GARI MELCHERS
If you are from the Commonwealth of Virginia and at all acquainted with the artistic heritage of our state, that name - Gari Melchers – ought to have special meaning for you. Does it?
If not, welcome to a large group of us who now realize we have been remiss in properly remembering a fine artist who chose to built his home and studios at Falmouth, Virginia , “Belmont”, at Falmouth, Va. in Prince William County, on the north edge of Fredricksburg. He who worked there until his death in 1932 and his works are shown in some of the world's leading galleries where they have been admired and appreciated by many viewers - both art critics and average art lovers.
“Gari” Melchers was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1860. That was a friendly nickname ,too - Gari - short for his true name Julius Garibaldi. His father was Prussian-born sculptor, the boy's first art teacher and an admirer of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian patriot. The father's name was Julius so the boy was called “Gari” and the diminutive tag stuck. The early art lessons were effective. Gari, even as child, decided he did not want to be a sculptor, but, rather, chose even then to become a painter of renown.
His training, in keeping with the sentiment of his day, had to be European. He was seventeen when he entered the Royal Prussian Academy of Art, Dusseldorf, Germany. There he learned the show principles which were to show in his mature style years later - well-modeled forms, rather hard-edged realism to which he added the “old master's” - so soft, engaging, and subtle.
Then, in Paris, he studied under both Lefebvre and Boulanger . These experiences gave him the background to become the natural leader of the school of American painters in Paris. And it was in Holland at Egmond-aan-Zee that he joined with another American, George Hitchcock (1850-1913). There , they founded an Art Colony and founded a reputation as leading chroncllers of Dutch peasant life. This was where Melchers' so called “landmark:”painting titled “The Sermon,” 1886) was painted. It shows a young peasant girl asleep during a church service. The honest characterization of the working-class life became one of the the day's most beloved examples of rustic naturalism and it speaks to us today as well.
Many paintings came from that period -”The Communion”, “The Pilots”, and “The Choirmaster”being among them. They gathered a large German and American audience while sentiment ran high in both those area concerning the piety and the work ethic of the peasant class of people. In 1889 Melchers reached the height of his career when he, at twenty-nine years of age, and John Singer Sargent became he first American painters to be set apart with the Grand Prize at the Paris Universal Exposition. Geri Melchers was named to be the leading American proponent of naturalism in painting.
He did murals or the 1893 World's Colombian Exposition, in Chicago and for the new Library of Congress in Washington D.C. In 1895 In those 1890's he was also discovered as a portrait painter by such family names as Vanderbilt, Mellon and Roosevelt which assured both his reputation and his ability to earn financial rewards. He also did a series of paintings in which he coupled paintings of people with symbols of their avocation - “The Sailor and his Dog”,”The Fencer”, “The Shipbuilder.” in which the character of the person is shown through the love and attention the subject person gives to his hobby or pet. A man's true character is thus read in detail never before shown through pictures.
Melchers' career blossomed as he achieved success and he became interested in many forms of art. He served as Professor of Art at the Grand Ducal School of Art, Weimer, Germany, but World War I sent him and his wife Corinne back to the United States.. In 1915 he opened studios in the Beaux Arts building at Bryant Square, News York City, where he served well in organizational and leadership roles. When the Melchers wished to escape the confinement of the city they found an the place in Virginia which reminded them of the Egmond-aan-Zee area, and there they built a home named “Belmont” near Falmouth, Va. He became a master along with such leading American impressionists as Childe Hassan, Edward Redfield and John Twatchman – and painted accordingly. During his more advanced years Gari Melchers was named to the Virginia Art Commission and we owe much to his efforts to establish the Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts which we now enjoy. He was also chairman of the Smithsonian Commission to Establish a National Gallery of art - today's Smithsonian American Art Museum. He also served as a Trustee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
It strikes me as bit ironic that a man who did so much to forward the cause of art for the people and of the people, should be forgotten. It is true that the fickle regard of the public turned from objective art to other forms. Melchers works went into storage in warehouses. Now that we are, once again, appreciative of what is being called “Academic Art”....and when realism is being taken to extremes in every portion portion of our media, it seems time for a has for a new awakening to the worth of the treasure we have in the works of Gari Melchers - Virginia artist.
A.L.M. October 9, 2004 [c915wds]
