New-York tribune., 1873-06-19
THE UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION
ART IN VIENNA.

THE urr>,n ,prIN MP ,RTMFNT- DESIGNS IN MONO
CHRoME-A HUNGARIAN LANDSCAPE PAINTER'
iFRoM A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRibUHhI
VIENNA, June2.-The Hungarian room just openeu
s in all artistic respects, similar to the other rooS
of the Austrian Empire-a melange of motifs of which
the clinical inspiration may differ, but the art hot
in the least, from the great European schools IN
which evidently all the painters were formed. lhey
are either of the Paris or Munich school; the one
talent freest from scholastic convention, and at the
same time the most remarkable is that of Zichy,
designer whose work deserves a wide reeogni-
ton They are mostly designs in monochrome,
though several in water-cOors and one IN
tinted chalks - blue, red, and black - snow
that the artist is not merely designer. There IS
a genuine imaginative power and originality OF
Thought in them which have not found In any oil
the pursey German pictures here; they are hot
rotesque and fantastic like those of Dore, dependent
OH theatrical effect to tell their story, but subtle ana
direct in the conception itself, not merely IN the
treatment Of it, One of them, in India nk-a fallen
Angel embracing his mortal mistress-somewhat
resembles in general treatment the work OF one OF
the popular English designers, Meadows; but rev
minutes study Will show that 1t Is OF lar mgher
tvne of work The subjects stand at the
girls bedside, she half lifted in the Anglers
strong and passionate embrace, their lips
and her head dropping backward in an attitude OF
inter abandonment either of grief at parting, or
welcome at meeting but true, so naive and pure
that one feels that the woman might redeem the
ANGEL sooner than fall with him. A lamp burns n
the head Of her bed before a Madonna and child
whose eyes in the uncertain light turn with evident
surprise the love scene, not In horror but WONDER
ment The subtle, refined way in which this Is rem
dered the dramatic treatment of the whole except
that there s in the eve of the Angel forced glare
which is no element of fascination, but the contrary
mark it as a work of the higher powers OF design
Two moro important crayon drawings of a
strongly show powers OF another
quality. One is Luther throwing his inkstand at
the Devil. The latter is interpreted as vision OF
the Pope on his throne brandishing a thunderbot
token of accommodation; a cardinal at his side
tenders Luther a cardinals hat and another at the
other side holds out absoution, for which ne Is
receiving money while at the feet Of the Pope sits
harlot beckoning to the refOrmer The foreground
shows nun sitting her child with pillow, and the
corpse of a man with dagger driven through a
placard into his heart The action of Luther, put
ting his utmost energy into the throw, his
ireful face the confident air Of the hatbearer and
the witchePy of the frail beauty are rendered
with mastery subtety and force, and the draughts-
nanship is admirable thrOughout-nO pose pIashque
on one side no strained action on the other lhe
companion drawing is similar in moral-the Pope IN
| his ceremonial robes and tiara, borne on the
shoulders Of his prelates is stopped on ms way Dy
| Christ who standing with group OF reiormers ana
Of the poor raises his hand in an attitude Of cursng
| and the platform with its burden and supporters,
the Church and all its foundations, temble and fall
! into heap as under an earthquake, while chained
men raise their hands and show their fetters broken
IL is rare that in work of this kind the aleg0ry does
not overpower and destroy the plastic qualtles-the
feryor of the reformer being too much for the fire of
the artist but these drawings by Zchy surpris
! ingly fine as drawings in fact can recall no work
of the KIND equal to them. That they should, more
over be exhibited in Austria shows an amount OF
tolcration which will surprise almost every one.
| A Hungarian landscape painter, Meszoy, has two
small pictures in the vein of Theodore Rousseau,
which are in every way exquisite and lovely. They
are cottage scenes which might be in Normandy or
somewhere in the Danubian Provinces with low,
white walls and messy roofs just before sunset,
the other lust after There is wide stretch of fiat
lands and a gray, tremulous, melting sky, more like
the peculiar work of the great painter of the Landes
than anything else have so far in the EXhibi-
ton. larger picture, similar in subject but with
a wide sweep of river and marshy foreground, Is not
SO successful but still is fine. Then there Is
an impressive piece of forest painting in gray
twilight with noble feeling for wild nature, the
whole picture being painted with decision and knowl-
edge Of the forms, but with an almost negligent
freedom of handling degenerating in passages into
coarseness. Some peasant subjects by the same
painter are very strong in effect and real in their
grasp of nude semi-barbarous human nature-a
rougher type and more ill-favored than those we
know bv the pictures of the French Millet or the
Dutch Israels, but interesting and thoroughly
felt and painted The most successful Is
of a number of prisoners being led by
eensdarme through a village street, while the
villagers look and wonder and point at them.
The color is cold and hard, even, too much in SYM
pathy with this jOyess life of the Danubian peasant
The pictures are not pleasing, but genuine and
wholly earnest glen scene by Keleti is too much
like conventional Dusseldorf work. but is very well
painted throughout the rock and near foliage paint
ing being remarkable for execution and fidelity.
Another gray open landscape, notable in space and
negaton of color is an eastern scene with ruins of
mosque in a desolate rocky landscape; iti French
in schooling, but simple and manly, with a sense of
desoaton very successfully embodied. Some more
ambitious work of the academic type is not so note
worthy.
MURDER RECORDS.