Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D Part 52

KROENER, MAGDA. The pictures of flowers which this artist paints prove her to be a devoted lover of nature. She exhibited at Dusseldorf, in 1893, a captivating study of red poppies and another of flowering vetch, which were bought by the German Emperor. The following year she exhibited two landscapes, one of which was so much better than the other that it was suggested that she might have been a.s.sisted by her husband, the animal painter, Christian Kroener.

One of her most delightful pictures, "A Quiet Corner," represents a retired nook in a garden, overgrown with foliage and flowers, so well painted that one feels that they must be fragrant.

LEPSIUS, SABINA. Daughter of Gustav Graf and wife of the portrait painter, Lepsius. She was a pupil of Gussow, then of the Julian Academy in Paris, and later studied in Rome. Her pictures have an unusual refinement; like some other German women artists, she aims at giving a subtle impression of character and personality in her treatment of externals, and her work has been said to affect one like music.

The portrait of her little daughter, painted in a manner which suggests Van Dyck, is one of the works which ent.i.tle her to consideration.

LEYSTER, JUDITH. A native of Haarlem on Zandam, the date of her birth being unknown. She died in 1660. In 1636 she married the well-known artist, Jan Molemaer. She did her work at a most interesting period in Dutch painting. Her earliest picture is dated 1629; she was chosen to the Guild of St. Luke at Haarlem in 1633.

Recent investigations make it probable that certain pictures which have for generations been attributed to Frans Hals were the work of Judith Leyster. In 1893 a most interesting lawsuit, which occurred in London and was reported in the _Times_, concerned a picture known as "The Fiddlers,"

which had been sold as a work of Frans Hals for 4,500. The purchasers found that this claim was not well founded, and sought to recover their money.

A searching investigation traced the owners.h.i.+p of the work back to a connoisseur of the time of William III. In 1678 it was sold for a small sum, and was then called "A Dutch Courtesan Drinking with a Young Man."

The monogram on the picture was called that of Frans Hals, but as reproduced and explained by C. Hofstede de Groot in the "_Jahrbuch fur Koniglich-preussischen Kunst-Sammlungen_" for 1893, it seems evident that the signature is J. L. and not F. H.

Similar initials are on the "Flute Player," in the gallery at Stockholm; the "Seamstress," in The Hague Gallery, and on a picture in the Six collection at Amsterdam.

It is undeniable that these pictures all show the influence of Hals, whose pupil Judith Leyster may have been, and whose manner she caught as Mlle. Mayer caught that of Greuze and Prud'hon. At all events, the present evidence seems to support the claim that the world is indebted to Judith Leyster for these admirable pictures.

MACH, HILDEGARDE VON. This painter studied in Dresden and Munich, and under the influence of Anton Pepinos she developed her best characteristics, her fine sense of form and of color. She admirably ill.u.s.trates the modern tendency in art toward individual expression--a tendency which permits the following of original methods, and affords an outlet for energy and strength of temperament.

Fraulein Mach has made a name in both portrait and genre painting. Her "Waldesgrauen" represents two naked children in an att.i.tude of alarm as the forest grows dark around them; it gives a vivid impression of the mysterious charm and the possible dangers which the deep woods present to the childish mind.

MAYER, MARIE FRANcOISE CONSTANCE. As early as 1806 this artist received a gold medal from the Paris Salon, awarded to her picture of "Venus and Love Asleep." Born 1775, died 1821. She studied under Suvee, Greuze, and Prud'hon. There are various accounts of the life of Mlle.

Mayer. That of M. Charles Guenllette is the authority followed here. It is probable that Mlle. Mayer came under the influence of Prud'hon as early as 1802, possibly before that time.

Prud'hon, a sensitive man, absorbed in his art, had married at twenty a woman who had no sympathy with his ideals, and when she realized that he had no ambition, and was likely to be always poor, her temper got the better of any affection she had ever felt for him. Prud'hon, in humiliation and despair, lived in a solitude almost complete.

