Page:Men of the Time, eleventh edition.djvu/473

This page needs to be proofread.

456

GERSTEBr-GIBSON.

pursued, for a time, his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He re- mained under that celebrated artist until 1844, and accompanied him in his voyage to Italv. Bettiming to France in 1845, he exhibited, for the first time, at the Salon of 1847, went on an excursion to Turkey and the eastern banks of the Danube in 1853, and to Ui^r and Lower Egypt in 1856. These travels famished him with numerous sub- jects for his paintings. In Dec., 1863, he was appointed Professor of Painting in the J^ole des Beaux- Arts. Since 1847, M. G^r6me has exhibited "The Virgin, the Infant Jesus, and Saint John ; " " Bacchus and Cupid -/* "A Greek Interior;" the " Frieze " of the vase com- memorative of the Great Exhibition held in London in 1861 ; " The Age of Augustus and the Birth of Jesus Christ ; " *' Bembrandt ; " a "Portrait of Eachel ," "The Plague at Marseilles ; " " The Death of St. Jerome/' "Lioness meeting a Ja- guar ; " " Bex Tibicen/' 1874 ; and "L'Eminence Grise," 1874. M. G^rdme obtained a third-class medal in 1847, two second-class medals in 1848 and 1855, and the decoration of the Legion of Honour in Nov., 1855. He was decorated with the order of the Red Eagle in 1869, and appointed a Commander of the Legion of Honour in Feb., 1878.

GEBSTEB, Madame £TELKA,was bom at Kaschau, in Hungary, June 16, 1857. At a very early age she evinced musical abilities of no ordi- nary kind. By the advice of the director of the Conservatoire at Vienna, who chanced to hear her sing at the head of one of the Catholic procossions in her native town, she was placed under the tuition of the far-famed Madame Marchesi, with whom she studied most diligently for three years (1873-76) . In the mean- time rumours of her wonderful voice had got abroad, and offers were made to her from several German towns. Etelka, however, declined thcse^ as

she was determined to commence h» career in an Italian school ; and in Jan., 1876, she made her d4bwt at Venice, under the management of Signer Gardini, in the character of Guda, in Verdi's "Bigoletto," and with wonderfid success. Almost at once followed the parts of OpheEa, Lucia, Amina in "LaSomnambula" and " Marguerite," which last cha- racter she at first sang, as it was originally written, in Fr^ch. Her neirti triumph was at Berlin, where she created such a furore as had never been known previously in the German capital. The demand for places was so great that the administration of the theatre was compelled to ask the public to apply by writing, and it is said that more than 21,000 applications were refused. She then made a short sojourn at Buda-Pesth, where she appeared in the operas of "La Somnambula" and "BLamlet." The "Hungarian Nightingale," as she has been called, next went to St. Petersburg and Moscow, where she carried eveiything before her, and was, at the Emperor's ex- press desire, appointed " Eammer- s&ngerin." For her co-operation in the Court concerts His Majesty presented her with 4,000 marks and a handsome bracelet, while the Empress gave her a magnificent chain ornamented with pearls and diamonds. After she had sung at Pesth and Breslau, Mr. Mapleeon had the good fortune to secure her, and she came to London. Here she first sang before an English audience on June 23, 1877, in " La Somnam- biila." She at once became a great favourite with the English public, and her performances at Her Majes- ty's Theatre during the season of 1878, were a continued series of triumphs.

GIBRALTAR, Bishop of. (See Sandfobd.)

GIBSON, The Right Hon. Thomas Milneb, born at Trinidad, in 1807, the only son of the late Major T. Milner-Gibson, of the 27th