The World's Great Painters
I—THE ITALIANS (PART I)
1. Italy: the Birthplace of Modern Painting—The influence of Byzantium; the intellectual awakening of Europe; the development of commerce.
2. The Early Painters—Cimabue, Giotto, Fra Angelico, Botticelli.
3. Art Patrons of the Renaissance—Lorenzo de' Medici; Leo X.
Leonardo da Vinci: The Father of Modern Painting—Story of his life; his versatility; the Last Supper; the Mona Lisa.
Reading from Walter Pater's Essay on the Renaissance.
Books to Consult—Luebke: History of Art. J. A. Symonds: The Renaissance in Italy. Vasari: Lives of the Painters.
A brief introductory paper might take up the influence of Roman classical literature and history on Italian art, and also the effect of Greek culture after the Crusades. The childlike subjects and methods of the early painters are also of great interest, and what they took from Byzantine art, and how they were influenced by the study of anatomy. The luxury of the times and its demands for pictures and statues, the influence of the extravagance of court life, the Popes as art patrons, all can be discussed. One entire paper might be given to St. Peter's at Rome, and another to Da Vinci's great picture "Mona Lisa," and what art critics have said of it. See also Ruskin's estimates of the Primitives.
II—THE ITALIANS (PART II)
1. Life of Raphael—His family and his father's influence; change in his style through his instructors. His patrons, and what he did for them. His personal disposition, and its effect on his style.
2. Raphael as a Painter—Give the impressions of famous travelers, authors and art critics. Where his paintings are, their number, their subjects. The Madonna, his favorite subject. Various ways in which he treated it.
3. Michelangelo—The story of his life and training as a painter. Versatility (as architect, painter, sculptor and poet). Brief description of his works and their location. Readings from his sonnets.
4. A Comparison of Raphael and Michelangelo—Their relations in life, their difference of temperament, and the contrast in the spirit of their work.
5. Titian—History of his personal experience. Description of his most famous paintings. His effect on the history of painting, as a colorist.
Books to Consult—Muentz: Raphael. C. C. Black: Michelangelo Buonarotti. Crowe and Cavalcaselle: Titian. C. C. Perkins: Raphael and Michelangelo.
This program should be liberally illustrated with photographs; if no others can be obtained, the Perry pictures will do excellently. Those who have been abroad may compare impressions of different painters, and especially of the various Madonnas painted by Raphael. Pictures of the exterior and interior of the Sistine Chapel and of Saint Peter's should be shown, with colored photographs of the frescoes on the walls and ceiling of the former.
III—SPAIN
1. Early Spanish Painters—Murillo: the artist of the church; his Madonnas. Ribera.
2. Velazquez—The artist of the crown; influence on him of Herrera and Pacheco; peculiarly Spanish character; his patron, Philip IV.; the forty portraits of this king; visit of the painter to Italy; mythological and religious pictures; his Christ on the Cross.
3. Recent Spanish Painters—Goya: his portraits; story of his quarrel with the Duke of Wellington. Fortuny: influence upon him of Meissonier; small and motley figures. Zuloaga: resemblance of style to Goya. Sorolla y Bastida: painter of sunshine on figures; pictures in the Luxembourg and the Metropolitan Museum.
4. The Madrid Gallery—The greatest picture-gallery of the world; built for Charles III. Collections of Charles V., Philip II., and Philip IV. (2,000 pictures.) Its paintings by Titian, Raphael, Tintoretto, Velazquez, Van Dyck, Rubens, and Teniers. Huge modern historical works like those at Versailles.
Books to Consult—Curtis: Velazquez and Murillo. Armstrong: Life of Velazquez. Stirling-Maxwell: Annals of the Artists of Spain. Temple: Modern Spanish Painting.
There were several great patrons of art in Spain, like Charles V. and Philip II. Read of their relations to the painters and their work. Discuss the contribution of the Spanish painters to realism. How does Velazquez compare with Raphael? Analyze the peculiar contribution of Sorolla to modern painting.
