New-York tribune., 1890-01-03
MILLET AND HIS ART.
NOTES ON THE EXHIBITION OF MASTER
PIECES
SECOND ARTICLE.

cord,ct NJ this exhibition or the quality Of some
nictures which have been admitted Il must be con-
ceded that We have had no exhibition OF monerh
French art approaching this in consequence Ihee
are several pictures In this city, Boston, Montreal
and few I'm tho West which should have
been included but the important point Is that by ont
Of efforts that have hardly been appreciated. colcc
ton has been formed which is adequate Illustration
of the art Of great school, far better ILLUSTRATION
than any we have had or are H'eN
to have at present. The beautiful Lake Nenli
and Faun and Nympbs," the stately " st. sebastian
the Dance OF Loves the " Evening STAR 'ne
Fishermen's Houses" and other examples oner
fitting demonstration OF Coros love of subtle atmos-
pherlc effects and the delicacy Of his interpretations
In the same way we may follow Rousseau, an artlst
of robust tenacious fibre, differing from Corot as
widely as Ruysdael from Claude. The exhibition
shows us the landscape Of 1888, wherein Dutch trao
tions and tine Constable influence are intermingeu te
Summer Afternoon which IS the last WORD Oh
polished elaboration the IIoar Frost direct, Nlsor
ous in execution, dramatic in effect, the most power
ful of the gronp. the Morning on the Oise,' =
marveously delicate adaptation OF Rousseans exact
science The Tifaugc.7 which exhibits the con
scentious learned Workmanship Of early Flemish art
and the paintings which represent the susceptibility
of the artist TO the effects OF sunset ana evening
noted among the shadows of lis loVed fohIa'ne-
bleau oaks The number Of important paintings py
Delacrox is not large, but an adequate luea Vi MS
dramatic instinct and reliance upon color as means
of expression may be obtained from the "CruchXloh'
=" GaIilees the "Convulsionists,7 the Combat, ana
the Rebecca. When we add to this group such
admirable illustrations of TrOyons panterlike modu-
lations of color and light and shade, as thc
Cattle and sheep" the mastery "Caitle Dnhk-
ing9 with its superbly rendered distance ana SUCH
examples of Decamps's feeling for color. chalroocuro
and the sentiment of subject as the suicide anu
the Butchers Shop together with the landscapes
and marine of Dupre, the landscapes ana hgures Oh
Diaz, and the example of Gercault IL Will De seen
that the collection offers convincing demonstration
of the power of these artists to express themselves
forcibly POLITICALLY, TO use a muchabused "oiu' OF
msgisterlally in the terms of their art
Nevertheless il is not unjust 20 express the feeling
that The group Of paintings most valuable 10 our
mblic and in many ways the most impressive Is
the group illustrating the art of Mlllet uniortu-
nately the has been marred by the vulgar sehsa
tionalism which has called attention TO the Ange-
luso with an implied disregard of all else IN the
exhibition. 1t is unfortunately true that there are
those who are Influenced by noisy reclame, ana
one of the udlcrous features OF this exhibition mas
been the spectacle Of visitors staring banKy at the
Apgelus" murmuring the price to each other, and
striving TO believe that the picture Is really " the
greatest masterpiece of the century" The erect oil
sudh sedemeyer- Munkacsy methods is necessarily
less deIlOfdllLlnR u puulp ri'eS ""N ~ -
case of the Angeus" there is foundation OF verify
which Munkacsy's religious pictures did not have
All that we know Of Mlet tends to persuade us tIat
The AngeIus" was painted in spirit OF absolute
sincerity French critics of Millet have assured
us that the scene is impossible since the bellr1nger'
being a peasant Iaborer Ike the others, would not
leave the field until all left together when IL DC
came too dark to work But on the
other hand there is the fact that
in France. and
that similar scenes are not unfamiliar in other Lan
countries So far as truth Of facts is concerned Mlef
palntine i'm an unsOphistcatcd BarbiZon OF thirty
wears ago was fully justified. Painting an actual
scene and scene which represented sighhcdne
feature of rustic life he cannot justly be accSeh ol
posincs and descent into sentimentalism, accuSa
tons which have been made by some OF the atteruay
French critics. In this picture Mlet had an idea OF
sentiment 10 express, proper for expression III the
terms Of his art, and he has maze the aea poilo''
comprehensive.
Thus far the picture is successful but If we examine
If canddly we must acknowledge that the design Is o
consequence that the coorns lacks
richness and depth, and that, despite the AOoreu
heavy impasto, the painting seems comparatively ull
and cold in quality. Those who prefer sentiment u
nainnc have perfect liberty Of choice, but we cannot
say too strongly that the two must not be confused
4 picture of a pumpkin by Voon is far greater
,aIntinp than picture of a Madonna by Bouguereau
The very use of the word painting implies demon
stration OF skill in the OF a particular medIum
and we must Judge the result by rules appncaDe 10
that mediums use. II is obvious that balance
must be struck between mere anecdotage ana Sent"
Inentalsm on the one side and ex RENE devotion 10 AT
for arts saker on the other II is usual for Jealous 0i
lowers Of the latter school insist that idea sentiment
on euldect is of no consequence whatever. Within
certain limits this Is true, the Old Dutch genre
aud still life painters proved two centuries ago. But
IL is also true that this doctrine II carried 10 an
extreme makes the painters art question OF crafts
manship and it may be assumed TO be matter ot
common understanding that the artist Who can give
beautiful expression to noble idea Is the superior
Of the artist who Is a beautiful painter of tribes
Deacrox's work illustrates the combination OF mental
force and grasp with the pantcrlike quality shown
i'm his command of color. Diaz and Troyon were
far inferior i'm their mental resources, but both were
colorists although not of the rank OF DeacrolX As
for Millet we think ii proved even by the PICTURES
in this collection that lie was a colorst as WelI a.
draughtsman designer in the " "Angeius ti'c
design might be said to make the picture, since even
the delightful rendering Of distance is not lost in
black and white The painting Of the distance Is
hardly equal TO that II the Potato Planters where
the figures are better m1dclled, allowing, Oh
course for the opposition OF the figures 10 the hsht III
The " Anceluss The rendering Of textures in the
~ AngelusS is monotonous and inadequate ana there
* nothing TO compare with the rendering OF textures III
tho larger Sheep Shearing7 So far as color Is con
cerned the forcble Potato Harvest the charming
Corner OF Greville" the Turkey Keeper, and even
the "Graftcr.- show obvious points of superiority.
while the sheep Shesringp and the little breaking
Flax, which might he an old Dutch genre, show a
greater evenness Of quality The eolorng OF the
:. Angelus- seems forced in the sky, but if we may
trust the accounts Of the cleanings to which the
picture was subjected before the Wilson and seeretan
sales it is possible that there has been some loss OF
ouaties less obvlous than the color Of the sky, but
essential 10 truth Of relations As amateurs are well
aware there at least three examples
Of Millet in France and Belgium which
foreign amateurs agree in considering far
superlor TO the "Angelus.' Whatever we
may feel regarding tho sentiment OF the "AngelusH
we suspect that very rev Of our own amateurs will
fail TO find examples Of Millets painting In this
l.-L- Ill.,. 1.-nILaI Ilncln IhL