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SEPTEMBER,  1904 

»»_ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

N  D  — 


MEISSONIER 


PRi 


MEISSONIER 


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MASTERS     IN     ART 
II 


FRENCH    SCHOOL 


MASTRKS    I3f   AKT      PLATE  I 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  BRAUN,  CLlMINT  A  CIE 


335735 


[  33U  ] 


MEISSOJVIEK 

THK   SKKOKAXT'S   POHTHA1T 
SCHHOEDEK'S   COLLECTIOX,   LOAJJOX 


MASTEHS  IN  AHT     PLATF,  III 
[343]'" 


MEISSOJVIER 

THE  OKIIKHT^Y 

VAXDEHBII/T  COLLECTIOK,   XKW   YOHK 


MASTEHS  IN  ART  PLATE  IV 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  A  CIE 
[  34o  ] 


MEISSONIEH 

THE  VEDETTE 

CONDE  MUSEUM,  CHANTIiLLV 


is! 

*  •; 
If 

-  -  - 
a  *  a 

Sis 


g 


i 

Q  x  2 
Nag 


MASTERS  IN   ART      PLATE  VIII 


MKISSONIER 

THE  PRINT  COLLECTOR 

WALLACE    COLLECTION,  LONDON 


MASTEKS  IN  AKT   PLATE  IX 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  SRAUN,  CLEMENT  4  CIE 


ME1SSONIKR 

THE  HEADER  IN  WHITE 

CHAUCHABD  COLLECTION,  PAHIS 


MASTEHS  Ilf  AHT     PLATE  X 


MEISSOXIEH 

THE  BHOTHKRS  VAN  DE  VELDE 
METKOPOLITAX  MCSECM,  XEVT  TOHK 


PORTRAIT  OF  MEISSONIEH  BY   HIMSELF  LOUVRE,  PAHIS 

Meissonier  has  left  us  several  portraits  of  himself,  of  which  this  is  one  of  the  latest. 
It  was  painted  in  1889,  two  years  before  his  death,  when  he  was  seventy-four  years 
old,  and  shows  him  in  a  fur-lined  red  robe,  seated  in  a  throne-like  chair.  The  pic- 
ture measures  about  a  foot  and  a  half  high  by  nearly  two  feet  wide.  It  has  lately 
been  transferred  from  the  Luxembourg  Gallery  to  the  Louvre,  Paris.  A  description 
of  Meissonier's  personal  appearance  is  given  in  the  biographical  sketch  which  follows. 


M  ASTERS    IN     ART 


BORN   1815:    DIED   1891 
FRENCH     SCHOOL 


JEAN-LOUIS-ERNEST  MEISSONIER  (pronounced  May-so-nyeh) 
was  born  at  Lyons,  France,  on  February  21,  1815;  but  when  he  was  still 
very  young  his  parents  removed  to  Paris,  and  it  was  there  that  he  was 
brought  up.  Of  his  childhood  and  early  youth,  cheerless  and  full  of  hardships, 
Meissonier  was  always  reluctant  to  speak.  This  may  account  for  the  slight 
knowledge  that  we  have  of  these  years  and  the  somewhat  contradictory  state- 
ments of  his  biographers.  His  mother,  to  whom  he  was  tenderly  attached,  and 
from  whom  he  inherited  his  artistic  gift,  died  when  he  was  ten  years  old, 
and  between  the  boy  and  his  father  there  was  but  little  understanding  and 
sympathy.  Strongly  opposing  his  son's  wish  to  become  a  painter,  the  elder 
Meissonier,  a  manufacturing  chemist  in  prosperous  circumstances,  having 
given  his  son  a  fair  though  somewhat  desultory  school  education,  secured  a 
position  for  him  in  the  chemical  department  of  the  Maison  Meunier.  Here 
Meissonier,  at  that  time  about  seventeen  years  old,  swept  the  shop,  learned 
to  tie  up  neat  packages  for  customers,  and  became,  against  his  will,  an  ex- 
cellent clerk.  He  never  faltered,  however,  in  his  determination  to  devote 
himself  ultimately  to  art.  He  secretly  took  to  drawing  in  the  evenings,  and 
at  length  besought  his  father  to  give  him  three  hundred  francs  (sixty  dollars) 
that  he  might  take  up  painting  as  a  profession,  promising  that  nothing  more 
should  be  heard  from  him  until  he  had  made  a  name  for  himself.  "Very 
well,"  said  his  father,  who  had  at  first  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  his  entreaties, 
"try  your  hand  at  painting,  since  nothing  else  will  satisfy  you.  But  let  us 
understand  each  other.  I  give  you  a  week  to  find  a  master,  and  a  year  to 
show  that  you  really  have  talent.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  if  you  have  not 
succeeded,  I  withdraw  my  consent,  and  back  you  go  to  the  shop."  To  these 
terms  Meissonier  gladly  agreed,  but  the  week  was  almost  gone  before  he  had 
been  able  to  comply  with  the  first  condition.  After  an  unsuccessful  applica- 
tion to  Paul  Delaroche,  then  at  the  height  of  his  fame,  he  went,  upon  the 
advice  of  a  friend,  to  Jules  Potier,  a  mediocre  artist,  who  at  first  did  his  best 

[359] 


24  MASTERS    IN    ART 

to  discourage  him  from  embarking  on  a  profession  which  he  himself  had 
found  far  from  lucrative,  but  who  finally,  after  he  had  examined  a  sketch 
which  Meissonier  produced  from  the  lining  of  his  hat,  and  which  he  had 
lacked  the  courage  to  show  to  Delaroche,  consented  to  receive  him  as  a  pupil. 

All  winter  Meissonier  went  each  morning  to  Potier's  dreary  studio,  buy- 
ing on  the  way,  when  his  funds  admitted,  a  pennyworth  of  chestnuts  to  stay 
his  hunger.  His  father  gave  him  an  allowance  of  fifty  centimes  (ten  cents) 
a  day  for  his  meals,  and  invited  him  to  the  family  dinner  every  Wednesday. 
On  these  occasions,  Meissonier,  too  proud  to  accept  his  parent's  invitation, 
would  come  in  to  dessert  after  his  cheerless  dinner  of  a  roll.  "Have  you 
dined?"  his  father  would  ask.  "Oh  yes,"  would  be  the  reply;  "I  have  only 
dropped  in  to  have  coffee  with  you." 

After  several  months,  Meissonier,  helped  thereto  by  Potier,  who  paid  his 
fees  in  advance,  entered  the  studio  of  Leon  Cogniet,  a  painter  of  no  small 
repute,  where  he  remained  for  a  short  time.  Cogniet  he  saw  but  rarely,  and 
it  is  probable  that  his  progress  was  largely  due  to  the  advice  and  encourage- 
ment of  his  fellow-pupils,  Daubigny,  Daumier,  Steinheil,Trimolet,  and  others. 
At  Trimolet's  suggestion  he  was  led  to  study  the  works  of  the  Dutch  and 
Flemish  painters  in  the  Louvre.  Meanwhile,  in  order  to  eke  out  his  slender 
means,  he  undertook,  in  conjunction  with  this  friend,  the  painting  of  fans  and 
cards  and  the  making  of  cheap  book  illustrations.  It  has  also  been  said  that 
he  and  Daubigny  supplied  some  of  the  Parisian  dealers  with  pictures  for  ex- 
portation at  the  rate  of  a  franc,  or  twenty  cents,  a  yard. 

Meissonier  never  complained  of  these  early  years  of  struggle,  and  although 
he  was  sometimes  known  to  wish  that  the  days  could  be  given  back  to  him 
which  he  had  lost  in  providing  for  the  morrow,  he  would  add:  "But  as  to 
unhappiness,  is  it  possible  to  be  unhappy  when  one  is  twenty,  when  life  is 
all  before  one,  when  one  has  a  passion  for  art,  a  free  pass  for  the  Louvre, 
and  sunshine  gratis?" 

Meissonier's  name  first  appeared  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Salon  of  1834 
when  his  picture  'Dutch  Burghers,'  now  in  the  Wallace  Collection,  London, 
was  exhibited,  and  was  bought  by  the  "Societe  des  Amis  des  Arts"  for  one 
hundred  francs  (twenty  dollars). 

His  father  now  admitted  that  Ernest  possessed  a  certain  aptitude  for  art; 
and  when  shortly  after  this  he  painted  a  portrait  by  which  his  father  was 
greatly  struck,  the  now  proud  parent  announced  his  intention  of  sending  his 
son  to  Rome  with  an  allowance  of  one  hundred  francs  a  month.  For  Rome 
Meissonier  accordingly  started,  but  the  cholera  broke  out  in  Italy  and  he 
was  compelled  to  return  to  Paris. 

There  he  found  a  small  studio,  a  gift  from  his  father,  awaiting  him.  His 
allowance,  however,  had  been  cut  down  from  twelve  hundred  to  seven  hun- 
dred francs  a  year;  and  in  order  to  make  both  ends  meet  he  applied  to  the 
publisher,  Curmer,  for  work  at  illustrating;  and  so  satisfactorily  did  he  fulfil 
the  tasks  allotted  him  that  his  reputation  became  in  time  established  as  one 
of  the  foremost  illustrators  of  the  day. 

[360] 


MEISSONIER  25 

This  employment  was,  moreover,  so  lucrative  that  he  could  now  count 
upon  a  daily  profit  of  nearly  two  dollars,  a  sum  on  which  he  could  have  lived 
in  comfort  had  he  had  only  himself  to  support;  but  in  1838,  when  twenty-three 
years  old,  he  had  fallen  in  love  with  and  married  the  sister  of  his  artist  friend 
Steinheil,  thereby  eliciting  from  his  father,  who  presented  him  on  the  occa- 
sion with  six  silver  spoons,  as  many  forks,  a  year's  rent,  and  a  year's  allow- 
ance, the  remark  that  it  was  evident  that  Ernest  wanted  nothing  further  from 
him,  for  when  a  man  set  up  housekeeping  it  was  a  proof  that  he  considered 
himself  capable  of  providing  for  an  establishment. 

It  is  said  that  Meissonier's  decision  to  devote  his  attention  to  genre-painting 
— that  is,  to  the  representation  of  some  phase  of  every-day  life — for  which 
he  had  early  shown  a  natural  bent,  was  taken  in  accordance  with  the  advice 
of  Chenavard,  a  painter  from  Lyons,  a  severe  critic,  and  Meissonier's  senior 
by  several  years.  "In  1838or  1839,"  Meissonier  has  himself  related,  "Chen- 
avard came  one  day  to  take  his  accustomed  seat  at  my  table.  Before  dinner 
I  showed  him  the  picture  I  was  working  on.  It  was  'Jesus  with  His  Apos- 
tles,' a  canvas  of  which  I  no  longer  know  the  whereabouts.  Chenavard 
looked  at  it  for  some  time  in  silence.  I  went  on  expounding  my  idea  to  him; 
still  he  said  nothing.  At  last  he  walked  around  the  studio,  examining  each 
canvas  attentively,  but  still  silently.  Before  the  'Violoncello-player'  he  made 
a  long  pause.  When  he  had  finished  his  review,  he  came  back  to  the  'Apos- 
tles' and  began  to  demolish  them.  'I  suppose  you  hardly  imagine  that  you  will 
ever  do  these  things  better  than  Raphael?' said  he.  'Of  course  not.'  'Well, 
then,  what 's  the  use  of  saying  over  again  a  thing  that  some  one  else  has  already 
said  far  better?'  Then,  taking  me  over  to  my  'Violoncello-player,'  he  added: 
*Here  you  have  something  really  personal  and  most  excellent.'"  From 
that  moment  Meissonier's  course  was  taken:  he  adopted  genre-painting  as 
his  specialty.  The  result  was  the  series  of  masterpieces  on  a  small  scale 
which  have  made  his  name  famous  the  world  over. 

