New-York tribune., 1908-01-11
ART EXHIBITIONS.
Nr. Frick's Old Masters at the
Union League Club.

Is blf
months exhibition at the Union League Club is
concerned and that is that the pictures in il may
nnIy be seen to-day and tomorrow. 1t would be
q boon if they cenld he kept on view for a month
These eighteen canvases generously lent Tor the
occasion by Mr. Henry c. Frick. form collec-
ton OF extraordinary significance There is MOTH
Ing in il that is mediocre and some Of the works
a. contains are masterpieces Sonbrely impress
sive in the place Of honor hangs Rembrandt's
Portrait OF Himself" the painting from Lord II
rhesfer's collection which Mr.. Frick lent for some
little tine 10 the Metropolitan Museum. 1t is
from every point OF view a priceless souvenir of
she Dutch master Amongst the many studies Of
himself that he produced with the brush or the
etching needle there is none more poignant than
his in the revelation Of character The very soul
Of the mature Rembrandt looks out from the
ewes OF this portrait. and 10 turn from the per
sonaI interest OF the work is 10 be fascinated by
the breadth and power of the technique This is
one Of the great portraits of the world equally rich
in human truth and in artistic beauty.
Exhibitions make strange bedfellows 1t is in
te-esting and even a little amusing to compare
Nj Frick's Rembrandt with his example of Titan.
the Portrait of Pietro Aretino." which hangs
near by. The latter does not of course, show US
the Venetian al anything like his best and he
needs 10 be at his best TO face Rembrandt as that
painters peer Beside the Dutch portrait this IL
tian almost shrivels up; seems the last degree
Thin and hollow The st Jerome of FL Greco
and the Portrait Of the Artist by Halls emerge
in far better shape from the ordeal OF contrast
with the one specimen Of really monumental art
in the show. and these. fine as they are be
long n an obviously lesser category. Mr.. Frick
has enhancing Van Dyck. portrait Of Mar
chesa Giovanna. Catjanr3.'' but 10 appreciate It's
charm 10 the fail must forget. If possible the
Rembrandt at the other end Of the gallery That
painting. in short, is overwhelming in its might
II is worth while. however. put it temporarily
OF mind. for this collection Is full Of beauti-
ful things. The eighteenth century English school
IS well represented especially in the portraits by
Reynolds, Hoppner ana Raeburn, and there are
two dne landscapes by HoDbema and cuyp re
Epectively. In the small modern group there Is
an exquisite Rousseau painted in his more closely
analytic manner but wonderfully luminous anu
with this .here is one OF Millets noblest peasant
interiors. La Femme Ia Lampe.' a picture as
charming in color and atmospheric quality as it is
robust in draftmanship. No one who can OBJ
tain from member a card for this exhibition at
the Union League hoGld fail To make use of it,
The privilege Of studying such Z group Of paint
InEs comes only too seldom
II nearly every gallery uptown there is lone
man exhibition. Some Of these shows though not
precisely imposing. have at least the merit of
bringing forward work that is individuallzed and
possesses vitality . M Max Weyl the veteran
landscape painter Of Washington. leaves a capital
impression IL his exhibition OF twenty-five
thirty pictures al the new Bauer-Fosom galleries.
He Is veracious and sympathetic observer OF
y
proves himself worthy Of The line of George Inness.
lie takes al once q large and an intimate view Of
his subjert: he models his forms with energy and
breadth. he shows in his aJtumnal pictures Il
not In all others, an admirable sense Of color.
Though b. discloses great originality n respect
70 composition. his motives are well chosen and
treated with due regard for pictorial balance II
was good idea for him to make his appearance in
New York with a ample group Of paintings. Mr..
Charles P Gruppe. who shows seventeen paintings
-E1 DzE--~ -zT7n has
often provoked favorable comment by his con-
in this city Curiously his work. when isolated
OF this occasion and illustrated in various moods.
does not make quite the same pleasing effect II
to-aI quality more beguiling than that which char
acterizes the works in oil which he now presents
This exhibition is somehow wanting in the charm
or delicate color. Of subtle atmosphere On the
other hand Nj Grippe has all the sincerity, all Of
matter OF course in a painter identified with the
modern school Of Holland In pictures like the
Return from The Field" the simple truth achieved
Noe galleries M 2 Hopkinson Smith has a num-
her q water colors. rs annual sEeaf OF notes
of travel In these he is $ facile as ever and as
pleasing. loTE he adheres TO his familiar
Venetian subjects. The sketches made in Athens
are less successful The painting OF them may have
been IS much labor Of love as the painting Of
Own but this fact is not suggested 10 the beholder
furcto-y and dry