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diff --git a/36427.txt b/36427.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6a53403 --- /dev/null +++ b/36427.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13278 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Art Principles, by Ernest Govett + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Art Principles + With Special Reference to Painting Together with Notes on the Illusions Produced by the Painter + + +Author: Ernest Govett + + + +Release Date: June 14, 2011 [eBook #36427] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ART PRINCIPLES*** + + +E-text prepared by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by +Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 36427-h.htm or 36427-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36427/36427-h/36427-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36427/36427-h.zip) + + + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive. See + http://www.archive.org/details/artprincipleswit00goverich + + + + + + [Illustration: Detail from "The Pursuit" of Fragonard. + (_Frick Collection_)] + + +ART PRINCIPLES + +With Special Reference to Painting +Together with Notes on the +Illusions Produced by the Painter + +by + +ERNEST GOVETT + +With Thirty-one Illustrations + + + + + + + +G. P. Putnam's Sons +New York and London +The Knickerbocker Press +1919 + +Copyright, 1919 +by +Ernest Govett + +The Knickerbocker Press, New York + + + + +PREFACE + + +This book is put forward with much diffidence, for I am well aware of +its insufficiencies. My original idea was to produce a work covering all +the principles of painting, but after many years spent in considering +the various recorded theories relating to aesthetic problems, and in +gathering materials to indicate how the accepted principles have been +applied, I came to the conclusion that a single life is scarcely long +enough for the preparation of an exhaustive treatise on the subject. +Nevertheless, I planned a work of much wider scope than the one now +presented, but various circumstances, and principally the hindrance to +research caused by the war, impelled me to curtail my ambition. Time was +fading, and my purpose seemed to be growing very old. I felt that if one +has something to say, it is better to say it incompletely than to run +the risk of compulsory silence. The book will be found little more than +a skeleton, and some of its sections, notably those dealing with +illusions in the art, contain only a few suggestions and instances, but +perhaps enough is said to induce a measure of further inquiry into the +subject. + +That part of the work dealing with the fine arts generally is the result +of long consideration of the apparent contradictions involved in the +numerous suggested standards of art. In a little book on _The Position +of Landscape in Art_ (published under a nom de plume a few years ago), +I threw out, as a _ballon d'essai_, an idea of the proposition now +elaborated as the Law of General Assent, and I have been encouraged to +affirm this proposition more strongly by the fact that its validity was +not questioned in any of the published criticism of the former work; nor +do I find reason to vary it after years of additional deliberation. +I have not before dealt with the other propositions now put forward. + +The notes being voluminous I have relegated them to the end of the book, +leaving the feet of the text pages for references only. + +Where foreign works quoted have been translated into English, the +English titles are recorded, and foreign quotations are given in +English, save in one or two minor instances where the sense could not +be precisely rendered in translation. + + E. G. + + NEW YORK, January, 1919. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + INTRODUCTION 1 + + Definitions of "Art" and "Beauty"--Aesthetic systems--The + earliest Art--Art periods--The Grecian and Italian + developments--National and individual "Inspiration"-- + Powers of imagination and execution--Nature of "Genius"-- + The Impressionist Movement--Sprezzatura--The broad manner-- + Position in art of Rembrandt and Velasquez--Position of + Landscape in art. + + + _BOOK I_ + + CHAPTER + + I.--CLASSIFICATION OF THE FINE ARTS 52 + + The Arts imitative of Nature--Classified according to + the character of their signs--Relative value of form in + Poetry--Scope of the Arts in the production of beauty. + + II.--LAW OF RECOGNITION IN THE ASSOCIATED ARTS 59 + + Explanation of the Law--Its application to Poetry--To + Sculpture--To Painting--To Fiction. + + III.--LAW OF GENERAL ASSENT 72 + + General opinion the test of beauty in the Associated + Arts. + + IV.--LIMITATIONS OF THE ASSOCIATED ARTS 78 + + Production of beauty in the respective Arts--Their + limitations. + + V.--DEGREES OF BEAUTY IN THE PAINTER'S ART 83 + + VI.--EXPRESSION. PART 1.--THE IDEAL 86 + + VII.--EXPRESSION. PART 2.--CHRISTIAN IDEALS 91 + + The Deity--Christ--The Madonna--Madonna and Child. + + VIII.--EXPRESSION. PART 3.--CLASSICAL IDEALS 106 + + Ideals of the Greeks--Use of the ancient divinities + by the Painter. + + IX.--EXPRESSION. PART 4.--GENERAL IDEALS 135 + + X.--EXPRESSION. PART 5.--PORTRAITURE 141 + + Limitations of the Portrait Painter--Emphasis and + addition of qualities in portrait painting--Practice + of the ancient Greeks--Dignity--Importance of + Simplicity--Some of the great masters--Portraiture + of women--The English masters--The quality of + Grace--The necessity for Repose. + + XI.--EXPRESSION. PART 6.--MISCELLANEOUS 167 + + Grief--The Smile--The Open Mouth--Contrasts-- + Representation of Death. + + XII.--LANDSCAPE 192 + + Limitations of the Landscape Painter--Illusion of + opening distance--Illusion of motion in Landscape-- + Moonlight scenes--Transient conditions. + + XIII.--STILL-LIFE 214 + + XIV.--SECONDARY ART 219 + + Paintings of record--Scenes from the Novel--From + the written drama--From the acted drama--Humorous + subjects--Allegorical paintings. + + XV.--COLOUR 228 + + + _BOOK II_ + + INTRODUCTORY.--ILLUSION IN THE PAINTER'S ART 236 + + CHAPTER + I.--ILLUSION OF RELIEF 239 + II.--ILLUSION OF MOTION WITH MEN AND ANIMALS 249 + III.--ILLUSION OF SUSPENSION AND MOTION IN THE AIR 259 + + + NOTES 273 + + + INDEX OF ARTISTS AND WORKS OF ART MENTIONED IN THIS BOOK 357 + + + GENERAL INDEX 369 + + + + +LIST OF PLATES + + + PAGE + FRONTISPIECE.--DETAIL FROM FRAGONARD'S THE PURSUIT (FRICK + COLLECTION, NEW YORK). + + This work, which is one of the celebrated Grasse series of + panels, offers a very fine example of the use of an ideal head + in a romantic subject. (See Page 139.) + + PLATE 1.--THE EARLIEST GREAT SCULPTURES 6 + + (a). Head from a statue of Chefren, a king of the 4th Egyptian + Dynasty, about 3000 B.C. (Cairo Museum.) + + (b). Head from a fragmentary statuette of Babylonia, dating + about 2600 B.C. (Louvre: from Spearing's "Childhood of Art.") + + The first head is generally regarded as the finest example of + Egyptian art extant, and certainly there was nothing executed + in Egypt to equal it during the thirty centuries following the + 5th Dynasty. The Babylonian head is the best work of Chaldean + art known to us, though there are some fine fragments remaining + from the period of about a thousand years later. It will be + observed that the tendency of the art in both examples is + towards the aims achieved by the Greeks. (See Page 7.) + + PLATE 2.--"LE BON DIEU D'AMIENS", IN THE NORTH PORCH, AMIENS + CATHEDRAL 18 + + This figure by a French sculptor of the thirteenth century, + was considered by Ruskin to be the finest ideal of Christ in + existence. It is another example of the universality of ideals, + for the head from the front view might well have been modelled + from a Grecian work of the late fourth or early third century + B.C. (See Page 319.) + + PLATE 3.--AFTER AN ANCIENT COPY OF THE CNIDIAN VENUS OF PRAXITELES. + (VATICAN) 30 + + It is commonly agreed that this is the finest model in existence + after the great work of Praxiteles, which itself has long + disappeared. The figure as it now stands at the Vatican, has the + right arm restored, and the hand is made to hold up some metallic + drapery with which the legs are covered, the beauty of the form + being thus seriously weakened. (See Pages 111 _et seq._) + + PLATE 4.--VENUS ANADYOMENE 42 + + (a). Ancient Greek sculpture from the design of Venus in the + celebrated picture of Apelles. (Formerly Chessa Collection, now in + New York.) + + The immense superiority of the sculpture over the painting (Plate + 5), from the point of view of pure art, is visible at a glance. It + is an indication of the far-reaching scope of the sculptor when + executing ideals. (See Page 113.) + + PLATE 5.--VENUS ANADYOMENE, FROM THE PAINTING BY TITIAN. + (BRIDGEWATER COLLECTION.) Compare with the Sculpture on + Plate 4. (See Page 115) 42 + + PLATE 6.--VENUS REPOSING, BY GIORGIONE. (DRESDEN GALLERY) 54 + + This is the finest reposing Venus in existence in painting. It was + the model for the representation of the goddess in repose used by + Titian, and many other artists who came after him. (See Page 116.) + + PLATE 7.--DEMETER 66 + + (a). Head from the Cnidos marble figure of the fourth century B.C., + attributed to Scopas. (British Museum.) + + (b). Small head in bronze of the third century B.C. (Private + Collection.) + + In each of these heads the artist has been successful in maintaining + the ideal, while indicating a suggestion of the sorrowful + resignation with which Grecian legend has enveloped the mind picture + of Demeter. Nevertheless, even this slight departure from the + established rule tends to lessen the art, though in a very small + degree. (See Page 122.) + + PLATE 8.--RAPHAEL'S SISTINE MADONNA (DRESDEN GALLERY), WITH THE FACE + OF THE CENTRAL FIGURE IN FRAGONARD'S THE PURSUIT SUBSTITUTED FOR + THAT OF THE VIRGIN 80 + + This and the two following plates show very clearly that in striving + for an ideal, artists must necessarily arrive at the same general + type. (See Pages 138 _et seq._) + + PLATE 9.--RAPHAEL'S VIRGIN OF THE ROSE (MADRID), WITH THE FACE + OF THE FIGURE REPRESENTING PROFANE LOVE IN TITIAN'S PICTURE + SUBSTITUTED FOR THAT OF THE VIRGIN 92 + + PLATE 10.--RAPHAEL'S HOLY FAMILY (MADRID), WITH THE FACE OF LUINI'S + SALOME SUBSTITUTED FOR THAT OF THE VIRGIN 102 + + PLATE 11.--THE PURSUIT, BY FRAGONARD. (FRICK COLLECTION, N. Y.) 114 + + A detail from this picture forms the Frontispiece. It will be + observed that in the complete painting the central figure apparently + wears a startled expression, but that this is entirely due to the + surroundings and action, is shown by the substitution of the face of + the central figure for that of the Virgin in the Sistine Madonna, + Plate 8. (See Page 139.) + + PLATE 12.--PORTRAIT HEADS OF THE GREEK TYPE, FOURTH CENTURY, B.C. + (See Page 145) 130 + + (a). Head of Plato. (Copenhagen Museum.) (b). Term of Euripides. + (Naples Museum.) + + PLATE 13.--PORTRAIT HEADS OF THE TIME OF IMPERIAL ROME. (SEE PAGE + 145) 146 + + (a). Vespasian. (Naples Museum.) (b). Hadrian. (Athens Museum.) + + PLATE 14.--SACRIFICE OF IPHIGENIA, FROM A POMPEIAN FRESCO. (ROUX + AINE'S HERCULANUM ET POMPEI, VOL. III) 160 + + This work is presumed to be a copy of the celebrated picture of + Timanthes, in which the head of Agamemnon was hidden because the + artist could see no other way of expressing extreme grief without + distorting the features. (See Pages 168 and 339.) + + PLATE 15.--ALL'S WELL, BY WINSLOW HOMER. (BOSTON MUSEUM, U. S. A.) 176 + + An instance where the permanent beauty of a picture is killed by an + open mouth. After a few moments' inspection, it will be observed + that the mouth appears to be kept open by a wedge. (See Page 176.) + + PLATE 16.--HERCULES CONTEMPLATING DEATH, BY A. POLLAIUOLO. (FRICK + COLLECTION, NEW YORK.) 190 + + The only known design of this nature which appears to exist in any + of the arts. (See Pages 190 and 343.) + + PLATE 17.--ARCADIAN LANDSCAPE, BY CLAUDE LORRAINE. (NATIONAL + GALLERY, LONDON) 198 + + A fine illusion of opening distance created by the precise rendering + of the aerial perspective. The illusion is of course unobservable in + the reproduction owing to its small size and the want of colour. + (See Page 198). + + PLATE 18.--LANDSCAPE, BY HOBBEMA. (MET. MUSEUM, NEW YORK) 210 + + A fine example of Hobbema's work. A strong light is thrown in from + the back to enable the artist to multiply his signs for the purpose + of deepening the apparent distance. (See Page 202.) + + PLATE 19.--LANDSCAPE, BY JACOB RUYSDAEL, (NATIONAL GALLERY, + LONDON) 220 + + Example of an illusion of movement in flowing water. (See Page 204.) + + + PLATE 20.--THE STORM, BY JACOB RUYSDAEL. (BERLIN GALLERY) 232 + + Exhibiting an excellent illusion of motion, due to the faithful + representation of a series of consecutive movements of water as the + vessel passes through it. The illusion is practically lost in the + reproduction, but the details of design may be observed. (See Page + 206.) + + PLATE 21.--THE LITTA MADONNA, BY LIONARDO DA VINCI. (HERMITAGE) 240 + + This is perhaps the best example known of an illusion of relief + secured by shading alone. (See Page 240.) + + PLATE 22.--CHRIST ON THE CROSS, BY VAN DYCK. (ANTWERP MUSEUM) 252 + + A superb example of relief obtained by the exclusion of accessories. + Van Dyck took the idea from Rubens, who borrowed it from Titian, + this artist improving on Antonella da Messina. The relief of course + is not well observed in the reproduction because of its miniature + form. The work is usually regarded as the finest of its kind in + existence. (See Page 244.) + + PLATE 23.--PATRICIA, BY LYDIA EMMET. (PRIVATE POSSESSION, N. Y.) 264 + + A very excellent example of the plan of securing relief described + in Book II, Chap. I. Here also the relief is not observed in the + reproduction, but the original is of life size and provides an + illusion as nearly perfect as possible. (See Page 247.) + + PLATE 24.--THE CREATION OF ADAM, BY MICHELANGELO. (VATICAN) 276 + + Instance of the use of an oval form of drapery to assist in + presenting an illusion of suspension in the air. (See Page 260.) + + PLATE 25.--THE PLEIADS, BY M. SCHWIND. (DENNER COLLECTION.) 288 + + One of the finest examples of illusion of motion in the air. + (See Page 269.) + + PLATE 26.--ST. MARGARET, BY RAPHAEL. (LOUVRE) 302 + + Perhaps the best example in existence of a painted human figure in + action. It will be seen that every part of the body and every fold + of the drapery are used to assist in the expression of movement. + (See Page 250.) + + PLATE 27.--DIANA AND NYMPHS PURSUED BY SATYRS, BY RUBENS. (PRADO) 318 + + A good example of an illusion of motion created by showing a number + of persons in different stages of a series of consecutive actions. + (See Page 254.) + + PLATE 28.--AUTOMEDON WITH THE HORSES OF ACHILLES, BY H. REGNAULT. + (BOSTON MUSEUM, U. S. A.) 334 + + The extraordinary spirit and action of these horses are above the + experience of life, but they do not appear to be beyond the bounds + of possibility. In any case the action is perfectly appropriate + here, as the animals are presumed to be immortal. (See Page 256.) + + PLATE 29.--MARBLE FIGURE OF ARIADNE. (VATICAN) 348 + + This work, of the Hellenistic period, illustrates the possibility of + largely varying the regular proportions of the human figure without + injury to the art, by the skilful use of drapery. (See Page 329.) + + + + +Art Principles + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +In view of the many varied definitions of "Art" which have been put +forward in recent times, and the equally diverse hypotheses advanced for +the solution of aesthetic problems relating to beauty, it is necessary +for one who discusses principles of art, to state what he understands by +the terms "Art" and "Beauty." + +Though having a widely extended general meaning, the term "Art" in +common parlance applies to the fine arts only, but the term "Arts" has +reference as well to certain industries which have utility for their +primary object. This work considers only the fine arts, and when the +writer uses the term "Art" or "Arts" he refers to one or more of these +arts, unless a particular qualification is added. The definition of +"Art" as applied to the fine arts, upon which he relies, is "The +production of beauty for the purpose of giving pleasure," or as it is +more precisely put, "The beautiful representation of nature for the +purpose of giving disinterested pleasure." This is, broadly, the +definition generally accepted, and is certainly the understanding of +art which has guided the hands of all the creators of those great works +in the various arts before which men have bowed as triumphs of human +skill. + +There has been no satisfactory definition of "Beauty," nor can the term +be shortly interpreted until there is a general agreement as to what it +covers. Much of the confusion arising from the contradictory theories of +aestheticists in respect of the perception of beauty is apparently due to +the want of separate consideration of emotional beauty and beauty of +mind, that is to say, the beauty of sensorial effects and beauty of +expression respectively.[1] There are kinds of sensorial beauty which +depend for their perception upon immediately preceding sensory +experience, or particular coexistent surroundings which are not +necessarily permanent, while in other cases a certain beauty may be +recognized and subsequently appear to vanish altogether. From this it is +obvious that any aesthetic system based upon the existence of an +objectivity of beauty must fall to the ground. On the other hand, +without an objectivity there can be no system, because in its absence a +line of reasoning explaining cause and effect in the perception of +beauty, which is open to demonstration, is naturally impossible. Nor may +we properly speak of a philosophy of art.[2] We may reasonably consider +aesthetics a branch of psychology, but the emotions arising from the +recognition of beauty vary only in degree and not in kind, whether the +beauty be seen in nature or art. Consequently there can be no separate +psychological enquiry into the perception of beauty created by art as +distinguished from that observable in nature. + +It must be a natural attraction for the insoluble mysteries of life that +has induced so many philosophers during the last two centuries to put +forward aesthetic systems. That no two of these systems agree on +important points, and that each and every one has crumbled to dust from +a touch of the wand of experience administered by a hundred hands, are +well-known facts, yet still the systems continue to be calmly presented +as if they were valuable contributions to knowledge. Each new critic in +the domain of philosophy carefully and gravely sets them up, and then +carefully and gravely knocks them down.[3] An excuse for the systems has +been here and there offered, that the explanations thereof sometimes +include valuable philosophical comments or suggestions. This may be, but +students cannot reasonably be expected to sift out a few oats from a +bushel of husks, even if the supply be from the bin of a Hegel or a +Schopenhauer. Is it too much to suggest that these phantom systems be +finally consigned to the grave of oblivion which has yawned for them so +long and so conspicuously? Bubbles have certain measurements and may +brilliantly glow, but they are still bubbles. It is as impossible to +build up a system of philosophy upon the perception of beauty, which +depends entirely upon physical and physiological laws, as to erect a +system of ethics on the law of gravitation, for a feasible connection +between superstructure and foundation cannot be presented to the mind. + +We may further note that a proper apprehension of standards of judgment +in art cannot be obtained unless the separate and relative aesthetic +values of the two forms of beauty are considered, because the beauty of +a work may appear greater at one time than at another, according as it +is more or less permanent or fleeting, that is to say, according as the +balance of the sensorial and intellectual elements therein is more or +less uneven; or if the beauty present be almost entirely emotional, +according as the observer may be affected by independent sensorial +conditions of time or place. Consequent upon these considerations, an +endeavour has been made in this work to distinguish between the two +forms of beauty in the various arts, and the separate grades thereof. + +It will be noticed that the writer has adopted the somewhat unusual +course of including fiction among the fine arts. Why this practice is +not commonly followed is hard to determine, but no definition of a fine +art has been or can be given which does not cover fiction. In the +definition here accepted, the art is clearly included, for the primary +object of fiction is the beautiful representation of nature for the +purpose of giving disinterested pleasure. + + * * * * * + +Art is independent of conditions of peoples or countries. Its germ is +unconnected with civilization, politics, religion, laws, manners, or +morals. It may appear like a brilliant flower where the mind of man is +an intellectual desert, or refuse to bloom in the busiest hive of human +energy. Its mother is the imagination, and wherever this has room to +expand, there art will grow, though the ground may be nearly sterile, +and the bud wither away from want of nourishment. Every child is born a +potential artist, for he comes into the world with sensorial nerves, and +a brain which directs the imagination. The primitive peoples made +beautiful things long before they could read or write, and the +recognition of harmony of form appears to have been one of the first +understandings in life after the primal instincts of self-preservation +and the continuation of the species. Some of the sketches made by the +cave men of France are equal to anything of the kind produced in a +thousand years of certain ancient civilizations, commencing countless +centuries after the very existence of the cave men had been forgotten; +and even if executed now, would be recognized as indicating the +possession of considerable talent by the artists. The greatest poem ever +written was given birth in a country near which barbaric hordes had +recently devastated populous cities, and wrecked a national fabric with +which were interwoven centuries of art and culture. That the author of +this poem had seen great works of art is certain, or he could not have +conceived the shield of Achilles, but the laboured sculpture that had +fired his imagination, and the legends which had perhaps been the seed +of his masterpieces were doubtless buried with his own records beneath +the tramp of numberless mercenaries. Fortunately here and there the +human voice could draw from memory's store, and so the magic of Homer +was whispered by the dying to the living; but even his time and place +are now only vaguely known, and he remains like the waratah on the +bleached pasture of some desert fringe--a solitary blaze of scarlet +where all else is drear and desolate. + +Strong is the root of art, though frail the flower. Stifled in sun-burnt +ground ere it can welcome the smile of light; fading with the first +blast of air upon its delicate shoots; shrivelling back to dust when the +buds are ready to break; or falling in the struggle to spread its +branches after its beautiful blossoms have scattered their fragrance +around: whatever condition has brought it low, it ever fights +again--ever seeks to assure mankind that while it may droop or +disappear, its seed, its heart, its life, are imperishable, and surely +it will bloom again in all its majesty. Sometimes with decades it has +run a fitful course; sometimes with centuries; sometimes with +millenniums. It has heralded every civilization, but its breath is +freedom, and it flourishes and sickens only with liberty. Trace its +course in the life of every nation, and the track will be found parallel +with the line of freedom of thought. A solitary plant may bloom +unimpeded far from tyranny's thrall, but the art and soul of a nation +live, and throb, and die, together. + + [Illustration: PLATE 1 (See page 7) + Head of Cephren, 4th Egyptian Dynasty (_Cairo Museum_) + Chaldean Head: About 2600 B.C. (_Louvre_)] + +Egypt, Babylon, Crete, Greece, Rome, tell their stories through +deathless monuments, and all are alike in that they demonstrate the +dependence of art expansion upon freedom of action and opinion. An art +rises, develops another and another, and they proceed together on their +way. Sooner or later comes catastrophe in the shape of crushing +tyranny which curbs the mind with slavery, or steel-bound sacerdotal +rules which say to the artist "Thou shalt go no further," or +annihilation of nation and life. What imagination can picture the +expansion of art throughout the world had its flight been free since the +dawn of history? Greece reached the sublime because its mind was +unfettered, but twenty or thirty centuries before Phidias, Egyptian art +had arrived at a loftier plane than that on which the highest plastic +art of Greece was standing but a few decades before the Olympian Zeus +uplifted the souls of men, while whole civilizations with their arts had +lived and died, and were practically forgotten. + +It is to be observed that while in its various isolated developments, +art has proceeded from the immature to the mature, there has been no +general evolution, as in natural life, but on the other hand there seems +to be a limit to its progress. So far as our imagination can divine, no +higher reaches in art are attainable than those already achieved. The +mind can conceive of nothing higher than the spiritual, and this cannot +be represented in art except by means of form; while within the range of +human intelligence, no suggestion of spiritual form can rise above the +ideals of Phidias. Of the purely human form, nothing greater than the +work of Praxiteles and Raphael can be pictured on our brains. There may +be poets who will rival Homer and Shakespeare, but it is exceedingly +doubtful. In any case we must discard the law of evolution as applicable +to the arts, with the one exception of music, which, on account of the +special functioning of its signs, must be put into a division by +itself.[a] + + [a] See Chap. III. + +But although there has been no general progression in art parallel with +the growth of the sciences and civilization, there have been, as already +indicated, many separate epochs of art cultivation in various countries, +sometimes accompanied by the production of immortal works, which epochs +in themselves seem to provide examples of restricted evolution.[4] It is +desirable to refer to these art periods, as they are commonly called, +for the purpose of removing, if possible, a not uncommon apprehension +that they are the result of special conditions operating an aesthetic +stimulus, and that similar or related conditions must be present in any +country if the flame of art there is to burn high and brightly.[5] The +well-defined periods vary largely both in character and duration, the +most important of them--the Grecian development and the Italian +Renaissance--covering two or three centuries each, and the others, as +the French thirteenth century sculpture expansion, the English literary +revival in the sixteenth century,[6] and the Dutch development in +painting in the seventeenth, lasting only a few decades. These latter +periods can be dispensed with at once because they were each concerned +with one art only, and therefore can scarcely have resulted from a +general aesthetic stimulus. But the Grecian and Italian movements applied +to all the arts. They represented natural developments from the crude to +the advanced, of which all nations produce examples, and were only +exceptional in that they reached higher levels in art than were attained +by other movements. But there is no evidence to show that they were +brought about by special circumstances outside of the arts themselves. +While there were national crises preceding the one development, there +was no trouble of consequence to herald the other, nor was there any +parallel between the conditions of the two peoples during the progress +of the movements. A short reference to each development will show that +its rise and decline were the outcome of simple matter-of-fact +conditions of a more or less accidental nature, uninfluenced by an +aesthetic impulse in the sense of inspiration. + +The most common suggestion advanced to account for the rise in Grecian +art, is that it was due to the exaltation of the Greek mind through the +victories of Marathon, Plataea, and Salamis. That a people should be so +trampled upon as were the Greeks; that their cities should be razed, +their country desolated, and their commerce destroyed; that +notwithstanding all this they should refuse to give way before enemies +outnumbering them twenty, fifty, or even a hundred to one; and that +after all they should crush these enemies, was no doubt a great and +heroic triumph, likely to exalt the nation and feed the imagination of +the people for a long time to come; but that these victories were +responsible for the lofty eminence reached by the Greek artists, cannot +be maintained. From what we know of Calamis, Myron, and others, it is +clear that Grecian art was already on its way to the summit reached by +Phidias when Marathon and Salamis were fought, though the victories of +the Greek arms hastened the development for the plain reason that they +led to an increased demand for works of art. And the decline in Grecian +art resulted purely and simply from a lessened demand. Though this was +the reason for the general decay, there was a special cause for the +apparent weakening with the commencement of the fourth century B.C. In +the fifth century Phidias climbed as high in the accomplishment of +ideals as the imagination could soar. He reached the summit of human +endeavour. Necessarily then, unless another Phidias arose, whatever in +art came after him would appear to mark a decline. But it is scarcely +proper to put the case of Phidias forward for comparative purposes. He +carried the art of sculpture higher than it is possible for the painter +to ascend, and so we should rather use the giants of the fourth +century--Scopas, Praxiteles, Lysippus, Apelles--as the standards to be +compared with the foremost spirits of the Italian Renaissance--Raphael +and Michelangelo--for each of these groups achieved the human ideal, +though failing with the spiritual ideal established by Phidias. + +It must be remembered that all good art means slow work--long thinking, +much experiment, tedious attention to detail in plan, and careful +execution. Meanwhile men have to live, even immortal artists, and rarely +indeed does one undertake a work of importance on his own account. It is +true that in the greater days of Greece the best artists were almost +entirely employed by a State, or at least to execute works for public +exhibition, and doubtless the payment they received was quite a +secondary matter with them, but nevertheless few could practise their +art without remuneration. During the fifth and fourth centuries great +events were constantly happening in Greece, and in consequence there +were numberless temples to build and adorn, groves to decorate, men to +honour, and monumental tombs to erect. Innumerable statues of gods and +goddesses were wanted, and we must not forget the wholesale destruction +of Athenian and other temples and sculptures during the Persian +invasion. In fact for a century and a half after Plataea, there was +practically an unlimited demand for works of art, and it was only when +the empire of Alexander began to crumble away that conditions changed. +While Greece was weakening Rome was growing and her lengthening shadows +were approaching the walls of Athens. Greece could build no more temples +when her people were becoming slaves of Rome; she could order no more +monuments when defeat was the certain end of struggle. And so the +decline was brought about, not by want of artists, but through the +dearth of orders and the consequent neglect of competition. + +In the case of the Italian Renaissance the decadence was not due to the +same cause. The art of Greece declined gradually in respect of quantity +as well as quality, while in Italy after the decay in quality set in, +art was as nourishing as ever from the point of view of demand. The +change in the character of the art was due entirely to Raphael's +achievements. As with the early Greek, nearly the whole of the early +Italian art was concerned with religion, though in this case there were +very few ideals. The numerous ancient gods of Greece and Rome were long +gone, to become only classical heroes with the Italians, and their +places were taken by twenty or thirty personages from the New Testament. +Incidents from the Old Testament were sometimes painted, but nearly all +the greater work dealt with the life of Christ and the Saints. The +painters of the first century of the Renaissance distributed their +attention fairly equally among these personages, but as time went on and +the art became of a superior order, artists aimed at the highest +development of beauty that their imaginations could conceive, and hence +the severe beauty that might be shown in a picture of Christ or a +prominent Saint, had commonly to give way to a more earthly perfection +of feature and form, which, suggesting an ideal, could only be given to +the figure of the Virgin. And so the test of the power of an artist came +to be instinctively decided by his representation of the Madonna. No +doubt there were many persons living in the fifteenth century who +watched the gradually increasing beauty of the Madonna as depicted by +the succession of great painters then working, and wondered when and +where the summit would be reached--when an artist would appear beyond +whose work the imagination could not pass, for there is a limit to human +powers. + +The genius arose in Raphael, and when he produced in the last ten or +twelve years of his life, Madonna after Madonna, so far in advance of +anything that had hitherto been done, so great in beauty as to leave his +fellow artists lost in wonder, so lofty in conception that the term +"divine" was applied to him in his lifetime, it was inevitable that a +decadence should set in, for so far as the intelligence could see, +whatever came after him must be inferior. He did not ascend to the +height of Phidias, for a pure ideal of spiritual form is beyond the +power of the painter,[b] but as with Praxiteles he reached a perfect +human ideal, and so gained the supreme pinnacle of his art. But while +there was an inevitable decadence after him, as after Praxiteles, it +was, as already indicated, only in the character of the art, for in +Italy artists generally were as busy for a hundred years after Raphael, +as during his time. Michelangelo, Titian, and the other giants who were +working when Raphael died, kept up the renown of the period for half a +century or so, but it seemed impossible for artists who came on the +scene after Raphael's death, to enter upon an entirely original course. +The whole of the new generation seemed to cling to the models put +forward by the great Urbino painter, save some of the Venetians who had +a model of their own in Titian. + + [b] See Chap. IX. + +Thus it is clear that the rise and decline of the Grecian and Italian +movements were due to well ascertained causes which had nothing to do +with a national aesthetic impulse; nor is there evidence of such an +impulse connected with other art developments. + +The suggestion that a nation may be assisted in its art by emotional or +psychological influences arising from patriotic exaltation, is only an +extension of an opinion commonly held, that the individual artist is +subject to similar influences, though due to personal exaltation +connected with his art. It is as well to point out that there is only +one way to produce a work of art, and that is to combine the exercise of +the imagination with skill in execution. The artist conceives an idea +and puts it into form. He does nothing more. He can rely upon no +extraneous influence. It is suggested that to bring about a supreme +accomplishment in art, the imagination must be associated with something +outside of our power of control--some impulse which acts upon the brain +but is independent of it. This unmeasured force or lever is usually +known by the term "Inspiration." It is supposed that this force comes to +certain persons when they have particular moods upon them, and gives +them a great idea which they may use in a painting, a poem, or a musical +composition. The suggestion is attractive, but in the long range of +historical record there is no evidence that accident, in the shape of +inspiration or other psychological lever, has been responsible in the +slightest degree for the production of a work of art. The writer of a +sublime poem, or the painter of a perfect Madonna, uses the same kind of +mental and material labour as the man who chisels a lion's head on a +chair, or adds a filigree ornament to a bangle. The difference is one of +degree only. The poet or painter is gifted with a vivid imagination +which he has cultivated by study; and by diligence has acquired +superlative facility in execution, which he uses to the best advantage. +The work of the furniture carver or jeweller does not require such high +powers, and he climbs only a few steps of the ladder whose uppermost +rungs have been scaled by the greater artists. + +If in the course of the five and twenty centuries during which works of +high art have been produced, some of them had been executed with the +assistance of a psychological impulse directed independently of the +will, there would certainly have been references to the phenomenon by +the artists concerned, or the very numerous art historians, but without +a known exception, all the great artists who have left any record of the +cause of their success, or whose views on the subject are to be gained +by indirect references, have attributed this success to hard study, or +manual industry, or both together. We know little of the opinion of the +ancient Greeks on the matter, but the few anecdotes we have, indicate +that their artists were very practical men indeed, and hardly likely to +expect mysterious psychological influences to help them in their work. +So with the Romans, and it is noticeable that the key to the production +of beauty in poetry, in the opinion of Virgil and Horace, is careful +preparation and unlimited revision. This appears to be the view of some +modern poets, and if Dante, Shakespeare, and Milton, had experienced +visionary inspiration, we should surely have heard of it. Fortunately +some of the most eminent painters of modern times have expressed +themselves definitely upon the point. Lionardo observed that the painter +arrives at perfection by manual operation; and Michelangelo asserted +that Raphael acquired his excellence by study and application. Rubens +praised his brushes, by which he meant his acquired facility, as the +instruments of his fortune; and Nicholas Poussin attributed his success +to the fact that he neglected nothing, referring of course to his +studies. According to his biographers, the triumphs of Claude were due +to his untiring industry, while Reynolds held that nothing is denied to +well directed labour. And so with many others down to Turner, whose +secret according to Ruskin, was sincerity and toil. + +It would seem to be possible for an artist to work himself into a +condition of emotional excitement,[7] either involuntarily when a great +thought comes to him, or voluntarily when he seeks ideas wherewith to +execute a brilliant conception; and it is comprehensible that when in +this condition, which is practically an extreme concentration of his +mental energy upon the purpose in hand, images or other aesthetic +suggestions suitable for his work may present themselves to his mind. +These he might regard as the result of inspiration, but in reality they +would be the product of a trained imagination operating under +advantageous conditions. + +Nor can any rule be laid down that the character or temperament of an +artist influences his work, for if instances can be given in support of +such an assertion, at least an equal number may be adduced which +directly oppose it. If we might approximately gauge the true characters +of Fra Angelico and Michelangelo from a study of their work, it is +certain that no imagination could conjure up the actual personalities of +Perugino and Cellini, from an examination of the paintings of the one +and the sculptures of the other. What can be said on the subject when +assassins of the nature of Corenzio and Caravaggio painted so many +beautiful things, and evil-minded men like Ribera and Battistello +adorned great churches with sacred compositions? If the work of Claude +appears to harmonize with his character, that of Turner does not. +"Friendless in youth: loveless in manhood; hopeless in death." Such was +Turner according to Ruskin, but is there any sign of this in his works? +Not a trace. If any conclusion as to his character and temperament can +be drawn from Turner's paintings, it is that he was a gay, light-hearted +thinker, with all the optimism and high spirits that come from a delight +in beautiful things. The element of mood is unquestionably of importance +in the work of an artist, but it is not uncommon to find the character +of his designs contrary to his mood. Poets, as in the case of Hood, or +painters as with Tassaert, may execute the most lively pieces while in +moods verging on despair. With some men adversity quickens the +imagination with fancies; with others it benumbs their faculties. + +The tendency of popular criticism to search for psychological phenomena +in paintings, apparently arises largely from the difficulty in +comprehending how it is that certain artists of high repute vary their +styles of painting after many years of good work, and produce pictures +without the striking beauty characterizing their former efforts. +Sometimes when age is beginning to tell upon them, they broaden their +manner considerably, as with Rembrandt and others of the seventeenth +century, and many recent artists of lesser fame. The critic, very +naturally perhaps, is chary of condemning work from the hand of one who +has given evidence of consummate skill, and so seeks for hidden beauties +in lieu of those to which he has been accustomed. A simple enquiry into +the matter will show that the change of style in these cases has a +commonplace natural cause. + + [Illustration: PLATE 2 (See page 319) + "Le Bon Dieu d'Amiens" (_Amiens Cathedral_)] + +To be in the front rank an artist must have acquired a vast knowledge of +the technique of his art, and have a powerful imagination which has been +highly cultivated. But the qualifications must be balanced. Commonly +when this balance is not present the deficiency is in the imagination, +but there are instances where, though the power of execution is supreme, +the imagination has so far exceeded all bounds as to render this power +of comparatively small practical value. The most conspicuous example of +this want of balance is Lionardo, who accomplished little though he was +scarcely surpassed in execution by Raphael or Michelangelo. His +imagination invariably ran beyond his execution; his ideas were always +above the works he completed or partly finished: he saw in fact far +beyond anything he could accomplish, and so was never satisfied with the +result of his labour. At the same time he was filled with ideas in +the sciences, and investigated every branch of knowledge without +bringing his conclusions to fruition. During the latter part of his +life, Michelangelo showed a similar defect in a lesser degree, for his +unfinished works of the period exceed in number those he completed. +Naturally such intellectual giants, whose imaginations cannot be +levelled with the highest ability in execution, are few, but the lesser +luminaries who fail, or who constantly fail, in carrying out their +conceptions, are legion, though they may have absorbed the limit of +knowledge which they are capable of acquiring in respect of execution. +It is common for a painter to turn out a few masterpieces and nothing +else of permanent value. This was the case with numerous Italian artists +of the seventeenth century, and it is indeed a question whether there is +one of them, except perhaps Domenichino, whose works have not a +considerable range in aesthetic value. + +There have been still more artists whose powers of execution were far +beyond the flights of their imaginations. They include the whole of the +seventeenth century Dutch school with Rembrandt at their head, and the +whole of the Spanish school of the same period, except El Greco, +Zurbaran, and Murillo. When an artist is in the first rank in respect of +execution, but is distinctly inferior in imaginative scope, his work in +all grades of his art, except the highest, where ideals are possible, +seems to have a greater value than it really possesses because we are +insensibly cognizant that the accomplishment rises above the idea upon +which it is founded. On the other hand his work in the highest plane +appears to possess a lower value, because we are surprised that ideals +have not been attempted, and that the types of the spiritual and +classical personages represented are of the same class of men and women +as those exhibited in works dealing with ordinary human occupations or +actions. This is why the sacred and classical pictures of Rembrandt, +Vermeer of Delft, and the other leading Dutch artists, appear to be +below their portrait and genre work in power. + +The course of variation in the work of a great painter follows the +relative power of his imagination and his execution. Where there is a +fair balance between the two, the work of the artist increases in +aesthetic value with his age and experience; but when his facility in +execution rises above the force of his imagination, then his middle +period is invariably the best, his later work showing a gradual +depreciation in quality. The reason is obvious. The surety of the hand +and eye diminishes more rapidly than the power of the mind, which in +fact is commonly enhanced with experience till old age comes on. Great +artists who rely mostly upon their powers of execution, and exhibit +limited fertility in invention, such as Rembrandt, have often a manner +which is so interwoven with the effects they seek, that they are seldom +or never able to avail themselves of the assistance of others in the +lesser important parts of their work. A man with the fertile mind of a +Rubens may gather around him a troupe of artists nearly as good as +himself in execution, who will carry out his designs completely save +for certain details. Thus he is not occupied with laborious toil, and +the decreasing accuracy of his handiwork troubles him but little. On the +other hand a Rembrandt, whose merits lie chiefly in the delicate +manipulation of light effects and intricate shades in expression, +remains tied to his canvas. He feels intensely the decreasing facility +in the use of his brush which necessarily accompanies his advancing +years, and his only recourse from a stoppage of work is an alteration in +manner involving a reduction of labour and a lessened strain upon the +eyesight. With few exceptions the great masterpieces of Rembrandt were +produced in his middle period. During the last ten or fifteen years of +his life he gradually increased his breadth of manner. He was still +magnificent in general expression, but the intimate details which +produced such glorious effects in the great Amsterdam picture, and fifty +or more of his single portraits, could not be obtained with hog's +hair.[8] + +Disconnecting then the work of the artist with inspiration or other +psychological force, we may now enquire what is mean by "Genius," +"Natural gift," or other term used to explain the power of an artist to +produce a great work? It would appear that the answer is closely +concerned with the condition of the sensorial nerves at birth, and the +precocity or otherwise of the infantile imagination. From the fact that +we can cultivate the eye and ear so as to recognize forms of harmony +which we could not before perceive, and seeing that the effect of this +cultivation is permanent, it follows that exercise must bring about +direct changes in the nerves associated with these organs, attuning them +so to speak, and enabling them to respond to newer harmonies arising +from increased complexity of the signs used.[9] It is matter of common +knowledge that the structure of the sensorial nerves varies largely in +different persons at birth, and when a boy at a very early age shows +precocious ability in music or drawing, we may properly infer that the +condition of his optic or aural nerves is comparatively advanced, that +is to say, it is much less rudimentary than that of the average person +at the same age; in other words accident has given him a nerve +regularity which can only be gained by the average boy after long +exercise. The precocious youth has not a nerve structure superior in +kind, but it is abnormally developed, and so he is ahead of his +confreres in the matter of time, for under equal conditions of study he +is sooner able to arrive at a given degree of skill. + +But early appreciation of complex harmony, and skill in execution, are +not enough to produce a great artist, for there must be associated with +these things a powerful imagination. While the particular nerves or +vessels of the brain with which the imagination is concerned have not +been identified, we know by analogy and experience that the exercise of +the imagination like that of any other function, is necessary for its +development, and according as we allow it to remain in abeyance so we +reduce its active value. Clearly also, the seat of the imagination at +birth is less rudimentary in some persons than in others. From these +facts it would appear that when both the sensory nerve structure and the +seat of the imagination are advanced at birth, then we have the basis +upon which the precocious genius is built up. With such conditions, +patient toil and deep study are alone necessary to produce a sublime +artist. Evidently it is extremely rare for the imagination and nerve +structure to be together so advanced naturally, but commonly one is more +than rudimentary, and the deficiency in the other is compensated for by +study.[10] + +Of course these observations are general, for there arises the question, +to what extent can the senses and imagination be trained? We may well +conceive that there is a limit to the development of the sense organs. +There must come a period when the optic or aural nerves can be attuned +no further; and is the limit equal in all persons? The probability is +that it is not. The physical character of the nerves almost certainly +varies in different persons, some being able to appreciate more complex +harmonies than others, granted the limit of development. This is a point +which has to be considered, particularly in the case of music wherein as +a rule, the higher the beauty the more complex the combinations of +signs. There is a parallel problem to solve in respect of the +imagination. We can well believe that there was something abnormal in +the imagination of Shakespeare, beyond the probability that in his case +the physiological system controlling the seat of the imagination was +unusually advanced at birth. It is quite certain that with such a man a +given training would result in a far greater advance in the functioning +capacity of the imagination, than in the vast majority of persons who +might commence the training on apparently equal terms; and he would be +able to go further--to surpass the point which might be the limit of +development with most persons. + +These questions are of the highest importance, but they cannot be +determined. We are acquainted with certain facts relating to the general +development of the sense organs, and of the imagination; and in regard +to the former we know that there is a limit within comprehensible +bounds, but we see only very dimly anything finite in the scope of the +imagination. With what other term than "limitless" can we describe the +imagination of a Shakespeare? But in all cases, whatever the natural +conditions at birth, it is clear that hard work is the key to success in +art, and though some must work harder than others to arrive at an equal +result, it is satisfactory to know that generally Carlyle was right when +he described "genius" as the transcendent capacity for taking trouble, +and we are not surprised that Cicero should have come to the conclusion +that diligence is a virtue that seems to include all the others. + +Seeing that the conclusions above defined (and some to be later drawn), +are not entirely in accord with a large part of modern criticism based +upon what are commonly described as new and improved forms of the +painter's art, it is necessary to refer to these forms, which are +generally comprehended under what is known as Impressionism.[c] Alas, to +the frailty of man must we ascribe the spread of this movement, which +has destroyed so many bright young intellects, and is at this moment +leading thousands of gentle spirits along the level path which ends in +despair. For the real road of art is steep, and difficult, and long. +Year upon year of patient thought, patient observation, and patient +toil, lie ahead of every man who covets a crown of success as a painter. +He must seek to accumulate vast stores of knowledge of the human form +and its anatomy, of nature in her prolific variety, of linear and aerial +perspective, of animals which move on land or through the air, of the +laws of colours and their combinations. He must sound the depths of +poetry, and sculpture, and architecture; absorb the cream of sacred and +profane history; and with all these things and many more, he must +saturate his mind with the practical details of his art. Every artist +whose work the world has learned to admire has done his best to gain +this knowledge, and certainly no great design was ever produced by one +whose youth and early manhood were not worn with ardent study. For +knowledge and experience are the only foundations upon which the +imagination can build. Every new conception is a rearrangement of known +signs, and the imagination is powerless to arrange them appropriately +without a thorough comprehension of their character and significance. + + [c] The varied interpretations of Impressionism are referred to + elsewhere (see page ). When using the term in this book + without qualification, the writer means thereby the subordination + of design to colour, which definition covers all the forms of the + "new art" without going beyond any of them. + +This then is the programme of work which must be adopted by any serious +aspirant to fame in the art of the painter, and it is perhaps not +surprising that the number of artists who survive the ordeal is strictly +limited. In any walk of life where years of struggle are necessary for +success, how small the proportion of men who persevere to the end; who +present a steel wall to misfortune and despair, and with an indomitable +will, overcome care, and worry, and fatigue, for year after year, till +at last the clouds disappear, and they are able to front the world with +an all-powerful shield of radiant knowledge! But unfortunately in the +painter's art it is difficult to convince students of the necessity for +long and hard study, because there is no definite standard for measuring +success or failure which they can grasp without long experience. In +industries where knowledge is applied to improvement in appliances, or +methods with definite ends, or to the realization of projects having a +fixed scope, failure is determined by material results measured commonly +by mathematical processes of one kind or another. A man produces a new +alloy which he claims will fulfil a certain purpose. It is tested by +recognized means: all concerned admit the validity of the test, and +there the matter ends. But in the arts, while the relative value of the +respective grades is equally capable of demonstration, the test is of a +different kind. Instead of weights and measures which every man can +apply, general experience must be brought in. The individual may be +right in his judgment, and commonly is, but he is unable to measure the +evidence of his senses by material demonstration, and as he has no means +of judging whether his senses are normal, except by comparison, he is +liable to doubt his own experience if it clash with that of others. +Thus, he may find but little beauty in a given picture, and then may +read or hear that the work has a high aesthetic value, and without +calling to mind the fact that no evidence in the matter is conclusive +unless it be based on general experience, he is liable to believe that +his own perception is in some way deficient. + +Thus in the arts, and particularly in painting, there is ample scope for +the spread of false principles. Poetry has an advantage in that the +intellect must first be exercised before the simplest pictures are +thrown on the brain, so feeble or eccentric verse appeals to very few +persons, and seldom has a clientele, if one may use the word, outside of +small coteries of weak thinkers. It is difficult also in sculpture to +put forward poor works as of a high order, because this art deals almost +entirely with simple human and animal forms in respect of which the +knowledge is universal, and so as signs they cannot be varied except in +the production of what would be immediately recognized as monstrosities. +But in painting an immense variety in kind of beauty may be produced, +from a simple colour harmony to the representation of ideal forms +involving the highest sensorial and intellectual reaches, and there is +ample scope for the misrepresentation of aesthetic effects--for the +suggestion that a work yielding a momentary appeal to the senses is +superior to a high form of permanent beauty. + +It is to the ease with which simple forms of ephemeral beauty may be +produced in painting that is due the large number of artists who should +never have entered upon the profession. Nearly every person of average +intelligence is capable with a few lessons of producing excellent +imitations of natural things in colour, as for instance, flowers, bits +of landscape, and so on, and great numbers of young men and women, +surprised at the facility with which this work can be done, erroneously +suppose that nature has endowed them with special gifts, and so take up +the art of painting as a career. Hence for every sculptor there are +twenty painters. Now these youthful aspirants usually start with +determination and hope, but although they know the value of studious +toil, they rarely comprehend that this toil, long continued, is the only +key to success. Most of them seem under the impression that inspiration +will come to their assistance, and that their genius will enable them to +dispense with much of the labour which others, less fortunate, must +undertake. They do not understand that all painters, even a Raphael, +must go through long years of hard application. + +We need not be surprised that there should be occasional eruptions in +art circles tending to the exaltation of the immature at the expense of +the superior, or even the sublime, for we have always with us the +undiligent man of talent, and the "unrecognized genius." But hitherto, +movements of the kind have not been serious, for with one exception they +are lost in oblivion, and the exception is little more than a vague +memory. That the present movement should have lasted so long is not +difficult to understand when we remember the modern advantages for the +spread of new sensations--the exhibitions, the unlimited advertising +scope, and above all the new criticism, with its extended vocabulary, +its original philosophy, and its boundless discoveries as to the +psychological and musical qualities of paint. That history is silent as +to previous eruptions of the kind before the seventeenth century is a +matter of regret. It is unlikely that the greatest of all art epochs +experienced an impressionist fever, for one cannot imagine the spread of +spurious principles within measurable distance of a State (Thebes) which +went so far as to prohibit the representation of unbeautiful things. In +respect of poetry we know that the Greeks stood no nonsense, for did not +Zoilus suffer an ignominious death for venturing upon childish criticism +of Homer? In Rome eccentric painters certainly found some means to +thrive, for where "Bohemian" poets gathered, who neglected the barber +and the bath, and pretended an aesthetic exclusiveness, there surely +would painters of "isms" be found in variety. Naturally in the early +stages of the Renaissance, when patronage of the arts was almost +confined to the Church, and so went hand in hand with learning, inferior +art stood small chance of recognition; and a little later when Lorenzo +gathered around him the intellectual cream of Italy; when the pupils of +Donatello were spreading the light of his genius; when the patrician +beauties of Florence were posing for Ghirlandaio and his brilliant +confreres, and when the minds of Lionardo and Michelangelo were +blooming; who would have dared to talk of the psychological qualities of +paint, or suggest the composition of a fresco "symphony"? + + [Illustration: PLATE 3 (See page 111) + Ancient Copy of the Cnidian Venus of Praxiteles (_Vatican_)] + +But another century and more passed away. The blaze of the Renaissance +had gone down, but the embers were kept alive, for Italy still seemed to +vibrate with a desire to paint. Simultaneously in Flanders, in Holland, +in France, and in England, private citizens appeared to develop a sudden +demand for pictures, and quite naturally artists multiplied and fed the +flame. Outside of Italy the hustle and bustle in the art world were +novelties to the general public, though pleasant ones withal, and for +half a century or more they delighted in the majestic designs of Rubens +and Van Dyck, the intimate scenes of the Dutch artists, and the delicate +landscapes of Claude and Poussin and their followers, which were +continually finding their way from Rome. The simplicity of the people +protected the arts. They knew the hard labour involved in the production +of a picture; the worries, the struggles, the joys of the painters; and +daily saw beautiful imitations of every-day life in the shops and +markets. They must have been proud of them--insensibly proud of the +value of human endeavour. For them the sham and immature had no place: +there is not a single example of spurious art of the first three +quarters of the seventeenth century that has come down to us from +Holland or Flanders. But while the Dutch school was at the height of its +fame, a change was marking Italian art conditions. The half score of +academies scattered through the country were still in a state of +activity, carrying on, as far as they could, the traditions of the +Renaissance: from all parts of Europe students were still pouring in, +endeavouring to glean the secrets of the immortals; and there was no +apparent decrease in the demand for pictures from the religious +foundations and private buyers. But the character of the art produced +was rapidly declining: the writing on the wall was being done by the +hand that wielded the brush. As a necessary consequence the trader was +called in and art began to be commercialized. Worse still, fashions +appeared, guided by successive masters in the various centres, often +with an influence quite out of proportion with their merits. + +By the middle of the century a general fall in activity and enthusiasm +was noticeable. The disciples of the Roman school, largely through the +pernicious influence of Bernini, had nearly forgotten the great lessons +taught by the followers of Raphael, and later by the three Carracci, and +were fast descending below mediocrity; the Florentine school included +half a dozen good painters, mostly students of Berritini: Venice was +falling into a stagnation in which she remained till the appearance of +Longhi and Tiepolo and their brethren; Bologna was living on the +reputation of the Carracci, and had yet to recover with the aid of +Cignani: Milan and Genoa as separate schools had practically faded away; +and the Neapolitan school was relying on Salvator Rosa, though Luca +Giordano was growing into an inexhaustible hive of invention. This was +the condition of Italian art, while political and other troubles were +further complicating the position of artists. For most of them the time +was gloomy and the future dark. A few turned to landscape; others +extended the practice of copying the early masters for the benefit of +foreign capitals, while some sought for novelty in still-life, or in the +then newly practised pastel work. But there was a considerable number +who would have none of these things; some of them with talent but +lacking industry, and others with industry but void of imagination. What +were these to do at a time when at the best the outlook was poor? + +An answer came to this question. A new taste must be cultivated, and for +an art that required less study and trouble to produce than the sublime +forms with which the Renaissance culminated. So whispers went round that +Raphael was not really so great a master as was supposed, and that with +Michelangelo he was out of date and did not comprehend the real meaning +of art--very similar conclusions with which the modern impressionist +movement was heralded.[11] The discovery was made in Rome, but the news +expanded to Florence and Naples, and Venice, and behold the +result--Sprezzatura, or to use the modern word, Impressionism, that is +to say, the substitution of sketches for finished pictures, though this +is not the definition usually given to it. But fortunately for the art +of the time the innovation was chiefly confined to coteries. All that +could be said or done failed to convince the principal patrons of the +period that a half finished work is so beautiful as a completed one, and +so the novelties rarely found entrance into great collections, nor were +they used to adorn the interiors of public buildings. But a good many of +them were executed though they have long ceased to interest anybody. Now +and again one comes across an example in a sleepy Italian village, or in +the smaller shops of Rome or Florence, but it is quickly put aside as a +melancholy memento of a disordered period of art when talented painters +had to struggle for fame, and the untalented for bread. + +The cult of Sprezzatura faded to a glimmer before the end of the +seventeenth century. Bernini was dead, and Carlo Maratta with a few +others led the way in re-establishing the health if not the brilliancy +and renown of Italian art. Nor did a recurrence of the movement occur in +the next century. During this period there was comparatively little call +for art in Italy, and at the end of it, when political disturbances made +havoc with academies and artists, the principal occupation of Italian +painters with talent was precisely that of their skilled brethren in +Holland and Flanders--the manufacture of "old" masterpieces. It was +reserved for the second half of the nineteenth century for Sprezzatura +to make its reappearance, and this time Italy followed the lead of +France. + +There are many methods and mannerisms which go under the name of +Impressionism, but they are mostly suggestions in design or experiments +in tones which were formerly produced solely as studies to assist +artists in executing their complete works, or else eccentricities which +are obviously mere camouflage for lack of skill.[12] Sometimes the +sketches are slightly amplified with more or less finished signs, and +now and then novelties are present in the shape of startling colour +effects; but in all cases the impartial observer sees in the pictures +only sensorial beauty of a kind which is inevitably short lived, while +his understanding is oppressed with the thought, firstly that the +picture is probably the result of a want of diligence on the part of the +artist, and secondly that its exhibition as a serious work is somewhat +of a reflection upon the intelligence of the public. + +Obviously the fundamental basis of Impressionism is weak and illogical, +for in our conception of nature it invites us to eliminate the +understanding. What the impressionist practically says is: "We do not +see solid form; we see only flat surface in which objects are +distinguished by colours. The artist should reproduce these colours +irrespective of the nature of the objects." But the objects are +distinguished by our knowledge and experience, and if we are to +eliminate these in one art, why not in another? Why trouble about +carving in the round when we only actually see in the human figure a +flat surface defined by colour? There is no scene in nature such as the +impressionist paints, nor can such a scene be thrown upon the mind of +the painter as a natural scene. Except in absolute deserts there are no +scenes without many signs which are clearly defined to the eye, and +which the artist can paint. He cannot of course produce all the signs in +a view, but he can indicate sufficient of them to make a beautiful +picture apart from the tones, and there can be no valid aesthetic reason +for substituting for these signs vague suggestions of colour infinitely +less definite than the signs as they appear in nature. Nor is there any +such atmosphere in nature as the impressionist usually paints. We do not +see blotched outlines of human figures, but the outlines in nature, +except at a considerable distance, appear to us clear and decisive +though delicately shaded, and not as seen through a veil of steam. Nor +has any valid reason been advanced for juxtaposing pure colours instead +of blending them before use.[13] Why should the eye have to seek a +particular distance from a painting in order that the colours might +naturally blend, when the artist can himself blend them and present a +harmony which is observable at any reasonable distance? We do not carve +a statue with blurred and broken edges, and then tell the observer that +the outlines will appear correct if he travel a certain distance away +before examining them. + +In giving nearly his whole attention to colour the impressionist limits +his art to the feeblest form, and produces a quickly tiring, ephemeral +thing, as if unconscious of natural beauty. Sylvan glades and fairy +dales, where the brooks ripple pleasantly as they moisten the roots of +the violet, and gently lave the feet of the lark and the robin; where +shady trees bow welcome to the wanderer; where the grassy carpet is +sprinkled with flowers, and every bush can tell of lovers' sighs! Does +the impressionist see these things? Offer him the sweetest beauties of +nature, and he shows you in return a shake of a kaleidoscope. Mountain +peaks towering one above the other till their snowy crests sparkle the +azure sky; mighty rivers dividing the hills, crumbling the granite +cliffs, or thundering their course over impeding rocks; cascades of +flowing crystal falling into seething seas of foam and mist; the angry +ocean convulsively defying human power with its heaving walls and +fearsome caverns! Nature in her grandest form: sublime forces which +kindle the spirit of man: exhibit them to the impressionist, and he +presents to you a flat experiment in the juxtaposition of pure colours! +And the majesty of the human form, with its glorious attributes; the +noble woman and courageous man; incidents of self-sacrifice; the realms +of spiritual beauty, and the great ideals which expand the mind to the +bounds of space and lift the soul to Heaven! What of these? Ask the +impressionist, and he knows nothing of them. For his pencil they are but +relics of the past, like the bones of the men who immortalized them in +art. + +This is perhaps an overstatement of impressionism as applied to the +works of a large number of artists, who although commonly sacrificing +form to colour, infuse more or less interest in the human poses and +actions which are nominally the subjects of their pictures. But one can +only deal generally with such a matter. The evil of Impressionism does +not lie in the presentation of colour harmonies as beautiful things, for +they are unquestionably pleasing, though the beauty is purely sensorial +and of an ephemeral character. The mischief arises from the declaration, +overt or implied, that these harmonies represent the higher reaches of +the painter's art, and that form or design therein is of secondary +importance. Let something false in thought or activity be propagated in +any domain where the trader can make use of it, then surely will the +evil grow, each new weed being more rank than its predecessor. +Impressionism is not a spurious form of art, but seeing that its +spurious claims were widely accepted, with substantial results, there +soon appeared innumerable other forms inferior to it. There is no +necessity to deal here with these forms, with the crude experiments of +Cezanne, the vagaries of Van Gogh,[14] the puerilities of Matisse, or +the awful sequence of "isms," commencing with "Post-Impressionism," and +ending in the lowest depths of art degradation; but it is proper to +point out that so long as Impressionism puts forward its extravagant +pretensions, these corrupt forms will continue to taint the realm of art +to the detriment of both artists and public. + +The significance of Impressionism is alleged by its advocates to be of +such considerable import that in the public interest they should have +brought forward the most cogent arguments for its support. But we have +no such arguments, nor has any logical reason been advanced to offset +the obvious practical defects of the innovation, namely, that in the +general opinion the art is incomplete and decidedly inferior, and that +the leading critics of every country have ignored or directly condemned +it as an immature form of art. Nevertheless, although there has been no +determined attempt to upset the basis of art criticism as this basis has +been understood for more than twenty centuries; although the whole of +the arguments in support of the various forms of Impressionism have +failed to indicate any comprehensible basis at all, but have dealt +entirely with vague sensorial theories, and psychological suggestions +which have no general meaning; although it has never been remotely +advanced that the beauty produced by means of Impressionism is connected +with intellectual activity, as any high form of art must necessarily be: +notwithstanding all this, there has been gradually growing up in the +public mind, a vague and uncertain signification of the comparative +forms of art, which tends to the general confusion of thought amongst +the public, and a chaos of ideas in the minds of young artists. + +The root of these spreading branches of mysticism is to be found in the +insistent affirmation that the broad manner of painting is necessary for +the production of great work, and that only those old masters who used +this manner are worthy of study. It is, as if the advocates of the new +departure declare, "If we cannot demonstrate the superiority of our +work, we can at least affirm that our methods are the best." Where a +small minority is persistent in advocating certain views, and the great +majority do not trouble about replying thereto, false principles are +likely to find considerable area for permeation among the rising +generation, who are easily impressed with the appearance of undisputed +authority. In the matter we are discussing, the limited authority is +particularly likely to be recognized by the inexperienced of those +mostly concerned, that is to say, young artists, because it sanctions a +method of work which reduces to a minimum the labour involved in +arriving at excellence by the regular channels. + +Now the artist is at liberty to use any method of painting in producing +his picture providing he presents something beautiful. There is no +special virtue in a broad manner, a fine manner, or any other manner, +and the public, for whom the artist toils, is not concerned with the +point. It is as indifferent to the kind of brushwork used by the +painter, as to the variety of chisel handled by the sculptor. The +observer of the picture judges it for its beauty, and if it be well +painted, then the character of the brushwork is unconsidered. If, +however, the brushwork is so broad that the manner of painting protrudes +itself upon the observer at first sight, then the work cannot be of a +high class. All the paintings which we recognize as great works of art +are pictured upon the brain as complete things immediately they are +brought within the compass of the eye, and to this rule there is no +exception. If, when encompassed by the sight we find that a picture is +so broadly painted that we must move backwards to an unknown point +before the character of the work can be thoroughly comprehended as a +complete whole, then it is distinctly inferior as a work of art, +because, being incomprehensible on first inspection, it is necessarily +unbeautiful, and the act of converting it into a thing of beauty, by +means of a mechanical operation, complicates the picture on the brain +and so weakens its aesthetic value.[15] This is axiomatic. There are +proportions and propriety in all the arts, and the good artist is quite +aware of the lines to be drawn in respect of the manner he adopts. Jan +Van Eyck's picture of Arnolfini and his Wife, and Holbein's Ambassadors, +both painted in the fine manner, are equally great works of art with +Titian's portraits; and Raphael's portrait of Julius II. (the Pitti +Palace example),[16] which is in a manner midway between that of Holbein +and Titian, is superior to the work of all other portrait artists. + +But the most remarkable outcome of the spread of Impressionism is not +the extravagant use of the broad manner, for vagaries of this sort will +always find support among immature minds and undiligent hands, but the +establishment of a species of cult connected with certain old masters +who are not in the very first rank, and the attempted relegation to the +background of public opinion, of the few sublime painters whose colossal +genius and superiority are recognized by well balanced minds wherever +the breath of man can open the door of his soul. It is unnecessary to +enter upon a long enquiry as to the validity of these proceedings, but +the new position in which two great masters have been placed can +scarcely be ignored. These masters are Rembrandt and Velasquez, who +appear to have been set upon the loftiest of pedestals in order that +some of their glory may be shed upon the new varieties of Sprezzatura. +It has been frequently said that these masters were the first of +impressionists, but the connection between their work and Impressionism +is hard to find.