Studio: international art (46.1909)

Reviews and Notices

have a general bearing seems to us an impossible
task. Dr. Meier-Graefe, however, has been won-
derful in attempting the impossible, and has
written even every sentence in an attractive manner.
The book is profusely and perfectly illustrated.

Painting in the Far East. By Laurence
Binyon. (London: Edward Arnold.) 215.net.—
Our knowledge of the art of the East as displayed
in painting, in spite of numerous works upon the
subject, is at present but superficial. This, to a
large extent, is due to the fact that characteristic
examples by the great painters are scarcely seen
outside Japan and China. It is true that numer-
ous examples bearing the names of great artists
find their way into the hands of the Western collec-
tor, but these are too commonly either absolutely
spurious, or, at best, but inferior specimens of the
painter’s brushwork. The European writer is
therefore severely handicapped in dealing with this
subject and is frequently driven to wrong conclu-
sions in his criticisms. On the other hand, the
important illustrated works which have in recent
years been published in Japan concerning its art
and that of China — and we mention in this
respect our excellent contemporary “The Kokka”
—are of great service in enabling their readers to
obtain a glimpse, even if only through the medium
of a photograph, of the notable examples existing
in private collections in the Far East. The author
of “Painting in the Far East,” although at a dis-
advantage by reason of the probable paucity of fine
original examples to refer to, has succeeded in
producing a valuable resume of the History of Art
in China and Japan which is a welcome addition
to our literature upon the subject. Some regret,
however, will be felt by lovers of that art at the
altogether unrepresentative character of the illustra-
tions to the volume. Badly reproduced by that
unsatisfactory medium, the collotype, the selection
of examples leaves much to be desired. An
intimate knowledge of the technique of Sotatsu,
Sesshiu, Tannyu, Hokusai—to name but a few of
the great masters—would have justified the author
in excluding such inferior and untypical illustrations
as are here given. The flower drawing ascribed to
Sotatsu is in no sense reminiscent of the free, easy
brush line, the large decorative instinct of that
painter. Sesshiu is represented by an illustration
from “The Kokka” of a drawing, which, however
interesting in itself, is far from typical of the
forceful work of that great genius. Tannyu’s bold
but sympathetic brush stroke is unrecognisable in
the clumsy mechanical lines of the Monjiu.
Hokusai’s humour, his characteristic nervous line,

his power of composition, are all absent in the
scattered, “bitty,” unconvincing specimen shown.
We might continue our unfavourable comment to
at least three-fourths of the illustrations given;
and in the cause of art and of simple justice, we
would seriously urge the author, should a further
edition of his work be contemplated, to entirely
reconstruct his series of illustrations. The public
is taught better by pictures than by words, however
eloquent the latter may be, and when pictures are
bad, eulogism fails to be convincing.

Venice: The Decadence. By Pompeo Molmenti.
Translated by Horatio F. Brown. (London: John
Murray.) 2 vols. 215. net.—The appearance of
the concluding volumes of Signor Molmenti’s
“ History of Venice ” brings to completion a work
that is a monument of erudition and patient
research. As well translated and as copiously
illustrated as its predecessors on Venice in the
Middle Ages and Venice in the Golden Age, it
tells, in a deeply interesting narrative betraying no
sign of effort, though the thoroughness of the study it
represents is evident on every page, the melancholy
story of the decline of the Queen of the Adriatic from
the proud position she had so long occupied. For
her, as for the rest of Italy, the knell of prosperity
was sounded with the signing, in 1559, of the
treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, and although the
Lagoon city after that enjoyed a few years of
prosperity, signs of decadence were soon apparent
on every side. Beginning with a summary of the
political situation in Italy in the second half of the
16th century, Signor Molmenti passes on to note
the condition of the naval and military forces of
the Republic, the relations between Church and
State, the condition of industry, commerce and
art, noting in every branch of endeavour signs of
the beginning of the end. Specially fascinating
is the chapter on the Old Town and Modern Art,
in which the writer waxes eloquent over the
maturity of charm displayed by Venice; but that
chapter is surpassed in pathos by the melancholy
account of the last days of the once world-famous
State when the Great Council met for the last time
and the last Doge, Ludovico Manin, resigned the
office he was no longer strong enough to hold.

The Art of the Plasterer. By George P.
Bankart. (London : B. T. Batsford.) 25s. net.
—Hitherto it has been difficult for the student to
obtain anything like a clear idea of the develop-
ment of plaster work, for though many fine speci-
mens of it still exist in situ or in museums, they are
widely scattered, and only those with leisure and
means can hope to turn them to account. For

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