DOI Heft:
No. 199 (October, 1909)
DOI Artikel:Wood, T. Martin: A picture collector's experiment
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20968#0046
A Picture Collector s Experiment
necessary for recapturing old experiences, and them often even finer as works of art than his
since it is manifestly impossible that nature should etched plates. If we wished a perfect specimen
show to every artist something that has escaped of the naturalistic vision, we should perhaps do
the experience of all preceding generations, the as well to turn to Mr. Muirhead Bone's drawing
traditional—which as often as not then is the as to anything else. For all its precision in ren-
natural—is constantly being renewed. The land- dering fact, it still expresses a very personal view,
scape generalisations, say, of Wilson's time, were Mr. Bone always seems impressed with the novelty
often absurdly superficial, but at other times they of London streets ; he retains, apparently to this
stood for an emotional summary of the effect day, after long residence in London, the attitude
desired; much as impressionism does in another way. of mind of a country visitor.
For conventionalist and impressionist alike, nature is In this article, in speaking of paintings, we
the source of symbols for their mood. With them have, as we intended, disregarded difference of
the standpoint is remarkably different from that style in the method of works we have compared,
of the superficial realists who imagine that the The method of an artist is modified at different
mere copy of a scene must give the emotion that periods of his career, and changed almost un-
the scene itself arouses ; who forget that the artist's consciously according to every fresh subject; but
emotion is as much a selective factor as his vision what probably exercises a greater influence on his
of the objective signs needful for the communica- final style than anything else, if he is a landscape
tion of his feeling to his public. painter, is the moods in nature with which he is
The purely naturalistic school, controlled never- most in sympathy. In dwelling upon Wilson,
theless by feeling, is represented in Judge Evans's Whistler or Daubigny, we take them as representa-
collection by Daubigny in his picture An Old tive names. Nature is as the artist sees it. If in
Mill, or in sculpture by
The Wounded Hen of
Barye. MmukmuxmMi^sMUii riw iimm fnni—^^Wmwiw^—^—^—
In selecting our illus-
trations we have almost
confined ourselves to the
oil paintings, but of draw-
ings ol ihe modern scl.....I
it would be difficult to
find a more characteristic . jrS^Mf^^B^^M^^^j^fe. <~^BB
specimen of Mr. Muir- - ^^^t^g^-dSBg- -l|B|P^i|E''»|B[B
head Bone's genius with
the pencil than Trafalgar | , • \
Square, or anything more
interesting to contrast
with it than Conder's
drawing, The Arrival.
Pencil work invites from
an artist even greater free-
dom and spontaneity than
etching. It is to be pre-
sumed that the ideal of
etching is to capture in
more than one copy the
the process'cannot fail to
act as a restraint, and
Mr. Bone's pencil draw-
ings from life show a
subtle response in their
handling which makes " medea and her children" by charles ricketts
24
necessary for recapturing old experiences, and them often even finer as works of art than his
since it is manifestly impossible that nature should etched plates. If we wished a perfect specimen
show to every artist something that has escaped of the naturalistic vision, we should perhaps do
the experience of all preceding generations, the as well to turn to Mr. Muirhead Bone's drawing
traditional—which as often as not then is the as to anything else. For all its precision in ren-
natural—is constantly being renewed. The land- dering fact, it still expresses a very personal view,
scape generalisations, say, of Wilson's time, were Mr. Bone always seems impressed with the novelty
often absurdly superficial, but at other times they of London streets ; he retains, apparently to this
stood for an emotional summary of the effect day, after long residence in London, the attitude
desired; much as impressionism does in another way. of mind of a country visitor.
For conventionalist and impressionist alike, nature is In this article, in speaking of paintings, we
the source of symbols for their mood. With them have, as we intended, disregarded difference of
the standpoint is remarkably different from that style in the method of works we have compared,
of the superficial realists who imagine that the The method of an artist is modified at different
mere copy of a scene must give the emotion that periods of his career, and changed almost un-
the scene itself arouses ; who forget that the artist's consciously according to every fresh subject; but
emotion is as much a selective factor as his vision what probably exercises a greater influence on his
of the objective signs needful for the communica- final style than anything else, if he is a landscape
tion of his feeling to his public. painter, is the moods in nature with which he is
The purely naturalistic school, controlled never- most in sympathy. In dwelling upon Wilson,
theless by feeling, is represented in Judge Evans's Whistler or Daubigny, we take them as representa-
collection by Daubigny in his picture An Old tive names. Nature is as the artist sees it. If in
Mill, or in sculpture by
The Wounded Hen of
Barye. MmukmuxmMi^sMUii riw iimm fnni—^^Wmwiw^—^—^—
In selecting our illus-
trations we have almost
confined ourselves to the
oil paintings, but of draw-
ings ol ihe modern scl.....I
it would be difficult to
find a more characteristic . jrS^Mf^^B^^M^^^j^fe. <~^BB
specimen of Mr. Muir- - ^^^t^g^-dSBg- -l|B|P^i|E''»|B[B
head Bone's genius with
the pencil than Trafalgar | , • \
Square, or anything more
interesting to contrast
with it than Conder's
drawing, The Arrival.
Pencil work invites from
an artist even greater free-
dom and spontaneity than
etching. It is to be pre-
sumed that the ideal of
etching is to capture in
more than one copy the
the process'cannot fail to
act as a restraint, and
Mr. Bone's pencil draw-
ings from life show a
subtle response in their
handling which makes " medea and her children" by charles ricketts
24