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THE 


STUDIO 


Vol.33 


1904-D15 


■>^ 


.?^ 


44  Leicester  Sqqsre, 
London. 


hJ 


V.53 


THE  STUDIO 


T 


HE  LATE  FREDERICK  SANDYS: 
A  RETROSPECT.  BY  PERCY 
BATE. 


It  is  not  difficult,  even  after  the  lapse  of 
twenty  years,  to  recall  the  thrill  of  pleasure  I  felt 
when  first  I  came  to  know  something  of  the  work  of 
Frederick  Sandys.  It  was  the  late  J.  M.  Gray,  a 
critic  of  true  insight,  and  no  mean  judge  of  a 
beautiful  and  artistic  creation,  who  wrote  the  article 
which  first  showed  me  something  of  the  strength, 
and  something  of  the  tragic  glamour  pervading  the 
drawings  and  the  pictures  of  this  artist  ;  and  though 
since  then  thousands  of 
pictures  and  drawings  have 
passed  before  me,  the  plea- 
sure that  I  derive  to-day 
from  the  works  of  Sandys, 
and  the  emotion  with  which 
they  thrill  me  now,  are  as 
fresh  and  as  true  as  in 
the  days  when  critical  facul- 
ties were  less  keen  and 
enthusiasms  more  readily 
stimulated. 

The  lovely  study  of  Tears 
and  the  stately  woodcuts  Jf 
and  The  Death  of  King 
Warwulf  led  me  to  seek 
for  other  reproductions  of 
the  same  man's  work,  and 
fortunately  the  library  to 
which  I  then  had  access 
contained  the  volumes  of 
"  Once  a  Week,"  in  the 
pages  of  which  shine  such 
further  masterpieces  as  The 
Old  Chartist  and  Rosa- 
mund. To  see  these  was  to 
wish  to  possess,  and  so 
began  the  collection  of  re- 
productions of  Sandys'  work 
in  all  genres  which  is  now 
one  of  my  treasures,  com- 
plete as  it  is  in  every  respect 
save  that  the  beautiful  wood- 
cut of  Amor  Mundi  still 
eludes  my  search. 

And  then  came  the  red-  ..matkr  dolorosa' 

XXXIII.      No.    139.— OCTOUER,    1904. 


letter  days  when  in  some  exhibition  there  was 
to  be  seen  one  of  his  pictures  or  some  examples 
of  his  superb  draughtmanship,  and  the  fatigue 
and  discomfort  of  the  consequent  pilgrimage 
from  the  provinces  to  London  were  amply 
repaid  by  the  delight  to  be  obtained  from  seeing 
the  handiwork  of  the  master.  Since  those  youth- 
ful days,  as  may  be  imagined,  one's  outlook 
has  broadened  and  one's  taste  has  become  more 
fastidious  ;  but  so  far  as  the  work  of  Frederick 
Sandys  is  concerned,  disillusion  has  not  yet  come. 
When  the  opportunity  came  to  me  to  write  some- 
thing about  the  Preraphaelites,  I  was  brought  into 


IIV    FREDERICK    SANDYS 

3 


Frederick  Sandys 


touch  with  the  painter  by  correspondence,  and  later 
into  personal  relationship  with  him;  and  some  of  my 
pleasantest  recollections  are  of  hours  spent  in  his 
company,  listening  to  his  keen  comments  on  men 
and  matters,  enjoying  his  fund  of  good  stories  of 
the  great  men  of  his  day  (Rossetti  and  Tennyson, 
Meredith  and  Swinburne,  Millais  and  Whistler,  he 
knew  them  all),  and  tempting  him  to  dream  aloud 
of  the  pictures  he  meant  to  paint — pictures  now, 
alas !  never  to  be  seen  of  any  man.  There  is  in 
the  members'  book  of  a  certain  unique  little  artistic 
club  a  slight  and  rapid  sketch  by  Raven  Hill  which 
gives  an  excellent  idea  of  his  features,  but  I  know 
of  no  portrait  which  conveys  to  the  spectator  the 
dignity  which  belonged  to  his  tall  figure,  or  the 
aspect  of  strength  and  distinction  which  seemed  to 
me  to  be  so  emphatically  characteristic  of  the  man. 
And  of  his  grim  and  delightful  humour,  of  the 
quiet,  level  voice  in  which  he  related  reminiscences 
grave  and  gay,  of  the  queer  admixture  of  cynicism 
and  poetry  that  character- 
ised his  more  intimate 
conversation,  and  of  the 
fascination  of  his  scholarly 
mind  and  magnetic  per- 
sonality, there  can  be  no 
record  but  that  which  re- 
mains in  the  memory  of 
the  few  who  were  privi- 
leged to  know  him.  A 
man  of  retiring  disposi- 
tion, he  would  never  be 
lionised ;  he  hated  to  find 
his  good  stories  in  print, 
and  he  was  apt  to  feel  that 
with  his  life,  apart  from  his 
art,  the  public  had  no  con- 
cern. 

To  turn  over  the  port- 
folio in  which  are  stored 
the  photographs  of  his 
pictures  and  drawings,  and 
the  signed  proof  of  his 
woodcuts,  is  a  perennial 
pleasure,  so  strong,  so 
varied,  and  so  accompli- 
shed are  even  the  least 
complete  of  them.  In  the 
ideal  subjects,  the  artist's 
dreams,  what  beauty  lies; 
what  emoiion  in  the  splen- 
did woodcuts  and  pictures ; 
what  truth  and  mastery  in 
the  portraits  !  Another 
4 


great  painter  who  survived  him  but  a  few  days, 
George  Frederick  Watts,  once  said,  "  Some  artists 
see,  some  feel,  some  imagine — the  greatest  do  all," 
and  Sandys  not  only  saw  and  imagined,  he  felt  as 
well.  He  was  able,  too,  to  visualise  his  ideals,  to 
realise  his  dreams,  and  to  render  them  with  that  un- 
erring touch,  that  resolute  draughtsmanship,  which 
is  so  notable  a  feature  of  his  work ;  that  masterly 
handling  to  equal  which  we  must  go  back  to  the 
drawings  of  Diirer  and  the  panels  of  the  Van  Eyck. 
The  earliest  of  the  three  groups  into  which  his 
work  naturally  falls  comprises  the  woodcuts  and  the 
drawings  made  for  them,  and  it  is  very  interesting 
to  see  that  even  in  the  earliest  of  these — the 
illustration  to  George  Macdonald's  story  of  The 
Portent — the  artist's  powers  seem  mature ;  his 
touch  is  unfaltering,  his  long,  sweeping  lines  are  full 
of  strength,  and  the  figure  is  rendered  with  a  fine 
feeling  for  form  and  contour — is  instinct  with  a 
dignity  almost  sculptural. 


BY    h'KEDKRlCK    SANDYS 


"GENTLE   SPRING."    by    FREDERICK   SANDYS 


Frederick  Sandys 


Sandys  himself  said 


Fortunately  for  us  a  large  number  of  the  pen- 
drawings,  of  which  these  woodcuts  are  facsimiles, 
still  exist,  and  many  are  in  the  possession  of  a 
friend  of  mine,  so  that  I  have  been  able  to  compare 
the  drawing  with  the  engraving,  and  to  realise  how 
beautifully  these  blocks  were  cut  in  Swain's  work- 
shop. It  is  customary  to-day  to  say  that  any 
adequate  reproduction  of  a  pen-drawing  must  be 
made  by  a  photographic  process,  and  to  lament 
the  fact  that  the  original  drawings  by  the  artists  of 
"  the  sixties  "  perished  in  the  cutting  of  the  blocks, 
while  their  beauties  and  their  character  suffered 
irreparably  at  the  hands  of  the  engravers,  and 
Rossetti,  for  one,  made  lamentation  loud  and  deep 
about  this  mutilation ;  but  my  study  of  these  engrav- 
ings and  of  many  of  the  originals  has  only  resulted 
in  a  deep  respect  for  the  skill  the  cutters  displayed, 
and  a  sincere  admiration  of  the  way  in  which 
they  preserved  the  style  and  the  characteristics 
of  each  artist,  so  that  at  a  glance  we  can 
tell  Walker's  work  from  Keene's,  Millais'  from 
lawless'. 

But  this   is    by  the  way. 
that    Swain's   rendering   of 
his  drawing  of  Danae  was 
perfect,  and  he  was  not  un- 
critical ;    and  others,  such 

as    The   Old  Chartist   (his 

own  favourite),  seem  to 
me  to  be  equally  satisfac- 
tory.    This  fact  is  possibly 

due  to  the  artist's  method 

of  working   on    the   block 

after    he    had    made    the 

pen -drawing  on  millboard. 

He     told     me     that     his 

first  box- wood  block  was  a 

puzzle    to    him    when    he 

received  it,  with  a  request 

from    Thackeray    that    he 

would  supply  an  illustra- 
tion to  a  story  of  George 

Macdonald's     for     the 

"Cornhill."      He    knew 

nothing      of    the     correct 

method    of    preparing    it ; 

it   was  impossible  to  work 

on  its  smooth  surface  with 

either   pencil  or  pen,   and 

he    finally  drew   The  Por- 

t<nt    line    by    line  with  a 

brush     and      Indian      ink, 

and     found     the     process 

so   simple   and   the   result 


so  satisfactory  that  he  always  thereafter  employed 
the  same  method. 

Besides  these  small  drawings,  a  few  inches 
square,  there  exist  several  on  a  much  larger  scale 
lyjudith  and  Morgan-le-Fay  are  examples)  in  which 
Sandys  used  a  pen,  as  he  afterwards  used  chalk, 
to  produce  a  finished  and  elaborate  study  for  a 
picture  ;  but  it  is  in  the  woodcuts  in  question  that 
we  find  him  at  his  very  best.  Indeed,  there  is 
nothing  like  them  in  British  art.  Each  is  as  much 
a  masterpiece  as  an  etching  by  Rembrandt ;  in 
almost  everyone  we  find  deep  poetic  feeling  and 
lofty  emotion  allied  to  a  wonderful  decorative 
charm  and  an  unexcelled  mastery  of  the  method. 
Turn  the  portfolio,  and  we  pass  from  gem  to  gem. 
How  unaffected  they  are,  and  yet  how  individual  ! 
What  style  is  there,  what  serene  vigour  !  Here  is 
the  grim  tragedy  of  Manoli,  here  the  opulent 
"  body's  beauty "  of  Danae,  here  the  emotion  of 
If,  here  the  statuesque  grace  oi  Amor  Mundi ;  and 
surpassing  all  these  in  poignant  intensity  of  tragic 
emotion  is  the  superb  Rosamund,  than  which 
scarcely  a  finer  black-and-white  exists  in  the  art  of 


sorrow"        (  Bv  permission  of  Herbert  Treiuh,  Esq.) 


BY   FRBDBRICK   SANDYS 

7 


PORTRAIT   STUDY,   "LOUISA' 
BY   FREDERICK   SANDYS 


(By  perviission  of  Murray  Marks,   Esq.) 


Frederick  Sandys 


England — masterly   in  the  beauty  of    its    design, 
unexcelled  in  the  strength  and  suavity  of  its  line. 

The  last  fifty  years  are  notable  in  British  art  for 
one  thing — they  are  years  that  have  been  fruitful, 
and  over-fruitful,  in  the  production  of  pen-drawings. 
From  1850  to  1900  extends  the  epoch  'A  the  rise 
and  culmination  of  the  art  of  pen-drawing  among 
us,  and  from  amid  all  the  practitioners  of  the 
method  there  stand  out  four  unequalled  men  of 
genius — Phil  May,  Charles  Keene,  George  Reid, 
and  Frederick  Sandys.  The  achievement  of  each 
is  in  its  way  unique,  and  Sandys  is  not  the  least 
notable  of  the  four.  Had  we  no  other  work  by 
which  to  judge  him  but  these  marvellous  woodcuts 
— as  virile,  as  accomplished,  and  as  charged  with 
emotion  as  Diirer's  own — we  must  have  hailed  him 
great ;  and  his  other  work,  his  paintings  and  his 
chalk  drawings,  are  far  from  justifying  any  weaken- 
ing of  the  epithet. 

One    of    these     woodcuts, 

the    notable    illustration    en-  ' 

titled  Harald  Harfagr,  posses- 
ses in  addition  to  its  intrinsic 
beauty  the  extrinsic  interest 
of  being  the  basis  of  one  of 
his  delightful  works  in  oils, 
a  charming  panel  known  as 
The  Valkyrie,  in  which  he  ad- 
ded to  the  dignity  of  the  black- 
and-white  the  beauties  of 
colour  fine  and  pure,  of  hand- 
ling at  once  delicate  and 
strong.  Had  he  similarly 
transformed  others  of  his  de- 
signs, how  welcome  they  would 
have  been !  What  a  picture 
Atnor  Mundi  would  be,  en- 
dowed with  the  charm  of  rich 
colour  that  delights  us  in 
Vivien,  with  the  precise  and 
exquisite  manipulation  and  the 
beautiful  treatment  of  acces- 
sories that  are  so  notable  in 
Morgan-le-Fay  1  For,  indeed, 
we  have  too  few  of  his  pictures 
for  our  delight ;  and  if  there 
were  more  they  might  be 
better  known — and  to  a  wider 
circle  of  admirers  —  even 
though  they  could  not  be 
more  sincerely  appreciated. 
For,  closely  and  delicately 
painted,  searching  in  draw- 
ing  and    rich    in    colour,   the 


canvases  of  Frederick  Sandys  are  among  the  very 
finest  fruits  of  the  wonderful  days  of  Pre- 
Raphaelism. 

One  of  the  ablest  of  our  younger  generation  of 
artists  once  said  to  me,  that  to  paint  like  Van  Eyck 
was  to  set  back  the  clock,  that  the  method  of  the 
great  primitives  was  not  suited  to  the  necessities  of 
artistic  expression  in  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
still  less  in  the  twentieth,  and  that  the  man  who 
handled  paint  as  Sandys  did  perpetrated  an  artistic 
anachronism.  Of  course,  if  this  is  admitted,  the 
whole  of  the  pictures  produced  by  the  English  Pre- 
raphaelites  are  dismissed  as  monstrosities.  Burton's 
Wounded  Cavalier,  Millais'  Proscribed  Royalist, 
Wallis'  Chatterion,  and  Windus  Burd's  Helen  are 
consigned  with  Sandys'  Medea  to  the  limbo  of 
futility,  and  this  is  surely  sufficiently  absurd.  But 
even  if  the  intrinsic  quality  of  such   pictures  were 


STUDY      ( /iy  permiisioit  cf  Haro/d  Hartley,  Eu/.)      BY  FREDERICK  SANDYS 

9 


Frederick  Sandys 


not  sufficient  refuUtion  of  my  artist  friend's  state- 
ment, surely  his  theory  can  be  traversed  on  other 
grounds.  Is  not— or,  at  any  rate,  ought  not — a 
painter's  technique  to  be  the  outcome  of  his  own 
ideas  and  requirements,  and  not  the  result  of  the 
fashion  of  the  moment,  the  fad  of  the  day  ?  And 
this  method  of  Frederick  Sandys,  this  fine  and 
Memlinclike  touch,  was  part  of  the  man  himself. 
He  once  said  to  me  that  he  never  was  a  Pre- 
raphaelite,  and  strictly  speaking  this  was  so,  for 
he  was  not  a  member  of  the  Brotherhood  ;  but  his 
spiritual  kinship  with  them  was  undeniable,  his  in- 
spiration was  identical,  and  he  evolved  for  himself 
the  fashion  of  painting  that  he  always  adhered  to, 
the  method  of  Millais  in  his  early  days,  the  method 
for  which  we  have  no  word  but  Preraphaelism. 
Thus  was  he  inspired,  thus  he  saw  things,  and  thus 
he  rendered  them,  and  it  is  possible  that  his  reward 
will  not  be  lacking,  and  that 
pictures  so  painted  will  outlast 
hundreds  of  the  perfunctory  and 
sloppy  canvases  that  are  fashion- 
able to-day. 

These  pictures,  linked  together 
as  a  series  by  the  individuality 
of  the  painter,  are  yet  full  of 
varying  inspiration — are  the  out- 
come of  diverse  moods.  Some  are 
monumental  in  their  intensity, 
others  are  simple  records  of  beau- 
tiful themes.  Of  the  first  type  is 
the  Morgan-le-Fay,  which  has  been 
already  alluded  to ;  of  the  second 
are  Vivien  and  Gentle  Spring. 
Sandys  was  always  attracted  by  the 
beauty  of  a  scornful  face,  and  in 
Vivien  he  renders  the  proud 
beauty  of  Merlin's  temptress  with 
great  power,  emphasising  and  ac- 
centuating the  loveliness  of  the 
statuesque  head  and  shoulders  by  a 
background  of  charmingly  painted 
peacock's  feathers ;  in  the  Mag- 
dalen he  painted  with  equal  skill 
the  simple  pathos  of  grief;  and 
in  Gentle  Spring  he  strikes  a  note 
that  is  purely  idyllic.  In  this  beau- 
tifully decorative  panel  the  stately 
and  gracious  woman  chosen  by 
the  artist  as  symbolic  of  spring  is 
seen  advancing  to  the  spectator, 
while  behind  her  a  rainbow  gleams 
against  grey  clouds  and  an  orchard 
glows  with   a   wealth   of  blossom. 


Her  white  robe  has  a  border  of  blue,  and  in  its 
folds  she  carries  flowers ;  around  her  crown  of 
auburn  hair  copper  butterflies  hover  and  flutter, 
and  beside  her  spring  poppies,  gorgeous  in  colour 
and  exquisitely  painted.  The  whole  composition 
is  peaceful  and  serene,  and  its  motif  is  in  strong 
contrast  to  the  power  shown  m  Oriana  and  the 
sombre  tragedy  that  characterises  Mtdea. 

It  is  in  the  last-named  that  this  phase  of  his  art 
may  be  said  to  culminate  ;  indeed,  in  this  picture  we 
find  to  the  full  the  artist's  perfect  manual  equipment 
fitly  employed  to  render  a  mighty  theme  of  poetry 
and  passion.  The  canvas  shows  at  half-length  the 
unfortunate  wife  of  Jason,  distraught  with  grief, 
at  work  with  spells  and  enchantments,  the  instru- 
ments for  which  lie  on  a  marble  slab  before  her. 
In  a  gleaming  shell  lies  clotted  human  blood,  from 
a  strangely  shaped  vessel  of  glass  she  feeds  the  flame 


THE    RED    CAP 


BY    FREDERICK   SANDYS 
(By  permission  of  W.  Connate  Esq-) 


(By  permission  of  Sir  George  Donaldson) 


PORTRAIT    STUDY    "ADELE' 
BY   FREDERICK   SANDYS 


Frederick  Sandys 


of  a  brazier,  and  its  radiance  shines  on  her  white 
dress  and  on  her  pallid  face  and  terrible  eyes.  She 
clutches  with  one  hand  her  necklet  of  coral  and 
turquoise,  while  from  her  anguished  lips  issue 
irrevocable  words  of  dreadful  power.  The  ex- 
quisite drawing  of  the  hands,  the  lovely  painting  of 
the  pearly  shells  with  which  her  dark  hair  is  adorned, 
and  the  masterly  treatment  of  the  other  accessories 
need  not  be  enlarged  on  here,  but  it  may  be  intei^ 
esting  to  note  (as  characteristic  of  the  artist)  that 
though  the  subject  is  chosen  from  a  classic  myth, 
the  informing  spirit  is  rather  that  of  Gothic  romance. 
The  picture  is  conceived  as  Cranach  or  as  Van  der 
Goes  might  have  conceived  it;  in  treatment  it  is  akin 
to  the  work  of  the  early  painters  of  the  Teutonic 
schools,  and  the  brooding  intensity,  the  dark 
overwhelming  horror  that  characterise  the  work  as 
a  whole  inevitably  recall  the  hopeless  tragedy  that 
pervades  the  stern  sagas  of  the 
North.  Altogether  it  is  a  mag- 
nificent conception  fitly  ren- 
dered, a  work  worthy  to  rank 
amongst  the  finest  imagina- 
tive creations  painted  in  Eng- 
land in  the  nineteenth  century. 
It  is  always  interesting  to 
discuss  the  differing  ideals  of 
portraiture,  to  consider  the 
inspiration  of  Holbein  as  con- 
trasted with  that  of  Hals,  of 
Velasquez  as  compared  with 
Watts ;  and  it  would  be  far 
from  unprofitable  to  treat  at 
some  length  of  Sandys'  unique 
achievements  in  this  field  of 
art,  and  to  endeavour  to  see 
(if  space  did  but  permit)  just 
where  as  a  portrait  painter  he 
must  be  placed.  That  he 
painted  some  notable  portraits 
is  well  known,  and  it  is  equally 
well  known  that  the  same 
searching  after  definite  truth 
that  we  find  in  his  other  work 
is  to  be  found  in  these  can- 
vases, which  are  as  far  from 
superficiality  as  from  inac- 
curacy, while  they  are  as  fresh, 
as  vivid,  as  individual  and  as 
complete  as  are  the  portraits 
of  Holbein  himself.  Sandys 
was  not  concerned  to  make  a 
portrait  the  likeness  of  a  man's 
soul;  he  sought   the   likeness 


of  the  physical  man,  deeming  that  the  soul  ex 
pressed  itself  in  the  countenance.  Nor  did  he 
treat  his  subjects  as  items  in  a  decorative  arrange- 
ment ;  he  gave  us  his  sitter  clearly  seen  and 
searchingly  rendered,  and  not  his  ghost  or  his 
shadow.  This  may  not  be  the  fashionable  por- 
traiture of  to-day,  but  certainly  some  of  the  greatest 
portraits  of  all  time  have  been  painted  on  this 
basis. 

Some  of  these  portraits  are  oil  -  paintings,  the 
superb  Mrs.  Lezvis  and  Mrs.  Anderson  Rose  among 
them  ;  others  are  chalk  drawings,  and  with  these 
drawings  we  come  to  the  third  phase  of  Sandys' 
art.  But  whether  they  are  in  oils  or  in  chalks,  they 
are  alike  in  their  characteristics.  The  portraits  of 
men  arevirileand  forceful  and  redolent  of  character, 
the  women  serene,  gracious  and  graceful,  and  the 
children  as   delicious  and   lovable  as  any  in  the 


11 


STUDY         (Bv  permission  of    H'.    Connal,   Esq.)  BY   FREDERICK   SANDYS 


iii 


H      J 


Frederick  Sandys 


whole  range  of  art.  To  all  great  artists  children 
have  been  strangely  inspiring,  and  for  Sandys  they 
would  seem  to  have  had  many  attractions.  Not 
for  him  are  the  little  airs  and  graces  that  point  to 
an  artificial  and  premature  development,  not  for 
him  the  eyes  of  adult  coquetry  in  a  baby's  face,  the 
false  charm  of  Greuze  ;  to  him  they  are  sincere  and 
natural  creatures,  now  dainty,  now  full  of  the  un- 
conscious joy  of  life,  and  he  drew  them  wide-eyed 
in  a  world  of  wonder,  happy  and  unspoiled. 

These  drawings  of  his  must  not  be  confounded 
with  pastels.  There  is  no  similarity  between  them 
and  the  work  of  Russell,  for  instance  ;  but  if  we 
seek  in  the  art  of  older  days  for  something  analogous 
we  shall  find  it  in  the  drawings  of  Holbein,  of 
Clouet  of  Dumoustrier.  They  are  drawings  in 
chalk,  and  the  method  employed  was  described  by 
the  artist  himself.  He  said  :  "  In  making  a  chalk 
portrait  I  first  faintly  outline 
the  features,  and  then,  very 
lightly,  with  cotton  wool,  I  put 
on  a  flat,  even  tint  over  the 
whole  face.  It  is  something 
like  a  flat  wash  in  water- 
colours,  only  there  is  a  little 
more  colour.  Then  only  do 
I  begin  to  work  up  the 
features,  with  black  and  an 
ordinary  red  chalk  only."  It 
will  be  evident  that  the  result 
is  not  a  flesh-and-blood  simili- 
tude of  the  sitter.  What 
Sandys  aimed  at,  and  what  he 
attained,  was  a  true  likeness 
conveyed  by  means  of  a  con- 
vention at  once  beautiful  in 
itself  and  charming  in  its  re- 
sults. For  a  number  of  years 
he  produced  these  portraits, 
and  his  subjects  ranged  from 
Matthew  Arnold  to  John 
Ricltard  Green,  from  Marie 
Meredith  to  fean  Palmer, 
from  Henry  Graves  to  Alfred 
Tennyson;  one  of  the  most 
interesting  of  those  executed 
in  later  years  being  a  charac- 
teristically veracious  present- 
ment of  the  well-known  sculp- 
tor Percy  Wood,  v.-hich  shows 
him  adorned  with  the  eagle's 
feather  and  other  accessories 
incidental  to  his  rank  as  a 
chief     of     North     American 


Indians  ;  this  chiefship  being  a  unique  honour  con- 
ferred on  the  sculptor  by  the  Indians  themselves  in 
recognition  of  the  skill  with  which  he  recorded 
their  traits  and  their  outward  seeming  in  imperish- 
able bronze,  and  in  appreciation  too,  one  suspects, 
of  his  sympathetic  outlook  and  genial  attitude  to  all 
men.  A  wonderful  series  are  these  drawings  of 
Sandys,  and  if  they  could  be  displayed  together  in 
some  gallery  there  is  little  doubt  as  to  the  chorus  of 
applause  that  would  greet  them.  They  are  searching, 
almost  unrelenting,  in  their  drawing,  exquisitely 
seen  and  handled,  and  as  far  removed  from  the 
trivial  as  from  the  fantastic ;  though  thoroughly  de- 
finite and  detailed,  they  are  not  in  the  least 
"niggled"  or  tight — in  short,  they  are  beautiful 
examples  of  the  draughtsman's  art,  learned, 
accomplished,  and  effortless. 

In  the  same  category  as  these  portraits  must  be 


'  WO.NDER    TIMK' 


(  By  permiision  of  Messrs.  Laurie 


BY    KKKDERICK    SANDVh 

Co.) 

15 


Frederick  Sandys 


(By/' 


I'J  Harold  Hartley,  Esq.        BY  FREDERICK  SANDYS 


placed  the  many  elaborate  imaginative  subjects  and 
ideal  heads  that  Sandys  executed  in  ttie  same 
medium.  Once  more  let  us  turn  the  portfolio,  and 
as  the  pageant  of  fair  women  passes  before  us  what 
loveliness  is  there,  and  what  power  and  what  variety 
in  its  presentation  !  Here  is  the  petulant  beauty 
of  Proud  Maisie,  and  the  mystic  radiance  of  Selene; 
anon  we  see  the  exquisite  contours  of  Tears  and 
the  glorious  cascade  of  the  tresses  that  adorn 
Miranda ;  while  the  pallid,  voiceless  agony  of  the 
Ma/er  Dolorosa  is  followed  by  the  terror-stricken 
Cassandra,  crying  strident  prophecies  of  woe,  and 
the  lonely  Persephone  is  succeeded  by  another 
drawing  as  complete  and  as  important,  another 
dream  as  stately  and  as  perfect,  the  exquisite  Lethe. 
And  so  the  tale  of  them  grows,  and  Cleopatra  and 
Tlu  Fayre  Mayde  oj  Avenel,  Portia,  and  Perdita, 
and  many  another  one,  bring  to  us  beauty  and  the 
i6 


sense  of  tears,  so  often  does 
the  artist  seem  to  have  felt  the 
emotion  voiced  by  Browning, 
to  have  echoed  the  sigh  which 
haunts  ttie  poet's  question  : 

"  Dear,  dead  women,  with 
such  hair,  too — what's 
become  of  all  the  gold 
Used  to  fall  and  brush  their 
bosoms  ?'* 

and  echoing  it,  to  have  caught 
and  immortalised  the  vision 
vouchsafed  to  him  of  all  the 
lovely  phantoms  of  the  bygone 
years,  so  that  again  they  live 
for  our  wonder  and  delight. 

It  is  needless  here  to  ex- 
patiate on  the  intrinsic  beauty 
of  these  drawings,  or  on  the 
fact  that  the  same  qualities  are 
to  be  found  in  the  very 
earliest  as  in  those  of  his 
maturity.  It  has  recently 
been  my  privilege  to  see  in 
thehouse  of  a  friend  a  simple 
black-and-white  by  Sandys,  an 
early  drawing  of  Devotion, 
which  is  entirely  beautiful  in 
its  rendering  of  the  exquisitely 
slender  hands,  charmingly 
tender  in  its  whole  motif;  and 
in  this,  as  in  the  latest  of  all, 
he  shows  himself  the  thorough 
artist  that  he  was.  All  through 
the  long  series  of  them  we  can- 
not but  recognise  the  power 
with  which  the  artist  deals  subtly  with  the  transitory 
and  evanescent  expressions  of  lovely  faces — the 
perfect  draughtsmanship  of  eyes  and  lips,  the  un- 
faltering surety  and  vigour  of  the  touch,  the  de- 
licate treatment  of  the  hair,  so  lovingly  lingered 
over,  so  beautifully  drawn  in  its  curves  and  waves, 
and  withal  so  finely  treated  as  a  mass,  despite  the 
absolute  rendering  of  every  strand  and  coil. 

And  it  would  be  futile  to  insist  again  upon  the 
lofty  inspiration  of  these  imaginative  works,  in 
which  majestic  beauty  alternates  with  tender  grace, 
tragic  power  with  poetic  charm,  and  emotional 
intensity  with  monumental  repose.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  in  these  drawings,  as  in  the  woodcuts  and 
the  oil-paintings,  Frederick  Sandys  reached  a  level 
of  sustained  and  perfect  achievement  such  as  few 
(and  those  only  of  the  greatest)  of  his  compeers 
have  attained  to,  and  showed  himself  possessed  of  a 


Swiss  Architecture 


soul  attuned  to  stately  imaginings,  and  endowed 
with  a  manipulative  and  technical  ability  which 
enabled  him  to  realise  his  conceptions  to  the  full. 

In  that  his  works  are  comparatively  few  we  who 
delight  in  them  have  cause  for  regret ;  in  that  they 
are  very  perfect  we  are  fortunate.  He  was  an  old 
man  when  he  passed  from  among  us  ;  his  work  was 
done  and  well  done ;  but  nevertheless  we  are  indeed 
the  poorer  by  the  death  of  such  an  one,  losing 
from  the  arena  of  art  one  of  its  mightiest  figures, 
one  of  the  giants  of  our  day  and  generation. 

Percy  Bate. 


s 


VVISS  ARCHITECTURE  AND 
THE  WORK  OF  EDMOND 
FATIO.     BY  ROBERT  MOBBS. 


Those     who,    in    spite    of     the    ever-growing 


M.    ROUSSV'S   CHALET 


cosmopolitanism  of  our  age,  still  cherish  a  taste 
for  what  is  national  and  native  to  the  soil,  cannot 
contemplate,  without  a  certain-  bitterness  of  soul, 
the  way  in  which  some  of  the  fairest  and  most 
characteristic  landscapes  in  Europe  are  being 
spoilt  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  mere  material 
interests. 

Much  is  being  said  and  written  just  now  about 
the  devastations  of  war,  and  rightly  so,  but  what 
of  those  other  devastations  which  are  being 
wrought  in  a  state  of  peace  ?  War,  terrible  in  its 
destructive  force,  swe;ps  over  a  land,  but  soon  the 
wounds  of  Nature  heal  and  flowers  spring  and 
bloom  on  the  battle-field.  But  when  a  landscape 
falls  into  the  possession  of  those  to  whom  it 
represents  nothing  more  than  prospective  money- 
bags, its  fate  is  sealed.  The  fact  is  that  nothing 
can  stand  before  man's  rapacity.  A  country  is 
invaded  by  people 
who  do  not  care  a 
fig  for  its  history, 
customs,  tradition, 
architecture,  whose 
ruling  passion  is  the 
love  of  gain,  people 
with  long  purses 
and  inartistic  souls. 
With  the  glitter  of 
gold  they  corrupt 
the  natives,  and 
then  the  ugly  work 
of  deformation  be- 
gins. The  best 
minds  in  the  coun- 
try protest,  but  they 
are  in  the  minority, 
and  their  voice  is 
like  that  of  John 
the  Baptist  crying 
in  the  wilderness. 
Take  the  case  of 
Switzerland.  Here 
in  the  very  centre 
of  Europe  we  have 
a  country  incom- 
pirable  for  itsvaried 
natural  beauty,  a 
country  which  more 
than  any  other 
seems  fashioned  by 
Nature  to  minister 
to  the  sense  of  the 
sublime  and  beau- 
tiful in  the  soul  of 

17 


K     FATIO,    ARCHITBCT 


Swiss  Architecture 


MR.    G.    FATIOS   CHALET 


E.    FATIO,    ARCHITECT 


man.  And  what  do  we  see  ?  Not  long  ago  that 
well-known  Swiss  artist,  Mr.  Eugene  Burnand, 
wrote  a  letter  which  is  included  in  a  book,  by 
Mr.  Guillaume  Fatio,  en- 
titled "Ouvrons  les  Yeux," 
a  book  which  cannot  be 
too  strongly  recommended 
to  all  who  are  interested 
in  the  past,  present,  and 
future  of  Swiss  architecture. 
Mr.  Burnand  begins  his 
letter  with  the  significant 
sentences  :  "Notre  pays 
s'enlaidit  avec  une  rapidite 
stupefiante.  L'affreuse 
batisse  envahit  la  campagne 
comma  un  champignon 
veneneux.  Et  il  y  a  des 
gens  qui  trouvent  cela  beau 
et  qui  s'en  enorgueillissent." 
An  excursion  through 
Switzerland  is  enough  to 
convince  us  of  the  truth 
of  this.  While  old  Swiss 
castles  or  fragments  of 
them  still  remain  gathering 
a  kind  of  "  pathetic  power 
t8 


and  historical  majesty  "  from  the  past,  while  Swiss 
chalets  and  cottages  still  stand  "in  the  pine  shadow- 
on  their  ancestral  turf,"  and  the  simple  mazotdimg?, 


I'l.AN    OK    MR.    G.    KATIOS    CHALET 


E.    FATIO,    ARCHITECT 


Swiss  Architecture 


M.    E.    KUNKLER's  chalet  AT    ROLLE 


E.    FATIO,    ARCHITECT 


gate-keeper's   lodge   AT   M.    KUNKLER's   CHALET 


E.    FATIO,    ARCHITECT 
19 


Swiss  Architectiire 


M.     HCUSM'NNAs  s    (   IIAI  K'l 


E.     KATIO,    ARCHITECT 


M.    BOISSONNAS'S  CHALBT 


K.    FATIO,    ARCHITECT 


Swiss  ArcJiitectitre 


M.    BOISSONNASS  CHALET 


E.     FATIO,    ARCHITECT 


like  a  nest  to  the  mountain  ridge,  a  host  of 
alien  constructions  have  sprung  up  side  by  side 
with  them  in  this  Alpine  worid,  many  devoid 
of  all  architectural  value,  others  built  in  a 
style  or  styles  altogether  out  of  keeping  with 
the  landscape  and  its  history,  having  no  associa- 
tions either  in  the  soul  of  the  people  or  the  soil  of 
the  countr)'.  Protests  have  been  made  by  the  in- 
tellectual elite  of  the  land,  and  in  some  quarters 
the  people  are  waking  up,  and  beginning  to 
open  their  eyes.  But,  what  is  more  interesting,  a 
movement  that  augurs  well  for  the  future  has,  for 
some  time  past,  been  setting  in  from  another 
quarter.  If  the  evil  wrought  by  caprice  and  mere 
commercial  enterprise  cannot  be  remedied,  a  good 
is  growing  up  which  is  destined  to  counteract  its 
influence.  And  this  has  its  rise  amongst  the  best 
Swiss  architects.  Their  aim  is  resolutely  to  break 
with  the  cosmopolitan  style  a.  la  mode  in  Europe, 
and  under  the  influence  of  which  Italian  and 
Moresque  villas  have  sprung  up,  even  in  the  moun- 
tains, side  by  side  with  the  Swiss  chalet,  that  native 
of  the  soil.  Their  watchword  is  Swiss  houses  for 
Switzerland.  They  are  seeking  to  revive  the  models 
left  to  them  by  their  ancestors,  and  to  adapt  them 


to  modem  exigencies.  Amongst  these  architects  one 
of  the  most  promising  is  Mr.  Edmond  Fatio  of 
Geneva.  His  brother,  in  the  book  to  which  we 
have  already  referred,  has  rendered  signal  and 
timely  service  to  his  fellow-countrymen  by  calling 
to  their  attention  just  now  the  significance  of 
Swiss  architecture  in  relation  to  the  land,  its  history, 
climate,  customs  and  requirements. 

Mr.  Edmond  Fatio,  like  other  Swiss  architects  of 
the  same  mind,  is  endeavouring  in  his  work  to 
show  how  the  best  traditions  of  the  past  are  capable 
of  present-day  application  ;  in  a  word,  to  resuscitate 
a  national  art  that  has  fallen  into  desuetude. 

In  his  admirable  articles  on  Swiss  chalets  in  The 
Architectural  Record,  Mr.  Jean  Schopfer  says  : — 
"  The  art  of  building  in  wood  has  flourished  in 
Switzerland  to  a  special  extent  since  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  finest  specimens  of  wooden  edifices 
belong  to  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries. 
The  chalets  of  those  periods  are  those  which  have 
the  best  ornamentation  and  present  the  most  per- 
fect styles.  The  farmers'  chalets  of  our  own  day 
are  not  so  rich,  nor  in  such  impeccable  taste.  It 
is  for  the  edifices  of  the  upper  classes  to  continue 
the  sound  traditions  of  the  eighteenth  century-.     All 


Swiss  Architecture 


.._<,,•■.• -t-5) 


PLAN    OF    M.    LANGLOIS    CHALET 


E.    FATIO,    ARCHITECT 


the  elements  exist  and 
architects  have  the  oppor- 
tunity to  make  a  close 
study  ©f  the  most  perfect 
models."  Mr.  Fatio  is 
availing  himself  of  this 
opportunity,  and  as  will  be 
seen  in  the  illustrations 
which  accompany  this 
article,  his  efforts  are  being 
crowned  with  success. 

The  character  of  Swiss 
architecture  varies  accord- 
ing to  climate,  altitude, 
and  the  conditions  of 
the  life  of  the  people. 
Yet  there  is  an  unmis- 
takable homogeneity  be- 
tween its  varied  types.  In 
the  mountains  we  have 
the  chalet  constructed 
entirely  with  wood,  its 
large  roof  steeply  inclined 
to     facilitate     the      quick 


M.    I.ANGLOIS'   CHALET  AT  ST.    PREX 


E.    FATIO,    ARCHITECT 


Stc'/ss  Architecture 

AmIi'^i      cU      9T^-   "Run  JiC(, „ 


?  Tl= 


^3    / 


PLAN   OF    M.    KUNDIGS    HOUSE 


E.    FATIO,    ARCHITECT 


draining  off  of  water,  or, 
as  in  higher  and  colder 
altitudes,  flattened  for  the 
purpose  of  retaining  the 
snow.  This  roof,  invari- 
ably very  spacious  and 
protectingly  over-hanging 
the  balconies  and  other 
projecting  parts  of  the 
facades,  is  generally  cov- 
ered in  with  tiles,  some- 
times with  big  slabs  of 
slate,  or  even  wood- 
shingles — these  last,  how- 
ever, are  less  employed 
than  formerly. 

By  their  harmonious 
frame-work,  the  ingenious 
combinations  of  wood, 
the  artistic  carving,  the 
picturesque  windows 
"double  and  triple  united 
in  a  single  frame,"  these 


INTERIOR   OF    M.    KUNDIG  S   HOUSE 


E.    FATIO,    ARCHITKrT 
23 


Swiss  Architecture 


MADAME    UUVAI.  s    VII  L, 


E.    FATIO,    ARCHITECT 


DINING-ROOM    IN    MADAMB   DUVAL'S   VILLA 
24 


E.    FATIO,    ARCHITECT 


Swiss  Architecture 


chalets,  in  spite  of  the  sobriety  of  their  style, 
present  a  richness  of  appearance.  This,  however, 
they  lose  if  the  architect,  as  is  too  much  the 
fashion  now,  forgetful  of  healthy  tradition,  encum- 
bers the  facades  with  lace-like  wood  carving. 
It  will  be  seen  by  an  examination  of  the  accom- 
panying illustrations  that  it  was  these  mountain 
chalets  which  inspired  Mr.  Fatio  in  his  happy 
working  out  of  the  plans  for  the  villas  which 
he  has  constructed  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Geneva.  We  here  distinguish  the  two  difTerent 
types  of  the  flat-roofed  and  the  gable-roofed 
chalets. 

The  principles  which  obtain  in  the  construction 
of  the  wooden  chalet  should  serve  as  guides  in  the 
erection  of  the  stone  house.  This,  too,  should 
have  a  large  roof  (which  is  the  main  characteristic 
of  the  Swiss  house).     Its  decoration  will  also   be 


CHAPEL   AT   CORMI.LON 


simple,  its  facades,  sometimes  white-washed,  or 
showing  the  wood-work  or  partly  covered  with 
wood-shingle.  In  certain  cases  the  tints  of 
the  window-frame  work  are  ornamental  enough. 
The  balconies,  like  those  in  the  chalets,  will 
always  be  sheltered  by  the  roof  or  protected  by 
small  projecting  roofs  which  may  supply  a 
picturesque  motij.  The  wooden  house  has  to  be 
erected  on  a  stone  base  of  at  least  three  feet  to 
protect  it  from  the  dampness  of  the  soil  and  to 
preserve  the  superstructure.  The  balconies  of  the 
old  Swiss  chalet  are  always  high  up  under  the  roof, 
and  never  on  the  ground  floor  as  in  some  modern 
imitations. 

The  chalet  Boissonnas  (pages  20  and  21),  in  the 
construction  of  which  wood  and  stone  are  com- 
bined, has  a  particularly  interesting  character  of  its 
own.  The  Langlois  chalet,  which  is  illustrated 
on  page  22,  is  entirely  of  wood 
reared  on  a  base  -  work  of 
stone.  It  is  rectangular  in 
plan,  and  is  decorated  inside 
with  Renaissance  wainscottings 
in  keeping  with  its  style. 
The  Fatio  and  Kunkler  chalets 
are  much  larger,  and  are  con- 
structed on  a  more  irregular 
plan.  In  all  these  buildings 
four  different  kinds  of  wood 
have  been  utilised — fir,  pine, 
larch,  and  arolle  —  either  for 
the  exterior  or  for  the  de- 
coration of  the  interior.  Fur- 
nished with  every  comfort  and 
convenience  these  chalets  can  be 
inhabited  all  the  year  round. 

The  gable-roofed  kind  is  only 
represented  by  the  Roussy  chalet, 
of  a  quite  different  form,  recall- 
ing to  the  mind  the  chalets  in 
the  Canton  of  Lucerne.  Stand- 
ing on  a  steep  side  of  the  borders 
of  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  amidst  a 
wealth  of  verdure,  it  is  not,  how- 
ever, out  of  place,  and  seems  in 
happy  harmony  with  its  sur- 
roundings. 

Constructed  at  a  high  altitude 
in  the  Jura,  in  a  rude  chmate, 
the  Villa  Duval  is  of  a  robust 
and  severe  style.  In  this  case, 
wood  is  only  used  for  the  frame- 
work and  the  balconies.  Along 
B.  FATIO,  ARCHITECT  the    principal  facade   a  spacious 

as 


C.  H.  Shannons  Lithographs 


veranda  runs— a  shelter  from  the  inclemency  of 
the  weathtr,  and  at  the  same  time  affording  means 
of  enjoying  the  intermittent  sunshine.  In  the 
inside  the  large  dining-hall  with  its  ceiling  sup- 
ported by  solid  beams,  a  buffet  of  plain  wood 
with  wrought-iron  decoration,  and  a  fine  and  lofty 
stove  de  faience,  are  the  characteristic  features.  This 
villa  is  very  spacious  and  contains  no  fewer  than 
nineteen  bed-rooms. 

The  Kunkler  lodge  and  the  chapels  at  Lancy 
and  Cornillon,  with  their  brown /a«^  de  hois,  are  of 
lighter  and  more  smiling  aspect. 

The  view  of  the  interior  of  the  Kundig  Villa  proves 
that  the  modern  style  of  furniture  is  not  out  of 
place  in  a  chaht  provided  that  it  is  neither  loud 
no:  affected.  But  there  are  elements  which  ought 
to  be  banished  once  for  all,  amongst  them  the  rococo 
and  graining,  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  have  had 
their  day  and  will  soon  cease  to  be. 

A  glance  at  Mr.  Fatio's  work  is  enough  to  show 
what  is  being  done  and  what  can   be  done  in   the 
interests    of    a    truly    national    architecture    in 
Switzerland.      Swiss    architects    have   to    accom- 
plish   their   task     not     without     difficulties     and 
sometimes     not     without     opposition ;      but     in 
keeping  their  eye  fixed  steadily  on  the 
best  models  of  the  past,  and  striving  to 
adapt   them   to  modern   requirements, 
they   are,    in    the    most    effective   way 
possible,  counteracting  the  baneful  in- 
fluence  of  a    purely   commercial   and 
cosmopolitan  spirit  that  has  no  respect 
either   for   the   natural    beauty   of   the 
country  or  the  art  that  is  in  harmony 
with  it.  R.  MoBES. 


T 


HE  LITHOGRAPHS  OF 
C.  H.  SHANNON.  BY  T. 
MARTIN   WOOD. 


On  the  alert  always  for  beauty  in 
visible  life,  Mr.  Shannon  tries  too  in 
his  art,  to  give  a  visible  beauty  to  life 
that  has  passed  into  the  romantic 
atmosphere  of  his  own  imagination  or 
into  literature,  and  it  is  given  only  to 
the  few  to  pass  from  actual  life  to 
literature  in  the  pursuit  of  an  emotional 
form  of  beauty  without  becoming  anec- 
dotal in  a  way  that  is  apart  from  art. 
Mr.  Shannon's  lithographs  are  very 
perfect  as  examples  of  style — that 
secret  marriage  of  the  thought  with 
the  medium  through  which  it  finds 
26 


expression  ;  they  have  in  many  cases  a  subject, 
but  it  is  always  one  with  the  drawing  part 
of  it,  as  a  spirit  in  a  body.  In  any  at- 
tempt to  communicate  an  incommunicable 
thing,  to  make  clear  by  explanation  what  by  its 
nature  must  always  remain  inexplicable,  and  in 
the  end  is  only  to  be  felt,  one  courts  disappoint- 
ment. 

It  were  easy  for  a  shallow  criticism  of  rule-and- 
thumb,  unimpressed  by  the  qualities  Mr.  Shannon 
displays  in  his  lithography,  to  be  busied  about  some 
detail  not  made  out  quite  clearly,  and  to  keep 
a  greedy  outlook  for  real  or  fancied  false  construc- 
tion ;  forgetting,  as  such  criticism  always  does,  that 
the  artist's  hand  obeyed  a  mood  concerned  only  with 
essential  form.  In  work  of  this  kind  any  standard 
fixed  is  wrong  that  is  not  the  standard  set  by  the 
artist's  own  intentions.  One  must  not  judge  these 
things  by  standards  which  might  be  right  if 
applied  to  a  scheme  of  decoration  and  to  certain 
kinds  of  painting,  for  the  mood  in  which  any  great 
art  is  carried  through  is  one  which  subordinates, 
as  Whistler  subordinated,  everything  to  a  motif 
beyond  mere  dexterous  imitation ;  a  motif  not 
concerned  to  reconcile  itself  at  every  stage  with 


'IC'§'?* 


CHAPEL   AT   PETIT   LANCV 


E.    FATIO,    ARCHITECT 


PORTRAIT   OF   PROFESSOR   ALPHONSE 
LEGROS.      FROM    THE    LITHOGRAPH 
BY   C.    H.   SHANNON 

27 


C.  H.  Shannons  Lithographs 


photographic  restrictions,  though  often  arriving 
at  the  truest  definition  through  its  more  elastic 
and  sensitive  observation. 

As  a  sonnet,  just  a  few  lines  grouped  to  a  spell  of 
music  or  to  realise  in  expression  a  momentary  mood, 
so  are  these  lithographs  ;  they  are  here  for  their  own 
sake,  not  insisting  on  any  shape  too  much,  not 
asserting  anything — simply  flowers,  having  their 
root  in  the  obedience  of  hand  to  form  and  a 
memory  for  form,  and  in  an  indefinite  and  beautiful 
imagination.  There  is  revealed  to  us  by  this  art,  if 
only  for  a  moment,  how  freighted  are  the  hours  with 
beauty — and  how  indifferently  we  let  them  pass. 
We  are  aware  of  figures  coming  and  going,  glowing 
and  fading  under  the  artist's  hand  ;  their  thoughts 
are  turned  inward  to  their  own  pleasures,  and  they 
are  on  their  way  from  a  dream  to  a  dream.  Their 
half  decided  gestures  are 
arrested,  their  conversa- 
tions are  interrupted,  and 
their  business  ends  for  our 
desire.  Moving  towards  a 
strange  doorway,  by  the 
light  of  an  unfamiliar 
lamp,  they  whispered  of 
strange  things,  or  they 
were  going  down  to  the 
sea;  they  were  playing  with 
little  babies,  bathing  them 
in  cool  stone  baths  when 
the  artist  surprised  them, 
or  they  were  listening 
where  the  echoes  of  their 
music  died  within  the  still- 
ness of  the  room.  In  the 
drawing  called  T/ie  Cellist 
where  the  girls  rest,  with 
instruments  in  their  hands, 
in  white  dresses  folded 
against  the  white  wall,  all 
that  the  artist  has  delicately 
hinted  to  our  imagination 
by  a  gift  of  which  he  is  the 
possessor,  is  carried  un- 
consciously to  completion 
by  ourselves.  We  colour  the 
hair  of  the  languid  girls,  the 
gold  of  their  hair  and  the 
brown  violins ;  in  the  suave 
lines  of  the  robes  we 
are  aware  of  te.xture  as 
though  we  touched  the 
folds  with  our  hands. 
Those  lines  came  there 
28 


for  the  artist's  delight,  and  they  are  corrected 
by  the  straight  lines  of  the  perpendicular  mirror. 
One  feels  that  that  mirror  was  placed  there 
for  that  reason,  the  best  of  artistic  reasons, 
and  one  hopes  that  Mr.  Shannon  put  so  many 
screws  on  the  smaller  instrument  and  so  few 
on  the  large  viol,  not  out  of  any  knowledge  of  such 
things,  and  he  may  have  much,  but  because  they 
came  thus  under  his  hand,  part  of  the  picture  as  he 
mentally  foreshadowed  it.  It  is  obvious  from  this 
drawing  that  the  study  of  such  things  sometimes 
tells,  but  for  the  moment  it  is  to  be  believed  that 
their  placing  was  instinctive,  and  as  much  a  matter  of 
inspiration  as  the  design  of  the  drapery  and  the 
balance  given  by  the  shadows  thrown  faintly  on  the 
wall.  Amendment  and  detail  may  follow  his  first 
impulse,  in  rapid  afterthoughts,   but    his  drawings 


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sometimes  seem  to  contain  a  challenge  as  to  whether 
we  would  have  held  his  hand  to  accuracy  at  the 
expense  of  those  hardly  divined  inner  motives. 

In    the    drawing    entitled    The     Three    Sisters 
we  cannot  help  sharing  some  of  the  delight  that 
must  have  gone  into  the  drawing  of  the  dark  case 
against  the  white  of  the  rest  of  the  picture.     From 
his  memory  of  an  efifect  the  artist  has  set  this  scene, 
at  once  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  one  of  the 
least  attractive  of  his  lithographs.     There  is  some 
ugliness  in  its  composition,  yet  in  its  massing  of  dark 
against  grey  and  grey  against  white,  and  in  the  deli, 
cacy  of  suggested  detail,  it  goes  beyond  the  other 
drawings  here  illustrated.     In  the  outlines  and  the 
folds  of  the  sleeves  of  the  bending  figure  one  feels 
that  the  quality  of  the  drawing  goes  about  as  far 
as  it  can  be  taken — further,   indeed,   than  it   has 
been  taken  at  any  time  in  the  particular  modern 
quality     of     sensitiveness. 
Albeit,   the  figure  in  itself 
is  not    beautiful,    and    its 
action  is  not  one  of  grace. 
\t  is  easy  to  forestall  the 
criticism   of    anyone    who 
is    qu'te    matter-of-fact    as  .  ;; 

regards  this  drawing,  as  to  ;  |f 

the    improbability    of   the  \  If 

positions  of  the  figures  and 
of  their  environment :  such 
critics  are  welcome  to  their 
trivial  standpoint,  perfectly 
sound  and  justifiable  so  far 
as  it  goes  —  which  is  a 
very  little  way,  not  far 
enough  to  reach  any  remote 
conception  of  the  unreal 
spirit  in  which  the  artist  so 
often  works  with  such  a 
show  of  realism.  The 
sympathetic  quality  of  the 
drawing  of  the  nude  before 
the  small  round  mirror  is  a 
revelation  of  Mr.  Shannon's 
art;  in  it  one  is  made  aware 
of  the  appreciation  of  subtle 
and  moving  form  with 
which  he  draws  those 
nudes  of  his  with  their 
delicate  and  fragile  beauty. 
It  is  apparent  how  with  his 
chalk  he  has,  as  it  were, 
caressed  the  drawing,  re- 
turning to  go  over  the 
never  rigid  outline,  as  a 
30 


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musician    would  strike  a  note  a  second  time   to 
hear  again  its  pleasant  sound. 

A  description  of  the  lithograph  entitled  The  Shell 
Gatherers  is  not  to  be  embarked  upon ;  more  than 
any  other  it  claims  to  be  approached  in  the  spirit 
in  which  it  was  conceived.  Full  of  meaning  and 
of  beauty  as  it  is,  it  has  not  so  transparent  and 
tangible  a  perfection  as  some  of  his  other  works. 
There  is  about  it  a  certain  mood  of  symbolism, 
emotional  rather  than  intellectual.  Fortunately  the 
symbolism  of  some  Pre-Raphaelism,  bordering  as 
it  does  at  times  upon  the  Sunday  puzzle,  does  not 
menace  the  charm  of  Mr.  Shannon's  art.  Partly 
its  charm  lies  in  its  elusiveness — a  quality  which 
places  it  with  those  high  arts  understood  by  the  few ; 
the  few  who,  arriving  at  their  knowledge  after 
a  long  journey,  or  born  themselves  with  incomplete 
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"SHELL-GATHERERS."       FROM   THE 
LITHOGRAPH   BY   C.   H.    SHANNON 

33 


Design  in  Gold-Tooled  Bookbinding 


themselves  but  the  habit  of  expression.  The 
portrait  of  Professor  Legros  presents  another 
phase  of  Mr.  Shannon's  art.  In  this  portrait  he 
makes,  as  it  were,  a  concession  to  his  adverse  critics, 
those  critics  who  are  not  in  sympathy  with  the  free- 
dom of  fancy  apparent  in  so  much  of  his  other  work 
— a  freedom  of  fancy  which  is  the  explanation  of 
their  handling,  as  the  restrained  handling  here  is 
explained  by  the  artist's  reverence  for  facts  which 
are  as  much  a  part  of  portraiture  as  they  are  not  a 
part  of  the  remote  atmosphere  which  he  is  at  so 
much  pains  to  create  in  his  other  pictures. 

Disembarrassed  from  false  standards,  and  free 
as  air,  the  spontaneity  of  these  lithographs  is 
not  a  little  part  of  all  the  pleasure  that  they  give 
us,  carried,  as  they  are,  so  far  by  a  hand  that 
leaves  them  just  where  its  inspiration  passes  away. 
T.  Martin  Wood. 


D 


ESIGN  IN  GOLD-TOOLED 
BOOKBINDING.  BY  SIR 
EDWARD    SULLIVAN,  BART. 


The  love  for  tastefully  bound  books  comes  and 


goes ;  it  waxes  and  wanes  with  the  ever-varying 
sentiments  and  temper  of  successive  generations — 
so  far,  at  least,  as  the  general  literary  world  is 
concerned.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that  the  biblio- 
phile, who  represents  a  class  comparatively  small 
in  number,  has  always  a  susceptible  corner  in  his 
heart  for  a  bibliopegic  jewel  —  some  choice 
example  of  craftsmanship  which  carries,  as  it 
were,  the  soul  of  the  artificer,  outlined  in  grace- 
ful curve  or  clustered  loveliness,  impressed  upon 
its  exterior — but  in  the  case  of  the  every-day  col- 
lector the  fashions  of  book-decoration  change  even 
as  in  all  the  other  arts.  Monastic  severity  is 
succeeded  by  a  kindlier  type  of  beauty ;  and  this, 
in  turn,  gives  place  to  more  luxurious  forms. 
The  pleasing,  though  somewhat  formal,  strap-work 
intricacies  identified  with  the  name  of  Grolier  and 
the  Lyonnese  school,  pass  in  time  into  something 
richer  and  more  ornate;  until,  in  the  hands  of 
Nicholas  and  Clovis  Eve,  and  those  that  followed 
in  their  footsteps,  the  main  design  is  all  but  sub- 
merged beneath  the  excessive  profusion  of  decora- 
tive effort  with  which  their  patterns  are  crowded. 
Later,  when  the  master  mind  has  passed  away, 


BOOKBINDING 

34 


BY    SIR    EDWARD   SULLIVAN 


Design  in  Gold-Tooled  Bookbinding 


and  the  restraint  of  the 
artist  is  no  longer  there 
to  hold  in  hand  the  erring 
tendencies  of  capricious 
workers,  degeneracy  sets 
in,  and  beauty  luxuriates 
into  rankness,  running  riot 
even  to  the  verge  of 
gaudiness  and  offence. 
Design  and  artistic  repose 
perish,  and  the  degrada- 
tion of  confusion  and 
eccentricity  takes  their 
place;  until  at  last,  wearied 
of  unsatisfying  glare,  men 
of  taste  cry  out  for  some- 
thing of  a  nobler  sort ; 
and  then,  if  only  the 
artist  be  at  hand  to  give 
them  what  they  seek  for, 
some  simpler  form  suc- 
ceeds that  fills  the  eye 
with  pleasure  and  satisfies 
at  the  same  time  the  re- 
quirements of  true  art. 

Book  lovers  are  not 
agreed  as  to  the  object 
fulfilled  by  the  richer 
forms  of  decoration  on  a 
bound  volume.  An  emi- 
nent authority  *  on  all 
that  has  to  do  with  books 
has  told  us,  entertaining 
a  somewhat  fanciful  be- 
lief, that  the  external  ornamentation  represents, 
in  a  sense,  a  portal  or  gate,  on  the  opening  of 
which  the  contents  of  the  volume  are  disclosed  ; 
and,  speaking  generally,  that  no  scheme  of 
design  which  failed  to  fulfil — at  least,  in  ap- 
proximate form  —  this  quaint  idea  could  be 
reckoned  amongst  the  number  of  the  correct.  A 
more  intelligible  theory  would,  however,  seem  to 
be  that  book-covers  were  adorned  simply  at  first, 
and  afterwards  with  increasing  elaboration,  for  the 
same  reason  that,  at  the  dawn  of  civilisation,  battle- 
axes,  tomahawks,  spear-heads,  and  other  weapons 
of  war  or  the  chase  were  scored  and  zigzagged 
with  crude  attempts  at  decoration.  As  with  them, 
portions  of  such  objects  presented  a  plain  surface 
capable  of  being  tendered  more  pleasing  to  the 
eye,  so  with  the  volume  bound  in  a  jacket  of 
simple  leather,  there  was  a  field  on  which  the 
craftsman  had  an  opportunity  of  adding  a  decora- 

•  Tlie  l.ile  Mr.  liernard  Quarilch. 


BOOKBINDING 


BY    SIR    EDWARD    SULLIV.^N 


tive  something  to  vary  the  monotonous  uniformity 
of  a  set  of  leather-coated  books.  In  fact,  the 
desire  to  decorate  a  book-cover  is  one  and  the 
same  with  what  has  led  to  the  ornamentation  of 
all  other  plain  surfaces  capable  of  such  treatment, 
whether  of  stone,  wood,  metal,  or  glass. 

The  leathers  available  for  the  binding  of  a  book 
are,  of  course,  many  in  number ;  but  not  so  for 
the  binding  of  a  book  which  is  to  carry  some  rich 
design  upon  its  sides  and  back  ;  for  nowadays  the 
artist  who  decorates  a  cover  in  gold-tooling,  and 
means  his  work  to  live,  is  practically  limited  to  one 
material — the  best  morocco.  Labour  and  artistic 
effort  are  wasted  if  calf  or  Russia  leather  be  made 
use  of;  for  after  some  years,  as  these  leathers  are 
now  tanned  and  prepared  for  market,  the  joints  of 
the  volume  are  sure  to  become  cracked  ;  and  later 
on  it  is  possible  that  the  upper  and  lower  covers 
will  drop  from  the  book  which  they  were  intended 
to  protect  and  adorn. 

35 


Design  in  Gold-Tooled  Bookbinding 


The  artist-binder  has,  however,  no  cause  of  com- 
plaint by  reason  of  this  restricted  field  in  the  way 
of  material ;  for,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  very  finest 
results  in  gold-tooling  are  only  to  be  obtained  from 
morocco  ;  and  the  artificer  who  has  once  produced, 
upon  this  leather,  some  design  that  satisfies  the 
soul  of  the  artist  within  him,  will  never  willingly 
go  back  to  any  other  material. 

But  it  is  Design  that  mainly  concerns  us  here — 
that  all-important  section  of  "  finishing,"  or  second 
division  of  the  craft  of  bookbinding.  Technique 
of  a  high  order  is,  of  course,  essential  to  a  first-class 
"  finisher,"  but  skilful  technique  in  a  "  finisher  " 
who  works  out  some  ignoble  design  is  calculated 
only,  in  Hamlet's  phrase,  to  "make  the  judicious 
grieve."  The  book  may 
be  perfect  to  the  touch  in 
all  the  delicacy  of  its 
polished  exquisiteness,  the 
lustre  of  each  separate 
gold  impression  may  be 
all  that  eye  could  wish 
for ;  each  tool  be  grace- 
fully and  correctly  cut ; 
but  the  tools,  as  they 
show   in    the    design,   are 

themselves    gathered    into 

some   fantastic   medley    of 

incongruous    detail  which, 

though  it   cover  the   field 

with    brilliancy,    yet    lacks 

the  convincing  and  satisfy- 
ing effect  which    is   alone 

the  outcome  of  an  artist's 

mind    working    artistically 

within    the    limits    of    an 

art     that     he    loves     and 

understands. 

Then,     again,    a     good 

design    in   the   case    of  a 

"  mosaic"  pattern   may  be 

completely    spoiled    by    a 

want   of  harmony   in    the 

colours      of     the       inlaid 

leathers;  for  although  gold- 
tooling  goes  far  to  soften 

the    crudities    of    clashing 

colours,   there   are   certain 

combinations  of  hue  which 

can   never   be  reduced  to 

anything  approaching  tran- 
quillity when  in  juxtaposi- 
tion. 

It  is  in  the  case  of  such 


extravagances — too  often  met  with  in  recent  times 
— one  cannot  but  feel  that  the  first  canons  of 
artistic  treatment  have  been  set  aside  in  the 
framing  of  the  design,  or  that  the  designer  has 
shown  himself  to  be  ignorant  of  the  especial  con- 
dition of  true  ornament — that  it  be  beautiful  in 
its  place. 

It  is  undoubtedly  a  fact,  however,  that  the  last 
fifteen  or  twenty  years  have  seen  a  vast  improve- 
ment in  the  matter  of  design  in  English  book- 
ornamentation.  For  quite  a  long  time  previously 
there  had  been  little  in  the  way  ot  originality  to 
commend  the  work  that  was  being  produced,  or 
to  distinguish  it  from  the  somewhat  commonplace 
conventional   forms   which  had  been  adopted  by 


BOOKBINDING 


BY   SIR   EDWARD  SULLIVAN 


36 


Design  in  Gold-Tooled  Bookbinding 


British  binders  for  a  period 
of  about  a  century  and  a 
half — forms,  too,  which, 
though  differing  from  one 
another  in  trivial  variation 
of  their  component  parts, 
seemed  to  have  been  ac- 
cepted, by  designers  and 
book-lovers  alike,  as  the 
be-all  and  the  end-all  of  the 
bookbinding  craft  in  this 
country,  and  as  something 
beyond  which  no  one  had 
the  courage  or  imagination 
to  pass. 

The  welcome  change 
came  at  last — an  outcome 
of  the  late  Victorian  re- 
vival identified  so  largely 
with  the  name  of  William 
Morris  —  and  it  soon  be- 
came apparent  that  there 
were  new  schemes  of  com- 
position, and  fresh  possibili- 
ties of  tool-designing,  which 
— in  the  hands  of  an  artist 
who  cared  only  to  remem- 
ber what  was  best  in  the 
past,  and  who  had  the  dar- 
ing to  shake  off  the  yoke 
of  routine  which  for  so 
long  had  stifled  all  thoughts 
of  emerging  into  originality 
— were  capable  of  produc- 
ing, in  the  eyes  of  persons  of  correct  taste,  decor- 
ative effects  of  grace  and  beauty  to  which  the 
English  bibliophile  had  for  more  than  a  century 
been  unused. 

Contemporaneously  with  this  renaissance  of  the 
art  there  sprang  up  amongst  book-lovers  a  more 
widely  felt  desire  for  the  possession  of  beautifully 
bound  books.  Such  changes  of  fashion  on  the 
part  of  collectors  are  somewhat  difificult  to  account 
for,  but  it  is  possible  in  this  case  that  the  alteration 
of  sentiment  was  to  no  little  extent  influenced  by 
the  Exhibition  of  bookbinding  given  by  the  Burling- 
ton Fine  Arts  Club  in  the  year  1891,  as  well  as 
by  the  sumptuously  illustrated  catalogue  published 
shortly  after,  which  contained  an  extremely  large 
number  of  facsimiles  in  gold  and  colours  of  the 
choicest  examples  of  the  decorative  work  exhibited 
— a  volume  which,  of  its  kind,  is  yet  without  any 
rival. 

The  practical  pioneer  in  bookbinding  under  the 


BOOKBINDING 


KY    SIR    EDWARD    SULLIVAN 


new  and  improved  conditions  was  Mr.  Cobden- 
Sanderson ;  and  his  ornamental  bindings,  in  a 
style  altogether  his  own,  have  not  yet  been  sur- 
passed in  any  country. 

It  is  curious  that  while  in  England  design  may 
now  be  said  to  have  reached  a  high  level,  France, 
with  all  its  great  tradition  of  bygone  glory  in  this 
direction,  has  remained  for  many  years  past  all  but 
stationary.  French  technique  is  still  of  the  highest 
order  of  excellence,  but  it  is  mainly  expended  upon 
imitation  ;  and  when  the  Frenchman  ventures  on 
originality  the  results  are  too  often  what  Ruskin 
would  call  "  a  glittering  vacillation  of  undisciplined 
enchantment."  *  What  is  still  more  singular  is 
that  French  decorative  binders  believe  that  the  art 
does  not  exist  outside  of  their  own  country — such, 
at  least,  was  the  view  of  one  of  the  best  of  their 
artistic  craftsmen,  Marius  Michel,  who,  in  the  year 
1878,    when    design    was    no    better    in    P" ranee 


*'  Seven  Lamp.<i  of  Architecture," 


37 


Design  in  Gold-Tooled  Bookbinding 


than  in  England,  remarked,  "  Partout  on  relie  des 
livres,  mais  la  Reliure  d'art  ne  se  fait  actuellement 
qu'en  France."* 

To  other  eyes  than  a  Frenchtnan's  it  would  look 
as  if  the  art  in  France  had  never  completely  re- 
covered from  the  ruthless  attack  made  upon  it  by 
the  Revolutionists  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  who  not  only  discouraged  by  forcible 
means  the  binding  of  books  in  luxurious  casings, 
but  sought  out,  and  actually  destroyed,  many 
magnificent  specimens  of  the  finest  work  found  in 
the  libraries  of  the  Aristocrats.  It  was  this  sense- 
less crusade  which  led  to  the  flight  to  England  of 
many  Frenchmen,  who  carried  on  the  craft  of  book- 
binders successfully  as  refugees  in  this  country,  and 
to  some  extent  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  our  English 
workers. 

The  examples  ol  my 
own  designs  here  illus- 
trated are  all  "mosaic" 
in  character.  The  de- 
corative effect  in  such 
cases  is  largely  due  to 
a  harmonious  blending 
of  inlaid,  or  supei  imposed, 
pieces  of  coloured  leather 
set  in  contrast  with  the 
differently  coloured  ground 
in  which  they  are,  as  it 
were,  imbedded.  The 
labour  involved  in  the 
doing  of  work  of  this 
class  is,  roughly  speaking, 
about  twice  what  is  ex- 
pended on  the  production 
of  a  merely  gold-tooled  pat- 
tern, each  piece  of  added 
colour  having  to  be  at- 
tached with  care  and  neat- 
ness to  the  spot  it  is  to 
occupy  in  the  general 
scheme  of  composition. 
The  warmer  effects  pro- 
duced in  this  way  will  in- 
variably repay  one  for  the 
extra  time  and  trouble — 
always  provided  that  some 
artistic  taste  be  shown  in 
the  selection  of  the  colours 
used,  and  that  no  violence 


of  contrast  be  attempted  in  the  general  arrange- 
ment of  the  design. 

Each  of  these  reproductions  is  also  meant  to 
illustrate  a  principle  which  Mr.  Cobden-Sanderson 
and  other  high  authorities  on  the  subject  have 
constantly  sought  to  inculcate — namely,  that  artistic 
results  in  the  way  of  design  are  more  readily  to  be 
obtained  by  the  use  of  a  few  tools  than  by  using  a 
large  number — the  very  variety  and  multiplicity  of 
the  petiisfers  themselves  in  the  latter  case  always 
tending  to  minimise  or  dissipate  the  direct  sim- 
plicity of  the  main  design. 

In  one  place  only  is  a  modified  extravagance,  in 
colour  or  design,  to  be  allowed,  and  where  it  is 
least  likely  to  offend  a  bibliophile  of  taste ;  and  that 


•    "Essai   sur   la 
tirieure  des  Livres.' 


Decoration    e 
Paris.     1 E78 


BOOKBINDING 


BY   SIR   BDWARD  SULLIVAN 


38 


Fantin-Latour 


is  in  the  "doublure,"  or  inner  lining  of  the  cover. 
In  ordinary  cases  this  portion  of  a  book  is  occupied 
by  the  so  called  "end-papers,"  which,  through  many 
centuries  now,  have  occasionally  been  of  even  a 
flamboyant  type  in  pattern  and  in  colour.  Accord- 
ingly, when  leather  takes  the  place  of  paper  here, 
one  does  not  so  keenly  resent  a  deviation  from 
simpler  methods  of  decoration  as  one  would  if  the 
form  of  ornament  adopted  were  found  impressed 
upon  the  outside  of  the  volume.  Besides,  the 
exterior  of  a  book  is  constantly  exposed,  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  to  a  wear  and  tear  which 
does  not  affect  the  "  doublure,"  owing  to  the  pro- 
tection from  rubbing  afforded  by  its  position.  I 
am  at  the  same  time,  however,  far  from  advocating 
extravagance  in  any  direction  or  quarter  in  the 
matter  of  a  well  and  tastefully  bound  volume. 

In  the  example  illustrated  on  page  34,  will  be 
noticed  a  variation  from  the  more  usual  practice  of 
making  the  upper  and  the  lower  covers  of  a  book 
identical  in  design.  In  such  a  case  it  is  well  that 
the  difference  should  not  be  too  marked ;  and 
however  the  upper  pattern  may  vary  from  the  lower, 
there  should  never  be  wanting  some  strong  sugges- 
tion of  relationship  between  them  in  the  detail  or 
general  outline  of  their  diversified  forms. 

The  question  whether  the  exterior  design  on  a 
book  should  be  to  any  extent  symbolical  or  indica- 
tive of  its  contents  is  one  which  has  frequently 
exercised  the  minds  of  artistic  bookbinders.  In 
times  past  the  great  Roger  Payne  was  amongst 
those  who  used — occasionally,  at  least — to  regulate 
his  patterns  by  the  nature  of  the  subject-matter  of 
the  volume  which  he  was  binding.  Looked  at 
from  an  artist's  standpoint,  there  does  not  seem  to 
be  anything  against  such  a  practice,  so  long  as 
some  obvious  and  easily  intelligible  connection 
can  be  established,  by  form  of  tool  or  general 
scheme  of  decoration,  between  the  outside  and 
the  contents  of  the  volume.  Marius  Michel  is 
worth  quoting  on  this  matter;  and  his  observations 
may  account  for  the  too  frequent  instances  of 
eccentricity  with  which  we  are  familiar  in  the 
case  of  modern  French  forms  of  decoration  : 
"  Ce  qui  distinguera  les  reliures  artistiques  de  la 
fin  du  dix-neuvieme  siecle  des  reliures  anciennes, 
c'est  la  recherche  de  I'appropriation  du  decor  au 
sujet  de  I'ouvrage  ;  recherche  qui  est  devenue  le 
desideratum  de  tous  les  nouveaux  amateurs  de 
livres  modernes.  L'impulsion  est  donnee,  le  mouve- 
ment  se  dessine  chaque  jour  davaniage  et  malgr^ 
la  resistance  routiniere  de  quelques  pretendus 
classiques,  qui  denient  toute  faculte  creatrice  aux 
artisans  de  leur  temps  et  ne  veulent  encore   sur 


leurs    livres    que    des    copies,    on    ne  pourra  plus 
I'arreter."  * 

The  danger  in  adopting  such  a  line  seems  to  lie 
in  the  overdoing  of  it ;  for  the  difficulties  of  devising 
new  patterns,  appropriate  to  the  extent  of  being 
emblematic  of  what  is  treated  in  the  book,  are  all 
but  insurmountable  when  the  innumerable  varieties 
of  subject  are  considered ;  and  so,  on  the  whole 
the  binder,  except  in  some  rare  moment  of  in- 
spiration, would  do  well  to  confine  his  efforts  at 
appropriateness  to  some  artistic  form  which  will 
not  at  least  be  /^appropriate  to  the  character  of 
the  contents,  or  the  period  at  which  the  book  was 
composed  or  printed. 

If  he  be  uniformly  successful  in  doing  this,  he 
will  have  gone  far  towards  establishing  his  position 
as  an  artist  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  term. 

Edw-^rd  Sullivan. 


M 


ODERN  FRENCH  PASTEL  - 
LISTS:  FANTIN-LATOUR. 
BY  RAYMOND  BOUYEk. 


Every  master  creates  a  world  for  himself,  and 
the  name  of  Fantin-Latour  calls  up  an  enchanted 
world,  a  melodious  fairy-land,  where  Music  herself 
appears  personified  under  the  guise  of  a  beautiful 
young  woman  with  angel's  wings  ;  for  the  melo- 
maniac  of  Dauphine,  compatriot  of  Stendhal  and 
of  Berlioz,  had  the  peculiar  gift  of  interpreting  on 
canvas  the  harmonious  masterpieces  of  his  favourite 
composers.  Hector  Berlioz  and  Richard  Wagner, 
Schumann  and  Brahms,  not  forgetting  Weber  and 
Rossini.  His  work  as  a  painter  comprises  portraits 
and  compositions  ;  his  palette  loves  the  true  no 
less  than  the  beautiful  :  two  parallel  tendencies 
which  have  made  him  the  precursor  of  our  reviving 
taste  for  the  discreetly  intimate  and  for  the 
immortal— for  poetry.  His  compositions  are  as 
delicate  as  his  portraits  are  robust :  here  are 
invocations,  dreams,  harmonies  ;  and  love  of  music 
inspires  them  all.  The  history  of  our  art  will 
record  the  blossoming  of  these  brilliant  flowers  in 
the  somewhat  ungrateful  field  of  naturalism. 

The  misty  indefinite  medium  of  pastel  naturally 
attracted  the  music-mad  painter.  M.  Fantin- 
Latour  worked  in  pastel ;  and  the  pastellist  has 
treated  the  same  subjects,  the  same  themes  of 
musical  poetry,  as  the  painter,  the  wizard  of  colour, 
and  as  the  lithographer,  the  resuscitator  of  his  art : 
passing  from  one  process  to  the  other  these  same 
subjects  are  transformed,  imperceptibly  changed  in 
aspect  without  change  of  meaning,  like  variants  or 

•  "  L'Orneinciuation  des  Reliures  modernes."     Paris.     18S9. 

39 


Fantin-Latour 


different  readings  of  a  single  text.     Here  are  no 
longer  portraits,  but  only  dreams. 

At  what  period  of  his  proud  career  as  an  artist 
did  M.  Fantin-Latour  betake  himself  to  pastel  ? 
Towards  the  end  of  1S76,  when  he  returned  full  of 
enthusiasm  from  Bayreuth — a  noteworthy  circum- 
stance which  fully  demonstrates  the  overwhelming 
influence  of  his  passion  for  music.  The  solemn 
inauguration  of  the  Wagnerian  Theatre  in  its  rural 
surroundings,  and  the  four  consecutive  evenings  of 
the  Ring  des  Nibelungen,  had  dazzled  his  vision  ; 
the  artist  seized  the  pastel  at  the  same  time  as 
the  crayon  of  the  lithographer,  that  he  might 
record  the  floating  images  of  his  memory  at  once 
on  the  brown  canvas  and  on  the  stone.  He  did 
not  transcribe;  he  imagined,  after 
having  seen.  The  titles  alone  of 
his  first  two  pastels  may  illustrate 
both  this  point  of  history  and 
the  artist's  method:  Souvenir  de 
Bayreuth  {Baviere)  and  Scene 
finale  de  la  Walkiire.  The  Sou- 
venir de  Bayreuth  is  but  a  free 
rendering  of  the  first  scene  of 
Das  Rheingold — the  mocking  trio 
of  Rhine  maidens.  These  were 
in  the  Salon  of  1877. 

During  twenty  years,  from 
1877  to  1896,  M.  Fantin-Latour 
exhibited  pastels,  alternating  be- 
tween his  beloved  musical  sub- 
jects and  themes  more  vaguely 
allegorical  or  mythological ;  trans- 
lating the  Rinaldo  of  Johannes 
Brahms,  or  the  lovely  duet  from 
Les  Troyens,  a  grave  melody  by 
Schumann,  or  the  chaste  rapture 
of  some  love-lyric  ;  hymning  his 
great  compatriot  Berlioz  and  the 
glorious  anniversary  of  his  in- 
glorious death;  incarnating  music 
and  musical  apotheoses  ;  or  else 
clothing  with  new  life  figures  per- 
sonifying dawn  and  night,  dreams 
and  truth,  the  amorous  utterance 
of  Paris  ind  the  lament  of  Ari- 
adne, magic  dances  and  the 
temptation  of  a  hermit,  ingenious 
groups  of  bathing  nymphs  and  of 
Cupids  from  pagan  legendary  lore. 

There  were  some  thirty  of  such 

pastels,  not  all  in  existence  to-day, 

for  the   painter  reproduced  most 

of  them  in  a  less  fragile  material : 

40 


more  than  one  pistel  drawing  became  a  painting. 
Holding  aloof,  as  he  did,  from  the  annual  Salons  after 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  the  artist, 
moreover,  abandoned  the  above-described  me- 
thod. Before  the  eyes  of  posterity  the  pastellist 
will  be  represented  by  fewer  than  a  dozen  deli- 
cate works ;  but  with  such  a  master  quality 
speaks  even  more  persuasively  than  quantity. 
Four  selected  examples  will  best  express  his  musical 
inspiration  :  there  is  the  Souvenir  de  Bayreuth 
(1877),  or  rather,  a  charming  reduction  of  the 
lost  original,  which  transfers  to  the  Musee 
du  Luxembourg  the  melodious  opening  of  Das 
Rheingold,  wherein  the  fair  nymphs  of  the  ancient 
river  spiritually  continue  the  Latin   myth  of  the 


DAS  RHEINGOLD  " 


FROM   THE   PASTEL   BV   FANTIN-LATOUR 
(In  the  Luxembourg) 


I 


C  By  perm  ission  of  M.   Via  u) 


PORTRAIT   OF   FANTIN-LATOUR 
FROM   THE   PASTEL   BY   HIMSELF 


"SIEGFRIED   AND   THE   RHINE 
MAIDENS"    FROM    THE    PASTEL 
BY   FANTIN-LATOUR 
42 


(By  perinissioii  of  M.   Viau) 


Fantin-Latour 


sirens  ;  there  is  Siegfried  and  the  Rhine  Maidens 
(iSS6),  the  meeting  of  the  heedless  hero  with  the 
sprightly  water-nymphs  before  the  dark  hour  of  the 
tragical  denotiement,  a  mute  dialogue  which  at  the 
time  of  the  last  Centennial  Exhibition  in  1900 
accompanied  the  grand  and  touching  scene  of 
L'Anniversaire  ( 1 884),  where  the  feminine  creations 
of  Berlioz  come  to  pay  homage  at  their  author's 
tomb — a  poetical  idea  which  touches  us  the  more 
after  having  so  recently  celebrated  the  centenary 
of  France's  great  musician.  And  then  there  is 
the  tender  duet  of  Beatrice  et  Benedict  (1888),  a 
nocturne  in  the  depths  of  an  old  park,  dimly 
illumined  by  obscure  twilight  reflections  from  a 
fountain.  Berlioz  and  Wagner,  those  two  hostile 
brothers,  are  reconciled  by  the  sympathy  of  a 
master  of  the  pencil. 

That  inward  music  spoken  of  by  one  of 
Shakespeare's  heroines,  which  every  man  carries 
in  himself,  breathes  in  like 
manner  from  many  other 
allegories.  Musique  et  Poesie 
(1894),  L'Auroreet  la  Nuit 
(1887),  Un  Jugement  de 
Paris  (1890),  Une  Evoca- 
tion (1892),  Ondine  {i8g6) 
— a  nymph  whose  rosy  nud- 
ity is  caressed  by  the  blue- 
green  wave,  and  who  is 
more  of  an  enchantress 
than  the  Germanised  fancy 
of  the  Baron  de  la  Motte- 
Fouqud  could  ever  have 
imagined — are  all  of  them 
pastels  which  attest  the 
originality  of  a  beautiful 
dream,  and  confirm  us  in 
our  admiration  for  one  of 
the  masters  of  our  own  time. 
Dwelling  apart,  afar  from 
mere  ephemeral  fashion, 
counselled  only  by  his 
great  initiators,  Schumann 
and  Prud'hon,  M.  Fantin- 
Latour  contrived  to  endow 
with  new  life  the  familiar 
attributes  of  the  ancient 
allegories ;  the  soul  of  a 
poet  animates  his  forms, 
rhythmic  vapours  enshroud 
them ;  his  scenes  are  set 
in  romantic  landscapes  ; 
motes  dance  in  the  sun- 
beams ;    and    his     figures, 


nobly  draped,   move   easily    in   their   atmosphere. 
Finally,  an  Etude  dated   1882,  and  as  an  exception 
almost  a   portrait,    might    be   entitled    L'£ventail 
Rougeand  be  given  asa  musical  commentaryon  these 
lines  of  Victor  Hugo,  the  painter's  favourite  poet : — • 
"  Voyez-vous,  un  parfum  eveille  la  pensee. 
Repliez,  belle  enfant  par  I'aube  caressee, 
Cet  eventail  aile,  pourpre,  or  et  vermilion, 
Qui  tremble  dans  vos  mains  comme  un  grand  papillon." 

This  simple  study,  the  sweet  meditation  of  a  fair 
young  woman  in  a  white  evening  dress,  is  the  best 
pastel  of  the  painter  who  made  music  visible.  His 
very  method  of  vibrant  cross-hatching  does  in  fact 
express  the  melody  of  the  lines  ;  and  he  reveals 
himself  a  musician  by  his  mastery  of  nuances. 
Nowadays,  when  painting  aspires  to  become  musical, 
M.  Fantin-Latour  appears  the  herald  of  a  new 
technique.  But  to  speak  fittingly  of  pastel  as 
wielded  by  a  poet  it  would  be  necessary,  following 


L'aNNIVKRSAIRE   de   BERLIOZ "  FROM   THE    FASTtL    BV    FANTliN-l-AlOUR 

( By  permission  oj  M.  EsnauU-Pellerie) 

43 


Tranqitillo  Cremona 


the    counsel   of  the   philosopher   in   speaking   of 
women,  "  to  dip  one's   pen  in    the   rainbow,  and 
cast  upon  the  page  dust  from  a  butterfly's  wing." 
Raymond  Bouyer. 


T 


RANQUILLO  CREMONA- 
PAINTER.  BY  ALFREDO 
MELANI. 


Such  an  artist  as  Tranquillo  Cremona  cannot  be 
discussed  apart  from  his  surroundings ;  to  neglect 
them  would  be  like  painting  out  the  background  of 
a  picture.  To  appreciate  this  Milanese  painter  we 
must  consider  the  conditions  of  art  at  the  time 
before  and  while  he  was  studying,  as  well  as  the 
man's  quality  and  revolutionary  spirit — for  Cremona 
was  the  most  revolutionary  painter  of  his  day  in 
Italy.  We  must,  therefore,  look  back  to  an  even 
earlier  time  than  1836,  the  year  in  which  he  was 
bom,  and  speak  of  those  who  came  before  him  ; 
for  all  we  say  of  them  will 
but  add  to  our  admiration 
for  this  artist. 

Cremona,  in  fact,  started 
from  a  point  which  many 
of  his  predecessors  had 
regarded  as  iheir  goal  ;  he, 
too,  before  he  turned  to 
real  life,  worked  at  aca- 
demic painting  in  which 
conventionalism  reigned 
supreme  instead  of  feeling 
and  sincerity.  In  Italy,  as 
in  France,  the  modern 
spirit  was  soon  to  wage 
fierce  war  with  academic 
tradition  as  represented  by 
Camuccini  and  Benvenuti, 
men  of  talent  who  followed 
the  lines  traced  in  France 
by  David.  Against  this 
school  Cremona  rebelled  ; 
Camuccini,  like  Benvenuti, 
was  a  hero  in  his  day, 
and  their  example  was  dis- 
astrous ;  they  encouraged 
students  to  admire  Greek 
and  Roman  statues,  but 
failed  to  see  that  their 
imitations  were  an  insult  to 
antique  art.  Ere  long, 
however,  the  battle  cry  was 
raised ;  new  ideas  were 
in    the    air,    and    a    new 


way  opened  up  to  youthful  artists.  In  various 
exhibitions,  beginning  with  that  held  at  Parma 
in  1870,  and  in  artists'  studios,  it  was  easy  to  see 
that  war  was  declared  between  tradition  and  living 
nature.  Battles  are  not  fought  without  captains, 
and  these  were  not  lacking  in  Italy ;  they  were  not 
many,  it  is  true,  but  they  had  strength  and  courage. 
When  Cremona  was  a  young  student  the  professor 
01  painting  in  the  Milan  Academy  was  a  man  still 
affectionately  remembered  in  Italy :  Francesco 
Hayez.  He  was  a  Venetian  residing  at  Milan, 
where  he  taught  painting  through  three  genera- 
tions ;  and  though  Hayez  was  academical  in  the 
manner  of  his  time,  he  was  far  from  being  rigid  in 
his  views  ;  nay,  among  his  fellows  he  was  regarded 
as  the  representative  of  progress  and  life  m  art. 
Everybody  in  Italy  knows  Hayez's  Bacio  (The 
Kiss),  the  work  not  of  a  pedant  but  of  a  man  who 
uses  his  palette  for  the  expression  of  feeling.  This 
picture,  indeed,  was  the  motive  power  of  Cremona's 


liV    TKAM.iUlI.l.O    CREMONA 


A    MOTWCi: 


Tranqiiillo  Cremona 


earliest  attempts,  of  his  pictures  before  they  became 
what  we  now  find  so  interesting,  so  free  from  con- 
ventional formulas.  In  Cremona's  first  manner  we 
can  discern  the  artist  who  will  tread  his  own  path 
by  the  light  of  his  own  intelligence,  and  this  gives 
the  Bacio  by  Hayez  special  importance. 

