DOI issue:
Nr. 167 (February 1907)
DOI article:Halton, Ernest G.: The collection of Mr. Alexander Young, [5]: Fifth and concluding article
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20774#0028
The Alexander Young Collection—Conclusion
Born in Paris in 1763, Michel was but little known
or appreciated during his lifetime, and it was not
till after his death, in 1843, that his pictures began
to attract attention. One of the first to break away
from the iron band of classicism and go direct to
nature for his inspirations, he is to be considered
amongst the forerunners of modern landscape paint-
ing. The two excellent compositions given here
are good examples of his later period—big in
conception and treatment and fine in atmospheric
qualities. Particularly noteworthy in The Windmill
is the play of sunlight in the foreground and on the
buildings of the town seen in the far distance. A
somewhat similar effect is to be observed in The
Shepherd and the Storm, with threatening storm-
clouds rolling across the sky. It should be men-
tioned that a beautiful mezzotint of The Windmill
has been executed by Mr. George Clausen and
published by Messrs. Goupil & Co. It is a
sympathetic and dignified translation, faithfully
retaining all the fine atmospheric qualities of the
original.
Harpignies, one of the last survivors of the
famous landscapists of 1830, has faithfully upheld
the doctrines of the men of Fontainebleau. His
work always bears the impression of direct and
truthful observation, together with a marked indi-
viduality of expression. The Pathway at St. Priv'e
(p. 6) is one of his most pleasing pictures.
Without losing any of the vigour and distinction
which characterise his more familiar work, it lacks
that hardness of outline which sometimes detracts
from the beauty of his art. Poetic in feeling and
refined in colour, it possesses a soft luminous
atmosphere reminiscent of Corot. In direct con-
trast to this is the small canvas The Old Chestnut
(p. 7), a strong and virile composition in which
the great bare trunk in the centre stands out in
strong relief against a dark mass of foliage. This
is a typical example, painted as recently as 1898,
when the veteran artist was in his eightieth year.
Stormy Weather (p. 4) is an admirable little
water-colour, dramatic in feeling and broadly
executed. Another artist who was to some extent
a product of the Barbizon School was Emile van
Marcke, the pupil of Constant Troyon. He excelled
in the painting of cattle, though in this direction
he never attained to quite the same position as
“ PATHWAY AT ST. PRIVE ”
6
BY H. HARPIGNIES
Born in Paris in 1763, Michel was but little known
or appreciated during his lifetime, and it was not
till after his death, in 1843, that his pictures began
to attract attention. One of the first to break away
from the iron band of classicism and go direct to
nature for his inspirations, he is to be considered
amongst the forerunners of modern landscape paint-
ing. The two excellent compositions given here
are good examples of his later period—big in
conception and treatment and fine in atmospheric
qualities. Particularly noteworthy in The Windmill
is the play of sunlight in the foreground and on the
buildings of the town seen in the far distance. A
somewhat similar effect is to be observed in The
Shepherd and the Storm, with threatening storm-
clouds rolling across the sky. It should be men-
tioned that a beautiful mezzotint of The Windmill
has been executed by Mr. George Clausen and
published by Messrs. Goupil & Co. It is a
sympathetic and dignified translation, faithfully
retaining all the fine atmospheric qualities of the
original.
Harpignies, one of the last survivors of the
famous landscapists of 1830, has faithfully upheld
the doctrines of the men of Fontainebleau. His
work always bears the impression of direct and
truthful observation, together with a marked indi-
viduality of expression. The Pathway at St. Priv'e
(p. 6) is one of his most pleasing pictures.
Without losing any of the vigour and distinction
which characterise his more familiar work, it lacks
that hardness of outline which sometimes detracts
from the beauty of his art. Poetic in feeling and
refined in colour, it possesses a soft luminous
atmosphere reminiscent of Corot. In direct con-
trast to this is the small canvas The Old Chestnut
(p. 7), a strong and virile composition in which
the great bare trunk in the centre stands out in
strong relief against a dark mass of foliage. This
is a typical example, painted as recently as 1898,
when the veteran artist was in his eightieth year.
Stormy Weather (p. 4) is an admirable little
water-colour, dramatic in feeling and broadly
executed. Another artist who was to some extent
a product of the Barbizon School was Emile van
Marcke, the pupil of Constant Troyon. He excelled
in the painting of cattle, though in this direction
he never attained to quite the same position as
“ PATHWAY AT ST. PRIVE ”
6
BY H. HARPIGNIES