DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43451#0490
20
THE INTERNATIONAL STUDIO
November, 1912
A LITTLE JOURNEY TO THE
STUDIO OF AN ARTIST-
• ARTISAN
If genius consists primarily of a capac-
ity for taking infinite pains, there is a
genius at work in a tiny New Jersey suburb
of New York, His name is Joseph Fischer
and he is a German, a fact apparent both in
his speech and in the brand of his whole-
hearted hospitality. Coming to this coun-
try in 1881 he was after a time employed
by Tiffany & Co. as a designer and mod-
eler in their art metal department, where
he remained- for fourteen years, benefiting
in many ways from the connection, though
achieving but little of the public recogni-
tion to which his extraordinary skill en-
titles him. Six years ago he became a free
lance and in that time has executed many
notable commissions formanufacturers and
private individuals, numbering among
them various prize cups, trophies, medal-
lions and unique table services.
Remarkable as Mr. Fischer’s work is in
the lines indicated, the greater part of the
fame which should, and doubtless will, be
his, .must be based on his achievements in
still another branch of artcraft, that of
ivory carving. This is where the infinite
pains and patience of his genius have their
most striking exemplification. It may
safely be said without fear of controversy
that in this field he has no rival outside of
Japan.
A visit to Mr. Fischer’s studio was re-
warded with a sight of the supreme exam-
ple of his exquisite skill, which he exhibits
with pardonable pride and of which two
views are shown herewith. This tankard
is twenty-three inches
in height, with a di-
ameter of seven inches,
and is carved from a
single and unusually
large section of ivory,
with mountings of mas-
sive silver, likewise
carved to carry out and
complete the details of
the design. The work on
this piece occupied all the
time Mr. Fischer could
spare for it in three
years, and the wonder is
that it could have been
accomplished in that
time. The design is a
scene which had been
lurking in the artist’s
memory from actual ob-
servation in Maine long
before he commenced its
reproduction, and this
fact, coupled with the
lengthy period of work
upon it,is sufficient proof
that his inspiration was
not found in any strictly
modern political con-
dition, which a coincid-
ence of subject might
otherwise suggest. There
is, however, a distinctly
American atmosphere to
the scene as it is depicted
in the ivory and the sil-
ver, that is further en-
hanced by the symbolic
eagle which crowns the
completed work.
The carving, all of it
done, of necessity, from the outside, is
of almost inconceivable intricacy. The
ivory is in some places an inch and a
half in thickness and from this substance
Mr. Fischer has fashioned a veritable
forest in perspective, giving every tree
its individuality as rank succeeds rank
into the background. The treatment of
the foliage and habits of growth proclaims
him a close student of nature, as do like-
wise the figures and lifelike poses of the
moose and other creatures that people the
scene. In this respect he has surpassed
the Japanese craftsmen, whose skill, how-
ever delicate and marvelous, does not as a
rule suggest life or nature as we see them.
The human figures also, inconspicuous
though they are in the scene, are executed
with wonderful fidelity and suggested de-
tail and in this particular especially, as
well as elsewhere, the most careful atten-
tion to the relative sizes of objects in
perspective is apparent.
The value of a work like this cannot be
measured. It is the only object of its kind
that ever has existed or ever can exist.
Others may possibly be made in some way
comparable, but duplication is beyond
human power. Such a thing should be a
permanent feature in some museum, where
it can serve at once as a delight, wonder
and inspiration to all who can appreciate
it. Some public-spirited citizen may yet
arise to do himself and his community
honor with such a gift. Meanwhile Mr.
Fischer has been persuaded to permit his
masterpiece to leave its secluded resting
place, and it will be exhibited at the Fifth
Avenue showrooms of the Gorham Com-
pany, New York, commencing Nov. II.
{Continued, from page 18)
of the development and progress of Italian
sculpture during the most momentous
period—from the Pisani and their fore-
runners to the successors of the Bernini,
1150-1690. For the ready reference of
students and travelers in Italy the book is
arranged alphabetically, under the names
of artists, and indexed under the names of
towns in which objects of art interest are
to be found. It has also an index of anon-
ymous sculpture and is very fully illus-
trated. Considerable space has been
given in this work to the leading successors
of Niccola, after whose death the develop-
ment of the art of sculpture was extraordi-
narily rapid, and more than ordinary care
has been given to certain sculptors of the
golden age, whose renown has been some-
what unjustly dimmed by the dazzling
glory of their great contemporaries. The
frontispiece of the book is an excellent
reproduction of Details of Cloister, Certosa
of Pavia (Anon).
