THE -SUNDAY OBEGONIAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER. 18, .1904.
True Charm of Madonna at Last Portrayed
Painters and Photographers of Today Succeed Where
Greatest of Old Masters Failed
tm If it I
I 11 K-3aHHCiJW 1
oC
CHRISTMAS Is the beat. In fact, the
only time In the whole year when
we seem to fully realize tho
world's great love for the Madonna
and child.
At some period during: this season
one can hardly help taking time to
pause and consider how universally It
is shown through all the ages in
painting1, song and story. There is no
other love like It; none so lasting or
so real.
But most interesting of all to those
of this twentieth century Is tho fact
that this great, burning love, despite
all the crime, sin and sordldness of
tho world, is brighter and more In evi
dence today than ever'before.
Mother's love for her first born has
become tho keynote to the happiness
of the universe,- Just as Its portrayal
has been and still is the favorite-theme
of the artist and writer.
The technical knowledge of the con
noiseur is not necesary to appreciate
beauty in a picture of the mother and
the child, and the Madonna has always
ben the most popular subject in-ancient
and modern painting.
This is only another proof that the
truest art is that which reaches
straight o the heart of the observer,
and which does not require the medium
of a trained intellect to translate its
meaning.
And this, therefore, is the highest
poslble ideal (and one whose attain
ment will require years- of earnest, lov
ing effort) to take the every-day facts
of life, show their beauty and bring
out their deeper meaning in such simple
human strokes that it seems not art at
all, but only nature.
And so the story of motherhood Is
ever old, and ever new, and always
more and more beloved. For the sim
ple, kindly heart of the most uncouth
or the most highly educated hears life's
sweetest stories in the pretty babble of
baby and mother talk.
Stringing pretty words that make no sense,
And kissing full sense Into empty words,
"Which things are corals to cut Ufa upon.
Although such trifle'.
In comparing the photographs of
motherhood of fifty years ago with
those of today; it Is interesting to see
repeated some salient points of the
whole history of ancient and modern
art, as shown In paintings of the Ma
donna. .
Until more than a dozen centuries
after Christ the Madonna was painted
in simple portrait style. That there,
was little knowledge of perspective or
drawing Is well illustrated by the fact
that in many of the old paintings tho
artists concealed the nands of the sit
ter within tho folds of their draperies,
because they did not know how to
draw them.
The artists' limitations forbade'
equally any acessories of surround
ings, and also, of course, any free por
trayal of the mother love, the paint
ing thus being but a pictorial state
ment of ttie facts.
This is also true of the last century's
early results in photography.
Eoow at some of the stiff, little photo
graphs -of mother and child, . say of
half a century ago. Do they express
the ever-present mother love? And
yet. Indeed, the love has not changed
In "centuries past, or ever "will "in cen
tur.ifea to come. -
A-mother 1b a mother" till.
The holiest thine alive.
For once In a while some, man o'er
reached the limitations of his time,
and from some old ambrotype there
look the brooding eyes, of rfotherhood,
and in their depths lurk all the unmis
takable mother messages coming down
through the years to the baby., "now a
man. . - " . ' .J
In such -a- picture mis was due not
Qnly to .bis superior handling -of the J
mocnamcai part ot pnoiograpiiy, dui
also to" the charactet of tho man hlm
s'elf. For he" must be at'heart a. poet
who would sucessfully portray mother
hood, the sweetest poetry of life.
A half century ago It was a thou
sand times more difficult for even the
innately artistic man to express him
self In his photography, and indeed it
was impossible to work freely.
The results of his struggles should'
be leniently Judged. As a rule, the
pose of his subject of the Madonna
and rhlTd" was stilted. However, be
was quite sure of bolng. able la manage
his camera Juat .right, and so lie Intro
duced in the picture many accessories,
such as the ferns and open window.
This Is a good type of the old-time
photographer's almost childish delight
when he found he could successfully
portray his sitter's appearance. "
Success was ahead when he could
Lament
if the
Umatilla
Spirit of the Testerday
Hovers near and croons,
Brings my heart the .hunting ground"
Of the long-lost Junes.
Sings of years forgotten, :
Chants of races dead
"Wep, my wondering baby.
For the good moons fled!
By the silvers' river.
All your race has died.
Sleep and dream, my baby.
By its lisping tide!
Comes no more the huntsman
From the .glorious chase;
On yon templed mountains
Swarms the paler face!
Hark! I hear a whisper.