His  artistic  career  may  be  said  to  have  now  fairly  begun,  and  from  1839, 
or  1840,  his  reputation  steadily  increased.  Exhibiting  regularly  in  the  Salons, 
his  works  were  enthusiastically  received.  Indeed,  whenever  they  were  shown 
in  the  annual  exhibitions  such  crowds  would  form  around  his  tiny  panels 
that  a  special  constable  had  to  be  stationed  near  them  for  their  protection. 

In  1840,  six  years  after  the  exhibition  of  his  first  picture,  Meissonier  won 
a  medal  of  the  third  class.  This  was  soon  followed  by  others  of  higher  order, 
culminating  in  1855  in  the  grand  medal  of  honor  at  the  Universal  Exposi- 
tion held  in  Paris  in  that  year.  From  that  date  his  progress  was  little  short 
of  triumphal.  England,  Holland,  Belgium,  Germany,  Spain,  and  Russia 
united  with  his  native  country  in  honoring  him,  and  orders,  decorations,  and 
medals  were  showered  upon  him.  Created  a  Knight  of  the  Legion  of  Honor 
in  1846,  he  was  made  an  Officer  of  that  Order  nine  years  later,  then  a  Com- 
mander, and  finally  Grand  Officer,  and  in  1889  the  Grand  Cross  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor  was  conferred  upon  him — the  first  artist  to  receive  this 
decoration  since  its  foundation  bv  Napoleon  I.  Of  the  Institute  he  became  a 

[361] 


26  MASTERS    IN    ART 

member  in  1861,  was  twice  thereafter  elected  its  president,  and  was  chosen  an 
honorary  member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  London,  the  Munich  Academy, 
and  numerous  other  foreign  societies. 

Dealers  and  connoisseurs  vied  in  purchasing  his  works,  for  which  fabulous 
sums  were  paid.  His  little  cavaliers,  soldiers,  readers,  smokers,  and  card- 
players  attained  such  a  wide  reputation  that  he  was  kept  busy  in  painting 
variations  of  subjects  which  had  captivated  the  public  by  their  exquisite  fin- 
ish and  diminutive  dimensions.  The  "King  of  Lilliput"  he  was  called  by 
one  enthusiastic  critic;  and  it  was  said  of  him  that  "he  could  paint  a  battle 
scene  on  a  louis  d'or." 

Upon  the  outbreak  of  war  between  Austria  and  Italy  in  1859,  Meis- 
sonier  obtained  permission  of  the  emperor,  Napoleon  in.,  to  accompany  the 
French  army  to  the  seat  of  war,  and  was  present  at  the  battle  of  Solferino,. 
shortly  afterwards  painting  his  famous  canvas  of  that  name,  which  is  now  in 
the  Louvre.  Still  more  famous  are  the  pictures  in  which  he  represented  Na- 
poleon I.  under  varying  circumstances  of  triumph  and  of  disappointment. 

With  the  exception  of  some  journeys  to  Switzerland,  Italy,  and  the  Riv- 
iera, and  a  trip  to  Holland,  Meissonier's  life  was  spent  in  France;  partly  in 
Paris,  where  he  built  a  magnificent  house  on  the  Boulevard  Malesherbes,  but 
mostly  at  Poissy  in  the  environs  of  the  city,  where  his  country  house,  resem- 
bling a  little  castle,  had  been  constructed  wholly  from  his  own  designs.  In  both 
houses  the  studios,  filled  with  valuable  works  of  art,  costumes,  draperies,  reg- 
imental uniforms,  arms  and  accoutrements  of  every  period  of  French  history, 
formed  important  features.  Meissonier  was  a  born  collector,  and  his  passion 
grew  as  his  resources  increased.  He  used  to  visit  the  old-clothes  markets  of 
Paris  early  in  the  morning,  when  the  goods  were  unpacked  and  before  other 
customers  had  arrived,  and  would  buy  everything  that  he  could  find  in  the 
way  of  old  eighteenth-century  costumes,  faded  tapestries,  and  relics  of  by- 
gone days.  When  unable  to  procure  the  exact  object  which  he  might  need 
as  a  model  for  any  painting  on  hand  he  either  had  it  made,  regardless  of  ex- 
pense, or  would  himself  turn  tailor,  saddler,  joiner,  or  cabinet-maker,  as  occa- 
sion demanded. 

The  stables  were  almost  as  important  as  the  studios  in  both  Meissonier's. 
establishments.  His  interest  in  horses  was  keen,  and  he  never  tired  of 
studying  their  anatomy  and  movements.  M.  Charles  Yriarte  tells  how  he 
had  a  road  made  in  his  grounds  at  Poissy  with  a  little  tramway  running  par- 
allel to  it,  on  which,  seated  in  a  small  car,  he  would  be  propelled  along  the 
rails,  while  a  horse  would  be  put  through  its  paces  on  the  road  beside  him, 
and,  pencil  in  hand,  he  would  jot  down  every  detail  of  the  animal's  action. 

Meissonier's  patience  in  perfecting  each  detail  of  his  pictures  was  inex- 
haustible. Indefatigable  and  unsparing  of  himself,  no  difficulty  daunted  him. 
Nor  did  success  and  wealth  cause  any  difference  in  his  habits  of  conscientious- 
industry.  An  early  riser,  he  would  often  work  in  his  studio  or  out-of-doors, 
regardless  of  heat  or  of  cold,  for  ten  or  twelve  hours  a  day,  scarcely  pausing  for 
meals.  So  high  was  his  standard  that  he  continually  changed  and  corrected 
his  designs,  frequently  painting  out  a  whole  composition  in  order  to  begin 

[362] 


MEISSONIER  27 

over  again  if  by  so  doing  he  thought  he  could  improve  upon  his  original 
work.  Some  of  his  canvases  he  used  to  call  his  "Penelope's  webs." 

The  Russian  artist  Vassili  Verestchagm  has  told  how  Meissonier,  in  ac- 
cordance with  a  frequent  practice,  made  a  beautifully  finished  little  wax 
model  of  a  horse  and  rider  for  his  picture  of  a  horseman  passing  along  a  de- 
serted road  in  a  strong  wind.  Every  detail  was  carefully  reproduced  from  the 
real  materials — the  rider's  cloak,  hat,  and  spurred  boots  were  miniature  mas- 
terpieces— and  in  order  to  get  the  exact  folds  of  the  cloak  it  was  dipped  into 
thin  glue  and  then  placed  in  the  wind  so  that  it  stiffened  as  it  blew. 

When  the  Franco-Prussian  war  broke  out  in  1870,  Meissonier  was  among 
the  first  to  offer  his  services  to  his  country.  During  the  siege  of  Paris  he 
occupied  a  high  position  on  the  staff  of  the  National  Guard,  and  took  an 
active  part  in  organizing  a  corps  of  artists  distinguished  for  their  bravery. 
Never  could  he  forgive  Germany  for  her  victory,  carrying  his  resentment  so 
far  as  to  be  unwilling  thereafter  to  receive  any  painters  from  beyond  the 
Rhine,  and  even  refusing  to  accept  the  Prussian  Order  of  Merit  offered  to 
him  in  after  years. 

Meissonier  was  twice  married,  and  his  domestic  life  was  singularly  happy. 
He  was  never  so  content  as  in  his  own  beautiful  home  at  Poissy ;  and  when  he 
was  elected  mayor  of  the  district  it  was  said  that  he  was  never  happier  nor 
prouder  than  when  wearing  his  sash  of  office  and  engaged  in  performing  the 
duties  pertaining  to  his  position. 

"Meissonier's  mode  of  life  was  simple,"  writes  his  friend  M.  Yriarte;  "he 
loved  open  air;  he  loved  his  home;  and  clung  to  his  own  habits,  leading  an 
unconventional  life  and  following  his  own  whims,  which  often  estranged  him 
from  the  worldly  throng.  He  was  fond  of  athletic  sports,  especially  of  riding. 
He  indulged  in  original  costumes,  and  insisted  on  freedom  of  action.  Rich 
by  the  products  of  his  brush,  he  was  the  first  artist  who  in  his  own  lifetime 
knew  what  are  called  'big  prices.'  Yet  though  his  signature  was  worth  that 
of  the  Bank  of  France,  and  his  credit  was  unlimited,  he  was  always  in  need 
of  money,  and  if  he  paid  the  interest  on  his  debts  with  a  drawing  or  a  sketch 
it  was  assuredly  the  lender  who  then  became  the  debtor.  This  was  the  case 
with  Alexandre  Dumas  the  younger,  who  was  often  his  banker  and  yet  who 
never  would  accept  money  in  repayment  of  his  loans." 

In  person  Meissonier  was  short.  His  head  was  large,  his  shoulders  broad, 
his  legs  slender  and  slightly  bowed.  His  carriage  was  erect  and  his  bearing 
military.  His  eyes  were  soft  but  eager.  He  was  exceedingly  short-sighted. 
His  hair  was  thick  and  straight,  and  his  beard,  bushy  and  brown  in  middle 
life,  was  in  later  years  white,  long,  and  flowing.  Vain  and  fond  of  display 
and  of  creating  an  impression,  he  was  yet  of  a  retiring  disposition  and  very 
diffident  with  strangers.  He  had  a  quick,  peremptory  way  of  speaking,  and 
his  manner  was  abrupt,  at  times  almost  rude.  But  although  he  made  some 
enemies  he  had  many  warm  friends,  one  of  whom,  M.  Jules  Claretie,  has 
given  us  the  following  appreciation  of  his  character: 

"That  which  is  most  pleasing  in  Meissonier,"  he  writes,  "is  the  frank 
cordiality  with  which  he  explains  his  plans,  and  looks  you  in  the  face  the 

[363] 


28  MASTERS    IN    ART 

while  with  his  deep,  clear  eyes.  This  man  who  lives  in  a  palace  is  as  mod- 
erate as  a  soldier  on  the  march.  This  artist  whose  canvases  are  valued  by 
the  half-million  is  as  generous  as  a  nabob,  and  will  give  a  picture  worth  the 
price  of  a  house  to  a  charity  sale." 

In  1884,  on  the  occasion  of  what  was  called  his  "golden  wedding  with 
art" — fifty  years  after  the  appearance  of  his  first  picture — a  loan  exhibition 
of  Meissonier's  works  was  held  in  Paris  which  became  nothing  short  of  an  ova- 
tion for  the  artist,  who  had  then  reached  his  seventieth  year.  To  the  end  he 
worked  with  unflagging  industry  and  enthusiasm.  It  was  but  a  twelvemonth 
before  his  death  that,  upon  the  schism  in  the  old  Salon,  he  was  made  president 
of  the  Societe  Nationale  des  Beaux-Arts,  known  as  the  New  Salon,  which 
thenceforth  held  its  yearly  exhibitions  in  the  Champ-de-Mars.  His  last  ef- 
fort was  a  sketch  for  a  monumental  decoration  destined  for  the  interior  of 
the  Pantheon,  Paris — a  work  very  different  in  its  large  proportions  from  his 
customary  miniature-like  panels.  Nothing  daunted,  however,  he  set  about 
the  task.  The  subject  selected  was  'The  Apotheosis  of  France.'  His  pu- 
pils, notable  among  whom  were  his  son  Charles  Meissonier  and  Edouard 
Detaille,  stood  ready  to  assist  him  in  his  undertaking;  but  it  was  not  to  be 
accomplished.  His  health,  hitherto  so  robust,  gave  way,  and  his  death  oc- 
curred, after  a  suffering  illness,  on  January  31,  1891. 

