On the Old Road Volume Ii Part 3

PICTURE GALLERIES--THEIR FUNCTIONS AND FORMATION.

SELECT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INSt.i.tUTIONS.[2]

_Evidence of John Ruskin, Tuesday, March 20, 1860._

139. _Chairman._ I believe you have a general acquaintance with the leading museums, picture galleries, and inst.i.tutions in this metropolis?--Yes, I know them well.

And especially the pictures?--Yes.

I believe you have also taken much interest in the Working Men's College?--Yes, much interest. I have been occupied there as a master for about five years.

I believe you conduct a cla.s.s on two days in the week?--On one day of the week only.

You have given a great deal of gratuitous instruction to the working cla.s.ses?--Not so much to the working cla.s.ses as to the cla.s.s which especially attends the lectures on drawing, but which of course is connected with the working cla.s.ses, and through which I know something about them.

140. You are probably able to speak with reference to the hours at which it would be most convenient that these inst.i.tutions should be opened to the working cla.s.ses, so that they might enjoy them?--At all events, I can form some opinion about it.

What are the hours which you think would be the most suitable to the working cla.s.ses, or those to whom you have imparted instruction?--They would, of course, have in general no hours but in the evening.

Do you think the hours which are now found suitable for mechanics'

inst.i.tutes would be suitable for them, that is, from eight till ten, or from seven till ten at night?--The earlier the better, I should think; that being dependent closely upon the other much more important question, how you can prepare the workmen for taking advantage of these inst.i.tutions. The question before us, as a nation, is not, I think, what opportunities we shall give to the workmen of instruction, unless we enable them to receive it; and all this is connected closely, in my mind, with the early closing question, and with the more difficult question, issuing out of that, how far you can get the hours of labor regulated, and how far you can get the labor during those hours made not compet.i.tive, and not oppressive to the workmen.

141. Have you found that the instruction which you have been enabled to give to the working cla.s.ses has produced very good results upon them already? I ought perhaps hardly to speak of my own particular modes of instruction, because their tendency is rather to lead the workman out of his cla.s.s, and I am privately obliged to impress upon my men who come to the Working Men's College, not to learn in the hope of being anything but working men, but to learn what may be either advantageous for them in their work, or make them happy after their work. In my cla.s.s, they are especially tempted to think of rising above their own rank, and becoming artists,--becoming something better than workmen, and that effect I particularly dread. I want all efforts for bettering the workmen to be especially directed in this way: supposing that they are to remain in this position forever, that they have not capacity to rise above it, and that they are to work as coal miners, or as iron forgers, staying as they are; how then you may make them happier and wiser?

I should suppose you would admit that the desire to rise out of a cla.s.s is almost inseparable from the amount of self-improvement that you would wish to give them?--I should think not; I think that the moment a man desires to rise out of his own cla.s.s, he does his work badly in it; he ought to desire to rise in his own cla.s.s, and not out of it.

The instruction which you would impart one would suppose would be beneficial to the laborer in the cla.s.s which he is in?--Yes.

142. And that agrees, does it not, with what has been alleged by many working men, that they have found in their compet.i.tion with foreigners that a knowledge of art has been most beneficial to them?--Quite so.

I believe many foreigners are now in compet.i.tion with working men in the metropolis, in matters in which art is involved?--I believe there are many, and that they are likely still more to increase as the relations between the nations become closer.

Is it your opinion that the individual workman who now executes works of art in this country is less intellectually fit for his occupation than in former days?--Very much so indeed.

Have you not some proofs of that which you can adduce for the benefit of the Committee?--I can only make an a.s.sertion; I cannot prove it; but I a.s.sert it with confidence, that no workman, whose mind I have examined, is, at present, capable of design in the arts, only of imitation, and of exquisite manual execution, such as is unsurpa.s.sable by the work of any time or any country; manual execution, which, however, being wholly mechanical, is always profitless to the man himself, and profitless ultimately to those who possess the work.

143. With regard to those inst.i.tutions in which pictures are exhibited, are you satisfied that the utmost facilities are afforded to the public compatibly with the expense which is now incurred?--I cannot tell how far it would be compatible with the expense, but I think that a very little increase of expense might certainly bring about a great increase of convenience.

