Arizona republican., 1912-06-17
ARTISTS TURN
 ID vELASQUEz
Madrid Is Becoming Year by Year the Mecca of Students of the Great National Painter of Span ish Kingdom
Especial A. p. CorrespondenceI

NeJPNNiS'i <H' Nol oI'oIlutilSt.t MADRID, June 16.-The number of American and other foreign artists and art students who come to Ma drid to study the magnificent collec- tfon of VelasqueZ pictures in the
 PradO Museum continues to increase every year. The museum authorities give every assistance to artists who desire to copy the masterpieces of Spanish art, of which this gallery
 contains an unrivalled collection. Madrid possesses many advantages for the art student, material ones quite as much as artistic. For one thing, living is inexpensive excellent board being obtainable for less than d dollar a day. Numbers of American artists. after a preliminary course of study at Paris, now make practice of spending from three months to q year working in the Prado Sarient i found so much to be learned in the gallery that he remained over two years, and his studies there have left a permanent influence on his style It has often been wondered why something has not been done to de- velOp Madrid as a center of art edu- cation. One or two European masters have gone so far as to consider the feasibility of opening a school here,
 but always they have been stopped
 short by an insuperable obstacle; the practical impossibility of obtaining models. Men models, it is true, can be found, but the dignity and pride of all Spanish women prevent them from posing.
 
 rolla. requiring female figures in one of his pictures, was obliged to call upon his wife and daughters
 By the death of Senor Marcelino Menendez Pelayo, director of the Madrid national library. Spain loses one of the most distinguished scholars of the century. The almost exclusive | ly national character of SenOr Men endez' life work has, perhaps, pre- 1 vented his name from becoming ia : l miliar to the public abroad as would i have been the case had his eminent abilities, great learning and untiring 1 industry been exerted in some better 1 known field of knowledge.
 1 However this may be, Spain and Spanish literature have assuredIy ! been the gathers, for only with whole | hearted devotion could he have done | so much to restore among his cOun- 1 trymen critical appreciation of the | beauties and wealth of their native i literature. To Spain, where he stood alone. the loss is for the time ire parable. There are, however among his younger colleagues and pupils
 some who have studied his methods
 and who will, it is believed, worthily carry on his work.
 ! Born at Santander in 1856, Senor ] Menendez from his childhood showed
 exceptional literary ability At 19 he
 was already an excellent classical
 scholar. and at 21 he was appointed
 reader of Spanish literature at Madrid 1 University, one of the unsuccessful candidates being the present Prime Minister Senor Canalejas. In 1881
 at the early age of A he was elected
 a member of the Spanish academy and henceforward his career was one of unremitting literary activity. His most important works are "A History of Esthetics in Spain and an An thology of Spanish Lyric Poets" in i12 volumes, each provided with a long critical introduction. He was also engaged upon the task of editing Hope de Vega" and several vol umes of this stupendous work already have been published. SenOr Menen dez has left valuable library of 40, 900 volumes to the toWp of san lander