296 



FINE ARTS IN 1891. 



die," 67,000 ; " L'Abreuvoir," 46,500 ; " Le Re- 

 tour a la Ferine," 55,000 ; " La Mare aux Canards," 

 81,000; Etude de Moutons," 16.200. Pastels and 

 designs: J. P. Millet, "LT Angelas," 100,000; 

 "L'Enfant Malade," 25,100; "Balayeuse," 27,- 

 100; "Jeune Bergere," 21,000; "L'Abreuvoir," 

 17.500 : " Le Sentier," 10,200. 



The collection of pictures of Georges d'Ay, in 

 June, brought in the aggregate 365,315 francs. 

 Best prices : Alphonse de Neuville, " Attaque 

 d'une Maison Crenelee " (Salon, 1875), 115,000. 

 Detaille, " Bonaparte en Egypte," 50,000 (Drey- 

 fus sale, 32,000). Van Dyke, "Portrait du 

 Comte d'Aligre," 69,000. Delacroix, " Les Nat- 

 chez," 15,600. Isabey, "Massacre dans une 

 Eglisi," 35,000 ; " L'Orgie," 12,000. 



A monument to Gambetta, by Bartholdi, was 

 unveiled, Nov. 8, at Ville d'Avray. A pedestal, 

 on a handsome sub-base, supports a bronze statue 

 of Gambetta ; in its front is a group of two 

 female figures, by Bartholdi, representing Alsace 

 and Lorraine. On the face of the pedestal are 

 the words : " A Leon Gambetta, les Alsaciens- 

 Lorrains." 



A statue of La Fontaine, by Dumilatre, has 

 been placed at the angle of the Avenues Ingres 

 and Ranelagh. 



A replica of Barrias's statue of Bernard Palissy, 

 in the square Saint-Germain-des-Pres, Paris, was 

 inaugurated, July 5, at Villeneuve-siir.-Lot. 



A statue of Jean Houdon, by Tony Noel, was 

 unveiled, June 28, at Versailles. 



London : Royal Academy. The Academy 

 now consists of 41 academicians, including 

 Thomas Brock, Andrew C. Gow, and Frank 

 Dicksee (promoted from associates in January), 

 and 29 associates, including David Murray 

 (elected at the same time). There are also 3 hon- 

 orary members, 4 honorary retired academicians, 

 4 honorary foreign academicians, and 3 hon- 

 orary retired associates. Frank Dicksee was 

 elected an academician in succession to Edwin 

 Long, deceased. 



The twenty-second winter exhibition of works 

 by the old masters represented the English, 

 Dutch, Flemish, Italian, and Spanish schools. A 

 special feature was a collection of water-color 

 drawings illustrative of the progress of the art 

 in England. The English school was represented 

 by Gainsborough, Reynolds, Romney, Hogarth, 

 Turner, Etty, and Hoppner ; the Dutch, by Ver- 

 meer, Van Goyen, Teniers, Ruysdael, Hobbema, 

 Cuyp, Jan Van der Heyde. Adrian Van de Velde, 

 William Van de Velde, Metsu, and Hals. De 

 Hooghe's " Cardplayers," Terborch's " The Let- 

 ter," and Teniers's " Village Festival " were sent 

 from Buckingham Palace. 



The one hundred and twenty-third annual 

 exhibition of the Royal Academy contained 2,1 02 

 numbers, including oil and water colors, pastels, 

 black and whites, and sculptures, classified as 

 follow : Oil paintings, 1,162 ; water colors and 

 miniatures, 393 ; etchings, drawings, and engrav- 

 ings, 171 ; architectural drawings, 213 ; sculpture, 

 163. V 



Sir Frederick LeiVhton contributed three 

 paintings and a statue.X " His Perseus and An- 

 dromeda,"an upright canvas, represents Androm- 

 eda, chained to an isolated rock, rising from 

 deep blue water, with graV headlands behind. 

 She is stooping forward in terror at the dragon, 



which has alighted on the summit of the rock so 

 close as to overshadow her with its wings. High 

 above, in the blue atmosphere, is Perseus 

 mounted on Pegasus. He has already shot one 

 arrow, which has transfixed the monster and 

 forced it to turn from its prey, and is preparing 

 to shoot another while it belches flame and smoke 

 at him. " The Return of Persephone," also up- 

 right, depicts Ceres meeting her daughter at the 

 entrance of Hades, whence she has come in 

 charge of Hermes on her annual visit to the up- 

 per world. Ceres is in amber robes. Persephone 

 in white tinged with rose, and Hermes in deep 

 blue. Sir Frederick treats the subject as allegor- 

 ical of the return of spring, and has set Ceres in 

 a sunny Sicilian atmosphere in strong contrast 

 with the dusk of Hades. This picture has been 

 presented by Sir J. Kitson to the Leeds Gallery. 



Luke Fildes's " The Doctor " was perhaps the 

 most popular picture of the year. It represents 

 a cottage interior, lighted by a lamp, with the 

 doctor seated watching, with grave face, a child 

 sick unto death, lying upon pillows on two 

 chairs. The light of the lamp mingles with the 

 wan blueness of dawn, which, coming in at a 

 window behind, reveals the mother seated near 

 the wall with her head bowed and her husband 

 standing beside her with one hand resting upon 

 her shoulder. This picture, one of the strongest 

 and best of the exhibition, has been bought by 

 Henry Tate for the new British National Gal- 

 lery. 



Sir John Millais sent two Scotch landscapes, 

 both views near Birnam, one entitled " Lingering 

 Autumn," the other " Glen Birnam." His " Dor- 

 othy " is a full-length portrait of a daughter of 

 Mr. Henry Lawson, of the " Daily Telegraph." 

 Of several portraits, that of Mrs. Joseph Cham- 

 berlain, seated at afternoon tea, with a cup and 

 saucer in her lap, attracted most attention, as 

 well for its graceful pose as for its excellent 

 color. 



Alma-Tadema's " An Earthly Paradise " rep- 

 resents a naked little girl, lying on a couch 

 among her cast-off garments, and putting up 

 her hands to clasp the face of her mother, who 

 stoops over to kiss her. The artist contributed 

 also a nearly life-size three-quarters portrait of 

 the Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, Chief Secretary 

 for Ireland. 



P. H. Calderon's " St. Elizabeth of Hungary's 

 Great Act of Renunciation " has probably cre- 

 ated more talk than any other picture of the 

 year, not so much on account of its merits as of 

 its subject. The queen, entirely nude, having 

 thrown off all her garments in token of her 

 renunciation of the world, is kneeling in self- 

 abasement before an altar, in presence of a 

 froup of grim monks and ladies grouped behind 

 er. The picture, notwithstanding the protests 

 of Cardinal Manning and others, who contend 

 that St. Elizabeth's act involved the renuncia- 

 tion of only that part of her costume which sa- 

 vored of the world, has been bought with the 

 Chantrey fund. 



Briton Riviere's " A Mighty Hunter before 

 the Lord " is a triptych. In the central panel 

 .an Assyrian monarch stands in a chariot drawn 

 by white horses, which the driver, beside the 

 king, urges to their greatest speed across a sandy 

 waste. The king, having shot a lioness, has 



