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Title: Handbook of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Author: Breck, Joseph, Wehle, Henry
Language: English
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Handbook of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
With 143 Illustrations
Joseph Breck and Henry Wehle
Published by the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts
1917
CONTENTS
THE MINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS
PREFACE
THE MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS
GENERAL INFORMATION
PLAN OF THE FIRST FLOOR
PLAN OF THE SECOND FLOOR
THE FIRST FLOOR
THE CAST COLLECTION
THE PRINT DEPARTMENT
NEAR EASTERN ART
JAPANESE ART
CHINESE ART
EGYPTIAN ART
ANCIENT ART
GOTHIC ART
RENAISSANCE ART
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ART
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY ART
THE SECOND FLOOR
MODERN AMERICAN PAINTINGS
MODERN EUROPEAN PAINTINGS
MODERN DRAWINGS
MODERN SCULPTURE
THE BRADSTREET ROOM
ILLUSTRATIONS
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
SECOND FLOOR PLAN.
View of the South Hall. Renaissance Casts.
The East Corridor: Greek and Roman Casts
Gallery B-10: Gothic Casts
The Print Study Room
Christ Healing the Sick, Etching, Rembrandt, 1607-1669
Portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds by Himself
Mezzotint by Valentine Green, 1739-1813
The Breaking up of the Agamemnon. Sir Francis Seymour Haden, 1818-1910
Weary, Dry-point, by James McNeil Whistler, 1834-1903
La Gallerie Notre-Dame, Etching by Meryon, 1821-1868
The Diggers, Etching (Third State), by F. Millet, 1814-1875
Plate, with Floral Design Asia Minor, XVI Century
Two Fragments of Bowls, Persian, Rhages, XIII Century. Left: Polychrome
Decoration, Right: Lustred Decoration
Velvet Brocade Turkish, XVI Century
Mosque Doors, Carved Wood, Persian, about 1500
Autumn, Six-fold Screen, by Yeitoku, 1543-1590
Winter, Six-fold Screen, by Yeitoku, 1543-1590
Tiger, Attributed to Sesshu, 1420-1506. After a Design by Yen-Hiu,
1082-1135. Gift of Charles L. Freer
Covered Box, Cloisonne Enamel. Japanese, XIX Century. Decorated in the
Old Korean Style.
Cloisonne Vase Chinese, Ming Dynasty
Horse’s Head. Han Period
Mortuary Vase. Han Period
Painting On Silk by Ma Yuan
Ancient Chinese Jades
Painting attributed to Pien Chin-Stan
Tung Fang So. Jade
Princess Yang. Ming Period
Vase. Ming Period
Chinese Porcelain of the XVII and XVIII Centuries
Detail of the Cartonnage Enclosing the Mummy of the “Lady of the House,
Tesha”. Dynasty XXII-XXV
Coffin and Mummy of the “Lady of the House, Tesha” From Thebes, Dynasty
XXII-XXV.
Lower Part of Coffin. Dynasty XXI
Statuette, Wood. Dynasty XII
Goddess Neith, Bronze Dynasty XXVI
Funerary Papyrus
Ushabti, Wood
Cover of a Canopic Jar, Terracotta
Group of Egyptian Alabaster Vessels
Bronze Mirror
Amulet
Sacred Eye and Scarab
Piriform Vase. Cypriote, Mycenaean Style. ca. 1500-1200 B.C.
Cypriote Pottery
Babylonian Tablet From Jokha, ca. 2350 B. C.
A Pope, Statuette in Oak. Flemish, about 1500
Head of the Virgin, Stone. French, late XIV Century
A View of the Gothic Room
Hunting Party with Falcons. Burgundian Tapestry, about 1450
Detail: Falcons Attacking a Heron; Hunter with Lure
Two Scenes from the Story of Esther. Flemish Tapestry, late XV Century
The Virgin and St. John. Flemish, about 1500
Virgin and Child, Stone. French, XIV Century
A Saint, Lindenwood. German, School of Ulm, about 1500
St. Mary Magdalene, Linden Wood. Attributed to Jorg Syrlin the Younger,
1425-after 1521
Small Column, Marble. Southern French, XIV Century
St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata. School of Giotto, about 1330
Madonna and Child. The Master of the St. Ursula Legend
Madonna and Angels. Atelier of Jean Bourdichon, 1457-1521
The Miraculous Field of Wheat. Joachim Patinir and Quentin Massys
A Group in the First Renaissance Gallery
The Second Renaissance Gallery
Madonna and Child. The Master of the San Miniato Altar-piece
Portrait of an Ecclesiastic. Giovanni Battista Moroni, ca. 1520-1578.
Madonna and Child. Giampietrino, fl. first half of XVI Century
Madonna and Saints. Palma il Vecchio, about 1480-1528
Stucco Relief. Workshop of Antonio Rossellino
Glass. Venetian, XVI Century
Chair. Florentine, XVI Century
Pomona, Glazed Terracotta Statuette. Giovanni Delia Robbia, 1469-1529 (?)
Candlestick, Wood, Carved and Gilded. Florentine, XVI Century
Virgil Appearing to Dante, Tapestry. Florentine, Middle of XVI Century
Joseph Ruler Over Egypt, Tapestry. Brussels, Second Quarter of XVI
Century
Lectern, Walnut. Italian, Umbrian, XVI Century
Cassone, with Gilded Decoration. Florentine, Third Quarter of XV Century
Cassone, Carved Walnut. Sienese, 1514
Chair, Portuguese. XVII Century
Henry Hyde, Lord Clarendon. Sir Peter Lely, 1618-1680
The Concert. Michiel van Musscher, 1645-1705
Portrait of a Lady. Michiel Mierevelt, 1567-1641
Tapestry, Hunting Scenes. Flemish, about 1600
Chest, Oak. English, XVII Century
Head of an Old Man. Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, 1727-1804
Portrait of James Ward. Gilbert Stuart, 1755-1828
Death on the Pale Horse. Benjamin West, 1738-1820
Large Embroidered Hanging. French, Early XVIII Century
Subject, Spring: from a set representing the Four Seasons, in memory of
Mrs. Thomas Lowry by Mrs. Gustav Schwyzer, Mrs. Percy Hagerman and Horace
Lowry
Needlepoint, Reticello. Italian, Early XVII Century
Lace, Needlepoint, Point d’Argentan, French, XVIII Century
Lace, Needlepoint, Point d’Alencon, French, XVIII Century
Lace, Needlepoint, Rosepoint, Venetian, Early XVIII Century
Bobbin Lace, Point d’Angleterre, Flemish, XVIII Century
Chair, Pearwood Venetian. Early XVIII Century
Tripod Table with Top Tilted Back
Tripod Table, Mahogany, English, about 1760-1765
Card Table, Mahogany English or American, about 1750-1775
Dressing-table, Mahogany. American, about 1760-1775
Large Flip Glass and Two Liquor Bottles. Stiegel Glass, American, XVIII
Century.
Le Beurre, by Ovide Yenesse.
Mount Whitney. Albert Bierstadt, 1830-1902
The Conch Divers. Winslow Homer, 1836-1910
Moonlit Surf, Paul Dougherty, 1877-
Luxembourg Gardens at Twilight. John S. Sargent, 1856-
The White Bridge. John H. Twachtman, 1853-1902
A Ray of Sunlight. John W. Alexander, 1857-1915.
River in Winter. Gardner Symons, 1861-
Garden in June. Frederick C. Frieseke, 1874-
The Open Sea. Emil Carlsen, 1853
The Yellow Flower. Albert Reid, 1863-
Midsummer. R. Sloan Bredin, 1881-
Night’s Overture. Arthur B. Davies, 1862-
Landscape. Georges Michel, 1763-1843
Child with Cherries. Gillaume Adolphe Bouguereau, 1825-1905
The Bath. Jean Leon Gerome, 1824-1903
The Storming of Tel-el-Kebir. Alphonse de Neuville, 1836-1883
Napoleon’s Retreat from Russia. Jan V. Chelminski, 1851-
The Roe Covert. Gustave Courbet, 1819-1877
Woodland Scene. N. V. Diaz de la Pena, 1809-1879
River Scene. Charles Francois Daubigny, 1817-1878
Landscape with Cattle. Constant Troyon, 1810-1865
Fording the River. Constant Troyon, 1810-1865
The Beach at Trouville. Eugene Boudin, 1824-1898
Geranium. Albert Andre, 1869-
The Conversion. Gabriel Max, 1840-
The Scouts. Adolph Schreyer, 1828-1899
Mountain Village. Paul Crodel, 1862-
Cattle in Sunshine. Heinrich von Zugel, 1850-
Summer Evening at the River. Gustav Adolf Fjaestad, 1870-
Dalecarlian Peasant. Helmer Mas-Olle, 1884-
Mother and Children. Josef Israels, 1824-1911
On the Beach. Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, 1863-
Landscape. Alexander Nasmyth, 1758-1840
Psyche’s Wedding. Sir Edward Burne-Jones, 1833-1898
Silver and Green. Hilda Fearon, English, ?-1917
Studies of Draped Figures, Pencil Drawing. Sir Edward Burne-Jones,
English, 1833-1898
Fire in Ingram Street, Pencil Drawing. Muirhead Bone, Scotch, 1876-
Portrait, Drawing in Chalk and Wash. William Strang, Scotch, 1859-
Mucherach Castle, Drawing in Pen and Wash. David Young Cameron, Scotch,
1865-
Tuscan Landscape, Drawing in Pen and Wash. Muirhead Bone, Scotch, 1876-
Study for an Illustration, Drawing in Lithographic Crayon. Theophile
Alexandre Steinlen, French, 1859-
An Old Rabbi, Pencil Drawing. William Rothenstein, English, 1872-
Playfulness. Paul Manship, 1885-
Plaque, La Guerre. Hubert Ponscarme, 1827-1903
Medal, L’Art Decorative, by Ovide Yencesse, 1869-
A Corner of the Room
Color Print. Yeizan, flourished 1800-1830
Carved Panel. XVIII Century
THE MINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY OF FINE ARTS
OFFICERS AND MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
John R. Van Derlip President
Eugene J. Carpenter First Vice President
Edward C. Gale Second Vice President
Russell M. Bennett Third Vice President
Harry W. Rubins Secretary
Perry Harrison Treasurer
Joseph Breck Director
TRUSTEES
TERM EXPIRES 1918
Charles C. Bovey
Charles L. Freer
Francis W. Little
John R. Van Derlip
William C. Whitney
TERM EXPIRES 1919
Russell M. Bennett
William Y. Chute
Charles L. Hutchinson
Thomas B. Janney
Horace Lowry
Louis W. Hill
TERM EXPIRES 1920
William H. Bovey
Edward C. Gale
Edmund J. Phelps
Richardson Phelps
Oliver C. Wyman
TERM EXPIRES 1921
Eugene J. Carpenter
Edwin H. Hewitt
Herschel V. Jones
Angus W. Morrison
Fendall G. Winston
James Ford Bell
TERM EXPIRES 1922
Harington Beard
Edmund D. Brooks
Elbert L. Carpenter
Robert W. De Forest
Alfred F. Pillsbury
Laurits S. Swenson
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS
The Mayor of Minneapolis
The President of the Board of Park Commissioners
The President of the Library Board
The President of the Board of Education
PREFACE
When the Institute was first opened, little more than two and one half
years ago, the permanent collection occupied but a small part of the
exhibition space. Since then the collection has increased in size and
importance to an extent that warrants us, we feel, in publishing this
illustrated handbook, which, although intended primarily for the use and
convenience of visitors, at the same time may not be without interest as a
record of accomplishment within so brief a period. This rapid development
of our collection has been made possible, first of all, by the great
liberality of numerous friends, but it has been facilitated by firm
adherence to a well defined policy in respect to acquisitions. This
policy is based on two cardinal beliefs. The first is that an art museum
is of the greatest value to a community when its collections embrace both
the major and minor arts of all countries and all times. The second is
that the standard must be high. It would be idle to pretend that every
object in our collection is a masterpiece of the highest order, but it is
better to have an ideal, which may not be wholly realized, than to have
none.
Through the munificent bequest of William Hood Dunwoody, the Institute has
had for its purchases the income of one million dollars. Several important
paintings have come to the Institute through the bequest of Mrs. W. H.
Dunwoody (_Child with Cherries_, _Landscape with Cattle_, _Fording the
River_). In memory of their mother the late Mrs. Thomas Lowry, Mrs.
Gustav Schwyzer, Mrs. Percy Hagerman and Horace Lowry have made a welcome
gift of paintings and other works of art (_Tapestry, Hunting Scenes_,
_Large Embroidered Hanging_, _The Conversion_, _The Scouts_). Among the
numerous gifts must be instanced the Ladd Collection of Prints, the gift
of an anonymous donor (see the _Print Department chapter_); the Charles
Jairus Martin Memorial Collection of Tapestries, the gift of Mrs. C. J.
Martin (_Hunting Party with Falcons_, _Two Scenes from the Story of
Esther_, _Joseph, Ruler over Egypt_, _Virgil Appearing to Dante_); the
Martin B. Koon Memorial Collection of Contemporary American Paintings, the
gift of Mrs. C. C. Bovey and Mrs. C. D. Velie (_Luxembourg Gardens at
Twilight_, _The White Bridge_, _River in Winter_, _Garden in June_, _The
Open Sea_, _The Yellow Flower_, _Night’s Overture_); the Bradstreet
Memorial Collection of Japanese Art, the gift of Mrs. Elizabeth B.
Carleton and Mrs. Margaret Kimball (_The Bradstreet Room_, _Color Print by
Yeizan_, _Carved Panel_); and the Cast Collection, the gift of Russell M.
Bennett (see the _Cast Collection_ chapter). The Oriental collection has
been enriched by a gift of Chinese porcelain from Mrs. E. C. Gale
(_Chinese Porcelain_), and by a collection of Japanese paintings and other
material from Charles L. Freer (_Tiger_). Valuable paintings and other
works of art have been given by James J. Hill (_Landscape_, _The Storming
of Tel El Kebir_, _Napoleon’s Retreat from Russia_, _The Roe Covert_),
Mrs. Frederick B. Wells (_The Bath_, _Woodland Scene_, _River Scene_,
_Mother and Children_), James Ford Bell (_Madonna with Saints_), T. B.
Walker, and others to whose generosity the Society of Fine Arts is greatly
indebted.
In the preparation of this handbook, I have been aided by Mr. Harry B.
Wehle, Assistant to the Institute Staff, who is responsible for the notes
on XIX Century and modern art. My part of the work, except for general
supervision, has been confined to the earlier periods.
September 12, 1917.
JOSEPH BRECK, Director
THE MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS
The Institute is maintained by the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts,
incorporated in 1883 for the purpose of promoting a knowledge and love of
art in the community. The purpose of the Society found its first
expression in a school of art, established in 1886 and for many years
carried on in rooms in the building of the Public Library. Since
November, 1916, the School has occupied its own building, the Julia
Morrison Memorial Building, situated in the same Park as the Institute.
From its inception, however, the members of the Society of Fine Arts had
purposed establishing, in addition to the art school, a museum of art. In
1911 this hope suddenly began to take the shape of reality. In January of
that year, Clinton Morrison offered as a gift to the Society the ten acre
tract of land at Twenty-fourth Street between Stevens and Third Avenues,
valued at $250,000, as a site for museum and school buildings, provided
$500,000 should be secured for the erection of the museum. Immediately
upon the announcement of Mr. Morrison’s generous offer, William Hood
Dunwoody, then President of the Society, promised $100,000 for the
building fund. At a dinner held on January 10, 1911, approximately
$250,000 additional was pledged by other public-spirited citizens, and by
the end of the month the entire sum for building had been obtained.
Plans for a building which could be constructed in successive units, to
occupy eventually the entire tract, were prepared by McKim, Mead & White
of New York. In August, 1912, the construction work was begun on the main
unit, and late in 1914 the building was completed. The Institute was
opened to the public on January 7, 1915.
The present museum is about 325 feet long and 100 feet deep, and comprises
approximately one-seventh of the entire plan. The total cost was
$537,000. The construction is of brick, concrete, and steel, with a
facade of white granite. The classical design of the building is
considered exceptionally beautiful in its proportions and in the
refinement of its details. There are two main exhibition floors. The
First Floor contains sixteen exhibition halls and galleries, as well as
the entrance hall, information office, check room, library and
print-study. The Second Floor comprises thirteen galleries, ten of which
are devoted to permanent exhibitions, one to exhibitions of prints, and
two to transient exhibitions. On the Ground Floor are located the
administration offices, the Trustees’ room, toilets, women’s rest room,
lunch room, class room, shipping room and store rooms.
For the purchase of works of art, the Society has the income from
$1,000,000, the munificent bequest of William Hood Dunwoody, who died
February 8, 1914. This fund can be used only for the purchase of works of
art. For the maintenance of the Institute, the Society is dependent upon
membership dues and upon a city tax levy of one-eighth of a mill.
GENERAL INFORMATION
LOCATION. The Institute is located on East 24th Street between Stevens and
Third Avenues. It can be reached easily from either the Nicollet Avenue
or the Fourth Avenue car line.
HOURS OF OPENING. The Institute is open to the public daily from 10:00
A.M. to 5:00 P.M. except on Sunday and Monday, when the hours are 1:00
P.M. to 5:00 P.M.
ADMISSION. Admission is free on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday; other
days, a charge of twenty-five cents is made, except to members of the
Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, to school children accompanied by
teachers, and to art students, teachers in the public schools, and special
students holding annual admission cards, which will be issued upon
application.
INFORMATION DESK. Admission tickets, a public telephone, post cards and
publications of the Institute may be found at the Information Desk (at the
left on entering the building). Application should be made here to see
any officer of the Institute. The use of a wheel-chair in the galleries
may be obtained here without charge; when an attendant is provided, the
charge is $1.00 per hour.
EXPERT GUIDANCE. Visitors wishing docent service, or guidance through the
galleries, should make application at the Information Desk.
COPYING AND PHOTOGRAPHING. Application for permission to copy or
photograph must be made to the Director.
LUNCH ROOM. The lunch room is located on the Ground Floor at the west end
of the corridor. Luncheon is served from 12:30 to 2:00; tea from 3:30 to
4:45. Closed during the summer.
REST ROOM. The rest room for women is located near the lunch room.
BULLETIN. The Institute publishes an illustrated bulletin monthly, October
to June. It is free to members; subscription rate to non-members, $.75;
single copies, $.10.
ART SCHOOL. For information concerning the Art School apply to the
Director, Minneapolis School of Art, 200 East 25th Street.
MEMBERSHIP. The Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts offers, through its
various classes of membership, the opportunity of sharing in the support
of the Institute and School of Art and of enjoying the privileges afforded
by the Society. Membership tickets are issued upon application to the
Secretary at the Institute accompanied by membership fee. All classes of
membership, except associate and club membership, entitle members to: (1)
free admission, at all times when the Institute is open to the public, for
themselves and members of their families and out-of-town guests; (2)
invitations to all receptions given at the Institute by the Trustees; (3)
free admission to all lectures and entertainments given under the auspices
of the Society; (4) free guide service; (5) a subscription to the monthly
Bulletin published by the Society.
