Studio: international art (14.1898)

Studio-Talk

grace and lofty style. M. A. Point sends exhibits
many and various. He is the founder of a society
the aims and objects of which are thus expressed
in the catalogue :—“ ‘ Haute-Claire ’ is a new asso-
ciation of artists and craftsmen desirous of estab-
lishing a fixed style—a tradition—in industrial art.
Jewellery, enamelling, sculpture, binding, furniture-
making and pottery—all these branches will be
undertaken by the Haute-Claire Society, in re-
spectful observance of the master-works of the
past, and in accordance with those laws of beauty
and rhythm and harmony which constitute Nature
herself. Every piece of work produced by the
Haute-Claire Association will be executed exclu-
sively by the members, and will bear the letters
‘ H. C.,’ with the sign of a sword between two iris
flowers.”

BY J. DILLENS

The paintings of M. Rion—most interesting in
their sincerity of expression—are also worthy of
note; also those of M. G. M. Stevens, equally
remarkable for their colouring; together with
M. de Rudder’s animated group of statuary, and
the plaster “ sketch ” of M. J. Dillens’ large figure—
Le Silence de la Tombe, which adorns the entrance
of one of the chief Brussels cemeteries.

Some of this admirable sculptor’s latest decora-
tive works must certainly be counted as among his
best. They include two bronze statues for the
Anspach monument—recently described in The
Studio—representing La Ville de Bruxelles i-e-
connaissante and La Magistrature Communale,
and the group symbolising Le Laurier, and forming
part of the decorative scheme for the ornamenta-
tion of the Brussels Botanical Gardens. This
group consists of a young man holding aloft
in triumph a branch of bay-leaves, with an
eagle with outstretched wings. The skilful
arrangement of his draperies, the ingenuity of
his composition, and the harmonious arrange-
ment of his work are very striking. Beyond
all question, M. J. Dillens has produced
some of the finest work in contemporary
Belgian sculpture.

It is to be hoped M. Ch. Vanderstappen,
our chief professor of sculpture at the Aca-
demy of Fine Arts, and a director of that
same institution, may, in his last-named
capacity, be able speedily to bring about the
reforms which have become absolutely neces-
sary if the reputation of this school of instruc-
tion is to be maintained. As a teacher, M.
Vanderstappen has undeniable ability ; most
of the young Belgian sculptors whose work
has attracted notice at recent exhibitions
have been his pupils ; yet none of them has
renounced his own individuality in favour of
even the remotest imitation of his master.
Moreover, with a keen regard for the future
of his pupils, he has always been specially
careful not to allow them to stray in wrong
directions, and has never hesitated to divert
from the pursuit of High Art those who,
having no special aptitude in that direction,
yet seem destined to make a mark in what
are known as “ the minor arts.” This means
a saving of a good many disillusions and
failures at any rate !

The Cercle Artistique de Bruxelles con-

PORTION OF “LE LAURIER” GROUP
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