,,modern ,,french ,,masters             
,,modern ,,french                       
,,masters                               
,,by                                    
,,marie ,,van ,,vorst                   
,,with ,,preface ,,by                   
,,alexander ,,harrison                  
,,paris                                 
,,brentano',s                           
#cg ,,avenue ,,de ,l',,opera            
,,and ,,union ,,square1 ,,new ,,york    
#aijd                       ,printed by 
,,ballantyne1 ,,hanson  ,,co4           
,at the ,ballantyne ,press              
,,in ,,grateful ,,appreciation          
,,of ,,the ,,hospitality                
,,of                          ,,the     
,,pall ,,mall ,,magazine                
,i ,,inscribe ,,this ,,collection ,,of  
,,essays ,,which                        
,,have ,,already ,,appeared ,,in ,,its  
,,pages                                 
,,to ,,my ,,friend                      
,,george ,r4 ,,halkett                  
,,paris1 #aijd                          

#ij ,,rue ,,de ,,varenne     ,,preface  
,the source of art is the fountain of   
,love3 the winged spirits1 ,painting1   
,sculpture1 and ,poetry1 spring from it 
hand in hand4 ,with affectionate        
leave-takings and cries of joy at their 
liberation1 they soar into space1 the   
angel of ,music out-winging the rest    
because of more lambent fibre1 but she  
is no more vital nor pulsating than her 
sisters4  ,genius is ,love1 ,talent is  
the sure perception of essentials       
combined with the power of expression4  
,talent1 coupled with genius1 produces  
the ,love-,child that men call a        
,masterpiece4  ,the love-child in ,art  
is the most perfect of all human        
creations1 whether the artist lover be  
conventional or academic1 or rebellious 
against form and schools1 or capricious 
and eccentric4 ,emerson said3 8,write   
above your door the word1 #8,whim4'0    
,this1 ,alfred ,stevens1 ,besnard1      
,dgas1 and the great sculptor ,carries  
would have applauded1 and above         

all--,whistler6  ,whether the lover be  
brutal and aggressive 7,courbet and at  
times ,besnard71 shy and distinguished  
7,puvis de ,chavannes71 dreamy and      
caressing 7,corot and ,cazin71 alert and
 pulsating 7,sargent1 ,zorn71 retiring  
and retrospective 7,millet-,lobre71     
nobly dominating 7like ,rodin1 who says 
8il faut planer07--or varied in         
impulse--one might say capricious--like 
,whistler1 ,bastien ,lepage and         
,monticeli--the obsession of the motif  
will infallibly assert itself in        
convincing form1 the vital impulse of   
loyal desire will in every case assume  
masterly shape1 and if sequent be great4
 ,and as all the world loves a lover1 so
 all the world sooner or later will love
 the lover's work4  ,it is extremely    
difficult to justly decide how potent   
for good or evil upon the individuality 
of genius is the influence of the       
so-called 8,schools40 ,the influences of
 early education and distant ideals     
often impede true progress4 ,youth      

submits naturally to an instruction     
which may or may not be misdirected4    
,broad cultivation of general1 vital1   
and sthetic force1 and encouragement of 
impulse1 are advantageous1 whereas the  
domination of the pupil by the          
master-teacher may be detrimental4  ,the
 valiant and revered old soldier-artist 
,grome constantly asserted3 ,le dessin  
c'est la probit de l'art4  ,puvis de    
,chavannes would have formulated that   
,art is the expression of love1 not of  
military probity6 ,none the less1       
however1 are those wrong who cavil      
against the ,schools purely from a      
spirit of adverse criticism4  ,great    
,bastien ,lepage1 the year before his   
death1 told me that it was his constant 
struggle to overcome bad habits formed  
in the cole des ,beaux ,arts1 whilst on 
the other hand1 other temperaments have 
profited normally by the codes of the   
cole4  ,jules ,breton is said to have   
left the ,school a failure1 and to have 
afterwards wrought out his real success 

in the loneliness of his native         
fastnesses4  ,besnard1 in spite of being
 ,prix de ,rome1 has had a sufficiently 
broad grasp and requisite assertive     
audacity to benefit by the ,schools4 ,he
 quickly assimilated such influences as 
served his purpose1 intelligently       
discarding what might otherwise have    
hampered him4 ,besnard's temperamental  
confidence1 and at times his lack even  
of reverence1 while possibly weakening  
to his inspiration from the point of    
view of poetical reserve and distinction
 assured his freedom and strengthened   
his audacious fecundity4 ,he at times   
lacks tenderness1 but he loves hard6 and
 his are les dfauts des grandes qualits4
  ,puvis de ,chavannes1 gentle1         
distinguished1 noble and shy1 was both  
personally and professionally the ,grand
 ,seigneur of modern art4 ,he is full of
 restraint2 thoughtful1 reserved1 a     
lover of style4 ,there is no audacity in
 this painter's work1 which is at times 
wavering and even clumsy in expression1 

nevertheless ,puvis de ,chavannes is un 
dieu6  ,rodin and ,besnard are both     
masterly1 constructive draughtsmen3 the 
former invariably synthetic in execution
 and generally so in conception4        
,besnard reaches his apotheosis in ,la  
,fe4 ,in the art of both men there is   
marvellous variety--both of motif and   
treatment4 ,rodin's gigantic force is   
calm and sure2 ,besnard's               
nervous--sometimes even boisterous as   
though he were navely rebelling against 
a moment of bashfulness6  ,if ,rodin can
 be said to possess a fault1 it is an   
occasional dominance of the grotesque3 a
 probable result of an intense          
personality1 too great originality4     
,besnard's over-desire is similar2 and  
he is more frequently garish1           
over-audacious in his experiments and   
his expression4 ,a striking contrast to 
these painters is ,cazin4 ,his art is   
timid1 caressing1 poetic and tender4 ,he
 lacks the nobility of aim of ,puvis de 
,chavannes4 ,he is intimate1 domestic1  

directly in liaison with his painting4  
,he treats his art as something dear to 
his heart1 peculiarly personal4 ,he     
loved to fondle nature in her purring   
moments2 in the soft hours of twilight1 
when the spirit of the landscape is     
moody1 fleeting1 gently sad submissive  
and persuasive4  ,,alexander ,,harrison4
       ,,concarneau1 ,april #aijd4      
,,contents                              
,,page  ,,puvis ,,de ,,chavannes        
#a  ,,jean ,,charles ,,cazin            
#ca  ,,rodin                            
#fa  ,,paul ,,albert ,,besnard          
#aje  ,,steinlen                        
#aeg     ,,illustrations   ,,puvis ,,de 
,,chavannes3                            
,,page  ,puvis de ,chavannes 7,from a   
portrait by ,lon ,bonnat7               
#d  ,rhne et ,sane 7,lyons7             
#g  ,ste4 ,genevive ,series 7,panthon7  
#aa  ,ste4 ,genevive ,series 7,panthon7 
#ae  ,ste4 ,genevive ,series 7,panthon7 
#af  ,sorbonne ,series1 ,no4 #a         
#ai  ,sorbonne ,series1 ,no4 #b         

#bj  8,le ,repos0 7,amiens7             
#bc  8,la ,rivire0                      
#bd  8,l',hiver0 7,salon d',arrive1     
,htel de ,ville1 ,paris7                
#bg   ,,jean ,,charles ,,cazin3  ,the   
,windmill                               
#ce  ,a ,picardy ,village               
#ci  ,the ,death ,chamber of ,gambetta  
#dc  ,moonlight                         
#dg  ,the ,village ,street              
#ea  ,the ,holy ,family                 
#ee  ,the ,end of the ,village          
#eg   ,,rodin3  ,rodin                  
#fd  8,le ,frre et la ,sur0             
#fg  ,intrieur d',atelier               
#ga  ,le ,dsespoir                      
#ge  ,la ,porte de l',enfer             
#gg  ,st4 ,john the ,baptist            
#gi  ,intrieur d'atelier avec le groupe 
des 8,bourgeois de ,calais0             
#hc  8,le ,penseur0                     
#hg  ,beau ,torse                       
#hi  ,le ,jardin des ,oliviers de       
l',homme de ,gnie                       
#ia  ,la ,tempte                        

#ie  ,sirnes ,chantant                  
#ig  ,buste de ,mons4 ,rodin1 par       
,falguire                               
#ii   ,,paul ,,albert ,,besnard3  ,paul 
,albert ,besnard in his ,studio         
#ajh  ,convalescence                    
#aaa  ,the ,sick ,woman                 
#aae  ,la ,femme qui se ,chauffe        
#aai  ,death                            
#abc  ,a ,portrait in ,yellow and ,blue 
#abg  ,the ,fisherman's ,daughter       
#aca  ,sunset1 ,algeria                 
#ace  ,horses tormented by ,flies       
#aci  ,love                             
#adc  ,the ,flirtation                  
#adg  ,a ,woman of ,biarritz            
#aea   ,,steinlen3  ,street ,children   
#afa  ,mother's ,love                   
#afe  ,a ,steinlen ,poster              
#afi  ,work-,girls                      
#agc  ,dry-,point ,etching              
#agg  ,a ,steinlen ,poster              
#aha  ,a ,steinlen ,poster              
#ahe  ,en ,attendant                    
#ahi  ,a ,study                         

#aic     ,,puvis ,,de ,,chavannes       
,illustration3 ,,puvis ,,de ,,chavannes 
7,from a ,portrait by ,lon ,bonnat7     
,in the midst of the most stormy period 
that ,france has seen for ten years1 in 
the turbulence of political and national
 tumult1 ,puvis de ,chavannes passed    
from his country's life into its        
history4 ,during the week that saw the  
fall of the ,brisson ,ministry1 when    
,paris was a sea of frantic             
demonstration and safety assured by     
military law1 he died3 his life a gospel
 of serenity and peace1 his genius and  
its expressions a glory to his people1  
an inspiration to present and future    
,art4 ,at once his character stands out 
with the marvellous distinctness all    
things assume when they first become the
 past1 on the first morrow in which we  
look back to them as yesterday4  ,the   
death of this great frescoist and       
painter leaves a place unfilled4 ,he has
 had no equal1 no predecessor1 and his  
successor is not easy to name4 ,to      

produce this original genius1 whose     
grandiose1 sublime1 yet simple          
productions appeal not only to the      
artist and the critic1 but to the       
peasant1 who stands long and enthralled 
before the ,ste4 ,genevive of the       
,panthon1 is the creation of half a     
century1 and due to peculiar            
circumstances of time and race4 ,he was 
a great man as well as a great painter2 
his temperament full of sun and humour1 
his soul calm and of crystalline        
clearness4  ,puvis de ,chavannes was    
born in ,lyons in #ahbd1 of an old      
,bourguignonne family1 the warmth and   
glory of ,burgundy in his veins2 he was 
of vigorous physique1 of gay and        
sanguine temperament1 attached by a     
subtle lien to the school which for six 
centuries has produced great painters1  
great sculptors and dreamers4  ,puvis de
 ,chavannes went to school as a boy at  
the ,lyce of ,lyons1 later to the ,lyce 
,henri ,quatre in ,paris4 ,he was a     
painter by selection2 had partially     

fitted himself for a scientific         
profession1 when after careful          
consideration he deliberately chose the 
career of a painter4 ,from the moment of
 his decision he never wavered1 but gave
 to the province of art he had made his 
own the absolute devotion of the        
enthusiast1 the fierce unremitting toil 
of which only great genius is capable4  
,his student life began in the studio of
  ,illustration3 ,,rh,,ne ,,et ,,sa,,ne 
7,lyons7  ,couture1 and lasted but three
 months4 ,the methods in the atelier    
were uncongenial to him4  8,is that the 
way you see the model80 he asked of     
,couture1 whose formula of blanc        
d'argent1 jaune de ,naples1 vermilion   
and cobalt produced on the canvas a very
 different effect to that which ,puvis  
de ,chavannes recognised4 ,he left the  
place and never returned1 but continued 
to paint for several years under ,henri 
,schaffer4  ,there was no school for the
 unfolding of this spirit1 unlike its   
times1 greater than the masters1 and    

lonely4 ,for as it proved for thirty    
years1 the path of ,puvis de ,chavannes 
was to be a solitary way4 ,he walked in 
it with front serene1 and proud stoicism
 and a savage devotion1 looking neither 
to the right hand nor to the left1 for  
who should observe or follow1 making    
unerringly toward the brilliant goal and
 the immortal fame hidden from those who
 scoffed at him1 and which even his     
vision but dimly saw4  ,in #ahej a ,piet
 was accepted at the ,salon2 in #ahfa   
8,la ,paix et la ,guerre0 received the  
second medal2 one of the decorations was
 bought by the ,state1 and the painter1 
in a glow of enthusiasm over this first 
recognition after eleven years of       
waiting1 presented the other picture to 
the ,muse at ,amiens4 ,these pictures1  
however1 failed to win him general      
appreciation2 he was the object of      
constant adverse criticism for thirty   
years1 and it was sufficient for him to 
complete a work to awaken a perfect     
hubbub of abuse2 he was the sport of the

 wit and the cartoonist1 the artistic   
joke of the time4 ,during this period he
 bent to his labour1 his ears closed1   
his eyes open to all of beauty1 and his 
mind free to receive impressions4 ,to   
the heavenly vision alone he was        
obedient1 and when1 in #ahib1 public    
favour burst forth in a storm of        
applause1 he seemed to hear it scarcely 
more than he had heard the noise of     
dispraise4 ,in his atelier at ,neuilly1 
an immense building full of scaffolding 
and apparatus for sustaining and        
elevating his pictures1 he shut himself 
from the world and stood before his     
canvas from morning until night1 never  
breaking his fast until he had completed
 nine hours of work4 ,infinitely apart1 
removed from critics and admirers1 he   
was the absorbed dreamer1 seeking ever  
to transmit1 to make visible his dream4 
,after his work-day was over he gave    
himself freely to his friends4 ,to the  
struggling unknown he was most          
sympathetic1 and the fact that a young  

artist was  ,illustration3 ,,ste4       
,,genevi,,ve ,,series  7,panthon7       
unpopular and misunderstood would win   
for him at once an interest from ,puvis 
de ,chavannes4  ,they say of him that he
 was absolutely indifferent to public   
opinion2 but once1 indeed1 criticism    
touched his spirit to bitterness4 8,when
 ,hades wants to lay new paving-stones1 
it will not fail to consign the         
commission to ,puvis de ,chavannes1 a   
man of good intentions and vast ideas   
who has promised for twenty years to    
give us a masterpiece4 ,this he will    
never do1 for he can neither draw nor   
paint40 ,this was from the pen of       
,edmond ,about1 a professed admirer and 
friend of the painter4 ,of the defection
 ,puvis never spoke without bitterness4 
,alexandre ,dumas1 too1 shot his barbs4 
8,puvis knows so little of drawing that 
he should scarcely permit himself the   
luxury of not painting40 ,but ,thophile 
,gautier and ,thodore de ,banville1 the 
poet who wrote ,gringoire1 were amongst 

the few who appreciated ,puvis de       
,chavannes4 ,in the stupid blindness of 
the time it needed a poet's eye to      
discern this peculiar ethereal form of  
beauty to which his own perceptions and 
productions were kin4  ,puvis de        
,chavannes was surrounded by an         
atmosphere of unbroken calm through     
which jarring contact with the world    
never penetrated to trouble the spirit4 
,this separation enabled him to give    
from a height1 from the impenetrable    
distance into which he withdrew1 his    
ennobling inspiring creations4          
,hitherto1 in mural decorations and in  
frescoes1 landscape formed an inferior  
part2 it was a subordinate background1  
complementary to the figures1 unreal1   
exaggerated1 brilliant1 glaring4 ,it    
remained for ,puvis de ,chavannes to    
introduce into his frescoes the country 
of ,france with its exquisite           
atmospheric effects2 to make rivers1    
trees1 fields1 and woods dignified1     
expressive parts of his composition2 as 

