International studio (33.1907/1908(1908))

The Autumn Salon, Paris

HE AUTUMN SALON, PARIS.
Three thousand items, of which more
than two thousand were concerned with
painting and sculpture; certain important retro-
spective exhibits, such as those of Carpeaux,
Cezanne, Berthe Morisot, Eva Gonzales, and
Ponscarmes; some remarkable ensemble displays
by the great English aquafortist, Sir F. Seymour
Haden, and Jose-Maria Sert; three beautiful
rooms devoted to Belgian art—such was the sum-
total of the Salon d’Automne this year. As is always
the case, the noisiest works struck the keynote,
with the result that the melody was lost in the din.
Compelled to be brief, and therefore to make
my choice, I will ask that I may be allowed to
devote attention to the works of the living artists,
with the solitary exception of Cezanne.
Whether we like his art or not, Cezanne marks a
date in the history of French painting, just as
Mallarme marks a date in the history of poetry.
As yet we do not know what his influence will
produce, but that influence is certain. Can it be
denied that Cezanne and his admirers have largely
contributed to restore to French art a passionate
taste for colour ? His defects are striking enough :
a perhaps morbid deformation of
linear vision, an exaggeration of line,
carried at times to the verge of carica-
ture, a deliberate realism like that of a
man whose visual angle is defective, a
frequent lack of cohesion between the
divers parts—and goodness knows what
else ! Anyone can add to the list. His
qualities, on the other hand, are of a
kind less easily discernible. Neverthe-
less they exist. Perhaps his general point
of view may be summarised thus : in the
presence of nature Cezanne’s feelings
were instinctive; that is to say, he felt
blindly, but in a manner both profound
and original. When he desired to express
his emotions he became meticulous—a
contradiction impossible to explain ! In
labouring obstinately over each part he
would lose sight of the ense7nble. Note
how minute was his method of painting :
coatings of extremely fine colour, placed
one above the other with untiring patience
and infinite scrupulousness. Evidently
we are here quite remote from the happy
facility of genius ! In this style of paint-
ing there is an indication of trouble and
something of impotence. At the same portrait of mlle. s. by felix vallotton


time we cannot escape from the impression of
inward force, of undisciplined strength, of deep-
seated instinct emanating from these works.
Passing now to the Belgian group, to my mind
the most remarkable display among the painters was
that of M. Van Rysselberghe, who exhibited two
portraits and a nude. The finest of these was a
portrait of a lady in white, half reclining on a
white sofa, with a wolf-hound beside her, very true
in drawing and in attitude—a symphony in bluish-
white, brightened by the green transparencies of
the gown and the green edging of the cushions.
M. Willie Finch, who seems to me to be a re-
markable colourist, exhibited only one picture, and
that very badly placed—-Jeune Femme an Bain.
M. Van den Eckhoudt, who has perhaps less vigour
than M. Van Rysselberghe, exhibited a very fine
portrait. Of the three pictures by M. Emile Claus,
whom everyone admires for his unceasing effort and
his magnificent gifts, one perhaps preferred the
Soir d’Ete, by reason of its beautiful powdery sky,
the most delicate grey of the gilded sheaves, and
the charming rustic atmosphere. Everyone knows
how scrupulous and how full of observation is
M. Leon Fre'deric. His Ages dt /’Ouvrier in the
Luxembourg are very well known, and in his other


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