The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-04-11

WASHINGTON, April 3.-Hubert
Vos, the famous Dutch artist, who, by
the way, is now an American citizen,
having taken out his naturalization
papers year or two ago, is in Pekin,
China, and will soon leave for Korea,
in pursuit of native types of beauty.
His purpose is to paint series of
portraits, representing the purest and
most beautiful examples of the abort
ginal races that can be found, and he
has resolved to devote his life to that
work. He began with the North Anne
rican Indians and painted portraits Of
| several warriors and women among
the Sioux of North Dakota at DEVILS
Lake and Standing Rock agencies, and
| of the Pueblo and desert Indians of the
southwest. He next went to the Ha-
waiian Islands. He is now in China,
| and goes thence to Korea and Japan,
| In a recent letter Mr.. Vos speaks
| with great enthusiasm of his success.
! He says that while for centuries great
| painters have tried to establish a type
| of the Caucasian race, no one ever be-
! fore attempted to reproduce the 9TH
! err races, except occasionally where a
wandering artist picked up a model
on the streets and intensified the plct-
| ure to emphasize its difference from
the European conventional type. 81
have found beauty as well as intelli
| gence in every country | have visited,
he says. land they offer a new ana n
fascinating study to painters who are
now wandering from museum to muse
UNI, and exhibition to exhibition, re-
peating the same subject in a more or
! less fantastic way
"To get pure type, devoid of per-
sonal individuality" he says, II have
often had to select a model between
the ages of 10 and Is. The lower class
es are less reliable as they are apt to
be of mixed blood, and exposure, hard
work and poverty have roughened
and coarsened them, as is the case
with our own race. In Djirjakarta |
was fortunate enough to secure sittings
from Prince Bueminto, brother of the
sultan, and, although barefooted, We
found him graced with charming cour-
tesy, courtly manners and fine tastes
The wife of the regent is my female
type.
Il have just finished the portrait OF
a young Chinese boy. l am told thai
, he represents the purest form of his
great race. l had great difficulty in
getting a Chinese lady to sit for me
but at last secured the consent OF a
, beautiful young woman from 500
Chow, where all the prettiest girls are
found.
In India l got fine types of the Sikh
Kahttack and Punjab natives Beside!
securing portraits of men and women
, | I have been able in several countrlc!
, to increase the value of my collection
\ by pictures representing the native in
dustres and general character of TIL
J population, as for instance in Hawai-
l made a large picture of a fisherman
emptying a basket of fish upon a table
e. In the collection We're fifty-tiVe Varie
ties of fish, which in those waters ar
marvels of color and form, and fur
i nish the chief article of food for tn
Hawaiians."
Mr.. Vos has offered his collection O
native types for exhibition n the Amerl
can section of fine arts at the Pari
exposition. He has already about thin
~ distinct types and expects to be abb
to increase it to fifty or sixty With
the next year, before it will be neces
sary to send the collection to Paris
He will not be able, however, to go be
yond Asia.