Studio: international art (10.1897)

Mr. Menpes Japanese Drawings

personality of a Japanese child, the more persuasive the curious individuality of his sitters if he com-
charms of developing womanhood, or the rugged- mitted the mistake of considering minor peculiari-
ness of age, he leaves out of his statement nothing ties as of more moment than general effect,
that is needed to complete his meaning, and yet But there is, apparently, something in the infiu-
he exaggerates no salient feature nor insists upon ence of Japanese art which prevents even the Euro-
forcing out of proportion details which are indis- pean worker from drifting into errors that cause
pensable parts in a scheme of exact interpretation. many a picture painted under the control of Western
It would be so easy, if once he allowed himself to conventions to miss its aim. Mr. Menpes certainly
forget the right point of view from which Japanese shows himself to have been affected by the spirit of
asstheticism should be treated, to introduce an the country, and to have learned some of the lessons
element of caricature into the representation of a which are presented there to every observer. He
life which has such a marked and special character; has mastered one great principle, perhaps the most
it would be possible even to debase into ugliness active of all, the necessity for keeping every part of

his work in right interde-
pendence, and for treating
each one in due subjection
jr~\ to his main design. Exag-

.^jUpg'u^ geration or caricature can-

not obtrude undesignedly

^S^^StJ^jSMj^mak into art which is restrained

by a principle such as this,

Jiff for under these conditions

W' only the essentials for exact

fl»v expression will appear, and

all things else that have no

v efjij m t immediate bearing on the

main motive will be either
omitted entirely or, at all
events, so far subordinated
that they will serve simply
^■E?' I i as accessory incidents ap-

v preciable only by their

collected effect. And in
realising this Mr. Menpes
proves by his success the
. truth of the contention that

it is necessary for an artist
who would paint Japan in
the right way to allow the
» influence of local convic-

m tion to affect him as much

as possible. He must err,
if at all, in the direction of
pliability, and be prepared

^ Jj v .j^jpy • ■ to surrender almost entirely

his European notions of
y jrSj art. The dramatic ideas

/$gm4> about subject, and the

?Agkj. jSmBbkLw. desire for sensational juxta-

■y ff'Qgg'. positions, which he has

w'v latt- jT1— f ^'^ ". acquired at home, must

give way to a belief in

'O KIKU SAN " FROM A DRAWING BY MORTIMER MENPES Something much more

{By permission of Lady Edward Cecil) abstract. If he is to see

170