Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-01
WEEKLY ART REVIEW.

Mr. A. r. KNEES still-life picture Of an
overturned pan Of peaches, the one shown at
the Exposition gallery, has been sold by Gil.
THE William +. Evans prize Of. $500 win be
awarded by q vote Of the exhibitogs at the
Twenty-third Annual Exhibition of the Amerf-
can Water-Color Society, which opens on
FEBRUARY J, 1870 continuing until March L
"a SUMMER Day at Eidenau," work by H.
s. Stevenson, Is shown at Boyd's. The scene is
one Of a character such as may be found along
almost any Of the numerous water courses Of
Western Pennsylvania. The bright waters of
small stream curving in and out between
picturesQuely wooded banks, sky serenely
blue with but few light Woolly clonds to vary
whole seen in the brilliant light of mid-sum-
mer's day, such is the subject of this work
which has been very aptly named. Since
light and brightness are the special qualities
with which Mr.. Stevenson has endeaVored to
invest this work, he must be credited with
having attained his object fairly we'll but one
can scarcely be blamed for finding fault with
the ~ nn yhRcS s q II az sSs
trees has been depicted, since In plaee Of the
hghtness and fexlbiIity characteristic Of leaves
and branches they have been given the ap-
pearance Of hardness and rigidity that would
seem to bid defiance to any zephyr less viRor-
Gus than Montana blizzard.
ALTHOUGH the painting which Mr.. George
Hetzel has upon exhibition at Boyd's Is q very
pleasing little picture, it does not come any
where near being one Of the best which that
artist is capable Of producing. The subject. as
indicated by the title, '.Early Autumn" is
landscape effect characteristic Of those pleas
ant, dreamy days which herald the approach of
winter. The vivid green OF the trees and herb
age near at hand has been toned down and sub
dued by the Introduction Of warmer colors,
fn1f Of oI,, a
long, cool nights, while the more distant
landscape Is shrouded in a delicate. misty haze.
which spreads over it like veil, and increases
the charm OF the scene by adding to it quality
of mystery and indehniteness. With all its
pleasant qualities, the picture might have been
q great deal better had the artist chosen to
very clever at representing foliage with truth
and fidelity to nature, and he certainly might
have put little more vigor into the handling
of the trees than is apparent in this work. In
fact, the whole picture bears evidence Of slight.
ness, almost carelessness, of execution. and IN
no portion is this more clearly to be seen than
in the drawing Of the cattle grazing under the
trees near the foreground. Although this is q
is not reallyvery serious, since it is one that the
artist can very easily remedy.
A MARINE view entitled "Pier at Dieppe,n
by ]. l.. France, may be seen at Boyd's. It
will be remembered that Mr.. France, who was
not so long since married to EusIlda @. Loomis,
follows the same school Of art as that accom-
plished young lady, though he paints an en-
tirely different class Of subjects. The style Of
handling. characteristic of this school Of art,
is very broad; the pigments are applied very
heavily, apparently even roughly, and there is
but little attempt at hne graduation or delicacy
of color. The picture In question is possessed Of
all these characteristics, but It has been exc
cuted with . considerable degree Of artistic
feeling, and is one of the strongest works
which Mr.. France has yet shown. Paintings of
this m description are never seen At their best in
and they cannotlbe judged fairly until seen in
a clear and moderately strong but softened
and subdued light, which tones down the
strong contrast of color, supplies the want Of
more delicate gradation, and aids In producing
the general harmony Of effect for which the
artist has labored. This must not be
understood as implying that the quality
of the light is to make amends or atone for any
defects or shortcomings that may exist in the
painting, for no such meaning Is intended.
This class of work Is executed with a view to its
being seen under certain conditions Of light,
and It is only under such conditions that it ap-
pears to the greatest advantage. If harmony
Of relation does not really exist in picture no
arrangement Of light whatever will make it ap-
pear to. It is not by Disgusting the nature of
picture that its character is improved, but If
the work has been painted with a view to the
that it be placed under such q condition Of
light as will emphasize those qualities and
render them ehect1Ve.
1T is quite an old saying that eyes do not de-
ceive; that, no matter what the lips may say, If
one could but read the language Of the eyes
they would always be found to speak the truth.
Perhaps the old saying Is partly true, or for
that matter it may be entirely so; since we will
never, in all probability, be able to prove the
contrary it will do no manner Of harm to accept
it as an established fact put as no one can ever
clearly read the story told by another's eyes,
it is not likely, on the other hand, to |
be productive Of very great amount |
of good. But granting that eyes do |
not deceive, it is undoubtedly quite possible for
eyes to be deceived, and, indeed, very slight /
will readily prove this to be the |
case "Seeing is believing" is an expression that
had its origin in the conviction which most |
persons entertained that what they saw was Of /
all things what they should put faith in, but we |
would certainly % entertain a,tad N many erroneous
would lead US to believe. Our eyes are de-
ceived because their power is limited; their L
range is restricted, reaching neither to the |
microscopic vision possessed by most insects on |
the one hand, nor to the keenness and strength |
of many birds and beasts on the other. This
defect of vision, or rather this Limitation, for /
L cannot properly Ds sSsE dxa. asseo Is % nos
the human eyesight greatly more powerful
than it Is, the result must be that we would see
entirely too much for our comfort, and many
order Of things add to the sum total Of human
happiness would be dispeIled. Were we
furnished with eyesight capable of appreciating
The molecular structure of various objects. It
would be impossible for rs to practice any
description of graphic art whatsoever for the
Iimple reason that there would then be no room
'or the play Of imagination, and we could
never, even for q single instant become un-
conscious of the nature OF the material with
which the representation was formed and It
would cease to be initiative. In place Of be-
coming impressed with the sublime color in
york nv Tffiau or Murfllo we shouId realize |
nothing beyond the fact that there was pre-
ented to our gaze SO much paint Of different
rinds; SO much yellow ochre, SO much sulphate
,ver pigments might have entered into its CON-
position. As IL Is, nature presents to rs q
thousand varieties Of form and texture which
IRE produced BY causes that are obscure to our
which both charms and delights Us; II it were
possible for US 70 look beneath the surface and
discover the cause Of al this multitudinoul ~