CLASSES OF MEMBERSHIP
BENEFACTOR. Any person contributing money or property to the value
of $25,000.
PATRON. Any person contributing money or property to the value of
$10,000.
FELLOW IN PERPETUITY. Any person contributing money or property to
the value of $5,000.
FELLOW FOR LIFE. Any person contributing money or property to the
value of $1,000
The above constitute the Governing Members of the Society.
LIFE MEMBERS. Any person paying the life membership fee of $100.00.
ANNUAL MEMBERS. Any person paying the annual membership fee of
$10.00.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS. Privileges restricted to person paying an annual
membership fee of $2.00. Limited to teachers and students.
CLUB MEMBERSHIP. Clubs may become members of the Society of Fine
Arts by special arrangements, which entitle such groups to meet in
the galleries or to use the lecture room and stereopticon.
PLAN OF THE FIRST FLOOR
[First Floor Plan]
FIRST FLOOR PLAN.
Works of art earlier than the XIX century, the cast collection, and the
Print Department are located on the First Floor. The visitor who wishes
to make a general tour of the collections is advised to proceed from the
entrance through the octagonal hall to the corridor at the left. At the
end of this corridor is the entrance to the Oriental collections. The
Egyptian collection in the adjacent gallery may then be visited.
Returning to the corridor, the visitor will come to the Library and Print
Study Room. (The Print Department will eventually be given space on the
Ground Floor, and the galleries now occupied devoted to Greek and Roman
art.) Casts of classical sculpture are exhibited in the corridor. The
cast collection is continued in Gallery B-10 (Gothic art) and in Galleries
B-11, 12, and the west corridor (Renaissance and later periods). Opposite
the stairs to the Second Floor is the entrance to a series of rooms in
which original examples of European art are exhibited according to period.
The first gallery is devoted to Gothic art; the next two to Renaissance
art; these are followed by the gallery of XVII and the two galleries of
XVIII century art.
The stairs opposite Gallery B-15 lead to the Ground Floor, where are the
lunch room, women’s rest room, toilets, class room, administration
offices, and work rooms.
PLAN OF THE SECOND FLOOR
[Second Floor Plan]
SECOND FLOOR PLAN.
Nineteenth century and modern works of art are exhibited on the Second
Floor. On this floor are also the Print Exhibition Gallery and the
Bradstreet Collection. The visitor is advised to enter the series of
galleries through the Print Exhibition Gallery, C-1. From this room the
visitor may proceed to the galleries in which paintings of the American
and European schools are exhibited. Having completed the circuit along
the north front of the building, the visitor may return by way of the
corridors and galleries to the south (modern drawings and sculpture, the
Bradstreet Room). Galleries C-8 and 9 are used for transient exhibitions,
generally changed each month.
THE FIRST FLOOR
[View of the South Hall. Renaissance Casts.]
View of the South Hall. Renaissance Casts.
THE CAST COLLECTION
[The East Corridor: Greek and Roman Casts]
The East Corridor: Greek and Roman Casts
The cast collection is installed in Galleries B-2, 10, 11, 12 and the J
corridors on the First Floor. To view the collection in chronological
sequence, the visitor should proceed from the octagonal Gallery B-2 (V
century Greek sculpture) down the north side of corridor B-3 (V century
Greek sculpture). Returning, the visitor will find in the alcoves on the
south side of the corridor casts of Greek sculpture of the IV century and
Hellenistic periods, and casts of Roman sculpture. The collection is
continued in Gallery B-10 (Gothic sculpture), which should be entered from
the corridor. Casts of Renaissance sculpture are exhibited in Gallery B-1
(Early Renaissance, XV century) and Gallery B-12 (Late Renaissance, XVI
century). Other casts of sculptures of the Renaissance and later periods
are exhibited in the west corridor.
The educational value of a cast collection is beyond question. Through
these mechanical reproductions, it is possible to obtain a fairly adequate
idea of the great masterpieces of sculpture, that are inaccessible to
many, except in this form. In the plaster cast one may study proportions,
composition, style and even technical procedure; but it must be remembered
that the qualities of color and texture, which contribute so much to the
effect of the original, are almost, if not entirely, lost in the plaster
cast. This defect may be overcome in part by treating the plaster in
various ways so that it conveys some suggestion of the original material.
This has been done with our casts, adding materially to the attractiveness
of the collection.
In connection with the casts of Greek and Roman sculpture in our
collection, the following notes on classical art may be of interest. As
to the characteristics of Gothic and Renaissance art, the reader is
referred to the notes on pages 31-32 and 47-48.
A remarkable civilization (Minoan, Cretan, Aegean, or Prehellenic, as it
is variously called), extending over a thousand years, preceded the
classical period of Greek art. This earlier civilization was brought to
an end by the so-called Dorian invasion at the close of the second
millennium, and several hundred years had to elapse before conditions once
again were right for the flourishing of art. Greece of the classical
period begins to emerge towards the end of the VII century B. C. The
Archaic Period (about 625-480 B. C.) was one of experimentation,
preparatory to the age of perfection, when, technical difficulties having
been overcome and aesthetic aims defined, Greek art attained an eminence
never surpassed.
Victorious at Salamis and Plataea, the Greek world arose triumphant from
its struggles with Asia. The birth of national consciousness ushered in a
new period of art, the Golden Age of Greece (480-400 B. C.). The
conventions of the archaic style gave place to a free style, adequate to
the sculptor’s every need. Grace, simplicity, and truth in the
representation of the living form characterize the sculpture of this
period; draperies are rendered with marvelous skill. Liberal patronage
was extended to the arts, particularly by the state. Under these
favorable conditions, which reached their climax in the Age of Pericles
(461-431 B. C.), Hellenic ideals of proportion, sanity and self-command
found perfect embodiment in sculpture. From about the middle of the V
century, Athens was the unquestioned leader in the field of art, her
nearest rival, the ancient school of Argos. Among the great sculptors of
the V century, three stand out in particular prominence: Myron, who
excelled in the representation of bodily forms and action; Polyclitus, the
sculptor of athletes and the exponent of academic perfection; and above
all Phidias, the great genius of the age, who combined technical skill
with the expression of lofty, spiritual ideals.
In the next period, that of the IV century (400-323 B. C.) individualism
began to dominate Greek thought and action, replacing the earlier civic
and religious influences. Art became more individual and more emotional.
Portraiture grew in favor. The austere style of Phidias gave place to the
dreamy sentiment of Praxiteles, to the fiery passion of Scopas. The gods
descended from high Olympus and walked the earth in human guise. The
three great sculptors of this age were Praxiteles, Scopas and Lysippus.
[Gallery B-10: Gothic Casts]
Gallery B-10: Gothic Casts
Sculpture of the Hellenistic Period (323-146 B. C.) shows a further
development of tendencies already manifested in the preceding century.
Individualism led to a vigorous development of portraiture and genre
sculpture. Art ran the whole gamut of passion, from the bestial to the
ideal, and this amplification of the emotional theme was accompanied by a
wider range of subject material than had yet occurred. With these changes
came a lowering of ideals. Spiritual emptiness, sensationalism, and lack
of self-restraint are only too often characteristic of Hellenistic art.
The chief centres of art in this period were not in Greece, but at
Pergamon, Rhodes and Alexandria.
The development of Roman sculpture was influenced, on the one hand, by
native Italian realistic tendencies, and on the other, by the example of
Greek sculpture. Not only were there in Rome numerous Greek sculptures to
serve as models, but also many transplanted Greek artists, who had left
their native land to seek employment in Italy. To the copies of famous
masterpieces executed by these eclectic artists, it may be remarked, we
owe our knowledge of many celebrated works of Greek sculpture, which
otherwise would have been lost to us. In studying Roman art we note first
one tendency, then the other, predominating, but neither is ever lost to
sight. It is this dualism that gives to Roman art its distinctive
character.
THE PRINT DEPARTMENT
[The Print Study Room]
The Print Study Room
The Print Department occupies two rooms on the Main Floor (Print Study
Room and Library) and a large exhibition gallery on the Second Floor. The
collection, comprising over 5,000 prints, was the munificent gift to the
Society in 1916 of an anonymous donor. The collection, formerly owned by
William M. Ladd of Portland, Oregon, represents the work of years in
collecting, and illustrates in a comprehensive way the history of the
graphic arts. The strength of the collection lies in its splendid
representation of the work of XIX century and modern etchers. In this
respect it may be said to be second only to the famous Avery Collection in
New York. The collection offers an exceptional opportunity for the study
and enjoyment of a branch of art that is intimately related to drawing and
painting and yet has distinctive qualities of its own.
Selections of prints, frequently changed, are exhibited in the large
gallery devoted to this purpose on the Second Floor. Prints not on
exhibition are kept in the Print Study Room on the First Floor, to the
left of the entrance. Visitors are welcome. The curator is glad to show
any prints not on exhibition and to assist the student in every way
possible. Adjoining the Study Room is the Library, where in addition to
general reference books deposited by the Minneapolis Athenaeum, there is a
valuable reference library on the subject of prints, which formed part of
the former Ladd Collection. Students will also find useful a collection
which is now being made of photographs and other reproductions of works of
art.
It is difficult, of course, to give any adequate idea in so brief a space
of the scope of the collection, but the following comments may be of
interest. Among the prints by the early masters, of the XV and XVI
centuries, there are examples of the work of Martin Schongauer; a large
group of 106 engravings and wood-cuts by the great German master, Albrecht
Durer; some characteristic prints by the so-called “Little Masters,”
Beham, Pencz, and Aldegrever; and a small group of engravings by the XV
century Italian master, Andrea Mantegna.
By Rembrandt, the outstanding figure in the graphic arts of the XVII
century, we are fortunate in possessing 127 etchings, all of them good and
many in brilliant impressions. Other engravers and etchers of the XVII
century are well represented. Among the Dutch masters may be instanced
Paul Potter, Ruysdael, A. van de Velde; among the French, Callot, Claude
Lorrain, and the portrait engravers, Nanteuil, Morin and Masson. The XVII
century group is an interesting one. We may note 34 etchings by Piranesi
and an important collection of English mezzotints by McArdell, S. D.
Reynolds, Earlom, Valentine Green, and others.
As to modern etchers and engravers, the collection presents an
embarrassment of riches. The masters of this period are finely
represented. There are 34 etchings by Meryon; 103 etchings and
lithographs by Whistler, including beautiful impressions of the Venetian
and Amsterdam sets; 242 prints by Sir Francis Seymour Haden, a collection
particularly interesting for the number of trial proofs and different
states which it includes. There is a notable group of 242 etchings by
Jacque, including a large number of rare early dry-points; an important
collection of Millet’s etchings and woodcuts; 124 prints by Buhot; 119
prints by Legros; 53 prints by Lepere; 156 prints by van Muyden; a
characteristic group of lithographs by Fantin Latour; 90 prints by Storm
van’s Gravesande, including all his important plates; 32 examples of the
work of M. A. J. Bauer. Turner’s famous Liber Studiorum is represented by
a nearly complete set, including 24 first states. The collection is rich
in the work of contemporary British artists. There are, in addition to
the large group of Hadens, 138 prints by Sir Frank Short; 72 prints by the
Scotch etcher, D. Y. Cameron; and fine examples of the work of Muirhead
Bone, Brangwyn, Strang, and other contemporary artists. Modern German
work is represented by an interesting collection of etchings, woodcuts,
lithography and color-printing. To conclude this brief summary of the
European artists represented in the collection, we may mention the group
of 20 etchings by the Swedish painter and etcher, Anders Zorn.
Coming to the work of American etchers, we find a large group of prints by
Joseph Pennell, including his Panama Canal lithographs; the complete work
of D. Shaw MacLaughlan, down to about 1912; the almost complete work of
Charles Platt; 55 prints by Stephen Parrish; and a representative group of
dry-points by Mary Cassatt.
[Christ Healing the Sick, Etching, Rembrandt, 1607-1669]
Christ Healing the Sick, Etching, Rembrandt, 1607-1669
This is a fine impression of the second state of Rembrandt’s masterpiece
known as The Hundred Guilder Print, so-called because it is supposed to
have brought that price—a high one for the period—in Rembrandt’s own time.
Rembrandt is not only the greatest artist of the Dutch school, but also
the greatest master of etching the world has ever known.
The art of mezzotint engraving attained its highest development in England
during the XVIII century. The English portrait painters were quick to
recognize that the mezzotint process with its delicacy of tone and
beautiful, velvety quality was admirably suited to the reproduction of
their works. Reynolds is said to have employed, under his supervision,
one hundred mezzotint engravers in the reproduction of his portraits.
English mezzotints are well represented in our collection.
[Portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds by Himself
Mezzotint by Valentine Green, 1739-1813]
Portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds by Himself
Mezzotint by Valentine Green, 1739-1813
[The Breaking up of the Agamemnon. Sir Francis Seymour Haden, 1818-1910]
The Breaking up of the Agamemnon. Sir Francis Seymour Haden, 1818-1910
The subject of this large etching is the breaking up of one of England’s
famous old ships of war, called the Agamemnon. Haden was not only a
surgeon eminent in his profession, but also one of the greatest of English
etchers. The revival of interest in etching during the XIX century in
England was largely due to his efforts. Characteristic works of Whistler
and Meryon are illustrated below.
[Weary, Dry-point, by James McNeil Whistler, 1834-1903]
Weary, Dry-point, by James McNeil Whistler, 1834-1903
[La Gallerie Notre-Dame, Etching by Meryon, 1821-1868]
La Gallerie Notre-Dame, Etching by Meryon, 1821-1868
[The Diggers, Etching (Third State), by F. Millet, 1814-1875]
The Diggers, Etching (Third State), by F. Millet, 1814-1875
Our print collection is notably rich in the work of Millet. The etchings
are all fine impressions, in some cases exceptional in quality. The
collection also includes Millet’s lithograph, The Sower, and his rare
heliogravure, Maternal Precaution. Of the six wood-engravings drawn by
Millet and cut by his brothers, three are represented in the collection.
Millet was a thoughtful artist, to whom the spirit of things was at least
as important as their visual aspect. His deep and sincere sympathy with
the life of the peasant, to whose class he himself belonged, determined to
a large extent his choice of subject. But Millet never descended to
anecdotal trivialities; he avoided the pale sentimentality of such a
painter as Jules Breton. His thought, like his technique, was virile,
positive, honest. Millet was far above any trickery, either of thought or
of execution.
The very intensity of his intellectual interests led Millet to evolve a
personal style that is distinguished by its simplicity and directness. As
an artist, Millet is more allied to Durer than to Rubens. Color plays but
a small part in his pictures. Significant, expressive line is the first
essential of his art, and with this simple means he secures a surprising
effect of plastic form. When color is added to outline, he is primarily
interested in establishing accurately the values of the different planes.
Both in his use of line and of mass, it is Millet’s invariable practice to
simplify, omitting everything that is not essential to his purpose.
NEAR EASTERN ART
[Plate, with Floral Design Asia Minor, XVI Century]
Plate, with Floral Design Asia Minor, XVI Century
The art of the Nearer Orient is the product of many races. The phrase
covers in general the art of India, Persia, Syria, Mohammedan Egypt,
Turkey, and even, in certain aspects, the art of Spain, Portugal and
southern Italy. Although the development of this art was by no means
uniform or along the same lines, the products are all related in style,
which is unmistakable and distinct from other types of design. The most
typical manifestation of this style would appear to have originated in
Egypt about the time of the Mohammedan conquest in 638 A. D., and almost
simultaneously in Syria and northern Persia. Since the Koran forbade the
representation of any living creature, Mohammedan artists developed the
so-called arabesque style, based on geometric and floral motives. This
limitation, however, was not observed by the Persians, who introduced
human and animal life into their designs with beautiful results.
[Two Fragments of Bowls, Persian, Rhages, XIII Century. Left: Polychrome
Decoration. Right: Lustred Decoration]
Two Fragments of Bowls, Persian, Rhages, XIII Century. Left: Polychrome
Decoration, Right: Lustred Decoration
The earliest lustred ware of Persia is that found in the ruins of the
ancient city of Rhages. This prosperous city was destroyed in 1221 during
the Mongol invasion. It may be assumed that most of the fragments found
in the tumuli at Rhages date from the early years of the XIII century.
Non-lustred pottery with polychrome decoration was also produced at Rhages
during this period.
The mosque doors, from Ispahan, illustrated on the opposite page, are
particularly fine examples of Persian wood carving. The arabesque designs
are especially beautiful. The inscriptions in the upper and lower small
panels have been translated as follows:
Panel, Upper Right: Oh God, do not indifferently drive me from your door.
Panel, Upper Left: For if you do, there will be no other door open to me.
Panel, Lower Right: Oh, my heart, do not be far off from the door of those
who are sincere and faithful.
Panel, Lower Left: Anyone who is far from the door is near to God.
[Velvet Brocade Turkish, XVI Century]
Velvet Brocade Turkish, XVI Century
[Mosque Doors, Carved Wood, Persian, about 1500]
Mosque Doors, Carved Wood, Persian, about 1500
JAPANESE ART
[Autumn, Six-fold Screen, by Yeitoku, 1543-1590]
Autumn, Six-fold Screen, by Yeitoku, 1543-1590
In the middle of the VI century of the Christian era, Buddhism was
introduced into Japan by way of Korea. Through the vehicle of this new
religion, Chinese art began to exert a fructifying influence upon the
native art of Japan, which up to this time had achieved nothing worthy of
mention. Chinese influence continued in succeeding ages a potent factor
in the development of Japanese art. In the art of the Suiko (552-644),
Hakuho (645-709), Tempyo (710-793), Jogan (794-899), and Fujiwara
(900-1190) periods, the inspiration was largely Chinese, but more and more
the native genius manifested itself in modifications of the spirit and
technique. This evolution toward a distinctive national art and culture
made considerable advances in the Fujiwara period, which ended in social
revolution and the establishment of a military vice-royalty at Kamakura.
The Kamakura period (1190-1337) is the feudal era of Japan. The spirit of
individualism and hero-worship which distinguishes this age brought about
a great development in portraiture, even the gods assuming a more
individualized character. Battle scenes and the achievements of famous
warriors and heroes were popular subjects. To overawe the populace,
religious artists for the first time pictured the horrors of hell.
Forceful delineation and the vigorous expression of action are
characteristic of Kamakura art.
Zenism, a metaphysical doctrine introduced from China to Japan in the
Kamakura period, had a very great influence in the succeeding Ashikaga
period (1337-1582) in shaping the course of art. The Zen sect of
Buddhism, discarding ritual, sought salvation through self-concentration
and meditation. Subjective idealism and the search of the inner spirit of
things, fostered by Zenism, led the Ashikaga artists to practice a
rigorous economy of means, eliminating color in general and all details
not essential to the expression of the artist’s idea. The search for the
hidden beauty in all things was not confined to the major arts but led to
the beautification of the humblest household utensils. In the
ornamentation of sword guards the metal workers showed extraordinary
ability. The Ashikaga era ended in turmoil. In 1582 Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
a man of the humblest origin, brought order out of chaos, and became
virtual ruler over a unified Japan.
