Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.
by
Clara Erskine Clement
Part 7 out of 7
of change of scene, and went to Moscow. Returning to Petersburg, she
determined--in spite of the remonstrances of her friends, and the
inducements offered her to remain--to go to France. She several times
interrupted her journey in order to paint portraits of persons who had
heard of her fame, and desired to have her pictures.
She reached Paris in 1801 and writes thus of her return: "I shall not
attempt to express my emotions when I was again upon the soil of France,
from which I had been absent twelve years. Fright, grief, joy possessed
me, each in turn, for all these entered into the thousand varying
sentiments which swept over my soul. I wept for the friends whom I had
lost upon the scaffold, but I was about to see again those who remained.
This France to which I returned had been the scene of atrocious crimes;
but this France was my Native Land!"
But the new regime was odious to the artist, and she found herself unable
to be at home, even in Paris. After a year she went to London, and
remained in England three years. She detested the climate and was not in
love with the people, but she found a compensation in the society of many
French families who had fled from France as she had done.
In 1804 Mme. Nigris was in Paris and her mother returned to see her. The
young woman was very beautiful and attractive, very fond of society,
entirely indifferent to her husband, and not always wise in the choice of
her companions. Mme. Le Brun, always hard at work and always having great
anxieties, at length found herself so broken in health, and so nervously
fatigued that she longed to be alone with Nature, and in 1808 she went to
Switzerland. Her letters written to the Countess Potocka at this time are
added to her "Souvenirs," and reveal the very best of her nature. Feeling
the need of continued repose, she bought a house at Louveciennes, where
she spent much time. In 1818 M. Le Brun died, and six years later the
deaths of her daughter and her brother left her with no near relative in
the world.
For a time she sought distractions in new scenes and visited the Touraine
and other parts of France, but though she still lived a score of years,
she spent them in Paris and Louveciennes. She had with her two nieces,
who cared for her more tenderly than any one had done before. One of
these ladies was a portrait painter and profited much by the advice of
Mme. Le Brun, who wrote of this period and these friends: "They made me
feel again the sentiments of a mother, and their tender devotion
diffused a great charm over my life. It is near these two dear ones and
some friends who remain to me that I hope to terminate peacefully a life
which has been wandering but calm, laborious but honorable."
During the last years of her life the most distinguished society of Paris
was wont to assemble about her--artists, litterateurs, savants, and men
of the fashionable world. Here all essential differences of opinion were
laid aside and all met on common ground. Her "calm" seemed to have
influenced all her life; only good feeling and equality found a place
near her, and few women have the blessed fortune to be so sincerely
mourned by a host of friends as was Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun, dying at the
age of eighty-seven.
Mme. Le Brun's works numbered six hundred and sixty portraits--fifteen
genre or figure pictures and about two hundred landscapes painted from
sketches made on her journeys. Her portraits included those of the
sovereigns and royal families of all Europe, as well as the most famous
authors, artists, singers, and the learned men in Church and State.
As an artist M. Charles Blanc thus esteems her: "In short, Mme. Le Brun
belonged entirely to the eighteenth century--I wish to say to that period
of our time which rested itself suddenly at David. While she followed the
counsels of Vernet, her pencil had a certain suppleness, and her brush a
force; but she too often attempted to imitate Greuze in her later works
and she weakened the resemblance to her subjects by abusing the _regard
noye_ (cloudy or indistinct effect). She was too early in vogue to make
all the necessary studies, and she too often contented herself with an
ingenuity a little too manifest. Without judging her as complacently as
the Academy formerly judged her, we owe her an honorable place, because
in spite of revolutions and reforms she continued to her last day the
light, spiritual, and French Art of Watteau, Nattier, and Fragonard."
VIGRI, CATERINA DE. Lippo Dalmasii was much admired by Malvasia, who
not only extols his pictures, but his spirit as well, and represents him
as following his art as a religion, beginning and ending his daily work
with prayer. Lippo is believed to have been the master of Caterina de
Vigri, and the story of her life is in harmony with the influence of such
a teacher.
She is the only woman artist who has been canonized; and in the Convent
of the Corpus Domini, in Bologna, which she founded, she is known as "La
Santa," and as a special patron of the Fine Arts.
Caterina was of a noble family of Ferrara, where she was born in 1413.
She died when fifty years old; and so great was the reverence for her
memory that her remains were preserved, and may still be seen in a chapel
of her convent. There are few places in that ever wonderful Italy of such
peculiar interest as this chapel, where sits, clothed in a silken robe,
with a crown of gold on the head, the incorrupt body of a woman who died
four hundred and forty years ago. The body is quite black, while the
nails are still pink. She holds a book and a sceptre. Around her, in the
well-lighted chapel, are several memorials of her life: the viola on
which she played, and a manuscript in her exquisite chirography, also a
service book illuminated by Caterina, and, still more important, one of
her pictures, a "Madonna and Child," inserted in the wall on the left of
the chapel, which is admirable for the beauty of expression in the face
of the Holy Mother.
We cannot trace Caterina's artist life step by step, but she doubtless
worked with the same spirit of consecration and prayer as did that Beato
whom we call Angelico, in his Florentine convent, a century earlier.
Caterina executed many miniatures, and her easel pictures were not large.
These were owned by private families. She is known to us by two pictures
of "St. Ursula folding her Robe about her Companions." One is in the
Bologna Gallery, the other in the Academy in Venice. The first is on a
wooden panel, and was painted when the artist was thirty-nine years old.
The Saint is represented as unnaturally tall, the figures of her virgins
being very small. The mantle and robe of St. Ursula are of rich brocade
ornamented with floral designs, while on each side of her is a white
flag, on which is a red cross. The face of the saint is so attractive
that one forgets the elongation of her figure. There is a delicacy in the
execution, combined with a freedom and firmness of handling fully equal
to the standard of her school and time. Many honors were paid to the
memory of Caterina de Vigri. She was chosen as the protectress of
Academies and Art Institutions, and in the eighteenth century a medal was
coined, on which she is represented as painting on a panel held by an
angel. How few human beings are thus honored three centuries after death!
VINCENT, MME. See Labille.
VISSCHER, ANNA AND MARIA. These daughters of the celebrated Dutch
engraver were known as "the Dutch Muses." They made their best reputation
by their etchings on glass, but they were also well known for their
writing of both poetry and prose. They were associated with the scholars
of their time and were much admired.
VOLKMAR, ANTONIE ELIZABETH CAECILIA. Born in Berlin, 1827. She
studied with Schroder in her native city, with L. Cogniet in Paris, and
later in Italy. She returned to Berlin, where she painted portraits and
genre subjects. Her picture of the "Grandmother telling Stories" is in
the Museum of Stettin. Among her works are "An Artist's Travels" a
"German Emigrant," and "School Friends."
VONNOH, BESSIE POTTER. Bronze medal, Paris Exposition, 1900; Second
Prize at Tennessee Centennial. Honorable mention at Buffalo Exposition,
1901. Member of the National Sculpture Society and National Arts Club.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, 1872.
This sculptor is a pupil of the Art Institute, Chicago. Among her best
works are "A Young Mother"; "Twin Sisters"; "His First Journey"; "Girl
Reading," etc.
In the _Century Magazine_, September, 1897, Arthur Hoeber wrote: "There
were shown at the Society of American Artists in New York, in the Spring
of 1896, some statuettes of graceful young womanhood, essentially modern
in conception, singularly naive in treatment, refined, and withal
intensely personal.... While the disclosure is by no means novel, Miss
Potter makes us aware that in the daily prosaic life about us there are
possibilities conventional yet attractive, simple, but containing much of
suggestion, waiting only the sympathetic touch to be responsive if the
proper chord is struck."
This author also notices the affiliation of this young woman with the
efforts of the Tanagra workers, and says: "But if the inspiration of the
young woman is evident, her work can in no way be called imitative."
VOS, MARIA. Born in Amsterdam, 1824. Pupil of P. Kiers. Her pictures
were principally of still-life, two of which are seen in the Amsterdam
Museum.
WAGNER, MARIA DOROTHEA; family name Dietrich. 1728-1792. The gallery
of Wiesbaden has two of her landscapes, as has also the Museum at Gotha.
