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  • Feb. 14, 1863
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  • NEW MATERIALS FOR THE LIFE OF JOHN FLAXMAN, R.A.
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, Feb. 14, 1863: Page 4

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New Materials For The Life Of John Flaxman, R.A.

then in Somerset House , and made his observations , catalogue iu hand . When Chantrey approved , he was always emphatic in his approval : — " Eools admire , but -men of sense approve . " Against Elaxman's statue of Sir Joshua Reynolds ,

now in St . Paul ' s , then only a small-sized model , he has written "fine , " in large blacklead letters . The influence of this very fine statue on Chantrey may be traced in the very best of Chantrey ' s works . The story of the noble portrait of Elaxman , by John JacksonR . A . ( lucky manhe painted Canova as Avell

, , , and for Chantrey ) , Avas given to my father by George Agar Ellis , afterwards Lord Dover , in a long memorandum in his OAVD handwriting before me while I write . "In 1824 and 1825 , I think , Mr . Jackson painted for me the magnificent head of Elaxman —• probably his finest work—in which the chiaro-scuro

of Rembrandt is united Avith the colouring of the greatest masters in that art . The origin of the painting of this picture is as folloAvs -. —At the Academy dinner in , I think , 1824 , 1 sat at table exactly opposite Elaxman , aud was so much struck by the intelligence of his eyethe placid benignity of his

counte-, nance , and his venerable head , that I became anxious to see those characteristics worthily represented in painting . In going down stairs , I found myself next to Jackson , and said to him , 'I never was more struck in my life than by the countenance of Elaxman—you must paint him for me . ' " Lord Dover adds— "After

the great success of the portrait of Elaxman , I gave Jackson a commission to paint a head of Chantrey , which was not quite completed when he died . " Elaxman ' s letters , as autograph collectors know to their cost , are of rare occurrence . Here is one unknown to Elaxman ' s biographers : —

To Prince LToare , Fsq ., Secretary for Foreign Correspondence , Boyal Academy of Arts . London , 1803 . DEAR SIE , —The public monuments which I am doing , by order of the King and Parliament , are two ; one to the memory of Captain Montagueof the ship

, Montague , who fell in the naval engagement on the 1 st of June , 1794 , in which Admiral Earl HoAve commanded , and defeated the Erench fleet . The monument is to be insulated , and to stand under an arch in the naA e of Westminster Abbey , in such a manner that the spectator may walk round it .

Captain Montague rests on his sword , and stands on a pedestal adorned with naval flags . Victory , on a globe behind him , waves over his head the laurel crown which he did not live to wear . On the pedestal is a bas-relief , representing the engagement , and a lion on each 3 ide of the pedestal guards the basement . On

the back of the pedestal , under the trophy , is a basrelief of prisoners . The statue of the Captain is 7 feet 2 inches high , and the whole work will be 20 feet high from the ground . The other monument is to the memory of Admiral Earl Howe , commander-in-chief in the above

engagement , who , having rendered a series , of essential and brilliant services to his country , died at home in peace , at an advanced age , beloved and regretted , particularly by the navy . The principal figure is the earl in a naval uniform and boat-cloak , with a telescope in his right hand , resting on a rostrated pedestal on which

Britannia is seated , as the guardian both of herself and trophies . Eame Avrites his achievements in golden , letters on the pedestal . Victory ( without wings ) leans like a sister , on the shoulder of Eame , beholding with delight the record of her hero ' s deeds , while with her other hand she p laces the garland in the lap of Britannia . The British lion Avatches by the Earl's feet . This monument is to be placed in a distinguished situation in St . Paul's Cathedral . The statue of Earl

HoAve Avill be 7 feet 6 inches high ; the rest of the work Avill be magnificent in proportion , both in size and decoration . Concerning the bust of Ceres , of which you enquire , I have seen it and made drawings of it . When entire , it was a statue made of two blocks of marble : including the basket she supported on her headthe Avhole must have measured 16 feet in

, height ; but as a slight sketch will give a better idea than a laboured description , I have taken the liberty to trouble you Avith one * which you may , if you please , send to the President , of the Academy of Vienna , Avith my respectful compliments . The original is quite a ruinat you will perceive by the

