,,masterpieces     ,,in ,,colour        
,,edited ,,by     ,m4 ,,henry ,,roujon  
,,bastien-,,lepage     7#ahdh-ahhd7     
,,in ,,the ,,same ,,series   ,,reynolds 
,,chardin  ,,velasquez          ,,millet
  ,,greuze             ,,raeburn        
,,turner             ,,sargent          
,,botticelli         ,,constable        
,,romney             ,,memling          
,,rembrandt          ,,fragonard        
,,bellini            ,d,ue,r,e,r  ,,fra 
,,angelico       ,,lawrence  ,,rossetti 
,,hogarth  ,,raphael                    
,,watteau  ,,leighton                   
,,murillo  ,,holman ,,hunt              
,,watts  ,,titian             ,,ingres  
,,millais            ,,corot  ,,luini   
,,delacroix  ,,franz ,,hals             
,,fra ,,lippo ,,lippi  ,,carlo ,,dolci  
,,puvis ,,de ,,chavannes  ,,gainsborough
       ,,meissonier  ,,tintoretto       
,,gerome  ,,van ,,dyck                  
,,veronese  ,,da ,,vinci           ,,van
 ,,eyck  ,,whistler                     
,,fromentin  ,,rubens                   

,,mantegna  ,,boucher                   
,,perugino  ,,holbein            ,,rosa 
,,bonheur  ,,burne-,,jones              
,,bastien-,,lepage  ,,le ,,brun         
,,goya    ,illustration3 ,,plate        
,i4--,,the ,,song ,,of ,,springtime     
7,museum at ,verdun7    ,this is one of 
the artist's earliest works4 ,a certain 
embarrassment may   be noted in the     
manner in which the ,cupids are treated2
 even at this   period1 it is easy to   
see that allegory is not suited to the  
precise and   realistic talent of this  
painter2 yet the young girl is designed 
with a   vigour which already           
foreshadows the masterly art of         
,hay-making4         ,bastien ,lepage   
,,by ,,fr4 ,,crastre      ,,translated  
,,from ,,the ,,french     ,,by          
,,frederic ,,taber ,,cooper             
,,illustrated ,,with ,,eight            
,,reproductions ,,in ,,colour           
,illustration3 ,,in ,,sempiternum4      
,,frederick ,a4 ,,stokes ,,company      
,,new ,,york--,,publishers              

,,copyright1 #aiad1 ,,by     ,,frederick
 ,a4 ,,stokes ,,company                 
,illustration3 ,march1 #aiad            
,,the4,,plimpton4,,press                
,,norwood4,,mass4,u4,s4,a               
,,contents                              
,page   ,his ,youth                     
#af   ,his ,best ,years                 
#ca   ,his ,premature ,end              
#fe      ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations    
,plate      ,i4   ,the ,song of         
,springtime                             
,frontispiece          ,museum at       
,verdun     ,,ii4   ,portrait of ,m4    
,wallon                                 
#ad          ,museum of the ,louvre     
,,iii4   ,the ,artist's ,mother         
#bd          ,collection of ,e4         
,bastien-,lepage     ,,iv4   ,the       
,hay-making                             
#cd          ,museum of the ,luxembourg 
,v4   ,portrait of ,m4 ,hayem           
#dj          ,museum of the ,luxembourg 
,,vi4   ,portrait of ,m4 ,x----         
#ej          ,museum at ,verdun         

,,vii4   ,the ,little ,boatman          
#fj          ,collection of ,e4         
,bastien-,lepage   ,,viii4   ,the       
,artist's ,uncle                        
#gj          ,museum at ,verdun         
,illustration     ,there are certain    
beings who bear the stamp of the divine 
seal and are preordained to receive the 
highest favours within the gift of      
glory2 they are fated to pass through   
life like those brilliant meteors which 
are seen to flash across the heavens and
 disappear in the same instant4         
,bastien-,lepage was one of these       
meteors4 ,but while the others leave    
behind them only a luminous trail that  
swiftly vanishes1 this rare artist1     
snatched so prematurely from the field  
of art1 traced his passage in a furrow  
of dazzling splendour1 the radiance of  
which has not even yet begun to fade4   
,bastien-,lepage was a painter in the   
noblest acceptation of the term2 it may 
even be asserted that he would have     
exercised considerable influence upon   

the art of his epoch if ,destiny had not
 stupidly mown down the sturdy flower of
 his genius in the very hour of its     
brightest blossoming4 ,born into this   
world with a solid tenacity of purpose  
which seems to be a special gift of the 
soil of ,lorraine to her sons and       
daughters1 he had a clear-cut and       
unalterable conception of what painting 
should be4 ,his mind was receptive only 
of simple ideas1 his eye perceived only 
visions that were tangible1 such as were
 unobscured by any shadow or any        
artifice4 ,he was the apostle of        
clearness1 both in conception and in    
execution4 ,every time that he tried    
experimentally to turn aside from his   
chosen path1 he ceased to be himself1 he
 fell below his own standards4 ,what    
interested him most of all1 in the life 
of this world which he observed so      
eagerly1 as though he had a presentiment
 of his early end1 was nature's most    
precise and most uncompromising         
manifestation1 both in line and in      

relief2 namely1 the peasant and the     
environment which frames him4 ,having   
deliberately chosen such models1        
,bastien-,lepage could not pretend to be
 the painter of the ,beautiful1 nor did 
he ever become so4 ,he did not even     
adorn his subjects with that special    
sort of idealism with which ,millet     
embellished even his most uncouth rustic
 types1 a slightly melancholy idealism  
obtained by a sombre toning down of     
colour1 which ,bastien-,lepage held in  
horror4 ,his peasants stand out boldly1 
in the crude glare of flamboyant        
noontide1 under a summer sun that       
refuses to leave hidden any part of     
their ugliness or their defects4 ,he    
painted them as he saw them1 with the   
searching rays striking them full in the
 face2 and his brush was a stranger to  
any compromise1 intolerant of even the  
slightest betterment1 in the course of  
the literal transference of his model to
 his canvas4 ,it made no difference how 
handsome or how homely a given subject  

might be1 ,bastien-,lepage would always 
render him precisely as nature1 in a    
grudging or indulgent mood1 had made    
him1--that is to say1 truly and         
sincerely1 with a precision that would  
be almost photographic1 if the          
minuteness of his technique were not    
ennobled by the high quality of his art4
 ,with such gifts1 ,bastien-,lepage was 
foreordained to be a marvellous         
interpreter of rural life1 and such he  
was in the highest degree2 in like      
manner1 he could not fail to become a   
portrait painter of the first order1 and
 it was in this capacity also that he   
enrolled himself among the most         
interesting and vigorous artists of our 
epoch4    ,illustration3    ,,plate     
,,ii4--,,portrait ,,of ,m4 ,,wallon     
7,museum of the ,louvre7    ,few artists
 have been able to endow their models   
with such an animated   expression of   
life4 ,all the keenness1 intelligence   
and austerity of this   prominent       
personage1 known by the name of ,father 

of the ,constitution1   are eloquently  
transferred to this page1 with a        
sobriety of means that   still further  
emphasizes its vigour4         ,,his    
,,youth   ,jules ,bastien-,lepage was   
born at ,damvillers1 in the department  
of the ,meuse1 on the first of          
,november1 #ahdh4 ,his parents were of  
the well-to-do farming class1 occupied  
from one year's end to the other with   
the work of the fields4 ,consequently1  
all the early boyhood of the artist was 
passed in daily contact with the soil of
 ,lorraine and with the sons of that    
soil4 ,he knew them1 one and all1 in his
 native village2 he grew up among them2 
he went to school side by side with the 
other little rustics of his own age3 he 
understood the peasant class1 with all  
their faults1 their virtues1 their      
habits of life2 he learned to read in   
their faces1 which were a sealed book to
 the outsider1 the opinions and emotions
 which they had in common with him4     
,these childhood impressions were       