"Der Muehlengrund," representing a valley with a brook and a mill, is in
the Dresden Gallery.
WARD, MISS E. This sculptor has a commission to make a statue of G.
R. Clark for the St. Louis Exposition.
[_No reply to circular_.]
WARD, HENRIETTA MARY ADA. Gold and silver medals at the Crystal
Palace; bronze medal at the Vienna Exposition, 1873. Born in Newman
Street, London, when that street and the neighborhood was the quarter in
which the then celebrated artists resided. Mrs. Ward was a pupil of the
Bloomsbury Art School and of Sak's Academy. Her grandfather, James Ward,
was a royal Academician, and one of the best animal painters of England.
While Sir Thomas Lawrence lived, Mrs. Ward's father, who was a
miniaturist, was much occupied in copying the works of Sir Thomas on
ivory, as the celebrated portrait painter would permit no other artist to
repeat them. After the death of Sir Thomas, Mr. Ward became an engraver.
Her mother was also a miniature painter. Her great-uncles were William
Ward, R.A., and George Morland; John Jackson, R.A., was her uncle; and
her husband, Edward M. Ward, to whom she was married at sixteen, was also
a Royal Academican.
From 1849, Mrs. Ward exhibited at the Royal Academy during thirty years,
without a break, but her husband's death caused her to omit some
exhibitions, and since that time her exhibits have been less regular. For
some years Mrs. Ward has had successful classes for women at Chester
Studios, which have somewhat interfered with her painting.
Mrs. Ward's subjects have been historical and genre, some of which are
extensively known by prints after them. Among these are "Joan of Arc,"
"Palissy the Potter," and "Mrs. Fry and Mary Saunderson visiting
Prisoners at Newgate," the last dedicated by permission to Queen
Victoria. This picture was purchased by an American.
Of her picture of "Mary of Scotland, giving her infant to the Care of
Lord Mar," Palgrave wrote: "This work is finely painted, and tells its
tale with clearness." Among her numerous works are: "The Poet Hogg's
First Love"; "Chatterton," the poet, in the Muniment Room, Bristol; "Lady
Jane Grey refusing the Crown of England"; "Antwerp Market"; "Queen Mary
of Scots' farewell to James I."; "Washing Day at the Liverpool Docks";
"The Princes in the Tower"; "George III. and Mrs. Delayney, with his
family at Windsor"; "The Young Pretender," and many others.
When sixteen Mrs. Ward exhibited two heads in crayon. In 1903, at the
Academy, she exhibited "The Dining-room, Kent House, Knightsbridge." Mrs.
Ward painted for Queen Victoria two portraits of the Princess Beatrice,
and a life-size copy of a portrait of the Duke of Albany. She also
painted a portrait of Princess Alice of Albany, who is about to marry
Prince Alexander of Teck.
Edward VII. has commissioned this artist to make two copies of the state
portrait, painted by S. Luke Fildes, R.A.
Mrs. Ward had two more votes for her admission to the Royal Academy than
any other woman of her time has had.
WASSER, ANNA. Born at Zuerich, 1676, is notable among the painters of
her country. She was the daughter of an artist, and early developed a
love of drawing and an unusual aptitude in the study of languages. In
painting she was a pupil of Joseph Werner. After a time she devoted
herself to miniature painting; her reputation extended to all the German
courts, as well as to Holland and England, and her commissions were so
numerous that her father began to regard her as a mine of riches. He
allowed her neither rest nor recreation, and was even unwilling that she
should devote sufficient time to her pictures to finish them properly.
Under this pressure of haste and constant labor her health gave way and
she became melancholy.
She was separated from her father, and in more agreeable surroundings her
health was restored and she resumed her painting. Her father then
insisted that she should return to him. On her journey home she had a
fall, from the effects of which she died at the age of thirty-four.
Fuseli valued a picture by Anna Wasser, which he owned, and praised her
correctness of design and her feeling for color.
WATERS, SADIE P. 1869-1900. Honorable mention Paris Exposition,
1900. Born in St. Louis, Missouri. This unusually gifted artist made her
studies entirely in Paris, under the direction of M. Luc-Olivier Merson.
Her earlier works were portraits in miniature, in which she was very
successful. That of Jane Hading was much admired. She also excelled in
illustrations, but in her later work she found her true province, that of
religious subjects. A large picture on ivory, called "La Vierge au Lys,"
was exhibited in Paris, London, Brussels, and Ghent, and attracted much
attention.
[Illustration: LA VIERGE AU ROSIER
SADIE WATERS]
Her picture of the "Vierge aux Rosiers," reproduced here, was in the
Salon, 1899, and in the exhibition of Religious Art in Brussels in 1900,
after which it was exhibited in New York; and wherever seen it was
especially admired.
Miss Waters' pictures were exhibited in the Salon Francais, Champs
Elysees, from 1891 until her death. From the earliest days of childhood
she was remarkable for her skill in drawing and in working out, from
her own impressions, pictures of events passing about her. If at the
theatre she saw a play that appealed to her, she made a picture symbolic
of the play, and constantly startled her friends by her original ideas
and the pronounced artistic temperament, which was very early the one
controlling power in her life. Mr. Carl Gutherz thus speaks of her good
fortune in studying with M. Merson.
"As the Master and Student became more and more acquainted, and the great
artist found in the student those kindred qualities which subsequently
made her work so refined and beautiful,... he took the utmost care in
developing her drawing--the fidelity of line and of expression, and the
ever-pervading purity in her work. The sympathy with all good was
reflected in the student, as it was ever present with the master, and
only those who are acquainted with M. Merson can appreciate how fortunate
it was for Art that the young artist was under a master of his character
and temperament."
One of her pictures, called "La Chrysantheme," represents a nude figure
of a young girl, seated on the ground, leaning against a large basket of
chrysanthemums, from which she is plucking blossoms. The figure is
beautiful, and shows the deep study the artist had made, although still
so young.
The following estimate of her work is made by one competent to speak of
such matters: "In this epoch of feverish uncertainty, of heated
discussions and rivalries in art matters, the quiet, calm figure of Sadie
Waters has a peculiar interest and charm generated by her tranquil and
persistent pursuit of an ideal--an ideal she attained in her later
works, an ideal of the highest mental order, mystical and human, and so
far removed from the tendencies of our time that one might truthfully
say, it stands alone. Her talents were manifold. She was endowed with the
best of artistic qualities. She cultivated them diligently, and slowly
acquired the handicraft and skill which enabled her to express herself
without restriction. In her miniatures she learned to be careful,
precise, and delicate; in her work from nature she was human; and in her
studies of illuminating she gained a perfect understanding of ornamental
painting and forms; and the subtle ambiance of the beautiful old churches
and convents where she worked and pored over the ancient missals, and
softly talked with the princely robed Monsignori, no doubt did much to
develop her love for the Beautiful Story, the delicate myth of
Christianity--and all this, all these rare qualities and honest efforts
we find in her last picture, The Virgin.
"The beauty and preciseness of this composition, the divine feeling not
without a touch of motherly sentiment, its delicacy so rare and so pure,
the distinction of its coloring, are all past expression, and give it a
place unique in the nineteenth century."--_Paul W. Bartlett_, Paris,
1903.
WEGMANN, BERTHA. Honorable mention, Paris Salon, 1880; third-class
medal, 1882; Thorwaldsen medal at Copenhagen; small gold medal, Berlin,
1894. Born at Soglio, Switzerland, 1847. Studied in Copenhagen, Munich,
Paris, and Florence.
She paints portraits and genre subjects. Her pictures, seen at Berlin in
1893, were much admired. They included portraits, figure studies, and
Danish interiors. At Munich, in 1894, her portraits attracted attention,
and were commended by those who wrote of the exhibition. Among her works
are many portraits: "Mother and Child in the Garden," and "A Widow and
Child," are two of her genre subjects.
WEIS, ROSARIO. Silver medal from the Academy of San Fernando, 1842,
for a picture called "Silence." Member of the Academy. Pupil of Goya, who
early recognized her talent. In 1823, when Goya removed to Burdeos, she
studied under the architect Tiburcio Perez. After a time she joined Goya,
and remained his pupil until his death in 1828. She then entered the
studio Lacour, where she did admirable work. In 1833, for the support of
her mother and herself, she made copies of pictures in the Prado on
private commissions.
