New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-02-21
THE CHRONICLE OF ARTS
EXHIBITIONS AND OTHER TOPICS.
a NOTE ON THE MODERN DUTCH SCHOOL WITH
SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MIR. PREYERs COL
LEcTIoN-PICTCREs BY MR.. J. ALDEN

| LEcTIoN-PICTURES BY MR.. J. ALDEN
wEIR-oTHER oNE-MAN SHOWS.
| The pictures at the American Art Galleries which
are to be sold for Mr.. Preyer next week remind us
I anew OF the unique position which Holland hoids
among the nations IN matters OF art she reaches
high level; she ranks. indeed. among the hrst
yet she IL the most conventional OF all the SCHOOLS
A very good test of her resources is offered by
these canyases from the Holland art galleries
The present not only well filled as 10
the wall space. but they contain thoroughly rep
! resontatve collection. The chief names OF mou-
crn Holland are here. and the examples OF thelr
work are characteristics. Now. in order to see now
true IL is that the Dutchmen all paint more or less
alike let the visitor walk In leisurey way throush
this collection. and then. looking back at II IN MS
memory. try TO detach this picture or tnat ito"
the rest II is possible without much effort In a
/ few rare cases. For the rest no single master
stands out by himself. This Is the more curious
] when it Is remembered that they are undoubtedly
masters. that their work has indubltabe strength
| why Is II. then. that they so resemble one an
! other? Chiefly, should say because OF the IN
sularity which distinguishes the painters down TO
the very of their art.
Some Dutch artists travel Perhaps they are all
i'm the habit Of moving beyond the limits of their
native land from time 10 time. ard possibly they
are acquainted with the art OF other countries
But We have no grounds for this assumption
Mauve. Israels. Ter Meulen Kever Valkenberg,
/ the whole company. seem to have lived always be-
side their beloved bikes and farms. to have aimed
, ALWAYS at the same effect. II IL an erect Wnlch
speaks of a generally sombre environment and oil a
generally pensiye even melancholic, point or view
Holland has its of climatic gadness. az IT
were when the fields and gardens are gay win
color when the sky is blue and the sun brilliant;
| but a gray note dominates the land most OF the
time and II is not often that the painters care 10
| indulge in a reaction against It's subduing innu-
IA, mo .rnrV hoy We
they leave the exploitation of vivacious. sparkling
| Holland to foreigners like George Hitchcock
Sometimes this seems regrett3ble enough Ihere
! was a spring landscape by Mauve in the crosby
collection. sold only short time ago. which showed
how delightfully."- "A Dutchman could treat bright
| and lovely subject when he tired But that they
seldom try IS In the long run accepted as less dis
! Amounting than might be expected. What they do
they do so well that ii is really unreasonable to ask
them to do anything else on their own ground
| they are nimltabe. Their themes are the dalIy
! Incidents Of Dutch rural life the farmer follow
ing his plough. the peasant At his evening meal,
his wife working about the fireplace or FEEDING her
children the shepherd bringing the sheep or cat
tie home Add to this brief list the varying phases
| of Dutch landscape the biloyy dunes or the quiet
woods and placid canals. and you have the theatre
of Dutch art spread to its uttermcst There Is no
drama or, If there is any such thing 1t Is studied
I'm its most pathetic and restrained aspect. Or
| fGCf.
panters OF Holland. Josef sr3es is the great eX-
emplar of IT, In all his large pictures here exhio-
tied there is in it's very essence, that quiet almost
! painfully brooding sentiment which has occupied
all his colleagues
The executive methods OF these painters are as
simple as their emotions. They are the pre-emnent
tonalists of modern art extracting from few full.
rich notes of svery gray and green, with tehder
blues occasionally added, depth and a beauty
which no other school can claim in quite the same
measure Their style is invariably synthetic. We
have rarely seen the work of Dutchmah VINO
cared for undue analysis. Generalizing with ease
and s,ireness seeking truth in breadth, and never
! in the precise rendering OF a single detail they
leave first and last impression of nature trans
| lated into bold washes of color MauYe could sepa-
rate the component parts of picture, observe each
one with exactitude and then fuse them all into
noble work of art. The splendid "flock OF Sheep
on the Dunes" which is his best canvas In this ex-
| hibton. is remarkably distinct in its outlines re-
| markedly well articuated with the whole scene
bathcd in revealing light He Is represented too. in
| the uppcr gallery, by a study of black and white
COW and calf which IS as lucidly drawn as though
It had come from the clever brush or farlsian
| draughtsman. But as a rule, the Dutchmen seem
TO feel their way toward structural truths, to draw
in great masses rather thar in the subtlees or con-
tours and surfaces Sometimes this makes their
work merely thick and spoty More often it gives
them a very great simplicity and charm. Add TO
their simplicity and attractive atmosphere OF the
Low Countries, that moist grayness which Is paral-
eled nowhere else In the world. and you nave
kind of picture which is never without certain
winning favor of rustic sweetness and domesticty
Mesdag who is not particularly well represented
here has sometimes caught note Of grandeur In
his sea pieces. But most OF the men care more for
n gentIer. more intimate. plane, and, restraining
their imaginative powers, If they have any. they
content themselves with disclosures OF the every
day humarza I'd side of their delightful land
Concerning the present collection there Is little to
be said I'm detail The modern Dutch pictures are
uniformly excellent and. as has been Indicated
above the ndividualities OF Bosboom. hsver the
Marfses, Roelofs. Posgenbeek and the rest are not
original enough to repay a critical differentiation
OF them The Italian pictures In the show are. on
the whole mediocre with the brittleness and shall
lowness which mark all but the best Southern art.
The Old masters not interesting. one small
sepia panel with several heads. attributed 10 Van
Dyck Is a prepossessing work OF minor sgnif-
canoe but. at any rate, tolerably Characteristic
The remaining antiques are more antique than
artistic valuable. All of these pictures are to be
sold this week at Chickering Hall. The auction
begins on Wednesday evening and closes on Friday.
A, the gallery of Boussod. Valadon & 60.
there are two little exhibitions, one devoted to work
by Mr. j. Alden Weir ana the Other TO qrqMmss ana
mas collected the pastes and oils executed at various
times during the last three or FOUR yearS ana ne
eyhihted before Taken together these productions
and for a period which We feel compelled 70 regard
as a period OF transition, though possibly Mr.. Wer
considers that he mas found his permanent meter
Since ne first adopted some Of the tenets OF the i'm
pressionists and cut loose from the Old conservative
methods which established his reputation nc has
been moving up and down the line without striking
exactly the effective should imagine-of which ne
has been in search. He has an Immense sincerity
and n delightful quality. No one of his contempt
rarles has moro obvious contempt for mere clever
ness or n more distinguished temperament. What
ever Mr.. Weir paints he makes interesting even
when the picture Is unsuccessful There Is LETT over
and above the specified success aimed at delicate
strain of feeling. peculiar note OF style, which i'm
peratively arrest attention But there IL still
thing lacking the power 10 fuse vagrant impress
siOns into organic wholes, the gift for rendering a
scene not merely the painter has IT, but with
the beauty In which must also nave been visible 10
him In a portrait like that of Captain Xalinsk"
the workmanship is adequate and the analysis u
searching There Is perfect atmosphere In the little
landscape called Fog. But these are exceptional