Chapter 21 of 29 · 3907 words · ~20 min read

Part 21

A critic in the _Studio_ of April, 1903, writing of the exhibition at the Ladies' Artists' Club, Glasgow, says: "Miss Louise Perman's rose pictures were as refined and charming as ever. This last-named lady certainly has a remarkable power of rendering the beauties of the queen of flowers, whether she chooses to paint the sumptuous yellow of the 'Maréchal Niel,' the blush of the 'Katherine Mermet,' or the crimson glory of the 'Queen of Autumn.' She seems not only to give the richness of color and fulness of contour of the flowers, but to capture for the delight of the beholder the very spiritual essence of them." To the London Academy, 1903, she sent a picture called "York and Lancaster."

PERRIER, MARIE. Mention honorable at Salon des Artistes Français, 1899; Prix Marie Bashkirtseff, 1899; honorable mention, Paris Exposition, 1900; numerous medals from foreign and provincial exhibitions; medals in gold and silver at Rouen, Nîmes, Rennes, etc.; bronze medals at Amiens and Angers. Member of the Société des Artistes Français; perpetual member of the Baron Taylor Association, section of the Arts of Painting, etc. Born at Paris. Pupil of Benjamin Constant, Jules Lefebvre, and J. P. Laurens.

Mlle. Perrier's picture of "Jeanne d'Arc" is in a provincial museum; several pictures by her belonging to the city of Paris are scenes connected with the schools of the city--"Breakfast at the Communal School"; "After School at Montmartre" were at the Salon des Artistes Français, 1903; others are "Manual Labor at the Maternal School," "Flowers," and "Recreation of the Children at the Maternal School." Of the last Gabriel Moury says, "It is one of the really good pictures in the Salon."

This artist decorated a villa near Nîmes with four large panels representing the "Seasons," twelve small panels, the "Hours," and pictures of the labors of the fields, such as the gathering of grapes and picking of olives.

She has painted numerous portraits of children and a series of pictures illustrating the "Life of the Children of Paris." They are "Children at School and after School," "Children on the Promenade and Their Games," and "Children at Home."

PERRY, CLARA GREENLEAF. Member of the Copley Society. Born at Long Branch, New Jersey. Pupil of Boston Art Museum School, under Mr. Benson and Mr. Tarbell; in Paris pupil of M. Raphael Collin and Robert Henri.

Miss Perry has exhibited her portrait of Mrs. U. in the Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and in Philadelphia. She paints landscapes and portraits.

PERRY, LILLA CABOT. Pupil in Boston of Dennis Bunker and Alfred Collins; in Paris of Alfred Stevens, Robert Fleury, Bouguereau, and Courtois; in Munich of Fritz von Uhde.

Mrs. Perry is essentially a portrait painter, but has painted landscapes, especially in Japan, where she spent some years. The scenery of Japan and its wonderfully beautiful Fuziyama would almost compel an artist to paint landscapes.

Mrs. Perry says that her pictures of French and Japanese types are, in fact, portraits as truly as are those she is asked to paint.

Her picture of a "Japanese Lacemaker" belongs to Mr. Quincy A. Shaw. It has been much admired in the exhibitions in which it has been seen.

In the Water-Color Exhibition of the Boston Art Club, 1903, Mrs. Perry's portrait of Miss S. attracted much attention. The delicate flesh tones, the excellent modelling of the features, and what may be called the whole atmosphere of the picture combine in producing an effective and pleasing example of portraiture.

PERUGINI, CATERINA E. An Italian painter living in London, where she frequently exhibits her excellent pictures. Among them are "A Siesta," "Dolce far Niente," "Multiplication," and portraits of Guy Cohn, son of Sir Guy Campbell, Bart., and of Peggy and Kitty Hammond, two charming children.

At the Academy, 1903, she exhibited "Faith" and "Silken Tresses."

PERUGINI, MRS. KATE DICKENS. Younger daughter of Charles Dickens and wife of Charles Edward Perugini. This artist has exhibited at the Royal Academy and at other exhibitions since 1877. Her pictures are of genre subjects, such as the "Dolls' Dressmaker," "Little-Red-Cap," "Old Curiosity Shop," etc. At the Academy, 1903, she exhibited "Some Spring Flowers."

[_No reply to circular_.]

PETERS, ANNA. Medals at Vienna, 1873; London, 1874; Munich, 1876; Amsterdam and Antwerp, 1877. Born at Mannheim, 1843. Pupil of her father, Pieter Francis Peters, in Stuttgart. Miss Peters travelled over Europe and was commissioned to decorate apartments in the royal castles at Stuttgart and Friedrichshafen.

