Studio: international art (30.1904)

Jules Chivefs Sanguine Drawings

and feel the dignity 01 poverty, the pathos and charming morceaux were done by the artist in one
wretchedness which lie behind the drunken sitting sometimes lasting barely an hour. They
hilarity. To paint the working man and his are not elaborate, finished drawings, in the manner
commonplace enjoyments one must have touched of Ingres, but bold, broadly-handled sketches,
thoughts with the simplest of mankind, and learned palpitating with life. Often Cheret does no more
how near to Nature these primitive instincts for than suggest, or rather indicate; but the indications
recreation and pleasure lie. It is to sympathy of are so precise, so " right," that these sanguines of
understanding that an artist owes his grasp of a his are nevertheless among the most complete of
subject, and his power to give it to the world their kind. It is interesting to note that these
a-quiver with the life of its kind, and without this works were not done from professional models,
his work can only be an imitation of the spell whose studied, mechanical movements Cheret
which holds the life, and not the life itself. detests, but from among the lady visitors to his

These are some of the things which every young studio — the jeunes femmes whom the artist loves
artist has to learn for himself, and Mr. De la Bere has to catch chatting together in unstudied naturalness,
yet to discover that there is a quality in ugliness Hence the suppleness and the nervosity of their
itself which calls for something higher in an artist attitudes, the piquancy of their movements,
than a wanton exaggeration of that ugliness. His These countless pages, whereon the artist testifies
sense of humour, and the desire to produce day by day to his adoration and his understanding
something altogether bizarre, has so far over- of the Parisienne, are certainly one of the most
balanced his sense of good taste and refinement; sensitive and most faithful monuments ever inspired
and one will be glad to see his work toned down by Woman in honour of her beauty. H. F.
to something like actual humanity, however

low-born it may be. 6«w»

While Mr. De la Bere has received the
usual amount of art supervision from the best
English schools, he has worked out his
technique by himself. His colour sense is
at times rather unrestrained, but this will
improve with time, and some of his low-
toned studies are altogether satisfying, and,
in spite of obvious shortcomings, one may
safely say that the work of this young artist
holds much promise for the future.

J

ULES CHERET'S DRAW-
INGS IN SANGUINE.

Cheret, the creator of the poster,
the dainty pastellist, the author of so many
luminous decorations, is an impassioned
draughtsman, and, so to speak, there is not
a day that he does not dash on to paper
some of the nervous sanguines, a choice of
which he has been good enough to make,
among his most seductive and most character-
istic, for the benefit of The Studio. These
works, wherein the grace of Watteau's
sketches is revived, constitute (to say nothing
of their great artistic beauty) an ample harvest
of notes and documents on the Woman of
To-Day. This painter of dreams and aerial
visions and brave corteges, herein reveals his
sincerity of observation, his infinite knowledge

of gesture, his manual virtuosity. Most of these a sketch by jules cheret

33°