The record-union., 1899-05-07

don Post: The collection of the cher
works of the great Flemish painter
from the Van Dyck exhibition when is
TO be held shortly in Antwerp is a task
Which, in view of the many pictures
Which Van Dyck painted in the course
OF his travels abroad, presents many
difficulties
l have already referred to the re-
quests which King Leopold has address
ed to Queen Victoria and the Emperor
of Russia for the loan of the pictures IN
their majesties' possession.
Compliance with these requests VIII,
of course, be of the utmost value to the
exhibition, but it will not complete II.
The organizing committee of the exn-
hilton is casting wistful glances at the
Van Dyck portraits in the National Gal
lery and other works from the masters
brush which are in private collections
in Great Britain.
With the object of taking steps to Sc
cure for the exhibition as many of these
works as possible. three members of
the organizing committee recently Wis
tied England. These men have now re-
! turned to Antwerp, and they express
great satisfaction with the result of
their journey. One of them tells me,
, however, that it is impossible to say
whether any particular picture will be
lsnt or net, as the negotiations have not
yet been concluded.
Their journey has had the result of
bringing into existence a London COM
mittee, the object of which will be to
further the aims of the exhibition in ev
cry possible way.
a similar committee is already at
work in italy. 1t sends favorable re-
ports regarding the dispatch of pictures
from Rome, Genoa and Naples.
Another important point in connection
with the organizing of the exhibition
is the collection of the works of Van
Dyck which are in the possession of the
churches. For the proper carrying out
of this part of the committees duties
subcommittee have been formed in
various parts of Belgium and other
countries
1t is estimated that the exhibition will
comprise about 200 pictures. Negotia-
lions have already been opened for the
insuring of this valuable collection.
Marie Bashkirtseff, the remarkable
Russian artist, who died at the early
age of 20, has just had a singlar mem
orial erected to her in Paris. 1t takes
the form of a hotel in the Rue de Pro-
my, a marvel of taste and comfort. It
was formally opened and occupied the
other day 1t contains among it's at
fractions number of paintings, the
work of Marie Bashkirtseff, taken from
the walls of the superb studio which she
founded for herself on the Quai Mala-
quais.
Paris correspondence of the London
standard: A F'renchman named Boy
er d'Agen, who is the author of a work
ON Lourdes, discovered a curious bronze.
medal among a number of old coins for
sale in a curiosity shop at Rome. He
bought it for 10 confines, because he
thought he discovered on it Hebrew
characters dating back to the primitive
times of the Christian era On close
examination it has been declared that
it bears the effigy of Jesus. The por-
trait is a profile, with the head slight
ly inclined forward. The forehead is
high, the nose rather long, slightly
pointed at the tip; the mustaches are
slightly marked, and the beard is
pointed. AS for the hair, it is long and
curly. The physiognomy, taken as a
Whole, cannot be called regular but it
is extremely fascinating. On returning
to Paris with his purchase NJ Boyer
d'Agen showed the medal to numerous
numismatiSts, who pronounced it to be
at least of tha greatest antiquity,
though, of course, it would have been
too much to expect they should guar
antee its authenticity. The Hebrew
inscription it bears on the reverse,
translat ted into English is, THE Mes
siah, the King, Will come in peace. He
IS the light of men, incarnate and liv-
ing. Replicas of this medal, in bronze
and silver, are being struck.
The two Sevres vases recently present.
ed by NJ. Cambon in behalf of the late
President of the French Republic, Fee
Iix Faure, in commemoration of the
opening of the Franco-American cable
between Cape Cod and Brest, in Au-
gust of last year, have been placed on
either side of the large windows on
the south side of the White House,
and continue to attract the attention of
the public. The vases, of Sevres blue,
which, with the pedestals, stand eight
feet from the floor, are without doubt
the handaomest specimens from that
great factory to be seen ON this side
of the water. They belong to the
Government and not to the President
as has been published, and will be a
permanent decoration of the White
House. The President is never allowed
ia accept gifts OF this character ex-
cept by special Act of Congress The
ceremonies of presentation We're i'm
posing, and the speeches exchanged
on that occasion between M. Cambon
and the President most happy
Rodin, the sculptor, whose statue of
Balzac was rejected by the Societe des
Gems de Lettres last year, has applied
to the 1900 exhibition authorities for
space for a separate display of his
works. He is now at work on bust
or talguiere, whose Balzac statue was
accepted instead of his.
Rave you ever seen Luder, the sculp-
LOT lie Is a quaint personality, Gothic
Z an pnlid, the pillar of the Albrecht
Durer Verein visionary and unmer-
cenary. one of the few fanatics that
our art can claim. esteem him very
hlgnly- HIS work shows an abundance
OF idea that is rarely met with, and
decorative feeling and practical con-
ceptlon, reminding one strongly of the
great writers of the German romantic
scnooi or Observation-Disclosures Tieck,
fougue and others-that is at times
GENEROUS moreover, he is not ashamed
TO- be an artist artisan l have seen
andIrons, candlesticks and other useful
domestic articles mada bv b;,o tho +