[Winter, Six-fold Screen, by Yeitoku, 1543-1590]
Winter, Six-fold Screen, by Yeitoku, 1543-1590
Under the patronage of Hideyoshi and his ennobled generals, the sober
refinement of Ashikaga art gave way to gorgeous decoration, resplendent
with gold and brilliant colors, that shows the influence of the mature
Ming style of China. The leading artist of this period in Japan was
Yeitoku (1543-1590), who with his numerous pupils painted sumptuous
decorations for the palaces of the wealthy nobles. By Yeitoku are the two
large screens illustrated above. This artist created perhaps the greatest
purely decorative style of painting that the world has ever known.
After the death of Hideyoshi in 1602, Iyeyasu founded the Tokugawa
Shogunate (1603-1867). During the long “Tokugawa peace” various schools of
art developed. Koetsu (d. 1637) and his great followers, Sotatsu (middle
XVIII century) and Korin (d. 1716), established the so-called Korin
school, seeking to combine the rich coloring of pre-Ashikaga days with the
bold treatment of the Zen school. Kano Tanyu and his followers attempted
to return to the purity of the Ashikaga masters, but met with only partial
success. Patronage was largely in the hands of a prosperous middle class
who demanded something more easily understood than the aristocratic art of
the earlier periods. To meet this demand a more democratic school arose,
and many gifted artists through their paintings of popular festivals and
other familiar scenes prepared the way for the Ukiyo-e, or school of
common life. Under the inspiration of this popular school, the art of
printing in colors from wood blocks was brought to a high state of
perfection. Little original work of any importance has been produced in
Japan since the Restoration in 1868.
[Tiger, Attributed to Sesshu, 1420-1506. After a Design by Yen-Hiu,
1082-1135. Gift of Charles L. Freer]
Tiger, Attributed to Sesshu, 1420-1506. After a Design by Yen-Hiu,
1082-1135. Gift of Charles L. Freer
[Covered Box, Cloisonne Enamel. Japanese, XIX Century. Decorated in the
Old Korean Style.]
Covered Box, Cloisonne Enamel. Japanese, XIX Century. Decorated in the
Old Korean Style.
CHINESE ART
[Cloisonne Vase Chinese, Ming Dynasty]
Cloisonne Vase Chinese, Ming Dynasty
The study of ancient Chinese art is attended by discouraging
uncertainties. Only a few bronzes, jades, and possibly a small quantity
of pottery, have survived to testify to the early development of art in
China. To add to the difficulty, the exact dating of this material is at
best only tentative. But whether the most ancient of these bronzes and
jades are to be attributed to the Shang Dynasty (1766-1122 B. C.) or, with
more probability, to the succeeding Chou Dynasty (1122-255), the technical
skill which they display postulates so long a period of preparation that
the origins of Chinese art must be referred to a past too remote for our
present discernment. With the Han Dynasty (B. C. 206-221 A. D.), we find
ourselves on surer ground, since many works of art of various kinds and
materials, and unquestionably of this era, have come down to us. Not only
bronzes and jades but also pottery and sculpture bear witness to the
flourishing art of this period. During the Han Dynasty, probably in the
first century of our era, Buddhism reached China from India. It does not
appear, however, to have exerted much influence upon the arts until about
the V century. The Han Dynasty was followed by a succession of shorter
reigns known as the Three Kingdoms and the Six Dynasties.
Early in the VII century, the great house of T’ang (618-907) came to
power, and for three hundred years held sway over a vast empire. It was
the period of China’s greatest external power; the period of her greatest
poetry; and of her grandest and most vigorous, if not, perhaps, her most
perfect art. The surviving works of art of this era are far from
numerous, but they are sufficient to warrant the belief that China, except
in the field of ceramic art, rarely if ever surpassed the achievements of
this golden age. Chinese Buddhist sculpture attained its noblest
development in the T’ang period. As to T’ang painting—unfortunately,
surviving examples are of the utmost rarity—it is characterized by austere
beauty and spiritual elevation. Admirable also are the productions of the
metal worker, the weaver, and the potter.
A short period of half a century succeeded the fall of the T’ang Dynasty.
We come then to another of the great periods of Chinese civilization, that
of the Sung Dynasty (960-1280). From now on, surviving monuments permit
us greater certainty in studying the continuous development of Chinese
art. Under the Sung emperors we find a complex civilization marked by
luxury of living, refinement and elegance of taste. These characteristics
are reflected in the arts. Although religeous painting was largely
practiced, Sung artists show a predilection for landscape and for subjects
allied to landscape, such as birds and flowers. Exceptional qualities of
poetic imagination, observation of nature and technical proficiency
characterize these paintings. Achievements in the field of minor arts are
conspicuous; in particular, we may note the productions of potters.
The Sung Dynasty was succeeded by that of the Mongol invaders who founded
the Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368). With the art of this period, the decline
begins. The Mongols were followed by a native dynasty, the Ming
(1368-1644), under whom the art of porcelain making began to progress
rapidly toward perfection. Ming paintings show an excessive refinement,
an elegance that is not without its charm, but they lack the nobility and
spirituality of the earlier periods. In the Ch’ing, or Manchu, Dynasty
(1644-1912), under the Emperors K’ang Hsi and his grandson, Ch’ien Lung,
the art of porcelain manufacture and decoration reached its apogee.
Today, after forty centuries of liberal harvest, the art soil of China
would seem to be sterile and abandoned.
THE CHINESE DYNASTIES
Shang Dynasty 1766-1122 B. C.
Chou Dynasty 1122-255 B. C.
Ch’in Dynasty 255-206 B. C.
Han Dynasty B. C. 206-221 A. D.
Three Kingdoms 221-265 A. D.
Six Dynasties 265-618 A. D.
T’ang Dynasty 618-907 A. D.
Five Dynasties 907-960 A. D.
Sung Dynasty 960-1280 A. D.
Yuan Dynasty 1280-1368 A. D.
Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 A. D.
Ch’ing Dynasty 1644-1912 A. D.
K’ang Hsi (1662-1722)
Yung Ch’eng (1723-1735)
Ch’ien Lung (1736-1795)
Republic from 1912
[Horse’s Head. Han Period]
Horse’s Head. Han Period
The early Chinese believed in the resurrection of the physical man, and
only after many centuries did the idea of mere spiritual survival vaguely
supplant the earlier superstition. To minister to the needs of the dead
the Chinese of the Han period (206 B. C.-221 A. D.) stocked their tombs
with jars containing wine and pickled meats, with articles of jade, with
clothes, mirrors and weapons. To these were added costly treasures,
furniture, chariots, live animals; even immolation of relatives and
retainers was practiced in early times. As the conception of spiritual
survival gradually replaced that of bodily life after death, simulacra of
the objects used in life came to be substituted in burial for real
objects. To this class belongs the horse’s head, illustrated on this
page, intended to take the place of a living sacrifice. The material is a
soft grey earthenware, covered with a layer of buff clay, perhaps an
original slip or perhaps an adhering soil incrustation. The modeling of
the head, which has been made from a mould, combines a close study of
nature with monumental elimination of the non-essential. Designs of the
period engraved on stone show a similar enthusiasm for the horse and a
similar method of treatment, the interest being in the decorative and
linear aspect more than in the realistic and plastic.
[Mortuary Vase. Han Period]
Mortuary Vase. Han Period
The vase is a typical piece of mortuary pottery of the Han period. It is
made of hard reddish clay covered with a thick translucent green glaze, in
parts become iridescent. The form is derived from an earlier bronze type;
the simulated rings which originally formed the handles of the earlier
type of vessel should be noted. The vase is decorated with a band of
hunting scenes and animals, real and fabulous, modeled in low relief.
[Painting On Silk by Ma Yuan]
Painting On Silk by Ma Yuan
During the Sung dynasty, a period of highly developed civilization
landscape painting occupied the attention of the greatest artists.
Wearying of the complexity of life, men of culture turned with eager
desire to the peace and solitude of nature. This love of nature finds
beautiful expression in the paintings of Ma Yuan, one of the three
greatest landscape painters of the period. By this artist, who flourished
in the latter part of the XII century and the first part of the following
century, is the large kakemono painted in monochrome on silk, which is
illustrated opposite. The subject is the meeting between the Taoist
teacher, Lee Erh, and his disciple, Ying Hai, on the mountain Wah Shan,
one of the five largest mountains of China. Characteristic of the period
is the loftiness and simplicity of the style, an austerity tempered by the
serene and silent joy of the true lover of nature. Irrelevant details are
omitted; only those which are significant expressing the artist’s mood in
contemplation of nature are recorded.
[Ancient Chinese Jades]
Ancient Chinese Jades
The earliest Chinese religion was essentially astronomical and cosmic.
Heaven, earth, and the four quarters were the six cosmic powers worshiped
as deities. The symbol of earth was a yellow jade “tube” or hollow
cylinder, round inside and square outside, with a short, projecting neck
at either end. The earth was thought of as round in its interior and
square outside. The jade earth “tube” or “huang t’sung” in our collection
is a very ancient piece, possibly dating from the Chou period (1122-255
B.C.). To the Sung period (960-1280 A. D.) may be assigned the beautiful
jade reproduced in the illustration, although the type is reminiscent of
Han productions.
[Painting attributed to Pien Chin-Stan]
Painting attributed to Pien Chin-Stan
Attributed to Pien Chin-Stan, an artist of the Yuan period (1280-1368),
is the painting of birds and flowers reproduced on this page. The mellow
harmony of the colors is particularly delightful. Exquisite sensitiveness
to beauties of line and form, combined with loving observation of nature,
distinguishes the drawing. Although paintings of the Yuan period,
generally speaking, are inferior to the Sung, lacking the spiritual
qualities that characterize the earlier period, in such work as this the
great traditions of Chinese painting are worthily continued. To
appreciate Chinese painting one must rid oneself of the mistaken idea, so
common to Occidentals, that a work of art depends for success upon its
“likeness” to nature. Petty imitation of the appearance of things plays
no part in Chinese painting. It is the expression in terms of beauty of
the inner and informing spirit, rather than the outward semblance, that
constitutes the aim of the Chinese artist.
[Tung Fang So. Jade]
Tung Fang So. Jade
From remote antiquity, jade has been highly prized by the Chinese as the
most precious of precious stones. In the ornamental carving of this
beautiful mineral, the Chinese may justly claim pre-eminence. The little
statuette here reproduced represents one of the Chinese immortals, Tung
Fang So, who carries the peaches of longevity. The jade is light
greyish-green in color. The carving probably dates from the late Ming
period.
[Princess Yang. Ming Period]
Princess Yang. Ming Period
This painting represents Princess Yang Kwei-Fei, the celebrated favorite
of the Emperor T’ang Huan Tsung, returning from her bath. It is an
excellent example of the Ming period (1368-1644 A. D.), lovely in color,
distinguished by courtly elegance and refinement of drawing. It has been
attributed to Yiu Kiu, also named Tze-Kiu. The daughter of a petty
functionary, the Princess Yang became in 735 A. D. one of the concubines
of the Emperor’s eighteenth son. Her surpassing beauty and
accomplishments won the affections of the Emperor himself. So great was
her ascendancy over this weak voluptuary that the Imperial favorite was
treated by the court with demonstrations of respect that justly
appertained to none save the Empress Consort; members of her family were
raised to high office; and no outlay was spared in gratifying the caprice
and covetousness of the Princess or her relatives. It is not surprising
that a rebellion resulted. During the flight of the court in 756 A. D.
the Imperial guard revolted, and the Emperor was constrained to order the
Princess Yang to be strangled.
[Vase. Ming Period]
Vase. Ming Period
The porcelain vase is decorated in five colors on a white ground with a
design showing a peacock, a phoenix and smaller birds among rocks, foliage
and blossoms. It is a characteristic and fine production of the late Ming
Period (1368-1644). Altogether admirable is the way in which the design,
drawn with great freedom and boldness, is adapted to the shape of the
vase. The colors are skillfully harmonized; the beautiful blue should be
particularly noted.
[Chinese Porcelain of the XVII and XVIII Centuries]
Chinese Porcelain of the XVII and XVIII Centuries
Apple-green, ashes-of-rose, mirror-black, camellia-green, lemon-yellow,
and celadon are some of the beautiful glazes exemplified in this group of
remarkable “solid-color” porcelains dating from the reigns of K’ang Hsi,
Yung Cheng and Ch’ien Lung (second half of XVII century and the XVIII
century). The large plate is a fine piece of K’ang Hsi decorated
porcelain. Most of the pieces in this case were formerly in the
celebrated Morgan Collection. Gift of Mrs. E. C. Gale.
EGYPTIAN ART
[Detail of the Cartonnage Enclosing the Mummy of the “Lady of the House,
Tesha”. Dynasty XXII-XXV]
Detail of the Cartonnage Enclosing the Mummy of the “Lady of the House,
Tesha”. Dynasty XXII-XXV
The Egyptian collection, purchased from the Drexel Institute, includes
over seven hundred objects, ranging from sculpture and painting to
furniture and utensils of daily life. It affords an adequate illustration
of the conditions under which art flourished in the ancient land of the
Nile, and of the characteristic forms of art expression which were evolved
to meet these conditions.
After monumental architecture, the system of decoration evolved by the
Egyptians is perhaps their greatest contribution to the world’s art. A few
characteristics of Egyptian painting and sculpture may be noted. Color is
used in flat areas without gradation and effects of light and shade. In
drawing, outline is the principal mode of representation. Various
conventions originating in the primitive stages of art, such as the
representation of the human body with head and legs in profile and the
shoulder to the front, became traditional and were continued with little
change throughout later periods. These conventions, however, did not
prevent the artist in the more vigorous periods of Egyptian art from
noting with great keenness of observation many truths of nature. This
curious conflict between realistic observation and conventional means of
representation is characteristic of Egyptian art. In free-standing
sculpture, the variety of postures was limited to a few unvarying poses.
On the whole, in the figurative arts, types and subjects remain unchanged
throughout Egyptian history, although from time to time the informing
spirit was different.
This immutable character of Egyptian art is thoroughly consonant with the
idea of duration which was so strongly a controlling factor in Egyptian
life. We cannot consider here the manifold ramifications of Egyptian
religious belief, but one central tenet—that existence continued after
death—must receive some attention, since this belief in the after-world
explains many features that might otherwise be puzzling. The tomb, for
example, was thought of as the real dwelling house, “the eternal house of
the dead”; the houses of the living were merely “wayside inns.” As a
result, domestic architecture was inconsequential; all efforts were
concentrated on the construction and decoration of tombs and temples.
[Coffin and Mummy of the “Lady of the House, Tesha” From Thebes, Dynasty
XXII-XXV.]
Coffin and Mummy of the “Lady of the House, Tesha” From Thebes, Dynasty
XXII-XXV.
The mummy is enclosed in a cartonnage, made of many layers of linen held
together by plaster, elaborately decorated by inscriptions and figures of
the gods. The anthropoid coffin is made of wood, and is also richly
decorated. Tesha was the daughter of the Doorkeeper of the Golden House
(or Treasury) of Amon at Thebes.
It was believed that man was composed of different entities each having
its separate life and function. First, there was the body itself; then,
the Ka or double—the ethereal projection of the individual, corresponding
in a way to our ghost. Two other elements were the Ba or soul and the Khu
or luminous spark from the divine fire. Each of these elements was in
itself perishable. Left to themselves, they would hasten to dissolution,
and the man, as an entity, would be annihilated. This catastrophe,
however, could be averted through the piety of the survivors. The
decomposition of the body could be prevented, or at least suspended, by
the process of embalming; prayers and offerings saved the other elements
from the second death and secured for them all that was necessary for the
prolongation of their existence. The influence upon the arts of these
religious beliefs is interesting to note. Scenes of harvesting, hunting,
and similar episodes connected with the offering of food were painted or
carved upon the tomb walls, generally for an utilitarian purpose. Through
the recitation of prayers and magic formulae, the pictured semblances of
food became reality and saved the hungry Ka from annihilation in case
actual offerings should fail him. In the same way, portrait statues were
placed in tombs to provide a semblance of the deceased to which the Ka
could return were the actual body destroyed. These instances are perhaps
sufficient to show us how closely art was related to religion in ancient
Egypt.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
Pre-Dynastic Period about 4000-3400 B.C.
Accession of Menes and Beginning of Egyptian History 3400 B.C.
Early Dynastic Period, I and II Dynasties 3400-2980 B.C.
Old Kingdom
III Dynasty 2980-2900 B.C.
IV Dynasty 2900-2750 B.C.
V Dynasty 2750-2625 B.C.
VI Dynasty 2625-2475 B.C.
Transitional Period
VII-X Dynasties. 2475-2160 B.C.
Middle Kingdom
XI Dynasty 2160-2000 B.C.
XII Dynasty 2000-1788 B.C.
Hyksos Period
XIII-XVII Dynasties. 1788-1580 B.C.
The Empire
XVIII Dynasty 1580-1315 B.C.
XIX Dynasty 1315-1200 B.C.
XX Dynasty 1200-1090 B.C.
XXI Dynasty 1090-945 B.C.
Late Dynastic Period
XXII Dynasty 945-745 B.C.
XXIII Dynasty 745-718 B.C.
XXIV Dynasty 718-712 B.C.
XXV Dynasty 712-663 B.C.
Saite Period
XXVI Dynasty 663-525 B.C.
Persian Conquest of Egypt 525 B.C.
Persian Period
XXVII and XXVIII Dynasties 525-398 B.C.
XXIX Dynasty 398-379 B.C.
XXX Dynasty 378-341 B.C.
Ptolemaic Period. 332-30 B.C.
Roman Period 30 B.C.-364 A.D.
Byzantine (Coptic) Period 364-640 A.D.
Arab Conquest of Egypt 640 A.D.
[Lower Part of Coffin. Dynasty XXI]
Lower Part of Coffin. Dynasty XXI
The exterior of this wooden coffin is decorated with figures of gods and
minor divinities in shrines, alternating with invocations to various
divinities. The most interesting scene is that next the foot on the right
side, showing the goddess Hathor in the form of a cow. Beside her is a
suggestion of the Theban cliffs and the open door of her shrine, which was
hewn in the mountain side. This very shrine was discovered on February 7,
1906, and in it intact was a life-size cult statue of Hathor as a cow.
Hathor was supposed to receive the setting sun and to welcome the dead on
the brink of the next world. The decoration of the interior of the coffin
is bolder and more highly colored than the exterior. On the floor may be
noted the large standing figure of Osiris of Busiris. Various divinities
are represented surrounding him. On the sides of the coffin are three
registers containing each three mummiform figures with human or animal
heads; at the top is the soul of the deceased, represented as a
human-headed bird. This coffin doubtless comes from Thebes. The absence
of the cover makes it impossible to determine the ownership. The coffin
was perhaps originally decorated in advance for a woman’s burial, and held
in stock for any burial. In one place, however, a man’s titles are given,
although the name is not recorded, so that possibly, before the decoration
of the coffin was completed, it was adapted to the use of a man.
