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WORKS .OF. ART HAVE FOR AGES BEEM THE LOOT OF W AR1 :
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f-rom:t.CtadaJ-a Aiiwp
THE rldnrttiid of worfca of art
Marine wirtlm Is a tai th&t
would ttk many colnrrjm to
writ completely. Today ta
Pari, the "Winged , Victory &nd' th
Veonjt of Mtlo, fragments saved mlrao
ulovaly from ancient aisz-uptiona, mrm
protected from thm enny, not. a In
1870, by belngr placed In cellara, bt
by beliv lncaaed In steel, as ara all
tb tamrat Louvr pictures.
Th Greek Room, the resting plao
of tb wonderful fragrmenta by'Phldlaa,
la surmotLBted by a roof of sandbags,
a shield agalnjrt possible ZeppeJla
bomba The top rooms of tb Iouvra,
with tbelr (lass roof, are turned late
hospital rooms, and the Bed Cross
tlag floats over, the old. palace.
Paris knows only too well the temp
tation exerted orer conqaerlag offi
cer by the art treasures of a nation,
for many of the Louvre treasures came
to her through the plundering of her
Napoleonic generals. Marshal Soult,
while conducting the Peninsular war,
has been pot on record tn Spanish
history as acre of the blggvt looters
of modern times. The two splendid
MurlUoa, the "Immaculate Conception"
and the "Birth of the Virgin." as well
as the "Miracle of San Diego," or "The
Angel's Kitchen," by the same artist,
were hidden at the approach of the
French by the two old priests who
composed the chapter of the Seville
cathedral. This was traitorously re
vealed to Soult. who Immediately -sent
to beg the pictures as a present, hint
ing strongly what would happen if the
"gift" were withheld. Years later
these pictures were shown In the Paris
home of Marshal Soult to his guest,
an English colonel. In pointing them
out Soult cynically remarked. "I valna
these two greatly, as they saved the
lives of two estimable persona."
When Soult left Seville after Mar
mont's defeat at Salamanca, he had
collected more than 1500 pictures. Thq
majority of these were requisitioned
by Napoleon of France, but many be
came Soult' private loot. When the
collection was finally sold at publio
auction tn 1852, by his son, the Due de
Dalmatle, It was a notable event in
Europe. The catalogue named 15
Murlllos, 18 Zurbarana, four Rlberan
and seven Alonzo Canos, but not a
word was printed as to their origin.
In the cathedral of La Carload gaps
are still left purposely where the fa
mous Murlllos once hung, and the
paces are pointed out to visitors.
But Sotilt was not the only Napo
leonic general of whom such stories
may be told. Not all had a passion for
pictures. A sergeant who rose from
the ranks contracted' a taste for art
during the ascent This was General
Junot. His fad was for Jewels, Jew
elry, and manuscripts. The sacristan
of the Cathedral of Toledo tells the
story, which he got from his prede
cessor, who was one day approached
by General Junot with a demand to
see the famous crown of the Virgin
which the cathedral possessed. Junot
admired It most respectfully for a
while, but suddenly stretched out his
hand and wrenched off a fine emerald
saying, "This suits me admirably," add
put it in his pocket.
Neys Spoils.
J
Marshal Ney, after three month'
occupation of Santiago, left with half
a ton of silver vessels from the cath
edral. Some of this was returned
when the French suffered defeat, but
so small was the part returned that
the belief has ever since persisted lr
Spain that large quantities of gold
and silver and gems must have been
buried by the French for future pos
session. Spaniards have ever since
been looking for this burled treasure.
The people of Paris prided them
selves on the Napoleonic art riches
brought from Spain, Italy, Germany,
and the Netherlands, and they bitterly
resented It when they were forced by
the allies after Waterloo to give inoart
of them back to their owners. It
seems that Louis XVIII had promised
& king of the Netherlands that if he
should ever regain his throne he would"
restore all the works of art that Na
poleon had caused to be taken from
Holland and Belgium. When this
agreement became known the other
powers put in their claim. Wellington
took" upon himself, however, the odium
attached to Louis XV Ill's promise, for
he rightly foresaw how unpopular the
sew king would become la Paris if it
were known that he wasthe cause of
the stripping of the Louvre. The an
cient bronze horses from St. Mark's,'
Venice, were among the most notable
objects that had to be returned.