It was with difficulty that Mlle. Mayer persuaded this master to receive her as a pupil; but this being gained, both these painters had studios in the Sorbonne from 1809 to 1821. At the latter date all artists were obliged to vacate the Sorbonne ateliers to make room for some new department of instruction. Mlle. Mayer had been for some time in a depressed condition, and her friends had been anxious about her. Whether leaving the Sorbonne had a tendency to increase her melancholy is not known, but her suicide came as a great surprise and shock to all who knew her, especially to Prud'hon, who survived her less than two years.

Prud'hon painted several portraits of Mlle. Mayer, the best-known being now in the Louvre. It represents an engaging personality, in which vivacity and sensibility are distinctly indicated.

Mlle. Mayer had made her debut at the Salon of 1896 with a portrait of "Citizeness Mayer," painted by herself, and showing a sketch for the portrait of her mother; also a picture of a "Young Scholar with a Portfolio Under His Arm," and a miniature. From this time her work was seen at each year's salon.

Her pictures in 1810 were the "Happy Mother" and the "Unhappy Mother,"

which are now in the Louvre; the contrast between the joyousness of the mother with her child and the anguish of the mother who has lost her child is portrayed with great tenderness. The "Dream of Happiness," also in the Louvre, represents a young couple in a boat with their child; the boat is guided down the stream of life by Love and Fortune. This is one of her best pictures. It is full of poetic feeling, and the flesh tints are unusually natural. The work of this artist is characterized by delicacy of touch and freshness of color while pervaded by a peculiar grace and charm. Her drawing is good, but the composition is less satisfactory.

It is well known that Prud'hon and his pupil painted many pictures in collaboration. This has led to an under-valuation of her ability, and both the inferior works of Prud'hon and bad imitations of him have been attributed to her. M. Guenllette writes that when Mlle. Mayer studied under Greuze she painted in his manner, and he inclines to the opinion that some pictures attributed to Greuze were the work of his pupil. In the same way she imitated Prud'hon, and this critic thinks it by no means certain that the master finished her work, as has been alleged.

In the Museum at Nancy are Mlle. Mayer's portraits of Mme. and Mlle.

Voiant; in the Museum of Dijon is an ideal head by her, and in the Bordeaux Gallery is her picture, called "Confidence." "Innocence Prefers Love to Riches" and the "Torch of Venus" are well-known works by Mlle.

Mayer.

MESDAG-VAN HOUTEN, S. Gold medal at Amsterdam, 1884; bronze medal, Paris Exposition, 1889. Born at Groningen, 1834. In 1856 she married Mesdag, who, rather late in life decided to follow the career of a painter. His wife, not wis.h.i.+ng to be separated from him in any sense, resolved on the same profession, and about 1870 they began their study.

Mme. Mesdag acquired her technique with difficulty, and her success was achieved only as the result of great perseverance and continual labor.

The artists of Oosterbeck and Brussels, who were her a.s.sociates, materially aided her by their encouragement. She began the study of drawing at the age of thirty, and her first attempt in oils was made seven years later. Beginning with single twigs and working over them patiently she at length painted whole trees, and later animals. She came to know the peculiarities of nearly all native trees.

She built a studio in the woods of Scheveningen, and there developed her characteristics--close observation and careful reproduction of details.

In the summer of 1872 M. and Mme. Mesdag went to Friesland and Drenthe, where they made numerous sketches of the heath, sheep, farmhouses, and the people in their quaint costumes. One of Mme. Mesdag's pictures, afterward exhibited at Berlin, is thus described: "On this canvas we see the moon, just as she has broken through a gray cloud, spreading her silvery sheen over the sleepy land; in the centre we are given a sheep-fold, at the door of which a flock of sheep are jostling and pus.h.i.+ng each other, all eager to enter their place of rest. The wave-like movement of these animals is particularly graceful and cleverly done. A little shepherdess is guiding them, as anxious to get them in as they are to enter, for this means the end of her day's work. Her worn-out blue petticoat is lighted up by a moonbeam; in her hand she appears to have a hoe. It is a most harmonious picture; every line is in accord with its neighbor."

