The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-02-09
HONOR TO
RUSSIAN ARTIST.
Vereschagin Allowed to Sketch
at the Nikko Temples.
MADE GUEST OF THE EMPEROR.

special Attention Shown to the
Painter, who Had q House Given
Him Close to One Of the Temples. !
All 1-rreasures Displayed and sacred
Rooms opened Up-sketching TouF
Cut Short.
The most interesting visitor to Japan
in 1903 recently. left It and admitted
that he was leaving in a hurry-forced
to cut short his visit by some months,
says Eliza r. Scidmore, the Tokyo cor
respondent Of the Chicago Tribune.
vassili vereschagin, the Russian paint
er, came by the Transsiberian road last
summer, unheralded and without os-
tentation, and went Immediately to
work sketching in the courts OF the
Nikko temples. With the usual hospi-
tality to visitors of such calling and
quality, the Japanese officials showed
every usual attention to the distin-
guished painter, and because of his ma
tionality We more was done for him.
Noblesse oblige.
Vereschagin was made the guest OF
| the emperor, a house was given hiIl
| close beside the Iyeyasu temple, n
the household department attached an
official to him during his stay to at
tend his movements and provide for
him in every way. q
The lord abbot opened up all the
treasures, all the inner and most sa-
cred rooms, brought forth costumes
and paraphernalia of festival times
and had acolytes and servitors pose for
him, and there never was such SYM
patty and mutual admiration as *
listed between Vereschagin n the
priestly community at Nikko for the
month that he remained there. That
charming, courtly and courteous man
Of the world, the polished b~ouleyardier
and big bearded cosmopolitan, appealed
to them strongly, disarmed them SO
completely by his friendliness, his
a%miability, his appreciation and, above
all, by his professional genius, that the
name of Russian was held in different
esteem in Nikko.
vereschagin remained in Nikko. for
a month, making a whole series OF
small sketches-small for Vereschagin
as we know his canvasses in great e.
hibitions-and taking voluminous notes
In small sketchbooks and in pencil
memoranda. He allowed no one to
see his canvas sketches and studies nor
to overlook him while he worked. Ev-
cry morning at daylight he went to
the temple courts and worked with
.-:eL ..4o,,4~oea ,,-%;1 thu hour for, od.
hitting visitors, when he dropped the
: palette and brushes and became a Wis
itor, too, roaming with notebook ant
guidebook in hand or studying ou'
some next viewpoint.
By 4 o'clock, when visitors had lef1
the temples, he set to work again an6
made the most of fading daylight, sun
T set glow and early moonlight. Now WI
may look for a great series OF paint
ings worthily declaring the SPLENDID
and picturesqueness of the Tokugaw;
shrines. pendants for his great serie
: Of paintings of Indian temples ant
central Asian mosques, paintings 81
y widely scattered now that n can onl.
see a considerable number of them to
gether in the Tretiakoff's gallery a
Moscow. t
Vereschagin was most interested i
. the ancient art of Japan-the architet
ture, the coloring, the landscape sci
e ting and the splendid interiors of Mix
- temples and palaces appealed to hin
> and the old pictures and statues, til
fine metal work captivated him entire
~ ".
&c In Kioto he worked as Industrious
: as at Nikko, but Japanese conservatisl
= and reverence for the :sanc1ity OF til
- imperial person could not be sufficien
- " overcome to permit him to paint tn
interior of the old palace there. III;
" palace and the MILO castle, where til
shoguns lived, he declared the me-
. splendid interiors he had SEEN, and
- made every argument to obtain lea
Y to sketch the gold walled rooms. wit
their flower panelef ceilings.
Other rooms there are in kioto nea
- " like to those of the palace, and tho'
-, he was free to work from, but tt
- home, the living rooms Of many sacre
emperors, could not be profaned.
- Vereschagin put no limit to h
~ praises Of the Japanese people, b
there can be no doubt that his inten
~ ed stay was cut short by the hostile a
titude Of his country. And the Jap
nese must have been greatly relieve
~ too, when he got away safely witho
any indignity being offered OF har
- lone by some crazy patriot.
Vereschagin avoided Tokyo and t
70 social life and all lionizing. He car
quietly, worked hard and went avn
after spending barely two months
the country he had long dreamed
err visiting ana Wnere ne nau intenueu
for pass, nearly a year.
He was among the japanese entire