destined to abide with him throughout   
his life2 he cherished to the end a     
fervent love for his native land1 and he
 felt that he had an infinitely noble   
task in painting that life of the fields
 which the ,second ,empire affected to  
despise4  ,but though he came of peasant
 stock1 it was ,bastien-,lepage's good  
fortune that these same peasants were in
 prosperous circumstances and could     
afford to give him an education4 ,they  
were ambitious for him2 and it hurt them
 to see their little ,jules1 who was so 
wide-awake1 so intelligent1 and at the  
same time so frail1 leading the hard and
 monotonous life of the fields1         
following the plough1 tilling the soil4 
,it needed only a few household         
economies to enable him to continue his 
studies2 so1 when the time came1 young  
,bastien-,lepage wended his way towards 
,verdun1 where he entered upon his      
college course4  ,there is nothing that 
marks in any particular way these years 
of study1 nothing to indicate that the  

boy was a youthful prodigy1 nor that he 
showed any special aptitude for drawing4
 ,but he was studious1 diligent1 and    
anxious to avoid repremands and to      
fulfil the expectations of his parents4 
,in due time he obtained his bachelor's 
degree1 which at that period was highly 
prized4 ,his father1 filled with pride1 
already began to form brilliant projects
 for his future1 already foresaw him a  
distinguished official1 supervising some
 great branch of the public service4 ,as
 a matter of fact1 a position was found 
for the young baccalaureate in a        
government department which was neither 
the most desirable nor the one of least 
importance2 namely1 the ,post ,office   
,department4 ,bastien-,lepage was not   
vastly delighted with the choice1 but1  
dutiful son that he was1 he accepted the
 modest clerkship offered him4 ,one     
circumstance contributed1 in a large    
degree1 towards overcoming his          
reluctance3 the post assigned to him    
from the start was in ,paris1 of which  

he had often heard marvellous things1   
and in which he hoped that he would be  
able to follow his secret inclination4  
,for1 in the interval his vocation had  
revealed itself2 he had conceived a     
passion for drawing1 for colouring1 for 
painting2 and1 like ,correggio1 he was  
eager to say in his turn1 ,i too am a   
painter6  ,accordingly he set forth1    
leaving behind him no suspicion of his  
purpose4 ,upon arriving at the capital1 
he acquitted himself scrupulously of his
 official duties1 but every leisure     
moment was consecrated to visiting the  
museums and exhibitions4 ,he saturated  
himself with the wealth of beauty strewn
 broadcast through the ,louvre1 and was 
thrilled with admiration at contact with
 the masters of every school and        
country4 ,he did not care equally for   
them all1 in spite of their genius2 his 
intimate preferences leaned to the side 
of ,flemish rather than ,italian art2   
but he was not insensible to the lofty  
inspiration1 the severe harmony1 the    

faultless composition1 which have made  
the great masters of the ,renaissance   
the most astonishing prodigies in the   
history of painting4  ,but while the    
older schools of art delighted him1 he  
followed with no less attention the     
movement of contemporary painting4 ,at  
the hour when his critical spirit awoke1
 certain new elements and new formulas  
had come to light and had been put into 
practice by two audacious and gifted    
artists by the names of ,courbet and    
,manet4 ,although the prolonged struggle
 between the classicists and            
romanticists had not yet come to an end1
 these two rival schools were entrenched
 in their positions and refused to stir 
forth from them4 ,supporters of         
,delacroix and of ,ingres confined      
themselves strictly to their respective 
hostile formulas1 doing nothing either  
to expand or to rejuvenate them4        
,whoever dared to venture outside of one
 of these two beaten tracks was regarded
 as a madman1 and his attempts were     

greeted with derisive clamours by both  
parties1 who declared a momentary truce1
 for the purpose of annihilating him by 
a joint attack4 ,courbet1 who was       
scorned by ,ingres1 met with equally    
harsh criticism from ,delacroix2 and as 
for ,manet1 he had managed to call down 
universal wrath upon his head1 and at   
the ,salon of #ahfc it became necessary 
to place his ,olympia in the very       
topmost line upon the wall1 in order to 
protect it from the fury of the public1 
hounded on by the hue and cry of the    
critics4  ,bastien-,lepage made mental  
notes of all the episodes of this       
struggle2 he listened to the criticisms 
and passed them through the crucible of 
his unspoiled mind1 in the presence of  
the very works under indictment4 ,his   
good sense showed him how large an      
element of injustice entered into these 
hostilities4 ,moreover1 his peasant     
blood inclined him to sympathize with   
those artists who refused to bind       
themselves to seek for beauty only      

within the limits of academic form1 and 
who had the ability to make it flash    
forth from the humblest and even the    
most vulgar type of subject4            
,furthermore1 this constant study of    
matters pertaining to art1 day by day   
added fuel to the hidden fire           
smouldering within him2 he was conscious
 of its mounting flame4 ,back of the    
rude sketches1 drawn and coloured in the
 tiny chamber befitting an humble postal
 clerk1 he perceived vaguely that he    
also possessed the temperament of a     
painter1 and little by little he        
witnessed the unfolding of his artist's 
soul4    ,illustration3 ,,plate         
,,iii4--,,the ,,artist',s ,,mother      
7,collection of ,e4 ,bastien-,lepage7   
,what a kindly and gentle face this is1 
the face of the woman to whom the       
artist applied the tender endearment of 
,good little mother6 ,in this   work1 it
 is evident that the heart guided the   
hand of the painter4 ,none   but a son  
could have rendered with such emotion   

the humid tenderness of   those eyes and
 the maternal caress of those lips4 ,it 
is a powerful work1   which enrolls     
,bastien-,lepage in the foremost rank of
 portrait   painters4  ,at last1 unable 
to bear it longer1 he resigned from the 
postal service and enrolled his name at 
the ,beaux-,arts4 ,at this time1 when he
 entered the studio of ,cabanel1 he was 
but little more than nineteen years of  
age4 ,cabanel1 to be sure1 was not the  
painter of his choice1 but              
,bastien-,lepage was not for that reason
 any the less appreciative of a system  
of instruction which was dominated by a 
worship of line-work4 ,his training     
under ,cabanel was not without value to 
the young artist1 who throughout his    
life1 even in his most realistic        
paintings1 proved himself to be an      
impeccable master of design4  ,at the   
outset1 however1 he was beset with      
difficulties4 ,now that his salary as a 
postal clerk had ceased and remittances 
from the family were necessarily        

restricted1 ,bastien-,lepage exerted    
himself to gain a living by his own     
efforts4 ,he had no lack of courage1 and
 he had in addition that ,lorraine      
tenacity which enabled him to confront  
all difficulties with tranquil          
assurance4 ,he worked with desperate    
energy1 and in the intervals of respite 
from his labours he overran all ,paris  
in search of orders from business       
houses4 ,it was an inglorious task1 but 
at least it enabled him to live2 thus it
 happened that about #ahgc he produced a
 widely circulated advertisement for a  
perfumery house4 ,up to this time he had
 remained wholly unknown2 and although  
he had already exhibited one painting1  
at the ,salon of #ahgj1 it was passed by
 unheeded both by the critics and the   
general public4  ,this lack of success  
in no wise discouraged him1 for he had  
faith4 ,it was in the year #ahgd that he
 exhibited ,the ,song of ,springtime4   
,it was a veritable revelation4 ,there  
was no neglect this time4 ,the public   

