Evening star., 1943-07-11

but has lived in the United States
for some years. A self Portrait
which won prize in Chicago a yeal
or two ago, was included In the
recent Corcoran Biennial. 1t was a
sinister work. with surrealistic fea-
lures, adding up to an air Of i'm
pending disaster. Certainly the ar
tist, as he presented himself, was
capable of painting these deeply de-
pressing imaginary war scenes.
To compare him and his work
with Goya and his Disasters OF
War" is inevitable. Goya, one OF
Spain's three greatest masters, also
lived in a period as turbulent and
tragic as ours. His furius reactions
to the horrors of the French inva-
sion of Spain early In the 10Th GEN.
tury. were expressed chiefly in
etchings; but he also produced a few
war paintings.
But the impact of Goya's dis
asters of War" is produced by their
detailed character. Each depicts an
incident, such as a firing squad
moving down a group of terrified
victims, rendered with blood chilling
realism.
Mr.. de Diego, in contrast, has
endeavored. to express the spirit of
mass warfare. This mass character
certainly inpresses some of us as the
esential difference between the pres
ent war and those of the past. Be-
cause millions of men are pitted
against other millions, individual
exploits of heroism surprising those
Of earlier eras, create barely stir
Homer's Greeks and Trojans, NAL
lory's Knights of the Round Table
Beowulf, Roland, the Persians' Soh-
rab, our own Paul Revere, and many
others, had they performed their
valorous deeds today, would have
gotten only a few inches In the
newspapers, instead of Immortality
in poems.
Hence the abstract inhuman crea-
lures which move In phalanxes in
Mr.. de Diego's paintings, impress
the writer as representative of the
pathetic anonymity of today's he
roes. They are painted in a modern
idiom, which blurs and confuses
some of the forms, producing an at
mosphere of vagueness. This is set
off against a meticulously painted
background in some instances vast
far-reaching. desolate landscapes)
as though the artist wished to in
dicate that nature is permanent
while the present tragedy is ephem-
eral.
DrasOines by augustus John
On Tie,c.
The Phillips Memorial Gallery Is
showing in the print rooms, more
than 80 drawings by Augustus John
who Is regarded as one of the most
potent influences in modern British
art. His work Is based on brilliant
and expressive lines; consequently
such an exhibition as this, affords
a good idea of its fundamentals.
Born in 1878, John was doing some
of his best and most serious paint
ings just before and during the
period of World War I. He subse-
quently gained greater facility, and
painted what is perhaps his best
known work, Madame Suggia," in
the Tate Gallery, London, a dash
ing portrait of cellist. One of the
drawings in the Phillips Gallery ex-
hibition appears to be a study for
the head of that portrait.
All of the drawings on view are
portraits of figure studies, done in
various media-pencil, pen and wash
red chalk and others. Although
many of them are rapidly executed
some AS studies for paintings, they
have much individuality. A pencil
sketch of a mother and child, for
instance, depicts the latter looking
up at her in trustful, confiding
manner very characteristic of chill
dren; so. too, is the stumbling gait
of small boy in a group drawing
Portrait sketches include likenesses
OF such famous people as James
Joyce, William Butler Yeats and
Jacob Epstein. The aforementioned
must have been drawn years ago, as
it presents the sculptor as very
young man. One perceives the like
ness, but finds it hard to believe Mr.
Epstein ever had such a cupid's bow
of a mouth. Yeats, too, is young
and romantic in appearance, while
the author of ulysses" and "Finne-
gans Wake" must have been por-
trayed more recently. This truth
full, unf1attering head carries the
conviction of close likeness.
Roosevelt Lends Globe
To Exhibition.