Studio: international art (82.1921)

REVIEWS

expression to his enthusiastic admiration
for the art of his great countryman, the
first Hiroshige (1747-1858), " the only
one native and national artist of Japan,"
who, paying no attention to the small
inessential details, " grasped firmly the
most important point of nature which he
had wished before to see." Referring
to the influence of this master on Whistler,
" the Hiroshige of the West," he says :
" The faithful followers of Whistler may
say anything they please ; but they will
be unable to deny the fact that he owes
many things to Hiroshige " ; and else-
where—" It seems that my imagination's
eyes see this wonderful Jimmy Whistler
with Hiroshige's colour-prints before him,
now straightening up his famous spectacles
on his nose, then exclaiming ' How amaz-
ing ! Oh, how amazing ! ' " The book,
which is a Japanese production, printed
and cased in the traditional style, contains
some excellent collotype reproductions
of these prints, besides two in colour,
apparently printed from wood blocks. 0

A Record of European Armour and Arms
through Seven Centuries. By Sir Guy F.
Laking, Bart., C.B., etc., late Keeper of
the King's Armoury. Vols. III. and IV.
(London : G. Bell & Sons, Ltd.)—The
two further volumes of this monumental
work fully confirm the impression gained
from the first two, already noticed here,
of the lamented author's thorough grasp
of the subject to which he devoted a large
part of his life. In the third volume,
continuing the discussion of particular
types of weapon employed before the
sixteenth century, he deals with various
kinds of dagger and other hafted weapons
such as the lance, the mace, the battle-
axe and pole-axe, the glaive, voulge,
spetum, partisan, javelin, halberd, sprink-
ler, " morning star," and then treats of
the crossbow with its complicated con-
trivances, and horse-armour. At the close
of this volume and throughout the next
he discusses, first in general and then
under special aspects, the armour and arms
of the sixteenth century, and it is interest-
ing to note his opinion that decorative
sumptuousnessdid more to hasten deteriora-
tion than the introduction of fire-arms.
Lavish illustration is a feature of these
new volumes as of the preceding ones. 0

84

Repertoire des Peintures datees. Par
Isabella Errera, tome I., 1081—1775^6.
(Brussels : Librairie Nationale d'Art.)
It is obvious that Mile. Errera, who has
already compiled and published a
" Dictionnaire Repertoire des Peintres
depuis l'Antiquite jusqu'a nos jours,"
must have spent far more energy in pro-
ducing this chronological enumeration of
dated pictures, which, when complete,
will embrace some forty thousand works.
If the utility of such a list is perhaps
not quite so obvious, it can be said for it
that it will enable students of history,
as well as art, to see at a glance what
paintings were produced at a given period
and in various countries. 000

The Pewter Collector. By H. J. L. J.
Mases. (London : Herbert Jenkins, Ltd.)
This recent addition to the " Collector's
Series " is plentifully illustrated with
typical examples of the pewterer's craft
and replete with information of all kinds
regarding the ware. Special features are
a list of English, Scottish and Irish
pewterers filling more than 70 pages,
and the reproductions of a great number
of marks, while guidance is also given on
the subject of prices which the author
considers are absurdly high. 0 0

THE MERYON CENTENARY.

TO mark the centenary of the birth of
Charles Meryon, the greatest of French
etchers, the editor of The Studio is pre-
paring an important volume which will
contain reproductions, many in hand-
printed photogravure, of all his most
important etchings, including those views
of Paris which constitute such a wonderful
pictorial record of her old buildings.
Mr. Campbell Dodgson, Keeper of Prints
and Drawings at the British Museum,
will contribute an introduction to the
volume, which in format and general
style will be uniform with the recently
published work on Anders Zorn. The
edition will be strictly limited and all
orders should be placed by October 7th.
On receipt of a postcard, addressed to
44 Leicester Square, London, W.C.2,
the publishers will be pleased to send a
prospectus of this volume, which will be
ready for publication early in November.