Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D Part 35

MONTALBA, CLARA. a.s.sociate of the Society of Painters in Water-Colors, London, and of the Belgian Society of Water-Colorists. Born in Cheltenham, 1842. Pupil of Isabey in Paris. Her professional life has been spent in London and Venice. She has sent her pictures to the Academy and the Grosvenor Gallery exhibitions since 1879. "Blessing a Tomb, Westminster," was at the Philadelphia Exposition, 1876; "Corner of St. Mark's" and "Fis.h.i.+ng Boats, Venice," were at Paris, 1878.

In 1874 she exhibited at the Society of British Artists, "Il Giardino Publico"--the Public Garden--of which a writer in the _Art Journal_ said: "'Il Giardino Publico' stands foremost among the few redeeming features of the exhibition. In delicate perception of natural beauty the picture suggests the example of Corot. Like the great Frenchman, Miss Montalba strives to interpret the sadder moods of nature, when the wind moves the water a little mournfully and the outlines of the objects become uncertain in the filmy air."

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MORETTO, EMMA. Venetian painter, exhibited at Naples, in 1877, "Abbey of St. Gregory at Venice"; at Turin, in 1880, a fine view of the "Ca.n.a.l of the Giudecca," and "Ca.n.a.l of S. Giorgio"; at the National Exposition in Milan, 1881, "Sunset" and a marine view; at Rome, in 1883, "Excursion on the Lagoon." Still others of the same general character are: "A Gondola," "At St. Mark's," "Grand Ca.n.a.l," "Morning at Sea," etc.

MORON, THERESE CONCORDIA. Born in Dresden, 1725; died in Rome, 1806.

Pupil, of her father, Ismael Mengs. Her attention was divided between enamel painting and pastel, much of the latter being miniature work. In the Dresden Gallery are two of her pastel portraits and two copies in miniature of Correggio, viz., a half-length portrait of herself and a portrait of her sister, Julie Mengs; a copy of St. Jerome, or "The Day"--original in Parma--and "The Night."

A curious story has recently been published to the effect that in 1767 this artist sent word to Duke Xavier of Saxony that during the Seven Years' War she painted a copy in miniature of Correggio's "Holy Mother with the Christ Child, Mary Magdalen, Hieronymus, and Two Angels," which she sent by Cardinal Albani to the Duke's father--Frederick Augustus II.

of Saxony and Augustus III. of Poland--at Warsaw. It was claimed that two hundred and fifty ducats were due her. Apparently the demand was not met; but, on the other hand, the lady seems to have received for some years a pension of three hundred thalers from the Electorate of Saxony without making any return. Probably her claim was satisfied by this pension.

MOSER, MARY. One of the original members of the London Academy. The daughter of a German artist, who resided in London. She was as well known for her wit as for her art. A friend of Fuseli, she was said to be as much in love with him as he was in love with Angelica Kauffman. Dr.

Johnson sometimes met Miss Moser at the house of Nollekens, where they made merry over a cup of tea.

Queen Charlotte commissioned this painter to decorate a chamber, for which work she paid more than nine hundred pounds, and was so well pleased that she complimented the artist by commanding the apartment to be called "Miss Moser's Room."

MOTT, MRS. ALICE. Born at Walton on Thames. Pupil of the Slade School and Royal Academy in London, and of M. Charles Chaplin in Paris in his studio. A miniaturist whose works are much esteemed. Her work is life-like, artistic, and strong in drawing, color, and composition. After finis.h.i.+ng her study under masters she took up miniature painting by herself, studying the works of old miniaturists.

Recently she writes me: "I have departed from the ordinary portrait miniature, and am now painting what I call picture miniatures. For instance, I am now at work on the portrait of Miss D. C., who is in old-fas.h.i.+oned dress, low bodice, and long leg-of-mutton sleeves. She is represented as running in the open, with sky and tree background. She has a b.u.t.terfly net over her shoulder, which floats out on the wind; she is looking up and smiling; her hair and her sash are blown out. It is to be called, 'I'd be a b.u.t.terfly.' The dress is the yellow of the common b.u.t.terfly. It is a large miniature. I hope to send it, with others, to the St. Louis Exposition."

Her miniatures are numerous and in private hands. A very interesting one belongs to the Bishop of Ripon and is a portrait of Mrs. Carpenter, his mother.

MUNTZ, LAURA A.

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MURRAY, ELIZABETH. Member of the Inst.i.tute of Painters in Water-Colors, London, and of the American Society of Water-Color Painters, New York. Her pictures are of genre subjects, many of them being of Oriental figures. Among these are "Music in Morocco," "A Moorish Saint," "The Greek Betrothed," etc. Other subjects are "The Gipsy Queen," "Dalmatian Peasant," "The Old Story in Spain," etc.

NATHAN, SIGNORA LILIAH ASCOLI. Rome.

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NEGRO, TERESA. Born in Turin, where she resides. She has made a study of antique pottery and has been successful in its imitation. Her vases and amphorae have been frequently exhibited and are praised by connoisseurs and critics. At the Italian National Exposition, 1880, she exhibited a terra-cotta reproduction of a cla.s.sic design, painted in oils; also a wooden dish which resembled an antique ceramic.

