"
Of later scene-painters, such as Roberts and Stanfield, Grieve and
Telbin, and to come down to the present time, Beverley and Calcott,
Hawes Craven and O'Connor, there seems little occasion to speak; the
achievements of these artists are matters of almost universal
knowledge. It is sufficient to say that in their hands the art they
practise has been greatly advanced, even to the eclipse now and then
of the efforts of both actors and dramatists.
Some few notes, however, may be worth making in relation to the
technical methods adopted by the scene-painter. In the first place, he
relies upon the help of the carpenter to stretch a canvas tightly over
a frame, or to nail a wing into shape; and subsequently it is the
carpenter's duty, with a small sharp saw, to cut the edge of irregular
wings, such as representations of foliage or rocks, an operation known
behind the curtain as "marking the profile." The painter's studio is
usually high up above the rear of the stage--a spacious room, well
lighted by means of skylights or a lantern in the roof. The canvas,
which is of course of vast dimensions, can be raised to the ceiling,
or lowered through the floor, to suit the convenience of the artist,
by means of machinery of ingenious construction.
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