Evening star., 1949-07-03
Art
Gallatin Bequests
ToNational Gallery
Win Praise From
Director Finley
By Florence S. Berrymon

By Florence S. Berymon
Several Of the worlds greatest
masters Of print-making are rep
resented in the newly opened ex-
hibition at the National Gallery
of Art. not by one or two examples
each, but by groups of 10 to is.
These important items by Du-
rer, Rembrandt and Meryon were
bequeathed by the late r. Horace
Gallatin of New York, great
grandson of Albert Gallatin. Sec
retary of the Treasury (1802-1D.
and Of Elbridge Gerry, signer Of
both the Declaration and the Con-
stitution. Mr.. Gallatin also be-
uueathed a collection Of paintings
by 10Th century French artists,
which will be exhibited later.
David e. Finley. director Of the
National Gallery. called attention
to the extraordinarily high stand
ard Of quality" of the prints,
which represent 40 years Of dis
eliminating collecting"
Earliest master is Durer, whose
nearly so years Of life were evenly
divided between the late 18th and
early 18th century, His three most
famous wood engravings are hera
The "St. Jerome in His Study Of
1914 Ia the most celebrated of
Durer's various interpretations OF
the subject. The saints peaceful,
orderly, light-filled interior was an
enlargement Of Durer's own stu
dio, q handsome, late-Gothic room
with mullioned and loaded glass
windows. well-designed oak furni-
ture and timbered ceiling. The
slippers under the window, soft
used looking cushions and many
other minutely rendered details
rive an impression OF comfortable
solitude, just right for a scholarly
retreat. The lion, from whose paw
the saint had pulled a thorn, was
his constant companion.
Other Durer Masterpieces
Adam and Eve" dated 1904,
the beautiful. detailed version with
q sleeping cat at their feet, was
the elimination Of Durer's efforts
to perfect his depletion OF the
human figure. "Melancholia" is
q symbol OF the humanists OF
Durer's time, akin to our vanish
ing liberals. These three are
masterpieces Of superb technique.
There are also "The Knight,
Death and the Devil" made in
1913 from Durer's drawings OF Is
years earlier; Nemesis" brutal
ly realistic portrait of a paunchy.
middle-aged German woman
floating over a charming little
town; "St. Eustace" in a wood,
with an impressive fortress on a
distant height: the well-known
Virgin With a Monkey" lovely
Nativity" and several others. a
total Of IL.
BY Rembrandt are Is etchings,
fine examples of some Of his best
known and outstanding master
pieces-portraits Of his mother,
himself young and prosperous,
leaning on q stone sill; DR.. Bonus,
Clement de Jonghe, Jan Six read
ing In an interior, the whole as
richly toneful as a mezzotint; the
mastery likeness OF the goldsmith
Jan LATINA, "Dr. Faustus." sur
prised in his laboratory; two re-
ligious subjects, the famous Hun
dred Guilder" print of Christ
preaching, and THE Three
Crosses" and six landscapes, in
cluding his most famous. Three
Trees" done in 1643. 1t is the
most dramatic, with the trees
silhouetted on a high bank at the
right, in a far-reaching landscape,
directly after a thunderstorm,
with lashing rain still seen in the !
distance.
Tragic Meryon
Charles Meryon, whose life was
as tragic as his art was great, is
represented with 13 etchings, mas
terpieces mirroring Paris in the
mid-19th century; dignif1ed. beau
tiful and, as his friend Baude-
laire said, revealing "the compli-
Gated elements which compose the
painful and glorious scenery of
civilization. the dark majesty of
the whole most disquieting of cap
itals." These etchings are sharply
accurate, clean-cut. beautifully
composed, emphasizing architec-
ture; the people are incidental.
ephemeral. Meryon's was genius
with a touch Of insanity; some of
his prints have strange creatures
in them. for this miserable artist
was twice confined in the lunatic
asylum Of Charenton. None of
these superb etchings of Paris
seems to me more enchanting
than La Galerie Notre Dame" in
which glimpse Of the city be-
tween columns inside of the Ca