The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 27, 1901, Page 8

“Wahilda Sor > SPeris rremee More numbers and education. me gems by local artists t by popular acclaim. local galleries are ex- good things that at. Gump has sev- way of paintings here from the y exhibited Morris has how that may yet for Californiars. by Desvarreux, Is ing that comes here t is at Gump's and is piece de resistance. It the story of the Old of the battle of Water- ated warrior who dashed on his the face of the conquer- ing enemy ith what he believed to Le his last shout: nber of some the upon Guard a loo; the old, @ was suicide, as he supposed; but the y runs on to tell how, when the guns nemy were raised on the Instant ander stopped them. The > loyalty of the Old Guard courage 2 won for THE SUNDAY CALL Meditalio By |of, |/ & with action, m sup- the figure . the s od The doubt of i a'ted: t n be felt Guard orris frem th od!y upon i tiny Sumps sallery. thing; small enough to nt into any odd coruer of wall. It was painted by a rich Dutchman and a famous, a man who paints for the love of his brush and to whom the price of his work is the least consideration. Von Altena is the man; Von Altena of loyal Holland blood and flery Boer sympathies. The Boer war ought to mean much to him and his art and it doubtless will prove to, The head is a daring piece of work, executed with the bold origipality that has characterized that great school of Dutch painters all these long years. Dark by race, bronzed by weather ex- posure, the face stands out in splendid relief. A fez carelessly worn gives color, warm and rich and Oriental. A Challebard is at Gump’s, “La Ramas- seuse d'Herbe” it is called. It is a pa- thetic study of an old herb gatherer rest- ing on her weary way with the great sack of herbs that she must have carried long, oh, so long already, and that must be car- ried much farther, judging from the dis- tance of the winding country road. Adown it is no stopping place to be seen, and this carries the thought that the old woman’s steps will be weary ones long before she is through with her journey. In France the work of herb gathering ter under when ¢ < and it end The whole life s:or. fent weariness. Th complaint in the old face wrance, acceptance of her windin lazy summer is a subtle coniras ground and the forcareund. loveless, “Le Chemin de Saint-Loup,” Route of Saint-Loup,” by Camille Bel- langer, contains a figure that suggests comparison with that of the old herb gatherer. It is the old fagot woman sit- ting beside the road. Another figure ap- pears here—the figure of a young and lovely girl. The contrast of youth and age has given rise to the popular name “May and December,” by which the French people were calling the picture before it had been long exhibited. The nickname shows what its popularity was in Paris. The painting ehows how an old theme can be made new. Far from original in conception, still the painting reached the high-water mark at the last Salon. It is an old, old theme, in fact, but one that will bear many and divers brushes. The contrast is direct, unconcealed; the con- ception “and treatment are simple; the picture is human. It is one to reach the heartswof men and women, rather than to dazzle by its brilliancy. The French artists know and love their peasants. Both of these pictures are of the people—their subjects are drawn from the masses. Again this is shown in “‘Mauvais Temps” (“Bad Weather”), by Maroniez. It is a group of fisher folk seen or “The - 7 ) 774, .14 7 \ \.a A In a storm-hidden light against a back- ground of angry surf. The light is sharp and strong where it shines through a rift in the clouds; around this the darkness of the ominous weather is setting in. Some of the figures are dimly seen; others riy in the blotch of light. In Morris’ gallery the calcium is just now upon a painting by Hansen, that Ger- man who is teaching us things about our own American frontier. It iIs rather a bitter pill to swallow—the fact that he knows more about interpreting the fron- tier than we do ourselves, but we might as well gulp it down and be graceful about it. The picture is called the Frontier.” And a very thrilling inci- dent it is, as well as true to life. A stage is dashing down the dusty road pursued hot and close by a band of Indians. The furious speed of the horses, the excited lashing of thein by the driver, the swift pursuit, all give action that thrills at a glance. Hansen knows the country, too. In this as well as his other work there is the glittering sunlight of the desert— the sunlight that sketches shadows black and sharp. The atmosphere “feels hot.” The horses in thls work are studies in themselves. Hansen makes a specialty of his Western horses ana all of them show the hard life that they lead, the strength and stubborn endurance that often lie hidden under a weary aspect but that are ever ready for the emergencies of their life, such as an Indian pursuit. One small study is of a pinto, a staid-looking old fellow, but a fellow that Mr. Hansen says “cnly wants a little provocation to show what real bucking is.” The $5009 ‘“‘Alhambra.” gorgeously framed, also hangs at Morris’ to live up “An’ Incident of to its reputation. Tt is of local value, be- by H. Humphrey Moore, who, as you or may not know, is a native Cali- He has made his headquarters fornia needs an occasional reminder like her far-away native son who went ad for,his fame. The painting represents a corner under Moorish arches where a little group sit listening