from each
other, and also the clay from the plaster.

The back part is now, we will suppose, removed
from the model; for it must be the back part that
comes off first to allow the removal of the clay from
the front part of the mould, which is done by scoop-
ing it out. until the front of the mould stands in its
place nearly emptied of its clay, and only the upright
peg. on which the model was built, remains inside,
tin- other part- of the armature having been pulled

Fig. XXXIV

BACK VIEAV OF THE BUST, SHOWING THE FRONT Moru>
PIECES COMPLETE

The clay walls removed and the V-shaped notches cut in the sides of
the plaster.

\VASTK MOrUHNG AND CASTING

out or cut away whilst tlie clay was being removed.
You will now l>o able to take the front mould and
plan* it on the floor upon its back; and the remain-
ing clay ran be removed with little difficulty from
the holes or crevices.

The process of washing and afterwards well soaping
being completed, the mould is put together, locking
itself, so to speak, by the keys which fit into the
keyholes. The mould is now tied together with
strong rope, and across the joints strips of tow
dipped in plaster should be placed at intervals to
prevent the expansion or opening at the joints by
the swelling of the plaster when it is poured in to
make the cast. For it should be known that plaster
generally swells when mixed with water, just a
fraction, but quite sufficient to make a perceptible
difference in the mould, unless the two halves have
l>een well tied together in order to prevent it opening.
Furthermore, tying the mould closely up prevents
the plaster running out at the joints.

In "filling in," as it is called, when you are making
your cast, only sufficient plaster should be mixed
to form a coating all over of about a quarter or half
an inch, this being poured in whilst the mould is
raised from the ground on to a box or low table, and
is standing, as it were, on its head. The plaster is
poured into the mould, which is turned round and
round rather quickly and whilst the mould is gradu-
ally got into a horizontal position, so that the liquid
plaster may force its way into all hollows and under-
cuttings. This should be done to prevent, so far as
possible, an unequal distribution of the plaster, and
should be, continued for a few moments, gradually
getting the mould beyond the horizontal, until the
moist plaster has run down and covered the base or

Fig. XXXV

THE MOULD COMPLETED

The back part removed and the clay partly taken out, exposing
the armature.

\VASTK MOILDING AND CASTING

of tin- Imst. Then tilt the mould still more,
allowing to run out into a basin below the plaster
which is left over after the inside surface of the
mould has been fairly covered. This overflow can
lie poured back again into the mould, the opera-
tion being repeated several times, but not after the
plaster has become too stiff and is past the liquid
state.

Carefully avoid the plaster settling in any par-
ticular place in the mould, and becoming thicker
than elsewhere: this being one of the reasons for
turning the mould.

You will require to mix more plaster, and repeat the
pouring in and out process until your cast is about
t hree-quarters of an inch in thickness all over. In 110
case make your cast solid or heavy, for a bust cast
solidly not only takes long to dry and is cumber-
some to move, but it is not so strong as when cast
hollow.

To strengthen the neck and other thin parts
indeed in all parts where possible pads of tow or
canvas, dipped into the basin, of liquid plaster, may
be put inside the mould; but these pads or pieces
of canvas should only be put in when making
the second or third "filling," as otherwise they
will come to the front surface of your cast and be
visible.

Your cast is ready now to allow of the chipping
away of the mould: almost the first thing to be
removed, after the mould is untied, being the irons,
parts of which may be. and usually are, exposed
by reason of their not being embedded too deeply
everywhere. They are easily removed by chipping
or clearing the plaster from around the edges with
the mallet and chisel: but there is no reason for

100

WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING

removing them all at once as they may be left until
such time as is deemed best and easiest.

To get the outer surface of your mould away is
n-ally the first thing; remove it in a uniform way,
bit by bit all over, until only the coloured plaster
remains and is all exposed. This latter should come
away quite easily if the mould was properly soaped,
and care is exercised (Fig. 36).

There will, it is almost certain, be some little chips
or scratches from the chisel on the bust, but these
can be filled in afterwards with a little "killed"
plaster. If not "killed," the plaster will, when
applied to the little holes or scratches, be harder,
when quite dry, than the body of the cast, and
slightly darker in colour.

This increased hardness makes it difficult to work
upon these mended or filled parts. The tool will
meet with resistance when passed over such parts,
and will more likely cut into the plaster cast imme-
diately round the filled-in part.

To " kill " or to reduce some of the virtue of the
lime contained in the plaster, take a saucer, or
other vessel, with a little water in it, and sift
into this a small quantity of plaster, leaving it for
a few minutes, without beating or stirring it up.
The plaster will sink to the bottom. If, on cutting
a line through it with a knife or tool, you find that
the line does not close quickly, it is " killed." Then
stir the plaster up in the usual way, and it is ready
for use. It should, however, be borne in mind that
the plaster has "gone off," gone past use, if, when
cut through, it appears at all hard, and incapable
of closing again where severed.

Another method of killing plaster is to take a
small quantity in a spoon and place it under water

107

F.g XXXVI

A I'OHTION OF TIII-: Moru> CIIIPPKD AWAY, EXPOSING

THK PLASTER CAST

It will le notircd tlint (inly parts of tlie coloured coating of the plaster
mould remain to he removed.

WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING

for two or three minutes ; then take it out, and
mix or stir up. Killed plaster is only used for
filling up chips, and not for fixing on broken pieces.
For this purpose plaster should be mixed in the
ordinary way, and not " killed"

Supposing, for instance, a piece were broken off
the nose, ear, or finger, and you have this broken
piece. Hollow it out at the joint, so as to form a
cavity rough and scratched at the bottom and on
the sides, taking particular care not to destroy the
edges of the joint. Proceed in the same way with
the part from which the piece has been broken.
Then soak well with water both cavities, until such
time as these cavities are slow to absorb more.
Then mix your plaster and pour into each cavity
just a little more than it will hold. Now quickly
fit and press together the two parts, so as to squeeze
out all extra plaster until the joints fit up quite
closely, taking great care not to move in the slightest
the piece you have fixed on, until such time as it has
become sufficiently well " set " to hold together. A
few minutes should suffice, although from ten to
fifteen minutes more will have to elapse before you
can safely work upon the joint. In the meantime
other parts of the plaster model may be worked
on, making it presentable.

A good deal may be done in this way with steel
tools, riffles, gauges, and flat cutting being the most
useful; and, sparingly, a little fine No. or No. 1
sandpaper may be used. Good effect can also be ob-
tained on the hair and drapery with a hog's-lmir
brush, and a little nearly " killed " plaster.

Not only can difficult textures be obtained by
this means, but partly freed bits may be put on,
or added, to the hair, which could riot have been

109

NVASTK MOULDING AND CASTING

modelled in the clay owing to the danger of breaking
oil' in the process of waste moulding and casting.

lint in no case can plaster be applied to your model
i!' the model be in any way dry. Being of a very
porous nature, a plaster cast absorbs all the moisture
from the killed plaster the instant it is put on, and
leaves the killed plaster merely useless dust that
crumbles away when touched. Therefore due care
must be taken thoroughly to wet those parts of
the plaster model to which it is intended to make
additions.

If the student should become ambitious and desire
to mould a full-length life-size figure or a statuette,
he should follow the same instructions, except that
he will require to make more pieces, and use greater
judgment in doing so.

A do/en pieces may be required, varying in shape
and si/e, but one and all are made on the same prin-
ciple. \'v/.. to come away arid to be put back again
into their respective places, and their keys to fit
into the keyholes.

It is necessary to make the mould in many pieces,
because without this expedient it would be impos-
sible to get the clay out of the mould in many
places, such as in the case of an arm extended and
freed from the body, as shown in Fig. 37, or in some
piece of drapery, standing somewhat away from the
figure, being bigger at its extended or extreme end
than it is between this end and the place of its
attachment to the figure. Moreover, you could not
be sure of the plaster running up through a small
cavity ami into a larger cell; and furthermore,
parts such as these have to be strengthened by
-mall pieces of iron or wire, and these irons or
wires could not be inserted in their twisted or bent

110

Fig. XXXVII

A FIGURE IN THE ROUND, WITH THE CLAY BANDS OK
WALLS PUT ON

It lias been thought necessary to support the outstretched arm with a piece
of wood, to prevent its dropping when the plaster is put over it.

Fig. XXXVIII

Tin: FKONT I'OKTION OF THE MOULD COMPLETE

MOULD OF BACK OF FIGURK

Fig. XXXIX

Made in two halves to emihle you to remove the iron support. Over
portions of the arms up to where the clay walls are placed separate mould
pieces are made.

TIIK THHKK MOULD Pnx i:s

/ . tin- tup of hack piece ami two arm pieces) removed ami a portion of
tlie day taken out, exposing tlie armature.

WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING

shape unless the mould were made in sections to
make such insertion possible.

These pieces of iron or wire are made of such a
length as to reach from near the end right up to and
through the attachment into the body, and are of
such a thickness or perhaps I should say thinness
as to be well within and hidden below the surface
of the finished cast. They should be bent or twisted
to the shape of the parts in which they are to be
placed. To ascertain the shape, these supports may
be tried in the mould. When made to fit, they
should be thoroughly japanned, or coated with some
substance to prevent their rusting and discolouring
your cast.

Into fingers and other clearly separated parts,
little wires are generally put to prevent them from
breaking off.

When your mould and all its pieces are prepared,
take these irons or wires, as the case may be, and
fix them into their respective positions in the moulds,
with a little plaster dropped in small blobs here and
there to support them in their position. Be careful
not to let them fall or force themselves with their
weight on to the surface of the mould (Fig. 41).

This you can avoid if you will allow the little blobs
of plaster to get but a suggestion of firmness about
them, sufficient to serve to support the weight of
the wires, and yet moist enough to bind round and
hold them in their places.

In a few minutes you may mix your plaster and
fill in this part and the part which is to fit on to it,
simultaneously, and when the filling is just firm, or
" set " enough to prevent it from running out from
the cover or top mould, which needs be turned over,
the top or cover piece should be quickly put into its

115

Fig XLI

FKONT Mori.n I'IKCK WITH IKONS FIXED IN

WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING

place, squeezed or pressed to force out superfluous
plaster, then held down and tied (Fig. 42) so as to
prevent swelling or opening. When you have done
such other parts as may require a similar filling,
then tie up the whole body of your mould, and run
plaster in as you do in the case of a bust, from the
bottom, although it may be necessary to put irons
in the legs and through the body, if these parts are
narrow or thin, as would be the case with a standing
nude figure, where, as will be easily understood, the
irons should be put in before the mould is tied up.

Where the ankles alone are to serve as support for
a bigger and heavier body, infinite care should be
taken to place the irons correctly, so that they may
pass down from the body nicely through the middle
of these thin ankle parts, and again down into the
base, and here turn at right angles to form a foot
which will strengthen the support considerably.
These irons should be bent to the shape of the legs,
and fixed with little blobs of plaster in the same
way as was done in the arms, in the front portion
of the mould.

Great care should be taken when filling in a mould
which has very narrow parts in it, such as shown
in Fig. 37 at the ankles, to avoid such parts getting
closed up before you have a sufficient thickness of
plaster in the body and other parts. The aperture
at the ankle is so very small, more especially with
the iron in it, that it requires but a little plaster to
close it up entirely, and thus prevent more plaster-
being poured in and out. Though the arms and the
legs will be solid in most parts, the body and the
head should be kept hollow, so far as possible, and
will be stronger for this very reason, as it will easily
be understood that the body, if solid, would be a

117

Fig XLII

Tin-: Mori, i) WITH TIIK AKM I'IKCKS "FILLED IN" AND

TIKI) ri>

WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING

large mass, and therefore a heavy weight to be sup-
ported upon thin ankles ; and there would be great
danger of breakage at these points during the
progress of chipping away the mould. In many
instances, parts such as the face or head are " filled
in " before the mould is finally put together.

In chipping away the mould from a figure which
has parts as narrow or thin as the figure here illus-
trated, it is necessary to let the mould remain un-
touched at such thin parts, until the plaster has been
taken away from the upper and bulkier parts of the
body. The reason, it will easily be understood, is to
lessen the great strain that has to be borne by such
narrow parts. Hence the advisability of making not
only a light cast, but also particularly a light mould.

Remove the whole of the outer casting of the
mould from the upper part of the figure, before you
attempt to touch round thin ankles, and never be in
a hurry or you may not expect to get the mould
away without some damage to the cast. If you
attempt to knock off by lumps you will give your-
self a lot of unnecessary trouble and produce an
unsatisfactory casting. Great care is needed in
moulding and casting as in all other things worth
doing. Slow and sure is the principle.

THE PROCESS OF WASTE MOULDING WITH WAX

For small and very much undercut relief work,
wax is an excellent material for moulding. It saves
the chipping away of one (the coloured) coat, which
invariably brings about many chips into the surface
of your cast, unless great care is exercised. Wax is
not as commonly used as plaster, and will not do for
all things as plaster will ; yet it is well to know

119

\\ASTK MOl'LDING AM) CASTING

something of it. and t herefore I propose to point out
the way how to mould, say. a panel which you may
have modelled in high relief.

Place this panel upon a flat bench, and build around
it walls of clay to a height rather above the highest
projection in the model. Put into a saucepan sufficient
moulding wax (beeswax and rosin) to cover entirely
the sin-face of the panel. Melt this wax down slowly
over a ring gas burner, and then pour it gently over
your modelled panel and leave it to cool, a matter
perhaps of a minute or two. Then make a hole in
one corner through the clay wall, and pour off all
the wax except just a sufficient quantity to leave a
thick skin on the work, following its form equally
all over.

Should the surface of the wax now appear smooth,
then pour a little more wax on parts with a spoon,
and scratch it here and there w r ith a piece of rough
wood. This will serve to form a kind of key which
will hold the wax to the plaster coating that has
next to be put on. Hut before putting on this plaster
coat, it is advisable to paint or smear slightly over
the wax with a little clay water, to prevent the
plaster adhering too tightly to the wax when the
process of chipping away begins.

Having stopped the little hole in the corner of the
wall, next pom* your plaster coat over the wax and
then embed a few pieces of iron (bands) in different
directions to strengthen the mould. When your
plaster mould has got quite "set," turn the whole
over and remove the; clay. This done, wash the
surface of your wax mould until you have removed
every particle of clay. Then dry the mould a little
and | ass the smallest quantity of oil over the wax
Kiirfaee.

120

WASTE MOULDING AND CASTING

Mix your plaster in the ordinary way, and pour it
in quietly, taking care that it runs up into the hollows.
Then use a little tow or canvas dipped in plaster, and
place it lightly into the cast. This will add strength
and enable you to keep it light.

When the plaster is thoroughly set, turn the whole
over again on some soft material, sacking, or any
similar substance. Then, with great care, you may
set to work to chip off the plaster part of the mould
with a hammer and blunt chisel. When this plaster
has been removed, the wax will remain. To remove
it, pour a little hot water over it and slowly pull it
from the cast. Use hot water until every particle of
wax is removed, but do not make the wax too soft
or it will melt and become quite sticky.

Any stains can be got away by the application of
hot water with a soft brush or sponge.

121

CHAPTER VII

THE PROCESS OF GELATINE MOULDING
AND CASTING

THK moulding and casting in gelatine of a bust or
statuette of a simple arrangement, as illustrated,
is possibly the simplest and easiest example in the
round, as there are only required two or three pieces
/.f. the front, the back, and the base. This offers
few, if any, complexities in the moulding and casting,
as these processes, described at some length in a
previous chapter, should already have afforded the
technical knowledge necessary for the work.

In the first place, the statuette should be covered
with a coating of clay, of the same thickness as will
afterwards be required for the gelatine (Figs. 44 and
l.">). This thickness, of course, will vary according
to tin- size of the object to be moulded ; in a life-size
bust a thickness of about half an inch to three-
quarters of an inch will be sufficient.

The clay should be spread over the model, being
kept thicker where the divisions will be made, usually
about half-way i.e. up the side, round the ears, over
the temple and head, and down on the other side to
the base. The clay should then be carefully smoothed
and oiled, and the front half covered with plaster,
pieces or strips of iron being inserted in different
directions, before the plaster sets, to strengthen the
case." as this covering is called.

122

Fig XLIV

TIIK HACK OK THM MODKL WITH A THICKNESS

ol ('LAY ITT OVKR IT

Fig. XLV

THE MODEL AS SEEN FROM THE FRONT

GELATINE MOULDING AND CASTING

When the plaster is set, the rim or edge, where
it will join the hack half, should be cut smooth, and
round holes or keys made in this rim at intervals of
three or four inches apart. To stop the plaster of
the hack half from adhering to the front half where
the rims come together i.e. at the joints soft-soap
thoroughly these edges, and afterwards brush on a
little sweet oil.

You may then begin to make the back half of
the " case," which should be done by covering the
whole with plaster; it is treated exactly the same
as the front half. Take special care that the plaster
entirely covers the rim and fills the keyholes where
the cleavage of the front and back comes together.
The case should then be tied up securely, to prevent
its opening, and then turned upside down. The edge
of the mould around the base must then be scraped
or cut smooth, and the keyholes made in the mould
and in the bottom of the pedestal. If the pedestal
is hollow, it must be filled in with clay to prevent
the plaster running inside the bust ; these parts should
then be soaped and oiled and then covered with
plaster to make the bottom piece, which piece will
serve to hold the two halves together, and keep the
model in its place when inside the case and when the
clay shall have been taken out, leaving a space to be
filled afterwards with gelatine.

When this bottom piece of plaster is "set" it
should he removed and then the front half taken off.
The clay can now easily be pulled away from the
front half of the work, which is for the time lying
on its hack.

The front case must now be prepared for running
the gelatine on the front half of the bust or model.

A large hole should be made in the case where the

120

Fig. XLVI

CASE SHOWING HOLES MADE IN IT THKOI'GH WHICH
THE GELATINE is POUHKD

Fig. XLVII

FKONT CASK HE.MOVED AND THI-: MODEL PREPARED FOR
THE (rELATIXE ON THE FRONT HALF

GELATINE MOULDING AND CASTING

highest or most projecting, point occurs, probably
over the nose or forehead, for through this hole the
gelatine will he poured. It is advisable to make
other small holes in places for the purpose of ven-
tilation when pouring, and these should he stopped
with clay as the gelatine forces its way up, or the
mould will not fill and gelatine will run away.
These ventilation holes being on a lower level than
the inlet hole, V-shaped keyholes must be cut in
several places around the edge or rim of the case,
bevelled, so that the mould will draw easily away in
one direction. These are to keep the gelatine in its
place when it gets firm.

When these keys and holes have been made, and
the inside of the case has been scraped fairly smooth,
two or three coats of brown polish should be applied
to this inside surface and to the edges. The case
may now be set aside for a time, and the model
painted with one or two coats of either white or
brown polish, if this has not previously been done.
The clay, which shows around the case, should then
be smoothed off level with the back half, where the
gelatine will meet it and form the joint.

In this smooth clay surface holes should be made
with a round-nose modelling tool. The gelatine will
flow into these, forming keys in the joint. This will
keep the joint of the gelatine level, and also prevent
it overlapping, or not meeting properly when it is
put together for casting.

When all this has been done the entire surface of
the prepared case and front of the model should be
oiled with a stiff brush ; this will stop the gelatine
from sticking to the model or the case.

The case may next be placed over the model, and
it will be seen that the keys will fit into the back

129 I

THE PROCESS OF

half, leaving tlu> face of the model the right distance
from the case. The hottoin piece should also he
adjusted, and the whole tied up securely.

The gelatine, in the meantime, should have been
very slightly soaked in cold water, and then put into
a saucepan or pail, which should he placed in a boiler
of hot water until the gelatine is melted down, care
being taken not to make it too thin or too thick, for
else it will either not be sufficiently elastic or too
much so. From fifteen to twenty-five pounds would
be required for a life-size bust.

The gelatine having been properly melted, it should
be taken from the boiler to cool, as it must not be
poured into the mould when too hot. A tin funnel,
or one made of clay, should then be placed over the
large hole, and pieces of clay should be to hand to
plug the ventilation holes in the case, as the gelatine
rises. It is now time to pour the gelatine slowly
through the funnel into the large hole in the top,
carefully watching as it rises to the ventilation holes
in different parts of the case, as it comes up to the
level of the funnel, to make sure that the gelatine
is not escaping anywhere round the joint. When it
ceases to sink as you pour, you will know the mould
is filled.

It should be now left to get cold and firm, when it
may be turned over, and the back half of the case,
which is now uppermost, should be removed and
prepared in precisely the same way as the front
half. \ i/.. the pouring hole, vent holes, and keys
made as before directed ; the surface scraped evenly
smooth and polish applied, and oiled.

You will see the gelatine showing in the front half
where the division or joint is made, and this must
le painted over with a strong solution of alum,

130

GELATINE MOULDING AND CASTING

and then oiled ; the portion of the model to be
moulded should also be oiled.

The back case should then be placed in position
and the gelatine poured in, as in the first instance,
except that it should be very much cooler, or it
will melt the gelatine at the joint as it runs over it.

When this last pouring of gelatine has cooled
sufficiently the cases should be removed, and the
gelatine moulds taken off the model and put back
in the cases which they fit. The mould must stand
for a time before you attempt to make a cast, except,
perhaps, in very cold weather, when the gelatine is
firmer and is also less affected by the heat in the
plaster.

The next process to be entered upon is the making
of a cast from the mould.

The surface of the gelatine mould should be
brushed over with a preparation of strong alum
water, and afterwards a little French chalk brushed
over it. The alum \vill not only cleanse the sur-
face of the mould, but at the same time harden it
and rid it of too much oil, which may have been
left in. Then brush off the chalk, and lightly brush
over the mould with a very little sweet, or any fairly
thin, oil.

The mould should now be put together and tied
up with strong cord, or better still rope, and it will
then be ready for pouring in the plaster.

Next mix a handful of ground alum in a large
pail of water, and from this pail take, in the quan-
tities as required, water with which to mix the
plaster for casting the two first coats. A basin of
plaster should thus be mixed, and sufficient of it
poured into the mould to run all over the surface.

181

Fig XLVIII

SHOXVIXJ; TIII: (JKLATINK ox THK BACK HALF AFTER
TIII-: CASK HAS BI;KN KK.MOVED

IB a

o o

(.KLATINK MOrLDIXG AND CASTING

Tin- mould should IK- turned mid well shaken, whilst
(he plaster should he poured in and out of the mould
two or three times. This will ensure its finding its
\vav into the hollows and all other parts, and will
also prevent the forming of air-holes.

While the plaster is setting, another coat of
somewhat thinner consistency should be mixed and
poured in.

Some pads of tow which have been previously
prepared should be saturated in this last mixing
of plaster and spread evenly over the inside, which
can be reached by the hands. As I have before
mentioned, this will strengthen the cast and also
enable you to make it lighter in weight. More
plaster should then be run into the mould until a
-uflicient thickness is obtained. It is not advisable
to make your cast thick and heavy. When the
plaster is set and begins to feel warm, the case and
gelatine mould should be at once removed, as other-
wise the warmth will melt the gelatine and make it
useless for further castings.

To remove the gelatine mould from the cast (when
you have taken off the case), the whole should be
placed upright and the fingers worked round the
seam of the gelatine, where the two parts meet,
gradually pulling or stretching it, so to speak, away
from the cast. As the gelatine mould-pieces are
removed, place them back into the cases ready for
preparation (as before) for a second casting.

CHAPTER VIII
MODELLING FOR TERRA-COTTA

MODELLING for terra-cotta has been little practised
of recent years by the sculptor. It is difficult to
give a reason for this neglect of a method which
affords the best and easiest means of preserving
one's work in a permanent and agreeable material.

In transforming one's work into a permanent state
by any other method it must, almost of necessity, pass
through other hands, as in the case of broii/e or
other metal, or stone. The result is in the end only
a copy, or reproduction, of the original model in
another material from that in which it Avas created ;
whereas in the case of terra-cotta it may be actually
the original which is sent to the kiln, fired, and
returned to you, without having been touched by
any one, for you may place it in the kiln, and also
remove it therefrom yourself when finished, as I
have so often done.

Besides this, the method of getting one's work
into terra-cotta is so simple that any student, with
care and a little knowledge, can himself prepare his
model for the firing process.

Moreover, the modeller may have his work in a
colour to his own liking, almost from black to white,
although the more common clays are usually of a
buff or reddish tint. These latter are more easily

MODKLLINC FOH TERRA-COTTA

obtainable, though other shades are quite within
reach at a moderate cost.

The early Italians produced many works in terra-
cotta, practising the art to a very great extent, and
ni(t beautiful are the examples to be seen in the
museums, hoth here and abroad.

In some instances they applied wax over the sur-
face, after the work had been fired, to take away
tin- somewhat dry appearance peculiar to burnt clay;
and almost invariably they tinted or painted the
terra-cotta. sometimes introducing here and there
a little gilding.

In the case of Delia Robbia sculpture or modelled
ware, the clay was in most instances glazed; but I
do not propose touching upon this process, as it
is one which does not come within the scope of
this manual. The working of it is a very serious
undertaking, and is really an important part of the
potter's art.

When a student intends his work to be fired he
must take particular care that his clay be kept
perfectly clean and free from any suggestion of
plaster; for plaster, however small the amount may
be, acts disastrously upon burnt clay, and if the
minutest quantity is left in the model it will, after
the work is fired (maybe after some days or perhaps
months), force its way out by bursting a piece from
the surface, possessing as it does surprising strength.
When this trouble has arisen, it may on examination
be discovered that the tiniest bit of plaster imagin-
able is to be seen at the bottom of the cavity whence
the piece has been blown, and this alone has caused
the damage.

In building up a work for terra-cotta, the arma-
ture should be kept as simple as possible, so that it

136

MODELLING FOR TERRA COTTA

may be removed easily when the work is finished
and ready to be put aside to dry. Let it be remem-
bered that all moisture should be dried out thoroughly,
though very slowly, before the idea can be enter-
tained of sending the work to the kiln.