[17] Not only is Rembrandt entirely distinct in his +manner from Velasquez; not only were they both portrait painters +primarily, while the great bulk of impressionist work is landscape; but +their aims, their ideas, and the whole of their works are as far removed +from the new school as the poles are asunder. The work of the two great +painters deals almost entirely with expression, that of the +impressionists with colour harmonies. In the one case intellectual +beauty is sought to accompany the sensorial, in the other the production +of beauty which is not purely or almost entirely sensorial, is not even +pretended. While these differences are obvious, and while no man of +ordinary intelligence is likely to be confused in his mind in respect of +them, the fact remains that the movement, which was born with +Impressionism some forty years ago, to raise Rembrandt and Velasquez to +an elevation in art to which they are not entitled, has met with much +success amongst that considerable section of the community which is +interested in art and appreciates its value, but suffers from the +delusion that special knowledge, which it has not acquired, is necessary +for the recognition of high aesthetic merit. No definite propositions +have been laid down in support of the movement: there has been no line +of reasoning for the critic to handle, nor have the old standards been +upset in the slightest degree: the position has been brought about +chiefly by a continuous reiteration of vague assertions and mystic +declarations, and by the glamour arising from the enormous prices paid +by collectors for the works of the masters named, consequent upon the +skilful commercial exploitation of this exaggerated approbation. + + [Illustration: PLATE 4 (See Page 113) + Venus Anadyomene (_Sculpture after the painting of Apelles_)] + + [Illustration: PLATE 5 (See page 115) + Venus Anadyomene (_The painting of Titian_)] + +Portraiture is necessarily on a lower scale of art than historical +painting (using this term in its higher application), firstly because +ideals are not possible therein, and secondly in that the imagination of +the artist is very restricted. The greatest portrait ever painted is +immeasurably below a picture where a beautiful ideal form, with ideal +expression is depicted; as far below in fact as the best ancient +sculptured busts were inferior to the gods of Praxiteles. Neither +Rembrandt nor Velasquez was capable of idealization of form, and so +neither left behind him a single painted figure to take its place as a +type. Rembrandt was a master of human expression, and in the +representation of character he was perhaps unsurpassed by any painter, +but if we analyze the feeling that is at the bottom of the appreciation +of his portraits, we find that it largely consists of something apart +from admiration of them as things of beauty. There enters into +consideration recognition of the extraordinary genius of the artist in +presenting character in such a way that the want of corporeal beauty +seems to be unfelt. Instead of observing that the expression in a +countenance harmonizes with the features, we involuntarily notice +that the features harmonize perfectly with the expression, which seems +in itself to be the picture. Of course inasmuch as the expression +invariably appeals to the good side of our nature, it means intellectual +beauty, but as the depth of any impression of this kind of beauty +depends upon the development of the mind, the admiration must, except +where the artist presents corporeal beauty, be confined generally to the +cultivated section of the community. From the point of view of pure art, +his fame as a great painter can only rest upon those of his pictures +which are also appreciated for the corporeal beauty exhibited. + +The extraordinary power of Velasquez lay in the sure freedom of his +execution, and in this he was equal to Titian. He was besides a master +of balance, and so every portrait he painted is one complete whole, and +has exactly the effect that a portrait should have--to direct the mind +of the observer to the subject, and away altogether from the painter. +But these high qualities as portrait painters do not place Rembrandt and +Velasquez on a level with Raphael, and Michelangelo, and Correggio. +Whatever the individual opinion, it is impossible to move aside from the +long path of experience and the laws dependent upon natural functions, +and so long as the world lasts, a work of ideal beauty, whether it be a +Madonna by Raphael, a Prophet by Michelangelo, or a symbolical figure by +Fragonard, will live in general estimation, which is the only test of +high beauty, far above portraits from life and scenes of every day +labour, however they may be painted. The beauty of the one is eternal +and exalting; and of the other, sympathetic and more or less passive. +The appreciation of Raphael and Michelangelo is universal, spontaneous, +emphatic; of Rembrandt and Velasquez, sometimes imperative, but usually +deliberative and cultivated. In fact it is only amongst a section of +cultivated people, that is to say, a small percentage of the community, +that Rembrandt and Velasquez are given a status which is not, and cannot +be, accorded them if we adhere to the natural and time-honoured +standards of judgment accepted by the first artists and philosophers +known to the world since art emerged from the prehistoric shade. To +place these artists above, or on a level with, the Italian artists +named, is to cast from their pedestals Homer, Phidias, Praxiteles, +Apelles, Shakespeare, Dante, and every other admittedly sublime genius +in art of whom we have record. + +Another baneful result of Impressionism is the attempt to raise +landscape to a higher level in art than that to which it is properly +entitled. This is perhaps a natural consequence of the elevation of +colour at the expense of form, for the movement is based upon new +methods of colouring, and the significance of colour is vastly greater +in landscape than in any other branch of art. Elsewhere the disabilities +of the landscape painter are pointed out, and it will be seen that fixed +and unalterable restrictions compel an extreme limitation to his work. +It is because of these restrictions that the very greatest artists have +refrained from paying close attention to this branch of art as a +separate department. + +From indirect records we may presume that landscape painting was well +understood in the days of ancient Greece, but there is no evidence that +it then formed a separate branch of art. In Roman times according to +Pliny, landscape was used for mural decoration. Of its character we can +only judge from the examples exposed during the excavations at Pompeii +and Herculaneum, which indicate that the pictures had but a +topographical interest, or formed settings for the representation of +industrial pursuits or classical adventures. Certainly there is no +instance in Greek or Roman art recorded or exhibited, of any landscape +as we understand it, that is, a work built up as a beautiful +representation of nature, to be instantly recognized by the observer as +a complete whole, as one sign in fact. The artists of the Italian +Renaissance did not paint landscapes as separate pictures unless by way +of study or experiment. They evidently considered landscape signs purely +as accessories, and composed their natural views with special reference +to figure designs. Some of them, particularly the leaders of the +Venetian School, occasionally painted pictures in which landscape +appears to play an important part, but in these cases the landscape is +really subsidiary, though essential to the design; and the works cannot +be compared in any way with those of Claude and others who often added +figures to their landscapes in order to comply with the wishes of their +patrons. The fifteenth century Flemish artists also dealt with landscape +purely as background, and so with Martin Schongauer, Duerer, and other +early German painters. But all the great painters down to the decline +of the Renaissance, closely studied landscape, as is evidenced by the +numerous sketches still existing, and the finished pictures remaining +clearly indicate that by the middle of the sixteenth century artists had +little or nothing to learn in landscape art, save the management of +complex aerial perspective. + +Since landscape painting was introduced as a separate art towards the +end of the sixteenth century, it has only commanded general attention +when the higher art of the painter has appeared to decline. In Flanders +the spurt in landscape due to Paul Bril was terminated with the last of +the Breughels by the overpowering splendour of Rubens in historical +work, and the attempts of even Rubens himself to create a greater +interest in landscape signally failed. There were some good landscape +painters in Holland during the flourishing period of the Dutch school, +but it was only when Rembrandt, Dow, Terburg, and the rest of the bright +constellation of figure painters had passed their zenith, or were +resting in quiet graves, that landscape painting became in any way +general. Then it was that Hobbema, Jacob Ruysdael, and their numerous +followers, with coast painters like Van der Cappelle, and sea painters +as William van de Velde, turned out the many fine works which are now so +highly prized. + +The Italians of the seventeenth century were too close to Raphael, and +Michelangelo, and Titian, to permit of a landscape being generally +received as a great work of art, but there appeared at this time in +Rome numerous foreigners from France, and Flanders, and Holland, who +were devoted to landscape, and amongst them the greatest genius known in +the art--Claude Lorraine. He was the first to put the sun in the sky on +canvas for the purpose of pure landscape; the first to master thoroughly +the intricate difficulties of aerial perspective; the first to adorn the +earth with fairy castles and dreamy visions of nature, such as we might +suppose to have been common in the days of the Golden Age, ere yet men +fought for power, or toiled from morn to eve for daily bread. With his +magic wand he skimmed the cream of natural beauty and spread it over the +Roman Campagna, transforming this historic ground into a region of +palaces, terraces, cascades, and glorious foliage. At the same time +Nicholas Poussin was also using the Campagna for the landscape settings +of his classical compositions--such perfect settings that it is +impossible to imagine the figures separated from their surroundings. +These two artists with their disciples, and many Flemish and Dutch +painters headed by Berghem and the two Boths, formed a landscape colony +of considerable importance, but no Italian landscape school was founded +from it. In the next century there was little pure landscape in Italy. +Some fine works of topographical, and a few of general interest were +produced by Canaletto and his followers, and a kind of landscape school +was maintained in Venice for half a century or more, but elsewhere in +Italy the cultivation of landscape was spasmodic and feeble. + +In England and France, landscape as a separate art has only made +considerable headway quite recently, though there have been local +schools, as the Norwich and Barbizon, which followed particular methods +in design. Meanwhile England produced some isolated giants in landscape, +as Wilson, Gainsborough, Turner, and Constable, Turner standing out as +the greatest painter of strong sun effects on record. It will be seen +that until the last generation or so, in no country has landscape been +admitted to high rank as a separate art, universal opinion very properly +recognizing that the highest beauty in the handiwork of man is to be +found in the representation of the human figure. Profound efforts of the +imagination are not required in landscape, for it consists of a +particular arrangement of inanimate signs which have no direct influence +upon the mind, and cannot appeal to the higher faculties. There is no +scope therein for lofty conceptions, and consequently the sensorial +beauty exhibited must be very high to have more than a quickly passing +effect upon the observer. This high beauty is most difficult to obtain, +and can only be reached by those who have a supreme knowledge of the +technique of their art; who have made a long and close study of natural +signs and effects; and who are possessed of uncommon patience and +industry. We need not be surprised that scarcely one out of every +hundred landscape painters executes a work which lasts a generation, and +not one out of a thousand secures a permanent place on the roll of art. +The man who does not give his life from his youth up, to his work, +concentrating his whole energy upon it, to the exclusion of everything +else, will paint only inferior landscapes. The four greatest landscape +painters known to us are Claude and Turner in distance work, and Hobbema +and Jacob Ruysdael in near-ground. Claude was labouring for twenty-five +years before he succeeded in accomplishing a single example of those +lovely fairy abodes so forcibly described by Goethe as "absolute truth +without a sign of reality." Turner took more than twenty years to master +the secrets of Claude; Jacob Ruysdael spent a quarter of a century in +working out to perfection the representation of flowing water, and +Hobbema passed through more than half of his long life before arriving +at his superlative scheme of increasing his available distance by +throwing in a powerful sunlight from the back of his trees. And a long +list of landscape painters of lesser lustre might be given, who went +through from fifteen to thirty years of painstaking labour before +executing a single first-class picture. + +Great landscapes of the pure variety are of two kinds, and two kinds +only. The highest are those where an illusion of opening distance or +other movement is provided, and the second class are where natural +scenes of common experience, under common conditions of atmosphere, are +faithfully reproduced. The lighter landscapes representing phases, as +the sketches of the Barbizon school,[18] with the moonlight scenes, and +the thousand and one sentimental colour harmonies unconcerned with human +motives, which are turned out with such painful regularity every month, +serve their purpose as wall decorations of the moment, but then die and +fade from memory like so many of the unfortunate artists who drag their +weary way to the grave in the vain struggle for fame by means of them. + +No landscape of the phase class can be anything more than a simple +harmony of tone and design, more ephemeral than the natural phase +itself. The quiet harmony is restful for the fatigued eye, and every eye +is fatigued every day; and because the eye feels relieved in glancing at +the picture, the conclusion arises to the unthinking that it must be a +great work of art. Glowing eulogies were pronounced upon Whistler's +Nocturne, in the Metropolitan Museum of New York, when it was first +placed there, but is there anything less like a work of beauty than the +dark meaningless patch as it is now seen? And the same thing has +happened with a thousand other landscapes of the kind--first presented +to the tired eyes of business and professional men, and then placed in +collections to be surrounded by permanently beautiful works. All these +phase pictures must quickly lose their beauty in accordance with natural +laws which cannot be varied. Let it not be supposed that the writer +means to suggest that these simple works should not be executed. They +are surely better than no decoration at all in the many homes for which +really fine pictures are unavailable, but it is entirely wrong to +endeavour to pervert the public judgment by putting them forward as +works of high art. + +And what of the struggling artists? Look around in every city and see +the numbers of bright young men and women wearing away the bloom of +their youth in vain endeavours to climb the heights of art by the easy +track of glowing colours! It is the call of Fame they think, that leads +them along, for they know not the voice of the siren, and see not the +gaping precipice which is to shatter their dreams. There is but one sure +path to the top of the mountain, but it is drab-coloured, and many are +the slippery crags. Few of the strongest spirits can climb it, but all +may try, and at least they may direct their minds upwards, and keep ever +in front of them a vision of the great idealists wandering over the +summit through the eternal glow of the fires they lit ere death +consecrated their glory. + + + + +BOOK I + + + + +CHAPTER I + +Classification of the fine arts + + The arts imitative of nature--The arts classified according to the + character of their signs--Poetry not a compound art, primarily--The + extent to which the arts may improve upon nature. + + +Since art uses natural signs for the purpose of representing nature, it +is necessarily mimetic in character.[19] + +Poetry represents all that the other arts imitate, and in addition, +presumed divine actions. Specially it imitates human and presumed +spiritual actions, with form and expression; expression directly, form +indirectly. + +Sculpture imitates human and presumed spiritual form and expression; +form directly, expression indirectly. It also represents animal forms, +and modifications of natural forms in ornament. + +Painting imitates natural forms and products, and specially human form +and expression; form directly, expression indirectly. + +Fiction imitates human actions, and form and expression; expression +directly, form indirectly. + +Music imitates natural sounds and combines them and specially represents +human emotional effects. + +Architecture is the least imitative of the arts, its freedom in the +representation of nature being restricted by the necessity of serving +the end of utility. It combines geometrical forms, and in the positions +and proportions of these, is compelled to represent what we understand +from experience of nature as natural balance. + +The poet may give to a character sublime attributes far above +experience, or expand form as Homer raises the stature of Strife to the +heavens, but he cannot provide attributes beyond experience in kind, or +any part of a form outside of nature. He may combine or rearrange, and +enlarge or diminish as he will, and so may the painter, the sculptor, or +musician, but he is powerless to create signs unknown to nature. It +follows then, that he who imitates nature in the most beautiful way, +that is to say, he who combines the signs of nature to form the most +beautiful whole, produces the greatest work of art. + +It would appear that upon the character of their principal signs is +dependent the relative position of the arts in respect of the +recognition of beauty therein. Of the six fine arts, namely, Poetry, +Sculpture, Painting, Fiction, Music, and Architecture, the first four, +which hereafter in this work will be known as the Associated Arts, have +for their principal sign the human figure, to which everything else is +subordinate; while in music the signs consist of tones, and in +architecture, of lines. + +All the other arts whose object is to give pleasure, as the drama, +dancing, etching, are either modifications of one of the fine arts, or +combinations of two or more of them. In recent times it has been held +that poetry is a combined art, owing to the almost invariable use of a +simple form of music in its construction, but it would appear that +primarily poetry is independent of metrical assistance. This was clearly +laid down by Aristotle, but modern definitions of the art have usually +included some reference to metre.[20] Now in our common experience two +things are observable in respect of poetry. The first is, that when by +way of admiration or criticism, we discuss the works of those poets whom +all the world recognizes as the greatest known to us, we deal only with +the substance of what is said, and the manner of saying it, without +reference to the metrical form. In the second place we observe that the +higher the poetry, the more simple is the metrical form with which it is +associated. The great epics, which necessarily take first rank in +poetry, have only metre, the higher musical measures in which lyrics are +set being avoided. But as we descend in the scale of the art, metrical +form becomes of more importance, and when simple subjects are dealt +with, and a grand style is inappropriate, the production would not be +called poetry unless in the form of verse. + + [Illustration: PLATE 6 (See page 116) + The Reposing Venus of Giorgione (_Dresden Gallery_)] + +In epic and dramatic poetry, we call one poet greater than another +because of his superior invention and beauty of expression, let the +measure be what it will. But the invention comes first, for only high +invention can be clothed with lofty expression. The actions of deathless +gods or god-like men; qualities of goodness, nobility, courage, +grandeur, so high as to be above human reach: only these can form the +subject of language and sentiment soaring into regions of the sublime, +and indifferent to metrical artifice. In the sacred books of all great +religions we may find the loftiest poetry without regular form, and any +prose translation of the Greek poets will provide many examples,[21] +though often there is a cadence--a rise and fall in the flow of words +which is more or less regular, and has the effect of emphasizing the +sentiment, and of throwing the images upon the mind with directness and +force. We must conclude then that in poetry, while metrical form is +generally essential, it is not vital to the highest flights of the poet, +and so strictly, poetry is primarily a pure and not a compound art. + +Seeing that art uses the signs of nature of which man is at once a +product and a tool, it must in its progress follow the general course of +nature. In her development of life, nature is chiefly concerned in the +improvements of types for her own purposes, and only uses the individual +in so far as he can assist in this end, while the natural instinct of +the individual is to conserve and improve his type. The art which +represents life is compelled to deal chiefly with types, for it is only +by the use of a type that the artist can apply his imagination to the +production of high beauty, to whatever extent he may use the individual +to help him in this purpose, and it is instinctive in the human being to +maintain and improve the aesthetic attraction of the species. The highest +art, as the highest work of nature, consists of the presentation of a +perfected type. The artist therefore must consider the species before +the individual; the essential before the accidental; the general before +the particular. + +The living signs of nature with which art deals are of two classes. In +the one sign the position of parts is the same throughout the species, +and is fixed and invariable, as in fully developed animals; in the other +the position is irregular, and variable within limits, as in plants. In +the latter case the position of parts may be commonly varied +indefinitely without a sense of incongruity arising, as in a tree, and +hence there can be no conceivable general form or type upon which art +may build up perfected parts and proportions. In respect of such a sign +therefore, art cannot improve, or appear to improve, upon nature, by +combining perfected parts into a more beautiful whole than nature +provides. + +In the case of a fully developed animal, where the position of parts is +fixed, a type may be conceived which is superior in symmetry and harmony +to any individual of the species produced by nature, for the imagination +is restricted to an unchangeable form, and has but to put together +perfected parts and proportions. But this conception can only be applied +in art to human beings, because in respect of other animals, while no +two are alike, the members of each species, or each section of a +species, seem to be alike, or so closely alike in form and expression, +that no perfected type can be conceived which will appear to be superior +in general beauty to the normal individual of the species, or section +thereof, coming within actual experience. Thus, the most perfect +conceivable racehorse painted on canvas, might in reality be more +perfect in form than any actual racehorse, but to the observer of the +picture it would not appear to be of greater perfection or higher beauty +than racehorses that come, or may come, within experience. The poet may +describe the actions and appearance of a courser in such a way as to +suggest that the animal has qualities far above experience, but the form +of the animal when thrown on the mind of the reader, would still appear +to be within the bounds of experience. + +With the human being, in addition to the general form there enters into +consideration the countenance, which is the all-important seat of +beauty, is the principal key to expression, and which, to the common +knowledge, differs in every person in character and proportions. Nature +never produces a perfect form with a perfect countenance, and she +actually refuses to provide a countenance which is free from elements +connected with purely human instincts and passions. But it is within the +power of art to correct the work of nature in these respects--to put +together perfect parts, and to provide a general expression approaching +our highest conceptions of human majesty. Homer, Phidias, and Raphael +have enabled us to throw upon our minds images far above any of actual +experience. + +Apart from these ideal forms, nature cannot be surpassed by art in the +production of beauty, either in respect of animate or inanimate signs, +separately or collectively, the latter because within the limitations +of art, there is no grouping or arrangement of signs possible which +would not appear to correspond with what may be observed in nature, +unless something abnormal and less beautiful than any natural +combination be presented. + +Poetry, painting, and sculpture may be concerned with ideals. In fiction +an ideal is impossible because the writer must treat of life as it is, +or as it appears to be, within the bounds of experience. In neither +music nor architecture is there a basic sign or combination of signs +upon which the imagination may build up an ideal. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +LAW OF RECOGNITION IN THE ASSOCIATED ARTS + + Explanation of the law--Its application to poetry--To sculpture--To + painting--To fiction. + + +While we are unable to explain, logically and completely, our +appreciation of what we understand as beauty, experience has taught us +that there are certain phenomena connected with aesthetic perception +which are so regular and undeviating in their application as to have all +the force of law. The first and most important of these phenomena +relates to the interval of time elapsing between the sense perception of +a thing of art, and the recognition by the mind of the beauty therein. + +We know from common experience of the Associated Arts that if one fails +to appreciate a work almost immediately after comprehending its nature +and purport, he arrives at the conclusion that there is no beauty +therein, or at least that the beauty is so obscure as to be scarcely +worth consideration. But sometimes on further acquaintance with the work +the view of the observer may be changed, and he may become aware of a +certain beauty which he did not before appreciate. We notice also that +when the beauty is comparatively high, it is more rapidly recognized +than when it is comparatively low. Continuing the examination we arrive +at what is evidently an unalterable law, namely, that the higher the +aesthetic value in a particular sphere of art, the more rapidly is the +beauty therein recognized; that is to say, given any two works, other +things being equal, that is the higher art the beauty in which is the +more quickly conveyed to the mind of the observer after contact with it, +and precisely to the extent to which the reasoning powers are required +to be exercised in comprehending the work, so the beauty therein is +diminished. The law may be called for convenience the Law of +Recognition. + +But there are different kinds of beauty as well as degrees. One kind may +be more quickly recognized, and yet make a weaker impression on the +mind, a condition which is due to the varying relations between the +sensorial and intellectual elements in the works. We note that in all +the Associated Arts, as the works therein descend in aesthetic value, the +emotional element becomes more evident, and consequently the impression +received, less permanent. But sensorial beauty is the first essential in +a work of art: hence while the direct appeal to the mind must be made as +strong as possible, this must not be done at the expense of the +emotional elements. We unconsciously measure the emotional with the +intellectual effect, and if the former does not at least equal the +latter, we reject the work as inferior art. A painted Madonna wanting in +beauty of features is instantly and properly condemned even if her +figure be enshrined within surroundings of saintly glories which in +themselves make a powerful appeal to the mind. In fact the highest +reaches in art were probably originally suggested by the necessity of +balancing the one with the other form of beauty. The highest +intellectual considerations seem to rise far above any emotional +experiences connected with ordinary life, and hence to enable these +considerations to enter the domain of art, the divine must be introduced +so that the artist may extend his imaginative scope for the provision of +emotional effects commensurate, as far as possible, with the importance +of his appeal to the mind. Hence in all arts which combine an +intellectual with an emotional appeal, the highest forms must ever be +connected with the spiritual. + +In other grades of these arts also, the artist has to use special means +to maintain a due balance between the two kinds of beauty. Shakespeare +could not give men and women of every-day experience the wisdom, the +judgment, and the foresight necessary for the presentation of the +powerful pictures which some of his characters throw upon the mind, so +he raises them above the level of life by according them greater virtues +and nobler passions than are to be found in people of actual experience. +The supreme emotional effects he produces seem perfectly appropriate +therefore to the intellectual appeals. In the next lower form of art, +where the representation does not go beyond life experience, the +emotional appeal is of still greater relative importance because the +appeal to the mind is rarely striking. The emotional effect here may +indeed be so overpowering that the purely mental considerations are +lost sight of, and we observe that in all the greater works of art in +the division, whether of poetry, painting, sculpture, or fiction, the +intellectual appeal is vastly exceeded by the emotional. When we reach +the grade which deals with subjects inferior to the average level of +human life, as the representation of animals, landscape, humour, +still-life, the sensorial effect must be exceedingly strong relatively, +otherwise the art would scarcely be recognizable, the appeal to the mind +being necessarily weak. + +It is clearly compulsory then that the Associated Arts, all of which may +appeal to the mind as well as to the senses, should be separated into +divisions for the purpose of applying the Law of Recognition, and these +divisions are obvious, for they are marked by the strongest natural +boundary lines. They are: 1. The art which deals with divinities. 2. +That which exhibits beauty above life experience, but does not reach the +divine. 3. That which represents life. 4. That which produces +representations inferior to life. This separation corresponds with that +applied by Aristotle to poetry and painting, except that he joined the +two first sections into one, which he described as better than life. But +the division of the great philosopher, while being sufficient for his +purpose, is hardly close enough for the full consideration of the kinds +of beauty, since it puts in the same class, representations of the +divinity and the superman--joins Homer and Phidias with Praxiteles and +Raphael. In dealing with the divine the artist need place no limit to +his imagination in the presentation of his picture, whereas with the +superman he must circumscribe his fancy within the limits of what may +appear to the senses to be possibly natural. It is true that the poet +may use the supernatural as distinguished from the divine, to enable him +to extend his imaginative scope, and so give us beautiful pictures which +would be otherwise unpresentable. Shakespeare makes us imagine Puck +encircling the earth in forty minutes, and Shelley shows us iron-winged +beings climbing the wind, but we immediately recognize these pictures as +figures of fancy, or as in the nature of allegory, and they do not +impress us so deeply as the miraculous flight of a goddess of Homer, or +an assemblage of the satellites of Satan in the Hell of Milton, for we +involuntarily regard these events as compatible with the religious faith +of great nations, and so as having a nearer apparent semblance of truth. +Sacred art therefore, being capable of providing beauty of a much higher +kind than any other form, should be placed in a separate section for the +purpose of considering the law under discussion. Only poetry among the +arts is capable of appropriately representing divine actions, and only +sculpture of producing a form so perfect as to bring a divinity to mind. +Hence these arts are alone concerned with the Law of Recognition as +applied to the first section of the Associated Arts. + +The law applies to all the Associated Arts, and to all sections of them, +except the lowest form of painting--that represented by harmony of +colour without appeal to the mind of any kind--but this form is so weak +and exceptional that it need hardly be considered in the general +proposition. Indeed we might reasonably argue that it does not come +within the fine arts, as it is produced by a mechanical arrangement of +things with fixed and unalterable physical properties. + +The law cannot apply to music and architecture, for the effects of these +are purely emotional, and so directly vary with conditions of time and +place respectively. A work of architecture may seem more beautiful in +one place than in another; and a work of music more or less beautiful +according as it more or less synchronizes with emotional conditions of +human activity surrounding the hearer at the time of the performance. + +While this law is unvarying in the Associated Arts, there are artificial +restrictions which must be considered in order that apparent deviations +from it may be understood. Special restrictions in relation to the +higher poetry and sculpture are mentioned later on, but there is also an +important general restriction. The sense nerves and the imagination, +like all other functions, must be exercised in order that normal healthy +conditions may be retained; but a large section of the people, by force +of circumstances or want of will, have neglected this exercise, and so +through disuse or misuse these functions are often in a condition which +is little more than rudimentary. Hence such persons are practically +debarred from appreciation of many forms of art, and particularly those +wherein intellectual beauty is a marked feature. In discussing the +operation of this law amongst people in general therefore, the writer +must be understood to refer only to that section of the community whose +sense nerves and imaginations may be supposed to be in a healthy, active +condition. + +Experience with all the Associated Arts has clearly demonstrated the +validity of this law. The strength of the devices used by the poet lies +in simplifying the presentation of his pictures. Metaphor is necessary +to the poet, for without it he would be powerless to present pictures +made up of a number of parts, but he also uses it for the purpose of +throwing simple images upon the mind more rapidly, and consequently more +forcibly, than would be possible if direct means were employed; and the +beauty of the metaphor appears the greater according as it more +completely fills in the picture which the poet is desirous of +presenting. When other artifices than metaphor or simile are applied, +the result only appears very beautiful when the condensation of the +language used is extreme, and when there is no break in the delineation +of the action. A few supreme examples of beauty derived from the +principal devices of the poet for presenting his pictures may be +instanced, and it will be found that in each case the power of the image +is directly due to the brevity of expression, the simplicity of +description and metaphor, or the unimpeded representation of action. + +More than three thousand years have passed since the period assigned to +Helen of Troy, and yet each generation of men and women as they learn of +her, have deeply sealed upon their minds the impression that she was of +surpassing beauty, almost beyond the reach of human conception. We have +practically no details of her appearance from Homer or Hesiod, except +that she was neat-ankled, white-armed, rich-haired, and had the +sparkling eyes of the Graces, but already in the time of Hesiod her +renown "spread over the earth." What was it then that established the +eternal fame of her beauty? Simply a few words of Homer indicating the +startling effect of her appearance before the elders of Troy. We are +allowed to infer that these dry, shrunken-formed sages, shrill-voiced +with age, became passionately disturbed by a mere glance at her figure, +and nervously agreed with each other that little blame attached to the +Greeks and Trojans for suffering such long and severe hardships on +account of her, for only with the goddesses could she be compared. How +wondrous must be the beauty when a glimpse of it suffices to hasten the +blood through shrivelled veins, and provoke tempestuous currents to +awake atrophied nerves! Without the record of this incident, the vague +notices of Helen's appearance would be very far from sufficient to +account for the universal recognition of her marvellous beauty.[22] + + [Illustration: PLATE 7 (See page 122) + Greek Sculpture, 4th Century B.C. Attributed to Scopas + Greek Bronze, 3d Century B.C. + Heads of Demeter] + +One of the finest lines of Shakespeare is, "How sweet the moonlight +sleeps upon this bank." The beauty of the line rests entirely upon the +use of the word "sleeps" to express something which could not be +otherwise said without the use of many words. The moonbeam is apparently +perfectly still, the atmosphere calm, and there is nothing in the +surroundings to disturb the natural tranquillity, these conditions +inducing a feeling of softness and rest in the observer. If it had been +necessary to say all this, Shakespeare would certainly have omitted +reference to the moonlight, but his powerful imagination brings to mind +the word "sleeps" to express the conditions, and we are overwhelmed with +a beautiful picture suddenly thrown on the brain as if by a brilliant +flash of light. + +Among the many illustrations of the point which may be found in the +Bible, is the great passage, "And God said, 'Let there be Light,' and +there was Light." This is described by Longinus as nobly expressed, but +he does not suggest any cause for its aesthetic effect. It is true that +nothing could be finer, but the nobility of the expression is derived +from its brevity--from the extreme rapidity with which so vast and +potent an event as an act of creation is pictured on the brain.[23] A +description of an act of creation, although involving psychological +considerations of sublimity, is not necessarily so beautiful in +expression as to be a work of art. + +In the case of lyric poetry, brevity of expression, though still of high +importance, is not of so much moment as in epic or dramatic verse, +because the substance is subordinated to beauty of expression and +musical form. Devices are used chiefly for strengthening the sensorial +element, the appeal to the mind being in most cases secondary. +Nevertheless the lyric poet wastes no words. Take for example Sappho's +_Ode to Anactoria_. The substance of these amazing lines is +comparatively insignificant, being merely the expression of emotion on +the part of an individual consequent upon disappointment, yet the +transcendent beauty of the poem has held enthralled fourscore +generations of men and women, and still the world gasps with +astonishment at its perfection. Obviously the beauty of the ode rests +mainly on qualities of form which cannot be reproduced in translation, +but the substance may be, and it will be observed that the description +of the action is unsurpassable. The picture, the whole picture, and +nothing but the picture, is thrown on the mind rapidly and directly; so +rapidly that the movement of the brush is scarcely discernible, and so +simply that not a thought is required for its elucidation. With the +chain of symptoms broken or less closely connected, the passion +indicated would be comparatively feeble, whatever the force of the +artifices in rhythm and expression which Sappho knew so well how to +employ.[24] + +As with poetry, so with the arts of sculpture and painting: the greatest +works result from simple designs. All the sculptures which we recognize +as sublime or highly beautiful, consist of single figures, or in very +rare cases, groups of two or three, and indeed it is difficult to hold +in our minds a carved group of several figures. The images of the Zeus +and Athena of Phidias, though we know little of them except from +literary records and inferior copies, are far more brilliantly mirrored +upon our minds than the Parthenon reliefs. The importance of simplicity +is perhaps more readily seen in sculpture than in any other art, for the +slightest fault in design has an immediate effect upon the mind of the +observer. It is noticeable that the decadence of a great art period is +usually first marked by complications in sculptured figures.[25] + +In painting, the pictures which we regard as great are characterized by +their simplicity, and the immediate recognition of their purport. They +are either ideal figures, or groups where at least the central figure is +idealized and commonly known. The work must be grasped at one glance for +the beauty to be of a high order. Hence in the case of frescoes great +artists have not attempted to make the beauty of any part dependent upon +the comprehension of the whole. It is impossible for the eye to take in +at a single glance the whole of a large fresco painting, and this +explains why a fresco celebrated for its beauty is often disappointing +to one who sees it for the first time, and endeavours to impress it on +his mind as a single picture by rapidly piecing together the different +parts.[26] Polygnotus could well paint forty scenes from Homer as mural +decoration in one hall, for they could only be examined and understood +as separate pictures; and the ceiling of Michelangelo at the Vatican is +so arranged that there is no necessity for combining the parts in the +mind. So with the Parma frescoes of Correggio. Raphael had a different +task in his Vatican frescoes, but he accomplished it by arranging his +figures so that each separate group is a beautiful picture; and Lionardo +in his great work at Milan divided the Apostles into groups of three in +order to minimize the consideration necessary for the appreciation of so +large a work. + +Fiction is divided into two sections, the novel and the short story, and +they are so distinct in character that they must necessarily be +considered separately in the application of the law under discussion. +Form is of high importance in both classes of the art, but weighs more +in the short story because here the appeal to the mind is unavoidably +restricted. The novelist is capable of producing a higher beauty than is +within the range of the short-story writer. The latter is limited in his +delineation of character to the circumstances surrounding a single +experience, while the novelist, in describing various experiences, may +add shade upon shade in expression and thus elevate the characters and +actions above the level possible of attainment by means of a single +incident. But within his limit the short-story writer may provide his +beauty more easily than the novelist, because a picture can be more +readily freed from complications when away from surroundings, than when +it forms one of a series of pictures which must have connecting links. A +good short story consists of a single incident or experience in a life +history. It is clearly cut, without introduction, and void of a +conclusion which is not directly part of the incident. The subject is of +general interest; the language simple, of common use, and free from +mannerisms; while there are no accessories beyond those essential for +the comprehension of the scheme. These conditions, which imply the most +extreme simplicity, are present in all the greatest short stories known +to us--the best works of the author of the _Contes Nouvelles_, of +Sacchetti, Boccaccio, Margaret of Navarre, Hoffman, Poe, and De +Maupassant. The novel differs from the short story in that it is a large +section of a life with many experiences, but the principles under which +the two varieties of fiction are built up, are precisely the same. +Obviously the limit in length of a novel is that point beyond which the +writer cannot enhance the beauty of character and action, while +maintaining the unity of design. This means the concentration of effort +in the direction of simplicity, facilitating the rapid reception of the +pictures presented by the writer upon the mind of the reader. + +It is thus evident that the higher the beauty in the Associated Arts, +the simpler are the signs or sign combinations which produce it; and +hence the Law of Recognition rests on a secure foundation, for the +simple must necessarily be recognized before the complex. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +LAW OF GENERAL ASSENT + + General opinion the test of beauty in the Associated Arts. + + +The first aim of art is sensorial beauty, because sensorial experience +must precede the impression of beauty upon the mind. The extent to which +something appears to be sensorially harmonious depends upon the +condition or character of the nerves conveying the impression of it to +the brain. We know from experience that exercise of these nerves results +in the removal or partial removal of natural irregularities therein, and +enables a complex form of beauty to be recognized which was not before +perceived. The vast majority of the people have not cultivated their +sense nerves except involuntarily, and consequently can only recognize +more or less simple beauty: thus, as the sign combinations become more +complicated, so is diminished the number of persons capable of +appreciating the beauty thereof. + +The highest form of beauty conceivable to the imagination is that of the +human being, because here corporeal and intellectual beauty may be +combined. This is universally admitted and has been so since the first +records of mental activity. The human figure must be regarded as a +single sign since the relation of its parts to each other is fixed and +invariable; and further it is the simplest, because of all signs none is +so quickly recognized by the rudimentary understanding. In the +Associated Arts therefore, the highest beauty is to be found in the +simplest sign, and this is the one supremely important sign in these +arts, for without it only the lowest forms may be produced. + +From all this we determine that the higher the beauty in a work of the +Associated Arts, the larger is the number of persons capable of +recognizing it; so that if we say that something in these arts is +beautiful because it pleases, we imply that it is still more beautiful +if we say that it generally pleases, and the highest of all standards of +beauty is involved in the interpretation of Longinus: "That is sublime +and beautiful which always pleases, and takes equally with all sorts of +men." Thus, in the Associated Arts, the general opinion as to the +aesthetic value of a work of high art is both demonstration and law.[27] + +In music the significance of the signs is inverted compared with the +progression in the Associated Arts, for while in the latter the highest +form of beauty is produced by the simplest of single signs, in music the +higher forms are the result of complex combinations of signs. The +greatest musical compositions consist of an immense variety of signs +arranged in a hitherto unknown order. Thus, while the immature or +uncultivated mind recognizes the higher forms of beauty before the lower +in the Associated Arts, it first recognizes the lower forms in music. In +the Associated Arts therefore, cultivation results in the further +appreciation of the forms of art as they descend, and in music as they +ascend. + +In painting, the most uncultivated persons, even those who have never +exercised their organs of sight except involuntarily, will always admire +the higher forms before the lower.[28] They will more highly appreciate +a picture of a Madonna or other beautiful woman than an interior where +the scene is comparatively complicated by the presence of several +persons, and they will prefer the interior to a landscape, and a +landscape to a still-life picture. So in sculpture. Other things being +equal, a figure of a man or woman will be preferred to a group, and the +group to an animal or decorative ornament. An exception must however be +made in respect of the sublime reaches of Grecian sculpture in the fifth +and fourth centuries B.C., owing to an artificial restriction. There is +very little of this sculpture to be actually seen, nearly all the more +important works being known only from records or variable copies. +Considerable observation, comparison, and study, are necessary before +one can gain a fair conception of the Grecian ideals, and so they are +practically lost to the bulk of the people. + +In fiction it is common knowledge that the greatest works from the point +of view of art are always the most popular, as they are invariably the +most simple in construction and diction. In considering poetry we must +exclude the great epics, as those of Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Milton, +because where the actions of supernatural persons are described, the +sentiments and language employed are so elevated in character, and the +images and literary references so numerous, that a certain superior +education is required before the sense of the poems can be comprehended. +Subject to this artificial restriction, the rule holds entirely good. +Shakespeare is at once the greatest and most popular of our poets: +Shelley, Byron, and Burns, are as far ahead of Tennyson and Browning in +popularity as they are in general beauty and simplicity. + +In music on the other hand the lower forms are the simplest and +consequently the most popular. Songs, dance measures, and ditties of +various kinds, are enjoyed by the mass of the people in preference to +Beethoven and Wagner, a certain cultivation of the aural nerves being +necessary for the appreciation of the greater artists. The architect is +under the necessity of meeting the ends of utility, but subject to this +restriction it is obvious that simplicity must be the keynote to his +design, for the highest quality of beauty in his power to produce is +grandeur, and this diminishes with an increase in the complexity of his +sign combinations. The combination of simplicity with grandeur is the +first form of beauty that would be recognized by the immature eye, and +consequently in respect of the general test of art excellence, +architecture falls into line with the Associated Arts, and not with +music. + +From what has been said it will be understood how it is that in the +Associated Arts opinion as to the aesthetic value of particular works +begins to differ as soon as we leave the recognized masterpieces of the +first rank, and why the divergence widens with every step downwards. As +the character of the art is lowered so is diminished the number of +persons capable of appreciating it. In painting and sculpture this +diminution is direct with the increased complexity of the signs used, +and indirect according as the character of the signs weakens. In poetry +the same rule applies generally, but in the lower forms alliance with +the art of music may bring about a variation. Only the very lowest forms +of music may be used with the higher forms of poetry because the poet +must have the minimum of restriction when dealing with the character and +actions of the personages who constitute the principal signs in his +work, but as the art descends the musical form becomes of more +importance, and the substance more simple. Hence the sensorial beauty of +a lyric may be appreciated more quickly than that of a poem which is, in +substance, of a much higher order, though the kind of beauty recognized +will differ in the two cases. But even in the greatest lyric the musical +form is comparatively very simple, its beauty being recognized without +special cultivation of the aural nerves: thus, subject to the division +of poetry into its natural grades--the two sections where substance and +form respectively predominate--the measure of its beauty is the extent +to which it is generally appreciated. None of the other Associated Arts +may be allied with a second art without crippling it as a fine art, +because of the extraordinary limitations forced upon the artist by the +alliance; and hence in respect of sculpture, painting, and fiction, +there is no exception to the rule that the beauty capable of being +produced diminishes strictly with an increase in the complexity of the +signs used. + +These facts appear sufficiently to establish what may be called the Law +of General Assent in the Associated Arts; that is to say, in the arts of +poetry, sculpture, painting, and fiction, the supreme test of the +aesthetic value of a work, is general opinion; and a corollary of this is +that the smaller the number of persons to whom a work of one of these +arts appeals, the weaker is the art therein. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +LIMITATIONS OF THE ASSOCIATED ARTS + + The production of beauty in the respective arts--How they differ + in scope. + + +The Associated Arts have all the same method of producing beauty: they +throw pictures on the brain.[29] Sensorial or intellectual beauty, or +both together, may be exhibited, but in the arts of the painter and +sculptor the picture is transferred to the brain through the optic +nerves, and is necessarily presented before the intellect can be brought +to bear upon the impression. The arts of the poet and the story writer +involve the presentation of a picture representing the complete +composition, and in addition when the work is lengthy, of a series of +pictures each of which strengthens the relief of the general design. The +painter and sculptor each presents a complete picture, the meaning of +which is immediately determined through the sense of sight, and the +extent of the beauty is bounded by what can be recognized by this sense. +All the signs necessary to perfect the composition are simultaneously +indicated, the artist exhibiting at one blow a full description of what +makes up his thing of beauty. But the poet cannot so produce a picture +because he presents the parts successively and not simultaneously, and +in the most important of all the forms which he represents--that of the +human countenance--both beauty and expression have to be defined, and +the separate elements are indescribable. Consequently, however, we may +combine the features of a countenance as described by the poet, we +cannot throw a picture of the whole upon our minds. A particular form of +beauty must be presented to the eye before it can be mentally pictured. +The poet therefore does not attempt to dovetail his picture of the human +form with descriptive details, but relies upon imagery, suggestion, or +other artifice, to indicate his meaning in the most rapid way +possible.[30] The novelist is in the same position as the poet in this +respect, except that some of the devices of the latter are denied him. + +But although the poet or novelist cannot put together the parts in his +description, he may in certain cases present natural beauty to the mind, +his scope depending upon the nature of the parts and the extent to which +they depend upon each other for the completion of the picture. Where the +beauty of the whole rests upon a combination of perfected parts of form +only, as in the case of a horse, then the poet is able to present beauty +of form notwithstanding that the separate parts are in themselves not +beautiful, though the beauty would be that of the type and not of the +individual. The beauty of a horse depends upon its possession of a +collection of features which have each a particular significance. If we +are able to recognize from a description that a horse has qualities of +form and action indicating speed, high spirits, proud bearing, and so +on, and at the same time has a harmonious symmetry in its general +outline, a beautiful animal is thrown on the mind without difficulty. We +readily picture the courser described by Shakespeare in his _Venus and +Adonis_ as a beautiful horse, but we should not be able to differentiate +it from the courser of Mazeppa. Where the parts of the thing described +are in themselves beautiful, then the poet may successfully throw on the +mind a series of pictures of aesthetic interest. Thus, he may call to the +imagination parts of a landscape which are in themselves beautiful +scenes, as for instance a deep gorge opening on to a lake, or a flowery +valley, though the parts could not be put together on the mind so that +the beauty of the whole may be presented.[31] + +Summing up the limits of the Associated Arts in the presentation of the +two kinds of beauty, the poet and the novelist can present general or +particular beauty of mind, and general sensorial beauty, but are +powerless with particular sensorial beauty; the sculptor and painter may +present general or particular sensorial beauty, and general, but not +particular, beauty of mind. Particular sensorial beauty may be suggested +by the poet or novelist, by indicating its emotional effect, or by +symbols in the form of metaphor; and particular intellectual beauty may +be suggested by the sculptor or painter by representing the effect in +expression of a particular action, or by symbols in the form of human +figures of beauty. + + [Illustration: PLATE 8 (See page 139) + Raphael's Sistine Madonna, with the Face of the Central Figure in + Fragonard's "The Pursuit" Substituted for that of the Virgin] + +But while the poet cannot throw upon the brain a particular form of +human beauty, he may suggest a greater beauty than that which the +painter or sculptor can depict, and further produce emotional effects +relating to spiritual and human actions and passions which are beyond +the plastic arts: hence his art is capable of the highest reaches. Next +to him come the sculptor and painter, for they may represent ideal forms +which must be excluded from fiction. Theoretically, painting and +sculpture are equal in respect of the production of human beauty, for +there is no form designed by the one which may not be presented by the +other; but practically the painter cannot attain to the height of the +sculptor in the representation of ideal beauty.[a] + + [a] See Chapter IX. + +The sculptor and painter are at a disadvantage compared with the poet +and novelist, for the limitation of their arts compels them to confine +their imaginations to structural work. Each of the Associated Arts +consists nominally of three parts: (_a_) the scheme, or idea, or fable; +(_b_) the design or invention[32]; (_c_) the execution. In a +representation of action, the painter or sculptor can only depict a +particular moment of it, neither the beginning nor the end being +visible. He must therefore choose an action of which the beginning and +end are known, for while either may be suggested in a simple design, +both cannot be implied so that the whole story is obvious. He has +consequently to take his moment of action from a fact or fable in one of +the literary arts, or from actual life experience.[33] Where no +particular action is indicated, as in many pastoral and interior scenes +in painting, or ornamental figures in sculpture, the conception and +invention are one. Thus, the painter or sculptor is confined to only two +parts of his art, the design and execution. While therefore the scope of +the poet and novelist is as unlimited as the sea of human motives and +passions, that of the painter and sculptor is held within strictly +marked bounds. + +All the Associated Arts are alike in that they cannot be specially used +for moral or social purposes without suffering a marked deterioration. +This is because of the limitations imposed upon the artist. His wings +are clipped: his imagination is confined within a narrow groove: he is +converted from a master to a slave. Hence no great work of one of these +arts has been produced where the conception of the artist was bound by +the necessity of pointing a moral, or of conforming to some idea of +utility.[34] + + + + +CHAPTER V + +DEGREES OF BEAUTY IN THE PAINTER'S ART + + +The degrees of beauty which the art of the painter can exhibit appear to +be, in order of their value, as follows: + +1. That which appeals to the senses with form, and to the mind with +expression, above the possibility of life experience. This double beauty +can only be found in ideals, and the real cannot be associated with it +except as accessory. The highest art of the painter is therefore +confined to sacred, mythological, and symbolical subjects. + +2. That which appeals to the senses through representation of the human +form, without, or with only partial idealization, and to the mind +through the indication in expression of high abstract qualities. This +section comprises subjects of profane history, and high class +portraiture. It varies from the succeeding section in that the artist +may represent the human being as he ought to be, or would be with the +higher physical and abstract qualities emphasized, or in certain cases, +with these qualities added. + +3. That which appeals to the senses through the harmony of tone and +design, and to the mind through the representation of human action +within the compass of life experience. This section comprises interiors +and exteriors relating to daily life and labour, and portraiture which +is merely accurate imitation of features. It differs from the previous +section in that it represents the human being as he is, and not as he +ought to be. + +4. That which appeals to the senses through harmony of colour and +design, in respect of the imitation and the things imitated, in addition +to pleasing because it excites admiration of the skill in imitation. +This section comprises landscape, flowers, fine plumaged birds, and +certain symmetrical animal forms. + +5. That which appeals to the senses through harmony of tone and design, +and indirectly to the mind through association of ideas connected with +the other arts; in addition to pleasing because of the excellent +imitation, and possibly because of the beauty of the things imitated. +This section comprises paintings of things connected with the other +arts, and which are neither beautiful nor displeasing, such as books and +musical instruments; or which are imitations of products of another art, +as plate, marble reliefs, or architectural forms. + +6. That which appeals to the senses through harmony of tone and design, +in addition to pleasing because of the excellent imitation. This class +of beauty comprises paintings of objects which in themselves are not +beautiful, as vegetables, kitchen utensils, and certain animals; or +which are even repellent, as dead animals. + +7. That which appeals to the senses through harmony of colour, the +design having no beauty in itself. This form of art, which is the lowest +in the scale of the painter, is only adapted for the simplest formal +decoration. + +The first three sections may produce both sensorial and intellectual +beauty; the others only sensorial. Limited abstract qualities are +associated with certain animals in nature, but cannot be indicated in +the uncombined art of the painter. + +Beyond these sections, there are classes of pictures which do not belong +to the pure art of the painter, namely, those executed for use and not +for beauty[35]; those painted to illustrate sports, or to record passing +events; certain allegorical paintings; and those works which, while they +cannot represent the ideal, require the assistance of another art for +their interpretation; as for instance, incidents to illustrate +particular morals or stories; scenes from the drama other than tragedy; +portraits of persons in character; humorous subjects, and so on. Such +works, on account of the restrictions imposed on the artist, can exhibit +but limited and fleeting beauty. Elsewhere they are noticed under the +heading of "Secondary Art." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +EXPRESSION. PART I.--THE IDEAL + + +The human being is the only sign in the arts capable of idealization, +because, while its parts are fixed and invariable, it is the only sign +as to which there is a universal agreement in respect of the value of +abstract qualities connected with it. There can be no ideal of the human +form separately, because this implies expression which results from +abstract qualities. Nor can there be an ideal combination of these +qualities, except a general expression covering all the virtues and +eliminating all the passions, which expression cannot be disassociated +from form. The ideal human being is therefore a perfect generalization +of the highest conceivable qualities of form and expression. + +Necessarily in matters of art, when we use the term "Ideal," we mean a +general ideal, that is to say, an ideal that would be accepted as such +by the general body of men and women. From the fact that the sensorial +nerves in all persons are alike in form and character, and that they act +in the same way under like conditions, it follows that there must be a +general agreement as to degrees of beauty, and thus a common conception +of the ideal human being. Experience has demonstrated this at all +times, both in respect of the general ideal we are now discussing, and +of particular ideals involving special types and characters; and so +invariable is this experience that the progression towards similar +ideals has all the force of law.[36] This general agreement is subject +to certain restrictions. The first is in regard to form in which the +imagination cannot proceed beyond experience. The component parts of an +ideal form cannot include any which are higher in quality than those +which have come within the experience of the person compounding the +ideal. Secondly, in regard to abstract qualities, the estimation of +these depends upon intelligence and education, and the accumulated +experience of these things, which we measure in terms of degrees of +civilization. Consequently, different interpretations would be placed +upon the phrase "the highest conceivable qualities of form and +expression," by the various races of mankind. According as the +experience was greater, so would the ideal form be higher in type; and +as the civilization was more advanced, so would the abstract qualities +exhibited be more perfect in character. But among civilized peoples what +is, within our understanding, the ultimate form of the ideal, would not +change in respect of abstract qualities, and as to form would only vary +in comparatively insignificant details with the width of experience. + +It is obvious that there can be only one general ideal covering +perfection of form and mind, and this being beyond human experience, can +only be associated with a spiritual personage, and necessarily with the +highest conceivable spiritual personage--the Supreme Being. In its +absolute perfection it may be significant of the Supreme Being of any +religion of civilized peoples, but not of other spiritual personages to +whom such perfection may also be attributed, because absolute power can +only be implied in one such personage. This power cannot be indicated in +an ideal expression, and hence there is no alternative but to leave the +one general ideal to the Supreme Being. + +There are only two religions in which an ideal human form has been used +in art to typify the Supreme Being, and these are the ancient Grecian +and the Christian; but the one general ideal referred to has only been +used by the Greeks. The Christian conception of the Deity is far nobler +than that which the Greeks had of Zeus, but in art nothing greater than +the Grecian ideal has been executed. As a type of an Almighty Power the +best Christian representation is distinctly inferior, and it must +necessarily be so because convention requires that a particular feature +of expression must be indicated therein which is not compulsory in the +Grecian ideal. Forgiveness of sins is a cardinal principle in the +Christian doctrine, and consequently whatever the character of +expression given to the Deity, a certain gentleness has to be exhibited +which materially limits the comprehensive nature of the expression. The +Grecian ideal, as sculptured, strictly denied any particular +characteristic, while covering every good quality, and hence for the +Christian it is not so suitable as the accepted modification. + +Among the Greeks, ideal types of the gods and goddesses other than +Zeus varied considerably. Those representations that have come down +to us are usually deviations from the Zeus type with certain special +characteristics, though often they can only be distinguished from +each other by symbols. They are above human life and so cannot be +appropriately associated with human surroundings. Ideals appertaining to +Christianity are practically fixed by convention, or are interchangeable +with ideals in allegorical and symbolical art. + +Art is not concerned with what are termed ideal physical qualities +because beauty is its first consideration. A form with powerful limbs +and muscles may be generally accepted as an ideal form of strength, but +these very limbs and muscles would detract from the beauty of the +figure, and so separately such a form would be inferior art. + +An ideal can only be applied to excellence. In art, moral or physical +deformity cannot be exaggerated for the purpose of emphasis or contrast +without lessening the deformity or injuring the art. In the work of the +greater artists the former result follows; in that of less skilful +artists, the latter. Homer could not deal with evil characters without +exciting a certain sympathy with them, thus diminishing the deformity in +the minds of his readers. There is a measure of nobility about +Shakespeare's bad men, and Milton distinctly ennobled Satan in +portraying his evil powers and influence. In painting and sculpture +there is no place for hideous forms of any description, for they either +revolt the imagination and so neutralize the appreciation of the +beautiful figures present in the composition, or they verge upon the +ridiculous and disturb the mind with counteracting influences. With rare +exceptions the greater artists have not failed to recognize this +truth,[37] and in respect of the very greatest men, no really hideous +figure is to be found in any of their works, if we except certain +instances where the artist had to comply with fixed rules and +conditions, as for example in Michelangelo's Last Judgment where evil +beings had perforce to be presented, and could only be shown as +deformities. + +Attempts to emphasize ugliness by artists of inferior rank result in the +fantastic or the ludicrous, as in the representation of evil spirits on +the old Etruscan tombs, and the whimsical imps of the Breughels and the +younger Teniers. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +EXPRESSION. PART II.--CHRISTIAN IDEALS + + The Deity--Christ--The Madonna--The Madonna and Child. + + +In considering the scope for the exhibition of ideals in art, it should +be remembered that ideal types of some of the principal personages in +religious and mythological history have been already fixed by great +artists, and it is impossible to depart from them without producing what +would appear to be abnormal representations. Homer led the way with +occasional hints of the presumed physical appearance of some of the +leading deities of Greece, and except in the case of Aphrodite the later +Grecian sculptors closely followed him. The Zeus of Homer as improved by +Phidias has been the model of this deity in respect of form for nearly +every succeeding sculptor to this day, while it was also the model which +suggested the Christian Father as represented by the first artists of +the Renaissance, though, as already indicated, the majestic dignity of +the Phidian Zeus was partly sacrificed by the Christian artists. Phidias +in fact created a type which, so far as human foresight can judge, must +ever guide the artistic mind, whether portraying the mighty son of +Kronos, or the God of the Christians. Only very rarely nowadays is the +Christian Deity pictured in art, and as time goes on His introduction in +human shape in a painting will become still more rare in conformity with +changing religious ideas and practices; but now and hereafter any artist +who contemplates the representation, must, voluntarily or involuntarily, +turn to the frescoes of Raphael and Michelangelo for his guide. + +There is no tradition upon which to base an actual portrait of Christ. +For the first four centuries A.D., when He was represented in art, +it was usually by means of symbols, or as a young man without beard, but +there are some Roman relics of the fifth century remaining in which He +is depicted much in the later generally accepted type, with short beard +and flowing hair. During the long centuries of the Dark Age, when +religious art was practically confined to the Byzantine Greeks, Christ +was almost invariably portrayed with a long face and emaciated features +and limbs, as the epitome of sadness and sorrow. This expression was +modified as the arts travelled to the north and west of Europe, and +gradually His face began to assume more regularity and beauty. Then came +Cimabue to sow the seed of the Renaissance, and with him the ideal of +Christ was changed to a perfect man of flesh and blood. A century or +more was occupied in establishing this ideal, but it was so established, +and has maintained its position to this day.[38] + + [Illustration: PLATE 9 (See page 138) + Raphael's Virgin of the Rose with the Face of "Profane Love" in + Titian's Picture Substituted for that of the Virgin] + +This ideal represents the Saviour as a man of about thirty-three +years--His age at the Crucifixion. He wears flowing hair with a short +beard and usually a moustache. His face is rather long, often oval; the +features have a perfect regularity, and the expression is commonly one +of patient resignation. Naturally His body must appear well nourished, +otherwise corporeal beauty cannot be expressed. This is the type which +has been used since the height of the Renaissance, though there have +been a few exceptional representations. Thus, the face of Christ in +Lionardo's Last Supper at Milan is that of a beardless young man of some +twenty-five years[a] and Raphael in an early picture shows Him +beardless, but gives Him an age of about thirty.[b] Some early Flemish +artists also rendered Him beardless at times, notably the Maitre de +Flemalle, Van der Weyden, and Quentin Matsys. Michelangelo in his Last +Judgment represents the Saviour sitting in judgment as a robust, stern, +commanding figure, beardless, and with an expression and bearing +apparently serving the idea of Justice.[c] Strange to say the artist +gives a very similar face to St. Stephen in the same series of frescoes. +A still more unusual representation is that of Francisco di Giorgio, who +gives Christ the appearance of an Apollo,[d] while Bramantino depicts +His face worn with heavy lines.[e] In one picture Marco Basaiti shows +Him as a young man with long hair but without beard, and in another with +a thick beard without moustache.[f] There was considerable variation in +the type among the Venetians of the sixteenth century, but not in +important features, and since then very few artists indeed have ventured +to depart from the ideal above described. The only notable exception in +recent times is in a work by Burne-Jones who represents Christ as a +beardless youth, though indicating the wound to St. Thomas.[g] It is +supposed that the artist presumed that the Person of Christ underwent a +complete change after the Resurrection. + + [a] And in the drawing for the picture at the Brera. + + [b] Christ Blessing at the Brescia Gallery. + + [c] In the Sistine Chapel frescoes. + + [d] Christ bereft of His clothes before the Crucifixion, Sienna + Academy. + + [e] Christ, Mayno Collection. + + [f] The Dead Christ, and Calling of the Children of Zebedee, Academy, + Venice. + + [g] Dies Domini. + +It is evident that the ideal Christ as established by the Italians can +scarcely be improved upon in art within the prescribed limitations. +Christ having lived as an actual man, His representation must be within +the bounds of possible experience; and since He died at the age of +thirty-three, intellectual power cannot be suggested in His countenance, +for this in life means an expression implying large experience warranted +only by mature age. The representation is therefore confined to that of +a man who, while exhibiting a healthy regularity of form and feature, +has lost all sense of earthly pleasure. The beauty achieved by this type +is negative, the only marked quality being a suggestion of sadness +which, in painting, is necessarily present in all expression where an +unconcern with human instincts and passions is depicted. The Italians in +their representation of Christ were thus unable to reach the height of +the Greek divine portrayals. They were confined to earth, while the +Greek figures were symbols of spiritual forms which were pure products +of the imagination. Giotto and his successors sought a physically +perfect man with all purely human features in expression eliminated. The +Greeks, even when representing divinities below Zeus, generalized all +human attributes, excluding nothing but the exceptional. They embodied +in their forms, truths acknowledged by the whole world; summed up human +life to the contentment of all men: there was nothing in their +divinities which would prevent their acceptance as spiritual symbols in +all religions of civilized peoples. To them human instincts were sacred: +all human passions could be ennobled: everything in the natural +progression of life came within the purview, and under the protection, +of the gods. So the course of their art was definite: there was never a +difference as to the goal, for it was universal. + +From the point of view of the development of art the ideal Christ has +been of little importance compared with the ideal Madonna, though here +also the Italians aimed for a particular instead of a general type. They +wanted a living woman with the form and features of a pulsating mother; +a woman of ordinary life in fact, but infinitely superior in physical +beauty, and endowed with the highest grace that their imaginations could +conceive and their hands execute. This ideal seemed to germinate with +Cimabue, but an immense advance upon him was made by Giotto who was +unsurpassed in the representation of the Holy Mother for more than a +century. But the ideal was yet purely formal and continued so till past +the middle of the fifteenth century, both in Italy and Flanders. Giotto +was then excelled by many artists, but the Madonnas they produced, +though often very beautiful, are not humanly attractive. They are on the +side of the Angels; have never been women evidently, and are far, far +away from the human type with tingling veins and heaving breath. Filippo +Lippi marked the border line between this type of Madonna, and the +advanced pattern produced by the series of great artists of the latter +part of the fifteenth century. But with Lionardo, Ghirlandaio, +Botticelli, and the rest, the Madonna was scarcely an ideal woman. +Living persons were commonly taken as models, and although the portraits +were no doubt "improved," they have little connection with the ideal +which the artists evidently had in mind. The very life which the artist +transfers to canvas in a portrait is destructive of the ideal, for it is +a particular life with evidence of particular emotions and passions from +which the Madonna should be free. + +A mighty barrier must be passed before a woman is translated on canvas +into the type of Madonna sought by the first Renaissance artists. She +must be a woman of the earth; a woman who has grown up amidst human +surroundings from infancy to girlhood, and from girlhood to womanhood; +with human aspirations and sympathies, and experience of joys and +trials: she must have all these, and as well have become a mother; and +yet with human beauty, her countenance must be such that by no stretch +of the imagination can the possibility of desire be suggested. This was +the problem, and certainly only a genius of the highest order could +arrive at a solution, for the task appears on the face of it to be +almost superhuman. But Raphael succeeded in accomplishing it, and his +achievement will stand for all time as one of the greatest epoch-making +events in history. Even Michelangelo, who created so many superb forms, +never succeeded with an ideal suitable for a Madonna.