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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1907)
1 THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, NOVEMBER 3, 1907. 3 DAOTC 7 Si A. an M nff' The Lens and Plate Accom plishing What Old Masters Did With Palette and Brush 7 irjjiii IHIi X if? 4 C dl? a si ffii.il, ' a in rii I . IS?' ; ;?: ;.: ' " .-ii :.;;i:-Mra::iis:f 1 s- S:. ; f i : :; ;;!?: II i'-fif", ' ' "( " II mM 1 1 I ' li ft) ;:." i .tSril 1 54 I - f - 7 II ) i 4 f-i$FSL I II if, -v4i s.oi 4 ' 1 II lr ' 4 r I ft - v i Ir . IJL 0S& lV J 77GUZ$ OA JOMES- JjySCMV !3VC&Z:j 7 5P S 8 Mfe' ViM riY m -" THE man -with the camera Is reach ing high for his laurels, and modern photographic art today does with the lens and plate what the old masters did with palette and brush. Exhibits of the classic in picture-taking are found all over the world, and none Illustrated the remarkable development of the art more strikingly than did the Royal Photographic Society's show in London, which has Just come to a close. There, in the beautiful rooms of the New Gallery, thousands crowded about the prize-winning pictures, hung and ar ranged like the canvases at an academy exhibit, and those who understood real ised that a new type of artist had arrived the man with the camera. Perhaps the most striking among the pictures were those studies of the "hu man form divine," which were shown in large numbers, both draped and In the nude. Men, women and children, chosen for their lithe and graceful figures, posed in many an ancient Roman or Grecian scene, on flower-strewn benches or by sil very waters and with the warm sunshine bathing them in a wealth of light and shadow. A remarkable fact in connection with all these photographs was their absolute purity. Scarcely one of the nudes could give offense to the veriest prude, so abso. lute was the artistic effect which per vaded each example, and so thoroughly was the mere physical aspect banished by the photographer who had caught the inspiration. Then there were hundreds of prints made on the lines laid down by the-great masters. Lovely figures which suggested Michael Angelo, Tintoretto or Raphael were reproduced in gray, white and brown by cunning hands and eyes which knew how to manipulate the "little black box," and how to make the most of light, shad ow and expression. Notable among these was Mrs. G. A. Barton's portrait of herself as "St. Cath. erlne," an excellent example of her work which included a number of very striking figures and groups. "St. Catherine" shows the stamp of the Italian school, and contains a suggestion of Lippi and Raphael. Misty harbors showed sails fading from sight in the dying day, calling to mind Turner's masterpieces. Gay cavaliers, with fierce mustaches and sweeping plumes, suggested Rembrandt. Still oth ers recalled Gainsborough, and here and there were landscapes, groups of still life, all reproduced from model to glass, and from glass to paper, counterfeiting in the Twentieth Century what great wielders of the brush and palette did at the easel in other days. Then, too, there were modern examples, recalling to those who attended -the ex hibit the great names in the world of art today. Modern Venice, basking in sun shine or mirroring gondolas from its canals, was well represented. Stately ca thedrals reared their spires in many a print, while the desert, the plains and tie sea all figured conspicuously. There was only one thing lacking col- .it . 4... 7) X V 1 -i 1 . usoLcrTzr svzrswo Tysorryjjy rct&zrs or r&z: or. Absolute examples of life and na ture's own handiwork though they were, the gray, white and brown, limitations drew a sharp line between them and the gorgeous canvases on which the man with the brush exerted eye and hand to express his thoughts in rich pigment. Of course, there were many examples of "color photography," an art which is advancing beyond the experimental stage, and which is being developed eo rapidly as to encourage the hope that the camera will one day reproduce nature in her every hue. When that day comes photography may well wear the laurels for which It is reaching out now. It Is interesting to note the fact that behind the classic in photography lies the "camera craze." Kor the most part, the various exhibits are contributed to by am ateurs. Several years ago. when the develop ment of the camera had progressed suf ficiently to make it a popular toy, men, women and children of all ages went forth in search of things to "shoot" by pressing the button. Boye and girls got the craze, spent their parents' money for "supplies," blackened their Angers, burned their clothes and set the house on Are. Once in a while they got a "result," and with the "result" which, of course, was shown to admiring friends, came more purchases of camera by those who had not tried their hands as yet. Parents became in- frotrizres 1 jyrtjo wio t- s-LC terested through their children, and the camera companies raked in the dollars in great streams. No vacation, no Journey and no excur sion was complete without a cemera ere long, and every corner of the globe re sounded with the "click-click" of the shut ter. But out of all this, excitement and aim less experimenting there developed the "camera fiend," who thought and- worked intelligently. One good , "result" was merely an Incentive with him to try for a better one, and gradually when he had mastered the rudiments of merely "tak ing a picture," he began to look about for "effects." He noticed the soft light shining through a window on a face, or the reflection in a crystal stream of trees, grasses and flow ers. It awoke a sense of artistic appreci ation In his mind, and he tried tomake h!s camera express Just what these lights and shadows meant to him. Camera clubs came next, and with these came periodical exhibits. Mutual criti cism at these shows was helpful, and each succeeding exhibition told Its story of de velopment in the improved entries. The movement spread from a mere local affair and took-on broader lines, and presently the metropolis had Its "photographic sa lon," where plttures from all over the world were seen. Those who win the prizes need not be artists In the technical sense.' True, they must possess the faculty for posing their models, and must have learned through many experiments the value of Hgkt and shade, the Importance of a second too much or too little in "exposing," and a hundred and one little details which fig ure In the production of a good photo graph. But chief among the requisites for suc cess as a photographer of the classic is a keen appreciation of the beautiful and ths effective. It is this spirit which has raised photography from the mere performance of "taking pictures" to a plane on which It is recognized today as one of the high est of arts. Fifty-Pound Cabbnif e. Forest Grove News. If you have cabbages that weigh over 51 pounds and measure over 6 feet 2 inches. Just take a car load ot them around to Judge Langlcy, for he will take them all. The Judge has one on ex hibition In nis office of the dimension and weight bit up to date all that have seen the mammoth vegetable claim that it is the biggest "fruit" they have ever seen. It was raised by Peter Evers who runs a ranch In the Verboort settlement. Mr. Evers sold several heads to John E. Bailey that weigh from 15 up to V. pounds but the one in possession of Judge Langley Is the largest on record. It would make a German's mouth water and fill his eyes with tears to gaze upon tile head and think how much good soui kraut it might have been. The Cat. (Chicago Dally News.) Mistress Did you remember to feed the cat every day during my absence?" Servant Every day but one, ma'am. Mistress And didn't the poor .thing have anything to eat all day?" Servant Oh, yes, ma'am; she ate the canary. The Quality Not the Name. It ia the quality and not the name That gives to Portland water ita wide fame. What care the people for Its rise or flow? Its purity Is all they ask to know. So let the narpies wranale o'er Its name. It will continue Portland's blessing. Just the same. This proud nursling of old Mt. Hood Cares naught for your absurd contention, A rose, by any other name would smell as sweet. Even though It mere a name one dare not mention. MRS. A. B. P, 'f