In 1842 she was appointed teacher of drawing to the royal family, in
which position she did not long continue, her death occurring in 1843.
Among her pictures are "Attention!" an allegorical figure; "An Angel"; "A
Venus"; and "A Diana." Among her portraits are those of Goya, Velasquez,
and Figaro.
WIEGMANN, MARIE ELISABETH; family name Hancke. Small gold medal,
Berlin. Born 1826 at Solberberg, Silesia; died, 1893, at Duesseldorf. In
1841 she began to study with Stilke in Duesseldorf; later with K. Sohn.
She travelled extensively in Germany, England, Holland, and Italy, and
settled with her husband, Rudolph Wiegmann, in Duesseldorf. In the Museum
at Hanover is "The Colonist's Children Crowning a Negro Woman," and in
the National Gallery at Berlin a portrait of Schnaase. Some children's
portraits, and one of the Countess Hatzfeld, should also be mentioned
among her works.
In portraiture her work was distinguished by talent, spirit, and true
artistic composition; in genre--especially the so-called ideal genre--she
produced some exquisite examples.
WENTWORTH, MARQUISE CECILIA DE. Gold medal, Tours National
Exposition, Lyons and Turin; Honorable mention, Paris Salon, 1891; Bronze
medal, Paris Exposition, 1900; Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, 1901.
Born in New York. Pupil of the Convent of the Sacred Heart and of
Cabanel, in Paris. This artist has painted portraits of Leo XIII., who
presented her with a gold medal; of Cardinal Ferrata; of
Challemel-Lacour, President of the Senate at the time when the portrait
was made, and of many others. Her picture of "Faith" is in the Luxembourg
Gallery. At the Salon des Artistes Francais, 1903, Madame de Wentworth
exhibited the "Portrait of Mlle. X.," and "Solitude."
[_No reply to circular_.]
WHEELER, JANET. First Toppan Prize and Mary Smith Prize at Academy
of Fine Arts, Philadelphia; Gold medal, Philadelphia Art Club. Fellow of
Academy of Fine Arts, and member of Plastic Club, Philadelphia. Born in
Detroit, Michigan. Pupil of Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, and of
the Julian Academy in Paris.
This artist paints portraits almost entirely, which are in private hands.
I know of but one figure picture by her, which is called "Beg for It."
She was a miniaturist several years before taking up larger portraits.
WHITE, FLORENCE. Silver medal at Woman's Exhibition, Earl's Court;
silver medal for a pastel exhibited in Calcutta. Born at Brighton,
England. Pupil of Royal Academy Schools in London, and of Bouguereau and
Perrier in Paris.
In 1899 this artist exhibited a portrait in the New Gallery; in 1901 a
portrait of Bertram Blunt, Esq., at the Royal Academy; and in 1902 a
portrait of "Peggy," a little girl with a poodle.
She has sent miniatures to the Academy exhibitions several years; that of
Miss Lyall Wilson was exhibited in 1903.
WHITMAN, SARAH DE ST. PRIX. Bronze medal at Columbian Exposition,
Chicago, 1893; gold and bronze medals at Atlanta Exposition; diploma at
Pan-American, Buffalo, 1901. Member of the Society of American Artists,
New York; Copley Society, Boston; Water-Color Club, Boston. Born in
Baltimore, Maryland. Pupil of William M. Hunt and Thomas Couture.
Mrs. Whitman has painted landscapes and portraits, and of recent years
has been much occupied with work in glass. Windows by her are in Memorial
Hall, Cambridge; in the Episcopal Church in Andover, Massachusetts, etc.
An altar-piece by her is in All Saints' Church, Worcester.
Her portrait of Senator Bayard is in the State Department, Washington.
WHITNEY, ANNE. Born in Watertown, Massachusetts. Made her studies in
Belmont and Boston, and later in Paris and Rome.
Miss Whitney's sculptures are in many public places. A heroic size statue
of Samuel Adams is in Boston and Washington, in bronze and marble;
Harriet Martineau is at Wellesley College, in marble; the "Lotos-Eaters"
is in Newton and Cambridge, in marble; "Lady Godiva," a life-size statue
in marble, is in a private collection in Milton; a statue of Leif
Eriksen, in bronze, is in Boston and Milwaukee; a bust of Professor
Pickering, in marble, is in the Observatory, Cambridge; a statue, "Roma,"
is in Albany, Wellesley, St. Louis, and Newton, in both marble and
bronze; Charles Sumner, in bronze of heroic size, is in Cambridge; a bust
of President Walker, bronze, is also in Cambridge; President Stearns, a
bust in marble, is in Amherst; a bust of Mrs. Alice Freeman Palmer is in
Cambridge; a bust of Professor Palmer is on a bronze medal; the Calla
Fountain, in bronze, is in Franklin Park; and many other busts, medals,
etc., in marble, bronze, and plaster, are in private collections.
WILSON, MELVA BEATRICE. Prize of one hundred dollars a year for
three successive years at Cincinnati Art Museum. Honorable mention, Paris
Salon, 1897. Born in Cincinnati, 1875. Pupil of Cincinnati Art Museum,
under Louis T. Rebisso and Thomas Noble; in Paris, of Rodin and Vincent
Norrottny.
By special invitation this sculptor has been an exhibitor at the National
Sculpture Society, New York. Her principal works are: "The Minute Man,"
in Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington, D. C.; "The Volunteer," which was
given by the State of New York as a military prize to a Vermont Regiment;
an equestrian statue of John F. Doyle, Jr.; "Bull and Bear" and the "Polo
Player" in bronze, owned by Tiffany & Co.; "Retribution" in a private
collection in New York.
Miss Wilson has been accorded the largest commission given any woman
sculptor for the decoration of the buildings of the St. Louis Exposition.
She is to design eight spandrils for Machinery Hall, each one being
twenty-eight by fifteen feet in size, with figures larger than life. The
design represents the wheelwright and boiler-making trades. Reclining
nude figures, of colossal size, bend toward the keystone of the arch,
each holding a tool of a machinist. Interlaced cog-wheels form the
background.
WIRTH, ANNA MARIE. Member of the Munich Art Association. Born in St.
Petersburg, 1846. Studied in Vienna under Straschiripka--commonly known
as Johann Canon--and in Paris, although her year's work in the latter
city seems to have left no trace upon her manner of painting. The genre
pictures, in which she excels, clearly show the influence of the old
Dutch school. A writer in "Moderne Kunst" says, in general, that she
shows us real human beings under the "precieuses ridicules," the
languishing gallants and the pedant, and often succeeds in
individualizing all these with the sharpness of a Chodowiecki, though at
times she is merely good-natured, and therefore weak.
Sometimes, like Terborch, by her anecdotical treatment, she can set a
whole romantic story before you; again, in the manner of Gerard Dow, she
gives you a penetrating glimpse into old burgher life--work that is quite
out of touch with the dilettantism that largely pervades modern art.
The admirers of this unusual artist seek out her genre pictures in the
exhibitions of to-day, much as one turns to an idyl of Heinrich Voss,
after a dose of the "storm and stress" poets. Most of her works are in
private galleries.
One of her best pictures will be seen at the St. Louis Exposition.
WISINGER-FLORIAN, OLGA. Bavarian Ludwig medal, 1891; medal at
Chicago, 1893. Born in Vienna, 1844. Pupil of Schaeffer and Schwindler.
She has an excellent reputation as a painter of flowers. In the New
Gallery, Munich, is one of her pictures of this sort; and at Munich,
1893, her flower pieces were especially praised in the reports of the
exhibition.
She also paints landscapes, in which she gains power each year; her color
grows finer and her design or modelling stronger. At Vienna, 1890, it was
said that her picture of the "Bauernhofe" was, by its excellent color, a
disadvantage to the pictures near it, and the shore motive in "Abbazia"
was full of artistic charm. At Vienna, 1893, she exhibited a cycle, "The
Months," which bore witness to her admirable mastery of her art.
