Studio: international art (55.1912)

Studio-Talk

BRUGES.—Mr. J. C. Van Dyk in writing
of the advance of his nation in art says :
“ Besides the painters who reside in the
United States, there is a large contingent
of American residents abroad who perhaps belong
to the American school as much as to any other.
These painters do not, however, represent the land
to the extent usually assumed by Europeans.
Indeed, it is questionable if they represent America
in any way. James McNeill Whistler, though
American born, is an example of the modern man
without a country. No nation can claim him as
an artist, because he seems to have no nationality.
E. A. Abbey, John S. Sargent, Mark Fisher, and
J. J. Shannon are Americans only by birth.” Yet
in the work of all these men is to be found an
originality of thought and a freshness of vision
which one is inclined to believe are the outcome
of the national temperament grafted on to a quick
apprehension, which lends itself easily to foreign

influence and makes its people early users of the
advantages offered abroad for quick development.
These qualities are well illustrated in the work of
Mr. Francis Petrus Paulus, whose name deserves
to be added to those already famous of his
countrymen.

A native of Detroit, America, Mr. Paulus studied
first at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in
Philadelphia, then in Munich and at the Ecole des
Beaux-Arts, Paris, and finally he travelled and
studied in Italy, Portugal, Holland, and Belgium.
Bruges, rich in its associations and mediteval charac-
teristics, perhaps appeals more strongly to poets
and painters than any other place in Europe, and
Mr. Paulus has succumbed to its spell and charm,
for the short visit he, in the first instance, purposed
taking has extended over seven years, during which
he has made great use of the materials afforded by
this unique Flemish city. His home and charming

“THE OLD MARKET”

FROM A PAINTING BY FRANCIS PETRUS PAULUS

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