[Statuette, Wood. Dynasty XII]
Statuette, Wood. Dynasty XII
Standing figure of a woman, carved in wood, with traces of painting; found
at Deir; a fine example of carving in Dynasty XII. An inscription on the
base may be read: “Funerary offerings, beef, fowl (?), things (?), good
and pure for the honorable Kai.” Doubtless a portrait statue. The pose,
with one foot advanced and the arms held stiffly at the sides, is a
familiar one in Egyptian art. Note costume details: the thick wig and the
tight dress supported by two shoulder straps.
[Goddess Neith, Bronze Dynasty XXVI]
Goddess Neith, Bronze Dynasty XXVI
This bronze statuette represents the Goddess Neith wearing the crown of
Lower Egypt; probably of the Saite period. An excellent example of votive
bronzes, of which there is a considerable number in the collection. These
statuettes probably served as votive or propitiatory offerings; that is to
say, they were offered at shrines in gratitude for favors experienced or
in the hope of winning favors to come.
[Funerary Papyrus]
Funerary Papyrus
Fragment of the funerary papyrus of the Priest of Amon, Jekhonsefonkh;
part of a scroll buried with the deceased for his instruction in the
afterworld; Dynasty XXI.
[Ushabti, Wood]
Ushabti, Wood
Ushabti, Dynasty XIX (?), part of the burial equipment of “The Lady of the
House, the Chantress of Amon, Aay.” Ushabtiu were placed in the tomb to
answer for the deceased when called upon to labor in the afterworld. The
inscription reads: “To illuminate the Osiris, the Lady of the House, Aay,
beatified in peace. He says: O this ushabti, if one be drafted to do all
the labors which are performed in the underworld—the Osiris, the Lady of
the House, Aay, beatified, in peace—to cultivate the fields, to irrigate
the banks, to carry the sand of the east to the west, behold, there will
be smitten down ...” Here the text, which is part of Chapter VI of the
Book of the Dead, breaks off because the available space was filled. It
omits final instructions to the ushabti to reply, should the deceased be
drafted, “Behold, here am I!” and thereupon relieve the deceased Lady of
the House of the onerous task of laboring in the fields.
[Cover of a Canopic Jar, Terracotta]
Cover of a Canopic Jar, Terracotta
Cover of a canopic jar used in the burial to contain the human viscera; if
not earlier than the Empire period, to which it is attributed, it
represents the genius Amset.
[Group of Egyptian Alabaster Vessels]
Group of Egyptian Alabaster Vessels
From left to right: spherical vase, Early Dynastic; kohl jar used to
contain antimony or other preparations for the eyes, Dynasty XII or XVIII;
the three vessels following are of the Empire period, Dynasty XVIII-XIX.
[Bronze Mirror]
Bronze Mirror
Bronze mirror, originally highly polished, probably of the Ptolemaic
period. Note the lotus column serving as handle and the two sacred
falcons at the side of the handle.
The sacred falcon below is a charm or amulet of the XII or XVIII Dynasty
in polished gray stone.
[Amulet]
Amulet
[Sacred Eye and Scarab]
Sacred Eye and Scarab
Heart scarab, Dynasty XX or later. Inscription is a prayer from the Book
of the Dead, adjuring the heart, over which the scarab was placed, not to
bear false witness against the deceased at the time of judgment. The
Horus eye is a beautiful piece of faience inlaid with stone and glass,
probably of Dynasty XIX.
ANCIENT ART
Except for Egyptian material, the representation of ancient art in our
collections is unfortunately limited to comparatively few original
examples. These include, however, an interesting group of Cypriote
pottery (duplicate material from the Cesnola Collection) which has
considerable importance from the archaeological as well as from the
artistic point of view. This collection of pottery from the island of
Cyprus shows an almost unbroken succession of styles from the Early Bronze
Age, about 3000 B. C., down to the Roman period, and thus gives us a
complete picture of the art of pottery in an important center of ancient
civilization for about three thousand years. Artistically, it is probably
the most successful product of the Cypriote artist. His sense of form and
decoration could here find full expression without disclosing the lack of
high artistic inspiration, which is apparent in his sculptural creations.
Moreover, a certain fanciful originality which shows itself now in a
fantastic shape, now in the addition of handles and bosses in unexpected
places, gives to his vases a refreshing variety. The interest of this
collection will be greatly increased when we are able to exhibit examples
of the Greek painted pottery of the V and IV centuries B. C., which
represents the culmination of ancient ceramic art. A small collection of
Cypriote glass, dating from the I century B. C. to the V century A. D.,
attracts attention by its beautiful color, or iridescence, due to burial
in the earth. Although we have as yet no original sculptures of the
classical period, except for a few fragments, the development of sculpture
in Greece and Rome may be studied in our cast collection.
[Piriform Vase. Cypriote, Mycenaean Style. ca. 1500-1200 B.C.]
Piriform Vase. Cypriote, Mycenaean Style. ca. 1500-1200 B.C.
[Cypriote Pottery]
Cypriote Pottery
From left to right: Amphora, white ware painted in black and red, X-V
centuries B. C.; jug, red slip ware, XX-XV centuries B. C.; amphora, white
ware painted in black and red, X-V centuries B. C.; jug, base ring ware,
XV-XII centuries B. C.; oinochoe, white ware painted in black and brown,
X-V centuries B. C. The earliest of the fabrics illustrated, i.e., the
red slip ware, though usually not polished, is made evidently in imitation
of the still earlier red polished ware. Base-ring ware is so called from
the distinct standing base found on most specimens. With the white
painted ware of the Early Iron Age, we come to a wheel-made pottery,
usually having painted geometrical decoration.
[Babylonian Tablet From Jokha, ca. 2350 B. C.]
Babylonian Tablet From Jokha, ca. 2350 B. C.
This is one of a small collection of Babylonian tablets. It was made
during the reign of Dungi, King of Ur. The inscription records an
offering to the temple. The tablet is sealed to prevent the alteration of
the record by the priests or attendants; the seal impression bears the
figure of Sin, the Moon God, who was the deity of Ur of the Chaldees, and
before the deity stand two priests in the act of worship. These inscribed
clay tablets were used by the ancient Babylonians in place of papyrus or
parchment.
GOTHIC ART
Since the Goths, a rude and barbarous ancient people, were in no wise
concerned with the splendid art of that period intervening between
Romanesque and Renaissance, which misguided later generations called
Gothic because, forsooth, it was not classical, it is unfortunate that
this inappropriate designation should be perpetuated by custom. But the
misnomer is now used so generally—needless to say, without any sense of
disparagement—that we must perforce accept it.
[A Pope, Statuette in Oak. Flemish, about 1500]
A Pope, Statuette in Oak. Flemish, about 1500
It is impossible to date any period of art with absolute accuracy; for art
is always in the process of change, and the flourishing of any period of
art is long anticipated by preliminary manifestations. In a general way,
however, it may be said that the Gothic period extends from the second
half of the XII century through the XV century. Italy presents an
exception. The tentative Gothic art of the XIII century in Italy gave
place to the new movement, founded upon enthusiasm for antiquity, as well
as for nature, which we call the Renaissance. The classical element in
Renaissance art is the feature which principally distinguishes it from
Gothic. In the latter part of the XV century, the Renaissance spread from
Italy into the northern countries, and, in the XVI century, accomplished a
triumphant ascendancy over the late Gothic style.
The crowning achievement of Gothic art was the cathedral, where architect,
sculptor and painter combined to create monuments which rank with the
greatest works of human genius. Never has sculpture more perfectly
adorned architecture; never has architecture more beautifully expressed
the hopes and aspirations of a people. In this age the plastic arts were
truly “the language of faith.”
From France, Gothic art spread to other lands, to Germany, Flanders,
Spain, and England, and even to Italy. During the XIII and XIV centuries,
the highest development of Gothic art took place in France, but, in the XV
century, Burgundy and the merchant cities of Flanders gained pre-eminence.
France required many years after the battle of Agincourt, in 1415, to
recover from the exhaustion brought about by internal conflict and foreign
wars. In the meantime, the rich cities of Flanders and the powerful Dukes
of Burgundy offered the artist generous patronage.
If the artist in this late period lost something of the spirituality and
noble simplicity of earlier times, he was more skillful technically and
more realistic. Not that the earlier artist had not observed nature! On
the contrary, he was eminently successful in discerning significant
truths, but he subordinated objective representation to the requirements
of a monumental style.
Save for a distinguished list of painters, headed by the great Flemish
masters, the Van Eycks (?-1426, 1381-1440), Rogier van der Weyden
(1400-1464), and Hans Memling (1425-1495), Gothic art is largely
anonymous. In the minor arts, such as glass painting, the illumination of
manuscripts, metal work and enameling, furniture, and textiles, woven and
embroidered, the Gothic Age excelled, and the rare surviving examples of
these beautiful crafts are treasured among the most precious relics of
this great period of the world’s art.
[Head of the Virgin, Stone. French, late XIV Century]
Head of the Virgin, Stone. French, late XIV Century
[A View of the Gothic Room]
A View of the Gothic Room
The large well-head of Istrian stone in the foreground comes from the
Palazzo Zorzi in Venice, and is a fine example of Venetian stone-carving
in the XV century. The well-head, with its acanthus leaves at the four
corners, reminds one of the Corinthian capital of classical times, and, as
a matter of fact, ancient capitals were sometimes used in later periods
for well-heads. On one side is an angel holding a shield supported by two
lions passant. Doubtless, this shield was originally painted the owner’s
coat of arms.
[Hunting Party with Falcons. Burgundian Tapestry, about 1450]
Hunting Party with Falcons. Burgundian Tapestry, about 1450
The two XV century Gothic tapestries in the Charles Jairus Martin Memorial
Collection are masterpieces of the weaver’s art. They rank among the most
beautiful and characteristic examples of the Golden Age of tapestries.
The earlier of the two, The Falconers, was woven, presumably in the
ateliers of Arras, about 1450. It is similar in style to the famous
Hardwicke Hall hunting tapestries, owned by the Duke of Devonshire. These
tapestries have been justly called “the finest of the XV century in
England.” They formerly ornamented the walls of a great room in Hardwicke
Hall, Devonshire, but were removed from there in the XVI century and cut
to adapt them to walls pierced with windows in a new location. Taking
into consideration the similarity in size, subject, costume, and style of
representation, it is not at all impossible that The Falconers may have
belonged originally to this celebrated set. Our tapestry, which comes
from the Cathedral of Gerona in Spain, was evidently part of a still
larger tapestry (tapestries at this time were often woven of great
length), and may have been separated from the other pieces of the set at
the time of their removal from Hardwicke Hall.
[Detail: Falcons Attacking a Heron; Hunter with Lure]
Detail: Falcons Attacking a Heron; Hunter with Lure
In the XV century, hunting and hawking—the latter also called
falconry—played a significant part in the social life of the nobility.
These sports and the ability to pursue them in a generous and polite
fashion set the nobility apart from the commoners, and formed the chief
topic of conversation, when war did not call from the slaughter of animals
to the slaughter of men. One of the most necessary implements in falconry
is the lure, used to recall the falcon. In the upper right-hand corner of
the tapestry a man is shown waving a lure in his right hand. The lure is
a pair of wings attached to a cord, to which the falcon is trained to
return because accustomed to find food there. The mode of carrying the
falcon on the gloved hand is illustrated by several of the personages in
the tapestry. Several of the falcons are still on leash; one has just
been released and thrown up into the air; another is having the hood
removed from his head. The rich costumes illustrate the extravagant
fashions which prevailed in the middle of the XV century, when there was
great competition in dress between the wealthy commoners and the nobility.
Great beauty of color distinguishes this tapestry. The greens and browns
of the foliage form an agreeable contrast with the rich crimson and blue
of the costumes, relieved by passages of green and violet. The Gothic
artist was not afraid to use strong colors, but he knew how to keep them
in harmonious relationship. The simplicity of the design, the purposeful
abstention from realistic effects, which we note in this tapestry, are
virtues in the art of mural decoration that can not be too highly
commended.
[Two Scenes from the Story of Esther. Flemish Tapestry, late XV Century]
Two Scenes from the Story of Esther. Flemish Tapestry, late XV Century
About fifty years later than The Falconers, this beautiful tapestry with
scenes from the Story of Esther, in the Charles Jairus Martin Memorial
Collection, represents the tendency toward a more ornate and sumptuous art
that characterized the late XV century. In the lower right-hand corner of
the tapestry, just above the scroll, may be noted a small fleuron, which
is probably the mark of an atelier, but tapestries before 1528 can rarely
be assigned to any definite atelier or weaver. We must be content to
designate our tapestry as Flemish, woven at the close of the XV century.
The story of Esther was popular among the Flemish weavers at this time.
Our tapestry, which formed part of a set, may be compared with three
hangings of the same subject belonging to the Cathedral of Saragossa.
The reproduction can give but an unsatisfactory idea at best of the
original. Not only do we lose the mellow harmonies of color, but in
reducing the design of so large a tapestry to a few square inches many of
the most beautiful details are necessarily lost. In the left-hand
compartment, Queen Esther, kneeling before the King, kisses the golden
scepter which Ahasuerus extends to her. Having won favor in the King’s
eyes, Esther asks as a boon that the King and Haman, the King’s favorite,
whose plot for the persecution of the Jews Esther intends to circumvent,
shall attend a feast which she has prepared for them. In the upper
left-hand corner are two little scenes; Esther kneeling in prayer, and
Esther receiving instructions from Mordecai. In the compartment at the
right is pictured Esther’s banquet, the second feast, related in Chap. VII
of the Book of Esther, which brought about the fall of Haman.
Particularly interesting in this scene is the representation of table
furnishings, the damask cloth, the enameled ewer in the shape of a boat,
the knives with their handles of ivory and ebony, the hanap, the cup of
Venetian glass, and the various pieces of plate. We have in this
composition a remarkable document illustrating the luxury that
characterized the life of the great nobles at the close of the XV century.
In the scrolls at the bottom of the tapestry are Latin mottoes referring
to the scenes above. Our tapestry was formerly in the J. Pierpont Morgan
Collection.
In such tapestries as this and The Falconers, we may note the perfect
relationship which exists between the nature of the design and the purpose
to which the tapestry was put. Gothic tapestries of the XV century
illustrate the true principle of mural decoration. Designers deliberately
avoided realistic imitation of nature with spatial effects and tricks of
illusion. They strove to achieve a decorative flatness of design which
would emphasize rather than destroy the architectonic quality of the wall
the tapestry was to cover.
A tapestry is woven, not embroidered, and forms a single fabric. Only two
elements are employed in the making of it, the warp and the woof (or
weft). These are the upright and the horizontal threads. The weaving is
done upon a loom or frame. The bobbin, or shuttle, filled with thread of
the weft, is passed from right to left behind the odd warp threads, and in
passing leaves a bit of the weft thread in front of the even warp threads.
On the backward trip, from left to right, the shuttle reverses its course
and leaves the weft in front of the odd warp threads. Thus, all the warp
threads are covered with the weft. A comb is used to press down the
threads, so that they form an almost even line. Wool is generally used
for the weft, linen or hemp for the warp. The texture was sometimes
enriched with passages of gold and silver thread or perhaps a bit of silk.
[The Virgin and St. John. Flemish, about 1500]
The Virgin and St. John. Flemish, about 1500
Part of a large tapestry representing the Crucifixion. Its vigorous
design and harmonious color make one regret all the more the loss of the
other part of this splendid tapestry.
[Virgin and Child, Stone. French, XIV Century]
Virgin and Child, Stone. French, XIV Century
This life-size statue, which still retains traces of the painting and
gilding with which Gothic sculptures were almost invariably enriched, is
an important example of French Gothic sculpture. The monumental character
of this great art is shown in the conventional rendering of the hair, and
in the simplification of the modeling; its grace and naturalness in the
pose of the Divine Mother. The beautiful, rhythmic lines of the drapery
should be particularly noted. Representations of the Virgin in French XIV
century art have neither the austerity of earlier periods nor the
worldliness of later. They are characterized by charming sensibility and
tenderness.
[A Saint, Lindenwood. German, School of Ulm, about 1500]
A Saint, Lindenwood. German, School of Ulm, about 1500
This statue of a holy woman, probably one of the half-sisters of the
Virgin, Mary Cleophas, the wife of Alpheus, or Mary Salome, the wife of
Zebedee formed part originally, it may be presumed, of a Pieta group.
This remarkable example of German sculpture at the close of the XV century
is carved in linden wood, and preserves largely intact the original
gilding and polychromy which add so much to the decorative effect of the
piece. A second figure from this group, a kneeling Magdalene, is in the
Kaiser-Friedrich Museum in Berlin. There has been noted a similarity in
style between these two sculptures and the work of the Meister des
Blaubeurer Hochaltars (so called from the sculptured high altar in the
choir of the cloister-church at Blaubeuren). We have represented,
perhaps, a late phase of his art, stronger and more realistic than in his
early period. It would be most interesting if the connection with this
well-known master could be established, but, failing that, the figure may
be confidently attributed to the school of Ulm, about 1500.
We do not expect to find in German sculpture of the XV century that
spirituality which characterizes the great achievements of the Italian
school. German plastic art was one of realism, modified by a strong
decorative tradition centuries old, based not only on precedent but on
propriety. If the carved altarpiece were to tell in the subdued light of
the Gothic church, the artist had to resort to exaggeration, to sharp
contrasts in modeling, to the added emphasis of gold and color, to secure
his effect. The skillful artist converted his exaggerations of form and
movement into beautiful decoration; seized upon the necessity of
contrasting planes as a pretext for crumpling his draperies into numerous
rhythmic folds, and used the resources of gilding and polychromy to enrich
as well as to emphasize form.
But at his best, the German sculptor was more than a simple decorator.
Our statue is a case in point. Here we have the work of one who surely
has looked into the human heart. Beneath the pattern of line and area,
beneath the gold and colors, is a living woman. Not our idea of a saint
perhaps; rather, a pretty woman, dainty in her ways, coquetting with
religeon—nevertheless very real. Our artist may never have seen a saint,
but, no doubt, he saw many a maid like this in his parish. If we are not
raised to spiritual heights by his conception of a sainted character, we
are at least delighted by his charming humanity.
[St. Mary Magdalene, Linden Wood. Attributed to Jorg Syrlin the Younger,
1425-after 1521]
St. Mary Magdalene, Linden Wood. Attributed to Jorg Syrlin the Younger,
1425-after 1521
This relief, attributed to a well-known sculptor of the school of Ulm, one
of the chief centers of South German art, may be dated about 1500. Such
carvings as this were commonly used to ornament the doors of large
shrines. The decorative treatment of the drapery, with its involved
folds, is characteristic of the German school.