[39] + +It is clear that in reaching for his ideal, Raphael did not strive for +an expression relating to the spiritual. His purpose was to eliminate +from the features anything which might possibly be construed as +indicating earthly desires, and yet retain the highest conceivable human +beauty. With this double object contentment is a quality in expression +which is indispensable, and this Raphael was careful to give, sometimes +emphasizing it with a suggestion of happiness. It is not possible to go +further with an expression which is to generalize the highest human +physical and abstract qualities, while keeping the figure within the +range of apparent feasible realization in life. The result was ideal but +not exclusive. It is a universal type, and is suited to the Madonna +because there is nothing humanly higher within our comprehension; but it +has a further general import which is dealt with elsewhere. + +Although the aim achieved by Raphael must necessarily be the goal of all +artists in the representation of the Madonna, it is of course not +essential that he should be accepted as the only guide to her form. Her +features may vary indefinitely so long as the ideal is maintained, and +Raphael himself painted no two Madonnas with the same features. But +certain traditions must be observed, however much one may depart from +the actual circumstances of her life. The first is in respect of her +presumed age. In pictures dealing with her life soon after marriage, as +for instance, the Nativity and the Flight into Egypt, the Madonna is +invariably represented as many years older than she appears in +Annunciation subjects, though only a year or so actually passed between +the respective events. The reason for this is obvious. She must be shown +with the bloom of a matured woman. The highest form of nobility cannot +be disassociated from wisdom and experience, which could not be +indicated in the countenance of a girl in her teens. Innocence and +purity may be present, and a certain majesty even, but our conception of +the Madonna as a woman involves the triumph over known evils, the full +knowledge of right and wrong, and the consciousness of a supreme +position above the possibility of sin. Hence in all representations of +the Madonna at the Nativity and afterwards, she must be shown at an age +suggesting the fullest knowledge of good and evil. + +While, between the Annunciation and incidents occurring during the +infancy of Christ, many years must be presumed to have passed, from this +latter period on, the Madonna must be supposed to have aged very little, +if at all, right up to the Crucifixion. It is not often that we find her +included in a design illustrating the life of Christ between His infancy +and the Death Scene, a fact probably due to the age difficulty. In the +exceptions her face is often partly or wholly hidden. But in scenes of +the Crucifixion, where the Virgin is almost invariably introduced, +artists of all periods, with few exceptions, have been careful to avoid +suggesting the full presumed age. Commonly the age indicated is between +twenty-five and thirty years, but as the face is always pale, and often +somewhat drawn, her comparatively youthful appearance is not +conspicuous. Obviously under no circumstances should lines be present in +the features, for this would suggest a physical decay not in conformity +with Christian ideas.[40] Even in pictures relating to her death, which +is presumed to have occurred at an age between fifty and sixty years, +her face is shown with perfectly regular and smooth features, though an +extreme pallor may be painted. But from the point of view of art, the +Virgin must be regarded as an accessory in works relating to the +Crucifixion, for to throw her into prominence would result in dividing +the attention of the observer of the picture on first inspection, and so +lessening the art. In any case she must be painted with an expression of +grief, and hence an unalloyed ideal of transcendent beauty is out of the +question. + +The custom of representing the Madonna in costume and surroundings +indicating a higher social level than that in which she actually moved, +is now firmly established, and cannot be departed from without lowering +the ideal. A woman in a lowly position of life, who is compelled to bear +all the responsibilities of a home, with the care of a husband and +child, is seldom seen except in the performance of household duties. We +cannot see her without associating her in our minds with toil and +possible privation, and we naturally expect that the effect of these +will be indicated in her expression and general bearing. If away from +her home her costume would usually declare her position, while habits of +mind connected with her daily occupation commonly engender mannerisms in +air and gait which support the inference drawn from the character of her +attire. It would appear anomalous to paint a woman so situated with such +beauty of form and expression that she appears to have never experienced +earthly cares of any kind, much less the long repeated daily worries +consequent upon the charge of a poor household. Perfect beauty of form +being essential in the representation of the Madonna, she must be +painted amidst surroundings conformable with the supposition that she is +free from earthly responsibilities, and that her mind is entirely +occupied with the boundless joy and happiness arising from the +contemplation of the divine Mission of her Son.[41] + + [Illustration: PLATE 10 (See Page 139) + Raphael's Holy Family (Madrid), with the Face of Luini's + Salome Substituted for that of the Virgin] + +The difficulty in painting the Madonna is complicated when the Infant +Christ is introduced, because of the liability of the Child to interfere +with a fine presentation of her figure. A similar problem was met with +by the early Greeks, and doubtless they dealt with it in their paintings +as in their sculptures, a few of which, showing an adult holding a +child, have come down to us. These represent the child reduced in size +as far as possible, and carried at the side of the adult figure.[a] A +like system was followed by most of the Byzantine workers, and it is +very noticeable in some of the fine French sculpture of the thirteenth +century.[b] In the same period Giovanni Pisano in sculpture,[c] and +Cimabue in painting,[d] maintained the tradition in Italy, and in the +century following, Giotto,[e] Duccio,[f] Lorenzetto,[g] and others, +often adopted the plan. Towards the middle of the fifteenth century, the +relative importance attached to the Child in the group generally +increased, and by the end of it, the old practice had been almost +entirely abandoned. Meanwhile the artists had some hard problems to +meet. The first was as to the size of the Child. It appeared to be +generally agreed that an older Child should be represented than had been +the custom, though a few artists held back, notably Fra Angelico, while +in sculpture, Donatello maintained his habit of moulding the Child as +only a few weeks old. With an increased age of the Child, the difficulty +of securing repose for the group was enhanced, for it seemed to be +proper with a child past its infancy, that it should be pictured as +engaged in one of the charming simple actions common to childhood. These +questions were settled in different ways according to the genius and +temperament of the artists. A few of them, as Mantegna,[h] Lorenzo +Costa,[i] and Montagna,[j] gave the Child an age of two years or more, +and in some of their designs the figures seem to be of equal +significance, Mantegna and Montagna in several examples actually +standing the Child in the Virgin's lap with the heads touching each +other. + + [a] See the Olympian Hermes of Praxiteles, and Irene and Pluto after + Cephisodostus at Munich. + + [b] Groups in the Southern and Western porches of Amiens Cathedral. + + [c] Madonna and Child, Arena Chapel, Padua. + + [d] Groups at the Florence Academy and the Louvre. + + [e] Florence Academy. + + [f] National Gallery, London. + + [g] San Francisco, Assisi. + + [h] Madonna and Angels, at Milan, and other works. + + [i] Coronation of the Virgin, Bologna. + + [j] Enthronement of the Virgin, Brera, Milan. + +The plans usually adopted by the greatest masters, were, to present the +maximum repose with the Child sitting in the lap of the Virgin; or to +place Him apart from her, and engaged in some slight action; or to show +Him in the arms of the Virgin, either held at the side, or in front, +with the Virgin more or less in profile. In all of these schemes the +serene contemplation of the Holy Mother is practically undisturbed. In +his many groups of the Virgin and Child, and of the Holy Family, Raphael +only varied twice from these plans,[a] and in both the exceptions the +Child reclines across the lap of the Virgin, so that very little of her +figure is hidden. Titian has the Child standing by her side,[b] or held +away from her, and in one example the Virgin is placing Him in the hands +of St. Joseph.[c] Correggio, when away from the influence of Mantegna, +usually showed the Child held apart from the Mother, or placed on the +floor, or on a bench. It is a common device to show the Child on the +lap of the Virgin, but leaning over to take a flower or other object +offered Him,[d] and numerous artists allow Him to play around +separately.[e] In Holbein's fine group at Augsburg, the Child stands +between the Virgin and St. Anne, and another German painter shows Him +held up by the same personages, but clear from both of them.[f] Murillo +commonly stands the Child at the side of the Virgin, but in one picture +adopts the novel method of placing Him in the arms of St. Joseph.[g] + + [a] Madonna and Child, Bridgewater Coll., England; and same group with + St. John, Berlin. + + [b] Madonna of the Cherries, Imperial Gallery, Vienna. + + [c] Meeting of Joachim and Anna, Bridgwater Coll., England. + + [d] Filipino Lippi's Madonna and Angels, Corsini Palace, Florence. + + [e] Luca Signorelli's group at Munich, and Bonfiglio's at Perugia. + + [f] Hans Fries, National Museum, Nuremburg. + + [g] Holy Family, Petrograd. + +When the Child is shown distinctly apart from the Virgin, or leaning +away from her lap, great care is necessary in avoiding strength in the +action, otherwise it will draw attention away from the Virgin. A notable +example of this defect is in a picture by Parmigiano, where the Child +leans over and has his head brought close to that of a kneeling Saint +who is caressing Him, the effect being most disturbing.[a] Bramantino +shows the Child in an extraordinary attitude, for He holds His head +above His arms without any apparent reason, the action confusing the +design.[b] Many artists represent Him in the act of reaching out his +hand for flowers, without choosing for the moment of portrayal, an +instant of transition from one part of the action to another,[c] a point +rarely overlooked by the first masters.[d] Occasionally variety is +given in the introduction of nursery duties, as for instance, washing +the Child,[e] but these are inappropriate for reasons already indicated, +apart from the over strong action necessarily exhibited in such designs. +Nor should the Child have an unusual expression, as this will +immediately catch the eye of the observer. In one work Del Sarto +actually makes Him laugh,[f] and a modern artist gives Him an expression +of fear.[g] It is questionable whether Masaccio[h] and others (including +A. della Robbia and Rossellino in sculpture) did not go too far in +portraying the Child with a finger in its mouth, for although such an +incident is common with children, in this case it seems opposed to +propriety. Generally the first artists have striven to free the figure +of the Virgin as far as possible, and this is in conformity with first +principles, for it simplifies the view of the chief figure in the +composition. In all cases repose should be the keynote of the design. + + [a] Madonna and Child with Saints, Bologna Academy. + + [b] Virgin with a Turban, Brera, Milan. + + [c] As in B. da Bagnacavallo's Holy Family, Bologna; and Boltraffio's + Holy Family, Milan. + + [d] See Titian's Madonna with SS. Anthony and John, Uffizi Gallery. + + [e] Giulio Romano's Holy Family, Dresden. + + [f] Holy Family, Hermitage, Petrograd. + + [g] Uhde's The Three Magi, Magdeburg Museum. + + [h] Madonna enthroned, Sutton Coll., England. + +There are no general ideals in Christian art other than those mentioned. +The presumed occupants of the Celestial regions beyond these Personages, +are painted as the fancy of the artist may dictate, subject only to the +limitations of the accepted Christian doctrines. There are certain +conventions in respect of Angels and Saints, but they are by no means +strict; and for the Old Testament prophets, Michelangelo's work in the +Sistine Chapel is commonly taken as a guide. It is scarcely likely that +his examples will ever be exceeded in majestic beauty. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +EXPRESSION. PART III.--CLASSICAL IDEALS + + Ideals of the Greeks--Aphrodite--Hera--Demeter--Athena--Apollo-- + Diana--Neptune--Mars--Mercury--Bacchus--Vulcan--General classical + compositions. + + +What human being can appropriately describe the great ideals in art of +ancient Greece? Above us all they stand, seemingly as upon the pinnacle +of the universal mind, reflecting the collective human soul, and +exhibiting the concentrated essence of human nature. The best of men and +women of all ages is combined in these ideal heads, which look from an +endless past to an eternal future; which embody every passion and every +virtue; every religion and every philosophy; all wisdom and all +knowledge. They are ideal gods and goddesses, but are independent of +legends and history. They represent no mythological deities except in +name, and least of all do they assort with the deities of Homer and +Hesiod. In all other religions the ideals expressed in art fail entirely +to reach the height of the general conceptions, and are far below the +spiritual beings as depicted in the sacred books; but the Grecian ideals +as recorded in stone are so far beyond the legendary gods of the ancient +poets, that we are unable to pass from the stone to the literature +without an overwhelming feeling of astonishment at the contrast. It is +unfortunate that we are powerless to re-establish these ideals +definitely, for the originals have been mostly lost; nevertheless the +ancient copies, a few contemporary complete sculptures, and many +glorious fragments; as well as intimate descriptions and repeated +eulogies, often reaching to hyperbole, of eminent men, expressed over a +succession of centuries when the great works were still exposed to +view--all this assembled evidence indelibly stamps upon our minds the +nature of the ideals; gives us a clear impression of the most profound +conceptions that have emanated from the human brain. + +The people who accomplished these great monuments seem to have thought +only in terms of the universe. They did not seek for the embodiment of +goodness, nobility, and charity, perfection in which qualities we regard +as divine, but they aimed at a majesty which included all these things; +which comprehended nothing but the supreme in form and mind; and with an +all-reaching knowledge of the human race, stood outside of it, but +covered it with reflected glory, as the sun stands ever away from the +planets but illumines them all. The wonder is not that these ideals were +created in the minds of the Greeks, for there is no boundary to the +imagination, but that minds could be found to set them down in design, +and hands to mould and shape them in clay and stone; and that many minds +and hands could do these things in the same epoch. That these +sculptured forms have never been equalled is not wonderful; that they +never will be surpassed is as certain as that death is the penalty of +life. So firmly have they become grafted into the minds of men as things +unapproachable in beauty, that they have themselves been converted into +general ideals towards which all must climb who attempt to scale the +heights of art. The greatest artists known to us since the light of +Greek intelligence flickered away, have been content to study these +marble remains, and to cull from them a suggestion here, and an idea +there, with which to adorn their own creations. Indeed it is clear that +from the time of Niccolo Pisano, who leaped at one bound to celebrity +after studying the antique sculptures at Pisa, through Giotto to the +fifteenth and sixteenth century giants, there was hardly a great artist +who was not more or less dependent upon Grecian art for his skill, and +the most enduring of them all--Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, +Correggio--were the most deeply versed in the art.[42] + +Bellori affirmed that the Roman school, of which Raphael and +Michelangelo were the greatest masters, derived its principles from the +study of the statues and other works of the ancients.[a] This is not +strictly exact, but it is near the truth, and certain it is that +Michelangelo, the first sculptor known to the world since the Dark Age, +willingly bowed his head before the ancient triumphs of art presented to +his view. And yet he did not see the Parthenon sculptures and other +numerous works of the time of Phidias, with the many beautiful examples +of the next century which have been made available since his day. What +he would have said in the presence of the glories of the Parthenon, with +the Hermes of Praxiteles and the rest of the collection from Olympia, is +hard to conjecture, though it may well be suggested that they would have +prompted him to still higher work than any he accomplished. With these +stupendous ideals in front of us, it seems almost unnecessary to talk of +the principles of art. Their very perfection indicates that they were +built up on eternal principles, so that in fact and in theory they form +the surest guide for the sculptor and painter. + + [a] _Le Vite de' Pittori, Scultori, e Architteti moderni._ + +But how is the painter to use these ancient gods and goddesses, for the +time has gone by to gather them together on the heights of Olympus, or +to associate them with human frailties? Surely he may leave aside the +fables of the poets, and try to portray the deities as the Grecian +populace saw them in their hearts--noble forms of adoration, or images +of terror, objects of curses veneered with prayer and of offerings +wrapped in fear. The artist has not now to be troubled with pangs of +dread, nor will his imagination be limited by sacerdotal scruples. The +rivalry of Praxiteles need not concern him, for there are wondrous +ideals yet to be wrought, which will be comprehended and loved even in +these days of hastening endeavour. But the painter must leave alone the +Zeus and the variation of this god in the pictured Christian Deity, for +the type is so firmly established in the minds of men that it would be +useless to depart from it. The other important Grecian deities with +which art is concerned may be shortly considered from the point of view +of the painter, though they are naturally of far more importance to the +sculptor because it is beyond the power of the painter to suggest an +illusion of divine form, since he must associate his figures with human +accessories.[43] + + +APHRODITE + +Astarte, Aphrodite, Venus, Spirit of Love, or by whatever name we call +her; the one eternal divinity recognized by all ages, all races; the +universal essence whose fragrance intoxicates every soul: the one queen +before whom all must bow: the one imperial autocrat sure of everlasting +rule--sure of the devoted allegiance of every living thing to the end of +time! Such is Aphrodite, for that is the name under which we seem to +love her best--the Aphrodite of the Greeks, without the vague terrifying +aspect of Astarte, or the more earthly qualities of the Roman Venus. Who +loves not the Aphrodite sprung from the foam of the sea; shading the sun +on the Cytheran isle with the light of her glory; casting an eternal +hallow over the groves of Cyprus; flooding the god-like mind of Greece +with her sparkling radiance? What conception of her beauty can rise high +enough when the grass in astonishment grows beneath her feet on desert +rocks; when lions and tigers gently purr as she passes, and the rose and +the myrtle throw out their scented blossoms to sweeten the air? Hera +and Athena leave the heavens to help man fight and kill: Aphrodite +descends to soothe despairing hearts, and kindle kindly flame in the +breast of the loveless. The spear and the shield with the crested helmet +she knows not, nor the fiery coursers accustomed to the din of strife. +Serenely she traverses space at the call of a lover's prayer, her car a +bower of celestial blooms. From the ends of the earth fly the sparrows +to draw it, till their myriads hide the sun, and mortals learn that the +time has come when their thoughts may turn to the spirit of love. + +This was the Aphrodite of Grecian legend and poetry, if we except Homer +and Hesiod. It is the type of the goddess whom Sappho implored, and must +be accepted as the general ideal of the Grecian worshippers who desired +divine mediation when troubled with pangs of the heart. But it was not +the type of Phidias and his school, for Phidias passed over Hesiod and +purified Homer, representing Aphrodite with the stately mien and lofty +bearing of a queen of heaven, daughter of the all-powerful Dione: +goddess of beauty and love certainly, but so far above the human +understanding of these terms that all efforts to associate her with +mundane ideas and aspirations must signally fail.[44] + +So far as we know it was Praxiteles who first attempted to realize in +stone the popular ideal of the goddess, and certainly the Cnidian +Aphrodite was better understood by the people of Greece as a type of +this ideal than any work that preceded it. We can attach to it in our +minds but very few of the Homeric and other legends surrounding the +history of the goddess, but we can well imagine that a deity who was the +subject of so much attention and so much prayer, could rest in the +hearts of the people only as one with every supreme earthly charm, +combined with a divine bearing and dignity. These qualities the +Aphrodite of Praxiteles appears to have possessed, though it lacked the +majesty and exclusiveness of the Parthenon gods.[45] + +Thus there was formed a type of beauty acceptable to the average human +mind as an unsurpassable representation of an ideal woman: to the +worshipper at the ancient shrines, a comprehensible goddess; to all +other men the personification of sublime beauty. The fifth century +goddess was left aside as beyond mortal reach, and from the time it left +the sculptor's hands to this day, the Cnidian Venus has been regarded as +a model for all that is true and beautiful in women. To the sculptor it +is an everlasting beacon; to all men a crowning glory of human +handiwork. And this notwithstanding that so far as we know, the original +figure has long been lost, and we have preserved little more than +records of its renown, a fair copy of it, and a single authentic example +of the other work of the sculptor. But if we had the actual Aphrodite +before us, it could not occupy a higher place in our minds than the +goddess which our imagination builds upon this framework. + +As in all cases where a supreme artist rises above his fellows and +creates works of which emulation appears hopeless, the period succeeding +the time of Praxiteles seems to mark a decline in the art of sculpture, +and though the decline was more apparent than real for about half a +century, there was naturally a depreciation in the representation of the +deities of whom the great man had fashioned masterpieces. This was so in +the case of Aphrodite. Whoever the sculptor it seemed impossible to +approach the Cnidian ideal, and the result was a series of variations +stamped with artificial devices as if to emphasize the departure. But +meanwhile the painter's art had developed upon much the same lines as +sculpture, and Apelles produced an Aphrodite, which, considering the +limitation of the painter, appears to have been almost, if not quite, as +marvellous as the stone model of Praxiteles. Nearly two thousand years +have passed since the painting was last known to exist, but its fame was +so great that the reverberations from the thunder of praise accorded it +have scarcely yet died away. No close description of the painting +remains, but from certain references to it by ancient authors we know +that it represented the sea-born goddess walking towards the shore to +make her first appearance on earth, holding in each hand a tress of hair +as if in the act of wringing out the water therein.[46] These are +practically all the written details we have of the famous Venus +Anadyomene, but we really know much more of it from the existence of +certain pre-Roman sculptures. All but one are broken, with parts +missing, but the exception, which dates from about the beginning of the +third century B.C., enables us to gain a good idea of the picture. The +figure represents the goddess with her lower limbs cut off close to the +hips; that is to say, it produces the whole of that part of the figure +in the picture of Apelles which is visible above the water.[a] Clearly a +subject in which Venus is shown to be walking in the sea, so foreign to +the art of the sculptor, could not have suggested itself independently +to a Grecian artist, nor would we expect to find one attempting a work +which necessitated amputation of the lower limbs, unless a very special +occasion warranted the design. The special occasion in this case was the +picture of Apelles, which was at the time renowned through the whole of +Greece as an extraordinary masterpiece, and with this work in their +minds the sculptured head and torso would appear quite appropriate to +those Greeks interested in the arts, that is to say, the entire citizen +population. + + [a] See Plate 4. + +These two works then, the Cnidian Venus and the Venus Anadyomene of +Apelles, constitute the models upon which the world relies for its +conceptions of the goddess of beauty. Both models depend more or less +upon the imagination for completion, but they are sufficiently definite +for the artist, who, of course, desires general rather than particular +ideas for his purpose. + + [Illustration: PLATE 11 (See page 139) + The Pursuit, by Fragonard (_Frick Collection_)] + +It must be confessed that the attempts to rival Apelles in the creation +of a Venus Anadyomene have not been very successful. Raphael painted a +small picture of the subject, introducing the figure of Time putting an +end to the power of the Titans.[a] Venus stands in the water with one +foot on a shell, while holding a tress of hair with her left hand. As +may be expected the execution is perfect, but the design is less +attractive than that of Apelles. The only important work of the +Renaissance directly based upon the Greek design, is from the hand of +Titian.[b] He represents the goddess walking out of the water, the +surface of which only reaches half way up the thighs, with the result +that considerably more action is indicated than is necessary. But the +great artist was evidently at a loss to know how to give the figure the +size of life or thereabouts, while indicating from the depth of water +that she had an appreciable distance to go before touching dry land. He +solved the problem by placing the line of the front leg to which the +water rises, at the bottom of the canvas, so that the picture suggests +an accident which has necessitated the cutting away of the lower portion +of the work. The master also varies the scheme of Apelles by crossing +the left hand over the breast. This inferior device was imitated by +Rubens, who, however, exhibits the goddess rising from the water amongst +a group of nymphs and tritons.[c] Modern artists in designs of the birth +of Venus, usually represent her as having reached the shore,[d] the best +work of this scheme being perhaps that of Cabanel who shows the goddess +lying at the water's edge and just awaking, suggesting a state of +unconsciousness while she floated on the waves.[e] Another exception is +by Thoma, who exhibits the goddess walking in only a few inches of +water, reminding one of the old Roman bronze workers who imitated the +form as painted by Apelles, but modelled the whole figure. + + [a] In the bathroom of Cardinal Bibiena, Vatican. There is a drawing + for the figure of the goddess at the Munich Gallery. + + [b] Bridgewater Coll., England. See Plate 5. + + [c] Birth of Venus, at Potsdam. + + [d] Notable examples are those of Ingres and Bouguereau. + + [e] At the Luxembourg, Paris. There are several replicas of this + picture. + +Repose being the first compulsory quality in the representation of +Aphrodite, it is not surprising to find that the greatest picture of the +goddess extant--the masterpiece of Giorgione--shows her asleep.[a] She +rests on a verdure couch in a landscape of which the signs indicate a +soft and tranquil atmosphere, with no suggestion to disturb the repose +or remove the illusion of life so strongly marked by the skilful +drawing. Only the calm sleeping beauty is there without appearance of +fatigue or recovery from it: no expression save of perfect dreamless +unconsciousness. The work is the nearest approach to a classical ideal +that exists in Venetian painting. Titian in his various pictures of +Venus reposing never reached the excellence of his master. In all, he +painted the goddess in a resting position, sometimes radiant and +brilliant, and invariably with a contented expression which precludes +sensual suggestions: still there is ever a distinctly earthy tone about +the figures. His Venuses in fact are pure portraits. He did not seek to +represent profound repose. His most important example is at the Uffizi +Gallery,[b] the design of which was taken from Giorgione's work. The +goddess is a figure of glowing beauty, but the pose indicates +consciousness of this fact and calls the model to mind. Perhaps the +surroundings tend to accentuate the drawback, for in this, as in most of +his other pictures of Venus, the artist has introduced Venetian +accessories of the period. Palma Vecchio also took Giorgione's work as a +guide for his reposing Venus, but he represents her fully awake with +Cupid present.[c] An exceptional work of the subject was designed by +Michelangelo, and painted by Pontormo[d] and others. It represents the +goddess reclining with Cupid at her head; but the form is entirely +opposed to all our conceptions of Venus, for she is seen as a broad +massive woman with a short neck, and a strongly formed head--a fit +companion for some of the figures in the Sistine Chapel. Proud dignity +and a certain majesty are suggested in the expression, but the figure is +without the grace and charm usually associated with the goddess. The +only other early Italian reposing Venus of interest is Botticelli's, +where he shows her in deep thought with two cupids by her side.[e] + + [a] Dresden Gallery. See Plate 6. Titian added a Cupid to this + picture, but the little god was subsequently painted out by + a restorer. (L. Venturi, _Giorgione e il Giorgionismo_, 1913.) + + [b] The sitter is supposed to have been the model also for La Bella + in the Uffizi, and the Woman in Fur at the Vienna Gallery. + + [c] Dresden Gallery. + + [d] Hampton Court Palace, England. + + [e] National Gallery, London. + +In the seventeenth century Venus was rarely represented reposing. +Nicholas Poussin has a fine picture on the subject, but unfortunately +for the repose a couple of cupids are in action beside the sleeping +goddess, while the heads of two satyrs are dimly seen.[a] In the +Sleeping Venus of Le Sueur, which was much praised in former times, +Cupid is present with a finger to his mouth to indicate silence, but +Vulcan is seen in an adjoining room wielding a heavy hammer, the +suggestion of repose being thus destroyed. No reposing Venus of +importance has since been produced, though a few French artists have +treated the subject in a light vein, notably Boucher in his Sleeping +Venus, and Fragonard in a delicate composition of Venus awakened by +Aurora. + + [a] Dresden Gallery. + +Venus cannot be represented as conscious of her beauty, or the design +would immediately suggest vanity. Consequently when shown looking into a +mirror, she should be engaged at her toilet, or at least the reflection +should be accidental. Titian painted the first great picture of the +goddess at her toilet, but this is just completed and her hands are at +rest.[a] The attitude would be extravagant were it not that any +suggestion of satisfaction is overcome by the artist making Cupid hold +the mirror, and giving Venus an expression of unconcern as she glances +at her reflection. The work suggested to Rubens a similar design, but he +shows the goddess dressing her hair, this being apparently the only +definite action which may be properly introduced into such a +composition.[b] Albani has a delightful picture in which Cupid compels +Venus to hold a mirror,[c] and some later artists have represented her +adorning her tresses with the aid of a water reflection. The only +notable _faux pas_ in a painting of this subject is in the Venus and +Cupid assigned to Velasquez, in which Venus lies on her side and looks +into a mirror held by Cupid at her feet.[d] There is no suggestion of +toilet or accident, and hence the attitude is quite inapplicable to a +goddess. + + [a] The Hermitage, Petrograd. + + [b] Hofmuseum, Vienna. + + [c] The Louvre. + + [d] National Gallery, London. + +It should be remembered that the province of Aphrodite is to infuse the +gentle warmth of love into the human race, and not to attract love to +herself. The rays are presumed to proceed from her only, for a mortal +having no divine powers would be incapable of reflecting them. Zeus was +required to bring about the adventure with Anchises. Hence a voluptuous +form should never be given to the goddess, and if an artist err at all +in the matter, it should be on the side of restraint lest the art be +affected by a suggestion of the sensuous. The surest means of preventing +this is to represent the goddess in an attitude of repose, with perfect +contentment as a feature in expression. If any action be indicated, it +must be light and purely accidental in its nature. To introduce an +action involving an apprehension of human failings tends to bring the +goddess down to the human level, and thus to destroy the ideal. The +Venus de' Medici is a superb sculpture of a woman, but an inferior +representation of Venus, for modesty is a human attribute arising from +purely artificial circumstances of life, its meaning varying with race +conditions and customs. To depict a goddess in an action suggestive of +modesty or other antidote to the coarser effects of natural instincts, +is therefore an anomaly. + + +HERA + +There is no fixed type in art of the ox-eyed sister and spouse of Zeus, +the Queen of Olympus, whose breast heaves ever high, and flaming, with +the rushing fire of jealousy; the Virgilian incarnation of bitter rage; +yet withal the symbol of eternal Earth, yearly renewing her fruitful +youth with the burning kiss of the sun. The sculptors of Greece saw in +her only the supreme Matron-Spouse, serenely pondering the march of time +beneath the awful sway of her lord. A mantle she wore, and a +high-throated tunic, as she looked into space from a square-wrought +throne; or she stood in her temple with flowing robe and diadem, +inscrutable, before the offerings of an adoring multitude. But +nevertheless she was not insensible to the radiance of Aphrodite. +Polyclitus did well to place a cuckoo on her sceptre, and who can forget +how the lotus and the hyacinth cushioned the ground on the heights of +Ida beneath a golden cloud, which held suspended around the glittering +couch a screen of sparkling dew? + +It is unfortunate that the painter is at a loss to deal with the +majestic scenes in great Juno's story. How is he to depict her flying in +the celestial chariot between heaven and earth, each leap of the fiery +coursers measuring the range of the eye from a lofty peak across the sea +to the endless haze? How can he paint her anointed with ambrosial oil +which is ever struggling for freedom to bathe the rolling earth in +fragrance? He may add a hundred tassels to her girdle; perhaps give her +the triple grace-showering eardrops, and even the dazzling sun-bright +veil; but the girdle of Aphrodite, which peeps from her bosom, will fail +to turn the brains of men, or pierce their hearts with rays of soft +desire. And the more dreadful side of Hera's history would equally +trouble the despairing artist, for dire anger and jealousy ill-become +the countenance of a goddess. The smouldering fire must never leap into +flame. Eyes may not flash, not the lips quiver, and the noble brow must +be free from fitful thought. + +So with Hera there is no middle course for the painter. He must +represent her alone, calm and passionless, unfathomable, with a sublime +disregard of earth; or else join with his predecessors and drag her down +to a mundane level in scenes of trivial fable. But there is room for +untold Heras of the higher type. + + +DEMETER + +Matron-Guardian of the yielding soil; heart-stricken wanderer over the +earth; mysterious silent Food-Mother whom all men love and the gods +revere; eternal life-preserver; fruitful, but passionless save where the +vision of Pluto looms, Iasus and Poseidon notwithstanding! Such was the +Demeter of the ancient Greeks till the hordes of Alexander mingled her +fame with the lustre from Isis and De. So the mourning _haute dame_ of +Olympus came nearer the seat of her care, nearer the dread home of her +daughter: passed from Homer to Theocritus; from the adoration of the +higher priesthood of Greece, to become merged in the Ceres of Rome, the +goddess beloved of the lowly, who received the first fruits of the field +amidst joyful measures of dance and song. But it is the _haute dame_ +that strikes our imagination--the staid and mystic Demeter of Eleusis, +and not the Ceres of the Roman lyric. The light-hearted Ceres, as a +beautiful woman in the prime of life, may be adorned with poppies and +wheat-ears, may stand serene and smiling as a symbol of harvest or the +goddess of a Latin temple; but paint her as one will, she will do little +more than serve to show how fallen are the idols--how immeasurable is +the descent from the stately Earth-Mother whose image would be stamped +on the brain of a Phidias. + +But where is the Phidian Demeter? Surely such a goddess, "deeply musing +in her hallowed shrine," was a theme for the carver of the immortal Zeus +and Athena! Perhaps those inscrutable headless "Fates" from the +Parthenon, so wonderful in noble grace that the conception of befitting +heads is beyond the reach of our minds, include the Earth-Mother and her +daughter! How easy it is to imagine the reclining figure as Persephone +leaning upon the mother who loved her so well! But we must be content +with what we have of Demeter in art, which is little more than a few +fifth century frieze reliefs, the figure from Cnidos attributed to +Scopas,[a] and some Damophon memories of Phidias. + + [a] See Plate 7. + +So the artist is free and untrammelled in respect of the representation +of the far-famed goddess. There is no definite type of her which has +fixed itself on the minds of men, though the legend and story weaved +about her name are beautiful and wonderful in a high degree. + + +ATHENA + +Though swathed in legend and surrounded with a hallow of Grecian +reverence, Athena is always cold. She may dim the sun with the radiance +of her armour; ride in a flaming car, and have Strength and Invisibility +for her allies; but she fights only on the side of the strong, and uses +the tactics of spies against her enemies. With the Gorgon's head on her +shield, and a helmet which will cover the soldiers of a hundred towns, +she yet whispers advice to Grecian heroes, and deflects a Trojan arrow +in its flight. Truly as Goddess of War she is somewhat difficult to +generalize. But she is also the divinity of the arts and sciences; +invents the pipe and the shuttle, and becomes the depository of all +industrial knowledge. Hence she embodies the triumphs of peace and +war--combines the extremes of human exertion. + +How Phidias overcame the task of representing the goddess is well known. +He generalized war and wisdom, and from his great work of the Parthenon +there can be little departure in respect of bearing and attitude, so +long as the province of war is symbolized in the design. The actual work +of the Greek master has disappeared, but from various records and +copies, it would appear that the Parthenon Athena was the loftiest +conception ever worked out in sculpture, if we except the Olympian Zeus. +Majestic grace and the unconscious power derived from supreme knowledge, +seem to have been the first qualities exhibited in the statue. In the +fourth century there was no great departure from the Phidian ideal, and +it is difficult to see how there could be much modification in the +direction of bringing the conception closer to earth, for the goddess +had no special presumed form which could be adapted by the artist to +popular ideas. A nude figure would be impossible because in this the +force and power implied in a hero of war could not be combined with +feminine attributes. The Greeks drew the line at observable muscular +developments, invariably clothing nearly the whole of the figure, but +they did not, and could not, free her general bearing from certain +masculine qualities. It is true that the costume of the goddess might be +modified, and Phidias himself represented her in one or two statues +without a helmet, an example followed by several artists of the +Renaissance,[a] but so long as the symbols of war are included in her +habit, she can be only of formal use to the painter. + + [a] See Piero di Cosimo's Marsyas and the Pipes of Athena,[47] and + Botticelli's Athena and the Centaur. + + +APOLLO + +Although in mythology Apollo is connected with everything on earth which +is useful or pleasing to mankind, in art custom has so confined his +representation in respect of both appearance and symbols, that a type +has been established from which it would be difficult to depart without +a suggestion of incongruity arising. This type is of a more purely +formal character than that of any other god, except perhaps Mercury, a +circumstance probably arising from the fact that the reputed hard nature +of Apollo fails to lend itself to sympathetic idealization. He does not +appear to have been a favourite subject with the greatest sculptors of +ancient times, for nearly all the innumerable statues of him which have +come down to us, are reproductions of two or three types which in +themselves vary but little. It is difficult to see how a really noble +ideal of such a god can be suggested. Stern and inflexible, with many +human vices but no weaknesses or gentle traits, and withal a model of +physical beauty without strength or apparent power--in fact an +emphasized feminine form: such is the Apollo of tradition and art. We +cannot wonder that the type was quickly fixed, the limitations to avoid +the abnormal being so well defined. + +The painter then has small scope with the figure of this god. He may +only slightly vary the accepted form, which admits of but a negative +expression. The best representation of Apollo in modern art is the one +by Raphael in the Parnassus fresco at the Vatican, though the beautiful +figure in the Marsyas work at the Louvre is very nearly as perfect.[48] +Raphael does not give to the god the rounded swellings of a female form, +but overcomes the difficulty by showing him as a young man of perfect +figure who has just reached maturity. The expression is entirely +general, but does not suggest a god-like power. + + +DIANA + +It would scarcely be natural to be sympathetic with Artemis. She seems +to be the feminine type of a cold flint-like nature, as Apollo is the +masculine, and one can well understand that mythology makes of them +brother and sister. Mistress of wild beasts and goddess of sudden death, +she was always worshipped from fear: her wrath had ever to be appeased; +she inspired neither affection nor respect. True, she wore the mantle of +Ililythia, but only to be dreaded, and even the attempt to throw a warm +halo over her by the theft of the Endymion story for her benefit, failed +to lift her reputation for the tireless satisfaction of a supernatural +spleen. Nevertheless for the painter Diana has always had a certain +attraction, because the legends connected with her offer opportunities +for the exercise of skill in the representation of the nude. But there +is an end of all things, and the bathing and hunting scenes have been +fairly exhausted. For the sculptor only is Artemis likely to live. +Bright colours are not the vehicle to represent the symbol of an idea +which is beyond, but not above, nature--a useless abstraction which +neither warms the heart nor elevates the soul. Callisto draws our +sympathy, and Niobe our tears: the goddess freezes our veins. + + +NEPTUNE + +Brother of Jupiter and Pluto; sire of Theseus, of Polyphemus, and of the +titanic lads who threatened to pile mountain on mountain in order to +destroy the home of the deities; the god whose footsteps tremble the +earth; who disputes with the sun; who uses floods and earthquakes for +weapons; who owns vast palaces in the caverns of the deep; for whom the +angry waves sink down beneath the shining sea, and ocean monsters play +around his lightning track across the waters: this is the divinity whom +the painter is accustomed to portray as a rough bearded man with +dishevelled hair and rugged features, holding a three-pronged fork, and +associating with dolphins, mermaids, and shells. But Neptune is not a +popular god. He does not appeal to the mind as a good-natured god like +Jupiter or Mercury, with many of the virtues and some of the failings of +mankind. His acts are mostly violent; he punishes but does not reward; +grows angry but is never kind. There is consequently no sympathetic +attitude towards him on the part of the artist, who would sooner paint +good than bad actions. Beyond his violent acts, the circumstances which +make up the history of the god, provide subjects more suitable for the +poet than the painter, who is practically confined to unimportant and +casual incidents which, with changes of accessories, would answer a +thousand scenes in mythological history. Neptune then may well disappear +from the purview of the painter, with the tritons and the seaweed +entourage. + + +MARS + +From the point of view of the painter, there is little to say about the +Grecian Ares. He has not a single good trait in legend or story, and we +know nothing of his presumed personal form beyond the military +externals. It is difficult to understand how such a god came to be +included among the deities of a civilized race. Of what service could be +prayer when it is addressed to a blatant, bloodstained, genius of the +brutal side of war, without feeling or pity, and apparently so wanting +in intelligence that he has to leave the direction of battles to a +goddess? One would think that Homer intended him as the god of bullies, +or he would not have made him roar like ten thousand men when struck +with a stone, nor would he have allowed him to be imprisoned by two +young demigods, and contemptuously wounded by a third. But who is +responsible for the association of such a wretched example of divinity +with the radiant Aphrodite, for surely it is only the cloak of Homer +that covers the story! Was it a painter who had sought in vain from the +poets a suggestion for a composition in which the god would at least +appear normal, or a cynical critic who wished to incite ridicule as well +as contempt for the divinity? In any case the painter must sigh in vain +for an inspiriting design with Ares as the leading figure: he cannot +harmonize love and terror. + +The Roman Mars has a slight advantage over Ares, for the name of Silvia +is sweetly-sounding, but she should be represented alone, as the star of +the wild Campagna, while yet it was forest-clad: the gleaming light +whose rays are to illumine the earth. Mars may disappear with the wolf, +but who can hide the glory of Rome? + + +MERCURY + +It is difficult to connect the Hermes of the poet with the tedious +expressionless figure commonly seen in painting, whose only costume is a +helmet, and whose invariable province is apparently to look on and do +nothing. For the sculptor he is a god; for the painter a symbol of +subordination. A Rubens may give him the pulse of life, but only the +sculptor can suggest the divinity. With the painter the winged helmet is +a bizarre ornament; the immortal sandals are shrunken to leather; the +caduceus is a thing of inertia which is ever in the way. But with the +sculptor all these things may be endowed with the quickening spirit of a +soaring mind, for does not Giovanni di Bologna show the lithesome god +speeding through space ahead of the wind, the feathery foot-wings +humming with delirium, the trembling air dividing hastily before the +wand? True, the painter may represent the divine herald on his way +through space, as when he conducts Psyche to Olympus, or leads the +shades of the suitors to Hades; but the accessories present must +surround him with an earthy framework, unless the design be confined to +a ceiling, and shut away from things mundane with architectural forms, +as in the plan of Raphael at the Farnese Villa, or to a fresco executed +in the manner of a Flaxman drawing. Beyond these artifices the artist +cannot go with propriety. + +Few and worn are the scenes in the history of the god in which he takes +a leading part. The head of Argus seems to be cut off, or awaiting +separation, in nearly every collection, sometimes with Juno on a cloud +deeply frowning with revengeful ire, occasionally with the peacock +expectant of its glorious fan, but always with the weak-looking helmeted +piper, passive and unconcerned as if fulfilling a daily task. A +Correggio may weave his golden fancy around a scene where Cupid learns +to strengthen his arrows with the rules of science and the wiles of art; +but let the painter beware of the infant Bacchus in the arms of the +messenger-god, lest a vision of the Olympian group arise and enfold his +work in a robe of charity. The schemes whereby the cradled thief +deceived the Pythian god are beyond the scope of the painter, though +there is a certain available range in the charming actions surrounding +the invention of the lyre. And if the designs relating to the +unfortunate Lara be properly consigned to oblivion, surely the +connection of Hermes with Pandora offers a field for the sprightly +imagination. But save where the god is a symbol of commerce or speed, +the helmet should be dispensed with, for it is hackneyed beyond +endurance. The modern painter is not bound by custom unless the +provision of beauty conflict with the lucidity of the design or the +reverence for universal sentiment. Let the winged heels suffice, for the +shadow of Persius will scarcely rise in protest. + + [Illustration: PLATE 12 (See page 145) + Greek Portraiture + Head of Plato Head of Euripides] + + +BACCHUS + +Centuries of bacchanalian festivities and revelries have nearly killed +Bacchus for the painter. Who can further interest himself in meaningless +processions, where the most prominent figure is a fat, drunken, +staggering man, supported by goat-hoofed monstrosities, and attended by +all the insignia of vinous royalty? Silenus is no more the loving nurse +of the infant god; the satyrs are no more the followers of a +reed-playing woodland deity; the nymphs have long forgotten the flowery +dales, the faithful trees that lived and died with them, the fairy +bowers where first Semele's offspring clapped his hands to the measure +of dance and pipe. Why should the dance be turned into a drunken revel? +Why should the artist remember the orgies of Rome, and forget the +Grecian pastoral fancies? What has become of Dionysus, inheritor of +Vishnu traditions, the many-named father of song, the leader of the +Muses, and the fire-born enemy of pirates? Nothing remains of him worth +remembering, save Ariadne the golden-haired, and she must in future be +left on the desert isle lest the pathos of her figure be disturbed by +the motley followers of her rescuer. + +It is passing strange that the artists of the Renaissance did not +attempt to lift Bacchus out of the ditch of ignominy into which he had +fallen. They seem to have taken their ideas from the recorded accounts +of the Roman rites and vine festivals, overlooking the Grecian +suggestions relating to Dionysus, and even the later restrained reliefs +picturing incidents in his history. In their art, however, as is +evidenced by Pompeian frescoes, the Romans often treated Bacchus in a +serious manner, associating him with higher interests than those +connected with festival orgies. It may be that the figure of the god +carved by Michelangelo[a] had something to do with the later coarse +representations of him, for it would have been impossible for artists +succeeding so great a sculptor, to ignore the types he created. But it +will be an eternal mystery how he came to design such a Bacchus. A +voluptuous semi-realistic god, opposed to everything else that was +conceived by the sculptor, and antagonistic to all that was known in +Greece, it can never be anything more than a sublime example of a purely +earthly figure. One stands amazed before the perfect modelling, but +aghast at the conception. It represents the most extraordinary +transition from the god-like man of the Greeks, to a man-like god, ever +seen in art. + + [a] In the Bargello, Florence. + +The painter then has little left to use of the conventional Bacchus and +his history, except the never-dying Ariadne, but there is nothing to +prevent him from reverting to the pastoral Dionysus, to the delightful +abodes of the nymphs his foster-mothers, where Pan played and the Muses +sang, while the never-tiring son of Maia breathed tales of love into +willing ears. + + +VULCAN + +The poet may continue to hold our fancy with volcanic fires and +cyclopean hammers, but on canvas Etna becomes a blacksmith's forge, and +the figure of a begrimed human toiler is given to the divinity +responsible for the golden handmaids, and the brazen bull whose breath +was scorching flame. There is rarely a painting of Vulcan without a +forge and leather bellows, with a smith who is stripped to the waist, +which earthly things necessarily kill all suggestions of celestial +interest, notwithstanding the presence of Venus, or the never-fading +bride of palsied Peleus. Occasionally we have the incident with Mars, +and strangely look for the invisible net, but not finding it we are +immediately called back to earth to ponder over the wiles of the ancient +legend gatherers. The art is lost behind the unreality. But why does not +the painter revert to the childhood of Vulcan, when he was hiding in the +glistening cavern beneath the roll of ocean, fashioning resplendent +eardrops for silver-footed Thetis? Here is scope for the imagination--to +indicate the fancies of the budding genius who was to carve the wondrous +shield, and adorn the heaven-domed halls of Olympus. Let Hephaestus +mature as he will for the poet: he should only bloom for the painter. + + +GENERAL CLASSICAL COMPOSITIONS + +Scenes of adventure from the ancient poets in which the gods and +goddesses are concerned, appear to be rapidly becoming things of the +past for the painter. This is partly due to the circumstance that these +scenes have been so multiplied since the early days of the Renaissance, +that they are now positively fatiguing to both artists and the public; +but there is a deeper reason. If we try to number the paintings of +classical subjects by first-class artists which are enshrined in our +minds, we can count very few, and nearly all of these are single +figures, as a Venus, a Leda, a Psyche, or a Pandora. We do not call up a +Judgment of Paris, or a Diana and Actaeon, or any other design where +divinities are mixed with mortals in earthly actions. The cause of this +seems to be that our minds naturally revolt against a glaring +incongruity. The imagination is unable to harmonize the qualities of a +god with the possession of human instincts and frailties, or strike a +balance between divine actions and human motives. We see these pictures +and admire the design and execution, but they leave us cold: we are +unable to kindle enthusiasm over patent unreality. The general +conclusion is that painters would be wise to avoid such compositions, +and confine their attention in classical work to single figures of +goddesses or heroines, leaving to the poet suggestion of miraculous +powers. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +EXPRESSION. PART IV.--GENERAL IDEALS + + Limitation of the painter with general ideals--Ideal heads + interchangeable in sacred and symbolical art--Ideal male human + countenances impossible for the painter. + + +In the arts of sculpture and painting, where it is necessary that the +beauty should be immediately recognized by the eye, it is obvious that a +general expression is superior to the particular. This is so because the +general covers universal experience and the particular does not. But in +the art of the painter there is a limit to the expression of general +beauty. Theoretically there is no beauty possible to the sculptor which +the painter cannot produce, but practically there is. A sculptor may +carve what we understand as a god-like figure--a glorious image +embodying all the highest qualities that may be conceived by man, +with a general expression covering supreme wisdom and every noble +attribute--such a figure as the greatest Grecian artist chiselled. This +figure would stand in front of us, isolated, serene in its glory, and we +should look and wonder, and a second or two would suffice to fill our +entire mind with the image. For it would be above the earth, above all +our surroundings. We could connect nothing on earth with it--neither +human beings, nor green fields, nor the seas, and certainly not human +habitations, and ways, and manners, and actions. A Phidian god can have +no setting. Everything on earth is too small, too insignificant to bear +it company. The reflection from the majesty of the design throws into +shadow our loftiest earthly conceptions. + +Let us suppose that a painter could be found who could execute such a +figure: how could he isolate it to the mind? He may not use accessories, +for these could not be separated by the eye, and the association with +earth which they would imply would destroy the illusion. But the figure +must have relief, and hence tones. A monochrome would not do, for the +frame or sides of the wall containing the picture would flatten it, and +suggest a painted imitation of a sculpture. We may imagine a colossal +figure painted on an immense wall whose bounds are hidden by the +concentration of all the available light on the figure. Even then the +colouring of the wall must be unseen. The figure must stand out as if +against infinite space, surrounded by ambient air, in majestic solitude, +pondering over the everlasting roll of life towards perfection. In this +way only could the painter match the sculptor, but the practical +difficulties are so enormous as to render the scheme to all intents and +purposes impossible. + +For the painter then there is a limit to expression. He cannot proceed +with his ideal higher than Praxiteles. His limit is the most supreme +form and expression conceivable by his imagination, which does not +exceed the apparent possibility of human experience. Apparent, because +an ideal must necessarily be actually above the possibility of +experience, but it may not appear to be so. For instance a Raphael +Madonna does not seem to represent a supernatural woman. There is no +single feature painted which cannot be matched in life, and hence it +would not occur to the observer that the expression is contrary to the +possibility of experience. But the expression cannot be met with in +life, for besides being entirely general, it excludes all phases due to +the emotions or passions. One cannot imagine a woman with the expression +of a Raphael Madonna having concern with any special human interest, and +least of all with feelings and failings arising from natural instincts. +Yet the expression covers every form of noble endeavour; every phase of +innocent pleasure; every degree of mental activity within the province +of woman. And herein lies the art--the exclusion of the bad in our +nature, with the exaltation of the good. + +Now it is obvious that if the expression be so general that no +particular quality can be identified therein, the countenance will serve +for the head of any personage painted in whose expression it is +desirable to indicate the possession of high attributes, without +suggesting a particular condition of mind. Thus, the head of a Raphael +Madonna would equally serve for the head of a Saint Cecilia or a Judith; +or, providing the age were suitable, for a heroine of the stamp of Joan +of Arc, so long as the character of her actual features were unknown. +Further it would be well adapted for a symbolical figure, as Prudence or +Truth. + +But a far wider significance than is thus indicated, is conveyed by the +necessity for generalizing expression in order to reach the painter's +ideal. It has already been noted that inasmuch as all men have the same +general idea of beauty--that they generally agree as to what is, or is +not, beautiful, it follows that there must be a common opinion as to +degrees of beauty, and so a universality of ideal; that is of course, +among people with similar experience of life, as for instance the white +races of the world.[49] Hence the ideals of all painters must be +similar. They must necessarily aim for the same generalization--exclude +or emphasize like. Manner or style, or national type may vary; purely +sensorial effects may differ as the minds of the painters have been +variously trained, but the combination of features and effects which +regulate the expression will be practically identical in every realized +ideal. Consequently, subject to changes in attitude or age, ideal heads +of all artists are interchangeable without incongruity resulting, +irrespective of the motive of the design, for the ideal countenance +indicated adapts itself to any character where no emotional or +passionate expression is required. The head of the figure representing +"Profane Love" in Titian's great picture, would serve to express +spiritual nobility in a Madonna,[a] and when a head in a Madonna by +Raphael is exchanged with that of the central figure in Fragonard's The +Pursuit,[b] there is no resulting suggestion of impropriety in either +picture.[c] Ideal countenances have sometimes been given to evil +characters, as in Luini's Salome,[d] and the head in this picture would +equally well serve for a Madonna.[e] + + [a] See Plate 9. + + [b] Frick Collection, New York.[50] + + [c] See Plate 8. + + [d] Uffizi Gallery, Florence. + + [e] See Plate 10. + +An ideal head then will suggest any expression that the design in which +it is included seems to require, subject to the restrictions before +noted. In The Pursuit the face of the woman presumed to be fleeing from +her lover indicates some concern, and even a little fear,[a] but that +this is due to the surroundings in the work, is shown when the head is +substituted for another in a different picture, for the concern has +disappeared, and the expression becomes one which may properly represent +the highest attributes connected with the Madonna. + + [a] See Frontispiece and Plate 11. + +The limits within which the form and countenance of a woman may be +idealized, are prescribed by Raphael in his works. The presumed age must +be that when she reaches the full bloom of womanhood. Youth will not do +because it involves an expression denying experience, while physically a +girl cannot be supposed to have reached an age where her form has ceased +to progress towards perfection. Beauty of feature and form is the first +consideration of the artist, and hence his difficulty in fixing an +expression which shall be entirely free from the possibility of +suggesting desire. For this reason no model, or series of models, will +suffice the painter: he has always to bring his imagination to bear, as +Raphael admitted he had to do.[a] + + [a] "E di belle donne, io mi servo di certa idea che mi viene nella + mente." Letter to Castiglione. + +It is impossible to find a head of a woman, painted before the time of +Raphael, which fulfils the requirements of art as an ideal. The figures +are either too formal, or too distinctive in type, or are evidently +portraits, while in many of the greatest pictures of the fifteenth +century the artists had not yet learned how to put warm blood into their +Madonnas. Raphael, however, after taking up his sojourn at Florence, +became an object lesson for nearly every school, and ideal countenances +were produced by other masters, though no painter other than Raphael +succeeded with more than one or two. Nowadays the ever increasing hustle +in the struggle for existence, does not lend itself to deep study and +long contemplation on the part of painters, but hope springs eternal, +and surely the list of immortals is not yet closed. + +An ideal man of flesh and blood is not possible in the art of the +painter, for there is no general conception of male beauty below the +level of the god-like. Perfection of form can be given, but a supreme +expression in the face of a man implies deep wisdom, and this must +necessarily be associated with maturity when high sensorial beauty of +feature can scarcely be expected. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +EXPRESSION. PART V.--PORTRAITURE + + Limitations of the portrait painter--Generalizations--Emphasis + and addition of qualities--Practice of the ancient Greeks-- + Dignity--Importance of simplicity--Some of the great masters-- + Portraiture of women--The English masters--The quality of + grace--The necessity of repose. + + +While in the scale of the painter's art, portraiture ranks next to the +higher branches of historical work, yet it is some distance behind them, +for apart from the commonplace of scenic arrangement, the imagination of +the portrait painter cannot be carried further than the consideration of +added or eliminated details of form and expression in relation to a set +subject. But these details are very difficult, and so it comes about +that a good portrait involves a far greater proportion of mental labour +than the result appears on the surface to warrant. It is indirectly +consequent upon the complexity of his task that the work of the artist +who devotes practically his whole time to portraiture, often varies so +largely in quality. He paints some portraits which are generally +appreciated, but as time goes on he is overwhelmed with orders which he +cannot possibly fulfil without reducing the value of his work. He thus +acquires a habit of throwing his whole power into his work only when +the personage he represents is of public importance, or has a +countenance particularly amenable to his manner or style. It is +necessary that this fact should be borne in mind, otherwise erroneous +standards are likely to be set up when artists like Van Dyck, Reynolds, +or Romney, are referred to as examples. + +In a general sense nearly all painting where the human figure is +introduced, is portraiture, and it has been so since soon after the +middle of the fifteenth century, when artists commenced to use living +men and women for secondary or accessory figures in sacred pictures. The +increasing importance attached to the anatomy of the figure resulted in +the extensive use of models, and so in a measure portraiture rose to be +a leading feature in the work of the artist. The figures in the larger +compositions of every kind by the greater painters of the late fifteenth +and early sixteenth centuries, consist almost entirely of portraits of +friends and acquaintances of the artists, the exceptions being the +countenances of the Deity and Christ, which had to be modelled from +accepted types, and those of the later Saints the character of whose +features had been handed down by tradition. A few painters, as Raphael +and Correggio, idealized the Virgin away from suggestion of portraiture, +but others, as Del Sarto and Pontormo, even in this case took a wife or +other relative as a model. The practice was continued by many artists in +respect of central figures, till the end of the seventeenth century, +after which time the identity of the figures was, as a rule, purposely +lost. Nevertheless the figures, other than ideals, used in all good +compositions, must necessarily be portraits or adaptations thereof, for +only from life can superior representation of life be obtained. + +The first duty of the portraitist is to generalize the expression of his +subject. A face seen once will be thrown upon the mind only with the +particular expression observable at the moment of view. If seen a second +time we involuntarily combine the effects of the dual experience, and +the more often we see the countenance, the more closely will our mental +picture of it correspond with the general or average expression worn. It +is this average appearance that the portraitist tries to represent, +emphasizing of course whatever good qualities may be indicated. The +second most important task of the artist is to balance every part of the +picture, so that neither setting, nor colour, nor handling, is +strikingly noticeable. The portrait should appear at first glance as one +complete whole, in order that the mind of the observer be immediately +directed to the subject, and away from the artist or the manner of +execution. The painter is limited to the actual character and +physiognomy of the figure. He must make each feature harmonize with the +others, and add or subtract, hide or reveal, without changing the +general individuality, but he cannot do more. His scope is, therefore, +strictly limited. Very naturally some of the greatest portraitists have +rebelled at this limit. They appear to have painted with an eye to +posterity, rather than to satisfy their patrons and the people of the +time with an effective generalization of character and bearing. If we +compare the portraits executed by Titian with those representing certain +accessory figures in some important compositions of the great masters, +as for instance, the School of Athens of Raphael,[a] and the Death of +St. Francis of Ghirlandaio,[b] we find a marked difference. The latter +are obviously true portraits of living men, with little accentuated or +eliminated, just such portraits as Carlyle wanted from which to obtain +real instruction for his biographies. Titian painted no portraits of +this kind. He gives a lofty bearing to every person he portrays. His +figures seem to belong to a special race of men, endowed with rare +qualities of nobility and dignity, with little interest in the doings of +ordinary people. Yet we know that some of his characters lived in an +atmosphere of evil. We cannot really believe that the Aretino of +Titian[c] was Aretino the man, and we find it hard to imagine that +Philip II.,[d] or the Duke of Alba,[e] as Titian painted him, could grow +into the monster he proved to be. Nevertheless Titian was justified. It +is not the business of the artist to consider the historian: his art is +all that concerns him. Titian produced beautiful pictures which are +commonly recognized as great portrayals of character; whose character +matters not, though when we have data upon which to rest a judgment, we +find the lineaments in his works are fully sufficient for purposes of +identification. + + [a] At the Vatican. + + [b] Fresco at Santa Trinita, Florence. + + [c] Frick Collection, N. Y. + + [d] The Padro, Madrid, and elsewhere. + + [e] Huescar Coll., Madrid. + +While Titian went further than any other Renaissance painter in +ennobling his subjects, he did not approach the ancient Greeks in this +respect. Their sculptured busts and terms represent the highest +portraiture known to us. Many examples remain, mostly copies it is true, +but quite fifty of them are clearly faithful reproductions, made +apparently in the early days of Imperial Rome, and accord closely with +the few existing originals. The Grecian portraits differ from the Roman, +and all later painted or carved portraits in a most important +feature.[a] The latter aimed at what is still understood as the highest +level in portraiture. They endeavoured to give a general individualism +of mind and bearing, avoiding particular expression; in fact to +represent character. Since the Christian era commenced neither sculptor +nor painter has gone further than this, with very few exceptions in +Roman days when Grecian sculptors of the time imitated the practice of +the fourth and early third centuries. The earlier Greeks on the other +hand not only generalized portraits in an extreme degree, but, except in +the case of athletes, they altered the contour of the head and varied +the actual features of the subject, so that the possession of the higher +human attributes should be indicated as clearly as possible. They +invariably showed a large facial angle, placed the ears well close to +the head, sunk the eyes deep in their sockets, and ennobled the brows to +suggest majesty or profound thought. In fact the Grecian portrait heads +only differ from their sculptured gods in that particular countenances +are depicted, and consequently the expression in them does not appear to +be above the possibility of human experience. Apparently in Grecian +times, only men who had become celebrated in some way were represented +in stone, and hence the artist had features to depict which could be +semi-idealized without impropriety. Even Socrates, whose ugliness was +proverbial, was given a noble and dignified expression.[b] + + [a] See Plates 12 and 13. + + [b] See heads in the National Museums of Rome and Naples. + +That the painter is at liberty to follow the example of the Greeks, +there can be no question from the point of view of art, for his first +object is to produce a beautiful picture; but in portraiture, practical +and conventional considerations have to be met, with which other +branches of painting are not concerned. With rare exceptions the +portraits executed are of living persons, and extreme accentuation of +high qualities would be likely to result in a representation of the +sitter that would appear false to contemporary observers, though we +might well imagine that a work exhibiting this accentuation would seem +to be of high excellence in the judgment of future generations. There +must therefore be a line drawn in respect of added or accentuated +qualities, and the position of this line would naturally vary with the +celebrity of the subject and the power of the artist. Something definite +may, however, be said in regard to the emphasis of certain qualities of +form, and particularly of dignity, a feature that has occupied the +attention of some of the greatest masters. + + [Illustration: PLATE 13 (See page 145) + Roman Portraiture + Head of Vespasian + Head of Hadrian] + +The question arises, how far may the artist go in imitating the +manner of the stage with his portraits? On the theatrical stage +formalities are required with certain characters in order to emphasize +their position--to assist in the recognition of their standing or +relative significance in the drama, for it is of the first importance +that the audience should comprehend the meaning of the actions presented +as rapidly as possible. The actor must often exaggerate life habits of +pose and manner in order to heighten the contrast between two +characters, or to give special significance to the words. And the +elevation of the diction sometimes compels this exaggeration. In high +drama where the language used is above experience of ordinary life in +measure and force, there must be appropriate pose and action to +accompany it, and hence a height of dignity or even majesty may appear +perfectly proper on the stage, which would be ridiculous in surroundings +away from it. From the practice of certain painters it would seem that +they have looked upon portraiture as the transference of their subjects +to the public stage as it were, so that they might appear to occupy a +higher position in the drama of life than that to which they are +habituated. No harm can arise from this provided the portraitist does +not pass beyond the custom of the theatrical stage, where, whatever the +exaggeration, the representation appears, or should appear, appropriate +to the action; that is to say, where the exaggeration is not recognized +as such. Accentuation of high qualities of expression, or even +variations in certain physical features, such as the Greeks brought +about, would not appear exaggerations in a portrait, but where dignity +of form is added to such an extent that the observer immediately +recognizes it as untrue to experience, then the artist goes too far. +While this is so, we do not condemn Titian, Van Dyck, and the few other +portrait painters who emphasized the quality of dignity of form in past +times. The reason for this appears to be that the usual methods of +teaching history lead us to suppose that nobles and leaders of society +in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, who were usually the +portrait subjects of the greater artists, commonly assumed a demeanour +and bearing far above our own experience. At the present day, when it is +a matter of universal knowledge that a formal dignified pose is very +rarely assumed by any one, such a bearing in a portrait would be +regarded as untrue. + +The portraitist may improve the expression of his subject, adding any +good quality within his power, and he may remove from the features or +figure any marked physical defect, because the portrait would still +appear to be correct; but if he add a strong dignified pose, then the +result would be something that is possibly, but improbably accurate, and +therefore inferior art. The quality of dignity should be expressed +rather in the countenance than in the pose, the bearing of the form +being produced as in life, for this lends assistance to the true +representation of character. A dignified expression may well be +appropriate to an awkward form whose personality would be +undistinguished by dignity of pose. + +Titian was the first great artist to give a pronounced dignity of form +to his subjects, and he never varied from the practice unless the +subject were exhibited in action,[a] or too old to be represented as an +upright figure.