International studio (15.1901/1902(1902))

American Studio Talk

Dante Gabriel Rossetti. An Illustrated Me-
morial of his Art and Life. By H. C. Marillier.
Second Edition, Abridged and Revised. George
Bell & Sons. Imported by The Macmillan Com-
pany. Price, $12.50.

In this handsome volume the reproductions alone,
numbering over one hundred, afford an interesting
summary of the rich imagination of this remarkable
man, while the accompanying record of his poems
and the sketch of his life which are given in the
text complete the study. Rossetti's character has
suffered severe buffeting from writers, for he had
his faults, and they have been unduly dwelt upon.
Mr. Marillier, with excellent tact and judgment, has
not attempted to extenuate the weakness, but to set
forth the better side, which undoubtedly predomi-
nated. Rossetti’s qualities were varied and com-
plex. It is not claimed for him that he was a great
painter in the technical sense, but that he was an
artist of extraordinary sensibility to beauty, combin-
ing quite unusually the separate gifts of pen and
brush, and withal a man of lovable and attractive
personality. His pictures are so little known in this
country that the book is a very valuable addition to
our knowledge.

Hubert Von Herkomer, R.A. A Study and a
Biography. By A. L. Baldry. George Bell &
Sons. Imported by The Macmillan Company.
Price, $15.00.

This volume is a fine example of book-making:
heavy paper, generous margins, a noble font of
type, and a profusion of illustrations. It gives, too,

in conveniently brief form, an interesting study of
an artist whose productivity in many mediums has
been quite remarkable. A painter in oil and water
color, author of many important figure subjects and
portraits, he has practised in etching, lithography,
wood drawing, and enamelling ; maintained a flour-
ishing art school and surrounded himself in his
home with all the evidences of cultivated taste.
His personality also is a remarkable one, strenuous,
eager, and experimenting. All these various phases
of his art, of himself and his environment are
touched upon with an enthusiasm tempered by good
judgment.

Plant and Floral Studies. For Designers,
Art Students, and Craftsmen. By YV. G.
Paulson Townsend, author of “ Embroidery ”
and “Measured Drawing of French Furniture,”
etc. John Lane, 67 Fifth Avenue, New York.
This is a collection of plant studies in line, from
a structural point of view, and of a purely practical
description. On each plate an inch scale is given ;
and every study has a short description, giving the
time of flowering and details as to height, color
and character of growth. No attempt is made to
suggest their possibility for design. This is left to
the initiative of the student, who, however, will here
find done for him, what he may not have time or
opportunity to do for himself, — a reliable abstract
of many of the most ordinary kinds of flower and
foliage forms, accurately represented. In the hands
of any one who possesses the instinct and manual
skill of the designer, these plates will be fruitful in
stimulating suggestions to his imagination.

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