[Small Column, Marble. Southern French, XIV Century]
Small Column, Marble. Southern French, XIV Century
The foliage carved on the capital of this small column, probably from some
cloister, exemplifies the skill with which the Gothic sculptor utilized
natural forms as decorative motives.
[St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata. School of Giotto, about 1330]
St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata. School of Giotto, about 1330
The supreme moment in the life of St. Francis, the seraphic Poverello of
Assisi, is the subject of this small panel picture, painted in tempera
colors with a gold background, by an artist of Giotto’s school in the
Romagna, who was probably a direct pupil of the great Italian master, and
whose charm of color and grace of line were vivified by a feeling for
reality of form inspired by Giotto’s example. Toward the close of the
Saint’s life, two years before his death, he retired with some companions
to the solitudes of Monte La Verna. On the morning of the Exaltation of
the Holy Cross, as St. Francis knelt in prayer on a lonely part of the
mountain, there appeared to him a seraph with six flaming wings bearing
the effigy of Christ crucified. Two wings were raised above His head, two
were spread in flight, and and two covered His body. As St. Francis gazed
ecstatically upon this vision, the Savior’s five wounds were miraculously
imprinted on his hands and feet and side. The second figure in the
composition is that of the Saint’s companion, Brother Leo, who by his
aloofness from the dramatic action of the picture serves effectively as a
foil to the figure of St. Francis.
[Madonna and Child. The Master of the St. Ursula Legend]
Madonna and Child. The Master of the St. Ursula Legend
The Master of the St. Ursula Legend, a Flemish painter of the second half
of the XV century, derives his name from the famous altarpiece in the
Convent of the Black Sisters in Bruges representing the history of St.
Ursula, a work painted about 1470. The anonymous master of the Bruges
altarpiece shows to some extent the influence of Memling; his style,
however, is thoroughly personal in its naivete and admirable expression of
a good-natured temperament. His character is well seen in such a painting
as ours, where the Mother is full of modesty, her face expressing a
tender, timid love for her child, who does not embrace her after all, not
the most natural thing for a baby to do, but amuses himself with playing
with the leaves of a book which the Madonna holds. The Virgin is a
home-like, simple type, wholesome if not beautiful.
[Madonna and Angels. Atelier of Jean Bourdichon, 1457-1521]
Madonna and Angels. Atelier of Jean Bourdichon, 1457-1521
This delightful French miniature, or illuminated page, on parchment is
from some dismembered Book of Hours. If not painted by Bourdichon
himself, it was certainly done in his studio under his direction. The
invention of printing eventually brought to a close the beautiful art of
illumination, but at the time of Bourdichon it flourished in highest
perfection.
[The Miraculous Field of Wheat. Joachim Patinir and Quentin Massys]
The Miraculous Field of Wheat. Joachim Patinir and Quentin Massys
Two leading artists of the Flemish school were Quentin Massys and Joachim
Patinir. Massys (1466-1530) began a new epoch in Netherlandish art; he
served as a “connecting link” between Jan van Eyck and Rubens. Patinir
(died 1524) was one of the first artists to emphasize the landscape rather
than the figures in a painting, but the time had not yet come when
landscape could be painted for itself alone. It was necessary to relate
it with the familiar religious painting of the day by introducing some
biblical or legendary theme. A favorite subject was the flight of the
Holy Family into Egypt. This is the subject of our panel-painting in
which these two great masters collaborated; the landscape and the smaller
figures by Patinir, the group of the Holy Family in the foreground by
Quentin Massys. It is related that the Holy Family, closely pursued by
Herod’s soldiers, chanced to encounter by the roadside a man sowing wheat
in a field. The Virgin spoke to him, saying that if anyone inquired if
they had passed he should answer, “Such persons came by when I was sowing
wheat”; then by a miracle Jesus caused the wheat to spring up and ripen in
one night. The next day when the farmer was cutting the wheat, those
pursuing the Holy Family came up and asked if he had seen them. He
replied as he had been told, with the result that the soldiers turned
back, convinced that they had mistaken the road and that the fugitives had
gone elsewhere.
RENAISSANCE ART
[A Group in the First Renaissance Gallery]
A Group in the First Renaissance Gallery
Renaissance means re-birth. When the barbarians wrote “finis” on the page
of Rome’s ancient story, long centuries of tenebrous reorganization were
to elapse before Italy once more emerged into the light of civilization.
In comparison with the shadowy gropings of this age of transition, the
brilliant culture of the XV and XVI centuries seemed indeed a re-birth, or
renaissance of long-departed glories; and, as an apposite description of
the art of this period, the word Renaissance is, on the whole, well
chosen. Renaissance art attained its most complete expression in Italy
during the XV and XVI centuries; but the new style was not confined by any
means to Italy alone. During the XV century, Renaissance art began to
spread from Italy to other European countries. Late Gothic art could not
withstand its bewitchment, and in the XVI century, European art yielded
almost without reserve to the ascendancy of the Renaissance style.
Enthusiasm for antiquity and enthusiasm for nature, it has been said, are
the chief characteristics of Italian Renaissance art. While this is
correct, it is principally the enthusiasm for antiquity that gives to
renaissance art its peculiar distinction; for naturalism we find quite as
potent a factor in the development of Gothic art as in that of the
Renaissance. The Renaissance artist differed in the main from the Gothic
not so much in his attitude toward nature as in the way he recorded his
reactions—his style, in other words.
[The Second Renaissance Gallery]
The Second Renaissance Gallery
In the development of the Renaissance style, as distinguished from the
Gothic, the example of Graeco-Roman art played an important part.
Humanism, the taste for the literature and history of the ancients,
awakened the interest of Italian artists in the monuments of their
forgotten past, and led them to seek, in the surviving remains of Roman
architecture and in the scanty examples of ancient sculpture and painting
that chance had brought to light, the secret of beauty.
The attitude of the Early Renaissance toward the antique differed from
that of the Late Renaissance. In the former period (XV century),
enthusiasm for the art of an unfamiliar past, romantically dreamed of,
rather than archeologically reconstructed, did not lead to that sterile
imitation which came with wider knowledge and greater technical facility
in the late days of Renaissance art. Artists of this period were
disciples rather than imitators. Grandiose and formal, the Late
Renaissance (XVI century) lost the child-like, romantic enthusiasm of the
earlier period for classical art. Sculptors and painters not only sought
forms which should recall the antique, but also turned eagerly to Greek
and Roman mythology for their subjects. As the Renaissance drew to a
close, artists began to borrow not only from the antique but also from the
great masters of their own Golden Age, Leonardo (1452-1519), Raphael
(1483-1520), Michelangelo (1475-1564), Correggio (1494-1534), and Titian
(1477-1576). In this futile eclecticism the Renaissance came to an end.
[Madonna and Child. The Master of the San Miniato Altar-piece]
Madonna and Child. The Master of the San Miniato Altar-piece
The author of this charming panel-painting derives his name from his
principal work, a large altarpiece still preserved in the little Tuscan
town of San Miniato dei Tedeschi. We do not know the artist’s real name
nor anything of his life save that his work, of which some eight or nine
examples are recorded, shows the influence of the great Florentine master,
Fra Filippo Lippi, and of another anonymous painter, the so-called
Companion of Pesellino. The painting in our collection dates about 1480.
We note in this picture the plastic quality which distinguishes the work
of the Florentine artists from that of other schools. This love of form
is an expression of the same temperament which enabled Florence to produce
the greatest sculptors of the Renaissance.
[Portrait of an Ecclesiastic. Giovanni Battista Moroni, ca. 1520-1578.]
Portrait of an Ecclesiastic. Giovanni Battista Moroni, ca. 1520-1578.
A contmplative, dignified spirit is admirably expressed in this beautiful
portrait, which goes to prove that Moroni at his best is entitled to a
place among the great Italian painters of the Renaissance. Moroni spent
most of his life in the little North Italian town of Bergamo, where he
lacked the stimulating competition that occurred in larger centers. At
times, his work, mostly in the field of portraiture, is commonplace, but
in such paintings as the celebrated Tailor, in the National Gallery at
London, or our own Ecclesiastic, we find an unusual power of perception
combined with the “measure, distinction, and clearness” which were the
Hellenistic ideals of his generation.
[Madonna and Child. Giampietrino, fl. first half of XVI Century]
Madonna and Child. Giampietrino, fl. first half of XVI Century
Among Leonardo’s Milanese disciples was Gian Pietro Rizzi, commonly known
as Giampietrino, a definite artistic personality, but historically hardly
more than a name. Although he was probably not a direct pupil of
Leonardo, there is ample evidence in his work that he came under the
influence of this great master, whose exquisitely perfect art had
captivated all of Lombardy. Whatever the subject of his paintings,
Giampietro’s real theme is always the beauty of woman. Affection, but
never any great emotional feeling, is expressed in his numerous paintings
of the Madonna, since passion would distort the delicate, aristocratic
beauty of the forms he modeled with such loving skill. Our painting is
exhibited as and indefinite loan from Mr. E. J. Carpenter.
[Madonna and Saints. Palma il Vecchio, about 1480-1528]
Madonna and Saints. Palma il Vecchio, about 1480-1528
In this important Venetian painting of the High Renaissance, the Madonna
and Child are represented in a beautiful landscape surrounded by four
saints; at the left St. Michael and St. Dorothea, at the right St. Joseph
(probably) and St. Mary Magdalene. Such scenes are called in Italian
“sante conversazioni,” or sacred conversations, and were especially
popular in Palma’s time. This artist, one of the great masters of the
Venetian school, was called il Vecchio, or the elder, to distinguish him
from his grand-nephew who was called Palma the younger. Three periods of
development may be noted in Palma’s work. The first is called Bellinesque,
when Palma was still influenced by Giovanni Bellini. In his second
period, Giorgione’s influence was dominant. The so-called blond manner
characterized his third period. The fascinating landscape of our painting
calls to mind the influence of Giorgione, but the wholesome well-being
that radiates from this goodly company of saints reminds one more of
Titian than of Giorgione. Palma enjoyed the beautiful luxurious things of
life, he delighted in rich amplitude of form, in splendid glowing color,
in the health and sanity of happy men and women; and to his vision he gave
the permanency of supreme craftsmanship. Our painting, given in memory of
James S. Bell by his son, was formerly in the Rangoni Collection of
Modena.
[Stucco Relief. Workshop of Antonio Rossellino]
Stucco Relief. Workshop of Antonio Rossellino
During the Renaissance, a great number of charming reliefs in stucco and
plaster by great sculptors, or in their style, were used for the
decoration of the home or of wayside shrines. Our example, probably from
the workshop of Antonio Rossellino (1427-1478), is a typical example of
these popular reliefs.
[Glass. Venetian, XVI Century]
Glass. Venetian, XVI Century
The glass factories at Murano near Venice were celebrated during the
Renaissance, as they are today, for their beautiful productions. The
large beaker shown in our illustration is of bluish glass. The deep dish
is of white glass decorated with colored enamels.
[Chair. Florentine, XVI Century]
Chair. Florentine, XVI Century
The grotesque figures, the grinning mask and other decorative motives
which may be noted in this elaborately carved chair are characteristic of
furniture designed in the High Renaissance.
[Pomona, Glazed Terracotta Statuette. Giovanni Delia Robbia, 1469-1529
(?)]
Pomona, Glazed Terracotta Statuette. Giovanni Delia Robbia, 1469-1529 (?)
This charming statuette of Pomona, or Dovizia, as it has been suggested,
is the work of Giovanni della Robbia, a Florentine sculptor, the son of
Andrea della Robbia who was the nephew of Luca della Robbia. The work of
the della Robbia family in glazed terracotta is familiar to all lovers of
Italian art. Giovanni was the pupil of his father. His early works, such
as this Pomona, show him at his best; in his later productions he lacks
refinement and indulges in polychromy with too liberality. When
discreetly used, as in this statuette, color enriches the plastic quality
of the work. The goddess wears a blue gown with decorations in golden
yellow; the fruit is represented naturalistically in yellow green and
violet; and the flesh parts are glazed in white. On her head the Goddess
carries a basket filled with fruit, and in her left hand a brimming
cornucopia. A little boy, with charming naturalness, turns to her for
protection as if afraid of the dog barking at him.
[Candlestick, Wood, Carved and Gilded. Florentine, XVI Century]
Candlestick, Wood, Carved and Gilded. Florentine, XVI Century
Vasari and a writer of the XVII century mention a statue by Donatello of
La Dovizia, which stood in the Mercato Vecchio in Florence. This statue
is described as representing a maiden bearing on her head a basket of
fruit. The statue is lost, but two existing statuettes of the della
Robbia school, in addition to our own (both inferior to ours), are
probably reflections of the Donatello Dovizia. In one, in the Buonarotti
Museum, we see a maiden supporting on her head, with her right hand, a
basket filled with flowers and fruit. A similar statuette in the Berlin
Museum carries a cornucopia as well as a basket. Both are called Pomona.
The cornucopia, however, is the classic attribute of Ceres and of
Abundantia, or, in this case, Dovizia, the Italian version of Abundantia.
That our statuette is intended as a personification of riches or abundance
rather than as Pomona becomes yet clearer when we examine the inscription
on the base: GLORIA ET DIVITIE IN DOMO TUA, “May Honor and Riches Be
Within Thy House.” The boy and dog give a touch of domesticity to the
group. They express “within thy house,” revealing Dovizia as a household
goddess.
[Virgil Appearing to Dante, Tapestry. Florentine, Middle of XVI Century]
Virgil Appearing to Dante, Tapestry. Florentine, Middle of XVI Century
These two tapestries in the Charles Jairus Martin Memorial Collection are
remarkably fine examples of Renaissance tapestry weaving in Italy and
Flanders during the XVI century. The Dante tapestry was woven about the
middle of the century in Florence at the Medici atelier—the
Arazzeria-Medici—founded by Cosimo I in 1537. It bears in the selvage the
mark of the Florentine manufactory and of the master weaver, John Rost,
who with another Fleming, Nicholas Karcher, conducted (from 1546) the work
of the Arazzeria. His mark, in the lower left-hand corner of the
tapestry, is a punning device, a roast of meat upon a spit. The tapestry
was woven for some member of the Salviati family, whose arms appear in the
upper border. The design has been attributed on evidence of style to
Francesco Rossi de’ Salviati (1510-1563), who, with Bronzino and other
well-known artists of the High Renaissance, provided many cartoons for the
Medici weavers. The scene represented is taken from the opening canto of
Dante’s Divine Comedy; Virgil, the type of Human Philosophy, sent to guide
the poet through Hell and Purgatory, appears to Dante who has lost his way
in “the wood of error,” where he is menaced by three symbolical animals,
the panther, the lion and the she-wolf, who would prevent him from
ascending the “Holy Hill.” The border designs in the grotesque style are
particularly interesting and typical of Renaissance ornament. The
tapestry is unusually large, measuring 16 ft. 7 in. in height by 15 ft. 4
in. in width. Italian tapestries of the High Renaissance are not common;
the Dante tapestry, formerly in the J. P. Morgan Collection, is far and
away the most important example of its kind in the country.
[Joseph Ruler Over Egypt, Tapestry. Brussels, Second Quarter of XVI
Century]
Joseph Ruler Over Egypt, Tapestry. Brussels, Second Quarter of XVI
Century
The extraordinary success which attended the weaving at Brussels in the
early part of the XVI century of the tapestries from Raphael’s famous
cartoons brought the Italian Renaissance style into great favor among the
tapestry weavers of Flanders. Evidence of this is clear in our tapestry
from a set illustrating the history of Joseph. Behind the seated woman in
the foreground stands a lady in the rich costume of the XVI century; it is
not improbable that this is the portrait of some noblewoman at whose
expense the tapestries were woven. In the lower left-hand corner of the
border occurs the Brussels mark, a red shield with a capital letter “B” on
either side. From 1528 on, the Brussels weavers were required by law to
add the mark of the city, together with their own mark, to all tapestries
of more than six ells. The weaver’s monogram, at the right in the lower
border of our tapestry, as not yet been identified. The tapestry dates
from about the second quarter of the XVI century. It was formerly in the
Rospigliosi and Ffoulke Collections.
[Lectern, Walnut. Italian, Umbrian, XVI Century]
Lectern, Walnut. Italian, Umbrian, XVI Century
The architectural design of this large lectern is typical of Italian
Renaissance furniture, as is also the use of such classical decorative
motives as the egg-and-dart pattern, rosettes, swags, etc. The lectern,
from some Umbrian church, served to support the large choir-books,
oftentimes beautifully illuminated, that were in use during this period.
[Cassone, with Gilded Decoration. Florentine, Third Quarter of XV
Century]
Cassone, with Gilded Decoration. Florentine, Third Quarter of XV Century
Richly ornamented cassoni to hold the bridal trousseau constitute an
important class of Renaissance furniture. The two marriage chests,
illustrated on this page, are magnificent examples of this type of
furniture. The Florentine cassone is ornamented with gilded, low reliefs
in “pastille.” In the center are the four cardinal virtues, Temperance,
Justice, Fortitude and Prudence; on either side of this group,
mythological scenes that may be taken in connection with the virtues as
representing the opposition between the ordered Christian life and pagan
license. The Medusa heads are introduced as guardians against misfortune.
This combination of pagan and Christian elements is thoroughly
characteristic of the Renaissance. The beautifully carved walnut cassone
was made in 1514 for a marriage which united two Sienese families, the
Piccolomini and the del Golia. In its refinement of proportions and
skilful execution this cassone is a masterpiece of furniture designing.
[Cassone, Carved Walnut. Sienese, 1514]
Cassone, Carved Walnut. Sienese, 1514
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ART
[Chair, Portuguese. XVII Century]
Chair, Portuguese. XVII Century
The XVII century is an age of opposites. Democracy is contrasted with
absolutism; the newly won Dutch Republic with the monarchies of Spain and
France. Christendom is divided between the antagonistic sects of
Catholicism and Protestantism. The Counter-Reformation, at first
mistrustful of the artist, now makes use of art to further the Catholic
reaction. But religious art itself, exclusively Catholic, is animated by
varying emotions which find expression, on the one hand, in the
passionate, morbid fervor of Ribera (1588-1656); on the other, in the
easy-going rhetoric and corpulent healthiness of Rubens (1577-1640). In
secular art we find equally striking contrasts; the pendulum swings from
the aristocratic refinement of Van Dyck (1599-1641) to the vulgarity of
Brouwer (1606-1638). It seems incredible that two such great artists as
Rembrandt (1607-1669) and Velasquez (1599-1660) should have been
contemporaries: Velasquez, reserved, proud, the embodiment of Spanish
courtliness; Rembrandt, emotional, democratic, understanding and
sympathizing with all mankind. But the contrast is no greater than
between the popular art that flourished in the Netherlands under a free
people, and the monarchical art, with its academies, court painters,
sculptors, architects, tapestry weavers and cabinet makers, that revolved
around the awesome person of le grand monarque, Louis XIV. Architecture,
sculpture and the minor arts display more uniformity of style than the
paintings of the period. Dependent largely upon the Church or upon an
opulent aristocracy for patronage, they reflect the taste for
grandiloquence, ostentation and splendid show which characterized, in this
century, ecclesiastic and noble alike. The classic orders tower and
writhe on church facade and palace walls. Within, where all is
resplendent with gold and rich colors, magnificence pays its lavish homage
to deity or to royalty in equal measure.
