International studio (15.1901/1902(1902))

The Darmstadt Artists Colony

houses, who prefer substantial, firm and safe
dwellings, and have a sense for the artistic
fitting-up of rooms, will find full satisfaction in
his work, for he is highly talented, and possesses
great executive ability. In this respect his work
will certainly exercise an educational influence.

The point where the artistic activity of Hans
Christiansen begins is colour. He is a colourist.
For him decorative art
consists in the distribu-
tion and manipulation of
colours. It is given only
to giants to work in all
branches of creative art,
to become productive,
and to influence its de-
velopment. In the whole
of Germany and Austria I
can point only to one man
of our time who is able
to express himself in all
the languages of art—in
painting as well as in
sculpture and etching.

That man is Max Klinger.

And it is, perhaps, more
a question of vision than
a question of ability
to express oneself surely ;
more a question of artistic
ingenuity than a technique. inkstand

The world—i.e. Nature
and man—is reflected in
an artist. This is the first
principle. One man sees
in lines, in sharply de-
fined outlines — as it
were, in strokes and
surfaces — this is the
“ black-and-white ” artist.
To another everything
forms itself into sculp-
ture ; the plastic form,
the relation of the one
object to its surround-
ings, to the atmosphere
interests the born sculp-
tor. Then there is
another who sees in half-
tones ; the transitions,
the shading, the effects
of light and shade, are
the artistic domain of
the etcher. In every
branch of art each personality has its especial
creative domain, and the degree to which the artist
is able to find his own domain is the measure of
his mastery of his art.

As already observed, Hans Christiansen is
essentially a colourist. Herein lies his talent.
So far as this branch of art is concerned, he
may be trusted. Let us endeavour to discover

BY P. HUBER

BY RUDOL BOSSELT

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