read: "The mention of style suggests a reference to the portraits by Miss
Cecilia Beaux, while the allusion to characterization suggests at the
same time their limitation. The oftener one sees her 'Mother and
Daughter,' which gained the gold medal at Pittsburg in 1899 and the gold
medal also at last year's Paris Exposition, the less one feels inclined
to accept it as a satisfactory example of portraiture. Magnificent
assurance of method it certainly has, controlled also by a fine sobriety
of feeling, so that no part of the ensemble impinges upon the due
importance of the other parts; it is a balanced, dignified picture. But
in its lack of intimacy it is positively callous. One has met these
ladies on many occasions, but with no increase of acquaintanceship or
interest on either side--our meetings are sterile of any human interest.
So one turns with relief to Miss Beaux's other picture of 'Dorothea and
Francesca'--an older girl leading a younger one in the steps of a dance.
They are not concerned with us, but at least interested in one another;
and we can attach ourselves, if only as outsiders, to the human interest
involved.
"These pictures suggest a moment's consideration of the true meaning of
the term 'style' as applied to painting. Is it not more than the mere
ableness of method, still more than the audacity of brush work, that
often passes for style? Is it possible to dissociate the manner of a
picture from its embodiment of some fact or idea? For it to have style in
the full sense of the word, surely it must embody an expression of life
as serious and thorough as the method of record."--_Charles H. Caffin_.
In the _International Studio_ of March, 1903, we read: "The portrait of
Mrs. Roosevelt, by Miss Cecilia Beaux, seemed to me to be one of the
happiest of her creations. Nothing could exceed the skill and daintiness
with which the costume is painted, and the characterization of the head
is more sympathetic than usual, offering a most winsome type of
beautiful, good womanhood. A little child has been added to the
picture--an afterthought, I understand, and scarcely a fortunate one; at
least in the manner of its presentment. The figure is cleverly merged in
half shadow, but the treatment of the face is brusque, and a most
unpleasant smirk distorts the child's mouth. It is the portrait of the
mother that carries the picture, and its superiority to many of Miss
Beaux's portraits consists in the sympathy with her subject which the
painter has displayed."--_Charles H. Caffin_.
A writer in the _Mail and Express_ says: "Miss Beaux has approached the
task of painting the society woman of to-day, not as one to whom this
type is known only by the exterior, but with a sympathy as complete as a
similar tradition and an artistic temperament will allow. Thus she starts
with an advantage denied to all but a very few American portrait
painters, and this explains the instinctive way in which she gives to her
pictured subjects an air of natural ease and good breeding."
Miss Beaux's picture of "Brighton Cats" is so excellent that one almost
regrets that she has not emulated Mme. Ronner's example and left
portraits of humans to the many artists who cannot paint cats!
[_No reply to circular_.]
<b>BECK, CAROL H.</b> Mary Smith prize at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine
Arts, 1899. Fellow of above Academy and member of the Plastic Club,
Philadelphia. Born in Philadelphia. Studied in schools of Pennsylvania
Academy, and later in Dresden and Paris.
Miss Beck paints portraits and her works have been frequently exhibited.
Her portraits are also seen in the University of Pennsylvania, in the
Woman's Medical College, Philadelphia, in Wesleyan College, at the
capitols of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and other public places, as well
as in many private homes.
Miss Beck edited the Catalogue of the Wilstach Collection of Paintings in
Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.
<b>BECKINGTON, ALICE.</b>
[_No reply to circular_.]
<b>BEERNAERTS, EUPHROSINE.</b> Landscape painter. In 1873 she won a medal
at Vienna, in 1875 a gold medal at the Brussels Salon, and still other
medals at Philadelphia (1876), Sydney (1879), and Teplitz (1879). She was
made Chévalier de l'Ordre de Léopold in 1881. Mlle. Beernaerts was born
at Ostend, 1831, and studied under Kuhner in Brussels. She travelled in
Germany, France, and Italy, and exhibited admirable landscapes at
Brussels, Antwerp, and Paris, her favorite subjects being Dutch. In 1878
the following pictures by her were shown in Paris: "Lisière de bois dans
les Dunes (Zélande)," "Le Village de Domburg (Zélande)," and "Intérieur
de bois à Oost-Kapel (Holland)." Other well-known works are "Die Campine"
and "Aus der Umgebung von Oosterbeck."
<b>BEGAS, LUISE PARMENTIER.</b> Born in Vienna. Pupil of Schindler and
Unger. She travelled extensively in Europe and the Orient, and spent some
time in Sicily. She married Adalbert Begas in 1877 and then established
her studio in Berlin. Her subjects are landscape, architectural
monuments, and interiors. Some of the latter are especially fine. Her
picture of the "Burial Ground at Scutari" was an unusual subject at the
time it was exhibited and attracted much attention.