[Henry Hyde, Lord Clarendon. Sir Peter Lely, 1618-1680]
Henry Hyde, Lord Clarendon. Sir Peter Lely, 1618-1680
English painting before the XVIII century was largely dominated by foreign
artists: Holbein in the XVI century; Van Dyck in the first half of the
XVII century; and, in the second half, the Dutchman, Sir Peter Lely, who
came to England in 1641 and speedily won great reputation as a portrait
painter, imitating the style of Van Dyck who had just died. Lely’s work
is distinguished by many excellent qualities, although marred by the
pompous artificiality of his time. He is at his best in such a portrait
as this, painted shortly after his arrival in England, of the second Earl
of Clarendon (1638-1709) as a boy.
[The Concert. Michiel van Musscher, 1645-1705]
The Concert. Michiel van Musscher, 1645-1705
This interesting genre scene is by a Dutch painter of the late XVII
century, a period when art, that had been democratic with Rembrandt and
Frans Hals, now assumed, under the patronage of wealthy parvenus a
pretentious gentility in which the accessories of life were more important
than life itself. Van Musscher enjoyed considerable popularity in his
time; he painted with meticulous care flattering portraits and pretty
genre subjects; he was mindful of each shining pearl and gilded tassel,
satin fold and silken curtain—not a detail escaped his devoted eye; but,
were it not for a certain distinction which he had as a colorist and
composer his paintings would have little importance today, save as records
of costume and household gear.
[Portrait of a Lady. Michiel Mierevelt, 1567-1641]
Portrait of a Lady. Michiel Mierevelt, 1567-1641
Mierevelt, a well-known portrait painter of the Dutch school, lived
principally at Delft, although occasionally residing at The Hague. He was
court painter to the House of Orange, and like others of his kind,
evidently enjoyed depicting the elegant costumes and accessories of his
aristocratic sitters. Mierevelt differs widely from his younger and
greater contemporary, Frans Hals, both in technique and in sentiment.
Mierevelt’s style recalls the courtly elegance of the Renaissance—which
one might expect, since he was born well in the XVI century; whereas Frans
Hals, striking out along new lines, represents the new spirit of democracy
which inspired the long struggle in the Low Countries to win political and
religious independence. The portrait, illustrated above, is dated 1630.
[Tapestry, Hunting Scenes. Flemish, about 1600]
Tapestry, Hunting Scenes. Flemish, about 1600
In the background of this “hunting tapestry,” from the Lowry Memorial
Gift, is illustrated the story of Diana and Acteon; the rash huntsman is
turned into a stag by the outraged Goddess. In its design the tapestry is
more Renaissance in feeling than Baroque, but the crowded ordinance of the
composition betrays its late date. The carving on the chest below shows
various typical motives of the Jacobean style.
[Chest, Oak. English, XVII Century]
Chest, Oak. English, XVII Century
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY ART
Art of the XVIII century differs radically from that of the preceding
century. It is graceful, elegant and coquettish rather than ponderous,
majestic and passionate. Forgotten is the fervent piety of the
Counter-Reformation and the oppressive grandeur of le Roi Soleil. Life is
joyful, to be lived in luxurious boudoirs, exquisite in refinement of
decoration, or in pretty gardens where Nature, properly disguised,
welcomes aristocratic shepherds and shepherdesses to her pastoral
delights.
The changed political and social conditions of the XVIII century had their
immediate effect in the world of art. Except in England—relatively
democratic as compared with France and other continental countries—art was
almost exclusively aristocratic, and mirrored the self-indulgent interests
of fashionable patrons. Even in England, where Hogarth moralized for the
bourgeoisie, and the sturdy lineaments of the commoner were portrayed by a
Reynolds or Gainsborough no less frequently, and truthfully, than the
high-bred mien of a great nobleman, artistic concessions to the Third
Estate were distinctly limited. It was in courtly France, soon to be
racked by social revolution, that the epicurean art of the XVIII century
was most at home. When we name Watteau, Boucher, Fragonard, Clodion,
Houdon, we sum up, perhaps, all that is most characteristic of painting
and sculpture in XVIII century art. The portrait painters of England
contribute to the century the meed of their greatness; Italy gains lustre
through Tiepolo; Spain through Goya; but it is to France that we turn to
experience in its completeness the spirit of the Rococo.
In the “century of little things” the minor arts attained an exceptional
importance. Artisans ranked as artists, and justly. Among the
distinguished artists of the XVIII century must be included such great
craftsmen as Chippendale, Sheraton, Hepplewhite, Oeben, Riesener,
Gouthiere, and Caffieri—to make but a brief selection from among the
numerous English and French cabinet-makers, metal chasers, and other
craftsmen of the period. The productions of these celebrated artisans
were rightly looked upon as works of creative art of a high order, and the
makers were accorded the patronage and protection of royalty and nobility.
In technical perfection the XVIII century crafts have never been
surpassed. But too great proficiency led sometimes to artistic disaster,
as we may note in tapestries imitating the difficulties of inappropriate
pictorial models, or in the florid carving sometimes indulged in by the
cabinet-makers—even the celebrated Chippendale, if the truth be told.
These occasional deviations from the path of artistic rectitude must not
mislead us, however, from a just appreciation of the extraordinary merits
of XVIII century decorative art.
[Head of an Old Man. Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, 1727-1804]
Head of an Old Man. Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, 1727-1804
The work of Domenico Tiepolo, the son of Gian Battista Teipolo, the head
of the Venetian school of the XVIII century and the last of the great
Italian painters. In the period of exhaustion which followed the
Renaissance, the Venetian school alone was blessed with genius. The list
of painters is indeed impressive when compared with the nonentities of the
other Italian schools of the XVIII century. Although Domenico did not
display the same great genius as his father, at his best he approached
Giambattista so closely that his works have often been confused. Domenico
is known as an etcher as well as a painter. In his set of character heads,
called the “Raccolta di teste”, there is an etching reproducing the above
portrait.
[Portrait of James Ward. Gilbert Stuart, 1755-1828]
Portrait of James Ward. Gilbert Stuart, 1755-1828
Gilbert Stuart was typical of his time and country in that his art was not
national but derived from England, where he received most of his training.
His masterful expression of personality, his brilliant brush-work and
treatment of light, permit him to be classed among the most gifted artists
of his age as the first truly great American artist. The Portrait of
Master Ward, painted in 1789, and one of the very few signed works of the
artist, was exhibited at the Royal Academy in the year in which it was
painted. It is considered by eminent critics the most beautiful of
Stuart’s paintings in American collections. This graceful lad, portrayed
fondling his dog, afterwards became famous as an engraver of animal
subjects.
[Death on the Pale Horse. Benjamin West, 1738-1820]
Death on the Pale Horse. Benjamin West, 1738-1820
In its early days, American painting was derived from Europe and
especially from the mother country, England. The early XVIII century
portraits of prominent Colonials and their families, though valuable as
historical documents and not without a naive charm, are halting and
provincial as works of art.
The first American painter to win a widely recognized position in the
world of art was Benjamin West. In his twenty-second year he went to
study in Rome, where he worked for several years in the “grand manner.”
Moving to England in 1768, he won favor at once, was appointed historical
painter to the King in 1772, and twenty years later, on the death of
Reynolds, was elected president of the Royal Academy. The Institute’s
painting, Death on the Pale Horse, is a study for his grandiose canvas in
the Pennsylvania Academy. When it was first exhibited, the artist was
acclaimed a second Michelangelo. It is painted mostly in subdued bronze
and dull red tones, and shows Death as a splendid youth seated upon a
white horse, charging out of the sky at the head of a troop of heroic
horsemen. Below him crowds of terrified human beings are fleeing before
the vision, idols fall, and wild beasts snarl and cower. The subject is
taken from Revelation VI, 8: “And I looked and beheld a pale horse and his
name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was
given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and
with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”
[Large Embroidered Hanging. French, Early XVIII Century
Subject, Spring: from a set representing the Four Seasons, in memory of
Mrs. Thomas Lowry by Mrs. Gustav Schwyzer, Mrs. Percy Hagerman and Horace
Lowry]
Large Embroidered Hanging. French, Early XVIII Century
Subject, Spring: from a set representing the Four Seasons, in memory of
Mrs. Thomas Lowry by Mrs. Gustav Schwyzer, Mrs. Percy Hagerman and Horace
Lowry
[Needlepoint, Reticello. Italian, Early XVII Century]
Needlepoint, Reticello. Italian, Early XVII Century
The piece of reticello lace, illustrated above, is an unusually fine
example of early Italian needlepoint. Reticello was the first
needlepoint, and from it all the later ones were derived. Long points,
such as we see here, were much used on collars and cuffs in the XVII
century. Of other Italian laces in the collection may be noted a large
panel of Milanese bobbin lace of the late XVII or early XVIII century, a
fine piece of beautiful Venetian rosepoint of the XVIII century, and
examples of Burano and grounded Venetian lace of the same period. French
laces of the XVIII century are represented by characteristic examples of
Point d’Alencon and Point d’Argentan needlepoint and of old Valenciennes
bobbin lace. Flemish laces may be studied in typical examples of Mechlin,
Point d’Angleterre, Application, etc. These exquisite fabrics of France
and Flanders have never been surpassed in beauty of design and skilful
workmanship. The delicate meshes seem at times almost miraculous—as if
they owed their origin to Jack Frost rather than to human hands. To show
the fineness of the thread used in making the characteristic hexagonal
mesh of Point d’Argentan, it may be stated that on an average one side of
the hexagon measures only 1-16 of an inch. On each of these sides there
are usually 10 stitches. This makes 160 stitches to the inch—which means
more, perhaps, when we realize that in the finest machine sewing there are
usually 32 stitches to the inch. The collection also includes XIX century
and modern examples of Belgian, English and American lace.
[Lace, Needlepoint, Point d’Argentan, French, XVIII Century
Lace, Needlepoint, Point d’Alencon, French, XVIII Century
Lace, Needlepoint, Rosepoint, Venetian, Early XVIII Century
Bobbin Lace, Point d’Angleterre, Flemish, XVIII Century]
Lace, Needlepoint, Point d’Argentan, French, XVIII Century
Lace, Needlepoint, Point d’Alencon, French, XVIII Century
Lace, Needlepoint, Rosepoint, Venetian, Early XVIII Century
Bobbin Lace, Point d’Angleterre, Flemish, XVIII Century
[Chair, Pearwood Venetian. Early XVIII Century]
Chair, Pearwood Venetian. Early XVIII Century
The hectic magnificence of life in XVIII century Venice finds its
reflection, naturally enough, in the decorative arts of the time.
Furniture less ornate than the lavishly carved chair illustrated on this
page would have seemed out of place in the great gilded salons where human
peacocks strutted in the bravery of brocade and rustling silk. As a
general rule, Italian furniture of the Rococo Age is easily recognized by
its prodigal indulgence in the spices, so to speak, of furniture
designing. Rarely is a piece of Italian furniture of the elaborate
character of this pearwood chair so successful in combining an almost
excessive richness of carving with a fine feeling for proportions and
harmonious ensemble. Indeed, it is not impossible that the chair is the
work of a cabinet maker who may have come from France to Venice in the
suite of some great nobleman.
Of the master craftsmen of England in the XVIII century none has achieved
greater renown than Thomas Chippendale (1709-1779). Through the
publication of his book of furniture designs in 1754 (later editions in
1759 and 1762) as well as by the example of his own cabinet work, he
exerted a widespread influence. His various styles were imitated not only
in England, but also in the American colonies. Consequently, not every
“Chippendale” piece is from the master’s hands; on the contrary, well
authenticated furniture by Chippendale himself, or by his own workmen, are
great rarities. It is customary, however, to designate as “Chippendale”
the work of his contemporaries and imitators who copied the styles which
the master had popularized.
[Tripod Table with Top Tilted Back]
Tripod Table with Top Tilted Back
[Tripod Table, Mahogany, English, about 1760-1765]
Tripod Table, Mahogany, English, about 1760-1765
The tripod table was perhaps the most important achievement of Thomas
Chippendale as innovator, for it was his exclusive creation. The tripod
table in our collection was made approximately between 1760 and 1765. The
quality of the carving is so excellent, the sense of style so marked,
that, if not by Chippendale himself, the table is surely the work of a
cabinet maker who closely rivaled the famous master. Tripod tables are
commonly referred to in documents of the period as “snap tables.” The top
is hinged so that it can be tilted back to save space. When in use it is
held in place by a sliding catch, which snaps sharply into position when
the top is let down.
[Card Table, Mahogany English or American, about 1750-1775]
Card Table, Mahogany English or American, about 1750-1775
Card playing, often for high stakes, was so much the rage in the XVIII
century that there were generally several card tables in a fashionable
house of the period. The folding card table, here reproduced, dates about
1750-1775 and was possibly made in America rather than in England.
Characteristic of the Chippendale manner are the cabriole legs and the
style of the relief carving. One of the legs swings outward to support
the hinged half of the top when open; the rounded corners of the top
served as candle stands.
Note the fine carving of the moulded rim with its foliated scallop shells.
The fluted shaft and the cabriole legs with ball-and-claw feet are well
proportioned.
[Dressing-table, Mahogany. American, about 1760-1775]
Dressing-table, Mahogany. American, about 1760-1775
The dressing-table, or low-boy, illustrated above, is a fine example of
the more elaborate cabinet work done in this country during the XVIII
century. It dates from about 1760 to 1775, and was probably made in
Philadelphia. In a dressing-table very similar to ours there has been
found the advertisement of the maker, “William Savery, at the Sign of the
Chair near the Market on Second Street, Philadelphia.” The small group of
existing furniture to which our piece belongs includes some of the finest
examples of American furniture. Low-boys and high-boys; that is,
dressing-tables and high chests of drawers on legs, would appear generally
to have been made in pairs. The companion piece to our lowboy has been
lost sight of, but the type is well known. The lower part would have been
about the same in design as the dressing-table; the chest of drawers,
which it supported, completed by a scroll top. The high chest of drawers
enjoyed a long continued popularity in America. The type just described,
despite its Chippendale motifs, was distinctly American. The expressions,
high-boy and low-boy, are not found in the old records; they probably
originated later in derision, when the chest of drawers and its
accompanying table seemed grotesquely out of fashion.
[Large Flip Glass and Two Liquor Bottles. Stiegel Glass, American, XVIII
Century.]
Large Flip Glass and Two Liquor Bottles. Stiegel Glass, American, XVIII
Century.
We take glass so much for granted today that it is difficult for us to
realize how rare and precious a commodity it was to the first settlers of
this country. It is significant that the first attempt to establish a
manufacturing industry in the American colonies was the building and
equipping of a glass house. About the middle of the XVIII century, glass
began to be manufactured upon an extensive scale. The Stiegel Glass
Works, the second successful glass factory, and the best known of the
early American works, commenced operations at Manheim, Pa., in 1765.
“Baron” Stiegel—his title was a courtesy one—was born in Germany, at
Cologne, in 1729; came to Philadelphia in 1750; married the daughter of a
rich iron master; and in the course of time, launched his ambitious
project for the establishment of a glass manufactory that would compete
successfully with the European glass centers for the American market. The
Colonies were then going through a period of economic stress that was soon
to lead to the Revolution. Unable or unwilling to read the signs of the
time aright, Stiegel speedily met with financial embarrassment, failed in
1774, and was even imprisoned for debt. The victim of his own vanity, or
rather self-confidence, this early American captain of industry died in
destitution, January 10, 1785. His factory, maintained for a while after
is failure, was not operated after 1780. The three pieces of glass
illustrated above are typical of the white flint glass with engraved
designs made at the Stiegel works. The manufactory was also renowned for
its colored flint glass, and for glass with enameled decoration.
THE SECOND FLOOR
[Le Beurre, by Ovide Yenesse.]
Le Beurre, by Ovide Yenesse.
MODERN AMERICAN PAINTINGS
The American painters of the Colonial period and of the first fifty years
following the Revolution were followed by a group of landscape painters,
known as the Hudson River school, who were more indigenous and original
than their predecessors. These men enthusiastically transcribed the
scenery of their native America, especially the Catskill Mountains and the
valley of the Hudson.
With George Inness began what might be called the middle school of
American landscape, which came to be one of the most important
contributions that America has made to painting. Inness discarded the
humble literalism of Kensett and the grandiloquence of Bierstadt. Like
his contemporaries at Barbizon, he preferred more intimate subjects, and
of their detail he aimed to give only enough to reproduce the single,
synthetic emotion into which his poetic fire could fuse the scene. Among
his able contemporaries and successors were Wyant, Homer Martin, Tryon,
Eaton, Ranger, Blakelock and Horatio Walker. To this tradition in
landscape was added a virile foundation of marine painting in the works of
Winslow Homer.
Artists of power and individuality, whose influence on the development of
American painting would be difficult to trace, include the great, perhaps
rather un-American, Whistler, revealer of subtle tone relations; Vedder,
master of rhythmic line; La Farge, rich colorist and decorator; Albert P.
Ryder, with his glowing color and romantic imagination; George Fuller,
whose tender poetry and mellow, golden-brown tone were his native gift;
William Morris Hunt, whose enthusiasm as teacher, more than whose example
as artist, revealed to younger men the new breadth and insight of their
contemporaries in France.
The seventies and eighties of the century were marked in general by a
dependence upon the art of Europe. A group of men, including Duveneck,
Chase and Shirlaw, went to Munich whence they brought home a solid,
painter-like technique and a sober tonality. These qualities became a
factor in the early development of such artists in America as John W.
Alexander and Joseph De Camp. Edwin A. Abbey, painting in England,
developed the romantic anecdote. The strongest influence, however, came
out of Paris, mother of modern art movements. The teachings of such
masters as Gerome, Bonnat and Carolus-Duran were assimilated without
sacrifice of individuality. Fresher, breezier color and a more brilliant
technique came into American figure painting. To this group belong
Thayer, Volk, Dewing and Brush, refined painters of figures; Low and Cox,
followers of a more classic tradition; Gari Melchers, whose greater
directness comes partly out of Holland, Mary Cassatt, influenced by Manet
and Degas; and Sargent, whose gusto, spontaneity, and brilliant technique
have made him one of America’s four or five greatest painters.
Weir, Twachtman and Hassam imported the new enthusiasm for Impressionism,
for the use of pure colors in reproducing high-keyed effects of ephemeral
sunlight. Tarbell, Reid, Little, C. H. Davis, Symons, Redfield and
Frieseke show to varying extent the same influences. The present tendency
in American painting seems to be toward greater diversity and a more
unfettered assertion of personality, as exemplified by such men as Davies,
Henri, Hawthorne and Bellows.
