Studio: international art (40.1907)

Reviews and Notices

bestowed great pains on the task of translation,
not an easy one considering the changes which
language undergoes in the space of two or three
centuries. The serious student of art will find
much to ponder over and interest him in the
utterances of the inimitable genius whose observa-
tions are here lucidly presented to him.

Northern Spain. By Edgar Wigram. (Lon-
don : A- & C. Black.) 20s. net.—It is greatly to
be regretted that Mr. Wigram, who is an experi-
enced writer, though only an amateur artist, was
not accompanied on his journey through Northern
Spain by a professional painter who would have
been able to supplement his eloquent descriptions
of the scenes he visited by aesthetic presentments
of them in colour. With few exceptions, such as
the Santona, Santiago de Compostella, Burgos,
and above all the street in Oviedo at night, which
has about it a true touch of poetry, the drawings
reproduced are inartistic and wanting in character.
On the other hand, every page of the book is full
of local colouring, interest and charm, for the
author is one of the elect amongst travellers, who
knows in what consists the very root of the plea-
sure of wandering in a foreign land. He has felt
the fascination of the East, of which he says Spain
is an echo, and he is able to communicate that
fascination to his readers. He and his one com-
panion, a true kindred spirit, made the journey on
bicycles, exploring the byways as well as the high-
ways, with the result that they came into true touch
with the natives, seeing them as they really are,
not from the point of view of those who rush through
a country by rail or motor, and are liable to judge
everything and everybody from an egotistical point
of view. Gifted, moreover, with a vivid imagina-
tion and a keen sense of humour, Mr. Wigram
manages to hit off in a few telling sentences the
idiosyncrasies not only of the men and women,
but of the animals he met, as when he describes
the mixed teams encountered in the mountain
districts, and the adventure of what he calls “ a
certain little Benjamin of jackasses ” with a bull, to
whose horns it was harnessed by the guardians of
the latter, “by way,” he says, “of getting the hulk
steered with as little personal attention as might be.”

The Ladies’ Etching Club, Vienna, have just
issued their fourth portfolio, which shows consider-
able advance on previous efforts. Some of the
plates are full of charm, particularly those whose
subjects are bits of historic Vienna; alas ! such as
are yielding to the new, for there will be no
historic Vienna in the course of a few years.

Frau Marie Adler, in her Schonlaterngasse, has
struck a vibrating chord which will be echoed by
those who really love the old city. Frauleine
Hermine Schneid, Ida Berger and Emma Hrnczyz
have also gone to Old Vienna for their inspiration.
Anna Mik’s study of an old Jew in skull cap and
taleth, engaged in reading the Torah, reveals a deep
insight into human nature. The landscapes are
thoughtful and tender, particularly Beeches in May,
by Erna Mendel, and a spring landscape by Lilly
Steiner. All the members of the Club are students
of the Kunstschule fur Frauen und Madchen,
Professor Michalek being their teacher.

Messrs. Macmillan & Co. have added to their
“ Cranford Series ” a reprint of George Eliot’s
Scenes of Clerical Life (6s. net), with a number of
very excellent illustrations, in colour as well as
black-and-white, by Mr. Hugh Thomson, whose
graceful draughtsmanship is here seen at its best.

In the first quarterly part of the new volume of
the Architectural Association Sketch-Book are repro-
duced a number of drawings, made by members of
the Association, which have a special interest for the
student of monumental architecture. The structures
illustrated are, for the most part, of an ecclesiastical
character—-churches, abbeys and cathedrals in Eng-
land, Holland, Italy and Spain; the only buildings
of a secular character represented being Burghley
House, Stamford, and the Palazzo Ducale, Venice.
Elevations and numerous details are given in most
cases. The Sketch-Book is published by the Asso-
ciation, and is issued to subscribers in four quarterly
parts at the price of one guinea per volume.

Under the auspices of the Education Committee
of the Manchester Corporation, an illustrated cata-
logue of Studies and Drawings by Frederick
Shields has been prepared and printed by the
students of the Photography and Printing Crafts
Department of the Municipal School of Technology.
Most of the studies and drawings reproduced in
this catalogue were made by Mr. Shields in prepara-
tion for the great work on which he has been
engaged for many years, namely, the decoration of
the Chapel of the Ascension in the Bayswater
Road, London, and the artist placed them at the
disposal of the students, by whom they have been
reproduced as a permanent record for use in the
school. We have nothing but praise for the way
in which not only the plates but the catalogue as
a whole has been produced, reflecting as it does
the greatest credit upon the school.

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