atmosphere was a contribution to the history of modern art, and was
among the elements which will be handed down to posterity as the
original note of the painters of the last years of the nineteenth
century. Of these Sorolla was one of the most forceful, and we lay
stress upon his work, as in our judgment its importance demands especial
notice. We have not alluded to his great talent as a portrait painter,
nor to the decorative works which he has dedicated to the Hispanic
Society of America in New York, and which, although they are completed,
are not yet installed in place. Some few years after the appearance of
Sorolla, there arose almost simultaneously two Spanish painters of other
tendencies, equally noteworthy, and whose names are universally
known--Zuloaga and Anglada. Zuloaga must be regarded in a very different
manner from Sorolla. In no sense does he go to nature merely to copy it
in the manner in which it presents itself to our vision, but he seeks,
both in nature and humanity, for types, for characteristic figures of a
representative and realistic kind. His work has developed with
robustness and force, and attracts the attention of the modern critic
eager for characteristic and singular qualities. To his reception in the
universal world of art it is not necessary to allude here. The reviews
and periodicals of all countries have commented with praise upon the
achievements of this master, who is still busily at work, constantly
engaged in the representation of popular types in the characteristic
costume of many regions, especially his own people, the Basques, and the
Castilians, for whom he appears to have a special predilection.
Those landscapes which he takes for the backgrounds of his pictures also
seem to be inspired by that love of character which animates all his
productions. In his latest phase, too, he has executed numerous
portraits of people of different social categories. In technique it is
noticeable that Zuloaga strives to preserve those tonalities which
characterize the Spanish School; and the study he has made of the works
of Velázquez and Goya is manifested in the lively reminiscences of these
masterpieces displayed at times in his pictures, which exhibit,
nevertheless, a relative modernity.
Anglada is, in our view, completely distinct from Sorolla and Zuloaga.
Enamoured of the charm of colour, his work has no connection with
schools or traditions. Aloof from every influence, he aspires to nothing
so much as rich colour-schemes and harmonies, and seeks inspiration in
night-bound gardens, brightly illuminated, in subjects which reflect
electric light, and in figures which appear all the more distinct as the
background is often the sea beneath the radiance of the Mediterranean
light. These unusual sources of inspiration appear strange at first
sight; but it is noticeable that they manifest on the part of the
painter always the same idea of seeking for rich colouring. We must
regard Anglada as one of the most remarkable and most original of modern
painters. It is a great pity that he was not represented at Burlington
House. His absence, like that of Sert, the great decorative painter,
Beltran, Miguel Nieto and others, was accounted for by the fact that
the pictures were received too late to be included in the Exhibition.
* * * * *
The salons set apart for modern painting at the London Exhibition seem
to us to have been disposed and arranged with care. There were shown in
the first of these rooms works by Sorolla, his disciple Benedito, one of
the most esteemed portrait painters in Madrid, Zaragoza, Moisés, Carlos
Vázquez, and some landscapes by Rusiñol. The second room was in complete
harmony with the first, and in it we observed the works of artists, some
of whom are still young, but nevertheless masters of strong propensity
and perfect equilibrium; the great composition by Gonzalo Bilbao, _The
Cigar-makers_ (Plate XXXVII.); the striking portraits of Chicharro and
Sotomayor; the unmistakably Spanish canvases of Mezquita and Rodriguez
Acosta; and the picturesque and suggestive note of the Valencian figures
by Pinazo Martinez.
The neighbouring room was dedicated to those who may be called painters
of character, for such was the exclusive note of all the works shown
there. It would not be easy to say who occupied the place of honour
here, Zuloaga, Romero de Torres, an artist of Cordova, who has tried to
create a type of female beauty famous throughout Spain, the brothers
Zubiaurre, peculiarly Basque in feeling, and now well known everywhere,
Salaverria, Ortiz Echagüe, Arrúe, Juan Luis y Arteta, a delicate and
emotional painter who has found on the Basque shores subjects for
pictures unusually simple, in which is displayed a delicacy of technical
expression together with the significance of an idea, inspired, like his
subjects, by a simple poetry.