AW wonderful MUla Dutch pla
PrfTfP'P'f 7 T77 '
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Old Mast-r- DaTn.cC
" e riaiCT)C3 'v
tures removed from the IxuvTe in 181S
were collected by 20 Dutch commis
sioners sent to Parts for the purpose,
and when all the canvasses lay on the
floor ready to be packed, leaving only
an array of empty frames on the walls,
It la said one of the Hollanders, who
lived In Antwerp, danced and cried
for Joy, rfaylng, -Now at last I can go
to church again in comfort." Blucher
personally carried away from Paris
the Napoleonic loot of Prussian pic
tures and statues. ,
There remain in the Lorrrr rtfll
many pictures whose advent there
dates from those stirring times, for
one reason or another not all 'being
returned to the countries from which
they came. Many others were bought
for the state by Louis XVIII and by
Napoleon III when various Napoleon la
personages or their descendants placed
their art possessions on the market.
Among the famous pictures still re
maining there from the Bonaparte
adventure, besides the three Murlllos,
are a Holbein of Richard Southwell,
brought from Germany in 180; a
Memllng which was In the collection
of Lucien Bonaparte, a Pietr de
Hooch, and a Paul Veronese.
Fate of Royal Tnasares.
One of the famous art collections of
the world, that of Charles X. was, after
his execution, looted by servants and
tradespeople to whom he was indebted
and by hangers-on of the court, many
of whom sold the pictures for ridicu
lously smell sums to people more
knowing if ho more honest than them
selves, until Cronfwell put a stop to
it and himself .purchased some pic
tures at a fair price.
"Warfare brings to works of art not
only destruction, but displacement.
Was It not because a uarurper occupied.
Greece that her Parthenon marbles be
came Lord Elgin's spoil? Even Eng
lish people themselves have not always
agreed as to the correctness of that
purchase by their government from
their ambassador to Greece, and Lord
Byron's Impassioned protest had many
sympathizers. Perhaps the act of Lord
Elgin was more cold-blooded than the
injuries to the Parthenon by the Vene
tian bombardment. After all, the Ven
etians may be known in Athens for
what they spared ahd what they built
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' ' ' ' ' I II II
MOST SECRETARIES MAY
T
rO BE even the busiest secretary
of a large organization sounds
like a peaceable enough way of
spending one's time. One does not
look for "careers of danger and daring"
in offices on Broadway. Bo when the
other day T. Gilbert Pearson, secretary
of the National Association of Audu
bon societies, sitting in his office
among papers and reports and letter
files and organization data, referred
casually to an attempt made upon his
life tn the heart of the Florida
swamps, his visitor gasped.
"I thought secretaries Just er
road out reports and addressed meet
ings and wrote letters and called on
congressmen and er things like
that," said the visitor, somewhat lame
ly tout with conviction. 1 didn't know
your job was to go down Into the
Everglades and ret shot at! Do many
officials of associations and companies
have to do things liks thatr
"Oh, yes," smiled Mr. Pearson. "Oh,
yes,, indeed; people who have anything
to do with natural science, or animal
life, or survey ane investigation work,
can't help having adventures. For
most of the year I and the other peo
ple like me sit up hers in a Broadway
office and keep busy at executive offiee
work. Bu for several weeks in the
year-1 go ou in the field" and inves
tigate things-aad that is exciting.
There are a great many official posii
tions Uko this, in which people do bars
THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL,
Napoleon and His Marshals Plundered
Europe of Art Treasures on a
Scale Without Parallel, While
Other Conquerors Have Also
Been Fond of Adding to
Public and Private
Art Collections
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t v.w.w.v. - i.w.w -
up there, unlike the Turks, whose rule
was one of devastation and neglect.
It is said that the Venetian command
er, General Morosinl, was reluctant to
bombard the Acropolis, and only con
sented after Its strategical necessity
was insisted upon at a council of offi
cers. The Turks had used the Parthenon-
as a storehouse for gunpowder
much as our Mew England forbears
Btored their ammunition In the village
church during the Indian wars.