gathered in throngs before his canvas1  
and the critics1 notwithstanding a few  
objections to details1 were lavish in   
their praise and hailed him as having   
the qualities of a true artist4         
,naturally1 the picture was not perfect1
 but it well merited the flattering     
reception which it received4 ,in a      
springtime landscape a young peasant    
girl is seated beneath a tree1 looking  
before her over a sunlit plain4 ,around 
her skirts a whole bevy of ,cupids are  
gathering blossoms and offering them to 
the girl4 ,here1 at the first stroke1 is
 an assertion of the young painter's    
independence1 his formal determination  
to emancipate himself from the accepted 
formulas in his treatment of the eternal
 theme of a young girl's soul1 opening  
to the first appeal of love4 ,as a      
matter of fact1 the allegory is somewhat
 clumsy2 you realize that the author's  
talent does not run to sentimental      
compositions4 ,yet the young girl is    
brushed in with an energetic hand1 and  

all that rather coarse robustness that  
distinguishes the women of peasant stock
 is blended in a masterly manner with   
the naive innocence of simple souls4    
,the ,song of ,springtime was           
,bastien-,lepage's first attempt in that
 vein of realistic painting in which he 
was soon destined to excel4  ,that same 
year he produced ,grandfather's         
,portrait1 which also attracted much    
attention4 ,the artist had placed his   
model in the little garden adjoining the
 home of his birth4 ,this portrait1     
which belongs to-day to the painter's   
brother1 is remarkable for its          
naturalness1 its touch of intimate      
understanding1 and its vigour of        
execution4  ,bastien-,lepage had now    
acquired a name4 ,his ,song of          
,springtime won him a third class medal1
 and the ,state purchased the painting  
for the museum at ,verdun1 where it at  
present hangs4  ,in the following year  
he exhibited ,her ,first ,communion1    
picturing a young and pretty country    

girl1 stiff and self-conscious under her
 white veil4 ,this work was the product 
of keen observation1 and is deliberately
 stilted and traditional in its style of
 execution1 recalling in some measure   
the ,french primitive school4           
,bastien-,lepage evidently had in mind  
the portraits by ,francois ,cluet3 his  
little communicant is infinitely        
artificial in her spotless finery1 yet  
infinitely alive under the thin surface 
wash of colour which recalls the        
,elizabeth of ,austria1 wife of ,charles
 ,,ix1 as painted by the greatest of the
 ,french primitives4  ,simultaneously   
with this picture he exhibited the      
,portrait of ,m4 ,hayem1 in which the   
vigorous treatment of the face1 with its
 clear1 firm colour tones and sober     
workmanship1 proclaimed him already a   
portrait painter of the first order4    
,his success this time was more marked3 
he received a medal of the second class4
 ,a less modest artist would have       
allowed himself to be borne tranquilly  

along by the mounting tide of glory2 but
 ,bastien-,lepage did not yet feel that 
he was sufficiently sure of himself4 ,he
 wished to continue for a while longer1 
working1 learning1 perfecting himself2  
he even conceived the idea1 in spite of 
his renown1 of competing for the ,prix  
de ,rome4 ,accordingly1 the painter of  
,the ,song of ,springtime and ,her      
,first ,communion might shortly after   
have been seen entering the lists like  
any ordinary nobody4 ,he obtained only  
the second prize4  ,he presented himself
 again the following year1 but with no  
better success4 ,the subject assigned   
for the competition was ,priam at the   
,feet of ,achilles4 ,it is easy to      
understand that such a theme was little 
calculated to inspire an artist of      
,bastien-,lepage's temperament2 he found
 it impossible to attain full           
development unless in the presence of   
nature herself4 ,no amount of manual    
dexterity can take the place of inborn  
faith1 and the young artist had no faith

 in antiquity2 he never could muster any
 enthusiasm for the ,greek or ,roman    
gods1 nor for historic scenes in which  
the very attitudes are dictated by the  
rules and regulations of time-honoured  
tradition4  ,nevertheless1 the work is  
not without merit2 it is forceful1 its  
colouring is good1 and it falls short of
 perfection only in failing to conform  
sufficiently with what we know of       
ancient life4 ,this painting is at      
present to be found in the ,museum at   
,lille4  ,this rebuff did not discourage
 ,bastien-,lepage unreasonably2 but he  
decided to confine himself in the future
 to painting portraits and picturing the
 life of the fields4         ,,his      
,,best ,,years   ,the same year that he 
failed for the second time in the       
competition for the ,prix de ,rome1     
,bastien-,lepage painted ,the ,portrait 
of ,m4 ,wallon1 which is one of his most
 important works as a portrait painter4 
,in spite of its tendency towards       
naturalism1 this canvas was nevertheless

 still conceived in accordance with the 
established technique1 and the keen and 
serious visage of the ,father of the    
,constitution standing out against its  
sombre background is a fine study in    
chiaroscuro4  ,but the following year he
 struck the naturalistic note more      
strongly in his ,portrait of ,lady ,l41 
the only full-length1 life-sized        
portrait that he ever painted2 and he   
declared himself plainly and definitely 
a realist in his picture entitled ,my   
,parents4 ,it would be impossible to    
find two figures more life-like1 more   
literal1 or painted with greater        
sincerity4 ,this canvas amounted to a   
declaration of principles2 for an artist
 whom filial piety cannot turn aside    
from the truth will never make          
sacrifices to convention3 he will never 
consent to embellish or idealize his    
models through tricks of his craft2 he  
will paint them as he sees them1 without
 correcting any of the imperfections and
 ugliness with which nature has         

afflicted them4 ,how clearly we         
recognize that these likenesses of      
,bastien-,lepage's parents are          
absolutely true to life1 and how much   
better we like them as they are1 in the 
simple intimacy of daily life1 than if  
they had been decked out1 all spick and 
span1 as a less scrupulous artist would 
inevitably have shown them to us6       
,bastien-,lepage's brother1 himself a   
painter of some talent1 has preserved in
 his studio at ,neuilly a certain number
 of the artist's works1 which he        
surrounds with pious care and feelingly 
exhibits to occasional visitors4 ,the   
family portraits are there1 pulsating   
with life and radiating that generous   
peasant kindliness which finds          
expression in a broad and tender smile4 
,the father1 seated in a chair in his   
garden1 an old man with shrewd yet      
friendly eyes1 seems so real1 so actual1
 that we almost expect him to step down 
from his frame to bid us welcome4 ,and  
what a marvel the ,portrait of my       

,mother is1 which forms a companion     
piece on the same wall6 ,a somewhat     
wistful charm pervades this face1 with  
its deeply graven lines1 and an infinite
 tenderness1 a true mother's tenderness1
 hovers over the thin1 pale lips4       
,illustration3 ,,plate                  
,,iv--,,hay-,,making    7,museum of the 
,luxembourg7    ,a masterpiece of       
contemporary painting1 because of the   
truth of its   attitudes and the vigour 
of its execution4 ,it would be          
impossible to   render more forcibly the
 blissfulness of rest when the body has 
been   racked by the exhausting labour  
of the soil4 ,in this picture1          
,bastien-,lepage revealed himself as an 
incomparable painter of rural   life4   
,perhaps this is the moment1 in the     
presence of these pictures1 to emphasize
 ,bastien-,lepage's great value as a    
colourist4 ,few contemporary painters   
have used colour with so much tact1 such
 veritable mastery as he4 ,others have  
employed more dazzling tonal schemes and

 have achieved more gorgeous effects1   
but no one has rendered with such exact 
truth the tints of the flesh1 the       
grayish folds of wrinkles1 the profound 
light of the eye4 ,and his colour is    
always clear1 always unmistakably       
employed to produce a sought-after      
effect4 ,there is no artifice1 no       
trick-work1 it is all straightforward1  
honest1 precise2 the opposition of light
 and shade never result in opacity1     
bitumen plays no part in his canvases1  
the astonishing relief of which is      
obtained by means of such perfect       
simplicity that it recalls the          
inimitable technique of ,correggio4  ,in
 #ahgh he exhibited ,hay-making1 that   
magisterial page from the life of the   
fields which to-day is the pride of the 
,luxembourg museum1 and which the art of
 the engraver has scattered broadcast to
 the extent of millions of copies4      
,this picture represents a vast         
sun-bathed meadow1 overstrewn with      
new-mown hay and punctuated1 here and   