a landscape painter he occupies a place 
with ,corot1 ,rousseau1 ,troyon4  ,there
 could not be a greater distance between
 schools than that of this master and   
the men of his period4  ,the loves of   
the shepherds1 the follies of ,olympus1 
,greek myths1 with little logical       
bearing on place or object decorated1   
had been the subjects chosen for the    
walls and ceilings of public monuments  
and public buildings4 ,from these       
uninspired conceptions to the creations 
of ,puvis de ,chavannes is a decided    
transition4 ,his compositions1 never    
fantastic or impossible1 are the highest
 conceptions of the real1 as well as    
visions of  ,illustration3 ,,ste4       
,,genevi,,ve ,,series  7,panthon7       
,illustration3 ,,ste4 ,,genevi,,ve      
,,series  7,panthon7  the most exalted  
flight of a beautiful imagination4 ,he  
chose his subjects himself always1 and  
never permitted a suggestion4 ,ceilings 
he did not like to decorate2 it seemed  
to him an unnatural form4 8,i seek10 he 

said1 8to open a window on to the real10
 and it has been said that he opened one
 into the soul4  ,in his work there is  
8a union of the mind of the antique and 
the spirit of ,christian art40 ,he was a
 great believer1 as one of his friends  
said--un immense croyant4  ,of his faith
 or dogma his art1 however1 tells us    
nothing definite4 ,the legends of saints
 are no less breathing evidences of a   
distinct credo1 than the mythical       
figures in the ,vision ,antique and     
other works of the same character are   
expressions of harmony with the ,greek  
pagan spirit4 ,it is the expansive1     
all-embracing province of highest art   
the faith in1 the love for ,beauty which
 is the creed of ,puvis de ,chavannes2  
and it is the manner in which this      
inspired genius conceived and presented 
the forms of ,beauty that separated him 
so vastly from his materialistic        
forerunners and contemporaries in       
,france4  ,hitherto the human form had  
been presented1 for the most part1 for  

the delectation of the sense alone4     
,corporeal1 physical beauty absorbed the
 painter1 and awakened in return such   
admiration as this form of art expressed
 with greater or less refinement and    
power will always evoke4 ,the artist1   
for the most part not believing in soul1
 scarcely suggested its existence4 ,not 
since the early ,italians has any one   
painted as ,puvis de ,chavannes4        
,meditation1 indifference to the world1 
absorption in his work1 aided his       
development1 8his genius unfolded in    
solitude40 ,the human form was to him   
the shadow1 and the soul the reality2 he
 made earthly beauty a veil for his idea
 of the eternal2 form he subordinated to
 his thought4 8,i try10 he said1        
8through the shade to suggest the       
essence40 ,nor let it be advanced that  
over his incapacity to draw ,puvis de   
,chavannes threw concealing mistiness4  
,his pastels1 his drawings1 the figures 
he has seen fit to leave nude1 or       
semi-nude1 disprove this4  ,in #ahgb he 

was made a member of the jury of the    
first ,salon instituted by the ,state4  
,a vivid remembrance of his own         
disappointment made him seek to         
introduce leniency into the judgments4  
,he could not avail1 and he resigned4   
,on the next day1 all his own canvases  
7which1 no longer being a member of the 
jury1 he had a right to exhibit7 were   
refused4 ,what the  ,illustration3      
,,sorbonne ,,series1 ,no4 #a            
,illustration3 ,,sorbonne ,,series1 ,no4
 #b  criterion of public taste in ,art  
was at this time1 certain pictures in   
the ,luxembourg and the ,louvre attest6 
,the jurors and the judges are          
forgotten4 ,puvis de ,chavannes1        
however1 is remembered1 with the        
distinguished company of the            
,refused--,courbet1 ,dupr1 ,bary1       
,troyon1 ,rousseau1 ,diaz1 ,millet1     
,corot4 ,it was not until he had        
produced a great number of his          
masterpieces that his success was       
determined--his genius recognised4 ,he  

then ceased to be the individual1 the   
sport of vulgar pen and brush1 and      
became the symbol of his work as the    
flag is of patriotism4 ,he became a     
gift1 a force1 a glory1 which ,france   
before his death revered1 and which she 
justly honours4 ,he was made ,president 
of the ,academy of ,fine ,arts at the   
new ,salon1 ,champs de ,mars1 and wore  
the cross of the ,legion of ,honour4    
,it would take volumes to speak in      
detail of the works of ,puvis de        
,chavannes4 ,a list of them is as       
follows4 ,thus far ,i think it can be   
said that there are no volumes that deal
 with him or his works technically4 ,the
 technique of painting can only be      
interesting to painters when discussed  
by the profession2 and such books are   
almost unknown4  8,the ,piet0 7#ahej72  
8,la ,paix et la ,guerre0 7#ahfa72      
8,travail et ,repos0 7#ahfe71 in the    
,muse of ,amiens2 8,ave ,picardia       
,nutrix0 7#ahfe72 8,ludus10 8,pro       
,patria10 8,doux ,pays10 all in the     

gallery of ,picardie 7#ahgi72           
8,marseille1 ,porte d',orient10 and     
8,marseille1 ,colonie                   
,grecque0--,marseilles ,museum 7#ahfg72 
8,st4 ,radegonde and ,charles           
,martel0--,htel de ,ville at ,poitiers  
7#ahgb72 8,ste4 ,genevive of the        
,panthon1 ,paris0 7#ahgg72 8,bois       
,sacr10 8,la ,rhne et ,la ,sane10       
8,l',inspiration ,chrtienne10--,muse at 
,lyons 7#ahhc72 8,l',art ,cramique10    
8,inter ,artes et ,naturam10 and        
8,groupe0--,muse at ,rouen 7#ahij-ib72  
8,l',hiver10 8,l',et10 8,victor ,hugo   
offrant son ,lyre  la ,ville de         
,paris0--,htel de ,ville1 ,paris        
7#ahic72 8,lettres1 ,arts et            
,muses0--,sorbonne ,paris 7#ahid74      
,lastly1 another continent called his   
genius to create something for its      
generations to hand down to fame1 and   
for the ,boston ,library ,puvis de      
,chavannes painted 8,le ,gnie ,messager 
de ,lumire40  8,the ,childhood of ,ste4 
,genevive10 four panels to the glory of 

the patron saint of ,paris1 covers a    
portion of the right wall of the        
,panthon4 ,this was the first decoration
 given at the close of the war of the   
,commune4 ,the subjects are the pious   
,childhood1 the  ,illustration3 8,,le   
,,repos0  7,amiens7  ,illustration3     
8,,la ,,rivi,,re0  ,consecration1 and   
the ,miracles of the ,saint2 and there  
are no more beautiful expressions of    
religious art in the contemporaneous    
,french school4  ,the figures are       
strong1 simple1 natural4 ,the background
 is a summer landscape1 of exquisite    
loveliness4 ,in the foreground are the  
rugged1 rustic peasants1 the pastoral   
life1 and the pure figure of the child  
,genevive4 ,the atmosphere is tender1   
the composition dignified and           
impressive1 and the scenes are pervaded 
with peace4 ,these pastoral paintings   
were a new era in the school of plein   
air4 ,one does not ask if the setting is
 an anachronism4 ,puvis de ,chavannes1  
to aid him in the production of this    

masterpiece1 read no histories1 studied 
no text-books regarding the costumes and
 manners of the times of the saint4 ,he 
went to the plain of ,nanterre1 absorbed
 himself in the atmosphere of the       
country around ,paris4 ,the ,seine and  
,mont ,valrien became his background and
 setting4 ,then he shut himself in his  
studio at ,neuilly1 where ,ste4         
,genevive and her people appeared to him
 as he painted them on the ,panthon     
walls4 ,if these pictures suggest the   
,florentine renaissance1 it is because  
the monastic religious1 the naive       
simplicity1 are sympathetic with the    
spirit of the ,italian painters4 ,the   
frescoes are full of a fine effulgence1 
animated by a flame as mysterious as    
that in a virgin's lamp before a dim    
medival shrine4 ,he received the order  
in #ahhc to decorate the staircase in   
the ,palais des ,arts at ,lyons4 ,he    
painted the ,bois ,sacr and the symbolic
 figures of the ,rhne and the ,sane4    
,for this work he received the sum of   

#dj1jjj francs4 ,his expenses were      
#aj1jjj1 and the fresco took him three  
years to paint1 making about #fjjj      
francs that he was paid for these       
splendid works of art--the price that a 
modern portrait-painter of distinction  
would refuse for a picture of one of the
 beau-monde4 ,this order completed1 the 
painter looked and waited in vain for   
new walls and decorations4 8,for me10 he
 said1 8the horizon seems to close down 
upon the future3 there remains nothing  
for me to do but to battle against      
indolence2 but if ,i can inspire youth  
with the example of a life of labour1   
not altogether fruitless1 ,i shall have 
lived to some purpose40 ,and again3     
8,they come slowly10 he said1 8these    
vast spaces whereon ,i may express      
myself with broad1 free sweep40 ,when he
 first received the order to decorate   
the hemicycle of the ,amphitheatre of   
the ,sorbonne at a price of #ce1jjj     
francs1 he refused1 and the committee   
received a letter of acceptance from him

 the next day4  ,illustration3          
8,l',,hiver0  7,salon d',arrive1 ,htel  
de ,ville1 ,paris7  ,in the meantime he 
had found his subject2 as for the       
question of the ridiculous price offered
 him1 he did not even refer to it4  ,his
 production was enormous1 his energy    
untiring4 ,after months of labour he    
would go to the seaside1 and give       
himself up to rest and indolence4 8,in  
these times ,i am in despair10 he said1 
8and feel as though ,i should never work
 again4 ,delightful as is this repose1  
it is to the days of labour that ,i look
 back with the greatest pleasure4 ,it   
seems as though my power were gone for  
ever40 ,this he wrote from ,dieppe1     
where he was digging shrimps in the sand
 like a boy4 ,he began his studies for  
the career of an artist late4 ,what     
other men accomplished and put by he saw
 fulfilled in his own day4 ,and because 
of his unusual vigour and fecund power  
of production he realised in mature     
years what to others are the dreams of  

youth4 ,it is this juvenance carried    
into ripe age that gives a virginal     
freshness to his painting4 ,his fresco  
in the ,boston ,library1 as well as the 
work upon which he was engaged at the   
time of his death--8,the ,old ,age of   
,ste4 ,genevive10 a new series for the  
,panthon--far from suggesting declining 
power1 possess the fresh bloom by which 
only the young spirit can make beautiful
 its creations4 ,the painter had reached
 an apotheosis of power4 ,he had been   
the product of a country whose times are
 strange and complex4 ,his land1 his    
race1 its blood and tradition generated 
his genius1 and he leaves to it in turn 
his glory1 and the stirring example of  
his life1 at the time of his country's  
need1 it may be well said2 and the      
relics of his beautiful art will remain1
 when political crusade1 when           
exaggerated types and schools are past  
and forgotten4     ,,jean ,,charles     
,,cazin   ,in the month of ,march #aija1
 the ,french painter ,jean ,charles     

,cazin died at ,lavandou1 a little nook 
in ,southern ,france on the borders of  
the ,mediterranean4 ,he was in the      
plenitude of his talent1 in the rich and
 mellow prime of his life4 ,he had gone 
to ,lavandou on one of his frequent     
voyages in search of change and         
refreshment2 he died there alone4  ,it  
is an ancient prayer--8,lord1 may ,i die
 in my bed10 but rather an original idea
 to seek to pass out of life in the very
 bed where one was born6 ,this1 however1
 was ,cazin's dream4 ,he had carefully  
preserved every beloved detail in the   
home of his childhood and youth in      
,samer 7,pas-de-,calais72 thither he    
planned to return and pass his last     
days4 ,he longed to inhabit again his   
boyhood's room2 to go forth for ever    
surrounded by all that had welcomed him 
into a world he was to leave richer for 
his existence4 ,fate disposed otherwise4
  ,he was born in #ahdf1 near ,samer1 a 
little town in the neighbourhood of     
,boulogne4 ,his parents were well-to-do1

 his father a doctor of some renown4    
,cazin attended the college at          
,boulogne1 and received later his       
baccalaureate at ,lille4  ,in order to  
facilitate his artistic studies his     
parents sent him to ,paris1 where he    
joined the art class of the beloved     
,boiscaudron4 ,this teacher's influence 
on his pupils has been enormous4 ,it    
must be remembered that he also         
instructed ,rodin and ,lhermitte4 ,the  
tuition was free in the little class    
near the cole de ,mdecine1 and this     
studio made hot war against the more    
conservative ,beaux-,arts4  ,cazin never
 seems to have considered his student   
days at an end4 ,he was perpetually     
learning2 for ever pursuing his art as  
an inexhaustible classic2 seeking to    
discover and develop new technique2 to  
test to the uttermost his capacity4     
,later in life1 when long past the      
student age1 he studied in ,antwerp1 and
 his fine figure1 with noble head on    
which the hair was already turning grey1

 was constantly seen in the museums1    
where he wandered--enjoying the         
masterpieces he admired and understood4 
,he married1 early1 a woman who shared  
his artistic  ,illustration3 ,,the      
,,windmill  tastes1 and who herself has 
added to modern art4 ,he exhibited his  
first pictures in the salon of '#fe-ff1 
and was also among those men who were in
 later years proscribed by the jury1 and
 with his colleagues reaped the singular
 benefit of popularity because of       
adverse criticism1 and became a founder 
of the new salon1 known as the ,champ de
 ,mars4 ,he had apparently no feverish  
desire to rush before the public1 to    
present creations of his youth for      
criticism4 ,possessed of that rare      
patience which can wait for fame1 he did
 not choose to force a future1 and put  
off rather than sought a definite       
introduction to the world4  ,meanwhile  
he matured his work1 labouring at his   
canvases during that fruitful period    
when hope is most sanguine and talent   

freshest2 he himself was only timidly   
appreciative of the work done in the    
interval between his appearance in the  
salon of #ahgf and that of #ahhg4  ,in  
#ahhg1 a space of more than ten years   
from his dbut1 he exhibited 8,le        
,chantier10 and from this time1 with    
slight interruptions1 down to the date  
of his death1 his abundant work never   
ceased to delight the public1 which     
accorded to ,cazin the unusual mark of  
instantaneous favour4 ,his work has been
 seen constantly in ,england2 it is very
 popular in ,holland1 on the ,continent 
everywhere1 and he has enjoyed a marked 
success in ,america4  ,later followed   
8,la ,fuite en ,egypte0 7#ahgg71 8,le   
,voyage de ,tobie0 7#ahgh71 8,le ,dpart0
 7#ahgi71 8,ismal0 7first medal1 #ahhj71
 8,tobie0 7#ahhj71 8,souvenir de ,fate0 
7#ahha71 8,judith10 8,agar and ,ismal0  
7#ahhc74  ,then followed an interval    
when the public looked in vain for      
,cazin's name amongst exhibitors4       
,modern life failed to inoculate this   

meditative artist with the fatal haste1 
the febrile1 nervous desire to do       
everything in a moment4 ,nothing        
disturbed his habits of study and the   
slow working out of his ideas4 ,he      
retired again from public notice to     
mature his conceptions before showing   
them4 ,art and art alone took ,cazin    
hither and thither on his frequent      
capricious voyages4  ,it was as though1 
suddenly1 in a dream1 some landscape    
beckoned him--an ,italian evening or a  
moonlit dyke it might be summoned him2  
for with little warning he was in ,paris
 to-day1 in ,tuscany to-morrow4         
,fortunately he had a family who not    
only understood his brusque departures1 
but who enjoyed the journeys            
,illustration3 ,a ,,picardy ,,village   
as well as did the master himself4 ,he  
was in every land a student2 in the     
,pays ,bas he was an ardent painter1 in 
,italy a constant visitor at the        
galleries and museums1 in ,england a    
potter4 ,the art of ceramics always     

strongly interested him1 and he has     
proved himself a clever exponent of it4 
,for a ,frenchman he travelled widely1  
making many trips to ,holland and       
,flanders1 ,italy and ,england4 ,he was 
keenly appreciative of the art with     
which these countries teemed1 and       
studied with benefit to his own methods 
the ,flemish and ,dutch masters as seen 
in the ,pays ,bas--his imagination      
impressed by the sober stretches of     
,netherland landscapes1 by the velvet   
seductiveness of ,italian hillsides and 
golden towns1 and the misty loveliness  
of ,english country4 ,of ,holland he has
 left us numerous admirable studies1    
etchings1 pictures--the mills and the   
flat meadows1 melancholy dyke lines1    
scenes on the ,zuyder ,zee and in       
,amsterdam4 ,all these are familiar and 
delightful to his admirers4 ,possibly he
 has produced no more perfect piece of  
work than the picture called 8,moonlight
 on the ,zuyder ,zee40  ,holland1 so    
long a school and educator and inspirer 

of landscape painters1 has found no     
modern more quick to represent her      
country or more appreciative of its     
native art than ,cazin4 ,there is in his
 work a suggestion of the spirit of the 
masters of ,holland and ,flanders far   
away and removed as he is by his        
mysticism and the ephemeral handling of 
colour from the frank colourists of the 
,dutch ,school4 ,there is the minute    
attention to detail1 the clever value   
given to scheme1 the massing of much in 
small compass1 the master art of        
concentrating on the important point4   
,when the painting is analysed the      
critic discovers that every detail is   
scrupulously studied4  ,italy inflamed  
him with a love for symbolic subjects4  
,the spirituality of the old masters was
 an evident inspiration to him4 ,but1 in
 considering ,cazin1 while interested to
 trace the different elements he found  
sympathetic and appealing1 one fails to 
discover anything to detract from       
,cazin's own absolute originality4      

