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PRELUDE.

 

RT is the universal language which has never been

  

confounded. All schools have succeeded in voicing

' .. some syllables of this native tongue which men

 

 

have understood and. acknowledged to be divine.

 

From the world’s art has the common verdict of mankind chosen
its masterpieces, and this in spite of the mannerisms ‘which have
grouped its examples into schools and cliques. The schools
are exotic, true art is abiding, and the judgment which has
declared in favor of any expression of artistic endeavor has gone
deeper than the means by which a thought is expressed, to the.
consideration of the thought itself. In the great treasure houses
of the old world are crowded the masterpieces of workmen long
since dead. Into the halls of private citizens, and galleries of
public institutions in America, are now being gathered the gems
which the nineteenth century is producing.

This volume is prepared in response to a general desire on the
part of the American people for reliable information concerning the
famous paintings which have attracted the attention of the world,
or secured -to their authors the largest rewards, both in fame and,
for-tune. Whenever the desire for artistic productions has become
so general in a community that wealth and taste acquire galleries
of fine and costly paintings; there is a corresponding desire on
the part of the people composing that community to gain definite

knowledge of the character of the art which has come into their

683093

 

 

PRELUDE;

.

midst, to know something of the characteristics of the artists who
have produced it, and to learn, if possible,vthe facts concerning
the acquisition and the value of such collections.

Nowhere, during recent years, have these collections attracted
the attention of the people as in America, for in America, art
has not yet become indigenous to the soil, and every collection
becomes an educator, elevating and refining taste, and inspiring
those in whom art is an instinct, to strive for higher ideals and
a more perfect execution in what they attempt.

The pictures presented in this work are many of them the
property of American collectors or American institutions. Some,
however, still remain in European galleries, but are of" such a
character as to have attracted the attention of connoisseurs through-
out the world, and rewarded their authors in a most substantial
manner. I

In America, art has not until later years come to be the
property of the people; ' but, through, the efforts of earnest workers
in the line ofrreproductive art, what was once the delight of the
few‘has, 'by the~ many excellent means now in use, come to be
the joy and inspiration of the many. It is only out of the soil
of common life that great artists have sprung, and to their credit
and that of their patrons, their greatest gifts have been to the
people, from whom they have received their earliest and most
enduring inspirations. ‘

The masterpiece of Cimabue, veiled in the palaces of the
great, was borne aloft through the throngs of the street, who
knelt and wept at its serene beauty. It is sometimes urged that
anything will do for the people. Tawdry crudities in painting,
cheap tales in print, meaningless roulades in music, these, it has
been said -Will do for the people. But were not Dante’s songs in

the vulgar tongue? Did not the critics pronounce Ariosto fit only

for the multitude? Was not the bell tower of Giotto set in a

 

 

PRELUDE.

public square, where .the people could hear its call to their Ave
Marias, and enjoy its touching beauty through all' these
centuries? And “although the architect and the painter may not
do for the masses of the people of America as they could in former
times for the free cities of Italy, still the “art preservative of
all arts ” is able to carry into the homes and bring to the firesides
of our people those expressions of art before which the whole
world worships. I

In this volume only modern artiSts have a representation.
Many of them, nay, most of them, are still working, influencing
the thoughts and moving the hearts of men and women as
mightily with their recent productions as by those upon which the
years have set their seal of greatness. It is of these men, their
works, their personal characteristics, and their home life, that we
speak in these pages.

Not only this, but we give, so far as possible, the history of
the particular work by which the artist is represented, with such
facts concerning its conception, execution, previous and present
ownership, as are accessible. We can not vouch for its present
whereabouts in all cases, inasmuch as people are often peculiarly
sensitive concerning their artistic possessions, and shrink from'
that publicity which reference to their treasures, in print, would
give them.

The rapid advance in taste in America has made new publi-
cations and new methods a necessity, and that publisher will best

serve the people who recognizes their demand for fresh subjects,

with variety in both form 'and color. The art of fine book-making

in America has waited for this publication to exhibit its perfections
and capacities. '

The largest designs ever introduced into a work of this kind

are found in this volume, representing an enormous money' value,

 

 

 

PRELUDE.

and‘yet the poorest home in the. land may be transformed into
an art gallery, which. princes have hitherto alone enjoyed.

This.volume has not appeared in Europe, to again enjoy a
resurrection of fading glories on this side the Atlantic. It is new
and made for the American reader alone. i L

There is little more to say in this prologue, other than to
express the hope that the kind reader will lay down the last
pages of the work with satisfaction; with a little gained by way
of information, and with muchof pleasure. Should it bring a,
fresh inspiration to any one, a higher ideal in 'art, the book Will

have fully met the aspirations of its author.

FRED H. ALLEN.

 

 

 

FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

TEXT BY

FRED H. ALLEN,

AUTHOR OF “THE GREAT CATHEDRALS OF THE WORLD.” “MODERN GERMAN MASTERS,” MASTERPIECES

OF GERMAN ART,” “BOWDOIN ART COLLECTION,” “GLIMPSES OF PARISIAN ART,”

“ADVENTURES IN SEARCH OF A BOOK,” ETC.

PHOTOGRAVURES BY LAKESIDE PRESS.

HASKELL AND POST COMPANY,

BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

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JAPAN AND CHINA PAPER EDITION, BEFORE LETTER.

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COPYRIGHT, 1887,
BY

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PRINTED BY

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AUBURN.

 

 

M EISSONIERV

EAN LOUIS ERNEST MEISSONIER was'born
at Lyons, in 1815. His father was a brolfer,

to whom fortune came late in life. His mother

 

 

the instruction of the once famous Madame
Jacottot; and although she died too young to have had any
direct influence on her son, he no doubt inherited from ’her that
germ of artistic instinct, with a strong personal resemblance, and a
highly nervous temperament, which betrays itself in tears at the
hearing of fine music, and by an intense susceptibility to every
form of criticism, and mental as well as moral emotion.

The attention of the public was first attracted to the illustra-
tions which he drew for publications.i~What pencils, what eyes,
what unfailing patience he must have had to accomplish such
rare and beautiful designs! Every line was capable of the closest
1nspection with the magnifying glass. .The engraver was obliged
to omit some, and inevitably alter the qualities of others. So
beautiful and delicate were these drawings that fac-sirnile engravers
could not be found in France capable of cutting these remarkable
blocks. - I

The artist’s first appearance at. the Salon was in 1834, when
he exhibited an oil paintingof Flemish peasants. A year [later
his pictures were rejected, but the following‘year the rejected
pictures were received by a more intelligent committee. ‘In 1840
we have from his pencil “ Saint Paul,” “Isaiah,” and “A Man
Reading,” for which he received a third class medal. In 1841, his
Salon picture, “The Chess Players,” was sold for 2,000 francs,

and it is worth three times that amount at the present day.

had learned to paint on china and ivoryifi-fi‘dferg'griE'l't'o'n

 

 
 
     
 

2 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

Dupont, being asked one day by Meissonier if he could not
engrave one of his pictures,.replied: “My dear master, when an
engraver examines a picture his first point is to discover what he
can leave out. Now when I look at one of yours I see at once
that I can leave out nothing.” This remark of the‘skilled engraver
emphasizes the characteristic of Meissonier’s work—n0 line can be
omitted, because each has been studied with a keen eye and a
sound judgment; every stroke is expressive and necessary.

The picture which we preSent is one of the most famous of
Meissonier’s paintings. Upon the canvas the artist toiled through
fgfift‘ecn years, and it is the most important of his numerous works.
Itwas begun by. order of an English nobleman, who had, through
his agent in Paris, contracted with Meissonier for a specified sum.
After the artist had worked upon it two years- he demanded that
the price be increased, ’to which the nobleman assented. After
more years of labor upon the picture the artist again wished the
price raised. Meanwhile, Mr. Stewart, of New York, had seen the
picture upon the artist’s easel, and had authorized his agent to
purchase it in case it was ever thrown upon the market. Again
and again was the price for the painting increased, until at last,
in desperation, the English gentleman declined to meet further
demands for an increase, and on the same day it was purchased
for $60,000 by the agent of Mr. Stewart.

It represents Napoleon at the battle of Friedland, at the
zenith of his glory; and the artist has attempted to portray the
love, the adoration of the soldiers for the great captain, in whom
they had faith, and for whom they were ready to die.

In the sale of the Stewart collection, which took place at .the
rooms of the American Art Association, in 1887, it was sold to
Judge Hilton for $66,000, and was presented by him to the Met-
ropolitan Museum of Fine Arts.

As we shall have occasion to refer to this great artist in a
subsequent article, we pass to the consideration of the works of

one of his illustrious contemporaries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JULES BRETON.

OT far from fifty years ago, landscape art enjoyed
a striking revival. From fantastic canvasses, where
religion, fancy, and mythology mingled in the

common affairs of life, a group of distinguished

 

men, like Rousseau, Dupre’, Troyon, and Diaz led
a revolt. Wonderful discoveries were made in the field of truth;
apple-trees became apple-trees, a primrose was a primrose, and
without bombast, or solemn pomp of gods or men, the simple
pomp of nature enjoyed her right domain.

Following them closely came Millet, painting his marvellous
landscapes; and later, Breton, touching with a poet’s fancy the
homely scenes of toil and industry, which up to this time had
not found one daring enough to espouse their cause, or true
enough to .catch the poetry and pathos of humble servitude,

The figures with which Breton decorated his canvass heightened

the effect of the landscape, as much by the arrangement of groups
as by the sincerity of attitude and nobility of their movements.
I It was a new departure that Bréton contemplated, and against
it all his friends threw their strength of argument. But contact
with things actually seen and heard, impressed the young painter
too strongly, and he' became a faithful observer and a courageous;
interpreter of man in the fields.

Jules Adolphe Breton was born at Courrieres, in 1827. His
'first master was an unknown person, who had drawn with a piece
of chalk, upon a barn door, a profile of a man holding in his
mouth a pipe, with the bowl turned down, from which the smoke
descended in corkscrew curls towards the ground. In speaking of

it, Breton says: “I imitated it, and for the first time gave proof

 

 

 

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4 ' FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

of originality by correcting the false position of the pipe.” As a
lad, Bréton became the pupil of Drolling, and later of Devigne.

A dreamy, poetic temperament found constant fascination in
ancient books, and the pictures and statues of the parish church.
The latter of these, he says, realized the most grotesque concep-
tions of barbarous Chisels. A Saint Sebastian, with body' about
three feet high, pierced with real arrows and covered with drops
of blood, he regarded with a vague terror, except at times it
seemed transfigured by clouds of incense and the undulating tremor
of the candles. These seemed to the lad as endowed with a
strange life, and his ear caught their mysterious voices mingling
with the hoarser bellowings of chanting priests and the phthisicy
wails of a feeble organ.

Between Millet and Jules Bréton a comparison should not be
made. Both were thinkers, both were poets; but Millet was austere,
Bréton was tender. Millet saw the peasant [as a sort of brute,
hopeful, believing, but ever “bowed over the furrow which he
moistened with the sweat of his toil.” Bre’ton, on the contrary,
emancipates his subjects from the glebe yoke, and represents them
as made free and noble by their toil. His peasants are men
and women breathing freely, “joyous, unsubdued, accomplishing
their tasks as if they were priests of some pagan rite.”

The artist’s triumph was with simple and'natural creatures,
which, for that reason, were the more touching. He glorified the
sublime labor of man in the fields, where are mingled all that
constitutes the generating and mysterious forces of the earth. He
tells of the eternal recommencing of the years in their circling
seasons, and teaches the fact that man lives by the sweat of his
brow, and that children are born through pain.

The first volume of poems which appeared from the pen of
the poet painter was hailed with delight by the Parisian world,
where Breton was extremely popular. Victor Hugo wrote him:
“To be twice a poet, a Lamartine, and a Corot; to be by the
strophe and the palette, this is given you. I thank you for your
book; I send you double plaudits.” Gambetta wrote: “Dear

great master—I have read your works, I have seen them. I can

 

 

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, BRETON. 5

not tell whether it is the poet or painter that has most deeply
conquered and fascinated me.”

At the Walters Gallery, in Baltimore, is “The End of the
Day.” In 1874, at the Forbes sale, in London, “When the Cat’s
Away the Mice will Play” sold for $3020; and a small picture
at the Johnston sale, in New York, realized the sum of $2000,
while “The Communicants,” the original of our illustration, at
the disposal of the collection of Mrs. Mary J. Morgan, of New
York, was purchased by Mr. Watson, for the sum of $45,500.

The verses which follow are copied from a poem by this
gifted artist, and form the motive for the picture which is here

presented.

Among the fresh lilacs, and the new budding leaves,

In this spring-time that burns and smiles through the trees,
On this bright Sabbath day, maids with heavenly brows,
Marching onward to mass, beneath the young boughs;

Did you take from the sky, to commune for God’s pleasure,
Your robes of pure white where quivers the azure?

Thus so would I think from your costumes so light
That bloom with the day, like the snow and as bright;
By the vapory veil, with its misty-like flounces,

By your virginal lips, and your sweet modest glances;
By your nosegays of gold, attached to your tapers,
And the heavenly light that illumines your faces.

How each thing around both greets you and blesses;
The mossy thatched roofs have enameled their ridges;
They curve rounding down to contours most supple;
The soft, tender grass does everywhere sparkle;

Still wet by the morn, its white dew breathing odors,
It unrolls to your feet its velvety borders.

Your folds of gauze in the ,breeze make angelic pinions,
Less white are the’doves on the barn’s lofty crestings;
Less pure is the hawthorn, with its balmy branches;
Thus onward you go to the old chapel’s porches;
Where girdled by lindens the church bell is tolling,
While the sun on the towers its corners is gilding.

And spotless you go. The portal unfolds,

Your heart stronger beats, the bell louder tolls;

The aged, quite moved, at the tower’s base centre;
The door opens wide. Go, gentle maids, enter:

And then from the burning ends of your nun’s tapers,
Let bright stars of love float out with its vapors.

 

ROSA - BONHEU R.

ARIE ROSA BONHEUR was born at Bordeaux,
in 1822, of a family of artists; her father being
a painter, her brother, Isadore, a sculptor, while

another brother, Auguste; has reached a most

 

enviable position as a painter of landscapes and
cattle. Rosa was the favorite pupil of her father, who lived long

enough to see the promise of his daughter’s earliest efforts fulfilled,
dying the same year that the famous “ Horse Fair ” won for her
a place among the highest of the world.

Her début at the Salon was made in 1841, and for nine years
the growing artist was enrolled among the successful competitors
in this world renowned exhibition. For two years her work is
not seen, but in 1853 the renowned painting which represents her
in this work startled the artistic circles of Paris like a revelation.
Since that time the whole world has become familiar with her
genius, and has acknowledged her to be the most accomplished
female. painter who has ever lived.

Besides the talent which has brought her renown, the pure
and generous womanhood can not be too much admired. Unusual
as is a talent like her’s, so, also, is the good name which she
has preserved, while enjoying absolute freedom from conventional
restraints throughout her artistic career. Ever in contact with men
and circumstances not met by artists of her sex, discarding even
the dress which society demands of women, she has preserved a
spotless name- throughout her sixty-five years of life.

By special decree of the late Emperor Napoleon III., Rosa

Bonheur was permitted to adopt the dress of the male sex, which

she has worn with modest dignity and lady-like bearing. ‘

 

 

 

BONHEUR. 7

She is devoted to her art, and while living in Paris during
the early days of her painting, she found a place in her studio
for a sheep and several rabbits which she employed as models.

In 1849, Rosa Bonheur founded in Paris a free school of
design for young ladies, of which she has since been a director,
in connection with her sister, Madame Peyrol. In 1868 this famous
artist was elected a member of the Antwerp institute; having
received before this, medals in 1845, 1848, 1855, and 1867. An
unusual tribute was paid to her in 1865, by the bestowal of the
cross of the Legion of Honor. In 1880, the Leopold cross was
given, and the same year she received. the commander’s cross of
the Royal Order of Isabella, the Catholic. _

The famous painting called the “Horse Fair,” which was
purchased by Cornelius Vanderbilt at the sale of the Stewart col-
lection, in 1887, and presented by him to the Metropolitan Museum
of Fine Arts, is the recognized masterpiece of the artist, and, as
before stated, was exhibited in the Salon of 1853. It was sold to
Gambart & Co., in London, who caused it to be engraved by
Thomas Landseer, after which they made a public exhibition of
it in. the metropolis and throughout the provinces“

In 1857 it was purchased by Mr. William P. Wright, of
Weehawken, New Jersey, and exhibited 'in New York city in
October of the same year, at which time it became the property
of Mr. A. T. Stewart.

For the use of the engraver the artist painted a reduced copy,
with some changes in detail. This copy passed to Jacob Bell,
who bequeathed it, in 1859, to the National Gallery of London.

Preferring to be represented by a better work, the artist painted
a third “ Horse Fair,” which she offered to the National Gallery,
in place of the hastily executed sketch; but inasmuch as the
trustees of the gallery decided that they had no power to make
the exchange, she contented herself with retouching the small
picture.

At a sale in Paris, in 1861, “A Flock of Sheep” brought
14,550 francs. At the Belmont sale, in New York, in 1872,

"‘ Returning to the Pasture ” was sold for $5,050. At the Knowles

 

 

 

 

8 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

sale, in London, “ Spanish Muleteers Crossingtth'e Pyrenees " sold
for $10,000. A landscape, with animals, at the Blodgett sale, in
New York, brought $5,100; While “Highland Cattle,” at the Latham
sale, brought $610. A sheep. picture, entitled “Noonday Repose,”
was sold for $4,000.

The portrait on the margin is a likeness of the Rosa Bonheur
of many years. ago, when the black hair, cut short and divided
at the side, was thrown carelessly back from a wide forehead,
revealing a square, shrewd face, with frank eyes and pleasant
smile. The hair, abundant still, is gray now, and the face, although
kindly as ever, bears the marks of ripening years. Her home is
no longer a Paris studio, shared with sheep and rabbits, but a
spacious mansion with ample groundS—the pets, a family of lions.

Rosa Bonheur’s work is earnest, honest, and complete of its
kind, largely dependent upon memory and observation, but wanting
in imagination, without which no one can attain the highest in art.

One of the most poetic; of her productions, one which is
intensely realistic, hangs in the Luxembourg gallery, and is called
“Ploughing in Nivernois.” It is marvelous in anatomy, charming
in color, true to life, and bathed with sunshine filtering through
an expanse of broken silvery clouds. Intimate acquaintance and
close observation is the secret of its power.

It is interesting to note that during the investment of Paris,
in 1871, Prince Fritz gave orders that 'the house and studio of
Rosa Bonheur, at Fontainebleau, should not be in any manner

disturbed. Rosa Bonheur, even in her old age, is perhaps the

greatest animal painter in France.

 

 

-- THE 'HORSE FAIR. - 1  

- ' » ROSA 'BONHEUR.

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Proofs éefore Letter on Imperial japan and China Pager.

PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of rParisian Art,” etc.

 

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-
1 ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to /a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA Pnoors to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY nus, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKAR‘I‘, BONHEUR, GEROME, Fon’rurxv, VIBERT, CHURCH;
VERBCECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

 

 

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PART II.

l887,

COPYRIGHT
BY HASKELL AND POST COMPANY.

MUNKA’csv.

ERY much like a romance reads the story of this
famous painter’s life. Abject poverty and suffering
in his early days has given place to a condition

of elegance and affluence obtained only by lords

 

we)?

and princes of the world. In an obscure village
in Hungary, called Munkacshwas‘ born the subject of this sketch.
The little town had never been known to the world at large, had
not the celebrated painter made it a household word by adopting
its name for his own. i
It is impossible for us to detail the struggles with poverty,
the slow and uncertain development of his budding genius. But,
after having been several years the pupil of Knaus, of Berlin, the
young man established for himself an unfading reputation by a
new departure in art which brought him both fame and fortune.
Much against the advice of his teacher, Munkacsy attempted a
representation drawn from the scenes of his early life, and gave
to the world his “Last Day of the Condemned.” Knausvimme—
diately. acknowledged" his mistake, and advised Munkacsy to pursue
the course which he'had so marvelously marked out for himself.
In a magnificent studio in_ Paris the great painter now enjoys
fthe fruits of his former struggles. Among the most noted of his
pictures may be mentioned “Milton Dictating to his Daughters,”
a work which attracted great attention, and brought upon- the
artist severe criticism. In one of the recent sales of pictures in.
New York, “The Visit to the Young Mother,” from his brush,
brought a large price. “The Father’s Birthday,” and “ The De-
parture of the Recruit,” are paintings of great note in Europe,
neither of which, however, have been brought to this country. .

 

 

 

IO FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

The great work of this artist, that which has attracted the
attention of all Europe, is a colossal canvas, entitled “Christ
before Pilate.” Portions of this painting have been reproduced by
Sedelmeyer, of Paris, who, for two years or more, exhibited this
marvelous work of art throughout the principal cities of England
and the continent. A few months ago, Mr. John Wannamaker, of
Philadelphia, was fortunate enough to secure the magnificent prize
at the princely price of $115,000. '

There is no doubt that “ Christ before Pilate” constitutes the
masterpiece of the century, and possibly of two, as the eighteenth
did not produce its equal, and the nineteenth. gives little promise
of excelling it.

The artist made his first visit to America, to see' the work
satisfactorily presented in ,New York. Since which time, wherever
it has been shown, multitudes of people have thronged the gallery
to enjoy its strong and impressive outlines. It is a painting
never to be forgotten. When one has stood before this canvas
he realizes more vividly than ever before the wild and almost
tragic event in the life of our Saviour which it‘commemorates.
The stern, strong face of the Roman governor, the vindictive ex-
pression playing upon the features of the scribes and pharasees,
the hatred shown in both attitude and visage of the accusers, the
interested crowd; and, in the midst, the patient, silent Christ, all
form an image upon the mind which remains there while life
remains.

When the writer had the pleasure of visiting the studio of
Munkacsy, the artist was engaged upon a representation of the
crucifixion. The canvas was much larger, and the painting a more
ambitious effort; but less has been said of this than of the paint-
ing by which he is represented in this work. Few realize their
own ideal of this scene, and few attempts have proved satisfactory
to the people. Not such, however, is the case of the painting
under consideration. “Christ before Pilate ” has received the verdict
of the people, not only of America but of Europe.

The bronze bust of Munkacsy which Mr. Sedelmeyer, of Paris,

has generously placed in the Lenox Library, in New York, shows

 

 

.x " > .7 V I

V;

 

 

MUNKACSY. I I

us a man whom the loungers of the Boulevard turn to look at
when he passes. An abundance of curly hair, crisp beard, a face
full of energy, of observation, and reflection, yet tender and pro-
found; the dreamy expression 'of the poet drifting across the
mobile features, followed immediately by a, smile, as though the
artist had seen and recognized some line of form, or tone of
color, far beyond our common ken—all speaking of the loneliness
of a heart full of sympathy, and love, and noble aspirations.

Try as he may, Munkacsy finds it impossible to become a
Frenchman. He has, no doubt, been influenced by Paris life and
character into a higher key of color, and a brighter sentiment of
art; but there are Parisian painters who could dress their ladies
with greater taste and elegance, and shed over a domestic scene
a more exquisite aroma of romance and refinement; but who could
play with, light, and air, and texture, to Such a purpose as he?
Who thrill the world with such fadeless impressions of tenderness,
joy, or sorrow. . V .

Munkacsy-Mihaly, as he signs his name, according to Hun-
garian custom of placing the baptismal appellation last, is one of
the few painters who, like the ideal poet, are born, not made.
Few have risen so rapidly from obscurity to renown, and fewer,
still, have enjoyed a recognition so spontaneous and unusual.
Between the apprentice in a joiner’s workshop, where the little
“Miska” drew his first designs upon the boards he planed, and
the great master, decorated and ennobled, in the grandest studio
of Paris, in the Avenue de Villiers, lies a path over which the
artist has walked, not amidst roses and dulcet harmonies, but-

amidst herculean efforts, and many a painful fall.

 

 

 

VIBERT.

  
  
 
  

i eve/a
‘HNE of the most genuine and every way enjoyable

artist of Paris is M. Jean Georges Vibert. Truly
_ original in every way, his art presents itself with
g all the freshness and beauty of’a day’s dawn.
mm“ He was born in Paris, in 1840; entered the école
des beaux-am‘s at an early age, and made his debut ’at the Salon
of 1863, receiving, only seven years later, the decoration of chev-
alier of' the Legion of Honor.

During the siege of Paris-Vibert, with many» fellow artists,
belonged to the company of sharpshooters, who so bravely defended
the besieged city. At the combat of Malmaison, in September of
1870, Vibert was severely wounded. '

At the Salon of ‘1887, a picture called “The New Clerk”
attracted much attention, and was purchased by Mr. Butler, of
New York; “The Reprimand” having at an earlier day been
secured by Miss Wolf; while “The First Born ” had found its
way into the possession of Mr. Stebbins.

A very amusing work by Vibert, entitled “Gulliver Fastened
to the Ground and Surrounded by the Army,” has been often
reproduced for the amusement, not alone of children, but every
person whose privilege it has been to examine it.

A. water-color, eight by eleven inches, called “The Servant
Reading,” brought, at the Johnston sale in New York, $330.
“Gulliver in Lilliput ” sold in Brussels for $4,000; and “A Com-
mittee on Moral Books,”lat the Latham sale in New York, in
1878, sold for $4,100. This, to many people, is the chef a“ w'uW/e
of the artist. It is inexpressibly amusing. The faces of the astute

committee is one of the most interesting studies in physiogomy

 

 

.1, MISSIONARY’S ‘ STORY. -

JEAN ' GEORGE VIBERT.

 

 

 

VIBERT.

13

which modern art has presented. At the Salon of 1878, what we
believe the largest canvas Vibert has produced, called “The
Apotheosis of Thiers,” was secured by the State and hung in the
gallery of the Luxembourg.

The crowning work of the artist, however, is “The Mission-
ary’s Story,” purchased by Mr. C. P. Huntingdon for $25,500.
Nothing can excel in keenness of satire the story which this
famous picture tells. Nothing exceeds in delicacy of expression
the various figures grouped upon this marvelous canvas—the Mis-
sionary, the central figure of the group, worn with the toil and
privations of his dangerous field, his head bearing the scars of
murderous assault, his arm still freshly bleeding from wounds he
had recently received, his worn and haggard features lighted up
with enthusiasm and zeal, his attitude revealing the intense earnest-
ness of a man who is willing to die for the cause he so
unselfishly and nobly represents; on the other hand, the delight-
ful ease, the exquisite indolence of his superiors, to whom he is
making his report of faithful service, and of hair-breadth escapes
by field and flood. It was a criticism too severe, a satire too
keen, to find a hearty welcome in the salons of those whose
sympathies were more strongly attracted to the reverend seigniors
enjoying their luxurious ease, than to the long-suffering and sorely
wounded missionary.

Few men are more indefatigable or untiring in their work
than Vibert, but he loves his play hours, and has a full, happy,
and very sensible way of looking at life. Among his friends he
is the most popular and enjoyable of Parisian artists. And What
a worker he is, not only in his studio, but all over his house!
Not content with filling every room with the most exquisite
souvenirs-of the world’s art, he has enclosed his garden, and made
it a sort of Japanese court and salon, covered with sky-lights, and
decorated with curious grotesque and gayly colored dragons of
his own design.

Vibert’s pictures are remarkable for delicacy of touch and a
fine sense of color. Nature is his constant teacher. He builds

up his pictures and copies accurately.‘ He idealizes all that he

 

 

 

 

I4 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

touches, having a vivid poetic imagination, yet hOIds the mirror
up to human nature with unflinching courage.

In the collection of Mr. Henry C. Gibson, of Philadelphia, is
a fine specimen of. Vibert’s high and brilliant talent. It is “The
_Roll-call'after the Pillage.” The .dragoons have evidently sacked
some opulent place, and, laden with booty, swagering with too
much wine, holding each other up, the men at arms, present a
zigzag line in front of their captain; while one, with liquor in
each hand, staggers out of the door of an inn. As a painting of
humor the work is capital, and presents the artist when his am-
bition for excellence had not been tainted by the desire to meet
the demand of the American market for glittering, gaudy pictures,
unworthy his magnificent talents.

It is gratifying that taste for genuine art is so rapidly increas-
ing in America, and that wealth. and culture are equal its sincere
appreciation. In the “Missionary’s Story” there is more than. the
superficies~of a canvas presented, but a deep, tender, and touching

tale is told, under the guise of a pertinent satire.

 

 

GERoME.

 

.MONG the artists who are to-day enjoying the

   

fruits of their profession, there are probably more

g men who can point to Jean Léon Geromc as

 

 

the master who has inspired them with high

 

ideals of art, than to any other man now engaged
in teaching in any part of the world. No man has succeeded in
placing so high a value upon artistic conception, or inculcated a
higher art ideal among his pupils than this.

Gerome is a fine draftsman. It is said that placing his pencil
upon a canvas he will draw in outline a perfect human figure,
without once removing his pencil from the canvas. He is a
master of light and shade as well as of drawing. Although many
of his drawings partake strongly of the nude, one can not accuse
him of immorality, because the severity of his style completely
overrides all immoral impression. As a painter he governs himself
so strongly that if he were to produce an immoral conceptionit
would be consciously and coldly, and not from irresistible impulse.

He sometimes paints the terrible, as in the “Pollice Verso,”
which we here present; but there is no Violence, no expression
of repulsion, and in the very coldness there is something peculiarly
fascinating as well as terrible. \

Gerome’s knowledge of landscape is not intimate. It is, how-
ever, sufficient for his purpose. Horace Vernet once said of Gerome '
that he saw his picture finished before he touched his canvas.
This is a rare and precious gift. But whenever a picture lies so,
perfectly in the mind of the artist, the moment it is conceived,
there is danger that too much confidence will be inspired, and the
best work will not always be the result. The benefits of reflection

 

 

 

16 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

and of feeling are excluded by this process, but the work is
assured, and security also, which fears not the treasons of retouch-
ing. One is often captivated by the neatness of execution in
Gerome’s pictures, which is mistaken for great artistic merit; but
this extremely fine delicacy of mannerism should not blind the
eye to the fact that even Jove nods at times.

It is apparent to every \one, even to the warmest admirer of
Gerome, that" at the present day he belongs to the class of those
braves, who, having begun life with two or three successful affairs
of honor, prefer to live upon their reputations and fight no more.
However, Gerome will be in vogue so long as he lives. He
increases his resources, goes far in search of original ideas, curious
types, and novel landscapes. He brings fresh material, but unfor-
tunately his methods of handling remain ever the same.

“Pollice Verso ” carries the observer back to the days of
Nero, the Coloseum, and the fierce struggles of gladiators, for
the amusement of Rome’s titled children. The play has reached
the supreme moment. The warrior of. the net, armed with a
simple trident, has fallen beneath the blows of the heavy sword,
of his antagonist. He waits the decision. The vanquished appeals
for life; but no, the sanguinary spirit of the Roman women is
aroused, the thumbs turn down, and the next blow of the victor
is a murder done for the amusement of Rome’s populace. This
picture was purchased at the Stewart sale, by F. G. Bourne, of
Brooklyn, for $11,000.

All the medals and honors which the governments of the old
world can 'shower upon artists of distinction, have been received
by Gerome, as well as the fame and fortune which have come to
grace his declining years with happiness and content.

Three important pictures by the same artist occupied a high
position in the sale of the collection of Mrs. Mary J. Morgan——
“The Tulip Folly” bringing $6,000; “The Vase Seller of Cairo”
selling at $4,600; and “The Coffee-House at Cairo” being pur-
chased by Mr. Cook for $4,800. We shall have occasion to refer

to this great master later in the work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROSPECTUS.

 

 

Proofs before Lez‘z‘er on Imperial Japan and China Paper.

 

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

 

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop—
1 ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form, on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

, It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each.. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a

portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBCECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

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CABANEL;

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CABANEL.

LEXANDRE CABANEL stands among the lead-
ers of the masters of modern painting—master

both by example and as a teacher, alike as the

 

instructor. of youth in art and in manhood. No

 

nobler biography can be written of any artist at
the present day than that which his own work and his teaching
are working into a practical commentary on his life.

Thirty years of brilliant success, thirty years of productiveness
which has exerted a marvelous influence upon French art, have
thrown the prestige of superior talent upon his magnificent career.
Arrived at the zenith of success, having received all crowns, he
continues to work with the same fidelity which has always char-
acterized his efforts.

Learned and original, skillful with hand and inventive in mind,
he unites the charm of grace to the manliness of strength, whether
it be in the style of. his work or the thought which he is repre-
senting. His‘powers are of almost infinite variety; thereby he is
saved from repeating himself. And whether it be in fresco, in
portraiture, or in historic composition, he stamps all of his work
with a brilliant individuality. He studies, that he may create; and
his creations .are constantly suggesting new. The poetry of his
thought finds expression by his brush, While his color charms the
eye and fascinates the mind. i

It may be that Cabanel adheres too. closely to academic tra-
ditions, but so thoroughly modern are his paintings as to prove
that in originality of treatment, and individuality of thought, his

productions are true innovations. Cabanel is fully alive to the

refined and bewitching product of the subtle civilization of Paris.

 

 

 

I8 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

Delicate and sensitive as an interpreter, he portrays the peculiar
Parisian beauty, air, and style with wonderful accuracy.

Alexandre Cabanel was born at Montpellier, on the twenty-
third of September, 1823. In his native town he began the study
of art, at the age of eleven years, and when he was but fourteen
he declined the crushing honor of a professorship in drawing at
the college of Saint Pons. In his desire for technical dexterity,
Cabanel worked with a sort of delirium, a passion which possessed
him to such a degree as to win his mind from the enjoyment of
music, for which art he possessed alike unbounded genius. A
competition among the young artists of Montpellier resulted in
the awarding of the prize to Cabanel, by unanimous consent; the
department sending the successful competitor to Paris for study at
its own charges. With'a letter of recommendation to Monsieur
Picot, Cabanel reached "Paris, with high hopes, in December of
1839. Grave and thoughtful by nature, the pupil was teachable
and easily impressed by the forms and color so dear to Picot’s
soul. I I

To enumerate the great paintings by Cabanel would be to
fill these pages with a mere list of his work. The picture which
we present is entitled “Thamar,” and hangs upon the walls of the
Luxembourg gallery.

At \the age of forty Cabanel produced what he desired should
be his chef-d’aeuvre. He meant it to be a perfect combination
of the highest qualities of which he was capable, a crowning
proof to the maturity" of his genius. Enthusiastic artists hailed
the advent of his picture with delight; and so “ The Birth of
Venus,” which is now one of the gems of the, Luxembourg, became
the expression of the refined elegance and pure taste of the re-
nowned artist. Softly cradled on waves of opal blue, the tender
radiance touching the snowy figure resting on the billows, the
farms bathed in, limpid waters, she seemed an ideal of beauty
threatening to put an end to the reign of Aurora herself. This
famous picture at one time adorned the salon of Napoleon III.

The picture which we present was painted in 1876. The year

before, “Sulamite” was painted in response to a commission from

 

CABANEL. 19

Miss Catherine Wolfe. For Mr. Vanderbilt, Cabanel painted “Pe—
nelope,” and for other Americans several pictures were executed
upon orders.

A Upon the walls of the Pantheon, Cabanel has for Several
years been working a part of each day upon an enormous paint-
ing. The scheme of decoration is to depict the life of Saint
Genevieve, patron Saint of Paris, combined with the history of
the introduction of Christianity into France.

In a beautiful house adjoining the Park Monceau the great
master enjoys quietly the wealth and honor which his distinguished
talents have won for him. It is impossible to name the Americans
who possess portraits from the hand of Cabanel. “ It is simply a
rush.” Mr. Mackey has four times sat, while Mrs. Mackey and
daughter, and Mrs. Hungerford, have all become the artist’s pa-
trons. Many buy original compositiOns in addition to having their
likenesses rendered by the master.

This popularity as a» portrait painter to Americans, has no
doubt served the artist excellently well in affording a ready market,
at good prices, for work which Was too high keyed for Parisian
taste; and. it is whispered that the great painter is not seldom
trapped into satisfying the rather gaudy taste of his transatlantic

friends.

 

 

 

 

 

PI LOTY.

1 '
A 9 r
, fag; ERHAPS the most striking of the many large

and imposing canvases in the collection of the

   

late Alexander T. Stewart was one bearing the
name of Karl von Piloty, representing Thusnelda
at the triumphal entry of Germanicus into Rome.
This picture was painted to the-order of Mr. Stewart; but before
sending it to this country, at the request of Emperor William, it
was forwarded to Berlin, and there placed upon exhibition. The
same subject, having been treated by Piloty in a slightly different
manner, was placed in the Pinakothec,-at Munich.

Piloty’s own description of this famous work is as follows:
“The Emperor Tiberius, surrounded by his favorites, counselors,
lictors, senators,.and Roman women, has taken his place upon a
tribune, under a canopy, that the triumphal procession of German-
icus may pass before him. In the background Germanicus appears
upon a triumphal car, surrounded by trophies of victory, and
accompanied by his five sons. He is greeted by the applause
and acclamations of the people, who are seen around the arch of
triumph. In front of the arch, from the middle distance reaching
to the foreground of the picture, are the German captives, led in
chains. As principal of the group, and of the picture, walks
Thusnelda, in the costume of the Germans, with her son, Tumel—

icus, a nurse, and an attendant. Before her is the priest, Libes,

chained to warriors, escorted by Roman soldiers who insult them.

Before Thusnelda are seen her brothers, chained together with
bears. The foreground to the left is occupied by the populace of
Rome, who mock and insult the captive woman. Thusnelda had

been torn away from her husband by her father, who, for his

 

Vi; * CAR-3L iVON'-«P1LOT~YI ;

 

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PILOTY. 2 I

own personal interest and the condition of the Germans, betrayed
and delivered her into the hands of the Romans. In the picture,
Tiberius is represented as placing the father of Thusnelda upon
the steps of the throne, from whence he is forced to witness the
shame of his own daughter. Here he is mocked by the senators
sitting near him, as they point to the prisoners below. This event
is described, as an eye witness, by Strabo, who, as well as Tacitus,
expressed their sympathy for the devotion and love of country
exhibited by the noble woman, whose personality will ever be
subject of poetical matter for the artist.”

This painting was purchased by Judge Hilton for $3,900,
and presented to the Metropolitan Art Museum of New York.

Piloty was born at’ Munich, in. 1826; and for many years
previous to his death, in 1886, he was at the head of the famous
art academy in that city. Perhaps no man has influenced the art
of the nineteenth century more than Piloty. Pre-eminently a his-
torical painter, he achieved a fame and influence which has been
denied to the many, enjoyed only by the few. He lived to see
the pupils which he had led out into new realms of art, surpass—
ing their master, wresting the scepter from one who had ruled
them mightily, but with reverence for every manifestation of artistic
spirit among them. His genius entitles him to the veneration of
the world, to whose stock of' culture and of progress he contrib-
uted so largely,

The replica of the picture which we present was purchased
by the Emperor William, and placed, as before stated, in the
gallery of Munich. The Probasco sale ,contained his famous
“ Elizabeth and Frederick, of Bohemia, receiving the news of the
loss of the Battle of Prague,” it being purchased for the sum
of $1,875, by a New York dealer.

The Bavarian capital owes a debt to the sense of King Ludwig,
who nobly said, “Art has no country, it is universal.” In conse-
quence, every encouragement was held out to induce artists to
settle there. The munificent patronage which developed the greatest

activity in Munich, has continued through succeeding reigns to

 

 

22 . FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

augment the city’s importance as an art centre, until it is next
to Paris, the most cosmopolitan art centre of the world.

Not a little did Piloty contribute to achieve this. When
called to direct the academy he found‘ it chained . in superstitious
reverence to the purely conventional and academic formulas. These
he, shattered and stepped forth a free man, leading hundreds and
thousands to liberty. Naturally the pioneer in such an exodus
would be dramatic, meretriciously so at times, as in his “Columbus
Discovering America,” which is sensational and theatrical. But the
masterpiece of the great artist, represented in our picture, is less
open to such criticism than any other production of his palette,
except it be f‘Seni discovering the body of the dead Wallenstein,”

which. is impressive, simple, and of marvelous power.

 

 

HENNER

H

of Jean Jacques Henner, entitled “Alsace, the girl
with the French tri-color in her cap, possessing

a face into which the "artist seems to have‘thrown

 

all his grief, and all his power. This painting
was first exhibited at the Alsace and Lorraine exhibition; but
throughout Europe it has enjoyed in some form or another a
popularity quite equal to the interest which it originally excited.

In a brilliant number of the Gazetfe des Beaux—an‘s, an enthu-
siastic writer exclaimed as follows: “ Let us rejoice that we have~
this ckef-d’wum’e. How can we describe the ineffable poesy of
this figure, modeled in full light, the flesh of which has the~
agreeable brilliancy of a white camelia Opening itself to [the sun!
In .what pure snow, at the summit of the glaciersrhas Henner
found this beautiful, flowing form, of which he has made a fem-
inine nudity? You may accuse me of enthusiasm if you wish,
but I was ravished at the sight of this ‘Magdalene.’ It might

take its place in a museum and proudly regard a Correggio. We

.have admired this painter a long time; now he has surpassed

himself.”

The above was written concerning the “Magdalene,” which
represented Henner at the Salon of 1868; but it may truly stand
as characterizing the later' and more finished works of this now
famous artist. 4

The picture by which it is our pleasure to represent 'him
decorated the Salon of 1885, and is called “Fabiolai” Nothing
can excel the earnest, expressive face which M. Henner’s work

presents. It is a congenial subje‘ct, appealing at once to the

 

 

24 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

imagination and intelligence, and if there be want of variety in its
treatment, the artist can reply that within his own limits of treat-
ment the work is unrivaled.

In all the types which this artist produces we seem to trace
the Alsatian temperament, with‘ depth of feeling and tenderness of
heart. Henner does not attempt what may be termed literary talent
in painting; that is, he does not propose to tell a story. The
subject of the picture is often subordinated to the treatment.
What he endeavors to accomplish in his own work is the painting,
and in that, all mustiadmit, he arrives very nearly at perfection.

The collection of Mrs. Mary J. Morgan contained four of the
works of this renowned artist, and among them the subject of our
sketch. Fabiola was the heroine of theblate Cardinal Wiseman’s
story, and the daughter of Fabius, a wealthy Roman living in the
fourth century of our era. Her name is that of her father soft-
ened into the diminutive, and the author tells us it is to be pro-
nounced with the accent on the second syllable. Born and reared
under Pagan influences, and gradually brought into sympathy with
the principles of Christianity by the example of converts whom
she \met in the society in which she moved, she received her first
lesson of charity and forgiveness from her slave; while in her
patrician friends she saw the new life reflected in its noblest and
most heroic aspect. When the persecution ended, in which her
friends, Agnes and Cecilia, perished, Fabiola retired from the world;
and after many years of charity and piety, found rest at last by
the side of her martyred friends.

This picture was purchased for $4,100. Mr. Watson purchased
at the same sale a painting called “The Source,” from the Paris
Salon of 1871, for $10,100; while “Repose,” and “A Sleeping
Nymph,” were purchased for $3,100 and $2,075 respectively; the
latter being secured by Noyes & Co., of Boston.

Jean Jacques Henner was born at Bernweiler, in Alsace, in
1829; studied under Drolling and Picot. He became a Chevalier

of the Legion of Honor for meritorious work, enjoying both fame

and fortune from his art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROSPECTUS.

 

 

 

Proofs before Letter on Imperial japan and China Paper.

I

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY'

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “ Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

 

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-
1 ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution, 1

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America. '

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait Of the artist, represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBGZCKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription; The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

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CHURCH. .

E frequently speak, in accents of reproach, of
American art as being yet in its infancy, and

without that divine instinct which results in the

 

highest creative genius. America is by comparison

 

the new world still; but its remarkable strides.
in wealth have made it desirable as a place of residenCe tomore
than one European artist. ‘

‘ One of the earliest inspirations wasgiven to American art by
the first visit of an English painter to New England, in 1723;
together with the first influence exerted by Gilbert Stuart. Allston
also exerted a great influence upon the growing. colony; and it
is related that while in Italy, foreigners alluded to him as the
American Titian. Huntington was a thoughtful, quiet painter; a
man sincere in nature, of unassuming character, painting portraits
with truth and simplicity, which are reckoned as his most con-
spicuous merits. - V - ’

Frederick Edwin Church was born in 1826, at Hartford, Con-
necticut; and showing an early taste for art, he sought the society
of Bartholomew, the sculptor; afterwards entering the studio of
Cole, as a pupil. Unlike so many of the American painters at
that time, Church did not seek to complete his art education at
Rome, but set himself earnestly to the study of nature. He loved
to revel in the home scenery of the Catskill mountains, where
the beautiful atmospheric effects became to him a passion, and he.,
saw what the earlier American landscape painters had evidently
overlooked. .

Distinguished from the beginning by originality and independ-

ence, the pictures of Church evidenced a genuine devotion to _‘

 

 

 

26 ‘ FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

nature, although his coloring can hardly be said to equal the
accuracy of his drawing. “The Lifting of a Storm-cloud,” and
“Evening after a Storm,” were vividly conceived and vigorously
portrayed, the clouds, especially, presenting delightful atmospheric
qualities.

With true artistic instinct, Church longed to see nature in
the virgin charm of her wildest and most savage haunts, and in
1853, at the age of twenty-seven, he i'visited South America, where
he traveled extensively, and made many sketches, from the gorgeous
luxuriance of tropical foliage to the burning volcanoes of Chim-
borazo and Cotopaxi. While in the vicinity of Quito he spent
some time in the same family which fifty years before had received
Humboldt, and where he saw, decorating one of the rooms, a
portrait of Humboldt as a lad, in a Prussian uniform.

Soon after the return of Church, his picture of the great
mountain chain of New Grenada attracted 'so much attention that
he revisited South America, bringing back stores of sketches which
were worked later into the famous pictures, “The Heart of the
Andes,” “The Rainy Season in the Tropics,” and “Chimborazo and
Cotopaxi in Eruption." The first of these is the painting by
which the reputation of Church will live longest, and which we
present here as «the most famous work of the artist.

“The Heart of the Andes ” is the poetical title to a most
poetical picture of natural grandeur and quiet beauty. This picture
was purchased at the William T. Blodgett sale by David Dows,
of New York. Not long after the second expedition of Church,
he painted his well-known picture of the Falls of Niagara, where
the Horseshoe is seen frOm the Canadian shore, near Table Rock.
This picture is now one of the chief acquisitions of the Corcoran
gallery at Washington. The work added greatly to his reputation,
and was the first fairly satisfactory reproduction of one of the
greatest natural wonders of America.