[b] Nor did he once exaggerate the pose so that arrogance +might be suggested. Though he squared the shoulders, he rarely threw +back the head to emphasize the bearing,[c] and only in one portrait is +the body slightly arched as the result of the pose.[d] In fact so +careful was the artist in avoiding over-emphasis, that there is a +tendency in two or three of his figures for the upper part of the body +to lean a little forward.[e] Obviously Titian gave this dignified +attitude to his portrait subjects of set purpose, as in his general +compositions there is no suggestion of it.[51] + + [a] Portrait of his daughter, Berlin Gallery, and of Jacopo di Strada + at Vienna. + + [b] Paul III. at Naples, and his own portrait at the Uffizi Gallery. + + [c] An exception is Charles V. at Muehlberg, Prado, Madrid. + + [d] Portrait of his daughter as a bride, at Dresden. + + [e] Notably in the portrait of the Duke of Ferrara, Pitti Palace. + +Velasquez no doubt acquired his habit of lending dignity to his +important subjects from the examples of Titian's portraits which came +under his view in Spain. Except in one notable instance where the +bearing is much over-emphasized,[a] he was equally successful with the +Italian master in the practice, though many of his characters are far +from lending him any natural assistance. In the case of a Court Dwarf, +however, the high dignity given to him by the painter seems to require +explanation.[b] + + [a] Count-Duke Olivares, Holford, Coll., London. + + [b] Don Antonio el Ingles, Prado. + +Before he went to Italy, Van Dyck followed the natural system of Rubens +in posing his portrait subjects, but at Genoa he painted under the spell +of Titian's memory, and thereafter during his whole life, he gave a +dignified bearing to his figures whenever this was not opposed to +individual traits. During his English period, when he undertook more +work than he could properly accomplish, he sometimes over-emphasized the +dignity of a figure by arching the body,[a] but as a rule he produced a +just balance of pose and setting, completing altogether a magnificent +series of portraits which remain the astonishment of the world. + + [a] Earl of Newport, Northbrook Coll., England; Earl of Bedford + Spencer Coll.; and Queen Henrietta (three-quarter length), + Windsor Castle. + +It is obviously the duty of the portraitist so to design his work that +the attention of the observer is concentrated upon the countenance of +the subject immediately he has grasped the whole composition, and it is +in the successful accomplishment of this object that the power of +Rembrandt lies. He rarely used accessories, and in only a few cases a +background of any kind. He avoided portraits where an elaborate setting +was required, as for instance full length standing figures, of which he +only painted two[a]; and in his many three-quarter length portraits, +there is seldom more than a table or chair to be seen apart from the +figure. With this simplicity of design, and with nearly all the +available light directed full upon the head of the subject, the eye of +the observer of the picture is necessarily centred instantaneously upon +the features. These are invariably cast into bold relief by perfect +management of the chiaroscuro, and the correspondence with life seems as +complete as it well can be. Rembrandt thus accomplishes the aim of every +great artist: he executes a faithful picture, and throws it on the mind +of the observer with the maximum of rapidity. Only artists of a high +order can successfully ignore a more or less elaborate setting for a +portrait, particularly if it be larger than bust size. Great care has to +be taken with such a setting lest the eye of the observer be attracted +by the pose of the figure and the general harmony of the work before +being directed to the countenance. If we take the general opinion of +known portraits, so far as it can be gauged, we find that the most +highly esteemed of them are: the Julius II. of Raphael, the Mona Lisa of +Lionardo, the Man with the Gloves by Titian, the Old Man with a Boy by +Ghirlandaio, and Innocent X. by Velasquez.[b] All of these except Mona +Lisa are remarkable for the simplicity of the setting, and in the +exception the formal landscape is altogether subordinated to the figure. +Raphael was the first artist who saw the value of avoiding accessories +in portraiture. His half-length portraits painted after his arrival in +Florence, are all free from them, and his Julius II. has only the chair +on which the Pope is seated. + + [a] Martin Day and Machteld van Doorn, both in Gustave Rothschild + Coll., Paris. + + [b] The first at the Pitti Palace, the last at the Doria Gallery, and + the others at the Louvre. + +Rembrandt further aided the concentration of attention on the +countenance of a sitter by the use of warm inconspicuous tones in the +clothing, which harmonize with all kinds of surroundings in which the +picture may be seen. The colours never specially attract the eye, and +the attire consequently forms so completely a part of the figure, that +after an inspection of the work one can rarely describe the costume. +This subordination of colour is of the highest importance in +portraiture, though it is not sufficiently practised nowadays. Velasquez +used quiet tones whenever possible, that is, when he was not painting +great personages, and Titian, Rubens, and Van Dyck, followed the same +course in half-length portraits. None of these, however, seemed so +careful as Rembrandt in adapting the tones to the general character of +the figure, so that the impression left on the mind of the observer +should relate entirely to the personality. Rembrandt, in fact, aimed at +a representation of the man, and the man only; and he gave us a natural +human being of a commonly known type, with his virtues somewhat +emphasized, and his faults a little veiled. + +The extraordinary power of Velasquez as a portraitist was due to the +same general cause operating in the case of Rembrandt, namely, extreme +simplicity in design. Apart from those instances where royal or official +personages had to be represented in decorative attire, every portrait of +Velasquez is merely the impress of a personality. There are no +accessories; the clothing is subordinated to the last degree, and there +is nothing for the eye to grasp but a perfectly drawn set of features +thrown into strong relief by a method of chiaroscuro unsurpassed in +depth and accuracy. Thus, as in the case of Rembrandt, the portrait +fulfils the first law of art--the picture is thrown on the brain in the +least possible fraction of time. + +Velasquez was remarkable in a greater degree than any other artist, if +we except Hals, for his facility in execution. In his brush-work he +appeared to do the right thing at all times without hesitation, +achieving the most perfect balance as if by instinct. So far as we can +judge from those instances where his subjects were painted also by other +artists, his portraits are good likenesses, but he followed the best +practice in generalizing the countenance to the fullest extent. It is +unfortunate that his work was confined to so poor a variety of sitters. +Of his known portraits more than half represent Philip IV. or his +relatives; eight others are nobles of the time, and another half dozen +are dwarfs and buffoons, leaving only seventeen examples of the artist's +work amongst ordinary people. There never was a weaker royal family than +that of Philip IV., and it is really astonishing how Velasquez was able +to produce such excellent works of art by means of their portraits. With +his abnormal lips and weak face, the king himself must have been a most +difficult person to ennoble, yet the painter managed in three portraits +to give him a highly distinguished countenance and bearing, without in +any way suggesting exaggeration.[a] Of another weak man--Innocent +X.--Velasquez painted what Reynolds described as the greatest portrait +he saw in Rome; and it is truly one of the most amazing life +representations ever executed.[b] A reddish face peers out through a +blaze of warm surroundings and background; a face in full relief as if +cut out of apoplectic flesh--almost appalling in its verity. It is like +nothing else that Velasquez painted: it overpowers with its combined +strength and realism. But it is a picture to see occasionally, and +admire as a great imitation. If one lived with it, the colour would hurt +the eye, the unpleasant face would tire the mind. Such a face should not +be painted: it should be carved in stone, where truth may be given to +form without the protrusion of mortal decay. Bernini sculptured the +countenance, and gave the Pope a certain majesty which no painting could +present. As a life portrait the work of Velasquez is unrivalled, but as +a pure work of art, it is behind the three portraits of Philip IV. +already mentioned. A distinctly unhealthy face cannot be produced in +portraiture without injuring the art, for it is a variety of distortion. + + [a] The full example at the Prado; the Parma full length, in the Frick + Coll., N. Y.; and the three-quarter length portrait at the + Imperial Gallery, Vienna. + + [b] In the Doria Gallery, Rome. + +Velasquez was so naturally a portraitist that apart from his actual +portrait work, every figure composition he painted seems to consist +merely of the portraits of a group of persons. He took little pains to +connect the figures in a life action, often painting them with a look of +unconcern with the proceedings around them, as if specially posing for +the artist. In several of his works there are faces looking right out +of the picture, and it is evident that in these the artist had little +thought in his mind away from portrait presentation.[a] The Surrender of +Breda and Las Meninas,[b] regarded generally as his best compositions, +are admittedly portrait groupings, but the setting in each case is one +of action, and hence the faces looking out of the picture are a great +drawback, as they disrobe the illusion of a natural scene. That a man so +accurate in his drawing, so perfect in his chiaroscuro, and so skilful +in his brushwork, should yet be so conspicuously limited in imagination, +is a problem which art historians have yet to solve. + + [a] See The Breakfast, Hermitage; Christ in the House of Martha, + National Gallery, London; and The Drinkers, Prado. + + [b] Both at the Prado. + +Franz Hals was on a level with Velasquez in respect of facility in +execution, and like him seems to have been a born portraitist. His +brushwork was so rapid and decisive that in scarcely any of his designs +is there evidence of deliberation. He seems to have been able to take in +the essential features of a subject at a glance, and to transfer them to +canvas without preliminaries, producing an amazing countenance with the +least possible detail. Though some of his large groups are a little +stiff, this is rather through his want of capacity in invention than a +set purpose of exaggeration with a view to heightening the dignity of +pose, for it is obvious that Hals had little imagination, and knew +nothing of the boundless possibilities of his art in general +composition. He appears to have passed through life without concern for +his work beyond material results, being well convinced that the magic +of his execution would leave nothing further for the public to desire. +In the last forty years of his life he made no advance in his art except +in one respect, but the change was great, for it doubled the art value +of his portraits. He learned how to subordinate his colours; how to +modify his chiaroscuro in order to force the immediate attention of the +observer on the countenance of his subject.[52] Such an advance with +such an artist placed him in the rank of the immortals among the +portraitists. + +It will be seen that in the judgment of the greatest painters, +decoration in a portrait should be altogether subordinated to the +truthful representation of character, this practice being only varied +when the personage portrayed is of public importance, and the portrait +is required more or less as a monument. The rule is natural and +reasonable, being based upon the universal agreement that the +all-important part of a man comprehended by the vision is his +countenance. But the rule only strictly applies to a single figure +portrait, for when the painter goes beyond this, and executes a double +portrait or a multiple group, he restricts the scope of his art. Other +things being equal a double portrait is necessarily inferior art to a +single figure picture, since the dual objective complicates the +impression of the work on the brain, and the only remedy, or partial +remedy, for this drawback possessed by the painter is to introduce +accessories and arrange his group in a subject design. This plan results +in detracting from the force of the actual portraits, as it divides the +attention of the observer, but there is no help for it unless one is +content with the representation of the figures in a stiff and formal way +which extinguishes the pictorial effect of the work. + +The greatest artists have avoided dual or triple portrait works where +possible except in cases of gatherings of members of the same family, as +one of these groups may be regarded as a unity by the observer. +Nevertheless in his picture of Leo X., and the two younger Medici,[a] +Raphael was careful to subordinate the cardinals so that they should +appear little more than accessories in a painting of the Pope; an +example which was followed not quite so successfully by Titian in his +triple portrait of Paul III. with the two brothers Farnese.[b] A group +of two persons who are in some way associated with each other, though +unconnected in action, rarely looks out of place, as in the pictures of +father and son, or of two brothers, painted by Van Dyck, or in The +Ambassadors of Holbein,[c] but no painter has yet succeeded in producing +a first-class work of art out of a multiple portrait group when the +personages represented are unconnected with each other, either directly +in action, or indirectly through association derived from the title. The +picture of Rubens representing Lipsius and three others, would appear +much more stiff and formal than it is, without one of the two titles +given to it, notwithstanding the general excellence of the +composition.[d] When the figures introduced are very numerous, as in the +many groups of civic organizations painted by Hals, Ravesteyn, and +others, the compulsory formality seriously detracts from the aesthetic +value of the works, however superior they may be in execution, or +whatever the connection of the personages represented; and when we come +to such crowded paintings as Terburg's Signing the Peace of Muenster,[e] +we obtain but little more than a record, though it be of absorbing +historical interest. + + [a] Pitti Palace, Florence. + + [b] Naples Museum. + + [c] National Gallery, London. + + [d] The Four Philosophers, or Lipsius and his Disciples, Pitti Palace. + + [e] National Gallery, London. + +It is observable that as a rule portraitists have been more successful +with delineations of men than of women. This is to be accounted for by +the necessity for subordinating the representation of character to the +art in the case of women unless they have passed the prime of life; +while with men the art is usually subordinated to the portrait, +character being sought independently of sensorial beauty. Strictly it is +the duty of the artist to make his portrait, whether of a man or a +woman, sensorially attractive, but here again in portraiture custom and +convention have to be considered with the rules of art. It is agreed +that with a woman sensorial beauty must be produced if that be possible, +even with the sacrifice of certain elements of character; but with a man +the portrait must be recognized by the acquaintances of the subject as +corresponding in most details with his life appearance. The future of +the portrait is out of the question for the time being. Nevertheless the +painter has certain advantages in dealing with the features of a man, +for the presence of lines in the brow, or other evidence of experience, +does not interfere with the nobility or dignity which may be added to +his general bearing; but what would be lines in the countenance of a man +would be wrinkles in that of a woman, because here they can scarcely be +neutralized by attitude and expression which imply strength of +character, without destroying what is best described as womanly charm, +which is a compulsory feature in every woman's portrait. With a man +therefore the portraitist considers character first and emphasizes +qualities of form within his power; while with a woman, during the +period of her bloom, beauty of form and feature must be the first care +of the artist, unconflicting qualities of character being emphasized or +added. + +All this was of course recognized by the great portraitists of the +Renaissance and the seventeenth century, but while most of them +endeavoured to enhance the sensorial beauty of their men subjects, +little attempt was made to add intellectual grace to the portrayals of +women. Antonio Moro[a] and Van Dyck, in their full length portraits of +women, sometimes succeeded in converting dignity of form into what we +understand as grandeur, which implies dignity of expression as well as +grace and dignity of form, but they were largely handicapped by the +dress fashions of their times. They had to deal with heavy formal +drapery which hung over the figures like elongated bells, and bid +defiance to freedom of pose. When fashions and customs had so changed as +to allow of definition being given to the figures, Van Dyck had been +dead for many years. Meanwhile Hals, Rembrandt, Velasquez, and hundreds +of lesser lights, were casting around their flowers of form and mind, +but all on the old plan, for it is difficult to find a portrait of a +woman painted during the century succeeding Van Dyck, where beauty of +feature is allied to nobility in expression. + + [a] Catilina of Portugal, and Maria of Austria, both at the Prado. + + [Illustration: PLATE 14 (See page 168) + Sacrifice of Iphigenia (Pompeian Fresco) + Supposed copy of a painting by Timanthes] + +The production of this combination awaited the maturity of Reynolds, who +with Gainsborough, broke into a new field in the portraiture of women. +Gainsborough took the grandeur of Van Dyck for his pattern, but improved +upon it by substituting simplicity for dignity and elaboration, which he +was able to manage without great difficulty, as he had a clear advantage +over the Flemish master in that the costumes in use in his time were +lighter in character, and permitted of the contour of form being +properly exhibited. This simple grace of form allied to grandeur in +bearing, naturally brings about an apparent modification in expression +in conformity with it, so long as there are no conflicting elements in +expression present, which Gainsborough was careful to avoid. Reynolds +went further than Gainsborough, for after the middle of his career he +directly added an expression of nobility to his portraits of women +whenever the features would admit of it, and so brought about the +highest type of feminine portraiture known in art. He was more nearly +allied to Titian than Van Dyck, and though in sheer force of sensorial +beauty he did not reach the level of the Venetian master, yet in pure +feminine portraiture, where high beauty of expression is combined with a +perfect generalization of the features, Reynolds is unsurpassed in +the history of painting, so far as we can judge from examples remaining +to us. For we must estimate an artist from his best work. Reynolds +painted forty or fifty portraits of women of the character indicated, +and a few of them, notably Mrs. Siddons as Tragedy,[a] and Mrs. +Billington as St. Cecilia,[b] are amongst the most luminous examples of +feminine portraiture in existence. There are many artists who equalled +Reynolds in the representation of men, but there are very few indeed who +even attempted to strike a just balance between sensorial and +intellectual effects in the countenance of a woman. + + [a] Westminster Coll., London. + + [b] New York Public Library. + +With such great leaders as Reynolds and Gainsborough, it might have been +hoped that the school they founded in portraiture would have taken a +long lease of life, but it rapidly died away, leaving very few indeed of +footsteps sunk deep in the sands of glory, save those of Raeburn, +Hoppner, Lawrence, and Romney. But between Reynolds and Romney there is +a wide gulf, for while the former sought for his beauty among the higher +gifts of nature, Romney, with rare exceptions, was content with a formal +expression allied to grace of pose. We may shortly consider this +graceful attitude for it seems to be often regarded as an all-sufficing +feature in the representation of women.[53] + +The charm of grace lies chiefly in movement, and a graceful attitude in +repose implies rest from graceful movement, but this attitude is +ephemeral in nature, for if prolonged it quickly becomes an artificial +pose. In art therefore, a graceful pose, whether exhibited in action or +at rest, must soon tire unless attractive expression be present to +deepen the impress of the work upon the mind of the observer. The +general aesthetic value of graceful form in a painted figure varies with +the scale to which the figure is drawn. With a heroic figure, grace is +of the smallest importance; in one of life size, as a portrait for +instance, the quality is of considerable assisting value; and as the +scale is diminished, so does the relative value of grace increase. This +is because details of expression can be less truthfully rendered in +small figures than in those of life size, while in miniature figures +certain high qualities of expression, as nobility, or a combined +expression of mind and form, as grandeur, can be scarcely indicated at +all, so that purely sensorial beauty, as that arising from grace of +pose, becomes of comparatively vast importance. This was well understood +in ancient times. The Grecian sculptured life-size figures are nearly +always graceful, but the grace arises naturally from perfection of form +and expression, and not from a specially added quality, a particular +grace of pose being always subordinated, if present at all. On the other +hand, in the smaller Grecian figures, such as those found at Tanagra and +in Asia Minor, anything in expression beyond regularity of features is +not attempted, but grace is always present, and it is entirely upon this +that the beauty of the figurines depends. We may presume from the +frescoes opened out at Pompeii, that the ancients were well aware of the +value and limitations of grace in art. In all these decorations where +the figures are of a general type, as fauns, bacchantes, nereids, +dancers, and so on, they are represented in motion, flying drapery being +skilfully used to provide illusion. Grace is the highest quality evident +in these forms, while the expression is invariably negative. For pure +wall decorations, which are observed in a casual way, a high quality of +grace such as these frescoes provide is all-sufficient, but as with the +Greeks, the Romans did not make grace a leading feature in serious art. + +With the great painters of the Renaissance, nobility, grandeur, and +general perfection of form and expression, though necessarily implying a +certain grace in demeanour, altogether dwarfed the feature of grace of +pose. In the seventeenth century, grace was subordinated to dignity of +form in the case of Van Dyck and Velasquez, and to actual life +experience with Rubens and Rembrandt. When either of these last two +added a quality of form to their figures, it was always dignity and not +grace. Murillo was the first Spanish painter to pay particular attention +to the grace of his figures, but he never gave it predominance. The +French masters of the period, Le Brun, Le Sueur, Poussin, Mignard, and +Rigaud, leaned too closely to classical traditions to permit of grace +playing a leading part in their designs, though some of slightly lesser +fame as Noel and Antoine Coypel, appeared to attribute considerable +value to the quality. It was during this century in Italy that grace +first appeared as a prominent feature in figure painting. In his +pastoral and classical scenes, Albani seems to have largely relied upon +it for his beauty, and Cignani, Andrea Sacchi, Sassoferrato, and others +followed in his footsteps in this respect, though up to the end of the +century no attempt was made in portraiture to sacrifice other features +to grace of pose. Rosalba then made her appearance as a portraitist, and +she was the first to rest the entire beauty of her work on sensorial +charm of feature and grace of pose. She developed a weakened school in +France which culminated with Nattier; and in England, Angelica +Kauffmann, and some miniature painters, notably Cosway and Humphrey, +took up her system for their life-size portraits, while many artists "in +small" as Cipriani and Bartolozzi, assisted in forming a cult of the +style. But of the greater British painters, only Romney gave high +importance to grace of pose in portraits of women. It is safer for an +artist to eschew grace of pose altogether than to sacrifice higher +qualities to it. A little added dignity is always preferable to a +graceful attitude in a portrait, because in nature it is not so +evanescent a feature. Grace is a good assisting quality, but an inferior +substitute. + +The greatest repose possible is necessary in a portrait, as a suggestion +of action tends to draw the attention of the observer to it, thus +impeding the impression of the whole upon his mind. The leading +portraitists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries never erred in +this matter, unless we except a single work by Titian--the portrait +group of Paul III. and the Cardinals Farnese, where the last named has +just arrived and is apparently in the act of bowing before completing +his final step; but even here it may be fairly argued that a moment of +rest between two parts of the final action is to be presumed. It was not +an uncommon practice of Van Dyck to pose a subject arrested in the act +of walking, or with one foot on the lowest step of a stairway as if +about to ascend; but in each of these instances the head is turned, and +it is obvious that the motion is temporarily stayed.[a] A similar pose +was sometimes adopted by British artists of the eighteenth century with +conspicuous success. If a portrait figure be painted in the act of +walking on level ground, the feet must be together even if the moment +represented be that between two steps in the action, because it is +contrary to all experience for a man to rest while so walking, with one +foot in front of the other. In a general composition the representation +of a man walking with the feet separated is permissible, because it is +part of a general action, and accessory in its nature, but in a portrait +the beginning and end of the action depicted are usually unknown, and +hence any action must be meaningless and disturbing to the observer.[b] + + [a] See Earl of Pembroke, Wilton Coll., Countess of Devonshire, + Chatsworth, and Philip le Roy, Wallace Coll., all in England. + + [b] See Chase's Master Roland, private Coll., N. Y.; and Manet's Boy + with a Sword, Met. Museum, N. Y. + +The French and English artists of the eighteenth century followed the +practice of their predecessors in avoiding the exhibition of movement in +their portraits, but occasionally they departed from the rule. In his +fine portrait of Mrs. Thomas Raikes, Romney shows the lady playing a +harpsichord, with the fingers apparently in motion; and in his group of +the Ladies Spencer, one of them is fingering a harp. The result in each +case is a stiff attitude which detracts from the beauty of the work. Van +Dyck managed such a design in a much better way, for in his portrait of +his wife with a cello, she holds the bow distinctly at rest.[a] Titian +also, when representing a man at an organ, shows his hands stayed, while +turning his head.[b] Reynolds moved aside once from the custom in +respect of action,[c] and Raeburn seems also to have erred only on a +single occasion.[d] + + [a] Munich Gallery. + + [b] Venus and the Organ Player, Prado. + + [c] Viscountess Crosbie, Tennant Coll., London. + + [d] Dr. Nathaniel Spens, Royal Co. of Archers, Edinburgh. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +EXPRESSION. PART VI--MISCELLANEOUS + + Grief--The smile--The open mouth--Contrasts--Representation of + death. + + +The painter has ever to be on his guard against over-emphasis of facial +expression. His first object is to present an immediately intelligible +composition, and this being accomplished, much has already been done +towards providing appropriate expressions for his characters. It has +been seen that attitude alone may appear to lend to a countenance +suitable expression which is not observed when the head of the figure is +considered separately; and while such a condition is not frequent, its +possibility indicates that the painter is warranted in relying more or +less upon the details of his action for conveying the state of mind of +the personages concerned therein. It is not the purpose here to deal +with the various forms of expression that may be of use to the painter, +nor indeed is it necessary. The work of Raphael alone leaves little to +be learned in respect of the expression of emotion so far as it may be +exhibited in a painting[54]; but there are a few matters in relation to +the subject which appear to require attention, judging from experience +of modern painting, and short notes upon them are here given. + + +GRIEF + +Intense grief is the most difficult expression to depict in the whole +art of painting, because in nature it usually results in distortion of +the features, which the artist must avoid at all cost. Of the thousands +of paintings of scenes relating to the Crucifixion, where the Virgin is +presumed to be in great agony at the foot of the Cross, very rarely has +an artist attempted to portray this agony in realistic manner.[a] He +generally substitutes for grief an expression of sorrow which is +produced without contraction of the features. This expression, which is +invariably accompanied with extreme pallor, does not prevent the +addition of a certain nobility to the countenance, and hence no +suggestion of insufficiency arises in the mind of the observer. But the +sublime expression which may be given to the Virgin would be out of +place in her attendants who are not infrequently made hideous through +attempts to represent them as overcome with grief. + + [a] A notable exception is Poussin's Descent from the Cross, + Hermitage. + +A method of avoiding the difficulty is to conceal the face of the +personage presumed to be suffering from grief. Timanthes is recorded by +Pliny as having painted a picture of the Sacrifice of Iphigenia in which +the head of Agamemnon was completely covered by his robe; and a picture +of the same subject in a Pompeian fresco represents the Grecian monarch +hiding his face with his right hand, while the left gathers up his +robe.[a] This invention was the subject of considerable discussion in +Europe in the eighteenth century, in which Reynolds, Falconet, Lessing, +and others took part. Reynolds said of the device that an artist might +use it once, but if he did so a second time, he would be justly +suspected of improperly evading difficulties. Falconet compared the +action of Timanthes to that of a poet who avoided expressing certain +sentiments on the ground that the action of his hero was above anything +that could be said[b]; while Lessing held that the grief which overcame +Agamemnon could only find expression in distortion, and hence the artist +was right in covering the face.[c] Unquestionably Lessing was justified, +for nothing more is demanded of the painter than to impress the +imagination of the observer with the intensity of the grief depicted, +and in this he succeeds. Obviously the poet is in a different position +from the painter because he can express deep grief easily enough without +suggesting distortion of the features. + + [a] See Plate 14[55]. + + [b] "Traduction des 34me, 35me, et 36me livres de Pline." + + [c] Laocoon. + +The artifice of Timanthes was practically unused during the Renaissance, +though Botticelli once conceals the face of a woman lamenting over the +body of Christ,[a] and Richardson quotes a drawing by Polidoro where the +Virgin hides her face in drapery in a lamentation scene. In Flanders at +a little earlier period, Roger van der Weyden used the device,[b] and +the Maitre de Flemalle shows St. John turning his head away and holding +his hand to his face in a Crucifixion scene.[c] In the succeeding +centuries little was known of the practice, but quite lately it has come +into use again. Boecklin painted a Pieta in which the Virgin has thrown +herself over the dead body of Christ in an agony of grief, her whole +form being covered by a cloak. Feuerbach has a somewhat similar +arrangement, and in a picture of the Departure of Jason, he hides the +face of an attendant of Medea, a plan adopted in two or three frescoes +of the subject at Pompeii. Prud'hon, in a Crucifixion scene, hides the +face of the Magdalene in her hands, and Kaulbach in his Marguerite so +bends her head that her face is completely concealed from the observer. +Where the face cannot altogether be hidden owing to the character of the +design, it is sometimes thrown into so deep a shade that the features +are indistinguishable, this being an excellent device for symbolical +figures typifying great anguish.[d] + + [a] The Brera, Milan. + + [b] In a scene of The Eucharist, Antwerp. + + [c] Christ on the Cross, Berlin. + + [d] As in Hacker's Cry of Egypt. + +It is not a good plan in a tragic design merely to turn the head away to +indicate grief or sorrow, because in such a case the artist is unable to +differentiate between a person experiencing intense grief, and one who +turns his head from horror of the tragedy.[a] The scheme of half veiling +the face is not often successful, since the depth of emotion that would +be presumed from such an action may be more than counterbalanced by the +very limited feeling which can be indicated by the part of the face +remaining exposed. On account of a neutralizing effect of this kind, +Loefftz's fine picture of the Dead Christ at Munich is much weakened, +for there is no stronger expression on the part of the Virgin than +patient resignation. Sorrow may well be displayed by semi-concealment of +the features, because here the necessary expression may be produced by +the eyes alone.[b] In ancient art, to half conceal the face indicated +discretion, as in the case of a Pompeian fresco where a nurse of the +young Neptune, handing him over to a shepherd for education, has her +mouth and chin covered, the meaning of this being that she is acquainted +with the high birth of the boy, but must not reveal it. + + [a] See Gros's Timoleon of Corinth. + + [b] Leighton's Captive Andromache. + + +THE SMILE + +A pronounced smile in nature is always transitory, and hence should be +avoided when possible in a painting. The only smile that does not tire +is that which is so faint as to appear to be permanent in the +expression, and it has been the aim of many painters to produce this +smile. An examination of numerous pictures where a smile is expressed in +the countenance has convinced the writer that when either the eyes +alone, or the eyes and mouth together, are used to indicate a smile, it +is invariably over-pronounced as a suggestive permanent feature, and +that in every case of such permanence, success arises from work on the +mouth alone. + +The permanent smile was not studied in Europe till the Milanese school +was founded, and in this nearly every artist gave his attention to it, +following the example of Lionardo. This great master, who was well +acquainted with the principles of art, is not likely to have had in his +mind an evanescent expression when he experimented with the smile, and +one can hardly understand therefore why this feature is almost +invariably over-emphasized in his works. In his portrayal of women he +used both eyes and mouth to bring about the smile,[a] and more commonly +than not paid most attention to the eyes. Perhaps he had in view the +production of a permanent smile solely by means of the eyes, which play +so great a part in general expression. In nature it is physically +impossible for a smile to be produced without a faint variation in the +mouth line, while the lower eyelids may remain perfectly free from any +change in light and shade, even with a smile more pronounced than is +necessary for apparent permanence. In the Mona Lisa at Boston,[56] the +smile is very faintly indicated by the eyes, and most pronounced at the +mouth, while in the famous Paris picture, the eyes are chiefly +responsible for the smile, the mouth only slightly assisting.[57] Many +smiling faces were produced by others of the Milanese school, and as a +rule the mouth only was used, often with complete success, notably by +B. Luini,[b] Pedrini,[c] and Ferrari.[d] Raphael never used the eyes to +assist in producing a smile, except with the Child Christ,[e] and in all +cases where he exhibits a smile in a Madonna[f] or portrait,[g] it +appears definitely permanent. As a rule the great artists of the +Renaissance other than the disciples of Lionardo, rarely produced a +smile with the intention of suggesting a permanently happy expression, +and in the seventeenth century little attention was given to it. + + [a] An exception where the mouth only is used is a drawing for the + Madonna and Child with St. Anne, Burlington House, London. + + [b] Salome, Uffizi Gallery, Florence. + + [c] Madonna and Child, Arezzo. + + [d] Madonna and Child, Brera, Milan. + + [e] Cowper Madonna, Panshanger, England. + + [f] See Casa Tempi Madonna, Munich; and Virgin with a Goldfinch, + Uffizi. + + [g] Portrait of a Young Man, Budapest; and the Fornarina, Barberini + Gallery, Florence. + +The great French portraitists of the eighteenth century frequently made +the smile a feature in expression, and a few of them, notably La Tour, +seldom produced a countenance without one. In most cases the smile is a +little too pronounced for permanence, but there are many examples of a +faint and delicate smile which may well suggest an habitual condition. +Rigaud's Louis XV. as a Boy is an instance,[a] though here the illusion +quickly passes when we bring to mind the other portraits of the monarch. +Nattier,[b] Boucher,[c] Dumont le Romain,[d] Perronneau,[e] Chardin, +Roslin, and others, sometimes succeeded, but the French master of the +smile was La Tour who executed quite a dozen examples which Lionardo +might have envied.[f] Of British artists Romney was the most adept in +producing a permanent smile,[g] but strange to say there is no instance +of one in his many portraits of Lady Hamilton, beyond her representation +as a bacchante.[h] Here the smile is far too pronounced for a plain +portrait, but a bacchante may reasonably be supposed to be ever engaged +in scenes of pleasure, and hence the feature does not seem to be out of +place. Reynolds commonly used both eyes and mouth in creating his +smiles,[i] but Raeburn was nearly equal to Romney in the number of his +felicitous smiles, while he seldom exceeded the minimum expression +required for permanence.[j] Gainsborough produced a few portraits of +women with a vague furtive smile, sweet and expressive beyond degree.[k] +They are invariably brought about by a faint curvature of the mouth +line. + + [a] At Versailles. + + [b] Madame Louise, at Versailles. + + [c] Portrait of a Young Woman, the Louvre. + + [d] Two examples in the group Madame Mercier and Family, Louvre. + + [e] Madame Olivier, Groult (formerly), Coll., Paris. + + [f] See Madame de la Popeliniere and Mdlle. Carmago, both at Saint + Quentin Museum; and Madame Pompadour, Louvre. + + [g] See Mrs. Yates, Llangattock Coll.; William Booth, Lathom Coll.; + and Mrs. Tickle, A. de Rothschild (formerly) Coll., all England. + + [h] T. Chamberlayne Coll., England. + + [i] For exceptions see Hon. Lavinia Bingham, Spencer Coll., and Mrs. + Abington, Fife Coll., both England. + + [j] See Farmer's Wife, Mitchell Coll.; Mrs. Lauzun, National Gallery, + London; and Mrs. Balfour, Beith Coll., Scotland. + + [k] Lady Sheffield, Alice Rothschild Coll.; and Mrs. Leybourne, Popham + Coll. + + +THE OPEN MOUTH + +If there be one transient feature more than another which should be +avoided in a painting, and particularly in the principal figure, it is +a wide-open mouth. Necessarily, after a short acquaintance with a +picture containing such a feature, either the mouth appears to be kept +open by a wedge, or, as in the case of a laugh, the face is likely to +wear an abnormal expression approaching to idiocy, for it is altogether +contrary to experience of normal persons in real life, for a mouth to be +kept open longer than for an instant or two. Hence the first artists +have studiously refrained from exhibiting a wide-open mouth, or indeed +one that is open at all except to such an extent that the parted lips +appear a permanent condition. But a few great men have erred in the +matter. Thus, Mantegna shows the child Christ with the mouth widely open +in a half-vacant and half-startled expression, which is immediately +repelling.[a] Dosso Dossi has several pictures much injured by the +feature,[b] and in Ercole di Roberti's Concert, no less than three +mouths are wide open.[c] One of the figures in Velasquez's Three +Musicians opens his mouth far too widely,[d] while Hals has half a dozen +pictures with the defect.[e] A rare mistake was made by Carlo Dolci when +showing Christ with His mouth open wide in the act of utterance,[f] and +Mengs erred similarly in St. John Baptist Preaching.[g] In more modern +times the fault is seldom noticeable among artists of repute, though +occasionally a bad example occurs, as in Winslow Homer's All's Well.[h] +Even when an open mouth seems unavoidable, the effect is by no means +neutralized.[i] + + [a] Virgin and Child at Bergamo. + + [b] Notably A Muse Instructing a Court Poet, and Nymph and Satyr, + Pitti Palace. + + [c] National Gallery, London. + + [d] Berlin Gallery. + + [e] See Merry Company at Table, Met. Mus., N. Y., and similar + pictures. + + [f] Christ Blessing, a single figure picture. + + [g] Hermitage, Petrograd. + + [h] Boston Museum, U. S. A. See Plate 15. + + [i] As in Dow's The Dentist, Schwerin Mus., and a similar work at the + Louvre. + +When the blemish is in an accessory figure, it is of lesser importance +as there it becomes an incidental circumstance on the mind of the +observer. Thus, in Reynolds's Infant Hercules, where Alcmena, on seeing +the child holding the snakes, opens her mouth with surprise and alarm, +the action of the central figure is so strong that the importance of the +others present is comparatively insignificant.[a] Nevertheless in a +Pompeian fresco of the same subject, care has been taken to close the +mouth of Alcmena. Where the design represents several persons singing, +it is well possible to indicate the action without showing the mouths +open, as in Raphael's St. Cecilia.[b] In a picture of a like subject, +with the Saint in the centre of a group of five singers, Domenichino +shows only the two outside figures with open mouths, and one of these is +in profile. There are several works where David is seen singing to the +accompaniment of a harp, but though his mouth is open, the figure is in +profile, and the lips are hidden by moustache and beard.[c] + + [a] Hermitage, Petrograd. + + [b] Bologna Museum. + + [c] For example, Rubens's David's Last Song, Frankfort Museum. + +It may be observed, however, that in certain cases artificial +conditions may render an open mouth in a picture of comparatively little +significance. A painted laugh for instance may only become objectionable +to the observer when the work is constantly before him; but when it is +in a picture gallery and he sees it but rarely, the lasting character of +the feature is not presented to his mind. The Laughing Cavalier of Franz +Hals, though violating the principle, does not appear in bad taste to +the average visitor to the Wallace Collection. In the case of +Rembrandt's portrait of himself with Saskia on his knee, where the +artist has his lips parted in the act of laughing, there is an +additional reason why the transient expression should not tire. Because +of the number of self-portraits he painted, the countenance of Rembrandt +is quite familiar to most picture gallery visitors, and to these the +laugh in the Dresden picture could not possibly pass as an habitual +expression. + + [Illustration: PLATE 15 (See page 176) + Winslow Homer's All's Well (_Boston Museum_)] + + +CONTRASTS + +Designs specially built up for the purpose of contrasting two or more +attributes or conditions are almost invariably uninteresting unless the +motive be hidden behind a definite action which appears to control the +scheme. This is because of the difficulty of otherwise connecting the +personages contrasted in a particular action of common understanding. A +design of Hercules and Omphale affords a superior contrast of strength +and beauty to a composition of Strength and Wisdom. In each case a +herculean figure and a lovely woman represent the respective qualities, +but in the first the figures are connected by expression and action, and +in the second no connection can be established. So in contrasting beauty +of mind with that of form, this is much better represented by such a +subject as Hippocrates and the Bride of Perdiccas than in the Venetian +manner of figures unconnected in the design. And in respect of +conditions, Frith's picture of Poverty and Wealth, where a carriage full +of fashionable women drives through a poor section of London, has little +more than a topographical interest, but in a subject such as The First +Visit of Croesus to Aesop, the contrast between poverty and wealth +would deeply strike the imagination. + +In contrasts of good and evil, vice and virtue, and similar subjects, it +is inferior art to represent the evil character by an ugly figure. As +elsewhere pointed out, deformity of any kind injures the aesthetic value +of a picture because it tends to neutralize the pleasurable feeling +derived from the beauty present. The poet may join physical deformity +with beauty because he can minimize the defect with words, but the +painter has no such recourse.[58] A deformed personage in a composition +is therefore to be deprecated unless as a necessary accessory in a +historical work, in which case he must be subordinated to the fullest +extent possible. The figure of Satan, of an exaggerated satyr type, has +often been introduced into subjects such as the Temptation of Christ, +though not by artists of the first rank.[a] Such pictures do not live as +high class works of art however they be painted. Correggio makes a +contrast of Vice and Virtue in two paintings,[b] representing Vice by a +man bound, but usually in the mature time of the Renaissance, Vice was +shown as a woman, either beautiful in features, or with her face partly +hidden, various accessories indicating her character. A notable +exception is Salviati's Justice where a hideous old woman takes the role +of Vice.[c] Even in cases where a witch has to be introduced, as in +representations of Samuel's Curse, it is not necessary to follow the +example of Salvator Rosa, and render her with deformed features, for +there are several excellent works where this defect is avoided.[d] + + [a] See examples by Ary Scheffer, Luxembourg; and H. Thoma, Burnitz + Coll. + + [b] Both at the Louvre. + + [c] The Bargello, Florence. + + [d] As in K. Meyer's picture. + +An effective design with the purpose of contrasting the ages of man is +not possible, firstly, because the number of ages represented must be +very limited, and, secondly, for the reason that the figures cannot be +connected together in a free and easy manner. Hence all such pictures +have been failures, though a few great artists have attempted the +subject. Titian tried it with two children, a young couple, and an old +man, assorting the personages casually in a landscape without attempting +to connect them together in action.[a] At about the same time Lotto +produced a contrast, also with three ages represented, namely, a boy, a +young man, and an elderly man.[b] These personages sit together as if +they had been photographed for the purpose, without a ray of +intelligence passing between them. But this is far better than Grien's +Three Ages,[c] for here the artist has strangely confused life and +death, exhibiting a grown maiden, a middle-aged woman, and a skin-coated +skeleton holding an hour-glass. The best design of the subject is Van +Dyck's Four Ages.[d] He shows a child asleep near a young woman who is +selling flowers to a soldier, and an old man is in the background. +There is thus a presumed connection between three of the personages, but +naturally the composition is somewhat stiff. The only other design worth +mentioning is by Boecklin, who also represents four ages.[e] Two +children play in the background of a landscape; a little farther back is +a young woman; then a cavalier on horseback; and finally on the top of +an arch an old man whom Death in the form of a skeleton is about to +strike. But here again there is no connection between the figures, the +consequent formality half destroying the aesthetic value of the work. +From these examples than which there is none better, it may be gauged +that it is hopeless to expect a good design from a subject where the +ages of man are contrasted. If represented at all, the ages should be +contrasted in separate pictures, as Lancret painted them. + + [a] Bridgewater Coll., England. + + [b] Pitti Palace, Florence. + + [c] The Prado, Madrid. + + [d] Vincenza Museum. + + [e] Vita somnium breve. + +The practice of presenting nude with clothed figures where the subject +does not absolutely compel it, is commonly supposed to be for the +purpose of contrast. This may have been the object in some cases, but +in very few is the interest in the contrast not outweighed by the +bizarre appearance of the work. As a rule in these pictures there is +nothing in the expressions or actions of the personages depicted to +suggest a reason for the absence of clothes from some of them, and so to +the average observer they form a "problem" class of painting. The first +important work of the kind executed was Sebastiano del Piombo's Concert, +in which the group consists of two nude women, one with a reed pipe, and +two men attired in Venetian costume, of whom one handles a guitar.[a] +The figures are very beautiful and the landscape is superb, but as one +cannot account for the nude figures in an open-air musical party, the +aesthetic value of the work is largely diminished. This painting has +suggested several designs to modern artists, the most notable being +Manet's Dejeuner sur l'Herbe, where a couple of nude women with two men +dressed in modern clothes are shown in a picnic on the grass. Not only +is the scheme inexplicable, but the invention is so extravagant as to +provoke the lowest of suggestions. In a composition of this kind only a +great artist can build up a harmonious design. + + [a] At the Louvre. Formerly attributed to Giorgione. + +Titian's picture known as Sacred and Profane Love,[a] where the figure +of a nude woman is opposed to one clothed, may really signify any of a +dozen ideas, but the artist probably had no other scheme in his mind +than to represent different types of beautiful women. Crowe and +Cavalcaselli's suggested title of L'Amour ingenu et l'Amour satisfait, +was certainly never conceived by Titian, nor is Burckhardt's proposal, +Love and Prudery, possible in view of the flowers in the hand of the +draped figure. In any case this picture is the greatest of its kind, for +the composition is so delicate and harmonious, and the art so perfect, +as to render its precise meaning a matter of little consideration. +Another picture of Sacred and Profane Love was painted by Grien.[b] He +shows a nude woman from whom Cupid has just drawn the drapery, and +another woman concealing her figure with loose drapery. The effect is +weak. The nude figures in the well-known Drinkers of Velasquez[c] are +undisturbing because they are not very prominent in the picture, but +their significance is not apparent. + + [a] Borghese Gallery, Rome. + + [b] Frankfort Museum. + + [c] The Prado, Madrid. + +No one has yet properly explained the meaning of the nude male figures +standing at ease in the background of Michelangelo's celebrated Holy +Family.[a] They are apparently pagan gods, and it is suggested that the +artist intended to signify the overthrow of the Grecian deities by the +coming of Christ. Such an explanation might be possible with another +painter, but it does not accord with our conception of the mind of +Michelangelo. A still greater puzzle is offered by Luca Signorelli who, +in the landscape background of the bust portrait of a man, shows two +nude men to the right of the portrait, and two attired women at the +left.[b] It is impossible to suggest any meaning of this extraordinary +invention. + + [a] Uffizi Gallery, Florence. + + [b] Berlin Gallery. + + +THE REPRESENTATION OF DEATH + +Death is a subject inappropriate to the art of painting except where it +is dealt with symbolically or as an historical incident. Naturally in +either of these cases any realistic representation of death, or of +distortion connected therewith, should be studiously avoided. For while +many aspects of death may not be unpleasant to the senses, its actual +presence--the cold immobility; the pulseless soulless, decaying thing; +the appalling mirror of our own fate--these things are most unpleasant, +and hence should have no place in painting. In sculpture, represented in +a certain way, death is admissible, for in marble or bronze a body may +be carved indicating only the eternal composure of a beautiful form. +This is how the Greeks showed death, whether in the case of a warrior +fallen on the battlefield, or as the twin brother of Sleep. But the +painter is less fortunate: for him death is decay. + +The presence of so many scenes of death in the paintings of the past was +the result of accident. For a long while after the dawn of the +Renaissance, those controlling churches and other religious institutions +of the Christians were the chief and almost the only patrons of art, and +they required paintings as well for didactic purposes as for decoration. +For some time pictures often took the place of writing, where +comparatively few could read, in the inculcation of Christian doctrines +and history, and they were largely used as images before which people +could kneel in prayer. The most important facts bearing upon Christian +faith are concerned with death, and so there have been accumulated +thousands of paintings of scenes of the Crucifixion, the death-beds of +saints, instances of martyrdom, and so on. While these paintings have +been highly useful as tending to invite reverence for a sublime creed, +it would be injurious to suggest that generally they take a high place +in art. Some of them do, but the very large number of them which +indicate dying agony, or recent death with all its mortal changes, must +not be approved from a strict art point of view, for any beauty which +may be present apart from the subject is instantly neutralized by the +pain and horror arising from the invention. But it is evidently +unnecessary to produce such pictures, even in the case of the +Crucifixion, for there are ample works in existence to show that the +face and body of Christ can be so presented as to be free from +indications of physical suffering or decay. + +But if we are to protest against designs exhibiting forbidding aspects +of death in sacred works, what can we say of the pictures of executions, +massacres, plagues, and so on, which ever and again have been produced +since the middle of the nineteenth century? Deeds of heroism or +self-sacrifice on the battlefield where bodies of the fallen may be +outlined are well, but simple wholesale murders as presented by +Benjamin-Constant, Heim, and fifty others, where the motive does not +pretend to be anything else than massacre or other ghastly event, can +only live as examples of degraded art. There may be something said for +Verestchagin, who painted heaps of heads and skulls, and scattered +corpses, in order to show the evils of war, but if the arts are to be +used at all for such a purpose, the poet or orator would be much more +impressive because he could veil the hideous side of the subject with +pathos and imagery, and further differentiate between just and unjust +wars. The painter is powerless to do these things. He can only represent +the horrors of war by depicting horrible things which is entirely beyond +the province of his art. The purpose of art is to give pleasure, and if +the design descend below the line where displeasure begins, then the art +is no more. + +How easy it is for the aesthetic value of a picture to be lowered by the +representation of a corpse, is shown in three celebrated paintings--the +anatomical works of Rembrandt[a] and De Keyser.[b] Probably these works +were ordered to honour the surgeons or schools concerned, but the object +would have been better served by a composition such as Eakin's Dr. +Cross's Surgical Clinic.[c] Here the leading figure is also giving a +lesson to students, and practical demonstration is proceeding, but there +is no skeleton or corpse to damage the picture. Fromentin said that the +Tulp work left him very cold,[d] and although he endeavoured to find +technical ground for this, it is more than likely that the principal +reason lay in the involuntary mental disturbance brought about by the +corpse. Another fine design largely injured by corporeal evidence of +death is Ingres's Oedipus and the Sphinx,[e] where a foot rises out of +a hole in the rock near the Sphinx, the presumption of course being that +the body of a man who had failed with the riddle had lately been thrown +there. The invention is most deplorable in such a picture. + + [a] Lesson in Anatomy of Professor Tulp, and the fragment of a similar + work, both at The Hague. + + [b] Rijks Museum, Amsterdam. + + [c] Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. + + [d] Masters of Other Days. + + [e] At the Louvre. + +The use of a skeleton as a symbol of death in painting seems to have +been unusual during the Renaissance till towards the end of the +fifteenth century. The earliest artist of note in this period to adopt +it, was Jean Prevost who represented a man taking a letter from a +skeleton without seeing the messenger.[a] Then came Grien who painted +three works of the kind. In the first Death holds an hour-glass at the +back of a woman, and points to the position of the sand[b]; in the +second the bony figure has clutched a girl by the hair[c]; and the third +represents a skeleton apparently kissing a girl.[d] They are all hideous +works, and might well have acted as a warning to succeeding artists. +After Grien the use of a skeleton in design was practically confined to +the smaller German masters till the middle of the second half of the +sixteenth century, when it disappeared from serious work. From this time +on, for the next three centuries artists of repute rarely introduced a +skeleton into a painting, though it is to be found occasionally in +engravings. One might have supposed that the unsightly form had been +abandoned with the imps, evil spirits, and other crudities of past days, +but it was not to be. The search for novelties in recent times has only +resulted in the resuscitation of bygone eccentricities, and we must not +be surprised that the skeleton is amongst them. + + [a] Old Man and Death, Bruges. + + [b] Imperial Gallery, Vienna. + + [c] Girl and Death, Basle Museum. + + [d] Basle Museum. + +Modern artists have displayed considerable ingenuity in the use of the +skeleton, but the results have necessarily only succeeded in degrading +the art. Rethel figures a skeleton in the costume of a monk who is +ringing a bell at a dance.[a] Several of the dancers have fallen dead, +apparently from plague, and the whole scene is ghastly. Henneberg has a +Fortune allegory in which Death is about to seize a horseman who is +chasing a nude woman,[b] this design being a slight modification of a +variety of prints executed in the sixteenth century. Thoma uses a +skeleton in a most bizarre manner. He substitutes it for the serpent in +a picture of Adam and Eve,[c] and in another work associates it with +Cupid.[d] Two lovers are talking, and Death stands behind the woman +whose hat Cupid is lifting. A terrible picture with a political bearing +was painted by Uhde.[e] It represents a crowd of revolutionists rushing +towards a bridge, while a skeleton in modern costume waves a sword and +cheers them on. These instances suffice to indicate the difficulty in +the production of a fine work of art with so hideous a form as a +skeleton thrown into prominence. + + [a] Death at a Masked Ball. + + [b] Race for Fortune. + + [c] Sin and Death. + + [d] Cupid and Death. + + [e] Revenge. + +How simply one may avoid the introduction of a skeleton in a design +concerned with death, is shown by an example where three artists deal +with the same motive--Death, the Friend. The first composition shows an +old man sitting dead in a chair while a skeleton costumed as a monk, +tolls a bell[a]: in the second there is also an old man in a chair, but +an Angel with a scythe is substituted for the skeleton[b]: in the third +an Angel with huge folded wings forming an oval framework for her +figure, leans over the body of a child which has its face hidden.[c] The +second design is a vast improvement over the first, but the third is +incomparably the best of the three. It may be remarked that a scythe is +too trivial an emblem for the Angel of Death, for whom indeed an emblem +of any kind is only admissible when Death is represented as the result +of eternal justice, in which case a flaming sword is appropriate. + + [a] Woodcut by A. Rethel. + + [b] Lithograph by O. Redon. + + [c] Painting by G. F. Watts. + +Very rarely indeed can a good picture be made out of a funeral scene. +Such a scene attending the death of a great man may be fitly produced, +so long as the imagination can be used in the composition; that is to +say, if there are few or no records of the actual funeral[a]; but +paintings relating to the modern burial of unnamed persons are of little +value as works of art, for the imagination of the artist cannot extend +beyond unpleasant prosaic incidents of common acquaintance. The purpose +of the funeral scenes of Courbet[b] and Anne Ancher[c] has never been +explained; and the various interiors, each with a coffin and distracted +relatives of the dead, by Wiertz,[d] Dalsgaard,[e] and other modern +artists, are capable of bringing only misery instead of pleasure to the +observer. + + [a] As in Rubens's Funeral of Decius, Vienna. + + [b] The Burial at Ornans. + + [c] The Funeral. + + [d] The Orphans. + + [e] The Child's Coffin. + +But while funerals are unsuitable for the painter, interior scenes where +death has occurred and friends are watching the body, offer special +inducements to artists, because the perfect stillness of the living +persons represented may be properly assumed, and so the illusion of life +is little likely to be disturbed through the non-completion of an +indicated action. On this account these works appear very impressive +when well executed, and they may take high rank even when the artist is +limited in his scope by the conditions of an actual scene. Very little +is required however to destroy the illusion of continuity. In Kampf's +picture of the lying-in-state of William I.,[a] where many watchers are +shown who are presumed to be motionless, a boy in the middle distance in +the act of walking, is a most disturbing element. An example where an +illusion of continuity is perfectly maintained is Orchardson's Borgia, +where Caesar Borgia stands in contemplation over the body of his poisoned +victim. The silence indicated appears practically as permanent as the +painted design, for any reasonable time spent by the observer in +examining the picture, is not likely to be longer than that during which +Caesar may be presumed to have remained still at the actual occurrence. +Scenes of approaching death may be arranged to produce a similar +illusion, as for instance where those present are praying, or a single +figure is waiting for the life to pass from the sick person. + + [a] The Night of March 31, 1888, at Berlin. + + [Illustration: PLATE 16 (See page 190) + Hercules Contemplating Death, in Bronze, by Pollaiuolo + (_Frick Collection_)] + +Little attention has been paid in art to the expression of dying +persons. There are many pictures representing celebrated men and women +in their dying moments, but very few of them exhibit an expression of +noble resignation and fearlessness, qualities which are naturally +associated with a great man as his end draws near. No doubt the artist +is often limited in his invention by the actual circumstances of the +death scene, as in Copley's Death of Chatham,[a] for the statesman was +unconscious at the moment of representation. Other than this the best +known works of the kind relate to the death of Seneca,[b] Queen +Elizabeth,[c] and General Wolfe.[d] In the last instance only is there a +fine expression. How it was that Rubens missed his opportunity with +Seneca is hard to understand. The presence of a clerk taking down the +utterances of a philosopher as he bleeds to death, gives the design a +theatrical appearance, and removes any suggestion of unconcerned +resignation which might have arisen. One of the most powerful designs in +existence relating to approaching death, is a sculptured figure in +bronze of Hercules contemplating death.[e] The demi-god is +represented standing on an altar. His left foot is raised upon the skull +of an ox; his head is slightly bent, and the whole attitude suggests a +few moments of rest while he contemplates his coming fate. The +conception is as fine as the subject is rare. + + [a] National Gallery, London. + + [b] By Rubens, at Munich. + + [c] By Delaroche, at the Louvre. + + [d] By Benjamin West, Westminster Coll., London. + + [e] By A. Pollaiuolo, Frick Coll., New York. See Plate 16[59]. + +The artist should glorify death if possible, but he can only do this +when the subject has a general application. Many painters have +introduced the Angel of Death into scenes where death has occurred, and +have thus converted them into work of pathos and beauty. Notable +examples of this are Watts's Death, the Friend, already referred to, and +H. Levy's Young Girl and Death, where the Angel gently clasps the body +of a girl whose face is hidden. One of the finest designs of the kind is +Lard's Glory Forgets not Obscure Heroes. On a battlefield, where all +else has gone, lies the body of a soldier over whom stoops a lovely +winged figure who raises the head of the hero, and seems to throw a halo +of glory over him.[a] In historical paintings the appearance of sleep is +often given to a dead body, as in Cogniet's Tintoretto Painting his Dead +Daughter, a pathetic picture, bringing to mind the story of Luca +Signorelli painting his dead son.[b] + + [a] The design for this picture was probably suggested by Longepied's + fine sculptured group of Immortality at the Louvre, the idea + of which was no doubt drawn from Canova's L'Amour et Psyche. + There are Tangara groups and fragments of larger works in + existence showing that the Greeks executed many designs of + a similar character. + + [b] See also Girodet's Burial of Atala, and Le Brun's Death of Cato. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +LANDSCAPE + + Limitations of the landscape painter--Illusion of opening + distance--Illusion of motion in landscape--Moonlight + scenes--Transient conditions. + + +Considered as a separate branch of the painter's art, landscape is on a +comparatively low plane, because the principal signs with which it +deals, and the arrangement of them to form a view, may be varied +indefinitely without a sense of incongruity arising. Thus there can be +no ideal in the art; that is to say, no ideal can be conceived which is +general in its character. The artist can aspire to no definite goal: his +imagination is limited to the arrangement of things which are inanimate +and expressionless. He may produce sensorial, but not intellectual, +beauty. The nobler human attributes and passions, as wisdom, courage, +spiritual exaltation, patriotism, cannot be connected with landscape, +and so it is unable to produce in the mind the elevation of thought and +grandeur of sentiment which are the sweetest blossoms of the tree of +art.[60] + +Another drawback in landscape is the necessity for painting it on an +extraordinarily reduced scale. Because of this the highest qualities of +beauty in nature--grandeur and sublimity--can only with difficulty be +suggested on canvas, for actual magnitude is requisite for the +production of either of these qualities in any considerable degree. A +volcano in eruption has no force at all in a painting, a result which is +due, not so much to the inability of the painter to represent moving +smoke and fire, as to the impossibility of depicting their enormous +masses. The disability of the painter in respect of the representation +of magnitude is readily seen in the case of a cathedral interior. This +may or may not have the quality of grandeur, but a picture cannot +differentiate between one that has, and one that has not, because no +feeling of grandeur can arise in looking at a painted interior, the +element of actual space being absent. + +Seeing that an ideal in landscape is impossible, the landscape painter +cannot improve upon nature. In the case of the human figure the painter +may improve upon experience by collecting excellencies from different +models and putting them into one form, thus creating what would be +universally regarded as ideal physical beauty; and he may give to this +form an expression of spiritual nobility which is also beyond experience +because it would imply the absence of inferior qualities inseparable +from man in nature. Thus to the physical, he adds intellectual beauty. +Such a perfect form may be said to be an improvement upon nature, for it +is not only beyond experience, but is nature purified. But the landscape +painter cannot improve upon the signs which nature provides. He may vary +the parts of a tree as he will, but it would never be recognized as +beyond possible experience unless it were a monstrosity.[61] And even if +he could improve upon experience with his signs, this would help him but +little, for the beauty of a landscape depends upon the relation of the +signs to each other, and not upon the beauty of the separate signs which +vary in every work with the character of the design. In colour also the +painter cannot apply to his landscape an appropriate harmony which the +sun is incapable of giving. From all this it follows that the aesthetic +value of a landscape depends entirely upon its correspondence with +nature. + +A good landscape must necessarily be invented, because it is impossible +to reproduce the particular beauty of a natural scene.[62] This beauty +is due to a relation of parts of the view, infinite in number, to each +other, but what this relation is cannot be determined by the observer. +Further, whatever be the relation, the continuous changing light and +atmospheric effects bring about a constant variation in the character of +the beauty. It is possible for an actual view to suggest to the artist a +scheme for a beautiful landscape, but in this the precise relation of +the parts would have to be invented by the painter and fixed by +experiment. The principal features from a natural view may be taken out, +but not those which together bring about the beauty. There is no great +landscape in existence which was painted for the purpose of representing +a particular view. There have of course been scenes painted to order, +even by notable artists, but these only serve the purpose of record, or +as mementoes. The great view of The Hague, painted by Van Goyen under +instructions from the syndics of the town, is the feeblest of his works, +and the many pictures of the kind executed by British and German artists +of the eighteenth century have now only a topographical interest. +Constable painted numerous scenes to order, and there are something like +forty views of Salisbury Cathedral attributed to him, but only those in +which he could apply his own invention are of considerable aesthetic +value. A good artist rarely introduces into a painting even a small +sketch of a scene made from nature. Titian is known to have drawn +numerous sketches in particular localities, but not one has been +identified in his pictures. In nearly every painting of Nicholas Poussin +the Roman Campagna may be recognized, and here he must have made +thousands of sketches during the forty years he spent in the district, +yet the most patient examination has failed to identify a single spot in +his many beautiful views. So with Gaspar Poussin, who, unlike his famous +brother-in-law, occasionally set up his easel in the open air; and with +Claude who never left off sketching in his long life. The greatest +landscapes are those which are true to nature generally, but are untrue +in respect of any particular natural scene. + +Seeing that in landscape the production of sensorial beauty only is +within the power of the painter, and that the beauty is enhanced as +nature is the more closely imitated, it is obvious that for the work to +have a permanent interest, the scene depicted and the incidents therein +should be of common experience, otherwise the full recognition of the +beauty is likely to be retarded by the reasoning powers being +involuntarily set to work in the consideration of the exceptional +conditions. Naturally the term "common experience" has a varied +application. What is of common experience in scenery among people in a +temperate climate, is rare or unknown to those living under the burning +sun of Africa. The artist is fully aware of this, and in designing his +work he takes into account the experience of the people who are likely +to see his paintings. A view of a scene in the East, say in Palestine or +Siam, may be a beautiful work and be recognized as true because the +conditions depicted are commonly known to exist; it would further have +an informative value which would result in added pleasure; but among +people habituated to a temperate climate it would tire more quickly than +a scene of a kind to which they are daily accustomed. In the one case an +effort, however slight, is required to accommodate the view to +experience, and in the other the whole meaning of the scene is +instantaneously identified with its beauty. + +In nature there is always movement and sound. Even on those rare days +when the wind has ceased and the air seems still and dead, there is +motion with noise of some kind. A brook trickles by, insects buzz their +zigzag way, and shadows vary as the sun mounts or descends. But most +commonly there is a breeze to rustle the trees and shrubs, to ripple the +surface of the water, and to throw over the scene evidence of life in +its ever charming variety. The painter cannot reproduce these movements +and sounds. All he represents is silent and still as if nature had +suddenly suspended her work--stayed the tree as it bent to the breeze, +stopped the bird in the act of flight, fixed the water, and fastened the +shadows to the ground. What is there then to compensate the artist for +this limitation? Why, surely he can represent nature as she is at a +particular moment, over the hills and valleys, or across great plains, +with sunlight and atmosphere to mark the breadth and distance and so +produce an illusion of movement to delight the eyes of the observer with +bewitching surprise. For the eye as it involuntarily travels from the +foreground of the picture to the background, proceeds from sign to sign, +each decreasing in definition in conformity with the changes in nature, +till vague suggestions of form announce that far distance has been +reached. The effect is precisely that of the cinematograph, except that +the eye moves instead of the picture. The apparent movement corresponds +closely with the opening of distance in nature when one proceeds in a +fast moving vehicle along a road from which a considerable stretch of +country may be observed. Very rarely is the illusion so marked that the +apparent movement is identified to the senses. When it is so marked the +distance seems to come forward, but is instantaneously stayed before +consideration can be brought to bear upon it. Clearly if one specially +seek the illusion, it becomes impossible because search implies reason +and an examination slow out of all proportion with the rapidity of the +sensorial effect. Accident alone will bring about the illusion, for it +can only arise when the eye travels at a certain rate over the picture, +the minimum of which rate is indeterminable. + +It is evident that any landscape of fair size in which considerable +depth is indicated must necessarily produce an illusion of opening +distance if the varying signs are sufficiently numerous and properly +painted in accordance with the aerial perspective; and this illusion is +undoubtedly the key to the extraordinary beauty observed in the works of +the great masters of landscape since Claude unveiled the secrets of +distance painting. That the apparent movement is rarely actually defined +is immaterial, for it must be there and must act upon the eye, producing +an involuntary sensation which we interpret as pleasure arising from +admiration of the skill of the artist in giving us so good a +representation of distance in his imitation. + + [Illustration: PLATE 17 (See page xii) + Arcadian Landscape, by Claude Lorraine (_National Gallery, London_)] + +As will presently be seen there are other kinds of illusion of motion +which may be produced in landscape, but this illusion of opening +distance is the most important, and it should be produced wherever +distance is represented. In nature the effect of the unfolding of +distance is caused by a sequence of signs apparently diminishing in size +and clearness as the eye travels back, and a sequence of this kind +should be produced by the artist in his picture. It is not sufficient +that patches of colour of the tone and shape of sections of vegetation, +trees, varied soils, and so on, be given, for while these may indicate +distance as any perspective must do, yet an illusion cannot be +produced by such signs because they are not sufficiently numerous for +the eye to experience a cinematographic effect when passing over them. +It is not distance that gives the beauty, but an illusion of opening +distance, without which, and presuming the absence of any other +illusion, only simple harmonies of tone and inanimate forms are +possible. Moreover the patches of colour do not properly represent +nature either as she appears to the eye, or as she is understood from +experience. If one were to take a momentary glance at a view specially +to receive the general colour impression, he might conceivably retain on +his mind a collection of colour masses such as is often put forward as a +landscape, but natural scenes are not observed in this way, and the +artist has no right to imply that a view should be painted as it is +observed at an instantaneous glance. One cannot be supposed to keep his +eyes closed, except for a moment, when in front of nature, and he cannot +be in front of nature for more than a moment without involuntarily +recognizing thousands of signs. There must necessarily be a certain +clearness of the atmosphere for distance to be represented, and in the +minimum clearness, trees, bushes, rivulets, and buildings of every kind, +are well defined at least to the middle distance. These can and should +be painted, and there can be no object whatever in omitting them, except +the ignominious end of saving trouble. + +And it is necessary that the signs, whether shadow or substance, should +be completely painted as they appear to the eye in nature when observed +with average care by one inspecting a view for the purpose of drinking +in all its beauties, for this is how a painted landscape is usually +examined. There is no place in the painter's art for a suggestive sign +in the sense that it may suggest a required complete sign. A sign must +be painted as completely as possible in conformity with its appearance +as seen from the presumed point from which the artist sketched his view, +for the reason that its value as a sign depends upon the readiness with +which it is understood.