Among her works are some excellent Venetian subjects: "On the Rialto";
"Morning on the Shore"; and "In Venice."
WOLFF, BETTY. Honorable mention, Berlin, 1890. Member of the
Association of Women Artists and Friends of Art; also of the German Art
Association. Born in Berlin, where she was a pupil of Karl Stauffer-Bern;
she also studied in Munich under Karl Marr.
Besides numerous portraits of children, in pastel, this artist has
painted portraits in oils of many well-known persons, among whom are
Prof. H. Steinthal, Prof. Albrecht Weber, and General von Zycklinski.
WOLTERS, HENRIETTA, family name Van Pee. Born in Amsterdam.
1692-1741. Pupil of her father, and later made a special study of
miniature under Christoffel le Blond. Her early work consisted largely in
copies from Van de Velde and Van Dyck. Her miniatures were so highly
esteemed that Peter the Great offered her a salary of six thousand
florins as his court painter; and Frederick William of Prussia invited
her to his court, but nothing could tempt her away from her home in
Amsterdam. She received four hundred florins for a single miniature, a
most unusual price in her time.
WOOD, CAROLINE S. Daughter of Honorable Horatio D. Wood, of St.
Louis. This sculptor has made unusual advances in her art, to which she
has seriously devoted herself less than four years. She has studied in
the Art School of Washington University, the Art Institute, Chicago, and
is now a student in the Art League, New York.
She has been commissioned by the State of Missouri to make a statue to
represent "The Spirit of the State of Missouri," for the Louisiana
Purchase Exposition.
[_No reply to circular_.]
WOODBURY, MARCIA OAKES. Prize at Boston Art Club; medals at
Mechanics' Association Exhibition, Atlanta and Nashville Expositions.
Member of the New York and Boston Water-Color Clubs. Born at South
Berwick, Maine. Pupil of Tommasso Juglaris, in Boston, and of Lasar, in
Paris.
Mrs. Woodbury paints in oils and water-colors; the latter are genre
scenes, and among them are several Dutch subjects. She has painted
children's portraits in oils. Her pictures are in private hands in
Boston, New York, Chicago, and Cincinnati. "The Smoker," and "Mother and
Daughter," a triptych, are two of her principal pictures.
WOODWARD, DEWING. Grand prize of the Academy Julian, 1894. Member of
Water-Color Club, Baltimore; Charcoal Club, Baltimore; L'Union des Femmes
Peintres et Sculpteurs de France. Born at Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Pupil of Pennsylvania Academy a few months; in Paris, of Bouguereau,
Robert-Fleury, and Jules Lefebvre.
Her "Holland Family at Prayer," exhibited at the Paris Salon, 1893, and
"Jessica," belong to the Public Library in Williamsport; "Clam-Diggers
Coming Home--Cape Cod" was in the Venice Exhibition, 1903; one of her
pictures shows the "Julian Academy, Criticism Day."
She has painted many portraits, and her work has often been thought to
be that of a man, which idea is no doubt partly due to her choosing
subjects from the lives of working men. She is of the modern school of
colorists.
WRIGHT, ETHEL. This artist contributed annually to the exhibitions
of the London Academy from 1893 to 1900, as follows: In 1893 she
exhibited "Milly" and "Echo"; in 1894, "The Prodigal"; in 1895, a
water-color, "Lilies"; in 1896, "Rejected"; in 1897, a portrait of Mrs.
Laurence Phillips; in 1898, "The Song of Ages," reproduced in this book;
in 1899, a portrait of Mrs. Arthur Strauss; and in 1900, one of Miss
Vaughan.
[_No reply to circular_.]
WRIGHT, MRS. PATIENCE. Born at Bordentown, New Jersey, 1725, of a
Quaker family. When left a widow, with three children to care for, she
went to London, where she found a larger field for her art than she had
in the United States, where she had already made a good reputation as a
modeller in wax. By reason of this change of residence she has often been
called an English sculptress.
Although the imaginative and pictorial is not cultivated or even approved
by Quakers, Patience Lovell, while still a child, and before she had seen
works of art, was content only when supplied with dough, wax, or clay,
from which she made figures of men and women. Very early these figures
became portraits of the people she knew best, and in the circle of her
family and friends she was considered a genius.
Very soon after Mrs. Wright reached London she was fully employed. She
worked in wax, and her full-length portrait of Lord Chatham was placed in
Westminster Abbey, protected by a glass case. This attracted much
attention, and the London journals praised the artist. She made portraits
of the King and Queen, who, attracted by her brilliant conversation,
admitted her to an intimacy at Buckingham House, which could not then
have been accorded to an untitled English woman.
[Illustration: From a Copley Print.
THE SONG OF AGES
ETHEL WRIGHT]
Mrs. Wright made many portraits of distinguished people; but few, if any,
of these can now be seen, although it is said that some of them have been
carefully preserved by the families who possess them.
To Americans Mrs. Wright is interesting by reason of her patriotism,
which amounted to a passion. She is credited with having been an
important source of information to the American leaders in the time of
the Revolution. In this she was frank and courageous, making no secret of
her views. She even ventured to reprove George III. for his attitude
toward the Colonists, and by this boldness lost the royal favor.
She corresponded with Franklin, in Paris, and new appointments, or other
important movements in the British army, were speedily known to him.
Washington, when he knew that Mrs. Wright wished to make a bust of him,
replied in most flattering terms that he should think himself happy to
have his portrait made by her. Mrs. Wright very much desired to make
likenesses of those who signed the Treaty of Peace, and of those who had
taken a prominent part in making it. She wrote: "To shame the English
king, I would go to any trouble and expense, and add my mite to the
honor due to Adams, Jefferson, and others."
Though so essentially American as a woman, the best of her professional
life was passed in England, where she was liberally patronized and fully
appreciated. Dunlap calls her an extraordinary woman, and several writers
have mentioned her power of judging the character of her visitors, in
which she rarely made a mistake, and chose her friends with unusual
intelligence.
Her eldest daughter married in America, and was well known as a modeller
in wax in New York. Her younger daughter married the artist Hoppner, a
rival in portraiture of Stuart and Lawrence, while her son Joseph was a
portrait painter. His likeness of Washington was much admired.
WULFRAAT, MARGARETTA. Born at Arnheim. 1678-1741. Was a pupil of
Caspar Netscher of Heidelberg, whose little pictures are of fabulous
value. Although he was so excellent a painter he was proud of Margaretta,
whose pictures were much admired in her day. Her "Musical Conversation"
is in the Museum of Schwerin. Her "Cleopatra" and "Semiramis" are in the
Gallery at Amsterdam.
YANDELL, ENID. Special Designer's Medal, Chicago, 1893; silver
medal, Tennessee Exposition; Honorable Mention, Buffalo, 1901. Member of
National Sculpture Society; Municipal Art Society; National Arts Club,
all of New York. Born in Louisville, Kentucky. Graduate of Cincinnati Art
Academy. Pupil of Philip Martiny in New York, and in Paris of Frederick
McMonnies and Auguste Rodin.
The principal works of this artist are the Mayor Lewis monument at New
Haven, Connecticut; the Chancellor Garland Memorial, Vanderbilt
University, Nashville; Carrie Brown Memorial Fountain, Providence; Daniel
Boone and the Ruff Fountain, Louisville.
Richard Ladegast, in January, 1902, wrote a sketch of Miss Yandell's life
and works for the _Outlook_, in which he says that Miss Yandell was the
first woman to become a member of the National Sculpture Society. I quote
from his article as follows: "The most imposing product of Miss Yandell's
genius was the heroic figure of Athena, twenty-five feet in height, which
stood in front of the reproduction of the Parthenon at the Nashville
Exposition. This is the largest figure ever designed by a woman.
[Illustration: STATUE OF DANIEL BOONE
ENID YANDELL
Made for St. Louis Exposition]
"The most artistic was probably the little silver tankard which she did
for the Tiffany Company, a bit of modelling which involves the figures of
a fisher-boy and a mermaid. The figure of Athena is large and correct;
those of the fisher-boy and mermaid poetic and impassioned.... The boy
kisses the maid when the lid is lifted. He is always looking over the
edge, as if yearning for the fate that each new drinker who lifts the lid
forces upon him."