Of course, in some cases, your model may be so
small as not to require any armature, but even then
it should (when possible) be hollowed out most care-
fully to a fairly even thickness ; otherwise in the
drying and firing processes it may crack and " fly."
But in the case of a larger work, when an arma-
ture is employed (as, for instance, in a bust), this
armature should be removed by first slicing off,
with the thinnest wire obtainable, a piece from
the back of the head, in the manner as shown in
Fig. 50.

When this piece has been removed, and carefully
placed aside, cut a second piece down towards the
base, using a long knife held in a direction to cut
the clay with a bevel on it, somewhat wedge-shaped
towards the centre. When this second piece has
been removed, a third piece, which may extend to
the bottom of the work, should be cut away, in
the same wedge-shaped manner (see Fig. 50), and
placed with the other pieces, and these all covered
with a slightly damp cloth, to prevent their drying
or contracting, or even twisting, before they are
replaced.

The work now begins of removing the clay from
around the upright support and lead piping, which
you have arranged in the usual way for building
up your bust. Care must be exercised to avoid
pushing out or changing the form of the work in
the front.

Before you begin this operation of cutting up,

137

Fig. L

THE CLAY BUST WITH ITS THREE PIECES REMOVED,
HAVIM; HKEN CUT AWAY WITH A FINE PIECE OF
WlKK AND A THIN KNIFE

MODELLING FOR TERRACOTTA

the model should have been allowed to get fairly
stiff, at all events sufficiently firm to prevent it
from sinking when some of the clay is removed and
the armature is taken from the inside. Once the
upright is freed from the clay all round, and it is
seen that the clay is firm enough in its consistency
to remain standing upright without support, then
steadily slide your work on to a platform or pedes-
tal, built up to exactly the same height and level
as the one your work stands upon. This platform
must, of course, be placed in front and close up
to your model. Only a short removal is needed,
and your work is on one stand, whilst the armature
remains on the other. Now continue to remove more
clay, by scooping it out with a round-ended wire tool,
until your work is equally thin all over.

For a work of life-size proportions, such as a bust,
a thickness of about three-quarters of an inch is
enough ; and the pieces taken from the back must
be reduced to a similar thickness, due care being
taken not to damage the modelled surfaces or edges
at joints. You can avoid such damage by putting
the pieces down on a soft bed of sacking or cloth,
or by holding them in the palm of one hand whilst
you scoop out the clay with the other.

With all parts scooped to a proper thickness, you
may start upon replacing the pieces, fixing them
in such a way that they will not come apart. To
do this, you should scratch lines on the sides or
joints, through which you have cut, taking care not
to come up too closely to the edges and thus de-
stroying the outline where the pieces come together
again.

Having well scratched both surfaces of the joint-
that is, the one on the body of the work and the

139

MODELLING FOR TERRA-COTTA

(nc on the pieces to be replaced, as indicated in
K|V. 51 prepare what the potter calls a "slip" of the
( -oii>i>tency of cream, or a little thicker, in a saucer
or other vessel, by crushing up some of the dry
clay of the same colour as your bust is made of,
and adding to it a little water. Mix this "slip"
thoroughly so as to make it free from lumps ; then
paste some of this mixture on to the parts you have
sci -at died, and put your No. 1 bottom piece back
carefully, moving it about slightly, and pressing at
the same time a little until you feel it tightening
by the suction.

In order not to destroy the modelling on the parts,
it is advisable to handle them with a knife, or, if
preferred, a fork, by sticking it into the piece, on
its outside or modelled surface, as though you were
about to toast the inside surface. This greatly
facilitates the replacing of them into their exact
position, as the piece can thus be handled with
greater ease.

You will generally find that these parts find their
own place, especially if a little judgment is used,
as the surface from which each particular piece
was cut is varied. But extra safety against any
fear of losing the exact place of the fittings of
the joints may be taken by cutting a sharp line
with a knife in several places across where your
joint will come (see Figs. 50 and 51), these lines
being made at the very beginning and before you
begin to cut away the pieces.

When all the pieces have been replaced, take a
wooden tool and press the end of it into the joints
all round, so as to close them and tie the two parts
more firmly together. You will then find a little
hollow groove left where the tool has pressed into

140

Fig. LI

THE BUST AND THE PIECES HOLLOWED OUT
TO AN EQUAL THICKNESS ALL OVER

Nothing now remains but to remove the upright peg, cross-piece, and lead piping,
after which the pieces 1,2, and .'J are replaced nnd the whole left to dry slowly.

MODELLING FOR TERRA-COTTA

these joints. It may be ari eighth of an inch, or
more, deep in some places, and perhaps the same
width, though with experience you will make it
less.

Now take some clay, of a slightly harder con-
sistency than your model, and fill these grooves.
The chief reason for using a slightly harder or
stiller day is, that when the work is fired, the
joint shows so much less than if it had been of
a softer consistency. Moreover, if soft clay is used,
it naturally contracts more, and it is therefore likely
to leave a crack or opening.

Having filled in all these joints, you will see that
a little modelling is required across the surface,
which has become slightly rubbed or lost. And
with this done, nothing remains but to leave your
work to dry slowly, and as evenly all over as
possible.

When, after a few days, it shall have become
sufficiently stiff to handle, it may be raised upon
two pieces of wood to allow the air to get under-
neath, and inside, so that it will dry more speedily ;
but under no circumstances should it at this stage
be hurried, or the work will crack and twist.

A small hole should be bored in the top, say about
a quarter of an inch in diameter, to let out the
moisture ; and this hole should not be filled in again
until your work is back from the kiln, as this pre-
caution often saves a work from bursting during
the firing process.

The great secret of firing works of art, such as
those a student of modelling or sculpture would re-
quire to have done, is that they should be given a
slow and soft firing, which means little contraction
and less fear of twisting, warping, bursting, or chang-

142

MODELLING FOR TERRA COTTA

ing in their shape. It is therefore desirable to give
them almost the softest firing possible, just enough
only to change their colour and consistency from
raw clay to terra-cotta, unless the work is intended
to be placed in the open air, in which case it will
need a harder firing, so that it may stand the test of
the weather, our own variable climate being especially
destructive alike to sculpture in stone and in terra-
cotta.

But whether the work be intended for exterior or
interior purposes, "whether it be realistic or decora-
tive, the principles of preparing and drying work
which is to become terra-cotta are practically the
same, the only difference being that the one which
has to stand the weather is fired harder than the
other and contracts more. For this reason allow-
ances must be made from the first for this difference,
more especially if the work is designed to fit into a
particular and limited space or given framework ;
for terra-cotta is not a material that can be added
to or cut away, as bronze may be, by having an
extra band soldered on to it here and there, or an-
other portion filed down. So the greatest care is
needed to allow of correct shrinkage, which varies
from about T V to -^, i.e. from the wet clay state to
the time when it leaves the kiln. Of course, the
harder the firing the greater the contraction, and
vice versa. When the exactness of contraction is a
matter of great importance, it is advisable to consult
with the person from whom you get the clay, as
some clays contract more than others, and in every
instance when sending a work to the kiln, impress
upon the fireman or foreman of the factory the im-
portance of his giving your model only the firing you
wish and nothing more. I have seen many works

143

MODELLING FOR TERRA-COTTA

absolutely spoilt by a too hard firing, in spite of in-
structions having been given previously to avoid
this.

REPRODUCTIONS OR REPLICAS IN
TERRA-COTTA

Should you have more than one copy of the same
work to make, a piece-mould in plaster of the original
will be required; and with care many copies can be
taken from this mould, more especially if the clay
employed is smooth and free from grit or sand,
though it will he found that an admixture of burnt
clay, ground to a grit, or sand will be good for large
works. This sand you can get mixed with the clay
to any proportion which you may desire by the
people from whom you purchase your clay. Even in
the case of ordinary modelling clay, the addition of a
little sand or grit has its uses when you are model-
ling a large work. With it the surface never becomes
as " tight " or close as with pure clay. Again, it is
lighter an important consideration when a large
work is undertaken. Clay with sand in it works up
much quicker for use. Then again, it being less
tough, lends itself more freely to cutting or carving ;
although it must be well remembered that for a
small work and for a highly finished surface the freer
it is from any sign of grit the better. For various
reasons, a piece-mould from which you wish to take
replicas in clay need not be made of so many pieces
as one from which you may have to take replicas in
plaster. Plaster will not give as clay will ; plaster
swells, or expands, whilst clay contracts so much that
it will fall from the mould, or leave it of its own
accord, if allowed to get hard enough. On the other

144

MODELLING FOR TERRA COTTA

hand, if it were a plaster replica which you are about
to take, the least undercutting imaginable in the mould
would resist all efforts made to remove the cast or
separate the two without breakage. In some instances
almost the whole of a mask in a clay squeeze will
leave the mould without much " pulling " or injury to
it, so that it will be easily seen few mould-pieces are
required in a head. We speak of a squeeze in clay
as "pulling," if it drags by reason of much under-
cutting, and is put out of form in some of its detail
or whole in the process ; but in cases when only a
little portion of the detail has " pulled " it can almost
invariably be pressed back into its exact position
again without in any way destroying or changing the
modelling indeed, that any "pulling" has occurred
need not be discernible. When removing a squeeze
from a mould, discretion must be used in lifting or
taking it away, and in such a direction and in such a
way as to ease the " pulling " as much as possible. It
will be found that in taking a squeeze of a mask from
a mould which may be lying flat on a table, any pull-
ing will be lessened if, when lifting this squeeze out
of the mould, you will do so a little horizontally (at
the same time as lifting it upwards) towards the
chin, the reason being that the undercuts are hori-
zontal, as in the nostrils and under the brows, when
the mould is lying flat down. The same method
should be applied in taking a clay squeeze from the
mould of a relief. It should be lifted or pulled in
a direction to humour it with and from the under-
cutting.

A very little practice with a simple example 011 the
" flat" will teach you a great deal about the method
of taking away a clay squeeze from a mould.

In no case should a mould from which you wish to

145 K

MODELLING FOR TERRA-COTTA

take a clay impression IK- soaped or brushed with
shellac, as the day would adhere to any such polished
Mirl'ace. Should, however, this have been done pre-
viously for other purposes, and should you now
require a squee/e from this mould, it will be possible
to get one by first applying some French chalk, this
being dusted well into the mould, and left there.

The mould from which you wish to take a clay
copy should not be either too dry or too wet, but
should have just a little moisture in it.

In squeezing the clay in the mould of a bust, begin
from the middle of the front half of the mould,
/'.<'. say by filling in the nose, pressing firmly with
the thumb and fingers, and then gradually work-
ing in an outward direction over the face and into
the deep hollows and crevices; press all well in,
and take particular care that each piece of clay
which you put in be pressed against the edge of
the clay which has been previously put in. Do this
thoroughly, as otherwise lines will show where the
two portions have not properly joined together and
become one. A great deal of pressure is needed to
ensure the clay getting thoroughly into every detail.
At the same time equal care must be taken not to
break the projecting bits of the mould.

There is danger of the fingers and thumbs becom-
ing sticky, and thus pulling up the clay with the
suction. This may be avoided by keeping the hands
dry, clean, and as far as possible free from clay.
Constantly keep wiping them with a piece of cloth.
An even amount of clay should be pressed equally
over all parts to the thickness of about 4 of an inch
in a life-size bust. First complete filling in the front
half of the mould; then do the same with the back
half, and fill up level to the joints in both parts, very

140

MODELLING FOR TERRA COTTA

cleanly, so that no clay overlaps the plaster edges
and prevents the mould fitting up tightly.

Before putting the back piece on to the front and
closing up, both the edges of the clay which are to be
brought together should be roughed or scratched, and
a coating of the same clay made into a " slip " of the
consistency of thick cream should be pasted on to
these clay edges and into the scratches, then the back
mould-piece put on and pressed tightly to the front
piece, and the whole mould tied together with strong
rope. Then, as far as possible, work the parts to-
gether at the joints from the inside with your hands,
and a little clay should be spread across with your
fingers. A tool may serve to reach such parts as can-
not be got at by your hands. When all the joints
have been worked together, the whole should be left
until the body of the clay has become sufficiently hard
to support itself with the outer case and mould-pieces
taken away. Then start by removing the back piece
and afterwards the top portion of the front case (if
this has been made in two pieces, which is usual for
extra safety), and the various pieces over the face will
now be exposed, and should be removed one by one,
naturally the top one first, and so on downwards
until all pieces which belong to this top portion have
been taken away. Put these, as they are taken off,
into their respective places in the case. If you are
now perfectly convinced that the clay squeeze is of
a sufficiently firm consistency to support itself, you
may remove the final and bottom part of the case,
and afterwards its mould-pieces one by one, com-
mencing as before from the top. With all these pieces
away, you may begin to do such work to the clay as
you wish ; close up the joints by filling in as you
would do when putting together the pieces in an

147

MODELLING FOR TERRA-COTTA

original model which it is intended to fire, by using
day of a little harder consistency than the model.
This only applies to filling in joints, and not to model-
ling or putting clay on the surface. In this latter
case the day should he rather softer than the body,
as otherwise it must get pressed into, instead of
being spread over, the surface.

A little modelling over the surface at the parts
where the pieces came together will be necessary,
but this need mean merely passing the finger over
it ; and it should be pointed out that if the surface
is touched at all, which is almost unavoidable in
a squeeze from a piece-mould, it should be worked
gently all over, without the modelling being neces-
sarily altered in the least degree. This is done for
the purpose of getting the work of an equal colour
throughout when fired, for where it has been touched
in one place and not in another it will vary in colour,
and appear a little whiter in the parts worked upon.
A little variety in the colour is agreeable, but you
should avoid a patchy appearance. If you pass
gently all over it with your finger slightly moistened
you will get it fairly even in tint, but practice alone
will serve you in this and teach you the different
effects to be obtained by working a little on the
surface at the last moment, before leaving the work
to dry for sending to the kiln.

It should be remembered that nothing can be done
to change the form after the work has once become
terra-cotta, though much may be done in the way
of changing the tone, altering the colour, and im-
proving the quality of surface, from the very dry
and porous appearance to a more agreeable effect.

The tone and the dry appearance of a terra-cotta
can be changed by an application of stearine, or

148

MODELLING FOR TERRACOTTA

beeswax, and turpentine mixed in the proportion
of a piece of wax the size of a walnut to a pint of
turpentine. The wax should be cut up in thin
wafers, put into a tin saucepan or gallipot, and
dissolved slowly over a gas jet ring. This being
done, add the turpentine, and put again on the
ring, with gas very low. Here the greatest care
should be taken not to allow T any of the turps
to run down the sides of the saucepan or to get
to boiling heat, when it will throw over the sides
of saucepan some of the contents, which are dan-
gerously inflammable, and almost impossible to ex-
tinguish, if once alight, until the whole is exhausted,
besides which serious personal injury may easily
arise from this cause. Therefore the greatest stress
should be laid upon the importance of only allowing
the mixture to warm just to a clear liquid of wax
and turpentine. A good method for lessening the
danger when preparing this mixture is to place
the vessel which contains it into another and larger
one partially filled with water. This water before
it reaches boiling-point will melt the wax sufficiently
for use. A thin coat of this may then be painted
with a brush all over the work, which, if warmed,
will receive and absorb the wax better and more
readily than if the wax were applied to a cold
surface. Should it be found that the wax dries
in a whitish scum on the surface of the bust, it is
a proof that there is too much wax, in which c.-isc
it is necessary to thin it with more turpentine,
although warming the terra-cotta still more before
a fire will cause the wax to dissolve and to be
absorbed.

After the bust has been painted with several coats
of the wax, it may be rubbed over with cotton-wool ;

149

MODELLING FOR TERRA-COTTA

and when it is quite dry, i.e. when the moisture of
the wax has sunk in, a little French chalk can be
applied with the cotton-wool and quickly rubbed.
This will give additional polish to the surface if it
is desired. A further painting with the wax may be
applied at any future time if thought advisable. In
some instances a little powder colour may be put
with the wax and turpentine, which will serve to
change the colour as well as the quality of the sur-
face of the burnt clay.

Another method for changing the colour, making
it darker or lighter, is by working up with a palette
knife some powder colour on a palette, or plate, with
milk, until every particle of grit is ground out and
it has the appearance of a smooth paste. Pass this
through fine muslin into a cup or basin, thinning it
with more milk, so that it may find its way through
the muslin. When this is done, add milk until the
whole has the consistency of something between
cream and milk. Then paint your bust over with
the mixture. It may be necessary to give the w r ork
a second coat, which should be applied by dabbing
on with the brush rather than painting or spreading
it, and with very little of the colouring matter in
your brush at any time.

It may be found, when this colouring has dried,
that the effect is a little too equal all over, but
variety can quite easily be obtained by mixing a
little powdered white lead with some of the colouring
matter that may be left. This should be passed
through the muslin in the same way as before.

A little of this lighter, and if desired almost white,
colour can be dragged over the most projecting parts
very lightly and sparingly, and will add to the appear-
ance by reason of the hollows being left darker.

150

MODELLING FOR TERRA-COTTA

Milk not only serves to fix any coloured matter put
on, but gives the terra-cotta a fatter quality and
a less porous effect ; besides which it prevents the
dirt from getting below the surface and into the
body, and such dust as falls 011 to the surface can
be dusted off quite easily or wiped with a damp
sponge.

151

CHAPTER IX

MODELLING IN RELIEF

MODELLING or carving in relief is one of the most
difficult problems of plastic or glyptic art, arid
requires a long course of study before it can be
thoroughly understood and mastered. The fact is
that, whilst relief modelling is an art set down on
certain principles, and one which can only be properly
worked on a fairly generally recognised scientific
basis, it is at the same time an art in which there is
more scope and freedom for the artist to exhibit his
sense of artistic feeling than in a work in the round,
which is more nearly a copy of actual nature, moulded,
as it were, to the exact proportion in every part, and
differing but little, if at all, in form from the actual,
save in treatment and feeling.

Relief modelling is like drawing on the flat, and
something more, with its perspective and other
immense difficulties, beyond those which you only
discover as your work progresses. These difficulties
are immeasurable ; and nothing less than constant
study of the best examples, as w T ell as unremitting
practice in the art, can be of use to you. But I
purpose pointing out certain primary principles that
should be borne in mind, and that will prove of great
service from the beginning and onwards in your
clVorts to overcome the more difficult and subtle
problems.

152

MODELLING IN RELIEF

Although there .are several treatments of relief
modelling or carving, it is usual to speak of two
only, namely, Basso (or Bas) and Alto (or Haut). But
these have a very wide range, inasmuch as a l>as-
relief work may be anything in projection from
background to front surface - a quarter of an inch,
or less, to six inches, or more -and in the same way
the alto-relief may be ail inch only, or it may be two
feet or more in its projection ; therefore these terms
Bas and Alto refer to the treatment rather than the
actual projection of a work from the given ground
or wall surface, for the design may be lifted to any
distance from such a surface and yet be a bas-relief.
It is, in truth, the projection of surface within the
contour or contours of any particular part which
determines to which order the relief belongs.

Take, for example, a model of the human face in
profile. The highest or the greatest projection, say
the cheek or temple bone, stands out from the out-
line of the nose, which may lie on the ground surface,
very considerably, almost as much, perhaps, as in
the actual life. This, then, belongs to the alto-relief
treatment. But if the outline of the face and front
of head be lifted in short, the outline all round be
lifted up from the ground to nearly the same pro-
jection as the cheek-bone, and the depth of the
hollows from the projections be lessened by being
filled in and reduced to a minimum, the treatment
will then belong to the bas-relief order, and may, for
all that, appear no less true in effect.

The tendency in bas-relief modelling is to get all
the hollows too deep and the projections too high.

An excellent method of obviating this is to take
a piece of wood, practically a straight-edge, and draw
it right over your work, as though shaving oil' the

153

MODELLING IN RELIEF

top surface of the projections (see Fig. 52). This
may be better accomplished if a framework of wood
is placed round the work. This framework, which
should be equal in height to the greatest projection,
serves as a rest for the straight edge, and not only
prevents the modeller scraping too much off any
particular part, but determines the highest projecting
parts 011 the front surface. This is an important
matter to remember, particularly if the work has
to be subsequently carried out in wood, marble or
other stone, for the reason that either of the
materials mentioned will probably allow of only a
certain projection of relief. In this case you would
know the thickness before beginning the clay model,
and work to it accordingly, in order to come within
this measurement.

When a relief has been built with such a wooden
framework around it, it is not so likely to get wrong
in its projection, the framework serving as a per-
manent guide in the clay stage for the measurement
of all sides as well as for the projection from the
ground.

I have often seen quite good effects obtained by the
relief being dropped flat on its face upon the floor.
Of course, with a large work this is not practicable,
but with a small one that has become lumpy and
exaggerated in the highest projecting parts, such
treatment has, so to speak, knocked it into better
and truer relief.

When a student is about to begin a bas-relief
he should first of all determine upon the projection
from the ground, which he intends the highest part
to be, and then provide himself with a flat board
with the framework of wood, as described above,
fixed vipon it, taking care, however, that the board

154

MODELLING IN RELIEF

be made so that it will not warp. Into this frame-
work the clay should be pressed. The wood will
thus not only form a boundary line, but, as I said
before, a limit for the projections of the relief. It
is advisable, when filling in these boundary lines
with clay, to drag across its surface the straight-
edge, which, whilst resting on either wall, shows
when and where the clay bat is level. In this
manner you will make sure of an equal thickness
all over (see Fig. 52). You have now what might
be termed a flat piece of clay, with a front surface
which we may regard as the equivalent to a sawn
front surface of a piece of stone, out of which a
relief has to be carved. You will begin now by
drawing upon this clay surface in outline your design,
or the subject you may choose to copy. When this
has been done fairly accurately, you will start by
cutting or scraping down your background and
setting back such planes (see Fig. 52) as should be
lower in relief, gradually getting one plane behind,
and lower than, the other, until you have the relative
planes set back in the relief just as they appear in
the original, leaving the top or front surface to form
the greatest projection, and the part which is fur-
thest away from your line of sight in the original,
the lowest in relief in your work. The difference of
projection from the front surface to the part in
lowest relief may be very little, perhaps not more
than half an inch, whereas in the original the dis-
tance may be anything from the nearest point to you
to that of the farthest distance (see Figs. 53 and 54).

This, the first stage with which I have dealt, has
treated of the setting back and relative position of
the several planes. The next thing to consider is
the movement and change of projection from the

155

a fi

ground surface of the outlines, and the planes which
give a certain fulness on the surface, or body, into
which further detail will eventually be introduced ;
but the varying outline and the projection of one
part relatively to another is a most important matter
to bear in mind, for when this is thoroughly well
mastered, a relief can be quite beautiful and yet
its surface in and between such outlines have scarcely
any modelling or form.

Indeed, these surfaces may be absolutely flat, as
some of our earliest examples show, or damaged,
as in the case of many famous antiques, to such
an extent that everything is quite obliterated or
rubbed away, whilst the outlines in all their com-
pleteness are beautifully preserved.

It is the truth in the outlines of the relief works
of Donatello which gives that great charm to the
Master's work. The drawing and colour in the
outline is only obtained by the correctness in relief
of one part to another, expressed with tender touch.

All the charm and the exquisite modelling and
drawing on the surfaces would count for little were
it not for the purity of light and shade in the
drawing which outlined them.

I point this out to show that it is most impor-
tant for the modelling student thoroughly to master
drawing on the flat, always remembering that an
outline is ever varying in its colour and direction
or movement, ever losing itself behind, or coming
in front of, another part ; that it is at one time
nearer to the eye than at another ; that one muscle
is crossing over another, and sometimes over and
round the body, and that they are not all hanging
down the figure like a lot of ropes, which would give
an equal projection of outline throughout, and which,

159

MODELLING IN RELIEF

it' modelled in relief, would mean that the entire
outline, to be a correct copy, must be an equal dis-
tance or height from the background at every point.

Imagine the monotony and crudity of such a work,
and the uselessiiess of the most careful modelling on
the surface within such an outline !

It must not, however, be thought that in relief
work drawing is confined to the outline only, for
there is much and very important drawing required
in the detail on the surfaces, even though in a very
low relief this is quite subtle, so much so that it is
only to be seen when placed in certain lights. A
relief should be worked in the light in which it is
intended ultimately to be seen, when this is possible,
and when it has been designed for some particular
place and not done merely as a study for practice.
Even in the latter case you should, when working
upon it, place it so as to get the light and shadow
as you wish them ; although it is advisable to change
the position of your work from time to time, during
progress, viewing the different effects under different
lights.

It will be found that under one light, that which
was a shadow has become a light, and vice versa ; but
the shifting of your work from one place to another,
at different times, will enable you to model such
parts as could not be seen in the previous lighting.
Ultimately you will get it back to its original place
and lighting, and discover how much remains to be
done ; and you will set to work upon it with much
freshness, getting with more freedom much that you
have been striving after, overcoming that staleness
which had dismayed you before moving into other
lights a feeling which must be got rid of at any cost,
as it stultifies your best efforts, depressing and dis-

160

MODELLING IN RELIEF

heartening you, as though some blight had fallen on
the work in hand, making it flat, stale, and unprofit-
able, and filling the heart with distaste for the labour
of the hands. But remove your work and see it
under another and changed aspect, and it will prove
an invariable cure ; inspiration and enthusiasm will
come to you afresh, and no longer will your labour
seem in vain, or the work cold, dull, or uninspired.
Or, should this not alter the state of your feelings,
leave the work, go for a long walk, or visit some
museum and get into the presence of those mighty
examples of sculpture, deathless and beautiful through
all ages. If these things are of 110 avail to cure you,
go to bed, for no amount of time spent on a work
011 which you are not keen can produce any good
result.

Relief modelling is not like a work in the round,
where, by turning your model, you can get at any
moment an entirely fresh view to renew your en-
thusiasm when you have become slack on one view.

Up to the present I have dealt more especially
with one kind of relief, namely, a fairly high bas-
relief, such as is shown in Fig. 54, where the planes
were cut down and very decided ; but there is the
very low relief, the high or alto relief, and the
treatment of relief which is both high arid low, as in
ornamental or decorative work, all of which require
a different method of treatment and cannot be cut
down in the manner I have explained, but should
be built, or modelled up, from the background.

