Evening star., 1934-01-28

which created great 0ea1 OF Mtefo6V ana
called forth enthusiastic expressions Of
admiration and approval from English
art critics. P. G. Konody described It ~
"a remarkable display equally interesting
from the point of view Of craftsmanship and
of contents" The art writer Of tho London
Observer declared it to be 70 sheer delight"
and himself "enthralled by the perfection Of
ceptional beauty and character arc now ON
view in the Library of Congress and none
should miss the opportunity Of seeing them.
!. for they are indeed unique.
This exhibition which Is under the auspices
of the Polish embassy (the Official showing
took place yesterday Is made up OF original
page illustrations, both miniatures and pen
and ink illustrations, the last In the minority.
Tho exhibits consist of Illuminated pages
setting forth the Covenant Of the League
of Nations" series not yet completed, and
of pages setting forth "The Statute Of Kalisz."
which in itself is remarkable document. BY
this statute was granted to the Jews in 1924
by Bolesaw the Pious, grand duke Of Poland,
land remaining still the law Of the land,
having been confirmed by successive Polish
Kings). the rights Of free citizenship.
These miniatures painted by this Polish
artist, who Is himself q Jew, are in every
instance observation-disclosures compositions
comprising many figures, but so painted that
they are not merely supplementary to but q
appear have decorative borders. The text,
in whatever language, 1t may be- Is beautifully
hand printed with decorative capitals inset.
and variety In the use Of color. Invariably
the colorng employed is bright. almost vivid.
but never garish. There Is flavor of the
Orient in this work. close following of
Persian tradition, but without imitation. It
is interesting to note that the text of "The
Statute of Kalisz" is in many languages
Polish, Hebrew Spanish, English, German and
Italian The illustrations set FORTH to some
extent the history of the Jewish people in
Poland and their achievements There Is q
certain kinship between the illuminations for
the Statute of Kalisz' and those for the
Covenant of the League of Nations" which
likewise is q historical document. bearing
upon the good of humanity, the welfare of the
world A portrait of Woodrow Wilson is
among the miniatureS-a fine compliment, but
not an especially good likeness.
Possibly on account of his interest in liberty
this Polish artist, now living in Paris. has
lately turned his attention to the subject
of washington and His Times" and has
produced a remarkable series of miniatures
in what might be called the Persian manner"
. of Washington and his generals, and of the
battles of the Revolutionary War-38 plates in
all. Among the generals portrayed are Kos
cuszko, Pulaski Lafayette. Rochambeau, Won
Steuben and De Kalb; among the events Illus
trated are THE Battle of Bunker HILL" "The
Battle of lexington" THE Struggle ct Con-
cord Bridge" with very Characteristic New
England landscape setting; Nathan Hale's
Last Hours" washington Crossing the Della
ware" an entirely new version of this popular
theme: valley Forge" ~Cornwallis' Surrender
at Yorktown" and The Death of Pulaski at
Savannah" An English writer has described
these "a series of lively illustrations describ-
.ng in heroic terms the episodes and per-
sonalities of the American War for indie
pcndence."
OF the pages setting forth the Statute of
Kalisz." Konody has truly said. I'm the elabora-
ION of decorative details in the jewel-lke rich
less of the coloring, the perfect setting Of the
page and the abundant imagination of the
Illustrative miniatures, they are equal to COM
rete with the finest Of the much appraised
ediaeval and Persian examples of this form
ii art" Praise none too high. Another well
nown writer has called attention to S1yks
"-ertility and invention as well as remarkable
t )wers of execution" Three years Of continu-
is effort were given by the artist to the pro-
tuction of the Illuminated pages Of the Statute
Of Kaisz." Interesting in contrast are Szyk's
, en- and ink illustrations for "ChanSon de Ro-
i2nd" and Ludwig Lewisohn's novel, ~The Last
Days of Shylock," both Of which are included
in the exhibition at the Library Of Congress.
These also are done in q decorative manner
and in style calculated to harmoniously sup
pement text. They are what might be called
an "an-over pattern" many lines delicately
rendered and nterlacng, from which, however,
the figures and theme sufficiently stand out.
In the foreword to the catalogue Of the Ar
thur Szyk London exhibition, it Is said that his
art Is that rare thing-the flower alive Of .
species, believed to be extinct" Where the
spark" came from which illuminated the soul
of this Jewish child of the intensely business
like, ugly and smoke filled city Of Lodz," the
writer cannot explain Following the usual
course Of an art student the urge for expression
along these lines was developed-"a throw-back,
perhaps to the days centuries ago when llumt-
nation was thing Of everyday hfe"-a strange
and interesting phenomenon. proving perhaps
what the author of '"The Man Of the Renais-
sance" has said Nothing Is obsolete, for it is
bound to return" This exceptionally interest