Evening star., 1935-11-03
By Mary.Carter Roberts.
PAUL CEzANNE. BY Gerstle Mack.

as the author frankly admits, saying
that there are still some empty
spaces in the record: Episodes the
authenticity of which is doubtful,
vexing problems which are yet to be
solved" Nevertheless it contains ma
terial enough for the reader to gather
coherent notion of Cezanne's per-
sonality and the outlines of his life.
AS he has been to a great extent a
creature of legend, as far as the gen.
eral public goes, the present work has
decided value.
1t is made up largely of accounts
of Cezanne's associations with other
people. In the course of investigat-
ing these associations the author has
brought to light over hundred hith-
erto unpublished letters of Cezanne's
and these are included in the book.
For the most part they are written
to Zola, Pissaro and Solari.
The artist emerges from the pages
as shy preoccupied man who, while
impractical in business matters and
given to nervous irritability, is by no
means the half-mad genius of the
popular legend. The reason for much
of the past obscurity would seem to
lie in the fact, brought out in the
present volume, that Cezanne avoided
contacts which he regarded as dis
turbing, and limited himself to
few chosen companions. He was, in
deed, almost a hermit; he did not
even read the newspapers, as is made
amusingly plain, in one letter to Zola
in which he complains bitterly that
'Nana" has been neglected by the
critics. Actually for months before
this letter was written controversy
over the novel of unusual bitterness
and scope, had been raging in the
French press. The book had been run
ming as a serial, but Cezanne had not
even heard of it until Zola sent him
q copy of the published volume.
There is a great deal of humanity
IN the book in spite of its unavoidable
omissions. 1t is not likely to be-
come biography of general popu-
larity, but it should certainly be read
by those who feel an interest in the
great Frenchman.
incidentally, survey of Wash
ington galleries reveals exactly two
Cezannes on public display in the
National Capital The city which has
a million starlings has two Cezannes.
These are at the Phillips Memorial
Gallery. One is landscape, the
other one of the finest of the self
portraits.
Inquiries as to some of the private
collections brought out the fact that
Mrs. Eugene Meyer of Crescent place
has four Cezannes in her home. One
of these is the well-knoWn portrait,
THE Sailor" Another is landscape,
"Chateau Noir." OF the others one
is Mature Morte," and the other
q Bouquet au Fleurs."
At one gallery the statement was
offered that the owner was not sure
whether any Cezannes belongd to
him or not. The state of mind seems
worthy of note. Not to be sure"
whether there was Cezanne in the
house would seem to be the peak of
something or other The reader can
decide what for himself.
IF THIS BE CAS- Suppose 1t Isl.
BY Margaret Deland. New York:
D. Appleton-Century Co.
THIS is a gentle and touching work,
- being the memories of a veteran
of American letters as to her very
early childhood. 1t is minor book.
of course, but one that cannot escape
being arresting. The occasion of
writing it, Mrs Deland tells us, was
when she came upon a photograph OF
herself at the age of g. She wondered
if this child was really herself, and
set about to recapture the relation
ship.
The book is written in the third
person. the heroine being Maggie,
as the young Margaret was called.
Maggie, as Mrs. Deland remembers
her, was a child of curiosity rather
than rebellion. Certain of her ex-
periences-the learning of the mean
ings of such words as law, compass
sion, justice, honor, death and truth,
are described here, SenSitlvely and
simply. There is not really much
that one can say about such work.
If it appeals to you, you will want
1t. If it strikes no similar memories
in yourself, it would prsbably be
meaningless to you anyway.
HOKUSAI. BY Gustav Eckstein.
New York: Harper & Bros.
ITO HIS excellent portrait of No
guchi. the great Japanese medical
scientist, Gustav Eckstein now adds
q Characterization of Hokusai. print
maker of the nineteenth century.
He has not attempted biography,
pc .ibly because data on much of
He -.Isai's life is lacking. His book
is -.l-tead a drama in IA scenes, the
fir. showing the artist as a boy, the
last depicting his funeral. Hokusai
die. at the age of 80 and is supposed
to lave made some 10000 drawings.
Mr.. Eckstein in his previous work
has shown himself to be fine writer
with unique style. In this essay
at drama he seems to have achieved
another success. There are few plays
that are genuinely interesting when
published and somehow certain irri-
tation ss-.. siong With the preilm-
mary stages of reading such a work.
But, once this hurdle has been passed.
the reader will find "Hokusai" work
OF surprisingly deep humanity.
1t is an effort to show the artist
as man of genius. and genius not
primarily in his artistic achievement.
but in his feeling for his fellow-men
and for nature, feeling for which |
his drawing was simply an outlet. His
life was tragic one, filled with pow
erty and personal disappointments. |
But the greatness Of his sympathy for
Ill living lifted him above ordinary
griefs and made him view his own
existence with ironic detachment.
That, substantially, seems to be Mr..
Eckstein's thesis.
The book is a minor work, but one
OF genuine merit 1t is illustrated,