Evening star., 1928-11-27

It has been alleged that since the
financial stringency Of Europe, due to
the World War, America Is purchasing
so much of Europe's fine art that here
is to become the world center Of art.
If that center is to be compared
with the alleged center of the uni
verse, claimed to have been located by
a certain astronomer, may 1t not be
hoped that art will be as broad as
the universe, which certain other as
tronomers find Is quite distance? They
even claim to have seen stars so far
off that 1t takes ray of their light
SOC, 100000 light years to arrive upon
earth. The speed of that light Is
10000 miles a Second-Seven times
around the globe in one second-so
how far does it measure in 800 900, ,00O
light years? Anyhow, let us hope
that when America becomes the cen
ter of modern art the range will
be measured in light years. For we
shall all see stars then.
This is suggested by the news that
nine valuable paintings by old masters OF
Italy have just arrived in New York,
directly or indirectly from the palace
of the former King of Greece, where
they were before the war. but where
their disappearance has been mystery
ever since. Guesses have been made that
these old masters were part Of Napo-
Icons loot from Italy, and that they
were carried off by Beauharnais to
to Princess Amelia, they became the
property of the Bavarian royal family.
Then when Otho of Bavaria became
King of Greece, he carried them with
him to Athens, about 100 years ago.
And an officer of the palace is said to
have taken them in the midst OF the
Greek revolution in the World War.
There is law in Greece, as well
as in Italy and France and most Euro
pean nations, forbidding the export OF
old masters, but in Greece that law is
confined to pictures painted in Greece,
and does not apply to Italian old mas
ters found in royal Greek fence"
Lawyers may figure out how the
carrying off of art gems by Napoleon,
a quarter of a century ago, or by a
palace official within the last 10 years,
gives the present possessor title and
authority to sell them, but that is a
quibble which does not affect the "sp-
probation" of "art" If America is to
become the center Of gravity of art, let
bubbles go to-! For does not gravity
attract all things toward a center? SO
let it be with art!
Looking upon a sham battle parade.
Napoleon Is alleged to have remarked:
This is magnificent, but it is not
war;" And how easy it is to look upon
some of these works of art and para
phrase Napoleon!
Some of the nine pictures just re-
Gently come from Old Italy, via Bavaria
and Greece. are claSSed as ''primitiveS"
and primitiveS are interesting from the
standpoint of history. But Napoleon
was talking Of war, and now We speak
Of art. Some things are magnificent, y
even while Longfellow declared that
things are not what they SEEM A
primitive" Is not modern art, and no
one today would dare initiate prim-
itive'S proportions. its perSpectiveS, its
anatomy or its composition. and call
his work art. This is not denial that
''primitives" are interesting. They are
also far truer to Nature than are mod
ernistic paintings-but does that make
moderniStic" art?
For instance. in one of these rare
primitiveS, there is well drawn figure
of the Virgin, wearing a cameo which
reaches from throat to belt, picturing
saint at prayer, and about the Virgins
feet are kneeling human worshipers
SO small that they reach only halfway
as high as her knees. It was painted
in 1920. which fact makes 1t interest
ing and valuable as landmark of art
progress in the fifteenth century. about
century before the Renaissance gave
the world Leonardo. Raphael and
Michelangelo. But those Renaissance
artists actually learned to draw-also
to color" and all that Is as archaic"
today as are the "primitives." Should
a picture show any skill in anatomy, or
in drawing, modelling or balanced COM
position, it is hooted at as archaic
or even academic" which is far worse
than archaic" and worse than any
primitiveS! 1t shows how slavish has
been the training of the artist! He may
have studied under Gerome or any OF
the French masters who f1ouriShed be-
fore the cubistS came to bewilder and
impress by their freakish nonsense.
X X
In the magazine the Art Digest
(November u is an article discussing
the pending exhibition in the Chicago
Art Institute. 1t bears the suggestive