Following these, in still other rooms, were hung works similar in type,
but bolder, perhaps, such as those of Solana, whose three canvases,
painted in low tones, were of great interest and excited much remark in
the exhibition; Vázquez Díaz, so various in his subjects, but always
individual; Maeztu, the consistent exponent of a colossal and decorative
style; Castelucho, Urgell, Guezala; and Astruc y Sancha, who combines
caricature of consummate mastery with the painting of landscapes of
manifest originality.
In another room were exhibited smaller landscapes. These included
examples of Rusiñol, Beruete, Regoyos, Meifren, Forns, Raurich, Colom,
Grosso and Mir. Among the work of other young painters of promise but as
yet little known, we must mention the seascapes of Verdugo Landi and
Nogue.
The next salon, known as the Lecture Room, formed a kind of overflow for
the last, and contained pictures by Hermoso, Garnelo, Simonet, Morera,
Marin Bagües, Canals, Cardona, Villegas Brieva, Oroz, Madrazo-Ochoa,
Covarsi, Bermejo, and many other artists, a list of whom would be much
too extensive for inclusion here.
* * * * *
We do not think that the assertion that Spanish painting has been a
powerful factor in the history and development of universal art will be
regarded by anyone as a discovery, nor will such a statement appear as a
result of patriotic enthusiasm. Spanish painting to-day follows its
brilliant traditions; and although we believe this present period to be
one of gestation, it occasionally reveals qualities of splendour and
greatness. It is indubitably lacking in marked and decided outlook, but
it is, nevertheless, universally respected and suffers, at the most,
merely from the exigencies of the time. Moreover, not a few critics of
distinction in the Peninsula, who concern themselves with the study of
particular movements, see in it a tendency to the formation of regional
groups. The central one naturally has its focus in Madrid, and radiates
thence over the whole of Spain; but a large output is always forthcoming
from the cities of Seville and Valencia, which appear, by the light of
tradition, as the most brilliant centres of pictorial art. There are,
moreover, two other regions which have produced rich and flourishing
art--Catalonia and the Basque provinces, with their two capital cities,
Barcelona and Bilbao.
Catalan art is no new thing in Spanish tradition, and is in a measure
descended from that which was formerly the art of the Kingdom of Aragon
before the national union. The Catalans have confined it entirely to
their territory, have cultivated it with enthusiasm, and have created a
Catalan school of Spanish Art. It is a great pity that they have not
tried to preserve a more national spirit and have frequently sought
inspiration from foreign sources, especially from France. But, this
notwithstanding, Catalan achievement is indeed most worthy of praise.
The artistic production of the Basque provinces is forcible and
original. The Basques, with a scanty pictorial tradition, have shrewdly
sought for inspiration in the Spanish sphere without distinction of
locality, and have produced an art of undoubted interest.
But apart from this there exists at the present time a movement of
worldwide character, which seems to have a literary origin and which
may, perhaps, be called, for want of a better name, the new spirit.
Though still in a chaotic state, this movement, varied in its aspects,
may in all lands be identified by an underlying intention to
revolutionize everything, creating a new æsthetic code and turning its
back on the past and on all tradition.
It is not our intention to deal with this movement or to discuss its
importance. Spain does not appear to be the country best fitted to lead
it. Its history seems to show that while it is ready of acceptance, it
is not to be hurried in its advance; nor is it eager to seize upon
radical ideas. But this notwithstanding, it has painters who understand
and cultivate art of this kind, and it must not be forgotten that one of
the outstanding figures in the ultramodern movement is the Spaniard
Picasso, who has shown once more that in all phases of artistic effort
the Spanish temperament significantly reveals itself.