,england1 eminently connoisseur of      
landscape painting1 has seen fit to     
approve ,cazin4 ,his exhibition in      
,london was received with the most      
flattering appreciation4 ,england knew  
,cazin for one of those foreigners who  
had adopted ,london as a dwelling-place1
 and who was in sympathetic touch with  
the ,english people4  ,illustration3    
,,the ,,death ,,chamber ,,of ,,gambetta 
,there exists therefore for him a       
feeling of personal friendship4  ,he    
came with his family to ,england in     
#ahga1 and remained there for three     
years4 ,his original project was to form
 a school of art of which he should be  
master4 ,this plan failing1 he went     
instead to ,fulham1 where he personally 
directed the management of a pottery1   
and was thus enabled to carry out his   
desire to experiment in this plastic    
art4 ,in this he was successful4 ,his   
exhibition in #ahhb at the ,central     
,union placed him amongst the first     
masters in modern ceramics1 and after   

his artistic display of clays1 ,france  
gave him a decoration4 ,there is a case 
of ,cazin's pottery in the ,luxembourg  
,museum4  ,he was received at first with
 a certain wonder4 ,his drawing1        
intensely delicate1 was forceful and    
striking because of its frank           
ingenuousness1 its primitive simplicity4
 ,in his colouring harmonious and       
extraordinary tones ineffably soft1     
lights and shades indefinitely blended  
until at first the picture appeared     
through a haze1 whilst under the eyes it
 slowly took form out of the mist2 lines
 disengaged themselves1 shapes grew     
distinct1 and the perfect little picture
 fully declared itself4 ,a good example 
of this is 8,nuit d',et0 7,seine et     
,marne74  ,it will be readily understood
 that this novel technique1 at the time 
of its appearance1 did not pass         
unchallenged4 ,it was evidently a       
manner1 an eccentricity--a trick of     
colour1 a playing with the public       
vision6 ,many endeavoured to understand 

and reproduce the 8,cazin effects40 ,how
 was it done8 ,and it was bruited by the
 baffled that ,m4 ,cazin painted behind 
locked doors6 ,the sorcery of the master
 was not to be discovered1 nor was there
 an lite who1 behind the curtain out of 
gaping sight1 learned the power that    
created 8,moonlight on the ,zuyder      
,zee40  ,will amateurs learn one day    
that rules of rhetoric cannot teach the 
scribbler how to write a lyric8--that   
the atelier cannot impart the sign to   
make brush and palette create that which
 is none other than the individuality of
 the painter8 ,cazin's tender1          
mysterious treatment1 ,corot's profound 
tranquillity1 ,turner's golden flame1   
the genius of the masters1 are their    
technique4  ,cazin knew nothing of the  
common struggle of those artists who are
 obliged to ingratiate themselves into  
the public favour4 ,he was accepted at  
once1 and soon beloved--an uncommon     
biography4 ,and his agreeable relations 
with the public1 the atmosphere of      

,illustration3 ,,moonlight  welcome and 
liking with which his work was met1 his 
own family relations 7of the most happy 
and genial kind71 all is evident in his 
art4 ,his pictures are full of the      
influence of the repose--8la douceur    
infinie qui rpand les mes qui sont en   
paix40  ,cazin possessed a strongly     
developed decorative sense4 ,his        
contemporaries appreciated it when they 
gave him the supervision of the hanging 
of pictures at the different exhibitions
 and made him conservateur of the ,muse 
du ,luxembourg itself4 ,this special    
sense is evident in his work1 as1 for   
example1 the grouping in 8,l',ours et   
l',amateur des ,jardins10 8,la ,parole  
de ,socrate10 in the drawings and       
studies for his various pictures1       
designs which in many instances strongly
 suggest fresco and are ,italian in     
their genre4  ,until #ahhh his subjects 
had been chiefly symbolic1 chosen from  
,biblical scenes2 figures predominated  
in these canvases4 ,after this period   

the character of his work changed1 and  
he devoted himself to landscape         
painting1 and as a landscapist he will  
pass down to fame4 ,for ,cazin chose to 
surround his conception of              
figure-painting with the very acme of   
his art2 with the fruit of years of     
patience1 the mystery of labour and all 
that his poetic soul knew of the seasons
 and of changing nights and days4 ,for  
even in the most important canvases1    
where figures fill the foreground1 the  
value of the paintings is in their      
backgrounds and surroundings4  ,take1   
for example1 8,agar and ,ismal in the   
,desert40 ,in the picture the eye leaves
 the group of desolate mother and child 
for the country's desolation1 the arid  
sand world1 dangerous1 sinister--the    
parching sky1 the pitiful scrub growth4 
,the thought of the narrative is lost in
 ,cazin's delineation of the landscape1 
in the atmosphere and painting of the   
picture1 and in its subtle composition4 
,as a rule1 for the human drama the     

scene is the setting1 whereas with      
,cazin humanity illustrates the text of 
his creation4 ,his landscapes1 his      
fields1 meadows1 dunes1 deserts1 are the
 picture1 and the figures become        
subordinate1 suggestive1 taking their   
character from the character of the soil
 and country4  ,the streets of the      
rustic villages have spoken to ,cazin1  
and told him their secrets at evening   
time4 ,his studies of the little town   
near his native village are especially  
lovely4 ,these ,french parishes have    
whispered their mysteries1 as twilight1 
slipping from gold to grey1 steals down 
the twisting lanes4 ,cazin has caught   
,illustration3 ,,the ,,village ,,street 
the sadness of the country1 its         
monotonous desolation1 as well as its   
repose4 ,the pictures in themselves are 
almost narrative2 the wide slopes of    
bare meadow after harvesting1 the sombre
 note of little pine-clusters on a sandy
 hill1 and the melancholy of the dyke   
lands1 his own country has spoken to him

 as a mother to a son who understood and
 who will interpret her well4 ,see the  
8,ruisseau en ,picardie10 8,lac en      
,picardie10 8,route prs d',equihen10    
8,moonlight at ,equihen40 ,it is into   
these sympathetic surroundings that he  
introduced the studies he cared to make 
of human life1 ,biblical subjects and a 
few classic themes4 ,these are not      
anachronisms1 strictly speaking1 but    
show a modern spirit1 which places his  
conception of ,christ amongst men and   
women of to-day1 as ,rembrandt placed   
his religious pictures in the land of   
his birth1 which makes the divine legend
 suddenly appear in the centre of the   
,norman wheat-field1 or sends ,mary and 
,joseph with the ,holy ,child by        
moonlight from a little provincial farm 
in ,picardy4 ,tobias by a ,french       
riverside walks with a celestial        
visitor4 ,judith is a woman of the      
people1 and nothing but the essence of  
tradition may be read in ,cazin's       
popularising of ,bible story1 in his    

introduction of ,hebraic legend to the  
scenes and actors of humble1 everyday   
peasant life4 ,his painting of 8,judith0
 was originally intended for the        
,gobelin manufactories4  ,despite the   
fact that his mind was full of his      
historic and epic legend1 and that      
dramatic subjects constantly presented  
themselves to his attention as schemes  
for pictures1 his trend towards         
landscape was too strong1 and it is     
extremely interesting to observe this   
impassioned hero-worshipper carried     
toward his dreamy1 peaceful current     
which became his inevitable course4 ,as 
the painter of lovely landscapes1 ,cazin
 is known chiefly as the portrayer of   
moon-setting and falling rain on a far1 
unknown country side4  ,some one has    
said1 8,turn a hundred painters loose in
 ,france before their respective bents  
have been decided--and ninety-nine will 
be landscape painters40  ,so paintable  
is the ,french country1 so seductive to 
the senses and imagination1 that the    

land germinates and brings forth the    
very finest fruit of open-air painting3 
witness ,troyon1 ,daubigny1 ,corot1     
,lorrain1 ,poussin1 ,puvis de           
,chavannes1 ,cazin4  ,cazin had a       
magnificent head4 ,his eyes were blue1  
his features finely chiselled and       
strong4 ,his manners were most charming1
 and he was widely beloved4             
,illustration3 ,,the ,,holy ,,family    
,properly speaking1 no school perishes  
with the death of ,cazin1 although1     
strangely enough1 no master displayed   
greater avidity to inculcate principles 
of art4 ,despite his pedagogic passion  
,cazin leaves behind him no disciples   
who menace his fame4 ,his art was too   
personal and varied to permit of a      
school's foundation4  ,illustration3    
,,the ,,end ,,of ,,the ,,village  ,his  
pictures have been purchased widely on  
the ,continent and in ,england and      
,america4 ,time and space do not permit 
a catalogue of the canvases which have  
appeared in public and private          

collections4 ,when ,cazin died he was at
 work on two pictures destined for the  
,state4 ,they are symbolic subjects1 and
 were intended for the walls of the     
,sorbonne4 ,they go by the titles of    
8,l',ours et l',amateur de ,jardins10   
and 8,la ,maison de ,socrate40  ,in the 
,luxembourg ,museum are to be seen      
several good examples of ,cazin's work3 
8,agar et ,ismal10 8,la ,chambre de     
,gambetta10 a tragic representation of  
the room in which ,gambetta died1 two   
landscapes1 a case of pottery1 and a    
bust in bronze4  ,mrs4 ,potter ,palmer  
of ,chicago possesses the 8,judith02    
8,tobie0 is in the gallery at ,lille2   
8,la ,journe ,faite0 in the ,lyons      
,museum2 8,souvenir de ,fte0 in the     
,museum of the ,city of ,paris2 8,le    
,chantier0 belongs to ,monsieur ,may4   
,alexander ,harrison1 the ,american     
painter1 said1 in speaking of ,cazin3   
8,he is a striking contrast to ,courbet1
 for example1 whose manner of painting  
is insistent2 whereas ,cazin conceals1  

rather than displays1 his technique4    
,his qualities are subtle and elusive4  
,he avoids realistic brutality2 his     
delicacy is a semi-fastidiousness in    
contrast to the almost froce realism of 
,courbet1 and the robust ,troyon4  8,his
 attitude towards his ideal is reserved1
 caressing4 ,suavity1 a certain         
suggestion of concealment distinguish   
his work4 ,sometimes the unvaried tone  
is monotony4  8,his subjects were not   
chosen from the great solitudes2 and    
although figures are often absent from  
his canvases1 the pictures always       
suggest the human element and are full  
of associations4  8,his townsfolk in the
 ,norman village where he lived seldom  
saw ,cazin at work during daylight2 but 
belated fishermen1 returning in the     
small hours of late night1 would find   
him wandering along-shore1 or pondering 
as he paced the high sand-dunes4        
8,these reveries were part of ,cazin's  
science and art2 he applied and         
developed the accumulated science of    

long study1 and created the medium best 
fitted to express his ideas and the     
especial times of day he cared to paint4
  8,his use of a wax medium accounts for
 some of the quality of his work40      
,,rodin  ,illustration3 ,,rodin   ,in   
the vast presentation of subject1 in the
 numberless examples of cause and       
effect1 demand and supply1              
representative of the tide reached by   
commerce1 industries1 and arts in this  
nervous1 intense modern civilisation1   
there is nothing worthier of note than  
the work of ,rodin1 the sculptor1 to    
whom ,france at last has seen fit to    
give general recognition4  ,without the 
walls proper of the ,exposition1 at the 
,pont de l',alma1 a building known as   
the ,pavillon ,rodin was constructed1   
wherein a collection1 although          
incomplete1 divulged ,rodin to a world  
who did not know him1 and delighted his 
admirers4 ,the concession of the site   
for the little gallery marks the history
 of yet another struggle between artist 

and prejudice4 8,in spite of my         
efforts10 ,rodin said1 8and a widespread
 cordial feeling toward me in other     
countries1 ,paris was so loth to grant  
me this place1 that had it not been for 
two of my friends--a ,minister1 and a   
,conseiller ,municipal--,i should have  
pleaded in vain60  ,rodin1 together with
 his architect1 constructed1 arranged1  
and decorated this hall4 ,it is a       
circular salon1 with a succession of    
smaller rooms surrounding the main      
rotunda like a gallery2 the walls are   
covered with pale yellow stuff2 and a   
splendid flood of sun pours in from     
skylight and sides1 all of which are of 
glass4 ,within this limited space are   
gathered many of the most important     
statues1 bronzes1 and busts1 and the    
casts of several originals which it was 
impossible to secure for this           
exhibition4 8,les ,bourgeois de         
,calais10 the 8,balzac10 the incompleted
 group of 8,victor ,hugo10 8,porte de   
l',enfer0 78,door of ,hell071 8,l',age  

d',airain0 78,the ,age of ,bronze071    
8,l',homme au ,nez ,cass0 78,the ,man   
with the ,broken ,nose071 8,l',eve0     
7,eve71 8,l'ternelle ,idole0 78,the     
,eternal ,idol071 8,la ,guerre0         
78,war071 8,la ,pense0 78,thought0 or   
8,reverie071 8,psyche10 8,the ,moon bids
 ,adieu to ,earth in order to ascend to 
the ,zenith10 8,amor ,fugit0 78,love    
,flees071 8,le ,printemps0 78,spring071 
,l',homme qui s',eveille0 78,the        
,awakening of ,man071 the busts of ,jean
 ,paul ,laurens1 of ,dalou1 of          
,mirabeau1 ,falguire1 ,mme4 ,m4 ,v4     
,besides these  ,illustration3 8,,le    
,,fr,,re ,,et ,,la ,s,,ur0  there are   
countless figurines1 little groups1     
bauches1 studies1 schemes for old and   
new work1 heads1 torsos in plaster1     
marble1 bronze1 iron1 and stone2 whilst 
about the walls are hung the photographs
 of works not exhibited and the drawings
 of the sculptor4  ,the acknowledgment  
and recognition by ,paris of her great  
son has not come too late4 ,in spite of 

the fact that he has been for forty     
years an object of intense1 displayed   
hatred 78so keen a hate10 he says1 8that
 if ,paris had been ,italy in the time  
of the ,borgia1 ,i should have been     
poisoned071 in spite of the enmity of   
artists and populace1 this tardy        
reception finds him unembittered1 his   
temper warm and human1 and with hand    
quick and outstretched to the tardy     
greeting4 ,the man himself is so simple1
 so great1 that he is even touched by   
the long-denied meed of praise4         
,standing before the head of 8,l',homme 
au ,nez ,cass0 7curiously enough the    
milestone of his first defeat1 refused  
by the ,salon in #ahfd71 his            
masterpieces all around him1 in the     
mellow light of the autumn sun falling  
on exquisite marble or dark bronze1     
,rodin said3 8,it is good to be alive4  
,i find existence marvellous1 glorious4 
,these effigies of human pain0 7and he  
indicated a bronze representing an      
emaciated poet dying on the knees of the

