Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1907-02-12
WATTERSON
ON ART
THE COLONEL VISITS MADRID
AND TALKS OF PICTURE
GALLARIES.

and Madrid, unlike that betwiXt
Dan and Beersheba. is, and very
decidedly "all barren"
You leave Barcelona at $50 o'clor<
in the evening and reach Madrid
at 1920 o'clock next day. There
Is fair sleeping car accommodation
The cost is exactly double that
charged by the Pullman Company
in the United States. Recalling tho
value OF the Pullman stock and the
millions of Pullman surplus, one
may surmise the enormous earnings
of the Compagne Generate des Wag-
ons-Lits of the European Continent
These earnings, however, do not
represent profits. Moro than half
of them go to a corruption found
for the purchase OF governmental
favors of one sort and another The
Wagns-Lits people piece it out with
n train of hotels. beginning with
the Elysee Palace, OF Paris, and ex-
tending to Rome. Vienna and Con-
stantinople, where they guess" the
size of the tourists purse and charge
him accordingly, much as they do
in Florida.
The best parts of Spain are very
like the worst parts of Flori la.
Looking from the car window as
one wakens a night out from Bar
celona on his way to Madrid, he
might fancy himself traversing the
bad lands of North Dakota; grav-
ell beds and stubble, with a glimpse
of far-away snow mountains such
as one begins TO descry as he APP
proaches the foothills of the Rock
les
Madrid itself sits upon an arid
plateau among the foothills of the
Guardamma. an ugly, half-built imi-
tation of Paris. There is little to
be seen here, or hereabouts, except
the Museum, with its rich deposits
of Murilloh, Valasquez and Goys.
and the Escurial with its not very
rich deposits of royal Philip II, OF
memory hated, or sainted, accord
ing to the theologic point of view.
Picture galleries, let me say a,
once, have never very much taken
my fancy. / rmember them for
the most part by the mile and ratio
them at their market value. Doubt
less the "old masters" were on to
their jobe They drew cientificany
l dare say. They had made clos
study Of nature and anatomy IT,
had learned the trick of color. There
was time to throw to the birds. and
no hurry. Every now and Thea
there breaks out from their stir
canvass beaming face, or a flash
ing thought. But their subjec'
themes mainly afront and disgusr
me.
do not like the naturalization
of Heavenly things, the attempt a
a visible presentment of the spirl-
tual. Murillo's Virgin Mary" is the
loveliest portrait of shepherd gin
to my poor eyes, nothing more
Velasquez's "Crucifxion OF Christ
most realistic and horrible Alik-
in the galleries of the Umzi al
Florence, in the Louvre at Paris
and here in the Real Museo d.
Pinturas the endless Bible picture
seem perfunctory, hard and colo
as if made to the order Of som
grim recluse, or dogmastic con
traversialist. who saysa Believe "a
do, or ! will kill you" That kim
of religion even that land of poll
tics, has never greatly appealed to
me.
IL is easy TO see that Mcclellan
cello was a great man; that Ruben
and Claud LOrrain, Murlllo and
Velasquez were great artists. Bit
Of their work are charming. Man
Of their conceptions are appalling
All Of their portraits-particula
those Of Raphael and Rembrandt
are lifelike. Yet, do / prefer tn
modern, and would not swap g
Turner or a Gerome for a roomfu.
Of GUldos. Titions and Tintorettos
The Germans especially please me
To my mind there Is more goo
work in Munich than in Madrid
In truth. there is nothing so sue
cessfrl as success Give dog g
good name"-the adage is some
thing musty but It has for two o.
three centuries well served a group
o. literary immortals, who are new
er re d. and Of art immortal, which
but for the need OF covering the
walls Of the public galleries. would
Boz rarely seen
know a modern Temptation Of
ST. Anthony" hanging neglected In
an atelier az Florence. which e.
worth all the nude creations OF
these ancieDts r. ls realism in
carnate. % has drawing and color
Put Mr Morgan sees St not when
De- goes there. and the agents OF
Measrs Midas. Croesus r. Go. pass
80 by because and solely because.
81 is not "oid enough to vote"