DOI Heft:
No. 171 (June, 1907)
DOI Artikel:Covey, Arthur Sinclair: The Venice exhibition: Mr. Brangwyn's decorative panels in the British section
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20775#0040
Mr. Brangwyn s Decorative Panels at Venice
object in perfect harmony with the fantastic quality as one might find in his small painted
spirit of such a subject, and one cannot but feel sketch. As a decoration it possesses, perhaps, less
as he looks at this composition the fine musical actual support to surrounding architecture than do
quality of the whole. If Whistler has in his the remaining three, but it is an excellent rendering,
" symphonies " shown to the world how great is the in a decorative manner, of the subject in hand,
musical quality possessed by harmonious colour, The panel corresponding to the one just men-
then Brangwyn has in his turn shown clearly how tioned, VentUan Commerce, treats of a more serious
much actual music may be expressed by the juxta- work-a-day side of these poetic people. So much
position of line and mass as well as by colour. is there in Venice of the past to fascinate one,
The Venetian Serenaders has been painted in an that to the casual observer nothing modern
unusually short range of actual pigments, yet the suggests itself. But when one pauses to reflect
picture possesses no less variety of colour than that it is still a great city, that it must be fed and
would a mediaeval group of Spanish troubadours, clothed, and that it has all the commonplace pro-
In the low violet-blue tone of evening the artist blems of every other city, he then begins to see the
has made the figures exist with the same degree of serious incidents pertaining to modern Venetian life,
reality as though seen in bright sunlight. The The heavy barques take the place of wagons in
lanterns, twice the natural size, are indeed real, and other cities—and just as the sleepy carman comes
have been most cleverly used as telling spots in the through London's West End with his absurdly
long composition. This panel measures eighteen enormous loads, so does the gondolier glide noise-
feet long by five feet high, and the difficulties in lessly over Venice's dark lagoons. Within his
keeping such a composition in " one piece of tone " heavily laden " barco " his movement is slow and
will be appreciated by the decorative painter, but ponderous, like the heavy pulling of a beast of
here in this large canvas occurs the same tuneful burden. This work-a-day life forms the subject of
' STEEL WORKERS '
18
BY FRANK BRANGWYN, A.R.A.
object in perfect harmony with the fantastic quality as one might find in his small painted
spirit of such a subject, and one cannot but feel sketch. As a decoration it possesses, perhaps, less
as he looks at this composition the fine musical actual support to surrounding architecture than do
quality of the whole. If Whistler has in his the remaining three, but it is an excellent rendering,
" symphonies " shown to the world how great is the in a decorative manner, of the subject in hand,
musical quality possessed by harmonious colour, The panel corresponding to the one just men-
then Brangwyn has in his turn shown clearly how tioned, VentUan Commerce, treats of a more serious
much actual music may be expressed by the juxta- work-a-day side of these poetic people. So much
position of line and mass as well as by colour. is there in Venice of the past to fascinate one,
The Venetian Serenaders has been painted in an that to the casual observer nothing modern
unusually short range of actual pigments, yet the suggests itself. But when one pauses to reflect
picture possesses no less variety of colour than that it is still a great city, that it must be fed and
would a mediaeval group of Spanish troubadours, clothed, and that it has all the commonplace pro-
In the low violet-blue tone of evening the artist blems of every other city, he then begins to see the
has made the figures exist with the same degree of serious incidents pertaining to modern Venetian life,
reality as though seen in bright sunlight. The The heavy barques take the place of wagons in
lanterns, twice the natural size, are indeed real, and other cities—and just as the sleepy carman comes
have been most cleverly used as telling spots in the through London's West End with his absurdly
long composition. This panel measures eighteen enormous loads, so does the gondolier glide noise-
feet long by five feet high, and the difficulties in lessly over Venice's dark lagoons. Within his
keeping such a composition in " one piece of tone " heavily laden " barco " his movement is slow and
will be appreciated by the decorative painter, but ponderous, like the heavy pulling of a beast of
here in this large canvas occurs the same tuneful burden. This work-a-day life forms the subject of
' STEEL WORKERS '
18
BY FRANK BRANGWYN, A.R.A.