The Portland daily press., 1877-06-02
Art and Artists.


modern one, but the Ohio town. comes cir
cumstantial account Of the finding of an old
painting Of "Andromeda." The present owner,
G ;n. g. p. ~. farney, surgeon-genera of Ohio dur
ing tne war, thinks he has a Correggio worth
from nve to ten thousand dollars.
Mr. Ephraim Keyser, the young Baltimore
artist, has sold his bronze statue, The Toying
Page, for $500, less than half off the adiudged
value placed upon it at the Munich Exhibition,
where it received silver medal. The statue
represents youth bending raper to test its
temper.
Mr. Heath Wilson, in the course of lecture
recently delivered in Florence, commented on
the durability of the ancient methods of paint
ing, and expressed the opinion that works in
painting executed eighteen centuries ago will
be IN existence centuries hence, when probably
nol a si9gle example OF the present day will
remain 1or the instruction of our descendants
Cabanefs "Lucrece" in the Salon is said to be
one OF the few fine things there. Lucretia is sit.
ting in white chair. with white loom at her
side. Her eyes are dark, her brows very dark,
and her luxuriant hair, gathered above her
forehead in rolls and folds, rich chestnut col
OF. Tarquinius, with greedy eyes and firm, full
hgs, stands leaning behind her, with one hand
on the back of her chair. The picture, though
not so popular as the recently exhibited 'sFran.
cesca di Rimini'' by the same artist. is painted
in sounder and more sober style and appeals
less to the vulgar passion for the horrible.
Gerome the painter, has finished clay
group larger than life, representing gladiator
about to deal the death blow to a vanquished
retiarius. The model is now ing cast in plas.
ter, and M. Gerome reckons that the bronze.
which is to be run in one piece without re-
touching, will be ready by next September.
Among the smaller models which he has also
lately executed are several representing COM
batants of the arena in various attitudes of
attack and defense, together with a LARGER
statuette which he will shortly proceed to carry
out on more considerable scale. The subject
old man, on whose lips there fingers the
smile OF still living joy in life and its pleas
ures He is eaborately draped in flowing
robe, and his Tyre is slung for awhile from his
lett arm, while he fondly embraces two little
Loves who have flown for shelter to his arms
Some of his detractors have reproached NJ
GustaveIDore with the fact that he "paints by
the yard" rhe thrust is fair enough In warfare
and, by choosing his enormous canvas, there
is no doubt the eminent French painter lays
himself peculiarly open to it, The latest pic
ture, The Serpent in the Wilderness, covers an
area of over 600 square feet and it is at present
placed in position facing the Christ Leaving
the Pr8torum. There is not the slightest
doubt about the fact that the Serpent in the
Wilderness is the handiwork of Gustave Dore.
Inc individuality OF the artist is stamped on
every figure. The design Of the picture is not
an unfamiliar one. The Hebrew prophet
stands on an eminence pointing to the brazen
serpent which coils itself around the cross. In
the foreground are the people wrestling in the
most horrible contorti0ns with the rentles
which have coiled themselves round their
bodies Nearer the token of deliverance are
those who have been rescued from the plague.
Ihere is IN IN this theme plenty Of scope for the
exercise of the authors abundant fancy, and,
as may be guessed, M. Gustave Dore has fully
availed himself of his opportunities. Indeed,
The Serpent in the Wilderness is more charac-
teristlc OF hlm than are any Others of the enor-
nous pictures which have been turned out of
the well known atelier in the Champs Elysees.