His  funeral  services  were  held  in  the  Church  of  the  Madeleine,  Paris,  and 
as  the  possessor  of  the  Grand  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  a  full  military 
funeral  was  accorded  him.  Trains  of  artillery  followed  his  coffin,  and  salutes 
were  fired  as  for  a  conqueror. 


C|)e  art  of  Jttetesomer 

KENYON    COX  <THE    NATION'    1896 

MEISSONIER'S  style  was  formed  in  all  its  essentials  singularly  early. 
From  the  very  first  the  great  little  pictures  seem  as  masterly  as  any- 
thing their  author  afterwards  produced.  His  life  was  long  and  filled  with 
untiring  study  and  industry,  yet  he  never  did  things  better  than  he  did  at 
first;  he  only  did  other  things  as  well.  How  this  quite  prodigious  mastery 
was  attained  so  early  is  a  mystery.  It  would  seem  as  if  this  artist  had  never 
had  to  learn,  had  had  no  period  of  uncertainty  and  struggle — had  almost  been 
born  a  master.  The  subjects  change,  but  not  the  manner.  From  the  begin- 
ning of  his  career  to  the  end  the  conception  of  art  is  identical,  the  methods 
are  the  same,  the  achievement  is  almost  uniform. 

It  may  even  be  doubted  if  some  of  Meissonier's  earlier  work  is  not  the 
best  that  he  has  left,  merely  because  the  subjects  and  the  scale  of  that  work 
are  admirably  fitted  for  the  display  of  his  qualities  and  the  minimizing  of  his 
limitations.  It  is  the  admirable  series  of 'Smokers'  and  'Readers,'  'Painters' 
and  'Connoisseurs,'  which  give  the  fullest  measure  to  his  powers  and  the 

[364] 


M  EISSONIER  29 

least  hint  of  his  shortcomings,  which  made  his  reputation,  and  perhaps  are 
likeliest  to  maintain  it.  These  pictures  are  in  the  purest  vein  of  genre- 
painting,  and  immediately  suggest  comparison  with  the  wonderful  little  mas- 
ters of  Holland.  At  first  Meissonier  was  considered  as  a  reviver  of  Dutch 
art — and  that  he  was  a  great  admirer  of  that  art  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Up- 
on examination,  however,  it  soon  becomes  visible  that  the  differences  between 
him  and  his  models  are  as  great  as  the  resemblances.  First  of  these  differ- 
ences is  a  fundamental  one  of  point  of  view.  The  Dutch  masters  were  pure 
painters,  and  their  subjects  were  strictly  contemporary.  They  contented 
themselves  with  looking  about  them  and  painting  what  interested  them  in 
what  they  saw.  Meissonier  treated  contemporary  subjects  only  two  or  three 
times,  and  then  only  when  something  intensely  dramatic  or  historically  im- 
portant attracted  him.  You  would  look  in  vain  in  his  work  for  any  such  rec- 
ord of  the  ordinary  life  of  the  nineteenth  century  as  the  Dutchmen  have  given 
us  of  that  of  the  seventeenth.  Meissonier  was  such  a  master  of  the  antiqua- 
rianism  he  practised — he  managed  to  enter  so  thoroughly  within  the  skin  of 
his  two  or  three  favorite  epochs — that  he  almost  deceives  us  at  times;  but 
he  was  nevertheless  essentially  an  antiquarian,  and,  therefore,  his  work  never 
has  the  spontaneity  of  the  old  work. 

Another  difference  is  in  the  quality  of  drawing.  Meissonier  was  a  won- 
derfully accurate  draftsman.  His  drawing  is  composed  of  equal  parts  of  as- 
tonishingly clear  and  accurate  vision  and  of  deep  scientific  acquirement.  It 
is  not  the  drawing  of  the  great  stylists,  the  masters  of  beautiful  and  signifi- 
cant line,  but  it  is  marvelously  forceful  and  just.  The  drawing  of  Ter  Borch 
is  equally  accurate,  but  seems  to  have  no  formula,  no  method,  no  ascertain- 
able  knowledge  behind  it.  It  seems  unconscious  and  naive  in  a  way  which 
that  of  Meissonier  never  approaches.  Finally,  in  color  and  in  the  manage- 
ment of  light,  Meissonier  cannot  be  compared  to  any  one  of  half-a-dozen 
Dutch  painters.  His  tone  is  almost  always  a  little  foxy,  his  handling  a  little 
dry.  Sometimes  in  interiors  with  only  one  or  two  figures  his  realistic  force 
of  imitation  of  that  which  was  before  him  almost  carried  him  to  a  fine  ren- 
dering even  of  light  and  color.  He  had  built  his  picture  before  he  painted 
it,  and  had  only  to  copy  what  was  directly  under  his  eye,  and  he  did  this  so 
well  as  almost  to  become  a  colorist  and  a  luminist.  It  is  only  when  he  tries 
to  paint  open-air  subjects  and  larger  compositions  that  his  defects  become 
very  apparent. 

His  merits  are  all  to  be  included  in  the  two  great  ones  of  thoroughness 
and  accuracy.  He  never  shirked  any  difficulty  or  avoided  any  study,  was 
never  sloppy  or  formless  or  vague.  His  knowledge  of  costume  and  furniture 
was  only  less  wonderful  than  his  grasp  of  character  and  his  perfect  render- 
ing of  form.  He  was  a  thorough  realist,  with  little  imagination  and  less  sense 
of  beauty,  but  with  an  insatiable  appetite  for  and  a  marvelous  digestion  of 
concrete  fact.  His  work  is  amazing  in  its  industry,  but  his  industry  never 
becomes  mere  routine.  His  detail  is  never  mere  finikin  particularity  of  touch, 
but  is  patient  investigation  of  truth.  At  his  best  he  is  hardly  sufficiently  to 
be  admired;  but  he  awakens  only  admiration,  never  emotion.  His  drawing 

[365] 


30  MASTERS    IN    ART 

is  absolute,  his  relief  startling,  he  gives  almost  the  illusion  of  nature;  but  he 
never  evokes  a  vision  of  beauty  or  charms  one  into  a  dream. 

Meissonier's  qualities  are  fully  sufficient  to  account  for  the  admiration  of 
the  public  and  the  universal  respect  of  his  brother  artists;  and  as  long  as  he 
was  content  to  be  a  genre-painter  they  were  sufficient  to  make  him  easily  the 
first  genre-painter  of  his  time,  if  not  quite  (as  an  artist  has  recently  called 
him)  the  "greatest  genre-painter  of  any  age."  In  his  later  work  they  are  less 
sufficient.  He  became  ambitious;  he  wanted  to  be  a  great  historical  painter, 
to  paint  a  "Napoleonic  Cycle,"  to  decorate  the  walls  of  the  Pantheon.  He 
transferred  his  personages  to  the  open  air,  he  enlarged  his  canvases  and  mul- 
tiplied his  figures,  he  attempted  violent  movement.  His  methods,  which  had 
been  admirably  suited  to  the  production  of  almost  perfect  little  pictures  of 
tranquil  indoor  life,  were  not  so  adequate  to  the  rendering  of  his  new  themes. 
His  prodigious  industry,  his  exhaustive  accuracy,  his  vigor,  and  his  conscien- 
tiousness were  as  great  as  ever,  but  the  most  exact  study  of  nature  in  detail 
would  not  give  the  effect  of  open  air,  the  most  rigorous  scientific  analysis  of 
the  movements  of  the  horse  would  not  make  him  move,  the  accumulation 
of  small  figures  would  not  look  like  an  army.  It  was  in  vain  that  he  built  a 
railway  to  follow  the  action  of  a  galloping  horse,  or  bought  a  grain-field  that 
he  might  see  just  what  it  would  be  like  when  a  squadron  had  charged  through 
it.  What  he  produced  may  be  demonstrably  true,  but  does  not  look  true. 

The  best  of  these  more  ambitious  works  is  perhaps  the  '1814';  the  worst 
is  the  '1807,'  which  has  found  a  home  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum,  New 
York;  yet  it  possesses,  in  as  high  a  degree  as  any  earlier  work,  every  one 
of  the  qualities  which  made  Meissonier's  greatness.  The  industry,  the 
strenuous  exactness,  the  thoroughness,  the  impeccable  draftsmanship,  the 
sharpness  of  relief,  are  all  here  at  their  greatest.  The  amount  of  labor  that 
the  picture  represents  is  simply  appalling,  and  it  is  almost  all  wasted  because 
it  is  not  the  kind  of  labor  that  was  wanted.  On  all  these  figures  not  a  gaiter- 
button  is  wanting,  and  the  total  result  of  all  this  addition  of  detail  is  simple 
chaos.  The  idea  of  the  composition  is  fine,  but  the  effect  is  missed.  Looked 
at  close  at  hand,  each  head,  each  hand,  each  strap  and  buckle,  is  masterly, 
but  at  a  distance  sufficiently  great  to  permit  the  whole  canvas  to  be  taken 
in  at  one  glance  nothing  is  seen  but  a  meaningless  glitter.  It  is  not  only 
true  that  a  life-sized  figure  treated  like  one  of  Meissonier's  small  ones  "would 
be  unendurable,"  but  it  is  equally  true  that  a  great  number  of  such  small  fig- 
ures will  not  make  a  large  picture.  The  sharp  and  hard  detail  which  was  in 
place  in  his  early  canvases  is  fatal  to  the  unity  and  breadth  necessary  to  a 
large  composition.  It  is  equally  fatal  to  the  sense  of  movement.  The  'Smok- 
ers' and  'Readers'  were  doing  as  little  as  possible,  and  one  felt  that  one  had 
plenty  of  time  to  notice  their  coat  buttons  and  the  smallest  details  of  their 
costume;  the  cuirassiers  of '1807'  are  dashing  by  at  a  furious  gallop,  and 
the  eye  resents  the  realization  of  detail  that  it  could  not  possibly  perceive. 
Even  if  the  action  of  the  horses  in  the  picture  were  correct  (and,  for  once, 
it  is  not),  nothing  could  make  them  move  when  the  eye  is  thus  arrested  by 
infinitesimal  minutiae. 

[366] 


MEISSONIER  31 

Such  was  Meissonier:  within  his  limits  an  almost  perfect  painter,  and, 
even  when  he  overstepped  them,  one  whose  terrible  conscientiousness  in  the 
exercise  of  amazing  ability  will  always  merit  deep  respect.  He  thoroughly 
earned  the  honors  he  received,  the  fortune  he  acquired  and  squandered,  and 
the  immortality  of  which  he  is  reasonably  certain. 

