DOI Heft:
No. 250 (February 1914)
DOI Artikel:Cecil King, R. B. A.: a painter of cities
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21209#0044
Cecil King, R.B.A.
The notable point about the work he has done
in these diverse parts of the world is that it
does not show him to be under the domination
of any preconceived idea about the way in which
he ought to deal with the material he chooses
to handle. Unlike many other artists who have
painted in foreign countries, he does not bring
a home-made convention to bear upon his
subjects but allows the local characteristics to
direct, as far as may be necessary, the quality and
method of his interpretation. He seeks to enter
into the spirit of the place, to find out what makes
it different from other places he has seen, and to
' show that he understands and appreciates at their
full value the distinguishing peculiarities of the
scene before him. In his pictures of foreign cities
and towns the fact that the motive has been found
abroad is impressed upon the observer not merely
by the statement of the obvious unlikeness of the
general architectural design to that which he has
been accustomed to at home, but by touches much
more subtle which convey a vivid impression of the
foreign atmosphere and even of the foreign life.
Mr. King feels the difference between the countries
he visits, and this feeling pervades every part of his
picture.
Naturally, this implies on his part an uncommon
acuteness of observation, much shrewdness of
insight into the things which are scarcely susceptible
of strict analysis, and an uncommon degree of
receptivity. But these are parts of Mr. King's equip-
ment as an artist which he has assiduously cultivated
and to the development of which he has devoted
considerable care ; and their effectiveness has been
increased by his readiness to take advantage of
every opportunity that has been offered him to
extend his knowledge of places and things. He
might fairly be described as possessing an incurable
but none the less wholesome craving for the sort of
information that is likely to be of use to him in his
career. Wherever he goes he finds something worth
learning, and evidently he does not forget what he
has learned.
If one were to attempt to sum him up, probably
he would best be described as a painter of life—a
description that may at first sight seem odd when
applied to a painter so much of whose work consists
of pictures of architectural motives. But the archi-
The notable point about the work he has done
in these diverse parts of the world is that it
does not show him to be under the domination
of any preconceived idea about the way in which
he ought to deal with the material he chooses
to handle. Unlike many other artists who have
painted in foreign countries, he does not bring
a home-made convention to bear upon his
subjects but allows the local characteristics to
direct, as far as may be necessary, the quality and
method of his interpretation. He seeks to enter
into the spirit of the place, to find out what makes
it different from other places he has seen, and to
' show that he understands and appreciates at their
full value the distinguishing peculiarities of the
scene before him. In his pictures of foreign cities
and towns the fact that the motive has been found
abroad is impressed upon the observer not merely
by the statement of the obvious unlikeness of the
general architectural design to that which he has
been accustomed to at home, but by touches much
more subtle which convey a vivid impression of the
foreign atmosphere and even of the foreign life.
Mr. King feels the difference between the countries
he visits, and this feeling pervades every part of his
picture.
Naturally, this implies on his part an uncommon
acuteness of observation, much shrewdness of
insight into the things which are scarcely susceptible
of strict analysis, and an uncommon degree of
receptivity. But these are parts of Mr. King's equip-
ment as an artist which he has assiduously cultivated
and to the development of which he has devoted
considerable care ; and their effectiveness has been
increased by his readiness to take advantage of
every opportunity that has been offered him to
extend his knowledge of places and things. He
might fairly be described as possessing an incurable
but none the less wholesome craving for the sort of
information that is likely to be of use to him in his
career. Wherever he goes he finds something worth
learning, and evidently he does not forget what he
has learned.
If one were to attempt to sum him up, probably
he would best be described as a painter of life—a
description that may at first sight seem odd when
applied to a painter so much of whose work consists
of pictures of architectural motives. But the archi-