[63] This is incontrovertible, otherwise the art +of painting would be an art of hieroglyphics. In poetry suggestion is of +great importance, and it may be so glowing as to present to the +imagination a higher form of beauty than can be painted; but the signs +of the painter cannot suggest beauty in this way, because the exercise +of the imagination in respect of them is limited by their form. A sign +painted less distinctly than as it is seen in nature is obviously +removed from its proper relative position, or else is untrue, and in +either case it must have a weakening effect upon the picture. + +The successful representation of aerial perspective depends upon the +careful and close gradation of tones in conformity with the varying +atmospheric density. This is difficult work because of the disabilities +arising from the reduction of the scene into miniature form, which +necessitates the omission of many tones and effects found in nature, +just as a portrait in miniature involves the exclusion of various +elements of expression in the human countenance. But fortunately in +landscape the variableness of nature greatly assists the artist. Only +rarely is the atmosphere of equal density over a considerable depth of +ground, and this fact enables the painter to simplify his work in +production of the illusion without appearing to depart from nature. Thus +he may deepen or contract his foreground within wide limits. The changes +in the appearance of the atmosphere in nature have to be greatly +concentrated in a painting, and as this concentration becomes more +difficult as distance is reached, it follows that the artist has a +better chance of success by making the foreground of his picture begin +some way in front of him, rather than near the spot where he is presumed +to stand when he executes his work. He may of course maintain some very +near ground while materially shortening his middle distance, but this +method must obviously lower the beauty of the painting as a distance +landscape, and make the execution vastly more difficult. Claude adopted +this plan sometimes, but it is seen in very few of his important works. +In his best time Turner was careful to set back his foreground, and to +refrain from restricting his middle ground. + +If a scene be taken from the middle distance only, as in many Barbizon +works, the labour is much simplified because neither the close +delineation of foliage, nor any considerable gradation of atmosphere is +required, but then the beauty resulting from either of these two +exercises is missing. It is equally impossible for such a scene to +indicate growth and life, or the charm of a changing view. Some modern +artists have a habit of blotting out the middle and far distance by the +introduction of a thick atmosphere but this is an abuse of the art, +because however true the aspect may be in the sense that a natural view +is sometimes obscured by the atmosphere, the beauty of the scene as a +whole is hidden, and the picture consists largely of an imitation of the +mist, where an illusion of movement is impossible. The painter should +imitate the more beautiful, and not the less beautiful aspects of +nature. Jupiter has been sometimes painted as an incident in a picture, +nearly wholly concealed by a cloud, but to exhibit a separate work of +the god so concealed, would only be regarded as an excuse for avoiding +exertion, however well the cloud may be painted; yet this would not be +more reprehensible than to hide the greater part of a view by a dense +atmosphere. + +With a clear atmosphere an illusion of opening distance may be secured +with the far distance and the greater part of the middle distance +unobservable, but in such a case a successful design is difficult to +accomplish owing to the limited number of signs available. Many signs, +as trees and houses, either darken or hide the view, while sunlight +effects on unobstructed ground, sufficiently definite to be used as +signs, could not be very numerous without appearing abnormal. The only +really first-class method of producing a satisfactory near-ground +illusion was invented by Hobbema in the later years of his life. This is +to use skilfully placed trees and other signs through which paths wind, +or appear to wind, and to throw in a strong sunlight from the back.[a] +The light enables far more signs to be used in depth than would +otherwise be possible, and so the eye has a comparatively long track to +follow. That the remarkable beauty of the pictures of Hobbema composed +in this way is almost entirely due to the illusion thus created, is +readily seen when they are compared with some of his other works, very +similar in all respects except that the light is thrown in from the +front or the side. Before placing his light at the back, the artist +tried the side plan in many pictures, and while this was a decided +improvement upon his earlier efforts to secure depth of near-ground +signs, it was naturally inferior to the latest scheme. Jacob Ruysdael +adopted the plan of Hobbema in two or three works with great effect.[b] + + [a] See Plate 18. + + [b] For example, The Marsh, Hermitage. + +When the middle distance is hidden by a rising foreground, an illusion +may be created by the far distance alone if this be of considerable +depth. Since the fifteenth century it has been a frequent practice to +conceal the middle distance, though mostly in pictures of figure +subjects.[64] The Dutch artists of the seventeenth century who painted +open-air scenes of human and animal life, as Paul Potter, Wouverman, and +Albert Cuyp, avoided the middle distance whenever possible, but often +managed to secure a fair illusion. In pure landscape the system is less +often practised, and never by great artists. + +The only means available to the painter of land views for creating an +illusion of motion, apart from that of opening distance, is by the +representation of flowing water so that a series of successive events in +the flow, each connected with, but varying in character from, the +preceding one, can be exhibited. Thus, a volume of water from a fall +proceeds rapidly over a flat surface to a ledge, and thence perhaps to +another ledge of a different depth, from which it passes over or round +irregular rocks and boulders, and thence over smaller stones or into a +stream, creating in its passage every kind of eddy and current.[a] Here +is a series of progressive natural actions in which the progression is +regular and continuous, while the separate actions cover such time and +space that they may be readily separated by the eye. If, therefore, the +whole series be properly represented, an illusion of motion will +result.[65] Obviously the canvas must be of considerable size, and the +breaks in the flow of water as varied in character and as numerous as +possible. Everdingen and Jacob Ruysdael seem to have been the first +artists to recognize the significance of this progression, but Ruysdael +far surpassed his master in the exhibition of it. He examined the +problem in all its variations, solved it in a hundred ways, and at his +death left little for succeeding painters to learn regarding it. Very +rarely, one meets with a landscape where the double illusion of motion +of water and opening distance is provided, and needless to say the +effect is superb.[b] + + [a] See Plate 19. + + [b] For examples see S. Bough's Borrowdale, and Thoma's View of + Laufenburg. + +Sea views occupy a position by themselves inasmuch as there is a fixed +horizontal distance for the artist. He cannot shorten this depth +without making his work look abnormal, and an effort to increase it by +presuming that the picture is painted from a considerable height above +the sea level, is seldom successful because the observer of the work +finds a difficulty in fitting in the novelty with his experience. Except +when depicting stormy weather, or showing a thick atmosphere, the +painter of a sea view has no trouble in obtaining absolute accuracy in +his linear perspective, but this is not sufficient, for if a variety of +trees, herbage, brooks, and so on, requires an illusion of movement, +then certainly does a sea view which has monotony for its keynote. The +motion of the waves in fine weather cannot be suggested on canvas +because it is continuous and equal. One wave displaces another and so +far as the eye can reach there is only a succession of similar waves. +Thus the motion appears unbroken, and from the canvas point of view the +waves must be motionless as the sand hillocks of a desert. Of course in +the actual view, the expanse, the "immeasurable stretch of ocean," is +impressive and to some extent weird, but nothing of this feeling is +induced by a painted miniature. With a bright sky and clear atmosphere +the painter of a sea view cannot well obtain an illusion of opening +distance by means of a multiplication of signs as on land, for the +introduction of many vessels would give the work a formal appearance, +but the problem can be satisfactorily solved by putting the sun in the +sky towards the setting, and using cloud shadows as signs. Aivasovsky, +one of the greatest marine painters of modern times, was very successful +with this class of work. His long shadows thrown at right angles to the +line of sight, carry back the distance till the horizon seems to be +further off than experience warrants, the illusion being perfect. An +illusion of opening distance may, however, be easily obtained in a sea +view when there is a haze covering, but not hiding, the horizon, by +introducing as signs, two or three vessels, the first in the middle +distance. + +Another method of giving a suggestion of motion, which may be used by +the sea painter, is in truthfully representing the appearance of the +water round a vessel passing through it. What is probably the finest +example of this work in existence is Jacob Ruysdael's The Rising +Storm.[a] The sea is shown close to a port, and half a dozen smacks and +small boats are being tossed about by choppy, breaking waves. In the +centre of the picture is a large smack over the weather bow of which a +huge foaming wave has broken, and part is spending its force on the lee +bow, from which the water gradually becomes quieter till at the stern of +the boat little more than a black concavity is seen. The progression of +wave movement is completely represented, and the effect is very +impressive. + + [a] Berlin Gallery. See Plate 20. + +The coast painter can produce an excellent illusion of motion from waves +breaking on a beach, for in nature this action is made up of a series of +different consecutive acts each of which is easily distinguishable to +the eye. The wave rises, bends over its top which becomes crested, and +splashes forward on the beach, to be converted into foam which races +onwards, breaking up as it goes till it reaches the watermark, then +rapidly falling back to be met by another wave. Here is a series of +consecutive incidents which can all be painted so as to deceive for a +moment with the idea of motion. The attempt to represent the action of +waves breaking against steep rocks is invariably a failure, because of +the great reduction of the apparent number of incidents forming the +consecutive series. In nature the eye is not quick enough to follow the +separate events, and so they cannot be distinguished in a painting. +Thomson's fine picture of Fast Castle is distinctly marred by a wide +irregular column of water shown splashing up against a rock. There is no +possibility here of representing a series of actions, and so an instant +suffices to fix the water on the rock. In another work by the same +artist there are waves breaking against precipitous rocks, but in this +case the water first passes over an expanse of low lying rocks, and a +sequence of actions is shown right up to the cliff, an excellent +illusion of movement being brought about.[a] + + [a] Dunluce Castle, which with Fast Castle, is in the Kingsborough + Collection, Scotland. + +Apart from those exhibiting an illusion of motion of some kind, the only +landscapes which have a permanent value, are near-ground scenes in which +conditions of atmosphere of common experience, as rain or storm are +faithfully rendered. In these works the signs must be numerous and +varied in character, for it is only in the multiplication of small +changes of form and tone that the natural effects of a particular +weather condition can be imitated. Jacob Ruysdael and Constable were +the greatest masters of this form of landscape, Crome and Boecklin +closely approaching them, but it is uncommon for a serious worker in +landscape to attempt a picture where distance is not recorded. The best +paintings of Constable present an illusion of opening distance, and when +Jacob Ruysdael painted near-ground only, it was nearly always a hilly +slope with water breaking over low rocks. + +Moonlight and twilight scenes are not good subjects for the painter of +landscape, because, shown as they must be in daylight, or with +artificial light, they become distinctly uninteresting after the first +impression of tonal harmony has passed away, owing to the unconscious +revolt of the mind against something with an unreal appearance.[66] This +is the chief reason why no scene has lived which depended for its beauty +entirely upon moonlight effects. It is about two hundred and fifty years +since Van der Neer died, and he still remains practically the only +moonlight painter known to us whose works seem of permanent interest. +But he did not rely altogether upon moonlight effects for his beauty, +for the representation of distance is the principal feature in all his +works. Further he commonly makes us acquainted with the human life and +habitations of his time, and in this way enhances our appreciation of +his pictures. Before Van der Neer, moonlight scenes were very rarely +executed, and only two or three of these have remained which are worthy +of serious consideration. The best of them is a view by Rubens, where +the light is comparatively strong, and practically the whole of the +beauty rests in the opening distance, which can hardly be surpassed in a +work of this kind.[a] + + [a] Landscape by Moonlight, Mond Collection, London. + +It is not necessary to deal with varieties of pure landscape other than +those mentioned. They are painted in their myriads, and form pleasant +tonal harmonies, or have local interest, but they do not live. As the +foliage in springtime they are fresh and welcome to the eye when they +first appear, but all too soon they fade and disappear from memory like +the leaves of the autumn. + +In landscape as in all other branches of painting, whatever is ephemeral +in nature, or of uncommon experience, should be avoided. Rare sun +effects and exceptional phases of atmosphere should not find their way +into pictures, while strokes of lightning and rainbows should only be +present when they are necessitated by the design, and then must be +subordinated as far as possible. Of all these things the most strongly +to be deprecated are strange sunlight effects, for they have the double +drawback for the painter, of rarity and evanescence in nature. A stroke +of lightning is not out of place where the conditions may be presumed to +be more or less permanent, as in the celebrated picture of Apelles, +where Alexander was represented in the character of Jupiter casting a +thunderbolt, and forks of lightning proceed from his hand; or where the +occurrence is essential in the composition, as in Gilbert's Slaying of +Job's Sheep.[a] So in Danby's The Sixth Seal Opened, the lightning is +quite appropriate, for all nature is disturbed. In Martin's Plague of +Hail, and The Destruction of Pharaoh, the first a night scene, and the +second a view darkened by dense black clouds, lightning is well used for +lighting purposes; and in Cot's The Storm,[b] where the background is +dark and no sky is visible, lightning is the only means possessed by the +artist of explaining that the fear expressed by the lovers in the +foreground, arises from the approaching storm. Great masters like +Giorgione,[c] Rubens,[d] Poussin,[e] used a stroke of lightning on rare +occasions, but took every care that it should not be conspicuous, or +interfere in any way with the first view of the picture. The lightning +is invariably placed in the far background, and no light is apparently +reflected from it. + + [a] The fire of God is fallen from Heaven, and hath burned up the + sheep and the servants. Job 1, 16. + + [b] Metropolitan Museum, N. Y. + + [c] Adrastus and Hypsipyle, Venice. + + [d] Landscape with Baucis and Philemon, Munich. + + [e] Jonah cast into the sea. + + [Illustration: PLATE 18 (See page 202) + Landscape, by Hobbema (_Metropolitan Museum, N. Y._)] + +A rainbow in nature has a life of appreciable duration, and so may be +appropriately used in landscape, but obviously it should be regarded as +a minor accessory except where it forms a necessary feature in the +design.[a] The great drawback in a prominent rainbow is that it forces +itself upon the attention of the observer to the detriment of the +picture as a whole, and if it be very conspicuous and crosses the middle +of the painted view, as in Turner's Arundel Castle, the picture appears +divided in two parts, and the possibility of an illusion of opening +distance is destroyed.[b] Almost as bad is the effect when a rainbow +cuts off a corner of a picture, for this suggests at first sight an +accidental interference with the work.[c] Of all artists Rubens seemed +to know best how to use a rainbow. He adopts three methods. The first +and best is to put the bow entirely in the sky[d]; the second to throw +it right into the background where part of it is dissolved in the +view[e]; and the third to indicate the bow in one part of the picture, +and overshadow it with a strong sunlight thrown in from another part.[f] +Any of these forms seems to answer well, but they practically exhaust +the possibilities in general design. A section of a rainbow may be shown +with one end of it on the ground, because this is observable in +nature[g]; but to cut off the top of the arch as if there were no room +for it on the canvas is obviously bad, for the two segments left appear +quite unnatural.[h] + + [a] As in Martin's I have Set My Bow in the Clouds. + + [b] In the Rivers of England series. + + [c] The Rainbow of Millet, and a similar work of Thoma. + + [d] Harvest Landscape, Munich Gallery. + + [e] Harvest Landscape, Wallace Collection, London. + + [f] Landscape with a Rainbow, Hermitage, Petrograd. + + [g] Rubens's Shipwreck of Aeneas, Berlin Gallery. + + [h] A. P. Van de Venne's Soul Fishery, Amsterdam. + +The small rainbows sometimes seen at waterfalls are occasionally +introduced into paintings, but rarely with success because they tend to +interfere with the general view of the scene. Such views are necessarily +near ground, and so a bow must seriously injure the picture unless it be +placed at the side, as in Innes's fine work of Niagara Falls (the +example of 1884). + +The use of a rainbow as a track in classical pictures is sometimes +effective, though the landscape is largely sacrificed owing to the +compulsory great width and bright appearance of the bow, which must +indeed practically absorb the attention of the observer. The best known +picture of this kind is Schwind's Rainbow, which shows the beautiful +form of Iris wrapped in the sheen of the bow, and descending with great +speed, the idea being apparently taken from Virgil.[a] To use the top of +the rainbow for a walking track is bad, as the mind instinctively repels +the invention as opposed to reason.[b] + + [a] Aeneid V., where Juno sends Iris to the Trojan fleet. + + [b] Thoma's Progress of the gods to Walhalla. + +But if fleeting natural phenomena become disturbing to the observer of a +picture, how much more objectionable are the quickly disappearing +effects of artificial devices, as the lights from explosions. In a +battle scene covering a wide area of ground, a small cloud of smoke here +and there is not out of place, because under natural conditions such a +cloud lasts for an appreciable time; but no good artist will indicate in +his work a flash from a gun, for this would immediately become stagy and +unreal to the observer. Nor can fireworks of the ordinary kind be +properly represented in a picture. The beauty of these fireworks lies in +the appearance out of nothing, as it were, of brilliant showers of +coloured lights, and their rapid disappearance, to be replaced by others +of different form and character, the movement and changes constituting +important elements in their appreciation. But the painter can only +indicate them by fixed points of light which necessarily appear +abnormal. Stationary points of light can have no resemblance whatever to +fireworks, and if the title of the picture forces the imagination to see +in them expiring sparks from a rocket, the impression can only last a +moment, and will be succeeded by a revolt in the mind against so glaring +an impossibility as a number of permanent sparks. The only painted +firework display that does not appear abnormal is a fountain of fire and +sparks which may be presumed to last for some time, and therefore would +not quickly tire the mind.[a] + + [a] See examples by La Touche, notably La Fete de Nuit, Salon, 1914. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +STILL-LIFE + + Its comparative difficulty--Its varieties--Its limitations. + + +Right through the degrees of the art of the painter till we reach +still-life, the difficulty in producing the art is in proportion to the +general beauty therein, but in the case of still-life the object is much +less readily gained than in simple landscape which is on a higher level +in painting. The causes of this apparent anomaly appear to be as +follows:--Firstly in miniature painting one does not expect such close +resemblance to nature as in still-life which usually represents things +in their natural size: secondly, in still-life the relative position of +the parts can never be such as to appear novel, whereas in landscape +their position is always more or less unexpected: thirdly, in still-life +the colours are practically fixed, for the painter cannot depart from +the limited variety of tints commonly connected with the objects +indicated, while in landscape the colouring may vary almost indefinitely +from sun effects without appearing to depart from nature. + +The beauty in still-life paintings may arise from several causes, +namely, the pleasure experienced from the excellence of the imitation; +the harmony of tones; the beauty of the things imitated; the association +of ideas; and the pleasure derived from the acquisition of knowledge. +Aristotle seemed to think this last one of the principal reasons for our +appreciation of the painter's work, though he agreed that the better the +imitation, the greater the pleasure to the observer. The argument +appears to apply particularly to the lower forms of life because in +nature they are not often closely examined. A cauliflower for instance +may be seen a thousand times by one who would not carefully note its +structure, but if he see an imitation of it painted by a good artist, +his astonishment at the excellence of the imitation might cause him to +observe the representation closely, and learn much about the vegetable +which he did not know before. In this way the information gained would +add to his pleasure. + +As in landscape, from the absence of abstract qualities from the things +represented, and since the position of the signs may be indefinitely +varied without a sense of incongruity resulting, there can be no ideal +in still-life, and so the painter cannot pass beyond experience without +achieving the abnormal. + +The painter of still-life has the choice of four kinds of imitation, +namely, the representation of products of nature which are in themselves +beautiful, as roses and fine plumaged birds; the imitation of products +of human industry which are in themselves beautiful, as sculptured plate +or fine porcelain; the representation of natural and manual products +which in themselves are neither beautiful nor displeasing, but interest +from association of ideas, as certain fruits, books, and musical +instruments; and the imitation of things which in themselves are not +pleasing to the sight, as dead game, kitchen utensils, and so on. +Obviously the artist may assort any two or more of these varieties in +the same picture. He may also associate them with life, but here he is +met with a grave difficulty which goes to the very root of art. If two +forms, not being merely accessories, are associated together in a +design, the lower form must necessarily be subordinated, otherwise the +mind of the observer will be disturbed by the apparent double objective. +A live dog or other animal in a still-life composition will immediately +attract the eye of the observer, drawing off his attention from the +inanimate objects represented, which will consequently thereafter lose +much of their interest. The presence of a man is still worse. Not only +is it natural and inevitable that a human being should take precedence +of whatever is inanimate in a work of art, but in the case of +still-life, where he is painted of natural size, he must necessarily +overshadow everything else in the picture. Further, his own +representation is much injured because the surroundings exercise a +disconcerting influence. Even with the human figures of such a work +executed by a painter of the first rank, they are quite +uninteresting.[a] + + [a] See still-life pictures at the Hague and Vienna Museums by + Van Dyck and Snyders. + +Beautiful products of nature such as brilliant flowers and butterflies, +cannot be imitated so well that the representations appear as beautiful +as the things themselves, and so are unsuited as entire subjects for +paintings, for we are usually well acquainted with these things, and +consciously or unconsciously recognize the inferiority of the imitation. +The greatest flower painters have therefore wisely refrained from +introducing into their works more than a few fine roses or similar +blooms. The presence of many less beautiful flowers in which the +imitation is, or appears to be, more pleasing than the natural forms, +neutralizes or overcomes the effect of the inferior imitation of the +more beautiful. In fact the extent to which natural products which are +necessarily more beautiful than the imitations, may be used in painting, +except as incidentals, is very limited. They cannot appropriately be +used at all on walls and curtains where they continually cross the +vision, for they would there quickly tire owing to the involuntary +dissatisfaction with the representation. The Japanese, whose whole art +of painting was for centuries concentrated upon light internal +decoration, rightly discard from this form of art all natural products +which are necessarily superior to the imitations, and confine their +attention to those signs which, while being actually more beautiful, +when closely seen, than the imitations, do not appear to be so in nature +where they are usually observed at some distance from the eye. Thus, +waterfowl of various kinds, small birds of the hedges, storks, herons, +branches of fruit blossoms, light trees and vegetation, are infinitely +preferable to the more beautiful products for purely decorative +purposes. A common pigeon with an added bright feather, is better on a +wall or screen than the most brilliant pheasant, for in the one case the +representation appears above ordinary experience, and in the other case, +below it. + +The decorative artist then is at liberty to enhance the beauty of his +signs, but not to take for them things which are commonly observed in +nature, and whose beauty he cannot equal. But there should be no wide +divergence between the natural beauty and the art, and nothing which in +itself is unpleasing is suitable for decoration. It may be introduced in +a hanging picture, because here a sense of beauty may be derived from +the excellence of the imitation, as in the case of a dead hare or a +basket of vegetables; but in pure decoration the effect is general and +not particular, and so the imitation yields no beauty apart from that of +the thing imitated. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +SECONDARY ART + + Paintings of record--Scenes from the novel and written drama--From + the acted drama--Humorous subjects--Allegorical works. + + +When the invention of the painter is circumscribed by the requirements +of another art, whether a fine art or not, then his art ceases to be a +pure art and becomes an art of record, subordinate to the art by which +his work is circumscribed. This may be termed the Secondary Art of +painting. The art may be of importance outside the purposes of the fine +arts, and in certain cases may be productive of good pictures, but only +by way of accident: hence a work of secondary art never engages the +attention of a great artist unless he be specially called upon to +execute it. Hard and fast lines dividing the pure from the secondary art +cannot be laid down, as one often verges on the other, but there is a +general distinction between them which is easily comprehensible in the +separate branches of painting. + + [Illustration: PLATE 19 (See page 204) + Landscape, by Jacob Ruysdael (_National Gallery, London_)] + +Secondary art is not produced from incidents or characters taken from +sacred or mythological history, because here the general invention of +the painter is never circumscribed, for he is able to produce form and +expression above experience. In profane history the art is secondary +when the painter confines his invention to recorded details. Thus in a +picture of the Coronation of Charlemagne, the composition is entirely +invented by the artist, and so the work becomes one of pure art; but the +representation of the Coronation of Queen Victoria, where the artist +reproduces the scene as it actually occurred, is secondary art, for he +is precluded from the exercise of his imagination in the design, the end +of art being subordinated to that of record or history. Such a picture +is necessarily stiff and formal. Where the scene represents a number of +actions, as in a battle design, the artist is unable to record the +actual occurrence, though he may represent particular actions; +consequently he has large scope for his imagination, and may limit his +representation to those actions which together make a fine example of +pure art. But a battle scene where a particular event, as a meeting of +generals, has to be painted, immediately becomes secondary art, for then +the surrounding battle events would be accessory in their nature. It is +possible for simple historical works painted to order centuries ago to +appear now as of high art value, because we commonly connect a strict +formality with old pictures of the kind, whether executed from records +or invention. Thus Holbein's Henry VIII. presenting a Charter to the +Barber-Surgeons no doubt closely depicts the actual event, yet the +stiffness of the design does not seem out of place.[a] Nevertheless +it is a refreshing change from this picture to Richard III. offered +the Crown by London Merchants, which is a magnificent modern work of +pure invention.[b] + + [a] Barbers' Hall, London. + + [b] Royal Exchange, London. + +A scene from a story of actual life is necessarily secondary art, +because here the painter imitates what is already an imitation, and +cannot ascend above experience. He is confined to the invention of the +novelist, and is therefore subordinate to him. + +The written drama is available for the painter as a source for designs +only in cases of high tragedy, or mixed plays containing strong dramatic +events of tragic import. Seeing that the drama is itself an imitative +art, only such actions or characters can be used by the painter which +are above life experience, and it is only in tragedy that the dramatist +can exalt human attributes, and ennoble the passions above this +experience. Tragedy deals directly with the two great contrasting human +mysteries--life and death. From one to the other is the most awful and +sublime action within human knowledge, and consequently the motives and +sentiments relating to it may be carried to the loftiest reach of the +understanding. An exaggeration of ordinary life, where the combination +of perfected parts in form and expression is not possible, means only +the abnormal; while comedy, which imitates conditions inferior to +ordinary life, cannot be exaggerated except into distortion. High +tragedy therefore is the only section of the written drama that concerns +the painter. If he draw from any other work of the dramatist he only +produces secondary art, as when he draws from the novelist. The picture +may be interesting, but both interest and beauty will be fleeting. + +While the painter may use the written drama in certain cases, he can by +no means be concerned with the acted drama. It is useless to attempt to +produce a good picture by imitating an imitation accomplished by a +combined art, as the opera or drama. A painted scene from a play as it +is acted, is merely the execution of another man's design which in +itself is entirely circumscribed by conditions of action and speech +wholly foreign to the art of the painter. A picture of a particular +moment of action in a written play, as it is thrown upon the brain in +the course of reading, is interesting, firstly because our imagination +has wide limits of invention, and we naturally and instinctively adopt a +harmonious rendering of the scene so far as the writing will allow; and +secondly for the reason that we pass rapidly from impression to +impression, and so the whole significance of each picture, separately +and relatively, is conveyed to us. But a painting of an acted scene is +meaningless, for it can represent only one in a series of a thousand +moments of action which are all connected, and of which the +comprehension of any one is dependent upon our knowledge of the whole. +The painter has no scope. He simply copies a number of figures in a +fixed setting, and the result is necessarily inferior art to a copy of +the poorest original picture, since in this case the artist at least +copies the direct product of the imagination, while in the other he has +only before him a series of dummies who are imitating the product. The +sense of unreality arising from such a picture must instantly overpower +any harmony of colour or form that may be present. + +Where the portrait of an actor is painted in a stage role, the same +principle is involved, though the result is not so disastrous. We still +have the unreal, but it is painted and put forward as a living person. +The artist moreover has a little imaginative scope. He can choose a +moment of action best suited to his art, and may even vary the character +of the action, which is not possible where an acted scene is depicted. +But notwithstanding all the relative advantages, a Raphael could not +make a fine picture out of a man in character. He may largely overcome +the disabilities arising from the limitation to his invention; he may +introduce great effects of light and shade; may ennoble expression and +give grandeur to form; but he will never hide the sham--never conceal +the fact that he is representing an imitation of life. The actor on the +stage is one of a number of signs used by the dramatist. His identity +apart from the sign is lost, or presumed to be lost for the time being, +and so he is not a sham; but outside of the stage his use or meaning as +a sign does not exist. Hence the representation of this sign as a +subject of a painting is only a degree less incongruous than would be +the introduction of a painted figure as one of the characters of a stage +scene. + +It is an indication of the sure public instinct in matters of art +principles, that general opinion has always tacitly condemned paintings +of stage scenes and characters. They have not infrequently been +produced, and sometimes artists of high rank, as Reynolds and Lawrence, +have painted portraits of actors in stage roles, but never has one met +with public appreciation as a work of art. Probably in most cases these +works were executed as mementoes rather than as works of art, for it is +scarcely possible to conceive a painter of the stamp of Reynolds, who +was so well acquainted with first principles, putting forward even a +portrait of Garrick in a stage role, as a serious work, notwithstanding +that he might well know that it was a masterpiece in respect of +execution. + +Humour is not a subject for the painter to deal with, for a humorous +picture cannot be comprehended without the assistance of another art. +Further, comedy is founded upon a sense of the ridiculous, which means +distortion of form or idea. Distortion of form would tend to destroy the +art if reproduced, and distortion of idea implies events in time which +are beyond the scope of the painter. If any humour were exhibited in the +representation of a single moment of action in a story, it would quickly +disappear, for a permanent joke is beyond the range of human +understanding. In poetry and fiction, humour may be appropriately +introduced, because here it is of a fugitive character, and may serve as +a possible relief of the mind, as a discordant note in music; but in a +painting, the moment of humour is fixed, and a fixed laugh suggests +mental disorder. + +Nor is there place in the art of the painter for works intending to +convey satire or irony, for such pictures also mean distortion. Moreover +they are merely substitutes for, or adjuncts to, the art of writing. +The object of caricature is to present an idea in a more direct and +rapid way than it can be expressed in writing, and not specially to +exhibit beauty, which is the purpose of the painter. Hogarth's many +caricatures are composed of superlative signs of writing, and not of any +fine art. Cartoons (as the word is commonly understood) are of the +nature of allegory, and may afford scope for the painter, but as they +necessarily refer to more or less fleeting conditions of a political or +social character, they cannot retain permanent interest. + +Allegorical paintings are secondary art when they endeavour to cover +more than a moment of time in a single design, or when the allegory is +merely a metaphor applying to action. The first variety is rarely seen +in modern works, but it was not very uncommon from the fifteenth to the +seventeenth century, though it was never produced by first-class +artists, and seldom indeed by those of the second rank. Quite a number +of works of this period, formerly supposed to have an allegorical +signification, are now properly identified as rarely represented +mythological legends, or historical incidents which have only lately +been unearthed,[a] and we may rest assured from internal evidence that +many others of the same kind will yet be newly interpreted. A good +design cannot be produced from an event in time because the figures in a +presumed action must be shown in repose,[b] or else the action appears +incongruous and opposed to experience, as when a goddess is overpowered +by a personage with the appearance of a human being.[c] In both cases +the figures must seem to be falsities. Designs of the first kind can +only be properly represented in a sequence of pictures, each indicating +a particular action, as in the Marie de' Medici series of Rubens; and +those of the second by commonly accepted figures of sacred or +mythological history or legend, as where St. Michael and the Dragon +typify Good overcoming Evil. + + [a] Examples are Lorenzo Costa's Cupid Crowning Isabella d'Este, + Giorgione's Adrastus and Hypsipyle, and Piero di Cosimo's + Marsyas picture. + + [b] Religion Succoured by Spain, the Prado, Madrid. + + [c] Lotto's Triumph of Chastity, Rospigliosi Gallery, Rome. + +It is scarcely necessary to do more than barely refer to the use of +metaphor by the painter when the representation of action is involved, +as for instance if he should produce a picture of a heaving ship in a +storm, to meet the metaphor "As a ship is tossed on a rough sea, so has +been the course of my life," though this kind of picture has been +occasionally executed, the artist forgetting that it is not the object +depicted that is compared, but the action--in the example quoted, the +tossing of the ship--which cannot be represented on canvas. Another form +of metaphor sometimes used by the painter is that where a comparison of +ideas is represented by physical proportions, as in Wiertz's Things of +the Present as seen by the Future, in which the things of the present +are indicated by liliputian figures on the hand of a woman of life size +who represents the future. Needless to say that such designs, of which +there are about a dozen in existence, can only suggest distortion, for +the smaller figures must appear too small, and the larger ones too +great; or if our experience with miniature imitations of the human +figure warrants us in regarding the smaller figures as reasonable, then +the larger ones must appear as giants of the Brobdingnagian order. + +The only form of metaphor which may be used by the painter is that +wherein a beautiful symbol typifies a high abstract quality. Metaphor +belongs properly to the arts of the poet and novelist who can indicate +the symbol and things symbolized in immediate succession, so that the +whole meaning is apparent. The painter can only represent the symbol, +and unless this is beautiful and its purport readily comprehended, his +sign is merely a hieroglyph--a sign of writing. Secondary art includes +symbolic painting when the symbol may represent either the symbol itself +or the thing symbolized, for such a condition involves a confusion of +ideas which tends to destroy the aesthetic effect of the work. The most +notable painting of this kind is Holman Hunt's The Scapegoat, where the +design shows only a goat in desert country. The scapegoat has ceased to +be an actuality for centuries, and the only meaning of the term as it is +now used applies to a man: hence, with the title the goat appears to be +a symbol of both a man and an animal, while without the title it is +merely the image of a goat without symbolism. But the conception of an +animal of any kind as a symbol is foreign to the art of the painter +whose symbol should always be beautiful, whatever the nature of the +representation. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +COLOUR + + +In itself colour has no virtues which are not governed by immutable +laws. These are apart from the exercise of human faculties, the +recognition of colour harmony being involuntary and entirely dependent +upon the condition of the optic nerves. Thus there can be no meaning in +colour apart from its application to form, and the extent to which it +may be properly used in the representation of form is necessarily bound +by our experience of nature. Other things being equal, the most perfect +painting is that wherein there is a just balance between the colour and +the form, that is to say, where the colour is not so vivid as to act +upon the sense nerves before the general beauty of the work is +appreciated, or so feeble or discordant that its want of natural truth +is immediately presented to the mind, thus disturbing the impression of +the design. + +As with metrical form in poetry, the importance of colour in painting +varies inversely with the character of the art. In the highest art, +where ideals are dealt with, colour is of the least importance. A +composition with ideal figures may be produced by drawing only, that is +to say, by the use of a single tone in outline and shading. The +addition of colour heightens the beauty of a composition of this kind, +not so much because of the new sensorial harmony acquired, as for the +reason that a painting in colours, corresponding better than a +colourless drawing with our experience of nature, assists in defining +the work and so reduces the fractional time necessary for the +recognition of the general beauty of the design, which is a matter of +importance. The comparatively small value of colour in the highest art +is demonstrated by experience. If we were to choose from paintings known +to us, those which general opinion regards as the very greatest works, +we should unquestionably name the frescoes of Raphael and Michelangelo +at the Vatican, and those of Correggio at Parma. These, with a few easel +pictures of Raphael, and perhaps a dozen other pictures by various +masters, are the only works of the painter's art to which the term +"sublime" may be properly applied. As with the great epic poems, they +are concerned entirely with ideals--with personages far above the level +of life, rising to the spiritual domain--or with human beings as they +would be if the highest conceptions of our imagination were possible of +realization. When we recall these splendid legacies of genius to our +minds, and ponder over the apparently limitless range of human vision +which they evidence, it is the designs that absorb us, and not the +colour--the forms and expression, and not the tints by which their +definition is assisted. We do not usually analyse the impression we +receive from these frescoes and pictures, but were we to do so, it +would be borne in upon our minds that while a Raphael, a Michelangelo, +or a Correggio, would be required to conceive and execute such +stupendous designs, many thousands of unknown patient workers could be +found to colour them efficiently. On the other hand if we remove the +colour from the greatest landscape known to us, we find that most of the +beauty of the work has disappeared, and that we have only a kind of +skeleton left, for the beauty of such a picture rests very largely upon +the aerial perspective, which is unobtainable without colour. + +That the appreciation of colour is relative to the character of the +design may be observed from common experience. We may see the Sistine +Madonna half a dozen times and then be unable to recall the colours when +bringing the picture to mind, so small an effect have they had upon us +as compared with that of the majesty and general beauty of the central +figure. So with many of Raphael's other pictures. It is a common thing +for one to call attention to the superb colouring of an easel picture by +Correggio, but how rarely does an observer notice the colouring of his +frescoes at Parma, which are his masterpieces? With some of the Venetian +artists, the colouring is often so brilliant, not to say startling, that +it seems to overpower the observer for a moment, and necessity compels +him to accustom himself to the tones before considering the design. The +colouring of Titian is not so strong, but it is always forcible; +nevertheless one seldom hears a comment upon the colours in his works, +the superior design and general beauty of the compositions far +outweighing the purely sensorial elements therein. Titian in fact +secured an approximately just balance between form and colour, while +with his great followers the colour usually exceeded in strength the +requirements of the design. In the time of Tintoretto and Veronese the +prestige and prosperity of Venice were rapidly declining, but we have +been so accustomed to associate with this city during the Renaissance, a +luxurious life with something of the character of an Eastern court, that +gorgeous colour of any kind does not seem out of place as one of its +products. But this special appropriateness has not the effect of +elevating the gay coloured voluptuous forms of the artists named, +observable in their classical and allegorical works, to a high level in +art. We cannot accommodate the forms to the ideas of the poets who +invented or described them, or to the attributes with which they were +commonly associated; and the colouring tends to bring them closer to +earth. While we feel bound to admire the colouring, we are equally +compelled to regret the particular application.[67] + +Speaking generally, when the design is good we remember the composition +irrespective of the colours, but when the beauty of the work depends +upon the colour harmony it fades from our memory as soon as our eyes +experience new colour combinations. The imagination may call up the +harmony again upon the mind, but the pleasure experienced from this +reflection must be very feeble indeed because the senses are not +directly affected thereby. It can have no more effect than a written +description of the harmony. + + [Illustration: PLATE 20 (See page 206) + The Storm, by Jacob Ruysdael (_Berlin Museum_)] + +The painter is at liberty to make what use he will of colour so long as +he provides a thing of beauty, but he must remember that the +appreciation of colour harmony is dependent not only upon the condition +of the optic nerves of the observer, but also upon his experience at the +time of observation. As to the first consideration little heed need be +taken, because rudimentarily the nerve structure is equal or nearly so, +in all persons, and while accident at birth may provide in some an +advanced condition which in others is only obtained by exercise, yet in +respect of colours, experience in complex harmony is gained +involuntarily in contact with every-day nature. Hence for the purpose of +the painter, all men may be considered alike in regard to the +recognition of colour harmony. But individual experience at the time of +observation of a painting varies largely,[68] a circumstance which is +not of importance in dealing with works of the higher art, but becomes +of great significance when considering the lower forms. No organ of the +body is so susceptible to fatigue as the eye, and a painting of the kind +known as a colour scheme may or may not be pleasing according as the +tone is a relief or otherwise to the sight. Sometimes a few seconds are +sufficient to fatigue the eye, as for instance when it is directed +towards a vivid maroon hanging, but let a landscape with a grey tone be +placed on the hanging and considerable pleasure will be involuntarily +experienced through the relief to the optic nerves. Remove the picture +to a grey wall, and it will instantly lose its charm, except such as +it may possess apart from the colour. + +As with particular tones, so with colours generally. People habituated +to conditions of nature where extremes of sun effects are uncommon, as +in the northern latitudes, may be temporarily pleased with schemes of +glowing colours on their walls, because these relieve the monotony of +daily experience, but they must necessarily quickly tire, as with all +exceptional conditions of life which are concerned with the senses only. +How soon one is fatigued with bright colours generally is obvious to any +visitor to a public gallery which is crowded with pictures. In an hour +or less the fatigue of his eyes becomes so extreme that his whole +nervous system is affected, and he loses energy of both mind and body. +But brilliant colors used sparingly with good designs may be a perpetual +source of pleasure. Place a fine work by Rubens or Paolo Veronese in a +living-room and it will attract attention every time one enters, for the +colouring will always be a change from the normal eye experience. One +turns to the picture involuntarily, and then the design is observed, and +so one passes from sensual to intellectual pleasure. This process is +repeated day by day, and the work never tires. Of course it is a +condition that the design is able to hold the attention, otherwise the +bright colours would serve little better purpose than if they defined a +geometrical pattern. + +Nowadays quite a number of paintings are produced in which unusual tones +are given to signs or shadows, but these are not to be taken seriously +by the earnest student. In the sunlight, amidst certain surroundings, +the arm of a woman may appear for some moments to have a bluish tone, +but the artist would be entirely wrong to paint a bluish arm. The +picture is to be seen under all lights, and if the tones be contrary to +general experience under any of these lights, then the work appears to +be a falsity, for the artist does not, and cannot, reproduce the +conditions which together bring about the exceptional colours. To the +normal eye under ordinary circumstances, the arm of a woman is of flesh +colour, and the artist is not at liberty to vary this tone. He has to +represent what appears to be true in general opinion, whether it be +really true or not under certain conditions. The dictum of Aristotle in +regard to poetry--that what appears probable, though in reality is +impossible, is better than what seems improbable but is really +possible--is equally true in painting. In fact it is of more importance +that this maxim should be remembered in painting than in poetry, because +the signs of the painter are permanent. A poet or novelist may refer to +a passing exceptional sun effect, for the impression on the mind of the +reader would probably be as transient as, or more transient than, the +effect itself, but with the painter the transient effect becomes fixed. +The blue arm is always blue, and in a very short time becomes a +disagreeable unreality. It may be claimed that the objectionable sun +effects are not really exceptional, though they are seldom noticed; but +for the purpose of art, what appears to be exceptional must be +definitely regarded as so, and for this reason discarded by the artist +who desires to paint a good picture. + +Generally then, the value of colour lies firstly in its correspondence +with nature, for upon this depends its harmony and the assistance it +lends to the recognition of the beauty in the whole composition. Beyond +this it may or may not have an ephemeral value according to local +conditions. In any case colour must ever be subordinated to design in a +picture, and this is what Poussin meant when he said that particular +attention to colour is an obstacle to the art student. + + + + +BOOK II + + + + +ILLUSIONS IN THE PAINTER'S ART + +INTRODUCTORY + + +The painter is occupied in a perpetual struggle to produce an illusion. +He does not directly aim for this, but except in the very highest art +where ideals are realized, the better the picture he paints, the greater +the illusion. The natural test of the value of his work is its +correspondence with nature, and the nearer it so corresponds, the more +complete the illusion. But the whole picture is never an illusion (we +leave out of consideration those instances where artificial devices are +used to conceal the surroundings of the actual painted surface), for the +frame and other material evidence inform us of the art. The illusion, +when it exists, is forced upon our minds from moment to moment as our +eyes travel over the work. It occurs to us perhaps that a face "lives," +that the drapery is true to life, that the tones are real, and so on, +and obviously these circumstances cannot impress us in this way unless +we are momentarily deceived. And it is a sign of good quality in the +work when we are so struck. This does not mean that the closer the +imitation, the better the picture: on the contrary it is rare to find a +good work of art produced by an exact imitator. The duty of the artist +is to generalize everything that can be generalized without departing +from the character of the thing represented. True there are degrees of +generalization which depend on the nature of the design, the size of the +work, the accessories, and other matters, but if a just balance of +generalization be secured throughout, then the imitation is better than +a closely detailed reproduction, because a work is always involuntarily +judged from general, and not from particular, experience. A portrait for +instance is a much better work of art if we can say of it "This is a +good portrait of a man," than if we are compelled to confine ourselves +to "This is a good portrait of Mr. Jones," even if the lineaments of the +particular countenance are better defined in the latter example than in +the former. The illusion would be stronger, for we are more intimately +acquainted with "a man" than with "Mr. Jones." And so with accessories. +An exceptionally fine rose or cabbage is never so good in a painting as +one of these articles which is of an average type, because with this the +illusion is more certain, for it is not likely to be disturbed with a +mental inquiry into the unusual article. + +The painter may produce his illusions then without sacrificing anything +in his art, and with the surety that good paintings necessarily result +in momentary illusions except when form or expression above life +experience are dealt with. + +The first and most important illusion in the art is that of relief, for +without this no other illusion can be produced. It is a general +condition applying to all work on a flat surface. The other illusions +that may be provided are: (a) of opening distance in landscape; (b) of +motion in natural actions, as in flowing water; (c) of human and animal +actions; (d) of suspension and motion in the air. The two first are +dealt with under "Landscape"; the others are now considered. + + + + +CHAPTER I + +ILLUSION OF RELIEF + + +The greatest value in the illusion of relief lies in its assistance to +recognition, for with the forms rounded by shading and separated with +the appearance of relief which they have in nature, details of the work +are less likely to complicate the design to the eye, than if the flat +surface of the canvas be emphasized by the avoidance of relief. For the +eye has to be considered before the mind, and it is of immense +importance that the brain should have the least possible work to do in +assisting the eye to interpret a thing of art. It would appear then that +the minimum extent to which relief should be given in a painting is that +point below which the things painted do not seem to have their three +dimensions indicated. Beyond this the painter is at liberty to proceed +as he pleases. Some great artists, notably Lionardo, were inclined to +think that it is impossible to give too much relief to a figure, and +this may be so theoretically, but practically there is a line to be +drawn because life is limited, and after a certain point is reached, the +work of shading for relief is so tedious an operation, that half a +lifetime would be required to execute a picture of three or four +figures if the artist wished to produce the strongest illusion in his +power to give. A Russian artist of high merit who essayed the task, +spent an average time of five years in ceaseless toil on each figure he +completed, and even then frequently remarked that he had not given to +his figures the full relief he desired to exhibit. It is well known that +Lionardo gave long and close attention to this matter in his pictures, +and he produced some extraordinary examples of relief, of which the +finest is, perhaps, the Litta Madonna,[a] but one cannot help regretting +that he did not rest satisfied with a lower point of excellence in +respect of the illusion, so that he could spend more time in general +design. + + [a] At the Hermitage. See Plate 21. + +Apart from the relief given by shading in painting, there is an +important mechanical method of improving the illusion, though this can +only be occasionally adopted. The figures in any well painted picture +will appear to stand out in high relief if we lose sight of the frame +and other surroundings which distinctly inform us that the work is a +flat surface. This is why a painting invariably seems to improve if seen +through a tube of such diameter that the frame is excluded from the +vision. Advantage of this fact has been many times taken in the +exhibition of single pictures, when, by the exclusion of the frame, the +concealment of the edges of the work by curtain arrangements, and the +concentration of all the available light upon the canvas, such perfect +relief has been obtained that observers have been sometimes unable to +distinguish the art from the life. It was the effect of the +surroundings of a picture upon the sight, that led to a practice in +design resulting in the exclusion of these surroundings to some extent +when the eye is directed towards the centre of the work where the +principal figure is commonly stationed. This practice is to avoid +accessories as far as possible near the figure, and to provide +considerable open space above it, and also at the sides when the +composition allows, so that the observing eye has not of necessity to +range close to the frame of the picture. In a good design of this kind +the central figure or figures come out in strong relief, the attraction +of the work being consequently much enhanced. Obviously the painted +figures should be of life size, or nearly so, for the illusion of relief +to be strikingly marked, and the conditions necessarily prevent the +adoption of the scheme in a design of many figures. It is most +successful with a single figure, and has been carried out with two +figures, but never with more than two except in a few pictures of great +size. + + [Illustration: PLATE 21 (See page 240) + The Litta Madonna, by Lionardo da Vinci (_Hermitage_)] + +The number of artists who have taken advantage of this mechanical device +is not large, but it includes some of the first masters. The plan may be +used in both exterior and interior scenes. In the former the figures +must be thrown against the sky, and it is a distinct advantage if there +be no trees or other objects on either side of the figures, which also +stand out above the horizon, though this is immaterial if the figure be +set in a confined space, as an arch, or between the columns of a loggia, +and the foliage is not seen through this space. + +The most famous pictures where the scheme is used in exterior work are +amongst the finest portraits known to us, namely, Lionardo's Mona Lisa, +and Raphael's Maddalena Doni and Angelo Doni.[a] In 1504 or thereabouts, +Lionardo painted a portrait of Mona Lisa sitting in a loggia, the wall +of which reached to a third of the height of the canvas.[b] On the wall +at each side of the design is a column divided down the centre by the +edge of the canvas. There is a landscape setting, in which the middle +distance is hidden by rising ground, and only part of the head appears +above the horizon. In 1505 Raphael made a study from this picture in +which he retained the columns, but raised the wall, and threw the whole +head of the figure against the sky. He used this study for the portrait +of Maddalena Doni, but in this he still further improved the design by +removing the columns, and extending to the shoulders that part of the +figure above the horizon, the line of which divides the picture in equal +halves, instead of being drawn at two thirds of the height as in the +first Mona Lisa. When Lionardo executed the Louvre portrait of this +lady, he removed the columns, but slightly reduced the portion of the +head seen against the sky. Raphael's plan, which was also used in the +portrait of Angelo Doni, is obviously far superior to that in the Mona +Lisa design, for the relief is necessarily better marked. The scheme was +not new to Raphael at the time, except in portraiture, for it is +exhibited in three of his very early sacred works.[c] + + [a] The first at the Louvre, and the others at the Pitti Palace, + Florence. + + [b] This painting, or one corresponding to it, is in the Boston + Museum, U. S. A. See Note 56. + + [c] Saint Sebastian, at Bergamo; The Redeemer at Brescia; and The + Prophets and Sybils at Perugia. + +One of the best examples in existence of this method of securing relief +is Tintoretto's Presentation of the Virgin.[a] On the right of the +picture is a wide flight of stairs, curving round as they ascend. The +Virgin is moving up these steps in advance of some attendants, and the +curved stairway enables all the figures to stand out in fine relief +against the sky. If well managed some considerable space above the +figures is sufficient for the illusion even if the sides are partly +closed, as in Albertinelli's beautiful Salutation.[b] Where only a small +portion of the figure can be shown above the horizon, the use of a faint +far distance helps in the scheme of relief. Thus, in Marco Basaiti's +Christ on the Mount of Olives,[c] where Christ stands on the top of a +rock which hides the middle distance, His head only is above the +horizon, but the rest of the figure is thrown against a faint far +distance, the relief being excellent. A modification of this plan is +observable in Lionardo's Virgin and Child with St. Anne.[d] + + [a] Madonna del Orto, Venice. + + [b] Uffizi Gallery, Florence. + + [c] Venice Academy. + + [d] The Louvre. + +So far as the writer has been able to ascertain, the first known +painting where a crucifix is thrown against the sky is by Antonella da +Messina.[a] The Cross is fixed in the foreground and extends to the top +of the picture, being cut half-way up and just below the feet of Christ +by the line of the horizon. The relief is very fine. This scheme was +imitated with more or less success but never quite so perfectly, till +Titian produced his magnificent Cross. Here the Crucifix is cast against +a sombre evening sky, with the Virgin and two imploring Saints at the +foot.[b] Rubens improved upon this design with several variations. In +one he hid the foot of the Cross, though the tops of buildings are seen +in the middle distance[c]; and in another, which is still finer, the +time of the scene is late evening, and dark vague outlines suggest a +landscape. But all these examples are cast into the shade by Van Dyck's +Antwerp picture, than which there is certainly no more impressive +painted Crucifixion in existence. In this the foot of the Cross is not +shown, nor is there any ground to be seen, and the figure stands out +against a dark forbidding sky, awful, but sublimely real, as if set in +boundless space for all eternity.[d] + + [a] National Gallery, London. + + [b] Ancona Gallery. + + [c] Antwerp Museum. + + [d] This work was repeated several times with variations. See + Plate 22. + +There are many variations of the above designs, particularly among the +Works of Venetian artists, but those quoted may be regarded as typical. +How easy it is to hinder the illusion is seen in Sodoma's Sacrifice of +Abraham,[a] where both figures are set against the sky, but trees behind +them and at the side destroy the relief, though the foliage is by no +means thick. In Girolami da Libri's Madonna and Child with St. Anne, a +pomegranate tree interposes[b]; and a curtain falls at the back of a +group by Bernadino da Conti,[c] the illusion in both cases being +consequently robbed of its effect. + + [a] Pisa Cathedral. + + [b] National Gallery, London. + + [c] Poldo Pezzoli Museum, Milan. + +Some of the Dutch artists of the seventeenth century used a clear sky +for the purpose of enhancing the relief of their figures, but as these +are usually of a comparatively small size, the result is only partially +effective. Albert Cuyp and Philip Wouverman painted many pictures with +men and animals silhouetted above the horizon, and Paul Potter executed +a few of the kind, but of all Dutch painters, Jan Steen secured the best +relief with his Terrace Scene.[a] In more recent times the scheme has +seldom been adopted for the purpose of relief, but a few Scottish +painters practised it in the early nineteenth century. Simson followed +Cuyp's plan,[b] and Dyce in a sacred piece equalled the best of the old +masters in his manner of producing the illusion.[c] Grant also painted a +fine example.[d] Some portrait painters of the English school of the +eighteenth century used the scheme in a partial way, but they commonly +placed clouds behind the figures thrown against the sky, thus disturbing +the illusion. + + [a] National Gallery, London. + + [b] National Gallery, Edinburgh. + + [c] St. John Leading the Virgin from the Tomb, National Gallery of + British Art, London. + + [d] The Countess of Chesterfield and Mrs. Anson, Gilmour Collection, + Scotland. + +There is only one method of using this device for assisting in the +production of relief in interiors. This is to throw the figure against a +high wall which is undecorated or nearly so. The figure must be some +little distance in front of the wall, and it is observable that the best +effect is obtained when the light throughout the room is equal, but in +any case the wall should not have less light than the figure. Inasmuch +as the figure has to be of life size or nearly so, to produce the +desired result, a very large picture would be necessary for the +representation of a standing adult; hence the plan is not attempted with +a life-size figure, except with a sitting adult or a standing child. +Before this scheme was used for the human figure, that master of relief, +M. A. Caravaggio, adopted it for a simple still-life work.[a] A basket +of fruit on a plain table, with a high bare wall at the back--the canvas +now sombre and darkened, like the soul of the artist, but still +remarkable for the relief: this was the first application to interiors +of a plan which had been used in exteriors by some of the greatest +masters for more than a century. + + [a] Ambrogia Museum, Milan. + +So far as can be gathered from existing works, thirty or forty years +elapsed after the picture of Caravaggio was painted before the scheme +was brought into use for the human figure in interiors. In 1630, or +thereabouts, Velasquez produced his Christ at the Column.[a] Here the +wall is not actually high, but Christ is shown seated on the floor, and +hence there is ample wall space over which the eye may rove. It is +possible that the adoption of the plan in this instance was the result +of accident, but the very unusual pose of Christ hardly warrants the +suggestion. Velasquez painted no more pictures of the kind till a +quarter of a century later, when he produced Las Meninas. In this the +relief is excellent, but it would have been still better without the +picture on the wall, and the open door in the background, though the +figure seen on the steps through the doorway lends assistance to the +illusion. + + [a] The Prado, Madrid. + +Towards the middle of the seventeenth century, some followers of the +Neapolitan school used the plan occasionally, but the best existing +Italian works of the time where it is seen are from the hand of Evaristo +Baschenis, a Bergamese monk. He was an excellent painter of still-life, +and produced several pictures, each with a boy or a woman seated in the +middle of a room near a plain table on which rests a dish of fruit or a +gathering of various articles, while at the back there is a high bare +wall. In all of these works a fine relief is exhibited, though they are +now considerably marred by darkened shadows. A few years later the plan +was adopted by some Dutch artists, and later still in France and +Germany. Chardin, who in more ways than one seems to have been a French +Baschenis, used it in several pictures. In recent times since the study +of Velasquez has become a vogue, many artists have successfully followed +the plan, and one of the finest examples of it in existence--Lydia +Emmet's Patricia[a]--dates as late as 1915. + + [a] Exhibition of the National (American) Association of Portrait + Painters, N. Y., 1915. See Plate 23. + +There are several minor mechanical ways of enhancing relief, most of +them providing a setting which acts as a kind of inner frame to the +design, the object being to reduce the effect of the actual frame in +disturbing the illusion. Portrait painters of the Dutch, Flemish, and +English schools, have often placed half length figures in painted ovals +on canvas rectangles, and in the case of Hals he sometimes further +improved the illusion by extending a hand of the subject over the oval. +Hanneman used this oval in a most exceptional way. On a large canvas he +painted the bust portraits of Constantine Huygens and his six children, +each in a separate oval, the father being in the centre.[a] The scheme +is strangely effective, for the attention of the observer is +involuntarily confined to one portrait at a time. In genre pictures a +doorway may act as the inner frame, but this is only of material value +if the picture be of considerable size. The Dutch painters, notably +Gerard Dow, loved to paint figures leaning over window-sills, this +method usually enhancing the relief, because the eye is apt to be +confined for a time to the window-frame. Perhaps the best use of a +window for the purpose of relief is Rembrandt's Samson Menacing His +Father-in-law, where the old man's head and hands, of life size, are +seen protruding from a small window.[b] + + [a] Hague Gallery. + + [b] Berlin Gallery. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +ILLUSION OF MOTION + + With human figures--With animals. + + +From the earliest times great sculptors, in producing a single figure in +action, have chosen for the representation a moment of rest between two +steps in the action, so that the character of these steps is instantly +recognized by the observer, whose imagination unconsciously carries +through the action. If every part of the figure is built up conformably +with the action, with due regard to the position from which the statue +is to be seen, an illusion of motion will follow, though this is +necessarily so rapid that the effect upon the observer is indirect: he +translates the impression into appreciation of the lifelike attitude of +the figure. Nearly all the ancient Greek sculptured figures known to us, +commencing with those of Myron, are characterized by this excellence in +design, and so with the best work of the Italian Renaissance. Modern +sculptors of repute have also endeavoured to provide the illusion, Rodin +in particular holding that it should be the aim of every sculptor.[69] + +The painter is in a different position from the sculptor because the +latter may design his figure with special reference to the position it +is to occupy, and so he can in a measure compel the observer to see it +in a particular way. Thus, the base of the statue may be some height +above the ground, in which case the observer must necessarily run his +eyes up the figure from the feet; or it may be seen first in a +three-quarter view so that the position of the limbs will apparently +change as the observer moves to the front. Such accidental circumstances +may be considered by the sculptor in his plan. The painter has no such +advantage, for his figure is the same from whichever point it is to be +seen, within reasonable limits; but he has compensation in the use of +tones and accessories of which the sculptor is deprived. That the +painter may provide an excellent illusion with a single figure in action +is evidenced by Raphael's superb St. Margaret, where the Saint is seen +stepping over the dragon.[a] Every part of her body, and every fold of +drapery is used in the expression of movement, the effect being so +perfect that we cannot disassociate the figure from the action.[70] + + [a] At the Louvre. See Plate 27. + +The painters of the first century of the Renaissance never properly +represented a figure in the act of walking, and there are few pictures +even of the fifteenth century where a serious attempt is made to choose +the best moment in which to exhibit such a figure. The first successful +essay in the task seems to have been in The Tribute Money of +Masaccio,[a] who indeed was fifty years ahead of his fellows in the +faithful representation of action. There was a jump of two decades or +so after Masaccio to the next good figure, which was that of an +attendant in Filipo Lippi's complex tondo at Florence.[b] This figure +must have caused considerable surprise at the time, for it was copied +into several works by subsequent artists, notably Domenico +Ghirlandaio,[c] and probably suggested the fine figure carrying a jar of +water on her head in Raphael's Fire at the Borgo.[d] But Raphael, who +mastered every problem in composition, solved this one so completely +that he left nothing for his successors to learn respecting it. Not only +are the limbs of his moving figures so perfectly arranged that we see +only action, but folds of the drapery used on the figures are sufficient +to indicate preceding movements,[e] and this is so even when the figures +are stationary, but the head, arms, or upper part of the body have +moved.[f] This extraordinary feature of Raphael's work will ever form a +subject of astonishment and admiration. + + [a] Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence. + + [b] Madonna and Child with other scenes from her life, Uffizi, + Florence. + + [c] Birth of St. John Baptist, Santa Maria Novello, Florence. + + [d] Fresco at the Vatican. + + [e] See Deliverance of St. Peter, Flight of Lot and his Family, Moses + Striking the Rock, and others at the Vatican. + + [f] The Transfiguration, Vatican. + + [Illustration: PLATE 22 (See page 244) + Christ on the Cross, by Van Dyck (_Antwerp Museum_)] + +The painter has a comparatively easy task in presenting an illusion with +several figures presumed to be moving, for he has only to comply with +two simple conditions. The first is that the particular step represented +in the act of progression of any individual should vary from the steps +of the persons immediately behind or in front of him; and secondly that +the actions of the different persons be connected with each other so far +as possible. With these conditions reasonably fulfilled, illusion of +motion necessarily follows. Naturally in such a mechanical matter, the +character of the invention depends upon the scale of the design. When +the moving figures are presumed to be comparatively near at hand, the +position of the limbs must be entirely presented, or the progression +will appear broken. The effective illusion presented in Burne-Jones's +Golden Staircase is due to his ingenuity in so arranging the numerous +figures descending the winding stairs, that all their feet are visible. +In the case of a crowd of figures of whom some are supposed to be moving +and others standing still, the visibility of the limbs is of less +importance than the connection of the various actions. In Menzel's +Market in Verona,[a] the illusion, which is remarkable, is entirely +produced by the skill in which innumerable instances of action are made +dependent upon others. An illusion is created in the same way though in +a lesser degree by Gustave Dore in several works.