there1 by the rounded cones of the      
stacks4 ,against the blue background of 
the sky1 green hill-tops trace an       
undulant line4 ,in the foreground a     
robust1 bony-armed country-woman is     
seated on the grass1 her legs stretched 
out before her in an attitude expressive
 of the utter weariness resulting from  
the work performed4 ,her head1 solidly  
planted on her massive neck1 is a marvel
 of realism2 in her vulgar peasant face 
we may read health1 strength1 and a sort
 of dulled mentality born of physical   
fatigue4 ,in every fibre of her         
exhausted body the woman is veritably   
resting1 and through her half-parted    
lips it seems as though we could detect 
the passage of her hurried breathing4   
,the man beside her1 no less worn out   
than she1 is stretched at full length on
 the thick couch of grass1 and with his 
hat over his face1 to shelter it from   
the sun1 he is sleeping as though dead  
to the world4  ,every detail of this    
canvas is perfect1 because every detail 

is true1 drawn straight from life1 the  
fruit of minute observation4 ,in it     
,bastien-,lepage once more affirms his  
predilection for the open country2 and  
nothing could be more impressive than   
these two uncouth1 vulgar1 homely human 
beings1 set amid the splendour of a     
meadow turned golden by the sun4 ,it is 
an every-day spectacle2 it would not    
seem at first sight to contain material 
for a picture4 ,but ,bastien-,lepage has
 succeeded in proving indisputably that 
beauty does not consist solely in the   
harmony of the body1 but in the         
impression which emanates from scenes   
that are most humble in outward         
appearance4 ,in these few square feet of
 canvas the artist has summed up1       
perhaps without intending it1 all the   
majesty of nature and all the grandeur  
of the life of the fields4 ,it is       
scarcely necessary to add that this work
 is a transcript of the soil of         
,lorraine1 that good natal soil which he
 loved so profoundly and to which he    

returned eagerly1 year after year4      
,bastien-,lepage was exclusively the    
painter of the rural aspects of         
,lorraine2 he loved its horizons1 its   
fertile and undulating plains4 ,and     
when1 occasionally1 he ventured into    
allegory1 the background was still      
,lorraine1 and the characters were      
developed in the familiar setting of his
 native village1 ,damvillers4 ,and how  
he loved it6 ,how he enjoyed the warm   
atmosphere of affection which always    
awaited him when his father1            
grandfather1 and valiant and devoted    
little mother gathered at night around  
the family table6 ,he made his home in  
,paris1 because residence there was     
indispensable1 both for business and    
artistic reasons2 but the moment that he
 could escape from the capital and its  
constraints1 he would go to rest and    
gather new energy in the midst of the   
family circle4 ,he had a spacious studio
 installed in the second story of the   
ancestral home2 and there he worked1    

absolutely happy so long as he could see
 the old grandfather at his side1 pipe  
in mouth1 examining the work with a     
knowing air1 and the father and mother  
in a sort of ecstasy1 as they watched   
him fill in his canvas4                 
,illustration3 ,,plate ,v4--,,portrait  
,,of ,m4 ,,hayem    7,museum of the     
,luxembourg7    ,a marvel of discernment
 and of rendering4 ,the face1 to be     
sure1 has a   strong originality2 but   
there is no slight merit in having      
expressed   with such striking truth the
 piercing intelligence of the eyes that 
twinkle behind the lenses of the        
spectacles1 and the energy1 tempered    
with satiric humour1 of his whole odd   
physiognomy4  ,nevertheless1            
,bastien-,lepage was no studio painter2 
it was not from the height of a window  
that he chose to contemplate nature1 but
 in the open fields1 in the very heart  
of the furrows2 and it was there also1  
in the midst of the wheat and the rye1  
that he set up his easel and painted his

 peasants in action1 in the daily       
fulfilment of their thankless task4 ,and
 by picturing them thus1 without        
artifice1 in all their simplicity of    
gesture and coarseness of feature1 he   
imbued his canvases with a profound     
spirit of poetry1 through which the     
often brutal realism of his subjects was
 redeemed and ennobled4 ,in the presence
 of these peasants he experienced a joy 
more genuine than he had ever felt      
before the rarest canvases in any       
museum4 ,not that he denied or disdained
 the genius of the great ancestors of   
painting2 he had too much reverence for 
his art ever to dream of doing so4 ,but 
when it came to a question of training1 
he could learn more from nature than    
from them4 ,listen to his own exposition
 of his ideas3  ,what a pity1 he wrote1 
that we are initiated1 whether we will  
or not1 into traditions and routines1   
under the pretext that this is the way  
to train us to be artists6 ,it would be 
so simple to teach the use of brush and 

palette1 without ever once mentioning   
the name of ,michelangelo or ,raphael or
 ,murillo or ,domenichino6 ,we could    
then go home1 back to ,brittany or      
,gascony1 ,lorraine or ,normandy1 and   
peacefully paint the portrait of our own
 province2 and if some morning the book 
we had chanced to read aroused the wish 
to paint a ,prodigal ,son1 or ,priam at 
the feet of ,achilles1 we could         
reconstruct the scene to suit ourselves1
 without needing to resort to the       
museums1 taking the setting from our own
 surroundings and making use of the     
models close at hand1 as though the old 
drama dated only from yesterday4 ,that  
is the way for an artist to succeed in  
breathing the breath of life into his   
art and in making it beautiful and      
appealing to the eyes of the whole      
world4 ,and that is the goal towards    
which ,i am striving with all my        
strength4  ,as painter of the open air1 
he became in a certain sense the founder
 of a school1 without meaning to be2 for

 his conception of the painter's art won
 over a whole group of young artists who
 united in hailing him as their master4 
,each year his offerings to the ,salon  
were impatiently awaited1 and his       
followers gathered in full force before 
them1 discussing1 comparing1 acclaiming2
 each ,salon became the occasion for a  
new success1 the critics were unanimous 
in praising him1 the public adopted his 
pictures for their own1 because they    
could understand his clear and rigorous 
manner4 ,whatever hostility he met with 
was among his own colleagues1 at least  
among such of them as were discouraged  
and humiliated by his vigorous          
originality4 ,nevertheless1 the         
,exposition of #ahgh1 at which he had   
gathered together all his works1 was an 
especially triumphant occasion for him2 
yet when the awards were distributed1 he
 discovered that he had received nothing
 but a medal of the third class4  ,at   
the ,salon of #ahgi1 ,bastien-,lepage   
exhibited his ,women gathering          