 ,muse7 8no longer make me suffer as    
they used4 ,i am happy4 ,to me nature is
 so beautiful1 the truths of humanity   
are so thrilling1 that ,i have grown to 
adore life and the world4 ,je trouve que
 la vie est tellement belle60 ,his face 
was fairly luminous4 ,this apotheosis of
 bien-tre that the sculptor has reached 
in late middle age is perhaps ,nature's 
gift1 her reward to him who1 in spite of
 discouragement and the world's scorn1  
has for forty years been her faithful1  
adoring disciple4 ,france is true to her
 traditions in her treatment of her     
celebrated men4 ,she has slaughtered a  
king1 dethroned an emperor1 sold a      
deliverer 7,jeanne d',arc71 and to her  
immortal artists offers as a stirrup-cup
 at starting such draughts of bitterness
 that if the very divinity within them  
did not preserve them for posterity's   
good1 who can tell whether ,carpeaux1   
,delacroix1 ,manet1 ,rude1 ,berlioz1    
,garnier1 ,bary1 ,puvis de ,chavannes1  
and ,rodin would not have fallen by the 

way8--and all the names are not here6   
,prejudice and schools in every country 
and age have their scores to level4     
7,shades of ,shelley1 ,keats1           
,chatterton1 will bid ,england hold her 
peace47 ,puvis de ,chavannes 7,rodin's  
mighty brother amongst ,france's great  
artists7 stretched toward his laurels in
 old age a hand that stiffened in       
,illustration3 ,,interieur ,d',,atelier 
death before it could hold the wreaths  
of fame4 ,one and all of the illustrious
 ones were misapprehended2 and ,auguste 
,rodin1 when he made his first appeal to
 public judgment1 stepped into this     
rank1 and awakened 8the idiot risibles  
of a gaping stupidity10 instead of the  
grave appreciation that was his due4    
,rodin is of the people1 and was born in
 ,paris in #ahdj4 ,his parents were     
poor1 and during the long               
years--apparently fruitless1 and heaping
 disappointment on disappointment--urged
 him to take to a trade which would     
bring him immediate results4 8,i have no

 history10 he says2 8my life is simply  
the story of constant struggle and      
unchanged poverty4 ,i was poor1 but ,i  
was strong2 and in the moments when ,i  
was not bitterly discouraged ,i felt a  
certain stimulus in setting myself      
against the world4 ,over by the cole de 
,mdecine1 in ,paris1 is the little      
school where ,i went as a boy1 and where
 ,i first took simple lessons in        
drawing40  ,he acknowledges the         
influence of no directed instruction on 
his art4 ,in his young manhood he was a 
workman in the atelier of ,bary1 and the
 models of twisted cobras1 lithe tigers1
 crouching panthers1 maddened           
lions--their graceful contours and      
curves1 the attitude of savage          
grace--may have impressed their images  
on the keen memory of the young         
journeyman4 ,at all events1 in his types
 of the animal triumphant in man1 in the
 pose and gesture of abandon1 there is  
much that suggests kinship between the  
human being and the uncivilised         

beast--the barbarous grace and beauty of
 both4 ,but ,rodin is not conscious of  
the effect of any school3 in the        
ateliers of both ,bary or               
,carrier-,belleuse he sold his skill for
 his daily bread4  ,in #ahfd he sent the
 head of 8,the ,man with the ,broken    
,nose0 to the ,salon4 ,this mask1       
perfectly modelled1 worthy the seal of  
antiquity1 was refused 8because of its  
originality40 ,the refusal was a bitter 
blow to ,rodin2 and whether or not the  
verdict appeared to him just1 it had the
 effect of intimidating him1 and he     
waited thirteen years before again      
appearing before his adverse jury4  ,at 
this period 7#ahfd-gj71 on the edge of  
his own doorstep1 as it were1 with no   
power to franchise the threshold1 he    
worked1 a paid daily labourer1 for      
,bary1 ,carrier-,belleuse1 and in       
#ahga-gg for ,van ,rasbourg in          
,brussels4 8,during the long time10 he  
says1 8when ,i gave what power ,i       
possessed to others1 my thoughts were   

keen and alive toward my own creations4 
,on ,sunday ,i was free1 and that day ,i
 afforded a model for myself and worked 
in my little room from the life4 ,i     
,illustration3 ,,le ,d,,sespoir         
,illustration3 ,,la ,,porte ,,de        
,l',,enfer  tried to make the most of   
every expression1 every turn1 of my     
varying model1--for the human being     
changes constantly1 and my time was     
infinitely precious and infinitely      
short4 ,i was never able to bring to    
satisfactory termination very much      
during these sances4 ,it was in the paid
 week1 it was during the days of others1
 that ,i really produced4 ,i permitted  
myself then a careful mental study of   
what ,sunday had suggested and had      
failed to achieve4 ,as ,i thus          
meditated1 fleeting thoughts and        
inspirations came to me1 and ,i would   
hold them1 force them to remain1 until  
at the following sance with my model ,i 
could mould their likeness in clay4 ,i  
consider that this training of my memory

 was of inestimable advantage40  ,in    
#ahgg 8,l',age d',airain0 was sent to   
the ,salon1 and accepted4 ,the          
extraordinary criticism it evoked is    
sufficient praise4 ,it was said to be   
8too perfect10 and the sculptor was     
accused of having 8cast the statue from 
life06 ,when these insulting suspicions 
had been disproved to the eminent jury's
 satisfaction1 ,rodin's statue--a       
strong1 beautiful male form of ,greek   
purity and classical simplicity of      
outline--received1 in #ahhj1 a          
third-class medal4 ,this was bought by  
the ,state1 and can be seen in the      
,luxembourg ,gardens4  ,thus1           
successively accused first of too great 
originality1 second of too faithful     
realism1 ,rodin was received by his     
censors2 but ridicule reached its dizzy 
height when at the ,salon of #ahih was  
exhibited the statue of ,balzac1 ordered
 by the ,socit des ,gens de ,lettres1   
and refused by them4  ,above the clat of
 that time1 when ,paris made rendezvous 

before the rejected monument to laugh   
and  ,illustration3 ,,st4 ,,john ,,the  
,,baptist  immoderately jeer1 it is hard
 even now to raise a reasonable voice4  
,the august ,socit1 which claimed that  
it 8failed to recognise ,balzac in the  
statue10 should have been put to the    
blush by a commercial man1 a ,monsieur  
,pellerin1 who pleaded to purchase the  
,balzac4 ,the sculptor refused1 and took
 the offending plaster back to his own  
workshop4 8,i was cruelly hurt and made 
ill10 ,rodin said1 8and it did me great 
harm40 ,a brilliant pamphlet was        
forthcoming1 however1 by ,arsne         
,alexandre1 which suggested to at least 
part of the intelligent spectators that 
8they may have laughed too soon40 ,the  
,balzac has held1 during the            
,exposition1 chief place in the         
,pavilion ,rodin1 where those who still 
seek it for its stimulus to laughter may
 find it1 and where others may study it 
to calm advantage4 ,france's greatest   
novelist1 the writer of the ,comdie     

,humaine1 as conceived and made to exist
 in sculptured form by a man like       
,rodin1 is a combination in itself not  
without interest4 ,there is in this work
 a tremendous1 almost savage force1 a   
virility and power1 an abandonment to   
subject above form1 characteristic of   
,rodin4 ,balzac is posed as a spectator1
 his arms folded across the chest under 
the flowing monk's robe which the       
novelist assumed when at work4 ,his body
 is rested on one backward-drawn foot1  
whilst the other1 a little advanced1    
throws out the line of leg and knee4    
,the head1 superb and massive1 is lifted
 and backward inclined2 the lips are    
parted1 the eyes1 deep-set1 caverns of  
thought under heavy brows1 look out at  
the defile of humanity which the        
romancer so keenly studied to immortal  
results4 ,this ,balzac is moqueur1      
rveur1 student1 analyst2 and the genius 
which has--roughly if you will--mightily
 modelled the ,titian of literature1 has
 finely comprehended1 with the kinship  

of greatness1 the type of the immortal  
,parisian4 ,the stupendous figure has   
nothing in common with the approved     
style of statues to great men that mark 
the public places and squares of our    
cities and towns1 and there is          
everything in the outrance of           
presentation1 the novel1 daring1 crude  
handling1 to bewilder the crowd who     
distrust what they fail to understand4  
,but it is sufficient for the serious1  
unprejudiced observer to come once and  
look1 to return and gaze1 in order to   
recognise that he is before a           
masterpiece--the effigy of a human being
 appearing as in life from a flowing    
garment1 symbol of the art of the       
romancer1 the robe of imagination with  
which he enveloped his analyses4 ,it    
becomes thus impossible not to feel the 
power of ,rodin's ,balzac as one studies
 the gigantic head emerging from the    
,illustration3 ,,interi,,ur ,d',,atelier
 ,,avec ,,le ,,groupe ,,des 8,,bourgeois
 ,,de ,,calais0  drapery as the author  

lifts his eyes on the comedy of life4   
,in #ahhb appeared simultaneously 8,st4 
,jean prchant0 78,st4 ,john the ,baptist
 preaching07 and 8,the ,creation of     
,man02 and down till #ahhe the busts of 
,jean ,paul ,laurens1                   
,carrier-,belleuse1 ,victor ,hugo1      
,antonin ,proust1 ,dalou1 were exhibited
 at the ,champs de ,mars4 ,to subsequent
 exhibitions were sent busts of ,puvis  
de ,chavannes1 8,le ,cariatide10 8,la   
,danade10 8,la ,pense10 monument to     
,victor ,hugo1 the 8,balzac10 8,le      
,baiser10 8,l've10 and the busts of     
,falguire and ,rochefort4  ,in the      
,salon of #ahhi was exhibited the group 
known as ,les ,bourgeois de ,calais1    
ordered by ,calais1 and which1 cast in  
bronze1 stands to-day on the marketplace
 of that town4 ,this piece1 which has   
not its compeer1 commemorates the       
heroism of six of the city's citizens in
 the days when ,england was ,france's   
conqueror4 ,froissart with              
characteristically simple pathos tells  

the story4 ,calais1 taken by the        
,english1 was destined to destruction1  
but ,king ,edward offered to spare the  
populace on the condition that six      
notable bourgeois should come forth to  
him bare-headed1 bare-footed1 ropes     
round their necks1 and the city's keys  
in their hands4 8,i shall do with them  
according to my good pleasure0--which   
good pleasure1 as the world knows1 was  
to grant pardon and safe convoi1 at the 
plea of the gracious ,queen ,philippa4  
,but they have no dream of pardon1 these
 men1 who one after another seem again  
to pursue their expiatory way for us    
across the ages4 ,the grateful people of
 the town have bathed their naked feet  
with tears of adoration and farewell1   
and1 devoted to probable death and to   
sure humiliation1 they are before us4   
,history has kept the names of four3    
,eustache de ,st4 ,pierre1 ,jean        
d',aire1 ,jacques and ,pierre de        
,wissant4 ,on their faces are depicted  
all things save the sense of defeat4 ,in

 the drawn visages1 convulsed hands1 in 
the bent and defiant attitude1 are      
pride1 hauteur1 grief1 resolution4 ,the 
wasted forms bear the marks of siege1   
privation1 hunger1 and anxiety1 but     
there is no trace of submission in the  
medival vicarious offering4 ,old age is 
here1 passive in a moment of sublime    
renunciation2 youth1 rebellious at this 
demand of ,fate2 middle life1 desperate 
in tense despair4 ,these figures are    
real and human2 this is modern realism  
with classic delineation4 ,verse or     
prose1 brush or pencil1 could not1 line 
for line1 have caught the story better  
and told it more expressively4 ,the mass
 loves a work of art that tells a tale1 
and here  ,illustration3 8,,le          
,,penseur0  the layman and the most     
difficult symbolist may alike enjoy4 ,a 
narrative is told1 and ,art1 in the mode
 of recount1 is elevated4               
,illustration3 ,,beau ,,torse  ,rodin's 
busts are strikingly ressemblant--not   
always flattering to the subject1 but   

remarkable revelations of the character 
of the individuals themselves4 ,his     
busts of ,victor ,hugo and ,henri       
,rochefort and ,jean ,paul ,laurens are 
especially fine4  8,in making a         
portrait1 for example10 ,rodin says1 8it
 requires several sances for me to get  
into the spirit of my model4 ,i am      
seeking always the distinguishing trait 
that makes this man or woman an         
individual different from the rest of   
his kind4 ,when ,i discover this trait  
marquant ,i dwell upon it1 ,i insist on 
it--,i caricature it1 if you like--until
 my bust has likeness2 then ,i know that
 ,i know my model40  ,the sculptor has  
been at work for fifteen years on the   
famous 8,porte de l',enfer0 78,door of  
,hades071 ordered by the ,museum of     
,decorative ,art in ,paris4 ,of this    
stupendous undertaking1 as yet          
incomplete1 only the most inadequate    
idea can be given4 ,the portal measures 
six mtres in height2 the panels and     
borders are filled with countless       

figures in bas and high relief4 ,above  
the doors is a nude male figure in a    
sitting posture1 elbows on the knees1   
head sunk on the hands4 ,this is ,dante1
 dreamer1 meditator1 before whose eyes  
passes the vision of the condemned4 ,the
 groups1 couples1 and single figures    
represent everything that a fertile     
talent can conceive of dread and grief2 
there are visible  ,illustration3 ,,le  
,,jardin ,,des ,,oliviers ,,de          
,l',,homme ,,de ,g,,nie  ,greed1 ,lust1 
,crime1 ,despair--in short1 all the     
worst of the ,world1 the ,flesh1 and the
 ,triumphant ,fiend4 ,at the lower      
corners are masks of ,pain1 and around  
and about them ,satyrs1 ,centaurs1      
,nymphs male and female1 human forms of 
all ages and nations1 run their terrible
 race4 ,these remarkably modelled       
figures are entwined1 interlaced1       
leaning the one on the other1 seeking to
 escape1 pursuing1 haunting1 and        
fleeing1 repelling1 clasping in eternal 
desire1 eternal horror1 eternal despair4