Now let us take the very low relief. This, when
sketched in on the clay background, should grow
up very slowly, first by clay being spread in the
required form over the parts which are to be in
greatest projection, and the groundwork being left

101 L

Fig. LV

A BUST IN THE ROUND, FROM WHICH THE BELIEF

SHOWN HKKE IS MADE
From the original bust by the Author.

MODELLING IN RELIEF

to serve for the lowest parts, as shown in Fig. 56,
until you have your projection all put in fairly
correctly. Then you may spread clay on the lowest
parts, Fig. 57, and then proceed to the intermediate
planes, leading up to the top or highest projections.
Fig. 58.

One important thing to be remembered is, that
every part must be of some degree of relief from
the ground, and relatively correct one part to the
other. An error very frequent with students work-
ing at low relief is, that they dig or cut into the
background until one or other part is below the
surface. In the finest examples of relief work this
never occurs ; and, for this reason, I am not sure
that the student, in first beginning to do low relief,
would not do better modelling direct on a board
or other firm surface for a background, instead of
working on a soft clay slab, except that a clay
model in low relief would dry and crack and then
fall off. Indeed, the method is not practical, al-
though it is followed sometimes on a slate or a
piece of glass, and invariably with small work on
a plaster slab the surface of which has been coated
with soft-soap to stop its quick suction and yet
make it sufficiently polished to cause the clay to
adhere. In this latter case the clay can be kept
sufficiently moist if the back of the plaster slab is
sprinkled with water to keep the model in good
working condition.

Then again, many very low reliefs are worked
in wax on a board or plaster slab ; in the latter case
this slab, when quite dry, is given two or three coats
of French polish, so that the wax will adhere to it.
A piece of glass or slate is sometimes used instead
of the plaster slab. These substances having a

163

Fig. LVI

TIM-; FIRST STAGE OF BUILDING UP A HEAD IN Low
RELIEF, WHERE THE GREATEST PROJECTIONS ONLY
HAVE CLAY YET UPON THEM

Tlie nose and chin are seen merely in outline.

Fig. LVII

SECOND STAGE SHOWS CLAY PUT ON IN THE Low Kit
RELIEF PARTS, so THAT THE GENERAL MASSES, AS

WELL AS THE DETAIL, ARE INDICATED

Fig. LVIII

Tin: FINISHED STAGE, WITH THE MASSES AND DETAILS
HKor<;nT TOGETHER AND THE HALF TONES MADE OF
VALUE, THE GREATEST PROJECTIONS NOT BEING MORE
THAN ONE HALF- INCH

MODELLING IN RELIEF

somewhat polished and non-porous surface, the pre-
paration mentioned to hold clay, wax, or plasticine
is not required.

Whichever medium be used, or whichever back-
ground be worked upon, the method and principle
of very low relief modelling are almost the same,
the chief object being to get an agreeable arrange-
ment for the display of light and shadows, together
with interesting shapes alike in the work and on the
background.

No amount of beautifully wrought detail can make
a fine work, unless these qualities are in evidence.
A relief, like almost every other form of art-work,
should primarily be beautiful at a first general view,
seen as a whole ; and beautiful detail should be
found, on closer examination, within this whole,
as an enrichment. What little value have the most
costly stones set in an ugly shape, except their
glitter? Any bits of common glass can be equally
interesting in this respect. Therefore relief work
must be regarded, more or less, as a design, a
beautiful arrangement of a something a head, a
figure, an animal, or piece of foliage on a back-
ground. The student will do well to bear this in
mind, and he should ever view his work at a little
distance away (and particularly remember to keep
his, or her, nose off the clay, as common a practice
as I know of next to going to sleep over it).
Constantly keeping on the move and getting back
from your work keeps the mind awake, as well
as the body, and the faculty of concentration alive.
It should be remembered that concentration is an
important factor in the making of all great work,
and the student exercising this faculty as much as
possible is bound to develop this power. The student

107

MODELLING IN RELIEF

who allows his mind to run astray on side issues,
when engaged upon a serious work, cannot possibly
l>r doing liis best. It is therefore far better for him
to work alone, or forget that others are with him.
I dwell upon these points at this moment particu-
larly, though they should honestly apply to all the
other chapters, but I feel that in low-relief modelling
there is generally so little work that does not re-
quire your entire and undivided thought upon it,
that no earnest student can afford to have his atten-
tion diverted, or his mind set upon a single thought
other than that which is directly connected with
the work he is engaged upon. In low relief there
is so little, even from the very beginning, that does
not call for your entire attention. In other forms
of modelling there are generally some preliminary
stages before the actual modelling begins ; and often-
times laborious work has to be done in getting up the
armature, and in the early stages of building up
and fixing points, which can be done more or less
mechanically. Needless to say, it must be remem
bered that these matters require great care and
attention, but not the same serious concentration
as working in low relief, when from the first the
earliest touches may be almost final, and if not so,
may be of value, and each piece put on, or cut off,
of some definite purpose.

Of relief work, generally speaking, it may be said
that it is not until you begin a work in the alto (or
high relief) that any structure other than a board
is required; but in a high relief of any size at all a
great deal of time has often to be given up to
arranging the armature and framework upon which
to build your clay. This often occupies days of work
and uses up an abundance of lead or compo piping,

168

MODELLING IN RELIEF

wood, and sometimes iron rods twisted or bent in
the various shapes necessary.

I do not propose here to instruct the student in
work on a very large scale, but rather to confine
myself to sizes such as can reasonably be worked
under ordinary conditions, say as a maximum some
5 or 6 feet square, quite large enough for the most
ambitious student. It is not size that counts, but
quality.

We will suppose that a student wishes to model a
high relief of any size within these dimensions, and
say, for instance, of a figure subject such as shown in
Fig. 59. He would require to build up an arma-
ture of the kind shown in Fig. 60, that is, supposing
it to be a copy of something, or of a smaller model
of an original design (which he has carefully prepared
and built upon a similar, if lighter and smaller,
armature before venturing upon the larger or more
ambitious size). Then he will first have to provide
himself with a well-made board, with strong battens
nailed or screwed at the back to prevent its warping,
and fix the whole up as nearly vertical as possible.
This done, he must next begin to fix on (with nails)
his lead or compo piping in such places and directions,
and bent to such shapes, as required. " Butterflies "
will also have to be hung from the wooden background.
These, as well as the lead piping, are more especially
advisable when you are enlarging a work of your
own design, because of the fact that you will in-
variably find that your work, when enlarged, does
not give you quite the same effect or satisfaction as
it did in the smaller or original model, and thus
the ease with which the lead piping and the " butter-
flies " can be hammered in or pulled out, or moved
in any direction, is most advantageous, whereas

109

Fig. LIX

MATERNITY

One f thi> bronze panels on the Queen Victoria Memorial,

erected at Nottingham.

By the Author.

Fig. LX

It will be noticed that a cage-work of wood is made, upon which to
build the figure ; by this means the clay model will be much lighter.
Additional " butterflies" and pieces of wood should be attached to the
lead piping.

MODELLING IN RELIEF

much difficulty would be occasioned by the use of a
less pliable material, should a change be desired or
necessary.

I have said that a relief upon which you are at
work should always stand quite vertically. This
is extremely important, except in such a case as
when the work is to occupy ultimately, and is de-
signed for, any position other than vertical a slope,
or tilt forward when it should be worked, so far as
possible, at the appointed angles.

When the \vooden structure and the armature for
the large work are complete and carefully set up,
and each "butterfly" bears its correct relative posi-
tion, then the work of building up the clay begins,
and points are taken (Fig. 61).

In high-relief work it is necessary to remember
from the first that richness and fulness of quality
in the lights and shadows are important matters for
consideration. Well-rounded forms rather than flat,
play of line, and contrast of planes are qualities
which tell best, and subtleties are of less value than
in the lower relief. The alto-relief is usually a work
done to be seen from a greater distance than the
bas-relief, and thus the effect should be in every way
stronger, so that it may " tell."

High relief, if to be placed in or on a building at
any great height, requires a great amount of thought
in arrangement as well as in execution, for it is the
commonest thing imaginable to find what may have
looked quite an effective and fine work in the studio
utterly changed in appearance, and all its qualities
lost, when placed in its allotted position. The knees
of a seated figure may be so arranged as to cut off
the whole of the upper part of the figure and leave
but a shapeless mass to the observer from below ;

172

Fig. LXI

When putting on the clay in this first stage it is important that it should be
squeezed well in between the wooden laths, so that it will bind round
these.

MODELLING IN RELIEF

again, a shield or other attribute may be worked
with the same result. For this reason the student
should for ever (during the progress) be looking up
at his work from an angle as near as possible like
thi> one from which the work will be seen when
placed in its position. This applies particularly to
work designed for a special purpose and position. I
would point out that, in modelling a figure seated
(front view) to be placed high up, it is advisable to
let the figure be seated much higher, and the legs
at a much greater slope down from the body to the
knees, than you would if the same figure were done
to be seen at a lower plane or level. And avoid the
extremities, the arms or other parts, to project in
such a manner as to cut off or hide from view the
head or features or such parts as you may wish to
be seen. In short, let all your efforts be of some
avail, wherever placed and by whomsoever seen, if
they are worthy of you, and waste them not on the
desert air.

CHAPTER X

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

THE most permanent material which can be used
for modelled works of art is probably bronze, as it
resists the destructive influences of adverse tempera-
ture, as well as the natural decay to which less
concrete substances are subjected ; as witness those
works of great antiquity which in a most marvel-
lous manner have remained to us through countless
ages, and are to-day as perfect, in some notable
examples, as when they came fresh from the creative
hand of the artist thousands of years ago.

The material, whether clay, plaster, wax, plasticine,
or plastique, in which one may work for subsequent
casting in bronze, matters little in most cases. But,
I do say, it is a distinct advantage to use such
material as most nearly approaches the colour or
tone of bronze, for it will be obvious to the most
inexperienced that the change in the effect of a
model worked in white, even to the lightest colour
in bronze, must be considerable ; and such a trans-
formation would, at least, be surprising and, in a
number of instances, more than likely a disappoint-
ment. For this reason, plaster, being white, is the
least desirable material of all for modelling a piece
of sculpture which is to be ultimately cast in bronze.
Although it is quite possible that either clay, wax,
or plasticine may be white, or nearly so, they are

175

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC,

as a general rule of a much darker tone, and more
nearly approximate the colour of bronze; besides
which, the moisture of the clay and the oiliness
of the wax or plasticine make the model catch
stronger and brighter high lights, while darkening
the shadows, so that the effect more nearly resembles
that of bronze.

A work intended for bronze calls for, and allows
of, a treatment quite different to that of any other
material ; and this should be borne in mind all
through the working. This treatment is quite the
opposite to that of stone, in general as well as in
detail.

Work treated with even unlimited freeness can be
reproduced or cast, in metal, without losing its effect,
or becoming so thin and fragile as to get easily
broken ; nor need one fear that it may even be
damaged by handling. A figure in bronze, of heroic
size, in the action of flying through the air or soar-
ing to the skies, even with an abundance of out-
stretched drapery, may have but the toes of one foot
touching the ground to support it, and yet look
perfectly safe and easy. Were the figure treated in
the same way in any other material than metal,
it would appear, and indeed would be, wrong. It
would convey the unpleasant idea of being unsafe,
even though it remained standing up a sufficient
length of time to be looked upon and criticised.

In modelling for bronze or any other metal, there
are few limitations and many advantages, for almost
anything can be done by the different processes of
bronze casting ; and a work which looks well in the
various stages of progress will generally look better
when cast in bronze (that is, of course, if it is worked
for metal). By this, it should be remembered, is

176

Fig. LXII

A FIGURE DESIGNED EXPRESSLY FOR BRONZE, WHERE IT

WILL BE NOTICED THAT THE IMMENSE MASS ABOVE IS
SUPPORTED ONLY BY THE TOES

From the statue by the Author.

Fig. LXTII

THE SAME FIGURE SHOWN IN PROFILE

The student will easily recognise the unsuitability of this work for
marble or other stone.

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

meant that a sketch in clay, or a work only finished
in parts and the remainder quite rough, will gain by
being converted into that more durable material ;
for bronze in itself is quite beautiful with its varying
patina, more especially if proper care is taken of it,
and if it is not left in the hands of the town
authorities, who receive perhaps a statue on behalf
of many " subscribers," and from that moment cease
to take any further notice of it, save perchance to
wash it down once during their term of office. Then,
alas ! it is left to grow coated over with mud and
smoky grime, as though it were of no more artistic
value than a chimney-stack ; and then, what happens ?
The people criticise this mournful and forlorn-look-
ing object by calling it nasty names, when the ex-
penditure of a few pounds a year would reveal to
them a fine piece of art, perhaps a nobly inspired and
admirably executed masterpiece.

I merely point this out because I wish it to be
known that a bronze, be it small or large, requires
care and attention, and if these are given its fine
qualities, so far as the metal goes, are quite likely to
go on increasing. Time tells a beautiful tale on it,
and in this respect it has a distinct advantage over
stone.

In modelling for bronze you may be very exact as
regards the imitation of different textures or sur-
faces, such as those found in drapery or the hair.
Moreover, you can keep your details much nearer
the scale of the original. For instance, such things
as draperies standing away from the figure or main
body, or hair, can be made much thinner; wings,
flowers, and accessories of all kinds can be kept much
nearer to the delicate proportions of nature than
would be possible in marble carving so thin, indeed

179

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

th.-it they would !><> more than likely to break in
their plaster stage, i.e. when l)eing moulded or cast
into plaster, although in this latter case little harm
may he done. Such breakages can be easily mended,
or made up, before the work goes to the foundry,
where lost or damaged parts may again be touched
up or finished off. It is even possible to make
additions to the model in its wax state.

These remarks apply to work that is being cast
into bronze not by the sand process, but by the Cire-
jM'nlnc method, which process is to be regarded very
highly, particularly for intricate works of not too
large proportions, which are to have small pieces
projecting from the main body of the work ; because
much may be done, if it is necessary, in the final
stage, either at the foundry or at your own studio,
before the work actually appears in metal. The par-
ticular wax used by the founder in the process is of
quite a different kind and consistency from ordinary
modelling wax, and is not easily manipulated without
some little practice.

At this stage of the work, this material enables
you to do many things which would be extremely
difficult, if not impossible, in clay. It is therefore
advisable and important for the student to practise
working in founder's wax, so as to be able to
manipulate it when the occasion arises. Whilst
advantage may be taken of these possibilities, it is
far from wise to place too much reliance upon
alterations which can be effected in the last stage;
and it is fatal to leave any experimentalising until
then.

Properly speaking, the final stage should be looked
upon as a last opportunity for replacing or touching
up only that which may have got lost or damaged

180

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

after the model has left your studio. If the sight
of your work in a new material should happen to
suggest to you the advisability of certain slight
changes, then this is a different matter, and you
may indulge in an experiment.

Parts of the work may require sharpening, the
detail appearing somewhat less marked than in the
original model ; but this may be in appearance only,
and is accounted for by the dark colour of the wax
which is generally used by the founder. No great
amount of scraping down or cutting away can be
done, for it must be remembered that this wax is
only cast to the thickness of about a quarter of an
inch, or less, in a figure of half life-size proportions ;
and this thickness represents the thickness the metal
casting will be. It will be recognised that a work
in wax of such thickness will naturally be very light,
and not only breakable, but liable to warp, sink, or
change its attitude by falling over to one or the
other side, or a little to back or front, unless it be
kept in so cool a place that the wax remains hard
enough to be in a brittle state, and quite firm enough
to support itself. To keep it in this state of rigidity
in hot weather, or in a hot room, is quite impossible.
It is therefore best, at such times, to let the founder
follow what is usually his custom under such con-
ditions of high temperature ; which generally is,
to fill in the core with his sand composition, which
must eventually be done in any case before the
casting, or the cast, if taken without such filling
from a work in the round, would be solid. That
of course, would never do, for obvious reasons.

The best means of working on the model, when
it is in the founder's wax, is to keep by your side
a lighted candle, and occasionally to put the steel

181

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

tool you may IK- using into the flame, making it
sufficiently warm just to melt or soften the surface
where it is touched. No matter how good the wax
cast may l>e. there is always the seam showing the
joint of the moulds from which it has been taken.
This must he removed, if possible, by the artist
himself, and not left to the founder or, worse
still, to one of his assistants.

It is a great advantage in the casting of bronze
by the ('In'-pcrdu? process that, should you desire
at a later stage to do something more, it can be
done ; and another and perhaps greater advantage
of this process over sand, especially in the case of
a work in the round, that there is no cutting up
of the original model into many parts and subse-
quent jointing or bracing together. No matter how
intricate or undercut the work may be, it is quite
possible to mould it, and then to cast it into bronze,
in one complete whole. More especially is this done
in every case where the work is executed on a small
scale.

When the work, either on the flat, in relief, or in
the round, is of heroic size, or even larger, or when
it is very simple in treatment and without much
small undercutting, then, but for the fact that it
does not pass through another stage which permits
your working upon it before the final casting, the
sand process has its advantages over that of the
" lost wax."

In modelling for bronze, it must be remembered
that though anything may be transformed into
metal, artistic considerations impose strict limita-
tions. I mention this in order to point out that
although the process allows of much greater free-
dom in the treatment of modelling, it should not

182

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

be abused to the point of coarseness, carelessness,
or raggedness in workmanship.

Again, extravagance in attitude, movement, and
treatment of detail, as well as of masses, is an error
into which one can easily fall in working for metal,
but one which should be most carefully avoided,
otherwise your work will look " noisy," cheap, and
restless faults far too common in many works in
bronze, and especially noticeable in the works of
some foreign sculptors. The grotesque has its un-
doubted place in sculptural art, as in any other, as
witness the leer of a Bacchus, the diablerie of a satyr,
the horrid grin on the lips of a demon ; but true art,
no matter in what material, and no matter what
subject, should be peaceful and not disturbing. The
abnormal in art is usually the abominable, and, for
the most part, is only sought and practised by those
whose chief desire seems to be to shock decent sus-
ceptibilities, and to enjoy the brief and scandalous
notoriety produced by their works.

The wildest, fiercest animal, no matter how realisti-
cally treated, should not inspire the beholder with
fear or terror, so that he would fly from it, but, as
an example of the power of art, should fix for ever
the savage beauty, the strength and the ferocity,
which inspired the artist to its exemplification.

Generally speaking, in modelling for bronze it
should be remembered that a broken surface re-
produces better than one closed, or what is termed
" tight " or " close," for the reason that it collects
a greater variety of colour in the metal, and keeps
down, or breaks, what would probably be a more
polished or marble-like surface with a number of
unduly large patches of high lights ; although this
remark does not hold good if a work be finished

183

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

.1- a master would finish jt, as is shown by the
wonderful bron/es of the Japanese. Yet in the
case of the Japanese bronzes, it will be found that
the plain or smoother surfaces are but rarely large
in si/e, and are frequently in juxtaposition to more
broken parts.

In short, it will clearly be seen that the hammered
or beaten surface of metal is distinctly more interest-
ing than the quality which is found on the surface
of an object turned on a lathe, in the same material.

Nothing can be more unsatisfactory or unlike any-
thing in nature than the tight surfaces on the cheap
statuettes in bronze, which are to be seen in the
windows of our ordinary shops where they sell any-
thing but art products, and which are the delight
of the uneducated lower middle classes, who love
"ornaments."

So uninteresting are these pseudo-bronze arrange-
ments as to suggest that only a lathe, and good
sandpaper afterwards, could have produced such
cold, unsympathetic stuff. Limbs and bodies alike
show no suggestion of the modeller's surface work,
technique, or manipulation if, indeed, there ever
was any such suggestion when it left his hands.
And this in the face of the fact that it is one of
the huge advantages of having a work in metal,
that the minutest imprints of the fingers can be
reproduced as sharp as in the original.

All these minutiae have a value on the surface of
the metal, and the student will do well to study
quality of surfaces when modelling a work for bronze,
and to learn how to make such surfaces interesting,
rich, and free from monotony. Large, empty, or plain
pieces are not of as much value in metal as they may
be in marble or other stone. In bronze, a piece of

184

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

drapery may be as flickery or flashy as the tongue
of a serpent appears, and yet look well; but not so
in marble. There are some things which are dis-
tinctly suitable for execution in metal, but are im-
possible or bad in other materials, and vice versa.
And therefore it should be the purpose of everybody
practising the art of modelling, or sculpture, to
acquaint himself with these differences ; for often
does a work lose much of its artistic value from
being either improperly considered during its crea-
tion, or from being reproduced in the material for
which it is least suitable. Experience teaches much ;
but close observation and the study of the good ex-
amples in our museums and galleries will help, surely
and speedily, to teach the treatment and surfaces
which are of use, and the qualities to be obtained in
metal.

Contrast these with the effects obtained by appro-
priate treatment of marble or other stone. Compare
their values, not only in the mass, but in detail ; and
you will, by experience, arrive at tlie relative values
of all materials.

Again, by bronzing, or tinting bronze colour (in a
way pointed out to you in another chapter), one or
more of your studies, you will learn to know, approxi-
mately, the particular parts that suggest themselves
as being right for metal ; and you may further ex-
periment on such parts as seem wrong, and colour
or bronze over those parts again, to see if they have
become more nearly metallic in character or work-
manship.

Such experimenting is often a most valuable object
lesson, and practically indispensable, when it is pro-
posed to cast the work in bronze. But in the latter
case such experiments are best made on an extra cast

186

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

of the same work in plaster. If you have none by
you, it is quite worth the slight extra expense to
have a second cast made in plaster for this purpose,
if the work be worth casting into the actual metal.

THE PROCESS OF CASTING INTO BRONZE BY
THE CIRE-PERDUE METHOD

The Cire-perdue or lost wax process of casting in
bronze is the one which was practised by Benvenuto
Cellini and his contemporaries when they wished to
reproduce their models in metal, and there is no
doubt in my mind but that this method, so much
adopted by the Italians, and called by them Cera
perdata, is the best means of converting into bronze
a model which has many intricacies and much under-
cutting, or a work which has free pieces i.e. pieces
standing out or away from a body or mass, though
attached to it. But whether it is as good a method
as the sand process for large work, depends to a very
great extent upon the arrangement and treatment of
the subject to be cast.

For heroic and colossal work which has not an
abundance of undercutting, free pieces, or intricate
detail, the sand process cannot well be surpassed.

To obtain a bronze by the Cire-perdue process, you
must supply the founder with a copy in plaster of
the work to be cast, though in some instances the
clay model, after it has become stiff or firm in con-
sistence, will serve ; but there is always a risk in send-
ing to the foundry a clay model, which is, as you will
know, so very fragile that your original may quite
easily get broken, especially if it has any delicate
semi-detached parts.

With a work which is not more than two or three

187

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

1'eet iii height and width, and one which is quite
simple in arrangement and treatment, or with a
simply treated work in relief, and where it is neces-
s.-iry to save the extra outlay of a pound or two
for casting into plaster, the founder will with fair
safety make his model direct from the clay.

In any case, the work, be it either in clay or plaster,
is given in the first instance a coating or two of
shellac (French polish) by the founder; he then pro-
ceeds to make a gelatine mould over it (in the same
way as described in the chapter on Gelatine Mould-
ing), except where the work is of large proportion ;
then a plaster piece-mould is made. A wax casting
is taken from this mould, of the thickness which the
bronze cast will be when it is made, such thickness
varying according to the size of the work. In a life-
si /e figure it would be something about of an inch,
or a little more, throughout.

Before the wax casting is removed from the mould,
the founder fills it with a special composition of brick
dust and plaster, made to a paste consistency with
water; this forms the mould, so to speak, of the
inside of the wax, and is called the "core"; it also
serves to support the wax cast when it is taken from
the mould, and also prevents it from twisting or
changing in any way from the effect of heat, as it
would be liable to do in hot weather.

When the brick-dust composition has become
sufficiently set, the outside mould is taken away to
expose the wax casting ; to this casting some touch-
ing up may perhaps be necessary, and this by the
sculptor himself ; and if it be a work in the round,
the seams, formed by and where the mould-pieces
come together, will require to be removed.

The founder next arranges his pins, ducts, air-jets,

188

MODELLING FOR URONZE, ETC.

and runners. The pins are little sticks or straws of
iron (their thickness and length varying according
to the size of the work), and are used for passing
through the wax at different points, and into the
composition core, the ends being left to project a
little way outside the front wax surface, so that they
will be embedded in the composition brick-dust
covering when this is put on the outside surface of
the work. The purpose of these pins is to hold the
inside composition or core and outside composition
mould in their proper relative places or positions
when the wax has been melted out, as explained a
little later. Without these pins the core could, when
the wax is removed, easily tumble over to the sides
of the outer mould, and your bronze, when cast,
might have 110 thickness at all in some parts, and
too much in other places.

The ducts are straws or pins, so to speak, made of
wax, and these are placed from the body or other
mass to the extremities of an extended part, such as
to the fingers of an extended arm, and serve to make
channels through which the metal may pass and
feed such parts, as well as its (the metal) passing
down the main aperture of the arm i.e., say, through
the shoulder. These ducts also serve as passages
through which the air can be driven, and thus assist
the metal in running up into these tips.

Next the air-jets are arranged ; these are placed in
different parts of the work, and are extended far
enough to project above and outside the outer mould,
when this is made, so that the air in the mould will
be driven through them when the molten metal is
poured in.

The runner is a roll of wax thicker and longer
than the ones already spoken of ; this, when melted

189

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

a\vay, forms the aperture through which the molten
metal is poured.

When all these straws of wax are placed on the
work the outside composition mould is made, and
the top of the runners and vent jets alone stand
exposed a little above the surface of this.

The mould is now left to dry and get firm, and is
arranged in the pit. It is then built around with
lire- bricks to form a kiln, and afterwards fired or
baked until the wax is melted out of it, and it is
absolutely freed from moisture. Next the bricks are
removed and the mould is packed all round with
sand, to hold it firm when the metal shall be
poured in.

