The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-08

for the men Of blood and iron. His various
presentments OF Bismarck and Moltke and
portraits Of men with features stern or
strong are wonderful in their way, and he
knew just when to leave of.
This method 10 not suited to every
body, and what you see in many portraits
is an unsuccessful attempt to suit the sitter
TO the method. The artist would supply
the sitter with a character.
Attempting to present women as almond
eyed and f%ateful, he often made them only
meretrioious.
In his great power there was a strange
morbid element, and in this he appears at
times to have revelled. There are GER
tain Lenbach portraits which make SEN
.sitive people feel as though there blew
upon them a cold wind from q charmed
house. His view of life was not sympa-
thetic.
OF the marvellously industrious Mcneil
master draughtsman, one must say that his
view Of life was prosaic. Now most Of us
do not need al artist to tell US that life Is
prosaio. However well or poorly We may
say 1t, we are already painfully aware Of 1t,
and Would wish him rather to persuade US
for a little time to forget the fact.
Bocklin asks US to forget. He takes US
into a world Of his own, constructed largely
out OF Italian Landscape and peopled with
NEUROLOGICAL and legendary creatures, CEN
taurs, fawns, nymphs, dragons, sea snakes,
t~ritons, mermaids. His conceptions are
highly poetic, but their rendering is apt to
be somewhat too realistic. Naturally it
presupposss both an exceptionally power
full lima gination and great technical ability
to be able TO present such subjects in a
convincing manner.
The fact Ia, however, that you do not quite
want to be convinced. Much Of the value
of these legendary creatures, existent chiefly
them, and in their pictorial presentment
you would wish something of this to be
preserved. Had Carriere, for example,
painted such subjects there would have been
the needful reserve; but Bocklin planks
them down in the full light Of day.
Nevertheless this is Of it's kim a notable
achievement, and one can.well understand
the popularity of B6cklin's work In Ger
many, where the landscape Is dotted so
thickly with sanitariums and statues of
Germania. and. peopled SO largely with
soldiers and police.
After all It is not the fault Of the Father
land that this particular child, the late
Arnold Bocklin, chanoed to be born in Swift
zerland and to spend most Of his life In
Italy; and II his present vogue was pre-
ceded by the bitterest ~antagonism, Ii 1t not
atoned for by the fact that II you now want
any kind Of little painting by B6cklin you
must pay something like $40, 900 for it1
OF course Bocklin's best pictures are not
shown here, and II one may judge from the
newspaper notices, the London critics have
never heard Of them. Here he Is represented
by a "PietA" and by the sGefilde der Sell
gen. both lent by the Berlin National
Gallery; and everybody familiar with the
artists work.knows that these are not thor
oughly typical.
He spoiled the fine "Pieta' by introducing
q group OF angels, these being memory
portraits Of his. own dead children; and In
the other picture he encountered certain
technical difficulties which necessitated
either sacrificing q happily painted back
ground or exaggerating the force and color
ing of some foreground figures. He chose
the latter. course. The Londoners take
these figures as typical Of B6oklin.
These three artists have many followers.
Carl Mari, professor In Munich and born
In Milwaukee, sometimes shows a good
deal Of Lenbach influence, but 1t exists
more strongly and less happily in the work
Of Leo Samberger, also a Munich pro-
lessor. Nest German painters appear to
be professors. Few appear to a k to heart
the old couplet:
Professor werden ist NIGHT schwer.
Professor sein dagegen sehr.
To follow Mcneil is still more difficult,
because Of his amazing technical accom-
plishment, not obtrusive in any particular
direction. Mcneil was probably the first
painter Of the peasant as he ia, and in this
he was followed by the late Wilhelm Leibl,
who, however, finally developed a more
sympathetic style. Considered as painting,
the head Of this Artists young Peasant
lent by the Berlin National Gallery, is
beautiful work.
Bocklin is initiated by a host Of painters,
one of the most famous being Franz Won
Stuck. Just what Stick might remain IL all
the Bocklin were subtracted is difficult to
estimate, but 1t would apparently be a very
little one In the way Of individuality. He
-vulgarizes Bocklin. dealing largely with the
passions OF B0cklin's world, the crimes,
murders, rapes that might have happened
therein.
Some time ago he painted the death
struggle Of two oentaurs for the possession
of a woman. Now he shows another Fight
for the Woman, y the combatants being "
primitive hairy men,. The woman stands
by, waiting the issue. .
The three nude figures are bestial, and
the scene is gloomy n~ight-quite appro-
pirate to the subject. in fact the whole thing
is in keeping and painted with considerable
realistic power. The picture is, necessarily.
loathsome.
This is, however. an effective method Of
calling attention to ones self, and that is
evidently what many Of the. artists are try
ing hardest to do. Whatever mannerisms
have lately distinguished groups Of painters
in other countries may be seen here, com
monty in an exaggerated form. THE same
lines Of goods, only rather better and much
cheaper. We are quite UP to date. Please
come to our shop"
Several individuals, Of course, have no
share in producing that general impression.