Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-04


lures But they are inland seas-mad,-up
seas-while HOmcr's Eight Bells j. th'
sea itself. IL represents a piece Of schooner,
with an old sailor taking the sun leaning
against the buiWarks. another sailor back
OF MN. and the sea coming up. II Is 50 Wet
ana salty that II would make YOU seasirk.
l, x. Ciark bought it. 50 II is said. for $50.
ana inc other day II was sold FOR 5000 M
public sale. Such picture would ma he
a real sensation In Paris
George lnness was much cracked up by
Benjamin Constant on his return nom
America
There will certainly b. something Of the
elder lnness at the Paris exposition re-
piled Mr.. Dewey. and H.. Is sprreciaf,1 al
hCme. Nevertheless. Il was T. II. Clarks
buying and working his pictures that made
him in America the great painter that he
was. l mention ii only ia show how much
the appreciation OF one man Of taste goes
FOR among our people
As Figure Painters.
What about our figure painters?" l
asked
"Thayer's Virgin Enthroued' is master
piece" he answered. Mr. Dewey f.. BY the
way. a portrait as well as landscape paint
er himself "Thayer's mothers are thor
ouGhly mother-like. and his children are
Ike real children. like children YOU know.
tie u not conventional. IL H. the same
with his heads-esch one has distinctive
character. In matter of form and beauty
OF color ThaNcr's heads are surpassed no.
where. 1 should think he would make
stir in Paris. So ought Dewiug's heads and
figures. He has had things I'm the salon
here IN Paris. and they were put in he'll
II Is true. But they were not his best and
l think he would be recognized now differ
entity
When you speak OF children being
real / asked, ARC the boys of Marie
Bashkirtsef real in that sensec'
No. They are typical, If you please.
but IN the sense of form. in power Of model
N FFNf - L. nal.
But perhaps our children and our peo-
pie in general look differently from the
French. Isn't that it?'
our Girls Graceful when Quist
That is true. An American girl. If she
stands quiet is naturally graceful But
the moment she moves she is conventional
French girl. on The other hand even in
her willful movements. remains kitterish
SO 10 say An American girl enters a
table q note restaurant. She is conscious
of herself. she holds her nose up in th,. air
and thinks of the Gibson girl. Tho Spanish
woman has a ply siuloEical curve 10 hrr.
spine mat makes "A natural Grecian bend
Ihat Is also true. l dare say Thayaf's
things would look foreign here because
the Poop he paints are different BUT il
Is not that alone His things are wei
drawn, well constructed and powerful
well modelled, beautiful in color and char
acier, well rendered. His pictures ar, per
Sona!iues. l can see 100 pictures Of heads
ana forget them all. But l cannot forget a
head OF Thayer's."
Then what X the distinction of Amari-
can figure painters
What they have is the sentiment Of per-
sonality.'
what about Tanner"
i have seen his pictures In the I.uxem-
bourg. He has nothing in common with
American painters. He Is difficult 10 place
,'t.t ne Is 50 new. He has not stood
long enough alone"
"Du Monde"
Standing the Test.
He is entirely French. The penple 7
am speaking Of have been away from Paris
long enough 10 get back their American
qualities A fellow comes back from
France and paints ripping old things. but
1t is really only the absorption Of things he
has seen in France. Then for two or three
Years ne paints nothing. He seems Co be
our OF II. " nat is he doing? He Is finding
nIniSeh. 1hen ne comes up again. original
test"
There are some strong criticisms II our
men. even IN England. that they have no
are only literary"
Yes. but the English criticisms on draw
ing are absurd. Take Titiau. His hands
are often too large for his heads. II is only
. dead-wood painter who sacrifices great
impressions for finCer-nails Even the
Venus of Milo has her head too small i'm
proportion with her body-ncbldy ever saw
such thing-but who is going TO criticiss
Take Brush. The French have nothing
Ike him now, with his mothers and chill
dren. He can be mentioned with Thayer
for his faces. The colorfng is fine Nou
won't see that coloring here The compost
ton is unique"
'Portraits2'
1t is a pity that Sargent cannot be in
Guided any longer among the Americans
What have The Americans in
traits that would make them noticed herer'
American Refinement.
"One thing Is their greater refinement.
You notice that even in the English paint
ers. There is less brutality in their por-
traits. 1t is not question Of finish at all.
Another characteristic of the best Ameti-
can portraits IS that they win bear looking
at The first impression is not the only
thing they have. They have depth OF
character thai comes from a search for
character deeper than that of the French
men. Sargent is the great example OF this,
even If his expressions are sometimes I'M
pleasant, as in the case of the daughter Of
Mrs who has never let IL be exhibited
But it was undoubtedly the girls real eN-
preston"
''ZCrn?"
Brutal. That is the distinction I am
making He painted Mrs. Jack Gardner
He painted Mrs. Potter Palmer aud made
her look as ii she had dynamite bomb in
her that was just exploding. But American
portrait painters receive 10 encouragement.
There are any number Of Americans having
portraits painted, but they are all done
through the dealers, by imported men, Mad
FARO and the rest. who paint horrible things
and smile they pocket the - per cent
the deal rs allow them. Carolus Duran
has painted many things unworthy Of him
ChBrtran got the commission to paint the
signing of The treaty Of peace, when we
have men who could do Il a thousand times
better Apart from his portrait Of the pope
and his wooden CarnOI, what has Chartran
done to gain him a European name?'
But the Americans who buy portraits
say that while American painters give
them good Ikenesses. they do not present
their subjects with chic"
FIatfery Tint Pays.
"I hardly think it So" unused the Amerl-
can painter. but IL may be that the Amer
lean people have not any of that chic them
selves, and that the American artists paint
them as they find them, while the French
men make them look like dukes and
duchesses. They 'foreignize' our worthy
matrons, to speak. They make them
chic, perhaps. Carolus Duran recently
painted a New York woman and her two
daughters a queen and two princesses.
Boldini who painted Comte Robert de Mon