New-York tribune., 1868-06-29
THE FINE ARTS.
TIE FRENCH ART EXHIBITION
From Oar SPECIAL Core'loHleat p,p1s. Tune Is, Is

,yor and finances TIE TRBUNEs Under-secI,'a'y
,roIreuch dcpartmentOfit foreign affairs mas hoO
f,upd room tin to-day for a word on TWO large
themes which hold large place this month ID INC
tax and thought of the French as any OF the Diners
the fine arts aud c0chchaiers.
Tho Salon of this year. the S6th official eGmp'uon
orVrench ant opened on the 1st Of May. 1t contains
19l8articles. of which 2,5S7 aro oil paintings, s2
DRAWINGS i'm charcoal chalk water colorss, ETC., 4V'
uieccs of sculpture 20 medals, cameOs etc. % aTchl-
fectural plans and 81 engTayings and Autographs.
The Jury of admission has been this year very huui-
GENT the consequence Of which, and Of the alphabet
jcal order a leading element of arrangement is that
few hundred roor pictures injure the effect OF then
bctters, and that the spectator on the tlst haSty
yiry is apt to think this Salon more inferior man II
really 90 the average of its predecessors Tor the lat
scorS r yr;. Inferior ia some of them 1t certainly
j. Eou'>.lu Ciheoaorc). DcacrOiX. Decamps are not
l.vr -. culture, 'aZ BaUGry have not cNholteu loT
several years: AHllet-peIlaps the first OF living
Ircuch hptil-,r,-MeSSOner, and GuStaVe Morcau--
one OF t.c W of great promise sulI GeNQ,eo TO hlgh
aft--atc waiting TO this Salon; while Eromentln,
(oulbpl Fr..t Eduuard and some other celebrities
add nothing 10 their acquired fame by tins years
What most irnrrcsses an American spectator, afteI
having visited the Paais de lIndnStTie often enough
10 pass from the condition of confused dazement to
suIcthing of a fairly apWecAtiTe state oI eyes ana
mind. B., the high average land the annual QHdRU9)
of .rc,uicu skill displayed by these painters. their
9pfi.lble knowledge Of the means of their art and
;iwfrt aS tbcy have and view of still and animated
nature as they have seen il To best advantage nave
boon told that this partly comes from study-deVout
a. IsStnut study i'm life-SChUOlS and out OF doors.
hluV of the best of Them after passing their carrier
time i'm the schools and galleries of Paris, with year
OF two ia Italy live wholly or for largo part o. the
year, IN the country. Hence, IN suCh Instances rs
IousscGu. Millet, Courhet Corot laubgny, the
1ruthiuIucSS TO nature, hdclltN 70 IhS sentiment Us
we'll the form. OF course each of these great art
lists land speak Of them all now rs landscapiSS) has
lis individual perception OF and feeling iOr tle ma
ffirp Ip
that COurhetS or COrots landscape does not
express hiS sense Of nature; but then AolIus,
who perhaps TO begin WITH Is not as familiar
with Vile d'AUay i'm the morning and evening or
Omans i'm full daylight rs the men who live IN low
ing intimacy with the earth and sky there iroWn-
juely assures the general reader that 1t is not trne
to nature. Suppose he tells ms dchuiteI! N"V
is So that may send out auu BeJ soiI', l''.o
mp according 10 ms tN-cathe!IaSuc PiosCtLpTS,TJm J
We only know external nature III ourselves; ana the
painter If he have the divine ana techhlcal aDll'y
that Justify HS welding Qt Inc Oiusi must VNp!roS
himself i'm his work. which viii seem then partlcn
larly truthful representation TO those whose minus
and moods are similar to his. Hath HolNls ever re-
hccted-uot generally hut on these Two 1dCie: that
as the crta i've lmucr, even he ~ ms lesser Olutt
of work mt, something of himscif-hOWeveT much
10 be regretted AHd being human, thoqgh cIlt-
cal, he at best, express bnt truth rs ne uu2I
stands by no uninspmed possibility absolute truth
But this Is wandering into the waste ana AoNliHg
wilderness of art criticism, so called -,
Attempted descriptions of paintings, Tor those VINO
have not seen them, do mostly Vie, III attlacNchCSS
With bills of fare OF DINNERS eaten Dy OlIei lohS.
