Studio: international art (38.1906)

Reviews and Notices

just published by Mr. Vinycomb, who divides
his material into two parts, dealing first with the
celestial beings mentioned in the Bible, and those
creatures of the imagination that were unlike any-
thing in the heavens above, the earth beneath or
the waters under the earth; and, secondly, with
animals purely heraldic, such as the tiger, the pan-
ther incensed, etc., which he explains owe their
origin to mistaken ideas resulting from the imper-
fect knowledge of early writers. The chapter on
angels and archangels, and that on dragons, ser-
pents, griffins, &c., are specially valuable.

Deutsche Bauernkunst. Yon O. Schwindraz-
heim. (Vienna and Leipzig : Martin Gerlach &
Co.)—It is a popular belief that art is confined to
cities and museums, for that which lies nearest to
us is often overlooked. Yet every village has its
own treasures if we only knew how to recognise
and appreciate them; and in this volume Herr
Schwindrazheim gives us a good idea of the art of
the German peasant in past times. After an his-
torical survey of his subject, the author enters on
an analysis of the characteristic features of peasant
art, and tells how, having resisted the influence of
the cities, it has remained to the present day in
certain districts little troubled by the changes
going on in the world around. Each country and
each district has its peculiar motives, though the
methods of treating them differ greatly. The author
has much to say about these peculiarities—how the
village architect planned and built his houses from
the earliest times onwards, the form of the furni-
ture and household utensils and their distribution
in the dwellings, the dress of the peasants, their
ornaments and their characteristic love of bright-
ness in all things. Though an enthusiast in the
subject, he never allows his enthusiasm to
mar his judgment. The book contains a large
number of illustrations, some of them in colours,
and a useful bibliography of works dealing with
peasant art.

The New Forest. By C. J. Cornish. (London :
Seeley & Co.) Cloth is. net.—It is a pleasure to
read Mr. Cornish’s fascinating description of the
many and varied beauties offered to the lover of
nature in this great tract of primitive woodland and
moor which, though now easy of access, is still terra
incognita to probably the great majority of English-
men. Mr. Cornish has explored the forest in all
directions, and is thoroughly at home with its tra-
ditions and associations, into which he gives us an
insight in this little volume. 1 The book contains a
number of excellent illustrations, among them some
picturesque pen drawings by Mr. Ansted.

Domenico Morelli nella Vita e nelF Arte. Mezzo
Secolo di Pittura Italiana. Per Primo Levi.
(Rome: Roux and Viarengo.) Lire 15.—In this
interesting work, dealing with the life and work of
the Neapolitan artist, Domenico Morelli, who died
in 1901, Sgr. Primo Levi, the well known art critic,
who writes under the pseudonym of “l’ltalico,”
shows a sympathetic appreciation of Morelli as a
man and as a painter, and succeeds in giving a very
vivid portrait of him. Born in the third decade of
the last century, Morelli’s childhood was spent in
poverty, but not in actual want. When he was about
ten years of age, an accident brought him into con-
tact with F. P. Ruggiero, a lawyer in a good position,
with whose family the gifted boy soon became
intimate. The friendship then initiated between
little Domenico and Ruggiero’s nephew, Pasquale
Villari, ripened later into an enthusiastic commu-
nion of ideas on artistic and literary subjects, and
served as an education to the painter. Together,
too, they lived through the years of Italy’s patriotic
struggles. Morelli entered the Academy of Naples,
where he eventually obtained a scholarship; but
the low standard and conventional teaching of
the day sorely tried his original and soaring spirit.
The influence which later on he exercised over
younger men, and even on men of his own age, was
remarkable. Many who came into personal relations
with him looked upon him as a spiritual father, and
the brilliant school of Neapolitan painters, which
includes Michetti, Dalbono, Casciara and others,
is a direct outcome of his teaching. Success and
the honours which came to him later never im-
paired his enthusiasm and single-mindedness. Some
of Morelli’s works have been exhibited in England,
and many in Paris, but, the majority are very little
known outside Italy. The book gains in value by
the numerous quotations from Morelli’s own letters
and those written to him by Verdi, Jerome and
Alma-Tadema, and it is profusely illustrated.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

“Yorkshire Dales and Fells.” Painted and described by
Gordon Home. Illustrated. Is. 6d. net. (A. & C. Black.)
“ Illustrated Catalogue of a Loan Collection of Portraits of
English Historical Personages who died between 1714
and 1837.” Illustrated. (Oxford: Clarendon Press.)
“ The Fesole Club Papers : being Lessons in Sketching for
Home-Learners.” By W. G. Collingwood, M.A.,
F.S. A. y. 6d. net. (Ulverston: W. Holmes, Ltd.)
“Nursery Tales.” By Amy Steedman. Pictures by P.
Woodroffe. (Told to the Children Series.) ir. 6d.
net, cloth. (T. C. & E. C. Jack.)

“The Story of Abraham Lincoln. ” By Mary A. Hamilton.
Pictures by S. T. Dadd.—“The Story of Columbus.”
By G. M. Imlach, B. A. Pictures by Stewart Orr.
(Children’s Heroes Series.) is. 6d. net each, cloth.
(T. C. & E. C. Jack.)

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