By this time the mould may have cooled down to
such a heat as the founder thinks proper for the
next operation of pouring in the molten metal. This
the founder alone is able to tell : it is a matter
requiring great judgment.

The molten metal is now poured quietly in to fill
all the parts left vacant by the Cire-perdue (lost wax),
and there is now nothing to do but to wait for it to
cool ; it may be a matter of days in a work of big
dimensions.

When the metal is cooled down, the founder watches
anxiously the removal of the outer moulds, which
have become somewhat softer by the firing. In
quite a short time these are knocked away and the
asting is exposed with its network of pins, ducts,
air-jets, and runners; these are removed by saws
and chisels, and if well done leave no trace of their
having existed.

The work is now cleaned in a weak bath of sul-
phuric acid, and eventually in a bath of clean water.

Further touching up may be done with small

190

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

chisels and riffles, perhaps, by the sculptor himself,
and then comes the question of colour.

It may be the sculptor prefers to have his work
in its natural colour, just as it came from the mould ;
or it may be he wishes it with one or other parti-
cular patina which will be obtained through the
effect of various weak solutions of acids muriatic
acid, cyanide of potash, sal-ammoniac, and other
chemicals being used.

A bronze cast in its natural colour, as it comes
from the mould, will improve greatly in its appear-
ance through the effect of the atmosphere upon it,
and an almost daily wiping over with the hands
will assist it, there being a just sufficient oily
moisture from the flesh to be of service.

SAND CASTING

In casting a work by the sand process, more par-
ticularly one which may be in the round, there is less
risk of its being out of the plumb, falling over to one
side, twisting, or warping, even when the greatest
care is exercised, than there is by the waste wax
method ; for it will be easily understood that a work
such as a figure in the round, with little but a thin
bearing at the base, as across the ankles, and with a
big mass above, can easily fall a little to one side, or
backward or forward, when in its wax stage, unless
it is very carefully supported and propped, and has a
core inside it.

The sand used by the founders is one rich in loam,
and when ground it is made sufficiently moist to
make it cling together without breaking apart. A
"parting dust" (generally a brickdust) is used to
prevent one piece or core from adhering to another.

191

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

In some instances the sand-casting process is less
costly than the ( 1 in>-pt>rt1tic (waste wax) method.

The making of a sand mould is similar to that of
a plaster piece mould, where (as 1 have said in the
chapter on mould-making) a number of pieces are
made, each separately, at such parts of the model as
are undercut, and the whole of these pieces covered
with an outer case or shell. This shell, when re-
moved, serves to hold all the pieces, which are taken
off one by one and put into their respective positions.

It is practically the same with making a sand
mould for bronze casting, except that sand is used
that is to say, crammed in in place of plaster, to
make the pieces, or, as the founder calls them, the
" false cores," and also the shell. Around this shell
there is placed an iron " mould box," as it is called
when used for a small work, and " mould frame "
when for a large work, and this is fitted together
with pins and lugs, after which more sand is rammed
in to fill this " mould box " until the level of the top
is reached.

Where a mould is to be made over a work (or part
of a work) in the round, it is necessary to do it in
two (or maybe more) sections, a back and a front set
of false cores, and a back and a front shell to hold
these. When one section is complete the w r hole (the
mould and model) is turned right over bodily, and
the mould ("false cores" and shell) made on the
other side in precisely the same way, though it may
require fewer or more " false cores " according to
the amount of undercutting. When this side has
I MM MI made the mould is divided by first taking off
the iron mould boxes, then the shells, and eventually
all t he " false cores " ; the latter are then put back into
their places in their shells. The plaster model is now

192

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

placed on one side, and the " core " is next made,
with an iron framework inside it for strength and
support. This " core " is practically a replica in sand
of the model, and is formed by stuffing the two
whole moulds with sand, and afterwards closing
them together ; then the " frame boxes," " shells,"
and "false core" pieces are again removed in the
same manner as before, and you have your model, so
to speak, in sand, with its " lanterns " or tubes inside
it, each just extending outside at one end to allow
the gas to escape when the molten metal is poured
in. The whole of these parts, i.e. the " shells," the
" core," and " false core " pieces, are then placed in an
oven to dry ; and when thoroughly dried are removed
from the oven, and then a thickness is pared (or cut)
off the " core " (sand model) equally all over ; this
thickness which is removed will form the thickness
of the bronze when the casting is made.

The whole mould is again carefully put together
with the " core " inside it, the iron " mould boxes "
put round, and these securely pinned up with strong
steel screws ; the mould is then ready for the molten
metal to be poured into it.

Through the " core " two rods have been placed at
right angles. These rods reach through some little
distance into the " false cores," and serve the purpose
of keeping the " core " in its exact position in the
mould, for it is obvious that with the thickness pared
off, it would otherwise move about, and cause the
casting to be thicker in one part than in another.

Besides these two iron pieces, other small branches
called " Gits " or " Gets " are put inside the " core "
to serve as feeders to various parts of the mould,
through which the metal can pass as well as the air
or gas.

193 N

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

A basin is put over the mould at a place where
an aperture has been made through which the molten
met.-il can run. In tin's basin there is a plug with a
long iron handle, which is surrounded by loam, to
prevent the molten metal from coming into contact
with the handle.

When the metal is poured into the basin the plug
is withdrawn, the metal enters the mould, and the
casting is formed.

After sufficient time for cooling has been allowed,
the work of removing the mould is begun by chop-
ping it away, and in a short time the model, or
that portion, of the model which has been cast, is
exposed in its bronze form, and nothing remains
but to remove the " Gets " (the workmen call them
the " Gits "), the feeding tubes, &c.

This portion, if it be a part of a whole, is laid on
one side until the other portions are made, \vhen all
pieces are riveted together, the joints closed up, and
you have your model in bronze, cast by the sand
process.

Instances have been known where a life-size horse,
with its head, tail, and legs on, has been cast in
one piece. Although it is possible, this heroic method
of procedure is not considered advisable ; and, more-
over, it is far more costly than when the casting is
done in parts.

Casting by the sand process is in general much the
same as by the lost wax, excepting that in the sand
method the sand mould into which the molten metal
is run is made direct from the plaster model.

This method generally necessitates the model being
cut up into more pieces than in the Cire-perdue pro-
cess, and the work is seldom cast as a whole. Being
made in parts, it is joined together afterwards,

194

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

which is done so skilfully by the best founders that
any sign of joining is imperceptible.

THE ELECTROTYPE DEPOSIT

The electrotype process gives you the most exact
reproduction of your work in metal, the minutest
details imaginable being brought out in facsimile ;
and the whole work does not suffer through con-
traction, as it does by the casting method.

An electrotype deposit can only be made in pure
metal, whereas in the casting process an alloy can
be used in proportions of copper, tin, and zinc ; and
this alloy possesses a quality which appears to have
more life in it than the pure metal has ; but for
perfect accuracy of reproduction the deposit method,
when well done, cannot be equalled, and in durability
it is said by some people to be equal to cast work.

Many of the statues and public monuments abroad
are electrotypes, and are said to be of the same sub-
stantial thickness as castings.

Deposits of the ordinary class are despised chiefly
on account of their thinness, but there is no difficulty
in making them to any thickness, and the cost com-
pares most favourably with that of work carried out
by other processes.

The manner of obtaining a reproduction by this
deposit method is by taking a mould either of
gutta-percha or other pliable material from the
original model. In some instances the mould is
made in plaster, which then undergoes a treatment
to harden it.

The mould or negative is next coated with a
preparation of plumbago or black-lead, and placed
in a bath where the metal is deposited into it.

195

MODELLING FOR BRONZE, ETC.

Quite a large work can be made in two pieces only,
so that there is but one seam or joint to close when
the two pieces are put together. This is by reason
of the mould being made of a pliable material, which
will stretch, and thus can be pulled away easily from
the deposit, Even where there are portions which
may be much undercut, the parts come together
so beautifully that little difficulty is experienced in
hiding the joint when it is soldered together; and
this is done in such a way that it is impossible of
detection when finished.

I have seen things made by this process which
have been regarded as marvellous castings ; and but
for the closeness of surface, exactness of reproduction,
the less clear ring when tapped, and the want of
variety of surface patina, they could not be distin-
guished by the most experienced from castings.

Surely the first thing an artist wants, when de-
sirous of having his work in a permanent material,
is a facsimile reproduction of his work, for all other
matters are secondary to true form in sculpture
or modelling. But I should like to say that, pro-
vided you get this by the cast process, then it has
qualities which the deposit of pure metal does not,
to my mind, afford.

When a plaster mould has been used, it has to
be chipped away from the electrotype deposit.

196

CHAPTER XI

MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY TO BE CARRIED
OUT AFTERWARDS IN MARBLE OR OTHER
STONE

IT is very necessary for the student to make a clay
model of his design before attempting the more
ambitious work of carving it in marble or stone.
It is a costly experiment for the amateur to learn
his mistakes on a block of marble. Far better to
make a carefully thought out model in clay, and
wrestle with all the difficulties of projections, joint
lines, &c., in a plastic material, than to start the
carving direct from, say, a crude or immature
drawing, which can never, even at its best, fully
indicate the effect of the heights and projections
sought after.

Now, in preparing this model, there are two im-
portant factors to be considered (apart from the
design). The first is the material in which the
carving is to be carried out ; the second is the
position the executed work is to occupy.

At first sight, a student might question the neces-
sity of worrying about the material until the model
is made ; but this is a most important point to
be borne in mind right from the very beginning.
Therefore he should make up his mind whether
the work is to be carried out in marble or soft stone,
and if in stone, what stone? For these materials

197

MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY

have their practical limitations, and that which is
suitable for marble may be quite unsuitable for
stone, and rice rerun. And again, stones vary so
much that a model applicable to a fine stone like
Bath stone (Corsham Down for preference) would
be utterly impracticable in a harder stone such as
Ketton, or Red Mansfield stone.

I feel the importance of this so much, having seen
many very interesting models quite wasted by being
translated into the wrong material, that for the
guidance of the beginner I have thought it best to
give here a brief summary of a few of the more
popular stones, and to indicate their capabilities :

RED MANSFIELD (from Nottingham). A deep
roseate-brown sandstone suitable for big archi-
tectural work. Will not take fine details.

CLIPSHAM (from Rutland). A dull cream-coloured
stone, slightly shelly useful for architectural
and monumental work.

KETTON (from Rutland). Dark cream colour, suit-
able for monuments.

HOLLINGTON (from Staffordshire). A white sand-
stone.

BEER (from Devonshire). A soft limestone.

PORTLAND (from the Island of Portland, Dorset-
shire). Whitish - brown calcareous stone
serviceable for all purposes, very hard and
close and will take a clean finish.

FOREST OF DEAN (from Gloucestershire). A sand-
stone of great durability wonderful grey-
black colour -also red and bluish tones (not
recommended for small detail).

HATH STONE (from Wilts and Somersetshire). A
pleasant, easy-working stone. Fifty per cent.
198

FOR MARBLE OR OTHER STONE

easier to work than Portland, but not so
durable will take a very fine finish.
HOPTON WOOD (from Derbyshire). Hard and of a
compact texture, which allows of intricate and
delicate mouldings being worked in a very
sharp and clean state takes a splendid polish,
and its colours range from a creamy dove-
white to a dark dove-grey. It is very durable,
and is suitable for memorial or other pedestals
and decorative panelling.

Now r suppose that the student is going to carve a
sundial, say, for his garden ; it will require a good
firm stone that will weather well, and he could not
do better than select a piece of good Portland.
Provided it is a sound, clean piece, there is no finer
stone for general decorative work outdoors than
this.

Let us conclude, then, that the student has made
his design and selected his material, and that he is
therefore now ready to make the clay model.

If the work to be undertaken is of large propor-
tions, it is best to make, first of all, a little sketch
of it in clay, to scale say 1 or 2 inches to the foot.
A little model like this is extremely useful, as it
shows the design in the round, and if it looks well on
the small scale it is more than likely to look well in
the full size.

A small sketch of this kind in clay is most helpful
in developing the design ; but it is necessary to
impress here on the student that this little model,
to be practical and useful, must be accurately made
to scale, and the best scale of all is 1 inch to the foot.
Sometimes, if the work is not large, it could be made
a quarter of the full size, but you should never be led

199

MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY

into making a half full-size model, a very deceptive
scale for even a professional man ; the reason being
that on this big scale one is apt to model the detail
as though it were full size. There is no value in this
scale at all, and it is better to model direct to the
proper size than to the half size. But for all general
purposes there is no more satis-
factory method than the 1 inch
to the foot.

The student, having satisfied
himself that the scale model re-
presents his ideas and design,
can then proceed to make a car-
cass on which to build up the
full-size model. It is necessary
here to point out the great
importance of the model being
strongly made, so that there
may be no fear of its collaps-
ing or settling down after it
has once been started.

If, as was presumed at the
start, you have set out to model
the pedestal of a sundial, a very
good way is to take a good
broomstick as the central sup-
port, bracket out on this the greatest projections, so
as to relieve the weight of plaster for much of the
model can be made direct in plaster, leaving sunk
spaces for a clay bed where the ornament occurs.
If the student looks at the diagram here reproduced,
he will see how it is proposed to turn up the shaft
where circular on plan by a very simple and primi-
tive method. Make two bearers to carry the roller,
and at one end of the roller fasten an iron handle

200

Fig. LXV

PROPOSED MODEL
OF SUNDIAL

FOR MARBLE OR OTHER STONE

for the purpose of turning the roller. Next cut out
the sections in zinc, and by applying this zinc
strickle to the model as it revolves, you will he
enabled to turn up all those parts required, taking
care to work the strickle to the true centre line of
the shaft.

Being now ready to fill in the ornamental portions
of your design with clay, you first give the plaster
structure several coats of shellac, to make the clay
adhere and to prevent suction.

From this point the success of the model depends

Fig. LXVI

FIRST STAGE

Showing elementary method of turning the shaft.

entirely upon the student's own individual expression
and interpretation of the design. In all relief work
it must be remembered that much depends upon
the play of light and shade introduced. The same
design may be interpreted in many ways. There are
treatments applicable to all phases of work. If the
ornament falls on a shaped section, do not spoil the
outline by excessive undulations ; rather keep the
work up to a flat general line representing the archi-
tectural outline of the section ; and in making a
model, always model on a clay ground ; do not, for
the sake of facility, be led into merely laying your
ornament on to a plaster ground. The clay will

201

MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY

crack off the plaster, and one cannot get
the cohesion, delicacy, and mystery so charming in a
,-lay in... Id. but utterly lost if the modeller is handi-
capped by a hard background.

So much for the model of the sundial, for the com-
pletion of which you have the
writer's sincerest good wishes.

Now we will proceed to a
bigger and more architectural
range of work. We will suppose
that the student, who has learned
the limits of his materials and
mastered the elementary nature
and demands of simple model-
ling, now desires to grapple with
modelling for some piece of stone
carving on a building or monu-
ment, a piece of work that is a
component part of its adjacent
architecture and will probably be
placed many feet above the eye.
This demands to be approached
from a standpoint quite different
to that which we have before
described.

In the first place, it must be re-
membered that the work now is
part of, and yet subordinate to,

the surrounding architecture. It is a detail that
must be discovered ; it must not shout and over-
whelm the constructional lines of its framework. It
must unfold itself to the view slowly, and when
it is revealed, it must be satisfactory. There is no
excuse for imperfect ornamentation, and nothing
is to be condemned more than the ostentatious

202

Fig. LXVII

SECOND STAGE

Showing the inner core
built up roughly with
laths.

FOR MARBLE OR OTHER STONE

CLAY

display of common and vulgar work on modern
buildings.

Let us imagine a musician has written some
beautiful music for a song. If
the words of that song are not
good, the music is wasted. The
music was to frame the song, but
the poem is imperfect, and both
the music and the song are spoiled
thereby.

So in architecture and carving,
the two are so closely woven in
their alliance that it is impossible
for either to be perfect unless
they both are ; and as music is
the dominant voice in the song,
so must architecture be the pre-
dominant partner in the arts, and
the decoration, on whatever lines,
must be the refining note, never
concealing the constructional lines
or overpowering its surroundings.

Before beginning a model for
stone carving on a building, ascer-
tain carefully the height from the
ground of the proposed carving,
and incorporate with the model
as much as possible of the adja-
cent mouldings and architecture.
Without this, it is impossible to

make a model properly, because one cannot judge
the necessary projection of the relief, or realise the
general weight and balance of the work, without
the surrounding architecture. If the work is going
to be placed at any height, it is necessary to take

203

Fig. LXVIII

THIRD STAGE

Showing the outline
h.iving been turned
up in plaster^ and
the parts to be
modelled shaped to
requisite section in
clav.

MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY

into consideration any projecting cornices or ledges
immediately below it, as the line of sight will be
nlVocted thereby, for probably from the street level
such projecting cornices may cut off from sight some
six or eight inches from the bottom of the carving.

Keep the design well up, so that the whole of
it may be seen from below. Nothing looks more
amateurish than to see the bottom half, say, of a
shield cut off by some projecting
ledge.

In modelling for stone carving,
one of the first things to do is
to make sure of the joint lines
of the stone work, and to cut
these joint lines on the clay
model before beginning the
work. Bear in mind that the
modelling is for stone carving,
and the joints are to be con-
sidered all the time during the
process of modelling. Always
study the joint lines so that
they cut in a good square place
in the ornament ; avoid making

feather edges, or leaving a thin
edge partly on the other side of the joint line if
necessary raise or lower the design, contract or ex-
pand it, as the case may be, so that the joint lines
cut across suitable places.

When the stone has already been masoned or
" boasted " ready for carving, be sure, before starting
the model, carefully to check the exact sizes of the
-tone and the projections of stone left for carving.
It is very annoying, after having made a careful
model, to find that the stone left for carving is,

204

FOR MARBLE OR OTHER STONE

say, two inches narrower than the model ; so never
make a model for stone that has already been
worked, without first taking the trouble to measure
up the actual stone. And as regards the projections,
it is sometimes advisable to make a gauge or gallows
set to the extreme projection, with which now and
then one can pass over the model and scrape off
those parts which are
creeping up to a greater
projection than the
stone.

It is necessary to bear
in mind that model-
ling for stone carving
is quite different to
modelling for bronze
work or merely for a
plaster cast ; for a
model that is to be
translated into stone
has definite limits to

Fig. LXX

A HANDY SORT OF
GAI.LOWS

Made with a piece of wire and a cork.

its projections, and it
is so easy, when model-
ling, to add on a little

more and a little more, till imperceptibly the model
begins to grow bolder and bolder, and finally it is
found that the model has far exceeded the projection
of the stone left for the carving.

Another important point is to get the model right
before you cast it. Students are often heard to say
that the model has got wrong somewhere, but they
will put it right in the plaster or in the carving !
Now this is a wrong principle. If one cannot get it
right in a plastic material like clay, one is hardly
likely to be any more fortunate in a hard material

205

MAKING -A .MODEL IN CLAY

like stone or marble. So my advice to the student
is : " Don't sliirk it ; get the model right before
leaving it, no matter how irksome or tedious the
labour may be."

In making a model for marble work, it must be
borne in mind that one is now dealing with a costly
material ; and also at the same time the most beauti-
ful medium for the expression of relief work. The
nature of marble warrants a high finish, careful
detail, and extreme delicacy and refinement. It is
best to consider well these points in the model, and

Fig. LXXI

A SIMPLE GAUGE

To limit the projection of the model.

spend more time and thought over the work than
for the rougher material of stone ; if the student
proposes to carve a small panel in marble, the deli-
cacy can be as a thread on the ground, for in marble
every line or cut tells. Make the model accordingly :
give it play of light and shade in the bold parts,
and on the flat ground bring in the delicate under-
tones, like whispering interludes of a great melody.

Music and ornament have very much in common,
and if one thinks of music, whilst modelling, the
similarity can be easily recognised. This part ripples
along in the tenor ; this part gradually grows louder
and louder, till like the basso profondo it bursts

206

FOR MARBLE OR OTHER STONE

forward in full relief ; then it dies away softly softly,
till it is almost lost in the ground and it can be just
faintly heard floating away into nothing.

Follow this idea out while modelling ornament,
and you will be surprised how it helps you to give
play to your work.

In concluding this chapter, let me advise the
student not to seek to fly before he can walk. To
become proficient in carving stone and marble takes
years of practice. Do not attempt to carve marble
till stone has been well mastered ; and do not aim
in the early days at too great an elaborateness.
There are elementary rules to learn, which can only
come with experience. No one can teach modelling
or art by book, for that alone can come by intuition
and practice. The writer can only point out some
of the factors that help and lead to the making of a
successful model ; but this is merely the beginning
of the pupil's career, a signpost that points the way
to those who are determined to arrive, not a vehicle
to carry the helpless to the goal. It rests with the
student to follow up the course from this point
where the writer and reader separate ; practice, hard
work, and determination will carry the ambitious
through. Lots of failures, lots of disappointments
at first ! but let the student console himself all the
greatest sculptors go through these struggles and
disappointments in their early days. These are the
stepping-stones on which one may " rise to higher
things."

207

CHAPTER XII

MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY TO BE CARRIED
OUT IN WOOD FOR ARCHITECTURAL
DECORATION, INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR

MAKING a model for wood-carving is quite different
to the other processes described before, although it
is closely allied to the process of the stone-carving
model, insomuch as both in stone and wood carving
the process lies in cutting away, as opposed to the
building up that is legitimate in modelling for
bronze, terra-cotta, or plaster work. Hence it is
advisable for the student to be well equipped with
wire tools tools that cut away the clay, just as
gouges cut away the wood.

It is not well that the student should, when making
a model which is to be carried out in wood, carve his
or her model out of solid clay. By no means do
this. Build up the model in the usual w r ay, but in
finishing, impart into it some of the crispness of
wood-carving by the aid of the wire edge tools.

A model, whether it be for stone, marble, bronze,
or wood, should betray its future material by the
character of the work you put upon it. A model
for a piece of wood-carving should look quite a
ditt'rivnt work to a model intended for stone-carving ;
and, again, a model for stone-carving should easily
he differentiated from a model intended for bronze.
All three have their own characteristics, but, alas !

208

MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY

much faulty work is done in this respect, and one
sees but too often wood-carving treated as though
it were for bronze or marble, all trace of the material
being lost or ignored, when the very charm of this
art lies in its material and the gouge cuts which
produce it.

Therefore, at the very outset, the student should
impress upon his mind that the model which he is
about to undertake is for reproduction in wood ;
and it must have all the characteristics and partake
of the very fibre and grain of wood. If that end is
kept in view all the time, the craftsman will not go
far wrong.

Wood, as most other materials, has its limitations,
and these will govern the relief considerably. One
is not so much concerned with the joints in wood-
carving as in stone-carving, though it is as well to
have the wood glued up (when necessary) for the
joints to suit the model, so as to avoid working up
to a feather edge along the joint.

Supposing the student is desirous of making a
model for a carved oak lectern, with an eagle for
the book-rest. The eagle would naturally be carved
out of a flat piece of oak, say two or three inches
thick ; and, in making the model of the eagle, it is
as well to keep the work flat and slabby. Try to
impart the fact that it is created out of a flat slab of
wood : do not model so that the eagle's beak and
little pieces of the wings have to be glued on,
but keep it all flat and cohesive, in keeping with
its purpose and material. If it were a model for a
brass eagle, the whole thing would be on a different
basis, and the modeller would then be untrammelled
by any restrictions of relief and projection. But
where, as in the case under discussion, the model is

209 o

MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY

for wood, do not try to model it as though there
were no restrictions. Rather is it better to accen-
tuate the fact that the work is to be carved out of
a flat plank than to run into exaggerated relief,
quite impossible to the material without a lot of
gluing and patching up.

Now it is impossible to lay down rules for the
student's guidance for all kinds of work. The mere
fact that wood-carving perhaps covers a wider field
of work than any other craft, embracing as it does'"
furniture and architecture, both domestic and eccle-
siastic, with all the accessories of heraldry, botany,
allegory, and the hundred and one styles ranging
from Celtic, Moorish, Gothic, to the more refined
styles of the Greeks and Romans, the lasting triumphs
of the Renaissance, and the glorious style of eight-
eenth-century France and the Empire.

This is part of the range of subjects that a student
setting out on a wood-carver's career must make up
his mind to know. Hence the difficulty of laying
down any hard-and-fast rules to govern such a wide
field of work. I would, however, repeat my own
maxim, which is an important one : " When making a
model for a piece of wood-carving, keep the nature of
the material ever before your mind ; " for although in
some instances it is necessary to ignore the medium
and only to consider the ultimate result as a whole,
as in carving, say, for a reredos which has to be gilt,
yet even then there is no reason why the gouge cuts
should not display the craftsmanship of the carver.
Let us take the idea, then, of making a model of an
altar table. Unless it is to have figure subjects in
the panels, it is not necessary to make a complete
model ; but the model, if it is to serve any useful
purpose, must be full size and should contain one

210

complete angle and return. This is useful in settling
the mitres, for no matter how successful the enriched
mouldings may be on the straight run, it is when one
comes to the mitre that one shows by skilful hand-
ling, or otherwise, whether one is a master of the craft
or not. It may sound an extreme remark to a casual
observer, but it is none the less true, that nothing
discloses the amateur more than an ill-considered

Fig. LXXII

A ZINC TEMPLATE

For running moulding in either clay or plaster prospective view.

and weakly designed mitre. A mitre should uphold
the contour of the moulding at its intersection. It
should be broad in treatment to impart strength and
solidity, and it must reflect the idea of the straight
run of the design.

When engaged on a model in which mouldings are
to be enriched, run all the adjacent mouldings in
plaster with a zinc " strickle " (or profile or template).
The member that is to be enriched should be worked
at the back a full inch deeper (see illustration), so as

211

MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY

t < > give a thickness and body for the clay, or else the
clay will dry up and crack.

