Tuesday, May 17, 1960 University Daily Kansan
Page 3
Italian Artist Represented Entire Era
By Allen Brauninger
Tintoretto represents not a moment in time, but the passing of an entire era of expression.
John Maxon, director of fine arts at the Chicago Art Institute, used these words to describe the art of Tintoretto, a mid-16th century Italian artist, to student and faculty members at last night's University lecture.
MR. MAXON was director of the Museum of Art and chairman of the art history department at KU from 1948 to 1952.
"In his search for the meaning
of man's nature, Tintoretto put an emphasis on the natural as well as the supernatural phenomena of the world." Mr. Maxon said. "In his expression of natural phenomena, he was definitely ahead of his time."
"He used visual imagery with layers of meaning. You can peel off layer after layer of meaning and never come to any final revelation," he said.
"HIS WORK reveals astonishment, horror and fear," Mr. Maxon said, commenting on slides of Tintoretto's work which were shown during the lecture.
Mr. Maxon pointed out the enormous sensual beauty with which Tintoretto portrayed the devil in his "Temptation of Christ."
"This is a striking contrast to the head of Christ, which Tintoretto portrayed as cold, austere and withdrawn," he said.
traordinary sensitivity, but lacked the brilliant originality that was necessary for an artist in the 16th century Italian city state," Mr. Maxon said. "He observed and borrowed from other painters, but he added something new — a looseness of touch in applying the paint."
Tintoretto was bored by ordinary portrait work and turned most portraiture over to assistants once his shop was firmly established, Mr. Maxon said. The subject matter of his works ranged from miracles to grave robbing and to self-portraits.
His pattern of brush strokes became a decorative addition to the work by themselves, Mr. Maxon said.
"TINTORETTO displayed ex-
"In his last known picture, a self-portrait, one can sense a heightened self-awareness which is the essence of dramatic art."
John Maxon, Former Art Director Praises Growth of KU Collection
By Frank Morgan
"I was simply bowled over by the enormous growth of the museum since I was last here—it's just phenomenal what has happened to this place in so short a time."
John Maxon, director of Fine Arts of the Art Institute of Chicago, was commenting on his return to the University Art Museum yesterday. He was the museum director from 1948 to 1952.
"TAKE THAT work there for instance," he said, gesturing toward the eighth century polychromed wood sculpture of the Madonna and Child.
"I would have to look long and hard, and chances would be slight that I could find such a piece."
His enthusiasm for the acquisitions and work of Edward Maser, Mr. Maxon's successor and present museum director, was apparent when he spoke of the museum's place in the University.
"WHAT I DID when I was here is but a drop in the bucket compared to what Mr. Maser has done. He has made the museum into a functional part of the University instead of just a show place.
"When I was here I would say there would be an average of one student a day come in to take advantage of the exhibits and now, with the art history classes being held here and the interest that has been stimulated, I understand there is a continual flow of people."
As if on cue, three students entered the main hall and had to be told the room was closed due to the preparations for the reception for Mr. Maxon that was held last night.
MR. MAXON continued, "As far as I know, this is the most distinctive historical art collection of any state university. There is material here that could hold its own with Princeton, Harvard or Yale; and they have had 200 years and a great deal of financial support to build their collection."
He then stressed the importance of the art museum as a cultural center by pointing out its value for study of the history of art and establishing a bond with the past
"These are the areas in which a university becomes rich. There will always be money for buildings and such, though sometimes hard to come by, but the implications involved in the acquisition of art treasures are not always easily seen."
He humorously added, "There aren't any immediate dividends from building such a collection as this; it won't win a cold war or help put missiles up in space but it is the difference between civilization and non-civilization.
MR. MAXON'S career has been nothing short of spectacular in the art world. A product of Lawrence public schools, he studied as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan and took his master's degree and doctorate from Harvard.
