,,the ,,mind ,,of ,,the ,,artist        
,illustration3 ,rembrandt ,,the ,,polish
 ,,rider ,berlin ,photographic ,co      
,,thoughts ,,and ,,sayings ,,of         
,,painters ,,and ,,sculptors ,,on       
,,their ,,art  ,,collected  ,,arranged  
,,by ,,mrs4 ,,laurence ,,binyon   ,,with
 ,a ,,preface ,,by ,,george ,,clausen1  
,r4,a4  ,,london ,,chatto  ,,windus     
#aiji  ,all rights reserved             
,,preface   ,it is always interesting   
and profitable to get the views of      
workmen on their work1 and on the       
principles which guide them in it2 and  
in bringing together these sayings of   
artists ,mrs4 ,binyon has done a very   
useful thing4 ,a great number of        
opinions are presented1 which1 in their 
points of agreement and disagreement1   
bring before us in the most charming way
 the wide range of the artist's thought1
 and enable us to realise that the work 
of the great ones is not founded on     
vague caprice or so-called inspiration1 
but on sure intuitions which lead to    

definite knowledge2 not merely the      
necessary knowledge of the craftsman1   
which many have possessed whose work has
 failed to hold the attention of the    
world1 but also a knowledge of nature's 
laws4  ,the ,mind of the ,artist speaks 
for itself1 and really requires no word 
of introduction4 ,these opinions as a   
whole1 seem to me to have a harmony and 
consistency1 and to announce clearly    
that the directing impulse must be a    
desire for expression1 that art is a    
language1 and that the thing to be said 
is of more importance than the manner of
 saying it4 ,this desire for expression 
is the driving-force of the artist2 it  
informs1 controls1 and animates his     
method of working2 it governs the hand  
and eye4 ,that figures should give the  
impression of life and spontaneity1 that
 the sun should shine1 trees move in the
 wind1 and nature be felt and           
represented as a living thing--this is  
the firm ground in art2 and in those who
 have this feeling every effort will1   

consciously or unconsciously1 lead      
towards its realisation4 ,it should be  
the starting-point of the student4 ,it  
does not absolve him from the need of   
taking the utmost pains1 from making the
 most searching study of his model2     
rather it impels him1 in the examination
 of whatever he feels called on to      
represent1 to look for the vital and    
necessary things3 and the artist will   
carry his work to the utmost degree of  
completion possible to him1 in the      
desire to get at the heart of his theme4
  ,truth to nature1 like a wide mantle1 
shelters us all1 and covers not only the
 outward aspect of things1 but their    
inner meanings and the emotions felt    
through them1 differently by each       
individual4 ,and the inevitable         
differences of point of view1 which one 
encounters in this book1 are but small  
matters compared with the agreement one 
finds on essential things2 ,i may       
instance particularly the stress laid on
 the observation of nature4 ,whether the

 artist chooses to depict the present1  
the past1 or to express an abstract     
ideal1 he must1 if his work is to live1 
found it on his own experience of       
nature4 ,but he must at every step also 
refer to the past4 ,he must find the    
road that the great ones have made1     
remembering that the problems they      
solved were the same that he has before 
him1 and that now1 no less than in      
,duerer's time1 art is hidden in nature3
 it is for the artist to drag her forth4
       ,,george ,,clausen4     ,,note   
,this little volume1 it need hardly be  
said1 does not aim at being complete1 in
 the sense of representing all the      
artists who have written on art4 ,it is 
hoped1 however1 that the sayings chosen 
will be found fairly representative of  
what painters and sculptors1 typical of 
their race and time1 have said about the
 various aspects of their work4 ,in     
making the collection1 ,i have had      
recourse less to famous comprehensive   
treatises and expositions of theory like

 those of ,leonardo and of ,reynolds1   
than to the more intimate avowals and   
working notes contained in letters and  
diaries1 or recorded in memoirs4 ,the   
selection of these has entailed         
considerable research2 and in tracing   
what was often by no means easy to find1
 ,i wish to acknowledge the kind        
assistance1 especially1 of ,m4 ,raphael 
,petrucci1 ,m4 ,louis ,dimier1 and ,mr4 
,tancred ,borenius4 ,i have also to     
thank ,lady ,burne-,jones1 ,miss ,birnie
 ,philip1 ,mrs4 ,watts1 ,mrs4 ,c4 ,w4   
,furse1 ,mr4 ,w4 ,m4 ,rossetti1 ,mr4 ,j4
 ,g4 ,millais1 ,mr4 ,samuel ,calvert1   
and ,mr4 ,sydney ,cockerell1 for        
permission to make quotations from      
,burne-,jones1 ,whistler1 ,watts1       
,furse1 ,d4 ,g4 ,rossetti1 ,madox       
,brown1 ,millais1 ,edward ,calvert1 and 
,william ,morris2 also ,sir ,martin     
,conway1 ,sir ,charles ,holroyd1 ,mrs4  
,herringham1 ,mr4 ,e4 ,mc,curdy1 and    
,mr4 ,everard ,meynell1 for allowing me 
to use their translations from ,duerer1 

,francisco d',ollanda 7conversations    
with ,michael ,angelo71 ,cennino        
,cennini1 ,leonardo1 and ,corot1        
respectively4  ,thankful acknowledgment 
is also made to the authors of any other
 quotations whose names may             
inadvertently have been omitted4  ,above
 all1 ,i thank my husband for his advice
 and help4  ,c4 ,m4 ,b4                 
,,illustrations   ,,the ,,polish        
,,rider4 ,rembrandt        ,frontispiece
 ,tarnowski ,collection1 ,dzikow        
,,facing ,,page  ,,the ,,castle ,,in    
,,the ,,park4 ,rubens4 7,detail7        
#bh ,vienna  ,,love4 ,millais           
#dh ,the ,victoria and ,albert ,museum  
,,the ,,music ,,of ,,pan4 ,signorelli   
#gd ,berlin  ,,portrait ,,of ,,the      
,,artist',s ,,wife4 ,j4 ,van ,eyck      
#if ,bruges  ,,hope4 ,puvis de          
,chavannes                        #ajb  
,by permission of ,messrs4              
,durand-,revel  ,,the ,,mass ,,of       
,,bolsena4 ,raphael4 7,detail7          
#aah ,the ,vatican  ,,the ,,children    

,,and ,,the ,,butterfly4 ,gainsborough  
#acd ,national ,gallery     ,,the ,,mind
 ,,of ,,the ,,artist   ,i  ,an able     
painter by his power of penetration into
 the mysteries of his art is usually an 
able critic4  ,alfred ,stevens4#a       
,footnote #a3 ,the ,belgian painter1 not
 the ,english sculptor4   ,,ii  ,art1   
like love1 excludes all competition1 and
 absorbs the man4       ,fuseli4   ,,iii
  ,a good painter has two chief objects 
to paint1 namely1 man1 and the intention
 of his soul4 ,the first is easy1 the   
second difficult1 because he has to     
represent it through the attitudes and  
movements of the limbs4 ,this should be 
learnt from the dumb1 who do it better  
than any other sort of person4          
,leonardo da ,vinci4   ,,iv  ,in my     
judgment that is the excellent and      
divine painting which is most like and  
best imitates any work of immortal ,god1
 whether a human figure1 or a wild and  
strange animal1 or a simple and easy    
fish1 or a bird of the air1 or any other

 creature4 ,and this neither with gold  
nor silver nor with very fine tints1 but
 drawn only with a pen or a pencil1 or  
with a brush in black and white4 ,to    
imitate perfectly each of these things  
in its species seems to me to be nothing
 else but to desire to imitate the work 
of immortal ,god4 ,and yet that thing   
will be the most noble and perfect in   
the works of painting which in itself   
reproduced the thing which is most noble
 and of the greatest delicacy and       
knowledge4  ,michael ,angelo4   ,v  ,the
 art of painting is employed in the     
service of the ,church1 and by it the   
sufferings of ,christ and many other    
profitable examples are set forth4 ,it  
preserveth also the likeness of men     
after their death4 ,by aid of           
delineations the measurements of the    
earth1 the waters1 and the stars are    
better to be understood2 and many things
 likewise become known unto men by them4
 ,the attainment of true1 artistic1 and 
lovely execution in painting is hard to 

come unto2 it needeth long time and a   
hand practised to almost perfect        
freedom4 ,whosoever1 therefore1 falleth 
short of this cannot attain a right     
understanding 7in matters of painting7  
for it cometh alone by inspiration from 
above4 ,the art of painting cannot be   
truly judged save by such as are        
themselves good painters2 from others   
verily is it hidden even as a strange   
tongue4 ,it were a noble occupation for 
ingenious youths without employment to  
exercise themselves in this art4        
,duerer4     ,,aims ,,and ,,ideals      
,,vi  ,give thou to ,god no more than he
 asketh of thee2 but to man also1 that  
which is man's4 ,in all that thou doest1
 work from thine own heart1 simply2 for 
his heart is as thine1 when thine is    
wise and humble2 and he shall have      
understanding of thee4 ,one drop of rain
 is as another1 and the sun's prism in  
all3 and shalt not thou be as he1 whose 
lives are the breath of ,one8 ,only by  
making thyself his equal can he learn to

 hold communion with thee1 and at last  
own thee above him4 ,not till thou lean 
over the water shalt thou see thine     
image therein3 stand erect1 and it shall
 slope from thy feet and be lost4 ,know 
that there is but this means whereby    
thou mayst serve ,god with man4444 ,set 
thine hand and thy soul to serve man    
with ,god4444  ,chiaro1 servant of ,god1
 take now thine ,art unto thee1 and     
paint me thus1 as ,i am1 to know me2    
weak1 as ,i am1 and in the weeds of this
 time2 only with eyes which seek out    
labour1 and with a faith1 not learned1  
yet jealous of prayer4 ,do this2 so     
shall thy soul stand before thee always1
 and perplex thee no more4  ,rossetti4  
,,vii  ,i know that this world is a     
world of imagination and vision4 ,i see 
everything ,i paint in this world1 but  
everybody does not see alike4 ,to the   
eyes of a miser a guinea is far more    
beautiful than the sun1 and a bag worn  
with the use of money has more beautiful
 proportions than a vine filled with    

grapes4 ,the tree which moves some to   
tears of joy1 is in the eyes of others  
only a green thing which stands in the  
way4444 ,to the eye of the man of       
imagination1 ,nature is ,imagination    
itself4  ,blake4   ,,viii  ,painting is 
nothing but the art of expressing the   
invisible by the visible4  ,fromentin4  
,,ix  ,the picture ,i speak of is a     
small one1 and represents merely the    
figure of a woman1 clad to the hands and
 feet with a green and grey raiment1    
chaste and early in its fashion1 but    
exceedingly simple4  ,she is standing3  
her hands are held together lightly1 and
 her eyes set earnestly open4  ,the face
 and hands in this picture1 though      
wrought with great delicacy1 have the   
appearance of being painted at once1 in 
a single sitting3 the drapery is        
unfinished4 ,as soon as ,i saw the      
figure1 it drew an awe upon me1 like    
water in shadow4 ,i shall not attempt to
 describe it more than ,i have already  
done1 for the most absorbing wonder of  

it was its literality4 ,you knew that   
figure1 when painted1 had been seen2 yet
 it was not a thing to be seen of men4  
,rossetti4   ,x  ,a great work of high  
art is a noble theme treated in a noble 
manner1 awakening our best and most     
reverential feelings1 touching our      
generosity1 our tenderness1 or disposing
 us generally to seriousness--a subject 
of human endurance1 of human justice1 of
 human aspiration and hope1 depicted    
worthily by the special means art has in
 her power to use4 ,in ,michael ,angelo 
and ,raphael we have high art2 in       
,titian we have high art2 in ,turner we 
have high art4 ,the first appeals to our
 highest sensibilities by majesty of    
line1 the second mainly by dignified    
serenity1 the third by splendour        
especially1 the ,englishman by a        
combination of these qualities1 but1    
lacking the directly human appeal to    
human sympathies1 his work must be put  
on a lower level4  ,watts4   ,,xi  ,,the
 ,,six ,,canons ,,of ,,art  ,rhythmic   

vitality1 anatomical structure1         
conformity with nature1 suitability of  
colouring1 artistic composition1 and    
finish4  ,hsieh ,ho 7,chinese1 sixth    
century ,a4,d474   ,,xii  ,in painting1 
the most troublesome subject is man1    
then landscape1 then dogs and horses1   
then buildings1 which being fixed       
objects are easy to manage up to a      
certain point1 but of which it is       
difficult to get finished pictures4  ,ku
 ,k'ai-,chih 7,chinese1 fourth century  
,a4,d474   ,,xiii  ,first it is         
necessary to know what this sort of     
imitation is1 and to define it4         
,definition3  ,it is an imitation made  
with lines and with colours on some     
plane surface of everything that can be 
seen under the sun4 ,its object is to   
give delight4  ,principles which may be 
learnt by all men of reason3  ,no       
visible object can be presented without 
light4  ,no visible object can be       
presented without a transparent medium4 
,no visible object can be presented     

