The sun., 1908-04-05
GOYA.

bpaln lof MS maknMcenlt hnlspoIi NuIpu-
lent art He was more truly spanish In
the range and variety Of his performances
than any Spanish born painter since Volas-
ques. Without the sanity, soldity, no.
bility Of VelaSqueE, whose vision or voice he
never possessed without the luscious sweet
ness Of Munllo, whose naivete and faith he
lacked, he had something Of VI Greco's
herceness, and much Of the DASH breadth
and vgor Of Rlbera, He added to these
influences a temperament that was ex-
uberant, fantastic, morose, and pessimls-
tic yet humorous, sarcastic, sometimes
melting and ever masterful. He reminds
one Of natural overwhelming force The
man dominates the painter dozen
comparisons force themselves upon you
when the name OF Goya is pronounced:
comets, catAracts, whirlwinds and wild
animals. Anarch-a end oortier, atheist and
decorator Of churches, his whole art seems
like a bullhght,' says Richard Muther
One might improve on this by calling him
a subtle bull, Hercules who had read Byron.
Mature, Velabquez and Rsmbrandtl' cries
MaCOoll in q too brief summary. How In
adequate the listl Luolfer, BeelHebub and
Legion had a hand In the teaching
0oya incarnated the renaissance of old
Spain and It's art Spanish art has always
come from without, for its foundations
were northern and Flemish. Van Eyck and
Van der Weyden we're studied closely; Van
Eyck visited Madrid. The Venetian infiu-
uence was strong, and FL Greco his life
long, and = pupil Of Titan a. hewas-though
not born in Spain-this gloomy painter
with the awkward name Of Theotocopulo
endeavored TO forget his master and be-
came more Spanish than the Spanish.
How Spanish, for example is his Use OF
green, How rugged and bizarre he is
in conception. Ribera, emotional, dra-
matte, realistic yet religious, could sound
the chords Of tenderness without the SEN
timentalism Of Murillo. A follower Of
Hbera, Murillo 10, like Mendelssohn, un-
derrated to-day The rediscovery Of We
lasquez caused a peroepible dimuniuon
IN the old worship OF Murillo. lie Is not far
removed In the artistic balance from Eur
Duran, who, realist as are all the Spanish
painters, is essentially religious. Goya
stems more from Caravaggio and Salvador
Rosa than from any Of his predecessors,
except velasquez. The presence OF Tie
polo, the last Of the venetians, in Spain
may have influenced him, Certainly
Raphael Mengs, the saxon pedant," did
not-MenEs was associated with Tiepolo
at Madrid. II is in company with the
braves Of the brush, Caravaggio and Rosa,
that Goya is closely AFFILIATED. We must
| 20 to Gustave Courbet for a like violence
| Of temperament; both men painted con
! Nrid; both we're capable Of debauches in
work Goya could have covered the walls
Of hell with diabolio frescoes. In music
three men are Of a like ilk; Berhoz, Paganini,
Iiszt Demoniacal charged with electric
energy, was this trinity, and Goya could
have made it a quartet.
But il SIain was not country OF original
artists--ss was Italy, for eSample-she de-
veloped powerful and astounding individu-
! alitiesr Character Is her lei motto In the
! symphony OF the nations. The rich virility
and majestic seriousness Of her men. their
aptltIdes for war, craftsmanship and drama
are borne out in her national history, Per-
haps the climate plays its part Havelock
Ellis thinks 70. "The hard and violent
effects. the sharp contrasts. the strong
colors the stained and dusky clouds, look
ing as II soaked In pigment, may well have
affected the imag gination of the artist he
writes. Certainly the landscapes Of Yelas-
Quez could not be more Spanish than
they are; and, disagreeing with thOse who
say that he had no feeling for nature,
the hits OF countrywide and mountain Goya
shows are truly Deninsular in their sternness.
II may be well to remark here that the
softuess Of Tuscany is not 10 he found in
the lean and often arid aspects OF Spain,
Spain, too, Is romantic--but after its own
fashion. Goya revived the hest traditions
Of his country's art he was the last Of the
great masters and the first Of the moderns,
Something neurotic, modern dlsquieting
threads his work with dsvilish irregularity.
He had not the massive temper OF Nelas-
ouez, Of those men who could paint day
after day. year after year, until death
knocked at their ateliers. As vigorous as
Rubens in his sketches, Goya had not the
steady, slow nerves OF that master He
was very unequal. His life was as dis
orderly as Halss or Stems, but theft saw
ing phlegm was missing. In an eloquent
passage-somewh here in his English liter
ature-Taine speaks Of the sanity Of &C.
MUS as instanced by Shakespeare Genius
narrowly escapes nowadays being q cere-
bral disorder, though there was Marlowe
TO set of shakespeare's serene spirit, and
even Of Michael Angeles mental health
his biographer, Parlagreco does not speak
in reassurng terms,
Goya was badly balanced, impulsive,
easily angered and not slow to obey the pull
Of his irritable motor centres when aroused
A knife was always within reach. He
drove the Duke Of Wellington from his
presence because the inquisitive soldier
asked too many questions while his por.
trait was being blocked out. A sword OF
a dagger did the business and Wellington
never returned to the studio Of the danger
ous artist His exploits in Rome may
have been exaggerated. though he was
quite capable OF eloplng with a nun iron
a convent. az is related, or going around
the top Of the Cecilia Metella tomb sup
ported only by his thumbs. The agility and
strength Of Goya were notorious, though
in land where physical prowess is not the
exception. He was picadOr, HAtador, ban
derillero by turns in the bullring. After q
stabbing ARRAY he escaped in the disguise
Of a bpllh ghter
II he was a domptsur Of danes and cat
tie he was the same before his canvas
Anything that came to hand served hin
as brush, an old brown stick wrapped uT