New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-16
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

The publication of a second series OF 'hcso ii,
striking suggestive and original comments upon az
and subjects akin to art will be heartily "eoo
NV persons of many various tastes and various ai'nS
=, ,;fa Tbov are admirably reported, so that
great deal of the forcible and incsive manner whch
belonged to the spoken lesson is perpetuateu III 'no
nr;n,ed mage and the thoughtful reader VIII nhu
here an abundance of instruction anu ehco'1"s o
ment for artists and students, enlightenment. ior
oo,no;sseurs and not a little of wholesome advice
in The general conduct of life Mr.. Hunts talks
were remarkable fora practical common sense WHICH
rarely fell into the commonplace. Ihey were oIueh
ep;grammatic and sometimes paradoxical, but they
were seldom extravagant: orif now and then NUM-
allowed himself the rhetorical device OF extrava-
eance he was careful that his true meaning shouid
not be obscured for the sake of an effective phrase
eve 90 to church ON Sunday" he exclaims, apropos
of mutual helm land talk about dong to others
"a we would be done by, and on Monday we 90 noun
inc oftbekind Whatever you put into your
pocket and don't use is worse than useless Inc
nitrate who runs up black flag is honest IN com
paIison with pretenders Don't misunderstood
me! I exagaerate, and l intend to- In painting
you have to exaggerate." Earnestness, courage,
strong feeling, direct expression, profound regaiu
for the meaning of art, and manly contempt ioi
the trivial details and prettinesses whlcn many
fashionable PAINTERS substitute for loftler truns'
Learn to paint the whole thing in at once" ne
said TO beginner. Do visbly and positively
certain things that you have not been in the hapi
of dong See what the vital things are!
Give ND all idea of finish! Nobody ever hnshed'
Sect the general look of things" Better
be frankly wrong than doubtfuliy right" BE
frank and fearless ABOUT your WORK! ue'
rid of the timdity which makes you le"i
10 hurt your drawing" at isn't by trying that
hi, afroi6
want to make an impression, you must sacrince as
MANY details as possible. Keep your figure strong
and undisturbed by little things that hinder not
help and it will strike the behoder like an appar
ton. If you are gong to paint ghost, you dohC
give him sixteen rows of buttons. A great sweep
of vague drapery, and figure III it," facts doh
amount to anything Cyclopedias are full OF them.
It's an individuals expression of thing that is ln-
terestng." But Hunt was the last man In the
world to confound bold and broad style win
careless workmanship. He was never tired OF IN
sisting upon the plumb-line. " You must learn 10
be very careful. All the great men, VelaSquez and
the rest. were tremendously careful Put in the
whole subject at once in masses, painting loosely
But don't precise anything unless you do 1t erdcty
riqkt And because a thing looks quickly done, ana
as if you were smart never leave 1t on that account
If il ia not right" "To do things quickly,
take precautions carefully" An artist paints
what he Is thinking Of, what he feels
what he sees, and it was because huht
set so much value uDon thought and emotoh
that he urged his pupils to sketch from memory to
study a subject carefully. without brush or canvas
and afterward try to reproduce the effect. Il can't
paint what don't see." he exclaimed; never ex- |
pect tol II am to paint pictures Of people, must
give nv impression of them. My portrait OF Chief
Justice Shaw isn't like him! 1t is suggestion OF |
him. would not let Mrs. Shaw see it, nor any of |
the family / made him for the people as he APP
peared in court; not for the family as he appeared
at home" Holding this theory of the supreme value
of impressions, he would reply impatiently to the
usual question about a portrait, Is it like "
This insisting on having things like, said he,
sis the way to crush art and bringit down"
Hunts comments upon famous artists were free,
uften enthusiastic sometimes pungent. He pooh |
poohed Eastlake; he " would not turn his head TO |
see the best Jaque that put on canvas u; he
did not love the German painting; at Dusseldorf he
saw flesh of all colors save flesh COLOR wax, glue,
pitch dough, bread, chalk y; for Ger6me, Cabanel
and Bouguereau he had but qualified regard, care
fully distinguishing them from the great French
men," among whom he classed Gercault, DelacrolX,
Millet Corot and Dlaz. 81 don't believe in the |
modern French school," he said /; the true French |
masters came in a great wave which began with |
Gericault and ended with Dlubigny." Hunt |
studied with Couture and Millet To the former
he acknowledged debt of gratitude. although he
did not approve his manner of paintings but for
Met he had an almost unbounded admiration:
took broader ideas of humanity, of the world, of
life, when ! came 10 know Mlllet and MS work
If he painted haystack. IL suggested life, animal
as well vegetable, aud the life of man. HIS
fields were fields in which men and animals worked;
where both laid down their lveb where the bones of
the animals were ground up to nOurlsh the soil and
the turning of the whee of existence went on
He wa he L
practical gIde but he was Immense, tremendous
so great that very few could ever get pear him. He
read only such things as would help him; knew
Shakespeare and Homer by heart. He was like
Abraham Lincoln in caring for only, few books
He loved Hamlet. Eve found him laughing over
the Clouds of Arstophanes. 1t was splendid TO hear
him read the Bible Now the famine was great |
throughout all the land What description that
it'll 1t could be pressed in no other way" And
yet people say that the Bible cannot be translated
into French! And to hear him read the Book of
Ruth He saw Ii all from a painters standpoint.
He is the only man since the Bible was written who
has expressed things IN Biblical way.
Hunt gave many very interesting "reminiscences
of Millet, whose works he first saw at
the exhibition in Paris. No cared for
them at that time, but Hunt so strongly i'm
pressed by them that lie lett Couturc's studio, and
sought out Met in the obscure retreat Of that
artist at Barbizon.- 81 found him working in a Gel
lar ne says, "three feet under ground his pictures
mildewing with the dampness, as there no
floor" Hunt succeeded i'll finding purchaser for
one of Millets pictures at about $500. "When ]
handed 1t 1.-THE money to HIM he did not say much
but he told me next day that he couldn't try to
thank me, but that might like to know that lie
never had had q 800 bill before" Corot was
stancb strong and decided. "Some try to paint
like Corot and make sloppy pictures They misun-
derstand him. lie paints 1rmly" The pre-Rapha-
elite painters in England earnest that one
cannot fail to respect them but their pictures are
not interes ing-Rossetti's for instance, winch yet