Chapter 22 of 29 · 3987 words · ~20 min read

Part 22

When but fourteen years old this artist exhibited at the National Academy, New York, a picture of waves, "The Wild Horses of the Sea," which was immediately sold and a duplicate ordered. In England Miss Richards has exhibited at the Academy, and her pictures have been selected for exhibitions in provincial galleries. Miss Richards is earnestly devoted to her art, and has in mind an end toward which she diligently strives--not to become a painter distinguished for clever mannerism, but "to attain a definite end; one which is difficult to reach and requires widely applied effort."

Judging from what she has already done at her age, one may predict her success in her chosen method. In February, 1903, Miss Richards and her father exhibited their works in the Noe Galleries. I quote a few press opinions.

[Illustration: MAY DAY AT WHITELANDS COLLEGE, CHELSEA

ANNA M. RICHARDS]

"Miss Richards paints the sea well; she infuses interest into her figures; she has a love of allegory; her studies in Holland and Norway are interesting. Her 'Whitby,' lighted by sunset, with figures massed in the streets in dark relief against it, is beautiful. Her 'Friends,' showing two women watching the twilight fading from the summits of a mountain range, the cedared slopes and river valley below meantime gathering blueness and shadow, is of such strength and sweetness of fancy that it affects one like a strain of music."

"Miss Richards becomes symbolic or realistic by turn. Some of her figures are creatures of the imagination, winged and iridescent, like the 'Spirit of Hope.' Again, she paints good, honest Dutchmen, loafing about the docks. Sometimes she has recourse to poetry and quotes Emerson for a title.... If technically she is not always convincing, it is apparent that the artist is doing some thinking for herself, and her endeavors are in good taste."

Miss Richards has written "Letter and Spirit," containing fifty-seven "Dramatic Sonnets of Inward Life."

These she has illustrated by sixty full-page pictures. Of these drawings the eminent artist, G. F. Watts, says: "In imaginative comprehension they are more than illustrations; they are interpretations. I find in them an assemblage of great qualities--beauty of line, unity and abundance in composition, variety and appreciation of natural effects, with absence of manner; also unusual qualities in drawing, neither academical nor eccentric--all carried out with great purity and completeness."

RICHARDS, SIGNORA EMMA GAGIOTTI. Rome.

[_No reply to circular_.]

RIES, THERESE FEODOROWNA. Bronze medal at Ekaterinburg; Karl Ludwig gold medal, Vienna; gold medal, Paris Exposition, 1900. Officer of the Academy. Born in Moscow. Pupil of the Moscow Academy and of Professor Hellmer, Vienna, women not being admitted to the Vienna Academy.

A critic in the _Studio_ of July, 1901, who signs his article A. S. L., writes as follows of this remarkable artist: "Not often does it fall to the lot of a young artist to please both critic and public at the same time, and, having gained their interest, to continue to fill their expectations. But it was so with Feodorowna Ries, a young Russian artist who some eight months ago had never even had a piece of clay in her hand, but who, by dint of 'self,' now stands amongst the foremost of her profession. It was chance that led Miss Ries to the brush, and another chance which led her to abandon the brush for the chisel. Five years ago she was awarded the Carl Ludwig gold medal for her 'Lucifer,' and at the last Paris Exhibition she gained the gold medal for her 'Unbesiegbaren' (The Unconquerable).

"Miss Ries was born and educated in Moscow, but Vienna is the city of her adoption. She first studied painting at the Moscow Academy, her work there showing great breadth of character and power of delineation. At the yearly Exhibition in Moscow, held some five months after she had entered as a student, she took the gold medal for her 'Portrait of a Russian Peasant.' She then abandoned painting for sculpture, and one month later gained the highest commendations for a bust of 'Ariadne.' She then began to study the plastic art from life. Dissatisfied with herself, although her 'Somnambulist' gained a prize, Miss Ries left Moscow for Paris, but on her way stayed in Vienna, studying under Professor Hellmer. One year later, at the Vienna Spring Exhibition, she exhibited her 'Die Hexe.' Here is no traditional witch, though the broomstick on which she will ride through the air is _en evidence_. She is a demoniac being, knowing her own power, and full of devilish instinct. The marble is full of life, and one seems to feel the warmth of her delicate, powerfully chiselled, though soft and pliable limbs."

