International studio (56.1915)

• STUDIO
VOL. LVI. No. 223 Copyright, 1915, by John Lane Company SEPTEMBER, 1915

Foreign painting at the pan-
ama-pacific EXPOSITION
BY CHRISTIAN BRINTON
Despite the petulant pronounce-
ment of Whistler that art knows no country, it
becomes increasingly apparent that the element
of nationality is the most potent of all aesthetic
characteristics. The butterfly conception of
beauty, while an
effective weapon
when employed
against the Phil¬
istine, fails to en¬
list jthe sympa¬
thies or augment
the sum of knowl-
edge. It is
through studying
the art of other
lands that we can
alone glean an ac¬
curate impression
of our own, and
this is not the
least reason why
we should extend
generous welcome
to the stranger.
In the ensuing
survey of foreign
artat thePanama-
Pacific Exposition
special considera¬
tion will be ac¬
corded only those
countries which
are officially rep¬
resented. Though
there are numer¬
ous isolated can-

vases in the International Section that might
otherwise invite comment, we shall confine our
attention to nations rather than to individuals.
As the first country to respond to the appeal of
popular life and shake off the sterilizing formalism
of Church and Court, Holland rightly claims a
foremost place in the history of modern painting.
It matters little that there was a dreary, barren
hiatus following the death of Ruisdael, Hobbema,
and Pieter de
Hooch. The
sturdy Dutch
were simply bid-
ing their time, and
when, under the
inspiration of the
French romantic
movement of
1830, attention
was again direct-
ed to native
theme, they
readily reconquer-
ed their lost pres-
tige. The chief
names in this ren-
aissance of the art
of the Nether-
lands are B os-
boom, Israels,
Mauve, Weissen-
bruch, and the
brothers Maris.
They it was who
laid the founda-
tions of the con-
temporary Dutch
school. Through
their sympathy
for nature and
their power of

Netherlands Pavilion, Panama-Pacific Exposition
MRS. H. A. VAN COENEN TORCHIANA BY WILLEM WITSEN


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