The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1896-01-11

has a carefully selected collection o.
photographs OF modern French paint
ings. They are interesting 10 them
selves but more especially because they
are photographs Of the pictures we read
OF and that the studios talk about
When people go abroad they generally
bring back an assortment OF pictures
they suppose they and others are in
terested. in. -frescoes in the Sistine
chapel and in ST. Marks and pictures OF
Dawnte and Beatrice. Very nice people
to be sure and important historical oc
casions like the assumption and annun-
citation or the immaculate conception.
But we have seen them all dozens OF
times. These are photographs from the
work of Puvis de Chavannes, Bonnat,
Chaplin, Louis Dechamps. Bashkirtsef,
]. w. Alexander, Whistler and many
others. The portrait by Whistler
OF his mother, is said to be the best por-
trait ever painted. Whistler himself
deprecates any interest taken in it be-
cause it is the portrait OF his mother.
He says it is just in black and
white and il is no ones concern to
whom the picture is lated, that the
picture must please or all as the rules
OF color and form are more or less cor
rectly followed. Which, Of course, is
true. but when we know the picture is
the artists mother, we are not 30 apt to
fail to see what was there before, name
ly what all people worship in pictures OF
the madonna. The copy Of Manet's pic
ture. which hangs in the Luxembourg.
of Olympia, very ugly nude woman
on a divan attended by a negress carry
ing huge bouquet and watched by
big black cat, is an eerie thing and a
chilly, 1t is all in blacks and grays and
whites, 1t is as repulsive as Zola's
story Of Mana. 1t expresses the same
kind OF horror and causes the same
shudder. 1t was unfortunate that the
cataloguers of the pictures in the Lux
embourg in revising the catalogue got
things mixed and Olympia's number re-
ferred to title which read Ma Mere"
by Whistler Everybody stops to look
at Olympia and some of them believe
anything Of that Whistler. You know
Du Maurier says "he has no reverence
for anybody, but this is going too far"
A copy Of portrait of Marie Bashkirt-
self by herself, shows her little Tartar.
The portraits of her, seen in the front
OF her diary, look like those Of any young.
lady This is picture Of the girl Of the
diary. There are copies Of many of the
curious imaginings of Puvis de Cha
vannes, the present idol of the French
people. or rather of French artists.
There are two portraits by j. W. Alex
ander, who seems to me better artist
than Sargent. though he cannot be
compared with him his style is so un-
like. He has the deIicacy of Whistler
with something more satisfying and fin
ished in the quality Of his work. Mr..
Alexander. who is a young american,
showed five or six portraits in last years
exhibit in Chicago at the art institute,
where they were much admired. His
is worth a comment. He
paints on canvas OF very coarse weave
and he lays on his color very thin. rare
ly mixing two colors on his palette. To
this method is partly due the simplicity
OF his effects and the flower freshness of
his colors. He is a painters painter
While his pictures hung in the gallery
in Chicago they were surrounded by
group of young art students excitedly
his effects and his method az