American Art Annual, 1911, Vol. IX.
Edited by Florence N. Levy. Illus-
trated. 8vo. (New York: American
Art Annual).
The special features of this volume are:
1. A list of the important mural paint-
ings in the United States, .which has been
compiled with the aid of the officers of the
Mural Painters. It is arranged by cities
and shows the artists represented in each
building, with the titles of the decorations.
2. The article on “Paintings, Prints and
Art Objects as Investments,” which is of
interest to collectors and dealers through-
out the country.
3. A complete list of all the members of
the National Academy of Design, from its
foundation in 1826 to date, with birth, ad-
mission as Associate of the National Acad-
emy, election as Academician, and death,
is here presented for the first time in a
convenient form for ready reference.
The seventy-three illustrations in this
volume form a pictorial record of the
year’s art. They include paintings to
which prizes have been awarded, mural
decorations and sculpture unveiled, build-
ings dedicated, museum purchases and
portraits of artists who have died within
the year.
The Venetian School of Painting. By
Evelyn March Phillips, author of “The
Frescoes in the Sixtine Chapel,” “Pin-
toricchio,” “Tintoretto,” etc. With
illustrations. 8vo, 339 pages. (New
York: The Macmillan Company.) $2.25
net.
The author’s object in preparing this
work is to provide a portable volume on
the subject of the Venetian painters in
relation to one another, and to help the
visitor in Venice not only to trace the
evolution of the school from its dawn,
through its full splendor and to its declin-
ing rays, but to realize what the Venetian
School was, and what was the philosophy
of life which it represented. The aim of
the book is to enable those who care for
art but may not have mastered its history
to rear a framework on which to found
their own observations and appreciations;
to supply that coherent knowledge which
is beneficial even to a passing acquaintance
with beautiful things, and to place the un-
scientific observer in a position to take
greater advantage of opportunities and to
THE INTERNATIONAL STUDIO
November, 1912
A LITTLE JOURNEY TO THE
STUDIO OF AN ARTIST-
• ARTISAN
If genius consists primarily of a capac-
ity for taking infinite pains, there is a
genius at work in a tiny New Jersey suburb
of New York, His name is Joseph Fischer
and he is a German, a fact apparent both in
his speech and in the brand of his whole-
hearted hospitality. Coming to this coun-
try in 1881 he was after a time employed
by Tiffany & Co. as a designer and mod-
eler in their art metal department, where
he remained- for fourteen years, benefiting
in many ways from the connection, though
achieving but little of the public recogni-
tion to which his extraordinary skill en-
titles him. Six years ago he became a free
lance and in that time has executed many
notable commissions formanufacturers and
private individuals, numbering among
them various prize cups, trophies, medal-
lions and unique table services.
Remarkable as Mr. Fischer’s work is in
the lines indicated, the greater part of the
fame which should, and doubtless will, be
his, .must be based on his achievements in
still another branch of artcraft, that of
ivory carving. This is where the infinite
pains and patience of his genius have their
most striking exemplification. It may
safely be said without fear of controversy
that in this field he has no rival outside of
Japan.
A visit to Mr. Fischer’s studio was re-
warded with a sight of the supreme exam-
ple of his exquisite skill, which he exhibits
with pardonable pride and of which two
views are shown herewith. This tankard
is twenty-three inches
in height, with a di-
ameter of seven inches,
and is carved from a
single and unusually
large section of ivory,
with mountings of mas-
sive silver, likewise
carved to carry out and
complete the details of
the design. The work on
this piece occupied all the
time Mr. Fischer could
spare for it in three
years, and the wonder is
that it could have been
accomplished in that
time. The design is a
scene which had been
lurking in the artist’s
memory from actual ob-
servation in Maine long
before he commenced its
reproduction, and this
fact, coupled with the
lengthy period of work
upon it,is sufficient proof
that his inspiration was
not found in any strictly
modern political con-
dition, which a coincid-
ence of subject might
otherwise suggest. There
is, however, a distinctly
American atmosphere to
the scene as it is depicted
in the ivory and the sil-
ver, that is further en-
hanced by the symbolic
eagle which crowns the
completed work.