I  have,  before  now,  tried  to  set  this  popular 
painting  in  its  true  light — a  pathetic  picture  of  a 
volunteer  kissing  his  betrothed — and  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  assert  that  it  laid  the  germs  of  a  stronger 
school,  of  which  Cremona  was  a  leading  champion. 
The  influence  of  Hayez  on  the  generation  that  grew 
up  around  him  was  profound.  He  was  no  less  the 
artist  of  a  transition  than 
was  Jacopo  della  Querela 
at  the  time  of  the  Renais- 
sance, or  again,  than 
those  artists  who  con- 
structed the  Porta  della 
Carta  at  Venice ;  and 
they  were  not  so  revo- 
lutionary as  Cremona, 
for  the  times  were  not 
ripe,  and  would  have 
nothing  to  say  to  a 
painter  who  defied  all 
systematic  trainmg. 

Next  to  Hayez  the 
first  place  in  modern 
Lombard  art  must  be 
assigned  to  Cremona ; 
even  Giuseppe  Bertini, 
who  succeeded  Hayez 
at  the  Brera  Academy, 
and  taught  Cremona, 
cannot  fill  it ;  for  he,  at 
the  time  when  Cremona 
had  revealed  his  strong 
individuality,  had  a  few 
followers  who,  unaware 
of  modern  tendencies, 
stood  apart  or  allied 
themselves  with  the  re- 
calcitrant party  that  con- 
demned Cremona's  new 
spirit  of  artistic  expres- 
sion, while  it  attracted 
youthful  intellects. 

Thus  we  see  in  Cre- 
mona two  very  distinct 
artists  :  the  painter  who 
in  his  first  youth  could 
not  shake  off  the  influ- 
ence of  his  surroundings, 


and  the  painter  who  influenced  Ihem  in  his  turn: 
attracted  in  his  early  works  by  the  rominticism  of  the 
time,  and  loving  form  for  its  own  sake  in  subserviency 
to  tradition,  while  in  his  later  manner  we  find  him  a 
master  of  ripened  judgment,  having  his  own  ideal, 
and  with  a  giant's  stride  leaving  his  teachers  in  the 
lurch.  It  is  especially  interesting  to  note  the  vast 
gulf  which  divided  him  from  them,  from  his  pre- 
decessors and  his  contemporaries,  as  soon  as  his 
individuality  declared  itself,  and  led  to  his  second 
manner.  In  Cremona  a  new  artistic  era  opened 
for  Italy,  and  as  time  goes  on  this  becomes  more 
and  more  apparent,  even  to  those  who  are  unwilling 


BY   TRANQUILLO   CREMONA 

47 


Tranquillo  Cremona 


to  recognise  his  strong  personal  influence.  To  them 
Cremona  spoke  his  last  word  with  The  FaUoner,  the 
most  remarkable  work  of  his  first  period,  and  a 
really  powerful  painting.  To  this  period  also 
belongs  a  very  charming  and  romantic  picture, 
which  might  form  a  pendant  to  Hayez's  Kiss, 
Lovers  at  the  To?nb  of  Romeo  and  Juliet,  an  oil 
painting  of  considerable  merit.  Still,  it  is  inferior 
to  many  another  work  by  the  same  hand,  though 
leading  us  naturally  to  The  Cousins,  a  work  which 
shows  the  portents  of  revolution. 

Before  going  on  to  Cremona's  second  manner,  to 
show  how  unmistakably  school-work  was  the  true 
starting-point  of  his  development,  I  must  note  that, 
like  his  predecessors  and  his  contemporaries,  Cre- 
mona turned  his  attention  to  historical  painting. 
At  that  period  every  artist  sought  his  ideal  in 
ancient  history.  Such  assemblies  of  puppets  were 
as  common  then  as  scientific  assemblies  are  now. 
Hayez  was  an  historical  painter;  but  Cremona, 
while  paying  his  tribute  to  the 
"learned  school,"  was  not  the 
man  to  put  his  imagination  at  the 
service  of  others.  His  view  was 
that  a  work  is  interesting  in  pro- 
portion to  the  absence  of  history 
and  the  presence  of  life  and  actu- 
ality ;  so,  after  a  very  brief  delay, 
he  went  forward  in  the  road 
pointed  out  to  him  by  nature. 

Among  the  few  historical  pic- 
tures which  Cremona  projected  or 
executed,  Marco  Polo  in  the 
Presence  of  the  Great  Khan  of 
Tartary  shows  that  such  a  painter 
as  he  was  can  produce  historical 
pictures  which  are  at  least  less 
tiresome  than  such  works  com- 
monly are. 

This  brings  us  to  the  really 
important  phase  of  Cremona's 
career — the  riper  age,  when  he 
gave  the  rein  to  his  ideal  and 
his  individuality.  The  pictures 
he  then  painted  enable  us  to  take 
the  artist's  mental  measure— his 
artistic  learning  and  the  breadth 
of  his  views ;  and  these  mature 
works  show  us  not  merely  an  in- 
tellectual transformation,  but  a 
new  scheme  of  technique,  wholly 
subjective  and  personal,  which 
makes  us  say  at  a  glance,  as  we 
stand  before  one  of  his  pictures, 
48 


"  That  is  by  Cremona  !  "  An  artist  can  desire  no 
more  significant  praise.  Cremona,  in  his  handling 
alone,  is  one  of  the  most  original  of  Italian  artists — 
I  might  almost  say  the  most  original.  In  his  art  the 
brush  work  is  wedded  to  the  drawing,  and  design 
and  colour  compose  a  harmony  which  has  taken  its 
rise  in  the  artist's  imagination  and  soul.  Nay,  in 
his  soul  even  more  than  in  his  imagination,  for  his 
later  work  is  compact  of  sensibility  and  emotion. 
Cremona  devoted  his  attention  not  merely  to  the 
lines  of  the  figure,  but  to  the  inmost  spirit  which 
gives  them  their  beauty.  A  line  being  to  him  an 
element  that  can  never  be  dissevered  from  colour, 
he  drew  with  his  brush  and  palette  ;  his  eye  took 
in  together  the  form  and  the  colour  of  the  model 
before  him.  One  of  his  critics  very  truly  remarked 
that  Cremona  from  the  very  first  touch  tried  to 
present  everything  at  once,  and  the  soul  appeared 
on  the  canvas  with  the  substance,  both  being  con- 
ceived of  as  one  from  the  inception  of  the  work. 


BY   TRANQUILLO    CREMONA 


Traiiqiiillo  Ci'emona 


MOTHER  AND  CHILD 


BY  TRANQUILLO  CREMONA 


Cremona  reached  heights  which  might  seem 
inaccessible.  Consider  The  Svii/e,  a  masterpiece 
of  truthfulness,  noble  and  bewitching.  I  say  noble, 
for  the  character  of  the  head  is  dignified  and  the 
expression  intense,  giving  us  an  impression  stronger 
even  than  the  reality  would.  Everything  smiles  in 
the  picture — not  only  the  lips  and  eyes  ;  and  this 
is  noble  in  art,  a  nobleness  achieved  only  by 
privileged  spirits.  Although  at  first  the  technique 
may  seem  over-elaborate,  it  is  not  so  ;  the  handling 
is  spontaneous,  and  spontaneity  is  always  simple. 
Thus  in  The  Smile  we  have  a  most  characteristic 
example  of  Cremona's  art. 

It  will  be  noticed  from  the  accompanying  illus- 
trations that  a  strong  sense  of  the  beauty  of  youth 
pervades  Cremona's  pictures ;  children  and  girls 
in  an  atmosphere  of  grace  and  love.  This  is  true  ; 
but  nothing  can  be  further  from  his  art  than  the 
sensual  passion  which  Tolstoi  has  cursed  from  his 
pontifical  seat.  Cremona  is  always  chaste,  and 
iniuses  into  his  domestic  scents  the  poetry  that 
we    find   in   the  religious  and    narrative  works    of 


Botticelli   in  his  day,  and   of  Burne-Jones   in  our 
own. 

Cremona,  however,  did  not  restrict  his  subjects 
to  studies  of  youth  ;  we  find  in  his  works  many 
figures  of  older  persons.  In  his  series  of  portraits, 
for  instance,  that  of  E.  Marozzi,  an  old  Milanese 
gentleman,  is  one  of  the  finest.  The  painter  has' 
represented  him  standing  with  a  newspaper  in  his 
hand,  as  if  he  had  been  suddenly  addressed  ;  and 
the  halfalert,  half-absorbed  look  is  rendered  with 
striking  vitality.  Another  no  less  life-like,  is  that  of 
Vittore  Grubicy,  a  painter  and  writer  on  art,  who, 
with  his  brother  Alberto,  was  one  of  the  first  to 
admire  Cremona's  work,  and  did  much  to  make  it 
more  widely  known.  Cremona  attempted  every 
style  excepting  landscape,  and  also  painted  in 
water-colour,  a  technicjue  which  is  little  cultivated 
in  Italy. 

I  did  not  know  Cremona  personally,  not  having 
come  to  Milan  till  after  his  death  in  1878  ;  I  knew 
Grandi,  his  intimate  friend,  and  we  often  talked  of 
the  painter.     The  time  when   Cremona  lived  was 

49 


Tranquillo  Cremo)ia 


after,  by  all  but  a  few  young  spirits  who  bore  him 
to  the  skies,  he  has  at  last  made  an  impression 
on  the  Lombardy  School;  indeed,  he  is  its  true 
creator.  His  pictures  were  eagerly  studied,  and 
his  bold  innovations  captivated  young  painters, 
who,  it  must  be  owned,  sometimes  imitated  rather 
than  understood  him  ;  but  as  time  went  on 
intelligent  sympathy  took  the  place  of  mere  imita- 
tion, and  artists  derived  great  benefit  from  the 
study  01  their  leader  in  Lombardy.  Cremona 
himself  always  impressed  on  young  painters  that 
style  does  not  consist  in  the  application  of  prin- 
ciples, whether  learnt  in  the  schools  or  from  the 
study  of  any  great  master,  but  in  the  free,  indi- 
vidual expression  of  a  man's  personal  artistic 
feeling ;  and  his  own  art  was  a  continual  illustra- 
tion of  this  axiom,  which  is  worth  many  an  essay 
on  esthetics.  Alfredo    Mei-ani. 


STUDY  BY  TRANQUILLO  CREMONA 

that  of  "  bohemianism,"  and  Grandi  would  speak 
of  his  simple  and  bohemian  life,  for  Cremona's 
later  style  was  not  such  as  was  likely  to  result  in 
wealth.  And,  indeed,  wealth  is  not  prized  by  revo- 
lutionaries ;  the  master,  deserting  the  beaten  tracks, 
knew  that  he  was  not  painting  for  the  public,  who, 
believing  in  the  Academy  and  its  adherents,  did 
not  believe  in  the  master's  merits. 

This  has  always  been  the  fate  of  innovators ;  of 
Wagner  and  Berlioz  in  music,  of  Delacroix  and 
Manet  in  painting,  who  were  the  butt  of  academic 
coteries.  Cremona,  if  he  were  still  alive,  might  say, 
like  Delacroix :  "  For  twenty  years  have  I  fought 
with  the  beasts  ! "  And  to  this  day  the  public  and 
some  survivors  of  the  academic  tribe  do  not  under- 
stand his  aims  and  work.  It  is  only  within  a  very 
few  years  that  a  sufficient  sum  could  be  collected  to 
raise  a  monument  quite  unworthy  of  his  memory, 
though  marking  some  little  improvement  in  the 
public  taste  and  feeling.  But  in  the  mind  of  artists, 
at  any  rate,  Cremona  has  entered  into  glory. 

Though  scorned  during  his  lifetime,  and  for  long 

5° 


'  THE  ANNUNCIATION 


BY  SIGRID  BI.OMBERG 


Swedish  Art  at  St.  Louis 


"full   moon    in   JULY" 


BY    ESTHER    ALMQVIST 


s 


WEDISH  ART  AT  THE  ST. 
LOUIS  EXPOSITION.  BY 
MAUD    I.  G.    OLIVER. 


With  the  establishment  in  Sweden  of  the 
Academy  of  Art  by  King  Gustaf  III.,  Swedish  art) 
which  had  practically  remained  dormant  for  a  peiiod 
of  about  two  hundred  years,  was  quickened  into  new 
life.  This  was  towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Since  then,  down  to  the  present  time,  the 
encouragement  to  art,  derived  from  the  existence 
of  so  significant  an  institution,  has  borne  continuous 
and  good  fruit.  At  the  outset,  celebrated  Continental 
instructors  were  invited  to  the  country  for  their 
assistance,  thus  ensuring  high  standards  of  technical 
excellence  from  the  very  start.  So  infectious  was  the 
craze  for  imitation  of  foreign  ideals,  that  the  general 
tendency  of  king  and  country  alike  favoured  the 
introduction  of  both  the  languages  and  customs  of 
other  peoples.  Moreover,  this  condition  has  con- 
tinued to  prevail  until  a  quite  recent  date. 
In  fact,  the  absorbing  aspiration  of  a  young  artist 


has  been  to  realise  the  time  when  he  might  leave 
for  a  few  years — perhaps  for  life — his  mother- 
country  with  the  view  of  becoming  a  "  recognised  " 
artist. 

The  disadvantage,  however,  of  this  too  ready 
adoption  of  foreign  sentiment  was  voiced  about  the 
year  1889  in  a  strong  reaction  against  it  by  a  set  01 
enthusiastic  young  students  located  in  various 
art  centres  of  the  Continent.  The  uprising  was  as 
effectual  as  it  was  general.  Detached  groups  of 
artists  met  and  discussed  what,  to  them,  seemed  to 
be  the  burning  topic  of  the  hour — the  artistic 
possibilities  of  their  own  land,  with  its  freedom, 
poetry  and  beauty.  And,  as  it  was  recalled  to 
memory's  vision,  they  talked  of  its  rugged  moun- 
tain sides,  its  plunging  cataracts,  its  peaceful 
ravines  and  nestling  lakes,  all  balanced  in  colour 
by  the  ether  above,  and  by  the  telling  notes 
of  tiny  red  dwellings  dotted  over  the  mantle  of 
white  below ;  they  talked  of  the  sturdy  peasant 
behind  the  plough,  of  the  Lapp  gliding  over  vast 
stretches  of  snow    under  the  starry    heaven   of  a 

5' 


Swedish  Art  at  St.  Louis 


northern  winter's  night.  Thus  it  happens  that 
in  no  country  of  the  world  is  art  more  nationil, 
more  animated,  or  more  true  than  it  is  in  Sweden 
to  day,  convincing  evidence  of  which  is  shown  in 
the  superb  display  from  that  country  in  the  Art 
Palace  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition. 

This  is  a  magnificent  collection,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  but  one  of  the  artist  leagues  is  repre- 
sented as  a  unit.  Had  all  the  societies  responded, 
several  times  the  allotted  space  would  have  been 
necessary  for  their  accommodation  and  perhaps 
the  showing  would  not  have  been  of  such  uniform 
excellence  throughout  as  it  now  is.  The  fact  is, 
however,  that  the  most  prominent  members  of  the 
other  societies  were  especially  invited  to  contribute 
work,  which  they  have  generously  and  creditably 
done.  The  commission  was  put  under  the  manage- 
ment of  A.  Schultzberg,  who  has  discharged 
his  duties  with  perfect  satisfaction  and  fairness  to 
all  concerned. 


In  contrast  to  the  purely  Swedish  character  of 
the  present  exhibit,  one  may  note,  perhaps,  a 
radical  departure  from  the  French  influence  in  the 
work  displayed  by  Baron  Gustaf  Cederstrom, 
Schultzberg,  Bohm,  and  others  at  the  Chicago 
Exposition.  Again,  if  one  or  another  of  the  names 
at  the  latter  exposition  is  missing  from  the  walls  at 
St.  Louis,  we  are  attracted  by  the  work  of  several 
youngerartists  in  their  stead — Almqvist,  Ankarcrona, 
Bergstrom,  Bernhard  and  Emil  Osterman,  V.  Smith, 
Vallen  and  Kallstenius — Kallstenius,  who,  with 
Schultzberg,  is  ranked  as  the  greatest  Swedish 
landscapist  of  the  younger  generation.  Essays  of 
the  northern  summer  especially  appeal  to  Mr. 
Kallstenius,  and  are  rendered  with  equal  facility 
whether  enveloped  in  the  full  light  of  day  flooding 
over  the  woods  and  pine  hills,  or  in  twihght  wherein 
the  deep  blue  air  catches  a  golden  radiance,  or 
wrapped  in  the  tender  veil  of  night.  With  its 
silent  reflection  in  the  waters  beneath,  The  Evening 


'THE    BLIZZARD 
52 


BY   A   SCHULTZBERG 


J 


Swedish  Art  at  St.  Louis 


"a    SUMMtK    EVENING,    SWEI) 


BY   CHARLOTTE    WAHLSTROM 


"a  winter  evening" 


HV   A.    SCHL'LT/.BBRG 


54 


Swedish  Art  at  St.  Louis 


Star,  by  this  aitist,  is  exceedingly  poetic.  Eleven 
years  ago,  when  the  young  Schultjberg  carried  off 
an  important  medal  from  Chicago,  the  critics  felt 
secure  in  presaging  a  future  for  this  youth,  who 
even  then  was  known  as  "  The  Snow  Painter  ; " 
and  the  prophets  have  not  been  disappointed  in 
their  prediction.  To-day  Mr.  Schultzberg's  work 
displays  a  personal  tone  and  an  element  of  virility 
that  easily  distinguish  his  manner  as  both  convinc- 
ing and  impressive.  A  calm  dignity  pervades  his 
canvas  entitled  Winter  Evening,  in  which  a  forest 
of  evergreens  appears  beyond  the  snow- covered 
hill,  and  from  a  cleft  in  which  stretches  a  single 
towering  pine  that  binds  the  lake,  the  distant 
mountains,  and  the  sky  to  the  note  of  white 
in  the  snow.  The  songs  of  music  and  the  song  of 
art  are  so  closely  allied  that  nature's  melody 
may  often  be  a  common  theme  for  musician  and 
artist  alike,  so  that  one  finds  oneself  wondering 
whether  the  fact  that  Mr.  Schultzberg  is  also  a 
musician  accounts  for  the  ability  he  possesses  to 
attune  his  brush  to  the  harmonies  of  his  romantic 
land.     At  all  events,    a   decided    minor   chord  is 


struck  in  his  subject,  called  The  Blizzard,  where 
the  very  spirit  of  the  Norseman,  who  laughed  in  the 
teeth  of  the  storm,  seems  aroused  in  the  swirl  of 
the  snow,  sweeping  over  intrepid  pines,  whose 
branches  yield  in  obedience  to  the  wild  caprice  of 
the  tempest  Alfred  Bergstrom,  who  excels  in 
paintings  of  sunsets  over  forests,  bays,  and  mountains, 
shows  a  typical  work  illustrating  in  a  true  and 
imposing  way  the  peculiar  shading  of  a  sunset  in 
the  Northland.  Erik  Hedberg's  Fox  in  Afoonlight 
is  excellent,  his  August  Evening  is  full  of  poesy,  and 
Evening  in  the  Wilderness,  from  the  brush  of  Olof 
Arborelius,  is  a  masterly  work.  Notice  should  also 
be  made  of  the  two  large  paintings  by  Anton 
Genberg  and  Oscar  HuUgren,  and  of  VVilhem 
Behm's  Foggy  November  Day.  A  work  that  is 
attracting  much  attention,  and  that  is  almost 
Corotesque  in  feeling,  is  The  Midsummer  Night  by 
Knut  Borgh.  This  young  painter  is  one  of  the  two 
youngest  landscape  artists  in  Sweden.  The  other. 
Miss  Esther  Almqvist,  whose  work  is  likewise 
deserving  of  notice,  shows  sympathy  and  decorative 
sentiment  in  her  Full  Moon  in   Tulv.     Another  of 


"MOTHER   AND   DAUGHTBR " 


BY   CARL    LARSSON 
55 


Swedish  Art  at  St.  Louis 


the  several  women-artists  of  Sweden  is  the  land- 
scapist  Charlotte  Wahlstrom,  whose  clever  technique 
is  admirably  depicted  in  her  Summer  Evening. 
Among  other  painters  of  the  younger  "set"  in 
landscape  painting,  Messrs.  Carl  Johanson  and 
Gustaf  Ancarcrona  are  rapidly  carving  for  them- 
selves enviable  positions,  and  both  of  these  excel- 
lent painters  ought  to  win  high  renown  ere 
long. 

In  the  case  of  portrait  workers  the  list  is  not  so 
numerous  as  among  landscape  artists.  Further- 
more, the  only  element  of  incompleteness  in  the 
whole  collection  is  felt  in  the  absence  of  examples 
from  such  masters  as  Prof.  Count  von  Rosen,  Prof. 
Julius  Kronberg,  Richard  Bergh,  Emerik  Stenberg, 
and  some  others.  However,  the  works  by  some  ot 
the  younger  men  partially  compensate  for  this  defici- 
ency. Of  these,  Olle  Hjortzberg,  the  very  youngest 
of  all,  who  holds  the  Stockholm  Art  Academy 
"  stipendium,"  has  presented  an  exceedingly  striking 
subject  in  The  Holy  Maiden  on  Her  Way  to  the 
Temple  (page  58).  Wilhelm  Smith,  also  scarcely 
beyond  his  student  and  still  in  his  travelling  years, 
selects  his  incident  from  types  and  scenery  of 
Southern  Europe.  Already  his  paintings  are  being 
purchased  for  the  museums  of  Stockholm  and 
Gothenburg,  and  his  countrymen  predict  much  for 
his  future.     The  (Jsterman  twin  brothers,  who  are 


gaining  excellent  success  in  their  special  line  of 
portraiture,  exhibit  four  works  each.  Emil 
Osterman,  "  the  King  painter,"  shows  a  frank, 
intelligent  example  of  brush-work  in  his  portrait  of 
the  landscape  painter,  "  J."  The  inimitable  Zom 
is  honoured  by  the  space  of  nearly  half  a  room 
being  devoted  to  his  work,  the  larger  proportion  of 
which  consists  of  portraits,  although  some  ideal 
compositions  are  among  the  number.  His  Bathing 
Girl  is  a  treatment  of  restless,  easy  movement,  of 
warm  sunshine  and  of  natural,  glowing  life.  The 
drawing.  Mother  and  Daughter^  by  Carl  Larsson, 
possesses  a  delightful  charm  of  simplicity  and 
truth,  a  feature  that  is  apparent  in  all  the  admir- 
able works  he  is  exhibiting.  Exhibits  by  Gustaf 
Wallen,  Fanny  Brate,  Lotten  Bonnkvist,  with 
a  number  of  others,  are  worthy  of  mention,  and 
help  to  put  Sweden  far  to  the  front  in  the  modern 
art  world. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  greater  exponent  of  Swedish 
ait  at  its  best  than  the  clever  and  resourceful 
painter  of  wild  animals,  Bruno  Liljefors,  a  man 
who  even  in  the  days  of  his  less  impressionistic 
work  sought  only  for  truth,  and  who  succeeded  in 
breathing  into  his  creations  something  that  was  more 
than  the  mere  suggestion  of  nature.  His  paintings  were 
the  very  essence  and  spirit  of  life,  which  he  declared 
to  us  through  his  noble  colouring  and  his  wonderful 


'  EAGLE   AND    HARE 
56 


BY    BRUNO   LILJEFORS 


Swedish  Art  at  St.  Louis 


"THE   EVENING   STAR" 


BY  GOTTFRIED   KALLSTENIUS 


sense  of  movement.  His  Eagle  and  Hare  at  St. 
Louis  is  considered  one  of  his  strongest  examples. 
In  the  sculpture  group  in  this  section  there  is 
one  work  by  a  young  and  comparatively  unknown 
artist — a  lady — which  proclaims,  in  its  chaste, 
beautiful  lines,  a  message  of  dignity,  of  sweetness 
and  even  grandeur.  It  is  called  The  Annunciation, 
and  is  executed  by  Miss  Sigrid  Blomberg.  In 
quite  another  style  is  the  Caliban  by  David 
Ekstrom,  another  of  the  younger  sculptors.  To 
this  class  also  belong  the  talented  brother  and 
sister,  Carl  and  Ruth  Mills,  who  each  exhibit  a 
number  of  admirable  subjects.  Stormy  Day  in 
Holland  by  the  brother,  and  Yvonne  by  the  sister, 
are  both  technically  very  fine.  The  three  busts  in 
porcelain  by  Herman  Neujd  attract  much  attention. 
Teodor  Lundberg's  Ikaros  and  Wave  and  the  Sea 
are  magnificent  works,  which  well  deserve  the 
admiration  they  are  receiving ;  and  the  splendidly 
executed  bronzes  by  Gustaf  Lindberg  evince  a 
genial  charm  that  is  gratifying  indeed.  Then  that 
powerful  piece  of  modelling,  presented  by  Prof. 
Borjeson,  in  a  bronze  representation  of  The  Muser, 
is  only  one  out  of  eighteen  superb  contributions 
by  a  man  who  has  an  intelligent  and  decisive 
command  of  his  craft.     The  Muser  is  a  masterly 


conception ;  it  suggests  the  eternal  problem  of 
existence,  expressed  in  the  meditative  attitude  of 
the  strong,  sculptural  figure  resting  eflfectively  on 
a  large  sphere.  The  composition  also  has  been 
so  subtly  managed  as  to  collect  the  interest  in  a 
cumulative  manner,  and  finally  to  centre  directly 
in  and  about  the  head  as  the  objective  point. 
The  seriousness,  the  philosophic  aspect  of  this 
work  are  impressive  in  their  spontaneous  directness, 
and  in  recognising  these  characteristics  the  earnest 
student  is  reminded  of  but  two  of  the  many  great 
fundamentals  belonging  to  the  type  of  Swedish 
art. 

The  opportunity  of  becoming  better  acquainted 
with  the  inspiring  style  of  present-day  Swedish  art 
is  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  art  in  America,  and 
for  its  privilege  the  art  lovers  of  the  United  States 
feel  themselves  deeply  indebted  to  the  St.  Louis 
Exposition  of  1904. 

M.  I.  G.  O. 

[For  the  illustrations  to  the  above  article  we  are 
indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  the  directors  of  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  Company  who  have 
kindly  allowed  us  the  use  of  their  copyright  photo- 
graphs.— Editor,  The  Studio.] 

57 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


"THE    HOLY    MAIDEN    ON  HY    OLLE    IIJ  OR  I  ZlitK 

HER   WAY   TO   THE  TEMPLE  " 
{See  article  "  Swedish  Art  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition  " ) 


s 


TUDIO  COMPETITION.   A.  LXII. 

Design  for  a  Row  of  three  Labourers' 
Cottages. 


as  halls  and  quaintly-devised  ingle- 
nooks.  Our  instruction  that  the  ele- 
ment of  cost  would  be  a  strong  factor 
in  the  adjudication  of  the  award  should 
have  been  the  starting-point  in  con- 
sidering the  problem,  and  should  have 
been  sufficient  to  indicate  an  eco- 
nomical arrangement  of  plan,  and  a 
simple  treatment  of  elevational  features. 
The  imaginary  client  for  whom  the 
drawings  may  be  supposed  to  have 
been  prepared  clearly  conditioned  the 
whole  design  by  the  statement  as  to 
economy,  and  we  regret  that  non  com- 
pliance with  this  consideration  has 
ruled  so  many  of  the  competitors  out 
of  the  category  of  possible  prize- 
winners. 


In  this  competition  we  are  glad  to  be  able  once 
more  to  recognise  a  full  and  interesting  response  on 
the  part  of  our  body  of  competitors.  We  again  asked 
them  to  submit  drawings  embodying  their  thought 
as  applied  to  the  designing  of  cottages,  but  we 
made  their  path  easier  by  drawing  a  sharp  and 
decisive  dividing-line  separating  the  small  week-end 
home  of  the  man-of  ease  from  the  cottage  of  the 
worker — such  as  the  farm-labourer  and  the  gardener. 
Clear  though  we  meant  this  line  to  be,  we  cannot 
honestly  say  that  all  the  competitors  maintained  it, 
and  several  of  the  designs  included  such  luxuries 

S8 


'THE    MUSER"  by    professor    KORJESON 

(See  article  "Swedish  Art  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition  " ) 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


I  A°tiS°'>^  "  "IT  °1iTDR.Ff -iAB°m!t-riRir°C°TTA<.E/'j 

LABOrRERS'    COTTAGES    (FIRST    PRIZE    COMT.    A    L\II) 


SIHB 


The  response  to  the  competition  was  so  large 
that  we  do  not  propose,  on  this  occasion,  to  pass  in 
view  each  and  every  one  of  the  designs  submitted, 
but  we  have  made  a  careful  selection  from  them, 
and  proceed  this  month  to  deal  with  the  first  instal- 
ment of  these. 

Sammy  (page  63)  sends  a  set  vigorously  drawn 
in  brown  ink.  Like  many  others  of  the  com- 
petitors—nearly all,  in  fact — he  disregards  the 
annoying  condition  insisted  on  by  many  local 
authorities  under  which  the  party-wall  must  be  carried 
above  the  roof.  This  would  be  fatal  to  his  dove- 
tailing arrangement  of  bedrooms.  The  plan  and 
elevation  are  both  alike  simple  and  well  thought 
out ;  but  it  hardly  seems  likely  that  the  ^50 
allowed  in  his  estimate  would  be  sufficient  to  cover 
the  cost  of  drains,  fences,  and  water-supply.  TyroFs 
plan  (page  62)  has  the  advantage  of  providing  his 
hypothetical  tenants  with  a  bath,  which  is  an  excel- 
lent arrangement,  and  is  here  placed  in  the  kitchen, 
in  the  floor  of  which  it  is  sunk.  Too  few  of  the 
competitors  have  considered  this  point.  The  nine- 
inch  exterior  walls  have  reduced  the  cost  of  this 
design,  but  we  cannot  say  that  they  always  prove 
efficacious  in  keeping  out  the  weather.  The  design 
of  Alex  (page  64)  is  drawn  with  a  very  pleasant 
feeling.  We  cannot  be  sure  of  the  construction  of 
the  overhanging  walls  of  the  first  floor.     It  seems 


to  be  asking  projecting  joists  to  do  rather  much 
when  they  are  supposed  to  carry  both  walls  and 
roof.  The  arrangement  of  massing  the  w.c.'s 
together  is  far  from  satisfactory.  The  small 
scullery,  which  just  takes  the  sink,  is  a  good 
feature  in  his  plan,  seeing  that  cottagers  so  largely 
live  in  their  kitchens.  In  Sandy's  set  (page  65)  the 
bedroom  over  the  kitchen  (as  presumably  the 
others)  has  but  four  feet  in  height  from  floor  to 
plate  of  sloping  roof.  The  ground-floor  project- 
ing windows  could  not  be  roofed  and  ceiled  in 
the  small  moulding  shown.  Stan  sends  a  vigorous 
perspective  which  we  illustrate  on  this  page,  in 
which  a  happy  effect  is  obtained  by  eaves  of 
considerable  projection,  while  his  scale  drawing 
(page  60),  shows  a  back  elevation  which  would 
work  out  effectively.  The  plan  is  good  and  com- 
pact, and  the  staircase,  though  a  separate  feature, 
is  economically  treated  as  regards  space.  The 
scullery  recess  leading  out  of  the  kitchen  is  a 
good  arrangement.  Many  of  the  competitors  have 
planned  the  scullery  as  a  room  of  some  size.  This 
is  unnecessary,  as  all  that  is  wanted  in  such  cottages 
is  a  recess  large  enough  to  hold  a  sink  and  a 
worker,  and  thus  prevent  the  floor  of  the  kitchen 
from  being  splashed  during  "  washing  up."  We 
could  wish  that  Stan  had  provided  the  bath  that  so 
many    estate    proprietors     now    insist    on    as    a 

59 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


■fi&nl"    ricsotir 


•  Exi  fWitiw 


firiTjrvci     ffini^  - 


•  feb_(Wf| 


-j-r-6~fc.  «i,t^ 


labourers'   cottages    {second    PRIZE:    COMP.    A    LXII) 


BY    "  ANGELINA 


labourers'   cottages   (HON.    MENTION:   COiU'.    A    I.XIl) 


LY    "  ROSAMUND' 

6t 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


FKOHT     CLCVATIOn 


EWK      ELCVATK 


'Hit  ;>miii'  tissn  ro  toll  umcwj'  m&\ 


BV    TTtCOl. 


labourers'    cottages   (HON.    MENTION  :    COMP.    A   LXll) 
62 


BY    "TYROL 


Designs  for  Labourers'  Cottages 


'^<^-,Va:.;.; 


Hi 

m.^-  JZZr 

ji 

^ 

labourers'    cottages    (HON.     MENTION  ;    COMP.    A    LXII) 


SKT-TCH  Dl-,.^lt,N  riraROWoi- 


l.ABOURKRS'    COTTAr.KS    (HON.    MENTION  :    COMP.    A    LXII) 


63 


Designs  for  Labourers   Cottages 

^.^^^^=5=^  par w  A  '^r  i^  # 


»rit 


qpvnp 

UAH. 


labourers'    cottages    (HON.    MENTION  :   COMP.    A    LXIl) 


BY    "  DOGROSK" 


labourers'    COTTAGES    (HON.    MENTION  :    COMP.    A    LXIl) 


64 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


CfpnnD  fULt                  " "  " 
--?■      < ' 

labourers'    cottages    (HON.     MENTION  :    COMP.    A    LXU) 


Oc^lc  8^.11:,^„^  JK^ck 


:  °a_L.€.^  '■Cr'..^^t^M.,.^ 


^s.n 


'.  "ircfi^j  .,!„„(,.  i.<» 


.'.    \ 


/s 


/  ^-M  Ymt^  \jm/^  \  F^  i 


i!g(aj»         ffiSiSn' 


)lf     "sSJaJS"     ~1 


f>  >...., - 

«^ —  --  ■/ 

LABOUKEFS'   COTTAGES   (HON.    MENTION  ;   COMF.    A    LXIl) 


•J  i.4c,;..u._i 


n,v. 


.f)«n<i 


2/ 

BY   "sandy' 

65 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


'■nil-      . ,  ■''  "•,  '-.■.■'iiii''in' 


labourers'   cottages    (HON.    MENTION  :    COMP.    A   LXIl) 


necessity.  Dogroae  (page  64)  errs  on  the  extra  va- 
gant  side  in  providing  a  special  bath-room.  His 
semi-circular  gables  and  redbrick  quoins  would  be 
a  happy  elevational  feature,  but  we  hardly  approve 
of  his  huge  stone  slab  below  the  chimney  cap. 
This  would  collect  wet  and  only  increase  the 
difficulty  always  experienced  in  preventing  it  from 
descending  the  shaft.  The  pretty  little  drawing 
of  Caliban  (on  this  page)  suggests  very  pleasantly 


a  group  possessing  true 
cottage  feeling,  but  a 
lead  flat  and  a  V-gutter 
are  things  to  avoid  as 
far  as  possible.  The 
design  sent  by  Pierrot 
(page  67)  has  a  very 
engaging  little  perspec- 
tive sketch,  and  a  plan 
showing  considerable 
ingenuity.  Bedrooms 
18  ft.  long,  two  w.c.'s,  and 
a  first-floor  bath-room, 
all,  however,  suggest 
the  middle  -  class  villa, 
rather  than  the  working- 
man's  cottage.  The  plan, 
sent  by  Tulip  (page  63) 
has  taken  into  considera- 
tion, which  few  of  the 
others  have,  that  it  is 
necessary,  or,  at  all  events, 
desirable  for  the  occupant  of  the  middle  of 
three  cottages  to  reach  his  back  garden  or  yard, 
as  the  case  may  be,  without  crossing  that 
of  his  next  -  door  neighbour.  It  does  not 
indicate,  by  the  bye,  how  it  is  proposed 
to  light  the  staircases.  The  scullery  is  somewhat 
difficult  of  access  from  the  kitchen.  Stem  (page  65), 
shows  a  washhouse  approached  from  the  kitchen — 
never   a    very    wise    thing,   as  giving  opportunity 


BY    "CALIBAN' 


Tfo  tumvon 


MCK    r:iJ"-V/3iTic>i 


GfexiriD  pi^n 


mn  CLhVffl'lO/"! 


labourers'   cottages   (HON.    MENTION  :    COMP.    A   LXn) 

66 


UPPK  TLOOR  PW\ 

BY     "CflLIOAfj" 
BY    "  CALIBAN 


studio-  Talk 


BY    BHJROT 


P^ld^   f^    THI^  J^Bou^E^     @^<^ 


;  je!vw'-*»e°:  'a'-'a'  : 


labourers'    cottages    (HOX.    mention  ;    COM!'.    A    LXIl) 


.j?it,   -r  :^'n 


-     -Si*!?,    "^    P1A«3     t 
"       -       -       -       ■ 


BY    "  PIERROT  ' 


or  the  house  to  become  full  of  steam  on  washing- 
day.  The  pantry,  by  which  one  may  imagine  he 
means  larder,  is,  in  each  case,  some  distance  from 
the  kitchen.  Angelina's  plan  (page  6i)  is  simple 
and  well-contrived,  and  by  a  little  ingenuity  it 
might  have  been  arranged  that  the  doors  of  the 
back  bedrooms  of  the  left-hand  house  were  more 
than  about  two  feet  wide.  The  elevation  is  quiet 
and  cottage-like.  Jiosamund  {]3a.gti  6i)  has  obtained 
a  pleasant  effect  by  imagining  a  fall  of  eighteen 
inches  or  so  in  the  level  of  the  ground.  The  plan 
is  simple,  and  the  house  would  be  inexpensive, 
though  we  hardly  think  it  could  be  carried  out  at 
so  low  a  price  as  ^\d.  a  foot. 

(To  be  coiitintted. ) 

STUDIO-TALK 

(From  our  own  Correspondents) 

LONDON. — The  Academy  is  said  to  be 
contemplating  a  revival  of  the  class  of 
members  known  as  Associate-Engravers, 
which  has  been  allowed  for  some  con- 
siderable time  to  remain  without  representatives. 
In  past  years  many  of  the  more  distinguished  men 
who  practised  the  art  of  engraving  were  elected  to  the 
.Associateship  and  were  accorded  by  the  Academy 
the  recognition  which  was  due  to  them  on  their 
merits.  One  of  these  men,  Mr.  Stacpoole,  is  indeed 
still  living,  but  he  has  been  for  a  long  time  on  the 
retired   list  and  no  longer  follows  his  profession. 


Engravers  of  his  type  are  not  now  to  be  found  ; 
their  place  has  been  taken  by  the  etchers  and 
workers  in  mezzotint,  who  are  certainly  producing 
things  which  are  in  their  particular  way  quite  as 
worthy  of  attention  as  the  engravings  in  line  or 
stipple  which  were  in  fashion  generations  ago.  As 
line  engraving  is  now  a  dead  art  the  new  Associate- 
Engravers  will  have  to  be  drawn  from  the  ranks  of 
the  etchers  and  mezzotinters,  and  it  will  be  interest- 
ing to  see  whom  out  of  the  many  fine  craftsmen 
who  are  available  the  Academy  chooses.  If  it 
follows  precedent,  it  will  presumably  prefer  workers 
in  mezzotint,  for  they  are  now,  like  the  line 
engravers  of  other  days,  the  reproducers  of  pictures 
old  and  new,  and  the  translators  of  popular 
paintings  into  black  and  white.  But  if  original 
engravers  are  required  they  will  have  to  be  sought 
among  the  etchers,  of  whom  there  are  many  who 
well  deserve  admission  to  Burlington  House. 
Indeed,  the  difficulty  will  be  not  so  much  to  find 
suitable  candidates  for  the  two  Associateships 
which  are  to  be  filled,  as  to  make  the  right  selection 
from  the  crowd  of  men  who  are  available. 

The  intention  of  the  Academy  to  include  in  its 
winter  exhibition  a  representative  collection  of  the 
works  of  O  F.  Watts  is  entirely  to  be  commended. 
If,  as  presumably  will  be  the  case,  it  takes  care  to 
secure  a  really  adequate   display  of  his  petform- 

67 


Studio-Talk 


ances  at  the  various  periods  of  his  long  career,  the 
demonstration  of  the  powers  of  an  artist  who  ranks 
deservedly  among  our  chief  masters  ought  to  be 
particularly  convincing.  The  contributions  made 
by  Mr.  Watts  to  British  art  in  imaginative  composi- 
tion, landscape,  and  portraiture,  have  been  so 
valuable  and  so  important  that  he  is  entitled  to 
extraordinary  consideration  ;  and  the  Academy,  of 
which  he  was  so  long  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
members,  should  treat  his  works  with  the  utmost 
respect.  It  should  not  be  difficult  to  fill  the 
galleries  at  Burlington  House  with  his  productions, 
and  if  this  is  done  we  shall   be  spared  for  once  the 


LANCASTRIAN        POTTKRY 

DESIGNED    BV   W.   BURTON 
EXECUTED    BY   THE    PILKINGTON 
TII.E   AND    rOTTERY   CO. 


infliction  of  such  shows  of  inartistic   curiosities  as 
have  been  presented  there  during  the  last  few  winters. 


■  LANCASTRIAN        POTTERY 

DESIGNED    BY  W.  BURTON 
EXECUTED  BY  THE  PILKINGTON 
TILE    AND    POTTERY    CO. 


From  the  few  facts  which  have  been  allowed 
to  leak  out  concerning  the  doings  of  the  Academy 
during  the  past  season,  it  would  appear  that  the 
effect  upon  that  institution  of  the  Chantrey  agitation 
has  been  decidedly  beneficial.  The  number  of 
visitors  to  the  spring  exhibition  was  greater  by 
many  thousands  than  it  was  in  1903,  and  there 
was  consequently  a  considerable  increase  in  receipts. 
As  the  season  was  not  particularly  favourable  for 
indoor  shows,  and  as  the  exhibition  itself  had  no 
sensational  features  which  would  be  likely  to  please 
the  general  public,  this  accession  of  prosperity 
could  only  have  been  due  to  the  advertisement 
given  to  the  Academy  by  the  proceedings  in  the 
House  of  Lords.  It  is  worth  noting,  however, 
that  though  there  were  more  visitors  than  usual  to 


68 


Studio-  Talk 


the  galleries,  the  sales  were  decidedly  below  the 
average,  so  that  obviously  the  people  who  came 
were  inspired  more  by  curiosity  than  by  any  idea 
of  art  patronage.  Possibly  the  very  popularity  of 
the  show  made  it  unsuccessful  as  a  market.  The 
collector  is  a  shy  person  who  likes  to  ruminate 
in  solitude,  and  he  is  apt  to  be  scared  by  a 
crowd.  It  is  very  likely  that  some  such  reason  as 
this  accounts  for  the  notorious  inefficiency  of  the 
Academy  as  a  selling  place;  the  man  with  money 
will  not  come  there  to  be  jostled  by  thousands  of 
sightseers  whose  only  feeling  is  curiosity. 


The  efforts  that  have  been  made  in  recent  years, 
both  in  Europe  and  America,  to  improve  the 
potter's  art  have  been  undoubtedly  commendable, 
and  the  worker  in  clay  is  probably  at  the  present 
time  nearer  the  true  understanding  of  the  art  of  his 
craft  than  has  been  the  case  for  many  years  past. 
Honour  is  due  to  France  for  the  first  important 
lead  given  to  the  movement,  and  France  was 
inspired  in  her  work  by  a  careful    study   of   the 


VASE    liN    "  LANCASTRIA.N  "    lOTTKRY 

DESIGNED    BY    W.   BURTON 
E.XKCUTED   BY   THE  I'lLKINGTON 
TII.E   AND    fOTTBRV   CO. 


ROYAL    COPENHAGEN    POTTERY       BY    V.    ENGELHORDT 

ancient  wares  of  Japan  and  China.  Delaherche, 
Bigot,  and  Dammouse  are  among  the  names  which 
stand  prominent  as  leaders  in  the  modern  move- 
ment, and  in  consequence  of  their  initial  efforts 
ceramists  in  Clermany,  Holland,  Denmark,  America, 
and  England  have  been  encouraged  to  new  enter- 
prise. 

We  hive,  at  various  times,  in  the  pages  of  The 
Studio,  referred  to  modern  pottery  wares  of  more 
than  ordinary  merit.  Among  the  best  of  the  recent 
productions  are  some  examples  made  at  the  works 
of  the  Pilkington  Tile  and  Pottery  Company,  under 
the  supervision  of  Mr.  William  Burton  and  his 
brother,  Mr.  Joseph  Burton.  At  an  exhibition  of 
this  pottery,  recently  held  at  (iraves'  Callery  in 
London,  some  very  distinguished  examples  of 
crystalline  glazes  were  exhibited  of  a  similar  niture 
to  those  so  successfully  produced  some  years  ago 
by  M.  Bigot,  and  since  also  essayed  by  many  other 
potters.  Messrs.  Burton  claim,  however,  to  have 
introduced  new  effects,  and  the  results  attained  by 
them  are  of  much  interest.    The  s[)ecimens  of  mixed 

6.; 


Studio-Talk 


ROYAL  COPENHAGEN  POTTERY 


colour  glazes  also  shown  by  them  were  very  delicate 
in  their  colour  harmonies,  and  displayed  remark- 


able skill  in  manipulation. 
The  "orange  skin,"  "egg- 
shell," and  "  fruit  skin  " 
glazes,  as  well  as  their 
"  metallic  "  and  "  trans- 
mutation "glazes,  included 
many  beautiful  examples, 
and  showed  how  very 
closely  their  Chinese  pro- 
totypes have  been  imi- 
tated. The  whole  exhibi- 
tion was  one  of  unusual 
merit,  and  reflected  the 
highest  credit  upon  the 
potters  responsible  for  the 
several  pieces.  Since  the 
work  of  Mr.  Taylor,  of 
Birmingham,      no     more 

successful  examples  of  glazed  pottery  have  been 

produced  in  England. 


DESIGNED    IIY    PROF.    ARNOLD   KROG 
GLAZING    BY    V.    ENGELHORDT 


I'OLAR    BEAKS 


ROYAL    COPENHA(.K.N     I'OTTERY    WARE 


DESIGNED   BY    C.    F.    LISBERG 
GLAZING    BY    V.    ENGELHORDT 


70 


n^ 


STUDY   FOR   A   DECORATIVE    PANEL,    by   FRANK    BRANGWYN,  A.R.A. 


Studio-  Talk 


POTTERY    WARE 


The  Royal  Porcelain  Works  of  Copenhagen  have 
in  recent  years  been  experimenting  in  glazes,  with 
the  result  that  they  have  succeeded  in  producing 
upon  porcelain  some  entirely  new  effects  which 
reflect  the  highest  credit 
on  their  potters.  Their 
modelled  pieces  are  of 
unusual  excellence,  and 
the  example  we  are 
enabled  to  illustrate  of 
two  Polar  bears  upon 
an  ice  floe  is  a  master- 
piece of  the  potter's  art. 
Another  Danish  potter, 
Mr.  C.  V.  Kjer,  whose 
productions  are  in  a 
softer  clay,  has  produced 
some  most  successful  ex- 
amples of  p'itesur-pate, 
in  which  the  modelling  is 
especially  good. 


A.  Miles,  designs  for  tapestry  by  Katherine  Lyon, 
book  illustrations  by  J.  C.  Moody,  and  a  majolica 
plaque  by  Esther  E.  Tatlow. 


We  give  some  further 
illustrations  of  works  ex- 
hibited at  the  recent  ex- 
hibition of  the  National 
Competition  of  Schools 
of  Art  at  South  Kensing- 
ton. These  include  an 
embroidered  panel  by 
Irene  Allen,  a  leather 
blottercover     by    Clara 


E.MKKOIDKRED    I'ANKI. 


HV    IRENE   ALLEN 

73 


studio-  Talk 


LEATHER   BLOTTER-COVER 


The  panel  by  Mr.  Brangwyn,  A.R.A.,  which  is 
here  reproduced  in  colours,  has  notable  deco- 
rative qualities  and  rare  beauty  of  arrangement, 
and  yet  it  is  distinguished  by  that  wonderful  spon 
taneity  of  statement  and  freshness  of  manner  which 


give  a  peculiar  and  cha- 
racteristic charm  to  all  Mr. 
Brangwyn's  pictorial  per- 
formances. He  has  in  the 
highest  degree  the  power, 
which  stamps  the  accom- 
plished craftsman,  of  con 
cealing  the  more  or  less 
laborious  processes  by 
which  his  apparently  easy 
results  are  attained.  He 
never  labours,  and  he 
never  makes  any  display 
of  cleverness  for  its 
own  sake.  His  method, 
on  the  contrary,  is  per- 
fectly straightforward  and 
natural,  and  it  has  a 
frankness  that  is  pe- 
culiarly attractive.  In 
such  subjects  as  this,  he 
is  seen  absolutely  at  his 
best.  The  picturesqueness  and  the  decorative 
possibilities  of  modern  life  have  for  him  a  special 
meaning,  and  he  can  give  to  every-day  scenes  an 
artistic  significance  which  is  quite  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  ordinary   artist.     The    secret  of  his 


BY   CLARA    A.    MILES 

(PLYMOUTH   TECHNICAL   SCHOOL) 


IiKSIGN    FOK    TAI'HSTRY 


HY     KATIIEKINE    J.     lYON 
(NEW    CROSS) 


IiESICN    FOR    TAPESTRY 


BY    KATHERINE    J.    LYON 
(NEW    cross) 


Studio-  Talk 


success  lies  in  the  fact  that  he  is  by  habit  and 
instinct  a  designer,  and  knows  exactly  how  to 
subordinate  to  a  finely  conceived  general  scheme 
those  minor  details  which  a  mere  realist  would 
make  irritating  by  over-insistence.  In  Mr. 
Brangwyn's  work  there  is  never  anything  trivial. 
He  is  always  dignified,  strong,  and  thoughtful, 
always  striving  after  high  ideals,  and  always 
aiming  at  a  type  of  beauty  which  shall  be  im- 
pressive in  its  largeness  of  quality. 


BOOK    ILLUSTRATION 


BY  JOHN   C.    MOODY 

(REGE.NT  STREET    POLYTECHNIC) 


BOOK    11  1  rsl  KAI  II  IN 

BY  JOH.N   C.    MOOIJV 

(SEGENT  STREET   POLYTECHNIC) 


that  where  it  happens  it  is  with  pleasure  we 
allow  it  to  claim  our  attention.  Mr.  Fedden  is 
frankly  experimental.  Confining  himself  almost 
exclusively  to  the  practice  of  water-colours,  there 


From  among  the  younger  men 
who  this  season  have  challenged 
criticism  in  oneman-shows,  the 
work  of  Mr.  A.  Romilly  Fedden 
stands  out  as  that  of  a  painter 
having  the  secret  of  beautiful 
colour.  A  painter  may  possess 
this  secret  in  silence  or  at  least 
not  make  himself  heard  amongst 
all  the  cleverness  that  riots  through 
our  exhibitions,  unless  he  advertises 
his  work  by  its  eccentricity  or 
swims  in  with  cliques  whose  every 
exhibition  is  a  pose.  And  yet  it  is 
scarce  enough  for  a  painter  to 
harbour  a  little  refinement  in  many 
feet  of  coloured  canvas,  so  scarce 


BOOK   ILLUSTRATION  BY  J.  c.   MOOIiV  (REGENT  .STREET  POLYTECHNIC) 

75 


studio-  Talk 


MAJOLICA    PLAQUE 


BY   ESTHER   E.    TATLOW 
(WOLVERHAMPTON) 


the  effects  he  strives  for.  Though  his  pictures  are 
anything  but  laboured  it  is  evident  that  afterthoughts 
which  intensify  a  victory  too  easily  come  by  are 
not  excluded  from  his  work.  There  are  certain 
moods  in  nature  with  which  Mr.  Fedden  is  most  in 
tune,  as  may  be  said  of  any  painter  whose  art  is  not 
a  species  of  mechanical  scholarship  to  be  applied 
at  the  bidding  of  the  market.  Mr.  Fedden,  whilst 
concerning  himself  most  deliberately  with  these, 
which  may  be  said  to  be  the  more  evasive  moods, 
rocks  upon  which  the  ships  of  the  amateur  go 
down,  escapes  now  and  then  to  other  things,  and 
by  the  same  delicate  and  tentative  workmanship 
arrives  successfully  at  results  of  another  kind.  White 
buildings  and  heavy  trees  hiding  the  moon  have 
affected  his  imagination,  as  they  affect  the  imagi- 
nation of  Le  Sidaner.  Mr.  Fedden  has  something 
entirely  his  own  to  say  in  his  emotional  rendering 
of  window  lights  inlaid  like  gold  upon  the  houses, 
silver  in  the  light  of  the  moon. 


is  about  his  work  nothing  slick  or  defiantly 
easy,  but  a  real  effort  is  apparent  to  extract  from 
his  medium  the  utmost  that  careful  thought,  added 
to  his  instinctive  sympathy  with  it,  can  contribute  in 


Mr.  Fedden,  who  is  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Society  of  British  Artists,  studied  painting  at  the 
Herkomer  School.  Now  that  that  school  is  closing 
it    is    interesting   to   see  another    of   its   students 


■  CORNISH    COTTAGES 

76 


MOONLIGHT 


FROM    THE    WATER-COLOUR    BY    A.     ROMILLY    FEDDKN 


-r? 


studio-  Talk 


"an    ARAB    CAFE  ' 


FROM     IHE    WATER! 


KOMII.I.Y    KEDDEN 


Striking  out  into  the  open  field  of  art,  with  some- 
thing his  own  to  say  and  his  own  way  of  saying  it. 

LEICESTER.— The  Arts  and  Crafts  Exhi- 
bition held  during  August  and  Septem- 
ber at  Leicester  was  one  of  exceptional 
variety  and  interest.  It  was  contributed 
to  by  nearly  all  the  more  prominent  of  our  artist- 
craftsmen,  but  the  Leicester  element,  as  it  should 
be,  was  very  strong.  In  the  main  gallery  the 
architectural  drawings  of  Mr.  Edgar  Wood, 
A. R.I.B.A.,  the  designs  for  stained  glass  by  the 
brothers  Messrs.  Maurice  and  Edward  Detmold, 
and  the  high  quality  of  the  needlework,  attracted 
our  first  attention.  A  satin  table-centre  by  Miss 
Ann  Macbeth,  executed  by  Miss  Agnes  Skene,  and 
an  embroidered  screen  by  Miss  Frances  Pooley, 
Galled  for  particular  notice.  Mr.  Charles  Dawson 
contributed  some  book-plates,  and  of  a  high  order 
of  merit  was  the  ceremonial  silver  key  by  the 
Messrs.  T.  S.  and  E.  S.  Elgood  in  the  same  room. 


The  jewellery  by  Mr.  Joseph  M.  Doran,  Mr. 
Bernard  Cuzner,  Miss  Gertrude  Wadsworth,  Miss 
Eleanor    Hlagburn,  and   Miss    Mary    Barber,  and 


the  silver  clasps  of  Mr.  A.  Fowler,  show  how  busy 
our  best  designers  are  in  ousting  what  is  tawdry 
from  the  market  by  the  production  of  so  many 
beautiful  things. 

The  book-binding  exhibits  were  very  strong,  and 
we  reproduce  several  of  the  more  important  ones. 
Those  designed  by  Mr.  F.  Sangorski  and  executed 
by  Mr.  G.  Sutcliffe  were  of  an  order  that  places  them 
outside  the  run  of  such  work  by  the  distinction  and 
refinement  in  the  tooled  designs.  The  work  of 
Miss  Jessie  King,  Miss  Alice  Shepherd,  and  Mr. 
S.  Poole,  done  for  Mr.  Cedric  Chivers'  vellucent 
binding,  was  interesting,  as  work  in  this  method 
always  is,  especially  in  the  case  of  so  original  a 
designer  as  Miss  Jessie  King.  The  designs  of 
Mr.  J.  S.  H.  Bates,  too,  contributed  to  the  high  stan- 
dard of  this  section,  as  also  did  those  of  Mr.  Francis 
D.  Rye,  whose  bound  book  of  Morris'  "  Lecture " 
cannot  be  too  highly  praised.  Mr.  C.  H.  Lawford 
exhibited  a  very  attractive  and  altogether  pleasant 
scheme  for  a  mantel  piece,  with  frieze  and  grate, 
in  which  a  clock  by  Mr.  R.  Holloway  and  fender 
by  Messrs.  Elgood  were  included  ;  its  sim- 
plicity of  arrangement   and    design   is    something 

79 


Studio-Talk 


.  .„,^,2-^^^>'^ 


A    GIRL  S    HEAD 


FROM   THE   PENCIL   DRAWING    BY   A.    ROMILLY    FEDDEN 


attracted  by  the  designs 
for  leaded  lights  by  Mr. 
Alexander  Gascoyne,  and 
the  designs  by  Mr.  Robert 
Evans,  executed  by  Mr.  R. 
Holloway,  notably  their  pro- 
cessional cross.  On  the  first 
floor  the  chestnut  four- post 
bedstead,  with  hangings,  by 
Mr.  Ambrose  Heal,  jun., 
executed  by^  Messrs.  Heal 
&  Son,  and  some  of  the 
other  pieces  of  furniture 
designed  for  this  firm,  were 
full  of  novelty  and  interest 
and  of  high  quality  from 
the  stand-point  of  design. 
There  was  a  beautifully 
shaped  tea-table  by  Mr. 
George  Walton,  and  by 
him  also  a  cabinet  and 
chairs,  restrained  and  use- 
ful in  design,  as  well  as  ex- 
cellent examples  of  sten- 
cilled linen  by  the  same 
clever  designer.  The 
tapestries  by  Mr.  Cecil 
Millar,  for  Messrs.  Morton 
&  Co.,  especially  the  wool 
tapestry,  Dunkeld,  were 
worthy  of  note,  as  were 
also  those  executed  by  the 


to  be  emulated  in 
schemes  of  this  kind. 
We  have  an  especial  word 
of  praise  for  the  clock  by 
Mr.  Holloway.  There  is 
a  debased  form  of  origin- 
ality in  vogue  in  these 
things  that  nullifies  their 
usefulness,  but  in  Mr.  Hol- 
loway's  design  the  return 
to  the  steel  hands  and 
white  face  with  simple 
figures,  whilst  forming  a 
pleasant  contrast  with  the 
brass  clock,  makes  it  a 
sensible  thing  of  beauty. 


In   other    parts    of  the 
galleries  our  attention  was 
80 


DESIGN    FOR   STAINED   GLASS:    "AFRICA' 


BY    MAURICE    DETMOLD 


studio-  Talk 


LEADED   LIGHT 


BY   A.    GASCOYNE 


Birmingham  Guild  of  Handicraft,  Ltd.,  from  the 
designs  of  Mr.  W.  Halford  and  Mr.  A.  S.  Dixon. 
Excellent  also  was  the  three-fold  screen,  with  panels 
in  needle  work,  designed  by  Mr.  R.  J.  S.  Bertram  and 
executed  by  Miss  Dorothy  Longstaff  and  Mr.  John 
Thompson.  On  the  staircase  the  card-cases  embos- 
sed by  Miss  Alice  Shepherd  attracted  our  attention. 
Other  things  in  the  exhibition  which  called  for  recog- 
nition were  the  colour-print  designs  by  Miss  L.  M. 
Glazier,  the  designs  for  the  exterior  and  interior  of 
Parr's  Bank,  Leicester,  by  Messrs.  Everard  and  Pick, 
proofs  of  drawings  for  "  Highways  and  Byways  of 
Shakespeare's  Country"  (not  yet  published)  by  Mr. 
E.  H.  New,  and  his  pen-drawings  for  "  Haunts  of 
Ancient  Peace  "  ;  and  of  especial  interest  were  the 
designs  of  Mr.  Heywood  Sumner  for  the  sgraffito  and 
mosaic  decoration  of  the  side  apse  of  St.  Agatha's, 
Landport,  and  the  colour-sketch  for  sgraffito 
decoration  of  the  central  apse,  and  designs 
for  stained  glass.      The  case  of  jewellery  designed 


by  Mr.  J.  ^^'.  Moore,  and  executed  by  himself 
and  Mr.  T.  Collins,  the  case  of  pendants, 
containing  miniatures  by  Mr.  Joseph  E.  Southall, 
the  Greek  lace  on  Langdale  hand-woven  linen, 
designed  by  Mr.  Southall  and  executed  by 
Mrs.  Southall,  and  the  Ruskin  ware  by  Mr.  W. 
Howson  Taylor,  which  latter  was  to  be  met 
with  in  various  parts  of  the  exhibition :  these 
things,  together  with  works  sent  from  the  Essex 
House  Press,  and  the  original  designs  for  wall- 
papers by  Mr.  \\'alter  Crane,  all  helped  to  bring  the 
Exhibition  up  to  that  very  high  standard  which,  to 
the  credit  of  everyone  connected  with  its  arrange- 
ment, it  attained.  A  unique  contrast  was  given  to 
the  Exhibition  by  the  inclusion  of  Japanese  and 
Indian  embroideries,  English  pottery,  Sheffield 
plate,  etc.,  and  a  room  of  English  eighteenth-century 
furniture,  lent  by  the  courtesy  of  private  collectors 
to  the  Exhibition.  Opportunity  was  thus  given 
the  student  to  compare  the  products  of  his   own 


silver  ceremonial  key 

designed  by  thomas  s    ei.gogd 
executed  by  e.  s.  elgood 

Si 


Studio-  Talk 


HAIR    ORNAMENT 


BY  J.   M.  DORAN 


time  with  work  produced  under  conditions  and  in 
times  so  different.  The  object-lesson  of  the 
eighteenth-century  furniture  should  be  of  especial 
value  as  a  corrective  to  a  tendency  on  the  part  of 
modern  designers  to  ignore  the  laws  of  proportion 
and  construction.  T.  M.  W. 


Brangwyn,  A.R.A.,  a  dark-toned  London  Bridge, 
touched  with  something  of  the  sombre  spirit 
that  marks  Mr.  Muhrmann's  work  which  is 
also  represented,  while  two  examples  of  M. 
Le  Sidaner's  glimmering  landscape,  one  of  them 
fuller  and  more  coherent  in  technique  than 
is  usual  with  him,  and  a  fine  water-colour  by 
M.  Bloomers  represent  two  phases  of  continental 
practice  ;  but  apart  from  these  and  pictures  by  Mr. 
J.  C.  Noble  and  Mr.  Robert  Macgregor,  the 
interest    of  the  exhibition    lies  in    the    work    of 


HAIR    ORNAMENTS    IN 
ENAMEL  AND    SILVER 


KV    JOSEl'H    M.    DORAN 


members  of  the  Society.  Mr.  Campbell  Mitchell 
the  chairman,  whose  election  as  A.R.S.A.  was  re- 
ferred to  here  a   few    months   ago,   shows  a  low- 


E 


DINBURGH.— 
While  this  year's 
exhibition  of  the 
Society  of  Scot- 
tish Artists  lacks  the  dis- 
tinction previous  shows 
have  occasionally  attained 
through  the  presence  of 
noble  or  notable  loan  works 
in  sculpture  or  painting,  it 
has  its  own  features  of 
interest.  Mr.  McTaggart, 
one  of  the  honorary  vice- 
presidents,  has  sent  a  de 
lightfully  fresh  and  spon- 
taneous picture  of  children 
romping  in  a  lily-gemmed 
garden,  and  Mr.  Frank 
82 


POTTERY    WARE 


BY    HOWSON    TAYLOR 


Studio-  Talk 


a numberof Orchard  scenes, 
over-brovNTi  in  colour  and 
lacking  in'  atmosphere  but 
very  dexterously  painted  : 
and  Mrs.  R.  B.  Nesbit, 
Mr.  Ford  and  Mr.  R.  D. 
Herdman  show  good  por- 
traits. The  first  room  con- 
tains some  charming  water- 
colours,  such  as  the  wonder- 
ful drawings  of  wild-flowers 
and  grasses  by  Mr.  Edwin 


DESIGNED    l;V  A.MliROsE    HEAI. 


hoiizoned  moorland,  lying  in  the  shadow  of  a  cloud- 
piled  sky,  which  is  not  only  the  most  important 
picture  he  has  painted  as  yet,  but  is,  in  its  own 
way,  one  of  the  finest  landscapes  produced  in 
Scotland  of  recent  years.  Several  of  his  smaller 
pictures  are  marked  by  similar  fine  qualities,  and 
the  time  seems  come  when  this  artist  should  be 
hailed  as  arrive.  A  big  ploughing  scene  by  Mr. 
George  Smith,  if  not  quite  so  satisfactory  as  the 
Kiwckbreck  Moor,  is  also  an  admirable  perform- 
ance, well  conceived  and  designed  and  powerfully 
drawn  and  painted  ;  and  the  Lech  Fyne  of  Mr. 
Mason  Hunter,  although  somewhat  clumsy  in 
drawing  and  heavy  in  handling,  is  perhaps  the 
completest  thing  he  has  done  and  a  very  full 
expression  of  his  preferences  in  subject  and  design, 
technique  and  colour.  These  are  the  most  out- 
standing works  in  virtue  of  size  and  in  relationship 
to  the  declared  aim  of  the  society  "  to  stimulate  the 
younger  artists  to  produce  more  important  works," 
but  there  are  others  calling  for  special  praise.  Mr. 
Robert  Burns's  The  Ring,  for  instance,  simple  as  it 
is  in  motive,  is  one  of  his  most  successful  studies, 
and  shows  a  greater  range  of  tone  than  he  has 
usually  used,  ana  Mr.  Payton  Reid's  The  Slave, 
while  wanting  in  some  painter-like  qualities  and  fine 
colour,  is  an  excellent  picture  of  its  kind  ;  Mr. 
Hornel's  inlay  of  children  and  swans  and  blossoms 
has  a  charm  of  its  own  ;  Mr.  W.  M.  Fraser  has 
several  pleasing  landscapes,  and  Mr.  Robert  Noble 


PROCESSIONAL  CROSS  IN  IRON 
AND   BRASS  WITH   rOTTERY 
ENAMEL    CENTRE 
DESIGNED   BY  ROBERT  EVANS 
EXECUTED   BY   R.   HOLLOWAY 


Alexander ;  a  richly 
decorative  and 
beautiful  rendering  of 
the  ballad  Binnorie 
by  Miss  Katherine 
Cameron ;  the  dainty 
impressionist  sket- 
ches of  Miss  Meg 
Wright,  and  the 
finely  designed,  if 
rather  muddily 
coloured,  landscapes 

of  Mr.  C.  H.  Mackie.  Two  powerful  and  admir- 
ably put  together  landscape  compositions  in  black 
chalk  by  Mr.  W.  Y.  MacGregor  should  also  be 
noted.  J.  L.  C. 

PARIS.— There  died  at  Bure  (Orne)  on 
the  27th  of  August,  one  of  the  greatest 
of  modern  French  painters  —  Henri 
Fantin-Latour.  Readers  of  The  Studio 
will  not  have  forgotten  the  long  article  devoted 
to  Fantin-Latour  in  these  pages  —  an  article 
for  which  the  master  (one  of  this  magazine's 
staunchest  friends  and  most  assiduous  readers) 
specially  composed  a  beautiful  lithograph.  It 
were  unnecessary  for  me  now  to  refer  to  his  work 
as  painter  and  lithographer,  seeing  that  it  was 
studied  so  thoroughly  in  the  article  to  which  I 
have  referred.     As  for  his   pastels,   thanks  to  one 

83 


Reviews 


who  was  a  constant  frequenter  of  his  studio,  some  of 
them  are  illustrated  m  this  number.  For  the  rest 
let  it  suffice  to  recall  that  Fantin  was  born  at 
Grenoble  on  January  14,  1836.  Himself  the  son 
of  a  painter,  he  received  his  first  lessons  from  his 
father,  and  completed  his  studies  under  Lecoq  de 
Boisbaudran  and  Couture.  Although  a  much 
younger  man  he  was  in  close  touch  with  Legros, 
Corot,  Millet,  Courbet,  and  Delacroix,  and  later 
he  became  the  friend  of  Manet,  Bracquemond  and 
Whistler.  Political  differences  separated  him  from 
Bracquemond  in  his  later  days,  and  he  drifted  apart. 
In  1 86 1  he  made  his  first  appearance  at  the  Salon, 
and  soon  developed  into  the  sure  draughtsman 
and  the  harmonious  colourist  with  whom  everyone 
is  familiar.  He  spent  some  time  in  London,  and 
there  found  admirers  who  have  remained  true  to 
him.  At  first  he  was  best  known  as  the  painter 
of  remarkable  portraits,  including  many  delicate 
presentments  of  women,  and  forcible  pictures  of 
men,  such  as  L  Atelier  de  Manet  (in  the 
Luxembourg),  which  perpetuates  the  features  of 
several  great  men  of  our  time.  Subsequently 
Fantin- Latour  gave  free  rein  to  his  rich  imagination, 
inspired  by  the  pure  visions  conjured  up  by  music, 
for  which  he  had  a  strong  passion,  and  occasionally 
coming  back  to  his  portrait  work  or  to  his  admir- 
able flower  -  studies.  He  lived  a  retired,  dis- 
interested life  in  his  little  atelier  in  the  Rue  des 
Beaux- Arts,  where  it  was  my  privilege  to  see 
him  a  few  months  since.  He  loved  to  talk  there  of 
his  friends  and  of  those  he  admired.  He  remained 
ever  faithful  to  Delacroix,  and  when  the  Thomy- 
Thiery  collection  was  displayed  in  the  Louvre  he 
celebrated  the  occasion  with  fervour,  and  deplored 
the  little  attention  devoted  by  the  artistic  press  to 
the  master's  Rebecca.  He  was  above  all  things  for 
fine  colour,  and  it  grieved  him  to  see  so  many  of 
his  contemporaries  paint  "only  with  straw  or 
mud."  Such  were  his  expressions,  and  he  spoke 
with  enthusiasm  of  Beethoven,  Wagner,  Schumann, 
and  Brahms,  to  whom  by  means  of  his  lithographs 
and  his  pictures  he  has  raised  a  monument  which 
IS  worthy  of  their  genius.  H.   F. 

REVIEWS. 

Giovanni  Costa.  By  Olivia  Rossetti  Agresti. 
(London:  Grant  Richards.)  ;£i  is.  net. —  In 
Giovanni  Costa  the  accomplished  authoress  of  this 
fascinating  monograph  had  a  most  congenial 
subject.  She  knew  and  loved  well  the  famous 
Itahan  patriot  painter,  sharing  his  aspirations  for 
the  independence  of  his  native  land,  and  apprecia- 


ting his  sacrifices  in  its  cause.  She  is,  more- 
over, competent  to  judge  of  his  art  work  on  its 
own  merits  ;  and,  although  she  is  perhaps  now  and 
then  biassed  by  her  personal  predilection,  her 
criticism  is  on  the  whole  both  shrewd  and  just. 
The  intimate  friend  and  constant  companion  of 
Leighton,  Richmond,  Gilbert,  Onslow  Ford,  and 
Mason,  as  well  as  of  John  Howard,  now  Lord 
Carlisle,  and  of  the  Rev.  Stopford  Brooke  who 
was  one  of  his  most  constant  patrons,  Giovanni 
Costa  had,  from  the  first,  a  very  strong  predilection  for 
England,  where  his  work  is  far  better  known  than 
in  his  own  country.  The  publication  in  London  of 
an  account  of  his  life  is  therefore  peculiarly  fitting, 
especially  as  the  book  is  full  of  new  and  interesting 
anecdotes  of  his  famous  contemporaries.  "  Rarely 
indeed,"  says  the  writer,  "  does  it  fall  to  the  lot  of 
a  biographer  to  chronicle  the  career  of  an  artist  so 
rich  in  events  as  that  of  Costa  "  ;  to  find  a  parallel 
case  it  is,  she  adds,  "  necessary  to  go  back  to  the 
glorious  period  of  the  Italian  Renaissance,"  when 
Michel  Angelo  and  Leonardo  da  Vinci  divided 
their  time  between  their  art  and  the  affairs  of  state  ; 
to  find  an  artist  whose  life  has  been  so  earnestly  and 
passionately  devoted  to  his  work,  yet  who  has  also 
so  constantly  and  actively  played  his  part  in  the 
public  life  of  his  country.  For  his  political 
principles  he  gave  up  nearly  all  his  wealth,  for  his 
ideal  in  art  he  resigned  popularity,  but  his  name 
will  live  for  ever  in  the  memory  of  all  who  have  at 
heart  the  best  interests  of  Italy  as  a  nation,  and  of 
art  as  an  ennobling  and  refining  influence.  Un- 
fortunately the  high  appreciation  that  must  be 
given  to  this  biography  as  a  piece  of  literature  can- 
not be  extended  to  its  illustrations,  which  can 
scarcely  be  called  representative.  They  con- 
spicuously fail  to  do  justice  to  the  original  paintings 
that  place  their  author  in  the  very  highest  rank 
amongst  modern  Italian  masters,  Segantini  alone 
having  been  his  equal  in  truth  to  nature  and 
originality  of  style. 

Illustrated  Catalogue  of  a  Loan  Collection  of 
Portraits  at  Oxford.  (Oxford  :  Clarendon  Press.) 
2\s.  net. — Those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  see 
the  fine  collection  of  portraits  recently  exhibited  in 
the  Examination  Schools,  Oxford,  under  the 
auspices  of  a  Committee  of  the  Oxford  Historical 
Society,  will  welcome  the  appearance  of  this  finely 
illustrated  volume,  which,  however,  will  be  of  still 
greater  value  to  the  larger  public  who  had  not  that 
privilege.  The  Introduction,  from  the  able  pen  of 
the  Director  of  the  National  Portrait  Gallery,  is  a 
brief  but  excellent  synopsis  of  the  history  of  portrait 
painting  in  England.  Mr.  Cust  points  out  that  Oxford 


1 


Reviews 


is  far  richer  in  college  portraits  than  Cambridge, 
yet  as  early  as  1884  and  1885,  exhibitions  of  local 
treasures  were  held  in  the  latter  city.  Now,  however 
Oxford  is  waking  up  to  the  value  of  her  treasures, 
and  the  recent  exhibition  was  but  the  first  of  a 
series  to  be  held  year  by  year,  illustrating  the 
history,  customs,  and  habits  of  the  University  from 
the  earliest  times,  for,  adds  Mr.  Cust,  "  most  phases 
of  her  history  can  be  traced  in  the  portraits  of  her 
great  men  and  benefactors  when  they  are  brought 
side  by  side  in  contemporary  arrangement."  Full 
particulars  of  each  portrait,  with  the  main  facts  of  the 
life  of  the  sitter,  are  given  in  this  excellent  catalogue 
raisonni\  and  amongst  the  plates  are  good  render- 
ings of  Holbein's  beautiful  William  Warham,  a 
fine  Portrait  of  John  King  attributed  to  Daniel 
Mytens,  and  one  of  Sir  Henry  Lee,  by  Sir  Antonis 
Mor.  It  is  a  pity,  however,  that  one  of  the  finest 
of  the  paintings  exhibited,  the  Portrait  of  Queen 
Mary  by  an  unknown  hand,  lent  by  the  Curators  of 
the  University  Galleries,  should  not  have  been 
included. 

Alodern  Cottage  Architecture.  Edited  by 
M.\URiCE  B.  Adams.  (London  :  Batsford.) 
IO.S-.  6(f.  net. — In  view  of  the  rapid  growth  of  many 
towns,  especially  in  the  south  of  England,  such  as 
Bournemouth,  Weymouth,  and  Ilfracombe,  it  is 
indeed  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  there  are  no  bye- 
laws  restricting  the  erection  of  the  unsightly  villas 
and  cottages  that  are  rapidly  destroying  the  beauty 
of  the  surrounding  districts.  Fortunately,  however, 
though  the  mischief  already  resulting  from  the 
absence  of  control  cannot  be  remedied,  there  are 
now  signs  of  reform  owing  to  an  improvement  in 
public  taste.  Cottages  and  small  villas  of  charm- 
ing design  are  springing  up  everywhere  in  the 
country,  but  unfortunately  they  are  not  for  the 
occupation  of  the  labouring  classes  who  so  long 
monopolised  the  true  rural  home,  but  for  well-to-do 
people  who  like  to  get  away  from  town  for  the 
week-end.  On  them,  as  well  as  on  the  jerry 
builder  who  sins  more  often  from  ignorance  than 
from  malice  prepense,  Mr.  Adams'  valuable  volume, 
with  its  fifty  examples  of  designs  by  the  best  archi- 
tects, will  confer  a  true  boon,  though  it  seems 
strange  that  amongst  them  all  there  is  not  one 
with  the  picturesque  mansard  roof  that  gives  so 
much  room  space  at  small  expense.  The  editor's 
brief  essays  on  such  important  subjects  as  sanita- 
tion, water  supply,  windows,  staircases,  etc.,  and  the 
plans  accompanying  the  drawings  are  most  valuable. 
Amongst  the  designs  in  this  valuable  collection, 
the  best  are,  without  doubt,  those  by  Ernest  New- 
ton,   Aston   Webb,   and    Leonard   Stokes,    which 


admirably  combine  comfort,  adaptability,  inexpen- 
siveness,  and  picturesqueness. 

Mural  Painting.  By  F.  Hamilton  J.\ckson, 
R.B.A,  (London:  Sands  &  Co.)  55.net. — Mr.  Jack- 
son has  mastered  the  history  of  mural  decoration 
from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present  day.  He 
is  able  to  analyse  with  the  skill  of  a  practical  expert 
the  knowledge  he  has  acquired  ;  and,  which  is  even 
more  rare,  he  can  impart  the  results  in  language  so 
clear  that  it  can  be  readily  understood  even  by  the 
uninitiated.  In  this  new  book,  which  is  one  of  the 
series  of  handbooks  for  the  designer  and  crafts- 
man, he  passes  in  chronological  review  all  the  best 
existing  examples  of  the  art  under  notice,  con- 
cluding his  exhaustive  resume  with  a  chapter  of 
valuable  recipes,  and  supplementing  his  narrative 
with  a  series  of  thoroughly  representative  illus- 
trations. 

Constable'i  Sketches,  tvith  Introduction.  By  Sir 
James  D.  Linton,  R.I.  (London:  George  Newnes.) 
3.r.  ()d.  net. — A  very  special  interest  always 
attaches  to  the  sketches  of  a  true  master  in  art;  and 
when  that  master  is,  as  Constable  was,  a  pioneer  in 
a  new  departure,  it  is  impossible  to  over-estimate 
their  value.  They  bear,  one  and  all,  as  strong  an 
impress  of  dignity  and  truth  and  illustrate  as  fully 
their  author's  broad  and  massive  treatment  of  every 
subject  as  do  his  large  finished  compositions. 
Probably  one  of  the  very  first  to  work  in  oils  in  the 
open  air,  the  John  Bull  of  English  art,  as  Constable 
has  been  called,  was  quite  uninfluenced  by  any  of 
his  predecessors,  and  founded  a  school,  the  basis  of 
which  was  truth  to  nature  :  and  the  influence 
exercised  by  him  over  his  contemporaries,  especially 
over  French  artists,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
incidents  in  the  history  of  landscape  art.  The 
secret  of  that  influence  is  not,  however,  very  far  to 
seek.  It  will  be  revealed  in  the  most  cursory  ex- 
amination of  the  delightful  collection  of  reproduc- 
tions of  typical  sketches  just  issued  by  Messrs. 
Newnes.  To  quote  but  a  very  few  examples : 
The  View  at  Hatnpstcad,  The  Hay  Wain,  Wey- 
mouth Bay,  The  Study  for  the  Leaping  Horse, 
Dedham  Vale,  and  the  Autumnal  Sunset  are 
admirable  renderings  of  the  originals.  They  prove 
indeed  how  truly  Constable  laid  to  heart  what  he 
himself  called  the  best  lesson  he  had  ever  had :  the 
advice  of  Sir  Benjamin  West,  "  Remember  that 
light  and  shadow  never  stand  still ;"  for  they  have 
caught,  with  rare  fidelity,  those  transitory  effects 
that  often  vanish  away  before  they  are  realised. 

English  Architecture.  By  J.  I).  AriciNsoN. 
(London  :  Methuen.)  35.  dd.  net. — Although  the 
author  of  this  charmingly  written  and  well  illus- 

85 


Reviews 


trated  little  volume  disclaims  any  wish  to  deal 
with  more  than  the  grammar  of  its  subject,  he 
has  not,  fortunately  for  his  readers,  been  able  to 
eliminate  the  element  of  enthusiasm  that  is  the 
saving  leaven  of  every  treatise,  however  limited  its 
scope.  From  the  useful  map  of  England  forming 
the  frontispiece,  showing  some  of  the  natural 
products  and  characteristics  of  architecture 
peculiar  to  different  localities,  to  the  'glossary 
of  technical  terms  at  the  end,  every  page  bears 
the  impress  of  expert  knowledge,  and  the  little 
volume  should  find  a  place  in  every  home  and 
school   library. 

Attraverso  gli  Alln  e  le  Cartelle,  Fasctcolo  III. 
By  ViTTORio  Pica.  (Bergamo  :  Instituto  Italiano 
d'Arti  Grafiche.)  2  livres  50. — This,  the  third 
part  of  a  series  of  interesting  reproductions  of 
modern  black-and-white  work,  will  no  doubt  be 
as  cordially  welcomed  as  its  predecessors  have 
been.  It  deals  chiefly  with  posters,  and  the 
selection  of  typical  e.xamples  of  pretty  well 
every  nationality  reflects  great  credit  on  the 
editor.  Signer  Pica  has  done  well  to  revive  the 
beautiful  advertisement  of  the  "Woman  in  White," 
by  Fred  Walker,  which  was,  perhaps,  the  first 
artistic  poster  produced  in  England,  and  for  a 
long  time  remained  a  prophecy  only.  Published 
some  fifty  years  ago,  it  was  not  until  many  years 
later  that  it  was  succeeded  by  anything  at  all 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  it. 

Amongst  the  many  effective  designs  by  men 
of  the  present  day  or  the  immediate  past  may 
be  especially  noticed  the  thoroughly  representative 
series  by  Cheret ;  the  dignified  and  pathetic 
Aurore,  by  Eugene  Carriere ;  the  Petite  Poucett 
and  Pate  Dentrifice,  by  Boutet  de  Monvel,  ad- 
mirably adapted  to  their  subjects ;  the  dramatic 
affiches  Charles  Verneau  and  Mother  et  Doria, 
by  Steinlen ;  the  Sarah  Bernhardt  en  Jeanne 
d'Arc,  by  Grasset,  in  which  the  mediaeval  and  the 
modern  are  felicitously  combined ;  the  tasteful 
Hermitage  of  Paul  Berthon  ;  and  the  Estampes  et 
Affiches  illustres  of  Paul  Helleu,  full  of  the  re- 
finement and  grace  characteristic  of  that  clever 
etcher's  work.  The  numerous  Italian  posters 
mark  a  great  advance,  and  are  remarkable  for 
their  distinction,  with  a  total  absence  of  anything 
approaching  to  vulgarity. 

Benozzo  Gozzoli.  By  Hugh  Stokes.  (London  : 
George  Newnes.)  y.  dd.  net. — Those  who  are 
familiar  with  the  beautiful  frescoes  of  Benozzo 
Gozzoli  at  Pisa,  Montefalco,  San  Gimignano,  and 
elsewhere,  will  welcome  gladly  the  appearance  of 
this  excellent  monograph,  with  its  scholarly  review 
86--<ti 


of  the  master's  life-work,  and  its  admirable  series 
of  reproductions  of  typical  examples  of  it.  Strange 
to  say,  in  spite  of  Gozzoli's  prolific  versatility  and 
the  undoubted  merit  of  his  composition,  draughts- 
manship, and  colouring,  he  has  hitherto  been 
neglected,  and  has  not  until  now  been  included  in 
any  of  the  series  of  art  monographs  in  course  of 
publication.  Yet  during  his  life-time  he  was  one 
of  the  most  popular  of  the  Florentine  masters,  and, 
but  for  one  slight  check  at  the  beginning  of  his 
career,  when  he  failed  to  satisfy  the  council  at 
Orvieto,  assembled  to  choose  a  successor  to  Fra 
Angelico,  he  was,  from  first  to  last,  brilliantly  suc- 
cessful. The  favourite  pupil  of  the  saintly  monk, 
Benozzo  began  his  art  education  at  S.  Marco,  and 
was  employed  by  Fra  Angelico  to  assist  him  in 
his  work  at  Orvieto.  Mr.  Stokes  forms  a  very  just 
estimate  of  Gozzoli's  personality  and  powers  ;  the 
painter  had,  he  says,  too  tender  a  soul  to  depict 
scenes  of  martyrdom  ;  he  was  untroubled  by  the 
miraculous  powers  of  saints,  and  his  compositions 
were  painted  in  a  purely  secular  spirit.  His  work 
is,  however,  "glowing  with  humanity,"  and  though 
his  claim  to  rank  with  the  great  artists  of  Italy  may 
be  disputed,  he  must  stand  as  one  of  the  most 
talented  and  certainly  the  most  fascinating  of  the 
Early  Renaissance  painters. 

La  Peinlure.  By  Jules  Breton.  (Paris : 
Libraire  de  I'Art  Ancien  et  Moderne.)  3  frs.  50. — 
As  in  his  painting  so  also  in  his  literary  work,  the 
veteran  French  master  combines  the  characteristics 
of  the  Naturalists  and  the  Romanticists.  He  goes 
straight  to  the  heart  of  his  subject  with  the  direct- 
ness of  the  painter  whose  chief  inspiration  is 
Nature  herself,  yet  he  touches  it  with  the  glamour 
of  romance  through  which  the  poet  looks  at  every- 
thing that  comes  under  his  notice.  M.  Breton 
explains  that  in  his  Nos  Peintres  du  Sikle,  he 
endeavoured  to  realise  the  personalities  of  the 
artists  themselves  ;  but  that  in  La  Peinture  his 
aim  is  to  describe  their  principles,  the  secret 
springs  of  their  actions,  and  the  guides  they  follow, 
for,  he  observes,  "Everything  can  be  painted — the 
immaterial  being  as  fully  visible  to  eyes  of  the 
spirit  as  is  the  material  to  those  of  the  body." 
The  sub-title  of  the  new  book  of  this  keen  thinker, 
who  to  his  other  gifts  adds  that  of  a  true  sense  of 
humour,  is  "  I'Odysee  de  la  Muse."  This  prepares 
the  reader  for  what  might  otherwise  come  as  a 
surprise — the  fact  that  M.  Breton  has  invested  the 
Muse  of  Painting  with  a  tangible  form,  that  of  a 
beautiful  woman  endowed  with  perpetual  youth, 
whose  wanderings  have  been  more  numerous  than 
were   those   of    Ulysses    himself      To    this    fair 


Awards  in  "  The  Studio"  Prize  Competitions 


maiden  the  name  of  Impression  is  given,  and  she 
is  characterised  as  the  embodiment  of  that  emotion 
which  thrills  the  soul  of  every  true  artist  at  the 
sight  of  nature,  and  is  as  old  as  the  world  itself. 
Impression,  who  for  the  nonce  is  a  definition  of 
the  indefinable,  has  been,  according  to  M.  Breton, 
the  constant  companion  of  the  true  artist  ever 
since  the  first  crude  attempts  were  made  to  inter- 
pret Nature  by  means  of  line  and  colour,  but  she 
has  ever  quickly  deserted  the  impostor  or  the  fickle 
lover.  She  left  France,  for  instance,  after  the 
French  Revolution,  and  did  not  return  until  many 
years  after  the  establishment  of  the  Republic, 
when,  to  M.  Breton's  great  joy,  she  came  and 
knocked  at  his  own  atelier.  The  concluding 
chapter  of  this  truly  remarkable  book,  with  its 
subtle  undercurrent  of  satire,  consists  of  a  conver- 
sation between  the  poet  painter  and  his  visitor,  in 
which  it  must  be  confessed  the  lady  scarcely  rises 
to  the  occasion.  As,  profoundly  moved,  the  artist 
raised  her  hands  to  his  lips,  feeling  them  tremble 
beneath  his  caress,  the  glorious  vision  faded, 
leaving  him  once  more  alone,  but  happy  in  the 
conviction  that  Impression  had  been  inspired 
during  the  interview  "  not  only  with  a  divine  enthu- 
siasm for  art,  but  also  with  the  love  and  tenderness 
of  a  true  woman." 

