, 1874-02-08
FRENCH ART AND ARTISTS.
Dubufe and His Contem.
poraries.
The 'EcoIe des Beaux Arts OF Paris
---Student-Life.

/ Dubufe and His Contemporar1e es.
Edouard Dubufe, whose "Prodigal Son"
now attracting 30 much attention in our city, il
one Of the rare instances OF the descent Of
special talent from father to son. The "Adau
and Eve " of the elder Dubufe was probably ont
of the first masterpieces OF the modern Frenc]
school ever brought to this country; and til
art-1overs- Of the preceding generation arc no
yet weary Of dwelling On the exceeding lowell
| ness OF the face Of his Eve, and the magnifi
cent effects Of light and color displayed in hel
! golden hair. Az the pupil Of Paul Dalarocho
and the reputed inhoritor OF some Of his traits
| Dubufe possesses an additional claim to on
| interest"
| On first inspection Of 4 work Of art, nothing
is more natural than the desire to discover hoN
| far it is representative Of d school or nation
to determine the era Of its. author and his ranl
| among his contemporaries. In certain respecta
| as regards subject and treatment, Dubufe't
| "prodigal" is thoroughly representative; in
others, it is as decidedly either an anachronisn
or revival.
The modern school Of French painting divides
itself readily into
THREE DISTINCT EHAs,
each marked by strong individual traits. The
art Of nation, like its speech aud manners, is
direct outgrowth OF its life and prevailing ideas.
The art OF these three eras il no exception to
this rule. The frat era is that Immediately fol-
lowing tho Revolution.
The French Revolution WAS an up-
With ali its e1ccsses, its motive was
grand. It was the attempt Of the soul to throw
off the mountainous oppreasiops under which it
had SO long been buried. The men who, after
the destruction Of the old order of things, found
themselves directing the ncw state Of affairs,
to go back to first principles: to restore primi-
tive modes and manners In the attempt to
realize this idea, they went back, curiously
enough, not to the simple ideas of God and Ma
ture, but to
JUPITER AND THE GODDESS OF REASON;
not to the simplicity Of an ideal Republic, but
to tho effete traditions of tho Roman Common
wealth. The tyrants Of the Reign Of Terror at
fectel the mir Of Brutus the austerities Of Cato.
aso Ssze The % Models 3er thoss a The6 q pa e
great eet'A'e executive oific,g took the title tile
Of Consul. The antique became tho
rage; everything. must be "classlcal'
Art could not re1nain uninfuenced by tho pro-
vailing mania: it, also, must be classical. In
point Of subjects this Was hardly new thing.
IN the reisns of Louis XIV. md Louis XV., the
whole Greek and Roman mythology seemed to
have been poured out upon CANVAS, displayed on
tho walls aud ceilings Of palaces, petriled in the
fountains Of versaiilcs But the classical art OF
the Revolutionary period partook of the spirit of
the tnnes,-it was serious dignifed, severe,
both in subject and treatment. It sought the
heroic rather than the beautiful. Tho great art
ist Of the period was
Tho host Of imitators who succeeded
him., aud who dragged lis ideas to
the extreme limits OF conventio1tality and
absurdity, are, perhaps. responsible for
ton Of D.yid's works by modern critics but
the genius Of the French people and the spirit
OF great epoch are surely IN his masterpieces |
''The Rare Of the Sabiuea,' '' Tho Three Ho-
ratii, !" " Brutus,' and " Helen and Paris.' are
DRAMAS UPON CANVAS.
There is in each Of them one figure or group to |
which everything Is subordinate; one idea which !
claims you; one supreme moment which |
thrills you with the force Of an electric |
shock This spirited, impassionea, beautifu!
md brother, and flGinging out her arms,
with ono magnificent movement, SAYS to tho |
crossed swords: "Pause !"-thess three heroic, !
youthful figures, who touch simultaneously the !
point Of the stern fathers sword; j., and utter With
ful examples OF bis power. The ''Helen -
unlike most Of his pictures, which aim at what |
IS grand rather than 1ovely-is exquisitely bean- |
:iful. Renowned as is the present school in the |
rADT{kIt1Ht1c0
inc has surpassed this rosy, almost translucent |
losh, the marvelously-1noldedn nrms, the drape1y |
ike that Of the antique scu1ptors. This
Is 11oMER's HELEN,
before yhose beauty the chiefs bowed reyer-
,ntly On the walls Of Troy; and Paris, though
aude except helmet and sandals, is, like Mil
on's Adam :'in native honor clad'' az chaste
md noble figure as tho bas-reliefs on the Par
heDon.
AfterIDavid and his iaitators came a new
choo1,-a great group of great men,-wl,o.
eaying behind them antiquity and classic mod
lis, attempted to pnt upon canvas tho actual
life OF the remarkable period jus: elapsed to
Illustrate tile near and tho far past Of France.
This is The
Mos1 TRULY NATIONAL
all her schools or eras. Gros and Horace
Fernet painted tthe great battle-helds OF Ma
oleon, with that striking and characteristic
guro concentrating all glauces On itself Della
roix represented ttThe 2Sth Of July, 1730-Lib-
rty Guiding tho Nation" Delarocho produced
il famous picture Of - Marie Antoinette Going
. Execution" and tho celebrated Napoleon
nd the King Of Rome, now one Of the chief
ensures OF Fontaineblenu. More than any
ther painter Of his own OF later time. Dolarocho
ombined smoothness Of execution with grandeur
subject, dignity with beauty. 10 the great
!atoric paintings OF this group belongs, also,
10
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