For Our Boys Girls

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 444, 8 February 1890, Page 3

For Our Boys Girls

EDITED BY MRS FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT. [COPYRIGHT.] [All Rights Reserved.] How a Statue is Made.

Bv Hamo Thorn ycroft, R. A.

The popular notion about the way in i which a statue is made .seems to be that the sculptor takes a mass of unhewn marble, leaps upon it with his chisel in a frenzy of inspiration,and, without any previous sketch or design, dashes his statue out of it This theory is sometimes pleasantly exemplified on the stage, and in particular in * Pygmalion and Galatea,’ where Pygmalion is seen to be cutting away large flakes of what appears to be cream cheese and revealing, with astonishing rapidity, the finished figure inside the mass. Unfortunately, Michael Angelo once, in the plenitude of his power, is said to have hewn out a work in this way. It is a mere legend, and if there be any basis of truth in it, it is doubtless exaggerated. Probably the shape of the piece of marble suggested a design to him. But this is a solitary case, and it would be about as exact to say that sculptors make statues by biting the stone because Thorwaldsen once scornfully said that he would undertake to carve as good a statue with his teeth as Sergei, the Swedish sculptor, could make with his chisel, as to believe that statuary is hewn at random out of virgin blocks of marble. Since I have been asked to explain this little mystery, I will briefly state the mode in which sculptors proceed in the technical part of their work. _ . . When an artist has conceived in his mind a fairly definite idea for a statue he sets about his business in the following manner : —He takes a piece of board about as large as an octavo book, and upon this he sets up a miniature of his intended statue in modelling wax or else in soft clay. This ‘sketch,’ as it is called, or design, which is usually from six to ten inches high, he builds up bit by bit, manipulating it with his fingers and with small carefully formed tools of wood called ‘ modelling sticks.’ These are to the sculptor almost what brushes are to the painter. In making this design it is usually necessary, if the statue is to be in an erect position or not supported by solid masses, to arrange that a copper or lead wire runs inside the body and limbs of this miniature figure to support the soft clay or wax. This wire support, or ‘skeleton,’ as it is called, is in its turn held up at a proper distance from the board or ground by a piece of thicker wire or thin iron sufficiently rigid to bear the weight of the clay or vvax without trusting to the less of the miniature figure, so that all the limbs can be moved about independently, and are in fact, as in nature, suspended from the trunk. _ . In modelling this sketch it is not desirable to attempt great accuracy or subtle detail of any kind, but rather to compose the work, that is to say, to arrange the direction of lines and masses so that the work may eventually prove to be properly balanced and intelligible from every point of view. This supposes that the statue is to be seen from all sides, but if it is intended for a niche this, of course, will not be necessary, and the back view may be sacrificed in favour of those which will be seen. The making of this sketch model can be accomplished at an ordinary cable or anywhere else where there is a good light. It requires nob more than three or four hours to complete it, if the idea be already clearly formed in the sculptor’s mind, since it is merely the fixing of that idea in tangible form, so as to secure its presence to be referred to in .the setting up of the full-sized statue. This latter is a far more serious undertaking, entailing in the first place the employment of a studio, or, at any rate, of a room with plenty of space and height and light from above, and demanding, besides, a modelling stool or turn-table, several hundredweights of clay, some strong irons, and last but not least some practical knowledge of mechanics to prompt the arrangement and setting up of these irons, since it is they which have to support the weight of the clay in such a manner as not to impede or embarrass the sculptor while he is busy in modelling the work. What frequently happens to a tyro, who is ill-practised in setting - up a statue, is that he finds that the iron frame inside the clay will protrude through the surface before he can get the work completely finished. Another practical difficulty arises from the viscosity of the clay. Here, as in most other matters, the larger the statue the greater the difficulties which harass the sculptor. Unless the statue is properly supported by some rigid mass within it, the body will slowly and surely sink lower and lower to the serious detriment of the length of the under limbs. This rigid mass, generally made of wood, which is placed so as to form the nucleus of the body of the statue, is called the ‘core,’ and the strong iron bar supporting this core at a proper distance from the ground is called, the ‘iron standard.’ The lower end of. the latter is fixed to the base-board, or plinth, the whole mass resting on the turn-table,or sculptor’s easel. The mechanical part is, however, nob yet completed, since there must be now fixed fast on to the core thin iron bars to support the limbs and head, and these bars have to be carefully bent and ■ arranged so as to form,as it were,theskeleton of the. proposed statue. When they are all fixed the whole thing should suggest to the eye of the artist the general attributes of ;the coming statue. In order to insure accuracy in this respect it is necessary to refer continually and carefully to the skuticha When the supporting frame is complete the sculptor begins the delightful work of ' clothing the skeleton with clay. Soon, in an Hour or two, it begins to look more human, and by the morrow he may begin * to work from the living model posing, in ’thh same’ attitude as his statue, while, referring continually to his sketch to see that’He ‘keeps as far as nature will permit to the original idea. . . \ ' J " Wonder is often expressed by the laity at the endurance with which professional models can retain a ‘ pose or attitude when standing to an artist. It is . . merely - a matter-of a little training, and for six or seven-shillings .most of them can do it for