, The cables have stated that a Swed
ish diplomat, M. Pousette, while
watching German soldiers loo tin?
hops In Lou vain, and having a small
camera in his pocket, asked a German
lieutenant if he might "take a pic
ture." The lieutenant, misunder
standing the question, waved his hand
toward a house and said, "Certainly,
there are a number of good ones
there." On the other hand, it is af
firmed that German officers carried
famous paintings for safety, during
the burning of Lou vain, from the ca
K&y, m AMERICAN P?i 4fV -r' IV
I t M-.-Mt: .. " - . u.s. . f ' f '.., -f t: - - yj-s-vfji. - T .1e. V '.-Jk
And "Secretary of the National Association of Audubon Societies"
May Surest Peace, but Read This.
to risk their lives many times in the
performance of what an outsider would
think must be Just routine duty.
' "My own Job isn't so risky in one
way as it used to be, because we have
routed out most of the bird-slaying
strongholds where 'desperate char
acters' were willing to shoot us In the
back for spying on them! But there
are other adventures: I had a fight
with a cotton-mouthed moccasin in
Florida the other day. And last year
In Arizona "
"What about being shot at In the
swampsr the visitor interrupted.
"Oh, that wasn't much," Mr. Pearsor
laughed. "I was trailing through the
Everglades, and a bird trapper who
had his own reasons, of course, for
wanting to get rid of meshot at me.
He didn't hit me, and he was afraid
to try again. , v
"You see," he explained, "the" partic
ular sort of excitement that has fallen
to my lot as secretary of this asso
' elation has come in two ways. X
spent a great deal of time ahd so did
many others in investigating and
fighting the killing of birds in the
southern states. The trapping of live
birds, the killing of songbirds, the ille
gal trade that, for ens reason and an
other, flourished In the forests of
Georgia and the swamps of Florida and
other places all this had to be
stamped out. We had our agents
there, of eoursa, but th aasoclatioa
In its earlier days was small and had
PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 18, 1914
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w - - aytv;;rar.r. - ir...l.ii . ... j.it tn
thedral into the town halL which still
stands. Art lovers hope that this In
cludes the famous "Last Supper" of
Dirk Bouts, and if this be so, history
is repeating itself, as another famous
picture by this same Dirk Bouts shows.
An Eventful History.
The picture referred to is In the
Chauteau of Chantilly, on the out
skirts of Paris, and this is the tale
It tells. In the history of the Dukcts
of Burgundy the story goes that Philip
the Good and his son. Count of Char
lais, were besieging Dinant, which was
garrisoned by 4000 revolutionary Lie
gola. The inhabitants, relying on the
promised protection of the King of
France, replied with Jeers and Insults
to Philip's heralds who called upon
them to capitulate. Not contented with
Insults, they beheaded and quartered
LEAD QUIET
to be very economical and the officials
had their own share of field work.
Then, too, I make constant investiga
tions now of bird reservations, of land
that may or may not be suitable to
set aside for birds. Of course, that
takes me into strange and wild places,
where there can't help- being some ex
citing adventures. It seems foolish to
talk about them because they are a
part of the 'routine' of so many posi
tions of this sort. But that is what
makes them interesting.
"The most really 'hair-raising ex
perience I ever had though It may not
sound so exciting as actually being
shot at was when I stopped in the
cabin of a Georgia 'cracker to find out
about the trapping of live birds. Trap
pins; live birds was against the law.
Tet Wi knew that traffic was going
on and that there was a leak some
where In Georgia. So I set out to find
It, and at last, away back la- the woods,
miles from everywhere, I came to the
hut of the man who. I knew, was head
trapper of the district. I had one man
with me, and I left him stationed in
the woods to come on if he heard
shots 'while I went to the hut.
"It was my business to find out all
about the trapping industry. There la
the cabin were the etd head trapper and
his wife a grizzled, savage looking old
woman.
"I said I wanted to boy a trap and
learn how to get the birds, and $ knew
the name, of a man, who was in the
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the messengers. Philip and the Count""
of Charolais were so enraged at this
treatment that they swore to raze the
town, plow It up, and sow salt, as of
old.
The town was taken, the women,
children, and ecclesiastics were drlveu
out, and the city given over to pillag
and destruction. Eight hundred citi
zens who attempted Farther resistance
were tied two by two and cast into the
Meuse. Sack and massacre lasted four
days, until finally fire broke out and
attacked the Church of Our Lady.
