51

E.—ll

with the adaptation when submitted to the director. Some of the students worked in outline only, in the stye of Diirer, others on grey paper. Before pupils began their drawings the teacher gave a capital lesson upon the proportion, pose, and character of the model, illustrating his remarks on the blackboard. Where the long bones of the limbs were subcutaneous, special reference would be made to the form in these parts. The accommodation in this life-room was excellent, more than forty students being able to get a good view of the model; and, as the seats and stands were fixed, no time was lost, as with us, in the unnecessary arranging of places every time there is a different model. The model sat for four nights only. The poses were excellent. A cast of a figure from the life, excepting the head, is sometimes placed in a position for pupils to draw instead of the living model. One day in each week after 4 o'clock is devoted to the study of anatomy. The room used was the same as that devoted to study from the life. Lectures were given, and in this order : Bones, ligaments, muscles, and tendons, surface-forms—their causes, &c. Between the lectures pupils are obliged to prepare a series of drawings to submit them upon the evening of the lecture to the teacher. Life-size drawings, with the lengths of the principal long bones of the extremities and groups of bones marked, were drawn in oil-colour upon a blackboard in three positions, front, side, and back. The teacher explained from these drawings and the skeleton, pupils making notes especially of the character of the bones from an artistic point of view, and their subcutaneous parts. All the drawings are done life-size from actual measurement of the bones. In teaching the muscles the pupils had to come with drawings inked in similar to those upon the blackboard, and to a proportionate scale. The teacher explained the origin, insertion, and use of muscle, then made a drawing of it upon the blackboard in red chalk over the bones previously drawn there, the pupil carefully following upon his own drawing. This seems to be an excellent method, and the students greatly profited by it, as their life-studies testified. Studies, full size, from casts of muscles and large diagrams designed by Professor Ewald had to be made in the intervals of the lectures, most of the men devoting Sunday mornings to this purpose. Lectures on advanced perspective (most of the pupils, if not all, learn the elementary principles of perspective in the " Fortbildung " schools) were .given, the method adopted being similar to the one used by architects. All students must attend this course either before or after—generally before—the anatomical, but must not do the two together. Architects, furniture-designers, ironworkers, and figure-decorators were expected to enter upon this course most thoroughly, and no objection was raised to the ordinary day-work being given over in the atelier, and this taking its place, so important was it considered. The course consisted of some twenty lectures; and large objects and subjects, sideboards, bookcases, interior of a room, flight of steps, arches, &c, were drawn in perspective, our small objects being strongly condemned as being unpractical. The drawings were always done to scale, and the advanced students often made measurement-drawings of suitable subjects selected by the professor ; thus the student comprehended the actual shape and the appearance of the object at the same time. Surprise was expressed at our adopting a method that could never be applied to a large subject, and which made prisms, cylinders, cones, &c, 12ft. long and 10ft. diameter—dimensions of a gigantic character, and never seen in reality. Sciography formed a portion of this discourse, and was most excellently taught. Modellers and applied-relief designers, decorators, and architects made very elaborate studies in this department. The tinting is done in a series of flat washes, commencing with the lightest, no softening with a water-brush being allowed. The gradation of rounded forms is expressed by a series of flat washes, the greatest care being taken by the teacher to explain the true shape of the most subtle tint either on a sphere or vase. Excellent models afforded pupils every possible chance of thoroughly understanding this subject. If pupils had not determined their trade before entering the schools they were permitted to study for two years : at the end of that time were compelled to inform the director as to their choice. No pupil is allowed to remain longer than this period without making known his of her decision. Should the pupil wish to be trained as an artist or sculptor instead of a designer for trade purposes after this preliminary course of study, ho or she was at once requested to leave and join the academy schools. The line of demarcation between a school of fine or painting art and a school to train designers was always firmly marked. In addition to the subjects already mentioned, these pupils, necessarily younger than those in the ateliers, painted in sepia and made studies from groups of still-life. These studies, especially the sepia, were of large size, and painted in a manner suitable for decorative purposes. The still-life groups were arranged as compositions in colour, but on purely decorative principles — e.g., in festoons from one and two points of support— and were most useful for means of reference to the student in his or her subsequent career. Somo painted in oil, but the greatest number used water-colour, and a few, especially clever pupils, tempera. Directness of aim and precision of touch were the primary considerations in the technique, and no retouching or stippling was allowed. All the studies in this, as with the other departments, were timed. Every study made in the schools proper—that is, not in any of the professors' ateliers—had to be submitted to the director, who had an opportunity of regulating the whole of the school-teaching. Marks were given, and at the end of the school-year added into one total to tell in favour or otherwise of the student should ho or she apply for a scholarship. When a high standard is reached, and consequently a large number of marks gained, scholarships to the value of 75 marks a month (equivalent to £48 a year) are granted. Pupils, besides showing decided ability in design, must also be comparatively poor to earn these scholarships. Lectures upon the principles of design and the history of art in its reference to industry were given, and most of the students were requested to attend. They are given annually, and the course seems to extend only for one year, so as not to compel a student to spend more than that time in attending them. The lectures upon the history of art given by Professor Lessing were of a most practical character. His system was to take a feature of decorative art — e.g., panels—divide them into kinds, shapes, and chronological groups,