 ,here are ,paola and ,francesca in     
their own forms1 and their symbols in   
many another2 here1 even1 are tiny      
bodies of infants1 8who seek with       
sightless eyes to penetrate limbo and   
the shades40 ,no one but ,rodin since   
the days of the ,ghibellines could have 
ventured upon this subject1 and of the  
tremendous result there has as yet been 
one general verdict of praise4 ,it is   
,rodin's chef-d'uvre4 ,the doors are to 
be cast in bronze1 and are all but in   
the hands of the casters4  ,carpeaux1   
,rude1 ,chapu1 have given to ,france    
splendid monuments4 ,the sculpture of   
these men is powerful1 virile1          
telling1--their technique that of the   
schools1 their expression at once       
comprehensible4 ,this art1 picturesque1 
decorative1 ends with the production1   
and suggests as a whole nothing beyond  
that which is before the eyes4 ,rodin's 
art1 by reason of his more complex1     
subtle temperament1 his more artistic   
sympathy and profounder insight into    

nature and humanity1 has been a         
renaissance to modern sculpture1 and is 
to plastic art what ,puvis de ,chavannes
 was to decorative painting4 ,he calls  
himself a student of human life1 a      
disciple of nature1 from which he       
inspires himself1 and in an original1   
individual manner expresses in tangible 
form his conceptions of the mysteries of
 life4 ,he has caught the ineffable     
moment of passion1 and dared to transfix
 the embrace of love in stone4 ,he has  
dared to portray by his art that which  
poet1 musician1 painter1 have not waited
 to confess is an inspiration to all    
creation2 and is it not possible that   
those who are so hasty to malign and    
criticise ,rodin do not understand him8 
,at all events in his latest productions
 he shows no sign of temporising1 and   
chooses unflinchingly to be an expositor
 in stone of the passions1 the          
sensations1 and crises of humanity as he
 apprehends them4  ,alongside of the    
high spirituality reached in the        

apotheosis of renunciation in the group 
of 8,les ,bourgeois de ,calais10        
alongside of the intellectuality of the 
8,victor ,hugo10 are examples of the    
grossly material4 ,here is the exquisite
 roundness of youth in 8,brother and    
,illustration3 ,,la ,,temp,,te          
,illustration3 ,,sir,,nes ,,chantant    
,sister0 78,frre et ,sur071 a group of  
charming1 innocent loveliness4 ,touching
 it is the lankness of shrivelled age   
7,statue of an ,old ,woman74 ,here are  
expressed the violence of all sensation1
 the legitimate happiness of love1 the  
languor of satiety1 the wantonness of   
riot1 the solemnity of death1 the       
hopeless horror of the damned 78,la     
,porte de l',enfer074  ,rodin the man is
 unassuming1 and his manners are almost 
nave4 ,in his accueil he is courteous   
and charming1 extending a gracious      
reception to the world he generously    
permits to freely seek him4 ,below      
medium height1 strongly1 powerfully     
built1 his head lionesque1 his eyes     

keen1 deep-set1 and very brilliant1 we  
see him when at work in the white long  
blouse he wears in his atelier1 ,rue de 
l',universit4 ,the vast room is filled  
with groups completed and others in     
different stages of advancement1 chiefly
 innumerable casts for the 8,porte de   
l',enfer40 ,around ,rodin are his       
stone-cutters1 achieving from blocks of 
marble the contours of the models in    
clay before their eyes4 ,a fine1        
clinking sound1 a 8tin-tin10 fills the  
place to echo as the penetrating        
instruments tap the hard surface4       
,rodin's hands are covered with wet and 
drying clay2 the metallic sound is an   
accompaniment to his thoughts4 8,my     
mtier is to express my ideas in plastic 
form2 and1 curiously1 it is of form ,i  
think the least40 7,his enemies will    
find here a point d'appui and fresh     
impetus to mirth67 8,to me all          
expression should be subordinate to the 
,illustration3 ,,buste ,,de ,,mons4     
,,rodin1 ,,par ,,falgui,,re  idea2 and  

for the elusive1 fleeting ideals ,i am  
on an eternal search4 ,i may imagine    
that under my hands1 as ,i mould a faun 
possibly1 or a satyr1 ,i have caught the
 ineffable conception fast at last2     
when1 under my very touch1 ,i see the   
being change4 ,my inspiration becomes   
another1 and lo6 the clay is a faun no  
longer1 but a ,sappho--head thrown back1
 lips parted1 plunging into a sea60     
,and to this man1 the eternal search is 
for beauty1 which1 according to his     
creed1 exists in everything that lives1 
moves1 or has its being4 8,nothing is   
ugly that has life10 ,rodin says4 8,age 
has its own loveliness1 as youth has its
 especial charm4 ,whatever suggests     
human emotion1 whether of grief or pain1
 goodness or anger1 hate or love1 has   
its individual seal of beauty4          
,therefore10 he exclaims1 8since ,i hold
 all existence to be beautiful1 and all 
beauty to be truth1 on a bien le droit  
de choisir parmi les choses vraies0 7one
 has the right to choose amongst        

truths74 ,and although to ,rodin has    
been attributed mastery in all arts save
 that in which he is absolutely matre1  
of his drawings1 his designs1 his       
ceramics1 bear the touch of genius1--he 
is par excellence the sculptor4 ,no     
critic can observe certain groups       
without conceding mastery to him in his 
art4 ,it is claimed that there exist in 
antiquity no more perfect examples of   
the human form than 8,l',age d',airain10
 8,le ,printemps10 and 8,le ,baiser40   
,had these marbles been unearthed at    
,samothrace or disinterred at ,athens1  
antiquarians 7if puzzled to trace the   
,grecian spirit7 would scarcely have    
hesitated to assign these figures their 
places amongst the remnants of the dust 
and ashes of the ,golden ,age4 ,but     
between ,phidias and ,rodin1 between    
pure ,greek and the complex modern1     
there is a great gulf fixed4 ,the times 
demand1 crave1 insist upon and generate1
 another spirit4 ,the ancients portrayed
 divinity in the mystic ideal clothed in

 ideal form2 this modern portrays       
humanity1 with its warring desires1 its 
breath1 span1 happiness of love4  ,rodin
 will be perhaps always misunderstood4  
,he is a pagan1 and in his art has been 
so varied as to make it difficult to    
judge him by a standard or to compare   
him wisely with his forerunners or his  
contemporaries4 ,the same hand that has 
perfectly carved the lovely woman's head
 in 8,la ,pense10 rounded the limbs in  
the delicacy of 8,the ,eternal ,idol10  
the same hand tears forth from clay and 
stone sinister1 terrible conceptions1   
mighty symbols of desolation as on 8,la 
,porte de l',enfer10 the inevitable     
misery in the retribution4 ,from a block
 of marble he causes a woman to blossom 
forth like a flower1 until rough block  
and figure appear of different          
materials--the one a cold1 pulseless    
background1 a sheath for a form so      
instinct with life that the stone has   
the texture of flesh1 and seems to bloom
 and glow4 ,take1 for example1 the      

figure of ,psyche holding back the      
draperies of night that she may see     
,eros4 ,rodin is an absolute expression 
of his times1 a modern with the subtlety
 of idea1 the suggestive conception that
 is the distinguishing mark of          
nineteenth-century talent1 part of the  
spirit that has created the schools of  
symbolism1 that has coined the term     
8degenerate02 and to this trend of mind1
 which no civilisation hitherto could   
have produced1 has been added robust    
physical strength and an order of genius
 akin to that of the ancients1 before   
whose immortal works ,rodin is a humble 
and devout worshipper1 and from whom1 in
 his modesty1 he thinks himself         
infinitely removed1 and to whom he is in
 reality divinely allied4     ,,paul    
,,albert ,,besnard  ,illustration3      
,,paul ,,albert ,,besnard ,,in ,,his    
,,studio   ,paul ,albert ,besnard bears 
no relation to any school4 8,i have     
never formed part of a group10 he says2 
and in revenge or despair no group has  

formed itself around the master4 ,there 
is1 properly speaking1 no ,sargent      
school and no ,whistler school1 and may 
these men not be taken to be masters of 
the present time8 ,it is a              
distinguishing peculiarity of modern art
 that schools do not form as they did in
 the old days4 ,possibly an explanation 
of the fact why there is little         
discipleship is that we are in the age  
of individualism and not of intense and 
imitative study4 ,each man and woman    
intends to be an arriviste without being
 a plodder and scholar4 ,there is great 
pressure toward ultimate success2 desire
 for originality4 ,imitation of methods 
and technique is not sympathetic4 ,above
 all there is a marked absence of the   
genius which carries men to the pinnacle
 ,besnard has reached4 ,apprenticeship  
is not to the taste of the modern       
student6 ,of people who put paint on    
canvas there are legion--of painters    
few--and in ,france1 ,degas and ,besnard
 head the list4  ,nothing would be more 

mistaken than to call ,besnard an       
,impressionist1 or to confound him with 
that school of art4 ,the word has been  
too freely used and misapplied4         
,besnard's art1 in as far as possible1  
is the complete embodiment of his       
conception2 the canvas when it leaves   
his hand--in as far as the painter is   
able to completely transmit his         
thought--is finished4 ,besnard does not 
pretend to flitting and intangible      
effects--to suggestive impressionism--he
 claims by his work to have expressed   
his idea1 and does not trust to the     
public to interpret him or his          
inspiration--he has masterfully done so 
for himself4  ,the provinces1 the ,midi 
and the ,north have given to ,france    
most of her famous men2 it is unusual   
for a ,parisian born and bred to win    
distinction in his own city4 ,it often  
seems to be a fact that the genius of   
the individual demands uprooting from   
his native soil--and that transplanting 
is salutary for development and success4

 ,puvis de ,chavannes was a ,lyonnais1  
,ingres came from ,montaubon1 ,rodin and
 ,besnard are ,parisians4 ,this last    
named prophet found instantaneous       
,illustration3 ,,convalescence  honour  
in his own country4 ,besnard is a child 
of fortune2 success came to him early1  
and he has no stories to relate of      
struggle and despair4 ,of the rough way 
to ,fame he is ignorant1 of the tortures
 which stimulated and deepened the      
experience of ,rodin1 of the long and   
painful route of ,puvis de ,chavannes to
 recognition ,besnard knows nothing6 ,he
 has no hardships to recount3 one of the
 happy ones in the world of art1 he is  
singularly devoid of history4 ,he takes 
a calm and cheerful satisfaction in the 
facts of his successes1 and is delighted
 to have no complaint to make of public 
or critics4 8,i began with success0 7he 
says7 8and it has never left me40       
,besnard was born of a painting family1 
his father a pupil of ,ingres and his   
mother a clever miniaturist4 ,the boy   

was destined for ,diplomacy1 but with   
his talent for art his distaste for any 
other career rapidly declared itself4   
,his parents acknowledged his           
predilection1 and he entered the ,beaux 
,arts4 ,his master was the celebrated   
,brmond2 and although ,besnard claims   
never to have been an ardent student1   
and to have painted with freedom1       
following out his individual tastes and 
original inclinations1 the strict       
academic influence of the schools1 the  
system of ,brmond1 himself a pupil of   
,ingres1 is markedly evident in         
,besnard's technique4 ,his mtier has    
been thoroughly formed1 his manner of   
painting arrived at through the close   
and laborious study in the school of    
that greatest master of modern          
painting--,ingres4  ,his dbut before the
 public was with a portrait called 8,la 
,femme ,rose0 about the year '#fh4 ,this
 picture created an immediate effect    
upon the critic and public1 and the     
artist1 scarcely more than a boy1 found 

himself the success of the moment4 ,the 
following year he took the ,prix de     
,rome1 which recognition instead of     
coming to him--as it did to most of the 
student world--a stimulus and a reward1 
broke in--as it were--success upon      
success6 ,in order to avail himself of  
the privilege1 the prize offered1 he was
 obliged to leave behind him the opening
 of a career already promising and to   
journey to ,italy4 ,the period of his   
,italian sojourn was neither productive 
nor important2 and he afterwards made a 
stay in ,london1 where he found himself 
sympathetic with ,english people and    
their art4 ,he painted several portraits
 whilst in ,england1 and amongst them   
those of ,admiral ,sir ,redmond ,cameron
 and ,sir ,bartle ,frere4  ,the pictures
 exhibited at the ,salons following his 
,illustration3 ,,the ,,sick ,,woman     
success with 8,la ,femme ,rose0 were    
8,l'homme qui court aprs la ,fortune0   
and 8,procession des ,seigneurs de      
,voilans10 a decorative bit of painting 

done1 as is evident1 in his extreme     
youth1 full of movement and sincerity   
and novelty1 and indicative of his power
 as future decorator4 ,this picture is  
to-day on the walls of his studio in    
,paris4  ,then followed 8,une ,source10 
8,st4 ,benoit et ,enfant10 and a large  
canvas 8,aprs la ,dfaite40  ,in #ahhc a 
portrait called 8,la ,femme jaune et    
bleue0 caused an artistic furore and    
recalled the enthusiasm with which his  
dbut had been received a few years      
before4 ,the picture was not a portrait1
 it was a study of lights4 ,besnard is  
not1 strictly speaking1 a portrait      
painter1 and this production1 8,la      
,femme jaune et bleue10 rather than the 
faithful transcription of a likeness1 is
 the skilful1 masterly treatment of a   
scheme4 ,never was ,besnard able to     
reproduce for the people--who at once   
flocked to give him orders for          
portraits--the effects which had so     
strikingly won their notice4 ,in the    
portrait of 8,la ,femme jaune et bleue0 

he has insisted upon the effects of deux
 rayons--the light of an interior and   
the delicate illumination of the        
twilight entering from without4 ,in this
 blending of tones1 the azure           
luminescence of twilight and the yellow 
lamplight1 stands the woman's figure4   
,the public to whom the picture was     
enthralling did not perhaps comprehend  
it was the rendering of an idea1 the    
peculiar vision of ,besnard1 or         
understand that therein lay its         
distinction and that it was not a study 
of portraiture4  ,then may be mentioned 
,besnard's celebrated 8,poneys harcells 
par les mouches40 ,no one who has seen  
the two young horses in their stalls    
forgets this live and graceful picture1 
with its animation and verve1 its       
interesting anatomical study and the    
treatment of colour and tone4 ,the      
animals are admirably drawn and the blue
 and crimson and violet of the scheme   
are ,besnard's own4 ,this bold and      
eccentric production added much to the  

reputation of the painter and was one of
 the most remarked pictures at the      
,chicago ,exposition4 ,it is now owned  
by the ,count ,rajinski 7,russia7 and is
 a veritable chef d'uvre4  ,besnard has 
also another equine group called 8,le   
,march des chevaux en ,algrie10 now in  
the possession of the ,baron            
,franchetti4  ,a list of the most       
celebrated of ,besnard's pictures is    
more or less complete as follows3  ,the 
frescoes in the ,sorbonne4              
,illustration3 ,,la ,,femme ,,qui ,,se  
,,chauffe  8,la ,vie renaissante et la  
,mort40  ,fresco in the ,htel de ,ville1
 8l',apothose de la ,lumire40  ,fresco  
in the ,ecole de ,pharmacie4  ,frescoes 
in the ,hospital for ,poor ,children at 
,berck4  ,portrait of ,rjane4  ,portrait
 of the ,princess ,mathilde4  ,portrait 
of his family4  ,portrait of his wife4  
,the last four are in his own           
possession4  8,couch du soleil sur le   
bord d',algrie40 ,luxembourg4  8,la     
,mort40 ,luxembourg4  8,femme qui se    

chauffe40 ,luxembourg4  8,entre deux    
rayons40 ,luxembourg4  8,la ,ferie      
,intime40 ,russia4  8,l',ile            
heureuse0--in the possession of ,mr4    
,henschel4  ,at the present date        
,monsieur ,martignac1 ,paris1 possesses 
several splendid canvases of ,besnard's1
 notably 8l',espagnole10 8,le ,regard10 
8l',automne0 and 8,la ,femme de         
,biarritz40  ,in ,america the purchasers
 of ,besnard have been few4 ,one of the 
most interesting of his paintings is at 
,baltimore1 in ,mr4 ,george             
,vanderbilt's collection4  ,paris1      
appreciative of her distinguished son1  
has confided to him the most important  
of the decorations now under the city's 
consideration--the ceiling of the ,thtre
 ,franais and the cupola of the ,petit  
,palais4 ,let the amateur of art1 whose 
list is already long1 add these mural   
decorations which are now in process of 
construction1 and it will be seen that  
the art of interior painting is not     
extinct in ,france1 and that these tasks