"'Die Unbesiegbaren' is a most powerful work, and stood out in the midst of the sculpture at Paris in 1900 with the prominence imparted by unusual power in the perception of the _whole_ of a subject and the skill to render the perception so that others realize its full meaning. There are four figures in this group--men drawing a heavy freight boat along the shore by means of a towline passed round their bodies, on which they throw their weight in such a way that their legs, pressed together, lose their outline--except in the case of the leader--and are as a mass of power. They also pull on the line with their hands. The leader bends over the rope until he looks down; the man behind him raises his head and looks up with an appealing expression; the two others behind are exerting all their force in pulling on the rope, but have twisted the upper part of the body in order to look behind and watch the progress of their great burden. There is not the least resemblance of one to the other, either in feature or expression, and to me it would seem that the woman who had conceived and executed this group might well be content to rest on her laurels.

"But an artistic creator who is really inspired with his art and not with himself is never satisfied; he presses on and on--sometimes after he has expressed the best of his talent. This is not yet reached, I believe, by Miss Ries, and we shall see still greater results of her inspiration."

The Austrian Government commissioned this artist to execute the figure of a saint. One may well prophesy that there will be nothing conventional in this work. She has already produced a striking "Saint Barbara." Her portrait busts include those of Professor Wegr, Professor Hellmer, Mark Twain, Countess Kinsky, Countess Palffs, Baron Berger, and many others.

RIJUTINE, ELISA. A bronze and a gold medal at the Beatrice Exposition, Florence, 1890. Born in Florence, where she resides and devotes herself to painting in imitation of old tapestries. An excellent example of her work is in water-colors and is called "The Gardener's Children." In 1888 and 1889 she exhibited "The Coronation of Esther" and a picture of "Oleanders."

ROBERTS, ELIZABETH WENTWORTH.

[_No reply to circular_.]

ROBINSON, MRS. IMOGENE MORRELL. Medals at the Mechanics' Fair, Boston, and at the Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876. Born in Attleborough, Massachusetts. Pupil of Camphausen in Düsseldorf, and of Couture in Paris, where she resided several years. Among her important works are "The First Battle between the Puritans and Indians" and "Washington and His Staff Welcoming a Provision Train," both at Philadelphia. Mrs. Morrell continued to sign her pictures with her maiden name, Imogene Robinson.

A critic of the New York _Evening Post_ said of her pictures at Philadelphia: "In the painting of the horses Mrs. Morrell has shown great knowledge of their action, and their finish is superb. The work is painted with great strength throughout, and its solidity and forcible treatment will be admired by all who take an interest in Revolutionary history.... In the drawing of the figures of Standish and the chief at his side, and the dead and dying savages, there is a fine display of artistic power, and the grouping of the figures is masterly.... In color the works are exceedingly brilliant."

ROBUSTI, MARIETTA. Born in Venice. 1560-1590. The parentage of this artist would seem to promise her talent and insure its culture. She was the daughter of Jacopo Robusti, better known as "Il Tintoretto," who has been called "the thunder of art," and who avowed his ambition to equal "the drawing of Michael Angelo and the coloring of Titian."

The portrait of Marietta Robusti proves her to have been justly celebrated for her beauty. Her face is sweet and gentle in expression. She was sprightly in manner and full of enthusiasm for anything that interested and attracted her; she had a good talent for music and a charming voice in singing.

Her father's fondness for her made him desire her constant companionship, and at times he permitted her to dress as a boy and share with him certain studies that she could only have made in this disguise. Tintoretto carefully cultivated the talents of his daughter, and some of the portraits she painted did her honor. That of Marco dei Vescovi first turned public attention to her artistic merits. The beard was especially praised and it was even said by good judges that she equalled her father. Indeed, her works were so enthusiastically esteemed by some critics that it is difficult to make a just estimate of her as an artist, but we are assured of her exquisite taste in the arrangement of her pictures and of the rare excellence of her coloring.