Various plans have been suggested, by different persons, as to an improvement in the National Gallery, with regard to the area, and a better distribution of the pictures?--Yes.

Are you of opinion that at a very small cost it would be possible to increase the area considerably in the case of the National Gallery?--I have not examined the question with respect to the area of the National Gallery. It depends of course upon questions of rent, and respecting the mode in which the building is now constructed, which I have not examined; but in general this is true of large buildings, that expense wisely directed to giving facilities for seeing the pictures, and not to the mere show of the building, would always be productive of far more good to the nation, and especially to the lower orders of the nation, than expense in any other way directed, with reference to these inst.i.tutions.

144. Some persons have been disposed to doubt whether, if the inst.i.tutions were open at night, gas would be found injurious to the pictures; would that be your impression?--I have no doubt that it would be injurious to the pictures, if it came in contact with them. It would be a matter of great regret to me that valuable pictures should be so exhibited. I have hoped that pictures might be placed in a gallery for the working cla.s.ses which would interest them much more than the _chefs-d'oeuvre_ of the great masters, and which at the same time would not be a great loss to the nation if destroyed.

145. Have you had any experience of the working of the evening openings of the South Kensington Museum?--No direct experience, but my impression is that the workmen at present being compelled to think always of getting as much work done in a day as they can, are generally led in these inst.i.tutions to look to the machinery, or to anything which bears upon their trade; it therefore is no rest to them; it may be sometimes, when they are allowed to take their families, as they do on certain evenings, to the Kensington Museum, that is a great step; but the great evil is that the pressure of the work on a man's mind is not removed, and that he has not rest enough, thorough rest given him by proper explanations of the things he sees; he is not led by a large printed explanation beneath the very thing to take a happy and unpainful interest in every subject brought before him; he wanders about listlessly, and exerts himself to find out things which are not sufficiently explained, and gradually he tires of it, and he goes back to his home, or to his alehouse, unless he is a very intelligent man.

Would you recommend that some person should follow him through the building to explain the details?--No; but I would especially recommend that our inst.i.tutions should be calculated for the help of persons whose minds are languid with labor. I find that with ordinary const.i.tutions, the labor of a day in England oppresses a man, and breaks him down, and it is not refreshment to him to use his mind after that, but it would be refreshment to him to have anything read to him, or any amusing thing told him, or to have perfect rest; he likes to lie back in his chair at his own fireside, and smoke his pipe, rather than enter into a political debate, and what we want is an extension of our art inst.i.tutions, with interesting things, teaching a man and amusing him at the same time; above all, large printed explanations under every print and every picture; and the subjects of the pictures such as they can enjoy.

146. Have you any other suggestion to offer calculated to enlighten the Committee on the subject intrusted to them for consideration?--I can only say what my own feelings have been as to my men. I have found particularly that natural history was delightful to them; I think that that has an especial tendency to take their minds off their work, which is what I always try to do, not ambitiously, but reposingly. I should like to add to what I said about the danger of injury to _chefs-d'oeuvre_, that such danger exists, not only as to gas, but also the breath, the variation of temperature, the extension of the canvases in a different temperature, the extension of the paint upon them, and various chemical operations of the human breath, the chance of an accidental escape of gas, the circulation of variously damp air through the ventilators; all these ought not to be allowed to affect the great and unreplaceable works of the best masters; and those works, I believe, are wholly valueless to the working cla.s.ses; their merits are wholly imperceptible except to persons who have given many years of study to endeavor to qualify themselves to discover them; but what is wanting for the working man is historical painting of events n.o.ble, and bearing upon his own country; the history of his own country well represented to him; the natural history of foreign countries well represented to him; and domestic pathos brought before him. Nothing a.s.sists him so much as having the moral disposition developed rather than the intellectual after his work; anything that touches his feelings is good, and puts new life into him; therefore I want modern pictures, if possible, of that cla.s.s which would enn.o.ble and refine by their subjects. I should like prints of all times, engravings of all times; those would interest him with their variety of means and subject; and natural history of three kinds, namely, sh.e.l.ls, birds, and plants; not minerals, because a workman cannot study mineralogy at home; but whatever town he may be in, he may take some interest in the birds and in the plants, or in the sea sh.e.l.ls of his own country and coast. I should like the commonest of all our plants first, and most fully ill.u.s.trated; the commonest of all our birds, and of our sh.e.l.ls, and men would be led to take an interest in those things wholly for their beauty, and for their separate charm, irrespective of any use that might be made of them in the arts. There also ought to be, for the more intelligent workman, who really wants to advance himself in his business, specimens of the manufactures of all countries, as far as the compa.s.s of such inst.i.tutions would allow.