THEOPHILE    GAUTIER  'GAZETTE    DES    BEAUX-ARTS'    1862 

MEISSONIER  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  painters  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Such  was  his  originality  that  without  any  preliminary  gro- 
ping he  at  once  struck  the  path  which  with  a  sure  step  he  followed  to  the  end. 
In  those  first  studies  in  which,  as  a  rule,  an  artist  tentatively  seeks  to  find 
himself  by  emulating  and  imitating  others,  Meissonier  asserted  himself  at 
once — not,  of  course,  with  the  same  accentuation,  the  same  power  of  relief 
or  of  characterization  which  signalize  his  mature  works,  but  nevertheless 
in  such  a  way  that  he  appeared  to  be  quite  distinct  from  all  other  painters, 
emphatically  a  master  in  his  own  domain,  and  easily  to  be  recognized  by 
the  least  observant.  .  .  .  The  portraits  of  Ter  Borch,  Netscher,  Metsu, 
Brauwer,  and  of  Van  Mieris  might  well  hang  on  the  walls  of  Meissonier's 
studio  as  the  presentments  of  his  progenitors,  but  a  legitimate  and  authentic 
affiliation  in  no  way  prevents  the  individuality  of  the  descendant,  who  may 
remain  true  to  his  origin  and  at  the  same  time  retain  his  own  characteristics, 
his  own  special  traits;  and  Meissonier's  works,  worthy  of  being  placed  in 
any  gallery  among  the  richest  jewels  of  Dutch  art,  are  yet  distinctly  his  own. 
For  if  he  resembles  the  "little  masters"  of  Holland  in  their  truthfulness,  and 
in  the  exquisitely  delicate  perfection  of  their  workmanship,  in  their  precision 
of  painting,  and  in  their  careful  and  exact  delineation  of  detail,  he  differs  from 
them  in  that  he  possesses  qualities  which  are  wholly  French — qualities  which 
have  scarcely  been  sufficiently  appreciated. 

There  is,  for  instance,  a  science  in  his  composition  unknown  to  the  Dutch 
painters  with  whom  he  is  frequently  compared.  This  word  "composition" 
may  seem  a  singular  one  to  use  in  speaking  of  paintings  which  often  contain 
only  one  figure,  but  it  is  none  the  less  correct.  It  is  a  mark  of  great  art  to 
inspire  interest  in  a  single  figure,  and  Meissonier  was  master  of  that  art  in 
the  highest  degree.  .  .  . 

It  should  be  noted  with  what  close  observation,  with  what  keen  historic 
perception,  Meissonier  penetrated  into  the  spirit  of  the  eighteenth  century; 
he  strikes  the  key-note  even  more  truly  than  do  the  painters  or  writers  of  the 
period  itself,  not  one  of  whom  has  portrayed  or  described  it  so  vividly.  And 
he  by  no  means  confines  himself  to  the  eighteenth  century;  he  sometimes 
takes  retrospective  excursions  into  previous  periods.  He  sends  his  compli- 
ments to  Ter  Borch,  for  example,  by  an  elegant  cavalier  with  a  short  cloak, 
a  collar  of  Venetian  point,  and  lace  ruffles  in  his  huge  top-boots.  His  am- 
ateurs of  painting  do  not  always  wear  French  coats  and  three-cornered  hats, 
but  sometimes,  arrayed  like  the  gentlemen  of  Netscher  or  of  Palamedes, 
they  visit  the  studio  of  some  Dutch  master,  where  they  critically  examine  a 
picture  finished  in  minute  detail,  while  its  painter,  perfectly  satisfied  with  his 

[367] 


32  MASTERS    IN    ART 

work,  affects  an  obsequious  modesty.  Meissonier  is  skilled  in  the  portrayal 
of  all  such  characters,  accurately  depicting  their  mien,  bearing,  and  costume, 
and  rendering  with  a  life-like  imitation  of  nature  these  little  scenes  composed 
of  two  or  three  personages.  .  .  . 

One  point  in  particular  which  should  be  observed  in  his  work  is  that  his 
exquisite  finish  comes  from  the  firm  and  clear  rendering  of  objects  reduced 
to  small  dimensions,  and  not  because  his  manner  of  painting  is  in  any  way 
finical  or  labored.  On  the  contrary,  his  style  is  broad,  his  paint  is  laid  on  in 
planes,  with  all  the  accent,  touch,  and  even  with  a  handling  of  the  colors,  as 
if  his  figures  were  the  size  of  life, — only  these  qualities  are  all  reduced  to  a 
proportionate  scale,  and  when  thus  concentrated  become  clearer  and  more 
apparent.  The  hands  of  some  of  his  figures  are  astonishing  in  the  minute 
delicacy  of  all  the  details;  in  the  delineation  of  each  muscle,  each  vein, 
and  in  the  care  with  which  every  finger-nail  is  painted;  yet  seen  through  a 
powerful  magnifying-glass  they  would  look  like  hands  painted  by  Philippe 
de  Champagne  or  by  Van  Dyck.  It  is  not,  then,  by  spending  a  month  in 
putting  the  finishing  touches  to  the  handle  of  a  broom — as  is  related  of 
Gerard  Dou — that  Meissonier  attains  his  marvelous  results.  His  little  pic- 
tures are  always  solidly  constructed,  admirably  put  together,  and  drawn  with 
a  degree  of  knowledge  which  genre-painters  often  lack.  His  local  colors  are 
frank,  they  are  warm  and  strong  without  any  false  brilliancy  or  premature 
patina,  and  they  are  on  a  masterly  scale.  His  talent,  delicate  as  it  is,  is  at  the 
same  time  virile  and  robust.  Possibly  he  does  not  sacrifice  enough  for  the 
sake  of  the  beautiful.  For  instance,  he  almost  completely  excludes  woman 
from  his  work.  No  fair-haired  maid-servant  pours  out  the  beer  for  those 
topers  seated  at  the  table,  nor  bears  on  a  tray  frail  Bohemian  glasses  in  which 
the  yellow  wine  sparkles  like  a  topaz;  never  do  these  haughty  cavaliers  ad- 
dress a  declaration  of  love  to  a  charming  lady  in  petticoat  of  white  satin; 
never  does  a  fair  model  pose  in  those  studios,  so  rich  in  objects  of  art;  nor 
do  we  ever  see  near  one  of  those  windows  with  folding  shutters,  through 
which  the  light  falls  softly,  a  young  girl  busied  with  her  spinning-wheel  or 
plying  her  needle.  This  singular  lack  on  the  part  of  Meissonier  cannot  well 
be  explained.  Did  he  fear  lest  he  should  not^render  woman's  delicate  beauty 
so  skilfully  as  he  portrayed  the  more  rugged  attributes  of  man  ?  We  cannot 
say.  We  can  only  note  the  existence  of  this  peculiarity,  which  is  rare  in 
the  history  of  art.  .  .  . 

Meissonier  has,  indeed,  introduced  into  the  painting  of  genre  all  the  seri- 
ous qualities  of  great  art.  He  is  one  of  the  masters  of  our  own  day  to  whose 
works  a  place  will  always  be  assured  among  those  of  the  most  celebrated 
painters,  one  who  can  count  most  surely  upon  immortality.  —  FROM  THE 

FRENCH 

WALTER  ARMSTRONG  'MAGAZINE  OF  ART'  1891 

IF  I  were  told  to  describe  in  words  what  it  is  that  makes  a  great  painter, 
I  should  find  it  difficult  to  include  any  tangible  gift  that  Meissonier  was 
without.    He  was  a  superb  draftsman;  he  was  a  master  of  composition,  so 

[368] 


MEISSONIER  33 

far  as  that  quality  will  submit  to  mastery;  he  understood  and  could  realize 
expression,  and  his  dramatic  power  was  great;  his  color  was  not  disagreeable 
in  his  better  moments,  and  his  execution  has  never  been  excelled  in  preci- 
sion, intelligence,  and  general  sufficiency.  And  yet,  with  all  these  virtues  he 
failed  to  touch  the  deeper  nature — with  all  these  powers  he  failed  to  satisfy 
the  more  refined  perceptions.  The  fact  is  he  lacked  temperament.  He  could 
rise  to  the  notion  of  a  Bonaparte;  he  could  paint  him  at  a  heroic  moment, 
and  could,  by  a  consummate  stage  management,  bring  out  his  heroism;  but 
he  could  not  clothe  him  in  that  subtle  envelop  of  art  which  has  given  a  per- 
ennial charm  to  the  doings  of  many  a  Dutch  burgher.  It  is  by  the  intensity 
of  his  own  interest  and  by  the  patient  skill  with  which  he  contrives  to  give 
it  voice  that  he  fascinates  his  public.  .  .  . 

Meissonier's  gifts  were  almost  entirely  objective.  They  were  those  of  an 
observer,  a  manipulator,  a  scientist.  It  was  characteristic  of  him  that  in  his 
latter  years  he  was  fascinated  by  the  doings  of  instantaneous  photography. 
He  was  interested  rather  in  the  fact  itself  than  in  its  esthetic  capacities.  He 
was  abundantly  endowed  with  the  French  gifts  of  patience,  of  delight  in  tech- 
nique, and  of  thoroughness  in  all  that  has  to  do  with  manipulation  and  form. 
As  a  workman  Sir  John  Millais  once  said  of  him,  "He  was  more  complete 
than  any  Dutchman,"  and  yet  for  the  artist  his  best  things  will  never  have 
the  charm  that  clings  about  a  Metsu  or  a  Vermeer  of  Delft. 

MARIUS    CHAUMELIN  'PORTRAITS    D'ARTISTES' 

MEISSONIER  deserves  praise  for  having  resisted  from  the  outset  the 
influence  of  the  two  groups  of  painters  who  were  at  his  advent  divid- 
ing the  favor  of  the  Erench  public;  for  having  held  equally  aloof  from  the 
dry  and  colorless  academic  drawings  of  the  classic  and  from  the  impassioned 
studies  of  the  romantic  school;  for  having,  in  his  desire  to  paint  small  genre- 
pictures,  turned  to  the  true  source  of  familiar  every-day  art — in  a  word,  to 
the  creators,  the  originators,  of  genre-painting.  The  pity  of  it  was  that  in 
taking  the  Dutch  for  his  models  he  should  have  imitated  them  in  the  letter 
rather  than  in  the  spirit.  He  emulated  their  delicacy  of  touch,  the  lightness 
and  exquisite  harmony  of  their  color,  but  he  was  never  inspired  by  their  way 
of  seeing  and  interpreting  nature,  nor  by  their  deep  feeling  for  the  actual  life 
about  them,  which  is  one  of  the  chief  charms  of  their  works.  Instead  of  look- 
ing about  him  and  noting  the  types  and  manners  of  his  contemporaries — 
the  characteristics,  passions,  virtues  and  vices,  beauties  and  absurdities,  of  the 
living  men  of  his  day  —  Meissonier  set  to  work  to  paint  a  society  that  was 
dead  and  gone,  a  society  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  and  un- 
fortunately he  was  led  into  devoting,  in  this  retrospective  work,  far  more 
thought  to  the  portrayal  of  accessories  than  to  the  interpretation  of  ideas — to 
the  faithful  rendering  of  costume  than  to  the  truth  of  characterization. 