 have been happily consigned to the man 
best fitted at present to perform them4 
,besnard is at present engaged upon the 
ceiling of the ,thtre ,franais4 ,its    
dimensions are vast1 covering a surface 
of #bgc metres4 ,his subject1 already   
composed in miniature1 is as follows3   
,the god ,apollo1 in his chariot1 draws 
his horses back on their haunches whilst
 he salutes the great masters of        
drama--,corneille1 ,racine1 ,molire1    
,victor ,hugo1 all of whom are seated at
 the top of a flight of temple steps4   
,behind the god are a group of the      
,hours1 and in front1 the ,muses4 ,on   
the last step of the temple is a        
charming group and distinctive of       
,besnard4 ,the female figure of ,time   
reposes against  ,illustration3 ,,death 
another figure representing ,truth--a   
most subtle and agreeable image4  ,the  
cupola of the ,petit ,palais is divided 
into four panels1 and ,besnard's        
intention is to represent in his        
paintings the city of ,paris in four    

different conceptions--8,paris          
,hospitalire10 8,paris dans son ,art10  
8,paris dans le ,commerce10 and 8,paris 
dans les ,industries40  ,for the ,st4   
,louis ,exposition in the ,united       
,states ,besnard has sent a frieze      
covering #gfj metres1 entirely          
surrounding the walls of the ,exposition
 ,franaise4 ,in this building will also 
be seen by the tourists there 8l',ile   
heureuse40  ,for the more minute        
consideration of ,besnard's works it is 
well to begin with the decorations in   
the ,ecole de ,pharmacie where the walls
 of the corridor entrance to this       
,school are entirely covered with his   
decorations4 ,the order was given in    
#ahhc and fulfilled in #ahhh4 ,here     
,besnard has given a series of fresh and
 delicate plein air frescoes done upon  
the walls themselves4 ,as they are      
without protection--regrettably--they   
are being marked by the vandal pencils  
of the sightseer and the students4 ,to  
the right1 the first panel represents   

the open fields where peasants and women
 gather the medical herbs4 ,in another  
panel follows the sorting of the herbs  
in the laboratory2 the third is the     
laboratory itself with the distillation 
of the medicines4 ,then comes a line of 
landscapes just above over the woodwork 
of the wall like a dado4 ,the first is  
the serious1 meditative scientist in the
 balcony of his house1 overlooking the  
river and the city4 ,alongside this are 
several landscapes of a peculiarly      
gentle and attractive charm4 ,at the end
 of the hall are again four large       
frescoes1 the forest where the chemists 
and the botanists are engaged in their  
researches--the lecture room and the    
geologist amongst the rocks4 ,on the    
opposite wall is the companion series of
 oblong panels whose subjects have      
become so well known to the connoisseur3
 ,dawn on a primval sea where up from   
the waves prehistoric creatures rise    
weird and appalling2 a group of         
sea-horses emerging from the waters2 a  

troop of mastodons1 and lastly primitive
 man and woman disporting on the shores 
of an ancient sea whose waves to-day are
 confined in some strata of rock to be  
found by the geologist's tool4  ,on the 
left1 at the entrance door1 are the most
 beautiful of the series of decorations4
 ,these are life size4 ,one is 8,la     
,malade10 a sick girl in her bed1       
surrounded by the mother1 the nurse and 
the physician4  ,illustration3 ,a       
,,portrait ,,in ,,yellow ,,and ,,blue   
,the companion piece is 8,the           
,convalescence10 and is undoubtedly one 
of ,besnard's chefs d'uvre4 ,the        
invalid1 after her long and weary       
confinement1 is being supported by      
tender arms into the sunlight2 and it   
would be difficult to imagine a more    
expressive and suggestive subject for   
these walls4 ,the picture is full of    
sunlight and mysterious half-tones1 and 
is expressive of tenderness and sympathy
 and encouragement4 ,in fact1 these     
frescoes possess in a large degree the  

essentials of good                      
decoration--simplicity of line--bold and
 correct drawing--impressive human      
sentiment and impressive subject4       
,again and notably1 in the decorations  
of the ,salle des ,mariages in the      
,mairie du ,louvre the subtlety of      
,besnard's treatment of his task1 the   
upleading and inspiring effect he has   
produced makes well worth a special     
description of these pictures4 ,it will 
appear impossible to the dogmatic mind  
that a secular room1 in a ,republican   
,mayor's office1 can suggest an         
atmosphere of sacred beauty4 ,this1     
however1 has been rendered the case by  
the decorations with which ,besnard has 
beautified this square1 dark1           
conservative apartment4 ,as one enters  
the apartment where civil marriages are 
performed in this particular quarter of 
,paris the eyes find on the wall        
opposite the door a graceful and        
agreeable picture of youthful love4 ,the
 girl--an exquisite figure--is          

surrounded by flying birds and young    
doves4 ,she is seated on a bank of      
flowers and above her a youth of age as 
tender as her own waves a branch of     
spring flowers4 ,from this1 one seeks   
the side wall and a large panel of      
bright and glowing colour4 ,the subject 
is harvest time1 and the fields are     
heavy with their burden of grain4 ,on a 
sheaf of golden wheat is the figure of a
 woman1 mature now although still young1
 and at her breast a child4 ,two other  
children play about her1 and alongside  
the husband's strong1 vigorous figure   
wrestles with his refractory horse4     
,this decoration1 purely pastellic in   
impression1 is so soft and plastic that 
the clear colour seems ready to come off
 at the touch4 ,it is peculiarly        
velvet-like in quality and very high in 
tone4 ,already this square1 unbeautiful 
room with its green-covered benches has 
altered in character4 ,the greatest     
forces of the world1 the greatest beauty
 of the world1 have penetrated it       

through these interpretations of a      
master4 ,but it is not to the exuberant 
and lovely expressions of life that the 
man and woman who come here to the      
,maire's office  ,illustration3 ,,the   
,,fisherman',s ,,daughter  to be joined 
in wedlock1 turn1 or on which--from the 
very position of the picture--their eyes
 are forced to rest4 ,directly over the 
official desk--directly over the        
entrance door--is the third decoration  
of the suite4 ,in the frailest tone1 if 
this word may be employed1 in the most  
mysterious medium1 he has painted a     
winter scene4 ,to the left a little row 
of skeleton trees range in nude1 chaste 
bareness2 in the far distance is the    
lonely outline of a ruined tower4 ,close
 together--at the top of a long line of 
stone steps--are seated a man and woman4
 ,age has claimed them2 they are old4   
,but the woman still leans upon the man4
 ,what this fresco portrays of union1 of
 inseparableness1 of devotion1 is not   
easy to express in words4 ,there is no  

hint of melancholy in this winter scene1
 in this study of old age which ,besnard
 has seen fit to accentuate1 which he   
has chosen for his principal panel1 and 
on which the newly married couple must  
meditate4 ,it is the beautiful          
apotheosis of wedded love daringly      
looking beyond youth to the serene      
beauty of life's decline4 ,the frescoes 
were done in #ahih4 ,they are drawn at  
once with freedom and precision1 and are
 excellent examples of the best modern  
mural art4  ,the subject painted on the 
arch of the ,amphithatre de ,chimie1 ,la
 ,sorbonne1 is highly imaginative4      
,besnard has called it 8,la ,vie        
renaissante de la ,mort40 ,it consists  
of three large panels4 ,in the centre   
panel1 thrown on a bank of yellow       
herbage1 is the body of a woman1 at her 
breast a nursing infant4 ,from the other
 breast a stream of milk flows forth1   
gaining in dimensions until it swells to
 a river of life4 ,around her mouth     
cluster a horde of butterflies1 the     

disseminators of germs4 ,a serpent1     
symbolising generation1 makes his way   
slowly toward the woman4 ,the right     
panel represents figures of ,adam and   
,eve4 ,adam carries the young and lovely
 figure of the mother of life downward  
toward a river flowing past the portals 
of ,eden4 ,her hand is outstretched     
toward the golden apples of an          
overhanging tree4 ,together the couple  
descend toward the river which          
supposedly carries on its breast the    
dbris of plants and offscum of the      
earth1 and loses itself in the earth    
again4 ,at the left a mighty chasm      
charged with fire represents a crucible 
purifying and revivifying and           
reconstructing4 ,thus ,besnard has      
chosen to symbolise the forces of       
nature--,water1 ,air1 ,earth1 ,fire4    
,the principles of organic              
chemistry--creatures of flora1 fauna and
 animal life under the solar influence4 
,illustration3 ,,sunset1 ,,algeria  ,it 
is a singular and bold conception1      

magnificently drawn and pastel-like in  
treatment4  ,the ,muse du ,luxembourg is
 especially rich in the artist's works1 
and the buyers for the ,state have shown
 wisdom and penetration in their choice4
 ,in one of the rooms is a small canvas 
not over #ah by #f inches4 ,it recalls  
in character and distinction the little 
picture of ,gambetta's room done by     
,cazin1 and it is only the great masters
 who thus wonderfully fill small bits of
 canvas with whole histories of life4   
,besnard has called his study 8,la      
,mort0--a miserable little mansard room 
au sixime in a third-class hotel--the   
meagre furnishings are a chair1 table1  
and iron bed on which lies the dead     
figure of a woman4 ,at the door the     
voluble concierge1 half curious and half
 touched1 ushers in a young man1 no     
doubt the lover of the wretched creature
 beyond all the questions of life2 the  
man is in evening dress1 hat in his     
hand4 ,here we have poverty1 misery1    
debauch1 disgrace and despair in a      

medallion1 as it were4 ,the composition 
and the treatment recall no one but     
,besnard himself1 but the literary      
quality of the picture suggests ,hogarth
 series1 and ,tolstoi and ,balzac4 ,this
 affinity with a sister art is now and  
then interestingly observed in the      
narrative pictures of the great masters4
  8,entre ,deux ,rayons0 is the         
so-called portrait of a woman4 ,again   
the effect of two lights is here        
accentuated4 ,the canvas is full of     
light and seems positively to radiate4  
,the tones are red and yellow1 warm and 
iridescent1 and the flesh of the arms   
and neck melt into the scheme of the    
drapery4 ,the picture is a marvel of    
delicate beauty and technique4 7#ahic47 
,but surpassing all the pictures in this
 ,museum1 in the same room1 on a        
considerably larger canvas1 is 8,la     
,femme qui se chauffe10 the nude figure 
of a woman crouching before a fire whose
 existence is only evinced by the play  
of its reflections upon her flesh4 ,from

 a little cup of blue and white china   
she is drinking a draught1 evidently    
warm and delicious1 to judge from her   
attitude1 which is expressive of entire 
comfort and bien tre4 ,the work1 in     
point of view of modelling and drawing1 
is absolute perfection4 ,this treatment 
of the nude has the strength and power  
of marble with the addition of colour4  
,in none of ,besnard's paintings is the 
luminous quality more striking4 ,there  
is in it an opalescence and vibration1  
it possesses the softness of old        
paintings1 and alone in a gallery of    
masterpieces would give ,besnard the    
right to first rank4 ,the scheme of 8,la
 ,femme qui se chauffe0 is blue and     
yellow1 the  ,illustration3 ,,horses    
,,tormented ,,by ,,flies  background a  
penumbra of azure1 from which the       
brilliant figure of the woman comes     
dazzlingly forth4  ,the pictures in the 
possession of ,monsieur ,martignac      
deserve note4 8,le ,sourire10 painted in
 #ahie1 is a portrait of merit and      

perhaps particularly interesting because
 uncharacteristic of ,besnard4 ,it is   
successful as a study of dark1 more     
sombre tones1 and has many of the       
characteristics of ,dutch painting4     
8,l',automne10 again1 is a study low in 
tone1 and ,besnard has left his type    
7distinctly the blonde woman7 to paint a
 dark creature through whose loosened   
hair fall a shower of autumn leaves4    
,this picture is a veritable phantom of 
a season past4 ,there is an ,algerienne 
in this collection1 interesting because 
it is yet another treatment of          
,besnard's famous 8,deux ,rayons40 ,the 
,eastern woman is seated in the window  
of the booth1 and blending with the     
room's light is that light from the long
 ,eastern street which seems actually to
 enter her room at the threshold of her 
booth4  ,in #ahic1 ,mr4 ,james ,sutton1 
of ,new ,york1 ordered from ,martignac  
forty ,besnards to be sent to ,america4 
,his name was then scarcely known in the
 ,united ,states4 ,many of the canvases 

found instant appreciation4 ,one        
beautiful portrait called 8,la          
,pensive10 in the possession of         
,monsieur ,martignac1 is especially     
worthy of mention4 ,here ,besnard is    
faithful to his type--a blonde woman    
with brilliant head of copper-coloured  
hair4 ,she leans a little forward with  
her chin on her clasped hands4 ,her     
dress is of yellow satin and old lace1  
in her hands two great pink roses4 ,the 
scheme of the picture is yellow with a  
single delicate pink note4 ,the hair1   
the flesh1 and the texture of the satin 
and the lace are all repetitions and    
repetitions1 all insistences of the     
yellow tone4  8,la ,femme de            
,biarritz0--,martignac--one of          
,besnard's late paintings1 is very      
beautiful indeed4 ,the model is a woman 
of warm1 voluptuous type1 revealing the 
characteristics of the ,basque4 ,this   
picture was painted when ,besnard was in
 ,biarritz1 where he had gone for the   
health of one of his children4          

,monsieur ,martignac has several        
examples of ,besnard's pastels1 and     
curiously enough the more delicate      
treatment that his canvases in oil      
display is absent in these pastels1     
whose colours are so vivid as to be     
almost blatant2 but they are splendid   
achievements1 and ,besnard is the first 
pastellist in ,france4 ,some of his most
 successful works in this medium are in 
the possession of ,dr4 ,delbet1 of      
,paris4  ,illustration3 ,,love          
,besnard's personality recalls that of  
his distinguished countryman1 ,rodin4   
,he has the same strong1 vigorous       
physique1 the same air of power1 but    
these two great masters in temperament  
and in life and experience are the      
antipodes4 ,besnard is not a recluse2 he
 is1 on the contrary1 a man of the      
world1 very domestic too1 and absorbed  
in his family and his home4 ,his hotel  
and studios are a little removed from   
the centre of ,parisian turmoil4 ,he    
entertains and receives a great deal and

 has a large circle of acquaintances and
 friends4 ,in order to control as much  
land as possible and to construct larger
 workshops1 he has bought extensively   
around his house4 ,in one studio are the
 projected designs for the ,thtre       
,franais1 in another the new portrait of
 his wife1 a full-sized figure of a     
woman of middle age1 her hair is snow   
white1 her dress sumptuous black velvet1
 and she holds a yellow-covered novel in
 her hands4 ,this was exhibited at last 
year's ,salon and is the most realistic 
of all ,besnard's paintings4  ,there is 
an interesting portrait in this same    
studio of the ,princess ,mathilde       
,bonaparte1 who died this winter1 and   
whose salons have been famous for the   
last half-century4 ,the ,princess is    
seated at a table by a green lamp1 in   
the position and environment so well    
known to men and women of letters4  ,on 
these walls also hang the celebrated    
picture of the painter's family1 painted
 about twenty years ago1 a group of     

red-cheeked children and their mother4  
,in this large1 agreeable room1 ,besnard
 paints from models and statues1 makes  
his designs and drawings1 his etchings1 
his sketches and his pastels4 ,but      
upstairs at the top of his house 7whose 
walls are rich with their friezes of    
designs7 is an elaborate studio         
particularly designed for posers for    
portraits4 ,this sumptuous              
apartment--furnished in the most        
luxurious manner--suggests a            
drawing-room and not a studio at all4   
,rich screens of ,chinese and ,japanese 
workmanship1 paintings by the old       
masters 7none of his work is here71     
objects and bibelots and treasures of   
art adorn the apartment4 ,the           
chimney-piece is interesting as an      
example of ,besnard's taste for plastic 
art4 ,it is set in panels of stained    
glass1 and around the fender are coiled 
a pair of gigantic boa-constrictors made
 in plaster and afterwards painted4 ,the
 effect is picturesque1 terrifying and  

