Studio: international art (85.1923)

THE COLLECTION OF MR. WILLIAM BURRELL

“ FRUIT.” OIL PAINTING
BY EDOUARD MANET

domestic, that they and the household
furniture and utensils which support them
seem but parts of an organic whole, inter-
playing to produce unity of effect. Thus
it can hardly be said that his personages
claim prior attention—they but take their
due place in the homely mise-en-scene.
He brought to his treatment of these
themes a new method of handling, a
richness and thickness of impasto, a
feeling for the surfaces and textures of
things, and a delight in the material
qualities of paint, which the Dutchmen
had only partially expressed. Sir Joshua
in this country often aimed at and attained
the same “cream-cheese ” effect of material,
but mostly with results not so per-
manent as the Frenchman's. It has proven,
however—in the longer run it is true—
somewhat disastrous even for Chardin,
as many of his pictures, while preserving
their freshness, have cracked rather badly

and deeply; the truth appearing to be
that no such very thick method is ever
quite safe, and the Dutchmen were wiser
in choosing a manner which, while robust
enough, was less “ stodged ” and retained
more the tooth of the canvas or surface of
the panel. 0 0 0 0 0

Be all this as it may, there is no doubt
that Mr. Burrell does not share the common
British prejudice. No less than fifteen of
his pictures here are works of still life,
and almost all—save the Chardins—by last
century Frenchmen. The most notable
of these pictures is, of course, the large
Veal and Ham Pie (what a title!) by
Chardin, signed and dated 1760, and
already briefly referred to in the previous
article. The prosaic name notwithstand-
ing, this generous “ pasty ” has little in
common with the articles we know, and
avoid perchance, under that name in
railway refreshment rooms. A generous

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