Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-04-10

saints. kneeling, by TheotOcopuli. called
"El Greco''-the Greek-one of the ear
liest of the Spanish masters. and there
are characteristic pictures of rural life by
the Flemish painter Teniers and by
Morland, the Englishman. But possibly
of more definite appeal are the portraits
by Van Dyck. by Sir Joshua Reynolds
and by Francis Hubert Drouais. The Van
Dyck is likeness OF Sir Thomas Chal-
oner and shows him in black clothes
wearing q broad white lace collar. He
was certainly not a handsome man. but
apparently he possessed strong tndivid-
uality. The painting has. it would seem.
been done with great directness, and the
impression 1t makes is vital and personal.
The Sir Joshua Reynolds is less uni
formly good. but shows passages mar
velously well rendered. 1t is Of an old
man. white. the Pariour," and the eye,
the brow and cheek, turned toward the
observer. are exauisitely painted Less
care seems, however, to have been ex-
pended upon the figure and the red cloak
in which 1t Is enveloped. and the impress
sion given is that the artist. going so far
lost interest In his theme. This, of course,
may, or may not. be true, being merely
supposition. In style the French por-
sees the utmost attention given to detail.
to the rendering of textures. Dress to
the French has always been a matter of
absorbing interest. and the gown a sitter
wore was invariably regarded by the ar
lists with respectful attention. Some
times it diverts the interest from the
face, but not always. The portrait by
Drouais of Mme. DuBarry Is not alto
face is masklike and probably i'll chosen.
but none who possesses any knowledge
of technicalities could withhold admra-
ton for the brilliancy Of brushwork dis
played In the transcription of the So
called accessories-the velvet sleeve, the
lace ruff1e. the fur muff No name-or no
great name-is attached to the second ex-
ample of DrOuais' work which Is shown,
but 1t is a charming portrait of an ex-
ceedingly fair French lady. Typically
French. it stands for the best national
traditions and conserves that vivacious
charm which is peculiar to the French
people. One may prefer personally the
rich toneful qualities of the Van Dyck
BUSINESS of the Ell Greco, and yet realize
that In the broad, all-inclusive field of
art a place, and a good place. must De
gratefully set aside for just such paint
ings as this. These paintings are all we'll
worthy of careful study
Il
1 on exhibition a collection of illuminat-
ed vellums, the work of Miss Marie Tur-
ner of Baltimore. The art of illumination
was practiced in the early centuries under
the direct patronage Of the church. and
the miniatures wrought In the monasteries
were to be counted among the earliest
forms Of pictorial expression. Like other
arts. 1t seemed to ripen I'm its youth and
to degenerate as the centuries passed.
Probably because time was less precious
then than now. ideals more simple. choice
less varied, tthe work Of the early illumi-
majors was far more elaborate and artis-
tically beautiful than that produced in
modern times. A very excellent revival
of the art, however. is found in the ex-
hibit which Miss Turner sets forth. With
the utmost care and no small show of
scholarship. Miss Turner has apparently
studied the best examples OF the master
workers, familiarizing herself with their
motives and methods. Taking the best
as examples. she has wrought her designs
in the spirit of the great French. italian
and English illuminators Of the thirteenth,
fourteenth fifteenth and sixteenth cen
turtles. She shows an deliberately ilumi-
mated testimonials duplicate-presented
by a certain organization of the Cathe-
dral I'm Baltimore to the Rev. William
Russell, which has handsome border and