Studio: international art (65.1915)

Studio-Talk

“portrait of madame f.” (Moscow Society of Artists, see -t>. 141) by fedor zakharoff

portrait of an old lady, La Nonna, monumental in
its simplicity, its dignity, its truth to life. I
mention this in preference to his other works here
because this portrait statue—so subtle in its very
simplicity of handling—was one of the most
notable features of the exhibition; and, still keep-
ing to sculpture, I am glad to note that Niccola
d’Antino, whose bronze dancing-girl so delighted
me in the last exhibition, again came markedly to
the front in this year’s Secession, where he had an
individual exhibit of eleven works in sculpture,
among which I noted especially his nude figure of a
girl, La fanciulla nuda, characteristic in its finish
and delicacy of modelling, its hieratic precision of
gesture. That gifted Roman sculptress, Maria
Antonietta Pogliani, a pupil of Arturo Dazzi, ex-
hibited here in marble The Sphinx, a portrait-sketch
of Vera Fokine the Russian dancer—modelled
during a visit to London last summer—and a clever
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nude, LJAdolescente. The sculpture by Mario di
Montececon formed, as last year, a feature of the
Secession ; and a work to be noted is the Ritmio by
Attilio Selva, an artist who showed here a high level
of achievement.

A novel and most interesting feature of this
year’s exhibition was the collection of wood
engravings arranged by Signore Ettore Cozzani,
Director of “ L’Eroica.” Since this publication made
its appearance at Spezia five years ago there has
been a most interesting development in modem
Italian art in the direction of wood-engraving,
which owed very much to the first initiative of De
Karolis. Prominent among the artists exhibiting
in this section were Lorenzo Viani, Sensani, Galante,
and Emilio Mantelli; and I am also glad to note
among these followers of a new movement in
illustration the name of Felice Casorati of Verona.