DOI Heft:
Studio-Talk
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43448#0077
Studio-Talk
opinion. The sum paid for it to the Countess of
Carlisle was ^40,000, which is said to have been
much below its “ market value”—that is, of course,
below what some American millionaire would have
paid for it. We hope those who were responsible
for the acquisition of the painting will not pay
undue regard to the American millionaire in trans-
actions of this kind, or to mere notoriety attaching
to a painting by an Old Master; the point they
should always keep before them is the influence
which a so-called masterpiece is likely to have on
those who behold it and study it. If its influence
is likely to be really permanent and widespread,
then the question of price is a secondary matter.
We hardly think the Castle Howard Mabuse, which
is now in the National Gallery, will prove to be of
this character, and that much of the eclat that has
attached to it will disappear in time. Surely there
are not lacking pictures by painters living in our
midst which can be bought for one thousand pounds
apiece or even less and which areas potent for good
as the majority of these Old Masters that change
hands at fabulous prices ! And with ^40,000 you
could fill a good-sized gallery with them.
The exhibition of the London Salon of Photo-
graphy at the galleries of the Royal Water Colour
Society is open until October 21. It is a success-
ful effort in picture hanging, and the dark back-
ground is most admirable for photographs. Also
details of framing and mounting have received the
utmost consideration. No effort has been spared
to emphasise photography upon its purely artistic
side, and it is upon this side only that it engages us
here. We feel inclined to give the palm this year
to The Horse Guards of Mr. John H. Anderson.
It is an interesting and beautiful print, and it
succeeds in placing complete reliance upon the
character of the revelation that a good lens makes.
Another artist whose work gives to this exhibition
a character of success is Sgr. Guido Rey, who has
made a speciality of interiors.
We would suggest that he
might with advantage turn
his attention to modern in-
terior genre ; that he should
accept his compositions from
everyday household scenes,
since it is the household, if
of the eighteenth century,
he turns to for his subjects.
Sometimes by an intensely
personal inspiration a
painter will succeed in giving
the eighteenth-century illu-
sion to models dressed in
costume; but when photo-
graphy attempts the same
rare achievement it would
almost seem it is doomed to
failure.
We have dwelt upon the
work of these two artists
because they seem to us to
understand that photo-
graphy goes as much astray
when it seeks to model its
ideas of composition and
effect upon the composi-
tions and effects of paintings
as the art of painting itself
would go astray if it modelled
its conceptions of treatment
63
‘"GRACE BEFORE MEAT'’ BY HAROLD KNIGHT
opinion. The sum paid for it to the Countess of
Carlisle was ^40,000, which is said to have been
much below its “ market value”—that is, of course,
below what some American millionaire would have
paid for it. We hope those who were responsible
for the acquisition of the painting will not pay
undue regard to the American millionaire in trans-
actions of this kind, or to mere notoriety attaching
to a painting by an Old Master; the point they
should always keep before them is the influence
which a so-called masterpiece is likely to have on
those who behold it and study it. If its influence
is likely to be really permanent and widespread,
then the question of price is a secondary matter.
We hardly think the Castle Howard Mabuse, which
is now in the National Gallery, will prove to be of
this character, and that much of the eclat that has
attached to it will disappear in time. Surely there
are not lacking pictures by painters living in our
midst which can be bought for one thousand pounds
apiece or even less and which areas potent for good
as the majority of these Old Masters that change
hands at fabulous prices ! And with ^40,000 you
could fill a good-sized gallery with them.
The exhibition of the London Salon of Photo-
graphy at the galleries of the Royal Water Colour
Society is open until October 21. It is a success-
ful effort in picture hanging, and the dark back-
ground is most admirable for photographs. Also
details of framing and mounting have received the
utmost consideration. No effort has been spared
to emphasise photography upon its purely artistic
side, and it is upon this side only that it engages us
here. We feel inclined to give the palm this year
to The Horse Guards of Mr. John H. Anderson.
It is an interesting and beautiful print, and it
succeeds in placing complete reliance upon the
character of the revelation that a good lens makes.
Another artist whose work gives to this exhibition
a character of success is Sgr. Guido Rey, who has
made a speciality of interiors.
We would suggest that he
might with advantage turn
his attention to modern in-
terior genre ; that he should
accept his compositions from
everyday household scenes,
since it is the household, if
of the eighteenth century,
he turns to for his subjects.
Sometimes by an intensely
personal inspiration a
painter will succeed in giving
the eighteenth-century illu-
sion to models dressed in
costume; but when photo-
graphy attempts the same
rare achievement it would
almost seem it is doomed to
failure.
We have dwelt upon the
work of these two artists
because they seem to us to
understand that photo-
graphy goes as much astray
when it seeks to model its
ideas of composition and
effect upon the composi-
tions and effects of paintings
as the art of painting itself
would go astray if it modelled
its conceptions of treatment
63
‘"GRACE BEFORE MEAT'’ BY HAROLD KNIGHT