Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/168

MURAL DECORATION. 136 MURAT. flatness ami ininiiiiii.ii.il iuiuiJ(j>ition of (he Italian fourteenth-ientiiiy artists, ini-lininj; rather to the pictorial realism of the deveki|ii"il Renaissance schools; but it recognizes the dif- ference between an easel picture applied to a wall or ceiling, and a decorative painting com- posed specially for an arcliitcctural setting. I'aul Baudry (Grand Opera) and the late Puvis de Chavannes (Pantheon) are the most noted ex- ponents of this school: but J. P. Laurens, O. Merson, Galland. and others stand high in this art; and all French jmblic buildings are rich in the works of such men. While (Jermany did much early in the cen- tury to study and revive nuiral painting, classical tradition tended to stitle originality, and no really great masters of the art have appeared. Cornelius (1783-1867) and Kaulbach (180.5-74) made efforts to revive monumental mural paint- ing, especially at Munich and Ucrlin. but their works lack the real decorative spirit. In Eng- land there is almost nothing to show in the way of mural painting, the jirefevence there being usually for decoration by architectonic means and conventional ornament. In Spain the eccentric but powerful genius of Goya ( 174ti- 1828) asserted itself in the first third of the last century in ceiling paintings of great merit in JIadrid. but he had no successors, and Spain and Italy are equally in arrears in this branch of art. Until lately the same was true of the United States, but recent progress in American art has in nothing been more noteworthy than in the r.ipid advance of skill in nuiral painting. This has been stimulated by the inlluence of the Chicago Columbian Exhibition and others. Many great public buildings recently erected have been adorned with mural paintings by first-rate artists (e.g. Boston Public J-ibrary. Congressional Library of Washington, Appellate Court and Mendelssohn Concert Hall at New York, etc.); and .merican artists, though generally trained in France, have shown independence and originality. Among the leaders in this revival may l)e named W. M. Htint. .Maynard, Kcnyon Cox, Blasbfield, Blum, .bbey. and Sargent. Modem mural decoration has generally aban- doned fresco painting in favor of oil painting on canvas, attached to the wall with white lead. Fresco, tempera, encaustic, and water-glass painting are rarely attempted. Other forms of decoration have been revived and are largely used, wainscoting, marble incrustration, mosaic, and inlay and stucco relief, anil wall-lianging< in ])aper. tapestry, stampeil leather, and other ma- terials, besides other more purely architectonic methods of adornment, being widely used and with conspicuous success. BiisuocRAPiiY. No special works have been written upon the general subject, except practical manuals for the use of painters, such as Thomas, Murril Drcorntions (London. 180!)) ; Crownin- shield. Mural I'ninlinq (Boston. 1887). Consult also the bibliographies of MOSAIC, and the other articles rcjcrred t<». MXJRANO, miio-rii'nft. A town in the Prov- ince of Venice. Italy, on an island, one and a half miles north of Venice. If has the Cathe- dral of San Donato, completed in the tenth century, the Basilica of San Pietro Martire, and n museum with exhibits of glass product-^. The town has been, since the thirteenth century, the seat of the Venetian glass industry. Population I commune), in 18S1, 3(i29: iu I'JOl, 5130. MURAT, mu'ra', Jo.ciiiM (17U7-I815). A celebrated French cavalry leader. King of Naples from 1808 to 1815. lie was born March 25, 171)7, being the son of a well-to-do innkeeper at La-Bastide-Fortunifere, near C'ahors, in France. He was intended for the priesthood and com- menced the study of theology and canon law at Toulouse, but soon enlisted in a cavalry regiment. Being dismissed for insubordination after two years of .service, he returned to his home, and later jinK'eeded to Paris, where ho obtained admission into the constitutional guard of Louis XVI. through the good offices of a friendly Deputy, il. Cavignac. On the out- break of the Revolution he was made a sub- lieutenant in a cavalry regiment, and a little later aide-de-camp to (Jeneral Hue. His gal- lantry and his extreme Republicanism soon won him the rank of colonel. He attached himself closely to Bona[iarte in 1705-91). and later served under him in Italy and iu Egypt, signalizing himself in many battles. He finally rose to be general of division (1709), and having returued with Bonaparte from Egypt to France, he ren- dered most important assistance on the 18th of Brumaire, by dispersing the Council of Five Hundred at Saint Cloud. Bona[)arte now in- trusted him with the command of the Consular Guard, and gave him his youngest sister, Caro- line, in marriage (■lanuary 20, 1800). The same year iMurat commanded tiie cavalry at Jlarengo, and ex|ielle(l the Neapolitans from the Papal States. In 180.3 he was a member of the Corps LiyisUitif. and in 1804 Governor of Paris. On the establishment of the Em])ire he was loaded with honors, being made a mar.shal of the Em- pire (1804), and a prince and (irand Admiral (1805). He continued to command the cavalry in the armies led by the Eni]ier(>r, contributed to the triumph of the French at Austerlitz, and to other victories. In 1800 the newly erected Grand Duchv of Berg (q.v.) was bestowed upon him. After the battle of Jena, in ISOfi. he led in the pursuit of the Prussians, and in 1807 he partici- pated in the battles of Eylau and Kriedland. In 1808 Napoleon placed him in conunand of the army in Spain, where in May he suppressed the insurrection in Madrid. Joseph Bonaparte having exchanged the throne of Naples for that of Spain. Murat was made his successor, and on August 1, 1808. was proclaimed King of Naples under the title of .loachim 1. Napoleon. He immediately took possession of the Kingdom of Naples, but the Bourbons, through the support of (Jreat Britain, retained Sicily. Murat institut- ed a number of wise and beneliccnt reform-, but had to endure the yoke of Napoleon, who lefl him little but the outwanl show of royalty. In the Russian campaign of 1812 he commanded the cavalry, but after sharing in the disaster which befell the French army returned to Naples anxious and discontented. He joined the French army again in 181.'!. and distinguished himself at Dres- den, but after the battle of Leipzig withdrew to his own dominions and concluded a treaty with Great Britain and Austria in January. 1814. by which be was guaranteed the possession of his throne on condition of joining the coalition au'ainst Napoleon and contributing liO.dOO troops to the allied armies, .fter a iirctcnse of at- tacking Eug6ne Beauhamais in Italy, Murat 1