The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 8, 1901, Page 20

THE SUNDAY CALL e BARBAZON PIcTURES IN GALLERY OF COL. TRUMBO .. THERE IS A SPLENDID COLLECTION (This is the beginning of a series of articles devoted to famous art col- lections of this city. The second paper will appear at a later date yet to be announced.) COLLECTION of the famous Bar- bizon school of painting on this far end of the continent! Con- nofsseurs may open thelr eyes, artists pause to listen, and the patrons of art jingle their gold and brisk- 1y tnquire, “wher€,” and well they may, for the statement is not a mere jumble of words, it really means something. It means that here in a private gallery in San Francisco is one of the nfost cum- plete collections in America of the orlg- inal masters and founders of the famous Barbizon school of painting. In the resi- dence of Colonel Trumbo, a well known lover and patron of both local and for- eign painting, are gathered together can- vases representing with two exceptions only each member of the original famous school. This school of Barbizon, which is sit- uated In_the little village of the same name in Paris, has had more or less in- fiuence on art the world over, and of all the varfous schools this one has to-day the most distinguished followers. For the greatest landscape painters the world has ever known and recognized lived and dicd in this little world, near the forest. of Fontainebleau. ] Few there are in America, or for that matter abroad, who can boast a collec- tion of these original signatures, for they are indeed rarities. In every gallery of note there is at least one of the Barbizon school; but as the years pass the diffi- culty to procure these increases; and now to get a Rousseau, a Corot or a Millet means not only enormous outlay of ready cash, but genuine strategy to purchase it. Strategy, because if bought in France the sale must be closed in secrecy, for the French Government, the highest author- (Lfy on art known, recognizing the merit of thelr 'countrymen’'s work, and con- tinually wishing to add to the gigantic salon for which Paris is renowned, will overbld any foreign purchaser, and, of course, clajm the painting. Whenever the rumor is given out that a house of nobles must dispose of its gal- lery to readgust its financial condition, which case in France is not an infre- quent one, the Government purchaser is always on hand. For several vears past a Rousseau, a Corot, a Millet, Dupre, Daubigny. Diaz, Jacque, Gerome or a Rosa Bonheur has not been allowed to go out fact were wise to be almost of France at all if the wn. So Colonel Trumbo e his collection, for it woul an impossibility to duplicate it One side of this gallery is given entire- Iy to the BarWizons. There is in all a Rousseau, a_Corot, a Millet, two by Jules Dupre. one by Victor Dupre, a De Camp, a Daubigny, a Diaz, a Van Marcke, a cquot, a Gerome and a Rosa Bonheur. The last two named are of the later Ba zon scheol, the others of the early. Of the first-named master, Rousseat, there is much to be said, for he was one of the original settlers in Barbizon, and his_love for nature and the marvelous fidelity with which he could impart the same to canvas won him the name which will go down in history. He was called the “king of landscape painters,” the Beethoven of art, the Shakespeare of the brush and many other appellations, which only partially convey the fact that his hand was gifted with an execution cer- tainly marvelous. Rousseau painted nature in all her va- riety—mountain and valley, gay and somber, but always nature. Perhaps his most prized work and that in which he has never had a rival is the treatment of the oaks. The forest of Fontainebleau, which he loved as only a native of France can love her woo- s immortalized by his brush, and to-day it is known there 28 Rousseau's Forest, and several par- ticularly grand old trees standing on the outskirts of the village are pointed out to curious tourists as the Rousseau oaks. But like all great souls who have helped to make the world's history, Rousseau had his hardships and his struggles. Born in 1812, he worked, studied and exhibited his efforts only to be laughed at and ig- nored until the year 1855, when he began to receive faint commendation. Ten years later the world began to wake to his real worth and to pay the homage due a great master, but he did not live to enjoy hs fame, for in 1867 he died. Immediately upon his death his works became of great commercial value, and now, owing to thelr scarelty as well as beauty, are greatly coveted. Camille Carot, who died in the year iSi was also another of the so-called pea painters, whose Intense love for nat has made his name sacred In the wo of art. The Corot land: > which h in this collection is one very the United States. It is an ideal nature, a beautiful brown in tone, & D¢ ical bit of woodland, with here and ther a delicate effect of lignt; every line, every sweep of the brush—clean and dain every touch of detail adding to a har- monious whole. Thix masterplece 9t Corot Is a painting which will day after day, with sunshine or gloom, deveiop I beauty. Enchanting as it is at first sig with long acquaintance it will be loves ‘Another very beautiful picture is a lar canvas of a storm scene by Jules Dupre. Of this artist the authorities of the Paris salon have said that he is the only man who ever succeeded in painting the other side of a cloud. And his clouds are cer- tainly wonderful in this picture. which represents. an angry sky, srotesquely formed masses of clouds, spotted ane fringed with flecks of transparent color, and this whirlwind of toned mist swerves and moves as the current. sweeps it down landward. In the foreground a few trees stand en masse, tall and majestic, watching as it were the war of the ele- ments which threatens above. 