ART AND ARTISTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 85

ART AND ARTISTS.

PRE-RAPHAELITES AND IM?BBS*i SIONISTS.

—A Summary and a" Criticism*.— ** 'i It wae on -works of imagination that' fKe Pre-Raphaelites spent their powers. And in imagina-tiver -T»«ric»*rti«W !< *-»"» !^J«* "'♦ ofc achie\-e a passionate reality; to ha\(V<lono once for all with -the vague, .ponrpoud, the rhetorical; to rely/ not on" the dre^stngup of a theirtjc; but* 40rt.Uh^ inherit x,f,o^ of the theme;' lteelf^-No^aen-Sjitolcb; ;'typm were to bs allowed.— only actual cnavactere studied from. the life ;^aad_ 3 in .drawing, no seeming awkTOHxln&s was to bo abated irf'&e inßr^stsfoi Composition. .More thin tKit, flier© "was .to b& no- blinking no fflinching fr6mi"'tKei essential facts of humdlnity ank Naiur>e-;"*iie--'tcal distortion of slrain«d;;!^"s»,jf*®"T<&i Srsn^ c , °y Buffering featu*«s, :: ' : "W i ere*--to ; J f_^ e ' timly^-por-'. trayed, just -as' ihe^vivid'oliferald of spring grass and foliage 'was to -unyeigO'-inic^ process of embrown ing, or _tho-,<stuljbpi-npo6s -and intricacy of a branching tnictet to lese^nothing of generalised eifeet of-ma^, Vi^__ „^ „ .-, *.-^. s---A like sincerity kindled the Impressionists; but in aim wae differently applied. The main di6tinction is this— that whereas the Pre-Raphaelites drew thph' subjects mainly from the ideal realm, |£Ke''imagesf of : legend and jroinance, r^the Impre^iiorii'sts turned away ; from \tbat/ jwopld >'-a^. dominated by natural isftg. MuJlifcSheir sttbject matter m the world^beforo their eyes. The one might claim : Thvis-'Paolo kissedFrancesca : thus Madeline- stood 1 in the, winter moonlight, half hidden in- Jier loo&ened hair. The other: Thus I felt the charm of lamplit dusk, the wonder of the colour of the waves among the rock', the glory .of noon, vibratinsr on the cathedral's sculptured porches. Th& Pi'e.-Raphaclit& would not eophisticate realities in the supposed interests of beauty. The 'lmpressionist would not sophisticate his genuine emotions and sensatione in the interest of received ideas; . he •wotilcl' paint wKii-fc iae- jr-&aJly- <snj-o.j^ed -in. -tli-e workl about • )iim,_ without prejudice or afterthought. In either -case there was the conviction of truth expressed ;" but the iateresia engag-ecl were- dif3Teßen.t;.^i}d-%, difference of method was the natrural' result. • It is sometimes objected that tho'intereste of thb* Pro -Ra^Meiites- were too literary, th?i,ti th§y »oughfe inspiration from literature- ratnet -than from life. One becomei ,jl "little- -dmpatient of ihis