If the altar table is to have enriched panels to the
front, mostly five, it would do to model, say, two
direct on the full-size model. The other three can
be modelled on separate boards, as they are easier
to handle and to keep moist; and the student will
have gained experience and assured the correct scale

Tig. LXXIII

FRONT ELEVATION OF ZINC TEMPLATE

by the two panels he has already modelled. Be sure
and model these panels on a clay ground of three-
quarter thickness at least, for by this is gained
greater delicacy and better work. It is practically
impossible to make a satisfactory model by working
direct on to a wooden ground. You must always
set back the ground of the model, so that there is
at least three-quarters of an inch of clay to form the
background of the work.

There must always be sympathy and a feeling of
clinging of the ornament to its background. Do not

212

isolate the design so that it stands apart from its
surroundings ; rather let it fall into its place sub-
servient to the construction which holds it.

In modelling for heraldic wood-carving, always
entirely fill the panel up to the square edge ; keep
the shield small, the crest big; the ragged banner
can spread to any dimensions, for the ragged banner
is but a torn flag rolled round the helmet and fall-
ing away at the back of
the supporters. The sup-
porters must have one
front limb touching the
shield. It is heraldically
incorrect for the sup-
porters to turn their backs
to the centre shield ; they
must face towards the
centre and by some means
grasp or support the
shield. Fi s LXXIV

In modelling animals PLAN OF WOODEN FRAME-
for heraldry, you must WORK UPON WHICH THE
not make them too ZINC TEMPLATE is FIXED
natural. The essential AND WORKED
features of the animal

must be exaggerated for instance, if the subject is
a lion, the limbs must be massive, denoting strength,
the body starved, the brow receding, the head small ;
for in heraldry the lion denotes strength strength
of limb. Above all, avoid the sleek, overfed kind of
pet cat so often put forward as a heraldic lion.
All the animals used in heraldry denote by their
modelling the natures of which they are the symbols.

The knowledge of botany required in modelling
is not great, but it is a very useful training and

213

MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY

acquisition to have a knowledge of leaves, flowers,
fruits, and their characteristics. Those most usually
required are the oak, laurel, chestnut, acanthus, rose,
chrysanthemum, and palm. It is most desirable that
students should equip themselves with careful studies
of these plants, which they will find invaluable all
their lives for reference,

In making a model for carving on furniture, we
are dealing with smaller details than is often neces-
sary on the larger scale of architectural work. Much
of the treatment of the work will depend upon the
wood and its colour. For instance, in mahogany,
darkened and polished, the nature of the material
blurs much of the effect which would have been
obtained if the wood had been left raw. There is
perhaps no wood which repays carving and lends
itself to every delicacy so much as a beautiful piece
of oak left in the raw state : every cut tells, every
line catches the light, and all the mastery of the
craft comes out when oak is skilfully worked. So,
when there is a doubt, give the preference to oak
and leave it in its raw state. Many people object
to oak because in its raw state it catches the dirt.
It may do so at first, perhaps so much the better !
In time it will partake of a beautiful tone of darken-
ing colour.

It is always as well to make a full-size model in
deal of at least part of the piece of furniture intended
to be made, before proceeding with its construction
in the harder woods, whether it be the back of a
chair, the leg of a small table, the angle of a cabinet,
or the section of a cornice to a bookcase which it
is intended to enrich. No matter how carefully
it has all been set out on paper, one can hardly
realise the true effect of it in its proper relief till

214

TO BE CARRIED OUT IN WOOD

it is seen as a full-size model ; and on studying the
model the student must perforce find many points
which can be considerably improved upon, now it
is produced in relief, and which, had it been begun
direct in the hard wood, might have been impossible
to alter, and therefore objectionable to the possessor
all his life. And all this just for the sake of saving
a little extra trouble in making a model at first !

Little can be said in a book of this class as to the
styles in which to model. Style is perhaps a question
of temperament. No one style is pre-eminent in
everything ; certain styles lend themselves better to
one class of decoration than another. For instance,
I doubt if there are many examples of a Gothic
ball-room ; it would not seem natural. Yet there
is no reason why a Gothic ball-room should not be
carried out. But at the same time there is a mute
language in all styles, a language that is begotten
of the environment of the lives that are inseparably
interwoven with these styles.

The history of France speaks to us to-day with
no uncertain voice in the architecture of her great
palaces and chateaux. It is so apparent that, even
if one had never read her history in books, her
architecture would portray her character and former
glories as no word-picture ever could.

Spain, again, has her distinctive characteristics
written in the flamboyant but beautiful character
of her work, while England, more cold and reserved,
remains still conservative and faithful to the tradi-
tional styles of her land. The United States to-day
is writing her history in polyglot styles in which
commerce flaunts from the huge sky-scrapers to
the world. How different to the States of South
America, where Spain again has enriched the world

215

.MAKING A MODEL IN CLAY

with old and richly-gilt carving* in thousands of
wonderful churches planted there in the days of
her /enith.

All this leads back to what was said at first as to
Style being but the expression of temperament; but,
observe, it is imperative that the student should
not ignore Style. It is not to be believed that the
creative powers of a student are superior to those
displayed in the lessons of the past. Knowledge of
styles is absolutely indispensable. It is impossible
for a student to create a new style or period. And
it is only possible for an artist to depart from tradi-
tional work when he has mastered the schools of
design that have become historical. It is, unfortu-
nately, considered by a certain class of students that
they can ride supreme on their own creative facul-
ties. Perhaps to some extent they are successful in
their early efforts, which is more the pity ; but you
may rest assured that without the backbone of tra-
ditional style no work can live. Eccentricity must
not be confounded with genius, nor must dignity
be sacrified to originality.

Do not imagine that it is necessary slavishly to
copy existing styles, but it is vastly important that
a student's art education and all his early work
should be built on sound lines, which will save him
from the pitfalls of that elusive chimera "a new
style." It may be added that the only men who
have ever achieved success in creating original work
are men who have been through the mill of hard
work, and by their experience and knowledge of
traditional styles have been able to impart a greater
originality and freshness to their work out of that
very knowledge.

210

CHAPTER XIII

COLOURING, WAXING, AND BRONZING
PLASTER CASTS

A DRY plaster cast, unless coated with some prepara-
tion, is not an agreeable material to look upon, and
does not give you the quality of surface that your
clay model does. It is not only opaque but dead in
appearance ; so much so that Canova truly described
clay as the life, plaster as the death, and marble as
the resurrection. But as we cannot always afford
to put our work into the final material of either
marble or bronze, we devise a method of imitation
by which we can obtain a very close resemblance to
the qualities of real bronze, and something like the
effect of old marble an ivory-like character ; indeed,
it is quite possible to get many interesting effects
on plaster, all better than the raw material.

The first and quickest, the least costly, and the
simplest means of doing away with the opaqueness
of plaster is this :

When your plaster cast is dry, and you have re-
moved all dust from it, give it two or three coatings
of white French polish, letting each subsequent coat
be applied only when the previous one has dried in
well. A matter of half-an-hour will suffice. It may
be that with only two, or even one, the effect will
please you, in which case a further application is not
required. This will be a matter of taste with the

217

COLOriUXG, WAXING, AND

operator. Imt I would remind you that the more
times within reason you cover it with this medium,
the higher the polish will be. After the second
coating the sin-face of your plaster is closed, and
any more put on forms a skin and tends to fill up
the detail.

When applying the medium, do not let your brush
be too full of the liquid ; more especially does this
refer to all coatings after the first.

French polish, being nothing more than shellac
dissolved in methylated spirit, can be quite easily
made by any one, and at less expense than if bought
ready made up. Besides, you can make it to your
own liking as regards strength, though the polish
you buy prepared for use can be thinned, if neces-
sary, by the addition of methylated spirit.

When you have given your plaster as many paint-
ings of the polish as you wish, and the surface is
thoroughly dry and hard, you may further improve
the effect of your work, if you wish to strengthen
the detail or darken the hollows, by taking some
methylated spirit in a saucer and adding to it a
little dry powdered colouring matter such as chrome
yellow, yellow ochre, raw umber, or light red, these
being the colours generally recommended for the pur-
pose. This solution should be painted on, wherever
you think it necessary, with a camel-hair or other
soft brush, such as you would use for water-colours.

If the colour should run over other parts than
those intended, there is no need for alarm, as it
can be removed quite easily with a little cotton-wool
or soft cloth. Should it, however, be inclined to
resist, take a little of the spirit in the wool and
quickly drag over the parts; any sign of the colour
will thus be instantly removed.

There is another method of applying this colour
and spirit. Quite a good effect can be obtained by
taking a large soft brush full of the colour and
going quickly all over the plaster work, beginning
from the top. When this has become dry, which
is usually a matter of a few minutes only, wipe the
wool over such parts as you wish freed from the
colour, which will almost dust off, unless you have
in the application rubbed too long the surface of the
plaster, and thus dissolved the shellac coating, in
which case the shellac, being a fixative, will hold
the colour, and only cotton-wool or soft cloth dipped
in methylated spirit and rubbed on the parts, will
remove it.

It is advisable that any colouring matter which
you may wish to put on plaster should at first be
applied in quite a thin solution, for it is easier to
darken by another painting than to lighten in tone
by the removal of some over-colouring.

If it is desired that the colouring shall adhere more
firmly to the plaster surface, a few drops of the
French polish added to the spirits in your saucer
will hold it permanently.

To obtain any extra polish on the surface, take some
French chalk in its powder form, and with a pad
of cotton- wool apply it by rubbing quickly, though
softly, over the surface of your work, or over such
parts as you may wish to have a higher polish.

When it is your purpose to colour your plaster
model, keep it as clean as possible, covered and pro-
tected from dust, no matter which method you may
use, or to what extent you may be applying the
colour. Dirt or dust on a raw plaster surface is
horrid, and cannot easily be got rid of ; but the same
dirt or dust on a plaster surface which has under-

219

COLOURING, WAXING, AND

gone the treatment of which I have here spoken,
has sometimes an agreeable effect and quality, and
is almost too readily removable. I say this because
I have experienced at times the vexation of finding
that the industrious maid has dusted away quite
a nice effort which I had seen the night before oil a
work.

Dust in the hollows of some plaster works, as in the
hollows of some works in bronze, has quite a fine and
valuable effect ; though the opposite result will ensue
when it settles on the top or front surfaces.

Another method of toning down plaster from its
crude whiteness, and dreadful opaqueness, to an
agreeable quality of surface and general appearance,
is that of Waxing.

For the process of waxing plaster, it is more especi-
ally important that your model be kept very clean,
even more so than if treated with the French polish ;
indeed, the greatest care should be taken from the
time of beginning to cast a work which you propose
afterwards waxing, to see that your plaster in its
powder state has no dirt in it ; that it is free from
dust, as the room should be where you make your
casting; and further, when your cast is made it
should be wrapped up carefully in tissue or other soft
paper, and put away to dry thoroughly.

All this is necessary if you wish to obtain a perfect
result from waxing. When such precautions have
Ix-en taken, the subsequent experiments of toning
down, colouring, or discolouring can be made quite
easily, and the waxed surface will admit of this to
any extent.

If, however, you wish to apply wax to a plaster cast
which has become soiled, or one upon which you may
have worked in its plaster state, it is still possible

220

BRONZING PLASTER CASTS

that a good effect can be obtained, and the work
made to look quite agreeable as compared with the
dry, unwaxed plaster surface.

The way to treat a cast in this soiled state is quite
simple. In the first place, it is necessary that your
cast should be dry, or nearly so, for this allows a
better absorption of the wax. It is also helpful in
the same direction if your plaster model is made warm
by placing it by a fire, though great care should be
taken to prevent its getting burnt or scorched ; to
avoid this, and to get it equally warm all round,
which it is advisable to do, turn it often, it may be
every few minutes if the heat thrown out from the
fire is great.

Before or during the warming process, you prepare
your wax in the following way, using only, when
possible, the best stearine wax for the purpose. It
can be obtained from a Dental Supply Stores, as it is
the same as that used by dentists for waxing the cast
taken of the mouth of their patients for fitting them
with new teeth.

Take a piece of the wax the size of a walnut, cut
it up into thin wafers, and dissolve it on the fire or
gas stove in a tin or enamel saucepan. This will
take but a moment or two. Then remove it right
away from the fire and add to it half a pint of
turpentine. It must be remembered that, turpentine
being of a nature so inflammable that it is highly
dangerous if brought into contact with fire or lighted
gas or matches, great care should be exercised. It is
important to bear this in mind, because when you
have added the turpentine to the wax it is advis-
able to warm both a little to ensure their being
properly amalgamated. In this case it is safer to
put the wax and turpentine into a gallipot, and this

221

COLOURING, WAXING, AND

gallipot into a saucepan sufficiently large to leave a
space of water between it and the inner vessel.
Warm this on the side of a fire without much flame ;
or if a gas ring or jet be used, let the gas be turned
low. as but little warming is required, and hurry
must at all cost be avoided when there is risk in the
process.

Do not let your attention be diverted until such
time as you have removed the saucepan from near
the fire or gas, or it may boil or spit up in your
absence and get alight. With care there is no need
of fear, but I must insist on cautioning the student,
lest he be careless or merely ignorant of the danger.

With your wax and turpentine prepared, and your
work on the turn-table, you may at once apply the
liquid with a clean, good-size hog-hair brush, begin-
ning at the top, proceeding all round, and working
downwards to the base. This application you may
repeat several times.

It will, it is quite likely, be found that in parts the
wax remains thick on the surface, if the work has
become cold ; but it will be absorbed by the plaster,
if the bust is placed near the fire and made warm
again.

When your work is lifted back on to the turn-table,
a further painting of the wax may be put on, though
in this case with much less wax in your brush than
you had previously.

It may be found that the wax, as it cools in the
vessel, will set into a paste-like consistency, and may
need the addition of more turpentine, and again
li< -a ting, but not if it only resembles a thick liquid.
Warming thins it, and it will therefore more speedily
soak into the plaster.

For darkening the hollows and crevices of the

222

BRONZING PLASTER CASTS

detail you should take a little powder colour of any
tint you wish, as in the case of the work which has
been coated with the white French polish ; but in the
case of the waxed plaster, use the wax and turpentine
medium instead of the spirit, to mix with the colour.
Paint this on your work ; you may do so freely, for a
little cotton-wool will wipe it oif parts where it is
not needed, if that be done within a reasonable time
afterwards, and before it has been allowed to become
fixed. Even in such a case a little turpentine on
wool and soft rubbing will remove it.

When you have done as much tinting or darken-
ing as you think desirable, and the wax has thor-
oughly dried in, you may improve the appearance
of the surface (as in the case already mentioned
where French polish only had been applied to the
plaster) by rubbing over the whole work or parts
only, according to discretion, with cotton-wool and
French powdered chalk, applied with a quick though
soft circular movement. By this means you can
obtain almost any degree of polish. Under no con-
ditions rub hard on the surface, but let your pad of
wool pass lightly over the work.

A work prepared in the wax manner can after-
wards be painted upon to almost any extent, with
powder or pastel colour, and the turpentine and
wax for a medium ; or the dry colour itself will
adhere in some degree if rubbed on with the finger.

The two methods I have described for plaster
casts are particularly useful in cases where the work
is of large proportions; but in the case of a small
work, such as a medal, statuette, panel, or miniature
bust, of say not more than half life-size proportions,
the following method of stearining it produces a
very ivory and old marble-like appearance.

223

COLOURING, WAXING, AND

Place your model when quite dry in an oven of
fairly warm temperature, or if you have not this
convenience, by or above a fire, not so near as to
burn it, but close enough to heat it quietly through
the plaster and well below the surface ; turn it fre-
quently, so that all its sides may get equally warm,
protecting it all the time from dust.

In the meantime prepare your wax and turpentine
in the same proportion (and with no less caution
against its catching fire), except that it may be made
a little hotter in this instance ; indeed, it is better to
get it up to something approaching boiling heat if
this can be done with all safety, for the reason that
when applied it will remain in its liquid state much
longer than if at a lower temperature, and it will
get absorbed further below the surface.

You must not forget to turn your work frequently
during the time you are preparing your medium, so
that both this and the medium are well heated at
one and the same moment.

The medium being now in its prepared state, place
it where its temperature will not decrease quickly,
but away from the possibility of its getting ignited.
Then take your work and place it in a china or
enamel bowl of sufficient size, and without any
further delay pour the wax and turpentine mixture
all over it, using at the same time a clean hog-hair
brush, or what is commonly called a house-painter's
pencil, with some of the liquid in it to get into the
crevices.

Your plaster will have become quite hot by this
time, so that the wax now in the bowl can be poured
back into its receptacle, the work replaced in the
bowl, and once more the liquid poured and brushed
over it. This proceeding can be repeated a number of

224

BRONZING PLASTER CASTS

times if it is desired to get more wax into the body
of the work.

If the wax after a few pourings becomes " set," i.e.
pasty in consistency, it may be warmed up to a
liquid state and poured over again. If you have to
re- warm, take care that the sides of your vessel are
clean, and free from any of the wax which may
have run over in the process of pouring, unless
the vessel which you are using goes into a larger
one with water in it, as previously advised. In that
case the great danger of ignition is lessened.

When your work has had sufficient coating of the
wax, remove it from the bowl and allow it to cool
quietly ; otherwise it may crack and have a craquele*
(crazed) appearance all over it, as you sometimes see
in a piece of earthenware.

If the work is of such small proportions as to have
been entirely covered with the liquid, you should let
it cool afterwards very gradually indeed, which can
be done by wrapping it up in a piece of blanket or
cotton-wool.

When it has cooled down, or during the process of
cooling (if it is not wrapped up in the manner I have
spoken of), you may use the pad of wool with French
chalk, and rub over the surface ; then you will see
almost immediately what a beautiful quality the
plaster has obtained by this method of stearining ;
and as time goes on it will improve, more espe-
cially with an occasional passing over with the
cotton-wool.

At any future time a little colouring matter, such
as I have mentioned, mixed with turpentine, may be
run into the hollows.

1 Tliis is a term used in the Potteries to describe a piece of china
the surface glaze of which has cracked all over minutely.

225 p

COLOURING, WAXING, AND

Some of the most beautiful results of colour I
have ever obtained in plaster have resulted from
mixing the colour with the plaster before casting ;
this method is well worth trying, rather in the
casting of replicas than with the first or original
cast, which is better white, as you may wish to work
upon it. For any colouring matter in plaster makes
it less easy to get the effect you may desire, either by
cutting away, because the colour may be, and gene-
rally is, a little different below the surface ; or by
adding to it, because the plaster you put on is more
than likely to be of a different colour, and so your
work becomes patchy and disagreeable in appearance.
Therefore try this method with replicas. You may
do so in various colours, in the following way.

Mix on a palette or plate, with water, some powder
colour, working it into a paste with a palette knife
or ordinary knife, until it feels quite smooth and
free from grit ; then pass it through fine muslin into
a basin, thinning it with water so that it will run
through the mesh; you may then add more water
to it. Always mix enough of this colouring matter
at first ; the cost is insignificant, and a little waste
is of no consideration, compared with that of failure
to get an even colouring for want of more colour.

The coloured water you now have in the basin is
used for putting in the larger basin with the clear
water which you will require to mix with your
plaster for making the cast. When you have added
the colour-solution to the clear water, stir it up
very thoroughly, and then keep it moving slowly to
prevent any of the colour sinking to the bottom
while you sift your plaster in; when you have put
in enough plaster, and it is ready for stirring up,
do so quickly and well, particularly stirring or

226

BRONZING PLASTER CASTS

"beating" it up at the bottom. Remove the scum
from the top, and pour the plaster into your mould
(which you must shake), and force it in its liquid
state to run well into the hollows and to prevent
the formation of air-bubbles.

A cast made of coloured plaster should not be
worked upon after it has come out of the mould,
if this can be avoided, because, as I have already
mentioned, any working upon the surface changes
its colour in that particular part.

If it is necessary to work upon it, the whole work
should be passed over with a piece of soft flannel,
not to change the form or take out any detail, but
to bring the tone better together.

When no working upon it is required, it is better
to wrap the cast up carefully in soft paper, so that
the dust cannot get through to it. When it is
quite dry it can be treated with the wax in either
of the ways described, and afterwards rubbed over
with French chalk on cotton-wool ; and if you have
chosen a good colour, the result will be splendid.
I should point out that there is a tendency to put
too little colour into the plaster water. The depth
of tone of your plaster cast when first it comes out
of the mould will be the same as when it is waxed,
though the intermediate stage, that of drying, lightens
it in appearance.

With plaster casts that have become very soiled,
and almost beyond cleaning, two, three, or a dozen
coatings of boiled oil, which can be purchased from
any oil and colour shop, will serve best for making
them presentable. These coatings will preserve them
from any further dirt getting into the body ; and such
as may fall on the surface can be removed with a
damp sponge, and afterwards wiped dry with a cloth.

227

COLOURING, WAXING, AND

A plaster surface which has been treated with
boiled oil will gradually darken, and in time will
become one equal colour all over, and possess a rich
mellow quality. I do not advise this treatment of
oiling except where the cast is old and soiled, because
of the change I have spoken of coming about, which
renders any tinting, colouring, or darkening of the
hollows, or other parts which you may w r ish to
accentuate, valueless in time.

Before proceeding to speak on the subject of
bron/ing, I think it well to describe a simple means
of cleaning a plaster work which has become dis-
coloured with dust or soiled by the fingers from
handling, to make it as clean and white as when
it first comes out of the mould.

Place your cast in a bath or other receptacle, deep
and wide enough to leave space between it and the
top, so that it will be completely under water when
the bath is filled. Your cast need not remain up-
right, but may be laid down. Having tried your
work in the dry bath and determined the way in
which it shall stand or lie so as to assure its being
covered with water, remove the cast and fill the bath
with sufficient water to serve the purpose ; then,
having well dusted your cast, immerse it and leave
it for the night, or twelve hours ; by this time it will
be soaked through, when it should be lifted out of
the bath.

If some of the dirt is found to have remained, it
can be removed quite easily by placing the work
entirely or partly back into the bath, and then
wiping it over with a large camel-hair or other soft
brush, or sponge full of water. This should completely
restore the cast to its original white state. Never
attempt this process unless you have a bath suffi-

228

ciently deep to "hold enough water to cover your
plaster model completely when it is put inside, or
your work will be spoilt. If the student desires to
know the spoilt effect, he had best make the experi-
ment ; it will save me writing of things which are
not worth knowing.

A plaster cast which has had a bath, can, when the
moisture has dried out of it, be treated in any of the
ways I have described painted either with French
polish, wax, or the boiled oil, with the same result
as if it had never been under water.

The methods of bronzing are as numerous as they
are uncertain in result. I know of no method by
which you can be more sure of getting the effect you
desire than the following simple one.

Give your plaster cast, when free from moisture,
one coating of French polish ; either white or brown
may be used in this case. Apply it with hog-hair
brushes, and do not forget to paint the hollows. Let
the work stand for half-an-hour, or for such time as
may allow the polish to dry in. Wash your brushes
in the meantime in methylated spirit ; otherwise they
will dry stiff and soon become useless.

You must have provided yourself with some bronze
powder. This can be purchased at any good oil and
colour shop at about a shilling an ounce for the best
quality, which quality I advise you always to use, in
preference to inferior and cheaper stuff. It is well
to have by you also some copper powder, in case you
wish to add a little to your bronze powder, in order
to get a warmer and more coppery effect.

The next process is to paint your plaster cast with
this bronze powder. This is done in the following
way. Pour a little white French polish into a
saucer, and thin it slightly with a little methylated

229

COLOURING, WAXING, AND

spirit ; then add to it a little of the bronze powder,
and, if you desire, a very little of the copper powder
too; mix them together with a brush (a hog-hair),
;md begin by painting in the hollows and deep
crevices first, doing so rather by dabbing it in than
drawing it across, and have very little of the colour
in your brush at any time. Stir it up each time upon
taking more, as the powder, being heavy, sinks very
quickly to the bottom of the saucer ; avoid putting
it on thick or it will form a skin and fill up some
of your detail. When you have painted into the
hollows, do the same over the front surfaces. There
is no reason to be alarmed if the surface of the
plaster does not get very well covered at first,
because a second painting with the powder, put on
in exactly the same way as before, will do every-
thing in the way of hiding all signs of the white
plaster. It should be remembered that this second
application must not be put on until the first is
quite dry and hard, and to get it to this consistency
it is advisable to leave it to stand for nearly an hour.
And leave it for a similar time after it has been
painted a second time with the powder.

At all times when using this powder it is advisable
to mix only a little at a time ; if too much is mixed
in the saucer, the spirit evaporates and the French
polish begins to thicken and dry before you have
nearly covered your plaster.

Your work after the second coating of bronze
powder presents a very disappointing effect, looking
like an advertisement for some one's gold or bronze
powder ; but this is only one of the stages of bronzing,
the next stage being to hide this glittering, cheap
appearance, and to get a resemblance to real bronze.

Bronze varies so considerably in colour, through

230

BRONZING PLASTER CASTS

various climatic effects and other reasons, that in
imitating it you select a colour which you think will
best suit. It may be a light or dark brown, a purple
or a black, or almost any shade of green, or it may
even be a bronze with some little of all these colours
in it. This last-mentioned effect can be obtained
with care, though it is better to try a simple colour-
ing or imitation, until such time as you may have
made some experiments, and gained some knowledge
of the possibilities of the materials with which you
have to work, and of the effects to be obtained.

Therefore we will suppose that you desire to make
your model of a light-brown bronze. The colouring
matter you will require will be raw umber, of which
in its powder state enough can be purchased for a
penny or two to cover nearly a dozen casts.

Fill a saucer three parts with methylated spirits,
and add to this about three tea-spoonfuls or less of
French polish, either white or brown ; then put into
this about two or three teaspoonfuls of the raw
umber, and stir it up well with a large camel-hair
brush of about one inch in diameter. When it is
dry, paint your work with this, beginning always
from the top, and covering it as far as possible all
round. This should be done with a fair quantity in
your brush each time you apply it, and quickly, so
that each brushful you put on shall take up and mix
with the last one put on before it becomes dry.
Continue this until you have got down to the base
and all the parts are covered.

