Something of the precious quality of pigment and of the luminosity
of these Dutchmen is to be found in the genre pictures of Alexandre
Gabriel Decamps (1803-1860), of which a large number form part of
the Thomy Thiéry Bequest—notably _The Knife-Grinder_ (No. 2831)
and _The Gipsy Encampment_ (No. 2833). Decamps owes his historical
importance to his position as the head of the Orientalists. Unlike his
contemporary explorer of the East for pictorial purposes, Delacroix,
he found the facts of Eastern life, scenery, and customs sufficiently
attractive to be satisfied with the realistic statement of his visual
impressions, instead of making them the basis for the invention of
romantic incidents. Yet the _Street in Smyrna_ (No. 2827) and similar
works are by no means of merely topographic interest, for Decamps was
a great painter to whom pigment yielded beauty independent of the
subject represented. _The Rat retired from the World_ (No. 2834) vies
in quality with the still-life pictures of Chardin. Decamps was also
the greatest animal painter of his time, as may be gathered from his
_Chevaux de halage_ (No. 204), _The Bull-Dog and Scotch Terrier_ (No.
206), and the precious little genre piece, _The Kennel-Boy_ (No. 2838).