Page 25 - Studio International - October 1970
P. 25

THIS TEXT WAS FIRST PRINTED BY J. W. HOLM IN   a certain awe and great wonder. These   Intelligence is not required for their use, but
           STOCKHOLM IN  1877. IT IS HERE PUBLISHED IN   gentlemen are  art connoisseurs.  If they write   firstly self-confidence and secondly detach-
           ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME.               down what they have been talking about and   ment. A connoisseur must never doubt, never
                                                     have it printed in a paper they are called   blush or become perplexed, never let himself
           Motto                                     art critics.  The poor ignoramus thinks, of   be drawn into long debates. If he is attacked
           Presence of mind is the first condition for the   course, 'Imagine how much these men must   by an art historian he takes the practical
           connoisseur                               have studied and learned and thought, to be   stand on the side of the painter, and con-
                                                     able to run like that from room to room, to   versely on the side of the art historian if he is
           INTRODUCTION                              speak like that, to smile so scornfully, and to   attacked by a painter. For the form in which
           Our art exhibitions are wide open to the art-  examine dark corners of paintings'. This leads   opinions should be expressed see 'ambiguous
           loving public and offer us the most hetero-  him to the full consciousness of his own insig-  statements' or 'en-tout-cas'.
           geneous pleasures, because the table of the   nificance. If the painting has the name of   Facetiousness is especially desirable; the person
           arts is full of delicacies of all kinds. We are—  Edv. Berg, Tideman, Sörensen, then every   who possesses this quality will not even have
           thanks to destiny—no longer naive. A con-  sensible person thinks he must praise it. If it   to learn this dictionary by heart, so long as
           temporary of a Dürer or a Holbein, a      is signed by one of the newer French masters,   he merely has the aforementioned attributes of
           Raphael or a Titian, a Rubens or a Michel-  then he must condemn their crude materi-  a connoisseur.
           angelo found delight in the creations of the   alism. But what to do if one has never heard
           masters. Like children they stood in front of   the name before? Is it not all too easy to
           the masterpieces, captivated in soul and   criticize a painting which may get the first   Academy, Academic. Regular, according to
           heart, enjoying their beauty without critical   prize, or to praise another which is painted by   the rules, but never of genius, hence Academi-
           remark, amazed by their grandeur and pas-  a mere mediocrity! The terrible consciousness   cian. Should always be pronounced with a
           sionately stirred by their sublimity. This   of this possibility makes one insecure, inhibits   certain mild contempt. About historical
           approach is now happily out-of-date. We have   the necessary detachment and creates a sense   paintings and allegorical subjects it is always
           no time to let our souls be sentimentally   of inner mortification.                 safe to use this word without fear of ridicule.
           stirred by the beautiful; admiration we do not   Every cultivated person must nowadays be able to
           know, since it is something which only chil-  form an opinion about everything, and not only the   Allegorical paintings. To be indicated with
           dren and fools can feel, and the sublime is in   grown-ups, but every schoolgirl, at least in   a shrug of the shoulders as a thing of the past.
           our eyes only one  thing: the million. But in   the better schools. From this follows the necessity   If they are well painted one may add: 'What
           spite of this we do not deny the decorative   of learning how to express an opinion.  Learning   a pity that such talent is wasted on such pur-
           aspect of art, so long as it does not force us to   is a fatal word! But we bring comfort to all the   poses. The painter apparently lacks under-
           think or to feel too much. For us the most   downhearted, because nothing is easier to   standing of the requirements of today'. (Very
           important thing is, and remains, to be able to   learn than art criticism.          useful phrase).
           talk about art.                           I am here betraying a secret, which the
           Everybody who has visited an exhibition and   connoisseurs anxiously guard,  'Nothing is   Angelo, Michel. To be used in comparison
           observed the public cannot fail to have noticed   easier than to become a connoisseur.' The common,   if a painting represents forced positions of
           certain people whose behaviour is peculiar in   everyday, uninitiated man is the victim of an   naked bodies; always together with this
          one way or another. Sometimes they stand   antiquated notion: he follows his  feelings,   addition: 'Exactly this was comprehended by
           very close in front of a painting, and examine   which one flatteringly describes as an obscure   M.A., who with royal sovereignty mastered
           a dark corner in which other people are   movement in the unconscious. If the uniniti-  the most daring forms, thereby expressing his
           unable to discover anything, sometimes they   ated man says, 'That painting is beautiful', it   great thoughts'. (Specially recommended
          stand back and look through a half-closed   means actually, 'I am unable to give any   phrase).
          fist, as though through a little telescope;   reason for it, but I like that painting'. For him
          sometimes they show their enchantment over   the feeling is everything. How inferior he is in   Antique.  To be used with respect. When
          a small and indifferent painting, sometimes   comparison with the connoisseur ! Feeling is   talking about plastic art one can with advan-
          they shrug their shoulders in front of a large   an empty word: Hottentots and Kafirs have   tage use expressions like 'antique sense of
          canvas and smile scornfully. When two such   feelings, animals have feelings, but only a   form', 'antique profile', 'antique drapery', etc.
          people meet, their behaviour becomes almost   connoisseur can form an opinion. Beauty or
          alarming; they take each other's arms and   delight are of no matter to him; the forming   Arrangement.  The way in which the ob-
          rush from one gallery to another, put their   of an opinion is all; therefore, the highest pur-  jects, like dresses, rooms, etc., are organized,
          heads together, and converse excitedly.    pose of art is precisely to provide the con-  or how figures, portraits and so on are placed.
          Other visitors regard them with a certain   noisseur with the opportunity to gain that
          reverence, but the listener hears words like   satisfaction which he experiences in 'forming   Bitumen.  A brown colour, nowadays used
          `aerial perspective', 'madder-lacquer', 'carna-  an opinion' and in criticism.       extensively by painters; it is therefore safe to
          tion', 'spatula', and so on, until his head   How to become a connoisseur depends upon know-  use. Bitumen gives warmth and depth. Gen-
          reels, and he looks at the mysterious men with    ledge of art—and of professional terminology.   erally it is very useful, like names of colour





          PROFESSOR BERNARD  mum, Director of the Power   TORE HÅICANSSON  is a Swedish behavioural anthropolo-  Correction. The author of the article 'The Seventies:
          Institute of Fine Arts, University of Sydney, is a   gist.                           post-object art' in the September issue of Studio Interna-
          historian of Australian art, and has also contributed to                             tional was Donald H. Karshan not, as printed, Donald
          Géricault and Coleridge studies. His  European Vision   BRUCE MCLEAN lives in London and is currently working   C. Karshan. We apologise for any inconvenience caused
          and the South Pacific  (O.U.P.) appeared recently as a   for his retrospective exhibition 'King for a Day.'   by this error.
          paperback.
                                                     BARBARA MUNGER  has assisted Michael Asher with   Acknowledgment. The Arts Council of Great Britain
          CAROLINE TISDALL  is art critic of  The Guardian.  She   projects at the Pomona College of Art Gallery and the   for the loan of a colour block.
          assisted Theo Crosby with the organisation of the   Museum of Modern Art, New York. She is an artist and
          kinetic exhibition currently at the Hayward Gal-  a teaching assistant at the California Institute for the
          lery.                                      Arts.
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