Evening star., 1942-08-02
Art
The Old and the New
In Art on View at
National Gallery
By Leila Mechin.

ny Lena WI ccHtfn.
On either side of the great paint
ing, "Old Musician" by Manet, from
the Chester Dale collection in the
National Gallery of Art, hang, at
present, two small canvasses, both
still lifes, which to a remarkable
degree illustrate the difference in
viewpoint of the old and the new
the traditional and the modern
One is by Fantin-Latou the other
is by Cezanne. Both of these paint
ers lived in France at approximate
ly the same time; Latour's dates
were 1886 to 1904, those of Cezanne,
1889 to 1906; they belonged to the
same circle: they undoubtedly
shared certain ideals in common; !;
but their painting is as dissimilar
as could possibly be- 1t is this
paradoxical diversity in similarity
which makes them, when brought
together, so exceptionally interest
ing and significant.
Both of these paintings are ar
rangements very carefully designed,
and are, therefore, artistic creations.
The objects that Fantin-Latour has
brought together and perpetuated
are, however, beautiful in them
selves, and are painted with an
evident desire to truly manifest this
beauty through mastery of medium
and accomplished technique, where
as those chosen by Cezanne are in
herently homely. in themselves
utterly uninteresting, even mis-
shapen, but do lend themselves to
transcription as mere units in a
design. In the former it is the
subject matter which first attracts
In the latter the way the subject
matter Is rather ruthlessly and
clumsily handled. In other words,
the traditionalist is seen to have
striven to interpret beauty through
truth, and the modernistic to have
laid chief emphasis on the express
sion of his own personality. The
one has a joy to share-a message
to deliver-the other is primarily
concerned in pleasing himself while
lost in the occupation of painting.
The rebels in Paris in the 187Os
deliberately turned from beauty,
which allures, to ugliness, which
shocks. and thereby called to them
selves attention. Civilization" said
Gauguin, lis the disease of art"
for which reason he chose to go
completely savage The shock occa-
stoned by the ugliness and vulgarity
Of much so-called modern art has
been welcomed in these later days
by those who, exhausting the sources
OF emotion, have turned to it for
sensation. The sense and vision of
beauty seem to have become
blurred. Misshapen bottles and un-
ripe fruit have taken the place on
many canvasses of flowers or objet
dart of real loveliness, and vet
persons of taste would never de-.
hberately choose ill-made articles
Tor placement in the home. Here
Is . strange contradiction.
And yet it must be admitted that
the Cezanne still life has much to
commend 1t In the matter Of design,
composition and color. It is for
this reason that it now hangs with
other notable paintings, lent from
the Chester Dale collection, in the
National Gallery Of Art. The crooked
bottle gave him the line he wanted;
the pattern on the cloth lying in
folds across the table. precisely the
arabesque he desired--it was for
these things he cared-art essen
tally for arts sake-painting as an
end IN itself.
Fantin-Latour was, during his
lifetime, best known as portrait
painter. AS such to be successful
1t is essential that certain regard
be given to truth. The man with
q broken nose who sits for his
portrait does not care to have this
feature emphasized. But every por-
trait painter puts something of him
self into his paintings, and with
Fantin-Latour it was something of
remembrance "a refinement and
reticence which is very pleasing.
Among his best known portraits are
those of Manet, owned by the Art
Institute of Chicago, and Sonia"
once belonging to the Phillips Me-
mortal Gallery, which is now in the
Chester Dale collection. He also
did a notable canvas of a group
OF his colleagues examing a paint
Ing on an easel in the studio of
Manet which is now owned by the
French government. He did not
Halter those he painted, but he
brought out in his painting their
best.