ART EXHIBITION

Evening Star, Issue 22596, 13 March 1937, Page 10

ART EXHIBITION

WORK OF OLD MASTERS UNIQUE DISPLAY AT LOGAN PARK RU3EHS, GREUZE. AND VAN DYCK REPRESENTED Pictures of which art lovers have dreamed, gems of pure expression, are to be seen in a collection of pictures which will bo on exhibition at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery at Logan Park from Wednesday afternoon next till April 14. Seldom, if ever before, has the public of Dunedin been given such an opportunity of viewing works of the old masters as will be afforded on this occasion. Through the agency of the National Loan Fund Collection, of which Sir Percy Sargood, of Dunedin, was the founder, over 50 pictures have been brought to this city,_ which has been given the honour of being the first in the Dominion to view the collection, In 1917 the late Mr William Harvey, of Leeds; made over to a body of five trustees a group of 53 pictures, mostly by Dutch and Flemish masters of the seventeenth century, to be a loan collection not only to provincial galleries in Great Britain, but also to institutions throughout the British Empire. These are the pictures which the people of Dunedin will have the unique opportunity of viewing during the next month. Already the collection has been displayed at 60 provincial towns, and has been shown for a year throughout Canada. From Dunedin the collection will go to Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland, and then to Australia. The pictures, which are hung in single rows in a special room at one end of the gallery, comprise the greater part of a collection formed between the years 1840 and 1860 by the uncle of the donor, and their-.monetary value must amount to many thousands of ■pounds. But their value in terms of pleasure and education is impossible to estimate, for that will depend largely on the use made of them. Art lovers and the general public of Dunedin, therefore, have a unique opportunity, offered in former years only to those who were fortunate enough to go abroad. Having seen these pictures, one will carry the memory of them for many years. While there is _ a high degree of artistic attainment in every picture by these noted artists, a wide diversity makes the display a comprehensive one of the period. Masterly application of the colours, skilled drawing. delightful attention to light and shade, and quiet touches of beauty will captivate the attention of the onlooker. . Those interested in portrait paintings will find themselves loth to shift their eyes from ‘ Portrait of a Man,’ a work by Cornelius Johnson, or Jonson, called Jenseen Van Cenlen (15931664), in which the light is concentrated on the face and white collar. It is a masterly study—the coat of black velvet, the face cool, the yellow slightly pink in the cheeks, the shadows brown, and background of dark green contained within a painted oval frame work of brown marble. • Interior of a Courtyard, Venice, by* Giovanni Antonio Canaletto (169/1768) is a sheer delight to behold, with its strong decorative pattern and striking centrist of light and shade. The simple harmonies in the tones of the pavement, balconies, walls, figures, and sky are particularly pleasing. A copy of Gainsborough s Blue Bov ’ bv Henry Bone, R.A. (17551834), who became court painter to George 111. in 1809, is another picture that will attract attention. Among the larger canvases the ‘ Flower Piece,’ by Jan Van Huysum (1682-1749) will compel attention. Against a dark green-brown background there is the gay effect of bright coloured flowers in a yellow-brown sculptured vase, with bright, notes of scarlet, orange, light red,_ Wue, white, and crimson-purple—all in delightful harmony. The noted English painter William Hogarth (1697-1784) is represented by a portrait of Lady Byron, effective for its quiet general tones , Jan Van Der Heyden (1637-1712) is represented in three pictures. _ In the ‘ House in the Wood ’ there is a quiet charming effect of sunlight on the trees and walls; in ‘View in Amsterdam ’ there is superb drawing of buildifigs and the bridge; and ilie House on the Hill ’ is a small landscape with striking lights on the trees and the colour of the sky reflected in Eerghem’s (1620-1633) studies of horses and cows’ heads are well worthy of attention for their emphatic touches. The same artist’s Landscape with Cattle ’ is a charming scene ot a tiuiet. rocky spot. Notable landscapes are also seen from the brushes of Jan Both (161016521 and Andries Both (1609-1644). The landscapes were usually painted by the former, and the figures by the latVariety is lent by the work of Esaios Boursse (1631-1672) in ‘ Domestic Interior with Still Life,’ whose pictures are • comparatively rare. • Shipping scenes are delightfully rendered by Jan Van Der Cappelle (horn 1624), and Ludolf Bekhuizen (16311708). and Aelbert Cuyp (1620-1691). Portraiture is again seen at its best in the work of Gonzales Coquos (161416841, whose ‘ Officer in Armour ’ and ‘ Lady in a Blue Satin Dress aro both striking examples. Fortunate, indeed, will the onlooker find himself when viewing ‘ Virgin and Child.’ by the famous Sir Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641), who was buried in. old St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. An impression of softness and delicacy characterises the master touch of this great artist, whose work is a delight to behold. It alone is worth a visit to the gallery. The equally famous Sir Peter Paul "Rubens (1577-1640), with whom Van Dyck studied, is represented by the ‘ Sketch of One of His Daughters.’ Tt is a compelling study, with a greybrown background, yellow hair, red necklace, white garment, and somewhat yellow face with delicate pink cheeks. Another outstanding portrait is ‘ Child Holding an Apple.’ by Caesar Van Everdingen (1606-1679), a picture notable for its charming quiet sense of naturalness. Still more delightful portraiture is to be seen in the work of Jean Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805). The fair head of the boy against a dark-grey-brown background in ‘L’Ecolier ’ is the work of a skilled hand, and there is freshness and charm in the face of the young girl in ‘ La Polonaise.’ Aart Van Der Ncer (1603-16771 is represented in ‘ Moonlight on a River.’ ‘ Coast Scene with Fishing Boats,’ and ‘ Twilight ’ ; Eglon Hendrick Van Der Neer (died 17031 in ‘ Man and Woman with a Wine Glass’; Caspar Nctscher (1639-1684) in ‘Portrait of a Lady’; Adriaen Jnnsz Van Ostade (1610-16851 in ‘A Peasant Filling His Pipe,’ ‘A

Woman Drinking, and ‘ Village Fair ’; Adam Pynncker (1622-1673) in ‘ Landscape with Cattle and Figures ’ and ‘Flight into Egypt’; Godfned Schalcken (1643-1706) in ‘ Candlelight —Youth Lighting a Pipe ’; Willem Schellincks (1632-1678) in ‘ Departure for the Chase ’; David Teniers the younger (1610-1690) in ‘ Landscape with Figures,’ ‘ Thistle Cup ’ and ‘ Exterior of an Inn—Peasants Drinking ’; Adriaen Van De Velde (1635-1672) in ‘ Landscape—Woman Milking a Cow ’ and ‘ Studies ot a Dog ’; Willem Van De Velde (1633-1717) in ‘Calm’; Jan Wecnix the younger (1640-1719) in ‘Dead Birds’; Jnu Wynants (16151682) in ‘ Landscape —the Mendicants ’ ; Abraham Cornelia?, Bega (1637-1697) in ‘ Landscape with Goats.’ The official opening of the collection will take place at 3.30 p.m, on Wednesday. A charge of Is admission will he made to the room m which the pictures are to be shown.