The Portland daily press., 1888-03-20
MODERN FRENCH PAINTERS.
The First Lecture in Miss Crockers
Course.

Miss Croeker's Introductory lecture on the
Modern French Painters was a rapid review
of the history Of art in France, from Clouet,
Flemish painter, in the reign of Francis l.,
to Gericault, the first of modern painters,
and six detached sketches of his great con-
temporaries. AIRY Scheffer, Decamps, Della
roche, Vernet, Ingres and Delaeroix.
French art was clearly an offshoot of re-
naissance art in Italy, although for a half
century after Clouet. the two schools, Flem-
ish and italian, existed.
One great man of each period is touched
upon in this study, as Illustrating the art
ideas and motives of his time.
In Poussin, in the reign of Louis Kill,
was the elimination of historical painting,
based ON italian models. and in Claude Lor-
raine landscape art attained its greatest
height.
Lebrun's works embody all the ideas Of
the reign Of Louis lie. Grand, whose patron
age of art had for motive self-gratifcation
rather than the research Of truth and the ex-
preston of catholic ideas.
Watteau, in the next period, is the first
truly French painter, and Boucher his con-
temporary, whose art contained the worst
features Of the reign of Louis XIV. Dide-
rot says of this time: The debasement OF
taste color composition, character and ex-
preston has followed, step by step. on that
of mind" A reaction follows. David leads
a return to good drawing and a close study
of the antique. He was a man of great
power and most exalted motive. He held up
themes for artistic effort; he fought to en-
body them in classical form; to promote the
research of truth and beauty, and to lead
back a weak and wandering art into sure
and honorable way. That he failed to bring
about the reform he attempted, we see by a
glance at the work Of his pupils and follow
ers; but no one attempts to deny that his in
fiuence was powerful to the elevating art,
and that he laid the solid foundations upon
which builded the succeeding school.
The great men who followed David are
called the Romanticists, and they, throwing
off the yoke of classical bondage, brought in
to the art of painting the new spirit of free
dom which, through the genius of Vict0rBu-
go and DeMusset. was Inspiring the litera-
ture ef the country. In the stirring life Of
their time, in Shakespeare and Goethe and
Byron, they found themes for their art, as fit
as ever Greek and Roman found in the his
toric treasures of his land. Gericault was
the leader in the movement, but he died at
49, Vernet in military painting reached
height that no one else has ever attained, but
In Deacroix these principles found their
utmost expression. He is the colorist of
France, its Titan, its Veronese. He played
on color as a Yiolinist ON his instrument
never out Of tune. He sought to dominate
by color as Ingres sought to dominate by the
line. To critic Of one of his early pictures
he said: who can prove that do not see
just?" Everybody" "Then everybody
sees false" And it was not until thirty
years later that everyone saw with the eyes
of Delacroix. Some one has written Of him,
Never artist more fiery, more impetuous,
reproduced the unquietness, the aspirations
of his epoch. OF it he shared ali the fears,
all the exaltations, all the despair. The
spirit of the nineteenth century palpitated in
him."
The subject of the second lecture will be
'The Landscape Painters of the Century;
the Last of the Ideals; Meissonier, the
greatest of the Realists, his pupil Detaille
...i4I, l. 4. a.,. fo-o Ia Nor.rilIo