DOI issue:
Nr. 159 (May 1910)
DOI article:Baldry, Alfred Lys: Lionel P. Smythe, A.R.A., R.W.S.: an appreciation on his work and methods
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19866#0245
Lionel P. Smythe, A.R.A., R.W.S.
LIONEL P. SMYTHE, A.R.A., R.W.S. : They see only the ugly side of life, they observe
AN APPRECIATION OF HIS on'y ^ts squalor and its mean unpicturesqueness,
WORK AND METHODS anc^ t^e^ struSS^e w'tn mistaken zeal to represent
faithfully this artificial aspect of modern existence.
One of the most important lessons to be learnt The point that escapes them entirely is that they
by studying the work of Mr. Lionel Smythe is do not come in contact with Nature at all, but
that there is available in the modern world an that their whole outlook is centred upon some-
ample store of material well deserving of the atten- thing that perverts her intentions and offends
tion of the artist who wishes to be true to the against her principles.
spirit of his own times and yet to avoid the merely Indeed, realism of the modern type is essentially
commonplace statement of obvious facts. Mr. inartistic and wholly opposed to that true naturalism
Smythe proves plainly that a man may be a realist which should be the aim of every artist worthy of
and still retain his poetic sense; that he can record the name. The real Nature is always beautiful,
the life about him faithfully and convincingly and always poetic, always inspiring ; in every phase
yet miss none of its poetry, none of its imaginative she appeals to some aesthetic emotion. That she
suggestion, and none, cer-
tainly, of the beauty that
it may happen to possess.
He shows us how the
painter with a tempera
ment can be inspired by
his everyday surroundings
and how his aesthetic sym-
pathies can be aroused
by incidents which, how-
ever trivial and unimpor-
tant they may seem to
be, appear to him to offer
possibilities of pictorial
expression.
The value of this lesson
lies in its wide applicabil-
ity. There is at the
moment a large class of
artists who are evidently
under the impression that
realism and ugliness are
synonymous. They strive,
as they think and profess,
for truth to Nature, for
the absolute realisation
of what they see, and in
the great majority of cases
their sincerity is not to
be questioned. But what
they do not appreciate is
that they are studying not
the Nature that is charm
ing in its poetry and
simple beauty, but, in-
stead, the crude and
debased realities which
are the product of a "summer morning" by. Lionel p. smythe, a.r.a., r.w.s.
degenerate civilisation. (By permission of Robert Dtmthorne, Esq.)
171
XL. No. 159. —May 1910. '
LIONEL P. SMYTHE, A.R.A., R.W.S. : They see only the ugly side of life, they observe
AN APPRECIATION OF HIS on'y ^ts squalor and its mean unpicturesqueness,
WORK AND METHODS anc^ t^e^ struSS^e w'tn mistaken zeal to represent
faithfully this artificial aspect of modern existence.
One of the most important lessons to be learnt The point that escapes them entirely is that they
by studying the work of Mr. Lionel Smythe is do not come in contact with Nature at all, but
that there is available in the modern world an that their whole outlook is centred upon some-
ample store of material well deserving of the atten- thing that perverts her intentions and offends
tion of the artist who wishes to be true to the against her principles.
spirit of his own times and yet to avoid the merely Indeed, realism of the modern type is essentially
commonplace statement of obvious facts. Mr. inartistic and wholly opposed to that true naturalism
Smythe proves plainly that a man may be a realist which should be the aim of every artist worthy of
and still retain his poetic sense; that he can record the name. The real Nature is always beautiful,
the life about him faithfully and convincingly and always poetic, always inspiring ; in every phase
yet miss none of its poetry, none of its imaginative she appeals to some aesthetic emotion. That she
suggestion, and none, cer-
tainly, of the beauty that
it may happen to possess.
He shows us how the
painter with a tempera
ment can be inspired by
his everyday surroundings
and how his aesthetic sym-
pathies can be aroused
by incidents which, how-
ever trivial and unimpor-
tant they may seem to
be, appear to him to offer
possibilities of pictorial
expression.
The value of this lesson
lies in its wide applicabil-
ity. There is at the
moment a large class of
artists who are evidently
under the impression that
realism and ugliness are
synonymous. They strive,
as they think and profess,
for truth to Nature, for
the absolute realisation
of what they see, and in
the great majority of cases
their sincerity is not to
be questioned. But what
they do not appreciate is
that they are studying not
the Nature that is charm
ing in its poetry and
simple beauty, but, in-
stead, the crude and
debased realities which
are the product of a "summer morning" by. Lionel p. smythe, a.r.a., r.w.s.
degenerate civilisation. (By permission of Robert Dtmthorne, Esq.)
171
XL. No. 159. —May 1910. '