NELLI, PLAUTILLA. There is a curious fact connected with two women artists of Florence in the middle of the sixteenth century. In that city of pageants--where Ghirlandajo saw, in the streets, in churches, and on various ceremonial occasions, the beautiful women with whom he still makes us acquainted--these ladies, daughters of n.o.ble Florentine families, were nuns.

No Shakespearean dissector has, to my knowledge, affirmed that Hamlet's advice to Ophelia, "Get thee to a nunnery," and his a.s.sertion, "I have heard of your paintings, too," prove that Ophelia was an artist and a nunnery a favorable place in which to set up a studio. Yet I think I could make this a.s.sumption as convincing as many that have been "proved"

by the _post obitum_ atomizers of the great poet's every word.

But we have not far to seek for the reasons which led Plautilla Nelli and Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi to choose the conventual life. The subjects of their pictures prove that their thoughts were fixed on a life quite out of tune with that which surrounded them in their homes. If they pictured rich draperies and rare gems, it was but to adorn with them the Blessed Virgin Mother and the holy saints, in token of their belief that all of pomp and value in this life can but faintly symbolize the glory of the life to come.

Plautilla Nelli, born in Florence in 1523, entered the convent of St.

Catherine of Siena, in her native city, and in time became its abbess.

Patiently, with earnest prayer, she studied and copied the works of Fra Bartolommeo and Andrea del Sarto, until she was able to paint an original "Adoration of the Magi" of such excellence as to secure her a place among the painters of Florence.

Many of her pictures remained in her convent, but she also painted a "Madonna Surrounded by Saints" for the choir of Santa Lucia at Pistoja.

There are pictures attributed to Plautilla Nelli in Berlin--notably the "Visit of Martha to Christ,"--which are characterized by the earnestness, purity, and grace of her beloved Fra Bartolommeo. Her "Adoration of the Wise Men" is at Parma; the "Descent from the Cross" in Florence; the "Last Supper" in the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence.

There are traditions of her success as a teacher of painting in her convent, but of this we have no exact knowledge such as we have of the work of the "Suor Plautilla," the name by which she came to be known in all Italy.

NEMES-RANSONNETT, COUNTESS ELISA. Born at Vienna, 1843. She studied successively with Vastagh, Lulos, Aigner, Schilcher, Lenbach, Angeli, and J. Benczur, and opened her studio at Kun Szent Miklos near Budapest. The "Invitation to the Wedding" was well received, and her portraits of Schiller and Perczel are in public galleries--the former in the Vienna Kunstlerhaus, and the latter in the Deputy House at Budapest.

NEWCOMB, MARIA GUISE. Born in New Jersey. Pupil of Schenck, Chialiva, and Edouard Detaille in Paris. Travelled in Algeria and the Sahara, studying the Arab and his horses. Very few artists can be compared with Miss Newcomb in representing horses. She has a genius for portraying this animal, and understands its anatomy as few painters have done.

She was but a child when sketching horses and cattle was her pastime, and so great was her fondness for it that the usual dolls and other toys were crowded out of her life. Her studies in Paris were comprehensive, and her work shows the results and places her among the distinguished painters of animals.

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NEY, ELISABETH. Born in 1830. After studying at the Academy in Berlin, this sculptor went to Munich, where she was devoted to her art.

She then came to Texas and remained some years in America. She returned to Berlin in 1897. Among her best known works are busts of Garibaldi, of J. Grimm, 1863, "Prometheus Bound," 1868, and a statue of Louis II. of Bavaria.

NICHOLLS, MRS. RHODA HOLMES. Queen's Scholars.h.i.+p, Bloomsbury Art School, London; gold medal, Compet.i.tive Prize Fund Exhibition, New York; medal, Chicago Exposition, 1893; medal, Tennessee Exposition, 1897; bronze medal at Buffalo Exposition, 1901. Member of American Water-Color Society, New York Water-Color Society, Woman's Art Club, American Society of Miniature Painters, Pen and Brush Club; honorable member of Woman's Art Club, Canada. Born in Coventry, England. Pupil of Bloomsbury School of Art, London; of Cannerano and Vertunni in Rome, where she was elected to the Circolo Artistico and the Societa degli Aquarelliste.

Her pictures are chiefly figure subjects, among which are "Those Evening Bells," "The Scarlet Letter," "A Daughter of Eve," "Indian after the Chase," "Searching the Scriptures," etc.

In the _Studio_, March, 1901, in writing of the exhibition of the American Water-Color Society, the critic says: "In her two works, 'Cherries' and 'A Rose,' Mrs. Rhoda Holmes Nicholls shows us a true water-color executed by a master hand. The subject of each is slight; each stroke of her brush is made once and for all, with a precision and dash that are inspiriting; and you have in each painting the sparkle, the deft lightness of touch, the instantaneous impression of form and coloring that a water-color should have."

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN INDIAN AFTER THE CHASE