3ut perhaps yOG Will he patient oil a WOIu OF O"o
shout few pictures for their subjects, authors OF
some other incidental sake.
Tisa little curious that three artists, a sculptor
and two rainters should have chosen for their sub
cct this wear tie execution of Marshal Ney and hs
Hat The hat deserves capital mention as reallstc
feature equally and very prominent IN all three IN
stances. They could not be rejected 10y te jury oi
admission because the authors, having all received
medals reward of merit approved AT preceding
Salons, had right Of entry for their offerings Dnt
81 Dumarcsq yielded the request oIiGously ad-
dressed to all three and Withdrew his. 1t IS the most
dramatic not to say meodramatic of them; ltTepTe'
BcntS the scene by the LuXemDurg Garden at inc
moment when the order to fire IS to be gwen by an
official whose ugly face is distorted by an excessive
show of hate, and is ON that account more apt than
the others to provoke bitterness OF political passion
In the discussion which they have provoked; mat
the execution of Ney was one of the political blum
deTs of the BOuTbOns is not much Questioned The
dispute turns rather on their legal right III the case
and on tue claims Of Ney to our sympathy as a VIC
tim Henri RochefOrt expressing an opinion contrary
TO these claims IN one OF ms witty articles the
Salon was challenged to mortal combat therefor by
the present Prince de Ia MOskOwa. ROchctOTt de-
clined on the ground that historical opinion Is
best defended and attacked by the pen but let the
Prince know that if his heart was sci a fight lie
need only personally insult him. The Prince was
ready enough to accept the condition, ana GeI0me
canvas death of Ney would probably have led to a
"Duel i'm the Bos de BouOgne or clsewheTe, before
{his time, had not the Emperor interfeTed.
Dumaresq and the statuaTy both represent the
Marshal in the same pose, nicely dressed IN Shorts
and silk stockings excessively erect WIN one manu-
holding open his vest and SHIRT barring his breast to
the balls and tho historic hat lying by his side This
Is doubtless faithful 10 tie mateLHs lacts', bII
whether il be the artists fault or Ney fault II lacks
dignity of sentiment As 1 stood before the plaster
image the other morning, worthy bourgeois DyI
stander unprOvded with catalogue, ciyilly asked
"if that were CasmiT P61ieTW of whom there IS q
standing statue at PeTe Ia Chase. My keener-eyed
friend Mr. 5. remarked of il: Put a shillelah in
MIchels hand and you have the stage lrlshman COM
plcte"-a knOCk-dOwn argument IN favor OF Ney
Alilesian origin Even Rudes statue of him, erected
on the spot where the BOurbOns impollticy shot him
down, though according well enough with Napo-
lceOns label of "bravest of the brave physically
shows no herOism of the higher order. But Rude
was man of genius. Was an eSSentai element OF
heroic dignity wanting IN Michel Ney-at least III
Michel Ney's cOuntenancef
G6r6mc has ingeniOusly avoided the question him.
self and kept it from the spectator. The squad of
soldier eXecutoners half retiring into the
dull fog of the early December morning. Against
the mass of dead wall that fills half the canvass are
marks of the ilaimed musket balls. Ney, struck
dead by the meTciful ones lies prone his face his
body decently shrouded in the coat that has grown
TO cloak dimensions for the artists needs-the faith
ful hat prominent by his side. This is effective, sug
above all "pleasing" il does have about it some
thing of the impressive dignity OF death The thlfy
spectator however can hardly resist the calculation
that the quantity of dead wall, seeing the price OF
this work. IS rather out OF the proportion 70 the
quantity of dead man.
G6r6me's second picture is sort of painted charade
In the background is the disCemibe semblance of q
town on h moving toward il in procession from the
front are a considerable number of toylike little men
aud women the last of these nearest the spectator are
two toys dressed Roman soldiers, with their
stretched out toward something out OF sight but IN
the direction Of three large spOtches that lie along
the right foreground. All this is very slick and hard
and dcfnte-the little wooden town and the little
wooden figures, and the hard painted ground and
ky PS yG1 turn S e t6sI catalogue a tbe anq Ienc
say the English sayOr, as the French love TO say,
the English can't nationally help saving that British
Eureka AOh p Then the discernible settlement in
the distance is the City of Jerusalem; and that
being the case the procession must be repre-
sentatiyes Of the intelligent multitude return