Evening star., 1923-04-12
The North Window
BIZ LEILA MECHLIN

1
quit. The talk was OF art, and cer-
tain technicalities Of painting were
under discussion. Emil Carlson, a
collection of whose paintings Is now
on view in the Corcoran Gallery of
Art. was one Of the number, and he
told with what caro- he invariably
prepared his canvases. The process
was a long and laborious one, and q
younger painter present questioned
the necessity for such painstaking &
| care. Mr.. Carlsen explained that
when a canvas was SO prepared the
picture painted thereon would last
Indefinitely, there would be no crack
ing, no taking of. no lessening of
effect as the years passed. But"
said the young man impulsively and
wonderingly, how can you tell that
the picture that you are going to
paint will be worth keeping? No one
can always produce a masterpiece "
"Ah. that Is very true" replied Mr.
Carlson; but how can 1 be perfectly
! sure that 1t is not going to be; how
can one tell in advance? Why not
hope for the best?"
~
| The question Of permanent painting
Is an interesting one and painters
themselves undoubtedly give 1t too
little consideration. Most unfor-
tunately some of the great paintings
Of the world have lost immeasurably
through this cause. Some have faded,
others have cracked; not a few have
peeled off, The preparation Of the
| canvas has something to do with this,
but not everything. If painter does
not have some knowledge of the
! chemistry Of paint he is apt to COM
bine colors which chemically destroy
| one another. Also. most unfortunate
ly, all OF the colors manufactured to-
day for professional use are not all
| they pretend to be.
| Macmillan Toch. professor of in
dustrial chemistry at Cooper Union.
New York. wrote some time ago a
very interesting little book on How
to Paint Permanent Pictures" in
which he explains why some paint
ings last and others do not. and in
which he gives excellent advice not
| only to artists. but to owners Of
paintings. in regard to their care and
preservation: Speaking Of ,iainsbor-
! first great painter to use Prussian
blue, and l have seen some Of his
paintings In which the drapery and
dresses were a beautiful green. which
! was due to the yellow of the varnish,
| which, when mingled with the blue.
produced green; and I have also seen
| the varnish removed and have the
blue come back with all its original
intensity He tells also Of how Sir
I; Joshua Reynolds would not use per-
| manent vermillion in order to pro-
duce flesh tints, because he wanted
| certain warmer tones which only the
lakes would give, with the result tha
| even during his lifetime many Of the
; faces he painted assumed ghosuike
| appearance. an unnatural grayness.
| The use Of the steel palate knife
| SOM etimes affects the permanency OF
a color. turning Naples yellow brown
| and black. for example. Blakelock.
| the American painter. and others OF
| his day. were fond of using bitumen
| because of its toneful richness, but
! with the disastrous result Of i'm
! permanency, discoloration, and even
in some instances an inclination to
| run.
| Certain deleterious effects are pro-
duced on paintings by the gas which
! comes from combustion OF coal or
! coke, even in small quantities. and
F.; it Is quite as bad for oil paintings
! in fact. even worse--to be kept a
| great deal in the dark as to have too
much light. In fact, sunlight will
| sometimes restore a painting in a
| measure which has unduly darkened.
The reason the works OF old masters,
! particularly the Italian masters. have
| remained SO nearly in the condition
! in which they were when originally
| produced Is that the painters mixed
their own colors. or had their appren-
tices mix them for them. and were
really learned in the chemistry of
! paint. Also. these pictures for the
| most part have been kept in houses
| or galleries which were not over
heated and were not subjected to ex-
/; tremes either of heat or cold.
prepared canvas that Whistler's great
| portrait of his mother. owned by the
| French government, Is taking off
| Another instance OF deterioration
! through chemical process is the
| painting of Niagara by T. Z. Church,
| though still very beautiful. has lost
| much of its original brilliancy.
But to return to. Mr.. Carlsen's ex-
hibition, which, as a chance visitor
from Toronto took occasion to re-
! mark the other day. is quite different
from other exhibitions Of cotempo-
| rary work. evidencing not only mas
terly craftsmanship, but large sense
on the part OF the painter OF eternal
truths.
A few weeks ago Clayton Hamilton,
the we'll known dramatic critic, came
to Washington to give a lecture be-
fore the Washington Society of the
Fine Arts on THE Drama of Today"
On the afternoon before his lecture
he visited the Adams Memorial, by
int-Gaudens, in Rock Creek ceme-
| terry, and the Lincoln Memorial, de-
signed by Henry Bacon, in Potomac
Park. and SO profound was the i'm
| preston that these great works of
! art had upon him that, in compari-
! son, modern drama for the most part
! seemed trivial, measured by the same
| standard. and so full was his mind
+; of the thought that he shared his
Adams Memorial. he said. seemed to
him the quietest thing in the world.
! and the Lincoln Memorial in this
! same quality nearly approached it.
| This Is test of great art-a power
of aloofness, an ability of maintain
| ing, even in the midst of unquiet life,
perfect calm serenity. In the pres
| ence of such art even the least learn
| ed stand with uncovered head and
speak in whispers. Emil Carlsen's
paintings possess this quality.
\ X
It Is this expression Of serenity
which distinguishes to a great extent
the so-called colonial architecture
both In the north and in the south,
and to q degree it reflected the life
Of the day. which. If at times rig
orous. was at least unhurried. Com
| nara the facadea of sppna oF fha old