International studio (60.1916/1917)

Studio-Talk

ROME.—It would be difficult to imagine
anything more sublime, more remote
from the fury of war than the Villa
Medici. All artists know the old
palace with its garb of rose and yellow and its
two towers dominating the Eternal City, its sweet
fountain beneath the green oaks at the entrance,
and its sumptu¬
ous salons hung
with precious
tapestries and
abounding with
rare works of art.
But the incom¬
parable glory of
the Villa is to be
found in its gar¬
dens, wonderful
among all the
wonders of
Rome, with their
alleys of clipped
box surrounding
the babbling
fountains, and
their groves of
oak and laurels
in which are
concealed the
ateliers of the
pensionnaires,
and its venerable
pines soaring
solemnly u p-
wards into a sky
ablaze with sun¬
shine, their pro¬
files standing out
against the ver¬
dant masses of
the Villa Bor¬
ghese. It is
inexpressibly
pleasant up there
in the twilight
hour, when the
declining sun
illuminates with unrivalled splendour the Roman
panorama. Not a sound is heard save the bell of a
neighbouring church; nowhere is the serenity of
peace evoked as here.
And yet the war is not far off, for it is the
constant preoccupation of all. The ateliers of
46

the pensionnaires who have been called up for
military service are deserted. The painter Albert
Besnard dwells there now with his family in mourn-
ing (his eldest son was killed in action early in the
war), and surrounded by a circle of friends and
visitors, among whom the daily communiques are
eagerly discussed, he works without ceasing. In
the studio may
be seen three
portraits — one
of Pope Bene-
dict XV, one of
Gabriele d’ An-
nunzio, and one
of Cardinal
Mercier. All are
worthy of re-
mark, but it is
the last that
claims attention
here.

When the
Primate of Bel-
gium came to
Rome early this
year at the
Pope’s invita-
tion, an intense
feeling of curi-
osity and sym-
p a t h y was
awakened to-
wards him, and
his appearance
created a pro-
found impres-
sion. Besnard
was among those
who were anxious
to get a glimpse
of the indomit-
able prelate; like
everyone he was
deeply touched,
and his brush
enabled him to
express his emotion with more eloquence than any.
He desired to paint a portrait of Mgr. Mercier which
should be at once an act of admiration and of faith.
Entirely unfettered in his inspiration, he composed
the picture we see here. In the centre stands the
Cardinal ; on the right through an open window
may be seen the flames encircling a Gothic edifice.


PORTRAIT OF CARDINAL MERCIER

BY ALBERT BESNARD