There appeared in a late number of _The Family Friend_, an article on the
above process. The writer attributes its invention to Benjamin Zobel of
Bavaria; and states, that although some few persons have attempted its
revival, in no instance has success attended such efforts. This is not
correct. There was a German confectioner to King George III. whom I knew
well. His name was Haas; and those acquainted with Bristol will recollect
his well-frequented shop, nearly opposite the drawbridge on the way to
College Green, where he resided forty years ago, after retiring from his
employment at Court. There he was often engaged in decorating ceilings,
lying on his back for weeks together on a scaffold for the purpose. He also
ornamented the plateaus for the royal table; and he understood the art of
sand-painting, and practised it in the highest perfection. Whether he
preceded Zobel, or came after him, at Windsor Castle, I cannot tell; but I
can testify that he was perfect master of the art in question. I have seen
him at work upon his sand-pictures. He had the marble dust of every
gradation of colour in a large box, divided into small compartments; and he
applied it to the picture by dropping it from small cones of paper.
The article in _The Family Friend_ describes the process of Zobel to have
consisted of a previous coating of the panel for the picture with a
glutinous solution, over which the marble dust was strewed from a piece of
cord. Haas used small cones of paper; and my impression from seeing him at
work was, that he sprinkled the sand on the dry panel, and fixed the whole
finally at once by some process which he kept a secret. For I remember how
careful he was to prevent the window or door from being opened, so as to
cause a draught, before he had fixed his picture; and I {218} have heard
him lament the misfortune of having had one or two pictures blown away in
this manner.
The effect of his sand-pictures was extraordinary. They stood out in bold
relief, and with a brilliancy far surpassing any oil painting. As may be
supposed, this style of painting was particularly adapted for landscapes
and rocky scenery; and it enabled the artist to finish foliage with a
richness which nothing could surpass. Mr. Haas' collection of his
sand-paintings was a rich treat to inspect. After his death, they were sold
and dispersed; but many must be found in the collections of gentlemen in
Bristol and its neighbourhood.