WARDS     IN     "THE     STUDIO" 
PRIZE   COMPETITIONS. 


A 


Class  A.     Decorativk  Art. 
A  LXII.     Dksign  for  a  Row  of  Three 
Labourers'  Cottages. 

First  Prize  {Three  Guineas) :  Stan  (Stanley  T. 
J.  Mobbs,  8  Durham  Road,  Bradford). 

Second  Prize  {Two  Guineas) :  Angelina  (William 
Greenwood,  13  Feilden  Street,  Blackburn). 

Hon.  Mention  :  Jiosamund  (L.  N.  Sanderson)  ; 
Tyrol  {\j.  L.  Dussault) ;  Sammy  (William  J.  Moun- 
tain) ;  Tulip  (Walter  E.  Overthrow) ;  Dogrose  (A. 
Spence  Atkinson) ;  Alex  (A.  Scott  Carter)  ;  Stem 
{ Edgar  Prain) ;  Sandy  (Gordon  Sanderson) ;  Caliban 
(James  Evving)  ;  Pierrot  (Harold  Kemp) ;  Acorn 
(Douglas  H.  Smith);  Alpha  (H.  P.  King);  Alton 
(C.  W.  Allen) ;  Averpop  (J.  Herbert  Jones) ;  By 
Gad  (Edgar  C.  Nisbet)  ;  Blois  (Harry  Glenn); 
Bobsman  (Julian  C.  Burgess)  ;  Corinthian  (J.  R. 
Williams) ;  Chickaroo  (Ernest  W.  Pedley) ;  Dogrose 
(F.  E.  Tabberer) ;  Down  South  (S.  P.  Scase) ;  Der- 
went  (P.  B.  Houfton)  ;  Epoh  (J.  P.  Salwey)  ; 
Economy  (C.  M.  C.  Armstrong) ;  Esperanza  (H.  J. 
Richardson)  ;  Gaville  (B.  E.  Lisle) ;  Grey  Fox  (H. 
W.  Mann) ;  Game  (J.  F.  J.  Goodacre) ;  Gahpoo 
(Ivor  P.  Jones);  Iris  (G.  W.  Poultney);  Janus  (R. 


A.  Wilson) ;  Khyaam  (G.  H.  Williams) ;  The  Kid 
(E.  F.  Ferry);  KydJe  (S.  N.  Cooke);  Kenelm  (F. 
W.  B.  Yorke) ;  L'Elcve  ( We.\.  Lindsay) ;  Lamartit.e 
(Basil  Procter) ;  Miller's  Daughter  (A.  E.  Taylor)  ; 
Mick  (Ernest  Smith)  ;  Mercia  (C.  B.  Sherwin)  ; 
Marc  (John  Wallace)  ;  Nemo  (E.  H.  Rouse) ;  Old 
Mercer  (E.  T.  Coldwell) ;  Pencil  (B.  Ashworth) ; 
Poor  Man  (F.  Crossley) ;  Petimrth  (Cecil  T. 
Payne) ;  R.  S.  C.  (R.  S.  Cooper) ;  Toby  (P.  O. 
Dunk)  ;  Tync  (W.  J.  C.  Coulson)  ;  Villain  (F.  H. 
Morley)  ;  Vectis  (F.  H.  Portnall) ;  Wee  Macgregar 
(Cecil  G.  Rayner). 

A  LXnr.     Design  for  a  Sporting  Cup. 

First  Prize  (7%r««  Guineas):  Tramp  (David 
Veazey,  27  Rectory  Place,  Woolwich). 

Sbxond  Prize  {Tiin  Guineas) :  Ryde  (Hugh 
Slade,  737  Norwood  Road,  Heme  Hill,  S.E.). 

Hon.  Mention  :  Mac  (Elis  Bergh) ;  Scorcher  (J. 
Schorfield)  ;  Hamish  (J.  B.  Crockart)  ;  Craftsman 
(Geo.  Wilson) ;  Light  (S.  R.  Turner) ;  Alark  Tapley 
(W.  C.  Dixon) ;  Dogrose  (A.  S.  Atkinson) ;  Peter 
(P.  Brown) ;  Lamplighter  (J.  P.  HuUy). 

Class  B.     Drawings  in  Black  andWhite. 

B    LVn.     Design  for    a    Set  of    Six    Initial 

Letters. 

First  PRiZE(C//f  Guinea): /ah  (J.  J.  Crook,  Avon- 
more,  Cambridge  Road,  King's  Heath,  Birmingham). 

Second  Prize  {Haifa-Guinea)  :  /sea  (Miss 
Ethel  Larcombe,  Wilton  Place,  St.  James's,  Exeter). 

Hon.  Mention  :  Wooltonian  (C.  M.  Hibbs) ; 
Tnrami  (W.  A.  Burton) ;  Clubs  (G.  F.  Burton) ; 
Uladh{?.  V.  MacEnaney);  Pansy  {Frances  Butt); 
StarJlower{M3ecs&xei  Steele);  Alpha  (Scott  Calder) ; 
Penna{E.  G.  Hallam) ;  Glanvilie  (H.  G.  Spooner)  : 
IV.  Xie  (Winifred  Christie)  ;  Black  (Norah  C 
Dominy) ;  Amaryllis  (Josephine  A.  Meyer) :  Arro'w 
(Sidney  Holt)  ;  Artifex  (T.  C.  C.  Mackie) ;  Astra 
{  Annie  Eastwood  ) ;  Brush  {  P.  Lancaster  )  ; 
Elephant  (Gertrud  Pape) ;  Gobbo  (Maud  C. 
James) ;  Line  (A.  G.  Greenhalgh) ;  Mahle  {].  W. 
Northcott)  ;  Malabar  (P.  Thesiger)  ;  Marathon 
(Miss  G.  V.  Griffin);  Afcadows  ( H.  T.  Meadows- 
Taylor);  Peter  {Y".  Brown);  .S'/,v(Elsa  Hammir)  : 
Smyth  (H.   Leasdale). 

Class  C.     Photographs  fro.m  Nature. 

C  XLV.     Study  of  Boats  on  the  Sea. 

{Illustrations  held  over  till  next  month.) 

First  Prize  {One  Guinea):  /'/c'<)  (W.  Wallace, 
1 38  Calder  Street,  Queen's  Park,  Glasgow). 

Second  Prize  {Ha'fa-Guinca)  :  Stot  (Maurice 
Peacock,  6  Park  Road,  Forest  Hill,  S.  E.). 

Hon.  Mention  :  Discobolus  (W.  Eastwood)  ; 
Elephant  (Gertrud  Pape)  ;  Eslrella  (O  M.  Robert- 
son) ;  Italia  (J.  C.  Ashton). 


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93 


Awards  in  "  The  Studio"  Prize  Competitions 


HON.    MENTION    (COMP.    B   LVII) 


HON.    MENTION    (COMP.    B   LVIl) 


HON.    MENTION    (COMP.    B   LVIl) 


HON.    MENTION    (COMP.    E   LVIl)         "ALPHA* 


HON.    MENTION    (COMP.    B   LVll)  "  STARFLOWER  ' 


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The  Lay  Figure 


T 


HE   LAY   FIGURE:    ON    SALES 
IN  EXHIBITIONS 


Dots  it  not  strike  you  as  rather 
curious,"  asked  the  Art  Critic,  "  that  though  there 
was  a  very  marked  increase  in  the  number  of 
visitors  to  this  year's  Academy  exhibition,  there 
should  have  been  a  serious  falling  off  in  the  sales 
there  ?  One  would  have  thought  that  if  a  show 
contained  so  many  works  of  interest  that  it  would 
draw  people  by  the  thousand  to  come  and  see  it, 
there  would  have  been  among  these  works  a  good 
many  which  collectors  would  desire  to  possess. 
It  seems  something  in  the  nature  of  a  paradox  that 
so-called  art  lovers  should  crowd  to  look  at  things 
which  no  one  wants  to  buy,  does  it  not  ?  " 

"You  are  very  fond  of  solving  puzzles,"  replied 
the  Man  with  the  Red  Tie  ;  "  have  you  no  solution 
to  suggest  for  this  one  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  Critic  ;  "  I  have  a  theory 
which  I  think  exactly  fits  the  case  ;  but  as  I  am 
always  anxious  to  study  new  lights  on  any  question 
in  which  I  am  interested,  I  would  like  to  hear  your 
view.  I  shall  probably  disagree  with  it ;  I  notice 
that  you  and  I  hardly  ever  do  agree,  but  this  very 
fact  makes  our  little  discussions  all  the  more  in- 
structive." 

"  Well,  if  you  really  do  want  to  know  what  I 
think,"  answered  the  Man  with  the  Red  Tie,  "I  can 
tell  you  in  a  few  words.  My  honest  belief  is  that 
exhibitions,  and  especially  large  ones  like  the 
Academy  organises,  will  always  be  useless  as  selling 
places,  because  the  pictures  which  are  given  the 
best  places  in  them  are  things  of  such  very  poor 
quality  that  they  neither  deserve  nor  receive  any 
attention  from  people  of  taste.  No  one  with  any 
sense  would  dream  of  buying  the  sort  of  stuff  that 
hanging  committees  love  to  honour.  Just  imagine, 
if  you  can,  anyone  trying  to  live  with  a  collection 
of  pictures  all  of  which  had  been  on  the  line  at  the 
Academy.  What  a  torture  it  would  be  to  a  sensitive 
man  to  be  condemned  to  pass  all  his  waking  hours 
among  such  painful  surroundings  !  " 

"  Now  you  are  talking  nonsense,"  broke  in  the 
Successful  Painter.  "  I  have  sold  a  great  many 
pictures  which  have  been  on  the  line  at  the  Academy 
and  other  galleries,  and  the  people  who  have  bought 
them  have  been  so  well  satisfied  that  they  have 
come  to  me  for  more.  But  I  quite  admit  that 
there  are  plenty  of  artists  who  do  not  find  exhibi- 
tions as  profitable  as  I  do ;  and  I  am  certain  that 
they  suffer  because  in  the  larger  galleries  there 
is  no  one  to  look  after  their  interests.  For  instance, 
there  would  be  a  great  many  more  sales  at  the 
96 


Academy  if  some  steps  were  taken  to  call  the 
attention  of  visitors  to  the  fact  that  the  works 
there  are  not  merely  lent  by  the  owners.  There 
ought  to  be  a  priced  catalogue,  and  there  ought  to 
be  some  official  present  who  would  make  it  his 
business  to  help  would-be  buyers  to  make  up  their 
minds." 

"In  fact,  you  would  like  to  see  a  gang  of  shop 
walkers  on  duty  in  the  galleries,"  sneered  the  Man 
with  the  Red  Tie.  "  You  want  to  be  greeted  at 
the  turnstile  by  a  smiling  person  who  asks  what  he 
may  have  the  pleasure  of  showing  you  to-day, 
and  assures  you  that  everything  on  the  premises 
is  hand-painted,  and  in  quite  the  newest  fashion. 
Well,  the  modern  collector  is  a  man  of  commercial 
instincts,  and  I  daresay  he  would  feel  happier  in 
the  shop  atmosphere  !  " 

"  I  do  not  think  either  of  you  understand  the 
position  in  the  least," said  the  Critic.  "Plenty  of 
saleable  pictures  can  be  found  in  good  places  in 
the  different  exhibitions,  and  the  reason  why  they 
do  not  sell  is  certainly  not  because  there  is  no 
salesman  to  persuade  the  reluctant  collector.  The 
priced  catalogue  I  do  believe  in,  because  I  feel 
that  artists  ought  not  to  be  ashamed  to  let  the 
public  know  what  they  are  prepared  to  accept  for 
their  works.  But  in  the  increase  of  visitors  and 
the  falling  off  in  sales  at  the  Academy  I  see  cause 
and  effect.  Of  the  people  who  go  to  a  large 
exhibition  the  great  majority  are  sightseers  pure 
and  simple,  who  are  seeking  not  for  satisfaction  of 
their  esthetic  instincts  but  solely  for  new  sensa- 
tions. They  crowd  the  galleries  and  make  foolish 
comments  on  what  they  see  there ;  and  they  elbow 
out  of  the  place  the  few  sincere  ait  lovers  who  have 
come  to  buy.  Therefore  the  greater  the  mob  the 
less  the  chance  for  the  true  collector.  He  is,  if 
you  like,  a  bit  of  a  fanatic,  but  his  fanaticism  is  of 
a  quiet  and  contemplative  kind,  and  only  becomes 
effective  in  the  right  atmosphere.  When  he  finds 
himself  jostled  by  a  horde  of  giggling  school-girls, 
and  yawning  society  people  who  are  doing  the 
show  as  a  painful  social  duty,  he  gets  cross  and 
goes  away  to  spend  his  money  in  a  sale-room  or  a 
private  gallery  where  he  meets  only  men  of  his 
own  order.  You  are  quite  mistaken  if  you  fancy 
that  the  blandishments  of  a  salesman  would  have 
any  good  effect  upon  him;  they  would  probably 
merely  increase  the  irritation  he  feels  at  being 
wedged  into  mobs  that  he  despises  for  their 
stupidity  and  hates  for  their  unajstheticism.  No  ! 
the  collector  must  be  h-eated  more  discreetly  than 
that  if  you  want  to  get  anything  out  of  him." 

The  Lay  Figure. 


^^1 


-^^ 


T 


R.  P.  Bonington 


HE  ART  OF  RICHARD  PARKES 
BONINGTON,  1801— 1828.  BY 
HENRI    FRANTZ. 


There  are  some  men  of  genius  whom  no 
changes  of  opinion,  no  steps  in  the  evolution  of 
taste,  can  rob  of  the  privilege  of  eternal  youth. 
Richard  Parkes  Bonington  is  one  of  these. 
Naturalism  succeeds  to  romanticism  only  to  give 
way  in  its  turn  before  impressionism,  and  still 
the  water-colours  and  the  oils  from  this  artist's  hand 
retain  all  that  freshness  of  charm,  all  that  modern 
feeling,  which  is  as  enchanting  for  us  as  for  our 
fathers.  In  fact,  this  youthful  genius,  endowed 
with  an  inspiration  as  pure  as  it  was  spontaneous, 
had  no  time  to  lose  his  inborn  characteristics  or  to 
feel  the  evil  influences  of  the  caprices  of  fashion 
and  of  the  temptations  of  success.  For  genuine 
originality  his  work  stands  unrivalled  ;  never  in 
the  least  forced,  it  flashes  out  distinctly  like  a 
sudden  blaze  of  torchlight,  and  once  e.xtinguished 
leaves  no  fading  glow  behind  it.  His  every  pro- 
duction has  the  charm  which  those  alone  can  give 
whom  the  Muses  love,  and  therefore  condemn  to 
an  early  death.     How  fascinating   is  the  story  of 


this  sickly  young  life,  sapped  by  a  passion  for  art, 
bom  in  the  grasp  of  fever,  and  half  conscious  of  its 
approaching  end  :  of  this  romantic  and  delicate 
personality,  which  recalls  that  of  Keats,  as  true  an 
artist  as  Bonington,  who  was  sufi'ering  at  the  same 
period  as  he  under  the  same  Italian  sky. 

Thus  of  Bonington  we  can  never  tire  of  talking, 
and  in  him  interest  should  from  time  to  time  be 
revived,  if  only  to  show  how  living  his  work  always 
remains,  how  modern  is  his  peculiar  style,  in  which 
the  characteristics  of  the  English  landscape 
painters  and  those  of  the  P>ench  romantic  school 
seemed  blended  together,  to  delight  at  once  the 
eye  and  the  imagination.  Richard  Parkes 
Bonington  was  born  in  the  village  of  Arnold,  near 
Nottingham,  on  October  25th,  1801.  His  father 
appears  to  have  been  at  one  time  an  artist,  and 
even  after  he  had  become  a  business  man  con- 
tinued to  take  an  interest  in  the  productions  of  his 
son,  both  in  directing  them  and  even  sometimes  in 
collaborating  in  them.  From  his  childhood  young 
Bonington  showed  an  unusual  aptitude  for  painting, 
and  was  always  sketching,  in  the  green  English 
country,  trees,  houses,  barges — anything  which 
attracted  his  attention.     In  18 16  his  father  set  up 


NOTRE   DAME:     SUNSET" 

XXXIII.     No.    140. — NovEMHKR,    1904. 


(In  the  lollfflioii  Cluramy) 


BY    R.    1'.    BONlNGrON 

99 


R.  P.  Bonington 


house  in  Paris,  in  the  rue  de  la  Tournelle,  where 
he  established  a  business  in  connection  with  the 
lace  trade  of  Nottingham.  After  his  preliminary 
education  among  English  country  scenes,  after 
having  already  begun  to  fall  under  the  spell  of  the 
sea  during  a  short  stay  at  Calais,  young  Bonington 
went  to  seek  counsel  from  the  old  masters  of  the 
Louvre.  He  set  to  work  to  copy  their  pictures, 
in  water-colour  as  well  as  in  oils,  especially  those 
of  the  Flemish  masters.  Throughout  his  life, 
indeed,  he  took  great  pleasure  in  interpreting,  from 
time  to  time,  rather  than  imitating  some  canvas  of 
the  great  masters.  There  is,  for  instance,  the  fine 
copy  after  Van  Uyck  in  the  Cheramy  collection  ; 
there  was  also  another  after  Rubens  in  the  Villot 
collection,  which  vies  with  the  original  in  its  bold- 
ness and  strength.  While  painting  at  the  Louvre, 
Bonington  became  acquainted  with  Delacroix,  from 
henceforth  his  friend  and  devoted  admirer.  The 
latter  thus  describes  the  meeting  in  a  letter,  dated 
1850,  to  the  artist  Silvestre  :  "When  I  had  the 
good  fortune  to  meet  him,  I  was  studying  in  the 
Louvre.  I  noticed  a  tall 
young  fellow,  in  a  short 
coat,  who  was  also  working 
in  silence  at  a  study  in 
water-colour  from  a  Flem- 
ish artist.  In  this  style 
of  work,  then  newly  intro- 
duced from  England,  he 
already  showed  an  aston- 
ishing activity."  It  is  easy 
to  realise  from  this  de- 
scription the  appearance  of 
the  young  giant,  who  was 
copying  so  seriously  at 
the  Louvre  ;  and,  indeed, 
there  is  in  the  Cheramy 
collection  a  small  water- 
colour  by  Bonington,  or 
rather  a  slight  and  rapid 
water-colour  sketch,  repre- 
senting Copley  Fielding 
and  Bonington,  the  latter 
lying  on  his  back,  his 
hands  clasped  behind  his 
head,  with  his  thin,  refined 
profile  and  light,  rumpled 
hair.  While  he  was  study- 
ing the  old  masters  in 
the  Louvre,  Bonington 
did  not  fail  to  appreciate 
the  picturesque  aspects  of 
the  city  itself.  There  is 
100 


a  splendid  canvas  01  his  (also  in  the  Chdramy 
collection)  which  represents  the  quays  and  Notre 
Dame  from  La  Tournelle  (illustrated  on  page  99), 
and  there  is  another  small  piece  from  the  same 
point  of  view.  The  confidence  of  their  technique, 
however,  and  the  masterly  way  in  which  the  old 
cathedral  is  depicted  standing  out  boldly  against 
a  setting  sun,  pro%'e  these  pictures  to  have  been 
later  in  date.  It  is  probable — for  a  water-colour 
belonging  to  M.  Bracquemond,  the  etcher,  con- 
firms it — that  from  this  time  Bonington  began  to 
devote  attention  to  subjects  taken  from  the  streets 
of  Paris.  By  a  short  stay  in  the  studio  of  Gros 
the  young  artist  learned  nothing  new.  Gros,  in- 
deed, advised  him  to  follow  his  own  bent  and  the 
promptings  of  that  talent,  which,  as  Delacroix  says, 
"  he  already  admired."  Bonington,  then,  strength- 
ened by  his  studies  in  the  Louvre,  sure  of  his 
hand  and  master  of  its  every  movement,  and  with 
all  a  veteran's  self-control,  began  his  wandering  life 
in  the  year  1820. 

He  started  for  Normandy,  and  followed  step  by 


FRENCH  CHATEAU 


{III  the  IValliue  Colled  ion) 


A.   I..  S. R.  P.  BONINGTON,  TO  M.  TAYI.OK,   PARIS.     JIT.Y  '),   1S24 


/^^t^Vi.. 


Z^*^'-*^ 


y. 


V---^      e^ 


y 


'"^  ^.v^,  ^y  ,     v-y^-— r^ 


"AIT  OF  BONINGTON.    BV  COLIN 


J?,  p.  Bonington 


house  in  Paris,  in  the  rue  de  la  Tournelle,  where 
he  established  a  business  in  connection  with  the 
lace  trade  of  Nottingham.     After  his  preliminary 
education   among    English   country   scenes,    after 
having  already  begun  to  fall  under  the  spell  of  the 
sea  during  a  short  stay  at  Calais,  young  Bonington 
went  to  seek  counsel  from  the  old  masters  of  the 
Louvre.     He  set  to  work  to  copy  their  pictures, 
in  water-colour  as  well  as  in  oils,  especially  those 
of    the    Flemish    masters.      Throughout    his    life, 
indeed,  he  took  great  pleasu"-"  '"  irit-Amri^finor  frnm 
time  to  time,  rather  than  imi 
the  great  masters.     There  is 
copy  after  Van  Uyck  in  th 
there  was  also  another  afte 
collection,  which  vies  with  t 
ness  and  strength.     While  ] 
Bonington  became  acquaints 
henceforth  his  friend  and  c 
latter  thus  describes  the  mee 
1850,   to  the  artist  Silvestr 
good  fortune  to  meet  him, 
Louvre.     I  noticed  a  tall 
young   fellow,    in    a    short 
coat,  who  was  also  working 
in   silence   at   a   study    in 
water-colour  from  a  Flem- 
ish   artist.      In    this    style 
of  work,  then  newly  intro- 
duced   from    England,    he 
already   showed  an  aston- 
ishing activity."     It  is  easy 
to    realise    from    this    de- 
scription the  appearance  of 
the  young  giant,  who  was 
copying     so    seriously     at 
the  Louvre ;   and,  indeed, 
there   is   in   the    Cheramy 
collection    a    small    water- 
colour    by    Bonington,    or 
rather  a  slight   and   rapid 
water-colour  sketch,  repre- 
senting    Copley     Fielding 
and   Bonington,  the   latter 
lying    on    his    back,     his 
hands   clasped  behind  his 
head,  with  his  thin,  refined 
profile  and   light,  rumpled 
hair.     While  he  was  study- 
ing   the    old    masters    in 
the  Louvre,  Bonington 
did  not  fail  to  appreciate 
the  picturesque  aspects  of 
the    city    itself.     There    is 
100 


a  splendid  canvas  01  his  (also  in  the  Cheramy 
collection)  which  represents  the  quays  and  Notre 
Dame  from  La  Tournelle  (illustrated  on  page  99), 
and  there  is  another  small  piece  from  the  same 
point  of  view.  The  confidence  of  their  technique, 
however,  and  the  masterly  way  in  which  the  old 
cathedral  is  depicted  standing  out  boldly  against 
a  setting  sun,  prove  these  pictures  to  have  been 
later  in  date.  It  is  probable — for  a  water-colour 
belonging  to  M.  Bracquemond,  the  etcher,  con- 
firms it — that  from  this  time  Bonington  began  to 


%T\. 


ti^ 


i'-l 


'1 


PORTRAIT   OF   BONINGTON.    BY  COLIN 


J\.  p.  Boniugton 


step  the  green  banks  of  the  winding  Seine,  painting 
its  water-scenes  and  its  picturesque  farms,  and  its 
simple  peasants.  At  Rouen  he  stayed  for  some 
time,  fascinated  by  the  old-world  city,  where  he 
tendered  with  his  light  touch  its  Gothic  churches, 
their  cunningly  carved  towers  poised  in  the  clear  or 
cloud-flecked  sky,  its  old  houses,  and  its  narrow, 
crowded  streets 

It  was,  however,  above  all,  the  coast  which 
attracted  him — the  alluring  charm  of  the  shore  at 
low  tide,  with  the  high  cliffs  on  one  side  towering 
up  to  the  sky,  and  on  the  other  the  grey  or  blue 
line  of  the  sea,  and  the  fishermen,  with  their  boats 
drawn  up  high  and  dry.  At  HavTe,  at  Dieppe, 
at  Boulogne,  at  Saint  Jouin,  where  he  painted 
his  famous  Mill,  at  Yport,  and  other  places, 
he  studied  the  life  of  the  seaport,  the  move- 
ments of  the  fishing-boats,  the  landing  of  the  fish, 
and  all  those  picturesque  scenes  which  cannot 
but  strike  the  most  indifferent  observer.  In  these 
few  words  has  been  summed  up  the  story  of  one 
whole  period,  perhaps  that  in  which  Bonington's 
work  was  most  vigorous.  Turning  to  those  coast 
scenes — in  oil  or  in  water-colour,  which  collectors 
strive   for   so    assiduously,    and    which    museums 


exhibit  so  proudly — it  may  be  said,  in  brief, 
that  all  his  works  in  this  style  belong  to  one 
type.  Yet  how  varied  is  the  rendering  of  each  one 
of  them,  how  striking  their  freedom  of  execution, 
how  amazing  their  artistic  feeling.  With  what  ever 
fresh  joy  and  surprise  one  passes  from  one  to  the 
other  of  these  masterpieces — first,  to  those  in  the 
Wallace  collection,  where  we  shall  later  examine 
different  manifestations  of  this  great  talent ;  from 
there  to  the  Coast  Scene  of  the  Nottingham  Art 
Gallery  to  the  splendid  canvas  entitled  On  the 
French  Coast,  Calais,  in  the  Humphrey  Roberts 
collection,  and  the  Low  Tide  of  the  Groult  collec- 
tion, to  the  Musee  de  Montpellier,  and  to  the  other 
collections  which  possess  specimens  of  his  work. 

During  the  remainder  of  his  life  Bonington  was 
continually  making  expeditions  on  the  coast  of 
Normandy.  Besides  the  fact  that  these  later  works 
are  marked  by  a  freer  style,  it  is  impossible  to 
avoid  noticing  in  those  produced  between  his  first 
and  his  last  stay  in  Normandy  their  extraordinarily 
modern  character.  In  truth  they  belong  to  no  age, 
so  vigorous  are  they,  so  unrestrained,  so  directly 
inspired  by  life  itself,  that  they  might  be  expected 
to  bear  the  signatures  of  artists  of  our  own  day. 


"*««.: 


A   TOWN    IN    ITALY' 


(In  the  collectio 


Esq.) 


BY   R.    P.    BONINGTON 
'°3 


R.  P.  Bonington 


In  1822,  after  several  expeditions  across  Nor- 
mandy, Bonington  made  his  debut  at  the  Salon 
with  a  View  of  Lillebonne  and  a  View  of  Havre, 
two  charming  water-colours  bought  at  the  ridicu- 
lous price  of  430  francs  by  the  Societe  des 
Amis  des  Arts.  He  also  collaborated  in  a  Pictu- 
resque Journey  in  Italy  for  the  publisher  Oster- 
wald  ;  while  Isabey,  Fielding,  Robson,  and,  above 
all,  Bonington  himself,  in  his  delightful  Vieiv  of 
Catana,  dazzled  the  world  by  their  fresh  and 
vigorous  water-colours,  in  such  striking  contrast  to 
the  learned  caligraphers  of  the  day. 

In  the  Salon  of  1824,  where  Delacroix  scored  a 
triumph  with  his  Massacre  of  Scio,  and  where 
the  Englishmen,  Constable,  Fielding,  Varley,  Prout 
and  Harding,  amazed  by  their  splendid  audacity 
the  timid  group  of  David's  pupils,  Bonington, 
fresh  from  the  North  of  France,  exhibited  a  Study 
in  Flanders,  a  Sandy  Shore,  and  Fishermen  un- 
loading their  Fish — vigorous  efforts  which  con- 
temporaries, and  particularly  the  art  critic  Jal, 
considered  mere  monstrous  isolated  phenomena, 
though  after  the  advent  of  impressionism  they  seem 
to  us  the  direct  precursors  of  new  developments. 


"reading  aloud"  by  r.  p.  boni 

(In  the   Wallace  Collection) 

104 


We  have  described  the  manner  and  place  in 
which  occurred  the  meeting  of  Delacroix  and 
Bonington.  The  young  Englishman  became  day 
by  day  a  closer  friend  of  the  French  artist.  In  the 
letter  already  quoted  occurs  the  passage,  "  He  was 
one  of  the  most  delightfully  talented  men  that  have 
ever  brought  distinction  to  England.  The  ease 
with  which  he  worked  was  extraordinary ;  he 
acquired  the  most  perfect  skill  the  very  first  time 
he  grasped  a  pencil  or  a  brush.  His  water-colours 
have  always  been  full  of  majesty  and  fire,  in  strik 
ing  contrast  to  his  own  calm  appearance.  I  met 
him  again  later,  and  soon  grew  very  intimate  with 
him."  He  adds,  "  His  was  a  great  and  noble 
nature.  His  character  was  perhaps  rendered 
complex  by  a  touch  of  melancholy.  He  had,  too, 
at  the  end  of  his  life  the  weakness  to  regret  that 
he  had  painted  no  large  pictures.  I  did  my  best 
to  console  him,  and  told  him  '  Raphael  would  not. 
have  done  as  well  as  you  have  done ' ;  and,  indeed,  I 
believe  it :  he  ivas  absolute  sovereign  of  his  own 
domain.'"  If  one  wished  to  draw  up  a  catalogue  of 
Bonington's  oil  paintings  and  water-colours  (as  M. 
Bouvenne  has  done  for  his  etchings  and  litho- 
graphs) his  work  might  well  be  divided 
under  three  general  heads,  which  in- 
deed are  brought  into  prominence  by 
the  study  of  the  splendid  group  in  the 
Wallace  collection,  consisting  of  no  less 
than  ten  oils  and  twenty-four  water- 
colours.  The  most  prominent  feature 
in  Bonington's  art  was  his  work  as  a 
painter  of  the  sea  and  the  country. 
Among  the  paintings  of  the  latter  type 
there  occur  at  once  to  the  mind  the 
Heath  Scene  in  the  Robinson  collec- 
tion and  the  Cheyne  Walk  in  the 
Tate  Gallery,  so  full  of  atmosphere, 
with  its  trees  and  houses  standing  out 
dark  against  the  setting  sun  (he  de- 
lighted in  seeking  out  such  effects  of 
light  shining  behind  buildings),  its  light 
wreaths  of  smoke,  and  in  the  fore- 
ground the  glittering  banks  of  the  river 
— in  a  word,  infinite  suggestions  of 
landscape  contained  on  these  few  square 
inches  of  paper. 

In  a  second  category,  now  to  be  briefly 
examined,  is  a  series  of  works  in  which 
the  imagination  is  all  powerful.  Boning- 
ton became  more  closely  attached  to  ro- 
manticism, and  followed  a  course  parallel 
to  that  of  Delacroix ;  nay,  perhaps  it  would 
be  more  exact  to  say  that  he  followed  him. 


"LA  RUE  DU  GROS  HORLOGE  A 
ROUEN."      BY   R.    P.    BONINGTON 


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R.  P.  Bonington 


This  comradeship  begun  in  1825  in  the  studio 
in  London,  which  the  two  artists  now  shared, 
resulted,  as  far  as  Bonington  was  concerned,  in  the 
production  of  a  small  number  of  imaginative 
pictures,  taken  either  from  Eastern  subjects,  then 
very  much  in  vogue,  or  from  historical  scenes. 
Admirable  in  colour  as  they  are,  their  sparkling 
charm,  their  luxuriant  richness,  their  translucency, 
their  subtly  blended  tones,  make  them  almost 
unique  in  the  history  of  painting.  One  of  these 
works,  exhibited  in  1826  in  aid  of  the  Greeks  in 
the  Lebrun  gallery,  depicted  a  Turk  enjoying  a 
Siesta,  which  became  the  property  of  Mr.  Birchall 
of  London.  It  is  thus  described  by  Burger:  "The 
dreamer  sits  full-face,  with  legs  crossed,  in  the 
dusky  light  against  a  great  red  curtain.  He  has  on 
a  white  turban,  a  vest,  dark-green  "short"  clothes, 
and  red  sandals.  In  his  right  hand  he  holds  list- 
lessly a  long  pipe.  The  background  is  of  a  pearly- 
grey  of  a  Velasquez  tone.  The  whole  has  a  touch 
of  M.  Eugene  Delacroix's  style  of  colour,  but  the 
drawing  is  more  delicate  and  expressive."  In  the 
same  category  may  be  included  some  justly  cele- 
brated historical  pictures — Mazarin  and  Anne  of 
Austria,  Francis  I.  and  the  Queen  of  Navarre, 
which  was  purchased  by  the  Delessert  gallery  in 
1869,  and  Henri  IV.  receiving  the  Spanish  Am- 
bassador (once  in  the  San  Donato  collection).  It 
is  of  the  second  of  these  that  Charles  Blanc  wrote  : 
"  All  the  romanticism  of  the  day  is  summed  up  in 
this  little  masterpiece.  Its  colour  is  that  which 
covered  the  palettes  of  Titian  and  Paolo  Veronese, 
the  light  is  restrained  and  mysterious,  like  that  of 
Rembrandt.  The  figures  are  full  of  delightful  grace 
and  extreme  distinction.  The  Henri  III.  of  the 
Wallace  collection  (bought  in  1S60  for  49,000 
francs)  is  yet  another  masterpiece,  which  was  ex- 
hibited in  1827,  and  in  which  the  artist  revels  in 
all  the  richness  of  the  costumes  and  the  profusely 
scattered  flowers.  All  the  paintings  of  this  series 
are  well  worth  a  description  ;  it  is  impossible,  how- 
ever, to  give  it,  and  all  that  can  be  done  is  to  cite  a 
few  in  which  Bonington  gives  full  play  to  all  his 
delicate  imaginative  faculties  :  Francis  I.  and  the 
Duchesse  d' Etampes,  Anne  Page  and  Slender,  in- 
spired by  the  "  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,"  and  the 
cherished  possession  of  Th^ophile  Gautier  (both 
now  in  the  Rothschild  collection),  and  the  Invalid 
Girl,  the  Billet-doux,  the  Antiquarian  and  Medi- 
tation (all  four  engraved  by  William  Reynolds). 

Lastly,  a  third  series  would  include  the  Italian 

works  of  Bonington,    a  few  delightful  canvases,  full 

of  warmth   and   passion,  painted  by  one  already 

under  the  hand  of  death,  yet  inspired  with  all  the 

108 


intoxication  of  the  sunlight,  during  the  course  of  a 
trip  with  his  friend  Rivet.  How  full  of  charm  are 
these  productions,  all  shimmering  with  light,  all 
overflowing  with  the  glorious  rays  of  that  Italian 
sun  of  which  their  young  author  had  so  often 
dreamed.  Everywhere  we  can  picture  him  trans- 
ferring to  canvas,  with  all  the  ardour  of  an  inspired 
colourist,  the  heroic  or  melancholy  scenes  which 
allured  him.  At  Milan  he  painted  a  chapel  in- 
terior, at  Venice  a  little  pearl,  now  in  the  Tate 
gallery.  The  Riva  della  Schiavoni,  and  the  Colleoni 
of  the  Louvre,  with  several  of  the  works  in  the 
Wallace  collection.  Bonington  went  no  further 
than  Bologna ;  he  sickened  with  that  sign  of  ap- 
proaching death,  a  longing  for  the  scenes  of  his 
childhood.  In  1827,  on  his  return  to  Paris,  he 
exhibited  at  the  Salon  for  the  last  time.  His  last 
pictures  of  1827  and  1828  are  the  Swan-song  of 
this  splendid  talent.  To  study  in  the  Louvre  his 
View  of  the  Tuileries,  and  his  Artificial  Waters  at 
Versailles,  with  their  skies  flecked  with  scudding 
clouds,  their  depth  of  atmosphere,  their  groups  of 
people  so  full  of  life  and  movement,  and  their 
harmonious  statues,  is  to  realise  to  the  full  the 
greatness  of  that  artistic  ability  as  independent  in 
style  and  technique  as  the  most  advanced  of  the 
painters  01  our  day,  and  with  a  true  mastery  of  the 
most  complicated  problems  of  life  and  atmosphere. 

It  was  in  these  last  few  months,  too,  that  he 
painted  that  vigorous  piece  of  work.  Portrait  of  my 
Nurse,  presented  by  M.  Flameng  to  the  Louvre. 

Wonderful,  indeed,  is  the  devouring  activity  of 
this  young  artist,  who  in  seven  years  produced  so 
great  a  number  of  perfect  works  in  such  different 
styles.  For,  even  while  he  was  painting  these  light 
luminous  water-colours,  which  are  among  the  best 
of  their  class,  he  found  time,  too,  to  devote  atten- 
tion to  lithography.  He  joined  several  others  in 
working  for  a  miscellany  called  "A  Picturesque 
Journey  in  Old  France"  for  four  years,  from  1824. 
His  two  most  famous  plates  are  the  Great  Clock 
Tower  at  Evreux  and  La  Rue  du  gros  Horloge 
d  Rouen.  Besides  these  monuments  of  Normandy 
he  also  rendered  some  of  the  churches  and  historic 
sites  of  Franche-Comte.  These  last  were,  as  a  rule, 
executed  after  sketches  provided  for  him,  to  which 
he  added  all  the  figures ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  his 
streets  of  Caen,  Lillebonne,  Dieppe,  and  Rouen, 
are  all  his  own  work  entirely  from  nature,  in  which 
by  the  simple  process  of  lithography  he  obtains 
admirable  colour  effects. 

In  the  spring  of  1828,  Bonington  went  to 
England  to  pay  a  visit  to  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence, 
who  gave  him  the  most  cordial  welcome,  after  which 


"V 


'THE  THREE  KNIGHTS."    BY  R.  P.  BONINGTON. 


Koloman  Moser 


he  returned  to  Paris,  and  settled  in  St.  Lazare,  full 
of  grand  plans  of  active  work.  He  was  not  to  bring 
them  to  fulfilment.  Already  he  was  growing  weaker 
and  weaker  day  by  day.  He  now  longed  to  return  to 
England,  to  the  misty  distances,  the  green  scenery, 
the  silvery  rivers  to  which  he  owed  his  first  inspira- 
tions. He  breathed  his  last  in  London  on 
September  23rd,  1828,  and  was  buried  at  St.  James' 
Church  in  the  presence  of  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  of 
Howard,  and  of  Robson.  Bonington,  I  consider, 
shares  with  Turner  the  title  of  the  mo3t  luminous 
colourist  of  the  English  nineteenth-century  school. 


A 


It  is  in 
Board   of 


N  AUSTRIAN  DECORATIVE 
ARTIST:  KOLOMAN  MOSER. 
BY   A.    S.    LEVETUS. 


the  choice  of  teachers  that  the  Austrian 
Education   best   shows   its   interest    in 


modem  applied  art ; 
for,  by  the  appointment 
to  professorships  of 
young  men,  rich  in  ideas 
and  untrammelled  by 
traditions,  men  in  every 
way  able  to  follow  the 
lines  they  themselves 
have  laid  down,  namely 
freedom  in  art,  a  new 
school  has  been  found- 
ed, a  school  eminently 
"  Viennese."  Prominent 
among  these  young  pro- 
fessors, both  as  teacher 
and  artist,  is  Koloman 
Moser,  who  has  for  five 
years  held  the  post 
of  Professor  of  Applied 


BY    K.    MOSER 


I.ADV  S   STUDY 


DHS]i;.NEl)    BY     KOl.liMAN    .MOSRR 


Art  at  the  Kunstgewerbe- 
schule  (School  of  Applied 
Art).  He  began  his 
artistic  career  at  the  Im- 
perial Academy,  where  he 
studied  painting  under 
Professor  Rumpler,  a  man 
of  broad  ideas,  who,  not- 
withstanding his  leaning 
to  the  old  school,  fully 
recognized  that  its  day  was 
over,  and  that,  in  art  as 
in  nature,  the  old  must 
give  way  to  the  new.  To 
him  Moser  says  he  owes 
his  exactness  in  drawing 
and  firmness  in  technique. 
The  artist's  next  teacher 
was  Professor  Trinkwald. 
But  an  important  change 
was  made  in  the  Arts  and 
Crafts  Schools,  namely 
the  appointment  of  Pro 
fessor  Match  as  teacher  of 
decorative  painting  and 
illustration,  and  taking 
I  1  I 


Koloman  Moser 


advantage  of  only  in  the  abstract.  What  value  can  the  most 
this  Koloman  beautiful  design  have  for  every-day  life,  if  the 
Moser  left  the  artist  knows  nothing  of  the  method  of  applying  it, 
Academy  for  or  the  materials  upon  or  in  which  it  is  to  be 
the  Schools,  a  executed,  or  is  ignorant  of  the  technical  elements 
step  which  was  in  its  manufacture  ?  To  put  this  theory  into 
to  have  great  practice  Professor  Moser,  when  still  a  student, 
influence  on  his  spent  six  months  at  different  glass-making  establish- 
future  career ;  ments  in  Bohemia,  a  period  which  proved  of  the 
for,  already  at  greatest  value  not  only  to  the  artist  himself,  but 
the  first  exhibi-  also  to  manufacturers.  The  artist  acknowledges 
tion  of  the  how  much  he  himself  owes  to  practical  work, 
students'  work,  and  the  world  sees  the  result  in  the  beautiful, 
his  designs  tall,  slender-stemmed  glasses  manufactured  by 
attracted  so  Backalovitch  of  Vienna.  These  glasses.  Pro- 
much  notice  fessor  Moser  says  with  pride,  can  now  be 
both     on     the  manufactured  entirely  in  one  piece  instead  of  in 


DESIGN    FOR   TEXTILE   FABRIC 

BY    K.    MOSER 
EXECUTED   BY   EACKHAUSEN   &   SONS 


part  of  the  authorities  and  the  public, 
that  he  was  offered  an  appointment 
as  assistant  to  Professor  Match. 
He  promptly  refused  the  position, 
for  it  would  have  deprived  him  of 
much  valuable  time.  Two  years 
later  he  accepted  the  office  of 
Ordinary  Professor  at  the  Schools, 
an  appointment  which  he  still 
holds.  His  influence  there  is  to  be 
seen  in  the  number  of  students  who 
seek  admission  to  his  classes,  and 
already  several  of  those  who  have 
studied  under  him  have  begun  to 
make  names  for  themselves. 

Moser  is  one  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Vienna  Secession.  His  creed 
is  the  union  of  the  artistic  and 
practical ;  but,  in  order  to  under- 
stand how  to  bring  about  this  union, 
he  fully  recognises  that  the  practical 
side  must  be  cultivated  quite  as  much 
as  the  purely  artistic,  for  no  amount 
of  designing,  painting,  and  modelling 
will  make   a    real    artist    if  treated 


CABINET    WITH 
MOVABLE    INTARSIA 


DESIGNED   BY   KOLOMAN    MOSER 
EXECUTED   BY   PORTOIS   AND   FIX 


Koloman  Moser 


FURNITURE 


two  or  more  pieces  as  formerly,  with  the  stem 
joined  to  the  foot  and  calyx.  It  is  indeed  only  a 
question  of  time  before  these  glasses  will  be  made 
as  slender-stemmed  and  as  thin  and  delicate-looking 
as  those  now  made  in  three  pieces.  It  is  no  ex- 
aggeration to  say  that 
Koloman  Moser's  glass  is 
known  far  and  wide  ;  and 
naturally,  too,  there  are 
many  imitations ;  but 
these,  fortunately,  can 
easily  be  recognised. 
Nor  is  it  in  designs  for 
glass  alone  that  he  excels ; 
for,  possessing  as  he  does 
an  exquisite  taste  and 
feeling  for  the  work,  com- 
bined with  thorough  un- 
derstanding of  the  har- 
mony between  theory  and 
practice  in  art,  he  has 
applied  his  talent  to  all 
kinds  of  material,  ^\'e 
see  it  in  his  noble  de- 
signs for  electric  -  light 
pendants,  with  various- 
hued  globes  of  tinted 
glass,  sending  tender 
tones  of  light  below  ;  in 
his  standard  lamps,  in  his 
•designs  for  jewellery,  for 
furniture    and    for   textile 


fabrics.  Consistent  with 
his  fixed  opinions,  that 
in  all  things  theory  and 
practice  alone  are  good  as 
far  as  they  go,  but  only 
when  combined  can  they 
be  of  real  value,  Pro- 
fessor Moser  devoted  many 
months  to  the  study  of 
weaving  and  the  materials 
out  of  which  woven  goods 
are  made :  silks,  wools, 
cottons  and  what  not. 
For  the  furtherance  of  his 
ideas  he  wandered  from 
factory  to  factory,  every- 
where eagerly  learning, 
everywhere  seeking  and 
finding  something  to  take 
him  a  stage  further  in 
his  work.  And  it  was 
the  same  with  metals, 
and  woods  ;  hence  his  skilful  and  artistic  blend- 
ing of  various  kinds  of  wood,  in  his  designs 
of  furniture  :  satin  -  wood,  rose  -  wood,  ebony, 
mother-of-pearl,  silver,  brass,  ivory  being  em- 
ployed   for     inlay     in    one     piece    of    furniture, 


DESIGNED   BY    KOLOMAN    MOSER 


DESIGNED   BY    KOLOMAN  MOSER 


Koloman  Moser 


such  as  a  writing-desk,  a 
chair  back,  a  table,  or  a 
side- board. 

The  desire  for  the  really 
artistic  has  been  greatly 
stimulated  in  Vienna  by 
Koloman  Moser  and  a  few 
other  young  and  ardent 
art-lovers  who  were  not 
afraid  of  expressing  their 
love  outwardly,  men  who 
could  and  did  choose 
for  themselves,  and  were 
not  afraid  to  throw  off  the 
fetters  of  tradition.  But 
now  tradition  in  art  is 
dead,  or  nearly  so.  Gone 
are  the  ornaments,  atro- 
cious in  form  and  colour, 
with  which  the  shop- 
windows  used  to  be  filled  ; 
gone  too  are  the  hereditary 
patterns  of  the  rococo 
times,  for  as  Kolo  Moser 


SIDEBOARD:    "THE   DRAUGHT  OF    FISIlKs" 


DESIGNED   BY    KOLOMAN    MOSER 
EXECUTED   BY   PORTOIS  AND   FIX 


DETAIL  OF   INTARSIA 
FOR  SIDEBOARD 

BY    KOI.OMAN    MOSER 


says  :  "  We  are  now 
living  in  the  times 
of  automobiles,  elec- 
tric cars,  bicycles, 
and  railways  ;  what 
was  good  style  in 
stage-coach  days  is 
not  so  now,  what 
may  have  been 
practical  then  is  not 
so  now,  and  as  the 
times  are,  so  must 
art  be."  And  this 
is  echoing  what 
Herr  Hevesi,  the 
art  critic,  wrote  for 
the  inscription  on 
the  "Secession" 
building : 

"  Der  Zeit  Ihre  Kunst, 
l)er  Kunst  Ihre  Zeit." 
(To  Time  its  Art, 
To  Art  its  Time. ) 


There  is  no  reason  why  one  should  not  be  both 
artistic  and  modern ;  it  is  only  extravagance  in  one 
or  the  other  direction  which  produces  bad  art,  or 
better  still  sterilises  it.  Professor  Moser  is  in  no 
ways  a  sinner.  His  artistic  balance  is  well  poised, 
both  his  hand  and  his  judgment  are  unerring. 
There  are  those  who  accuse  him  of  having  been 
too  much  influenced  by  English  styles  ;  others  say 
that  old  English  furniture  is  Japanese :  forgetting 
that  creative  art  is  peculiar  to  no  one  nation,  and 
that  the  fundamental  basis  is  common  to  all. 
Professor  Moser  is  a  true  artist  and  knows  how 
much  nations  owe  to  one  another  in  art  as  in  all 
things ;  and  his  innate  feeling  for  real  beauty  of 
form,  design,  and  colour  has  instinctively  led  him 
to  pick  out  what  is  good  in  all  things,  with  the 
result  that  something  entirely  new  has  been  evolved 
by  him,  an  art  which  is  peculiarly  his  own,  and 
makes  his  work  at  once  recognisable. 

There  is  hardly  a  branch  of  applied  art  to  which 
Koloman  Moser  has  not  turned  his  hand.  Fertile 
in  his  designs  he  possesses  an  exuberance  of  rich 


Koloman  Moser 


inventive  faculty,  a  masterly  hand  governed  by 
perfect  taste  and  right  feeling  ;  his  tones  are  finely 
modulated,  and  his  sense  of  colouring  highly 
developed,  at  the  same  time  that  he  is  eminently 
practical  in  his  designs.  This  is  seen  in  his  textiles 
manufactured  by  Backhausen  &  Co.,  Vierma,  in 
his  wall  papers,  in  the  rich  blending  of  colours,  in 
his  placards,  and  the  harmonious  effects  of  his 
woods.  A  dining-room  suite,  which  the  artist  calls 
The  Draught  of  Fishes,  is  of  maple  stained  brown- 
greens,  the  design  of  fish  being  carried  out  alter- 
nately in  mahogany  and  satin-wood  ;  while  the 
mountings  are  of  brass.  The  effect  is  at  once 
beautiful  and  restful.  Another  striking  piece  of 
furniture  is  a  cabinet  of  maple  inlaid  with  satin 
wood,  part  of  the  decoration  of  which  consists  of 
long,  slender  figures  of  women  holding  rings 
upward   in  their  hands.     The  materials  used  are 


CUSHION   COVER 


DESIGNED    BY    KOLOMAN    MOSER 
EXECUTED  BY  BACKHAUSEN  &  SONS 


CUSHION   COVER 


DESIGNED   BY    KOLOMAN    MOSER 
EXECUTED  BY  BACKHAUSEN  &  SONS 


the  Hohewarte,  is  very  effective  and  homely.  The 
uphotetery  is  pale  terra-cotta,  with  a  faint  yellow 
line,  and  the  wood  maple  stained  yellow  brown. 
The  panelled  walls  have  spaces  filled  in  by  photo- 
graphs or  mezzotints  in  keeping  with  the  tones  of 
the  decorations.  The  yellow-striped  carpet  is  not 
so  pleasing  :  reminding  one  as  it  does  of  the  days 
of  druggets,  it  is  a  little  disturbing.  The  fireplace 
is  of  beaten  copper,  and  the  writing-table  has  an 
intarsia  of  pewter. 

Some  of  Moser's  best  work  is  to  be  seen  in 
the  fresco  on  the  outside  of  the  Secession  build- 
ing, and  in  the  stained-glass  window  over  its 
entrance.  The  former  represents  those  tall  grace- 
ful women  moving  in  the  circles  of  the  dance,  for 
which  the  artist  is  so  much  and  justly  admired. 
The  proportions  are  admirably  preserved  and  the 


ebony,  ivory,  mother- o'- 
pearl,  satin-wood,  silver, 
and  other  metals. 

It  is  only  within  the  last 
two  years  that  Professor 
Moser  has  taken  to  design- 
ing the  entire  furniture 
of  rooms,  though,  through- 
out his  artistic  career,  he 
has  designed  various 
articles  of  furniture.  His 
lady's  writing-room  in 
Dr.   Henneberg's    villa   on 


DESIGN    FOR    A   CARPET 


IIY    KOLOMAN    MOSBR 

EXECUTED    BY    BACKHAUSEN   &  SONS 

"5 


Koloman  Moser 


colouring  is  very  effective.  The  fine  deep  terra- 
cotta reds  of  the  outline  of  the  garments  show  well 
in  contrast  with  the  grey-white  of  the  walls  and  the 
blacks  of  the  hair  and  outline  of  the  faces  and  limbs. 

How  Professor  Moser,  in  conjunction  with  a 
devoted  few,  worked  for  the  "  Secession  "  is  now 
history,  but  these  same  few  are  still  working,  seek- 
ing and  finding,  unwearied  and  unconquerable.  If 
in  their  earlier  days  they  were  a  little  too  wilful,  it 
was  only  to  serve  the  better  to  bring  about  their 
aims  and  make  them  possible.  One  no  longer 
sees  excess  of  colour :  the  ultra-bright  hues  which 
seem  to  have  no  right  place  in  a  great  city,  even 
in  such  a  one  as  Vienna  upon  which  the  sun  does 
shine  and  whose  sky  is  more  often  than  not  of  a 
pure  celestial  blue,  have  disappeared.  The  very 
placards  help  to  tell  the  story  of  the  revolution. 
The  great  wave  has  swept  past,  tearing  up  tradi- 
tions by  the  roots  and  carrying  them  out  into  the 
wide  ocean  to  disappear  in  its  hoary  bosom, 
while  the  heavens  smile  down  encouragingly  on 
those  who  helped  to  raise  the  storm  on  Koloman 
Moser  and  his  friends.  It  is  hard  to  think  this  took 
place  such  a  very  short  time  ago — six  years  only. 

All  the  strength  and  energy  of  these  devoted  few 


was  brought  to  bear  on  the  art  of  the  then  future, 
and  the  outcome  was  a  new  school ;  not  a  school 
founded  on  the  ruins  of  the  old,  but  something, 
astonishing  in  its  audacity,   and  something,   too. 


CUSHION   COVER 


DESIGNED    BY    KOLO.MAN    MOSEK 
EXECUTED   BY   BACKHAUSEN   &   SONS 


X 


textile  fabric 
it6 


DESIGNED   BY   KOLOMAN    MOSER 
EXECUTED   BY   BACKHAUSEN    &   S 


which  has  come  to  stay,  for  now  that  the 
storm  has  abated  one  can  judge  how 
terrific  it  was,  carrying  as  it  did  so  many 
with  it  by  sheer  force.  When  the  history 
of  modern  art  in  Vienna  comes  to  be 
written  in  detail,  the  historian  will  start  at 
the  Secession ;  and  when  he  comes  to 
personalities  it  will  be  found  that  in  one 
branch — namely,  applied  art— no  one  is 
worthier  of  a  prominent  place  than  Kolo- 
man Moser,  for  in  the  space  of  a  few 
years  he  has  created  a  school  and  (what 
is  more)  has  helped  to  educate  not  only 
his  pupils  but  also  a  public  as  eager  to 
learn  as  they,  and  manufacturers  ready  to 
produce  things  which  are  artistic  besides 
being  useful. 

As  a  teacher,  Professor  Moser  lays  chief 
stress  on  the  study  of  the  living  model, 
which  he  rightly  says  is  the  best  means 
of  measuring  good  drawing.  He  attaches 
great  importance,  too,  to  the  necessity  of 
having  a  workshop  suitably  fitted  up, 
so  that  a  student  may  also  learn  to 
execute  his  own  designs  and  so  awake 
the    sense    of    true    workmanship ;    and 


I 


Koloman  Moser 


POTTERY   WARE 


DESIGNED   BY   KOI.OMAN    MOSER 


it  is  an  outcome  of  this  that  students  are  already 
able  to  have  practical  experience  of  hand-weaving, 
the  potter's  wheel,  the  needle  in  embroider)-, 
metal-work,  calico  printing,  and  other  simple 
technical  work.  So  far  the  results  have  been 
highly  satisfactory.  Professor  Moser's  whole 
strength  is  devoted  to  the  task  he  has  before  him  ; 
he  is  a  conscientious  teacher,  and  takes  a  keen 
interest  in  his  pupils'  work  and  welfare  generally. 
Tfiis  is  not  surprising,  for  it  is  only  natural  that  so 
good  an  artist  should  be  a  good  teacher,  for  only 
those  who  are  truly  gifted  can  show  the  path  to 
others.  A.  S.  Levetus. 


We  have  received  the  following  communication 
from  our  Antwerp  correspondent.  "  The  Triennial 
E.xhibition  of  1904  was  a  very  successful  one. 
Although  it  contained,  like  all  its  predecessors, 
two  or  even  three  hundred  exhibits  which  were 
works  of  art  in  name  only,  about  half  the  rooms 
were  occupied  by  a  series  of  paintings  and 
sculptures  of  striking  individuality  and  of  original 
composition.  It  is  important  to  note  that,  for 
the  first  time  for  many  years,  this  exhibition 
triumphantly  asserts  the  renaissance  of  the  Ant- 
werp School,  which  for  so  many  years  has  been 
hampered  by  old-fashioned  rules  and  conventions. 
It  is  a  good  sign  that  this  renaissance  is  chiefly 
due  to  a  return  to  sincerity,  not  to  the  following 
of  some  formula,  which  must  of  necessity  be  a 
merely  temporary  movement.  It  is  represented  by 
a  large  group  of  artists,  the  eldest  of  whom  has 
not  yet  reached  his  40th  year,  whilst  the  majority 
are  but  now  making  their  first  appearance.  In  a 
word,  they  adopt  no  special  style  and  form  neither 
a  club  nor  a  school,  for  each  paints  in  his  own  way 


without  regard  to  his  neighbours'  proceedings. 
The  most  noteworthy  pictures  of  the  Exhibition 
were  from  the  following  artists; — Baertsoen,  Buysse, 
E.  Claus,  F.  Charlet,  J.  Smits,  K.  Mertens,  E. 
Laermans,  Hens,  R.  Baseleer,  de  Laet,  Morren,. 
van  Mieghen,  Vaes,  Mutsers,  Opsomer,  Roessing, 
Posenaer,  Gogo,  Bosiers,  Crahay,  Ernest,  Hage- 
man,  Vloors,  Wiethase,  T.  Verstraete,  Luyten,, 
de  Smeth,  Looymans,  Rul,  Verhaeit,  Farasijn, 
J.  Diercken,  Mile.  Marcotte,  J-  de  N'riendt,  J.  Ros- 
seels,  E.  Verstraeten,  de  Sadeleer,  Gustav  de  Smet, 
Mme.  A.  de  \Veert,  Willaert,  von  Cauwelaert ;. 
Verheyden,  M.  Melsen,  A.  Ronner,  R.  AVytsman,, 
Mme.  W'ytsman,  Franck,  and  Coppens. 


r 


STENCH.   DESIGN 


BY    KOI.OMAN    MOSER. 


Victor  Gilsoiil 


"OLD   EMBANKMENT   AT   BRUGES" 


BY   VICTOR   GILSOUL 


T 


HE  ART  OF  VICTOR  GIL- 
SOUL.  BY  LENORE  VAN  DER 
VEER. 


Victor  Gilsoul  is  one  of  the  truest  living 
followers  of  the  old  Flemish  school.  One  sees  re- 
flected in  his  work  much  of  the  rich  heritage  left 
by  the  masters  of  Flanders— a  heritage  priceless  in 
its  influence  on  the  art  of  all  time.  Bom  in  the 
capital  of  Belgium  in  the  year  1867,  Gilsoul  played 
as  a  child  in  an  environment  rich  in  memories  of 
Rubens  and  Van  Dyck.  His  earliest  inclination 
was  towards  art,  and  at 
fourteen  years  of  age  he 
began  his  studies  at  the 
Academie  des  Beaux-Arts 
in  Antwerp.  By  the  time 
he  was  fifteen  he  had  won 
the  first  landscape  prize 
and  had  seen  enough  of 
the  difficult  side  of  painting 
to  make  him  determined 
in  his  desire. 

On  returning  to  Brus- 
sels after  barely  eighteen 
months'  study  in  the  Ant- 
werp Academy,  he  came 
under  the  influence  of 
d' Artan  and  Franz  Courtans, 
the  two  men  who  gave  him 
his  first  taste  of  open  air 
painting,  a  charm  which 
quickly     enwrapped     him,  "a  flemish  mill" 

118 


and  which  has  done  more,  perhaps,  than  anything 
else  to  determine  his  ambition.  When  seventeen 
years  old  he  got  his  first  painting  admitted  into  the 
Brussels  Salon — a  simple  little  study  of  a  wind- 
mill, but  it  won  the  youthful  painter  his  first 
taste  of  public  distinction,  and  he  has  ever  since 
been  well  represented  in  the  Brussels,  Antwerp, 
and  Ghent  Exhibitions. 

Gilsoul's  first  big  success  was  about  fifteen  years 
ago,  with  a  picture  representing  a  train  in  a  cutting 
at  night.  This  picture  was  shown  at  the  Voor- 
waerts  Club,  in  which  the  artist  made  his  debut  — 


BY    VICTOR   GILSOUL 


Victor  Gilsonl 


an  association  of  young  painters  of  which  he 
and  Laermans  were  the  chief  figures.  This 
society  ceased  to  exist  in  1897. 

Gilsoul's  reputation  grew  rapidly  from  1897  to 
1899,  both  in  his  own  country  and  other  conti- 
nental art  centres.  He  had  several  fine  paintings 
of  this  period  bought  by  foreign  collectors.  His 
Fi'c/ieur  au  filet,  painted  at  Nieuport,  Belgium,  was 
bought  by  the  reigning  Prince  of  Bavaria  :  the 
Canal  en  Atttomne  belongs  to  the  Grand-Duke  of 
Saxe- Weimar ;  and  the  Lever  de  Lune  became  the 
property  of  the  Crefeld  Museum.  In  1899  the 
young  painter  was  admitted  into  the  Champ-de-Mars 
Club  in  Paris  as  one  of  their  "partner  members," 
and  the  same  year  he  sent  there  three  canvases, 
Une  Place  en  Flandre,  which  has  since  been  bought 
by  Mr.  Thomas  of  Brussels,  Vieitx  Pignons  and 
Un  i,tang  en  Brabant,  the  success  of  which 
was  so  remarkable  that  Monsieur  Benedite  was 
commissioned  by  the  French  Government  to  visit 
the  studio  of  the  young  Flemish  painter  and  to 
buy  one  of  his  pictures  for  the  Musee  du  Luxem- 
bourg. He  chose  Un  Etang,  a  picture  remarkably 
fine  both  in  composition  and  treatment. 

It  was  in   1900  that  Gilsoul  had  his  first  one- 


man  exhibition  at  the  Cercle  Artistique  in  Brussels. 
This  was  visited  by  the  King  of  the  Belgians, 
Leopold  II.,  who  warmly  congratulated  the  artist 
and  gave  him  a  commission  to  paint  a  series  of 
fifteen  pictures  for  his  private  yacht  the  Alberta. 
These  pictures,  exhibited  in  the  artist's  studio  in 
February,  1902,  show  how  well  the  painter  loves 
and  understands  the  calm  and  reposeful  nature  of 
the  Brabant  and  Dutch  country. 

About  this  time  Gilsoul  received  a  commission 
from  the  Belgian  Government  to  execute  four 
panels  representing  the  principal  sites  and  build- 
ings of  historic  interest  in  Brussels  which  are 
fast  disappearing  through  the  "  modernising  "  of 
the  town.  These  panels  are  being  placed  in  the 
Hotel  de  ViUe. 

It  was  in  1897  that  Gilsoul  submitted  to  the 
Brussels  Universal  Exhibition  three  paintings: 
Ete  en  Brabant,  Une  Place  en  Flandre,  and  Un 
Canal  d.  Vilvorde.  The  jury  accepted  the  first 
two,  but  refused  the  third.  This  one,  however, 
was  afterwards  exhibited  at  the  Munich  Salon, 
where  it  won  the  gold  medal,  and  was  bought 
by  a  Leipzig  collector.  At  the  Belgian  Exhibi- 
tion he  was  awarded  a  silver  medal  for  the  two 


"dimanchk  matin' 


BY    VICTOR   GILSOUL 
121 


Victor  Gilsoul 


paintings  accepted  at  Brussels,  and  the  Minister  of 
Fine  Arts  supplemented  this  award  by  nominating 
Gilsoul  a  Chevalier  de  I'Ordre  de  Leopold. 

At  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1900,  Gilsoul  was 
given  a  silver  medal  for  his  Lueurs  Crepusculaires, 
a  picture  that  awakened  much  interest  for  the 
Belgian  artist.  At  the  Paris  Salon,  1901,  he 
showed  a  landscape  entitled  Environs  de  Niatport, 
which  was  bought  by  King  Leopold  IL  Two 
of  the  best  landscapes  shown  in  the  Vienna 
Kunstlerhaus  last  spring  were  by  Gilsoul.  They 
were  rich  in  colouring  and  superb  in  tech- 
nique. 

■  What  Gilsoul  aims  at  in  his  art  is  not  difficult  to 
see.  He  loves  everything  that  is  healthy,  power- 
ful, and  robust  in  art.  Since  the  very  beginning  of 
his  career  he  has  given  his  best  thought  to  the 


development  of  his  style,  which  he  wants  always  to 
purify  more  and  more.  Yet  this  desire  does  not 
absorb  his  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  other 
qualities  which  go  towards  the  completion  of  every 
man's  truest  expression  in  art.  He  knows  that  in 
order  to  reach  the  vast  synthetic  impression  which 
he  pursues  the  colouring  must  also  be  refined, 
must  always  be  more  subtle,  the  light  always  more 
enveloped. 

This  was  most  forcefully  shown  some  three  years 
ago  at  the  moment  when  his  mastership  had  become 
undisputed,  and  he  was  at  what  seemed  to  be  the 
very  height  of  his  success.  It  was  at  this  moment 
that  he  was  suddenly  seen  to  begin  searching,  like 
a  student,  to  modify  his  work — to  be  going  through 
a  stage  of  deep  uncertainty,  as  it  were.  But  he 
knew  what  he  was  doing  nevertheless,  and  after  a 


'  NIBUPORT       COUCHER   DU    SOLEIL  ' 
122 


BY   VICTOR   GILSOUL 


o 
z 

H 
< 

Oh 

W 
X 

H  , 

S< 
O  ( 

^  : 


Victor  Gilsottl 


short  period  of  hesitation  became  quite  sure  of 
himself  again,  and  more  complete  in  the  control  of 
his  talent.  He  had  eliminated  certain  bad  tones 
which  had  long  embarrassed  him,  with  the  result 
that  he  was  capable  of  making  the  light  vibrate  still 
more  wondrously  in  his  beautiful,  rich  landscapes. 

Gilsoul's  studies  are  made  direct  from  nature, 
and  he  loves  best  the  land  of  his  fathers  for  his 
inspirations.  The  canals  of  Flanders,  the  old 
windmills,  rugged  and  sturdy  against  the  sky, 
the  softly  flowing  streams,  rich  in  reflections  of 
swaying  branches,  splendid  trees  standing  out 
in  golden  softness  against  the  sunset  afterglow ; 
these  are  the  things  in  nature  which  Gilsoul 
best  loves  to  paint,  and  these  are  the  things 
that  his  temperament  is  undoubtedly  best  suited 
to  interpret. 

He  spends  most  of  his  time  at  Nieuport  on  the 
Belgian  coast,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in 
the  country,  where  most  of  his  pictures  had  their 
conception.  His  life  is  wrapped  in  his  art,  and  few 
of  the  delights  which  other  men  find  in  other  pur- 
suits and  pleasures  hold  the  least  attraction  for  him. 
His  is  not  the  temperament  of  the  dreamer,  but 
rather  that  of  the  restless  spirit  always  in  search  of 
fresh  delights  in  nature,  of  still  deeper  charms  to 
fathom,  and  he  continually  seeks  for  new  inspira- 
tions and  new  methods  of  dealing  with  them  when 
they  come  to  him. 

It  comes  to  but  few  artists  in  their  early  thirties 
to  know  the   high    reputation   that  has  fallen  to 


Victor  Gilsoul,  but  so  splendid  is  his  ambition,  and 
so  modest  his  opinion  of  his  own  success,  that  to 
him  there  seems  but  little  accomplished  so  far. 
Nothing  could  bode  more  happily  for  his  future 
than  this,  and  little  by  little,  in  response  to  his 
craving  for  a  gathering  of  all  that  is  finest  and  best 
in  his  art,  his  work  will  no  doubt  finally  reach  a 
point  of  development  that  will  establish  him  per- 
manently amongst  the  first  rank  of  present-day 
painters  in  Belgium.       Lenore  van  der  Veer. 

By  the  deaths  recently  of  Mr.  Arthur  Melville 
and  Mr.  James  Archer  the  British  school  loses  two 
artists  of  distinction.  Both  were  members  of  the 
Royal  Scottish  Academy,  in  which  Mr.  Melville 
held  the  rank  of  Associate,  and  Mr.  Archer  that  of 
Academician.  Mr.  Archer  had  attained  the  age  of 
eighty  years,  and  during  the  long  period  over 
which  his  working  life  extended  he  was  prominent 
as  a  painter  of  portraits  and  historical  pictures. 
Mr.  Melville  was  his  junior  by  some  thirty-four 
years,  and  held  a  position  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
Scottish  painters  of  the  younger  school.  His  oil 
pictures  were  strongly  handled  and  marked  by 
much  originality  of  manner,  but,  perhaps,  the 
highest  manifestation  of  his  capacities  was  given  in 
his  admirable  water  colours.  Of  this  branch  of 
art  practice  he  was  undeniably  a  master.  He  was 
elected  an  Associate  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
Painters  in  Water  Colours  in  1888,  and  a  full 
member  in   1900. 


"NEAR   THE   BELGIAN   COAST" 


BY   VICTOR    GILSOUL 


(In  potsesiion  of  H.M.  the  King  of  the  Belgians) 


'A  VILLAGE  STREET,'  from  the  painting  by  V.  GILSOUL. 


5^ 

"  o 

o  a 
> 

w  o 

> 

1-1  >: 


Recent  Designs  for  Domestic  ^  rchitecture 


NETHERSWELL   MANOR,    GLOUCESTERSHIRE 


GUY   DAWBER,    ARCHITECT 


s 


OME    RECENT    DESIGNS     FOR 
DOMESTIC    ARCHITECTURE. 


The  subject  of  Modern  Domestic 
Architecture  is  one  that  has  always  received  atten- 
tion in  The  Studio,  and  the  designs  of  architects 
who  have  put  away  the  tendency  to  fashion  new 
houses  out  of  the  ruins  ot  bad  old  styles,  and  of 
those  who  have  shown  artistic  individuality  and  a 
sane  originality  of  thought,  have  always  been  sure 
of  sympathetic  consideration  in  these  pages.  It 
is  intended  in  the  future  to  devote  even  more 
space  than  hitherto  to  the  subject,  and  general 
architectural  articles,  accompanied  by  illustra- 
tions comprising  recent  designs  for  houses,  will 
appear  in  nearly  every  issue  of  the  Magazine. 
This  month,  illustrations  are  given  of  NeOiersivell 
Manor,  Gloucestershire,  designed  by  Mr.  Guy 
Dawber;  of  a  House  near  Edenbridge  by  Mr. 
Robert  Weir  Schultz ;  of  Chapelwood  Manor, 
Sussex,  by  Mr.  Andrew  N.  Prentice ;  and  of  a 
House  and  Garden  at  Berkhampstead,  by  Mr.  T.  H. 
Mawson  and  Mr.  Dan  Gibson.  Netherswell 
Manor,  Gloucester,  is  situated  overlooking  a  stream 
on  the  southern  slope  of  one  of  the  numerous 
valleys  intersecting  the  Cotswold  Hills.  It  is 
built  of  local  stone — quarried  on  the  estate — of  a 
warm  cream  colour,  with  a  stone  slate  roof,  done  in 
the  local  manner,  with  the  slates  graduated  in  size 
and  thickness ;  the  valleys  are  done  without  lead, 
the  slates  being  carried  in  a  soft  curve,  thus  avoid- 
ing the  hard  lines  that  cut  so  many  modem  roofs 
up  into  different  planes.  Mr.  R.  W.  Schultz's 
house,  which  has  been  designed  to  harmonise  with 
128 


the  traditional  type  of  small  manor-house  in  the 
district,  is  in  course  of  erection  on  a  site  about 
two  miles  from  Edenbridge  in  Kent.  The 
materials  employed  are  mostly  those  obtainable 
in  the  neighbourhood,  the  lower  part  of  the  house 
being  constructed  of  red  bricks  from  Dunton 
Green,  while  the  upper  storey  is  hung  with 
red  tiles  from  the  same  place,  and  the  roof  is 
covered  with  darker  tiles  from  the  Ashford  dis- 
trict. The  interior  is  being  finished  quite  simply, 
but  the  staircase  and  the  doors  of  the  principal 
rooms  will  be  of  oak ;  and  there  will  be  oak-beams 
in  the  hall.  The  walls  of  the  rooms  generally  will 
be  finished  white. 

Chapelwood  Manor,  Sussex,  designed  by  Mr.  A. 
N.  Prentice,  is  situated  on  the  borders  of  Ashdown 
Forest.  The  base  of  the  building  is  of  local  sand- 
stone, built  in  narrow  courses  ;  and  above  this  is 
half-timber  work,  in  Odessa  oak,  with  an  average 
thickness  of  4  ins.,  framed  and  pinned  after  the 
manner  of  the  old  timber  houses  to  be  found  in 
this  locality,  while  the  chimney-stacks  are  in  red 
brick.  The  interior  has  been  finished  very  simply. 
The  hall,  pannelled  in  oak,  will  form  the  principal 
living-room.  Its  principal  feature  is  a  large  open 
fire-place,  in  radiating  red  brick  and  stone.  The 
House  and  Gardens  at  Berkhampstead  is  on  the 
southern  slope  of  Whitehill.  The  house  (which 
is  of  brick,  and  slated)  was  built  five  or  six  years 
ago.  The  garden,  of  which  a  good  idea  can  be 
obtained  from  the  illustration,  is  from  the  design 
of  Mr.  T.  H.  Mawson,  whose  valuable  help  has 
also  been  requisitioned  in  laying  out  the  gardens 
and  approach  drives  of  Chapelwood  Alanor. 


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Tobacco  Pipes 


RIMITIVE  ART  AS  EXEMPLI- 
FIED IN  TOBACCO  PIPES.  BY 
RICHARD   QUICK. 


Artistic  pipes,  used  either  for  smoking  tobacco, 
hemp,  or  coltsfoot,  are  found  in  all  countries. 


-MOUND   PIPES 

(In  the  Blackmorc  Museutn) 


temporary  with  the  long  passed  away  animals 
which  they  frequently  depicted.  The  designs 
of  the  pipes,  though  sometimes  very  simple  in 
form,  often  represent  the  heads  of  animals, 
such  as  the  raccoon,  bear,  wolf,  beaver,  etc. 
Fig.  I  shows  a  few  in  the  Blackmore  Museum.  In 
each  specimen  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  object 
faces  the  mouthpiece,  or  drilled  end.  It  may  be 
safely  assumed  that  the  North  American  Indian 
inherited  the  practice  of  smoking  through  genera- 
tions of  ancestors  from  prehistoric  man.  The 
North  American  Indians  smoke  the  calumet,  or 
"  pipe  of  peace,"  as  a  token  of  amity,  and  the 
tomahawk,  or  "pipe  of  war,"  as  a  symbol  of  the 
fight.  In  the  British  Museum  there  are  a 
number  of  specimens  of  the  calumet.  The 
bowls  of  some  of  the  specimens  are  made 
of  catlinite  (a  red  stone),  called  so  after  the 
great  explorer  Catlin,  who  first  traced  it  to 
its  bed.  The  stem  is  of  wood,  either  plain  or 
carved  spiral.  The  tomahawk  pipe  was  origin- 
ally made  of  blackstone  and  metal.  In  Fig.  2 
will  be  seen  some  pipes  from  the  British  Museum, 
the  bowls  of  which  were  made  in  this  country, 
and  used  as  barter  with  the  Indians ;  they 
were  much  sought  after  and  prized  by  them. 
The  Indians  often  engraved  the  blades  of  the 
tomahawk  pipes,  or  decorated  the  stem  with  eagles' 
feathers,  etc. 

The    one    in    the    illustration,    so   ornamented. 


In  the  present  article 
I  wish  rather  to  bring 
before  the  reader  those 
pipes  made  by  more  or 
less  savage  or  uncivilised 
people  in  different  parts  of 
the  world.  As  America  is 
the  home  of  the  tobacco- 
pipe,  I  will  commence 
with  that  country.  In  the 
Blackmore  Museum  at 
Salisbury  there  are,  taken 
from  the  Ohio  mounds, 
some  interesting  stone 
pipes  which  were  found 
lying  side  by  side  with 
stone  implements. 

The  immense  antiquity 
of  these  is  self  -  proven, 
since  they  have  been  ex- 
ecuted by  men  of  the 
stone  age,  who  were  con- 


FIG.  2. — TOMAHAWK    PIPES  NORTH    AMERICAN    INDIAN 

(/n  the  British  Museum) 


Tobacco  Pipes 


belonged  to  Strongbow,  Chief  of  the  Seneca 
Indians.  It  is  curious  to  notice  that  the  more 
forbidding  -  looking  pipe  is  usually  the  better 
decorated  and  more  artistic. 

The  inhabitants  of  Vancouver  Island  form 
some  very  curious  pipes  out  of  solid  blackstone, 
covering  them  often  with  an  infinity  of  grotesque 
images  of  figures,  snakes  and  lizards,  etc.  In 
Fig.  3  we  have  three  very  curious  specimens  from 


(in  the  British  Museum) 


VANCOUVER 


the  British  Museum.     They  were  originally  in  the 
celebrated  Bragge  Collection. 

They  are  what  may  be  termed  Noah's  Ark-like 
looking  pipes,  with  a  rude 
house  on  each  ;  the  chim- 
ney of  each  forms  the  bowl 
of  the  pipe,  and  the  stem 
the  keel  of  the  boat ;  the 
house,  in  most  cases,  has 
glass  \\-indows,  and  the  boat 
stem  is  inlaid  with  bone. 

Some  of  these  pipes  are 
made  entirely  of  slate,  but 
they  are  rather  more  com- 
mon than  the  above  speci- 
mens. Eskimo  and  Siberian 
pipes  display  a  great  deal 
of  Art  and  Natural  History 
combined,  as  will  be  seen 
in  the  illustration  (Fig.  4).  fig.  5.— pipes 

134 


-PIPES  ESKIMO   AND    EAST   SIBERIA 

{In  the  British  Museum) 


The  first  four  are  made  from  whale's  bone,  carved 
from  one  solid  piece.  On  the  second  will  be  seen 
a  number  of  animals  in  reHef  (bears,  deer  and  dogs, 
etc.),  and  incised  ornament  on  the  sides  and  back, 
the  lines  being  filled  with  black  stopping.  In  the 
third  will  be  seen  a  man  in  a  sledge,  and  other 
animals  in  relief.  The  last  pipe  came  from  the 
valley  of  the  River  Lena,  East  Siberia,  and  is 
carved  from  Mammoth  ivory,  with  a  wooden 
mouthpiece.  These  are  all  in  the  British  Museum, 
and  may  be  termed  Arctic  pipes. 

In    South   America   some  very  interesting   and 


PARAGUAY   AND   PERU 


Tobacco  Pipes 


curious     pipes   are    found,    as    will  be  seen  by 
examining  Fig.  5. 

The  centre  three  came  from  Paraguay.  They 
are  made  of  wood ;  at  the  large  end  is  a 
conical  hole,  in  which  is  inserted  a  roll  of 
tobacco  leaves,  at  the  other  a  small  reed  for  a 
mouthpiece.  The  sides  are  incised  with  designs 
representing  a  large  serpent,  leopard,  figures,  and 
other  ornaments,  the  lines  being  filled  with 
white.     These  were  used  by  Paraguay  chiefs. 

The  two  upright  pipes  are  from  the  River 
Maayali,  Peru,  and  are  quite  plain  and  simple  in 
design. 

Now,  if  we  turn  to  Africa,  we  shall  find  that 
pipes  are  made  of  nearly  every  possible  material, 
and   are   full   of    design.      Take,    for   instance, 
those    shown    in    Fig.    6.      They    come    from 
Ashantee,  and  are  all  made  of  red  clay,  in  various 
forms,   such  as  a  leopard,  with  dots  and  incised 
lines  filled  with  white,  a  bird  preening  its  feathers, 
a  padlock,   a  copy  of  some    European  specimen 


FIG.  7. — PIPES 


ZAMBESI    RIVER,    EAST    AFRICA 


FIG.  6. — PIPES 


seen  by  a  native,  and  two  with  globular  bowls,  the 
usual  form  ;  these  are  also  ornamented  with  incised 
lines,  and  filled  with  white. 

In  Fig.  8  are  represented  a  group  from  East 
Central  Africa,  with  wood 
and  earthenware  bowls, 
and  gourd  mouthpieces. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the 
illustration  that  the  main 
point  in  pipe-making 
among  the  natives  of  this 
district  is  to  be  liberal  as 
regards  the  size  of  the  bowl. 
This  is  often  larger  than 
in  the  great  porcelain 
pipes  of  Germany.  These 
are  what  are  called  Dinka 
or  Nile  Valley  pipes.  The 
bowl  is  generally  of  reddish 
clay,  worked  on  the  out- 
side into  a  kind  of  pattern, 
like  that  of  frosted  glass, 
the  stem  is  of  bamboo 
and  very  thick,  the  junction 
between  the  stem  and  the 
bowl  is  made  tolerably 
air-tight  by  binding  a  piece 
of  raw  hide  round  it,  and 
a  long  and  narrow  gourd 
forms  the  mouthpiece.  If 
we  go  a  little  further  .south, 
to  the  Zambesi  River,  we 
find  pipes  made  on  the 
hookah  principle,  with 
stems,  or  rather  mouth- 
pieces, of  horn ;  a  reed 
some  five  or  six  inches  in 


ASHANTEE 


135 


Tobacco  Pipes 


length,  on  which  is  fixed 
a  bowl,  sometimes  of  stone, 
earthenware,  or  wood. 

Those  in  the  illustration 
(Fig.  7)  are  made  of  the 
Situtunga  antelope's  horn, 
which  is  elegant  and  spiral. 
The  stem  is  fastened  in  a 
hole  about  half-way  down  ; 
the  reed,  which  has  already 
been  attached  to  the  bowl, 
is  thrust  into  it,  the  junc- 
tion, of  course,  being  made 
air-tight  The  horn  is  nearly 
filled  with  water.  The  bowls 
in  the  above  specimens  are  • 
made  of  wood.  They  are 
used  for  smoking  the  wild 
hemp  (Cannabis  Indica). 
The  second  pipe  has  a 
curious  board  in  front  ot 
the  bowl,  and  presents 
somewhat  the  appearance 
of    a     carpenter's     plane 


FIG.  9.  — PIPES 


FIG.  8.  —  PIPES 

136 


EAST   CENTRAL   AFRICA 


SOOTH   AFRICA 


Round  pipes  of  a  gourd- 
shape  with  red  clay  bowls 
are  also  used  very  largely 
in  the  Zambesi  River  dis- 
trict of  East  Africa. 

If  we  go  to  South  Africa 
we  find  the  Kaffirs  making 
pipes  {see  Fig.  9)  with 
carved  serpentine  bowls 
of  green  and  white  and 
mottled-brown  colours. 
The  bowls  of  some  show 
a  decidedly  European  influ- 
ence ;  in  fact,  they  very 
much  resemble  the  Dutch 
wood  pipes,  which,  no 
doubt,  was  their  original 
model.  The  natives  set 
a  great  value  on  this 
kind  of  pipe. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  Asia, 
where  pipes  are  found  made 
of  all  kinds  of  material, 
and  in  a  great  variety 
of  forms.  In  China, 
where,  it  is  said,  there  are 
three  hundred  millions  of 
smokers,  pipes  are  made 
in    immense    numbers. 


Tobacco  Pipes 


There  are  three  kinds  of  pipes  in  use  in  China: 
the  water  pipe,  smoked  by  the  ladies,  often 
beautifully  decorated  with  either  enamel  or  chased 
engraving ;  the  straight  pipe,  with  the  small 
metal  bowl ;  and  the  opium  pipe,  some  of  which 
are  made  of  jade  and  tortoiseshell,  as  well  as  of 
polished  shagreen,  enamel  and  bamboo.  They 
often  have  bowls  of  rare  porcelain  and  richly- 
wrought  silver,  while  some  are  finely  chased  and 
painted  in  colours  or  in  gold.  The  stems  of 
the  opium  pipe  are  often  of  carved  ivory. 

In  Burma  the  most  common  pipe  is  one 
made  of  bamboo  ;  it  is  cut  at  the  knot,  and  a 
smaller  bamboo  or  other  tube  is  inserted  as  the 
stem.  Curious  vessels  much  in  use  in  Burma 
are  the  nicotine  tubes  or  small  gourds.  The 
nicotine  is  first  boiled  down,  and  then  placed 
in  these  tubes  or  small  vessels.  These  the  natives 
present  to  each  other  on  meeting   as  a  friendly 


FIG.    lO.  —  PIPES 


FIG.    II.— PIPES 


greeting  :  the  tip  of  the   finger   being  dipped  into 
the  nicotine,  and  then  placed  on  the  tongue. 

Another  type  of  pipe  is  that  made  from 
a  gourd.  The  one  illustrated  (Fig.  12) 
came  from  the  Aracan  hill  tracts.  It  was 
brought  over  by  a  gentleman  who  had  seen 
it  smoked  by  its  owner.  The  length  of  the 
gourd  is  thirty-nine  inches,  and  hanging 
from  it  is  the  rib  of  a  European  umbrella, 
which  is  used  as  a  pricker  in  cleaning  it 
out.  It  is  smoked  through  water  like 
a  hookah. 

In  Asiatic  Russia  curious  pipes  with 
one,   two,  and  three  bowls  are  found,  in 

which  different  kinds  or  blends  of  tobacco 

are  smoked  simultaneously ;   the   smoker 
wishing    to    inhale  three  differents  kinds 
of  tobacco  at  the  same  moment. 
RMA  The  pipes  illustiated  in  Fig.  13,  are  in 

the  British  Museum,  and  came  from  the 
Caucasus.  They  all  have 
silver  mounts  and  silver- 
wire  nielli,  and  one  of 
them  has  a  silver  chain 
and  pricker. 

The  pipes  of  Java  and 
Sumatra  are  very  curious 
and  interesting.  Four 
from  the  latter  island  are 
here  illustrated  (Fig.  14). 
They  are  all  made  of 
brass,  and  average  thirty 
inches  in  length.  The 
top  one  is  what  is 
called  "hammer-headed." 
The  stems  of  the  others 
,  are     ornamented     with 


'37 


Tobacco  Pipes 


curious    interlaced 
knobs  are    in    high 


ornament    and    knobs.     The 
rehef,    and   in   most   cases   a 


FIG.    13. — PIPES 


( lu  the  British  Mnstuni) 


ASIATIC    RUSSIA 


FIG.    14. — BRASS   PIPES 


f  (III  the  British  Museum) 


FIG.  15. — PIPES 
138 


NEW   ZEALAND   AND   SOLOMON    ISLANDS 
(In  the  British  Musewn) 


pricker  is  attached  with  a  short  chain.  This  is 
for  cleaning  out  the  bowl.  These  pipes  from 
Sumatra  are  also  in  the 
British  Museum  collection. 
And  now,  if  we  turn  to 
New  Zealand,  we  shall  see 
one  of  the  most  extra- 
ordinary of  pipes  (Fig.  15). 
It  is  made  of  iron-wood. 
Two  figures  are  carved  on 
the  basis  01  a  real  briar 
structure,  and  terminate  in 
a  spike,  to  be  stuck  into 
the  ground.  The  Maori, 
in  smoking  this  work  of  art, 
would  sit  in  a  squatting 
posture,  and  so  enjoy 
the  fragrant  weed.  The 
figures  are  carved  to  repre- 
sent Moko  tattooing  on 
the  face  and  limbs,  so  the 
whole  pipe  is  thoroughly 
characteristic.  This  speci- 
men is  in  the  British 
Museum  also. 

The  other  two  pipes 
in  Fig.  15  are  from  the 
Solomon  Islands.  The 
one  is  made  from  a  shell 
{Miira  episcopalis),  the 
other,  similar  in  form,  is  of 
stone,  with  short  wooden 
stem.  There  are  several 
other  forms  of  artistic 
pipes  to  be  found  in 
India  and  Persia,  but 
the  space  at  my  disposal 
will  not  permit  of  my 
describing  them  ade- 
quately in  the  present 
article. 

I  here  beg  to  express 
my  thanks  to  Mr.  Read 
for  kindly  permitting 
me  to  make  a  selection 
from  the  pipes  in  the 
Ethnographical  Rooms 
of  the  British  Museum. 
All  the  other  illus- 
trations accompanying 
this  article  represent  pipes 
in  the  Horniman  collec- 
tion. 

