Artists Past and Present Random Studies

Artists Past and Present; Random Studies

The Same.Limited Edition de Luxe. The Limited Edition of the Above Work, Illustrated with Additional Examples on Japan and India Paper. Printed on Van Gelder Hand-made Paper, with Wide Margins. Limited to 250 Numbered and Signed Copies, of which a few are left unsold. Boxed, $15.00 Net. (Postage Extra.) A volume of great distinction, discussing the art of Blake in several unusual phases, and dwelling importantly upon his Manuscript Sketch Book, to which the author has had free access, and from which the publishers have drawn freely for illustrations, many of which have never been published before. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art are two pictures by the Florentine painter of the fifteenth century called Piero di Cosimo. They represent hunting scenes, and the figures are those of men, women, fauns, satyrs, centaurs, and beasts of the forests, fiercely struggling together. As we observe the lion fastening his teeth in the flesh of the boar, the bear grappling with his human slayer, and the energy and determination of the creatures at bay, our thought involuntarily bridges a chasm of four centuries and calls up the image of the Barye bronzes in which are displayed the same detachment of vision, the same absence of sentimentality, the same vigor and intensity if not quite the same strangeness of imagination. It is manifestly unwise to carry the parallel very far, yet there is still another touch of similarity in the beautiful surfaces. Piero's fine, delicate handling of pigment is in the same manner of expression as Barye's exquisite manipulation of his metal after the casting, his beautiful thin patines that do not suppress but reveal sensitive[Pg 2] line and subtle modulation. We know little enough of Piero beyond what his canvases tell us. Of Barye we naturally know more, although everything save what his work confides of his character and temperament is of secondary importance, and he is interesting to moderns, especially as the father of modern animal sculpture, and not for the events of his quiet life. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 31940
Author: Cary, Elisabeth Luther
Release Date: Apr 10, 2010
Format: eBook
Language: English