France

A discussion of the impressionistic school makes it almost imperative to

continue our investigation by way of the French Section. France is

easily to modern art what Italy was to the art of the Renaissance or

Greece to antiquity. Almost all countries, with the exception of those

of northern Europe, have gone to school at Paris. It becomes quite

evident at first glance that a certain very desirable spaciousness in

the hanging of the pictures contributes much toward the generally

favorable impression of this section of the exhibition, though it is

hard to understand why this fine effect should have been spoiled by the

pattern used on the wall-covering. It seems unbelievable that a people

like the French should so violate a fundamental principle, which a

first-semester art student would scarcely do. The otherwise delightful

impression of the French section, so excellently arranged, is

considerably impaired by this faux pas. There is no chronological

succession in evidence in the hanging of pictures in the six galleries

of this section, and old and new, conservative and radical, are hung

together with no other consideration than harmonious ensemble.

Gallery 18.

In the western end of the section presided over by a decorative painting

of some aras among orange trees (over the west door), a beautiful,

almost classic canvas by Henri Georget commands immediate attention. The

poetic idealism of this decorative landscape, together with a fine

joyousness, give it unusual character. Alongside of it a very

intelligently painted little canvas by Albert Guillaume shows the

interior of an art dealer's shop. The agent is making Herculean efforts

to bamboozle an unsuspecting parvenu into buying an example of some very

"advanced" painting. The canvas is fine persiflage in its clever

psychological characterization of the sleek dealer and the stupid

helplessness of the bloated customer and his wife, who seem hypnotized

by the wicked eye in the picture. As a piece of modern genre in a much

neglected field, it is one of the finest things of recent years. On the

extreme left of this wall a very fine bit of painting of an Arabian

fairy tale by E. Dinet deserves to be mentioned.

Almost opposite this small canvas Lucien Simon has a large picture

painted with the bravura for which he is famous. The atmosphere of this

fine interior is simply and spontaneously achieved, and the three

figures of mother, nurse and balky baby are excellently drawn. The

still-life by Moride, to the left of this picture, shows all the

earmarks of the modern school without sacrificing a certain delicacy of

handling which is often considered by many modern painters a confession

of weakness. A fine Dutch canvas on the extreme left of this wall, by

Guillaume-Roger, attracts by a fine decorative note seldom found in

pictures of French easel painters.

The east wall of this gallery is distinguished by a number of fine

landscapes by different men. Beginning on the left side of the door

Jules-Emile Zingg presents two tonally skillful winter landscapes of

great fidelity, while on the right is Henry Grosjean's delicate

atmospheric study of a broad valley floor. A decorative watercolour of

the Versailles Gardens, by Mlle. Carpentier, commands admiration by

reason of its fine composition as well as by the economical but

effective technique of putting transparent paint over a charcoal

drawing. The sculpture in this gallery is of no great moment. Like much

of the modern French sculpture it is very well done in a technical sense

without disclosing great concentration of mind.

Gallery 17.

A variety of subjects continues to impress one in this gallery.

Portraits, landscapes, and historical subjects, with here and there a

genre note, make the general character of the French exhibit, showing at

every turn the great technical dexterity for which French art has long

been celebrated. There is no picture of outstanding merit in this

gallery, unless one would single out a very sympathetic, simple

landscape by Paul Buffet and the Lucien Griveau landscape called "The

Silver Thread," diagonally opposite, a canvas of rich tonality and

distinctive composition.

Gallery 16.

An adjoining gallery toward the east has a great number of excellent

pictures to hold the attention of the visitor. To begin with the figure

painters, the Desch portrait of a little girl in empire costume appeals

by its genuinely original design. The carefully considered pattern

effect of this canvas is most agreeable and well assisted by a very

refined colour scheme. Although a trifle dry, the quality of painting in

this canvas is the same as that which makes Whistler's work so

interesting. This painting is one of the great assets of the French

section, and to my mind one of the great pictures of the entire

exhibition. Balancing the Desch canvas, one finds another figural canvas

of great beauty of design, by Georges Devoux. "Farewell," while of a

sentimental character, is strong in drawing and composition. It is very

consistent throughout. Everything in the picture has been carefully

considered to support the poetic, sentimental character of the painting,

which is admirably delicate and convincing without being disagreeably

weak.