without a boundary4  ,no visible object 
can be presented without colour4  ,no   
visible object can be presented without 
distance4  ,no visible object can be    
presented without an instrument4  ,what 
follows cannot be learnt1 it is born    
with the painter4  ,nicholas ,poussin4  
,,xiv  ,in painting1 and above all in   
portraiture1 says ,madame ,cave in her  
charming essay1 it is soul which speaks 
to soul3 and not knowledge which speaks 
to knowledge4  ,this observation1 more  
profound perhaps than she herself was   
aware1 is an arraignment of pedantry in 
execution4 ,a hundred times ,i have said
 to myself1 ,painting1 speaking         
materially1 is nothing but a bridge     
between the soul of the artist and that 
of the spectator4  ,delacroix4   ,,xv   
,the art of painting is perhaps the most
 indiscreet of all the arts4 ,it is an  
unimpeachable witness to the moral state
 of the painter at the moment when he   
held the brush4 ,the thing he willed to 
do he did3 that which he only           

half-heartedly willed can be seen in his
 indecisions3 that which he did not will
 at all is not to be found in his work1 
whatever he may say and whatever others 
may say4 ,a distraction1 a moment's     
forgetfulness1 a glow of warmer feeling1
 a diminution of insight1 relaxation of 
attention1 a dulling of his love for    
what he is studying1 the tediousness of 
painting and the passion for painting1  
all the shades of his nature1 even to   
the lapses of his sensibility1 all this 
is told by the painter's work as clearly
 as if he were telling it in our ears4  
,fromentin4   ,,xvi  ,the first merit of
 a picture is to feast the eyes4 ,i     
don't mean that the intellectual element
 is not also necessary2 it is as with   
fine poetry 444 all the intellect in the
 world won't prevent it from being bad  
if it grates harshly on the ear4 ,we    
talk of having an ear2 so it is not     
every eye which is fitted to enjoy the  
subtleties of painting4 ,many people    
have a false eye or an indolent eye2    

they can see objects literally1 but the 
exquisite is beyond them4  ,delacroix4  
,,xvii  ,i would like my work to appeal 
to the eye and mind as music appeals to 
the ear and heart4 ,i have something    
that ,i want to say which may be useful 
to and touch mankind1 and to say it as  
well as ,i can in form and colour is my 
endeavour2 more than that ,i cannot do4 
,watts4   ,,xviii  ,give me leave to    
say1 that to paint a very beautiful     
,woman1 ,i ought to have before me those
 that are the most so2 with this        
,condition1 that your ,lordship might   
assist me in choosing out the greatest  
,beauty4 ,but as ,i am under a double   
,want1 both of good ,judgment and fine  
,women1 ,i am forced to go by a certain 
,idea which ,i form in my own ,mind4    
,whether this hath any ,excellence of   
,art in it1 ,i cannot determine2 but    
'tis what ,i labour at4  ,raphael4      
,,xix  ,i mean by a picture a beautiful 
romantic dream of something that never  
was1 never will be--in a light better   

than any light that ever shone--in a    
land no one can define or remember1 only
 desire--and the forms divinely         
beautiful--and then ,i wake up with the 
waking of ,brynhild4  ,burne-,jones4    
,,xx  ,i love everything for what it is4
  ,courbet4   ,,xxi  ,i look for my     
tones2 it is quite simple4  ,courbet4   
,,xxii  ,many people imagine that art is
 capable of an indefinite progress      
toward perfection4 ,this is a mistake4  
,there is a limit where it must stop4   
,and for this reason3 the conditions    
which govern the imitation of nature are
 fixed4 ,the object is to produce a     
picture1 that is to say1 a plane surface
 either with or without a border1 and on
 this surface the representation of     
something produced by the sole means of 
different colouring substances4 ,since  
it is obliged to remain thus            
circumscribed1 it is easy to foresee the
 limit of perfectibility4 ,when the     
picture has succeeded in satisfying our 
minds in all the conditions imposed on  

its production1 it will cease to        
interest4 ,such is the fate of          
everything which has attained its end3  
we grow indifferent and abandon it4  ,in
 the conditions governing the production
 of the picture1 every means has been   
explored4 ,the most difficult problem   
was that of complete relief1 depth of   
perspective carried to the point of     
perfect illusion4 ,the stereoscope has  
solved the problem4 ,it only remains now
 to combine this perfection with the    
other kinds of perfection already found4
 ,let no man imagine that art1 bound by 
these conditions of the plane surface1  
can ever free itself from the circle    
which limits it4 ,it is easy to foresee 
that its last word will soon have been  
said4  ,wiertz4   ,,xxiii  ,in his      
admirable book on ,shakespeare1 ,victor 
,hugo has shown that there is no        
progress in the arts4 ,nature1 their    
model1 is unchangeable2 and the arts    
cannot transcend her limits4 ,they      
attain completeness of expression in the

 work of a master1 on whom other masters
 are formed4 ,then comes development1   
and then a lapse1 an interval4          
,by-and-by1 art is born anew under the  
stimulus of a man who catches from      
,light a new convention4  ,bracquemond4 
,,xxiv  ,the painter 444 does not set   
his palette with the real hues of the   
rainbow4 ,when he pictures to us the    
character of a hero1 or paints some     
scene of nature1 he does not present us 
with a living man in the character of   
the hero 7for this is the business of   
dramatic art72 nor does he make up his  
landscape of real rocks1 or trees1 or   
water1 but with fictitious resemblances 
of these4 ,yet in these figments he is  
as truly bound by the laws of the       
appearance of those realities1 of which 
they are the copy 7and very much to the 
same extent71 as the musician is by the 
natural laws and properties of sound4   
,in short1 the whole object of physical 
science1 or1 in other words1 the whole  
of sensible nature1 is included in the  

domain of imitative art1 either as the  
subjects1 the objects1 or the materials 
of imitation3 every fine art1 therefore1
 has certain physical sciences          
collateral to it1 on the abstractions of
 which it builds1 more or less1         
according to its nature and purpose4    
,but the drift of the art itself is     
something totally distinct from that of 
the physical science to which it is     
related2 and it is not more absurd to   
say that physiology or anatomy          
constitute the science of poetry or     
dramatic art than that acoustics and    
harmonics are the science of music2     
optics1 of painting2 mechanics1 or other
 branches of physical science1 that of  
architecture4  ,dyce4   ,,xxv  ,after   
all ,i have seen of ,art1 with nothing  
am ,i more impressed than with the      
necessity1 in all great work1 for       
suppressing the workman and all the mean
 dexterity of practice4 ,the result     
itself1 in quiet dignity1 is the only   
worthy attainment4 ,wood-engraving1 of  

all things most ready for dexterity1    
reads us a good lesson4  ,edward        
,calvert4   ,,xxvi  ,shall ,painting be 
confined to the sordid drudgery of      
facsimile representations of merely     
mortal and perishing substances1 and not
 be as poetry and music are1 elevated   
into its own proper sphere of invention 
and visionary conception8 ,no1 it shall 
not be so6 ,painting1 as well as poetry 
and music1 exists and exults in immortal
 thoughts4  ,blake4   ,,xxvii  ,if any  
man has any poetry in him1 he should    
paint1 for it has all been said and     
written1 and they have scarcely begun to
 paint it4  ,william ,morris4   ,,xxviii
  ,long live conscience and simplicity6 
there lies the only way to the true and 
the sublime4  ,corot4   ,,xxix  ,all the
 young men of this school of ,ingres    
have something of the pedant about them2
 they seem to think that merely to be   
enrolled among the party of serious     
painters is a merit in itself4 ,serious 
painting is their party cry4 ,i told    

,demay that a crowd of people of talent 
had done nothing worth speaking of      
because of all these factious dogmas    
that they get enslaved to1 or that the  
prejudice of the moment imposes on them4
 ,so1 for example1 with this famous cry 
of ,beauty1 which is1 according to the  
world's opinion1 the goal of the arts3  
if it is the one and only goal1 what    
becomes of men who1 like ,rubens1       
,rembrandt1 and northern natures in     
general1 prefer other qualities8 ,demand
 of ,puget purity1 beauty in fact1 and  
it is good-bye to his verve4 ,speaking  
generally1 men of the ,north are less   
attracted to beauty2 the ,italian       
prefers decoration2 this applies to     
music too4  ,delacroix4   ,,xxx  ,at the
 present time the task is easier4 ,it is
 a question of allowing to everything   
its own interest1 of putting man back in
 his place1 and1 if need be1 of doing   
without him4 ,the moment has come to    
think less1 to aim less high1 to look   
more closely1 to observe better1 to     

paint as well but differently4 ,this is 
the painting of the crowd1 of the       
townsman1 the workman1 the parvenu1 the 
man in the street2 done wholly for him1 
done from him4 ,it is a question of     
becoming humble before humble things1   
small before small things1 subtle before
 subtle things2 of gathering them all   
together without omission and without   
disdain1 of entering familiarly into    
their intimacy1 affectionately into     
their way of being2 it is a matter of   
sympathy1 attentive curiosity1 patience4
 ,henceforth1 genius will consist in    
having no prejudice1 in not being       
conscious of one's knowledge1 in        
allowing oneself to be taken by surprise
 by one's model1 in asking only from him
 how he shall be represented4 ,as for   
beautifying--never6 ennobling--never6   
correcting--never6 ,these are lies and  
useless trouble4 ,is there not in every 
artist worthy of the name a something   
which sees to this naturally and without
 effort8  ,fromentin4   ,,xxxi  ,i send 

you also some etchings and a ,woman     
drinking ,absinthe1 drawn this winter   
from life in ,paris4 ,it is a girl      
called ,marie ,joliet1 who used every   
evening to come drunk to the ,bal       
,bullier1 and who had a look in her eyes
 of death galvanised into life4 ,i made 
her sit to me and tried to render what  
,i saw4 ,this is my principle in the    
task ,i have set before me4 ,i am       
determined to make no book-illustration 
but it shall be a means of contributing 
towards an effect of life and nothing   
more4 ,a patch of colour and it is      
sufficient2 we must leave these childish
 thoughts behind us4 ,life6 we must try 
to render life1 and it is hard enough4  
,felicien ,rops4   ,,xxxii  ,so this    
damned ,realism made an instinctive     
appeal to my painter's vanity1 and      
deriding all traditions1 cried aloud    
with the confidence of ignorance1 ,back 
to ,nature6 ,nature6 ah1 my friend1 what
 mischief that cry has done me4 ,where  
was there an apostle apter to receive   

this doctrine1 so convenient for me as  
it was--beautiful ,nature1 and all that 
humbug8 ,it is nothing but that4 ,well1 
the world was watching2 and it saw ,the 
,piano1 the ,white ,girl1 the ,thames   
subjects1 the marines 444 canvases      
produced by a fellow who was puffed up  
with the conceit of being able to prove 
to his comrades his magnificent gifts1  
qualities which only needed a rigorous  
training to make their possessor to-day 
a master1 instead of a dissipated       
student4 ,ah1 why was ,i not a pupil of 
,ingres8 ,i don't say that out of       
enthusiasm for his pictures2 ,i have    
only a moderate liking for them4        
,several of his canvases1 which we have 
looked at together1 seem to me of a very
 questionable style1 not at all ,greek1 
as people want to call it1 but ,french1 
and viciously ,french4 ,i feel that we  
must go far beyond this1 that there are 
far more beautiful things to be done4   
,yet1 ,i repeat1 why was ,i not his     
pupil8 ,what a master he would have been

 for us6 ,how salutary would have been  
his guidance6  ,whistler4   ,,xxxiii    
,it has been said1 ,who will deliver us 
from the ,greeks and ,romans8 ,soon we  
shall be saying1 ,who will deliver us   
from realism8 ,nothing is so tiring as a
 constant close imitation of life4 ,one 
comes back inevitably to imaginative    
work4 ,homer's fictions will always be  
preferred to historical truth1 ,rubens' 
fabulous magnificence to all the        
frippery copied exactly from the lay    
figure4  ,the painter who is a machine  
will pass away1 the painter who is a    
mind will remain2 the spirit for ever   
triumphs over matter4  ,wiertz4         
,,xxxiv  ,a little book by the ,russian 
soldier and artist ,verestchagin is     
interesting to the student4 ,as a       
realist1 he condemns all art founded on 
the principles of picture-makers1 and   
depends only on exact imitation1 and the
 conditions of accident4 ,in our seeking
 after truth1 and endeavour never to be 
unreal or affected1 it must not be      

