The Hawaiian gazette., 1905-09-22
THREl NOTED
faEACHMEH DIE

PIE nave lOSl three very Famous, per-
haps even great, men. OF these, the
most profound was Elisee Reclus, phi
iosopher. geographer, and anarchist. He
wrote very many books on science, all
distinguished by a wonderful style. To
him more than to any other man the
anarchist movement owes its spread.
He was one OF a remarkably gifted
family, consisting of five brothers and
one sister. all of whom have made their
mark. on account OF his views, Reclus
was exiled from France, and spent
some time travelling In England, Ire
land, the United States. and South
America. While living in the United
States he married negress. During
the Commune, Reclus served against
the national troops. was captured, inn
prisoned, condemned to transportation
to a penal colony, and was only saved
from that fate by the petition Of
Charles Darwin and other scientific
men of Europe for the Communication of
the sentence. That the anarchistic
philosophy of reputation of all author
lily and all interference with the indi-
vidual will was very real with Reclus,
Is indicated by the fact that, to tr1
scandal of many of his friends, he pair
ed off his own daughters with the COM
panions they had chosen without any
formality of legal marriage. About
Reclus this curious anecdote has found
its way into print: "a friend. meeting
the aged geographer and anarchist one
day, was astonished to hear the COM
plant: L fear my wife is deceiving
me- To his friends wonderment, he
gave the particulars of his complaint
against the faithful companion of SO
many years: I suspect she puts meat
juice in my spinach!'
In the death of Jean Jacques Henner
pictorial art suffers a distinct loss. For
more than fifty years he had had q
studio in Paris near the Place Pigalle
and there he died, despite the fact that
| he was so proud of his Alsatian birth
| that "Alsatian Painter" is the title he
chose TO place beneath the portrait OF
himself In the Uffizi Gallery at Flor
ence. Henner's early wing was bold
and exact. He then, however, lacked
skill in color. Years passed and, IN
1868, he created a tremendous sensa-
ton with a nude on q black divan
which marked an era in his art. He
continued to paint these nudes, the
ivory flesh tints of which against rec
| flowing hair and black background!
were amazingly fascinating. Hennel
became known the world over. One O.
the most competent of Paris critic,
said of him In the obituary: "Hennei
painted the most beautiful things ir
which France has gloried for half 6
\ century," The trouble was that Hen
ner was Initiated and counterfeited sc
that the value of his pictures declined
He himself is said to have painted as
many as twelve copies of each of his
| pictures 80 there would be Henners
enough for the American market"
William Adolphe Bouguereau is an.
other famous French painter whose
ldeath occurred very recently. Many
of his canvasses are in this country
where he has had a popularity among
wealthy picture buyers. Bouguereay
was born in 1925, of poor parents, but
found an opportunity to study draw.
ing, received a prize at the local ar
school, at twenty-one became a pupi
of the famous Pere Picot, received the
Prix de Rome when he was twenty.
five, and was created Chevalier OF
the Legion of Honor in 1859. when he
was thirty-four. His position as presi.
dent of the Salon jury and professor
at the Atelier Julien made him very
powerful in the world of art. He was
an uncompromising antagonist of the
modern realistic and Impressions
schools. They returned his contempt
for their methods with interest-a con
tempt engendered aNd heightened b,
his enormous success. NJ. Bouguereau
in 1885, married an American girl, Mis-.
Lizzie Gardiner. of Exeter. N. H., on,
of his pupils. Owing to the objection:
of the artists mother the engagement
lasted twenty years. only terminating
in marriage on her death, aged ninety
one.-The Argonaut.