A. DE BERUETE Y MORET.
(_Translated by Lewis Spence_)
[Illustration: PLATE I
YAÑEZ DE LA ALMEDINA
(_Collection of the Marquis de Casa-Arquedin, Madrid_)
“ANTA CATALINA” (“SAINT CATHERINE”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE II
PANTOJA DE LA CRUZ
(_Collection of H.M. The King of Spain_)
“PHILIP II”
]
[Illustration: PLATE III
EL GRECO
(_Collection of H.M. The King of Spain_)
“LA GLORIA DE FELIPE II”
(“THE ‘GLORY’ OF PHILIP II”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE IV
EL GRECO
(_Provincial Museum, Toledo_)
“SAN PABLO” (“SAINT PAUL”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE V
EL GRECO
_Photo: Moreno, Madrid_
(_Church of Santo Tomé, Toledo_)
“EL ENTIERRO DEL CONDE DE ORGAZ” (DETAIL.)
(“THE BURIAL OF COUNT OF ORGAZ”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE VI
EL GRECO
(_Prado Museum, Madrid_)
“RETRATO DE UN CABALLERO”
(“PORTRAIT OF A NOBLEMAN”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE VII
FRANCISCO DE RIBALTA
(_Fine Art Museum, Valencia_)
“SAN PEDRO”
(“SAINT PETER”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE VIII
ZURBARAN
(_Provincial Museum, Seville_)
“EL BEATO DOMINICO ENRIQUE SUZON”
(“THE DOMINICAN, HENRY SUZON”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE IX
VELAZQUEZ
(_Collection of Sir Herbert Cook, Bart._)
“CALABACILLAS EL BUFON”
(“CALABACILLAS, THE BUFFOON”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE X
VELAZQUEZ
_Photo: Anderson_
“LAS MENINAS” (THE MAIDS OF HONOUR)]
[Illustration: PLATE XI
VELAZQUEZ
(_Prado Museum_, _Madrid_)
“LAS MENINAS” (DETAIL)
(“THE MAIDS OF HONOUR”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XII
VELAZQUEZ
(_National Gallery, London. By permission of Messrs. Thos. Agnew &
Sons_)
“VENUS Y CUPIDO” (“VENUS AND CUPID”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XIII
VELAZQUEZ
_Photo: Mansell_
(_National Gallery, London_)
“PHILIP IV”
]
[Illustration: PLATE XIV
VELAZQUEZ
“INFANTE BALTASAR CARLOS”]
[Illustration: PLATE XV
VELAZQUEZ
_Photo: Anderson_
(_Prado Museum, Madrid_)
“INFANTE BALTASAR CARLOS” (DETAIL)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XVI
VELAZQUEZ
_Photo: Mansell_
(_Wallace Collection, London_)
“LA DAMA DEL ABANICO”
(“THE LADY WITH A FAN”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XVII
FRAY JUAN RIZI
(_Collection of Sir Herbert Cook, Bart._)
“UN CABALLERO JOVEN”
(“A YOUNG CAVALIER”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XVIII
MURILLO
_Photo: Anderson_
_Photo: Anderson_
(_La Caridad, Seville_)
“MOISES TOCANDO LA ROCA”
(“MOSES STRIKING THE ROCK”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XIX
MURILLO
_Photo: Anderson_
(_La Caridad, Seville_)
“EL MILAGRO DE LOS PANES Y LOS PECES”
(“THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XX
MURILLO
_Photo: Anderson_
(_Provincial Museum, Seville_)
“SAN FELIX DE CANTALISI Y EL NIÑO JESUS”
(“ST. FELIX OF CANTALISI AND THE INFANT CHRIST”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXI
MURILLO
_Photo: Mansell_
(_Wallace Collection, London_)
“LA CARIDAD DE SANTO TOMAS DE VILLANUEVA”
(“THE CHARITY OF ST. THOMAS OF VILLANUEVA”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXII
CARREÑO DE MIRANDA
(_Collection of the Duke of Medinaceli, Madrid_)
“RETRATO DE UNA DAMA”
(“PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG LADY”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXIII
CLAUDIO COELLO
(_Collection of Don Aureliano de Beruete y Moret, Madrid_)
