On the Old Road, Vol. 2 | Page 8

persons interested in painting merely, but for those who wish to examine the general history of nations; and I think that painting should be considered by that class of persons as containing precious evidence. It would be part of the philosopher's work to examine the art of a nation as well as its poetry.
You consider that art speaks a language and tells a tale which no written document can effect?--Yes, and far more precious; the whole soul of a nation generally goes with its art. It may be urged by an ambitious king to become a warrior nation. It may be trained by a single leader to become a great warrior nation, and its character at that time may materially depend upon that one man, but in its art all the mind of the nation is more or less expressed: it can be said, that was what the peasant sought to when he went into the city to the cathedral in the morning--that was the sort of book the poor person read or learned in--the sort of picture he prayed to. All which involves infinitely more important considerations than common history.
133. Dean of St. Paul's. When you speak of your objections to copies of pictures, do you carry that objection to casts of sculpture?--Not at all.
Supposing there could be no complete union of the great works of sculpture in a country with the great works of painting in that country, would you consider that a good selection of casts comprising the great remains of sculpture of all ages would be an important addition to a public gallery?--I should be very glad to see it.
If you could not have it of originals, you would wish very much to have a complete collection of casts, of course selected from all the finest sculptures in the world?--Certainly.
Mr. Richmond. Would you do the same with architecture--would you collect the remains of architecture, as far as they are to be collected, and unite them with sculpture and painting?--I should think that architecture consisted, as far as it was portable, very much in sculpture. In saying that, I mean, that in the different branches of sculpture architecture is involved--that is to say, you would have the statues belonging to such and such a division of a building. Then if you had casts of those statues, you would necessarily have those casts placed exactly in the same position as the original statues--it involves the buildings surrounding them and the elevation--it involves the whole architecture.
In addition to that, would you have original drawings of architecture, and models of great buildings, and photographs, if they could be made permanent, of the great buildings as well as the moldings and casts of the moldings, and the members as far as you could obtain them?--Quite so.
Would you also include, in the National Gallery, what may be called the handicraft of a nation--works for domestic use or ornament? For instance, we know that there were some salt-cellars designed for one of the Popes; would you have those if they came to us?--Everything, pots and pans, and salt-cellars, and knives.
You would have everything that had an interesting art element in it?--Yes.
Dean of St. Paul's. In short, a modern Pompeian Gallery?--Yes; I know how much greater extent that involves, but I think that you should include all the iron work, and china, and pottery, and so on. I think that all works in metal, all works in clay, all works in carved wood, should be included. Of course, that involves much. It involves all the coins--it involves an immense extent.
134. Supposing it were impossible to concenter in one great museum the whole of these things, where should you prefer to draw the line? Would you draw the line between what I may call the ancient Pagan world and the modern Christian world, and so leave, to what may be called the ancient world, all the ancient sculpture, and any fragments of ancient painting which there might be--all the vases, all the ancient bronzes, and, in short, everything which comes down to a certain period? Do you think that that would be the best division, or should you prefer any division which takes special arts, and keeps those arts together?--I should like the Pagan and Christian division. I think it very essential that wherever the sculpture of a nation was, there its iron work should be--that wherever its iron work was, there its pottery should be, and so on.
And you would keep the medi?val works together, in whatever form those medi?val works existed?--Yes; I should not at all feel injured by having to take a cab-drive from one century to another century.
Or from the ancient to the modern world?--No.
Mr. Richmond. If it were found convenient to keep separate the Pagan and the Christian art, with