Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-07

time in his studio, he had underestimated
as perhaps had some of his patrons their
effectiveness and strength 1t is quit (,
possible in the glamour of a moment to =
critically carried off ones feet but as tn a
DAYS go by those who have the sobarcst
Judgment are more and more convinced
that these paintings. which are now on
exhibition. are indeed the works of a
great artist-a man OF veracity. yet with
visions. and the capability of commanding
his tools. The pictures which Mr. Weyl
exhibits are charming in composition.
good In color and appealing in sentiment.
Technically they are we'll randered-tha
brush work. while free and direct. is made
suoservient to the effect, and from first
70 last the values have been we'll sus-
tanned But there is some thing more than
good painting here: there is poetry-the
painter has turned interpreter and mad
patent to all that beauty which has been
manifested to him. Not with self-con-
scious superiority. but frank comradeship.
In manner both unaffected and sincere.
Mr. Weyl has painted sanely and we'll.
HIS landscapes possess that relation to
the universal which alone insures endur-
ing merit. And yet how simple they are.
Broad stretches of marshland laid next
a broader stretch Of sky-a clump Of
wfnd-blown trees on a bare hillside-a
vista through some trees-nothing in it
self imposing, nothing complex or extraor-
binary, just few facts frankly set forth
which in themselves have deep sig
nifcance. 1t is because Mr. Weyl has
felt these things himself that he has been
able to interpret them sympathetically.
Passing slowly around the hemicycle hall
one can not fail to be impressed by the
evenness in merit OF the exhibits and by
the genuine individuality of the painter.
each canvas comes up to a high standard
and none Is found in the slightest sense
Initiative. In all the skies find especially
admirable treatment, and in not a few
moonlight is particularly well represe nted
Perhaps the most mastery Of the can
vases are those which set forth the SIM
plest themes, for they depend for grace
solely upon their power of dramatic in
depreciation. And yet 1t is hard to choose
The marshland pictures are no more
charming than the rich autumn scenes.
and they In turn are not more lovely than
the woodland vistas-in fact one Of the
most important of all Is none Of these, but
representation of sleepy. full moon ris-
ing above some broad rolling fields But
again attention should be called to the
peculiar type Of some of the sunsets pic
tured-rainy sunsets when through cur
tain Of cloud the sky Is suffused with
luminous color, more than one of which is
shown. Nor should Mr.. Weyls collection
of charcoal sketches pass without notice.
Because there was no room on the walls
after the paintings had been hung the
sketches were placed on the floor. They
are. however. an important part of the
exhibit, showing the study which goes
Into the finished work and the inherent
skill of the artist 1t has been truly said
that 1t takes a master to make a good
sketch. Mr.. Weyl has undoubtedly be IN
a prolific producer. for though the work
shown in this exhibition covers a period
OF more than score Of years. It does not
represent his entire output. He has ex-
ecuted many. many more pictures than
are included in this catalogue, and no
special effort was made to select for this
exhibition choice examples. +. What is
shown Is representative of what 1he has
done-not the best or the worst, but the
average. Perhaps no other landscape
painter in this country could at the pres
ent time get together such a showing,
and certainly none has ever made bet
ter display. The exhibition will continue
tomorrow afternoon. Monday, Tuesday
and Wednesday, closing at 4 pm. on the
18th.
On the evening of the following Satur-
day. a week from tonight. a memorial
exhibition of the works in sculpture by
the late Edward Kemeys will be opened
in the hemicycle hall. This, too. it is
thought, will prove an event of unusual
interest. Mr.. Kemeys was undoubtedly
the foremost American sculptor Of ami
mails and by many he has been compared
more than favorably with Barge. He
was not the technician that Barge was.
but he knew his animals better. and he
possessed to a marked degree the power
Of plastic conception. The lions in front
Of the Art Institute of Chicago are his
work as well as the still Hunt" in Cen
trail Park, New York, and the wolves"
In Fairmont Park, Philadelphia. About
plaster casts are to be shown in this ex-
hfbtion and an effort will be made to set
them forth in fitting manner. Sculpture
Is always hard to exhibit, owing to the
difficulty in handling. and on this ac-
count 1t is too little seen or understood.
This should prove, therefore, both a pleas
ant and helpful innovation.
X +
The relation between the sketch and the
finished picture was the subject of the
art Talk given Monday afternoon by
Mr.. Brooke at the Corcoran Art School.
Feeling that the work Of the school in its
various departments had tended toward a
development of what was characterized
as pictorial consciousness Mr. Brooke
emphasized the importance of the idea or
conception. which must ultimately make
its own use Of academic data. He said
that the old masters were something more
than painters-they were artists and con-
sidered themselves as such. Their pic
conception; never the exercise of craft
alone. The contemporary critics, he OBJ
served, made practically no mention of
technique, but confined their criticisms to
the domain of conception. He insisted on
the relationship between idea and express
sion and showed that interest contining
itself to mere perfection of form led in
variably to degeneration. There was no
formula for converting a sketch into
picture, he assured the students. The
sketch, which he said, was merely the
first round Of the ladder, provides data
and serves to revive the original impulse
Mn which the real picture conception has
it's beginning. Exhibitions, Mr.. Brooke
declared, were valuable as stimulus, but
he pointed out the danger which they
afforded of borrowing another's ideas or
technique. From time to time he re-
ferred to Millet, In the course of his
talk" calling especial attention to the
twenty pictures of 1.-The Tower as an H.
lustration of a persistent effort to realize
fully an idea in art, to attain it's adequate
expression.
Women are proverbially more difficult
to portray than men, but children are
harder than either In fact in review
ing the art history Of the world it is
found that there are among acknowledged
masterpieces fewer child portraits than
any other. Velasauez's 'Infanta," Van
Dyck's Children of Charles T. and Gains
borough's Blue Boy come directly to
mind on account partly of their isolation.