In  depicting  detail,  be  it  of  the  human  face  or  of  a  landscape,  Meissonier 
excels;  but  the  general  character  of  the  one  escapes  him,  as  does  the  har- 
mony of  the  other.  Herein  he  is  materially  distinguished  from  such  a  painter 
as  Millet,  for  instance,  who  grasped  and  portrayed  in  a  truly  grand  way  the 

[369] 


34  MASTERSINART 

essential  features  and  significant  attitudes  of  his  peasant  models.  Meissonier, 
however,  analyzes,  examines,  dissects;  he  seizes  with  unheard-of  dexterity 
even  the  very  slightest  inflection  of  the  muscles,  and  reproduces  with  mar- 
velous surety  of  touch  each  tiny  line  or  wrinkle  of  the  face.  But  if  his  aim 
be  to  astonish  us  he  certainly  makes  no  attempt  to  move  us.  No  painter, 
indeed,  cares  so  little  as  he  for  the  "ultra-pictorial"  methods  which  charm 
and  captivate  the  public.  It  never  occurs  to  him  to  cater  to  the  evil  passions 
nor  to  encourage  the  good.  He  avoids  with  equal  care  moral  and  vulgar  sub- 
jects, scenes  that  are  comic  and  those  that  are  touching,  characters  of  ancient 
history  and  the  actual  men  and  women  of  to-day.  He  knows  neither  laugh- 
ter nor  tears.  He  carries  his  indifference  to  grace  and  beauty  to  the  point 
of  almost  banishing  from  his  compositions  both  women  and  children.  He 
makes  no  direct  appeal  to  either  the  mind  or  the  heart,  but  seeks,  above  all 
else,  to  charm  our  eyes  by  the  feats  of  his  brush,  counting  only  upon  his 
skill  to  give  pleasure.  His  art,  in  short,  is  not  made  for  man,  but  for  the 
pure  love  of  art  itself. 

The  simplest  themes  sufficed  for  him — a  soldier  testing  a  sword,  a  sen- 
tinel leaning  on  his  halberd,  an  arquebusier,  a  standard-bearer,  a  captain  of 
foot-soldiers  in  full  dress,  a  painter  at  his  easel,  an  engraver  bending  over 
his  copperplate,  a  bookworm  reveling  in  his  folios,  a  musician  plaving  on 
his  violin,  another  upon  his  flute,  a  cavalier  awaiting  an  audience.  Such  are 
the  subjects  which  Meissonier  chose  to  paint,  and  the  small  panels  which 
he  has  devoted  to  these  single  figures  are  among  the  most  highly  prized 
of  his  works.  Their  principal  interest  lies  in  the  fidelity  with  which  the  ex- 
pressions of  the  faces  are  rendered,  in  the  truthfulness  of  the  gestures,  in  the 
life-like  attitudes,  and  in  the  marvelous  painting  of  the  accessories.  In  his 
scenes  in  which  several  personages  are  introduced  he  does  not  always  suc- 
ceed in  uniting  the  figures  or  in  bringing  them  into  relation  with  the  back- 
grounds. The  details  are  invariably  faultless;  it  is  the  effect  of  the  whole 
which  is  sometimes  unsatisfactorv.  .  .  . 

Such  is  the  unity  of  Meissonier's  achievement,  from  the  productions  of  his 
early  years  to  his  last  works,  that  to  be  familiar  with  only  a  few  examples 
suffices  for  a  fair  idea  of  his  manner  of  painting  and  of  his  trend  of  thought. 
In  execution  he  is  always  found  to  be  a  conscientious,  patient,  wonderfully 
skilful  draftsman,  combining  with  unfailing  sureness  of  brush-work  a  fond- 
ness for  the  most  minute  lines  and  the  most  delicate  embellishments.  Al- 
though there  is  more  dryness  in  his  first  productions,  more  life  and  spirit  in 
those  painted  when  he  was  at  the  height  of  his  career,  more  breadth  and  per- 
haps more  modeling  in  those  of  his  later  years,  they  are  all  alike  in  that  they 
keep  to  the  same  pictorial  ideal — precision.  Everything  in  them  is  subordi- 
nated to  this  ideal.  As  to  his  artistic  conception,  it  is  invariably  the  detail, 
the  accessory,  which  is  emphasized  and  which  occupies  the  chief  place  in 
his  work.  .  .  . 

If  we  except  two  or  three  pictures,  which  have  in  them  all  the  most  de- 
lightful qualities,  Meissonier's  painting,  so  clear,  so  precise,  so  knowing, 
learned,  and  deliberate,  will  be  found  lacking  in  several  great  qualities — there 

[370] 


MEISSONIER  35 

is  nothing  of  the  unexpected  in  it  to  take  us  by  storm,  nothing  impulsive  or 
impetuous  to  stir  our  emotions,  no  warmth  of  feeling  to  move,  nor  passion 
to  transport  us.  It  is  perfection;  but  perfection  so  limited,  so  monotonous, 
that  were  the  truth  to  be  told,  it  ends  by  wearying  even  those  who  have  been 
most  impressed  by  his  marvelous  skill. — FROM  THE  FRENCH 

LIONEL    ROBINSON  «  M  E  I  S  SON  I  E  R  ' 

WE  do  not  claim  for  Meissonier  grandeur  of  style  nor  sublimity  of  gen- 
ius. The  outward  embodiment  of  the  thought,  rather  than  the  thought 
itself,  is  too  predominant  at  all  times  in  his  work.  His  creative  power  seems 
limited  to  a  degree  rarely  found  among  painters  of  his  technical  power.  He 
has  little  sentiment  and  no  tenderness.  On  the  other  hand,  he  is  absolutely 
free  from  sentimentalism  or  tawdriness.  "To  see  on  a  large  scale,  to  exe- 
cute in  miniature"  seems  to  have  been  the  aim  of  his  art,  and  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  among  the  ranks  of  ancient  or  modern  painters  the  name  of 
one  who,  by  careful  and  laborious  work,  more  completely  achieved  his  ob- 
ject, or  to  whom  may  be  more  truly  applied  the  motto:  Maxims  mirandus 
in  minimis. 


^orfes  of  ^letssonter 

DESCRIPTIONS    OF    THE    PLATES 
'THE    SERGEANT'S    PORTRAIT'  PLATE    I 

"T?OR  technical  skill  and  subdued  humor,"  writes  Mr.  Lionel  Robinson, 
JL  "this  picture  is  reckoned  among  Meissonier's  greatest  successes."  The 
scene  is  laid  in  a  barrack  yard  in  bright  sunlight.  A  sergeant^  magnificent 
in  his  white  and  blue  eighteenth-century  uniform,  and  fully  conscious  of  his 
fine  appearance,  is  posing  before  a  humble  member  of  the  artistic  profession, 
surrounded  by  a  group  of  soldiers  who  watch  with  critical  interest  the  prog- 
ress of  their  sergeant's  portrait.  The  red  brick  wall  of  the  building  which 
forms  the  background  enhances  the  effect  of  this  brilliantly  lighted  scene, 
which  Meissonier  is  said  to  have  painted  in  order  to  prove  to  his  critics  that 
they  were  wrong  in  asserting  that  he  could  paint  only  interior  scenes  or  those 
in  which  the  light  was  subdued. 

The  picture,  dated  1 87  4,  measures  nearly  two  feet  and  a  half  high  by  about 
two  feet  wide.    It  is  in  Baron  Schroeder's  collection,  London. 

<THE    BRAWL*  PLATE    II 

'/~|~VHE  BRAWL'  ('La  Rixe')  is  one  of  Meissonier's  most  celebrated 

A.    works.    Painted  in  1855  and  exhibited  in  the  Universal  Exposition 

held  in  Paris  in  that  year,  it  was  purchased  by  Napoleon  in.   for  twenty 

thousand  francs  ($4,000)  and  presented  by  him  to  Prince  Albert  during  the 

[371] 


36  MASTERS    IN    ART 

visit  of  Queen  Victoria  and  her  consort  to  Paris.  It  is  now  in  the  possession 
of  the  King  of  England. 

The  scene  represents  a  quarrel  in  a  tavern  between  bravos.  The  period  is 
the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Tables  and  chairs  have  been  over- 
turned, and  cards,  the  probable  cause  of  the  trouble,  lie  scattered  on  the  floor. 
The  assailant  has  drawn  his  dagger  and  struggles  to  free  himself  from  two  com- 
panions, as  they  with  difficulty  prevent  his  rushing  upon  his  adversary,  who, 
restrained  by  a  third  peacemaker,  attempts  to  draw  his  sword.  The  violent 
movement,  the  fierce  struggle  of  the  angry  men,  the  intense  expression,  not 
only  of  the  faces  but  of  each  limb  and  muscle,  are  powerfully  rendered  by 
the  artist,  who,  it  is  said,  painted  this  stirring  scene  to  silence  the  critics  who 
had  declared  him  unable  to  depict  action. 

The  picture,  larger  than  Meissonier's  usual  tiny  panels,  measures  nearly 
eighteen  inches  high  by  twenty-two  inches  wide. 

<THE    ORDERLY'  PLATE    III 

NOWHERE  has  Meissonier's  skill  in  the  exact  rendering  of  detail,  and 
at  the  same  time  his  power  of  characterization,  been  better  exemplified 
than  in  this  celebrated  picture  of  'The  Orderly'  ('L'Ordonnance').  An  or- 
derly of  the  period  of  the  First  Republic,  in  high  boots  and  with  his  musket 
slung  across  his  shoulders,  has  delivered  a  despatch  to  an  officer,  who,  standing 
with  legs  apart  and  back  turned  to  the  fireplace,  pompous  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  superior  rank,  has  taken  his  pipe  from  his  mouth,  and  deliberately 
peruses  the  letter.  A  hussar  seated  at  a  table  nearby,  pipe  in  hand,  watches 
the  face  of  his  chief. 

The  accessories  of  the  scene,  furniture,  ornaments,  and  above  all  the  cos- 
tumes, are  painted  with  such  care  that  each  bit  of  carving,  each  strap  and 
buckle  of  the  soldiers'  uniforms,  is  clearly  and  accurately  portrayed. 

The  picture,  dated  1866,  is  now  i"  the  Vanderbilt  Collection,  New  York. 
It  measures  eighteen  inches  high  by  fifteen  inches  wide. 

<THE    VEDETTE*  PLATE    IV 


</T-NHE  VEDETTE,'  or  mounted  sentinel,  was  a  subject  often  painted  by 
A  Meissonier,  and  one  that  gave  scope  to  his  fondness  for  portraying 
military  life  and  picturesque  costume.  Above  all  it  offered  opportunity  for 
his  study  of  the  horse,  in  the  masterful  delineation  of  which  he  was  unsur- 
passed. 

M.  Gruyer  thus  describes  the  famous  version  of  'The  Vedette'  here  re- 
produced (the  full  French  title  of  which  is  'La  Vedette  des  Dragons  sous 
Louis  xv.'),  the  original  of  which  is  in  the  Conde  Museum,  Chantilly: 

"Seated  motionless  upon  his  horse  in  the  blazing  sunlight,  his  gun  at  his 
side,  the  vedette  scans  the  horizon.  His  good  horse,  with  ears  erect  and 
nostrils  distended  as  if  scenting  danger  from  afar,  stands  like  a  statue,  his 
shadow  outlined  upon  the  sun-baked  earth  beside  him.  In  every  respect  this 
horse  is  a  model  of  correct  and  accurate  drawing.  As  to  the  vedette  himself, 

[372] 


MEISSONIER  37 

he  is  characterized  by  that  frank  simplicity,  that  combination  of  elegance 
and  straightforward  realism,  which  are,  as  it  were,  the  artist's  signature. 
The  little  masterpiece  vividly  brings  to  mind  those  picturesque  red  dragoons, 
who,  with  their  big  boots  and  black  three-cornered  hats  enlivened  by  knots 
of  blue  ribbon,  formed  part  of  the  army  of  France  in  the  time  of  Louis  xv." 
The  picture  was  painted  in  1863.  It  is  on  wood,  and  measures  ten  inches 
high  by  eight  inches  wide. 