forgotten that this endeavour after     
truth is to be made with materials      
altogether unreal and different from the
 object to be imitated4 ,nothing in a   
picture is real2 indeed1 the painter's  
art is the most unreal thing in the     
whole range of our efforts4 ,though art 
must be founded on nature1 art and      
nature are distinctly different things2 
in a certain class of subjects          
probability may1 indeed must1 be        
violated1 provided the violation is not 
disagreeable4  ,everything in a work of 
art must accord4 ,though gloom and      
desolation would deepen the effects of a
 distressing incident in real life1 such
 accompaniments are not necessary to    
make us feel a thrill of horror or      
awaken the keenest sympathy4 ,the most  
awful circumstances may take place under
 the purest sky1 and amid the most      
lovely surroundings4 ,the human         
sensibilities will be too much affected 
by the human sympathies to heed the     
external conditions2 but to awaken in a 

picture similar impressions1 certain    
artificial aids must be used2 the       
general aspect must be troubled or sad4 
,watts4   ,,xxxv  ,the remarks made on  
my ,man with the ,hoe seem always very  
strange to me1 and ,i am obliged to you 
for repeating them to me1 for once more 
it sets me marvelling at the ideas they 
impute to me4 ,in what club have my     
critics ever encountered me8 ,a         
,socialist1 they cry6 ,well1 really1 ,i 
might answer the charge as the          
commissary from ,auvergne did when he   
wrote home3 ,they have been saying that 
,i am a ,saint-,simonian3 it's not true2
 ,i don't know what a ,saint-,simonian  
is4  ,can't they then simply admit such 
ideas as may occur to the mind in       
looking at a man doomed to gain his     
living by the sweat of his brow8 ,there 
are some who tell me that ,i deny the   
charm of the country4 ,i find in the    
country much more than charm2 ,i find   
infinite splendour2 ,i look on          
everything as they do on the little     

powers of which ,christ said1 ,i say    
unto you1 that ,solomon in all his glory
 was not arrayed like one of these4 ,i  
see and note the aureole on the         
dandelion1 and the sun which1 far away1 
beyond the stretching country1 spends   
his glory on the clouds4 ,i see just as 
much in the flat plain2 in the horses   
steaming as they toil2 and then in a    
stony place ,i see a man quite          
exhausted1 whose gasps have been audible
 since morning1 who tries to draw       
himself up for a moment to take breath4 
,the drama is surrounded by splendours4 
,this is no invention of mine2 and it is
 long since that expression the cry of  
the earth was discovered4 ,my critics   
are men of learning and taste1 ,i       
imagine2 but ,i cannot put myself into  
their skins1 and since ,i have never in 
my life seen anything but the fields1 ,i
 try to tell1 as best ,i can1 what ,i   
have seen and experienced as ,i worked4 
,millet4   ,,xxxvi  ,one of the hardest 
things in the world is to determine how 

much realism is allowable in any        
particular picture4 ,it is of so many   
different kinds too4 ,for instance1 ,i  
want a shield or a crown or a pair of   
wings or what not1 to look real4 ,well1 
,i make what ,i want1 or a model of it1 
and then make studies from that4 ,so    
that what eventually gets on to the     
canvas is a reflection of a reflection  
of something purely imaginary4 ,the     
three ,magi never had crowns like that1 
supposing them to have had crowns at    
all1 but the effect is realistic because
 the crown from which the studies were  
made is real--and so on4  ,burne-,jones4
   ,,xxxvii  ,do you understand now that
 all my intelligence rejects is in      
immediate relation to all my heart      
aspires to1 and that the spectacle of   
human blunders and human vileness is an 
equally powerful motive for action in   
the exercise of art with springs of     
tranquil contemplation that ,i have felt
 within me since ,i was a child8  ,we   
have come far1 ,i hope1 from the shadowy

 foliage crowning the humble roof of the
 primitive human dwelling1 far from the 
warbling of the birds that brood among  
the branches2 far from all these tender 
things4 ,we left them1 notwithstanding1 
the other day2 and even if we had       
stayed1 do you think we should have     
continued to enjoy them8  ,believe me1  
everything comes from the universal2 we 
must embrace to give life4  ,whatever   
interest one may get from material      
offered by a period1 religion1 manners1 
history1 c41 in representing a          
particular type1 it will avail nothing  
without an understanding of the         
universal agency of atmosphere1 that    
modelling of infinity2 it shall come to 
pass that a stone fence1 about which the
 air seems to move and breathe1 shall   
be1 in a museum1 a grander conception   
than any ambitious work which lacks this
 universal element and expresses only   
something personal4 ,all the personal   
and particular majesty of a portrait of 
,louis ,,xiv4 by ,lebrun or by ,rigaud  

shall be as nothing beside the          
simplicity of a tuft of grass shining   
clear in a gleam of sunlight4           
,rousseau4   ,,xxxviii  ,of all the     
things that is likely to give us back   
popular art in ,england1 the cleaning of
 ,england is the first and the most     
necessary4 ,those who are to make       
beautiful things must live in a         
beautiful place4  ,william ,morris4     
,,xxxix  ,on the whole1 one must suppose
 that beauty is a marketable quality1   
and that the better the work is all     
round1 both as a work of art and in its 
technique1 the more likely it is to find
 favour with the public4  ,william      
,morris4     ,,art ,,and ,,society      
,,xl  ,with the language of beauty in   
full resonance around him1 art was not  
difficult to the painter and sculptor of
 old as it is with us4 ,no anatomical   
study will do for the modern artist what
 habitual acquaintance with the human   
form did for ,pheidias4 ,no ,venetian   
painted a horse with the truth and      

certainty of ,horace ,vernet1 who knew  
the animal by heart1 rode him1 groomed  
him1 and had him constantly in his      
studio4 ,every artist must paint what he
 sees1 rather every artist must paint   
what is around him1 can produce no great
 work unless he impress the character of
 his age upon his production1 not       
necessarily taking his subjects from it 
7better if he can71 but taking the      
impress of its life4 ,the great art of  
,pheidias did not deal with the history 
of his time1 but compressed into its    
form the qualities of the most          
intellectual period the world has seen2 
nor were any materials to be invented or
 borrowed1 he had them all at hand1     
expressing himself in a natural language
 derived from familiarity with natural  
objects4 ,beauty is the language of art1
 and with this at command thoughts as   
they arise take visible form perhaps    
almost without effort1 or 7certain      
technical difficulties overcome7 with   
little more than is required in         

writing--this not absolving the artist  
or the poet from earnest thought and    
severe study4 ,in many respects the     
present age is far more advanced than   
preceding times1 incomparably more full 
of knowledge2 but the language of great 
art is dead1 for general1 noble beauty1 
pervades life no more4 ,the artist is   
obliged to return to extinct forms of   
speech if he would speak as the great   
ones have spoken4 ,nothing beautiful is 
seen around him1 excepting always sky   
and trees and sea2 these1 as he is      
mainly a dweller in cities1 he cannot   
live enough with4 ,but it is1 perhaps1  
in the real estimation in which art is  
held that we shall find the reason for  
failure4 ,if the world cared for her    
language1 art could not help speaking1  
the utterance being1 perhaps1 simply    
beautiful4 ,but even in these days when 
we have ceased to prize this1 if it were
 demanded that art should take its place
 beside the great intellectual outflow  
of the time1 the response would hardly  

be doubtful4  ,watts4   ,,xli  ,you     
refer to the use and purpose of the     
liberal arts2 not a city in ,europe1 at 
present1 is fulfilling them4 ,and if any
 one in ,melbourne were now to produce1 
even on a small scale1 a picture        
fulfilling the conditions of liberal    
art1 then ,melbourne might take the lead
 of civilised cities4 ,but it is not the
 ambition of leading1 nor the           
restlessness of a competitive spirit    
that may accomplish this4  ,a good poem1
 whether painted or written1 whether    
large or small1 should represent        
beautiful life4 ,are you able to name   
any one who has conceived this beauty of
 the life of men8 ,i will not complicate
 the requirements of painted poesy by   
speaking of the music of colour with    
which it should be clothed2 black and   
white were enough4 ,the very attempt to 
express the confession of love were     
fulfilment sufficient4  ,edward         
,calvert4   ,,xlii  ,so art has become  
foolishly confounded with education1    

that all should be equally qualified4   
,whereas1 while polish1 refinement1     
culture1 and breeding are in no way     
arguments for artistic result1 it is    
also no reproach to the most finished   
scholar or greatest gentleman in the    
land that he be absolutely without eye  
for painting or ear for music--that in  
his heart he prefer the popular print to
 the scratch of ,rembrandt's needle1 or 
the songs of the hall to ,beethoven's ,c
 ,minor ,symphony4  ,let him have but   
the wit to say so1 and not let him feel 
the admission a proof of inferiority4   
,art happens--no hovel is safe from it1 
no prince may depend on it1 the vastest 
intelligence cannot bring it about1 and 
puny efforts to make it universal end in
 quaint comedy and coarse farce4  ,this 
is as it should be2 and all attempts to 
make it otherwise are due to the        
eloquence of the ignorant1 the zeal of  
the conceited4  ,whistler4   ,,xliii    
,art will not grow and flourish1 nay it 
will not long exist1 unless it be shared

 by all people2 and for my part ,i don't
 wish that it should4  ,william ,morris4
   ,,xliv  ,no1 art is not an element of
 corruption4 ,the man who drinks from a 
wooden bowl is nearer to the brute that 
drinks from a stone trough than he who  
quenches his thirst from a crystal cup2 
and the artist who gave the glass its   
shape1 impressed as in a mould of bronze
 by the simple means of a second's      
breath and yet more cheaply than the    
fashioning of the wooden bowl1 has done 
more to ennoble and improve his         
neighbour than any inventor of a system3
 in his work he gives him the use and   
the enjoyment of things for which       
orators can only create a craving4      
,jules ,klagmann4   ,,xlv  ,the         
improviser never makes fine poetry4     
,titian4   ,,xlvi  ,agatharcus said to  
,zeuxis--,for my part ,i soon despatch  
my ,pictures4 ,you are a happy ,man1    
replies ,zeuxis2 ,i do mine with ,time  
and application1 because ,i would have  
them good1 and ,i am satisfyed1 that    

what is soon done1 will soon be         
forgotten4   ,,xlvii  ,art is not a     
pleasure trip4 ,it is a battle1 a mill  
that grinds4  ,millet4     ,,study ,,and
 ,,training   ,,xlviii  ,raphael and    
,michael ,angelo owe that immortal fame 
of theirs1 which has gone out into the  
ends of the earth1 to the passion of    
curiosity and delight with which this   
noble subject inspired them4  ,no man   
who has not studied the sciences can    
make a work that shall bring him great  
praise1 save from ignorant and easily   
satisfied persons4  ,jean ,goujon4      
,,xlix  ,he that would be a painter must
 have a natural turn thereto4  ,love and
 delight therein are better teachers of 
the ,art of ,painting than compulsion   
is4  ,if a man is to become a really    
good painter he must be educated thereto
 from his very earliest years4 ,he must 
copy much of the work of good artists   
until he attain a free hand4  ,to paint 
is to be able to portray upon a flat    
surface any visible thing whatsoever    

that may be chosen4  ,it is well for any
 one first to learn how to divide and   
reduce to measure the human figure1     
before learning anything else4  ,duerer4
   ,l  ,the painter requires such       
knowledge of mathematics as belongs to  
painting1 and severance from companions 
who are not in sympathy with his        
studies1 and his brain should have the  
power of adapting itself to the tenor of
 the objects which present themselves   
before it1 and he should be freed from  
all other cares4 ,and if1 while         
considering and examining one subject1 a
 second should intervene1 as happens    
when an object occupies the mind1 he    
ought to decide which of these subjects 
presents greater difficulties in        
investigation1 and follow that until it 
becomes entirely clear1 and afterwards  
pursue the investigation of the other4  
,and above all he should keep his mind  
as clear as the surface of a mirror1    
which becomes changed to as many        
different colours as are those of the   