147. You have traveled, I believe, a good deal abroad?--Yes.

And you have seen in many foreign countries that far more interest is taken in the improvement of the people in this matter than is taken in this country?--Far more.

Do you think that you can trace the good effects which result from that mode of treatment?--The circ.u.mstances are so different that I do not feel able to give evidence of any definite effect from such efforts; only, it stands to reason, that it must be so. There are so many circ.u.mstances at present against us, in England, that we must not be sanguine as to too speedy an effect. I believe that one great reason of the superiority of foreign countries in manufactures is, that they have more beautiful things about them continually, and it is not possible for a man who is educated in the streets of our manufacturing towns ever to attain that refinement of eye or sense; he cannot do it; and he is accustomed in his home to endure that which not the less blunts his senses.

The Committee has been informed that with regard to some of our museums, particularly the British Museum, they are very much overcharged with objects, and I apprehend that the same remark would be true as to some of our picture galleries. Are you of opinion that it would be conducive to the general elevation of the people in this country if our works of art, and objects of interest, were circulated more expeditiously, and more conveniently, than at present, throughout the various manufacturing districts?--I think that all precious works of art ought to be treated with a quite different view, and that they ought to be kept together where men whose work is chiefly concerned with art, and where the artistically higher cla.s.ses can take full advantage of them. They ought, therefore, to be all together, as in the Louvre at Paris, and as in the Uffizii at Florence, everything being ill.u.s.trative of other things, but kept separate from the collections intended for the working cla.s.ses, which may be as valuable as you choose, but they should be usable, and above all things so situated that the working cla.s.ses could get at them easily, without keepers to watch what they are about, and have their wives and children with them, and be able to get at them freely, so that they might look at a thing as their own, not merely as the nation's, but as a gift from the nation to them as the working cla.s.s.

You would cultivate a taste at the impressionable age?--Especially in the education of children, that being just the first question, I suppose, which lies at the root of all you can do for the workman.

148. With regard to the circulation of pictures and such loans of pictures as have heretofore been made in Manchester and elsewhere, are you of opinion that, in certain cases, during a part of the year, some of our best pictures might be lent for particular periods, to particular towns, to be restored in the same condition, so as to give those towns an opportunity of forming an opinion upon them, which otherwise they would not have?--I would rather keep them all in the metropolis, and move them as little as possible when valuable.

_Mr. Slaney._ That would not apply to loans by independent gentlemen who were willing to lend their pictures?--I should be very glad if it were possible to lend pictures, and send them about. I think it is one of the greatest movements in the nation, showing the increasing kindness of the upper cla.s.ses towards the lower, that that has been done; but I think nothing can justify the risking of n.o.ble pictures by railway, for instance; that, of course, is an artist's view of the matter; but I do not see that the advantage to be gained would at all correspond with the danger of loss which is involved.

149. _Mr. Hanbury._ You mentioned that you thought it was very desirable that there should be lectures given to the working cla.s.ses?--Yes.

Do you think that the duplicate specimens at the British Museum could be made available for lectures on natural history, if a part of that inst.i.tution could be arranged for the purpose?--I should think so; but it is a question that I have no right to have an opinion upon. Only the officers of the inst.i.tution can say what number of their duplicate specimens they could spare.

I put the question to you because I have observed in the British Museum that the people took a great interest in the natural history department, and, upon one occasion, a friend of mine stopped, and explained some of the objects, and at once a very numerous crowd was attracted round him, and the officials had to interfere, and told him to move on.--So much more depends upon the explanation than on the thing explained, that I believe, with very simple collections of very small value, but well chosen, and exhibited by a thoroughly intelligent lecturer, you might interest the lower cla.s.ses, and teach them to any extent.

