The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-04-01
NEW PICTURES UNVEILED
IN TELFAIR GALLERY
"AcropoIis at Athens and 'Campagna Near
Rome by Director Carl L. Brandt

ana sciences Director Cdfl II. pidllut
unveiled yesterday the two latest ad-
ditions to that splendid collection, the
"Acropols at Athens" and the
"Campagna, near Rome" large can
vases, marked by artistic conception
and execution and painted by Mr..
Brandt from studies made at Athens
and Rome during his last visit to the
East.
The occasion of the unwilling was
the spring reception of the academy,
which lasted from IL until 2:SO o'clock.
Visitors began gathering at the open
ing hour, and when the pictures were
unveiled at noon not only the hall of
paintings was thronged, but the main
corridor, the hall Of statuary and the
cast rooms were filed.
The weather was beautiful and the
light in the gallery was almost per
feet for view of the paintings.
The yelled pictures were placed tenn
porarily on the west wall of the hall
of paintings, the picture of the
0ampagna on the right and
che Acropols on the left of the
Bridge of Life" The canvas of each
measures sixteen and one-half feet in
length by five and one-half feet in
hight, and filled the entire space.
The unwilling of each canvas was
accompanied by an address by Direct
or Brandt in which he explained the
location of the scene depicted and
gave n general sketch of it's history
and associations imbuing it with an
added interest. The pictures were
tainted for the panels in the hall of
statuary, a location peculiarly appro-
pirate for them as many of the statues
that grace that hall are copies of orig
inals found in the vicinity of the
Acropolis or on the Roman Campagna.
Director Brandt's Address.
A description of the paintings can
best be given in the words of Mr..
Brandts address;
Ladies and Gentlemen: 1t affords me
unbounded pleasure to greet you
said the director, and to have
this opportunity to thank you
for the manifest increase of interest
taken by you in the development and
growth of the Telfair Academy OF
Arts and Sciences, in which you have
given me your sympathy and the
Board of Managers their untiring sup
port
To make judicious collection Of
fine paintings for. public gallery Is
not an easy matter. The hrst con-
sideration of course, is that they must
be good art. and the higher the stand
they become The best sources, in
nv opinion to select from are the
great expositions and international
exhibitions held from time TO time IN
the foremost art centers IN Europe.
But even there one does not see many
really fine pictures. Great pictures
are rare. Galleries which ii has taken
centuries to form can not boast OF
them in large numbers. But because
it is difficult to obtain valuable works
and we'll nigh impossible when one
has but small purse, ii does not
follow that the Telfair Academy, with
its very limited resources, should not
aspire to have the best. The proof
that it can acquire them is right be-
fore us in this very gallery. Has it
not made commendable progress in a
short time. Therefore, is ii not COM
mendable to continue in the same oil
rectiOn pursued heretofore by the
management in the purchasing of pic
lures until at least the walls Of the
main gallery shall be filled with mas
terpieces of the painters art and so
make the academy shine always as
one of the brightest stars among the
galaxy of administrations now forming
everywhere in the United States.
At our last reception we unveiled
the picture of the monster Sphinx
rearing its head from the sand of the
Libyan Desert guarding the most stu
pendous monuments of ancient or
modern times and the charming
Bridge of Life" which is now fianked
by the new pictures to which you
have been invited to a first view to-
day.
Greek Picture Described.
The one on the left represents the
"Acropolis at Athens; that to the
right the "Campagna. near Rome"
l will endeavor to describe to you
briefly the objects of special
places of Greece and Italy,
which these two pictures re-
Gently painted by me, represent. In
leaving modern Athens and in
southerly direction you pass through
the Garden du Palais" to the new
stadion bridge which spans the river
Ilissos, and, crossing ii, we have be-
fore US the Stadion 600 feet long), the
scene of the Panathenaen games, laid
out by Lycurgus of Sparta and at a
later period embellished by Herodes
Atticus by putting in rows of seats of
white marble, accommodating $4,000
spectators, which almost exhausted
the quarries of Pentelicon. We now
turn to west and follow the riverbed
of the Ilssos, in which there is water
only when Vt rains and ascending to
an emihence on Mount Hymettos, still
famous for its fragrant honey as of
yore although it comes now from Tour
ky Nouni and other parts of Attica,
we will rest on a projecting rock, turn
our eyes to the north and the scene
depicted on this canvas is before you.
Here Mr.. Brandt removed the veil,
after a pause while the visitors pressed
closer, toward the wall of the gallery,
continued, describing the scene:
The Picture Unveiled.
In the center, in it's almost unblem-
ished white Pentelicon marble the inn
posing Parthenon, or rather, what is
left of it crowns the Acropolis, a per-
feet monument of ancient art.
To appreciate truly the great beauty
in this architectural wonder one must
be on the spot to see it and with the
knowledge of art attained by long ex-
perience it's perfect proportions and
magnificent form fill the soul with
deep reverence for the genius who
conceived and carried to completion
such perfection, never excelled.
OF the plastic ornamentation of this
temple by the immortal Phidias
enough has been preserved in the stu