There is no need for alarm if this colour, as you
apply it, runs down in parts a little. Therefore do
not attempt to brush it up or flat; it is better to
leave it until you pass over it in your progress
downwards.

231

COLOURING, WAXING, AND

When the whole work is covered, it should be left
to dry. Ten or fifteen minutes will suffice; then, if
it is not thought to be dark enough, another paint-
ing can be given in exactly the same manner.

I must repeat that it is important to stir the colour
up with the brush each time a fresh brushful is being
taken : otherwise the colour will sink to the bottom,
and the coating which you put on the work will be
patchy when dry.

When you can judge it, it is better to mix your
colouring to the thickness and tone that will only
require one painting, as a second application at
this period sometimes removes the first coat or
wash, unless the new work is done very quickly and
skilfully.

The next process after the colour is dry is to wax
the work all over. Wax and turpentine are mixed
together in the same way and in the same quantities
as for use on a white plaster cast, and as already
directed, though in this case the cast must not be
warmed. Then leave it for a night until the wax
has thoroughly dried in.

It has then reached a stage when any further
effects can be tried with less fear of trouble ensuing,
as you have a fairly hard bronze body to work upon.
If the work please in its present stage, then brushing
with a quick movement with a fairly hard clothes-
brush or clean boot-brush over the surface will add
to its appearance. The friction of quick brushing not
only gives some burnish or polish, but has the effect
of changing the colour of parts satisfactorily. It
should be understood that though the brushing should
be with quick action, little pressure should be put
on the brush, the bristles only being allowed just to
touch the surface of the work.

232

BRONZING PLASTER CASTS

Should, however, the colour not be satisfactory,
apply a further coating or painting of colour, mixed
and put on in the same way as before, with methy-
lated spirit, though in this case with even less of the
French polish than was used before with the applica-
tion of colour ; and when this has dried, brush it in
the manner already explained.

It may be mentioned that green, or any other
colour (or it may be lampblack, which, used sparingly,
produces a good effect), can if desired be used for
this second coating. Then in the brushing process,
this colour which has been used for the second coat-
ing (i.e. after the waxing) will remain in the hollows
untouched and unpolished, and will therefore give a
contrast to the quality on the surface which has been
brushed.

If it is now felt desirable to get a greater variety
of colour in your work, this can be effected to any
extent by wiping dry dust colour on to it with your
finger or a little cotton- wool ; this colour will adhere
quite well in the hollows, where the wax, not having
been brushed, will " hold " it.

If you wish to get a variety of colour on the pro-
jecting parts, or any parts besides the hollows, it
would be best to apply the dry powder colours on the
wax surface before brushing it. Pastel colours are
excellent ones to use, though they are more expensive
than the ordinary powder colours you purchase at the
oil and colour shop.

If, when putting on a dry powder or pastel colour,
you wish to get, we will suppose, a purple tint, it is
better to do this by first putting on the blue and then
the red on the top, or vice versa, rather than by
mixing the two colours together and then applying,
for the reason that a better and truer metallic effect

233

COLOURING, A\ f AXING, AND

is obtained by the two being put on separately. The
same method is advisable in every case where dry
powder colour is used, and where it requires two
colours to produce the tint desired.

Sometimes the ordinary dust from a shelf, thrown
into the hollows of a bronze work, has a special
value.

Another method of colouring the work when it
has its bronze powder surface prepared is to use as a
medium a little gold size and turpentine for mixing
your colour with, and for making into a liquid state.
This should be in the proportion of T V gold size,
\ colour, to the turpentine. By this means you are
more certain of getting uniformity, because this
medium dries more slowly than spirit and shellac,
and is therefore capable of being manipulated more
freely. Moreover, it allows you more time to apply
it, which is of importance to the beginner, who has
had perhaps no previous practice in bronzing. But it
is well to remind the student that the method pre-
viously spoken of has its advantages.

Oil colour, such as an artist uses, can also be painted
on to a work which has been coated with the bronze
powder, but it should be put on only when made
thin with turpentine as a medium. It should indeed
be used more as a wash, in the manner of water-
colour painting, rather than oil ; otherwise it will
form a thickness and will fill in much of the detail.
If oil colour is used it should be done very sparingly
at first, for it can always be made stronger, if required,
by a second and even a third painting, either all
over or only in parts.

There is yet another method indeed, I may say
there are several others of bronzing ; but I propose
to deal with one more only, feeling, as I do, that

234

BRONZING PLASTER CASTS

those I have mentioned are the best and simplest for
the student to attempt.

First give the work in plaster a coating of boiled
oil, and when this has dried in fairly well, give it a
good coating of terebene, and leave it until dry ;
then take some of the powder of such a colour as
you wish the whole surface to be, and mix with
shellac (either white or brown) in a saucer or other
vessel. This, when painted, will form, so to speak,
the body upon which to put the further and final
colour or colours, though these final colours should
be mixed with water only and put on more in a wash.
If found patchy when dried in, the colour can easily
be distributed equally by means of a brush with the
water nearly all squeezed out, and with a dabbing,
rather than a wiping or washing action, going over
the patchy parts, spreading or extending the colour
picked up in the process from one part to another.
By this means you will get the colour to " hold
together."

You may " work in " either colour or bronze or
gold at the time of this dabbing, but it should be
in small quantities only, and applied by taking a
little on the moistened brush.

The bronzing produced by this process will be dry
in its effect as an antique bronze which has been
exposed to the air. Should it, however, be desired
to get a polish upon it, this can be easily obtained
by waxing in the way I have already described, by
painting over with the mixture of wax and turpen-
tine, though it will change the appearance by darken-
ing it very considerably, and will indeed take out
much of the colour. For this reason I do not con-
sider this the best method of bronzing, unless it be
to imitate a " dead " or dull surface.

235

COLOURING, ETC., PLASTER CASTS

For work of heroic or large size it is a quick,
and relatively cheap, means of getting a bronze-like
result.

Bronzed works (which means in this case plaster
hronzed) are easily chipped or scratched, in which
case the white plaster becomes visible, and a touching
up is necessary. Not always is it easy to touch these
parts up satisfactorily, nor is it convenient ; as, for
instance, when the work, having found a purchaser,
has left your studio. I should therefore like to men-
tion, before closing this chapter on Bronzing, that
you may get over the difficulty or, I should say,
lessen to some extent the unpleasant white plaster
effect of a chipped or scratched bronzed work if you
treat your work in the very first instance, i.e. before
you put on the first coating of shellac, with a paint-
ing all over of black ink, or a dark water stain, or
Condy's fluid and ink mixed ; any of these will soak
well in and beneath the surface, and in the event
of subsequent chips or scratches, they will be less
discernible, and your work will suffer less in its
appearance than it would if the body under the
colouring were white.

236

CHAPTER XIV

ENLARGING A SMALL MODEL TO HEROIC
SIZE BY THE CHASSIS

THE method generally adopted for enlarging a figure
or group in the round is by working with a chassis,
as here described. We will suppose that you have
made a small model, say 2 feet high, for a public
statue, and that this has to be enlarged to 12 feet,
or six times its size.

You begin by fixing the small model firmly on a
pedestal or modelling stand, the top of which must
be nailed down to prevent its revolving. Then it
should be accurately adjusted with a spirit-level on
the top. The stand must also be nailed or screwed
(or the legs of the stand plastered round) to the
floor of your studio, conveniently near to where you
propose building your large model. For the latter
you will require a very strong turn-table or " banker "
with a revolving top, but this, as with the small
pedestal, will require also to be fixed, so that it will
not revolve until such time as it is deemed necessary,
as will be seen later on.

The next step is to make your chassis for the small
model. This is a square frame made of wood, slightly
larger than the greatest width in your small model.
Upon the four sides of this frame you mark off very
accurately the inches, | inches, ^ inches, -J- inches,
and ^ inches, so that, if your frame were 12 inches
square, you would set out a 1-foot rule at each side

237

ENLARGING A SMALL MODEL

of your square (see Fig. 75). It is most important
that you should have your frame made very true, and
that all the measurements, inches and parts of an
inch. !><> most accurately set out, and with the different

lengths of lines ruled
through in the same
way as you find in a
well - made foot - rule.
V-shaped notches
should be cut out on
the top edge of the
frame with a sharp
knife at all the inches
and half - inches and
fractions.

With this done you
will start to mark out
on a large chassis
(which you will have
already had made by
your carpenter to the

Fig. LXXV

THE SMALL CHASSIS PLACED
OVER STATUETTE

model has to be made
times the size of

six

scale of six times the
small one) the twelve

inches and parts of an
\\ ith perpendicular rule for dis- , -, i

, , inch, and as your large

tance down measurements, and

pointing stick for "distance in"

measurements.

your small model, it

will be seen that an inch on the large frame must
actually measure six inches to be correct in scale,
and so the other portions of the inch become en-
larged to this scale. V-shaped notches should be
cut out on the top edge in the same way as on the
smaller frame, at the points (inches and fractions)
where the lines are drawn through.

238

Small chassis to show
somewhat relative size
to large chassis.

Fig. LXXVI

LARGE CHASSIS WITH HANGING RULE AND POINTING STICK

It will be seen a point is being taken to show where the point in the
pit of the neck will be fixed.

ENLARGING A SMALL MODEL TO

You now have your two frames ready set out. To
fix thrin up is the next tiling. The smaller one is
placed over the plaster model and supported by an
upright post at each corner, these posts being firmly
screwed down to the pedestal, care being taken that
they are accurately vertical (or perpendicular) and
that the chassis is perfectly horizontal on the top.
Tse a spirit level to get this true. Your small
model is now, so to speak, inside a cage at all points.
You will next proceed to fix up your larger chassis.
This, instead of being supported by upright posts at
the corners of the pedestal, should where possible be
suspended directly above your large " banker," from
the beams, walls, or roof, in such a way that it is
quite safe and will not move. This chassis must be
fixed proportionately high, according to the scale to
which you are working in this case six times as
high as the small one above the large banker or
turn-table ; the height should never be less, but
rather greater. This will not affect the size of your
figure, by reason of the whole of the measurements
being "dropped" or taken down from the chassis,
but will give you an opportunity, should you wish,
of making the base or groundwork of the figure
deeper. This extra depth is often required, so that
a good safe plan is to allow for it, unless you have
made a good extra depth of base in your small
model.

You have now, we will suppose, your two chassis
fixed up, and you will observe from Figs. 75 and 76
that a nail or screw is placed in the centre of each, i.e.
where the two struts of wood cross inside the square,
both in the small and in the large chassis, which
serve to strengthen the framework and prevent it
from buckling. This screw or nail is not driven

240

HEROIC SIZE BY THE CHASSIS

entirely home, but a portion of it is left standing up
away from the wood. Tied to this are four pieces of
string, one for each side of the square, long enough
to reach over the top and drop down to within a few
inches of the level of the banker or pedestal. A lead
weight is attached to the end of each piece of string,
which thus serves as a plumb-line. These plumb-
lines are lifted over to any of the V-shaped notches,
indicating inches or parts of inches, on the small
model. Similarly, the plumb-lines of the larger
chassis can be lifted by means of a long piece of wood
or stick on to their corresponding number. The
piece of wood which you will use for this purpose
should be made perfectly straight, and long enough
to reach from the top of the chassis to just below the
level of the banker, and it should have a T-piece
which will allow it to hang on the top of the chassis.
Down at each side of this long piece of wood the
inches and parts of inches are set out to scale, be-
ginning from the top. A smaller stick, also with a
T-piece and with the actual inches, half-inches, and
so on, set out, is necessary for use in connection with
the small model.

You now have the plumb-lines, which you can
place over the notch of any number you may wish on
the chassis, and you have the vertically hanging rule
or stick by which you can measure any distance
down from the top of the chassis. Nothing remains
to be made before you proceed to " point up," but the
two pointing-sticks. These consist of pieces of wood
carefully made, one for the small model and the
other for the enlarging. Each consists of a stiffish
lath with one end tapered off to form a point at its
top edge (see Figs. 75 and 76), and a headless nail or
pin fixed neatly and firmly into it, so that you have a

241 Q

KXLAHGIXG A SMALL MODEL TO

point of metal instead of wood, which would easily
wear away. Thou the inches, half-inches, and other
parts of the inch are set out on this, beginning from
the extreme nail or pin point, and the lines are ruled
through, at each inch and part of the inch. The
figures should ill all cases be carefully and clearly
put in, especially on the large chassis, in order that
they may he easily seen from below.

Now everything is ready i.e. your plumb-lines,
your T-shaped piece for "distance-down" measure-
ments, and your pointer for " distance-in " measure-
ments ; and as you arrange the two former on your
small chassis, so you arrange the two in their relative
positions on the large chassis. Then the measure-
meiit-in is taken with the pointer on the small model
at any distance dow r n on the suspended rule. In
this way you obtain your point, which would read
something like this, for instance : from front view
plumb-line over the 3| "down at" 10 on hanging
movable rule or stick " distance-in " from this last
number 9|.

This having been done, say, from the front, you
would next try the distance-in of this same point
from the side most convenient, and so your plumb-
lines would be arranged in their relative places, to
find the " in from side " distance. To begin with,
you would have the main iron support fixed on the
hanker, and build upon it your armature, defining its
position, projection, angle, &c., by means of measure-
ments taken over the chassis, so that the strongest
iron pieces, made by the smith, which may be re-
quired, can be fixed firmly and definitely without any
fear of their being put in any other than the exact
relative position to the small model.

With the irons fixed for the arms, legs, and such

242

HEROIC SIZE MY THE CHASSIS

other parts as may need to be of iron, much of the
remaining armature can, and should, be built up
with wood, and in such parts as the body or other
big masses caged in with laths to keep the whole as
light as is prudently possible. In short, a skeleton
of wood built on the main iron supports is the thing
to make. This must be built out (in the case of a
12-foot figure) to within 2 or 3 inches of what will
ultimately be the front surface of the clay. This
means that a figure of 12 feet high need have,
in no one place, more than a thickness of about
3 inches of clay, provided that your small model
has been carefully thought out and worked properly
to scale.

When you have the whole of the armature erected,
the first point to be fixed in the clay is the pit of the
neck. This point will have been the first and most
important consideration in the armature stage, but
you will have fixed this somewhat back so that it
will be as nearly as possible in the centre of the neck,
and therefore w r ill easily receive the thickness of clay
necessary to cover it. It is well to know that this
point in the pit of the neck is likely to come forward
a little as the amount of clay put on the figure
increases. It is, therefore, advisable at the com-
mencement to fix this point a little further in, say
an inch in a 12-foot statue. Again, it is wise to
keep all the points a fraction high up at first, as
there is every likelihood in the early stages of the
clay sinking, if only a fraction. The contraction
in the clay later brings about some slight change,
so that all your points need testing from time to
time.

Whenever you take a point on your small model,
it is advisable to mark it with a pencil by making a

243

KXLAUGIXG A SMALL MODEL TO

small dot. which you will find useful when you pro-
ceed to model up the large work. Your points should
he taken on a system, somewhat horizontally and
perpendicularly in lines, as, for instance, down the
main folds and down in the hollows as well as across
them, and not hy taking a point, say, on the shoulder
and the next some distance away.

Square-topped pegs w r ith pointed ends should be
inserted into the clay at every point put in on the
large model. These should be made long enough
(some perhaps nearly 2 inches for a figure of this
si/e) to enable you to pull them out some distance
if necessary, leaving them still imbedded sufficiently
far in the clay to hold in their place.

It is important, when taking and putting in points,
that your pointing-stick should be held horizontally
at right angles to the plumb-line, and that your pegs
should be pushed in straight, as a continuation, so to
speak, of the pointing-stick. At times the callipers
and compasses will be found useful for taking points
which are not easily obtained from measuring on the
chassis. Such measurements should be taken from
two points on the small model and then put on the
small pointing-stick, and afterwards the correspond-
ing measurement taken from the enlarged pointing-
stick (when it is more than likely larger compasses
01- callipers will be required) and tried on the clay
figure.

When you have put points in over the whole figure
and have filled in the parts between these until the
pegs are seen projecting only just above the surface
of the clay, your small chassis may be removed and
the top of the pedestal freed, so that it can revolve,
and the turn-table or banker upon which your large
figure stands may also be freed. After this you may

244

HEROIC SIZE BY THE CHASSIS

set to work upon modelling the surface, and remove
such of the pegs as you wish, for if these have been
carefully put in there is little need to fear that by
extracting them you will get far away from a very
accurate enlargement of your small model.

245

CHAPTER XV
MARBLE CARVING

KVKHY student of modelling whose wish it is to
become a sculptor should learn to carve, for, correctly
speaking, only he is a sculptor who carves a shape
(whether a figure or other form) out of a solid mass
of stone or wood. A man who builds up a work
in clay, be it never so large, is only a modeller ;
yet his object may be sculpture, and the treatment
of such a work sculpturesque. But before it can
truly become sculpture it must be converted into a
carved work.

Many of the early works, it is said, were carved
direct out of the stone or wood, without models
having previously been made for them. There are
some men who do this to-day, but they are few.

The general method now is, and since the earliest
times has always been, to make the work in either
clay or wax first, and after having cast it into the
harder material of plaster, to use this as a model
from which to copy. This is to guide you in the
process of expressing your idea in the ultimate
material, say, for instance, marble.

By this principle a great deal of risk is lessened,
because you will have tried many experiments in
your softer and more pliable material before obtain-
ing what you want ; whereas, had you started right
away in the marble, any error which you may have
made in taking oil' too much could not be mended.

246

a**s

Fig. LXXVIII

POINTING A FKJI in: IN RELIEF THE INSTRUMENT
ON THE PLASTER MODEL

Note the iiffdh. point i- l.eiiitf pushed down to the surface of a point on the

drapery.
From a work l.y Thoma* Hrm-k, Ksi,., 11. A., and by his kind permission this

illustration i- shown.

Fig. LXXIX

POINTING A FIGURE IN RELIEF THE POINTING INSTRU-
MENT TRANSFERRED TO THE MARBLE

It will be noticed that little marble remains to be taken off before pointing

is completed.
By the kind permission of Thomas Brock, Esq., R.A., this illustration is

shown.

When you have before you your idea definitely
expressed in a plastic form', an accurate conversion
into the marble is fairly certain, provided that care
is exercised in the "pointing" process, in the "pre-
paring" stage, and ultimately the "carving," i.e. the
finishing. The artist needs only do the "carving"
if he has, in the first instance, made a carefully
finished model, a fine work in the plaster; and the
marble can be a masterpiece.

The intermediate stages between the plaster and
the finish or carving are purely mechanical. It is,
however, as well that the student should know them,
and be capable of carrying out the whole work from
beginning to end if this be necessary. The more
mechanical part of the work, the pointing, is truly
laborious in a work of any size.

We will suppose that you have a finished model
in plaster, and that you have selected a block of
marble of a suitable size, and as free as it is possible
to tell, from colour, vein, or flaw : a great difficulty, it
must be confessed, for even the experts in marble
are unable to detect colour which may be much
below the surface of the block.

The test that can be made is to wash the marble
with clean water, and the moisture will show up
immediately any veins or specks of colour, even
though these may be a little below the surface; and
with experience, tapping the block with an iron
hammer may in some instances prove its soundness
oi' otherwise, the ring being less clear when there
is a flaw or vent in the marble than it would be in
that of a sound piece. These flaws, it may be men-
tioned, have generally been caused at the time of the
blasting from the quarries, or at the time of bursting
(severing) the marble from a larger block.

250

MARBLE CARVING

The block of marble now in your studio is placed
in its correct position on a banker, and the plaster
model placed beside it on another banker or model-
ling stand.

Three points are now selected on your model, and
three corresponding ones upon the block of marble.
These latter points are found on the marble by the
pointing machine, which is nothing more than a
contrivance for taking measurements, it having been
adjusted correctly to the points on the model and
transferred to the stone.

The three points on both plaster and marble are
made permanent and kept immovable until the work
is quite or nearly finished, by means of imbedding, in
a little moist plaster, copper rivets somewhat like
drawing pins with little holes drilled in the centre
of their heads. In these holes the three needle points
of the arms of the pointing instrument can rest
each time the instrument is put on to the model or
the marble for the purpose of taking a " point "
(measurement).

Little drilled holes will suffice at first to hold the
instrument on the marble, the material being suffi-
ciently hard to withstand the continued insertion of
the arm pins without wearing these holes larger,
though it is better and safer to put the copper rivets
in at the beginning.

From the main or perpendicular rod a movable
arm springs out, and from this another arm, through
the end of which passes a movable needle, worked
on a ball and socket. The needle is actually the
part which is pushed down to the surface of the
model, and gauges the depth down to the surface
of any particular part which you may wish to take.
The first point to be taken is the most projecting

251

Tig. LXXX

1'<HNTIN<; A PORTRAIT KKLIKF TlIE POINTING INSTRU-
MENT TKANSKKRKKD TO THE MAHHLK

Nob- tin- inarlile (lieiujr a tliin slali) is fixed (\vitli plaster) on to a thicker
Ix-d of stone, to keep it steady and to prevent its breaking in the
process of pointing and carving.

Fig. LXXXI

POINTING A PORTRAIT RELIEF THE POINTING INSTRU-
MENT ON THE PLASTER MODEL. TAKING A POINT ON
THE MOUSTACHE

MAKHLE CARVING

one; on a face tin's would be the nose. When the
point has been taken, the needle is fixed by a little
thumbscrew so that it can go no further, but will
draw away in an outward direction sufficiently far
to escape touching the marble (when the instru-
ment is transferred to it) which has to be carved
away.

When the instrument is transferred from the
model to the block of marble it will be seen that the
needle cannot be pushed forward to its full, and that
the chipping away must begin to allow this needle to
go further home ; when a fair amount of marble has
been taken away from this particular part, the in-
strument is again put on the marble, and the needle
pushed still further in. When it is found that the
needle goes in to about a quarter of an inch of its
required distance, then a hole is drilled with a
"driller" to what is thought to be nearly enough;
the needle is once again pushed in to see how little
more drilling is necessary ; then the needle is removed
and the point made deeper ; the most important thing
briny to avoid makiny the point too deep. A good
pointer will keep all his "points" a little "full," by
never allowing the needle to go quite home, by about
the 32nd of an inch or less. All the other points are
taken in the same way. The arms of the instrument
and needle being adjusted according to the position
of the points to be taken, the points all over will
probably be not more than a quarter of an inch
apart, i.e. on the important parts, such as the features,
or, it may be said, any of the flesh parts. On drapery,
where there are broad planes, fewer points are
necessary.

The appearance of a work when pointed is not
pleasing, covered all over with innumerable holes,

254

MARBLE CARVING

and little mounds of marble projecting between these
holes.

Now comes the work of " preparing," carving down
the projecting mounds to nearly the level of the
points, when the form begins to assert itself; and
here care is needed.

It is in such a state that the artist must take the
work up himself, unless he has a very skilful carver,
who can carry it still further. Even then the artist
will find much that he alone can express properly, if
it must have the same spirit as the original ; for it
will be found that not only does the transcription
into marble give a little different effect, by reason of
the change of material, but the artist may wish to
quiet or emphasize parts indeed, he may wish to
make many little alterations, which he alone feels,
and can do. And so, when the points are left " full,"
such work can be done more easily than if the points
had been drilled right home. Hence the importance
of every modelling student practising to carve.

If a student can copy form in clay, he can soon
learn to carve it in marble, though I do not say with
the same skill as one who has devoted his whole life
to marble-cutting. I have seen really fine works in
plaster lose much of the character of the artist's
touch by being carved too dexterously, until they
were nothing more than mechanical reproductions.
Yet they may have been very accurate copies in a
general sense. In short, they lacked the sense of
touch which the artist alone could have given.

Skilful cutting or carving in marble does not make
a work of art or even a fine carving. It is the ex-
pression given by each and every touch which makes
the work.

The student will find that the "darks" in marble

255

MARBLE CARVING

mver appear so strong as in the plaster model. This
is accounted for by the transparency of the material,
and in some instances by the greater reflecting power
in marble than in plaster or clay. It is useless to
deepen a hollow after you have cut it a certain depth,
if yon wish to obtain a darker shadow ; because it
becomes lighter and less dense by the greater amount
of reflected light As marble is more transparent
than either plaster or flesh, if the nostrils are cut up
as high, or the wings of the nose as thin (in the
inside), as in nature, there is scarcely any "dark,"
certainly nothing like the amount there is in nature.
More particularly is this the case when the work
is executed in some of the best statuary marbles,
which are more transparent than others.

"Sicilian" marble, or Bianco Chiaro (clear white)
as the Italians call it, being of a less transparent
nature, and rather heavier and colder in colour-,
retains more density in the " dark " of the hollows,
and in the shadows. Sicilian marble is used for
exterior purposes, especially in a country like ours,
where the climatic effects are so disastrous as to make
the finer statuary marbles crumble away in no time.

The reason for this marble being called Sicilian
by the English is, I believe, unknown, though it is
thought by some that it derived this name Sicilian
perhaps because it was formerly shipped to Sicily
and thence to an English port.

The choicest marble of all for ideal work, the nude
or portraiture, for interior purposes, is Serravezza,
though there is a Greek marble called Peritelic which
is preferred by some sculptors ; this marble, which is
found in the island of Paros and at Mount Pentelicus,
has larger crystals than the statuary of Carrara, is
extremely hard, and does not, I think, cut quite so

250

MARBLE CARVING

freely as the beautiful marble of Serravezza. Pentelic
was chiefly used by the ancient sculptors for their
work. There are other qualities of marble, but those
I have named are generally accepted as the "first"
best. The cheaper statuary marbles are sugary and
soft, and therefore not very lasting.

In marble it is not an uncommon thing to find
minute pins of iron. These are very troublesome,
being very difficult to cut away, and taking, as they
do, piece after piece out of the best tempered tools.
Sometimes they can be got down by riffles, but one
has to take care not to cut too deeply into the
marble on either side and around these pins in the
attempt to remove them.