[Mount Whitney. Albert Bierstadt, 1830-1902]
Mount Whitney. Albert Bierstadt, 1830-1902
No member of the Hudson River school, probably, imbibed so much of the
qualities of the Dusseldorf masters as did Bierstadt. He chose for his
big canvases panoramas from impressive scenes in Yellowstone Park and in
the Rockies. He attempted to give the illusion of reality to these by a
minutely detailed rendition of foreground, while the subject itself, with
his favorite lowering clouds and romantic haze, was to produce the desired
grandeur. The result made his paintings popular in America of his own
time; but today his grandeur seems a little theatrical.
[The Conch Divers. Winslow Homer, 1836-1910]
The Conch Divers. Winslow Homer, 1836-1910
It is rare that an artist uses with equal success both water color and
oil. With Winslow Homer one hardly knows which to admire more, his oil
paintings or his water colors. His oils are, perhaps, more bare, more
elemental than the water colors, but the tones are harsher and often less
true. In the winter of 1885-1886, Homer visited the Bahama Islands, where
a new world of color was opened to his eyes. The water colors which he
made during this and subsequent voyages are among the finest things he
ever did. Among these is The Conch Divers: negroes on the deck of a sloop
are watching the reappearance of a diver who has just come up alongside
with some shells in his hand. The Island of New Providence with its palms
is seen in the distance at the right. The composition is admirable; the
figures are drawn with great power.
“It is Winslow Homer’s distinction that he was the first American painter
to use an American idiom,” writes William Howe Downes. “Not only his
subjects, but his manner of treating them; not only his motives, but his
point of view; not only his material, but the style and sentiment in which
he clothes it, have the stamp of Americanism indelibly impressed upon
them.” This spirited statement might be qualified by the observation that
it is George Inness and Fuller who express more truly the spirit of
American rural life; while it is Homer who expresses the spirit of the
frontiersman, the deep-sea fisherman, and all those whose lives bring them
face to face with the bare facts of the unmitigated elements.
[Moonlit Surf, Paul Dougherty, 1877-]
Moonlit Surf, Paul Dougherty, 1877-
A contemporary American painter of rocks and sea who may be considered to
be in a sense a successor to Winslow Homer, is Paul Dougherty. He is
thoroughly American in spirit, and mainly self-taught. After a brief
career in the law, he turned to painting. With a knowledge of drawing and
perspective as a foundation upon which to proceed, he went to Europe where
he spent several years studying without masters in Paris, London,
Florence, Venice and Munich.
He returned to his native country more American than ever. Our artists,
he said, walked too near the sterile soil of eclecticism, deferred too
much to established codes. Like Winslow Homer, he scorned the nicer
subtleties of personal moods. He rejoiced in nature’s more vigorous
aspects and he looked at her impersonally, objectively. This passion for
puttmg things down as they are rather than using them as a means of
expressing his individual moods, is, curiously enough, the key to the
individual note which stamps his canvases. At the same time this literal
tendency seems to some critics to be his greatest weakness.
He has devoted himself almost exclusively to chronicling the moods of the
sea, to transcribing the profound surging billows, the swirling of eddies,
the resistless pounding of waves against cliffs, the dash of spray upward
into the light. A good example of these fresh sea-pieces is Moonlit Surf.
It is a comparatively recent work, and shows the sea striking against
rocks and sweeping into their crevices, while a warm moonlight, glancing
over the crests of waves, gives color.
[Luxembourg Gardens at Twilight. John S. Sargent, 1856-]
Luxembourg Gardens at Twilight. John S. Sargent, 1856-
In this canvas, Sargent has shown the hushed pensiveness of mood, the
perfection of sensitively modulated color of which his many-sided genius
is capable, but which it has, in fact, rarely attained to such a degree as
here. The subject of the painting is the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris at
twilight, with the moon rising above the trees. In the distance may be
seen the dome of the Pantheon. Various groups of figures lend the scene a
measured animation. The picture is hardly more than a sketch, but its
justness of values conveys an impression of reality which is
characteristic of the artist. Particularly attractive is the mellow tone
of the painting. The soft tawny grays of the foreground, the sombre green
of the thickly-massed trees; the note of rose in the woman’s costume, form
an exquisite harmony, accentuated by occasional touches of black. It was
presented by Sargent to his friend Charles Pollen McKim, the celebrated
architect, who died in 1909. It is signed, “To my friend McKim, John S.
Sargent.” A replica of this painting, in the John G. Johnson Collection,
is dated 1879.—The Martin B. Koon Memorial Collection.
[The White Bridge. John H. Twachtman, 1853-1902]
The White Bridge. John H. Twachtman, 1853-1902
At the time of Twachtman’s death, fear was expressed by a fellow artist
that the canvases he had left behind might prove too fine a food for the
general palate. In the intervening years, however, general taste has
become better accustomed to the impressionist mode of expression; and
today anyone must be in harassed and impatient mood who does not respond
to the sensitive appeal of Twachtman’s vague landscapes. These carry to
the last degree of refinement the idea that spiritual rather than physical
facts are properly the subject matter of art.
In the White Bridge we sense the very essence of soft spring-time. The
yellow-green of young grass and tender foliage gives the general tone of
the painting. In the foreground, on the bank of a stream, a crooked tree
reaches out its sappy young branches, which form, together with the
latticed railing of an intimate white bridge, a delicate pattern against
some evergreens behind. In the foreground on the quiet surface of the
stream the reflection of the bridge forms a tracery in pale lilac.—The
Martin B. Koon Memorial Collection.
[A Ray of Sunlight. John W. Alexander, 1857-1915.]
A Ray of Sunlight. John W. Alexander, 1857-1915.
A fine and characteristic example of the work of John W. Alexander, is A
Ray of Sunlight. The appeal of the work is felt immediately. It
represents a young woman playing a violincello. One can imaging emotional
strains of Chopin. There is extraordinary breadth in the treatment of the
musician’s gown, yet the coarse absorbent canvas gives a soft and
interesting surface to the broad planes. The most lasting attraction of
the picture is due to the artist’s treatment of light. A soft, glowing,
effulgence flows in from the right, and envelops the graceful figure, a
direct ray falling across the forearm and reflecting in the polished
surface of the instrument.
[River in Winter. Gardner Symons, 1861-]
River in Winter. Gardner Symons, 1861-
Gardner Symons, an important member of the modern group of American
landscape painters, is fond of representing winter scenes with snow
covering the ground and softening its contours. In River in Winter he has
produced a cheerful scene, treated with much beauty of color. Late
afternoon sunlight slants across the snow, casting rosy lights and violet
shadows. Between sparsely wooded banks, a river flows toward the
spectator. In the distance are low opalescent hills beneath a transparent
greenish sky.—The Martin B. Koon Memorial Collection.
It may be interesting to compare River in Winter by Symons with the
painting in the same collection and bearing the same title by Edward W.
Redfield. Redfield is a well known American painter noted for his winter
landscapes. Our example of Redfield’s work is highly characteristic.
Compared with Symons’ painting, we find it less warm in color,
characterized by a more brittle and restless handling of surfaces, and a
less sedate and simple feeling for composition, but quite as convincing as
a portrayal of nature.
[Garden in June. Frederick C. Frieseke, 1874-]
Garden in June. Frederick C. Frieseke, 1874-
Frederick Carl Frieseke is one of the most delightful among the younger
American painters who revel in the sunlight of Impressionism. He studied
at the Chicago Art Institute, at the Art Students’ League, and, in Paris,
under Constant, Laurens and Whistler; but Claude Monet has been the
important influence. Frieseke’s interest is in the color effect of the
things in his chosen field of vision, in the effect things make at a
single glance upon an eye trained to see the transient color of shadows
and of objects in sunlight. For the detailed study of form, he cares
little; yet his drawing is adequate, and his spots of bright color are
always worked together into a pleasing and balanced pattern, as we see it
in the Garden in June.
Lately, a more diffused light and less dazzling color has appealed to
Frieseke, and he has given us a series of lovely impressions of ladies at
their various domestic pursuits. The painting entitled The Toilet in the
Institute’s collection is an example of the later studies.—The Martin B.
Koon Memorial Collection.
[The Open Sea. Emil Carlsen, 1853]
The Open Sea. Emil Carlsen, 1853
The consummate workmanship of Emil Carlsen in covering a canvas with
pigments gives the illusion of appealing to more senses than the sense of
vision. The delicious handling of color and the creamy texture of his
paint seem to tickle the palate and to please the finger tips. The Open
Sea is the sea at its most alluring. A fair breeze gives the water
vivacity without making it threaten. It seems friendly, with its subtle
endless shifting of blues and pale greens; one’s face welcomes the dash of
spray from the crest of such a wave.
Emil Carlsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1853, and came to America
in 1872. He studied architecture in his native city, but subsequently
devoted himself to painting, in which he soon achieved unusual success.
He has received many awards and is represented in the Metropolitan Museum,
the National Gallery in Washington, and other important collections.
A Woodland Interior in the Institute’s collection is another work by
Carlsen, revealing similar charms to those found in The Open Sea.—The
Martin B. Koon Memorial Collection.
[The Yellow Flower. Albert Reid, 1863-]
The Yellow Flower. Albert Reid, 1863-
The favorite subject of Robert Reid’s study is the gracefully clad figure
of woman, enveloped in the soft atmosphere of the studio or out of doors.
His treatment is purely decorative, and his color contrasts slight. He
poses his model quietly, engaged in unpurposeful occupations such as
gazing at a bowl of goldfish, dreaming before a bit of bright porcelain,
or seated placidly in a meadow, as in The Yellow Flower. In this pleasing
painting, the filmy blouse, the yellow skirt, the golden skin and hair
almost melt into the yellowish green of the grass in which the figure is
Placed.—The Martin B. Koon Memorial Collection.
A psychologist has pointed out somewhere that if it were not for the
artists among us pointing out the beauties of landscape, very few of us
would ever appreciate them. One finds no landscapes painted on Greek
vases. The early European painters used landscapes only as backgrounds
for portraits or religious subjects. Certainly there exist in nature
charms of color in shadow, rich varieties of pure tone in sunlight which
none of us suspected until the Impressionist painters insisted upon them.
[Midsummer. R. Sloan Bredin, 1881-]
Midsummer. R. Sloan Bredin, 1881-
In Midsummer by R. Sloan Bredin one finds not only an unusually pleasing
piece of diagonal composition, not only a lyrical mood undisturbed by
disharmony, but also a way of seeing things which, if we could make it a
part of ourselves, would much enhance our own visual enjoyment of nature.
The beautiful play of color through the foliage of the big tree at the
left of the canal, the subtle effects produced by the faint haze of a July
noonday, the fresh tones of the nearer foliage drooping across the larger
tree beyond, should prove a lesson as well as a joy.
[Night’s Overture. Arthur B. Davies, 1862-]
Night’s Overture. Arthur B. Davies, 1862-
One of the most personal and interesting painters in America today is
Arthur B. Davies. His painting ignores the commonplaces and unessentials
of life. “Never once does he wander from his dream, his vision,” writes
Samuel Isham. “His enchanted garden is not visited at rare intervals; it
is not one of many resorts, it is his home, his retreat from which he
never departs. It is a wonderful land of which he gives us glimpses—of
flowery meadows and bosky groves peopled by youth and childhood.” His
visions are naive, tender, whimsical, often vaguely allegorical, sometimes
a little unintelligible, but never trite nor sentimental. In his recent
work he seems to tend more and more toward the unintelligible, as his love
of the allegorical and the purely spiritual grows.
To Night’s Overture much of these remarks may seem not to apply. Here is
nothing of the naive, the whimsical, the allegorical. And yet this
landscape is characteristic of Davies’ art. It is a highly spiritualized
and individual treatment of landscape, wonderfully decorative in color and
arrangement, and highly endowed with feeling.—The Martin B. Koon Memorial
Collection.
MODERN EUROPEAN PAINTINGS
To trace the history of painting in the XIX century in France, is to trace
the main stem of its recent developments throughout the western world.
Germany has grafted something of her own national spirit upon the parent
art forms of the French; England has contributed some original impulses;
Holland and Spain have looked back to their own past as well as across to
the contemporary painting of the French. Yet it is France, with her
bewildering crowding in of new ideas and crowding out of old, which during
the past century, has led the way in painting, and in the opening of the
XX century continues to lead.
In the beginning of the XIX century, the longing of intellectual France
for a return to the poise and civic virtues of republican Rome had found
its visual expression in the classical paintings of David (1748-1825) and
Ingres (1780-1867). The beginnings of Romanticism are seen in the
paintings of Gros, who dared to paint his characters in clothes more
modern than the toga. Gericault and Delacroix (1799-1863) completed the
development in their impassioned color and movement and their searching
out of romantic and exotic subject matter.
A group of mid-century artists who combined many of the qualities of the
Classic and Romantic schools included Cabanel, Lefebvre, Bouguereau and
Gerome. The military painters, Meissonier, Detaille, and de Neuville,
might conveniently be grouped with them, they alike treating romantic
subjects in a precise and academic manner. Reflections of this group in
Germany are seen in Piloty, Menzel and Max; in Great Britain in
Alma-Tadema, Leighton and Orchardson. Such painters as these expressed
the Academic attitude with which, from 1850 to 1885, the ideas of the
Barbizon painters, the Realists, the rising Impressionists, and, in
England, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (unrelated to any Continental
movement) had to compete.
The Barbizon School, including Rousseau, Corot, Millet, Daubigny, Troyon,
and others, owed much to the Dutch landscape painters of the XVII century
and to the influence of the Englishman Constable (1776-1837), who had gone
directly to nature and represented what he saw with a fidelity rare since
the time of Ruisdael and Hobbema. The spirit of this group inspired Mauve
and Jacob Maris in Holland, while Israels was influenced rather by the old
Dutch masters of figure painting.
Modern Impressionism is a mixture of two streams of influence. One arose
in the direct vision of Courbet, and the realistic painting of enveloping
atmosphere as invented by Velasquez and rediscovered by Manet. The other
stream springs from the poetic impressionistic methods of Corot and the
fiery Turner. Influenced by these two currents, Monet and Renoir produced
the high-keyed externality of Luminism, which has strongly affected
contemporary American painters; while in Europe, Degas, Pissarro, Sisley,
Sorolla, Zuloaga, Zorn and Liebermann have drawn in varying degrees from
the same two streams. Defying all classification, stands the one great
decorator of the century, Puvis de Chavannes; while initiating the most
modern art movement are Cezanne, Gauguin and Matisse, who revolt against
objectivism, and strive in visual forms to express the abiding verities.
[Landscape. Georges Michel, 1763-1843]
Landscape. Georges Michel, 1763-1843
To those who asked him why he did not go to Italy for his subjects,
Georges Michel would answer: “The man who can not find enough to paint
during his whole life in a circuit of four miles is in reality no artist.”
This artistic creed was nothing less than revolutionary at that time, in
the early days of the XIX century, when the landscape painter regarded
nature as unworthy of his brush unless it was bedecked with ancient
temples and peopled with gods and goddesses, or at least suggested Italy
or some distant land. Georges Michel lived on the heights of Montmartre
in Paris. He walked out into the country and painted what he saw. His
landscapes are actual studies of nature painted in the open air. As one
of the first painters of paysage intime, Michel was a forerunner of
Rousseau and the men of 1830. His narrow, subdued scheme of color
establishes his relationship with the great Dutch masters of the XVII
century. In France, however, his was pioneer work; he did not cater to
the popular demand, and it was not until the World Exhibition in 1889 that
his genius was generally recognized.—Gift of James J. Hill.
[Child with Cherries. Gillaume Adolphe Bouguereau, 1825-1905]
Child with Cherries. Gillaume Adolphe Bouguereau, 1825-1905
The most popular figure paintings of the mid-nineteenth century in France
were those of the group of compromisers or semi-classicists. Their
compositions were the natural successors to the classicism of the
academicians David and Ingres, modified by a new vogue in France for
romantic types and for modern history. One of the important men of this
group was Bouguereau. He had much skill in drawing and in composition.
He makes his appeal, however, chiefly through his choice of themes,
employing usually either sentimental religious subjects or pretty
children.—From the Bequest of Mrs. W. H. Dunwoody.
[The Bath. Jean Leon Gerome, 1824-1903 ]
The Bath. Jean Leon Gerome, 1824-1903
The bright Turkish interior, which Gerome has chosen for his scene, gives
it a colorful setting. The walls are covered with rich blue-green tiles.
The brilliant garment thrown over the seat at the right, and the towel
hanging above it give the complementary colors. Against this vivid ground
are played the cool flesh tones of the seated woman and the sleek, dusky
skin of the negro attendant. Further color and exotic interest are given
by the gaudy bangles and kerchief of the slave.
Gerome is usually classed with Bouguereau among the semi-classicists of
the XIX century in France. In his work, we find the strong interest in
contours, in reposeful composition, and in smooth finish for which the
academy stood, while his subjects take us to the romantic Orient and
spread before us the pageantry of history.—Gift of Mrs. Frederick B. Wells
in memory of her father, Frank H. Peavey.
[The Storming of Tel-el-Kebir. Alphonse de Neuville, 1836-1883]
The Storming of Tel-el-Kebir. Alphonse de Neuville, 1836-1883
This battle scene by the French military painter de Neuville depicts the
crucial moment in a hard campaign undertaken to crush a rebellion among
the Egyptians. In the gray dawn of September 13, 1882, a British force
with bayonets fixed stormed the entrenched natives; and in a few minutes
hard fighting decided the supremacy of Great Britain in Egypt.
[Napoleon’s Retreat from Russia. Jan V. Chelminski, 1851-]
Napoleon’s Retreat from Russia. Jan V. Chelminski, 1851-
The Polish painter Chelminski was contemporary with the military painters
working in France, and his work is similar, although his training was that
of Munich, not Paris. In Napoleon’s Retreat from Russia, he suggests in
the tragic sunset lighting of the sky, the frightful demoralization and
suffering of Napoleon’s army, defeated by boundless steppes and relentless
winter.—Gift of James J. Hill.
[The Roe Covert. Gustave Courbet, 1819-1877]
The Roe Covert. Gustave Courbet, 1819-1877
Few great artists have been so little influenced by their great
forerunners as Courbet was. A man of strong peasant instincts, of
incomparable forcefulness and initiative, he looked at the works of the
great romanticists of his time and laughed with a titantic contempt. He
looked at the works of Raphael and Michelangelo and laughed again. Their
power and beauty were nothing to Courbet because they were afraid of the
unvarnished truth. The Spaniards he admired. He was instinctively the
“painter of raw material.” Moreover, he was a truculent propagandist, an
“individualist with strong elbows.”
In his own time, he was a subject of ridicule; but we now know that he was
a great painter as well as a blunt pioneer. His great artistry is
inescabable when we see in such a painting as The Roe Covert, the bold
naturalism of vision, and directness of brushing combined with such a fine
power of harmonizing tones, and through all, such a tender feeling for the
subject. He is as a young savage might be in his element; he can love
Nature without first making romantic literature of her.—Gift of James J.