Her picture of "Roses and Grapes" is in the National Gallery, London; and one of "Autumn Flowers" in the Museum at Stuttgart.

PILLINI, MARGHERITA. An Italian painter living in Paris. Her most successful exhibitions have been those at Rome, in 1883, when her "Silk-cocoon Carder of Quimper" and "Charity" appeared; and at Turin, in 1884, when "The Three Ages," "The Poor Blind Man," and a portrait of the Prince of Naples were shown, all exquisite in sentiment and excellent in execution. The "Silk-cocoon Carder of Quimper" has been thus noticed by De Rengis: "If I am not mistaken, Signora Margherita Pillini has also taken this road, full of modernity, but not free from great danger. Her 'Silk-cocoon Carder' is touched with great disdain for every suggestion of the old school. Rare worth--if worth it is--that a young woman should be carried by natural inclination into such care for detail."

PINTO-SEZZI, IDA. Silver medal at the Beatrice Exposition, Florence, 1890. Since 1882 pictures by this artist have been seen in various Italian exhibitions. In the Beatrice of that year she exhibited "Cocciara," and in 1887 "A Friar Cook." Her "Fortune-Teller" attracted general attention at Venice in 1887.

This artist has also given some time to the decoration of terra-cotta in oil colors. An amphora decorated with landscape and figures was exhibited at the Promotrice in Florence in 1889 (?) and much admired.

POETTING, COUNTESS ADRIENNE. Born in Chrudim, Bohemia, 1856. The effect of her thorough training under Blass, Straschiripka, and Frittjof Smith is seen in her portraits of the Deputy-Burgomaster Franz Khume, which is in the Rathhaus, Vienna, as well as in those of the Princess Freda von Oldenburg and the writer, Bertha von Suttner. Her excellence is also apparent in her genre subjects, "In the Land of Dreams" being an excellent example of these.

POPERT, CHARLOTTE. Silver medal at the Beatrice, Florence, 1890. Born in Hamburg, 1848. Pupil in Weimar of the elder Preller and Carl Gherts; of P. Joris in Rome, and Bonnat in Paris. After extensive travels in the Orient, England, the Netherlands, and Spain, she established herself in Rome and painted chiefly in water-colors. Her "Praying Women of Bethlehem" is an excellent example of her art.

In 1883 she exhibited at Rome, "In the Temple at Bethlehem"; at Turin in 1884, "In the Seventeenth Century" and "The Nun"; at Venice in 1887, an exquisite portrait in water-colors.

POPPE-LÜDERITZ, ELIZABETH. Honorable mention, Berlin, 1891. For the second time only the Senate of the Berlin Academy conferred this distinction upon a woman. The artist exhibited two portraits, "painted with Holbein-like delicacy and truthfulness"--if we may agree with the critics.

This artist was born in Berlin in 1858, and was a pupil of Gussow. Her best pictures are portraits, but her "Sappho" and "Euphrosine" are excellent works.

POPP, BABETTE. Born in Regensburg, 1800; died about 1840. Made her studies in Munich. In the Cathedral of Regensburg is her "Adoration of the Kings."

POWELL, CAROLINE A. Bronze medal at Chicago, 1893; silver medal at Buffalo, 1901. Member of the Society of American Wood-Engravers and of the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts. Born in Dublin, Ireland. Pupil of W. J. Linton and Timothy Cole.

[Illustration: Doge's Palace, Venice

ST. CHRISTOPHER

ENGRAVED BY CAROLINE A. POWELL]

Miss Powell was an illustrator of the _Century Magazine_ from 1880 to 1895. The engraving after "The Resurrection" by John La Farge, in the Church of St. Thomas, New York, is the work of this artist. She also illustrated "Engravings on Wood," by William M. Laffan, in which book her work is commended.

Miss Powell is now employed by Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., and writes me: "So far as I know, I am, at present, the only woman in America engaged in the practise of engraving as a fine art."

PRESTEL, MARIA CATHARINA; FAMILY NAME HOLL. Born in Nuremburg, 1747. Her husband, Johan Prestel, was her teacher, and she was of great assistance in the work which he produced at Frankfort-on-the-Main, in 1783. In 1786, however, she separated from him and went to London, where she devoted herself to aquatints. She executed more than seventy plates, some of them of great size.

PRESTEL, URSULA MAGDALENA. Born in Nuremburg. 1777-1845. Daughter of the preceding artist. She worked in Frankfort and London, travelled in France and Switzerland, and died in Brussels. Her moonlight scenes, some of her portraits, and her picture of the "Falls of the Rhine near Laufen," are admirable.

