International studio (25.1905)

/T OSCOW.—The progress of art in Russia
/ % / n continues to make rapid strides, and
< V n at each successive exhibition the works
^ of Russian artists are more and more
appreciated.

Foremost among the leaders and representatives
of the realistic school of painting in Moscow is
Valentine Seroff, and he is a leader who stands
out above the rest by virtue of his commanding
ability, and the freshness and spontaneity of his
methods. Seroff is, a portrait painter,
but he has several times turned to historical sub-
jects with great success, and his landscapes are
always remarkable for the clear and vigorous style
of their drawing, and the harmonious tones of their
colouring. Especially charming is his picture of
the calm, grey, autumn day, with its golden
and silvery tints, full of the unspeakable sentiment
of the Russian landscape. How accurate and true
to nature are the positions of the horses and that

of the little boy sitting on the grass, and yet how
extremely simple and free from needless details is
the construction of the whole drawing. Did space
permit, many of Seroff's landscapes are worthy of
extended notice, and among his long series of
notable portraits there are 7%;? VaaV
TV ^4. T1T77M.
and the artist's wife in the garden of
her country residence. Valentine Seroff is still in
the prime of life, and great though his success has
been so far, it may fairly be expected that in
coming years he will far surpass what he has already
accomplished.
H ERLIN.—We give here reproductions of
] V furniture designed by Georg Honold.
,3 H His work has all the elements of
* ^ simplicity in style, but is decorated
here and there with a hint of rococo. Many of
the shapes are graceful without loss of strength.