The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-03-20
WHISTLER.

ought to dislodge the last co6web Of pref
udiee ellnging 60 the Whistler legend
Time. which disentangles all critical
snarls. has allowed US 20 place in its true
perspective the work OF this American
J genius. He is no longer a hArbarous
solitary. a fsrOGious eccentric. nor il his
, originality indisputable. No genius ever
dropped from the skies Wagner We
know was q complex product, stemming
from Bssthoven. Weber. Liszt, Chopin.
J the unique chopin. was firmly founded
on Bach and Hummel SwinbnrRe, who
amazed our fathers with his fisry mstres.
had In him much OF saPphO and Bands-
lairs. And Whistler. stumbling block 10
criticism for 90 MANY years. vas caught
&C various periods in the sddiss Of Courbet
, and Fantin-Latour. tho Japanese. and
RossOtti; even such an antipodal talent
a. Alma-Tndema's hs did not disdAin
20 profit from. The present loan exhibi-
ton. arranged with much tact. tslls us
these things. and Whistler emerges more
Whistler than ever. A stylist like Poe.
and Pater. not devoid OF preciosity and
at times Of mysticism. he sslscted-his
art 10 the very efiiorescencs Of selection
q narrow path. rsAllEing that his saliva
ton lay In nnesse. not virility: In langour.
not ecstasy. Within HE restricted com.
pass he contrived % beat out q highly
Individual style. He n Whistler a. Chopin
II Chopin and Poe Poe. The names Of
this musician and OF this poet are not
drAGGed In haphasArd. With both the
painter had singular afinisies. And like
Roman. he soon outgrew the mania Of
certitsdes.'
70 10 q commonplace In the history Of
criticism that q great man In unappTeci-
ated during his epoch: yes. too often UNI
appreciated. but not always unperceived,
Sensible STRUCTURES we're passed on the
nusic-dramas Of Wagner. structures that
to-day are az valid a. when they were
first published Manet was badly treated
by his contemporaries yet what Sas
said Of his deficiencies still holds good,
Whistler vas personally q cloud by day
and q pillar " Are at night. and made
confusion worse confoundsd by his antica,
by his butterfly a6ectations and wRspish
vanity. Oh. 10 Wagner hadn't written
thoss terrifying books Of his 60 prove that
he vas Wagner. when the first bar Of the
introduction TO Tristan und Isolde
stamped him a. q god among composersl
Whistler. like Baudelaire. and doubtless
pattstninG after the poet u spleen and
! ideal. fashioned his own legend. He was
not only a genius but he acted like one:
the world batter understood him. II hs
had reiterated Ia his ivory tower as did
De Vigny. NE might not have found him
out until after his death. This was the
case with Rembrandt. I'm show you!-
said James. and he did show them know
ing that in London he would shine by sheer
comparison. he left Paris where he was
hut Whistler in such company a. Fantin.
Manet. Degas. Courbet He had his adj
mirers in England. and they fought as
4 the Irish az Fontenoy in his behalf lie
had his enemies. and they put their nm
gers on his sore spots and he WINGED
The mystery in no, that Ruskin failed 10
understand Whistler but that Whistler
was 30 lacking IN humor a. to hght Ruskin
With such a weapon az The Falling
Rocket: Ruskin who missed NslRsquez
and how many masters. what could he say
before such a picture3 Let Us not mince
words. Time 10 not treating the Whistler
Canvass it'll q gentle touch; the tone 10
time isnOt for his surfaces. More disquiet-
ina still 10 the fact that he does not seem
90 wonderful a. he did two decades ago
some Of his works look outrnOded Nor
10 this because better acquaintance has
bred . certain sense OF safety On the
contrary. what is beautiful in Whistler
will remain beautGul until the last patch
of paint has peeled Oh the canvas In
word. We mean that all Whistler ~ not
great EIe was ever experimenting ana
he was often uneven. This statement you
may verify ~ the present exhibition.
The collection lacks the three master
works: the portraits ot his mother, ~ Car
lyIe. ~ Miss Alexander. Yet IL is very
satisfying. as Il gives us a glimpae At the
various stages of his development. How
normal that development WIS! A roman
tic az the start. hs played with the formula
nf realism. His Blue Wave Ia decorative
u compared with Courbet'S. The Japanese
motive was then sounded PsrIs az one
time was japanese mad. thanks Ia De Con
court Whistler saw the possibilities of
this new art and he absorbed it as Wagner
absorbed List and Berlioz. IL added
another note in tho gRInut of the painters
paIette symmetry was not altogether
! .upplautsd by symmetry. but the slight
perpetual surprise and deviation from
the normal line introduced a strange and
delicious dissonRnce in the hnrmonies of
man for whom nuaic was the arch
type oi the arts. lie saw the rhythmic
irregularities Of the Japanese. saw their
going 10 nature in n frank. gyp~yliEe man
ner, above all realized their harmonic
sense. and grated all upon Western art
making u richer. holder. more novel. But
withAl he remained Whistler.
How whistleriAn re may Sea in his
portraits and nocSurne~. A. through
palimpssst there struggle tO light
several texts. 90 In the Whistler pictures
We can say: Here he went TO Japan
There he knew ROasetti 1.-THE Little White
Orb. Here and there he saw through
tn. eyes Of Velasqucz But he was in
vincibly Whistler in spirit. And this
IL the keynote 81 him. He IL psychic
He paints the spiritual emanatiOns of
a personality. lie would have TESTED
IL any one had said that To him. for like
all great artists he was hugely concerned
with the mastery Of his material. Yet
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