peculiar1 and is the work of the artist 
himself4  ,this room boasts the         
black-and-gold cabinet which            
,illustration3 ,,the ,,flirtation       
figured in 8,la ,ferie intime40 ,the    
picture1 as will be remembered1 is the  
nude figure of a young woman ensconced  
in a great armchair4 ,the garments she  
has just quitted softly surround her4   
,the brilliant and dazzling effect of   
the painting is in the meshes of her    
spangled dress blazing with reflected   
light1 and from the gold that gleams and
 glitters is the lacquer of the ,chinese
 cabinet4 ,the whole picture is a glow  
of gold and fire1 and in this luscent   
envelope the woman muses and dreams4    
,this picture is in ,russia1 as are many
 of ,besnard's canvases4 ,many critics  
and painters class this picture as the  
finest example of modern art4  ,it would
 not be complete to close the study of  
,besnard without mention of his         
etchings4 ,here and there a dealer may  
have a complete set of the few produced1

 but they are few indeed1 and difficult 
to obtain4 ,the most celebrated is known
 as 8,la ,femme40 ,in this series       
,besnard has drawn woman in every stage 
of her existence4 ,we have the flirt1   
the mistress1 the wife1 the happy mother
 with her children1 the miserable       
mother1 who to cover the form of her    
freezing child denudes herself1 and at  
length casts her body over her son2 the 
woman of the ball-room1 the woman of the
 streets1 and1 in short1 he has seen fit
 to display every state and condition of
 femininity in this study of black and  
white4  ,there also is a weird and      
eccentric suite1 designated as 8,la     
,mort40 ,in these studies ,besnard has  
indeed played with his conception1      
ringing its changes to endless and      
infinite variety4 ,death1 the skeleton1 
pursues his prey in every imaginable    
state of society--in the streets1 in the
 crowd1 to the lonely individual1 to the
 lovers' embrace1 to the man and wife   
before the altar1 he lurks behind a     

pillar to seize the solitary passer-by1 
he appears in the ball-room1 jogging    
elbows with the dbutante1 he rescues the
 beggar and menaces the rich man4 ,here 
in these drawings the painter displays  
his first and only hint of morbidness4  
,the idea of death1 he says1 has always 
been with him an obsession4 ,whistler's 
etchings are alone to be mentioned in   
class with these admirable eaux-fortes4 
,besnard himself explains the absence of
 the melancholy strain which is1 as a   
rule1 strongly underlying the work of   
all great genius4  8,i never work when  
,i am unhappy4 ,unhappiness has a most  
depressing effect upon my execution and 
my conception4 ,never in times of       
anxiety have ,i said1 #8,i will turn to 
my work1 ,i will lose myself in my      
,illustration3 ,a ,,woman ,,of          
,,biarritz  creations4 ,when my child   
was ill ,i was utterly incapable of     
producing1 and only when its recovery   
was certain could ,i undertake my work  
again4 7,and it is at the hospital for  

sick children at ,berck1 when he was    
there for the health of his child1 that 
he painted his frescoes47  8,my best    
work is that which ,i enjoy when ,i am  
doing it2 it is the work which brings me
 pleasure1 the work that ,i do when ,i  
am cheerful1 which is my best4 ,this is1
 of course1 according to temperament1   
but such is mine6 ,i produce a great    
deal1 ,i work very hard1 of course ,i am
 ambitious1 and at times know           
discouragement1 when my conception is so
 far behind my power of expression4 ,i  
take often two months to do a picture   
and work and correct my canvases        
enormously4 ,there are days when the    
mystery that should surround an idea is 
absent4 ,those are the days that ,i say 
one sees too clearly1 and at that time  
,i do not paint4 ,je ne pioche pas1     
which means #8,i do not dig away at my  
work4' ,i have produced enormously and  
,i owe my success to myself and my work 
alone4 ,i have never had patronage and  
have never been part of a coterie40  ,he

 has the gift of facile labour and his  
mental and temperamental characteristics
 are revealed in the free1 breezy1      
healthful inspirations of his work4 ,his
 is a happy1 vigorous genius1 sane and  
normal1 utterly devoid of much of the   
weakness marking modern ,french art4    
99       99       99       99       99  
,as soon as the painter of mural        
decorations leaves the domain of myth   
and contiguity to his subjects1 he is on
 dangerous ground4 ,pure imagination is 
too personal1 too largely of the        
painter's own time--dying with his death
 and needing the very spirit of the age 
to interpret it1 and when modern        
subjects become the choice for          
decorations1 they should have for their 
principal scheme that which will appeal 
to the mass and be of general interest4 
,the poorest man and woman1 the youngest
 child may understand and enjoy the     
decorations in the ,school of ,pharmacy4
 ,these are perhaps the most promising  
for the continuation of ,besnard's fame4

 ,they will live4 ,the same may be said 
of the pictures in the ,mairie of the   
,louvre2 whereas1 those in the ,school  
of ,chemistry1 delightful as they are1  
are so personal and subtle that they    
require printed cards to make them      
intelligible to the mass4 ,the ceiling  
of the ,htel de ,ville represents the   
apotheosis of science4 ,a female figure 
with the profusion of reddish hair      
,besnard is fond of painting1 holds in  
her hands sheaves of light which she    
casts down into a darkened world4  8,my 
method of work is not different to that 
of the other masters10 ,besnard says4   
8,i first make a design in wash and then
 colour it liberally1 put in all the    
vibration that ,i see and feel in       
nature40 7,he has chosen his definition 
happily1 ,vibration is a distinct       
quality of his work74 8,i am really glad
 you do not think ,i represent a school6
 ,i feel myself a solitary as far as my 
art goes4444 ,i love motion1 and action1
 and variety1 and yet withal ,i am a    

dreamer1 completely lost in my          
conception and in my mental preparation 
for my work4 ,for this reason1 perhaps  
because ,i am so constantly absorbed in 
the world of imagination1 my taste in   
literature is for modern things--for    
immediate things1 if ,i may so say4 ,i  
rise at seven in the morning1 and am at 
work at nine4 ,i paint until luncheon1  
and rarely do good work in the          
afternoons4 ,i take my inspirations1 the
 ideas for my pictures1 from everything 
that surrounds me4 ,i cannot tell from  
where they come1 but ,i am always       
seeking to accurately arrange my ideas  
and render my conceptions and my        
translations of them harmonious40  ,in  
the summer ,besnard goes to ,savoie1    
where in the long vacations he does     
almost no work1 repairing his forces1   
resting and giving himself to the       
enjoyment of his tranquil1 domestic     
life4 8,i think ,i may say that ,i love 
light above all things40  ,and in no    
modern paintings is the luminous quality

 more evident4 ,certain of his paintings
 possess the mellowness of the ,dutch   
school4 ,there is a likeness to ,rubens 
in his treatment of flesh1 in the       
exuberance and splendid animalism of his
 women1 whereas in the half-tones and   
sombre scheme 7take1 for instance1 8,le 
,regard071 ,franz ,hals and ,porbus are 
recalled4 ,light is his motive in the   
ceiling of the ,htel de ,ville4 ,it     
radiates in the crucible of fire in the 
,sorbonne ceiling1 whilst the decoration
 of the ,franais1 ,apollo the ,sun god1 
again repeats the insistent idea4       
,besnard's predilection for prismatic1  
dazzling effect is unique2 a special    
sense for colour combined with          
magnificent technique and accurate      
drawing1 explain the power of his       
painting and his high rank in the       
criticism of the present4  ,besnard is  
in the vigorous prime of his life and   
production4 ,his redundant creative     
force is enormous and he will1 it is to 
be hoped and believed1 abundantly add to

 ,france's treasures of modern art4     
,,steinlen   ,one cannot think of       
,steinlen1 ,willette1 ,guillaume1       
,rivire1 ,landre1 and their colleagues  
in the same school1 without having      
before one's eyes an image of the       
multi-populous1 seething quarter of     
,paris wherein these clever             
nineteenth-century seers and priests of 
a certain cult lived and moved1 without 
remembering ,montmartre1 and the famous 
cabaret ,le ,chat ,noir1 once on the    
,boulevard ,rochechouart4  ,the ,chat   
,noir was founded by ,rodolphe ,salis in
 #ahhb4 ,this artistic tavern saw ,caran
 d',ache's dbut3 his silhouettes of     
,napoleon and the ,grand ,arme did much 
to make the place popular4 ,willette    
here presented his fascinating musical  
stories of ,pierrot--,histoires sans    
,paroles4 ,the ,shadow ,pantomime of    
,henri ,rivire was also a celebrated    
contribution to the little ,bohemian    
theatre4  ,the ,chat ,noir has succumbed
 to the law of progress that sweeps     

pitilessly before its scythe whatsoever 
would hinder its course4 ,the delicious 
little plays appealing to the ready     
appreciation of the ,faubourg           
,montmartrois1 as well as to the keenest
 critics1--pantomimes of ephemeral      
beauty1 extraordinary shows and shadow  
dances1--find no longer this stage      
waiting to extend its hospitality for   
their interpretation4 ,it has no        
successor4 ,a multitude of little       
people--feeble flames--were snuffed out 
as the ,chat ,noir closed its doors for 
ever4 ,but there were those to whom the 
,caf was only an ante-chamber to larger 
rooms2 and among these men ,steinlen is 
conspicuous4  ,the various quarters of  
,paris are magnets1 drawing inevitably  
unto them those spirits who shall       
understand1 who shall find their ways   
sympathetic1 who shall become their     
poets1 historians1 painters4  ,the      
sensitive ,boutet de ,monvel reveals the
 ,champs-,elyses1 the ,bois de          
,boulogne1 the parks1 the communal      

schools1 and the gardens2 for this      
painter of children seeks only the      
reposeful ways where children go1 where 
they study1 are led1 carried1 or wander 
safely alone4  ,in ,belleville1         
,geoffroy has been responsive to        
benevolence and charity from man to man4
 ,he presents the ,foundling ,schools1  
the ,asylums4 ,the  ,illustration3      
,,street ,,children  soothing atmosphere
 of charity envelops his work--he has   
seen the poor through the medium of     
philanthropic faith4 ,daumier1 the      
father of personal caricature1 sixty    
years ago regarded ,paris with the      
philosopher's eyes4 ,gavarni looked     
through the single eyeglass of the man  
of fashion1 as it were1 on the petty    
vanities of the gay social world4  ,and 
,steinlen8  ,he is 8a lover of life10   
8an adorer of truth40 ,in his youth1    
even1 surrounded by the wild jeunesse of
 the student quarter1 his spirit was    
calmer1 profounder than the others4     
,montmartre became the magnet drawing to

 its centre this ardent soul2 in        
,montmartre1 then1 as to-day1 he saw the
 ,giant ,need1 imperfectly met by the   
vast charity of the world4 ,it is from  
this district that his eternal plea     
resounds for the poor whose necessities 
are eternal4 ,he finds his quarter      
tragic in its commonplace moods2 to him 
the passions of the people have spoken4 
,there is vibrant and touching pathos in
 his rendering of the love-story of the 
grisettes1 the love-story of the workman
 and workwoman of the people1 an        
infinite tenderness in his pictures of  
humble family life--the gathering of the
 sad little bands enveloped by the      
fervour of maternity1 when the frail    
mother1 bending over her children1 has  
more love to give than bread4 ,and if1  
as we study and consider his work1 we   
are shocked at times1 and claim that the
 truth is unpleasing--is this not       
because his subjects are sought among   
those phases of life to which too often 
we willingly close our eyes8  ,steinlen 

is a ,swiss ,protestant of simple       
parentage4 ,he was born in ,lausanne1   
and is ,parisian by adoption only4 ,his 
grandfather was a painter of talent4    
,save for the fact that ,steinlen       
married at twenty and came to ,paris to 
earn his bread with his brush and       
pencil1 his history has no special      
interest4 ,he had no time or chance to  
follow the academic course of study in  
the ateliers of ,paris4 ,in order to    
meet his responsibilities1 he had to    
make money1 and at once4 ,he therefore  
turned his talent to every use4  8,i    
made designs for wall-paper10 he says1  
8for cotton stuffs1 even1--to say       
nothing of illustrations for booksellers
 and book-writers1 and for              
song-writers40  ,some of his most       
important work has been done through the
 medium of a newspaper4 ,during the     
years #ahia-ib ,gil ,blas printed all   
the drawings ,steinlen could finish4 ,he
 laboured with energy almost ferocious1 
under the pressing need of means for    

daily existence4 ,the result was the    
finest4 ,it is not too much to state    
,illustration3 ,,mother',s ,,love  that 
this work of ,steinlen's in ,gil ,blas  
helped to revolutionise illustrative art
 in the periodicals of ,france4  ,he    
gave to the accomplishment of his       
editor's orders his best effort1 and    
filled during nearly two years the      
weekly pages1 not for the amusement of  
his public1 but for their awakening to  
the interest in the life of ,paris as   
seen in the ,faubourgs4 ,awaken and     
instruct he did4 ,he made a call upon   
sympathy1 and stirred and stimulated    
charity2 but also his art was an epoch  
in illustrative journalism4  ,public and
 editors demanded thenceforth more than 
the inadequate drawings of mediocrity1  
and solicited sketches from the best    
pencils4 ,the modern ,french weeklies   
exhibit the cleverest possible          
illustrations1 forming in their class   
the highest grade4  ,frontispiece and   
other drawings in ,le ,rire and ,gil    

,blas to-day by ,jean ,veber1 ,landre1  
,willette1 are delights to the          
collector1 and any one possessing the   
years containing ,steinlen's            
contributions to these papers is        
considered fortunate4  ,for the most    
part the illustrations in ,gil ,blas are
 coloured4 ,they are satires on life    
drawn to accompany some 8,saut d'esprit0
 or to portray simply street scenes as  
,steinlen knows them1 or are political  
cartoons4 ,in his street studies he has 
been relentless in his realism1 careless
 of how unpleasant may be the impression
 of these frankly told horrors4 ,no     
detail of sordid existence has been     
neglected in his bold depicting of the  
city's misery4  ,needless to say how    
admirable is the technique in these     
sketches1 the fresh vigorous work of a  
man whose spirit alone was in the       
subject1 whose ambition chafed for the  
leisure to create in what to him was the
 great province of art1 the picture1 the
 oil-painting4  ,it was in the early    

part of his career that he added to the 
glory of the modern poster4 ,artists of 
distinction in ,london and ,paris have  
not hesitated to employ their talent in 
street-wall decoration4 ,in ,france1    
,steinlen has many rivals amongst       
favourite painters of the day1 most     
notably ,landre1 ,willette1 ,cheret4    
,but the ,steinlen posters have not been
 surpassed nor superseded4 ,they are    
immensely popular1 peculiarly happy4    
,it is scarcely necessary to recall     
8,lait ,pur ,sterilis10 the enormous    
poster of world-wide popularity2 it is  
universally known--there was a craze for
 it in ,paris and in ,new ,york--of its 
type it is perfection4 ,the subject is a
 dear little girl1 red-haired1          
red-robed1 seated before  ,illustration3
 ,a ,,steinlen ,,poster  a table        
drinking a bowl of milk1 under the      
jealous eyes of three great cats4 ,the  
child is ,steinlen's little daughter1   
and the drawing of child and cats is as 
skilful and clever as it well can be4   

