Studio: international art (22.1901)

Reviews

convenience of the houses of the great." The
story of architectural progress in Paris during the
reign of Louis XV. and Louis XVI. is systemati-
cally told by the talented authoress, and the subtle
changes which overcame the building arts of the
period are clearly and methodically set forth and
illustrated by numerous photographs. In France,
Sculpture is closely allied to Architecture, and
it is impossible to separate the arts. In the
eighteenth century there was an especial develop-
ment of sculpture d appartement, and the work of
the great masters of the period, the Couston
brothers, Bouchardon, Pigalle, Lemoyne, with
their pupils and followers, is duly described and
critically examined. As a book of reference it is
distinctly valuable, and a perusal of its contents
will not fail to give the intelligent reader an added
interest in the buildings and monuments of Paris.

Japanischer Humor. By C. Netto and G.
Wagener. (Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus.)—It is
well known that the Japanese are a bright and
happy people, fond of fun and laughter, and it is,
therefore, not surprising that the annals of their art
show that as far back as the twelfth century there
lived a great painter, commonly called Toba Sojo,
who was especially noted for his humorous
drawings. From his time to the present there has
been an almost continual succession of art workers,
who have at times exhibited humorous tendencies
in one form or another. These tendencies
became remarkably prominent in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries among painters and
craftsmen of the popular school. Japanese
humour, although at times somewhat Rabelaisian,
is rarely coarse or gross. Exaggeration of the
human features or limbs, the simulation of beast
and bird forms, are the most common expressions.
But in many instances there is displayed a keen
and subtle insight into human foibles and weak-
nesses, as well as a power of caricature, which go
far to place Japanese humour in the front rank.
Messrs. Netto and Wagener, in their book upon
the subject, have shown excellent judgment
in the arrangement, and, for the most part, in
the selection of the many illustrations. But
one of the departments of Japanese work
richest in examples they have almost ignored.
The carved ivory and wood netsukis, especially
those produced anterior to the latter half of the
last century, are remarkable for their humorous
qualities, and the illustration of a few dozen well-
selected specimens would have added materially
to the value of the book. The reproductions
of original drawings and prints have been well-

executed, in spite of the difficulties incidental to
this class of work. The coloured plates are
beautifully printed, and are favourable examples
of Japanese design.

Architectural Remains of'Richmond, Twickenham,
Ken), Petersham, and Mortlake. Drawn in litho-
graphy by T. R. Way, with notes compiled by
Frederic Chapman. (London and New York :
John Lane.) Price 2 is. net.—In the series of litho-
graphs of Old London and its suburbs, which have
been so admirably carried out by Mr. Way, it was
natural that the picturesque purlieus of Richmond
should receive attention. The present volume is a
worthy successor to the preceding ones, and contains
some of Mr. Way's best work. Were it not that Mr.
Chapman's literary contribution is so well written
and so full of interesting information, we should be
tempted to cut out for framing purposes two or
three of the drawings; but, under existing con-
ditions, to spoil the book would be little short of
sacrilege.

Fitzebutze. By Paula and Richard Dehmel.
With Illustrations by Ernst Kreidolf. (Munich :
Brendamour, Simrart & Co.)—It is difficult to say
anything in praise of the illustrations in this
book. They are coarse in sentiment, badly
drawn, and absolutely without humour. They are
certainly not calculated to cultivate the aesthetic
taste of the children to whom they are supposed
to appeal. The artist, who has actually been com-
pared by his fellow-countrymen to Walter Crane,
chooses in every case a vulgar type of face. Fitze-
butze himself is a most revolting looking person,
and even the children are wanting in refinement.
The rhymes, which have long been popular amongst
German little ones, are far more satisfactory, and
are some of them almost equal to those in the
much-loved " Streuwel-Peter."

Oberitalienische Friihrenaissance. By Dr. Alfred
G. Meyer. (Berlin : Ernst & Son.)—We have
received the second and final part of Dr. Meyer's
monograph on the Architecture of the Early
Renaissance. It covers more especially the work
of Bramante and his immediate followers—the
culmination of a singularly engaging school of
design, the freshness and purity of which were
soon to yield to the more conventional and less
inventive work of the fully developed Renaissance.
The volume is well illustrated by photographs and
original sketches by the author, though one cannot
but regret once again the flimsy character of the
building which mars so many German works.

Farbige Fldchnmustcr fur das Moderne Kunst-
gewerbe. By R. Beauclair (Stuttgart: Jul. Hoff-

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