“DON JUAN DE ALARCON”
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXIV
GOYA
(_Collection of the Duke of Montellano, Madrid_)
“EL COLUMPIO”
(“THE SWING”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXV
GOYA
(_Collection of the Duke of Montellano, Madrid_)
“LA CUCAÑA” (“THE GREASY POLE”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXVI
GOYA
(_Collection of the Count of Villagonzalo, Madrid_)
“AUTORRETRATO”
(“PORTRAIT OF THE PAINTER”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXVII
GOYA
(_Fernan-Nuñez Collection, Madrid_)
“CONDE DE FERNAN-NUÑEZ” (DETAIL)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXVIII
GOYA
(_Prado Museum, Madrid_)
“INFANTE DON CARLOS MARIA ISIDRO”
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXIX
GOYA
(_Private Collection, Madrid_)
“LA CONDESA DE CHINCHOU” (DETAIL)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXX
GOYA
(_Collection of the Count of Villagonzalo, Madrid_)
“EL DUQUE DE SAN CARLOS”
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXI
EDUARDO ROSALES
“MUJER SALIENDO DEL BAÑO”
(“WOMAN LEAVING THE BATH”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXII
MARIANO FORTUNY
(_Collection of Capt. Samuels_)
“EL PATIO DE LA ALBERCA EN LA ALHAMBRA”
(“THE ALBERCA COURT IN THE ALHAMBRA”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXIII
JOAQUIN SOROLLA
“SALIENDO DEL BAÑO”
(“AFTER BATHING”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXIV
IGNACIO ZULOAGA
“LA SEÑORITA SOUTY”
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXV
E. MARTINEZ VAZQUEZ
“UNA ALDEA DE LA SIERRA DE GREDOS (AVILA)”
(“A VILLAGE IN THE SIERRA DE GREDOS (AVILA)”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXVI
LUIS MASRIERA
“SOMBRAS REFLEJADAS” (“REFLECTED SHADOWS”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXVII
GONZALO BILBAO
“LAS CIGARRERAS” (“THE CIGAR-MAKERS”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXVIII
RAMON DE ZUBIAURRE
“RETRATO DE MI ESPOSA”
(“PORTRAIT OF MY WIFE”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXIX
JOSÉ PINAZO
“CREPUSCULO”
(“TWILIGHT”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XL
A. ORTIZ ECHAGÜE
“SUPERSTICION”
(“SUPERSTITION”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XLI
J. GUTIERREZ SOLANA
“CARNAVAL EN LA ALDEA”
(“THE VILLAGE CARNIVAL”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XLII
JOSE BENLLIURE GIL
“HACIENDO BOLILLOS”
(“LACE-MAKING”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XLIII
C. CASTELUCHO
“NIÑOS GITANOS EN LA PLAYA” (“GIPSY CHILDREN ON THE BEACH”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XLIV
JUAN CARDONA
“ALTAR DE MAYO”
(“MAY ALTAR”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XLV
F. ALVAREZ DE SOTOMAYOR
“PAISANAS GALLEGAS”
(“GALICIAN PEASANT-WOMEN”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XLVI
CARLOS VAZQUEZ
“UNA DOLOROSA”
(“OUR LADY OF SORROWS”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE XLVII
JOSÉ Ma LOPEZ MEZQUITA
“PILARCITA”
]
[Illustration: PLATE XLVIII
FRANCISCO SANCHA
“UN PUEBLO ANDALUZ” (“AN ANDALUSIAN VILLAGE”)]
[Illustration: PLATE XLIX
JOSÉ DE MARTI GARCES
“INTERIOR”
]
[Illustration: PLATE L
NICOLAS RAURICH
“TERRUÑOS”
(“ROUGH GROUND”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE LI
JOSÉ R. ZARAGOZA
“VIEJOS BRETONES”
(“OLD BRETONS”)
]
[Illustration: PLATE LII
CONDE DE AGUIAR
“RETRATO DE UN TORERO”
(“PORTRAIT OF A BULLFIGHTER”)
]