New-York tribune., 1871-01-16
FINE ARTS.
TIE WINTER EXHIBITION.
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.ov how o,r artist friends enjoy it, hut the apprecia
ZION of the public very evident Since Mr. Derbys col
lection OF French paintings added 10 the former
attractions the number of visitors has quadrupled. 1t
is useless talk Of the want of taste of American
public The better work you give them the better they
like IT, As long the walls of the Academy were left
thniy sprnkled with the crudities and careless hair
efforts OF our own artists the public stayed away And
that this collection Of what are, on the whole me
works OF better workmen has been exposed TO Vew
there Is complaint OF lack OF attendance our people
ready any to and 20 praise the tokens OF
honest and laborous effort II any of our artists COM
plains OF lack OF general interest in his work, he has
usually only himself 20 thank for IT,
This is speak In general terms which constitutes
the special superiority OF this collection OF pictures over
own exhibitions. There are American artists who
have perhaps higher purpose purer ideal Of art than
most that is here displayed. They have good, genuine
thoughts embodied often with exceeding vigor-but
either on account Of haste of execution gener
ally perhaps, account of imperfect PREPARATION ther
works frequently defOrmed by mistakes in drawing
ny poverty of accessories, by sins of ireguated ood
ness. spending crimes Of tmdty and reserve
which are faults incident necessarily to the youth o
art II these successive mpJrltons OF the work OF tne
hardwOrkng and conscientious painters OF France sha
result in teaching people to insist imperousy upon
the necessity Of attention TO finish on the part vi
our artists they will be productive of great good We
have among us sufficient genius-suicient originality
enough OF insight and ambition to compete WIN
the artists of any other nation whatsoever All tha'
We need is that painters shall learn that ohiy
through labor come eXcellenee-that ther coiofa
must be "mxed with brains-that this Is the trade OF
all Others 10 which the apprenticeship must be long ana
painful and in which master work can be produced
without the years agcng and the years OF wandering
What delicious genre pictures Eastman johnson couu
produce with little of the patient earnesneSs of Garaud
and Chavet What triumphs of Characterization would
be within the reach Of winslow Homer II be could beud
fn he
of BOutibonne Stevens, different in school, yet 50
alike in inveterate carefulness
We know shocks all traditional ideas Of the two races
10 hear that the Yankee is lazy and dawdlng, and the
Frenchman patient ana OilSome But il any one doubts
it, let him come to our Palace of the DOge and side
by side the tokens of American haste and French pa
tience-of American ignorance and French science-of
American nippancy and hcedes>nesS and French con
science and severity in art.
A. soon as you enter the North Room you the con
tras with the halfwork that last month incumbered the
walls There are dozen 50 insignificant enough pic
Of those elegant trers who produce such marvel
ousy pretty in rayishing t0ets-One widow by
Boutbonne No S2l charming that her question as to
her remarrage absurd cruel another by Baug-
MET, No 3lS called "Dficult Answer" There Is an
exquisite little landscape by Lambinet, with perfect
feeling Of hot, sultry afternoon in summer; a
street scene in Cairo. by Achie TO- with figures which
are meanly conventional hut charming escape Of light
through low arch to the blue sky beyond group OF
Doors playing at Bowls by Gusave BrOn closed IN by
fascinating succeed wall and surrounded by knot OF
idle outs with red Jackets and Gretchens with long
braided har there pleasant flavor of beer and cheese
about the picture that would very unpopular in
France to-day Bouguereau work in this room increases
the doubt to conceive OF him from seeing MS
Oescs the South Room He is hammered to the last
degree-a cold academican and little more. His Two
principal pictures called the Departure ana the
Return three figures in each-a young peasant MS
vita md oh is touch OF humanity ABOUT
either They round, rosy graceful toypeOpe lnaue
10 look pretty frame, playing at life ana love anu
family. His Harvester" in tie adjoining room Is as
bad in the same line She is sentimental and coquet-
tsh Maud Muller who would never have let the Judse
slip out Of her hands so easily.
OF course no collection this kind would be complete
without one miraculous t0rs de force of still
life 10y Blase DesgOfe. There is blue ribbon with
steel ornament statuette of cracked ivory, crystal
cup and nosegay of tulips lying green satin nap
En-the whole done with that exasperatng nicely that
makes you despse the artist while admiring his work.
for there purpose he suberved by this infinite
labor hearts the artist who deyotes his
utmost toll a work worth doing But why should Des
goIes work be done There is one excuse he makes a
living by it, aud is right in giving purchasers the worth
Of their money puerle imitation Yet there people
who think that Hcade and her friends of theirs do
these things well.
Voltz of Munich has honest stolid Landscape,
with cattle Achenbach of Dusseldorf has large and
a.
trees and heritage but the foreground weak and strag
Cling Of the most striking pictures in the room is
group sheep Jacque OF Paris TO which he has given
the name of "Spring" His intention is carefully and
successfully wrought ont in every detail Of the painting
in the sprngng grass covering the distant slopes with
vcrdure: in the struggling hawthorn in the center
bursting into rich white bloom; IN the anguid shepherd
gr; in the tender whe-wOOled lamb his knees milking
his dreamy dam There powerful but entirely cOnyen
tiOnal, landscape Of Isabey, frame for his Duel"
The forced and harsh-everything sacrificed to
keeping. The mode of these melodramatic works
has passed-snd not Ziem has two pleasing
marines - one the inexlaustable Riod del SehiauOni
with that wealth of color and tone which artists feel
is expected Of them when they paint Venice, and the
other a knot Of fishermen Drawing the Seine, which is
a most effective and graphic sketch, produced by
Of the rudest and simplest means.
There is a lot OF things by Bakalowicz exquisite in
hnsh of course but destitute of meaning heart. We
would like to say something good Of him, for he is
Polish artist graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts
warsaw. There many of these young men scattered
over Europe usually Of great beauty sensbility
and curious and tful energy They generally pOpu
lar and marry heiresse and then stop painting which
is iudcious. Lafon has charming girls head and
figure which he names "MOdesty." There is nothing
purer and sweeter in the collections face with all the
winning charm OF Greusc yet handled with great free
dom and breadth The artist has sad little por
trait OF the Dauphn-Louis XNII-daring for moment
10 be frankly wretcbed while Simon sleeps. We stay
ing too long I'm this room, but before we we must
cance at strong and thoughtful composition of Galat,
a veteran OF Belgium young monk, with face
charged with unspeakabe agitation, receives in his
eel, the confession OF whose face is hid in her
hands but whose beauty may be guessed by the autless
forms betrayed by the flowing vestments and the di
sheveed hair Every according to the amount OF
his charity or his fancy Will make romance TO suit the
picture which is called the &" Troubled Conscience"
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