The sad fate of Sir John Franklin’s expedition to the Arctic
seas, the thrilling adventures of Kane, who went vainly to the
rescue of the Erebus and Terror, created a deep impression upon

the public mind, and fired the imagination of the painter. In order

 

 

CHURCH. 27

that his own eyes might behold the marvels of the Northern
seas, their changing color, the beauties of the Aurora, and the
magnificent varying hues of icebergs, Church chartered a vessel
and set sail for Labrador, the chief fruit of which expedition was
a picture entitled “Icebergs,” remarkable alike for its subject and
its treatment. The picture being exhibited in London, in 1863,
was purchased there by Mr. Watson.

A curious and somewhat widely circulated work, in the form
of colored lithograph, was taken from an allegorical subject painted
by Church, in anticipation of the civil war. It was called “ Our
Banner in the Sky,” a somewhat crude and fantastic study, which,
from the peculiar political and social conditions of the time, enjoyed
a wide circulation.

Among the most important works by church are his “Cotopaxi,”
which was sold at the dispersion of the collection of William T.
Blodgett, of New York, for $2,500; “The Heart of the Andes,”
at the same sale, bringing $10,000. Mr. William T. Walters owns
“Twilight,” and “A River of South America.” “Twilight in the
Wilderness,” belonging to the collection'of John Taylor Johnston,
was sold for $3,600; and the “ Niagara” for $12,500. The
“Parthenon ” is the property of Mr. Jessup, of New York, while
Mrs. Colt, of Hartford, owns his “Jamaica.”

The work of Church has been criticized as being too cold
and scientific, rather than warm and intense. He» estimates values
and facts rather than the subtlety of feeling. Brilliant and attract-
ive are his canvases, but an accumulation of detail takes the
place of sentiment and tenderness. His, merits, however, have
justly won for him a distinction due to brilliant talents. His
work never fails to attract attention, and seldom to elicit praise.
Church is always sensible of the fact that the materials requisite
for great art are always near at hand, and often among what is

termed by others commonplace.

 

BOUGUEREAU.

EHERE are few artists who have attained the
highest gifts of the world, who have been more
highly praised or more dearly censured, than Wil-

liam Adolphe Bouguereau. Considered by some

 

R as the highest representative of the class known
as painters of the nude; considered by others as weak, lackadai-
sical, and incorrect, still it is acknowledged that his paintings have
a fascination in conception, in composition, and in color, enjoyed
only by few. ‘

Bouguereau, it has been said, “with clean and waxen style, is
well represented in the Stewart gallery. Perhaps the specimens of
his work which were there represented, have never been excelled
in elevation of quality or in beauty of execution, especially ‘The
Newborn Lamb,’ a delicate subject, of a sweet-faced shepherdess,
carrying in her arms a lamb, and turning to say soft, kindly
things to the mother, following apprehensively behind her.” A
Paris critic, writing with many reserves when he complimented‘
Bouguereau, cried when he came to this particular specimen, “ before
‘The Newborn Lamb’ 1 can only exclaim, delicious, delicious!”

Another of Bouguereau’s most successful works, which also
occupied ahigh place in the Stewart sale, was a canvas of 1874,
entitled “Homer and ‘His Guide.” This painting, through repro-
duction, has become familiar to all lovers of art, and is certainly
one of Bouguereau’s most successful works. The bard of' Chios,
serene in meditation, the boyish guide full of apprehension; in
the distance an, Ionian shepherd setting his dogs upon the

stately strangers, and as the curs rush up with full cry into the

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOUGUEREAL'. ‘ 29

actual presence of the poet, they fawn on him, as did the lions in
the arena upon Saint Alexandrinus.

Among the paintings marvelous for delicacy of expression, for
soft, peach-like bloom of color, a color to which no other painter
has ever attained, one of the freshest and most delightful is
“ The Birth of Venus,” hanging upon the walls of the Luxembourg
gallery in Paris. Often have we watched the careless, indifferent
tourists, as they wandered through this gallery of wonders,” pausing
listlessly before many a noble canvas; when in the presence of
this masterpiece of Bouguereau, the loud voices were hushed, and
the hitherto indifferent gaze became earnest and delighted. Such
is Bouguereau's power of color. Very delicate perception of char-
acter and feeling are prominent in all Bouguereau's pictures,
whether large and intricate, like the treasures of a millionaire's
mansion or a national gallery; or the smaller and more restricted
themes, still they are intricate, and magical in drawing, subtle in
poetry, amid a plethora of poets; with a prepossession and a win—
ning tenderness, in the presence of which we forget any lack of
seriousness of which so many complain.

At the Johnston sale a little picture entitled “Blowing Bub-
bles” was sold for $1,225, and “ On the Way to Bath ” was sold
for $6,000. At the Latham sale, in 1878, “ Rest During the
Harvest ” was sold for $4,000. Mr. H. P. Kidder, of Boston,
possesses a fine picture by Bouguereau, called “The Girl with
the Tambourine.”

The picture which we present occupies the principal position
in the famous bar room of the Hoffman House in New York, the
property of Mr. Stokes. “Homer and his Guide” is the property of
Mr. Leighton, of Milwaukee, for which he paid $5,200. “The Re-
turn from the Harvest” belongs to Mr. Shepherd, for which he paid
$8,000. At the sale of the Morgan collection, Cupid was sold
for $6,500; “Nut Gatherers” for $7,250; “Madonna with the
Child Jesus and St. John” for $9,000. At the sale of the Graves
collection, “Cupid Disarmed" brought $7,700. At the sale of the
Seney collection, S. V. White, of Brooklyn, purchased“The Virgin
with Angels’i for $9,500.

 

 

 

 

3O ' FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

Many of Bouguereau’s works are now owned in America; some
of them of great value, others not representing so large an
amount of money as those. named. '

William Adolph Bouguereau was born at La Rochelle in 1825.
When very young he entered the college at Pons, where. he
showed great aptitude for drawing. He was, however, placed at
a business house at Bordeaux, but‘ obtained permission to attend
a drawing school for two hours each day. Here his fellow pupils
showed no little contempt for the young artist on account of his
business occupations, but when, at the end of the year, the boy
who had studied two hours a day took the prize for which all
had striven, the excitement was so great that a riot occurred, the
pupils making a formal protest against his receiving the aWard,
but without effect.

He soon announced to his family his decision to become a
painter, but having no money, he visited Saintouge, where his uncle
was a priest. No artist had ever been there, and young Bouguer-
eau was able to save 900 francs out of the proceedsof some
portraits made for the dwellers in that region. With that. he
went to Paris and entered the studio of Picot, and later the
' éco/e des beaux—an‘s.

,In 1850 he gained the grand prize and went to Rome, where,
in 1854, he painted “The Body of Saint Cecilia borne to the
Catacombs,” which is now in the Luxembourg gallery, together with
the “Mater Afflictorum,” or “The Mother of Consolation”. The

government paid for this latter 12,000 francs, refusing double that

.sum from a private individual.

 

 

STEWA RT.

MERICAN art, we often hear it said, presents
few' features that are wOrthy to be enshrined in
any compend of the world’s masterpieces; and

yet there are not a few born upon American

 

 

soil in Whom artistic genius is equal, if not in
some cases Superior to that which springs from the soil of Holder,
more Cultivated, and more aesthetic nations.

Julius ,L- Stewart was born in Philadelphia, and was taken
by his father, at an early age, to the, city of Paris, in order that
he might imbibe something of the spirit which charactizes the art
circles of that most artistic'city.

The elder Stewart, a great admirer of Fortuny, secured and
for years maintained one of the most interesting galleries, composed
almost entirely of the works of this famous artist; and it was
his desire that his son carry into his artistic expression, the
spirit of color, of beauty, and of artistic fervor, which characterizes
the work of the great Spaniard. '

Young Stewart was first a pupil of Zamacois, afterwards, in
the famous éco/e des beaux—arz‘s, he studied under Gerome, and
later, in the magnificent surroundings of the lamented Spanish
painter, Madrazo. '

Stewart’s best known pictures relate to society events, or at
least to such compositions as will afford him the richest opportunity
for dressing magnificent ladies and elegant men. The famous
“ Hunting Ball,” which we have the pleasure of presenting as a
representative of his work, was painted in 1885, and met the
warmest reception on the part of the critics as well as the voice
of the public, It is a canvas filled with figures, literally crowded

 

32 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

with figures, figures in motion, figures at rest, some engaged in
quiet conversation, others whirling along the fascinating waves of
a dreamy waltz, others enjoying the tete-a-tete pardonable only to
old friends under such circumstances, and with faces beaming with
appropriate expressions, lighted by smiles which adorn the features
of the ,socially successful, while others in the backgroundhsimply
await opportunities, the success or failure of which is not yet
‘certain to their own minds. The light and brilliant stuffs which
are grouped in such an assemblage, the stronger colors of the
garments of the male portion, the natural ease of position, grace
of movement, all attest high ability and rare power of composition.

Stewart’s color partakes largely of, the freshness and beauty
of the famous Spanish artists, whose spirit he has so thoroughly
imbibed, and his work is in every detail complete and satisfactory.
It is extremely agreeable to chronicle for our fellow countryman
such successes as Stewart has made in Paris, in connection with
the famous paintings of the nineteenth century.

Stewart is still a young man, hardly ready yet for that rec-
ognition on the part of the great world which most certainly
awaits his ripened genius and perfected manner. Yet the strength
which characterizes his present work, is a prophecy of world-
wide reputation in the years which are coming. . Under the in-
fluence of Fortuny’s excellence of finish, especially in the treatment
of light and delicate stuffs, ~with the impress of Madrazo’s del—
icate color and the accuracy of Gerome’s drawing; these in-
fluences, combined with great native talents, are sure to produce

results of which America will one day be very proud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

PROSPECTUS.

 

 

Proofs before Letfer on Imperial japan and China Paper.

 

JAMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “ ‘he Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought suCh fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces. .

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has ‘not challenged
the admiration of the world,/and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if 'sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETrER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a

portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLI,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, Dr. NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBLECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THXRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HAS‘KELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND New YORK.

 

 

 

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COROT. '

NE of the best known artists of the nineteenth

century is Jean Baptiste Camille Corot. In writing

   

‘ a sketch of his life and works we feel constrained
:§ to embody the ideas of a famous Frenchman. In
mm“ our description of him and his methods of working,
it is but justice to say that were all the so called Corots
which America possesses brought before, the shades of the great
artist he would doubtless shudder with horror, even upon the
highest summit of Olympus.

A late writer has said, “no painter has been so much exalted
by criticism. He] was not even reproached with uniformity in his
pictures, nor with calculated absence of cold tones and rigid
forms. Everybody knows that mythology is banished from our
landscapes, and .that it is the fashion to laugh at the nymphs
whose cadenced steps so fascinated our fathers. Yet it is one of
the not infrequent inconsistencies of criticism' that it praises in
Corot a choice of subjects that it condems in theory. The nymphs
add no great value to the pictures; but they are placed with so
much judgment that they form part of the landscape, which
would be incomplete without them. He sometimes, however, sought
to render nature without alteration, but, like all great artists,
Corot assimilates all he sees in his inward dream, and paints the
poetical vision into that which his eyes behold. It is probable
that had- he been painting the’pyramids of Egypt, he would have
seen some silvery tones, and found mysterious bowers of which no
one else dreamed.”

The picture by Corot which we present is entitled by some
“The Dance of Nymphs," by others “Morning.” Corot is the

 

 

 

34 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

painter of “Morning.” Whether he works agraceful mythological
tale into landscape, which may be some particular and familiar
scene, he leaves in his work a poetical perfume, the touch of
silvery light on dewy fields, the vague foliage of trees mirrored
in calm waters, just as though it were a portrait of nature which
could not free itself from his personality. Evidently Corot cared
little for-noonday light, preferring,rather, the earliest morning in
which to study the face of nature.

An extract from a letter in which he described his own artistiC'
impressions, says: “A landscape painter’s day is delightful. He
gets up early,-at three in the morning, before sunrise. He goes
to sit under a, tree and watches and waits. Not much to be
seen at first. Nature is like a white veil, and presents here and
there a vaguely sketched profile. Everything ,trembles under the
freshening breeze of the dawn. The sun gets clearer. 'He has not
yet torn the veil of gauze behind which hides the meadow, the
valley, the hills on the horizon. Nocturnal vapors still hang like
silvery tufts upon the cold green grass. Ah! the first ray of
the sun; another ray. The small flowers awake joyously, each of
them has his trembling drop of dew. The leaves are moved by
morning air. Everything is there. Behind the transparent gauze
lies the landscape, and the mists, gradually sucked by the
sun, permit us to see as it ascends, the silvery striped river,
meadows, the cottages, the far receding distance. At last you see
what you imagined. The sun has risen. At the bottom of the
field peasants pass with cart and oxen. Everything sparkles,
shines. Everything is in .full light; light, soft and caressing as yet.
The backgrounds, with their simple contour and harmonious tones,
are lost in the infinite sky through an atmosphere of azure and
of mist. The flowers lift up their heads. Birds fly here and
there.' The rounded willows-seem to turn, like wheels, on the
' river edge. The artist paints away—paints away. But the sun
scorches the earth; all is heavy and gray. Birds are silent. The
flowers hang their heads. The noises of the village reach us.

Let'us go home. All is visible. There is no longer anything.”

 

 

 

 

conor. 3 5

This explanation of the artist’s own methods presents the
finest description that we can offer of \the' painting which is here
given.

Jean Baptiste, Camille Corot was born at Paris, July 20,
1796; dying, February 23, 1875. Much against the wishes of his
family, he studied art, . his first instructor being Michallon, after
whose death Corot studied under Bertin, and then passed several
years in Italy. In 1827 he made his first exhibition at the Salon.

Mr. H P. Kidder, of Boston, has in his collection a very
fine painting by Corot, while a landscape, the property of Mr.
Schlesinger, was exhibited in Boston in 1873. The Museum of
Fine'Arts enjoys an unfinished picture of “Nymphs Bathing,” pre-
sented by Mr. James Davis, together with a “Dante and Virgil,”
presented by Quincy A. Shaw. , i
' At the Johnston sale, “A Path through the Woods ” was sold
,for $1,000. At the Morgan sale a landscape was sold for $9,000.
Another of “ Nymphs Bathing,” to Mr. J. A.- Garland, for $4,800.
“Lake Memi" was purchased by »Mr. Newcombe for $15,000.
“ The Wood Gatherers,” now in the Corcoran gallery, was pur-
chased at the same sale for $15,000. It would be quite impos- "
.sible to catalogue the Corots of America. It is said that the
artist’s income from the sale of his paintings was over $40,000 per

annum during the height of his fame.

 

GARNIER.

OTABLY among the remarkable pupils graduating
from the éco/e a’es beaux-arz‘s in Paris, and after
wards studying as a private pupil with Geréme,

was a young man, signing his pictures Jules

 

, Arsene Garnier. He was born on the twenty-second
of January, 1847, and by reason of ill health was obliged through-
out the early part of his life to reside in the mild climate of
southern France. >

In 1865, jules began! his artistic career in the city of
Toulouse, but finding little to strengthen or encourage his artistic
instincts, he made his way to Paris, where his health, already
established, permitted him to continue work.

So bright and forcible were his artistic conceptions, so dex-
terous was his hand in executing the creations of his brain, that
the young artist early became noted as a man of-remarkable
promise and superior talents.

He seemed to take peculiar delight in the representation of
rich and ancient stuffs, following the example set by the artists
of the middle ages, giving an eminently pictorial character to
his early work. A new vein, however, became manifest, in the
working of which the artist produced some very remarkable canvases.
It is but justice to Garnier to say that this work was but a
trifle removed from the obscene, and little of it found its way into
the refined and eleganttexhibitions. Still there was a wonderful
facility in the representation of nude figures, and his later works

losing their objectional character, have been of a most remarkable

brilliancy.

 

 

 

V S
E
. E
S
U
. M

, .

JULES 'GARNIER.

O‘R‘GIA s

 

 

GARNIER. 37

The picture which we present represents a period of history
more than any other, devoted to the sensuous passions of
mankind. And in no court of the earth were these characteristics
of human nature more forcibly presented than that of the famous,
or’rather infamous family of the Borgias. The-painting represents
star, the son of Pope Alexander VI., and his ill starred sister,
Lucretia, together with their aged parent, indulging in what has
been represented by all historians to be the favorite pastime of
the dissolute family.

It is, perhaps, unnecessary that we describe in detail this
striking picture. The figures are a marvel of ease in posture, in
color of the flesh, and 'in the texture by which the artist has
produced his wonderful effects. .

One of the most characteristic paintings which the young man
has produced is “The Dream of Adam.” The next in importance
is the picture which we have the privilege of presenting, entitled
“Borgias’ Amusements,” followed by the picture entitled “ Le
Roi s’Amuse.”

Several illustrations of Rabelais’ works have also been produced
by Garnier, whose facility for illustration will, when years have
ripened and tamed his fancies, produce work of remarkable'truth,
and we hope of purity as well.

Several very important artistic journeys have been undertaken
already by Garnier, through Holland, Spain, and northern Africa,
from all of which he brings back marvelous results, to be produced

in later years upon glowing canvases and in striking compositions.

 

DE NEUVILLE]

which the Franco-Prussian war brought into distin-
guished prominence, stands the name of Alphonse

Marie De Neuville, and for many generations it

 

will occupy an important position as marking an
eventful era in the history of the French nation.

No greater sensation has ever awakened the artistic circles of
France than the production of De Neuville’s “ The Last Cartridge,”
representing an episode at the famous battle of Sedan, which
worked upon the excited mind of the French populace like the
tidings of a» grand victory. It was a picture full of dramatic
force, and appealed with a peculiar thrill to the inhabitants of
France, who were ready to idolize the soldiers who had perished
in their noble defense of home and country.

To understand fully the spirited style of this artist, one should
examine the magnificent illustrations to Guizot’s History of France.
Few men have equaled him in the intense realism of his delin-
eation of battle scenes. Born at Saint-Omer, on the thirty—first of
May, 1836, into the bosom of wealth and luxury, he enjoyed all the
advantages of a fine education, leaving school with such honors
as accrue to a first place in all the studies which he pursued.

His parents intended him for an official career, but the young
man declared himself ready only to join the army, and in spite
of all obstacles he entered the military school at Lorient. The
professor of design was not long in recognizing the astonishing
skill of De Neuville in drawing, and naturally the teacher took
great pride in instructing the young fellow, whom he constantly

declared would amount to nothing except as a painter.

 

 

 

 

DE NEUVILLE. 39

Finding military life not exactly to his taste,‘De Neuville
went to Paris, and, for furthering the cause of peace in his family,
entered a law school. There he remained three years, but passed
most of his time at the military barracks, or at Champs-de-Mars,
sketching and making himself thoroughly familiar with such
routine of soldier’s life and duties as could there be learned.

On his next return to his family, he declared that he would
be a painter, or nothing; and his father, after a long time of
opposition, gracefully yielded his assent, and visited Paris that he
might consult artists on the prospects of his son. Here, such
artists as Yvon, Picot, and Bellange, all conspired to discourage
artistic pursuits, and advised him to return to the home he had
left; but the young fellow believed in himself, and taking a
small studio went to work.

In'1859 his first picture was accepted at the Salon, and took
a medal of the third class. It so happened that Delacroix, who
was then passing the zenith of his glory, became the firm friend
of De Neuville, with whom he spent many hours. i

In I86o the young artist was surprised by receiving a com-
mission from the “Cercle Artistique,” to paint the taking of Naples
by Garibaldi. With a light heart the artist visited Italy, and
brought’back a picture bad enough to satisfy the most ungen-
erous critic.

The year following, De Neuville took a second medal at the
Salon, and from this time attention was turned to him as hold-
ing a high place among French military painters. Few orders
came, however, and De Neuville, like others under similar circum-
stances, resorted to the designing for wood cuts in order to live.
In this department his work is nearly as prolific as that of
Gustave Doré.

In 1864, a painting entitled the “Attack of the Streets of
Magenta” was very successful, and was purchased by the State
for the native city of the artist. In 1863 his salon picture was
purchased for the museum at Lille, but it remained for the war
of 1870-1871 to inspire the painter to the fulness of his magnifi
cent genius, and the pictures since painted placed him first in

rank among his fellows.

 

 

 

 

4O FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

“The Bivouac before Bourget,” painted in 1872, was at the
museum of Dijon. “ The Last Cartouches at Ballon" was judged
worthy of the cross of the Legion of Honor.

In 1874, “ The Attack by Fire on a Barricaded House ” is
by many called his masterpiece. At the Salon of 1877, there was
exhibited “An Episode in the Battle of Forbach.” In the
Walters gallery at Baltimore is his “ Engineer Officer on Recon-
noissance. ”

A criticism appearing in the Revue des Deux Mar/ides thus
speaks of De Neuville: “He has not, perhaps, the exactness and
careful timidity 0f Detaille. He is not, like him, the pupil of
Meissonier, and a miniaturist by profession, but he has freedom,
audacity, movement, truth of physiognomy, truth of gesture, truth
of color at the end of his brush, and all without visible effort.
In a word, he has genius of action, that entirely French quality
which one can not expect from a Dutchman like Detaille.“

From the Morgan collection was sold “The French Cuirassiers,"
a picture of 1834, for $6,000; while a small picture, entitled
“Infantry,” only sixteen by twenty inches, brought $5,300. In the
Seney collection, “The Morning Parade ” was sold for $2,000.

Unfortunately for the world’s art, on the twentieth of May,
1885, Alphonse De Neuville died in Paris, the city which for many
years he had made his home, leaving the world a rich legacy
for one whose years had just come to their meridian of power.

The picture which we present is “The Piece in Danger,”

representing an episode of the Franco-Prussian war. Later we

shall take pleasure in presenting the masterpiece, which adorns the
gallery of the late William H. Vanderbilt, of New York.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

PROSPECTUS. .

 

 

Proofs éefore Letter on Imperial japan and China Paper.

 

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED, H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-
1 ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged

the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.
It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The

price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They-

are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait ‘of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, Dr. NEUVILLE, MAXAR'I‘, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBER'I‘, CHURCH,

VERBOECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.
This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,

and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or.

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

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VINGj-JTQ THE BA

; ,FRANZ DEFREGGER, : _'

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DEFREGGER. '

N a peasant’s cottage, almost at the line of eternal
snows, where the winters nearly buried the little
hut, and the summers barely brought their green
foliage for a few weeks, the poet painter of the

 

 

Tyrol spent his childhood. Franz Defregger
was born in the mountains of the Austrian Tyrol, on the thirtieth
of April, 1835, in the little village called Stronach.

A few weeks occasionally in the summer sufficed for the lads
schooling, alternating with tending the herds on the mountain
sides. in the winter he carved little wooden images, or cut
figures from paper with his mother’s scissors, working with the most
thoughtful, tender patience, and revealing indications of that mar:
velous talent which has made his name a household word
throughout Germany and‘Austria. '

When, by the goodifortune which falls to few of the peasant
lads of the Austrian hill-sides, Defregger went to Innspruck to
learn the art of stone-cutting, he caught a glimpse of that wider
field of art which he has so richly cultivated. _Great were
the privations which the lad. suffered, hard were the struggles and
many the sacrifices, that he might obtain means to carry on his
studies, .and great his delight when he entered the studio of
Professor Stoltz, the sculptor. This honest artist saw at once that
Defregger was a painter. Two years in Munich qualified Defregger
for two years’ study in Paris. Returning in 1866, he entered
the studio of Piloty, where it was not long before he became a
master equal to his teacher. ‘

Defregger’s subjects are principally from every-day life in the‘

Tyrol, and present those tender and intimate scenes, full of humor,

 

 

 

42 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

and the intense earnestness of those hardy mountaineers, which no
other artist has fully understood and appreciated. His great
technical skill, and power of realism was hardly ever before
attained.

Nothing can be more stirring than the series of pictures
illustrating the Tyrolese struggle for freedom. One Who observes
them never can forget the powerful impression they make.
There may not be an effect of great passion, of uncontrolable
enthusiasm, in the faces which he represents; there is very little
of the theatrical force of the Frenchipainter, he gives instead,
the cold, hard energy of desperate courage.

Justly has Defregger borne the proud distinction_ of chief
competitor in subjects taken from. peasant life, admirable in color,
perfect in texture, marvelous in their truth to nature, well pro-
portioned, with perfect composition, Defregger’s work is full of
joy, power, and sweetness. I

Another element, for» which we can not be too grateful, is the
variety with which his paintings are seasoned. We are not
eternally confronted with the same faces doing duty in all grades
and conditions of life, from a tramp to an emperor; but each
portrait is chosen with justice and judgment, considering the .part
it is to play, and every composition and arrangement'is new and
Vital. Infinitely various does the artist find the phases of human
nature, and such is his rare conception that he never repeats
himself; and whenever, he has occasion to put in action a horse or
a dog, he fills them .with an expression almost human.

Defregger is a professor in the famous academy of Munich.
He has borne away the great gold medal and all the lesser ones
presented by the governments of Germany and Austria. .

The picture which we give represents the “Coming to the
Ball.”. A rude Tyrolese peasant’s hut, the sturdy mountaineers,
both men and women, filled with music, good humor and a
hearty respect for each other, have gathered to enjoy their simple,
lowly entertainment; but what more of happiness abides in kings’
palaces? What more of the genuine milk of human kindness,

flowing from hearts touched with an appreciation of each other’s

 

 

 

DEFREGGER. 43

happiness, could be found elsewhere upon earth? This famous
picture was purchased by Mr. Plummer, at the Seney sale, for
$10,500.

We mistakenly associate the wild life of the Tyrol with but
little of the true artistic spirit, yet this spirit has found a home
for generations upon those stern and craggy heights. The walls
of ancient castles still retain fifteenth TCentury frescoes, and the
romances of “Arthur,” the “Round Table,” and the “Neibelungen
Lied,” are pictorial proof that art has been held in high esteem
among the rude inhabitants for more than three. centuries.

The fronts of many houses are emblazoned by curious scenes
taken from the life of Christ, and legends of the saints. The‘
refining influence of this art has long been moving men to better
things, and the power of the Tyrolese artists is recognized as the
most intimate in the representation of domestic happiness and‘
peace.

Franz Defregger seizes his conception with a firm grasp,
accomplishes what he aims at, and leaves a pleasant fancy in the
mind of the observer, and a‘ warm thrill of- life in his heart.

His color is warm and glowing, Supplementing the ideas that his

designs express with the kindling fervor of his native sun kissed
hill-sides.

 

 

ISABEY.

ARINE painters of the French school are now
and have ever been very few and of little note.
A glorious exception to the rule that French
painters are not successful in marine subjects, is

found in'the case of Eugene Louis Gabriel Isabey.

 

It is unfair to expect that marine painting would find many
votaries in an inland city, and among a people whose inclinations
and position has never induced them to maritime achievements.
If one wishes to enjoy sea-shore art he must seek it among the
hardy races of the North, whose ears are ever filled with the
perpetual murmur of the sea. Early associations, doubtless, have
more to do with the bent of genius than we are aware. A trifling
incident turns the whole current of one’s thoughts and aspirations
at a time when they are yet flexible. The reason why the 50--
called French landscapes are so generally painted by Frenchmen
is that they paint what they know and love best. This doubtless
holds true of marine painters as well. Every artist must be true
to himself, whether his tastes are of the past or present, in sym-
pathy with what thepeople like best, or otherwise.

This artist was born in Paris, July 22, 1804; dying, April 26,
1886. A pupil of his father, Jean lsabey, a famous miniature
painter of his time, he early evinced a strong liking for the class
of pictures which he finally decided should represent his artistic
career. I

At the Luxembourg there is a beautiful series of water-colors
by lsabey, there being none finer in that famous gallery. Among
his (most noted pictures may be considered “ The Embarkation of
.Ruyter and William De Witt.” This painting hangs upon the

 

 

 

        

 

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ISABEY. 45

walls of the famous Luxembourg gallery. In the museum at
Versailles is “ The Combat of the Texal,” secured by the State for
a large sum; while at the museum of Toulouse is to be found
a “View of Boulogne,” which is considered one of the finest works
of the famous master.

In 1876, at the johnston sale in New York, “The Embarka-
tion,” representing a sea-port in the time of Louis XIV., sold for
$1,100; but since the death of the artist his works have become
almost priceless, and various institutions which at one time would
have parted with I their specimens of

his work, now hold them dearer than

gold. We present
ure entitled “The
which .‘lS in one
happy moods, rep-
treme delicacy of
firm characteriza-
lightful effects of
make his work so
work has recently

large collection at

 

in our work a pict-
Royal Fishermen,”
of Isabey’s most
resenting the ex-
touch, the strong,
tion, and the de-
atmosphere which
enjoyable. T his
become one of a

an enormous price,

but as the owners are not willing to make known the terms of
the purchase we are unable to give in this volume the facts
regarding it.

Isabey will ever hold a place among great painters of marine
views, owing ‘to the delicacy of his color, the changing lights, the
palpitating air which seems throbbing with life drawn from the
undulating sea, while the accuracy of observation, and quickness
of hand to catch these varying effects, mark him as one of the
most dex'terous of draughtsmen. . i

The majority of his canvases are in the hands of private
collectors, few having appeared in the great art sales of either‘
Europe or America. I

 

DETAILLE.

MONG the battle painters of this century, Mr.
Edouard Detaille, the pupil of Meissonier, seems
to occupy the first place among the artists of

France, possibly among the artists of the world.

 

 

 

 

During the Franco-German war Detaille was
private secretary of General Appert, and did great service in
making plans of the suberbs of Paris, of the positions of the
enemy, and other topographical work, at the same time filling his
port-folio with sketches. '

In 1872, a somewhat remarkable picture by this artist ap-
peared at the Salon, but, although it won him a. medal, it would
have been better for the reputation of the artist had he not shown
it. It is a winter scene, the ground covered with snow; in the
distance are seen the towers of Notre-Dame, Saint Sulpice, and
the dome of the Invalids. It is called “ The Conqueror,” and
represents four-wheeled carts, drawn by lean horses, piled up with
furniture of all sorts, attended by soldiers and German Jews, one
of whom is carrying a picture and explaining its value to the
soldiers. It is well known by photographs and various reproduc-
tions, but was not to the artist’s highest interests.

In 1873, “The Retreat” brought a decoration to Detaille. In
1875, “The .Passing Regiment,” afterward exhibited in Brussels
and now in the Corcoran gallery at Washington, received the
,highest commendation. It is a somewhat remarkable ,production.
Artistic composition, a nervous treatment, correct color, a thorough
perception of the spirit of war and knowledge of military details,

are its great characteristics.

 

 

 

 

DETAILLE. 47

Henry Houssave says: “Detaille is the Desgoffes of military
painting. He recalls to us that famous general of a former time,
who said on the evening of a campaign: ‘We are ready, quite
ready, we miss not a gaiter button.’ The soldiers of Detaille are
of this sort, their equipment is complete, the cuirasses are well
polished, the horses carefully curried, not a grain of dust; the
hairs are laid according to rule, the packages all in order, the
sergeant finds nothing to criticisein this correct arrangement; the
mud itself takes care to speckle regularly the legs of the boots,
the bottoms of the pantaloons, which are fringed with the greatest
regularity. Not a gaiter button is missing, but the soldier is
wanting in character, in movement, and in life. Although they
seem to come from the oven of the enameler, the pretty soldiers
of Detaille have never seen the fire. ” _

So familiar to the American people have become the great
battle paintings of Detaille, we have decided to repreSent him
in this publication in a line of art less, known to the public.
The subject chosen is the scene at the opening of,the Grand
Opera House in Paris, the moment being that in which the dig-
nitaries of the State are ascending the grand staircase. The work
shows the minute accuracy of Detaille’s drawing. The details of
architecture and ornament are shown with photographic veracity,
and the noble architectural design of Garnier'is so presented as
to form a picture of great beauty. I

This stair-way is the most imposing work of the kind in
Europe. It consists of a series, each different in curve and angle,
and all supported by a labyrinth of 'caryatides and clustered
columns, while above springs an airy vault adorned with superb
paintings. The general effect is majestic in the extreme, and the
artist has not dwarfed its magnificent proportions, but presented it
as it really is, a masterpiece of genius, and one of the finest
productions of modern architecture. ‘

‘ The dazzling decorative details are all presented with fidelity,
the artist not being satisfied with misty, undefined suggestions.

The State 'has found a place for this marvelous work in one of

 

 

48 . FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

its galleries, as it is a scrap of pictorial history which becomes
annually more precious.

In the figures upon the stairs many portraits are found of
men. and women to whom the fortunes of war, and the more
fatal ones of government, have brought death, or what is some-
times worse, exile. Yet the picture recalls a bright hour in the
sky which was even then shadowed by the strange vicissitude of
fate.

Among Detaille’s. paintings which have found a place in
American collections, may be mentioned, “The Repose During Drill
at Camp St. Mann,’.’ purchased at the Stewart sale by Mr. Pope,
of Brooklyn, for $3,600. This work brought the young artista
world-wide reputation and he immediately received more orders
than he could execute, and found, a ready‘ sale for every sketch
_ he would offer, the famous house of Goupil paying him as
high as 30,000 francs per annum for his sketch books.

At the Morgan sale, “A French Lancer ” was purchased by
Mr. Wilson, for $1,950, and “A Flag Officer,” but fourteen by
seventeen inches in size, was raised to $7,150. A “ Study of
Equestrians,” painted in 1873, is the property of F. E.\ Wagga—
man, Esq., 'of'Washington. The “Red Huzzar” was sold at the
disposal of the J. A. Brown collection, for $1,210. Mrs. Cameron,
of New York, purchased “A Guardsman,”'at the Seney sale, for
$1,025; while “French Cavalryman” is the property of Jeremiah
Milbank, of New York. The most famous work of Detaille
which has reached America, is the property of Mr. Hawk, of
New York, and is called “The Salute to the Wounded.” This

painting aroused a storm of applause throughout France, and has-

ever been one of the artist’s most popular works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROSPECTUS. i

 

 

Proofs before Letter on Imperial japan and China Paper.

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

 

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED, H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

.The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well Worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a Icharm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They.
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pr0-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The Work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait ‘of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUs, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, D1: NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBQECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,

and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or,
otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

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ROTESTANT institutions have been fatal to re-
Vligious art. So we are told by those who would
have us believe that the religious fervor of the

nineteenth century.is incapable of expressing itself

 

by artistic design or pictorial illustration. That
such is the case a few have doubted. That the artistic spirit of
the age is not religious, few will deny; but that the force of
protestantism has weakened or destroyed the Vitality of artistic
conception in religious subjects, should our artist find it remun-
erative to work in‘that direction, we do not believe.

Gabriel Max, of Munich, has presented to the world paintings
of rare sweetness, of wondrous power, of genuine feeling and
intimate sympathy with the race. The wonderful paintings which
have attracted the attention of the world, tragic, in thepextreme,
powerful and original, such as “The Lion’s Bride,” “The Young
Christian Martyr,” ,“ The Anatomist,” and “Gretchen,” seem to show
forth the whole experience of the world, the latter evidently touch-
ing heights and depths of human sentiment and human sympathy
hardly equaled in this Century or in any other. I

Gabriel Max was born at Prague, on the twenty—third of
August, 1840, and possesses many of the traits of the remarkable
race from which-he sprung. No people of Europe are more
devout lovers of music, and none more susceptible 'to musical
composition than the Bohemian. Here the local and national
music is appreciated, but more than this, the finest productions of
the world’s masters‘ are enjoyed fully;

Highly sensitive to musical sounds, young Max endeavored, in

his early composition, to represent sensations of tone, by color, and

 

 

 

 

50 ’ FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

produced fantasies on different musical works. There was little
that was comprehensible beyond a wild dance of figures and weird,
strange imaginings,vbut evidences of unusual power and undeniable
genius was manifest in every effort.

In respect of mental grasp and technical ability, Max is said
to stand at the head of Munich artists, but his imagination seems
to revel in strange and anomalous conceptions. His thought
seems to hover constantly on the border land of the supernatural,
between life and death, or sometimes in the, spirit world. His
paintings are mesmeric, and possess a strange inner consciousness of
their own, which is peculiarly fascinating. ‘ I

It seems that the paintings of Max bear to the world a con-
tinuous message of pain, and the artist seems, like Guido, to have
found there his ideal of beauty. The earlier work of Gabriel
Max, which is undoubtedly his strongest, has of late years

developed into a peculiar sentimentalism, or, ifyou please, a refined
spiritualism which lurks in every composition, but never so sep-

arate from the woes of our mortality, as to indicate entire for-
getfulness of the under world by which the artist is surrounded.
A writer upon contemporary art says: “When we come .to
Gabriel Max we find a genius, to the analysis of whose masterly
conceptions we should prefer devoting a chapter instead of meager
paragraphs. In respect of mental grasp and imagination, combined
with technical ability, we should give the first place in the
Munich school to Max. Artists and the public alike are agreed
upon the surpassing character of Max’s work, although, of course,
some prefer one painting to another, while the morbid tendency
of his subjects make these paintings better suited, perhaps, to ex-
hibition in the public gallery than in a private. drawing-room.”
This last remark can not, however, refer to‘the famous
painting which we here reproduce. “The Legend of the Hand-
kerchief of Saint Veronica,” upon which miraculously appeared the
face of our Lord, has been made the subject of the artist’s skill.
And with what simple yet magnificent power has he rendered this

face “of the dead Christ! ' It seems, when looking upon it, as

 

 

 

MAX.‘ 51

though the closed eyelids would open, as though the features
would become mobile, and the lips move in patient, uncomplxaining
tenderness. ‘

This is not the first occasion on which Max has painted this,
marvelous face, having, in a form similar to this, presented the
features. in such a way that, as the observer when standing near
the picture gradually recedes from it, watching it intently, the
closed eyelids appear to open, and the eyes roll upward as if in
adoration, a most startling and, if you please, theatrical effect,
but an effect which no one will ever forget, having once been
impressed with its strange and life-like expression. I

One of the best known throughout the country, by various
processes of reproduction, is the work entitled “ Light,” now in
the possession of Mr. E. Bf Haskell, of Boston. Other paintings
of as great merit are possessed by lovers of Max’s peculiar and
interesting genius in America. ,

Recently the principal paintings of Max, like the one of which
we have just spoken, and “The Crucifixion,” together-withthat
which we present, and several others, have been exhibited through-
out the principal cities of the continent, by their owner, Mr.
Lehmann, of Prague.

In conversation with the writer, a short time since, the, artist
expressed a determination to visit America, bringing with him
such a collection as he could gather, and securing those in posses-
sion of American gentlemen, making a public and extended exhi-

bition of his works throughout the country.

 

 

BRAITH.

  

_~.,EORN of peasant parents, at Wiirtemberg, on the
I second of September, 1836, Anton Braith gained
as a child, by rare knowledge of mountain herds
and a sort of intuitive perception, an artistic in-
stinct, which, as a man,‘ has given him unrivaled
success in paintings of this particular class. An early manifesta-
tion of taste and ability in drawing decided the destiny of the~
lad, his parents placing him under the instruction of an 'artist,
under whose direction he fitted himself to enter the art school at
Stuttgart.

- Braith visited Munich in 1860, where the brilliant and remark-
able work of that period gave him new impressions of art, and
thrilled him with higher aspirations. After much study in the
famous school the artist visited Italy and Paris, and became
established as a painter of animal life second only to the lamented
Verboeckhoven. 7

Nine years from the time» Braith. entered Munich he bore
away'the great gold medal on a superb pictUre, entitled “Driving
Out; the Oxen,” the painting being purchased for a large sum, and
deposited in the museum of Hamburg.

In 1873, at the Vienna exhibition, one of his paintings received
a medal, and was purchased by the academyof Wiirtemberg for
the national gallery at Stuttgart. “ The Return from the Alps,”
evidently a reminiscence, and a most remarkable one, of the
experience of his childhood, represents a herd of. sheep driven
down from the Bavarian highlands. This picture secured to the.
artist a decoration by the king consisting of the “Wiirtemberg Fred-
ericks Order,” the picture being placed at a sum exceeding ten

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRAITH. ' 53

I

thousand marks in the national gallery. It has been said, and
with probable truth, that no one on the” continent of Europe, is
superior to this artist, in his especial field, and that future results
may prove him to have no superior throughout the world.

The picture by which we represent him is entitled“‘ The
Sheep and Ravens.” It is remarkable for the individual expression
upon the faces of the sheep, as they curiously investigate the
object which has attracted the ravens, knowing. too well that to
any nursling 0f the flock such attention on the part of these
foyvls of the air means, or has meant, death. .

All visitors to the International Exhibition at Munich, in 1883,
will remember well the famous painting entitled “The Burning
Stable,” which attracted so much attention as .a manifestation of the
talent of the artist in depicting frightened cattle. This picture has
found its way into the hands of a private collector in Switzerland.

Braith belongs essentially to the Munich ‘school of art, yet
his work is more cosmopolitan than that of many of the students
which have increased the fame of the renowned academy. He
often strikes a key which reminds us of Van Marcke, or his more
illustrious teacher, Troyon; and sometimes the decided originality
and force of his work, the picturesque rendering of wild scenery,
the poetic touch which thrills it with the beauty of the artist’s
imagination, evidence higher powers than those possessed by either
of the great Frenchmen.

It must, however, be confessed that Braith’s work suffers
from inequality, but much. may be forgiven when so little demands
1 forgiveness.

Very few of Anton Braith’s paintings have been sold in
America, his success in his own country being so great as to
preclude his furnishing any thing of importance for the American
market: -

At the E. D. Morgan sale, in‘ 1886, two pictures were sold,
one to S. M. Shaffer, and one to Thomas E. Waggaman, of
Washington, D. C.

 

 

 

WAGNER;

T I HILE there is hardly an important gallery in
A Europe but contains some specimen of the art
of Alexander Wagner, of Munich, but few of his-

works have reached America. Through innumer-

 

able reproductions the World has become familiar
with “The Roman Chariot Race,” upon which the reputation of
the artist may easily and securely stand. A second picture of
this same subject was shown at the Centennial Exhibition of
Philadelphia, in 1876; the first, however,‘being much finer, and
possessing a soul and spirit Which the more recent and larger
canvas sorely lacks. .

Alexander Wagner possesses many of the characteristics of the
remarkable race of people from which he sprung. He'was born
at. Pesth, in 1838, his principal artistic life having been spent in
Munich, first as a student under Piloty, and recently as a professor
in the same institution in which he studied.

He enjoyed the distinction of being called to a professorship
at the age of twenty-eight, the youngest of the great number of
art teachers on the continent. With steady control, Wagner ex-
ercises a most brilliant technique. He uses it as a means, rather
than as an end; his “ruling passion being to get at the mingled
'physical and spiritual life, the action, the soul of a conception.”
He surbordinates all else to this.

The museum of his native city contains two of Wagner’s
most important productions, one, “An Episode at the Siege of
Belgrade,” the other, a portrait of the Empress. Like many other

German artists, Wagner has turned his hand to frescoing, having

adorned the walls of the national museum in Munich with the fine

 

 

 

WAGNER. 55

design, “The Entrance of Gustavus Adolphus into Aschaffenburg,
while another represents “The Marriage of Otho, the Illustrious.”
Later, Wagner painted “ The Baptism of Stephen 1., King of
Hungary,” which was followed by “ The Departure of Queen
Isabella,” a painting which is now the property of the Hun-
garian academy.

At Pesth is a fine. fresco, representing “The Tournament of
Matthias Corvinus,” “Hussar Life,” and“ Madchenraub.”

“The Roman Chariot Race ” received the highest commendation
at the great exhibition in Vienna, and was soon followed by a
painting which reached nearly to the popular favor of its prede—
cessor, called “ Racing among the Horse Herders of Debreczin.”

This city is, next to Pesth, the leading one in Hungary, and
the herders of the country are famed for their skill in lassoing and
taming the wild horses which are found in great numbers upon
the steppes of upper Hungary and the borders of Russia. One
of Wagner’s most exciting scenes is the portrayal of these hardy,
fearless men, riding their half-tamed steeds for prizes. Nothing
has ever been painted which exhibits such intense energy and fury
of movement as this picture. ‘

It is not so pleasing, however, either in color or composition
as “The Chariot Race.” This painting presents greater finish in
details, while securing sufficient breadth to insure the strength and
boldness for which this artist is noted. There is in all of
Wagner’s work singular freshness in the handling of pigments,
correctness in the perception and the relation of colors, great sub-
tlety in flesh tints, and therefore a just representation of the mys-
terious harmonies ‘of nature, while there is everywhere evidence of
masterly skill in the rudimentary branches of art. V

Wagner has exceptional force in the portrayal of those gaunt,
nervous, wiry riders of fiery, half-trained steeds, whose business is
war or rapine, or horse-racing, when no opportunity for blood
occurs. The spirit, individuality, character, and tone with which

each horse and rider is given areseldom found in the chronicles
of art.

It is not strange that in these highly dramatic cOmpositions

 

 

 

56 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

there is greater truth to nature, and fidelity to life, than in the
ambitious but somewhat artificial scenes suggested by the arena in
the Roman Classic period. {The main interest in the most famous
of all Wagner’s work lies in the groups of struggling horse flesh
which he gives with such masterly power.

The great painter of horses in motion, Adolphe Schreyer, of
Frankfort-on-the—Main, long engaged a field of art peculiar 'to his
own genius, but Wagner seems to be encroaching upon his precincts
to such an extent as to almost have gained the mastery,

It is-hardly necessary to describe the famous painting which
is here presented, enjoying, as it does, a world-wide celebrity. The
scene is laid in the Roman forum. The action consists of the
supreme moment when the victory is to be decided for one or
the other in the great contest. It is a moment of intense ex-
citement which becomes contagious, the observer for the moment
being captured and carried away by the realistic action and dramatic
force of the picture which he contemplates. ,

In conversation with the artist a shOrt time‘since, in reply
to a question as to which he considered his masterpiece, the
writer received the reply, “by all means, ‘The Chariot Race’;”
which it is our pleasure to present our readers.

Wagner will never excel the “ Roman Chariot Race” in point
of freshness, power, or intensity; but many years await the ripen-

ing of his genius, and we shall yet enjoy an abundance of the

rich fruits of his brush.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth. Century,

WlTH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
' Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

 

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduged, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm

never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged.

the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a

portrait or the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of Mussourzn, BRETON, KNAUS, DITAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, Dr. NIUVILLI, MAKAn'r, BONHIUR, GERouE, FORTUNY, VXBERT, CHURCH,

VERBCECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILorY, and others of equal excellence.
This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,

and no subscription received for less than rurxrv mars. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

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PART VIII.

