New-York tribune., 1907-01-24
ART EXHIBITIONS.
Fine Chinese PorceIains and italian
Bron2e Castings.


ties az the Duveen galleries. Eastern art is horn
~ struggle between nature and convention ana
while IN japanese painting. for example the hu
man interest is sometimes positively poignant the
spirit h the orlehtal craftsman seems somehow 20
expand With the greater freedom and 70 flower
IN more exquisite work. when Il expresses ,,sels
a absolutely dehumanized forms. Witness the
extraordinary charm Of the collection at present
under consideration 1T Is the charm OF pure form
and color, olsassOciated from every idea save that
Of filing the eye with sensuous beauty Anv
portable receptacle is bound TO suggest a ltfli
tartan motive. and the Chinese vase has of course
q you like. practical Nevertheless these
masterpieces OF ceramic art really fulfil their des
tiny after the fashion of the lilies OF the seld rba
thought Is brought home the lover Of heaut,,
with peculiar force by exhibition which. among
all its 46s pieces. contains nothing that "a COM
rnonplace.
TIE character Of his material IS IN itself warn
ing 10 the potter 20 dabble IN the arts Of rem
ressntation too freely There is curious far here
CIo. I'D, in which white panels on a blue ground
reveal various decorative objects There is a GER
tain striving for pictorial effect in these panels
and the result Is not altogether happy But for
one such 5ar as this In any collection you will hnd
score which are quite innocent OF inconsruous
establishment. which is way of saying that tho
prevailing mood OF the great Oriental artists in
porcelain has been true 10 ideal OF pure con-
vention. With flowers alone have they given
themselves wide scope, with flowers and with those
fantastic reptiian forms which would appear in
deed almost TO have been invented for the pur-
poses OF ceramic decoration. Where the floral
motive is concerned Chinese porcelain follows a
CLEARLY recognizable law II is formalized very
often bus rarely 10 such an extent as 20 turn an
arrangement OF blossoms into a ufeless arabesaue;
he natural wild grace Of the flower IS practically
always preserved. Look, for example, at the
two large mile neur CIo. 275). IN which in
anite variety is given a iawless decorative unity
The artist brings order out OF his chaos by some
miraculous adjustment OF line and tint ard his
scheme "a ell OF piece. Just it would be IL he
%sre producing an example OF single color rorce-
lain. In fact, measure OF elasticity evil
tsntly Indispensable 20 the great designers. They
Odd achieve brilliant things along rather mechan-
lcaily balanced lines, is shown by the superb
'Hpsr.sl (No. 16 IN which the beautiful green
slsse is covered with tracery repeating the swas-
tika motive and over again. But this II
Characteristic OF the East the other hand does
less 70 show il IN its finest estate school OF
decoration than is done. say, by the magnificent
hawthorn Jars and vases. red. black, green or
blue. in which this exhibition is especially rich.
Fer sheer spiendor the most remarkable example
IN this group Is the large red hawthorn vase (No.
SOl but perhaps more significant for study
the blue hawthorn ginger 5ar CIo sS), work
Of Incompatible purity and brtIliance.
The student would do well 10 scTutinize this Jar
With special care, note how the tones OF blue
modulate6 though with a painters brush. and
AZ the same time with a lmpid delicacy which
pigment could be made yield. In this, too. you
have the very perfection OF floral decoration IN
porcelain. Every detail is placed with cunning ref
erencs 20 the effect OF the whole yet that effect
has the spontaneous grace OF nature itself Small
taTs like this serve excellent tOuchstones in q
critical examination OF the collection. II is well to
proceed from them 20 the larger ana more eiab-
crate performances. The decorated pieces are nu-
merOuss but plenty or space has been given 10 single
colored porcelains, TO those Tavishng gleses. the
very names OF which, like those familiar 20 the
rose grower the language Of poetry itself
Room has also been found for fine examples OF
blue and white. and OF pure white soft paste. and
finally there several magnificent pieces OF the
early Han pottery, pieces OF bod form and wonder
ful metallic lustre In short. the exhibition shows
Chinese porcelain IN all its aspects from the rugged
smplicities OF the formative period TO the last
nnements-sonetines bordering eccentricity-or
she later eighteenth century. Il viii be accessible
the public for another fortnight, and no one
who for a ana beautiful form OF art can
AFFORD TO neglect e.
AT she windsor Arcade. signor Angelo del Nero
IS holding exhibition OF castings IN bronze and
other metals. mostly reproductions OF classical
statuettes IN italian and other European museums
II IS called ''sllyer anniversary exhibition" IN
celebration Of the fact that Signor del Nero has
reached the tVenty-fth year OF his interest IN the
DEVELOPMENT Of alloys and processes OF casting
toward a result dreamed Of at the beginning. What
that result IS may be better understood by allud-
ing 20 the method commonly in use among those
who do reproductive work In bronze Ordinarily,
when a reproduction OF the Nike Narcissus OF
the Neapolitan Museum comes from the furnace
the perfecting OF the surface OF the metal and the
creation OF artistic pGTiEG are accomplished Win
the ala OF external applications OF foreign agents
signor del Neros method is so 70 proportion his
ALLOYS ana 60 control their interaction that when
he takes his cast from the furnace Sc contains.
potentially the palma he desires. and this IS. in
fact brought out little By little by the application
OF heat In this way he gives his bronzes quality
OF color ana texture corresponding more closely 70
that % the original antiques he reproduces. II
has been long and difficult task 70 win success
and he IS amply justified IN giving TO the present
exhibition a kind OF commemorative character. It
contains souvenirs OF every stage IN his period OK
.xperlmentatIon ana it IS very interesting 70 COM
pars his first pieces with those IN which he has az
last made himself master OF ell his materials. We
have frequently testified 10 the thOroughness and
finish OF his work These bronzes have. to be
sure the beauty OF originals. One OF them espe-
cisly POSSESSES a value equivalent, for all pur-
poses 70 that OF an original It IS the Fanum
Fortuna" reproduced from the nude figure sur
mounting the Renaissance fountain in the town OK
Fzno This picturesque work OF Domino di Am
bros. da Urbsno IS work OF picturesque elegance.
spirited and distinguished. and it is understood
that no other reproduction has. or can be In the
future made So brilliantly has II been cast that
the presence of Signor del Neros bronze IN this
oaty IS .n q sense tantamount 20 the presence OF
The fascinating original
We have paid tribute 20 this charming piece be-
t-re and 70 many other OF the things IN the ex-
hIbition but we must comment more particularly
on the cornpositions from classical motives by
slgnor Del Nero himself, IN which he shows how
the art OF the metal worker may be put 70 every
csy use and express convenfence IN terms OF
beauty he shows four bronze ooor-knockerss
based On Etruscsn, Romanesque. and early and
late Rsnalssance motives. These point 20 oeVel-
oDnsnt of craftsmanship which has been repeated
" advocated IN The Tribune. They are beautiful,
and they enter at into tie practical side or
the art of building and decoration statuary Is no