Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-20
Art Notes
BY ELIZABETH WAGGONER

Exhibitions of the week:
Japanese color prints at the Blanch-
ard gallery.
Aquarelles by Norman st. Clair at
the California Academy of Art in the
Copp building.
Landscapes by Frank J. Girardin at
the Kanst gallery.
Miniatures by Mabel Packard at Ray
mond Goulds.
The collection of Japanese prints at
the Blanchard gallery has been one OF
unusual attraction to connoisseurs, ana
the gallery has been made so attractive
for this exhibition that it could not
fail to attract the attention of even
the chance papsserby. The collection Is
notable one. with its beautiful eX-
amples of the art of such men as
Noronogo, Kyonaga, Outomaro. Hiro-
shige and Hokusai. Coming after
season of exhibitions it is interesting
to turn to these beautiful old prints
and trace the influence they have had
on western art. Sadakichi Hartmann
in his delightful book on japanese
Art" says: European artists have
equaled the japanese in clever group
ing, vigorous action, force of express
sion. passion for form and color and
even in sketchy figure deineation
without the appliance of shadows, but
they have never reached that unlimited
suggestiVeness which even the most in
significant japanese picture book con-
tains" In speaking of the japanese
fever that has swept over the occi-
dent he makes the statement that the
Japanese influence is naturally most
evident in painting; in the nocturnes
Of Whistler: in Manets ambition to
see things fiat; in the peculiar space
compositions of Degas, Skarbina, the
German secessionists and the poster
painters; in the parallelism of vertical
lines as practiced by Puvis de ChaVan-
mes, and parallelism of horizontal lines
in d. w. Tyron's landscapes; in the
frugal Kanoschool-like coloring OF
Steinlen's Gil Bias illustrations which
have caused a revolution in modern IL
lustration; in the disregard for SYM
metrical composition of the impression
lists; in the eccentric drawing of the
symbolists, and in the serial treatment
of one phase of nature, as practiced by
Monet"
The lecture by Mrs A. S. Lobingier
on THE Color Prints of Japan" given
in the Blanchard gallery Friday after
noon, was a most enjoyable and in
structive one. Through her intimate
knowledge of the subject she was able
to give a lucid and comprehensive ac-
count of the art Of Japan, presenting
it from the more personal side, and
with the beautiful color prints at hand
as illustrations could give a pictorial
outline Of her subject as well.
The exhibition of aquarelles by Nor
man ST. Clair, which has been on view
i'm the studio of William Swift Daniel
at the California Academy of Art, is
to remain open for another week, and
is sure to attract many visitors The
CanVaSes shown are among the finest
things Mi. St. Clair has ever done, al
though he has been hampered in his
work of late by an illness that has ex-
tended over the past few months.
These water cOlors all bear the mark
Of exceptional ability and in all of
them the painter has put not a little
poetry. In the moonlight scenes shown
he has expressed the mysterious charm
of night most wonderfully, but of all
the moods of nature he has interpreted
he seems to love best the early hours
Of morning, when the world is So filled
with radiant unearthly beauty, and in
such a painting as his advancing
Day" he has caught this elusive beauty
and depicted it with a charm that is
tomperamental.
The exhibition of miniatures by
Mabel Packard to be held this week at
the gallery of Raymond Gould promises
to be one of unusual interest. Miss
Packard s miniatures are always a
feature of the Chicago exhibitions each
year, where she has shown some ex-
quiste renderings of the beauty of
women and children.