<FRIEDLAND,    1807'  PLATE    V 

THIS  famous  picture  is  one  of  the  uncompleted  series  of  the  "Napoleonic 
Cycle"  (see  description  of  the  following  plate).  It  has  been  spoken  of 
by  some  critics  as  a  "superb  example  of  Meissonier's  art,"  as  his  "finest 
achievement,"  and  by  others  as  "one  of  the  worst  pictures  he  ever  painted," 
a  "failure  in  composition,"  cold  in  its  elaboration  of  detail,  monotonous  in 
the  figures,  which  it  is  said  were  all  painted  from  one  and  the  same  model; 
inferior,  indeed,  in  every  respect,  save  in  the  draftsmanship  and  marvelous 
technique,  in  praise  of  which  no  dissenting  voice  is  raised.  Whatever  the 
view  held  of  this  picture,  however,  'Friedland,  1807''  is  Meissonier's  most 
celebrated  work,  and  it  is  well  known  that  the  artist  regarded  it  as  his  master- 
piece. He  expended  fourteen  years  of  labor  upon  it,  studies  innumerable 
were  made  for  it  (each  figure,  it  is  said,  was  the  subject  of  a  separate  sketch), 
and  changes  and  corrections  were  again  and  again  introduced  which  resulted 
in  an  almost  entire  repainting  of  the  scene.  To  portray  accurately  the  ap- 
pearance of  grain  trampled  by  hoofs  of  cavalry  horses  as  shown  in  the  fore- 
ground of  the  picture,  Meissonier  is  said  to  have  bought  a  wheat-field  and 
hired  a  troop  of  cuirassiers  to  charge  through  it,  he  himself  riding  beside  and 
carefully  noting  the  attitudes  of  men  and  horses.  Such  was  the  thorough- 
ness, the  painstaking  care,  and  the  untiring  patience  that  went  towards  the 
making  of  this  famous  work. 

The  subject  represents  the  triumphant  defiling  of  the  cavalry  of  the  Im- 
perial Guard  before  Napoleon  I.,  who,  seated  motionless  upon  his  white  horse, 
occupies  the  central  point  of  interest,  the  spot  upon  which  all  eyes  are  fixed. 
Grouped  about  him  are  his  generals — Bessieres,  Duroc,  and  Berthier;  just 
behind  him  General  Nansouty  with  his  division  awaits  the  order  to  defile; 
farther  back  is  the  "Old  Guard,"  with  their  bearskin  caps  and  white  breeches; 
and  behind  them  again,  squadron  after  squadron  of  troops,  with  an  infinite 
perspective  dotted  with  men  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see. 

"I  did  not  intend  to  paint  a  battle,"  said  Meissonier;  "I  wanted  to  paint 
Napoleon  at  the  zenith  of  his  glory;  I  wanted  to  paint  the  love,  the  adora- 
tion of  the  soldiers  for  the  great  captain  in  whom  they  had  faith  and  for 
whom  they  were  ready  to  die.  For  the  picture  '1814,'  the  heartrending  end  of 
the  imperial  dream,  my  palette  did  not  have  colors  sad  enough;  but  in  'Fried- 
land,  1807,'  wishing  everything  to  appear  brilliant  at  this  triumphant  mo- 
ment, it  seemed  to  me  that  I  could  not  find  colors  sufficiently  dazzling.  No 
shade  should  be  upon  the  emperor's  face  to  take  from  him  the  epic  character 
I  wished  to  give  him.  The  battle  of  Friedland,  already  commenced,  was  nec- 

[373] 


38  MASTERS    IN    ART 

essary  to  add  to  the  enthusiasm  of  the  soldiers  and  make  the  subject  stand 
forth,  but  not  to  lessen  its  effect  by  saddening  details.  All  such  shadows  I 
avoided — a  dismounted  cannon  and  some  growing  wheat  which  would  never 
ripen,  this  was  enough.  The  men  and  the  emperor  are  in  the  presence  of 
each  other.  The  soldiers  cry  out  to  him  that  they  are  his,  and  the  great  chief, 
whose  imperial  will  directs  the  masses  that  move  around  him,  salutes  his  de- 
voted army." 

'Friedland,  1807'  was  purchased  from  the  artist  by  the  late  Mr.  A.  T. 
Stewart  of  New  York,  for  $60,000.  At  the  sale  of  the  Stewart  Collection 
in  1887  it  was  bought  by  Judge  Henry  Hilton  for  an  even  larger  sum,  and 
presented  by  him  to  the  Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York,  where  it  now 
hangs.  It  is  painted  on  canvas,  and  measures  nearly  four  feet  and  a  half  high 
by  about  eight  feet  wide. 

'THE    CAMPAIGN     OF    FRANCE,     1814'  PLATE    VI 

ONE  of  the  two  finished  works  belonging  to  an  uncompleted  series  which 
it  was  Meissonier's  intention  to  paint  illustrating  the  chief  events  of 
the  military  career  of  Napoleon  I.  is  this  picture,  'The  Campaign  of  F ranee,' 
or  '1814,'  as  it  is  perhaps  more  often  called.  It  is  by  many  regarded  as  his 
masterpiece. 

"When  I  made  the  sketch  for  '1814,'"  he  said,  "I  was  thinking  of  Na- 
poleon returning  from  Soissons  with  his  staff  after  the  battle  of  Laon.  It 
is  the  campaign  of  France,  not  the  return  from  Russia,  as  has  been  some- 
times suggested.  For  this  theme  I  could  scarcely  find  colors  sad  and  subdued 
enough.  The  sky  is  dreary,  the  landscape  devastated.  The  dejected,  exas- 
perated faces  express  discouragement,  despair,  possibly  even  treachery." 

In  the  center  of  the  picture,  seated  on  his  white  horse  and  wearing  his 
famous  gray  coat,  rides  Napoleon.  Close  behind  follow  his  marshals — Ney, 
his  overcoat  buttoned  around  his  shoulders;  beside  him  Berthier,  and  then 
Flahaut..  Farther  back  are  Drouet  and  Gourgaud,  and  beside  them  an  officer 
who  from  sheer  fatigue  has  fallen  asleep  on  his  horse.  Behind,  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  see,  follow  in  military  file  the  guides,  lancers,  and  cuirassiers.  "The 
abrupt  diminution  of  the  line  of  men  in  my '1814,'"  said  Meissonier,  "is  an 
intentional  effect.  Some  painters  would,  perhaps,  have  put  in  as  many  fig- 
ures as  possible,  but  it  was  my  idea  to  suggest  a  line  stretching  away  into 
the  distance  out  of  sight.  This  gives  greater  majesty  to  the  emperor  with 
his  marshals  behind  him — each  so  individual,  so  personal  in  costume  and 
attitude,  like  Ney,  for  instance,  who  never  put  his  arms  through  the  sleeves 
of  his  overcoat.  A  little  way  off  comes  the  infantry,  marching  in  line,  the 
drums  in  front." 

To  paint  this  figure  of  the  emperor  Meissonier  made  many  studies. 
Having  borrowed  the  identical  gray  riding-coat  of  the  first  Napoleon,  the 
famous  redingote  grist,  from  the  National  Museum,  where  it  was  preserved, 
he  had  an  exact  copy  made  for  his  model  to  wear.  M.  Charles  Meissonier, 
his  son,  has  told  how  his  father  waited  long  for  the  appropriate  weather  in 
which  to  paint  the  scene  from  nature.  "At  last  the  snow  fell,  and  when  it 

[374] 


MEISSONIER  39 

had  covered  the  ground  my  father  set  to  work.  He  had  the  earth  trampled 
down  by  his  servants  and  broken  up  by  the  passing  to  and  fro  of  heavy  carts. 
When  the  track  had  become  sufficiently  muddy,  he  began  work,  and,  not- 
withstanding the  bitter  cold,  placed  his  models  on  horseback;  then,  with 
prodigious  activity,  he  hurried  on  the  study  of  details  in  order  to  get  them 
finished  before  a  thaw  set  in.  Fortunately  the  weather  continued  cold,  and 
the  same  sad  gray  sky  shrouded  with  opaque  clouds  remained — the  sky 
necessary  for  the  desired  effect.  After  the  escort  of  generals  Napoleon's 
picture  was  the  next  work.  All  the  different  parts  of  his  costume  were  ready 
and  had  been  executed  under  Prince  Napoleon's  supervision  and  rigorously 
copied  from  the  authentic  relics.  When  the  time  came  to  dress  the  model 
it  was  found  that  he  could  not  put  on  the  clothes.  He  was  a  stout  young 
man  and  the  riding-coat  was  too  small  for  him,  while  the  hat  fell  over  his 
eyes.  My  father  then  tried  on  the  costume;  the  coat  fitted  him  like  a  glove, 
the  hat  seemed  made  for  him.  He  did  not  hesitate  for  a  moment,  but  at  once 
took  the  model's  place  on  the  white  horse  that  had  been  sent  from  the  im- 
perial stables,  had  a  mirror  set  up  before  him,  and  began  to  copy  his  own 
image.  The  cold  was  intense;  my  father's  feet  froze  to  the  iron  stirrups, 
and  we  were  obliged  to  place  foot-warmers  under  them  and  to  put  a  chafing- 
dish  near  him,  over  which  he  occasionally  held  his  hands." 

The  picture  was  painted  in  1864.  It  measures  about  twenty  inches  high 
by  thirty  inches  wide,  and  is  in  the  Chauchard  Collection,  Paris. 

'THE  STIRRUP-CUP*  PLATE  vn 

MEISSONIER  repeated  this  subject  several  times,  always  with  vari- 
ations. In  this  version,  owned  by  the  late  Mr.  Frederick  L.  Ames, 
Boston,  the  scene  is  laid  before  an  inn.  Hat  in  hand,  a  cavalier  of  the  time 
of  Louis  xni.  takes  his  parting  glass,  the  "stirrup-cup,"  from  the  landlord's 
wife.  This  is  one  of  the  rare  instances  of  the  introduction  of  a  woman  in 
a  picture  by  Meissonier. 

The  attitudes  are  lifelike,  the  expressions  of  the  different  figures  natural, 
and  in  the  effect  of  strong,  vibrant  sunshine  which  permeates  the  scene 
Meissonier  has  given  an  admirable  example  of  his  skill  in  the  portrayal  of 
light  and  atmosphere  out-of-doors. 

The  trees  at  the  left  of  the  picture  are  vivid  spring  green,  relieved  against 
a  bit  of  blue  sky;  the  wall  of  the  inn  is  of  cream-colored  stone;  the  horse  is 
white;  the  cavalier  is  clad  in  pale  gray-green  stuff;  the  woman's  bodice  is 
fawn-colored  and  her  skirt  bright  cherry  red.  The  picture  measures  about 
seven  inches  high  by  nine  inches  wide. 