, sketch . The face is gone . It is 6 feet 10 inches high , from the bottom of the girdle zone to the top of the basket . It is UOAV set up in the Public Library at Cambridge . I have examined the ancient authors , but have found no mention of the statue . Pliny says nothing of it ; Vitruvius says nothing of it ; nor

Pausanias . Strabo says the temple was erected by ' Ictinus , under Pericles . It is certainly a work of the time of Phidias , of an elevated beauty , and powerful execution , but I think it must be evident that Phidias could not have done all the works attributed to him , unless he had possessed as many hands as Briareus . — I am , dear sir , & c , " JOHN ELAXMAN . "

There is a passage in my father ' s Life of Elaxman which the following note from a careful and very severe corrector of slips of the pen in print will serve in some measure to set right : — " To Allan Cunningham , Esq ., " Molesey Grove , Hampton Court , 31 st MaJch , 1835 .

" DEAB SIE , —In re-reading your life of Elaxman , I observe , p . 311 , a statement and an anecdote which imply that Elaxman had not left Rome till after the irruption of Buonaparte into Italy . This , I think , must be a mistake . Your book does not , indeed , state the exact time of Elaxman ' s returnbut you say that he

, went in the spring of 1787 , and remained seven years , this would bring the return to 1794 . Now it was not till the autumn of 1795 that Buonaparte ' s name ever Avas heard of , and it was not till the spring of 179 ( 5 that he crossed the Alps . " If you will look at the passage , you will see that

this matter involves inaccuracy , and consequently the credit of the work ; and , as I cannot account for the mistake or anachronism , I have thought proper to mention it to you , that it may be corrected or explained in a neAV edition . —I am , dear sir , faithfully yours , " J . W . CEOKEE . "

On the receip t of this letter my father wrote to Miss Elaxman , and to what purpose the following answer Avill fully tell—

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1863-02-14, Page 4” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 1 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_14021863/page/4/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
THE ANTIQUITY OF MASONIC DEGREES. Article 1
NEW MATERIALS FOR THE LIFE OF JOHN FLAXMAN, R.A. Article 1
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 2
GRAND LODGE PROPERTY. Article 2
THE ANTIQUITY OF MASONIC DEGREES. Article 3
NEW MATERIALS FOR THE LIFE OF JOHN FLAXMAN, R.A. Article 3
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 5
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 8
MR. HALLIWELL NO COWAN. Article 9
THE GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND. Article 9
ANTIQUITY OF MASONIC DEGREES. Article 10
WHAT HAS ST. JOHN THE DIVINE TO DO WITH ENGLISH MASONRY. Article 11
NATIONAL SONG FOR THE PRINCE OF WALES. Article 11
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 12
METROPOLITAN. Article 12
PROVINCIAL. Article 13
INDIA. Article 18
ROYAL ARCH. Article 20
THE WEEK. Article 21
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 22
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

New Materials For The Life Of John Flaxman, R.A.

then in Somerset House , and made his observations , catalogue iu hand . When Chantrey approved , he was always emphatic in his approval : — " Eools admire , but -men of sense approve . " Against Elaxman's statue of Sir Joshua Reynolds ,

now in St . Paul ' s , then only a small-sized model , he has written "fine , " in large blacklead letters . The influence of this very fine statue on Chantrey may be traced in the very best of Chantrey ' s works . The story of the noble portrait of Elaxman , by John JacksonR . A . ( lucky manhe painted Canova as Avell

, , , and for Chantrey ) , Avas given to my father by George Agar Ellis , afterwards Lord Dover , in a long memorandum in his OAVD handwriting before me while I write . "In 1824 and 1825 , I think , Mr . Jackson painted for me the magnificent head of Elaxman —• probably his finest work—in which the chiaro-scuro

of Rembrandt is united Avith the colouring of the greatest masters in that art . The origin of the painting of this picture is as folloAvs -. —At the Academy dinner in , I think , 1824 , 1 sat at table exactly opposite Elaxman , aud was so much struck by the intelligence of his eyethe placid benignity of his

counte-, nance , and his venerable head , that I became anxious to see those characteristics worthily represented in painting . In going down stairs , I found myself next to Jackson , and said to him , 'I never was more struck in my life than by the countenance of Elaxman—you must paint him for me . ' " Lord Dover adds— "After

the great success of the portrait of Elaxman , I gave Jackson a commission to paint a head of Chantrey , which was not quite completed when he died . " Elaxman ' s letters , as autograph collectors know to their cost , are of rare occurrence . Here is one unknown to Elaxman ' s biographers : —