5 A very noticeable thing about these pic tures of the Barbizon school is their re- markably smooth finish. There is barely the mark of a brush showm, no furrows of paint, no labored efforts apparent to gain a desired effect—as s sometimes noticed in a more modern school. The shades tone and blend together in a wav Which brings the picture very close to nature, It is Sald that these masters sometimes used their fingers to blend and rub the paint in place of brushes to get the smooth finish. A beautiful little piece full of atm phere, representing a group of sheep in the middle distance, a bit of nature paint- ed in exquisite low tone, Is signed “C. Jacque.” There is a cattle piece by Vietor Dupre, who Is famed as a colorist. A landscape, a birdseye view of a village by Daubigry, a De Camp, a Van Marcke, a Gerome; then we come to Millet, who is perhaps the best-known artist of all, that is, the best known to the public at large, for the painting, that pathetic bit of human existence, “The Man With the Hoe,” was from his brush. Few places in the world are more closely allied genius than Barbizon. and e better known and loved Jean Francois Millet, for d bred a peasant; he min gled with and was to the last one of t people. His brush spoke nature in very interpretation and always with a solute truthfulness. Millet did not idea ize; he put all the matter of fact, all th: prose in every-day life in his work. Yet with every picture from his hand Is a master- piece. As with his contemporary, Rousseau, Millet had a cruel struggle for existence, OF THE FAMOUS BARBIZON SCHOOL OF PAINT- ING RIGHT HERE IN SAN FRANCISCO. THESE ARE THE PAINTERS WHO CAME FROM THAT LITTLE VILLAGE NEAR THE FOREST OF FONTAINEBLEAU, SUCH MEN AS COROT. MILLET, ROUSSEAU, JACQUE, ETC. POSSIBLY YOU KNOW THE POSSESSOR OF THESE WORKS OF ART AND THE STORY OF HOW THEY CAME TO OUR CITY—IF NOT. READ BELOW. oblis sometimes b fields for h & daily most tures is y wid rhaps of m nder it is visit this sanc can, with a enter. here is his table, his bookshelves, his easel, the palette brushes and a few chairs. No luxury, no article that was hot in almost daily use; simplicity was the keynote of Millet’s life. Sometimes the students of the present day Barbizon, and there is a colony there, steal away from their companions and reverently pass the door of this humble domicile, They sit in his chair and wander about the room, with a vague hope that through some subtle influence of the quiet studio the mantle of its former occupant will envelop them. But Barbizon has not yet produced a second Millet Visitors to France cannot say mcgh;v' been in France at all if they skip Barbi- zon, for there is the most famous wood in the world, glant trees which for count- less ages have spread their sturdy arms to the smiles and tears of the elemants, the forest of Fontaineblean. This forest which is criss-crossed with paths and roads, is also used as a preserve, and there the nobility of France in gay bunte ing partles add a touch of romance a8 they dash through the masses of follage in pursuit of game. The other side of the life plcture dls« closes a peasant, as he stoops to gather the fagots and twigs under the branches of the giant oaks, for in France nothing goes to waste, each twig is carefully ta- ken home and is added to others of which the queer brooms are made which are used by the peasants throughout The ground Is clean, for uch% branch is taken for firewood. But Barbizon with these later years is being invaded by wealth and fashion. § Young Mr. Artist who has a rich father udies in Barbizon, the grandes dames lety take rest cures in_ Barbizon nd go home with trophies in the way of of the Rousseau oaks. Young who are geniuses, if s in the length of ttired In vari-colored clothes, with a to carry their painting parapher- =it about in the fields and along spent some time In Barbizon last year, and while there made many charm- ing studies of the famous forest. Also ation of the street of Bar. bizon was painted while there. In the middle distance to the left is the studic of the immortal Millet. Mr. Breuer says that now through the very center of this street. which avpears so beautiful in its simplicity an the poetry is somewhat dist ¥ up-to-da and decidedly i tra car, which d past the stud frequent unm of the quain first building t Here the ca burden of touris tters this old hotel, in the pictur loaded of their s and down street agair > of modern progress, Id artist residents whose In there reg At th street, jutting out from mountain, is > made smooth for the portraii that he only iivi Barbizon schoc is conceded to t lving -day. > rld to Trumbe. who times and i teristics haps by good ! his coliection of time he may cong there arc only tw & may entirely comple: Barbizons. In’ the mean. ulate himself tha more to add. QUIMBY, RIET