The foreign sections are in two groups, at the two ends of the building.
There is no system in their arrangement, and they are treated here in
the order in which they happen to be placed, beginning at the far south
end.
The Japanese Section occupies galleries 1 to 10. To appreciate Japanese
art it is necessary to become accustomed to the conventionalization of
treatment-to understand what the artist was after, and to judge from
that standpoint. It is well to begin by studying works that are more
like Western art-such things as "Moving Clouds" (15) and "Evening:
Nawa Harbor" (12) in room 1-and then to progress to the works in which
the conventions are more pronounced. Note, throughout the paintings in
rooms 1, 2 and 3, the delicacy of tone, the color harmony, and the fine
sense of composition and pattern.
In galleries 8 and 10 are collections of Japanese sculpture and
painting, done in the Western manner. It is interesting to see what the
Oriental artist can accomplish in an alien medium; but neither for the
Japanese nor for the American can these works have the same genuine
appeal as those in galleries 1 to 3. The other rooms contain a varied
collection of porcelain, embroidery, wood and ivory carving, and prints.
The French Section is one of the most interesting, but is hardly
representative of the best that country has achieved in art. The general
average is such that it upholds France's traditional standing as the
home of "good painting," but this is by no means a collection of
masterpieces. The most noticeable tendency is that toward the
decorative. The galleries of the French section have been re-numbered,
beginning with 1.
Gallery 1 is a rather poor room on the whole, though it, contains two
canvases on the north wall by Lucien Simon, typical of that artist's
masterly breadth of treatment. On the west wall, beside the doorway, are
two of Aman-Jean's portraits. The little landscape (429) under one of
these, by Marcel-Clement, is notable, as are also Jean Domerque's
decorative canvas on the south wall and Maury's three nude girls on the
north.
Gallery 2 is most interesting for the group on the north wall, where the
place of honor is given to Henri Martin's work. Here is an artist who
has carried Impressionism to its limit of vibrating light and color. The
large central canvas should be seen from the Japanese room. The
self-portrait (433) is even more interesting. On this wall are pictures
that offer a striking comparison of methods of painting.
Gallery 3 is made especially interesting by the domination of one man,
Maurice Denis, who is the leader among the "advanced" decorators of
France. There is much that is worthy of study in the simplicity and in
the color of his panels here. The room contains also a number of
examples of the new and ultra-new schools, from Monet and Degas to Redon
and Puy.
Gallery 4 contains few outstanding features, the more conservative
element predominating. There is charming color in Caro-Delvaille's
canvas on the East wall (279), and there is a Lucien Simon on the south
wall. Gallery 5 likewise is not very important.
Gallery 6 especially illustrates the decorative tendency. On the north
wall are panels by Auburtin, a follower of de Chavannes, and by Devoux,
which are pure decorations. On the south wall is a large canvas by the
celebrated Menard; but his little seascape on the west wall (445) is
more appealing, being one of the most attractive things in the section.
Note how the decorative tendency characterizes not only these outdoor
pictures, but the neighboring portraits as well. On the east wall is a
canvas by le Sidaner, a leader of the plein-air school, which reminds
one that good French landscapes are few in this exhibit.
The Italian Section is the best arranged in the galleries. There is a
general feeling of orderliness and rest that is quite welcome as one
comes from the overcrowded American rooms. The Italian paintings do not
give the impression of an exhibition of masterpieces-indeed there are
very few canvases that demand special notice-but they are well up to
the average set in the other sections.
Gallery 21 is the most interesting. On the wall facing the main doorway
are five pictures by Ettore Tito, perhaps the greatest and certainly the
most popular, of Italian painters. All are strong, and they are painted
with a bigness and a sureness of touch that are compelling. Very
interesting too are the canvases on the adjoining wall by Camillo
Innocenti, who has achieved the vibrating light and fresh coloring of
the Impressionist School in an individual way.
Gallery 22 contains a varied collection, ranging from the academic to
the radical. Here are two canvases by Arturo Noci, one of the leaders of
the Italian Secession. Gallery 23 is given up mainly to sculpture. The
most compelling thing is d'Orsi's realistic "Tired Peasant." With the
exception of some of the small bronzes, the rest of the sculpture of the
section is hardly notable.
Gallery 24 contains a very interesting canvas in Plinio Nomellini's
picture of a woman and child in a boat drawn up under a tree. The thing
is full of sunlight and sparkling color; and it strikes a good medium
between the old tight painting and that which carries Impressionism too
far-both of which extremes can be seen in plenty in this room. Gallery
25 is an average room, without special features.
