New-York tribune., 1902-04-17


fckleness in matters of taste wnlGn en- the the mo-
fashion, can do all this and more For aiIt for
ment, indeed, all art is in fashlon- <hehoxes n
pictures porcelain. furniture or s slI1t 90,
is almost as indispensable for social success = - ,.
as was knowledge of wines ana hol seo - ar-
forefathers- But within the DOMAIN u ,o-oes Of
fashion reigns supreme. The arust it,. ~,
one age will be treated with scant Fespeo' pL - ~
the picture lovers of the next FOR t His
rnent the cry is Velazquez, RernpraIu'' To-
on the other hand and on the other Ihe .adnai
and Flemish Primitives. over whose g. ~
discovery and differentiation not - 4ore-
critics have great repulalloIis- .,rni1o
fathers oyerpersladed by Reynolds s mas. ~,
quence and the grandiose taste OF men me- Laie
exalted Guido Reni. the Carraci anu t -. r,oeters
host Of decadent irnftators of the great rnaStet"
to the mace of honor in public and priVale sai.
leries alike In an age deeply pi1leh - sa.I
newly revived craze for classicism ana lolilelt
beauty a fine Claude sold IN the auCI shu
for as many guineas as it now conliilaua a - -e+
lings while Halls. who in those days hau nv. i,e
arrived" possessed little or no naIhe' .oxt
One age ali for fdealized form and sen'iIhent IT,
mistakes the blight Of pseudo-h aS S,,,t,,,e
the Sublime. The next enanaoureo oL 49,. N u fts
seeking after truth of effect even thoush III -
1oce nieasinp esnects bows before the mooelh
French masters. And the saieroorl IL - tte 30 or
ometer which fiuctuates with every cn nv
fashion The famous Femme fNelltdt, -
VelazGuez now in the Wallace colleclloh on - @
dispersal of the Bonaparte pictures IS 80
to have fetched the sum OF tol ItnHsars at
1youId doubtless be dozen eager purchase - a.
from fI5 900 10 10000. Similarly, II may t W.
be doubted whether the Greuzes loI iiS No cen-
which Lord Hertford in the mludle oI t sotah
tury paid thousands Of pounds, Wouiu NV .,,,ar
ANYTHING like these sums under the , mann -
Again, the newly recovered 6alhsD9l Don ousii' -
which originally f56. and then, in 1870 the @ re-
ord price of 10 100 guineas, was PAID mas NJ -
been bought by Mr. j. Pierpont MORGAN Ioi ,S1S
price it is said, Of $4,000 The RECORD " 1SSo
bad already been frequentiy ~, nHt ~, 1874 the
Define Reynolds 1900 guineas in lSoo me tM0 o0
great Peel Van Dycks no less Ina.i -,
guneas and in 1901 Hoppners Lady Malhei'
s14752
II must be admitted, too. that another and
even more powerful class has sometimes sloopeu
n AID and abet the less reputable dealers IN
their market Vaccinations The art crluc oMss n:
a duty the public as we'll as TO hlIlsea , ffiS he
proper functions are well enough ueiiiieu y
custom and common sense Never has ne ~ peen
more powerful for good or evil than al a tline
like the present. when the growing colpieAIlS
Of the subject he claims to have made his own
places il quite beyond the grasp OF the OF
binary lover Of art. His is kind or sacreo
offce-commanding confidence only so long aS II
retains its reputation for disintereStedhess anu
courage. And 1t is therefore the more 10 pe
regretted that the functions of critic and deaier
have tended Of late TO become soneWHal - IN
fused Each profession is necessary, but thelT
combination in and the same lnolNiuudI
unnecessary, but peIncious to both EVen tneIF
alliance for mutual gain is unholy one Inc
critic who uses the influence TO which his tenn
perar reut and industry entitIe him to procure
customers for himself the group Of dealers
with whom he works disentitles him 70 the
name he bears. Where he formerly &ulCeu' iie
dictates. Commissions accepted py inc
critic from dealers or owners anxious 10 parI
with their treasures have a sinister influence
the principles which the critic mas peeh
wont to preach And where he IS hlInselI puStI
and seller, well as adviser, his admiration IS
apt TO coincide suspciously with the character
Of his stock in trade. This perhaps accounts
for the intense appreciation lavished by recent
art criticism on mediocrity, especially in paint
ing. canvas Of little beauty and (to the un-
prejudiced eye doubtful authenticity has but
to find one Jealous advocate among the critcs'
and the scepticism of the honest can do little to
maintain a fair price. 1t may be objected that
there is such thing a fair price for
work Of art, but that price may be a grossly
unfair one there be manner OF doubt,
and obtained from purchaser who has
confidence in the presumed disinterestedness
Of the critics advice is an unfair price. The
point, of course, raises the much disputed ques-
tion of secret commission though in this case
there is surely less ground than ever to defend
such practice. Even the critic would not dare
to maintain that the masterpice he has Justly
praised and taught others to delight in ceases.
when it comes to buying or selling to be more
than a piece Of highly merchantable canvas.
Unfortunately, the critics who do not disdain
TO accept secret semi-secret commission
upon transactions effected through their media
ton come to stoop TO more specious forms of
encouraging business. 1t is easy to discover
new artists whose works and names of
equal unimportance, and to introduce them with
the flourish of an illustrated monograph to a
credulous public. And if the obscurity of name
and fame be too great for this, cannot the name
OF some well known master be corrupted into
more unfamiliar form, suggesting, indeed, both
what is recognized and admired, but adding
flavor Of what is original and rare? Nor does 1t
demand much more than experience and in
genuity to trace influence through acci-
dental and superficial resenbances, supported
by references to some obscure and faded mas
terpiece," which only the most modern methods
of criticism could ever have unearthed Finally
some trivial peculiarty of the new found god
is exalted to the dignity of a fundamental prin-
ciple of all great art. And the privileged pur-
chaser goes on his way rejoicing. Fictitious at
tribuuons and fancy names cannot indeed de-
ceive the professional dealer IN Paris. Berlin or
ErlrOpean
ieries, but America is the chief market for this
class of wares and. once safely ensconced in the
New World. they are secure for the time being
The remarkable rise in the price of all works
OF art has had some resrettable results Not
the least important of these is the number OF
forger1es 1t has called into being. The favorite
objects of the forger are perhaps pictures
bronZes and gold and silver work and in each
OF these branches the most astounding results
have been achieved The forger employees highly
skilled artists and craftsmen and makes use of
ali the modern discoveries of chemistry. The
manufacture OF old masters has lately taken
more subtle forms 1t Is no longer enough To
add or alter signature or date. or to reproduce
what already exists with absolute accuracy of
tone and color The modern forger proceeds to
work with consummate skill upon an old panel
from which time has removed all but a few
traces of paint The foundation, with the cracks
and assures that age has wrought and what re-
mains Of the original pictures he carefully pre-
serves, and on them he builds UP work in the
style Of some early Florentine or Fleming Then
by the aid Of varnishes and glaZes he knows
how to give in few hours the effect of centuries
OF ort ana wear Slena and venice are
tributing extensively TO the production of these
works, portraits being the subjects most af-
fected, the comparative simplicity of the Rem
aissance portrait head lending itself peculiarly
We'll for this purpose Old Renaissance frames
and Anconas are forged. especially in Siena
with equal skill. and panel and frame are sent
out into the world either to fetch huge price
from some rich collector or public museum or
at the worst. If luck be against them. to be
snatched up by less experienced purchaser for
what he considers mere trife. Nor are these
forgeries confined to works Of the Italian schools.
The marvellous limitations of famous Flemish
a,d Dz1+oh ar+ic