FINK ARTS IX 1890. 



285 



One of the strongest and most studied picture- <>f 

 tlir year, ami the one which attracted most atten- 

 tion', is "La Cene " l>y Dagnan-Bouveret. The 

 urtist lias endeavored iii this to free himself from 

 the customary treatment of the Last Supper, fol- 

 lowed by nearly all the painters from the twelfth 

 century, when the Monk Denis, of Mount Athos, 

 ilished the rules of its composition, down to the 

 fifteenth century, when Fra Angelico varied it by 

 representing the joys of the communion rather than 

 the dismay of the apostles at the approaching be- 

 trayal of their Master. Dagnan-Bouveret, in like 

 manner, has painted the mystic banquet, the insti- 

 tution of the eucharist. Christ, standing among 

 his disciples, raises in his right hand the cup of the 

 new covenant, in the transparent glass of which the 

 blood-red hue of the wine is enhanced by greenish 

 tones around it, and rests his left hand upon the 

 bread, which is not yet broken. John, his head 

 resting on his hands "and his elbow placed on the 

 shoulder of the disciple next to him. gazes eagerly 

 and tenderly into the face of the Master. On the 

 left of Christ is seated Judas, the only one of the 

 company who does not dare to lift his eyes. 

 Though a work of undoubted merit, this picture 

 has too much of a stage effect. The disciples are 

 not the poor fishermen of Gennesaret, but poets 

 and philosophers, all posed as if they were conscious 

 of being looked at. 



Puvis de Chavannes exhibited five additional 

 decorative panels belonging to the series painted by 

 him for the walls of the Boston Public Library. They 

 are entitled : " Virgile (poesie bucolique) " ; " Eschyle 

 (poesie dramatique: Eschyle et les OceanidoM " ; 

 " Homere couronne par 1' ' Iliade ' et 1' ' Odyssee ' " ; 

 " L'Histoire (L'Histoire evoque le Passe) " ; " L'As- 

 tronomie (les bergers Chaldeens observent la marche 

 des Planetes)." Three others of this series were ex- 

 hibited later in the season at the galleries of Durand- 

 Ruel. They are entitled: "La Philosophie," " La 

 Chimie." and " L'Electricite." 



Carolus-Duran was represented by a dozen ex- 

 hibits, of which eight were portraits in his usual 

 style. A sketch entitled " Souvenir du Siege de 

 Paris," showing a mass of dead bodies heaped to- 

 gether in confusion, attracted much attention for 

 its masterly details. Two Venetian sketches, " Un 

 Coin de Saint-Marc " and ' Crepuscule du Matin," 

 were also noteworthy. 



John S. Sargent, the pupil of Carolus-Duran, con- 

 tributed a portrait of W. Graham Robertson, which 

 was among the best, if not the best, of the exhibition. 



Humphrey Johnston, another American, exhibited 

 four pictures, of which the " Portrait de ma Mere " 

 won high commendation. 



Cecilia Beaux, of Philadelphia, an associate of- 

 our National Academy, was represented by six pic- 

 tures which fully justified her reputation at home. 

 Xo portrait by any other woman in the exhibition 

 could compare with her striking " Portrait du Dr. 

 Grier." Her other pictures were " Ernesta." " Une 

 Dame de Connecticut," " Sita et Sarita," " Reverie," 

 and " Cynthia." 



Gervex exhibited a decorative landscape for the 

 Salle de Physique in the Sorbonne. representing a 

 large panorama of a valley, over which a sort of 

 portico opens, a masterly work with happy effects 

 of perspective. 



Roll sent, among other exhibits, an unfinished 

 portrait of Alexandra Dumas, in a dressing-gown, 

 which represents the man as he was, but which, 

 report says, was displeasing to the author, who 

 refused to sit any longer, asserting that an acade- 

 mician should not be introduced to the public in 

 such deshabille. The " Femme qui dort.'' by the 

 same artist, is a wonderful picture with flesh tints 

 marked by pearly reflections. 



Paris: Miscellaneous. A statue representing 

 Greece crowning Lord Myron, the work of the 

 French sculptors Chapu and Falguicre, was un- 

 veiled at Athens on March 1, in pre-ence of the 

 King and royal family and a notable gathering. 