 

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ALMAiADEMA.

1-; HERE was born, on the eighth of January, 1836,
‘ in an obscure and almost forgotten corner of
'Europe, a child, which, following the inclinations

of his instincts, has become one of the most

 

cosmopolitan, the most brilliant, and the most
representative of the artists of the nineteenth century.

The people of Friesland have existed for many centuries, but
it can never be said that they have flourished. The language,
however, survives as a philological antiquity, although little has it
contributed to European literature. V

Alma-Tadema may be called not only the greatest, but almost
the sole glory of the ancient but obscure population from which
he springs. His father occupied the, humble office of Village
notary; an amateur musician of something more than ordinary
merit, and an occasional writer, whose fugitive compositions found
their way occasionally into the press.

From' the little village of Dronryn the family removed to
Leeuwarden, where a new life, mOre distinctly Dutch, awakened
his opening mind. There Was something of bewilderment on the
part of the parents when. little “Lourens” grew up among his
sturdier brothers, manifesting a strong disposition to drawing as
early as four and one-half, years of age.

In 71852, Alma-Tadema Went to the royal academy at
Antwerp, one of the few institutions which possesses the prestige

of antiquity, being the lineal descendant of the famous guild of

Saint Luke, established by the Burgundian dukes of the fifteenth ‘

century, rich" in Rubens’ Vandyke’s, and Tenier’s most famous

works. i '-

 

 

58 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

Under the tutelage of Wappers the young artist began the
serious study of painting. Free to form an unbiased conception
of the mode in Which any iclass of subjects should be approached,
.he was taught that fidelity to nature, and a wise selection of her
phenomena were desirable above the traditions of the academy.

The first finished picture exhibited by Tadema is entitled “A
Poacher Returning Home,” and dated 1856. A large historical
subject followed in the succeeding year. “ In I858, Alma-Tadema
painted the first of his studies in the social aspect of antique
civilizations.”

Through some work which came into his hand, he attempted
to reconstruct one of the scenes of Egyptian society, and among
these Egyptian pictures there are some counted among the highest
expressions of Tadema’s genius. “The Unfortunate Oracle” is
spoken of as a work of surpassing interest. The picture has
been injured, but enough remains to Show the power of the young
artist in his twenty-third year.

Eighteen hundred and fifty-eight was to the young artist a
year of great importance, as the sale of his first picture was
celebrated—“Clotilde Weeping over the Tomb of her Grand-
children;” a subject sufficiently romantic to awaken sentimental
interest. To the same source of inspiration—the history of the
‘Gauls—Tadema has since often turned for his remarkable and
striking paintings.

Marked by few events other than hard work and continual
disappointment, the years rolled by. Not until 1860 did he'begin
to taste success. Then he entered the studio of the famous
Belgian painter, the most illustrious of that age, .Baron H. Leys.
Under him the public became familiar with his work, through
“ The Education of the Grandchildren of Clovis,” which now hangs
in the palace of the king of Belgium. He was now twenty-
five, and although envying the clever youths who go traveling
about from one country to another, he still remained in. the
Low countries, even declining an opportunity for visiting Germany
and Italy; but in 1861 he felt the need of a fresh outlook and-
made a journey to Cologne, where the Byzantine magnificence of

the“ golden Gothic pictures strongly impressed his mind.

 

 

 

 

ALMA—TADEMA. 59

In 1862, a charming work, now in the museum of Dordrecht,
was finished; and in that year the young artist visited London.
Coming with no introductions in his, pocket, and under solitary
and depressing circumstances, yet Tadema was enchanted with the
gray gloom of the world’s metropolis. He soon determined to
settle in England, where, in 1863, he painted his celebrated
picture entitled “How the Egyptians Amused Themselves Three
Thousand Years Ago.”

Later, subsequent to his marriage with a young French lady,

Tadema visited Italy, when, amidst the ruins of Pompeii, the real
charm of Roman antique life was revealed to him. From the
northern torpor which had overcome his genius, he burst into
enthusiasm, and lingered among the richly colored ruins until, his
money being exhausted, it was imperative that he return as
quickly as possible.
i In the Paris Salon of 1864, a gold medal was awarded Tadema
for the Egyptian picture above mentioned. Rosa Bonheur was
among the first to predict a great future to this brilliant crafts-
man. While the young painter was making a reputation he was
obliged to sacrifice his best hours to the necessities of life.

It is impossible for us to mention all the important works of
Tadema. Through the suggestion of Rosa Bonheur, Monsieur
Gambart, the picture dealer, was prevailed upon to visit the studio
of Tadema—as a mere accident he claimed—but was so much
delighted that he ordered from him twenty-four pictures, to be
paid for on a scale of ascending prices, the stipulation on the
painter’s part being that half of them be from antique subjects.

It is impossible'for us to follow the history of this great
artist. The name of the picture 'which we present is “Sappho.”
“The Pyrhic Dance ” iS'a work of matchless originality and inge-

nuity, a strange brightness of tone, and a wonderful insight into

ancient customs.

 

 

GRUTZNER.

,, DUARD GRUTZNER was one of eight little

9 children to be found seated around the table of

   
  

_ '56 his father, in? a poor, plain hOme, in a little
° village of Silesia. Hard floor, hard food, and hard

+ life were the early experiences of the now famous-
artist. He was born on the twenty-sixth of May, 1846, and at
an early age was thought by his parents a promising candidate
for the priesthood. With great self-denial in the ‘little home, and
with much assistance by the village priest, the future chanter of
litanies was established in a little school-room, where, buried in
theological books, with elbows upon table, and knitted brows, he
stared vacantly at the learned philosophies. Moodily and sullenly,
the boy scribbled with his pencil upon the margins of the silent
pages before him, drawing caricatures of ”the baldheaded Caesar,
or Roman soldiers standing guard, in Prussian helmets, and
entertaining his fellow-pupils with grim delineations of the stern
visage of the master who presided over his infantile efforts for
knowledge. ' _

Sultry were the thunder-storms which gathered over the high
places where the master sat, with locks like menacing Jove.
Many a flash fell directly upon the peasant boy, yet nothing could
deprive him of the consolation of his painful hours. Impulse
'was more powerful than impression, and the good old priest who
had labored hard to bring his protégé under the influence of
divine instruction, instead of deserting him, bore him to his parents,
demanding that they make of him an artist.

Immediately, under the protection of this kindly. priest, the

boy received such instruction as could be provided from his slender

 

 

 

* THE CLOISTER VAULTS,

ED. GRU‘TZNER. '

 

 

GRU’I‘ZNER. . 61

means, until, brought to Munich, a friend generously used his
wealth in directing and perfecting the talents of the boy.

Eighteen hundred and sixty-four found Griitzner in the school
of industrial art; later on, in the academy, and finally, in the
school of Piloty. It was during his student life that Griitzner
produced the famous picture, “Falstaff Mustering His Recruits.”
But not until 1870 did he stand firmly upon his own feet, the
master of his own future.

Throughout Europe, Grutzner is known by what the Germans
poetically term his wine-scented idols of the Cloister. He does
not aim to scourge the doings of the monks 'with sarcastic pencil.
It is not satire, but kindliness of heart and love of merriment
that he expresses, and between them there is a deep gulf. It
is the good-nature of mankind, whether found in Cloister life
or the breezy brusqueness of the outer world. There is an irre-
sistible conviction that no more kindly feelings exist than may be
found under the gray Cloth of the sacerdotal habits of the denizens
of the Cloister. .

The picture which we present is one of Griitzner’s character-
istic works. The hunter of the mountains has sought refuge for
the night in the quiet retreat of the hill-side monastery. Here,
with usual frankness, the guest is led to the cellar where the
choicest wine is served. He relates his latest adventures amidst
the highlands. Much merriment and laughter are apparent. The
wine warms the hunter’s breast, and jovial. laugh and shout ring
out at his merry recital. With cautionary signal, the old monk
-shakes his finger deprecatingly, asthe wine stirs the hunter to
extreme hilarity and mirth. There is no harshness here, no un-
kindness, only the jovial, free-hearted characterization of men known
to be free of heart, kindly of nature, and well-wishers to all

mankind.

 

 

MULLER.

OMETIMES it is said of authors that their
reputation depends entirely upon one happy book
-—by special inspiration vouchsafed to them—an

inspiration which never afterward quickens their

 

faculties to brilliant activity. Whatever may be
true of authors in this respect, may also be true of painters,
for wherever the name of Charles Louis Miiller is spoken, the
famous “Roll-call of the Last Victims of the Reign of Terror”
will so fill the mind that all his other works will make but a
comparatively small impression.

This immense-canvas, hanging for a long time in the gallery
of the Luxembourg, contains seventeen acknowledged portraits, and
a vast number of figures. A copy, or a sketch of it, was sold
at the Johnston sale,lin 1876, for $8,200, and now finds a resting
place in the collection of John Jacob Astor. Many claim that
this is the original painting which once adorned the walls of the
Luxembourg, but we believe that, some other national gallery of
France contains this masterpiece. Miiller has painted many por-
traits and other subjects, butthis alone has given to him the
fame and reputation which he so justly deserves.

An art writer of a recent date has said: “Muller’s great
picture of ‘The Call of the Condemned of the Reign of Terror’
is perhaps the best composed historical portrait of our time. None
that I know better fulfills the requirements of this branch of art
as a realistic narrative. It carries the spectator directly into the
scene as it must have appeared on that morning when the last

of Robespierre's victims were wantonly hurried to the guillotine.

Miiller drags it bodily out of the past, and puts it before our

 

 

 

 

MULLER. 63

eyes with precise truth, without dramatic exaggeration or attempt
to heighten anguish and despair, sufficiently intense in their own
naked reality. It is a conscientiously told tale. The officials, at
whose action we are aghast, are justly treated; men made to do a
stern duty, not ensanguined monsters. There are fifty masterly
pictures, each a pathetic tale by itself; every separate group and
individual action diversified in emotion, but filling its place with
,. feeling appropriate to the harmonious whole, all subdued to a
proper key of light in fine gradation, centered outside the prison
door, where waits the cart which is fast filling with its dismal
load.” "

There is little attempt at imaginative treatment. In place of
it a picturesque rendering of the spectacle, based upon thorough
knowledge of incidents, costumes, persons, and locality, with infinite
variety of action and expression. It is neither academic nor‘ ideal.
It is sincere and sympathetic,_ wrought with unquestioned skill and
rare talent in composition. Miiller has not written his autograph
over all ‘the work, and has not so presented his technique that

we think of him. There is neither system nor theory on which
to found comparisons. Miiller attempts nothing that he can not

do thoroughly well and in a quiet, truth-telling manner. He pays
homage to art, regardless of the artist. He paints history as
Motley writes it, vividly and picturesquely, yet with insight into
'the emotions which made the history and those which followed
it. We believe that this is the highest effort which .has recently
been made'in historic painting, high enough, at any rate, to place
the artist above the reach of common criticism.

The picture of “ Charlotte Corday in Prison,” which is now
in the Corcoran gallery at Washington,lwas the work of the artist
in 1875, and, it is said, has never been exhibited in any other
place than that where it now hangs.

Charles Louis Muller was born at Paris, on the twenty-second
of December, 1815. At the age of seventeen he entered the éco/e
des beaux—an‘s, and later became the private pupil of Gros ‘and
Cogniet. The young artist» made his first public appearance at

the Salon of 1833, and was recognized of great promise in both

 

 

64 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

historic painting and genre. In Muller’s earlier work, from 1837
to '1845, there was a strong predilection to the study of religious
history, such works as the “Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew,” and
“Temptation of Christ by the Devil,” appearing during this period.
“ The Roll Call of the Last Victims of the Reign of Terror,” in
1859, awakened the world to the realization that a great artist
had arisen, although “The End of ”the Kingdom, March 30, 1814,”
had startled the critics in 1855, and quickened their anticipations
of the masterpiece.

As early as 1869, Muller had already painted “Desdemona’
and “A Scholar,” following which was “ Lanjuinais at the Tribune,

June .2, 1793.” Later came three remarkable canvases from his
brush, “The Madness of King Lear,” “The Waiting,” and “One
’Moment Alone.” “The Death of a Gitana” was produced in

1876, while the “Mater Dolorosa” followed in 1877. A most
remarkable work by Muller was in the Salon of 1878, entitled
“Give Us Barabbas.”

Miiller received a title as early as 1849, having enjoyed all
the medals usual to art appreciating governments and societies,
and’ in 1859 became an officer of the Legion of Honor. Four

years later the distinguished artist became a member of the

academy des beaux—arz‘s.

 

 

 

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AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art ” etc.

 

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

.It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a.
portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKAR’I‘, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBER’I‘, CHURCH,

VERBCECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.
This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,

and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

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RENOUF

   

.1”me

, :EORN in the city of Paris, on the twenty-third ’of
4' June, 1845, Emile Rénouf early became a pupil
of Boulanger; afterwards studying with Lefebvre,
and later with Carolus Duran. In the paintings
of this artist there is always found something of
interest. He carries into his understanding of the principles of
art a temperament strongly Parisian, a conception almost unique,
and an execution surprising. He is a painter of men and of
nature. When he commences a painting he at once relieves his
subject of all the difficultieswhich surround it, bringing forward
only that part which presents thereal motive and hidden thought.

Perhaps it may be said of Rénouf that hevhas been amenable
to instruction and has sought it from the counsels of stronger
men, ,the effects of whose good advice is seen in all his works.
i There is an accent touching and pathetic given to all his
canvases, and while he portrays with truth the scenes of human life,
he never leaves the spectator for a moment indifferent to the con-
dition of those whom he depicts. .

Among the famous paintings by this artist are “The 'Spring-
time in the Environs d’ Honfleur, ”painted in 1872, and “Evening
in the Environs d’ Honfleur,” in 1875. Following this came “. After
the Rain,” “A Valley in Finistere,” and “Honfleur in Winter,” all
appearing in 1877. “The End of the Last Journey” was painted
, in 1879, and u The Pilot,” in 1883. .

In 1884, the canvas presented by Rénouf at the Salon was one
of his most pathetic efforts, representing a widow and child
kneeling upon the grave of the husband and father. Too sad to

be attractive, yet it was a subject handled with such unusual

\

 

 

 

66 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

power as to chain the attention of the observer, awakening his
. sympathy almost to the verge of tears.

The talent of Rénouf is supple, strong, and often reaches the
height of the ideal, without losing delicacy, robustness, and refine-
ment. “ Mending a Boat,” representing an ancient mariner kneeling
by the side of the craft which had borne him so many years out
to his laborious toil upon the sea, patching up the dreadfully
shattered and decaying craft, his earnest old face looking up from
his toil directly into the eyes of the observer, was one of the
most attractive, and for a moment, startling canvases which the
tourist met in all the pictures of the Salon of 1881.

Not less interesting, however, is the famous “ Lending a Hand,”,
by Rénouf, or, as it is sometimes called, “ The Helping. Hand,”
which we here present. This is a work of marvelous power.
The old boatman, grasping with a sturdy arm the massive oars,
is pulling his boat out into the surf towards the fishing grounds
which lie beyond; a little child, an infant merely, has laid its
tiny hand upon the great beam, and is aiding! with its little
strength to urge the boat out into the yesty waves. Tender,
touching, and strong as well, is every thought, every expression,
every sentiment of this painting. ‘

“Repairing the Old Boat,” which we have mentioned above,
was sold at the disposal of the Morgan collection, for $5,050. At
the Seney *collection, “ Springtime,” a small painting by Rénouf,
brought $230; while “Helping Hand,” the subject of our illus-
tration, was purchased by Knoedler and Company, for one of their
clients, for $3,050.

In Paris, as in every great art centre, there is great divergence
amongst the leading artists as to theory and practice, a divergence
which will continue so long as there are artists to paint and
things to be represented in art forms. There are as many French
~styles in Paris today as there are artists of original thought and
freedom from bias. Every man of new and fresh qualities neces-
sarily has a large following of imitators; and between the styles

of Gerome, Meissonier, Corot, and Ziem, there is surely no resem-

blance, either in subject, color, or treatment. The monochromes

 

 

RENOUF. ' 67

of Corot, and the superb richness of Ziem’s Mediterranean effects,“
are Heaven-wide.

We often speak of a French school, and Rénouf is a char-
acteristic representative of that school. But in what ’does the
French school consist? It must, first of all, be a school repre-
senting national characteristics. [It must also have some elements
of'unity, which may not, however, appear upon the surface or be
detected by the casual observer, but which must be apparent to the
educated, eye. French artists possess a natural eye for color
superior to that of most German and ’English painters, but, on
the other “hand, in drawing and composition, their German or
English neighbors~ may far outstrip them. There is a certain
piquant interest, an intensely intimate.quality to French art,
although often failing to tell its story as perfectly and seriously
as do other nationalities.

Latterly, however, the sentiment of French art seems to have
‘fallen into a decadence, the desire being the criticisms which
appear in the newspapers, and the’ excitement created by new and
startling positions of questionable groups. These have too often
been the aim of the artist of the modern schoolf _
> There is, however, in the French art of today, a high value
set upon the mode of treatment, and this may be called the dis-
tinguishing characteristics of the French school. It is, indeed,
mechanical, but a mechanism into which much of sentiment,_of
character, and of personal power enters. '

The most prominent quality in this purely mechanical part of
French art is that of breadth; and of this, Rénouf is a master.
His color is fresh, crisp, laid on with " the freedom of one who
knows what he is striving ,for, and is absolute master of the
results. There is consequent distinctness, freshness, and wonderful

realism as well in ,the color as in the treatment of the subject.

ACHENBACH.

ERHAPS there are no two brothers living lwhose
prolific pencils have given to the world a more
interesting -or richer bounty of art than Andreas
and Oswald Achenbach, of Dusseldorf. Andreas

was born at Hesse Cassel on the twenty-ninth of

 

September, 1815, and began his artistic career as a pupil of
Schirmer, in Dusseldorf, in 1827. On completing his course of
study, the young artist visited Russia, Sweden, Norway, Holland,
and England, in the further development of his "artistic taste and
knowledge; ‘finally returning to Diisseldorf where he became
famous, and later accepted an appointment to a professorship in
the Dusseldorf academy.

Achenbach’s genius is of the highest order, and his facility
of expression displays with equal truth the cold, rugged strength
of northern landscape, and the warm and brilliant beauty of the
south. The work which brought fame and fortune to Achenbach,
was a picture of the “Academy of Dusseldorf,” a work which has
often been exhibited throughout Germany, but could hardly have
a strong interest outside the national self-love, on account of its
purely local character. Achenbach’s pictures are, purely the result
of observation. His travels by sea and land have been chronicled
in striking canvases, while reproducing the most varied aspects of
nature, from the wild seas of the North, to the Classic Campagna,
the coasts of Capri, and of Sicily. '

Some of Achenbach’s' most famous work decorates the walls
of the Pinakothek, at Munich, and nearly every German gallery
boasts a painting from his hand. At the Philadelphia Exhibition
of 1876, was shown the “ Storm at Vlissengen,” which was much

 

 

 

ACHENBACH. 69

admired. The Johnston sale, at New York, contained a “Sea-shore
Sunset,”,a small canvas which sold for $1,375; While a “Norway
Torrent,” brought $2,000. At the Wolfe sale, “A Clearing Storm
on the Coast of Sicily " was purchased for $3,000. “Off Ostend,”
the picture which we present, was purchased for a large sum by
the national government, and, as the painter’s masterpiece, hangs
upon the walls of the national gallery at Berlin.

It is in one of the artist’s happiest moods. The cold, leaden
waters of the North Sea are lashed into fury. As night comes
on a signal of distress is heard far off in the spreading mist.
The little tug boat at the quay, manned by an intrepid crew, is
just leaving the wharf over which the waters are dashing as
if greedy of its destruction, to render help if possible to the victims
of the tempest.

An‘dreas Achenbach is not a man of agreeable manners, quite
unlike. his brother, Oswald, in this respect. His temper is
unpleasant, and his arrogance is exceeded only by his self-conceit.
While of far less note in Europe, the paintings of Oswald Achen-
bach bring the larger prices in America. Of him we may have
occasion to speak later. i

A much higher, value rests upon the marine Views by Achen-
bach than upon his landscapes. There is less of Vigor, and of
nature in fact, in his portrayal of green fields and “ infinitely
foliaged trees,” than in the shifting'lights and boisterous fury of'
giant waves. Achenbach is a marine painter, and will live as

such when Achenbach as a landscape painter is forgotten.

 

LEFEBVRE.

LN the tenth of March, 1836, there was born at
Tournan, a child, whose name was destined to
be spoken with pleasure in every country where

the spirit of art has found a home, and where

 

taste for beautiful paintings has taught the people
the difference between the work of a master and that.of the
ordinary artisan.

Jules Joseph Lefebvre made his first essays in the art world
at Amiens; later, spending some years of study in Paris,‘ under
the instruction of Leon Cogniet.

\As early as 1855, the young artist made his début at the
World’s Exposition, with a portrait which attracted great attention.
In 1861 he gained the, grand flm’x de Rome, his subject being i
“ The Death of Priam." Five years later he had the pleasure of
seeing his “Nymph and Bacchus” hung upon the walls of the
famous Luxembourg gallery in Paris.

While still in Rome, Lefebvre executed several paintings which
brought to him renown, as well as recognition by Pope Pius IX.,
who esteemed his work as of great merit. During his stay in
Rome he executed a fine painting of Saint Peter’s church.

It is said that the technique of Lefebvre is marred by only
the slightest imperfections; by some it is said to have reached
absolute perfection. Not only does the “Nymph and Bacchus”
attract the attention of visitors to the Luxembourg gallery, but
since the hanging of that famous painting there has also been

added “ Verez‘z'e,” or “Truth.” This painting is a figure of astonish-

ing beauty, poised in graceful attitude, holding above its head a

lamp, from which is reflected rpowerful rays of light. No one

 

 

 

LEFEBVRE. . 7 1

who has seen it will ever forget the almost startling beauty of
the figure, and the marvelous technical power displayed in the
contrast of light and shade in the painting.

In 1876, "Lefebvre exhibited at the Salon a portrait and
“ Mary Magdalenefl’ the year later, “Pandora.” As early as
1874, a portrait of the Prince Imperial had been executed by this,
artist, which won for him the highest words of praise.

At the Latham sale, in New York, in 1878, “The Grass-
hopper” brought $2,950. At the sale of the Mrs. Mary J. Morgan
collection, “Sappho,” by this artist, was purchased by Mr. Watson,
f0r $4,500. Few, however, of Lefebvre’s paintings have reached
America, as it is difficult for him to satisfy the demands for his
work which press upon him from his English and continental
patrons. '

For drawing and coloring, “Truth” was so highly regarded

iat the Vienna exhibition that it carried away the first prize.

There is really little in the picture, or even suggested in it,_
beyond the two qualities above noted. There is simply a nude
woman, life size, and of faultless proportions, holding up a lamp.
The face is without emotion; the thought in her eye-does not
seem to suggest truth more than any thing else; and any one
looking at the painting will fail to discover any specialsigns of
imagination or intellectual power; yet it is a marvel of technical
dexterity, and a painting of great power. '

Of course there are many artists working in France” who have
power equal to Lefebvre in depicting the physical beauty 'of -hu-
manity, and no doubt as great dexterity in interpreting it; but.
few make any attempt to discover any thing beyond external beauty
in the lovely forms which they depict with such remarkable skill.

It is not our office here to underestimate the value of tech-
nical ability in art, but a work which has only this to recommend
it can hardly be assigned a position by the side of Raphael or
Michael Angelo, which have all the qualities. of the modern French
school, and something. more. I ,

“Nymphs Bathing,” a representation of which it is our privi-

lege to give, is selected in this case, not so much because it is

 

 

72 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

the masterpiece of the famous artist, as from the fact that the
Luxembourg picture, which is undoubtedly his greatest work, is
not exactly adapted to reproduction in such a volume as this.
Our picture, however, is one of remarkable beauty, and occupies
a high place in one of the famous European galleries.

Lefebvre’s prices are high in comparison to those who are his
sincere but unfortunate imitators. The work which we present is
remarkably chaste, beautiful in color, and contains the same
exquisite perfection in all matters of detail and execution. It is,
however, as a figure painter that Lefebvre has reached the highest
niche in the temple of fame, His landscapes fail somewhat of
the rich and perfect qualities so notable in his portrayal of the
human form.

If it be true that art has no mission, that it is only one
form by which the‘ideas of a race or a nation may at certain
stages of intellectual progress find expression, then it matters little
what the character of a painter’s art may be; but if it be a
teacher, if it is intended to convey an idea of the truth of nature
[or of life, if it be a translation of the message which the Creator
has written upon the face of nature, then in all respects the

subjects chosen for the manifestation of artistic impulse should

bear relation to the truth which they are intended to convey.

 

 

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AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

' Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “ Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

N placing this great work, before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
‘the admiration of the world, and brought the' highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
Vinamcxnovsn, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than 'rmrrv mars. No other conditions, verbal or
otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

 

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HOFMANN.

HEN in the history of the development of national
art we reach the modern German artists, we find

a new feature presenting itself for consideration,

 

quite unlike any expression we meet in the French

 

school, or in the cases of those individual artists
who have become imbued with the French spirit. More than in
any other country, German art finds appreciative admirers at home.
Larger prices are paid for' pictures there than in France, Italy,
or in Spain; and but few distinguished specimens find their way
into ‘American galleries.

A thoughtfulness, and a poetical vein withal, characterize the
work of the northern nations. Every-where there is a predominance
of matter over manner. Every-where a worthy idea makes its
presence felt. There may be a lack of color in some productions,
and a lack of technical perfection in others, but there is a subtile
power of meaning deeper than the surface, wider than the canvas,
appreciable'in all examples of northern art.

German art allies itself more closely in the history of its
development to the‘Italian than to any other school. It possesses
more of the traditions of Michael Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and
Raphael. Although there is something of the coldness of the
North pervading it, yet here and there a most distinguished sense
of color, warmth, and beauty, pervades the work of individual artists.

'Among those who have produced a single painting which
marks the nineteenth century as distinguished for a great religious
work, we note the name of Heinrich Hofmann, professor in the

Royal Academy at Dresden. Heinrich Hofmann was born at

 

 

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HOFMANN. 75

executed. Each face is a study in itself; and as the expression
plays over the features of those aged and learned men, the ex-
pression of Wonder, surprise, and of anxiety as well, the realism
becomes so intense that the observer feels that any moment their
voices may be heard reasoning together as to what ‘manner of.
child this is.’ The National Royal Gallery at Dresden has secured
this famous painting, and in the story of the nineteenth century
it stands artistically at the side of the “Christ before Pilate,”
by Munkacsy, sharing with it the honor of the highest place in
religious art. '
It is possible to say more than this. “Christ in the Temple,”
while being a less pretentious work is far more subtile, less
theatrical, and is pervaded by a sentiment more tender and im-
pressive than the enormous canvas of the great Hungarian artist.
Soon after the appearance of the painting it was reproduced
by wood-engraving as frontispiece in ‘Hm’fer’s Monthly, and at-
tracted great attention throughout America. Since then it has been
widely circulated by photographic reproductions; proving to bexone

of the most. popular of the many great designs which have found

a welcome in American homes.

 

 

VAN MARCKE.

HE favorite pupil, friend, and son-in-law of the
great painter, Troyon, was Emile Van Marcke.
Under such circumstances as surrounded his early

life, his remarkable talent developed with wonderful

 

rapidity, bringing him at an early age into an
enviable position as an artist. Most admirable is his handiwork,
his impulse Vigorous, his-conceptions true to nature. His animals
are splendidly alive, perfectly set, and form a part of finely con-
ceived landscapes. He stands easily at the head of the great
cattle painters of the time in‘which we write, with perhaps one
single eXception.

He was born at sevres. After a short period of study his
works were accepted at the Salon. A picture which was exhibited
in 1877, entitled “The Spring at -Neslette, in Normandy,” was pur-
chased by Mr. Brown, of Philadelphia. .At the Johnston sale in
New York, in 1876, a picture, thirty-eight by fifty-nine inches, rep-
resenting a herd of French cattle,‘was sold for $5,100; and a
landscape of cattle, only fourteen by twenty-one inches, brought,
$2,550. The Walters gallery possesses a large picture 'of cattle
by Van Marcke; while in the collection of' Mrs. Maynard, of
Boston, there is also an excellent representation of the artist’s
work. At the sale of the collection of Robert Graves, Esq., “A
Cow’ was purchased by J. C. Hoagland, of Brooklyn, for $3,000.
At the sale of the Seney collection, A. C. Kingsland purchased a
canvas of Normandy cattle, for $4,550.’ At the same sale, “Cows
and Landscape” was purchased by Mr. Begers, for $1,050. The

Salon of 1881 contained a beautiful canvas from 'the brush of

 

 

 

 

VAN MARCKE. 7 7

Van Marcke, which was purchased by Mr. Leighton, of Milwaukee,
for $7,000. _

Theimost numerous collection sold at any one time in New
York was that of the late Mrs. Mary J. Morgan, where seven
canvases were disposed of to various purchasers, principally for pri-
vate collections. Mrs. Sexton purchased “On the Cliffs” for $4,050;
S. Barnes secured “Cows in a Pool” for $4,550; “Cattle Repos-

!

ing” was purchased for $2,650; while “ Springtime’ was secured
by J. Williams, for $4,275. “Cows Drinking,” a beautiful 'little
canvas nineteen by thirteen inches, was purchased by, W. Woodward,

for the sum.0f $1,325. C. P. Huntingdon was the purchaser of

“Going to Pasture,”
$8,600; while Mrs.
for $11,500 the
the collection, called

There are few
of whose works pro-
an artistic taste as
Marcke. His art

ception, so evidently

for which he paid
Quintard purchased
largest canvas 0f
“ The Mill Farm.”
painters, the study
duces so healthful
those of Emile Van
is clear in its con-

sincere in its effort,

so satisfactory in its results, that one

forgets the senti- mental and half .in-

 

sane motives which characterize many
of the subjects presented at the Salon from year to year. In the
technicalor mechanical part of his art there is little to criticise,
and in the ability which the artist makes a thought prominent, and
an impression powerful, there are few which excel. '

The work which we present, entitled “ Old Fosses,” is one of
Van Marcke’s most celebrated paintings, and shows the master at
his best. It is a quiet nook, such as cattle might choose in the
heat of a summer day, where herbage is rich and juicy, the
water c001 and abundant, while the genial shade is refreshing.

Much dispute has recently been occasioned by the sale of
a fine painting by Van Marcke, and a subsequent sale of the
original sketch from which the painting was made. A very

unsatisfactory termination of the discussion, especially to the

 

 

78 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

purchasers, was reached when the artist acknowledged the reprehen-
sible transaction, and made such apologies as are usual on similar
occasions. Duplicating pictures for the Americrn market is not
a new thing in Foreign 'studiOS, the writer having once visited
an artist on the Boulevard Saint VMichel, who had upon as
many easels in his studio six replicas of one painting for
American customers, each of whom thought himself the sole and
happy possessor of the coveted design. /

This episode recalls the closing words of a Frenchman’s letter
describing the Morgan sale of paintings: “Hipl hip! hurrah! all'
America, with accompaniment of dollars, chants the glory of French
art. Painters of the Avenue de Villiers and the Boulevard cle
Batignolles, the future is yours. Courage! Stand to your easels
and paint away with energy. In spite of the thirty per cent.

duty, the Americans will long have need of us to ornament their

galleries.”

 

 

WALLER.

5-)) NGLISH artists have elevated their profession far

  

' a above that known in any other nation, except it
be in Germany. They have made it a lucrative
pursuit as well. Enormous prices are easily
obtained by successful painters. Among those
whom .success has raised to distinction, we note with pleasure the
subject of our sketch, Samuel. Edmund Waller. His work is
pure, strong, and ennobling, finding a ready sale at the highest
prices usually secured by a painter of his years and experience.
Samuel Edmund Waller was born in Gloucester, England, in
the year 1850. At an early age he became a pupil in the Royal
Academy at London, graduating with honors in ,the year 1868.
The work of the young artist early attracted attention. His paint-
ings found acceptance at the Royal Academy exhibitions, and in the
year 1879, eleven years from the date of graduation, he produced
the painting—a reproduction of which we take pleaSure in pre-
senting to our readers—entitled “The Empty Saddle.” It is a
picture which tells its own story, as do all his paintings, and
needs few words of comment or explanation at our hands.
Waller has hardly yet reached the meridian of life, and is
far from the zenith of his power as an artist. Waller is a rep-
resentative of the,English school, The truest, highest\art is said
to be the spontaneous outgrowth of the tendencies of' an age'or
of a race, one of the signs by which we are enabled to determine
the character of an epoch, and the degree of civilization'to which
a people had at any time attained. A close resemblance in the

style of the art of distinct peoples implies that they have sprung

from a common origin, or that one imitates the other. These are

 

 

8o FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

fundamentaLprinciples which underlie all, true art, principles which
are forgotten too often by our critics and art amateurs. What is
best in one age does not always prove to be the best in another.
As there are mutations of thought and language, so there are
mutations of ideas, whether they are expressed by Words or by
pictorial representations.\ ' I i
That we accept one school should not imply that we condemn
another. That we consider one era great should not necessarily
force us to consider all other eras small. An intelligent knowledge
‘of art must relate one intimately to the characteristics of the
people which produced that art; and the highest and best of that
time was great for that time, even as the highestand best of-
our own is greatest in. our day. In praising the French school
we do not necessarily sneer 'at the English. For while there is
much to praise in one, there may be much to condemn; and if

the English school be weaker in one point, it is far stronger in

the other, and each in thought and expression is the upspringing
from the common soil where it has been planted.

 

 

 

 

 

PROSPECTUS.

 

 

 

Proofs before Letter on Imperial japan and China Paper.

 

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-
1 ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.-

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming .the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market. ’

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY Mars, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, Moxmcsv, Dz NEUVILLE, Mann, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBCECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY mars. No other conditions, verbal or
otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK;

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

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ZIEM.

   

FELIX ZIEM was born at Beaume, about 1822, and
pursued his art studies .in the city of Paris, fol-
lowing them by an extended journey throughout
the, East, and making his début at the-Salon in
the year 1849. In 1852, the picture by which
he was represented at the Salon was purchased by the govern-.
ment, and now hangs in the Luxembourg gallery at Paris. Two
years later, “Evening at Venice ” was. purchased by the Duke
de Morny, while one ,year' later, “A View of Antwerp” was pur-
chased by the government. In 1868, two remarkable canvases
were exhibited'at the Salon,‘ both of which found ready purchasers
at large prices.

Ziem repeats his subjects over and over agaih; His “Setting
Sun,” and “September Evening after a Rain,” both Venetian scenes,
are‘upon a similar key, and present but little Variety, either in
composition or color. Some very interesting sketches, water-colors,
and fruit pieces, have been sold at large prices, but have added
little to the reputation of the artist. -

At the Johnston sale, in New .York, “Venice at Sunset,—
Entrance to the Grand.Canal,” 'which was from the Wolfe sale,
brought $1,510. “A View of the Grand Canal” sold in Paris at-
.about the same price in 1860. In 1873, “Stamboul” and “Venice”
sold for about $2,000 each. ‘1

At the .more recent public sales in America, several pieces

by Ziem have brought large prices. From the Stewart-collection,

the picture entitled “The Doge’s Palace ” was purchased by F.
A. Goddard, of Providence, for $1,400; the “Quai dei Schiavoni”
was purchased by J. O. Sheldon, of Brooklyn, for $91,350. Mr.

 

 

 

82 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

J. A. Wilson purchased at the Morgan sale a picture called
“ Fishing-boats,” for $1,350; while “The Public Gardens of Venice”
i sold at the dispersion of the J. A. Brown collection for $800.

At the Corcoran gallery in Washington is “Constantinople
from the Golden Horn,” painted in 1874. Here, Constantinople
unrolls itself in an amphitheater, while the sun appears like a
brilliant disc reflected in the waters of the Bosporus, and bathes in
a luminous vapor the domes and minarets of the great city. There
are glimpses of the coast of Asia, ‘the buildings in Scutari, the
ancient Chios, the mosque of Bajazet, and the great walls which
inclose the Golden Horn. Here and there a white sail and long
boats, manned with rowers, lose themselves in the mists where
sky and‘water meet. Upon the ruddy beach the idle sailors
stretch their swathy limbs and laugh their cares upon the wind.

The acquisition of Algeria by the French government has
doubtless assisted the French mind in its natural inclination to
the vivid portrayal of the skies, bazaars, costumes, and the sen-
suous, dreamy, barbaric splendor of the gorgeous East.

There is no doubt that the national literature has been sin-
gularly affected by Oriental studies, and no country has found so
rich a field in Oriental discovery as France.

French artists have always excelled in the representation of
scenes and characters peculiar to the East, their sense of color
making this class of studies more congenial than the colder
northern scenes. ,

No one has succeeded in the field more truly than the subject
of our sketch; and it is impossible for any engraving to suggest
the “iridescent coloring” of his paintings. I

It is said that Ziem conceals the insufficiency of his drawing
by an agreeable luminous vapor. He has little firmness, but is
full of grace. The earth and cities undulate in the waves which
lave their shores. He could never paint a silhouette.

Some of his pictures resemble the works of Isabey. He excels
in tangling brilliant colors in the fringes of'the sea. If a wind

perchance to ruffle the face of the water, there is delicious matter

for his brush. To look upon his work at times, gives us that

 

 

ZIEM. 83

delectable little shivering with which we are touched when we"
_step into a boat. We seem to be‘ afloat. That, which we see
seems stable.

Ziem' is a painter of architecture as well as of water, but
he prefers to sleep at noonday, and look at nature only as the
sun goes down. Lost in 'the midst of the lagoons of the Adriatic,
he glimpses Venice to us as a city of enchantment, and so deeply
has it enchanted the artist that, in contemporary art, he seems to
hold a sort of monopoly upon Venetian subjects. His interpreta-
tion'of Venice is ‘so characteristic, and so personal, that one is
never in doubt concerning his work.

The picture which hangs in the Luxembourg gallery, and which
it is our pleasure to present, is entitled “A View of Venice.”
No black and white representation could give even the faintest
idea of that sweet charm of color which seems to be borne in
upon the breezes which ripple the waters of that magnificent sea.
The very waves and sky palpitate in reciprocal emotion, and the
atmosphere, with caressing tenderness, 'connects both in mystic union,
making them one and inseparable. The grand campanile of Saint
Mark’s raises itself in the distance aboVe the horizon, and the
doves along the quay mark their forms with pencils of golden
light, while gondolas thread their way over the canal, and we
seem to hear the shout of the fishermen as they throw their nets
to sea, in the dim glory of the fading distance. No charm of

art can reveal Venice as do the charms. of Felix Ziem.

 

FORTUNY.

EARIANO FORTUNY is without doubt the greatest
of Spanish painters of the present century. Born
at Reuss, near Barcelona,‘ in 1838, he- early mani-

fested a marked talent for drawing, and attended

 

the art academy at Barcelona, where, at the age
‘of twenty, he took the grand firix de Rome. It was in the
summer of 1858 that he left the» shades of the ancient Spanish
city and found his way to the Seven Hills, where he devoted
himself to sketching the works of the great masters all day, and
at night frequented the Academy Chigi, where he sketched in
crayons, ink, and water-colors.

Fortuny was not suffered to remain long in the city of
art, but was recalled to Spain and placed upon the staff of
General Prim, in whose company he went to Morocco.

So absorbed was he by the intense desire to sketch all he
saw, that he encountered. needless dangers, and on one occasion
escaped death only by passing himself off as an Englishman. ‘

A At the close of the 'war, Fortuny returned to Rome and
executed several works which were sent to Barcelona. About this
time he attended an exposition of paintings in Florence, where
he was awakened to a new sense of light in color.

From this time his art changed completely in its character
*and technique. Receiving an order from the city of Barcelona,
he was so long in executing it that the State became impatient.
The artist was angry and gave it up, returning the money
which had been advanced to him. No persuasion could induce

him to resume the work, and he indignantly left Spain and

settled in Paris. Here he executed many pictures. Afterwards he

 

 

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FORTUNY. 85

went to Madrid to copy the Spanish masters, where he became the
friend.of Madrazo, whose daughter he married.

In 1866, ‘appeared a picture entitled “A Fantasy of Morocco,"
a replica of which was made for the late A. T. Stewart, of
New York.

His own wedding suggested the famous painting known as
“ The Spanish Marriage,” which won for him great success, and
brought more orders than he could possibly execute. Following
this was “ The Serpent Charmer,” which was repeated for Mr.
Andre. Fortunately for Fortuny’s replicas, they always differed
from the original, inasmuch as he painted the second from models,
and never copied the first painting. With means abundant to
gratify his tastes, Fortuny surrounded himself with the richest
stuffs and tapestries, bronzes, carpets, rugs, ancient and costly
arms, fresh flowers, copies from the ancient masters, and hosts of
sketches presented to him by his friends.

There was a wonderful charm about the studio and its sur-
roundings, which he had for the time established in Rome, having
taken up his residence there after leaving Paris. One can hardly
imagine the eastern luxuriance and almost Oriental splendor of
his gardens, where he sketched from nature. The magnificent
Persian tent, shaded by oaks and other trees in the court, gave
his surroundings an almost barbaric appearance.

Attracted by the fame of the artist all the world desired to
visit him. Men of letters congregated in his studio to discuss
the matters of the day. Artists met there to talk of the great
works of famous men. Ladies of the fashionable world were only
too happy to add brilliancy to the gatherings, to which the wife
of the famous artist was a charming hostess. The studio of
Fortuny became a salon, and many precious memories still survive.

In 1869, Fortuny completed “The Spanish Marriage,” there
being several portraits in it; among them we notice Madame
Fortuny, the Duchess of Colonna, and the lamented artist, Regnault.
This famous painting was purchased by the house of Goupil;
afterwards, by Madam de Cassin. In Paris the artist was much
courted, yet his native instincts inclined him to retirement and

the society of a few cherished friends.

 

 

 

 

86 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

At the opening of the Franco-German war, Fortuny went to
Madrid. Here the water-colors, afterwards purchased by Mr.
Stewart, representing. the “Carnival of the Last Century,” were
executed.

Fortuny returned to Rome in 1872, where he painted “The
Academy of the Arcadians, listening to an Unpublished Tragedy
,in the Gardens of the Society.” This was the last work that he
completed, it being finished not until 1874. He became so popular
that he found no time to work, so he journeyed to Venice and
Naples, where he took a villa at Portici, and worked incessantly
for a few months; but on returning to Rome he was taken
ill of the malaria, and died on the twenty-first day of November,-
1874. On the day of his death he made a sketch for his wife’s
album.

“The Serpent Charmer ” was. sold at the dispersion of the.
late Mr. Stewart’s collection, for $13,100. The last work of the
artist, which was uncompleted, entitled “The Beach at Portici,”
was purchased at the same sale, by J. L. Smith, for $10,100. . At
the Morgan sale, Mr. Chester purchased “The Rare Vase,” a
water-color, for $7,100.

The picture which we have given is “ Choosing the Model,”
and represents the perfected work of the great artist. Its value at

present is upwards of $20,000, but could not be purchased for

any amount of money which might be offered.

 

 

COURBET.

USTAVE COURBET, the most eccentric artist of
the century, was born at Ornans, in 1819; and
was sent to Paris by his father in 1839, in order

that he might study law. Determined, however,

 

to be an artist, the law student spent much time
in the studies of the students of the Latin Quarter, and attempted
the brush clandestinely, while he was supposed to be deeply engaged
with the subtleties of legal quibbles and opinions.

In 1844, he ventured to send a picture tothe Salon, which
was accepted. Afterwards he studied a little under Steuben and
Hesse, but practiced more by himself. At one time he adopted
the Flemish style of painting; at another time he imitated the
Florentine schools; and later on became an ardent admirer and
copyist of Venetian masters. _

With his great eccentricities of character, Courbet acquired exag-
gerated eccentricities in art, until he was seized with the fancy
that he was called to the establishment of a new school of art,
which was to produce a remarkable revolution in the tastes and
opinions of all who are students of nature for artistic purposes.

His great hobby was what he termed “ realism,” an idea
which has been often attempted, and which has in Paris received
great attention. It has drawn after it some remarkable painters
who have figured under various names, such as “realists,” “tran-
scendentalists,” “intransigents,” and “impressionists.” The funda-
mental idea with all these is that art should represent things
exactly as they appear, and that any idealism, any search for
beauty, any expression of sentiment beyond the bold photographic

reproduction, is a gross error.

 

 

88 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

Courbet chose models from the ugliest and lowest types about
him, making his work repugnant to any refined taste, and suitable
only for the coarsest and most common exhibitions. Naturally, so
strong an individuality would have a greater or less following;
and he enjoyed the honor of being called the chief of the realistic
school. .

Courbet was a man of marvelous talent, of great ~artistic
strength, wonderful skill in modeling, and a strong sense of color;
therefore he has given us landscapes far superior to his figure pieces;
landscapes in which all the forces of nature seem to have softened
and refined the artist’s native violence, and deprived him of his
power for introducing ugly and vulgar types.

Courbet was an ardent communist, and in 1871 tugged at
the ropes which drew down the column Vendome. Tried at
Versailles, sentenced to imprisonment and fine, he underwent incar-
ceration in a prison, where his health was permanently destroyed.

In 1872, at the suggestion of Meissonier, the jury of the
Salon refused admission to Courbet’s paintings. Violent articles
appeared in the Paris journals, making the fame of the artist
greater than ever before. Perhaps this decision, was arrived at
from the fact that Courbet’s dissatisfaction with the awards at
the Salon had’led him, in previous years, to make an exhibition
of his own.

We take pleasure in presenting to our readers one of Courbet’s
paintings of this period. It hangs on the walls of the famous
Luxembourg gallery, where it was placed in 1870, the State having
purchased it at an enormous price. It is entitled “La Vague,”
and represents a stormy day upon the English Channel. This is
one of Courbet’s strongest landscapes. Next to it, perhaps, is the
“Beach at Etretat, after a Storm.”

_ At Munich, Courbet had the honor of an entire Salon to
himself at one time. After his release from prison, Courbet resided
principally in Switzerland, where he died in 1877.

The Boston Art Museum at one time had a fine picture by
Courbet, loaned by Mr. Sayles. Mr. Thomas Wigglesworth, of

Boston, also has a large landscape in which are peasant women

and cattle.