Of the Carrie Brown Memorial Fountain he says: "The design of the
fountain represents the struggle of life symbolized by a group of figures
which is intended to portray, according to Miss Yandell, not the struggle
for bare existence, but 'the attempt of the immortal soul within us to
free itself from the handicaps and entanglements of its earthly
environments. It is the development of character, the triumph of
intellectuality and spirituality I have striven to express.' Life is
symbolized by the figure of a woman, the soul by an angel, and the
earthly tendencies--duty, passion, and avarice--by male figures. Life is
represented as struggling to free herself from the gross earthly forms
that cling to her. The figure of Life shows a calm, placid strength, well
calculated to conquer in a struggle; and the modelling of her clinging
robes and the active muscle of the male figures is firm and life-like.
The mantle of truth flows from the shoulders of the angel, forming a
drapery for the whole group, and serving as a support for the basin, the
edges of which are ornamented with dolphins spouting water.
"The silhouette formed by the mass of the fountain is most interesting
and successful from all points of view. The lines of the composition are
large and dignified, especially noticeable in the modelling of the
individual figures, which is well studied and technically excellent."
At Buffalo, where this fountain was exhibited, it received honorable
mention.
Miss Yandell has been commissioned to execute a symbolical figure of
victory and a statue of Daniel Boone for the St. Louis Exposition.
YKENS, LAURENCE CATHERINE. Elected to the Guild of Antwerp in 1659.
Born in Antwerp. Pupil of her father, Jan Ykens. Flowers, fruits, and
insects were her favorite subjects, and were painted with rare delicacy.
Two of these pictures are in the Museo del Prado, at Madrid. They are a
"Festoon of Flowers and Fruits with a Medallion in the Centre, on which
is a Landscape"; and a "Garland of Flowers with a Similar Medallion."
ZIESENSIS, MARGARETTA. There were few women artists in the
Scandinavian countries in the early years of the eighteenth century.
Among them was Margaretta Ziesensis, a Danish lady, who painted a large
number of portraits and some historical subjects.
She was best known, however, for her miniature copies of the works of
famous artists. These pictures were much the same in effect as the
"picture-miniatures" now in vogue. Her copy of Correggio's Zingarella was
much admired, and was several times repeated.
SUPPLEMENT
Containing names previously omitted and additions. The asterisk (*)
denotes preceding mention of the artist.
*BILDERS, MARIE VAN BOSSE. This celebrated landscape painter became
an artist through her determination to be an artist rather than because
of any impelling natural force driving her to this career.
After patient and continuous toil, she felt that she was developing an
artistic impulse. The advice of Van de Sande-Bakhuyzen greatly encouraged
her, and the candid and friendly criticism of Bosboom inspired her with
the courage to exhibit her work in public.
In the summer of 1875, in Vorden, she met Johannes Bilders, under whose
direction she studied landscape painting. This master took great pains to
develop the originality of his pupil rather than to encourage her
adapting the manner of other artists. During her stay in Vorden she made
a distinct gain in the attainment of an individual style of painting.
After her return to her home at The Hague, Bilders established a studio
there and showed a still keener interest in his pupil. This artistic
friendship resulted in the marriage of the two artists, and in 1880 they
established themselves in Oosterbeck.
Here began the intimate study of the heath which so largely influenced
the best pictures by Frau Bilders. In the garden of the picturesque house
in which the two artists lived was an old barn, which became her studio,
where, early and late, in all sorts of weather, she devotedly observed
the effects later pictured on her canvases. At this time she executed one
of her best works, now in the collection of the Prince Regent of
Brunswick. It is thus described by a Dutch writer in Rooses' "Dutch
Painters of the Nineteenth Century":
"It represents a deep pool, overshadowed by old gnarled willows in their
autumnal foliage, their silvery trunks bending over, as if to see
themselves in the clear, still water. On the edge of the pool are flowers
and variegated grasses, the latter looking as if they wished to crowd out
the former--as if _they_ were in the right and the flowers in the wrong;
as if such bright-hued creatures had no business to eclipse their more
sombre tones; as if _they_ and _they_ alone were suited to this silent,
forsaken spot."
Johannes Bilders was fully twenty-five years older than his wife, and the
failure of both his physical and mental powers in his last days required
her absolute devotion to him. In spite of this, the garden studio was not
wholly forsaken, and nearly every day she accomplished something there.
After her husband's death she had a long illness. On her recovery she
returned to The Hague and took the studio which had been that of the
artist Mauve.
The life of the town was wearisome to her, but she found a compensation
in her re-union with her old friends, and with occasional visits to the
heath she passed most of her remaining years in the city.
Her favorite subjects were landscapes with birch and beech trees, and the
varying phases of the heath and of solitary and unfrequented scenes. Her
works are all in private collections. Among them are "The Forester's
Cottage," "Autumn in Doorwerth," "The Old Birch," and the "Old Oaks of
Wodan at Sunset."
BOZNANSKA, OLGA. Born in Cracow, where she was a pupil of Matejko.
Later, in Munich, she studied with Kricheldorf and Duerr. Her mother was a
French woman, and critics trace both Polish and French characteristics in
her work.
She paints portraits and genre subjects. She is skilful in seizing
salient characteristics, and her chief aim is to preserve the
individuality of her sitters and models. She skilfully manages the
side-lights, and by this means produces strong effects. After the first
exhibition of her pictures in Berlin, her "God-given talent" was several
times mentioned by the art critics.
At Munich she made a good impression by her pictures exhibited in 1893
and 1895; at the Exposition in Paris, 1889, her portrait and a study in
pastel were much admired and were generously praised in the art journals.
*COX, LOUISE. The picture by Mrs. Cox, reproduced in this book,
illustrates two lines in a poem by Austin Dobson, called "A Song of
Angiola in Heaven."
"Then set I lips to hers, and felt,--
Ah, God,--the hard pain fade and melt."
DE MORGAN, EMILY. Family name Pickering. When sixteen years old,
this artist entered the Slade School, and eighteen months later received
the Slade Scholarship, by which she was entitled to benefit for three
years. At the end of the first year, however, she resigned this privilege
because she did not wish to accept the conditions of the gift.
As a child she had loved the pictures of the precursors of Raphael, in
the National Gallery, and her first exhibited picture, "Ariadne in
Naxos," hung in the Grosvenor Gallery in 1877, proved how closely she had
studied these old masters. At this time she knew nothing of the English
Pre-Raphaelites; later, however, she became one of the most worthy
followers of Burne-Jones.
About the time that she left the Slade School one of her uncles took up
his residence in Florence, where she has spent several winters in work
and study.
One of her most important pictures is inscribed with these lines:
"Dark is the valley of shadows,
Empty the power of kings;
Blind is the favor of fortune,
Hungry the caverns of death.
Dim is the light from beyond,
Unanswered the riddle of life."
This pessimistic view of the world is illustrated by the figure of a
king, who, in the midst of ruins, places his foot upon the prostrate form
of a chained victim; Happiness, with bandaged eyes, scatters treasures
into the bottomless pit, a desperate youth being about to plunge into its
depths; a kneeling woman, praying for light, sees brilliant figures
soaring upward, their beauty charming roses from the thorn bushes.
Other pictures by this artist remind one of the works of Botticelli. Of
her "Ithuriel" W. S. Sparrow wrote: "It may be thought that this Ithuriel
is too mild--too much like Shakespeare's Oberon--to be in keeping with
the terrific tragedy depicted in the first four books of the 'Paradise
Lost.' Eve, too, lovely as she is, seems to bear no likelihood of
resemblance to Milton's superb mother of mankind. But the picture has a
sweet, serene grace which should make us glad to accept from Mrs. De
Morgan another Eve and another Ithuriel, true children of her own fancy."
The myth of "Boreas and Orithyia," though faulty perhaps in technique, is
good in conception and arrangement.
Mrs. De Morgan has produced some impressive works in sculpture. Among
these are "Medusa," a bronze bust; and a "Mater Dolorosa," in
terra-cotta.