In Serravezza, as in most marbles, there appear
sometimes what are termed "sand holes," which
are almost more troublesome than the pins of iron,
because they may occur at the very finish when the
last touches are being put on the work, when but
a powder of marble dust is leaving the parent stone,
suddenly; in some cases they are as deep as a pea,
so that cutting away down to the bottom of the
crevice would mean ruining your work.

These holes can only be left, and afterwards filled
with borax melted over a gas-jet in a clean spoon.
A little of this, whilst still liquid, should be pressed
into the crevice with a tool ; any of the borax which
is left on the surface may be cut away with a sharp
knife. Although this is the best means I know
for filling these holes, it is not altogether a satis-
factory one, for in time the filling will contract
somewhat, get loose, and either fall out or show a
black line round where the borax has parted from
the marble, more especially if the marble is frequently
washed.

257 R

MARBLE CARVING

Most beginners in carving are lax in keeping their
tools nicely sharpened. They too often go on work-
ing long after the edge has been taken off the steel.
This is a great mistake, because a blunt tool not
only jags and takes longer to cut, but the tools
will not cut cleanly unless due consideration is given
to them.

A flat piece of stone, York, should always be kept
by your side, with a basin or cup of water, and a
little of the water put from time to time on the stone
to make it wet, the moisture preventing the steel
from becoming hot whilst being rubbed.

By practice you will get used to a certain weight
of hammer, and find yourself more at ease with the
one you constantly use than with a strange one ;
therefore it is advisable that, like every good work-
man, you should have your own from the first.

In the process of carving a work, through all its
stages from " pointing " to " finish," you will require
to use two or three differently weighted hammers,
the one required for the finishing touches, where
but little gentle touches are necessary, naturally
being lighter in weight than the one used at the
beginning (the pointing), where in some instances
quite big pieces are fetched away with the tool called
the "pitcher" and afterwards the "pointer." Again,
another strength is used at the intermediate stage,
that of " preparing," when the tooth tool is brought
constantly into use.

A carving hammer needs only be 2 Ibs. in weight,
though for " pointing " a heavier is required about
4 Ibs. and for " preparing " one of 3 Ibs. weight.

Beginners invariably cut too straight into the
marble by holding their tools too much at right
angles with the stone they are carving This, instead

258

MARBLE CARVING

of being a quick way of cutting the marble away,
is indeed a slow one, and one which will very soon
break the edge of the chisel. The chisel should be
held in such a way as just to bite or grip the stone.

Round-nosed drills of varying size will be fre-
quently brought into use, to drill away those hollows
which cannot easily be got at with a chisel.

To go slowly is the proper course; and you will
always be wise in taking off too little. More can
always be taken off, but never put on. The marble
should always be covered up with a clean white cloth
when it is not being worked upon ; otherwise it will
quickly get discoloured from dust and dirt, and such
fresh cutting as you do to it will be whiter and the
effect produced will be patchy and misleading.

A student wishing to learn to carve will do well
to work something out of a soft stone to begin with,
and thus get command of the hammer and chisel,
before he takes to cutting in the harder stones.

259

CHAPTER XVI
A FINAL NOTE

As I ventured to explain in my Preface, I make no
pretence to literary skill in setting forth the contents
of this volume, having been solely actuated by a
personal and genuine desire to set before the student
of the plastic and glyptic art the methods of the
various processes and the simplest, because the most
straightforward, way of obtaining results therefrom.
So in this concluding chapter, gathering up the pre-
ceding pages, as it were, into one final whole, let me
say that if I have arrived at writing what may
prove of practical value to the earnest, hard-working
student, if I have simplified his work ever so little
by pointing out the right methods and guiding him
away from the wrong, I shall have achieved my
object. It has been, for the most part, a labour of
love to write of these things, of which many years
of practical experience have given me a considerable
knowledge.

Were I asked to name the greatest asset in an
artistic career, I should answer, " Indomitable per-
severance, courage, and determination." Without
these and a belief in the power you possess, nothing
of any real or enduring value can possibly be accom-
plished. However glorious the vision, however lofty
the ideal, however true the aim you have set before
yourself, nothing but perseverance, determined and

260

A FINAL NOTE

unceasing, will ever take you to the goal of your
desire. The highest resolve, the greatest enthusiasm,
are futile without hard work how hard and un-
sparing only those can ever really know who have
chosen the pursuit of art as a means of livelihood.

You must surrender yourself all your thoughts
your very existence if you would attain ! Never
must your aspirations leave you ; cherish them as
life's most precious gift. There is the height you
have set yourself to gain.

I cannot too strongly impress on students, on the
young student especially, the virtue of moderation
in all things. Extremes are bad at all times. Vul-
garity is unpardonable in art.

Artists possess, or at least are supposed to possess,
more sensitive nerves than the ordinary business-
like, matter-of-fact mortal, and at times a brain-
storm occurs, when all their labours seem futile,
inept, worthless ; the vision has fled ; the deepest
gloom of depression overwhelms them ; the toil and
careful studies of years seem empty and useless.

When such fits occur, leave the work on which you
may be engaged entirely alone, for if you still per-
sist in attempting the impossible, failure, utter and
complete, is bound to attend your most strenuous
efforts.

Go at once into the air. Throw off the cramping
influence of the studio, and study Nature in her
varied and strangely variable moods. Nature alone
possesses restorative balm, and if you view the
manifold marvels of her works with loving reverence,
her myriad spectacles of beauty so infinite, of diver-
sity so extraordinary, with a seeing eye, calm will
follow the brain-storm, the feeling of revolt will
cease and die away, and you will glad-heartedly

261

A FINAL NOTE

return to your work, refreshed and strengthened
alike in mind and body. No longer will you find all
things stale, flat, and unprofitable.

When a student can indulge in foreign travel it
should prove of the greatest service to him. Not
only does travelling enlarge his outlook on life and
dispel many insular prejudices, but it aifords him
the opportunity of seeing what students are doing
in other countries, as well as of becoming acquainted
with some of the masterpieces both of ancient and
modern sculpture. It gives him an insight into
the methods of work in other studios than his
own, and will certainly brush away many preju-
dices, which otherwise would remain fixed ideas in
his mind.

A student cannot study too closely, or too often,
the wonderful collections of statuary which are to
be found in our own museums and galleries, many
of which, especially those of the Greek and early
Italian schools, are unrivalled throughout the length
and breadth of Europe.

Above and before all, I repeat, study Nature.
None of her works are mean, low, ugly, or vulgar
to those who, with the patience born of reverent love,
seek out her marvellous and minute beauties.

The skulls and bones of all animals and birds
are marvels of construction. The skin and flesh are
but the draping of the frame ; the skeleton is just as
beautiful beneath its covering. Look into the heart
of things, into their very core : the superficial is not
all we see. To all with eyes to see, manifold beauties
start from what before seemed but an empty shell.
So store your mind with beauty infinite, and it will
follow that your work will be full of interest. A
thousand fancies from a single leaf spring to life,

262

Q
OD

e
8 I
I -

W o

^ <
M S-

H -

5 -*

A FINAL NOTE

as memory brings to the brain the rapture you felt
when you found how beautiful all is in Nature.

With this exhortation I close, commending these
pages to the perusal of the student, in the earnest
hope that they may prove practically useful. I re-
member the immense, almost insuperable, difficulties
of my earliest art days, and I have sought to make
these difficulties less formidable for him. Although
utterly unaccustomed to literary effort, I have found
a pleasure in writing, for all that I have here set
down is the result of my own arduous experience.

264

265

A FEW MASTERPIECES CONSIDERED

THE student cannot acquaint himself either too soon
or too well with the best examples of sculpture
from the earliest periods, which are to be found in
our museums, for it takes years of close association
with the great masterpieces before one can realise to
the fullest extent the immensity of these creations.
For the finest sculptured pieces, like the finest com-
positions, musical, poetic, or literary, require an
educated mind properly to appreciate or understand
them a mind which has been given up to them for
a long time. You are told from the first moment of
your existence in the study of art that these works
are great, but that this is so, you are not at that
time really convinced in your own mind. You have
to learn something before you can realise it for your-
self, and that learning must come through the study
of Nature. I therefore advise you to study Nature
and the masterpieces at one and the same time, so to
speak, by devoting, say, alternate days to each so far
as you can, to work from the life to-day, and to-
morrow to go into the presence of the masterpieces.
You will then quite soon begin to feel that a close
relationship exists between Nature and what, up
till quite recently, appeared to you idealised or
unfamiliar form.

The student will soon learn that these great works
were built from the same Nature with which he
himself is daily confronted. For the guidance of

267

A FEW MASTERPIECES CONSIDERED

the student, I propose commenting briefly upon a
few of those which rank, as I consider, amongst
the finest sculptured works to be found in our
museums, and in some instances in our schools
of art. Space will not permit of my saying much,
and the periods from which I select works to speak
of must therefore be selected on broad principles.

At a period of nearly 3000 years B.C. the Assyrian
and Egyptian artists were producing great sculptural
works, many fine specimens of which are now to be
found in our museums. That Assyrian and Egyptian
art has influenced all ages from the Greek to the
present, is not at all surprising when we see from
their architecture what masters they were of con-
struction and design in the former how profoundly
substantial, and in the latter how simple and grand.
Their carvings upon the walls of these buildings of
relief work introduce figures, animals, and hiero-
glyphics, in many instances in quite a curious way,
yet ever beautiful in pattern and in decorative
effect. Strange as some of their works may appear
at first, they will on close acquaintance establish in
the spectator's mind the fact that many of them are
full of life and truth to nature. This applies not
only to the statues but particularly to the bas-reliefs,
many of which are extraordinarily realistic and most
charming in relief treatment. The Egyptians had
a method of sometimes carving their reliefs in a
way seldom if ever practised by sculptors since them,
except in frank imitation ; that is to say, on a flat
ground surface they drew their design, their figure,
and so on, with a fairly deep incised outline, then
carved the form into it, inside these outlines, leaving
the original ground surface standing up above the

268

PLATES I AND II
EGYPTIAN CARVING IN RELIEF

The British Museum

269

PLATE I

Many of the Egyptian cannings on their sepulchral and other steles
mere Jirst drawn on to the stone with a deep incised outline.
The relief was then carved within this outline, so that the
ground surface remains at its original projection, while the
earring, in a relief treatment, is somewhat lower. To this
method is greatly due the preservation of the carving.

PLATE II

In this example we get the work at the top carved in relief and
the background set back, whilst in the lower portion the relief
work is carved within the outlines, and the groundwork, i.e. the
original face of the stone, is left projecting beyond.

270

PLATE III
AN EGYPTIAN PRIEST AND PRIESTESS

The British Museum

271

PLATE III

Simplicity of pose characterises all the Egyptian statues, and the
group of Priest and Priestess is no exception to the rule, though
there existed a keen desire to be elaborate in the decoration of
their garments both by caning and by the painting upon them.
The invariable method adopted was that of gauging out a
number of parallel lines in the draperies and wearing apparel
generally. Mark well the grand and solemn dignity of this
work, and the ease of both Jigures.

272

Plate III

PRIEST AND PRIESTESS

carved sunken relief work. This was done in many
of their sepulchral and other steles, most of them
in limestone, though the Egyptians worked to a great
extent in granite. (See Plates 1 and 2.) See with what
solemn dignity the priest and his wife are seated
the simplicity of pose and treatment and the refine-
ment of the whole. The Egyptians valued greatly
the repetition of straight lines, parallelism both
horizontal and perpendicular. The Greeks were not
slow to adopt the use of this. Some of the most
wonderful bas-relief works of all time are those of
the reign of Assur-Nasir-Pal, King of Assyria 860 B.C.
Those representing the king himself, with his winged
mythological attendants, are splendid; but the Bull
Hunt, the Lion Hunt, and indeed the whole series
to which they belong, are marvellously fine as works
of relief carving, design, drawing, treatment, and
realism. The animals, in particular, are based upon
the true forms in nature. The life and spirit with
which these sculptors imbued their work is astound-
ing, however quaint and queer the actions of their
figures may in most instances appear to us, with
their limbs bent at the joints at right angles, and
with so many rigid straight lines in their costumes.
Although almost actual repetition appears both in
curved, angular, and straight lines, the result is
never monotony, for these lines are always of value
in the works.

When we come to the Greek, I cannot but make
straightway for the figures from the Parthenon.
These figures, which adorned the pediments of the
most beautiful work of antiquity ever accomplished,
are in most instances fragments, mutilated remains,
of magnificent artistic conception, surpassing all other
works of all time.

273 s

A FEW MASTERPIECES CONSIDERED

To Phidias, the giant among sculptors, who lived
about 500 years B.C., we owe the birth of these most
noble conceptions, these glorious and incomparable
renderings of the most beautiful forms to be found
in nature.

' Look at the figure of the Theseus, and also that of
the Ilissos, and you will come to recognise that they
are unquestionably the finest specimens of Art
which is to be defined as Nature seen through an
artistic mind. The construction of each figure is
perfect, the movement sublime, the bigness and
simplicity of the detail and the whole, amazing.
All is as broad and simple as possible, yet full
and rich in quality ; nothing poor or small, nothing
cold, dead, or still, yet all reposeful.

Look at the wonderful construction and the mag-
nificent drawing in the torso and legs of the Theseus,
and mark well the splendid firmness of the planes.

When we turn to look at the movement in the
body of the Ilissos, we ask ourselves if movement
was ever produced in sculpture with such style the
whole body is turned in a way which, from the
hands of a less great master, would suggest muscular
exertion, but this sublime genius has given us perfect
rest ; all is freed from violence. It is a perfect tran-
script of nature as seen through a mighty mind.

Observe the grand construction of the thorax, and
the marvellously beautiful movement of the torso,
and how the right leg grows or springs out from the
torso. Can anything finer be imagined ? Again,
examine the back; it is as fine as the front; see the
quality and value of all the hollows in this noble
figure, and realise how grand is this selection from
the finest nature. To my thinking, this figure is
even finer than the Theseus.

274

PLATES IV AND V
ASSYRIAN RELIEF CARVING

The British Museum

275

PLATES IV AND V

These reliefs are extremely decorative, and valuable for the student
who is studying decorative relief-work. The simplicity of the
surfaces and the value of repetition of lines, as in the heads
and legs of the animals, should be noted, as well as the shapes
of the spaces on the groundwork.

276

-< ,

<
' jf -_

PLATE VI

THESEUS

The British Museum

PLATE VII

ILISSOS

The British Museum

277

PLATES VI AND VII

Grander form was never seen in Art or Nature than in these two
examples of Greek Sculpture. They represent the noblest
forms in Nature as seen through the mind of a sublime genius.
Note that there is no attempt at any exaggerated pose, and
if the body is moved at all in action, as in the case of the
Ilissos, it is done with such ease that all the ejfect is obtained
with perfect repose. Of all works, the student cannot do better
than keep himself in constant touch with these great master-
pieces.

278

from a photograph by Mansell & Co.

Plate VI

THESEUS

Plate VII

ILISSOS

PLATE VIII

THE THREE FATES

The British Museum

279

PLATE VIII

Never was the human form more exquisitely draped than in the case
of the group of The Fates, and never did drapery cover grander
form. The marvel is that the form is everywhere felt so beauti-
fully through the drapery. Note the value of the radiating
lines.

280

If you model anything from the antique before
you have had a long study from the living model,
then select these two masterpieces before all others
to copy; they are nearer the finest nature, as we
know it in after years, than perhaps any other
work of which I can think. You will for this reason
more quickly understand these than you will many
other antique works. To make a copy of these
statues should prove of immense value at any
moment in a sculptor's career.

Nothing less than I have said of Theseus and
Ilissos can be said of the Fates ; equally great are
these three daughters of Cecrops, which form a part
of the eastern pediment of the Parthenon. Look at
the one sister reposing in the lap of the other, the
freedom of line, the ease of pose; the style of line
and the richness throughout are beyond all praise.

Note how beautifully the form is expressed through,
or under, the exquisitely arranged draperies, leaving
you to believe that the nude figure must have been
modelled in true form first, and afterwards the
draperies put on. The purity in the design of these
draperies is so convincing but how monotonous,
how hard, how cold and unsympathetic this drapery
might have appeared had it been done by any less
sublime genius. These figures all but breathe ; you
feel that parts of the flesh could be pressed in, so
full of real nature are they.

These pieces of Greek antiquity might have been
moulded and then cast from nature if anything
so mechanical as a cast could give what the mind
and the eyes saw in the finest nature.

I cannot leave the works which adorn the Par-
thenon without calling the student's attention to
the bas-reliefs from the frieze. This frieze is of

281

A FEW MASTERPIECES CONSIDERED

such a length (524 feet) that it needs a volume to
itself, but space will permit of my mentioning it
only as a whole, as a complete rhythm of grand
dignity of composition : the vigorous action and life
displayed are enormous. The entire Procession seems
to be moving, and yet still and dignified, as all fine
sculpture is. Note the simplicity of this frieze
and yet the richness of it ; how beautifully it is
filled ; the delightfully rich pattern it makes ; the
spaces in between the relief, the subjects, how
interesting; the colour by this I mean the effect
of light and shade, the value of the lines, repeated
in so many instances, yet never monotonous ; the
value-uses of perpendicular lines, as contrasted with
horizontal ones. Note how much the front surface
of the marble has been retained, so as to co-ordinate
it with the architectural portion; how completely
this frieze fits its position. How firm is the form,
and how grand the spirit. Here is a lesson for us
in relief decoration ; to be never noisy or vulgar,
but ever quiet and dignified like nature at its best.
To make no attempt at pictorial effect. The planes
to be simple and broad, and no effort to be made
at unnecessary perspective or great variety in relief,
but all perfect completeness. It is thus that truth
is handled by a master hand!

The relief figures on the sculptured pier from the
Temple of Diana (Artemision), Ephesus (B.M., No.
1204), belong to the highest standard in sculpture :
see the delightful arrangement of drapery on the
female figures, the value of the scale of one part
to another. The dignity of the headless woman is
great. How purely sculpturesque all these Greek
works are. Selection and treatment of true form
were the first aim of the Greek sculptor.

282

PLATES IX AND X
BAS-RELIEFS FROM THE PARTHENON FRIEZE

The British Museum

283

PLATES IX AND X

It it difficult to select a portion of a whole which is so noble and
so complete without a feeling of regret thai it, and any remarks
respecting it, can be but fragmentary. Attention should be
drawn to the wonderful style of line which exists in the smallest
portion as it does throughout the whole of this frieze. Observe,
for example, the line down from the nose of the ox in relation
to the front line down the figure on this side of the animal.
Apart from the magnificent treatment of relief work and other
striking merits which this piece possesses, the quality and
style of the outline are everywhere superb. I would advise
the student constantly to let his eye travel along these outlines,
in order thoroughly to recognise their significance.

284

from a phatografh by Mansflt & Ct

Plate IX

/". o; a fHatOfrafH by Manse// & Co.

BAS-RELIEFS FROM THE PARTHENON FRIEZE.

Plate X

PLATE XI

SCULPTURED PIER FROM THE TEMPLE
OF DIANA

The British Museum

285

PLATE XI

The arrangement ofjigures against a column or drum-shaped ground
involves more difficulties than when on a Jlat surf ace, for the
outlines seen at the extreme sides have to be considered in respect
of their silhouette as well as the front view without the chief
lines of the column being entirely lost or too much broken up
by over-great projection. Note the arrangement of the drapery
on the female ^figure that is to say, the value of horizontal
lines as against upright ones, and also the value of the radiating
lines in the drapery from the hand.

286

/><>/ a photografh by Mansell f- Co.

SCULPTURED PIER FROM THE TEMPLE OF DIANA

Plate XI

PLATE XII
THE NIKE OF SAMOTHRACE

287

PLATE XII

This may be called the Victory of Victories, for no greater Victory
was ever achieved than the making of this great work. One
almost hears the wind blowing the soft, thin drapery up against
the beautifully soft, rounded form of this graceful figure.
Note hoiv the form of the figure is traced through and tinder
the drapery, only lost to be found again the next moment.

288

1'rom a photograph by Manse!! & C

Plate XII

THE NIKE OF SAMOTHRACE

PLATE XIII
SEPULCHRAL MONUMENT OF HEGESO

The British Museum

289

PLATE XIII

A Jine example of relief work. Observe the simplicity and purity
of all the lines, and the absence of any attempt at elaboration
of detail. Yet the whole is rich by reason of the value of the
beautifully shaped plain parts as contrasted with those parts
more cut up by the folds of the drapery. Note the exquisite
shapes made by each mass of drapery and the value of per-
pendicular and horizontal Lines in the design.

290

From a photograph by the English Photo Co.

SEPULCHRAL MONUMENT OF HEGESO

Plate XIII

PLATE XIV

LES ADIEUX

J. .T. PERRAITD

Louvre

291

PLATE XIV

In contrast to the sepulchral monument of Hegeso, reproduced in
the preceding plate, this work is shown. The student mil
quickly see for himself that the over-billing of a panel and
the over-elaboration of detail is a fault. This work is overdone
everywhere, it is restless, and not in the least inspiring; but
it may serve to point out to the student that an abundance of
elaborate detail and cramming of work into a panel are not
requisite to the production of ajine work.

292

From a photograph by Ciraiido.

Plate XIV

LES ADIEUX. BY J. J. PERRAUD

PLATE XV
THE VENUS OF MELOS

Louvre

293

PLATE XV

Seldom if ever was more beautiful female form wrought out of a
block of marble than this Venus of Melos a Goddess in all
her grace and tenderness of form. Note the construction of
the whole Jigure, the grand simplicity of the detail, and the
ease in the movement throughout. The neck grows out of
shoulders in great style and carries the handsome head nobly.

294

From a fliatagrafh by ,\enrJei.

Plate XV

THE VENUS OF MELOS

PLATE XVI

ASKLEPIOS

The British Museum

295

PLATE XVI

This grandly sculptured head of Asklepios is one to which all students
should give special attention. The breadth and Jirmness of
the modelling and drawing are remarkable, whilst the expression
is placid and godlike. The treatment of the hair is splendid,
and the colour in this, as contrasted with the pale face, is
wonderfully well suggested.

296

From a f/totofrafh by Manstll & Co.

Plate XVI

ASKLEPIOS

A FEW MASTERPIECES CONSIDERED

For flowing drapery look at the wonderful Victory,
the " Nike of Samothrace." In this you get intense
movement one feels the wind blowing as this figure
sweeps through the air.

I can point to few more beautiful pieces of Greek
relief work than the sepulchral monument of Hegeso,
daughter of Proxenos (Athens, about 100 B.C.). The
exquisite simplicity and purity of line in these figures
is immense, whilst the style, arrangement, and treat-
ment of the drapery, with its valuable perpendicular
line, is perfect ; all so severe, yet so easy. The shape
of any one particular portion is beautiful and com-
plete in itself. Observe how very firm the drawing is,
and for this reason the value of the light and shade.
Turned upside down or seen from any side, it is
almost equally fine, which proves how splendid the
shapes are and how well considered the lines.

For the student's benefit I should like to contrast
this work, of which I just have spoken, with one
in the Louvre, " Les Adieux," where it will be seen
how everything is overdone, noisy, common, and
what a want of quiet is needed. This work, to my
mind, is as far from right as the other is near to
perfection.

The Venus of Melos is perhaps one of the few
statues almost fine enough to have come from the
hand of Phidias, so great is the perfect harmony of
the whole ; and the pure and majestic style of this
work places it amongst the greatest creations. The
ease of the attitude and the bigness of its sculp-
turesque character should be appreciated by every
one. This Venus is a goddess in all her grace and
tenderness of form.

Let us look at just a few of the many fine busts
and heads before we leave these galleries, wherein

297

A FEW MASTERPIECES CONSIDERED

we can find enough great works to fill volumes with
praise without saying a word too much.

It appears to me that most of the Greek sculptors
treated the heads on their figures and the heads
on their busts with a little less nearness to nature
than they did the figure parts, and that whilst they
possess, in most cases, the finest form, I do not
recognise a particularly strong individuality or a
marked character. They appear rather as types than
as individuals. Perhaps therein lies the secret of
their sculpturesque breadth of treatment. Any in-
sistence on individual characteristics might have
lessened this quality.

That the Greeks coloured their statues is beyond
doubt; that they considered colour in form an
essential is also evident ; more especially is this
noticeable in the treatment of the hair, where the
difference between a head with light hair and one
with dark hair is obvious.

See what an amount of consideration, too, these
Greeks gave to the arrangement of the hair; how
beautifully sought out and followed are the masses,
until they become splendid, rich pieces of design.

The more closely you study from nature the
growth, movement, and shape of the masses of the
hair, the more you will see how near the Greeks are
to the truth in these details.

Look at the splendid head of Asklepios (B.M.,
No. 550). The face simple, broad, and strong, yet
pale, encircled by a rich treatment of hair. This
applies to many of their heads, the hair being so
often cut up full of light and shade to give a
contrast in colour to that of the face, as between
flesh and hair, though these parts never appear
noisy or common.

298

PLATE XVII
HEAD IN BRONZE OF APHRODITE

299

PLATE XVII

The lesson in this mask is that to be derived from the big, broad,
and Jirm modelling, the beautiful simplicity of the treatment,
and the ease of the movement conveyed.

300

l-'rom a photograph by Manse II & Co.

Plate XVII

APHRODITE

PLATE XVIII

HOMER

The British Museum

301

PLATE XVIII

The fine, sculpturesque treatment of this work places it among the
best busts of all time. The Jirm construction of the whole
head and nervous drawing in the detail are remarkable. Note
the drawing up the sides of the face, over the cheek-bones, and
up the temple bones. Again observe the wonderful treatment of
the eyes ; they appear as blind, and yet are full of expression.

302

Plate XVIII

HOMER

PLATE XIX

TORSO OF APHRODITE

The British Museum

303

PLATE XX
HEAD OF A YOUNG MAN

The British Museum

305 u

PLATE XX

A finely carred head of a young man, sculpturesque in treatment
and firmly posed on the shoulders. The hair is somewhat
conventional and not so good as in the best Greek heads, though
the features are grand in their big, fine form, and the con-
struction is perfect. A head valuable for the student to study.

