Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-14

no less worthy or Characteristic. III
purpose Of neae w sst i0 soles msds
~ Bretherton. Str Joshua Reynolds ana
Durand Here also II The MIL" the
.LAndscape With the Square Tower an4
the Landscape With the Cottage and
Dutch Hay Barn." besides Skis Bridge
ana many others. They are wonderful
works. produced sometimes with a few
Impressive sincerity. They live a sense
81 nature'a majesty ana reproduce the II.
iusioR Of air and sunlight without being
pictorial they are pleasing
But after all. Rembrandt was first ana
last maker Of portraits-a reader OF hui
man nature. and no less did he show thie
N nis etching. than In his paintings. Bur.
eomaster SIX. Jean LATINA and ~Cfem.
sne de Jonghe" literally set forth the con-
summation OF his art. The first of these
men was Rembrandt's lifelong friend and
patron. and the last a picture dealer,
VINO early began collection OF his works.
II 10 impossible to give more than a gen.
eral idea OF this portion Of the exhihdtion
so varied Is II and so uncommonly compre-
hensiVe Each print is in an excellent state
OF preservation and in many instances they
are set forth In several states.
Attractive Reproductions.
The engraved reproductions which como
next in order. are almost equally attractive.
They are 1S4 In number and have been ar.
ranged according to Bodies catalogue The
originals are for the most part to be found
In foreign collections-in the leading mu-
seums of the world and In such noted pr.
yate collections az those OF Adolph Won
Carsten3en and Robert Won Mendelssohn Of
Berlin. Count Felix Nicolas Potocki.
Madame Acknowledgements and Baron DO
Rothschild Of Paris, DR.. Bredius of The
Hague, Count Sergei Stroganon of B.
Petersburg and the Earl of Derby. Duke of
Buccleugh. Earl Of Ellesmere and others
Of England. They have been engraved on
wood and copper, and reproduced by etch-
NaO -ktat,
ceeses by men who stand stood at the
head Of their profession. There are. for
example. reproductions by Jan PETER de
Frey. George F. Schmidt Jules Jacquemart,
Richard Houston, Charles Towniey. C. A.
Waltner. Leopold FlamenE and Timothy
Cole. In some cases a single work is repre-
sented by more than one reproduction: the
fateful, but most noted. Night Watch"
which is in the RiJk Museum of Amster-
dam. being engraved by both Cole and
FIameng. and the Rembrandt in a Wide
Cap" OF the buckingham palace, being
Transcribed by Harvey and Woodman. In
this way the skill of the engravers can be-
estimated as well as the great merit of the
painter. All are not satisfactory. but many
are remarkably fine. and collectively they
bear excellent testimony.
Three of the forty Observation-Disclosures
paintings by Rembrandt which are owned
in America are included in this CO lection
The "Gilder." belonging to Mr. Henry o.
Hayemeyer, the "Standard-o bearer. when
is the property Of Mr.. George ]. Gould. and
"A Warrior Putting on His Armor," In tho
collection of Mr.. Richard Mortimer. All or
these are in New York city.
Enormously Productive.
Rembrandt was a prolific producer. There
still exist $50 of his paintings, about 275 of
his etchings and nearly thousand OF his
drawings. not including the countless works
which are attributed to him but cannot be
authenticated Some say that he was aided
by his pupils but even so he was an lnde-
fatigable worker and an ardent lover OF
his art
Rounding out the present exhibition at
the Library Of Congress Is a series OF re-
productions Of Rembrandts drawings and
sketches made under the direction OF q
foreign publisher and edited by bppman'
Code Seymour Haden and other authorf-
ties They have been taken from the royal
print rooms in Berlin and Dresden from
the British Museum. the Stockholm Mu-
scum and private collections. Some are IN
red chalk, some In crayon but the MAJOR
ity have originally been done In pen and
ink, washed over with sepia or Indian INK.
Without exception they are dellghtful-the
stenographic notes of a master painter
clear definite and to the point, but deeply
significant and keenly artistic The fgures,
roughly drawn, are vital and indiViduai'
the landscapes, more thoughtfully set down,
are rcplete with poetic suggestion. surely.
though Rembrandt was a genius, he spared
no pains to perfect his art
In Amsterdam a great celebration is IN
progress at this time, and in all parts or
the world the Rembrandt tercentenary Is
being given note. The triumph, though
well deserved, is, in Its hardness. almost
pathetic.
True to Himself.
Rembrandt Harmensz van Ryn was the
son of a well-to miller who encouraged
him in the study of art. and as soon as
the lad could paint an acceptable portrait
ne had plenty of orders Up to the time
he was thrty-six he prospered, his patrons
were many, his home in Amsterdam was
very treasury of art, and his married. life
was of the happiest: then, in a single year,
he lost everything-his wife, his popular
ity and his riches. From his boyhood ne
had definite theories of his own-if he had
not he would have painted like other men
but when he contracted to paint. in 1642
the members of Capt. Banning Cocq's com
pany of civic guards for 1.6o0 fprius these
were not taken into the reckoning. In
stead of a group of portraits he produced
a picture-the famous Might Watch and
those who by chance were relegated for
pictorial purposes to the shadow were not
pleased. Objection was made, and argu-
ment followed. but the painter was OBJ
durate the picture could not be changed
Perhaps 1t WAS whispered, Rembrandt
was not much of painter as people had
supposed-certainly he was an obstinate,
disobliging fellow" Patrons drifted away
poverty stepped In, creditors seized his
goods Some of his friends were faithful
and his work brought him solace but for
twenty-seven years he lived a life of niorti-
fication, sorrow and neglect-and then, dy-
ing, left In actual money too little TO pay
for his simple funeral and narrow grave in
the old Wester Kerk yard.
Through all. however. he was true to
himself and to his ideals-he wasted his
means, but never his talent. He was q
master OF light and shade. magician with
the etching needle and a prophet with his
brush. No painted better por-
traits more perfectly understood the
possibilities of his art. To this the exhibit
ton at the Library of Congress gives both
emphasis and eloquent testimony.
LEILA MECHL1N.