Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-04-12
BkSTiEN LEPAGE.
The Exhibition of His Works in
Paris.
Was He Great Master2 - His
life---His Manner Of Work:
Criticised.

PARIS, March 25.-Paris is certainly O
paradise for all who delight in the delicate
pleasures which art gives. The monuments
and museums are unique in the W )rl1
while, as regards mo eru art, n no cit are
more interesting exhibitions organize in
succession throughout the year. No exhi.
billions could be more profitable for the eda-
cation Of the public than those of the col
lective work OF some eminenr arust, such az
1t has become the custom of late years TO
hold at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, under the
patronage OF the Government adminjstra
uon OF the Fine Arts and such rs the eX
hlbltion OF the works of Eugene DeIacrOiNe
and OF Bastien Lepage. which are now at
tracing the Parisians in thousands AMI
forming the leading topic of conversation
The young men who swear only by "opsn
air, and certain critics influenced not
ereIy by friendship but BY the spirit of re
action against acadt mic tendencies are en-
deavoring to raise Bastleu lepage at once
TO the rank OF a great master The preten
sion seems TO me exaggerated, especial,
after having seen the artists life work -a
short life work, it is true. for Basticu Ls
page was only thrtv,six when he diei OF
cancer last December. This work is com
posed of a quantity of studies drawings.
water colors and oil sketches, which are o;
interest to artists rather than to the general
public, of number of portraits and of few
finished pictures namely: The Hav
Field (lS7SG The Potato CATERERS
(lS79), Jeanne d Arc Listening to the Ce
lestial Voices (lSS0), now in the possession
OF Mr.. Davis of New York The Beggar'
Qs8D, "Pere Jacques (lS2D The Vii
large Lovers (lSS3), La Forge (lSSD
The portraits of Bastien Lepage are ad.
mirable works, especially the small portraits
Of his brother of Sarah Bernhard, OF An
DIRE Gheuriet, of Albert Wolf, and Of Miss
JuEette Droute, the friend OF Victor Hugo
The remind you OF the precious and deli
cately observed portraits Of Clouet, and in
the miputenesS Of the physiological o5ser
walton and the sincerity OF the rendering
they may be compared to Holbeins, though
the impression is less imposing and the
painter less mighty aud powerful nature
than the greater painter of Basel. In exc
cutiOn these portraits are exquisite, and the
freuess and delicacy of the color are be-
yond praise The resemblance one feels to
be intimate, profound and integral, the
artist having penetrated deeply into the
very soul Of his models From this point
Of view the portraits OF VI. Theuriet, the
novelist and of Sarah Barnhardt are mar
yeilous.
The impression Of the pictures Of Bastien
Lepageis far less striking. They seem dr.
unsympa;hetic, impcrsonal, q mere render.
ing of externals The Josa of Arc, for in
stance, which does not figure in the present
exhibition, is a picture utterly lacking IL
3oetry, sentiment, or inspiration of any
kind. In a garden, in broad daylight,
Lorraine peasant girl is represented In
ecstatic contemplation Of q visionary spac'a.
Gle of ST Michael and the angels rendered
with the commonest realism Of effect. The
peasant girl is dressed in q brown skirt with
u gray bodice loosely laced over white under
linen. But what poor conception Of the
scene. How vulgar and incomplete the
central figure Bastieu Lcpage had tO-
years been dreaming Of painting this Joan
Of Arc, "a Joan of Arc of our village, a real
jean and not studio model! The idea
was good, certainly, but, after all, the char
acter of reality and simplicity OF pose and
of arrangement do not exclude poetry nor
grandeur. The Gothic masters and the
primitive Italians we're reahsts and even hat
IN their simplicity, but they were never sui
gar aud poor in spirit. The BsgGAr and
the Pere Jacques are marvellous pieces OF
careful painting and minutf observation;
every detail is copied with absolute re
spect for nature and render with scrupu
lous brush. But here again the verify tx.
messed is common, and not set forth or dis
ENGAGED from the surrounding details. 10
The Begcar' the wallet AMI the house
front are Just rs interesting as the Cd beg
gar hin elf; in the "Pere Jacques each
rec is Just ss interesting as the figure otthe
old man with q bundle OF st cks on his back
,r tic little girl gathering ia ,gO.s. In OOH
hose pic.urlg. which take as specimens,
here is : passionate search after a certain
ruth The smallest detail, are painted
with miEuteuess which seems to have
absorbed and tormentei the artist
and steri!ized his effort The great
artists it would appear, are those who know
how 10 make the necessary sacrifice and TO
-ake in nature or in man only the essential
sides and the characteristic observations.
Realism carried to the degree to which
Bas,ien Iepage aspired, would end by kill
!nr art iuasmuch as 1t would degrade 1t to
the use!ess virtuosites of al inferior art,
gh;ch for exactitude of rem terlng would
.lways remain, in its turn, interior TO some
mechanical process such as photography,
+ colors were possible. As the great
Theodore Rousseau used to say. "Finl5h
IS not in the details, but in the ensemble.
Rastien Lepage was sine ere convinced
and devoted 10 his ideas; he was further,
more, an almost perfect wo 'kmsn, skilled
in all the details Of the pencil and the brush,
mt he was no poet, and he was not the in
roepse genius which his friends would make
| him out to be- In the preface 20 the cata-
lopre an admirer has motel the maXlms
which Guided Bastien Lepage from his debut
| n the end Before his name was known to
the public he said to this friend: The
only thing is truth. You must Pslnt what
you know and what you love; come from
| Lorraine village; shall pain: first fall the
paasants and the landscapes of my country
\ as thew really are. Later when have subj
| GENTLY observed the Parisians, | shall
| sttempt some Partisan scenes. My com
/ rados esteem nv portraits. | an proud OF
| that for | think that everything ought to be
treated as portrait, even a tree or piece
of still life. Iou never find two objects
perfectly alike; talent consists In dlstIn-
gushing and rendering what is peculiar to
each. This is all my theory.
All that is to be said is that this theory to
which Bastien Lcpaga remained faithful is
/ incomplete as q basis Of art. Literal real
ism is stupid; the elm Of the artist is not to
reproduce objects exactly for that is imPo:s-
sibIe. Holbe in his portraits seem reality
itself, and yet he is sublime because ne mas
put into them some mysterious lnsp'rauon'
en- undefnable personal element which goes
to the soul and creates a union between the
spectator and the painter, Gin short, some
thing ideal. ,