Would it be difficult to find such lecturers as you speak of?--Not in time; perhaps at present it would be, because we have got so much in the habit of thinking that science consists in language, and in fine words, and not in ascertaining the nature of the thing. The workman cannot be deceived by fine words; he always wants to know something about the thing, and its properties. Many of our lecturers would, I have no doubt, be puzzled if they were asked to explain the habits of a common bird.

150. Is there an increasing desire for information and improvement among the working cla.s.ses?--A thirsty desire for it in every direction, increasing day by day, and likely to increase; it would grow by what it feeds upon.

To what do you attribute this improvement?--Partly to the healthy and proper efforts which have been made to elevate the working cla.s.ses; partly, I am sorry to say, to an ambitious desire throughout the nation always to get on to a point which it has not yet reached, and which makes one man struggle with another in every way. I think that the idea that knowledge is power is at the root of the movement among the working cla.s.ses, much more so than in any other.

Do you consider that the distance of our public inst.i.tutions is a great hindrance to the working cla.s.ses?--Very great indeed.

You would, therefore, probably consider it a boon if another inst.i.tution such as the British Museum could be established in the eastern end of the metropolis?--I should be most thankful to see it, especially there.

151. _Mr. Slaney._ I think you stated that you considered, that for the working cla.s.ses it is a great thing to have relaxation of mind after the close occupation of the day; that they would embrace an opportunity of attending popular lectures on branches of natural history which they could comprehend, if they were given to them in plain and simple language?--Yes.

For instance, if you were to give a popular lecture upon British birds, giving them an explanation of the habits of the various birds, a.s.sisted by tolerably good plates, or figures describing the different habits of migration of those that come to us in spring, remain during the summer, and depart in the autumn to distant countries; of those which come in the autumn, remain during the winter, and then leave us; of those which charm us with their song, and benefit us in various ways; do you think that such a lecture would be acceptable to the working cla.s.ses?--It would be just what they would enjoy the most, and what would do them the most good.

Do you not think that such lectures might be given without any very great cost, by finding persons who would endeavor to make the subjects plain and pleasant, not requiring a very expensive apparatus, either of figures or of birds, but which might be pointed out to them, and explained to them from time to time?--No; I think that no such lectures would be of use, unless a permanent means of quiet study were given to the men between times. As far as I know, lectures are always entirely useless, except as a matter of amus.e.m.e.nt, unless some opportunity be afforded of accurate intermediate study, and although I should deprecate the idea, on the one side, of giving the _chefs-d'oeuvre_ of the highest masters to the workman for his daily experiments, so I should deprecate, on the other, the idea of any economy if I saw a definite plan of helping a man in his own times of quiet study.

152. There are some popular works on British birds which the men might be referred to, containing accounts of the birds and their habits, which might be referred to subsequently?--Yes.

There are several works relating to British birds which are very beautifully ill.u.s.trated, and to those they might be referred; do you not think that something might also be done with regard to popular lectures upon British plants, and particularly those which are perhaps the most common, and only neglected because of their being common; that you might point out to them the different soils in which they grow, so that they might be able to make excursions to see them in their wild state?--My wish is, that in every large manufacturing town there should be a perfect collection, at all events of the princ.i.p.al genera of British plants and birds, thoroughly well arranged, and a library a.s.sociated with it, containing the best ill.u.s.trative works on the subject, and that from time to time lectures should be given by the leading scientific men, which I am sure they would be willing to give if such collections were opened to them.

I dare say you know that there is one book upon British birds, which was compiled by a gentleman who was in trade, and lived at the corner of St.

James's Street for many years, which is prized by all who are devoted to that study, and which would be easily obtained for the working men. Do you not think that this would relax their minds and be beneficial to them in many ways, especially if they were able to follow up the study?--Yes, in every way.

As to plants, might not they interest their wives as well?--I quite believe so.

If such things could be done by subscription in the vicinity of large towns, such as Manchester, would they not be very much responded to by the grateful feelings of the humbler people, who themselves would subscribe probably some trifle?--I think they would be grateful, however it were done. But I should like it to be done as an expression of the sense of the nation, as doing its duty towards the workmen, rather than it should be done as a kind of charity by private subscription.