DESCHLY, IRENE. Born in Bucharest, the daughter of a Roumanian
advocate. She gave such promise as an artist that a government stipend
was bestowed on her, which enabled her to study in Paris, where she was a
pupil of Laurens and E. Carriere.
Her work is tinged with the melancholy and intensity of her
nature--perhaps of her race; yet there is something in her grim
conceptions, or rather in her treatment of them, that demands attention
and compels admiration. Even in her "Sweet Dream," which represents the
half-nude figure of a young girl holding a rose in her hand, there is
more sadness than joy, as though she said, "It is only a dream, after
all." "Chanson," exhibited at the Paris Exposition, 1900, displays
something of the same quality.
ERISTOW-KASAK, PRINCESS MARIE. Among the many Russian portraits in
the Paris Exposition, 1900, two, the work of this pupil of Michel de
Zichys, stood out in splendid contrast with the crass realism or the weak
idealism of the greater number. One was a half-length portrait of the
laughing Mme. Paquin; full of life and movement were the pose of the
figure, the fall of the draperies, and the tilt of the expressive fan.
The other was the spirited portrait of Baron von Friedericks, a happy
combination of cavalier and soldier in its manly strength.
When but sixteen years old, the Princess Marie roused the admiration of
the Russian court by her portrait of the Grand Duke Sergius. This led to
her painting portraits of various members of the royal family while she
was still a pupil of De Zichys.
After her marriage she established herself in Paris, where she endeavors
to preserve an incognito as an artist in order to work in the most quiet
and devoted manner.
GOEBELER, ELISE. This artist studied drawing under Steffeck and
color under Duerr, in Munich. Connoisseurs in art welcome the name of
Elise Goebeler in exhibitions, and recall the remarkable violet-blue
lights and the hazy atmosphere in her works, out of which emerges some
charming, graceful figure; perhaps a young girl on whose white shoulders
the light falls, while a shadow half conceals the rest of the form.
These dreamy, Madonna-like beauties are the result of the most severe and
protracted study. Without the remarkable excellence of their technique
and the unusual quality of their color they would be the veriest
sentimentalities; but wherever they are seen they command admiration.
Her "Cinderella," exhibited in Berlin in 1880, was bought by the Emperor;
another picture of the same subject, but quite different in effect, was
exhibited in Munich in 1883. In the same year, in Berlin, "A Young Girl
with Pussy-Willows" and "A Neapolitan Water Carrier" were seen. In 1887,
in Berlin, her "Vanitas, Vanitatum Vanitas" and the "Net-Mender" were
exhibited, and ten years later "Cheerfulness" was highly commended. At
Munich, in 1899, her picture, called "Elegie," attracted much attention
and received unusual praise.
*HERBELIN, JEANE MATHILDE. This miniaturist has recently died at the
age of eighty-four. In addition to the medals and honors she had received
previous to 1855, it was that year decided that her works should be
admitted to the Salon without examination. She was a daughter of General
Habert, and a niece of Belloc, under whom she studied her art while still
very young. Her early ambition was to paint large pictures, but Delacroix
persuaded her to devote herself to miniature painting, in which art she
has been called "the best in the world."
She adopted the full tones and broad style to which she was accustomed in
her larger works, and revolutionized the method of miniature painting in
which stippling had prevailed. When eighteen years old, she went to
Italy, where she made copies from the masters and did much original work
as well.
Among her best portraits are those of the Baroness Habert, Guizot,
Rossini, Isabey, Robert-Fleury, M. and Mme. de Torigny, Count de Zeppel,
and her own portrait. Besides portraits, she painted a picture called "A
Child Holding a Rose," "Souvenir," and "A Young Girl Playing with a Fan."
JOHNSON, ADELAIDE. Born at Plymouth, Illinois. This sculptor first
studied in the St. Louis School of Design, and in 1877, at the St. Louis
Exposition, received two prizes for the excellence of her wood carving.
During several years she devoted herself to interior decoration,
designing not only the form and color to be used in decorating edifices,
but also the furniture and all necessary details to complete them and
make them ready for use.
Being desirous of becoming a sculptor, Miss Johnson went, in 1883, to
England, Germany, and Italy. In Rome she was a pupil of Monteverde and of
Altini, who was then president of the Academy of St. Luke.
After two years she returned to America and began her professional career
in Chicago, where she remained but a year before establishing herself in
Washington. Her best-known works are portrait busts, which are numerous.
Many of these have been seen in the Corcoran Art Gallery and in other
public exhibitions.
Of her bust of Susan B. Anthony, the sculptor, Lorado Taft, said: "Your
bust of Miss Anthony is better than mine. I tried to make her real, but
you have made her not only real, but ideal." Among her portraits are
those of General Logan, Dr. H. W. Thomas, Isabella Beecher Hooker,
William Tebb, Esq., of London, etc.
KOEGEL, LINDA. Born at The Hague. A pupil of Stauffer-Bern in Berlin
and of Herterich in Munich. Her attachment to impressionism leads this
artist to many experiments in color--or, as one critic wrote, "to play
with color."
She apparently prefers to paint single figures of women and young girls,
but her works include a variety of subjects. She also practises etching,
pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching. The
light touch in some of her genre pictures is admirable, and in contrast,
the portrait of her father--- the court preacher--displays a masculine
firmness in its handling, and is a very striking picture.
In 1895 she exhibited at the Munich Secession the portrait of a woman,
delicate but spirited, and a group which was said to set aside every
convention in the happiest manner.
KROENER, MAGDA. The pictures of flowers which this artist paints
prove her to be a devoted lover of nature. She exhibited at Duesseldorf,
in 1893, a captivating study of red poppies and another of flowering
vetch, which were bought by the German Emperor. The following year she
exhibited two landscapes, one of which was so much better than the other
that it was suggested that she might have been assisted by her husband,
the animal painter, Christian Kroener.
One of her most delightful pictures, "A Quiet Corner," represents a
retired nook in a garden, overgrown with foliage and flowers, so well
painted that one feels that they must be fragrant.
LEPSIUS, SABINA. Daughter of Gustav Graf and wife of the portrait
painter, Lepsius. She was a pupil of Gussow, then of the Julian Academy
in Paris, and later studied in Rome. Her pictures have an unusual
refinement; like some other German women artists, she aims at giving a
subtle impression of character and personality in her treatment of
externals, and her work has been said to affect one like music.
The portrait of her little daughter, painted in a manner which suggests
Van Dyck, is one of the works which entitle her to consideration.
LEYSTER, JUDITH. A native of Haarlem on Zandam, the date of her
birth being unknown. She died in 1660. In 1636 she married the well-known
artist, Jan Molemaer. She did her work at a most interesting period in
Dutch painting. Her earliest picture is dated 1629; she was chosen to the
Guild of St. Luke at Haarlem in 1633.
Recent investigations make it probable that certain pictures which have
for generations been attributed to Frans Hals were the work of Judith
Leyster. In 1893 a most interesting lawsuit, which occurred in London and
was reported in the _Times_, concerned a picture known as "The Fiddlers,"
which had been sold as a work of Frans Hals for L4,500. The purchasers
found that this claim was not well founded, and sought to recover their
money.
A searching investigation traced the ownership of the work back to a
connoisseur of the time of William III. In 1678 it was sold for a small
sum, and was then called "A Dutch Courtesan Drinking with a Young Man."
The monogram on the picture was called that of Frans Hals, but as
reproduced and explained by C. Hofstede de Groot in the "_Jahrbuch fuer
Koeniglich-preussischen Kunst-Sammlungen_" for 1893, it seems evident that
the signature is J. L. and not F. H.
Similar initials are on the "Flute Player," in the gallery at Stockholm;
the "Seamstress," in The Hague Gallery, and on a picture in the Six
collection at Amsterdam.
It is undeniable that these pictures all show the influence of Hals,
whose pupil Judith Leyster may have been, and whose manner she caught as
Mlle. Mayer caught that of Greuze and Prud'hon. At all events, the
present evidence seems to support the claim that the world is indebted to
Judith Leyster for these admirable pictures.
MACH, HILDEGARDE VON. This painter studied in Dresden and Munich,
and under the influence of Anton Pepinos she developed her best
characteristics, her fine sense of form and of color. She admirably
illustrates the modern tendency in art toward individual expression--a
tendency which permits the following of original methods, and affords an
outlet for energy and strength of temperament.
