DOI Heft:
No. 254 (June 1914)
DOI Artikel:Stodart-Walker, Archibald: The art of John Lavery, R.S.A., A.R.A., etc.
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21210#0030
John Lavery, R.S.A., A.R.A.
romantic sense to dominate his portraiture at the tions of his " planes," and his magnificent sense of the
expense of what we call life and character. All that tonal quality, Mr. Lavery need not fear comparison
may seem true. But this is balanced by a pictorial with the masters of British landscape painting. The
elegance, an ease and fluency of brushwork, and a decorative sense is unfailing and there ever exists
distinguished sense of values in form and colour that romantic sense which is the dominant asset of
which commands a fascination to usurp our his artistic inventory. There is no muddiness
criticisms of the result. of texture, everything is crystal clear, " singing " with
In all the attempts there is no "trickery" in light and scintillating colour. Taking his work as a
Mr. Lavery's work, neither is there any humouring whole I would place his landscape work in Tangier
of his reputation. He never stereotypes a conven- and Switzerland as the most significant things that
tion. He approaches each sitter free from precon- Mr. Lavery has done. The "charm "of his landscapes
ceived notions of how the thing is to be handled, is undeniable. The power of realising time and place
He does not do his portraits by the yard ; machine- is masterly. Early dawn is early dawn, not high noon,
made things are not in his line. The sitter must high noon is high noon, not twilight. Every
bring a message before the reply is given on canvas, landscape is a clock telling its own time to an hour,
and, as happens in all portraiture, each individual As for place there is no danger of confusing a
sitter cannot command an. equally satisfactory Tangier coast with Machrihanish, or a skating
response from the painter. Some people are born scene in Switzerland with one in Scotland, as may be
to portraits, some achieve portraits, others have seen in that picture of Miss Man Mond Skating
portraits thrust upon them,
and so many failures are as
much due to the "empti-
ness " of the sitter as to the
inefficiency of the artist.
I am convinced no painter
has felt this so much as
Mr. Sargent. But Mr.
Lavery has so much re-
source that even if the
model carries no colour or
form in itself, yet he over-
comes this handicap more
courageouslyand efficiently
than most.
Turning from Mr.
Lavery's portraits and
studies in colour harmony
—imaginative portraits in
the romantic spirit—to his
work in landscape, we find
the same qualities and
quantities. The romantic
and decorative elements
dominate the poetic and
intimate. Subtle search-
ings for delicate contrasts
and co-related notes of
colour as practised so
admirably by William
McTaggart and by his
friend Mr. E. A. Walton
are not in Mr. Lavery's
metier. But in his capacity
for design, in the propor- " princess Patricia ofJconnaught" (1913). by john lavery, r.s.a., a.r.a.
10
romantic sense to dominate his portraiture at the tions of his " planes," and his magnificent sense of the
expense of what we call life and character. All that tonal quality, Mr. Lavery need not fear comparison
may seem true. But this is balanced by a pictorial with the masters of British landscape painting. The
elegance, an ease and fluency of brushwork, and a decorative sense is unfailing and there ever exists
distinguished sense of values in form and colour that romantic sense which is the dominant asset of
which commands a fascination to usurp our his artistic inventory. There is no muddiness
criticisms of the result. of texture, everything is crystal clear, " singing " with
In all the attempts there is no "trickery" in light and scintillating colour. Taking his work as a
Mr. Lavery's work, neither is there any humouring whole I would place his landscape work in Tangier
of his reputation. He never stereotypes a conven- and Switzerland as the most significant things that
tion. He approaches each sitter free from precon- Mr. Lavery has done. The "charm "of his landscapes
ceived notions of how the thing is to be handled, is undeniable. The power of realising time and place
He does not do his portraits by the yard ; machine- is masterly. Early dawn is early dawn, not high noon,
made things are not in his line. The sitter must high noon is high noon, not twilight. Every
bring a message before the reply is given on canvas, landscape is a clock telling its own time to an hour,
and, as happens in all portraiture, each individual As for place there is no danger of confusing a
sitter cannot command an. equally satisfactory Tangier coast with Machrihanish, or a skating
response from the painter. Some people are born scene in Switzerland with one in Scotland, as may be
to portraits, some achieve portraits, others have seen in that picture of Miss Man Mond Skating
portraits thrust upon them,
and so many failures are as
much due to the "empti-
ness " of the sitter as to the
inefficiency of the artist.
I am convinced no painter
has felt this so much as
Mr. Sargent. But Mr.
Lavery has so much re-
source that even if the
model carries no colour or
form in itself, yet he over-
comes this handicap more
courageouslyand efficiently
than most.
Turning from Mr.
Lavery's portraits and
studies in colour harmony
—imaginative portraits in
the romantic spirit—to his
work in landscape, we find
the same qualities and
quantities. The romantic
and decorative elements
dominate the poetic and
intimate. Subtle search-
ings for delicate contrasts
and co-related notes of
colour as practised so
admirably by William
McTaggart and by his
friend Mr. E. A. Walton
are not in Mr. Lavery's
metier. But in his capacity
for design, in the propor- " princess Patricia ofJconnaught" (1913). by john lavery, r.s.a., a.r.a.
10