Richard  Quick. 


MORE  LEAVES  FROM  THE 
LONDON  SKETCH-BOOK 
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EEDLEVVORK  AT  THE  LIVER- 
POOL SCHOOL  OF  ART.  BY 
EDWARD  F.  STRANGE. 


Of  all  the  handicrafts  of  old  time,  none  is 
more  pleasant  and  more  beautiful  than  the  most 
ancient  study  of  needlework,  none  better  fitted, 
as  Adrian  Poyntz  put  it  some  three  hundred  years 
ago,  to  ''sattisfy  the  gentle  mindes  of  vertuous 
women."  Once  it  was  a  great  and  noble  occu- 
pation, an  essential  of  all  completed  education, 
a  means  of  recording  the 
triumphs  of  war  and  of 
the  chase,  of  displaying  by- 
gone histories  and  familiar 
moralities  in  a  convenient 
manner  which  added  sub- 
stantially to  comfort  if  not 
to  edification.  From  the 
great  achievements  of 
tapestry — the  epic  period 
of  the  craft — it  declined, 
by  way  of  the  adornment 
of  chasuble,  cope,  and  altar 
frontal ;  and  further,  but 
still  pleasantly,  by  that  of 
the  making  of  lace  and 
book-binding,  to  the 
samplers  and  needlework 
imitations  of  pictures  of  the 
eighteenth  and  early  nine- 
teenth centuries;  and  again 
to  the  crochet  and  tatting 
of  the  early  Victorian  age  ; 
preserving  even  at  this 
lowest  level  an  uncommon 
amount  of  unintelligent 
ingenuity  and  misapplied 
purpose.  It  has  remained 
for  our  own  generation  to 


restore  something  of  its  ancient  worth  and  dignity 
to  the  time-honoured  industry,  to  invest  it  with 
new  forms  and  new  uses,  and  to  place  it  once 
again  on  the  high-road  to  ite  ancient  office. 

We  have,  nowadays,  little  occasion — perhaps 
unhappily,  little  time — for  the  making  of  tapestry 
hangings.  The  Church  is  once  again  demanding, 
and  to  some  extent  receiving,  the  services  of  skilled 
needlewomen.  But  secular  employment  abounds  ; 
and  the  finely-furnished  house  offers  large  and 
generous  opportunities  for  good  and  artistic  work. 


EMBROIDERED   TABLE   CLOTH 


DESIGNED  AND   EXECUTED 
BY   GWENDOLEN    PARRY 

147 


Needlework  at  Liverpool 


The  question  to  be  solved  is  that  of  supply. 
Where  is  right  training  to  be  obtained  ?  For  of 
all  the  handicrafts,  that  of  needlework  is  apt  to 
degenerate  into  a  mere  riot  of  technique,  so  great 
is  the  fascination  of  multiplying  stitches  and  colours 
for  the  bare  pleasure  of  labour.  This  does  not 
accord  with  the  modern  ideal  of  good  design.  We 
recognise  the  value  of  all  materials,  and  do  not 
desire  that  one  or  another  shall  be  degraded  into 
an  ineffective  accessory.  Even  of  the  ground- 
cloth,  we  remember  that  well-woven  silk  or  linen 
has  its  own  beauty,  and,  if  not  hidden  away  by 
overweight  of  pattern,  enhances  rather  than  de- 
tracts from  the  richness  of  the  adornment  applied 
to  it.  In  London  these  principles  are  recognised 
and  well  appHed  by  institutions  such  as  the  Royal 
School  of  Art  Needlework.     In  the  provinces,  some 


PANEL   FOR  A   PORTlfeRE 

IN    EMBROIDERY   AND   APPLIQUE 


of  the  leading  art  schools  have  found  reason  to 
cultivate  the  craft,  and  among  them  none  is  doing 
better  work  than  that  of  Liverpool. 

The   class    in   the    Mount    Street   School   was 
instituted  by  the  Principal,   Mr.   F.  V.  Burridge, 
R.E.,  some  three  years  ago,  with  a  view  of  giving 
some  of   his    students   who   showed  an    aptitude 
in  that  direction,  a  definite  application    for  their 
designs.     It  has  been  necessary  for  them  to  work 
out  their  own  salvation  in  many  respects.     There 
is  no  instruction  in  the  technique  of  embroidery, 
each  student  bringing  her  own  personal  attainments 
to  bear  on  the  work,  with  such  slight  hints  as  sug- 
gested themselves  to  Mr.  Burridge,  or  his  Master  of 
Design,  Mr.  Baxter.  The  result  is,  from  the  technical 
standpoint,  an  unusual  and  very  wholesome  free- 
dom  from  formality,  the  "  stitchery  " — to  use  Mr. 
Burridge's     expressive 
term — being    just    what 
the   immediate    purpose 
required,      and      not 
hampered  by  convention- 
ality of  any  kind  whatso- 
ever.  Some  severe  critics 
might    object    to    these 
liberties,  and  even  dub 
them   barbaric ;    but  no 
one     who     knows     the 
superb  results   obtained 
by     the    Japanese    em- 
broiderers  will   feel    the 
slightest    inclination    to 
join  in  the  rebuke.     In 
embroidery    as    in     the 
other  arts,  blind  ancestor- 
worship  is  a  crime. 

Of  particular  in- 
stances, some  few  have 
been  selected  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  general 
style  and  merit  of  the 
whole.  The  embroidered 
table  cloth  by  Miss  Gwen- 
dolen Parry  is  very  charm- 
ing and  simple  in  design 
and  excellently  well  suited 
to  its  purpose,  the  orna- 
ment being  so  placed  as 
to  interfere  as  little  as 
may  be  with  the  practical 
use  of  the  cover.  Much 
the  same  may  be  said 
of    Miss    Frances  A. 

DESIGNED   AND   EXECUTED  _.  ,  u       -j         J         ^ 

BY  lEssicA  c.  WALKER  Joncs  s  embroidered  cot- 


Needlework  at  Liverpool 


KMHROIDERKD    COT-COVER  DESIGNED    AND    EXECUTED    BY  FRANCES  A.  JONE: 


cover,  the  lines  of  which  fall  quite  easily  and  grace- 
fully into  their  right  places.  In  this  design  one 
almost  catches  a  hint  of  a  Gothic  theme,  curiously 
but  effectively  intermingled  with  an  essentially 
modern  treatment.  Miss  Jones  has  just  gained  a 
scholarship  at  the  Royal  School  of  Art  Needlework. 
Another  design,  for  a  sideboard  cloth,  by  Miss 
Parry  is  perhaps  less  original,  but  pleasing  and  suit- 
able for  its  use.  Miss  Jessica  C.  Walker  has 
accomplished  an  effective  treatment  of  the  figure 
in  her  panel  for  a  portiere  in  embroidery  applique, 
though  in  a  style  somewhat  reminiscent,  so  far 
as  the  drawing  goes,  of  that  of  Mr.  R.  Anning 
Bell ;  but  her  placing  of  it  and  technique  are  quite 
her  own.  Perhaps  one  of  the  most  completely 
satisfactory  works  is  that  of  Miss  Helena  Shaw,  a 
finely  wrought  and  prettily  devised  piano-front,  with 


the  appropriate  motto, 
"  Rouse  the  Night-owl  in  a 
Catch  "  (page  150).  The 
emblem — for  such  it  is,  in 
the  dainty  old  sense  of  the 
word— is  delightfully  worked 
out,  and  adapted  to  the  re- 
quirements of  the  object  with 
quite  uncommon  skill.  Other 
good  work  is  done  by  Miss 
Dunlop  and  Miss  Laverock. 
Perhaps  enough  has  been 
said  to  show  that  Mr.  Bur- 
ridge  has  succeeded  in  creat- 
ing at  Liverpool  a  school  of 
needlework  which  claims 
real  and  serious  recognition. 
It  is  still  young,  but  possesses 
undoubted  individuality  and 
character,  displayed  with 
reticence  and  good  taste.  It 
has  started  on  right  lines. 
If  it  pursues  them  faithfully 
it  may,  even  in  our  day, 
acquire  and  bequeath  to 
succeeding  generations  an 
inheritance  of  great  renown. 
Edward  F.  Strange. 


Mr.  E.  H.  MacAndrew's 
paintings  and  sketches  in  oil 
and  water-colour,  which  were 
on  view  during  October  at 
the  Modern  Gallery,  have 
some  claim  to  be  noted  as 
sincere  attempts  to  record  the 
charm  of  nature  under 
various  conditions.  Most  ot  the  works  in  the 
collection  were  studies  of  landscape  painted 
strongly  and  directly,  and  without  any  sacrifice  of 
freshness  of  statement  for  the  sake  of  surface  finish. 
The  artist  attains  his  results  by  simple  means,  and 
his  straightforward  method  can  be  frankly  praised. 
In  addition  to  his  landscapes,  he  showed  a  few  figure 
subjects  and  some  portraits,  the  best  of  which  was 
a  half-length  of  an  old  lady,  sympathetically  painted, 
and  with  good  understanding  of  character. 


The  School  of  Art  Wood-carving,  South  Ken- 
sington, has  been  re-opened  after  the  usual  Summer 
vacation,  and  we  are  requested  to  state  that  some 
of  the  free  studentships  maintained  by  means  of 
funds  granted  to  the  school  by  the  London  County 
Council  are  vacant. 

149 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


EMBROIDERED   PIANO-FRONT 


DESIGNED   AND   EXECUTED   BY   HELENA   SHAW 


s 


TUDIO  COMPETITION.  A  LXII. 

Design  for  a  Row  of  three  Labourers' 
Cottages. 


In  continuance  of  our  remarks  on  this  compe- 
tition, we  would  like  to  remonstrate  mildly  with 
those  of  our  competitors  who  have  a  penchant 
for  "  high-art  "  printing.  The  information  they 
give  on  their  drawings  is  meant  to  be  read,  we 
imagine,  and  letters  that,  if  not  normal,  are  at  all 
events  legible,  conduce  to  this  end. 

Khyaam  (page  154) — should  not  this  be 
Khayaam? — sends  a  good  set,  marred,  however, 
by  the  smallness  of  the  rooms.  His  parlour, 
for  instance,  is  only  8  feet  by  8  feet  \\  inches. 
Iris  draws  strongly  and  vigorously,  but  the  stairs  of 
his  middle  house  would  be  dark,  as  would  also  those 
of  Pencil.  The  window  shown  in  the  middle 
house  in  the  former  plan  only  lights  the  cupboard 
under  the  stairs,  and  not  the  stairs  themselves. 
Few  are  so  generous  in  the  size  of  rooms  as  Grey 
Fox,  who  provides  an  ingle-nook,  and  whose  sitting- 
room  is  2 1  feet  6  inches  long.  We  do  not  like  the 
direct  entrance  into  this  shown  to  each  of  the  end 
houses.  This  last  is  a  criticism  that  must  be  made 
of  the  design  of  S.R.C.  (if  that  is  the  readmg  of 
the  competitor's  monogram).  Both  of  these  two 
competitors  introduce  hanging  tiles  into  their 
elevational  treatment.  The  conditions  very  clearly 
ask  for  "  brick  and  rough  cast."  Vectis,  on  the 
other  hand,  shows  a  halt-timbered  elevation,  thus, 
on  his  pari,  not  adhering  to  the  requirements 
laid  down.  His  living  room,  f8  feet  long 
by  only  1 1  feet  broad,  means  an  awkward 
proportion,  and  is  over  generous  in  length.  The 
amount  of  lighting  area,  compared  with  the  super- 
ficies of  his  room,  is  clearly  insufficient.     Several 

150 


competitors  err  in  this  direction ;  for  instance, 
Kydde  (page  155)  shows  a  lighting  area  which  is 
clearly  50  per  cent,  below  the  usual  proportion  of 
one  square  foot  of  opening  to  ten  of  floor  space. 
Whether  this  be,  as  is  generally  the  case,  a  condi- 
tion imposed  by  the  Local  Authority  or  not,  it  is  a 
working  rule  that  experience  shows  to  be  a  valid 
one.  The  steep  pitch  of  Kvdd^s  roof,  verandah, 
etc.,  entails  expense.  Even  at  his  moderate 
estimate  of  '^d.  a  cube  foot,  the  three  cottages  cost 
;£i,22^.  Corinthian,  on  the  other  hind,  may 
claim  the  economical  gain  due  to  the  employment 
of  the  Mansard  roof  treatment,  but  even  then  it  is 
more  than  doubtful  if  the  building  could  be  done 
for  ^400.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know,  by- 
the-bye,  how  he  would  construct  in  tiles  the  circular 
part  of  the  dormer-gables.  The  Kid  (page  156) 
sends  a  good  plan,  symmetrical,  and  centrally 
grouped,  which  we  reproduce  with  his  perspective. 
The  semi-circular  windows  are  a  pleasant  change. 
The  plan  of  Gayville  (page  157),  again,  is  ingenious 
and  picturesquely  arranged.  His  bedrooms,  how- 
ever, on  the  first  floor  of  the  centre  house  are  only 
6  feet  wide.  His  roof  is  a  particularly  good  bit  of 
grouping,  except  perhaps  the  gablet  near  the  stairs 
in  the  right-hand  house,  which  does  not  seem  very 
necessary.  Bobsman  has  a  nice  treatment  of  the 
porch,  but  his  set  is  spoiled  by  a  fault  we  have 
already  adverted  to,  the  staircases  being  so  badly 
lighted.  Allowing  for  the  studding  in  the  bed- 
rooms the  available  area  of  these  would  not  be  as 
large  as  appears  on  the  plan.  The  arrangement  of 
bath,  shown  by  Acorn,  who  places  it  in  a  wash- 
house  apart  from  the  cottage,  cannot  be  commended. 
It  is  obvious  that,  on  a  winter's  night,  the  getting 
to  one's  bedroom  after  a  hot  bath  might  be 
dangerous,  especially  for  those  who  do  not  indulge 


,<^ 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


in  the  luxury  of  dressing-gowns.  The  Miller's 
Daughter  (page  154)  sends  a  pretty  group  and  a 
simply  and  naturally  arranged  plan.  The  verandah 
is  apparently  roofed  with  stone  slabs,  which  another 
of  the  competitors,  Mick  (page-  157),  also  employs 
for  his  roof.  This  he  arranges  with  its  eaves  about 
the  level  of  the  first  floor,  and  thus  obtains  the 
lowness  of  effect  so  pleasant  in  cottage  work. 
Blois,  on  the  contrary,  shows  on  his  elevations  a 
tiled  roof.  This  would  be  impossible  for  the 
centre  portion  where  the  pitch  is  less  than  30  degs., 
which  is  the  least  that  even  slates  demand.  Mercia 
(page  158)  shows  a  design  with  a  nice  cottage  feel- 
ing, rather  marred  by  the  tall  and  villa-like  staircase 
window  on  the  end  elevation.  The  stairs  of  the 
centre  house  have  not  been  very  carefully  thought 
out.  In  a  length  of  8  feet  the  occupants  would 
have  to  get  up  9  feet,  and,  as  shown,  this  seems  to 
mean  a  tread  of  6  inches.  Down  South  (page  158) 
introduces  a  kind  of  porte-cochere-\\V&  porch,  which 
possibly  is  meant  to  be  used  as  a  verandah. 
Gahpoo  has  a  good  plan,  but,  like  several  of  the 
others,  uses  a  9-inch  external  wall,  which  is  not 
commendable.  Simple  as  the  elevation  is,  we  do 
not  think  he  ought  to  hope  to  build  his  cottage  for 
^\d.  a  foot.  The  spirited  little  sketch  of  Tyne 
(page  159)  shows  a  balanced  arrangement  of  plan 
with  small  square  turrets  enclosing  the  staircases. 
The  oval  windows  in  these  seem  a  little  large  and 
out  of  scale,  and  his  little  staircase  is  shown 
lighted  by  a  window  on  plan,  which  on  elevation 
seems  to  be  only  a  fanlight.  Nine  feet  by  8  feet  is 
small  even  for  cottage  bedrooms  :  a  remark  that  also 
applies  to  the  plans  of  Averpop  (whose  rooms  are 

8  feet  6  inches  by  7  feet  9  inches)  and  Old  Mercer 
(page  159).  The  kitchen,  also,  of  the  latter,  thanks 
to  the   chinmey-breast,    is  even    smaller  than  the 

9  feet  6  inches  by  9  feet  he  figures  it.  Gad  (page 
160)  also  shows  square  towers,  here  enclosing  the 
parlour,  and  apparently  restricting  the  width  of 
this  to  9  feet  8  inches.  Between  the  towers  he  runs 
a  long  verandah.  Derwent  also  shows  a  verandah 
common  to  the  three  cottages.  His  provision  ol 
a  separate  bath  room  is  a  little  extravagant,  but 
hardly  so  much  so  as  the  case  of  Peirvorth,  who  gets 
not  only  a  bath-room  but  a  first-floor  w.c,  and  this 
he  arranges  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  building  to 

he  rest  of  the  drainage  system.  His  bedroom 
No  3,  measured  from  the  chimney-breast,  is  only 
5  feet  3  inches  wide,  and  it  seems  impossible  to 
place  in  it  both  bed  and  bedroom  furniture.  The 
same  criticism  applies  to  fanus,  part  of  whose 
front  bedroom  is  only  5  feet  wide.  Alpha  sends 
three  designs.     In  his   No.    i    the  arrangement  of 


coals  near  the  entrance  porch,  and  out  of  the  wash- 
house  is  not  good   planning.     We  prefer  his  plan 
No.  2,  which  also  has  a  quiet  and  simple  elevation. 
In  No.  3,  the  bedroom  windows  of  the  side  houses 
seem  to  have  sills  only  2  feet,  and   window-heads 
only  5  feet  6  inches,  above  the  floor.     Economy  in 
his   plan    No.    i    lives  up   to    his  name ! — e.xcept 
that  he  employs  a  good  deal  of  lead  on   the  flat 
roof  of  his  dormers.     Of  his  two  elevations  that 
of  No.  2  seems  the  more  pleasing,  but  the  absence 
of  centring  of  the  windows  in  any  of  the  gables  is 
not  very  pleasant.     In  Wee  Macgreegor's  {■psLge  160) 
inexpensive   design    we    could   wish    he   had   not 
economised  to  the  extent  of  making  his  wash-house 
6    feet   by    5    feet.       Alton   also    has   considered 
economy    of  cost,    but    under    very    few    Local 
Authorities  is  one  allowed  to  build  a  cavity  wall  of 
two  4i-inch  brick  thickness.     The  9-inch  external 
walls  laid  down  in  the   Model   By-Laws   of    the 
Local  Government  Board  are  usually  insisted  on. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  place  the  beds  in  the  two 
middle    bedrooms   of  L'El'eve's  (page    161)  plan, 
thanks  to  the  steep  slope  of   the  ceiling.     Epoh 
sends  what  is  distinctly  the  most  original  plan  and 
treatment.     We  can  only  regret  that  his  inventive- 
ness is  marred    by    the    fact    that    the   windows 
that  light  the  bedrooms  on  the  kitchen-garden  side 
apparently  allow  only  about  half  the  proper  propor- 
tion of  light.     To  increase  the  size  of  these  dormers 
would  go  far  to  spoil  the  picturesque  quality  of  his 
design.  That  is  unfortunate,  but  after  all  a  properly 
lighted  room  is  a  consideration  of  greater  importance 
than  picturesqueness.  The  Villain  (page  161)  sends  a 
carefully  drawn  little  set  of  sketches.  His  living-room 
is  of  the  inordinate  length  of  23  feet,  and  we  are 
afraid  his  staircase  will  be  pitch  dark.     The  porch 
shown  in  Kenelms  spirited  coloured-sketch  is  but 
meagre.  His  entrance  is  barely  3  feet.  Esperanzo  has 
evolved  a  complicated  plan,  in  which,  by-the-way,  the 
kitchen  of  the  centre  house  only  shows  a  space  of 
6  feet  6  inches  between  the  dresser  and  the  chimney 
breast.     The  elevation  is  rather  lofty,  but  would  be 
pleasing  from  its  simplicity.     Lamartine's  plan  is 
also  complicated  and  his  scheme  is  very  pleasantly 
set  forth  in  pencil  sketches.     He  keeps  his  design 
quite  simple,  and   relies   upon  massing   his   flues 
together  to  enable  him  to  make  his  chimneys  into 
the  important  factor  of  his  design. 

Amongst  others  from  whom  we  have  received 
designs  showing  a  fair  amount  of  ability  and 
resource  are  Poor  Man,  Nemo,  Toby,  Game,  Marc 
and  Chickaboo  ;  and  on  the  whole,  in  spile  of  the 
shortcomings  that  have  been  pointed  out,  the 
competition  may  be  regarded  as  a  successful  one. 

153 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


labourers'    cottages    (HON.    MENTION  :    COM  P.    A    LXIl) 


HY    "  KHYAAM 


»i^  -sirglilS^l/^ 


:  rco^T  Lj_ivrt  rit/* 


PI/6A  rce  thkz     rr: 


/Ui     LLtYRTiOA 


labourers'   COTTAGES    {HO.V.    MENTION  :    COMP.    A    LXIl) 


A-mvn  or  MiLt  sap  yrwii;/  ; 

BY    "THE   miller's   DAUGHTER' 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


t 


labourers'  cottages  (HON.  MENTION  ;  COMP.  A  LXII) 


BY    "  THE   KID  " 


-DE^lGn- ^oR^(QTr\6L^^- (^PCrmori  .^.LX!!.-^ 


© 


TiiiiTiimT + ^ 


PLAN    OF    LABOLIRERS'    COTTAGES 


J^fjetBAL^--     OvJpCAi  Ofcm 


BY    *'THE    kid' 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


^  ^  OF  lABOU^^S  GontMafi? 


5ECTi&^"A;B  j5^o,r^r  ^O^JH  EUK^mSH 


labourers'   cottages    (HON.    MENTION  :    COMP.    A   LXIl) 


BY    "MERCIA 


fi20AT    UlSt7\0R    : 


scf^  'f  rtcT 


\  TR?C-E@TA(hriBr  ^ 


:  CZ'iGo  f^e.  lis 


■      T      1 


^^ESf^ 


labourers'   COTTAGES   (HON.    MENTION  :   COMP.    A   LXIl) 


;  apt  L^WCK  : 

BY    "DOWN    south" 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


urar 


'^^ 


:^T3^ 


^l 


frtr 

*<:itiiii    n  ^. 


1" 


©"s^lT.caa      5^^ 


labourers'   cottages   (HON.    MENTION:    COMP.   A   LXIl) 


C?"T?=aB. 


BY        TYNB 


1,AB0URERS'   COTTAGES    (HON.    MENTION  :    COMI'.    A    I.XIl) 


BY    "  OLD    MBRCKR" 

^59 


Designs  for  Labourers   Cottages 


f  kOM     C  L  tVATION' 
labourers'   cottages   (HON.    MENTION  :    COMP.    A   LXIl) 


SIM.  ELEVATION 


■iFriloN  -A--A. 


fL^e^o. 


Th^StoW^"  Alxi,  F«<HTEir^ 


labourers'    COTTAGES    (HON.    MENTION:    COMP.    A    LXIl) 
1 60 


BY    "WEE    MACGREEGOR' 


Designs  for  Labourers    Cottages 


-scAf  rcg  Tiiiifiiiif ? + 4 


-  PLANS  jQcvEliiiifinif — : — ?— ? ¥ %v>ja-cn,>i| 


labourers'   cottages   (HON.    MENTION  :   COMP.    A   LXIl) 


BY    "l'eLEVE" 


iiiL 


labourers'    COTTAGES    (HON.    MENTION  :    COMT.    A   LXIl) 


BY    "THE   VILLAIN  ' 

i6i 


studio-  Talk 


STUDIO-TALK 

(From  our  own  Correspondents ) 

LONDON. — The  two  recent  additions  to 
the  collection  in  the  National  Gallery 
can  be  welcomed  with  something  like 
enthusiasm.  Titian's  famous  portrait 
of  Ariosto  is  a  most  desirable  acquisition— though 
there  is  in  some  quarters  a  disposition  to  carp  at 
the  price  paid  for  it — and  it  gives  us  an  example  of 
a  branch  of  his  practice  which  has  been  unrepre- 
sented hitherto  in  Trafalgar  Square.  The  other 
picture,  the  portrait  by  Sir  John  Millais  of  Sir  Henry 
Thompson,  is  of  hardly  less  importance.  It  is  one 
of  the  finest  works  ever  produced  by  an  artist  who 
has  a  right  to  a  place  among  the  great  portrait 
painters  whose  names  are  recorded  in  art  history  ; 
and  it  is  certainly  worthy  of  comparison  with  any  of 
the  other  masterpieces  which  have  been  gathered 
in  the  National  Gallery.  It  lacks,  of  course,  the 
glamour  of  age,  but  technically  it  is  superb. 

Mr.  G.  LI.  Morris  has  recently  completed  some 
admirable    interior    decorations    for    a    west-end 


mansion.  The  restrained  treatment  is  very 
characteristic.  The  walls  of  the  billiard-room, 
illustrated  on  page  163,  are  lined  with  oak 
panelling,  and  lead  up  to  a  chimneypiece  in  the 
same  material ;  a  few  spots  of  mother- o'-pearl 
inlay  give  a  touch  of  varied  colour  and  brighten 
the  sober  tone  of  the  room.  This  pleasant 
form  of  contrast  is  also  noticeable  on  the  mahogany 
chimney-piece  in  the  dining-room  and  the  brass 
interior  of  the  hall  chimney-piece. 


Without  departing  from  our  English  tradition  for 
true  and  sober  design,  Mr.  Morris  obtains  an 
original  effect  in  an  almost  elusive  fashion,  and 
gives  to  the  whole  room  an  unaggressive  and 
reticent  personal  note. 


The  entrance  hall,  here  illustrated,  is  panelled 
in  pine  and  painted  white,  with  a  Bratl  and 
Colbran  chimneypiece  designed  by  Mr.  Morris. 
This  interior  shows  the  same  refinement  and 
delicate  detail.  The  plaster  ceilings  and  cornices 
of  these  rooms  are  kept  well  in  hand,  although 
the    moulded    ribs    in    the    hall    seem    a    trifle 


ENTRANCE   HALL 
162 


DESIGNED   BY   G.    LL.    MORRIS 


BILLIARD-ROOM.     DESIGNED 
BY   G.    Ll.    morris 


Studio-Talk 


heavy     in    comparison    with    the     rest    of     the 
work.  . 

We  give  opposite  a  reproduction  in  colours  of  a 
drawing  entitled  Auiiann,  by  Mr.  Yoshio  Markino, 
the  clever  Japanese  artist  who  has  been  residing 
and  working  in  England  for  some  time. 


The  present  exhibition  of  the  Institute  of  Oil 
Painters  has  an  unusual  interest,  because  it  is  the 
first  that  has  been  held  since  the  decision  of  the 
society  to  show  only  the  work  of  its  members  and 
of  a  few  specially  invited  artists.  For  this  change 
of  policy  the  general  excellence  of  the  show 
provides  ample  justification.  Not  for  a  long  time 
has  the  Institute  presented  a  collection  of  such 
admirable  all-round  quality  or  so  attractive  in 
appearance.  Only  two  hundred  and  fifty  works 
are  hung  in  the  galleries,  and  consequently  the 
walls  are  not  overcrowded  with  things  that  jar  one 
with  the  other  because  they  are  too  closely 
juxtaposed.  Indeed,  the  hanging  can  be  especially 
praised ;  it  proves  that  the  committee  responsible 
for  it  has  worked  with  a  sincere  intention  to  make 


the  most  of  the  available  material,  and  with  the 
best  discretion.  On  the  whole,  if  the  particular 
attractiveness  of  the  show  is,  as  it  seems  to  be,  the 
outcome  of  the  new  regulations,  the  society  can 
be  heartily  congratulated  on  the  success  of  its 
experiment. 

Plenty  of  good  things  are  to  be  found  in  all 
sections  of  the  exhibition.  Among  the  landscapes 
the  best  are  Mr.  J.  Aumonier's  delightfully  delicate 
and  luminous  Meads  in  Spring ;  Mr.  Alfred 
Hartley's  strong  and  expressive  Summertime,  and 
Wayfarers ;  Mr.  Tom  Robertson's  subtle  note, 
Moonrise  in  Normandy ;  Mr.  Leslie  Thomson's 
admirable  canvas  On  the  Marshes ;  Mr.  Hughes 
Stanton's  powerful  composition  The  Motdh  of  the 
Exe,  and  his  charming  atmospheric  study  Evening 
Twilight;  Mr.  J.  S.  Hill's  broadly  treated  Near 
Harlech;  and  the  contributions  of  Mr.  VV.  Llewellyn, 
Mr.  D.  Y.  Cameron,  Mr.  Bertram  Priestman, 
Mr.  A.  G.  Bell,  and  Mr.  Gabriel  Nicolet.  The 
most  notable  figure  pictures  are  Mr.  E.  A.  Hornel's 
decorative  Blossoms  ;  Mr.  Coutts  Michie's  Wait- 
ing ;  Mr.  G.  Spencer  Watson's  important  canvas, 


'A  LONDON   STREET   MARKET 
164 


FROM    A   DRAWING   BY   W.    RUSSELL   FLINT 


a. 


AUTUMN."   BY  YOSHIO  MARKINO 


Studio-  Talk 


of  a  lectern  recently  designed  by 
Mr.  C.  Harrison  To\vnsend  for 
the  Union  Church  at  Woodford. 


'THE    PEAKS   OF   ARRAN 


FROM   THE   WATER-COLOUR 
BY   W.    RUSSELL   FLINT 


A  Girl  Reading ;  At  the  Play,  and  Choosing  a  Fan,  two 
clever  technical  exercises  by  Mr.  Talbot  Hughes  ;  Sir  J.  D. 
Linton's  Good  Quarters,  and  Off  Guard;  Mr.  W.  Lee 
Hankey's  In  the  Shadou' ;  a  couple  of  dainty  studies, 
Summer,  and  Study  in  Red,  by  Mr.  S.  Melton  Fisher ; 
and  the  well-imagined  and  vigorously  treated  composition 
Saved,  by  Mr.  St.  George  Hare  ;  and  there  are  also  excellent 
portraits  by  Mr.  Robert  Brough,  Mr.  J.  Coutts  Michie, 
Mr.  George  Henry,  and  Mr.  Talbot  Hughes.  Particular 
attention  must  be  given  to  Mr.  Byam  Shaw's  remarkable 
racecourse  picture,  Sun,  Silk,  and  Sinew,  and  to  Mr.  G.  C. 
Haite'.s  sparkling  Venice,  one  of  his  happiest  achievements. 


We  give  illustrations  of  two  drawings  by  Mr.  \\.  Russell 
Flint — A  London  Street  Market  and  The  Peaks  of  Arran. 
Mr.  Flint  worked  for  nearly  six  years  as  a  lithographic  artist 
for  a  firm  in  Edinburgh,  subsequently  coming  to  London, 
where  he  studied  at  Heatherley's.    We  also  give  an  illustration 


Mr.  Tom  Mostyn's  exhibition  of 
landscapes  at  the  Dore  Gallery  is 
memorable  as  one  of  the  best  dis- 
plays of  robust  and  expressive  paint- 
ing that  has  been  seen  in  London 
for  some  considerable  time.  He 
has  a  remarkable  sense  of  style 
and  treats  his  subjects  with  thorough 
conviction,  but  he  is  pleasantly  free 
from  mannerism  or  conventionality. 
As  a  student  of  nature  he  is  unusually 
intelligent,  and  he  records  his  im- 
pressions freshly  and  honestly  with 
a  directness  of  statement  that  proves 
the  shrewdness  of  his  insight.  In  this 


LECTERN    FOR   THE 

UNION  CHURCH,  WOODFORD 


BY  C.  HARRISON 
TOWNSEND 


167 


Studio-Talk 


DESIGNED    BY  WALTER   GILBERT 
EXECUTED   BY   THE   BROMSGROVE   GUILD 


exhibition  he  can  be  studied  to  particular  advantage, 
for  it  illustrates  many  phases  of  his  practice,  and 
shows  how  competent  he  is  to  deal  with  different 
aspects  of  Nature,  and  how  successfully  he  can 
realise  her  variety.  An  artist  of  his  power  is  very 
welcome ;  few  of  the   younger   men  are   so  well 


qualified    to    uphold    the    best    traditions    of    our 
landscape  school. 

At  the  Leicester  Galleries  a  mixed  show  of  work 
by  Mr.  Charles  Conder,  Mr.  W.  Rothenstein,  and 
Mr.  C.  H.  Shannon  has  lately  been  presented. 
Perhaps  the  most  interesting  contributions  were 
those  of  Mr.  Conder,  a  number  of  decorative 
paintings  on  silk,  eminently  attractive  as  dainty 
fancies  prettily  rendered,  and  as  colour  harmonies 
most  sensitively  treated.  Mr.  Conder  has  a  way  of 
arriving  at  charming  results  without  striving  to 
reach  any  high  standard  of  draughtsmanship  or 
executive  skill ;  his  decorative  instinct,  however,  is 
so  happy,  and  he  is  so  clever  in  hiding  his  limita- 
tions, that  it  is  quite  possible  to  forgive  the  absence 
of  thorough  craftsmanship  in  his  work.  The 
pastels  by  Mr.  Rothenstein  and  the  oil  paintings 
by  Mr.  Shannon  were  of  less  importance  ;  they  did 
justice  to  neither  artist.  Among  Mr.  Shannon's 
works  there  were,  however,  some  chalk  drawings 
of  admirable  quality,  wonderfully  graceful  and 
delicate  and  yet  exceptionally  decisive  in  touch. 


ORNAMENT 
ON   MALLET 

1 68 


DESIGNED    BY   WALTER  GILBERT 
EXECUTED  BY  THE  BROMSGROVE  GUILD 


The  water-colour  drawings  of  the  Channel  Isles, 
by  Mr.  H.  B.  Wimbush,  shown  lately  in  the 
galleries  of  the  Fine  Art  Society,  belong  to  a  class 
of  topographic   painting  which   needs  more   than 


J 


studio-  Talk 


common  skill  in  interpretation  to  be  made  artis- 
tically interesting.  This  skill  the  artist  can  hardly 
be  said  to  have  displayed  in  this  particular  col- 
lection. In  executing  the  drawings  he  appears  to 
have  concerned  himself  so  much  with  veracities  of 
record  that  he  forgot  the  importance  of  tempering 
topography  with  some  measure  of  atmospheric 
charm  and  with  a  little  of  nature's  tenderness. 
His  exhibition  was  more  a  pictorial  guide  to  the 
Channel  Islands  than  a  show  of  works  of  art. 


We  give  illustrations  of  the  trowel,  casket,  and 
mallet  used  by  the  King  for  the  laying  of  the 
foundation  stone  of  the  new  buildings  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew's Hospital.  The  motif  adopted  in  the 
trowel  is  the  defeat  of  Death  by  Life  when  helped 
by  Sympathy  and  Affection.  In  the  blade  of  the 
trowel,  in  the  narrow  circle  of  the  golden  hours,  is 


the  figure  of  Life — "a  fair  young  lusty  boy 
such  as  they  feign  Dan  Cupid  to  have  been,  full 
of  delightful  health  and  lively  joy,  decked  all  with 
flowers  and  wings  of  gold  fit  to  employ  " — tying 
the  hands  of  Death  the  reaper,  with  the  face 
almost  hidden  and  in  the  shade.  The  figure  of 
Life  is  attended  by  two  little  figures  representing 
Love  and  Sympathy.  Above  all  this  arises  a  rich 
sheltering  canopy,  surmounted  by  the  royal  crown 
in  gold  ;  and  from  this  springs  again  the  handle, 
enriched  by  the  titles  of  the  King,  and  surmounted 
by  a  little  figure  releasing  itself  from  the  thorns  or 
pains  of  affliction.  The  7notif  in  the  casket  is 
Love  bearing  another's  burden  (as  amplified  in 
the  corners  by  the  supporting  loves),  and  rising 
superior  to  Pain  by  the  little  figure  wrestling  with 
the  thorns. 


DBSKiNKD   BY   WALTER   GILBERT 
EXECUTED   BY   THE   BRQMSGROVE   GUILD 


169 


Studio-Talk 


Mr.  James  Clark  has  added  some  more  to  the 
series  of  stained  glass  windows  which  he  is  design- 
ing for  St.  John's  Church,  Windermere.  These 
windows  illustrate  the  Parables,  and  the  sub- 
jects chosen  for  the  latest  additions  to  the  series 
are  The  Labourers  in  the  Vineyard  and  The  Pharisee 
and  the  Publican.  The  decorative  value  of  Mr. 
Clark's  designs  cannot  be  too  highly  commended. 
He  understands  admirably  how  to  combine  a  due 
measure  of  actuality  with  the  amount  of  formal 
arrangement  needed  in  the  right  treatment  of  stained 
glass.  He  does  not  commit  the  common  mistake 
of  making  his  work  too  pictorial,  but  at  the  same 
time  he  avoids  those  archaic  angularities  to  which 
too  many  men  resort  in  their  effort  to  escape  excess 
of  realism.  The  spacing  of  the  various  parts  of 
his  design  is  especially  well  considered,  and  the 
distribution  of  the  dominant  lines  is  planned  with 
thorough  appreciation  of  structural  necessities. 
Altogether,  these  windows  are  achievements  of 
far  more  than  ordinary  merit;  and  their  decora- 
tive value  is  enhanced  by  the  accuracy  of  the 
symbolical  and  archaeological  details  introduced. 
Mr.  Clark's  travels  in  the  Holy  Land  and  close 
study  of  the  history  of  the  East  enable  him  to 
deal  with  such  matters  in  a  specially  authoritative 
manner. 


DESIGNED    BY   W.    GILBERT 

EXECUTED   BY   THE   BROMSGROVE  GUILD 


The  clever  decoration  by  Mr.  A.  U.  Soord,  an 
illustration  of  which  appears  on  this  page,  was 
recently  unveiled  at  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Bethnal 
Green. 


DECORATION   AT   ST.    ANDREW'S   CHURCH,    BETHNAL  GREEN 
170 


BY  A.    U.    SOORD 


Studio-  Talk 


ST.  I\'ES.— Mr.  T.  Millie  Dow  has  recently 
designed  a  window  (illustrated  page  172) 
which,  under  his  directions,  has  been 
very  admirably  executed  and  set  up  in 
St.  John's  Church,  Halsetown,  Cornwall.  Halse- 
town  Church  is  an  outlying  chapel  of- ease  to  St. 
Ives,  and  stands  amongst  deserted  mine-shafts  and 
old  tin-streaming  refuse,  where  it  presides  over 
the  relics  of  a  decayed  industry,  but  with  the  grand 
sweep  of  St.  Ives  Bay  at  its  feet. 

Of  the  design  of  Mr.  Dow's  window  it  is  needless 
to  speak,  as  the  reproduction  gives  its  essential 
qualities  of  line  and  mass,  and  shows  how  the 
difficulty  of  filling  the  narrow  spaces  of  the  lancet 
has  been  met  and  overcome.  It  is  the  great 
beauty  of  the  translucent  colour,  which  no  repro- 
duction can  give,  that   seems  to  deserve  especial 


remark ;  Mr.  Dow  has  trusted  entirely  to  glass  and 
lead  to  say  what  he  had  in  his  heart,  and  except 
for  the  head  and  hands  there  is  throughout  no 
painting  used.  So  the  beautiful  fragments,  jewel- 
like in  their  intensity  and  purity — divided  from 
each  other  by  the  strong  dark  lines  of  lead — carry 
with  them  all  the  loveliness  of  light,  untainted  as 
though  it  were  passed  through  a  crystal  prism  and 
yet  showing  forth  all  the  spiritual  and  artistic 
meaning  that  is  desired  for  them  by  the  artist.  It 
is  a  poem  in  glass  of  the  joy  of  life  penetrated  with 
a  sense  of  the  beauty  of  the  universe,  the  words  of 
which  are  colours  of  exquisite  purity  and  charm 
giving  yet  another  voice  to  the  text : 

"  Heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  the  Majesty 
of  Thy  Glor>-." 


In  the  choosing  of  colours  Mr.  Dow  has  not 
limited  himself 
to  those  tints 
with  which  we 
are  familiar  in 
old  windows, 
nor  to  those 
which  have  fol- 
lowed in  docile 
submission  the 
traditions  that 
have  come 
down  from  the 
makers  of 
ancient  glass. 
He  has  taken 
from  the  rain- 
bow whatever 
tints  he  wished 
and,  piecing 
all  together, 
has  made  a 
window  the 
charm  of  which 
is  that  of 
mingled  sur- 
prise and  ac- 
quiescence— 
emotions  which 
seem  to  me  to 
have  in  them 
the  germs  of 
almost  all  the 
pleasure  we 
feel    in    works 


"/^/W«;'""  ^^  PVorkitfg'^ 

'THE   LABOURERS    IN   THE   VINEV.^RD" 

(See  Londan  Studio-Talk ) 


"  Payins;" 

BY  JAMES   CLARK 


of  art. 


N.  G. 
171 


mim  ■'■ 


^i,  mm  if! 


tvll 


KJi  i:i: 


I    ntAVtN  ANU  tAKIH.^j 


AIIE    FIE    or    THE   tlWtSIY' 


WINDOW   AT   HALSETOWN    CHURCH 
DESIGNED   BY   T.    MILLIE   DOW 


(See  St.   Ives  Studio-Talk) 


studio-  Talk 


PARIS.— M.  Gabriel  Rousseau, 
one  of  Moreau's  pupils  and 
by  no  means  the  least  of  them, 
recently  exhibited  a  group  of 
views  of  the  Rhine  which  deserve  atten- 
tion, first  on  account  of  their  technical 
merit,  and  secondly  because  they  reveal 
on  the  part  of  their  author  a  desire — 
to  my  thinking  a  most  praiseworthy  desire 
— to  devote  himself  to  landscapes  of 
which  nature  alone  does  not  constitute 
the  whole  charm,  but  which  are  en- 
nobled by  lovely  ruins. 


Although  this  young  artist  reverts  in  a 
measure  to  the  historical   landscape,  it 
must  not  be  imagined  that  he  is  retro- 
gressive, for  his  technique  is  essentially 
modern  ;    as   a   matter   of  fact,   he  has 
passed    through    three    phases.     At    the 
outset  he  was  too  much  inspired  by  the  masters  : 
then  he  indulged  in  the  extravagances  of  k  pointil- 
lisme ;   now    he    appears    before    us    sobered    but 
personal,  and  without  rashness  one  may  predict  a 


SCULPTURED  PLAQUE 


BY  VALLGREN 


brilliant   future    for  him,   if  only  he   continue   in 
the  way  he  has  now  chosen. 


M. 


Vallgren,  the  able  Finnish  artist,  excels 
equally  in  sculpture  great  and  small. 
His  little  statuettes  are  like  Tanagras 
of  our  own  day ;  though  somewhat 
more  restless,  more  troubled,  more 
modern,  in  short.  In  these  little  works 
he  sometimes  contents  himself  with 
attempting  the  indication  merely  of  a 
movement,  studied  directly  from  nature  ; 
sometimes,  on  the  contrary,  he  gives  us 
such  admirably  finished  works  as  those 
reproduced  here.  In  one  of  these  the 
decorative  feeling  is  of  the  highest 
quality,  while  the  other  vibrates  through 
and  through  with  restrained  tenderness. 
As  regards  modelling,  the  back  of  the 
woman  bending  towards  her  child  is  a 
masterly  achievement. 


Emile  Galle  is  dead.  I  have  already 
described  the  great  artist  in  glass  in 
the  pages  of  The  Studio.  In  him  we 
lose  the  master  of  the  Nancy  School, 
and  one  who  was  certainly  our  greatest 
decorator — a  French  William  Morris. 


STATUETTE 


BY   VALLGREN 


M.  Bcnedite  has  just  had  the  happy 
idea  of  organising  an  exhibition  of 
Henry  Monnier's  works  at  the  Mus^e 
du  I^uxembourg.  The  men  of  that 
generation  are  certainly  being  better 
'73 


studio-  Talk 


understood  and  appreciated  every  day  ;  and  our 
contemporaries  delight  in  reviewing  society  as  it 
was  thirty  to  fifty  years  ago,  faithfully  portrayed 
by  such  as  Daumier,  Gavarni,  or  Guys.  Thus 
Monnier  in  his  carefully  -  elaborated,  painstaking 
little  compositions,  shows  himself  as  truthful 
a  depictor  of  bourgeois  society  as  could  possibly 
be  found.  For  his  personages  are  placed  with 
delightful  naturalness  in  their  appropriate  sur- 
roundings, in  the  manner  of  the  seventeenth 
century  Flemish  artists  ;  and  with  him  decorative 
arrangement  makes  its  entry  into  the  field  of 
caricature.  With  his  scenes  from  the  life  of  actors 
and  actresses,  his  idylls  of  the  Quartier  Latin,  his 
artists  at  home,  his  financiers  in  their  private 
rooms,  the  artist  who  created  Joseph  Prudhomme 
takes  his  place  definitively  beside  Gavarni. 


c 


ONCARNEAU.— Brittany  has  been  for 
many  years  the  chosen  home  of  painters. 
Not  only  Frenchmen,  but  painters  of 
all  nationalities  have  found  inspiration — 


and  still  find  it — in  this  land  of  ineffable  charm. 
With  its  art-colonies  at  Pont-Aven  and  Concarneau 
we  associate  the  names  of  Bastien  Lepage,  Dagnan 
Bouveret,  Jules  Breton,  and  Bouguereau,  and  in 
more  recent  years  those  of  Simon.  Cottet,  etc. 
Some  men  have  wandered  to  Benodet,  and  other 
isolated  places,  seeking  solitude  and  fresh  subjects 
for  their  work,  striving  to  go  even  deeper  into  the 
heart  of  Nature  and  the  life  of  the  people  than  did 
the  pioneer  workers  of  thirty  years  ago.  Brittany 
offers  an  almost  inexhaustible  treasury  of  interest. 
Besides  fine  sea-coast  and  glorious  sea,  it  has  also 
wild  inland  scenery,  with  tracts  of  moorland  and 
forest ;  and  restful  villages  like  Pont-Aven  and 
Quimperl^,  where  rivers  flow  through  scenery 
similar  to  that  of  Wales.  In  addition  to  these 
surroundings  there  is  the  life  of  the  people  to 
study,  a  simple  life,  lived  close  to  nature,  but  varied 
in  a  remarkable  degree  according  to  environment. 


It  is  at  the  excellent  inns,  glorified  by  the  names 
of  hotels,  that  artistic  life  finds  a  centre.     Living 


'  LA   VIEILLB   RUE 


{See  Paris  Studio- Talk ) 


BY    GABRIEL    ROUSSKAU 


Studio-  Talk 


"SUR   LE   RHIN" 


BY   GABRIEL    ROUSSEAIJ 


at  their  ateliers,  as  so  many 
do  at  Concarneau,  and 
coming  to  the  hotels  for 
their  meals ;  or  working 
in  the  ateliers  at  the  Hotel 
Julia  at  Pont-Aven,  the 
artists  all  meet  at  table 
and  have  the  benefit  of 
social  intercourse.  The 
Hotel  des  Voyageurs,  or 
Villa  Julia,  at  Pont-Aven 
has  been  well  known  to 
the  artist  world  since 
1862,  when  Girardet, 
Leroux,  and  Edward  Lewis 
founded  the  colony  still 
existing.  Colin  Hunter 
and  Walter  Langley  came 
thereabout  1880,  and  there 
Adrian  Stokes  and  his 
talented  wife  first  met,  and 
left     specimens     of     their 


ALFRED  GUILLOU    IN    HIS   STUDIO 
AT  OONCARNEAU 


FROM   A    PHOTOGRArH 
BY   EDYTHE   R.    PAEN 


17s 


Studio-  Talk 


HERBERT  S.    HUNT   IN   HIS  STUDIO 

AT   CONCARNEAU 


early  work.  The  salle-ci-manger  is  panelled  with 
pictures  by  various  artists,  and  in  the  fine  salon  of 
the  annexe  hang  works  by  F.  Fleuiy,  Robert  VVyllie, 
Mrs.  Adrian  Stokes,  and  many  others ;  all  gifts  to 
Mademoiselle  Julia,  the 
owner  of  the  hotel  and 
presiding  genius  of  the 
village. 


One  of  the  most  interest- 
ing names  at  Concarneau 
is  that  of  Monsieur  Alfred 
Guillou,  a  native  of  the 
place,  whose  paintings  have 
obtained  much  success  in 
France,  though  they  are 
almost  unknown  in  Eng- 
land. His  work  expresses 
his  natural  bonhomie,  and 
also  the  other  side  of 
his  nature,  which  feels  the 
tears  that  linger  so  near 
the  smiles  of  life.  Nearly 
every  year  a  large  and 
cosmopolitan  gathering  of 
artists  visit  Concarneau, 
but  the  real  interest 
lies  with  the  small  colony 
of  habitues,  who  have 
worked  there  for  many 
years.  Nothing  could  be 
of  greater  value  than  to  visit  the  studios  of  these 
serious  workers  and  study  the  variety  of  technique 
and  temperament  shown  in  their  work. 


FROM  A  PHOTOGRAPH 
BY  KDYTHE  R.  PAKN 


What  Capri  is  to  Italy, 
and  Newlyn  to  Cornwall, 
Concarneau  seems  to  be 
to  Brittany.  It  is  an  ideal 
home  for  artists,  full  of 
movement,  colour  and  ex- 
pression, almost  southern 
in  character,  and  wholly 
unexpected  to  those  whose 
ideas  of  Brittany  have  been 
formed  by  Pierre  Loti's  sad 
and  beautiful  romances,  or 
Daudet's  sketches.  In 
summer  the  whole  popula- 
tion of  Concarneau  works 
at  the  sardine  industry,  and 
winter  is  the  artists'  best 
time  for  work,  as  the  sardine 
workers  are  idle  then,  and 
only  too  glad  to  pose  as 
models  for  a  trifling  pay- 
ment. 


( 


' R^TOUR    DB   LA   PECHE' 


176 


BY  J.    MILNKR-KITE. 


Studio-  Talk 


"  AU    PAYS   DE   POMMES' 


BY  J.    MILNER-KITE 


Among  the  many  painters  resident  in  Concar- 
neau  is  Herbert  S.  Hunt,  who  has  worked  in 
Brittany  for  more  than  ten  years.  He  is  more  in 
touch  with  French  than  English  methods,  and  most 
of  his  work  has  remained  in  France. 


Charles  Fromuth,  an  American,  and  the  possessor 
of  a  Munich  gold  medal  and  a  Paris  silver  medal, 
is  well  known  for  his  marine  studies  in  pastel.  He 
has  worked  assiduously  for  eleven  years  at  Con- 
cameau,  and  often  exhibits  at  the  Champs  de  Mars, 
at  the  International,  and  elsewhere  in  England. 
His  style  is  vigorous  dignified,  and  grave,  with  a 
strength  of  line  and  depth  of  colour  not  usually 
associated  with  pastel.  These  marine  pictures 
represent  the  true  life  of  Concarneau  in  its  working 
aspect,  and  breathe  the  very  spirit  of  the  sea  with 
its  latent  melancholy. 


J.  Bulfield's  pictures  are  full  of  sunshine  ^wAjoie 
de  vivre.  They  are,  for  the  most  part,  oil  paintings, 
on  a  small  scale,  of  figure  subjects  of  Concarneau 


folk,  chatting  in  groups,  or  buying  and  selling 
at  the  market  booths ;  fresh  and  spontaneous 
studies  of  outdoor  life,  with  a  touch  of  southern 
gaiety,  all  rendered  with  a  free  and  forcible 
technique. 

Miss  Margaret  Houghton  is  one  of  the  few 
women  painters  who  have  taken  up  their  abode  in 
Concarneau.  Since  coming  from  Canada  to 
Europe  she  has  worked  at  Capri,  St.  Ives  and  in 
Holland,  and  has  exhibited  at  the  Salon  and  else- 
where. \Vell  known  to  the  art  world  is  John  H. 
Recknagel,  an  American,  who  studied  first  at 
Stuttgart,  and  afterwards  in  his  own  country  under 
Mr.  Siddons  H.  Mowbray.  He  is  an  extremely 
facile  and  prolific  painter,  working  rapidly  and  with 
great  effect,  especially  in  portraiture,  and  revels  in 
warm  and  rich  colours.  J.  Milner-Kite  is  one  of 
the  few  Concarneau  painters  who  have  exhibited 
at  the  "  International."  The  picture  here  repro- 
duced, "  Re  tour  de  la  Pcche,"  is  from  a  large  can- 
vas which  was  exhibited  at  the  Champs  de  Mars 

177 


studio-  Talk 


Salon  of  1 90 1.  It  represents  a  characteristic  scene 
of  Concarneau  :  the  sardine  boats  drawn  up  in 
harbour,  and  the  fishers  carrying  their  spoils  to 
market.  Emile  B.  Hirschfeld's  name  happens  to 
stand  last,  but  is  by  no  means  unimportant  in  the 
art  world.  Though  still  a  young  man— born  at 
Odessa  in  1867 — he  has  already  established  his 
reputation.  Some  of  his  finest  pictures  were 
painted  at  Concarneau ;  indeed  it  was  at  this  place 
that  he  began  to  work  in  colour.  Apart  from  the 
painter's  fine  technique  and  gift  of  composition, 
Hirschfeld  has  the  artist's  poetic  feeling,  and  those 
who  know  how  Biittany  stirs  the  emotions  will  feel 
a  peculiar  pleasure  in  his  work.     The  above-named 

painters,  with  De  Rolle,   Florence,  Howard,  Klein, 

Marmitsch,  Renti,  and  Terrick  Williams,  represent 

the  Concarneau  colony  of  late  years.    The  majority 

have  been  influenced  by  Monet  and  Manet  and 

Puvis  de  Chavannes,  but  all  are  bent  on  personal 

expression,  apart  from  the 

established  formulas.     It  is 

noteworthy    that    most    of 

those    painters     hold    the 

doctrine    that    a    student 

should  confine  himself  to 

the  practice  of  black-and- 
white  while  in  the  schools, 

and     begin     to     work     in 

colours  when  face  to  face 

with  Nature.    Most  of  their 

best  work  has  been  done 

at  Concarneau,  and  these 

days    of    bon    camaraderie 

and     strenuous     work     in 

Brittany   will   be    a   phase 

of  life  not  easily  forgotten. 

J-  Q 

FLORENCE.— 
This  year  there 
has  been  some- 
thing like  a  se- 
cession of  the  young  artists. 
Many  who  were  in  the 
habit  of  exhibiting  at  the 
annual  Promotrice  have 
collected  their  works  to- 
gether in  the  ground-floor 
rooms  of  the  Palazzo 
Corsini,  kindly  lent  to 
them  for  the  purpose. 


not  be  considered  as  an  actual  secession ;  for 
several  artists  have  exhibited  simultaneously  at  the 
Societi.  Promotrice  and  at  the  Palazzo  Corsini. 

A  separate  room  was  allotted  to  the  Belgian 
artist,  Henry  de  Groux,  who  sent  several  historical 
and  symbolical  compositions  executed  in  his 
fantastic  sketchy  style,  more  successfully  exemplified 
in  some  pastels  of  children. 

Another  Belgian  artist,  more  firm  and  accurate 
in  drawing,  is  Charles  Doudelet,  specially  notable 
for  his  illustrations  of  subjects  from  Maeterlinck. 


In  the  Italian  section  various  tendencies  may  be 
noted,  especially  in  the  rooms  devoted  to  oil-paint- 
ings. One  tendency  in  particular  shows  a  recurrence 
to  the  spirit  of  our  traditions,  although  not  confined 
to  one  old  master  alone,  nor  to  a  single  period  ot 


But     this     attempt     to 
show   independence    must 


"mother  and  child 


BY  JOHN    H.    RECKNAGEL 


Studio-Talk 


'  LES    FIANC^AILLES' 


BY   E.   B.    HIRSCHFELD 


the  Renaissance.  Adolfo  De  Karolis  has  taken  up 
wood-cutting  again,  and  his  vignettes  for  Gabrielle 
D'Annunzio's  Figlia  di  Torio  bear  testimony  to  his 
love  for  the  fourteenth  century.  Oscar  Ghiglia 
and  Giovanni  Costetti  also  show  themselves  tradi- 
tionalists, though  more  untrammelled,  both  in  their 
drawings  and  in  their  portraits  in  oils.  These  two 
young  portrait-painters,  of  whom  we  are  sure  to 
hear  more,  have  deservedly  attracted  much  atten- 
tion in  a  short  time.  Their  colour  is  warm  and 
telling,  but  that  of  Ghiglia  is  more  heavily  loaded 
and  that  of  Costetti  more  fluid.  We  may  mention 
the  latter's  Portrait  of  a  Gentleman,  and  a  drawing 
in  red.  The  Conqueror. 


Oscar  Ghiglia,  besides  an  exquisite  drawing  of 
Two  Heads,  has  exhibited  an  admirable  half- 
length  of  Signor  Salvetti. 


More  modern  and   impressionist  tendencies  are 
represented  by  the  landscapes  of  Plinio  Nomellini, 


the  symbolical  compositions  and  the  ex  libris  of 
Galileo  Chini,  some  delicate  landscape  drawings 
by  Lodovico  Tommasi,  The  Return  to  the  Sheep/old 
by  Giuseppe  Viner,  and  various  other  works  by 
Giorgio  Kienerk  (painter  and  sculptor),  Cesare 
Vinzio,  Cesare  Ciani,  Romiti,  De  Albertis,  Graziosi, 
and  by  Ulvi  Liegi. 

It  may  be  truthfully  said  that  the  success  of  the 
exhibition  has  been  complete.  Let  us  hope 
that  this  excellent  undertaking  may  be  repeated 
every  year.  R.  p. 

BRUSSELS.— The  "  Societe  Royale  des 
Aquarellistes "  (the  last  exhibition  of 
which  took  place  in  December)  has  some- 
times been  accused  of  being  too  exclusive, 
but  the  "  Societe  Nationale  des  Aquarellistes  et 
Pastellistes "  (whose  exhibition  was  opened  last 
June)  might  with  equal  justice  be  reproached  for 
acceding   too   readily   to   the    many   requests   for 

'79 


Studio-  Talk 


selves  the  Pemtres  indepeiidants.  They  will  hold 
an  exhibition  every  year  at  Brussels,  and  every 
three  years  at  Antwerp,  Ghent,  and  Liege.  Amongst 
the  names  of  the  members  are  those  of  MM. 
Heymans  Clans,  Morren,  Ensor  Buysse,  and 
Lemmen,  with  that  of  Mdlle.  Boch. 


M 


ARSEILLES.— The  work  exhibited  this 
year  by  the  painter  in  water-colours, 
Louis  Jullien-Rousset,  is  more  ambi- 
tious in  composition  and  displays  a 
greater  mastery  of  technique  than  anything  he  has 
hitherto  shown.  This  artist's  great  charm  consists 
in  the  fact  that  he  is  true  to  his  own  convictions, 
and  represents  nature  exactly  as  it  impresses  him, 
and  with  the  very  simplest  means.  All  his  work  is 
done  in  the  open  air ;  he  catches  with  wonderful 
rapidity  the  fleeting  effects  of  light,  and  he  refrains 
from  finishinET-touches  in  his  studio. 


"  LE  violoniste' 


FROM   THE   ETCHING 
BY    F.    GAILLIARD 


admission  to  its  ranks.     The  number  of  incompe- 
tent amateurs  on  the  roll  of  the  society  is  really  far 
too  great,  and  their  valueless  contributions  militate 
very     much     against     the 
general  effect  of  the  Salon. 

In     spite     of    this,     how-  *"    "'^  '" 

ever,  there  are  some  few 
remarkable  exhibits.  To 
name  but  two,  the  works 
of  MM.  F.  Gailliard  and 
W.  Delsaux  are  very  fine. 
The  Studio  has  already 
reproduced  several  draw- 
ings of  market  scenes  by 
the  former,  and  the  latter 
has  exhibited  some  Zealand 
landscapes  of  varying  merit, 
but  all  interesting  and  full 
of  character. 


Jullien-Rousset  has  never  allowed  himself  to  be 
seduced  from  his  own  straightforward  style  by  any 
aiming  at  tours  de  mains  or  experiments  with 
different  methods.  Sincere  and  devoted  to  his 
art,  he  interprets  with  great  simplicity  the  im- 
pressions made  on  him  by  effects  of  light  on  the 
ponds,  picturesque  lanes,  villages  prettily  situated 
on  some  hill-side  slope,  or  some  deserted  scene  of 
the  Provencal  coast.  Like  many  another  modern 
French  master,  Jullien-Rousset  has  worked  a  great 
deal  at  Martiques — he  has,  indeed,  almost  exhausted 


The  controversy  aroused 
by  the  last  exhibition  of 
the  "Libre-Esthetique" 
Society,  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  a  new  group 
of  artists  who  call  them- 
i8o 


FROM   THE   ETCHING 
BY   F.    GAILLIARD 


L 


Studio-  Talk 

EIPZIG.  —  The 
two  well-kno^vn 
Leipzig  artists, 
M.  Klinger  and 
D.  Greiner,  have  taken  to 
themselves  a  worthy  partner 
in  the  person  of  a  talented 
young  engraver,  Bruno 
Heroux,  who,  though  akin 
to  them  artistically  speak- 
ing, is  an  independent 
individuality,  and  has  at- 
tracted attention  already 
by  his  engravings,  litho- 
graphs, and  woodcuts ;  for 
even  the  veterans  Adolf 
Meruel  and  M.  Klinger 
have  recognised  their 
merits.  Very  masterly  is 
his  treatment  of  the  human 
figure,  as  may  be  seen 
in  an  Anatomical  Atlas 
that  district,  rich  though  it  is  in  charming  themes  illustrated  by  him  ;  and  his  other  work  is  no  less 
— so  much  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  say  which  dignified  and  artistic.  He  has  produced  some  capital 
deserves  more  admiration,  Jullien  -  Rousset  for  portraits  and  a  number  of  book-plates  (ex-libris)  in 
having  been  able  to  find  there  so  many  different  various  styles  of  engraving  which  have  been  much 
motives,  or  the  village  of  Martiques  itself  for  praised,  and  are  admirable  examples  of  their  kind, 
the  inexhaustible  inspiration  it  has  been  to  so  Heroux's  chief  characteristics  are  his  simple  breadth 
many    generations     of    artists.      Jullien  -  Rousset,      of  treatment,  especially  in  wood-engraving,  purity  of 


"  PAVSAGE   A    GAP 


BY   L.   JULLIEN-ROUSSET 


however,   has  not  confined  himself  to   Martiques      line,  and  fine  draughtsmanship. 
alone,  but  has  worked  in 
several    other    districts    of 

Provence,  interpreting  r      -  '.''-^ 

them  under  many  different 
aspects.  The  water-colour 
drawing  here  illustrated, 
Paysage  a  Gap,  is  a 
characteristic  example  of 
his  work.  Another  note- 
worthy work  in  the  ex- 
hibition was  one  repre- 
senting a  little  stream 
flowing  through  a  mass  of 
verdure,  beneath  a  well- 
interpreted  stormy  sunset- 
sky.  In  a  word,  this  last 
exhibition  has  justified 
the  high  esteem  in  which 
Jullien  -  Rousset  is  held, 
fulfilling  the  prediction, 
made  at  his  de/uit,  that  he 
would  become  a  great 
painter  in  water-colours. 
G.  B. 


K.  E. 


SITTING    ROO.M 


DESIGNBD   BV   GEORG    WINKLER 
EXECUTED    BV    FOLKBR 
DESIGN  E,D   BV   ALBEE    WIRTH 
EXECUTED   BY   SUPPERSBKRG 


i8i 


Studio-Talk 


DINING    ROOM    IN    STAINED    ELM 


DESIGNED 
EXECUTED 


KLAGENFURT.— Another  proof  has  been 
given  of  the  interest  the  Austrian  Govern- 
ment takes  in  the  artistic  development  of 
her  peoples,  for,  thanks  to  a  subvention 
granted  by  the  Ministerium  for  Cultus  and  Unter- 
richt,  it  was  made  possible  to  hold  an  exhibition  in 
Klagenfurt,  the  capital  of  Carinthia.  All  the 
artists  taking  part  in  this 
exhibition  are  natives  of 
this  province,  who  have 
chiefly  received  their 
artistic  training  at  the 
Imperial  Arts  and  Crafts 
Schools,  Vienna.  And 
another  local  interest  was 
given  by  the  fact  that  all 
those  manufacturers  who 
executed  the  designs  ot 
these  young  artists  are  also 
natives  of  Carinthia.  They 
had  never  previously  at- 
tempted the  making  of 
artistic  productions,  but 
the  new  impulse  given  is 
likely  to  be  a  permanent 
one,  for  more  than  half  of 
the  exhibits  were  sold  and 
many  orders  taken.  The 
province  of  Carinthia  has 
produced  many  rising 
young  architects,  such  as 
182 


Julius  Keller,  Karl  Witz- 
mann;  sculptors  such  as 
Friedrich  Gornik,  Leopold 
Resch,  Michael  Mortl, 
and  others ;  etchers  such 
as  Aug.  Veiter,  Eduard 
Mannhart,  besides  many 
who  have  devoted  them- 
selves to  other  branches 
of  art.  Friedrich  Gornik 
has  a  predilection  for 
depicting  animals.  His 
designs  for  electric  light- 
ing apparatus  are  very 
characteristic,  whether  they 
be  in  the  form  of  an  owl, 
a  tiger  or  other  animal, 
or  bird,  and  many  of 
his  days  have  been 
spent  at  the  zoological 
gardens  at  Schonbriinn, 
near  Vienna,  modell- 
ing these  creatures.  His 
picture  The  Storm  is  Coming  On  is  a  very 
realistic  description  of  what  takes  place  when 
those  who  live  in  huts  in  the  high  Alpine  lands 
fear  a  storm.  The  shepherd  immediately  springs 
on  the  nearest  horse's  back,  rushes  up  to  the 
top  of  the  mountain,  and  with  eyes  strained 
looks  into  the  distant  clouds.      Such   scenes  the 


BY   GEORG   WINKLER 
BY  JULIUS   KELLER 


EMBROIDERY 


DESlr.NED    BY    GEORG    WINKLER 

EXECUTED   BY   AD.    RIKDEL 

BY    FRAULEIN    DNTERKREUTER 


studio-  Talk 


m 


RECEPTION    ROOM    IN   GREY   MAPLE 


young  sculptor  has  himself  often  ex- 
perienced. Many  of  the  interiors  offered 
scope  for  designs  in  which  to  combine 
the  artistic  and  the  practical.  A  dining- 
room  by  Georg  Winkler  is  of  elm,  so 
stained  as  to  have  the  appearance  of 
palisander.  It  fulfils  all  the  modem 
requirements,  and  is  very  pleasing  to 
the  eye,  two  very  requisite  things  in  the 
art  of  to-day.  Another  interior  by  the 
same  artist  is  a  bedroom,  in  which  he 
has  utilised  a  scarcity  of  room  by  placing 
the  bed  between  two  cupboards  and 
building  a  third  one  above  the  washing- 
stand.  The  coverlet  and  towels  were 
designed  and  executed  by  Fraulein 
Unterkreuter,  of  Villach;  while  a  boudoir 
stained  outwardly  pale  pink  and  inwardly 
with  green,  thereby  forming  an  agreeable 
contrast,  is  very  effective.  Another  in- 
terior, a  reception  room  by  Karl  Witz- 
mann,  is  of  grey  maple,  and  shows  that 
the  artist  is  a  rigid  disciple  of  the  modern 
school.  There  is  a  great  demand  for 
such  interiors  as  these,  and  in  giving  art 
of  this  kind  to  the  country  a  high  pur- 
pose has  been  served.  The  young  artists 
are  kept  very  busy,  so  that  the  material 
advantage  to  themselves  as  well  as  the 
artistic  result  is  very  satisfactory. 

A.  S.  L. 


DESIGNED   BY   KARL  WITZMANN 
EXECUTED   BY   AD     RIEDEL 


ELBOURNE.— 
The  annual  ex- 
hibition of  the 
Victorian  Art- 
ists' Society  was  formally 
opened  at  the  Galleries, 
Eastern  Hill,  by  Mr. 
Deakin,  on  July  9.  On 
the  whole,  the  Society  is  to 
be  congratulated  on  the 
high  standard  of  the  work 
exhibited.  For  this  high 
standard  many  reasons  tend 
to  contribute.  Australians 
who  migrated  to  London 
and  Paris  some  years  ago  to 
enlarge  their  local  training, 
are  in  many  instances  re- 
turning;  and  they  now  in 
their  turn,  both  by  example 


Reviews 


and  tuition — for  it  is  only  the  very,  very  few  who  in 
Australia  can  hope  to  live  solely  by  the  proceeds 
of  their  work — influence  others.  The  hanging 
committee,  therefore,  were  able  to  exercise  a 
wise  discretion,  and  by  fixing  a  high  standard 
excluded  much  of  the  amateurish  work  which  has 
been  so  much  in  evidence  in  previous  exhibitions. 
It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  this  good  precedent  will 
be  persevered  in. 


The  last  exhibition  included  pictures  in  oil 
and  water-colour,  miniatures,  etchings,  sculpture, 
pastels,  auto-lithographs,  and  applied  arts  —  a 
total  of  about  240  exhibits.  Of  the  figure  painters 
Mr.  Hugh  Ramsay  easily  took  precedence  with 
several  large  portrait  canvases — all  of  which  were 
pleasing  in  colour  and  technique,  but  as  pictures 
they  had  the  defect  of  showing  the  sitters  too- 
obviously  posed.  This  doubtless  is  a  fault  which 
time  and  experience  will  correct.  His  Portrait 
Sketch  was,  however,  free  of  the  defect,  and  was 
altogether  charming. 


Mrs.  Muntz-Adams  showed  strong  work  in 
My  Lady,  as  also  did  Mr.  Bernard  Hall  in  the 
portrait  of  H.  H.  Champion,  Esq.,  and  in  some 
exquisitely  painted  still-lifes — notably  the  Gardener's 
Workshop,  Naseing  Hall,  £w?.v —painted  during  a 
recent  visit  to  England.  Mr.  Leslie  Wilkie  is  to 
be  commended  for  the  fine  qualities  shown  in  his 
portrait  My  Sister — the  best  of  his  several  works. 
Mr.  John  Hennessy's  Sisters  of  Mercy  was  also  an 
admirable  piece  of  work. 

In  the  landscape  section  the  finest  work  was 
shown  by  Mr.  Albert  Enes  in  two  fine  pictures — 
exquisite  alike  in  feeling  and  treatment.  Both  were 
painted  in  a  low  key  of  colour,  and  his  RainboTv, 
especially,  showed  a  keen  appreciation  of  one  of 
Nature's  most  elusive  effect-;.  Mr.  Enes  is  a  com- 
paratively young  man,  who  ought  eventually  to 
contribute  handsomely  towards  the  building  up  of 
a  truly  national  school  of  painting  in  Australia. 
Mr.  J.  Sommers'  Nature's  Embroideries  was  also 
fine  in  colour  and  movement,  while  Mr.  Rupert 
Bunny  sent  his  picture  The  Tritons  from  Paris. 

Mr.  Delafield  Cook's  Forest  Glade  was  the  most 
dainty  in  colour  and  effect  of  his  several  contribu- 
tions. Mr.  Walter  Withers — usually  a  prominent 
exhibitor — sent  one  very  finely  painted  Landscape, 
and  some  good  water-colours — all  noticeable  for 
their  qualities  of  colour  and  mastery  of  material. 
Mention  should  also  be  made  of  the  work  of 
184 


Messrs.  F.  Hayward,  P.  Lindsay,  Beament,  and  of 
Mrs.  B.  Colquhoun's  Waterpool  (an  unpretentious 
but  finely  painted  work),  and  of  Mr.  Dancey's  deco- 
rative Motherhood.  Among  the  water-colours  in 
the  central  gallery  mention  must  be  made  of  Mr. 
Mather's  two  fine  Healsville  landscapes.  Evening 
and  Autumn — full  of  colour  and  warmth  and  sun- 
light. 


Mr.  Blamire  Young  sent  several  works,  decora- 
tively  conceived  and  executed, — as  did  also  a 
kindred  spirit,  Mr.  H.  J.  Weston.  Mr.  Macgeorge 
and  Miss  Buchan  contributed  good  work,  and  Mr. 
Enes'  decorative  pastel  Fan  excited  favourable 
notice  for  its  charming  freedom  and  good  colour ; 
as  did  also  Miss  Norris's  Web  Weaver,  and  Mr. 
Tom  Carter's  GirFs  Head — both  in  the  same 
medium.  Other  works  of  promise  were  Mr.  A. 
Fischer's  auto-lithograph  The  Fiver,  and  the  char- 
coal studies  of  Messrs.  Brindle  and  Hennessy — and 
among  the  sculpture  Mr.  Web-Gilbert's  Problem  oj 
Life  and  Crest  of  the  Wave.  The  absence  of  works 
by  Messrs.  McCubbin,  Douglas  Richardson,  and 
J.  Ford  Paterson— all  old  members  of  the  society 
— was  regrettable.  J-  S. 

REVIEWS. 

The  Art  of  George  Morland.  By  Dr.  G.  C. 
WiLLi.'^MSON.  (London  :  George  Bell  &  Sons.) 
255^.  net. — It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  George 
Morland  should  have  had  to  wait  so  long  before 
any  really  exhaustive  account  of  his  life  and  work 
has  appeared,  for  none  of  the  biographies  hitherto 
published,  though  trustworthy  enough  so  far  as 
they  go,  give  an  all-round  picture  of  the  man  and 
artist.  As  is  well  known,  four  lives  were  published 
soon  after  the  gifted  master's  premature  death  at 
the  early  age  of  forty-one,  but  these  are  all  out  of 
print ;  and  as  is  pointed  out  by  Dr.  Williamson  in 
the  Preface  to  his  richly  illustrated  and  deeply 
interesting  monograph,  only  a  very  few  libraries 
contain  copies  of  them  all.  They  however 
formed  the  basis  of  a  well-written  little  volume  by 
Mr.  Ralph  Richardson,  published  in  1895  ;  and  in 
1898  a  critical  notice  of  the  work  of  Morland,  by 
the  animal  painter  Mr.  J.  T.  Nettleship,  was 
included  in  Messrs.  Seeley's  Portfolio  Series. 
Possibly  the  exceptionally  melancholy  circum- 
stances of  Morland's  career,  vitiated  as  it  was  by 
dissipation,  may  have  led  to  the  reserve  that 
has  hitherto  been  generally  maintained,  but  the 
result  of  that  reserve  has  been  that  considerable 
injustice  has  been  done  to  the  memory  of  a  man 


Reviews 


who  altogether  lost  the  charm  that  distinguished  him 
in  his  boyhood.  Dr.  Williamson  has,  however,  now 
changed  all  that.  With  the  unwearying  and  conscien- 
tious care  that  distinguish  him,  he  has  unravelled 
thetangled  skein  of  hearsay  and  tradition,  and  though 
he  does  not  condone  the  errors  of  his  subject,  he  gives 
due  weight  to  every  extenuating  circumstance.  He 
dissipates  finally,  for  instance,  the  accusation  that 
Morland  neglected  his  wife,  for  he  proves  that  in 
the  artist's  worst  straits  for  money,  he  never  failed 
to  supply  her  with  luxuries  as  well  as  necessaries. 
^^'ith  equal  judgment  the  author  of  this  new 
biography,  which  will  no  doubt  take  rank  as  a 
standard  authority,  examines  the  work  of  the 
master,  tracing  the  various  influences  that  affected 
him,  but  at  the  same  time  establishing  his  claim  to 
the  original  genius  that  entitles  him  to  rank 
amongst  the  immortals.  The  fine  reproductions 
of  some  fifty  typical  examples  of  the  paintings  of 
Morland  leave  absolutely  nothing  to  be  desired  ; 
the  frontispiece  in  colour  of  the  Interior  of  a 
Stable  is  an  exceptionally  happy  rendering  of  an 
old  favourite,  and  amongst  the  collotypes  will  be 
found  many  of  little  known  paintings  in  private 
possession,  including  several  sea-scapes,  such  as 
the  Day  after  the  Wreck,  that  prove  how  great 
was  Morland's  versatility. 

Paris  and  its  Story.  By  T.  Okey.  (London  : 
J.  M.  Dent.)  2\s.  net. — In  his  new  volume  the 
author  of  the  fascinating  "  Venice  and  her  Story  " 
had  a  subject  that  was  evidently  far  less  congenial 
to  him,  and  one  that  on  account  of  certain 
inherent  peculiarities  it  was  far  more  difficult 
to  treat  satisfactorily  than  the  poetic  City  of 
the  Lagoons.  Venice  remains  what  she  has 
been  for  centuries — the  Queen  of  the  Adriatic, 
whose  subjects  have  held  her  every  characteristic 
sacred.  Paris  has  been  successively  the  victim  of 
one  master  after  another,  who,  however  much  they 
may  have  differed  in  other  respects,  were  alike 
in  the  ruthlessness  with  which  they  have  destroyed 
or  suffered  to  be  destroyed  the  heirlooms  bequeathed 
to  them  by  their  predecessors.  As  a  result,  the 
story  of  the  Paris  of  to-day  has  to  be  written 
chiefly  in  the  past  tense.  To  quote  but  one  case 
in  point,  the  cite,  than  which,  Mr.  Okey  says,  there 
are  few  spots  in  Europe  where  so  many  associations 
are  crowded  together,  retains  scarcely  a  trace  of  the 
long  ago.  "Some  notion,"  he  remarks,  "of  the 
changes  that  have  swept  over  its  soil  may  be  con- 
ceived on  scanning  Felibien's  1725  map,  where  no 
less  than  eighteen  churches  are  marked,  scarce  a 
wrack  of  which  remains."  "  We  must  imagine," 
he  adds,  "  the  old  medinsval  cite  as  a  labyrinth  of 


crooked  and  narrow  streets,  with  the  present  broad 
parvis  of  Notre  Dame  of  much  smaller  extent, 
encumbered  with  shops  and  at  a  lower  level."  It 
is  the  same  throughout  the  volume ;  imagination  is 
the  one  thing  that  can  really  in  any  great  measure 
recall  the  past  of  a  town  still  a  leader  in  art  and 
science,  "  where,"  says  Mr.  Okey,  "  all  the  best  of 
the  realms  of  nature  and  art  in  the  whole  earth  are 
open  to  daily  contemplation  "  ;  though  he  neglects 
to  add  that  it  is  in  the  museums  that  this  aesthetic 
and  intellectual  treat  is  to  be  attained.  Accepting 
the  inevitable,  however,  the  author  of  what  is  prac- 
tically a  history  of  the  French  monarchy  rather  than 
of  Paris  or  of  its  people,  has  produced  a  most  read- 
able and  trustworthy  text-book,  which  will  be  of  the 
utmost  service  to  all  who  wish  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  French  capital  as  it  now  is.  The  numerous 
illustrations  well  supplement  the  text,  and  although 
unfortunately  some  of  the  colour  -  blocks  are  not 
very  well  printed,  the  light  and  atmosphere  peculiar 
to  Paris  are  well  interpreted.  Miss  Kimball's  pen- 
drawings,  that  recall  the  work  of  Joseph  Pennell,  but 
are  scarcely  equal  to  it  in  draughtsmanship,  render 
happily  many  characteristic  details  ;  but  the  inclu- 
sion of  reproductions  of  paintings  that  have  abso- 
lutely nothing  to  do  with  the  text  —  such  as 
Poussin's  Shepherds  in  Arcady  —  rather  detracts 
from  the  homogeneity  of  the  book  as  a  whole. 

Westminster  Abbey.  Painted  by  John  Fulley- 
LOVE,  R.  I.  ;  described  by  Mrs.  A.  Murray  Smith. 
(London :  A.  &  C.  Black.)  7^.  dd.  net. — In  this 
brightly  written,  chatty  volume,  the  accomplished 
authoress  of  the  "  Annals  "  and  the  "  Roll  Call  of 
Westminster  Abbey"  proves  yet  anew,  how  close 
and  living  is  the  sympathy  that  binds  her  to  the 
venerable  building  with  which,  as  is  well  known, 
her  whole  life  has  been  intimately  associated.  She 
dwells  but  little,  it  is  true,  in  her  new  book  on  the 
art  point  of  view  ;  her  aim  evidently  having  been  to 
bring  into  prominence  the  historical  associations 
of  her  subject  rather  than  its  ajsthetic  character- 
istics. For  all  that,  however,  she  sums  up  in  her 
introduction,  clearly  though  succinctly,  the  story  of 
the  growth  of  the  present  group  of  buildings  out 
of  Edward  the  Confessor's  Benedictine  abbey,  and 
she  prefaces  her  imaginary  walk  through  the  sacred 
precincts  by  a  summary  of  the  leading  architectural 
features.  She  calls  attention,  for  instance,  to  the 
graceful  arcading  of  the  triforium  of  the  nave, 
suggesting  that  her  companions  should  "  carry  the 
eye  to  the  root,  100  feet  above  their  heads  ;  and 
thence  along  the  clustered  columns  and  arches  ; " 
adding  enthusiastically,  "  The  whole  resembles 
that  magnificent  and  peculiarly  English  beauty,  an 

■8S 


Reviews 


ancient  beech  avenue,  with  its  arching  and  inter- 
lacing boughs  reaching  up  to  heaven."  The 
absence  from  the  text  of  the  technical  details  that 
appeal  to  a  comparatively  limited  audience  is  amply 
atoned  for  by  the  excellent  descriptive  notes  that 
accompany  Mr.  FuUeylove's  beautiful  illustrations 
that  are  reproduced  with  the  skill  and  care  for 
which  Messrs.  Black  are  justly  noted.  With  few 
exceptions  the  drawings  interpret  well  the  details 
chosen  ;  but  occasionally,  as  in  the  Chantry  Chapel 
of  Henry  V.,  with  St.  Edward's  Shrine,  and  the  St. 
Edmund's  Chapel,  with  the  tomb  of  the  Duchess 
of  Suffolk,  the  full  beauty  of  the  pointed  arch  is 
scarcely  brought  out ;  while  the  cutting  off  of  the 
towers  of  the  West  Front  has  an  irritating  effect. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  views  of  the  North  and 
South  Ambulatories  and  of  the  Interior  of  the  Nave 
and  the  North  Transept  are  thoroughly  convincing 
and  satisfactory. 

From  a  Holiday  Journal.  By  Mrs.  E.  T.  Cook. 
(London:  George  Allen.)  ioj.  6(/.  net. — A  deeply 
pathetic  interest  attaches  to  this  delightful  pot 
ioiirri  of  holiday  impressions,  written  as  it  was  by 
a  now  vanished  hand,  but  bearing  on  every  page 
the  impress  of  the  wonderful  vitality  that  was 
characteristic  of  the  authoress  of  "  Highways  and 
Byways  in  London."  Mrs.  E.  T.  Cook,  who  died 
in  June,  1903,  combined  the  rare  gifts  of  imagina- 
tion, insight  into  character,  and  sense  of  humour, 
which  enabled  her  to  place  herself  at  once  en 
rapport  with  those  with  whom  she  was  brought  in 
contact  in  her  wanderings.  In  her  last  Holiday 
Journey,  when  she  seemed  to  have  many  years  of 
successful  work  still  before  her,  she  penetrated  into 
several  outof the-way  villages  in  Italy,  Germany, 
and  Switzerland,  where,  attracted  by  her  fasci- 
nating personality,  many  of  the  unsophisticated 
natives  revealed  to  her  their  true  selves  as  they 
would  never  have  done  to  an  ordinary  traveller. 
Mrs.  Cook's  word  pictures,  supplemented  by  photo- 
graphs and  sketches  taken  by  herself  direct  from 
nature,  and  well  reproduced,  some  in  colour  others 
in  photogravure,  in  this  volume,  bring  very  vividly 
before  her  readers  the  scenes  in  which  she  evidently 
played  an  important  part.  The  Passion  Play  on 
the  Italian  Lakes  is  especially  noteworthy,  bringing 
out  as  it  does  the  deep  religious  feeling  of  the 
peasants  who  took  part  in  it,  and  at  the  same  time 
incidentally  throwing  something  of  a  new  light  on 
the  motives  of  early  Italian  religious  art,  that  are  so 
often  puzzling  to  the  uninitiated. 

The  Alps.  By  W.  Martin  Conway  and 
A.  D.  McCormick.  (London  :  A.  &  C.  Black.) 
2o.f.    net. — The    pubhshers    of    this    most    fasci- 


nating volume  are  to  be  congratulated  on  having 
secured    the    services    of    two    such    experts    as 
Sir  Martin   Conway  and  Mr.  McCormick,  both  of 
whom  know  and  love  Alpine  scenery  well.     They 
are,  moreover — which  is  far  more  rare — able  to  give 
expression  to  their  appreciation  in  a  form  as  true 
as  it  is  attractive.     In  spite  of  the  inevitable  limita- 
tions of  the  three-colour  process  of  reproduction, 
the  illustrations    interpret   with   great   felicity  the 
characteristic  colouring  and  atmospheric  effects  of 
typical  Alpine  landscapes ;   avoiding  the  mistake 
so  often  made  of  attempting  to  give   too    much 
detail,  yet  at  the  same  time  omitting  nothing  of 
importance.     Specially  noteworthy  are  the  Lucerne 
and  Lake  from  the  Drei  Linden,  with  the  grand 
background  of  storm-clouds  gathering  about   the 
summit  of  Pilatus  ;  the  Cloud-Burst  over  Lucerne, 
with  its  vivid  realisation  of  the  transitory  bright- 
ness that  so  often  heralds  an  atmospheric  convul- 
sion ;  At  Meiringen,  with  the  distant  view  of  the 
Briiing  Pass  ;  Twilight  on  the  Matterhorn,  with  its 
grim  suggestion  of  tragedy ;    and    Fliielen,  under 
the  sombre  influence  of  the  Fohn  wind.     No  less 
satisfactory   are   the   verbal    descriptions   of    Mr. 
McCormick,  who  began   his   career   as  a   moun- 
taineer at  the  age  of  seven  by  climbing  Snowdon. 
He  admits  his  readers  very  frankly  into  his  con- 
fidence from  the  first,  explaining  that  his  aim  is  not 
to  make  people  see  with  his  eyes,  but  to  recall  to 
them  what  they  have  already  gazed  upon  with  their 
own.     In  this  limitation,  however,  he  does  himself 
less  than  justice,  for  every  sentence  of  his  work  bears 
the  impress  of  thorough  knowledge  of  his  subject. 
He  is  familiar  with  the  Alps,  not  only  as  they  are 
now,  but  as  they  were — indeed,  even  as  they  will 
be  in  the  future,  for  he  is  a  practical  geologist  as 
well   as   a   shrewd  observer   and   an    experienced 
climber.    Even  without  his  collaborateur's  sketches, 
his  book  will  be  an  aid  to  the  serious  student  no  less 
than  to  the  ordinary  tourist ;  making  it  a  matter  for 
regret  that,  as  is  the  case  with  the  rest  of  the  series 
of  "  Beautiful  Books,"  there  are  no  headings  to  the 
chapters  or  index. 

