Studio: international art (61.1914)

Reviews and Notices

his successor's name, but at the time was commonly
referred to as " h style a la Reine " and also occa-
sionally " a la Pompadour" came into vogue as a
reaction against the rococo extravagances that had
previously been the fashion and are nowadays
designated as le style Louis Quinze. Although in
looking through the long series of objects selected
by M. de Ricci to illustrate this style one comes
across examples in which added ornament plays a
quite inconspicuous part in the general design the
highly ornate character of the majority of them,
appropriate enough to the artificial life of the
French Court and aristocracy, is incongruous with
modern ideas and requirements; and one feels
therefore that any attempt to revive such a style
would be no more justified than an attempt to
revive the social and political conditions under
which it flourished—and we doubt if there are
many who would wish to do that. One must of
course bear in mind that the Latin temperament
has always favoured a more or less fanciful type of
design, and though to the Teutonic eye this display
of ornamentation may seem meaningless, it is
not to be so regarded if it fulfils a natural desire.

The Message of Greek Art. By H. H. Powers.
(London: Macmillan and Co.) 8>s. 6d. net.—In
this volume the author endeavours to show the art
of Greece in relationship with Greek civilisation.
He pertinently asks why the torch of Greek
civilisation lights us so dimly to-day, and pleads for
the study of Greek art as well as of Greek syntax in
our public schools. He is perhaps inclined to
overrate the value of the mere sentiment for things
Greek, while underrating the achievement of the
sixth century with its fantastic but partly mystic
realism. The truth is that for the appreciation of
the subtle Greek sense of beauty education, except
in the most natural and personal sense, will not
carry us very far ; as far as it will carry us we find it
impossible to imagine a more inspiring and attrac-
tive guide than Mr. Powers. The reader is assisted
by as many as one hundred and thirty-seven
illustrations.

The China Collector: A Guide to the Porcelaiti oj
the English Factories. By H. William Lewer.
(London: Herbert Jenkins.) 5j-.net.—The number
of works on ceramics is now very large, and each
season seems to bring its fresh output of handbooks
for the collector, an evidence presumably of the
very widespread interest in the subject. We can
recommend this last recruit to the china collector's
library, and for two reasons. First, the author has
concerned himself solely with a discussion of the
porcelain of the English factories, and has not

attempted to give in a single volume a survey of the
whole subject of ceramics, and secondly, the book
is most conveniently and logically arranged. Some
half-tone reproductions of pieces and a number of
illustrations of marks accompany the text; and a
valuable feature is the Chronograph of English
Porcelains, 1740-1850 by Mr. Frank Stevens,
showing in diagram form the relative positions and
periods of activity of the different factories during
the years which are comprised by the term " Old
English China."

Ein kleines Buch fur kleine Leute. Holzschnitte
und Reime von F. Endell. (Munich : Published
by the Author.) Limited edition, 32 marks.—
Woodcut is the most perfect form of book illustra-
tion. It is the one process of engraving which
combines most naturally with type, whether on the
artistic or on the technical side. Unhappily for
the making of good books, the wood-engraver has
been gradually driven from his craft by the progress
of photo-mechanical reproduction. The few who
remain true to the art are for the most part artists
who, convinced of the virtue of the pure cut line
or formal style of woodcut, use it for their original
expression. Such are Mr. Sturge Moore with his
charming idylls, and most noteworthy for his
beautiful decoration of books, Mr. Lucien Pissarro.
And in Fritz Endell of Munich we have another
exponent of the art, as the illustrations to this
" Little Book for Little People " show. The rhymes
are simple and attractive, and the twenty wood-
engravings and seventeen tail-pieces are all good
in cutting and most of them also pleasing in
design, particularly the illustrations to Liebe Wind,
Pros't Mahlzeit, In den Schatten einer alte7i Eiche,
and Seht den ind'schen Gaukler. Some of the
others, such as the title-page, and Wollt im Tanze
ihr euch schwingen seem to fail a little through a
certain Teutonic clumsiness of form. Nor do we
completely like the use of gothic type with these
modern cuts—pure roman would have combined
better besides being more legible. The edition of
the book is limited to 120 copies, and the cuts,
printed on Japanese paper, are hand-coloured in
light tints by the artist. He is his own publisher,
but the sale is in the hands of Littauer's Kunst-
Salon, Munich.

The Principal Pictures in the Fitz William
Museum, Cambridge is the title of a neat little
volume recently published by Gowans and Gray
of London and Glasgow (3s. 6d. net.) in which
excellent reproductions are given of 224 pictures
by various masters, ancient and modern, in this
important collection.

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