Leaving KU in 1952, he was made director of the museum of the Rhode Island School of Design, Proxidence, R. I. where he worked until September, 1959.
JOHN MAXON
"My finest acquisition . . . St. Damian, a gold and white gilded lindenwood sculpture."
HE SAID THAT the Chancellor's intense interest in medieval art has contributed a great part to the present stature of the museum. Then he went over to the painting "Portrait of a Lady as a Sibyl" one of the Kress collection works, painted by Guido Reni in the 17th century.
The position he now holds at the Chicago Institute is considered one of the highest in the field of historical art.
"This is a remarkable piece," he said, "and though I'm prejudiced toward Reni, it is a distinctive work for study, and a first class object that few museums could afford."
Mr. Maxon referred to Chancellor Franklin Murphy's role in the growth of the museum as he strolled about the newly acquired Kress Foundation exhibit.
6-Hour in by 10 a.m. out by 4 p.m Photo-Finishing
Trump Takes New Position
FAST MOVIE AND 35 MM COLOR SERVICE (By Eastman Kodak)
Richard S. Trump, instructor of art history and curator of the Museum of Art, has accepted a position as assistant professor of art history at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.
Mr. Trump will help organize the art history department at Kent University. He received his M.A. in 1954 from Iowa State University, and taught art history at the College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, before going on to Ohio State University to work toward a Ph.D. He came to KU in 1959 where he assumed the duties of assistant director of the Museum of Art and instructor of art history.
He has had several of his paintings on display at many exhibits but his primary interest is in the history and theory of art. For his doctoral dissertation Mr. Trump is working to bring to public notice the paintings of an hitherto unrecognized German-American painter.
HIXON STUDIO
'Caine Mutiny'
To Open Thursday
"The Caine Mutiny," a dramatic adaptation of the Pulitzer-prize winning novel, will be presented Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the University Experimental Theatre.
The play is about the court martial proceedings against a young lieutenant who relieved his captain of command on the grounds that the captain was a psychopath directing his shin and crew to destruction.
DON CRAWFORD-BOB BLANK
721 Mass. VI 3-0330
The production will be directed by Jacob Rast, Columbia, S.C., graduate student.
Curator Depicts Washington's Art, Buildings
Washington, D.C., is a city of relies and whiteness in architecture.
These observations were made by Richard Trump, instructor of art history and curator of the Museums of Art, yesterday in his lecture, "Washington and the National Gallery."
MR. TRUMP'S lecture was the final one in a series of six public lectures on "Great Cities and Their Art." The talks were sponsored by the department of art history.
He said Washington's National Art Gallery was completed in the 1850's. Its collection includes the Chester Dale collection, the Kress collection, and the Widener collection.
To emphasize his point about the whiteness of the buildings in Washington, Mr. Trump showed slides of the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial; the Washington Monument, the White House, the Capitol building, the Library of Congress the Folger Shakespearean Library, and the National Art Gallery. All these buildings are white.
"Wherever the tourist goes in Washington he will encounter reliess of the past," said Mr. Trump. "Even the trees in Washington have a historical significance. One of the trees located near the capitol building is supposedly the tree under which George Washington stood while planning his version of the capitol building.
He showed numerous slides of the various monuments and buildings taken from some distance away to illustrate his point.
Mr. Trump showed slides of paintings by such great artists as Titian, Raphael, El Greco, Gainsborough, Durer, Van Gogh, and Rembrandt. He also showed Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington, Whistler's "The Woman in White," Rubens "Isabella Grant," and David's "Napoleon."
"NO MATTER where you are in Washington, you can always see the buildings at a distance."
HE SHOWED a painting of Niagara Falls by Frederick Church and one of the House of Representatives by Samuel F. B. Morse, which are housed in the Corcoran Art Gallery.
He said the Phillips Art Gallery contains important contemporary paintings, and showed Stuart Davis "The Egg Beater" and Renoir's "The Lunch of a Boating Party," which are housed there.