Phil  May  in  Australia.  (Sydney :  "The  Bulletin" 
Newspaper  Office  ;  London:  Dunlop&Co.)  £1  \s. 
net. — A  valuable  opportunity  is  afforded  to  admirers 
of  Phil  May  for  comparing  his  earlier  and  later 
work,  by  the  publication  of  this  interesting  series  of 
examples  of  his  social  and  political  cartooning  and 
humorous  sketches,  suppUed  between  1885  and 
1894  to  the  Sydney  "  Bulletin."  As  is  well  known, 
the  career  of  May  had  been  one  long  struggle  from 
the  death  of  his  father  when  he  was  only  nine 
years   old,  until    in    1885    he    obtained  a  regular 


Reviews 


journalistic  appointment  ;  he  having  been  able  to 
take  the  place  of  the  artist  who  had  undertaken,  but 
failed,  to  do  the  principal  drawing  for  the  previous 
Christmas  number.  As  related  by  Mr.  A.  G. 
Stephens  in  the  sympathetic  biography  prefacing 
the  new  publication,  the  chance  turned  the  young 
artist's  destiny,  and  he  was  earning  from  ^8  to 
^lo  a  week  on  the  staff  of  "  St.  Stephens  "  when  Mr. 
W.  H.  Traill,  managing  director  of  the  "  Bulletin," 
enticed  him  to  Sydney  to  work  for  it.  Phil  May 
drew  exclusively  for  the  "  Bulletin  "  for  nine  years, 
contributing  no  less  than  900  drawings  to  it,  of  which 
those  reproduced  in  this  book  are  carefully  selected 
examples.  They  prove  the  truth  of  Professor 
Herkomer's  criticism  that  "  Phil  May's  line  was 
like  the  stroke  of  Joachim's  bow"  for  what  Mr. 
Stephens  calls  the  "quality  of  athletic  skill"  was 
never  surpassed  in  any  other  work  from  the  same 
hand.  They  are,  moreover,  an  incidental  proof  of 
the  great  change  that  has  come  over  the  attitude 
of  Australia  towards  the  mother  country  during  the 
last  twenty  years,  for  such  caricatures  as  those  of 
the  "  Queen  signing  the  Coercion  Bill "  and  the 
"Queen  and  the  Statue  "would  not  now  be  tolerated. 
Venice  by  Mortimer  Menpes.  Text  by  Dorothy 
Menpes.  (London  :  A.  &  C.  Black.)  20.?.  net. — 
Although  it  cannot  be  said  to  equal  in  beauty  the 
companion  volume  on  Japan,  which  is  certainly  the 
best  of  the  colour  books  hitherto  produced  by  Mr. 
Menpes,  this  new  volume  is  full  of  delightful 
sketches,  which  interpret  well  the  ever-varying,  yet 
ever-fascinating  charms  of  the  City  of  the  Lagoons. 
Specially  satisfactory  are  the  Custom  House  and 
Church  of  S.  Maria  Salute  with  the  fishing-boat 
in  the  foreground,  giving  just  the  needed  touch  of 
strong  colour ;  the  Dogana  and  Salute  bathed 
in  the  true  Venetian  atmosphere ;  the  fine  night- 
effect  of  the  Ospedale  Cirile  the  S.  Giorgio 
Maggiore,  glowing  in  the  evening  light  ;  the  Canal 
in  Giudecca  Island,  that  seems  to  palpitate  in  the 
sunbeams,  and  the  Choggia  Fish  Market,  with  the 
delicately  suggested  distance.  On  the  other  hand, 
in  some  few  of  the  drawings  there  is  a  strange 
crudity  of  colouring  and  carelessness  of  execution. 
In  the  All  Saints'  Quay  at  S.  Trovaso  houses 
and  water  are  one  blur  of  the  same  tone,  the  Old 
Doonvay  is  commonplace  and  uninteresting ;  and 
A  Chioggia  Fishing  Boat  is  quite  wanting  in 
charm  or  character.  As  is  generally  the  case 
in  Mr.  Menpes'  publications,  the  letterpress  of 
the  "  Venice "  is  not  equal  in  merit  to  the 
illustrations.  It  is  Mr.  Menpes'  whim  to  attribute 
the  text  to  his  daughter,  but  he  often  forgets  he 
has   done   so,  as  in  the  chapters  in  the  present 


volume,  called  "  A  Glimpse  into  Bohemia  "  and 
"  Gondolas  and  Gondoliers,"  neither  of  which 
could  possibly  have  been  penned  by  a  young  girl. 
The  author  or  authoress  has  also  an  irritating  habit 
of  jumping  abruptly  from  one  subject  to  another, 
as  when  he  or  she  says  : — "  In  San  Giorgio  there 
is  a  wonderful  entombment  by  Tintoretto.  This 
is  the  place  for  red  mullet  from  the  Adriatic,"  as  if 
the  painting — which,  by  the  way,  has  not  even  the 
dignity  of  a  capital  letter — and  the  fish  were  of 
quite  equal  importance.  The  personal  pronoun 
also  changes  constantly  from  I  to  you,  one  to  they, 
in  a  confusing  manner ;  but,  in  spite  of  these 
drawbacks,  the  result  probably  of  haste,  the  book 
is  a  notable  one,  full  of  shrewd  remarks  on  people 
and  things. 

William  Blake.  By  Irene  Langridge.  (Lon- 
don :  George  Bell  &  Sons.)  10^.  (yd.  net. — The 
publishers  of  this  most  appreciative  study  of  the 
life  and  work  of  William  Blake  are  greatly  to  be 
congratulated  on  having  secured  the  services  of  one 
so  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  her  subject  as 
Mrs.  Langridge,  who  has  the  full  courage  of  her 
convictions,  and  is  able  to  give  expression  to  them 
in  virile  and  effective  language.  During  his  life- 
time, the  gifted  but  strangely  limited  artist  was 
never  fully  appreciated  as  he  deserved  ;  and  since 
his  death  he  has  been  all  but  forgotten  except  by  a 
limited  number  of  enthusiasts.  Yet  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  some  of  the  best  decorative  illus- 
tration of  the  present  day  was  inspired  to  a  great 
extent  by  his  original  genius,  as  will  be  conceded 
at  once  by  those  who  study  carefully  his  inter- 
pretations of  the  Book  of  Job  that  are  amongst 
the  many  reproductions  in  Mrs.  Langridge's 
book.  Although,  perhaps,  the  claim  put  forward 
by  his  new  biographer,  that  "William  Blake  was 
one  of  the  greatest  spirits  that  ever  made  art 
his  medium,"  will  scarcely  be  fully  conceded,  the 
greater  part  of  her  able  criticism  will  be  endorsed 
by  all  who  see  in  his  work  the  reflection  of  a  heart 
in  tune  with  the  infinite,  who  never  dwelt  in  beauty 
for  its  own  sake,  but  only  when  it  was  spiritually 
significant.  That  a  man  of  character  so  unusual 
should  have  met  at  the  very  outset  of  his  career 
with  a  nature  truly  akin  to  his  own  in  the  young 
girl  who  became  his  wife  is  one  of  those  romances 
of  real  life  that  are  stranger  than  fiction,  and  the 
touching  story  of  their  mutual  devotion,  their  plain 
living  and  high  thinking,  their  genuine  love  of 
poverty  for  its  own  sake,  a  love  almost  like  that  of 
St.  Francis  himself,  will  enchain  the  interest  of  the 
reader  to  whom  the  strangely  weird  work  of  Blake 
fails  to  appeal.     That  he  should  do  great  things 

187 


Reviews 


for  small  wages,  said  Swinburne,  was  a  condition 
of  his  life ;  and  to  Crabb  Robinson  the  artist 
himself  declared  :  "  I  should  be  sorry  if  I  had  any 
earthly  fame,  for  whatever  natural  glory  a  man  has 
is  so  much  taken  from  his  spiritual  glory."  What 
Ruskin  well  defined  as  the  "beautiful  purpose  and 
warped  power "  of  Blake's  work  are  well  brought 
out  in  Mrs.  Langridge's  detailed  examination  of 
typical  examples  of  that  work  in  every  medium, 
amongst  which  not  the  least  interesting  are  the 
plates  from  the  "  Songs  of  Innocence,"  several 
quotations  from  which  are  given  in  the  text ;  a  pub- 
lication printed  by  the  author's  own  hands,  the 
alpha,  says  his  biographer,  of  a  long  series  of 
engraved  books  produced  by  him  "  in  faith  and 
gladness,  relying  in  that  mystical  power  in  himself 
which  took  and  used  his  eye  and  brain  almost 
without  his  will." 

The  Venture:  An  Annual  of  Art  and  Literature, 
1903.  Edited  by  Laurence  Hous.\i.\n  and  W. 
Somerset  Maugham.  (London  :  John  Baillie.) 
— The  volume  is  illustrated  entirely  by  woodcuts. 
The  most  distinguished  designs  are  The  Dove  Cot, 
by  C.  H.  Shannon ;  Psyche's  Looking  Glass,  by 
Charles  S.  Ricketts,  and  The  Blue  Moon,  by 
Laurence  Housman.  The  literary  contents  include, 
amongst  other  things,  one  of  G.  K.  Chesterton's 
fascinating  essays,  a  poem  by  Thomas  Hardy,  and 
contributions  by  such  well-known  writers  as  Mrs. 
Meynall,  Netta  Syrett,  Stephen  Gwynn,  Havelock 
Ellis,  Laurence  Binyon  and  Laurence  Housman, 
and  some  original  contributions  from  less  well- 
known  pens  of  exceptional  promise.  A  long  life 
for  the  annual  is  to  be  hoped  for;  there  is  room  for 
a  magazine  for  the  encouragement  of  artistic  effort 
which  by  its  virtuosity  is  unsuited  for  the  uses  of 
popular  journalism. 

La  Peinture  a  F Exposition  des  Primitifs  P?  an(ais. 
By  Co.MTE  Paul  Durrien.  (Librairie  de  I'Art 
Ancien  et  Moderne,  Paris.) — No  more  charming 
memento  of  the  unique  Exposition  des  Primitifs 
Frangais,  recently  held  in  Paris,  could  be  imagined 
than  the  richly  illustrated  and  scholarly  essay  of 
Comte  Paul  Durrien,  who  discourses  upon  the 
most  noteworthy  works  there  collected  with  the 
finely-balanced  judgment  and  incisive  critical 
acumen  that  distinguish  him.  With  the  aid  of 
what  he  characterises  as  "  relics  saved  in  the  ship- 
wreck of  old  French  paintings,"  he  pieces  together 
the  story  of  the  development  of  the  early  French 
school,  concluding  his  delightful  resume  with  a 
congratulation  to  his  fellow-countrymen  that  it 
should  have  been  possible  to  collect  so  many  works 
that  originated  on  the  soil  of  old   France,  proving 


that  the  art  of  painting  was  there  so  largely  practised 
by  schools  endowed  with  truly  remarkable  vitality 
and  fecundity. 
The  Treatment  of  Drapery  ifi  Art.  By  G.  Woollis- 
CROFT  Rhead,  R.E.,  A.R.C.A.  Lond.  (London: 
G.  Bell  &  Sons.)  6s.  net. — As  is  clearly  explained 
by  the  author  in  this  most  useful  little  handbook, 
it  makes  no  pretence  of  dealing  with  the  history  of 
costume,  but  is  simply  'an  inquiry  into  the 
principles  of  the  folds  of  drapery  pure  and  simple, 
the  formation  of  the  individual  folds,  the  lines 
which  drapery  takes  upon  the  human  figure,  and 
the  general  behaviour  of  drapery  under  different 
conditions."  Written  in  a  very  clear  and  lucid 
style,  and  copiously  illustrated  with  examples  of 
the  treatment  of  drapery  by  great  masters  in  paint- 
ing and  sculpture,  it  will  be  an  invaluable  guide  to 
the  teacher  as  well  as  to  the  student,  and  should 
find  a  place  in  every  art  school. 

Paolo  Veronese.  By  Mrs.  Arthur  Bell. 
(London :  George  Newnes,  Ltd.) — This  is  one  of 
Messrs.  Newnes'  now  celebrated  series  devoted  to 
the  great  masters.  The  volume  contains  over  60 
illustrations  excellently  reproduced,  and  apparently 
considerable  trouble  has  been  taken  to  secure 
reproductions  of  some  of  the  less  known  and  least 
accessible  of  the  painter's  chief  works.  The 
introductory  essay  by  Mrs.  Arthur  Bell  shows 
extensive  knowledge  of  her  subject  and  apprecia- 
tion of  the  qualities  that  place  the  art  of  Veronese 
in  its  exalted  position.  Written  with  the  charm  we 
have  learned  to  expect  from  her  pen,  Mrs.  Bell's 
short  biography  places  concisely  before  the  reader 
the  artist's  relation  to  the  art  of  the  time  and  the 
character  of  his  temperament  as  we  may  judge  it 
from  his  work.  The  bulk  of  the  pages  in  this  series 
are  devoted  to  illustrations,  and  Messrs.  Newnes 
are  attempting  by  this  means  to  familiarise  the 
public  with  the  work  of  the  separate  masters  in  a 
way  that  is  impossible  except  where  reproductions 
of  their  individual  work  can  be  collected  in  more 
than  the  usual  quantity  and  studied  together  in 
one  book. 

Pierre  :  A  Tale  of  Normandy.  By  Mrs.  Arthur 
Bell.  (London  :  J.  M.  Dent  &  Co.)— This  is  a 
book  charming  in  its  sentiment.  Mrs.  Bell  has 
given  the  interest  of  locaUty  and  probability  to  a 
short  story  of  the  simplicity  of  the  faith  of  the 
Normandy  peasantry.  She  has  caught  the  spirit 
that  animates  their  superstition,  written  of  it 
reverently  and  woven  a  pretty  story  from  it.  The 
illustrations  by  S.  A.  Lindsay  are  perhaps  a  little 
unequal,  but  some  of  the  small  drawings  at  the 
ends  of  the  chapters  are  very  pleasing. 


A 


Awards  in  "  The  Studio"  Prize  Competitions 


WARDS     IN    "THE     STUDIO" 
PRIZE    COMPETITIONS. 


New  Series. 

Class  A.      Decor.^tive    Art. 

A   I.     Design  for  a  Terra-Cotta  Vase. 

We  regret  to  have  to  withhold  the  awards  in  this 
competition,  as  in  the  opinion  of  the  judges  none 
of  the  designs  sent  in  can  be  considered  satisfactory. 
The  vase  designed  was  to  be  suitable  for  a  standard 
bay-tree,  but  none  of  the  designs  fulfil  the 
requirements  of  such  a  receptacle.  One  of  the 
first  necessities  of  a  vase  of  this  kind  is  that  the 
plant  within  it  shall  be  readily  removable  without 
injury  to  the  roots,  but  where  the  upper  part  of  the 
vase  is  constricted,  as  in  many  of  these  designs,  this 
removal  of  the  plant  is  impossible  without  damage 
to  the  roots  or  injury  to  the  vase  itself.  Another 
obvious  requirement  is  that  some  means  shall  be 
provided  by  which  a  firm  hold  may  be  obtained  of 
the  vase  in  order  to  move  it  from  one  place  to 
another.  And  finally  it  is  necessary  that  the 
design  should  not  be  an  imitation  of  a  wooden 
structure,  but  should  be  frankly  a  piece  of  earth 
moulded  in  characteristic  fashion.  Many  charming 
drawings  have  been  sent,  but  most  of  them  err  in 
the  body  of  the  vase  being  larger  than  the  aperture 
at  the  top.  Others  are  distinct  imitations  of 
wooden  structures,  while  in  others  the  handles 
would  not  be  nearly  strong  enough  to  be  of 
service  in  moving  the  vase  from  place  to  place 
without  risk  of  breaking. 

We  intend  to  set  this  competition  again  at  a 
later  period,  and  beg  our  competitors  to  bear  in 
mind  that  the  first  essence  of  design  is  to  make  the 
object  designed  fulfil  its  purpose  in  the  most 
satisfactory  way. 

Class  B.     Pictorial  Art. 
B  I.    A  Summer  Landscape  in  Water-Colours. 

This  being  our  first  competition  for  landscapes 
in  water-colour,  we  are  particularly  gratified  with 
the  large  number  of  thoughtful  and  pleasing 
drawings  that  have  been  submitted.  Many  of  them 
disclose  marked  talent,  and  it  has  indeed  been 
somewhat  difficult  to  pick  out  the  two  best.  Those 
which  have  been  selected  for  prizes  are  followed 
closely  in  point  of  merit  by  two  sent  in  by  Black- 
thorn and  Ceres  respectively,  which  in  the  opinion 
of  the  judges  are  worthy  of  special  mention. 

We  regret  that  in  the  present  number  it  is 
impossible  for  us  to  reproduce  any  of  these 
drawings  in  colour.  Half-tone  reproductions 
would  not  do  justice  to  the  originals,  and  we 
therefore  decide  to  defer  reproducing  them  at  all 


for  the  present.  We  shall,  however,  shortly  be 
setting  another  competition  on  similar  lines,  and 
hope  then  to  have  an  opportunity  of  giving  a 
selection  of  these  drawings  in  colour,  along  with 
others  which  may  be  submitted  in  connection  with 
this  fresh  competition. 

The  First  Prize  {Tivo  Guineas)  is  awarded  to 
Bungeworgorai  (F.  G.  Martyn  Roberts,  Gladstone 
Road,  Brisbane,  South  Queensland),  and  the 
Second  Prize  {One  Guinea)  to  Mab  (Miss  Mar- 
jory A.  Blunt,  Dorchester,  Wallingford).  Those 
deserving  special  mention  are  Blackthorn  (Helena 
E.  Jones)  and  CVrM  (Antonio  Ribas  Oliver).  Hon. 
Mention  is  accorded  to  Bardie  (Eric  H.  Swin- 
stead) ;  Black  (Norah  C.  Dominy) ;  Buckivheat 
(Miss A.  Beken);  C/-(J^ww« (Geo. Wilson);  Dreamer 
(Thirza  M.  Hounsfield) ;  Dolores  (Miss  D.  B. 
Leigh) ;  Eadgythe  (Edith  A.  Langdon)  ;  Five 
(Hannah  M.  Lendis) ;  Fram  (M.  E.  Hamilton) 
Influx  (Cyril  C.  Pearce) ;  Jason  (Dudley  Kibbler) 
Jap  (Mrs.  M.  A.  Chambers) ;  Kit  (Miss  Leigh 
Clare) ;  Grand  Manner  (Miss  M.  C.  Rotheram) 
Loidis  (Alf.  Wildsmith) ;  Li7io  (Clifford  J.  Beese) 
Laira  (R.  B.  Smart) ;  Max  (Miss  V.  Waddington) 
MacGtegor  (J.  E.  Cowlman) ;  Michaelmas  (Miss 
Edith  Ellis) ;  Ozzy  (O.  Garside) ;  Petielope  {W\%?,  J. 
C.  Halford)  ;  Peter  (Peter  Brown)  ;  Rythm  (Albert 
B.  Marston) ;  Rex  (Dora  A.  Greatorex) ;  Reigate 
(Miss  H.  E.  Grace);  Sol  (Scott  Calder) ;  Sans 
Souci  (J.  C.  A.  Traill);  Teddie  (Miss  A.  M. 
\Villiams) ;  Thomas  James  (T.  J.  Dadson) ;  Wat 
(W.  J.  West) ;    Yorks  (H.  Wanless). 

Class  C.     Photographs  from  Nature. 
C.   I.     A  Harvest  Scene. 
First    Prize    {One    Guinea) :    Nomad    (Emile 
Frechon,  Blangy-sur-Bresle,  Seine-Inf.,  France). 

Second  Prize  {Haifa-Guinea) :  Dellburn  (Dan 
Dunlop,  4  Hamilton  Street,  Motherwell,  N.B.). 

Hon.  Mention  :  Gum  (Ch.  Sollet)  ;  Montana 
(Violetta  M.  Fowler) ;  Morello  (Leila  C.  Neale)  ; 
Summer  (W.  Northwood). 

Picture  Titles  Competition. 

I'IRST  Prize  of  Ten  Founds :  Southern  Cross 
(Edward  Hepburn,  Nordheim,  Sidcup,  Kent). 

Second  Prize  of  Five  Founds:  Dalziel  (Dan 
Dunlop,  4  Hamilton  Street,  Motherwell,  N.B.). 

Five  Prizes  of  Two  Founds  each  :  Genre  (Gray- 
stone  Bird,  38  Milsom  Street,  Bath) ;  Fyro  (F.  W 
Andrew,  Royal  Thames  Studio,  Abingdon) ;  Wys- 
dael  (J.  C.  Richards,  Bourneville) ;  Westivood 
(W.  Wheelock,  18  Jesmond  Avenue,  Toller  Lane, 
Bradford)  ;  Tripod  (I.  F.  Lewis,  2S6  Birchfield 
Road,  Birmingham). 

189 


T 


The  Lay  Figure 


HE  LAY  FIGURE:  ON  POPULAR 
ARTISTS. 


'  I  OFTEN  wonder,"  said  the  Man  with 
the  Red  Tie,  "  whether  people  in  the  mass  have 
any  glimmering  of  artistic  taste.  The  more  one 
sees  of  the  ways  of  the  public  in  art  matters  the 
less  possible  is  it  to  understand  on  what  principle, 
if  any,  the  popular  favourite  is  elevated  to  the 
position  he  occupies." 

"It  is  not  so  incomprehensible  as  you  imagine," 
replied  the  Successful  Painter  ;  "  any  artist  can  be 
popular  if  he  has  the  good  sense  to  study  the  likes 
and  dislikes  of  the  public  and  to  give  them  what 
they  want." 

"  But  do  they  know  what  they  want  ?  "  asked 
the  Man  with  the  Red  Tie.  "  Is  there  any  marked 
popular  preference  which  would  justify  you  in  say- 
ing that  any  particular  class  of  art  is  specially 
likely  to  be  accepted  ?  I  cannot  discover  that  the 
public  have  the  pronounced  likes  and  dislikes  that 
you  talk  about ;  their  attitude  seems  to  me  to  be 
simply  one  of  stolid  ignorance.  They  will  become 
violently  enthusiastic  over  every  charlatan  who 
advertises  himself  with  sufficient  impudence. 
Merit,  certainly,  is  the  last  thing  they  are  capable 
of  appreciating." 

"  Nonsense!"  interrupted  the  Successful  Painter  ; 
"you  are  only  showing  your  own  lack  of  judgment 
by  making  such  remarks.  I  consider  that  you  are 
gratuitously  offensive  when  you  suggest  that  every 
painter  who  becomes  a  popular  favourite  is  a 
charlatan.  Why,  some  of  the  greatest  artists  who 
have  ever  lived  have  been  worshipped  by  the  public 
and  have  enjoyed  the  widest  popularity." 

"  But  many  more  have  been  utterly  neglected, 
and  have  lived  and  died  in  obscurity,"  replied  the 
Man  with  the  Red  Tie.  "  You  are  only  proving 
my  point,  that  the  public  have  no  taste  and  are 
incapable  of  discrimination.  I  am  certain  that  for 
ever)'  great  artist  whom  you  can  instance  as  having 
gained  popular  acceptance  I  can  quote  a  hundred 
fourth  rate  men  who  have  been  quite  as  highly 
favoured.  Surely  you  would  not  contend  that 
throughout  the  history  of  art  merit  has  always  been 
rewarded  as  it  deserved  !  " 

"  Certainly  it  has  been  rewarded  as  it  deserved," 
rephed  the  Successful  Painter.  "  If  a  man  chooses 
to  sacrifice  himself  in  the  pursuit  of  art  for  art's 
sake — to  use  the  jargon  of  the  unsuccessful — he 
does  not  deserve  more  than  he  gets.  The  artist 
works,  or  should  work,  for  the  public,  and  he  should 
be  prepared  to  do  what  they  demand  of  him." 
"Great  Heavens,  what  a  creed!"  sighed  the 
190 


Man  with  the  Red  Tie  ;  "  now  I  understand  why 
you  resent  my  gentle  suggestions  about  the  popu- 
larity of  the  charlatan.  I  apologise.  I  did  not 
realise  what  extremely  rude  remarks  I  was  making.'' 

"  Please  do  not  wander  off  into  personalities," 
broke  in  the  Art  Critic.  "  Let  us  try  and  keep, 
just  for  once,  to  the  main  point ;  I  very  much 
want  to  hear  what  recipe  our  friend  has  for 
attaining  popularity." 

"  Recipe,  indeed  !  "  replied  the  Successful  Pain- 
ter, "  it  is  not  a  matter  of  recipe  but  of  common- 
sense.  People  want  to  be  interested,  and  the  man 
who  paints  interesting  things  will  always  have  a 
following.  Therefore  I  urge  all  artists  to  choose 
for  their  pictures  only  that  material  which  will 
satisfy  the  great  demand  which  exists  for  attractive 
art.  What  is  the  use  of  wasting  one's  energies  on 
work  that  hardly  anyone  cares  to  look  at  twice? 
If  I  am  ignored  I  have  failed  in  my  mission  be- 
cause I  have  not  properly  felt  the  public  pulse, 
and  my  failure  comes  from  misuse  of  oppor- 
tunities which  I  have  not  had  the  sense  to  turn 
to  proper  advantage." 

"In  other  words,"  said  the  Critic,  "you  regard 
art  as  only  a  means  to  an  end,  and  that  end  is  to 
be  the  pleasing  of  as  many  people  as  possible. 
But  the  unfortunate  thing  is  that,  when  you  lay 
yourself  out  to  amuse  the  crowd,  you  have  to  con- 
sider the  preferences  of  the  many  who  know 
nothing  about  art  before  you  can  give  any  atten- 
tion to  the  wishes  of  the  critical  few  who  know 
accurately  the  difference  between  what  is  good  and 
bad.  Therefore  it  is  difficult  to  raise  your  work 
above  the  very  low  standard  which  suffices  to 
satisfy  the  ignorant.  When  you  have  received  the 
adulation  of  the  mob  only  an  abnormal  conscien- 
tiousness would  induce  you  to  continue  to  strive 
for  the  approval  of  the  real  experts.  Every  day 
the  temptation  to  be  content  with  the  trifles  that 
delight  little  minds  grows  stronger,  and  every  day 
your  higher  aspirations  seem  less  worth  the  struggle 
that  is  necessary  for  their  realisation.  As  you  be- 
come more  popular  it  appears  to  be  more  and  more 
advisable  to  choose  the  subjects  that  your  clientele 
understands  best,  and  to  paint  them  with  that 
easy  dexterity  which  passes  as  cleverness  with  people 
who  know  no  better.  But  meanwhile  it  is  the 
public  that  is  educating  you  ;  and  you  who  might 
have  been  a  leader  of  men  are  sinking  into  a  slave. 
This  is  surely  a  heavy  price  to  pay  for  the  satisfac- 
tion of  an  unworthy  ambition.  And  I  really  think 
that  if  you  blacked  your  face  and  took  a  banjo  to 
the  seaside  you  would  amuse  a  far  larger  crowd." 
The  Lav  Figure. 


'THE   MERMAID  OF  ZENNOR."    BY  J.  P..  WEGUELIN. 


J 


/.  R.   JVeguelin 


R.  WEGUELIN  AND  HIS 
WORK.  BY  ALFRED  LYS 
BALDRY. 


It  is  by  no  means  an  easy  matter  to  define 
exactly  the  place  which  Mr.  J.  R.  Weguelin 
occupies  among  present  day  artists.  At  one  time, 
it  is  true,  he  might  have  been  ranked  with  the 
classicists,  for  he  showed  some  tendency  to 
attempt  those  reconstructions  of  the  life  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  which  have  engaged  the 
attention  of  many  painters  in  this  country  and 
abroad.  But  this  phase  of  his  art  was  not  a  lasting 
one,  and  even  while  it  continued  was  not  marked 
by  pedantic  insistence  upon  the  dry  facts  of 
archaeology.  He  was  content  for  the  most  part  to 
realise  the  classic  atmosphere  by  a  comparatively 
free  adaptation  of  the  records  of  the  antiquarians 
and  to  deal  in  a  more  or  less  irresponsible  way  with 
the  material  which  he  collected  from  the  history  of 
ages  long  past.  At  no  period  of  his  career  did  he 
fix  himself  down  to  strict  observation  of  the 
particular  formula  which  satisfies  the  archffiological 
painter. 

Instead,  he  preferred  to  choose  subjects  which 
allowed  him  to  work  in  the  true  spirit  of  classicism 


and  to  enjoy  to  the  utmost  the  poetic  charm  of 
Pagan  fancy.  He  used  the  motives  of  antiquity 
with  a  freshness  and  daintiness  of  touch  which 
gave  to  them  a  living  interest,  and  with  the  keenest 
appreciation  of  the  opportunities  which  he  found 
in  them  of  presenting  beautiful  things  and  attractive 
incidents  in  an  essentially  personal  manner.  As 
his  art  has  matured  the  tendency  of  it  to  insist 
upon  beauty  for  beauty's  sake  has  become  more 
pronounced.  It  has  lost  the  leaning  which  it  had 
at  first  towards  classic  episode  and  has  grown  more 
imaginative  and  more  truly  expressive  of  his  innate 
jestheticism.  A  student  of  the  classics  he  was,  and 
is  still,  but  his  study  is  directed  now  not  so  much 
to  the  acquisition  of  details  in  the  domestic  history 
of  the  ancients  as  to  the  perfecting  of  his  own  taste 
by  examination  of  the  principles  by  which  their 
exquisite  achievement  was  controlled. 

Therefore,  he  can  best  be  described  to-day  as  a 
painter  of  classic  abstractions,  who  has  absorbed 
so  completely  the  poetic  feeling  of  the  men  who 
lived  in  remote  centuries  that  he  can  amid  the 
materialism  of  the  modern  world  think  and  work 
as  these  men  did.  The  delightful  sensuousness  of 
his  art,  its  pure  enjoyment  of  delicacies  of  form 
and  subtleties  of  colour,   its  charmingly  illogical 


"OLD   LOVE    renewed" 

XXXIII.     No.  141. — December,  1904. 


BY  J.    R.    WEGUELIN 


J.  R.   PVegiielin 


preference  for  fantasies  which  make  no  pretence  of 
being  didactic  or  even  serious,  are  all  in  the  best 
spirit  of  Paganism.  If  Mr.  Weguelin  had  been  a 
contemporary  of  Horace,  he  and  that  attractive 
worshipper  of  the  bright  side  of  existence  would 
most  certainly  have  been  intimates ;  there  would 
have  been  the  strongest  bond  of  sympathy  between 
them,  and  they  would  have  rollicked  together  with 
perfect  contentment.  But  as  he  happens  to  belong 
to  an  age  which  has  forgotten  how  to  enjoy  itself 
in  the  Horatian  manner,  he  seeks  instead  to  re- 
create the  world  which  his  predecessor  found  so 
pleasant  and  to  people  it  with  figures  which  would 
have  satisfied  the  fastidious  taste  of  Horace  himself 

Circumstances,  beyond  doubt,  were  in  great 
measure  responsible  for  the  development  of  Mr. 
Weguelin's  particular  preferences  in  art.  He  was 
born — in  1849 — ^t  the  village  of  South  Stoke,  near 
Arundel,  of  which  his  father  was  rector,  but  several 
years  of  his  early  boyhood  were  spent  in  Italy  and 
chiefly  at  Rome,  so  that  during  the  most  impres- 
sionable period  of  his  life  he  was  brought  into 
very  close  contact  with  just  what  was  needed  to 
fill  him  with  a  love  for  classic  achievement.  He 
went,  indeed,  to  the  very  fountain-head,  and  the 
knowledge  he  imbibed  there  has  guided  him 
rightly  through  all  the  effort  of  his  later  years. 
Such  surroundings  to  anyone  of  his  temperament 
could  not  fail  to  be  permanently  inspiring  ;  they 
definitely  determined  his  direction,  and  had  upon 
his  character  an  influence  which  has  certainly  not 
diminished  with  lapse  of  time. 

He  had  no  regular  art  training  while  he  was 
living  in  Italy — nothing,  at  all  events,  which  could 
be  regarded  as  efficient  preparation  for  the  pro- 
fession which  he  has  followed  since  Some  lessons 
were  given  him  by  an  Italian  drawing  master,  but 
these  came  abruptly  to  an  end  when  the  teacher 
disappeared  to  join  Garibaldi  and  was  not  heard 
of  again.  He  did  not  actually  begin  serious  study 
until  he  had  arrived  at  the  comparatively  mature 
age  of  twenty-two,  when  he  became  a  student  at 
theSlade  School,  which  was  then — in  187 1 — under 
the  direction  of  the  present  head  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  Sir  Edward  Poynter.  From  this  sound 
teacher  Mr.  Weguelin  obtained  just  that  strict  drilling 
in  the  principles  of  design  and  composition  which  he 
needed  to  make  his  artistic  conceptions  properly  effec- 
tive, and  he  acquired  then  a  grasp  of  his  craft  which 
has  never  failed  him  since.  He  remained  for  some 
years  at  the  Slade  School,  and  during  the  latter 
part  of  his  stay  there  was  taught  by  Professor 
Legros,  who  had  succeeded  Sir  Edward  Poynter  in 
the  professorship. 
194 


His  first  appearance  as  an  exhibiting  artist  was 
made  in  1875  or  1876,  when  he  sent  to  the  Dudley 
Gallery  a  water-colour  drawing  called  The  Death  of 
the  First-born.  Oddly  enough,  though  he  has 
since  achieved  such  remarkable  success  as  a  water- 
colour  painter,  he  showed,  after  this  first  attempt, 
nothing  more  in  that  medium  for  nearly  twenty 
years  He  devoted  himself  instead  to  oil  painting  ; 
and  as  about  this  time  he  fell  strongly  under  the 
influence  of  Sir  Lawrence  Alma-Tadema,  he  began 
the  series  of  pictures  which  shows  the  extent  of  his 
concession  to  pictorial  archeology.  How  far  this 
influence  affected  him  can  be  judged  from  such  an 


BY   J.     R.    WEGUBLIN 


"THE   PIPER    AND   THE   NYMPHS" 
BY   J.   R.   WEGUELIN  ^ 


/.  R.  JVeguelin 


"BACCHUS   AND   THE   CHOIR   OF   NYMPHS " 


BY  J.    R.   WEGUELIN 


example  as  the  Old  Love  Renewed  (page  193),  and 
from  a  few  other  works  in  which  he  tried  to  solve 
the  same  sort  of  problems.  But,  as  has  been 
already  said,  this  was  but  a  passing  phase,  and 
he  soon  recovered  his  independence. 

To  the  Academy,  in  1878,  he  contributed  a 
picture  of  some  note,  The  Labour  of  the  Danaides, 
and  from  that  year  onwards  he  has  been  a  con- 
stant exhibitor  at  one  or  other  of  the  London 
galleries.  At  the  Academy  have  appeared,  among 
other  works.  The  Feast  of  Flora  (1882),  The 
Maiden's  Race  (1883),  Herodias  and  her  Daughter 
(1884),  The  Swing  Feast  (1885),  Cupid  bound  by 
the  Nymphs  (reproduced  here  in  photogravure), 
and  The  Piper  and  the  Nymphs  (1897);  at  the 
Grosvenor  Gallery,  The  Tired  Daticer  (1879), 
and  The  Ro>nan  Acrobat  (1881)  ;  and  at  the 
New  Gallery,  Bacchus  and  the  Choir  op  Nymphs 
(illustrated  on  this  page),  and  The  Gardens  of 
Adonis  (1889).  There  have  been  seen  also  such 
admirable  paintings  as  The  Captive  Wood  Nytnph, 
Floivers  from  a  Roman  Garden.  Spring  (page  194), 
Dotvn  to  the  Summer  Sea,  Wishes,  and  The  Toilet 
of  Faunus,  with  many  others  in  which  he  has 
demonstrated  effectively  his  admirable  originality 
and  his  excellent  sense  of  technical  responsibility. 

Perhaps  of  all  his  oil-paintings,  none  could  be 
quoted  which  embodies  more  completely  the  most 
salient  characteristics  of  his  art  than  The  Piper  and 
the  Nymphs  (page  195).  Here  at  all  events  there 
is  none  of  the  Alma-Tadema  influence  remaining, 
and  there  is  instead  a  very  full  measure  of 
Mr.  Wegueliii's  personality.  The  whole  thing  is 
essentially  fanciful,  and  to  find  any  authority  for 
it  we  must  go  back  to  the  Greek  myths  which 
196 


peopled  every  grove  with  supernatural  beings. 
The  piper,  making  music  as  he  walks  through  the 
wood,  has  drawn  from  their  hiding  places  the  little 
dryads  who  peep  and  listen  half  in  fear  and  half 
in  admiration.  Such  a  motive  for  a  picture  on  an 
important  scale  seems  slight  enough ;  and  yet,  treated 
as  it  is  here  with  thorough  conviction  and  exquisite 
delicacy,  it  is  amply  sufficient.  But  a  successful 
result  would  only  have  been  possible  with  an 
artist  whose  mind  was  perfectly  in  tune  with 
the  legend,  and  who  saw  plainly  from  the  first 
how  much  scope  the  subject  gave  him  for 
the  expression  of  his  own  leanings  towards  classic 
fantasy.  Had  he  had  less  poetic  instinct,  the 
picture  would  have  been  merely  a  variant  on  the 
Bathers  Surprised  theme  which  has  been  worked 
to  death  by  many  generations  of  materially-minded 
painters. 

It  was  not  until  1893  that  Mr.  Weguelin  seriously 
took  up  water  colour  work ;  but  in  that  year,  he 
exhibited  at  the  Academy  a  drawing  called  The 
S'wing.  A  few  months  later  he  was  elected  an 
associate  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Painters  in  Water 
Colours,  and  his  promotion  to  full  membership 
followed  in  1897.  The  fortunate  result  of  this 
election  has  been  to  establish  him  as  one  of  the 
most  deservedly  prominent  water  colourists  whom 
we  have  amongst  us.  Incidentally  it  has  also 
greatly  diminished  his  activity  as  an  oil  painter,  for 
the  preparation  of  his  drawings  for  the  exhibitions  of 
the  Society  has  taken  up  so  much  of  his  time  that 
he  has  had  but  little  to  give  to  practice  in  oils.  But 
for  this  abstention  the  perfection  of  the  work  which 
he  has  been  showing  during  the  last  ten  years,  in 
the  gallery  in  Pall  Mall  East,  makes  ample  amends. 


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J.  R.  IVegiielin, 


He  could  not  now  be  spared  from  the  ranks  of  the 
water-colour  painters,  for  there  is  certainly  no  one 
who  could  take  his  place,  or  who  could  handle  his 
class  of  subjects  with  the  same  marvellous  combi- 
nation of  strength  and  subtlety. 

The  change  of  medium  has  not  induced  him  to 
depart  in  any  perceptible  way  from  the  path  he 
previously  followed ;  he  has  continued  to  deal  with 
the  same  fantasies  that  have  occupied  him  so  long 
in  his  pictures.  With  a  few  exceptions,  such  as 
The  Clerk  and  the  Farmers  Wife  (illustrated  on 
this  page),  A  Real  Princess,  and  that  record  of 
medieval  vanity,  Vnietian  Gold  (page  201),  his 
water-colours  have  reflected  either  his  love  of 
classic  legend  or  his  fancies  about  the  mythical 
creatures  of  the  sea.  Nymphs  and  mermaids 
have  been  his  chief  creations,  though  now  and 
then,  as  in  A  Battle  oj  Floivers,  he  has 
realised  pretty  incidents  in  Greek  life. 
But  in  Pan  the  Beguiler,  the  Mer- 
maid on  the  Sea  Shore,  The  Racing 
Nymphs,  The  Afemiaid  of  Zennor 
(reproduced  here  in  colours),  Under 
the  Hollow  Hung  Ocean  Green,  The 
Captive  Dryad,  and  in  Solutis  Gratia 
Zonis,  an  especially  charming  com- 
position of  nude  female  figures,  he 
has  depended  solely  upon  his  imagina- 
tion to  supply  him  with  his  motive, 
and  upon  his  consummate  sense  of 
artistic  fitness  to  make  that  motive 
wholly  credible.  Always  what  he  has 
produced  has  been  dignified  by  tech- 
nical qualities  of  exceptional  import- 
ance, by  elegance  and  suppleness  of 
draughtsmanship,  by  broad  and  certain 
directness  of  brushwork,  and  above 
all,  by  the  most  dainty  refinement  of 
colour.  In  his  craft,  indeed,  he  is  a 
master  of  the  first  rank ;  the  com- 
bination of  precision  and  fluency  in 
his  water-colours  implies  a  perfection 
of  knowledge  that  almost  amounts 
to  inspiration. 

There  is  one  other  branch  of  prac- 
tice in  which  he  has  achieved  distinc- 
tion. As  an  illustrator  he  has  done 
much  that  deserves  to  be  remembered, 
and  his  contributions  to  various  pub- 
lications have  been  numerous  and 
interesting.  He  has  been  responsible 
for  special  illustrated  editions  of 
Anacreon  and  Catullus,  for  drawings 
for     "  Harper's  "     and      "  Scribner's  " 


Magazines,  and  for  many  things  which  have 
appeared  in  the  "  Graphic."  For  this  last  paper 
he  has  on  several  occasions  written  short  stories 
accompanied  by  explanatory  drawings,  and  he 
also  supplied  the  illustrations  to  the  serial  story 
"  Montezuma's  Daughter."  Altogether,  his  activity 
has  been  considerable,  but  it  has  been  invariably 
well  directed,  and  it  has  been  dominated  through- 
out by  a  most  praiseworthy  aesthetic  intention. 
Not  often,  indeed,  is  there  to  be  found  such 
correctness  of  relation  between  the  matter  of  an 
artist's  work  and  his  method  of  technical  expres- 
sion. Mr.  Weguelin  has  realised  admirably  how 
much  the  meaning  of  a  subject  can  be  enhanced 
by  careful  appropriateness  of  executive  treatment ; 
and  his  interpretation  of  the  motives  he  selects  is 
marked  always  by  the  happiest  combination  of 
daintiness  and  distinction. 


"  N(nu,  when  they  heard  the  husband  coming  .  .  .  the  wife  begged  the 
clerk  to  creep  into  a  lar^e  empty  chest  which  stood  on  one  side  in  a 
<ro7-H«;-."— (From  "Little Claus and  BigClaus,"  byH.<insC.  Andersen. 


FROM   A  WATER-COLOUR   DRAWING 


BY  J.  R.  WEGUELIN 


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SOME  LEAVES  FROM  AN 
ARCHITECTURAL  SKETCH 
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BY   ARNOLD   MITCHELL 


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&^    PIERRE 

CHA^RTRE-S 


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Paul  Schultze-Naumburg 


A  DECORATIVE    LANDSCAPE 
PAINTER:    PAQL     SCHULTZE- 
NAUMBURG.      BY     LUDWIG 
BARTNING. 

In  Germany  during  the  last  twenty  years 
some  new  "  movement "  in  art  has  almost 
annually  been  announced,  discussed,  jeered  at, 
defended,  seized  upon,  worked  out,  lived  through, 
misunderstood,  and  forgotten.  Looked  at  from 
near  by,  this  hurried  process  appears  a  wild 
chase  after  new  fashions  and  new  sensations. 
From  a  higher  standpoint  one  may  recognise  that 
in  passing  through  dangerous  errors  and  still  more 
dangerous  half-truths  our  art  has  progressed  to- 
wards one  necessary,  great,  and  noble  end,  as 
though  she  had  been  conscious  of  it  from  the  first. 
And  she  was  conscious  of  it.  In  individual  chosen 
minds  a  prophetic  vision  of  the  future  has  always 
lived  and  worked. 

It  is  not  yet  possible  to  relate  the  history  of  this 
strange  tortuous  evolution.  But  we  may  trace  its 
inner  sense  by  considering  the  isolated  cases  of 
those  who    have  not    tamely  trodden  the  beaten 


pathway,  but,  having  always  the  distant  goal  in 
eye  and  heart,  have  hastened  on  towards  it  from 
strength  to  strength  as  the  bent  of  their  natures 
dictated. 

Paul  Schultze-Naumburg  was  born  in  Thuringia, 
at  Naumburg  on  the  Saale,  in  1869.  In  1887  he 
went  to  study  painting  at  the  Academy  of  Carls- 
ruhe.  What  he  was  taught  there  remained  devoid 
of  significance  as  regarded  his  after  productions. 
His  strong  natural  inclination  towards  spiritual 
depth  in  his  work  was  not  understood,  was  even 
repressed ;  and  such  mere  external  facility  as  he 
developed  there  was  more  hurtful  than  advan- 
tageous to  him. 

As  soon  as  he  himself  became  aware  of  this  he 
left  Carlsruhe  and  went  to  Munich.  This  was  in 
the  year  1893.  At  that  time  foreign  influences 
had  brought  ferment  and  revolt  into  the  stagnant 
life  of  art.  The  beginnings  of  the  movement  were 
much  older  ;  but  the  decisive  combat  was  only  then 
being  fought  out.  " Plein-air,"  "impressionism," 
^'pointillisme,"  were  the  watchwords  ;  a  hitherto  un- 
usual manipulation  of  oil-colour  was  the  universal 
sign  of  recognition  ;  the  separation  of  the  "  Seces- 
sion "   from  the  rest  of  the  artistic  fraternity  was 


"THE  RIVER."     BY  PAUL 
SCHULTZE-NAUMRUKG 

2  I  I 


Paul  Schultze-Naumburg 


the  decisive  act  of  the  artist-poh'ticians  ;  recognition 
of  the  "new  painting"  by  the  public  was  the 
result. 

Schultze-Naumburg  did  not  adopt  the  revolu- 
tionary methods  merely  as  such,  but  he  tested 
their  quality,  and  appropriated  what  was  sound 
in  them.  His  pictures  of  this  date  bear  witness 
to  a  continual  study  of  the  newly-raised  problems 
■of  light  and  colour,  and  of  the  technical  methods 
of  dealing  with  them.  He  took  part  in  the  founda- 
tion of  the  "Secession,"  and,  being  a  teacher  and 
educator,  both  by  natural  gifts  and  by  the  strong 
bent  of  his  whole  nature,  in  his  first  book,  "  Studium 
und  Ziele  der  Malerei "  ("  The  Study  and  Aims  of 
Painting ")  he  tried  logically  to  make  clear  the 
principles  for  which  they  were  fighting,  and  to 
bring  home  to  the  general  comprehension  all  that 
was  as  yet  unfamiliar  in  those  principles.  This 
book  already  contained  the  suggestion  of  a  far 
higher  and  more  distant  aim,  just  as  his  pictures  of 
that  period  were  signalled  out  from  among  those  of 
his  fellow-artists  by  a  markedly  individual,  peculiarly 
poetic  and  dreamy  feeling ;  and  for  this  reason  he 
was  never  recognised  by  the  Secessionists  as  quite 
one  of  themselves. 


The  new  discoveries  had  originated  in  the  in- 
vestigation of  certain  hitherto  undetected  optical 
phenomena  in  the  constitution  of  the  visual  picture 
of  nature.  The  danger  of  this  was  lest  an  art 
which  concentrated  itself  upon  this  one  aim  should 
over-externalise,  should  place  the  appearance  above 
the  essential  reality,  the  optical  illusion  above  the 
emotional  concept.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the 
movement  as  a  whole  fell  into  this  snare  the 
moment  it  had  at  last  attained  to  public  and 
official  recognition. 

By  that  time  Schultze-Naumburg  was  already 
standing  quite  outside  the  movement.  His  release 
had  come  about  naturally  ;  he  had  returned  to  his 
home.  The  haunts  of  his  childhood,  where  every 
tree,  every  stone,  every  house,  was  known  and 
loved,  awakened  in  him  such  a  deep  love  of  home 
and  of  his  native  land,  such  joy  in  its  charm  and 
tender  poetry,  that  he  ceased  to  regard  the  problems 
of  light  and  colour,  the  fascinations  of  painting, 
facile  technique,  and  the  laborious  striving  after 
new  impressions,  as  the  highest  objects  of  his  en- 
deavour. He  wanted  so  to  represent  his  home 
that  in  his  pictures  every  one  should  see  and 
appreciate  that  wonderful  and  little  known  country. 


212 


BY    I'AUl.  SCHULTZE-NAUMBURG 


Paul  Schiiltze  lYauJubnrg 


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■*»  » 

(|^P*»>««»IK 

'a  moonlight  night" 


BY    PAUL   SCHULTZE-NAUMBURG 


with  its  thickly-wooded  ranges  of  hills,  extensive 
tablelands,  quiet  valleys,  beautiful  rivers  with 
ancient  castles  on  the  heights  above  them,  vine- 
clad  hillsides,  snug  little  towns  nestling  in  hollows, 
with  all  the  varied  beauty  that  a  German  country- 
side can  show. 

For  this  he  needed  new  modes  ot  expression. 
It  is  a  very  different  matter  whether  one  sees  in 
forest,  meadow,  mountain,  and  sky  only  the  chance 
vehicles  for  tone  and  colour  values,  or  whether  one 
wishes  to  present  the  things  themselves  as  they 
live  and  as  they  appeal  to  the  heart.  It  was  in 
drawing  that  he  first  embodied  these  new  views. 
By  delineating  the  forms  of  his  landscape  with  the 
sharp  point,  deliberately  and  carefully  guided  in 
long  clear  lines,  he  was  most  successful  in  setting 
forth  all  its  characteristic  features  distinctly  and 
individually,  freed  from  any  appearance  of  insub- 
stantiality.  It  was  an  irksome  and  a  lonely  path 
that  he  pursued  in  his  studies.  Such  strivings  were 
at  that  time  looked  upon  by  living  men  as  inartistic, 
and  it  was  only  the  great  dead  that  could  here 
point  the  way :  J.  A.  Koch,  Tischbein,  Preller, 
Ludwig  Richter,  Rethel.  That  he  recognised 
them  for  the  mighty  masters  they  were,  and  for  the 
patterns  they  should  be  to  all  specifically  German 


art,  is  proved  by  his  personal  action.  He  did  not 
copy  their  forms  of  expression,  but  rather  remodelled 
them  for  himself,  face  to  face  with  nature,  with  that 
same  thoroughness  and  studious  devotion  that  had 
guided  those  others  before  him. 

The  picture  had  now  to  be  developed  from  the 
preliminary  sketch.  However  useful  his  previous 
schooling  in  //f/«  air  problems  was  eventually  to 
prove,  for  the  moment  it  was  a  hindrance  to  him. 
For  the  study  of  colour  in  nature  according  to  the 
practice  of  that  day  tended  to  reduce  his  large 
formal  conceptions  into  quite  other  proportions, 
dependent  on  the  accidental  disposition  of  the 
light.  Only  one  kind  of  light  really  showed  him 
natural  objects  simplified,  brought  together, 
separated,  just  as  his  inner  conception  demanded 
of  them,  and  that  was  the  twilight  of  evening.  In 
that  wonderful  hour  when  day  has  ended  and  night 
not  yet  begun,  he  recognised  once  more  on  the 
banks  of  the  Saale,  the  picture  that  from  his 
earliest  years  T/ie  River  (page  zii)  had  meant 
to  him,  with  the  whole  spell  of  secret  mystery  that 
surrounds  the  word. 

In  another  experiment,  A  Moonlight  Night 
(illustrated  on  this  page),  the  impossibility  of 
direct  study  from   nature  led  him  a  step  further 

213 


Paul  ScJmltze-Naiinibuvg 


'  SCHONBURG 


BY    PAUL   SCHULTZE-NAUMBURG 


in  the  independent  formation  of  his  conceptions. 
The  process  that  I  have  indicated  here  by  reference 
to  two  pictures  only,  was  in  reality  long  and  tedious. 
Out  of  the  poetical  dreamy  impression  derived 
from  nature,  there  was  evolved  by  a  natural  process 
the  untrammelled  imaginative  conception  of  what 
had  been  seen. 

His  home  gave  him  more  than  the  resurrection 
of  his  childhood's  dreams,  which  he  was  now  able 
to  reproduce  in  pictorial  beauty.  He  found 
traces  there  of  an  artistic  conception  of  actual 
life  such  as  had  by  process  of  time  become 
unknown  to  us.  Vestiges  of  an  important  artistic 
culture,  distinctively  German  in  character, 
dating  from  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  and 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centuries,  have  been 
preserved  in  Thuringia  with  a  greater  tenacity 
than  elsewhere.  Houses  and  household  furniture, 
gardens,  parks,  vineyards,  roads,  bridges — all  that 
man  contributes  to  the  formation  of  the  landscape, 
still  speak  plainly  of  the  time  when  Goethe 
wandered  there  and  halted  for  a  while  at  each  of 
the  most  lovely  and  charming  spots.  The 
remains  of  that  particular  period  are  but  little 
prized  by  us,  are  even  despised  on  account  of  their 
admixture  of  classical  elements  ;  people  do  not  see 
that  besides  this  admixture  of  classicism  (which  is 
observable  in  all  our  German  mental  hfe),  we  have 
here  the  only  starting-point  nowadays  available  for 
a  new  artistic  cult  of  life.  Schultze-Naumburg  is 
one  of  the  few  who  have  fully  realised  this. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  nineties  there  arose  in 
Germany  what  we  may  call  by  the  cant  name  of 
the  "decorative  movement."     This  was  partly  in- 
spired by  English  influence  ;  it  was  at  first  directed 
214 


towards  applied  art,  and  only  afterwards  to  the 
sphere  of  fine  art.  Schultze  had  always  con- 
sidered it  a  matter  of  course,  and  a  fundamental 
artistic  principle,  that  the  artist's  activity  ought  not 
to  end  with  the  mere  framing  of  his  picture. 
Experiments  in  applied  art,  to  which  for  a  time  he 
now  wholly  devoted  himself,  were  therefore  not 
new  to  him.  His  productions  were  distinguished 
by  plain  sober  usefulness  and  efficiency.  For  it  was 
his  conviction  that  after  the  terrible  rage  for  prttti- 
ness  prevalent  during  the  sixties  and  eighties,  a  com- 
pliance with  the  entirely  neglected  claims  of  the 
practical  must  be  the  chief  consideration  ;  and  he 
contended  that  the  construction  of  articles  for 
domestic  use  is  artistic  if  their  form  perfectly 
expresses  their  purpose.  His  book  "  Hausliche 
Kunstpflege"  (The  Study  of  Domestic  Art)  sets 
forth  his  views  upon  the  question  logically  and 
practically.  His  treatment  of  the  subject  is 
authoritative,  because  based  on  the  immediate 
contemplation  of  an  ancient  artistic  culture  forti- 
fied by  tradition  ;  it  is  new,  because  it  assimilates 
everything  admirable  that  our  own  time  has 
accomplished  in  the  way  of  scientific  thought  and 
■  technical  invention ;  and  it  is  popular,  because  it 
has  in  view,  not  the  individual  taste  of  the 
resthetically  refined  few,  but  the  deep  needs  of  an 
entire  nation.  His  work  has  exercised  great  influ- 
ence in  Germany. 

These  practical  experiments  reacted  upon  his 
painting.  His  studio  picture  had  now  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  ornament  of  a  room  to  whose  lines 
and  colours  it  must  organically  accommodate  itself, 
without  making  the  wall-surface  which  it  decorates 
appear  to  simulate  a  piece  of  nature. 


Paul  Schidtze-Naiimbiirg 


The  first  difficulty  to  be  encountered  was  of  an 
external  and  technical  character.  Oil-colour,  treated 
as  a  thick  paste  and  laid  on  without  much  manipu- 
lation, had  proved  the  best  medium  for  pkin-air 
subjects,  but  here  it  no  longer  sufficed.  In  the 
old  masters  interior  effects  could  be  noted  that 
were  pleasing  to  the  eye,  but  their  constitution 
was  a  riddle.  With  the  energy  that  he  brought  to 
every  task,  Schultze  set  himself  to  re-discover  the 
technical  methods  of  past  ages,  and  to  experiment 
scientifically  with  all  the  new  processes  that  our 
modern  industry  provides.  His  intimate  study 
of  the  old  masters,  particularly  those  of  the 
early  Renaissance,  gave  him  the  key  to  a  long- 
sought- for  secret.  The  visible  picture  of  nature, 
even  in  the  full  witchery  of  some  special 
mood,  when  reproduced  on  the  canvas  certainly 
repeated  the  impression  made  upon  the  eye  ;  but 
it  did  not  give  the  mental  sensation  that  the  vision 
of  nature  had  evoked.  He  now  learned  from  the 
old  masters  that  a  piece  of  natural  beauty  must  be 
translated  into  pictorial  beauty,  in  order  that  we 
may  experience,  at  sight  of  the  latter,  what  we  ex- 


perienced on  beholding  the  former.  And  this 
pictorial  beauty  follows  the  same  laws  that  in 
applied  art  regulate  the  "  pleasing "  or  the 
"  repellent  "  sensation.  Thus  from  the  imaginative 
conception  was  evolved  the  decorative  conception. 

His  picture  Schonburg  (page  214)  may  serve 
as  an  example  to  show  how  true  to  nature  were 
the  pictures  that  he  based  on  decorative  considera- 
tions, just  because  they  did  not  copy  the  beauties 
of  nature,  but  created  them  anew  for  the  purposes 
of  the  picture.  The  wall-picture  became  Schultze's 
special  task. 

The  "  decorative  movement "  in  Germany 
threatens  likewise  to  become  over- externalised  and 
superficialised.  Imitation  of  the  foreign  or  of  the 
old-fashioned,  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the  other,  a 
restless  striving  after  the  novel,  the  unusual,  the 
eccentric,  have  much  distorted  its  original  character. 
Schultze-Naumburg  has  been  saved  from  these 
dangers  by  the  last  new  development  of  his  artistic 
personality.  In  his  practice  of  decorative  art  he 
had  discovered  what  he  had  long  suspected  in  the 
case  of  pure  art — namely,  in  what  intimate  relation- 


DINING-ROOM 


DESIGNED   BV   E.    A.    TAYLOR 
EXECUTED   BV    MESSRS.    WVLIE  &   LOCHHEAD 
(See  article  on  E.  A.    Taylor) 

2'S 


DRAWING-ROOM.     DESIGNED   BY 
E.    A.    TAYLOR.      EXECUTED    BY 
MESSRS.    WYLIE    &    LOCHHEAD 
216 


A  Glasgow  Designer:  E.  A.   Taylor 


ship  beauty  of  outward  appearance  stands  to 
the  moral  value  of  a  work  of  art  and  of  its 
creator  ;  nay,  further,  that  in  sensuous  beauty  we 
possess  none  other  than  the  visible  form  of  all 
human  perfection  and  moral  goodness.  This  dis- 
covery is  no  new  thing ;  but  it  is  constantly  lost 
sight  of  as  soon  as  a  particular  artistic  development 
inscribes  on  its  banner  the  famous  "  L'art  pour 
I' art" 

To  possess  and  to  comprehend  in  the  material 
beauty  of  things,  not  only  their  momentary  charm 
for  the  eye,  but  their  deep  inner  essence  :  that  is 
the  idea  which  has  become  the  motive  power  of 
Schultze's  work.  Its  significance,  both  for  the 
enrichment  of  artistic  creative  work  and  for  the 
ennobling  of  our  moral  attitude  towards  life,  is  as 
yet  not  fully  to  be  estimated.  It  is  marvellous  to 
witness  the  lucidity  with  which  Schultze  applies 
this  idea  to  practical  everyday  life,  and  translates 
it  into  every  conceivable  form. 

The  illustration  on  page  2 1  o,  The  Rainbow,  exhi- 
bits a  more  powerful  and  striking  comprehension  of 


Schultze's  Thuringian  home-land  than  he  has  ever 
attained  before.  It  is  Earth  herself,  mighty  and 
fruitful,  blest  by  the  rain,  and  over  whom  the  Creator 
has  set  His  bow  in  the  clouds  as  a  sign  of  His  good 
pleasure.  Schultze  has  reached  this  height  of  ex- 
pressive power  by  regarding  objective  beauty  in 
the  new  light  of  a  wider  outlook  on  the  world. 
Thus  from  the  decorative  conception  was  evolved 
the  monumental  conception. 


A 


GLASGOW  ARTIST  AND  DE- 
SIGNER. THE  WORK  OF  E.  A. 
TAYLOR.     BY  J.  TAYLOR. 


SIDEBOARD 


DESIGNED    BY    E.    A.    TAYLOR 
EXECUTED    BY    .MKSSKs.    WYLIE 


Much  has  been  written  and  spoken  of  thecomplete 
understanding  that  ought  to  exist  between  the  artist 
and  the  craftsman,  and  the  unlikelihood  of  satisfac- 
tory results  being  obtained  without  the  aid  of  this 
co-operation.  The  whole  history  of  the  domestic  arts 
does  not  disclose  a  closer  union  between  art  and  craft 
than  exists  to-day,  and  this  is  due  almost  entirely  to  the 
modern  movement.  In 
"the  modern  school"  there 
are  men  by  this  arrangement 
occupying  foremost  places 
to-day,  who  have  risen  to 
their  positions  through  a 
series  of  early  failures, 
brought  about  by  a  lack 
of  sympathy  between  the 
two  forces,  or  from  an 
insufficiency  of  technical 
knowledge. 

No  such  difficulty 
marked  the  opening  career 
of  one  of  the  foremost 
designers  in  Glasgow, 
E.  A.  Taylor. 

By  training,  artistic  tem- 
perament, and  whole- 
hearted devotion  to  the 
new  idea,  no  one  is  better 
fitted  to  take  a  leading  part 
in  the  movement. 

Early  in  life  he  had  to 
choose  between  a  rural 
and  an  urban  occupation, 
and  the  call  of  the  fields, 
the  woods,  and  wild  things 
was  imperative ;  there  and 
then  began  that  study 
and  appreciation  of  the 
subtlety  of  colour,  that 
217 


A  Glasgow  Designer :  E.  A.   Taylor 


was  so  powerfully  to"  influence  the  artist's  life  and 
work. 

From  the  school  of  nature  to  the  school  of  art, — 
where  in  spite  of  the  damping  effect  of  friendly 
discouragement,  the  young  student  made  rapid 
progress,  taking  and  passing  examinations  under 
many  difficulties — and  from  the  school  of  art  to 
that  of  practical  experience  was  but  the  common- 
place round  of  the  artist.  Meantime  ways  and 
means  had  to  be  considered,  and  the  daily 
life  of  the  workshop  and  studio  afforded  little 
leisure  for  a  fuller  study  of  nature,  for  which  those 
earlier  opportunities  had  created  a  craving.  Of  a 
strongly  imaginative  and  poetic  temperament,  while 
attracted  by  the  genuine  qualities  of  the  work  of 
the  old  schools,  he  had  little  sympathy  with  slavish 
modern  imitation  of  the  styles  of  a  by-past  age, — that 
text -book  of  inspiration  so  necessary  to  the  designer 
of  ten  years  ago,  yet  so  fatal  to  his  individuality. 

Long  before  he  came  consciously  within  the 
scope  and  influence  of  the  modern  movement,  our 
artist    recognised    the   creative   possibilities   of    a 


decorative  treatment  based  on  rational  form,  natural 
colour,  and  modern  requirement ;  and  he  decided 
to  abandon  a  cherished  ambition,  that  of  a  stage 
or  pulpit  career, — attractive  chiefly  because  of  the 
leisure  this  seemed  to  promise  for  the  cultivation 
of  art, — and  to  devote  his  whole  energies  to 
the  work  of  rationalising  and  beautifying  the 
home. 

With  such  a  temperament  this  work  becomes  a 
passion;  no  Whistler  locked  in  a  room  with  deco- 
rative peacocks  could  be  more  absorbed  than  is  a 
true  artist  of  the  modern  school  in  his  work.  It  has 
often  been  urged  that  the  failures  of  the  old  school 
were  due  chiefly  to  the  fact  that  no  efficient  head 
supervised  the  separate  details  of  a  scheme,  but 
that  many  inefficients  frequently  vied  as  to  which 
would  be  most  successful  in  disturbing  the 
harmony  of  it.  The  success  of  the  new  school  is 
due  in  great  measure  to  the  fact  that  each  scheme, 
to  the  minutest  detail,  is  carefully  considered, 
planned,  and  executed  by  and  through  a  respon- 
sible, intelligent,  and  sympathetic  head,  whereby  it 


LADIES     ROOM 


2l8 


DESIGNED   BY    E.    A.    TAYLOR 

EXECUTED   BY   MESSRS.    W^LIE   &   LOCHHEAD 


K    O 


I 


A  Glasgow  Designer :  E.  A .   Taylor 


assumes  the  stamp  of  individuality  and  completeness,  unfamiliar 
under  the  old  system. 

Every  craftsman  should  be  an  artist,  as  every  artist  should  be 
a  craftsman  ;  for  no  one  can  thoroughly  comprehend  design  without 
a  fundamental  idea  of  construction. 

Take  any  of  the  pieces  of  furniture  designed  by  E.  A.  Taylor, 
examine  every  line,  note  each  detail,  and  complete  rationalism  of 
design  and  correctness  of  construction  will  be  detected,  and  if 
rational  design  is  a  strong  point  in  his  schemes,  it  may  be  claimed 
that  colour  is  a  stronger. 

Some  modern  authorities  proscribe  the  use  of  certain  colours, 
because  of  the  disturbing  eiTect  they  are  alleged  to  have  on 
others ;  the  reply  of  E.  A.  Taylor  is  to  show  how,  by  skilful 
arrangement  of  complementaries,  almost  any  colour,  particularly 
some  of  those  most  strongly  condemned,  can  be  successfully 
used  in  the  decoration  of  the  house. 


DESIGNED    BY    E.    A.    TAYLOR 


DOORPLATES 

DESIGNED   BY    E.    A.    TAYLOR 


The  Study  of  the  harmony  and 
relation  of  colour  is  sadly  neglected 
even  by  professional  house-furnishers 
and  decorators.  It  is  so  important,  and 
exercises  such  a  powerful  influence  on 
many  of  the  relations  of  life,  that  one 
marvels  it  does  not  form  the  basis  for 


DESIGNED   BY   E.    A.    TAYLOR 
221 


A  Glasgow  Designer:  E.  A .   Taylor 


DESIGNED   BY    E.    A.    TAYLOR 

EXECUTED     BY     MESSRS.    WYLIE    &    LOCHHEAD 


here  given ;  and  in  the  modern  dining- 
room  and  drawing  room,  here  illus- 
trated, examples  are  given  of  what 
can  be  done  with  an  unfavourable 
basis.  The  scheme  of  colour  in  the 
drawing-room  is  moss-green  in  the 
body  of  the  carpet,  with  a  soft  grey 
border,  the  pattern  of  which  is  formed 
by  green,  purple,  and  rose-pink. 

The  furniture  and  wood-work  are 
of  maple,  stained  grey,  to  a  shade 
arrived  at  after  many  experiments, 
enriched  with  inlay  of  coloured  woods, 
opal  and  opalescent  glass  panels,  and 
an  application  of  block  tin,  a  service- 
able and  inexpensive  substitute  for 
silver.  The  wall  panels  are  covered 
with  green  linen,  the  frieze  is  a  con- 
ventional treatment  of  the  rose  on  a 
cream  ground,  repeating  more  faintly 
the  colours  in  the  carpet. 

The  furniture  is  inexpensive  and 
unobtrusive  —  placed  for  a  purpose, 
not  for  show ;  the  simple  but  artistic 
lines  and  colour  of  the  leaded -glass 
panels    in     the     window    complete    a 


popular  instruction  in  every 
school.  In  a  recently  de- 
livered lecture,  E.  A.  Taylor 
said  "  Nothing  apparently 
is  further  from  the  thought 
of  modern  decorators  than 
that  their  efforts  should, 
however  indirectly,  lead 
anyone  to  think."  It  is  this 
intelligent  expression,  or  the 
lack  of  it,  that  forms  the 
dividing  line  between  much 
of  the  work  of  the  old 
schools  and  the  new. 

At  times  there  is  over- 
lapping :  the  designer  is 
not  always  fortunate  in 
having  a  clean  sheet  to 
work  upon,  he  often  has 
to  take  the  construction 
of  the  room  as  he  finds 
it,  and  efface  or  conceal  its 
unsympathetic  features  as 
best  he  may. 

This  is  the  case  in 
some    ot    the    illustrations 


LEADED  Gl.A 


BY   B.    A.    TAYLOR 


nF<;ir;N    con  q-taimch  n\  acc 


'V 


T.  L.  Shoosmitlts  IVater- colours 


strikingly  effective  room.  In  the  drawing-room 
on  page  219,  a  novel  treatment  is  adopted ;  all 
the  furniture  being  of  maple  stained  a  rich  violet ; 
the  carpet  of  apple-green  colour ;  the  strapping, 
and  graceful  dividing  screen  is  in  ivory-coloured 
enamel,  and  the  wall  panels  are  lined  with  an 
unpatterned  willow-green  silk. 

The  complete  effect  here  is  pleasingly  graceful, 
considering  the  daring  nature  of  the  conception. 

Stained  glass  for  domestic  purposes  has  long 
attracted  this  artist ;  many  of  the  effects  he  has  pro- 
duced in  this  ancient  medium  of  decoration,  both 
in  beauty  of  line  and  arrangement  ot  colour,  being 
quite  unique. 

In  this  work  he  takes  the  most  infinite  pains, 
making  drawing  after  drawing,  altering  a  line  here, 
and  a  colour  there,  until  he  gets  the  e.xact  idea  he 
wishes  to  express,  before  entrusting  the  work  to  the 
craftsmen.  He  visits  the  workshop  again  and  again 
while  it  is  in  progress,  the  guiding  idea  of  the  artist 
being  that  no  detail,  however  secondary  it  may 
appear,  is  unimportant. 

That  E.  A.  Taylor  does  not  limit  his  attention 
to  decoration  and  design, 
the  Royal  Scottish 
Academy  and  other  ex- 
hibitions from  time  to 
time  demonstrate. 

In    some    of  his   water-  _^ 

colour  drawings  there  is  con- 
siderable originality.  He 
prefers  nature  in  her  subtler 
moods,  seeing  rich  tones 
of  colour  divided  by 
graceful  lines,  as  the  sandy 
shore,  the  blue  sea,  and 
the  grey  sky.  Here  is 
a  whole  scheme  of  colour 
which  can  be  enlivened 
by  delicate  touches  of 
brightness  introduced  in 
the  right  places.  Like- 
wise in  landscape,  the 
beauty  of  line  and  harmony 
of  tone  appeal  most 
strongly  to  him  ;  and  his 
endeavour  is  not  so  much 
to  discard  the  methods 
of  other  artists  because 
he  disapproves  of  them, 
but  rather  because  they 
do  not  enable  him  to 
interpret  nature  as  he 
sees  it. 
226 


The  work  of  the  designer  and  decorative  artist 
of  to-day  is  no  sinecure,  particularly  if  he  proceeds 
on  what  is  popularly  known  as  "  modern  lines." 
He  begins  by  encountering  a  certain  amount  of 
prejudice,  he  speaks  in  a  comparatively  unfamiliar 
tongue,  he  has  to  arrange  every  detail,  to  see  the 
work  carried  through  ;  and  if  the  completed  result 
falls  short  of  what  at  times  is  unintelligently  ex- 
pected, the  undivided  responsibility  and  blame  is 
laid  at  the  door  of  the  artist. 

Notwithstanding  this,  the  progress  of  modern 
decorative  art  in  Glasgow  is  remarkable,  and  that 
progress  has  been  materially  effected  by  E.  A. 
Taylor.  J.  T. 


T 


HE  WATER  COLOURS  OF  T.  L. 
SHOOSMITH.  BY  T.  MARTLN 
WOOD. 


It  is  possible  for  a  water-colour  painter's  work 
to  be  quite  spontaneous,  though  the  painter  may 
have  taken  a  long  time  in  arriving  at  his  results. 
Every  touch  may  have  been  spontaneous  in   the 


THE    PORT    BRIDGE,    CORRIE,    ARRAN  " 

FROM   THB   WATER-COLOUR   BY   K.    A.    TAYLOR 


-^t, 


J^'i 


11 


"A  GLIMPSE  OF  THE  SQUARE,  THUX" 
FROM    THE    WATER-COLOUR    BY 
T.   L.    SHOOSMITH 

227 


T.  L.  ShoosinitJis  Water-colours 


circuitous  route,  every  one  of  them  nervous  and 
none  of  them  mechanical.  On  the  other  hand,  as 
with  Mr.  Shoosmith,  the  artist  may  arrive  at  his 
result  directly.  Directness  is  not  essential  to 
spontaneity  or  the  reverse,  and  it  is  possible  to 
paint  a  thing  directly  without  it  having  any  spon- 
taneity in  it.  The  secret  of  attaining  that  quality 
is  the  secret  of  the  artist  knowing  exactly  what  he 
wants  to  do,  and  he  may  not  want  to  do  a  simple 
thing,  but  something  which  is  built  up,  one  kind  of 
quality  willingly  lost  to  make  a  foundation  for 
another.  No  one  shall  say  that  any  particular 
method  in  water-colour  painting  is  wrong.  In  some 
ways  it  is  the  most  fascinating  of  mediums  ;  it  is  less 
dependent  on  any  particular  method  than  almost 
any  other  medium,  and  having  once  learnt  to  control 
the  running  water  any  painter  may  find  in  it  qualities 
for  him  alone.  Style  comes  from  the  reconciliation 
of  the  restless  vision  of  the  artist  with  its  hard-and- 
fast  limitations  ;  its  beauty  lies  in  the  evidence  that 
virtuosity  has  schooled  it.  To  use  water-colours 
for  a  purpose  purely  of  imitation,  and  not  to  wait 
on  its  waywardness  and  to  avail  himself  of  that  way- 
wardness for  accidental  effect,  is  for  the  artist  to 
prove  himself  holding  a  false  ideal  of  its  practice, 


and  to  be  dead  to  a  beauty  in  it  which  will  teach 
him  beauty,  water  and  colour  in  themselves  holding 
such  delicate  secrets  as  in  the  art  from  Girtin  to 
Whistler  have  been  the  dream  of  its  masters. 

The  essential  qualities  of  water-colour  painting 
are  perhaps  even  less  understood  by  the  lay  mind 
in  art  than  the  qualities  of  good  oil  painting ;  it 
seems  difficult  for  the  layman  in  these  matters  to 
appreciate  and  reconcile  the  variety  of  treatment 
of  which  it  is  capable  with  his  unsophisticated 
vision  of  nature.  Unable  to  disembarrass  his 
mind  from  an  ideal  of  only  imitative  success, 
there  is  often  lost  upon  him  all  the  accidental  charm 
which  is  its  characteristic.  Rightly  understood,  it 
is  less  an  imitative  medium  than  any  other,  and 
nowhere  in  art  does  mere  imitation  set  the  highest 
standard.  Its  peculiar  qualities  render  it  par- 
ticularly sensitive  to  individual  treatment,  so  that 
with  one  man  it  is  a  means  towards  realism, 
with  another  an  excuse  for  fantasy,  and  no  medium 
can  become  more  personal  to  the  artist  or  give 
more  intimate  expression  to  his  peculiar  vision. 

Upon  whatever  terms  a  painter  stands  with 
nature,  if  he  is  fortunate  enough  in  his  art  to 
stand   upon   any   at   all   with   her   and    retain   a 


'THE   passenger's   STEPS,    TREPORT  ' 
228 


ij  'I'lTIIMiTf 

FROM   THE  WATER-COLOUR    BY    T.    L.    SHOOSMITH 


'PLACE   DtS  HALLES,   MALAIX.''    BY  T.  L.  SHOOSMITH, 


T.  L.  Shoosmitlis  IVater-colours 


RUE    DEi    TRIPIS,    AMIRNS" 

FROM    THR   WATER-COLOHR    BY   T.    L.    SHOOSMITH 


public,  there  is  always  the  study  of  how  much 
he  cares  about  the  quahties  of  water-colour  for 
its  own  sake,  for  the  sake  of  those  accidental 
charms  and  its  expressiveness. 

Mr.  Shoosmith  has  wished  to  comprise  so  much 
on  his  paper,  he  has  wished  to  give  such  a  crowded 
impression  of  the  colour  and  form  brought  together 
by  the  accident  of  men's  business  and  a  natural 
scene— sombre-coloured  sails  against  old  houses  of 
faded  red  and  grey  that  stand  on  the  quay,  and  the 
traffic  in  old  streets — that  in  attempting  to  give 
permanency  of  vision  in  art  to  momentary  impres- 
sions he  has  had  to  formularise.  Maintaining  a 
certain  quality  of  paint  throughout,  he  has  seen 
his  subject  through  his  paint,  translating  life  into 
water-colour  and  trying  to  keep  the  spirit  of  the 
medium  throughout.  Though  there  can  never  be  a 
perfect  work  of  art,  no  man  being  complete  enough 
m  himself  to  produce  it,  criticism  often  seems  to 
pretend  that  there  can,  and  forgets  the  qualities  an 
artist  has  whilst  blaming  him  for  those  he  has  not. 


Looking  for  what  is  characteristic 
of  Mr.  Shoosmith's  work,  one  is  re- 
warded by  his  pleasant  juxtaposition 
of  bright  colour,  and  of  grey,  and 
by  the  restraint  of  his  execution.  His 
is  an  art  intensely  synthetic,  reducing 
his  large  vision  and  quick  apprecia- 
tion into  a  simple  method,  though 
arrived  at  only  through  much  thought. 
Still  young  in  years  and  training,  Mr. 
Shoosmith'd  art  seems  older  than  himself; 
it  might  be  feared  lest  he  has  found 
himself  too  quickly,  for  his  hand  exhibits 
mastery  the  only  explanation  of  which 
is  that  his  mind  has  travelled  a  long 
way  to  give  it  the  apparent  ease  his 
works  display.  It  is  clear  that  the  art 
of  the  old  water  colourists,  almost 
every  kind  of  water-colour  painting,  has 
been  studied  by  him.  His  own  formula 
seems  constructed  from  this  study,  for 
otherwise  he  is  entirely  self-instructed  ; 
his  chief  business  would  now  seem  that 
of  fitting  his  view  of  nature  into  the  ap- 
^  preciation  of  technique  he  has  arrived  at. 

g  Such  is  his  easy  cleverness  that  there 

is  a  suggestion  of  sleight-of-hand,  almost 
of  artificiality,  in  some  of  his  drawings; 
but  the  qualities  that  make  them  so 
promising  are  their  originality,  modified 
by  precedent,  his  ability  to  think  in 
paint — to  make  his  view  of  things  one 
with  his  expression  of  them — and  his 
faculty  of  synthetic  selection.  Since  Mr.  Shoo- 
smith has  done  one  kind  of  thing  so  well,  it 
would  be  interesting  to  see  what  fresh  harmonies  a 
fresh  field  would  bring  from  his  palette,  what  secrets 
a  complete  change  of  subject  would  hold  for  his 
inquisitive  vision.  The  sense  of  the  possibilities 
in  his  fresh,  spontaneous  art  is  at  present  one  of 
its  most  delightful  characteristics,  for  the  ability 
that  has  brought  it  such  a  long  way,  disciplined 
only  by  self-training,  should  hold  in  the  future 
pleasurable  surprises  for  us. 

In  the  groups  of  figures  clustered  at  street 
corners  in  his  pictures  there  is  movement — the 
buying  and  selling  in  the  market-place  is  a  real 
thing,  not  a  trace  of  artificiality  of  pose  is  in  the 
small  figures.  He  displays  a  distinct  gift  in  depict- 
ing life  within  his  streets ;  just  here  and  there 
perhaps  limited  practice  from  the  figure  prevents 
him  realising  quite  sutificiently  for  his  purpose  the 
suggestion  of  form,  but  the  "  incident "  which  he 
brings  into  his   paintings   shows  the  most  careful 

231 


T.  L.  Shoosmith's  IVater-colours 


"  FISHING    BOATS  " 


KROM    THR    WATER-COLOUR    BY    T.     L.    SHOOSMITH 


observation.  It  is,  perhaps,  in  the  variety  in  com- 
position that  Mr.  Shoosmith's  work  at  first  interests 
us  ;  his  drawings  do  not  give  the  impression  that 
he  has  walked  round  a  town  to  find  a  picture,  but 
he  seems  to  have  found  in  each  some  accidentally 
arrived  at  point  of  view. 

He  has  a  preference  for  standing  in  under  the 
shadow  of  a  tall  house,  watching  the  sunlight  pour 
across  the  street ;  he  has  depicted  this  effect  more 
than  once,  and  herein  lies  a  danger,  the  danger 
of  doing  several  times  easily  what  at  first  perhaps 
was  not  easily  done.  Such  freshness  in  com- 
position as  is  shown  in  the  painting  of  T}ie  Steps  at 
Trouville,  and  the  courage  that  is  in  the  colouring 
of  the  Place  des  Halles,  Malaix,  show  the  painter 
at  his  best. 

The  water  in  the  former  picture  does  not  seem 
so  limpid  as  it  might.  As  every  painter  has 
his  favourite  subjects,  so  he  will  have  favourite 
objects  with  a  surface  which  he  likes  to  realise 
in  paint.  Mr.  Shoosmith  is  drawn  to  the  rendering 
of  old  masonry  and  of  old  roofs  with  their  warm- 
coloured  tiles.  Perhaps  he  does  not  love  the 
reflections  and  the  movement  of  water  as  he  loves 
the  stillness  of  the  houses  and  the  movement  on 


the  quay.  Lately  in  art  we  have  not  cared  much 
about  the  picturesque,  we  have  felt  rather  con- 
temptuous towards  it,  we  have  proved  for  ourselves 
that  any  subject  may  be  picturesquely  rendered. 
We  find  Mr.  Shoosmith  is  concerned  with  what 
is  picturesque  in  the  old  sense.  One  of  the  sources 
from  which  he  has  learnt  has  been  Prout,  and  he 
has  embraced  to  some  extent  Prout's  view  of  what 
was  picturesque.  We  will  hope  that  he  will  not 
impair  his  personal  outlook  by  too  close  an 
approach  to  conventions  which  were  of  the 
character  of  their  time,  but  which  are  empty  when 
not  inspired  by  a  contemporary  method  of  vision. 
Economy  of  means,  as  black-and-white  artists 
understand  it,  has  been  striven  after  by  Mr.  Shoo- 
smith ;  but  it  has  not  been  that  the  easiest  path 
has  been  chosen.  His  work  is  not  a  studied  form 
of  indolence  that  can  be  dismissed  with  the  word 
"  slight " ;  he  has  chosen  to  paint  thus,  not  so 
much  because  he  recognises  his  work  as  sketches 
as  that  everywhere  for  his  eyes  life  presents  fresh 
pictures,  and,  with  the  eagerness  of  an  impression- 
able nature,  he  has  hastened  to  translate  its  beauty 
into  the  delicate  and  direct  touches  that  character- 
ise his  technique.  T.  Martin  Wood. 


G 

OLIVER. 


German  Arts  and  Crafts  at  St.  Lojtis 


ERMAN  ARTS  AND  CRAFTS 
AT  THE  ST.  LOUIS  EXPO- 
SITION.      BY   MAUDE    I.    G. 


As  in  the  case  of  Austria,  Germany  has  installed 
her  art  exhibit  at  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposi- 
tion in  two  different  localities.  But  while  the 
Austrian  annexe,  so  to  speak,  has  been  placed  in 
the  national  pavilion,  and  has  been  entered  as  one 
of  the  Fine  Arts  groups  in  the  official  catalogue, 
the  German  overflow  from  the  Art  Palace  is  not  so 
listed.  Neither  is  it  displayed  in  the  German 
building,  but  in  the  Palace  of  Varied  Industries 
instead  ;  nevertheless  it  far  surpasses  anything  in 
the  nature  of  an  applied  arts  exhibit  hitherto  pro- 
duced by  German  art  craftsmen.  Indeed,  accord- 
ing to  the  verdict  of  their  best  critics,  the  German 
work  seen  at  Turin,  which  had  previously  been 
unprecedented,  was  mediocre  as  compared  with 
the  St.  Louis  showing,  both  in  the  matter  of  excel- 
lence and  of  extent. 

However,   the    fact    that    this  exhibit   was    not 


placed  in  the  German  pavilion  has  been  a  fortunate 
circumstance.  That  structure,  being  a  fine  example 
of  an  earlier  period,  is  interesting  certainly,  yet  it 
would  be  in  no  sense  appropriate  to  the  daring 
features  of  the  modern  school.  Therefore  Germany 
has  wisely  provided  a  special  architectural  enclosure 
for  the  accommodation  of  all  her  exhibits  allotted 
to  the  Varied  Industries  Building.  And  it  is  in  this 
imposing  edifice  that  the  series  of  palatial  rooms 
comprising  the  Art-Craft  exhibit  by  prominent 
architects  of  the  country,  has  been  arranged. 

Although  radically  distinct  in  character,  material 
and  treatment,  these  rooms  have  in  common  all 
the  subtler  qualities  of  harmony.  In  them,  refine- 
ment of  intention  and  elegance  of  execution  are 
the  leading  lines  of  expression,  the  result  being 
successfully  accomplished  through  the  employment 
of  an  infinite  variety  of  motives.  The  beautiful 
and  the  useful  are  so  united  in  sentiment  and  in 
substance,  as  to  yield  an  equilibrium  of  repose. 
The  eflTect  produced,  then,  is  of  springing,  vital 
activity,  intelligently  balanced  by  a  corresponding 
degree  of  stability.     With  the  "  tertiary  "  principle 


LIVINC    KOOM 


BY    A.    NIRMEYKR   &    R.    BERTSCH 


German  Arts  and  Crafts  at  St.  Louis 


everywhere  present,  in  line  as  well  as  in  colour,  the 
feeling  of  dignity  and  reserve  is  strikingly  apparent. 
One  marvels  at  the  amount  of  detail  to  which 
an  object  has  been  finished,  without  its  being  in 
the  least  too  ornate.  Bits  of  ornament  daintily 
fashioned,  touches  of  bright,  contrasting  colour,  a 
repetition,  an  echo  here  and  there  afford  the 
necessary  accents  for  character.  Arrangements  of 
mother-of-pearl,  metal  and  ivory  appear  on  some 
sombre,  dull-finished  object  with  the  effect  of 
resplendent  jewels  in  the  darkness  of  night, — never 
so  dazzling,  however,  as  to  detract  from  the  chaste 
simplicity  of  the  whole.  Fine  carvings  and  delicate 
inlays  frankly  evince  the  artisan's  sympathy  with 
the  general  scheme.  Pictures  in  applique,  articles 
in  drawn  work  and  embroidered  panels  are  ample 
testimony  to  the  proverbially  unrivalled  skill  of  the 
German  needlewoman. 

Considering  the  chambers  separately,  one  is 
impressed  fey  the  appropriateness  of  the  centralised 
theme  of  each  and  by  the  presence  of  a  decided 
novelty,  without  undue  exaggeration,  in  at  least  one 
feature  of  the  furnishings.      For  example,  in  the 


Byzantine  severity  of  Prof.  Behrens'  "  Reading 
Room,"  the  tables  and  chairs  are  rendered  attrac- 
tive and  sanitary  by  their  coverings  of  white  pig- 
skin, which  can  be  washed  daily  without  injury. 
The  lights  disposed  along  the  middle  ridges  of  the 
desks,  as  well  as  those  suspended  from  the  ceiling, 
are  enclosed  in  cubical  ground-glass  boxes,  making 
the  light  subdued  and  yet  adequate.  The  use  of 
the  cube  is  continued,  either  in  itself  or  in  its  face 
(the  square)  throughout  the  room.  The  most 
important  detail  here  is  the  granite  clock,  embedded 
in  the  wall,  with  two  conventionalised  female  figures 
forming  the  sides,  beyond  which  are  niches  lined 
with  ceramic  panels  in  flat  ornament.  A  note 
also  that  is  unique,  without,  however,  affording  the 
element  of  practicability,  is  the  panelled  arrange- 
ment of  silk  squares  in  Prof.  Olbrich's  "  Living 
Room,"  hung  with  the  seams  thrown  out  on  the 
right  side,  the  edges  frayed  for  decorative  effect — 
incidentally  for  the  accumulation  of  dust. 

