Evening star., 1942-03-01
Old Masters From the
Chester Dale Collection.

l1dZdTOS
Old Masters From the
Chester Dale Collection.
The National Gallery of Arts COL
lection of paintings by the old mas
ters has lately been supplemented
by a number OF interesting and val
liable loans from the Chester Dale
collection. These include works by
Ell Greco and Zurbaran, Spaniards;
Rubens, the great Flemish painter;
Tintoretto. Italian, and Chardin.
Boucher and Drouais, French. They
are not shown as a group, but
instead, scattered through the COL
lection in the various galleries to
which, because Of source they be-
long, and thus fill In gaps made by
recent Withdrawals to a place or
places of supposed safety.
The Ell Greco is a fairly large
canvas depicting the nude figure Of
an emaciated old man, presumably
one of the saints or martyrs. 1t
has the usual prolongation, as
though overstretched, characteristic
Of this painters figures generally,
but there Is something profoundly
serious and arresting about the
gravity and skill of the painting.
There are two Ell Greco's in the
Mellon collection, it will be recalled,
as well as two larger and very i'm
portant examples by this master in
the Widener collection, destined for
the National Gallery.
Zurbaran was Of later date, born,
In fact, 81 years after Ell Greco
that Is in 1598-and living until
1661-one year after the death Of
Velasquez. Like Ell Greco he painted
chiefly for the monasteries, chosing
religious subjects, but nothing could
have been farther apart than the
styles followed, Ell Greco painting
with q dry brush and getting into
his paintings the drab desolation Of
the Spanish country, while Eur
baran used q full and oppulent brush
and reflected IN his paintings the
spirit Of the Venetian school. His
picture, now on loan In the National
Gallery Of Art, is Of "St. Lucy" with
a wreath of flowers on her head and
a palm branch in her left hand
holding in her right her eyes on
silver platter, which, according to
tradition, she plucked out and sent
to her faithless lover after she en-
tered a convent and renounced the
world.
This was a favorite subject in
those days and in the Kress collec-
ton is to be found the same sub
ject, but very differently treated by
Del Cossa of Bologna and the
Verrarese school. Zurbaran was
given to the use of heavy shadow.
and in this picture by such use
he almost cuts his composition in
two vertically. Strangely enough
in this division, and the conflict of
perpendicular and horizontal, there
is something which suggests the
fantastic compositions of Picasso,
as remote therefrom as they may be.
Certainly in the meticulous paint
ing of the dress and flowers such
comparison Is refuted.
The Tintoretto is portrait of a
Venetian Senator of the 10th CEN
tury-a black-bearded man in a
very black cloak standing by an
open window, out of which one gets
q glimpse of a rather hilly bit of
country-probably that from which
the Senator came. Tintoretto was
the follower of Titan, but he had not
his power of vivid impersonation.
There is dignity in this portrait and
impressiveness, but little vitality.
The composition and the quietness
of the figure place it, however, on
q rather high plane.
Typically French and peculiarly
charming Is the Portrait of a
Lady" by Hubert Drouais, whose
dates were 1699-1767. He was a
disciple of Natter, little Of whose
suavity and charm are seen in his
painting. Better than others the
French have known how to put
paint on canvas in suchwise that
the mere act constitutes allure. The
figure in this portrait is admirably
placed on the canvas and well posed,
the costume is beautifully rendered
as regards texture, but most of all
the face that looks out to the OBJ
server has spirit and thought, gen.
tility and retiscence, to a very great
degree. Rarely does one come across
a more convincing and engaging
Interpretation Of character and per-
sonality.
There are among these generous
loans from the Chester Dale collec-
tion yet other important canvases-
such as a characteristic Boucher,
venus Consoling Love-" and love-
" head by Chardin-which singly
and collectively add greatly to the
interest Of the National Gallery.