Calling from the past
Hear the warrior's frenzied cry.
On the tempest cast!
Hush, my heart, and listen.
Calling, calling still
Ah, 'tis but the moaningwind
O'er the barren hill!
Hark! the hurried hoofbeats
Of the warrior band
Ah, my heart betrays me
In this empty land!
Sleep and dream, my baby.
By the tepee fire
Nothing tot thy kindling hope.
Nothing to desire!
Broken, let fhy young heart ache.
Crushed, thy spirit ,brood!
"What to thee the white man's ways?
"Worse than solitude?
Byva dying watchfire.
Crooning in the night, .
Let the vanquished tribesmen
Pass from human sight.
Bert Huffman.
Pendleton, Or.
make a picture that copied tho facts
of their features accurately!
The nonward! He would sometime
show he could copy still more facts,
and with equal success.
Thert later entered the day of pic
tures where tho sitter is discovered,
meekly sitting in the midst of an un
dergrowth of weird foliage, in an
elaborately carved chair, which one
could not have the neart to offer to any
acquaintance.
And back of the grewsome griffins and
flowering oaks on the gilded chair were
seen stairways winding about and. leading
upward, ever upward, to nowhere.
This same developing capacity and love
for depicting details Is found true In the
progress of art. After the period when
the artist limited himself through sheer
Incapacity to draw, then came the time
when he had mastered his technique, and
when he reveled In architectural back
grounds and all Borts of details behind
many of the madonnas.
The photographer 50 yeara and more
ago was struggling with the sordid me
chanical Imperfections of his camera.
How could he hope to tell love's own
story, when hjs very being was centered
in a wrestle with the manipulations of
the Instrument?
Here we have the condensed history of
centuries of struggles of the ancient
painters with their brush technique. For
It was only about the beginning of the
15th century that the artist showed he
learned of nature by his portrayals of tho
Madonna.
And in this same way, the photographs
of about 50 years ago are, as a rule, mere
facts, stated in the best language at the
photographer's command.
But what a poor and halting language.
In which the very heart of motherhood
la not translated at all, save In a few
rare Instances. .
But today we reach over a stretch of
. -7 m , r i ' vr-s w.
J. t fCi ' 'U'-iOO A.
:3 d
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nearly 1C0O years, and grasp the beauty of
utter simplicity In portraying the Ma
donna. The modern painter deliberately chooses
to tell the story of mother love In the
most simple language, which was the
only possibility centutries ago. but now
adding all the freedom of nature.
And thus the modern artistic photogra
pher also reverts to the treatment used
In the early photographic portraits.
Though now he portrays nature In some
graceful, natural pose, impossible to seize
quickly without the perfection of modern
appliances.
He now shows only the mother and the
child, without the distraction of compli
cated backgrounds. For when all life's
hopes and fears and sweetest meanings
are already In the picture, where Is the
use of adding meaningless details?
The mother and the child breathe all
the story In themselves.
But the messages' of all Madonna pic
tures, especially at the Joyous Christmas
time, are not those of beauty alone.
For the mother eyes and lips speak to
the listening world to remind them of
the other wee little folks, motherless ones
who "fink It's kind er lonesome spesherly
in the dark, never belongin to noboddles,
when you're little."
And. indeed, this "never belongin to
noboddles when you're little" sends the
dark down life's pathways of these little
folks when grown! For It Is In the
trudge of the little feet and the croon
of the lullaby song that the past and fu
ture history of all the world Is written.
And so the real Madonna of the Joyous
Christmas time is not only the younc
mother, with her child, but is also tho
one who gives to some hungry little
heart what should be the birthright of
every child, a knowledge of true Madonna
love.
COLD STORAGE IN REACH OF THE MULTITUDE
Everyone Can Now Have a Refrigerator Plant in His Store or House.
IV HAS been proved possible to cool soda
fountain drinks to a lower temperature
than Is obtained by the usual methods
of Icing without using a pound of ice.
The experiment was tried last Summer
In some of the largest soda fountains and
proved a success in every way, says the
Chicago Chronicle.
After many years of experimenting and
at a great expenditure of money and gray
matter, mechanlca1 refrigeration has been
perfected, to the point that It is only
necessary to touch a button and secure
the desired temperature. This places the
soda-fountain man. grocer, butcher and
the larger household in a position of ex
treme Independence of the iceman. The
grocery box of one of the leading grocery
stores has been operated in the samo
manner, and tho proprietor Is enthusi
astic about the results obtained. The
operation of the box is not only more
economical than with the use of Ice, but
more advantageous In many other ways.
