Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-02
ART NOTES.

By inheritance, Mr.. Charles schlaar of
this city has, within the past twelve months,
come into the possession Of two old and eX-
ceedingly valuable Oil paintings. One Is a
! representation of the Worship Of the Wise
| Men," an event which will be solemnly
commemorated on Wednesday next in all
| the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches
| In Christendom, and the other is a picture
of the Bishop st. Uric, the patron saint of
| Augsburg, and the martyred queen, st.
Afra, who for heresy was burned to death
in 1920. The first Is by Lucas van Leyden,
| who lived between the years 1894 and 1888,
and was not only personal friend of AL
brecht Durer, but the leading Dutch painter
Of that period. The second was painted by
| Hans Burkmair, a German contemporary,
who was the founder of the famous Augs-
burg school, to which the Holbeins belong
ed, and whose work also Influenced by
that of Durer. In the Metropolitan Museum
in New York there are two paintings by Luz
| cas- van Leyden, one a small painting in
oils, which is fairly representative, and the
other work in gouache, which is so poorly
preserved that its chief value is it's anthem
ITCHY, but of Hans Burkmair's painting
| this, 1t is believed, is the only example in
America.
| To understand or appreciate these paint
ings one must have some knowledge of the
| time in which they were executed, and pos
sibly have seen and studied contemporary
works, for, approached in the light of mod
ern realism, they are in their imagery al
| most grotesque, and in their composition
impossible. They are, however, in a way
| more realistic than even the works of the
| pre-Raphaelite painters, for each tiniest de-
| tall is perfectly expressed, and in color, har-
mony and tone it would be safe to say that
| put lew, II any, modern paintings equal
| them.
The picture of the 1.-The Epiphany" which
ls painted on an oak panel three feet one
| inch in height by two feet four inches in
width, shows in the foreground stable
such as was customarily found in Holland
| at that time, built of stone and wood, with
peaked, pyramidal roof, made of poles, COW
cred with skins and divided into two sec
I tons, the one for the animals, the other
for the hay and grain. In front of the sta
bic. to the right-hand side OF the picture,
| the virgin 1s seen seated with the infant
Christ on her lap, before whom the donor
| OF the painting is kneeling in reverent ador-
| alton. Behind the donor are the three wise
men, each bearing his precious gift. The
flrst, gold and jewels on a metal salver;
| the second myrrh, in richly wrought yes-
sci. and the third, incense, in silver cell
| ser In the doorway Of the barn other
| worsh1pers are seen looking out in curious
interest, and on the roof Of the stable two
| or the shepherds have secured positions
OF vantage, while through a barred win
dow to the right third is peering upon
the scene. Behind the building an elaborate
| landscape has been painted in dull brown
tones, after the fashion of that time A
road is seen winding over hill and dale I'M
| III 1t finally reaches the town of Bethlehem,
| which occupies the top of the panel and
| presents the appearance of a Dutch forti-
| ned city. On this road, away off to the
left, hunting party is seen, and farther
| on, to the right, is the wise mems caravan
II was customary in those days for the
persons who gave a painting to a church or
| religious institution to have his portrait.
and sometimes those of his whole family
| included in the composition, for the same
| reason that other generous people today
| have memorial tablets placed on their gifts
or their names attached to the Institutions
| winch they endow, and, therefore, the
prominence which has been given to the
unknown stranger in this goodly company
IS not to be wondered at, nor is it odd
that the character of the people and of the
whole scene have been nodded after and
| IN accordance with the artists surround
| lngs. Indeed, this very fact alone is of
peculiar interest inasmuch as it signifies
| tndt this is one of van Leydens earliest
WORKS. The detail in this picture is remark
| able. Each face is painted with the pre-
| clslon or a miniature, and the robes and
| ornaments of the wise men are exquisiteIy
rendered. One of the wise men wears a
| cape, on which is pictured the sacrifice of
lamb and the alteration of king; on
the forehead of another sparlSles a bril-
| liant diamond, and at the Christ Childs
feet have been laid a jeweled helmet, on
| winch are allegorical figures, and golden
ornament representing Abraham sacrificing
Isaac And yet the picture as a whole is q
unit; each part and object Is but a piece
| OF the whole, and reveals it's perfection and
beauty only upon careful inspection
The Burkmair painting is larger, but a
simpler composition. The bishop and the
queen are seen standing on balcony of
elaborate architectural design overlooking
valley, beyond which is q castle and a
range of blue high-peaked mountains The
bishop with dark visage, stands to one
htc
| hand and the Holy Book and a fish in thu,
right; whereas facing him on the opposite
side stands the poor queen, clad as becomes
a NOBLE lady. clinging to a trunk of a tree
which has been riven by lightning, intro
duced by the painter doubtless as a symbol
of her death. Nothing could, perhaps, be
more unlovely. yet technically it is a Won
derful performance. The colors are beaI1ti-
full and the details marvelously rendered
Much gold has been used in this painting
and 1T Is as bright today as when it was
trst laid on Both of these paintings are,
in TACT, in splendid state of preserva ton
and give better idea of the power and
skill of the early painters than many of
the works which are to be found in public
museums.
The history of both these pajntines is
interesting, and adds to their value The
nrst, by van Leyden, was brought to south
Germany, probably as booty, during the
Spanlsh-Netherlands wars and from 1922 to
1907 was in the possession of the old no.
BILE Alsatian family de Reinach Werlh,"
whose last descendant, Baron Ferdinand de
Reinach Werth, a knight of ST. Johu pre-
sented 1t to Francis Schlaar (the grand
father of Mr.. Charles Schlaar), a counsellor.
at-law In Freiburg. in the Breisgan, "in
grateful acknowledgment of the many and
important services which the former had
rendered him for which all payment had
been declined. The second, by Burkmair,
was owned by the bishop of Constance,
francis Charles de Fugger, a member Of
the celebrated Augsburg family, who in the
year 1865 presented it to Philip Jacob Stey-
rer, abbot of the convent of ST. Peter in the
Black Forest The abbot died in the wear
1I9o and the painting came into the pos
session of his successor, Ignatius Specke
to whom, when the convent was sccuiarized
in 1906 by the government of Baden, Fran
els Schlaar, the counsellor-at-law, gave a
place in his home, and by whom he
was bequeathed the painting as token of
the abbots esteem and gratitude. That
these paintings are not in a public gallery
is, in measure, to be regretted, but it
must be added that the present owner is
most generous in his willingness TO share
them with all who he knows to DE genuinely
| interested, and is ever ready TO exhibit