Her rich gift in the use of color is best seen in her pictures of still
life and flowers. In Berlin, in 1890, she exhibited "Before the Walls of
Constantinople" and "From Constantinople," which were essentially
different from her earlier works and attracted much attention. "Taormina
in Winter" more nearly resembled her earlier pictures.
Fräulein Parmentier also studied etching, in which art Unger was her
instructor. In her exquisite architectural pictures and landscapes she
has represented Italian motives almost exclusively. Among these are her
views of Venice and other South Italian sketches, which are also the
subjects of some of her etchings.
<b>BELLE, MLLE. ANDRÉE.</b> Member of the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts.
Born in Paris. Pupil of Cazin. Paints in oils and pastels, landscapes
especially, of which she exhibited seventeen in June, 1902. The larger
part of these were landscape portraits, so to speak, as they were done on
the spots represented with faithfulness to detail. The subjects were
pleasing, and the various hours of day, with characteristic lighting,
unusually well rendered.
At the Salon des Beaux Arts, 1902, this artist exhibited a large pastel,
"A Halt at St. Mammès" and a "Souvenir of Bormes," showing the tomb of
Cazin. In 1903 she exhibited a pastel called "Calvary," now in the Museum
at Amiens, which has been praised for its harmony of color and the
manner in which the rainbow is represented. Her pictures of "Twilight"
and "Sunset" are unusually successful.
<b>BENATO-BELTRAMI, ELISABETTA.</b> Painter and sculptor of the nineteenth
century, living in Padua since 1858. Her talent, which showed itself
early, was first developed by an unknown painter named Soldan, and later
at the Royal Academy in Venice. She made copies of Guido, Sassoferrato
and Veronese, the Laokoon group, and the Hercules of Canova, and executed
a much-admired bas-relief called "Love and Innocence." Among her original
paintings are an "Atala and Chactas," "Petrarch's First Meeting with
Laura," a "Descent from the Cross" for the church at Tribano, a "St.
Sebastian," "Melancholy," a "St. Ciro," and many Madonnas. Her pictures
are noble in conception and firm in execution.
<b>BENITO Y TEJADA, BENITA.</b> Born in Bilboa, where she first studied
drawing; later she went to Madrid, where she entered the Escuela
superior. In the Exposition of 1876 at Madrid "The Guardian" was shown,
and in 1881 a large canvas representing "The First Step."
<b>BERNHARDT, SARAH.</b> In 1869 this famous actress watched
Mathieu-Meusnier making a bust. She made her criticisms and they were
always just. The sculptor told her that she had the eye of an artist and
should use her talent in sculpture. Not long after she brought to him a
medallion portrait of her aunt. So good was it that Mathieu-Meusnier
seriously encouraged her to persevere in her art. She was fascinated by
the thought of what might be possible for her, took a studio, and sent
to the Salon in 1875 a bust, which attracted much attention. In 1876 she
exhibited "After the Tempest," the subject taken from the story of a poor
woman who, having buried two sons, saw the body of her last boy washed
ashore after a storm. This work was marvellously effective, and a great
future as a sculptress was foretold for the "divine Sara." At the Salon
of 1878 she exhibited two portrait busts in bronze.
This remarkable woman is a painter also, and exhibited a picture called
"La jeune Fille et la Mort." One critic wrote of it: "Sarah's picture
shows very considerable feeling for color and more thought than the vast
majority of modern paintings. The envious and evil speakers, who always
want to say nasty things, pretend to trace in the picture very frequent
touches of Alfred Stevens, who has been Sarah's master in painting, as
Mathieu-Meusnier was in sculpture. However that may be, Sarah has posed
her figures admirably and her coloring is excellent. It is worthy of
notice that, being as yet a comparative beginner, she has not attempted
to give any expression to the features of the young girl over whose
shoulder Death is peeping."
One of the numerous ephemeral journals which the young and old jeunesse
of the Latin Quarter is constantly creating has made a very clever
caricature of the picture in a sort of Pompeian style. Death is
represented by the grinning figure of Coquelin ainé. The legend is "'La
Jeune Fille et la Mort,' or Coquelin ainé, presenting Sarah Bernhardt the
bill of costs of her fugue." In other words, Coquelin is Death, handing
to Sarah the undertaker's bill--300,000 francs--for her civil burial at
the Comédie Française.
