DOI Heft:
No. 112 (July, 1902)
DOI Artikel:Niehaus, Regina Armstrong: An American painter: Eric Pape
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19876#0096
Eric Pape
one with the mature members of the family. If
his parents do not satisfy their pride in what is
known as "showing off" his accomplishments,
then his teacher or his friends see to it that his light
is not hidden under a bushel. So at eight years of
age Eric Pape was called upon by his teacher at the
public school he attended to decorate the black-
boards with drawings for exhibition days. Even at
that age he was studying music with the hope of
becoming a violin virtuoso, and his talent in both
arts had become such when he had attained the
age of sixteen that he had to decide between the
two careers which they promised him. He him-
self, against the wishes of his family, determined
upon an art vocation, and went to Paris to study
in the atelier of Julian. The transition from the
California home to the student life of Paris did
not lessen his conscious energy; for in entering the
Ecole des Beaux Arts, to which he was admitted
shortly after reaching Paris, his examination draw-
ing was marked number three, his competitors on
that occasion numbering several hundred. During
the course of his study in Paris Mr. Pape came under
the tuition of MM. Boulanger, Lefebvre, Benjamin
Constant, Doucet, Blanc, Delance, Ge'rome, De-
launay, and Jean Paul Laurens. Whatever influence
these masters contributed to the method of the young
artist became merged, however, in the eclecticism
which resulted in his own individuality. He had
an instinct for expression, and his first bow to the
public occurred when his picture, The Spinner of
Zeven, was admitted to the Salon du Champ de
Mars in 1890, when he was but nineteen years of
age. This picture was the result of a sojourn in a
picturesque district of Northern Germany, where
Mr. Pape lived among the peasant-folk, accom-
panying them to their work in the fields, attending
their social gatherings and constantly sketching the
people in their quaint costumes, and studying the
landscape of the country. The year following he
had three pictures at the same Salon.
During the five years which Mr. Pape spent
abroad at that time, he seems to have zealously
sought the panorama of life in order to absorb all
the impressions it could offer. He spent two years
in Egypt, making any number of sketches and
paintings, which he sold to the English visitors.
His studio in Cairo was the one which had just
"a hot summer day"
84
by eric pape
one with the mature members of the family. If
his parents do not satisfy their pride in what is
known as "showing off" his accomplishments,
then his teacher or his friends see to it that his light
is not hidden under a bushel. So at eight years of
age Eric Pape was called upon by his teacher at the
public school he attended to decorate the black-
boards with drawings for exhibition days. Even at
that age he was studying music with the hope of
becoming a violin virtuoso, and his talent in both
arts had become such when he had attained the
age of sixteen that he had to decide between the
two careers which they promised him. He him-
self, against the wishes of his family, determined
upon an art vocation, and went to Paris to study
in the atelier of Julian. The transition from the
California home to the student life of Paris did
not lessen his conscious energy; for in entering the
Ecole des Beaux Arts, to which he was admitted
shortly after reaching Paris, his examination draw-
ing was marked number three, his competitors on
that occasion numbering several hundred. During
the course of his study in Paris Mr. Pape came under
the tuition of MM. Boulanger, Lefebvre, Benjamin
Constant, Doucet, Blanc, Delance, Ge'rome, De-
launay, and Jean Paul Laurens. Whatever influence
these masters contributed to the method of the young
artist became merged, however, in the eclecticism
which resulted in his own individuality. He had
an instinct for expression, and his first bow to the
public occurred when his picture, The Spinner of
Zeven, was admitted to the Salon du Champ de
Mars in 1890, when he was but nineteen years of
age. This picture was the result of a sojourn in a
picturesque district of Northern Germany, where
Mr. Pape lived among the peasant-folk, accom-
panying them to their work in the fields, attending
their social gatherings and constantly sketching the
people in their quaint costumes, and studying the
landscape of the country. The year following he
had three pictures at the same Salon.
During the five years which Mr. Pape spent
abroad at that time, he seems to have zealously
sought the panorama of life in order to absorb all
the impressions it could offer. He spent two years
in Egypt, making any number of sketches and
paintings, which he sold to the English visitors.
His studio in Cairo was the one which had just
"a hot summer day"
84
by eric pape