Fraeulein Mach has made a name in both portrait and genre painting. Her
"Waldesgrauen" represents two naked children in an attitude of alarm as
the forest grows dark around them; it gives a vivid impression of the
mysterious charm and the possible dangers which the deep woods present
to the childish mind.
MAYER, MARIE FRANCOISE CONSTANCE. As early as 1806 this artist
received a gold medal from the Paris Salon, awarded to her picture of
"Venus and Love Asleep." Born 1775, died 1821. She studied under Suvee,
Greuze, and Prud'hon. There are various accounts of the life of Mlle.
Mayer. That of M. Charles Guenllette is the authority followed here. It
is probable that Mlle. Mayer came under the influence of Prud'hon as
early as 1802, possibly before that time.
Prud'hon, a sensitive man, absorbed in his art, had married at twenty a
woman who had no sympathy with his ideals, and when she realized that he
had no ambition, and was likely to be always poor, her temper got the
better of any affection she had ever felt for him. Prud'hon, in
humiliation and despair, lived in a solitude almost complete.
It was with difficulty that Mlle. Mayer persuaded this master to receive
her as a pupil; but this being gained, both these painters had studios in
the Sorbonne from 1809 to 1821. At the latter date all artists were
obliged to vacate the Sorbonne ateliers to make room for some new
department of instruction. Mlle. Mayer had been for some time in a
depressed condition, and her friends had been anxious about her. Whether
leaving the Sorbonne had a tendency to increase her melancholy is not
known, but her suicide came as a great surprise and shock to all who knew
her, especially to Prud'hon, who survived her less than two years.
Prud'hon painted several portraits of Mlle. Mayer, the best-known being
now in the Louvre. It represents an engaging personality, in which
vivacity and sensibility are distinctly indicated.
Mlle. Mayer had made her debut at the Salon of 1896 with a portrait of
"Citizeness Mayer," painted by herself, and showing a sketch for the
portrait of her mother; also a picture of a "Young Scholar with a
Portfolio Under His Arm," and a miniature. From this time her work was
seen at each year's salon.
Her pictures in 1810 were the "Happy Mother" and the "Unhappy Mother,"
which are now in the Louvre; the contrast between the joyousness of the
mother with her child and the anguish of the mother who has lost her
child is portrayed with great tenderness. The "Dream of Happiness," also
in the Louvre, represents a young couple in a boat with their child; the
boat is guided down the stream of life by Love and Fortune. This is one
of her best pictures. It is full of poetic feeling, and the flesh tints
are unusually natural. The work of this artist is characterized by
delicacy of touch and freshness of color while pervaded by a peculiar
grace and charm. Her drawing is good, but the composition is less
satisfactory.
It is well known that Prud'hon and his pupil painted many pictures in
collaboration. This has led to an under-valuation of her ability, and
both the inferior works of Prud'hon and bad imitations of him have been
attributed to her. M. Guenllette writes that when Mlle. Mayer studied
under Greuze she painted in his manner, and he inclines to the opinion
that some pictures attributed to Greuze were the work of his pupil. In
the same way she imitated Prud'hon, and this critic thinks it by no means
certain that the master finished her work, as has been alleged.
In the Museum at Nancy are Mlle. Mayer's portraits of Mme. and Mlle.
Voiant; in the Museum of Dijon is an ideal head by her, and in the
Bordeaux Gallery is her picture, called "Confidence." "Innocence Prefers
Love to Riches" and the "Torch of Venus" are well-known works by Mlle.
Mayer.
MESDAG-VAN HOUTEN, S. Gold medal at Amsterdam, 1884; bronze medal,
Paris Exposition, 1889. Born at Groningen, 1834. In 1856 she married
Mesdag, who, rather late in life decided to follow the career of a
painter. His wife, not wishing to be separated from him in any sense,
resolved on the same profession, and about 1870 they began their study.
Mme. Mesdag acquired her technique with difficulty, and her success was
achieved only as the result of great perseverance and continual labor.
The artists of Oosterbeck and Brussels, who were her associates,
materially aided her by their encouragement. She began the study of
drawing at the age of thirty, and her first attempt in oils was made
seven years later. Beginning with single twigs and working over them
patiently she at length painted whole trees, and later animals. She came
to know the peculiarities of nearly all native trees.
She built a studio in the woods of Scheveningen, and there developed her
characteristics--close observation and careful reproduction of details.
In the summer of 1872 M. and Mme. Mesdag went to Friesland and Drenthe,
where they made numerous sketches of the heath, sheep, farmhouses, and
the people in their quaint costumes. One of Mme. Mesdag's pictures,
afterward exhibited at Berlin, is thus described: "On this canvas we see
the moon, just as she has broken through a gray cloud, spreading her
silvery sheen over the sleepy land; in the centre we are given a
sheep-fold, at the door of which a flock of sheep are jostling and
pushing each other, all eager to enter their place of rest. The wave-like
movement of these animals is particularly graceful and cleverly done. A
little shepherdess is guiding them, as anxious to get them in as they are
to enter, for this means the end of her day's work. Her worn-out blue
petticoat is lighted up by a moonbeam; in her hand she appears to have a
hoe. It is a most harmonious picture; every line is in accord with its
neighbor."
While residing in Brussels these two artists began to collect works of
art for what is now known as the Mesdag Museum. In 1887 a wing was added
to their house to accommodate their increasing treasures, which include
especially good examples of modern French painting, pottery, tapestry,
etc.
In 1889 an exhibition of the works of these painters was held. Here
convincing proof was given of Mme. Mesdag's accuracy, originality of
interpretation, and her skill in the use of color.
MOeLLER, AGNES SLOTT, OR SLOTT-MOeLLER, AGNES. This artist follows the
young romantic movement in Denmark. She has embodied in her work a modern
comprehension of old legends. The landscape and people of her native
land seem to her as eminently suitable motives, and these realities she
renders in the spirit of a by-gone age--that of the national heroes of
the sagas and epics of the country, or the lyric atmosphere of the
folk-songs.
She may depict these conceptions, full of feeling, in the dull colors of
the North, or in rich and glowing hues, but the impression she gives is
much the same in both cases, a generally restful effect, though the faces
in her pictures are full of life and emotion. Her choice of subjects and
her manner of treatment almost inevitably introduce some archaic quality
in her work. This habit and the fact that she cares more for color than
for drawing are the usual criticisms of her pictures.
Her "St. Agnes" is an interesting rendering of a well-worn subject.
"Adelil the Proud," exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1889, tells the
story of the Duke of Frydensburg, who was in love with Adelil, the king's
daughter. The king put him to death, and the attendants of Adelil made of
his heart a viand which they presented to her. When she learned what this
singular substance was--that caused her to tremble violently--she asked
for wine, and carrying the cup to her lips with a tragic gesture, in
memory of her lover, she died of a broken heart. It is such legends as
these that Mme. Slott-Moeller revives, and by which she is widely known.
MORISOT OR MORIZOT, BERTHE. Married name Manet. Born at Bourges,
1840, died in Paris, 1895. A pupil of Guichard and Oudinot. After her
marriage to Eugene Manet she came under the influence of his famous
brother, Edouard. This artist signed her pictures with her maiden name,
being too modest to use that which she felt belonged only to Edouard
Manet, in the world of art.
A great interest was, however, aroused in the private galleries, where
the works of the early impressionists were seen, by the pictures of
Berthe Morisot. Camille Mauclair, an enthusiastic admirer of this school
of art, says: "Berthe Morizot will remain the most fascinating figure of
Impressionism--the one who has stated most precisely the femininity of
this luminous and iridescent art."
A great-granddaughter of Fragonard, she seems to have inherited his
talent; Corot and Renoir forcibly appealed to her. These elements,
modified by her personal attitude, imparted a strong individuality to her
works, which divided honors with her personal charms.
According to the general verdict, she was equally successful in oils and
water-colors. Her favorite subjects--although she painted others--were
sea-coast views, flowers, orchards, and gardens and young girls in every
variety of costume.