 

 

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PROSPECTUS.

 

 

 

 

Proofs before Letz‘er on Imperial japan and China Paper.

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of i the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

 

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery‘ of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and 'art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the, public, no ancient or well worn subject 'being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained. '

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-‘

ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.
The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a.

portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKAR'I‘, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VRRBazcxHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence. V

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or
otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

 

 

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MILLET.

N the long passage of the Luxembourg gallery
hangs a painting which the sincere lover of art.
will not fail to visit. It represents a little church

standing in quiet fields, with a few broken grave- '

 

 

stones marking a spot where the peasantry of the
neighborhood sleep in peace when life’s fitful fever has ebbed away.
The painting is by the hand of one who has been called the
greatest painter of. humanity, seen in France for ~forty years or
more. 7

From the‘ little “Church of Greville,” in 1875, the great artist,
Jean Frangois Millet, was borne to his last resting-place, by the
peasant people whom he loved so well. _ ‘

, This artiSt was born at Greville in 1814. His ancestors were
peasants, and he was born to the same lowly and laborious casten
Millet studied and first practiced his art in Paris; then wandered
back again into the country, where he lived and died beside the
cradle of his childhood, “ The work there,” he remarked, speaking
of Paris, “has too much glare and glitter, and too little of the
modesty of nature.” '

None like him survive. The human body, with all its ex-
quisite forms, its delicate curves, its tints of red and gray, and
soft, beautiful flesh, inclosing a still more wonderful and beautiful
soul, Whose thoughts, emotions, and‘ sensations were every-where
indicated by the movement of limbs, the parting lips, the glancing
of the eyes; these emotions Millet divined with the true searching
spirit of the artist, and faithfully portrayed, even under the humblest,
coarsest garb of poor and toil—stained humanity.

What can there be equal- to the quiet of the “Little Church,"

 

 

90 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

which hangs in the Luxembourg gallery, or the air of grandeur
and serenity in his- “Gleaners,” which attracts you from, afar? An
almost religious spirit seems to pervade the picture. All is calm,
the drawing without fault, the color without glitter.

When an August sun pours down into Millet’s canvas, there
are no capricious rays sporting themselves in startling and fantastic
moods, but an eloquent and infinite radiance which ripens the grain,
and loses no time in trifling.

There are no mannerisms, under the pretext of realism, in
Millet’s work, There is no substitution‘of the hideous for the
true. All style is subordinate to the .types and scenes of the
country, and there we find a rare grandeur and nobleness which
is in no sense lessened by its rusticity.

Millet evidently loved the peasants whom he represented, and
he felt the inward poesy of the fields where they toiled; while
his sympathy for their lot finds expression. in every curve, in every
feature, in every sentiment. He dignified all actions with worth
and grandeur, making of the humblest peasant a hero.

Millet seemed to regard with much tenderness the picture of

the house where he was born; not unlike the cottage of Burns.

.I . .
Of h1m a contemporaneous writer says: ”The a1m of a‘ great

painter is not to fly away towards the moon and stars. It is to
walk with a firm step and a feeling heart in the path which he
chooses, always sincere toward himself, towards men, and towards
nature. This aim Millet had; and it was that which made him
incomparable and immortal.” ,
The artist was one of nine children. His grandmother, and
an uncle who ‘was appriest, gave him all the education which he
possessed. Very early his taste for painting became manifest,‘and
when he was twenty, Millet went~to Cherbourg to study with the
painter Langois. So remarkable and so rapid was his develop-
ment, that the' municipal council of Cherbourg gave him a small
pension, which enabled him to study at Paris. There he became
the pupil of Delaroche, and soon the friend of Corot, Rousseau,

Dupré, and Diaz.

Often the boy was hungry and cold, for his pension was,

 

 

 

 

MILLET. 91

very small; but the robustness of a Normandy peasant, the courage
of a true and hopeful heart, carried him through his time of trial.
At length he fixed upon representations of pastoral life as the
character of painting which he would pursue. I

In 1853, he found a place at the Salon, where “ The Reapers,”
“A Shepherd,” and “The Sheep-.Shearers” were exhibited, on which
he received his first -medal. In 1857, “The Gleaners” appeared,
which made him famous. After this time Millet’s works created
more discussion than those of any other young artist in France.

Probably no painting of the century was more bitterly criti—
cised on the one hand, or passionately praised on the other, than
“Peasants bearing home a Calf born in the Field,” which appeared
in 1864, and which formed a part Of the Probasco collection, and
was sold to Mr. S. P. Avery, in 1887, for $18,500.

In 1870, Millet sent works to the Salon for the last time.
. “The Church at Greville,” which we have already mentioned, now
hangs in the Luxembourg gallery. It was purchased for 12,200
francs from Millet’s estate after his death. “A Bit of the Village

7!

of Greville sold at the dispersion of the Faure collection, in 1873,
for $4,000.
We present one of the most striking of the great artist’s

works, entitled “ The Spinner.” This painting was sold to Y. F.

Sutton, from the Morgan. collection, for $14,000. At the same.

sale “The Shepherds and Sheep," purchased by H. O. Havermeyer,

brought $1,525. “The Churner” was purchased by Knoedler and:

Company for $8,100.

MADRAZO.

 

MONG the artistsof the nineteenth century, few
can claim such a lineage as the subject of this

sketch, Raimond De Madrazo, while few artists

 

 

have enjoyed so picturesque and notable an ex-

 

 

perience as he. The name has a remarkable
flavor of Spanish soil. There is a hint ‘of the jingle of bells,
'the clang of swords, and the twanging of guitar strings. The
Madrazo name forms a sort of dynasty in Spanish annals, the
family having profited by the laws of hereditary transmission that
governs mankind, both in’intellectual and material inheritance. The
first of the'line of Madrazos was born at Santander, near the
end of the eighteenth century, from a family modestly situated
who considered industry a-Virtue. '

A passion for art was manifest in the lad in very early years,
and a purse was made up by the friends of the family enabling
him to enter the Academy of Fine Arts at Madrid. Afterwards
he came to Paris and studied with David. From Paris he went
to iRome, whence he was summoned by King Carlos to the
position of painter to the Spanish court. A grandson of this
'Madrazo is the object of the present study.

He was born at Rome in 1841'. His father having been an
artist of remarkable ability, the young man was supposed to have
inherited all his wealth of artistic instincts. Very young, Raimond
began the study of art under the instruction of his father, who
with joy encouraged the incipient tendencies of the lad. With
great care he was led into the right paths of art, his mind stored
with the richest knowledge of the schools, the classics, and the

more intimate acquaintance of men- and things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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MADRAZO. 93

Before the astonished eyes of the son, the father reconstructed
ancient Rome, the days of the Caesars, and the earlier history of
Greece and Eastern nations. He spoke to the eyes of the boy,
and filled his mind with an ambition to make still more illus-
trious the line which bore his name, a name which had already
left luminous traces to brighten the world.

In 1855, Raimond De Madrazo visited Paris. The art of the
nineteenth century in all its freshness and splendor spread before
him a vision of another renaissance. Before his eyes were canvases
that had already become immortal. Rousseau, Dupré, Corot, Troyon,
and others had astonished the world by their power, and by the
penetration of their thought. The pupil was then but a fourteen
year old lad. He returned to his home, musing upon the bright
prophetic View which seemed to dawn upon his unclouded vision.
Six years after, he returned to Paris and stayed there, entering
the school of Fine Arts, thus breaking connection with the past
forever. From this time, Madrazo was French. He was tenacious
as a Spaniard, as haughty as a Hz'a’a/go. He studied for the
sake of knowing, and also that he should not be inferior to
others. He drew constantly; he painted with a passion and fervor
which wrought his whole soul into the pigments upon canvas.
He painted what he saw in the light of the studio, and as the
eye perceives it in the limitless horizons of the fields. He found
a charm in all! peoples, and when wearied with seeing, he found
in Paris a place to hide and work out the marvelous creations
of his brain.

Nothing can exceed the naive, coquettish figures which adorn
his canvases; and yet, underneath the seeming superficiality of his
work there is the most serious and earnest knowledge displayed.

In 1878, at the great universal exhibition, Spain occupied a
prominent place in the art department. Here the subject of our
sketch was the successful competitor of the Spanish section. He
painted pictures of the father-land; but under his brush Spain
took a new type. The Spain of the past was forgotten, in the
tricksy, glittering Spain of the present. He had humor and sponta-

neity. Any thing was sufficient to give zest to the theme which

 

 

94. FAMOUS PAINTINGS. '

his brush caressed. He turns an incident into a character, and
writes upon the canvas a history and a novel in one. He loved
dearly to paint characters in which he represented a whole section
of,country; for instance, “Andalouse,” and the “Type Espagnol”;
the one, a figure with her arms crossed, red neckerchief, black
mantilla, dark and proud, dreaming and daring; the other, a woman
of the people, laughing and pretty, in a red shawl trimmed with
white lace, and on her hair, with its brown reflection, a pink and
violet bow.

Nothing can excel the spirit and chic of the “Sortie de Bal,”
which won for Madrazo so much fame at the exposition in 1873,
a reproduction of which we present in this volume. '

Occasionally‘a canvas.by Madrazo suggests to us that one
of Watteau’s fa'mous figures has come forth on a masquerade.
The tradition for the role seems to be a young girl, with pointed
hat, silk stockings, short skirts, white satin slippers, rose colored
mantilla lined with blue and bordered with ermine, leaning against
a white tapestried background. Madrazo would not be Madrazo
without such figures.

The appearance of Madrazo, in .1878, was an important event.
The intensity of his color, its harmony and vibration, the earnest-
ness with which he portrayed character, the marvelous technical
accuracy in portraying textile fabrics, the charm of composition,

the graCe of poise which characterizes his works, mark him as

one only of the century.

 

 

 

l

HAGBORG]

ARISIAN artists are by no means all of French
birth; In fact, it is said that foreigners make
the best Parisians. If the social life of the

great metropolis is characterized by large foreign

 

elements, and the tone of thOught is materially
influenced by the influx of Italian, German, Spanish, English, and
American students, it is no" less a fact that the adherents and
supporters of the French school are not seldom Frenchmen by
adoption and education, rather than by birth. Among the most
noted painters who are known as Frenchmen is a Swede, whose
interesting studio is on the Boulevard Rochechouart.

Auguste Hagborg was born at Gothembourg, Sweden; and
after a short course of study in his native town he removed to
Paris, where he became noted as a most promising and skillful
draftsman. A g _

Visitors to the famous ”Luxembourg gallery in Paris, are
attracted by a picture representing the hardy fishermen on the
channel coast, gathering shell-fish and kelp upon the wet, sandy
beach, which the tide has left comparatively bare._ It is some-
times called “The\ Mussel Gatherers.” The correct name of it,
however, is “The Great Beach in the Channel.” This remarkable
painting was executed by Auguste Hagborg, the Swedish artist,
who is the subject of our sketch. There are several features in
this painting which establish its reputation as one of the solidest
works of art of the century. In the first place, the entire scene
shimmers and glows with diffused light, caught from a sky covered
with broken clouds which seem ready to gather and pour down
rain upon the heads of the devoted. fishermen. There is a sense

'- “vi" ”WW . ,

 

96 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

of space under these hollow, arching heavens, a fresh crispness of
air, and a breathiness withal, which are caught by few of the most
famous painters of the world. The values, from the foreground to
the far distance, are held in just relation; and the long, low, level

reach of sand, with just a hint of water in the far, far distance,

with groups of fishermen scattered over the waste, is a marvel

of technical skill and knowledge.

The fortune of the artist in disposing of this remarkable
painting to France was singularly happy, inasmuch as it attracted
the attention of a host of patrons, whose ready commissions have
enlarged his facilities for work, and, to a great extent, increased
his opportunities for study.

In-the classic gallery of the Louvre, where, after death, the

‘masterpieces of the great painters of France find a final resting-

place, Auguste Hagborg’s work is sure to live, quickening by its
breadth and beauty the interest of the thousands and tens of
thousands who are to wander through those galleries, and enjoy
the legacy which great men have left behind them. Except the
famous “Plowing in the Nivernais,” by Rosa Bonheur, this painting
by Hagborg is copied by the art students of France more than
any other picture in the Luxembourg gallery.

MUSSEL GATHERERSZ

AUGUSTE HAGBORG.

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Proofs before Letter or; Imperial japan and C/zz'mz Paper.

 

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc. ‘

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop—
1 ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices. at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art;

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known. and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the 'very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors. in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac—similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a

portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBCECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.
HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

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BY HASKELL AND POST COMPANY.

 

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KNAUS.

V - UDWIG KNAUS wasiborn at Wiesbaden, on the
' tenth of October, 1829. At a very early age he
manifested a strong inclination to the use of the

pencil, and with the kindly assistance of his

 

parents he entered, during his sixteenth year, the
Dusseldorf Academy, where, under the influence of Sohn and
Schadow, the lad made astonishing progress. Eight years in Paris
followed his term at the Dilsseldorf Academy, and a short visit to
Italy completed the academic studies of the now famous artist.

Knaus made his début in his twentieth year. His work being
pitched upon an extremely high key,-it was thought that he would
be unable to maintain his position, or, at any rate, improve upon
his earliest work. Knaus allied himself with Lessing, Leutze, and
Webber, whose works evidently had an important influence upon
the mind of the young man. i

It has been said that, without interruption or lapse of power,
he has pressed forward to the highest position occupied by any
artist in the peculiar field in which he works.

It would be much like a catalogue to chronicle here the
medals of honor which this artist has received, the knightly orders
which have been conferred upon him by almost every European
government, and the gold medals which his works have won at
nearly every exposition of fine art-s throughout the world. Knaus
occupied in the Academy of Berlin, from 1874 to 1884, a professor’s
chair, which he filled with great distinction, but which he resigned
in order that he might devote himself entirely to the portraying
of child life in the world of art.

Knaus has gained for German art the proud distinction of

 

 

98 ' FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

giving to the world the finest representation of children at their
sports which exists. His canvases present single figures and beau-
tiful groups, in repose or in motion, at play or sleeping, so naively
as to almost reproduce nature itself. I I

The world is brighter because Knaus has lived and painted.
Children are fairer in the eyes of the world because of the tender
' grace with which he has surrounded them in his matchless canvases.
A deep religious art has been created where the Christ-child is
found at every ahearth-stone, and where the Madonna is the
mother, homely and earth-born if you please, but full of the
tender grace and dignity which elder artists gave to Mary and to
the infant Jesus. Under his skillful representation, every house-
hold presents a Holy'Family full of life, happiness, and joy. There
is nothing of sentimentality in Knaus’ work, and few of the
technicalities 0f the German school of his early years.’ Whatever
the artist may owe to the early masters, he owes still more to his
power of observation of daily life, and the sweet expressions which
beam from the fireside faces. His pictures are marked by self-
dependence, delicate perceptions, and a sentiment of human tender-
ness such as a mother’s love for her children could alone express,

In Germany, the so—called national art floated in clouds of
mysticism. As late as 1845, men of real talent were bowed under
the yoke of the fantastic school, and were unable to see that true
art was the simple interpretation of nature. They had decreed
that painting was an art of the imagination; and its aim, the
singing in color of German ballads. Wagner came to take his
part in the national ideal, and find for its expression grander
accents in music than had hitherto been known. Menzel came
and covered canvases with the representation of what his eyes
beheld.

The ground was prepared for the coming of a new art, and
the familiar painting of familiar subjects, taken from the life which
curled and eddied about the artist as he walked among men, was
established in the hands of Louis Knaus; and of it, he remains

to this day incon'trovertibly the master.

 

 

 

KNAUS. 99

Whatever position the public may give to the genre painters,
whatever the critics may say in condemnation of a style which is
not “grand art,” we are so constituted that that phase of art which
appeals most directly and most effectively to our every-day ex-
perience is, or should be, recognized by'us as the highest style
of art. V ‘ .

If our critics label our pictures, our ideas are increased or
belittled by the label which we see, without analyzing the exact-
ness of the judgments which are thus imposed upon us. There'is
neither great nor little in art. There are great and small subjects,
and it is the art with which they are treated that makes them
great or small, according to the value of the incident. If genre
painting be not great in other hands, it certainly is not small in
the hands of Louis Knaus. ' '

The renown of Knaus not only spread over Europe, but found
its way across the Atlantic, and appreciation of his work' grows
with every new picture. 5

His “Priest and Poacher” is the property of Mr. T. R.
Butler of New York; while “The Children’sParty” was purchased
at the famous Stewart sale, by Mr. Jay Gould, for $21,300. At
the Johnston sale, “The Old. Beau,” from the Wolfe sale of 1863,
sold for $3,000; ,while “Thieves at a Fair” sold in London, in
1874, for $2,956. At the Forbes sale. in London, in 1874, “The
Sisters ” sold for 1250 guineas; “Maternal Kindness” bringing at
the Sedelmeyer sale in Vienna, in 1883, 1440 pounds. At the
Latham sale, in New York, “ My Little Brother” sold for $2,200,
and “ After the'Bath” for $2,350. ,

t

KAULBACH.

 
  
 

"\ ‘ i ‘ERMANN KAULBACH is the son of the famous
painter bearing that _name, whose reputation

became world-wide through the grand designs ex-

“ few years since, the great painter left his son
heir to the beautiful gallery which now preserves his memory and
his works in the city of Munich, he left a richer legacy to the
world in the talent of young Hermann, whose recent works are
fulfilling the rich prophecy of his early youth.

It was with great satisfaction that Piloty received, at the
School of Fine Arts in Munich, the son of the first of German
painters, who was at the time a professor and co-laborer with
Piloty in the, Munich Academy. V
- Hermann Was born on the twenty-sixth of July, 1846; and
was early distinguished for a rich, poetic talent, which gave encour-
agement to the father’s hope that his son was to be heir, not
only in name, 'but also in artistic skill and ability. Young Kaulbach

was not long in acquiring the rudiments after entering the Academy,

having practiced drawing from his early childhood; and with per-'

ceptions much keener than others of his years, he easily went
far in advance of the classes to which he was assigned. He also
had the judgment not to follow the way in which his father had
grown great. He declined the reputation of an imitator, but early
became the master of his own thoughts, choosing a more modern
style of art than that which his father had pursued. Preferring
the studies of those conditions dependent upon the development of
modern civilization, he made use of the historical, only that he

might better apprehend and more clearly portray the characteristics

ecuted in fresco and for publication. When, but a '

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KAULBACH'. 101

of the present. He chooses to represent distinguished men in
significant moments of their lives; and one is impressed by his
canvases with the great intellectual culture possessed by the artist.

Kaulbach has not neglected historical painting, having rendered,
in new language, themes from old German‘monastic life; from
French history, or from the colder and more colorless civilization
of Prussia.

One of his recent works is entitled “ Mozart’s Last Days." It
has been called a tragic scene of the most intense and profound.
interest; not that Mozart must depart from life, not that he
leaves his family poor, but from the fact that, however highly he

‘ has attained, there is yet the unattained, and he, standing on the
very summit of knowledge and of power, must die. The picture
represents the great master, with broken strength but with feverish
haste, working out his last days, unable to express what was
living in him, and conscious that with him a whole world ‘of art
must go dumb into the grave. Kaulbach has been denominated
the historian of civilization, in that, out of this mood of ‘Mozart’s,
described so vividly by Riehl, this striking picture has sprung.

Not less striking is the famous painting entitled “Lucretia
Borgia dancing before her father, Pope Alexander VI.” Her brother,
Caesar Borgia, together with the immediate members. of the court,
are also spectators at this unseemly amusement. This remarkable
painting won for the young. artist not only the applause of the
continental cities, but it also won from the hand of the late
King of Bavaria the badge of knighthood. More priceless than
gold were the honors which this now famous painting brought to
Kaulbach, as .they secured to him not only an honorable title in
a country where titles are highlyprized, but secured an extensive
patronage which ensures a large fortune. '

The picture which we present tells its own story. It repre-
sents Kaulbach in one of his pleasant moods in which he relaxes

the strain of grander compositions.

 

SCHREYER.

1TH the possible exception of Meyer von Bremen,
Adolphe Schreyer has found a larger and more
devoted audience in America than any European

artist of the nineteenth century. It has often

 

been claimed that the American taste was better
satisfied with the French school than with either the German or
the English, and yet it remains anotorious fact that the German
artists have succeeded in establishing a stronger hold upon the
American public than any other school of painters.

. Schreyer joins to a grand and strong conception, a poetic
sentiment which allies him to both German and French. One has
said that his talent, as well as his manner, has two natures, re-
calling both Delacroix and Fromentin. With singular taste, his
color is a mingling of the dreamy tones of one, and the strong
and realistic qualities of the other.

Gautier, several years ago, praised in the most exalted terms
the methods of this artist, claiming that few were so picturesque,
so dramatic, and, at the same time, so realistic as he. Whether
Schreyer paints the swirling, drifting snows on the steppes of
Russia, or the Arab crossing the burning sands of African deserts,
he creates a masterpiece. His canvases seem to make you shiver
with the intense coldness of the atmosphere when he paints a
winter scene, while you languish under the burning suns when
he‘ conveys you to the arid atmosphere of the desert.

Adolphe Schreyer was born at Frankfort-on-the-Main, in 1828.
Springing from a noble family, he received at an early age every

advantage that travel and instruction offered.

 

SCHREYER. 103

In the regiment commanded by Prince Taxis, he visited the
war of the Crimea in 1855. Afterwards he spent some time in
Algiers and other eastern countries, as well as all the principal
nations of Europe, every-where studying, that he might be able to
represent the distinguishing characteristics of the ‘various people
among whom he sojourned.

Schreyer received medals at Paris in 1864, 1865, and 1867,
and at Vienna, in 1873, he bore away the honors, having already
received, at Brussels, the Cross of the Order of Leopold. In 1862,
Schreyer was made painter to the court of the grand duke of
Mecklenbourg-Schwerin, and was elected a member of the academies
at Antwerp and Rotterdam.

Among his best works may be mentioned “The Battle of
Waghensel,” which belongs to the Duke of Mecklenbourg; “An
Attack of Cavalry,” belonging to a Berlin collector; and the “Prince
of Taxis, wounded at Temeswar.” A famous snow scene, which ap-
peared in 1864, entitled “ The Horses of' the Irregular Cossacks,”

and the “Charge of the Artillery of the Imperial Guard in the
Crimea,” hang in the Luxembourg gallery at Paris. “Wallachian
Peasants Crossing at Ford ” was sold at the Johnston sale, in
New York, for $2,700; and “ Arabs Retreating,” a larger canvas,
at the same sale, brought $6,700. The Latham Sale, at New
York, held several important canvases, one of which was sold for
$2,150, another for $2,050; while “A Stable on Fire,” the largest
canvas of the collection, sold for $3,500. The Corcoran gallery at
Washington possesses “The Watering-Place.” Mr. John C. Phillips,
of Boston, owns the “Flight of the Standard-Bearer.” Mrs. H.
E. Maynard, of Boston, owns a fine picture called “Winter,” and
Mr. Frank Kimball, of the same city, is the possessor of “Coming
to Camp.” At the sale of the Probasco collection, in New York,
“A Russian Landscape” was purchased by J. Rainsford, for $6,900.
At the Morgan sale “Pack-Horses” sold for $4,300.

From the Seney collection, J.‘L. Mitchell, of Milwaukee, pur-
chased “Snow-Bound" for $4,500; and J. L. Bunner, of Boston,

!

secured the “Arabian Horseman' for $4,700. A very striking

   
  

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104 v FAMOUS , PAINTINGS.

painting by Schreyer, entitled “A~Wallachian Teamster Entangled

in the- Danube Marshes,” was purchased by E.'Kearney, at the E.
-D.‘ Morgan. sale,- for $4,900. I ' 2 '

l The picture which is given. inthis volume as a representation
of Schreyer’s work, is: called “The Oasis in the Desert.” A group
of Arabs have found an island in that trackless sea of sand
which Africa’s sun has burned to arid ashes. Grateful alike to
man and beast, the genial shade invite-s to rest and refreshment;
‘Whileythe “painter, true to the spirit of his art, awakens a mys:
terious alarm, inorder' that, even in their repose, the theatrical
character of} his _ 'conceptionf of the, place and people may be

expressed.

 

 

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AMOUS PAINTINGS.

‘\ A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

I . Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

I

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-
ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America

and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
intrOduced, thereby forming the very idea] of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration Of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would beIFIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac—similes of the greatest art pro- I

ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.
The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a

portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBrECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,

and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

names of

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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MEYER.

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ARELY does. the name of an artist become a
household word in all the length and breadth of
America to such an extent as that of Jean Georges

Meyer. And yet, should we leave this name

 

standing as it does, there are few persons in
America who would recognize :Zthe one of whom we speak. Meyer
was ‘born in the city of Bremen, about 1813, and after studying at
the Dusseldorf Academy, and beginning life for himself, the young
artist assumed the name of his native town, and has since become
known throughout the world as Meyer von Bremen. A

At first his ambition was to become a great historical painter,
although for some years he wavered between this and the painting
of religious subjects.

Having devoted much time to these special studies, he suddenly
found himself making most exquisite sketches of the children who
played at his own fireside, awakening infinite pleasure by their
grotesque or ’charming attitudes. It was here. that Von Bremen
found‘ the art by which he has become known to the world.
His genre subjects have made him popular wherever art is loved
and children are born.

It is now many years since Meyer von Bremen devoted him-
self to painting in oils, although occasionally a water-color of' rare
quality comes from his hand. It is estimated that more than one
thousand pictures have already been painted by this artist, and by
his own testimony most of these have found homes in England
and America, principally the latter.

At the National Gallery in Berlin is a painting entitled “The

Little Housewife,” while at the Johnston sale, in New York, in

 

 

 

106 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

1876, a small picture only fifteen by nineteen inches, called “ The
New Sister,” was sold for $3,700. So constantly has Meyer von
Bremen employed himself upon the portrayal of child life that he
is now called in Germany, Kinder-Meyer.

Owing to the great similarity in Von Bremen’s works, the
charge has sometimes 'been unjustly made that most of his paintings
were executed entirely without models; that having wrought this
particular field so long, the artist was able to depend upon his
knowledge of anatomy and draperies, and to draw from his imagi-
nation for all the motives employed in the production of his works.
rThis, however, is not 'the fact. Very few artists of the present
day exercise the same care in drawing, or spend more time in
making original sketches from the living model.

On the occasion of the author’s last visit to Von Bremen, he
was engaged upon a small picture which had been ordered by an
American, and all the enthusiasm of youthful ardor seemed mani-
fested in the ‘aged painter’s face. He brought out the original
sketch for the picture, which was in pen and ink, with the out-
line of the nude figure, posed in the attitude necessary to the
composition, drawn in red ink; While the figure, afterwards draped,
was completed in ink of another color. This gave the painter,
at all times, the anatomy of his figure, upon which garments were
afterwards placed, and this, on the artist’s assurance, was the method
of procedure with every figure which he had ever placed upon
the canvas.

'Certainly .few painters of his experience would exercise the
same care and painstaking, in order that any error of knowledge
or judgment might be corrected.

The Latham sale, in New York, in _I878, contained one very
valuable painting by Meyer von Bremen, called “What has Mother
Brought?” which was sold for $4,050. His “Water-Girl” is oWned
by'Mrs. Maynard, of Boston. Several very fine specimens of Von
Bremen’s paintings are owned in New England, and an unknown

number are scattered throughout the country. Mr. R. F. Cutting

purchased “Industry,” at the sale of the Stewart collection, for
$3,650; while Mr. Field, of Chicago, secured the “Kind Sister”

 

 

MEYER. 107

for $4,450. Eight canvases by Meyer von Bremen were disposed
of at the sale of the Morgan collection, the largest bringing $4,700.

Nothing further need be said than this, except, perhaps, 'that
the style in which 'Von Bremen works is quite out of favor in
his native coUntry, so that were not the market of America open
for his paintings he would hardly find sale for a picture the year.
through, and. yet his delightful pictures cling in the memory, and
appeal to the heart of every person who sees them. .

The great lover of children, whose paintings have represented

.them in more delightful attitudes than they had ever before been

recognized as capable of, forever laid aside his brush in the year
1886.

 

 

FEYEN—PERRIN.

‘ E’EW visitors to the Luxembourg gallery in Paris

 
 

will pass without more than a cursory glance a
canvas called “ The Return of the Oyster-Fishers,
Cancale." This is the ckef—d’azuw’e of a young
painter whose artistic life has been devoted to the
representation of homely scenes, peasant women, fishermen’s wives,
and those whose poverty makes their daily toil a struggle for
existence. '

Francois Nicholas Augustin Feyen-Perrin was born at Bey-
sur—Seille in 1829. At an early age he became a student at the
school of design in Nancy, and later still he visited Paris, where
he studied under Cogniet and Yvon.

In 1855 he made his'appearance at the annual exhibition
with a portrait and a genre picture of an extremely poetical char-
.acter. His early tendency was toward the classic school. After-
wards he devoted himself to allegorical painting, attracting consid—
erable attention :by a picture entitled “Melancholy,” also an alle-
gorical representation of “ Spring.” In 1874 there appeared “The
Death of Orpheus,” but in ‘none of these fields did the artist find
himself so thoroughly at home as in that which has given the
greatest opportunity for the development of his poetical genius.-

At the Salon of 1877, Feyen-Perrin exhibited “ The Parisienne
at Cancale,” while' the famous painting which now adorns the
walls of the Luxembourg gallery was produced in 1874. This
was purchased by.France at. a large price, a recognition which
has secured to the artist a multitude of orders, as well as renown
and fortune, Feyen-Perrin has also exhibited portraits of a striking

and beautiful character.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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FEYEN—PERRIN. 109

Of him, Philip Gilbert Hamerton says, in the Poi/#0122) of May,
1873: “Some years since, Feyen-Perrin'said to me that, considering
the great inequality of some artists in their work, he thought the
aim of an artist ought not to be so much to make brilliant hits as
to reach a high medium ground. I may add that the artist has
himself decidedly attained the high medium] which he thought de-
sirable, both as a painter and an etcher.”

Feyen-Perrin’s work with the etching needle has also brought

‘him renown, as his work stands high among the most skillful of

French etchers.

The picture which we present is entitled “The Return of the
Oyster-Fishers.” It is a work singularly beautiful, although crowded
with figures. To the. observer it seems as though the long line,

lead by two beautiful peasant girls, and reaching far back toward

‘the distant horizon, was moving directly out of the canvas, and

the next moment would entirely surround the auditor. Nothing
can be thought of more exquisite than the ease and graceful poise
of these girls, born to a hard and painful lot. One seems to
feel the free, swinging motion, as they walk toward him from the
distance. The hum of voices, the peals of laughter, the abounding
good nature which characterizes the entire company, relieves their
lot of pain and weariness, making it seem even desirable to those

bred to easier and more enchanting experiences.

 

 

DAUBIGNY.

   
 
 

35 scape art had lost its power to either impress or

£3 interest those who came in contact with it. It

 

 

D
, a was a thing despised by some, reduced to a sub-

 

altern rank by others, while there existed a preju-
dice on the part of artists against attempting the portrayal of land-
scapes as seen in nature. It is almost incredible that any one
should dare to undertake this phase of art in the strong and almost
careless manner with which Daubigny attacked the prejudices of
his time.

Charles Francois Daubigny was born at Paris, in 1817, and

resided there until his death in 1878. He was a'pupil of Delaroche,

and after studying with this master spent three years in Italy.

Daubigny executed more than one hundred etchings, some of
which are excellent. It is, however, true that his landscapes are
simply first impressions, remarkable for a certain massiveness of
handling and justness of values, but with studied neglect of all
detail. At first, observers looked upon his work with great dis—
‘favor, and thought it crude, 'unfinished, and ill-consideredr but
they soon learned that Daubigny was devoted to a system, and
to this his apparent manner was to be attributed. While it was
a system not especially dangerous in the hands of an artist like
Daubigny, it has proved disastrous in the hands of a multitude
of copyists.

His art consisted largely in choosing a bit of country, painting
it as it was, yet filling the frame with a simple and naive poetry
which his artistic spirit observed in the features of the landscape.

There were no effects of studied light, no artificial and complicated

 

 

 

 

DAUBIGNY. I I I

composition, no point to, allure the eye, nothing to surprise the
mind; simply a genuine, hospitable, and familiar country, without
disguise and without display. '

One seems to enjoy this landscape to which Daubigny trans-
ports him. There is no jolting, no sudden dissolution; but one
feels that it is wrong not to spend a little longer time when he
is there, feeling an unwillingness to turn from the mild and
agreeable scene which is presented.

The picture which we present is a simple landscape with
water, and one can hardly resist the desire to spend a little time
there,‘ for peace will come, and if night falls the thrushes will
send forth their tender cry, and the nightingales begin to sing.
Although we exact not the outlines of each leaf upon his trees,
nor demand that he fasten each individual tree to the soil by
roots, we do expect that even Daubigny's trees should insert their
branches into the trunk, and that they trace upon the sky or the
horizon their distinct outline, especially when they occupy the first
place in the painting. We would rather .see the grass appear less
like ground, and we would prefer the ground a little more natural
in its character. The artist seems to have kneaded the ground
like dough, or minced it like wool.

From 1838, he was represented in nearly every salon with one
or more pictures and always attracted attention. Among his numer-
ous works we may mention “The Banks of the River Oulins,”
“The Seine at Charenton,” “The Seine at Bezons,” and “The Island
of Bezons.” All were purchased by the Ministry of the Interior.
In 1852, a picture entitled “The Harvest” was placed by Napoleon
III; in the palace of the Tuileries; while “A View on the Banks
of the Seine” was purchased in the same year by the Museum
of Nantes. The year following, “ The Pool of Gylien” was pur-
chased by 'the Emperor for the palace at St. Cloud.

Should one Visit the apartments of the Ministers of State at
the Louvre, he would see two panels, one representing stags, and
the other herons, the products of Daubigny’s brush; while on the
staircase of the same apartment he would see “The Pavilion of
Flora,” and “The Palace and Garden of the Tuileries.” “A View

 

 

 

 

I 12 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

in the Valley of Optevoz," painted in 1855, hangs in the Lux-
embourg gallery, and “Springtime," painted two years later, is
counted one of the treasures of the same collection, and is copied
very widely, especially by artists studying at Paris.

At the Johnston sale in New York, “Evening—Landscape”
was sold for $1,450. Two paintings by this artist are in the
collection of Mrs. H. E. Maynard of Boston.

It is true that few-of Daubigny’s paintings are of great value,
but some of them stand, and will stand among the masterpieces
of the world. At the sale of the Stewart collection, J. C. Hoag-
land purchased “The End of the Month of, May” for $7,900.
“On the. Seine” was purchased at the Morgan sale by Hicks
Arnold, for $6,200, and “On' the Marne,”, by D. Halsted, for
$5,500. The Halsted collection contained a very beautiful Daubigny,
entitled “Evening on the River,” which was pUrchased by L. E.

Delmonico, for $2,200, and “A River in France” was purchased .

from the Rogers and Bookwalter collection, by D. C. Lyall, for
$2,925. ' . - '

 

 

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AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

P’HOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

  

Great Pictures, of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “ The Great Cathedrals of the World," “Modern German Masters," “Bowdoin Art
Collection," “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop.

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained. .

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA Pnoors to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is‘the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LEI-risk.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac—similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pagES of text, a
portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of Msrssomnn, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBCECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or
otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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MAKART

T HATEVER there was of a grandiose and theatrical
character in theart of Paul Veronese seems to
have enjoyed a renaissance in the art of Hans

Makart, which presents the artifice rather than the

 

essence of the style it affects. There are few
painters who possess enough daring to handle the vast material,
to dispose fearlessly and with proper relation such a multitude of
figures; and there are still fewer‘who possess sufficient skill to
execute such surprising, and in some respects, admirable produc-
tions as those of Makart.

This gifted artist was born at Salzbourg, in 1840, and after
spending some time in the academy at Munich, he became the
private pupil of Piloty. He made many visits while young to
Italy, and sent a picture of “Roman Ruins” to the - Exposition
at Paris in 1867.

Makart, after painting for a time in Munich, settled in Vienna,
where a large studio was granted him by the Emperor. Here he
wrought out his first great historical picture, entitled “Catherine
Cornaro,” which is now at the Berlin National Gallery. This picture
represented the artist at the' Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia,
and was offered for sale at a much less price than that for which,
it was purchased by the National Gallery at Berlin.

When the writer- met Mr. Makart, in 1883, he was still very
indignant at _the American people for the fancied slight they put
upon his famous work, and it was a matter to be regretted that
the art lovers of America were so short-sighted as to allow this,
the finest historical painting of this great artist, to leave the country.

Among the earlier works of Makart are “The Seven Capital

 

 

 

 

114 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

Sins,” “The Dream of a Man of Pleasure," “Romeo by the Body
of Juliet,” which now fills an honored place in the Belvedere at
Vienna; while among his later works are “Leda," “Cleopatra,"
“Modern Cupids,” “The Five Senses,” “The Gifts of Sea and
Earth,” and the more important painting of “The Entrance of
the young Emperor Charles V. into Antwerp.”

Concerning the work of no other artist of the present
century has there been so great a variety of opinion, and it is true
that the work of no artist is so uneven, and, in many respects,
open to criticism. Makart has been called the Richard Wagner
of German painting. While he seemed to be incapable of correct
drawing, there was a spirit and vigor about his work, a marvelous
sense of color, a strength of composition, which has been unequaled
in this century.

The Gazette des Beaux-Aw‘s, of October, 1869, says that “Re-
nouncing the manners of the vulgar, Makart sought a kind of
genre which demands neither a knowledge of drawing nor of
painting, but uniquely a sort of general taste for the association
of colors, and this genre he found. An architectural framing, in
the form of a buffet, closed in three compartments; a circle of
women and a triumphal corfege, the heroines of which form some
very picturesque groups; various emblems, scientific or artistic in-
struments, utensils of the kitchen; these are painted on the dif-
ferent parts of the buffet, and testify to a remarkable understanding
of the laws of decoration.”

This, indeed, is somewhat severe criticism. If it be granted,
there yet remain the golden tones on which the figures are shown,
the delicious brown of the tree branches, and the color of the
flesh parts, sometimes red and sometimes white, forming a mar-
velous harmony of dazzling richness, and a musical charm which
other artists vainly attempt to approach.

Makart had a palette to himself, and never imitated one. He
discovered a precious vein, and he worked it to its completion.
The forms of his heroines fluctuate between the softness of child-
hood and the roundness of ripened age, while there is ever an

expression of the head suggesting the taint of immorality. The

 

MAKART. 1 15

. human figure in the hands of Makart played the role of simple
ornament, as did the draperies and the flowers. Whatever artifice
he used to accomplish his results, his work constantly speaks of
his brilliant endowment, as well as of his spirit of romance and
voluptuousness. I

He has been called the Veronese of Vienna. The picture
which we present, representing “The Entrance of Charles V. into

!

Antwerp,’ has been purchased by Belgium, and now adorns the
walls of its museum at Antwerp. Here there is apparent the trans-
cendent genius of the artist, makingsadly evident the poor drawing
and affected manner. I ‘

It is unfortunate that Makart felt the need of resorting to
meretricious mediums for heightening the color which he laid upon
his canvas, knowing well. that the lapse of time would convert
the tones, so modified, into dark and sombre hues, robbing them of
all beauty, and reducing the exquisite flesh tints, which upon a
fresh canvas were unexcelled, to the'dreary monotony of those
leathery hues common to many of the ancient masters,

Makart’s color is brilliant, satisfying, melting when first laid;
but already fading from shis earlier work, is soon to be lost to
the world, because of the. hurtful and debasing mediums with
which he secured its first brilliancy. '

The mind of the artist became affected; he imagined that his
head was a vast color box, and at times a palette, until it be-
came necessary to secure his safety by confinement. Demency

followed, and in this sad conditiOn he passed away during the

year 1885.

 

 

WAGREZ.

can hardly suppress his astonishment at the

 
 

rapidity with which Jacques Clement Wagrez has
marched along the “uncertain pathway ” to recog-
nition and fame in the artistic world. It seems
. but a few years since he made his first exhibit
at the Salon, but in this incredibly short time he has won un-
usual glory, and without doubt a competence.

There seems to have been no hesitation in his steps, no
turning aside to work which proved upon trial a failure. He
has attempted successfully mythology, history, the lives of' saints,
as well as ideal representations of- the social life of former
centuries. It makes little difference with his pencil whether it be
engaged upon a Grecian goddess, the Court of Louis Quinze, a
group of seraphim, or the more intimate characters with which he
is daily surrounded. The distinguishing qualities of his works,
sacred or profane, are the grace and beauty of the figures which
adOrn his theme, or elucidate the story.

In the Salon of 1884, there was exhibited “ Saint Clair in
Ecstasy at the Foot of the Cross.” Immediately in front are the
figures of' three angels floating in the air, yet with a poise so
graceful, so perfect, as to render them quite unlike the ordinary
stilted flying figures usual in similar pictures by other artists. They
seem to possess a celestial'grace' and radiance.

The previous year, Wagrez was represented ’in the Salon by
one of his most striking and characteristic productions. It rep-
resented a scene in Florence of the fifteenth century. It is an
exquisite morSel cut from .the most glorious epoch of the Renais-

sance. The brilliant and immortal spirit of letters. have become

 

 

 

 

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WAGREZ. I I 7

quickened, and the fine arts are striving to climb the heights of
ideal beauty. The scene presented a magnificent staircase rising
gradually to a superb terrace, at the. foot of which stood a young
girl, as fair as the Beatrice of Dante, in the full flower of Spring-
time. The face is turned in almost silhouette, with an ideal ex-
pression, chaste and pure. A brilliant cavalier is part way up the
stair, turning to gaze upon her whom he had met for the first time.
It was entitledv“The First Meetingf’ and won for the young
artist a wide and deserved reputation. '

The picture which it is our pleasure to give, represents a
“May Féte in Florence,” of the same date of that to which we
have just referred. The same characteristics are present, the ex-
quisite beauty of both male and female youth, while the same
rich dressing is apparent. Our youthful cavalier is in the act of
presenting the floral scepter to the Queen of May, while garlands
of flowers, and picturesque groups of children and youth surround
the principal figures. ’

Wagrez was born in Paris, and after studying with his 'father,
entered the studio of Pils, and afterward that of Lehmann. His

most important works are: “ Francis 1. and the Duchess d’ Etampes,”

1870; “An Etruscan Poet,” painted four years later; “Bros” and i
“The Lion of Saint Marks ” followed. in 1876, while “ The Master
of the Pantry,” in 1879, was rewarded by a medal; “Orestes,”

1880, and “Hesoid,” I881, “The First Meeting,” described above,
painted in 1883, and a “ Fifteenth Century Scene in Florence,”

together with “Saint” Clara of Assisi,” which appeared in 1884,

comprise the most celebrated of the artist’s productions.

 

 

BECKER.

HOSE who, in the course of art recreation and
study,'have had the pleasure of looking upon one
of the many reproductions of Carl Becker’s famous

painting, representing Othello in the presence of

 

Brabantio and Desdemona, recounting the story of
his battles by land and sea, his “hair-breadth ’scapes by fire and
flood” have felt a sense of gratitude to the great artist for quicken-
ing‘ the first conception of the beautiful scene which Shakespeare
has so forcibly portrayed, and for preparing the appetite for his
latest and greatest work, showing the Moor in the attitude of
defiance in his stirring address before his accusers. ’

Whatever may be said of the theatrical manner which some
are pleased to call Becker’s presentation of Shakespearean scenes,
it is true that no artist of the present century has made more
vivid. the real life suggested by the great dramatist; I

Othello, recounting his adventures in the presence of Brabantio
and his charming daughter, has become so familiar to Becker’s
admirers that we have chosen to represent the great artist by his
latest, and in some respects, most pleasing composition upon the
same theme. I i

The “most potent, grave, and reverend seigniors” are assem~
bled. The accused has risen in their presence to defend himself
against the charge of witchcraft. The fair Desdemona watches
with intense interest the effect which the manly plea of her great
soldier is having upon his auditors. That it is a‘complete victory.
without b100d, is evident upon the faces of those, who, ’were not

his story so manly and convincing, would hold him guilty.

This painting, by Professor Carl Becker, forms an interesting

 

 

 

BECKER. 1 19

supplement to that picture which has become so familiar, and has
found a place in many thousand homes in Europe and in America.

Carl Becker was born at Berlin in 1820. At Paris and at
Rome, in his early years, he was a pensioner of the Berlin
Academy, where" he had studied in his youth under the instruc-
tion of Von Klober, of Hesse, and of Cornelius. Having made a
journey to Venice, Becker was captivated by the rich and glowing
color of'the Venetian school, and for a time successfully worked
under its inspiration. Latterly, however, he has departed some-
what from his early love, rather to the detriment of his work,
loss of clearness and in depth. In place of this a decorative
mannerism has made itself apparent, even in his best conceptions.
Still among the genre painters of Germanerarl Becker holds a
distinguished, as well as a distinct position.

Two unusual qualities are every-Where present in Becker’s
paintings. There is nothing irritating, showing an expression of
ill-will; nor has the flattery and success which have crowned his
efforts lulled his artistic genius into self-satisfaction or inaction.
Patiently and unweariedly he labors on, with an ideal still before
him, and each painting forms an ascending step in the- ladder
by which he climbs toward it.

He always accomplishes unusual things, excites popular appro-
bation unexpectedly, and by his latest works silences the voices
of those critics who condemn his earlier productions, and disarm
'his opponents by _the very force of his genial and charmingi
expression.

Carl Becker is now a member and vice-president of the
academy at Berlin, as well as a professor in the art school, a
member of the academy of Vienna, and of the Royal Society of
Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium. He is an officer of the Order
of Léopold; has received medals at Berlin, Vienna, and Munich,
and other honors and decoratiOns which it is superfluous here
even to catalogue.

Among the paintings which have been sold in this country
may be mentioned “The Rendezvous,” from the Stewart sale, a

small picture which brought $525. At the Seney sale, “ Romeo

 

 

I 20 BECKER.

and Juliet in Friar Laurence’s Cell ” was purchased by V. H.
’Rothchilde for $3,525. “ The Message,” at the same sale, a much
smaller picture, was purchased by L. S. Wolfe'for $3,500. At
the Latham sale, in New York, “ The Promenade” brought $1,450.
“ The Emperor Maximilian Crowning Ulrich V0n Hutten at
Augsburg” was purchased for the State and placed in the museum
at Cologne. Hardly a gallery of any importance on the continent
but enjoys the possession of one of Becker’s famous canvases.
The lines of Shakespeare’s immortal play, illustrated by the

artist in the picture which we here present, are the following:

“Most potent, grave, and reverend seignoirs,

My very noble and approv’d good master's, ,
That I have ta’en away this old man’s daughter,
It is most true; true, I have married her:

The very head and front of my offending

Hath this extent, no more.

