With the help of a pointing machine the present mechanical system of carving is easy to learn and free of responsibility be cause it is mathematically exact. Let us imagine that a statue is to be carved; the marble block is acquired and brought to the studio, then upon the model is applied a cross with three points, one of which is in the shape of a hook to support the armature of the cross. The three points are of iron or brass, needle-shaped, which will find a place to receive them, also of metal, in the model or plaster mould. Upon the cross there is a movable armature, easy to manipulate, and revolving to the desire of the carver. At the extremity of the instrument there is a needle, the point of which will be approached to the model. At first, that is, for the primary blocking, the needle will not be made to touch the model, but will be limited to approach within an inch of it. The cross will then be placed upon the marble, and the needle will be guided until it touches the point already marked. For the primary roughing out, given a statue six feet in height, a point every six inches should prove sufficient ; for the rest, the good sense and accurate eye of the manipulator will be needed. When the statue has thus been dealt with in attaining its first form, the pointing is done anew. Even this second time it is advisable not to go to the final points ; for the beginner it is better to make an approach of approximately one-third of an inch, leaving the rest for the final pointing. (It is also advisable for beginners not to employ too many points or measures, but rather to content themselves with placing these indications upon the highest reliefs, marking each with the maximum of neatness and assurance, each point being given its own proper plane, before designating with the metal needle the final point.)
The tools used are chisels, plain and dented, and points of various sizes. They must always be clean and sharp; clean, too, must be the statue, in whatever stage of work. The marble must be cut in good, clear light, that the forms may always be well defined. The carver then examines his work from different aspects and by various lights, seeing to it that the surface of the statue is free of little undulations, and that the plane is clean, almost smooth, so that it may attain positiveness.
Later, that the true beauty and colour of the marble may be brought to light, the statue is washed with sand and rubbed with burlap or any cloth of rough texture. If a higher polish is de sired, the marble is rubbed with either natural or artificial pumice stone for a long time, clear, clean water always being used. The marble is then washed with oxalic acid which has been reduced to the consistency of table salt, applied with a damp cloth to the surface, and rubbed vigorously. Care must be taken that no quan tity of the acid remain upon the statue, for it is injurious to marble.
(There is, of course, the danger of refining to a fault, until the stone loses the qualities of its own peculiar nature and seems soft and weak to the eye.) Bernini was among the first to finish his statues with the maxi mum of precision and care as to detail. Afterwards Canova, tak ing advantage of all progress and improvements made in the art of sculpture, was assiduous in giving his work such a quality of re finement that his carvers often went to extremes. Under them the qualities of the past masters were not taken into consideration, so that in the meticulous refinement that resulted from their labour the marble often had the semblance of majolica.
That which is best in sculpture never makes one forget the origin of the art, from carving on stone, as the Egyptians carved it, and the Greeks, and the masters of the Renaissance. The most important equipment of a young sculptor should be a knowledge and a love of the mother stone, which immortalizes the artist's greatest dreams. (See also SCULPTURE, and other sections of this article.) (A. P.)