New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-12-03
FINE ARTS.
MIR. B1ERsrADr's vEsUvIUs.

Mr.. Bierstadts latest performance VIII AVIAN
lint little TO revive his faswaning reputation On the
contrary 1t may be hoped that it VIII open the eyes OF
many who have hitherto admired his works. to the
purely material character Of his Art His "NesuVm
ia in realty no worse than his Rocky Mountains, MS
yalcy OF the Yosemite" than several OF the smaier
pictures-the Sunshine aud Shadow Tor instance
that by the assistance OF system of public ana private
puIery never matched and rejecting the hShest circuit
ON those who originated it and managed it, Doth ior
bcr ingenuity and their persistence first made his name
known as the Great American Painter But theso pic
tprcs Whatever their other professions may have Dee
did not pretend be works Of imagination anu eaf'ny
I'm color, as they were, hammered aud incorrect III
drawing conventional in composition, untrue al
their statements Of natural fact ana loun"Vu
invariably tho motive OF ueSHo W
s,arue or astonish yet tho public interest In
cr found certain justification In the supposed truth
u,pcss with which they represented part OF our cou
try tben little known but exciting widespread interest
The most glowing accounts had reached US OF the mag
nihcence Of rs scenery, and not only Americans Du T
eigners desired 10 with their own eyes, posfplo
what that scenery Was like. The femaikaDe 5eluaSVt
photographs Of the Rocky Mountains made py MI; VIZ
Eins Of sgu Francisco far from satisfying tins desire
greatly Increased IT, for II the landscape were 80 g
garment Of color This only painter conld snoW W.
and when it announced That the man iH4 III t ~,
and that his picture. the result OF me hIg.st snm ~ Oh
record observations the most faithful ana minute, uD
taned, too, at great expense OF time ana orUnI ~
ready for the world " see, II Is not 10 ~ "I tb"t
that a great many persons were 5h'eIcsou o onJ
euthusiastc people were caIrlen , nv; Jt"&
that for a time, society rcjolcea Ill lho Hg'. 1u In
great painter had at last made his appearahe,o vi
America But the public interest IN these pc' ,9
stc,dv drcIiprd IA it slowly came 10 DO known thHI
,ev re mere c3ricaturc of the scenery OF the Rocky
Mountains. photographs gave them the X 1 anu n T
who knew tho mountains best took sde VIII, W. p u,
,ropbA Then came the Storm In the Bochy noul.
tans and began to he whispered that te arts asa W no
not OF Imagination, as u tlai eoncu'y ~ S,cts
follow logically from his proved inability 10 PAM & -
What we eau NOW Sr Besisd has sent us the yesu
vus TO show that let his deficiencies DC VIA, t.cy
may he possesses at least one p0werlh supreme pee
iio11the power OF extract from the grandest scene III
nature every iot and title OF grandeur. III ., -,
Prom motive. that we can imagine, Dut 10
strange Mr. Berstad has not chosen to paint NesuyuS
from us familiar side giving ns the mountain III s i
climb mn ms back side and paint the nOthngness o s rear
uoblcr subject than any one OF tue views Oh %
Raw OF Naples It would be difficult To imagine u Is pIoD
ably perfect combination OF beauty an" Wv
pantor who deliberately turns bis back upon such an o
portuntyfor, be II remembered hat ,nsiS T. no @ no
nicture OF this scene-and chooses view Whch nus 10
picturesque attractions whatever 10 JceoihieI ~
An eruption Of Vesuvus rs represented Dy Ma h ,c
civ Sitting here at writing table, the other day We
watched at Intervals the burning OF COCK OF saaS,
mlscbieyous boys had set fire The sll waters y wy
Tappin Dee reflected tho slender DluesIay column ih
OF smoke that rose with wagering grace against INC
hills and above them nOatcd broad banner against te
cloudless sky II mr. bierS1a ,rv nf the b,rlR
hay cock for that Of his burning mountain. W.T. WIZ
,s nytbng les. grand or Impressive than this preten
lous picture We we're amused az tue % vitb her
vouns man directly in front OF Us IN lc picture
and h" ~. New York girls amIby delight 10 do, was
.t,, ii h,r ribors In % the details ~ her ,.T3te
affairs She told rs an, talking In the most sweety D.
embafrassngy confidential way 20 JIM abonf Whal ION
had said and bck had DONE aud Harry had said he wa7
going 10 do and about this thing. that mug Hhd th9
otber lining when she suddenly paused looked second
M m, ulctiirc ana said In "A laugushug way. ~ II %
] Iii'ut mugh uattcr-"T thought that NusuNiIs was =
tail moumani And then she forgot all about It, and
] rem r.flN H . IT.
When - u1n point ~ work on Ir ,talI i
n the detail over 80 ccyerly executed PIT blrr
stadt h not without mochHnical skll Dut no ac'n,,
nothing .Cmarkaec even la lls direction re uoe5 ho
compare with Mr. Church. either ~ minute knOwiedge %
cumtnly. There j. nothing ~ the petuie VIA ny o
| study or the ski revealed In every portion OF MI
! indy rcmember anything that particularly well
painted As in all the artist work the paint Is eoarsey
laid on the forms clumsy and the liucs seem b"ht
uou breaking nR any plan ne may nave nS1 oi NJ
crstldt appears TO have exhausted his ingenuity or dc
vices To- draw away the attention OF The spectator
| from What no camo expressly 10 zee. There,
| II was an Indian oncampment with tents
/ aud hOrscs. papoc5es nreheFy, marm9ts, hunters,
r . nrd squaus 10y hr the best paluted part Of the
great a. vas. RLd cacctuay ocpsing the forty mile
lf-A mountain with which The background was hued up
! Tcrc. Il b. Tie ,4mo thing macs OF dense smoke
opposite side 81 the picture where the noon at lc inl
non ~ rest Then we are prevented getting BECK 10 VIC
merry crater again by the gHtteriug nguta upon the
Gbnnco H. whether snow or lava. We might say II is
lava II knew how lava looks, and We should IL Is
snow n We didpUt know how snow looks. Then try
TO look the crater again but run up against tins ruined
building aud sragtwhy fall 10 asking more questions
The has business there, IL does not tell story
docs lst help the composition ndcrs II rather and yet
is equally inegstlng with the olJect that gives It's
| name 20 the picture.
| We wish we could any reason to hope that tho
failure OF Mr. BeTstadt, the chef representative or
the sensation painting school IN this country,
might doba others from entering upon SO evil course
ut IL soeius had host here Ia America
All love nf rep0re Art Nothing peases us 80 well APP
parently something that astonshes US Quiet beauty
has no longer any charm for us Tho disease that has
spoiled the 10 have infected the art OF paint
ing.
ART NOTES.
Bierstadt is in Paris.
Sotterlee is waking MP a SOmnambulist.n