The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-05-17

enduring, and had formed decided judgment
as to the position of one man whom we called to
its support; / mean Burne Jones. felt strongly.
also, that the mode of exhibition we settled upon
must prove attractive to artists of high class In
any school, and 1 remember now that great
many men who seemed qualified to judge pre-
dlcted that the Grosvenor would not last year.
We are now in our ninth year and the Gros
venor from the first has grown in public favor;
1T has never once fallen back in the number of
It's attendants At our first exhibition we in
| trodueed Burne Jones. Whistler and other
ceayed and carried out in our winter exhibitions
the new idea of drawings by old masters and
exhibitions of the works of one painter, old or
modern"
A QUESTION OF COLOR
THE exhibition of original sketches year
or TWO back at the Grosvenor showed Burne
Jones to be an extraordinary draughtsman. and
L think art critics unanimous in this, but
serious objection is taken to his color"
I'm discussing color" said my host, I'VE must
not forget that what is admirable in realistic
color becomes entirely incompatible when fitted
to scheme of ideal design In the treatment of
nude flesh the portrait painter wants to get all
those very accidents of surface which, in repre-
senting the decorative ideal in painting, dis
turb the intention and interest of the work
great realism of texture surface would dis
| tract the eye and destroy the harmony of the
composition. Perhaps the strongest sign of
Burne Jones's understanding of his own art lies
IN the conditions he imposed upon himself In the
| technical treatment of his material The re-
vival of poetical painting is only a few years
old. From the death of Titan almost until our
own day painting has been Initiative Expert
ments In another direction were made by
Hayden and Baily, but they were failures.
They were failures because these men.
having poetic ambition, thought at once to re-
wye the complete art of men like Michael Angelo
and Raphael, whereas the source of the success
of the art, begun by Rossetti and carried on by
Burne Jones, lies in the recognition by these
men of poetical painting to be revived, or the
movement must begin from point of history in
lta.:s:. painting nearer its source anu hence
they sought their inspiration in what one called
the poetical schools OF Italy"
".
AMERICA AND ENGLISH ART.
you have not travelled in American
''Only in imagination. / have not yet had time
for the pleasant holiday you suggest to me-"
But you know all about her art progressP
Il am deeply interested in America, as all
Englishmen are, and know all that one can know
about American art and affairs from books,
newspapers, and from our cousins whom one
meets in London"
Have you formed any ideas as TO the present
position of American art, its prospects in the
future, and its relation to the art of EnglandT
We'll, up to now he answered. $50 far as we
are concerned, England in art is where America
changes DOaJS. Altn the exception OF designs
by such men as Church and Lafarge who seem
to me to be two distinct and remarkable indi-
vidualites-with these exceptions American art
proper has drawn no inspiration from what has
been done in England"
Il have remarked, | said, sin America during
the last dozen years considerable change in this
respect. The United States. when first visited
the country was entirely, il seemed to me, under
the influence of French art, and did not offer
single point of hope that she would ever have
IF nd fA-Ha n
American artists really French artists
French in education and training, in technique,
in choice of subjects and in treatment But
there are great signs now of new ambition, a
national ambition, and / have often thought
that closer study of the Dutch and English
schools than has hitherto been given to them by
American artists would have a beneficial inf1u
ence in the direction of that ambition. But this
is by the way-I know that you take lively in
terest In the black and white work Of America2"
1.-The artists who draw in black and white"
be answered, seem to me to be moved by
different spirit from that which inspires Ameri-
can pair ters-a spirit that is derived from the
grace of old England. l have noticed among
these American artists, and indeed among ones
American friends generally the keenest delight
in those aspects Of English country which seem
to represent to them the England of history;
/ notice in many numbers of the Century and
Harpers dainty and sweet expression of the
same spirit-a delight in the green and pastoral
and picturesque character and costumes of
of yesterday, and all that remains to tell the
story Of the England of yesterday-so much
does this strike me that [ question if any En-
glishman feels and appreciates the picturesque
ness and grace of old England from this artistic
standpoint as truly as does Edwin Abbey, who
draws for Harper. DE treats the England of
the last and the beginning of the present cen
tury with something more than an Englishman's
sentiment. 1t has always been a pleasure to
me to note the quick delight of men who are our
brothers Oh their first visit to England and /
can understand their pleasure in seeing the
countryside, the green meadows, the old world
villages, the pastoral lanes with fresh eye and
without the check of fatigue that belongs to
habitual custom and constant association with
the old country. | cannot help thinking that all
| this will eventually find place in painting as
well as In black and white, and that the Century
and Harper agents from the work they have
done in the direction of engraving, will prove
powerful factors in the establishment of school
of American painting. The American draughts-
man working for this periodical literature is
pioneer in this direction. He has to concern
himself with English Subjects and he is com
PEELED into the society of the English literary
man and often into collaboration with him; so
that taste and circumstances, too, intensity bis
interest in the country which his pictures cnitl-
waite and promote among his eountrymen
at home Now, as we are more or less on the
subject of wood engraving IN connection
with the black and white art OF America, Il want
| to express my frapkest admiration OF American
wood engraving. In the controversy as
pressed by Linton, and younger ideas as exhib-
tied in the work of men like Cole, fancy all are
agreed that technically they owe much to Unions
great knowledge of his art but think in their
stand against the limits he strives to set to its
exercise the Americans have the right on their
side"
V.
THE AMERICAN ART OF ENGRAVING
'How do you fix Unions ideas of the imita-
tons OF the engraver's art!'
Unions ideas of the functions and scope of
the art are mainly founded on our own Bewick,
who is looked upon by all writer's on wood en-
craving as the founder of the art in it's modern
sense, and the provision which the admirers of
Bewick set up claims that wood engraving of
the highest point should rank as an Independent
art, with its own special means of expression
not directly initiative of any other artistic pro-