A  number  of  the  rooms  in  this  exhibit  are  dis- 
posed about  Prof.  Joseph  M.  Olbrich's  "  Court  in 
a   Summer   Residence   of  a   Lover   of  Art,"    the 


gentleman's  study 
234 


DESIGNED   BY   MAGDEBURG    ARTISTS 


German  Arts  and  Crafts  at  St.  Louis 


ANTE-ROOM   TO   DINING  ROOM 


DESIGNED    BY   ANTON    HUBER 


LIVING    ROOM 


DESIGNED   BY    PROF.    MAX    LAEUGER 
235 


German  Arts  and  Crafts  at  St.  Louis 


charm  of  which  many  travellers  declare  has  repaid 
them  for  visiting  the  Exposition.  A  certain  classic 
stateliness  pervades  this  enclosure,  which  is  virtu- 
ally in  two  divisions — one,  the  central  portion, 
containing  the  fountain  and  basin,  and  the  other, 
the  roofed  ambulatory  encircling  the  former.  In 
the  latter,  inviting  little  semi-enclosures  with  seats 
and  tiny  fountains  are  met  with  in  unexpected 
corners.  The  entire  architectural  conception  of 
this  court  is  so  complete  and  yet  so  unostentatious, 
that  it  is  very  nearly  flawless.  Its  lines  are  well 
chosen,  and  although  the  walls  are  white,  sufficient 
colour  has  been  introduced,  through  metals  and 
tiling,  as  to  contribute  to  the  general  atmosphere 
of  cheerfulness.  The  suite  of  six  rooms,  com- 
prising a  "  Reception  Hall,"  a  "  Music  Room," 
"  Living  Room,"  "  Dining  Room,"  "  Smoking 
Room,"  and  "  Tea  Room  "  at  the  head  of  this 
court,  are  also  designed  by  this  architect.  The 
same  noble  dignity  that  distinguishes  the  outer 
court,  is  maintained  throughout  this  group  of 
rooms.  If  a  selection  and  comparison  were  to  be 
made  between  them,  the  "  Tea  Room  "  would  be 
considered    the  most  trivial,   while,  on  the  other 


hand,  the  most  serious  work  would  be  recognised 
as  having  been  accomplished  in  the  "  Reception 
Room."  Here  the  walls  are  made  to  harmonise 
with  the  series  of  high  gray-stained  oak  wainscotings, 
above  which  and  reaching  from  the  floor  in  formal 
panels  extend  piers  of  inlaid  woods.  In  front  of 
these,  stand  pedestals,  supporting  objects  of  sculp- 
ture and  art  pottery.  Then,  to  fulfil  the  vertical 
precedent  of  the  scheme,  the  half-cylindrical  backs 
of  the  chairs  are  panelled  on  the  outside  in  upright 
divisions.  The  floor-covering  is  green,  and  the 
arched  ceiling  is  white,  stencilled  in  gold.  A  like 
feeling  of  unity  is  sensed  in  the  adjoining  room, 
which  is  the  "  Music  Room."  Here,  again,  the 
pictorial  contribution  is  incorporated  as  a  portion 
of  the  whole  decoration.  And  in  this  connection 
should  be  mentioned  the  strong  work  in  tempera 
by  J.  V.  Cissarz,  representing  an  oarsman  guiding 
his  bark  on  a  limpid  sea,  that  is  eloquent  in  its 
blue-green  depths. 

Near  this  room,  we  find  the  twin  rooms  by 
Prof.  Karl  Hoffacker,  called  respectively  "  Hall " 
and  "  Reception  Room  of  an  Art  Collector." 
These  two  rooms  are  heated   by  grates  opening 


FURNITURE,    ETC. 

236 


DESIC.NEn    BY    THE    ASSOCIATION    OF    I.ADY    ARTISTS,    BERLIN 


German  Arts  and  Crafts  at  St.  Louis 


DIREL  lUKS 


i>esii;nf,ii  by  irof.  w.   kreis 


into  a  green-tiled  chimney,  which  at  the  base, 
is  soHdly  built  into  the  partition  separating 
the  rooms  ;  above,  however,  the  wall  is  cut  away 
from  this  construction,  so  as  to  permit  of  interest- 
ing openings  from  one  room  to  the  other.  In 
both  rooms  the  use  of  paintings,  panelled  as  fix- 
tures in  the  walls,  is  charmingly  displayed.  An 
excellent  bronze  relief  entitled  Cecilia  is  noticeable 
in  the  "  Reception  Room."  The  predominating 
colours  in  the  "  Reception  Room "  are  a  neutral 
green  for  furnishings,  with  lead  and  olive  brown 
walls ;  and,  in  the  "  Hall,"  mahogany  with  white 
walls.  Prof.  Max  Laeuger  sends  an  exceedingly 
interesting  contribution  in  his  "  Living  Room " 
Here  waxed  oak  in  natural  colours  is  utilised  for 
the  furniture  and  for  the  finely-considered  wains- 
coting. Decorativfe  paintings  arc  provided  by 
Prof.  Ludwig  Dill.  Leather  upholstering  in  pale 
ashes-of-roses  add  to  the  tonal  scheme,  and  green 
silk  curtains  modify  the  light  at  the  windows. 
Against  the  wall  facing  the  windows  stands  a  basin 
for  running  water  by  Prof,   Laeuger,   which   is  a 


leading  element  in  the  decoration.  This  is  exe- 
cuted in  tiles,  with  glass  mosaics.  One  of  the 
dainty  surprises  that  greet  one  while  strolling 
through  the  galleries  of  the  open  court  is  another 
design  of  this  character  by  Prof.  Fridolin  Dietsche, 
representing  a  superb  wall-fountain  in  white 
marble. 

It  is  not  definitely  stated  as  to  how  many  in- 
dividuals the  Lady  .Artists  Society  represents.  Yet 
it  is  evident  that,  if  they  had  limited  their  number 
to  one  in  the  St.  Louis  exhibit,  the  results  would 
have  been  more  satisfactory.  Granted  that  there 
is  much  good  material  shown,  it  fails  as  a  whole 
for  lack  of  continuity.  The  autumn  landscape, 
forming  a  frieze  about  an  alcove  at  one  end  of  the 
room,  is  especially  good.  The  floor,  at  this  end, 
is  raised  a  few  inches,  and  at  the  centre  of  the 
dais,  so-formed,  is  a  seat  upholstered  in  heliotrope 
velvet.  The  windows  are  ornamented  by  a  grill 
effect.  The  lower  half  of  the  walls  is  a  greenish 
tan,  while  above  the  colour  is  a  blue-black.  The 
"  Directors'   Room  "  by  Prof.  W.  Kreis,   is  a  very 

237 


German  Arts  and  Crafts  at  St.  Louis 


.:  ,  ^ 

/ 

^'^\  f  '  / 

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^^'\//  ■• 

J^ 

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CHROMO-XVLOGKAPll 


( By  permission  of  Mr.  C.  Klackner,  London  and  New  York) 


BY    HELEN    HYDE 


praiseworthy  conception.  Its  walls  and  beams 
of  grey  oak  would  suggest  heaviness,  were  it 
not  for  the  nicety  of  proportion  shown  in  the 
various  panellings.  The  table,  chairs  and  fittings 
are  produced  from  yellow-stained  cherry.  The 
clock,  the  electric  wall-fixtures,  as  well  as  the 
chandelier,  are  majolica,  and  were  modelled  by 
Prof.  Karl  Gross.  A  room,  which,  for  rich- 
ness and  softness,  gives 
the  impression  of  velvet, 
is  that  displayed  by  a 
group  of  Magdeburg 
artists  for  a  "Gentleman's 
Study."  In  this  room, 
the  high  wainscoting  and 
wall  cabinets  are  executed 
in  ash  that  has  been 
stained  a  tender  green ; 
the  walls  above  and  the 
ceiling  are  tinted  a  greyish 
chocolate ;  one  of  the 
tables  and  a  couple  of 
chairs  are  of  ash.  The 
"  Ante-room  to  a  Dining 
Room,"  by  Anton  Huber, 
is  particularly  pleasing.  It 
is  furnished  in  mahogany, 
and  is  separated  by  a  firm 
railing  from  the  dining 
room  below.  The  spiral 
columns  in  the  "  Living 
Room  "  by  Adelbert  Nei- 
meyer  and  Karl  Bertsch 
238 


are  rich,  if  not  restful.  Among  a  number  of 
rooms  having  especially  exquisite  treatments  of 
woods  should  be  mentioned  the  "  Music 
Room,"  in  dull  walnut,  by  Prof.  Rankok ;  the 
"  Reception  Room,"  in  grey-stained  maple,  by 
Rank  Brothers,  of  Munich  ;  and  the  "  Library," 
in  grey-stained  oak  and  ash-inlaid  ceiling,  by 
Bruno  Paul. 


CHROMOXYLOGRAPH 


{By  permission  of  Mr.  C.  Klackiur,  London  and  New  York) 


BY    HELEN    HYDE 


Chromo-Xylographs 

recent  studies  done  by  Miss  Hyde  while  in  the  studio  of 
a  Japanese  painter  in  Tokio,  a  master  with  whom  she 
has  worked  for  the  past  three  years.  Her  first  studies 
were  carried  on  in  the  Chinese  quarter  of  San  Francisco, 
a  portion  of  the  CaHfornian  town  affording  picturesque 
material,  there  being  hundreds  of  Japanese,  as  well  as 
Chinese,  to  be  seen  about  the  streets  in  the  costume 
of  their  country.  She  quickly  exhausted  local  oppor- 
tunities, however,  and  as  quickly  set  out  for  Japan  ;  her 
artistic  intuition  telling  her  how  largely  the  charm  of 
Oriental  studies  depends  upon  the  atmosphere  of  poetic 
harmony  to  be  found  only  in  the  dreamy  distances  and 
mellow  sunlight  of  the  Orient. 

On  first  taking  up  her  studies  in  the  flower  countr>'. 
Miss  Hyde  found  a  suitable  studio  in  an  old  abandoned 
Buddhist  temple  at  Nippo,  where  in  true  Japanese  fashion 
she  was  made  to  study  effects  with  her  paper  spread 
out  flat  on  the  floor,  while  she  and  her  teacher,  a  famous 
master  in  the  Court  Schools  of  the  country,  knelt  and 
painted  with  the  great  native  brushes.  It  was  in  this 
studio    that    Miss   Hyde  achieved    her  first   success.    The 


1 


CHROMO- XYLOGRAPH 


BY   HEIEN    HVDB 


( By  firmission  of  Mr.  C.  Klachier,  I^naon 
and  New   York) 


M 


ISS  HELEN  HYDE'S  CHRO- 
MOXYLOGRAPHS  IN  THE 
JAPANESE  MANNER. 

Japan  has  always  been  a  captivating  land  for 
painters,  its  dreamy  beauty  and  alluring  pic- 
turesqueness  seeming  to  be  in  no  way  affected  by 
the  encroachment  of  European  customs,  or  by  the 
extraordinary  ambition  to  keep  up  with  the  pro- 
cession which  dominates  so  large  a  percentage  of 
the  Japanese  to-day. 

Many  times  previously,  The  Studio  has  drawn 
attention  to  some  special  form  of  Japanese  Art,  and 
once  in  particular  to  the  work  of  Miss  Helen  Hyde, 
the  young  American  artist  whose  woodcuts  of 
Japan  have  brought  her  recognition  both  at  home 
and  abroad.  The  examples  of  her  work  which 
we  here   reproduce    are   gathered   from   the   most 


"IN  HIS  father's  shoes" 

FROM    THE  CHROMO  XYLOGFAI'H 
BY    HELEN    HYDE 
(fly  ttermissiono/Mi:  C.  Klackncr,  London  and  New  York) 


Cli  roino-Xylographs 

fapanese  Madonna,  which  has  attained  to  distinction  through  its 
wonderful  technique  and  the  delicate  play  of  light  on  the  upturned 
face  of  the  woman.  King  Baby  was  another  success ;  and  later,  when 
studying  in  Tokio,  Miss  Hyde  wrested  from  a  number  of  native 
artists  the  Tokio  art-exhibition  prize  for  the  best  and  most  dis- 
tinctive colour-print  on  Japanese  paper.  It  showed  two  native 
women  of  the  aristocratic  type,  cooing  in  true  feminine  fashion  over 
a    beautiful    baby    held    in    the 

arms   of    one,    and   was    called  i 

The  Mojiarch  of  Japan.  I  ^.^<t''^  f^ 

To  go  back  to  the  beginningi 


I'^lf 


-V; 


THE   MONARCH   OF  JAPAN 

FROM   THE   CHROMO-XYLOGRAPH 

BY   HELEN    HYDE 
(Bv  permission  of  Mr.  C.  Klackiier, 
London  and  New  York) 

240 


CHILD   OF   THE   PEOPLE 

FROM   THE    CHROMO-XYLOGRAPH 

BY   HELEN    HYDE 
( By  permission  of  Mr.  C.  Klaikmr^ 
Londo7i  and  Neiv  York) 


CHROMO-  BY  HELEN  HYDE 

XYLOGRAPH 
(  By  permission  of  Mr.  C.  Klackner^ 
London  and  New  York) 


Miss  Hyde  has  been  in- 
terested in  art  all  her 
life  ;  and,  strange  enough, 
Japanese  colour  prints 
had,  as  a  child,  a  great 
fascination  for  her,  and 
she  would  sit  for  hours 
copying  them  in  water- 
colours.  During  her 
studies    in    Japan,    Miss 


Hyde  has  developed  a  wonderfully  intuitive  grasp  of  the 
Japanese  personality  ;  not  an  easy  thing  to  do  when  one  con- 
siders how  totally  unlike  in  every  way  the  people  of  Japan 
are  to  Europeans,  Much  of  the  success  of  this  artist's  work  is 
doubtless  due  to  this  innate  understanding  of  these  fascinat- 
ing people  with  whom  she  has  lived  for  several  years  in  such 
close  relationship.  In  fact  it  might  almost  be  said  that  the 
American  artist    sees   her   subjects    through  Japanese   eyes,  so 


I 


Chronio-Xylographs 


entirely  faithful  is  she  to  the  methods 
of  her  native  master.  Especially  is  this 
true  of  the  more  recent  examples  from 
her  brush,  which  seem  almost  the  work 
of  another  hand,  so  widely  do  they 
differ  from  the  artist's  earlier  work. 
Her  colour  has  taken  on  softer  and 
more  varied  tints,  and  she  is  more  at 
home  with  her  draperies,  which  at  one 
time  seemed  a  little  beyond  her  skill, 
for  the  manipulation  of  such  pic- 
turesque simplicity  of  costume  is  an 
art  in  itself,  and  one  possessed  by 
the  Japanese  artist  to  an  absolute 
perfection  of  detail.  But  just  as  one 
must  watch  closely  an  animal  in  motion 
to  get  the  equilibrium  in  a  study,  so 
one  needs  to  be  familiar  with  the 
natural  poses  and  undulations  of  the 
figure  while  in  movement,  if  one  hopes 
to  reproduce  the  same  drapery  effect 
— and  the  people  of  Japan  walk  in 
quite  unlike  ourselves ;  their  steps 
and  mincing,  while  the  body  seems 
move  from  the  knees,  instead  of  the  hips.     This 


CHROMO-XYLOGRAPH 

(By  permission  of  Mr.   C.  Ktackner 


BY   HELEN    HYDB 
London  and  New   York) 


a    manner 

are    short 

only    to 


DAY    DREAMS  FROM   THE   CHROMOXVLOGR AI'H    BY    HELEN    HYDE 

(By  fief  mission  oj  Mr.   C.    Klathner,  London  and  Ntnu    York) 


characteristic  is  very  pronounced,  and  naturally  an 
artist  is  given  little  insight  into  such  peculiarities 
unless  he  takes  up  his  life  amongst  the  people. 
Perhaps  the  greatest  triumph  in  Miss  Hyde's 
work  lies  in  the  suc- 
cessful rendering  ot 
atmosphere,  which  is 
delicately  suggestive  of 
the  flower  -  blossom 
country.  In  The  Rainy 
Day  we  have  this  quality 
at  its  best.  Going  away 
into  the  dreamy  distance 
one  sees  two  figures,  a 
woman  and  a  child,  the 
grey  of  whose  garments 
half  obliterates  the  out- 
line against  a  misty  blue 
horizon  as  they  plod 
heavily  onward  through 
softly  falling  rain. 

Japan  must,  of  its  very 
nature,  always  seem  a 
play  country  to  the  chance 
visitor,  everything  is  on 
so  small  a  scale  and  so 
dainty,  while  the  air  of 
the  people  suggests  only 
what  is  restful  and  calm 
contentment,  a  land  of 
flowers  and  dreams  and 
tender  memories,  a  land 
in  which  the  hard  things 
241 


Charles  Lcandre 


of  life  seem  not  to  enter,  and  where  there  is  sun- 
shine on  the  hills  and  in  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
One  reads  all  these  things  in  the  studies  by  Miss 
Hyde,  and,  having  regard  to  this  success,  one  need 
see  no  reason  why  she  should  not  rise  to  a  place 
among  the  first  of  her  fellows. 

The  home-life  of  Japan  is,  and  always  will  be, 
closely  hedged  in  by  conventionalities,  a  condition 
which  shows  its  trace  on  the  child-life  as  it  does  on 
their  elders.  The  wee  fares  are  joyous  enough, 
but  there  is  never  the  air  of  roguishness  nor  of 
absolute  freedom  from  constrained  good  behaviour 
about  them,  which  one  sees  in  other  small  folk. 
Miss  Hyde  has  given  us  some  pleasant  pictures 
of  these  serious  little  people,  character  studies 
snatched  from  the  people  and  the  homes  of  the 
rich,  and  they  each  tell  how  little  of  freedom,  as 
the  European  child  knows  it,  the  Japanese  boy  and 
girl  enjoy.  We  reproduce  one  of  these  chubby 
figures,  wearing  a  gaily  quilted  silk  robe,  and  hold- 
ing a  kitten  close  in  its  arms.  Surely  a  most  de- 
lightful bit  of  character-drawing  and  an  exquisite 
touch  of  colour. 

Little  Chtrry  Blossom,  a  colour  study  which  is 
now  quite  out  of  print,  proved,  I  believe,  the  artist's 


most  engaging  study  of  Japanese  child-life — a 
chubby  almond-eyed  lassie  in  a  quaintly  padded 
coat  of  yellow-silk,  stood  looking  wonderingly 
out,  her  fat  arms  filled  to  overflowing  with  cherr)-- 
blossom  boughs.  So  successful  indeed  did  this 
study  prove,  that  a  successor,  in  the  form  of  another 
"  blossom  "  child,  was  demanded  so  soon  as  the 
block  for  the  first  one  became  exhausted. 

The  feminine  subjects  chosen  by  Miss  Hyde 
possess  an  alluring  charm  for  the  ordinary  picture- 
lover  and  the  collector  as  well.  They  are  so 
daintily  feminine  and  altogether  pleasing  in  their 
naive  picturesqueness ;  the  artist  has  dipped  into 
the  inner  mysteries  and  discovered  some  of  the 
secrets  which  bring  the  look  of  contentment  and 
quiet  happiness  to  the  faces  of  these  soft-eyed 
women  whose  lives  are  in  such  perfect  harmony 
with  the  flower-land  of  their  birth. 

Miss  Hyde  has  chosen  the  medium  of  wood- 
cuts through  which  to  give  interpretation  to  her 
art,  and  she  finds  that  the  fullest  possibilities  for 
blending  the  myriads  of  delicate  colour-tones  which 
characterise  the  art  of  Japan  are  best  achieved 
through  this  medium. 

L.  VAN  DER  Veer. 


M; 


'LA  DAME  Al'  CHAT 

242 


FROM    THE   PASTEL   BY   CHARLES   LCANDRE 


O  D  E  R  N 
FRENCH 
.P  ASTE  L- 
LISTS:  CHARLES 
LCANDRE.  BY 
OCTAVE    UZANNE. 

A  SINGULAR  destiny, 
that  of  the  painter  drawn 
by  an  unexpected  current 
towards  the  wide  publicity 
of  journalism.  He  becomes 
popular  by  the  very  excess 
of  his  qualities,  and  soon 
is  known  to  the  great  mass 
of  the  public  only  as  a 
graphic  humorist,  or  as  a 
caricaturist  of  contemporary 
notabilities. 

This  is  what  happened 
to  Leandre,  a  delicate 
refined  artist,  a  draughts- 
man precise  as  Ingres,  and 
a  distinguished  colourist 
to   boot.     Down  to  1894, 


PORTRAIT.       FROM    THE    E'ASTEL 
BY   CHARLES   LEANDRE 


243 


Cliarles  Ldandre 


the  date  of  the  foundation  of  the  Rire^  to  the 
illustration  of  which  journal  he  was  called  on  to 
devote  himself  almost  every  week,  Leandre  found 
little  appreciation  save  on  the  part  of  most  of  his 
fellow  artists,  a  few  art  publishers,  and  a  certain 
number  of  cultured  amateurs,  who  even  then 
sought  after  his  drawings,  his  pictures,  and  especially 
his  pastels — delightful  things,  opulent  in  material, 
extraordinary  in  their  freedom  and  grace,  exquisite 
in  texture,  clear,  bold,  ingenious  in  colouring,  and 
harmonious  altogether. 

Leandre,  who  like  Gaston  La  Touche,  is  a  pure 
Norman,  born  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bagnoles- 
de-L'Orme,  came  to  Paris  some  little  time  before 
1880.  While  still  quite  young  he  decided  to  study 
drawing  with  a  worthy  old  painter  of  historical  and 
decorative  subjects.  Bin  by  name.  In  his  studio 
Leandre  had  as  comrades,  Eliot,  Thevenot,  Laurent, 
Des  Rousseaux,  and  de  Richemond,  and  as  pre- 
decessor, Joseph  Blanc,  now  a  member  of  the 
Institute. 

About  the  year  1885,  Leandre  entered  the  studio 
of  Cabanel,  which  still  enjoyed  a  high  reputation, 
but  the  old  painter  of  feminine  nudity  was  not 
destined  to  do  much  more.  Full  of  years  and 
honours,  after  having  guided  the  steps  of  so  many 
distinguished  pupils  into  the  path  of  glory,  he  ex- 
pired a  few  years  later,  leaving  his  official  mantle 
on  the    shoulders  of  his  disciple  Leandre,  whom 


Cabanel  thought  to  be  already  on  the  high  road  to 
Rome  and  destined  for  the  Academies.  The  young 
artist  escaped  this  solemn  destiny,  and  he  may  he 
congratulated  thereon.  Left  to  his  own  resources 
after  the  decease  of  the  great  apostle  of  cold  nude 
mythology,  he  was  obliged,  ere  he  discovered  his 
triumphal  course,  to  seek  his  venelle,  as  they  call  it 
in  Normandy.  He  composed  a  number  of  studies 
of  his  native  landscape,  and  devoted  himself 
especially  to  portrait  work,  using  for  choice  the 
pastel  process,  which  even  to  the  present  day 
remains  his  finest  method  of  interpretation. 

With  Charles  Leandre  there  is  considerable  indi- 
viduality, both  in  his  manner  of  artistic  vision  and 
in  his  execution.  His  principle,  he  declared  to 
me  when  I  paid  him  a  visit  at  his  Montmartre 
studio,  is  to  seek  out  with  infinite  patience  the 
character  of  his  subjects,  and  to  draw  again  and 
again  the  faces  he  desires  to  paint,  while  accentu- 
ating their  expression  almost  to  the  borderland  ot 
caricature.  By  this  means  it  is  that  the  portraits 
bearing  his  signature  are  so  extremely /«/wj,  and 
stand  out  in  strong  relief,  life  like  in  aspect,  and 
showing  a  resemblance  such  as  few  painters  of  to- 
day succeed  in  giving  to  the  features  they  repro- 
duce. In  his  view  colour  and  form  are  indissolubly 
united — of  necessity  wedded,  so  to  speak — the  one 
being  the  complement  of  the  other.  He  holds 
that  as  decoration  is  to  architecture,  so  is  colour  to 


LANDSCAPE 

244 


FROM    THB    PASTEL    BV    CHARLES    LEANDRE 


Charles  Ldandre 


^^^^^^^^^^^^m  " 

^^^^HE^S 

6      ■ 

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■i 

FROM    THE    PASTEL    BY    CHARLES    LEANDRE 


the  noble-  lines  of  a  well-executed  drawing,  a  sort 
of  rational  viise-en-place,  demanding  a  very  exact 
sense  of  harmony.  A  fine  drawing,  he  contends, 
and  very  truly,  will  always  hold  its  own,  even 
though  its  tonalities  be  somewhat  defective;  whereas 
if  the  most  perfect  colouration  is  not  sustained  from 
beneath  by  a  firm  and  solid  construction,  the  work 
will  always  lack  life,  and  \vill  soon  perish.  Here, 
as  we  may  see,  we  have  highly  classic  theories, 
such  as  might  have  been  emitted  by  the  painter 
1  )avid  or  the  petit  pere  Ingres. 

I^eandre  seeks  at  one  and  the  same  time  not 
colour  only,  but  design ;  for  he  is  a  pastellist  born, 
and  on  all  occasions  reveals  himself  the  most 
zealous  advocate  of  that  medium,  whose  matter 
lends  itself  so  easily  to  the  two  consecutive  objects 
— line  and  tone.  One  must  not  assert  in  his 
presence    that    the    process    to    which    he   is    so 


passionately  attached  is 
adapted  only  to  that  which 
is  light,  delicate,  and  at- 
tenuated ;  he  would  protest 
with  the  utmost  vigour ; 
would  reply  that  the  crayon 
tendre  is  full  of  strong 
colour,  and  that  in  the 
hands  of  one  who  under- 
stands it,  and  has  mastered 
its  difificulties,  it  is  capable 
of  producing  solid  and 
durable  work  as  well  as 
mere  pretty  little  blond, 
bedecked  figurines. 

Leandre's  pastels  often 
have  the  appearance  of 
strong  oil  paintings  ;  even 
the  most  experienced  eye 
might  be  deceived.  To 
my  mind  they  are  proof 
against  all  criticism.  To 
produce  artist's  work  all 
methods  are  good,  and 
It  would  be  absurd  to 
introduce  prejudice  into 
questions  of  process  and 
effect,  and  to  assign  to 
pastel  painting  certain 
light  subjects  while  for- 
bidding it  to  enter  into 
competition  with  oil 
colours.  Everything  is  in 
the  result.  Methods  are 
forgotten  when  a  master- 
piece appears.  Nature 
never  drew  up  rules  as  to  how  her  various  forms 
were  to  be  reproduced. 

Charles  Leandre  does  most  of  his  pastels  on 
canvas,  and  his  portraits  are  the  most  striking 
testimony  to  the  sureness  of  his  theories.  Whole 
pages  of  illustrated  description  would  scarce  suffice 
me  were  I  to  attempt  to  express  the  blending  of 
tones  in  his  backgrounds,  the  dazzling  flesh  tints 
of  his  women  and  children,  the  efflorescence  of 
those  fascinating  eyes,  the  laughing  lips  of  the 
tall,  romantic,  nervous  creatures  whose  accredited 
painter  he  is  —  evoking  as  they  do  the  far-off 
heroines  of  Murger,  of  Balzac,  or  of  Georges  Sand. 
To  conclude,  I  venture  to  declare  that  Charles 
Leandre  is,  if  not  the  greatest  pastellist  of  today, 
at  least  the  artist  who  can  the  most  eloquently 
and  the  most  forcefully  utilise  the  infinite  resources 
of  the  process. 

245 


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Recent  Designs  for  Domestic  A  rchitecture 


LODGE    FOR    SWINTON   GRANGE 


F.    TUGWELL,    ARCHITECT 


s 


OAIE    RECENT    DESIGNS    FOR 
DOMESTIC    ARCHITECTURE. 


Swinton  Grange,  near  Malto?i,  of  which 
Mr.  Frank  A.  Tugwell  is  the  architect,  is  being 
erected  for  Captain  and  the  Honourable  Mrs.  Clive 


Behrens  on  a  site  two  miles  to  the  north 
of  Malton,  adjoining  the  Castle  Howard 
Road.  The  style  of  the  house  is  in 
strict  accordance  with  the  Yorkshire 
manor-houses  erected  in  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  which  still 
remains  one  of  the  most  interesting 
forms  of  architecture  in  the  county. 
The  outside  of  the  building  will  be 
formed  of  rough  cast,  with  Ancaster 
stone  dressings,  and  a  hard  West  Riding 
stone  for  the  chimney  caps,  etc.  The 
JL]  elevation    is    relieved    by   the    chimney 

jHj  stacks  being  carried  out  into  red  sandy 

^H  rubbers,    with   wide    mortar  joints   and 

dark  red  and  brindled  blue  Staffordshire 
roof-tiling.  The  hall  and  drawing-room 
will  be  carried  out  in  walnut  and  oak, 
and  the  dining-room  in  white  painted 
deal.  The  gate-keeper's  lodge  is  already 
complete,  and  the  illustration  shows  that 
the  design  is  in  harmony  with  the  main  building. 
The  other  illustration  on  this  page  shows  a  large 
"  living-room  hall "  in  a  riverside  house  designed 
by  Mr.  Leonard  Wyburd.  The  staircase  is  arranged 
to  go  up  over  the  ingle-nook,  having  a  small 
window  looking  down  into  the  hall  itself.      The 


HALL    INGLE    IN   A   RIVERSIDE   HOUSE 


LEONARD   WYBURD,    ARCHITECT 
247 


Recent   Designs  for  Domestic  Architecttire 


'  WRAYBKOOK,"    REIGATE 


T.    PHILLIPS    FIGGIS,    AKCHITElT 


PLANS   OF    "  WRAYBROOK,"   REIGATK 


T.    PHILLIPS   FIGGIS,    ARCHITECT 


I 


Recent  Designs  for  Domestic  Architectttre 


main  feature  is  the  recessed  [fireplace  with  its 
beaten-copper  hood,  and  large  face  of  stone  and 
green  bricks. 

The  leading  feature  governing  Mr.  T.  Phillips 
Figgis'  plan  of  Wraybrook,  Reigate,  is  the  inner 
hall  for  reception  and  entertaining  purposes,  the 
walls  of  which  are  wood-panelled  all  round.  The 
walls  of  the  house  are  of  brick  covered  with  rough- 
cast and  weather  tiling,  and  the  roof  is  covered 
with  tiles. 

The  House  at  Farhold,  Lancashire,  of  which  Mr. 
J.  Hargreaves  is  the  architect,  is  situated 
on  a  slope,  with  a  very  charming  view 
towards  the  south.  Following  the  fall 
of  the  ground  necessitated  placing  the 
rear  portion  of  the  house  on  a  higher 
level,  which  enables  the  servants  to 
gain  access  to  the  upper  rooms  with- 
out entering  the  hall,  thus  doing  away 
with  a  back  staircase.  A  recess  under 
the  staircase  and  the  ingle-nook  are  not 
so  high  as  the  rest  of  the  hall,  the  ceiling 
of  which  has  the  joists  showing.  The  ex- 
terior is  rough-cast,  with  Stourton  stone 
for  the  porch  and  door  openings,  and 


Accrington  pressed-bricks  on  edge  for  the  steps 
and  floor  of  the  entrance.  The  casements  are 
of  wood  with  square  leading,  and  the  roof  consists 
of  green  slates. 


PLAN    OF   HOUSE  AT 
PARBOLD,  LANCASHIRE 


J.    HARGREAVES,    ARCIUTEC T 


liOlial.     \1    rAklluLD,    LANCASHIRE 


r.   har(;rba\es,  AKcmiKcr 

249 


studio-  Talk 


STUDIO-TALK 

(From  our  Own  Coriespondents) 

LONDON.— The  Statu- 
ette called  The  Chate- 
laine, by  Miss  Eleanor 
Fortescue  -  Brickdale, 
here  illustrated,  is  on  view  at 
the  Leicester  Galleries.  Made 
of  coloured  plaster,  it  realises 
a  romantic  and  reminiscent 
mood,  as  of  some  figure  that 
has  moved  through  Scott's 
novels,  the  lady  of  some  castle, 
or  the  guardian,  perhaps,  of  an 
imprisoned  queen.  The  gold 
pattern  worked  upon  the  dress 
is  carried  out  with  consider- 
able boldness,  but  remains 
subordinate  to  the  general 
rich  scheme  of  colour  that 
emphasises  the  careful  model- 
ling and  arrangement  of  the 
drapery. 

In  the  exhibits  of  book- 
binding at  the  various  arts 
and  crafts  exhibitions,  our 
attention  has  been  aroused  by 
the  vigour  with  which  the  art 
is  being  prosecuted,  and  by 
the  fact  that  the  designs  seem 
to  be  getting  better  in  so  far  as 
they  approach  nearer  a  right 
understanding  of  the  limita- 
tions of  the  art.  A  truer 
knowledge  is  gradually  being 
arrived  at,  by  experience,  of 
what  is  suitable  and  of  what  is 
in  good  taste.  At  the  same 
time  there  is  a  constant 
reaching  out  for  fresh  im- 
pulses in  design,  and  whole, 
some  attempts  are  evident 
everywhere  to  make  the  art  a 
living  art,  as  it  should  be  in  an 
age  so  great  in  letters  as  our 
own.  Perhaps  to  Mr.  G. 
Sutcliffe  and  his  partner  Mr.  F.  Sangorski,  the 
highest  praise  is  to  be  awarded  for  the  example 
they  are  setting  in  holding  fast  to  the  essential 
principles  of  beautiful  binding.  They  have  carried 
their  designs  perhaps  further  in  the  right  direction 
than  any  modern  exhibitors;  and  they  have,  at  the 
same  time,  evolved  many  designs  of  originahty, 
250 


SIATUEIIE    "  IHK    IJH A  1  ELAINE 
BY    ELEANOR   FORTESCUE-aRICKDALE 


not  Startling  originality,  for  a 
startling  book  cover  is  a  vul- 
garity ;  yet  perhaps  from  their 
hands  has  come  the  most 
daring  design  in  recent  work. 
We  have  seen  at  their  bindery 
a  book-cover  with  a  peacock 
with  tail  in  gold  tooling,  that 
carries  that  craft  about  as  far 
as  it  has  been  taken.  The 
examples  which  we  are  enabled 
to  give  here  will  show  how 
perfectly  they  have  understood 
the  beauty  that  lies  in  the 
legitimate  practice  of  the  art. 
In  Southampton  Row  Messrs. 
Sutcliffe  and  Sangorski  have 
a  school,  and  from  this  school 
some  of  their  pupils  are 
sending  good  work ;  it  is 
pleasant  to  know  that  as  long 
as  they  study  there  the  right 
principles  of  the  art  are  being 
instilled  into  them  daily. 
Some  years  ago  Messrs. 
Sutcliffe  and  Sangorski 
bought  a  large  consignment 
of  Niger  skins,  no  two  of  which 
are  exactly  the  same  in  tone; 
and  with  the  insight  of  true 
artists,  these  craftsmen  use 
the  slight  variation  as  part  of 
their  art.  We  have  been 
privileged  to  see  at  their 
premises  a  set  of  several 
volumes  of  one  work  bound 
in  this  leather,  and  the  slight 
diversion  from  uniformity  of 
colour  in  the  volumes  is  a 
thing  beautiful  in  itself ;  while 
the  slight  natural  stains,  which 
the  machine-perfection  ideal 
of  the  ordinary  binder  would 
lead  him  to  reject,  are  by 
these  artists  sometimes  used 
to  lend  a  subtle  variation 
to  the  background  of  inlaid 
coloured  leathers  and  gold  tooling.  The  skins 
are  brought  from  Karo,  which  is  about  i,ooo 
miles  up  country  from  Lagos,  and  the  last  con- 
signment brought  to  this  country  was  about  two 
years  ago  by  the  Royal  Niger  Company. 


It  must  always  be    remembered   that   there   is 


Y 


Studio-Talk 


BOOKBINDING 


SUTCLIFFE 


nothing  democratic  in  bookbinding  as  an  art ;  and 
by  democratic  we  do  not  mean,  of  course,  any- 
thing to  do  with  social  questions.  Artistically,  the 
art  of  the  poster,  of  the  magazine  cover,  may  be 
said  to  be  democratic ;  the  art  of  a  man  who  binds 
a  classic,  who  binds  it  for  connoisseurs  of  his  art, 
as  the  art  of  a  man  who  paints  a  painting  for  the 
appreciation  of  the  cultivated  of  his  craft,  is  per- 
force aristocratic  in  its  limited  appeal,  in  the  fact 
that  its  virtues  put  it  out  of  court  where  every-day 
and  popular  uses  are  essentially  to  be  considered. 
And  in  remembering  this  we  have  to  judge  the 
highest  kinds  of  bookbinding  by  the  highest  tests 
— the  test  of  asking  of  what  claims  to  be  a  high 
art  the  very  highest.  Applying  this  test,  and  con- 
sidering the  examples  of  the  art  we  have  before  us, 
we  are  led  to  believe  that  not  in  any  period  has 
the  binder's  art  been  more  healthy.  The  day  has 
passed  when  the  few  books  made  were  carefully 
bound,  as  wisdom  with  much  care  turned  into 
words.  To-day  everything  escapes  into  writing, 
from  the  trivialities  of  penny  magazines  upwards 


to  the  high  thought  of  our  best  thinkers  ;  and  by  a 
kind  of  natural  law  each  finds  its  suitable  binding, 
so  that  there  is  no  need  for  pessimism  because  there 
are  some  indifferent  bindings  in  the  world.  Surely 
some  of  the  trashy  things  printed  to-day,  by  every 
law  of  fitness,  should,  if  bound  at  all,  be  badly 
bound  ;  and  as  long  as  those  to  whom  we  entrust 
the  binding  of  our  best  books  exercise  their  art 
with  such  high  purpose  and  with  such  a  right 
understanding  of  its  ideals  as  recent  work  proves 
them  to  be  doing,  we  should  be  happy. 


At  John  Baillie's  Gallery  during  November 
exhibitions  were  held  of  the  works  of  W.  Westley 
Manning,  J.  Hodgson  Lobley,  and  Dorothy  H. 
Grover.  Mr.  Manning's  paintings  show  us  a 
serious  landscape  -  painter  much  concerned  to 
benefit  by  the  best  traditions,  but  who  has  followed 
no  one  influence  too  far.  This  exhibition  makes 
apparent  that  this  impressionableness  to  so  many 
influences  is  due  to  his  ability  to  follow  sympatheti- 
cally the  impulses  of  different  schools ;  yet  he 
keeps  very  genuinely  in  touch  with  nature,  in  some 
paintings  more  than  in  others  making  her  his 
own.  In  his  pictures  of  The  Cob,  Lyme  Regis : 
Glanford  Mill,  Cley,  Norfolk  :  Blue  and  Rose,  Loch 


BOOKBINDING 


BY    F.    SANGORSKI 


Studio-Talk 


Tyne,  and  Across  the  Moor  he  is  seen  at  his  best, 
showing  in  them  distinction  and  refinement  of 
vision ;  and  in  his  paintings  called  the  Merry  Month 
of  May  much  decorative  feeling.  Of  Mr.  Lobley's 
pictures,  Harved  Time,  Near  West  Kirby,  Albert 
Gate,  A  Welsh  Cottage,  One  Summer  Day,  and  an 
Iiiyll,  all  went  to  show  that  Mr.  Lobley  takes  a 
place  of  promise  amongst  our  student  landscape- 
painters.  The  works  of  Miss  Grover,  though  show- 
ing some  inequality,  prove  her,  when  at  her  best, 
possessed  of  originality  and  freshness  of  view.  We 
believe  this  to  be  her  first  exhibition  ;  in  future  ones 
we  shall  look  to  see  good  results  when  her 
originality  finds  more  spontaneous  expression. 


The  Gilbert-Garret  Competition  for  Sketching 
Clubs  which  took  place  in  November  at  South 
Kensington,  was  this  year  extremely  gratifying  in 
the  quality  of  the  competing  work.  The  judges  for 
the  year  were  Mr.  Mark  Fisher,  Mr.  Wilson  Steer 
and  Mr.  H.  Pegram.  The  prizes  were  given  away 
by  Mr.  Seymour  Lucas.  The  sculpture  seemed 
especially  promising,  and  some  of  the  landscapes 
showed  the  careful  observation  and  close  study 
which  in  competitions  of  this  kind  is  so  much  to 
be  encouraged. 

That    Sir    Charles    Holroyd    can    be    counted 


BOOKBINDING 


BY   G.    SUTCLIFFK 


BOOKBINDING 

254 


BY    F.    SANGORSKI 


among  the  few  really  original  etchers  whom  we 
have  amongst  us  at  the  present  time  is  hardly  to 
be  disputed.  There  are  qualities  in  all  his  etched 
work  which  show  him  to  have  not  only  a  true  grasp 
of  the  essentials  of  etching  but  also  a  very  correct 
taste  which  enables  him  to  select  the  best  material 
for  his  work  and  to  deal  with  it  in  the  most  appro- 
priate manner.  That,  as  a  pupil  of  Professor 
Legros,  he  has  been  trained  in  a  specially  good 
school  may  be  conceded,  but  his  etchings  have  in 
them  much  more  than  could  be  obtained  by  train- 
ing alone.  If  he  had  not  learned  his  craft  so  well 
he  would  very  likely  have  been  hampered  by  the 
difficulties  of  a  process  which  especially  needs  to 
be  mastered  before  it  can  be  used  to  fully  express 
the  artist's  intentions.  But  knowing  his  craft,  he 
can  make  it  serve  him  admirably  in  the  statement 
of  a  very  personal  and  independent  conviction. 
The  sense  of  style,  the  decorative  feeling,  and  the 
perception  of  nature's  sentiment,  which  appear  so 
plainly  in  all  his  excellently  handled  plates,  have 
not  be  acquired  from  the  teaching  of  any  master, 
out  are  inherent  qualities  which  come  directly  from 
his  temperament.  Not  often  has  he  shown  them 
better  than  in  his  etching,  A  Becchwocd  Avenue, 


Stitdio-  Talk 


^ 


KS 
■iOH 
-SERE 

ilAH 
MRIS 

M 


NE^'S-:«FROMv5«NOWHER 


|:lC^Sill&!i 


BOOKBINDING 


BY   G.    SUTCLIFFE  BOOKBINDING 


BV   G.    SUTCLIFFE 


HY   G.    SUTCIIFtK  BOOKBINDING 


BY   G.    SUTCUFl'B 

255 


Sttuiio-  Talk 


New  Forest,  which,  simply  true  as  it  is  as  a  record 
of  nature's  facts,  has  all  that  is  requisite  for  a  noble 
design  and  for  a  carefully  planned  artistic  achieve- 
ment. It  sums  up  completely  what  is  best  in  his 
art,  and  reveals  his  mastery  in  a  most  convincing 
way. 

Mr.  Borough  Johnson's  work  is  so  well  known, 
and  with  the  pencil  he  has  arrived  at  such  happy 
results,  that  his  work  with  the  latter  medium  sets 
an  example  always  of  value  to  the  student.     The 
example   that   we   give    here   from    his    painting 
Darby  and  Joan  is  interesting,  as  showing  how  the 
character  of  his  work  is  maintained  and  the  same 
qualities  sought  for  whether  he  works  in  paint  or 
pencil.     The   work   in   pencil   by    Mrs.    Borough 
Johnson  that  we  give  shows  that  to  her  the  pencil 
has  become  as  ready  a  means  of  ex- 
pression  as   it   is   with  her  husband ; 
and,    whilst  in  her  work  there  is   an 
equal   appreciation   of  its   capabilities 
as  a  medium  for  something  more  than 
tentative  sketching,  so  there  is  in  her 
sketches  an  individuality  which  is  quite 
her  own.     The  study  of  a  child  sucking 
an  orange  that  is  illustrated  in  colour 
displays  draughtsmanship  masculine  in 
its  mastery,  expressing  what  is  feminine 
in  its  tenderness  of  outlook  and  choice 
of  subject  and   sympathetic   handling 
of  that  subject  with  its  half-humorous 
side.     The  children  in  the  street-scene 
have  been  carefully  noted  and   studied 
from  life  ;  as  character  studies  they  are 
perfect.     The  earnestness  which  is  so 
characteristic  of  these  studies  does  not 
allow  Mrs.  Borough  Johnson  to  depart 
from  reality  to  the  careless  technique 
which  so  easily  overtakes  an  artist  if 
the   difficulties  of  fresh    subjects    are 
shirked,  and  constant  comparison  with 
nature  avoided. 


Mr.  J.  Lavery's  collection  of  pictures 
and  sketches  on  view  at  the  Leicester 
Galleries  is  made  particularly  memor- 
able by  the  inclusion  in  it  of  the  de- 
lightful picture  Spring,  which  was 
recognised,  when  it  was  exhibited  not 
long  ago  at  the  New  Gallery,  as  the 
greatest  of  all  his  performances. 
More  recently  this  opinion  has  been 
fully  endorsed  abroad,  for  the  canvas 
has  been  purchased  by  the  French 
256 


Government,  and  it  is  to  find  a  permanent 
resting  place  in  the  Luxembourg  Gallery.  As  a 
technical  exercise,  dealing  successfully  with  very 
difficult  problems  of  tone  and  colour,  it  is  unques- 
tionably most  memorable ;  it  has  qualities  which 
can  be  sincerely  praised,  and  it  proves  that  the 
artist,  unequal  as  he  is,  can  rise,  when  the  occasion 
comes,  to  remarkable  heights.  That  there  is 
nothing  else  in  the  exhibition  of  the  same  level 
must  be  admitted,  but  there  is  much  nevertheless 
that  claims  approval  on  the  score  of  technical 
cleverness  and  originality  of  view.  Mr.  Lavery 
achieves  most  when  he  gives  the  freest  rein  to  his 
own  individuality ;  and  of  the  pictures  he  has 
brought  together  the  most  enjoyable'  are  those  in 
which  he  has  not  sought  too  obviously  to  imitate 
Whistler  and  other  masters.      That  he  should  ever 


"A  SWEETSTUFF   STALL" 


BV   MRS.    BOROUGH    JOHNSON 


^^' 


K,^m^'     i' 


«^ 


1^^ 


'CHILD  WITH   ORANGE."    by  MRS.  BOROUGH   JOHNSON. 


Studio-  Talk 


A   STREET  SKETCH 


choose  to  follow  in  the  wake  of  any  of  his  prede- 
cessors is  much  to  be  regretted,  He  has  a  definite 
personality,  he  has  strength  and  judgment ;  and  it 
is  by  dependence  on  these  qualities,  rather  than 
his  imitative  faculty,  that  he  will  gain  the  position 
that  he  is  entitled  to  in  the  art  world. 

BRIGHTON.— The  Autumn  Exhibition  of 
Paintings  in  the  Public  Art  Galleries 
undoubtedly  is  the  best  which  has  been 
held  under  the  auspices  of  the  Corpora- 
tion. The  contributions  number  considerably  over 
300,  most  being  of  high  order  of  merit.  The 
fact  that  the  municipal  authorities  now  vote  a  sum 
for  the  purchase  of  works  for  the  permanent 
collection  doubtless  has  not  been  without  influence 
in  regard  to  the  quality  of  the  exhibits.  Many  of 
the  paintings  have  already  been  on  view  in  the 
London  galleries  and,  therefore,  do  not  call  for 
further  notice,  but  it  may  be  said  that,  of  these, 
Mr.    Melton    Fisher's    Flower    Makers,    with    its 


exquisite  colouring  and 
grouping,  Mr.  W.  H. 
Bartlett's  Bound  for  thiir 
Island  Home,  and  the 
North  -  Western  Breeze — 
the  Arun,  by  Mr.  Jose 
Weiss  prove  very  attrac- 
tive to  the  visitors.  A 
number  of  the  landscapes 
represent  scenery  and 
effects  in  the  South  Downs, 
where  there  is  now 
quite  a  school  of  young 
painters,  including  Mr. 
C.  Lambert,  whose 
Saddlescombe  and  Arundel 
are  excellent,  Mr.  Lang- 
dale  and  Mr.  Bond, 
whose  productions  are  full 
of  truthful  work.  The 
water-colour  section  is  of 
very  considerable  interest. 
It  contains  striking  land- 
scapes by  Mr.  Mackintosh 
Gow,  Mr.  Rowbotham, 
Miss  Mary  Churton,  Mr. 
C.  Harrington,  Mr.  Albert 
Kingsley,  R.I.,  Mr.  Cyril 
Ward,  and  others.  In 
addition  there  is  a  collec- 
tion of  about  150  of  the 
sketches  and  finished 
works    of    the   late    A.   F. 

Grace,  who  spent    so  much  of  his  artistic  life  in 

depicting  the  Downs  country. 


RV    MRS.    BOROUGH  JOHNSON 


The  Second  Public  Exhibition  of  the  Brighton 
Arts  Club,  the  members  of  which  are  all 
Brighton  or  Sussex  men,  which  was  open  for 
a  fortnight  only,  was  of  considerable  interest. 
The  most  notable  exhibits  included  works  by 
Mr.  Ginnett,  Mr.  Longhurst,  Colonel  Gofif,  Mr. 
J.  S.  Hale,  Mr.  C.  Harrington,  Mr.  Gerald 
Harrison,  Mr.  Conrad  Leigh,  Mr.  Lainson,  and 
Mr.  Burleigh. 


The  Exhibition,  at  the  Brighton  Arts  Club, 
of  water  -  colour  drawings  by  Mr.  Alfred  W. 
Rich,  proved  very  attractive.  The  paintings 
consisted  entirely  of  views  in  Sussex,  and  most  of 
them,  strongly  suggestive  of  the  earlier  water-colour 
school,  appealed  rather  to  the  educated  lover  of 
art  than  to  the  casual  visitor.  Mr.  Rich's  work  is 
of    strong    type,    with  a     characteristic     element 

259 


Studio-Talk 


of  Bornkop.  The  figure 
IS  a  striking  one,  and  the 
modelling  testifies  to  Mr. 
C.  L.  Hartwell's  ability 
and  power.  B. 

DUBLIN.— The 
growing  inte- 
rest in  art  in 
Ireland  —  and 
more  especially  in  native 
art,  an  "art  made  by  the 
people  for  the  people " — 
has  been  manifested  in 
many  ways  during  the 
past  few  months.  The 
picture  exhibitions  we 
have  always  had  with  us, 
more  or  less  ;  and  though 
the  interest  I  speak  of  has 
shown  itself  in  larger  at- 
tendances of  the  public 
at  these  and  more  direct 
encouragement  of  native 
painters,  it  has  extended 
far  beyond  the  realm  of 
the  easel-picture. 


"  DARBY   AND  JOAN  ' 


BY    I-     BOk(JL'GH    JOHNSON 


Perhaps  the  most  note- 
worthy example  of  the 
newly-awakened  desire  to 
foster  Irish  artistic  genius 


\ 


subdued  colour,  and  with 
undoubted  evidence  of 
keen  artistic  appreciation 
of  nature. 


The  County  Memorial 
to  the  Sussex  men  who 
fell  in  the  recent  South 
African  War  has  been 
unveiled  at  Brighton, 
where  it  has  been  accorded 
a  fine  position  on  the 
sea -front.  The  work  is 
thirty-two  feet  in  height, 
and  consists  of  a  stone 
pedestal  with  tablets,  and 
a  bronze  figure  over  seven 
feet  high  of  a  bugler  of  the 
Sussex  Regiment  sounding 
the  advance  at  the  battle 
260 


FROM   THB    ETCHING   BY    LOUIS   MOE 
(See  Copenhagen  Stuaio-Talk) 


Studio-Talk 


'  SAINT  ANTONIUS" 


(See  Copenhagen  Studio  Talk) 


FROM    THE   ETCHING    BY   LOUIS   MCE 


(Sie  Cofienha^en  Stuaio-Talk ) 


FROM    THE    ETCHING    BY    LOUIS   MOE 


261 


Studio-  Talk 


'AT  THE    HILL  OF  THE   GALLOWS 


FROM   THE   ETCHING    BY  LOUIS   MOE 


is  the  enterprise  which  has  been  undertaken  by 
Miss  Sara  Purser,  R.H.A.,  who,  in  the  midst  of  a 
busy  career  as  a  portrait  painter  of  high  merit  and 
marked  originality,  has  found  time  to  establish  in 
Dublin  a  workshop  for  the  manufacture  of  stained 
and  painted  glass.  "An  Tur  Gloine " — "The 
Tower  of  Glass  " — is  at  once  a  craft  school,  where 
instruction  in  every  detail  connected  with  the 
designing  and  production  of  stained  glass  is  given 
to  the  workers,  and  a  factory  from  which  some 
beautiful  work  has  already  appeared,  and  which 
threatens  eventually  to  banish  altogether  mechanical 
Munich  windows  from  Irish  churches.  The  estab- 
lishment of  this  art  industry  in  Ireland  is  an  example 
of  what  may  be  done  by  meeting  a  demand  that 
already  exists.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  pounds 
were  annually  being  sent  out  of  Ireland,  where 
church  building  has  gone  on  actively  for  the  past 
two  decades,  for  ecclesiastical  stained  glass  that 
was,  generally  speaking,  bad  in  design,  in  quality, 
and  in  workmanship.  Amongst  the  windows  that 
have  been  completed  at  "  An  Tur  Gloine "  are 
a  set  of  six  for  the  new  cathedral  at  Loughrea, 
262 


a  church  in  which,  for  the  first  time  in  modem 
days,  all  the  decorative  work  is  Irish  in  feeling 
and  inspiration,  as  well  as  in  execution.  The 
establishment  of  a  modern  school  of  stained  glass 
in  Ireland,  such  as  "  An  Tur  Gloine,"  is  a  most 
hopeful  event,  as  it  provides  what  has  hitherto 
been  lacking,  a  practical  field  for  the  talent  and 
energy  of  the  Irish  art-student  to  work  in. 

E.   D. 

COPENHAGEN.— Louis  Moe  is  a  Nor- 
wegian by  birth,  but  he  has  for  a  number 
of  years  been  domiciled  in  Copen- 
hagen, whence  he  every  summer 
betakes  himself  to  his  beloved  and  picturesque 
mountain  home  in  Telemarken.  He  was  originally  a 
painter  in  oils ;  but  by  degrees  he  has  almost  com- 
pletely discarded  this  medium,  and  instead  taken 
to  pen,  pencil,  and  needle.  He  is  an  admirable 
and  very  popular  illustrator ;  and  although  the 
first  of  the  score  of  etchings  he  has  so  far  pub- 
lished only  appeared  some  three  or  four  years  ago, 
he  is  already  an  etcher  of  repute.      The  evolution 


Studio-Talk 

gambolled  on  sunny  meadows  or  in  shady  groves,  but  he 
also  turns  to  account  wth  much  ingenuity  medieval  tales 
and  superstitions,  often  drawing  from  them,  in  his  own 
half-humorous  and  half-satirical  way,  a  regular  philosopher's 
moral.  In  some  of  his  work  a  certain  Northern  weirdness 
is  perceptible,  at  other  times  he  is  more  German  in  senti- 
ment ;  but  his  art  is  always  remarkable  for  the  invention 
and  verve  of  which  it  bears  witness.  G.  B. 

BRUSSELS. — The  name  of  the  Brussels  sculptor 
Godefroid  Devreese  has  often  been  mentioned 
in    these   pages,  and   some  of  his   works   have 
been    reproduced    here:    among    others    some 
characteristic  busts  and  the  design  for  the  great  monument 
to  commemorate  the  battle  of  Courtrai.     On  the  present 
occasion  it  is  as  a  medallist  that  we  have  to  consider  him. 


\.'y 


"  A   FOREST   imp" 


BY    L.    MOB 


of  his  technique  is  interesting.  Beginning  with  the 
generally  accepted  academic  method,  Moe  soon, 
when  he  had  done  half-a-dozen  etchings,  modified, 
not  to  say  reversed,  the  process.  He  now  etches 
without  any  asphalt  coating,  so  that  the  darkest 
portions  (and  strongest  contours)  are  first  drawn 
and  etched,  then  the  next  strength  is  drawn,  and 
the  whole  etched  :  and  so  on  through  a  number  of 
grades,  this  method,  Moe  holds,  giving  more  free- 
dom and  softness.  In  some  of  his  latest  efforts 
two  or  more  colours  have  been  introduced  with 
much  discretion,  and  with  admirable  results. 


Moe  is  likely  to  become  a  very  prominent  etcher, 
inasmuch  as  he,  apart  from  his  pronounced  tech- 
nical skill,  is  endowed  both  with  a  pregnant  imagi- 
nation and  a  distinct  decorative  sense.  For  his 
subjects  Moe  not  only  goes  back  to  the  time  when 
the  world   was  young,  when    fauns  and    nymphs 


.^':.---.-<^;^;««p/WIWt«W,(»j,^)» 


'nymph  and  young  bear" 


BY  LOUIS  .MOB 
263 


Studio-Talk 


Godefroid  Devreese  was  born  at  Courtrai  in 
1 86 1.  From  the  age  of  fifteen  he  practised 
sculpture  in  the  studio  of  his  father,  Constant 
Devreese,  who  executed  the  statues  of  the  Counts 
of  Flanders  which  adorn  the  fagade  of  the  Hotel 
de  Ville  at  Courtrai.  In  1881  the  young  artist 
came  to  Brussels  to  attend  the  Academie  des  Beaux- 
Arts,  and  he  worked  diligently  there  for  several 
years  under  the  direction  of  the  admirable  Brussels 
sculptor,  Charles  Vander  Stappen,  whose  remark- 
able qualities  as  an  executant  are  equalled  by  his 
gifts  as  a  teacher. 

The  great  success  achieved  by  his  Lace-maker 


BY    G.    DEVREESE 


in  1 898  has  led  Godefroid  Devreese,'able 
sculptor  though  he  is,  to  devote  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  his  time  to  the 
execution  of  medals  and  plaques.  He 
has  had  the  honour  of  being  the  first 
Belgian  medallist  represented  at  the 
Musee  du  Luxembourg,  whose  eminent 
curator,  M.  Leonce  Benedite,  obtained 
some  specimens  of  his  work  in  1899. 


The  catalogue  of  his  works  published 
in  1903  by  the  French  "Gazette  Numis- 
matique  "  already  comprised  nearly  thirty 
examples. 

His  first  plaque  was  modelled  in  1895  ; 
the  three  that  followed  did  not  appear  till 
1898,  among  them  being  the  Lace-maker, 
264 


the  badge  of  the  members  of  the  Provincial  Council 
of  Brabant.  The  artist  thus  personified  the  pro- 
vince of  Brabant  by  means  of  its  best  known  artistic 
industry,  Brussels  lace. 

Two  other  plaques  were  executed  in  1899,  and 
in  1900  the  Young  Polish  Girl.  In  1901  he  com- 
pleted six  medals,  ornaments,  and  plaques,  of 
which  one  was  the  medallion  of  M.  Charles  Buls, 
burgomaster  of  Brussels  from  December  1881  to 
December  1899,  the  Communal  Council  having 
unanimously  decided  to  present  him  with  a 
portrait-medallion.  This  was  a  remarkably  success- 
ful piece  of  work, 

In  1902  he  produced  a  larger  number  still :  12 
medals  and  plaques,  comprising  among  them  one 
for  the  Belgian  Photographic  Association ;  the 
medal  presented  by  the  Belgian  exhibitors  to  the 
art  critic,  M.  Fierens-Gevaert,  Commissioner- 
General  for  Belgium  at  the  Turin  Exhibition  in 
1902  ;  the  medallion  (this  one  is  cast,  the  others 
were  struck),  of  M.  Alphonse  de  Witte,  Secretary 
of  the  Royal  Numismatical  Society  of  Belgium,  and 
President  of  the  Dutch  and  Belgian  Societe  des 
Amis  de  la  Medaille  d'Art ;  and  the  medal  made 
to  celebrate  the  golden  wedding  of  Baron  de  Vos 
van  Steenwyk.  All  these  showed  an  advance  in 
the  medallist's  powers. 


BY   G.    DEVREESE 


studio-  Talk 


i 


STUTTGART.— Thegalleries  of  the  "  Kunst- 
Verein "  here  have  just  opened  an  in- 
teresting show  of  the  work  of  Eberhard 
Ege,  a  Suabian  by  birth,  who  has,  how- 
ever, lived  far  away  from  his  home  for  several 
years  past,  having  settled  at  Vicovaro,  in  the  Sabine 
Mountains.  Professor  Ege  was  originally  an  archi- 
tect, but  crossed  over  to  painting,  and  went  through 
some   training  at  the  Academie  Julian  before  he 


BY   G.    DEVREESK 


Further,  in  1904  iwe  have  the  extremely  clever 
medal  presented  to  M.  G.  van  den  Broeck,  late 
Treasurer  of  the  Royal  Numismatical  Society  of 
Belgium. 


BY   O.    DEVREESE 


The  work  of  Devreese  the  medallist  is  re- 
markable for  various  qualities  :  the  characteristic 
construction  of  the  faces  ;  the  clean  cutting  of  the 
profiles ;  ingenuity  of  invention  in  composition  ; 
and  sureness  in  the  placing  of  the  subject.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  the  numerous  proofs  he  has 
given  of  these  qualities  will  induce  the  official 
authorities  to  entrust  him  with  the  execution  of 
their  numismatic  work.  F    K. 


MEDAL  BY   G.    DEVREESE 

decided  to  go  to  Italy.  Vicovaro  is  rather  an  out- 
of-the-way  place,  some  30  miles  from  Rome,  beyond 
Tivoli,  to  which  and  from  which  news  comes  sparely. 
As  this  is  the  first  occasion  upon  which  the  painter 
has  exhibited  his    works   in   an   accessible    place, 


BY   G.    DEVREE.SE 
265 


"ROMAN  VILLA— EVENING" 
BY   EBERHARD   EGE 

266 


studio-  Talk 


it  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that  he  is  less  known 
than  he  deserves  to  be,  according  to  his  merit. 


Ege  has  braved  the  dangers  of  the  malaria  coast 
and  the  heat  and  fevers  of  Southern  Italy  in  search 
of  picturesque  spots,  always  displayingan  inclination, 
not  altogether  common  in  our  day,  towards  such  as 
are  haunted  by  interesting  old  memories.  One  of 
his  most  clever  canvases  shows  us  that  stretch  of 
the  Fluvio  Busento  where,  according  to — is  it 
history  or  myth  ? — Alaric  was  buried,  in  armour 
and  on  his  steed.  Another  shows  us  the  site  of  the 
"  Sabinum  "  of  Horace,  on  Mount  Lucretilis.  The 
painting  Along  Virgilian  Shores  takes  us  farther 
south  to  the  Punta  Palinuro,  opposite  to  which 
Aeneas'  pilot  is  supposed  to  have  dropped  into  the 
sea,  after  having  fallen  asleep  at  the  helm  of  his  ship. 


When    we  come  to   investigate  Professor  Ege's 


aims  as  a  painter  pure  and  simple,  they  are 
nothing  less  than  an  attempt  to  rejuvenate  what 
was  once  admired  and  has  since  been  ridiculed 
under  the  name  of  "  Heroic  Landscape."  The  quon- 
dam admiration  was  contemporaneous  with  the  rise 
of  the  art  itself,  and  was  governed  by  an  appre- 
ciative feeling  for  what  the  men  from  Koch  down 
to  Preller  aimed  at.  The  ridicule  was  more  recent, 
and  was  the  result  of  our  perceiving  how  utterly 
inadequate  were  the  technical  equipments  of  these 
men.  But  though  they  failed,  there  is  no  say- 
ing that  such  an  art  as  an  Heroic  Landscape 
art  is  an  impossibility.  It  is  doubtless  feasible  to 
elevate  the  style  of  landscape  painting  to  a  stage 
above  naturalism  without  becoming  bombastic. 
And  it  must  be  possible,  likewise,  to  people  such 
landscapes  with  figures  taken  from  antique  history 
or  myth,  without  sinking  the  painter-like  qualities  of 
the  work  altogether  into  the  story.  In  short,  one 
can  well  imagine  a  Nicolas 
Poussin  of  our  day,  though 
as  far  as  I  know  he  has 
not  yet  come. 


As  to  Professor  Ege, 
he  himself  is  the  last  to 
believe  that  he  has  already 
come  any  way  near  that 
goal.  The  first  step  towards 
it  is  to  obtain  mastery 
over  technical  difficulties, 
and  with  what  Ege  ex- 
hibits this  time,  he  only 
desires  to  show  that  he  is 
to  be  taken  seriously  as 
one  who  looks  at  landscape 
with  the  eye  of  a  modern 
painter  and  has  a  modern 
painter's  command  over 
his  materials.  All  the 
pictures  but  the  one  named 
Along  Virgllian  Shores 
are  only  studies,  and  even 
that  one,  though  already 
indicating  in  what  fashion 
he  is  going  to  try  to 
evolve  a  style,  is  a  paint- 
ing without  figures. 


'PEASANT   IN    THE   SABINE   MOUNTAINS' 


BY    KBERHARD   EGE 


The    numerous    studies 

are    all     very    fresh     and 

spirited.     The  brush  work 

is    free,    but    it   is   not   so 

267 


Reviews 


heavy  or  rough-and-ready  as  it  would  appear  to  be 
according  to  some  of  the  photographs  from 
which  the  accompanying  illustrations  are  taken. 
There  is  a  wealth  of  sunlight  and  rich 
colour  in  the  majority  of  these  studies,  and 
as  "  plein-air  "  paintings  of  localities  in  Southern 
Italy,  they  are  a  sort  of  revelation.  At  any  rate, 
German  painters  have  not  heretofore  brought 
from  thence  work  of  this  nature ;  but  till  Professor 
Ege's  advent  we  have  had  nothing  but  beautiful  line 
and  a  clear  sky — an  altogether  colder  style  of  art. 


Without  pretending  to  be  able  to  predict  from 
these  essays  that  attainment  is  clearly  and  safely 
within  Professor  Ege's  reach,  I  still  find  them 
interesting  enough  to  wish  him  all  success  on  his 
way,  and  to  give  him  the  encouragement  he 
deserves.  H.  VV.  S. 

PARIS.— The  Studio's  Special  Number 
upon  Daumier  and  Gavarni  has  created 
as  much  attention  in  Paris  as  it  has  in 
other  art-centres  of  the  Continent,  and 
it  has  been  the  means  of  bringing  to  light  a 
number  of  interesting  works  by  these  two  artists 
that    might  have  remained  hidden  indefinitely  in 


private  collections  but  for  the  revival  of  interest 
created  by  the  publication  of  the  Special  Number.  By 
the  courtesy  of  M.  Frederic  Hebert  we  are  enabled 
to  give  an  illustration  of  an  extremely  beautiful 
fan  by  Gavarni.  Painted  by  him  for  the  well- 
known  firm  of  Duvelleroy,  it  was  exhibited  with 
another  one,  also  by  Gavarni,  at  the  Paris  Exhibi- 
tion of  1855.  One  of  the  fans  was  purchased  by 
the  Emperor  Napoleon  III.,  and  the  other  by 
M.  Hebert,  father  of  the  present  owner. 

REVIEWS. 
George  Romney  :  A  Biographical  and  Critical 
Essay,  with  a  complete  Catalogue  Raisontie  of  his 
Works.  By  Humphrey  Ward  and  W.  Roberts. 
(London  :  Thos.  Agnew  &  Sons.)  Edition  de 
Luxe,  ^12  12s.  Ordinary  edition,  ^8.  Sj-.— It 
is  a  noteworthy  fact  that,  although  George  Romney 
painted  the  portraits  of  nearly  all  the  most  cele- 
brated men  and  women  of  his  day,  he  never  came 
into  real  intimate  touch  with  any  of  them,  except 
with  the  one  fascinating  personality  against  whose 
attractions  no  male  armour  seems  to  have  been  of 
any  avail :  Emma  Hart,  better  known  as  Lady 
Hamilton.  "Reynolds,"  says  Mr.  Humphrey  Ward 
in   the   interesting    biography   accompanying    the 


'along  virgilian  shores" 


BY    KBERHARD    EGE 


A 


Reviews 


(In  the  possession  oj  M.  FrecUric  HSert) 


BY  GAVARNI 


costly  volumes  just  issued  by  Messrs.  Agnew, 
"charmed,  or  at  least  impressed  all  his  sitters; 
Gainsborough's  artistic  self-assertiveness  acted  often 
like  a  challenge  ;  but  Romney,  though  we  happen 
to  know  that  he  used  to  try  and  make  his  sitters 
talk,  remained  in  their  eyes  just  a  maker  of 
portraits  ....  He  was,  indeed,  a  recluse  at  heart 
....  he  belonged  to  but  one  small  club,  and 
after  1772  he  refused  to  exhibit  a  single  picture 
except  in  Boydell's  Shakespeare  Gallery."  As  a 
result  of  this  extraordinary  and  suicidal  reserve, 
though  the  work  of  Romney  is  as  well  known  to 
the  present  generation  as  that  of  any  of  his  great 
contemporaries,  the  real  man  is  only  now  beginning 
to  emerge  from  obscurity. 

In  the  clearing  up  of  the  many  misconceptions 
that  have  arisen  on  the  subject  of  their  Mono- 
graph the  collaborators  have  spared  no  pains  ;  and 
now,  for  the  first  time,  has  been  pieced  together  in 
its  entirety  the  true  life-story  of  a  very  unique 
personality,  prominence  being  given  to  the  deep 
undercurrent  of  disappointment  that  had  so  much 
to  do  with  the  shadows  that  so  early  gathered 
about  a  brilliantly  successful  career.  That  Romney 
was  deeply  in  love  with  Emma  Hart,  whom  he 
interpreted  as  did  no  other  master,  is  now  proved 
beyond  a  doubt;  and  this  must  intensify  the  sym- 
pathetic admiration  felt  for  a  genius  who,  though 
appreciated  as  a  painter,  was  never  understood  as  a 
man  in  his  lifetime. 

The  actual  biography  of  Romney  forms  but  a 


small  portion  of  the  new  work,  for  it  is  supple- 
mented by  a  complete  verbatim  transcript  of 
the  artist's  Diaries  kept  between  1776  and 
1795,  acquired  with  other  treasures  by  Mr. 
Humphrey  Ward  at  the  sale  of  Miss  Romney's 
effects  in  1894.  These  will  be  of  priceless  value 
to  the  future  student,  as  will  also  the  exhaustive 
Catalogue  Raisonne  of  all  the  artist's  wotks 
drawn  up  by  Mr.  Roberts,  and  representing  many 
years  of  close  and  arduous  toil  ia  deciphering  his 
notes,  collecting  newspaper  references,  etc.  The  two 
volumes,  indeed,  form  a  perfect  library  of  Romney 
lore,  and  their  numerous  fine  photogravure  plates 
include  a  number  of  portraits  scarcely  known  to 
the  general  public.  Specially  fine  are  the  render- 
ings of  the  Warren  Hastings,  a  noble  interpretation 
of  a  noble  theme  ;  The  Lady  Arabella  Ward ; 
the  William  Hayky;  Mrs.  Catherine  Clements  ; 
Sir  Harry  Grey  ;  Lady  Morshed ;  Mrs.  Ann  Pitt; 
Mrs.  Tickell ;  Sir  William  Garrow,  and  Mrs. 
Russell  and  Child; — the  last,  one  of  Romney's 
happiest  creations. 

The  Microcosm  of  London.  Three  volumes.  With 
illustrations  by  PuGiNand  Rowlandson.  (London: 
Methuen.)  ^^3  3,?.  net. — Belonging  to  the  series 
of  reprints  of  standard  and  curious  works  of  the 
past,  these  three  volumes  are  founded  on  the 
edition  issued  in  1808  by  Rudolph  Ackerman, 
then  the  chief  fine-art  publisher  of  the  day.  They 
were  at  the  time  of  their  production,  thoroughly  up  to 
date ;  and  they  vividly  reflect  many  different  phases. 

269 


Reviews 


not  only  of  London  life  as  it  was  at  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  but  also  of  the  relations 
that  then  obtained  between  artists  and  publishers, 
as  well  as  between  both  and  their  patrons.  The 
very  title-page,  with  its  presentment  of  Britannia  in 
her  triumphal  car  and  the  coat-ofarms  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  beneath  the  deferential  dedication 
to  His  Rojal  Highness,  is  redolent  of  the  time  when 
the  greatest  authors  and  painters  felt  no  shame 
in  soliciting  the  patronage  of"  the  highly- placed. 
Equally  significant  of  trade  relations  widely  difTerent 
from  those  of  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century 
are  the  three  deprecatory  Introductions  in  which 
the  publisher  naively  commends  his  wares  to  the 
British  public,  dwelling,  not  as  his  modern  successor 
would  do,  on  the  expert  specialised  knowledge  they 
display,  but  "  on  the  variety  of  subjects  (dissimilar 
to  eachother,it  mustbeconfessed)thattheir  contents 
embrace."  The  name  of  the  author  is  not  given, 
but  it  is  just  possible  that  Augustus  Charles  Pugin 
— the  collaborator  in  the  production  of  the  plates 
■with  the  more  celebrated  Thomas  Rowlandson — 
may  have  written  the  descriptive  text.  In  it  the 
Corn  Exchange,  the  Society  of  Painters  in  Water 
Colours,  Fleet  Prison,  Newgate,  The  Foundling 
Hospital,  Freemasons'  Hall,  Guildhall,  and  many 
another  characteristic  feature  of  the  London  of  the 
day,  are  dwelt  upon  with  loving  enthusiasm,  much 
valuable  historical  information  being  given  as  it 
were  incidentally. 

Kijig  Arthur's  Wood.  Written  and  illustrated 
by  Elizabeth  Stanhope  Forbes.  Ordinary 
edition  ^f  2  2s.  Edition  de  Luxe  ;^3  3s.  (London  : 
Simpkin,  Marshall  &  Co.) — To  few,  indeed,  is  it 
given  to  retain  after  their  first  youth  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  deep  mystery  that  lies  hidden  beneath 
the  simplest  and  most  familiar  forms  of  natural 
beauty  ;  whilst  even  rarer  are  those  who  combine 
with  that  consciousness  the  power  of  giving  expres- 
sion to  it  in  a  form  that  appeals  alike  to  the  child- 
like and  simple-hearted,  the  experienced  and  the 
travel-worn.  Such  are  the  true  poets,  who  still  live 
in  the  heaven  that  lies  about  us  all  in  our  infancy, 
but  is,  alas  !  as  a  general  rule,  too  soon  obscured 
by  the  garish  light  of  the  commonplace.  That 
Mrs.  Stanhope  Forbes  is  the  possessor  of  these  rare 
gifts  is  already  well  known  to  all  who  are  familiar 
with  her  exhibited  paintings  ;  but  in  the  ideal  fairy- 
story,  with  its  exquisite  illustrations,  each  one  of 
which  is  a  poem  in  itself,  that  she  has  recently 
published,  she  will  come  into  touch  with  a  far  wider 
public.  Even  without  the  tale  within  a  tale  told 
by  the  goblin  to  the  widow's  boy,  the  book  would 
be  a  treasure-house  of  beauty;  so  touching  is  the 
270 


picture  of  the  humble  little  home  on  the  side  of  the 
hill,  so  Millet-like  the  interpretation  of  the  pathetic 
side  of  the  peasant's  toil ;  but  with  the  golden 
thread  of  Arthurian  romance  woven  into  the  weft 
of  every-day  life,  it  becomes  a  veritable  idyll.  Mrs. 
Forbes  has  been  exceptionally  fortunate  in  the 
interpretation  of  her  exquisite  water-colour  and  char- 
coal drawings.  In  the  former  her  fine  sense  of  colour 
is  brought  out  with  wonderful  force  ;  and  in  the 
latter,  for  which  two  blocks  have  been  used,  the 
subtle  gradations  of  tone,  with  the  warmth  so 
characteristic  of  the  original  medium,  are  rendered 
with  exceptional  fidelity.  The  one  drawback  to  the 
delightful  volume  is  its  unattractive  cover ;  that, 
however,  makes  the  brilliant  yet  ethereal  beauty  of 
the  contents  come  with  a  shock  of  surprise  when 
the  book  is  opened. 

The  Work  of  George  /oy,  with  an  Autobio- 
graphical Sketch.  (London  :  Cassell.)  J[,2  25.  net. 
— It  has  been  justly  said  that  every  honestly 
written  autobiography  must  be  alike  interesting  and 
instructive ;  but  unfortunately  as  a  general  rule, 
those  whose  lives  are  most  worthy  of  detailed  record, 
are  too  absorbed  in  living  them  to  have  any  time 
to  spare  for  describing  their  experiences  in  Hterary 
form.  To  this,  however,  Mr.  George  Joy  is  a  very 
notable  exception  ;  for,  with  his  art  gifts,  he  com- 
bines the  pen  of  a  ready  writer,  whilst  his  naive 
belief  in  himself  saves  him  from  the  mauvaise  honte 
that  so  often  engenders  reserve  in  self-portraiture. 
Frankly  taking  it  for  granted  that  he  has  the  full 
sympathy  of  his  readers,  he  tells  the  whole  story 
of  his  successful  career,  quoting  without  hesitation 
the  favourable  verdict  on  his  work  of  several  of  his 
great  contemporaries,  and  incidentally  bringing  their 
personalities  into  vivid  relief.  He  had  the  privilege 
of  numbering  amongst  his  friends  Millais,  Leighton, 
Watts,  Gerome,  Cabanel,  Jules  Breton,  Bonnat  and 
the  less  well-known  Jalabert,  with  the  last  of  whom 
he  worked  for  a  considerable  time;  whilst  amongst 
his  fellow  students  at  the  Royal  Academy  were  Her- 
komer,  Samuel  Butler  and  Lord  Carlisle.  Of  his 
life  in  Paris,  he  tells  several  interesting  anecdotes, 
paying,  by  the  way,  a  tribute  of  gratitude  to  the 
great  French  publisher  M.  Goupil,  the  father-in- 
law  of  three  artists,  including  Gerome,  who  were 
all  living  near  to  each  other  at  Bougival,  and  used 
to  meet  together  of  an  evening.  When  Mr.  Joy 
passes  from  the  personal  to  the  technical,  and 
in  his  critical  notes  on  his  own  pictures  in- 
cidentally passes  judgment  on  the  work  of  certain 
masters  of  the  past,  he  is  still  interesting  though 
not  perhaps  quite  so  convincing.  There  is 
nothing   very  original  in  the  remarks  he  makes, 


Reviews 


and  the  rules  he  lays  down  with  regard  to 
the  medium,  pigments,  etc.,  employed,  are  such 
as  are  already  familiar  to  every  practical  artist. 

Old    Cottages   and  Farm-houses   in    Shropshire 
Herefordshire,    and    Cheshire.     By    G.    A.    Ould, 
F.R.I. B.A.     (London  :  B.  T.  Batsford.)     2 if.  net. 
— Turning  over  the  pages  of  this  richly  illustrated 
volume,  the  regret  of  every  true  lover  of  the  beauti 
ful  and   the   fitting   must  be   intensified,  that  the 
charming  buildings  represented  in  it  are  so  entirely 
survivals  of  the  past  and  in  no  sense  prophecies 
for    the    future.     Exquisitely    proportioned,    their 
ornamentation,  an  integral  feature  of  their  structure, 
they  satisfy  alike  the  sesthetic  and   the   practical 
sense.       Well   indeed    would  it  be  for  the  cause 
of  rural  domestic  architecture  if  the  modern  builder 
would  turn  to  them  for  information,  remembering, 
as  did  their  designers,  that  local  material  is  more 
suitable  for  local  environment  than  that  brought 
from   a  distance.     The  author  of  the  instructive 
letterpress  accompanying  the  admirable  collot)^e 
plates,    numbering    more    than    100,     after    Mr. 
Parkinson's  photographs,  expresses  a  fear  that  the 
venerable  subjects  will  be  allowed  to  tell  their  own 
tale  in  their  own  way,  and  that  no  one  will  read  his 
comparatively  uninteresting  remarks.    In  this,  how- 
ever, hedoeshimself  considerable  injustice, for  hehas 
a  thorough  grip  of  his  subject,  and  writes  with  an 
enthusiasm  that  cannot  fail  to  be  infectious.     He 
prefaces  his  notes  with  a  useful  summary  of  the 
difference  between  the  timber  architecture  of  the 
counties  under  review  with  that  of  Southern   Eng- 
land, treated  in  a  companion  volume,  and. concludes 
his  notes  with  an  eloquent  plea  for  a  revival  of  the 
old  style.     An  eminently  suitable  style,  he  says, 
"  if  a  client  be  worthy  of  living  in  a  timber  house 
.  .  .  but  not  a  cheap  style ;  nor  one  to  give  to  a 
fidgety  or    exacting  client  who  will  attribute  the 
natural  behaviour  of  the  materials  to  some  neglect 
on  the  part  of  the  builder.  .  .  No  style."  he  adds, 
"  will  harmonise  so  quickly  and  completely  with  its 
surroundings,  and  so  soon  pass  through  the  crude 
and  brand-new  period,  and  none  continues  to  live 
on    such    terms   of    good    fellowship   with    other 
materials,  whether  rosy  brickwork,  lichened  masonry 
or  pearly  flag-slates,  which  last  it  loves  most  of  all." 
Tlie   Liverpool  School  of  Painters.     By  H.   C. 
M.\RiLLiER.    (London:    Murray.)— The    Art    of 
Liverpool  has  long  been   in  need  of  an  historian. 
Mr.  H.  C.  Marillier  has  essayed  to  fill  the  gap   in 
our   art  annals  ;  but  he  has  not  succeeded.     The 
book   is    doubly   defective  :   its   contents   do   not 
correspond  with   its  title,   and  they  are  sadly  in- 
accurate.     The    sub  title    limits    Mr.     Marillier's 


scheme  to  "  An  account  of  the  Liverpool  Academy 
from  1810  to  1867,  with  Memoirs  of  the  principal 
artists."     The  Liverpool   "  School  "  of  Painters,  if 
such  a  description  is  to  be  admitted,  was  not  con- 
fined to  the  period  between  these  dates  ;  still  less 
accurate  is  it  to  appropriate  the  title  for  a  small 
group  of  men  who  for  a  few  years  in  the   fifties 
happened    to  come   under   a   common   influence. 
To  describe  them  as  the   Liverpool  "  School "  is 
much  as  if  one  were  to  speak  of  the  Grosvenor 
Gallery  Group  as  the  "London  School."  The  Liver- 
pool School,  if  definable,  has  a  far  wider  reach  ; 
and  its  historian  must  be  a  much  more  painstaking 
annalist,  biographer  and  critic  than   Mr.   Marillier 
has  shown  himself  in  this  instance.     The  specific 
errors    as    to    matters   of    fact   are   beyond    what 
is  pardonable  in  a  book  that  claims  to  be  a  history, 
and   in   the   production   of  which   haste  was  un- 
necessary.    A  preliminary  list  of  "  Errata  "  admits 
six    mistakes,    but  it  might  with   advantage  have 
been  extended  to  as  many  pages  ;  some  of  the  un- 
detected blunders  actually  occurring  in  the  same 
sentences  as  those  specified.     A  few  of  them  will 
suflSce  to  show  that  the  book  is  untrustworthy  for 
purposes  of  reference.     A  picture.    Waiting  for  the 
Verdict,     by    A.    Solomon,    which    had    a    most 
momentous    effect    upon     the    fortunes     of     the 
Academy,  is  ascribed  to  Abraham  Cooper,  although 
previous  writers   from    whom    Mr.    Marillier   has 
drawn   considerably,   give   the    proper   ascription. 
In  the  next  sentence  it  is  stated  that  W.  G.    Herd- 
man  "  drew  off"  from  the  Academy,  which  was  not 
the  case.     Richard  Ansdell  is  said  to  have  come  to 
London  "  in  the  late  fifties "  :  a  reference  to  the 
catalogue  of   the   R.A.    or  to  Bryan's    Dictionary 
would  have  shown   Mr.   Marillier  that  he  was   at 
least   ten    years   wrong.     William   Huggins  is  de- 
scribed   as   the    successor   of    Ansdell,    which    is 
doubly   untrue.      They  had    nothing  in  common 
but  that  they  both  painted  animals,  and  they  both 
made  their  appearance  as  exhibitors  in  the  same 
year.     The  Corporation   of  Liverpool  is   severely 
taken  to  task  because  it  "never  had  a  penny  piece 
to  spare  "  for  works  by  William   Davis,   regardless 
of  the  fact  that  he  went  to  London  before  and  died 
almost  immediately  after  they  had  began  to  meddle 
in  art ;  long   before  they  had  an  art  gallery.     So 
only  dealers  have  suffered.     Mr.  James  Orrock  is 
dubbed  "R.A.,"  and   William   Huggins  is   stated 
on  either  side  of  one  leaf  to  have  died  in  1884  and 
1886  ;  while  the  Liverpool  Academy  is  in  one  place 
stated  (correctly)   to  have  been   founded,   and  in 
another,  to  have  been  "reconstituted  "  in  1810. 
The  Drawings  of  Holbein.     By  A.  Lvs  B.\ldry. 

271 


Reviews 


(London  :  George  Newnes.)  7^^.  dd.  net. — The 
publication  of  this  collection  of  extremely  fine  fac- 
simile reproductions  of  the  drawings  of  Holbein, 
at  a  price  bringing  it  within  reach  of  the  general 
public,  is  an  incidental  proof  of  the  rapid  spread  of 
art  education  of  late  years.  Not  so  very  long  ago 
such  a  book  would  have  appealed  but  to  the  select 
few,  whereas  now  the  probability  is  that  the  first 
edition  will  soon  be  exhausted.  In  the  delightful 
essay  that  accompanies  the  drawings  —  amongst 
which  the  Elizabeth  Lady  Audley,  the  Sir 
John  More,  and  the  Portrait  of  a  Young  Man  in  a 
plumed  hat,  are  amongst  the  most  beautiful — Mr. 
Baldry  gives  a  brief  summary  of  the  artist's  bio- 
graphy, and  passing  lightly  over  his  characteristics 
as  a  painter,  dwells  on  the  technical  qualities  of 
the  drawings.  "  Their  rare  charm,"  he  justly  says, 
"  comes  principally  from  the  exquisite  combination 
they  present  of  delicacy  and  vigour"  ;  adding,  "  not 
often  is  there  to  be  seen  such  sympathetic  manage- 
ment of  simple  line  and  broad  flat  masses  of  tone,  or 
such  accurate  placing  of  small  details  of  modelling  " 
— a  criticism  proving  how  true  a  judge  is  its  writer 
of  the  distinctive  peculiarities  of  Holbein's  work. 

T/ie  Pedlar's  Pack.  By  Mrs.  Alfred  Baldwin, 
with  illustrations  by  Charles  Pears.  (London : 
W.  &  R.  Chambers.)  6s.  net. — In  her  Dedication 
to  her  sister,  Lady  Poynter,  for  whose  delectation 
these  fairy  tales  were  first  told,  Mrs.  Baldwin 
reveals  the  secret  of  their  success.  "  Deep  in  our 
hearts  unchanged  are  we,"  she  says,  adding  a  hope 
that  "  among  the  varied  wares  of  her  Pedlar's 
Pack  may  lurk  some  antidote  for  cares,  some  charm 
to  call  our  childhood  back."  That  charm  is  cer- 
tainly present  in  each  one  of  her  "  wares,"  for  they 
are  all  brightly  written,  healthy  toned,  and  delight- 
fully impossible  tales,  realising  the  point  of  view  of 
those  who  still  dwell  in  the  magic-land  of  the  imag- 
ination, where  nothing  is  too  wildly  improbable 
to  be  believed.  Among  the  most  beautiful  are 
"  Conrad  of  the  Red  Town,"  and  "  Hubert  the 
Shepherd,"  both  prose  poems  in  their  way,  with  an 
undercurrent  of  pathos,  that,  though  it  may  escape 
the  notice  of  children,  will  appeal  forcibly  to  their 
elders.  Some  of  the  illustrations,  especially  He  tvas 
the  most  beautiful  Baby  in  the  World,  well  interpret 
the  text ;  but  certain  of  the  others,  such  as  the  Conrad 
and  the  Little  Men,  are  comparatively  common-place. 

The  Brown  Fairy  Bcok.  Edited  by  Andrew 
Lang.  Illustrations  by  H.  J.  Ford.  (London : 
Longmans.)  ds.  net. — The  new  feast  provided  for 
young  and  old  by  the  indefatigable  caterer  for  their 
delight,  yields  nothing  in  fascination  and  variety 
to  any  of  its  predecessors.  As  is  the  case  with  its 
272 


many  companion  volumes,  the  stories  in  it  come 
from  all  quarters  of  the  world  ;  and  not  the  least  of 
its  many  charms  is  the  fact  that  each  one  bears 
its  own  distinctive  impress,  yet  is  rendered  into 
thoroughly  idiomatic  English.  It  is  the  spirit 
rather  than  the  letter  that  is  in  every  case  inter- 
preted, and  the  delightful  olla  fodrida  incon- 
trovertibly  proves  that  the  human  child  is  every- 
where alike,  whether  cradled  in  the  luxury  of  a 
European  home  or  allowed  to  grow  up  untutored 
in  the  wilds  of  Central  Australia,  on  the  arid  plains 
of  South  Africa,  or  in  the  ice-bound  districts  of  Lap- 
land. No  less  successful  than  the  literary  renderings 
ot  the  wonderful  tales  are  the  fine  illustrations  of 
Mr.  H.  J.  Ford,  who  proves  himself  as  much  in 
touch  with  their  inner  meaning  as  Mr.  Lang  himself. 