Efie Deans is the title of new picture by
Millais, now on exhibition in London. 1t rep
resents secret interview between the beautiful
Effe and her lover, Geordie Robertson, in
which the girl is informing him that she will
soon have to provide against the consequences
of her over-trusting love. According to the
Academy, Mr.. Millais, as usual, tells his story
exceedingly we'll By combining genuine and
even intense facial expression, not the least
over-demonstrative, with simple but significant
incident; here the chief point is that Effis has
taken off, and is holding downward with droop.
ing arm, the sky-blne snood, the symbol of
maidenhood, which confined her hair. The
late autumnal rosebush, howerless, but with
its bitter fruit and sharp thorns remaining"
is also, as the descriptive prospectus points out.
very properly introduced. OF course the chief
point in any such treatment must be the face of
Ehe. rms is pretty, and something more than
pretty, but not so eminently beautiful as the
indicates. hai If Ia
sufficiently abundant in growth; her expression
IS OF hearfsick anticipation, with gathering but
not falling tears; light blush of shame tnges
her cheek and ear, waning now as the inter-
view proceeds. One cannot call this exactly
one OF Mr. Millaiss best pctures-at first sight
It even looks rather hasty, lax and indeter-
inmate production; certainly, however, it gains
yyIn very mueh s upon any one who fingers over the
details OF sentiment and accessory, and before
one has left it, the intended pathetic impression
has almost unfailingly been produced.
The London Saturday Review has the follow
ing biting criticism of Mr.. Whistler's work in
the Academy exhibition: The Grosveuor gallery
contains certain productions of Mr. Whistler's
to which reference was made last week. Mr..
Whistler has chosen to christen these 'Noc-
turnes,' Arrangements and "Har-
monies; and he has certainly done !
wisely in thus suggesting that they are snv-
thing rather than pictures. We are asked to
accept as gepresentatien-iit.- i. is not called
portrait-of Mr.. Irving as Philip ii. a long
smndgy black figure, standing on nothing with
indistinctly shadowed hands, above which ap.
pears ghostly head peering painfully through
the surrounding gloom. The two frames which
hang on each side of this contain certain marks
Of paint which also are presumably intended
for portraits, though one is called "An Ar
rangement in Brown and the other "A Har-
~, has, nv,I Dlo1I sU1-
ever, apparently no legs or feet, and they are
enveloped in the same smeary and smoky at
mosphere which surrounds the phantom of Mr.
Irving. Below these are four canvasses called
Nocturns, three of which are covered with
blue OF delicate and pleasing tone, on which
are black marks and gold or silver dabs that
stand for boats, bridges and lights. This style
OF art, which is the very quackery of painting,
would appear TO- be singularly easy, although
it is said to be the result of infinite pains. It
would not call for any detailed notice but that
Mr.. Whistler has proved in his etchings that
he is capable of serious artistic efforts. Even
in these strange follies one may discover evil
dence that the hand which prod uced them is
far from being without cunning. Mr.. Whistler
however, has deliberately chosen to affect
these monstrous eccentricities, secure of admir-
alton from clique which prides itself upon
possessing artistic perceptions too fine for COM
mon understanding: And so long as misguided
people can be found to go into ecstaces over
"Harmonies in Smudge," so long, we suppose.
VIII Mr. whistler go on producing them.
A correspondent of the Providence Journal
has this to say of some pictures in the Boston
Museum Of Fine Arts: Nearly opposite the
pictures of Corot are two small paintings by
American artists, of great and contrasted DOW
er. In the "Lair of the Sea Serpent" by Elihu
Vedder, there is beach of white sand, with
narrow crescent spit extending out into tropi-
cal sea of the intensest blue beneath cloud.
less and burning sky. Coiled on the mound of
sand lies the gigantic serpent, heavily inert but
with bis cruel flat head close to the ground, and
watching with glittering eyes. The barren
loneliness is fit abode for the cruel reptile. but
the soft brilliancy of the sea and the cleanliness
of the sand bring out the horror with striking
contrast. Below this is 'Fading Light" a land
scape in Brittany, by George a. Boughton, a
heather-clad down, along which gentle girl is
walking WITH a pail in her hand. The atmos.
phere of this is its marvel, the faint. soft light
over the hill and the dewy softress of the herb
age,
GAN the air a solemn stiffness holds"
and one needs no clock to tell the hour. Beside
so a. -