The sale of the remaining pictures of the late 

 Alexandre Dumas (the best of his collection \\as 

 sold in 1892), in March, brought in the aggregate 

 384,860 francs. Among the best prices obtained 

 were the following: Corot, " Solitude," 11, 000 francs; 

 Fromentin, " Centaures et Centanresses," 10,600; 

 Jules Lefebvre, "Femme nue." l:i.."i(i(): Troyon, 

 "Le Paturage," 7.900: Vollon, " Le Dessert,"' 1','.- 

 500; Meissonicr, "L" Affaire Clemenceau" (aquarelle), 

 9,100. The remarkable volume "L' Affaire Clem- 

 enceau," illustrated on the margins with 160 water- 

 color and pen-and-ink designs and 16 full-page 

 illustrations, by the most celebrated contemporary 

 artists, was sold for 23,000 francs. 



At a sale in Paris in May Delacroix's "Educa- 

 tion of Achilles " sold for 28,500 francs and Meis- 

 sonier's " Dragon de 1'Armee d'Espagne " for 20.000 

 francs. 



The collection of the late M. Lefebvre, of Roubaix 

 sold in Paris May 4, realized 321.180 francs. Bc.-t 

 prices: Corot, " Ronde de Nymphes," 29.100 francs, 

 and " En Picardie," 13,100 ; Delacroix, " Fantasia 

 Arabe." 10.100; Diaz, " L'Abandonnee," 19,000, and 

 ' ForC-t de Fontainebleau," 10,000; Eugene Isabey, 

 " Cour de Chateau," 10,400 : Theodore Rousseau, 

 " Paysage en Picardie," 17,000, and " Marais dans 

 une Plaine Boisee," 20,100. 



At the sale of the collection of M. D. de G , 



in Paris in June, the pictures brought 367.260 

 francs. Among the highest prices were : Meis- 

 sonier, " Le Liseur," 31,000 ; Troyon, " La Mare aux 

 Canards." 25.000; Benjamin Vautier, " Le Depart 

 des Maries." 29.900 : Vibert, " Le Depart des Maries 

 (Espagne)," 20,000. 



The statue of Jeanne d'Arc. by Paul Dubois, ex- 

 hibited at the Salon of 1895, was unveiled at Rheims 

 on July 15. M. Dubois has been made grand cross 

 of the Legion of Honor. 



A noteworthy monument to Jules Ferry, by An- 

 tonin Mercie, was inaugurated at Saint-Die (Vosges) 

 on July 26. A statue of M. Ferry, with his hands 

 clasped behind him, stands on a pedestal elevated 

 on several steps, at the base of which is Liberty, 

 with a flag in her hand, shielding two other figures. 

 The monument is peculiar in being wholly of bronze 

 pedestal, steps, and figures. 



An equestrian bronze statue of Gen. Faid- 

 herbe, by Antonin Mercie, was unveiled at Lille on 

 Oct. 25. The general, in full uniform, mounted 

 upon an Arab horse, is saluting with his sword. 

 At the foot of the pedestal of red granite are female 

 figures, on one side the city of Lille dictating to 

 History, on the other the North offering laurels. 



London: Royal Academy. The year was an 

 eventful one in the history of the Academy, having 

 been marked by the decease of two presidents and 

 the election of a third one. Lord Lcighton, who 

 was raised to the peerage when on his deathbed, was 

 succeeded in the presidency by Sir John Everett 

 Millais, who, elected on Feb. 20. died in the follow- 

 ing August. In November. Edward J. Poynter. 

 director of the National Gallery, was elected to suc- 

 ceed Millais. the other candidates being Briton- 

 Riviere, Dicksee, Orchardson, and Val Prinsep. 



Elections of members : Solomon J. Solomon and 

 Edwin A. Abbey. Associate- : Adolph Menzel and 

 Paul Dubois, Honorary Foreign Academicians ; 

 George H. Boughton. Academician. 



The twenty-seventh annual winter exhibition, 

 which closed on March 14. comprised, besides the 

 usual old masters, two novel sections, the first de- 

 voted to pictures by deceased French painters, the 



