New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-03-07
VI. RAFFA ELL.
HIS EXHIBITION Vt THE AMERICAN ART
GALLERIES.

az
criticism Of the art OF NJ RafaeH' resolves Hse'i
very quickly into analysis oi I'M p'!N
,o,tcns Of that ar. He is 4 painter OF 'ourse but
rh,oso,ber first, AMI the broad impression
..o,vo1 fran his work is - Renewed observer
who would tell YOU II he coud' much more IMAM
line color and the other eXpedeh'9 Vi "' are qudl-
,fe-i 10 reveal That IS 10 say 'ie "U'"'" Vi nls
81, is intellectual not permanently aeStheuc' ana
+S;e g, s,,l,o Of much in him ;hat appeals to aes-
49,. .a.as y ,ree rooms at the American Art Gal
,, 80 ero1 with his productions. There are oils.
drawings colored prints, sculptures ana process re-
-,,,,rc,ions OF works in various mediums through
,,, tbn collection. which runs up to l9i numbers.
~, oss Of NJ Ranaelli is evenly proclaimed
a.. bave indicated above. He strives to make pct-
~os hut he is absorbed in the social significance of
IT. ,,e,eraI preoCcuped with the movement. the
tome of the Partisan life he has chiefly reproduced
.rbis strain OF reflection In NJ Raffaelli has not
committed him to anything banal. has not reduced
him 10 the superficial humors OF Photographic and
anecdotc genre. 1t has instead lent deeper reality
"a his purely mpressionistic studies of bourgeois
and Bohemian types heightened the human value
o. those picturesque sketches which he has made
from the panorama surgng daily through the
streets and other public places of the French capt.
tai. lie is contemporaneous to the last degree You
feel this in the pages from Figaro" which occupy
some Of the frs. frames in this collection. sheets
of black and white vignettes which are of the very
essence OF pictorial journalism. direct incisve alive
with the mingled mirth and sadness OF the great
urban spectacle. You feel similarly poignant We
racity in the large oil painting which repiere".'
Clemenceau haranguing political meeting "n.
ever he is NJ Raffaelli takes note OF the ,'e
,n,nulse gives YOU the very flavor oil fami'iai my
If he chooses TO devote himself almost t . =,
10 the mournful and unlovely phases VI my -
nartly no doubt. a matter OF temperament "
also a circumstance which may nave oeeh ue''i
mined by the nature of his technique. lhere Is
,o.h,rr suave or graceful about the latter, noth-
ing that would suggest a point OF view cooreu oH
delicate imagination and strengthened by re"ie-
mont Of taste NJ Raffaeln is severe. almost oru-
tai commentator on life. and there is no tenderness
IN his style 1t is not that he is unsympatheuc'
On the contrary his sympa thy for his homely per-
sonaees IL profound as witness the reproduction OF
that painting OF old man alone IN his garden
with his sunfowers. or his appreciation OF senle
tvpe in No &C. Vacation at Grandpas NJ. Kil-
faeu has sympathy enough. But he Is brutal IN
setting down his facts with remorseless truth IN
presenting youth and age. whichever it may be-
without a trace of imaginative enhancement WIN
out single effort to poetize. TO refine the raw SUD-
stance at his disposal. This unhnchng rectliude Is
one of the things that give him the vividness. the
vitality for which he Is remarkable. II Is also ex-
actly in tune with his technique The same frank
ness of vision which leads him TO express badly the
coarse fibre of his models is responsible FOR the I'M
eouivocal bluntness OF his manner. That manner is
partly linear though based We take it. on the ma
Of effect always absolute breadth OF manner rarely
tn make this matter clear turn TO the large oil
painting called "Repose." or to the Clemenceau
portrait aforesaid. There you have large surfaces
largely handled and in the "Repose" especially me
great masses OF tone brushed in with an actual
sweep OF the hand that agrees perfectly win the
character of the scene. with the large uhprohei
spaces of the coveret spread across the bed In the
"Clemenceau." the principal figure Is modelled win
striking force and simplicity ana the sufrGun al
sJf hsse ar w eseegpa
in their place any Of the numerous ofbeS
words any of the pictures that are ony'ous9 'ha
aScs ths tecbnicans true meier is apprehended
meter OF sketchy, stenographic outlines OF sttuc'
ure suggested rather than explained Of perspecySss
conclusions OF an art in brief which Is esseh"aiS
1t where NJ. Raael relies upon his suppentes,S
and eHquenee Of line that he Is most b Se @
ar9itraT as in the scr1wy 6 6
power But rule he ESCAPES the iooseness on
heIs 6 and ID E "a1 I pfon
arr in such paintings as No H. 6,,h rslled YES
Nourrices'' but one of them done on the Place de Ia
Concorie and the other in the Champs EIyseeS. %
reveaing.y does his brush follow the contours of
face the changing outlines Of form, ma ne Is
pictorial almost dramatic without any OF 1ne uoa
Clarifying elements Of composition. Ot composluoI
indeed ne seems IN a hs meho mo- nice balancing
of parts. jealous care that eacn plane sholii
from the last ana edch hSuIe III
0uence with the other He seizes instead the casual
fragment the group that is torn from the hurr!lhs
crowd, the combination of figures that mas nor any
of the sensuous charm OF a subtly formed uni Dut
Interesting II is that TO which one is bound 70
come back in surveying this BODY or WORK '>Onie
pleasant things there are to say ABOUT the puicH
artistic relations OF the pictures as mat thc,e -
is superb tone In the finely modelled "Cnickweed
Vender' OF No 2. and that there rs a seilse Oh
genuine summer in the sky OF No. 10 summer
Dav in Paris" But one scarcely sees these points,
it must De admitted for absorption In the men, IA
note conveyed by every painting or drawing On thc
walls The nurses mentioned above are lueaI NPeSS
OF the Partisan bonre. The anaemc youths anu
women OF The Crowded Boulevard are appaIhig M
their hard reality In his many portraits o. rag-pck
erand similar figures Of thc street in MS ILLUSTRATIONS
OF the dull life Of the bourgeolsie IN ms eHniPsS
OF the cafes chantant taken from Do'h sues oi ~.
.ootlights the expression OF race. o. hoiousHI!
French chara ceristics is alnoS, painfully accurde
personal feeling goes with IL al. ana that IN tne
long run, constitutes NJ Kaffae lis claim 10 oui al
ten;on. His cieverness, MS VlVacity, ms t ~,
would he OF small consequ were he non an orig
ina painter, artist into whose every sketcn the'e
is projected personal something a new. uncommon
and attractive style. OF beauty In the strict sense
ne has bare.y d suspicion; lie mas zone nV p.
to bring out the loveiness lsten; IN common things
for he little or girat on. and Wheh ne
analyses, il IL 10 find the more foroidding con
stituents of the seamy side of life But ne mas ir.i
works are well worth the trouble OF having been
brought to this country in mass. Practically ali
his work is SHOWN. II not in the originals then IN
reproductions. There are even few sculptures,
thoueb in these beyond a certain forcibe realism.
NC can find nothing o. the power which NJ
Raffae.lfs admirers discover. Taking the exhibition
as whole IL lacking in charm. lacking In artistic
beauty. 1t is strong in qualities Of picturesque
ness and conte mporary observation. and 1t repays
exauir alton IL remains open until March IL.