Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-05-21
ART NOTES.

There was placed on exhibition. on We'd
nesday of this week. in the upper loan room
at the Corcoran Gallery, notably fine col
lection of paintings belonging to the Hon.
John F. Dryden United States senator
fIom New Jersey. The collec. ion consists
OF thirty-two canvases, the majority of
which are by masters of the modern French
school. 1t is such collection one would
expect to find in a frst-class public gat-
lery rather than in private house. As
whole it is exceedingly comprehensive, and
individually each canvas has been remark
ably wisely chosen. 1t is indeed, seldom, Il
ever. that one may see private collection
of paintings which is at the same time 50
valuable and so satisfactory. There are to-
day two kinds of picture buyers,-those who
purchase pictures because they please
them. and those who acquire them as they
would stocks and bonds as investments
The first of these generally get together
pictures of little artistic merit. the second
works with very little pictorial charm In
making his collection, however, Senator
Dryden has apparently kept both these
things in mind. for he has not only got
paintings by men of great renowh, but ne
has delightful examples of each when
represent the painters at their best; col
leCllOn WHICH WOulu Do pcCuIdiiy
for the adornment of home, yet one which
any museum or gallery might proudly pos
SeSS.
Beginning with the Barbizon school, there
is an intensely interesting, original canvas
by Millet, La Naissance du yeau,' which,
through reproductions, has become famlllar,
but which possesses a power ana IoIce
which no reproduction can ever perfectly
set forth. Like most of Millets pictures, IL
is homely scene-two farmers are carry
ing the newborn calf on litter toward
the shed. followed closely by the cow ana,
presumably, the farmers wife-yet IL Is run
of an alluring sentiment, an appeailns
touch of human nature, which, as mas peen
truly said, makes all the world AKIN II 10
curiously wrought; the drawing is rousn
the painting almost careless; the shed, wal
trees and other accessories naVe Dee s.no Ger
in what would today be termed poster
STYLE" with fiat colors and heavy outlines
but the result is eminently satlsiac'oi y.
The painter has told his story, ne has
handed down the sentiment Vi ,mofent
that which he saw, and that is suiilcie ~.
There was something admlraple III ' nHe
sturdy strength, the simple Elso ,
and the persistent originality OF NE ,,o,t,
panter-and to large eAtent ~. he r,ar-
and this work in particular renecls iii' Pc
sonality. ,,..,o canvas nv
In marked contrast Is a niue canvas ;e,9orS
Corot chat other great BarplZon p pa Ioft
which has been hung not iaI " tu Az
As the one sets forth humanity anu ~ tra
otbar shows the restful beauty OF aIuit
zach typifies the life of its paillt!el rr,;dSt
battling for an existence: he aim.
untoward conditions ITO ATTAIN -. ms a,nov
Corot far removed from the pei. 49,, m
onces Of financial oppression nvlhs u
tro,b1ad near to nature, genue, ioVIns 60
beloved. There is perhaps no p a,ttf
has been more initiated oI $3.50 him.
than Corot but that has not iLJ or The one
Lie, II rob such of his works as tie oile
i ,o +bis collection of their inherent teiiue
ness of sentiment and chal III. an extraor-
This collection can also poaet On 1'a canvas
ainarilv interesting Diaz, a large ea sdas9
uili q view in the far-fameo ioleo
Of Fontainebleau. DiaZ commonly pai, Ia
autumn landscapes, rich IN the ~, r,ia Int
browns which suggest nd goes
tbis is a midsummer landscape an e
enr toward showing that in the hahu VI a
master no subject is Impossible. 1t pic.us
a road leaving great FOREST ., "nu the
quite a section of the SKY IN t-teerf,,IIv
clea ring to the right. II Is pow -, i'
i+ad with some of the force OF Rous-
scan or Dupre, but it has at the saint 80
a finish which the works of these men VI an
lack In composition II IS peaut i ~ th 60 ,ba
color rich and strong. Here anu thet II.
light touches and illumines Tree luiih,
hut it is never forced nor aruhcIdI l a 70
an interpretat ton, rather than rep ou 49,
anpealingly natural In general enect IL -
biebIv decorative and some OF It's charIn Il
derived from it's pictorial quahty, put IL -,
aside from qualification, and beyond lhe
sum of it's virtues, masleiiS ps'inNe
a beautiful picture. u
Daubigny, too, is represented py d sIiaii
characteristic landscape-a view Oh low
land sky and water, Whlch is pictui esque
and cleyerly rendered, but less pleasing III
color than are this masters WORKS usudiy.
There is a picture of cows In pasture ny
Troyon and two landscapes by Jacque, III
which sheep have been prominently intro
6uced These last are so similar in size,
shane composition and tone as TO Suggest
a pair. and recall the days when 1t was the
ia shion to balance vases and pictures on
either side of the chimney place They are
both dark in tone and far from luminous,
but they give the real character OF the
sheep and manifest the fact that the
painter knew his subject well
Off to the left, almost to the end OF the
line. hangs a little picture by Cain which
is quite modern in feeling and extremely
charming in effect, and near IL hanSs
Mauve which is unquestionably one OF the
most attractive pictures In the entire col
lection. What it is that has made the
Dutch modern school popular Is summed up
in this single example which Is alone ad-
mirable enough to represent the art OF an
entire country. 1t is low in tone, simple In
composition and almost without color con-
trast yet it is full of light and air, poetry
and true feeling. Mauve and Corot were
alike impressionists, interpreting on can
vas the Impressions they themselves had
derived from nature, whereas Monet ana
the others of the so-called "impresSionist
school attempted by almost scientific means
to arrive at realism.
An excellent example of the work Of
Monet is included in this collection, and 1t
is specially interesting to be able to turn
to it from the work of the Dutch and the
French Barbizon painters. Claude Monet
and the other painters of the impressionist
school believed that as color is light in
decomposed form the juxtaposition on can
vas of the prismatic colors In proper pro-
portion would recompose into light again.
Light and air were the goals for which
they sacrificed even form and composition.
They painted everything in a high key;
they discarded dark shadows; they saw
glowing color where there was none to be
SEEN and they instituted a reign of terror
among their followers who had less capa-
bility than themselves, but they at the same
time did much good. For Claude Monet
and impressionism at It's best Dawn at
Antilles stands. In the foreground on a
bank stands row of blue-green, sparsely