Studio: international art (24.1902)

\

Reviews

fire which has burnt low, the man himself and his
brilliant discursive talk are not the less worth a
close attention similar to that which is given to
Eckermann's character-sketching records of his
conversations with Goethe.

It may be that Northcote would have become a
greater painter had he been less gifted as a talker,
for he burnt away in excellent speech a very great
deal of the life-giving enthusiasm that his art
required. Reynolds not only noticed this chatter-
box danger in the lives of artists, but said in
Northcote's presence that a young painter ought
instantly' to sew up his mouth when he feels a
great inclination to talk. This advice never stayed
the tongue of Northcote, and were it not for
James Ward, a painter of merit, we should know
but little now of the real Northcote—the versatile
and brilliant conversationalist, witty, cynical, way-
ward, suggestive, refreshing, original. We should
certainly know all that Hazlitt says in his volume
on the intercourse which had taken place between
himself and Northcote; but this, though good, is
not really half enough. The present book, care-
fully edited by Mr. Ernest Fletcher, is a most
welcome supplement, and should appeal to a wide
circle of readers.

Dutch Painters of the Nineteenth Century.
Edited by Max Rooses. Translated by F. 1-vnowi.es.
(London : Sampson Low, Marston & Co ) £2 2s.
net.—It will be with rfgret that the owners of the
three previous volumes of this fine series of repro-
ductions of masterpieces of the Dutch School will
realise that the one now issued is the last. As
beautiful in its general appearance and in the ex-
cellence of its reproductions as its predecessors,
this fourth volume has the special distinction of
containing more that is new to the English public
than any of the other three. Only one of the
twelve men noticed—Matthys Maris—is well known
out of Holland, but it will probably not be long
before the paintings of Martens, De Bock, Wijs-
muller, Bilders and Bakker Korff will win for their
producers the European reputation they certainly
deserve. Martens, best known by his portraits of
the young Queen of Holland and her mother, has
done much excellent work as a painter of rural
scenes, to some of which he has given a touch of
the pathos so characteristic of the landscapes with
figures of Millet. De Bock, who, in his quiet
rambles at Barbizon, seems to have caught some-
thing of the spirit of the same great French master,
takes especially high rank as a painter of trees,
which he is never weary of studying, whether in
the full glory of their summer foliage, or the
298

dignified simplicity of their winter nudity. Wijs-
muller, whose work is remarkable for its careful
drawing and poetic feeling, is especially successful
in rendering the quaint old towns of his native
land. Bilders, who died two years ago, is likened by
his biographer to Rousseau, but his landscapes have
none of the storm and struggle in which the
" Eagle," as Corot called Rousseau, delighted.
They are, indeed, chiefly remarkable for their
quiet, peaceful charm.

One of the best articles in the new volume
of "Dutch Painters," from the literary point of
view, is that on Mme. Mesdag. The self-denying
character of the wife who so merged her own
ambition in that of her distinguished husband that
her art career did not begin until she had passed
middle life, is well brought out, whilst the beauty
of her interpretations of the wide heathlands of
Holland, and of such simple, poetic scenes as
Sheep being driven into a bain at night, is pointed
out with sympathetic acumen. To Bakker Korff,
who died ten years ago, equally full justice is done.
He is, indeed, somewhat overpraised, for he is
called the Meissonier of Holland. His pictures
are full alike of pathos and humour, and the
accessories are worked up with almost too much
attention to detail.

The Germ (London : Elliot Stock), price 10s. 6d.
net, is a reprint in facsimile of the four numbers
of The Germ and its successor, Art and Poetry, as
originally published in 1850. The preface to this
reprint, written by Mr. W. M. Rossetti, appears
as a separate pamphlet of 32 pages, uniform in size.
The writer gives some interesting details of the
inception and history of this short-lived magazine,
and of the Pre-Raphaelite Brethren, of whom it was
the literary organ. There can be no doubt that
the publication contains some valuable papers
on art and some good verses, but the chief claims
it has to-day upon our consideration are those
which depend upon its personal associations. The
fact that Dante G. Rossetti and his sister,
Christina Rossetti, contributed largely to its
pages will give it exceptional value to the numerous
admirers of their literary and artistic productions.

Barnaby Pudge. By Charles Dickens. With
an Introduction by George Gissing and Notes
by F. G. Kitton. Illustrated by Beatrice Alcock.
(London : Methuen & Co.) Two vols. 6s.—
This, the third issue of the admirable "Rochester
Edition" of the works of Charles Dickens, fully
maintains the high standard set in the previous
volumes. The task of illustrating the various build-
ings and localities as they appeared at the time