New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-04-12
ART EXHIBITIONS.
Paintings and Studies By the Late
Robert Rluu.

r---- since the death - Robert Blum last June
-. hope has been entertained in divers quarters
.h,t a memorial exhibition OF his work might be
,--angec. such an exhibition has Just been opened
:. ne Knoodler Gallery and while II brings for
--s-d only about hundred paintings. studies.
,+e- colors pastels and etchlngs. II gives an ex-
,sus-t idea u the artists talent. he was yer
sarfe nan, who used three OF four mediums OF ex-
--sssion with equal facility. Perhaps he was a
',--ls too sacile. assiuiating TOO readily the in
s-i-atfcn 20 be found IN this or that modern
rairter and exploiting Il with too deft hand. He
could paint wei IN the manner Of Fortuny that
:, became natural fer him 20 10 So. Certain etch-
,nes OF his Ike "A Difficult Place" or This Hag"
might almost have been done by the Spanish mas
,,r himself. The Venetian water color called The
pumpkin Vendor vividly reminds rs OF a picture
r., Ludwig Passiri. seen many years ago. Two OF
.ha pencil drawings. Costume Study" and Colo
MA Dress" might have been executed by the late
n Kaemmerer. IN The Water Carrier. one
n he oil paintings. and IN several other examples
here. the Spanish artist Martin Rico il clearly
eehoa6. In short. II il impossible to approach
RUNS work without noticing how strongly he was
influenced ny certain other men. But 20 do this
Is AFTER all. simply 10 clear the ground He shook
Of those alien influences as time went especially
when ne visited Japan. and even in his earlier and
most derfvativs phase he had the sheer ability
which kceTs a man from sinking 70 The level -
mechanical irli'ator. There wEs deep fund OF
strength in him, he had taste as well as technique
ard though he never creative artist IN the
highest sense Of the phrase. he had way OF Civ
ing vitality and charm 20 everything he did.
He proved that emulation Of another artist is not
necessarily incompatible with kind OF originality
Take the group OF ten or twelve etchings shown
m this exhibition. Some OF them probably could
not have existed Il the etchines OF Fortuny had
not existed before them; yet in these very plates
.he touch s 50 free ana rrn. the line has such fe
rhat the work leaves IN the long run 4 wonderfully
.-esh Impression. II ere ~ the plates. The
Ficher" all question TO where Blum got his style
e forgotten. When he dealt with color he gave
his individuality freer play, and you take him. a.
2, were. on his own terms. granting that he may
have prohted by outside example, but enjoying him
none the less. This situation IS 70 be explained
rsrtlv by the fact that Blum had temperament OF
rs o--r and managed 10 make II shine through
whatever he was doing but possibly greater weight
% n he attached 70 his remarkable oexteri1y-
There IS no DENYING the fascination that ease and
rrecision ia workmanship exert in and for them
selves II we have nowadays small liking for what
IS known rs Academic perfection 4 Is because
that perfection is. rule. obviously trsceao4e
10 nerveess labor. When. as IN the case OF 4 man
like T-r-es TIE Acadenai-ian is also man OF gen
tus the perfection he gives Us is as delightful as
me perfection OF a Titan or A Rembrandt sim
Harlv mere cleverness is often IS weariscme as
the duIest nnedocrity. but when II Is raised 10 a
higher power. when artist uses his manual skill
A. really consummate fashion. We rejoice in him
sas-ite his limitations. Blum was phenomenaily
clever and could pax triiing impression on can
vas or paper with such dalntness and sureness as
70 give Il serious artistic value LOOK at ms
Venetian water colors or his japanese pastels.
Nothing could be more vivid more picturesque
-,ore vfvsriots Nothing may add. could speak
with more port Of an interesting personality The
-,a- who made these studies may not have de-
veloped style concusively his own. but he was 50
sincere ard handled his brushes with such author
.-v that he became the most delightful Of ecectcs
be
bits" which il vas 50 tempting 10 paint IN the
spir1t q Fortuuy and attacked larger motives. he
handed then with greater independence. Inc
Japanese street scene. called The Aneya, IS
rather confused IN its values-one feels that the
artist did not quite know how 20 fuse the elements
q his color scheme into absolutely homogene-
Gus chord-bur there is nothing OF Fortuny here.
We have, instead. painter Of native aptitude con
structing picturesque design. basing II on SOUND
s-aughrsmsnship. and modelling his forms with
feeling as well es with dexterity. Other canvases
OF BUNS not included in the present exhibition.
we remember As enforcing the point even more
clearly He rose 10 a stiu higher plane wren he
attacked the decorations IN NendelssOhE Hall the
studies for which are n this collection Indeed.
these decorations are not only admirable IN them
selves not only rch IN the Individuality which was
6 lvavz hidden n Blum's arr but show that II he
had lived and had devoted himself steadily 70
mural PAINTING ne would have ultimately made
his earlier echoes CT the Spanish school seem but
.he Youthful exercises OF a more than accom-
rlsbad man. The studies at Knoedler's show how
the needs Of his enterprise moved him - a wider
sweep called out greater force and dignity IN his
fi-e ALWAYS animated and fluent. as decorator
he .get himself go" and struck the boldest and
best note % his career Taking this collection as
whole SO FUN as x Is % elegance and sparkle OF
Knowledge and charm are impressed again
VIII q sense OF what American art lost when he
died Absorbed n his work. striving passionately
10 achieve hne results he won high rank. and he
vii be gratefully remembered
NOTES.