objects within it1 and his companions   
should resemble him in a taste for these
 studies2 and if he fail to find any    
such1 he should accustom himself to be  
alone in his investigations1 for in the 
end he will find no more profitable     
companionship4  ,leonardo4   ,,li  ,if  
you are fond of copying other ,men's    
,work1 as being ,originals more constant
 to be seen and imitated than any living
 ,object1 ,i should rather advise to    
copy anything moderately carved than    
excellently painted3 ,for by imitating a
 ,picture1 we only habituate our ,hand  
to take a mere ,resemblance2 whereas by 
drawing from a carved ,original1 we     
learn not only to take this             
,resemblance1 but also the true ,lights4
  ,leon ,battista ,alberti4   ,,lii     
,there are a thousand proofs that the   
old masters and all good painters from  
,raphael onwards executed their frescoes
 from cartoons and their little easel   
pictures from more or less finished     
drawings4444 ,your model gives you      

exactly what you want to paint neither  
in character of drawing nor in colour1  
but at the same time you cannot do      
without him4  ,to paint ,achilles the   
most goodly of men1 though you had for  
your model the most abject you must     
depend on him1 and can depend on him for
 the structure of the human body1 for   
its movement and poise4 ,the proof of   
this is that ,raphael used his pupils in
 his studies for the movements of the   
figures in his divine pictures4         
,whatever your talents may be1 if you   
paint not from your studies after       
nature1 but directly from the model1 you
 will always be a slave and your        
pictures will show it4 ,raphael1 on the 
contrary1 had so completely mastered    
nature and had his mind so full of her1 
that instead of being ruled by her1 one 
might say that she obeyed him and came  
at his command to place herself in his  
pictures4  ,ingres4   ,,liii  ,no one   
can ever design till he has learned the 
language of ,art by making many finished

 copies both of ,nature1 ,art1 and of   
whatever comes in his way1 from earliest
 childhood4 ,the difference between a   
bad artist and a good is1 that the bad  
artist seems to copy a great deal1 the  
good one does copy a great deal4        
,blake4   ,,liv  ,if you deprive an     
artist of all he has borrowed from the  
experience of others the originality    
left will be but a twentieth part of    
him4  ,originality by itself cannot     
constitute a remarkable talent4         
,wiertz4   ,,lv  ,i am convinced that to
 reach the highest degree of perfection 
as a painter1 it is necessary1 not only 
to be acquainted with the ancient       
statues1 but we must be inwardly imbued 
with a thorough comprehension of them4  
,rubens4   ,,lvi  ,first of all copy    
drawings by a good master made by his   
art from nature and not as exercises2   
then from a relief1 keeping by you a    
drawing done from the same relief2 then 
from a good model1 and of this you ought
 to make a practice4  ,leonardo4        

,,lvii  ,i wish to do something purely  
,greek2 ,i feed my eyes on the antique  
statues1 ,i mean even to imitate some of
 them4 ,the ,greeks never scrupled to   
reproduce a composition1 a movement1 a  
type already received and used4 ,they   
put all their care1 all their art1 into 
perfecting an idea which had been used  
by others before them4 ,they thought1   
and thought rightly1 that in the arts   
the manner of rendering and expressing  
an idea matters more than the idea      
itself4  ,illustration3 ,rubens ,,the   
,,castle ,,in ,,the ,,park ,hanfstaengl 
,to give a clothing1 a perfect form to  
one's thought is to be an artist 444 it 
is the only way4  ,well1 ,i have done my
 best and ,i hope to attain my object4  
,l4 ,david4   ,,lviii  ,who amongst us1 
if he were to attempt in reality to     
represent a celebrated work of ,apelles 
or ,timanthus1 such as ,pliny describes 
them1 but would produce something       
absurd1 or perfectly foreign to the     
exalted greatness of the ancients8 ,each

 one1 relying on his own powers1 would  
produce some wretched1 crude1           
unfermented stuff1 instead of an        
exquisite old wine1 uniting strength and
 mellowness1 outraging those great      
spirits whom ,i endeavour reverently to 
follow1 satisfied1 however1 to honour   
the marks of their footsteps1 instead of
 supposing--,i acknowledge it           
candidly--that ,i can ever attain to    
their eminence even in mere conception4 
,rubens4   ,,lix  ,you have stated that 
you thought these ,marbles had great    
truth and imitation of nature2 do you   
consider that that adds to their value8 
,it considerably adds to it1 because ,i 
consider them as united with grand form4
 ,there is in them that variety that is 
produced in the human form1 by the      
alternate action and repose of the      
muscles1 that strike one particularly4  
,i have myself a very good collection of
 the best casts from the antique        
statues1 and was struck with that       
difference in them1 in returning from   

the ,elgin ,marbles to my own house4    
,lawrence4   ,,lx  ,it is absolutely    
necessary that at some moment or other  
in one's career one should reach the    
point1 not of despising all that is     
outside oneself1 but of abandoning for  
ever that almost blind fanaticism which 
impels us all to imitate the great      
masters1 and to swear only by their     
works4 ,it is necessary to say to       
oneself1 ,that is good for ,rubens1 this
 for ,raphael1 ,titian1 or ,michael     
,angelo4 ,what they have done is their  
own business2 ,i am not bound to this   
master or to that4 ,it is necessary to  
learn to make what one has found one's  
own3 a pinch of personal inspiration is 
worth everything else4  ,delacroix4     
,,lxi  ,from ,phidias to ,clodion1 from 
,correggio to ,fragonard1 from the      
greatest to the least of those who have 
deserved the name of master1 ,art has   
been pursuing the ,chimaera1 attempting 
to reconcile two opposites--the most    
slavish fidelity to nature and the most 

absolute independence of her1 an        
independence so absolute that the work  
of art may claim to be a creation4 ,this
 is the persistent problem offered by   
the unstable character of the point of  
view at which it is approached2 the     
whole mystery of art4 ,the subject1 as  
presented in nature1 cannot keep the    
place which art with its transforming   
instinct would assign it2 and therefore 
a single formula can never be adequate  
to the totality of nature's             
manifestations2 the draughtsman will    
talk of its form1 a colourist of its    
effect4  ,considered in this light1     
nature is nothing more than one of the  
instruments of the arts1 in the same    
category with their principles1         
elements1 formulas1 conventions1 tools4 
,bracquemond4   ,,lxii  ,one must copy  
nature always1 and learn how to see her 
rightly4 ,it is for this that one should
 study the antique and the great        
masters1 not in order to imitate them1  
but1 ,i repeat1 to learn to see4  ,do   

you think ,i send you to the ,louvre to 
find there what people call le beau     
ideal1 something which is outside       
nature8  ,it was stupidity like this    
which in bad periods led to the         
decadence of art4 ,i send you there to  
learn from the antique how to see       
nature1 because they themselves are     
nature3 therefore one must live among   
them1 and absorb them4  ,it is the same 
in the painting of the great ages4 ,do  
you think1 when ,i tell you to copy1    
that ,i want to make copyists of you8   
,no1 ,i want you to take the sap from   
the plant4  ,ingres4   ,,lxiii  ,the    
strict copying of nature is not art2 it 
is only a means to an end1 an element in
 the whole4 ,art1 while presenting      
nature1 must manifest itself in its own 
essence4 ,it is not a mirror1           
uncritically reflecting every image2 it 
is the artist who must mould the image  
to his will2 else his work is not       
performed4  ,bracquemond4   ,,lxiv      
,nature contains the elements1 in colour

 and form1 of all pictures1 as the      
keyboard contains the notes of all      
music4 ,but the artist is born to pick1 
and choose1 and group with science1     
these elements1 that the result may be  
beautiful2 as the musician gathers his  
notes1 and forms his chords1 until he   
bring forth from chaos glorious harmony4
  ,to say to the painter that ,nature is
 to be taken as she is1 is to say to the
 player that he may sit on the piano4   
,whistler4   ,,lxv  ,when you have      
thoroughly learnt perspective1 and have 
fixed in your memory all the various    
parts and forms of things1 you should   
often amuse yourself when you take a    
walk for recreation1 in watching and    
taking note of the attitudes and actions
 of men as they talk and dispute1 or    
laugh or come to blows one with another1
 both their actions and those of the    
bystanders who either intervene or stand
 looking on at these things2 noting     
these down with rapid strokes in this   
way1 in a little pocket-book1 which you 

ought always to carry with you4 ,and let
 this be of tinted paper1 so that it may
 not be rubbed out2 but you should      
change the old for a new one1 for these 
are not things to be rubbed out but     
preserved with the utmost diligence2 for
 there is such an infinite number of    
forms and actions of things that the    
memory is incapable of preserving them1 
and therefore you should keep those     
7sketches7 as your patterns and         
teachers4  ,leonardo4   ,,lxvi  ,two men
 stop to talk together3 ,i pencil them  
in detail1 beginning at the head1 for   
example2 they separate and ,i have      
nothing but a fragment on my paper4     
,some children are sitting on the steps 
of a church2 ,i begin1 their mother     
calls them2 my sketch-book becomes      
filled with tips of noses and locks of  
hair4 ,i make a resolution not to go    
home without a whole figure1 and ,i try 
for the first time to draw in mass1 to  
draw rapidly1 which is the only possible
 way of drawing1 and which is to-day one

 of the chief faculties of our moderns4 
,i put myself to draw in the winking of 
an eye the first group that presents    
itself2 if it moves on ,i have at least 
put down the general character2 if it   
stops1 ,i can go on to the details4 ,i  
do many such exercises1 and have even   
gone so far as to cover the lining of my
 hat with lightning sketches of         
opera-ballets and opera scenery4        
,corot4   ,,lxvii  ,there is my model   
7the artist pointed to the crowd which  
thronged a market-place72 art lives by  
studying nature1 not by imitating any   
artist4  ,eupompus4   ,,lxviii  ,when   
you have clearly and distinctly learned 
in what good colouring consists1 you    
cannot do better than have recourse to  
nature herself1 who is always at hand1  
and in comparison of whose true         
splendour the best coloured pictures are
 but faint and feeble4  ,however1 as the
 practice of copying is not entirely to 
be excluded1 since the mechanical       
practice of painting is learned in some 

measure by it1 let those choice parts   
only be selected which have recommended 
the work to notice4 ,if its excellence  
consists in its general effect1 it would
 be proper to make slight sketches of   
the machinery and general management of 
the picture4 ,those sketches should be  
kept always by you for the regulation of
 your style4 ,instead of copying the    
touches of those great masters1 copy    
only their conceptions4 ,instead of     
treading in their footsteps1 endeavour  
only to keep the same road4 ,labour to  
invent on their general principles and  
way of thinking4 ,possess yourself with 
their spirit4 ,consider with yourself   
how a ,michael ,angelo or a ,raffaelle  
would have treated this subject2 and    
work yourself into a belief that your   
picture is to be seen and criticised by 
them when completed4 ,even an attempt of
 this kind will rouse your powers4      
,reynolds4   ,,lxix  ,what do you       
mean--that you have been working1 but   
without success8 ,do you mean that you  

cannot get the price you ask8 then sell 
it for less1 till1 by practice1 you     
shall improve1 and command a better     
price4 ,or do you only mean that you are
 not satisfied with your work8 nobody   
ever was that ,i know1 except ,j----    
,w----4 ,peg away6 ,while you're at work
 you must be improving4 ,do something   
from ,nature indoors when you cannot get
 out1 to keep your hand and eye in      
practice4 ,don't get into the way of    
working too much at your drawings away  
from ,nature4  ,charles ,keene4   ,,lxx 
,the purpose of art is no other than to 
delineate the form and express the      
spirit of an object1 animate or         
inanimate1 as the case may be4 ,the use 
of art is to produce copies of things2  
and if an artist has a thorough         
knowledge of the properties of the thing
 he paints he can assuredly make a name4
 ,just as a writer of profound erudition
 and good memory has ever at his command
 an inexhaustible supply of words and   
phrases which he freely makes use of in 

writing1 so can a painter1 who has      
accumulated experience by drawing from  
nature1 paint any object without a      
conscious effort4 ,the artist who       
confines himself to copying from models 
painted by his master1 fares no better  
than a literatus who cannot rise above  
transcribing others' compositions4 ,an  
ancient critic says that writing ends in
 describing a thing or narrating an     
event1 but painting can represent the   
actual forms of things4 ,without the    
true depiction of objects1 there can be 
no pictorial art4 ,nobility of sentiment
 and such-like only come after a        
successful delineation of the external  
form of an object4 ,the beginner in art 
should direct his efforts more to the   
latter than to the former4 ,he should   
learn to paint according to his own     
ideas1 not to slavishly copy the models 
of old artists4 ,plagiarism is a crime  
to be avoided not only by men of letters
 but also by painters4  ,okio           
7,japanese1 eighteenth century74        