Hill.
[Woodland Scene. N. V. Diaz de la Pena, 1809-1879]
Woodland Scene. N. V. Diaz de la Pena, 1809-1879
[River Scene. Charles Francois Daubigny, 1817-1878]
River Scene. Charles Francois Daubigny, 1817-1878
Rousseau, the founder of the Barbizon school, had the landscapes of such
XVII century Hollanders as Ruisdael and of the English Constable as
precedents. Diaz, one of Rousseau’s followers, was fond of painting
landscapes dark with sullen skies or forest shade, enlivened with bright
spots where human figures are introduced or where the sun penetrates the
trees. Daubigny, younger and less romantic, introduces with his freer
handling, a yet more modern spirit. These two paintings are part of the
memorial gift of Mrs. Frederick B. Wells.
[Landscape with Cattle. Constant Troyon, 1810-1865]
Landscape with Cattle. Constant Troyon, 1810-1865
[Fording the River. Constant Troyon, 1810-1865]
Fording the River. Constant Troyon, 1810-1865
Troyon, a member of the Barbizon group, was fascinated by the pastoral
aspect of cattle in landscapes. While Ruisdael was the principal example
for Rousseau and Diaz, it was to Cuyp, the Dutch cattle painter, that
Troyon went for inspiration. These two paintings are part of the bequest
of Mrs. W. H. Dunwoody.
[The Beach at Trouville. Eugene Boudin, 1824-1898]
The Beach at Trouville. Eugene Boudin, 1824-1898
Historically, Boudin is important as a link between the Men of 1830 and
the Impressionists—more specifically, between Corot and Monet. If the
public and the conservatives of the Academy ignored him, his art was
understood and admired by his greatest confreres. “King of the skies,”
Corot called him. Courbet, after watching him paint a canvas, exclaimed,
“Truly you are one of the seraphim, for you alone understand the heavens!”
Monet, in a letter to him in 1889, wrote “in recognition of the advice
which has made me what I am.” The modest Boudin in turn gives much credit
to Corot, Courbet and Jongkind for his own insight into the subtle truths
of atmosphere.
Born at Honfleur, the son of a steamboat pilot, Boudin was a cabin-boy
until the age of fourteen. In spare moments, he began to make sketches
which revealed talent. Later he was able to devote more time to painting,
although even beyond the age of fifty there were periods when he was
obliged to turn day-laborer to keep himself alive. The greater part of
his paintings represent scenes in Norman and Breton harbors showing quais
and jetties with the bare masts of square-riggers fretted against gray
skies. Some time after 1868 Isabey persuaded him to paint the fashionable
watering places, and it was several years later that our Beach at
Trouville must have been produced. Yet in reality his subject was always
sky and atmosphere. The charm of his water, the depth and reach of his
skies, with that marvelous subtlety of silvery grays, and violet grays,
and leaden grays, his habit of painting always “en plein-air,” his way of
using the brush, these things must indeed have influenced the younger
Monet, and Monet’s canvases dated around 1870 show a clear parallelism.
[Geranium. Albert Andre, 1869-]
Geranium. Albert Andre, 1869-
Albert Andre is known especially for his charming flower pieces. These
show the artist as a master of technique, gifted with a peculiar
sensitiveness to value relations and an unusual color sense. He is
particularly happy in securing an agreeable texture. He is a realist in
intention, but combines truth of representation with beauty of design. In
the Geranium, the emphasis is rather more upon decoration of the
rectangular surface of the canvas than upon the representation of
tri-dimensional form. The clear note of the salmon pink blossoms against
the accompaniment of the carefully distinguished grays and the Venetian
red in leaves, wall, and draperies is finely felt. Andre holds a
distinguished position among painters of the contemporary French school.
[The Conversion. Gabriel Max, 1840-]
The Conversion. Gabriel Max, 1840-
The Conversion is an excellent example of the work of Gabriel Max, one of
the well-known painters of Germany in the XIX century. It represents a
scene apparently laid in the catacombs of Rome early in the Christian era.
A woman seated on some stone steps is trying to persuade three men
standing opposite her to embrace the new religion to which she has already
become a convert. It is a good piece of psychological illustration. The
woman’s figure is painted much in the style of Bouguereau, but there is a
deeper sincerity in her face, her mouth betraying the neurotic
sensitiveness not uncommon among religious mystics. The group of three
men is well painted and fine in color. The two nearer men seem to have
been completely won over by the gentle teachings, while the young man at
the right, though much moved, still resists conversion. The strong
interest in the literary or illustrative aspect of the subject is
characteristic of this period of painting in Germany.—Given in memory of
Mrs. Thomas Lowry by Mrs. Gustav Schwyzer, Mrs. Percy Hagerman and Horace
Lowry.
[The Scouts. Adolph Schreyer, 1828-1899]
The Scouts. Adolph Schreyer, 1828-1899
The exotic quality of this painting of Arab horsemen appeals quickly to
one’s love of travel and romance—the great extent of the untamed
surroundings, the quivering refinement of the horses, the bizarre
barbarity of the costumes and accoutrements, the fascination of these
fierce handsome Arab faces, the rich color of the whole! Schreyer was the
German reflection of the French Orientalist-romanticists, Delacroix and
Decamps, although his less fiery spirit is perhaps closer to his refined
contemporary Fromentin.—Given in memory of Mrs. Thomas Lowry.
[Mountain Village. Paul Crodel, 1862-]
Mountain Village. Paul Crodel, 1862-
This little village is painted with a love of sunlight and color, breathes
a mountain quality in the sharp, clear atmosphere.
[Cattle in Sunshine. Heinrich von Zugel, 1850-]
Cattle in Sunshine. Heinrich von Zugel, 1850-
Zugel shows a brilliance in his work which suggests paintings by the
American Sargent. One might hunt long for a truer animal study, or for a
more beautiful rendering of sunlight and beguiling purple shadow.
[Summer Evening at the River. Gustav Adolf Fjaestad, 1870-]
Summer Evening at the River. Gustav Adolf Fjaestad, 1870-
[Dalecarlian Peasant. Helmer Mas-Olle, 1884-]
Dalecarlian Peasant. Helmer Mas-Olle, 1884-
These two paintings are the foundation of a collection belonging to the
Scandinavian Art Society, and deposited in the Institute. The figure of
the old peasant is instinct with character. The complex planes of the
weather-beaten face and gnarled hands are established with the minimum of
means. The painting by Fjaestad owes its fascination mainly to the almost
Chinese sense of style and pattern. The movement of the water’s swirling
lines is interesting, well schemed, and perfectly balanced.
[Mother and Children. Josef Israels, 1824-1911]
Mother and Children. Josef Israels, 1824-1911
The art of Israels, with its straightforward and sympathetic portrayal of
the emotions of the common folk, makes a direct and wholesome appeal to
all. Its democratic, ethical purport would have satisfied the demands of
Tolstoy. Without theatricality, or morbid invention of horrible and
ironic situations, he interprets the lives of poor people. The types he
chooses are strong and simple. Sometimes he tenderly portrays young men
and girls in the fields, or happy peasant mothers with their children, as
in our painting; and when poverty or tragedy are the theme, as they in
much of his later work, he sees no demoralization nor degradation—only
fortitude and sadness. The spirit of man triumphs.—Gift of Mrs. Frederick
B. Wells.
[On the Beach. Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, 1863-]
On the Beach. Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, 1863-
Sorolla, born at Valencia in the warm sunshine of southern Spain, is one
of the most joyous and spontaneous artists who ever slapped paint onto
canvas. The first exhibition of his work in this country was held at the
Hispanic Museum in New York in 1909; and there has probably never been in
America an exhibition of paintings crowded with such enthusiastic
thousands of people. As one came into the exhibition gallery, one was
fairly dazzled by the high key and the headlong virtuosity of the
paintings which lined the walls; one felt a sense of heightened vitality.
We are told that Sorolla studied in the Academies of Valencia and Rome,
and finally that he was influenced by Bastien Lepage, Menzel, and by the
old Spanish and Italian masters whom he copied. It is hard to think of
him in connection with any such schools or painters. His bold brushwork,
his unaffected and individual handling of bright sunlight, his high animal
spirits, are like no other painter we know, unless it be the Scandinavian
Zorn.
The subjects chosen by Sorolla are varied. He paints fashionable
portraits, and occasionally landscape. Mostly he paints scenes on the
sunny Mediterranean shores of Spain. Into these he introduces figures,
sometimes subordinated to the sea, more often as the principal interest of
the picture. Sometimes he shows fishermen working at their boats, as in
the stunning canvas in the Metropolitan Museum. When he does, they are no
bent-backed toilers, but joyous, active, triumphant creatures. More often
Sorolla loves to paint people playing on the beach, their light clothes
spotted cleverly against the bright sand or waves; or best of all,
children! Healthy and full of vivid glee, they race along the beach, lie
on the sand in the wash of reaching breakers, or swim frog-like in the
green transparency of sheltered water.
[Landscape. Alexander Nasmyth, 1758-1840]
Landscape. Alexander Nasmyth, 1758-1840
This landscape by the Scotch painter, Alexander Nasmyth, is so unobtrusive
as to be easily overlooked by the visitor. For those who feel the spirit
of the little picture, however, it has an abiding charm. The artist was a
man of extraordinary versatility and enterprise, an able scene painter and
architect, and an inventor and engineer of eminence. In our painting one
sees little of the boldness expected from a mind given credit for
originating principles of steamboat propulsion and bridge construction.
The touch is formal, almost shy, in its reserve; the drawing is precise,
and the lighting and color conventional. Much of the charm of the work is
probably due to this reticence. The scene presents a restful tranquility,
and a quaint homeliness. The interest plays back and forth between the
romantic old ruin and the contrasting rural and domestic life which has
put past splendors to such strange modern uses. The theme is reminiscent
of Piranesi’s etchings of classical ruins. Out of death springs life;
from the decayed tree come strange fungus growths. After hundreds of
years, the castle wall of a feudal lord gives support to a peasant
cottage; his hall serves to shelter cattle.
Alexander Nasmyth was a pupil of the portraitist, Allan Ramsay
(1713-1784). Ramsay discovered him in Edinburgh painting armorial bearings
on carriage doors, and took him to London. Upon his return to Edinburgh,
he painted portraits, including a famous portrait of Robert Burns; but
turned his attention, after 1793, exclusively to landscapes.
[Psyche’s Wedding. Sir Edward Burne-Jones, 1833-1898]
Psyche’s Wedding. Sir Edward Burne-Jones, 1833-1898
The story of Psyche’s Wedding is a myth of Greek origin, and runs as
follows: A certain king in the west country had three beautiful daughters.
The youngest was by far the most beautiful; so beautiful, indeed, that she
received homage from men which was due to Venus alone. The anger of the
goddess was aroused against her, and the maiden herself became unhappy
because, due to her awesome beauty, no one sought her in marriage. The
King, her father, inquired of the Oracle of Apollo what should be done.
The story is told in Walter Pater’s Marius the Epicurean, from which the
following extract is taken:
“And Apollo answered him thus: ‘Let the damsel be placed on the top of a
certain mountain, adorned as for the bed of marriage and of death. Look
not for a son-in-law of mortal birth but for that evil serpent-thing by
reason of whom even the gods tremble and the shades of Styx are afraid.’
So the king returned home and made known the oracle to his wife. For many
days she lamented, but at last the fulfillment of the divine precept is
urgent upon her, and the company make ready to conduct the maiden to her
deadly bridal. And now the nuptial torch gathers dark smoke and ashes,
the pleasant sound of the pipe is changed into a cry, the marriage hymn
concludes in a sorrowful wailing, below her yellow wedding veil, the bride
shook away her tears; insomuch that the whole city was afflicted together
at the ill-luck of the stricken household.... she was silent, and with
firm step went on her way, and they proceeded to the appointed place on a
steep mountain and left there the maiden alone and took their way homeward
dejectedly.” It was Cupid, however, not a monster, who welcomed the
sorrowful maiden, and after many adventures, Psyche found happiness.
[Silver and Green. Hilda Fearon, English, ?-1917]
Silver and Green. Hilda Fearon, English, ?-1917
In this cheerful painting, representing two little girls seated at a
breakfast table flooded with the bright, clear light of a summer morning,
the real theme which has engaged the artist is nothing more nor less than
light itself. The tablecloth and window curtains half in sunlight, half
in luminous shadow, and the shining glassware and silver urn are ably
painted. The green of the garden and the yellow-green of sundrenched lawn
are seen through the window echoed in the interior by daffodills, lemons
and lime juice bottle, while happy touches of blue appear in the china and
one of the frocks. Silver and Green was painted 1913, and was awarded
Honorable Mention at the International Exhibition in Pittsburg in 1914.
MODERN DRAWINGS
[Studies of Draped Figures, Pencil Drawing. Sir Edward Burne-Jones,
English, 1833-1898]
Studies of Draped Figures, Pencil Drawing. Sir Edward Burne-Jones,
English, 1833-1898
Our Burne-Jones sketch book belonged formerly to the artist’s son, Sir
Philip Burne-Jones. In a letter Sir Philip writes: “This book of studies
and designs by my father is an important example of his work and methods.
Before starting upon the actual painting of a large composition, it was my
father’s custom to make innumerable careful studies of limbs, draperies,
etc., in chalk and pencil, and from these he worked upon the picture. The
book which is now in your possession exemplifies this system.” The sketch
book contains 113 original drawings. Some of these are on both sides of a
leaf, and frequently two or more drawings on a page. For the greater
part, they are executed in lead pencil, although several of the most
interesting are in colored chalk. Sir Edward Burne-Jones was a member of
the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which sought to displace the
conventionality of English art of the period by detailed naturalism and
the mystical sincerity of the Italian primitives.
[Fire in Ingram Street, Pencil Drawing. Muirhead Bone, Scotch, 1876-]
Fire in Ingram Street, Pencil Drawing. Muirhead Bone, Scotch, 1876-
What can be done with lead pencil by a man who has sureness of hand and
the power of rapid decision is shown in this fine characterization, in
light and shade, of the ruins of a row of buildings that remain in
desolation after fire has spent its fury.
[Portrait, Drawing in Chalk and Wash. William Strang, Scotch, 1859-]
Portrait, Drawing in Chalk and Wash. William Strang, Scotch, 1859-
[Mucherach Castle, Drawing in Pen and Wash. David Young Cameron, Scotch,
1865-]
Mucherach Castle, Drawing in Pen and Wash. David Young Cameron, Scotch,
1865-
Cameron’s fine emotional quality would be inexpressible without his sure
draughtsmanship and power to compose. Wedmore writes of Cameron: “He is
certainly, of living British etchers, the one whose work excites among the
generally cultivated public the keenest curiosity and evokes the highest
admiration.”
[Tuscan Landscape, Drawing in Pen and Wash. Muirhead Bone, Scotch, 1876-
]
Tuscan Landscape, Drawing in Pen and Wash. Muirhead Bone, Scotch, 1876-
[Study for an Illustration, Drawing in Lithographic Crayon. Theophile
Alexandre Steinlen, French, 1859-]
Study for an Illustration, Drawing in Lithographic Crayon. Theophile
Alexandre Steinlen, French, 1859-
[An Old Rabbi, Pencil Drawing. William Rothenstein, English, 1872-]
An Old Rabbi, Pencil Drawing. William Rothenstein, English, 1872-
MODERN SCULPTURE
[Playfulness. Paul Manship, 1885-]
Playfulness. Paul Manship, 1885-
Gifted, as he is, with an exceptional sense of style, the young American
sculptor, Paul Manship, has well deserved the prizes and praises which
have been awarded him. He has a genius for the construction of forms
which are highly generalized without thereby losing compactness and
vivacity. His power in creating designs that are alive is hardly more
original and personal than his use of antique and exotic formulae in
rendering details such as hair, eyes and draperies. For, though these
conventions are borrowed from archaic Greek, Assyrian, and Japanese
sculpture, they are in Manship’s art perfectly assimilated and put to
novel uses full of fresh spirit and often touched with an elfish humor.
[Plaque, La Guerre. Hubert Ponscarme, 1827-1903]
Plaque, La Guerre. Hubert Ponscarme, 1827-1903
[Medal, L’Art Decorative, by Ovide Yencesse, 1869-]
Medal, L’Art Decorative, by Ovide Yencesse, 1869-
THE BRADSTREET ROOM
[A Corner of the Room]
A Corner of the Room
In accordance with wishes expressed by the late John Scott Bradstreet, who
was deeply interested in the work of the Society of Fine Arts, his
sisters, Mrs. Elizabeth B. Carleton and Mrs. Margaret Kimball, at the
opening of the new building, presented to the Society a collection of
Japanese objects collected by Mr. Bradstreet, and arranged for the
installation of them in the gallery now known as the John Scott Bradstreet
Memorial Room. The room is much appreciated by visitors to the Institute.
Restful and marked by delightful harmony of color and form, it is a room
such as all the friends of Mr. Bradstreet feel sure he would have
approved, if he had been spared to witness the success of the movement for
which he cared so much.
The visitor, entering the gallery, will probably notice first of all the
large bronze bowl with a dragon coiling about the base, exhibited in the
center of the room. On the right-hand wall, the central space is occupied
by a large cupboard of sugi wood (Japanese cedar). The sliding doors are
decorated with a continuous design of blossoming plum branches. Above the
cabinet, on four panels, is painted a splendid design of lotus flowers and
leaves in green, black, white, and gold on the natural surface of the
wood. A stone garden ornament representing a cock perched on a drum
stands to the right of the cupboard. To the left is a screen of carved
wood, topped by the upward curving horizontal, symbol of Shintoism, and
decorated by delightfully fantastic carvings showing kylins among cloud
scrolls. Against the wall opposite the door stands an elaborate temple
table covered with gold lacquer and decorations in color, including a
band, beneath the top, of pleasing little panels in pierced carving based
on bird and flower motives. On the left-hand side of the room are two
cabinets made of richly grained sugi, the sliding doors decorated with
painted lotus and crysanthemum designs. On the cabinets stand a musical
instrument, a carved wood Buddha of benignly spiritual expression, and
other objects. On the wall are two carved wood panels and a few woodblock
prints of the early XIX century. A case contains some rich examples of
brocade, including two priest’s robes. Near the door hangs a bronze
portrait relief of Mr. Bradstreet, which was executed by Paul Fjelde, the
son of Jacob Fjelde, known to the people of Minneapolis through his
statues of Ole Bull and Hiawatha. It is the gift of about one hundred of
Mr. Bradstreet’s friends. The portrait is modeled in low relief, and the
decorative element of the Japanese tree introduced on one side suggests
Mr. Bradstreet’s fondness for Oriental Art. The relief has received high
commendation both as a likeness and as a work of art.
[Color Print. Yeizan, flourished 1800-1830]
Color Print. Yeizan, flourished 1800-1830
[Carved Panel. XVIII Century]
Carved Panel. XVIII Century
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