The  Christmas  season  brings  with  it,  as  usual,  a 
great  variety  of  illustrated  gift -books,  calendars, 
almanacs,  and  other  annuals.  Those  issued  by  Mr. 
Ernest  Nlster  include  some  excellent  productions, 
amongst  which  we  note  Shakespeare's  Heroines,  by 
Anna  Jameson  {^s.  6d.) ;  Marcus,  by  Manville 
Fknn  (5^-.) ;  With  Richard  the  Fearless,  by  P. 
Creswick  (35.  bd.)  -j/ohn  Hassali's  Comic  Calendar, 
with  words  by  G.  E.  Farrow  (3^.  6d.) ;  and  several 
wall-calendars  of  artistic  design.  Mr.  W.  Kidd's 
Baa, Baa,  Black  Sheep  (Dean  &  Sons,  2s.  6d.)  is  both 
attractive  and  original ;  and  Mr.  Leslie  Brooke's 
treatment  of  The  Three  Little  Pigs  and  Tom  Thumb 
(F.  Warne  &  Co.,  \s.  net  each)  is  sure  to  meet  with 
the  approval  of  many  little  critics  ;  as  will  also  The 
Wonderful  Story  of  Henny  Penny,  pictured  by 
W.  D.  Adams  (Heinemann,  \s.  net). 


It  is  always  with  a  certain  amount  of  interest, 
not  unmixed  with  apprehension,  that  persons  of  an 
artistic  turn  of  mind  look  forward  to  the  appear- 
ance in  the  shop-windows  of  the  year's  Christmas 
and  New  Year's  cards.  Last  year  a  distinct  sign 
of  improvement  showed  itself  in  the  artistic  quality 
of  the  designs,  and  our  souls  were  buoyed  with 
hope  for  the  future.  This  year,  however,  the 
improvement  has  not  been  maintained  ;  and 
although  both  the  leading  firms  of  producers — 
Messrs.  Raphael  Tuck  and  Messrs.  Hills  &  Co. 
— have  issued  some  pleasant  enough  cards  that 
will  doubtless  appeal  to  the  tastes  of  a  large 
number  of  persons,  the  evolution  of  the  Christmas 
card  towards  a  work  of  art  appears  to  have  sud- 
denly stopped  short.  This  is  all  the  more  regret- 
table, owing  to  the  undoubted  existence  of  a  large 
amount  of  artistic  talent  in  England  only  awaiting 
an  opportunity  to  be  diverted  into  a  proper  channel. 


Awards  in  "  The  Studio  "  Prise  Competiticms 


If  the  Christmas  card  is  worth  doing  at  all  it  is 
worth  doing  well,  and  if  it  is  to  be  done  well  the 
work  will  have  to  be  entrusted  to  artists  who  are 
not  artists  in  name  only.  If  some  serious  step  is 
not  taken  soon  the  Christmas  and  New  Year's  card 
will  join  the  late  unlamented  \'alentine. 

In  the  September  Number  of  The  Studio 
there  appeared  a  coloured  reproduction  of  one 
of  Mr.  G.  S.  Elgood's  water-colour  drawings, 
which  was  erroneously  described  as  representing 
Penshtirst,  Kent.  For  the  sake  of  accuracy  it 
should  be  stated  that  the  drawing  in  question 
is  a  view  of  Compton  Wynyates,  the  beautiful 
\\'arwickshire  seat  of  the  Marquis  of  Northampton. 


A 


WARDS     IN     "THE     STUDIO" 
PRIZE   COMPETITIONS. 


Cl.ass  a. 

Old  Series. 

A  LIV.     Design  for  the 

Front   and    Back   of   a 

Banquet  Menu. 

First  Prize  {Three 
Guineas) :  Curlew  (Lennox 
G.  Bird,  lo  Gatestone 
Road,  Upper  Norwood, 
London,  S.E.). 

Second  Prize  {Two 
Guineas) :  Pan  (F.  H.  Ball, 
85  Scotland  Road,  Carlisle). 

Hon.  Mention  :  Doric 
(G.  W.  Mason) ;  Mac  (G. 
Macintosh);  ^/ca- (A.  Scott 
Carter). 

New  Series. 
A  III.      Design    for   an 
Embroidered    Fall    for 

a  Church  Lectern. 

First  Prize  {Two 
Guineas)  :  King  (Oswald 
Eaton  Prest,  47  Haver- 
stock  Hill,  London,  N.W.). 

Second  Prize  {One 
Guinea)  :  IV.  A/a.v  (Albert 
Boucher,  20  rue  de 
Bruxelles,  Paris). 

Hon.  Mention:  Ma- 
rone  (Mary  C.  Buzzard) ; 
Auspal  (James  Tarney)  ; 
Alicia    (Alice    H.   Watts); 


Decor.\tive  Art. 


Jan  (Miss  Janetta  La  Trobe) ;  Fir  (Clara  A. 
Lavington) ;  Helga  (Josephine  Hicks);  Jay  (Rev. 
O.  J.  Jones);  Penelope  (Mrs.  Walton);  Toby 
(Ethel  W.  Whenman)  ;  Turlium  (Emma  L. 
Cowlman). 

Class  B.     Pictorial  Art. 

B    II.       A    Page     from     an     Architectural 
Sketch-Book. 

First  Prize  {Two  Guineas) :  Teddie  (Miss  A.  M. 
Williams,  Walcot,  Shaa  Road,  East  Acton, 
London,  W.). 

Second  Prize  {One  Guinea)  :  Phil  (Jasper  P. 
Salwey,  c/o  Ravencroft,  Son,  &  Morris,  Reading). 

Hon.  Mention  :  Peter  (Peter  Brown)  ;  Sea 
Gull  (Mrs.  F.  E.  Forbes) ;  Alpha  (H.  P.  Hing) ; 
Architrave  (C.  P.  Wilkinson) ;  Bux  (Bernard  A. 
Porter);  Horseshoe  (Percy  J.  Westwood)  ;  Kitty 
(Mile.  N.  Deschamps) ;  Pencil  (C.  M.  Walshaw) ; 


FIRST   PRIZE   (COMP.  A  III) 


"  king' 


Shamrock  (Wellesley 
Bailey)  ;  Triforium 
(Harry  Collings). 

Class  C. 
Photographs   from 

Nature. 
C  II.  Rustic  Scene 
WITH  Figures. 
The  reproduction 
of  the  photograph 
to  which  the  first 
prize  is  awarded  is 
not  as  satisfactory  as 
we  should  have 
wished  it  to  be, 
owing  to  the  print 
being  on  rough  paper. 


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SECOND   PRIZE   (COMP.    A    III) 

(See  opposite  page) 


First  Prize  {One 
Guinea)  :  Dan' I 
(David  Hunter,  The 
Leazes,  Goodmayes, 
Essex). 

Second  Prize 
{Half-  a  -  Guinea)  : 
JVomad  (Emile  Fre- 
chon,  Biskra,  Al- 
geria). 

Hon.  Mention  : 
Ancestor  (J.  C.  War- 
burg) ;  Bonnie  (F. 
Joergens);  Pyro 
(W.  G.  Meredith); 
Sunlight  (W.  North- 
wood);  (F.   A. 

Swaine). 


HON.  MENTION  (COM P.  A  III) 


J^ 


Awards  in  ''The  Studio''  Prize  Competitions 


SECOND  PRIZE  (COMP.  A  III) 


HON.  MENTION  (COMP.  A  III) 


"  auspal' 
275 


ih^dJ< 


.j^*^*'^ 


.1^ 


i'i.llia.  _Uwjw. 


■  —  ..'ffiiUi 


ii^;.v 


^v  -^ 


0 


Awards  in  "  The  Studio''  Prize  Competitions 


EL^^T    CADl^      CAMOMi   ASMBY  •   NORTHANTS 


HON.    MENTION    (COMP.    B    II) 


' ALPHA 
279 


isr*-^ 


T 


The  Lay  Figure 


HE  LAY  FIGURE:  ON  THE  POS- 
SIBILITIES OF  PAGEANTRY. 


"  Do  you  know,"  said  the  Art  Critic,  "  I 
actually  saw  the  Lord  Mayor's  Show  this  year." 

"  I  am  surprised  at  you,"  replied  the  Man  with 
the  Red  Tie.  "Really  I  think  you  might  have  found 
some  better  employment."  j^-l 

"  Oh  !  it  was  quite  by  accident,  I  assure  you," 
returned  the  Critic.  "  I  had  forgotten  all  about  the 
thing.  I  was  on  my  way  to  see  something  much 
more  important,  but  I  got  caught  in  the  crowd, 
and  had  to  wait  till  the  procession  had  gone  by." 

"  The  excuse  seems  very  thin,"  laughed  the  Man 
with  the  Red  Tie,  "  but  if  it  is  the  best  you  have 
to  offer  I  suppose  we  must  accept  it.  However,  I 
conclude  that  finding  yourself  in  such  an  unfortu- 
nate position  you  did  not  keep  your  eyes  shut. 
Tell  us  what  you  thought  of  the  show." 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,"  replied  the  Critic,  "  I 
found  it  decidedly  depressing.  The  whole  per- 
formance seemed  to  me  so  childish,  so  rudimentary, 
that  it  made  me  quite  sad.  Yet  it  so  obviously 
delighted  the  crowd  that  I  must  admit  that  I  had 
an  idea  that  it  was  fulfilling  some  sort  of  mission. 
Silly,  tawdry,  and  ridiculous  as  it  was,  it  seemed  to 
give  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  to  a  great  many  people, 
and  so  to  be  not  entirely  a  wasted  effort." 

"  Little  things  please  little  minds,"  retorted  the 
Man  with  the  Red  Tie.  "  How  can  there  be  any- 
thing except  a  waste  of  effort  in  a  performance 
which,  as  you  admit,  is  quite  ridiculous  ?  I  say  that 
everything  of  the  sort  is  merely  pandering  to  the 
lowest  tastes,  and  that  such  exhibitions  ought  to 
be  suppressed,  because  they  are  absolutely  harmful." 

"You  are  wrong,"  broke  in  the  Designer. 
"  Such  exhibitions  ought  not  to  be  suppressed ; 
they  only  want  to  be  properly  organised  and 
directed.  I  do  not  mind  confessing  that  I  have 
often  gone  to  see  the  show,  and  though  I  too  have 
been  more  often  saddened  than  pleased,  I  cannot 
help  feeling  that  it  has  possibilities  which  would 
be  worth  developing." 

"  But  how  is  it  ever  to  be  made  anything  but 
an  absurdity  ?  "  asked  the  Man  with  the  Red  Tie. 
"  Britannia  in  a  tin  helmet  and  with  a  stuffed  lion 
waggling  at  her  feet,  or  East  End  nymphs,  in  mis- 
fitting tights,  shivering  in  a  November  fog,  must 
always  be  absurd  objects.  Why  should  we  go 
on  repeating  the  old  stupidities  simply  because 
they  will  collect  a  few  thousand  gaping  loafers  who 
come  chiefly  to  make  fun  of  them  ?  " 

"  If  it  were  only  a  question  of  repeating  ancient 
absurdities,  I  should  be  quite  prepared  to  agree 


with  you,"  said  the  Designer.  "But  why  should 
we  not  organise  something  fresh,  which  would 
please  people  of  taste  as  well  as  the  loafers  ?  It 
is  no  argument  to  say  that  because  things  have 
been  badly  done  they  ought  not  to  be  done  at  all." 

"  Exactly  ! "  cried  the  Critic.  "  Why  should  we 
not  try  to  revive  the  splendid  pageants  of  the 
middle  ages,  those  gorgeous  affairs  which  were  the 
delight  of  all  classes  of  society.  The  love  of 
pageantry  is,  I  believe,  quite  as  great  now  as  it  was 
centuries  ago,  but  we  never  seriously  do  anything  to 
satisfy  it.  We  have  grown  so  terribly  matter-of-fact, 
so  over-mastered  with  the  notion  that  utilitarianism 
is  the  mainspring  of  life,  that  we  are  forgetting 
the  educational  importance  of  artistic  efforts  of  this 
type.  Really  we  are  all  to  blame  for  the  stupidities 
of  which  we  complain.  The  show  has  become 
what  it  is  because  we  are  ashamed  to  take  any 
interest  in  it,  and  because  we  will  not  consider  how 
it  could  be  made  to  satisfy  a  perfectly  legitimate 
demand.  Tin  helmets,  stuffed  lions,  and  tights 
are  the  direct  results  of  a  lapse  of  duty  on  the  part 
of  the  artists  of  this  country,  who  could,  if  they 
chose,  design  something  much  more  appropriate. 
It  is  the  missing  of  good  opportunities  that  makes 
these  exhibitions  depressing  ;  but  we  never  stop  to 
think  that  they  reflect  our  own  inartistic  evasion  of 
our  responsibilities." 

"  Yes,  and  the  pity  of  it  is,  that  this  want  of 
thought  makes  doubly  difficult  every  effort  to  im- 
prove matters,"  said  the  Designer.  "  We  are  in 
danger  of  losing  our  taste  for  decoration,  and  of 
sinking  into  an  existence  without  colour,  without 
aesthetic  display,  without  anything  to  relieve  its 
sordid  commonplace.  I  am  convinced  that  there 
is  nothing  which  would  do  more  to  impress  upon 
the  popular  mind  a  desire  for  better  art  in  every- 
day existence  than  the  occasional  pageant  arranged 
on  soundly  artistic  lines.  Think,  too,  what  a  joy 
it  would  be  to  the  designer  to  be  called  upon  now 
and  then  to  plan  out  a  thing  like  the  Lord  Mayor's 
Show.  How  he  would  revel  in  the  chances  of 
inventing  appropriate  details,  of  ordering  brilliant 
colour  schemes,  of  interesting  thinking  people  by 
his  ingenuity,  and  yet  of  delighting  the  masses  by 
the  appeal  he  would  make  to  their  quite  permiss- 
ible tastes.  What  if  there  is  no  direct  educational 
result  to  be  proved  from  this  use  of  his  capacities  ; 
at  any  rate  he  has  prepared  the  way  for  still  better 
things,  and  has  made  a  lapse  into  the  old  absurdities 
less  likely.  And  what  a  number  of  men  there 
are  who  could  acquit  themselves  with  distinction 
in  such  an  undertaking  ! " 

The  Lav  Figure. 


E^' 


.^• 


v^*^\ 


AN   AUTUMN    SCENE,     from  the  pastfi    ry  JAMFS   KAY 


A  Russian  Painter 


A 


RUSSIAN      PAINTER.      \V. 
POURWIT.     BY  MARY  ILLYNE. 


The  Imperial  Academy  of  Arts  in  St. 
Petersburg  had  a' ways  held  fast  to  the  traditions  and 
teachings  of  the  old  school,  and  it  was  only  some 
five  years  ;  o  that,  alive  to  the  rising  power  of  the 
new  move  ent,  it  decided  on  a  great  step  — it 
admitted  ;  Jiongst  its  jury  a  few  of  the  younger 
palnteis,  whose  fame  was  only  just  beginning. 
Until  then  they  had  been  passed  over  on  account 
of  their  modernisms.  However,  their  individuality, 
the  strength  and  beauty  of  their  art,  had  to  be 
recognised  and  acknowledged.  From  that  time 
the  whole  style  of  the  Academy  .exhibitions  was 
changed,  and  many  new  names  came  to  the 
front.  Among  these  one  of  the  most  prominent  is 
undoubtedly  that  of  Mr.  Pourwit.  His  talent  is 
alike  recognised  by  the  adherents  of  the  most 
modern  schools  and  those  who  still  cling  to  the 
old  style  of  painting.  It  was  in  the  Academy  that 
he  had  his  earliest  training,  and  it  was  the  Academy 
that  bought  for  its   museum  the  picture  which  hid 


earned  him  his  first  prize,  the  Prix  de  Rome.  He 
worked,  while  in  the  Academy,  in  the  studio  of 
Kouindgi,  a  well  known  landscape  painter,  whose 
teaching  had,  according  to  Mr.  Pourwit,  a  great 
influence  on  his  artistic  development.  Mr. 
Kouindgi  had  no  fixed  rules,  no  precepts,  to  im- 
part for  all  alike,  sanctioned  by  and  according  to 
tradition.  He  let  his  pupils  paint  in  the  way  best 
suited  to  each  :  they  were  to  try  and  attain  an  effect, 
work  hard,  and  study  nature. 

That  studying  of  nature  is,  to  my  thinking,  the 
keynote  of  all  Pourwit's  works  :  all  his  paintings 
are  true  to  it.  Not  one  stroke  of  the  brush  is  laid 
on  without  his  having  first  ascertained,  through 
endless  study  and  observation,  that  that  shape,  that 
colour,  really  could  have  existed.  Although,  when 
he  once  sets  to  work,  he  paints  with  extraordinary 
rapidity,  he  often  paints  for  a  whole  year  or  more 
at  the  same  picture  before  he  finishes  it,  if  he  is 
not  quite  sure  of  the  effect  he  is  trying  to  repro- 
duce. He  waits  for  the  same  time  of  year,  goes 
back  to  the  same  neighbourhood,  and  tries  to  catch 
I  he  same  effect  over  and  over  a^ain  :  then,  and  not 


•SOLBIL   EN    MARS 

XXXIII.     No.  142.— January,  1905. 


BY   W.    POURWIT 


A  Russian  Pamter 


KI.EGIE    D  AUTOMNE 


before,  does 
his  picture. 


he  return 
His  Le  dh 


to  his  studio  and  complete 
"/  au  Prinfemps  was  painted 


in  that  way.  It  is  one  of 
his  earliest  pictures,  and 
the  drawing  in  it  is  not 
so  good  as  in  his  later 
works  ;  but  the  atmosphere, 
the  crisp  and  bright,  yet 
mellow  tone  of  a  day  in 
early  spring,  when  the  sun 
is  warm  and  the  wind  is 
fresh,  are  wonderfully  well 
reproduced. 

On  the  other  hand,  his 
experience  and  knowledge 
of  technique  are  so  great 
that  many  of  his  best 
pictures  are  done  almost 
without  studies.  When  an 
effect  strikes  him  it  often 
makes  such  an  impression 
on  his  mind  that  he  is 
able  to  reproduce  it  later 
on  with  inconceivable  truth  and  facility.  He  is 
one  of  the   most   modern  of  painters  in  that  he 


Bv  w.  POURwrr 


'  LK   DteEL  AU    PRINTEMPS' 

^86 


BV    W.     rOlIKWlT 


A  Russian  Painter 


"NUIT    DU    NORD" 


BY   W.    POURWIT 


loves  to  paint  nature,  not 
grand  landscapes  composed 
and  thought  out  in  a 
studio :  he  loves  nature 
in  all  her  moods,  and  sees 
and  feels  her  poetry.  For 
him  there  is  beauty  every- 
where :  in  the  seemingly 
uninteresting  peasant's 
cottage  of  his  native  Kur- 
land,  in  the  solitary  tree 
growing  on  the  hillside,  in 
the  pale  moonlight  of  a 
winter  landscape.  He  also 
loves  the  soft  mists,  the 
equally  soft  browns  and 
deep  greens  of  the  autumn  ; 
above  all,  he  loves  that 
moment  in  early  spring 
when  the  whole  countiy 
looks  apoem  ofmeltirgfnow 
and  dark,  rushing  water. 


•L ALTOMNE    DORE 


BY   W.    POURWir 
287 


A  Russian  Painter 


"LA    DBRNMERK    NEIGE  ' 


Pourwit  speaks  most  enthusiastically  of  the 
modern  Norwegian  and  Swedish  painters ;  for 
them  impressionism  is  not  an  end,  it  is  a  means  of 
attaining  their  ideal.  I  think  Mr.  Pourwit's  own 
works  are  a  brilliant  instance  of  the  same  principle. 

It  is   only   about   a   few  years  since  he  began 
to   exhibit   abroad,   and  yet   his   fame   is    rapidly 
rising,  and   great  things   are  e.xpected  from   him. 
It   was  the  wonderful    mixture  of  technique  and 
"stimmung"  in  all  his  paint- 
ings that  struck   so   much 
the    artistic    world,    when 
he    exhibited    two    of  his 
pictures  at  the  International 
Exhibition   at    Lyons.      A 
diplome  d'honneur,  with 
premitre  m'edailk  d'or,  was 
awarded  him  then;   also  a 
croix  de  mhite  and  the  rank 
of  painter  of  the  first  class 
for  two  of  his    pictures — 
Sokii  en  Mars   and  Nuif 
dti    Nord.       The    last    is 
assuiedly  one  of  his   best 
pictures,     but     no     photo- 
graph can  give  the  delicate 
colouring    of    the    moon- 
lit    snow     and     the     soft,  _  _      .. 
dark  tones  of  the  woods  ;            "■ 
the  faint,  exquisite,  pinkish 
wliites,     the    creams,     the 
greys,     the     deep     blues,             "  i.'or  d'auto.mne' 


BY   W.    POURWIT 


',  4'i 


are     remarkable     in     their 
harmony  and  truth. 

In  the  spring  of  the  same 
year,  at  the  International 
Exhibition  in  Munich, 
Pourwit  had  already  re- 
ceived a  gold  medal  of 
the  second  degree,  and 
before  that,  at  Paris,  a 
medal  of  the  third  degree. 
The  impression  produced 
by  his  paintings  was 
universally  so  favourable 
that  he  has  received  invi- 
tations to  send  his  pictures 
all  over  the  Continent : 
Frankfort,  Hanover,  Berlin, 
Dresden,  Diisseldorf,  and 
Carlsruhe  have  all  invited 
him  to  join  in  their  Ex- 
hibitions. In  Russia 
Pourwit  exhibits  at  the 
Imperial  Academy  and  at  the  exhibitions  arranged 
by  Diagileff.  His  permanent  residence  is  Riga, 
where  his  studio  attracts  the  artistic  public. 

Probably  nothing  in  the  rendering  of  nature's 
accidental  effects  has  held  for  the  painter's  art 
greater  difficulties,  or,  where  successful,  greater 
triumphs,  than  the  painting  of  snow  ;  snow  which 
makes  white  linen  look  dark,  and  which  is  so  much 
whiter  in  itself  than  any  white.    A  scheme  of  tones. 


BY    \V.    POURWIT 


A  Russian  Painter 


all  of  them  representing  the  white  of  the  snow, 
has  to  be  subordinated  to  the  white  paint  which 
is  to  stand  for  the  high  lights  where  the  sun  shines, 
and  this  white  paint,  which  on  the  palette  represents 
the  brightest  light  of  the  snow,  is  darker  in  reality 
than  snow  under  shadow. 

The  problem  of  affixing  an  arrangement  of  colour 
that  shall  give  sunlight  in  a  picture,  is  intensified 
where  light  has   to  be  rendered  reflecting  itself  in 
iridescence  from  particle  to  particle  of  snow.     This 
has     been     the     particular 
triumph  of  Mr.  Pourwit,  and 
another  triumph  is  his  also, 
that    of   seeing    colour    in 
the  dark  trees  cresting  the 
snowy  hills. 

Only  to  the  trained 
vision  does  colour  remain 
apparent  in  nature  under 
snow.  The  arbitrary  dis- 
tinction between  the  black 
woods  and  the  white  hills 
is  alone  apparent  to  un- 
trained superficial  observa- 
tion, and  yet  it  is  in 
such  moods  as  these  that 
nature  holds  her  greatest 
secrets,  has  her  most  deli- 
cate effects,  the  harmony 
of  which  '  so  well  repays 
the  student  who  has  attuned  "au  bord  d'un  ruisseau" 


himself  to  them.     To  keep 
light  in  the  skies  that  float 
over    these    white    snows, 
not   to   make  them  heavy 
and     dark,     presents     yet 
further  problems.    Pourwit, 
by     the     knowledge     that 
years      of     patient     study 
have    secured   to    him,    is 
enabled  to  do  this.     Some- 
thing else   there  is   in  his 
art    less    difficult    in     the 
problem  it  presents,  which 
has  fascinated  him  so  that 
in    picture    after    picture, 
though  under  always  vary- 
ingconditions,  we  find  it  ren- 
dered.   I  refer  to  the  long, 
slim    broken    shadows    or 
the  thick  angular  shadows, 
as  the  case  may  be,  from 
different    trees    falling 
in    the     sunlight     on    the 
Their   perspective   and   the 
pattern  that  they  make  he  has  used  often  to  give  to 
his  pictures  that  decorativeness  that  is  so  character- 
istic  of  them.     The   repeated    pattern    in    fainter 
greys    of  the    pattern    of    the   upright    trees,    he 
has    managed    w^ith    such    efifect    that    many    of 
his    pictures    make    panels    which    in    themselves 
might    be    used    in    the    service    of    decoration. 
They  unite  to  this   decorative  feeling  a  feeling  of 
the  mysterious  poetry  of  winter,  and  retain  those 


BY   \V.    POURWIT 


broken   snow-paths. 


i^4|te«l| 


-Hfc, 


BY   W.    POURWIT 
289 


Cla7icic  Haves 


BY   W.    POURWIT 


THE       WORK 
OF      CLAUDE 
HAYES.      BY 
MRS. PERCY  LEAKE. 

Claude  Haves  was  a 
sailor  at  twenty  one  years 
of  age,  at  twenty-five  he 
was  an  artist  exhibiting  at 
many  exhibitions.  From  a 
sailor's  life  to  a  pastoral 
scene  is  a  far  cry,  and  he 
who  can  go  from  one  to 
the  other  and  remain  him- 
self under  the  varying  cir- 
cumstances attracts  the 
interest  and  sympathy  of 
the  average  man. 

There    is    something 


qualities  which  are  so 
essential  to  realistic  land- 
scape painting.  It  is  doubt- 
ful whether  the  painter 
could  make  a  picture  in 
which  the  balance  of  masses, 
the  composition,  did  not 
unconsciously  assume  the 
disposition  of  conscious 
design,  so  that  it  is  the 
more  curious  that  this 
instinctive  tendency  to 
decoration  in  no  case  has 
led  the  painter  away  from 
that  worship  of  accidental 
effects  or  from  his  attempts 
to  render  faithfully  the 
mysteries  of  winter  atmo- 
sphere ;  and  it  has  not 
altered  the  humility  of  his 
attitude  as  a  painter  towards 
nature.  The  beauties  of  the 
particular  phases  of  nature 
that  he  has  cared  most  to 
reveal  are  so  changeable 
and  various  that  he  has  re- 
turned to  them  over  and 
over  again  in  his  art ;  but 
in  every  fresh  canvas  he 
has  advanced  further  in 
his  knowledge  of  nature 
and  of  the  resources  of 
colour. 
290 


BY    \V.     I'OURWIT 


Claude  Haves 


BY   CLAUDE   HAYES 


genial  and  casual  in  a  sailor's  life  which  makes 
one  think  of  rollicking  good  nature  and  com- 
radeship, and  there  is  the  suggestion  of  quiet 
reserve  among  pastoral  scenes  which  betrays  a 
very  fascinating  silent  strength. 

Certainly  the  man  who  can  enjoy  and  enter  into 
both  one  and  the  other  would  object  to  be  labelled 
as  a  one  sided  man  or  a  painter  of  one  particular 
subject.  Claude  Hayes,  above  others,  might  fit- 
tingly be  called  an  all-round  man.  His  clever 
studies  of  heads,  his  treatment  of  snow,  his  luminous 
water  sketches  show  us  that  his  art  is  not  a  trick, 
but  there  are  reasons  why  his  pastoral  scenes 
and  studies  of  sheep  should  attract  particular 
attention. 

In  1897,  in  the  November  number  of  The 
Studio,  Mr.  Arthur  Thomson,  writing  of  William 
Estall,  says — 

"  There  is  perhaps  no  other  painter  besides 
Mauve  who  has  in  him  developed  to  such  an  extent 
the  faculty  for  e.tpressing  truthfully  and  artistically 
a  large  concourse  of  sheep  ;  and  it  is  for  this  reason 
I  have  specially  referred  to  Estall  as  a  painter  of 
sheep,  although  in  his  pictures  other  sorts  of  beasts 
are  naturally  to  be  found,  and  I   have  never  seen 


any  that  were  not  expressed  in  an  adequate  and 
dignified  manner." 

The  same  may  now  be  said  of  Claude  Hayes,  for 
in  his  pictures  we  find  other  animals  successfully 
portrayed,  but  since  the  death  of  his  friend  and 
brother-in-law,  William  Estall,  we  venture  to  think 
there  is  no  other  painter  whose  pastoral  scenes 
gain  such  immense  strength  and  character  by  the 
introduction  of  sheep. 

Properly  treated,  there  is  no  other  animal  that 
lends  itself  so  successfully  to  English  landscape 
painting.  The  introduction  of  the  patient  beasts 
does  not  disturb  the  stillness  of  a  summer  even- 
ing, nor  detract  from  the  quiet  calm  of  a  country 
lane.  They  are  objects  that  are  familiar  to  every 
one  and  impart  a  home-like  appearance  to  the 
scene,  but  few  men  have  attained  to  the  perfec- 
tion of  rendering  them  part  of  the  landscape,  so 
that  they  neither  attract  too  much  attention  nor 
remain  insignificant.  In  Claude  Hayes'  pastoral 
pictures  they  quietly  signify  much. 

They  carry  the  ideas  along  some  lines  upon 
which  it  is  pleasant  to  dwell,  they  obviate  the 
difficulty  of  dealing  with  desolate  country,  they 
afford  a  human  interest  without  the  objectionable 

291 


Claude  Hayes 


"  figure  "  being  dragged  in.  In  the  picture  repro- 
duced in  colours — the  property  of  the  Rev.  G. 
Davies — we  get  all  the  characteristics  of  Claude 
Hayes'  colouring,  and  when  we  look  back  only  a 
few  years,  to  the  autumn  of  1897,  when  Mr. 
Thompson  regretted  the  impossibility  of  showing  in 
any  adequate  way  the  colouring  of  William  Estall's 
sketches,  we  may  be  proud  of  the  art  which,  thanks 
to  The  Studio,  has  made  such  strides  that  to-day 
we  obtain  a  reproduction  of  the  delicate  colours 
that  only  an  artist  can  bring  together  successfully 
on  his  canvas. 

No  one  seeing  this  picture  of  sheep  will  doubt 
that  they  are  faithful  studies  from  life,  as  is  also 
the  reproduction  on  page  296  of  the  drawing 
on  brown  paper  of  a  sheepfold  in  early  morning, 
with  the  modern  appliance  for  cutting  roots,  and 
the  shepherd,  so  unlike  the  conventional  arcadic 
effect  obtained  by  the 
ordinary  artist's  shepherd. 

Early  on  such  a  misty 
morning  in  spring  Claude 
Hayes  may  be  seen  work- 
ing at  such  subjects — 
working  till  the  very  cha- 
racter of  the  sheep  is  known 
to  him.  A  line  here  and 
there  is  enough  to  print 
on  his  brain  the  effect 
which  the  chilly  morning 
and  bleating  sheep  give, 
and  slight  as  his  studies 
in  chalk  are,  they  are 
individual  and  not  con- 
ventional sheep. 

Claude  Hayes  comes 
from  a  stock  of  painters, 
and  as  soon  as  he  left 
school  he  determined  to 
be  an  artist.  Before  he 
went  to  sea  and  while  he 
was  a  sailor,  he  was  con- 
tinually drawing  for  his 
own  amusement,  but  it  was 
not  till  he  was  twenty-two 
years  old  that  he  became 
an  art  student  in  every 
sense  of  the  word.  While 
studying  at  the  Royal 
Academy  Schools,  he  was 
much  influenced  by  the  so- 
called  Romanticist  Schools, 
examples  of  which  continu- 
ally came  before  his  notice 
292 


at  Christie's,  where  the  Saturday  sales  of  pictures 
were  to  him  an  education  in  themselves.  A  warm 
and  mutual  friendship  sprang  up  between  him  and 
William  Estall,  which  may  have  further  confirmed 
him  in  his  love  for  this  style  of  painting  at  a  time 
when  Constable  was  out  of  fashion  and  Corot  was 
not  a  word  to  conjure  with. 

We  do  not  know  to  what  extent  this  deep  and 
lasting  friendship  affected  the  lives  of  both  men, 
but  we  know  that  Claude  Hayes  owes  much  that 
is  worth  having  in  life  to  William  Estall,  for  at  his 
house  he  met  Mrs.  Estall's  beautiful  sister,  whom 
he  afterwards  married. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Royal  Institute  of  Painters  in 
Water -Colours,  and  since  his  first  picture.  The 
Loiterers,  was  hung  on  the  line  in  the  Royal 
Academy,  no  year  passes  without  a  large  number 


PREPARING    FOR    WORK  :    WINTER 


BY    CLAUDE    HAYES 


ir 


Clatidc  Hayes 


"caravan    LIFE:    winter' 
BY   CLAUDE   HAYES 


|!    I 


"  EVENSONG. "      BY 
CLAUDE   HAVES 


Claude  Hayes 


"THE   EDGE   OF  THE   WOOD 
BY   CLAUDE   HAYES 


STUDY   OF  SHEEP.       FROM   A   DRAWING 
ON    BROWN    PAPER   BY  CLAUDE   HAYBS 


I 


296 


F.  Der^uent  IVood 


of  paintings  being  on  view  at  the  various  well- 
known  galleries. 

The  Eastern  Counties  have  particularly  appealed 
to  his  sense  of  beauty,  as  they  must  to  all  lovers  of 
Constable  and  Corot,  and  nearly  every  year  he 
makes  East  Anglia  his  sketching  ground.  His 
home  is,  however,  in  Surrey,  overlooking  the 
Thames,  a  typical  home  for  an  artist,  the  river 
below  winding  through  Chertsey  meads,  where,  in 
the  winter  mornings  one  may  hear  the  larks 
thrilling  with  song  the  still  air.  Surrey  has  for 
some  time  been  his  home,  and  the  neighbourhood 
of  Whitley  first  attracted  him,  in  common  with 
other  well-known  artists. 

Claude  Hayes  is  still  a  young  man,  and  has  his 
life  before  him,  and  if  he  carries  out  his  ideal  in 
art,  we  expect  the  tide  to  flow  towards  him,  as  it 
did — but,  alas  1  all  to  late — towards  his  friend  and 
brother-in-law,  William  Estall. 


PORTRAIT   BUST    OF   SIG.N'OR   ARTURO  STEFFANI 

BY    F.    DERWENT   WOOD 


T 


HE  WORK  OF  F.  DERWENT 
WOOD.     BY   W.  K.  WEST. 


SKF.TCH    BUST  OF   ROBKRT   BROUGH,    ESQ. 


BY   F.    DERWEiNT   WOOD 


Perhaps  the  most  striking  thing 
in  the  career  of  Mr-  Derwent  Wood  is 
the  unusual  rapidity  with  which  he  has 
made  for  himself  a  place  of  particular  pro- 
minence among  our  younger  sculptors. 
\\'ithin  the  short  space  of  ten  years  he  has 
advanced  from  the  position  of  a  brilliant 
and  successful  student  in  the  Royal  Academy 
schools  to  the  rank  of  an  even  more  brilliant 
and  successful  producing  artist,  whose  works 
are  in  general  request  and  whose  capacities 
are  widely  recognised.  This  success  has 
been  gained,  moreover,  not  by  any  de- 
liberate postponement  of  his  first  appeal  for 
attention  until  he  had  arrived  at  more  than 
usually  mature  years.  He  is  now  only  thirty- 
two,  so  that  It  can  be  plainly  seen  that 
he  must  have  come  before  the  public  with 
definite  confidence  in  his  powers  at  an 
age    when    most    artists    are    still    feeling 

297 


F.  Derwent  IVood 


their  way  more  or  less  tentatively  towards  the 
proper  expression  of  their  convictions — at  an  age, 
indeed,  when  many  men  have  scarcely  decided 
what  are  the  convictions  by  which  they  propose  to 
be  guided  in  their  practice. 

He  was  born  at  Keswick  in  1872;  but  while 
he  was  still  a  young  child  he  was  taken  abroad,  and 
when  he  was  nine  years  old  he  commenced  his 
education  at  Lausanne.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
went  to  Karlsruhe,  where  he  remained  for  two 
years ;  and  then  he  returned  to  England.  His 
first  practical  experience  as  an  art  worker  was 
obtained  in  his  uncle's  potteries  ;  but  he  worked 


"ST.    GEORGE' 


BY    F.    DERWENT    WOOD 


there  for  only  a  brief  period.  In  1889  he  gained 
a  National  Scholarship,  and  began  a  course  of 
study  of  modelling  under  Professor  Lanteri  in  the 
Royal  College  of  Art  at  South  Kensington  ;  and 
that  he  made  rapid  progress  under  the  supervision 
of  this  admirable  teacher  is  proved  by  the  fact  that 
only  two  years  later  he  was  able  to  take  a  post  as 
assistant  to  Professor  Legros  at  the  Slade  School. 
This  post  he  held  until  1893,  when  he  became  a 
student  in  the  schools  of  the  Royal  Academy. 

His  career  at  the  Academy  was  comparatively 
short,  but  it  was  exceptionally  distinguished,  and 
culminated  in  1895  with  his  success  in  securing 
the  gold  medal  and  travelling  scholar- 
ship for  sculpture  with  a  group,  half 
life  size,  of  Dirdahis  and  Icarus. 
During  the  period  covered  by  his 
Academy  studentship  he  was  working 
in  the  day-time  as  an  assistant  to 
Mr.  Brock,  and  at  night  in  the  schools, 
so  that  he  was  learning  the  practical 
side  of  his  profession  under  the  best 
possible  guidance,  and  was  laying  an 
admirable  foundation  of  knowledge 
upon  which  to  build  in  after  years. 
To  such  good  use  did  he  put  the  ex- 
perience which  he  had  so  far  accumu- 
lated, that  he  was  able  in  1897,  soon 
after  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  his 
travelling  scholarship,  to  gain  an  award 
at  the  Paris  Salon  for  a  group.  Charity, 
and  so  to  rank  himself,  when  barely 
five-andtwenty,  among  sculptors  of 
established  repute.  By  this  time  the 
preparatory  stage  of  his  professional 
life  may  fairly  be  said  to  have  come  to 
an  end ;  he  had  acquired  something 
like  mastery  over  the  details  of  his 
craft,  and  was  well  qualified  to  attempt 
independent  undertakings  of  an  im- 
portant kind. 

When  he  returned  to  London  after 
his  stay  abroad,  he  rejoined  Mr.  Brock  ; 
bat  not  long  afterwards  he  was  offered, 
and  accepted,  an  appointment  at  the 
Glasgow  Art  Schools.  He  began,  too, 
to  find  that  his  services  were  in  request, 
and  that  there  were  at  his  disposal 
many  commissions  for  portrait  busts, 
and  for  architectural  sculpture.  So 
with  quite  justifiable  confidence  in  his 
future,  he  took  a  studio  and  set  to 
work  earnestly  to  realise  his  ambitions. 
He   had   no  reason   to  be  dissatisfied 


PORTRAIT    BUST.     BY 
F.    DERWENT     WOOD 
299 


F.  Derwent  Wood 


^^^ 


STONK    FIUUKK:     "  l'krhl,\'    K  ■■ 

BY    F.     riERWENT    WOOD 


with  the  results  of  this  venture  ;  he  was  soon  busy 
with  things  which  gave  him  plenty  of  scope  for 
the  display  of  his  capacities  as  a  designer  and 
executant,  and  he  made  more  than  one  success 
in  important  competitions.  As  the  outcome  of 
one  of  these  competitions  came  a  commission  to 
execute  four  statues  for  the  Kelvingrove  Art  Gallery 
at  Glasgow ;  and  besides  he  was  responsible  for  a 
series  of  figures  for  the  adornment  of  the  Central 
Station  in  that  city,  for  others  for  a  large  building 
in  Bothwell  Street,  and  for  busts  of  Lord  Over- 
toun  and  his  sister,  which  have  been  placed  in 
the  Bible  Training  Institute. 
300 


After  this  excellent  beginning  at  Glasgow  he 
quickly  found  opportunities  of  greatly  extending 
his  sphere  of  activity  ;  during  the  past  seven  yeais 
he  has,  indeed,  multiplied  the  evidences  of  his  skill 
in  many  directions.  There  must  be  noted  his 
statues  of  Queen  Victoria,  for  Patiala,  India ;  of 
Sir  Titus  Salt,  for  Saltaire ;  and  of  the  Rev.  C.  H. 
Spurgeon,  for  the  Baptist  House  in  Southampton 
Row;  his  busts  of  Queen  Victoria  and  Queen 
Alexandra,  for  the  Cavalry  Club,  Piccadilly ;  of 
Cecil   Rhodes,   for    Pretoria,    Johannesburg,    and 


BRONZE   FOUNTAIN 


BY   F.    DERWENT   WOOD 


NICHE    FIGURE    IN    GILT    BRONZE. 
"DIANA."      BY    V.    DERWENT    WOOD 

301 


F.  Derwent  JVood 


Kimberley  ;  and  of  Sir  Blundell  Maple,  for  Univer- 
sity College  Hospital ;  and  his  delightful  medallion 
portrait  in  low  relief  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  which 
forms  part  of  the  memorial  recently  erected  in 
Plympton  parish  church  to  the  famous  painter,  who 
was  born  in  the  schoolhouse  beside  the  church  in 
which  he  is  now  commemorated.  Then  there  is, 
in  addition,  a  considerable  array  of  portrait  busts, 
among  which  those  of  Mr.  Harrison  To  wnsend,  Signor 
Arturo  Stefirani,and  Mr.  Robert  Brough  deserve  to  be 
specially  noted.  And  there  is  a  long  succession  of 
statues,  reliefs,  and  statuettes,  like  his  Ophelia,  Cupid 
and  Psyche,  Leda,  St.  George,  and  the  mural  monu- 
ment which  has  for  its  motive,  Love  and  Life,  Sacred 
and  Profane,  in  all  of  which  can  be  perceived  the 
purposeful  and  intelligent  working  out  of  a  very  con- 


BUST   OF    CECIL    RHODES 
302 


sistent  aesthetic  intention.  Undoubtedly  he  has  in 
this  succession  of  productions  been  guided  by 
eminently  individual  preferences,  and  has  sought 
for  qualities  of  design  and  accomplishment  which 
would  satisfy  his  own  particular  tastes. 

There  is  one  group  of  woiks — the  four  niche 
figures  for  Shipley  Hall,  and  the  bronze  fountain 
for  Wixton  Hall — which  has  certain  interesting  and 
well  marked  characteristics  that  suggest  significantly 
his  tendencies  as  a  decorator.  It  is  possible,  of 
course,  that  these  figures  represent  but  a  passing 
phase  of  his  art,  and  that  the  style  chosen  for  them 
is  not  necessarily  one  to  which  Mr.  Derwent  Wood 
proposes  to  adhere,  but  they  are  not  on  that 
account  less  deserving  of  attention.  They  reveal 
the  closest  study  of  French  decorative  sculpture  at 
its  most  suave  and  elegant 
period,  and  they  are  in- 
spired obviously  by  the 
performances  of  those 
artists  who  brought  into 
their  work  in  bronze  or 
marble  the  same  spirit 
which  made  fascinating  the 
piciures  of  Boucher  and 
his  contemporaries.  Yet 
in  the  elegance  of  line 
and  the  studied  grace  of 
pose  and  movement  which 
characterise  these  personi- 
fications of  Venus,  Diana, 
Ceres,  and  Juno,  there  is 
more  than  simple  imitation 
of  the  productions  of  the 
earlier  French  decorative 
school.  Their  suavity  is 
not  a  mere  convention, 
and  is  not  gained  by  the 
sacrifice  of  those  qualities 
of  design  and  handling 
which  come  from  correct 
understanding  of  nature. 
They  lack  no  essentials  of 
sound  construction  and 
firm  modelling,  and  there 
is  a  due  measure  of  modern 
realism  in  their  interpreta- 
tion of  a  traditional  style. 
That  Mr.  Derwent  Wood 
has  learned  much  from  his 
French  predecessors  is 
evident  enough,  but  not 
less  clearly  can  it  be  seen 
that     he     has     the     good 


BY    F.    DERWBNT   WOOD 


]l-         |r- 


W 

< 


F.  Derwent  Wood 


NICHE   FIGURE   IN   GILT   BRONZE 

BY   F.    DBRWENT   WOOD 


judgment  not  to  ignore  the  better  principles  of 
the  art  of  his  own  time,  and  that  his  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  methods  and  mannerism 
of  one  particular  school  has  not  had  the  efTect 
of  diminishing  the  independence  of  his  effort  or 
of  narrowing  the  scope  of  his  observation. 

Indeed,  in  his  other  works  he  proves  indisputably 
that  he  has  a  grasp  of  artistic  essentials  that  will 
always  save  him  from  sinking  thoughtlessly  into 
imitative  conventionality.  His  sense  of  character 
is  shrewd  enough  and  his  knowledge  of  nature  is 
profound  enough  to  guide  him  aright  in  giving  a 
3°4 


convincing  expression  to  his  ideas.  His  busts  of 
Mr.  Harrison  Townsend  and  Mr.  Robert  Brough 
have,  with  all  their  distinction  of  manner,  the 
fullest  measure  of  actuality  ;  and  there  is  in  them 
no  suggestiori^  that  facts  have  been  sacrificed  for 
the  sake  of/satisfying  the  artist's  preconception  in 
matters  of  style.  His  Cecil  Rhodes,  too,  is  suf- 
ficiently uncompromising  in  its  statement  of  a 
rugged,  and  in  some  respects  inelegant,  personality, 
in  its  forcible  presentation  of  a  strong  type,  which 
would  have  lost  its  meaning  if  its  angles  had  been 


'OPHELIA      :    BRONZE   STATUETTE 

BY    F.    DERWENT   WOOD 


NICHE    FIGURE    IN   GILT 

BRONZE:    "VENUS" 

BY   F.   DERWENT   WOOD 


Recent  Designs  for  Domestic  Architecture 


^1 


'  CUPID   AND   PSYCHE 


BY    F.    DEBWENT  WOOD 


technical  side  of  his  craft 
grows  more  assured  he  is 
gaining  steadily  in  the 
power  to  put  his  nobler 
conceptions  into  a  credible 
shape.  His  work  has  lost 
none  of  its  charm,  none 
of  its  ease  and  fluency, 
but  to  these  qualities  has 
been  added  something 
which  makes  them  more 
persuasive  and  more 
capable  of  creating  the 
right  impression  upon 
people  who  are  not  con- 
tent with  simple  prettiness 
no  matter  how  efificient  it 
may  be  in  its  technical 
presentation. 

SOME    RECENT 
DESIGNS  FOR 
DOM  E  STIC 
ARCHITECTURE. 

One  of  the  notable  results 
of  what  may  be  fairly  styled 


rounded  off  or  its  asperities  smoothed  away.  And 
in  his  charming  Portrait  Bust  of  a  lady  he  has  not, 
by  straining  after  excessive  graces,  missed  those 
small  but  appropriate  peculiarities  of  feature  and 
facial  expression  which  give  to  the  work  its  value 
as  a  likeness.  In  everything  he  does  there  is  per- 
ceptible just  the  right  amount  of  discretion  required 
to  guide  his  art  into  its  proper  direction,  and  to 
prevent  him  from  being  led  by  his  love  of  elegance 
into  characterless  arrangements  of  line.  Stylist 
though  he  is,  he  is  very  far  from  being  a  slave  to 
tradition,  and  he  has  avoided  hitherto  all  tempta- 
tions to  make  an  easy  compromise  with  his  artistic 
conscience. 

In  fact,  there  are  many  signs  that  he  is  just  now 
making  a  definite  step  in  the  direction  of  robuster 
and  more  dramatic  performance.  His  recent  achieve- 
ments deal  with  motives  which  require  for  effective 
reahsation  a  good  deal  more  than  a  faculty  for  com- 
bining harmoniously  a  variety  of  graceful  details,  and 
which  imply  an  understanding  of  great  seslhetic 
principles  as  well  as  of  more  or  less  exacting 
intellectual  problems.  He  is  showing  clearly  that 
his  view  of  the  mission  of  sculpture  is  becoming 
more  extended,  and  that  as  his  command  over  the 
306 


PLAN    OF    A    HOUSE  MESSRS.    BUCKLAND    &    FARMER 

AT   EDGBASTON  ARCHITECTS 


Recent  Designs  for  Domestic  Architecture 


HOL-SK    AT   EDGBASTON 


MESSRS.    BUCKLAND   &    FARMER,    ARCHITECTS 


HOUSE   AT   KUGUASTON 


MKSSRS.     HUCKI.ANl)    4    FARMER,    ARCHl'l  ECTS 


Recent  Designs  for  Domestic  Architecture 


the  renaissance  of  British  architecture,  is  the 
large  and  growing  number  of  English  architects. 
who,  without  striking  any  note  of  great  originality, 
are  turning  out  sound  work  upon  right  lines.  It 
is  sometimes  urged  as  a  reproach  that  they  are 
lacking  in  enterprise  and  too  ready  to  follow  in 
safe  and  accepted  paths,  rather  than  strike  out  any 
distinct  line  of  their  own  individuality  ;  and  there 


HOUSE  AT   EDGBASTON  : 
THE   DINING-ROOM 


HOUSE   AT   EDGBASTON  : 
THE   DRAWING-ROOM 


may  be  a  certain  amount  of  truth  in  th'"s  reproach. 
But  in  any  case  a  change  from  the  vulgar  reign 
of  hybrid  villadom  is  a  very  welcome  one.  Simpli- 
city and  good  taste  may  not  call  for  any  extrava- 
gant praise,  but  if  it  is  good  how  much  preferable  to 
the  degraded  productions  which  disfigured  so  much 
of  the  country  during  the  Victorian  era. 

And  in  the  work  of  Messrs.  Buckland  and 
Farmer,  of  Birmingham, 
the  chief  interest  lies  in 
the  simplicity,  both  in 
plan  and  elevation,  which 
is  its  leading  characteristic. 
The  House  at  Edghaston 
is  planned  with  the  in- 
tention of  obtaining  the 
maximum  of  accommo- 
dation everywhere.  The 
contrast  of  the  projecting 
gables,  front  and  back, 
with  the  long  slope  of  the 
roof,  is  pleasing,  and  gives 
an  appearance  of  solidity 
to  the  house. 

There  are  many  people 
to  whom  the  question  of 
obtaining  the  greatest  ac- 
commodation, combined 
with  good  architecture,  at 
a  low  cost,  is  an  important 
one.  Such  a  house  as 
this,  which  is  well  built 
upon  sound  lines,  and  in 
parts  is  even  luxuriously 
fitted,  and  which  was  built 
at  a  cost  not  exceeding 
;^i,2oo,  should  certainly 
appeal  to  them. 

In  the  House  at  Kenil- 
worth  there  are  points 
due  to  and  showing 
the  individuality  of  the 
owner,  some  of  which 
have  interest  as  far  as 
they  affect  the  struc- 
ture of  the  house  itself 
The  recessed  balcony  on 
the  first  floor,  which 
leads  from  one  of  the 
bath-rooms,  and  was  built 
to  indulge  a  highly- 
cultivated  love  of  fresh 
air    in    the    early    morn- 

MESSRS.    BUCKLAND  &   FARMER  .  ^  ^l,  .,      , 

ARCHITECTS  >"&     prescnts     rather    a 


I 


MESSRS.    BUCKLAND  &    FARMER 
ARCHITECTS 


308 


Recent  Designs  for  Domestic  ArcJiitecture 


HOUSE   AT   KENILWOKIH 


curious  break  in  the  line  of  windows,  and  also  gives 
a  suggestion  of  weakness  to  the  chimney  imme- 
diately above ;  but  perhaps  the  gain  in  deep 
shadow  compensates  in  part  for  this.  The  piazza, 
with  seats,  serving  as  verandah,  and  the  box-room 
on  the  ground  floor,  are  little  American  touches 
which  have  something  to  commend  them. 

The  architects  have  recognised  also  the  import- 
ance of  the  garden  in  setting  off  the  dwelling,  and 
the  most  has  been  made  of  the  slope  of  the  land. 
The  somewhat  formal  terrace  and  steps  leading  to 
the  lower  garden  and  lawn  are  in  keeping  with  the 
dignity  of  the  house,  and,  what  is  quite  as  important, 
are  consonant  with  the  old-world  neighbourhood  in 
which  they  are  placed. 

Messrs.  Buckland  &  Farmer  are  young  archi- 
tects. Mr.  Buckland  has  for  some  years  past  been 
architectural  lecturer  at  the  Birmingham  Central 
School  of  Art,  in  association  with  Mr.  Bidlake, 
and  is  to  some  extent  under  the  influence  of  his 
example. 

Mr.  Buckland  has  recently  been  appointed  archi- 
tect to  the  Birmingham  School  Board.  In  this 
important  post  we  may  hope  he  will  be  enabled  to 
maintain  his  stai-dard  of  excellence  while  grappling 
with  the  inevitable  and  arbitrary  problems  presented 
by  the  necessities  of  scientific  lighting  and  venti- 
lation, which  have  to  be  so  strictly  adhered  to. 
Simplicity  may  be  joined  to  dignity,  and  there  is 
no  reason  why  utility  need  be  unattractive. 


Mr.  \Valter  Caves  two 
houses  here  illustrated — 
Warren  Mount,  Oxshott, 
and  Belgaum,  Woking 
— are  both  very  character- 
istic of  their  clever  and 
resourceful  designer. 
Warren  Mount  is  covered 
with  cream-coloured 
rough -cast,  with  red  tiles 
for  the  roof  and  gables, 
and  a  brick  terrace  runs 
all  the  way  round  the 
building.  Belgaum, 
Woking,  is  also  in  rough- 
cast, with  red  tiles. 

Messrs.  Bedford  &  Kit- 
son's  Redhill,  Headingley, 
was  finished  some  two 
years  ago.  It  stands  in  a 
very  high  and  exposed 
position  on  the  outskirts  of 
Leeds.  The  ground  floor 
is  constructed  of  quarry- 
dressed  local  stone,  and  the  upper  part  is  tile-hung, 
with  a  gable  of  half  timberwork ;  the  whole  of  the 


tAk-MER,    ARCHITECTS 


PLANS   OF    HOUSE   AT  MESSRS.    BUCKLAND   &   FARMER 

KENILWORTH  ARCHITECTS 


309 


Recent  Designs  for  Domestic  Architecture 


'  WARREN  MOUNT,"  OXSHOTT 


WALTER  CAVE,  ARCHITECT 


'  BELGAUM,  '  WOKING 
310 


WALTER  CAVE,  ARCHITECT 


Recent  Designs  for  Domestic  Architecture 


'WARREN   MOUNT,      OXMluTI  :    lllK    DININt;-ROO> 


:ave,  architect 


'warren    mount,"   OXSHOTT  :    TUB   HAIL 


WALTER   CAVE,    ARCHITECT 

3" 


Recent   Designs  for  Domestic  A7'cliitecture 


'REDHILL,"    HEADINGLEY 


F.    VV.     BEDFORD    \-    S,     D.    KITSON,    ARCHITECTS 


"  REDHILL,"   HEADINGLEY:      THE   DINING-ROOM 
312 


F.    W.    BEDFORD   &   S.    D.    KITSON,    ARCHITECTS 


Recent   Designs  for  Domestic  Architecture 


external  woodwork  being  of  oak  left  clean  from  the 
tool.  The  dining-room  is  panelled  in  oak,  as  is  also 
the  hall.  The  drawing-room  has  a  dado  of  deal 
painted  white,  and  the  walls  above  are  white,  with 
a  moulded  plaster  ceiling  representing  the  signs  of 
the  zodiac. 

The  hall,  designed  by  Mr.  James  Gibson,  and 
executed  by  Messrs.  Marsh,  Jones,  Cribb  &  Co., 
has  a  ceiling  with  beams  and  rafters  showing,  after 
the  type  of  the  old  English  manor  houses,  and  the 
wide  inglenook,  with  red  stone  mantel  and  open 
hearth,  has  also  been  adapted  as  one  of  the  best 
features  of  the  old  Yorkshire  type  of  house.  The 
original  feature  in  the  whole  scheme  is  that  it  is 
carried  out,  not,  as  one  usually  expects  in  work  of 
this  kind,  in  oak,  but  in  mahogany,  which  is  relieved 
with  a  little  simple  inlay  in  ebony  and  box,  and 
slightly  polished.  The  walls  are  divided  by  means 
of  pilasters,  the  caps  of  which  are  inlaid  with  the 
white  rose  of  Yorkshire  :  and  this  rose  has  been 
taken  as  the  motif  throughout  the  room,  appearing 
on  the  embroidered  cloth  wall-panels  and  on  the 


carpet  (which  is  a  hand-tufted  plain  centre,  with 
the  Tudor  rose  and  briar-stem  forming  the  border), 
and  also  in  the  furniture,  which  has  been  designed 
on  simple  lines.  To  further  carry  out  this  idea  of 
the  Yorkshire  rose  in  the  frieze,  which  is  composed 
of  mahogany  laths  on  a  white  plaster  ground  (after 
the  type  of  the  half-timbered  work),  there  have 
been  introduced  over  the  inglenook,  and  at  the 
opposite  end  of  the  room,  two  painted  panels  illus- 
trating the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  Wars  of 
the  Roses ;  the  first  depicting  The  Quarrel  in  the 
Temple  Gardens,  and  the  other  The  Battle  of  Bos- 
ivorth  Field.  A  feature  in  this  room  are  two  book- 
case fittings  at  the  sides  of  the  window,  and 
underneath  the  window  is  placed  a  sofa,  with 
brackets  or  tables  at  the  side  to  support  a  lamp, 
so  making  a  comfortable  or  cosy  seat  for  the 
reader.  All  the  electric  fittings  and  mounts  on 
the  furniture  are  in  a  very  low  tone  of  oxidised 
silver,  almost  a  dull  pewter  colour. 

The  House  in  Poland,  designed  by  Mr.  Baillie 
Scott,  here  illustrated,  represents  a  slightly  modified 


DESIGNED   BY  JAMES   GIBSON 

EXECUTED   BY   MESSRS.    MARSH,   JONES,    CRIBB   &  CO. 


Recent   Designs  for  Domestic  Architecture 


version  of  a  plan  originated  by  a  client  of  the  archi- 
tect's— a  plan  which  in  some  respects  exemplified  the 
practical  application  of  certain  principles  of  house- 
planning  advocated  by  Mr.  Scott  in  The  Studio. 

Of  these  principles  thus  exemplified  one  of  the 
most  important  is  the  substitution  for  the  usual 
conception  of  the  house  as  a  series  of  isolated  com- 
partments without  unity  and  cohesion  the  idea  of  a 
central  room  from  which  other  rooms  open,  so  that 
on  entering  the  house  one  gains,  as  in  a  cathedral, 
for  instance,  an  impression  of  the  interior  as  a 
whole  ;  and  instead  of  feeling  enclosed  within  four 
remorseless  walls,  in  all  directions  one  may  obtain 


a  vision  of  the  beyond  through  pleasant  vistas.  In 
a  country  like  Poland,  where  the  severe  conditions  of 
climate  make  it  necessary  to  create  an  interior  which 
shall  compensate  for  the  loss  of  the  outdoor  world, 
and  where,  to  quote  from  the  architect's  letter  of 
instructions,  "  the  cosiness,  serenity,  and  gaiety  of 
the  home  must  make  us  forget  the  grim  desolation 
out  of  doors,  and  all  must  tend  to  elevate  the 
spirit  and  help  it  to  bear  cheerily  its  winter 
captivity,"  such  an  open  treatment  of  the  interior 
is  specially  desirable.  The  severity  of  the  climate 
has  influenced  the  plan  in  other  ways — suggesting 
the  reduction  of  window  areas  and  the  provision  of 


A   HODSE   IN    POLAND:      THE   HALL 


M.    H.    BAILLIE  SCOTT,    ARCHITECT 


H  X 

O  ^ 
CO   < 


W  . - 
'^  O 

2k 


Hans  van  Bartels 


double-glazing  in  these ;  the  use  of  thick  walls  ; 
the  treatment  of  the  roof  without  internal  gutters, 
where  snow  might  lodge ;  and  the  heating  of  the 
interior  by  artificial  means,  supplemented  by  the 
indispensable  cheerful  blaze  of  the  wood  fire  on 
the  great  open  hearth. 

The  materials  of  which  this  house  is  to  be  built 
have  happily  escaped  the  ordeal  of  the  modern 
factory.  The  timber,  felled  and  wrought  on  the 
spot,  still  retains  some  suggestion  of  its  woodland 
home.  The  bricks  for  the  walls,  too,  are  home- 
made, and  these  also,  in  escaping  the  fatal  discipline 
of  mechanical  manufacture,  contrive  to  retain  some 
characteristics  of  mother  earth.  And  thus  here,  in 
that  intelligent  manipulation  of  materials  which  is 
such  an  essential  attribute  of  good  building,  the 
character  of  each  is  retained  and  coaxed  to  the 
surface  by  human  handicraft  instead  of  being 
ruthlessly  obliterated  by  a  machine. 

NOTE  ON  SOME  RECENT 
WORK  BY  HANS  VON 
BARTELS. 


A 


Hans  von  Bartels  holds  a  place  at  once 
personal  and  distinct  in  modern  German  art.  His 
outlook  may  not  be  altogether  broad  nor  his  field 
of  working  as  extensive  as  his   great  talent  would 


A  HOUSE    IN    POLAND  : 
DRAWING-ROOM    FIREPLACE 


seem  to  justify,  yet  in  his  chosen  limitations  there 
is  no  other  painter  of  the  moment  who  tells  so 
personal  a  narrative  in  so  forceful  a  manner.  His 
work  takes  one  near  to  nature,  and  to  the  primitive 
emotions.  Turning  to  the  people  who  are  in  them- 
selves very  near  to  nature,  and  too  primitive  to 
seem  other  than  they  are,  a  man  must  also  have 
within  himself  that  nameless  sympathy  of  under- 
standing without  which  none  of  the  fine  things  of 
life  can  ever  be  made  known  to  him. 

Von  Bartels  knows  himself  absolutely,  knows 
well  the  rugged  qualities  which  underlie  and 
constitute  his  vigorous  conception  of  art  and  the 
qualities  he  loves  best  to  grapple  with  in  his 
chosen  subjects.  He  turns  to  the  simple  fisher- 
folk  and  workers  of  the  fields,  and  through  them 
he  both  expresses  and  interprets  the  attributes  of 
his  own  personality. 

Hans  von  Bartels  was  born  in  Hamburg  in 
1856,  and  there  he  spent  his  boyhood,  watching 
the  big  ships  lying  at  anchor,  and  others  fading 
away  into  the  distant  grey  of  the  sea.  More  and 
more  was  their  charm  wrapped  about  him,  until  in 
his  childish  phantasy  he  grew  to  feel  that  in  some 
way  he  must  give  expression  to  all  they  awakened 
in  him.  Nothing  could  keep  him  from  the  shores. 
He  would  lie  for  hours  watching  the  play  of  light 
and  shadow  on  the  time-soiled  sails,  and  in  fancy 
follow  the  great  ships  steam- 
ing away  to  distant  lands, 
and  follow  them  safe  home 
again  through  calm  and 
storm. 

Perhaps  he  would  go  to 
sea  some  day,  he  thought, 
and  that  might  satisfy  his 
love  of  all  this ;  but  no, 
there  must  be  something 
more  complete  than  that, 
and  by  and  by  he  found 
his  great  passion  made  clear 
to  him  through  a  little  pad 
and  pencil. 

Then  there  came  a  day 
when  he  was  to  have  his 
first  drawing-lessons,  and 
he  was  put  to  study  with 
Karl  Oesterley,  who  lived 
in  Hamburg,  and  who  was 
a  great  enthusiast  on  the 
Norwegian  fjords.  These 
early  lessons  opened  up  to 
the  boy  the  ambition  of  his 
life — to  paint  the  sea  and  its 


M.    H.    BAILLIE   SCOTT,    ARCHITECT 


316 


Hans  von  Bart  els 


'mother  and  child" 


BY   HANS   VON    BARTELS 


fisher-folk,  the  fields  and  their  workers — an  ambition 
that  has  never  for  a  moment  ceased  to  increase  more 
deeply  its  hold  on  the  artist ;  and  if  his  work  is  looked 
upon  in  some  quarters  as  being  too  narrow  in  its 
scope  for  greatness,  it  is  certain  that  to  those  who 
look  deeply  enough  into  his  art  there  comes  a  full 
sense  of  satisfaction  that  a  talent  so  complete  as 
von  Bartels  can  be  concentrated  into  so  simple 
an  expression  of  its  aim. 

From  1876  to  1877,  von  Bartels  studied  at  the 
Diisseldorf  Academy  under  Adolph  Schweitzer, 
and  in  1881  he  went  to  the  Berlin  School  of  Art. 
After  several  journeys  to  the  South  and  to  the  North 
he  came  to  Munich,  where  he  has  since  lived.  It 
would  be  of  small  use  to  try  to  find  out  the  true 
literal  influence  on  his  work  of  his  various  teachers. 
There  is  no  question  though,  that  the  student  soon 
overtook  his  masters,  both  in  technique  and  in 
feeling,  and  he  was  always  himself.  In  going  over 
the  history  of  his  work,  one  cannot  find  any  trace 
of  direct  influence  ;  it  shows  itself  to  be  purely  the 
output  of  a  personal  talent,  grown  richer  by  the 
passage  of  time. 

In  the  impulse  in  modern  art  towards  naturalness, 
von  Bartels  may  be  said  to  be  one  of  its  truest 


followers.  Nobody  understands  better  the  simple 
way  to  convey  nature's  moods  to  canvas. 

The  first  pictures  to  draw  the  attention  of  the 
public  to  the  artist  were  painted  under  the  in- 
fluence of  von  Rugen  and  von  Bornholm,  soon 
after  which  he  went  to  the  far  South  to  paint  the 
beauties  of  Capri  and  Bellaggio ;  but  the  love  he 
had  for  the  vigorous  coast-scenes  of  his  home 
country,  together  with  the  memories  of  perfect 
days  in  Holland  among  her  peasant  folk,  drew  him 
back,  and  he  eventually  placed  the  impressions  of 
Holland  before  all  else,  and  went  to  paint  her 
quaint  old  cottages  and  simple  lives  in  a  manner 
that  brought  out  the  very  fullest  and  best  of  his 
talents.  It  was  here  he  began  painting  in  oils, 
a  medium  that  seemed  to  be  his  from  the  first,  but 
giving  him  no  truer  expression  than  water-colours. 
It  is  extraordinary  the  strength  he  puts  into  this 
delicate  medium,  and  many  of  his  most  important 
pictures  are  done  in  it. 

The  artist  belongs  to  the  class  of  men  whose 
work  always  proclaims  a  convincing  truth  of  an 
immediate  impression  won  from  nature. 

Von  Bartels  has  a  similarity  in  his  temperament 
and    work    with    his    great    predecessor,   Andreas 

317 


Hans  von  Bartels 


Achenbach ;  or  rather,  one  might  say,  that  the  two 
men  have  grasped  the  same  qualities.  The  one 
has  not  in  art  pointed  out  those  qualities  to 
the  other,  though  there  are  many  things  in  common 
between  the  two  painters,  the  one  of  the  past,  the 
other  of  the  present. 

The  sea;  the  homely  fishing  boats  safe  in 
harbour  ;  peasant  folk  resting  from  toil ;  weather- 
beaten  old  mills  standing  out  in  splendid  colour 
against  the  blue  skies  of  Holland  ;  little  fishing 
villages  with  their  red  towers  and  the  interiors  of 
low  rooms  with  their  solitary  figures  in  the  rich 
glow  of  the  fire  light,  are  the  pictures  that  Hans 
von  Bartels  loves  to  paint,  and  paints  so  well. 

L.  VAN  DER  Veer. 


to  attract  at  first  sight ;  and  therefore,  perhaps, 
it  is  not  as  highly  appreciated  as  it  deserves 
to  be.  The  work  of  many  of  the  Impres- 
sionists impresses  us  on  the  spot,  but  Tholen's 
has  a  soothing  influence  like  the  charm  of 
sweet  music.  Tholen  has  a  particularly  good 
knowledge  of  water  and  its  varied  movements  and 
reflections  ;  he  is  likewise  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  beauty  and  picturesqueness  of  his  own 
country.  His  style  is,  as  I  have  already  suggested, 
quiet  and  sympathetic ;  he  understands  true  values, 
and  his  drawing  is  careful,  but  we  would  like  to 
see  a  little  more  passion  and  warmth  introduced 
into  his  work.  An  exhibition  of  Dutch  water- 
colours  was  recently  held  at  Amsterdam,  but  the 
selection   of  the   works   left   a  good   deal   to  be 


We  have  received  the 
following  note  from  our 
correspondent  at  the 
Hague  :  "  Most  of  the  pic- 
tures of  Tholen  have  found 
a  home  in  England,  and 
we,  who  live  in  the 
artist's  country,  are  not  too 
well  acquainted  with  his 
works.  An  exhibition,  such 
as  that  recently  held  at 
Preyer's,  was  therefore  an 
agreeable  opportunity  for 
many  of  us  to  get  a  small, 
if  not  complete,  insight  into 
his  style  of  work.  And  what 
was  the  outcome  of  it  all  ? 
What  did  we  learn  ?  We 
learnt  that  the  works  of 
Tholen  are  excellent  as  a 
whole  ;  that  he  has  great 
facility  in  dealing  with  his 
subjects  ;  that  he  is  a  close 
observer  of  atmosphere,  and 
of  the  play  of  light  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year ;  that 
in  his  landscapes  he 
thoroughly  explains  to  us 
that  there  is  a  close  con- 
nection between  the  light 
that  shines  and  the  objects 
upon  which  it  shines  ;  that 
he  does  not  see  a  landscape 
without  realising,  at  the  same 
time,  that  it  is  peopled  by 
mankind.  The  work  of 
Tholen  lacks,  as  the  work 
of  Gabriel  does,  the  power 
318 


BY    HANS   VON    BARTELS 


Dutch   Art  at  St.  Lotas 


desired.  A.  Allebe  had  seven  drawings  on  view, 
of  which  Crocodile  and  Monkeys  were  excellent. 
M.  Bauer  was  best  in  Ava  Sophia,  in  which  the 
nonchalance  of  form  and  outline  went  unobserved 
in  the  importance  of  the  whole.  T-  Bosboom  was 
represented  by  one  of  his  usual  church  interiors, 
full  of  charm  and  elegance,  finely  drawn,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  bright  and  pleasing.  Other 
works  worthy  of  special  note  were  The  While 
Horses,  by  Breitner,  a  water-colour  in  every  way 
praiseworthy;  Snoek,  by  Dysschlof;  P.  J.  C. 
Gabriel's  drawn  ngs ;  Josef  Israels'  Sandhaulers 
and  Going  Home;  Jacob  Maris'  powerful  draw- 
ings ;  and  Mauve's  drawings.  The  examples  of 
Albert  Neuhuys  were  good  in  colour  but  want- 
ing in  imagination.  George  Poggenbeek  was 
broad  and  good  in  his  Cows  in  a  Meadow  seen 
in  a  soft  sunshine.  W.  B.  Tholen  exhibited 
two  of  his  finest  water-colours,  J.  H.  Weissen- 
bruch  was  well  represented  in  his  IVinter,  and 
Witsen  showed  A  Small  Canal.  This  exhibi- 
tion was  decidedly  interesting,  although  the  work 
of  many  important  artists  was  conspicuous  by  its 
absence. 


D 


UTCH  ART  AT  THE  ST. 
LOUIS  EXPOSITION.  BY 
MAUDE    I.    G.    OLIVER. 


For  one  who  had  witnessed  the  Dutch 
loan  collection,  commemorating  the  eightieth 
birthday  of  Josei  Israels  at  the  Chicago  Art  Insti- 
tute last  winter,  it  would  be  unreasonable,  in  com- 
menting upon  the  Dutch  exhibition  at  St.  Louis, 
not  to  dwell  with  pleasure  upon  the  memory  of 
the  earlier  show.  Upon  close  analysis,  however, 
the  impossibility  of  a  just  comparison  became 
evident.  In  fact,  the  essential  features  of  the 
two  were  seen  to  be  so  widely  divergent,  that  to 
parallel  them  would  be  unfair.  The  former,  having 
represented  the  evolution  of  Dutch  art  during  the 
half  century  just  closed,  was  reminiscent  and  un- 
deniably impressive,  and  being  composed  also 
of  selected  specimens  existing  on  American 
shores  of  modem  Dutch  masters,  it  was  of  a 
lofty  standard.  When  we  examined  more  carefully 
the  material  at  St.  Louis,  we  observed  that,  aside 
from  a  few  examples  from  the  palettes  of  such  men 
as  Maris,  Israels,  and  Blommers,  almost  the  entire 


'THE   OLD   scribe' 


BY  JOSEF    ISRAELS 
321 


Dutch   Art  at  St.  Louis 


display  was  the  work  of  young  artists,  standing 
for  an  altogether  different  generation  from  that 
whose  genius  had  made  the  movement  great  — a 
generation  with  its  own  problems  to  solve,  but 
one  which,  if  we  mistake  not,  feels  that  it  will  be 
justified  "in  solving  the  problems  along  the  identical 
lines  of  its  predecessors. 

Still  it  may  yet  be  too  premature  to  make  such  a 
statement,  because  we  observe  that,  when  the 
younger  men  are  relieved  from  academic  bonds,  they 
are  broad  and  fearless  in  an  individual,  though 
always  national,  way.  In  our  objections  we  speak 
only  of  what  might  be  the  racial  tendency,  but  the 
exceptions  to  such  a  rule  are  very  evident.  There 
are  young  Dutchmen  who  feel  the  benediction  of 
their  peaceful,  plodding  home-land,  who  respond 
with  frank  inspiration  to  its  charm,  and  who  speak 
with  authority  and  conviction.  They  are  earnest 
souls,  well  abreast  of  the  modern  tide.  They  are 
catholic,  at  the  same  time  individual  and  national 
—  such     men,    while     conforming    to    the    best 


recognised  canons,  could  never  be  restricted  to  the 
prescribed  limits  of  any  locality  or  period.  Not 
that  they  will  necessarily  accomplish  that  which 
will  be  an  interpretation  of  art  for  all  time,  nor  do 
they,  in  every  case,  present  their  art  in  an 
appreciably  original  way,  but  they  feel  that 
they  have  their  own  humble  messages  to  impart, 
and  that  their  messages  should  be  personal 
and  sincere  —  an  element  which  after  all  is  an 
important  essential  to  true  genius. 

Take,  for  example,  the  Evening,  exhibited  by 
Dirk  Wiggers,  with  its  effective  bands  of  opal  clouds 
across  a  rich  silver  sky,  and  its  insistence  of  hill-line 
to  sustain  a  carefully  regarded  foreground  ;  one  is 
convinced  that  this  young  man  of  thirty-eight  years 
is  conscientiously  true  to  the  poetry  about  him. 
Noting  the  happy  balance  of  separated  fields, 
with  clumps  of  trees  and  hayricks,  one  believes 
that  the  director  of  such  a  brush  is  an  independent 
thinker !  Another  canvas  of  similar  intention, 
although  entirely  different  in  rendering,  was    The 


■  VIEW    OF    AMSTERDAM 
32* 


BY  J.  MARIS 


Dutch   Art  at  St.  Louis 


Culture  oj  Bulbs,  by  Anton  Louis  Koster.  Here  a 
more  realistic  treatment  was  observed.  The  parallel 
rows  of  gay  spring  flowers  in  well  graded  perspec- 
tive formed  a  sufficient  foreground  to  maintain  the 
hazy  distance.  The  composition,  with  its  single 
denuded  tree  in  the  middle  distance,  its  faintly 
outlined  city  roofs  on  the  horizon,  was  simple 
and  unaffected,  and  it  declared  a  refreshingly 
optimistic  understanding.  Turning  from  this 
to  the  crisp  snow  scene  from  the  palette  of 
Van  Soest,  we  noted  the  remarkable  modelling 
of  foreground,  the  delicate  variations  of  colour, 
the  satisfactory  balance  of  masses.  Another  ex- 
ample of  earnest,  personal  sentiment  was  the 
romantic  landscape,  entitled  Evening,  by  Bernhard 
Schregel.  A  weird  grace  animated  this  effort, 
particular  interest  being  centred  in  the  spectral 
tree-trunks.  In  them  was  expressed,  not  so  much 
the  action  as  the  spirit  of  the  wind,  with  a  certain 
subtle  accent  in  the  solitary  figure  near  the  left  of 
the  picture. 

In  reference  to  the  depicting  of  peasant  life, 
what  nation  is  there  that  portrays  genre  subjects 
with  such  tender  sympathy  as  does  Holland? 
The  mighty  Israels,  for  example,  apart  from 
his     debatable     technique,    possesses     that     rare 


gift  of  ennobling  the  humble  avenues  of  life 
with  an  eloquence  which  bids  one  approach  his 
works  in  an  attitude  of  reverence,  not  for  the 
things  themselves,  but  for  the  principle  which  they 
represent — human  brotherhood.  The  St.  Louis 
collection  contained  six  oil  paintings  and  one  etch- 
ing by  this  modern  master.  That  the  sureness  and 
vigour  of  his  hand  is  undiminished  at  this  his 
advanced  age,  was  evidenced  by  the  telling  canvas 
called  Painful  and  Joyful^ihe  latest  essay  from 
his  brush.  A  domestic  interior,  a  soft  light  flowing 
into  the  little  abode,  a  pale  woman  beside  the 
crude  cradle,  comprised  the  minutiie  of  the  settings  ; 
but  the  "human  touch"  was  so  expressed  that  one 
turned  from  this  subject  with  moistened  eyes.  The 
work,  however,  for  which  Mr.  Israels  was  presented 
the  Grand  Prize,  was  entitled  The  Skipper.  This 
production  was  a  masterly  example  of  the  manner  in 
which  accessories  may  be  made  powerful  and  yet 
subordinated  to  the  central  idea.  All  the  mystery 
and  the  eloquence  of  the  sea  were  told  in  the  frothy 
surf  that  contributed  so  marvellously  to  the 
grandeur  of  this  painting.  The  three  simple 
masses  were  rather  arbitrary  as  to  placement, 
although  they  were  connected  in  thought,  if  not  in 
position.     Mounted  on  his  faithful  old  horse,  the 


'  UNLOADING 


BY  J.    H.    MASTENBROEK 


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Dutch   Art  at  St.  Louis 


'THE   CULTURE   OF    BULBS 


BY    A.    L.    KOSTER 


principal  figure  was  majestic  and  almost  phantom- 
like in  its  grim  discharge  of  duty.     The  loyal  dog 


"ARABIAN    WOMAN 
326 


BY    AURAHAM     HEsSELINK 


to  the  left,  turning  to  look  up  at  his  master,  and 
the  portion  of  a  vessel  in  the  upper  right  hand 
corner,  were  effective  notes  in  harmony  with  the 
general  theme.  The  Old  Scribe,  another  of  Israels' 
best  works  in  this  collection,  was  a  large  canvas, 
expressing  an  equal  richness  of  sentiment,  but 
without  quite '  the  same  fortunate  arrangement. 
One  felt  that  it  was  overdrawn — that  it  was 
theatrical,  rather  than  dramatic.  Blommers,  in 
The  Shell  Fisherman,  struck  a  cheerful  vein. 
The  warm  light  of  a  summer  sun  pervades  this 
picture  and  envelops  the  interesting  group,  the 
chief  personage  of  which  is  the  fisher- lad  bending 
over  the  well-filled  net  that  is  to  be  emptied  into 
the  rustic  cart.  The  other  actors  in  this  scene  are 
the  two  inquisitive  mites  of  humanity  directing 
attention  toward  the  older  boy,  a  patient,  sturdy- 
looking  horse,  and  a  pitiful-looking  dog.  The 
conception  is  bright,  sincere,  and  very  real.  Willy 
Martens,  the  delegated  commissioner,  in  his  work 
called  Harvesting  Rye,  showed  another  delightful 
genre,  rather  too  refined,  but  still  exceedingly  true 
and  dignified.  This  was  one  of  four  pleasing  sub- 
jects, all  of  about  equal  force  and  directness,  from 
the  brush  of  Mr.  Martens.  It  solved  an  agreeable 
colour  problem  in  the  golden  browns  of  autumn, 
juxtaposed  against  the  grey  green  masses  of  foliage 
and  the  tones  of  blue  in  the  sky  and  in  the  gar- 
ments of  the  women.  The  composition  was  well 
knitted  and  poetic  in  treatment.  We  observed 
serious,  mature  interpretation  in  the  Winter 
at  Katwijk,  by  Willy  Sluiter,  who  is  scarcely  more 
than  a  youth.  Possibly  the  strong  contrasts  mrght 
be  criticised,  but  such  a  solidity  and  power  of  action 


Dutch   ^rt  at  St.  Louis 


as  were  expressed  easily 
compensate  for  this.  The 
material  of  the  work  was 
composed  in  two  horizontal 
divisions,  the  upper  portion 
being  dark  in  interesting 
line  against  a  foreground 
of  snow.  A  glimpse  of  sea 
and  a  leaden  sky  afforded 
a  substantial  background 
for  the  horses  and  men  at 
work  with  their  boats.  A 
still  younger  man,  Hendrik 
F.  de  Court  Onderwater, 
sent  the  result  of  an  intelli- 
gent and  very  conscientious 
study  of  values  in  Laren 
Interior.  Rich,  harmonious 
colour,  well  placed,  threw 
its  accent  into  a  polished 
jug  by  the  side  of  a  thrifty 
housewife,  the  deep  orange 
wall,  and  the  sunlit  beams 
of  the  outer  room.  Pro- 
cession at  Laren,  by  Frans  Deutmann,  showed  a 
decorative  tendency.  A  high  horizon  and  a  knot 
of  happy  little  girls  were  utilised  in  a  fortunate 
arrangement.     George  Hendrik  Breitner  sent  two 


'LAREN    INTERIOR 


BY    HENDRIK    K.   DE   COURT  ONDERWATER 


exceedinglyclever  oils,  the  Street  Scene  i}i  Amsterdam 
being  rather  the  stronger  work.  In  it  the  hurrying, 
metropolitan  spirit  was  manifest,  a  lively  note  being 
struck  in  the  figure  of  the  woman  in  a  brown  cape 


"WINTER    AT    KATUIJK' 


BY    W.    SLUITER 


Dutch   Art  ai  St.  Louis 


RV    DIRK    WIGciERS 


coming  out  of  the  picture.  The  colours  in  this 
work  were  neutral  but  quite  definite.  A  particularly 
forceful  portrait  was  presented  by  Miss  Therese 
Schwartze.  The  salt  brine  of  the  sea  was  characteris- 
tically expressed  in  some  oils  and  a  water  colour 


"  I'ORTRAIT  OF    MR.    WOLMARANS 


by  Hendrik  Willem  Mesdag.     On  the  Dutch  Coast 

was  full  of  fresh,  breezy  movement.    A  Stormy  Day 

was  also  a  notable  production. 

Among    the  works  of  deceased  masters,  James 

Maris's  remarkable  Viiw  of  Amsterdam  was  shown. 
In  this  painting  such  a 
collection  of  sails,  hulls, 
piers,  and  distant  architec- 
ture are  brought  together, 
that,  if  the  values  were 
not  so  perfect,  the  result 
would  be  bewilderment, 
instead  of  simplicity. 

Upon  the  occasion  of 
the  opening  of  the  Dutch 
section,  Francis  Wilson, 
the  actor,  who  was  one  of 
the  guests  of  honour, 
purchased  some  choice 
works,  among  them  being 
the  water-colour  by  Johan 
Hendrik  Mastenbroek, 
called  Unloading.  This  is 
a  subject  which  is  ap>- 
proached  in  a  large  way, 
both  in  respect  to  colour 
and  to  form,  and  still  it  is 
not  at  variance  with  the 
medium.  But  the  real  gem 
ot  the  water-colour  collec- 
tion was  The  Violin  Player, 
by  Albert  Roelofs,  one  of 
the  very  youngest  men  ex- 
hibiting— a  significant  fact, 
since  Israels,  the  oldest  of 
the  group,  leads  in  the  oils. 
One  cannot  but  reflect 
BY  THERESE  scHWARTZK  33     to     what     such     virile 


328 


D}ttch   Art  at  St.  Louis 


4w    ^^^^l^H^H^Hl^a^B^HK. 

1^';       -"^ 

-■1^  v"  -. »  — r^ 

l^/T 

Iff 

E      ^     -^  ^  -  ^t.l  ^    ^ 

] 

"the  shell  fisherman' 


BY   J.    B.     ELOMMERS 


BY   BERNARD   SCHREGKL 


Dutch    Art  at  St.  Louis 


DUTCH    POTTERY   AT   ST.    LOUIS    EXHIBITION 


work  will  bring  the  artist  in  later  years.  The 
subject  in  question  is  almost  a  monochrome,  and 
yet  it  is  handled  with  a  deftness  and  ease  that 
render  the  result  even  brilliant.  The  picture  is  so 
well  filled,  too,  by  the  figure  seated  in  profile,  that 
there  is  no  sense  of  emptiness,  neither  is  there  a 
feeling  or  overcrowding. 


A  very  noticeable  feature 
of  all  the  paintings  in  this 
section,  was  the  impres- 
sion given  by  their  frames 
that  nothing  better  could 
be  obtained  for  the  price, 
and  that  no  money  had  been 
spared  in  their  purchase. 

An  attractive  etching 
was  exhibited  by  Charles 
Storm  van's  Gravesande 
under  the  title  of  Drifting 
Ice  on  the  Rhine.  In  it, 
the  loose  flowing  lines 
were  ably  manipulated  to 
conform  with  the  skilful 
arrangement. 

Of  the  contributions  in 
sculpture,  Mr.  Charles  van 
Wijk's  series  of  six  bronzes 
were  particularly  note- 
worthy.    Abraham   Hesse- 
link     showed     a     refined, 
sympathetic  plaster,  which 
he  called  Arabian  Woman. 
One  of  the  leading  tenets  for  which  the  manage- 
ment worked  in  organising  the  Exposition  was  that 
the  Art  Palace  should  devote  equal  prominence  to 
every  class  of  art,  removing  all  distinctions  between 
"fine"  and  "applied  art."     And  Holland  was  one 
of  the  few  countries  which  have  responded  in  all 
departments.       Her  artcraft  exhibit  was  unusually 


'viking"  chair 

330 


THIRTE^-NTH    OR    FOIRTEENTH   CENTURY 


Ancient    Chairs 


A    PORTION    OF    DR.     FIGDOR  S    COLLF.CTION 


praiseworthy.  A  set  of  mahogany  chairs  uphol- 
stered in  dark  tapestry  and  a  stained-glass  fire- 
screen by  Nieuwenhuis,  a  screen  decorated  with 
pearl  fowls  by  Disselhof,  a  cushion  in  a  neutral  rose 
tint  of  leather  with  pink  and  sage  silk  inlay,  by 
Mrs.  Hingst  de  Clercq,  and  examples  of  the 
"  Rozenburg,"  "Thistle"  and  "Delft"  pottery, 
were  among  the  most  charming  exhibits  in  this 
field. 


