New-York tribune., 1900-12-23


great soul; he had keen intelligence and con-
summate skill but he lacked the inspired in
vention and the large executive power required
IN the creation Of say, a grand altar piece
He was like a poet who possessing culture and
art but none Of the divine FIRE is incapable of
mighty conceptions and could not write really
thrilling tragedy 10 save his life. However. it
would be mistake TO dwell at greater length
upon Van Dycks limitations as a painter Of
the Cruchxion or Of the Madonna We are not
even disposed TO spend any argument upon Mr.
Gusts rather too amiable attitude toward the
devotional canvases and the big allegorical COM
positions by his master. The portraits. as we
can never say too often are the thing. To the
making OF these Van Dyck brought unique
powers which were in him at his birth There
is a charming anecdote Of a visit he once paid
10 Frans Halls, at Haarlem, which Mr.. Gust
thus embodies in his narrative:
Houbraken tells how there came into the
studio Of the joVial Frans Halls a handsome
young man in silk and velvet Clothes with
plumed hat. gloves. and all the appearance Of
an elegant dandy and dilettante, which afforded
q great contrast 10 the careless and almost SLOW
eny habits OF Halls The young man hade Halls
10 make a portrait Of him as quick possible
for he had only a short time TO spare there
Within half hour Halls had sketched in one
u those marvellous sleight-Of-hand portraits
fer which he famous. Van Dyck on see
ing this. said in a languid tone OF voice that he
would like 10 Try in return TO make portrait
u HAS in short a time. Halls settled HIM
self rather amused at the situation, in a big
leather chair. and watched the young be-
SIR. AS he progressed Halls that the paint
ers hand was not that OF tEro, ana mat ne
was evidently no mere amateur. At last jump
ing from his chair. he rushed TO the easel and
seeing the portrait. cried out, You Nan
Dyck. for no one else could do a thing like
that" Upon which the two painters embraced
warmly.
Il is in just such posture as this, that in
Imagination, we behold the famous painter
Whether we are thinking Of him in the studio
- a fellow artist or working in more stately
Surroundings as Court painter to King Charles
u England, we think II him as nCnchalant, per
haps a little self-satisfed. but for all his ap-
p-arauce Of carelessness. using the authority Of
genius. The facility Of a painter whose brush
moves naturally and swiftly toward precision
and perfection-when il is not aiming at too
lofty an effect How facile he was one can
juige from the immense amount Of work that he
managed 10 produce. II is true that, like Ru-
Iens he had many helpers He would design
g picture or portrait, have ii executed 10y one
Of his pupils, then work over il a little and send
4, forth under his own name. We must deduct,
too from the great bulk Of work commonly at
triluted 10 Van Dyck the copies made by his
pupils and assistants; there are, also Of course,
many paintings scattered over Europe ana at
tributed 10 Van Dyck which he never saw. But
there is stin left an amazing quantity Of por-
traits which are Enthusiastically from his brush;
IN fact they could have come from no other
Mr.. Gust rightly points out that the artist re-
lied greatly formulas that in his portraits
you find the same pose, the same smile, the
same far off look in the eye. the same slender
hand the same arm akimbO on the hip, the
same foot raised step, Well as the same
ever recurring studio paraphernalia, the gold
hr0cade, or sometimes scarlet the curtain, the
imaginary coIonnade the sharp edge Of the
studio window, casting the face into kind Of
Silhouette against the light beyond, or fashioned
into the semblance Of an overhanging rock with
q Tretence Of rustic simplicity" But with a
man of Van Dycks calibre even the most con-
stanly used Of formulas is powerless 10 do any
serious harm. II does not matter that he re-
peated a pose since in the unity Of the portrait
1t always takes sufficiently subordinate place.