Evening journal., 1897-01-06
STUDENTS FRIEND.
A DEALER IN cOLORS IN THE LATIN
QUARTER OF PARIS.

Much 20 Vi. holhets Love OF Aft anu
l5enevoIence-Th Popular suppers Given
In His Little shop.
If an art student Of the Latin Quarter
knows not NJ Foinet, that student is
but a humble creature, pitifully new 70
the republic of painters. And who Is
Foinet? He has a little shop in al an
cient winding street of the old quarter
the Rue Notre Dame de Champs, and
there keeps colors for the accommoda-
tion Of impecunious painters. 1t is lit
tie shop truly, with q bandbox of a sale /
a manger just behind the minute salon
and living rooms above, but many a
/ celebrity laid the foundation for his
fame in the pigments oheerily furnished |
| by Foinet. Now G3, good nature and
the wholesome reflection of his benevo-
lence from the fancies of thousand
friends have kept this marchand de
couleurs TO the appearance Of 40. His
yOuthfulness remarked, "Ah, he says,
with twinkle of his kindly blue eyes,
cit keeps one in good color to deal IN
good colorsp As ne deals only in the
best of colors, ''thoso fit for the making
of masterpieces, it is quite in keeping
that he should have the rosy freshness
that reddish hair and mustache compile
ment, and which seem to belong only TO
the glow of vigor still in flower.
Having had twoscore years Of ex-
perienoe in the trade that'is so closely
akin to art, Foinet has more the charao-
ter Of an artist than Of a tradesman, and
q glance around the walls Of his costly
establishment betrays who are his
friends among those who have "ar-
rived +" Here are pieces by Dataille, by
Bonnat, by Jean Paul Laurens, by Ca
rolus- Duran, by Cazin, by Geri Melchers,
by Chretien, by Paul Steck by Yongind
twhose little pieces have sold for as
much as 5000 and 1000 francs each
since his death), the original of Frago
nard's "La Balancoire, evidences
, enough Of Foinet's intimate relations
o with artists who, famous afterward,
G have been indebted TO the man Of oolors
{ for many sustaining kindness.
! A veritable patron, Msecenas of points,
, it is necessary that Foinet be we'll TO Go,
: and well TO do he is, and with the means
y to crafty his benevolence he has also
!. the taste to minister comfort to the re-
% fined appetite Foinets little suppers il
n the shop are as celebrated as Foinet him
al self, and to be hidden to one Of them il
a mark of distinction-an honor th'
j. ambitious youth covets, a courtesy th'
most successful esteems. The supper
are served in tho shop, and wines O
IL. -t.,t fr,I Ipfflnu
:. with cellar mold. are so literally dis
T. pensed that sobriety at the end Of th
id evening is accounted an insult TO th
{. host. Bacchus is the presiding deit
H. ever, and when his votaries revolve int
70 the salon where coffee is poured it Is nc
~ permitted that one of them be able pei
or fe,tly TO declare how many candles al
o. burning. Yet woe to the culprit vh
" has so weak head that be RIOTS in hi
cups. Foinet valGos him and his pro-
poets not jot. Men who have it in thei
to "arrive' will not slander good VIII
~ - by playing the fool under it, is Foinet
or opinion.
Ii If carefully watched young paintC
us suddenly gets we'll hung OF capture
ID somewhere a medal, the color merchan
nv lHQlAIlI ONtL llt Reinforcement E4f'n va
ne of these notable suppers in honor Of b
nu protege, and the result is much the san
W ~ as when Beau Brummel made a ma
by taking his arm for a walk i'll tf
Mall. The supper is the confession
faith-Foinet's intimation that he b
in lieves the painter has, to all intents an
est purposes, ''arrived, though he says OF
The requires 10 years in which really 90
en- arrive" What phrase that isl Ho
'OO significant And what a vast force
~ ~, has in the French world of art and le
,,t ters "He III arrive No higher oompl
lis ment may be spoken by master of pupi
the "He has arrived" " The crown is on b
head. And so Foinet, who has seen
many men "arrive" and knows by a SO
of mastery intuition who is likely
~, sS' "arrive, " has that superb patience al
nm, that unwavering confidence which a
Ime necessary to make either "a great geni
the or a noble creditor.
the Let any student with talent only as
grain Of mustard seed and with it be
est perseverance go to Foinet, and t
NJ, ruby faced patron will trust him till I
80 light goes out of the moon or floods IL
MS the painters atelier. Indeed, Foinet
lata as little in love with sensitive debt
as he is with too temperate banquet
Be it understood that more than o
art student in the Quarter Latin wou
find it impossible to pursue his on
i'e' studies were it not for the philanthrol
D.. Foinet, who gives them credit moi
w. after month for their paints and has
grace of soul not to impose upon tn
Is to the martyrdom of debt. Paints are
600 pensive, and some students who hi
barely enough for bread would fare
der for working materials but Tor this 81
and pie hearted and genuine bienfaiteur
the old fashioned street near the Ii
rob embourg. That this frank generosity
aeo' not ignobly betrayed may be infer
"' from the fact Of the dealers compa
ono tive opulencc. Nevertheless be y
rted shake his head in compassionate sadn
User as he says: "There are too many /