_ of April, 1903,
R. M. writes: "The subject of these notes is a striking example of the
compensations of Nature for her apparent cruelty; also of what the
genuine artist is capable of achieving notwithstanding the most singular
disadvantages. Some years ago in the little town of Payerne, Canton Vaud,
a child was born without arms. One day the mother, while standing near a
rose-bush with her infant in her arms, was astonished to observe one of
its tiny toes clasp the stem of the rose. Little did she guess at the
time that these prehensile toes were destined one day to serve an artist,
in the execution of her work, with the same marvellous facility as hands.
As the child grew up the greatest care was bestowed upon her education.
She early manifested unmistakable artistic promise, and at the age of
sixteen was sent to the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Geneva.... For reasons
already mentioned Mlle. Rapin holds a unique position amongst that
valiant and distinguished group of Swiss lady artists to whose work we
hope to have the opportunity of referring.... She is a fine example of
that singleness of devotion which characterizes the born artist. Her art
is the all-absorbing interest of her life. It is not without its
limitations, but within these limitations the artist has known how to be
true to herself. Drawing her inspiration direct from nature, she has held
on her independent way, steadily faithful to the gift she possesses of
evoking a character in a portrait or of making us feel how the common
task, when representative of genuine human effort and touched with the
poetry of national tradition, of religion, and of nature, becomes a
subject of noble artistic treatment. She has kept unimpaired that
_merveilleux frisson de sensibilite_ which is one of the most precious
gifts of the artistic temperament, and which is quick to respond to the
ideal in the real. There are some artists who, though possessed of
extraordinary mastery over the materials of their art, bring to their
work a spirit which beggars and belittles both art and life; there are
others who seem to work with an ever-present sense of the noble purpose
of their vocation and the pathos and dignity of existence. Mlle. Rapin
belongs to the second category. Her 'L'Horloger' is an example of this. A
Genevese watchmaker is bending to his work at a bench covered with tools.
Through the window of the workshop one perceives in the blue distance
Mont Saleve, and nearer the time-hon