IV—HOLLAND AND BELGIUM
1. Painters of Interiors—Metsu, Van Ostade, Jan Steen, Wouvermans. Note the humor and satire in the painters of genre; also, their minutely careful method.
2. Landscapes and Marines—Cuyp, Ruysdael, Van der Velde. Describe the characteristics of the Dutch landscape. Show pictures of cattle combined with landscape.
3. Figures—Hals, Van der Heist, Van Dyck, Rubens. Tell the story of Van Dyck and the English court, and describe his pictures of King Charles I. Note the huge canvases of Rubens, his high colors and his heavy figures. Mention the meeting of Rubens and Velazquez and its probable effect on the former. Notice the quantity of works attributed to Rubens (1,300 titles Smith's catalogue), and discuss the likelihood of his having produced all these without help.
4. Rembrandt—His history, style (light and shade), and effect on painting. Describe the numerous portraits of himself and his wife. Note his work as an etcher. Description of the Night Watch.
Books to Consult—Crowe and Cavalcaselle: Early Flemish Paintings. Max Rooses: Dutch Painters of the Nineteenth Century. Malcolm Bell: Rembrandt van Rijn and His Work. E. Dillon: Rubens.
The Dutch school was the pioneer of modern landscape-painting; show its influence on Constable and other English artists. The Dutch were faithful illustrators of peasant and burgher life, and it is interesting to make a study of costume, furniture, and jewelry as shown by them. Take up the galleries of Amsterdam, The Hague, and Antwerp, and show photographs of Van Dyck's Crucifixion, and Rembrandt's Night Watch. At Haarlem there is a small gallery noted for its paintings by Franz Hals, particularly The Syndics. There is a small group of modern Dutch painters deserving of notice: Mauve, the two Marises, Mesdag, and Israels.
V—FRANCE (PART I)
1. Poussin and Claude—Influence of Domenichino on Poussin. Relation to Cardinal Barberini. Richelieu and Louis XIII. Influence of Poussin on landscape-painting. Claude's studies in Italy. Late success. Mythological and Scriptural subjects. The Liber Veritatis. Ruskin's estimate. Comparison with Turner in the National Gallery, London. Claude as an etcher. Hamerton's opinion of him.
2. Court Painters and Others—LeBrun. Patronage of Seguier. Work under Louis XIV. and Colbert at Fontainebleau, Versailles, and Sceaux. Watteau, peintre des Fêtes Galantes. Artificial pastoral scenes. Reading from Pater's A Court Painter. Chardin. Only painter of humble life of his time. Neglect then; appreciation now. Why this change in opinion? Fragonard. Relation to Chardin. Greuze. Names of some of his court beauties. Are they true to life?
3. David and Ingres—Inspiration of the antique in David. Historical subjects. Napoleon pictures. Compare Ingres with David.
4. Delaroche, Géricault, Delacroix—Delaroche's loyalty to classic traditions of painting. Pictures at Versailles. Géricault: His pictures of nature and especially animals. Delacroix: Connection of the romantic movement in painting with that in literature. Effect of Delacroix's influence on modern painting.
Books to Consult—Sir Edmund Head: Handbook of the History of the Spanish and French Schools of Painting. Lady Dilke: French Painters of the Eighteenth Century. Staley: Watteau and His School. Turner and Baker: Stories of the French Artists.
Have a paper on The Influence of the French Revolution on French Art. Before that, that artificial and frivolous spirit characterized the work of the painters as it did the life of the court, for which they largely did their work. Note the many pictures illustrating the life of Napoleon, his battles, and his victories; Versailles is full of them. The enthusiasm of patriotism and the new national sense are shown in this reaction.
VI—FRANCE (PART II)
1. The Romanticists—Followers of Delacroix. Their principles. Dupré, Isabey, Jacque, Corot, Daubigny. Story of Corot's life. Coloration and style. Compare with Constable.
2. The Barbizon School—Description of life in the Forest of Fontainebleau. Millet. Country life. Poverty. Later appreciations. The Angelus. Pictures in the United States. Rousseau. Diaz. Cazin.