,there are several charming affiches    
especially designed for ,sarah          
,bernhardt--others for ,yvette          
,guilbert4 ,chiefest of these is the    
famous ,caf des ,ambassadeurs4 ,steinlen
 made in this a striking portrait of the
 original caf chanteuse2 and            
,yvette1--slender1 lithe1 enchanting1 as
 ,paris and the world has found         
her1--boasts no more characteristic     
portrait of herself than the ,steinlen  
poster4  ,advertisements for ,vernet les
 ,bains1 ,trouville1 the posters ,mothu1
 ,doria1 and lastly ,le ,rve--may be    
mentioned as important4 ,they are all   
difficult to obtain4  ,these studies1   
for a purpose of necessity transient1   
destined to be transmitted to paper and 
pasted along street walls by a          
bill-poster's brush1 constructed to     
catch the crowd's attention in order    
that their mission should be            
fulfilled--are neither vulgar nor       
sensational4 ,vigorous1 strong1 they are
 worthy the word ,steinlen applies to   

his other work--8,serious40 ,they are   
done with his characteristic splendid   
stroke4 ,their colouring is brilliant1  
crude and boldly frank the drawing4     
,steinlen's stroke is celebrated3       
eminently fearless1 rapid1 trenchant4   
,it has been cleverly said that in each 
of his creations the trait marquant is  
so deeply emphasised1 the one idea is so
 imposed1 that it is as though when his 
work were done he drew below it one dark
 black line4 ,in his studio may be seen 
a wall-decoration destined rather for a 
caf than for a poster--a study of the   
streets1 a bit of the passing crowd1    
taken out1 as it were1 and held before  
us4 ,steinlen has renounced this branch 
of popular decoration4 ,his posters are 
already rare1 and are becoming yearly   
more valuable4  ,steinlen has done an   
immense amount of illustrating4 ,many   
volumes of ,franois ,coppe1 ,anatole    
,france1 and ,guy de ,maupassant are    
made doubly attractive by his           
collaboration4 ,he has illustrated the  

songs of ,bruant and ,jouy1 of          
,montmartre and student fame4 ,among    
some of the publications valuable       
chiefly because ,steinlen has           
collaborated with the writers may be    
mentioned 8,chanson d',aeules0          
7,tellier1 ,paris72 8,chanson des       
,cabots0 7,guetville72 and 8,chanson    
,rouge0 7,boukay74  ,these illustrations
 number1 amongst other subjects1 8,the  
,chief of the ,claque10 8,the ,cabotins 
of ,paris10  ,illustration3             
,,work-,,girls  8,the ,souffleurs of the
 ,theatre10 8,the ,director of the      
,theatre ,himself40 ,each little picture
 is gay1 familiar1 intelligent1 finely  
conceived and finely drawn4 ,for a song 
dedicated to ,alphonse ,daudet he has a 
strong study of symbolic misery3 a nude 
creature kneeling in the middle of a    
deserted street1 arms out-spread ready  
to clutch her prey1 who is the          
passer-by4 ,in the same book we have    
8,the ,knifegrinder10 8,the             
,needlewoman10 8,the ,wine-seller40     

,paris seems to have given up her       
hetacomb of human souls and human bodies
 for his observation and portrayal4 ,in 
the drawing for a book of ,coppe's is   
8,the ,gamin of ,paris10 a little half  
elf creature1 half human child4 ,this   
ghoul1 seated on a mass of refuse1 is   
red-eyed and horrible in his misery4 ,he
 typifies ,belleville1 the ,whitechapel 
of ,paris4 ,he is the accrued poverty1  
squalor1 and criminal tendencies of     
generations combined with the frailty of
 childhood1 the slenderness of youth4   
,the subject is powerful1 the           
workmanship excellent4  ,the best of his
 illustrations have been made for       
,edouard ,pelletan1 the publisher in the
 ,boulevard ,st4 ,germain4 ,m4 ,pelletan
 has conceived the idea of bringing out 
a yearly publication called ,l',almanach
 du ,bibliophile4 ,jules ,claretie1     
,anatole ,france1 ,gustave ,larroumet1  
and ,sully ,prud'homme1 have            
collaborated to write a series of       
articles4 ,but ,steinlen is the feature 

of the publication4 ,monsieur ,pelletan 
asked him to make a dozen drawings whose
 headings should be the twelve months of
 the year1 the general subject to be the
 glorification of ,labour4 ,but         
,steinlen grew enthusiastic over his    
task1 and drew many more than the twelve
 studies4 ,a collection of the designs  
was on exhibition in ,monsieur          
,pelletan's library during #aija4       
,these pictures--for they are not       
studies1 but admirably finished         
creations--represent the working man and
 the working woman in the pursuit of    
their various occupations4 ,we see the  
blanchisseuse stagger home through the  
drizzling mist1 bowed under her huge    
burden of linen4 ,on the skeleton       
scaffolding the builder becomes a speck1
 infinitely far from his fellows2 the   
apprentice goes chattering gaily along  
with her companions1--again we have the 
attractive girl of the people1 whose    
class in ,france is distinct1 and whose 
personality is so agreeable4 ,steinlen  

touches with his happiest1 lightest     
stroke the gay figure of youth and      
charm4  ,another drawing portrays the   
family again around  ,illustration3     
,,dry-,,point ,,etching  the humble     
board4 ,but the finest of the suite are 
four pictures drawn at ,monsieur        
,pelletan's suggestion that ,steinlen   
should show the public what his skill   
was in careful1 minute technique2 for   
the critics have accused him of too     
great facility and too rapid production4
 ,he has called the first picture 8,le  
,bois10 where a carpenter1 a strong1    
well-drawn figure1 nude to the waist1   
bends over the rough planks of wood1    
yielding in long curling shavings to his
 plane4 ,in the second1 8,la ,pierre10  
the stone-polisher crouches over his    
well-nigh implacable mass of stone1     
until he may almost distinguish his     
image in the smooth surface4 ,in the    
third1 8,le ,fer10 a like half-nude     
labourer struggles with his contortion  
of the mighty mineral4 ,lastly1         

,steinlen has depicted the miner1 deep  
in his cavern's interior4  ,these       
studies demand a first place in the     
catalogue of modern drawing1 and lack in
 the perfected workmanship none of      
,steinlen's distinctive1 free1          
untrammelled handling of his subject and
 expression of his art4 ,they would not 
lose1 placed side by side with the      
drawings of ,puvis1 and indeed possess  
the primitive purity of line and reveal 
the serious conception which mark the   
work of masters4  ,pelletan has just    
published ,anatole ,france's new book   
8,l',affaire ,crainquebille10 a satire  
on ,french law and modes of justice1    
done in ,anatole ,france's most         
delightful manner1 and illustrated by   
,steinlen4  ,crainquebille1 a seller of 
turnips1 which he pushes through the    
streets in a little hand-cart1 is       
accused of having called out to a       
policeman 8,mort aux ,vaches60--a slang 
opprobium of the streets4 ,the poor     
innocent1 unconscious of offending1 is  

haled to the courts1 where he becomes   
the victim of a most amusing and witty  
procs1 withal tragically pathetic4 ,he  
is condemned to prison1 and when once   
more at liberty attempts to resume his  
ancient1 respectable calling4 ,he finds 
himself a pariah1 shunned because of the
 stigma of 8jail-bird60 ,crainquebille  
falls into abject poverty and           
inebriation4 ,in his starving misery he 
reflects1 8,prison isn't half a bad     
place1 after all60 and to partake once  
more of its peace he sins deliberately4 
,bearding the policeman in his den--that
 is1 the street lamp's shadow--he cries 
out to him1 8,mort aux ,vaches60 ,but   
the amiable officer1 8un bon pre de     
famille10 laughs at the old man and bids
 him go about his business4 ,the poor   
old ,crainquebille finds the justice of 
the world too intricate to comprehend4  
,imprisoned for a fault which when      
repeated evokes  ,illustration3 ,a      
,,steinlen ,,poster  mirth6 ,he         
disappears in the fogs of a winter      

street4  ,this collaboration of ,anatole
 ,france and ,steinlen is spirituel and 
successful4 8,once more ,steinlen was   
quite carried away0 7,monsieur ,pelletan
 says72 8,i suggested twenty drawings4  
,he has given me fifty-five60 ,and each 
illustration is a little masterpiece1   
admirable in execution and full of      
sympathy with the class the downtrodden 
,crainquebille represents4  ,it is false
 to suppose that ,steinlen does not give
 to each of his creations the greatest  
pains4 ,for the little volume called    
8,le ,chien de ,brisquet0,a he made     
eighty drawings for ,anatole ,france    
before he got one to his satisfaction1  
and it was for 8,le ,chien de           
,brisquet10 which volume of drawings it 
will be difficult to surpass1 that      
,steinlen drew and re-drew his canine   
sketches4 8,although10 said ,monsieur   
,pelletan1 8,i assure you ,i was quite  
satisfied with the first drawings60  ,a 
word must be said regarding his feline  
studies4 ,cats have been favourite      

animals with poets and painters3 witness
 ,baudelaire1 ,poe1 ,coppe1 ,manet2 and 
,steinlen1 too1 has found these slender1
 graceful felines interesting4 ,there is
 in his representation of this animal a 
subtle perceiving of the link and of the
 difference between the brute and the   
human4 ,it suggests the masters whose   
paintings of animals have made them     
famous1 ,landseer above all4 ,when his  
book 8,le ,chat0 came out1 it was bought
 at first for children1 but could not   
long be kept in the nurseries4 ,copies  
were pilfered for drawing-rooms and     
studios1 where elders claimed these     
treasures of clever design4 ,steinlen's 
host of drawings are undoubted          
indications of a power not to be        
confined in the sphere of the           
illustration for books4 ,admirers of    
,steinlen's look for great things of him
 during the next years1 claiming that   
his future is more brilliant in promise 
than any of his colleagues1 ,jean ,veber
 excepted4  ,steinlen himself is a      

delightful personality1 and distinctly a
 force4 ,the grasp of his hand1 the fire
 of his eye1 his courtesy1 charm1 and   
the pleasure it is to hear him speak1   
render him an unusual companion4 ,his   
friends1 naturally1 are legion--he is   
much beloved2 but1 as they say in       
,france1 he is trs sauvage--preferring  
to let the world go its ways1 and to    
shut himself away with his work in his  
remote studio4  ,his intimate contact   
with the very poor1 the very            
,illustration3 ,a ,,steinlen ,,poster   
suffering1 has formed his points of view
 and left its mark on his nature4 ,he is
 a ,bohemian1 and values slightly       
luxuries and ways of modern worldly     
life4 ,he is familiar with the haunts of
 the thieves in the dangerous parts of  
,paris3 he may well take his life in his
 hands--he is beloved and known1 he is  
safe4 ,he knows the interiors where     
starvation and cold and crime are side  
by side4 ,he has helped generously1 who 
can say how many8 directly from his own 

purse and indirectly through the wide   
sympathy he has aroused4  ,no           
peculiarities of the fluctuating mass   
which is the very life of the city1     
which is the agglomerate expression of  
pleasure1 pain1 vice1 crime1 good1 evil1
 sadness1 joy1 are lost upon ,steinlen4 
,he seems to be en rapport with those   
people whom we call our brothers and    
treat as our inferiors and our enemies4 
,the tricks1 the attitudes1 the         
expressions1 the behaviour of the       
passers-by are familiar to him4 ,with a 
few clever strokes of brush or pencil he
 has given us the piquante ouvrire1 the 
modest apprentice1 in a graceful1       
unconscious pose as she poises on her   
hip the hat-box she is carrying to a    
customer4 ,in this jeune fille          
representative1 in the toss of her head1
 the curve of her arm1 the swish of her 
neat skirts high above her well-shod    
feet1 in this jaunty creature1          
scrupulous as to tidiness1 is a certain 
phase of ,paris drawn with crystalline  

distinctness4 ,this girl of the people  
is dangerous1 charming1 and to her the  
boulevardier is an enemy4 ,paris is     
epitomised by this one flaring          
street-wall decoration4 ,so much for the
 jeunesse1 gay1 laborious1 and generally
 self-respecting4 ,we do not often see  
,steinlen so gay4  ,in his studio in the
 ,rue ,caulaincourt1 walking to and fro1
 he converses delightfully with his     
friends4 ,he is a workman1 his muscular 
hands are full of force1 his build      
powerful1 although he is compact and    
small4 ,he suggests endurance1 and the  
patience that is the result of          
hand-to-hand tussle with existence1 and 
tender understanding of the needs of    
one's neighbour4 ,his eyes are keen1    
penetrating1 and kind1 his features     
strong4 ,he has a golden voice1 as the  
,french say1 caressing and indolent4    
,its measured cadence1 its slow1        
agreeable flow contrasts strongly with  
the man himself4 ,he wears the coarse   
velveteens of the labourer1 cuffs close 

around his muscular wrists4 ,his        
trousers are voluminous1 and on his feet
 flap loose ,indian slippers4 ,his      
appearance1 and the fact that his studio
 is in one of the poorest quarters of   
,paris1 his whole attitude and life1    
suggest1 not a  ,illustration3 ,,en     
,,attendant  scorn of material things1  
but a perfect ability to forego them4   
,the studio is a workshop first of all2 
it is free from would-be artistic       
decorations1 full of canvases and folios
 of drawings4 ,he has his own           
lithographic stones1 and does his own   
printing1 holding this as an art        
important1 as do many of the moderns2   
and he1 as well as many another modern1 
insists on the expediency of making his 
own colours4  ,steinlen thinks          
unfavourably of academies and salons1   
8where10 he says1 8in order to exhibit  
at stated periods the artists paint     
anything and everything under rush and  
stress40 ,he sends to no public         
collections4 ,when a goodly number of   

studies have accumulated in his studio1 
he organises a little exposition of his 
own1 and the admirers of his work have  
an opportunity to visit a ,steinlen     
exhibition in the autumn1 when he will  
delight1 charm1 and touch the public as 
he has never hitherto failed to do4  ,at
 this period of his life--and he is     
still young--he finds the insistent     
needs of daily existence are met2 and he
 draws1 as it were1 a sigh of relief1   
and turns toward what is his recreation1
 because a beloved labour1 and the goal 
of his career1 painting in oil4         
,steinlen bemoans the fact that he lacks
 the prescribed technicalities an       
academic education would have given to  
him2 but this fact has left him a       
freedom from rules which1 in spite of   
their immense importance1 are often     
trammels to individuality4 ,at all      
events the daring boldness of his       
stroke1 and his perfect originality1    
have been developed with no hindrance4  
,need has been his spur1 talent the     

response to the goad4  ,possibly        
,steinlen is nowhere better displayed   
than in a certain canvas at present in  
his studio in the ,rue ,caulaincourt4   
,it is a life-size oil painting1 a study
 of a man and woman in the working      
class4 ,it is evidently the end of the  
day1 and the scene a nook or corner in  
some room so distant from the rooms we  
all know that it is hard even to imagine
 where it may be4 ,the workman has taken
 the young creature in his arms for a   
long embrace4 ,his head is bent over    
her1 and she looks out from the picture 
above the man's arm4 ,her face is       
exquisite1 and in thorough keeping with 
the type of her class4  ,the sombre note
 predominates throughout ,steinlen's    
work4 ,that inevitable penalty of       
sadness which must be paid when the eye 
dares to look1 and the soul dares to    
consider how our fellow beings struggle 
for existence4  ,illustration3 ,a       
,,study  ,the work of this man1 who is  
not a caricaturist1 but a student and   

faithful representer1 bears a strong    
likeness to things in literature rather 
than to things in art4 ,he suggests     
,dickens1 ,zola1 ,tolstoi4 ,throughout  
his work is apparent the broad sympathy 
of a man of the people who has espoused 
their cause and made himself their      
prophet4  ,part of the crowd1 elbow to  
elbow with humanity in the very vortex  
of the mass1 he has felt the multitude1 
blood and sinew1 around him1 until it   
has become amalgamated fairly with his  
inspiration4 ,then withdrawn to a       
fortification1 possibly1 of his city1 in
 semi-retirement1 he lets the turbulent 
suggestions take form that he may       
present them to the world4 ,thus        
,steinlen1 so closely of the people1 is 
in reality separated from mankind by    
virtue of his talent4 ,and if to the eye
 demanding agreeable form1 beauty seems 
sometimes lacking in this artist's      
strong1 original1 profoundly human      
creations1 it may be said that sthetics 
do not abound in the walks of life which

 this student of humanity portrays4     
,printed by ,,ballantyne1 ,,hanson      
,,co4                           ,london 
,edinburgh                              
,,footnote3                             
,a ,chez ,pelletan4