,potatoes1 which formed a companion     
piece to his ,hay-making4 ,here again we
 have the landscape of ,lorraine and the
 eternal and infinitely varied theme of 
rural labour4 ,in a sun-parched field   
two women are toiling to reap the       
harvest of potatoes4 ,while the one in  
the middle distance is stooping to turn 
up the ripe bulbs from the soil1 the    
other1 placed in the foreground1 is     
striving to empty the contents of her   
basket into a sack which she holds open 
by a wonderfully natural movement of her
 knee4 ,nothing could be simpler or more
 humble than this subject1 and yet one  
feels drawn towards it1 conquered by the
 truth of these two figures1 both in    
their attitude and their expression4    
,involuntarily memory conjures up       
another canvas1 ,the ,gleaners1 and we  
realize that it is impossible to resist 
that higher appeal which the great      
artists succeed in giving to the most   
commonplace episode of farming life4    
,but1 unlike ,millet1 ,bastien-,lepage  

does not awaken in us any compassion for
 these beings who toil1 stooping above  
the earth2 no touch of bitterness       
saddens his pictures1 and the types     
which he shows to us have the healthy   
vigour of peasants who live their lives 
in the open air and love the soil which 
nourishes them4  ,this picture1 when it 
appeared1 produced a sensation4 ,coming 
directly after the ,hay-making1 it      
definitely established                  
,bastien-,lepage's talent and placed him
 in the foremost rank of painters of    
rural life4 ,the critics hailed this    
powerful canvas with enthusiasm4        
,theodore de ,banville1 writing of the  
,salon of #ahgi1 said3 ,m4              
,bastien-,lepage is the king of this    
,exposition4 ,young as he is1 he has    
started in to produce masterpieces3 he  
is very wise6 ,for in later years an    
artist continues to copy himself1 with  
more or less cleverness and success2 but
 the creative genius has taken wing1    
like a bird on whose tail we have failed

 to drop the indispensable grain of     
salt4 ,the ,october ,season pictures the
 harvesting of potatoes4 ,the earth1 the
 encompassing air as far as we can see1 
the sky1 the solitude laden with        
silence1 are all evoked for us in this  
picture by the sincerity of its powerful
 painter2 the peasant women are done in 
a masterly manner1 and precisely for the
 reason that he has seen them apart from
 all convention and has not tried to    
idealize them by any hackneyed device4  
,albert ,wolff was no less enthusiastic3
 ,the colouring in ,women harvesting    
,potatoes is ingratiating and discreet2 
not a discordant touch disturbs the     
beautiful harmony of this canvas1 over  
which the silence of the open country   
has descended1 enveloping the obscure   
toil4 ,it is only artists of superior   
powers who can embody so much charm in a
 single conception4  ,another feature of
 the same ,salon was his magnificent    
portrait of ,madame ,sarah ,bernhardt1 a
 marvel of expression and of delicate   

art1 embodied in a pale symphony of     
tenderest whites1 blending harmoniously 
with the warmest tones of gold4 ,the    
great tragic actress is portrayed       
draped1 almost swathed1 in a gown of    
white china silk1 verging on the        
faintest yellowish caste2 she is posed  
in profile1 that cameo-like profile that
 has so often been portrayed4 ,she is   
seated1 with a sort of intentional      
rigidity1 on a white fur robe1 and is   
examining a statuette of ,orpheus1 in   
old ivory1 which she holds in her hands4
 ,her expressive and intellectual       
features are treated with a vigour which
 does full justice to the classic beauty
 and virile energy of the sitter4  ,the 
work as a whole1 wrote the critic of the
 ,revue des ,beaux-,arts1 possesses     
supreme distinction and an admirable    
delicacy of colouring4 ,the silvery     
tones of the whites1 the warm grays of  
the draped gown lead up to the freshness
 of the delicate1 rose-like flesh tints1
 beneath the crown of close curled locks

 that seem at once massive and          
weightless4 ,the artist's hand was sure 
of itself2 it neither groped nor        
hesitated4 ,the execution is such that  
the drawing of the gown and the lines of
 the face seem to have been traced by an
 engraver's tool4 ,in this case1        
however1 definiteness has not resulted  
in stiffness4 ,the sharp design has not 
imprisoned unwilling forms2 it leaves   
them free to move as they please within 
the limits of their contours which are  
its domain4 ,it is worth while to       
examine with a lens the marvellous      
process which1 by the aid of            
imperceptible half-tones1 has softened  
the modelling of the face and hands4    
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vi4--,,portrait
 ,,of ,m4 ,x----    7,museum at ,verdun7
    ,bastien-,lepage possessed the rare 
quality of being able to bestow the     
same superior skill upon every part of a
 portrait4 ,being sincere before   all  
else1 he never tried to shirk any       
difficulty2 this is seen in the   care  

he took in painting the hands of all his
 various sitters1 showing   something   
akin to vanity in the marvellous talent 
he displayed in   rendering them4 ,in   
this portrait--just as in all the       
others--the hands   are quite as truly a
 miracle of execution as the face       
itself4  ,these two pictures earned     
,bastien-,lepage the ,cross of the      
,legion of ,honour and a definite       
recognition of his talent4 ,the artist  
could not keep his delight to himself   
and1 good son that he was1 wished to    
share it with his beloved family2 so he 
sent for them1 to pay him a visit in    
,paris4 ,the grandfather and the good   
little mother arrived1 full of pride in 
this famous son1 of whom the whole world
 was talking4 ,he showed them the sights
 of the city and was only too happy to  
have a chance to introduce them to his  
friends2 he took his mother to the big  
shops and insisted on choosing silk     
cloaks and silk dresses for her4 ,the   
poor woman protested1 saying that they  

were far too fine1 that she would never 
dare to wear anything like that4 ,show  
us some more1 ordered the devoted       
artist1 ,i want mamma to have her choice
 of the best there is6  ,after the old  
people had returned home to ,lorraine1  
,bastien-,lepage set out for ,england1  
where he was to paint the portrait of   
the ,prince of ,wales1 who afterwards   
became ,king ,edward ,,vii4  ,in this   
portrait of tiny dimensions the ,prince 
is represented in fancy costume1 after  
the manner of ,holbein4 ,his garments   
recall in a measure those worn by ,king 
,henry ,,viii1 in the celebrated        
portrait done by the great painter from 
,basle4 ,the ,collar of the ,golden     
,fleece is displayed upon his breast4   
,in the background of the picture may be
 seen dimly1 through a veil of mist1 the
 panorama of ,london and the gray ribbon
 of the ,thames4 ,the portrait is a     
little gem1 which ,bastien-,lepage      
wrought with the minuteness and         
affectedly hieratic mannerism of        

,holbein and the ,french primitive      
school4 ,although at present in         
possession of ,m4 ,emile                
,bastien-,lepage1 it will eventually    
find its place1 together with a goodly  
number of other canvases1 in the museum 
of the ,louvre1 to which the brother of 
the great artist intends to bequeath    
them4  ,it should be mentioned here1 in 
connection with this work1 that         
,bastien-,lepage continued to make more 
and more of a specialty of portraits of 
reduced dimensions1 and that he acquired
 in this respect a reputation of the    
first order4 ,he loved these little     
canvases1 scarcely larger than          
miniatures1 and he expended on their    
scanty surfaces an inimitable skill2 he 
embellished them with a wealth of       
accessory detail which brings to mind1  
as we look at them to-day1 the          
formidable labours of the illuminators  
of the middle ages4 ,but this           
goldsmith's work1 far from impairing the
 effect of the whole1 adds a certain    

fascination to it4 ,and he expended upon
 the study of the face the same degree  
of devotion that he gave to the         
rendering of a garment4 ,his models     
relive with an intensity of life such as
 could be expressed only by an artist   
who has made a life-long study of nature
 in her minutest manifestations4  ,to   
name over his portraits would be to     
mention an equal number of masterpieces4
 ,the catalogue would be too long1 for  
,bastien-,lepage was an indefatigable   
workman4 ,we may content ourselves with 
citing those that are most widely known3
 that of ,m4 ,andrieux1 one-time        
,prefect of ,police1 whose refined      
features are rendered with striking     
truth2 that of ,j4 ,bastien-,lepage1 the
 artist's uncle1 which is here          
reproduced and which shows him violin in
 hand1 a clear and vigorous piece of    
brush-work1 transcribing life in telling
 strokes1 with an astonishing simplicity
 of means4 ,this fine example is to be  
seen to-day in the museum at ,verdun4   