It soon became the fashion in the aristocratic circles of Venice to sit for portraits to this fascinating artist. Her likeness of Jacopo Strada, the antiquarian, was considered a worthy gift for the Emperor Maximilian, and a portrait of Marietta was hung in the chamber of his Majesty. Maximilian, Philip II. of Spain, and the Archduke Ferdinand, each in turn invited Marietta to be the painter of his Court.

Tintoretto could not be induced to be separated from his daughter, and the honors she received so alarmed him that he hastened to marry her to Mario Augusti, a wealthy German jeweller, upon the condition that she should remain at home.

But the Monarch who asks no consent and heeds no refusal claimed this daughter so beloved. She died at thirty, and it is recorded that both her father and her husband mourned for her so long as they lived. Marietta was buried in the Church of Santa Maria dell' Orto, where, within sight of her tomb, are several of her father's pictures.

Tintoretto painting his daughter's portrait after her death has been the subject of pictures by artists of various countries, and has lost nothing of its poetic and pathetic interest in the three centuries and more that have elapsed since that day when the brave old artist painted the likeness of all that remained to him of his idolized child.

ROCCHI, LINDA. Born in Florence; she resides in Geneva. Two of her flower pieces, in water-color, were seen at the Fine Arts Exposition, Milan, 1881. In 1883, also in Milan, she exhibited "A Wedding Garland," "Hawthorne," etc. The constantly increasing brilliancy of her work was shown in three pictures, flowers in water-colors, seen at the Milan Exposition, 1886. To Vienna, 1887, she sent four pictures of wild flowers, which were much admired.

ROCCO, LILI ROSALIA. Honorable mention, a bronze medal, and four silver medals were accorded this artist at the Institute of Fine Arts in Naples, where she studied from 1880 to 1886, and was also a pupil of Solari. Born in Mazzara del Vallo, Sicily, 1863. In 1886 she exhibited, at Naples, "Cari Fiori!" at Palermo, "Flora"; and in Rome, "A Sicilian Contadina." In 1888 her picture, "Spring," was exhibited in London. Two of her works were in the Simonetti Exposition, 1889, one being a marine view from her birthplace. She has painted many portraits, both in oils and water-colors, and has been appointed a teacher in at least two Government schools in Naples.

RODIANA, ONORATA. Was a contemporary of the saintly Caterina de Vigri, but was of quite another order of women. She had one quality which, if not always attractive, at least commands attention. She was unique, since we know of no other woman who was at the same time a successful artist and a valiant soldier!

Born in Castelleone, near Cremona, early in the fifteenth century, she was known as a reputable artist while still young, and was commissioned to decorate the palace of the tyrant, Gabrino Fondolo, at Cremona. The girlish painter was beautiful in person, frank and engaging in manner, and most attractive to the gentlemen of the tyrant's court.

One day when alone and absorbed in the execution of a wall-painting, a dissolute young noble addressed her with insulting freedom. She could not escape, and in the struggle which ensued she drew a dagger and stabbed her assailant to the heart.

Rushing from the palace, she disguised herself in male attire and fled to the mountains, where she joined a company of Condottieri. She soon became so good a soldier that she was made an officer of the band.

Fondolo raged as tyrants are wont to do, both on account of the murder and of the escape. He vowed the direst vengeance on Onorata if ever she were again in his power. Later, when his anger had cooled and he had no other artist at command who could worthily complete her decorations, he published her pardon and summoned her to return to his service.

Onorata completed her work, but her new vocation held her with a potent spell, and henceforth she led a divided life--never entirely relinquishing her brush, and remaining always a soldier.

When Castelleone was besieged by the Venetians, Onorata led her band thither and was victorious in the defence of her birthplace. She was fatally wounded in this action and died soon after, in the midst of the men and women whose homes she had saved. They loved her for her bravery and deeply mourned the sacrifice of her life.

Few stories from real life are so interesting and romantic as this, yet little notice has been taken of Onorata's talent or of her prowess, while many less spirited and unusual lives have been commemorated in prose and poetry.

