The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-12
BoUTET De MoNvEL,s IDOL.
She Is the Virgin of Orleans, Jean
of Are.

oil are.
Paris, March 1.-De Monvel has two stu
dos; one in Paris in the Rue Val de
Grace, near a public school whose pupils
offer models perpetualy for the artist;
and the other at Nemours in his country
house on the edge of the Fontainebleau
forest. Here he has been all summer at
work upon the decorations for Domremy,
which are the most important things he
has ever done
Apart from the group of children who
unconsciously played so momentous a role
in the early life of Boutet, was another
child whom he revered and worshipped
the Virgin of Orleans Joan of Arc. His
passion for this heroine was quickened
by the constant "reminiscences of her in
his native town of Orleans.
Reviewing her career step by step, he
lived over and over again her brave deeds
and heroic acts, her simple convictions
and her cruel martyrdom, until he felt
believed and suffered as she had. And to
this love of her he has given expression
first in series of pictures accompanying
her story simply told for children; and
now in these mural decorations, built in
memory of Joan at Domremy, her birth
place. Great delicacy of feeling. an uner-
ring sense of color and harmony, knoWI-
edge of history, and, more than ell, a
love and appreciation of Jeanne dare,
have together made these frescoes charm
ing in composition, brilliant as decorations.
interesting as documents and mastery as
works of art.
The illustrations of her life, bound with
the story in slender volume, have made
the tour of the world, and the text has
been translated into English. The origi-
nal water colors for this work are for sale
in Paris at $1,000 for the series. Orleans
would have bought them long ago for her
museum, were it not for her tagging appre-
citation and somewhat skeptical estimation
| OF the heroine saint, due perhaps to a Turk
| ing faint of Anglo-Saxon in the town S
traditions.
Monster de Morvel has two sons, whose
portraits he has worked into the Dom
remy frescoes. after manner of the old
| Italian masters. Surrounded by various
members of his family, his home life is of
the genuine, admirable sort which must
yet appeal to French men of letters be-
| fore they portray it in such a way as to
| convince foreigners that all French so
| ciety is not as Bourget sees it. So united
are the De Monvel family that the father s
decision to visit America last winter was
greeted with protests; yet the artist per-
| sisted in his desire to see this country,
| whose people interest him so deeply, and
| to study and picture the American chill
| dren as he has the French.
| One afternoon when the plan was in dis
| cussion, a young American happened to
| call upon them at Nemours, expressed
| surprise at the quantity and beauty of
the roses and jasmine in the garden.
| Madam de Monvel, turning to her hus-
| band, exclaimed with conviction: you
see, they have no flowers in America
only think what a desert 1t must be-"
! Chance led De Monvel to the discovery
| OF mis- special genius Natural timidty
and reserve were augmented by the con-
ditions of life induced by poverty; cour-
age and fortitude were giving way to hun
ger and despair, when at last publisher
of children's books discovered Boutet de
| Monvel and commissioned him to Illus
trate a child's history of France.
81 painted children because they asked
me to-" he said. IT would have drawn
soldiers if they had ordered them" But
it is to be presumed that he would not
| have done them so well, for an uncon'
| scious influence had been early at worA
| upon his impresslonable mind, determine
| ing the nature of his future success. He
was the Oldest of a large family of chill
| dren; his constant companions in theii
| serious, as in their mirthful moments, In
| their games as in their studies, they made
uDon the sensitive artist mind impressions
| which later became pictures for the
worlds galleries, signed by the silent
thoughtful older brother Boutet de Mon
|