“The reprint, which is in a small and convenient volume, will be found especially useful by students of political science who are not students of Greek.”
| + + | Nation. 81: 96. Ag. 3, ‘05. 430w. |
Armstrong, Sir Walter. Gainsborough and his place in English art. $3.50. Scribner.
A biography which furnishes in nine short chapters a well-ordered analysis of the work of perhaps the greatest painter technically. “Best of all parts of the book for public guidance is the introduction, in which much of the best modern thought on esthetics is presented in a concise and clear form. There is discussion of the idea that ‘art is the use for subjective expression of a power which displays itself objectively in what we call beauty,’ and we are reminded that ‘mere correctness of imitation holds no higher place in a picture than grammar does in a poem.’ ... An interesting chapter on the precursors of Gainsborough traces some characteristics of British art back through the seventeenth century to miniaturists of a time even before Holbein.... The landscapes and portraits are, properly, treated together, for Gainsborough’s art was always that of the impressionist who paints hotly under the stimulus of any vision fitted to appeal, whether in the shape of a lovely scene in nature or a beautiful woman.” (Ind.)
| + + | Ind. 59: 157. Jl. 20, ‘05. 390w. |
Armstrong, Sir Walter. Peel collection and the Dutch school. $2. Dutton.
As director of the National gallery of Ireland, the author knows well how to interpret and value the ideals and success of a school of painting. The artists represented in the Peel collection “give to him an opportunity of writing a monograph on Dutch painting which, we are glad to note, includes several Flemings directly affected by Holland.” (Outlook). He uses for illustration the works of Metsu, Terborch, Vermeer, Hooghe, Jan Steen, Ostade, Willem and Adrien van de Velde, Wouwerman, Hobbema, Ruisdael, Cuijp, Koninck, and Hals. The book is interesting in itself, and of value to those who wish a better understanding of Dutch art.
“An acute and valuable critical essay on the Dutch school.”
| + + | Nation. 80: 194. Mr. 9, ‘05. 670w. | |
| + + | N. Y. Times. 10: 591. S. 9, ‘05. 440w. |
“A particularly important contribution to the better understanding of Dutch art.”