New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-01-01
PRE-RAPHAELITE ART.
SOME WORKS BY DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI


When an attempt is made to classify artist or
a group Of artists under allembracing epithet
the result Is very likely TO be either misn0mer
an eplthet that Instead OF being alembracing Is re-
| strcted In meaning. partial, only halftrue. The
compound word Pre-Raphaclite applied to the
English artists RosSetti, Holman Hunt. Mais, Ford
MADDOX Brown and certain others Is one Of these
| satisfactory titles The members Of the famous
Brotherhood chose Al Themselves. but they meant 1t
| more as the sign manual Of their cocriethe T. Il. b.
| on their pictures for time mystery TO out
siders-than the expression In nutshell OF their
| artistic evangel That evangel indeed could not be
| packed into one symbol the temIeaments starting
out 4 preach II too diverse and too certain to
CIV Il In 'noh case specific. peculiar accent. Pre-
| Raphae.sm, as know IL in Italian art, Is the
oance OF pure feeling with naive vcratity. and In
| connection with the Primitlves, moreover. the his
! torlca leaning OF the term has had ample time In
! Nhic. q make itself undcrsandcd OF the many Pre-
| RapluchtiSm In England has been mot always con-
| SCION w. italian Pre-Raphaelsm with difference, or
with differences rather The latter. when sufficiently
dvelt upon. show us how Inadequate definition the
| familiar title IS 1t will suffice long 1t Is con-
fined 10 the emotional but extremely minute realism
which i.osse himself wrote TO NJ Chesncau, par
ticularly Characerzcs the style called Ere Raphaete"
| but the moderI.y 81 Rossetu and some OF his col
leagues involves other things of which must take
cognlzancc it gives art drenchcd with personal
| feeling abounding in original traits and separated
from the Ingenious simplicity and the religious fcrvor
| of early Il an art by all the completely of a point
Of vi W ccos,t by romance poetry and morbid In
| trospe IN ana by spirit not nnoccntly religious.
| Perhaps ihe most curious fact of all Is that while
R0ssct dsClamed the leadership Of the school, saying
that he could hardly recognize himself belonging to
1t, he is really the one man with whom Prc-Raphael-
itsm In England has been. and always will be chiefly
associated In minds. There have been exhibited
[ in Philadelphia at the Academy Of Fine Arts during
| Tho
Jones, MADDOX Brown and others, along with some
| CRAVINGS and drawings by william Blake. These
| have been brought TO the Century Club in this city,
q number OF additions have been made from New York
collections, and every afternoon from the second to
the ninth OF January visitors presenting cards Of mem
| Jers may the privilege OF examining them. II
Is privilege. for PrcRaphacitlSm Is Illustrated
| in America in libraries than in galleries thr
| samuel Bancroft jr., who lends most OF the paintings
upon this occasion. is the only col ector In the country
who has ~ many ION. important oils by RosScti)'
| the poems Of the chief Of the cult are known where
| his paintings only familiar through reproductions
| This exhibition happens 90 emphasize the isolation
OF Rossctt as distinctly does the character Of his
| work There are about one hundred and fifty WORKS
paintings and photograpes-n the COLLECTION, excluding
the axes. which have only an accidental connection
with t. and al but a or 80 Of these represent
EOssetti. There quite enough documents, there
fore for a study Of his art The first conclusion TO
be drawn from Il Is that 1t IS the art Of rcaconary
The rcachonary. being goadcd by disgust with Things
without. as well as mpelled nv desire 10 produce
| which wells up within him. Is of all artists The
| quickest TO lose Js equilibrium. The secret Of the
obstruction ttat the threshold Of Eossettis
ort is that MS equilibrium j. Insecure. This bears
mon many sies Of his work. but for the present "e
have principally 10 do with. the uneven balance In LIS
palnting between matter and manner TIE balance Is
| better In his poetry. Take this sianza from "TAe
| Brides Prelude
The bride took br,A,n t. pause; and tnrned
Her gaze where Aneloue
1 Knet-thc gold hair upon her back
| Quit, stnl In all lts thrcads.-thc track
| OF her stiN shadow sharp and black
The REORGANIZATION Of this Is almo.l god 4,
| the Pre- Raplalism. II 20 q NAV he cal %. Of s1n'r
Of Tennysons pictorial passages, tAe oins we're %
Maran1," or any Of the verses In TIE Lady II
| sialou7 Eu, with brush In his hare "a1 u
pen Rossctt Instantly loses the precision "hi'h re
! gucntly distinguishes his verse. tt" pfn'r are lrS
| duc,lle IN his hand, than Is languag. lc he ~,'dd
express with them the dcicrmlnatc Eoc ln nii i1n.
the scnsious mystic side OF him whieh '"ud DO l's.
with concrete things than with hnlinoa; lah i.'n''
II is impossible conceive him NJ podr'"c ar ihInf
of moment In plastic art Form. FOR all TIE soEdi'y
| he gave II I'm his studies Of sum!iuou, woWanhooi.
| swan before him In peculiar vi~cn. nHd ho Vs.
| never able 10 give clcancut accoun, OF d; J." d'd
not want 10 do so. perhaps. one 81 H' aP'or''t"
| * 10 I'M effect: "fHcturc and poem beer The sfm"
relation 20 each other rs beauty dG'~ Ia nan ara
woman: The point Of meeting where The two NJ" most
| identical /, the supreme PERFECTION end "" same
Impulse which led him 10 bring corporal beauty into
| harmony with poetic suggestion In his de-ica, mny
| have led him 10 the belief that physcnl facts 'ord
| be merged into color. They can b" but only Wien
they are right IN the first place 50 n not to force
attention TO themselves. His drawing ana h"'ihhs
| are imperfect, and they come between us ana the
| charm Of his art That the charm remains, However.
| If
,uccecdcd I'm spite of technical drawbacks. In winning
| a new and haunting kind Of beauty by The portrayal
81 a feminine type whose idosyncracy heightened by
his art spIriiunnzcd by ais feeling warmed by h's
passionate sense Of color, leaves an impression too
| deep 10 be disturbed by reflections ON the halting
| manner In which its dciaIls painted.
"Lady Illith., one Of the large oils In this col
lection IS a good example OF the triumph Of Rossctiis
Imagination aud personal force over haws OF teen
nlque. These flaws are conspicuous. The carnations
on the fun liz, are hard and forced, the modelling OF
the bare shoulder and bosom IS heavy and uncertain
the tone OF the flesh l. uneven, and m" latter has
nothing OF the soft radlanCy which such surface might
| be expected TO yield. But the idea tn" suggesuoi'
tho unconny vet beautiful character bodied forth in
he image Of cruel seductive lovcncss, this Is not only
unmlstakablc but moving The spell exeried BY
Adams first wife. Lilth
fThe witch he loved before the eft OF ENe.)
the spell Of which Rossetu gives an idea In the sonnet
entitled "Body's Beauty" which he wrote Tor the
picture TIE hitter brings close to our "nmprrheisloi'
IL had In Rosse sympathetic channel through winch
10 flow. No mnttcr how much testimony may 10
adduced from his pictures from ia" accessories IN
Lady Lith,' from those In " la Bella Nnno' com
position Of which his best version Is gwen IN me
small autotypc (No. I0. from the execution In the
large unfinished oil called Found TO prove his Pre-
| Raplaelltlsn largely matter Of scrupnons reals
MS was the Pre-Rapha"lsm Of Hunt ANA as was Tie
temporary Pre- Rapharlitism OF Mihai', the TACT re-
mains that the main thing about his art Is not method
but "A strain OF feeling aud furthermore That ms
strain Of feeling was essence morbid. The pcnsivr