the paintings of frederic c. frieseke

The Paintings of Frederic C. FriesekeAuthor(s): A. E. GallatinSource: Art and Progress, Vol. 3, No. 12 (Oct., 1912), pp. 747-749Published by:Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20560766 .

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THE PAINTINGS OF FREDERIC C. FRIESEKE 747

great interpretative artists of the pres ent day.

Elizabeth Nourse was born in Cin cinnati and studied drawing in the McMicken Art School. On her gradua tion she determined to go to Paris. Family reasons have kept her there for over twenty years, but she is still an enthusiastic American and her style has remained practically unchanged. Her brushwork has broadened, her color be come more luminous as time has passed,

but the essential qualties of her art are the same that she carried with her from

America. No nation is quicker to recognize

genius than the French, and the French artists have shown their appreciation of Miss Nourse's work by electing her a Societaire of the Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts, while the French Govern ment has bought for the Luxembourg "Les Volets Clos," and other of her works for provincial museums. A. S. S.

BREAKFAST IN THE GARDEN F. C. FRIESEKE

THE PAINTINGS OF FREDERIC C. FRIESEKE BY A. E. GALLATIN

FREDERIC CARL FRIESEKE is an American-he was born in Michi

gan in 1874 and studied at the Art In stitute of Chicago-but not until last

January did New York get an oppor tunity to view an individual exhibition of his paintings. In Europe his work is familiar to visitors of the Salon des



YOUTH F. C. FRIESEKE

Beaux Arts, the biennial exhibitions of modern art at Venice, and at other ex hibitions, while the Luxembourg has purchased one of his paintings, as have galleries at Vienna, Odessa and Venice.

The past thirteen years the artist has lived in France, spending his summers at his country place, with its brilliant gar dens, and this is where the majority of his canvases have been painted. Dur ing the earlier years he was a pupil of Benj amin-Constant, Laurens and Whist ler.

The collection of Frieseke's work shown in New York, which comprised a group of seventeen canvases, was quite representative of his art, containing as it did the more ripe fruits of the artist's genius. Frieseke is a pleinairiste who delights in rendering effects of sunlight upon green foliage; this has been his especial study.

Such of the artist's canvases as his "Repose at Noon-Day" and "A Sunny

Morning," of which adequate reproduc tions can not be made, are really mar vellously clever delineations of sunlight and vibrating heat. The "Repose at Noon-Day," a picture of two young women in a woodland nook, dabbling in a bit of quiet water, one in a boat, the other on the leafy bank, was painted on a number of sunny days during mid summer from half-past eleven until half past twelve, the models taking the same poses, and it gives an effect only known to modern art. This rendering of sun light in a certain locality at a certain hour was never essayed by the Old Mas ters; as Hourticq says in his "Art in France" it is "a new world" which has been "discovered and explored."

Other of the artist's pictures in the exhibition, such as "Among the Holly hocks," and "Breakfast in the Garden," the last here reproduced, are also in this genre. "A Sunny Morning" (which is a garden scene and also reproduced)

748



THE PAINTINGS OF FREDERIC C. FRIESEKE 749

would, with its pure and cool colors, have amazed the Old Masters, who never dreamed that the effect of.sunlight could have been so faithfully and dazzlingly reproduced. The technique employed is -a logical development of Impressionism,

which at first was often rather more scientific than artistic; the knowledge gained by the spectrum is here appar ent, but displayed in a more discreet -and subtle manner. Among the artist's figure subjects his

decorative canvas entitled "Youth," ex hibited at last year's Paris Salon des Beaux Arts and reproduced herewith, is *a beautiful arrangement in white, which well illustrates the firmness of his model ing. This quality is even more apparent

in his "Autumn," "La Toilette," and "The Yellow Room." The "Autumn" is as vivid in its delineation and as sparkling as a painting from the brush of Zorn, without being as naturalistic and frank in its vision. "La Toilette," which the

Metropolitan Museum has recently ac quired by gift, is a delightful arrange ment of delicious colors. The agreeable blues and pinks in the chintz curtains are reflected in the vase of flowers and in the woman's garments; it displays a sound knowledge of anatomy as well as extremely clever modeling. Like "The Yellow Room" it is also very pleasing on account of its composition; in fact design is one of this artist's strongest points.

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A SUNNY MORNING FREDERIC C. FRIESEKE



the paintings of frederic c. frieseke

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