,,lxxi  ,i remember ,duerer the painter1
 who used to say that1 as a young man1  
he loved extraordinary and unusual      
designs in painting1 but that in his old
 age he took to examining ,nature1 and  
strove to imitate her as closely as he  
possibly could2 but he found by         
experience how hard it is not to deviate
 from her4  ,duerer 7quoted by          
,melancthon74   ,,lxxii  ,i have heard  
painters acknowledge1 though in that    
acknowledgment no degradation of        
themselves was intended1 that they could
 do better without ,nature than with    
her2 or1 as they expressed it           
themselves1 that it only put them out4  
,a painter with such ideas and such     
habits1 is indeed in a most hopeless    
state4 ,the art of seeing ,nature1 or1  
in other words1 the art of using models1
 is in reality the great object1 the    
point to which all our studies are      
directed4 ,as for the power of being    
able to do tolerably well1 from practice
 alone1 let it be valued according to   

its worth4 ,but ,i do not see in what   
manner it can be sufficient for the     
production of correct1 excellent1 and   
finished pictures4 ,works deserving this
 character never were produced1 nor ever
 will arise1 from memory alone2 and ,i  
will venture to say1 that an artist who 
brings to his work a mind tolerably     
furnished with the general principles of
 art1 and a taste formed upon the works 
of good artists1 in short1 who knows in 
what excellence consists1 will1 with the
 assistance of models1 which we will    
likewise suppose he has learnt the art  
of using1 be an over-match for the      
greatest painter that ever lived who    
should be debarred such advantages4     
,reynolds4   ,,lxxiii  ,do not imitate2 
do not follow others--you will always be
 behind them4  ,corot4   ,,lxxiv  ,never
 paint a subject unless it calls        
insistently and distinctly upon your eye
 and heart4  ,corot4   ,,lxxv  ,i should
 never paint anything that was not the  
result of an impression received from   

the aspect of nature1 whether in        
landscape or figures4  ,millet4         
,,lxxvi  ,you must interpret nature with
 entire simplicity and according to your
 personal sentiment1 altogether         
detaching yourself from what you know of
 the old masters or of contemporaries4  
,only in this way will you do work of   
real feeling4 ,i know gifted people who 
will not avail themselves of their      
power4 ,such people seem to me like a   
billiard-player whose adversary is      
constantly giving him good openings1 but
 who makes no use of them4 ,i think that
 if ,i were playing with that man1 ,i   
would say1 ,very well1 then1 ,i will    
give you no more4 ,if ,i were to sit in 
judgment1 ,i would punish the miserable 
creatures who squander their natural    
gifts1 and ,i would turn their hearts to
 work4  ,corot4   ,,lxxvii  ,sensation  
is rude and false unless informed by    
intellection2 and1 however delicate be  
the touch in obedience to remote        
gradation1 yet knowledge of the genus   

necessarily invests the representation  
with perspicuous and truthful relations 
that ignorance could not possibly have  
observed4 ,hence--,paint what you see2  
but know what you see4  ,only paint what
 you love in what you see1 and          
discipline yourself to separate this    
essence from its dumb accompaniments1 so
 that the accents fall upon the points  
of passion4 ,let that which must be     
expressed of the rest be merged1        
syncopated in the largeness of the      
modulation4  ,boldly dare to omit the   
impertinent or irrelevant1 and let the  
features of the passion be modulated in 
fewness4  ,not a touch without its      
meaning or its significance throughout  
the courses4 ,there is no disgrace1 but 
on the contrary1 honour1 be the touches 
never so few1 if studied4 ,by determined
 refusal to touch vaguely1 and with     
persistence in the slowness of          
thoughtful work1 a noble style may be at
 length obtained3 swift as sublime4     
,edward ,calvert4   ,,lxxviii  ,i       

started on ,monday1 #beth ,august1 for  
,honfleur1 where ,i stayed till #eth    
,september in the most blessed condition
 of spirit4  ,there ,i worked with my   
head1 with my eyes1 harvesting effects  
in the mind2 then1 going over everything
 again1 ,i called up within myself the  
figures desired for the completion of   
the composition4 ,once ,i had evoked all
 this world from nothingness1 and       
envisaged it1 and had found where each  
thing was to be1 ,i had to return to    
,paris to ask for nature's authorisation
 and make sure of my advance4 ,nature   
justified me1 and1 as she is kind to    
those who approach her reverentially1   
gave me of her grace without stint4     
,puvis de ,chavannes4   ,,lxxix  ,i wish
 to tell you1 ,francisco d',ollanda1 of 
an exceedingly great beauty in this     
science of ours1 of which perhaps you   
are aware1 and which1 ,i think1 you     
consider the highest1 namely1 that what 
one has most to work and struggle for in
 painting1 is to do the work with a     

great amount of labour and study in such
 a way that it may afterwards appear1   
however much it was laboured1 to have   
been done almost quickly and almost     
without any labour1 and very easily1    
although it was not4 ,and this is a very
 excellent beauty4 ,at times some things
 are done with little work in the way ,i
 have said1 but very seldom2 most are   
done by dint of hard work and appear to 
have been done very quickly4  ,michael  
,angelo4     ,,methods ,,of ,,work      
,,lxxx  ,every successful work is       
rapidly performed2 quickness is only    
execrable when it is empty--small4 ,no  
one condemns the swiftness of an eagle4 
,to him who knows not the burden of     
process--the attributes that are to     
claim attention with every epocha of the
 performance--all attempt at swiftness  
will be mere pretence4  ,edward         
,calvert4   ,,lxxxi  ,i am planning a   
large picture1 and ,i regard all you    
say1 but ,i do not enter into that      
notion of varying one's plans to keep   

the public in good humour4 ,change of   
weather and effect will always afford   
variety4 ,what if ,van der ,velde had   
quitted his sea-pieces1 or ,ruysdael his
 waterfalls1 or ,hobbema his native     
woods8 ,the world would have lost so    
many features in art4 ,i know that you  
wish for no material alteration1 but ,i 
have to combat from high quarters--even 
from ,lawrence--the plausible argument  
that subject makes the picture4 ,perhaps
 you think an evening effect might do2  
perhaps it might start me some new      
admirers1 but ,i should lose many old   
ones4 ,i imagine myself driving a nail2 
,i have driven it some way1 and by      
persevering ,i may drive it home2 by    
quitting it to attack others1 though ,i 
may amuse myself1 ,i do not advance     
beyond the first1 while that particular 
nail stands still4 ,no man who can do   
any one thing well will be able to do   
any other different thing equally well2 
and this is true of ,shakespeare1 the   
greatest master of variety4  ,constable4

   ,,lxxxii  ,to work on the ,ladye4    
,found part of the drapery bad1 rubbed  
it out1 heightened the seat she sits on1
 mended the heads again2 did a great    
deal1 but not finished yet4 ,any one    
might be surprised to read how ,i work  
whole days on an old drawing done many  
years since1 and which ,i have twice    
worked over since it was rejected from  
the ,royal ,academy in '#dg1 and now    
under promise of sale to ,white for     
,l#bj4 ,but ,i cannot help it4 ,when ,i 
see a work going out of my hands1 it is 
but natural1 if ,i see some little      
defect1 that ,i should try to mend it1  
and what follows is out of my power to  
direct3 if ,i give one touch to a head1 
,i give myself three days' work1 and    
spoil it half-a-dozen times over4  ,ford
 ,madox ,brown4   ,,lxxxiii  ,in        
literature as in art the rough sketches 
of the masters are made for             
connoisseurs1 not for the vulgar crowd4 
,a4 ,preault4   ,,lxxxiv  ,it is true   
sketches1 or such drawings as painters  

generally make for their works1 give    
this pleasure of imagination to a high  
degree4 ,from a slight1 undetermined    
drawing1 where the ideas of the         
composition and character are1 as ,i may
 say1 only just touched upon1 the       
imagination supplies more than the      
painter himself1 probably1 could        
produce2 and we accordingly often find  
that the finished work disappoints the  
expectation that was raised from the    
sketch2 and this power of the           
imagination is one of the causes of the 
great pleasure we have in viewing a     
collection of drawings by great         
painters4  ,reynolds4   ,,lxxxv  ,i have
 just been examining all the sketches ,i
 have used in making this work4 ,how    
many there are which fully satisfied me 
at the beginning1 and which seem feeble1
 inadequate1 or ill-composed1 now that  
the paintings are advanced4 ,i cannot   
tell myself often enough that it means  
an immense deal of labour to bring a    
work to the highest pitch of            

impressiveness of which it is capable4  
,the oftener ,i revise it1 the more it  
will gain in expressiveness4444 ,though 
the touch disappear1 though the fire of 
execution be no longer the chief merit  
of the painting1 there is no doubt about
 this2 and again how often does it      
happen that after this intense labour1  
which has turned one's thought back on  
itself in every direction1 the hand     
obeys more swiftly and surely in giving 
the desired lightness to the last       
touches4  ,delacroix4   ,,lxxxvi  ,let  
us agree as to the meaning of the word  
finished4 ,what finishes a picture is   
not the quantity of detail in it1 but   
the rightness of the general effect4 ,a 
picture is not limited only by its      
frame4 ,whatever be the subject1 there  
must be a principal object on which your
 eyes rest continually3 the other       
objects are only the complement of this1
 they are less interesting to you2 and  
after that there is nothing more for    
your eye4  ,there is the real limit of  

your picture4 ,this principal object    
must seem so to the spectator of your   
work4 ,therefore1 one must always return
 to this1 and state its colour with more
 and more decision4  ,rousseau4         
,,lxxxvii  ,,on ,,protogenes  ,he was a 
great ,master1 but he often spoil'd his 
,pieces by endeavouring to make them    
,perfect2 he did not know when he had   
done well2 a ,man may do too much as    
well as too little2 and he is truly     
skilful1 who knew what was sufficient4  
,apelles4     ,,finish   ,,lxxxviii  ,a 
picture must always be a little spoilt  
in the finishing of it4 ,the last       
touches1 which are intended to draw the 
picture together1 take off from its     
freshness4 ,to appear before the public 
one must cut out all those happy        
accidents which are the joy of the      
artist4 ,i compare these murderous      
retouchings to those banal flourishes   
with which all airs of music end1 and to
 those insignificant spaces which the   
musician is forced to put between the   

interesting parts of his work in order  
to lead on from one motive to another or
 to give them their proper value4       
,re-touching1 however1 is not so fatal  
to a picture as one might think1 when   
the picture has been well thought out   
and worked at with deep feeling4 ,time1 
in effacing the touches1 old as well as 
new1 gives back to the work its complete
 effect4  ,delacroix4   ,,lxxxix  ,a    
picture1 the effect of which is true1 is
 finished4  ,goya4   ,,xc  ,you please  
me much1 by saying that no other fault  
is found in your picture than the       
roughness of the surface2 for that part 
being of use in giving force to the     
effect at a proper distance1 and what a 
judge of painting knows an original from
 a copy by--in short1 being the touch of
 the pencil which is harder to preserve 
than smoothness1 ,i am much better      
pleased that they should spy out things 
of that kind1 than to see an eye half an
 inch out of its place1 or a nose out of
 drawing when viewed at a proper        

distance4 ,i don't think it would be    
more ridiculous for a person to put his 
nose close to the canvas and say the    
colours smelt offensive1 than to say how
 rough the paint lies2 for one is just  
as material as the other with regard to 
hurting the effect and drawing of a     
picture4  ,gainsborough4   ,,xci  ,the  
picture#b will be seen to the greatest  
advantage if it is hung in a strong     
light1 and in such a manner that the    
spectator can stand at some distance    
from it4  ,rembrandt4  ,footnote #b3    
,probably the ,blinding of ,samson4     
,,xcii  ,don't look at a picture close1 
it smells bad4  ,rembrandt4   ,,xciii   
,try to be frank in drawing and in      
colour2 give things their full relief2  
make a painting which can be seen at a  
distance2 this is indispensable4        
,chasseriau4   ,,xciv  ,if ,i might     
point out to you another defect1 very   
prevalent of late1 in our pictures1 and 
one of the same contracted character    
with those you so happily illustrate1 it

 would be that of the want of breadth1  
and in others a perpetual division and  
subdivision of parts1 to give what their
 perpetrators call space2 add to this a 
constant disturbing and torturing of    
everything whether in light or in       
shadow1 by a niggling touch1 to produce 
fulness of subject4 ,this is the very   
reverse of what we see in ,cuyp or      
,wilson1 and even1 with all his high    
finishing1 in ,claude4 ,i have been     
warning our friend ,collins against     
this1 and was also urging young         
,landseer to beware of it2 and in what  
,i have been doing lately myself have   
been studying much from ,rembrandt and  
from ,cuyp1 so as to acquire what the   
great masters succeeded so well in1     
namely1 that power by which the chief   
objects1 and even the minute finishing  
of parts1 tell over everything that is  
meant to be subordinate in their        
pictures4 ,sir ,joshua had this         
remarkably1 and could even make the     
features of the face tell over          