Yet, by your gracious patience,
I will a round unvarnish’d tale deliver
Of my whole course of love; what drugs, what charms,
What conjuration, and what mighty magic—
For such proceeding I am charg’d withal—
I won his daughter with.

My story being done,
She gave me for my pains a world of sighs:
She swore, in faith, ’t was strange, ’t was passing strange,
’T was pitiful, ’t was wondrous pitiful:
She wish’d she had not heard it, yet she wish’d
That heaven had made her such a man: she thanked me,
And bade me if I had a friend that loved her,
I should but teach him how to tell my story,
And that would woo ,her. Upon this hint I spake:
She loved me for the dangers I had passed,
And I lov’d her that she did pity them.
This only is the witchcraft I \have us’d—
Here comes the lady, let her witness it.”

 

 

 

 

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CONTENTS.

PRELUDE.

FRIEDLAND, “ 1807,”

THE COMMUNICANTS,

THE HORSE FAIR,
CHRIST BEFORE PILATE,
THE MISSIONARY’S STORY,
POLLICE VERSO,

THAMAR,

THUSNELDA IN THE TRAIN OF GERMANICUS,

FABIOLA,

HEART OF THE ANDES,
NYMPHS AND. SATYR,

THE HUNTING BALL,
MORNING,

BOLGIA’S AMUSEMENTS,

THE PIECE IN DANGER,
COMING TO THE BALL,

ROYAL FISHERMEN,

OPENING OF THE NEW OPERA,
THE HANDKERCHIEF OF SAINT VERONICA,
SHEEP AND RAVENS,

THE ROMAN CHARIOT RACE,
SAPPHO, .

THE CLOISTER VAULTS,

THE LAST ROLL—CALL,
LENDING A HAND,

OFF OSTEND, . \. I

| NYMPHS BATHING,

CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE,

OLD FOSSES,

THE EMPTY SADDLE,

VIEW OF VENICE,

CHOOSING THE MODEL,

LA VAGUE,

THE SPINNER,

SORTIE DE BAL,

MUSSEL GATHERERS,

THE CHILDREN’S PARTY,

TANTALIZING THE FOOL,

OASIS IN THE DESERT,

BROTHER SLEEPS, . .

THE RETURN OF THE OYSTER FISHERS,
LANDSCAPE, . .
ENTRANCE OF CHARLES V. INTO ANTWERP,
MAY FESTIVAL IN FLORENCE,

OTHELLO BEFORE THE COUNCIL,

Ernest Meissonier,
7ules Breton,
Rosa Bonheur,
Michael Munhaesy,

. _ 7ean Georges V ibert,

Leon Geréme,
Alexandre Cabanel,
Carl van Piloty,

7ean 7aeques Henner, .
F. E. Church, .
William Adolphe Bouguereau,
7ulius L. Stewart,
7ean Baptiste Camille Corot,
7ules Garnier,

Alphonse De Neuville,
F ran: Defregger,
Eugene [sabey,
Edouard Detail/e,
Gabriel Max,

Anton Braith,
Alexander Wagner,

A lma- Tadema,

Ed. Grutzner, ‘
Charles Louis Muller,
Emile Renouf,

Andreas Achenbach,
7ules Lefebvre,
Heinrich Hofmann,

E. Van Marthe,
Edmund Waller,

Felix Z iem,

Mariano Fortuny, .
Gustave Courbet,
Frangois Millet,
Raimond de Madrazo,
A uguste. Hagborg,
Ludwig Knaus,
Hermann Kaulbaeh,
Adolphe Schreyer, .

'Meyer won Bremen,

Feyen- -Perrin, .
Charles Frangois Daubigny,
Hans Mahart, .
7aeques Clement vWagrez,
Carl Becher,

100
102
105
108
110
113
116
118

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
   
 
 
 
 

 
  
 

 
 

 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 

 

 

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PROSPECTUS.

 

 

 

 

Proofs before Letter on Imperial japan and Claim: Paper.

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

» PHOTOGRAVURES

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “ The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern‘ German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “ Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

 

ork before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-
and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
at both auction and private sale in America

N placing this great w
ment of taste in art,

which have recently brought such fabulous prices,

and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive .Art.

Of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced

The greatest pictures
in compact form on each subscriber’s table,

in the most perfect manner known, and laid
ery of the world’s masterpieces.

transforming the poorest home into a gall
It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.
ancient or well worn subject being

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no

introduced, thereby forming. the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm

never before attained.
It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged

the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market,

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LEITER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places facsimiles of ' the greatest art pro‘
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a

portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

the enames of _MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,

Among the artists we note
GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,

BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR,
VERBtECKIIOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
No other conditions, verbal or

and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS.

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CONTENTS, VOL. II.

ARAB FALCONERS,
ULYSSES AND HIS DOG,
THE FATES,

GENERAL PRIM,

THE CAPTAIN’S SHARE,
MARGARETHA AND MARTHA,

EXCOMMUNICATION OF~ ROBERT THE PIOUS,

THE CEMETERY OF ST. PRIVAT,
‘THE DEFENSE 0F CHAMPIGNY,
VENUS AND TANNHAUSER,
ALBRECHT DURER IN VENICE,
FLUTE CONCERT AT SANS—SOUCI,

EMPEROR WILLIAM AND HIS GENERALS,

THE FENCING LESSON,
THE PEASANT’S THEATRE,

TRIAL OF CONSTANCE DE BEVERLEY,

THE BROTHERS SOLO,

THE CRUCIFIXION,

PORTRAIT OF MRS. RAYMOND,
CLEOPATRA MEETING ANTONY,
QUEEN LOUISE,

CATHARINE CORNARO,

IN THOUGHT,

IARRIVAL 0F SOULS IN PURGATORY,
LE BOURGET,

THE CREMATION OF A PAGAN CHIEF,

THE RHINE,

LAST IDAY OF THE CONDEMNED,
SUMMER LIFE,

READING HOMER,

THE APPIAN WAY,

AT THE FOUNTAIN,

THE RETURN OF THE TRIUMPHANT GERMANS,

THE TYROLEAN UPRISING,

THE ARRIVAL OF THE MARRIAGE COMPANY

AT THE MARIE,
FREDERICK AND THE EMIGRANTS,
HOME COMING HERD,

WOMEN OF CARTHAGE,
TRIUMPH OF ARIADNE,
“LONGUESE,” .

WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST,
“LE PASSEUR,”

EVENING PRAYER,

GRAND PARDON, . .
OLD WINE AND YOUNG LOVE,

Fromentin,

Briton Riviere, '

Paul Tnumann,

Henri Regnault,

Ed. De Beaumont,
Alexander Liezen—Mayer,

jean [.aurens,

A [plianse De Neuville,
Edouard Detail/e,
Otto Knit/e,

Carl Bee/Ber,

Adolf flienzel,
William C an] film men,
P. joanowits,

Ed. Grutzner,

Tobey Rozent/ial,

‘A. Humoorg,

Bruno Pig/nein,
David Neal,
Gustav H/ertlzeimer,
Gustav Rienter,
Hans Ma/eart,

G. Senaoninger,
Theodore Grosse,

A lpnonse De Neuville,
Henri Semiradséy,
Gustave Dore’,
Mi'enael [Mun/3626531,
A. Begas,

A lma— Tadema,
Gustav Boulanger,
C/zarles Delort,
Paul Tnuinann,
Franz Defregger,

Cdsare Detti,
Fritz Neulzaus,
Anton Braitn,
Rickard [.inderuzn,
Hans Makart,
P. Coon/tans,

F. M. M. Hemy,
Emil Bayard,
Emil Munier,
Charles Grillou,
F. A ndreotti,

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FAMOUS   PAINTINGS.

' TEXT BY

FRED II, ALLEN,

AUTHOR OF “THE GREAT CATHEDRALS 01“ THE WORLD,” “MODERN GERMAN NIAS’I‘ERS,” L‘ MASTERPIECES
0F GERMAN ART,” “BOWDOIN ART COLLECTION," “GLIMI’SES 0F PARISIAN ART,”

“ADVENTURES IN SEARCH OF A BOOK,” ETC.

PHOTOGRAVURES BY LAKES/DE PRESS.

 

VOL. II]

HASKELL AND POST COMPANY,

BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

COPYRIGHT, 1887,
BY

'HASKELL &'~"POST COMPANY.

/

PRINTED BY-
THE LAKESIDE PRESS,
AUBURN.

 

 

 

 

FROMENTIN.

N giving an account of the great artist whose
' name stands at the head of this 'sketch, the
writer feelsgthat greater justice will be done to
the master’s work by using the words of Mr.
Albert Wolff, of Paris, whose estimate of his

life and character is considered one of the most judicious which

 

has been written.

It is proper, however, to say at the outset that Eugene FrO-
mentin was born at La Rochelle, October 24, 1820,ldying at St.
Maurice, a town near his birthplace, on the twenty-seventh of
August, 1876. Fromentin was not only a painter of most ad-
mirable works, but he was, as well, the author of a very suc-
cessful romance, entitled “Dominique.” He received medals in
1849, 1857, and 1859, becoming an officer of the Legion of Honor
in 1869.

“In France art lived for a long time on an Orient of imagi-
nation, where violent colors shocked each other in the sunshine,
and spluttered with a thousand disorderly fires. The actual Orient
is something quite different. The transparence of the atmosphere
stretches like a‘ tint of silver gray of exquisite delicacy over the
landscape. It is soft and harmonious, not violent and showy.
No artist has better rendered the true Orient in distinction of'
color than Eugene Fromentin. He was not satisfied with studying.-
Africa in the products of his predecessOrs. He saw it with his
own eyes, and estimated it with his personal thought,- as a poet
with melting heart, an observer with delicate fidelity. In this de-
lightful artist the painter’s talent was enhanced by a decided
literary aptitude, and thus in his works he not only paints Africa,

he narrates it.

 

122 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

“The first time I saw\ alpicture of .Fromentin’s, at the Salon
of 1863, I was struck by the revelation 'of the true Orient which
the painter had brought to us. It was the famous ‘Arab Falconer.’
The horseman was galloping through a Wide landscape, carrying
a falcon which seemed about to fly. Into that simple scene
Fromentin had put all the grandeur and all_the poetry of African
desert scenery and the Arab. The artist who could express so
many sensations in such a subject was evidently himself a poet,
that is to say a nature sensitive and open to all the impressions
of the animated creation.

“Criticism has often reproached Fromentin for making too
many sacrifices to the literary side of his subjects, that is to say
for having dwelt too much on the anecdote expressed in his
picture; but it is not forbidden in art to tell the world the
peculiarities- of a distant civilization, and put before the eye
its veritable character and its wealth of minute detail ‘with a
graphic descriptive power. Every artist of worth finds it im-
possible to separate his work from his personal sensations. It is
really by this that the great painter is distinguished from the
artist of secondary rank. The latter is oftenest furnished merely
with a painting eye, without the artist spirit. He renders what he
can see without adding the thrill of the soul. Any art work which
does not let us likewise look into the privacy of its author remains
in an inferior rank, whatever may be the skill of the craftsman.

“Fromentin is revealed from head to foot .in his pictures.
He has painted the Orient as it is regarded by the poet. In his
Arab hordes camping in their bivouacs or crossing the desert, he
has not chosen to see the reality of things or to portray the de-
tails of their degradation. The spirit of the artist, as the hand
of the craftsman played over the canvas, was careering with the
poet’s flight through space. When he paints the Arab at‘rest,
with his horse browsing untethered beside the tent, he is awed
by the mysterious grandeur of the scene in the desert silence,
under the limpid sky where the stars are shining. When he
paints the Arab in action, ’he perceives him as a manifestation of

the tameless restlessness of a wandering historical tribe, a being

 

FROMENTIN. 123

who has never learned to measure or restrain his movements. He
always confers upon the creature of the Orient the grace and dis-
tinction of the whole race.

“Fromentin’s thoughts are often so overflowing with his sub-
ject that he finds the art of painting inefficient, and he lays
down the palette and seats himself at the table before his ink-.
stand. He writes charming works about the Orient, where at
every line the painter reveals himself through the man of letters,
even as his pictures reveal to us without difficulty the literary
man in the painter.

“ Those who estimate the value of a work of art from the
scale of the figures, used often to blame Fromentin for always
restricting his works to small proportions; just as if such and
such. a tale of Merimée’s, for instance, was not worth a novel of
several volumes by some one else. But even if we admit that
Fromentinv himself condemned as inferior his figures of grand di-
mensions, is it not a proof of the fine sense of an artist when
he recognizes and judges his own faculty, and conforms himself
to it ?' Nor is what is called grand art always large art. It was
not the comprehension of vast dimensions which this choice spirit
lacked. Fromentin wrote about the Masters of Yore, a volume
of studies which shows how thoroughly his mind was open to
the grand works of past centuries. He was content to admire
them, without attempting to imitate them.” I

\ It is our pleasure to present “A Falcon Chase in Algeria,”
which hangs in the Luxembourg gallery, as the representative work
of the great artist.

The scene presented is of characteristic wildness and desola-
tion. A number of horsemen, twofigures being especially promi-
nent, are engaged in the pleasure of falcon hunting. Poised high
upon the hand of one horseman is a falcon about to fly. Upon
the ground two slaves are removing from the body of a hare the
falcons which have brought down their prey. In the distance a
number of horsemen appear, while 'in the far distance the outlines
of rocks are distinctly Visible. The grouping is perfect, and the

whole painting one of great power and brilliancy.

RIVIERE.

§5RITON IRIVIERE was born in London on the
fourteenth of August, 1840. His father was an
artist and a teacher of drawing at Cheltenham

College, and afterwards at Oxford, 'where Briton

 

took his degree as Bachelor of Arts 'in 1867.
Endowed by nature with remarkable artistic ability, Briton, after
taking his degree at Oxford, determined to follow the fortunes of

the artist’s profession. Before closing his course at Oxford he

had exhibited at the Royal Academy, in 1858 and 1859, several.

pictures which won the admiration of the critics, and drew the at-
tention of connoisseurs throughout Great Britain and the continent.

“Rest from Labor,” “Sheep on the Cotswolds,” and “The
Road to Gloucester Fair” were among the earliest paintings which
attracted attention to the young artist. At the American Centennial
Exhibition in Philadelphia, Briton Riviere received a medal for a
painting of rare beauty and impressiveness. Ten years before this
a remarkable canvas by the young artist, entitled “The Poacher’s
Nurse,” had obtained a wide celebrity throughout England.

In 1878, Briton Riviere was elected to a position in the Royal
Academy, and in 1881 he became a Royal Academician. Among
the principal works of this artist we will mention: “Strayed from
the Flock;” “A Long Sleep,” dated 1866; “Charity,” dated 1870;

and “ Daniel in the Lion’s Den.” Like Alma-Tadema, Briton

Riviere early manifested great skill in rendering classic subjects.
From the pastoral fields of England he turned to the rough paths
of “Scio’s rocky isle” to follow Homer as he sang from city to
city the fate of Ulysses and his companions.' With a spirit akin

to that of the great poet, the young painter has succeeded in

 

 

 

 

 

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RIVIERE. . 125

portraying the spirit and pathos of the tales recounted as few of
this generation have done. _ .

Among these successes we note the following, as worthy of
special mention: “Circe and the Companions of Ulysses,” dated
1871, and “Argus,” painted in 1873, together with the picture which
we here present, entitled “ Ulysses and his dog Argus.” The
story is from the Odyssey, and runs as follows:

“Thus, near the gates, conferring as they drew,
Argus, the dog, his ancient master knew:
He, not unconscious of the voice and tread,
,Lifts to~the sound his ear, and rears his head;
Bred by Ulysses, nourish’d at his board,
But, ah! not fated long to please his lord;
To him, his sweetness and his strength were vain;
The voice of glory call’d him o’er the main.
Till then in every sylvan chase renown’d,
With Argus, Argus, rung the woods around: '
With him the youth pursued the goat or fawn,
Or traced the mazy leveret o’er the lawn.
Now left to man’s ingratitude he lay,
Unhoused, neglected in the public way;
And where on heaps the rich manure was, spread,
Obscene with reptiles, took his sordid bed.

“He knew his lord; he knew, and strove to meet;
In vain he stroveto crawl and kiss his feet;
Yet (all he could) his tail, his ears, his eyes,
Salute his‘ master, and confess his joys.
Soft pity touch’d the mighty master’s soul;
Adown his cheek a tear unbidden stole,
Stole unperceived: he turn’d his head and dried
The drop humane.

“The dog, whom Fate had granted to behold
His lord, when twenty tedious years had roll’d,
Takes a last look, and, having seen him, dies;
So closed forever faithful Argus’ eyes.”

,mc

 

 

THUMANN.‘

  
 

mm, \lf Aog , ’
~ \ ERIEDRICH PAUL THUMANN, one of the fore-

most genre painters and illustrators of Germany,
was born on the fifth of October, 1834, and after
spending his early life in the acquirement of a
liberal education, he entered the Royal Academy
at Berlin, where he spent three years 'in artistic studies. In 1856
he entered the Art School at Dresden, where, until 1860, his
studies were pursued under Julius 'Hiibner. While here he devoted
himself principally to portrait painting, and to pictures illustrative
of sacred history.

The years from 1860 to 1863 Thumann spent in Leipsic, mak-
ing drawings and illustrations for wood engravers. After this he
perfected his art somewhat under Professor Pauwells, in Weimar,
from which place he made a ‘journey through Italy, England, and
France, returning in 1866 to a professorship in the Art School
where he had last studied. '

When, at an early age, Thumann chanced to meet'with an
edition _of the late Ludwig Richter’s illustrations for the German
Students’ Popular Songs, a desire was quickened in his mind to
become known to the world as a second Richter. He had not
then realized that while there could be but one Richter there
would alsb be but one, Thumann. And yet the earnest admirer
stands as near to the great artist whom he so justly appreciated
as any man living. Thumann occupies the same field of wide
ranging activity, but lacks the exquisite nah/eta” of his predecessor,
while his methods of treating subjects are more modern, and his
grasp more comprehensive.

More than three thousand illustrations for books have been

 

 

 

THUMANN. 127

designed by him, presenting an endless variety of figures, bearing
the impress of the periOd and the characters which he intended
to represent. Very few large paintings have been produced, but
the quality of these few makes ample amends for the smallness
of the number, and enhances their value as works of art.

In 1872, Thumann accepted a professorship in the Art School
at Dresden, where he remained for three years, removing to Berlin
to accept the professorship of genre painting in the Royal Academy
of that city. The most of ,Thumann’s paintings have been illus-
trative of folk-lore and family life, subjects which he has handled
with great tenderness and delicacy of feeling, and a thorough
knowledge of physicological and physiological character. -Many
illustrations have come from Thumann’s hand for famous poems, not
only in the German language, but translations from the English,
in all of which he has shown wonderful perception of the spirit
and character of- the poems illustrated. Shakespeare’s “Midsummer
Night’s Dream,” and Tennyson’s “ Enoch Arden,” as well as
Chamisso’s “Woman’s Love and Life,” and “Life Songs and
Pictures,” have reached enormous editions, largely through the ex-
quisite sketches which Thumann has prepared for the text. Many
beautiful pictures, representing incidents in the life of Luther, have
won for this artist a high position as an historical painter.

A few years Since, a most remarkable painting from his hand,
entitled “The Return of the Triumphant Germans from a Foray
in the Black Forest,” was placed upon the walls of the Inter-
national Art Exhibition at Munich. Many photographic reproduc-
tions of this painting have reached America.

Nothing of Thumann’s works has attracted the attention of the
public, and has been so pleasing in character, in outline, in purity,
and perfection, as “The Fates,” his most recent work, a repro~
duction of which we present in this volume. This picture needs
no explanation to be understood. The figures are, in the original,
of life size. The exquisite pose, the earnest, Suggestive faces, the
marvelous detail and 'skill in drawing, the fair, rounded outlines
of the figures, the extreme delicacy of form and fall of draping

tissue has hardly been excelled by the greatest artists of ancient

 

 

 

128 - FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

or modern days. Never has a picture been so enthusiastically
received in the great cities of Germany where this work has been
shown. I It is to be hoped that among the many pictures which
are brought to America for exhibition the American public may
have the privilege of seeing this delightful composition in its
original form.

In the midst of so much that is theatrical, morbid, or tinctured
with evil suggestion, it is a delight to meet with a work like this,
so pure, so intense, so suggestive of the transient character of
human life. It is a work which can be multiplied until it finds
a .home in every household in the land, becoming a distinct ad'-
dition to the education, refinement, and well-being of all who see it.

The thread of human destiny is spun by beauteous hands;
’tis gathered up amidst fresh leaves and beautiful flowers, by
those to whom life is a field of sensuous enjoyment; ’tis clipped
by the stern and haggard dame, who has the mystic shears, sitting
in the shaded background, where unseen she watches the gliding
thread, and at her will disposes of human destiny. In all the
representations of “ The Fates,” there has been nothing more sug-
gestive of the nineteenth century, nothing truer to the ancient
story, nothing more satisfactory. as a pictorial presentation of this

perennial myth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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PROSPECTUS.

 

 

 

Proofs before Letter on Imperial japan and China Paper.

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTXVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “ The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “ Glimpses of PariSian Art,” etc.

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

ment of taste in’ art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both it: its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first, book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, it sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LE'I'rER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions ‘Of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a

portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAXLLE,

BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVXLLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, Cnuncup

VERBtECKnOVEN, CABANEL, PILO'rv, and others of equal excellence.
This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,

and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON 'AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

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REGNAULT.

-“E EGNAULT, the most brilliant painter of the
contemporary French School, was killed at the
battle of Buzenval in 1871, when but twenty-eight
years of age. Winning the firix d6 Rafi/16 at

 

twenty-three, after having unsuccessfully competed
for it two years earlier, Henri Regnault visited Rome, from which
place he sent back to his native city some of the most remark-
able canvases ever produced by a painter of his years.

This artist was born at Paris in 1843, the son of an Acade-
mician who was at the time director of the manufactory of porce-
lainat Sévres. Young Regnault was first a pupil of Lamothe,
and later of Cabanel. His work became known at the Salon of
1864, by two portraits, but not until 1866, after his recognition as
a successful competitor for the fifth; de Rome, did the critics and
connoisseurs wake up to the realization that a great artist had
appeared above the horizon. '

While in Rome twenty-seven excellent designs were executed
for the famous publication known as “Wey’s Rome.” In 1867 a
decorative panel was exhibited at the Salon, and a year later a
portrait and two sketches attracted the attention of every one. In
1868 the artist visited Spain and met General Prim. This inter-
,view resulted in the equestrian portrait of the celebrated General
which is reproduced in this volume, the original hanging in the
Luxembourg gallery.

From Spain, Regnault went to Tangiers, and determined that,
when at liberty to do so, he would take up his abode in that
delightful country. In 1869 Regnault painted his “Judith,” and in

1870 he sent to the Salon the “Salome,” which is now known as

one of his most remarkable works.

 

 

I30 ' FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

In I87o was painted “The Execution without Judgment under
the Moorish Kings of Granada,” a picture which ‘was secured by
the State, and now hangs in the Luxembourg gallery. This exe-
cution scene aroused a profound sensation on the part of the
public and critics alike. The subject is not only dramatic in
itself, but startling in character. It is treated with a tremendous
power, and such manifest strength in both conception and handling,
as to wonderfully stir the emotions of the observer. ‘IThere is a
.marble stair-way with two or three steps leading to. a Moorish
court, all suffused with a glowing light suggestive of a burning
southern sun. Two figures in the foreground, the executioner and
his victim, compose the awful drama. Impassive as a statue,
inflexible as fate, massive and erect, the executioner draws his
cimeter across his tunic to wipe off the blood, while the headless
trunk of what was once a man has fallen upon the steps in a
sanguinary pool. Nothing can exceed the intense realism of the
crimson current mantling on the marble slab. Persons have been
‘so overcome while gazing upon this picture as to be seized with
faintness, and compelled to hasten from the gallery.

In the portrait of Prim, the horse is strong, heavy, and mag-
nificently modeled. The motive of the composition represents the
arrival of General Prim before Madrid with revolutionary forces,i
October 8, I868. The broad simplicity’of Regnault’s technique
suggests great reserve power, attracts the attention, and quickens
the imagination of the observer; while his skill in drawing, and
wonderful knowledge of anatomy, enable him to pose both horse
and rider in an attitude of action, yet with grace and ease of
poise unexcelled by any artist in modem or classic days.

Hearing of the war which had broken out between France
and Germany, Regnault returned to Paris in order to bear his
part in the defense of his country. On the nineteenth of January
he left Paris with a spirited company who attempted to join the
expected army of succor.

On the evening of thenineteenth of January, 1871, Regnault
was killed on the ’field of Buzenval. No friend saw him die.

An ambulance driver found his name on the lining of his garment,

 

REGNAULT. ' I 31

but in the confusion’all traces of his remains were lost until the
twenty-fifth, when' his friends secured the body, bearing it to Paris,
where the funeral took place at the church of Saint Augustine
just at the moment when the capitulatio'n of Paris was made known.

A French writer closes an account of Regnault’s brief career
in the following words: “ It will soon be a year since these fatal
things occurred, but the remembrance of Regnault remains as fresh
as on the day of his death. And yesterday, when" at the exhi-
bition of the works of the pensioners at Rome, we sawin the
place where his contribution for the fourth year should have been,
aneasel draped in black and decorated with green boughs, each
one felt an oppression at the heart, at' this spectacle which told
too well of 9human injustice and of the cruelty of the times.

“Regnault, crowned already with a‘precocious glory, was scarcely
at the first chapter of his book. His' art was young, like his
soul. He knew little of painful experiences, and in the constant
holiday of his life could not yet understand them. But the drama
is ended, the present and the future both have perished together.
Let us guard faithfully the memory of the artist and the citizen,
and on this tomb, where so many hopes are buried, let us read,
with our regrets for the departed master, our hatred for those
who killed him.” _

At a sale in Paris, in 1872, “A Morocco Soldier at the Gate

of a Pasha” sold for about $5,000.‘

 

 

DE BEAUMONT.

.. HERE are few artists at the present day who
‘ carry up into the experience of age the enthusi-
asm and spirit of youth. Occasionally we find
one who never forgets his student days, to whom
the Latin Quarter and the Sundays at Bas—Meudon

and Bougival seem to live in memory, and to characterize the

 

work of later and ripened years. We wonder sometimes whether
their pictures are mere inventions or souvenirs.

Such an artist is Charles Edouard de Beaumont. He was born
at Lannion in 1821, the son of a sculptor, .and a pupil of Boisselier.
I Although recognition has come to De Beaumont late in life, he
has painted a large number of most charming and interesting
pictures. Not until 1870 did he receive medals, as a public rec-
ognition of his many excellences.

At the Salon of 1877 was exhibited “A Nest of Sirens,”
which attracted great attention, and is now the property of Mr.
G. H. Warren.

“The Captain’s Share,” painted in 1868, now hangs in the
Luxembourg gallery, and is the painting which has been chosen
to represent the artist, as it is one of the'rnost renowned of his
works. _

Many of De Beaumont’s pictures have been satires, or of a
character suggestive of that which is not the most worthy of
consideration. Yet his paintings have been purchased for enormous
sums to adorn private collections, club rooms, and public halls.

'De Beaumont has given considerable attention to the study
of costumes, also to the production of mythological and allegorical
subjects, having made many sketches for the illustration of impor-
tant publications. '

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DE BEAUMONT. 13 3

Among his noted pictures may be mentioned: “Andromeda,”
“Circe,” “Leda,” “The End of the Song,” and “The Devil of
Paris in Notre Dame,” painted in 1873. In 1877 De Beaumont
became a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

The picture which we present is highly characteristic of a
certain historic period in which the victors in war divided their
spoils. In this the Captain chooses for himself the fair captive,
with whose unenviable lot every one can sympathize.

The malicious humor of the artist manifests itself even in the
portrayal of this highly dramatic scene. The condition of the Vic-
tim does npt appear sufficiently unfortunate, and so the painter
has chosen to add to the discomforts of her unpleasant situation,_
that of being tantalized by the motley crowd with which she is
surrounded. An unfeeling soldier has caught a few straws with
which he is tickling the uncovered shoulders of the unhappy sub-
ject of their mirth. ’ '

It seems impossible for this artist to represent the female sex
without introducing some element of Imischief into the representa-
tion of his theme. His art is devoted to the portrayal of the
female figure in every possible pose, and with the expression of
every human passion, but never without some vein of satire or of
jesting, at the expense of his subject.

One of the most important paintings of De Beaumont’s which
America possesses, is contained in the collection of the late Mr.
A. E. Borie, and is called “The Odalisque.” This is a tender and
delicate'study of flesh tints, and of the rich contrasts of Turkish
life. “A blonde Circassian beauty, fresh from the bath, Clasps
her knees on a divan, and looks lovingly at a parrot held by a
crouching negress. Probably the bird is the only companion. in
all the gilded palace whom she has been able to teach. the lan-
guage of» her home.” There is a wistful, tender, and far-away ex-
pression upon the face, revealing the thought of the remote groUp
of brothers and sisters whose society she has exchanged for the
sad luxury of gilded slavery. I

 

 

 

LIEZEN-MAYER.

N the occasion of the exhibition in London of
fifty cartoons, illustrative of Goethe’s “Faust,” large
and enthusiastic crowds predicted for the artist

who had so marvelously portrayed the power

 

, and pathos of Goethe’s masterpiece, a reputation
scarcely inferior to that of the great author upon whose work
these pictorial comments had been made.

4When these sketches were exhibited in Munich, where the
young artist resided, they won for him not alone a popular reputa-
tion, but a financial reward, which placed him upon the most com-
fortable terms with fortune. I

Alexander Liezen-Mayer was born ‘on the 24th of January,
1839, at Raab, in Hungary. At an early age he became a pupil
of the Academy at Vienna; visiting Munich in 1862, where he
entered the studio of Carl Von Piloty. During that year he pro-
duced a large historical painting representing “The Crowning of
Karl von Durazzo.” Later still, he produced a painting which has
made him better known throughout the world than any other work,
except his illustrations for “Faust,” entitled “ Maria Theresa of
Austria nursing the Poor Woman’s Child.” This was a marvel of
technical skill and fine drawing,va1though it should be said his
color is sometimes cold and unfeeling. For this reason the illustra-
tive work of Liezen-Mayer, or the reproduction of his paintings in
black and white are very much more popular than his canvases in
color. _

Several very fine portraits have come from his ease], and a

set of illustrations for Schiller’s‘complete works. Among the por-

traits might be mentioned that of the Emperor of Austria, executed

 

 

 

 

 

LIEZEN—MAYER. 135

during, the‘ artist’s residence in Vienna. Liezen-Mayer has also
illustrated Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline” with great success,ywhile his
painting of “Elizabeth signing the Death-warrant of Mary Stuart”
has attracted universal attention. '
While director of the Art Academy at Stuttgart, Liezen-Mayer
married an American lady, whose many estimable qualities are
highly appreciated by all whose pleasure it is to/meet her; and

her influence "upon her husband’s artistic career has been felt by

‘all whohave been conversant with his work. Liezen-Mayer is

oriental in fervor and fertility of imagination. In design he often
resembles Rubens, While his technique is of the highest order.

The work by which we represent this artist is entitled “Mar-
garetha and Martha.” It is a powerful drawing, representing the
moment of temptation when the jewels are placed before the un-
suspecting girl. i

This design belongs to the elaborateseries of cartoons made
for the illustration of Goethe’s “ Faust.” The entire tragedy is
presented by way of suggestion in this powerful portrayal of the
first inducement to evil. The SCdUCtiVC leer upon the face of
Martha, as she carefully watches the play of expression upon the
face of her victim, the earnestness with which she studies the
fleeting emotions in the tell-tale Visage, the quiet and delighted
expression of the girl who has not yet fathomed the meaning of
right and wrong, all are illustrated with usual power and earnestness.

The International Exhibition at Munich contained thirty-two
cartoons illustrative of Schiller’s “Song of the Bell,” which Liezen-
Mayer completed as a sequel to the “Faust” series. In these
sketches he fairly revels in beautiful costumes, striking faces, and
elaboration of detail. In this work the artist holds himself some-
what aloof from German severity, and plunges passionately into
the romanticism which sWays the Munich school.

Not satisfied with the position which he'held as director of
the Art School at Stuttgart, Liezen-Mayer resigned, removing to
Munich, where he might enjoy more fully the spirit and stimulus
of great works and great workers' in that art metropolis of Ger-

many.’ Like all students of art, he needed the. quickening of

 

 

 

 

.136 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

kindred spirits and the breath of an art atmosphere, that he might

reach the highest ideals and attain his ambition. Munich was the _

only rival of Paris as a miniature art world, and its sentiments
more in keeping with. the instincts of the Hungarian painter, so
he chose to settle there. ‘

In Munich, perhaps, more than in any other city, principles
are manifested through living personalities, and it is somewhat re-
markable that all its academic doctrines die out before the decease
of the director who gives them birth or prominence. Cornelius
died in 1867, surviving the high art which he created. Kaulbach
died nearly ten yearslater, lamenting that painters and the public
were passing him by, and taking an entirely divergent path. And
lastly, Piloty, whose years reached their meridian just previous to
his death, found that his art also had reached its meridian, that
other stars were rising to their zenith, and his own pupils were
outstripping him in the estimation of critics and public alike.

This sameilaw may also hold true regarding the brilliant
young painter, ”Fritz Kaulbach, who, on the death of Piloty, was
called to the directorship of~ the famous Academy. ‘

 

 

 

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C“ AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED 'H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern ~German Masters,” “Bowdoin-Art
Collection,” “Glimpses Of Parisian Art,” etc.

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

' ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for- information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publipation, _both in 'its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect marrner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
tranSforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.
. It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained. ‘ ,

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world‘s market.

It is the first book ever 'made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes Of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a.

portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKAcsv, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME,- FORTUNY, VIBER’I‘, CHURCH,

VERnozcxrrovnN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.
This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART

and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK

 

 

 

 

 

 

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LAURENS.

N THE Salon of 1872, the general public, who up
to that time had been somewhat inattentive to
the claims of a young painter named Jean Paul

Laurens, were forced to admire two remarkable

 

 

, canvases, one representing “The Death of the
Duke d’Enghien,” and another entitled “The Pope Formosa.”
Great was the astonishment of the critics, and, quite marked was
their chagrin, that in the presence of these two historical pages,
painted with so much energy and expression, they had not pre-
viously discovered the rare talent of this great artist.

Jean Paul Laurens was born in the village of Fourquevaux
about 1838. His childhood was passed in the province of his
birth, enjoying the delights of playing truant, while his father and
brother were engaged in the exhausting toil of a peasant’s life...
When, in early childhood, Jeanstood beside his mother’s death-bed,
he received a Well worn catechism filled with quaint engravings.
The boy took possession of the ancient volume, only to conceal it
in. his pocket. During the sultry summer days, when the boyish
comrades whom he had led far afield were lying sound asleep}
in the shadow of some protecting shrub, Jean was pouring over
the pages of his mother’s book, turning the leaves with such a
heart-ache as often caused the tears to fall.

One afternoon the youthful vagabond discovered an engraving
which held him spell-bound. It was a representation of the famous
“ Nativity ” by Carlo Vanloo. He closed the book and tried to
forget the picture. But the next day he was drawn irresistibly‘
to the page, and the hand which was yet incapable of forming
the letters_of the alphabet tried to copy Vanloo’s “ Nativity.” Who

 

 

 

I38 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

suggested the idea to the illiterate peasant boy? No one. Out
of doors, amongst the bare plains of his native province, Jean
Paul Laurens obeyed a voice that had long before, upon the hill-
sides near Florence, been heard by the shepherd lad, Giotto, as
he traced the profile of his goats on the sand at his feet.

One morning in the month of May, 1851, the echoes of the
village of Fourquevaux were awakened by the rattling of old iron,
and songs loudly shouted. The rustic people were soon stirring,
and through the early morning mist they saw three robust fellows
approaching, from whose wide open. mouths came the deafening
uproar. Behind these musical artists there appeared a disconsolate
mule drawing a disjointed cart. The parish priest soon quieted
the fears of the good people of the ,market—town by informing,
them 'that the gentlemen just arrived were Italian painters who
had come to decorate the church. Laurens was not long in
learning of their arrival, and then all of his talk was concerning
the famous painters who had so unexpectedly come into their
midst] He prowled around the church, he crept in as occasion
offered, he climbed ladders to carry water, tobacco, matches, or big
dishes of color. Here he first apprehended the meaning of the
alphabet of art.

One day as Bocca Ferrata—for such was the name of the
chief painter—had finished a head, little Jean stood before it,
silent and motionless. “Do you recognize that?” asked the
painter. “ It is Judas,” said the boy. “Would you, by chance,
like to be a painter, my boy?” queried the artist. “Ah! if my
father would allow me.” “But would you like it?” “Yes, sir.”
“Well, we need an apprentice,” interposed one of the painters.
“ What is your name?” “Jean Paul.” “And your father, what
is his name?” “Laurens.” “Where is your father?” “In the
fields.” “And your mother?” “She is dead.” “ Let us find your
father.” That same evening Jean Paul was intrusted to the care
of the Italian painters; and a few weeks later, their work (being
completed, he harnessed the mule, and left forever his peasant ex—
istence. This was to him a new life.

Halting for a time at Sainte-Anne du Salud, the artists painted

 

 

 

 

 

LAURENS. I 39

in the parish church a “ Death of Sainte-Anne.” It was in this
never to be forgotten place that young Laurens first had the
pleasure of grinding the colors, then of cleansing the brushes for
the artists. At last the picture was finished. No lesson had
been received by the child. A year had elapsed. Day by day
he became silent and moody. He felt that time was slipping

from him, and he accomplishing nothing. He determined to run

away, which he soon succeeded in doing, arriving one fine morning

at the house of his uncle in Toulouse.

We will not relate the struggles of the young artist in
Toulouse, where he was‘ accepted at the Art School, and where
he made such rapid progress that all were amazed at his power.
A prize for painting was received the first year, which enabled
him to go to Paris, where for three years he experienced greater
happiness. than he had ever hoped to enjoy.

In the Salon of 1863 Laurens received honorable mention.
Following this came “The Death of Cato,” and “The Death of
Tiberius,” the latter picture occupying a high place in the "Salon
of 1864.. In 1867 and 1868 there were exhibited in the Salon
“A Voice in the Desert,” and “Herodias and her Daughter,” to-
gether with a portrait of the author. Not until he had produced
the pictures which we mentioned early in our sketch was Laurens
granted a place in the foremost ranks.

The picture which we presentyentitled “ The Excommunication
of Robert the Pious,” now hangs in. the gallery of. the Luxem-
bourg, and is considered one-of the masterpieces of that famous
collection. Robert has incurred the displeasure of the church by
marrying his cousin. Excommunication has been pronounced in
the throne-room of the palace; the affrighted attendants have dis-
appeared, the taper has been thrown from the candlestick of gold,
the bishop and his train retire, the terrified queen seeks repose in
the arms of her husband. With sombre despair the king sees

a dread abyss opening at his feet. The painting is powerful in

conception, and Without fault in execution.

 

DE NEUV’ILLE.

Ev)

éURING several years in which the two great

   
 

'\ painters, Alphonse De Neuville and Edouard

Detaille, were producing canvases which not only

 

delighted but astonished the art loving public of
France and the world, the name of one was
seldom heard except in connection with the other. They painted
similar subjects, and were inseparable friends.

It is proper that in the last notice which we shall give these
two illustrious artists in 'this volume that we place them together,
as thus their works will always live, although De Neuville has
passed away in. the full vigor of early manhood, and Detaille '
remains to work out more fully the great problems. to which the
art brothers set themselves so many years ago.

As has already been stated, De Neuville was first known as
an illustrator, being one of the best in France; and his drawings
were eagerly sought by publishers in England and Germany, as
wellas in his native country. De Neuville possessed a marvelous
faculty in drawing, and readiness of composition, which enabled him
when entering the wide field of painting to add color only to what
was already an almost perfect talent. He, early in life, stood
among the foremost of his competitors.

Alphonse De Neuville was par excellence a military painter.
His'studio abounded‘in guns, helmets, pistols, everything which
belongs to the trade of 'war, while bits of army wagons, small
scraps of artillery, uniforms peculiar to the French army, of all
historic .dates, -hung in the wardrobes of the painter’s work room.

De Neuville enjoyed the special privilege of the various army
corps of the Republic quartered in Paris, whose duty it was, at

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DE NEUVILLE. I41

certain hours of the day, to visit the painter’s studio, and there
keep up a running fire of musketry, in order that the painter
might catch‘ the spirit of an actual engagement and fix it upon
his canvas. His models were placed in all positions; some were
scaling walls, some were loading, some firing, some prostrate upon
the ground as if wounded or dead. Very often he dressed his
servants in uniform, and kept them about their household duties,
in order that he might study the positions of the figures clad in
the various costumes of the different army corps of the nation.
'When their household duties were completed, attired in the same
interesting manner, they served as models.

In the Salonof 1881, De Neuville’s painting of “ The Cemetery
of St. Privat on the Eighteenth of August, 1870,” which we give
in these pages, was placed in a Small room near the entrance.
From the other. rooms opening into this was always to be found,
during exhibition hours, a crowd of faces looking steadfastly through
the doors at De Neuville’s painting. Words could not add more
honor to the talent of the great painter than the mute crowd
standing transfixed in the presence of this work. Before this fierce
struggle, presented with an intensity and Vividness hitherto un-
equaled in decorative painting, a canvas full of movement, of
color, of agony, and of blood, the crowd stood silent.

The picture represents the last struggle of ,the day’s fight,
ending in a church-yard. It had been a day which had cost the
Prussians more than ten thousand men; and King William on
that evening telegraphed to his anxious queen, “My guard has
found its tomb'before St. Privat.” _

During the last few years of his life, De Neuville, as well
as Detaille, withdrew from exhibiting at the Salon, alleging as a
reason that it had become too common, and was a place where
any painter of whatever rank, with or without artistic instincts or
ability, could find recognition. There is, unfortunately, some'truth
in this, but the art critics of Paris were divided very sharply
upon the wisdom and justice of their action.

While the Salon may be indeed an open court, and should

be recognized as a place where any person who has advanced

 

 

 

 

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tween these

 

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142 - FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

0

beyond the sphere of the artisan may make his public appearance,
there still should be a marked discrimination between the dilez‘z‘am‘e

rWhO covers now and then a canvas in a mediocre ‘manner, and

begs recognition at the hands of the public-through the good-will
of the examining committee, and the genuine artist who has

'devoted his time to a long, and painful preparation, and who pro-

poses to devote his life work to the pursuit. of true art. Be-
two there is a heaven-wide difference, which the
committee should take pains tomake‘strongly apparent,

It was in deference to this feeling that several of‘the artists

withdrew from entering Iinto competition, or even 'from exhibiting.

with those towhom art Was a mere .' pastime, or who had no

qualifications for its exacting requirements.

 

 

 

a.
4

 

 

 

 

 

DETAILLE.

E HAVE had occasion to speak, in a former portion
of the present volume, of Edouard Detaille as one
of the most brilliant of Parisian artists. Detaille’s
talents have already placed him in the highest

 

 

social ranks. His presence is a familiar and im-
portant one in all fashionable Salons, as it is also 'in the political
and civil gatherings of the nation’s greatest men.

France is a country whose monuments are the record of its
history, and he who is made great by art occupies as important
a relation to the State as he does to society. France fosters art,
seeks means to provide for' its necessities, and endows it richly,
because it recognizes in it not only a magnificent industry, but a
means of education and refinement that nothing else can produce.
France protects by the same laws her commercial interests and
her artistic achievements, thereby making of the aesthetic element
in her people a legitimate and praiseworthy profession. Society
opens her doors to artists as to her scholars, soldiers, lz'z‘emz‘z', and
statesmen.

While he was yet young and in the schools, Detaille’s water-
colors became known to all connoisseurs of the fine arts, and he
early became recognized as one of i the most careful and exact in
the minuteness of detail and clearness of conception, elements
which have always characterized his work.

As we have before said, at the breaking out of the Franco-
Prussian war, Detaille shouldered his musket, donned the uniform
of the volunteer soldier, and in the sharpest fight was seen alter-

nately shooting at the enemy and sketching the scenes around

 

 

 

I44 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

him. The war opened a wide field to the artist. Actual experi-
ence increased his knowledge, and enabled him to depict the thrill-
ing scenes with greater vividness, and with more intensity and
truth to life. Were he now forced to choose subjects from history,
he would probably find them in the events of his own experience.

In the elder days, painters of soldiers and battle pieces con-
structed their pictures upon the plan of representing the entire
action of a battle. There were masses of troops moving hither
and thither across the field; squadrons of cavalry in full charge
trampling down defenseless and struggling humanity. At the
present day if a painter represents a scene of battle, he shows
but a glimpse, just a portion which might be inclosed in a common
court-yard, or what, in the hot 'breath of fierce encounter, one man
might'see passing‘on around him. And he paints it in the
open air. It has none of the appearance of studio light and
shade. The crude models, wooden horses, and dummy military
baggage, which are always a necessity in a studio, are exchanged
for the living model, moving and active, under the light of an
open sky. '

Detaille has covered the court-yard of his house with glass,
and there, by means of living models, he imbues his pictures
with truth which could not be obtained by copying historic sketches,
no matter how exact and careful they may be.

The picture which we present is called “The Defense of
Champigny.” Lines of Saxons were cut down by the sharp fire
of the infantry before the eyes of the painter, who afterwards drew
the scenes so vividly as to astonish his comrades, and fill with
nameless terror those unused to the fierce game of war. ‘

Detaille is said to have a camera in his eye. His drawings
from memory are so accurate that it is difficult to convince even
professional artists that they are not drawn from life. What he
sees is photographed forever upon his memory, and he recreates that
impression at will, and thrills it with his own personality and im-
aginative power with that keen artistic sense which makes him a

creator in the highest degree.

‘ ‘V‘fi‘rfi‘

_ S.
N
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THE

 

 

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. PROSPECTUS.

 

 

 

Proofs before Leller on Imperial japan arza’ C/zz'rza Paper.