3. The Impressionists—Manet, Monet, Degas, Raffaëlli.
4. Pictures of Genre—Describe what is meant. Discuss the relative merits of pictures that tell a story and those that merely give an impression. Meissonier, Cabanel, Baudry, Rosa Bonheur, Ziem, Bouguereau, Constant, Fromentin, Jules Breton. Pictures by these painters in the United States.
5. Painters of the Open Air—The appreciation of atmosphere in French painting. Lepage, Roll, Dagnan-Bouveret.
Books to Consult—Hourticq: Art in France. Theodore Child: Some Modern French Painters. J. C. VanDyke: Modern French Masters. D. Cady Eaton: Handbook of Modern French Painting. C. Sprague Smith: Barbizon Days.
The story of the life of the artist colony and their friends at Barbizon would make a delightful paper. Material of an interesting sort may be found in A Chronicle of Friendships, by Will H. Low. See also R. L. Stevenson. Among the great decorative artists of our time is Puvis de Chavannes. He has one well-known painting in the Boston Public Library. Boutet de Monvel, the painter of children; Bonnat, the portrait-painter; and, among the younger artists, Sisley may be mentioned. Illustrate with photographs of a Corot landscape, Millet's Angelus, Meissonier's 1805, Rosa Bonheur's Horse Fair, Jules Breton's Brittany Pardon, Lepage's Joan of Arc, and Dagnan-Bouveret's Madonna.
VII—GERMANY
1. German School of the Reformation Period—Albrecht Dürer: Nuremberg. Court painter to Charles V. Lucas Cranach: Court painter to three Electors. Hans Holbein: Augsburg. Court painter to Henry VIII. Drawings at Windsor.
2. Munich School—Cornelius, the founder. Study in Rome. Brought to Munich by King Ludwig. Kaulbach (his cartoons), Piloty, Defregger, Lenbach, Carl Stuck, Plockhorst, and Gabriel Max, and the religious painters.
3. The Düsseldorf School—Schadow, the chief director. In Rome with Cornelius. Hübner, the two Achenbachs, Carl Müller, Meyer von Bremen. Pronounced sentimentalism.
4. The Berlin School—Ludwig Knaus, head of the Academy; his Holy Family in the Metropolitan Museum. Menzel, Werner, Carl Becker.
5. Painters of To-day—Arnold von Böcklin. (Photographs.) Fritz von Uhde. (Photographs.) Realism and impressionism in Germany. Influence of French art on Germany of to-day.
Books to Consult—Atkinson: Schools of Modern Art in Germany. Radcliffe: Schools and Masters of Painting. K. Berlin: Contemporary German Art. Buxton and Poynter: German, Flemish, and Dutch Painting.
If there can be one more paper in this program, it should be on the critic Winckelmann and his classical influence. This was shown particularly in Raphael Mengs, in the eighteenth century, court painter to the King of Poland, and his pupil, Angelica Kauffmann. German art has been influenced greatly by those who have written about his philosophy, Lessing, Goethe, the Sehlegels, and others. Mention should be made of Kugler, Waagen, and Doctor Bode, to-day.
VIII—ENGLAND (PART I)
1. Lely and Kneller—Story of their lives. Their rank as artists. Lely's relation to the court of Charles II. Kneller's to that of William and Mary. Similarity of the work of the two painters. The pictures of the Hampton Court beauties of the time.
2. Hogarth—Choice of subjects and manner of treatment. Influence of the Dutch school. Reasons for the great popularity of his work among the English. Historical value. Interest rather than beauty. Engravings. Pictures in the British Museum.
3. Reynolds, Gainsborough, and Romney—The portrait painters of the eighteenth century. Well-known pictures of women and children: the Duchess of Devonshire, Cherry Ripe, The Strawberry Girl, etc. Reynolds' school for painting. Readings from his Discourses.
4. Raeburn and Wilkie—Subjects from humble life. The sentimental story as a theme. Scottish emotionalism in art and in literature; Wilkie's Blind Man's Buff and The Blind Fiddler.
5. Constable—Great painter of English landscape. Intense sympathy with his subject. Appreciation of the artistic value of mists, clouds, and showers. Effect on modern French landscape painters. Great commercial value of Constable's pictures to-day. Paintings in the National Gallery, at South Kensington and in the Metropolitan Museum.