The greatest consideration Is the sani
tary cleanliness of the new order and the
simplicity of Its operation.
The process of daily charging the box
with Ice Is one attended by more or less
of a mess. The Ice is generally put In
the top, and In so doing Is broken and the
pieces scattered around inside the re
frigerator and out. Unclean Ice will be
quickly the means of fouling the refrig
erator, and under the most favorable cir
cumstances, unless the Interior of tho re
frigerator Is kept scrupulously clean by
frequent and thorough attention, the in
terior will become tainted, the condition
being greatly facilitated by the moisture
always present In the interior.
Dry Cold Is Obtained.
"With the electrical refrigeration system
this unwholesome condition Is avoided.
The air of the box Is colder than Is ever
made by the presence of the ice, and is
perfectly dry. The box Is maintained In
a most desirable state of sanitary clean
liness, with little care, and a constant
temperature maintained at almost any de
sired point.
The electrical refrigerator Is practically
a diminutive coldstorago plant such as is
in operation in almost every city of the
country at present. The principle Is not
a new one. but it is only now that it has
been put In such shape that it could be
operated by one having no technical
knowledge whatever either of electricity
or of refrigeration. Heretofore the small
isolated refrigerating plant has been Im
possible by reason of the fact that its
operation required the superintendence of
some one specially trained for the busi
ness, and this requirement placed this
means of refrigeration out of the reach
of the storekeeper, dairyman, saloonkeep
er and other persons who make use of
ice In moderate quantities.
The new system has been experimental
ly tried, and its applicability for these
particular uses thoroughly demonstrated.
The system is almost automatic. The
only attention needed Is to turn the switch
throwing the motor Into action at such
time as desired, and to throw It off again
later.
Whole Apparatus Simple.
As stated above, the outfit is simply a
miniature cold-storage plant. The whole
apparatus is contained within the box in
a compartment at one end. It consists of
a motor with the necessary compressors
and other apparatus for cooling the brine.
The part of the refrigerator usually de
voted to the reception of Ice and generally
at tho top Is taken up by a brine tank,
which is the cooling medium. "With this
it Is readily possible to maintain a tem
perature lower than that usually secured
by the use of Ice.
It is necessary to keep this installation
In operation only a part of the day. For
Instance, In the grocery store referred to
above the motor Is In operation on an
average of eight hours a day. "When the
store Is closed for the night the current
Is shut off and the cold brine Is sufficient
to keep -tho temperature almost constant
until the starting time of the following
morning. Thl3 particular refrigerator
has maintained a temperature of 34 de
grees for 24 hours without being in opera
tion. This apparatus has been perfected only
recently, and is about to be placed on the
market in two or three different shapes
suited to different purposes to which it is
most. likely to be put. The electric supply
companies, ex'er alert to discover some
means of Increasing the consumption of
current, are calling the attention of their
patrons to the Innovation, and It is likely
that they will be largely adopted.
The Voice Divine.
Booklovers Magazine.
In that dim time when man was still a. brut
He heard a vole? seductive as the breeze
That klases April buds. It wooed from out
The heart of God. it moved within him elow.
Like faint, far echo from a new-struck harp
It thrilled him to a strange and sad unrest.
No power had he to apeak this pregnant stir
To forceful word3-ito music unto song;
But. ah, the pain of that tar-distant time
When Instinct primal smote-he consciousness.
"When dazed eyes hot with unshed tears looked
Upon a brutish body, fanged and haired.
I
By day or night through all the endless year
Ke'er reased the voice to sound Its vibrant
call. f
He heard It In the thunder's rolling shock.
And on the wind that stirred him from his
lair
The shadow-hunted forest seemed alive
With a compelling force that took no shape.
And when he stole his mate by strength alone.
Something within him promising- delight.
The fruitful impulse struck hia lust aside
And fired his Joy upon the child instead.
And from the dark to light he swiftly grew.
Urged by the wondrous voi that taught him
love.
Tho voice divine! He hears It clearly now.
And all the heritage of memory
Stored In the boundless caves of time Is his.
For his interpretive ability
To reincarnate here that man may- know
How long God called him ere he understood.
And etill the earth moves on In rhythmic
awing.
Majestic with the farthest planet's march,
And still God sends his voice across the wild.
Forever-more the struggling man shall hear
'And, hearing, tireless go to the sorrowed road,
His sonshlp proving answering the votes.