Studio-Talk
SELF-PORTRAIT BY MME. ELENA KAMENTSEVA
(Society of Moscow Artists)
a complete mastery of form, particularly successful
being his portrait of a Lithuanian woman and his
study of a lady in native costume. J. Belsen and
a few others stand for the juste milieu of Lettish
painting, while K. Uban and R. Perle, the latter
with a penchant for fantastic legendary motives,
were interesting in their display of colour. And
then there was J. Grosswald, now serving with the
Lettish battalion ; in a portrait-group, a water-colour
sketch of Lettish fugitives, and a series of native
costume studies he showed himself an artist of
marked talent.
National characteristics were more pronounced
in the graphic section, in which some of those
already named were represented. The exhibits
comprised some excellent lithographs by a deceased
artist, T. Uhder, and two who are now working
in Petrograd, E. Siewart and R. Sarrin, both of
them masters of their mediums. The former
showed an excellent etched portrait and various
linoleographs, while Sarrin contributed a whole
collection of his productions—book-plates and
covers, posters, etchings and lithos, the chief items
being five large etchings, part of a series illustrating
Lettish myths. It is a pity that his power of
composition falls below the high standard of his
execution, which enables him to deal so easily and
efficiently with such large plates. The best of these
etchings were two with Koorbad, the national hero
of the Letts, as the subject. The exhibition con-
tained a few pieces of sculpture which do not call for
particular mention, but as a whole this initial display
left one with the conviction that Lettish art has
made a good beginning which justifies expectation
of further success.
Ten years have passed since Victor Borissoff-
MussatofPs death at the age of 35 deprived modern
Russian art of one of its most gifted representatives,
and in remembrance of him the Society of Moscow
Artists, of which he was a member, consecrated a
special wall to a select loan collection of works
by him at their twenty-second exhibition. These
works, some fifteen in number, were lent by private
owners in Moscow, and represented in more or less
characteristic manner the peculiar genius of this
talented painter. He belonged to that group of
modern artists whose strong lyrical sensibility and
decorative propensities are expressed par excellence
in evocations of the olden times, and in this direc-
tion he created a genre of his own in which the
painter and the poet mingled with felicitous result.
The transition from this artist to the living
painters who showed at the same exhibition was
somewhat pronounced, for Russian painting of
to-day moves in a quite different direction. Among
the customary exhibitors the work of J. Nivinsky
showed a notable advance in the treatment of form
and composition, especially two large paintings
Adam and Eve and Sleep, while his smaller pictures,
such as The Sister of Mercy (tempera) displayed
decorative feeling in a marked degree. In the
same group were to be seen some good still-life
pieces by E. Krohn, a fine male portrait by L. Zak,
some freshly painted studies of Finland by
J. Chapchai, and some motives from Russian
popular life by Mme. Simonovitch-Efimovka which
might with advantage have been further elaborated.
Among artists who strive for more intimate pictorial
effects must be named Mme. Elena Kamentseva
who besides an interesting Self-Portrait showed
some excellent flower-pieces; also F. Zakharoff,
whose portrait of a lady, however, failed to sustain
comparison with his miniature portrait of last year,
and Mme. A. Glagoleva, who showed some harmo-
niously toned landscapes and portraits. The land-
scapes of B. Kamensky made a good impression, and
among other contributions calling for mention were
the sketches of S. Noakowski, as fascinating as ever,
decorative views of Capri by M. Ogranovitch, and
various successful works by W. Favorsky, Mlle.
i83
SELF-PORTRAIT BY MME. ELENA KAMENTSEVA
(Society of Moscow Artists)
a complete mastery of form, particularly successful
being his portrait of a Lithuanian woman and his
study of a lady in native costume. J. Belsen and
a few others stand for the juste milieu of Lettish
painting, while K. Uban and R. Perle, the latter
with a penchant for fantastic legendary motives,
were interesting in their display of colour. And
then there was J. Grosswald, now serving with the
Lettish battalion ; in a portrait-group, a water-colour
sketch of Lettish fugitives, and a series of native
costume studies he showed himself an artist of
marked talent.
National characteristics were more pronounced
in the graphic section, in which some of those
already named were represented. The exhibits
comprised some excellent lithographs by a deceased
artist, T. Uhder, and two who are now working
in Petrograd, E. Siewart and R. Sarrin, both of
them masters of their mediums. The former
showed an excellent etched portrait and various
linoleographs, while Sarrin contributed a whole
collection of his productions—book-plates and
covers, posters, etchings and lithos, the chief items
being five large etchings, part of a series illustrating
Lettish myths. It is a pity that his power of
composition falls below the high standard of his
execution, which enables him to deal so easily and
efficiently with such large plates. The best of these
etchings were two with Koorbad, the national hero
of the Letts, as the subject. The exhibition con-
tained a few pieces of sculpture which do not call for
particular mention, but as a whole this initial display
left one with the conviction that Lettish art has
made a good beginning which justifies expectation
of further success.
Ten years have passed since Victor Borissoff-
MussatofPs death at the age of 35 deprived modern
Russian art of one of its most gifted representatives,
and in remembrance of him the Society of Moscow
Artists, of which he was a member, consecrated a
special wall to a select loan collection of works
by him at their twenty-second exhibition. These
works, some fifteen in number, were lent by private
owners in Moscow, and represented in more or less
characteristic manner the peculiar genius of this
talented painter. He belonged to that group of
modern artists whose strong lyrical sensibility and
decorative propensities are expressed par excellence
in evocations of the olden times, and in this direc-
tion he created a genre of his own in which the
painter and the poet mingled with felicitous result.
The transition from this artist to the living
painters who showed at the same exhibition was
somewhat pronounced, for Russian painting of
to-day moves in a quite different direction. Among
the customary exhibitors the work of J. Nivinsky
showed a notable advance in the treatment of form
and composition, especially two large paintings
Adam and Eve and Sleep, while his smaller pictures,
such as The Sister of Mercy (tempera) displayed
decorative feeling in a marked degree. In the
same group were to be seen some good still-life
pieces by E. Krohn, a fine male portrait by L. Zak,
some freshly painted studies of Finland by
J. Chapchai, and some motives from Russian
popular life by Mme. Simonovitch-Efimovka which
might with advantage have been further elaborated.
Among artists who strive for more intimate pictorial
effects must be named Mme. Elena Kamentseva
who besides an interesting Self-Portrait showed
some excellent flower-pieces; also F. Zakharoff,
whose portrait of a lady, however, failed to sustain
comparison with his miniature portrait of last year,
and Mme. A. Glagoleva, who showed some harmo-
niously toned landscapes and portraits. The land-
scapes of B. Kamensky made a good impression, and
among other contributions calling for mention were
the sketches of S. Noakowski, as fascinating as ever,
decorative views of Capri by M. Ogranovitch, and
various successful works by W. Favorsky, Mlle.
i83