Genre Art. Page - 2

he laws of a narrow priesthood, and hedged about by a superstitious religion which even laid down rules for art?

For these reasons we know something of Egyptian art and nothing of Egyptian artists, and from all these influences it follows that Egyptian painting is little more than an illuminated alphabet or a child's picture-history. In the hieroglyphics, or writing characters of Egypt, it often occurs that small pictures of certain animals or other objects stand for whole words, and it appears that this idea was carried into Egyptian painting, which by this means became simply a picture chronicle, and never reached a point where it could be called truly artistic or a high art.

ASSYRIA.

The remains of Assyrian painting are so few that they scarcely serve any other purpose than to prove that the Assyrians were accustomed to decorate their walls with pictures. Sometimes the walls were prepared with plaster, and the designs were painted on that; in other cases the painting was done upon the

were soon convinced that he had made a most foolish marriage, and that henceforth his life must prove a failure. On the other hand, Madame Heurtebise appeared to us, after two years of married life, exactly the same as we had beheld her in the vestry on her wedding day. She wore the same calm and simpering smile, she had as much as ever the air of a shopwoman in her Sunday clothes, only she had gained self-possession. She talked now. In the midst of artistic discussions into which Heurtebise passionately threw himself, with arbitrary assertions, brutal contempt, or blind enthusiasm, the false and honeyed voice of his wife would suddenly make irruption, forcing him to listen to some idle reasoning or foolish observation invariably outside of the subject of discussion. Embarrassed and worried, he would cast us an imploring glance, and strive to resume the interrupted conversation. Then at last, wearied out by her familiar and constant contradiction, by the silliness of her birdlike brain, inflated and empty as

Gauguin. The best known representative isMaurice Denis. But he has become a slave to sentimentality, andhas been left behind. Matisse is the most prominent French artistwho has followed Gauguin with curves. In Germany a group of youngmen, who form the Neue Kunstlevereinigung in Munich, work almostentirely in sweeping curves, and have reduced natural objectspurely to flowing, decorative units.

But while they have followed Gauguin's lead in abandoningrepresentation both of these two groups of advance are lacking inspiritual meaning. Their aim becomes more and more decorative,with an undercurrent of suggestion of simplified form. Anyone whohas studied Gauguin will be aware of the intense spiritual valueof his work. The man is a preacher and a psychologist, universalby his very unorthodoxy, fundamental because he goes deeper thancivilization. In his disciples this great element is wanting.Kandinsky has supplied the need. He is not only on the track ofan art more purely spiritual than was concei

to him a high measure of sexual activity.

The peculiarity of this emotional and sexual life viewed in connection with Leonardo's double nature as an artist and investigator can be grasped only in one way. Of the biographers to whom psychological viewpoints are often very foreign, only one, Edm. Solmi, has to my knowledge approached the solution of the riddle. But a writer, Dimitri Sergewitsch Merejkowski, who selected Leonardo as the hero of a great historical novel has based his delineation on such an understanding of this unusual man, and if not in dry words he gave unmistakable utterance in plastic expression in the manner of a poet.[16] Solmi judges Leonardo as follows: "But the unrequited desire to understand everything surrounding him, and with cold reflection to discover the deepest secret of everything that is perfect, has condemned Leonardo's works to remain forever unfinished."[17] In an essay of the Conferenze Fiorentine the utterances of Leonardo are cited, which show his confession of fai

s are indispensable, and I am not without hope that the sense of secure advancement, and the pleasure of independent effort, may render the following out of even the more tedious exercises here proposed, possible to the solitary learner, without weariness. But if it should be otherwise, and he finds the first steps painfully irksome, I can only desire him to consider whether the acquirement of so great a power as that of pictorial expression of thought be not worth some toil; or whether it is likely, in the natural order of matters in this working world, that so great a gift should be attainable by those who will give no price for it.

xii. One task, however, of some difficulty, the student will find I have not imposed upon him: namely, learning the laws of perspective. It would be worth while to learn them, if he could do so easily; but without a master's help, and in the way perspective is at present explained in treatises, the difficulty is greater than the gain. For perspective is not of the slighte

the freedom that appears in the handling was entirely effected by a skillful combination of labor and judgment, and a few bold, artful strokes of the pencil to conceal his labor."

TITIAN'S WORKS.

The works of Titian, though many of his greatest productions have been destroyed by terrible conflagrations at Venice and Madrid, are numerous, scattered throughout Europe, in all the royal collections, and the most celebrated public galleries, particularly at Venice, Rome, Bologna, Milan, Florence, Vienna, Dresden, Paris, London, and Madrid. The most numerous are portraits, Madonnas, Magdalens, Bacchanals, Venuses, and other mythological subjects, some of which are extremely voluptuous. Two of his grandest and most celebrated works are the Last Supper in the Escurial, and Christ crowned with Thorns at Milan. It is said that the works of Titian, to be appreciated, should be seen at Venice or Madrid, as many claimed to be genuine elsewhere are of very doubtful authenticity. He painted many of his best w

s, in which he says: "But theBabylonians, like the rest of the Barbarians, pass over in silence theOne principle of the Universe, and they conceive Two, TAUTHE andAPASON; making APASON the husband of TAUTHE, and denominating her themother of the gods. And from these proceeds an only-begotten son,MOYMIS, which I conceive is no other than the Intelligible Worldproceeding from the two principles. From these, also, another progenyis derived, DACHE and DACHUS; and again, a third, KISSARE and ASSORUS,from which last three others proceed, ANUS, and ILLINUS, and AUS. Andof AUS and DAUCE is born a son called Belus, who, they say, is thefabricator of the world, the Demiurgus." (See Cory, AncientFragments, London, 1832, p. 318.)

THE SEVEN TABLETS OF CREATION. DESCRIPTION OF THEIR CONTENTS.

In the beginning nothing whatever existed except APSÛ, which may bedescribed as a boundless, confused and disordered mass of watery matter;how it came into being is unknown. Out of this mass there were

>PLATE VIII Example of a Perfect Mantel, Ornaments and Mirror.

PLATE IX Dining-room in Country House, Showing Modern Painted Furniture.

PLATE X Dining-room Furniture, Italian Renaissance, Antique.

PLATE XI Corner of Dining-room in New York Apartment, Showing Section of Italian Refectory Table and Italian Chairs, both Antique and Renaissance in Style.

PLATE XII An Italian Louis XVI Salon in a New York Apartment.

PLATE XIII Another Side of the Same Italian Louis XVI Salon.

PLATE XIV A Narrow Hall Where Effect of Width is Attained by Use of Tapestry with Vista.

PLATE XV Venetian Glass, Antique and Modern.

PLATE XVI Corner of a Room in a Small Empire Suite.

PLATE XVII An Example of Perfect Balance and Beauty in Mantel Arrangement.

PLATE XVIII Corner of a Drawing-room, Furniture Showing Directoire Influence.

PLATE XIX Entrance Hall in New York Duplex Apartment. Italian Furniture.

PLATE XX Combination of Studio and Living-room in Ne

The patterns of this book shall invite to dream and stimulate your fantasy. |

A recopilation of some of my drawings, some of these are from a year ago and others from very recently.There is a little bit of fanart and drawings of my oc.I hope you like them , and feel free to tell me your opinion.