FRENCH ART.
liii
strong effort to rise above convention and to permeate works of art
with personal feeling, besides a technique brought to a high state
of perfection. The most conspicuous sculptors are Paul Dubois (b.
1823), whose marvellously finished forms show the influence of the
early Italians; Falguiere (1831-1900), whose fiery Provencal nature
produces such admirable works as the 'Pegasus' of the Square de
l'Ope'ra at the same time as such doubtful productions as the great
figure in the Pantheon; and Mercie (b. 1845), with his 'Gloria Victis'
in the Hotel de Ville and his 'Quand Meme' in the Tuileries Garden.
Among the many who might be signalized along with these we name
Ernest Barrias ('First Funeral', in the Hotel de Ville), Guillaume
(monument to Ingres, in the Ecele des Beaux-Arts), Crauk (mon¬
ument to Adm. Coligny), Boucher ('At the Goal', in the Luxembourg
Garden), St. Marceaux, and Puech. Dalou has been more inclined to
adopt the pictorial methods of the 18th century. His latest and much
criticized works are the Monument of the Republic (Place de la
Nation) and the Monument to Alphand (Avenue du Bois-de-Bou-
Iogne). The extreme of individuality in art is represented by the
highly gifted Auguste Rodin, whose works, however, are often open
to criticism ('The Kiss', 'Victor Hugo', 'Balzac', 'Mouth of Hell').
Desbois and others suggest themselves in the same connection. Per¬
haps the most striking plastic work of modern days is Bartholomew's
'Monument auxMorts', in Pere-Lachaise. Roty, Chaplain, Daniel Du-
puis, and others have brilliantly resuscitated the art of the medallist.
On Architecture a few words must suffice. Under the First
Empire the classical spirit was supreme (Madeleine, Exchange),
under the Restoration it was Telaxed only so far as to allow the
addition of the basilica (NotTe-Dame-de-Lorette, St. Vincent-de-
Paul). Under Louis Philippe, however, a great revival of Gothic took
place, headed by Viollet-le-Duc, Lassus, and others (restorations of
Notre-Dame, the Sainte Chapelle, and Pierrefonds; Ste. Clotilde),
and this was followed by a general eclecticism. Among the few
really original works of the century honourable mention may be
made of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, by Duban; the church of St.
Augustin, by Baltard; the Trocadero, built by Davioud and Bourdais
in 1878; the church of the Sacre" Coeur, by Abadie; and the Opera
House, by Charles Gamier, the interior of which is especially effective.
Viollet-le-Duc's 'Entretiens sur 1'Architecture' first broached the
important principle that the exterior of a building must indicate its
uses and adapt itself to the altered methods of construction. The
reading-room of the Bibliotheque Nationale, by Labrouste, is an
admirable example of the adaptation of iron-construction to the needs
of a large room.
The Industrial Arts reached the lowest deep of degradation
under Louis Philippe, but the Count de Laborde's classic report on
the London Exhibition of 1851 induced a great improvement, which
at first took the form of a reversion to earlier styles. It was not until
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