The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-07-21
Art and Artists.

Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson Buffers war paint
ings are all exhibited together at the Fine Ar.
society in Bond street, London; they comprise
the "holl-Call," "Quatre Bras" "Balaclaya.'
and "Inkermann," the latest, which Mr.. w. M.
Rosetti describes in the Academy. 1t represents
not the battle but the return from 1t, and Mr..
Rosetti says: "With less action and grim in
tensity than the 'Quatre Bras and less feryor
OF semI-abstract invention than the sBalaclaya'
the new picture is fully equal to either of these
works in general artist-like treatment. and
even even SUPERIOR IN impressive grouping--the for
sive and imposing in high degree; while the
faculty OF pictorial execution has, we think,
reached here higher development than in anv
previous work OF its author. Mrs. Thompson
mas undoubtedly once again achieved--and what
is oetter, deserV ed-a success.''
The Boston museum of fine arts il fitted ont
with loan collection of paintings for the sum-
mer. Mrs. A. s. Hooper, the owner of Tur-
nef's "Slave Ship" (Which is still there), has
gwen to the gslleery Frank Duveneck's late
academy picture. 'sThe Circassian Boy; and
loaned number OF small landscapes by Corot,
and picture OF New England pastures by John
Lafarge. A genre picture by Schreyer, scene
In Waliachia; wlerd figure piece. "The Lu-
natlc, by Merle, an Italian beach with cattle.
& ey &Iroyon: "A Brittany Idyl," one Of Bough.
s1ns ssMs NEST charming worxs; w. M. Hunts
Marguerlte' 9; Courbets large painting ''The
auntsman and His Dogs; and specimens of
Daubigny, Millett, Brion, Fromentip. are
among the works worth seeing. There are few
American pictures. The museum will close
during August. SN''
The most considerable sculptured work of the
Paris sailor in Mercie's Genius Of the Arts. a
colossal group in the high relief, intended 10
supplant Barye's equestrian statue of Napoleon
Ill. on the riverside front of the Louyre. The
group comprises Glory, female figure floating
upward with pslm-branch in her hand. in ad-
vance OF Apollo on his winged steed, The
Glory is highly praised as not an initiation. but
an appncaslon, modern in its spiris, of the prin-
clples OF Greek art at its best But the criti-
cism is made that the Pegasus cannot fiy. for
the scultor has represented the god casting a
leg over one of the wings, so pinioning it to his
SIDE, and making movement impossible. Ge-
rome essay In marble is the gro1p in his "Pol-
lice Verso, the two gladiators, and is not
thought to be success
One of the sad things about the new depar-
ture in Japan is say the native papsrsl quoted
in the Toxic Times the visible decay of native
art The potters and bronze casters are said to
be abandoning the picturesque pecu.iarIties
which have made their wares 80 sought after
in other countries and copying as fast as possi-
BILE the English and American shapes. Japan-
ese art it is true, is narrow and without hig in
spiration but it is vigorously UNIQUE and we hone
that commercial considerations will be effect
ual enough to keep It alive for the foreign sup
ply. Bousquet, in the Revue des Deux Moudes
speaking of the lack of conception in Japanese
art says: "The difference between the Bud
dhist world aud ours, between the Turanian
races and the sons of Aryas is that we still seek
and snail forever seek, the eternal type of
oeanty-ths ideal; while they do not seek for it
and DO not compre bend our divine discomfort,
longlngs and striviugs, but declare that the
circle of ideas is definitely closed.
A work In the Munich studio of Mr. Chase
OF ST. Louis is rather singularly described in
letter to the Boston Advertiser. 1t is por-
trait of young lady in the riding icostume Of
Puritan times, dress and hat black, face
turned to the spectator. The letter.writer
says: "The brilliancy of color is confined to
the face. which receives full light, and hsrs
in this most difficult of positions there is some
OF the most exquisite modelling that 1 have
seen from the brush of any artist here. At
nrst SIGHT 1t is simply mass of light, but. as
we LOOK more lntently, the scarcely perceptibe
modnlations bring one by one the delicate lines
ana curves to the surface, until the whole
stands out cleared aud distinct aud bathed in
brilliant light"
AS to the lost arms of the Venus of Melas Tor
Milo, Ia letter to the New York Herald tells us
all about it. The recent excavations on the is-
land of Melos have been carried on by Basil
Nostrakis an Athenian dealer in antiquities,
who owns property there. He found statue of
Neptune, perhaps Roman; q headless lfemale
statue, with Cupid; an equestrian statue of
Greek art, and several other less interesting
sculptures besides "the left arm of the Venus
o. Milo and the hand, which is, however, cut
OIL The hand holds mirror of marble, and IS
hnely executed. The workmanship is exqui-
site" etc. In apparent contradiction of the
claims of just deceased French officer, Nos
traks reports to Consul Read that the person
who found the Venus of Melo now lives. a
Greek named Anthony Bottomis. Casts of
this discovered left arm, whatever it is is to be
taken By order of the secretary of the Athens
archaeological society, and one will be sent TO
the United States government This will awak-
en- anew all the dispute as to what this famous
statue really was intended for. Many have be-