,and in the same museum there is still  
another that deserves mention2 namely1  
the excellent ,portrait of ,m4 ,x4 ,and 
we must not forget the ,portrait of     
,andre ,theuriet1 born1 like            
,bastien-,lepage1 on the banks of the   
,meuse and attached to the painter by   
ties of almost fraternal affection4 ,one
 feels that1 in this picture1 the heart 
must have guided the hand1 for it would 
be difficult to find another work more  
magisterial in execution and more       
delicate in finish4 ,and lastly1 there  
is ,mme4 ,bastien-,lepage1 the good     
little mother1 as the great artist and  
loving son used to call her4 ,he posed  
her in the garden of the home at        
,damvillers4 ,she is seated on a stone  
bench2 on her knees rests a large garden
 hat2 her two hands are crossed1 one    
over the other1 and in the left she     
holds a little bunch of field flowers4  
,she is clad in a loose dress of sombre 
colour1 cut with a pelerine2 and nothing
 but the one bright spot formed by the  

white collar reveals the severity of the
 costume4 ,the whole attitude of the    
body in repose is perfect in its truth  
and naturalness2 but our admiration     
changes and quickens to emotion when we 
raise our eyes to the level of the face 
of this good little mother1 a bony1     
irregular face1 almost ugly1 but so     
gentle1 so kind1 so touchingly illumined
 by the tender caress in the eyes as    
they rest upon the adored son in the    
course of painting her4 ,those emaciated
 features1 which not even the crown of  
blonde hair is able to rejuvenate1 are  
unmistakably those of a mother2 if we   
had not known1 we should inevitably have
 divined it2 no one but a son1 and a    
great artist as well1 could have crowned
 the brow of a woman with such an       
aureole of gentleness and love4         
,bastien-,lepage1 whom those who envied 
him affected to regard as dedicated     
wholly to the reproduction of rustic    
uncouthness1 had no equal in catching   
the radiance of feminine charms1 even in

 their subtlest manifestations4 ,no one 
was more skilled than he in seizing and 
recording the one particular trait1     
often elusive and intangible1 which     
characterizes a woman and makes her     
beautiful4 ,what delicious portraits of 
women we owe to him6 ,where could we    
meet with a more smiling image than that
 of ,mme4 ,godillot1 radiant and        
seductive1 a rosy vision in the black   
velvet of her gown1 relieved by the     
brilliant sheen of her white satin      
corsage6 ,and what studied and elaborate
 art was expended on the ,portrait of   
,mme4 ,klotz1 whose magnificent brunette
 beauty emerges like a gorgeous lily    
from the surrounding whiteness of her   
scarf1 that is all the more dazzlingly  
white by contrast with her sombre robe6 
,and still again1 there is the ,portrait
 of ,mme4 ,juliette ,drouet1 another    
beautiful and noble specimen of         
portraiture4 ,and how marvellously      
,bastien-,lepage could detect the hidden
 soul lurking in the inmost recesses of 

his models and reveal it behind the     
transparent screen of their eyes6 ,if   
,bastien-,lepage had not achieved       
eternal glory as an interpreter of rural
 life1 he would still have remained     
celebrated as a portrait painter4  ,but 
to ,bastien-,lepage portrait painting   
was only a side issue1 a form of        
relaxation between two landscapes2 his  
predilection1 his one object in life1 so
 to speak1 was to return constantly to  
his peasants1 his scenes of toil1 his   
fields of ,lorraine4  ,after his return 
from ,england he passed some months at  
,damvillers1 when an impulse seized him 
to visit ,italy1 to which the verdict of
 a prejudiced committee had once upon a 
time barred his way4 ,he proceeded      
straight to ,venice1 and it may as well 
be acknowledged at once1 ,venetian art  
left him cold1 if not indifferent4 ,he  
had never in the least understood any of
 the big set pieces1 and in spite of all
 the art of ,veronese and ,titian1 in   
spite of their dazzling flare of colour1

 he never succeeded in understanding    
their sumptuous allegories or in        
accepting the fantastic interpretation  
of nature which the ,venetians allowed  
themselves4 ,he returned to ,damvillers1
 profoundly disillusioned and more than 
ever convinced that nature alone1 such  
as he saw it1 was deserving of the      
attention of the true artist4 ,there    
would be no object in discussing here   
how rightly or how ill founded such an  
opinion was2 we note it only to indicate
 once more the absolute independence of 
the painter1 his fixed determination    
never to imitate anyone4  ,and1 beyond  
question1 there is no resemblance to any
 other painter in that curious and      
remarkable picture known as ,jeanne     
d',arc listening to the ,voices4        
,lorraine in heart and soul1            
,bastien-,lepage desired to pay his     
tribute1 as so many had done before him1
 to the glorious heroine who1 like him1 
had come from the banks of the ,meuse4  
,and he wished also to restore her to   

her natural setting1 with the greatest  
degree of historic accuracy4            
,consequently it is in a ,lorraine      
garden surrounding a ,lorraine cottage  
that he shows us ,jeanne1 the           
shepherdess2 around her are the familiar
 garden utensils such as peasants use   
to-day just as they did in the fifteenth
 century4 ,she is standing in an        
inspired and attentive attitude1 which  
gives to her whole countenance that     
forceful character which                
,bastien-,lepage imprints upon all his  
compatriots4 ,for he wished to make her1
 in a certain sense1 a composite type of
 the women of the ,lorraine race1 such  
as ,theuriet has described3 ,the        
forehead low but intelligent1 the eyes  
with drooping lids that half conceal the
 somewhat sullen glance2 the bones      
prominent in cheek and jaw1 the chin    
square1 indicative of an opinionated    
race2 the mouth large1 with half parted 
lips1 through which one perceives the   
passage of the deep-drawn breath4 ,this 

head is always the same2 under all the  
variations in physiognomy we always meet
 with the same local type3 it is the    
head of the woman in ,hay-making and of 
the ,women gathering ,potatoes1 and it  
is also that of the good little mother1 
so fundamentally and emphatically       
representative of ,lorraine4            
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vii4--,,the    
,,little ,,chimney-,,sweep              
7,collection of ,e4 ,bastien-,lepage7   
,this attractive picture1 full of charm 
and vigour1 belongs to the   closing    
years of the artist's life1 at the time 
when he was enjoying the   flood tide of
 his talent4 ,how much force and truth  
there is in this   picture of the little
 chimney-sweep1 and what graceful       
nimbleness in the   movements of the    
cats that he is watching at play4       
,nevertheless ,jeanne d',arc listening  
to the ,voices was rather badly received
 by the critics4 ,without disputing the 
originality and vigour of the inspired  
shepherdess1 they reproached the artist 

for the presence of the traditional     
saints4 ,bastien-,lepage had indicated  
these under the form of luminous vapour1
 radiating through the branches         
overhanging the garden3 ,st4 ,michael in
 the golden armour of a knight of the   
fifteenth century1 ,st4 ,margaret and   
,st4 ,catherine as phantoms so          
diaphanous as to be hardly perceptible4 
,the idealists complained that the      
picture was lacking in idealism2 the    
realists were somewhat disconcerted to  
find the apparitions there at all4 ,it  
must be acknowledged that               
,bastien-,lepage ceases to be himself   
the moment that he ventures to attempt  
the supernatural or even allegory pure  
and simple4 ,he feels that he is no     
longer on familiar ground1 he hesitates1
 he fumbles1 and the harmony of the work
 suffers in consequence4 ,nevertheless1 
in spite of this undeniable defect1 the 
face of ,jeanne d',arc will be          
remembered as a piece of powerful       
painting and genuine inspiration4  ,at  

all events1 ,bastien-,lepage was keenly 
aware of the half-way nature of his     
success1 and from that day renounced    
forever the element of the marvellous   
and confined himself to that concrete   
and tangible poetry which emanates from 
the earth4  ,some little time after his 
,jeanne d',arc1 he produced ,the        
,mendicant1 veteran knight of the road1 
whose lazy life is passed in going from 
door to door1 asking charity and        
compelling it if need be2 suspicious    
looking old tramp1 perhaps a thief as   
well1 who inspires fear and whose sack  
is often filled through unwillingness to
 provoke him4 ,the artist has pictured  
him with a stout stick in his hand1     
stowing away the slice of bread which a 
pretty slip of a girl in a blue apron   
has just given him4 ,this fine and      
vigorous canvas scored almost as much of
 a success1 at the ,salon of #ahha1 as  
the admirable ,portrait of ,albert      
,wolff1 a critic on the ,figaro and     
close personal friend of the artist4    

