DOI article:
Charles FitzGerald, Eduard Steichen: Painter and Photographer [with introduction by the editors]
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.30573#0047
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took to painting after having exhausted the resources of the camera; but be
that as it may, I was unable to discover convincing evidence of such a pro-
cess in his work, and have no hesitation in saying that his accomplishment is
fully commensurate with his purpose. Satisfied in this particular, I sought
in his paintings some confirmation of the great things I had heard, when in
the presence of his photographs I stood dumb and listened to the eulogies
of the expert.
The cleverness of the work was abundantly apparent, nor had I any
trouble in recognizing a complete equivalent for the quality of taste shown
in his photographs. Moreover, I perceived a nice ingenuity in the use of
color, a definite sense of harmony, though employed generally without refer-
ence to the perceptive faculties and making for a sensuous effect habitually
premeditated, and adapted, as it were, in each case to the subject in hand.
But, of the deep feeling attributed to him by his colleagues I could find no
trace in his pictures, nor any sign whatever of a mystic apprehension of
nature; in my mind'seye the painter was revealed as a bravely equipped and
self-possessed gallant, ready on all occasions to make himself at home, and
resolved to achieve a conquest at every encounter. It is true that a myster-
ious significance is hinted at in many of his inventions, from the turgid,
mock-profound " Beethoven ” to the " Nocturne of the Black Women,”
with its symbolistic dressing and portentous air of tragedy. But this meant
nothing to me more than a deliberate sentimental assumption : the mystery
appeared to come from without, not from within; it implied no strange truth
lying beneath the superficies of things, but rather suggested a wrapper for
trite facts, the seeming strangeness being part of a very artificial picture-
scheme. Throughout the exhibition, embracing work of considerable variety,
both in subject and style, this spirit of artifice was predominant. The general
atmosphere was oppressive and stuffy as that of a hot-house, and I came
away with the impression not of one struggling to express ideas associated
with a rare and true vision, but of an accomplished and ingenious painter,
approaching nature invariably with a preconceived determination to see a
picture.
My space will not allow me to consider the exhibition more at large,
but in conclusion I would like to add a few words in a general way. Here
is a " master of photography” with the painter’smeans of expression all at
his command. Supposing him to possess the rare qualities with which he is
credited by his fellows, there is, I maintain, no technical cause or just impedi-
ment why they should not be declared in his paintings. The result of the
practical test is discouraging, and considering this as an indirect demonstration
of the qualities and conditions that make for mastery with the camera, I, for
one, can see no reason for revising my previous estimate of the limitations of
photography. Charles FitzGerald.
43
that as it may, I was unable to discover convincing evidence of such a pro-
cess in his work, and have no hesitation in saying that his accomplishment is
fully commensurate with his purpose. Satisfied in this particular, I sought
in his paintings some confirmation of the great things I had heard, when in
the presence of his photographs I stood dumb and listened to the eulogies
of the expert.
The cleverness of the work was abundantly apparent, nor had I any
trouble in recognizing a complete equivalent for the quality of taste shown
in his photographs. Moreover, I perceived a nice ingenuity in the use of
color, a definite sense of harmony, though employed generally without refer-
ence to the perceptive faculties and making for a sensuous effect habitually
premeditated, and adapted, as it were, in each case to the subject in hand.
But, of the deep feeling attributed to him by his colleagues I could find no
trace in his pictures, nor any sign whatever of a mystic apprehension of
nature; in my mind'seye the painter was revealed as a bravely equipped and
self-possessed gallant, ready on all occasions to make himself at home, and
resolved to achieve a conquest at every encounter. It is true that a myster-
ious significance is hinted at in many of his inventions, from the turgid,
mock-profound " Beethoven ” to the " Nocturne of the Black Women,”
with its symbolistic dressing and portentous air of tragedy. But this meant
nothing to me more than a deliberate sentimental assumption : the mystery
appeared to come from without, not from within; it implied no strange truth
lying beneath the superficies of things, but rather suggested a wrapper for
trite facts, the seeming strangeness being part of a very artificial picture-
scheme. Throughout the exhibition, embracing work of considerable variety,
both in subject and style, this spirit of artifice was predominant. The general
atmosphere was oppressive and stuffy as that of a hot-house, and I came
away with the impression not of one struggling to express ideas associated
with a rare and true vision, but of an accomplished and ingenious painter,
approaching nature invariably with a preconceived determination to see a
picture.
My space will not allow me to consider the exhibition more at large,
but in conclusion I would like to add a few words in a general way. Here
is a " master of photography” with the painter’smeans of expression all at
his command. Supposing him to possess the rare qualities with which he is
credited by his fellows, there is, I maintain, no technical cause or just impedi-
ment why they should not be declared in his paintings. The result of the
practical test is discouraging, and considering this as an indirect demonstration
of the qualities and conditions that make for mastery with the camera, I, for
one, can see no reason for revising my previous estimate of the limitations of
photography. Charles FitzGerald.
43