the greater part of a day, provided that the stndio is fairly warm and they ' are. allowed a few minutes’ rest each hour. . I am bound to say, however, that the Italians are the best in this respect, and can generally take a position more quickly aud more gracefully than models from any other country. Most of the best sitters come from a single district some miles north of Naples. When we miss them it is generally found that they are travelling between our northern abodes of art and their own native.villages, oarrying home the savings of their enterprise or returning to earn more by the patient exhibition of their grace and strength. To return, however, to the clay statue which is now just commenced. It will require many months of diligent and hard work to complete this in its clay form, during which time. it will be needful to keep it always moist by having it daily sprinkled with water. If this is not done the clay will become too hard to work freely with the fingers or modelling stick. If it were neglected for many days the figure would dry 'up, crack and fall in pieces. Frost is as dangerous as drought, and we may recall the pathetic story of a very talented young French sculptor, who, only a few years ago, having nearly completed a work in clay, and being unable in mid-winter to afford afire in his studio, put i his own clothes on the statue to protect it from the frost, and was found dead of cold and destitution. It is pleasant to record that his self-sacrifice was partly rewarded, for the French Government saved his statue, which was a masterpiece, had it carefully cast in bronze and gave it immortality in the Museum of the Luxembourg. As soon as the modelling is completed, in order to be preserved the figure is immediately handed over to the plasterman, who, by making a plaster mould, produces the statue in a material which is permanent so long as it is kept dry, though of course far less so than marble or bronze, and altogether lacking in the charm which these latter materials possess. Many statues proceed no further than this, but we will suppose the statue whose progress we are following is to be executed in one or other of these noble and durable substances. First, let us say in marble, in which case the procedure is as follows :

Starting with the now complete statue in plaster, the sculptor sets out by procuring, probably from Carrara or from some marble depot in London, a block of . marble large enough at all points to contain the statue, selecting one which is free from vents, cracks, spots of colour or other flaws. Having got this to the studio, the sculptor’s mason, who is called a ‘ pointer,’ begins his work of copying. This is done by means of an instrument which measures with an accuracy almost mathematical the various dimensions of the plaster statue and transposes these to the block of marble, the work of the mason being the cutting away by means of hammer and chisel and drill the necessary marble to get down to the points indicated by the measuring instrument. This work requires several months in the case of a life-size statue, but when complete the block of marble appears roughly in statue form, but with hundreds of tiny point-holes all over the surface of it, generally about half an inch from one anothor. These are the points indicated bv the instrument, and the bottoms of these little holes are, one may say, the only points where the copy is yet correct, since, between these points, the marble is not yet properly cut away. The statue now looks as if it were just roughed in. The sculptor’s assistant, or ‘ carver,’ or perhaps the sculptor himself, now takes up the work with tools somewhat similar though smaller than those used by the pointer, delicately carves the surface of the statue, referring every moment to the plaster statue, which is placed at hand for that purpose. When the sculptor is satisfied that the marble reDresents in every detail the forms and surfaces of the plaster cast bis statue is finished, though it often happens that when he is himself carving he makes many slight alterations which he may consider advisable, and not unfrequently towards the completion of the carving, be works directly from the living model. And now for a bronze statue. Beginning again with the plaster statue, we will now describe the casting of it in bronze, a process which may be said, though requiring great skill, to be an absolutely mechanical reproduction, if properly carried out.

There are two methods of casting in bronze, the one known as ‘ casting by the lost wax process,’ and the other by the ‘ sand piece-mould process.’ Theoretically the former is the more perfect, and as volumes have been written about it, from Benvenuto Cellini’s time to our own, I will give only an outline of it here. It is, as the name vaguely suggests, as follows :—The bronze-founder is supplied with a complete full-sized model of the statue in wax. This, being hollow, is filled with a mixture of plaster and brickdusb, which sets hard and forms the ‘ core ’ for the bronze cast. The wax model containing the solidified core is th9n placed in an iron box and carefully embedded or buried in more plaster and brickdusb so as to form a complete mould all statue. Nothing of it now remains visible. The whole is then slowlv dried and heated in a furnace until all the wax is melted out or ‘ lost,’ and molten bronze is then allowed to run into the room of the wax ; that is, between the mould and core. When this metal is , set and cooled the mould is broken up and the bronze is revealed. If the casting has been successful every detail or faintest impression left by the sculptor’s hand upon 1 the wax model will be found to be reproduced on this bronze cast. This is the ancient mode of casting, and though it was almost alost art in Western Europe for a couple of centuries, it has recently been revived in several parts of Europe. In England it is successfully employed in the foundry at Frome, in Somersetshire. The sand process is generally used both in England and France, and in the case of large statues is invariably the best. The bronze-founder is given the finished plaster model of the statue ; upon this cast he makes what is known as a ‘piecemould,’ using sand and loam as the material for his mould, the pieces of which are sufficiently strong to admit of being parted or put together without damage. This mould is then slowly dried and a core of a somewhat similar material placed inside the mould, leaving a slight space, perhaps a quarter of an inch, all round, and not touching the mould anywhere. Into this space the molten bronze is poured, and when solidified the mould is broken up and the bronze cast obtained. This bronze will require that J the seams or slight lines formed by the jointures in the mould should be removed with special care by means of small chisels and rasps. The whole statue will then require to be cleansed with acid, and in order to attain quickly what age •would' do, other acids arq put on the bronze •to oxidise the' surface and 'to give it the beauty of colour which is.called ‘ patina.’ These, then,-are the slow,and laborious 'processes needed to produce a finished statue in marble or in bronze. The reward of the sculptor for the toilsome procedures ‘ and expensive materials of' his art is the durability of what he is Hl© to make. The i other arts are liable to destruction from al-

most all the elements. Sculpture hha but one very dangerous ' enemy, tire) and' if she contrives to avoid being calcined or.molten, she may hope to brave to an unlimited extent the devouring tooth of time.