[b] When the motion +arises from the actions of the arms of a number of persons, it suffices +if the arms are in various positions, as in Menzel's Iron Mill, and +Cavalori's Woolworkers[c] where many men are using long tools; but if +the limbs are working together, an illusion is impossible. The beauty of +Guardi's great picture, Regatta on the Grand Canal, is much diminished +by the attitude of the gondoliers, who all hold their poles in the +same position. + + [a] Dresden Gallery. + + [b] See Samson Slaying the Philistines. + + [c] Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. + +Where many persons are moving together in the same direction, great care +has to be exercised in presenting the actions conformably with the rate +at which the movement is proceeding, for upon this of course depends the +angles of the bended knees, and the extent to which some of the feet may +be carried from the ground. In slow natural movements, as where a number +of men are dragging a heavy burden, it is rare to find an artist wrong +in his representation[a]; but in the case of numerous figures walking +irregularly, a true nearground design is uncommon, the painter usually +giving insufficient action, with the result that his figures present a +stagy appearance.[b] But a defect of this kind is not so serious as +where several men, not being in marching order, are moving in the same +direction with their feet in similar positions, and each with a foot off +the ground,[c] for this is only an aggravation of a case where the +picture shows but a single figure walking with one foot in the air. + + [a] For good examples see Benoit's Morning of July 14, 1789, + Poynter's Building the Treasure City, and Colton's Royal + Artillery Memorial (sculptured relief). + + [b] Dehodencq's Bohemians Returning from a Fete, Chaumont Museum. + + [c] As in Breton's Cry of Alarm. + +An illusion of motion may be given to a line of figures in the middle +distance of a landscape by simply winding the road along which they +pass[a]; but the angles of the turns must be large, for when they are +small, or when there is a distinct zigzag, the illusion is destroyed +through the lengthy operation of the eye in comprehending the whole +scene. + + [a] Diaz's Descent of the Bohemians. + +When many figures are moving close together, even if they be marching to +the same step, an illusion of movement may be given by the +representation of a flying figure proceeding in the same direction. This +scheme has been adopted in sculpture with high success, as in the Shaw +Memorial at Boston,[a] and the Marseillaise of Rude.[b] In painting, +several horizontal figures may be used, but they must be placed +irregularly to avoid the appearance of formality. Some modern French +artists are responsible for effective designs indicating the arrival of +spring by an overhead figure flying above young people moving through +flowery fields.[c] + + [a] By A. Saint-Gaudens. + + [b] Arc de Triomphe, Paris. + + [c] See Aman-Jean's decorative panels at the Sorbonne. + +A suggestion of motion may be obtained by exhibiting a number of persons +engaged in similar actions, but shown in a consecutive series of stages +thereof. This plan is admirably worked out by Watteau in his Embarkation +for Cythera.[a] A line of couples commences at the right of the picture, +proceeds towards the left, and then descends a slope to the place of +embarkation. The first couple are sitting and conversing, the next are +in the act of rising, and the third have just risen and are about to +follow the other couples already walking, the whole device being most +effective. A similar kind of illusion is caused by Rubens in his Diana +and Nymphs pursued by Satyrs.[b] On the extreme right of the picture +some of the figures are stationary; then come a few who are struggling, +and finally some running nymphs and satyrs, a perfect progression of +events being suggested. + + [a] In the Louvre, and repeated with variations at Berlin. + + [b] The Prado, Madrid. See Plate 27. + +Illusion of motion is more easily obtained with animals than with human +figures, providing they are fairly large, because of the greater number +of their feet and the consequent wider variation between the apparent +and the real movements. It is exceedingly difficult to produce a +suggestion of motion with a single animal represented in a natural +attitude, but the painter is only concerned with what appears to be +natural or probable, and not with what is actually so. We have only a +general idea of the action of a horse in nature from what we see, and +consequently in design this action must be generalized irrespective of +natural possibilities. Some artists combine parts of different actions +as exhibited in a series of photographs in order to represent a moment +of action as it is generalized to the eye, but this is only serviceable +where the presumed action of the animal is one of a series of similar +events, as in walking or trotting. It would not answer in the case of an +isolated action, as jumping or rearing, because such actions vary with +the circumstances surrounding them, as the height of the jump or the +cause of the rearing. In these events therefore the artist may +exaggerate to a great extent without appearing to present impossible +movements. In fact nearly all good pictures of one or two horses in +action are strong exaggerations of nature, but this hardly affects +their aesthetic worth because the action is not recognized as abnormal or +impossible. The finest painting of horses in action known to us, is +Regnault's Automedon with the Horses of Achilles,[a] where the animals +exhibit spirit and movement far above experience, but even if we did not +know that they are presumed to be immortal, we should only regard the +action as exceptional, for it does not appear to be impossible. + + [a] Boston Museum, U. S. A. See Plate 28. + +There is ample scope for the presentation of an illusion with a number +of moving animals. All that is necessary is that they should be kept +fairly well together with their legs in various moving attitudes. This +illusion is perfectly managed by many of the French painters of battle +scenes in the nineteenth century, notably Horace Vernet,[a] Gros,[b] +Chartier,[c] Morot,[d] and Meissonier.[e] The action in the cavalry +charges of Morot and Chartier is amazingly true to life. Even three or +four animals will suffice for an illusion,[f] but this cannot be +provided with the smaller animals, as sheep or goats, because although a +series of progressive actions may be given to those outside animals in a +flock whose legs are visible to the spectator of the picture, the scale +to which they are painted is necessarily so small that the eye has an +entirely insufficient range for operating the illusion. Where several +horses are represented as moving at considerable speed, it is necessary +that some of their feet should touch the ground, otherwise the illusion +is destroyed, or else the animal may appear to be racing through the +air.[g] The effect is not so disturbing when all the feet of the moving +animals are on the ground,[h] or where they are hidden by herbage,[i] or +where all the animals are on their hind legs,[j] though in these +instances an illusion is almost impossible. + + [a] La Smalah at Versailles. + + [b] The Combat of Nazareth. + + [c] Jena, 1806, and Hanau, 1813. + + [d] Reichsoffen. + + [e] 1814. + + [f] Rosa Bonheur's Ploughing in Nivernois. + + [g] Fromentin's Couriers des Ooled Nayls, Luxembourg; Schreyer's The + Attack, N. Y. Public Library; and Gericault's Epsom, Louvre. + + [h] A. Brown's The Drove. + + [i] Uhde's Cavalry Soldiers Going into Action, Muffel Collection. + + [j] Snyder's Hunt, Munich Gallery. + +In cases where horses and men are crowded together, and are struggling +in confusion, it is only necessary in order to provide an illusion, that +no action should be entirely separated from the others. There was a fine +example of this work in a lost drawing or painting of Titian, of +Pharaoh's Host Overwhelmed in the Red Sea[a]; and many artists of the +Renaissance produced like illusions in pictures of the rape of the +Sabines. Where the movement is spread over a large area, and the scale +to which the animals are drawn is comparatively small, the various +groups engaged must obviously be connected together in a series. Franz +Adam arranges a scheme of this kind in a battle scene, using running +soldiers or hauled guns as links in the chain.[b] + + [a] An engraving on wood by A. Andreani is in existence. + + [b] A Bavarian Regiment before Orleans, Munich. + +An illusion of motion is sometimes assisted by the title of the picture. +A remarkable example of this is Robert's The Israelites Depart. Although +individual action cannot be distinguished owing to the scale of the +design, yet when one is acquainted with the title, the imagination is +instinctively set to work, and the enormous crowds packing the wide +streets seem to be streaming in one direction. Obviously for the title +to have this effect, the number of signs must be overwhelming, and there +must be no possibility of interpreting the picture in two ways; that is +to say, accessory signs must be used to indicate the direction in which +the crowd is moving.[71] + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ILLUSION OF SUSPENSION AND MOTION IN THE AIR + + With the assistance of drapery--Of clouds--Of winged + figures--Miscellaneous devices. + + +The representation of figures suspended in the air, or moving through +it, has never offered much trouble to painters, though necessarily +involving an apparent miracle. The very slightest pretended physical +assistance suffices for the illusion, and this help is usually rendered +in the shape of flying drapery, winged figures, clouds, or artificial +devices based upon the contact of two or more figures. The only +difficulty met with is in respect of an upward vertical movement. Here, +wings or clouds can scarcely be made to differentiate between a rising +and a falling movement, and flying drapery is of little service inasmuch +as a rush through the air would, if the feat were actually performed, +cause the drapery to cling to the figure. The surest remedy for the +disabilty is to support the figure directly by winged figures placed at +a considerable angle from the vertical, but this plan is only rarely +adopted by great masters because of the consequent complications in the +design of the group. Since flying drapery is commonly added to the +figure presumed to be ascending, and seeing that artists almost +invariably insist upon giving their ascending figures upright attitudes, +it is seldom that the movement is correctly expressed. Usually the +figure appears to be held immovably in suspension, but occasionally, +owing to the drapery arrangement, a descending movement is indicated.[a] +Without the assistance of winged figures, the illusion of ascension can +only be given when the figure is shown directed upwards at an angle of +at least fifteen or twenty degrees from the vertical. As a rule the +larger the angle, the more easy is the production of an illusion. With a +fairly large angle, and an appropriate arrangement of limbs and drapery, +heavy figures can be made to appear naturally ascending, as in Rubens's +Boreas and Orithyia, both voluptuous forms.[b] + + [a] As in Murillo's Ascension of Christ, Madrid Academy. + + [b] Venice Academy. + +Only a very few of the first artists have been able to give an illusion +of movement in the air by use of drapery alone, the device adopted by +Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel frescoes being perhaps the most +effective. He throws behind the moving figure of the Deity a large fold +of drapery, which assumes an oval or nearly round shape, the whole +acting as a concave framework for the Deity and attending Angels.[a] The +success of the plan arises of course from the apparent resistance to the +air offered by a large and compact surface. This form with more or less +marked modifications in the concavity was probably used by the ancient +Greeks in their paintings, as a nearly similar arrangement is found in a +sculptured figure which has come down to us, though in this case a +running movement is indicated.[b] It is also seen in some Pompeian +frescoes, where it is applied to figures moving through the air and on +the ground.[c] Raphael adopted the device occasionally,[d] but generally +varied it with excellent effect by flowing out from the waist a large +scarf-like fold to take a circular form above the head and shoulders of +the figure,[e] or by causing heavy drapery to flow out from the lower +part of the body.[f] No doubt in the case of Raphael, the extraordinary +grace of figure, and the perfect pose of the limbs, assist the illusion. +Tintoretto and other artists of the Renaissance used an oval drapery in +a similar way; while sometimes the figure is half hidden within it,[g] +and Le Sueur wrapped part of the figure in folds before forming the +oval.[h] There seems to be a simple virtue in any oval form connected +with figures presumed to be suspended in the air. It was quite common in +the early days of the Renaissance for the Deity or Virgin and Child to +be placed in a regular oval framework, sometimes supported by Angels or +cherubs, and the illusion was usually successful.[i] Rubens by way of +experiment went a little further in one picture, for he placed the +Virgin and Child in an oval picture frame supported by cherubs.[j] This +however does not seem so novel as some of Perugino's ovals which are +bordered with the heads of cherubs.[k] + + [a] See Plate 24. + + [b] The Son of Niobe, Uffizi Gallery, Florence.[72] + + [c] Herculanum et Pompei, vol. iv., by Roux Aine. + + [d] Ceiling of the Hall of Heliodorus, Vatican. + + [e] Vatican frescoes God Separating Water and Earth, and God Appearing + to Isaac. + + [f] The Creation of the Sun and Moon. + + [g] Poussin's St. Francis Zavier, Louvre. + + [h] The Virgin appearing to St. Martin. + + [i] See the Assumption of Orcagna, and of Luca di Tome; Giunto + Pisano's Christ and the Virgin; and Mainardi's Madonna giving + her Girdle to St. Thomas. + + [j] Virgin and Child, Chiesa Nuovo, Rome. + + [k] Ascension of Christ, Perugia; Assumption, Florence Academy, and + others. + +Wings are seldom sufficient to suggest lightness in the air, because +they can scarcely be designed of the size and strength which we judge to +be proportionate to the presumed weight of the body, without making the +form appear abnormal, though there are instances in which partial +success has been achieved by using comparatively small figures and +giving them unusually large wings.[a] The use of more than a single pair +of wings is hardly permissible because of the apparent anomaly. Actually +one pair is not less incomprehensible from an anatomical point of view +than several pairs, but custom has driven from our minds any suggestion +of incongruity in respect of the representation of the common type of +Angel. Naturally when skilfully arranged, the more wings, the stronger +the illusion of flight, and if a habit of giving four wings to an Angel +were engendered, we should perhaps see nothing strange in them. Even six +wings have been given to Angels without making them appear +ungraceful.[b] + + [a] J. H. Witt's Bless the Lord. + + [b] Picart's The Burning Coal. + +When there is no assistance, as clouds or flowing drapery, lent to +Angels to promote the illusion of suspension, it is necessary to give +them an attitude which is nearly horizontal. Properly managed, a pair +of comparatively small wings may in this way appear to support a heavy +form.[a] Luini actually adds the weight of the body of St. Catherine to +three Angels, flying horizontally, who carry her to the tomb[b]; an +invention, strangely enough, followed by Kulmbach in Germany at about +the same time.[c] In both cases the illusion is excellent. Some of the +early Flemish and German masters, including Van Eyck[d] and Holbein,[e] +employed Angels in scenes with the Virgin to hold suspended behind her +seat, large falls of brocaded material, and it is curious to note that +the Angels themselves seem to be supported by the drapery. In order to +assist the suggestion of lightness, Perugino sometimes arched the lower +limbs of the Angels, adding a narrow tape scroll[f]; an addition +improved upon by Raphael who substituted for the scroll a loosened +girdle flying out from the waist.[g] + + [a] Rembrandt's The Angel quitting Tobias, Louvre. + + [b] The Brera, Milan. + + [c] St. Mary's, Krakan. + + [d] Virgin and Child at the Fountain, Antwerp. + + [e] Virgin and Child, Augsburg. + + [f] The Ascension, Borgo San Sepolcro, Perugia. + + [g] Creation of Woman, Castello Gallery; Prophets and Sybils, Perugia, + and others. + +The most frequently used form of support for figures in suspension are +irregular masses of clouds, upon which the figures sit or stand, and +occasionally are partly enfolded therein. Sometimes the cloud bank is +more or less shaped for the purpose of relief, or for variety in design. +Thus, Raphael makes part of the cloud a perfect footrest for the +Virgin,[a] and Palma Giovane does a similar thing for a figure of +Christ,[b] but in this case the illusion is hazarded as the seat is not +directly indicated. Ingres produces an excellent illusion by making the +footrest a small separate cloud,[c] which is a variation from the +practice of many painters of the Renaissance, who used a separate cloud +for each personage in the composition, or even with each foot as with +Carlo Crivelli.[d] In a fresco of the Evangelists at Florence, each of +them sits with his insignia on a foliated bank of clouds.[e] Perugino in +using a similar plan sometimes places the clouds at the bottom of the +picture, no part of the earth being seen, so that the illusion is +considerably enhanced.[f] At other times he shows Angels apparently +running through the air, with each front foot resting on a tiny cloud, +giving the impression that it is fastened there.[g] Durer extended this +plan by directly attaching a small cloud to each foot, the effect being +somewhat whimsical.[h] Titian was unsuccessful in the use of an isolated +cloud.[i] In a Resurrection scene Christ stands on a small thin cloud, +and holds a flag-pole, the lower end of which rests upon the cloud. +Obviously with such a design no suggestion of ascent can enter the mind. + + [a] Foligna Madonna, Vatican. + + [b] Christ in Judgment, Venice. + + [c] The Oath of Louis XIII. + + [d] Coronation of the Virgin, Milan. + + [e] Santa Maria. By an unknown artist of the Ghirlandaio school. + + [f] Christ's Rule. + + [g] Madonna and Child with Penitents, and others. + + [h] The Virgin with a Canary, Berlin. + + [i] Urbino Gallery. + + [Illustration: PLATE 23 (See page 247) + Patricia, by Lydia Emmet (_Private owner, N. Y._)] + +Some artists, as Luca Signorelli,[a] hide the lower part of the figure +behind clouds, but this method, while indicating suspension, cannot +provide an illusion of movement without an assisting device. Thus +Schonherr shows an Angel so concealed in a nearly horizontal position +with wings fully expanded, the effect being good.[b] When a figure is +suspended on clouds, very rarely indeed is repose emphasized by placing +it in a horizontal position, but Poussin once adopts the plan,[c] and +Guercino goes so far as to represent a reclining Angel resting her head +on her hand as if suffering from fatigue.[d] Perfect repose of the Deity +in an upright position on clouds is produced by Gustave Dore, who +reduces the size of the earth, above which He stands, to an +insignificant proportion, so that the imagination sends it moving round +below Him.[e] + + [a] Madonna and Child in Glory, Arezzo. + + [b] The Agony in the Garden. + + [c] Adam and Eve. + + [d] Martyrdom of St. Peter, Modena. + + [e] Creation of the Earth. + +Quite a number of artists represent the suspended figures standing on +the backs of cherubs or cupids, which in their turn are supported by +clouds, as for instance, R. Ghirlandaio,[a] Liberale di Verona,[b] and +Francesco da Cotignola.[c] Fra Bartolommeo places a single foot of the +Deity on a cherub who holds a banderole, the illusion being +excellent.[d] Domenichino adopts a most ingenious device in St. Paul's +Vision. He shows the Apostle being carried to Heaven by winged cherubs, +who appear to find the weight considerable, and to struggle under it. +There is little else to induce the illusion, which is complete.[e] A +similar scheme is successfully managed in Prud'hon's Abduction of +Psyche. Tassaert uses a like device, but in addition has a cherub +supporting each arm of the Virgin. Palma Vecchio makes the Virgin stand +on the outstretched wings of a cherub, but her robe blows upwards, +giving her the appearance of descending instead of ascending.[f] Rubens +has three alternatives in the use of cherubs. The figure sits on clouds +with feet resting on small globes sustained by cherubs[g]; or the +cherubs hold the dress and mantle of the Virgin; or they help to control +the clouds upon which she sits.[h] In some of his pictures of the +Immaculate Conception, Murillo also uses globes, but places the cherubs +on them instead of under. Francia has a picture in which cherubs hold up +clouds bearing the Virgin,[i] a device once used by Rembrandt.[j] Genga +shows the Deity kneeling upon the heads of cherubs, a scheme not +satisfactory.[k] Cherubs were used by Titian to hold up the Virgin and +clouds,[l] while Velasquez rested the robes on clouds, but used cherubs +to sustain the Holy Mother.[m] + + [a] The Madonna giving her Girdle to St. Thomas, Prato. + + [b] The Magdalene and Saints. + + [c] Adoration of the Shepherds, Ravenna Academy. + + [d] The Deity with SS. Catherine and Magdalene. + + [e] Assumption of the Virgin. + + [f] Assumption of the Virgin, Venice. + + [g] The Deity and Christ, Weimar. + + [h] Assumption of the Virgin at Dusseldorf, Augsburg, Brussels, and + Vienna. + + [i] Madonna and Child in Glory, Berlin. + + [j] The Ascension, Munich. + + [k] The Magdalene and Saints, Milan. + + [l] Assumption of the Virgin, Venice. + + [m] Coronation of the Virgin, Madrid. + +The illusion is usually more complete when Angels are used instead of +cherubs for support, apparently because they may be presumed to have +greater strength, and the plan was adopted by some of the earlier +masters of the Renaissance. The simple design of Rubens in resting the +foot of Christ on the arm of a flying Angel is quite successful.[a] +Fontana places the Deity on clouds supported by Angels,[b] a method +adopted by Granacci, who however assists the illusion by adding two +Angels who are directly supporting the figure.[c] Peter Cornelius has +the Deity with His foot on a small globe which is held in position by +Angels.[d] A fine example of their use is shown by Gutherz. Two Angels +with large outstretched wings are bearing the body of a woman to Heaven. +She lies recumbent upon a lengthy hammock formed by the robes of the +Angels, the ends of the drapery being gathered up by the flying +cherubs.[e] The illusion is perfect. Rembrandt also has a beautiful +design in a Resurrection scene, for he shows the figure of Christ as a +shade whose hands are held by a flying Angel lifting Him to Heaven.[f] A +few artists, as Poussin[g] and Bouguereau,[h] use Angels to carry the +figure with no other assisting device, but if the body is recumbent it +is necessary that the Angels should be in a nearly upright position, +otherwise they will appear to be moving horizontally.[i] Rubens in an +Ascension uses the strange method of placing an Angel beneath Christ, +but without touching Him.[j] The drapery flies out at the back, so that +without some assistance he would appear to be descending; but the Angel +below, with her hands held up, seems to correct the position. Guido Reni +carries the Virgin up with Angels who support her beneath, and she seems +in fact to be standing on their shoulders.[k] In one instance Correggio +substitutes a smiling boy for an Angel, and he holds up a cloud on which +the Virgin sits.[l] There are many works where winged figures hold a +body in suspension, most of them providing excellent illusions. Among +the best is Lux's Sarpedon, where the body of the Trojan is held up for +Jupiter to kiss.[m] + + [a] Ascension of Christ, Vienna. + + [b] Vision of the Resurrection. + + [c] The Virgin giving her Girdle to St. Thomas, Uffizi Gallery, + Florence. + + [d] Let there be Light. + + [e] "They shall bear thee up." + + [f] Munich Gallery. + + [g] Assumption of the Virgin, and Vision of St. Paul. + + [h] Assumption of the Virgin. + + [i] Bouguereau's Une Ame au Ciel. + + [j] The Academy, Venice. + + [k] Assumption of the Virgin, Munich. + + [l] Madonna and Child with Saints, Parma. + + [m] The Luxembourg. + +Even a simple banderole or scarf suffices to indicate movement in the +air if well arranged. Usually a flying cherub holds an end of the +banderole, and Ferri shows a wingless putto even, flying with no other +assistance.[a] Boucher creates an illusion by the bold device of +connecting two cupids with a narrow scarf blown out into a +semicircle[b]; and in another instance very narrow tape streamers +suffice.[c] + + [a] David plans a Temple. + + [b] Birth of Venus. + + [c] Altdorfer's Nativity at Berlin. + +The use of thick smoke for suspension purposes is nearly always +successful, because volumes of smoke in nature necessarily tend to move +upwards; but obviously this scheme can only be arranged when an altar is +possible. The plan is not uncommon in pictures relating to Cain and +Abel, and the Translation of Enoch. In one of the latter subject, Hoet +makes part of the smoke from an altar envelop the surrounding ground so +as to widen the volume, while Schnorr achieves the same end by curling +round the smoke as it ascends into the form of a large saucer upon which +the Deity sits,[a] a method slightly varied by Amiconi.[b] + + [a] God's Promise to Abraham. + + [b] God Appearing to Moses. + +Where a number of figures are connected together in a circular form in +the air, the double illusion of suspension and motion follows naturally, +provided their attitudes indicate a circular movement. An excellent +example of this is shown in a picture by Botticelli, where Angels dance +in the air over the hut of the Nativity.[a] The finest work of the kind +in existence is probably Schwind's Pleiads, in which the stars are +represented by a circle of beautiful nude women.[b] Extraordinary +activity is suggested by the perfect arrangement of the limbs and light +flowing drapery used. Bouguereau has a work of a similar kind, The Lost +Pleiad, but here the dancers are upright, and the circle is only +accessory to the title figure.[c] Watteau is fairly successful in giving +an illusion of suspension to cupids even with a half circle, though the +invention is somewhat formal.[d] + + [a] National Gallery, London. + + [b] Denner Collection. See Plate 25. + + [c] Brooklyn Museum, New York. + + [d] The Berlin example of the Embarkation for Cythera. + +Some of the devices used to bring about an illusion are most ingenious. +Thus in his Bacchus and Ariadne,[a] Tintoretto actually applies a +disability of his art for the purpose. Venus is shown in a horizontal +position in the air, placing a crown of stars upon the head of Ariadne. +Bacchus is standing by, and the form of the goddess floats just at the +back of him, the lower side of her hip being on a level with the top of +his head. Seeing that the head is covered with a profusion of vine +leaves, it is impossible for the artist to indicate, or the observer to +recognize, that the goddess does not actually touch the head of Bacchus, +and she apparently balances herself upon his head while crowning +Ariadne, the artist having been careful to place the centre of gravity +of her figure over the apparent point of contact. A similar kind of +illusion is provided by Burne-Jones, whose Angel of the Annunciation is +upright in midair near the ground, but her feet seem to find support +on the branches of a shrub.[b] Rossetti, in the same subject, shows the +Angel with his feet wrapped in flames, the weight being thus apparently +removed. The design seems bizarre, perhaps because of the absence of an +expression of surprise which one would expect to see on the countenance +of the Virgin at so extraordinary a phenomenon.[73] Schwind also uses a +disability of his art for an illusion in his Phantom of the Forest.[c] +She moves near the ground away from the spectator with such rapidity +that her robe, a simple rectangular piece of drapery, has opened out +wide from the front, and hides her figure from the shoulders down, so +that from the point of view of the observer she may, or may not, be +touching the ground as she moves. + + [a] Ducal Palace, Venice. + + [b] Tate Gallery, London. + + [c] Schack Gallery, Munich. + +How slight the apparent support need be, is indicated in Bouguereau's +Aurora and Twilight. Each figure is represented by a nude woman holding +a light scarf, the first rapidly, and the second slowly, skimming the +surface of a stream of water with soft touches of the feet, and yet +there is no anomaly that strikes the mind. A still more daring device is +used by Battistello, though quite successfully. He places two wingless +putti in the air, but one holds up the other, and this action seems to +sustain them both.[a] Another amazing design is from the hand of A. P. +Roll, who shows a nude-man in the air clutching another, and apparently +struggling to pull him down, yet the action seems perfectly natural.[b] + + [a] Adoration of the Shepherds, San Martino, Naples. + + [b] Design for the Petit Palais, Paris. + + + * * * * * + + + + +NOTES + + + +NOTE 1. PAGE 2 + +It is usual and proper to distinguish three kinds of beauty in painting, +namely, of colour, of form, and of expression. But form must be defined +by tones, and colour without form is meaningless: hence in the general +consideration of the painter's art, it is convenient to place form and +colour together as representing the sensorial element of beauty. +Nevertheless colour and form are not on the same plane in regard to +sense perception. Harmony of colour is distinguished involuntarily by +nerve sensations, but in the case of harmony of form there must be a +certain consideration before its aesthetic determination. The recognition +of this harmony commonly appears to be instantaneous, but still it is +delayed, the delay varying with the complexity of the signs, that is to +say, with the quality of the beauty. + + + +NOTE 2. PAGE 2 + +Benedetto Croce, the inventor of the latest serious aesthetic system, +talks of the "science of art," but he says[a]: + + Science--true science, is a science of the spirit--Philosophy. + Natural sciences spoken of apart from philosophy, are complexes + of knowledge, arbitrarily abstracted and fixed. + +It is perhaps needless to say that Croce's aesthetic system, like all the +others, collapses on a breath of inquiry. On the purely philosophical +side of it, further criticism is unnecessary, and its practical outcome +from the point of view of art is not far removed from the amazing +conclusions of Hegel. From the latter philosopher we learn that an idol +in the form of a stone pillar, or an animal set up by the primitive +races, is higher art than a drama by Shakespeare, or a portrait by +Titian, because it represents the Idea (Hegel's unintelligible +abstraction--see Note 5), while Croce tells us that "the art of savages +is not inferior, as art, to that of civilized peoples, provided it be +correlated to the impressions of the savages." Clearly if this be so, we +are not surprised to learn from Croce that Aristotle "failed to discern +the true nature of the aesthetic." Nevertheless, whatever be the outcome +of Croce's arguments, his system is at least more plausible than that of +either Hegel or Schopenhauer, for while these two invent highly +improbable abstractions upon which to base their systems, Croce only +gives new functions to an old and reasonable abstraction. + + [a] _Aesthetic_, Douglas Ainslie Translation, 1909. + + + +NOTE 3. PAGE 3 + +The writer does not mean to suggest that these systems are set up for +the purpose of being knocked down: he desires only to indicate surprise +that in new works dealing with the perception of beauty, it is +considered necessary to restate the old aesthetic theories and to point +out their drawbacks, albeit the fatal objections to them are so numerous +that there is always fresh ground available for destructive criticism. +The best of the recent works on the subject that have come under the +notice of the writer, is E. F. Carritt's review of the present position +in respect of aesthetic systems. Though profound, he is so comprehensive +that he leaves little or nothing of importance for succeeding critics to +say till the next system is put forward. Yet here is his conclusion[a]: + + If any point can be thought to have emerged from the foregoing + considerations, it is this: that in the history of aesthetics we + may discover a growing pressure of emphasis upon the doctrine that + all beauty is the expression of what may be generally called + emotion, and that all such expression is beautiful. + +This is all that an acute investigator can draw from the sum of the +aesthetic systems advanced. Now what does this mean? Let us turn to the +last page of Carritt's book and find the object of the search after a +satisfactory aesthetic system. It is, he says, "the desire to understand +goodness and beauty and their relations with each other or with +knowledge, as well as to practise or enjoy them." If we accept beauty as +the expression of emotion, how far have we progressed towards the +indicated goal? Not a step, for we have only agreed upon a new way of +stating an obvious condition which applies to the animal world as well +as to human beings. Beyond this there is nothing--not a glimpse of +sunshine from all the aesthetic systems laid down since the time of +Baumgarten. + +More than twenty years ago Leo Tolstoy pointed out the unintelligible +character of these systems, but no further light has been thrown upon +them. Nevertheless Tolstoy's own interpretation of the significance of +beauty cannot possibly meet with general approval. He disputes that art +is directly associated with beauty or pleasure, and finds in fact that +what we call the beautiful representation of nature is not necessarily +art, but that[b] + + Art is a human activity, consisting in this, that one man + consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to others + feelings he has lived through, and that other people are affected + by these feelings, and also experience them. + +This definition may mean almost anything, and particularly it may imply +pure imitation which Tolstoy condemns as outside of art. But it +certainly does not include many forms of what we call art, the author +specially condemning for instance, _Romeo and Juliet_, and declaring +that while _Faust_ is beautiful, "it cannot produce a really artistic +impression." The definition then seems to represent little more than a +quibble over terms. Tolstoy says that the beautiful representation of +nature is not art, but something else is. Very well then, all we have to +do is to find a new term for this representation of nature, and the +position remains as before except that the meaning of the term "art" has +been changed. + + [a] _The Theory of Beauty_, 1914. + + [b] _What is Art?_ Aylmer Maude Translation. + + + +NOTE 4. PAGE 8 + +The evolutionary principle has been applied to art by Herbert Spencer +and J. A. Symonds, but not in the sense in which it is used in +connection with the development of living organisms. Spencer traces a +progression from the simple to the complex in the application of the +arts, but not in the arts themselves[a]; and Symonds endeavours to prove +that each separate marked period of art shows a progression which is +common to all; that is, from immature variations to a high type, then +downwards through a lower form represented by romanticism or elegance, +to realism, and from this to hybrid forms.[b] Spencer's argument is +suggestive, but his conclusions have been mostly upset by archaeological +discoveries made since his great book was published. The illustrations +given by Symonds are highly illuminating, but they are very far from +postulating a general law of evolution operating in the production of +art. + + [a] _First Principles_. + + [b] Essay on _Evolutionary Principles_. + + + + [Illustration: PLATE 24 (See page 260) + The Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo (_Vatican_)] + + + +NOTE 5. PAGE 8 + +It seems necessary to mention Hegel's art periods, though one can only +do so with a feeling of regret that a man who achieved a high reputation +as a philosopher should have entered the province of art only to +misconstrue its purpose with fantastic propositions which have no +historical or other apparent foundation. He divides art history into +Symbolic, Classic, and Romantic periods respectively. To accomplish this +he invents or discovers a new abstraction which he calls the Idea, this +representing man's conception, not of God, but of His perfection--His +supreme qualities, so that in one sense the Idea may be called the +Absolute, in another the Spirit, and in another, Truth. These terms are +in fact interchangeable, and each may be a manifestation of another, or +of God. This Idea, he says, being perfect beauty, is the basic concept +of art. In archaic times man was unable to give expression to this +concept, so he represented it by symbols: hence the earliest art was +Symbolic art. In the time of the Greeks man had so advanced that he was +able to give higher expression to the Idea, and he embodied it in a +perfect human form. This is the Classic period, which Hegel indicates +continued till Christianity spread abroad, when Classic form, though +perfect as art, was found insufficient for the now desired still higher +expression of the Idea. This expression could not be put into stone, so +other arts than sculpture were used for it, namely, poetry, painting, +and music, which are placed together as Romantic art. This is as nearly +as possible a statement of the periods of Hegel in short compass. It is +impossible to interpret logically his arguments, nor is it necessary, +for his conclusions when tested in the light of experience, develop into +inexplicable paradoxes and contradictions which border on the +ridiculous. Needless to say, the acceptance of this division means the +annihilation of our ideas of the meaning of art, and the condemnation to +the limbo of forgetfulness of nearly all the artists whose memory is +honoured. + +The general interpretation of the terms "Classic Art" and "Romantic Art" +widely differs from that of Hegel, and varies with the arts. In the +literary arts the distinction is obvious, but the terms are used to +define both periods and classes; in architecture the Gothic period is +usually called the Romantic epoch; and in painting the terms have +reference to manner, the more formal manner being called Classic, and +the soft manner, Romantic; though it is commonly understood that +Romantic art is especially concerned with subjects associated with the +gentler side of life. But there is no general agreement. Some writers +assert that Giorgione was the first of the romanticists, others give the +palm to Watteau, a third section to Delacroix, and a fourth to the +Barbizon School. We must await a clear definition of "Romantic Art." + + + +NOTE 6. PAGE 8 + +It may be reasonably argued that the want of development of the plastic +arts in England during the literary revival, was largely due to +artificial restrictions. Fine paintings were ordered out of the churches +by Elizabeth, and many were destroyed; while, following the lead of the +court, there was little or no encouragement offered by the public to +artists except perhaps in portraiture. Flaxman truly said of the +destruction of works of art in this period, that the check to the +national art in England occurred at a time which offered the most +essential and extraordinary assistance to its progress. + + + +NOTE 7. PAGE 16 + +During the last half century or so, various writers of repute, including +Ruskin and Dean Farrar, have professed to find in the poorer works of +the Italian painters of the fourteenth century, and even in paintings of +Margaritone and others of the previous century, evidence of strong +religious emotion on the part of the artists. It is claimed that their +purpose in giving simple solemn faces to their Madonnas and Saints, was +"to tell the sacred story in all its beauty and simplicity"; that they +possessed a "powerful sincerity of emotion"; that they "delivered the +burning messages of prophecy with the stammering lips of infancy," and +so on. It is proper to say that there is nothing to support this view of +the early painters. We find no trace of any suggestions of the kind till +the last of these artists had been dead for about four hundred years, +while their lives, so far as we have any record, lend no warranty to the +statements. The painters of the fourteenth century took their art +seriously, but purely as a craft, and it was not uncommon with them to +combine two or three other crafts with that of painting. They designed +mostly sacred subjects for the simple reason that the art patrons of the +day seldom ordered anything else. In their private lives they associated +together, were generally agreeable companions, and not averse to an +occasional escapade. Moreover the time in which they lived was notable +for what we should call loose habits, and indeed from the thirteenth +century to the end of the fifteenth, religious observances and practices +were of a more hollow and formal character than they have ever been +since. + +The position occupied by these painters in the progression of art from +the crude Byzantine period upwards, corresponds with that of the Roman +painters of the third and fourth centuries in the progression downwards +to the Byzantine epoch, and there is no more reason for supposing that +the Italians were actuated by special emotions in their work, than that +the Romans were so moved. In both cases the character of the work, as +Reynolds put it in referring to the Italians, was the result of want of +knowledge. The countenances usually presented by both Roman and Italian +artists have a half sad, half resigned expression, because this was the +only kind of expression that could be given by an immature painter whose +ideal was restricted by the necessity of eliminating elements which +might indicate happiness. Giotto, Taddeo Gaddi, Duccio, and a few more, +were exceptions in that their art was infinitely superior to the average +of the century, but all from Giotto downwards, laboured as craftsmen +only. No doubt they often worked with enthusiasm, and in this way their +emotions may have been brought into play, but there is no possible means +of identifying in a picture the emotions which an artist may have +experienced while he was painting it. + +As to the sad expression referred to in these Italian works, it may be +observed that Edgar A. Poe held that the tone of the highest +manifestation of beauty is one of sadness. "Beauty of whatever kind," he +says, "in its supreme development invariably excites the sensitive soul +to tears."[a] But Poe is clearly mistaken here. It is not the beauty of +the work that affects the emotions to tears, when they are so affected, +but the subject of the design exhibiting the beauty. A picture or poem +representing a sad subject may be very beautiful, but the sadness itself +would not assist the beauty, though it might increase the emotional +effect. The higher forms of beauty rarely draw our tears, but elicit our +admiration without direct thought of anything but the beauty. + +Who would weep when in front of the greatest marvels of Greek sculpture? + + [a] _The Philosophy of Composition._ + + + +NOTE 8. PAGE 21 + +It is commonly, but wrongfully, supposed that Rembrandt used his +broadest manner in painting commissioned portraits. The number of his +portraits known to exist is about 450, of which fifty-five are +representations of himself, and fifty-four of members of his household, +or relatives. There are, further, more than seventy studies of old men +and women, and thirty of younger men. The balance are commissioned +portraits or groups. This last section includes none at all of his +palette knife pictures, and not more than two or three which are +executed with his heaviest brushes. Generally his work broadened in his +later period, but up to the end of his life his more important works +were often painted in a comparatively fine manner, though the handling +was less careful and close.[a] The broadest style of the artist is +rarely exhibited except in his studies and family portraits. Further it +is extremely unlikely that a palette-knife picture would have been +accepted in Holland during Rembrandt's time as a serious work in +portraiture. + + [a] See among works dating after 1660, The Syndics of the Drapers, + Portrait of a Young Man, Wachtmeister Collection; Lady with + a Dog, Colmar Museum; and Portrait of a Young Man, late Beit + Collection. + + + +NOTE 9. PAGE 22 + +Darwin pointed out the permanent character of the changes in the nerves, +though he submitted another demonstration[a]: + + That some physical change is produced in the nerve cells or nerves + which are habitually used can hardly be doubted, for otherwise it + is impossible to understand how the tendency to certain acquired + movements is inherited. + + [a] _The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals._ + + + +NOTE 10. PAGE 23 + +Reynolds evidently had little faith in original genius. Addressing Royal +Academy students, he said[a]: + + You must have no dependence on your own genius. If you have great + talents, industry will improve them; if you have but moderate + abilities, industry will supply the deficiency. Nothing is denied + to well-directed labour; nothing is to be obtained without it.... I + will venture to assert that assiduity unabated by difficulty, and a + disposition eagerly directed to the object of its pursuit, will + produce effects similar to those which some call the result of + natural powers. + +On another occasion Reynolds observed of Michelangelo[b]: + + He appears not to have had the least conception that his art was to + be acquired by any other means than great labour; and yet he of all + men that ever lived, might make the greatest pretensions to the + efficacy of native genius and inspiration. + +Gibbon said that Reynolds agreed with Dr. Johnson in denying all +original genius, any natural propensity of the mind to one art or +science rather than another.[c] Hogarth also agreed with Reynolds, for +he describes genius as "nothing but labour and diligence." + +Croce says that genius has a quantitative and not a qualitative +signification, but he offers no demonstration.[d] Evidently he is +mistaken, for the signification is both quantitative and qualitative. It +is true that what a Phidias, or a Raphael, or a Beethoven puts together +is a sum of small beauties, any one of which may be equalled by another +man, but he does more than represent a number of beauties, for he +combines these into a beautiful whole which is superior in quality and +cannot be estimated quantitatively. We may possibly call Darwin a genius +because of the large number of facts he ascertained, and the correct +inferences he drew from them, but we particularly apply the term to him +by reason of the general result of all these facts and inferences, this +result being qualitative and not quantitative. Croce probably took his +dictum from Schopenhauer, who, however, represented degrees of quality +as quantitative,[e] which is of course confusing the issue. + + [a] Reynolds's Second Discourse. + + [b] His Fifth Discourse. + + [c] Gibbon's _Memoirs of my Life and Writings_. + + [d] _Aesthetic._ + + [e] Essay on "Genius." + + + +NOTE 11. PAGE 32 + +It is often observed by advocates of "new" forms of art that the work of +many great artists has been variously valued at different periods--that +leaders of marked departures in art now honoured, were frequently more +or less ignored in their own time, while other artists who acquired a +great reputation when living, have been properly put into the background +by succeeding generations. For the first statement no solid ground can +be shown. In painting, the artists since the Dark Age who can be said to +have led departures of any importance, are Cimabue, Giotto, the Van +Eycks, Masaccio, Lionardo, Duerer, Giorgione, Raphael, Michelangelo, +Titian, Holbein, Claude, Rubens, Rembrandt, Velasquez, Watteau, +Reynolds, and Fragonard. All of these had their high talents recognized +and thoroughly appreciated in their lifetime. In sculpture the +experience is the same, for there is no sculptor now honoured whose work +was not highly valued by his contemporaries. So with poetry, but before +the invention of printing and in the earlier days of this industry, +poetry of any kind was very slow in finding its way among the people. +What might seem nowadays to have been inappreciation of certain poets +was really want of knowledge of them. + +There is more truth in the assertion that many artists who had a high +reputation in their lifetime are now more or less disregarded, though +it does not follow from this that there has been a reversal of opinion +on the part of the public, or a variation in the acuteness of aesthetic +perception. Generally we find that these artists very properly held the +position they occupied in their time and country, and if they do not now +stand on exalted pedestals it is only because we compare them with men +of other periods and places, which their contemporary countrymen did +not do, at least for the purpose of establishing their permanent +position in art. Carlo Maratta for instance was celebrated in Italy as +the best painter of his country in his time, and even now we must so +regard him, but his contemporaries as with ourselves did not place him +on so high a level as his great predecessors of the sixteenth century, +and some of the seventeenth. A special reason why many of the +seventeenth century artists of Italy have fallen in public esteem may be +found in the fact that they excelled mostly in the production of +sensorial beauty, paying little attention to intellectual grace, and the +ripening of general intelligence as time goes on makes us more and more +sensitive to beauty of mind. + + + +NOTE 12. PAGE 34 + +There have been many definitions of "Impressionism" given, but they vary +considerably. Professor Clausen describes it as the work of a number of +artists whose interest is in recording effects of light, seeking to +express nature only and disregarding old conventions.[a] Mr. D. S. +MacColl says that an impressionist is[b] + + a painter who, out of the completed contacts of vision constructs + an image moulded upon his own interest in the thing seen, and not + on that of any imaginary schoolmaster. + +This definition is insufficient by itself, but the writer makes his +meaning clearer in the same article when he says: + + Impressionism is the art that surveys the field, and determines + which of the shapes and tones are of chief importance to the + interested eye, and expresses these and sacrifices the rest. + +According to C. Mauclair, an acknowledged authority on impressionism, +the impressionist holds: + + Light becomes the one subject of a picture. The interest of the + objects on which it shines is secondary. Painting thus understood + becomes an art of pure optics, a seeking for harmonies, a species + of natural poem, entirely distinct from expression, style, drawing, + which have formed the main endeavour of preceding painting. It is + almost necessary to invent a new word for this special art, which, + while remaining throughout pictural, approaches music in the same + degree as it departs from literature or psychology.[c] + +What can be said of so amazing a declaration? The arts of painting and +music do not, and cannot, have any connection with each other. They are +concerned with different senses and different signs, and by no stretch +of the imagination can they be combined. Seeing that musical terms when +used in respect of painting by modern critics are almost invariably made +to apply to colour harmonies, we may infer that a confusion of thought +arises in the minds of the writers from the similar physical means by +which colour and sound are conveyed to the senses concerned. But this +similarity has nothing to do with the appreciation of art. The aesthetic +value of a work is determined when it is conveyed to the mind, +irrespective of the means by which it is so conveyed. + +According to La Touche it was Fantin Latour who invented modern +impressionism. Braquemond relates that La Touche told him the following +story.[d] He (La Touche) was one day at the Louvre with Manet, when they +saw Latour copying Paolo Veronese's Marriage at Cana in a novel manner, +for instead of blending his colours in the usual way, he laid them on in +small touches of separate tones. The result was an unexpected brilliancy +("papillotage imprevu") which amazed but charmed the visitors. +Nevertheless when Manet left the Louvre with La Touche, he appeared +anything but satisfied with what he had seen, and pronounced it humbug. +But Latour's method evidently sunk into his mind, for a few days later +he commenced to use it himself. Thus, added La Touche, was modern +impressionism unchained. The date of this visit was not given by La +Touche, but 1874 was subsequently suggested. This account does not fit +in with the statement of MacColl that when Monet and Pissarro were in +London during the siege of Paris, the study of Turner's pictures gave +them the suggestion of these broken patches of colour.[e] If this be +true Monet must have antedated Manet in the application of isolated +tones. + +D. S. Eaton asserts that in the Salon of 1867, there was exhibited a +picture by Monet which was entitled Impressions,[f] and from this arose +the word "Impressionist"; but Phythian says that the word resulted from +Monet's "Impression, soleil levant," exhibited in 1874 at the Nadar +Gallery in Paris with other works from Le Societe Anonyme des Artistes, +Peintres, Sculpteurs, et Graveurs. Phythian adds[g]: + + Thus, unwittingly led by one of the exhibitors, visitors to the + exhibition came to use the word "impressioniste," and within a few + days a contemptuously unfavourable notice of the exhibition + appeared in _Le Charivari_ under the heading "Exposition des + Impressionistes." It was not until the lapse of several years that + the name came into general use. The painters to whom it was applied + disowned it because it was used in a depreciatory sense. Eventually + however, unable to find a better one, they adopted it. + +Another origin of Impressionism is given by Muther. He says[h]: + + The name "Impressionists" dates from an exhibition in Paris which + was given at Nadar's in 1871. The catalogue contained a great deal + about impressions--for instance, "Impression de mon pot au feu," + "Impression d'un chat qui se promene." In his criticism Claretie + summed up the impressions, and spoke of the Salon des + Impressionistes. + +But the real origin of impressionism must be sought earlier than 1871, +for in 1865 Manet exhibited his Olympia in the Salon des Refuses. This +picture did not represent what was understood as impressionism ten years +later, but it led the way towards the establishment of the innovation, +in that it pretended that healthy ideas and noble designs were secondary +considerations in art. Certainly Manet could not descend lower than this +wretched picture, and in this sense his subsequent work was a distinct +advance. + + [a] Royal Academy Lectures. + + [b] Article on "Impressionism," _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, 11th + Edition. + + [c] _L'Impressionism, son histoire, son esthetique, ses maitres._ + + [d] _Le Journal des Arts_, 1909. + + [e] Article on "Impressionism," _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, 11th + edition. + + [f] _Handbook of Modern French Painting._ + + [g] _Fifty Years of Modern Painting._ + + [h] _History of Modern Painting_, vol. iii. + + + +NOTE 13. PAGE 35 + +The reason given by impressionists for the juxtaposition of pure colours +is that the natural blend produced is more brilliant than the tone from +the mixed colours applied, but it is pointed out by Moreau-Vauthier that +the contrary is the case. He says[a]: + + We find in practice that the parent colours do not, with material + colours, produce the theoretical binaries. We get dark, dull + greens, oranges, and violets, that clash with the parent colours. + To make them harmonize we should be obliged to dim these material + colours, to transform them, and consequently to lose them partly. + + [a] _The Technique of Painting_, 1912. + + + +NOTE 14. PAGE 37 + +Cezanne and Van Gogh are not usually put forward as representative +impressionists, but it is impossible to differentiate logically between +the various "isms" of which impressionism is the mother, and to attempt +a serious argument upon them would be apt to reflect upon the common +sense of the reader. The sincere impressionist certainly produces a +thing of beauty, however ephemeral and lacking in high character the +beauty may be, but most of the productions of the other "isms" only +serve the purpose of degrading the artist and the art. + + + +NOTE 15. PAGE 40 + +This form of picture is by no means new, though except among the +inventors of sprezzatura, and the modern impressionists, it has always +been executed as a rough sketch for the purpose of settling harmonies +for serious work. Lomazzo relates that Aurelio, son of Bernadino Luini, +while visiting Titian, asked him how he managed to make his landscape +tones harmonize so well. For reply the great master showed Aurelio a +large sketch, the character of which could not be distinguished when it +was closely inspected, but on the observer stepping back, a landscape +appeared "as if it had suddenly been lit up by a ray of the sun."[a] +From Luini's surprise, and inasmuch as we have no record of similar work +before his time, it is reasonable to suppose that Titian was the first +great artist to use this form of sketch for experimental purposes. + + [a] _Trattato dell' Arte de la Pittura._ + + + + [Illustration: PLATE 25 (See page 269) + The Pleiads, by M. Schwind] + + + +NOTE 16. PAGE 40 + +The example of this picture at the Pitti Palace is specially noted +because it seems impossible that the duplicate in the Uffizi Gallery can +be by Raphael, for it has obvious defects, some of which have many times +been pointed out. The expression is vastly inferior to that in the Pitti +portrait, for instead of a calm, noble, benign countenance, we have a +half-worried senile face which is anything but pleasant. Raphael was the +last man to execute a portrait of a Pope without generalizing high +character in the features. It will be observed also that in the Uffizi +portrait, the left hand is stiff and cramped, and the drapery +ungracefully flowing, while both uprights of the chair are actually out +of drawing. There are other examples of the same picture in different +museums, but the Pitti work is far above these in every respect, and +seems the only one which can be properly attributed to the master. +Passavant affirms that some of the repetitions of the work were +certainly made in the studio of Raphael under his orders, and thinks +that the duplicates passed for originals even in his time.[a] + + [a] _Raphael d'Urbin_, vol. ii. + + + +NOTE 17. PAGE 41 + +To the knowledge of the writer, the only logical connection between the +work of Rembrandt and impressionism that has been suggested, is from the +pen of Professor Baldwin Brown, who remarks[a]: + + Rembrandt in his later work attended to the pictorial effect alone, + and practically annulled the objects by reducing them to pure tone + and colour. Things are not there at all, but only the semblance, or + effect, or impression of things. Breadth is in this way combined + with the most delicate variety, and a new form of painting, now + called "impressionism" has come into being. + +The professor is mistaken here. During the last fifteen years of his +life, apart from portraits, a few studies of heads, and some colour +experiments with carcases of meat, Rembrandt executed, so far as is +known, about three dozen pictures, and in all of these he effectually +prevents us from forming a general impression of the designs before +considering the more important details, by concentrating nearly all the +available light upon the countenances of the principal personages +represented; while in the management of the features, the whole purpose +of the chiaroscuro is for the purpose of obtaining relief. Moreover the +pictures are nearly all groups of personages in set subjects, and there +would be no meaning in the designs if the objects were "practically +annulled," for particular action and expression are necessary for their +comprehension. + +As to Velasquez there is no evidence tending to support the statement +that he was an impressionist. The first authority on the artist has +definitely pointed out that he never took up his brushes except for an +important and definite work: "he neither painted impressions nor +daubs."[b] + + [a] Article on "Painting," _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, 11th edition. + + [b] _Velasquez_, by De Beruete, 1902. + + + +NOTE 18. PAGE 49 + +It will always be a matter of surprise that so much popularity was +secured by the light sketches of the Barbizon School, considering their +general insignificance from the point of view of art, and the +conspicuously artificial means adopted for their exploitation. Some of +the artists of this school, having accomplished many studio works of +merit, acquired the habit of painting in the open air. By this method +it is impossible to execute a comprehensive natural scene, and the +painters did not attempt the task, but they produced numberless sketchy +works of local scenes under particular atmospheric conditions. They +laboured honestly and conscientiously, and their sketches were put out +for what they were and nothing more. The paintings would probably have +retained their place as simple studies had not some commercial genius +conceived the idea of putting them into heavy, gorgeous, gilt frames. +With this embellishment they were successfully scattered round the +world, mostly in the newer portions, much to the general astonishment. +The _raison d'etre_ of the frames puzzled many persons, though it was +frequently observed that the pictures do not look well unless surrounded +by ample gold leaf. Thus, C. J. Holmes, Director of the London National +Gallery, and an authority on impressionism, notes[a]: + + Barbizon pictures are almost invariably set in frames with an + undeniably vulgar look. Yet in such a rectangle of gilded + contortion a Corot or a Daubigny shows to perfection: place it in a + frame of more reticent design, and it becomes in a moment flat, + empty, and tame. + +The purpose of this frame is obvious. The eye is caught by the dazzling +glitter, and feels immediate relief when it rests upon the quiet grey +tone of the painting, the pleasurable sensation resulting therefrom +being mistaken for involuntary appreciation of the beauty of the work. + +As finished paintings these Barbizon sketches are novel, but as studies +they are not, for similar work has been executed for two or three +centuries, and particularly by the Dutch artists of the seventeenth +century. In every considerable collection of drawings such sketches may +be found, and there is scarcely a Barbizon painter whose work was not +anticipated by a Dutch master. One has only to examine the drawings in +the public art institutions of Europe by De Molyn, Blyhooft, Jan de +Bischop, Lambert Doomer, Berghem, Avercamp, and others, to find examples +which, if executed now, might easily be taken for works by the Barbizon +masters. + + [a] _Notes on the Science of Picture-Making._ + + + +NOTE 19. PAGE 52 + +In recent times attempts have been made to upset the dictum of Aristotle +as to the imitative character of the arts generally, exception being +taken in respect of music and architecture. The first objection as to +music arose with Schopenhauer, though he does not appear to have been +quite certain of his position. He stated that while the other arts +represent ideas, music does not, but being an art it must represent +something, and he suggested that this something is the "Will," the term +being used in the Schopenhauer philosophical sense, that is to say, +implying the active principle of the universe, not being God. This means +nothing at all from the point of view of art, and cannot even be +seriously considered. The most notable essay on the subject since +Schopenhauer is from the pen of Sidney Colvin who places music and +architecture in a non-imitative group by themselves, the former on the +principal ground that "it is like nothing else; it is no representation +or similitude of anything whatever"; while architecture, he says, +"appeals to our faculties for taking pleasure in non-imitative +combinations of stationary masses."[a] But what Aristotle meant is that +the arts are imitative in character, and not that they necessarily +attempt to produce works of similitude with nature, this being evident +from the fact that he pointed out that the higher works of art surpass +nature, and he divided poetry and painting into three sections, of +which the first is better than life, and the third inferior to it. + +The musician in producing his art proceeds in precisely the same way as +the poet or painter. He takes natural signs and rearranges them in a new +order, producing a combination which is not to be found complete in +nature, but every sign therein is natural and must necessarily be so. +The higher the flight of the poet, or musician, or painter, or sculptor, +the farther is the result from nature, but nevertheless the whole aim of +the musician, as of the poet, is to represent emotional effects or +natural phenomena beyond experience in life, as the great sculptor +represents form and expression, and the great poet besides these things, +every abstract quality, passion, and emotional effect, above this +experience; but he cannot do more; he cannot represent something outside +of nature, and so must imitate, that is, in the sense of representation. + +Darwin notes that even a perfect musical scale can be found in nature. +He says[b]: + + It is a remarkable fact that an ape, a species of the gibbon + family, produces an exact octave of musical sounds, ascending and + descending the scale by half tones. From this fact, and from the + analogy of other animals, I have been led to infer that the + progenitors of man probably uttered musical tones, and that + consequently, when the voice is used under any strong emotion, it + tends to assume, through the principle of association, a musical + character. + +It has been further demonstrated that the strength of the sensory +impressions from certain sounds is due to the structure of the ear, and +that generally a particular kind of sound produces a similar kind of +emotional effect in animals as in man. Obviously the musician is +powerless to do more than widen or deepen this effect. Colvin admits +that the musician sometimes directly imitates, as when he produces the +notes of birds or the sounds of natural forces, or when he represents +particular emotions; but he regards the former instances as hazardous +and exceptional, and indicates that a particular emotional harmony may +affect the hearers differently. True, but the hazard of the first +condition is the result of the limitations of the artist, and the second +condition is the consequence of the limitations of the art. The effect +of music being purely sensorial must vary with the emotional conditions +surrounding the hearer. The musician does what he can, but he is unable +to go so far as the poet and produce an emotional effect which will with +certainty be recognized by every person affected, at all times, as +having the same particular bearing. + +Taine separates music ("properly so called" as distinguished from +dramatic music) and architecture from the imitative arts, as they +"combine mathematical relationships so as to create works that do not +correspond with real objects."[c] Obviously the whole purpose of +dramatic music is to imitate the effects of the passions, but its +necessary inclusion amongst the imitative arts upsets the dictum of +Taine, for the emotional effects of one kind of music only differ from +those of another kind when they differ at all, in the character of the +natural emotional effects represented. + +In the case of the architect, seeing that his art is subordinated to +utility, his scheme, his measurements, and the character of his +materials, are largely or almost entirely governed by conditions outside +of his art, and consequently it is only possible for him to represent +nature to a limited extent. Rarely can he vaguely suggest a natural +aisle beneath the celestial dome, a rock-walled cave whose roof soars +into obscurity, or a fairy grotto backed by a beetling cliff. Sometimes +he may cause us to experience similar effects in kind to those we feel +when we recognize grandeur in nature, but usually he is compelled to +confine his beauty to harmonies produced by symmetrical designs of +straight lines and curves. But in his simplest as in his most complex +designs, he must follow nature as closely as possible. Purely ornamental +forms always appear more beautiful when the parts have a direct +mathematical relationship with each other than when they have not; that +is to say, when the parts appear to be naturally related. Thus, that a +cross appears to be less agreeable to the sight when the horizontal bar +is below the centre of the perpendicular than when it is above this +point, is due to what appears to be a want of balance because the form +is unobservable in nature. In trees the horizontal parts are usually +above the middle of the height of the observable trunk, and in the +exceptions nature gives the whole tree a conical or other shape, the +relative position of the horizontal parts being obscured in the general +form. + +As with parts of forms, so with the forms as wholes. Other things being +equal, that design is the best where the forms are directly proportioned +one with the other and with the whole, and this is because we are +accustomed to the order of design in nature where everything is balanced +by means of direct proportions and corresponding relations. The +architect therefore, like the musician or poet, must represent nature so +far as he can within the limits of his art, though his representation is +comparatively weak owing to the artificial restrictions imposed upon +him. + + [a] Article on "Fine Arts," _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, 11th Edition. + + [b] _The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals._ + + [c] _On the Ideal in Art._ + + + +NOTE 20. PAGE 54 + +The dictum of Aristotle in reference to metre in poetry related only to +epic and dramatic verse, for what we understand as lyric poetry was +separated by the Greeks as song in which of course metre is compulsory. +It is doubtful whether a single definition can cover both epic poetry, +whose beauty lies almost wholly in the substance, and lyric verse where +the beauty rests chiefly in qualities of expression and musical form, +and in which indeed the substance may be altogether negligible. A +cursory examination of Watts-Dunton's definition of "Poetry," which is +admittedly the best put forward in recent times, shows its entire +inadequacy. "Absolute poetry," he says, "is the concrete and artistic +expression of the human mind in emotional and rhythmical language."[a] +This would exclude from the art some of the finest sacred verse, which, +though in the form of prose, has been recognized as poetry from time +immemorial. Metre is only one of the devices of the poet for +accomplishing his end---the presentation of beautiful pictures upon the +mind, but in high poetry there is a still more compulsory artifice which +is not included in Watts-Dunton's definition, and that is metaphor. In +the form of words the details of a picture can only be dealt with +successively, and not simultaneously, and without metaphor the poet +would sometimes be in the position of the painter who should present a +dozen different pictures each containing only one part of a composition, +and call upon the observer to put the pieces together in his mind. +Further the term "absolute" in the definition quoted has no +comprehensible meaning if it does not exclude a good deal of verse which +is commonly recognized as poetry, while, as is admitted by Watts-Dunton, +there is much accepted lyric verse without concrete expression. + +In high poetry as in high painting, the beauty appeals both to the +senses and the mind, and in each art the quality descends as the +sensorial overbalances the intellectual appeal, and the effect becomes +more ephemeral. In the very highest of the plastic arts, colour has +little value except in assisting definition; and in the very highest +poetry musical form has only an emphasizing value, for the sensorial +beauty arising from form in the one case, and form and action in the +other, entirely overpowers the harmonies of colour and tone +respectively. But colour without design is meaningless, so that it +cannot be applied in the fine arts apart from design: hence in painting, +colour presents no complication in respect of definition. On the other +hand music, with or without association with poetry, is equally an art +since in either case it imitates the effects of human emotions in a +beautiful way. Thus, where metre is present poetry is a combined art, +and seeing that metre may not be present, a definition of "Poetry" must +cover what may be in one case a pure, and in another, a compound art. + + [a] Article on "Poetry," _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, 11th edition. + + + +NOTE 21. PAGE 55 + +There seems to be a tendency to overestimate the disparity between +translations of high poetry and the originals. The value of a +translation depends primarily upon the character of the thing +translated, since it is the form that is unreproducible in another +tongue, and not the substance. In epic and dramatic poetry where the +form is of secondary importance, a good literal translation may come +much nearer to the original than a translation of a lyric where the form +is usually of at least equal importance with the substance. We lose less +of Homer or Sophocles than of Sappho or Theocritus in translation. In +the case of epic poetry the higher its character, the closer to the +original appears the translation, because the form is of less relative +importance. More of Dante is lost than of Homer in literal translation, +but the difference narrows when the new versions are in metrical form, +for the use of metre in translation is necessarily more detrimental as +the substance of the original increases in power, and this relative +weakening is emphasized as the beauty of form in the translation is +raised. Pope is farther from Homer than Chapman, and Chapman than the +prose translations of Buckley and Lang. As we descend in the scale of +the art, so it becomes more difficult to reproduce the poet in +translation, and in most lyric poetry the beauty seems almost entirely +lost in another tongue from the original, though when the substance is +of weight, and the translator is himself a good poet, he sometimes gives +us a paraphrase with a high beauty of its own. Some modern poets seem to +eschew substance altogether. Much of the verse of esteemed French and +Belgian poets is quite meaningless in literal translation, the authors +relying for the effects entirely upon musical form and beauty of +expression. + + + +NOTE 22. PAGE 66 + +Lessing points out this remarkable picture of Homer as emphasizing the +beauty of Helen, observing: + + What could produce a more vivid idea of beauty than making old age + confess that it is well worth while the war which cost so much + blood, and so much treasure? + +Nevertheless the remark of the old men does not seem to mean so much as +the description of the sages and their reference to the goddesses. It is +difficult to imagine several wise men agreeing that the sanguinary war +of nine years was really excusable in view of Helen's beauty, and the +statement therefore is naturally received as a permissible overcolour. +Consequently the effect of the remark would be discounted, and unlikely +to be sufficient for the purpose of the poet. True, the Greeks seem to +have been childlike sometimes in their simplicity, but there is no +evidence that they were so wanting in a sense of proportion as to accept +literally this opinion of the elders. But when we observe the senility +of the elders, and the physical feebleness which has apparently rendered +them incapable of sensual pleasures, then indeed we must marvel at a +beauty which excites their emotions so powerfully as to bring the +goddesses to their minds.