Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1938-08-21

well as in dress, house furnish.
ings and millinery. This i
L particularly true Of the art o.
painting and refers not only to styles
but to subject matter. Within tn
recollection of the present generation
there have been vogues for pcrtrai-
ture, for storytelling pictures, fol-
landscapes and marines and for still
life. to say nothing of mural painting
which today holds first place in the
matter Of attention as well as in
quantitive production. OF all thes,
the vogue for portrait painting has
undoubtedly been most stable and
that for still life least understood OF
appreciated. The vanity of man may
possibly account for the one. the lack
Of esthetic sensitiveness the other.
Still life painting has perhaps been
best practiced by artists of the Dutch,
French and Flemish schools, disre-
garding for the moment the works of
orientalists, and it has been done
doing, regardless Of public approval
or STABILITY. The greatest artists of
all time have not turned from por-
traiture and figure compositions to
paint pots and pans. vegetables and
flowers and even in Rembrandt's case,
beef hung up at butchers to prove
their mastery Of the brush and what
ever medium they used Rather they
have wanted to transcribe and make
known certainly loneliness Of form
or color which they had discovered
inherent in the theme.
Indeed, it is not too much to say
that by our understanding and reac-
ton to still life painting OF fine
quality we pass Judgment upon our
own power of esthetic comprehension
most certainly. A masterpiece in this
field is to the connoisseur as rare and
exciting a thing as a fragment Of
Greek sculpture of the Golden Age
or an exhumed bronze of earlier days
and Chinese workmanship. This may
sound eXtravagant, but the reason is
not far to seek-in each instance it
is thing of beauty created by the
1ldIlu VI HAL W Sdlhly d Spul
longing for perfection in loneliness.
THE early Italian painters intro
duced still life into their subject
pictures. Witness for instance the
exquisiteness with which those of the
Renaissance rendered in their can
vases the gorgeous brocades of the
period. But this was not a thing
apart. 1t was the Dutch who first gave
us canvases devoted exclusively to
inanimate things. mature morte"
Strangely enough these first came out
of their kitchens, homely. everyday
things, Vegetables and fruits. kettles
and jugs interesting in color and SO
assembled that they became interest,"
ing separately as we'll as en- maSse.
Where indeed can We find handsomer
color than in eggplants, squashes,
tomatoes. copper, iron and earthen-
ware? These effects" Henry w.
Ranger once said. help us to realize
that we are surrounded with beauty
II we can but distinguish it," Later
the Dutch artists turned to flower
painting and did it as beautifully as
1t has ever been done. To be sure,
the Dutch flower paintings were very
elaborate and, to an extent, artificial.
They were magnificent floral combi-
nations and each flower was painted
with meticulous care. Butterflies, bees
dragonflies, even caterpillars and
worms were sometimes added, but the
effect on the whole was very imposing
and lucky indeed is the owner of one
of the old Dutch masterpieces today.
An excellent example, it will be remem-
bered was included in the exhibition
of flower and fruit paintings set forth
in Washington last winter by the
Museum of Modern Art.
Still life painting in England took
on the character of English life among
the upper classes by devoting itself
largely to representation of trophies
of the hunt. dead game combined
with suitable accessories. The Flemish
and French painters also used these
subjects and with equal success there
by proving themselves masters of COM
position and technicians par excel
lence.
OBVIOUSLY it should be understood
that these artists who chose to
represent on their canvases nature
morte did not attempt to initiate real
flowers or fruits-their intention was
not to deceive the eye, but rather to
extend vision-to reveal beauty by
arrangement and through the play of
light The cherries that, according
to tradition, were so naturally painted
that the birds came and pecked at
them were not triumph Of art but
a deceit of craft-the true artist
creates, he does not copy. The French
even more than their European COL
leagues have understood this and in
their still life painting have given US
an understanding of what is meant
hv the sheer beauty of paint on canvas.
OF all the French painters of still
life, Chardin was possibly the greatest
As Arthur Edwin Bye has said, he was
man who could do very simple things
In very simple way-lifting them
to the sublime-than which no higher
praise can be given. He was one Of
those geniuses who move through
history unswerved by passing fashions
in art and hand on to succeeding
generations those permanent qualities
which are too precious for the race
to lose. Chardin not only continued
In France the Dutch tradition of genre
painting but of still life painting as
well. In fact there are those who
claim that Chardin's genres were in
the last analysis primarily still life
ompositions-not human documents.
Be that as it may, they opened new
era in this branch of art.
Excellent examples of Chardin's
paintings are to be found in the
Clark Collection in the Corcoran GAL
lery of Art-"Woman with Saucepan"
a so-called genre, Still Life" and
charming painting of fruit in the
Phillips Memorial Gallery. The first
Of these is in low tones of white and
gray, the last rich in color but equally
simple in treatment. More than any
other type of painting still life demands