D 


R.  FIGDOR'S  COLLECTION 
OF  OLD  CHAIRS,  VIENNA. 
BY    A.    S.    LEVETUS. 


It  will  be  seen  from  the  photograph  reproduced 
here  of  one  of  Dr.  Figdor's  rooms  that  he  has  not 
confined  himself  to  collecting  works  oi  art  of  any 
particular  period  or  of  any  particular  branch,  though 
we  must  confine  ourselves  in  this  article  to  chairs 
alone.  Of  these  Dr.  Figdor  has  been  successful  in 
collecting  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  different  speci- 
mens dating  from  the  twelfth  to  the  seventeenth 
century.  They  help  to  furnish  his  rooms,  with  the 
other  treasures  he  has  gathered  together,  for   he 


lives  among  them,  and  the  warmth  oi  the  home 
atmosphere  is  of  inestimable  value  as  compared  with 
the  inevitable  coldness  in  museums,  where  one  is 
warned  every  moment  "  not  to  touch."  Besides 
these  he  has  a  number  of  old  pictures,  miniatures, 
illuminations,  and  other  helps  to  the  study  of 
how  our  progenitors  in  the  days  of  old  passed  their 
days  within  doors.  In  the  study  of  benches  and 
chairs  such  records  are  of  great  assistance,  for 
articles  that  could  be  easily  moved  about  from 
place  to  place  soon  suffered  destruction,  while 
heavy  furniture,  wardrobes,  and  suchlike  have  come 
down  to  us  in  fair  numbers.  Damaged  chairs  were 
as  much  in  the  way  with  our  ancestors  as  with 
ourselves,  and  so  passed  from  lord  to  peasant, 
as  did  also  other  movables,  such,  for  instance,  as 
wedding-coffers,  many  beautiful  specimens  of  which 
have  been  found  in  Continental  stables,  where 
they  were  used  for  storing  hay  or  corn  for  horses, 
in  the  same  way  as  they  are  often  used  in  England. 
The  chair,  though  not  frequent  in  olden  times, 
always  possessed  a  peculiar  dignity  as  the  place  of 
honour ;  it  had  its  prerogatives,  and  demanded 
respect.     Mary  Queen  of  Scots  prepared  herself  tc 

33' 


Ancient    Chairs 


FRENCH  STOOL  AND  BENCH 


LATE  FOURTEENTH  CENTURY 


receive  sentence  of  death  "  seated  on  an  armchair." 
Unless  the  Speaker  be  seated  on  his  chair,  or  the 
Lord  Chancellor  on  the  woolsack,  no  business  can 
be  transacted  in  the  House  of  Lords  or  Commons  ; 
and  the  cries  of  "  Chair,  chair !  "  at  meetings 
show  that  honour  and  respect  are  due  to  the 
•person  occupying  it.  In  the  homes  of  our  an- 
cestors the  men  sometimes  stretched  themselves 
on  canopies,  while  the  ladies  sat  on  chairs  or 
stools.  From  old  pictures  we  gather  that  the 
master  of  the  house  and  his  male  guests  in  very 


GOTHIC   CHILDS    CHAIR 


EARLY    FIFTEENTH    CENTURY 


CHAIR      LATE    FIFTEENTH   CENTURY 


4 

k 


Ancient    Chairs 


BACK   OF  CHAIR 


FIFTEENTH   CENTURY 


olden  times  reclined  at  table  as  do  the  Orientals 
to  this  day,  the  women  occupying  chairs  or 
benches.  The  modest  folding  stool,  the  bench 
and  the  chair  each  had  its  use  in  the  homes 
of  our  forefathers.  The  primitive  stool,  or 
escabeau,  was  like  our  three-legged  one,  and  is 
described  by  M.  Viollet-le-Duc  as  "a  seat  much 
lower  than  the  bench  or  chair."  It  was  practical 
and  easily  moved  from  place  to  place,  and  was 
useful  as  a  weapon  when  no  other  means  of 
defence  was  at  hand  —  a  use  not  unknown  to 
us  in  our  present  stage  of  civilisation.  The 
escabeau  had  its  place  in  courts  of  justice,  for 
prisoners  had  to  sit  on  it  while  the  cause  of 
arrest  was  made  known  to  them,  the  sellette,  or 
stool  of  repentance,  being  reserved  for  those  forced 
to  submit  to  interrogation.  We  learn  also  that 
those  lowest  in  rank  always  occupied  stools  at 
meal-times,  while  the  master  of  the  house  sat  on 
the  throne,  or  chair  of  honour,  for  in  olden  days 
the  two  words  were  practically  synonymous  terms, 
the  honoured  guests  taking  their  places  on  high 
backed  immovable  benches  on  either  side  of  the 
host,  a  disposition  still  to  be  seen  in  parts  of  the 


Tyrol.  The  guests  lowest  in  rank  were  the  first  to 
leave  the  table,  which  was  then  cleared,  the  host 
and  guests  of  distinction  remaining  sitting  during 
the  operation,  after  which  cerde  was  held. 

At  first  stools  were  only  made  of  simple  wood  ; 
later  the  fashion  of  adorning  them  with  velvet  and 
rich  stuffs,  or  painting  them,  came  into  vogue, 
the  final  development  being  carving.  As  they 
increased  in  beauty  so  did  they  in  honour,  for  in 
the  course  of  centuries  the  humble  three-legged 
stool  developed  several  variations  in  form,  and 
gradually  assumed  a  more  dignified  character,  for 
we  hear  that  Catherine  de  Medicis  possessed  as 
many  as  twenty-two  of  them,  and  that  they  were  in 
high  favour  at  Court. 

Next  in  order  came  the  bench,  which,  in  its 
primitive  form,  was  like  those  in  the  kitchens  of 
the  present  day.     In  its  final  stage  of  development 


FRENCH   CHAIR 


FIFTEE.NTH    CENTURY 

333 


A  ncient    Chairs 


it  was  richly  carved,  and  had  a  place  of  honour  in 
the  homes  of  the  upper  classes.  Such  stools  and 
benches  as  those  reproduced  on  page  332  are  very 
rarely  to  be  met  with.  Both  are  from  the  North 
of  France,  and  date  from  the  end  of  the  fourteenth 
century.  They  are  very  fine  in  form  and  con- 
struction.     The   man   under  whose   intellect   and 


X&^^ 


|ij^i?lii^-fi 


ITALIAN    CHAIR   OR    "  POPE'S  STOOL " 

EARLY   SIXTEENTH    CENTURY 


hand  they  grew  was  filled  with  the  dignity  of  his 
labour ;  the  grip  of  the  tools  was  sure.  Centuries 
have  rounded  and  smoothed  the  edges,  but,  in 
spite  of  this,  we  can  be  certain  that  the  work  was 
severe  and  e.xact. 

The  chair  had  its  own  particular  place  in  the 
homes  of  our  ancestors.     It  was  sacred  to  its  par- 
ticular owner,  an  honoured  custom  still  kept  up  in 
many  houses.      In   the  North  of   Germany  it  was 
334 


child's  high  chair 

sixtee.nth  century 


CHILDb    CHAIR 


SIXTEENTH    CENTURY 


A)icient    Chairs 


usual  for  the  bride  to  bring  two  chairs  to  her 
husband  as  part  of  her  dowry.  Both  were  pro- 
vided with  arms,  but  that  for  the  man  was  higher 
than  -that  for  the  woman — a  compUment  to  his 
superior  standing. 

When  king,  archbishop,  noble,  or  judge  went  on 
a  journey,  his  chair  went  with  him.  These  were 
invariably  folding  chairs,  and  none  but  the  possessor 
dared  occupy  them. 

Such  was  the  faldisterium,  old  French  faudestuel, 
modern  French  fauieuil,  which,  in  its  primitive 
meaning,  was  equivalent  to    the    English  folding- 


SALZBURG   SPINNING    CHAIR 


SIXTEENTH   CENTURY 


child's  chair 


SIXTEENTH   CENTURY 


carving.  The  bosses  are  formed  of  lions'  heads, 
which  are  wonderfully  expressive,  the  gilded  claws 
being  tightly  closed  over  small  animals. 


chair.     There  were  two  forms  of  this — one  which 

has   come   down    to    us   from    the   Romans   and 

that    of    the   Middle  Ages  reserved,    as    we  have 

seen,    for   sovereigns    and     persons   of    authority 

in    Church   and   State.      The    oldest    metal    one 

which  has  come  down  to  us  is  the  throne  of 

Dagobert ;  the  oldest  wooden  one  is  at  the 

Monastery    of    Nonnberg,     near     Sakburg. 

This  was  made  about  the  year  1240,  though 

the   pictures  on  the  ivory  inlaid  rungs  and 

the   gold    ornamentation    belong   to   a  later 

date.      The   crossed    legs    are    painted    red 

and    decorated    with    gold,    for    the    fashion 

of    painting     furniture     preceded     that     of  chair  from  romacna 


FIFTEENTH   CENTURY 

335 


Ancient    Chairs 


The  advance  made  in 
Gothic  art  can  easily  be 
traced  in  the  illustrations ; 
the  ancient  faldisterium 
gradually  assumed  arms 
and  a  back,  which  in  its 
turn  took  various  shapes, 
but  keeping  its  cross  legs, 
so  that  it  could  be  easily 
folded  together,  till  the 
time  when  the  crossed  legs 
gave  way  to  four  uprights, 
and  we  get  the  stiff,  hard- 
looking  chairs  with  their 
baldachin-formed  tops  and 
footstools,  these  forming 
a  great  contrast  to  the 
light,  graceful,  and  easily 
moved  folding-chair. 


CHAIR    FROM     RRIINN 


SIXTEENTH    CENTURY 


TYROLEAN    CHAIR 


EARLY   SIXTEENTH    CENTURY 


Dr.  Figdor  possesses  many 
of  these  old  faldisferia,  or 
X  chairs  and  stools,  which 
formerly  had  honoured  places 
in  the  monasteries  of  Padua, 
Florence,  and  other  Italian 
cities,  and  which  date  from 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries.  The  one  repro 
duced  above  came  from  a 
Carthusian  cloister  at  Brunn, 
in  Moravia.  It  is,  as  are 
most  of  these  old  seats,  in  a 
very  good  state  of  preserva- 
tion, even  to  the  velvet 
cushion  and  tassels.  Dr. 
Figdor  never  makes  the 
mistake  of  having  his 
treasures  doctored.  The 
carving  is  bold,  and  the 
design  simple  ;  every  stroke 
of  the  chisel  has  told  well, 
the  evident  desire  of  the 
workman  being  to  make  his 
work  worthy  of  the  dignity 
it  was  to  support.  Backs 
and  arms  were  added  to  the 
folding-stool  soon  after  the 
Christian  era,  and  by  the 
fifteenth  century  their  propor- 
tions had  become  symmetri- 
cal. On  page  335  is  illustrated 
one  of  these  from  Romagna 


Ancient  Chairs 


which  was  evidently  made  for  a  wedding 
gift,  the  carving  on  the  back  representing  La 
Fontaine  d' Amour.  This  has  the  same  form  as 
the  judge's  chair,  and  of  that  known  as  the 
Abbot's  Chair  at  Glastonbury,  which  dates 
from  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  The  specimen 
reproduced  here,  however,  is  less  severe  in 
outline  and  subject,  as  befitting  the  joyous 
occasion  for  which  it  was  made.  The  lower 
one  on  page  336  is  a  very  rare  X  stool,  the 
bars  being  vertical,  whereas  the  usual  form  was 
horizontal.  It  came  from  a  miller's  at  Eppau, 
near  Bozen,  in  South  Tyrol,  but  originally 
belonged  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Michael. 
Except  for  the  apes,  which  are  of  a  later 
period,  the  stool  dates  from  the  fifteenth 
century.      The    ground-form    is    unusual    in 


ITALIAN   CHAIR 


SIXTEENTH   CENTURY 


SIXTEENTH   CENTURY 


chairs,  but  as  is  to  be  seen  in  old  missals,  on 
miniatures,  and  also  in  stone-relief  in  the  choirs  of 
churches.  In  St.  Stephan's  Cathedral  there  is  a 
fine  example  in  stone,  which  represents  Pilatus 
seated  on  such  a  faldisterium,  Christ  standing 
before  him.  The  one  of  the  fifteenth  century 
was  evidently  made  for  a  lady's  use,  it  is  so 
dainty  and  graceful.  That  of  the  seventeenth 
century  on  page  343  is  much  more  severe,  and  may 
have  served  for  general  use,  for  by  that  time  the  X 
chairs  had  partly  ceased  to  be  destined  for  any  par- 
ticular use.  The  modern  armchair  was  not  un- 
known to  our  forefathers  in  the  early  Middle  Ages. 
On  page  330  two  views  are  given  of  a  Norwegian 
chair  from  the  church  of  Roe,  in  Tellemarken. 
The  carving  on  the  top  bar  represents  six  figures, 
hands  joined,  and  of  graduating  heights,  the  two 

337 


Ancient  Chairs 


lateral  being  in  the  centre.  Below  to  the  left,  on 
horseback,  is  the  herald,  blowing  his  horn,  and 
facing  him  a  warrior  also  on  horseback.  These  two 
figures  are  separated  by  the  grotesque  head  of  a 
man  bearing  leaf-shaped  horns  surmounted  by  a 
cross.  Below  the  balustrade  which  supports  this 
bar  is  an  X  design  with  traceries  between  the 
cross-bars.  According  to  the  newest  publica- 
tions of  Northern  scholars  who  have  given 
much  thought  to  this  special  chair,  which  is 
in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation,  it  can- 
not be  earlier  than  the  fourteenth  century, 
and     may    possibly    be    of     the     fifteenth.       Du 


RENAISSANCE    TERIOD 


Chaillu,  in  his  "  Viking  Age "  where  this  par- 
ticular chair  is  reproduced,  antedates  it,  being 
misled  by  the  Roman-archaic  character  of  the 
construction  and  the  ornament.  In  any  case, 
this  is  one  of  the  rarest  specimens  in  exist- 
ence. The  footstool  attached  was  added  later. 
The  chair  on  the  left  of  page  334  may  have  been 
a  Pope's  stool,  for  Raphael  has  painted  a  portrait 
of  Pope  Julius  VI.  seated  on  such  a  throne. 
The  stool  reproduced  has  the  original  leather 
mountings,  and  dates  from  the  early  sixteenth 
century.  The  lower  one  on  page  333  is  from  France. 
338 


iJJJJJjjr,, 


SPANISH   CHAIR         E\RLY   SIXTEENTH   CENTURY 


The  carving  is  very  rich  and  delicate,  and  repre- 
sents the  grape  and  leaf  of  the  vine.  The  motive 
is  continued  on  the  supports  of  the  chair.  The 
bossed  rosettes  above  the  back  and  the  trellis  work 
below  are  done  by  a  sure  hand.  The  chair  tells  its 
tale,  health  and  goodwill,  for  it  was  destined  for 
the  use  of  honoured  guests. 


CHILD  S   CHAIR 

SEVENTEENTH   CENTURY 


Ancient  Chairs 


DOI.I.S    CHAIRS 


SIXTEENTH    AND   SEVENTEENTH    CENTl'RIES 


DOLLS     CHAIRS 


SIXTEENTH    AND   SEVENTEENTH   CENTURIES 


dolls'   CHAIRS 


SIXTEENTH   AND   SEVENTEENTH    CENTURIES 

339 


Ancient  Chairs 


The  long-backed  chair  on  page  332  (with  detail 
shown  on  page  333)  is  late  fifteenth  century, 
and  came  from  the  Strozzi  Palace,  Florence. 
It  has  fine  contours,  and  was  probably  designed 
by  the  then  architect  of  the  Strozzi  family.  The 
three  legs  have  been  retained,  but  they  are 
stronger  and  more  severe.  The  tall  back  is 
surmounted  by  the  arms  of  the  Strozzi  family. 
Several  Gothic  and  Renaissance  backs,  which,  being 
less  destructible  than  the 
other  parts,  have  been 
preserved  intact,  are  here 
illustrated. 

The  revolving  chair, 
which  dates  from  about 
1500,  bears  a  remarkable 
affinity  to  the  modern 
American  office-chair. 
On  pages  341  and  344  are 
shown  two  views  of  a  re- 
volving chair  of  another 
period,  the  date,  1649, 
being  carved  conspicu- 
ously in  front,  while  the 
back  bears  the  coat-of- 
arms  of  its  first  possessor, 
"a  nobleman  of  Lindau." 
Other  illustrations  include 
armchairs  of  the  sixteenth 
century  from  various 
lands.  There  are  Spanish, 
Italian  (with  fine  leather 
mountings  having  a  deli- 
cate scroll  tracery),  Salz- 
burg (the  one  arm  showing 
that  the  left  arm  was  left 
free  for  spinning),  a  Swiss 
"window"  chair,  and 
chairs  of  the  Italian  re- 
naissance, the  last  having 
very  fine  rounded  contours 
and  rich  carving.  The  one 
on  page  343  is  a  Scotch 
chair,  which  is  dated  1690. 
It  will  be  seen  by  these 
illustrations  how  various 
chairs  were  in  form,  and 
that  though  there  is  some- 
thing common  to  all, 
yet  each  country  repre- 
sented has  its  individual- 
ities. The  guilds  each 
had  their  own  particular 
form   of  chair,  having  chair  backs 

340 


their  arms  carved  on  the  backs,  and  different 
districts  had  their  own  peculiar  designs,  generally 
representative  of  the  trade  to  which  the  owner 
belonged.  The  style  was  patrician,  and  was  only 
distinguished  from  such  by  bearing  the  badge 
of  the  workman.  The  miller,  the  shoemaker,  the 
farrier,  the  carpenter,  each  had  his  own  special 
chair.  That  of  the  Millers'  Guild  (page  344)  is 
so  white  from  the  flour  of  past  ages   that  it  has 


CHAIR  BACK  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY 


CHAIR  BACK 


SIXTEENTH  CENTURY 


SIXTEENTH  CENTURY 


Ancient  Chairs 


REVOI.VINC,   STOOL 


REVOLVING    CHAIR  SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY 

(See  illustration,  page  344) 


EARLY    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY  CHAIR 


SIXTEENTH   CENTURY 


Ancient  Chairs 


grown  to  look  like  ivory.  Merely  to  describe  some 
of  these  in  detail,  and  to  mention  some  not  illus- 
trated here,  would  go  far  beyond  the  length  of  such 
an  article  as  this.  But  children,  and  what  has 
belonged  to  them,  always  have  a  great  interest. 
Notice  how  carefully  the  chairs  have  been  built  for 
them,  and  their  fine  architectural  construction  ; 
they  are  firm,  like  a  house  that  is  to  resist  all 
shocks,  however  violent  they  may  be.  The  Gothic 
one  of  the  fifteenth  century  is  ornamented  with  a 
heart,  symbolical  of  love;  and  the  back  of  that 
of  the  seventeenth  century  is  formed  of  hearts 
entwined,  and  was  probably  a  birthday  present  to 
some  child.  The  high  chair  is  of  the  school  of 
Lyons ;  it  is  a  very  beautiful  specimen  of  the 
French  renaissance,  and  the  colour  of  the  wood  is 
so  toned  with  age  that  it  has  the  appearance  of 
Florentine  bronze.     The  child  was  probably  tied 


SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY 


SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY 


to  the  chair,  or  it  was  only  designed  to  be 
placed  at  table,  for  it  is  so  heavy  that  not  even  a 
very  strong  child  could  have  succeeded  in  toppling 
it  over. 

The  dolls'  chairs  here  illustrated  are  exquisitely 
made,  with  far  more  thought  and  attention  to 
detail  than  those  of  the  present  age.  These  re- 
miniscences of  bygone  centuries  must  have  been 
piously  put  away  by  the  hands  of  careful  mothers 
of  those  days — hence  they  have  come  down  to  us 
in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  These,  too,  come 
from  various  lands,  for  Dr.  Figdor  possesses  true 
instincts,  and  in  his  desire  to  make  his  collection 
as  full  as  possible  he  has  travelled  in  distant 
countries  and  searched  for  himself — taking  nothing 
on  trust.  A.  S.  Levetus. 


ALSATIAN  "window"  CHAIR         SEVENTEENTH   CENTIRY 


SHOEMAKER  S  CHAIR 

SEVENTEENTH   CENTURY 


343 


Studio-Talk 


STUDIO-TALK 

(From  our  Own  Correspondents) 

LONDON.— The  winter  exhibition  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  Painters  of  Water-colours 
provided  a  more  than  usually  interest- 
ing mixture  of  works  illustrating  the 
most  diverse  applications  of  the  medium.  The 
society  includes  artists  of  so  many  schools  of  prac- 
tice and  with  methods  so  definitely  individual,  that 
it  sums  up  with  some  approach  to  completeness 
all  the  more  important  phases  of  the  art  of  water- 


BACK   OF   REVOLVING   CHAIR      SEVENTEENTH   CENTURY 
(See  illustration,  page  341) 


colour  painting,  and  gives  a  brief  but  effective  asser- 
tion of  the  possibilities  of  this  fascinating  form  of 
technical  expression.  In  this  exhibition  there  were 
many  things  of  memorable  quality.  Perhaps  the 
best  were  Sir  E.  A.  Waterlow's  vigorous  landscape, 
Dorsetshire  Downs,  Corfe  Castle,  Mr.  Robert 
Little's  The  Clyde  from  Glenan,  Mr.  James  Pater- 
son's  delicately  atmospheric  Barbuie,  Moniave,  and 
the  splendidly  dignified  Autumn  on  the  Tay,  by  Mr. 
D.  Y.  Cameron  ;  and,  among  the  figure  composi- 
344 


SWISS   CHAIR 


millers'  guild  chair 

seventeenth  century 


'S'°7" 


Studio-Talk 


■-v.. 


Ef^R^' 


"MALAGA,  FROM    liiE   LA.Mtus    ELI 


tions,  Mr.  J.  R.  Weguelin's  The  Garland,  Mr.  J. 
Walter  West's  The  Quakeress  and  A  Silver  Cord, 
Mr.  Anning  Bell's  The  Sestina  and  The  Magic 
Crystal,  and  the  exquisite  fantasies  of  Mr.  Arthur 
Rackham.  Mr.  J.  M.  Swan's  Jaguars,  Mr. 
Reginald  Barratt's  Summer  Evening,  Venice,  and 
Mr.  Napier  Hemy's  sea  piece,  The  Reef,  have  also 
a  particular  claim  to  be  remembered. 


Edge  of  the  Wood:  Mr. 
Francis  Bate  a  very  sound 
and  sincere  portrait  study, 
The  Fan ;  and  Mr.  J.  S. 
Sargent  a  couple  of  bril- 
liant and  expressive 
sketches  astoundingly 
direct  in  handling  and 
sensitive  in  their  manage- 
ment of  tone  relations.  A 
note  must  also  be  made 
of  Mr.  L.  A.  Harrison's 
Hydrangeas,  Mr.  James 
Henry's  Yorkshire  Moor- 
land Village,  Mr.  Mark 
Fisher's  A  Garden  JValk, 
Mr.  Bernhard  Sickert's  The 
Butts,  Brentford,  Mr.  A.  S. 
Hartrick's  Playmates  and 
A.  M.  tuULKAKKK  Crmvning  the  May  Queen, 

Mr.  W.  Rothenstein's  De- 
serted   Quarry,     Mr.     W. 

Orpen's  Improvisation  on  the  Organ,  and  the  portrait 

oi  Mrs.  Jervis  White  Jervis  by  the  late  C.  W.  Furse  ; 

and  of  the   drawings  by    Mr.  Tonks,   Mr.  F.  E. 

James,  Mr.  George  Thomson,   Mr.  Brabazon,   Mr. 

A.  W.  Rich,  and  Mr.  Muirhead  Bone. 


Some     really    remarkable     achievements     gave 
importance  to  the  exhibition  of  the  Royal  Society 


Although  the  recent 
show  of  the  New  English 
Art  Club  was  a  little  un- 
equal and  to  some  extent 
spoiled  by  the  admission 
of  a  certain  number  of 
obviously  misdirected 
efforts,  there  was  in  it  a 
quite  reasonable  proportion 
of  pictures  and  drawings 
which  were  quite  in  accord- 
ance with  the  best  tradi- 
tions of  this  association  of 
young  artists.  Mr.  P.  W. 
Steer  contributed  two  ad- 
mirable landscapes,  Twi- 
light and  The  Storm,  and 
a  cleverly  handled  Portrait 
in  Black;  Mr.  W.  W. 
Russell  an  excellent  study 
of  low  life.  In  the  Queen's 
Arms,  Chelsea,  and  a 
graceful     landscape,      The 


"THE   AFTBRGLOW,"  THE    ALHAMBRA   AND 
SIERRA   NEVADA,  FROM   THE  ALBAIAN,  GRANADA 


BY   A.   M     FOWKRAKER 


347 


Studio-Talk 


BUST  OF   PROFESSOR 
FLINDERS   PETRIE 


BY    MISS   T.  COWAN 


of  British  Artists.     Mr.  F.  F.  Foottet's  large 
decorative  composition  of  dancing  figures  in 
a  landscape,  The  Hours,  ranks  indisputably 
"  as  one  of  the  best  illustrations  that  he  has 
ever   given   us    of   his   peculiarly   personal 
artistic   conviction.      He    has    treated    the 
picture    with    delightful    sensitiveness   and 
with   a   rare    degree  of  poetic  inspiration. 
Good  things  came  also  from  Mr.  Wynford 
Dewhurst,  whose  Nature's  Mirror— Sunrise 
and  Au  Cafe  deserve  to  be  remembered  as 
subtle  impressions  set  down  with  scholarly 
completeness  ;    from    Mr.    R.    Vicat   Cole, 
whose  Spring  is  come  gives  a  very  attractive 
view  of  nature  ;  and  from  Mr.  Tom  Robert- 
son, who  can  be  specially  commended  for 
the  delicacy  with  which  he  has  managed  his 
large   picture,    Venice.     Of  much  value  to 
the  exhibition  were  also  Mr.   W.  A\'estley 
Manning's    The    Return  from    the    Chase, 
Mr.  Walter  Fowler's  Norfolk  Marshes,  Mr. 
A.  E.   Proctor's  Spring  Morning,  and  the 
contributions  of  Mr.  A.  Carruthers  Gould, 
Mr.   Alexander   Maclean,   Mr.   John   Muir- 
head,  Mr.  W.  Wells,  and  Mrs.  Jopling.  The 
most    distinguished    of    the    water-colours 
were  Mr.   Ayerst  Ingram's  Running  before 
348 


an  Easterly  Gale,  Mr.  G.  C.  Haite's  Bellagio, 
Mr.  G.  H.  Lenfestey's  Evening  Grey,  Mr.  Talbot 
Kelly's  On  the  Irraivady,  Mr.  Frank  Southgate's 
A  Find,  and  Mr.  F.  Cayley  Robinson's  To  Faslures 
New.  

We  give  a  reproduction  in  photogravure  of  a 
mezzotint  by  Mr.  John  Finnie,  which  contains 
many  of  those  admirable  qualities  which  have 
placed  this  clever  artist  in  the  high  position  he 
so  deservedly  occupies. 

There  was  recently  held  at  Messrs.  Dowdes- 
well's  Galleries  in  Bond  Street  an  exhibition  of 
very  dainty  miniature  paintings  on  silk,  embel- 
lished with  embroidery,  by  Miss  Dora  Holme, 
whose  work  will  be  familiar  to  readers  of  The 
Studio  through  the  portrait  of  Lady  Stone,  done 


"on   the  sands"      from   the    MINIA-  by    DORA   HOLME 

TORE  PAINTED  AND  EMBROIDERED  ON  SILK 


V 


2g 

z 

-  o 


.^ 


studio-  Talk 


,il^f*-; 


'  THE   SEASHORE 


FROM    A   DRAWING    BY  JESSIE   M.  KING 


in  the  same  manner,  which  was  illus- 
trated in  colours  in  the  issue  for  April, 
1903. 

We  give  a  reproduction  in  colours 
of  a  drawing  by  Mr.  Walter  West, 
representinga  private  view  in  the  early 
days  of  the  old  Water-colour  Society, 
which  celebrated  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  its  foundation  last 
November.  This  important  centen- 
ary will  be  celebrated  shortly  by  the 
issue  from  the  office  of  The  Studio 
of  by  far  the  most  ambitious  Special 
Number  ever  yet  attempted,  which 
will  contain  no  fewer  than  forty  fac- 
simile reproductions  in  colours  of 
characteristic  drawings  by  past  and 
present  members  of  the  Society. 

The  Society  of  Portrait  Painters 
succeeded  in  bringing  together  a 
decidedly  interesting  collection  of 
works  for  their  annual  show  at  the 
New  Gallery.  The  special  feature 
was  a  group  of  Lenbach's  paintings, 
among  them  portraits  of  T/ie  Emperor 
Williatn  /,  Prince  Bismarck,  and 
Countvon  Moltke;  and  therewerealso, 
to  commemorate  painters  recently  de- 
ceased, The  Marchioness  of  Granhy 
and  The  Late  Sir  Leslie  Stephen,  by 
G.  F.  Watts  ;  Philip  Comyns  Carr,  by 
Sir  E.  Burne-Jones  ;  and  a  fairly  good 
study  by  Whistler,  Rose  et  Or,  La 
Napolitaine.  Chief  among  the  con- 
tributions of  living  men  were  Mr. 
Robert  Brough's  The  Rev.  Alexander 
Ogilvie,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  Mr.  H.  de  T. 
35° 


FROM    A    DRAWING 


BY  JESSIE   M.  KING 


A 


PRIVATE  VIEW  AT  THE  OLD 
WATER  -  COLOUR  SOCIETY. 
BY  J.  WALTER  WEST,  R.W.S. 
"you  can  never  enter  It  without  find- 
ing four  or  five  pretty  women,  that's 
a  fact;  pretty  women  with  pretty  pInK 
bonnets  peeping  at  pretty  picturea." 
—Thackeray 


studio-  Talk 


NECKLACE   IN   SILVER,   CHRYSOPRASE   AND   MOTHER-o'-PEARL 
"  DAISY   CHAIN,"    IN   CHAMPLEVi   ENAMEL  WITH   MALACHITE 

BY   ETHEL   KIRKPATRICK 


Glazebrook's  Anthony   Hope  Hawkins^    Esq.   and 
Elsie,  Daughter   of  R.  A.   Eairclough,   Esq.,   Mr. 
George  Henry's  The  Late  J.  Staals  Forbes,  Mr.  W. 
Strang's  Portrait  Study  of  Mr.   Chamberlain,  Mr. 
J.  J.  Shannon's  Daughter  of  A.  Bailey,  Esq.,  and  a 
charming  portrait  of  a  child  byMr.'S.  Melton  Fisher. 
Of  excellent  quality  were  also  Mr.  W.  Llewellyn's 
portrait  of  himself,  the  Hon.  John  Collier's  Lady 
Buckley,  and  the  works  of  Mr.  Harold  Speed,  Mr. 
Richard   Jack,   and     Mr.   Neven   du 
Mont.  A  series  of  remarkable  drawings 
by  Frederick  Sandys  was  included,  and 
there  was  some  notable  sculpture  by 
Mr.  John   Tweed,  Mr.  Basil    Gotto, 
Mr.  A.  G.  Walker,  and  Mr.  F.  Derwent 
Wood. 

Messrs.  Agnew's  annual  exhibition 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Artists'  General 
Benevolent  Institution  consisted  of 
about  a  score  of  masterpieces  by  the 
greatest  painters  of  the  British  school. 
Among  them  were  two  very  fine  Rae- 
burns,  Grace  Lockhart  Ross  of  Balg07vn 
and  Sir  Ale.xander  Muir  Mackenzie, 
Gainsborough's  Duchess  of  Gloucester, 
Romney's  Lady  Milnes  and  Lady 
Hamilton  as  Mirth,  a  superb  full- 
length  of  Lady  Elizabeth  Compton  by 
Reynolds,  and  an  unusually  grace- 
ful portrait  by  Hoppner  of  Lady 
Caroline     Wrottesley.       A     dignified  mural  decoration 


Mountainous  Landscape  by 
Gainsborough,  and  some 
good  canvases  by  Lawrence 
and  Morland  were  also  given 
places  in  the  collection. 

Mr.    Clausen's    pictures 
and    sketches,    shown     at 
the  Goupil  Gallery,  gave  a 
decidedly  pleasant  impres- 
sion of  his  capacities  as  a 
sympathetic     and     accom- 
plished   painter.       A     few 
pictures  on  a  fairly  import- 
ant scale  were  included,  and 
of  these  the  most  deserving 
of  attention  were  the  land- 
scapes, Mo'ii'ing  the  Orchard 
and  Willow  Trees  at  Sunset, 
and    the    cottage    interior. 
The  Sleepy  Child.     But 
the  bulk  of  the  collection 
and   studies   in   oil,   water- 
with     charming     technical 
qualities     and     definite    distinction    of     manner. 
Among     these     smaller     examples    were    several 
flower  studies  of  more  than  ordinary  beauty,  and 
sketches     like     The     Barn    Door,     TIw     Village 
Street,    and    the    pastel    Sunset,    which,    by   their 
freshness  and   spontaneity,   merit  a  place    in    the 
front  rank  of  his  achievement. 


consisted  of  sketches 
colour,     and     pastel, 


BY    W.  J.  NEATBV 

153 


Studio-Talk 


MURAL   DECORATION 


BV  \V.  J.   NEATBY 


MURAl.   DECORATION 


BY  W.  J.  NEATBY 


Ml  KAL  DECOKAIR 


BY  \V.  J.  NEATBY 


Mr.  W.  L.  Wyllie's  water-colour  drawings  of  the 
Thames  from  Westminster  to  the  sea,  which  have 
lately  been  on  view  at  the  Leicester  Galleries,  can, 
perhaps,  be  accused  of  presenting  the  river  under 
an  aspect  which  is  too  consistently  gay ;  but  this 
one  defect  in  them  is  of  small  account  beside  their 
other  good  qualities  as  well  studied  interpretations 
of  extremely  picturesque  subjects.  Mr.  Wyllie 
knows  intimately  the  characteristic  scenery  of  the 
lower  reaches  of  the  river,  and  renders  it  with  the 
354 


fullest  confidence  in  his  knowledge.  That  his 
confidence  is  quite  justifiable  was  plainly  proved 
by  this  fascinating  exhibition, 

We  regret  to  learn  of  the  death,  on  the  24th 
November  hst,  of  Dr.  Christopher  Dresser,  who, 
both  as  a  zealous  worker  in  and  writer  upon  deco- 
rative design,  has  done  more  to  further  the  good 
taste  of  his  countrymen  than  many  men  whose 
names  have  been    more   prominently   before   the 


studio-  Talk 


public.  In  wall  papers,  carpets,  glass,  pottery,  and 
metal  work,  he  was  equally  original  and  happy  in 
his  conceptions.  His  interesting  and  beautifully 
illustrated  book  on  "  Japan,  its  Architecture,  Art, 
and  Manufactures,"  more  nearly  touches  and  eluci- 
dates the  artistic  genius  of  the  Japanese  people 
than  any  other  volume  written  upon  the  subject. 
His  earlier  works,  "  Unity  in  Variety,"  "  Principles 
of  Decorative  Design,"  etc.,  have  been  studied 
with  profit  by  thousands  of  students  of  art.  He 
was  a  man  of  exceptional  talent,  a  strenuous  worker, 
and  of  a  happy  and  genial  temperament. 

We  understand  that  his  daughter.  Miss  Ada 
Nettleton  Dresser,  who  inherits  much  of  her  father's 
talent,  and  was  of  great  help  to  him  in  his  later 
years,    will   continue,    with   a   staff  of   competent 


SILVER  AND   SHELL 
BELT  BUCKLE 


BY  JOSEPH    HODEL 


assistants,  the  studio  at  Elm  Bank, 
Barnes,  London. 


DESIGN:    "DEFEND   THE    RIGllI 


BV    WALTER   CRANK 


Amongst  our  illustrations  are 
included  a  portrait  bust  of  Pro- 
fessor Flinders  Petrie  by  the  clever 
Australian  sculptor,  Miss  T.  Cowan ; 
a  necklace  and  "Daisy  Chain,"  by 
Miss  Ethel  Kirkpatrick;  a  couple  of 
drawings  by  Miss  Jessie  M.  King, 
somewhat  different  in  character 
from  the  work  by  which  she  is  best 
known :  two  landscapes  by  Mr. 
A.  M.  Foweraker ;  and  some  ex- 
cellent mural  decorations  recently 
completed  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Neatby. 

A  tinted  reproduction  is  here 
given  of  a  drawing,  entitled  SiTi^''!>ig 
Sprite,  by  Mr.  Herbert  J.  Draper. 
This  drawing  is  included  amongst 
the  collection  of  clever  studies  by 
Mr.  Draper  now  on  view  at  the 
Leicester  Galleries,  Leicester  Square. 

LEEDS.— By  entrusting 
each  of  the  departments 
to  sub-committees,  with 
some  one  well  known  to 
have  technical  knowledge  of  their 
subject  at  the  head  of  each,  the 
Leeds  Corporation  Gallery,  in 
arranging  their  Arts  and  Crafts 
Exhibition,  safeguarded  themselves 
355 


studio-  Talk 


against  the  admission  of 
inferior  work.  To  the  excel- 
lence of  their  arrangements 
a  successful  exhibition  was 
due.  Hardly  any  artist-crafts- 
man of  importance  was  un- 
represented. In  the  West 
Room  was  a  large  display 
of  original  and  interesting 
pottery,  experiments  from 
Messrs.  Doulton's,  the  "Delia 
Robbia "  Pottery,  Messrs. 
C.  W.  Gibson  &  Co.,  and 
from  the  Lancasterian  Pottery. 
Some  bronzes  were  sent  from 
LaMaison  Moderne,  designed 
by  Charpentier,  Hoetger, 
and  by  Meunier.  Exhibits 
of  Mr.  Edward  Spencer's 
ironwork,  and  some  ware 
designed  by  Mr.  M.J.Adams, 
noteworthy  among  the  latter 
a  sundial,  were  also  included. 
In  the  same  room  were 
enamels  by  Mr.  S.  H. 
Meteyard,  an  electric  light 
sconce  by  Mr.  Alexander 
Fisher,  and  a  well-executed 
silver  medallion  of  St.  Cecilia 
by  Miss  Jean  Milne.  Cases  of 
jewellery  included  some  ex- 
cellent designs  by  Mr.  A.  H. 
Jones,  Mr.  J.  E.  Willson,  and 
the  Bromsgrove  Guild  of 
Applied  Arts.  A  silver  cup 
by  Mr.  Edgar  Simpson  was 
noticeable    by    the    restraint 


DESIGN:    "  BON    VOYAGE' 


BY   WALTER   CRANE 


and  elegance  of  its  design.  The  jewellery  ex- 
hibited by  Miss  F.  Stern  and  Miss  G.  ConoUy, 
and  by  W.  S.  Hadaway,  was  of  a  high  order. 
Some  of  the  pieces  by  Mr.  Joseph  Hodel  we're 
of  particular  beauty,  and  we  reproduce  two 
designs  for  buckles  from  among  them.  On  one 
side  of  the  room  was  exhibited  a  large  design 
by  Mr.  Frank  Brangwyn,  A.R.A.,  full  of  his  best 
characteristics.  Much  jewellery  was  exhibited,  and 
the  prevailing  quality  of  it  was  high,  though  certain 
designers  stood  out  whose  names  have  become 
established  by  their  output  of  beauty. 


SILVER    "CUPID"   BUCKLE 

356 


BY  JOSEPH  HODEL 


In  the  South  Room  Messrs.  Heal  &  Son  ex- 
hibited some  characteristic  furniture  designed  by 
Mr.  Ambrose  Heal,  jun.  There  was  an  interesting 
decorative  panel,   The  Conquest  of  Fire,  by  Mr.  E. 


1 


"SINGING  SPRITE." 
FROM  THE  DRAWING  BY 
HERBERT  J.  DRAPER. 

ItKliliiltii   al  till   UUtsltr  tiattery.) 


Studio-Talk 


Caldwell  Spruce,  some 
fireplaces  of  exceptional 
merit  designed  for  and 
exhibited  by  the  Teal 
Fireplace  Co.,  Ltd.,  a 
design  for  a  silver  sport- 
ing cup  by  Miss  Mary 
C.  Buzzard,  a  walnut 
armchair  designed  by  Miss 
M.  MoUer,  executed  by 
Miss  M.  Hield,  an  oak 
inlaid  settle  by  Mr.  M. 
Baillie  Scott,  a  sketch 
panel  and  some  statuary 
by    Mr.    Henry    C.    Fehr, 


EMBROIDERED   FAN 


BY   MISS   MARY   H.  WILLSON 


a  degree  of  excellence  that  made  them  distinctive. 
In  needlework  the  embroidered  panel.  The  Meadmv, 
by  Miss  Lily  Yeats,  and  the  applique  needlework 


BOOK    COVER 


DESIGNED   BY   B.  RILKY 
EXECUTED   BY  J.  DAVIDSON 


a  plaster  design  for  panel,  Love's  Last  Gift,  by 
Miss  Frances  Darlington,  a  mahogany  dining-room 
chair  from  the  Guild  of  Handicraft — all  of  which 
designs  in  their  separate  branches  were  carried  to 


SILVER   CUP 


BY    BDGAR   SIMPSON 

359 


studio-  Talk 


good  exhibit  of  bookbind- 
ings was  in  this  room,  and 
worthy  of  mention  were 
designs  by  Mr.  B.  Riley, 
the  Essex  House,  Messrs. 
Sangorski  &  SutcHffe,  Mrs. 
Rae  Macdonald,  Miss  Alice 
Pattinson,  and  Mr.  George 
Fisher,  and  a  folding  screen 
in  oak  and  embossed 
leather  designed  by  D. 
Wordsworth  and  executed 
by  Mrs.  Simpson. 


LEADED    GLASS 


pictures  designed  by  Mrs. 
by  Miss  Sybil  VVolton, 
bedspreads  by  Arthur  H. 
Lee,  were  original  and 
well  executed ;  there  was 
a  coverlet  by  the  Hasle- 
mere  Weaving  Industry 
which  had  beauty  of 
colour ;  and  we  were 
struck  with  six  doyleys  by 
Miss  A.  M.  Appleton, 
which  were  dainty  and 
elegant,  and  a  very  clever 
decorative  landscape 
tapestry  designed  by 
Luther  Hooper  and  exe- 
cuted by  C.  Y.  S.  Brock. 


R.  Reason  and  executed 
and    embroidered    linen 


In  the  Staircase  Hall 
there  were  some  good  book- 
bindings by  Walter  Spink 
and  Miss  Ethel  Slater.  In 
one  or  two  of  the  designs 
of  the  former,  however, 
there  was  a  tendency  to 
cheapen  the  appearance  of 
the  work  by  over-embellish- 
ment. An  embroidered 
panel  of  roses  by  Miss 
C.  A.  Walker  was  well 
done.  On  the  Balcony  the 
leaded  glasses  designed  by 
Andrew  Stoddart,  and 
those  designed  by  A. 
Gascoyne,  were  particularly 
interesting.  There  was  an  oak  inlaid  secretaire  by 
Mr.   M.  Baillie  Scott,  executed    by   J.  P.    White, 


DESIGNED   BY   ALEXANDER    GASCOYNE 
EXECUTED   BY   GEORGE   BURNILL 
EXHIBITORS  :    GEO.  F.  GASCOYNE  &  SON 


In  the  East  Room  the 
colour-print  drawings  for 
book  illustrations  by  Miss 
F.  H.  Laverack  were  of 
exceptional  merit.  A  very 
360 


OAK    WASHSTAND 


DESIGNED   BY   AMBROSE    HEAL,  JUNR. 
EXECUTED   BY   MESSRS.    HEAL  &  SONS 


Studio-Talk 


LEADED  GLASS 


DESIGNED   I;Y  ANDREW    STODDART 
EXECUTED  BY  NOR>L\N  KOBI.NSON 


which  was  restrained  in  design  and  useful.  There 
was  a  clever  design  for  stained  glass  by  Miss  Emily 
Ford,  and  cartoons  for  windows  by  Mr.  Silvester 
Sparrow  of  dignity  and  good  design ;  but  the  best 
of  this  kind  of  work  was  sent  by  Mr.  Anning  Bell, 
whose  work,  with  the  original  designs  exhibited  by 
Mr.  Walter  Crane,  and  some  of  the  books  from 
the  Essex  House,  set  that  high  standard  of  decora- 
tion which  is  of  such  value  to  the  less  experienced 
decorative  artists  who  exhibit  in  these  exhibitions. 

E.  S. 

DUBEIN.  —  When  the  Irish  Arts  and 
Crafts  Society  was  founded,  now  some 
ten  years  ago,  there  was  little  evidence 
of  an  awakening  of  the  artistic  spirit 
amongst  Irish  designers  and  ciaftsmen.  The 
movement  had  its  rise  not,  as  in  England,  amongst 
the  craftsmen,   but  amongst  a  group  of  amateurs 


and  connoisseurs  weary  of  the  time-worn  conven- 
tions of  the  Irish  designer.  Their  first  exhibition 
was  held  in  1895. 


The  work  at  that  first  Arts  and  Crafts  Exhibition 
reflected  very  clearly  the  condition  of  Irish  art 
industries  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Technical  skill  there  was  in  plenty — the  inherited 
traditions  of  a  race  once  famous  in  Europe  for  its 
jewellery  and  metal-work,  later  for  its  plaster-work 
and  cabinet  making. 


Since  that  first  exhibition  the  schools  of  art  in 
Ireland  have  come  under  the  control  of  an  Irish 
IJepartment,  whose  headquarters  are  in  Dublin ; 
and  the  last  year  or  two  has  seen  a  revival  of 
interest  in  the  decorative  arts  and  the  starting 
of  several  new  enterprises.  The  Arts  and  Crafts 
Exhibition  held  in  Dublin  last  November  illus- 
trates these  developments  very  fairly,  though  in 
one  important  direction  hardly  so  fully  as  one 
would  have  wished.  Quite  the  most  noteworthy 
event    in    the   recent   history   of    Irish    arts    and 


"THE   MOTHER      :    PANEL   IN 
COLOURED   PLASTER 


IIV    BEATRICE   ELVERV 


361 


Studio-Talk 


EiMBROIDERED   CASKET:    FROM  THE  ROYAL  SCHOOL  OF  ART  NEEDLEWORK,  DUBLIN 


crafts  has  been  the  starting  of  a  workshop  in 
Dublin  for  the  manufacture  of  stained  glass  by  Miss 
Sarah  Purser,  H.R.H.A.  For  many  years 
most  of  the  orders  for  stained  -  glass 
windows  for  Irish  churches  have  gone 
to  Munich,  and  the  glass  thus  imported 
into  Ireland  has  been  in  nearly  every  case 
feeble  in  design  and  poor  in  quality. 
The  windows  now  being  made  at  "The 
Tower  of  Glass,"  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  Child,  Mr.  Whall's  talented  pupil, 
for  Emly  and  Loughrea  Cathedrals,  are 
in  every  respect  worthy  to  rank  with  the 
best  modern  work,  and  Irish  stained  glass 
promises  to  become  famous  in  the  future. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that,  owing  to  the 
difficulty  of  putting  up  a  window  in  the 
hall  in  which  the  Arts  and  Crafts  Exhibi- 
tion was  held,  only  three  small  panels 
from  Miss  Purser's  workshops  were 
shown.  These,  however,  were  quite  ad- 
mirable, both  in  colour  and  design  ;  the 
treatment  of  the  two  armorial  panels  for 
the  base  of  a  window  at  Emly  being 
particularly  good. 


for  presentation  to  H.M. 
the  King  by  the  workers 
in  the  Killarney  furniture 
industry.  The  cabinet, 
which  stands  about  lo  ft. 
high,  shows  great  technical 
skill  in  the  carving  and  the 
finish  of  the  whole ;  but 
as  it  is  a  replica,  with 
modifications,  of  an  old 
model,  it  fails  to  interest  as 
much  as  a  piece  of  ori- 
ginal work.  Miss  St.  John 
Whitty's  work  is  good  in 
intention,  if  at  times  a  little 
over-elaborate.  Her  most 
ambitious  effort  was  a 
triptych  with  crucifix  ;  but 
she  was  more  successful  in  a  little  cupboard  with 
copper  panel.    Her  fire-screen,  in  wood  and  leather, 


The  work  in  the  exhibition  was 
divided  into  thirteen  classes :  Wood- 
work; leather- work;  bookbinding;  print- 
ing, etc.  ;  modelling ;  stained  glass ; 
marble  inlaying  and  mosaic ;  pottery ; 
metal-work ;  carpets  and  tapestry ;  em- 
broidery; lace  and  crochet  ;  and  designs 
for  lace,  damask,  etc.  In  the  wood- 
work section  the  most  imposing  exhibit 
was  the  large  carved  oak  cabinet  made 
362 


DECORATED    WITH 
RED   AND   BROWN 


i    I  ,  l;l.UE  BACKGROUND 
^•liLTIC    DESIGN    IN 


FROM  MISS  GLEESON  S 
DUN  EMER  INDUSTRIES 


Studio-Talk 


iHTAll,    OK    GUILDS    KOKE 


CHILI)  S    ROBE    IN    Ll.MEKILK    LACK     I'KESK.NTKH    To    HKK    KXIKLI.KNCY   THK  COUNiKSS  OF    DUDLKY 

DKSIGNlil)   HY    R.    A.    DAWSON,    A.R.C.A.  EXECUTED   BY    BLANCHE 

MCCORI)  AND  THE  MEMBERS  OF   MUNICIPAL  SCHOOL  OF  ART,  BELFAST 


363 


Studio-Talk 


so  short  a  time  that  it  is  hardly  yet  pos- 
sible to  judge  of  its  work ;  but  in  other 
sections  of  the  exhibition  some  admir- 
able work  was  shown  from  Dun  Emer  in 
tapestry  and  carpet  weaving  and  em- 
broidery. It  is  only  two  years  since 
Miss  Gleeson,  the  Misses  E.  and  L. 
Yeats,  and  some  other  artistic  workers 
took  a  house  at  Dundrum,  near  Dublin, 
and  started  hand-printing,  embroidery, 
and  weaving,  with  village  giris  as  workers. 
"  A  wish  to  find  work  for  Irish  hands  in 
the  making  of  beautiful  things "  was 
their  object ;  and  the  success  which  has 
attended  their  efforts  was  shown  by  the 
specimens  of  their  work  at  this  exhibi- 
tion. Miss  Yeats's  embroideries  were 
admirable,  especially  a  portiire  worked 
on  Galway  flannel,  with  design  of  pea- 
cocks. The  Royal  Irish  School  of  Art 
Needlework  also  sent  some  good  em- 
broideries. 

In  the"  section  devoted  to  modelling 
in  plaster  Mrs.  Vanston's  work  showed 
refinement    and    skill.     Some    of   Miss 


ALBUM    IN   TOOLED   LEATHER 

WITH  ILLUMINATED  ADDRESS 

LEATHER     MEDALLIONS    BY     MISS    M.     HOUSTON 

INTERLACED  DESIGN   BY  MISS   LILIAN    DAVIDSON 

SILVER   CORNERS   BY   MR.    W.   C.    VVHEELAR 


is  a  clever  piece  of  work,  but  the  design 
of  the  inlaid  border  does  not  harmonise 
well  with  the  central  portion.  Three 
exhibits  by  the  Irish  Decorative  Art 
Association,  Belfast — a  corner  cupboard, 
a  firewood  box,  and  a  bowl  and  stand 
— deserve  special  attention.  Here  there 
is  obviously  an  attempt  to  be  original, 
so  far,  at  least,  as  the  decoration  is  con- 
cerned ;  but  the  result  is  not  happy. 
Indeed,  these  exhibits  must  be  con- 
demned as  wrong  both  in  design  and 
treatment.  They  are  all  made  of  oak, 
stained  green — a  very  doubtful  improve- 
ment on  the  rich  brown  of  Irish  oak, 
which  is  capable  of  taking  a  high  polish, 
as  shown  in  the  cabinet  from  Killarney. 


The  sections  devoted  to  leather-work 
and  to  bookbinding  were  not  large.  In 
the  former  the  best  examples  came  from 
the  schools  of  art  in  Dublin  and  Belfast. 
The  Dun  Emer  bindery  has  been  started 
364 


"OLD  fisherman"      ( Si'i  Kiel  Studio-Talk)      by  a.   wilckens 


studio-  Talk 


"a  friesland  interior" 


BY   A.    WILCKENS 


An  advance  has  been  made, 
and  the  Arts  and  Crafts 
Society  of  Ireland  may  be 
congratulated  on  having 
helped  materially  to  bring 
about  a  renaissance  of  Irish 
art  industries.  E.  D. 

KIEL.— There  are, 
perhaps,  few  pro- 
vinces in  North 
Germany  so  at- 
tractive for  the  purpose  of 
artistic  exploration  in  regard 
to  their  local  character  as 
the  county  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein  "  Meerumschlun- 
gen."  Ocean-embraced  by 
the  rolling  breakers  of  the 
North  Sea  and  the  soft 
ripples  of  the  Baltic,  the 
landscape   presents    nearly 


Beatrice  Elvery's  small 
statuettes  and  a  panel  in 
relief  were  charming  in 
their  naivete  and  grace. 
In  marble  inlaying  there 
were  two  important  ex- 
hibits— marble  mantel- 
pieces— shown  by  Messrs. 
Sharp  and  Emery,  who 
claim  to  have  discovered 
the  lost  method  of  Bossi, 
the  great  Italian  who  de- 
signed and  carried  out  so 
many  of  the  beautiful 
mantelpieces  one  finds 
scattered  throughout  Ire- 
land. Some  mosaic  work 
by  students  of  the  Dublin 
School  of  Art,  where  this 
craft  is  now  being  taught, 
was  also  worthy  of  praise. 
Enamelling  is  another  art 
that  has  been  recently 
revived  in  Ireland,  and 
quite  a  number  of  enamels 
were  shown. 

On  the  whole,  the  ex- 
hibition was  a'most  interest- 
ing   and    suggestive    one. 


'  SUNDAY   morning" 


IIV    II.     V.    II  IPERSEN 


Studio-Talk 


every  variety  of  picturesqueness,  from  the  dense, 
low,  misty  tones  of  our  rough  and  flat  western 
sea-board,  with  its  somewhat  dry  poorness  of 
heather,  potato,  and  cornfields  on  the  more 
elevated,  undulating  ground  of  the  middle  hill- 
range,  to  the  rich  and  pure  splendour  of  light 
and  colour  in  the  summer  and  autumn  months  on 
the  Baltic  coast. 

Since  first  mentioned  in  The  Studio  four 
years  ago,  provincial  art  feeling  of  a  good  tra- 
ditional and,  at  the  same  time,  modern  character 
has  slowly  but  surely  been  gaining  ground 
among  artists  as  well  as  the  general  public  here ; 
this  movement  was  initiated  and  well  kept  up  by 
dint  of  frequent  exhibitions,  such  as  those  held  by 
the  Art  Society  {Schkswig-Hohteinischer  Kunst- 
verein),  the  Kunstgenossenschaft,  and  the  Thaulow- 
Museum  in  Kiel,  as  well  as  in  the  annual  Wander- 
aussellungen  (travelling  exhibitions)  at  Altona, 
Neumiinster,  Itzehoe,  Husum  (the  native  town  of 
the  poet  Theodor  Storm),  and  other  provincial 
towns. 


scape  and  interior  views  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Hadersleben  her  speciality. 


Among  the  native  artists 
of  reputation  contributing 
to  these  exhibitions  we 
have  already  pointed  out 
Professor  Hans  Olde 
(Director  of  the  Modern 
Art  School  of  Weimar). 
We  may  also  mention 
Professor  Adolf  Briitt 
(Berlin),  the  sculptor,  speci- 
mens of  whose  first-class 
work  are  at  present  on  view 
in  the  entrance-hall  of  the 
Thaulow-Museum.  A  sur- 
vey of  this  artist's  life  and 
work  will  be  presented 
shortly  to  the  readers  of 
this  magazine. 


The  views  of  old-fashioned  peasant  and  fisher- 
men's dwellings,  containing  their  traditional  fur- 
niture, stores,  and  utensils,  with  the  characteristic 
types  of  the  people  living,  like  their  forefathers 
did,  in  this  same  "  milieu "  since  childhood,  are 
most  attractive. 

The  illustration  on  page  365 — Sunday  Morning 
(an  old  peasant  woman  reading  Scriptures)  and  the 
portrait  on  this  page  —  are  the  clever  work  of 
H.  P.  Feddersen. 

W.  S. 

PARIS. — The  exhibitions  one  by  one  are 
opening  their  doors,  as  is  the  case  every 
year  about  this  period,  and  while  we  are 
awaiting  the  International  Exhibition  at 
the  Petit  Gallery  mention  may  be  made  of  the 
success  won  by  the  first  display  of  the  etchers  in 
colours  —  the  Aquafortistes  en  Couleurs — a  new 
society  over  which  that  excellent  artist,  Rafifaelli, 


Two  other  interesting 
workers  are  August 
Wilckens  and  Char- 
lotte von  Krogh,  both 
from  Hadersleben,  in 
North  Schleswig.  Mr. 
Wilckens  is  at  present 
studying  features  and  folks 
on  the  islands  of  our  west 
coast,  while  Miss  von 
Krogh  has  made  the  land- 
366 


BY    H.  P.    FEDDERSEN 


Reviews 


presides.    So  interesting  is  this  collection  that  1  pro- 
pose to  refer  to  it  at  greater  length  in  the  near  future. 


At  the  Drouet  Gallery  M.  Maurice  Denis  is 
displaying  a  collection  of  pictures  he  has  brought 
back  from  Italy.  In  these  one  discovers  again  his 
delicate  feeling  and  his  gifts  as  a  colourist — at 
times  a  rather  frigid  colourist,  to  my  thinking.  At 
a  time  when  there  is  so  much  talk  of  suppressing 
the  teaching  that  the  artist  may  obtain  from  Italy 
and  the  Italian  masters,  it  is  somewhat  amusing 
to  find  one  of  the  most  modern  and  most  inde- 
pendent of  our  artists  deriving  several  of  his  finest 
inspirations  from  classic  soil.  H.  F. 

REVIEWS. 
Memeriah  of  the  Martyr  King.  By  Allan 
Fea.  (London  :  John  Lane.)  jQ$  ^s.  net. — Mr. 
Fea's  strong  sympathy  with  Charles  I.  has  long 
been  known,  and  has  been  eloquently  expressed  in 
previous  publications  ;  but  in  the  "  Diar)',"  with 
which  he  prefaces  his  new  volume,  of  the  two  last 
melancholy  years  of  a  life  marked  from  first  to  last 
by  a  strong  element  of  tragedy,  he  has  gathered  up 
all  his  knowledge  into  an  enthralling  narrative,  that 
must  fully  satisfy  the  admirers,  and  command  the 
respect  of  the  most  hostile  critics  of  the  sufferer, 
as  they  watch  the  gradual  tightening  of  the  coils  of 
his  enemies  about  him.  From  day  to  day  the 
fluctuations  of  hope  and  fear,  with  the  futile  efforts 
at  escape,  are  traced  with  an  unerring  hand — the 
character  of  the  king  emerging  from  each  fresh 
trial,  not  strengthened  to  avoid  the  mistakes  of  the 
past,  but  chastened  to  meet  the  fresh  trials  of  the 
future.  Indeed,  as  Charles  recognised  the  hope- 
lessness of  his  position  more  fully  his  attitude  in- 
creased in  dignity,  till  it  culminated  in  the  majestic 
bearing  of  the  death  scene  ;  so  that,  in  spite  of  the 
foregone  conclusion,  the  heart  of  the  reader  of 
Mr.  Fea's  finely-written  story  cannot  fail  to  throb, 
and  his  pulse  to  quicken,  in  response  to  feelings 
akin  to  those  of  the  faithful  remnant  of  the  friends 
of  the  doomed  monarch.  The  Diary  is  enriched 
with  representations  of  the  various  castles  and  houses, 
etc.,  in  which  the  king  was  imprisoned,  or  where  he 
took  refuge  from  lime  to  time  ;  amongst  the  latter 
of  which  might  well  have  been  included  the  still 
standing  cottage  on  Cheriton  Down,  near  Aires- 
ford,  with  a  large  oven  behind  the  chimney,  in 
which  he  lay  concealed  for  some  time  after  his 
escape  from  Hampton  Court.  A  very  great  num- 
ber of  priceless  heirlooms  are  reproduced  in 
photogravure,  and  include  facsimiles  of  the  certifi- 
cate given  by  the  king  to  Sir  Thomas  Herbert — 


who  attended  him  to  the  very  last — and  bearing 
date  January  28th,  1648  (that  would,  of  course,  be 
1649  in  modern  reckoning);  the  title-page  of  the 
prayer-book  used  on  the  scaffold,  and  of  the 
binding  of  the  Bible  given  to  Bishop  Juxon,  of 
which  that  of  Mr.  Fea's  book  is  a  slighdy  modified 
copy  ;  with  many  of  the  actual  garments  worn  at 
the  execution,  such  as  the  blue  silk  vest  and  the 
extra  shirt — apropos  of  which  Herbert  relates  that 
on  the  morning  of  the  fatal  day  his  master  said  to 
him:  "Let  me  have  a  shirt  on  more  than  ordinary, 
by  reason  the  season  is  so  sharp  as  probably  may 
make  me  shake,  which  some  observers  will  imagine 
proceeds  from  fear."  The  story  of  the  relics  com- 
pleted, the  author  proceeds  to  give  verbatim  the 
narratives  of  several  gentlemen  who  were  in  close 
attendance  upon  the  king  during  the  latter  part  of 
his  reign,  including  Dr.  Hudson,  the  chaplain  after 
the  Battle  of  Edgehill,  who  was  with  Charles  in 
his  flight  from  Oxford  in  1646  ;  Sir  Thomas  Her- 
bert— a  facsimile  of  a  leaf  of  whose  memoirs  is 
given — who  knew  the  King's  heart  and  mind  more 
intimately,  perhaps,  than  any  of  his  adherents  ; 
Major  Huntingdon,  who  wrote  from  memory 
thirty-two  years  after  the  martyrdom ;  Sir  John 
Berkeley,  who  was  the  agent  employed  in  the 
most  important  negotiations  with  Cromwell ;  and 
John  Ashburnham,  the  close  friend  and  confidant 
of  Charles,  who  differs  greatly  from  Berkeley  in  his 
opinion  on  many  essential  points;  with  the  compara- 
tively fragmentary  accounts  of  certain  minor  episodes 
by  Colonel  Edward  Cooke  and  Sir  Henry  Firebrace 
— the  former  written  in  1648,  the  latter  in  1675 — 
supplemented  in  a  useful  appendix  by  copies  of 
letters  from  certain  officers  in  the  Parliamentary 
service,  so  that  the  whole  forms  a  perfect  encyclo- 
paedia of  information  on  the  subject  dealt  with. 
The  numerous  portraits  of  the  king  —  amongst 
which,  however,  many  will  miss  with  regret  that  in 
the  memorial  medal  struck  soon  after  his  execution, 
that  John  Evelyn  considered  the  best  likeness  of 
Charles  in  his  latter  years — have  been  reproduced 
with  the  utmost  care.  They  include  the  group  of 
three  heads  of  Vandyck  that  led  Bernini  to  pro- 
phesy a  violent  death  for  their  subject  and  all  the 
most  celebrated  presentments  of  the  nnnarch, 
together  with  many  comparatively  little  known,  such 
as  the  gruesome  likeness  in  his  own  hair  stained 
with  his  blood,  owned  by  the  Shelley  family  ;  but 
it  seems  a  pity  that  a  copy — though  a  fine  one, 
that  by  Lely — of  the  picture  destroyed  by  fire 
should  have  been  chosen  as  the  frontispiece. 

Altmoriah  oj  Ed'ioard  Biime-Jones.    By  G.  B.-J. 
(London:  Macmillan.)     Two  vols.     30.?.  net. — No 

367 


Reviews 


more  deeply  interesting  biography  has  appeared  of 
late  years  than  this  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Sir 
Edward  Burne- Jones  from  the  pen  of  his  widow, 
whose  life  was  bound  up  with  his  from  her  early 
girlhood  to  the  end.  Engaged  to  the  penniless 
young  artist  at  sixteen,  she  was  drawn  by  him  into 
the  stress  and  strain  of  his  probation  years  ;  and 
her  eloquently  written  story  is  an  unconscious 
revelation  of  her  own  beautiful  nature,  of  which 
receptivity  was  one  of  the  most  marked  char- 
acteristics. Neither  she  nor  her  lover  had  any 
aesthetic  associations  to  inspire  them ;  she  was  the 
daughter  of  a  dissenting  minister,  he  was  intended 
for  a  clergyman,  and  his  sympathies  were  with  the 
High  Church  party.  Yet  at  their  very  first  meeting 
soul  spoke  to  soul  as  well  as  heart  to  heart.  Never 
was  there  any  faltering  on  the  part  of  the  young 
girl,  who  found  herself  breathing  an  atmosphere 
quite  unlike  that  of  her  home,  brought  into  close 
touch  with  the  remarkable  group  of  men  who  were 
to  bring  about  a  revolution  in  the  art  of  England. 
No  truer  picture  has  ever  been  given  of  Rossetti 
and  Morris  as  young  men,  or  of  Ruskin  in  his 
prime  and  Madox  Brown  in  his  strenuous  middle- 
age,  as  is  here  touched  off  with  sympathetic  hand, 
yet  there  is  not  one  word  that  could  have  wounded 
the  susceptibilities  of  any  of  them.  I^ady  Burne- 
Jones  naively  reveals  the  utter  unpreparedness  of 
the  gifted  artists,  who  worked  together  at  Oxford, 
for  the  profession  of  their  lives — the  waste  of  time, 
of  energy,  and  of  material  that  might  have  been 
saved  had  they  studied  in  the  life  schools  of  Paris 
for  a  few  months,  before  they  embarked  on  their 
mad  enterprise  to  decorate  the  Union.  With  equal 
candour  the  writer  makes  no  disguise  of  her  own 
ignorance  of  domestic  economy  or  of  her  husband's 
deficiencies  as  a  man  of  business  ;  but  through  all 
their  mistakes  and  misadventures  runs  the  golden 
thread  of  unselfish  devotion  to  each  other  and  of 
united  high  endeavour,  making  their  lives  a  true 
poem  of  human  happiness  and  of  their  home  an 
earthly  Paradise,  into  which  whosoever  was  privileged 
to  enter  went  forth  with  fresh  courage  for  the  struggle 
without.  The  book  will  be  full  of  inspiration  not 
only  to  the  as  yet  inarticulate  artist  who  feels  his 
power  but  cannot  express  it,  but  to  every  true 
worker  in  whatever  field.  Its  one  drawback  is  the  fact 
that  the  illustrations  are  not  in  the  least  representa- 
tive of  Sir  Edward  Burne- Jones.  The  portraits 
are,  of  course,  interesting  and  the  caricatures 
amusing  ;  but  they  might  well  have  been  supple- 
mented by  at  least  a  few  of  the  pictures  that  most 
clearly  reflect  his  unique  genius. 

Sketches   on   the    Old   Road  through   France   to 
368 


Florence.  By  A.  Hallam  Murray,  accompanied 
by  Henrv  VV.  Nevinson  and  Montgomery  Car- 
michael.  (London:  John  Murray.)  2\s.  net; 
Edition  de  Luxe,  ^2  2s.  net. — In  his  brief  Introduc- 
tion to  this  most  delightful  volume  Mr.  Nevinson 
comments  on  the  charming  name  of  Traveller's  Joy 
given  to  the  wild  clematis,  and  makes  it  the  text 
of  an  interesting  and  amusing  dissertation  on  the 
different  kinds  of  joy  distilled  by  travellers  from 
their  wanderings.  He  himself  found  his  chief 
pleasure  in  recalling  the  noble  associations  of  the 
past  in  the  road  through  France,  but  he  also  touches 
off  the  salient  characteristics  of  the  present  time, 
bringing  the  people  he  met  vividly  before  his  readers. 
On  the  threshold  of  Italy  he  had  reluctantly  to  turn 
back,  a  task  he  says  he  found  most  difficult  of 
all ;  and  the  narrative  is  continued  by  Mr.  Car- 
michael,  whose  long  residence  in  Tuscany  as 
British  Vice-Consul,  and  constant  journeys  to  and 
fro  in  the  land  of  art  and  song  have  rendered 
him  familiar  with  it  and  its  inhabitants.  He 
writes  with  the  easy  grace  of  one  who  has  a 
deep  reserve  fund  of  knowledge  to  draw  upon,  and 
even  manages  to  give  freshness  to  such  hackneyed 
themes  as  the  cremation  of  Shelley's  remains,  and 
the  origin  of  San  Remo.  He  tells,  for  instance, 
an  incident  that  shows  Zibibbi,  the  finder  of  the 
poet's  body,  in  quite  a  new  light,  and  he  really 
seems  to  have  solved  the  mystery  of  the  name  of 
San  Remo.  Both  of  Mr.  Murray's  collaborateurs 
indeed  supplement  well  the  charming  series  of 
admirably  reproduced  water-colour  drawings  that 
are  the  most  distinctive  feature  of  the  book. 
The  artist  has  the  rare  gift  of  knowing  what  to 
select,  and  has  shown  considerable  tact  in  the 
grouping  of  his  figures,  that  never  fail  to  har- 
monise well  with  their  surroundings.  Perhaps  the 
one  weakness  of  a  very  accomplished  painter  is  his 
somewhat  matter-of-fact  treatment  of  water,  as 
instanced  in  the  ignoring  of  surface  and  literal 
rendering  of  reflections  in  the  Castle  of  Chenonceau 
and  Castle  of  Amboise,  that  would  have  gained 
greatly  by  more  freedom  of  execution. 

French  Songs  of  Old  Canada.  Pictured  by  W. 
Grah.'VM  Robertson.  (London  :  \V.  Heinemann.) 
31.5.  6d.  net. — As  full  of  poetic  feeling  and  as 
thoroughly  in  touch  with  their  subjects  as  are  the 
charming  drawings  of  "  Old  English  Songs  and 
Dances "  and  of  "  A  Masque  of  May  Morning," 
these  beautiful  interpretations  of  "  French  Songs 
of  Old  Canada  "  will  be  welcomed  with  enthusiasm 
by  all  who  are  able  to  appreciate  their  delicate 
beauty  of  form,  harmonious  colouring,  and  original 
composition.       Mr.    Robertson    displays    a    truly 


Reviews 


remarkable  intuition  into  the  spirit  of  his  themes, 
that  so  vividly  reflect  the  light-hearted  yet  deeply 
sensitive  temperament  of  the  old  French  Canadians, 
whose  hereditary  characteristics  were  tempered  and 
chastened  by  the  sterner  conditions  of  life  in  the 
land  of  their  adoption.  Pathos  and  humour,  joy 
and  sorrow,  are  inextricably  woven  together  in  the 
quaint  old  words  of  many  of  the  songs,  even  the 
gayest  of  them  recalling  the  touching  words  of  the 
German  writer,  Hermann  Neumann  : 

"  Hush,  joy  !     Ah,  have  a  care, 
Speak  softly,  Sorrow  lies  sleeping  there." 

How  wonderfully,  for  instance,  is  the  whole  story 
of  Cecilia  told  in  the  two  first  drawings.  No  need 
for  her  sailor  to  look  so  forlorn  as  her  father 
leads  her  off,  for  it  is  very  evident  that  she  is 
leaving  her  heart  behind  her.  Who  can  help 
feeling  a  serrement  de  ca-ur  at  the  sight  of  the 
handsome  young  gallant  about  to  lay  down  his  life 
for  the  careless  Isabella,  fully  repaid  by  the  slight 
touch  from  her  hand  as  he  goes  to  his  fate  ?  What 
a  perfect  poem  in  colour  are  the  drawings  for 
Zfou  viens  fu,  Bergire,  with  their  suggestions  of  the 
chill  breaking  of  the  dawn  and  of  the  awe  the 
shepherds  seem  to  have  communicated  even  to 
their  sheep,  over  the  miracle  of  the  birth  in  the 
lowly  manger.  What  character  there  is  in  each 
one  of  the  group  gathered  about  the  murdered 
duck  in  En  roulant  ma  boule,  and  how  delightfuU}- 
natural  is  the  forgiving  glance  bestowed  by  one  of 
the  mourning  maidens  on  the  author  of  the  tragedy. 
The  greatest  care  and  skill  have  been  shown  in  the 
translations  of  the  drawings,  the  colouring  having 
been  added  by  hand.  The  reproductions  are 
indeed  worthy  interpretations  of  the  originals,  and 
form,  with  the  finely  printed  text  and  the  music  to 
which  the  lays  are  set,  a  perfect  treasure-house 
of  delight.  Full  completeness  is  given  to  what  will 
certainly  be  one  of  the  most  popular  gift-books  of 
the  year  by  the  addition  in  a  separate  pamphlet 
of  good  translations  into  English  of  all  the  songs 
illustrated. 

Sandro  Botticelli.  By  Julia  C.\rt\vrii;ht. 
(London:  Duckworth  &  Co.)  21^.  net. — 
AUessandro  Filipepi,  generally  called  Sandro 
Botticelli,  is  one  of  the  many  Italian  masters  of  the 
Renaissance  to  whom  full  justice  was  not  done  until 
the  dawn  of  scientific  criticism  was  broadening  into 
day.  Yet  now,  as  is  well  pointed  out  by  Mrs.  Ady, 
in  her  delightful  monograph  on  his  life  and  work 
both  schools  of  modern  aesthetic  thought  are  agreed 
in  their  admiration  of  the  versatile  Florentine,  his 
"  poetic  charm,  his  profound  religious  feeling,  and 
his  strong  human    sympathy"  appealing  to  those 


who  think  more  of  matter  than  of  manner,  "his 
mastery  of  design,  his  grace  of  line,  and  charm  of 
colour,"  satisfying  the  most  rigid  dissector  of 
technique.  No  more  delightful  guide  could  be 
imagined  in  the  study  of  the  personality  of  Fili- 
pepi, the  environment  in  which  he  lived,  and  the 
work  which  was  the  outcome  of  them,  than  Mrs. 
Ady,  who  in  many  charming  works  has  shown 
herself  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  Renaissance. 
Her  work  forms,  as  did  the  life  of  the  painter,  a 
homogeneous  whole,  that  is,  however,  somewhat 
marred  here  and  there  by  certain  strange  manner- 
isms, such  as  the  use  of  the  word  shop  as  a 
translation  of  the  Italian  bottega,  which  comes  as 
a  shock  to  the  reader. 

Imperial  Vienna.  By  A.  S.  Levetus.  (London  : 
John  Lane.)  i8j.  net.  —  Although  Vienna  is 
thoroughly  in  touch  with  modern  scientific  progress, 
boasting  well-organised  systems  of  electric  tramways 
and  metropolitan  railways,  the  author  of  this 
exhaustive  account  of  her  past  history  and  graphic 
description  of  her  present  appearance  claims  that 
"  much  of  the  old  mediaeval  charm  still  hovers  over 
her,  giving  to  her  a  certain  air  of  sanctity."  Even 
before  she  set  foot  on  her  threshold,  she  adds,  she 
had  peculiar  attractions  for  her,  and  it  is  this 
instinctive  affection  that  has  enabled  her,  whilst 
keeping  strictly  to  the  truth,  to  give  to  her  narrative 
something  of  the  same  fascination.  Without 
sympathy  there  can  be  no  true  appreciation,  but 
with  it  comes  the  insight  that  can  invest  the  driest 
details  with  interest.  Beginning  with  the  arrival,  in 
1 142,  at  the  little  Roman  settlement  of  Vindobona, 
of  Duke  Heinrich  Jasomirgott  of  Brandenburg, 
Miss  Levetus  traces  the  chequered  life  story  of 
Vienna  from  the  foundation  of  the  great  Cathedral, 
dedicated  to  the  first  Christian  martyr,  down  to  the 
actual  present,  winding  up  with  a  most  vivid  series 
of  pictures  of  the  people  of  to-day,  their  religious 
ceremonies,  their  work,  and  their  play.  Unfortu- 
natelythe  numerous  illustrations  byErwin  Puchinger 
ate  scarcely  equal  to  the  text  they  supplement; 
they  lack  character  and  atmosphere,  and  are  devoid 
of  the  feeling  for  their  subject  which  is  so  distinc- 
tive a  charm  of  the  work  of  Miss  Levetus. 

City  Development.  By  Patrick  Geddes. 
(London  and  Edinburgh  :  Geddes  &  Co.  Bir- 
mingham :  St.  George  Press.) — As  explained  by 
the  author,  who  has  a  very  thorough  grip  of  his 
subject,  this  volume  is  issued  in  response  to  an 
invitation  received  by  him  from  the  Carnegie  Dun- 
fermline Trust  to  report  as  to  the  laying  out  of 
the  Park,  and  the  buildings  in  or  around  it 
needed  or  desirable  for  carrying  out  the  work  of 

369 


Awards  in  "The  Studio"  Prize  Competitions 


the  Trust.  It  is  supplemented  by  many  useful 
plans  and  drawings,  and  should  be  studied  by  all 
members  of  County  Councils  who  have  at  heart  the 
turning  to  account  of  the  possibilities  offered  in 
provincial  cities  for  the  providing  of  recreation 
grounds,  etc.,  for  the  use  of  the  people.  Mr. 
Geddes  advocates  many  useful  reforms,  and  dwells 
especially  on  the  desirability  of  the  employment 
of  women  for  the  care  of  aviaries,  poultry  farms, 
zoological  gardens,  etc.,  dwelling  eloquently  on  their 
qualifications  for  such  posts,  and  quoting  the  excel- 
lent work  done  by  Lady  Warwick  in  that  direction. 

Sir  Anthony  Van  Dyck.  By  Hugh  Stokes. 
(London :  Newnes.)  y.  6d.  net. — In  his  brief 
but  fluently  written  Preface  to  the  new  volume  of 
Newnes'  useful  and  beautiful  Art  Library,  Mr. 
Stokes  tells  once  more  the  well-known  story  of  the 
life  of  Van  Dyck,  but  he  wisely  refrains  from  any 
attempt  to  add  fresh  criticism  to  the  vast  amount 
of  literature  on  the  subject  already  in  circulation. 
The  selection  made  from  the  numerous  master- 
pieces of  the  great  portrait  painter  is,  on  the 
whole,  a  good  and  representative  one,  and  the 
reproductions  are  admirable. 

-Five  Etc/lings.  By  John  Shirlow.  (Melbourne: 
Ambrose.) — It  is  always  a  pleasure  to  us  to  see 
work  from  the  Colonies,  and  particularly  so  when 
that  work  is  of  more  than  average  artistic  excellence, 
as  is  the  case  with  these  etchings.  In  an  intro- 
ductory note  Mr.  Shirlow  tells  us  that  they  have 
hitherto  been  seen  only  at  the  various  art  exhibitions 
at  Melbourne,  and  that  their  publication  in  a  port- 
folio is,  he  believes,  the  first  attempt  of  the  kind  in 
Australia.  Considerable  technical  ability  is  shown  in 
these  five  etchings,  which  depict  scenes  in  Melbourne 
or  its  vicinity.  We  look  forward  with  interest  to 
seeing  further  work  by  this  promising  young  artist. 

The  Calendarium  Londinense,  published  by  Mr. 
Elkin  Mathews  of  Vigo  Street,  is  embellished 
with  a  charming  etching  of  "  Old  Westminster,"  by 
Mr.  William  Monk,  R.E.,  whose  work  is  familiar 
to  most  of  our  readers.  At  the  price  of  two 
shillings  and  sixpence  many  will  be  glad  to  pos- 
sess the  almanac,  if  only  for  the  sake  of  the  etching. 

The  utility  of  Who's  Who  as  a  year  book  is  so 
well  recognised  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  any- 
thing in  praise  of  the  issue  for  1905,  except  that  it 
shows  signs  of  considerable  expansion.  To  pre- 
vent the  book  from  becoming  unwieldy,  the 
preliminary  tables  are  now  published  separately 
under  the  title  Whds  Who  Year  Book.  Another 
useful  annual  is  The  Englishwoman's  Year  Book 
and  Directory,  containing  a  veritable  mine  of 
information  of  interest  to  women  in  all  walks 
37° 


of  life.  These  three  books  are  published  by 
Messrs.  A.  &  C.  Black,  at  the  prices  7^.  dd.,  is., 
and  2s.  6d.  net  respectively. 

THE    STUDIO 
"WHISTLER"     PORTFOLIO. 

We  regret  that,  owing  to  an  error  arising  from 
the  close  resemblance  in  the  titles  of  two  different 
pictures,  a  few  of  the  first  copies  of  The  Studio 
"  Whistler "  Portfolio  were  issued  containing, 
amongst  the  ten  plates,  a  reproduction  of  a  water- 
colour  belonging  to  Messrs.  William  Marchant  & 
Co.,  of  the  Goupil  Gallery,  Regent  Street,  London, 
instead  of  the  sea  piece  advertised  in  the  pro- 
spectus, which  was  included  by  kind  permission  of 
Mrs.  Knowles. 


A 


A  IV. 


WARDS     IN    "  THE     STUDIO  " 
PRIZE    COMPETITIONS. 

Class  A.     Decorative  Art. 

Design  for  a  Carriage  Gate  in  Wood. 

The  designs  sent  in  for  this  competition  will 
form  the  subject  of  an  article  in  our  next  issue,  and 
the  awards  will  then  be  announced. 

Class  B. 
B  III.     Sketch  from  Nature. 

A  large  number  of  drawings  have  been  sent  in 
for  this  competition,  but  the  great  majority  of  them 
are  not  of  sufficient  merit  to  call  for  notice. 

First  Prize  {Two  Guineas):  Furple  Monkey 
(Henry  T.  Wyse,  5  Craighouse  Terrace,  Morning- 
side,  Edinburgh). 

Second  Prize  {One  Guinea)  :  A  Freak  (Miss 
Constance  M.  Fawsett,  Salmonby,  Northdown 
Avenue,  Margate). 

Hon.  Mention:  Anakreon  (Julius  Singer); 
Grandmatnma  (Miss  M.  C.  Rotherum) ;  Peppercorn 
(Miss  R.  H.  Baker). 

Class  C.     Photographs  from  Nature. 
C  III.      A  Portrait. 

First  Prize  {One  Guinea) :  Bruzz  (Gilbert  N. 
Futcher,  12  Sycamore  Road,  Bournville,  Birming- 
ham). 

Second  Prize  {Haifa-Guinea)  :  Bruges  (Arthur 
Marshall,  King  Street,  Nottingham). 

Hon.  Mention  :  Omar  Khayyam  (J.  P.  Steele) ; 
Plaiina  (Anna  Kiihn) ;  Thistle  (D.  Dunlop) ;  Ariel 
(Edith  L.  Willis)  ;  Castitian  (J.  E.  B.  Greene) ; 
Friedcl {\i&x\%  Iten);  The  Gum-Splodger  (Miss  A.  B. 
Warburg) ;  Lilac  (J.  R.  Capey) ;  Marian  (Marian 
Silveiston);  JZ/^j  (Helena  Padgett) ;  Pickle  {^\i% 
I.  Biles) ;  Thyme  (Mrs.  P.  Cholmeley). 


FIRST   PRIZE  (COMP.  C  HI) 
BY   "BRUZZ" 

3/2 


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. 

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O 

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O 

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'4. 

25 

O 

: 

:) 

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The  Lay  Figure 


T 


HE  LAY  FIGURE:  ON  THE 
CULT  OF  THE  UGLY. 


'  Has  it  ever  occurred  to  you  to  notice," 
began  the  Art  Critic,  "  what  a  curious  love  of  ugli- 
ness has  grown  up  of  late  years  among  artists  of  a 
certain  class  ?  Wherever  I  go  now  I  am  confronted 
with  things,  professing  to  be  pictures,  which  seem 
to  me  to  lack  some  of  the  most  essential  qualities 
of  true  works  of  art.  What  does  it  mean  ?  Are 
we  losing  our  perception  of  beauty,  or  is  this  cult 
of  the  repulsive  merely  a  passing  craze  which  will 
die  out  as  soon  as  some  new  fad  or  fashion  is 
invented  ?  " 

"What  does  it  mean?"  said  the  Decadent. 
"  It  means,  if  you  could  only  understand  it,  that 
our  artists  are  at  last  learning  that  the  foolish  ideals 
on  which  they  have  harped  so  tediously  are  useless 
to  stir  the  pulse  of  our  modern  civilisation  ;  they 
have  begun  to  realise  that  the  classic  formula  is  as 
dead  as  the  classic  languages,  and  that  the  pretti- 
ness  which  pleased  the  simple  minds  of  primitive 
people  will  not  satisfy  the  complex  and  cultured 
intelligence  of  the  men  of  today.  We  live  in  the 
twentieth  century  now,  and  it  is  with  its  problems 
that  our  art  has  to  concern  itself" 

"  I  presume  you  wish  to  suggest,"  replied  the 
Critic,  "that  a  squalid  civilisation  ought  to  produce 
a  squalid  art.  But  I  object  to  such  an  argument. 
It  is  not  the  mission  of  art  to  grope  in  the  gutter 
in  search  of  the  nasty  things  which  have  been 
swept  there  out  of  the  way  of  cleanly  people.  And 
I  deny  that  beauty  does  not  appeal  to  modern 
men.  I  believe  there  is  just  as  much  love  of 
beautiful  things  as  there  ever  was,  and  artists  have 
no  right  to  offend  this  legitimate  taste  by  glorifying 
offensive  ugliness,  in  what  seems  to  me  to  be  a 
spirit  of  perverse  sensationalism." 

"Surely,  though,  the  artist  has  a  right  to  paint 
what  he  likes,"  interposed  the  Man  with  the  Red 
Tie.  "  You  are  going  too  far  when  you  dictate  to 
him  how  he  should,  use  his  capacities.  If  he  is 
attracted  by  what  you  think  is  ugUness,  why  should 
he  not  paint  it?  I  believe  in  every  man  doing 
what  he  thinks  to  be  best." 

"  Not  when  his  belief  is  an  unwholesome  one, 
and  compounded  partly  of  affectation  and  partly  of 
mental  depravity,"  said  the  Critic.  "  There  are 
some  savages  who  will  not  eat  meat  until  it  has 
been  buried  in  damp  ground  for  a  month.  They 
say  it  brings  out  the  flavour !  But  I  think  you 
would  object  if  they  put  some  of  their  food  on 
your  table.  The  twentieth  century  problems  which 
our  friend  considers  so  suitable  for  artistic  treat- 
374 


ment  are  almost  as  unsavoury,  so  why  should  they 
be  waved  about  under  our  nostrils  ?  " 

"  What  a  coarse  mind  you  have  ! "  sighed  the 
Decadent.  "I  despair  of  ever  convincing  you.  You 
cannot  see  how  subtle  are  the  thoughts  of  these 
students  of  our  times,  and  how  significant  are  their 
suggestions.  We  who  sympathise  with  their  efforts 
think  that  the  artists  you  malign  are  most  satisfying. 
They  are  searchers  after  what  is  more  important 
than  mere  beauty,  for  they  seek  to  find  the  key  to 
the  mysteries  of  the  wonderful  life  which  it  is  our 
privilege  to  live  :  they  touch  us,  and  we  love 
them." 

"  Do  you  like  meat  that  has  been  buried  for  a 
month  ? "  laughed  the  Man  with  the  Red  Tie. 
''  I  must  admit  that  some  of  your  friends  do  paint 
beastly  pictures  ;  but  then  I  never  look  at  them,  so 
they  do  not  worry  me." 

"  But  I  have  to  look  at  them,"  replied  the  Critic, 
"and  they  both  worry  and  offend  me.  Your 
argument  that  every  artist  should  be  allowed  to  do 
what  he  thinks  best  is,  I  feel,  not  admissible  in 
this  instance.  If  a  man  put  a  noxious  pig-sty 
under  the  windows  of  your  house  you  would 
prosecute  him  as  a  nuisance ;  and  when  an  artist 
paints,  not  the  pig-sty — that  might  be  picturesque 
— but  people  and  things  only  fit  to  be  housed  in  it, 
I  contend  he  is  tainting  the  whole  atmosphere  of 
art,  and  ought  to  be  suppressed.  I  might  possibly 
have  some  glimmering  of  sympathy  for  his  mis- 
directed efforts  if  he  were  only  sincere.  But 
what  I  complain  of  is  that  this  advocacy  of 
everything  that  is  hideous  is  nothing  but  a  conven- 
tion affected  by  the  very  young  and  the  very 
foolish,  who  delude  themselves  with  the  idea  that 
there  is  a  sort  of  manly  independence  in  going 
wilfully  outside  the  bounds  of  what  is  generally 
held  to  be  good  taste.  Besides,  they  have  dis- 
covered that  some  labour  is  involved  in  the  attain- 
ment of  beautiful  results,  and  that  some  education 
is  needed  before  they  can  hope  to  be  successful  in 
the  legitimate  walks  of  art.  They  shirk  the  labour 
and  they  will  not  give  the  time  for  education  ;  and 
as  their  chief  desire  is  to  get  talked  about  they 
choose  the  easiest  way,  and  devote  what  energies 
they  possess  to  the  representation  of  the  offensive 
objects  which  older  and  wiser  men  carefully  avoid. 
They  are  clever,  some  of  them,  I  admit ;  but  their 
cleverness  only  makes  them  more  objectionable, 
because  it  makes  them  more  likely  to  impose  their 
convention  upon  other  young  artists  who  are 
capable  of  better  things.  Evil  communications, 
you  know,  corrupt  good  manners." 

The  Lav  Figure. 


S9 
V.33 


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