[a] + +In discussing the suitableness of this incident as a subject for a +painting, Lessing remarks that the passion felt by the old men was "a +momentary spark which their wisdom at once extinguished," but later on, +referring to the possibility that the veil worn by Helen when she passed +through the streets of Troy had not been removed when she was seen by +the elders, he points out[b]: + + When the elders displayed their admiration for her, it must not be + forgotten that they were not seeing her for the first time. Their + confession therefore did not necessarily arise from the present + momentary view of her, for they had doubtless often experienced + before the feelings which they now for the first time acknowledged. + +This is very true, but it only serves to deepen the impression of +Helen's beauty, for the element of surprise is removed from the minds of +the elders, the mere sight of her, veiled or unveiled, being sufficient +to recall the passionate thrills previously experienced. + + [a] See on this subject Quintilian, viii., 4. + + [b] _Laocoon_, Roennfeldt translation. + + + +NOTE 23. PAGE 67 + +In nearly all the instances of sublimity quoted by Longinus there is +this particular merit of brevity---the picture is thrown upon the brain +immediately, without pause or anything whatever to complicate the +beauty. But the learned critic directs attention only to the magnificent +thoughts and the appropriate use of them, without pointing out the +extraordinary condensation of the language employed. Apart from the +instance from Genesis given, there is another of his examples in which +practically the whole beauty of the picture is produced by the rapidity +of its presentation. This is the exclamation of Hyperides when accused +of passing an illegal decree for the liberation of slaves--"It was not +an orator that made this decree, but the battle of Chaeronea." Longinus +observes[a]: + + At the same time that he exhibits proof of his legal proceedings, + he intermixes an image of the battle, and by that stroke of art + quite passes the bounds of mere persuasion. + +But it was rather the manner in which the battle was introduced than the +fact of its introduction, that gave force to the argument. If instead of +confining himself to a short brilliant observation, Hyperides had +carefully traced cause and effect in the matter, he would still have +intermixed an image of the battle, but he would not then have produced a +work of art. + +Still finer instances of the use of brevity in expresssion by the orator +are to be found in the speeches of Demosthenes. For example in his +oration On the Crown he says: "Man is not born to his parents only, but +to his country." A whole volume on the meaning and virtue of patriotism +could not say more: hence the sublime art. The simple statement lights +a torch by which we examine every convulsion in history; presents a +moving picture in which we see the motives and aspirations guiding the +patriots of a hundred generations; sets an eternal seal of nobility upon +the love of man for his native country. And a few words suffice. The +same thought might be elaborated into a large volume, but the art would +fly with the brevity. + + [a] _On the Sublime_, XV., William Smith translation. + + + +NOTE 24. PAGE 68 + +There are many translations of the Ode to Anactoria, but the best of +them reflects only slightly the depth of passion in the original. The +version which most nearly represents the substance, while maintaining +the unhalting flow of language, is perhaps that of Ambrose Philips +(1675-1749), which runs thus:-- + + Blest as th' immortal gods is he, + The youth who fondly sits by thee, + And hears, and sees thee all the while + Softly speak, and sweetly smile. + + 'Twas this deprived my soul of rest, + And raised such tumults in my breast; + For while I gazed, in transport tost, + My breath was gone, my voice was lost. + + My bosom glowed; the subtle flame + Ran quick through all my vital frame; + O'er my dim eyes a darkness hung; + My ears with hollow murmurs rung. + + In dewy damps my limbs were chilled; + My blood with gentle horrors thrilled; + My feeble pulse forgot to play; + I fainted, sunk, and died away. + +The English reproductions of this ode in the Sapphic measure are not +very successful, the difficulty of course being due to the practical +impossibility of fulfilling the quantitative conditions of the strophe +without stilting the flow of language, or unduly varying the substance. +But it has been shown by Dr. Marion Miller in his translation of +Sappho's Hymn to Aphrodite, which is much higher in substance and +somewhat less condensed in expression than the Ode to Anactoria, that +with certain liberties in respect of quantities, a very beautiful +semblance of the Sapphic measure may be produced in English. His +translation of this hymn is unquestionably the best in our language, +though this is perhaps partly due to the fact that he is almost the only +translator who has adhered to the text in regard to the sex of the loved +person. To make the object of affection a man seems inappropriate to the +language employed in the verse. (It is proper to mention that a license +taken by Dr. Miller in his translation---where he renders the passage +relating to the sparrows, as "clouding with their pinions, Earth's wide +dominions"--suggested to the present writer the somewhat similar picture +to be found on Page 111.) + + + + [Illustration: PLATE 26 (See page 250) + St. Margaret, by Raphael (_Louvre_)] + + + +NOTE 25. PAGE 68 + +The gradual decadence of the great period of Grecian sculpture is well +marked by the successive variations of the Cnidian Aphrodite of +Praxiteles. The copy of this at the Vatican is no doubt a close +representation of the original, but later there was commenced a long +series of variations, all of them more or less complicating the design. +First a pillar was substituted for the vase, reaching nearly to the +armpits, and the left forearm rested upon it, while drapery fell down +the front, so that some exertion was required to separate the figure to +the eye. Then a dolphin was substituted for the pillar, the head of the +animal resting on the ground, and the body rising up straight with +the bent tail forming the support. Then for this was placed a dolphin +with its body corkscrew shaped, which was particularly weak as it tended +to deprive the figure of repose. After this, while the dolphin was +maintained, a cestus was sometimes added, and heavy drapery applied in +various folds. Finally the attitude of the figure was changed, that of +the Venus de' Medici being adopted, while the pillar or dolphin was +retained. Each alteration necessarily diminished the beauty of the +figure. + + + +NOTE 26. PAGE 69 + +Reynolds seems to have been disappointed with the frescoes of Raphael +when he first saw them, and this fact has been called in evidence by +some modern critics to support their contention that the art of the +great masters is really inferior to that wherein design is subordinated +to colour. But Reynolds very definitely admitted that his first +impression was wrong, for after studying the frescoes, he notes[a]: + + In a short time a new taste and a new perception began to dawn upon + me, and I was convinced that I had originally formed a false + opinion of the perfection of art, and that this great painter was + well entitled to the high rank which he holds in the admiration of + the world. + +Reynolds was quite a young man when he went to Rome, and his +appreciation of Raphael increased as his experience matured. More than +twenty years after the visit, he remarked that Raphael had "a greater +combination of the high qualities of the art than any other man,"[b] and +ten years later he affirmed that the Urbino artist stood foremost among +the first painters.[c] Reynolds supposed that his lack of appreciation +of the frescoes when he first saw them arose from want of immediate +comprehension of them: he was unaccustomed to works of such great power, +but it is to be observed that his inspection was a very short one, and +we may reasonably draw the conclusion that changing light conditions had +much to do with the effect the paintings left upon him at the time. When +one enters a room where the light differs materially in intensity or +quality from that experienced just previously, it is advisable to rest +quietly for a little while before examining works defined by colour, in +order that the eyes may become accustomed to the new light. + + [a] Reynolds's _Italian Note Book_. + + [b] His Fifth Discourse at the Royal Academy. + + [c] His Twelfth Discourse. + + + +NOTE 27. PAGE 73 + +That the judgment of the public upon a work of art is final seems to +have been recognized by all the ancient writers who dealt with the +matter, and that the Greeks generally held this view is evident from +many incidents, notably the reference to public judgment in the great +competition between Phidias and Alcamenes. During the Renaissance also +the opinion held good, and it is worth noting that the suggestion +sometimes made that Michelangelo did not conform to this view is +unsupported by evidence. Vasari relates the following anecdote[a]: + + He [Michelangelo] went to see a work of sculpture which was about + to be sent out because it was finished, and the sculptor was taking + much trouble to arrange the lights from the windows to the end that + it might show up well; whereupon Michelangelo said to him: "Do not + trouble yourself, the important thing will be the light of the + piazza"; meaning to infer that when works are in public places, the + people must judge whether they are good or bad. + +Lionardo went so far as to advise artists to hear any man's opinion on +his work, "for," he said, "we know very well that though a man may not +be a painter, he has a true conception of the form of another man."[b] +It is a common misconception with the general public, though not among +serious artists, that by reason of their profession artists are better +judges of works of art than other men. Obviously the recognition of +beauty in art is apart altogether from the means by which it is created, +and subject to the exceptions noted elsewhere, all men are alike able to +appreciate high beauty. Winckelmann even advised his readers against the +judgment of artists on the ground that they generally preferred what is +difficult to what is beautiful,[c] but experience with the great art +bodies in Europe who hold exhibitions does not support this view. It is +only the weaker artists who are liable to be prejudiced in such matters, +and when the judges are of high attainments in art, they almost +invariably make the same choice in competitions that would be made if +general opinion were solicited. But although artists cannot be better +judges of high-class works of art (as beautiful things) than other men +of equal intelligence, their training usually enables them to +distinguish obscure forms of beauty which would be unrecognized by the +general public, and in matters of colour to differentiate between +ephemeral and more or less permanent harmonies. Hence while the public +interests would not suffer from the introduction of the lay element in +judging high class sculpture and painting, it is obvious that the +consideration of works where the lower forms of beauty only are +produced, as in formal decoration, should be confined to the profession. + +In music alone of the arts, for reasons already given, special +cultivation is necessary for the judgment of the higher forms of beauty. + + [a] _Life of Michelangelo Buonarotti_, De Vere translation. + + [b] McCurdy's _Lionardo da Vinci's Note Books_. + + [c] _History of Ancient Art_, Part V., 6. + + + +NOTE 28. PAGE 74 + +It is commonly supposed that the vast multitude of men and women--the +toilers in the fields and factories, and their families, do not +appreciate great works of art; that rarely they take an interest in any +kind of art, and then only in simple representations of everyday +incidents. This is so apparently, but it is not strictly true. The great +bulk of working people grow up amidst surroundings where they do not +have an opportunity of seeing good works of art. They toil from morn to +eve during their whole life: their imaginations are almost entirely +confined to their means of livelihood, their daily routine of labour, +and their household duties. A "mute inglorious Milton" remains mute +because he wants the knowledge and experience around which his fancy may +roam, and a potential Raphael dies in obscurity from the enforced +rigidity of his imagination. But even so, notwithstanding that the +nervous activities and the imaginations of the poorer workers remain +undeveloped, they are still subservient to the irrevocable laws of +nature. Their faculties may be little changed from childhood in respect +of matters appertaining to the higher senses, but they still exist. So +it comes about that in all times since art has been practised, the +paintings and sculptures of the greater masters have been well +appreciated by the multitude when they could come into contact with +them. In modern times great works of art are seldom available to the +masses except in public galleries where their sense perception and minds +are quickly confused and fatigued--in fact rendered incapable of +legitimate use, but the trend of popular opinion is very decidedly +settled by the experience of those business houses which undertake the +reproduction of important works. There are many times the demand for +prints and cards of pictures belonging to the higher forms of art, as +for instance, sacred and historical subjects, and portraits, than for +interiors and landscapes, and so incessant is this demand for the better +works, that a painter desiring to copy one of the great Raphael or +Correggio Madonnas at Florence for reproduction, will usually have to +wait three or four years after entering his name, before his turn comes +to set up his easel. It is rather the want of intelligent contact with +them, than indifference to them, that is due the apparent lack of +interest in great works of art on the part of the labouring classes. + +There is a deal of truth in the incisive remarks of Leo Tolstoy when +dealing with this question. He says [a]: + + Art cannot be incomprehensible to the great masses only because it + is very good, as artists of our day are fond of telling us. Rather + we are bound to conclude that this art is unintelligible because it + is very bad art, or even is not art at all. So that the favourite + argument (naively accepted by the cultured crowd), that in order to + feel art one has first to understand it (which really means to + habituate oneself to it), is the truest indication that what we are + asked to understand by such a method, is either very bad art, + exclusive art, or is not art at all. + +One may observe however that, as a rule, it is only inferior artists who +complain of the want of public appreciation of great works of art. + + [a] _What is Art?_ Aylmer Maude translation, 1904. + + + +NOTE 29. PAGE 78 + +According to Lessing and Watts-Dunton, what the former calls the +dazzling antithesis of Simonides--"Poetry is speaking painting, and +painting dumb poetry"--has had a wide and deleterious effect upon art +criticism. Lessing, who wrote _Laocoon_ about 1761, said in his preface +in reference to this saying: + + It was one of those ideas held by Simonides, the truth of which is + so obvious that one feels compelled to overlook the indistinctness + and falsehood which accompany it.... But of late many critics, just + as though no difference existed, have drawn the crudest conclusions + one can imagine from this harmony of painting and poetry. + +Watts-Dunton, writing a few years ago, added to this[a]: + + It [the saying of Simonides] appears to have had upon modern + criticism as much influence since the publication of Lessing's + _Laocoon_ as it had before. + +Lessing points out that the Greeks confined the saying to the effect +produced by the two arts, and (evidently referring to Aristotle) did not +forget to inculcate that these arts differed from each other in the +things imitated and the manner of imitation. + +Since the business of both poetry and painting is to throw pictures on +the mind, the declaration of Simonides must be accepted, but it has no +particular meaning as applied either to criticism or the practice of the +arts. It is merely a fact of common knowledge put into the form of a +misleading _jeu d'esprit_, though one has a natural reluctance in so +describing a time-honoured saying. There is room for doubt whether it +really had the effect upon criticism that is alleged. Annibale Carracci +varied it slightly into a better form with "Poets paint with words, and +painters speak with the pencil," and it was certainly as well known in +his time as in the eighteenth century, yet we find no particular +evidence of weak art criticism either in the sixteenth or seventeenth +century. Moreover allegorical painting was not less common in these +centuries than in the century following; and while there was +unquestionably a spurt of descriptive poetry in the eighteenth, it is +difficult to trace a connection between this phenomenon and general +criticism based upon the dictum of Simonides. In regard to later times, +the statement of Watts-Dunton wants demonstration. + + [a] Article on "Poetry," _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, 11th edition. + + + +NOTE 30. PAGE 79 + +A few distinguished poets have attempted to portray beauty of form by +description of features, but they have all been signally unsuccessful. +The best known essay of the kind is Ariosto's portrait of Araminta, +where he closely describes all details of her features and form, using +forty lines for the purpose; but put together the pieces as one will, it +is quite impossible to gain from them an idea of the beauty of her +countenance.[a] This is pointed out by Lessing. The very length of the +catalogue is apt to kill the beauty as one endeavours to dovetail the +separate elements. Perhaps the lines of Cornelius Gallus to Lydia form +the most perfect poetical delineation of a beautiful face known to us, +but as will be seen from the translation below, they are quite +insufficient to enable us to picture the beauty of the combined features +on our minds.[b] + + Lydia! girl of prettiest mien, + And fairest skin, that e'er were seen: + Lilies, cream, thy cheeks disclose; + The ruddy and the milky rose; + Smooth thy limbs as ivory shine, + Burnished from the Indic mine. + Oh, sweet girl! those ringlets spread + Long and loose, from all thy head; + Glistening like gold in yellow light + O'er thy falling shoulders white. + Show, sweet girl! thy starry eyes, + And black brows that arching rise: + Show, sweet girl! thy rose-bloom cheeks, + Which Tyre's vermillion scarlet streaks: + Drop those pouting lips to mine, + Those ripe, those coral lips of thine. + + [a] _Orlando Furioso_, C. VII. + + [b] C. A. Elton translation. + + + +NOTE 31. PAGE 80 + +If there be one example of descriptive poetry relating to landscape +which throws upon the mind a complete natural scene during the process +of reading, it is the beautiful chant of the Chorus in _Oedipus +Coloneus_. The perfection of form and majestic diction of this poetry +are remarkable, but the successful presentation of the picture on the +mind is largely due to the simple and direct language used, and the +astonishing brevity with which the many features of the scene are +described. Green dells, fields, plains, groves, rocks, flowers, fruit, +and rushing waters, are all brought in, and the few lines used do not +prevent the introduction of the Muses, the jovial Bacchus with the +nursing nymphs, and radiant Aphrodite. All modern poetry descriptive of +landscape entirely fails in presenting a comprehensive view. It is too +discursive--over descriptive, to permit of the mind collecting the +details together as one whole. Here is the best prose version of the +lines of Sophocles[a]: + + Thou hast come, O stranger, to the seats of this land, renowned for + the steed; to seats the fairest on earth, the chalky Colonus; where + the vocal nightingale, chief abounding, trills her plaintive note + in the green dells, tenanting the dark-hued ivy, and the leafy + grove of the god, untrodden, teeming with fruits, impervious to the + sun, and unshaken by the winds of every storm; where Bacchus the + reveller ever roams attending his divine nurses. And ever day by + day the narcissus, with its beauteous clusters, bursts into bloom + by heaven's dew, the ancient coronet of the mighty goddesses, and + the saffron with golden ray; nor do the sleepless founts of + Cephisus that wander through the fields fail, but every day it + rushes o'er the plains with its limpid wave, fertilizing the bosom + of the earth; nor have the choirs of the Muses loathed this clime; + nor Aphrodite too, of the golden reign. + + [a] Oxford translation. + + + +NOTE 32. PAGE 81 + +It is perhaps necessary to remind some readers that the term "invention" +is used in two senses in art, referring to the original idea or scheme, +or to the preparation of the design embodying the idea. In poetry and +fiction the term has the former significance; in painting and sculpture +the latter. The restriction in the use of the term in the last named +arts is compulsory. (See Chap. III., and Note 33.) + + + +NOTE 33. PAGE 81 + +Apparently Lessing did not observe that inasmuch as the painter cannot +present the beginning and end of an incident, he must necessarily take +his moment of action from the literary arts or from nature. The critic +notices that the painter does not invent the action he depicts, but +states that this is due to his indifference towards invention, developed +by the natural readiness of the public to dispense with the merit of +invention in his case. That is to say, the public expects the painter to +take his idea from the poet or from nature, and looks to him only for +correct design and execution: hence the painter is under no necessity to +invent his own scheme. + +It is curious that a reason of this kind for the practice of the painter +should be put forward by so keen a critic as Lessing, but it is not +altogether surprising when we remember the discussion as to whether +Virgil drew his representation of the Laocoon incident from the +celebrated sculptured group, or the sculptors adopted the device of the +poet. Lessing definitely settled the point in favour of the poet as the +author of the design, and since his time this decision has been +confirmed over and over again by practical evidence. But the conclusion +of Lessing seems obvious in the absence of any such evidence. As we +must exclude the possibility of both poet and sculptors taking the +design from the same original source, it is clear that the poet could +only have imitated the sculptors on the supposition that they had so +widely varied the legend as to necessitate a new beginning and end of +the story, these being provided by the poet. Consideration of such a +series of events is not permissible, as it would reflect upon the common +sense of the sculptors, and actually degrade the poet. + +Consequent upon the inability of the painter to originate a scheme for a +picture, the famous proposition of Lessing as to the relative importance +of invention and execution with the poet and painter, must fall to the +ground. The critic states that our admiration of Homer would be less if +we knew that he took certain of his work from pictures, and asks[a]: + + How does it happen that we withdraw none of our esteem from the + painter when he does no more than express the words of the poem in + forms and colours? + +He suggests as an answer to this: + + With the painter, execution appears to be more difficult than + invention: with the poet on the other hand the case seems to be + reversed, and his execution seems to be an easier achievement than + the invention. + +The word "invention" is to be taken here in the sense of plot or fable, +and not as the details of design invented by the painter for the purpose +of representing the action described by the poet. The premisses of +Lessing's argument therefore will not stand, for the painter cannot +originate a fable by means of a picture. And sequential to this of +course, the painter can be of no service to the poet. Homer could not +draw an original scheme from a painting. Nor may the poet take a detail +from the painter, for this has already been borrowed. A poet may vary a +detail in a legend because he can make the successive parts of his +relation fit in with the variation, but the painter can only deal with a +single moment of action, and if this does not correspond with an +accepted legend, then his design appears to be untrue. + +It may be said in regard to painting, that the relative difficulty of +the invention (the work of gathering and arranging the signs) and the +execution, varies with the character of the art. In the higher forms, as +sacred and historical work, the invention is the more difficult; in +ordinary scenes of life and labour the trouble involved in invention +would about equal that in execution; while in the lower forms, as +landscape and still-life, the execution is obviously the more difficult. +In the case of the poet, the idea or fable is the hardest part of his +work, but the relative difficulty of the arrangement of the parts, and +the execution, would naturally depend upon the general character of the +composition, and the form of the poem. + + [a] _Laocoon_, Phillimore translation. + + + +NOTE 34. PAGE 82 + +The works here referred to are those designed for the purpose of +achieving a political or social aim, or conveying instruction or moral +lessons. There are many examples of good art where advocacy of a social +or administrative reform is presented by way of incident or accessory, +though the art itself is never, and cannot be, assisted thereby. +"Didactic Art," if such a term may be appropriately used, is practically +a thing of the past, but judging from certain conventions the opinion +seems to be rather widely held that art should point a moral when +possible, and an opinion of Aristotle is not infrequently called in to +support this view. But when Aristotle connected morals with art, he +evidently did not mean to suggest that art should have a moral purpose, +but that it should have a moral tendency in not being morally harmful, +for art which is not morally harmful must necessarily be morally +beneficial. The general connection of the good with the beautiful in +ancient Greece seems to have merely implied that what is good is +beautiful, and what is beautiful is good, or should be good, and not +that goodness is a manifestation of beauty, or beauty of goodness. It +was admitted that the two things may not coincide. + + + +NOTE 35. PAGE 85 + +That landscape painting may be of considerable value in assisting +scientific exploration is instanced by an anecdote related to the writer +by a geological friend. Professor Jack, formerly Government Geologist of +Queensland, while travelling in that colony, having put up one night at +the house of a small squatter, noticed on the walls of the interior, a +number of colour drawings which had been painted by a son of the settler +from views in the neighbouring hills. One of these drawings showed a +reddish-brown tint running down the slope of a grey and nearly barren +hill. This caught the eye of the professor who asked the artist if the +colours roughly represented the natural conditions, and receiving an +affirmative reply, recommended the squatter to prospect the ground for +minerals. This was done with the result that profitable copper deposits +were found. It seems that in Australia many of the best mineral veins +are capped with iron, and run through schistose rocks traversed by +dioritic dykes. Professor Jack was well aware that the hills in the +district were formed of these rocks and dykes, and as the reddish-brown +streak indicated iron oxide, it occurred to him that the iron might be +the cap of a lode holding valuable minerals.[a] + + [a] This note is from _The Position of Landscape in Art_, by the + present author. + + + +NOTE 36. PAGE 87 + +Remarkable evidence of the universality of ideals, is afforded by the +galaxy of French sculptors who appeared in the thirteenth century. They +could have had no teachers beyond those responsible for the stiff and +formal works characterizing the merging of Norman with Gothic art; they +could have seen few of the fragments of ancient sculpture; and yet they +left behind them monuments which rival in noble beauty much of the work +produced in the greatest art period. How their art grew, and how it +withered; how such a brilliant bloom in the life of a nation should so +quickly fade, needs too detailed an argument to be ventured upon here, +if indeed a properly reasoned explanation can be given at all; but the +flower remains, as great a pride to mankind as it is a glory to France: +remains, though sadly drooping, for the petals of Rheims are gone. + +Now these Frenchmen were in much the same position as the early Greeks. +They were confronted with the task of making images of their objects of +worship for great temples. They had no more real knowledge of the +Personality of Christ, the Virgin, and most of the Saints than had the +Greeks of the Homeric gods and legendary heroes, and like the Grecian +sculptors they fully believed in the spiritual personages and religious +events with which they dealt. The Grecian and French artists therefore +started from the same line with similar general ideals, for the ancient +workers took no heed of Homer and Hesiod in respect of the failings of +their gods; and they both had only pure formalities in sculpture behind +them. And what was the result? The ideal divine head of the Christian +Frenchman is much the same as that of the Greeks in regard to form, and +only varies in expression with the character of the respective religious +conceptions. + +The French sculptors did not reach the sublime height of the Phidian +school, nor did they attempt the more human beauty typified by the +giants of the fourth century B.C.; but apart from these, and leaving +aside considerations of the nude with which they were little concerned, +they climbed to the highest level of the latter end of the fourth +century and the beginning of the third--the level attained by those +Grecian sculptors who more or less idealized portrait heads by adding +Phidian traits. And it would appear that in reaching towards their goal +they followed the same line of thought as the Greeks, and arrived at +similar conclusions in respect to every detail of the head and pose of +the figure. As a rule they gave to the faces of Christ and the Saints a +large facial angle, set the eyes in deeply and the ears close to the +head, and generally worked on parallel lines with the principal +sculptors of Peloponesia living sixteen hundred years before their time. +It is perhaps natural that they should make similar variations in the +proportions of the figures to provide for the different levels from +which they were to be seen, but it is curious that they should adopt the +practice followed by the Greeks in the representation of children in +arms, by minimizing to the last degree the figure of the Infant Christ +in the arms of the Madonna. They could not have more closely imitated +the Greeks in this respect had they had Grecian models in front of them. +No doubt they fixed the position of the Child at the side of the Virgin +in order that the line of her majestic form might not be broken, and +that her face might be revealed to observers below the level of the +statues, but that they should have made the Child so extremely small and +insignificant considering His relative importance compared with that of +the Grecian infant in arms, is remarkable. + + + +NOTE 37. PAGE 90 + +It is too early yet to fix definitely the position of Rodin in art. +There is much sifting of his works to be done, for of all artists with a +wide reputation, he was perhaps the most variable. Still he may be +called one of the greater artists, and so is amongst the rare exceptions +mentioned, for he executed one or two hideous figures, the most notable +being La Vieille Heaulmiere.[a] This cannot properly be described as a +work of art because it is revolting to the senses: it is merely a +species of writing--a hieroglyph, and Rodin's own apology for it is a +direct condemnation, since a work of sculpture cannot be good if general +opinion does not approve of it. He says[b]: + + What matters solely to me is the opinion of people of taste, and I + have been delighted to gain their approbation for my La Vieille + Heaulmiere. I am like the Roman singer who replied to the jeers of + the populace, _Equitibus Cano_. I sing only for the nobles; that is + to say for the connoisseurs. The vulgar readily imagine that what + they consider ugly is not a fit subject for the artist. They would + like to forbid us to represent what displeases and offends them in + nature. It is a great error on their part. What is commonly called + "ugliness" in nature can in art become full of great beauty. In the + domain of art we call ugly what is deformed, whatever is + unhealthy.... Ugly also is the soul of the vicious or criminal + man.... But let a great artist or writer make use of one or other + of these uglinesses, instantly it becomes transfigured: with a + touch of his fairy wand he has turned it into beauty: it is + alchemy: it is enchantment. + +Rodin then goes on to refer to the description of ugly objects by the +poets, in support of his argument that they may be represented by the +painter! It was his error in confusing the objects of the literary with +those of the plastic arts, that led him to carve La Vieille Heaulmiere, +for he admitted that he wished to put into sculpture what Villon had put +into a poem. Professor Waldstein properly pointed out that, this being +so, the observer of the sculpture should be provided with a copy of the +poem when in front of the statue, adding[c]: + + and even then the work remains only the presentation of a female + figure deformed in every detail by the wear and tear of time, and + of a life ending in disease and nothing more. It is the worst form + of literary sculpture, of which we have had so much by artists who + represent the very opposite pole of the modern realists. + +Elsewhere the respective positions of the poet and painter (or sculptor) +in the representation of ugliness are dealt with, but it may be added +that in the case of La Vieille Heaulmiere, Rodin does not render in +sculpture the poem of Villion, but only a part of it, for of course he +could not show the progression in the life of the courtesan, indicated +by the poet, which progression puts an entirely different complexion +upon the ugly figure of the poet compared with that of the sculptor. +Clearly Rodin was misled when he said that people of taste have given +their approbation to his appalling figure, for it has been condemned +among all classes, while its few defenders have failed to support their +opinions by reason or experience. + +We may note that at another time Rodin reflected upon the character of +the ancient Greek sculpture for the very reason upon which he bases his +claim for public approval of La Vieille Heaulmiere. He says[d]: + + That was the fault of the Hellenic ideal. The beauty conceived by + the Greeks was the order dreamed of by intelligence, but it only + appealed to the cultivated mind, disdaining the humble. + +Here also is a confusion of ideas, for the intelligence cannot dream of +a special kind of beauty which would not be recognized by the humble, +unless it were so feeble as to be altogether below Greek conceptions. +The aim of the Greek sculptors was to appeal to all classes, and in this +they were eminently successful. + + [a] At the Luxembourg. + + [b] Gsell's _Art, by Auguste Rodin_. + + [c] _Greek Sculpture and Modern Art_, 1914. + + [d] Gsell's _Art, by Auguste Rodin_. + + + + [Illustration: PLATE 27 (See page 254) + Diana and Nymphs, by Rubens (_Prado, Madrid_)] + + + +NOTE 38. PAGE 92 + +Ruskin considered the figure of Christ, known as Le Bon Dieu d'Amiens, +at Amiens Cathedral, the noblest ideal of Christ in existence,[a] and +Dean Farrar wrote of it: "Christ is represented as standing at the +central point of all history, and of all Revelation."[b] It is true that +the sculpture is a noble representation of Christ, but this is not +because it is a Christian ideal. In type it is purely Greek of the late +fourth or early third century B.C. The expression is general, exhibiting +the calm repose that the Greeks gave to a great philosopher. + + [a] _The Bible of Amiens._ See Plate 2. + + [b] _The Life of Christ as Represented in Art._ + + + +NOTE 39. PAGE 97 + +In the case of the Madonna, Michelangelo does not appear to produce an +ideal woman: he only gives an improved woman. His nearest approach to +the ideal is in his early Pieta at St. Peter's, but even here the Virgin +is only a less earthly prototype of his later figures. The Madonna in +the Holy Family at the Uffizi is much inferior, being merely a slightly +ennobled Italian peasant. The other Madonnas are far higher in character +and seem to suggest the antique, except that the more material +qualities of woman are always present. The Madonnas at the Bargello and +San Lorenzo are of the same general type as the figure in the Last +Judgment, the Night in the Medici Chapel, the Leda in the Bargello, and +the Venus in the sketch made for Pontormo. This being so, it may be +imagined when the Leda is called to mind, that it is hard to associate +the two Madonnas with Christian ideals. The figures are magnificent +works, but they are behind the Madonnas of Raphael from the point of +view of Christian conceptions. The expression is general, and all the +countenances except one, indicate unconcern with surroundings; not the +sublime unconcern of a Phidian god, which implies an apparent disregard +of particulars because they are necessarily understood with an +all-powerful comprehension of principles, but an unconcern which +suggests a want of deep interest in life. The exception is the San +Lorenzo Madonna, in which a certain calm resignation is the principal +feature in expression. Michelangelo was more successful with his men +than with his women. His painted prophets in the Sistine Chapel are as +sublime as his scenes from the Creation; and his Moses in St. Peter's is +rightly regarded as the first sculpture of the Renaissance. + + + +NOTE 40. PAGE 99 + +When the Pieta of Michelangelo (in St. Peter's, Rome) was first exposed, +some comment was made upon the comparatively youthful appearance of the +Virgin, and Condivi relates that he spoke to the sculptor on the +subject. In reply Michelangelo said[a]: + + Don't you know that chaste women preserve their beauty and youthful + character much longer than those who are not chaste? How youthful + then must appear the immaculate Virgin who cannot be supposed ever + to have had a vitiated thought. And this is only according to the + natural order of things: but why may not we suppose in this + particular case, that nature might be assisted by Divine + interposition, to demonstrate to the world the virginity and + perpetual purity of the Mother? This was not necessary in the Son, + nay, rather on the contrary, since Divine omnipotence was willing + to show that the Son of God would take upon Him, as he did, the + body of man, with all his earthly infirmities except that of sin. + Therefore it was not necessary for me to make the human subordinate + to the Divine character, but to consider it in the ordinary course + of nature under the actual existing circumstances. Hence you ought + not to wonder that from such a consideration, I should make the + most holy Virgin-Mother of God, in comparison with the Son, much + younger than would otherwise be required, and that I should have + represented the Son at His proper age. + + [a] Lanzi's _History of Painting in Italy_, Roscoe translation, + vol. i. + + + +NOTE 41. PAGE 100 + +A few modern painters have produced works in which the Holy Family are +pictured in lowly surroundings, but generally they appear to shock the +public sense of propriety. Many persons will remember the sensation +caused by Millais's The Carpenter's Shop, where Christ is shown as a boy +of about ten years of age in the workshop of St. Joseph, and Holman +Hunt's Shadow of the Cross. Later artists have been still more +realistic, notably Uhde, whose sacred scenes almost stagger one with +their modern suggestions, and Demont-Breton, whose Divine Apprentice +represents the Boy Christ sharpening a tool at a grindstone which is +turned by the Virgin. + + + +NOTE 42. PAGE 108 + +Unquestionably the rapid advance in Italian art in the fifteenth century +was largely due to the influence of the ancient Greek and Roman remains. +Indeed there are very few sculptors of the period who fail to show +evidence of studies in Greek forms and ornaments, while in painting +there are hundreds of figures which could scarcely have been designed in +the absence of antique models. True in some cases the artists do not +appear to have gone beyond the ancient literature, as with Masaccio who +must have had Homer in his mind when he painted his figures of Eve in +the Florence frescoes, and Piero di Cosimo, whose fanciful compositions +savour of the old legends wrapped up in fairy stories; but many painters +were steeped both in the art and literature of Greece and Rome, and made +good use of them. + +But the most direct evidence of the influence of Greek art upon Italian +artists of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, is to be found +in the splendid series of bronze statuettes of the period. In their +monumental figures the sculptors were more or less confined in their +designs by considerations of portraiture, conventional drapery and +symbols, and local requirements, and while they were greatly assisted by +Greek experience, yet only rarely were they strictly at liberty except +with ornaments and accessories. But in the small bronze figures their +fancy could roam at will, and they made good use of this freedom in +displaying their ready acceptance of the first principle in the design +of the human figure recognized by the Greeks--that the sculptor must +arrive at perfection of form if that be possible; that this perfection +is not to be found in any single form in life, and consequently the +artist must combine perfected parts into a harmonious whole, +independently of particular models. The agreement with this principle +was general, with scarcely an exception amongst the bronze figure +designers, and the result was that in the period say, from 1450 to 1525, +there was executed a series of bronzes fully representative of the +highest level which plastic art has reached since the greater days of +Greece. Right up to the time of the maturity of Michelangelo, nearly +every bronze figurine cast is purely Grecian in type, and every +ornament, and even every accessory which is not from its nature of +contemporary style, can be traced to Greece, either directly or through +Rome. + +Michelangelo brought about a change in accentuating the muscular +development of the body, and before the middle of the sixteenth century +most sculptors had come under his influence. This was unfortunate for he +alone seemed to be capable of harmoniously combining Greek lines with +muscular power. A few of his contemporaries, as Sansovino, Leone, +Cellini, learned how to join, with due restraint, his innovations with +modifications of the Greek torso, but generally the imitation of the +great Florentine initiated a decadence, as it was bound to do, for it +was accompanied with life modelling, and so meant a radical departure +from the Greek forms. Giovanni di Bologna alone among the later +sixteenth century sculptors, was strong enough to move in an independent +direction. He restrained the accentuation of the muscles, and lightened +the Greek type of torso, combining with these conditions an elegance in +design which has never since been surpassed. + +This then is the principal cause of the high aesthetic value of the +Renaissance bronzes: the human form exhibited by them is altogether more +beautiful than the form coming within the compass of life experience. +Then the details of work on the bronzes are immensely superior to those +of the general modern handiwork. For instance the chiselling of such men +as Riccio and Cellini, has never been equalled since their time, save +perhaps by Gouthiere. And how poor, comparatively, are the present-day +castings! How carefully the old masters worked; how particular they were +with their clay; how skilfully they prepared their wax, and how slowly +and deliberately the mould! How many artists now would have the patience +to make such a mould? For the beautiful patinas on many of the +Renaissance bronzes, age is mostly responsible, though lacquers were +often used for the provision of artificial patinas, particularly after +the middle of the sixteenth century, the finest being found on some of +the works of Giovanni di Bologna. The tone of natural patina depends +largely upon the kind of oxidation to which the bronze has been +subjected, and it is no doubt often affected by the alloy used. Few +modern artists have given close attention to the alloys, while the +method of casting is now usually regarded as a detail of minor +importance. + +Seeing that the production of figurines accompanied every civilization +from the dawn of history to the collapse of the Roman Empire, it is +curious that the renaissance of sculpture after the Dark Age should have +progressed a long way before general attention was again turned to these +bronzes. There are a few figures of animals which seem to be Italian +work of the late trecento, but beyond these the small cast bronzes made +in Italy before the maturity of Ghiberti, were practically confined to +Madonnas and Saints, mostly gilt, made to fill Gothic niches, or adorn +the altars of churches and private chapels. Slender Saints they were as +a rule, but always elegant, with serene countenances and delicate +features; beautifully modelled as became the inheritors of the +traditions of the Pisanos. It was somewhere about the middle of the +fifteenth century that Italy commenced to make ungilt statuettes +suitable for household ornaments, and fully ten or fifteen years more +passed away before they were produced with any regularity. The earliest +of them of any importance appear to be a couple of Flagellators from the +design of Ghiberti. They are fine pieces of work, evidently from clay +models made for the scourging scene in one of the gates of the Florence +Baptistry--gates described by Michelangelo as worthy to fill the portals +of Paradise. These figures date about 1440. There is a Child Christ of a +few years later by Luca della Robbia; and two or three figures from +models of Donatello may be assigned to the neighbourhood of 1450. In the +next ten years were turned out some figures from remaining models of +Donatello which had been used for his work at Prato and Padua. + +So far the small bronzes made were from studies for larger works of +sculpture, but about this time intense interest began to be taken in the +remains of Greek and Roman art, and no doubt it was the increased +importance attached to the antique bronze figures, mostly household gods +of the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans, that first led the principal +Renaissance artists to turn their attention to similar work. From this +time on, for a century and a half, these bronze figures were regularly +made. The existing figurines may be broadly classified in four +divisions, namely, the Paduan and Florentine figures executed prior to +1525; those of the school of Michelangelo; those of the Venetian school +headed by Sansovino; and those of Giovanni di Bologna and his school. +Leaving out of consideration the small ornaments for inkstands, vases, +etc., the little animals, and the purely commercial imitations, chiefly +Venetian, made at the end of the sixteenth century, the total number of +Renaissance bronzes now known is roughly six thousand. Of these under a +hundred are from models for larger works by Ghiberti, Donatello, +Verrocchio, Lionardo, Michelangelo, and a few lesser lights; about two +thousand represent original designs specially prepared for bronze +production; some three thousand five hundred are duplicates of, or +slight variations from, these originals, executed by pupils or near +contemporaries of the masters; and the balance of four hundred or so, +are direct reproductions of, or variations from, antique sculptures. +Naturally all collectors aim for the first two sections, but the third +section contains many fine bronzes, often close to the originals, with +equally good patinas. They vary greatly, though they are all ascribed in +commerce to the artists responsible for the originals. + +The character of these variations is best seen in the case of Riccio, +the most prolific of the bronze workers of the Renaissance. He designed +and executed under forty small bronze figures and groups, besides some +large bronze works of high importance. Of his small pieces there are in +existence about a hundred duplicates made by his pupils and immediate +contemporaries, who also adapted into household ornaments, various +details from his larger works, bringing up the number of Riccios made +from his models during his lifetime, other than by himself, to about a +hundred and fifty. These are all bronzes of a high order. Then about an +equal number of both kinds of models were reproduced during the twenty +years following his death, all fairly good, but often slightly varied +from the originals; and finally there are Riccios copied by Venetian +craftsmen in the third quarter of the sixteenth century, sometimes +considerably varied, and occasionally with purely Venetian ornaments +added. These last mark the first distinct decadence in the small bronze +art of the period. Next to Riccio among the earlier sculptors, in the +number of bronzes designed, was his great contemporary, Antico, who +accomplished some thirty or so. He differed from Riccio in that while +the latter adhered to the Grecian practice in the design of details and +ornaments, but varied the modelling somewhat to bring it more in +conformity with the contemporary ideas of elegance, Antico kept strictly +to the Grecian modelling, but commonly varied the ancient designs. +There are few duplicates of Antico's work, made either during his +lifetime or after. As with Riccio, his imitators overcame the difficulty +of the chiselling by leaving it out, relying upon the wax to give close +enough resemblance to the originals. + +Of the other small bronze sculptors prior to the maturity of +Michelangelo, few executed more than half a score of figures. The best +known are the immediate successors of Donatello in the Paduan school, as +Bertoldo and Bellano, and the giants of the Florentine school, as +Filarete and A. Pollaiuolo. Bronzes by these artists are very rare, and +so are the duplicates of them made by pupils, though Bertoldo, who +reminds one strangely of Lysippus, had occasional imitators for the next +two centuries. These bronzes include many models which have not been +equalled by the greatest of later sculptors, and they will never be +matched until there arises a new school of sculptors resolved to imbibe +the truths which the Renaissance artists gleaned from the ancient +Greeks. + + + +NOTE 43. PAGE 110 + +The writer has used Greek and Roman names for these gods to some extent +indiscriminately, in accordance with the universal custom in art. +Nevertheless the practice is to be regretted as it tends to complicate +the general ideas of the Greek and Roman religions. Notwithstanding the +occasional direct association of some of their deities with human +personages by their poets, the Romans regarded their gods as purely +spiritual beings, having no special earthly habitation, or sex relations +with the human race, while their powers widely differed from those of +the respective Greek deities with whom they are commonly identified. +Authorities differ as to whether the gods were supposed to have +spiritual marital relations with each other.[a] In any case the whole +nature of their religion precluded the development amongst the Romans of +a separate sacred art. Their sculptured gods, which were taken from +Grecian models, were symbols rather than presumed types. + + [a] See J. G. Frazer's _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, 1914, vol. ii.; and W. + W. Fowler's _Religious Experience of the Roman People_, 1911. + + + +NOTE 44. PAGE 111 + +If we may judge from the headless figures of the goddesses, commonly +known as the Three Fates, from the east pediment of the Parthenon, there +seems to be little difference between the general lines of the feminine +torso represented by the Phidian ideal, and those of the Praxitelean +model. The Parthenon torsos are more massive proportionately, but the +object of both Phidias and Praxiteles was evidently to straighten the +outer lines of the torso as nearly as possible, making due allowance for +the varied natural swellings of their respective forms. It is obvious +that the use of attire gave Phidias (presuming the Parthenon figures +referred to were designed by him, as they probably were) a latitude in +varying the proportions of the torsos which he could not have exercised +in the case of nude forms. Unclothed, the figures would appear unwieldy, +and the graceful flowing lines resulting from the partly clinging +drapery could not be so completely presented with nude reclining or +semi-reclining figures. There are other features also which prevent the +nude representation of such massive forms. Thus, the breasts would +necessarily be out of proportion in size, and widely separated. These +conditions are common in fifth century and archaic figures, and do not +appear to be defects in forms of life size or less, but they would be +strikingly noticeable in super figures of the broad massive type with +Phidian lines. The addition of light drapery, however, converts the +apparent faults into virtues, for the artist is enabled therewith to +give new sweeping curves to the forms which conspicuously enhance the +general beauty of the figure. + +A still more amazing instance where the use of drapery allows the artist +to vary the recognized proportions of the feminine form to an extent +which would be impossible with nude figures, is the celebrated Ariadne +at the Vatican.[a] This beautiful work, which is of the Hellenistic +period, shows the daughter of Minos attired in a light flowing single +garment, and reclining on a couch, asleep. The upper part of her body +leans against the head of the couch, but the remainder is extended +nearly at full length. The extraordinary feature of the work is that the +length of the figure is altogether out of proportion with the head and +with the breadth of the torso, being much too great, and yet so +skilfully is the drapery arranged that this very defect becomes an +advantage, for it enables a lofty grace, almost approaching grandeur, to +be given to the figure, which would be impossible without the +exaggeration. By the excellent device of a closely arranged cross fold +of drapery passing round the middle of the figure, the artist apparently +shortens it, so that the eye of the observer is not held by its great +length. Only one other example of the supreme use of drapery in this way +seems to be known--a bronze sitting figure of Calliope,[b] which is of +the late Hellenistic period, and is obviously of the same school as the +Ariadne marble. + + [a] See Plate 29. + + [b] Dreicer Collection, New York. + + + +NOTE 45. PAGE 112 + +Praxiteles is known to have executed at least four other statues of +Aphrodite besides the Cnidian example, but this last is the only one as +to which we have fairly complete records, and of which copies have been +closely identified. It is also the most celebrated. We may therefore +accept the work as typical for comparative purposes. + + + +NOTE 46. PAGE 113 + +There has been much discussion as to whether Apelles showed the same +extent of figure as is represented in the sculpture, a common suggestion +being that he brought the surface of the water to the waist line; but it +is evident that the painting corresponded with the sculpture in this +particular. The artist had to represent the goddess walking towards the +shore. If he brought the water to the waist line he could not definitely +suggest movement, as a deflection of the shoulder line might mean that +the goddess was in an attitude of rest, corresponding to the pose of +nearly all the sculptured figures of the Praxitelean school. On the +other hand if he carried the water line down towards the knees, the +advance of the right leg would be most marked, and the effect disturbing +because of the loss of repose, a quality at all times valuable in a +painting of a single figure, and really necessary in the representation +of Venus. The artist very properly reduced the portion of the thighs +visible to the smallest fraction possible compatible with an expression +of movement, in order to give the figure the greatest repose attainable. +Under any circumstances there was nothing to gain by showing the water +reaching to the waist. + +Certain details of the picture by Apelles are to be obtained from +Grecian epigrams. Thus, one by Antipater of Sidon contains these +lines[a]: + + Venus, emerging from her parent sea, + Apelles' graphic skill does here portray: + She wrings her hair, while round the bright drops flee, + And presses from her locks the foamy spray. + +From this it would appear that the position of the goddess when painted +was presumed to be comparatively near the artist, otherwise the separate +drops of falling water would not have been observed. The last line in +the following epigram by Leonides of Tarentum indicates the ideal +character of the countenance, though evidence of this is scarcely +necessary[b]: + + As Venus from her mother's bosom rose + (Her beauty with the murmuring sea-foam glows), + Apelles caught and fixed each heavenly charm; + No picture, but the life, sincere and warm. + See how those finger tips those tresses wring! + See how those eyes a calm-like radiance fling! + + [a] Translated by Lord Neaves. + + [b] Translated by Lord Neaves. + + + +NOTE 47. PAGE 124 + +So far as the writer knows, Piero was the only artist of the Renaissance +who used this mythological story for a composition (his picture has +hitherto been called an allegory), a circumstance which is rather +singular considering the suitableness of the subject for the provision +of effective designs. The Greek sculptors in dealing with the legend +confined themselves to the moment when Athena threw down the pipes, +apparently for the reason that this instant gave an opportunity of +rendering Marsyas in a strong dramatic action. The famous statue of the +faun after Myron in Rome, is supposed to have formed part of a group +representing Athena and Marsyas immediately after the pipes were +dropped, and the design appears on still existing coins and vases of the +fifth and fourth centuries B.C. Piero takes a later moment, showing +Marsyas comfortably squatting in the foreground of a delightful fanciful +landscape, expressing boyish satisfaction with the prizes he is about to +try. He is properly shown as a satyr instead of in the faun form of the +sculptor. There appears to be no legitimate place in painting for a +faun, while a satyr may at times be appropriately introduced into a +pastoral composition. + + + +NOTE 48. PAGE 125 + +Controversy has raged around this picture for something like seventy +years. The work came to light before 1850 at a public auction sale when +it was attributed to Mantegna, with whom of course it had nothing to do. +Then it was pronounced a Raphael, but this was disputed by Passavant who +held that on account of the thin lower limbs of the figures, and the +minute way in which the landscape was painted, it could not be by +Raphael, but was of the school of Francia, or by Timoteo della Viti. +Morelli brought back the attribution to Raphael, and the work then came +into the possession of the Louvre. Subsequently Pinturicchio and +Perugino were alternately suggested as the painter, and to the latter +the picture was assigned by the Louvre authorities. All are agreed that +the date of the work is about 1502. It does not seem possible that +Perugino could have painted the picture, for the subject and invention +are entirely foreign to him, while the lithe active form of Apollo does +not consort with the least formal of his known figures. The landscape is +much in his manner, but so it is also in the style of Raphael's early +period, while the small buildings therein are closely finished as in +some of Raphael's other works of the time.[a] Perugino used similar +towers and buildings, but being a more experienced painter he did not so +finely elaborate the details. The suggestion relating to the school of +Francia was afterwards very properly withdrawn, and Pinturicchio must be +ruled out on account of the landscape, apart from the supple figure of +Apollo of which he was incapable. There remain then only Timoteo della +Viti and Raphael as the possible painters of the work. But it cannot +reasonably be suggested that Timoteo could have accomplished so perfect +a figure as the Apollo, and moreover so original a figure. It certainly +required an exceptionally bold mind to overcome the difficulty in +rendering the traditionally semi-feminine form of Apollo by representing +him as a young man just past his teens. Besides, the general delicacy of +the work is not in the style of Timoteo. Passavant's objection to the +limbs is overruled by the presence of similar limbs in the Mond +Crucifixion. It would seem then that Morelli was right in assigning the +beautiful little picture to the youthful period of the greatest of all +painters. + + [a] See Portrait of a young Man at Budapest, and the Terranuova Virgin + and Child at Berlin. + + + +NOTE 49. PAGE 138 + +The white races are here referred to merely by way of example, and there +is no intention to suggest that the more or less uncivilized peoples +have no perception of beauty. It is well known that both semi-civilized +and savage races differ from the whites in the matter of beauty, and the +fact has been partly responsible for several theories for explaining +aesthetic perception, notably that of association, laid down by Alison +and Jeffrey, but long since discarded. Seeing that there is no +difference in kind between the sense nerves of the whites and the +blacks, they must necessarily act in the same way. That the blacks +appreciate as beautiful forms which the whites disregard, seems to +arise partly from want of experience, partly from training, and partly +from neglect in the exercise of the sense nerves. Take for example an +inhabitant of Morocco where corpulency is commonly regarded as an +element of beauty in women. If none but Moroccan women are seen or +pictured, it is impossible for a higher form of beauty than is to be +found amongst them to be conceived, for the imagination cannot act +beyond experience. In cases where the Moroccan has had experience of +both white and black, it is certain that, other things being equal, the +white woman would be the more admired, for this is the general +experience among the black races, and is strikingly noticeable in +America with the descendants of African tribes. The appreciation of very +fat women can easily be understood on the ground of custom or training. +A youthful Moroccan may be firmly of opinion that corpulency is not an +element of beauty, but seeing that his older acquaintances hold a +contrary view, he may well form the conclusion that his judgment is +wrong, and so accept the decision of his more mature countrymen. It is +quite common among the whites for people to doubt their own aesthetic +perceptions when an inferior work of art is put forward as a thing of +beauty. The general want of appreciation of certain musical harmonies on +the part of uncivilized peoples is undoubtedly due to the neglect of the +sense nerves concerned, for these are not cultivated except to a small +extent involuntarily. The most ignorant and poor of the whites +unavoidably come into frequent contact with the simpler forms of art, +but the savage races see only the result of their own handiwork. The +uncivilized races can scarcely be expected to admire the higher reaches +of art wherein intellectual considerations enter, except for their +sensorial excellence. + + + + [Illustration: PLATE 28 (See page 256) + Automedon and the Horse of Achilles, by Regnault (_Boston Museum_)] + + + +NOTE 50. PAGE 139 + +There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether Fragonard intended his +splendid series of the Frick collection to represent the subjects +usually assigned to them, namely, The Pursuit (or The Flight of Design, +a title given to the original sketch for the picture); The Rendezvous +(or The Surprise, or The Escalade); Souvenirs (or Confidences, or The +Reader); The Lover Crowned (or Before the Painter); and The Abandonment +(or The Reverie). It is suggested that the works have an allegorical +signification connected with art, and certainly three of them--the +first, second, and fourth--could be so interpreted. But magnificent +paintings of this kind are usually fitted for many allegorical +suggestions. Each picture represents an incident of common experience, +elaborated with beautiful figures in a perfect setting. This approaches +the summit of the painter's art, for no conception can be greater apart +from spiritual ideals. It is symbolism in its highest form--of universal +experience in which all are interested. The works are not to be taken as +a necessary sequence (the last of the series was painted twenty years +after the others), but the scheme of one or more of them has come within +the experience of every man and woman since the world began. + + + +NOTE 51. PAGE 149 + +Seeing that this precise dignified pose, coming so near the line of +exaggeration, but never crossing it, is present in all the authenticated +portraits of Titian, save those of very aged persons, we may reasonably +consider the pose an important factor in determining the validity of +certain portraits as to which a doubt has arisen. Thus in the case of +the Physician of Parma[a] (this title is admittedly wrong), which has +been variously given to Titian and Giorgione, the verdict must be in +favour of Titian, for the pose is certainly his, while it is unknown in +any work of Giorgione. On the other hand, the portrait of Catherine +Cornara,[b] commonly ascribed to Titian, but also attributed to +Giorgione,[c] cannot be by the former master; nor is the Portrait of a +Man (with his hand on a bust),[d] which seems to pair with the Cornara +portrait. The portrait known as An Old Man Asleep,[e] sometimes given to +Titian, clearly does not belong to him. + +It should be noted that the general confusion observable for many years +in the estimation of Giorgione's work arose from the attribution to him +of paintings executed in the comparatively broad manner of Titian, but +which this artist did not adopt till Giorgione had been dead for a +decade or more. The recent exhaustive critique of Lionelli Venturi[f] of +the earlier master has cleared the air, and we now know the range of his +work very positively. Giorgione was less fine in some of his paintings +than in others, for he paid more attention to chiaroscuro as he matured, +but there is no instance where he painted in the broader manner +occasionally exhibited by Titian. All the works in the style of The +Concert and The Three Ages are now known to be by other hands than those +of Giorgione, and it must be unfortunately admitted that not a single +painting by him exists either in England or America. + + [a] Vienna Gallery. + + [b] Cook Collection, London. + + [c] By Herbert Cook in _Giorgione_. + + [d] Uffizi Gallery, Florence. + + [e] The Brera, Milan. + + [f] _Giorgione e il Giorgionismo_, 1913. + + + +Note 52. Page 156 + +Hals is another artist as to whom many misconceptions have arisen in +regard to his use of a very broad manner in his portraits. There is a +total of about 350 works attributed to him, of which some two thirds are +single portraits, and twenty are portrait groups. The balance includes +over thirty genre pictures, mostly with single figures, and fifty heads +of boys and girls generally shown in the act of laughing. It is in his +genre work that the broad manner is mostly observable, and only very +occasionally is it to be found in his portraits. In the more important +works of the artist, even during his later period, his manner is by no +means broad,[a] though it is not so fine as in his best years, say from +1635 to 1650. This estimate can however only be general, as his dated +paintings of different periods after 1630 often correspond so closely +that it is difficult to assign dates to the other pictures with +certainty. + +Perhaps the frequent attribution to Hals of works by his pupils and +imitators, has had something to do with the public estimation of the +breadth of his manner. This was often greatly exaggerated by his +followers, and many portraits are given to him which he could not +possibly have painted. In his important work on the artist, Dr. von Bode +points out that some of the duplicates of his pictures were apparently +executed by his pupils, but these are not separated in the book.[b] It +is a simple matter to divide the works painted by Hals from the studio +copies and the portraits of imitators. His brushwork and impasto were +quite exceptional. He had a firm direct stroke, never niggled or +scumbled, and his loading was restrained though very effective. Quite +naturally his pupils, however industrious and skilled, could not +closely imitate his remarkable freedom in handling. They were incapable +of firm decisive strokes throughout a portrait, and endeavoured to +overcome the loading difficulty by using brushes of a coarseness foreign +to the master when rendering light tones. Moreover Hals was nearly +perfect in drawing, and in this there are usually marked defects in the +studio copies. + + [a] See Stephanus Gereardts, Antwerp Museum; Isabella Coymans, + E. Rothschild Collection, Paris; Lady with a Fan, National + Gallery, London; and William van Heythuysen, Liechtenstein + Collection, Vienna. + + [b] _Frans Hals: his Life and Work_, 1914. + + + +NOTE 53. PAGE 161 + +The term "grace" as applied in art has so many significations that it is +difficult to deal with one of them without confusion. What is here +specially referred to is the grace of pose designed by the artist. The +object of the portrait painter is to pose his sitter so that the grace +indicated shall appear natural and habitual, a feature as important now +in the appearance of women as it was twenty-five centuries ago when +Sappho asked[a]: + + What country maiden charms thee, + However fair her face, + Who knows not how to gather + Her dress with artless grace? + +But the grace of pose never appears to be artless, after the first +inspection, unless there is something in the expression to hold the +mind. Without this appeal to the mind the portrait must soon tire, and +the pose become artificial and stiff, that is to say, in representations +of life size, for in miniature portraiture the countenance seldom or +never crosses the vision involuntarily. + +In the ancient Greek forms, Winckelmann distinguishes four kinds of +grace--lofty, pleasing, humble, and comic--but the grace exhibited by +sculptured forms necessarily depends upon the harmony of expression, +character of form, and pose. This should be the case with painted +portraits also, but drapery restrictions and accessories commonly compel +a limitation in the design of the artist. In three quarter and full +length portraits it is impossible to depart from the dress customary at +the period of execution, unless the sitter assume a classical character, +and this is only possible in comparatively few instances. In any case +the pose should always be subordinated to the expression. + + [a] Free translation (quoted by Wharton), the term "artless grace" + being implied but not expressed by Sappho. + + + +NOTE 54. PAGE 167 + +The remarkable range of Raphael in expression has been commented upon by +many critics, and practically all agree with Lanzi in his eloquent +summary[a]: + + There is not a movement of the soul, there is not a character of + passion known to the ancients and capable of being expressed in + art, that he (Raphael) has not caught, expressed, and varied in a + thousand different ways, and always within the bounds of + propriety.... His figures are passions personified; and love, hope, + fear, desire, anger, placability, humility, and pride, assume their + places by turns as the subject changes; and while the spectator + regards the countenances, the air, and the gestures of the figures, + he forgets that they are the work of art, and is surprised to find + his own feelings excited, and himself an actor in the scene before + him. + + [a] _History of Painting in Italy_, vol. i., Roscoe translation. + + + +NOTE 55. PAGE 169 + +This Pompeian fresco is supposed to be a copy of the picture of +Timanthes, but there is an ancient marble relief of the same subject at +Florence, the design of which is also said to have been taken from the +Grecian painter, though it differs considerably from the fresco. +Quintilian observes as to the work of Timanthes, that having rendered +Calchas sad, Ulysses still more sad, and Menelaus with the deepest +expression of grief possible in art, the painter could not properly +portray the countenance of Agamemnon, who as father of Iphigenia was +presumed to be the most deeply affected of all present, and so covered +his head, leaving the intensity of his suffering to be understood.[a] + + [a] _School of Oratory_, ii. + + + +NOTE 56. PAGE 172 + +The authenticity of the Boston example of Mona Lisa is still in dispute. +So far no serious objection to it has been brought forward, and there +are certain points in its favour, as the presence of the columns which +are reproduced in Raphael's sketch, and the bold brushwork of the +drapery where this can be distinguished. But there is another example of +the work in existence, and this fact, with the natural hesitation in +pronouncing definitely on so important a matter, will probably leave the +authenticity of the picture undecided for a long time. Meanwhile the +literature upon Mona Lisa is ever increasing, and some important facts +have been recently brought out. Amongst these is an announcement by A. +C. Coppier that the lady was not a Florentine, but a Neapolitan of the +Gheradini family, and that she was married in 1495, when eighteen years +of age.[a] She would therefore be twenty-seven years old in 1504 when +the picture which Raphael sketched is supposed to have been painted. But +the Mona Lisa in the Louvre was completed between 1515 and 1519; hence +there is much to ascertain as to the history of the work. + + [a] _Les Arts_, No. 145, 1914. + + + +NOTE 57. PAGE 172 + +The various suggestions that have been made as to the meaning of Mona +Lisa's smile, seem to have no other foundation than the fancies of +mystic minds. The smile has been called dangerous, sinister, ambiguous, +provocative, purposely enigmatic, significant of a loose woman, +expressive of sublime motherhood, reminiscent of Eastern intrigue, and +so on, the mildest criticism of this kind affirming that the smile will +ever remain an enigma. It is of course impossible for any meaning to be +put into a smile by the painter, other than that of pleasure. +Psychological suggestions are possible with the poet or novelist, but +not with the painter. If there be any enigma or mystery in a picture, +then the art is bad, for the work is incomprehensible, but there is no +problem to be solved in Mona Lisa's smile. It is not different from any +other smile except in degree, and of course in the quality appertaining +to the particular countenance. Lionardo, with his scientific turn of +mind, was not likely to attempt the impossible by trying to mix +psychology with paint. + + + +NOTE 58. PAGE 178 + +It is necessary to dissent from the conclusion of Lessing as to the +representation of ugliness by the poet. He says in referring to Homer's +portrayal of Thersites[a]: + + Why in the case of ugliness did he adopt a method from which he so + judiciously refrained in that of beauty? Does not a successive + enumeration of its compound parts diminish the effect of ugliness, + just as a similar enumeration of its parts destroys that of beauty? + Undoubtedly it does, but in this very fact lies Homer's + justification. For the very reason that ugliness in the poet's + description is reduced to a less repulsive appearance of bodily + imperfection, and in point of its effect ceases as it were to be + ugliness, the poet is enabled to make use of it. + +It is true that as he cannot present a particular form of beauty by +description, so the poet cannot describe an ugly countenance in such a +way that it may be pictured on the mind as a whole; but on the other +hand, as he can, by reference to its effect, or by imagery, present a +greater beauty than the painter can portray, so he may by similar means +suggest a more hideous form of ugliness. And apart from this, while a +detail in the description of a beautiful countenance is immaterial until +it is combined with other details, a detail of ugliness may in itself be +sufficient to render the countenance wholly repulsive to the reader. +Thus, if one said of a maid that her cheeks were a compound of the lily +and the rose, this would not necessarily imply that she was generally +beautiful; but if it were said of a man that he had a large bulbous +nose, we should consider him ugly whatever the character of his other +features. It was only necessary for Milton to refer to one or two +details of the figure of Sin, to throw upon our minds a form of +appalling ugliness.[b] + +A successive enumeration of its component parts, does not therefore +diminish the effect of ugliness, as Lessing claims, but increases it. On +the other hand a successive enumeration of the parts of beauty does not +destroy the beauty, but simply fails to represent it. + +The poet may use ugliness where the painter cannot, because his ugly +form does not dominate the scene, save for an instant or two, being +quickly subordinated by surrounding conditions of speech and action; +whereas the ugly figure of the painter is fixed for ever. Further, the +poet may surround his description of the ugly thing with beautiful +imagery and lofty sentiment, practically hiding the ugliness with a +cloak of beauty; but the painter can only depict the ugly thing as it +is, naked to the sight, without gloss or apology. + + [a] _Laocoon_, Ronnfeldt translation. + + [b] _Paradise Lost_, ii. + + + +NOTE 59. PAGE 190 + +It has been suggested that the foot of Hercules in this fine bronze was +placed upon the skull of an ox to indicate a successful hunt,[a] but +Hercules was a demigod, and so could not be connected in art with any +but a superhuman task or exploit. Moreover the only instance recorded in +mythological history where Hercules fought with an ox (unless the feat +of strength against the white bull of Augeas be called a fight), is that +of the Cretan bull, which was captured and not killed. There is no other +sculptured figure now known where a foot is placed on the skull of an +ox, but Pausanias records that he saw one in a temple of Apollo at +Patrae, the figure being that of the god himself.[b] Pausanias attributes +the motive of the design to Apollo's love of cattle. There is no doubt +about the significance of the Frick bronze. The skull of an ox, and +rams' heads are frequently found on ancient tombs, and acanthus leaves +were commonly used both in Greece and Rome as funereal signs, while the +base of the statuette, which is cast with the figure, is clearly +intended to represent an altar. It is noticeable that the form of +acanthus leaf used is Roman, suggesting that Pollaiuolo had access to +the reproductions of tomb inscriptions made to the order of Lorenzo de' +Medici. + +There is apparently no other existing design of a hero contemplating +death, but Lysippus carved several figures, now lost, of Hercules in a +sad or depressed mood. In the most celebrated of these, the demigod was +seated in a thoughtful attitude on a lion's skin, and it is possible +that this design was connected with the contemplation of death, because +it was produced in relief soon after the time of Lysippus, and later in +a Pompeian fresco, in both cases in the presence of Lichas, the bearer +of the poisoned garment. + + [a] Bode's Preface to the _Catalogue of the Morgan Bronzes_. + + [b] Pausanias, vii. + + + +NOTE 60. PAGE 192 + +The attempt of Ruskin to raise landscape to a high level in the art of +the painter[a] need scarcely be referred to here, so completely have his +arguments been refuted elsewhere. + +The authority of Alexander Humboldt has been sometimes quoted in support +of the assertion that landscape can appeal to the higher attributes, the +passage relied upon affirming that descriptive poetry and landscape +painting "are alike capable in a greater or lesser degree of combining +the visible and invisible in our contemplation of nature." But it is +clear from the whole references of the writer to these arts, that he +means nothing more by his statement than that a painting or descriptive +poem may, like an actual landscape, induce a feeling of wonder at the +powers of the original Cause of nature. The opinion of Humboldt upon the +position of landscape painting may be gathered from his definite +observation that it has "a more material origin and a more earthly +limitation than the art which deals with the human form."