PREUSCHEN, HERMINE VON SCHMIDT; married name, Telman. Born at Darmstadt, 1857. Pupil of Ferdinand Keller in Karlsruhe. Travelled in Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Denmark. She remained some time in Munich, Berlin, and Rome, establishing her studio in these cities and painting a variety of subjects. Her flower pictures are her best works. Her "Mors Imperator" created a sensation by reason of its striking qualities rather than by intrinsic artistic merit. In the gallery at Metz is her picture of "Irene von Spilimberg on the Funeral Gondola."

In 1883 she exhibited in Rome, "Answered," a study of thistles; "In Autumn," a variety of fruits; and "Questions," a charming study of carnations. At Berlin, in 1890, "Meadow Saffron and Cineraria" was praised for its glowing color and artistic arrangement. A Viennese critic, the same year, lamented that an artist of so much talent should paint lifeless objects only. In Berlin, in 1894, she held an exhibition, in which her landscapes and flower pieces were better than her still-life pictures. Frau Preuschen is also a musician and poet.

The painting of flower pieces is a delightful art for man or woman, but so many such pictures which are by amateurs are seen in exhibitions--too good to be refused but not of a satisfactory quality--that one can scarcely sympathize with the critic who would have Mme. Preuschen paint other subjects than these charming blossoms, so exquisite in form and color, into which she paints so much delightful sentiment.

PUEHN, SOPHIE. Born at Nuremberg, 1864. This artist studied in Paris and Munich and resides in the latter city. At the International Exhibition, Vienna, 1894, her portrait of a "Lady Drinking Tea" was praised by the critics without exception, and, in fact, her portraits are always well considered. That she is also skilful in etching was shown in her "Forsaken," exhibited in 1896.

PUTNAM, SARAH GOOLD. Member of the Copley Society. Born in Boston. Pupil in Boston and New York of J. B. Johnston, F. Duveneck, Abbott Thayer, and William Chase; in Scheveningen, of Bart. J. Blommers; and in Munich, of Wilhelm Dürr.

Miss Putnam's portrait of Hon. John Lowell is in the District Court Room in Post-Office Building, Boston; that of William G. Russell, in the Law Library in the Court House, Pemberton Square, same city; that of General Charles G. Loring, for many years Director of Boston Museum of Fine Arts, belongs to his family; among her other portraits are those of Dr. Henry P. Bowditch, Francis Boott, George Partridge Bradford, Edward Silsbee, Mrs. Asa Gray, and Lorin Deland. In addition to the above she has painted more than one hundred portraits of men, women, and children, which belong to the families of the subjects.

PUYROCHE, MME. ELISE. Born in Dresden, 1828. Resided in Lyons, France, where she was a pupil of the fine colorist, Simon St. Jean. Mme. Puyroche excelled her master in the arrangement of flowers in her pictures and in the correctness of her drawing, while she acquired his harmonious color. Her picture called the "Tom Wreath," painted in 1850, is in the Dresden Gallery.

QUESTIER, CATHERINE. Born in Amsterdam. In 1655 she published two comedies which were illustrated by engravings of her own design and execution. She achieved a good reputation for painting, copper engraving, and modelling in wax, as well as for her writings.

RAAB, DORIS. Third-class medal, Nuremberg; also second-class medal, 1892. Born in Nuremberg, 1851. Pupil of her father, Johann Leonhard Raab, in etching and engraving. She has engraved many works by Rubens, Van Dyck, and Cuyp; among her plates after works of more recent artists are Piloty's "Death Warrant of Mary Stuart," Lindenschmidt's "In Thought," and Laufberger's "Hunting Fanfare." This artist resides in Munich.

RADOVSKA, BARONESS ANNETTA, of Milan. Her interesting genre pictures are seen in most of the Italian exhibitions. "Old Wine, Young Wife," was at Milan, 1881; in same city, 1883, "An Aggression," "The Visit," "The Betrothed." She also sent to Rome, in 1883, two pictures, one of which, "The Harem," was especially noteworthy. In 1884, at Turin, she exhibited "Tea" and the "Four Ages"; these, were excellent in tone and technique and attractive in subject. At Milan, 1886, her "Will He Arrive?" was heartily commended in the art journals.

RAE, HENRIETTA. See Normand, Mrs. Ernest

RAGUSA, ELEANORA. See O'Tama.

