New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-01-24

and giittcrs. and by the same token il Is.
from strictly technical point o. view.
msgrifcently "held together.
| There is no temptation 20 describe a. %
these paintings with reference TO their
subjects. They arc made. first and asst,
out OF gossamer stuff Now and then.
ss IN the beautiful oval Of The Good
Mother" one might pause upon the ar
3 tist's sincerity Of feeling. but that is not
+ the main point In this very picture the
things that take us captive are the tints
/ Of rose in the mothers dress and the
+ clorious silvery greens in the mass OF
/ leafsge behind her. These are Frsgos
T passports 20 artistic Immortality. these
and the sterling qualities OF draughts-
msnship. OF style. which place him among
the consummate masters OF his craft He
studied first OF al under Chardir. and one
picture here. especially. "Fanchon the
7 HuTdy-Gurdy Player" beautifully dis
closes that great painters sane influence.
He studied under Boucher, and the set
Of panels 20 which We have already re-
ferred effectively advertises the fact. All
his life too, he labored, sometimes con-
( sciously sometimes unconsciously in
/ FA4l Atd bAlll % the l4N44f AtNALDuc uDue bc-
/ longing 10 q Dutch or Flemish picture
But all his life. or. the other hand. Frago
was pouring into his art an elixir OF his
own. his own sweetness and vivacity. his
own special touch-so feetins and vet so
oroad-and. above all. his own brilliance
Of pure and luminous color. There are
modern painters who are somewhat III al
ease when you talk 10 them about the old
masters. Those masters they think. are
too old. and. with rare exceptions. have
nothing IN their technique which could
I be OF service 20 Us FTago with that
wel-loa6ed loose brush OF his. might
! have been az work only the day before
YESTERDAY
This exhibition is Fun OF delight for the
/ connoisseur Of good painting OF course,
It varies. The Fraso OF the tender bloom
OF those tNo incomparably exquisite pan
/ els. all pearl and rose. Love and
/ Folly" uses another touch when he
/ comes 20 the swift, transparent tones OF
The Bliss OF the First Kiss" and still
/ another when he paints the blond Mile
7 Colombo in the spirit o. Boucher-and
+ the wsighrer more Venetian Nile.
+ Guimard." and Mile DuthA." He was
/ for all his spiritual limitations incredibly
/ various where technical method was
/ concerned Here was q man who loved
/ MS art for It's own sake II ever there
was one, a man perpetually making ex-
! periments His interest in his instru-
ments serves. in a measure TO explain
his wonderful vitality. Only an artist
who was constantly trying so hard TO paint
well, and rejoicing in the effort, could
give a lasting interest 10 such frivolous
subjects II is the old story. There was
a streak OF genius in him. Because o,
that even his TRIES are somehow worth
while and his drawings are as fascinat-
Ing as his paintings. II is good 10 see
/ that half dozen Of the former are IN
/ Guided in this exhibition. studies OF dra-
perry and the figure, and. luckily, one Of
I those sketches Of the gardens Of the
/ Villa c Este. which are among our most
precious souvenirs OF his enthusiasm for
Italy. This is. in fact. a really represen-
tative show. so far as II goes We do not
see Frago in IL quite at full length. The
I famous panels in the Morgan collection.
for example, the set from erase will re-
veal when they are placed on view at the
AfAi VBO4lldA -4ASfAlili 4 lTdlL OF FFdEO
in the creation OF q kind OF inpalpa bic
envelope for his pictures which is scarce
ly 20 be studied. In any full sense. on the
present occasion. But there is enough OF
him here in all conscience. enough to
Tavish the eye and 10 give the beholder
abundant light on the artists characterls-
tics. Messrs. Gimpel and Wildenstein de-
serve warm thanks for placing the collec-
ton before the public, and IL is 10 be
hoped that the affair will be so far sue
cessful as 10 encourage them In their
plans for similar displays in future sea-
sons. Of the works OF Vatican, Chardin
and Boucher.
The pictures brought together by the
late Leon Hirsch and now placed on ex-
lhibltion az the American Art Galleries
form a collection almost ideal OF its kind
II We are 10 judge from the expressions
Of favorable opinion from various critics
reproduced in the catalogue, this amateur
was keen upon obtaining the advice OF
experts; but the paintings suggest also
that he bought them because he liked
them. There are no star" pieces, no
works Of prodigious repute and, presum-
ably, OF sensational commercial value but
there arr numbers OF things which a lover
Of the old masters would be glad to see.
Typical OF the entire collection is the
large Saint Sebastian" attributed 10
Perugno. This stately nude is accom-
panied by no documents. and indeed,
none would be likely 20 gid the question
OF its authorship. But where We find this
painting typical OF Mr.. Hirsch's good
Judgment Is In It's intrinsic beauty, in it's
warm tone and IN its enthusiastically
Renaissance linear distinction. II is fine
thing, whatever its Origin.
The same reflection is provoked by Mr..
Hirsch's primitives. which make an alb
sorbingly interesting group. There is one
sixteenth century Dutch piece, Jan
ScooreTs Alteration OF the Kings. which
is a really striking example Of his school.
a beautiful work both in the finely drawn
/ figures and in the attractive architectural
background Near 10 this We would place
THE Mass OF ST. Gregory by the elder
Cranach. a not very brilliant but still
authentic and interesting souvenir OF
early German art. There are good pieces
In this category also by the Flemish Joos
Van Cleef and Jan Van Hemessen. and
/ from Spain comes one painting which We
wish might be bought for the museum, the
b lovsIv Madonna and Child by Juanes.