International studio (27.1905/1906(1906))

The Staats Forbes Collection

exemplified by the “ one-man ” shows with which
we are inundated.
Space does not permit us to discuss here the
works of these lesser known men, interesting as they
are, and we propose to deal with the pictures by
sorae of the leading French artists, other than
those mentioned in our first article.
The so-called Marie Bashkirtseff by Bastien-
Lepage is an interesting picture. It is impossible
to connect this child dressed in the garb of a
peasant, in a black smock and a brown hood over
her head and shoulders, with the accomplished and
famous young lady who was one of the central
figures of Parisian society. According to the date
on the canvas it was painted when Marie
Bashkirtseff was twenty-two. She died two years
later, only a few weeks before Bastien - Lepage
passed away. Moreover, in her journal published
after her death, she speaks of her visits to Bastien-
Lepage at Damvilliers and of her interne
admiration for the man and his work, but

there is no mention of his having ever painted
her portrait.
Although it is therefore impossible to accept
this title for the picture it is none the less an
important and fascinating canvas. Bastien-
Lepage differs from the other French peasant
painters. He often shows a certain refinement
which, when applied to these particular subjects, is
not always convincing. His remarkable powers of
observation and his close association with the lives
of the peasants are obvious, but he seldom reveals
the intense feeling for the tragic aspect of rustic
life, the noble simplicity, and the dignity seen in
the works of Millet.
The picture in the Staats Forbes collection, both
by its beautiful tonality and fine draughtsmanship,
is undeniably a notable achievement, but the little
girl peering from under the hood, eharming as she
is, does not appeal to us like the same artist’s
pathetic Pauvre Fauvette for instance, in the
collection of Mr. George McCulloch, or his more


“THE SILENT POOL”

BY GUSTAVE COURBET

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