to a chief recounting his ex- ploits in Moorish battle. There is a good deal of lazy Orientalism in the way they are listening; the recounter shows by far the greatest interest in the exploits. A child near by is idly playing with a bird on its Iy ceasing to listen The distance down the arched corridor is one of the most striking things about the painting. It reaches away into sha- dowy and tempting recesses that seem to vanish far beyond the limits of the pic- ture's frame. Matilda Lotz is a Californian whose work is growing day by day. She Is espc- cially successful in her animal studfes, al- though she by no means confines herself to them, and her painting called ““Medita- tion” is one of these. It shows a fox hound, a deer liound and a skye terrier all apparently in solemn conclave just as we have seen dogs many a time when they secred to be bent upon serious problems. Miss Lotz is partly a Californien, for she moved here from Tennessee when she was still very small and when her career was not yet decided upon. It was here that she received her first inspirations which she has since taken to Paris. It was here, too, that she achieved some measure of her success, for she won the Alvord gold medal. But Paris is her home now; from there she occasionally crosses the A[gb\renbna Morry aalleny channel to attend to some commission which she is pairiting for the English no- bility. lencia snatch of Alameda the dim light reflect- He keeps closely to has a ma t ed in the dull wat themes and h: work local best work Other local things which Mc a study of Mount Shas y of the ntain from with the I tain full and bri low still lie in some of Mary studies that deserve the S iking the moun- ant while the trees be- ow of late night: and A picture of timely interest is one of Keith’s now on exhibition at Vickery's, a portrait of Professor Le Conte. It is the face of the scholar and the teacher, and is inspiring in both characters. The Crocker mansion, which has lately been the home of J. Pierpont Morgan, has some rare painiings in its gallery. Mor- gan is a great admirer of art—he finds time to admire it even in the midst of his pressing life as a man of affairs, 4nd he spent much time with the Crocker pict- ures. Hill's ‘“Yosemite” is one of the collec- tion. It is a magnificent vista looking up the valley from Inspiration Point, show- ing El Capitan and the Three Brothers in the foreground. The glowing light on the summits and the soft shadows below call up a picture of the Yosemite dear to all those who have been there. A group of huddling sheep is by Schenck. They are bunched in a driving storm, the tiny lambs in the foreground protected by their sturdier elders. Whirl- ing snow can be seen advancing in the distance. The anxiety of the jold sheep, compared witn' the distress but at the same time the confidence of the lambs, who know no responmsibility, Is worth studying. The art world is busy just now as the fall advances and exhibits are coming on. The Sorosis Club has already been show- ing San Francisco something of what its artists could accomplish. The Hopkins Institute will cpen its doors in Novem- ber, and the Sketch Club is beginning its annual préparations for an exhibit of local talent. All the artists hereabouts are working busily over new canvases, One of Orrin Peck’s latest has just been exhibited at the Sorosls Club. It {s galled “The Cab- age Garden” and was the tru the exhibit. B Joullin has been in Arizona on one of his * frequent trips to the desert, where he finds his greatest inspiration. It i that he has some fine things to shsov:a:: the result of his wanderings, it, but it is a restful sadness. ‘‘Americans like that sort of thing in a picture better than they like action,” is his theory. “They are so restless, so strenuous by nature, that pictures of this kind appeal to them as soothing. A pict- ure full of action, excitement, high- pitched emotion, irritates them as a red rag does a bull.” Martinez is hard at work on a serics of three paintings which are to repre- sent the three épochs of Mexico. The first belongs to the Maya period, the most ideal, he says, the most poetical, for the religion was beautiful rather than ferce. The painting shows a woman of that period malking her offering of flower The next is a Toltec offering, during time when the blood of quails was spi as an offering to the zods. The next is still untouched. show the Aztec period ‘was the bloed of prisoner. “Tradition, histor: It to when the sacriica man, of human would not intere: me,” Martinez says, f I did not remen ber that the men and women of past were the same that they are to-day ferences are superficial. Even th one age is the god of anot name only.” A ‘The studio next to his is now oceupied by Blendon Campbell, that young painter who has been spending some time abroad, ag er, largely upon Dutch subjects. Now that he has returned he ing California landscapes, close in cinity of San Francisco. His newest canvas is a glimpse of Fish alley, the first Chinatown ne that he has ever attempted. e ichar artington is showing so Alvarado pictures that are worth: while A new neighbor of his is the sculptres: Sarah Whitney. who has just returned from abroad. She was a pupil of Rodin which fact speaks for itself, for Rodiy doesn’t take pupils as a general thing. Art is the thing talked about this fall weather, 50 we must rub up rusty terms, prepare for the exhibits and at least pre- tend that we have been connoisseurs from Old World galleries all our lives,