To Prince LToare , Fsq ., Secretary for Foreign Correspondence , Boyal Academy of Arts . London , 1803 . DEAR SIE , —The public monuments which I am doing , by order of the King and Parliament , are two ; one to the memory of Captain Montagueof the ship

, Montague , who fell in the naval engagement on the 1 st of June , 1794 , in which Admiral Earl HoAve commanded , and defeated the Erench fleet . The monument is to be insulated , and to stand under an arch in the naA e of Westminster Abbey , in such a manner that the spectator may walk round it .

Captain Montague rests on his sword , and stands on a pedestal adorned with naval flags . Victory , on a globe behind him , waves over his head the laurel crown which he did not live to wear . On the pedestal is a bas-relief , representing the engagement , and a lion on each 3 ide of the pedestal guards the basement . On

the back of the pedestal , under the trophy , is a basrelief of prisoners . The statue of the Captain is 7 feet 2 inches high , and the whole work will be 20 feet high from the ground . The other monument is to the memory of Admiral Earl Howe , commander-in-chief in the above

engagement , who , having rendered a series , of essential and brilliant services to his country , died at home in peace , at an advanced age , beloved and regretted , particularly by the navy . The principal figure is the earl in a naval uniform and boat-cloak , with a telescope in his right hand , resting on a rostrated pedestal on which

Britannia is seated , as the guardian both of herself and trophies . Eame Avrites his achievements in golden , letters on the pedestal . Victory ( without wings ) leans like a sister , on the shoulder of Eame , beholding with delight the record of her hero ' s deeds , while with her other hand she p laces the garland in the lap of Britannia . The British lion Avatches by the Earl's feet . This monument is to be placed in a distinguished situation in St . Paul's Cathedral . The statue of Earl

HoAve Avill be 7 feet 6 inches high ; the rest of the work Avill be magnificent in proportion , both in size and decoration . Concerning the bust of Ceres , of which you enquire , I have seen it and made drawings of it . When entire , it was a statue made of two blocks of marble : including the basket she supported on her headthe Avhole must have measured 16 feet in

, height ; but as a slight sketch will give a better idea than a laboured description , I have taken the liberty to trouble you Avith one * which you may , if you please , send to the President , of the Academy of Vienna , Avith my respectful compliments . The original is quite a ruinat you will perceive by the

, sketch . The face is gone . It is 6 feet 10 inches high , from the bottom of the girdle zone to the top of the basket . It is UOAV set up in the Public Library at Cambridge . I have examined the ancient authors , but have found no mention of the statue . Pliny says nothing of it ; Vitruvius says nothing of it ; nor

Pausanias . Strabo says the temple was erected by ' Ictinus , under Pericles . It is certainly a work of the time of Phidias , of an elevated beauty , and powerful execution , but I think it must be evident that Phidias could not have done all the works attributed to him , unless he had possessed as many hands as Briareus . — I am , dear sir , & c , " JOHN ELAXMAN . "

There is a passage in my father ' s Life of Elaxman which the following note from a careful and very severe corrector of slips of the pen in print will serve in some measure to set right : — " To Allan Cunningham , Esq ., " Molesey Grove , Hampton Court , 31 st MaJch , 1835 .

" DEAB SIE , —In re-reading your life of Elaxman , I observe , p . 311 , a statement and an anecdote which imply that Elaxman had not left Rome till after the irruption of Buonaparte into Italy . This , I think , must be a mistake . Your book does not , indeed , state the exact time of Elaxman ' s returnbut you say that he

, went in the spring of 1787 , and remained seven years , this would bring the return to 1794 . Now it was not till the autumn of 1795 that Buonaparte ' s name ever Avas heard of , and it was not till the spring of 179 ( 5 that he crossed the Alps . " If you will look at the passage , you will see that

this matter involves inaccuracy , and consequently the credit of the work ; and , as I cannot account for the mistake or anachronism , I have thought proper to mention it to you , that it may be corrected or explained in a neAV edition . —I am , dear sir , faithfully yours , " J . W . CEOKEE . "

On the receip t of this letter my father wrote to Miss Elaxman , and to what purpose the following answer Avill fully tell—

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