Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects, and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3)Spooner, Shearjashub
History
Anecdotes of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors and Architects, and Curiosities of Art (Vol. 3 of 3)
Spooner, Shearjashub
Art -- Anecdotes; Artists -- Anecdotes
This fountain was modeled in Plaster of Paris on the spot. It is
seventy-two feet in height; the _jet d'eau_ is through the nostrils of
his trunk; the reservoir in the tower on his back; and one of his legs
contains the staircase for ascending to the large room in the inside of
his belly. The elephant was to have been executed in bronze, with tusks
of silver, surrounded by lions of bronze, which were to spout water from
one cistern to another.
INTERESTING DRAWINGS.
On the sailing of the French expedition for Egypt, from Malta, under the
orders of Bonaparte, the fleet was intentionally dispersed in order to
arrive without being noticed; they had no sooner, however, left Malta,
than they learned that Nelson had penetrated their design, and was in
pursuit of them. Expecting every hour to be come up with, and being too
weak to risk a combat, it was the resolution of Bonaparte and the rest
of the illustrious persons on board the _Orient_ to blow her up, rather
than be taken prisoners; but, that the memory of those who perished
might be preserved, and their features known by posterity, Bonaparte
caused the portraits of eighteen to be taken on two sheets of paper,
which were to be rolled up, put in bottles, and committed to the waves:
the names of the persons are,--
_First Drawing._
Desaix,
Berthier,
Kleber,
Dalomieu,
Berthollet,
Bonaparte,
Caffarelli,
Brueys,
Monge.
_Second Drawing._
Rampon,
Junot,
Regnier,
Desgenettes,
Larrey,
Murat,
Lasnes,
Belliard,
Snulkanski.
The portraits were executed in medallions, with India ink; they were
carefully preserved by the famous surgeon, Baron Larrey; and they
adorned his study at Paris till his death.
SEVRES CHINA.
On the river at Sevres, near Paris, a manufactory is carried on, which
produces the beautiful porcelain, commonly called Sevres, china. It is
equal to all that has been said of it, and after declining, as every
other great national establishment did, during the revolution,
flourished greatly under the peculiar patronage of the emperor Napoleon.
He made presents hence to those sovereigns of Europe with whom he was in
alliance. Napoleon had two vases made of this china, which, even at this
day, form the principal ornament of the gallery at St. Cloud. These
were made at Sevres, and are valued at 100,000 francs each. The clay
made use of was brought at a great expense from a distant part of
France, and affords an instance of how much the value of raw material
may be increased by the ingenuity of a skillful artist.
DISMANTLING OF THE LOUVRE.
In Scott's Paris Revisited (A. D. 1815), we have the following
interesting particulars of the removal of the celebrated pictures and
statues from this famous emporium of the fine arts.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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