While residing in Brussels these two artists began to collect works of art for what is now known as the Mesdag Museum. In 1887 a wing was added to their house to accommodate their increasing treasures, which include especially good examples of modern French painting, pottery, tapestry, etc.

In 1889 an exhibition of the works of these painters was held. Here convincing proof was given of Mme. Mesdag's accuracy, originality of interpretation, and her skill in the use of color.

MoLLER, AGNES SLOTT, OR SLOTT-MoLLER, AGNES. This artist follows the young romantic movement in Denmark. She has embodied in her work a modern comprehension of old legends. The landscape and people of her native land seem to her as eminently suitable motives, and these realities she renders in the spirit of a by-gone age--that of the national heroes of the sagas and epics of the country, or the lyric atmosphere of the folk-songs.

She may depict these conceptions, full of feeling, in the dull colors of the North, or in rich and glowing hues, but the impression she gives is much the same in both cases, a generally restful effect, though the faces in her pictures are full of life and emotion. Her choice of subjects and her manner of treatment almost inevitably introduce some archaic quality in her work. This habit and the fact that she cares more for color than for drawing are the usual criticisms of her pictures.

Her "St. Agnes" is an interesting rendering of a well-worn subject.

"Adelil the Proud," exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1889, tells the story of the Duke of Frydensburg, who was in love with Adelil, the king's daughter. The king put him to death, and the attendants of Adelil made of his heart a viand which they presented to her. When she learned what this singular substance was--that caused her to tremble violently--she asked for wine, and carrying the cup to her lips with a tragic gesture, in memory of her lover, she died of a broken heart. It is such legends as these that Mme. Slott-Moller revives, and by which she is widely known.

MORISOT OR MORIZOT, BERTHE. Married name Manet. Born at Bourges, 1840, died in Paris, 1895. A pupil of Guichard and Oudinot. After her marriage to Eugene Manet she came under the influence of his famous brother, edouard. This artist signed her pictures with her maiden name, being too modest to use that which she felt belonged only to edouard Manet, in the world of art.

A great interest was, however, aroused in the private galleries, where the works of the early impressionists were seen, by the pictures of Berthe Morisot. Camille Mauclair, an enthusiastic admirer of this school of art, says: "Berthe Morizot will remain the most fascinating figure of Impressionism--the one who has stated most precisely the femininity of this luminous and iridescent art."

A great-granddaughter of Fragonard, she seems to have inherited his talent; Corot and Renoir forcibly appealed to her. These elements, modified by her personal att.i.tude, imparted a strong individuality to her works, which divided honors with her personal charms.

According to the general verdict, she was equally successful in oils and water-colors. Her favorite subjects--although she painted others--were sea-coast views, flowers, orchards, and gardens and young girls in every variety of costume.

After the death of edouard Manet, she devoted herself to building up an appreciation of his work in the public mind. So intelligent were her methods that she doubtless had great influence in making the memory of his art enduring.

Among her most characteristic works are: "The Memories of the Oise,"

1864; "Ros-Bras," "Finistere," 1868; "A Young Girl at a Window," 1870; a pastel, "Blanche," 1873; "The Toilet," and "A Young Woman at the Ball."

*NEY, ELIZABETH. The Fine Arts jury of the St. Louis Exposition have accepted three works by this sculptor to be placed in the Fine Arts Building. They are the Albert Sidney Johnston memorial; the portrait bust of Jacob Grimm, in marble; and a bronze statuette of Garibaldi. It is unusual to allow so many entries to one artist.

PAULI, HANNA, family name, Hirsch. Bronze medal at Paris Exposition, 1889. Born in Stockholm and pupil of the Academy of Fine Arts there; later, of Dagnan-Bouveret, in Paris. Her husband, also an artist, is Georg Pauli. They live in Stockholm, where she paints portraits and genre subjects.