Studio: international art (13.1898)

Reviews of Recent Publications

A. Mohrbutter's Somebody's Darlings, G. Oeder's
Gebirgslandschaft) some coloured wood prints by
Otto Eckmann, and lithographs by Hans Thoma.
Amongst the gifts to the gallery may be mentioned
Gervitter^ by G. Achen (Copenhagen), and Eine
iunge Dame, by A. Mohrbutter. In sculpture the
museum acquired a terra-cotta figure, Mother and
Child, of Sigurd Neandros, and the Athlete, of Franz
Stuck. In the ceramic section the museum pur-
chased works from the Berlin manufactory, from
the royal manufactory of Copenhagen, and from
that of Bing and Grdndahl in the same town.
Also pottery by l)e Morgan, Schmuz-Baudiss, T.
F. Willumsen (Copenhagen), Bigot, Dalpayrat,
and Dammouse, in addition to some fine speci-
mens of glassware by Emile Galle, and some
mosaic windows by Karl Engelbrecht. The
total value of objects acquired by the museum
amounts to 30,000 marks. Several paintings and
other objets d'art, to the value of 24,500 marks,
were sold to private purchasers. The first exhibi-
tion in the new museum was a decided success,
both from an artistic and financial point of view.

REVIEWS OF RECENT
PUBLICATIONS.

The Life of our Lord Jesus Christ. With Notes
and Explanatory Drawings by J. James Tissot.
(London : Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Paris :
Lemercier & Co.)—M. Tissot, in his introduction
to this sumptuous work, says that he was induced
to undertake it in order to " restore to those scenes
[of the life of Christ] as far as possible the actual
aspect assumed by them when they occurred. For
this, was it not indeed absolutely necessary to
study on the spot the configuration of the land-
scape and the character of the inhabitants, en-
deavouring to trace back from their modern repre-
sentatives, through successive generations, the
original types of the races of Palestine and the
various constituents which go to make up what is
called antiquity ?" Accordingly a journey was
made by him in 1886 to Egypt and Palestine, and
from the sketches and drawings there made the
illustrations to his book have been completed.

Realising the fact that the charm of the East is
in great measure due to its chromatic beauty, those
who have been concerned in the publication of the
volumes have reproduced in facsimile the artist's
coloured drawings.

The expense thereby entailed must have been
enormous, and whether the result, from the artistic
point of view, is such as to justify the outlay is
204

open to grave doubt. Coloured illustrations printed
in juxtaposition with type in black ink, are never
entirely pleasant in effect, however beautifully they
may have been executed ; and the fashion which
has obtained of late years, especially among the
Paris publishers, of intermingling the two is as
unsatisfactory as the proverbial effort to mix oil
and vinegar.

Of M. Tissot's efforts to make his drawings
topographically and ethnographically correct much
may be said in praise; but, granted he has been
successful in carrying out the task he set himself,
it appears to us that he has only done so, in many
instances, by a sacrifice of the nobility of the great
story. We may smile at the incongruity and the
want of historical exactness exhibited in the can-
vases and frescoes of the great Italian painters,
but there is a loftiness of sentiment over all their
work which accords with the dignity of the subject
to a far greater degree than the naturalism of
M. Tissot and other painters of the modern realistic
school.

Nevertheless, in spite of its shortcomings, this
work is a great one, and cannot fail to give pleasure
to many who still regard its theme with the affec-
tion and veneration that rightly belong to it.

Harbutfs Plastic Method. By W. Harbutt.
(London: Chapman & Hall, Limited.)—The ob-
ject of this handbook is to explain the use of
"Plasticine" in the arts of writing, drawing, and
modelling in educational work—in other words to
advocate the use of a new modelling material
invented by Mr. Harbutt, and to prove its value as
a means of imparting to students a knowledge of
the principles of design. The material has certain
exceptional advantages, for it retains its elasticity
under all sorts of conditions, and does not require
the attention and care in use which are indispen-
sable in the management of ordinary modelling clay.
The book sets forth these advantages at some
length, and includes also many practical directions
which cannot fail to assist the beginner in his study
of elementary sculpture. The possibilities of
modelling as a means of teaching form and line
arrangement are adequately stated, and the pre-
sence of fifty-six plates, reproducing examples of
the work actually done in plasticine, gives the book
an additional value, for these illustrations serve
even better than the text to explain the manner in
which the student should work.

La Peinture au Chateau de Chantilly. By F. A.
Gruyer. (Paris : Plon et Nourrit.)—As is well
known, the late Due d'Aumale brought together
within the walls of Chantilly a marvellous collec-