ART.
THE ACADEMY.—L
IT is the custom of the historian of nations long dead to strive to rekindle the spirit of the times he interprets by an appeal to the arts of the past. By their help he finds a key to the thoughts and emotions of a bygone time, and by their aid he is enabled to realise in some measure "the clouded forms of long past history." If this method of reconstructing the past were to be applied to the present, what relation to the national life of England to-day would contemporary art as seen at the Academy be found to bear ? Can we, that is, find in contem- porary painting any reflection of the unshakable fortitude which has sustained the country throughout the war Has anyinspira- tion been caught from the grandeur of the idea to which the nation has awakened, the idea of a world-encircling Empire, and found its expression in sculpture or painting? The genius of Veronese wrought with might and beauty when he painted Venice crowned Queen of the sea; but the greater Sea-Queen, England, inspires no modern painter. At no other time has the beauty of English scenery been more appreciated than it is now; everywhere efforts are being made to preserve notable places, whether the shore of Derwentwater or the headland that looks across the blue sea to Tinta.gel. Yet landscape paint- ing becomes narrower in its range, and seems largely an affair of picturesque " bits" painted without imagination or distinction. With few exceptions the portrait-painters seem to be less interested by the characters of their sitters than by the splendour of their clothes. Never before has so much general interest been taken in the art of the primitive Italian painters, or in the masters of the Renaissance. But our figure-painters, while they neglect the spirit and beauty of the Italians, weary us with the Middle Ages of the costumier. For art really to flourish, the artists must first be masters of their craft, and then they must be modern in thought. It is no use to attempt to be of another age than the one we live in; but although modern we may still be ideal. If we enter the Academy with thoughts such as these, what must our feelings be as we look round the rooms ? The glare of colour is such that the street outside in a bleak east wind seems by contrast a dignified colour arrangement.
First as to the portraits. It is indeed a matter for regret that when there is a portrait-painter of commanding eminence he should not have been chosen to paint the State portrait of the King. Instead, the choice fell upon Mr. Luke Fildes (No. 131), and a very large and very uninteresting picture has been the result. But if we lament at not having a portrait of the King by Mr. Sargent, we can rejoice in being able to enjoy so beautiful a work as his portrait of The Duchess of Portland (No. 323). This picture is in every sense a beautiful one. The characterisation of the head and of the hands is fine, the pose is graceful and dignified, and the colour of the white dress and marble column and red cloak entirely satisfying. The extreme simplicity of the colour arrangement gives a clearness of style infinitely delightful in these days of polychromatic clothes in ladies' portraits. Though vigorous and masterly to the last degree, there is not that effrontery of cleverness which Mr. Sargent sometimes affects. Nowhere in this picture does the painter show his profound science more than in the hands. From the point of view of form they are wonderful, but even more so in the way in which we feel them to be luminous flesh in shadow, and not merely of a darker colour than the face. The words "effrontery of cleverness" have been used above, and need justification when applied to so great a painter as Mr. Sargent. Perhaps they may be justified, however, when applied to a good deal of the painting of, the large group of The Ladies Alexandra, Mary, and Theo Acheson (No. 89). There is a metallic ring about the assertiveness of style of this work which is uncomfortable. The forms of the white dress, and indeed of the picture generally, seem to have been hacked and hewed relentlessly by the swift brush-strokes. Much more interesting is the same painter's portrait of A. Wertheimer, Esq. (No. 157), with the thoughtful face and sombre colouring. There is something very attractive about this picture, the dreamy quality of the head is so admirably carried out in the dark and sober tones of the figure and its background.
It is a deplorable fact that landscape art is in a very de- pressed condition. Everywhere we meet with the landscape frag- ment, but seldom, almost never, with the true landscape. In years gone by Mr. Alfred Parsons painted with vigour and enthu- siasm; now his style has become chilled and photographic. In witness of this look at his Poplars (No. 17), which with all its ability leaves us cold. The nearest approach to true landscape sentiment is to be found in Mr. Alfred East's Gibraltar from Algeciras (No. 733). The composition of this picture is peculiar, but of good effect; all the darka are on one side, but by skilful arrangement of lines there is no effect of lopsidedness. The colour and light of the work are beauti- ful, and the sky full of air and movement. Mr. East has shown in this picture a great appreciation of effect, though a greater distinction of form in the details would have added to the charm of the whole. Another picture which has the true landscape feeling is Mr. Wetherbee's When the Heart is Young (No. 706). In spite of the title and the two small figures, this work is essentially a landscape in feeling ; it is the product of an ideal conception and not a mere record of a piece of Nature, and therefore a picture. Although Mr. Alfred East's picture is of a real place, it is seen through the temperament of the artist, and we are interested not in what he was looking at, but how he looked at it.
Mr. Tuke has worked devotedly for many years at the realisation of the beauty of the human body under the open sky and the sun. Never before has the painter succeeded so well as he has this year in his Ruby Gold and Malachite (No. 739). The materials of this composition are of the simplesk—a boat, a sea-pool, some distant rocks, and a number of youths bathing. The painting is accomplished and assured throughout, without bravura and without affectation of sim- plicity. Mr. Tuke is a realist in the highest sense of the word, for he has studied natural effects of light and colour profoundly ; but he has not merely recorded them, he has used them for artistic purposes. A very striking feature of the treatment of the figures is to be noted. While light plays over them with varied iridescent hues, there is no loss of breadth. When painters attempt effects of this kind they often forget the continuity of the body in their observation of the variety of reflected colours; but this is not the case here. A specially beautiful piece of painting is the colour and thc tone of the thigh of the nearest figure ; it is as subtle and delicate as the red shirt of the figure in the boat is gay and brilliant. The only thing that one could wish different is a leg somewhat awkwardly bent belonging to another figure in the boat. It might so easily have been more gracefully placed without any material change in the com- position. It is to be hoped that Mr. Hugh Riviera, who has struggled in his At _Tilley (No. 786) with many of the problems overcome by Mr. Tuke, will learn from the more experienced artist. Mr. Riviere's oarsmen are fixed in a lifeless glare instead of being flooded with living light, which is neither decoratiie nor natural. Before ending this first notice of the Academy, regret must be expressed that Mr. Abbey contributes no painting to this exhibition ; he sends only one beautiful pen drawing, Tho' Amaryllis Dance in Green (No. 1,272), which is enough to take people to the little black-and-white room ; but when there they should look at three beautifully delicate little silver-point drawings of Bruges by Mr. Alfred Fahey (Nos. 1,362-3.4). H. S.
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