800

Plate XX

HEAD OF A YOUNG MAN

PLATE XXI

MIDAS

The British Museum

307

PLATE XXI

A beautifully refined piece of decorative sculpture, delightful in
sentiment and sense of scale of one part to another. It is,
of course, conventional, or, rather, formal ; but it is none the
less a Jine work. The treatment of hair and head-dress and
the beard should be carefully observed, as should also the
arrangement of the drapery.

308

From a photograph by Mansell & Co.

MIDAS

Plate XXI

PLATE XXII

A PORTION OF A TABERNACLE

MASTER OF SAN TROVASO
South Kensington Museum

309

PLATE XXII

An example of low relief modelling in which some of the Jigures
(i.e. the front ones) are lifted quite a distance from the back-
ground, yet do not change the style of relief from those which
remain set back close up to it. Note the treatment of, and on,
the projection between the outlines of figures in the foreground
and those in the background as being the same, so that there
is a " togetherness," or uniformity, in the whole.

310

Plate XXII

A PORTION OF A TABERNACLE

And for strength, look at the head of Hercules
(B.M., No. 1736). It is enormously powerful ; see, too,
how fine is the bronze head of Aphrodite; there
is an example of the best period of Greek art :
simplicity and style; and the flesh big, firm, and
full in quality. One side of the face may be out in
construction as related to the other ; but this has
come about, I should say, by having been dented
or knocked in by damage at some time.

I do not intend to dwell upon the Roman period,
because I feel that what space I have now to spare
were best spent (after leaving the Greeks) with the
early Italians ; therefore, after a glance round at
the Romans, we will hasten to the Italian masters.

In these Roman busts and statues there is a
more varied difference of character in the features
than we have found with the Greeks. Indeed, the
Romans went more nearly for getting the character
(personality) of the individual man or woman. That
they liked to preserve a likeness of their departed
is well known, for it was their custom to take
wax moulds and casts from the face after death.
The mask, we are told, would be worn by one of
the mourners, who would also wear the cloth insignia
of the departed in the funeral procession. The wax
models could not have been made for any purpose
of art, but simply as likenesses.

Though the features vary considerably, there is
a great sameness in all, in the pose of the head,
general attitude, gesture, and indeed in dress and
arrangement of draperies ; so much so, that many
of their busts of emperors might almost have been
taken from the same mould with different features
put on them.

311

A FEW MASTERPIECES CONSIDERED

A few of the best examples of the Grseco-Roman
pieces are the following :

The head of Homer, Baise, in the British Museum
(Grseco-Roman, No. 1825). This is a very fine head,
strongly modelled and full of character. Besides,
there is in this head of the blind poet tender nervous
drawing in the detail, and play of movement in the
parts. Note how well the cheek-bones are drawn.
The sorrowful expression gives you the complete
idea of one who is blind.

The Torso of Aphrodite (B.M., Greece - Roman,
No. 1580) is one of the very finest bits of Grseco-
Roman sculpture, beautifully simple, full rounded
form, warm flesh, the hollows broad and full of
movement : a work to be studied.

The Head of Mercury (Hermes) (B.M., Grseco-
Roman, No. 1612). The face of this work and the
treatment of the hair (conventional though it be)
are very strong and full of character.

Again, the heroic head of . a young man (B.M.,
No. 1785) is one of the best examples of Grseco-
Roman busts. A splendidly balanced head, with
fine form and great ease in the pose.

Before leaving this period, let me draw attention
to the exquisitely beautiful terminal figure of Midas,
with its gloriously refined head and beard, its charm-
ingly designed drapery, its homogeneous complete-
ness. It is a perfect piece of decorative sculpture.

The moment you enter a gallery of the sculpture
of the early Italian artists, you are surrounded by
so many great works that it is only with difficulty
you can decide where to make a start, or what to
look at first. The names of Donatello, Verrocchio,
Mino da Fiesole, Michael Angelo, Cellini, and a host

312

PLATE XXIII

HEAD OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

SCHOOL OF DELLA ROBBTA
South Kensington Museum

313

PLATE XXIII

This head could hardly be surpassed for subtlety of drawing
and modelling. The transition from one plane to another
is extremely gentle and easy. Nothing but making a most
faithful copy can bring home to the student a complete idea
of this work. Exaggeration, however slight, of any part will
change the effect of the whole, and the copy will wholly lose
its resemblance. For this reason it is a very difficult work
for the student to copy, and consequently affords excellent
discipline.

314

Plate XXIII
HEAD OK ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. SCHOOL OF DELLA ROBBIA

PLATE XXIV

PERSEUS
B. CELLINI

Florence

315

PLATE XXIV

will be easily seen by those who have had however elementary a
training in modelling that this work is one essentially suited
to bronze. The outstretched arm holding a mass such as the
head in this instance would not only be difficult to work in
marble because of the danger of its breaking off in progress,
but would ever look uncomfortable in stone. Furthermore, the
sword and head-dress, or helmet, are not suitable for a stone
treatment, and the whole mass of this figure, supported on one
leg only, would condemn it as unsuitable for any material
other than metal.

316

Plate XXIV

PERSEUS. BY B. CELLINI

PLATE XXV

TERRA-COTTA OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY

Florence

317

PLATE XXV

Note the tenderness of the modelling about the features of this work,
the delicacy with which the detail is treated, and the difference
of texture observed between Jlesh and bone. Observe, too, how
beautifully drawn are the nose and the parts around the eye
and temple. The scale of the detail is very close to nature ;
indeed, the head, considered as a whole, is remarkably realistic
in its rendering.

318

I-,-om a /.holograph by Jli,,ari PUtC XXV

NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI. TERRA-COTTA OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY

PLATE XXVI
BUST IN TERRA-COTTA

DONATELLO

South Kensington Museum

319

PLATE XXVI

It is difficult to point to any female bust of this period possessing
more Jine qualities than this work, ascribed to Donatella. The
beautiful sense of nervous drawing and tender feeling is seen
throughout this sweet head, so gentle and pure in character.
With delightful ease the neck leads out of the womanly
shoulders ; the cartilage in the nose is perfectly felt, and the
bone over the eye, temple, and cheek is not less finely expressed.
The beautiful modelling round the mouth and the drawing up
the face and over the cheek-bone to the forehead should be
studied and analysed.

320

Plate XXVI

BUST IN TERRA-COTTA

PLATE XXVII
A CHIMNEYPIECE

321

PLATE XXVII

Much of the detail in this chimneypiece is as sharp and crisp as
if carved out of a hard marble. The variety of light and
shade (or, as the sculptor terms it, colour} is remarkable ; in
parts the relief is almost lost in the ground, then it comes
playfully up in high relief. The whole work is tender and
refined in feeling, whilst the workmanship is exquisite in its
artistic character.

322

PLATE XXVIII

VIRGIN AND CHILD

DESIDERIO DA SETTIGNANO
South Kensington Museum

323

PLATE XXVIII

A beautiful example of fine drawing and delicate carving in low
relief. With singular charm the outlines vary in strength of
colour i e. in light and shade and the whole work is distin-
guished by purity of feeling and execution.

324

Plate XXVIII

VIRGIN AND CHILD. BY DESIDERIO DA SETTIGNANO

PLATE XXIX

BUST OF A LADY

DESIDERIO DA SETTIGNAXO
South Kensington Museum

325

PLATE XXIX

A beautifully simple bust, unaffected in pose and treatment, quaint
in character, and easy in movement. Note the modelling of
the nose and over the eyes up into the brow, how subtlety, purity,
and sweetness pervade it.

326

I'rom a fhotoyrafli by Mansell and Cc

Plate XXIX

BUST OF A LADY. BY DESIDERIO DA SETTIGNANO

PLATE XXX

BUST OF A YOUNG MAN

ANTONIO POLLATUOLO
South Kensington Museum

327

PLATE XXX

A quaint bust treated in a very simple manner, with no effort at
movement in pose or technique. It is charming in its unaffected
style, and a delightful and rather archaic rendering of character
in sculpture.

328

From a photograph by Manstll & Co. Plate XXX

BUST OF A YOUNG MAN. BY ANTONIO POLLAIUOLO

A FEW MASTERPIECES CONSIDERED

of others, all arouse intense enthusiasm and inspire
one beyond expression.

Take the reliefs of Donatello ; look at these for
grace and beauty, tenderness and feeling, carried
to the very end, finished, yet never tight or hard ;
the drawing and modelling are exquisite. The
subtleness of planes, the colour (i.g. light and shade),
are full of sweet variety and refinement of touch
throughout.

Then take the busts of this same master. You
feel yourself to be in the presence of living people
people whom you saw yesterday and might see
to-day so intimate are they, moving, yet full of
reticence, stilled only by the master-hand ; for though
they almost breathe, they never startle you with
their challenge. They are works of art, tenderly
wrought after nature with a loving fidelity.

Examine the bust of a woman, called St. Cecilia
(Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 7585). The growth
of this neck from the shoulders is full of grace ; the
tender modelling around the nose and mouth, indeed
the whole face, is extraordinarily sweet and pure.
The head of a Lawyer is a masterpiece of con-
struction, tender modelling, and character. And
then look at the heads by Verrocchio, and those
by Mino da Fiesole, Antonio Pollaiuolo, Desiderio
da Settignano, and the many others you can find by
the men of the Italian Renaissance period. These
are the works for the student who is studying the
head from life, in order to follow portrait sculpture.
Let him note the delicate modelling throughout and
in the details ; see how the difference between bone
and flesh is felt, appreciated, and tenderly expressed ;
how subtle, yet playful the movement of surface is
in all cases, how sincerely every bit of detail has

329

been considered. What works of art these are !
To find the like of them one has to go back to the
great Greeks.

Before leaving I must take you before that con-
summate master, Michael Angelo, who followed close
upon these men. This giant, who at the age of
fifteen produced the head of a faun, left behind him
so many great and important works that the wonder
is that he ever found time to sleep in his ninety
years of existence on earth. What a constitution
and physique he must have had ! One cannot help
feeling his physique and constitution in everything
he did. There can be no doubt that Michael Angelo
was moved and inspired by the works of the great
Greek masters ; and from these men he saw his
way to give us great sculpturesque creations, big
nobleness of form being always uppermost in his
mind when he carried out his mighty conceptions.

The amazingly fine construction and arrangement
in all his works shows that from the first the suita-
bility of the subject and adaptation of design to the
material were thoroughly considered ; the same is
the case in respect of the treatment, always masterly.

His knowledge of the human form on and below
the surface was marvellous, and the drawing every-
where very powerful. Together with other works
by this master, look at the grand and mysterious
recumbent figures oil the dignified and majestic
tombs of the Medici, and at the two statues of the
Slaves ; also at the head of the Virgin, which is so
vigorous in treatment yet tender in expression ; and
then turn to the noble figure of Moses. To these
and to the reproductions from the frescoes in the
Sistine Chapel I commend all students of modelling
for inspiration.

330

PLATE XXXI

HEAD OF THE VIRGIN

MICHAEL ANGELO
South Kensington Museum

331

PLATE XXXI

The strength of character displayed in this head marks it as a
great work. It is designed essentially for marble, and the
treatment is appropriate to the material. See the masterly
power with which this unfinished work is wrought.

332

From a photograph by Mansetl f~ Co.

Plate XXXI

HEAD OF VIRGIN

PLATE XXXII

MOSES

MICHAEL ANGELO
Rome

333

PLATE XXXII

A masterpiece. This Moses is a very Moses in all his strength and
wisdom a grandly designed statue. Note the masterly treat-
ment of the head and beard, the drapery magnificently wrought
and arranged over the legs, and the stately pose of the figure.

334

Plate XXXII

MOSES. BY MICHAEL ANGELO

PLATE XXXIII

TOMB OF LORENZO DE MEDICI

MICHAKL ANOELO
Florence

335

PLATE XXXIII

These two nobly conceived reclining figures compare favourably with
the grandest creations of the Greeks, though they have not the
value of the subtleties of the earlier masterpieces, and are more
dramatic in pose and sentiment. These works, wrought with
consummate skill, should inspire every student of modelling to
noble ideals.

336

fro,,, photograph by Alinan pl a t e XXXIII

TOMB OF LORENZO DE' MEDICI. BY MICHAEL ANGELO

PLATE XXXIV

ONE OF THE FIGURES FROM THE TOMB
OF LORENZO DE MEDICI

MICHAEL AXGKLO
Florence

337

PLATE XXXIV

The composition and grand modelling of ihisjigure are unsurpassed
by any work of its kind. Note the construction, the splendidly
varied planes of the shoulders to the plane of the pelvis, then
across the knees. Then observe the plane of the face and the
centre line up the torso over the chest and up the mastoid (neck)
muscle into the skull. See how valuable, too, is the vertical
arrangement of the right arm Supporting the upper portion of
the body, and the parallel line of the draperies up to the head.

338

PLATE XXXV

LA REPUBLIQUE

DALOU

Paris

339

PLATE XXXV

A modern work especially French in conception and modelling. It
is excellent in Us rigorous treatment and in its silhouette, and
would, I am disposed to think, have proved its value to a still
greater extent had it been placed a little higher so that the
whole of the outline could have been seen against the sky.
Note how rich throughout is the modelling, though perhaps
somewhat too equal in the shapes and quantities of the darks
and lights. This, perhaps, may account for the work looking
a little "noisy" and confused from this view.

340

From a photograph by A'etiritdn

Plate XXXV

LA RKPUBLIQUE. BY DALOU

PLATE XXXVI

AVELLINGTON MEMORIAL

ALFRED STEVENS
St. Paul's Cathedral

341

PLATE XXXVI

One of the finest monuments ever erected. This work " builds up "
so magnificently. There is a grandness in the tout-ensemble,
and the detail is beautifully rich, yet never noisy or overdone.
It is a splendid example of the value of plain parts as con-
trasted with those enriched. The proportion of one part to
another could not be better. The silhouettes of the sculptured
groups are most interesting, and the lines of these in relation
with the splendid architecture admirably considered. Thei/ are
a portion of a grand conception, noble and big in the fullest
sense. The effect of the details is as remarkable as that of
the whole. On the top is shown Stevens' s unfinished model for
the equestrian group an adaptation of which, by a modern
artist, is about to be erected in its place.

342

! Stereoscopic Cc

Plate XXXVI

WELLINGTON MEMORIAL. BY ALFRED STEVENS

A FEW MASTERPIECES CONSIDERED

Of relief work from the French school, I know of
nothing so fine as the reliefs of Jean Goujon ex-
quisite in design, beautiful in their varying sense of
colour (light and shade) in the outlines, and charming
in style and relief, as well as their purposeful de-
parture from true human proportions. At times
they are almost Greek in feeling, except for the
playfulness in movement. Much can be learnt from
these beautiful works of the French Renaissance,
plaster casts of some of which can be seen in the
Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington.

I select for illustration " La Republique " by Dalou,
not alone because I regard it so highly from an
artistic point of view, but also because I consider
it so distinctly Gallic in its entirety; in design and
treatment, more so than almost any other modern
work in France. Though perhaps at first it might
be thought somewhat rococo in style, it is absolutely
free from any extravagance. It is a work wrought
by a master-hand, bold and free in treatment, full
of life and movement, rich in decorative quality
and modelling, playful in silhouette, yet as a whole
restful.

Dalou returned to Paris to carry out this im-
portant work after spending some years in England,
where he instilled much enthusiasm into the younger
generation of sculptors of his time who were privi-
leged to come under his care, and inspired them with
the highest aims. He did everything in his power
to establish a school in England, and his influence
helped greatly towards forming the high standard of
the present British school of sculpture.

Of the moderns, Alfred Stevens must surely be
placed first amongst sculptors, and his Wellington
Memorial, of which we here show an illustration,

343

A FEW MASTERPIECES CONSIDERED

will bear favourable comparison with almost any-
thing of bygone ages in Italy or Greece. Michael
Angelo never got nearer to complete harmony in a
conception of architecture and sculpture combined.
Look with care at this great work, which stands
in St. Paul's Cathedral. It came from the hand
and mind of one who, at one time, was a modeller
of stoves and fire-grates. Recognise how perfectly
beautiful is the architectural proportion ; the details
are original and rich in design, never noisy, and
always subservient to the more important parts, the
decorative rendering of the attributes of war which
enrich the sarcophagus, upon which rests the peaceful
figure of the Hero of Waterloo, and the symbolical
groups at either side and above nobly conceived.
See how grandly these masterpieces jut out, making
variety with the columns below which support them
and the superstructure, and what strength of line
prevails in the whole silhouette. And yet this giant
is relatively unknown to the outside world, and his
grave at Highgate is much neglected, for most people
are not aware that his body was there laid to rest,
and many do not even know that one Alfred Stevens
lived.

344

ABNORMAL or abominable in Art,

the, 183
Acids for obtaining particular

colours, 191
Air-jets, 188
Alto-relief, 153

Alum for gelatine moulding, 130
America, Art in, 215
Anatomy, the study of, 42, 81
Angle for reliefs in high position,

172

Aukles, tlie, 78
Antonio Polliauolo, 327
Aphrodite, Torso of, 312
Aphrodite, 311
Armature, the, 38, 52; building up

the, 72; for relief work, 16S ; in

a chassis, 243
Art schools, 27
Asklepios, 298
Assur-Nasir-Pal, bas-relief works of

the reign of, 273
Assyrian Art, 268

BACKGROUND of relief work, 163

Lands of clay for the joints, 98

" Banker" or turn-table, 237

Bas-relief, 153

Basin for molten metal, 194

Bath stone, 198

Beer limestone, 198

Beeswax, 149

Bent iron, strips of, in the mould, 94

Benvenuto Cellini, 187

Blue-bag, the, 92

" Boasted " or masoned, 204

Boiled oil, treating a plaster cast

with, 228

Bones of the human body, 43
Borax for "sand- holes" in marble,

257
Botany, a knowledge of, useful, 214

British sculptor, individuality of

the, 21

Bronze, m< delling for, 175
Bronze powder, 229
Bronzing or tinting, 186
Bronzing, 229

Brown polish for gelatine mould, 1 29
Brushing a bronzed cast, 232
Bull Hunt, The, 273
Bust, moulding a, 97
Bust peg, the, 50
"Butterfly," the, 52

CARICATURIST, the, 49

Carrara marble, 256

Case, the, 122

Cast, the, 106

Casting, 90

Cellini, 312

Character in the model, 88

Characteristics, the study of, 48

Chassis for enlarging, 237

Chin, position of the, 55

Chipping away the coa ( , 96

Chipping-out, 95

Chisel, how to hold the, 259

Cire-pcrdue proce.-s, the, 180, 186

Clay bat, the, 155

Clay, as a material for working in,
33

Clay for modelling for terra-cotta,
135

Clay water, f 3

Cleaning a plaster cast, 228

Clipsham stone, 198

Colour of the work, the, 148

Colouring a plaster cast, 218

Colouring of statues by the Greeks,
298

Colouring the work, 150

Compo or lead piping for the arma-
ture, 72

345

INDEX

Copper powder, 230

Copper rivets for pointing, 251

Copy, the choice of a, 42

"Core," the, 188

Corsham Down, 198

Cottle, the, 100

DALOU, 343

"Darks" in marble, 255
" David" of M. Angelo, 38
Delia Robbia sculpture, 1"6
Desiderio da Settignano, 327
Distance-down measurements, 242
Distance-in measurements, 242
Donatello, 312, 327
Donatello, relief works of, 159
Drapery in marble and bronze, 180
Drawing on the flat, importance of

a mastery of, 159
" Driller," the, 254
Ducts, 188
Dust, effect of, 220

EAR, the, 71

Eccentricity and Genius, 21(5

Egyptian Art, 268

Electrotype deposit, 195

Enlarging by means of a chassis,

237

Eye, the, 63
Eyelids, the, 65

FACE, measuring the, 53

" False cores," 192

Fates, the, 281

Faults in works in bronze, 183

Figure, character of the, 87

" Filling," a, 106

Filling a mould, 146

Fingers, armature for the, 72

Firing, preparations for, 136

Firing works of art, the secret of, 142

Flaws in marble, 250, 257

Forest of Dean sandstone, 198

Founder's sand, 191

Founder's wax, 180

Frame for relief work, 154

France, architecture in, 215

French chalk, 146 ; for gelatine

moulding, 131 ; applied to a

plaster cast, 219

French polish on a plaster cast, 217
French School, the, 20, 343

GAUGE, or Gallows, a, 205
Gelatine moulding, 122
"Gits" or "Gets," 193
il Going off," 92
Goujon, Jean, 343
Greek Art, 273
Grotesque in Art, the, 183
Groundwork or base of the figure,
74

HAIK, the, 109

Hair, treatment of, by the Greeks,

298

Hammer, the, 258
Head, building up the, 53
Head, studying the back of the,

Head of a young man, 312
Head, treatment of, by Greek

sculptors, 298
Head-master, the 30
Hegeso, sepulchral monument of,

297

Heraldry, the animals for, 213
Hercules, 311
High light in the eye, 64
Hollington sandstone, 198
Hollows, 82
Homer, 312
Hopton Wood stone, 199

IDEALISM and Realism, 23

Ilissos, 274

Iron bands for strengthening the

mould, 100
Italian Masters, 311
Italian sculpture, influence of, 24

JAPANESE bronzes, 184
Japanning the supports, 115
Joining the pieces of the work,

140
Joints, making the, 98

KETTON stone, 198

Keys and keyholes, 100, 110, 129

"Killed" plaster, 107

" Killing" the plaster, 96

Kiln, the, 190

"LA RPUBLIQUE," 343

" Lanterns," 193
" Les Adieux," 297

346

INDEX

" Life " of the plaster, 92

Light on the model, changing the,

Light and shadow, 160
Line of sight, the, 204
Lines, the value of, in ancient

carvings, 273
Lion Hunt, The, 273
London, sculpture in, 21
Looking-glass, use of the, 58
Lost-wax process, 180

MARBLE and bronze, different

treatment of, 186
Marble, carving in, 206, 216
Marble, testing for flaws in, 250
Masterpieces, the study of, 267
Measurements, 74
Measuring the model, 56
Medici, Tomb of the, 328
Mending broken pieces, 109
Mercury, head of, 312
Metal work, 184
Michael Angelo, 312, 328
Midas, 312

Milk for fixing colours, 151
Mino da Fiesole, 312, 327
Mitre, the, 211
Model, working from one, 87
Modelling stand, the, 50, 237
Moses, 328
Mould box, 192
Mouldings, 211
Mould-making, 90

NATURE and Art, 23

Nature, the study of, 262

Nature's lines, 82

Neck, taking the position of the

hollow of the, 53
Nike of Samothrace, 297

OAK for carving, 214

Oil colour for plaster casts, 234

PARTHENON, the, 273

" Parting dust," 191

Pastel colours for casts, 233

Pate-sur-pate modelling, 33

Patina of bronze, 179

Pegs, the use of, in measuring, 56,

78
Pentelic marble, 256

Phidias, 274

Pins, founder's, 188

Plaster, mixing the, 90, 93

Plaster in the clay, disastrous effects

of, 136

Plumbago or black-lead, 195
Plumb-line, the, 56
Plumb-lines of a chassis, 241
Point of view, changing the, 58
Pointing machine for marble carv

ing, 251

Pointing-sticks, 241
Points, 35, 243
Portland stone, 198
Portraiture, 46
Pose of the living model, 53
" Potcher," the/258
Preliminary stages, 168
" Preparing " in marble-carving, 255
Proportion between the fleshy and

bony parts, 84
Protecting the model, 35
"Pulling," 145
Pupil of the eye, making the, 64

RAW umber, a colour for plaster

cast, 231

Red Mansfield sandstone, 198
Relief carving, Egyptian, 268
Relief modelling, 152
Reliefs in wax, 163
Renaissance portraiture, 24
Replicas, colouring, 226
Round, moulding in the, 97
Runners, 189

ST. CECILIA, 327

Sand casting, 191

" Sand-holes " in marble, 257

Sand in the clav, advantages of,

144
Scratched or chipped bronzed cast,

236

Serravezza marble, 256
"Setting" of plaster, the, 92
Sicilian marble, 256
Sistine Chapel, frescoes in the, 328
Skeleton, the human, 43
" Slip," 33, 140
Soaping the mould, 95
Soft-soap and oil, the mixture of,

95
Spain, Art in, 215

347

INDEX

Squeeze from a mould, taking a,

145

Stearine, 148
Stearine wax applied to a plaster

cast, 221
Steariningto produce an ivory effect,

225

Stevens, Alfred, 20, 343
" Strickle," or template, 211
Student, advice to the, 261
Styles in which to model, 215
Sulphuric acid for cleaning metal

casts, 190

Sundial, carving a, 199
Surface of bronze work, 183
Syringe, use of the, 95

TEACHING, 26

Technique, 41

Temple of Diana, pier from the, 282

Terebene, 235

Terra-cotta, 135

Terra - cotta works of the early

Italians, 136
Theseus, 274

" Tight " or " close " surface, a, 183
Tin funnel for gelatine moulding,

130
Tinting terra-cotta, 136

Tools, 109 ; the care of, 258
Tow used in gelatine moulding, 134
Training, necessity for good, 26
Travel, the benefits of, 262
Turpentine, 149; caution concern-
ing, 221

UNDERCUTS, 95

VENT-HOLES in gelatine moulding,

130

Venus of Melos, 297
Verrocchio, 312, 327
Virgin, Head of, 328

WASTE moulding, 90

Wax death masks of the Romans,

311

Wax, waste moulding with, 119
Waxing a plaster cast, 220
Waxing the work, 149
Wellington Memorial, The, 343
Wire for the ringers, 73
Wood-carving, 208
Wooden frame for protecting the

model, 37
Wrists, the, 78

YORK stone for sharpening tools, 258

THE END

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BOVCE. Salisbury Cathedral, the Chapter House.

Westminster Abbey. N. Ambulatory. NASH. F. MACKENZIE.

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PHOTOGRAVURE PLATES

The Guitar Lesson. By GERARD The Avenue. By HOBBEMA

TERBOKCII
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HOOCH

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