Jacques-Emile Blanche is represented in this gallery by his well-known

portrait of the dancer Nijinski. A certain Oriental splendor of colour

is the keynote of this canvas, which is much more carelessly painted

than most of Blanche's very clever older portraits. On the opposite wall

Caro-Delvaille shows his dexterity in the portrait of a lady. The lady

is a rather unimportant adjunct to the painting and seems merely to have

been used to support a magnificently painted gown. There is a peculiar

contrast in the very naturalistically painted gown and the severe

interpretation of the face of the sitter. Ernest Laurent's portrait of

Mlle. X is typically French in its loose and suggestive style of

painting, and easily one of the many good portraits in the gallery.

Among the landscapes Andrè Dauchez' "Concarneau," Charles Milcendeau's

"Washerwomen," on the opposite wall, and last but not least, Renè

Mènard's "Opal Sea" - a small picture of great beauty - deserve

recognition. Pierre Roche has a statuette of Loïe Fuller in this gallery

which is conspicuous by its daring composition and simple treatment.

Gallery 15.

Entering this gallery, the first canvas to attract one's attention, by

reason of its boldness of composition and colour, is a large Lucien

Simon called "The Gondola." The versatility of this artist is well

brought out by another picture of a baby, about to be bathed, previously

referred to, and by a third canvas, of "The Communicants," near "The

Gondola." Simon seems to have no difficulty in using several mediums and

styles of expression equally well, as a comparison between "The Gondola"

and "The Communicants" will easily prove. This former picture is the

more original of the two technically, in colour as well as in

composition. It is in danger of losing one's sympathy by a badly

selected frame. Near it hangs a trifolium of virgins, of very anaemic

colour. The drawing, however, is so very sensitive in this canvas that

it makes good for the unconvincing anaemic colour scheme.

The gem of this gallery is a small landscape of Amédée-Julien

Marcel-Clément, of extraordinarily fine composition. A fine decorative

quality is its chief asset, and its sympathetic technical handling adds

much to the enjoyment of this picture. Bartholemé's kneeling figure in

the center of the room is of wonderful nobility of expression and

entirely free from a certain extreme physical naturalism so often found

in modern French sculpture.

Gallery 14.

Passing into the next gallery, where figural pictures predominate, a

very swingy composition of a Brittany festival, by Charles-René

Darrieux, is most conspicuous, for the forceful handling and the fine

quality of movement which characterize the procession of figures

rhythmically moving through the picture. Of the two large nudes on the

same wall, one, a Besnard, is vulgarly physical, although well painted,

and the other too insipid to make one feel that the French penchant for

nudes is sufficiently justified. Le Sidaner's poetic evening recommends

itself for the quiet intimacy with which it is handled. Herrmann Vogel's

portrait of a gentleman in a chair, also on the east wall, while not

very spontaneous in handling, is interesting nevertheless in its

composition and the psychological characterization of the sitter. Most

of the other pictures in this gallery have really not enough individual

character to single them out, no matter how high their general standard

may be.

Gallery 13.

The last and smallest of the French galleries is given over to some

recent phases of French art. After looking at the serious work of the

French in the other galleries, a first-hand acquaintance with this

medley of newest pictures is hardly satisfactory. There is a feeling of

affected primitiveness about most of them, particularly in a small

canvas of a bouquet of flowers in a green vase, which is the acme of

absurdity. If Odilon Redon wanted to be trivial, he has achieved

something quite wonderful. Certain ultra-modern manifestations of art

are never more intolerable than when seen together in large numbers, as

in this gallery. Still, the French section can well afford some of these

experimenting talents, since the general character of their other work

is so high. Maurice Denis' canvas of a spring procession, in just a few

silvery tones, is really lovely; the large number of decorations by him,

all around on the second line, scarcely comes up to the beauty of this

small canvas.

The French representation deserves much credit for a great number of

reasons, not least for an astounding versatility, always accompanied by

technical excellence.