Evening star., 1940-12-08

make welcome all those who are
/ genuinely interested. When apply
ing for this privilege the day and
hour for which admission is de-
sired should be stated
Moyon Sculpture Shown
Paintings of Archaeological
Interest and Artistic Merit.
An exhibition of Maya paintings
by Joseph Lindon Smith was held at
the Carnegie Institution, on Six
! teenth and P streets, from Tuesday
through Friday of the past week
This is much too short a period for
an exhibition of such great artistic
and archaeological interest, but there
is satisfaction in the knowledge that
of the % works shown. Is are the
property of the Carnegie Institution
and will therefore remain here, ex-
cept for an occasional absence when
on loan to other public institutions
of artistic or scientific character.
Mr.. Smith has for a good many
years specialized in the making of
copies of ancient works of sculpture,
first in water color, now in oils
which have every appearance of the
originals and yet are broadly, rather
than slavishly, rendered. One of his
first works of this order was copy
i,, tny- Of hn az n 6oy
Sarcophagus" in the Imperial
Museum in ConStantinople which
was acquired by the Corcoran Gal
lery of Art, and, in replica, by the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Since
then he has painted life-size records
of sculpture of various early civiliza-
tions throughout the world, working
in Guatemala, Honduras, Yucatan,
Mexico, Persia, Java, Cambodia
India. China and Manchuria.
Four of the paintings in the
present exhibition were painted in
1900; four more were done Is years
later; all the rest represent the
accomplishment of the past summer
an astounding output.
These are paintings delightful to
see, but difficult to describe, so
different are they from what is COM
monty seen or anticipated. Several
are very large canvases taking in
great sections of building, with its
carved surface, or its sculptured
forms in high relief or even the
round. The Mayans were great
sculptors as we'll as builders and
nowhere. we are told, in pre-Colum-
bian America. did sculpture in wood
or stone reach such heights as
among these people Well can we
believe this upon seeing Mr.. Smiths
paintings, for here we have placed
before us, in the semblance of the
originals, figures which compete in
grandeur and mystery with those
created in ancient China, in Egypt
and in Greece.
Rich Colors Used.
To a surprising degree, Mr.. Smith,
as DR.. Sylvanus G. Morley says in
an introduction to the exhibition,
has caught the bold yet strikingly
beautiful quality of the originals and
has most happily interpreted them
in rich colors. These are the
qualities in connection with this
work which are outstanding
there is one more which should not
be overlooked-and that is the
manner in which texture has been
rendered. This is something of
great Importance but almost COM
pletely overlooked today; something
which the old masters never forgot
or undervalued. The way in which
Mr.. Smith has differentiated sur
faces of stone of varying roughness
and of completely smooth material
is very remarkabl especially when,
upon examination, it is found that
his painting is most direct and at
times his canvas scarcely in places
covered. But the illusion is there
the surface allures the touch or
repels 1.-THE eye accepts the
illusion as fact-the impression
created is not that of looking at
paintings but at sculptures, each
distinct and individual-authent
Much, too, may be said in regard
to the color-added to the originals
by age and the elements. It Is
very engaging. ranging from rich