ART
THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF PORTRAIT PAINTERS
WHENEVER I have had the opportunity of comparing por- traits with the sitters whom they represented, I have invariably been disappointed. This experience has been most unfor- tunate in so far as it has made me most unsuited „to judge portraits impartially, and has also led me to develop a number of ideas on portraiture purely as a defensive means of excusing, in myself, this extremely biased attitude. In the first place, having. had a certain amount of experience of artists, 'I have still to be convinced that, as a class, they possess any qualifica- tions which make them especially fitted to be psychologists, if, by psychologists we mean either those, like McDougall; who are engaged on the study of psychology as a science, or, on the other hand, those who, like some of the shrewd managers of departments in business, know little about it as a science, yet have an unfailing instinct for choosing the right man for the right place. Then I must also confess that I have never been able to understand how the one static representation, painted by the artist, can give an impression of character that can in any way be compared with that which can be obtained from studying the play of the features, the movements of the body, the gestures, the animation and sparkle• of the eye, from lis- tening•to the intonations of the voice, of the actual person: Again, I find myself quite unable to appreciate the inhuman attitude of the spectator who claims that he gains greater psychological insight- from the picture than from the living person, for there is really little or no reason to believe that if such a spectator can read so little of character from the varied data offered by the actuality, he will be, in any way, capable of formulating a more clear characterization from the very limited visual impression painted by the artist. I usually find, indeed, that the relatives (near and far) of the persons painted are in entire agreement with me in these matters. Failing a really scientific analysis, the shrewd biography can give a more reasonably sound study of character ; while, as far as the visual likeness is concerned, a series of good photographs, or, better still, perhaps, a cinematograph film can portray the person with a greater degree of truth than can the painted portrait. Having progressed so far along this line of thought, I have been compelled, in consequence, to find in the portrait some function other than the portrayal of character ; and the best one I can substitute is that of lifting the sitter out of the narrow bosom of his family by ennobling him into a significant type. The portrait as subject-matter can also, although it seldom does, stimulate the painter to produce a very fine picture. Not being acquainted with the sitters personally; and, therefore, having no means of reference as far as their respective characters are concerned, I must necessarily criticize the portraits in this Exhibition at Burlington House as pictures, for there are few indeed that can be called " type " portraits, unless the very honestly painted Captain Alex M. Sim (54), by the late Frank Hell, the Madame E (40) of Sir Wm. Orpen, The Lord Darling (5), by Mr. R. G. Eves, Jeanie (227), by Mr. Philip Naviasky, and some of the Sargents can be placed in this category. As far as can be judged, the portrait which seems to come nearer than any other to giving some sense of character is Mr. Oswald Birley's Viscount Goschen (9). The predominant fault• of most of the pictures in this Exhibition, however, is that the painters have forgotten the beauty of paint and have striven to obtain a kind of finish which suggests that the canvas has been treated with coloured candle grease. For instance, in the portrait of Basil E. Pete Esq. M.P. (49) Mr. Harold Speed has broken away from his very appropriate handling of the draperies to introduce this waxiness into the face. Mr. Clive Gardiner's G. Polimeni Esq. (254), and Mr. J. Blair Leighton's Study in Amber (308), op the other hand, have a consistent quality of paint which contrasts, advantageously, with the neighbouring works ; Mr. Leighton's picture is at the same time ably de- signed and composed. The Children of A. W. Smith, Esq. (242), by Mr. T. C. Dugdale, also stands out because of its rhythmically arranged-composition. There is a certain daring and adventurous harmony of colour in Mr. Borough Johnson's Mrs. Fenn (267), marred a little by the timidity of the back- ground, which is not strongly enough differentiated from the colour of the face and neck. Apart from the work I have already mentioned and Nos. (1) by Mr. G. L. Broekhurst, (11) by Mr. Ambrose McEvoy, (18) by Mr. George J. Coates, (204) by Mr. W. L. Davie!, (221) by Miss A. K. Browning, (273) by Mr A A Wolmark, the Exhibition has little of interest.
W. McCANcE.
Previous page