'THE    PRINT    COLLECTOR'  PLATE    VIII 

IN  a  room  filled  with  a  variety  of  objects,  pictures  framed  and  unframed 
upon  the  walls,  bottles,  jars,  books  and  ornaments  upon  the  tables,  en- 
gravings in  portfolios  or  lying  carelessly  upon  a  chair — a  room  which  is  said 
to  be  a  representation  of  one  of  Meissonier's  own  studios,  and  which  is  at- 

[375J 


40  MASTERSINART 

tractive  in  its  very  untidiness — a  print  collector,  wearing  a  long  dark  coat, 
gray  stockings,  and  low  shoes,  is  engaged  in  showing  one  of  his  treasures  to 
a  visitor,  who,  clad  in  a  light  brown  coat,  and  with  his  hair  dressed  and 
powdered  for  the  day,  critically  regards  it  with  the  eye  of  a  connoisseur. 

"There  seems  no  sense  of  ordered  arrangement  anywhere,"  writes  Mr. 
A.  G.  Temple,  "yet  every  inch  of  this  panel  shows  the  same  transcendent 
skill,  from  the  leg  of  the  chair  to  the  sensitive  value  given  to  the  stone  jar 
against  which  the  green  table-cloth  falls.  Nowhere  is  there  opacity,  but  a 
beautiful  transparency  alike  in  lights  and  shadows." 

The  picture  measures  about  fourteen  inches  high  by  eleven  inches  wide. 
It  is  now  in  the  Wallace  Collection,  London. 

<THE  READER  IN  WHITE'  PLATE  IX 

THIS  little  picture,  known  as  'The  Reader  in  White'  (<Le  Liseur  Blanc'), 
painted  on  a  panel  eight  inches  high  by  six  inches  wide,  is  one  of  the 
incomparable  series  of  single  figures  which  went  far  towards  establishing 
Meissonier's  reputation,  and  attained  such  world-wide  popularity  that  the 
artist  could  have  made  his  fame  and  fortune  by  the  mere  multiplication  of 
these  tiny  masterpieces. 

"It  is  in  his  single  figures — his  monologues,"  writes  M.  Andre  Michel, 
"that  Meissonier  attains  perfection.  If  one  would  experience  unalloyed  pleas- 
ure let  him  look  at  the  charming  series  of  'Readers,'  standing  or  seated  in 
their  rooms,  where  all  the  accessories  are  so  characteristic  of  their  lives  and 
tastes.  In  every  one  of  these  little  pictures  the  light  comes  from  the  side, 
through  a  window  sometimes  open,  sometimes  partly  closed  by  inside  shut- 
ters. A  green  or  a  red  cloth  covers  the  table,  on  which  are  piled  books  bound 
in  parchment  or  calfskin,  and  pamphlets  with  worn  and  ragged  edges.  The 
Reader  himself,  dressed  sometimes  in  black,  sometimes  in  white,  and  again 
in  cherry  color,  is  standing,  or  leaning  against  the  window,  or  seated  before 
his  table,  absorbed  in  his  book,  while  on  his  face  there  is  always  a  subtly  por- 
trayed expression  of  inward  content." 

The  'Reader'  here  reproduced  is  dressed  in  a  costume  of  white  woolen 
material,  his  hair  is  powdered,  and  the  table  against  which  he  leans  is  covered 
with  a  green  velvet  cloth.  Painted  with  the  exquisite  finish  of  a  Dutch  "little 
master,"  this  picture  is  yet  characterized  by  a  spirit,  an  indescribable  some- 
thing, distinctly  French.  It  was  painted  in  1857,  and  is  in  the  Chauchard 
Collection,  Paris. 

«THE    BROTHERS    VAN    DE    VELDE'  PLATE    X 

MEISSONIER  has  here  represented  the  two  Dutch  painters  Adrien  and 
Willem  van  de  Velde,  who  flourished  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
Adrien,  the  elder,  was  noted  for  his  landscapes  with  figures  and  cattle,  and 
Willem  for  his  marine  views.  The  scene  is  the  studio  of  the  younger  brother. 
Adrien  van  de  Velde,  wearing  a  gray  doublet,  breeches  of  the  same  color, 
and  a  long  red  mantle,  is  seated  before  his  brother's  easel,  attentively  exam- 

[376] 


MEISSONIER 

ining  a  painting,  while  Willem,  palette  and  brush  in  hand,  awaits  his  elder 
brother's  criticism.  He  wears  a  pearl-gray  coat  with  slashed  sleeves. 

The  carved  oak  sideboard  covered  with  various  objects,  the  mandolin  on 
its  top,  the  unframed  canvas  resting  against  the  wall  beside  it,  the  open  port- 
folio of  sketches  on  the  floor,  the  chair  in  the  foreground,  as  well  as  every 
detail  of  feature  and  costume,  are  painted  with  all  the  care  and  technical 
skill  of  which  Meissonier  was  a  past  master. 

The  picture,  dated  1856,  measures  ten  inches  high  by  eight  inches  wide. 
It  is  now  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York. 


A    LIST    OF    THE    PRINCIPAL    PAINTINGS    BY     MEISSONIER 
IN    PUBLIC    COLLECTIONS 

THE  following  list  includes  only  the  more  important  pictures  in  collections  which  are 
accessible  to  the  public,  for  the  majority  of  Meissonier1  s  works  (nearly  five  hundred 
in  all,  and  of  which  about  seventy-five  are  in  the  United  States)  are  in  private  possession, 
and  therefore  not  only  difficult  to  trace,  but  constantly  changing  hands.    For  a  fuller  list  the 
reader  is  referred  to  Greard's  'Meissonier'  (London  and  New  York,  1897). 

ENGLAND.  LONDON,  WALLACE  COLLECTION:  A  Musketeer;  Halting  at  an  Innj 
Napoleon  i.  and  his  Staff;  A  Cavalier;  St.  John  in  Patmos;  The  Print  Collector 
(Plate  vin);  The  Decameron;  The  Bravos;  The  Roadside  Inn;  Portrait  of  Colonel  Felix 
Massue;  Soldiers  Gambling;  A  Cavalier;  A  Musketeer;  Polichinelle;  Dutch  Burghers; 
The  Guardroom  —  FRANCE.  CHANTILLY,  CONDE  MUSEUM:  The  Vedette  (Plate 
iv);  The  Cuirassiers  of  1805;  The  Amateurs  of  Paintings  (water-color) — LYONS  MU- 
SEUM: Portrait  of  Meissonier;  Portrait  of  General  Championnet;  Portrait  of  Paul 
Chenavard  —  PARIS,  LOUVRE:  Napoleon  in.  at  Solferino;  Napoleon  in.  and  his  Staff; 
Expectation;  Young  Woman  Singing;  Landscape;  Washerwomen  at  Antibes;  Studies  of 
Cuirassiers  and  Horses  (three  panels);  Portrait  of  Alexandre  Dumas  the  Younger;  Por- 
trait of  Madame  Gerriot;  Three  Views  of  Venice;  The  Madonna  del  Bacio;  Ruins  of  the 
Tuileries;  The  Siege  of  Paris;  Samson;  J.  J.  Rousseau  and  Madame  de  Warens;  On  the 
Staircase;  Studies  of  two  Cuirassiers;  Antibes;  The  Travelers;  Cuirassier;  Portrait  of 
Meissonier  when  Young;  Portrait  of  Meissonier  (Page  22);  The  Reader;  The  Three 
Smokers;  The  Flute-player;  Military  Orders;  The  Poet  —  VALENCIENNES  MUSEUM:  Por- 
trait of  Meissonier  (water-color)  —  GERMANY.  MUNICH,  NEW  PINAKOTHEK:  The 
Bravos  —  HAMBURG,  KUNSTHALLE:  A  Cavalier  —  HOLLAND.  AMSTERDAM,  FODOR 
MUSEUM  :  Dying  Man  and  Monk  —  UNITED  STATES.  BALTIMORE,  WALTERS  GAL- 
LERY: The  Jovial  Trooper;  The  End  of  a  Game  of  Cards;  Courtyard  of  the  Artist's  Stu- 
dio; '1814'  (single  figure  of  Napoleon);  Two  Portraits  of  Meissonier  —  BOSTON,  MU- 
SEUM OF  FINE  ARTS:  A  Horseman  (sketch);  A  General  (sketch)  —  CHICAGO,  ART  IN- 
STITUTE: The  Vedette  — NEW  YORK,  METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM:  Friedland,  1807  (Plate  v); 
The  Sign-painter  (water-color);  The  Brothers  Van  de  Velde  (Plate  x);  General  and  Ad- 
jutant; Man  Reading;  A  Cavalier — PHILADELPHIA,  ACADEMY  OF  FINE  ARTS:  Cavalier 
Waiting  an  Audience. 

[377] 


•  '  . 
42  MASTERSINART 


A    LIST    OF     THE    PRINCIPAL    BOOKS    AND    MAGAZINE    ARTICLES 
DEALING    WITH     MEISSONIER 

«TV   /TEISSONIER,  ses  souvenirs,  ses  entretiens,'   by  V.  C.   O.   Greard  (Paris,  1897), 
1VJ.  although  far  from  satisfactory  or  comprehensive,  is  the  most  important  study  of 
Meissonier  that  has  yet  appeared.     An  English  translation  by  Lady  Mary  Loyd  and  Flor- 
ence Simmonds  was  published  in  London  and  New  York  in  1897. 

AJOUT,  E.  Nos  artistes  au  Salon  de  Paris.  Paris,  1858  —  ABOUT,  E.  Salon  de  1864. 
Paris,  1864  —  ALEXANDRE,  A.  Histoire  de  la  peinture  militaire  en  France.  Paris 
[1889]  —  BEAULIEU,  C.  D.  Peintres  celebres  du  xixe  siecle.  Paris  [1894]  —  BELL,  N. 
Representative  Painters  of  the  xixth  Century.  London,  1889  —  BIGOT,  C.  Peintres 
francais  contemporains.  Paris,  1888  —  BLANC,  C.  Les  artistes  de  mon  temps.  Paris, 
1876  —  BURTY,  P.  Meissonier  (in  F.  G.  Dumas'  Illustrated  Biographies  of  Modern 
Artists.  Trans,  by  Clara  Bell).  Paris,  1882  —  BURTY,  P.  Croquis  d'apres  nature. 
Paris,  1892  —  Catalogue  d'une  exposition  des  ceuvres  de  Meissonier,  1893.  Paris, 
jg^  —  Catalogue  des  tableaux  composant  1'  atelier  Meissonier.  Paris  [1893]  —  CHAU- 
MELIN,  M.  Portraits  d'  artistes.  Paris,  1887  —  CHESNEAU,  E.  La  Peinture  fra^aise  au 
xixe  siecle.  Paris,  1862  —  CLARETIE,  J.  Portraits  contemporains.  Paris,  1885  — 
COOK,  C.  Art  and  Artists  of  our  Time.  New  York  [1888]  —  FORMENTIN,  C.  Meis- 
sonier. Paris,  1901  —  Funerailles  de  M.  Meissonier.  Paris  [i89i]^GREARD,  V.  C.  O. 
Meissonier,  his  Life  and  his  Art.  Trans,  by  Lady  Mary  Loyd  and  Florence  Simmonds. 
New  York,  1897  —  GRUYER,  F.  A.  La  Peinture  au  Chateau  de  Chantilly.  Paris,  1898 

—  LA  FORGE,  A.  D.  La  Peinture  contemporaine  en  France.   Paris,  1856  —  LARROUMET,G. 
Meissonier.     Paris  [1893]  —  MAUCLAIR,  C.     Great  French  Painters.    Trans,  by  P.  G. 
Konody.   New  York  [1893]  —  MEYNELL,  A.    Meissonier  (in  Meynell's  Modern  Artists). 
London,  1883  —  MOLLETT,  J.W.    Meissonier.    London,  1882  —  MUTHER,  R.    History 
of  Modern  Painting.  New  York,  1896  —  PILLET,  C.    Exposition  Meissonier,  1884.   Paris 
[1884]  —  ROBINSON,  L.    Meissonier.  London  [1887]  —  STRANAHAN,  C.  H.    A  History 
of  French  Painting.    New  York,  1888  —  TEMPLE,  A.  G.    The  Wallace  Collection.   Lon- 
don, 1902  —  WATROUS,  H.  W.    Meissonier  (in  Van  Dyke's  Modern  French  Masters). 
New  York,  1896  —  WOLFF,  A.,  AND  OTHERS.    Notes  upon  certain  Masters  of  the  xixth 
Century.    1886. 

