, 1875-06-06
The Comparative Rank Given to
Portrait.Painting.
4 Glance at the Works Of Two Chi
cago Artists.
Phillips " Mccullough" and Ills Portrait
Of Mr. Norton.
Personal Notes from Europe
and che East.


. An Artist In Italy-.-Art and Ad
= yertising.
PORTRAiT.PAINT1NC.
ITS COMPARATIVE RANK.
Among the various speclaltles OF artiats,-laut
scape> painting. historical painting, genre, still
life, portrait~painhng, etc.-.the last the art c
portrais-paintsnE. has, for some reason, neve
been admitted 10 more than secondary ranl
a thin pamphlet OF Charles Sumner upon 18th
Best Portraits In Engraving hes upon til
counters OF Jansen i McClurg. in WHICH ia
quotation from Joshua Reynolds "Discourses
to the effect that, while = historical paipte
''painta men in general, portralt-painter paint
particular man, and consequently defectiv
model" A tyro in drawing would nuc
! rather draw = man in general than
particular man; but it appears that a
accomplished artist also dnda highe
field for his skill in the effort to produce tn,
ideal man. It Was characteristic OF tue land
scape-paintars Of the last generation OF whom
Thomas CoIe wsa 4 conspicuous example, thai
t they gons1aiized natural objects instead o.
! painting them particularly aud specifically
! When Cole painted q tree he did not paint par
! tcular kind OF tree, but 3 tree in Eeperal, apd
no man could tell whether it Was an oak, or 8
| MAPLE or An ash. Tho modern realistic school
has reToIutionized this until no artist yentures
| any longer to paint tree without 1t least in-
tending it for some particular species, and this
/ il Justly regarded ~ an advance On the former
custom.
With regard to portrait-painting, whiie it
would be presumptuous to question the correct
ness Of the great masters in rating ideal paiut-
ing above portraitu1e. IL may be doubted whether
among artlsts OF mora modest clai1n8 there IL
not
MORE BILL REQUIRED,
and actually expended, in executing portraits
than in producing other subjects. The fact that
there IL zone market for portraits wien every
thing elso fails, SO that almost any artist at oue
time or another tuTps his hand 10 then NAV
have somcthiug to do with the depressed condi-
ton Of tho art and the consequent estimation in
which the artlsts hold It. Nevertheless, some OF
the greatest works OF the best artists have been
portraits. To nane the finest Portraits in the
world would DO to call the roll Of the maBters,-
Ra1faal(o. Titan, Rembrandt, Velasquez. Roy
nolda. Succession OF Portraits is exhibited in
the ehop- windows OF all our large cities, spec-
mems Of the productions. from time to time, OF
the local Artists. For the last few moptbs Cbica-
60 has bean fa7o1ed with an extraordinary num-
bar Of
cR4EoK LIEEsEsEE
By variety OF hands. Most OF them are bad
many OF them extraordinarily 80. IN the most
ordinary style the features are stippled up with
great patience aud carefulness, in imitation Of
photographs, and the background worked in
With broken lights, in the hthographic method,
the result When completed being precisely hke
2o-cens ithograph, common, and hard, and in
delble to the last degree.
Nevertheless We have fair supply OF good
po1t1ait-painte1s, and, without invidious COM
PARSONS, two or three may be selected for par
}Ar%J1lA rrrY4 $4%
general may bo to the particular a1d "de{ee,ise
model, it Is certain that criticism OF individual
artists il mole commonly useful and interesting
than dlscusainn Of art in general For several
years
NR- JOHN pHuL1Rs
With some demur from professional rivals and
objecuon on the part Of copnoisseurs,
haA maintained hlmseN as on The whole the
best portra't-painter in the city. With robust
tempersnent aud hearty Scotch confidence IN
hts own p9wsrs Ms. Phillips has probably sue
.eeded In doing twice "a much work as any o1Aor
.rtist hero. His portraits vary from very good |
70 rather bad There have been times in Years |
past when he has been very much occupied, or !
It least very much Interested. in business entor
orlsen outside Of his profession. It may be that |
10 inferior pictures belong to these periods OF
from art Two pictures OF his, OF |
,onsiderable pretensioas. have been exhibited
1are within the last year,-oue portrait OF
he aetor. John Mccullough. It the
rait OF Mr. Norton OF New York, now
n exhibition at Eeen i Cookies bookatore. The
otnner represented Mr. Mccullough in the char
.cter Of Racheae,, q fuli-fepRth figure IN full
CARDINALS robes, the bands outstretched and
ace opturnad a. though in invocation. The
soyl Palace of France appeared in the back
[round- 4 great deal Of paingtak1ng labor and
indeed OF artistic enthusiasm had been expended
[pon the picture, for the artist not ouly vas
auous 70 produce falling picture but had q
mr. rard 0iLn{ TYrir $rr Lta
; for Mccullough in&hs part OF Ricsa!seA But |
telling picture Wal just what the work fell
hort OF attaining. For some raason-pe1haps
artly the unfavorable character Of the subject
The effect was not striking or satisfactory. The
raat Cardinal nor was lie treatment d Of
ae hesh up. to Mr.. Phillips stand
I'd, wh,ch IN robus. male complexions is un-
aually high. he pose Of the figure, it it was
ne' wns M 'ary much obscured by tue heavy tlrap-
tiration. The close proximity Of Healys fine .
lcture Of the Pope reduced the Cardinal to = {
hther lamantable state OF weakuess> Nsvertho- I
es, it is only fair to remember that the one t
a1nter was working from rAal potontate, the
ther from an actor. ,
Such being the estim&te-st least BY some
bod ]udges-ot Mr. Phillips last great effort,
lere IL hearty satisfaction In finding SO good
cture from ha br,aah as the present Portrait !
W; Norton OF New York. which is not only {
|
oture. sure OF honor in any competition. !
NJ. Norton, Judging from the picture, ia 9
IN towards 20 years old, gray, shrewd, S
'nevolent. The Rgnro, about tao-thirds c
ngth. seated in IN old-iashioDed straignt-back- +
chair, IL faced nearly to the front. leaning a
tie for yard. tho head turned slightly to the ! g
gut. The right hand holds q newspaper; both a
bows rest upon the ar1ns Of the char. and the 0
# band, With pair Of spectacles held between F
e thumb and fore-fnger. is supported upon t
me- The attitude is that OF sagacious old I
who, having finished leisure a
peruaal, has dropped his paper and removed d
8 glasses, and Is now ready to give you bis ma
70 ADD deliberate opinion. It would b. {uat il
VA'nsble for typical pictnre-of >. The Old \
'"spaper- Reader for instance--as it is for 4 d
-tralt The handling throughout is e1ceed- r.
3'y strong and satisfactory. There is some Il
ng absolutely fascinating IN tho treatment v
ths light and shade IA tho 1o1e- J.,
I'd, vhere the light catehes n It {.
'ncee aczosa4 Aad IN thu natural u
preaaion Of the texture Of tho old chin; tho b,
ada too are painted with "a much care and p]
ling ~ the lace L close examination dis pa
ses how nuch more Is suggested than "a &C.
aly painted. the eves, tor instance, being 4ston C.
ingly indefinite on Dear inspeouon, but par II
tly expressive n the distance Of dozen feet, it
thla quality speaks highly for the knowledge in
ekiu OF the RftlEt r. m6v bH Ra11. without | hi