Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-06

|
| Meadows is a tender. impressionistic rem
derng more in the spirit of the Holland
painters. Along the Canar' is again an
| equally varied style of execution. showing
| in each brush stroke clear-cut definite pur
pose and in the whole careful dissection of
light and shade.
Though this is probably not a new paint
ing il is representative of his more recent
style, and. with Morning in Jamaica ana
| ''On the Shore of Yucca tan is the best of
his group. Mr.. Mcser. also is specially
well represented. Possibly. even in his in
| diVidual exhibitions. never Letter. lie
| shows a variety OF themes (nocturnes. cloud
effects and winter landscapes). the majority
| of which have been painted within the last
few years and must be numbered among
his most advanced accomplishments. Rain
| on the Mountains is a charact erist,c study
| of subtle atmospheric effect which is as
| charming as it is true, and his 'Mirrcr
| Lake at Sunset (No. 81 is for its pictorial
/ qualities and effect of light and air ex-
| tremCly notable well as attractive. One
of the peculiarly interesting features of the
exhibition is, indeed, a collection of little
! landsc apes which Mr. Moser contributes.
These about five by seven inches in d.
| mensicn. but they possess the breadth and
| completeness of works four times this size.
| Upper Ausable Lake" White Face Be
fore the Snow, Sentinel Range" and
| Mount McIntire' all little masterpieces.
| in the praise of which scarcely too much
can be said Mr.. Nichols has sent. besides
other interesting sketches. an autumn wood
| interior. a study OF lobstermen enveloped
| in characteristic Maine fog. which was
one of the most skiliful of his pictures
exhibited at Veerhoffs last fail, and pic
ture called The Last Clean" which was
painted only couple of weeks ago and
shows the red winter sunlight resting on
the tops of some sober evergrecns across
snow covered field. Miss Castle has sent
goodly collection OF flower paintings. A
panel of dogwood. charming study of
| bride roses in a blue vase and an equally
attractive cluster of yellow roses and
others These are all carefully rendered
definite and individual, but they possess
the real spirit of the flowers and pic
toriaf well decorative and realistic
| Miss Elsie George and Miss Clara r. Saun-
ders also have contributed very excellent
still life and floral studies. Miss Sands and
Miss Burdette have sent the only portrait
studies, Miss Sands contributing a sketch
| in pastelS of "Maranna," a young girl
wearing simple Unprecedented gown,
! which shows broad, spirited handling. and
! Miss Burdette a charcoal drawing of a
! young woman, which is inSistent with per
| sonaity and charm. Mr. Robert Coleman
! Child is represented by picture of an
| Ocean Tramp and a sketch of bit of
| swamp land near Gloucester, and Miss
! Jackson also sends some of her New Eng
| land summer studies. From first to last, in
| fact the standard has been well sustained
and will be found little lower than in the
| clubs annual shows. That this should be
| the case rebounds greatly to the credit of
the club and is at the same time a tacit
| compliment to the Washington public. The
| exhibition will continue all next week.
| The fourth of the series of monthly art
talks was given last Monday afternoon in
| the lecture room at the Corcoran school by
Mr. E. c. Messer, the director The sub
| ject was Realism" but at the outset the
lecturer explained the impossibility of con-
| sidering 1t divorced from idealism, of con-
| filming it within limited boundaries, and an
| nOunced his intention OF discussing it in an
| informal unconventional manner.
This, he said, is an age of realism-of
materialism. The progress made in the
| last century was not made in art or ltera- |
ture. but in mechanics and the sciences. |
| But from the signs of the times he is now
| led to believe that we are today on the
verge of another art epoch, period
| of activity. One of these signs. Mr. Messer |
said, the rapidity with which art or |
| CARNATIONS coming into existence in |
| the various small towns and cities; another |
| is the increasing number of art schools and |
students, and a third the awakening of in |
| terest the part of the general public as |
| reflected by the daily press and current |
| periodicals. How this movement |
| would take form when it would material |
| ize Mr.. Messer said he could not even con |
! lecture, but because it was coming it be- |
| hooVed the student to look around and ask
himself what the various phases of art
| meant.
| Turning then more directly to his subject |
| Mr.. Messer cited as leaders of the so-called |
| ''Realsts' the pre-Raphaelites. who sought |
| to reproduce Nature by perfectly initiating |
| the little details. He described Holman |
| Hunts famous picture The Shadow of the |
! Cross and explained how the artist had |
! tried to be realistic and where he had |
| failed. How he had initiated with infinite |
| truth the smallest shaving but had, in the |
/ midst of these, forgotten the deeper, under |
/ lying truth which should have permeated |
! the whole. These men, he insisted did not |
realize the limitations of art They felt |
| that with the ChrOmatic scale reaching |
| from white to black they should be able to |
reproduce the glorious harmonies of nature. |
| which was in itself abSurdly prepoSter-
! Gus as for man to suppose that he could
with harmonican reproduce symphony |
rendered on an organ. There was, how
| over, he said, another class of painters who |
recognized these limitations and endeavored !
| only to render, through the medium of art, |
nature it appeared-its spirit not its |
| fact. Corot was one of these-a painter |
who painted, not the separate leaves, or the
! Irregularities in the bark, or even the single
trees, but rather the impression of the |
whole. And if one OF these little pictures |
| by it's truth reproduced in the observer the |
| reverent joy the painter had felt when he !
| Transcribed it, not that painting, Mr.. |
Messer asked, real than the one |
| which in this part or that merely deceived |
| for an instant the eye? All that is best in |
| art must, he said, have its inspiration, if |
not its counterpart. in reality. but the mas |
| ter painters-the poet-painters and not the |
| the title of realiStS
There is now exhibition in the Veer- |
| hoff Gallery a collection of thrty-five wa |
! ter colors of flowers from California gar !
dens by Paul de Longpre. which admirably |
| illustrates Mr.. Messer's meaning. No !
| painter has probably even initiated flowers !
| more closely than Mr.. de Longpre. yet |
| nothing could be more unreal than are |
some of his paintings. Take for example |
"A Bouquet of Carnations (No 49,. or La |
| France Roses (No. 2D, in both each indi- !
vidual flower is well nigh perfectly painted, |
but collectively they poorly related. |
There are no lost outlines, softening !
shadows and the result is of botanical t
exactness, but not pictorial effect. The ,
flowers are beautiful to look upon, but are |
as spiritless though they had been orig !
inally made of paper. This is not true of |
all the paintings in this collection, how |
ever. Blossom in Spring, of dali |
sizes and buttercups, Matilda Peoples and |