,in #ahhb he won a further success with 
his superb ,father ,jacques1 a masterly 
study of the ,lorraine peasant1 and with
 his charming ,portrait of ,mme4 ,w4    
,in #ahhc came ,love in a ,village1 one 
of his most popular canvases1 in which  
he depicted with charming naturalness   
the uncomplicated and naive courtship of
 rustic lovers4 ,here are a pair who are
 untroubled by curious glances2 the     
nearer houses of the village are quite  
close by4 ,bending slightly towards his 
sweetheart1 the man is murmuring his    
avowals in her ear1 in a voice that1 we 
suspect1 is by no means steady4         
,strapping fellow that he is1 he        
evidently lacks the habit of making     
pretty speeches2 we can see that from   
the embarrassed air with which he twists
 his fingers4 ,his words1 however1 are  
plainly not lacking in eloquence1 for   
the girl1 type of buxom young womanhood 
that we have already learned to know1   
has bent her head and1 although her back
 is turned1 we are sure that she is     

blushing as she listens to his          
declaration4 ,a special atmosphere      
emanates from this picture1 as well as  
that profound spirit of poetry which is 
inseparable from the eternal song of    
love4         ,,his ,,premature ,,end   
,at this period ,bastien-,lepage had    
already begun to incur the first attacks
 of the disease which was destined so   
soon to end his days4 ,he suffered      
violent pains in the kidneys4 ,he became
 melancholy1 nervous1 irritable2 he shut
 himself up in his studio in the ,rue   
,legendre1 and even his best friends    
could not gain admittance4 ,the doctors 
who were called in recognized the       
gravity of his illness and ordered      
energetic treatment and a change of air4
 ,the poor artist reconciled himself to 
go for a time to ,brittany1 and his     
choice fell on ,concarneau4 ,the keen   
sea air produced a temporary betterment1
 and he took advantage of it to work1   
for he could not resign himself to lay  
aside his palette and brushes4 ,he spent

 entire days in a boat and1 in spite of 
his sufferings1 executed several        
landscapes of rare beauty4 ,but his     
condition1 instead of improving1 took a 
turn for the worse4 ,the digestive tube1
 he wrote to ,theuriet1 is always       
kicking up a row6 ,the pain in the      
kidneys and bowels became at this time  
so violent that he was forced to decide 
to return to ,paris1 in order to consult
 the men of science once again4  ,this  
time1 when ,dr4 ,potain examined him1 he
 could no longer deceive himself as to  
the artist's fate2 he saw that his      
patient was irremediably condemned4     
,however1 a sojourn in a milder climate 
might prolong his life for a few months2
 so he advised ,algeria4 ,the prospect  
of the journey1 the desire to make the  
acquaintance of this land of sunshine   
which ,delacroix1 ,decamps1 and         
,fromentin had taught him to love1 for a
 few days gave a false strength to the  
poor sufferer1 which produced a         
deceptive appearance of renewed health  

and even deceived the artist himself4   
,besides1 ,mme4 ,bastien-,lepage1 the   
good little mother1 was to accompany    
him1 and this unselfish and tender      
devotion warmed his heart4 ,the poor    
woman forced back her tears in order to 
smile upon the unfortunate son whom she 
knew to be doomed4 ,and so the pitiful  
pair set forth for the land of sunshine1
 she consumed with grief1 and he almost 
joyous in the hope of a speedy cure4    
,his first letters to his friends bore  
the imprint of good spirits2 ,algeria   
aroused his enthusiasm by its clear and 
vibrant colours2 his disease declared a 
brief truce and he began to form        
projects4 ,the thought of dying had not 
yet even vaguely occurred to him1       
though1 for that matter1 he had no fear 
of death4 ,the previous year he had     
painted ,gambetta on his ,death-bed2 and
 his frequent visits to ,ville-d',avray 
led him to discuss the inevitable end of
 life4 ,i am not afraid of death1 he    
said1 dying is nothing1--the important  

thing is to survive oneself1 and who can
 be sure of establishing a claim upon   
posterity8 ,but there6 ,i am talking    
nonsense6 ,so long as our work is true1 
nothing else matters4  ,but before long 
the ravages of the disease began to make
 headway2 the kidneys no longer         
performed their function1 and he        
suffered atrocious agonies which        
stretched him for days at a time on his 
back4 ,even the burning heat of the     
,african sun no longer had strength     
enough to animate his shattered         
physique2 the brush1 which the artist   
from time to time still attempted to    
take up1 fell from between his fingers4 
,he1 ,bastien-,lepage1 painter of the   
soil1 found himself unable to transfer  
to canvas the enchantment of that land  
of fairy tale6 ,and he poured forth his 
distress in long and poignant letters1  
in which could be read in every line the
 loss of hope and the sure prevision of 
the now inevitable end4                 
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,viii4--,,the   

,,artist',s ,,uncle    7,museum at      
,verdun7    ,here is still another      
kindly and vigorous face from ,lorraine1
 forcefully   modelled1 with salient jaw
 bones1 betraying the obstinacy of the  
race4   ,an air of good nature softens  
the energy of this face1 and the eyes   
sparkle with intelligence4 ,this        
portrait is treated in a free-handed    
manner1 with unfaltering strokes1 and   
its colouring is especially   excellent4
  ,as no amelioration took place1       
,bastien-,lepage made the return journey
 to ,paris towards the end of ,may1     
#ahhd4 ,he went back to his studio in   
the ,rue ,legendre1 where he had        
formerly passed such happy hours in the 
full enjoyment of a talent at its zenith
 and a constitution apparently able to  
defy all tests4 ,now1 however1 he       
dragged around a dying body1 with       
disease gnawing at his vitals4 ,he could
 no longer sleep without the aid of     
powerful doses of morphine4 ,the        
winter-time increased his suffering2 his

 strength rapidly failed him2 and1 on   
the tenth of ,december1 at six o'clock  
in the evening1 he drew his last breath1
 at the age of thirty-six years4  ,as   
long as he could hold a brush1          
,bastien-,lepage continued to work1 in  
spite of the sufferings which racked    
him4 ,during the year preceding his     
death1 while he was already experiencing
 frightful tortures1 he painted ,the    
,woman making ,lye and ,the ,little     
,chimney-sweep1 the latter of which is  
here reproduced4 ,this admirable canvas 
is to be seen now at the studio of the  
painter's brother at ,neuilly1 and forms
 part of the legacy which ,m4 ,emile    
,bastien-,lepage intends to bequeath to 
the ,louvre4 ,it has never been shown at
 any ,salon1 and for that matter there  
are a good many other paintings and     
portraits which have never been         
exhibited in public and which are not   
for that reason any the less remarkable4
 ,we may cite at random3 ,the ,portrait 
of ,m4 ,e4 ,bastien-,lepage1 ,the       