After the death of Edouard Manet, she devoted herself to building up an
appreciation of his work in the public mind. So intelligent were her
methods that she doubtless had great influence in making the memory of
his art enduring.
Among her most characteristic works are: "The Memories of the Oise,"
1864; "Ros-Bras," "Finistere," 1868; "A Young Girl at a Window," 1870; a
pastel, "Blanche," 1873; "The Toilet," and "A Young Woman at the Ball."
*NEY, ELIZABETH. The Fine Arts jury of the St. Louis Exposition have
accepted three works by this sculptor to be placed in the Fine Arts
Building. They are the Albert Sidney Johnston memorial; the portrait bust
of Jacob Grimm, in marble; and a bronze statuette of Garibaldi. It is
unusual to allow so many entries to one artist.
PAULI, HANNA, family name, Hirsch. Bronze medal at Paris Exposition,
1889. Born in Stockholm and pupil of the Academy of Fine Arts there;
later, of Dagnan-Bouveret, in Paris. Her husband, also an artist, is
Georg Pauli. They live in Stockholm, where she paints portraits and genre
subjects.
At the Paris Exposition, 1900, she exhibited two excellent portraits, one
of her father and another of Ellen Key; also a charming genre subject,
"The Old Couple."
ROMANI, JUANA, H. C. Born at Velletri, 1869. Pupil of Henner and
Roybet, in Paris, where she lives. This artist is, _sui generis_, a
daughter of the people, of unconventional tastes and habits. She has
boldly reproduced upon canvas a fulness of life and joy, such as is
rarely seen in pictures.
While she has caught something of the dash of Henner, and something of
the color of Roybet, and gained a firm mastery of the best French
technique, these are infused with the ardor of a Southern temperament.
Her favorite subjects are women--either in the strength and beauty of
maternity, or in the freshness of youth, or even of childhood.
Some critics feel that, despite much that is desirable in her work, the
soul is lacking in the women she paints. This is no doubt due in some
measure to certain types she has chosen--for example, Salome and
Herodias, in whom one scarcely looks for such an element.
Her portrait of Roybet and a picture of "Bianca Capello" were exhibited
at Munich in 1893 and at Antwerp in 1894. The "Pensierosa" and a little
girl were at the Paris Salon in 1894, and were much admired. "Herodias"
appeared at Vienna in 1894 and at Berlin the following year, while
"Primavera" was first seen at the Salon of 1895. This picture laughs, as
children laugh, with perfect abandon.
A portrait of Miss Gibson was also at the Salon of 1895, and "Vittoria
Colonna" and a "Venetian Girl" were sent to Munich. These were followed
by the "Flower of the Alps" and "Desdemona" in 1896; "Dona Mona,"
palpitating with life, and "Faustalla of Pistoia," with short golden hair
and a majestic poise of the head, in 1897; "Salome" and "Angelica," two
widely differing pictures in character and color, in 1898; "Mina of
Fiesole," and the portrait of a golden-haired beauty in a costume of
black and gold, in 1899; the portrait of Mlle. H. D., in 1900;
"L'Infante," one of her most noble creations, of a remarkably fine
execution, and a ravishing child called "Roger"--with wonderful blond
hair--in 1901.
Mlle. Romani often paints directly on the canvas without preliminary
sketch or study, and sells many of her pictures before they are finished.
Some of her works have been purchased by the French Government, and there
are examples of these in the Luxembourg, and in the Gallery of
Muelhausen.
RUPPRECHT, TINI. After having lessons from private instructors, this
artist studied under Lenbach. She has been much influenced by
Gainsborough, Lawrence, and Reynolds, traces of their manner being
evident in her work. She renders the best type of feminine seductiveness
with delicacy and grace; she avoids the trivial and gross, but pictures
all the allurements of an innocent coquetry.
Her portrait of the Princess Marie, of Roumania, was exhibited in Munich
in 1901; its reality and personality were notable, and one critic called
it "an oasis in a desert of portraits." "Anno 1793" and "A Mother and
Child" have attracted much favorable comment in Munich, where her star is
in the ascendant, and greater excellence in her work is confidently
prophesied.
SCHWARTZE, THERESE. Honorable mention, Paris Salon, 1885; gold
medal, 1889. Diploma at Ghent, 1892; gold medal, 1892. At International
Exhibition, Barcelona, 1898, a gold medal. Made a Knight of the Order of
Orange-Nassau, 1896. Born in Amsterdam about 1851. A pupil of her father
until his death, when she became a student under Gabriel Max, in Munich,
for a year. Returning to Amsterdam, she was much encouraged by Israels,
Bilders, and Bosboom, friends of her father.
She went to Paris in 1878 and was so attracted by the artistic life which
she saw that she determined to study there. But she did not succeed in
finding a suitable studio, neither an instructor who pleased her, and she
returned to Amsterdam. It was at this time that she painted the portrait
of Frederick Mueller.
In the spring of 1880 she went again to Paris, only to "feast on things
artistic." A little later she was summoned to the palace at Soestdijk to
instruct the Princess Henry of the Netherlands. In 1883 she served with
many distinguished artists on the art jury of the International
Exhibition at Amsterdam.
In 1884 she once more yielded to the attraction that Paris had for her,
and there made a great advance in her painting. In 1885 she began to work
in pastel, and one of her best portraits in this medium was that of the
Princess (Queen) Wilhelmina, which was loaned by the Queen Regent for the
exhibition of this artist's work in Amsterdam in 1890.
The Italian Government requested Miss Schwartze to paint her own portrait
for the Uffizi Gallery. This was shown at the Paris Salon, 1889, and
missed the gold medal by two votes. This portrait is thought by some good
judges to equal that of Mme. Le Brun. The head with the interesting eyes,
shaded by the hand which wards off the light, and the penetrating,
observant look, are most impressive.
She has painted a portrait of Queen Emma, and sent to Berlin in 1902 a
portrait of Wolmaran, a member of the Transvaal Government, which was
esteemed a work of the first rank. She has painted several portraits of
her mother, which would have made for her a reputation had she done no
others. She has had many notable men and women among her sitters, and
though not a robust woman, she works incessantly without filling all the
commissions offered her.
Her pictures are in the Museums of Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
Her work is full of life and strength, and her touch shows her confidence
in herself and her technical knowledge. She is, however, a severe critic
of her own work and is greatly disturbed by indiscriminating praise. She
is serious and preoccupied in her studio, but with her friends she is
full of gayety, and is greatly admired, both as a woman and as an artist.
VAN DER VEER, MISS. "This artist," says a recent critic, "has
studied to some purpose in excellent continental schools, and is endowed
withal with a creative faculty and breadth in conception rarely found in
American painters of either sex. Her genre work is full of life, light,
color, and character, with picturesque grouping, faultless atmosphere,
and a breadth of technical treatment that verges on audacity, yet never
fails of its designed purpose."
The fifty pictures exhibited by Miss Van der Veer in Philadelphia, in
February, 1904, included interiors, portraits--mostly in pastel--flower
studies and sketches, treating Dutch peasant life. Among the most notable
of these may be mentioned "The Chimney Corner," "Saturday Morning,"
"Mother and Child," and a portrait of the artist herself.
WALDAU, MARGARETHE. Born in Breslau, 1860. After studying by herself
in Munich, this artist became a pupil of Streckfuss in Berlin, and later,
in Nuremberg, studied under the younger Graeb and Ritter. The first
subject chosen by her for a picture was the "Portal of the Church of the
Magdalene." Her taste for architectural motives was strengthened by
travel in Russia, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
The fine old churches of Nuremberg and the venerable edifices of Breslau
afforded her most attractive subjects, which she treated with such
distinction that her pictures were sought by kings and princes as well as
by appreciative connoisseurs.
Her success increased her confidence in herself and enhanced the boldness
and freedom with which she handled her brush. An exhibition of her work
in Berlin led to her receiving a commission from the Government to paint
two pictures for the Paris Exposition, 1900. "Mayence at Sunset" and the
"Leipzig Market-Place in Winter" were the result of this order, and are
two of her best works.
Occasionally this artist has painted genre subjects, but her real success
has not been in this direction.
Back to Full Books
|