Here the Count of Charolais, willing
enough to commit murder and pillage,
recoiled against sacrilege. He not only
gave orders to save the precieus relics,
but threw himself into the flamesto
help rescue the altar jewels and njly
pictures. The purity of his motives
may be Judged by the fact that In the
meantime his own personal luggage
was burned.
At last he succeeded In saving the
articles Including the Chasse of St.
LIVES, BUT NOT THIS ONE
trade and used it, so that disarmed the
old man's suspicions, for a while at
least. But not the woman's; she didn't
trust me. And she got out her big
Winchester rifle and sat down close
to me and never took her eyes off my
: face. Every now and then she'd throw
In a surly question. Once or twice I
thought I was done for felt sure they
knew why I was there and neither of
them would have hesitated to shoot
me on the minute!
"I don't know how long X was there.
I found out all X wanted to know, and
then I had to try to 'pass the time
of day with them, to seem friendly, it
seemed to me that 1 was there hours.
When I got out to my confederate he
told me he'd been scared he knew
that these people were among the most
desperate characters in the woods.
That man had between 49 and SO trap
pers working for him, and his was the
last stronghold of his trade.
"One of the most exciting adventures
I have had in the line of ordinary in
spection happened recently In Florid.
I was looking up conditions for a bird
reservation in the Florida lakes, and
had gone over to one of the strange
little floating Islands 'tussocks,' they
call them that abound tn those
waters. These Islands are formed by
floating vegetation, the tops of which
have died down so that with the roots
they gradually form a sort of soli. It
Is safe enough te step en thtta U yea
step lightly . end 1 did. Bat all of a
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DyKa "Pai-ntn Vtfluuad art; 6o0,ooolonav3 TvansfiTcd
vTTQ-rv JfcVxa? Moilems Muea-um
Perpetua, and he carl red tt himself
across the river to the opposite town
of Bouvignes to be deposited in the
church there. This picture, by Dirk
Bouts, at Chantilly, shows this scene
the knight in flch armor is carrying
the Chasse of 8t- Perpetua up the
steps of the church, followed by his
escort of soldiers. At the door, wait
ing to receive the relics, are the Bish
op, with mitre and crosier, and his
splendidly robed churchmen. Behind
are the spears of troops, and in the
distance the smoke and conflagration
of the burning town of Dinant across
the river.
The quaint and charming painter,
who vraa commissioned by the town of
Dinant to paint this event, lived all
his days in Lou vain, was made Its mu
nicipal painter, and painted the walls
of its Town hall. Dirk Bouts wA
four years painting the trptych "The
Last Supper," only the central panel
Of wheh now belongs to Louvain, the
wings and shutters being in the mu
seums of Berlin and Munich. He re
ceived 200 Rhenish florins for hia four
years' work a generous wagi, he
thought and the honor of bis towns
people, who so cherished the triptych
that they caused the skillful wood
carver and ironworker, Josse Metsys,
to make a strong and handsome closet
for it, in which It might be locked up.
Loot Not What It Was.
French. Belgian, and Engl I ah
wounded of this war are bringing back
from the front German helmets as
trophies. The days have gone by when
trophies of war have anything but o
patriotic or utilitarian value. In an
cient times, ln! the so-called "Dark
Ages" and during the Renaissance,
armies carried works of art to battle
that any museum today would be
proud to place in its cases. The pri
vate soldier's look might have enriched
him forever had his greedy generals
permitted.
sudden the guide I had with me gave
a queer little cry, and I looked down
and saw a bug cotton-mouthed moc
casin snake right a't my feet
"I Jumped. There wasn't anything
else to do. I Jumped hard. I Jumped
ao hard I went through. The water Is
about 20 feet deep In those lakes, and
once you get down in it, among the
weeds and roots, you're gone. I
dropped to my shoulders, struggling
with the "soil' and grasses of the
'Island.' and trying to pull myself up
Everything broke when I caught at it.
Yes, I was scared. The guide rescued
me. If it hadn't been for him I'd have
cone through in a minute. He was
strong and he knew bow to stand snJ
brace himself among the weeds, and
ha pulled me out. The snake, by the
way, disappeared, but I saw scores of
ths same kind during that trip. Those
venomous moccasins abound down
there. ' I once killed 13 in the space
-of a city block.
