New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-06-18
NOTES OF THE FAIR.
A COMPARISON WITH ls'6-JAPANESh AK
ELECTROMAGNETIC RIVALRY bE-
TWEEN GERMANY AND FRANCE.
,v,ov sr.rr CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBuSR)

the present WORLDS far VIII ""i"'' - ''"N'
il is larger and planned on more AMBITIOUS scale
than ANYTHING heretofore attempted. III aiSo con-
.o;n. some novel features, notably that Of water
TRANSFORMATION inside the GROUNDS, anu IL ~ h-
r,,snr,blv supericr to its predecessors hero and
elsewhere in the beauty Of its structures anu inc
effects produced by the landscape architects art
De-, 80 for ~ tho exhibits are concerned, beautiful
and Interesting though many of them no douDt
,r ,b.,, do not possess the charm OF novelty
which was so Characteristic Of a large proportion
NJ 1bosa shown in Philadelphia You VIII look
in vain for instance in this Fair for anything
"a striliincy novel, anything that left 80 last
inc an impression "a the japanese EXHIBIT OF
1916 Even European raions show nothing
this year which is at all likely TO give TINS couh
try an impetus in the cultivation OF ar'l''lo
tastes such rs we witnessed IN the years Ioiio"lh-
the Centennial. In other words, you VIII see III
this Fair very little that you cannot already SEQ
IN any wcll-apponted shop in Ncw-York Boston,
PHILADELPHIA and even In Chicago herself. leave
others TO morales as to the causes, some OF which
must strike you as being obvious enough, put
continc myself to n mere statement OF what
believe 10 be the facts Barring the bchchc'nt
influence which every Fair must exert upon tho~
who visit it with serious purpose or come 10 study
certain Of its features AZ experts the present eX-
hillflOn cannot ID" 'NTV'lfu w '"N' i'' '''''
imam thc nation at largr as did the Centennial
scvrntccn years ago. And in this sense re-
neat. the Worlds Columbian Exposition Is not
likely to prove epoch making.
Seventeen years ago Japan was, as far "a its
manufactures and arts were concerned, sealed
bool, 70 Us The Philadelphia exhibition
o,enrd It's covers and naturally recep-
tive and apprcciativc people studied with pleas
IRE its contents The Centennial did moro: II
caused an epidemic Of Japanese fever to sweep
over the land, from the effects Of which we
have not entirely recovered even now.
Eut like most fcvcrs, there is reason to believe
tina, the patient will he the stronger In tn" end
for having had it, There certainly was no harm
in converting the whitewaslcd walls of the aver
| a.e American dwelling Of twenty years ago into
.urfacc, rejecting color and warmth and light.
We parted without pang from the marfl" Ton
centre tables, from the haircloth furniture, from
the "whatnot" in the corner and oven the " Mar
ringe Of poclhontas, or Washington Crossing the
Delaware. or the "Old Oakcn Bucket" motto in
Hack walnut and gilt over the door frame was
not missed when il made room for the quaint
but artistic conccitS Of distant country. Inc
trouble IS "" ovcrdid il, "a we do nearly every
thing clsc There was also that ridiculous East
lake craze with furniture in i's wake which,
I =
would have made stole Vince. Then cam" the
/ Queen Annr7 style, which produced in its
architecture models Of uglincss AMI discomfort
II was followed. in it, turn. 10y rage for every
thiuq Colonial and if not Colonial, II had 70
have u smack ~ the Empire Just now W" dot"
On loui> Quin1c. and happy is the man or woman
who can loarnelly discourse Epon-it Is not nee
,.earv - know 1.-THE difference between that
/ and the sfvlc of Louis Quatorzc.
In turn ;"c have been III" votarioS Of each
Of these s'ylrs bat the Japanese is tho only
ono that seems 20 have left lasting impression.
Yon will il IN IN" really splendid exhibits
al the Fair. contributed hv Tiffany and III" Cor
ham Company: yor will recognize II in tho
carved furniture in th" patterns Of wall papers,
in hanangs and drapcri"s: yon will discern 1t In
ihc ornamental ston,cuiting, which nowadays adis
80 much 20 the outward arpcarlnc" Of our
houses And vet IL is curious fact that IN
ro,urn for what she bestowed upon us Japan
has taken nothing from us hut what - bad an !
mor.trclons Her whole art sccms 10 hav" b.
come dcmorai1cl II has stepped from purely
artistic planc. within the last seventeen
wears down 70 one that il distinctly commercial.
The po,tcricS. bron1cs and carvings exhibited NJ
the Fair show no longer. ~ a rule. that refine
r.nt Of feeling and dclicacy OF touch which dis
tincnished Tie work Of former years. In word II
il ~, lonyor ART in the I'm" sense 81 IN"
torn. bu, art for the million"-an art WHEN
s.,.-ns chiefly lc-gncl for the American market
| do not ,,ccrv the art which appeals 70 the Fhi-
li-,inc II serves H. purpose, and, rightly u9"d'
may hc made the stcppinc-stonc 70 better thlngs
simply note the evident dctcrioration OF Japan
c,. art Abandoning is own quaint. original ana
always interesting forms. = copies to-day the
,..,., ,lc most comnonriacc and the least I'm
,r,r,tiy.. firms ~ an ant foreign and mrlning-
loss AMI altogether tco ire u"ntly vulgar ana "''h
! ,o,iou. We have prontcl los what Japan taught
-. IN 1876 and in MANY respects hav" improved
uuon. and now excel. Nh" former master H''
has learned notling, apparently, except 10 &c
basc the high standard l"r at formerly "c'"p""'
Wandering through III" countless rooms oil t'
,rt Building one cannot help h'ine struck ny '''
absence of what, by universal consent, w"nIl ~
REGARDED n really ercat paintings. Inc g"h'ra
average il good, THOUGH ore might WISH TN "'l
/ tr, i,,,ics of admission had boon "A trlilc more
/ severe and discriminating IN their S'i''u'h7
Every once in a while yon encounter picture
which havc absolutely nothing 10 rccomin'n
them except that they serve ~ ioll I" u"i'
! uoichbor- This is especially tru" oi th"N' nuns
| In the uppcr galleries where. among IN" Oh pi"'
inqs. prints ctchingS and wa'"r-coors, II ls som"
fines difficult 10 tell whether You contemplate
! ,,c .yhihit Of the artist or III" manufacturer
To what extent this defect is due to the dc III" e
cover -upcrluous wall space leave Others To d''
tcrminc. m
The general AVERAGE. ! said, was good I'M
IL tru. especially of the French, German, EhsliSh
Americana Dutch and Austrian sections. IN "h'
Of the most difficult fields, TINT of poriraltur''
.omo very remarkable pictures are exhibited. l'
,n r,,nch cnIlcrv there. is of cour-. IDnnat am
| Carou-- Duran, the former represented by T'rlK
nr portriit Of Ecnan. In H." English gallery No'
zee tho-n we'll known portraits of ll"rkomrr, ne
adv In White" Miss Grant ana The Lady II
Black" Miss Sllebcr. Of Boston, which attractr'
universal attention when first exhibited IN irrlii
mon the occasion Of the centenary OF IN" RoXa
Academy. There are also very fine portraits b.
lIoll. Nillais and Oulrss In III" German CALLER!
YOU find on" surpnssingly c'evcr portrait of BIS