KERAMIC STUDIO 
17 
THE BOUTET DE MONVEL EXHIBITION 
NE of the most interesting exhibitions of 
the winter has been that of the work of 
Boutet de Monvel in water color and 
pen and ink. His charming illustrations 
and portraits of children have particularly 
appealed to the heart of the admiring public. His children 
are individuals, not children in general. It is interesting to 
note how the little faces in the portraits are worked up as 
finely as miniatures, while the rest of the figure, the dress and 
background, are painted in a fiat, broad and decorative style. 
To quote the artist's words in regard to the development of 
this stvle : "Gradually, through a process of elimination and 
selection, I came to put in only what was necessary to give 
character. I sought in every little figure, every group, the 
essence, and worked for that alone." You feel that a child, 
drawn by his pen, is not simply a typical child, but a real in- 
dividual child with a certain set of traits and feelings. He has 
taken the children right into his heart and knows them 
through and through. That he has a fine sense of humor and 
a delicate fancy is seen in his illustrations of French songs. 
The little dancing figures in "Trempe ton pain, Marie " (Dip 
your bread, Marie), are the jolliest little folk imaginable, and 
so finely decorative that they could be transplanted bodily 
and used in a hundred ways. That he is quite as equal to more 
serious work is seen in the illustrations to ''Jeanne d'Arc." To 
quote from Norman Hapgood, "The opening picture strikes a 
As Seen by a Simplicity, first, appropriate decoration, 
China Painter ^ rst anc ^ ^ as ^" These are two of the striking 
characteristics in the work of Boutet de 
Monvel. If the china decorator could truly appreciate and 
master these points, we would have works of art to exhibit 
which would force our reluctant public to give us the financial 
support which would enable us to do great things. The late 
exhibition of the work of Boutet de Monvel was a revelation 
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note, held throughout. Jeanne rides at the head of an army, 
her eyes fixed on a vision, a sword in her outstretched hand, 
behind her rush the living soldiers, with an onward motion 
that shows what it means to be a great draughtsman ; the 
very dead, fallen in battle, break from the ground to follow, 
their faces struggle up, their open mouths salute the Maid, 
they wave their swords, and although they cannot free their 
bodies, their spirits help her on to victory." Apart from the 
fine sentiment in the illustrations, the decorative motives used 
in the draperies are most interesting. The immense panel for 
the church in Domremy is full of beautiful designs and daring 
combinations of color. The subject is "Jeanne d'Arc Recog- 
nizes the King of France." The woman's figure with the 
quaint white head-dress is from this picture; also the man's 
figure which is that of the Dauphin. 
from a decorative standpoint. The large forms so simple, the 
decoration so carefully and lovingly elaborated. Everything 
in keeping, no anachronism, everything appropriate to time 
and place. Take, for instance, his drawings of children. The 
lines so few and simple, yet the character so strongly delin- 
eated. At first we wonder at the fine patterns and intricate 
plaids of the dresses, but the longer we study, the more we 
realize that the plaid itself is a necessary characteristic, while 
more folds in the dress or lines in the face would lose charac-' 
ter, instead of make it. 
Now to apply this to the decorating of china. Take a 