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

, A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

 

'Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

kWITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT RY

,REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

ment of taste in _art, and complying with a demand‘ for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception'and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a, fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into‘a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response tO a demand on’ the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to. the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm

IN placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

never before attained.
It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged

the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is «a PROOF BEFORE LETrER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro.
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists ‘we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU’, MUNKAcsv, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERWECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

‘This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, 'BOSTON AND New YORK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
   

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KNILLE.

HERE came to German art a reinforcement in
realism, in breadth, and a strong color sense, when
Otto Knille turned his attention-from the depicting

of Thuringian myths on walls and ceilings for

 

decorative purposes, to the more interesting and,
carefully wrought out canvases which his genius has so rapidly
produced. J

This artist was born on the tenth of September, 1832, in the
village of Osnabruck. When, at eight years of age, Otto entered
the Art Academy at. Dijsseldorf, he was looked upon as a boy of
marvelous ability, of tireless energy, and unsurpassed instincts for
an art life. Under: the direction of Sohn, Leutze, and Schadow,
he remained until the year 1854. Wishing to extend his studies,
in order to get a broader range of the possibilities and the practice
of his art, he visited Paris where he remained for six months
under the instruction of Couture, who at this time was in'his
prime.

Returning to Munich, Knille spent four years of study at the
academy in that city,l during which time he painted his first
picture of importance, representing the Moors frightened at the
sight of the corpse of the Cid. There was great ingenuity mani-
fested both in the conception and composition of this picture, great .
vivacity, strength of color, and careful finish.

Following this was 'a no less remarkable production, entitled
“The Death of Totila, King of the Goths.” This picture made
for Knille a reputation throughout Germany, and encouraged him
to spend still further time in the pursuit of studies which increased
his effectiveness in what proved a departure from the accepted

theories and styles of painting of that date.

 

 

 

146 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

Three years were spent in Italy, from which place he returned
to decorate the walls of the castle of Marienburg, near Hildes-
heim. The subjects chosen for these elaborate wall decorations
were from the myths of Thuringia. After completing this work,
Knille visited Berlin, where he undertook work of the same char-
acter over the stairway of the University library at Berlin. De-
termining to remain in the capital city of Prussia, he received
and accepted a call to the chair of historical painting in the
academy of that city. During the early part of his residence,
'Knille added to an already wide popularity by his “Velarien,”
painted for the Siegestrasse in Berlin. .

In 1873, there was finished in the studio of the artist a‘
painting which he considered, and still considers, to be his mas-
terpiece. It is entitled “Venus and Tannhauser,” and found a
resting-place in the National Gallery of the city where he had
found his residence. When placed on exhibition, this painting at-
tracted all eyes, and it'still continues to be one of the favorites
in the wonderful gallery .in which it hangs. There is a splendor
and delicacy of color, an energy and charm of composition which
are remarkable. There is, indeed, something of a sensuous char-
acter found in the work, but it is so strongly idealized as to
possess a charm for the beholder which few canvases in the
gallery can claim.

The fruitful moment chosen is evidently that described by
Baring-Gould in his “Legends and Myths of the Middle Ages,”
an extract from which we have used in a former publication, as
follows: “The scene of this picture is laid at the moment when
Tannhauser is struggling to depart from the mountain of Venus.
Seven years of revelry had passed since his entrance, and the
minstrel’s heart had begun to feel a strange void. The beauty
and variety of scenes in the home of the pagan goddess with all
its supernal pleasures, palled upon him, and he yearned for the
pure, fresh breezes of earth, the night sky‘ spangled with stars,
the simple flowers, and the tinkling of the goat bells upon the
mountain. His conscience had also begun to reproach him, and

he longed to make his peace with God. Vainly did he 'entreat

 

 

KNILLE. - I47

Venus to permit his departure, and only when, in the wildness of
his grief, he called upon the virgin mother, did a rift in the
mountain-side appear, and he stood once more among living men.”

After completing this great work, Professor Knille painted “The
Disputation of Professor of the Sorbohne,” a work which was
placed on exhibition at Berlin 'in 1880, where it received much
flattering comment.

A replica of the “ Venus and Tannhauser” was made by
Professor Knille in 1884, with the. evident intention of sending it
to America. But we have been unable to find any trace of it

here, and believe that ”it was retained by one of the important

galleries of Germany.

 

 

BECKER.

F‘Wv‘fl':

    

MONG the beautiful and impressive productions of
Carl Becker, of Berlin, one painting of an his-
torical character, representing the visit of Albrecht

Durer to Venice, well deserves mention in a

 

work of this description. Durer’s Visit to Venice
was one of the most important epochs in the early history of art,
leaving its influence not only upon German art, of which Durer
was an acknowledged leader, but upon Italian art, where his
works, so entirely different from that with which Italian artists
I were familiar, created a profound sensation, and changed to a great
degree the spirit of Italian painting subsequent to his visit.

It is proper to note, in connection with this painting, the
principal incidents in the life of this remarkable northern artist.
Albrecht Durer was born at Nuremberg, in 1471, his father being
a skillful goldsmith, who taught his son the first rudiments of
design, intending him for his own profession; but an early and
decided inclination for the arts and sciences induced the elder
Durer to- permit Albrecht to follow the bent of his genius.

Durer studied first with Martin Hapse, a painter and engraver
of some reputation in his native city. Later he became a pupil
of Michael Wolgemut, in 1486, with whom ,he studied diligently
for four years. Having finished these studies, he began his travels
just two years previous to the discovery of America by Columbus.
He spent four years in visiting the principal cities of Germany,
the Netherlands, and, the adjoining provinces.

On Durer’s return to_ Nuremberg, in 1494, he made a public
exhibition of his works which attracted great attention. His first
was a piece entitled “ The Three Graces,” represented by as many

female figures with a globe over their heads.

 

 

ALBRECHT DURER 1N 'V‘ENICE.‘ L

.. , CARL BECKER;

 

 

 

 

 

BECKER. . 149

In 1506 occurred the famous visit to Venice, where he re-
vealed to the astonished Italians the remarkable power of which
he was possessed. His abilities excited not only envy but ad-
miration. '

The painting of Becker presents him at court, where he is
surrounded by the leading painters and literary lights of the day.
His sketches are being taken from a portfolio, are passed from
hand to hand, and undergo a critical examination by those whose
jealousy and admiration has been aroused. He revealed to the
astonished Venetians the value of the line in reproducing oil-
paintings and in original engravings. From this Visit of Durer
dates 'the wonderful awakening of a desire for engraving which ran
like a passion throughout the Venetian States, and finally spread
over the entire country of Italy.

The meeting of artists and [z'z‘emz‘i in the salons ‘of the nobility,
to examine and discuss Durer’s wonderful wood blocks and etched
plates, was the beginning of one of the most remarkable episodes
in the history of reproductive art. Every Italian painter thought
himself capable of equaling or excelling Durer’s strong and crisp
work. But the fact remains that the centuries have constantly
contributed to Durer’s greatness, while the artists who attempted to
excel or even equal him in his line work, are unknown to fame
and to history, except amidst the moldy'archives of some anti-
quarian institution which has treasured up the few mediocre prints
which were the result of their frantic endeavors.

While the impulse which Durer’s Visit to Venice’was great
in Italy, scarcely any change was made in his own style, although
he must have obtained much information that [was valuable to
him, as the most remarkable period of his life was yet to follow.

While in Venice, Durer painted “The Martyrdom of Saint Bar-
tholomew,” for Saint Mark’s Cathedral. It. was afterwards pur-
chased by the Emperor Rudolphus, and removed to Prague.
Another wonderful painting dating from this visit was an allegorical
picture, representing “ Melancholia,” a work which has attracted great

attention throughout the centuries.

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MENZEL

N the eighth of December, 1815,'in the city of
Breslau, was born a child whose‘name was des-
tined to become a household word throughout
the kingdom which gave him birth. When the

WW child had reached the age of fifteen years, his

 

parents moved to Berlin to gratify the desire of the lad for
art studies. So strong was the impulse that, without" aid, he set
himself resolutely to the accomplishment of the task, and, to the
surprise of all, executed several noteworthy ”sketches and drawings
with the pen.

Adolf Menzel—for this was the name of the boy—was com-
pelled, in 1832, on the death ‘of his father, to seek occupation for
self support while further pursuing his studies. In 1833 an art
dealer gave him a commission to execute a portfolio of pen
drawings, to be called “Artistic Earth Fortifications,” and so
cleverly was the work executed that Professor Schadow gave it
public recognition.

During the two years which followed, young-Menzel drew .upon
stone, for lithographic purposes, twelve designs, representing the
memorable, events in the history of Bradenburg, Prussia, after
which he turned his attention to oil-painting, and almost entirely
without instruction produced, in 1837, “The ConsultatiOn with a
Lawyer,” and, a'year later, “Court Day.” /

From 1839 to 1842 the artist was occupied exclusively in
the execution of four hundred illustrations of Kugler’s “History of
Frederick the Great,” two hundred additional illustrations being made
for the royal edition. It is not surprising that such constant oc-

cupation with the life of the great emperor naturally resulted in

 

 

 

 

MENZEL. - I 51

what is known as “The Round Table of Frederick,” now in
Berlin, and “The Flute Concert at Sans-Souci,” 'which some have
considered the most remarkable painting in the National Gallery
of that city.

Many are the pictures that Menzel has gathered out of the
strange situations of that period. Not even the great Frederick
could maintain the character of a hero on all occasions, and, notwith-
standing Thomas Carlyle and Adolf Menzel, the great monarch
occasionally shows unmistakable evidence of weakness. One can
not resist the impression that even Menzeluwhile observing pictorial
'proprieties and maintaining state solemnities, is quietly laughing at
the expense of his hero.

The famous picture which we present, entitled“‘The Flute
Concert at Sans-Souci,” suggests, beneath the dignities of the oc-
casion, a biting satire. Frederick, standing in the midst with a
sheet of well—lighted music before him, the flute to his lips, has
come in the course of his solo to a cadmza, at which the ac-
companists, including Emanuel Bach at the piano, solemnly pause,
and the whole assembly of princesses, (countesses, and other nota-
bles appears transfixed with amazement. His worthy professor,
standing in the extreme right-hand corner of the piCture, has dropped
his head as though not wholly enchanted with the success his
royal pupil was making with the difficult passage.

The merit of the picture lies in its style and in the number
of portraits which are therein preserved. It is executed in Menzel’s
most characteristic manner. The apparently indistinct and uncouth
background serves to throw into strong relief the principal figures
of the group. The composition is charming, but the color is
hardly up to the highest grade for either clearness, freshness, or
truth to nature.

The drawings and water-colors of Menzel are eminently artistic.
In .the National Gallery another serio—comic scene, now become
historic, represents the round table of the king at Sans-Souci.
Around it sits a distinguished company, among which the eye is
quickly drawn to the face of Voltaire. The head is covered with

a large wig, while the face sparkles with wit and the excitement

 

152 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

of brilliant repartee. One delicately fashioned hand is poised sen-
sitively on the table; the other is nervously raised as if to em-
phasize the argument with the finger. The French satirist, sneered
at for his monkey visage, is courteous and bland in the extreme,
and yet appears all the while to laugh in his sleeves. at the ex-
pense of his royal host. The library at Sans-Souci preserves to
this day a copy of the writings of Frederick, annotated by Voltaire
with cutting criticisms.

Menzel has hit off, to a 'hair’s breadth, the two-faced, the
double-sided character of Voltaire. The picture is true to life, and

yet is a satire on men of the time. While receiving the atten-

. tions of the royal monarch, Voltaire says of himself that he was

called in to wash the dirty linen of Frederick the Great.

Menzel is a decided realist in his conception, but fails in his
color. His technique is masterly and the costumes are painted
in a bold and large manner, while his grouping is artistic and

the strength of his masses is remarkable.‘ In looking at his

pictures, one would certainly think that Menzel did not allow that-

art and beauty had any connection. To him the essence of art
lies in characterization. This may be a very one-sided view, but
when it is illustrated in so masterly. a manner, it demands respect;
and when an artist of such power opposes his strength to our
ideas, we can only measure it by itself. Menzel has given us
remarkable portrait heads, but they possess little of beauty, es-
pecially in the likeness of ladies. In masculine heads all his
portraits are excellent and important.

Menzel was created a royal professor and member of the
Academy at Berlin, in 1856, and later became an honorary member
of the Academies at Vienna and Munich. I

 

 

 

 

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AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of“ the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modem German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc. '

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulousprices, at both auction and private sale in America.
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art. ,

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part Of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modem and new to the public, no ancient .or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very idea] of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
, the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places facsimiles of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBrECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.
V This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CAMPHAUSEN.

ERHAPS more than any other country, Germany
favors genre painting, and Dusseldorf for years
enjoyed the proud distinction of leading in this
school. The German people are eminently do-

mestic; their affections circle around their hearth-

 

stones; they are home-loving as distinguished 'from the. cosmo-
politan and sometimes homeless French. They are, however, in- _
tensely patriotic; and for the last decade or. more have devoted
themselves largely to the portrayal of war scenes and to pictures
of the idolized Emperor William, and the officers who won for
them such signal victories in the great conflicts of the near past.

The wars with Germany have gone far to form in Diisseldorf
and Munich a well trained school of battle painters. So long as
France. was the ruling military power in Europe, she took the
lead in military maneuvers on canvases, but now that Germany
stands as the conqueror, the war-loving artists of the Fatherland
naturally take a, prominent position in battle paintings.

Among these is William Camphausen, whose spacious studio,
in the midst of a garden and overgrown with creepers, is always
full of work. No one knows better how to sit the old general
on horseback, as witness the equestrian portraits, not only of the
Emperor, but his staff, presented in our plate. He has mastered
the tactics of war, and indulges in a perfect luxury of equine rep-
resentations. In the portrayal of figures, the intensity of expres-
sion on the face is never overlooked, and hence is realized the
never to be forgotten fact that the German armies are not com-

posed of common and ignorant men, but of citizens and patriots,

 

I 54 ' FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

while their commanders are men of far more than ordinary ability
and expressiveness of face. ,

I It is not difficult for these painters to pass without effort
from the military battle fields of the nation to the firesides and
homes of the people, whose life they represent in the most strik-
ing and interesting manner.

It is with pleasure that we present a reproduction of this
famous painting by Camphausen, representing the Emperor William,
Von Moltke, Bismarck, and others Whose names are so prominent
in the recent histOry of the Empire, and whose characters have
become such a power in molding the impulses and achievements
of the nation. ‘

The picture is eminently characteristic of the artist. It is an

equestrian design pm! excellence. The figure of the brave old
emperor, astride of his mighty war-horse, coming directly towards
the observer, is of unusual strength and grace. The horse is
powerful, with free and flexible joints, moving with evident ease,
and with no little pride, bearing the great commander of the
German armies. ' .
r‘ In a few years this painting will be among the most valued
of all the historic productions of the German school, in that it
brings together the three mightiest men of the German empire,
whose combined efforts have contributed so largely to the unity
and power of the German states. . ‘

William Camphausen was born at Dusseldorf on the eighth
of February, 1818, and early entered the Academy of his native
city, and later studied under Rethel and Sohn. In order that he
might gain a truer knowledge of military movements and battle
scenes, and a better command of his subjects, Camphausen joined
a company of hussars, and remained with them several years.
Later he spent much time in travel and study in Belgium, Italy,
France, and Holland.

Among the principal works of Camphausen may be mentioned
“Puritans. Observing the Enemy,” in the possession of Consul
Wagner of Berlin, and copied for the king of Hanover; “Charles
II. at the Retreat of Worcester,” in the collection of the late king

 

 

CAMPHAUSEN. ' I5 5

of Bavaria; “Taking the Entrenchments of Duppel,” purchased by
the emperor of Germany from the exposition of 1867. I ‘

Many illustrations for periodicals and books have come from
Camphausen’s hand, in all of which is displayed the intensity and
vigor of his artistic talent. . ,

Artists’ festivals, commemorations, and processions are among
the amusements which 'the people of ,Germany seem to enjoy to
a greater degree than almost any other nationu Foremost in« these
wonderful representations of the early history of the German em-l
pire stands Camphausen, whose youthfu1 nature and buoyancy of
spirit makes him a welcome leader in all the entertainments pe-
L culiar to the artist guild. V

His face is a familiar one in the Malerkasten, or —“paint-box,”
as the clubhouse of the ‘Dfisseldorf artists is called, and here he
has contributed some of the finest sketches which adorn the walls»,
of the famous “paint-box.”. In this club-house there. 'is astage
with all the appointments of a theatre; *and on the opening night,
Camphausen is very often one of the leading actors. The drop-
curtain, representing a cloud, was painted (by Andreas. Achenbach;
while some of the finest scenery contained in any theatre in

Germany is painted by the artists of the Dusseldorf school.‘

JOANOWITS.

-‘ " ITHIN the few past years the stirring events and
the fortunes of war have brought prominently into
.public notice a race of people'whose home life

and characteristics had hitherto been little known

 

in the great world of art or letters. The en-
croachments of Russia and the political re-formation of the small
states lying between the Russian and Austrian dominions have
brought the hardy mountaineers of Bulgaria and Bosnia into‘unusual
prominence. A new field \has been opened for the writer and the
artist, a new expression has been added to the world’s knowledge
of domestic,'civil, and social customs.

No more daring people have been brought prominently before
the world’s gaze than the inhabitants of this mountain region,
and nowhere has the struggle for independence, and the sacredness
ofthe fireside been more general or devoted.

The picture which we present, entitled “The Fencing Lesson,”
reveals the interior of a peasant’s cottage in which the warlike
training of the youth is vigorously portrayed. If there is one
thing that the child is early taught to speak plainly it is the
word “country,” and no more patriotic and devoted people are
known than those who early teach their children the meaning and
the sentiment of that word.

The little fellow is not yet strong enough to hold in his own
hand the keen sword with Which the lesson is given. It must
be steadied by a stronger hand, whichlguides the steel through the
evolutions of ward, protect, and thrust. The mother, with a babe
at herybreast, watches with delighted eye the increasing confidence

and growing strength of the mountain lad. The little sister,

 

 

' ; ‘ 5' .. THFENCING LESSON. »

P. JOANOWITS.

.35..ka w” r

 
 

 

 

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jOANOWITS. I 57

keenly alive to the good points which are made, is ready to dance
with glee, and shouts her applause with unstinted delight. The
older ones study carefully the expression which lightens the face
of the young lad, watching with earnest mien the movement'ofr
the boy, thinking of‘the'day when his strong right arm shall be
found bravely defending the liberties of his mountain home.

This work was executed by [the artist, P. Joanowits, and oc-

cupied a distinguished position in the exhibitions of 1883. The

technique of this artist is skillful and sure. The portrayal of

character is accurate, strong, and pleasing. The faculty'with which
he executes the peculiar dress of these mountain heroes is re-
markable. No detail is forgotten: Everything betokens the careful
observer and skillful hand.

Few pictures presented in modern times of this character have
received so constant and unvarying admiration as “The Fencing
Lesson,” and few present greater excellences, either of drawing, of

color, or of composition.

 

 

GRUTZNER.

OT far from the city of Munich is situated a pict-
uresque little town called Pradl, in which occurs
regularly semi-religious plays similar to the Passion -

Play at Ober—Ammergau, but less elaborate and

 

pretentious. Secular pieces are often performed,
the plays being written by the peasants themselves, and enacted
by the humble dwellers of the little town. I

Edward Griitzner, whom “The Wine-scented Idylsi of the
Cloister ” have made famous throughout Europe and America, has
spent much time 'in studying the peculiar habits and characteristics
of the Bavarian peasantry; and in this picture which we present,
entitled “ The Peasants’ Theatre,” he has suggested to us the
’ humorous and picturesque character of these village plays.

The artist' has chosen the moment when the last preparations
are being made behind the scenes for the coming on of the en-
tertainment. Judging from what can be seen, the piece relates to
chivalry and knighthood, these being special favorites with the
peasants, and sure to awaken the romantic element in their highly
sensitiVe natures. These plays are usually acted in a large barn,
whose roof isvnot always water-proof, and in stormy weather con-
siderable interest is awakened on the part of the audience in se-
curing seats where they are likely to be safe from the incursions
of floods from above. The plays are produced in the day-time, it
being quite impossible to light so strange and incongruous an
auditorium. . I I

In this little town the artistic forces must be produced by the
home community, the actors riefusing to deck themselves in other
people’s finery, but are proud of their ability to meet the artistic

and intellectual strain from their own resources.

 

 

 

GRU’I‘ZNER. I 59

At this particular theatre, the stage manager, although a porter
in a hotel, fills his place with remarkable ability, being equal to
any emergency and ready to take the part of any one who suddenly
fails to meet the requirements of his position.

Here, too, is heard a most remarkable language; a broad,
deep, gurgling, Tyrolean dialect is very poorly concealed in their
efforts to speak high German. The speech necessarily becomes
drawling and pathetic, and the idea that one is listening to the
high-bred conversation of old German knights and ladies is about
as impressive as the same efforts heard in many of the most
pretentious‘theatres of the. city. p

Together with these plays of chivalry and knighthood, there
is often enacted patriotic pieces, episodes from the history of the
Tyrol, which never fail to bring the audience into an enthusiastic
and almost rapturous mood.

In the picture which we present there are the piquant pro-

ceedings of the wardrobe ‘just before the beginning of the play.
“The first hero and champion knight is assisting the orchestra
through some difficult passage. Another is taking the last mo-
ment for a few pleasant words with the principal lady, While
the costumer is engaged in arraying an urchin in a bear skin,
preparatory to the entrance of bruin upon the scene. Griitzner
has produced a master-work in this picture. Each figure appears
alive and active, and the observer is brought at once into familiar
relations with this singular company.”
. It will be seen by this that all of Griitzner’s idyls are not
“wine«scented,” this one in particular showing a keen relish for
the peculiarities of the peasant people among whom his cradle was
rocked.

Of Edward Griitzner’s early life we have already spoken in
the biographical sketch which appears in an earlier part of this
work. It only remains for us to remark that the power of the
artist is already growing, and his fame spreading throughout
‘England and. the continent.

Recently his hand has been called to the execution of a series

of very remarkable illustrations for an international Shakespeare,

 

 

 

160 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

and it is safe to say“. that no finer or more suggestive illustrations
will be secured at the hands of any other artist than at his.

A few years since Griitzner prepared what is popularly known
as “The Falstaff Cyclus,” which are among the‘most appreciative
pictorial representations of Shakespeare which the century has pro-
duced.

Looking back from more prosperous days, there is something‘
extremely poetic in this coming forth from the primitive stock of
a people, a stock possessing indestructible freshness and life, of
those whose ability places them upon a par with sovereigns and
rulers of the earth. Only those who see into the very depths of
the life of the people quite know what it is to'be a peasant or
a commoner. To the German peasant there is a Spiritual bondage
'as well as, a physical one, a fear of man] which the Bauer carries
as a secret burden through life; and it is at _a great cost that
these limitations are torn away, in order that spiritual as well as
i~ social freedom may be reached. It seems that in a country like
Germany nothing but personal force and stirling worth of char-
acter, coupled with undoubted ability, ever accomplishes the difficult
task.

 

 

THE PEASANTST' THEATRE. 4

ED. GRUTZNER.

 

 

 

 

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PROSPECTUS.

 

 

 

 

AMOUSPAINTINGS.

A SERIES 012

PHOTOGRAVURES'
Great Pictures Yof the Nineteenth Century,

REV. "FRED H, ALLEN,

Author of “The ~Great Cathedrals of the World,” "“Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art," etc.‘ .

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which haVe recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in, its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Repmductive A1t.

The greatest pictures of the wOrld, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most, perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home'into’ a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

his a response to a demand on the part Of the people for information and art education.

it 'is absolutely modern andsnew to the public, no ancient or well'worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very idea] of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained. I .

it deals only with‘ masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
[the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price 'in the world’s market. '

It is the first book ever. made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each They
are all printed in a variety of colors, 1n harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

it is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, 'a.‘

portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONrER, .BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOlJGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBG-ZCKHOVEN, CABANEL, P1L0T,Y and others of equal excellence

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER’PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS... No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

 

 

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ROSENTHAL.

N THE midst of so much art that is foreign
both to American soil and American instincts, it
is refreshing to occasionally meet an American

whose abilities are recognized, not only among his

 

 

compatriots but throughout European art circles.
Toby .E. Rosenthal was born on the fifteenth of March, 1848, at
New Haven, Connecticut; but at an. early age removed with
his parents to San Francisco, Cal., where he learned the principles
of drawing in the public schools. I ,

With increasing years, his love of art grew to such propor-
tions that at the age of seventeen young Rosenthal visited
Munich, where he entered the Royal Academy and diligently
-proseCuted his studies for two years. During the three years
which followed, Rosenthal was the private pupil of Professor Karl
Raupp. At the expiration of thistime he returned to the Royal
Academy, then under the direction of Carl von Piloty, where he
remained for seven years, during which time he produced a paint-

ing known as “ Morning Prayers in the Family of Sebastian

. Bach.”

In 1871 and 1872 Rosenthal visited San Francisco, and em-
cuted several commissions, chiefly, portraits. On his return to
Munich, What was then the most ambitious work of his life was
undertaken, a work which was exhibited throughout America, and
attracted great attention by its excellent technique and dramatic
force. This was “Elaine,” the subject of which was taken from
Tennyson’s “Idyls of the King.”

During the latter part of the year 1882 and the beginning

of 1883, Rosenthal executed a work which in many respects was

 

 

 

 

 

162 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

superior to the more famous “Elaine.” It represents the trial
and incarceration of Constance de Beverley, the subject being
taken from Scott’s “Marmion.” This work was executed for a
Scottish nobleman, but was afterwards purchased by an American
gentleman of San Francisco. It has not the elements of .popu-
larity which characterize “Elaine,” but it is a 'more finely finished

picture, and represents the artist in his riper and more perfected
mood.

We give below the text of the poem illustrating the painting
which 'we present. '

The mildew drops fell one'by one,
With tinkling plash upon the stone.
A cresset in an iron chain,

- Which served to light this drear domain,
With damp and darkness seemed to strive,
As if it scarce might keep, alive;

And yet it dimly served to show

The awful conclave met below.

There, met to doom in secrecy,
Were‘placed the heads of convents three,
A11 servants of Saint Benedict,

The statutes of whose order strict

On iron table lay;

In long black dress, on seats of stone,
Behind were these three judges shown,
By the pale cresset’s ray:

The Abbess of Saint Hilda’s there,
Sate for a space with Visage bare,
Until, to‘hide her bosom’s swell,

And tear-drops that for pity fell,

She closely drew her veil;

Yon shrouded figure, as. I guess,

By her proud mein and flowing dress,
Is Tynemouth’s‘ haughty Prioress.

And she with awe looks pale:

And he, that Ancient Man, whose sight
Has long been quenched by age’s night,
Upon whose wrinkled brow alone,

Nor ruth nor mercy’s trace is shown,
Whose look is hard and stern,—

Saint Cuthbert’s Abbot is his style;,
For sanctity called, through the isle,
The Saint of Lindisfarn.

Before them stood a guilty pair;
But, though an equal fate they share,
Yet one alone deserves our care.

 

 

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ROSENTHAL. V 163

Her sex a page’s dress belied:

The cloak and doublet, loosely tied,
Obscured her charms, but could not hide.
Her cap~ down o’er her face she drew,
And, on her doublet breast

She tried to hide- the badge of blue,
Lord Marmion’s falcon crest.

But, at the Prioress’ commandp

A monk undid the silken band

That tied her tresses fair,

And raised the bonnet from her head,
And down her slender form they spread,
In ringlets rich and rare.

Constance de Beverley they know,

Sister professed of Fontevraud,

Whom the church numbered with the dead,
For broken vows and convent fled.

From that dire dungeon, place of doom,
Of execution too, and tomb,

Paced forth the judges three;

Sorrow it were, and shame, to tell

The butcher-work that there befell,
When they had glided from the cell

Of sin and misery. '

An hundred winding steps convey is
That conclave‘to the upper day;

But ere they breathed the fresher air,
They heard the shriekings of despair,
And many a stifled groan;

With speed their upward way they take,
Such speed as age and fear can make,
And crossed themselves for terror’s sake,
As hurrying, tottering on.

Even in the vesper’s heavenly tone,
They seem to hear a dying groan,

And bade the passing knell to toll

' For welfare of a parting soul.-

 

HUMBORG.

MONG German artists whohave excelled in the
portrayal of scenes from Cloister life, it has been

our pleasure to mention Edward, Griitzner of

 

Munich. There is yet one more who well

 

deserves a place among the famous painters of
this genre, and whose pictures have received the highest awards
among those who are fond of this peculiar vein of poetic repre-
sentation. We refer to Humborg, whose “Brother’s Solo” has
won its way to the hearts of a multitude of admirers throughout
Europe, and by reason of its many reproductions has found a
warm welcome with the art lovers of' America.

The “Brother’s Solo” is a piece of unique painting. It needs
but little by way of explanation to bring its rich humor to the
comprehension of every one. Cloister life is not asynonym for
dreariness and dearth 'of amusement; it is often the scene of
most enjoyable occasions. As a class the German brotherhood
‘are musical, and in almost every convent or Cloister one may
hear the most delicious rendering of the ancient masters in music,
as ,well as the stronger and more virile productions of Wagner.

In the scene before us, a rude and uncultivated brother has
been stimulated with the idea that his musical performance is of
the highest and most delightful character. A piece of music has
been placed in his hands, and with poetic fervor he is throwing
his whole soul into the rendering of the composition. It has be-
come too much for the accompanists. Their sense of the ludicrous
has overcome their ability to follow the artist, and one by one

they have succumbed to the emotions occasioned by the brother’s

master-work. Entirely unconscious that the accompaniment has

 

 

 

 

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HUMBORG. 165

ceased with the exception of the base-Viol, he pours forth his
whole soul in song. Out of deference to the brother’s herculean
effort, members of the brotherhood are holding their shaking sides,
suppressing the mirth which is struggling toward an explosion.
The whole scene is irresistible. The singer is rapt, in-
spired._ The listeners are evidently carried away from themselves,
but not along the same line of devotion as their performing
brother. ‘The artist has portrayed ‘the facial expression with ex-
quisite delicacy, and has clothed his satire with so much of the
genuine sprit of human kindness that, did the singer appreciate
the true status of things, he would no doubt join as heartily as

any of the others in the laugh to whichihis efforts have given rise.

 

 

 

PIGLHEIN.

in the city of Hamburg, in 1848, and early mani-
festing a love for art he was sent to Dresden,

and there entered the studio of the famous sculptor,

 

Schilling, where he devoted himself for sometime
to' study of the plastic arts. Not being satisfied, with what he
was able to do with clay, and having a strong sense of color,
Piglhein entered the school of. painting at Weimar, where, making
rapid progress, he soon sought wider opportunities for. observation
and study, and opened a studio at Munich, but refrained from
entering the Art Academy, at that time under the direction of
Carl von Piloty. He was not long, ‘however, in making himself
felt as an important factor in the art of Munich. Although. re-
lying upon his own instincts and observation, he made astonishing
progress and produced works which, for versatility and power, not
only pleased but astonished all lovers of art upon the Continent.
His paintings have been sought by collectors, not only in his
native city but throughout Germany and in London. But few
*productions of his have reached America, and he is known chiefly
through photographs which have been placed on sale by the
Munich publishers.

Piglhein was early looked upon as a man of power, but too
erratic to attain the highest success. He revelled in a wealth of-
color, in quaint conceptions, and strong realistic expression.

, Next to that of the late Hans ‘Makart, his studio was the
most luxurious and interesting in Germany. His humor and satire
alike were unrestrained. A sketch by him. was parodied by an

American comic paper, and afforded an endless fund of amusement

 

 

 

PIGLHEIN. 167

during the presidential campaign of 1885. Strong and serious at
will, light and amusing as the humor fits him, Piglhein by the
very power of his conception and strength of his execution carries
with him every observer along the line of his thought and emotion.

It is our pleasure to present a picture entitled “Moritur in
Deo,” popularly called “The Crucifixion,” which attracted wide atten-
tion when placed on exhibition, but it is of such a startling character
that it has failed to find a purchaser, even by the collectors for
the great galleries of Europe and America.

The truth, however, really is this: Piglhein prefers to retain
in his studio the remarkable painting, as it has been fruitful 'both
as a suggestion for later works, and attractive to a large number
of persons who have become his patrons.

“ At all times and; among all Christian nations, art has sought
to master the great problem of that moment which brought to a

close the human work of the Redeemer of men. Few great

.n
7

masters but have made the attempt—Piglhein has also made it
and it is interesting to note how he has approached this subject,
and chosen that-moment "of expiring agony, when in the midst of
the darkness of calvary we are told that angels came and minis-
tered'to the sufferer.

The work of Piglhein is evidently a presentation of that in-
visible ministry of the higher world which the darkness of the
moment shut from the gaze of those who stood at the foot, of
the cross Light pours from above upon the patient sufferer,-but
doesnot penetrate to the watchers below; while the wreathing,
convoluted folds of darkness enshroud the ghastly‘scene. In that
moment when the soul is parting from the body, 'a strong and
mighty angel has floated down, and bending ‘over the expiring
form whispers the last words of encouragement and imprints the
last kiss upon the brow of the dying one.

Both idealists and realists have accepted and rejected this
striking conception, and certainly have food for reflection in' this
marvelous painting. If we are disturbed by its realistic concep-
tion, is it 'not proper for us to admit that What has once come

into the region of reality should be realistically represented, while

 

 

 

 

 

168 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

at the same time. a certain region of ideality may be filled by
an ideal conception? \

Since completing this remarkable work, Piglhein has under-
taken a still more wonderful creation—that (of an enormous icyclo-
rama of the scenes attendant upon the crucifixion. In witnessing
it one stands upon the mount of Olives. Before him lies the
city'filled with the throngs unto the national feast of Pentecost.
The 'tragic'scenes of the day afford a new and striking diversion.
The walls and ‘the house tops are thronged by distant witnesses
of the scenes on calvary, which is not covered by the veil of ap-
proaching darkness.- Crowds jostle each other on their way to the
scene of the crucifixion,_while various groups, intent upon their
own affairs or those concerning the crucifixion of the Savior, com-
pletely surround the spectator. It is both wierd and wonderful;

a marvelous production of a most marvelous mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROSPECTUS.

 

 

Proofs before Letter on [mflerz'al japan and China Paper.

 

PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

 

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-
1 ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made Where the price places fac-Similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait of the artist represented, together with

. THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBCECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

l

 

 

f}?!

 

PART XXII-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COPYRIGHT, 1888,
BY HASKELL AND POST COMPANY.

 

 

 

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NEAL

ELDOM does an American become more thor-
oughly denationalized than has the subject of our
sketch, David Neal of Munich. This artist was

born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1837; whence

 

’he removed to Munich in 1861, and has since
made his I home in that city of German art. David Neal
married the daughter of Chevalier Ainmuller, under whose tuition
he spent several years in studying art, and has reared a German
family, one son being a cadet in the National Military School.
None of his children have, however, learned the native language
of their father. ,

In 1869 Neal entered the studio of Piloty, where he remained
until 1876 devoting himself entirely to figure painting at the sug-
gestion of his master. Previous to this, Neal had painted a re-
markable architectural work, representing “The Chapel of the Kings
at Westminister,” now the property of Francis Cutting, of Boston;
and later, “Saint Mark’s, Venice,” which came into the possession
of Samuel Nickerson, the president of the First Nationl Bank of
Chicago. Both of these became known to the public at the In-
ternational Art Exhibition at Munich in 1869.

In 1876 Mr. Neal was awarded the great medal of the Royal
Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts for his “First Meeting of Mary
Stuart with Rizzio,” being the first American who had ever received
it. This’medal is the highest in the gift of the academy.
Perhaps this “First Meeting of Mary Stuart and Rizzio” has
been more extensively photographed and reproduced than any
other painting by an American artist. It attracted great attention
when exhibited at the Munich Art Union, afterwards in London,

 

 

 

17o . 'FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

Boston, Chicago, and elsewhere throughout the United States,
finally finding a resting-place in the collection of Mr. D. 0. Mills,
president of the Bank of California.

It is probable that the “ First Meeting of Mary Stuart with‘
Rizzio” has, next to the “ Neapolitan Boy,” by Gustav Richter
of Berlin, been more widely disseminated by various processes of
reproduction than any other picture of the nineteenth century. It
brought to David Neal a worldwide reputation, and secured to
him a position in the temple of fame, from which all his subse-
quent works have steadily advanced him. .

“ The Return from the Chase,” by David Neal, is the property
of John Bloodgood of New York. This was exhibited at Munich
for the benefit of the wounded in the Franco-Prussian war.
“‘ James Watt ” was exhibited at the Royal Academy‘in London
in 1874, becoming the property of Sir B. S. Phillips, formerly
Lord Mayor of the city. Several portraits and ideal heads have
been painted by this artist, one of which it is our pleasure to
present the readers of this volume.

A portrait of Mrs. Raymond, exhibited at Munich, elicited
from the Zez'z‘sckrz'ft fm’ bz'la’ena’e Kumz‘ the following words of
praise: “From David Neal, a pupil of Piloty, we have a lady’s
portrait which is to so high a degree spirited and fine in the
conception and executed with so much bravour that it would do
honor to his master, and certainly evinces a finer feeling for color
than is possessed by even Piloty himself.”

Following the “-Mary Stuart and Rizzio” was a painting which
attracted no less attention throughout England, representing “Crom-
well’s First Visit to Milton.” This shows us England’s greatest
statesman when he was but a simple farmer, with the second
greatest poet of the Britons, long previous to his loss of .sight,
in full youthful vigor, with years yet to come ere he should indite
his famous “Defem‘z‘o fro Papa/0 Ang/z'cano, or create the re-
nowned “Paradise Lost.” It was a scene of deep significance,
and from that moment dated a friendship between the politician
and the poet which was continued through many years.

This painting won for David Neal the highest position in the

 

 

 

NEAL. . I71

world of German art to which an American has ever attained.
' His success was greeted by his, old master, Piloty, who publicly
recognized Neal as comrade and fellow-workman with the great
teacher. Throughout Germany and Austria, Neal’s masterpiece was
hailed with immense satisfaction and the artist recognized as the
equal of their greatest painters.

Since the production of this work, the greater part of David
Neal’s time has been spent in America in executing portraits.
Boston, New York, Cincinnati, and San Francisco have all en-
ijoyed the fruits of his skill and rare artistic merits. Neal re-
ceives the largest prices which are paid to any American artist,
and his ripe color, careful drawing, and wonderful sense of like:
ness, have established his reputation as among the finest 'portraitists

of the world, standing very near to the great court painter of

Europe, Heinrich von Angeli.

 

WERTHEIMER.

NE of the most romantic tragedies ever enacted in
the history of the world is that of Antony and
Cleopatra. The stage was a mighty throne. The

actors were the masters of the Roman world and

 

a queen of seductive beauty. The audience was
composed of the civilized nations of the earth and the fleeting
centuries since that day. The interest awakened is as lasting as
time itself. The influences which went forth are yet germinant
'seeds which spring to harvest in every era of the world’s history.
There is little wonder that the scenes of its enactment should: so
often animate the poet’s song and inspire the brush of the painter_

There is no doubt but that Mark Antony was cast in the
mold of a hero. He was of commanding stature, possessed of
manly beauty, wisdom, and bravery in .battle; generous in nature,
of illustrious birth, and a lover of pleasure. He was a man to
captivate no less a person than the glorious sorceress of the
Nile. But Antony’s love of pleasure came to be a weakness of
character which finally robbed him of that glorious battle brunt
which was his by nature. '

It has been said that the Egyptian queen was a second
Venus, of remarkable mental graces, which were equaled only by
the voluptuous charms of her person. Before meeting Antony, she
had subdued Pompey and Casar, but'by her latest conquest was
herself enslaved.

From the time of their first meeting to the final scene, the
royal lovers had abandoned themselves, with the exception of two
short intervals of separation, to an unbroken succession of pleasures
diversified by fabulous extravagance, and infused with the intoxi-

cation of love. In this career, honor and ambition were alike

 

‘ *' CLEOPATRA‘ MEE'TINQANTONY

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WERTHEIMER. I73

forgotten. The strength of both proved unequal to the disasters,
which finally ended in blood and ruin.

Gustav Wertheimer, the artist from whose hand our’ repro-
duction comes, was born in the city of Vienna in 1847, where
he has since resided. “He possesses one of the finest talents for
composition that is known among modern artists.”

He was subjected to the strict training of Professor Feurich;
but soon passed into the realm of romance and mythology. One
of the‘ most remarkable productions which has come from his
studio is entitled “Perseus and Andromeda.” It iS'of life size,
and partakes strongly of the romantic classicism of the time of
Benvenuto.

The moment chosen for the illustration which we present is
the first meeting of Antony and Cleopatra. Returning with his
army from Asia, Antony had summoned the queen to meet him
at Tarsus to. answer at his tribunal certain accusations. After
some delay the Egyptian queen obeyed the summons, and her
journey is thus described by Plutarch: V‘She sailed along the
river Cydnus in a most magnificent galley; the stern was covered
with gold, the sails were of purple, and the oars were silver.
These in their motion kept time to the music of! flutes, and pipes,
and harps. The queen, in the dress and character of Venus, lay
under a canopy embroidered with gold of the most exquisite work-
manship; while boys, like painted Cupids, stood fanning her on

each side of the sofa. Her maids were of most distinguished

beauty, and habited like the Nereids and the Graces, assisted :iEl..;;-~:

the steerage and conduct of the vessel.”

But any description of this scene is a beggar in the pres’ehé’é’”‘" '

of that master of word-painting, who describes that event in the

following words :

“The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne,

Burned on the water; the poop was beaten gold;

Purple the sail, and so perfumed that

The winds were love sick with them; the oars were silver
Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made

The water which they beat to follow faster,

Asramorous of their strokes.”

RICHTER.

T IS quite impossible to mention the name of
Gustav Richter without there coming into the
"mind a recollection of two pictures which have
received the honor of a‘greater' number of repro-

ductions than any other paintings of modern

 

times. The first of these pictures is a head, familiarly known as
“ The Neapolitan Boy,” and the second, its scarcely less remarkable
companion, called “The Egyptian Girl.” To many minds, however,
"‘The Odalisque” is a study—head of more power than either of
those named, yet it has never received the popular applause of
the earlier and ‘more attractive paintings.

It was through the success of his “Neapolitan Boy” that
Richter became famous throughout the world. It is said that no
painting during the history of the world’s art has enjoyed so great
a popularity or been reproduced in so many forms as has this
painting. It came upon the world like a vision of beauty. The

frank, free, open eyes, the strong face, retaining much of its in-

. ’; «vsfantile grace and gentleness of expression, yet with the vividness

ndf'bpening life and the sense of approaching manhood, made it
None of the most attractive and, to the fossilized art taste of its
period, startling reVelations of the century.

The works of Gustav Richter have found a welcome in every
nation where a taste for art has made the slightest advance, and
many of his paintings have been reproduced by every process
known to modern times.

Gustav Richter was born in the city of Berlin, on the third
day of August, 1823. He early became a pupil at the Royal
Academy of his native city, studying with Holbein, and later with

 

 

RICHTER. ' I75

Cogniet in Paris, in which place he studied from 1844 to 1846.
Three years were spent in Rome, engaged in the most enthusi-
astic study of his art, and in later life his Visits to Italy and
Egypt were among the most treasured of the artist’s reminiscences.
In 1873 Richter spent some time in the Crimea.

One of the earliest, and probably one of the most striking
pictures by Richter now hangs in the National Gallery at Berlin,
and is entitled “ The Raising of the Daughter of Jarius.” It was
a revelation to the new art of Northern Germany, as it revealed
a new method of treating religious themes. The picture was con-
ceived and executed in the most realistic manner, and is re-
markable for its power in color and for the impressiveness of its
conception.

In the Maximilianeum at Munich is a very remarkable work
by Richter, entitled “The Building of the Egyptian Pyramids.”

Long years of patient study and toil were necessary to the pro-

 

duction of this remarkable painting, while its execution occupied
\the artist more than ten years.

At the time when Hon. George Bancroft, the historian of
America, was ‘minister at the Prussian court, Gustav Richter
painted his portrait, which was exhibited at the Centennial Exhi-
bition at Philadelphia in 1876. Many-portraits were executed by
this famous artist, all of which give not only remarkable like-
nesses, but are revelations of freshness, Vigor, and tenderness of

color.

co
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There seems to be a certain artificial arrangement of his works;

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but his excellences, manifested in delicate color, in well balaralc°e°cfc

 

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parts, in careful and often corrected modeling, with full, rouhdédg“
shadows, overbalance any defect which the hypercriticism of the
age can find in his highly finished productions. Nothing can be
more beautiful than the soft, delicate color in the principal lights,
and the flesh tints filling in the shades Where they are softened
to an ivory-like smoothness.

This great artist died in 1884, deeply mourned by a wife and
several children, also by a large number of devoted admirers who

had never seen his face. He had married in early life a daughter

 

 

176 ‘ FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

of Meyerbeer, the eminent musician, and at the time of the
author’s visit was residing in the palatial residence once the home
of the composer. ’

Richter was at the time of his death a. senator of the
Academy of Berlin, an honorary member of and a professor in
the Vienna and Munich academies, as well as a professor in the
Royal Academy of his native city, where he had early studied the
technicalities of his art.

The picture which we take pleasure in presenting represents
the mother of the present Emperor William of Germany at the

'time when she became the youthful queen of the King of Prussia.

It is in the possession of the royal family at Berlin, and is among
the most admired of all Richter’s paintings by the few whose

good fortune it is to gaze upon its delightful qualities.

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

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PROSPECTUS.

 

 

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AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTXVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

  

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting. the rapid develop-
1 ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in, the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient Orwell worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealer's, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The wOrk will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait of the artist represented, together with ‘

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUs, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBOECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY’ PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON' AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

  

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MAKART.

- EFERRING to the work of the late ‘Hans Makart
of Vienna, in a former part of this volume, we
mentioned as the first great historical painting by

this artist, “Catherine Cornaro Receiving the

 

Homage of Venice,” a painting which attracted
much attention at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876.
It is with pleasure that we present to the readers of this volume a
reproduction of this celebrated painting.

The original work measures thirty-five by fourteen feet, and
is a summary of the artist's most magic powers. Gorgeous masses
of color enhance the harmonious expression of the many faces
composing the group, combining to \make a work which can only

be appreciated by a careful study of its many great and striking

~ qualities.

