New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-09-28
ART IN FRANCE.

| IFRoM The REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUSE'l
| PARIS, Aug. 3l.-Arnying BOstonians will find
| Parisians since Wednesday in their best Athenian
mood The new thing worthily exciting their lively
| interest. the foremost theme with their ingenious
| takers and writers, is the great work OF Paul
Baudry now on exhibition at the Ecole des Beaux
| Arts. Ii consists of the paintings executed by him
| for the Foyer Public of the Opera. Here is the
product of ten years labor of love with brain and
brush, revealed in 80 Of an aggregate area
of more than 500 square yards which are depicted
IN action repose, with due accessories OF land
scape and other figures 24O divine and human forms;
for all this the man has been paid in money OF the
realm, 10000 francs-say roundly $50 per square
yard $40 the figure, $500 yearly salary, 81 so a
| day. Had he been willing to work by the day and
for the demand of the day in these ten years. Baudy
! might easily now be millionaire, with the best
of himself laid by. Already at the early age of 80
| his paintings had earned him, beside the Legionary
Cross and membership of the institute and sutrages
| of critical appreciatOrs, high popular reputation
and dangerously tempting surety of orders at his
own prices. In pOrtraitnre alone, the pecuniarily
most profitable department of art-trade lone in
which after the death of Fandrin and lngres. and
| the decline of RicaTd, one who remembers his
Guizot or Beule or has his CARRIER, will be apt
to say that he has a living French SUPERIOR gold
4
for love than for money. The small portrait OF Ed
About, who writes the descriptive catalogue of the
present exhibition, and the remarkable fe-size one
of GARNER the architect of the New 0pera-the only
specimens of bis art seen at the Salon of late years
were friendly gifts to friends Among the pictures
now exposed at the Beaux Arts of the finest are
also beautifully characteristic illustrations of Bau
drys relative estimate of art for art and of art for
| sale.
The Foyer is some $50 feet long by 40 broad, with
hight to the plane ceiling of 60 feet. The curved
space between the plane ceiling and the vertical
wall is divided into ~ carvings, one at either end
and five on either side On the side Of the hall to-
ward the place de POpera are five windows to which
converge five doors the inner side at each end is
| door of communication with an adjoining smaller
| ROOM The engagement with Baudry primarily was
that he should decorate only the curves and the ten
places above the doors and windows But his thoughts
and generous ambition grew at view of the rare oppor
tunity for their large expression and he obtained from
his friend the architect, the grant of the ceiling
and of the eight side spaces between the windows and
DOORS that u.s. successfully imporuned him to throw
in" 200 square yards to be painted without asking
any change in the pecuniary terms OF the original
| contract. Baudry divided the plane ceiling into
paralellogram of IS by 80 feet and two ovas OF 10
by 10 feet Here he puts forth the central idea OF
| his whole composition and strikes his keynote OF
color In the middle of the parallellogram, Har-
mony and Melody two gracious sister forms, one IN
| flowing drapery of blue, the other of light green
rise lightly in the air; to then rght'
poesv. purple-cothed gold-crowned, is borne
| triumphant on swift Pegasus; on the left,
Fame in glowing red flies all abroad with
upraised laurel wreath and trumpet in either hand;
about balusrade recalling the architecture of the
|
and flowers In one of the ovals is Tragedy, draped
in red seated on the sacred tripod, with blade IN
hand. lightnings from stOrmtOrn sky blazing about
her head at her feet an eagle bird of violence and
| blood spreads out his wings over the earth below,
are Terror on the right, in pale violet drapey; on
the left kneenng Pity. with raised suppliant hands
| ROBBED in black This lowest note III his scae oI
coloring is made acceptable where 1T is, but promises
admirable effects that can only be appreciated when
| the whole composition Is seen together. A FURY
with distorted features aud disheyeled hair, armed
with torch and dagger seems rushing down on you
In the corresponding oval the blind muse of Comedy
Ianobs while she scourges faun which she is strip
ping of his sham lions skin Love flies laughing
! mast through the blue air, while Wit shoots his
arrows at the lucklcss faun.
| Descending now from this high heaven OF abstrac-
ton where the painter has expressed his general
| idea or central motive by universal emblems, we
come to Earth and his twelve Celebrations or varla-
irons of 1t in the historical semi-historcal PANT
ngs But here again, as the architect leads our eye
from the horizontal plane of the ceiling to the vert-
cal pane of the walls by these gently curved INES
| 80 his comrade artist does not let US tumble at
| once TO earth and its Ideaiized realities, but
prepares us a cunningly graded descent at either
end of the ball. Here it is Parnassns; there
it is the creative Poets, primary civitzers OF
/ ut ~ ON IL
tho ceiling being larger than the five on either side
the painter reserved of these places OF honor tof
Apollo. god of light and poesy, the Graces ana the
Muses. of his court the fountain HippOcrene On
| one side Erato whispers Mozart and Mercury Is
Introducing Meyerbeer RoSsini, Auber, and other
! iustrions dead. In the opposite corner, but mod
esty looking ill., the artist has skeched himself, his
friend GARNER, and his brother A. Bandry, one Oh
the sub-architecs of the Opera. This, Judging from
hare letter press description, you might THINK was
| dronnino us 10 the ground with a thump. Not at
| all The transition is made easy by subtle cal
eulation mot cOnceiN in color, which passes mere
toward the "sober and strong tint OF the 1rescoeS
| of the old masters" As the mind passes D! 1hese
two largest of the twelve pictures, with thtr semi
bolis1n from the emblems of the abstract idea in
those of the ceiling to the historical representations
in the other ten 80 the eye sinks pleasantly from the
sepdors of the ceiling past the still bright draper
es and glowing lights preserved i'll the middle parts
of these two to the prevailing quieter tone OF the
other fen In these the object is to show the powers
of usic and the dance in their variety OF kinds and
| effects. Thus martial music is presented by the
| Attack, a iercely spirited battle piece; religious
music by the vision of st. Cecilia, about whose Ded'
| and in the air above. angels are making heavenly
concert pastoral music by beautiful pasalort
| scene The different powers of music are shown III
the Orpheus and Eurydice, in the Saul and David
| OF This last Charles Blanc writes Il remember