RAPIN, AIMÉE. At the Swiss National Exposition, 1896, a large picture of a "Genevese Watchmaker" by this artist was purchased; By the Government and is in the Museum at Neuchâtel. In 1903 the city of Geneva commissioned her to paint a portrait of Philippe Plantamour, which is in the Museum Mon-Repos, at Geneva. Member of the Société des Beaux-Arts of Lausanne, Société des Femmes peintres et sculpteurs de la Suisse romande, Société de l'exposition permanente des Beaux-Arts, Geneva. Born at Payerne, Canton de Vaud. Studied at Geneva under M. Hebert and Barthelmy Menn, in painting; Hugues Bovy, modelling.

[Illustration: In the Museum at Neuchâtel

GENEVESE WATCHMAKER

AIMÉE RAPIN]

Mlle. Rapin writes me: "I am, above all, a portrait painter, and my portraits are in private hands." She names among others of her sitters, Ernest Naville, the philosopher; Raoul Pictet, chemist; Jules Salmson, sculptor, etc. She mentions that she painted a portrait of the present Princess of Wales at the time of her marriage, but as it was painted from photographs the artist has no opinion about its truth to life. Mlle. Rapin has executed many portraits of men, women, and children in Paris, London, and Germany, as well as in Switzerland. She refers me to the following account of herself and her art. In the _Studio_ of April, 1903, R. M. writes: "The subject of these notes is a striking example of the compensations of Nature for her apparent cruelty; also of what the genuine artist is capable of achieving notwithstanding the most singular disadvantages. Some years ago in the little town of Payerne, Canton Vaud, a child was born without arms. One day the mother, while standing near a rose-bush with her infant in her arms, was astonished to observe one of its tiny toes clasp the stem of the rose. Little did she guess at the time that these prehensile toes were destined one day to serve an artist, in the execution of her work, with the same marvellous facility as hands. As the child grew up the greatest care was bestowed upon her education. She early manifested unmistakable artistic promise, and at the age of sixteen was sent to the École des Beaux Arts, Geneva.... For reasons already mentioned Mlle. Rapin holds a unique position amongst that valiant and distinguished group of Swiss lady artists to whose work we hope to have the opportunity of referring.... She is a fine example of that singleness of devotion which characterizes the born artist. Her art is the all-absorbing interest of her life. It is not without its limitations, but within these limitations the artist has known how to be true to herself. Drawing her inspiration direct from nature, she has held on her independent way, steadily faithful to the gift she possesses of evoking a character in a portrait or of making us feel how the common task, when representative of genuine human effort and touched with the poetry of national tradition, of religion, and of nature, becomes a subject of noble artistic treatment. She has kept unimpaired that _merveilleux frisson de sensibilité_ which is one of the most precious gifts of the artistic temperament, and which is quick to respond to the ideal in the real. There are some artists who, though possessed of extraordinary mastery over the materials of their art, bring to their work a spirit which beggars and belittles both art and life; there are others who seem to work with an ever-present sense of the noble purpose of their vocation and the pathos and dignity of existence. Mlle. Rapin belongs to the second category. Her 'L'Horloger' is an example of this. A Genevese watchmaker is bending to his work at a bench covered with tools. Through the window of the workshop one perceives in the blue distance Mont Saléve, and nearer the time-honored towers of the Cathedral of St. Pierre. Here is a composition dealing with simple life--a composition which, from the point of execution, color, and harmony of purpose, leaves little or nothing to be desired. But this is not all. It is, so to speak, an artistic _résumé_ of the life and history of the old city, and that strongly portrayed national type gathers dignity from his alliance with the generations who helped to make one of the main interests of the city, and from his relationship to that eventful past suggested by the Cathedral and the Mountain.

"Mlle. Rapin is unmistakably one of the best Swiss portraitists, working for the most part in pastels, her medium by predilection; she has at the same time modelled portraits in bas-relief. We are not only impressed by the intensely living quality of her work as a portraitist, but by the extraordinary power with which she has seized and expressed the individual character and history of each of her subjects."

Mlle. Rapin has exhibited her works with success in Paris, Munich, and Berlin. The few specimens of her bas-reliefs which I have seen prove that did she prefer the art of sculpture before that of painting, she would be as successful with her modelling tools as she has been with her brush.

RAPPARD, CLARA VON. Second-class medal, London. Born at Wabern, near Berne, 1857. After studying with Skutelzky and Dreber, she worked under Gussow in Berlin. She spent some time in travel, especially in Germany and Italy, and then, choosing Interlaken as her home, turned her attention to the illustration of books, as well as to portrait and genre painting. In the Museum at Freiburg is her "Point-lace-maker." A series of sixteen "Phantasies" by this artist has been published in Munich.