everything1 however strongly painted4 ,i
 find that repose and breadth in the    
shadows and half-tints do a great deal  
towards it4 ,zoffany's figures derive   
great consequence from this2 and ,i find
 that those who have studied light and  
shadow the most never appear to fail in 
it4  ,wilkie4   ,,xcv  ,the commonest   
error into which a critic can fall is   
the remark we so often hear that        
such-and-such an artist's work is       
careless1 and would be better had more  
labour been spent upon it4 ,as often as 
not this is wholly untrue4 ,as soon as  
the spectator can see that more labour  
has been spent upon it1 he may be sure  
that the picture is to that extent      
incomplete and unfinished1 while the    
look of freshness that is inseparable   
from a really successful picture would  
of necessity be absent4 ,if the high    
finish of a picture is so apparent as   
immediately to force itself upon the    
spectator1 he may know that it is not as
 it should be2 and from the moment that 

the artist feels his work is becoming a 
labour1 he may depend upon it it will be
 without freshness1 and to that extent  
without the merit of a true work of art4
 ,work should always look as though it  
had been done with ease1 however        
elaborate2 what we see should appear to 
have been done without effort1 whatever 
may be the agonies beneath the surface4 
,m4 ,meissonier surpasses all his       
predecessors1 as well as all his        
contemporaries1 in the quality of high  
finish1 but what you see is evidently   
done easily and without labour4 ,i      
remember ,thackeray saying to me1       
concerning a certain chapter in one of  
his books that the critics agreed in    
accusing of carelessness2 ,careless8 ,if
 ,i've written that chapter once ,i've  
written it a dozen times--and each time 
worse than the last6 a proof that labour
 did not assist in his case4 ,when an   
artist fails it is not so much from     
carelessness3 to do his best is not only
 profitable to him1 but a joy4 ,but it  

is not given to every man--not1 indeed1 
to any--to succeed whenever and however 
he tries4 ,the best painter that ever   
lived never entirely succeeded more than
 four or five times2 that is to say1 no 
artist ever painted more than four or   
five masterpieces1 however high his     
general average may have been1 for such 
success depends on the coincidence1 not 
only of genius and inspiration1 but of  
health and mood and a hundred other     
mysterious contingencies4 ,for my own   
part1 ,i have often been laboured1 but  
whatever ,i am ,i am never careless4 ,i 
may honestly say that ,i never          
consciously placed an idle touch upon   
canvas1 and that ,i have always been    
earnest and hard-working2 yet the worst 
pictures ,i ever painted in my life are 
those into which ,i threw most trouble  
and labour1 and ,i confess ,i should not
 grieve were half my works to go to the 
bottom of the ,atlantic--if ,i might    
choose the half to go4 ,sometimes as ,i 
paint ,i may find my work becoming      

laborious2 but as soon as ,i detect any 
evidence of that labour ,i paint the    
whole thing out without more ado4       
,millais4  ,illustration3 ,millais      
,,love ,by permission of ,f4 ,warne     
,co4   ,,xcvi  ,i think that a work of  
art should not only be careful and      
sincere1 but that the care and sincerity
 should also be evident4 ,no ugly smears
 should be allowed to do duty for the   
swiftness which comes from long         
practice1 or to find excuse in the      
necessity which the accomplished artist 
feels to speak distinctly4 ,that        
necessity must never receive impulse    
from a desire to produce an effect on   
the walls of a gallery3 there is much   
danger of this working unconsciously in 
the accomplished artist1 consciously in 
the student4  ,watts4   ,,xcvii  ,real  
effect is making out the parts4 ,why are
 we to be told that masters1 who could  
think1 had not the judgment to perform  
the inferior parts of art8 7as ,reynolds
 artfully calls them72 that we are to   

learn to think from great masters1 and  
to perform from underlings--to learn to 
design from ,raphael1 and to execute    
from ,rubens8  ,blake4   ,,xcviii  ,if  
,i knew that my portrait was still at   
,antwerp1 ,i would have it kept back for
 the case to be opened1 so that one     
could see that it had not been hurt by  
so long a time spent in a case without  
being exposed to the air1 and that1 as  
often happens to colours freshly put on1
 it has not turned rather yellow1       
thereby losing all its first effect4    
,the remedy1 if this has happened1 is to
 expose it repeatedly to the sun1 the   
rays of which absorb the superfluity of 
oil which causes this change2 and if at 
any time it still turns brown1 it must  
be exposed afresh to the sun4 ,warmth is
 the only remedy for this serious       
mischief4  ,rubens4     ,,effects ,,of  
,,time ,,on ,,painting   ,,xcix  ,the   
only way to judge of the treasures the  
,old ,masters of whatever age have left 
us--whether in architecture1 sculpture1 

or painting--with any hope of sound     
deduction1 is to look at the work and   
ask oneself--,what was that like when it
 was new8 ,the ,elgin ,marbles are      
allowed by common consent to be the     
perfection of art4 ,but how much of our 
feeling of reverence is inspired by     
time8 ,imagine the ,parthenon as it must
 have looked with the frieze of the     
mighty ,phidias fresh from the chisel4  
,could one behold it in all its pristine
 beauty and splendour we should see a   
white marble building1 blinding in the  
dazzling brightness of a southern sun1  
the figures of the exquisite frieze in  
all probability painted--there is more  
than a suspicion of that--and the whole 
standing out against the intense blue   
sky2 and many of us1 ,i venture to      
think1 would cry at once1 ,how          
excessively crude4 ,no2 ,time and       
,varnish are two of the greatest of ,old
 ,masters1 and their merits and virtues 
are too often attributed by critics--,i 
do not of course allude to the          

professional art-critics--to the        
painters of the pictures they have toned
 and mellowed4 ,the great artists all   
painted in bright colours1 such as it is
 the fashion nowadays for men to decry  
as crude and vulgar1 never suspecting   
that what they applaud in those works is
 merely the result of what they condemn 
in their contemporaries4 ,take a case in
 point--the ,bacchus and ,ariadne in the
 ,national ,gallery1 with its splendid  
red robe and its rich brown grass4 ,you 
may rest assured that the painter of    
that bright red robe never painted the  
grass brown4 ,he saw the colour as it   
was1 and painted it as it               
was--distinctly green2 only it has faded
 with time to its present beautiful     
mellow colour4 ,yet many men nowadays   
will not have a picture with green in   
it2 there are even buyers who1 when     
giving a commission to an artist1 will  
stipulate that the canvas shall contain 
none of it4 ,but ,god ,almighty has     
given us green1 and you may depend upon 

it it's a fine colour4  ,millais4   ,c  
,i must further dissent from any opinion
 that beauty of surface and what is     
technically called quality are mainly   
due to time4 ,sir ,john himself has     
quoted the early pictures of ,rembrandt 
as examples of hard and careful         
painting1 devoid of the charm and       
mystery so remarkable in his later work4
 ,the early works of ,velasquez are     
still more remarkable instances1 being1 
as they are1 singularly tight and       
disagreeable--time having done little or
 nothing towards making them more       
agreeable4  ,watts4   ,,ci  ,i am       
painting for thirty years hence4        
,monticelli4   ,,cii  ,sir ,john        
,millais is certainly right in his      
estimate of strong and even bright      
colour1 but it seems to me that he is   
mistaken in believing that the colour of
 the ,venetians was ever crude1 or that 
time will ever turn white into colour4  
,the colour of the best-preserved       
pictures by ,titian shows a marked      

distinction between light flesh tones   
and white drapery4 ,this is most        
distinctly seen in the small ,noli ,me  
,tangere in our ,national ,gallery1 in  
the so-called ,venus of the ,tribune and
 in the ,flora of the ,uffizi1 both in  
,florence1 and in ,bronzino's ,all is   
,vanity1 also in the ,national ,gallery4
 ,in the last-named picture1 for        
example1 the colour is as crude and the 
surface as bare of mystery as if it had 
been painted yesterday4 ,as a matter of 
fact1 white unquestionably tones down1  
but never becomes colour2 indeed1 under 
favourable conditions1 and having due   
regard to what is underneath1 it changes
 very little4 ,in the ,noli ,me ,tangere
 to which ,i have referred1 the white   
sleeve of the ,magdalen is still a      
beautiful white1 quite different from   
the white of the fairest of ,titian's   
flesh--proving that ,titian never       
painted his flesh white4  ,the so-called
 ,venus in the ,tribune at ,florence is 
a more important example still1 as it is

 an elaborately painted picture owing   
nothing to the brightness that slight   
painting often has and retains1 the     
colours being untormented by repeated   
re-touching4 ,this picture is a proof   
that when the method is good and the    
pigments pure1 the colours change very  
little4 ,more than three hundred years  
have passed1 and the white sheet on     
which the figure lies is still1 in      
effect1 white against the flesh4 ,the   
flesh is most lovely in colour--neither 
violent by shadows or strong colour--but
 beautiful flesh4 ,it cannot be compared
 to ivory or snow1 or any other         
substance or material2 it is simply     
beautiful lustre on the surface with a  
circulation of blood underneath--an     
absolute triumph never repeated except  
by ,titian himself4  ,it is probable    
that the pictures by ,reynolds are often
 lower in tone than they were1 but it is
 doubtful whether the ,strawberry ,hill 
portraits are as much changed as may be 
supposed4 ,walpole1 no doubt1 called    

them white and pinky1 but it must be    
remembered that1 living before the days 
of picture cleaning1 he was accustomed  
to expect them to be brown and dark1    
probably even to associate colour with  
dirt in the ,old ,masters4 ,the purer1  
clearer1 and richer the colours are1 the
 better a picture will be2 and ,i think 
this should be especially insisted upon1
 since white is so effective in a modern
 exhibition that young artists are      
naturally prompted to profit by the     
means cheaply afforded and readily at   
hand4  ,i think it is probable that     
where ,titian has used brown-green he   
intended it1 since in many of the       
,venetian pictures we find green        
draperies of a beautiful colour4 ,sir   
,john seems to infer that the colours   
used in the decoration of the ,parthenon
 7no doubt used7 were crude4 ,the       
extraordinary refinements demonstrated  
in a lecture by ,mr4 ,penrose on the    
spot last year1 at which ,i had the good
 fortune to be present1 forbid such a   

conclusion4 ,a few graduated inches in  
the circumference of the columns1 and   
deflection from straight line in the    
pediment and in the base-line1 proved by
 measurement and examination to be      
carefully intentional1 will not permit  
us for a moment to believe this could   
have been the case2 so precise in line1 
rhythmical in arrangement1 lovely in    
detail1 and harmonious in effect1 it    
could never have been crude in colour4  
,no doubt the marble was white1 but     
illuminated by such a sun1 and set      
against such a sky and distance1 the    
white1 with its varieties of shadow1    
aided by the colours employed1 could    
have gleaned life and flame in its      
splendour4 ,colour was certainly used1  
and the modern eye might at first have  
something to get over1 but there could  
have been nothing harsh and crude4 ,the 
exquisite purity of line and delicacy of
 edge could never have been matched with
 crudity or anything like harshness of  
colour4 ,to this day the brightest      

colours may be seen on the columns at   
,luxor and ,philae with beautiful       
effect4  ,watts4   ,,ciii  ,i am getting
 on with my pictures1 and have now got  
them all three into a fairly forward    
state of under painting2 completion1    
however1 will only be reached in the    
course of next winter1 for ,i intend to 
execute them with minute care4 ,i have  
simplified my method of painting1 and   
forsworn all tricks4 ,i endeavour to    
advance from the beginning as much as   
possible1 and equally try to mix the    
right tint1 and slowly and carefully to 
put it on the right spot1 and always    
with the model before me2 what does not 
exactly suit has to be adapted2 one can 
derive benefit from every head4 ,schwind
 says that he cannot work from models1  
they worry him6 ,a splendid teacher for 
his pupils6 ,nature worries every one at
 first1 but one must so discipline      
oneself that1 instead of checking and   
hindering1 she shall illuminate and     
help1 and solve all doubts4 ,has        

