The herald., 1894-03-18
A SUGGESTIVE SUBJECT.
OTHELL0 PLEADING HIS CAUSE
BEFORE THE DOGE.
Painting Which Is Full of True His
toric Merit and which Evil
dences the Painters
Talent.

The very picturesque and dramatic
scene of Othello pleading his cause
against the father OF Desdemona before
the Venetian senate is one that has
always furnished inspiration to the
painter. The irate father, the Doge in
his seat OF state, the senators in their
robes. the Venetian encourage of tapis-
terie and striking contrasts OF color, the
whole enceinte OF the chamber made at
once grave and gay with the patriarchal
faces of the great men of the maritime
republic. the bright, rich dresses of the
courtiers in attendance, and the ami
mated attitude of the "wronged Othel-
lo"-sll these are calculated to fire the
artistic mind of the painter and urge
him to reproduce with his brush a
scene which 30 much appeals to the i'm
aginatlon.
One of the scenic artist, Rogers, best
performances was a drop curtain, in
which Brabantio is diverted from the
study of q large tome by the interest he
takes in the Moor's eloquent recountal
OF the story of his life-''the bat
ties, sieges, fortunes he had
passed." the knowing accidents
by food and feld''-"the hair
breadth Escapes il the imminent deadly
breach" that had marked his adven-
turous career; whilst "the gentle Des.
demona" is drinking in his words with
rapt eageruess, and showing the first
symptoms OF that pity for his trials
which turned to love-or, as Othello ex-
plains it in his noble defense before the
Doge: "She loved me for the dangers l
had passed, and loved her that she did
pity Them" There was but one blem.
ish in that fine picture. An immense
red Persian rug loomed up awkwardly
before Othello, and was manifestly 80
entirely out OF keeping with the other
appointments of the room that it looked
as if it had been dropped there by a
careless servant. We made this criti-
cism on it one day, when Mr.. Rogers
said we were right; it had no business
there; but it was the result of an acci-
dent. He said that when he was paint.
ing the scene he had the canvas
stretched out on the floor of the stage,
and that an unknown 'super" came
along and upset a pail of red paint on
the curtain. There was nothing for it,
my dear fellow" said the artist, "but to
either leave great red blotch on the
scene, or else to work it into something
that would pass muster as proper ac-
cessory 10 all but the most critical. So
the blotch of red paint was worked out
and elaborated into flaming red Per-
sian rug"
But to return to our muttons. The
artist. Mr.. Albert jerks, who is as in
dustrious as he is gifted, occupies the
limited time he can spare from making
counterfeit present ntments OF the hu-
man form divine" in adding fresh touch
ea to q most spirited sketch he is paint
ing OF Othello's defense before the Doge
of Venice. With true artistic instinct,
he has selected that time in the drama
when Desdemona having been fetched
from the Sagittary, boldly proclaims her
love for the Moor, and her father gives
her up to him with the portentous ad-
monition-
"Look to her, Moor; have quick eye to see;
She has deceived her father, and may thee"
The scene would have been incom-
plete and lacked artistic detail had he
selected his theme at the point when he
was uaing his eloQuence to convince the
Doge that he had won the heart of Bra
bantio's daughter without the use oI
"charme or drugs" as the father in
sisted. There would have been no Des-
demona present at that time, and with
out her beautiful and pleading presence,
the picture would have lost q
great deal of it's interest, and all of the
fine contrast which enabled the painter
to Offset the staid and stolid senators
with the bloom, the blush and the
juvenescence of an artless young woman
made proud and beautiful by the emo.
tjons of triumphant love. The sketch
ia admirably wrought out, and the
colors are thrown in so as to produce q
wonderful degree of charming realism.
The richness of the Venetian dress is
reproduced with opulent effect. The
whole tone of the scene is instinct with
the pictorial richness of the city welded
to the Adriatic when she was at the
zenith of her power and glory. II we
were to make any adverse criticism at
all of this finely executed sketch, it
would be that the stature of the mobile
Moor" is dwarfed below the height and
dignity OF Othello, as he has always
made himself visible to our mind, and is
trifie blacker in our conception
than we have always pictured
the original to ourselves. The
negro type becomes greatly modi-
fed between the Gold coast and the
gulf of Sidra. The difference between
a Senegambian and Morisco is the diff
ference between two distinct types OF
the human family. We remember that
Charles Rodgers, the great scenic artist,
fell into similar error. His Othello
always seemed to US as If he had risen
from barber's chair to the command
Of the Venetian forces. But the picture
as picture possesses so many fine
points of merit that as a whole it impels
as to wish that Mr.. jerks would place
oftener on his easel the canvas for genre,
dramatic or historical subjects than be
does. We know of but few artists who
possess that rare faculty which rises TO
the dignity of genius OF blending their
colors so softly as to produce the mellow
effects of bloom. This is an achieve
ment Mr.. jerks is very happy in when
he treats the melting expression of a
swest face lighted up with the first
blush of love, and his Desdemona in this
sketch is q striking exemplar OF this
rare gift.