The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-08
,pr or THE F.ATHERLAND.
e.,msn Ideals. Early and Modern. a. IL
,,.,rsted In Three Lor don Exhibitions.

taafPltc0 III III hfV' NSth
,oxpos. June 2s.-For long the art OF the
r.,hsrland, especially in graphic and plastic
l.odes OF expression, has been cruelty
n.sl.cted in other parts OF tho civilized
p'a,,d and particularly has this been the
w. among affiliated peoplSs. 1t is not 30
In that they have looked upon II coldly
~ that they have not looked upon 1t at all.
Tbsv have simply ignored it, and for long
~ rstherland has felt rather sore about
the matter.
coolest, most negleotful most disdain-
ul. most scandalously ignorant Of German
~ and artists, has been Great Britain. 1t
, true that America has made some amends,
h,t thew are not altogether satisfactory.
last year America bought from Germany
nictures to the value Of rather more than
ssoo 900, but most of them came from
Munich, Bavaria; and how should that con
sole Berlin, Prussia?
Moreover, America has q great German
nopulation, 80 1t il possible that the Father
lands pictures were, after all, bought in,
"a II were, by the family. That's how 1t Is
when you are feeling sore; everything is
vanity and vexation Of spirit.
II still remains to be said that h
Great Britain failed In was not merely APP
mediation, but reciprocity. The Father
hnd has bought British pictures for years
and years.
Now, however, Great Britain is trying to
Re- GOOD. Three exhibitions Of German art
may be seen in London at the present time.
There is also one Of Austrian art, and what
is Austria but a name?
r-.-I n.,to;A &, .oall,r lninn tho thinn
handsomely, II rather late. or course 1t In
absurd for near relatives to be standoffish
and snappy. Perhaps affairs will mend.
Let us be warily affable. Hoch!
The exhibition most interesting to connois-
seurs, but least so to the general public,
isthat Of early German art at the Burlington
Fine Arts Club. The club is an association
OF connoisseurs and collectors, and their
exhibitions, consisting Of objects lent, are
organized solely for their artistic interest
and have nothing to do with commercial
purposes.
The objects now shown, pictures, draw
mrs, Nominations and works Of the jeweller,
goldsmith and the wood carver, are mainly
Of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
About the beginning Of that time there
began to be a German art, q departure In q
realistic direction from the types Of late
Gothic art. The many German schools
Of painters, each having its centre in some
town, and often differing widely, had 80
much in common that they then began
to replace the type, the generic present.
ment, by the portrayal Of individual human
beings.
Later the early Germans fell under for
eign influences, largely Italian, but not
before they had shown the way to the great
Dutchmen Of the seventeenth century.
You have only to look at the work Of Adam
Elsheimer. who died in 1920, to understand
how greatly he Influenced Rembrandt, born
In 1907.
Earlier figures; the great ones; were
Durer, Holbein and Lucas Cranaoh; but
Holbein and his immediate followers are
not represented in this exhibition. The
two others are well represented.
Most Of the paintings are either portraits
or pictures of q religious kind, and 1t is
curious to note how often it happens that
the name Of come able artist who produced
many existing pictures IL unknown. His
works are recognized by their ikenesses
to one another. much as you might say OF
many letters that they were in the same
handwriting and yet not know who wrote
them.
Then the unknown painter Is called after
his best work. Here. forexample, n Of the
most remarkable pictures Is a Deposition
From the Cross" by the Master Of the st.
Bartholomew Altar OF pictures recognized
Is being his work, about a dozen in all,
the most notable Is the st. Bartholomew
sltarpieoe, a triptyoh, now at Munich, and
from this he gets his name
1t can furthermore be said with certainty
that he was working from 1890 to 1915 and
that he was one of the greatest personalities
Of the famous Cologne school A certain
DR.. Peter Rinck paid him as much Is $50
gold gulden for the st. Thomas altar triptych,
now in the Cologne Museum. Doubtless he
also went to the Netherlands, for one Of
his pictures is largely a copy Of a work by
Roger van der Weyden, 10 in Berlin, but
then in Middelburg.
This Deposition from the Cross lent
by the Hon, Edward Wood from the Temple
Newsam Collection, is a composition OF
nine figures. painted on a gold background.
Two men on a ladder let down the body Of
Christ from the Cross. and Joseph Of Arima-
tutd TtCclNcb rs u Nh6ihp SuPpoAUO'
by st. John, and a Holy Woman are on the
left, while on the right are Mary Magdalen
and another Holy Woman.
All these figures are remarkable for the
energy of their Characterization, the
realistic expression of grief, the tears that
rain from their eyes, and they are more than
remarkable for their costumes, presumably
an exaggeration OF the height OF con-
temporary fashion. Take, as instance.
Mary Magdalen, who presses her hand to
her head in a paroxysm Of grief.
Her dress, infinitely painted, Is Of scarlet
and gold brocade, her mantle Of rich green.
her head dress Of Hlmy lace, her shoes Of
crimson. Her bodice is cut low and jewels
border the hem of her robe. Pearls are In
her red hair, and a pearl pendant hangs at
her neck.
The other figures are hardly less gay in
their attire, and the effect Of h pale,
drawn figure OF the dead Christ mong all
these brilliant costumes is extraordinary.
on course, however you are conscious Of a
oertainlack, not OF ability, but Of fine taste.
You may say that it was long ago, -four
centuries, and that the standard OF taste
cha npas Vet Uhon WIN cOnn tn the