The Cuban Section occupies gallery 20, next to the Italian section.
There is hardly a picture here that does not seem labored in comparison
with the freedom elsewhere.
The Uruguay Section, in the adjoining gallery 19, is just the opposite
full of freshness and vigor, and brilliant in color. But the gift of
brilliancy is rather undisciplined, and while there is unmistakable
promise, one feels that the art of Uruguay has not yet found itself.
The Chinese Section occupies galleries 94 to 97, and is notable for the
paintings on silk and paper, the cloisonne, and the lacquer. There is a
wealth of interesting material in the display, but it really requires a
great amount of study for full appreciation. The Chinese Commission has
prepared a special catalogue, which can be had in the rooms if one is
specially interested.
The Philippine Section, in the adjoining gallery 98, is almost
negligible in a building where there is so much really worth seeing
though some of the paintings by Felix Hidalgo have a dramatic interest.
The Swedish Section, in galleries 99 to 107, is one of the most
important in the building. One who likes a gentle, polished sort of art
will not be at home here; but for virile, fresh and colorful painting
there is no other section that achieves the same high standard. Many of
the pictures are so strong and big that they never should have been put
in these box-like little rooms, where a proper perspective is
impossible. In the paintings there are traces of French and German
training, and especially of Impressionism; but the exhibit shows more
true national feeling and more individual independence than any other in
the building.
The two featured groups are the remarkable paintings and tapestries of
Gustav Adolf Fjaestad in gallery 107-well worthy of long study-and
the paintings and prints of Carl Larsson in gallery 101. But there are
many other things quite as important: the brilliant and fresh canvases
of Carlburg, the snow scenes touched with late sunlight, by Schultzberg,
and the compelling autumn decorations by Osslund, all in gallery 102;
the illustrations by Bauer in gallery 104; the big landscapes by
Hesselborn in gallery 105; and the deep-toned studies by Anna Boberg,
and the virile portraits, in gallery 106. If you doubt that these
Swedish painters can do the polished, poetic thing, as well as the big
vigorous sort, go back to gallery 103, and look at Bergstrom's
atmospheric "Spring Day."
The Swedish sculpture is not so remarkable as the painting; but the
print section in gallery 99 contains a number of very interesting
etchings and wood engravings.
The Argentine Section, in gallery 112, shows much that is fresh, strong,
and brilliant in color. It is interesting to see how much closer these
South American painters are to Spain than to France and Germany. Here
are many echoes, not only of Velasquez and Goya, but of the vital modern
Spaniards like Zuloaga. The collection is very uneven; but in the work
of men like Jorge Bermudez and Hector Nava there is a mighty promise if
not any great achievement. The few sculptures are unusually strong and
interesting.
The Portuguese Section, in galleries 109 to 111, has the appearance of
belonging to an older period in the history of art than the present. One
feels that the artists who show pictures here have not that mastery of
light which marks the Nineteenth Century's greatest advance in painting.
Certainly there is evidence of a general reliance on the older
standards. Perhaps the best works are those of Columbano, in the central
gallery. Here too, and in the next room, are some realistic works of
Malhoa that compel attention.
The International Room, gallery 108, contains all that the Exposition
has of German work. On wall C are such splendid things as Leo Putz' "The
Shore" and Heinrich von Zugel's "In the Rhine Meadows;" and on wall A is
Franz Stuck's "Summer Night"-by no means one of this decorator's best
works, though characteristically rich and deep-toned. But one feels the
lack of those others who have lately lifted Germany back among the
greatest nations artistically: von Uhde, Liebermann, von Gebhardt,
Klinger, Erler, and von Hofmann. In the same way the young and virile
English group is not represented, though in this room is a passable
portrait by the great John Lavery. On wall D are two Spanish works of
Lopez-Mezquita, that are worthy of attention but nothing of Zuloaga or
Sorolla.
The Holland Section, occupying galleries 113-116, contains a display
that is well balanced but without outstanding features. There are echoes
of many departed glories, of Rembrandt, of Hals, and even of the French
Barbizon men, and a few typical beautifully lighted Dutch interiors. But
there is none of the work of the men whom the art magazines have taught
us to consider the representative Dutch painters of today: Israels, the
Maris brothers, and Mauve. The print room is likewise good rather than
splendid, unless one excepts M. A. J. Bauer's fine Rembrandtian
etchings. Charles van Wyck's small bronzes are notable among the
sculptures.