A sincere desire to extend the influence of a pure and ornamental art,
to promote and extend a perfect system of what is really beautiful in
the forming of the Tableau, to awaken in the minds of many a quicker
sense of the grace and elegance which familiar objects are capable of
affording, and to encourage all to cherish a taste for the beautiful,
have influenced the author to issue this volume.
Art should not be confined entirely to the studio of the artist. Her
presence should embellish every home; her spirit should animate every
mind. She is unwearied in her best and brightest attributes,
restricting her influence to no peculiar spot of earth, nor conforming
her claims to any one sphere. Beauty of form is still beautiful, be it
found in the humble cottage or in the magnificent palace.
A perfect picture will be recognized and appreciated whenever
displayed, or by whomsoever produced. In fine, nature is still nature,
and the germ of poetical feeling is similar in its manifestation
wherever it may chance to be shown.
The delineation of the natural and poetical, its realization upon
canvas, or upon paper, or in the living picture, tends to improve the
mind, assimilates the real with the ideal, conforms taste to the
noblest standard, overflows the heart with pure and holy thoughts, and
adorns the exterior form with graces surpassing those of the Muses.
The producing and forming of _tableaux vivants_ have been the author's
study for the past ten years. The choicest gems which adorn this
volume are mostly imaginary scenes; others are selected from the
poets; and a few are suggested by rare engravings.
The author, in his endeavors to impart and explain many things, has
been obliged to sacrifice show and style upon the altar of simplicity;
at least, such has been his constant aim. For all imperfections and
defects he invokes the charity of a candid public. If this volume
should in any degree satisfy a want that has been long felt, or add
one devotee to the shrine of beauty, the author will consider his
endeavors amply repaid.