It is necessary, in order to understand the import of the
picture, to give a brief sketch of the life of the principal figure.
Catherine Cornaro descended from a family which had furnished
the Venetian Republic with several of her most able rulers. She
was born in 1454, and was doubtless the most renowned beauty

of her day.

For political reasons it became desirable that the king of.

Cyprus should become more closely bound to the Republic, and
the authorities of Venice, in order to realize this desired result,
proposed a marriage between James II., Lusignan, and Catherine,
whose family had in the course of time been greatly reduced in
wealth and in power. To this end the Republic adopted Catherine
as its daughter, richly endowing her for the marriage, which,
extremely happy during its short history, was terminated by the
sudden death of the king, and the loss of her only child.

 

 

’ Jack; has? “49,. ,

 

I 78 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

Under the protection of the Venetian Republic, the beautiful
Catherine Cornaro reigned over Cyprus for a period of fourteen
years, when she abdicated in favor of the Republic. Upon her
return to Venice, the beautiful and queenly woman was received
with all the ceremonies given to royalty in other states; and alone
of all her country-women, before or since, she was accorded
a triumphal entrance into the city in the gilded bucentaur, in
which the doge performed the ceremony of wedding the Adriatic.

The moment chosen by the artist ,is that in which, after
making her triumphal tour of the Grand Canal, she is seated upon
a throne in the Piazza of Saint Mark, receiving the homage of
the people, who were justly proud of the queen who had given
a kingdom to her native city.

The painting was purchased immediately on its completion for
one hundred thousand fiorins, and sent to America, as stated at
the opening of this article. It came forth with the pretension of
a great historical painting, yet without meeting the requirements
of such a work.

It was thought it would find a ready purchaser among the
untrained flaw/67mg of this country, and the artist was greatly
chagrined at its failure. The expression of the picture, so far
from being historic, is only that of a grand ceremony. It relied
for its effect upon a blinding? mass of' color, dazzling indeed, but
devoid of significance as a portrayal of the wise and patriotic
government of the famous woman, the most insignificant moment
of whose life is celebrated by the painting.

At Asola, in the neighborhood of Venice, where she assem-
bled a brilliant court of scholars, poets, and artists, Catherine
Cornaro passed the remainder of her days, dying in 1510.

Technically, the painting is faulty, as are most of the pro-
ductions of this artist. There is hardly a figure in the canvas
which suggests any thing of the characteristics of the, actors in
the scene. There is but little mental power, no more moral force
than what the observer may choose to insist upon, and, as an
historical study, lacks all the significance beyond the merest rela-

tion of a fact. However, if the beholder will ignore all details,

 

 

MAKART. I 79

study the picture from a proper distance, will open himself solely
to the general impression, he will realize the warmth, the richness
of fancy, and the human sympathy which gives to it the reputa-
tion of being one of the great paintings of the century.

One involuntarily feels that Makart plays with history, and
above all insists that it shall do penance to his own imagination.
He evidently composed with the idea of fine costumes and elegant
garnishing, to which persons were added, or subtracted, according
‘to the necessities of this canvas. Historic costume was the shrine
at which he worshiped; the persons who filled them were but
the stalking horses of .his necessity. _

As a landscapist Makart was hardly successful. One fine ex-
ample, in the style of Poussin, representing a combat between
Nymphs and Centaurs in a wood, is ,in America, but over it is
spread such a dimness that one can hardly distinguish the actors
in the combat from the heavy cypress trees which surround them.

SCHACHINGER.

out Germany a fondness for ideal portraits.

Leading the vanguard of a small army of brill-

 

iant artists in this special field, we find the

 

name of Fritz Kaulbach, a young man of great
power, who, on the death of Carl von Piloty, was elected director
of the Art Academy of Munich. A few years ago this artist
secured a wide reputation in what was then a peculiar and dis-
tinguishing genre.

Since that time, however, Sichel, Keisel, Gussow, Schachinger

and others have achieved a wide reputation for the expressive and
beautiful figures which their canvases have contained.
1' The prevailing characteristic of this style of painting is the
presentation of a beautifully costumed figure, in half, two thirds,
or full length, upon a decorated background. The poise of the
figure and the expression of the face are alike intended to reveal
some mental state or condition.

In former times, artists sought to express similar ideas by the
grouping of a number of figures upon one canvas; and by the
relations of these figures one to another, by their attitudes, dress,
and facial expression, the desired sentiment was conveyed.

This school of young artists, with greater subtlety, attempt
to suggest with one figure what the elder art had sought to
portray only by combinations, and with the advantages of _ compo-
sition and a multitude of art forms. i

Among the most interesting of the recent productions of

Schachinger is a picture entitled “ In Thought,” a photogravure of

G ,

fiACHINGER

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SCHACHINGER. I 8 I

which we here present. A richly embroidered fifteenth century cos-
tume adorns the graceful figure of a young woman. The expres-
sion of ' ’her face indicates not only a quiet, dreamyaction of
the mind, but also a longing and waiting for that moment when
the dream of happiness shall become a reality, and life take on
the completion which has hitherto been denied.

The pose of this figure is easy and graceful; while the hands I
falling in front of the body hold a few sprays of lily of the
valley.

The background is heavy and eminently decorative. ”The
foliage presses forward upon the figure, and is treated in a man-
ner to represent tapestry, the artist having resorted to certain
decorative technicalities, while the paint was yet fresh upon the
canvas, to indicate or suggest the mesh or thread of the fabric.
The tree in the left of the picture toward the foreground, heavily
covered with blossoms, is relieved somewhat from this decorative
background, but not sufficiently to give the picture any perspec-
tive whatever. ,

This method of treatment has become a great favorite with
artists of the Munich‘school, and is in some cases very pleasing
in the original subjects. It is not, however, so agreeable in black.

and white, and for purposes of reproduction is not so interesting

as a picture containing a deeper perspective. It represents a

marked and interesting characteristic of the recent Munich school.

GROSSE.

HE Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden has for
a number of years enjoyed the distinction of in-
cluding among its professors men of unusual power

in historical painting. Prominent among these we

 

should place Professor Theodore Grosse, who was
born in Dresden on the twenty-third of April, 1829, and first received
his impetus in the field of art through the influence of the great
art treasures inclosed by the walls of his native city.

While yet a lad, Grosse entered the department of sculpture
in the Art Academy at Dresden; but in 1847, feeling a strong
impulse toward color, he entered the studio of Bendemann, who
was then at the zenith of his power.

As early as 1852, Grosse produced a work, entitled “Leda
.and the Swan,” which was secured by the Royal Gallery at
Dresden, where it now hangs. Following this, he decorated the
walls of a chateau, the property of Count Salms, with representa-
tions of the cardinal virtues, together with passages from the
history of this celebrated house.

By this means Grosse secured sufficient money to enable him
to Visit Italy, where he spent nine years in study, most of the
time being at Rome. Here he devoted himself to the study of
the works of Raphael in connection with Cornelius.

One of the finest works executed by Grosse during this period
was “The ViSit of the Three Angels to Abraham, ” in which the
color and composition were considered of the highest order of ex-
cellence.

Entering into the competition for decorating the [oggz'a of the

Museum at Leipsic, Grosse succeeded in securing the prize, and

 

 

GROSSE. 183

from 1864 to 1871 he was engaged constantly upon this enormous
work. Following this was a large allegorical group in the Book-
sellers’ Hall in Leipsic.

The picture which we present is in the best manner
of the famous artist, and represents Dante and Virgil as wit-
nessing the arrival of souls in Purgatory. This especial field was
not new to the master when he undertook this painting, as he
had previously executed a large number of cartoons illustrating
the “divine comedy ” of Dante. The work of the master in this
direction is marvelous. In the extreme right of the picture, Dante
and his guide are seen watching the unloading of the boat which,
angel-guided, has brought to the realms of Penitence those who
are doomed to suffer for a time the fires of purification. Upon
the faces of some are drawn the sharp lines of despair; others
are filled with hope, assured that the time is short before the
“foul crimes done in their days of nature are burned and purged
away. ” The grouping is exceptionally fine. The pose of many
of the figures, together with the remarkable anatomy, is worthy
of an Angelo.

The original design occupies a place in the private album
of the Old King John of Saxony, who was a great admirer of
Dante, he having translated his complete works into the German
language. When the translation [was completed all the leading
artists of the kingdom contributed sketches to illustrate the Royal
version and this design by Dr. Grosse was one of the number.

But few of Grosse’s paintings have reached America, as all
of his time is employed by the State, and those who are anxious
to secure canvases for private and public galleries on the conti—
nent

Professor Grosse has received from the University of Leipsic
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, a distinction not readily won
from this famous institution. The painting, after the original de-
sign, appeared in 1879, and was secured by the directors of the
Royal Gallery at Dresden to further represent him in that famous
collection. Since 1867 Grosse has been a professor in the Royal
Art Academy of his native city, a' place which he has filled with

distinction and honor.

 

 

 

 

 

I 84 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

When visiting Grosse’s studio we found upon the easel
spirited sketches for a severely classical work designed for the
mural decorations for the Royal School at Meissen. .

Science was the subject of the composition, and an allegorical
-figure occupied the centre, on one side of which stood Aristotle
surrounded by a group of pupils, while on the other side Plato
discoursed to a group of mature persons.

Other sketches were shown of like character, embracing the
whole realms of science and philosophy.

When the State determined to restore the old castle at Meis-
sen, in which the famous pottery had for generations been made,
Grosse was occupied for several years in decorating it.

It is a matter of commendation that the government of Sax-
ony, in restoring this battle-scarred fortress, has wrought its
romance into forms and colors of imperishable beauty to adorn its
walls and perpetuate its history. The Royal potters have been
driven from its time-stained walls, its moth-eaten tapestries and
crumbling statues have been restored, and its halls once more re-
sound to the laughter and song of happy hearts and the echo of
royal footsteps.

His native city is deservedly proud of one who has wrought
so abundantly in its behalf, and has given to the generations
which shall follow him such remarkable evidences of a noble and
well-used talent. ,

Nothing debasing, nothing possessing an evil suggestion has
ever come from the hand of the famous painter. Few men will

leave behind them a record more honorable in art, more worthy

as a citizen.

 

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PROSPECTUS.

 

 

 

PAINTINGS-

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DISCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “ Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained. '

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealer:, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a

portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUERIAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,

VERBCICKHOVIN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.
This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTYr PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

 

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DE NEUVILLE.

ROM what source is derived the undoubted dra-
matic character of French art? The answer to
this question seems clear and distinct: From the

intensely dramatic character of the national life.

 

Not in painting only but in every branch of art
is this capacity observed. Sculpture, design, acting, and music
alike show it, while the‘same characteristic is strongly marked in
the literature of the people.

The power of forgetting self seems almost universal. Strange
eccentricities, and even worse things‘are often the result of this
self abnegation; yet as a rule it imparts a free, and in some
sense,'wholesome life to art itself. ’

From the dead classicalities and modern peculiarities of the
best English sculpture it is refreshing to turn to a work like
Carpeaux’s masterpiece in front of the Grand Opera House in
Paris. This group is fairly. alive; the dancers absolutely real
in delirious excitement. There is all the difference between a
living man and a dead one. Not that the living man is to be
approved in every respect, but its freedom from conventional re-
straint, its grasp of the facts of ‘life, of movement and expression
are admirable. V

Every art and every branch of art has its own special qual-
ities which it should preserve at any cost. These qualities are
held in subordination to the principles which govern art as a
whole, and consists chiefly in making the most of the special
material and the special opportunities which that material affords.
It comes to pass in this way that methods which would be in-

tolerable in some branches of art are not only tolerable but right

 

I 86 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

in others, and that the best way of working in any given medium
is the way which preserves most carefully and exemplifies most
clearly that medium’s essential qualities.

- The best stained glass is not that which seeks to possess all
the gradations of color, subtleties of form, light and shade, which
we find in painting; the best wood-work is not that which is
carved in imitation of lace or drapery; the best mosaic is not
that for which we need a magnifying glass to detect from brush
work; the best etching should not seek to give the calculated
completeness of an engraving.

Now this essential difference is one of the marked features
of French art. The sense of fitness strongly characterizes the
productions of the painters of this school, and enhances to a de-
gree the dramatic fervor and instinct which underlies the artistic
expression of the people.

Until lately, painting in England, notably so in America, has
been executed from the point of view of the upper or middle classes
of the people. There has been little effort at vivid representation
of sorrow or of suffering, lest an uncomfortable impression be left
upon the mind of the observer. Few artists have dared .to tell
us pictorially the truth about those inured to hard and grinding
toil, orrihave presented the rough, uncultivated phase of human
nature in the way that Millet told the truth about French peas-
ants; and it is this fidelity to nature in French art which lends
additional force to the dramatic side of its pictorial genius.

By no man has this element been more closely studied or
carefully weighed than by Alphonse de Neuville. When De Neu-
ville paints for us alsoldier he is not only a man of the people,
but a brave, determined warrior who has faced death and is fully
prepared to meet it when required. When he mounts his officer
upon a horse, horse and officer become one, and both are warriors.

We have had occassion to speak of this marvelous artist in
former pages of this book, to recount in brief the story of his
life, and to name many of his great and worthy efforts. We

turn to .him once more in these pages as presenting all of the

 

DE NEUVILLE. I 87

characteristics that we have mentioned as worthy of artistic con-
sideration, and speak more in detail of the famous painting en-
titled “ Le Bourget,” or the early morning surprise, which came
from the artist’s studio in 1878. Nothing can be more pictur-
esque, or possess greater ingenuity in composition than this
remarkable work. The valiant defenders of the old building have
finally succumbed to the tremendous onslaught of Prussian troops
and the fierce arguments of artillery. On the left; the flames are
seen bursting from the adjoining buildings. The gallant defenders
of Le Bourget are being brought forth between the ranks of the
conquerors. Upon a chair the half inanimate form of the officer
in charge reclines between two sturdy soldiers who are bringing
the dead’and wounded from the shattered structure.

It is but a hint of what has already passed; yet so intensely
dramatic that we almost feel that we are closed in with the
little garrison, fighting through windows and port holes against
fearful odds, suffocated by smoke, decimated by shot and shell,
yet bravely maintaining a position which they were left to guard;
dying at last, if perchance, through death France might be victor-
ious. Simple, forcible, dramatic, but telling a story of suffering
and of love far beyond the pen of the historian to describe.

 

 

SEMIRADSKY.

USSIA encountered exceptional difficulties when she
determined to create a school of modern art
which should be in accord with modern civili-

zation.» This she attempted to accomplish by

 

governmental edicts. Unlike many other nations,
she had little historic basis whereon to build._ In her earlier .
history the art of Byzantium held tyrannic sway, and as its
life-blood cooled it settled into a stiff and solemn vanity, which
was handed down from century to century as a sacred petrifac‘tion
that could not be changed without sacrilege.

When the time came for political regeneration, this art, which
could not move, had simply to be set aside. The consequences
were that instead of an unbroken chain of historic development,
stretching over a period of many hundred years, there occurred in
'the pedigree of Russian art a broad chasm, accompanied by strange
and contradictory manifestations; the old art was too old, the new
art was too new, and the intermingling of both became like new
wine in old bottles. _

Yet it is hard to see how the art of Russia could be other-
wise; for when the reformation had come downward from the
throne as a series of royal edicts, instead of coming upward from
the people as a growth, it became necessary for Russia to import
what she needed, and to take efficient measures to make the arts
grow and thrive in soil which had not been prepared for them.
Russian Artists found it necessary to take long residence abroad,
and on returning to their native cities, they found themselves in
comparative ' isolation. They are, as a class, planted on the utmost
verge of civilization, and like exiles far away from the com-

monwealth of art, are left to pine or starve on a cold and sterile

 

 

 

AGAN

RY SEMIRADSKY

‘ :H'EN

REMAT

 

 

SEMIRADSKY. I 89

soil. Rapid indeed, in fact unprecedented, has been the rise of
Russian art. A national art was needed for national ends, and
the imperial government took all requisite measures for meeting
the want. By means of high pressure appliances, the supply soon
became equal ”to the demand.

We have, through unusual pains, secured a work which may

be considered fairly representative of the highest class of Russian
art. It represents the Cremation of a Pagan Chief, and is evi-
dently an effort to reproduce with some degree of historic accu-
racy the terrible holocaust attendant upon the death of a barbaric
ruler.
- The picture which we present shows the old chief sitting in
his war barge, which has been raised upon a funeral pyre. His
favorite horse has been slain. His oxen have also been lifted
upon the funeral pile, and now, as a closing scene, his favorite
wives, together with all the household, are to be immolated. The
first one has already taken her place in the barge, and‘an ancient
fury, with knife in hand, is rolling up the sleeve preparatory to the
death-dealing blow. Following~ in the train are others, weeping
and bemoaning their sad fate. It is a stirring tragedy most
powerfully portrayed. '

The history of the artist is difficult to obtain. In fact, very
little has been found which is reliable concerning his early life.
Henry Semiradsky early gained the gold~ medal for excellence of
design and marvelous technique; and when but a boy in the Art
Academy manifested such a degree of talent as gave prophecy of
all that he has accomplished in later years. His historic compo-
sitions are of gigantic proportions. In the-fire of youth he threw
off fantasies, such-as “ The Destruction of Sodom and Gomor-
rah ” and “The Descent into Limbo,” with suchprodigious vigor
and velocity as to astonish ,all those who beheld his work. The
Russian government .kindly provides assistance for all such youth-
ful ability, and Semiradsky enjoyed a long period of travel, with
a pension, which enabled him to return to Russia with accumu-

lated force and with a finer and more agreeable manner.

DORE.

OME reCent writer upon art has said that “ it is
hazardous to undertake to analyze the gifts of a
man who, at only thirty-two years of age, has

made fifty thousand designs and won universal

 

fame; who is cosmopolitan in his choice .of sub-
jects, as familiar with the great writers of England, Germany, Italy,
and Spain as of his own, and finally laid the whole Orient under
contribution by illustrating anew for the nineteenth century the
Holy Bible.”

These words were spoken of Paul Gustave Doré, who was
born in the city of Strasburg, January 6, 1833, dying in Paris in
1883. When, in '1845, the young artist entered the Lyceum of
Charlemagne, very few who knew him predicted the wonderful. ca-
reer which the few years that followed record of this remarkable
genius. ‘

In 1848 Doré was employed in designing for the journal
Pour Rim, sending pen-drawings to the Salon the same year, and
. continuing to exhibit until 1857, when he received honorable men-
tion. _

It is impossible in a brief sketch to characterize the works of
Doré, in many of which the dominant traits are physical force
and fiendish horror. A darksome flow of creative invention placed
him in this respect the foremost of his kind.

Dante, reared in medimval notions of theology, politics, social
and civil broil, finds always some spring of tenderness, some
flower of beauty beside his path. But Doré, in translating his
“Inferno,” presents it in pictorial French, discarding humanity, and
producing the hOrrors of the Dantesque imagery in forms more

apalling than the original.

 

 

DORE. 191

It has been said that before his advent no entirely adequate
conception of diabolism had been given to the world. Dante,
Orcagna, and Michael Angelo had, indeed, unveiled glimpses of
its utmost horror. Doré seemed to work in an ecstasy of inten-
sity, similar to that which prompted the celestial Visions of Fra
Angelico, only their antipodes in character. There seems to be no
coldly studied design, but a spontaneous overflow, like seething
lava. He lets loose the powers of darkness. He transforms all
nature into demoniacal force, and inswathes his characters with

the wierd scenery which suggests that heaven itself has caught

the vindictive spirit of hell. With Dore there is no dainty dis--
guise, no tempting display; but plain, outspoken passion and
force. Doré’s art is great. He grasps the formative idea, and
shapes his creation to express the sentiment. It is the organic
spirit, rather than nature that we see-in all his designs.

We do not say that his art is good. We do not claim that
it should be Christian in a nice sense in order to be this, but
it should be natural, truthful, and humane. It should have also
the instinct of the beautiful. It is not easy to draw mild and
inoffensive parallels between Doré's and other men’s work. We
therefore turn our thoughts to some brighter features in which it
can hardly be said that the great designer excelled or even reached
to mediocrity.

There are few, however, of his more ambitious paintings which
are worthy of the highest commendation. Doré was not a paint-
er, but a designer. His color was somewhat cheerless and cold.
But his thought certainly is of the boldest and most impressive
of modern artists. i

At the Salon of 1877 were exhibited pictures of “Jesus Con-
demned’fand “Daybreak in the Alps,” both of which excited
much comment and criticism. In a former exhibition he had pre-
sented a very striking picture of “ Christ entering Jerusalem,” and
in 1875 “Dante and Virgil visiting the Seventh Circle,” together
'with the “House of Caiphas” and “The Vagabonds.” All were
hung in the Salon.

 

 

 

 

l

“flue-a .

192 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

At-the Dore gallery in London are to be seen the most re-
markable paintings of this prolific artist; and easily above all
others stands the marvelous work entitled “Christ leaving the
Praetorium.” Next to this may be mentioned the “Neophyte.”
This was exhibited in the Salon of 1868, and represents a young
monk, visibly new to his position, seated between his brethren.
The conception of the subject is strikingly vivid. The execution
is vigorous and frank. _

The picture which we present was prompted by one of the
fierce lyrics of Alfred de Musset, whose caustic pen did much to

inflame the popular heart and hasten the outbreak of that ill ad-

vised war:

Once it was ours, your German Rhine,
And at our Banquet’s lofty grace

We sang our Rhineland songs so sweet.
Has its waves effaced the trace

Left on you by our horses feet?

Once it was ours, your German Rhine,
Its breast an open wound has been
Since the triumphant Conde

In pieces tore its dress of green.

The child may take his father’s way!

Once it was ours, your German Rhine,
Your German virtues were in vain '
When our great Caesar, over strong,
His shadow threw across your plain;
Did he not fall there? Was he wrong?

Once it was ours, your German Rhine,

If you forget your history,

Your daughters fair, be sure,

Have better kept our memory,

Who poured for us your white wine pure.

Now it is yours, your German Rhine;
Wash there your livery and bow low,
But not too boastful of it be;

In days of prey you were the crow,
And the expiring eagle—we.

In peace it flows, your German Rhine,
May your cathedral’s gothic spires

Be modestly by it reflect.

But fear, your bacchanalian fires

May make the dead ones stand erect.

 

 

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Proofs defore Letter on Imperial japan and China Paper.

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop—

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the .world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal Of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained. ' .

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market. ‘

It is the‘first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The

price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They

are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the, world within the reach Of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of Maissonrnn, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLR,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHIUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, Vrnx'r, Ciivncx,
VERBGECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or
otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND New YORK.

 

 

 

 

 

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MUNKA’CSY.

T IS an unexpected privilege to have the oppor-
tunity presented us again in this volume of
speaking of the great painter, Michael Munkacsy.

The artistic sentiments of this remarkable man

 

 

became refined at an early age in the midst of
the terrible ordeals in which his childhood was passed.

Perhaps no more sorrowful or terrible childhood has been
recorded than that of the little Miska, who is now known as the
world—renowned Munkacsy. Miska’s mother died soon after his
birth, the tenderness of whose kisses was to him an unknown
joy. The father, possessing one of those natures which are quick
and sensitive, a man in whom seemed to be incarnated the proud
genius of the Magyar race, dazzled by the dream of greatness
and independence that Kossuth promised his native land, was one
of the first to cry'elz'en Kossuth! He was arrested and thrown
into prison where he died, leaving five sons and a daughter in
utmost poverty.

The orphans were not abandoned, as relatives received
into their families the little outcasts. The artist’s aunt received
little Miska and his sister. Here the child found a second
mother, and it seemed that life would become. quiet and pleasant,
encompassed by caresses and filled with childish mirth. But it
was not so to be. .

One night the house was surrounded ,by banditti, who, taking
advantage of the absence of good citizens in the wars with
Kossuth, entered by force. The throat of the unfortunate woman
who opposed their designs was cut, and the assassins retired
leaving Miska and his sister crying by the corpse of their second
mother.

 

194 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

An uncle took the little lad and apprenticed him to a joiner.
Belonging by birth to the educated class, but thrown by the force
of circumstances into rude toil and the associations of vice and
crime, this manly youth did not despair of the future, and when
discouraged and ready to succumb, he repeated the popular song
of old Hungary, “Why should I mourn as if there were no sor-
rows but mine.”

Stricken down with fever, he occupied himself in quiet mo-
ments in copying the old engravings which hung upon the wall.
“Would you like to be a painter?” his uncle asked one day.
“Yes,” replied the boy. To be a painter—this idea became pro-
foundly fixed in his mind. To be a painter—this henceforth was
the goal that he would pursue with all his energy and all his
means.

The lad asked for little. He secured the assistance of an
intelligent, well educated, but not very competent artist. Every
thing seemed delightful to him in the painting room. The master
was called to Arad to execute some portraits, and the boy fol-
lowed. He taught drawing to the children in the streets, and
each lesson procured him a dinner. He gained a frock coat by
painting the portraits of all the family of a tailor.

SOon after, the lad visited Buda-Pesth, where he executed in
three months a picture representing a scene in a peasant’s house.
The society for the protection of art purchased the canvas for
eighty florins. Another picture found a buyer at one hundred
and thirty florins, and with the money Munkacsy visited the art
galleries of Vienna. ‘

Afterwards he went to Munich, where he worked a little at
the Academy, but oftener alone.- From there he visited Dijssel-
dorf and adopted an entirely new style of work. His first
picture was bad, the second better; but as to the third it is the
celebrated painting which we present with this article, “The Last
Day of the Condemned.”

In conversation with the artist in 1883, after the wonderful
success throughout the country of his “Christ before Pilate,” and

!

while the “Christ upon the Cross’ was still under his hand in

 

 

 

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MUNKACSY. 195

the studio, the great master said, “I consider ‘The Last Day of
the Condemned’ my masterpiece.” ,

It is an old custom of Hungary that whenever a criminal is
about to suffer the extreme penalty of the law his friends and all
interested may visit his cell upon the last day of his life, together
with his family, there to make contributions for masses to be said
for the repose of his soul, and to administer such consolation as
in their poor way they may be able. It is a homely scene. The
poor wife leans broken-hearted against the wall of the dungeon.
The children are sobbing near. A bible which some kind-hearted

visitor has presented the wayward man has been thrown upon the

_ floor; while the determined, half hysterical attitude of the body

and expression of the face show that the convict is disposed to
meet his fate unflinchingly. A plate containing coins which have
been generously donated by visitors rests upon the floor; but
little music does the audible Chink of these ill-omened pieces bear
to the ear of the “condemned to death.” .
There is an undertone of pathos, of sorrow, yea, of heart-

breaking anguish running through the whole.

BEGAs

HE name of Begas has for two generations been
familiar in the art circles of Germany. Karl
Begas, at one time professor at the Berlin Acade-

my and painter to the Prussian court, died in

 

1854, leaving as his representatives a family of
four sons. The oldest of these, Oskar Begas, was born at Berlin
in 1828, and is now a professor of painting at the Royal Academy
of Berlin.

Reinhold Begas, born three years later, stands at the head of
the list of sculptors in the Prussian capital. He is a royal pro-
fessor at the Academy of Berlin, is at the head Of a large studio,
and a member of the Academies of Vienna and Munich. In
the National Gallery at Berlin is his portrait bust of Wichmann
and a statuette of Adolf Menzel.

Adelbert Franz Eugen Begas, born at Berlin on the fifth of
March, 1836, became a pupil of the Berlin Academy, and later of

Bocklin at Weimar. Another brother bearing the same name as the

father, was born on the eleventh of April, 1849, and is connected
with his brother Reinhold in the sculptor’s studio.

It is particularly of Adelbert that we at this moment choose
to speak. At an early age he entered the studio of his brother
Oskar, Where he studied historical and portrait painting. In 1860
he Visited Paris, in order that he might perfect himself more in
the art of etching, but on his return to ‘ Berlin preferred to re-
main true to the brush and canvas. In 1862 Adelbert visited
Weimar, where he spent some time in' the studio of Bocklin.

Later, Begas visited Italy, where‘ he made many fine copies

of the famous paintings of Angelo and Raphael, after which he

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SUMMER LIFE

 

 

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BEGAS. 197

spent much time in the study of Murillo. Titian’s works proved
a great attraction, especially in color, and he deVoted much time in
copying them.

In 1866 Begas Visited Bologna, where he continued his studies in
the studios of the artists of that city. Later, in Rome, Begas
gave himself to the study of mythology; but is represented in
the National Gallery at Berlin by a genre picture entitled “The
Mother with her Children.” ’ '

A picture by Begas which has attracted great attention on
the continent, entitled “Amor and Psyche,” constitutes one of the
most popular presentations of these classical personages which has
appeared during the nineteenth century. In the church at
Nimptsch, Begas painted a “Crucifixion.”

At the Exposition of the Royal Academy of Berlin in 1876,
Begas was represented by a marvelous portrait which won for him
universal applause, and another small painting entitled “Study.”

The picture by which we represent Begas in the present vol-
ume is entitled “Summer Life.” It is handled in his character-
istic manner, and represents a beautifully formed figure, with her
' back turned towards the observer and her face toward a mirror
in which the features are deliciously portrayed. The mirror is in a
heavy Renaissance frame supported by a Cupid who is gazing

around the side of the frame upon the lovely figure before him.

ALMA—TADEMA.

.f\_¢/a?u
M VEUT few modern painters have achieved so great a

 
 

variety within the limits of a sharply defined style
as has Lawrence Alma-Tadema, a brief notice of
whose life and works has already appeared in this
volume. Few have pursued with so firm a de-
termination the highest path available to them, and none have
given away so thoroughly to the fascinatiOn of antique pagan life
and remained true and cheerful in the contemplation of it.

It has been said of Tadema that the sickli-ness of humanism
has never clouded the healthy sunshine of his gay and wholesome
spirit for so much as a moment.

In many respects Tadema may be considered the one painter ,
of Europe who throws the fullest amount of labor into" the
technical part of his work. There is exquisite finish and tireless
striving after perfection, which is manifest in his theme and his
technical ability, together with a sureness of hand and vitality of
touch which seem hardly to belong to our age of impressionism
and rough and hasty workmanship.

Tadema combines in a manner the patience of the miniaturist
and the agility of the impressionist, with a power to cover broad
spaces of canvas, and to express the largest emotions of mankind.
When he deals with classic Italy the very air itself seems re-
produced in the quivering, pulsating light .of his landscapes. Year
by year from the beginning his color has improved, and a new
grace and accuracy has been added to his design.

The most careful study of antiquarian detail is united to an
artist’s Vivid recollection of the color and sunshine of the south.
Romans are not only dressed in their own costumes, but sur-

rounded by their own things. They live in Italian light and

 

 

 

 

ALMA—TADEMA. 199

breathe Italian air. The skies are radiantly blue and cloudless,
and wherever a strip of sea appears it is an almost conventional
line of burning sapphire beneath the lighter azure of the heavens.
No mist, no vapor reduces the intense shadows which his walls
and trees throw from the sun. _

With this intense and searching light upon his canvas, one
marvels at the extraordinary patience necessary to the production
of foliage and flowers which are characteristic offiTadema’s
wonderful minuteness. It may be doubted whether he has ever
found his equal in breadth, in solidity, and, at the same time,
detail of flower and leaf painting under a strong light.

It is not easy for one to exercise the critical faculty in the
presence of his work. His perfection baffles the analyst. To
criticise his archaeology, one must be skilled as a master of that
science. To discuss his painting, one should be able to handle
the brush in the heroic way of the master himself. There are
no veils to be drawn, there are no mysteries to be explained, no
wonders into which the uninitiated can not penetrate in order to
appreciate vivid, practical, and straightforward art.

Such we believe our readers. will conceive to be the manner
in which he has portrayed the second painting reproduced in'this
work. It is entitled “The Reading of Homer,” and all we have
'said may be easily understood by the observer while contempla-
ting this reproduction.

Tadema’s landscapes, into which no figures or architectural
details are introduced, are noticeable for their vivid truth and
severity, and possess none of the traditional charm of English
landscape, but a certain vigorous novelty, which, if not true, find
few of sufficient breadth and culture to correct them.

Tadema has that wonderful insight to grasp the vestiges of.
costumes and manners as they have survived in monuments and
literary allusions, and after passing them through the alembic of
his brain he has penetrated to the real life and the moral atmos-
phere of those people who have been dead for centuries, making
them to live again like human beings whom we lunderstand and

know.

 

200 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

In gazing upon his pictures the observer is transported to the
public games, to the forum or to the temple; and we seem to
take part in their vintage festivals and their Pyrrhic dances.
We seem to see Phidias discussing with worthy pride the lofty
art of the Acropolis. We can quite believe ourselves in Rome
as we look at Tarquinius Superbus as he walks leisurely through
his garden. Our gaze follows Agrippa as he goes to give
audience with his clients; and we are present in the Praetorium
while the emperor makes proclamation of death to the early
Christians.

But in thus rendering us spectators of the lives of the ancients,
Tadema removes from them all modern incongruities, and does not
forget to assure us that these people lived in an intellectual
world differing from ours by many centuries, and that their life
and character were manifestations of this difference.

“Every thing concerning my art,” Tadema has been known to
have said, “is the expression of an idea. My pictures represent
different subjects, but in them I have expressed .a homogeneous
artistic research.” .

It is pleasant to know that Tadema’s works are so appreciated
that, notwithstanding the marvelous fertility of his brain, orders
arrive faster than he can execute them. Gifted with remarkable
ability he paints rapidly, but with too great care and conscience,'
ever to finish a picture hastily.

“The secret of my success in art,” says Tadema, “proceeds
from this: that I have always remained faithful to my programme,
that I have worked after my own inspiration, and have never
imitated other artists. To succeed in whatsoever it may be, in
this life, it is first necessary to be faithful to one’s self; and -I

believe that I have been in this.”

 

R.“
E __
M
.9,

’— TAD‘EMA

ALMA

READING; H

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROSPECTUS.

 

 

Proofs before Let!” on Imperial japan; and China Paper.

 

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV.‘ FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History of Rep10ductiVe Art

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,

1N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop—

transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.
It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained. '

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art deal erz, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all. printed in a variety of colors, 1n harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a

portrait Of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DITAILLI,

BOUGUEREAU', MUNKACSY, D'E NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNV, VIBERT, CHURCH,

VERBQECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence,
This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,

and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

 

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BOULANGER.

AD one visited Rome in the year 1854 he would
have met with a little colony of Frenchmen

whose interesting and remarkable futures were yet

  

like the unwritten pages of a book; a little
‘I company, without solicitude for what later maturity
might produce, the present being devoted to work which was the
joy and power of their youth. Among them were Beulé, About,
Baudry, Garnier, Bouguereau, Thomas and Gustave Boulanger, all
inhabiting the Villa Medici. It was reserved indeed to. the future
to decide what that generation of writers, painters, sculptors and
architects would add to art, to literature and historic science.

Rome, with its monuments of the sixth century before the
Christian era, with its forum and temples of the Republic, the
baths, circuses, theaters and palaces of emperors, its catacombs, the
earliest refuge of the rising church, its houses of the thirteenth
century, its cathedrals and palaces of the sixteenth; the Rome of
Tarquinius, of Augustus, of Constantine, of Innocent 111; Rome
that is still filled with monuments of the ancient time, of the
middle ages and of the modern period, became to this little corn-
pany the sum of the early life of man, from which they drew
inspirations for the future, upon the horizon of which, their lives
of power and influence were just dawning.

Henri Lavoix, referring to this period in the history of these
men, says: .“I can still see Boulanger in his atelier at the Villa
Medici. He was then finishing the picture that had for its title
‘Et Ego in Arcadia.’ The Arcadia in the painter’s thought dif-

fered somewhat from the poet’s text. It is. the country of youth-

ful delight, where a pair of lovers are dancing, eyes gazing into

 

 

202 - FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

eyes, lips pressing upon lips, in strong light, in the full sunlight
of life; while an old man, seated in the shade, in the angle of
a tomb, sadly contemplates these vanished dreams of love and
happiness.” ‘ V

It was this picture that he sent to France as the work of
his fourth year as a prize pupil in Rome; for Gustave Boulanger
received the grand prize in 1849. Up to that time life had been.
severe if not cruel to him. His family, which was of Creole
origin, saw a fine fortune entirely compromised by the grandfather
of the painter who had a strange genius for ruinous inventions.
A greater misfortune came to Boulanger when fourteen years of
age, he at that time losing both father and mother. A relative
extended his generous protection, and the orphan found in the
tenderness and devotion of an uncle the care and strength of
the paternal relation. g

Observing in Boulanger a great aptness for drawing, the uncle
took him to the atelier of Jollivet, a painter who has left no
mark in contemporary art, .a brave man who was too conscien~
tious to advise his pupils to undertake a career in which he him-
self had made so slender a success.

After spending a short time in the studio of this painter,
Boulanger was sent by his uncle to Africa, where certain interests
occupied the attention of the young man for several months; and
to such a degree did the wonderful country tempt the young
painter and excite him to work that he extended his stay much
beyond the time intended at the moment of his departure. Bou-
langer in his later years owed the strong impressions and profound
emotions which characterized his work to the early inspirations
of that period.

Nothing‘ is lost to the artistic or poetic man. It is the first
faculty of genius to be able by its own will and at its own time
to recall past sensations. The artist does not invent, he remem-
bers. He receives one by one during his life and without analysis
those impressions which later on control unconsciously his work.
He believes he creates, while in reality he remembers past sen-

sations, thus making his youth and genius eternal. This is the

 

 

 

BOULANGER. 203

greatest gift to an artist for whom nothing is indifferent and in
whom nothing ever dies;

. Returning to Paris, Boulanger passed some time in 'the studio
of Paul Delaroche, where he had for companions Gerome, Picou,
and Hamon.

It is impossible here to catalogue the works by Boulanger.
The artist, always submissive and faithful to nature, has interpreted
Africa with most truthful exactness, has reproduced for us ancient
Rome, presenting her physiognomy as a personal and living thing.

It is one of these efforts of the great artist that we present
in this work. If Rome furnished the inspiration we must admit
that Pompeii furnished the facts. If there were at times much
of Paris in his Athens, those paintings which represent Rome are
characterized by better information or more fortunate presentation.

When residing at the Villa Medici, in the midst of ancient
Rome, the forum upon one hand, the Appian Way upon the other,
Boulanger, faithful to the programme of his school, attempted the
restitution of ROman society. From this emanated many of the
works that ,have been seen on exhibition and which form the
personality of Gustave Boulanger in contemporary art,

“ The Appian Way in the time of Caesar” presents to us
one of the most striking and forcible of Boulanger’s compositions,
while the paintings in the foyer de [a dame in the new opera
house in Paris show the artist at his best.

Few of his works have reached America, as they are eagerly
sought and held by the French Government.

DELO RT.

HARLES EDOUARD DEL'ORT was born at
Nimes, France, February 4, 1814. His father, who
was one of the founders of the Paris, Lyons and

Mediterranean Railway, was extremely desirous

 

that his son should turn his attention to mathe-
matics, but circumstances decided otherwise.

It was during a visit to the sea-coast that the mathematician
had the pleasure of meeting with the artist De Neuville, a meet-
ing which changed the course of the young man for life. Al-
though showing a very marked taste for art in early sketches,
the serious initiation of the young man to the art world was
effected in the studio of Gleyre, who was a master both austere
and careful, entirely devoted to the representation of ancient and
modern life under the clear skies of Greece. With him the young
artist received careful instruction in point' of theory, but found
the master of little value in the practice of his art and quite unsafe
to imitate, his work being purely conventional and of a past
generation.

Delortvsubmitted with due respect to the instruction of this
painter until he became sufficiently advanced to think for himself
and cast off the chains of conventionality with which Gleyre had
surrounded him. such, however, had been the success of the
young artist that he entered the contest for the grand 1572'); de
Rome, in which he suffered a signal defeat. At this hour of his
supreme disappointment he abandoned forever the traditions of the
ancient schools and placed himself under the instruction of Gerome,
who immediately started him upon the road to success.

His first painting to attract the attention of critics and con-

noisseurs was “Daphnis and Chloe,” charming in composition and

 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

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' CEA'R‘LES "EDWARD DELORIXLF} r

 

 

 

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DELORT. 205

a most striking presentation of this famous poem by Longus.
Following this was “ The Shepherd,” firm in design, true in com--
position, and exquisite in coloring. These two pictures were a
most promising entrance to theworld of art.

In his more recent work Delort has brought forth the for-
gotten splendors of the eighteenth century and presented the heroes
of Louis XIV and the nudities of antiquity with remarkable in-
genuity and force. The adorers of Watteau, of Fragonard, of
Chardin, find themselves admiring oneiwho combines many of the
excellencies of all these artists, and with the exquisite naz’velé of
these early painters presents the coquetries of female dress and
figure with delicacy and truth.

A pleasant field for art Delort has found in the memoirs,
the anecdotes, the sad or joyous histories which crowd around
the end of the Monarchy. ManOn Lescaut inspired a canvas so
remarkable as to gain for the artist the grand medal, besides ex-
tending his reputation throughout Europe.

In 1876 we find him represented at the Salon by a picture
entitled “After the Breakfast—a Wedding at Fontainebleau”; in
1878 by “A Scene in the Market in the time of Louis XV ”;
in 1879 by the “Poacher”; in 1882, “The Capture of the Dutch
Fleet by the Hussars of the Republic.” In this picture, composed
with great conscientiousness of research, the most minute details
were executed with the greatest fidelity to truth. p

Delort is a painter who has arrived at the highest round of
the ladder and keeps a place at the head of the young French
school. His principal characteristics are originality, spirit, certainty
of hand, a broad touch, which command the attention of the pub-
lic and sympathy of the critic. '

The picture which we present is entitled “ At the Fountain,”

and-combines the characteristics of the artist with great success

and brilliancy.

 

THUMANN

URING a visit to the art studios of Germany in
1882 and 1883, it was the“ pleasure of the writer

to see upon the easel of Professor Paul Thumann

 

of Berlin, an ideal historical painting, which, later,

 

at the International Exhibition at Munich, at-
tracted the attention of all visitors, and won . for the already re—
nowned painter a new meed of glory and of honor. The picture
was commented upon by the various critics, whose duty it was to
report the work of the artists during the last decade, and by
unanimous consent this painting was placed very near the highest
of all the works of art exhibited on that occassion.

We have already in these pages alluded to the work of Paul
Thumann, and represented him by his recent and possibly more
attractive painting, entitled “The Fates.” It is now our pleasure
to present a reproduction of a larger and more impressive work,
entitled “The Return of the Triumphant Germans from a Foray
in the Black Forest.”

The picture carries us back to the old Druidic days, when
the clans went forth, with the blessing'of the priesthood-to their
deeds of blood and slaughter, The spirit of the period is vividly
portrayed in this triumphant return of the conquering band, wel-
comed by the priest—whose share of the booty adds zest to the
benediction which he is evidently pronouncing upon the bloody
warriors—and the wives, sweethearts and children, who throng the
wayside to watch , for their lovers and, fathers, for whose return
they have waited with anxious expectation.

The figure of the leader, as. it bestrides a heavy war horse,

is depicted with peculiar force, with that arrogance and pride

 

 

.~ -WWVWW.WA , 1

 

THUMANN. 207

of conquest which characterized the fierce bands whose arms sup-
plied the necessities of their frugal households and enriched them
with the spoils of those whose homes they succeeded in making
desolate.

The hilarity and joy depicted upon the faces of the victors,
the anxiety and enthusiasm on the part of their families, are por—
trayed with astonishing vividness and power. The magnificent
strength of these northern tribes, the physical beauty and Vigor of
the women and children, are revealed to us as in no other com-
position that we now recall.

The painting seems a bit of mediaeval history exposed to the
softer sunlight of a modern civilization, revealing those peculiar
strengths of character which have made the German nation so
mighty and their descendents so powerful throughout the earth.

Professor Thumann belongs to a school of historical painters
whose works are valuable not alone as expressions of art, but
because of the historic moment which is seized and fixed upon
his canvas.

Vigorous in composition, he first impresses you as slightly
theatrical; but familiarity and study improve the first impression,
and one accepts his works as possessing great dramatic power.
Thumann’s color is lacking in warm, rich tones which characterize
modern French art; but in the dreary common—place of German
color, his pictures present a remarkable freshness and brilliancy.

While Thumann is extremely conscientious in his work, one
can not escape the feeling that his success would be greater
if he were not a professor in an academy of art. We feel the
lack of breadth and vigor of technique in his superb characteriza-
tions. But it is not wise to expect all things even from a man
so great as Professor Thumann. I

His paintings belong to the gallery rather than the drawing-
room, where, in the midst of all that is great, his work possesses
remarkable power and solid merit.

Like many other artists, this teacher has- his favorite models,
and they are by no means difficult to trace in the various com-

positions which he presents from year to year.

 

 

 

208 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

We have in the two pictures which we present in this vol-
ume, so varied in their character, the same beautiful figures and
charming 'faces. The latest work, which has attracted the atten-
tion of art lovers and critics throughout Europe, while a composi-
tion of much less pretension, is probably the most charming. We
refer to “The Fates,” which we have had the pleasure of produc-
ing in this volume.

These models are noticeable throughout the series of striking
illustrations which Thumann has prepared for charming volumes
on “Woman’s Life and Love,” which have of late years appeared
in Germany. Who could not paint from such exquisite forms,
draped to perfection, and posed so that every line of beauty is
manifest? '

Thumann doubtless'depends much upon his surroundings, as
did Hans Makart, but he has the, refined taste and cultivated
judgement to choose forms for his models which are the highest

expressions of purity and sincerity, and hepaints them accordingly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROSPECTUS.

 

 

Proofs defore Leh‘er on Imperial/($61” and China Paint

 

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

PHOTOGRAVURES _

FROM THE

Great Pictures Of the Nineteenth Century,

WITHJ BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian ‘Art,” etc. '

N placing this great WOrk before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-
1 ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought 'such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale iniAmerica
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution, *

Uniquein the History Of Reproductive Art.

)The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces. "

It is a response to a demand on the part-of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained. , i

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
'the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in‘the world’s market. .

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealers, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety Of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which'every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac—similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America. ‘

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait .of the artist represented, together with ’

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS. .

Among the artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VERBCECKHOVEN, CABAiNEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence. '

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditionshverbal or
otherwise, will be accepted. '

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND ‘NEW YORK.

 

 

 

 

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PART XXVII-

COPYRIGHT, 1888,
BY HASKELL AND POST COMPANY.