"And one time, riding along a rocky
ledge in Arizona, I got off my horse as
he was slipping Just In time te avoid
havinc both lera broken, i Ha allotted
In a sort of gully between two rock
ledges, and I had a hard time getting
him out. It didn't hurt him. bevatui
scratching him a little, but if I had
gone down, seated, with my feet in
the stirrups, I could scarcely have
avoided having both my legs broken.
"Then there was the hurricane ad
venture a really terrible experience in
4 small host off the Keys, I was In
specting a reservation for gulls when
but these things are simply a matte:
of course. A secretary's Job, yea see,
needn't be dull. Fine thing fey a bey
whe craves the real, eld fashioned d
venturous life"
j
Not only were the arjjsor and th
field equipments In themwplvesthingr
on which goldsmiths lavished all thru,
art, and which even the humblest r:
tlsans knew how to make beautiful ;
but the officers carried, nat hygienic
collapsible steel and rubbfef camp arti.j
cles. but couches, buffets, haths, plat;
ters, and vessels of all kl.Sds mount el'
in gold and silver and ivay, and pearr"
and exquisitely worked ig. bronze an
copper. Pompeius Paultjtus, a mor. i
provincial general, had a, -.campaigning
outfit of silver that Weighed Im
pounds. -K i I V.
In making the weapon' of war thi
artist was the man sought after, foj?
he and the armorer, and. even iom
times also the engineer, yere one anj
the same man. Benev tfiuto Cellinly
who is known today for his salt ceH
lars and his statues, waaartilierlst i.)
Clement VII during the siege of RonO
and could make a sword as well
run a man through wlthf'it after if
was done. ' ,i5 ;r
Aa 'churchmen covered the waJls.Cf
churches, inside and out,1-with relifV
ious pictures, with the idea of educa.i
lng.tbe unlettered, so rulers froA
Egypt to modern Franks' and GeU
many have inspired thelrpeople to rr
newed prowess by sculptured, an 1
painted scenes of battle... j The famoA
Bayeux tapestry, which is said to have
been worked by Queen : Matilda anil
her maidens, is the quaintly broldertsi
story of Harold of Ungla.hd and Wis
liam the Conqueror. It -shows us at'
tlve blue and green borse$ and spirited
fighting men separated'; Into grouw
each telling Its own si pry, by atT't
little trees or fragment)' of battlf4
ments. It Is worked fl a piece ff
linen 260 feet long, wh,Jh fits aboMt
the nave of . the Bay eu Cathedral bi
France, about which It fcing for cent
uries, being shown especially during
the eight fete days following Goad
Friday. This rare wore of art Is jt
interest also in that It $ow the Sf
mor, clothes, manners, asi4 customs of
the 11th century. Th t stripping lif
the dead after battle, the roasting
the meats, the stacking the shleP(a
to serve as William's aiding table, tte
open boats used to crop the channel,
the hawks, dogs, and Corses, are U
portrayed. - i' U
A Well-Kept Uecret. fj
This tapestry .disappeared aeveiul
times early in its care and was jo
discovered early In the ltb eentuy.
When France was invalid In I7Jit
came near disappearing forever. Wirn
the soldiers were mobiriidag In By
eux, and carts werebog Improvised
to carry the army stores, this pUoe
of "old linen' was dragged from the
cathedral and used as tcoverfor ne
of the army transports4hIt was sated
only at the last momejii by the cub
missary of police, who fan to the res
cue, hid it in bis own itudy,-nd p?-c-d
some of his own rdusebold Hra
to take its place. When the Prussians
approached Bj.7iv eligbst a hundred
years later, in 18 71, tH tapestry vaa
crammed into a tin cylinder on whrcrt
the cover was soldered. Where It
was hid the authorities: would naPer
state, only answering, when timesi Df
safety caused it to reappear again, "fit
Know not wnea danger; may control
11 tpta. the time ;t not ripe 0
publishing Its hiding place." .;J
During the First EiKDtre and aciU
slter the Franco-'PruttUh war tbtrv.
was a great output war pletufes
tnev esrllsr ones showing class! fc
treatment, the latter realistic. M',ny.
have been the offerings for victorjjj La
the way of paintings. Among the njjoat
interesting Is that of the Madonna of
Vletory, by MntcgnK which was
ordered by the Duke tf Mantua, and
.which, thanks again to Napoleon's
warfare, hangs today m the Loifvre,
having tseea taken fr- Italy in 7n
and never returned, ft;
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