<b>BETHUNE, LOUISE.</b> This architect, whose maiden name was Blanchard,
was born in Waterloo, New York, 1856. She studied drawing and
architecture, and in 1881 opened an office, being the first woman
architect in the United States. Since her marriage to Robert A. Bethune
they have practised their art together. Mrs. Bethune is the only woman
holding a fellowship in the American Institute of Architects.
[_No reply to circular_.]
<b>BEVERIDGE, KÜHNE.</b> Honorable mention in Paris twice. Born in
Springfield, Illinois. Studied under William R. O'Donovan in New York,
and under Rodin in Paris.
Among her works are a statue called "Rhodesia," "Rough Rider Monument," a
statue called "Lascire," which belongs to Dr. Jameson, busts of Cecil
Rhodes, King Edward VII., Grover Cleveland, Vice-President Stevenson,
Joseph Jefferson, Buffalo Bill, General Mahon, hero of Mafeking, Thomas
L. Johnson, and many others.
Miss Beveridge was first noticed as an artist in this country in 1892,
when her busts of ex-President Cleveland and Mr. Jefferson called
favorable attention to her.
In 1899 she married Charles Coghlan, and soon discovered that he had a
living wife at the time of her marriage and obtained a divorce. Before
she went to South Africa Miss Beveridge had executed several commissions
for Cecil Rhodes and others living in that country.
Her mother is now the Countess von Wrede, her home being in Europe,
where her daughter has spent much time. She has married the second time,
an American, Mr. Branson, who resides at Johannesburg, in the Transvaal.
<b>BIFFIN, SARAH.</b> 1784-1850. It seems a curious fact that several
persons born without arms and hands have become reputable artists. This
miniature painter was one of these. Her first teacher, a man named Dukes,
persuaded her to bind herself to live in his house and give her time to
his service for some years. Later, when the Earl of Morton made her
acquaintance, he proved to her that her engagement was not legally
binding and wished her to give it up; but Miss Biffin was well treated by
the Dukes and preferred to remain with them.
The Earl of Morton, however, caused her to study under Mr. Craig, and she
attained wonderful excellence in her miniatures. In 1821 the Duke of
Sussex, on behalf of the Society of Arts, presented her with a prize
medal for one of her pictures.
She remained sixteen years with the Dukes, and during this time never
received more than five pounds a year! After leaving them she earned a
comfortable income. She was patronized by George III. and his successors,
and Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort were her generous patrons, as
well as many other distinguished persons.
After the death of the Earl of Morton she had no other friend to aid her
in getting commissions or selling her finished pictures, and she moved to
Liverpool. A small annuity was purchased for her, which, in addition to
the few orders she received, supported her until her death at the age of
sixty-six. Her miniatures have been seen in loan collections in recent
years. Her portrait of herself, on ivory, was exhibited in such a
collection at South Kensington.
<b>BILDERS, MARIE.</b> Family name Van Bosse. Born in Amsterdam, 1837; died
in Wiesbaden, 1900. Pupil of Van de Sande-Bakhuyzen, Bosboom, and
Johannes W. Bilders. Settled in Oosterbeck, and painted landscapes from
views in the neighborhood. This artist was important, and her works are
admired especially by certain Dutch artists who are famous in all
countries. These facts are well known to me from good authority, but I
fail to find a list of her works or a record of their present
position.[1]
[Footnote 1: See Appendix.]
<b>BILINSKA, ANNA.</b> Received the small gold medal at Berlin in 1891, and
won distinguished recognition at other international exhibitions in
Berlin and Munich by her portraits and figure studies. She was born in
Warsaw in 1858, and died there in 1893. She studied in Paris, where she
quickly became a favorite painter of aristocratic Russians and Poles. Her
pictures are strong and of brilliant technique.
<b>BIONDI, NICOLA.</b> Born at Capua, 1866. This promising young Italian
painter was a pupil of the Institute of Fine Arts in Naples. One of her
pictures, called "Una partita," was exhibited at Naples and attracted
much attention. It was purchased by Duke Martini. Another, "Ultima
Prova," was exhibited in Rome and favorably noticed.
<b>BLAU, TINA.</b> Honorable mention in Paris, 1883, for her "Spring in
the Prater." Her "Land Party" is in the possession of the Emperor of
Austria, and "In Spring-time" belongs to the Prince Regent of Bavaria.
This talented landscape painter was born in Vienna, 1847. She was a pupil
of Schäffer in Vienna, and of W. Lindenschmitt in Munich. After
travelling in Austria, Holland, and Italy, she followed her predilection
for landscape, and chose her themes in great part from those countries.
