Evening star., 1943-12-26
Br Leila Mechliu

4liC SAlllbItlOll VI pl Ills anu
drawings from the RosenWald COL
lection, which opened in the Ma
tional Gallery of Art last Sunday,
is in every respect delightful. The
so exhibits of which it is COM
prised were chosen from the $500
examples included in Mr.. Rosen-
wald's original gift, last March, not
as cross-section of the graphic
arts, but rather to furnish a fore
taste of this great collection as a
whole, which, through the donor S
generosity, has become a national
possession.
In point of time it does cover the
arts Of Woodcutting, engraving
etching, mezzotinting and lithogra-
ply from their earliest days to the
present, but even in this it does not
follow stereotyped lines, and the in
PRODUCTION of drawings goes far to
widen its scope While every print
and drawing shown is of exceptional
quality, those world famous-such
as the Hundred Guilder" print and
the Three Trees" by Rembrandt
are not included in the current
showing There is nothing boast
full about it. To the contrary, it
makes quite evident the fact that
the collector has found, and is still
finding, pleasure and pride in his
discoveries and purchases.
WeU-R0unded Cabinet
From the foreword that Mr.. Ros-
enWald has written for the charm
ing catalogue, with illustrations and
Illuminating text, the latter by Eliz-
abeth Mongan, the National Gal
lery's curator of prints, Mr.. Rosen-
wald tells of the phases, which, in
his opinion, contribute to the for
nation of a well-rounded cabinet.
They are, first and foremost, the
attraction of the print itself. This,
he says. may be pictorial or emo
tional. 1t may also be technical
perfection in some instances, SIM
pie crudity of a childish order in
others. Then. also, there is aSso-
citation -knoWledg of the artist and
of the time in which he lived
his choice Of subject and its sig
nifcance. These and many other
facets make up the pleasure of
print collecting. as well as print
exhibiting Mr.. RosenWald de-
clareS.
Each print here is, as very truly
said, gem in itself, and will reward
acquaintance and study. From such
as these, discriminating taste can
be developed which will lend pleas
ure to lifetime. To be sure, all of
the prints shown are reproduced
and beautifully, in the elaborate,
large size catalogue, but even SO
something is missing which the
original work supplies-a something,
which. at times. is quite breath
taking and memorable.
As of such quality and charm Mr.,
RosenWald mentions Van Dyck'S
etched portrait of Leonhard Won Eek
and Rembrandt's surprisingly
beautiful" landscape The Gold
weigher's Field" to which he might
have added the latter's Landscape
With Cottage and Hay Barn" and
his "Faust'-a superb rendition of
theme, as a whole, and, likewise, of
dazzling luminosity.
Earliest Print.
The earliest print shown is an
"Adoration of the Magi," a Woodcut
made by an unknown German print
maker between 400 and 1920, which
is Gothic in line and feeling but
pleasing in naive simplicity. and, as
printed on colored paper. practice
not limited to those of these early
days. From the latter half Of the
same century comes an engraving
by Martin Schongauer, of Angel Of
the Annunciation," which is most
lovely in both conception and tech
niQue. As the work in Gothic cru
dity harks back to still earlier days.
so does the Schongauer anticipate
the golden days to come The great
master of Nuremburg-Albrecht
Durer-painter as we'll as print
maker, is represented by an elabO-
rate engraving illustrating the
legend of ST. Eustace, which brings
to mind the great tapestries woven
during the l4th century, and is a
marvellous piece of composition.
Quite different is Durer's handling
Of festive scene of his own era. a
masquerade rhythmical in line,
merry in spirit This is a woodcut
and very engaging. Among the out
standing works by printmakers of
the italian School is a remarkable,
st. John, the Baptist, by Campag-
nola, exquisitely drawn and en-
graved, which shows most skillful
treatment of textures Outstanding
also, in interest. is a drawing of an
"Old Woman With Cap" by Halls
Baldung Grun. who studied under
DuIer by whom he was highly es-
teemed. Strangely enough this l.;