New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-07-19
with leather and leather goods. iron. hardware. and
articles made Of Ipaper and india rubber. II .ia,lra
FRENCH ART.

IFROh A btbCiAb CORRESPONDENT OF The
VIENNA, June 27.-The first impression on
entering the French galleries lie OF decidedly larger
ideas-of greater freedom and fuller abandon to the I'M
preston of the work The Englishman's picture dis
tracts you by its chaotic insistanoe on all its
points at once as anxious that no detail OF
his achievement should escape your instantane-
GUS attention; the Germans rather bores you
by its heavy and ,scholastio way OF expressing
his enthusiasm and the plodding OF his brush through
all the phases Of pictorial elaboration and moral con-
scousness deghtng you (wheD he does so) by his hu
manitarian and naturalstic qualities But the French
mans picture hits your hard, with concentrated
perception OF something he and was impressed by
IN nature told generally with fine artistic intuition OF
what is best worth telling and tolerable indifference
to the matters II he insists on detail, putting
it in way which does not divert attention at first
sight. but waits in its quiet corner to be
found when you ready for 1t. The thing
10 be told may be utterly unworth telling;
IT may be frivolous II may be ugly, may shock your
OF artistic proprety dignity but 1t will be well
told II the that of child the hand will be
that OF master and even the mind wanders from the
proper sphere Of into archaeology anthropoogy as
with Gerome into the fashonplate lnsipidty Of hair
dressers and costumers e with Bouguereau or
into the pose pasQue and costume painting Of Meis
sonier one will always recognize that the manner OF
execution (making no question of the WORTH
ness OF that thing is direct, unhesitating
aud systematic - that Of man who has
learned his business, With abundant evidence OF the
levy ard eocentrcity of the French intellectual ma
ture the proof is st emphatic that the temper in
which IL works is almost universally Of the most
sincerely artistic which the world has ever scientific
only of today which be looked to as showing
how art should be undertaken IL is undertaken at all
The German reflects too much, naturaizes too much;
the Englishman thinks mainly Of taking his public and
his market by a coup dc main. The Frenchman alone
aDandons himself to his subject and recognizes
purely plastic standard OF attainment. His subject
may of fashion. like watteaus, repugnant to
fined TASTE like GeriCaulVs picked out of the riyol
tiles Of Partisan every day life, like Chavets, but 1t
viii always retain its distinct and unmistakabe artistic
value His temper is more nearly that OF the ancient
Greek than anything which has occurred since, and, be
side what he docs, owe to him most OF what really
fine art has been done in day among other nations
1t is only appropriate, then, that France should I'LL
nearly quarter OF the whole Art HAM, she might have
filed more to greater profit and pleasure, for some
Of the greatest painters very inadequatey repre-
sented 1t is TO be regretted that OF Deacrox the only
important work contributed the sketch OF the plaond
Of the Salon dAppoDOn in the Louvre, superb imag
NATIVE work IL is true and of neXhaustible wealth
of color and action in the great picture but this
sketch, OF three four feet square. only rep
resents ii 70 those who have it, There are,
however several smaller subjects which fairly convey
idea OF DelacToxs color and manner though not the
full variety and pOmp OF the former the energy Of the
latter The best is lion and dead Arab. The royal beast
has disposed Of his enemy to his content and lies with
his claws settled into sound security into his esh his
head raised and looking out at you with certain
tranquil satisfaction which rather enhanced by
playful movement forward OF his hind leg, like that Of
when her play begins to be rOugh The painting OF
the lion is superb and full Of viGor and of solidy
not always found In the masters work, the
great defect Of which is q thinness and evident
brnshness in parts In color it rather in his morbid
yein like sad and lowtoned Persian carpet perfect in
harmony and perfectly free from opacity and blackness
all color, but with dominance of what might DO
called a minor quality, chord Of tints In which the
greater part OF dying the expression OF
bid mood In the painter The dead man lies on his face
and his brown body contrasts in tone only with the
tawny tnts in the lions head aud name; but tho
sky background full OF that tend to blue,
aud rays that tend to green all lowtOned and subord
mated to the color Of the lion.
Delacroix bOrrows, perhaps less Of the old masters
than any great painter Of very late days. he worked in
the motive but not in the forms OF the Venetans He
began with stronger tendency 10 realism than Titan
ever showed and in the place Of the Venetans large
aud healthy animaisn, full Of life and vgOr up TO the
day Of his DEATH STEPPED in his Adratc sunshine ana
warmth golden all it's fanees and associations Della
croix had fragile constitution, q morbid tendency
which stepped his sense sad dyes and bred in him
that passion for the hayward and plantive in his color
poetry which grew stronger as he grew older and
his con sttuton weaker always most spiritual and full
Of meaning though only to be fully appreciated by one
who knew the OF his mind and how fully it
heoted in his painting Few greater men have ever
given allegiance TO art, and no since the great
Venetian has shown with such triumphant clearness
that law Of art which makes Of color strict analogy to
music and according to which painter is great not as
imitator, but composer. In spite of his oc-
casional want of solidity and fOrmality of touch,
which frequently has no relation to the form
or character of the thing he is painting,
his tints are 80 pure and powerful that there
is no work here which does not suffer by contact
with It except that Of Israes, which is almost mono
chromatic in comparison, but still pure and powerful
To look from il TO any of the surrounding works like
listening to muled harpstring after clear one, from
muddy water TO clear wine every tint is pure and
resonant Among other works here the chief IN size and
one Of the most importan in color is sadly marred by
the want Of sody in the head Of the chief character
an Indian mother whose newborn infant
lies in her husbands arms, while her wan
and woe-stricken face looks out with painful
vaeuity on the wilderness IN which they have made
their lakeside halt The picture is more sad and
pathetic in color than the one noticed there IL nothing
80 cheerful the awny dedication Of the king Of the
forest TO break its melancholy, and the point which
sentimental painter would have made much OF, the
mothers face is sadder and painful than anything
else IL is even maliormed 1t is not pleasant picture
but one cannot pass 1t by without realization Of its
power.
In Jules Dupre have the melodic feeling for
color with very much less harmonic capacity and a
wider and more reckless, perhaps more manly command
Of the brush applied TO landscape. He is one OF
the great talents Of France. but beset with
eccentric taste that he must, like Delacro always re-
main caviare TO the general appreciation. His pictures
deal with q limited range Of color, but perfectly
command that range and limited in their choice
Of subiecs Little hooks Of landscape bits Of moor
or rock with single dashing against it IA wave
breaking out on the open ocean, with and
rayblue sky is the best of his pictures heresuch are
his subiects mostly on small csnvases but painted in
=. ,a-rn.. % ynannera Dunrh waa one of the first