both as hard as nails and devoid of any real suggestion of the spirit
which animates either water or lions in reality. If it is so great an
achievement as we are often asked to believe to do certain things in
badly chosen material, then why not try to reproduce Rafael's "Sistine
Madonna" with thumbtacks? Most such attempts to find an agreeable
substitute for the various painting media are merely silly.

Sharing the hospitality of the cases with the embroidery pictures are
the wood sculptures, some of which are intensely interesting, as, for
instance, the "Man with the Spade." The underlying idea of cubism is
very intelligently embodied in this small figure, without any
affectation. The many small woodblock prints to be seen here do credit
to the reputation which Japanese artists have long enjoyed in this
special field.

The remaining smaller galleries are given over to replicas of the
originals of older art, modern sculpture, and painting in the modern
style. Why the modern Japanese artists want to divorce themselves from
the traditions of their forefathers seems incomprehensible. There is not
a thing in the western style in this gallery of Japanese painting that
comes anywhere near giving one the artistic thrills won by their
typically Japanese work. I think the sooner these wayward sons are
brought back into the fold of their truly Oriental colleagues, the
better it will be for the national art of Japan, the most profound art
the world has ever seen.



China