International studio (31.1907)

Philip A. Laszlo, Portrait Painter

the clear steel-blue eyes, the high-arched nose,
the narrow lips with their wonderful play of
mingled good-nature and delicate sarcasm — all
this Laszlo has depicted in quite masterly style.
Drapery plays a great part in this picture; the
artist has been able to revel in purples and reds,
displaying the
most delicate
gradation of
tones in the
folds of the
material. All
is painted with
freshness and
mel 1 owness,
and with a
breadth and
certainty which
denote the
great artist.
The long, slim,
nervous hands,
placed in a
manner highly
characteristic
of the sitter,
are also very
fine. The back-
ground is kept
in two shades
of red—a bold
experiment
which could
only be success-
ful in the hands
of a painter
absolutely cer- portrait study
tain of himself.
One especially happy feature of this painting
is the combination of broad techniqne with
perfect finish. The artist laid down his brush
at a moment when the picture was still fresh,
when every stroke helped to give it life, when
each actual detail was fully expressed. How few
there are who know how to do this 1 How
much our present-day portraiture suffers from
two extremes: on the one hand sheer daub-
ing, a mass of spots of colour, in which only
the closest inspection renders a human form
discernible; on the other hand too highly-finished
work, which lays as great stress on unnecessary
accessories as on the really important details.
Laszlo never falls under the curse of these two
extremes. Even the portraits most recently exe-
262

cuted by him, such as those of Count Larisch, the
Vicomte de Montesquiou, the clever critic, and the
Vicomte de Paris, bear the stamp of ripeness and
lucidiry. Those who have visited the artist’s studio
during the last few months have had the oppor-
tunity of admiring the portraits of Count Schon-
born, Count
Berchtol d
(Austro - Hun-
garian Ambas-
sador to the
Russian Court),
the Archduch-
ess Maria The-
resa, Princess
Kinsky, and 1 he
G ra n d Duke
and Grand
Duchess of
Hesse, besides
the group of
Countess
Wenckheim
with her two
children. These
are all finished
pictures. But
when the
painter dashes
off his clever
sketches on
paper,even then
he is never su-
perficial ;every-
thing is carried
out to the right
by p. a. laszlo point, no char-
acteristic detail
is omitted. The colour-sketch of Professor Joachim,
of which an excellent reproduction accompanies
this article, is a notable instance of this sort; it
expresses the personality of the master—now more
than seventy-five years of age—so perfectly that
we cannot complain of having a mere sketch before
us. It is a true musician’s head that Laszlo has
portrayed here. Quietly contemplative, the blue
eyes gaze out from behind the spectacles.
The grey hair falls across a finely-modelled,
intellectual brow, to which the happy arrange-
ment of the light gives full value. The ex-
pression of the mouth is particularly successful
and lifelike. It shows austerity and severity,
and withal much kindness and gentleness.
We feel instinctively that this great violinist has