Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-03-25

SoHSe. haste ne sometimes
became theatrical or obscure; through
WEAKNESS his mind occasionally mis-
took the grandiloquent for the grand:
through sheer exhaustion his hand at
times tagged and ran to Intellectual
elIort. How could 1t be otherwise? He
painted over 1000 pictures, and they
could not all be of equal merit. Be-
sides. Rubens is not to be held strictly
accountable for every picture that
passes under his Nance. He had great
number of pupils who. in his latter
uays executed what he planned the
master designing only and leaying the
Duik of the work to the pupils 1t is
the pupil rather than the master that ia
seen TO be at fault. About the master
the marvel is and always will be. how
ne could do so much and do it so we'll.
hubens lives chiefly by his great
nural paintings. but he nevertheless
uiu other work of quality sufficient to
nave made any other man famous Be-
sues painting altar pieces and ceilings
,or .h@ church ana allegories for courts,
ne ana portraits for the individual and
landscapes to please himself. In all Of
tne'n ne showed the master mind and
hand. portrait was not a thing to he
treated in the same brilliant way as a
wall picture. and Rubens cared little
about II ana yet executed it In n mas
terlul Mariner. Animals Especially the
horse and the doG). and landscapes he
!oNcd TO paint for their truth of char
actcr ana even when he placed them
IN his large pictures he painted them
with great care. Every subject seemed
30 respond TO his genius. but his pre-
terence was for the great decorative
canvas 1t was we'll fitted to man
whose life and art can be expressed
with only one word and that word
"splendor"
Technically Rubens seems simpler
ana yet greater than any master of any
time. lie knew drawing. but at times
was faulty in 1t through haste or care
iessncSs Ills composition shows his
wonderful fertility III invention. for he
Seiuom repeated himself. Occasionally
ne borrowed from others. as in the
Descent which he frankly acknowl-
edged had been inspired by Volterra's
picture. He probably borrowed some
ming from Tintorctto and Giulio Ro-
n"no. but what he took was so slight
mat It has little weight in the final re-
S1it t,ubons had imagination enough
ei ms own and had no need to borrow.
just SO about his color. He knew the
tFe"t rctian pictures, but did not
."W N. His color schemes were
Hl,nIe' 't they were juxtapositions
HAl ~ rs of primary hues and
"e"ehC' accord and contrast for
NOR mi ny One marvcls often at
ihc result. drained 18th these simple
means. and yet tho 'ars of Rubens
aside from ;heir reini, taco. must no
considered as things narlable- in
themselves. No paint, tcr rot such
brilli0ncy out Of red, Ids. yelIows
and blues. They are airly radiant
with light and will maze The hucs of
any other GER look washed out by
contrast !.ash color alone he bafled
every one of his pupils. and no imitator
has ever been able to reproduce it's
likeness. Color, indeed. was his SUI
rremc feature. and his prodigal use OF
IL but confirms the feeling of his mas
terry over it,
His handling of the brush gives ono
the impression of great ease and IA
cI!ty. 20 are apt to think he i'm
proN!sc rected as he ran; but
hrthinS be further from the fact
LFe.Y 81 Of that brush was care
,uHy PLAN II and calmly executed.
1here waS nothing furious or headlonp
ABOUT The artist: everything was de-
ilper&te and done upon principle The
mana was trained to the last degree
and knew pigments and brushes bv
heart. Il swept across the canvas NJ.
zen producing with one stroke model
ms Igh and shade, color; but the
S"eep was always premcditated. not
'Cc'urh'ai There was no great loadinn
OF me paint upon the canvas. The
n'u7h was him. smooth. flowing, and
I
was the very best manner for preserv-
IlS h'llliancy of color. and that was
.n' hl!nters primary aim. AT the same
I'm" il was graceful handling. pleas
!hF ~ Itself 10" it's sense of power. and
one that has never been cxcelled in m.
history Of painting.
akIng tubcns for all in all we shall
not look upon his like again. The long
or we study his works the more we ad-
ilire MS intellectually. his imagina-
ION. his versatility. He was an artIst
OF prodiSious knowledge and capacity
colori.t Of wide range. constituencies
ana brilIiancy: IL tcchnician of vast
power and skill. Yet he was not in
himself solely respons Bile for his sue
cess He was the consurnmation of the
renaissance a the north A hundred
ye1Ll of painters had slaved and built
up That finally Rubens might triumph.
rue enough. ne expressed himself. but
n" was also the mouthpiece in art OF
ne whole Flemish people. The success
/ al the man was also the success of the
school. the age and the race.