ART
THE face of Europe has changed since Sir Francis Rose was dis- covered by Miss Gertrude Stein, and the face of Sir Francis's painting has changed scarcely less. As one or two small works have hinted recently, he has become much more abstract, and has succumbed to the delights of concocting textures. Broadly speaking, his new show at Gimpel Fils reveals the symbols of Picasso expressed in the manner of Klee. This is an over-simplification, of course, and perhaps unfair to the undoubted release of power which has taken place. Certainly this is Sir Francis Rose's most interesting exhibition. Nevertheless, I sensed a forcing of the pace, a forcing of vision and talent, which lent a self-conscious and slightly unnatural air to his graphic adventures. Technically, some of the tricks employed are not without interest (his pen lines seem almost rusted on to the paper), and his corrosive colour combinations are sometimes striking. But though the delicacy of a Klee would scarcely perhaps be in keeping with the subject matter of the Crucifixion series here, I found Sir Francis's rhetoric somewhat heavy-handed and not altogether convincing.
M. H. MIDDLETON.
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