The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1899-04-25
Why Freak Pictures Hang i'm
COrcOran Gallery.
THEY HAVE A HISTORICAL VALUE
Are Now Regarded as Mere Dsubs by the
Casual Spectator, but Contain Great In
terest to Students of Art-Some Of the
Lasting Treasures Of the Gallery in Oils,
Marble, and Bronze.

beautiful exterior OF the new Corcoran
Gallery, a lasting monument 10 the gen.
erosity and public spirit Of its founder,
and every tourist who visits the Capital
becomes acquainted with the interior and
the treasures il contains. But. strange 10
say, there is among the 'Old residents
of the city a strong disposition 10 decry
the collection as a whole. and 10 acknOwl-
edge their ignorance Of the pictures and
other works of art with a certain air of
superiority. And Yet within those stately
walls of white marble there IS much 10
repay a visit. whether one comes merely
as a lover of the beautiful or as a stu
dent OF history
Ii must be confessed that a hasty walk
through the rooms and a cursorv glance
at the pictures excites in the mind of the
visitor a feeling of surprise at the num-
Der of large Canvdses devoted ID very
painful or unpleasant subjects. end the
natural question arises, why suca ugly
and grewsOme pictures were ever bought,
and why they are considered worth pre-
serving and exhibiting to-day. Let us eX-
anime a few of these from the standpoint
of the student of the history OF art. and
we will see that In their day they had
great reputation and were digniaed BY in
ternational fame
Perhaps the worst picture, and there
fore the best example. will be found in the
colossal painting OF the Death of
Moses; the observer cannot restrain a
smile at the absurdity of the pink-robed
angels. with pea-green wings. who are
painfully attempting to raise the rigid
figure of the patriarch in the foreground;
the smile is however. quickly lost IN a
feeling of disgust when one realizes that
the figure on the left is meant 10 repre-
sent the Almighty. whose attitude and at
tributes are copied and enlarged from the
famous little picture by Raphael IN the
Pitt Palace. And yet this ugly and ri
diculOUs picture bears the name OF Caba-
mel. French artist. who half century
ago, had an international reputation,
whose paintings We're eagerly sought for,
and who, to quote a recent distinguished
writer upon art: Provided England and
American with those women, more or less
fully attired. who bore sometimes biblical
sometimes literary names: Delilah, the
Shulamite woman. Jephthah's daughter,
Ruth. lamar, Flora, Echo. Psyche. Hero
Cleopatra. Penelope Phaedra, Desdemona.
Fiammetta, Francesca da Rimini, Pia del
TOlomei-an endless procession. Bat the
only variety in this poetic sera2lio Jay in
the inscriptions on the labels: the way the
figures were represented was always the
same The Death of Moses" took the
first prize at the Paris Salon of 1852, and
also won medal in Rome the same year.
In fact, says Prof. Muther, Among all
the artists of the nineteenth century none
attained to so high degree in all those
honors which lie open TO a painter IN our
DAYS" He was the winner of the Grand
Prix de Rome, in lS4J, was awarded the
first medal at the Universal Exhibition Of
1855. and throughout his life was laden
with orders and offices and received the
tumultOus applause Of the public.
Change in Artistic TASTE.
The truth is that our tastes and our
standards of excellence have greatly
changed for the better since Cabanel ana
his contemporaries of the French school
went on their triumphant way. and this
picture and others OF the same type are
interesting and valuable as showing what
was thought admirable fifty years ago.
Another painful example OF the pervert-
ed taste and bad judgment of our fore
fathers may be seen in the large canvas
The Drought in Egg pit" by Jean Francois
Portaels, which was awarded a special
urize AT the exhibition at the Crystal Pal
ace, SydAnham, for the best picture Dy d
living artist, irrespective OF school or SUD-
Ject.
Tie CHASTITY picture OF the dead Caesar.
with his white robes all despatched Win
bIood hears the Justly celebrated name
of Gerome 1t is a finished study Tor MS
famous paintine The Death Of Caesar,
which was executed in lS57 and bought BY
the late John Taylor Johnston IL Is sal1
to have greatly dete-iOrated in color since
it was placed in the gallery. rms Is also
true of the dreary example OF me arr OF OF
Wurtemburg," which is a replica of the
signed canvas in the Louvre.
Louis Prou. a pupil OF Cabanel, was
PARTIAL to Satyrs as subject In the
( list of his works may be FOUND Inc r., RI
ucat ion of a Satyr'' and The First Mis-
erv of a Young Satyr, besides The
Family of Satyrs," by which he Is rep
resented i'm this gallery: the last-named
picture took the first prize at the Paris
Salon in 1874
some Popular Pictures.
Turning our attention TO pleasanter
subjects. IL is interesting 10 find In the
Corcoran Art Gallery the originals Of
rnanv familiar engrayings. Perhaps the
one best known is Church's Niagara.
PAINTED IN 1851 and exhibited throughout
The United States and Europe, taking
medal at the Paris Exposition OF 1851.
II was bought for the gallery at the sale
of the collection Of John Taylor Johnston
for sI2.5a The cOlOred reproduction Of
this picture was very popular In its day.
and may D. found in many American
! homes. Church painted two or three 9th
~ pictures of Niagara, from different
uoiuts of view. one CT these, painted
from the American side was bought a.
the sale OF the A. r. Stewart collection
BY Mr. John :. Kennedy. a native Of
Glasgow. and BY him presented to the
National Gallery of Scotland. where IL