6. Turner—Greatest English landscape painter. Strange story of his life. His eccentricities. Style of his painting. Comparison with Claude and Poussin. Unfortunate choice of pigments and consequent fading of his pictures. Readings from Ruskin's Modern Painters.
Books to Consult—Gleeson White: Master Painters of Britain. Spielmann: British Portrait Painting to the Closing of the XIX Century. Allan Cunningham: Lives of the Most Eminent British Painters and Sculptors. Horace Walpole: Anecdotes of Painting in England.
This program is so full that it may easily be divided between two meetings. Notice beside the artists mentioned those of less distinction: Sir Thomas Lawrence, the portrait painter belonging to the Reynolds school; Blake, the mystical and symbolical artist who influenced the later pre-Raphaelites; and Landseer, the painter of animals (who may be compared with Rosa Bonheur). Illustrate the paper with photographs as far as possible.
IX—ENGLAND (PART II)
1. The Pre-Raphaelites—Their origin and principles: sincerity and truth to nature. Holman Hunt: Light of the World; The Triumph of the Innocents. Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Ecce Ancilla Domini; Beata Beatrix. Photographs of these pictures may be shown, and those who have seen them may give their impression of them.
2. The Academicians—Sir Frederick Leighton, Sir J. E. Millais and his desertion of the Pre-Raphaelites, G. F. Watts, Sir Alma Tadema, Frank Dicksee, Sir E. J. Poynter, Sir Luke Fildes, Sir Hubert von Herkomer, Sir W. Q. Orchardson. In this connection there may be a reading from Herkomer's memoir.
3. The Independents—Sir E. Burne-Jones. Solomon J. Solomon. Maurice Grieffenhagen. Mortimer Menpes. J. Byam Shaw. The influence of French painting on England is interesting to trace.
Books to Consult—Ruskin: Modern Painters. Holman Hunt: History of Pre-Raphaelitism. Gleeson White: Master Painters of Britain. Cosmo Monkhouse: British Contemporary Artists.
Ford Madox-Brown, who has not been mentioned in the program, should be mentioned if there is time. The articles in various current magazines by Ford Madox-Brown Hueffer, dealing with the men of the Pre-Raphaelite school, are full of incident and humor. The poems of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his sister, Christina, should be noticed and several of them read. Rossetti's wife was the model for many Pre-Raphaelite pictures. She might be described and the story told of her death and the burial with her of her husband's poems, subsequently exhumed and published.
X—AMERICA
1. Early Painters—Copley, Gilbert Stuart, West, and Trumbull.
2. The Hudson River School—Kensett, Cropsey, Church, Bierstadt. Influence of Düsseldorf and Munich on these painters.
3. Whistler and La Farge—French influence on American painters. Whistler's portrait of his mother. Controversy with Ruskin. Story of the libel suit. Why is Whistler's appeal not more popular? La Farge's picture of the Ascension of Christ. Japanese and oceanic sketches. Mural paintings in public buildings. La Farge as a colorist and decorator.
4. Sargent and Abbey—Sargent's style. Famous portraits. Decorations for Boston Library. Abbey's illustrations of Shakespeare. Story of the Holy Grail. Coronation picture of Edward VIII.
5. Characteristic Groups—Landscape: Inness, Troyon, Wyant. Marines: W. T. Richards, de Haas, Rehn. Figures (genre): Winslow Homer, Abbott H. Thayer, Geo. de Forest Brush. Portraits: Eastman Johnson, W. M. Chase, John Alexander, Cecilia Beaux.
Books to Consult—C. H. Caffin: American Masters of Painting. Samuel Isham: History of American Painting. J. W. McSpadden: Famous Painters in America. H. T. Tuckerman: Artist Life (1847).
Take up the consideration of the leading art galleries of America, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, and the Art Institute in Chicago; also the new galleries in Detroit, Buffalo, Dayton, and other cities. Notice the famous mural paintings in State capitols, city halls, and the high schools of New York and those of the Congressional Library in Washington.