,schwind1 with his splendid and varied  
gifts1 ever been able to model a head   
with a brush8 ,those who place the brush
 behind the pencil1 under the pretence  
that form is before all things1 make a  
very great mistake4 ,form is certainly  
all-important2 one cannot study it      
enough2 but the greater part of form    
falls within the province of the tabooed
 brush4 ,the ever-lasting hobby of      
contour which belongs to the drawing    
material is first the place where the   
form comes in2 what1 however1 reveals   
true knowledge of form1 is a powerful1  
organic1 refined finish of modelling1   
full of feeling and knowledge--and that 
is the affair of the brush4  ,leighton4 
,,manner   ,,civ  ,manner is always     
seductive4 ,it is more or less an       
imitation of what has been done already1
 therefore always plausible4 ,it        
promises the short road1 the near cut to
 present fame and emolument1 by availing
 ourselves of the labours of others4 ,it
 leads to almost immediate reputation1  

because it is the wonder of the ignorant
 world4 ,it is always accompanied by    
certain blandishments1 showy and        
plausible1 and which catch the eye4 ,as 
manner comes by degrees1 and is fostered
 by success in the world1 flattery1 c41 
all painters who would be really great  
should be perpetually on their guard    
against it4 ,nothing but a close and    
continual observance of nature can      
protect them from the danger of becoming
 mannerists4  ,constable4   ,,cv  ,have 
a holy horror of useless impasto1 which 
gets sticky and dull1 turns blue and    
heavy4 ,when you have painted a bit of  
which you are doubtful1 wait till the   
moment when it will be possible for you 
to take it out4 ,judge it2 and if it is 
condemned1 remove it firmly with your   
palette-knife1 without rubbing by rags  
which spoil the limpidity of the        
pigment4 ,you will have left a delicate 
foundation1 to which you can return and 
finish with little labour1 because your 
canvas will have received a first       

coating4 ,loading and massing the       
pigment is an abomination4 ,in          
twenty-four hours gold turns to lead4   
,puvis de ,chavannes4   ,,cvi  ,from the
 age of six ,i began to draw1 and for   
eighty-four years ,i have worked        
independently of the schools1 my        
thoughts all the time being turned      
towards drawing4  ,it being impossible  
to express everything in so small a     
space1 ,i wished only to teach the      
difference between vermilion and crimson
 lake1 between indigo and green1 and    
also in a general way to teach how to   
handle round shapes and square1 straight
 lines and curved2 and if one day ,i    
make a sequel to this volume1 ,i shall  
show children how to render the violence
 of ocean1 the rush of rapids1 the      
tranquillity of still pools1 and among  
the living beings of the earth1 their   
state of weakness or strength4 ,there   
are in nature birds that do not fly     
high1 flowering trees that never fruit2 
all these conditions of the life we live

 among are worth studying thoroughly2   
and if ,i ever succeed in convincing    
artists of this1 ,i shall have been the 
first to show the way4  ,hokusai4       
,,cvii  ,let every man who is here      
understand this well3 design1 which by  
another name is called drawing1 and     
consists of it1 is the fount and body of
 painting and sculpture and architecture
 and of every other kind of painting1   
and the root of all sciences4 ,let      
whoever may have attained to so much as 
to have the power of drawing know that  
he holds a great treasure2 he will be   
able to make figures higher than any    
tower1 either in colours or carved from 
the block1 and he will not be able to   
find a wall or enclosure which does not 
appear circumscribed and small to his   
brave imagination4 ,and he will be able 
to paint in fresco in the manner of old 
,italy1 with all the mixtures and       
varieties of colour usually employed in 
it4 ,he will be able to paint in oils   
very suavely with more knowledge1       

daring1 and patience than painters4 ,and
 finally1 on a small piece of parchment 
he will be most perfect and great1 as in
 all other manners of painting4 ,because
 great1 very great is the power of      
design and drawing4  ,michael ,angelo4  
,,drawing ,,and ,,design   ,,cviii      
,pupils1 ,i give you the whole art of   
sculpture when ,i tell you--draw6       
,donatello4   ,,cix  ,drawing is the    
probity of art4  ,ingres4   ,,cx  ,to   
draw does not mean only to reproduce an 
outline1 drawing does not consist only  
of line2 drawing is more than this1 it  
is expression1 it is the inner form1 the
 structure1 the modelling4 ,after that  
what is left8 ,drawing includes         
seven-eighths of what constitutes       
painting4 ,if ,i had to put a sign above
 my door ,i would write on it ,school of
 ,drawing1 and ,i am sure that ,i should
 turn out painters4  ,ingres4   ,,cxi   
,draw with a pure but ample line4       
,purity and breadth1 that is the secret 
of drawing1 of art4  ,ingres4   ,,cxii  

,continue to draw for long before you   
think of painting4 ,when one builds on a
 solid foundation one can sleep at ease4
  ,ingres4   ,,cxiii  ,the great        
painters like ,raphael and ,michael     
,angelo insisted on the outline when    
finishing their work4 ,they went over it
 with a fine brush1 and thus gave new   
animation to the contours2 they         
impressed on their design force and     
fire4  ,ingres4   ,,cxiv  ,the first    
thing to seize in an object1 in order to
 draw it1 is the contrast of the        
principal lines4 ,before putting chalk  
to paper1 get this well into the mind4  
,in ,girodet's work1 for example1 one   
sometimes sees this admirably shown1    
because through intense preoccupation   
with his model he has caught1           
willy-nilly1 something of its natural   
grace2 but it has been done as if by    
accident4 ,he applied the principle     
without recognising it as such4 ,x----  
seems to me the only man who has        
understood it and carried it out4 ,that 

is the whole secret of his drawing4 ,the
 most difficult thing is to apply it1   
like him1 to the whole body4 ,ingres has
 done it in details like hands1 c4      
,without mechanical aids to help the    
eye1 it would be impossible to arrive at
 the principle2 aids such as prolonging 
a line1 c41 drawing often on a pane of  
glass4 ,all the other painters1 not     
excepting ,michael ,angelo and ,raphael1
 draw by instinct1 by inspiration1 and  
found beauty by being struck with it in 
nature2 but they did not know ,x----'s  
secret1 accuracy of eye4 ,it is not at  
the moment of carrying out a design that
 one ought to tie oneself down to       
working with measuring-rules1           
perpendiculars1 c42 this accuracy of eye
 must be an acquired habit1 which in the
 presence of nature will spontaneously  
assist the imperious need of rendering  
her aspect4 ,wilkie1 again1 has the     
secret4 ,in portraiture it is           
indispensable4 ,when1 for example1 one  
has made out the ensemble of a design1  

and when one knows the lines by heart1  
so to speak1 one should be able to      
reproduce them geometrically1 in a      
fashion1 on the picture4 ,above all with
 women's portraits2 the first thing to  
seize is to seize the grace of the      
ensemble4 ,if you begin with the        
details1 you will be always heavy4 ,for 
instance3 if you have to draw a         
thoroughbred horse1 if you let yourself 
go into details1 your outline will never
 be salient enough4  ,delacroix4   ,,cxv
  ,drawing is the means employed by art 
to set down and imitate the light of    
nature4 ,everything in nature is        
manifested to us by means of light and  
its complementaries1 reflection and     
shadow4 ,this it is which drawing       
verifies4 ,drawing is the counterfeit   
light of art4  ,bracquemond4   ,,cxvi   
,it won't do to begin painting heads or 
much detail in this picture till it's   
all settled4 ,i do so believe in getting
 in the bones of a picture properly     
first1 then putting on the flesh and    

afterwards the skin1 and then another   
skin2 last of all combing its hair and  
sending it forth to the world4 ,if you  
begin with the flesh and the skin and   
trust to getting the bones right        
afterwards1 it's such a slippery        
process4  ,burne-,jones4   ,,cxvii  ,the
 creative spirit in descending into a   
pictorial conception must take upon     
itself organic structure4 ,this great   
imaginative scheme forms the bony system
 of the work2 lines take the place of   
nerves and arteries1 and the whole is   
covered with the skin of colour4  ,hsieh
 ,ho 7,chinese1 sixth century74         
,,cxviii  ,simplicity in composition or 
distinctness of parts is ever to be     
attended to1 as it is one part of       
beauty1 as has been already said3 but   
that what ,i mean by distinctness of    
parts in this place may be better       
understood it will be proper to explain 
it by an example4  ,when you would      
compose an object of a great variety of 
parts1 let several of those parts be    

distinguished by themselves1 by their   
remarkable difference from the next     
adjoining1 so as to make each of them1  
as it were1 one well-shaped quantity or 
part 7these are like what they call     
passages in music1 and in writing       
paragraphs7 by which means not only the 
whole1 but even every part1 will be     
better understood by the eye3 for       
confusion will hereby be avoided when   
the object is seen near1 and the shapes 
will seem well varied1 though fewer in  
number1 at a distance4  ,the            
parsley-leaf1 in like manner1 from      
whence a beautiful foliage in ornament  
was originally taken1 is divided into   
three distinct passages2 which are again
 divided into other odd numbers2 and    
this method is observed1 for the        
generality1 in the leaves of all plants 
and flowers1 the most simple of which   
are the trefoil and cinquefoil4         
,observe the well-composed nosegay1 how 
it loses all distinctness when it dies2 
each leaf and flower then shrivels and  

loses its distinct shape1 and the firm  
colours fade into a kind of sameness2 so
 that the whole gradually becomes a     
confused heap4  ,if the general parts of
 objects are preserved large at first1  
they will always admit of further       
enrichments of a small kind1 but then   
they must be so small as not to confound
 the general masses or quantities2 thus1
 you see1 variety is a check upon itself
 when overdone1 which of course begets  
what is called a petit taste and a      
confusion to the eye4  ,hogarth4        
,,cxix  ,drawing includes everything    
except the tinting of the picture4      
,ingres4   ,,cxx  ,one must always be   
drawing1 drawing with the eye when one  
cannot draw with the pencil4 ,if        
observation does not keep step with     
practice you will do nothing really     
good4  ,ingres4   ,,cxxi  ,as a means of
 practising this perspective of the     
variation and loss or diminution of the 
proper essence of colours1 take at      
distances1 a hundred braccia apart1     

objects standing in the landscape1 such 
as trees1 houses1 men1 and places1 and  
in front of the first tree fix a piece  
of glass so that it is quite steady1 and
 then let your eye rest upon it and     
trace out a tree upon the glass above   
the outline of the tree2 and afterwards 
remove the glass so far to one side that
 the actual tree seems almost to touch  
the one that you have drawn4 ,then      
colour your drawing in such a way that  
the two are alike in colour and form1   
and that if you close one eye both seem 
painted on the glass and the same       
distance away4 ,then proceed in the same
 way with a second and a third tree1 at 
distances of a hundred braccia from each
 other4 ,and these will always serve as 
your standards and teachers when you are
 at work on pictures where they can be  
applied1 and they will cause the work to
 be successful in its distance4 ,but ,i 
find it is a rule that the second is    
reduced to four-fifths the size of the  
first when it is twenty braccia distant 

from it4  ,leonardo4   ,,cxxii  ,the    
great and golden rule of art1 as well as
 of life1 is this3 ,that the more       
distinct1 sharp1 and wiry the bounding  
line1 the more perfect the work of      
art4444 ,great inventors in all ages    
knew this3 ,protogenes and ,apelles knew
 each other by this line2 ,raphael and  
,michael ,angelo1 and ,albert ,duerer1  
are known by this and this alone4 ,the  
want of this determinate and bounding   
form evidences the idea of want in the  
artist's mind4  ,blake4   ,,cxxiii  ,my 
opinion is that he who knows how to draw
 well and merely does a foot or a hand  
or a neck1 can paint everything created 
in the world2 and yet there are painters
 who paint everything there is in the   
world so impatiently and so much without
 worth that it would be better not to do
 it at all4 ,one recognises the         
knowledge of a great man in the fear    
with which he does a thing the more he  
understands it2 and1 on the contrary1   
the ignorance of others in the foolhardy

 daring with which they fill pictures   
with what they know nothing about4      
,there may be an excellent master who   
has never painted more than a single    
figure1 and without painting anything   
more deserves more renown and honour    
than those who have painted a thousand  
pictures3 he knows better how to do what
 he has not done than the others know   
what they do4  ,michael ,angelo4        
,,cxxiv  ,it is known that bodies in    
motion always describe some line or     
other in the air1 as the whirling round 
of a firebrand apparently makes a       
circle1 the waterfall part of a curve1  
the arrow and bullet1 by the swiftness  
of their motions1 nearly a straight     
line2 waving lines are formed by the    
pleasing movement of a ship on the      
waves4 ,now1 in order to obtain a just  
idea of action1 at the same time to be  
judiciously satisfied of being in the   
right in what we do1 let us begin with  
imagining a line formed in the air by   
any supposed point at the end of a limb 

