New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-12-29

IN the steps Of the old masters, ana 20
endeavor. az far as my poor talents "oulu L
permit to emulate their greatness. NoI
has the sight Of their great WORKS ulIiiIl-
iehcd my ardor: this cannot be done py
Daiuting portraits. cannot you slNo iIis
"A commission to paint a picture 10 seiu
IA Greece? Some patriotic subject, some
tbir,, that. shall carry a moral lesson.
such as Aristidcs relinquishinG MS TEht
10 command 10 Niltlades, That those Wno
look upon n may rccpllect thht tne u ue
hero and patriot thinks not OF ms Nv" 70
honor or advantage, and Is ever reaay "
sacrifice his personal feelings ana hls IN
dividual advancement for MS coulOIE =
good Such subjects grandly painter nIu
In p striking manner would not ne WIN
ont effect upon generous minds. rake az,
vantage of my enthusiasm now, l ,,Wun'
paiut YOU an acre Of canvas FOR ntue
more than the cost Of the material.
For n Young man Of twenty-nine that
is a superb manifesto. He did not
care 10 win fortune. All that ne
wanted 10 do was TO think on high
erected themes and 10 make his appear
TO generous minds. From this amhi-
ton ne never swerved Mrs. Watts
makes this plain in the two volumes
she dcvotcs TO his biography and the
noipt Is enforced over and over again
i'm the third volume. where she mas
gathered together his published and
unpublished writings. pure IDEAL
ism runs through all his sayings. a
picture has no right 10 he suggestive
Of uginess, as a musical compost
tion has no right TO be suggestive
Of discord ] can never consent 10
consider any art great. in which beauty
and nobility do not form the principal
quality" He believed I'm the truth.
No man ever held to II with inner
tcnacity. But he felt that art was
not presentation OF nature. II was
rather. In his opinion, a representation
of sensation. and in the mere stale
ment OF the truth there was lacking.
according 10 his hypothesis. the trans
figuring element essential 10 art. III
is not possible" he said, ito represent
nudity with any attempt at realism
without drifting perilously near vul-
garity." The point may be debated,
but not when its reference 10 this
painters own practice Is under dis
cussion. The important thing then IL
to recognize how faithful he was to
his ideal. how magniicontly free from
vulgarity was every impulse of his
nature and every stroke that he laid
upon canvas. In his soul he vas quail
fled 10 do the work of a master OF
the grand style.
1t is this fact which, primarily, ac-
counts for his eminence and promises
10 preserve his fame. There are ideas
so fine, there is a passion for sublim-
ity in itself so strong. that the artist
possessing these resources may tri-
umph over almost any handicap.
Witness the case OF Blake. His gran
deurs move us. sometimes, though all
clogged and burdened by imperfectiOns
i'm technique Watts could achieve
similar victories, and, fortunately was
less hampered. The truth is that he
carried execution so far az to leave
the critic a little puzzled over his
failure to reach the last consummate
stages of proficiency. He could draw
in a large sweeping manner AS
colorist he had one infers. Visions
fairly splendid, and as he sought To
realize them he used simple yet
richly loaded brush. He had great
powers of design. knowing how to eX-
press his lofty thoughts i'm compost