The carving, all of it
done, of necessity, from the outside, is
of almost inconceivable intricacy. The
ivory is in some places an inch and a
half in thickness and from this substance
Mr. Fischer has fashioned a veritable
forest in perspective, giving every tree
its individuality as rank succeeds rank
into the background. The treatment of
the foliage and habits of growth proclaims
him a close student of nature, as do like-
wise the figures and lifelike poses of the
moose and other creatures that people the
scene. In this respect he has surpassed
the Japanese craftsmen, whose skill, how-
ever delicate and marvelous, does not as a
rule suggest life or nature as we see them.
The human figures also, inconspicuous
though they are in the scene, are executed
with wonderful fidelity and suggested de-
tail and in this particular especially, as
well as elsewhere, the most careful atten-
tion to the relative sizes of objects in
perspective is apparent.
The value of a work like this cannot be
measured. It is the only object of its kind
that ever has existed or ever can exist.
Others may possibly be made in some way
comparable, but duplication is beyond
human power. Such a thing should be a
permanent feature in some museum, where
it can serve at once as a delight, wonder
and inspiration to all who can appreciate
it. Some public-spirited citizen may yet
arise to do himself and his community
honor with such a gift. Meanwhile Mr.
Fischer has been persuaded to permit his
masterpiece to leave its secluded resting
place, and it will be exhibited at the Fifth
Avenue showrooms of the Gorham Com-
pany, New York, commencing Nov. II.
{Continued, from page 18)
of the development and progress of Italian
sculpture during the most momentous
period—from the Pisani and their fore-
runners to the successors of the Bernini,
1150-1690. For the ready reference of
students and travelers in Italy the book is
arranged alphabetically, under the names
of artists, and indexed under the names of
towns in which objects of art interest are
to be found. It has also an index of anon-
ymous sculpture and is very fully illus-
trated. Considerable space has been
given in this work to the leading successors
of Niccola, after whose death the develop-
ment of the art of sculpture was extraordi-
narily rapid, and more than ordinary care
has been given to certain sculptors of the
golden age, whose renown has been some-
what unjustly dimmed by the dazzling
glory of their great contemporaries. The
frontispiece of the book is an excellent
reproduction of Details of Cloister, Certosa
of Pavia (Anon).
American Art Annual, 1911, Vol. IX.
Edited by Florence N. Levy. Illus-
trated. 8vo. (New York: American
Art Annual).
The special features of this volume are:
1. A list of the important mural paint-
ings in the United States, .which has been
compiled with the aid of the officers of the
Mural Painters. It is arranged by cities
and shows the artists represented in each
building, with the titles of the decorations.
2. The article on “Paintings, Prints and
Art Objects as Investments,” which is of
interest to collectors and dealers through-
out the country.
3. A complete list of all the members of
the National Academy of Design, from its
foundation in 1826 to date, with birth, ad-
mission as Associate of the National Acad-
emy, election as Academician, and death,
is here presented for the first time in a
convenient form for ready reference.
The seventy-three illustrations in this
volume form a pictorial record of the
year’s art. They include paintings to
which prizes have been awarded, mural
decorations and sculpture unveiled, build-
ings dedicated, museum purchases and
portraits of artists who have died within
the year.
The Venetian School of Painting. By
Evelyn March Phillips, author of “The
Frescoes in the Sixtine Chapel,” “Pin-
toricchio,” “Tintoretto,” etc. With
illustrations. 8vo, 339 pages. (New
York: The Macmillan Company.) $2.25
net.
The author’s object in preparing this
work is to provide a portable volume on
the subject of the Venetian painters in
relation to one another, and to help the
visitor in Venice not only to trace the
evolution of the school from its dawn,
through its full splendor and to its declin-
ing rays, but to realize what the Venetian
School was, and what was the philosophy
of life which it represented. The aim of
the book is to enable those who care for
art but may not have mastered its history
to rear a framework on which to found
their own observations and appreciations;
to supply that coherent knowledge which
is beneficial even to a passing acquaintance
with beautiful things, and to place the un-
scientific observer in a position to take
greater advantage of opportunities and to