RATH, HENRIETTE. Honorary member of the Société des Arts, 1801. Born in 1772, she died in 1856 at Genf, where, with her sister, she founded the Musée Rath. She studied under Isabey, and was well and favorably known as a portrait and enamel painter.

REAM, VINNIE. See Hoxie.

REDMOND, FRIEDA VOELTER. Medal at the Columbian Exhibition, Chicago. Member of the Woman's Art Club. Born in Thun, Switzerland. Studies made in Switzerland and in Paris. A painter of flowers and still-life.

"Mrs. Redmond is a Swiss woman, now residing in New York. She has exhibited her works in the Paris Salon, in the National Academy of Design, at the Society of American Artists' exhibitions, etc., and was awarded a medal at the World's Fair in Chicago. Her work is not only skilful and accurate in description and characterization; it is done with breadth and freedom, and given a quality of fine decorative distinction. Her subjects are roses, cyclamen, chrysanthemums, nasturtiums, double larkspurs, cinneraria, etc., and she makes each panel a distinct study in design, with a background and accessories of appropriate character. For example, the three or four large panels of roses painted at Mentone have a glimpse of the Mediterranean for background, and a suggestion of trellis-work for the support of the vine or bush; and in another rose panel we have a tipped-over Gibraltar basket with its luscious contents strewed about in artful confusion. The double larkspurs make very charming panels for decorative purposes. They are painted with delightful fulness of color and engaging looseness and crispness of touch."--_Boston Transcript_.

REGIS, EMMA. This Roman painter has given special attention to figures, and has executed a number of portraits, one of the best of which is that of the Marchioness Durazzo Pallavicini. She has exhibited some delightful work at Turin and at Rome, such as "The Lute-Player," "All is not Gold that Glitters," "Humanity," and "In illo Tempore?"

[_No reply to circular_.]

REINHARDT, SOPHIE. Born at Kirchberg, 1775; died at Karlsruhe, 1843. Pupil of Becker. She travelled in Austro-Hungary and Italy. In the Kunsthalle at Karlsruhe is her picture of "St. Elizabeth and the Child John." Among her best works are "The Death of St. Catherine of Alexandria," "The Death of Tasso," and twelve illustrations for a volume of Hebel's poems.

REMY, MARIE. Born in Berlin, 1829. Daughter of Professor August Remy of the Berlin Academy. Pupil of her father, Hermine Stilke, and Theude Grönland. She travelled extensively in several European countries, making special studies in flowers and still-life, from which many of her water-colors were painted; twenty of these are in the Berlin National Gallery.

REUTER, ELIZABETH. Born in Lubeck, 1853. Pupil of Zimmermann in Munich, A. Schliecker in Hamburg, and of H. Eschke in Berlin. She also went to Düsseldorf to work in the Gallery there. Later she travelled in Scandinavia. Her best pictures are landscapes. Among them is a charming series of six water-colors of views in the park of Friedrichsruhe.

REVEST, CORNELIA LOUISA. Second-class medals in 1819 and 1831 in Paris. Born in Amsterdam, 1795; died in Paris, 1856. Pupil of Sérangély and Vafflard in Paris. In 1814 she painted a "Magdalen at the Feet of Christ" for a church in Marseilles. She also painted many good portraits and a picture called "The Young Mother Playing the Mandolin."

RICHARD, MME. HORTENSE. Honorable mention, Exposition of 1889; third-class medal, 1892; silver medals at Antwerp and Barcelona, and gold medal in London. Born at Paris, 1860. Pupil of James Bertrand, Jules Lefebvre, and Bouguereau. Has exhibited regularly since 1875. Her picture of "Cinderella" is in the Museum of Poitiers; "At Church in Poitou" is in the Luxembourg. She has painted many portraits.

RICHARDS, ANNA MARY. Norman Dodge prize, National Academy, New York, 1890. Member of the '91 Art Club, London. Born at Germantown, Pennsylvania, 1870. Pupil of Dennis Bunker in Boston, H. Siddons Mowbray and La Farge in New York, Benjamin Constant and J. P. Laurens in Paris, and always of her father, W. T. Richards.

Miss Richards' work is varied. She is fond of color when suited to her subject; she also works much in black and white. When representing nature she is straightforward in her rendering of its aspects and moods, but she also loves the "symbolic expression of emotion" and the so-called "allegorical subjects." The artist writes: "I simply work in the way that at the moment it seems to me fitting to work to express the thing I have in mind. Where the object of the picture is one sort of quality, I use the method that seems to me to emphasize that quality."