AN ARTIST ON ART.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1861, 22 September 1913, Page 10

AN ARTIST ON ART.

ROAMING THE GALLERIES.

GENIUS OF THE OLD MASTERS, OLD MASTERS. SCOTCH LAXDSCAUE PAINTERS Ideas on art are always of interest to tho art lover. Mr. Charles 11. Howorth the Wanganui artist, whose work is favourably known in Xew Zealand, was interviewed by a Dominion reporter on his return from the Old World. lie said that ho had had a wonderful time expiring the great galleries of the 1 Continent. "It is impossible," ho said, "to attempt to describe the measureless attitudes of art of soino of the old masters—it is something which cnimot be realised but here. It has to be sc<sn. At Naples, which would hardly bo described as an art centre, thero is a good gallery, notable for its fine collection, of sculpture, most of which has been secured at various times from tho ruins of Pompeii. Some of t'his statuary is tho oldest, rarest, and' most beautiful in the world, and though no names can bo definitely attached to tho works, they are ascribed in several instances to the ancient Greek masters, of wOiom Praxitcls was pre-eminent. There I saw my first great picture, a Bachanalian sceno by Velasquez, tho Spanish master—it arrests tho eyo at once by tho wonderful lifo of the figures and til© brilliancy of the colours. > Michael Angolo's Colossal Ccnius. "At Rome wo were properly introduced to Michael Angelo, tliat marvel of tho late fifteenth and sixteenth century, who was equally great as a painter, sculptor, engineer, architect, and poete—ono ol' tho most versatile geniuses tho world lias ever known.

■ e Tho Sistimo Chapel in the Vatican i lning with tho works of Michael Alt if Solo, which exhibit tho wonderful gif of design and draughtsmanship, but d d not show his works off to porfection i: other respects. As a mattor of fact the fumes of incenso burnt in th chapel have made tho paintings ver, dingy, ono hardly realises to what ex tent until other works by tho sam artist are seen at Florence or else n where. There are priceless stores o j his sculpture ill tho Vatican, and a vas „ collection of painting dealing mostl; with Scriptural subjects fresco tli |. walls. Not the least of his works wa '• the designing of St. Peter's at Rome and his are the great statues (appar 2 ently life-liko size when viewed fron 1 below, but in reality soft in height) g which stand on the roof of the colon 0 nades before the .church. Wo ascend 5 ed to tho main roof of St. Peter's, ant thoro to our surprise found severa shops doing a brisk business in post cards and other mementos of the place Above that are galleries which encii'cli the great dome, and if ono is sufficient jy onergetic ho can prsue a wind ing stairway between tho roof-girderi of the dome, and come out into the daj' light, 500 ft. above the ground. Fron that giddy point of vantage tho people in the square below look like insects and away beyond the city can bo seei: the brown expanse of the Campagna Thore aro 365 churches in Romo (one . for every day in tho year), many arc ' very fine, and all aro interesting. The marble mosaics of the Pantheon arc truly wonderful. Marble is used everywhere—tho floors aro all marble, ; and the pillars are veneered in marble j from one to two inches in thickness. ! Florence, the Beautiful. "Florence, wotiderful Florence! There you have tho greatest art centre -in the , world. It is notable for its two magnificent galleries—tho Pitti and tile ' Uffizzi galleries which contain wonderful collections of .ill tho old mastors, with the exception of tho Dutch painters, best seen in the big galleries ■ of Holland. In tho galleries ol Florence, Raphael's works stand out, sublimo in their technical perfection and colouring. In each room in tho Uffizzi, a work of particular merit is singled out for tile attention of visitors. In one ro.oni Georgian's masterpiece, "The Concert," arrests tho attention at once. It is the picture of a young girl, and two monklike men, rehearsing a vocal trio, and is remarkable for tho living expression : it conveys—the absolute mastery of art over pigment and canvas, which remark applies to the work of many other of tho old masters. I must hav'o seen hundreds of Madonnas—for every artist of . old had his own conception of the Virgin Mother. Of them all I prefer Raphael's conception. Both in his and in the Madonna of Michael Angelo, tho spirit of actual life appears to havo been breathed into them. Then among tho great painters of Madonnas was Leonardo da Vinci, an incomparable artist, whoso great picture, "Tha Madonna of the Rocks," impressed mo enormously. Undying Colour. "What strikes 0110 at first siijht' 011 seeing these paintings is tho freshness of tho colouring. They arc as brilliant as if the sun was shining 'on them, and in many cases look as if they had been painted yesterday. There arc exceptions, but those exceptions liavo been created by environment at some time or other, as in tho caso of Angclo's works in tho inotense-laden sistiuc cliapel at Romo. Tho'same artist's Madonna at Florence is aglow with imperishable colours, brilliant, but never inliarmonius. Thoso old chaps never made any mistakes. Their composition is as magnificent; as their colour scheme, and when you consider liow they themselves made their own colours, and in some cases, wove their own canvases, tho wonder of their genius increases. It was art for art's sake with them—llo pandering to the fleeting fancies of tho market. Fidelity to Life. "The fidelity of the old masters to life in portraiture and sculpture is amazing, and cannot bo readily conveyed in reproductions however good they may be, and many are very good. One portrait that struck 1110 as great was Piambo's "La Fornarino" ill the Tribune chamber at tho Uffizzi Gallery at Florence. In the same room there are six pieces of sculpture, and there are none greater in tho world. These include Michael A .updo's "Dancing Faun" and "The Kmfegrinder," wonderful for their anatomical perfection, and the wonderfully life-like exprcs-' sion, which gives vitality to them. There is also a magnificent Venus, tho' author of which is nameless, but some experts attribute it to Praxitelos, the ancient Greek genius. A whole chamber is sacred to Angclo's "David," a glorious thing standing lift, in height.) The pose of the figure as lie is apparently measuring up tho giant Goliath before he casts'" his sling, is grand in its calm assurance. The hands and arms are models of perfection, and the'pose of the head glorious. One of the sights of Florence is the Ponti Vecehio, a very fine bridge with footways and carriage drive, with either side flanked with fine shops, mostly those of silversmiths, who are the best in the world. "Venice as an art centre is not to be mentioned in the samo breath with Florence or Rome. There are interesting art treasures in tho Doge's Palace, hut after being satiated with tho glories of Florence, the treasures of Venice are as nought. The architecture is unique and beautiful, and tho Venetian glassware (wo visited the ivories) is extremely delicato anil beautifully artistic. Paris and the Louvre. "What can I say about the Louvre? It is to begin with the largest and most representative art gallery in the world. It is so stupendous that one cannot 'do' it. like an ordinary jzallery. It i 6 tho greatest all-round collection, and ono 1