RODRIGUEZ DE TORO, LUISA. Honorable mention, Madrid, 1856, for a picture of "Queen Isabel the Catholic Reading with Doña Beatriz de Galindo"; honorable mention, 1860, for her "Boabdil Returning from Prison."

Born in Madrid; a descendant of the Counts of Los Villares, and wife of the Count of Mirasol. Pupil of Cárlos Ribera.

RONNER, MME. HENRIETTE. Medals and honorable mentions and elections to academies have been showered on Mme. Ronner all over Europe. The King of Belgium decorated her with the Cross of the Order of Leopold. Born in Amsterdam in 1821. The grandfather of this artist was Nicolas Frederick Knip, a flower painter; her father, Josephus Augustus Knip, a landscape painter, went blind, and after this misfortune was the teacher of his daughter; her aunt, for whom she was named, received medals in Paris and Amsterdam for her flower pictures. What could Henriette Knip do except paint pictures? Hers was a clear case of predestination!

At all events, almost from babyhood she occupied herself with her pencil, and when she was twelve years old her blind father began to teach her. Even at six years of age it was plainly seen that she would be a painter of animals. When sixteen she exhibited a "Cat in a Window," and from that time was considered a reputable artist.

In 1850 she was married and settled in Brussels. From this time for fifteen years she painted dogs almost without exception. Her picture called "Friend of Man" was exhibited in 1850. It is her most famous work and represents an old sand-seller, whose dog, still harnessed to the little sand-wagon, is dying, while two other dogs are looking on with well-defined sympathy. It is a most pathetic scene, wonderfully rendered.

About 1870 she devoted herself to pictures of cats, in which specialty of art she has been most important. In 1876, however, she sent to the Philadelphia Exposition a picture of "Setter Dogs." "A Cart Drawn by Dogs" is in the Museum at Hanover; "Dog and Pigeon," in the Stettin Museum; "Coming from Market" is in a private collection in San Francisco.

Mme. Ronner has invented a method of posing cats that is ingenious and of great advantage. To the uninitiated it would seem that one could only take the portrait of a sleeping cat, so untiring are the little beasts in their gymnastic performances. But Mme. Ronner, having studied them with infinite patience, proceeded to arrange a glass box, in which, on a comfortable cushion, she persuades her cats to assume the positions she desires. This box is enclosed in a wire cage, and from the top of this she hangs some cat attraction, upon which the creature bounds and shows those wonderful antics that the artist has so marvellously reproduced in her painting. Mme. Ronner has two favorite models, "Jem" and "Monmouth." The last name is classical, since the cat of Mother Michel has been made immortal.

Miss Winslow, in "Concerning Cats," says that "Mme. Ronner excels all other cat painters, living or dead. She not only infuses a wonderful degree of life into her little figures, but reproduces the shades of expression, shifting and variable as the sands of the sea, as no other artist of the brush has done. Asleep or awake, her cats look to the" felinarian "like cats with whom he or she is familiar. Curiosity, drowsiness, indifference, alertness, love, hate, anxiety, temper, innocence, cunning, fear, confidence, mischief, earnestness, dignity, helplessness--they are all in Mme. Ronner's cats' faces, just as we see them in our own cats."

It is but a short time ago that Mme. Ronner was still painting in Brussels, and had not only cats, but a splendid black dog and a cockatoo to bear her company, while her son is devoted to her. Her house is large and her grounds pleasant, and her fourscore years did not prevent her painting several hours a day, and, like some other ladies of whom we know, she was "eighty years young."

The editor of the _Magazine of Art_, M. H. Spielman, in an article on the Royal Academy Exhibition, 1903, writes: "What the dog is to Mr. Riviere, to Madame Ronner is the cat. With what unerring truth she records delightful kittenly nature, the feline nobility of haughty indifference to human approval or discontent, the subtlety of expression, and drawing of heads and bodies, the exact quality and tone of the fur, the expressive eloquence of the tail! With all her eighty years, Madame Ronner's hand, vision, and sensibility have not diminished; only her sobriety of color seems to have increased." Her pictures of this year were called "The Ladybird" and "Coaxing." To the Exhibition of the Beaux-Arts in Brussels, 1903, Mme. Ronner sent pictures of cats, full of life and mischief.