MAGAZINE    ARTICLES 

ACADEMY,  1891:  Meissonier  —  AMERICAN  ARCHITECT,  1879:  A  Day  with  Meis- 
£\.  sonier.     1893:  S.  Beale;  Meissonier  in  London  —  L'ART,  1876:  W.  Ballu;  '1807' 

—  ATHENJEUM,  1884:  J.  Claretie;  Notes  from  Paris.    1891:  Meissonier.    1898:  Review 
of  Greard'  s  Meissonier  —  CONTEMPORARY  REVIEW,  1  899  :  V.  Verestchagin;  Reminiscences 
of  Meissonier  —  COSMOPOLITAN,  1891:  G.  E.  Montgomery;   The  Master  of  Genre  — 
GAZETTE  DES  BEAUX-ARTS,  1862:  T.  Gautier;  Meissonier.    1862:  P.  Burty;  Les  Eaux- 
fortes  et  les  bois  de   Meissonier.      1866:    P.    Burty;  L'CEuvre  de  Meissonier.      1884: 
A.  Michel;  Exposition  des  ceuvres  de  Meissonier.    1891:   L.  Gonse;  Meissonier.     1891: 
E.  Bonnaffe;  Documents  inedits  sur  Meissonier.     1893:  L.  de  Fourcaud;  Exposition  des 
oeuvres  de  Meissonier.    1893:  H.  Beraldi;  Exposition  des  ceuvres  de  Meissonier  —  LIPPIN- 
COTT'S  MAGAZINE,  1874:  L.  H.  Hooper;  A  Visit  to  the  Studio  of  Meissonier  —  MAC- 
MILLAN'S  MAGAZINE,  1884:  Meissonier  —  MAGAZINE  OF  ART,  1881:  A.  Meynell;  Our 
Living  Artists.    1885:  'Meissonier  Pinxit.'     1891:  W.  Armstrong;  Meissonier.     1893: 
C.   Phillips;    The  Meissonier  Exhibition  —  NATION,  1896:  K.    Cox;    The  Paintings  of 
Meissonier  —  NINETEENTH  CENTURY,  1898:  C.  Yriarte;  Meissonier,  Personal  Recollec- 
tions and  Anecdotes  —  PORTFOLIO,  1893:    P.    G.   Hamerton;   Meissonier  —  SATURDAY 
REVIEW,   1891:  Meissonier.     1897:  Review  of  Greard'  s  Meissonier  —  WESTERMANN'S 
ILLUSTRIERTE  DEUTSCHE  MONATSHEFTE,  1885:  H.  Heinecke;  Meissonier  —  ZEITSCHRIFT 
FUR  BILDENDE  KUNST,  1  866:  O.  Mundler;  Meissonier. 

[378] 


MASTERS    IN    ART 


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*  «• 


to  fllugtrate 


A   SELF-INSTRUCTING   BOOK 

It  is  splendidly  illustrated.  The  instruction  is 
thorough,  practical,  complete,  unabridged. 

It  is  emphatically  not  a  cut-price  substitute  for 
higher  Priced  methods. 

Written  by  Charles  Hope  Provost,  artistic  con- 
tributor to  Life,  Scribner's  Monthly.  Harper's 
Monthly.  Harper's  Weekly,  Herald,  World,  Eve- 
ning World,  Evening  Journal.  Ainslee's  Maga- 
zine, etc.,  teacher  of  4,000  people  by  mail,  originator 
of  correspondence  art  instruction. 

CONTENTS. 

TECHNIC  — Working  with  pen,  brush  (oil  and 
water-color),  pastel,  grease  and  conte  crayon,  lead- 
pencil,  carbon  pencil,  scratch  paper,  chalk  plate, 
Ben  Day  machine,  silver  print  work,  etc.  Also  the 
various  effects  used  by  pen  artists,  including  quick 
and  slow  lines,  English  and  American  styles  of 
treating  zig-zag  lines,  hooked  lines,  quick  lines, 
double  cross-hatching,  stippling,  spatter  work,  etc. 
Wash  drawings.  Distemper  drawings.  Tracing 
and  copying  photographs.  What  materials  to  use, 
including  papers,  canvases,  and  bristol  boards. 
Tools,  and  how  to  handle  them.  Drawing  from 
nature,  including  landscape,  flowers,  animals,  fig- 
ures, portraits,  etc.  Drawing  from  memory,  with 
table  showing  comparative  measurements  of  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  human  body  —  head,  hands,  feet, 
legs,  arms,  etc.  COLOR  —primary  and  secondary 
colors,  etc.,  explained.  How  to  mix  different 
shades,  etc.  ARTISTIC  ANATOMY  — The  bones  and 
muscles  as  applied  to  pictorial  work.  LETTERING 
—  Copying  and  originating.  Roman,  block,  old 
English,  and  script  styles  shown.  Elementary,  his- 
toric, and  geometric  ornament.  Conventionaliza- 
tion of  ^flowers,  ornamental  composition,  pictorial 
composition  (including  form  and  color  arrangement 
and  balance),  fashion  work,  caricaturing,  cartoon- 
ing. FACIAL  EXPRESSION  — Sorrow,  joy,  anger, 
fear,  contempt,  laughter.  Aerial  and  linear  perspec- 
tive. BUSINESS  DETAILS— How  to  sell  pictures, 
how  to  get  a  position  as  an  artist,  prices  and  sal- 
aries paid,  lists  of  names  of  publishers  and  others 
who  buy  work,  how  to  pack  pictures  to  send  by 
mail  or  express,  etc..  etc.  Explanations  of  various 
engraving  and  reproductive  processes. 

'THowto  Illustrate  "  sent  prepaid  to  any  address 
in  the  world  for  $1.00  (Limp  Covers). 

A  more  handsomely  bound  edition  in  stiff  covers, 
$1.50,  prepaid. 

Remit  to-day,  as  this  offer  may  be  withdrawn  at 
any  time,  or  send  for  free  descriptive  circular. 

BROWN  PUBLISHING    COMPANY 
Room  5, 1 14  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York 

Remit  by  Express,  P.  O.  Money  Order,  or  Regis- 
tered Letter, 


A  partial  list  of  the  artists  to  be  considered  in  '  Masters  in  Art' 
during  the  forthcoming,  1904,  Volume  will  be  found  on  another 
page  of  this  issue.  The  numbers  which  have  already  appeared 
i  n  1 904  are  : 


PART  49,  JANUARY 
PART  50,  FEBRUARY 
PART  ji,  MARCH      . 
PART  51,  APRIL 
PART  53,  MAY 
PART  54,  JUNE 
PART  55,  JULY 
PART  56,  AUGUST  . 
PART  57,  SEPTEMBER    . 

PART     58,     THE 


FRA   BARTOLOMMEO 
GREUZE 

.     DURER'S  ENGRAVINGS 
LOTTO 
.     LANDSEER 
VERMEER  OF  DELFT 
.    PINTORICCHIO 
THE   BROTHERS  VAN   EYCK 
MEISSONIER 


ISSUE     FOR 


WILL  TREAT  OF 


NUMBERS   ISSUED   IN   PREVIOUS  VOLUMES 
OF  'MASTERS  IN  ART' 


VOL.  1. 


VOL.  2. 


PART    I.— VAN  DYCK  PART  I}.— RUBENS 

PART    z.— TITIAN  PART  14.— DA  VINCI 

PART    j.— VELASQUEZ  PART  15.— DURER 

PART    4.— HOLBEIN  PART  16.— MICHELANGELO* 

PART    5.— BOTTICELLI  PART  17.— MICHELANGELOf 

PART   6.— REMBRANDT  PART  18.— COROT 

PART    7.— REYNOLDS  PART  19.— BURNE-JONES 

PART    8.— MILLET  PART  20.— TER  BORCH 

PART    9.— GIO.  BELLINI  PART  21.— DELLA  ROBBIA 

PART  10.— MURILLO  PART  22.— DEL  SARTO 

PART  II.— HALS  PART  23.— GAINSBOROUGH 

PART  12.— RAPHAEL  PART  24.— CORREGGIO 
*Sculfturt  -^Painting 

VOL.  3. 

PART  25.— PHIDIAS  PART  31.— PAUL  POTTER 

PART  26.—  PERUG1NO  PART  32.— GIOTTO 

PART  27.— HOLBEIN  §  PART  33.— PRAXITELES 

PART  28.— TINTORETTO  PART  34.— HOGARTH 

PART  29.-  PIETER  DE  HOOCH  PART  3;.— TURNER 
PART  30.— NATTIER  PART  36.— LUINI 

§  Drawings 

VOL.  4. 

JANUARY  .         .         .          ROMNEY 


PART  37, 
PART  38, 
PART  39, 
PART  40, 
PART  41, 
PART  42, 
PART  43, 
PART  44, 
PART  45, 
PART  46, 
PART  47, 
PART  48, 


FEBRUARY 

MARCH 

APRIL 

MAY 

JUNE 

JULY 

AUGUST 

SEPTEMBER 

OCTOBER 

NOVEMBER 

DECEMBER 


.     FRA   ANGELICO 

.     WATTEAU 

RAPHAEL'S  FRESCOS 

DONATELLO 

GERARD   DOU 

CARPACCIO 

ROSABONHEUR 

GUIDO  RENI 

PUVIS  DE  CHAVANNES 

G1ORGIONE 

ROSSETTI 


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ALL   THE    ABOVE 
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The  GREAT  PICTURE  LIGHT 

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THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  FROM  REYNOLDS  TO  MILLAIS 

THE         RECORD         OF         A         CENTURY 

IN  spite  of  the  large  amount  of  interesting  and  beautiful  material  available  for  the  purpose,  no  serious  attempt  has  hitherto  been  made 
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THE  SPECIAL  SUMMER  NUMBER  OF  'THE  INTERNATIONAL  STUDIO  '  will  be  devoted  to  the  consideration  of  the  work 
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PAINTERS:  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  Francis  Cotes,  Benjamin  West,  Angelica  Kauffman,  Gainsborough,  Sir  T.  Lawrence,].  M.  W. 
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