Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-25

though of course in the drapery and ba s
ground 1t is q matter OF less importance. lex
usually extremely difficult to paint portrti Is
either to the satisfaction Of the artist o ait
those for whom the work is executed, T of
this instance it would seem that Mr.. Wa,oo out IN
both. "en Id pleasing
wo new pictures by French artists have
en SHOWN at Gillespie's They are the prom
v or the same gentleman who has had a
lumber OF works OF similar character
p1ugnt 70 the city recently, among themlthe
s;,' ;s"sy Knight picture noticed few weeks
oe. Inc paintings on view at present were
Sa.' u one py Simenez and the other by
oeienac. The picture by the first mentioned
artist is a very ordinary production the snbiect
oeing young woman at work in a HARVARD
anu with nothing about it either in conception
Es etecution to distinguish it from many others
nAe IL winch are produced eyery wear in diffar-
ent parts of the world, The painting bv Seirnac
ori q nucn more complete and carefully finished
o, mork, ana possessed of sufficient merit to nave
Salon r.. honorable mention" in the Paris
sSion; shN. ITS subject is a scene of home life.
ssnowIng the interior of a dwelling with several
iiss. usuIes forming the point of interest One is a
H hoiS;gr grri win both arms around a fowerpot,
nouns IL close to her as though she meant
never to part with it again; beside her stands
SUI! sn naiier child holding few loose flowers
part OF bunch which is seen on the floor close
Gy.n is r. ksneenng and bending over the chill
SIen % Is tne ngure of young woman presume
ply tneir mother. and who is apparently adj
irt.a ihrSts.ng some matter in dispute between them
its s Sas, meii balanced composition, and with
us very pleasing effect of color and careful
picture.
hEhE exists at present rapidly increasing
scnooi OF painters who strongly favor style of
picture which may be begun and finished
directly from nature. which is perfectly proper.
ano- as a class Of painters, they are of the ut
most Importance to the progress of art, and
tuey exercise therein an almost incalculable
influence FOR good, but this fact does not ius-
ufy them In Assuming that theirs is the only
way Oh doing excellent work and decrying all
otnei methods of procedure as false and wrong.
In the practice of art every method is right by
which noble end is attained, and the purpose
sought TO be accomplished and the truths to
Wnlcn an artist desires to give expression in a
picture painted wholly or in part in the studio,
are frequently quite different from those in
WORKS painted altogether from nature. OF
course, 1t Is only the branch of art which deals
with landscape and marine painting TO which
reference Is being made-the value of purely
ideal pictures of every other kind and character
IS not often disputed-but even here restricted
to single field of work, the purposes of art are
practically ill1mltable, and call for the employ
ment OF every possible method. "Art is long
and time is feeting" is a truth that applies to
the production of single picture no less than
to the subject in general, and there are many
which cannot be accomplished directly from
nature, but for which the artist must have
recourse to the storehouse of knowledge and
memory. If picture be of such character
and proportions that its production involves
the labor of six months or for that matter
even much shorter period of time il is quite
evident that it cannot be completed from
nature. Again. if the subject represented be
scene by moonlight a sunset or q storm,
what becomes Of the artist who works only
from naturef An artist cannot paint by moon
light; II ne would depict sunset the effect
which he desires to reproduce will be before
him for the space of five minutes at the
utmost and then disappear to be seen,
In all probability. never again; if
Clouds s paints Io ans storm oh.urs e' WS %' aTa
moment,stime, and colors used under cloudy,
stormy sky are apt to appear all wrong to-
gether when seen by the light of an ordinary
sunny day. Moreover, there are other things
beside simple truth which are at times desir-
able. An artist must invest his work with some
of his own individuality; he must sometimes
give 1t style and dignity Of composition that
can only be evolved out of his own innate sense
of the beautiful and the true, and which Is ar
rived at only as the result of long continued
labor and thought. In all the foregoing there
is no intention of decrying the growing regard
for work done out of doors. No artist ever yet
studied nature too closely or too devotedly for
his own good. and many OF them attach alto
gether too little Importance to her teachings.
Everything in art must be founded upon nature
and natures truth, but the grandest effects of
workings of natural laws are entirely too fleet
ing for the artist to grasp them otherwise than
by the exercise Of his memory The scope of art
is very vast; the ends to be obtained are many
and diversified, and he who would speak the Ian
guage of art with any degree of huency must
requirement Of knowledge and power Of ex-
preston.