ROOSENBOOM, MARGARITE VOGEL. Second-class medal, Munich, 1892. Born in 1843 and died in 1896, near The Hague. She spent a large part of her life near Utrecht, devoting herself mainly to the painting of flowers. One of her works is in the Royal Museum at Amsterdam, and another in the Museum at Breslau.

ROPE, ELLEN M. This English sculptor executed four large panels for the Women's Building at the Chicago Exhibition. They represented Faith, Hope, Charity, and Heavenly Wisdom. They are now in the Ladies' Dwelling, Cherries Street, London. A "Memorial" by her is in Salisbury Cathedral. Her reliefs of children are, however, her best works; that of a "Boy on a Dolphin" is most attractive. "Christ Blessing Little Children" is charmingly rendered.

At the Academy, 1903, she exhibited a panel for an organ chamber, in low relief.

ROSA, ANIELLA DI. 1613-1649. A pupil in Naples of Stanzioni, who, by reason of her violent death, has been called the Neapolitan Sirani. She acquired a good reputation as a historical painter and doubtless had unusual talent, but as she worked in conjunction with Stanzioni and with her husband, Agostino Beltrano, it is difficult to speak of works entirely her own.

Two pictures that were acknowledged to be hers represented the birth and death of the Virgin; these were praised and were at one time in a church in Naples, but in a recent search for them I was unable to satisfy myself that the pictures I saw were genuine.

Another pupil in the studio of Stanzioni was the Beltrano whom Aniella married. He painted in fresco, Aniella in oils, and they were frequently employed together. The fine picture of San Biagio, in the church of Santa Maria della Sanità, was one of their joint works.

Their early married life was very happy, but Aniella was beautiful and Beltrano grew jealous; it is said without cause, through the influence of a woman who loved him and hated Aniella; and in spite of the efforts she made to merit her husband's confidence, his distrust of her increased. Her base rival, by her art and falsehood, finally succeeded in convincing Beltrano that Aniella was unworthy, and in his rage he fatally stabbed her, when, at thirty-six, she was in the prime of her beauty and talent. She survived long enough to convince her husband of her innocence and to pardon him for his crime, but he fled from Italy and lived the life of an outcast during ten years. He then returned to Naples, where after seven years, tormented by remorse, death came to his release.

Domenici generously praised the works of Aniella, and quoted her master, Stanzioni, as saying that she was the equal of the best painters of her time.

ROSALBA. See Carriera.

ROSSI, PROPERZIA DE. Born in Bologna. 1490-1530. This artist was the first woman to succeed as a sculptor whose works can still be seen. Pupil of Raimondi, she was more or less influenced by Tribolo. In the Church of San Petronio, in her native city, in the eleventh chapel, is a beautiful bas-relief of two angels, executed by Properzia. They are near Tribolo's "Ascension." A relief and a portrait bust in the same church are also ascribed to her.

Her first work in sculpture was a minute representation of the Crucifixion on a peach stone! The executioners, women, soldiers, and disciples were all represented in this infinitesimal space. She also inserted in a coat of arms a double-headed eagle in silver filigree; eleven peach stones on each side, one set representing eleven apostles with an article of the creed underneath, the other set eleven virgins with the name of a saint and her special attribute on each. Some of these intaglios are still in a private collection in Bologna.

At length Properzia saw the folly of thus belittling her talent, and when the facade of San Petronio was to be enriched with sculpture she asked for a share in the work and presented a bust she had made as a pledge of her ability; she was appointed to execute a portion of the decorations. She made a bas-relief, the subject being "Joseph and Potiphar's Wife," which Vasari called "a lovely picture, sculptured with womanly grace, and more than admirable."

By this time the jealousy of other artists was aroused, and a story was diligently repeated to the effect that Properzia loved a young nobleman who did not care for her, and that the above work, so much admired, represented her own passion. Albertini and other artists waged an absolute crusade against her, and so influenced the superintendents of the church that Properzia was obliged to leave the work and her relief was never put in place. Through mortification and grief her health failed, and she died when but forty years old.