DOI Heft:
No. 249 (December 1913)
DOI Artikel:Brosch, L.: An italian painter: Beppe Ciardi
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21208#0214
Beppe Ci arch
“EASTER NIGHT”
been on intimate terms. It is somewhat remark-
able that so many Venetian painters should have
taken to landscape when, having regard to their
maritime environment, one would have supposed
them predestined to be painters of the sea. Beppe
Ciardi is a true son of Venice, and has always
remained faithful to his native city. He does not,
of course, paint those local “views” of Venice
which are produced to meet the requirements of
foreign visitors, nor those elegant, rosy-cheeked
Venetian women and girls favoured by the art
dealer—he is quite willing to leave that sort of
thing to others. And so when he paints the
lagoons it is not those with which the tourist is
familiar that appeal to him, but he prefers lagoons
which are not so well known—those extending
from Altino past Torcello right close to Venice.
He is wont to rove about over these lagoons in all
directions, using for conveyance a flat-bottomed boat
like those built at Burano, which are the only kind
adapted for these shallow waters. Not one of the
many islands is unknown to him—San Francesco del
Deserto, San Erasmo, Mazorbo, Vigniole, or what-
ever else their names may be, the radiant Spring
Islands of Venice which sooner or later are
192
doomed to disappear—
all have inspired Ciardi
with motives for fascinat-
ing pictures. Such works
as L'Isola del Silenzio
and L'Isola della Follia
are poetic in their
tonality; there is no
trace of uncertainty or
hesitation, and the whole
vista has been observed
and rendered with a rare
clarity of perception.
The latter of these pic-
tures possesses a note of
tragic mystery, and re-
calls Maeterlinck’s subtle
description of this “Isle
of Madness.”
It should be remarked
in conclusion that the
Venetian has always been
somewhat shy ot the
water, and his fame as a
mariner is often over-
rated. An old proverb
current in these parts
BY BEPPE CIARDI 1
speaks of the sea as a
betrayer — il mare e
traditore; and this attitude perhaps explains why,
although Venice is a maritime city, no Venetian
has yet developed into a real marine painter.
The qualities which characterise Beppe Ciardi’s
oeuvre are sound and honest workmanship and a
wholesome sentiment at once broad and deep. In
it we find no eccentric experimenting, no ex-
aggerated gestures, but capable execution and
genuine sincerity of purpose; and bearing in mind
that he has not yet reached middle life and that
he possesses a remarkable fund of energy, we may
confidently expect many good things from him in
years to come.
Among recent additions to the permanent col-
lection of the Tate Gallery is Mr. William Orpen’s
picture The Mirror, which was presented by Mrs.
Coutts-Michie through the National Art Collections
Fund. Several of Mr. Borough Johnson’s drawings
recently on exhibition at Mr. Paterson’s Galleries
have been acquired by the British Museum and
the Victoria and Albert Museum ; and the French
Government has purchased Mr. Hughes-Stanton’s
Lumiere sur les dunes, Pas de Calais, exhibited in
the Paris Salon during the past summer.
“EASTER NIGHT”
been on intimate terms. It is somewhat remark-
able that so many Venetian painters should have
taken to landscape when, having regard to their
maritime environment, one would have supposed
them predestined to be painters of the sea. Beppe
Ciardi is a true son of Venice, and has always
remained faithful to his native city. He does not,
of course, paint those local “views” of Venice
which are produced to meet the requirements of
foreign visitors, nor those elegant, rosy-cheeked
Venetian women and girls favoured by the art
dealer—he is quite willing to leave that sort of
thing to others. And so when he paints the
lagoons it is not those with which the tourist is
familiar that appeal to him, but he prefers lagoons
which are not so well known—those extending
from Altino past Torcello right close to Venice.
He is wont to rove about over these lagoons in all
directions, using for conveyance a flat-bottomed boat
like those built at Burano, which are the only kind
adapted for these shallow waters. Not one of the
many islands is unknown to him—San Francesco del
Deserto, San Erasmo, Mazorbo, Vigniole, or what-
ever else their names may be, the radiant Spring
Islands of Venice which sooner or later are
192
doomed to disappear—
all have inspired Ciardi
with motives for fascinat-
ing pictures. Such works
as L'Isola del Silenzio
and L'Isola della Follia
are poetic in their
tonality; there is no
trace of uncertainty or
hesitation, and the whole
vista has been observed
and rendered with a rare
clarity of perception.
The latter of these pic-
tures possesses a note of
tragic mystery, and re-
calls Maeterlinck’s subtle
description of this “Isle
of Madness.”
It should be remarked
in conclusion that the
Venetian has always been
somewhat shy ot the
water, and his fame as a
mariner is often over-
rated. An old proverb
current in these parts
BY BEPPE CIARDI 1
speaks of the sea as a
betrayer — il mare e
traditore; and this attitude perhaps explains why,
although Venice is a maritime city, no Venetian
has yet developed into a real marine painter.
The qualities which characterise Beppe Ciardi’s
oeuvre are sound and honest workmanship and a
wholesome sentiment at once broad and deep. In
it we find no eccentric experimenting, no ex-
aggerated gestures, but capable execution and
genuine sincerity of purpose; and bearing in mind
that he has not yet reached middle life and that
he possesses a remarkable fund of energy, we may
confidently expect many good things from him in
years to come.
Among recent additions to the permanent col-
lection of the Tate Gallery is Mr. William Orpen’s
picture The Mirror, which was presented by Mrs.
Coutts-Michie through the National Art Collections
Fund. Several of Mr. Borough Johnson’s drawings
recently on exhibition at Mr. Paterson’s Galleries
have been acquired by the British Museum and
the Victoria and Albert Museum ; and the French
Government has purchased Mr. Hughes-Stanton’s
Lumiere sur les dunes, Pas de Calais, exhibited in
the Paris Salon during the past summer.