In 1884 she married Heinrich Lang, painter of battle scenes (who died in
1891), and she now works alternately in Munich and Vienna. In 1890 she
gave an exhibition of her pictures in Munich; they were thought to show
great vigor of composition and color and much delicacy of artistic
perception. Her foreign scenes, especially, are characterized by unusual
local truth and color. Among her best works are "Studies from the Prater
in Vienna," "Canal at Amsterdam," "Harvest Day in Holland," "The Arch of
Titus in Rome," "Street in Venice," and "Late Summer."
<b>BLOCH, MME. ELISA.</b> Honorable mention, 1894. Officer of public
instruction, Commander of the Order of the Liberator; Chevalier of the
Order of the Dragon of Annam. Born at Breslau, Silesia, 1848. Pupil of
Chapu. She first exhibited at the Salon of 1878, a medallion portrait of
M. Bloch; this was followed by "Hope," the "Golden Age," "Virginius
Sacrificing his Daughter," "Moses Receiving the Tables of the Law," etc.
Mme. Bloch has made numerous portrait busts, among them being the kings
of Spain and Portugal, Buffalo Bill, C. Flammarion, etc.
At the Salon of the Artistes Français, 1903, Mme. Bloch exhibited a
"Portrait of M. Frédéric Passy, Member of the Institute."
<b>BOCCARDO, LINA ZERBINAH.</b> Rome.
[_No reply to circular_.]
<b>BOEMM, RITTA.</b> A Hungarian artist. Has been much talked of in
Dresden. She certainly possesses distinguished talents, and is easily in
the front rank of Dresden women artists. Her gouache pictures dealing
with Hungarian subjects, a "Village Street," a "Peasant Farm," a
"Churchyard," exhibited at Dresden in 1892, were well drawn and full of
sentiment, but lacking in color sense and power. She works unevenly and
seems pleased when she succeeds in setting a scene cleverly. She paints
portraits also, mostly in pastel, which are spirited, but not especially
good likenesses. What she can do in the way of color may be seen in her
"Village Street in Winter," a picture of moderate size, in which the
light is exquisite; unfortunately most of her painting is less admirable
than this.
<b>BOISSONNAS, MME. CAROLINE SORDET.</b> Honorable mention at the Salon of
Lyons, 1897. Member of the Exposition Permanente Amis des Beaux-Arts,
Geneva. Born in Geneva. Pupil of the School of Fine Arts, Geneva, under
Prof. F. Gillet and M. E. Ravel.
This artist paints portraits principally. She has been successful, and
her pictures are in Geneva, Lausanne, Vevey, Paris, Lyons, Marseilles,
Dresden, Naples, etc.
<b>BOMPIANI-BATTAGLIA, CLELIA.</b> Born in Rome, 1847. Pupil of her
father, Roberto Bompiani, and of the professors in the Academy of St.
Luke. The following pictures in water-colors have established her
reputation as an artist: "Confidential Communication," 1885; the
"Fortune-Teller," 1887; "A Public Copyist," 1888; and "The Wooing," 1888.
<b>BONHEUR, JULIETTE--MME. PEYROL.</b> Born at Paris. Sister of Rosa
Bonheur, and a pupil of her father. Among her pictures are "A Flock of
Geese," "A Flock of Sheep Lying Down," and kindred subjects. The
last-named work was much remarked at the Salon of 1875. In 1878 she
exhibited "The Pool" and "The Mother's Kiss."
Mme. Peyrol was associated with her famous sister in the conduct of the
Free School of Design, founded by Rosa Bonheur in 1849.
<b>BONHEUR, MARIE ROSALIE.</b> 1822-99. Member of Antwerp Institute, 1868.
Salon medals, 1845, 1848, 1855, 1867; Legion of Honor, 1865; Leopold
Cross, 1880; Commander's Cross, Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic,
1880. Born in Bordeaux. She was taught drawing by her father, who,
perceiving that she had unusual talent, permitted her to give up
dressmaking, to which, much against her will, she had been apprenticed.
From 1855 her fame was established; she was greatly appreciated, and her
works competed for in England and the United States, as well as in
European countries.
Her chief merit is the actual truthfulness with which she represented
animals. Her skies might be bettered in some cases--the atmosphere of her
pictures was sometimes open to question--but her animals were
anatomically perfect and handled with such virility as few men have
excelled or even equalled. Her position as an artist is so established
that no quoted opinions are needed when speaking of her--she was one of
the most famous women of her century.
Her home at By was near Fontainebleau, where she lived quietly, and for
some years held gratuitous classes for drawing. She left, at her death, a
collection of pictures, studies, etchings, etc., which were sold by
auction in Paris soon after.
