Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 17.djvu/208

 200 Southern Historical Society Papers,

It suggested nothing so strongly as " proud Cumberland pranc- ing, insulting the slain''; and notwithstanding its artistic pedestal, which was universally admired, as a representation of General Lee it was as universally condemned. This was the first offering of Mons. Antonin Mercie. The beauty of his work and the great fame of the artist, however, were not overlooked, and, when the question of selection again came up, many persons, who were undoubted judges of art and had sincerely at heart the success of the statue, urged that the sculptor who sent the model marked " Glory to the Hero ' ' should have another trial. This the board agreed to give him. He was told how he had misconceived his subject, and was asked to send another model of a horse in a less fiery attitude, and if it were not too great a sacrifice of artistic requirements, to have all four feet on the ground. The response to this was a small, but very beautiful, model of a horse with a man on him, not intended for General Lee, for he had no materials for a portrait statue and no likeness was attempted. The statue of the horse was entirely satis- factory, and the question of likeness only remained.

mercie' S FINAL MODEL.

Early in the summer of 1887, the best attainable photographs were sent to the sculptor, as well as the General's uniform and one of his shoes. It has already been mentioned that he received a plaster cast of the mask, weathered, as it were, at the last moment. Miss Ran- dolph, who was in Paris that summer, impressed upon Mons. Mercie that it would be a bitter disappointment to the countrymen of Gene- ral Lee if the likeness were not successful. He promised his best effort, and begged that he might not be asked to model the General with a hat on. Gazing at a very fine profile likeness, given him by Miss Randolph, he exclaimed: '* Who would cover such a head?" On a second visit to Paris in 1889, Miss Randolph also carried a small spur, such as General Lee wore. Mons. Mercie told her that when General Lee's shoe was sent to him there was no one in his house- hold with a foot small enough to wear it but his twelve-year-old son.

SKETCH OF THE ARTIST.

In working out the likeness to General Lee in the life-sized model, Mons. Mercie had the great advantage of working under the criti- cism of Miss Mary Lee, who was often at his studio. The history of Mons. Mercie and of his many triumphs in art has been published