Studio: international art (53.1911)

The Salon of the Artistes Franqais

"THE RIVER MOUTH" BY EDWIN ALEXANDER

( The property of Mrs. Walter [ones. —See preceding article)

thinking, in the presence of paintings by foreign were anything more than somewhat distressing
artists. The British, American, and Spanish and immoderately padded-out compositions in
schools were for the most part represented by works which the artist retained no conception of all the
of originality which afforded a welcome relief to eyes necessary decorative qualities of a large mural
tired with the over-familiar subjects of some of our painting! At the same time one did find an
own painters. Among the Americans, the most exception or two to this somewhat sweeping con-
remarkable, both on account of his natural gifts as demnation ; so in Salle i I would mention the
colourist and for his technique, was certainly Mr. large ceiling by M. Calbet, destined for the theatre
Richard Miller, the painter of an excellent picture, of Agen, and depicting the Muse of Music re-
La Toilette. Here were seen, on a medium-sized vealing to humanity the harmonies of nature. The
canvas, two women seated in a room, rendered work presents several excellent features, notably
with surprising fidelity and great sense of life and the painting of the figures flying through the air,
elegance. Mr. Miller makes use of a delicious in which the artist is reminiscent of Tiepolo, with
range of colour on his palette, but I think he has whom, too, he shows similarity of colouring,
never used it with such freshness and seductive The picture of the year is a work by M. Jules
effect as in his picture of this year. Griin, the full title of which is Un jour de Vernissage

The Spanish school is also to be congratulated dans le Hall de la Sculpture au Salon des Artistes

on having produced several works in the exhibition Franfais. In this huge painting, which is among

which were excellent and of very personal technique, our illustrations, the artist has set himself the task

First of all we had M. Vila y Prades, a remarkable of reproducing and that as faithfully as possible,

pupil of Sorolla y Bastida, whose picture, a work the portraits of the best-known personages of the

of striking character, entitled Les vendeuses de world of art in Paris. Hence it is that his work has

poteries a Siville, has already been reproduced in achieved success with the general public, who are

The Studio (March 1911, p. 151). After him generally tired of this kind of painting, in which

came M. Vasquez Diaz with his Retour de la fete too often artistic merit has not been the first

del Cristo de la Voga a Tol'ede, a veritable pyro- consideration with the painter,
technic display of colour. M. Carlos Vazquez is Another large undertaking was that of M. Cormon,

another brilliant colourist, as was attested by his two whose three ceilings and ten lunette panels for the

pictures La fille prodigue and Les Roses ont les Petit Palais des Beaux-Arts occupied an entire room

Epines, though in this the artist has indulged a at the Salon. No doubt it is difficult to judge the

little in over-elaboration of detail. esthetic merits of a decorative work when it is not

There were as usual many huge paintings in the seen in the position and with the lighting that it is

Salon. How few there were among them that ultimately destined to receive; nevertheless, one
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