gets tired through very satiety. I should think the best way to do the bouvro would bo to spend a couple of hours a day there. Tho collection is infinitely 111010 varied than those of Florence, containing works of ltusssian, Knjrlisli, German, and French artists that do not find a place in the Pitti or Uiiiy.xi Galleries. Thero aro, too fine examples of the work of Jlurillo, Yaudyck, .Reubens, and Velasquez —tho best collection outside those painters' own countries. Corot's work m tJio Louvre is wonderful, lie gets tho tono and atmosphere of Franco into his work, which should not bo hastily judged by those who have not seen that country, l'he delicacy and restraint with which ho depicts a hazy day in 1' ranco is extraordinary, and he is a master at painting trees outlined against the sky. You know Corot's 'Bent Tree,' lrhich tho Melbourne Gallery paid £5/65 for? —well I saw two other 'Bent Trees' of Corot, 0110 in the Louvro and one in the National Gallery in London.

'1 also saw Horaco Vernet's great gallery of battle pictures at Versailles, jhis artjst stands by himself in his line. His conceptions aro so vast and impressive, and his composition and colouring aro strikingly fine. I also spoilt a couple of hours at tho Luxembourg Gallery, where there is a notably good modern collection. ■ London at Last. "After being saturated in the glories of tho old masters on the Continent 1 was prepared to be disappointed with tho National Gallery in London, but 1 was astonished and delighted u> find iny anticipations quite unjustified, The National Gallery lias really a very line collection of the old masters, including iwo notably works by' Michael Angelo.Then there aro magnificent paintings by Holbein, Velasquez, and lots of other notable artists. Tho English school is very strongly represented by Gainsborough, Hogarth, .Reynolds, Romney, and Constable. Respecting Constable I fancy that the largest works were overworked and dingy in colour. That remark applies to his "Hay, Wain." Rut his smaller sketches are delightful and lie deserves the credit which lias placed Constable in the eminent position lie holds. In portraiture 1 made no comparison between tho English painters and the old mastera—tho former do not como up to tile latter, either in strength or colour. Turner is remarkablo i'oj his mastery of delicacy of colour, but to mo his originals are theatrical and 'scene-painty.' His pictures of Venice are those of a Venice idealised, not tho tho real Venice. In the National Gallery, too, are great works by artists whoso skill has been recognised, but whoso names have never been 'boomed.' ,Thero is a very fine modern collection in the Tate Gallery (London), anct the Wallace collection lias somo remarkably interesting pictures, including Corot's 'Macbeth and the Witches,' and Franz Hals's 'Laugliinj; Cavalier'—a genuine masterpiece in portraiture. The collection should not be missed by anyone visiting London who is interested in art. Scottish Landscape Painters. "Going north I spent somo time in tho Glasgow Art Gallery, and with due deference to everybody 1 consider the Scottish landscape painters to bo the best in tho world—including all ancient I and modern work. I refer to the landscapes of Horatio M'Culloch, Alex Eraser, and Sam Bough. I had seen reproductions of M'Culloch's works, and they had ■ struck 1110 as hard, but the originals aro wonderful—wonderful. in their fidelity to nature in . depicting mountain, stream, and fell as it ;is. No ono has over painted oak trees like Alexander Eraser, whoso English and Scottish landscapes are properly fam011s. Raeburn is another Scotch artis't deservedly recognised as great. On tho Continent. "After Scotland wo visited Holland and Germany and inspected the galleries of Munich, Dresden, Vienna, Berlin, and then came back to Amsterdam, Antwerp and Tho Hague. Here . wero seen all the great originals of such artists as Vandyk, Rembrandt, Reubens, Van der Meer, Gabriel Metsu, Quentin Masys, Peter do Hoocli, Tenier the Younger, and others. Rembrandt's portrait of Elizabeth Baas struck me as something transceiidantly superb in portraiture—it was tlie woman ever to the liuidifey and transparency- of the eyes, and Itheir set in the head. The samo artist's picture "The Night Watch" is also interesting.. Everyone knows that there has been a mistake in. the name, but for all that it is called "The Night Watch." It isr really a hunting picture and not a night picture at all. It is, however, a wonderful bit of work. The figures appear to bo walking right out of picture towards you. iHis '"Portrait of a Soldier" in tho Berlin Gallery is in striking art. Franz Hals' burgomasters and high personages aro woj-ks to.seo and admire, and the best works of Titian and Tenier are seen in these galleries. They are also remarkable for pictures of still-life, particularly those of Hcenis, aro astounding in tlieir absolute fidelity to colour 1 , light and) texture."