[b] + + [a] _Modern Painters_, vols i. and ii., and the preface to the second + edition of the work. + + [b] _Cosmos_, vol. ii. + + + +NOTE 61. PAGE 194 + +It is doubtful whether an artist can invent a form of tree which does +not exist in nature, without producing something of the character of a +monstrosity. From the point of view of dimensions, the two extreme forms +of trees used in painting, are represented in Raphael's Madonna with +the Goldfinch[a] as to the slender forms, and as to the giant trunks, in +two or three of Claude's pictures. The very beautiful trees of Raphael +have been often regarded as pure inventions, and Ruskin was actually +surprised that the artist did not delineate the "true form of the trees +and the true thickness of the boughs";[b] but as a matter of fact +precisely similar trees (a variety of ash) are to be found in the +valleys of the Apennines to this day. All the change that Raphael made +was to transport the trees from a sheltered spot to an open position. +Very similar trees are introduced in the same master's Apollo and +Marsyas.[c] Perugino was the first painter to use them, and in some of +his earlier works he made them of great height,[d] but he gradually +modified the form till he approached the perfect symmetry and delicacy +of Raphael's examples.[e] Marco Basaiti introduced them into at least +three of his pictures, and they are also to be found in works by Timoteo +della Viti and Francia.[f] Higher and equally slender trees have been +appropriately used by Antonio della Ceraiuolo,[g] and even by so late a +painter as Nicholas Poussin.[h] + + [a] Uffizi Gallery, Florence. + + [b] _Modern Painters_, vol. iv. + + [c] The Louvre. + + [d] Baptism of Christ, Perugia; and The Crucifixion, Florence. + + [e] The Deposition, Pitti Palace. + + [f] Madonna and Child in a Rose Garden, Munich. + + [g] The Crucifixion, Florence Academy. + + [h] Diana sleeps in the Forest, Prado, Madrid. + + + +NOTE 62. PAGE 194 + +In noting the fact that the great landscape artist invents his designs, +Byron observes that nature does not furnish him with the scenes that he +requires, and adds[a]: + + Nature is not lavish of her beauties; they are widely scattered, + and occasionally displayed, to be selected with care, and gathered + with difficulty. + +Had Byron been a painter, he would have known that the trouble of the +artist is due to the over, and not the under, supply of beauty by +nature. The artist sees the beauty, but cannot identify it with +particular signs, and so has to invent a scene himself, using nature +only for sketches or ideas. + + [a] _Art and Nature._ + + + +NOTE 63. PAGE 200 + +"The force of natural signs," says Lessing, "consists in their +resemblance to the things they represent."[a] In a criticism upon the +second part of _Faust_, G. H. Lewes writes[b]: + + The forms which are his (the artist's) materials, the symbols which + are his language, must in themselves have beauty and an interest + readily appreciable by those who do not understand the occult + meaning. Unless they have this they cease to be art: they become + hieroglyphs. Art is picture painting, not picture writing. + +While this is generally true, beauty in the lesser signs of the poet is +of greater importance than in those of the painter, because a painting +is looked upon direct as a whole, while a poem has to be comprehended in +its parts before it can be properly considered as a whole. + + [a] Laocoon. + + [b] _Life of Goethe_, 2d edition. + + + +NOTE 64. PAGE 203 + +Although those of the fifteenth-century artists who treated landscape +seriously did not thoroughly understand perspective, yet they were +seldom at a loss in representing distance, that is, in the clear +atmosphere which they invariably used. They were diffident in attempting +distance with unbroken level country, and till quite the end of the +century there is no instance where middle and far distance are shown +together, even with the assistance of hilly ground. The almost +invariable practice of the leading painters who made landscape a feature +in their works, was to introduce water leading back from the foreground, +so that breaks therein could be used to indicate distance. More or less +numerous jutting forks of low lying land were thrown into the stream +from either side, this plan being successfully adopted in Italy,[a] +Flanders,[b] and Germany.[c] + +Early in the sixteenth century much improvement was made in the use of +water for providing distance, and a few of the Venetian painters gave +some consideration to aerial perspective, but the most perfect example +of this perspective in the period is contained in an early work of +Raphael.[d] In the background is a lake extending into a gradually +deepening haze, and in this a boat is so skilfully placed as to increase +considerably the apparent distance to the horizon. This picture is a +distinct advance upon the Venetian distance work of the time.[e] Later +on in the century an artist rarely introduced water into a view +specially to assist in producing distance by means of boats, more +advanced methods being adopted. Titian used sunlight effects with +varying shadows,[f] or alternating clear and wooded ground.[g] These +plans, and the use of water with the addition of trees and low hills,[h] +constitute the chief devices to be found in the late sixteenth-century +Italian pictures. Some of the sun effects rendered for distance purposes +even before Titian's best time are quite effective, though formal.[i] + + [a] See Piero di Cosimo's Death of Procris, National Gallery, London, + and Mars and Cupid, Berlin. + + [b] Van Eyck's Chancellor Rollin before the Virgin, and Bout's + Adoration of the Magi. + + [c] Lucas Moser's Voyage of the Saints (1431), Tiefenbroun, Germany. + + [d] Central panel in a triptych of the Crucifixion, Hermitage, + Petrograd. This picture has been sometimes attributed to + Perugino, but it is unquestionably from the hand of Raphael. + + [e] See Titian's Jacopo Pesaro presented to St. Peter, Antwerp. + + [f] Charles V. at Muehlberg, Madrid. + + [g] Meeting of Joachim and Anna, Padua; and others. + + [h] Bronzino's Venus and Cupid, Uffizi, Florence. + + [i] Schiavone's Jupiter and Io, Hermitage. + + + +NOTE 65. PAGE 204 + +Lessing apparently overlooked the possibilities of landscape painting in +his dictum as to progressive actions. He writes[a]: + + If painting on account of the signs and means of imitation which it + employs, and which can only be combined in space, must entirely + renounce time, then progressive actions cannot, in so far as they + are progressive, be included in the number of its subjects, but it + must content itself with coexistent actions, or with mere bodies, + which on account of their position cause an action to be suspected. + +It is true that a series of progressive human actions cannot be included +in one painting, but progressive natural actions can be so included when +the progression is regular and repeated and the actions are clearly +separated to the eye. Although the painter can only depict a moment of +time, he can show the whole progression, which is not the case in a +series of human actions, as in the example quoted by Lessing, of +Pandarus arranging his bow, opening his quiver, choosing an arrow, and +so on. + +Strange to say, De Quincey, in an explanatory note to Lessing's +observations, also overlooks the movement of water broken by rocks, +though he refers specially to landscape painting. He says[b]: + + In the succession of parts which make up appearance in nature, + either the parts simply repeat each other (as in the case of a man + walking, a river flowing, etc.), or they unfold themselves through + a cycle, in which each step effaces the preceding, as in the case + of a gun exploding, where the flash is swallowed up by the smoke + effaced by its own dispersion. + +But for the purpose of the painter, the action of water breaking over +ledges and boulders does not correspond with the case of a man walking +or a river flowing, because the series of events forming the progression +in the case of the water breaking, cover such time and space that the +events can be distinctly separated by the eye. Clearly also this action +should not be included in De Quincey's second category, because the +repetition is both regular and (to all intents and purposes) perpetual. +There should therefore be a third category to comprise those repeated +progressive acts in which the events can be so separated by the eye as +to be portrayed on canvas in the order of their progression, and in such +a way that the whole progression, and the meaning of it, are at once +apparent. + + [a] _Laocoon_, Phillimore translation. + + [b] Essay on "Lessing." + + + + [Illustration: PLATE 29 (See page 329) + Greek Sculpture of Ariadne (_Vatican_)] + + + +NOTE 66. PAGE 208 + +Professor Clausen relates that Whistler told him that his object in +painting nocturnes was to try and exhibit the "mystery and beauty of the +night." It is obvious that Whistler was here confusing psychological +with visual impressions. The depth of gloom, the apparently limitless +dark void which the eye cannot penetrate, mean mystery in a sense, +because we can never accustom ourselves to the suggestion of infinity +involved in something which is boundless to the senses. A sensation of +the sublime may consequently arise, and this means beauty in a +psychological sense. But we are considering art and not psychology. +Where nothing is distinguished, nothing can be painted, and if there be +sufficient light for objects to be determined, there can be no mystery +for the painter. If he be desirous of representing Night, he must follow +the example of Michelangelo and symbolize it. + +It is curious that since the death of Whistler, a picture entitled +Mysteries of the Night has been painted by another American artist--J. +H. Johnston. A figure of a beautiful nude woman is standing on a rocky +shore in a contemplative attitude, with the moonlight thrown upon her. +The design is excellent, but the realistic modelling of the figure +effectually kills any suggestion of mystery. + + + +NOTE 67. PAGE 231 + +Vasari mentions that Michelangelo, though admiring the colour and manner +of Titian regretted that the Venetian painters did not pay more +attention to drawing in their studies.[a] In quoting this, Reynolds +observed[b]: + + But if general censure was given to that school from the sight of a + picture by Titian, how much more heavily and more justly would the + censure fall on Paolo Veronese, and more especially on Tintoretto. + +Reynolds himself rightly excluded Titian when he condemned the later +Venetian painters of the Renaissance for their exaggeration of colour, +and no doubt Titian was also exempted by J. A. Symonds in his trenchant +criticism of the work of this school. When dealing with the decline of +Lesbian poetry after the brilliant period of Sappho, he wrote[c]: + + In this the Lesbian poets were not unlike the Provencal + troubadours, who made a literature of love, or the Venetian + painters, who based their art on the beauty of colour, the + voluptuous charms of the flesh. In each case the motive of + enthusiastic passion sufficed to produce a dazzling result. But as + soon as its freshness was exhausted there was nothing left for art + to live on, and mere decadence to sensuality ensued. + + [a] _Life of Titian_. + + [b] Reynolds's Fourth Discourse. + + [c] _Studies of the Greek Poets_, vol. i. + + + +NOTE 68. PAGE 232 + +Sir George Beaumont relates of Reynolds[a]: + + On his return from his second tour over Flanders and Holland, he + observed to me that the pictures of Rubens appeared much less + brilliant than they had done on his former inspection. He could not + for some time account for this little circumstance; but when he + recollected that when he first saw them he had his notebook in his + hand for the purpose of writing down short remarks, he perceived + what had occasioned their now making a less impression than they + had done formerly. By the eye passing immediately from the white + paper to the picture, the colours derived uncommon richness and + warmth; but for want of this foil they afterwards appeared + comparatively cold. + + [a] Cunningham's _Lives of the British Painters_. + + + +NOTE 69. PAGE 249 + +Rodin[a] observes that in giving movement to his personages, the artist + + represents the transition from one pose to another--he indicates + how insensibly the first glides into the second. In his work we + still see a part of what was, and we discover a part of what is to + be. + +Rodin points to Rude's fine statue of Marshal Ney, and practically says +that here the illusion is created by a series of progressive actions +indicated in the attitude: the legs remaining as they were when the +sword was about to be drawn, and the hand still holding the scabbard +away from the body, while the chest is being thrown out and the sword +held aloft. Thus the sculptor + + compels, so to speak, the spectator to follow the development of an + act in an individual. The eyes are forced to travel upwards from + the lower limbs to the raised arm, and as in so doing they find the + different parts of the figure represented at successive instants, + they have the illusion of beholding the movement performed. + +Rodin himself has followed a similar course with much success. The +ancient Greek sculptors, when representing a figure in action, +invariably chose a moment of rest between two progressive steps in the +action. The Discobolus and Marsyas of Myron, and particularly the +Atalanta in the Louvre, are fine examples. + + [a] _Art, by Auguste Rodin_, compiled by Paul Gsell, 1916. + + + +NOTE 70. PAGE 250 + +Mengs, in referring to the arrangement of the drapery in Raphael's +figures, says[a]: + + With him every fold has its proper cause; either in its own weight + or in the motion of the limbs. Sometimes the folds enable us to + tell what has preceded; herein too Raphael has endeavoured to find + significance. It can be seen by the position of the folds, whether + an arm or a leg has been moved forwards or backwards into the + attitude which it actually occupies; whether a limb has been, or is + being, moved from a contracted position into a straightened one, or + whether it was extended at first and is being contracted. + + [a] _The Works of Anton Raphael Mengs_, vol. ii., D'Azara translation. + + + +NOTE 71. PAGE 258 + +Besides assisting in providing an illusion, the title of a picture may +lend great additional interest to it. Thus in Millet's The Angelus the +associations called up by the title act most powerfully on the mind, and +one almost listens for the sound of the bell.[a] A work of a +similar character is Bonvin's Ave Maria, where the nuns of a convent are +answering the call[b]; and Horace Walker has a picture with the same +title, in which a boy who is driving cattle, stops in front of a +Crucifix by the wayside[c]. An excellent example of this added interest +is the title of Turner's great picture of the _Temeraire_,[d] as to +which R. Phillimore writes[e]: + + It is not difficult to imagine the picture of an old man-of-war + towed by a steam tug up a river. The execution of such a subject + may deserve great praise and give great satisfaction to the + beholder. But add to the representation the statement that it is + "The fighting Temeraire towed to her last berth, " and a series of + the most stirring events of our national history fills our + imagination. + + [a] The Louvre. + + [b] The Luxembourg. + + [c] Corcoran Gallery, Washington. + + [d] National Gallery, London. + + [e] Preface to translation of Lessing's _Laocoon_. + + + +NOTE 72. PAGE 261 + +There is an antique sculptured group in the Vatican in which a precisely +similar figure of the son of Niobe has his left hand on the shoulder of +his sister who has fallen to her knees from the effect of a wound, and +it is very reasonably suggested that the Florence figure originally +formed part of a like group. But the explanation of the act given by +Perry[a] and others, that the drapery was raised by the brother to +shield the girl, will scarcely hold good, as the folds are spread out at +the back, forming a concavity, whereas they would fall loosely if the +youth were resting. Apart from this, his legs are widely separated, and +in a running position. It may therefore be surmised that in the Vatican +group the artist intended to represent the precise moment when the +fleeing youth reached his sister. + + [a] _Greek and Roman Sculpture._ + + + +NOTE 73. PAGE 270 + +It is curious that among the countless pictures of the Annunciation, in +very few indeed has surprise been expressed in the countenance and +attitude of the Virgin, though it is impossible to imagine an incident +more properly calling for profound astonishment on the part of the +principal personage in a composition, even in the absence of startling +miraculous accessories such as that introduced by Rossetti. Probably the +reason for this is connected with the difficulty of expressing great +surprise unaccompanied with some other feeling, as pleasure, or sorrow, +or fear, but there does not seem to be any cause why an exalted joyful +excitement should not be exhibited. Mrs. Jameson thinks that the Virgin +should not appear startled, as She was "accustomed to the perpetual +ministry of Angels who daily and hourly attended on Her,"[a] but it is +questionable whether this can be properly assumed by the artist, and in +any case from the point of view of art, the action should correspond +with the nature of the event as it is generally understood. Of the few +masters who have indicated surprise in an Annunciation picture, +Tintoretto has gone the farthest. He shows the Virgin with Her lips +parted, and both hands held up, evidently with astonishment,[b] an +example followed by Paris Bordone.[c] Raphael in an early picture +represents Her holding up one hand, but the attitude might signify the +reception of an announcement of importance.[d] Perugino shows Her with +both hands raised, but otherwise She appears unconcerned.[e] A few other +artists, including Venusti and Foppa, and among modern men, Girodet, +adopt Raphael's method of composition. Rubens goes a step farther, and +represents the Virgin apparently standing back with surprise, though +this is only faintly suggested by the facial expression.[f] + + [a] _Legends of the Madonna._ + + [b] Scuolo di San Rocoo, Venice. + + [c] Sienna Gallery. + + [d] The Vatican. + + [e] Santa Maria Nouvo, Perugia. + + [f] Vienna Gallery. + + + + +INDEX OF SCULPTORS, PAINTERS, AND WORKS OF ART + + +NOTE.--The Schools to which the earlier Italian painters belonged are +given in brackets. + + +A + + Adam, Franz, 1815-1886, German + --Bavarian Regiment before Orleans, 257 + + Aivasovsky, I. K., 1817-1900, Russian, 205 + + Albani, Francesco, 1578-1660, Italian, 163 + --Toilet of Venus, 118 + + Albertinelli, Mariotto, 1467-1512, Italian [Florentine] + --The Salutation, 243 + + Alcamenes, fifth century B.C., Greek, 304 + + Altdorfer, A., 1480 (_c._)-1538, German + --The Nativity, 268 + + Aman, Jean, 1860-, French + --Sorbonne panels, 254 + + Ancher, Anna K., 1859-, Danish + --The Funeral, 189 + + Andreani, A., 1540-1623, Italian, 257 + + Angelico, Fra (Giovanni da Fiesole), 1387-1455, + Italian [Florentine], 17, 101 + + Antico (Pier Giacomo Ilario), worked late 15th and early 16th century, + Italian, 326 + + Antonella da Messina, 1421 (_c._)-1493, Italian [Venetian] + --Crucifixion, 243 + + Antonio del Ceraiolo, worked first half sixteenth century, + Italian [Florentine], 345 + + Apelles, fourth century B.C., Greek, 10, 44 + --Venus Anadyomene, 113, 330, Plate 4; + Alexander in the character of Jupiter, 209 + + Avercamp, Hendrick van, 1585-1663, Dutch, 292 + + +B + + Bartolommeo da Bagnacavallo (Bart. Ramenghi), 1484-1542, + Italian [Bolognese] + --Holy Family, 103 + + Bartolommeo, Fra (Baccio della Porta, or Bart. di Pagholo), 1475-1517, + Italian [Florentine] + --Adoration of the Shepherds, 265 + + Bartolozzi, Francesco, 1725-1815, Italian, 164 + + Basaiti, Marco, died after 1521, Italian [Venetian] + --The Dead Christ, 93; + Calling of the Children of Zebedee, 93; + Christ on the Mount of Olives, 243 + + Baschenis, Evaristo, 1617-1677, Italian, 247 + + Battistello (Giovanni Battista Caracciolo), 1580-1641, Italian, 17 + --Adoration of the Shepherds, 271 + + Bellano, Bartolommeo, 1430-1498, 327 + + Benjamin-Constant, J. J., 1845-1902, French, 184 + + Benoit-Levy, Jules, 1866-, French + --Morning of July 4, 1789, 253 + + Berghem, Nicholas (or Berchem), 1620-1683, Dutch, 47, 292 + + Bernadino da Conti, died 1525, Italian [Venetian] + --Virgin and Child, 245 + + Bernini, G. L., 1598-1669, Italian, 31, 33 + + Berritini, Pietro, 1596-1669, Italian, 31 + + Bertoldo di Giovanni, 1420 (_c._)-1491, Italian, 327 + + Bischop, C, 1630-1674, Dutch, 292 + + Blyhooft, Z., 1622 (_c._)-1698, Dutch, 292 + + Boecklin, A., 1827-1901, German, 208 + --Vita Somnium breve, 180; + Pieta, 170 + + Boltraffio, G. A., 1467-1516, Italian [Milanese] + --Virgin and Child, 103 + + Bonfiglio, Benedetto, 1420-1496 (_c._) Italian [Perugian] + --Virgin and Child, 103 + + Bonheur, Rosa, 1822-1899, French + --Ploughing in Nivernois, 256 + + Bordone, Paris, 1500-1570, Italian [Venetian] + --Annunciation, 354 + + Both, Andries, 1609-1644, Flemish, 47 + + Both, Jan, 1610 (_c._)-1652, Flemish, 47 + + Botticelli, Sandro (Alessandro di Mariano dei Filippi), 1444-1510, + Italian [Florentine] 96 + --Pieta, 169; + Nativity, 269; + Reposing Venus, 117; + Athena and the Centaur, 124 + + Boucher, Francois, 1704-1770, French + --Louvre Portrait, 173; + Sleeping Venus, 118; + Birth of Venus, 268 + + Bough, S., 1822-1878, British + --Borrowdale, 204 + + Bouguereau, A. W., 1825-1905, French + --Assumption of the Virgin, 267; + Une ame au Ciel, 267; + Birth of Venus, 115; + Aurora, 271; + Twilight, 271; + The Lost Pleiad, 269 + + Bouts, Dirk, 1400-1475, Flemish + --Adoration of the Magi, 347 + + Braquemond, J. F., 1833-, French, 285 + + Bramantino (Bartolommeo Suardi), 1468-(_c._) 1530, Italian [Milanese] + --Christ, 93; + Virgin and Child, 103 + + Breton, Jules, 1827-1906, French + --Cry of Alarm, 253 + + Breughel, Jan, 1569-1642, Flemish, 46 + + Breughel, Pieter, 1528-1569, Flemish, 90 + + Bril, Paul, 1554-1626, Flemish, 46 + + Bronzino (Angelo Allori), 1502-1572, Italian [Florentine] + --Venus and Cupid, 348 + + Brown, Arnesby, 1866-, British + --The Drove, 257 + + Burne-Jones, E. B., 1833-1898, British + --Annunciation, 270; + Golden Stairs, 252; + Dies Domini, 93 + + +C + + Cabanel, Aexandre, 1823-1889, French + --Venus Anadyomene, 115 + + Calamis, fifth century B.C., Greek, 9 + + Canaletto (Antonio Canale), 1697-1768, Italian, 47 + + Canova, Antonio, 1757-1822, Italian + --L'Amour et Psyche, 191 + + Cappelle, Jan van de, 1624(_c._)-1679, Dutch, 46 + + Carracci, Agostino, 1558-1601, Italian, 31 + + Carracci, Annibale, 1560-1609, Italian, 31 + + Carracci, Ludovico, 1555-1619, Italian, 31 + + Caravaggio, M. (Michelangelo Amerighi), 1569-1609, Italian, 17, 246 + + Cavalori, Mirabello, middle sixteenth century, Italian [Florentine] + --The Carpet Weavers, 252 + + Cellini, Benvenuto, 1500-1571, Italian, 17, 323 + + Cephisodostos, early fourth century B.C., Greek + --Irene and Pluto, 101 + + Cezanne, Paul, 1839-1906, French, 37, 288 + + Chardin, J. S., 1699-1779, French, 173, 247 + + Chartier, H., 1870 (_c._)-, French + --Jena, 256; + Hanan, 256 + + Chase, W. M., 1849-1916, American + --Master Roland, 165 + + Cignani, Carlo, 1628-1719, Italian, 32, 164 + + Cimabue, Giovanni, 1240 (_c._)-1302, Italian [Florentine] 92, 95, 283 + --Virgin and Child, 101 + + Cipriani, G. B., 1727-1785, Italian, 164 + + Claude Lorraine (Claude Gelee), 1600-1682, + French, 17, 30, 47, 195, 198, 201, 283 + --Arcadian Landscape, Plate 17 + + Clausen, George, 1852-, British, 284, 349 + + Cogniet, L., 1794-1880, French. + --Tintoretto Painting his Dead Daughter, 191 + + Colton, W. R., 1867-, British + --Royal Artillery Memorial, 253 + + Constable, John, 1776-1837, British, 48, 195, 208 + + Copley, J. S., 1737-1815, American + --Death of Chatham, 190 + + Corenzio, Bellisario, 1588 (_c._)-1643, Greek, 17 + + Cornelius, Peter, 1783-1867, German + --Let there be Light, 267 + + Correggio (Antonio Allegri), 1494-1534, + Italian [Parma], 43, 69, 102, 108, 142 + --Vice, 179; + Virtue, 179; + Mercury instructing Cupid, 130; + Madonna and Child with Saints (Parma), 268; + Parma frescoes, 229 + + Costa, Lorenzo, 1460-1535, Italian [Ferrarese] + --Coronation of the Virgin, 102; + Cupid crowning Isabella d'Este, 225 + + Cosway, Richard, 1742-1821, British, 164 + + Cot, P. A., 1837-1883, French + --The Storm, 210 + + Courbet, G., 1819-1877, French + --Funeral at Ornans, 189 + + Coypel, Antoine, 1661-1742, French, 163 + + Coypel, Noel, 1628-1707, French, 163 + + Crivelli, Carlo, 1440 (_c._)-1496, Italian (Venetian) + --Coronation of the Virgin, 264 + + Crome, John, 1769-1821, British, 208 + + Cuyp, Albert, 1605-1691, Dutch, 203, 245 + + +D + + Dalsgaard, Christen, 1824-, Danish + --The Child's Coffin, 189 + + Damophon, second century B.C., Greek, 122 + + Danby, F., 1793-1861, British, 209 + + Dehodencq, E. A., 1822-1882, French + --Bohemians returning from a Fete, 253 + + Delacroix, E. V. E., 1798-1863, French, 278 + + Delaroche, Paul (Hippolyte Delaroche), 1797-1856, French + --Death of Queen Elizabeth, 190 + + Demont-Breton, V., 1859-, French + --The Divine Apprentice, 321 + + Diaz, N., 1807-1876, French + --Descent of the Bohemians, 253 + + Dolci, Carlo, 1616-1686, Italian + --Christ Blessing, 175 + + Domenichino (Domenico Zampieri), 1581-1641, Italian, 19 + --St. Cecilia, 176; + St. Paul's Vision, 265 + + Donatello (Donate di Betto Bardi), 1385 (_c._)-1466, + Italian, 30, 101, 108, 325 + + Doomer, Lambert, 1647 (_c._)-1694, Dutch, 292 + + Dore, Gustave, 1832-1883, French + --Creation of the Earth, 265; + Samson Slaying the Philistines, 252 + + Dossi, Dosso, 1479-1552, Italian [Ferrarese] + --Muse instructing a Court Poet, 175; + Nymph and Satyr, 175 + + Dow, Gerard, 1613-1675, Dutch, 46, 248 + --The Dentist, 176 + + Duccio, Boninsegna di, 1260 (_c._)-1340, Italian [Siennese], 280 + --Madonna and Child, 101 + + Dumont, Jacques (Le Romain), 1701-1781, French + --Madame Mercier and Family, 173 + + Duerer, Albrecht, 1474-1528, German, 45 + --The Virgin with a Canary, 264 + + Dyce, William, 1806-1864, British + --St. John leading the Virgin from the Tomb, 245 + + +E + + Eakins, Thomas, 1844-1916, American + --Dr. Cross's Surgical Clinic, 185 + + Emmet, Lydia, 1866-, American + --Patricia, 247, Plate 23 + + Ercole di Roberti (E. di R. Grandi), 1470 (_c._)-1531, + Italian [Ferrarese] + --The Concert, 175 + + Everdingen, E. van, 1612-1675, Dutch, 204 + + +F + + Falconet, P. E., 1741-1791, French, 169 + + Ferrari, Gaudenzio, 1484-1549, Italian [Milanese] + --Madonna and Child, 173 + + Ferri C., 1634-1689, Italian + --David plans a Temple, 268 + + Feuerbach, A., 1828-1880, German + --Medea, 170 + + Filarete (Antonio Averlino), (_c._) 1399-1470, Italian, 327 + + Flaxman, John, 1755-1826, British, 130 + + Fontana, B. (G. B. Farinati), 1532-1592, Italian + --Vision of Resurrection, 267 + + Foppa, Vincenzo, 1427 (?)-1515, Italian [Milanese] + --Annunciation, 354 + + Fragonard, J. H., 1732-1806, French, 43, 283 + --The Pursuit, 139; + The Rendezvous, 335; + Souvenirs, 335; + The Lover Crowned, 335; + The Abandonment, 335; + Venus Awakened by Aurora, 118 + + Francesco da Cotignola (F. dei Zaganelli), worked early sixteenth + century, Italian [Parma] + --Adoration of the Shepherds, 265 + + Francia (Francesco Raibolini), 1450-1517, Italian [Bolognese], 332 + --Madonna and Child in Glory, 266; + Madonna and Child in a Rose Garden, 345 + + Fries, Hans, (_c._) 1450-1520, German + --Virgin and Child with St. Anne, 103 + + Frith, W. P., 1819-1909, British + --Poverty and Wealth, 178 + + Fromentin, E., 1820-1886, French, 185 + --Couriers des Ooled Nayls, 257 + + +G + + Gaddi, Taddeo, 1300-1366, Italian [Florentine], 280 + + Gainsborough, T., 1727-1788, British, 160 + --Mrs. Leybourne, 174; + Lady Sheffield, 174 + + Genga, Girolamo, 1476-1551, Italian. + Magdalene with Saints, 266 + + Gericault, Jean Louis, 1791-1824, French + --Epsom, 257 + + Ghiberti, Lorenzo, 1381-1455, Italian, 324 + + Ghirlandaio, Domenico, 1449-1494, Italian [Florentine], 30, 96 + --Old Man and Boy, 151; + Birth of St. John Baptist, 251; + Death of St. Francis, 144 + + Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo, 1483-1560, Italian [Florentine] + --Madonna giving her girdle to St. Thomas, 265 + + Gilbert, John, 1817-1897, British + --Slaying of Job's Sheep, 209 + + Giordano, Luca, 1632-1705, Italian, 32 + + Giorgio, Francesco di, 1439-1502, Italian [Siennese] + --Christ bereft of His clothes before the Crucifixion, 93 + + Giorgione (Giorgio Barbarelli), 1477-1510, + Italian [Venetian], 278, 283, 336 + --Adrastus and Hysipyle, 210, 225; + The Sleeping Venus, 116 + + Giotto (Giotto di Bondone), 1267 (_c._)-1337, + Italian [Florentine], 95, 108, 280, 283 + --Madonna and Child, 101 + + Giovanni di Bologna (Jean de Douai), 1524-1608, French or Flemish, 323 + --Mercury, 129 + + Girodet de Roncy, A. L., 1767-1842, French + --Burial of Atala, 191; + Annunciation, 355 + + Girolamo da Libri, 1472-1555, Italian [Venetian] + --Virgin and Child, 244 + + Gouthiere, Pierre, 1740-1806, French, 323 + + Goyen, Jan van, 1596-1656, Dutch + --View of The Hague, 195 + + Granacci, Francesco, 1477-1544, Italian [Florentine] + --The Virgin giving her girdle to St. Thomas, 267 + + Grant, Francis, 1803-1878, British + --Countess of Chesterfield and Mrs. Anson, 245 + + Greco, El (Dominico Theotocopuli), 1547 (_c._)-1614, Greek, 19 + + Grien, Hans Baldung, 1480-1545, German + --The Three Ages, 180; + Sacred and Profane Love, 182; + Pictures representing Death, 186 + + Gros, A. J., 1771-1835, French + --The Combat of Nazareth, 256; + Timoleon of Corinth, 170 + + Guardi, Francesco, 1712-1793, Italian + --Regatta on the Grand Canal, 252 + + Guercino (G. F. da Cento), 1590-1666, Italian + --Martyrdom of St. Peter, 265 + + Gutherz, C, 1844-1907, Swiss + --"They shall bear thee up," 267 + + +H + + Hacker, A., 1858-, British + --The Cry of Egypt, 170 + + Hals, Franz, 1580-1666, Dutch, 155, 248, 336 + --The Laughing Cavalier, 177; + Stephanus Gereardts, 337; + Isabella Coymans, 337; + Lady with a Fan, 337; + Willem van Heythuysen, 337; + Merry Company at Table, 175 + + Hanneman, Adrian, 1611-1680, Dutch + --Constantine Huygens and Children, 248 + + Heim, F. J., 1787-1865, French, 184 + + Henneberg, R. F., 1825-1876, German + --Race for Fortune, 187 + + Hobbema, M., 1638-1709, Dutch, 46, 49, 202 + --Landscape, Plate 18 + + Hoet, G., 1648-1733, Dutch + --Translation of Enoch, 269 + + Hogarth, W., 1697-1764, British, 225, 282 + + Holbein, Hans, 1497-1543, German, 283 + --The Barber Surgeons, 220; + Holy Family, 103; + The Ambassadors, 40, 157; + Virgin and Child, 263 + + Homer, Winslow, 1836-1910, American + --All's Well, 176, Plate 15 + + Hoppner, John, 1758-1810, British, 161 + + Humphrey, Ozias, 1742-1810, British, 164 + + Hunt, W. H., 1827-1910, British + --Shadow of the Cross, 321; + The Scapegoat, 227 + + +I + + Ingres, J. A. D., 1780-1867, French + --Oath of Louis XIII., 264; + [OE]dipus and the Sphinx, 186; + Birth of Venus, 115 + + Innes, George, 1825-1894, American + --Niagara Falls, 211 + + +J + + Johnstone, J. H., 1857-, American + --Mysteries of the Night, 350 + + +K + + Kampf, Arthur, 1864-, German + --Night of March 31, 1888, 189 + + Kauffmann, Maria Angelica, 1741-1807, German, 164 + + Kaulbach, W. von, 1805-1874, German + --Marguerite, 170 + + Keyser, Thomas de, 1596 (_c._)-1679, Dutch + --Lesson in Anatomy, 185 + + Kulmbach, Hans (Hans Suess), 1476 (_c._)-1522, German + --Entombment of St. Catherine, 263 + + +L + + Lancret, Nicolas, 1660-1743, French, 180 + + Lard, F. M., late nineteenth century, French + --Glory Forgets not Obscure Heroes, 191 + + La Touche, G., 1854-1913, French, 285 + --Firework pictures, 213 + + La Tour, Maurice Q., 1704-1788, French + --Madame de la Popeliniere, 174; + Mdlle. Camargo, 174; + Madame de Pompadour, 174 + + Latour, I. H. Fantin, 1836-1904, French, 285 + + Lawrence, Thomas, 1769-1830, British, 161, 224 + + Le Brun, Charles, 1619-1690, French, 163 + --Death of Cato, 191 + + Leighton, F., 1830-1896, British + --Captive Andromache, 171 + + Leoni, Leone, died 1590, Italian, 323 + + Le Sueur, E., 1616-1655, French, 163 + --Venus reposing, 118; + The Virgin appearing to St. Martin, 261 + + Levy, H. L., 1840-1904, French + --Young Girl and Death, 191 + + Liberale di Verona, 1452-1519, Italian [Veronese] + --Magdalene with Saints, 265 + + Lionardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, + Italian [Milanese], 16, 18, 30, 96, 172, 283, 325 + --The Last Supper, 69, 93; + Mona Lisa (Paris), 151, 242, 341 + --(formerly Boston), 242, 340; + Litta Madonna, 240, Plate 21; + Virgin and Child with St. Anne, 172, 243 + + Lippi, Filippo, 1406-1469, Italian [Florentine], 96 + --Virgin and Child, 103, 251 + + Loefftz, L., 1845-, German + --The Dead Christ, 171 + + Longepied, L., 1849-1888, French + --Immortality, 191 + + Longhi, Pietro, 1702-1762, Italian, 31 + + Lorenzetto, P., first half fourteenth century, Italian [Siennese] + --Madonna and Child, 101 + + Lotto, Lorenzo, 1480-1556, Italian [Venetian] + --Three Ages of Man, 179; + Triumph of Chastity, 226 + + Luca di Tome, first half fourteenth century, Italian [Siennese], 261 + + Luini, Aurelio (A. del Lupino), 1530-1593, Italian [Milanese], 288 + + Luini, Bernadino (B. del Lupino), 1475 (_c._)-1536, Italian [Milanese] + --Entombment of St. Catherine, 263; + Salome, 173 + + Lux, H. L., late nineteenth century, French + --Sarpedon, 268 + + Lysippus, fourth century B.C., Greek, 10 + --Hercules in depressed mood, 344 + + +M + + Mainardi, S., died about 1515, Italian [Florentine] + --Madonna giving her girdle to St. Thomas, 261 + + Maitre de Flemelle (Robert Campin), 1375 (_c._)-1444, + French or Flemish, 93, 170 + + Manet, Edouard, 1832-1883, French, 286 + --Boy with a Sword, 165; + Dejeuner sur l'Herbe, 181; + Olympia, 287 + + Mantegna, Andrea, 1431-1506, Italian [Paduan] + --The Infant Christ, 102; + Virgin and Child, 175 + + Margaritone of Arezzo, 1216-1293, Italian [Tuscan], 279 + + Maratta, Carlo, 1625-1713, Italian, 33, 284 + + Martin, John, 1789-1854, British + --Plague of Hail, 210; + Destruction of Pharaoh, 210; + "I have Set My Bow in the Cloud," 210 + + Masaccio (Tommaso Guidi), 1402-1429, Italian [Florentine], 283, 322 + --The Madonna enthroned, 104; + Tribute Money, 250 + + Matisse, Henry, 1876-, French, 37 + + Matsys, Quentin, 1463 (_c._)-1530, Flemish, 93 + + Meissonier, J. L. E., 1815-1891, French + --1814, 256 + + Mengs, Anton R., 1728-1779, German, 352 + --St. John Baptist Preaching, 175 + + Menzel, A., 1815-1905, German + --Market Place in Verona, 252; + Iron Mill, 252 + + Meyer, K., 1618-1689, Swiss, 179 + + Michelangelo Buonarotti, 1475-1564, + Italian [Florentine, Roman], 10, 13, 16, 18, 19, 30, 43, 69, + 92, 229, 260, 233, 350 + --Holy Family (Florence), 182; + Last Judgment, 90, 93; + Reposing Venus, 117; + Leda, 320; + Night, 320; + San Lorenzo Madonna, 320; + Bargello Madonna, 320; + Pieta, 320; + Moses, 320; + Bacchus, 132; + St. Stephen, 93; + Creation of Adam, Plate 24 + + Mignard, Pierre, 1610-1695, French, 163 + + Millais, J. E., 1829-1896, British + --The Carpenter's Shop, 321 + + Millet, J. F., 1814-1875, French + --The Angelus, 352 + + Molyn, P., 1592(_c._)-1661, Dutch, 292 + + Monet, C. J., 1840-, French, 286 + + Montagna, B., 1450(_c._)-1523, Italian [Venetian] + --The Virgin Enthroned, 102 + + Moro, Antonio, 1512-1575, Flemish + --Catilina of Portugal, 159; + Maria of Austria, 159 + + Morot, A. N., 1850-, French + --Reichsoffen, 256 + + Moser, Lucas, first half fifteenth century, German + --Voyage of the Saints, 347 + + Murillo, B. E., 1618-1682, Spanish, 19, 163 + --Holy Family, 103; + Ascension of Christ, 260; + Immaculate Conception pictures, 266 + + Myron, fifth century B.C., Greek, 9, 249 + --Discobolus, 352; + Marsyas, 331, 352 + + +N + + Nattier, J. M., 1685-1766, French, 164 + --Madame Louise, 173 + + +O + + Orcagna (Andrea di Cione), 1308(_c._)-1370, Italian [Florentine] + --Assumption of the Virgin, 261 + + Orchardson, W. Q., 1835-1907, British + --The Borgia, 189 + + +P + + Palma Giovane (Jacopo Palma), 1544-1628, Italian [Venetian] + --Christ in Judgment, 264 + + Palma Vecchio (Jacopo Palma), 1480(_c._)-1528, Italian [Venetian] + --Reposing Venus, 117; + Assumption, 266 + + Parmigiano (Francesco Mazzuoli), 1504-1540, Italian [Parma] + --Madonna and Child with Saints, 103 + + Pedrini, Giovanni (Giampietrino), late fifteenth and early sixteenth + centuries, Italian [Milanese] + --Madonna, 173 + + Perronneau, J. B., 1715-1783, French + --Madame Olivier, 173 + + Perugino, Pietro (Pietro Vanucci), 1446-1524, + Italian [Umbrian], 17, 332 + --Christ's Rule, 264; + Deposition, 345; + Assumption of the Virgin, 262; + Ascension, 262, 263; + Baptism of Christ, 345; + Madonna with Child and Penitents, 264; + Annunciation, 354; + Crucifixion (Florence), 345 + + Phidias, fifth century B.C., Greek, 7, 10, 44, 57, 91, 108, 122, 328 + --Olympian Zeus, 68; + Parthenon Athena, 68, 123 + + Picart, B., 1673-1733, French + --The Burning Coal, 262 + + Piero di Cosimo (Piero Rosselli or Piero di Lorenzo), 1462-1521, + Italian [Florentine], 322 + --Marsyas and the Pipes of Athena, 124, 225, 331; + Death of Procris, 347; + Mars and Cupid, 347 + + Pinturicchio, B., 1454-1513, Italian [Umbrian], 332 + + Pisano, Giovanni, fourteenth century, Italian + --Madonna and Child, 101 + + Pisano, Giunto, first half thirteenth century, Italian + --Christ and the Virgin, 261 + + Pisano, Niccolo, 1206 (_c._)-1278, Italian + --Infant Christ, 108 + + Pissarro, C., 1830-1903, French, 286 + + Polidoro da Caravaggio (Polidoro Caldara), died 1543, + Italian [Neapolitan], 169 + + Pollaiuolo, Antonio (A. di Jacopo Benci), 1429-1498, + Italian [Florentine], 327 + --Hercules contemplating death, 190, Plate 16, 343 + + Polyclitus, fifth century B.C., Greek + --Hera, 120 + + Polygnotus, fifth century B.C., Greek + --Frescoes from Homer, 69 + + Pontormo (Jacopo Carrucci), 1493-1558, Italian [Florentine], 142 + --Venus Reposing, 117 + + Potter, Paul, 1625-1654, Dutch, 203, 245 + + Poussin, Gaspar (Gaspar Dughet), 1613-1675, French, 195 + + Poussin, Nicholas, 1594-1665, French, 16, 30, 47, 163, 195 + --Jonah cast into the sea, 210; + Assumption of the Virgin, 267; + St. Francis Xavier, 261; + Vision of St. Paul, 267; + Venus Reposing, 117; + Adam and Eve, 265; + Diana Sleeps in the Forest, 345; + Descent from the Cross, 168 + + Poynter, E. J., 1836-, British + --Building the Treasure City, 253 + + Praxiteles, fourth century B.C., Greek, 7, 10, 13, 44, 136, 328 + --The Cnidian Aphrodite, 112, 329; + Hermes and the Infant Bacchus, 101, 109, 129 + + Prevost, Jean, died 1529, French + --Old Man and Death, 186 + + Prudhon, P. P. 1758-1823, French + --Crucifixion, 170; + Abduction of Psyche, 266 + + +R + + Raeburn, Henry, 1756-1823, British, 161 + --The Farmer's Wife, 174; + Mrs. Lauzun, 174; + Mrs. Balfour, 174; + Dr. N. Spens, 166 + + Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio), 1473-1520, + Italian [Umbrian, Florentine, Roman], 7, 10, 13, 16, 18, 28, + 43, 57, 69, 92, 108, 125, 137, 142, 167, 229, 283 + --God Appearing to Isaac, 261; + God Separating Water from Earth, 261; + Creation of the Sun and Moon, 261; + Transfiguration, 251; + Julius II., 40, 151, 289; + School of Athens, 144; + Parnassus, 125; + Prophets and Sybils, 243, 263; + Foligna Madonna, 263; + Creation of Woman, 263; + Maddalena Doni, 242; + Angelo Doni, 242; + Study from Mona Lisa, 242; + The Redeemer, 243; + Madonna and Child (Bridgewater), 102; + Madonna and Child with St. John (Berlin), 102; + Holy Family (Madrid), Deliverance of St. Peter, 251; + Fire at the Borgo, 251; + Flight of Lot and his Family, 251; + Crucifixion, 347; + Moses Striking the Rock, 251; + Saint Cecilia, 176; + Saint Sebastian, 243; + Venus Anadyomene, 113; + Christ Blessing, 93; + Casa Tempi Madonna, 173; + Cowper Madonna, 173; + Leo N. and the Cardinals Medici, 157; + Fornarina, 173; + Portrait of a Young Man, 173; + Mercury and Psyche, 129; + St. Margaret, 250, Plate 26; + Annunciation, 354; + Apollo and Marsyas, 125, 332, 345; + Virgin with a Goldfinch, 173, 345; + Sistine Madonna, 230 + + Ravestyn, Jan van, 1572-1657, Dutch, 158 + + Redon, O., died 1917, French + --Death, the Friend, 188 + + Regnault, H., 1843-1871, French + --Automedon and the Horses of Achilles, 256, Plate 28 + + Rembrandt van Ryn, H., 1606-1669, Dutch, 20, 21, 152, 160, 283, 289 + --Rembrandt and Saskia, 177; + Angel quitting Tobias, 263; + Lesson in Anatomy, 185; + Lady with a Dog, 281; + Ascension of Christ, 266, 267; + Night Watch, 21; + Syndics of the Drapers, 281; + Portrait Young Man (Beit Coll.), 281; + do. (Wachtmeister Coll.), 281; + Martin Day, 150; + Machteld von Doorn, 150; + Samson menacing his father-in-law, 248 + + Reni, Guido, 1575-1642, Italian + --Assumption of the Virgin, 268 + + Rethel, A., 1816-1859, German + --Death at a Masked Ball, 187; + Death the Friend, 188 + + Reynolds, Joshua, 1723-1792, British, 142, 154, 160, 224, 282, 350 + --The Infant Hercules, 176; + Mrs. Siddons as Tragedy, 161; + Mrs. Billington as Cecilia, 161; + Hon. Lavinia Bingham, 174; + Mrs. Abington, 174; + Viscountess Crosbie, 166 + + Riccio (Andrea Briosco), 1470-1532, Italian, 323, 326 + + Ribera, Giuseppe, 1593-1656, Italian, 17 + + Rigaud, H., 1659-1743, French, 163 + --Louis XV. as a boy, 173 + + Robbia, Luca della, 1400-1482, Italian, 325 + + Robbia, Andrea della 1435-1525, Italian, 104 + + Roberts, David, 1796-1864, British + --The Israelites depart, 257 + + Rodin, A., 1840-1917, French, 249, 351 + --La Vieille Heaulmiere, 317 + + Roll, A. P., 1847-, French, 271 + + Romano, Giulio (G. Pippi), 1492-1546, Italian [Roman] + --Holy Family, 104 + + Romney, George, 1734-1802, British, 142, 161, 164 + --Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante, 174; + William Booth, 174; + Mrs. Thomas Raikes, 165; + The Ladies Spencer, 166; + Mrs. Yates, 174; + Mrs. Tickle, 174 + + Rosa, Salvator, 1615-1673, Italian, 32 + --Samuel's Curse, 179 + + Rosalba (Rosalba Carriera), 1675-1757, Italian, 164 + + Roslin, A., 1718-1793, French, 173. + + Rossellino, Antonio, 1429-1479, Italian, 104 + + Rossetti, D. G., 1828-1882, British + --Annunciation, 270 + + Rubens, P. P., 1577-1640, Flemish, 16, 20, 30, 46, 152, 226, 283 + --Assumption of the Virgin (Dusseldorf), 266; + do. (Vienna), 266; + do. (Augsburg), 266; + do. (Brussels), 266; + Ascension (Vienna), 267; + do (Venice), 268; + Deity and Christ, 266; + Diana and Nymphs, 254, Plate 27; + Harvest Landscape (Munich), 211; + do. (Wallace Coll.), 211; + Virgin and Child (Rome), 262; + Birth of Venus, 115; + Landscape with a Rainbow, 211; + Shipwreck of Aeneas, 211; + Annunciation (Vienna), 355; + Landscape with Baucis and Philemon, 210; + Funeral of Decius, 188; + Boreas and Oreithyia, 260; + Landscape by Moonlight, 209; + Toilet of Venus, 118; + Christ on the Cross, 244; + Death of Seneca, 190; + The Four Philosophers, 157; + David's Last Song, 176; + Marie de' Medici series, 226 + + Rude, Francois, 1794-1855, French + --Marshal Ney, 351; + Marseillaise, 254 + + Ruysdael, Jacob, 1628 (_c._)-1682, Dutch, 49, 203, 208 + --The Rising Storm, 206, Plate 20; + Landscape with flowing water, 204, Plate 19; + The Marsh, 203 + + +S + + Sacchi, Andrea, 1600-1661, Italian, 164 + + Saint-Bonvin, F., 1817-1887, French + --Ave Maria, 353 + + Saint-Gaudens, A., 1848-1907, American + --Shaw Memorial Relief, 254 + + Salviati, F. (Francesco de Rossi), 1510-1563, Italian [Florentine] + --Justice, 179 + + Sansovino (Jacopo Tatti), 1486-1570, Italian, 323 + + Sarto, Andrea del (Andrea Agnolo), 1488-1530, + Italian [Florentine], 142 + --Holy Family (Hermitage), 104 + + Sassoferrato (Giovanni Battisto Salvi), 1605-1685, Italian, 164 + + Scheffer, Ary, 1795-1858, Dutch + --Temptation of Christ, 178 + + Schiavone, Andrea, 1462-1522, Italian [Venetian] + --Jupiter and Io, 348 + + Schnorr, J. von K., 1794-1872, German + --God's Promise to Abraham, 269 + + Schongauer, Martin, (_c._) 1445-1491, German, 45 + + Schonherr, C., nineteenth century, German + --Agony in the Garden, 265 + + Schreyer, Adolf, 1828-1899, German + --The Attack, 257 + + Schwind, M., 1804-1871, Austrian + --The Pleiads, 269, Plate 25; + Rainbow, 212; + Phantom in the Forest, 270 + + Scopas, fourth century B.C., Greek, 10 + --Demeter, 122, Plate 7 + + Sebastiano del Piombo (Sebastiano Luciani), 1485-1547, + Italian [Venetian] + --Concert, 181 + + Signorelli, Luca, 1440 (_c._)-1521, Italian [Umbrian], 191 + --Portrait of a Man, 182; + Madonna and Child, 103, 264 + + Simson, William, 1800-1847, British, 245 + + Snyders, Frans, 1579-1677, Flemish, 216, 257 + + Sodoma, Il, (Giovanni A. Bazzi), 1477-1549, Italian [Siamese] + --Sacrifice of Abraham, 244 + + Steen, Jan, 1629-1679, Dutch + --Terrace Scene, 245 + + +T + + Tassaert, O., 1800-1874, French, 17 + --Assumption of the Virgin, 266 + + Teniers, David, 1610-1690, Dutch, 90 + + Terburg (or Terborch), Gerard, 1617-1681, Dutch, 46 + --Peace of Munster, 158 + + Thoma, Hans, 1839-, German + --Temptation of Christ, 187; + Cupid and Death, 178; + Sin and Death, 187; + Progress of the gods to Walhalla, 212; + Rainbow, 211; + View of Laufenburg, 204 + + Thomson, John, 1778-1840, British + --Fast Castle, 207; + Dunluce Castle, 207 + + Tiepolo, G. B., 1692-1769, Italian, 31 + + Timanthes, fourth century B.C., Greek + --Sacrifice of Iphigenia, 168, Plate 14, 339 + + Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti), 1518-1594, Italian [Venetian], 261 + --Bacchus and Ariadne, 270; + Annunciation, 354; + Presentation of the Virgin, 243 + + Titian (Titiano Vecelli), 1477-1576, + Italian [Venetian], 13, 40, 108, 148, 152, 283, 336, 350 + --Assumption of the Virgin, 266; + Sacred and Profane Love, 138, 181; + Resurrection, 264; + Madonna of the Cherries, 102; + Meeting of Joachim and Anna, 102; + Three Ages of Man, 179; + Madonna with SS. Anthony and John, 104, 348; + Jacopo Pesaro presented to St. Peter, 347; + Paul III. with the two Brothers Farnese, 157, 164; + Reposing Venus (Uffizi), 116; + Venus Anadyomene, 115; + Aretino, 144; + Man with the Gloves, 151; + Duke of Alba, 144; + portraits of Philip II., 144; + Charles V. at Muehlberg, 149, 347; + portraits of his Daughter, 149; + Duke of Ferrara, 149; + Physician of Parma, 336; + Toilet of Venus, 118; + Christ on the Cross, 244; + Pharaoh's Host overwhelmed, 257; + self-portrait, 149; + Venus and the Organ Player, 166 + + Turner, J. M. W., 1775-1851, British, 16, 17, 201 + --Arundel Castle, 210; + The _Temeraire_ towed to her last berth, 353 + + +U + + Uhde, Fritz von, 1848-, German, 321 + --Cavalry going into action, 257; + Revenge, 187; + The Three Magi, 104 + + +V + + Van der Neer, A., 1619-1683, Dutch, 208 + + Van de Velde, W., 1633-1707, Dutch, 46 + + Van der Venne, A. P., 1589-1661, Dutch + --The Soul Fishery, 211 + + Van der Weyden, Roger, 1400 (_c._)-1464, Flemish, 93, 170 + + Van Dyck, Anthony, 1599-1641, Flemish, 142, 148, 157, 216 + --Four Ages, 180; + Christ on the Cross, 244, Plate 22; + Earl of Pembroke, 165; + Earl of Bedford, 150; + Philip le Roy, 165; + Henrietta Maria (Windsor), 150; + portrait of his Wife, 166; + Earl of Newport, 150; + Countess of Devonshire, 165 + + Van Eyck, Jan, 1385 (_c._)-1441, Flemish, 283 + --Virgin and Child at the Fountain, 263; + Arnolfini and his Wife, 40; + Chancellor Rollin before the Virgin, 347 + + Van Gogh, V., 1853-1890, Dutch, 37, 288 + + Velasquez, D. R. de Silva, 1599-1660, Spanish, 152 _et seq._, 283 + --Christ at the Column, 246; + Las Meninas, 155, 247; + Coronation of the Virgin, 266; + The Drinkers, 182; + The Three Musicians, 175; + The Breakfast, 155; + portraits of Philip IV., 153; + Olivares, 149; + Innocent X., 151; + Don Antonio el Ingles, 149; + Rokeby Venus, 119; + Surrender of Breda, 155; + Christ in the house of Martha, 155 + + Venusti, Marcello, died after 1579, Italian [Florentine] + --Annunciation, 354 + + Verestchagin, V., 1842-1904, Russian, 184 + + Vermeer, Jan (of Delft), 1632-1675, Dutch, 20 + + Vernet, E. J. Horace, 1789-1863, French + --La Smalah, 256 + + Veronese, Paolo (Paolo Caliari), 1528-1588, + Italian [Venetian], 231, 286, 350 + + Verrocchio, Andrea del, 1435-1488, Italian, 325 + + Viti, Timoteo della, 1470-1523, Italian [Umbrian], 332, 345 + + +W + + Walker, Horatio, 1858-, American + --Ave Maria, 353 + + Watteau, Antoine, 1684-1721, French, 278, 283 + --Embarkation for Cythera (Paris), 254; + do. (Berlin), 269 + + Watts, George F., 1817-1904, British + --Death, the Friend, 188, 191 + + West, Benjamin, 1738-1820, American + --Death of General Wolfe, 190 + + Whistler, J. A. McN., 1834-1903, American, 50, 349 + + Wiertz, A., 1806-1865, Belgian + --The Orphans, 189; + Things of the Past, 226 + + Wilson, Richard, 1714-1782, British, 48 + + Witt, J. H., 1840-1901, American + --Bless the Lord, 262 + + Wouverman, Philip, 1614-1670, Dutch, 203, 245 + + +Z + + Zurbaran, Francisco, 1598-1662, Spanish, 19 + + + + +GENERAL INDEX + + +A + + Actors in stage roles, portraits of, 223 + + Aerial perspective, Claude the first master of, 47; + its importance, 198; + method of producing, 200 + + Aesthetic systems, all of them untenable, 3, 274; + Carritt on, 274; + of Hegel, 277; + of Croce, 273 + + Ages of man, pictures contrasting the, 179 + + Allegorical painting, when secondary art, 225 + + Angel of Death in art, instances of, 191; + symbol of, 188 + + Angels, representation of, in aerial suspension and flight, 262, 266 + + Animal painting, in action, 255; + ideals in, not possible, 56 + + Annunciation, The, indication of surprise in expression, 270, 354 + + Apelles, his Venus Anadyomene, 113, 330; + epigrams on, 331 + + Aphrodite (_see_ Venus) + + Apollo, his representation in art, 124 + + Architecture, its position in the Fine Arts, 53; + imitative character of, 53, 294; + unconcerned with ideals, 58; + produces sensorial beauty only, 64; + simplicity its keynote, 75; + standard of judgment in, 75; + S. Colvin on, 292 + + Ares (_see_ Mars) + + Aristotle, on imitation in art, 215, 292; + on metrical form in poetry, 54, 296; + his division of the painter's art, 62; + his connection of morals with art, 314 + + Art, definition of, 1; + its mimetic character, 52; + sensorial beauty, first aim of, 72; + must deal chiefly with types, 55; + independent of social and political conditions, 4; + of psychological impulses, 8, 14; + great periods of, 8; + suggested evolution in, 7; + "Classic" and "Romantic," 278; + relation of, to nature, 55; + popular appreciation of, 74; + Grecian, cause of its decline, 10; + Italian Renaissance of, cause of its decline, 11; + limitation of sculpture and painting in, 81; + Tolstoy's definition of, 275; + ideals in (_see_ The Ideal in Art) + + Artemis (_see_ Diana) + + Artists, training necessary for, 25; + cause of variation in work of, 20; + reputations of great, 283; + as judges of works of art, 305 + + Arts (_see_ Fine Arts) + + Assent, Law of General, 72 _et seq._ + + Associated Arts, the arts associated, 53; + first law of the, 60; + highest art in, recognized by general opinion, 77; + ideals in, 58; + cannot properly be used for moral or social purposes, 82; + their method of producing beauty, 78 _et seq._; + limitations of, 80 + + Athena, her representation in art, 123 + + Atmospheric effects, limitations in producing, 202; + exceptional phases, 202 + + +B + + Bacchus, his representation in art, 131 + + Barbizon School, anticipated by Dutch masters, 291; + sketches of the, of little importance, 290; + use of heavy gilt frames for works of the, 291 + + Beauty, definitions of, unsatisfactory, 2, 59; + alleged objectivity of, 2; + highest form of, 72; + unconnected with philosophy, 2; + first law of, in the Associated Arts, 60; + ideal, 86; + kinds of, in the arts, 4, 60, 273; + degrees of, in the arts generally, 60, in painting, 83; + sensorial (or emotional), 60, 72; + intellectual (or beauty of expression), 2, 273; + of form, 273; + of color, 228 _et seq._; + methods of producing, 78; + as the "expression of emotion," 275; + Longinus on the highest, 73; + standard of judgment of, in poetry, 77, + in sculpture, 77, + in painting, 77, + in architecture, 75, + in fiction, 77, + in landscape, 194, + in still-life, 214, + in secondary art, 219 _et seq._; + general agreement in respect of, 86 + + Bon Dieu d'Amiens, Ruskin on, 319; + Farrar on, 319; + corresponds with certain Greek art, 319, Plate 2 + + Brevity in expression, highest beauty in poetry, marked by, 65 + + Broad style of painting, cause of, with great artists, 21; + its limitations, 39; + advocacy of, by impressionists, 38; + as used by Rembrandt, 281; + by Hals, 336 + + Bronze statuettes of the Renaissance, 321 _et seq._ + + Byron on nature and art in respect of landscape, 345 + + +C + + Caricature, its place in art, 225 + + Carritt, E. F., on the result of aesthetic systems, 275 + + Cave men, their art, 5 + + Ceres (_see_ Demeter) + + Chaldean Art, Illustration of, Plate 1 + + Character of Artists, influence of, in their work, 16 + + Cherubs, use of, in assisting illusion of suspension in the air, 265 + + Christ, representation in art, 92; + the established ideal, 92; + Ruskin on the best ideal of, 319 + + Christian conception of the Deity, its effect in art, 88 + + "Classic Art," Hegel's definition, 277; + varied meanings of the term, 278 + + Claude Lorraine, the first great landscape painter, 47; + the cause of his success, 16; + Goethe on, 49; + the model for Turner, 49 + + Clausen, G., his definition of Impressionism, 284; + on Whistler's nocturnes, 349 + + Clouds, use of, in relation to air-suspended figures, 263 + + Coast views, illusion of motion in, 206 + + Color, beauty of, 228 _et seq._; + its relative importance, 228; + in landscape, 194; + juxtaposition of pure colors, 35, 287; + by Venetian artists, 231, 350; + exceptional color effects, 234; + its use by impressionists, 34 _et seq._ + + Colvin, S., claims music and architecture as non-imitative arts, 292 + + Comedy, its place in the painter's art, 224 + + Contentment, quality of expression in the Madonna, 97; + in Venus, 119 + + Contrast, its use in composition, 177; + of forms, 177; + of ages, 179; + of beauty and strength, 177; + of Good and Evil, 178; + of Poverty and Wealth, 178; + of Vice and Virtue, 178; + of nude and clothed figures, 180 + + Correggio, and the sublime, 229 + + Criticism, the new, 29 + + Croce, B., his aesthetic system, 273; + on genius, 282 + + +D + + Darwin, C., on the result of nerve exercise, 281; + on natural music, 293 + + Death, representation of, 183 _et seq._; + in the Crucifixion, 184; + typified by a skeleton, 186; + in massacres and executions, 184; + in interior scenes, 190; + funeral scenes, 188; + scenes of approaching, 190; + Angel of, 188 + + Decorative art, imitation in, 218 + + Deformity in art, 89 + + Deity, the, representation of, 92; + ideals of, 91 + + Demeter, representation of, 121, Plate 7 + + Demosthenes, example of his art, 300 + + De Quincey, T., on the representation of progressive actions, 348 + + Descriptive poetry, its limits, 79; + in the seventeenth century, 308; + example from Sophocles, 310, + from Cornelius Gallus, 309 + + Diana, representation of, 126 + + Dignity, in portraiture, 146; + practice of Titian, 148; + of Van Dyck, 148; + of Velasquez, 149 + + Dionysus (_see_ Bacchus) + + Drama, The, pictures from the written, 221; + from the acted, 222; + importance of tragedy in painting, 221 + + Drapery, with use of in sculpture, + proportions possible which are not feasible in nude figures, 328; + use of, in painting by Raphael, 251, 352; + for assisting illusions, 260 + + Dutch painters of the seventeenth century, + their limited imaginations, 19 + + +E + + Eaton, D. C., on the origin of impressionism, 286 + + Egyptian art, its early high development, 7, Plate 1 + + Emotional element in beauty (_see_ Beauty) + + Emotions, The, influence of, in the work of artists, 16; + expression of, in relation to beauty, 275 + + Evolution, not applicable to art generally, 7; + Spencer on, 276; + Symonds on, 276 + + Execution in painting, must be balanced with imagination, 18; + of Hals, 155; + of Lionardo, 18; + of Rembrandt, 19; + of Velasquez, 153 + + Expression, in ideals generally, 86; + in Christian ideals, 91 _et seq._; + in classical ideals, 106 _et seq._; + in portraiture, 141 _et seq._; + in the representation of grief, 168; + with the smile, 171; + the open mouth, 174; + in the exhibition of deformity, 89; + in scenes of death, 183; + of Raphael, 339; + of Rembrandt, 42; + of the fourteenth century Italian painters, 279; + of the thirteenth century French sculptors, 315; + in the literary arts, 65 _et seq._ + + +F + + Falconet, E., on the representation of grief, 169 + + Farrar, Dean, on the ideal of Christ, 319; + on the early Italian painters, 279 + + Fiction, as a fine art, 4, 52; + one of the Associated Arts, 53; + imitation in, 52; + forms of, 69; + basic and structural in character, 81; + standard of judgment in, 73; + in relation to sensorial beauty, 79; + unconcerned with ideals, 58 + (_see also_ Novel) + + Fine Arts, imitative in character, 52; + classified according to their signs, 53; + their methods of producing beauty, 78; + standards of judgment in the, 77 + + Fireworks, unsuitable for the painter, 212 + + Flight, representation of + (_see_ Illusion of suspension and motion in the air) + + Flowers, their representation in still-life, 216; + in decorative art, 217 + + Foreground in landscape, illusion of opening distance in, 202 + + Form, beauty of, 273; + ideal, 86 + + Frames of pictures, their use in Barbizon works, 291; + exclusion of, in artificial means to secure relief, 240 + + French sculptors of the thirteenth century, + their forms in the Greek manner, 315; + their representation of the Virgin and Child, 101, 315 + + Frescoes, necessarily divided into sections, 69; + Reynolds on Raphael's, 303 + + Funeral scenes in art, 188 + + +G + + General opinion, standard of judgment in all arts except music, 73, 77 + + Genius, how produced, 21 _et seq._; + Reynolds on, 282; + Johnson on, 282; + Hogarth on, 282 + + Geology, study of, may be assisted by landscape painting, 315 + + Gods, Mythological (_see_ Grecian, under their separate headings); + Roman, 328 + + Grace, inferior as a special quality in portraiture, 164; + as applied in Greece and Rome, 162; + in sixteenth century art, 163; + in seventeenth century art, 163; + in England in the eighteenth century, 164; + in France, 163; + kinds of, 338 + + Grandeur, highest quality of beauty in architecture, 75; + practically impossible in landscape, 193; + in portraiture, 160; + in Van Dyck's works, 160; + in Gainsborough's works, 160 + + Grecian art, cause of its decline, 10; + development of, compared with that of the Renaissance, 10 _et seq._ + + Grecian sculpture, its high place in art, 106; + ideals in, 88, 95; + representation of adults with children in, 100; + studied by the great masters of the Renaissance, 108; + in portraiture, 145 + + +H + + Hals, Franz, his facility, 155; + his limited imagination, 155; + his broad manner, 336; + the works of pupils attributed to him, 337 + + Hegel, G. W., his "periods" in art, 277 + + Hephaestus (_see_ Vulcan) + + Hera (_see_ Juno) + + Hercules, his representation as contemplating death, 190 + + Hermes (_see_ Mercury) + + Historical painting, its place in art, 83 + + Hogarth, W., on genius, 282 + + Holmes, C. J., on the framing of Barbizon pictures, 291 + + Homer, example of his art, 65 + + Hood, T., his moods and his work, 17 + + Horses, representation in action, 255 + + Human figure, principal sign in the Associated Arts, 53, 73; + produces highest form of beauty, 72; + general ideal of, 86; + Greek ideals, 106 + + Humboldt, A., on the position of landscape in art, 344 + + Humorous subjects, their place in the painter's art, 224 + + Hyperides, example of his art, 300 + + +I + + Ideal in art, The, only possible in respect of the human form, 57, 87; + inapplicable to form without expression, 86; + definition of, 86; + must be general, 86; + general agreement in respect of, 87; + can only be applied to excellence, 89; + limitation of, 56; + ideals of the Greeks, 89, 91, + of the early Italians, 94, + of the thirteenth century French sculptors, 315, + of the Deity, 88, 91, + of Christ, 92, 94, + of the Madonna, 95, + of Zeus, 88, + of the other Grecian deities, 89, + of Phidias, 10, + of Raphael, 97, 137, + of Praxiteles, 10, + in, of Michelangelo, 320; + general ideals, 135; + universality of, 138, 315; + ideal qualities, 89 + + Illusion of continuity, in death scenes, 189 + + Illusion of movement, in landscape, 197; + in sea views, 205; + in coast views, 206; + in sculpture, 249, 351; + in figure painting, 250 _et seq._; + in animal painting, 255 _et seq._; + may be suggested by title of work, 257 + + Illusion of opening distance, in distance landscape, 197; + in nearground work, 203; + in sea views, 205 + + Illusion of relief, its value in painting, 236; + mechanical methods of producing, 240 + + Illusion of suspension and motion in the air, with the assistance + of flowing drapery, 260; + of clouds, 263; + of cherubs, 265; + of Angels, 266; + of smoke, 268 + + Imagination, The, + influence of precocious, in the production of genius, 23; + must be balanced with skill in execution, 18; + of Lionardo, 18; + of the Dutch painters, 19; + of the Spanish painters, 19; + of Shakespeare, 23, 24 + + Imitation, the province of art, 52; + should be generalized, 237; + in landscape, 194, + in still-life, 214, + in decorative art, 218, + in architecture, 294, + in music, 293; + of other arts by the painter, 221 _et seq._; + Aristotle on, 215; + S. Colvin on, in respect of the fine arts, 292 + + Impressionism, definitions of, 25, 284 _et seq._; + its origin, 285 _et seq._; + its influence, 38; + its limitations, 35; + its defects, 34 _et seq._; + its effects, 51; + its correspondence with Sprezzatura, 32 + + Industry, the key to success in art, 24, 282 + + Inspiration in art, not recognized by great artists, 16; + actual instances of, unknown, 15; + suggested national, 9 _et seq._; + individual, 14 + + Interiors, pictures of, their place in art, 84 + + Invention in art, its relative importance, 54; + in poetry, 54; + in painting, 312; + Lessing on, in poetry and painting, 312; + in landscape, 193; + the term used in two senses, 311 + + Irony, works conveying, unsuitable for the painter, 224 + + Italy, Art of, decline of the Renaissance, 11 _et seq._; + in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 30 _et seq._; + Renaissance ideals, 12 + + +J + + Japanese, their practice in decoration, 217 + + Johnson, Dr., on genius, 282 + + Juno, representation of, by the painter, 120 + + Jupiter, Greek representation of, 88, 89; + ideal of, 89, 91; + by the painter, 109 + + +L + + Landscape painting, its place in art, 48, 84; + produces only sensorial beauty, 192; + Humboldt on, 344; + signs in, 199; + disadvantages of, 44; + limitations in, 192 _et seq._, 348; + varieties of, 49; + relative difficulty of execution in, 48; + compositions must be invented, 194; + illusion of motion in, 197 _et seq._; + precise imitation necessary in, 194; + as a useful art, 314; + early development of, 46, + in ancient Rome, 45, + in Italy, 47, + in Holland, 46, + in England and France, 48 + + Lanzi, A. L., on the range of Raphael in expression, 339 + + La Touche, G., on the origin of impressionism, 286 + + Latour, Fantin, and the origin of impressionism, 285 + + Laugh, a, when unobjectionable in painting, 177 + + Lessing, G., on progressive actions, 348; + on the relative importance of invention and execution, 312; + on the representation of grief, 169; + on descriptive poetry, 309; + on signs in art, 346; + on Homer and the beauty of Helen, 298; + on the Laocoon design, 311; + on the dictum of Simonides, 307; + on ugliness in poetry and painting, 341 + + Lewes, G. H., on the execution of signs in art, 346 + + Lightning, its use in landscape, 209; + must be subordinated, 209; + where used in painting by great masters, 210 + + Lionardo da Vinci, his imagination compared with his execution, 18; + his relief, 239; + on success in painting, 16; + his representation of Christ, 93 + + Literary arts, + the painter must take his action from them or from nature direct, 81 + (_see_ Poetry and The Novel). + + Literary movement in England in the sixteenth century, 278 + + Longinus, on the test of the sublime and beautiful, 73; + on certain examples of beauty in the literary arts, 300 + + Luini, A., On an "impressionist" landscape by Titian, 288 + + +M + + MacColl, D. S., on the origin of impressionism, 284 + + Madonna, The, her representation, + the test of art during the Renaissance, 12, + by Cimabue and Giotto, 95, + in Crucifixion scenes, 99; + her surroundings in art, 99, + her representation at different ages, 98, + Michelangelo on her presumed age, 320; + her presumed social condition, 100; + the ideal of the early Italian, 12, 95, + of Raphael, 97, + Michelangelo's portrayals of, 320; + limitations in the ideal of, 98 + + Madonna and Child, + representation of, by thirteenth century French sculptors, 101, 315; + in Italy, 101; + changes in grouping of, in the fifteenth century, 101; + practice of later artists, 102 _et seq._ + + Manner in painting, its limitations, 39; + the public indifferent to, 39; + of Rembrandt, 21; + of Hals, 336 + + Manet, E., his connection with the rise of impressionism, 287 + + Marine painting (_see_ Sea views) + + Mars, representation of, in painting, 128 + + Mauclair, C., on impressionism, 285 + + Mengs, A. R., on Raphael's treatment of drapery, 352 + + Mercury, his representation in painting, 129 + + Metaphor, with the poet, 65, 227, 296; + with the painter, 226 + + Michelangelo, and the sublime, 229; + his studies in Greek art, 108; + Reynolds on, 282; + his ideals of the Madonna, 320; + on her presumed age at the Crucifixion, 320; + on the cause of Raphael's success, 16; + on the public judgment of works of art, 304; + on the Venetian painters, 350 + + Miller, Marion M., his translation of Sappho's Hymn to Aphrodite, 302 + + Minerva (_see_ Athena) + + Modesty, quality in expression unsuitable to a goddess, 119 + + Mona Lisa, the Louvre example, 151, 172; + the Boston example, 172; + her reputed age in the picture, 240; + her smile, 341 + + Mood, influence of, in the work of artists, 17 + + Moonlight scenes, their place in art, 208 + + Morals, pictures illustrating, their place in art, 85 + + Moreau-Vautier, C., on the juxtaposition of pure colors, 287 + + Music, + highest beauty in, produced by complex combinations of signs, 73; + greatest works in, the least popular, 75; + ideals not possible in, 58; + cannot present intellectual beauty, 64; + standard of judgment in, 305; + cannot be connected with painting, 285; + its connection with poetry, 54, 76; + imitative character of, 53, 293; + claimed by Colvin as non-imitative, 292; + Darwin on natural, 293 + + Muther, R., on the origin of Impressionism, 287 + + Mystery in painting, indicates inferior art, 341 + + Mythological subjects, their place in painting, 83, 133 + + +N + + Nature, relation of, to art, 57; + and landscape, Byron on, 345 + + Near-ground painting in landscape, 202 + + Neptune, his representation in painting, 127 + + Nerves of the senses, + their advanced condition at birth cause of precocity in art, 21; + alike in all people, 86; + connection of genius with development of, 22; + physiological changes in, 22, 72; + Darwin on the, 281 + + Night, should be symbolized in painting, 350; + Whistler attempts to represent beauty of, 349 + + Nocturnes, origin of Whistler's, 349 + + Norwich school of painting, 48 + + Novel, the, compared with the short story, 70; + limit of, 71; + of little service to the painter, 221 (_see_ Fiction) + + Nude with clothed figures, contrasts of, 180 + + +O + + Objectivity of beauty, 2 + + Open Mouth, The, 174; + when not objectionable, 177 + + +P + + Painter, the, his requirements, 25 + + Painting, imitative character of, 52; + degrees of beauty in, 83; + compared with sculpture, 135; + its relation to poetry, 307; + general ideals in, 86 _et seq._; + classical ideals in, 106 _et seq._; + Christian ideals in, 91 _et seq._; + action cannot be originated in, 81; + great, marked by simplicity, 69; + standard of judgment in, 73; + general expression in, 167; + relation of invention to execution in, 312; + broad manner of, 39; + of divinities, 109; + of classical scenes, 133; + of humorous subjects, 224; + of contrasts, 177 _et seq._; + of scenes from fiction, 221, + from the written drama, 221, + from the acted drama, 222; + of portraits in character, 222; + of ugliness, 341; + deformity in, 178; + representation of death in, 183; + portrait, 141 _et seq._; + landscape, 192 _et seq._; + of moonlight scenes, 208; + of still-life, 214; + secondary art of, 85, 219; + metaphor in, 226; + color in, 228 _et seq._; + impressionist, 25; + of events in time, 219; + symbolical, 227; + Barbizon school of, 290; + quality of grace in, 161, + of contentment, 97, + of modesty in respect of goddesses, 119; + illusion of relief in, 239 _et seq._; + illusion of movement in, 249, + in animal action, 255, + of opening distance, 197, + of suspension in the air, 259, + in representation of progressive actions, 204, + of continuity, 189, + assisted by title, 257; + portraiture, 141 _et seq._ + + Pastoral occupations, pictures representing, 84 + + Periods of art, not attributable to national aesthetic stimulus, 8; + Hegel's, 277 + + Phidias, his exalted position in art, 10; + his ideals, 91 + + Philips, A., his translation of Sappho's Ode to Anactoria, 301 + + Philosophy, art not specially related to, 2 + + Pythian, F., on the origin of impressionism, 286 + + Poe, Edgar A., on sadness and beauty, 280 + + Poetry, the highest art, 81; + its imitative scope, 52; + not primarily a combined art, 55; + value of metrical form in, 54; + its association with music, 76; + its relation to painting, 307; + cannot depict sensorial beauty by description, 79; + descriptive, 309; + in relation to human beauty, 79, + to natural beauty, 79; + basic and structural in character, 81; + its range unlimited, 81; + ugliness in, 341; + standard of judgment in, 73, 76; + Watts-Dunton's definition of, 296; + translations of, 297 + + Pompeian Frescoes, 45, 162, 169, 170, 171, 261, 344 + + Popular appreciation of art, 73 _et seq._, 306; + Tolstoy on, 307 + + Portraiture, its position in art, 141; + variation in work of portraitists, 141; + generalization, 143; + added qualities in, 148; + quality of dignity in, 146; + quality of nobility in, 161; + action in, 164; + use of the smile in, 171; + of stage characters, 223; + in ancient Greece, 145, 162; + in ancient Rome, 145; + of women, 158; + of Raphael, 151; + of Titian, 148; + of Moro, 159; + of Van Dyck, 150; + of Rembrandt, 150; + of Velasquez, 149, 152; + of Hals, 155; + of Reynolds, 160; + of Gainsborough, 160; + of Romney, 161; + effects of fashion in, 159; + quality of grace in, 161; + limitations in, 141, 143; + decoration in, should be subordinated, 156; + multiple portraits, 156 + + Poseidon (_see_ Neptune) + + Praxiteles, his development of new ideals, 111; + his Cnidian Aphrodite, 111 + + Precocity in art, cause of, 22 + + Progressive actions, in figure subjects, 254; + in sea views, 204; + in coast scenes, 206; + in landscape, 203; + Lessing on, 348; + De Quincey on, 349 + + Psychological influence in art conceptions, alleged, 14 + + +Q + + Quintilian: on the Sacrifice of Iphigenia, by Timanthes, 340 + + +R + + Rainbow, its use in landscape, 210 _et seq._ + + Raphael, and the sublime, 229; + his superiority the cause of the decline of the Renaissance, 11; + his achievement in the ideal Madonna, 12 _et seq._, 140; + the composition of his ideal, 97; + his range in expression, 167; + Lanzi on, 339; + his representation of movement, 250; + his portraiture, 151; + his drapery arrangements, 250; + his representation of suspension in the air, 261; + his study of ancient art, 108; + his fresco work, 69; + Michelangelo on, 16; + his trees, 345 + + Recognition, Law of, explanation of, 57; + examples of, 65 _et seq._; + music and architecture excluded from the, 64; + division of the arts in applying, 62 + + Relief (_see_ "Illusion of Relief") + + Rembrandt, his imagination compared with his execution, 20; + cause of variation in his work, 21; + his simplicity, 150; + his broad work, 289; + his use of color, 152; + his position in art, 44; + his representation of character, 42; + suggested as impressionist, 41, 290; + compared with the idealists, 43; + his palette-knife pictures, 281; + classification of his portraits, 281 + + Renaissance (_see_ Italy, Art of) + + Repose, in portraiture, 164; + in the representation of Venus, 116 + + Reynolds, Joshua, his high position in portraiture, 160; + on color, 350; + on the representation of grief, 169; + on the cause of excellence in painting, 282; + on genius in art, 282; + nobility in his portraits, 160; + as a painter of women, 161; + on the work of Raphael, 303; + on Michelangelo, 282; + on the early Italian painters, 280; + on the Venetian painters, 350; + his portraits of actors in character, 224; + his use of the smile, 174 + + Rodin, A., on the suggestion of movement in sculpture, 249, 351; + on ugliness in art, 317; + his La Vieille Heaulmiere, 317; + on Greek ideals, 319 + + Romans, The ancient, had no separate sacred art, 328 + + "Romantic Art," its various meanings, 278; + Hegel's period of, 277 + + Romney, G., the quality of grace in his portraits, 161 + + Ruskin, J., on the trees of Raphael, 345; + on the ideal of Christ, 319; + on the position of landscape in art, 344; + on the Italian painters of the fourteenth century, 279 + + Ruysdael, Jacob, his painting of breaking water, 204, 206; + his near-ground work, 203 + + +S + + Sacred Art, offers highest scope for the artist, 63; + in Greece, 91; + in Italy, 12 + + Sadness, as a quality of beauty, 280 + + Saints, representation of, 104 + + Sappho, her Ode to Anactoria, and the cause of its beauty, 67; + translation of the Ode, 301; + her Hymn to Aphrodite, 302 + + Satan, representation of, 178 + + Satire, works conveying, unsuited to the painter, 224 + + Schopenhauer, on music as a non-imitative art, 292 + + Sculpture, its imitative scope, 52; + ideals in, 135; + compared with painting, 135; + importance of simplicity in, 68; + standard of judgment in, 73; + illusion of motion in, 249; + Rodin on the illusion, 351; + in ancient Greece, 106; + in Greek and Roman portraiture, 145; + thirteenth century French, 315 + + Sea views, illusion of opening distance in, 204; + progressive actions in, 206 + + Secondary Art, its nature, 85; + in historical work, 220; + in actions drawn from the novelist, 221; + from the written drama, 221; + from the acted drama, 222; + humorous pictures, 224; + in allegorical and symbolical painting, 225 _et seq._ + + Shakespeare, his imagination, 23; + example of his art, 66; + represents characters above experience, 61 + + Short story, the, its essentials, 70; + compared with the novel, 69 (_see also_ Fiction) + + Signs, of the fine arts, 56; + separation of the arts according to character of, 53; + the two classes of, in art, 56; + must be completely painted, 199; + Lewes on, 346; + Lessing on, 346; + suggestive, belong to the poet and not to the painter, 200 + + Simonides, on the relation of poetry to painting, 307 + + Simplicity, necessary in the higher forms of the Associated Arts, 71 + + Skeleton, as a symbol in art, 186 _et seq._ + + Smile, the, transitory, should be avoided in art, 171; + in Raphael's work, 173; + in Lionardo's, 172, 341; + of the Milanese artists generally, 172; + in portraiture, 173; + in French portraits, 174; + in British, 174 + + Smoke, use of, in illusions of air suspension, 268 + + Sophocles, example of descriptive poetry from, 310 + + Spencer, Herbert, on evolution in art, 276 + + Sporting pictures, their place in art, 85 + + Sprezzatura, origin of, in the seventeenth century, 30 _et seq._; + correspondence with impressionism, 32 + + Stage scenes, pictures of, 222 + + Still-life, its place in art, 85, 214; + beauty in, 214; + its varieties, 215; + in decoration, 218; + custom of the Japanese in, 217 + + Stories, pictures illustrating, their place in art, 85, 221; + painter of, subordinate to the writer, 221 + + Sublime, The, Longinus on, 73; + painters who have achieved, 229 + + Supreme Being, final ideal of human form can only apply to, 88 + + "Symbolic" period of painting, Hegel's, 277 + + Symbolical painting, when secondary art, 227 + + Symonds, J. A., on evolution in art, 271; + on the Venetian artists, 350 + + +T + + Taine, H., on music as a non-imitative art, 294 + + Tanagra figures, quality of grace in, 162 + + Temperament, influence of, on the work of artists, 16 + + Titian, as a portrait painter, 144; + the dignified pose in his figures, 148; + the pose a test of his portraiture, 335; + his impressionist landscape, 288; + his coloring, 231; + some doubtful attributions to, 336 + + Titles of pictures, may assist in providing illusion of motion, 257; + may add interest to a work, 352 + + Tolstoy, Leo, on the meaning of "art," 275; + on popular appreciation of art, 307 + + Tragedy, only section of drama which the painter may properly use, 221 + + Translations of poetry, varying values of, 297 + + Trees in art, the slender trees of Raphael, 345; + of other artists, 345 + + Turner, J. M. W., secret of his success, 16 + + Twilight scenes, their place in art, 208 + + Types, importance of, in nature and art, 55 + + +U + + Ugliness in art, may be used in poetry, but not in painting, 342; + Rodin on, 317; + Lessing on, 341; + Waldstein on, 318 + + Uncivilized races, their understanding of beauty, 333 + + +V + + Van Dyck, A., 30; + his portraiture, 150 + + Velasquez, his place in art, 44; + his simplicity in design, 152; + his limited imagination, 155; + his execution, 153; + compared with the idealists, 43; + his perfect balance, 43; + claimed as an impressionist, 41, 290 + + Venus, her representation in art, 110; + Anadyomene, 114 _et seq._; + reposing, 116; + at her toilet, 118; + of Phidias, 111; + of Praxiteles, 111 _et seq._; + of Apelles, 113; + of Raphael, 114; + of Michelangelo, 117; + de' Medici, 119; + of Titian, 115; + of other artists, 115 _et seq._ + + Verestchagin, V., his war pictures, 184 + + Vinci, Lionardo da (_see_ Lionardo) + + Virgin, The (_see_ Madonna, The) + + Virtue and Vice, pictures representing, 178 + + Vulcan, representation in painting, 132 + + +W + + Waldstein, C., on ugliness in sculpture, 318 + + Watts-Dunton, T., his definition of poetry, 296 + + Whistler, J. McN., his nocturnes, 349 + + Wings, use of, in suspended figures, 262 + + Women in portraiture, during the Renaissance, 159; + by Moro, 159; + by Van Dyck, 159; + by the eighteenth century British artists, 161; + Reynolds preeminent in painting of, 160 + + +Z + + Zeus (_see_ Jupiter) + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ART PRINCIPLES*** + + +******* This file should be named 36427.txt or 36427.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/6/4/2/36427 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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