Studio: international art (17.1899)

Reviews of Recent Publications

till eleven or twelve in charcoal, pencil, oils, or
water-colours. Up to a few weeks ago they were
practically without instruction, save for remem-
brances of ways and means used years ago in their
studio-days in England or on the Continent, but
now I am glad to say Mr. F. Wichgraf, a portrait-
painter whose name is well known in Berlin, has
settled out here, and has kindly consented to act
as President of the club. He attends each Friday
night, and already a marked improvement in the
work turned out is the result. It may be remarked
in passing that Mr. Wichgraf has received a com-
mission to paint portraits of the President and the
members of the Executive Council of the Transvaal.

The club numbers about a dozen working mem-
bers, and it is hoped shortly that a small exhibition
will be held, when an opportunity may occur
of forwarding some photographs of the work done,
to show what can be accomplished by those who,

CRISTO” BY LEONARDO BISTOI.FI

(See Venice Studio- Talk)

though far away from the Slade or R.A. schools,
still try to climb the steep ladder of art.

F. J. H.

TORONTO.—The Woman’s Art Asso-
ciation of Canada recently held a
Loan Portrait Exhibition in the city
of Toronto, which excited a great
deal of public interest, and which
cannot fail to be of great educational value, both
historically and artistically. It was the object of
the association to show the different stages in the
development of portraiture from the earliest times
down to the present day, beginning with speci-
mens of Greco-Egyptian art, and including the
different processes of line and steel engraving,
mezzotint-etching, lithography, photography, oil,
water-colour, and pencil drawing, and a very
fine collection of medallions in wax and vitreous
paste, and medals in gold, silver, and bronze.
The paintings included portraits by Rubens,
Lely, Van der Heist, Reynolds, Hoppner,
Landseer, Goupil, Pickersgill, Raeburn, Collier,
Lenbach, and many others — besides some
very good specimens of Canadian work. The
extent and success of the exhibition has been very
encouraging and not a little surprising to the
association, which has been steadily and more or
less successfully working for the past ten years to
gain for art a proper position as a great educa-
tional factor in the life of a nation.

REVIEWS OF RECENT
PUBLICATIONS.

The History of French Art, 1100-1899. By
Rose G. Kingsley. (London : Longmans &
Co.) Price 12s. 6d. net.—The author of this
new contribution to the History of French Art
in Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting may be
congratulated not only on the large amount of
matter she has been able to compress into the
moderate dimensions of her work, but also and
more particularly upon the catholicity of her views
in the treatment of the varied and divergent
phases of the subject. In her criticisms upon the
productions of the large number of painters and
sculptors to which reference is made, both sound
knowledge and excellent judgment are apparent.
This is especially noticeable when the modern
schools of work are treated upon. The chapter
upon the Imaginative Painters and Impression-
ists of the present day shows a rare and fine ap-
preciation of the qualities, aims, and abilities of

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