Studio: international art (82.1921)

LORD LEVERHULME'S PICTURES

"A BRECONSHIRE LANDSCAPE "
BY RUTH HOLLINGSWORTH

this and very much more — he was a
great artist, a master-draughtsman, a
master of his brush and palette, and our
colour-reproduction of this fine picture
shows how he has revelled in his oppor-
tunities for broad and harmonious com-
position, subtle draughtsmanship and
painting. In depicting the accessories
of the table he achieved a tour de force,
yet how perfectly they are subordinated
to the general harmony, and how ad-
mirably their static charm helps the life
of the picture ! 0000

The Pre-Raphaelite period of Sir John
Millais, covering the most interesting
phase of his art, is adequately represented
in the collection. Here is the Cymon and
Iphigenia, begun in 1847, when the artist

48

was not yet eighteen, and finished in 1851.
Full of a charming spirit of youthful frolic
it is, while in the painting of the nude the
influence of Etty, whom the young Millais
greatly admired, can be clearly recognized.
The Apple Blossom is another important
picture of the same period, 1856-9, with
its bevy of bright girls and its delight-
ful spring freshness and colour. Then,
here is also the famous and popular Black
Brunswicker, of i860, but perhaps the most
interesting of this group is the much-
discussed Sir Isumbras at the Ford, which
we reproduce here in colours. The
history of this picture's vicissitudes has
been too fully written to need more than
the barest repetition here ; how it was
painted in Scotland under many difficulties;