     

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DEFREGGER.

p S we have before intimated in a sketch of the
7 v life of this eminent artist, the characterization of

peasant life and of the population of small towns

’1

 

has reached among the German painters a degree

 

 

 

of excellence which it has attained nowhere else,
at no other period, and in no other country. So completely’ is
this true that it has quite properly become a source of national
pride. It has succeeded even better than the Village Tales which
made their appearance in literature, at about the same time that
this spirit became manifest in art. It has revealed in the life of
the people a new world, full of freshness and originality, of warmth
and tenderness, full of naive grace, but at the same time full of
manly vigor and rugged honor.

Undoubtedly this phenomenon, making its appearance in Ger-
many only, is most closely connected with the national character,
inasmuch as Germany has always been on the whole a people of
peasants. From Charlemagne to Bismarck, almost all of Germany’s
great men have preferred country life to any other, as it has been
that which has given them their robustness of character, as well
as their early training and education.

The most capable and manful races have occupied, the highest
altitudes in European countries. It is only necessary to name
the Lower Saxons, the Alemanni, who, as the Swabians of the
present time, occupy Alsace and Switzerland. And the mighty
race of the Boyars established in Bavaria, Austria and the Tyrol,
are still today as essentially a peasant people in their feelings
and customs as when their tendency to an independent life and

their intimate relations with nature, attracted the attention of Tacitus.

 

 

210 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

Switzerland, that country where the development of the people
has been least impeded by external influence, manifests the same peasant
character down_ to the present day in all its public institutions
and domestic habits.

The solitary life of the peasant develops the heart and the
imagination in a much higher degree than the reasoning powers.
All these races are heavy and taciturn compared with their
Romanic and Slavic neighbors, who, indeed, call them “The Silent”;
but on that very account these races are more rich in artistic en-
dowment, and above all, more original than the population of
large cities.

As Saxon and Swabian races have been distinguished'for the
poetic faculty, so has the rich endowment of the Boyar tended at
all‘times in the direction of the fine arts. Upper Bavaria, Tyrol
and Austria are still, as in the Middle Ages, an inexhaustible
mine of new and original talent. Doubtless the wild climate and
the magnificent scenery of these regions have brought men’s souls
into their eyes more than among those who see only meaner
forms, colors veiled in a gloomy gray, and to whom the sunshine,
beautifying all things, rarely comes. Therefore, Southern Germany
and Austria have been and will remain rich in artistic capacity,
fruitful in bold enterprises, mighty in warriors and statesmen.

But who could have continually before his eyes the glorious
scenery of Southern Germany and the magnificence of the Tyrol,
together with the splendid race of men which they have produced,
without feeling himself at once disposed to paint, especially if he
were endowed with a rich fancy and artistic power, what his eyes
beheld? _

When, too, such artistic aspiration is brought into the presence
of incidents so exciting, and of persons whose lives have afforded
such tragic scenes for painter and historian as Arnold Winkelried
and Andreas Hofer, it is no wonder that beautiful and striking
pictures are the result. When we take the lives of these men
as examples, we know that behind them must lie hundreds of
unwritten histories almost as great, of loyalty as supreme, and
courage as valiant. It has been the work of Defregger in a few

instances to portray such scenes.

 

 

DEFREGGER. , 21 I

The picture. which we preSent, entitled “The Mountain. Forge,”
or “The Uprising in the Tyrol in 1809,” is one of 'those magni-
ficent conceptions, portraying to the life the intense, almost fierce
courage and determination of the hillside peasants; showing how,
from the lowliest and most common-place, there went out a brill-
iant spirit of patriotism which was ready to die for the freedom
of home and the perpetuity of birthright

It requires no effort of the imagination to paint a picture
when-one is gazing upon these outlines. by Defregger. The workers
at the forge are listening with intent interest to the news which
the herald brings. Their knit sinews, their set faces, their deter—
mined expression show What fighters they are to be when they

meet the enemy in the. valleys below.

DETTL

A EASARE DETTI, the renowned genre painter, is
i ' a Roman by birth and education, having received
his art training in the Academy of St. Luca, in

Rome, where the greater part of his life has been

 

spent. Detti is, however, a striking illustration
of the saying that foreigners make the best Parisians, and his
form is as well known'upon the Boulevardes of the Gallic city,
his face as familiar in its cafés as in the salons and studios of
the seven-hilled towns of Romulus and Regulus.

But little can be learned Of his early life and those intima-
tions of greatness that attended his first efforts in art. The fin-
iShed work of the master has found a hearty welcome throughout
Europe" and among the art lovers of the New World. America
boasts several choice examples of Detti’s work, among which we
notice “The Sad Lover,” owned by R. G. Dunn, Esq., of New
York. “The Duet” is in the collection of William Astor, while
“The Guard Room” has found a home in Providence, Rhode
Island, in the possession of Mr. R. C. Tufts. The collection of
Mr. A. Adams, of Watertown, Massachusetts, is enriched by “ The
Gathering 'of Flowers,” and W. G. Bement, of Philadelphia, has in
his possession a work entitled “ Rest.” .

“Farewell,” painted by Detti in 1877, was shown at the EX-_
position at Naples the same year, and won for the artist enco-
miums of high praise. “ The Concert,” painted in 1884, was
followed a year later by “ The Arrival of the Newly Married.”

More recently the artist has given evidence of his power in
the picture which it is our pleasure to present in this volume,
entitled “The Arrival of‘ the Married Company at the Mairie.”

 

L

VA

R’EI

A

TH E

 

 

 

 

DETTI. 21 3

The custom of civil marriage pertains universally throughout
France; and however sacredly the religious ceremony has been
observed, there is no legal union until an officer of the State has
pronounced it valid, and the contracting parties have signed with
proper witnesses the civil obligations. The artist has made this
custom the occasion for arraying in the costumes of earlier days
a beautiful group which has gathered in front of the Mairie

to receive the bride and groom. These are surrounded by the

friends composing the bridal party, in the act of dismounting—

the lady from her carriage, the gentleman from his horse. ,

The various groups are arranged in a pleasant and highly~
artistic manner, while the happy and joyous revelry of such oc-
casions is sufficiently suggested by the faces and attitudes of the

various groups.

NEUHAUS.

ARL AUGUST FRIEDRICH NEUHAUS was
born on .the third of April, 1852, at Elberfield,
and at the age of twenty-one years entered the
Art Academy of Dusseldorf, where he became a

 

pupil of Professor Gebhardt. After one year and
a half in the studio of this celebrated artist, young Neuhaus de-
termined to pursue a different line of art, and sought the instruc-
tion of Professor Wilhelm Sohn, under whose direction he pursued
his studies during several years.

It was in 1878 that Neuhaus made his débdl at the Berlin
Exposition, being represented at the time by an attractive picture
entitled “Ash Wednesday.” This work brought the young artist
into immediate notice, and secured for him an enviable reputation
as a designer and colorist. The picture consisted of two men
returning from a mask ball just as the early mass was concluded.
The pious and solemn women, as they came from church, were
made to' encounter the tipsy revelers as they struggled toward

their home. The half terrified matrons are made to assume a

most ludicrous position as their solemn meditations are disturbed'

by the appearance of these uncouth beings from an unknown
world. The picturewas so full of good-nature that even the
tipsy humor-of the maskers became contagious, and the dreadfully
scandalized women found themselves laughing with the observer
while yet the look of dismay and surprise was upon their faces.

In 1879, the year following, this artist gave further evidence
of his power in a stirring scene from the Peasant’s war, in which
the Count Helfenstein was made a prisoner.

A year later, a still more interesting painting, considered

 

FAMOUS PAINTINGS. 215

solely as a work of art, was executed by Neuhaus, and called
“The Prince’s First Ride on Horseback.” In. this work the fine

talents of'the artist became strikingly manifest, and his paintings

 

 

were eagerly anticipated by the art lovers of European salons.
In 1882, Neuhaus presented to his admirers a picture of an
entirely different genre. It is that which we have the pleasure of

presenting in this volume—“ The Emperor Friedrich meeting the

 

 

Salzburg Emigrants.”

This conception is founded upon the same historic incident
which gave to Goethe his Hermann and Dorothea. During one
of the fierce religious persecutions which spread over the German
Empire, a large company of devout Christians who refused sub-

servience to the demands of the dominant clerical party gathered

 

their households, their lares and penates, and shaking off the hand

 

of persecution went out in search of freedom of worship, and of
life. On their journey they are met by Friedrich of Prussia,
who, admiring thefstately'proportions and intelligent faces of the
company kindly invites them to become his subjects, assuring them
of protection in all their rights of conscience and of faith.

The moment chosen by the artist'is that in which the royal
head appears at the window of the carriage and extends a welcome
to the emigrants to enter his dominion. It is a painting of much
life, careful composition, good feeling and richness of color. It
attracted much attention while on exhibition in 1882 and 1883,
and finally became the property of a large art collector of Southern
Germany.

It is an extremely fortunate thing for any nation when not only
its poets, but its artists, find in the historic moments of a nations ' '
life, material both for poem and for painting. In no nations has
this element of character become more manifest than in Germany
and in France. It can hardly be said of Italy at the present day
that it has a fine school of modern art. Its strength has for years
been exhausted, and. the time of its artists occupied in making
copies of the grand heritage of paintings which have come down
from earlier days.

Recently, however, there has been an awakening of the modern

 

 

 

 

216 NEUHAUS. ,

spirit, so that in course of time, should there arise to Italy a
brilliant modern literature, we may expect a brilliant artistic period
in which a record of the life of the young nation shall be preserved
to future generations by the richest specimens of pictorial and
plastic art.

In England the spirit has begun to develop. And if the
technique of the English school keeps pace with its" ambition we
may expect within the next decade a series of noble pictures of
historic value.

In America, with its young life tingling the finger-tips of all
its inhabitants, its artists have failed to appreciate the value of its
history as a “field for pictorial endeavor. Every one who pauses.
for a moment to think of the broad field which is open to Ameri-
can art in depicting the incidents of America’s birth, growth and
present development, will regret that its artists have forgotten that
the life of the nation has any claim upOn their abilities and
artistic instincts. '

 

 

' FREDERICK ANb THE 'kE‘MIGRjANTS,»‘

FizITz NEUHAUS. '

 

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. x l , :.,.|5;if,_~lr1,}frf1

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROSPECTUS.

 

 

 

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DISCRIPTIVE TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ,ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-
]: ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

' ~ Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
' in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriberis table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained. ‘

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration'of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealer, would be‘FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a'variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a

>

portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the artists we note the .names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLE,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKAcsv, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,
VIRBCECIHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

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BRAITH.

renowned artist, Verboeckhoven, enjoyed undisputed
supremacy as a painter of sheep and cattle. His

works brought fabulous prices for paintings of that

 

character, and with all lovers of animals the posses,
sion of one, of Verboeckhoven’s inimitable productions was the
desideratum both of private and public collectors.

When this great artist was nearing the end of his. career the
question was often asked, “ Upon whose Ishoulders will Verboeck-
hoven’s mantle descend?” It was with gratification that art lovers
saw in a young Munich painter indications of a genius equal to
if not greater in this peculiar field ofart, and hailed with delight
the growing powers of the youth as year after year his pictures
evinced a fulfillment of their early prophecy of greatness.

Anton Braith, a sketch of whose life has been given ‘in a
former article of this volume, soon found admirers in every part
of the picture-loving world. Having mastered the technique of
his art in the schools of Munich, he opened a studio in the
Bavarian capital and devoted himself with untiring energy to the
prosecution of his life-work.

Braith is stronger in manner and broader in technique than
Verboeckhoven, partly because his studies have been among the
rougher herds of the Bavarian highlands and the Tyrol, ,while

those of the older painter were among the finer herds of the Nether-
lands. Then, again, Braith possesses a broader style, less poetic

feeling, and a stronger realistic sense than Verboeckhoven; at the
same time being entirely true to the artistic instinct in posing and
surrounding his groups.

 

 

 

218 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

Verboeckhoven brings the observer into sympathy with the
animal, its eyes are full of luster, pathetic and tender. Braith
awakens in the observer admiration, but little sympathy. Verboeck-
hoven’s animal is too human. Braith’s is a genuine brute which
is completely satisfied with itself and does not need your sympathy.

The picture we present here is entitled “ The Home-coming
Herd.” All summer the sheep have wandered amongst the mount-
ains in search of juicy grasses, led here and there by some mount-
ain lad. At times warmed by the glowing sun, at others drenched
by the pitiless rains. As winter draws on they are driven to
the valley below. The race is strong and hardy, capable of long
.journeys and greatendurance in the mountain fastnesses, rough in
their appearance beyond any grades found in gentler climates, and
form a part of the wild landscape to which they belong, both in
strength of body and shaggy, unkempt appearance. The lambs are
gaunt and sorrowful looking creatures, but at maturity they are

 

the most powerful and enduring of the race.

_ The admirers of Anton Braith are anxious to see the results of
his studies among flocks and herds of milder climates and with. those
surroundings with which Jacque so admirably composes similar pro-
ductions. The quick eye of the German would not be slow in
noting the marked difference in character, nor his skillful hand
feeble in portraying the gentler expressions of animal life.

To one accustomed only to the flocks and herds of lowland
countries, those of higher altitudes present a most neglected and
sorry appearance, and many admirers of art have turned away
disappointed from a picture of these herds, because their acquaint-
ance had not extended beyond the valleys and meadows which
fall between gentler hillsides. To Verboeckhoven these ruder ani-
mals would have appeared uninteresting subjects by the side of
the round sided, sleek fleeced flocks of the Netherlands.

Each artist has proved true to the peculiarities of his nation,
and. the delightful qualities of each reveal the distinguishing'char—
acter of his expression and observation.

Allied to both Braith and Verboeckhoven is a man still young

 

 

 

 

BRAITH. , 219

who comprehends in .his charming style many of the ,best character-
istics of both-in this peculiar school of art. We refer to young
Zijgel of Munich, who has enjoyed along term of study with Braith,
and perhaps leads his masterwin‘the representation of the gentler
moods of animal life. '

It is generally acknowledged, however, that Anton Braith in. real-
istic power and genuine artistic conception stands easily above all
living painters of sheep and cattle. ‘ .-

This line of art is certain not to failwhile it is in the hands
of such vigorous and elastic minds as compose the young Munich
school of painters.

, Braith secured the gold medal of the Munich Academy as early
as 1860, and in 1861 won the gold medal at the Munich Exhibition.
One of his paintings, a cattle piece, is in theiposses'sion of Mr. W.
Mason of Taunton, Massachusetts; while a later Work, also‘ represent-
ing a field of cattle, is owned by Mr. E. D. Morgan of New York.

LINDERUM.

ELDOM is a writer on art obliged to forego the
pleasure of giving his readers some idea of the
life and character of the artist whose works he

would present; but now and then his search is

 

baffled either by scarcity of available material
or by conflicting statements which makes silence the wisest course.
As this work deals principally with paintings and not painters,
the bit of biography which should accompany the present picture
will hardly be missed. .

Richard Linderum presented to his admirers in the year of
1882 a charming composition known as “The Women of Carth-
age.” It received the kindest criticism, and became at once a
favorite with the art loving world. Naturally it is a purely ideal
subject intended to ‘show various positions of the female figure,
the charm of whose attitudes is heightened by the varied expres-
sions of their fair faces. The moment chosen by the artist is
that when the power of'the Roman arms threatened the destrtic—
tion of the city of the Phoenician Queen. Almost nine centu-
ries before the birth of Christ, Dido, who had fled from Tyre after
the murder of her husband, founded the famous city which for cen-
turies disputed with Rome the commercial and civil empire of the
world. The advancing power of the war-like republic called forth
the mightiest efforts of the Roman arms, and gave occasion for the
Punic wars which resulted in the utter overthrow of the royal city.
1 Upon a peninsula which constitutes a part of modern Tunis may
be found its remains, and here, with the blue waters of the Mediterra-
nean washing the foundation walls. of their superb villa, a few
Carthaginian women had assembled in the darkest days of her resist-

ance to offer incense to the god of battles for protection and victory.

 

 

 

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LINDERU M. 22 I

Cato, the Censor, had uttered the famous expression, “ Carthage
must be destroyed.” Already Rome’s devouring eagles were watch-
ing above the din of battle for their prey; the days of Carthage are
numbered. The favor of the gods is not manifest in the faces of
the despairing women; on the contrary, their splendid barbaric gifts,
their smoking incense, their earnest prayers avail nothing, and heart-
sick they turn away to meet, as best they can, the doom of vanquished
foes. .

It is a picture full of tenderness, of pathos, and of \beauty.
Lighted by the brilliant color with which this artist Usually" secures
his results, with the strong, palpitating light which floods and fills
these Mediterranean shores, it stands among the world’s most
famous and interesting pictures.

Standing upon these sun-kissed shores, the traveller, if he
has the faintest trace of imagination, can easily repeople their
romantic places with the noble races, which in the days of their
grandeur so long and successfully withstood the power of the
Roman empire. Her sails Covered all seas, and her commer-
cial enterprises encompassed the known world. The artist has
caught the spirit of the times, its architecture, its life, its faith,

and its despair.

 

MAKART.

OR the last time in the course of the present volume
we write as a chapter heading the name of Hans
Makart. As fresh as the flowers which now spring
above his grave, is the memory of that gray win-
ter afternoon, when we entered for the last time

 

the old brass foundry in which royal munificence had established

an artist whose genius it could cherish but not create.

A'gray-headed servant opened the door and silently welcomed
us into a reception hall; thence through an ante-room, gay with
pictures, crude sketches and bright draperies. From a wide portal
the heavy curtains swing back, or rather the curtain seems to fall
from our blinded eyes, and a dreamy, intoxicating revelry of color
overcomes the senses. Strange images and fantastic legends shape

themselves in the mind, and pass like the gorgeous pageant of a
I midsummer night’s dream across the brain.

Old gobelins cover the brown walls of the high, airy room.
From the entablature of the ceiling the light falls downward, allur-
ing gems of color on grounds of gold, from their dark frames.
Plastic groups, half hidden by silken curtains, cast sly glances at
the intruder. Men in armor guard entrances to sheltered seats,
bizarre trifles, priceless bronzes and Venetian wood-carvings.

All this living, breathing, picturesque fantasy of magnificence
steals upon one like memories of elf-land. The scene of enchant-
ment fades; the tiger’s skin is but a decorative oasis in a desert
of decoration. Strange, many-colored things in a perfect dismay
of disorder appear instead of the mythic play. But stay, there
is a method in this madness, and one feels it before he sees it.

Each thing has a place and fills it.

 

 

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MAKART. 223

A fine decorative instinct has wrought here a perfectly ordered
although fantastic style of decoration, and has created the most
beautiful studio of the world. You wager that the Japanese
bronze kettle belongs to the Roman tripod upon which it is
poised; that the peacock feathers grow from the ears of the
brown sculptured “amourines”; that beyond the balustrade of the
balcony is a delightful hiding place, and the massive staircase
supported by spiral columns of the finest Venetian wood-carving,
was built to uphold the Moorish arabesques which spring lightly
over the balcony front. But until one stands above and looks
down the charm of color has not begun its work. How the
canvasses glow! The flesh upon the nude figures fairly trembles
as out of their frames gently walk those splendid jewel-loving
women, dangling the ornaments upon their girdles of gold.

Here Makart worked, enchained by the color sirens, impet-
uous, feverish, delirious in his slavery. Around him burned the

fierce expression of his decorative genius, a part of his glory and

 

part of himself.

If these surroundings when once seen appear derogatory to
his originality upon the canvas, one must not forget that Makart
created his surroundings before he fell a victim to their sensuous
beauty. To estimate the artistic character of this man one needs
to meet him in the midst of his environment, having a clear
conception of color, a fine sense of its witchery and sensuousness,
but unassailable by its charms.

Here, too, amidst the beauty which he had enthroned on
every hand, with color of blue, and red, and gold, the great genius
thought he heard the laughter of the gods, but found it to be
only the chatter of demons. The color siren became his sphinx;
the dominant passion in his art became the delusion of his over-
burdened brain; and Makart in his'delirium thought his head had
become a box of colors. The mind gave way, the reason was de-
throned; and amidst the beauty which his instinct had evoked,
the colors which he had taught to glide down from bewitching
canvases to ravish the heart of the beholder, his coffined form

lay one day amidst the flowers.

 

 

 

 

224 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

The painting which we present is known as “The Triumph
of Ariadne,” but is in reality “The Wedding of Bacchus and
Ariadne.” The Bacchantes’ procession has just received the Bride
on the shores of Naxos. The waves throw jewels of shells upon
the strand; heavy vines hang from the dark fig trees, and here
and there the sky peeps through their deep foliage. The pipe
of Pan is calling; the Centaur shakes his tambourine, the goat-
footed gods swing the white warm bodies of the “Menades” in the
waves. Silenus embraces a faun who teases his bagpipe as he
gazes upon the fair beauty of the goddess. Standing high upon
her tiger-drawn car Ariadne celebrates _her triumph, While beside
her the beautiful brown god stands in the .act of presenting a
shell jeweled with pearls. Far off the ocean smiles like a mirror
of heaven; it breathes a warm delight and deep refreshing peace
in which the fancy longs to refresh itself after such sensuous
intoxication. ‘

It is one of those subjects, to paint whichMakart was wont
to dip his brush deeply in the sultry colors of the senses.

The painting is not wholly good as a work of art, but con-.
tains several good groups, is a masterly conception, and revels
in a luminous of color. ,

“ The Triumph of Ariadne ” brings us to the end of our
sketches of this remarkable genius whom the whole world criti-
cised and loved, but who died the victim of his own intense

love for color.

 

TRIUMPH _ OF 'V'ARIADN‘EQ"

HANS MAKART, '

L

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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PROSPECTUS.

 

 

 

Proofs éefore Let!” on Imperial japan and China Pafier.

;

PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVIZ TEXT BY

REV. FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “The Great Cathedrals of the World,” “Modern German Masters,” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art,” etc.

N placing this. great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop-

ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution, '

Unique in the History of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s table,
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces.

It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

It is absolutely modern and new to the public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained.

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PROOFS to every subscriber. The
price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealer:, would be FIVE DOLLARS each. They
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work.

It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE LETTER.

It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America. I

The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a

portrait of the artist represented, together with

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the. artists we note the names of MEISSONIER, BRETON, KNAUS, Drum“,
BOUGUEREAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BONHEUR, GEROME, FORTUNY, VIBIRT, CHURCH,
VERBOECKHOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence.

This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and no subscription received for less than THIRTY PARTS. No other conditions, verbal or

otherwise, will be accepted.

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

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  ‘ LONGEUSE.

P. COOMANS. ~ ‘

 

 

 

COOMANS.

9IERRE OLIVIER JOSEPH COOMANS, the
celebrated Belgian painter, was born in the city
of Brussels in the year 1816. His earliest les-

sons in art were under a very ordinary painter

 

named Hasselaere, a resident of Ghent. Not
content with his success under his first master, Coomans visited
Antwerp, where he entered the studio of DeKeyser, and later that
of Baron Wappers.

While with these artists, Coomans, in 1841, produced his
earliest work of importance, entitled “The Conquest of Jerusalem
by the Crusaders;” and a year later followed “The Battle of
Ascalon.” Having spent several years here, Coomans determined
to follow the French army into Africa, in order that he- might
study the character of the ‘people, and here he spent several
years in carefully sketching the then almost unknown character-
istics of the people and the country.

Coomans was among the earliest artists to discover the inex-
haustible art resources, of those nations which border the Mediter-
ranean. During a year’s residence in Algiers and several years of
travel in‘ various African countries, Coomans filled his portfolio
with brilliant sketches, from which came the famous “Landscape
in the Province Constantine,” “ The Emigration of Arab Tribes,”
and “The Dancing Women.”

Later, Coomans visited Italy, and becoming enamored of its
beautiful sky, dreamy landscape and romantic history, he devoted
himself to the representation of some of its most striking histori-
cal events.

In- 1848, while yet studying at the Italian capital, Coomans

 

 

226 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

produced “The Defeat of Attila,” a painting of great size and
remarkable power, which was purchased by the Belgian State for
the City Hall at Brussels, where it now hangs.

Following this came, in 1855, “The Battle of the Alma,” and
a year later “The Feast of the Philistines in the House of
Dagon,” while “The Fountain,” and “Last Days of Pompeii”
appeared in 1863, during the artist’s studies among the ruins of
that long buried city.

In 1869, Coomans charmed the art loving world with a canvas
entitled “The Poet’s House in the Last HoUr of Pompeii.” It
will be remembered by those who have visited the city, that the
house of the poet Sallust is still pointed out as one of the most in-
teresting features connected with the excavation of the ancient town.
' The picture presents an ideal restoration of the poet’s house, and the
tragic scenes which are supposed to have been enacted there; as
nearly eighteen hundred years after their sudden interment, several
bodies were found within this place. The moment chosen byithe
artist is the last hour before the city is deserted, in the midst of the
darkness, the drifting ashes and the lurid lights from burning
Vesuvius.

. When Coomans had completed these historical paintings he gave
to the world a charming series of genre pictures, entitled “The
Delinquent,” “Phryne,” “The Interested Kiss,” “ The Live Love-
letter,” “Glycera,” “Dangerous Passage,” “The First Step;” all of
which bring us up to the year 1879.

During the year 1880, Coomans was represented in the Salon
by “ An Arrest.” In 1881 we find him represented at Paris by
“ Dance of Three;” in 1882, “The Dream;” in 1883, “Love as a
Pilot.” This last was an extremely beautiful thing and called
great attention to the artist’s work.

Many medals have been acquired by Coomans during his long
artistic career. Several of his works have reached America. The
E. D. Morgan collection contained a brilliant head,—a study of a
Pompeian girl; while a Pompeian interior, in the Wall and Brown
sale, brought a large price.

A still more recent painting by Coomans has attracted wide

 

 

 

 

COOMANS. 227

attention, and calls for reproduction as one of the most beautiful pro-
ductions of the last decade. It is entitled, “ Longeuse” and presents
the head and arms of a reclining figure against an almost solid
black background. The dazzling flesh tints make the darkness more
vivid, while the? abundant blonde hair loses itself in golden ripples
on the bosom of the night. The face is ideal and is ideally
beautiful; .the arms and shoulders of rose tinted snow are like a vision
of morning when the coming sun gilds the earth with the promise-of
coming day; The face bears an expression of longing. It is as
expectant as that of Evangeline, as restful as that of Faith.

We take pleasure in presenting to our readers one of the finest

ideal heads which art has given us in a score of years.

 

 

HEMY.

 

MIDST the sad records of human life there are
few incidents which present higher examples of
heroism and of tenderness than those terrible

ocean disasters which now and then startle the

 

 

 

 

people of both continents. They present also
evidences of shameless cowardice, as well as lofty self-sacrifice.

There are certainly no dangers like those which surround
“them that go down to the sea in ships,” for winds that wreck
and waves that drown vie with each other in setting at naught
,man’s strength and skill, whilst they yearn in fierce rivalry for
excess of Victims. The terror is not lessened if the vessel in
stress of weather is shattered upon the rough shores of even
friendly lands; where old ocean bids defiance to the strongest
arms and bravest hearts which would send aid to the drowning
crews and passengers.

There is something pathetic in the sight of a monster ship
groaning and wrestling with the angry waves in whose rough
embrace it becomes a mere cockle shell to be ground to atoms
upon the rocks, _ I I

In the picture which we present the artist has caught the
terrible spirit of the occasion, and shows us the stranded Leviathan
being slowly reduced to indistinguishable drift, but the terror is
mitigated by the sight of the friendly life-boat with its valiant
crew, to whose care the women and children are first consigned.

It is one of these occasions which increase our confidence in
'the nobility of human character. The shout of the intrepid
captain, “Women and Children First,” is heard above the thunder
of the waves and the seething hiss of recoiling seas as the life-boat

swings along side the fated vessel.

 

 

.wak:

.3

 

 

 

HEMY. . 229

“Women and Children First” is the thought which Hemy
has so vividly portrayed in the painting which we here reproduce.
Of the artist, F. M. M. Hemy, we learn but little, except that in
the year 1887 he gave to the world one of the most stirring
scenes of shipwreck and succor which the present generation has
received. ' '

It is to be regretted that American artists have done so little
for the development of a fine school of marine painting. With
a sea-coast extending from the frigid 'to the torrid zones on either

side of the continent, with any phase of changing light and color
both of sea and land, with opportunities to study the craft and

sailors of any foreign clime, nothing of importance has yet been
accomplished apart from. a few individual instances.

A few have manifested the instinct for this great branch of
pictorial art, but they have evidently been depressed or circum-
scribed by circumstances which hinder the finest exercise of
their powers, and consequently robs American art of What should

be one of its most prominent and delightful features.

 

 

BAYARD.

N THE little French town of Ferté—sous-Jouarre
in the canton of Seine et Marne, was born on
the second of November, 1837, a child who re-
ceived at his christening the name of Emile
Antoine. Little thought- the pere Bayard that

 

the little visitor was to set the world laughing at his quaint
conceits or delight it with the beauty and tenderness of his artistic
instincts. But the earliest manifestations of his abilities evinced
a decided predilection for art, and after a good education had been
secured, young Emile was'apprenticed to the great painter, Leon
Cogniet of Paris.

For years as boy and man, every moment was devoted to
drawing and working in black and white, until his charcoal draw-
ings became a feature of every Paris salon.

Not until he was thirty-three years of age did Bayard make
his début as a painter in oil, and such was the success of that
début that in 1870 he received the decoration of the Legion of
Honor. So carefully had his first steps in art been taken, so
thorough had been his appreciation of values in both line and color,
that when the pigments once met his brush he handled them with
the certainty and skill of a master. Bayard found his especial
field to be the portrayal of every-day life, and the characteristics of
the people which he knew. -Bayard added to them the depicting
of incidents of historical moment, yet neither claiming or pre-
tending to paint historical pictures.

In 1874, Bayard produced “A Narrow Pass” and “During
the Siege of Paris,” a year later came “The Day} after Waterloo.”
In 1876 he was represented at the Salon by “A Guinguette [of

 

 

 

BAYARD. 23 I

the Eighteenth Century.” Two decorative panels appeared in 1877,
one called “The Bathers” and the other “The Skaters,” but these
were supplemented by a more interesting subject entitled “The
Country Concert House.” In 1879 we ‘find Bayard attracting the
attention of the art loving world by a charming bit of color
called “The Morning of the Début,” and in 1882 he was repre-
sented by two decorative panels in his usual happy style.

In 1884 Bayard painted a picture which on being presented
to the hanging committee of the Salon, was for some time
considered as of doubtful propriety, but when admitted it imme-
diately attained much popularity and has since become one of the
famous pictures of the century. It was called “Un affaire
d’Honneur Qui-trop Embrasse.”_ It represented two beautiful female
figures nude to the waist, engaged in a duel with swords. The
usual paraphernalia with seconds and a physician were the accessories,
while the beautiful flesh tints, relieving the tender greens and grays

of the landscape, constituted one of the most delightful bits of
’ color which thebrush of this artist has achieved.

In 1885 there appeared a picture containing the same charm-
ing characteristics as the former, entitled “The Bande Joyeuse;”
and more recently “Le Passeur,” the painting by which the artist
is represented in this volume.

It is full of the life and grace peculiar to Bayard, and in
the exquisite modulations of tone one can appreciate the artist’s
excellent sense of color values, while the drawing is almost fault-
less.

The charming composition is perfectly balanced, and although
the ferryman seems somewhat overburdened, he bears his “honors”
lightly. ’ .
Genre painting, or that style of art which deals with the
every-day occurrences of human life, the characteristics of individuals
and of society, has formed one of the most pleasing and useful
elements of art during a great many centuries.

To be true to itself and to the highest interests of mankind,
genre painting should deal only with the actual facts and personal

experiences of the day. It becomes then history written large,

 

 

 

 

232 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

or actions passing into pictorial history. By it a succeeding
generation learns more than from the historian’s pen of the lives
and habits of those who have preceded them.

The genre painter mistakes his calling when he is beguiled into
dressing the actors of the present day in the garb of the past gen-
eration, thereby robbing the present of its characteristics, and
leaving the future historian to wonder if the people of the nine-
teenth century were always obliged to masquerade in the worn-out
garments of former generations.

Unfortunately, the French genre artist has drawn his inspira-
tions too much from earlier centuries, and forgets to portray the
homely scenes of to-day in those colors and characters which they
bear; too largely has he drawn upon his fancy or fantasy for
his facts, and too little time has been devoted to the actualities
which not only to the present but to subsequent generations

would be of highest value.

'2
LE “ PASSEUR.»
. E. BAYARD.‘ I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. m...-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROSPECTUS.

 

 

AMOUS PAINTINGS

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ‘1'le I'Y

REV FRED H. ALLEN,

Author of “ The Great Cathedrals of the World " “Modern German Masters ” “Bowdoin Art
Collection,” “Glimpses of Parisian Art” etc. .

N placing this great work before the public'the'p‘ublishers are meeting the rapid develop
ment 70f taste in art, and complying with a'demand for information regarding the paintings
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and private sale in Moria:
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and its execution,

Unique in the History Of Reproductive Art.

The greatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced
in .the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber’s tablg :
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces. ' .

I It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education. 7‘

It is absolutely modern and new to the public no ancient or well worn subject being
intrbduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art‘ publication, and presenting 11 charm
never befbre attained. - :

It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged'
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest price in the world’s market.

It is the first book ever made giving JAPAN and CHINA PR'oors to every subscriber. The

   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

lie all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and' subject of the artists work.
It is the first book ever made in which every plate is 9. Pace! BEFORE LEr'rn ‘ .
It is the first book ever made where the price places_fac~similes of the greatest art pre~
auctions of the world within the reach of 'every man and woman in 'America.
The work will be published in THIRTY PARTS, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait of the artist represented, together with .

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS.

Among the‘ artists we note the names of‘ MEISSONIER BRETON, KNAUS, DETAILLI, '
BOUGUERLAU, MUNKACSY, DE NEUVILLE, MAKART, BoNHchR, GEROMI, FORTUNY, VIBERT, CHURCH,

VERBCECKHOVEN, CABANIL, PrLorY, and others of equal excellence.
This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,

and no subscription received for loss than THIRTY PARTS No, other conditions, verbal or

   
 
 
 
 
 

   
 

otherwise, will be accepted.
HASKELL & POST COMPANY, BosTON. AND NEW YORK.

 

 

 

      
     
      
     

price of these proofs, if sold separately by art dealer: would be FIVE DOLLARS each They 4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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V I EVENING PRAYER.
I ‘ 3' V . ‘ a MUNIER. '.
/l ‘ / VII ‘ )
I ' ‘
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. .

   

 

MUNIER.

RT is one form by which the ideas of a race or
\ u a nation find expression. Whatever best reveals
the thoughts, the life, the manners of a given

epoch is considered the truest memorial of the

 

 

period; therefore, that artist is most successful
who chooses familiar subjects, those most in harmony with his
sympathies and instincts. Art is a result of individual or national
impulses, and through its art the characteristics of each race pro-
U ducing an art of its own may be most intimately studied.

Lying between England and France is a narrow sea but
twenty-six miles in width, but the manners, thoughts, and impulses
which this blue line of water separates are far more dissimilar
than the rocks and soil it divides. Lying between these 'two
peoples are the divergent instincts which have graced the two
nations since William of Normandy subdued “perfidious Albion.”
To understand the character of these people one need but study
the art of each. No nation ever revealed itself so candidly, so
unreservedly as the French have done in the fine arts. Enter-
taining, bewitching, egotistic, frantic, or delightfully intimate and
tender; not always elevating, sometimes low, sometimes demoraliz-
ing, its art is a. part of. itself, a manifestation of the impulses
of the race. . .

Artists do not create public opinion; in fact, modern artists
are to a great extent the result of a creative effort. A stream
does not rise above its source, and while the individual can not
free himself from responsibility, the chief crime for a debased
art must be borne by'the public which craves it and fosters influ- ’

ences or stimulates ideas, of which the artist is but the exponent.

234 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

Wherever the public appreciates and demands an elevating
character in art or literature, wherever the national type is noble
and aspiring, then artists will twpaint for immortality, and a race
will be generated whose greatness will outlive time.

'The dominant quality of the modern French school seems to
be technical excellence. An eye for color and brilliant effects is
a prominent characteristic of every race from whiCh has sprung a
great art, and that race peculiarity, which in other nations has
produced great political events, finds in France its highest expres—
sion in form and color.

Among those having a supreme sense of color and a sincere
delight in beautiful forms, it is pleasant to come upon an occa-
sional artist in whom the purity and freshness of childhood has'
been wed with the experience of the man and the genius of the
painter.

For several years art lovers 'of America caught an occasional
glimpse of child-life on canvas, so fresh and true in color, so
tender and beautiful in sentiment, so amiable and intimate in its
appeal as to win the heart of every beholder, and the name of
Emile Munier came to be spoken with increasing fervor in all
the eastern cities of America. Munier’s gems of child-life soon
found their way into many homes, to gladden by their 'freshv
beauty the hearts of young and old alike. Their value increased
until they are now among the highest priced paintings of this‘
character in America and Europe.

The writer Visited the studio of the artist in the Rue des
Beaux Arts, in order to learn something of his life, and there
found him surrounded by a family, the little ones of which were
the delightful models whose beautiful faces and perfect forms
were portrayed in his painting. ,

Munier was born in Paris, and studied under Bouguereau,
whose refined color has been acquired and practiSed in perfection
by the younger artisf.

We present' portraits of two of Munier’s children in the
beautiful reproduction entitled “Evening Prayer.”

In graceful attitudes the beautiful children kneel, with clasped

 

 

 

MUNIER. 235

hands and upturned faces. The light from unseen worlds fall
deep into their beautiful eyes. Their fair forms, perfect in outline
and fresh as flowers of Eden, appeal to every mother’s heart, and
their earnest faces mirror the purity and devotion of the soul
Within. _

Surely no painter of any age has put so much purity, peace;
and saintliness into children’s faces as Munier. His brush is
never soiled with turbid colors, nor his canvas stainediwith an

impure suggestion.

GRILLOU.

- i HEREVER the habits of a people present features
which relates the present to the remote past, the
painters of modern times find a most interesting

province for the exercise both of brush and fancy.

 

In those nations which have strongly marked
provincial peculiarities in dialect, customs and fétes, these pictur-
esque traits are easily seized and portrayed by poet and painter
to the supreme satisfaction of the outside world. The “ traveling

}

American’ can hardly appreciate the possibility of a section of
the national domain as being governed by historic customs quite
apart from those of the whole nation, and can see small reason for
the citizens of one part of the country speaking a language and
cherishing traditions quite foreign to another part. And yet in
older nations which represent an accumulation of smaller national-
ities, principally by the fortunes of war and political acquisition,
these differences are as pronounced as in distinct and separate
peoples. ‘

The fisher folk of Britagne resemble the Parisian no more
closely than does the American farmer, while the character and
customs of the people of Savoie are as distinct from the inhabi-
tants of Bordeaux as are the residents of Helvetia.

It is probably owing to this great dissimilarity that the genre
artists of the great national centres find endless subjects for their
canvasses in the provinces of their respective countries.

Charles Grillou, one of the most energetic of painters, has
found a fruitful field for his facile brush. In the picture here
given the artist has caught the 'spirit of one of the most cele-
brated fétes or holy festivals of the church. To one of the little

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAMOUS PAINTINGS. 237

islands on the coast the Bishop of the See has come, and on this
bright day the Grand Pardon of Saint Anne takes place. From
all the surrounding islands the simple fisher folk appear, borne
thither by favoring winds and waves. Their sails glancing in
the sun are myriad in number, and seem like the flotilla of an'
invading army; until the white dresses, flowing veils of the women,
and the bannered crosses of the prominent religious societies
appear. The strong arms of the men handle the parti-colored sails
or safely bring to land from the rocking boats the precious freight
of wives and children, with the sacred emblems of the faith
which they so fondly cherish.

When once all are gathered in groups around their priest,
the ceremony begins with a sermon addressed in the tenderest
language to these simple folk, who afterward partake 'of the com-
munion, when the‘Grand Pardon is pronounced upon the expectant
crowd. It is the only meeting with'their, bishop which these
scattered islanders enjoy during the year. and it partakes of the
nature of a joyous, festival.whenever it occurs. The artist has
chosen the moment of arrival of their gayly decked boats as the
most picturesque event of the solemn occasion, and the ‘world
owes to him a debt of gratitude for thus preserving what will in

a few years be a forgotten custom, a tale that is told.

 

ANDREOTTL

N the movements of modern art, the world has
watched with increasing interest the developments
of the new schools founded upon Italian tradi-
tions. Nothing could exceed the depths to which

 

Italy has fallen in its presentation of a vital art
impulse; a degradation all the more striking from the glorious
remains of her former greatness.

She taught the world the meaning of color. She produced
imperishable examples, to which succeeding generations have looked
for inspiration and whose beauty they have utterly failed to eclipse.
She then lost the sense of beauty, the trick of tone and color,
and many generations may pass before she again gathers her
strength to renew the magnificent conquests of her earlier days.

Italy loves art as children their nursery tales and childhood
songs. It is a familiar affection, but affection is seldom analytical.
The Robbia over the chapel door, the ewer from which the
laborer drinks in the field, the Sodoma or Angelico which hangs
before his eyes as he dines—these are all so homely and dear
that children grow up with a love for them as natural as their love
for theirmothers. The children of the rich in other lands see
beautiful and ancient things from their birth, but not as the Italian
sees them. They may be degraded to the basest uses and made
no more account of than the dust that gathers on them, but this
intimacy makes them more kindred. Art elsewhere is the guest of
the salon—here it is the playmate of the infant and the serving
maid of the peasant. The mules drink- from an Etruscan sarcopha-
gus, the wayside walls are built of fragments of royal tombs, and

the pigeons are fed from a fatimzof the twelfth century.

R.

 

 

 

ANDREO’I‘TI. ' 2 39

The past is so closepto you in Italy. It is not the dead
thing that men bury and then forget. It is an unquenchable thing,
beautiful and full of lustre, “like the gold from the sepulchres of
dead kings that shines on the breast of some fair living woman,
undimmed by the dust and the length of ages.” All old Italian
cities have this awe about. them, which enshrines the past and
moves the living to a curious sense that they are dead and dream-
ing in their graves; for these old towns have seen so much of
beauty perish around them and have yet kept such vital hold upon
tradition and a great past, that those who wander there grow}
bewildered and know not which is life and which is death amongst
them.

All the commonest things of life are thrilled with the music
of the old greatness. Every line, every gabled roof has some story
of the past in it; the poetry of the people stays in the warmth of
the common hearth for the ears of the little children, and loses
nothing of its melody. The poetry and the art in such a'people
is not the genius of an isolated accident, but that of inalienable
heritage. They may not read, but can rhyme; they can not write
their own ”names, but written upon their hearts are the names of
those who have made Italy great.

“ But Art can only live by Faith, and what faith has Italy?
For Art, has come Science; and Science is sad because she doubts
all things and would prove all things, and doubt is endless and
proof a quagmire.” So spake the oracle of the Etruscan lands.
“All has been told in verse, in stone, and in color.”

Is it not so for Italy? There is a growing conviction that
when once the consolidation of the nation is completed, when the
active work of uniting a half score of rival provinces into one
united Italy is accomplished, then will flow forth from this
people a stream of poetry, of song, and of painting, like which
the world has never seen or heard.

We present as the last picture in this volume an Italian
painting. It is the work of F. Andreotti, of Florence, the city
which is known as the Pharos of the world’s art. It is a genre

painting of great power by a man in the full tide of his artistic

 

if."

 

240 FAMOUS PAINTINGS.

career. “Old Wine and Young Love” is characteristic of the art
of modern Italy. It is pleasing, tells the» story, and is full of
hope. So is the world, so is America, so is every worker along
the great lines of artistic endeavor.

If in the book which is now closing the reader has been
assisted to a better conception of the great work which the _fading
century has accomplished, the writer will feel amply repaid for the
pains he has taken in presenting the facts enshrined. here, and in
the preparation, of the plates, which illustrate the aspiration of the

present age.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* "M ‘ :r—‘xy .3

PROSPECTUS.

 

 

 

 
  

AMOUS PAINTINGS.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAVURES

FROM THE

Great Pictures of the Nineteenth Century,

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND DISCRIPTXVI TEXT BY‘

REV. FRED H ALLEN,’

Author of— “The Great Cathedrals of the World ” “ Modern German Masters ” “Bowdoin Art
, Collection,’ ,“Glimpses of Parisian Art " ate, 4 , , .

N placing this great work before the public the publishers are meeting the rapid develop—
ment of taste in art, and complying with a demand for information regarding the painting
which have recently brought such fabulous prices, at both auction and priVate sale in America
and Europe. It is a publication, both in its conception and iIs execution,‘

Unique in the HiStQIy of Reproductive Art.

A The gieatest pictures of the world, representing a fabulous money value, are reproduced:

in the most perfect manner known, and laid in compact form on each subscriber's table,’
transforming the poorest home into a gallery of the world’s masterpieces
f It is a response to a demand on the part of the people for information and art education.

’ It is absolutely modern and new to the .public, no ancient or well worn subject being
introduced, thereby forming the very ideal of an art publication, and presenting a charm
never before attained. ' - - ‘ »'

, It deals only with masterpieces, no painting being reproduced which has not challenged '
the admiration of the world, and brought the highest- price in the world’s market. . , ,
- ‘It is the fir‘st book ever made giving IAIAN and CHINA PRoors to every subscriber. The»
price of these proofs, it sold separately by art dealer; would be FIVE DOLLARs each. They ‘
are all printed in a variety of colors, in harmony with the style and subject of the artist’s work,
It is the first book ever made in which every plate is a PROOF BEFORE Lanna.
It is the first book ever made where the price places fac-similes of the greatest art pro-
ductions of the world within the reach of every man and woman in America.
The work will be published in THIRTY runs, each part containing eight pages of text, a
portrait of the artist represented, together with .

THREE JAPAN OR CHINA PROOFS

Among, O the artists we note the names of Mmssomn, Enron, KNAUs, DETAIL“,
BOUGUEREAlT, MUNxAcsv, D1: N:UV1LLE,MA1;AR'1‘, BONHEUR, Gamma, T‘oxTUNV, VIBIRT, Cannon,
VERBOZC‘HOVEN, CABANEL, PILOTY, and others of equal excellence. ' ~

' This work will be sold only by subscription. The Price is ONE DOLLAR PER PART,
and mo subscription received for less than Turn? PARTS. go other conditions, verbal or
otherwise, vill be accepted. ’

HASKELL & POST COMPANY, 13051911 11:15?an YORK.

we ‘