,prince of ,wales1 ,mme4 ,juliette      
,drouet1 ,a ,little ,girl going to      
,school1 ,the ,little ,pedler asleep1   
,the ,vintage1 ,no ,help6 ,the ,thames  
at ,london1 etc4  ,the very year of his 
death1 shortly before his departure for 
,algeria1 ,bastien-,lepage executed a   
delicious little canvas entitled ,the   
,forge1 in which the artist expended a  
surprising amount of talent and skill1  
and which enables us to realize what    
extraordinary heights his ever          
progressive genius might have attained1 
but for the blind and brutal cruelty of 
,destiny4  ,his death was a time of     
mourning for the arts2 the regrets which
 he left behind him were unanimous4     
,even those who had been opposed to his 
aesthetic creed paid homage to his great
 conscientiousness as an artist and his 
noble character as a man4  ,during      
,march and ,april1 #ahhe1 only a few    
months after his death1 all literary and
 artistic ,paris flocked to the ,hotel  
de ,chimay1 an adjunct to the ,ecole des

 ,beaux-,arts1 where a posthumous       
exhibition of his works had been        
organized4  ,at this exhibition the     
entire body of his works had been       
brought together4 ,the museums had      
loaned the canvases which they possessed
 and the private collectors had done    
their share towards the glorification of
 the artist by entrusting to the        
organizers a goodly number of paintings 
and portraits which had never figured in
 any of the ,salons4  ,thus it was made 
possible to comprehend at a single      
glance the life-work of this remarkable 
artist and to appreciate the distance he
 had traversed1 the progress he had made
 during his brief existence1 and the    
brilliant prospects that were destroyed 
by his untimely death4  ,from all these 
numerous works1 exhibited side by side1 
what stood out most clearly was the     
unity of thought which had conceived    
them and the dogged fidelity to         
principles which had controlled their   
execution4 ,at the same time they       

revealed the amazing adaptability of his
 talent1 which essayed the most diverse 
and conflicting subjects with the same  
realistic vigour1 bestowing even upon   
his vaporous and delicate portraits of  
women a touch which1 while light1 is    
unmistakably his own1 and in which we   
recognize that noble1 conscientious     
workmanship1 free from all artifice1    
which was the distinctive hall-mark both
 of his painting and of his character4  
,but the quality which dominates all the
 rest in the work of ,bastien-,lepage1  
and which emanates from it like the     
fragrance which is exhaled by certain   
precious essences1 is his ardent and    
deep-rooted love for his native soil4   
,this form of local patriotism1         
determined by the boundaries of         
,lorraine1 underwent a noble expansion  
to the point of encircling the entire   
earth2 for while the painter chose his  
models out of the familiar landscape of 
his childhood's home1 his observation   
and his art broke out of the bounds of  

this special setting and embraced rustic
 humanity throughout ,france and even   
beyond4 ,his peasants are unmistakably  
from the banks of the ,meuse in type and
 in customs1 but they are from the world
 at large in gesture and in philosophy  
of life4 ,whether he comes from the     
,north or from the ,south1 the tiller of
 the soil wages the same conflict with  
ungrateful furrows1 the spade and the   
plough imprint the same calluses on his 
bony hands1 the sun browns his energetic
 and stubborn features to the same deep 
tan4 ,it is in this respect that the art
 of ,bastien-,lepage assumes a higher   
significance2 like ,millet1 it is not a 
peasant whom he paints1 but the peasant1
 forever unchanging in spite of         
latitude4 ,but if his work has attained 
this higher eminence of generalization1 
it is precisely for the reason that the 
artist's watchful eye has succeeded in  
discovering1 in the life of the         
peasantry1 that state of mind which is  
common to them all1 that immutable      

gesture which they have always made and 
always will make4 ,he has understood and
 translated with inspired eloquence     
their rugged strength1 their naive      
awkwardness1 their simple intelligence4 
,another glorious distinction of        
,bastien-,lepage was that he loved the  
fields as well as he loved the peasants4
 ,not fields drowned beneath melancholy 
shadow and pallid shifting light1 but   
fields bathed in sunshine1 until the    
golden tassels of the grain crackle like
 sparks under the fire of the midday    
sun4 ,always and everywhere he sought   
for light1 and in the midst of it his   
modest protagonists of rustic life stand
 out in all their vigour4  ,it would be 
easy to cite1 among our best            
contemporary painters1 a considerable   
number of artists who are brilliantly   
continuing the tradition left by        
,bastien-,lepage and emulating his      
predilection for the luminous brilliance
 of the open air4 ,how often1 in the    
presence of a canvas by ,lhermitte1 our 

thoughts go back to the painter of      
,lorraine1 whose vigorous execution and 
joyous colouring seem to have been      
reincarnated6 ,art is indebted to       
,bastien-,lepage for having reinstated  
nature in all her literal truth by      
proving that1 in order to be beautiful1 
she has no need of artificial and       
superfluous adornment4  ,lorraine1 out  
of gratitude1 wished to perpetuate the  
memory of this glorious son of the      
,meuse1 who had so eloquently celebrated
 the vitality and poetry of his natal   
earth4 ,it was at ,damvillers itself    
that it was decided to raise a monument 
to the great painter2 and around its    
pedestal there were gathered the good   
little mother1 all in tears1 the        
assembled population of the village and 
the whole region round about1 and even  
the ,government took part in the pious  
ceremony by sending as its              
representative ,m4 ,gustave ,larroumet1 
director of the ,beaux-,arts4 ,this     
eloquent art critic brought as a tribute

 to the departed painter the official   
seal of immortality1 and he pronounced  
it in terms vibrant with emotion4  ,at  
the moment1 he said1 when ordinarily the
 best of artists have done no more than 
to give indications of their originality
 and when ripening years alone begin to 
keep the promises of youth1 ,jules      
,bastien-,lepage died1 leaving          
masterpieces behind him1 besides having 
liberated an artistic formula from the  
tendencies and exaggerations which      
hampered it1 and indicated to the art of
 painting a new pathway along which his 
young heirs are advancing with an       
assured step4 ,he loved nature and      
truth2 he loved his own people1 and no  
one ever lived who was surrounded with a
 greater degree of affection2 he        
inspired faithful friendships which he  
himself enjoyed to the full2 and those  
whom he left behind soothe their        
heart-ache with the balm of tender      
memories2 he practised his art without  
ever making sacrifice to passing fashion

 or sordid profit2 there was no place in
 his mind or in his heart for any other 
than noble and generous thoughts4 ,let  
us comfort ourselves1 therefore1 for    
what his death has taken from us by the 
thought of what his life has left to us1
 and let us assign him his place in the 
ranks of the younger master painters who
 have been mown down in full flower1    
close beside that of ,gericault and of  
,henri ,regnault4  ,in his admirable    
biographic and critical study of        
,bastien-,lepage1 whose personal friend 
he had been1 ,m4 ,l4 de ,fourcaud1 by   
way of conclusion1 bids him this        
touching farewell3  ,poor               
,bastien-,lepage1 snatched away one     
winter's night1 at thirty-six years of  
age1 in the fairest flowering of his    
bright promise1 in the richest expansion
 of his personality2 may each returning 
month of ,may bring at least an         
abundance of blossoms to the apple tree 
beside his grave6 ,for the blossoms of  
the apple were always1 in his eyes1 so  

fair a sight6  ,to-day he sleeps forever
 in a corner of that ,lorraine land     
which he loved so dearly1 and perhaps in
 the cemetery of his native village his 
shade can still hear the familiar       
accents of his native dialect4 ,the     
great painter of ,lorraine could never  
have slept his eternal sleep in any     
other soil than that4  ,painter of      
flowers1 painter of nature1 painter of  
the earth which is forever deathless and
 forever renewed1 ,bastien-,lepage has  
chosen that better part2 his work will  
live as long as these1 his models1 and  
will go down through the centuries in   
all the splendour of increasing beauty  
and eternal youth4   ,transcriber's     
,note3 ,typographical errors have been  
corrected as follows3  ,page #bb3       
,bastine replaced with ,bastien