DOI Heft:
No. 387 (September 1924)
DOI Artikel:Redworth, William Josiah: The later work of Maurice Greiffenhagen, R.A.
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21400#0149
LATER WORK OF MAURICE GREIFFENHAGEN, RA.
the drawing of that sure and profound
kind that is revelation rather than sugges-
tion. Probably this picture is at the
height of the painter's achievement.
Certain it is that in standing before it
one is conscious of being in the presence
of a great work of art. 0 0 a
To this period, also, belongs The
Shulamite. A dramatic effect is produced
by forcible contrast of line and mass. The
sweeping energy of the woman's figure is
contrasted with the austere lines of the
spears, and note the space of mysterious blue
that divides the design, which is as finely
spaced and balanced as Miltonic verse.
Doubtless there are some who regret the
passing of a phase in the artist's develop-
ment that produced such fine things, but
despite the height to which he has reached
he is still seeking for a more perfect art-
form. In his latest work shadow has almost
disappeared, the colour has brightened and
the outline become more pure. It ap-
proaches abstract design. The Glasgow
panels reproduced are the logical out-
come of this development. These are not
enlarged pictures, but mural decorations
rightly conceived. The character of wall-
" LIEUT. RIDER GREIFFENHAGEN "
BY MAURICE GREIFFENHAGEN, R.A.
"SIR H. RIDER HAGGARD, K.B.E."
BY MAURICE GREIFFENHAGEN, R.A.
spaces is never forgotten. The flat un-
modelled surface is not disguised, but
enhanced. The aesthetic influence of these
performances is seen in such recent pic-
tures as The Message and The Vision. That
the former of these is the artist's diploma
work on his attaining full academic rank,
is in itself evidence that he considers it
typical of his present methods and artistic
aims. 0 a 0 a a a
That the beautiful The Message has a
title is merely a concession to the maker
of catalogues ; it is as decoration that the
work appeals. Whistler understood this
when he attempted to eliminate titles, but
the British public, backed by Ruskin,
were too strong for him. The literary
ascendency of the Victorian age laid the
yoke of its own obsession on the purely
aesthetic art of painting, hence the decora-
tion of that age was almost negligible.
It imposed the narrative interest which is
still rampant, and the applause is for the
problem picture and the ugly or foolish
realism of the unimaginative. When those
things have passed away, together with the
chaotic phase that produced them, then
these works of a true decorator and clear-
seeing artist will shine from their wall a
link in the great tradition of a great art. 0
129
the drawing of that sure and profound
kind that is revelation rather than sugges-
tion. Probably this picture is at the
height of the painter's achievement.
Certain it is that in standing before it
one is conscious of being in the presence
of a great work of art. 0 0 a
To this period, also, belongs The
Shulamite. A dramatic effect is produced
by forcible contrast of line and mass. The
sweeping energy of the woman's figure is
contrasted with the austere lines of the
spears, and note the space of mysterious blue
that divides the design, which is as finely
spaced and balanced as Miltonic verse.
Doubtless there are some who regret the
passing of a phase in the artist's develop-
ment that produced such fine things, but
despite the height to which he has reached
he is still seeking for a more perfect art-
form. In his latest work shadow has almost
disappeared, the colour has brightened and
the outline become more pure. It ap-
proaches abstract design. The Glasgow
panels reproduced are the logical out-
come of this development. These are not
enlarged pictures, but mural decorations
rightly conceived. The character of wall-
" LIEUT. RIDER GREIFFENHAGEN "
BY MAURICE GREIFFENHAGEN, R.A.
"SIR H. RIDER HAGGARD, K.B.E."
BY MAURICE GREIFFENHAGEN, R.A.
spaces is never forgotten. The flat un-
modelled surface is not disguised, but
enhanced. The aesthetic influence of these
performances is seen in such recent pic-
tures as The Message and The Vision. That
the former of these is the artist's diploma
work on his attaining full academic rank,
is in itself evidence that he considers it
typical of his present methods and artistic
aims. 0 a 0 a a a
That the beautiful The Message has a
title is merely a concession to the maker
of catalogues ; it is as decoration that the
work appeals. Whistler understood this
when he attempted to eliminate titles, but
the British public, backed by Ruskin,
were too strong for him. The literary
ascendency of the Victorian age laid the
yoke of its own obsession on the purely
aesthetic art of painting, hence the decora-
tion of that age was almost negligible.
It imposed the narrative interest which is
still rampant, and the applause is for the
problem picture and the ugly or foolish
realism of the unimaginative. When those
things have passed away, together with the
chaotic phase that produced them, then
these works of a true decorator and clear-
seeing artist will shine from their wall a
link in the great tradition of a great art. 0
129