DOI Heft:
No. 261 (December 1914)
DOI Artikel:Reddie, Arthur: The landscapes of David Murray Smith, R.B.A.
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21211#0175
David Murray Smith, R.B.A.
THE LANDSCAPES OF DAVID a luxurious profusion of rare plats; perchance he
MURRAY SMITH R B A succumbs and tastes them all—with indigestion as
consequence. With no desire to write flippantly,
In " The Gentle Art of Making Enemies " one would venture to describe as artistic indigestion
there is a sentence which reads : " The Imitator is that malady from which so frequently landscape
a poor kind of creature. If the man who paints painters—particularly when they indulge in work
only the tree, or flower, or other surface he sees of a painstaking literalness—would appear to be
before him were an artist, the king of artists would suffering. There are occasionally subjects ready
be the photographer. It is for the artist to do made in Nature for the painter; scenes which will
something beyond this." Whistler was not here, completely satisfy his aesthetic predilections, and in
of course, referring to the art of the landscape which he may be able to preserve topographical
painter especially, but his words, so true of all art, accuracy without there being entailed any sacrifice of
will serve admirably as text for an article written in the composition which, as artist and individual, he
appreciation of the works of a painter whose land- desires to create upon the canvas. This, however,
scapes make their great appeal in just the achieve- happens but rarely, and in general the painter finds
ment of that "something beyond this"—beyond that his transcript of Nature must be a rearrange-
mere imitation of Nature. ment of material, a selection and a rejection, in order
Nature is so rich, so generous, so almost profligate to produce a work which shall be a beautiful ren-
in the beauties she offers so inexhaustibly that the dering, in terms of his art, of the various data Nature
artist when face to face with some exquisite land- affords him. The earnest student and lover of Nature
scape or glorious view, may to some extent be com- who, with paints and canvas, seeks to perpetuate and
pared to the gourmet tempted to over-indulgence by to communicate something of the joy he feels in the
" LANDSCAPE IN SOUTH WALES "
OIL. PAINTING BY D. MURRAY SMITH, R.B.A.
171
THE LANDSCAPES OF DAVID a luxurious profusion of rare plats; perchance he
MURRAY SMITH R B A succumbs and tastes them all—with indigestion as
consequence. With no desire to write flippantly,
In " The Gentle Art of Making Enemies " one would venture to describe as artistic indigestion
there is a sentence which reads : " The Imitator is that malady from which so frequently landscape
a poor kind of creature. If the man who paints painters—particularly when they indulge in work
only the tree, or flower, or other surface he sees of a painstaking literalness—would appear to be
before him were an artist, the king of artists would suffering. There are occasionally subjects ready
be the photographer. It is for the artist to do made in Nature for the painter; scenes which will
something beyond this." Whistler was not here, completely satisfy his aesthetic predilections, and in
of course, referring to the art of the landscape which he may be able to preserve topographical
painter especially, but his words, so true of all art, accuracy without there being entailed any sacrifice of
will serve admirably as text for an article written in the composition which, as artist and individual, he
appreciation of the works of a painter whose land- desires to create upon the canvas. This, however,
scapes make their great appeal in just the achieve- happens but rarely, and in general the painter finds
ment of that "something beyond this"—beyond that his transcript of Nature must be a rearrange-
mere imitation of Nature. ment of material, a selection and a rejection, in order
Nature is so rich, so generous, so almost profligate to produce a work which shall be a beautiful ren-
in the beauties she offers so inexhaustibly that the dering, in terms of his art, of the various data Nature
artist when face to face with some exquisite land- affords him. The earnest student and lover of Nature
scape or glorious view, may to some extent be com- who, with paints and canvas, seeks to perpetuate and
pared to the gourmet tempted to over-indulgence by to communicate something of the joy he feels in the
" LANDSCAPE IN SOUTH WALES "
OIL. PAINTING BY D. MURRAY SMITH, R.B.A.
171