Her "Ploughing in the Nivernais," 1848, is in the Luxembourg Gallery;
"The Horse Fair," 1853, is seen in the National Gallery, London, in a
replica, the original being in the United States, purchased by the late
A. T. Stewart. Her "Hay Harvest in the Auvergne," 1855, is one of her
most important works. After 1867 Mlle. Bonheur did not exhibit at the
Salon until 1899, a few weeks before her death.
One must pay a tribute to this artist as a good and generous woman. She
founded the Free School of Design for Girls, and in 1849 took the
direction of it and devoted much of her valuable time to its interests.
How valuable an hour was to her we may understand when we remember that
Hamerton says: "I have seen work of hers which, according to the price
given, must have paid her a hundred pounds for each day's labor."
The story of her life is of great interest, and can be but slightly
sketched here.
She was afoot betimes in the morning, and often walked ten or twelve
miles and worked hard all day. The difficulty of reaching her models
proved such a hindrance to her that she conceived the idea of visiting
the abattoirs, where she could see animals living and dead and study
their anatomy.
It is not easy to imagine all the difficulties she encountered in doing
this--the many repulsive features of such places--while the company of
drovers and butchers made one of the disagreeables of her pursuits. Her
love for the animals, too, made it doubly hard for her to see them in the
death agony and listen to their pitiful cries for freedom.
In all this experience, however, she met no rude or unkind treatment. Her
drawings won the admiration of the men who watched her make them and they
treated her with respect. She pursued her studies in the same manner in
the stables of the Veterinary School at Alfort and in the Jardin des
Plantes.
At other times she studied in the country the quiet grazing herds, and,
though often mistaken for a boy on account of the dress she wore, she
inspired only admiration for her simplicity and frankness of manner,
while the graziers and horse-dealers respectfully regarded her and
wondered at her skill in picturing their favorite animals. Some very
amusing stories might be told of her comical embarrassments in her
country rambles, when she was determined to preserve her disguise and the
pretty girls were equally determined to make love to her!
Aside from all this laborious study of living animals, she obtained
portions of dead creatures for dissection; also moulds, casts, and
illustrated anatomical books; and, in short, she left no means untried
by which she could perfect herself in the specialty she had chosen. Her
devotion to study and to the practice of her art was untiring, and only
the most engrossing interest in it and an indomitable perseverance,
supplemented and supported by a physically and morally healthful
organization, could have sustained the nervous strain of her life from
the day when she was first allowed to follow her vocation to the time
when she placed herself in the front rank of animal painters.
A most charming picture is drawn of the life of the Bonheur family in the
years when Rosa was making her progressive steps. They lived in an humble
house in the Rue Rumfort, the father, Auguste, Isidore, and Rosa all
working in the same studio. She had many birds and a pet sheep. As the
apartment of the Bonheurs was on the sixth floor, this sheep lived on the
leads, and from time to time Isidore bore him on his shoulders down all
the stairs to the neighboring square, where the animal could browse on
the real grass, and afterward be carried back by one of the devoted
brothers of his mistress. They were very poor, but they were equally
happy. At evening Rosa made small models or illustrations for books or
albums, which the dealers readily bought, and by this means she added to
the family store for needs or pleasures.
In 1841, when Rosa was nineteen years old, she first experienced the
pleasures, doubts, and fears attendant upon a public exhibition of one's
work. Two small pictures, called "Goats and Sheep" and "Two Rabbits,"
were hung at the Salon and were praised by critics and connoisseurs. The
next year she sent three others, "Animals in a Pasture," "A Cow Lying in
a Meadow," and "A Horse for Sale." She continued to send pictures to the
Salon and to some exhibitions in other cities, and received several
bronze and silver medals.
In 1845 she sent twelve works to the Salon, accompanied by those of her
father and her brother Auguste, who was admitted that year for the first
time. In 1848 Isidore was added to the list, exhibiting a picture and a
group in marble, both representing "A Combat between a Lioness and an
African Horseman." And, finally, the family contributions were completed
when Juliette, now Madame Peyrol, added her pictures, and the works of
the five artists were seen in the same Exhibition.
In 1849 Rosa Bonheur's "Cantal Oxen" was awarded the gold medal, and was
followed by "Ploughing in the Nivernais," so well known the world over by
engravings and photographs. When the medal was assigned her, Horace
Vernet proclaimed her triumph to a brilliant assemblage, and also
presented to her a magnificent vase of Sèvres porcelain, in the name of
the French Government. This placed her in the first rank of living
artists, and the triumph was of double value to her on account of the
happiness it afforded her father, to see this, his oldest child, of whose
future he had often despaired, taking so eminent a place in the artistic
world.