I false antithesis : {or literature is a part of life, and a. .v,ery living part of it. It is kj>oly-«tittojagjij literature, after .all, -that each i^eoe^a-tioir.^nVturn becomes familiar with ;ttn4"tgi^ftt»^p3« of human history: and it yreSs figures that 'the JPreIg^phaelfi^s^ sought to. deal, surely never "Tn.; a Dookish \s>x antiquarian spirit, 'never j , - -■^Ki^ro^n^r of the kind of painting- which has 'brought- into vogue is, &5n5. tfigpforitriiry, that it substitutes for a '$^rl*;mfcerest . a merely personal interest. ~^n<l sf fajtegp \rt- the case- of a Manet or a - "SWhteStet^njiiij 'personality counts for so much, that other claims are readily forgotten, yet I think tha_t for this reason the Impressionist movement is not so significant, or -powerful a- movement in art as that created \by t-he PTe-Raphaelites. — Laurence Binyon, m the Saturday Review. _ A _,WELT J -KNOWN LONDON ARTIST , Sir Francis Garruthers Gouldi whose recent political cartoons 'have been on view at .the- Brook -Street Galleries, was once de- - spribed by Lord Rosebery ;as "the greatest -asset the "Liberal party possesses." And, 1 indeed, there is no doubt a great deal of ttuth in the statement. Like many othes artists, Sir Francis has been fond of drawAH*g ever since his boyhood; although, un« lift© thi&*ffl3ajority. it was not until fairly iafe inilfe that ho devot&d himself entirely ~,t<iS the, /pencil. Probably his greatest sucj.cesses ihav&.been scored with the- portraits of Mr Chamberlain, of whom he has drawn ! sSpi© hundreds of likenesses. .The Tariff ,]^forni .leiaoer is a great admirer of Sir .F^rancis's; work, and £c once presented the icaricaturisfc with his photograph, on which .ha bad* 'written: "From -the real Chamber.lain to -tho author of the fictitious Chamberlain." .„ < **■ ■ ->"F. C. G.V native place is' Barnstaplo, and when he wae a lad ie was quite celebrated there on account of his clever draw- , ings. JDne^oharaoter who particularly toot -jhis'^aiScjr.'-wap the local gaoler, and many, 'we're' th^e* caricatures ho did of that worthy. Th© gaoler," "iiowever, did not take thes« portraits in/ very good part, and one day, on. -beholding himself depicted .as an elephanitr/he lost his temper, and went to the ■Tfcrgiro^^and • complained. - Tn« Mayor was jjugfiry'.amused. "Oh," said he, "you musfc iaiot- take ' offence- at that. He's only a all."- " Ah, , -but. that's not - iffic^ihust^jsiihei, your worship," returned! :the gaoler.'jsarcasticaUy ; "he's been a-cari-caturinar of you too!" .--'Sirr-'-ESanlas's humour is by no means . cooped ,Jo." his drawings. He has a rare "gift *of r i'epartee, and on one - occasion: hia - "wit prevented what might have Droved & nasty accident. Shortly after a genera! :hfe^was giving a. lecture- Qne ieven.tisj|f!giKbeiK*iiii.\tlie'. t isj|f!giKbeiK*iiii.\tlie' course of his some£j&irfgpre|tesrrong/ with, the.ligiiiu^ ■arrange- - . 'nMti^'oC^io hall, and I » the audience ' was :[: [ 'suV<i&ly*"pluniged in darkness. - A ' panic } \ seemed inevitable", but. •with' wonderful pre- . sence^of mind, "F. JO.'G.'" sawed J:he situa- ; it^on." by. waring : "liaclies and- gentlemen, T but there, was so muoh gas *- ' ujsea^Sjiriojif the election that'-fchere is conmdieTirb*^ij[fi£ficulty. in- obtaining;- a sufficient % supply now?' , Needless to say, ihe audience' '- waioonvulsed with laug'bber, ami .the timely -, sally" averted a disaster.' ~ * ~'~ ' l^tki THE JOLLY FUN. — Hinte to Artists for Picture Subjects.— ,ri You know, of course, that one of the - most popular pictures in this year's Academy is the Hon. John Collier's "Sentencecf to Death," which shows a nicely-groomed! young prentleman in the act of hearing from. ji , a melodramatic physician that he has nob r>. . vejjy loß^to live. . 0£ "I hoj>e w our younger artists will turn their I . '^v fttteMj6n "to" subjects of this nature. I look ifor.wa.TJd '/iwith eager anticipation to Frank Reynolds'* "Poor Mother," in which a group »«f tearf-fiF urchins will be shown peering! Mfosgiiyaftlwiell ; also to John Hassall's "His ■Tmcfirl^TJeciuest," wherein the distracted 1 firiSeirrobin i& staring frantically seawards. a little shoe in one hand and a parasol in tboi^otiher: also to Dudley Hardy's "Th« _ Emply^KeniK>t;" in whioh "we shall sea all that the motor car has left of the family, dog *.also to Lawson Wood's "The Last Glimpse," depicting the agony of the young wife saying good-bye to her husband about to bs executed. , Such, subjects have- been all - too few 01 late : we" need more of them to brighten. ,th^|iorne and cheor us on our way through ' die" valley of sighs. - I wishifre Hon. John Collier had painted ■' in a.-.Jiyie- corner bit, giving, us the- sunny, home from which the young fellow sentenced to death was. about to be torn. "The egpwds around the picture would certainly "have been doubled. Merely a • hint, sir, for next year.— Keble Howard, in tho Sketch.