or part that is moved1 or made by the   
whole part or limb1 or by the whole body
 together4 ,and that thus much of       
movements may be conceived at once is   
evident1 on the least recollection2 for 
whoever has seen a fine ,arabian        
war-horse1 unbacked and at liberty1 and 
in a wanton trot1 cannot but remember   
what a large waving line his rising1 and
 at the same time pressing forward cuts 
through the air1 the equal continuation 
of which is varied by his curveting from
 side to side2 whilst his long mane and 
tail play about in serpentine movements4
  ,hogarth4   ,,cxxv  ,distinguish the  
various planes of a picture by          
circumscribing them each in turn2 class 
them in the order in which they present 
themselves to the daylight2 before      
beginning to paint1 settle which have   
the same value4 ,thus1 for example1 in a
 drawing on tinted paper make the parts 
that glitter gleam out with your white1 
then the lights1 rendered also with     
white1 but fainter2 afterwards those of 

the half-tones that can be managed by   
means of the paper1 then a first        
half-tone with the chalk1 c4 ,when at   
the edge of a plane which you have      
accurately marked1 you have a little    
more light than at the centre of it1 you
 give so much more definition of its    
flatness or projection4 ,this is the    
secret of modelling4 ,it will be of no  
use to add black2 that will not give the
 modelling4 ,it follows that one can    
model with very slight materials4       
,delacroix4   ,,cxxvi  ,take a style of 
silver or brass1 or anything else       
provided the point is silver1           
sufficiently fine 7sharp7 and polished  
and good4 ,then to acquire command of   
hand in using the style1 begin to draw  
with it from a copy as freely as you    
can1 and so lightly that you can        
scarcely see what you have begun to do1 
deepening your strokes little by little1
 and going over them repeatedly to make 
the shadows4 ,where you would make it   
darkest go over it many times2 and1 on  

the contrary1 make but few touches on   
the lights4 ,and you must be guided by  
the light of the sun1 and the light of  
your eye1 and your hand2 and without    
these three things you can do nothing   
properly4 ,contrive always when you draw
 that the light is softened1 and that   
the sun strikes on your left hand2 and  
in this manner you should begin to      
practise drawing only a short time every
 day1 that you may not become vexed or  
weary4  ,cennino ,cennini4   ,,cxxvii   
,charcoal4 ,you can't draw1 you paint   
with it4  ,pencil4 ,it is always touch  
and go whether ,i can manage it even    
now4 ,sometimes knots will come in it1  
and ,i never can get them out--,i mean  
little black specks4 ,if ,i have once   
india-rubbered it1 it doesn't make a    
good drawing4 ,i look on a perfectly    
successful drawing as one built upon a  
groundwork of clear lines till it is    
finished4 ,it's the same kind of thing  
with red chalk--it mustn't be taken out3
 rubbing with the finger is all right4  

,in fact you don't succeed with any     
process until you find out how you may  
knock it about and in what way you must 
be careful4 ,slowly built-up texture in 
oil-painting gives you the best chance  
of changing without damage when it is   
necessary4  ,burne-,jones4   ,,cxxviii  
,the simpler your lines and forms are   
the stronger and more beautiful they    
will be4 ,whenever you break up forms   
you weaken them4 ,it is as with         
everything else that is split and       
divided4  ,ingres4   ,,cxxix  ,the      
draperies with which you dress figures  
ought to have their folds so            
accommodated as to surround the parts   
they are intended to cover2 that in the 
mass of light there be not any dark     
fold1 and in the mass of shadows none   
receiving too great a light4 ,they must 
go gently over1 describing the parts2   
but not with lines across1 cutting the  
members with hard notches1 deeper than  
the part can possibly be2 at the same   
time1 it must fit the body1 and not     

appear like an empty bundle of cloth2 a 
fault of many painters1 who1 enamoured  
of the quantity and variety of folds1   
have encumbered their figures1          
forgetting the intention of clothes1    
which is to dress and surround the parts
 gracefully wherever they touch2 and not
 to be filled with wind1 like bladders  
puffed up where the parts project4 ,i do
 not deny that we ought not to neglect  
introducing some handsome folds among   
these draperies1 but it must be done    
with great judgment1 and suited to the  
parts1 where1 by the actions of the     
limbs and position of the whole body1   
they gather together4 ,above all1 be    
careful to vary the quality and quantity
 of your folds in compositions of many  
figures2 so that1 if some have large    
folds1 produced by thick woollen cloth1 
others being dressed in thinner stuff1  
may have them narrower2 some sharp and  
straight1 others soft and undulating4   
,leonardo4   ,,cxxx  ,do not spare      
yourself in drawing from the living     

model1 draped as well as undraped2 in   
fact1 draw drapery continually1 for     
remember that the beauty of your design 
must largely depend on the design of the
 drapery4 ,what you should aim at is to 
get so familiar with all this that you  
can at last make your design with ease  
and something like certainty1 without   
drawing from models in the first        
draught1 though you should make studies 
from nature afterwards4  ,william       
,morris4   ,,cxxxi  ,a woman's shape is 
best in repose1 but the fine thing about
 a man is that he is such a splendid    
machine1 so you can put him in motion1  
and make as many knobs and joints and   
muscles about him as you please4        
,burne-,jones4   ,,cxxxii  ,i want to   
draw from the nude this summer as much  
as ,i possibly can2 ,i am sure that it  
is the only way to keep oneself up to   
the standard of draughtsmanship that is 
so absolutely necessary to any one who  
wishes to become a craftsman in         
preference to a glorified amateur4  ,c4 

,w4 ,furse4   ,,cxxxiii  ,always when   
you draw make up your mind definitely as
 to what are the salient characteristics
 of the object1 and express those as    
personally as you can1 not minding      
whether your view is or is not shared by
 your relatives and friends4 ,now this  
is not carte blanche to be capricious1  
nor does it intend to make you seek for 
novelty2 but if you are true to your own
 vision1 as heretofore you have been1   
you will always be original and personal
 in your work4 ,in stating your opinion 
on the structural character of man1     
bird1 or beast1 always wilfully         
caricature2 it gives you something to   
prune1 which is ever so much more       
satisfactory than having constantly to  
fill gaps which an unincisive vision has
 caused1 and which will invariably make 
work dull and mediocre and wooden4  ,c4 
,w4 ,furse4   ,,cxxxiv  ,in ,japanese   
painting form and colour are represented
 without any attempt at relief1 but in  
,european methods relief and illusion   

are sought for4  ,hokusai4   ,,cxxxv    
,it is indeed ridiculous that most of   
our people are disposed to regard       
,western paintings as a kind of ,uki-ye4
 ,as ,i have repeatedly remarked1 a     
painting which is not a faithful copy of
 nature has neither beauty nor is worthy
 of the name4 ,what ,i mean to say is   
this3 be the subject what it may1 a     
landscape1 a bird1 a bullock1 a tree1 a 
stone1 or an insect1 it should be       
treated in a way so lifelike that it is 
instinct with life and motion4 ,now this
 is beyond the possibility of any other 
art save that of the ,west4 ,judged from
 this point of view1 ,japanese and      
,chinese paintings look very puerile1   
hardly deserving the name of art4       
,because people have been accustomed to 
such daub-like productions1 whenever    
they see a master painting of the ,west1
 they merely pass it by as a mere       
curiosity1 or dub it a ,uki-ye1 a       
misconception which betrays sheer       
ignorance4  ,shiba ,kokan 7,japanese1   

eighteenth century74   ,,cxxxvi  ,these 
accents are to painting what melody is  
to the harmonic base1 and more than     
anything else they decide victory or    
defeat4 ,a method is of little account  
at those moments when the final effect  
is at hand2 one uses any means1 even    
diabolical invocations1 and when the    
need comes1 when ,i have exhausted the  
resources of pigment1 ,i use a scraper1 
pumice-stone1 and if nothing else       
serves1 the handle of my brush4         
,rousseau4   ,,cxxxvii  ,the noblest    
relievo in painting is that which is    
resultant from the treatment of the     
masses1 not from the vulgar swelling and
 rounding of the bodies2 and the noble  
,venetian massing is excellent in this  
quality4 ,those parts in which there is 
necessity for salient quality of relief 
must be expressed with a certain        
quadrature1 a certain varied grace of   
accent like that which the bony ridge   
develops in beautiful wrists and ankles1
 also in some of the tunic-folds that   

fall behind the arm of the recumbent    
,fate over the middle of the figure of  
the ,newlands ,titian2 and again in some
 of the happiest passages in the        
graceful women of ,lodovico ,caracci1   
and in their vesture folds1 e4g4 the    
bosom and waist of the ,st4 ,catherine4 
,doubtless there is a choice1 or design 
were vain4 ,there must be courage to    
reject no less than to gather4 ,a man is
 at liberty to neglect things that are  
repugnant to his disposition4 ,he may1  
if he please1 have nothing to do with   
thistle or thorn1 with bramble or       
brier4444 ,nevertheless sharp and severe
 things are yet dear to some souls4 ,nor
 should ,i understand the taste that    
would reject the wildness of the thorn  
and holly1 or the child-loving          
labyrinths of the bramble1 or wholesome 
ranges of the downs and warrens fragrant
 with gorse4  ,no one requires of the   
painter that he even attempt to render  
the multitude and infinitude of ,nature2
 but that he represent it through the   

chastened elements of his proper        
instrument1 with a performance rendered 
distinctive and facile by study and     
genial impulse4  ,edward ,calvert4      
,,cxxxviii  ,modelling is parent of the 
art of chasing1 as of the art of        
sculpturing4 ,skilful as he was in these
 arts1 he executed nothing which he had 
not modelled4  ,pasiteles4   ,,cxxxix   
,don't invent arrangements1 select them1
 leaving out what you consider to be    
unimportant1 and above all things don't 
be influenced in the arrangements you   
select by any pictures you may see1     
except perhaps the ,japanese4  ,c4 ,w4  
,furse4   ,c,x,x,x,i,xa  ,he alone can  
conceive and compose who sees the whole 
at once before him4  ,fuseli4           
,,colour   ,,cxl  ,he who desires to be 
a painter must learn to rule the black1 
and red1 and white4  ,titian4   ,,cxli  
,there is the black which is old and the
 black which is fresh1 lustrous black   
and dull black1 black in sunlight and   
black in shadow4 ,for the old black1 one

 must use an admixture of red2 for the  
fresh black1 an admixture of blue2 for  
the dull black1 an admixture of white2  
for lustrous black1 gum must be added2  
black in sunlight must have grey        
reflections4  ,hokusai4   ,,cxlii  ,when
 you are painting put a piece of black  
velvet between your eye and nature2 by  
this means you will easily convince     
yourself that in nature everything is   
blond1 even the dark trunks of trees    
relieved against the sky4 ,black1 when  
it is in shadow1 is strong in tone1 but 
ceases to be black4  ,dutilleux4        
,,cxliii  ,the ,variation of ,colour in 
uneven ,superficies1 is what confounds  
an unskilful ,painter2 but if he takes  
,care to mark the ,outlines of his      
,superficie1 and the ,seat of his       
,lights1 he will find the true          
,colouring no such difficult matter3    
,for first he will alter the            
,superficies properly as far as the     
,line of ,separation1 either with ,white
 or ,black sparingly as only with gentle

 ,dew2 then he will in the same ,manner 
bedew the other ,side of the ,line1 if  
,i may be allowed the expression1 then  
this again and so on by turns1 till the 
light ,side is brightened with more     
transparent ,colour1 and the same       
,colour on the other ,side dies away    
like ,smoak into an easy ,shade4 ,but   
you should always remember1 that no     
,superficie should ever be made so white
 that you cannot make it still brighter3
 ,even in ,painting the whitest ,cloaths
 you should abstain from coming near the
 strongest of that ,colour2 because the 
,painter has nothing but ,white         
wherewith to imitate the ,polish of the 
most shining ,superficie whatsoever1 as 
,i know of none but ,black with which he
 can represent the utmost ,shade and    
,obscurity of ,night4 ,for this ,reason1
 when he paints a white ,habit1 he      
should take one of the four ,kinds of   
,colours that are clear and open2 and so
 again in painting any black ,habit1 let
 him use another ,extream1 but not      

absolute ,black1 as for ,instance1 the  
,colour of the ,sea where it is very    
deep1 which is extreamly dark4 ,in a    
,word1 this ,composition of ,black and  
,white has so much ,power1 that when    
practised with ,art and ,method1 it is  
capable of representing in ,painting the
 ,superficie either of ,gold or of      
,silver1 and even of the clearest       
,glass4 ,those ,painters1 therefore1 are
 greatly to be condemned1 who make use  
of ,white immoderately and of ,black    
without ,judgment2 for which reason ,i  
could wish that the ,painters were      
obliged to buy their ,white at a greater
 ,price than the most costly ,gems1 and 
that both ,white and ,black were to be  
made of those ,pearls which ,cleopatra  
dissolved in ,vinegar2 that they might  
be more chary of it4  ,leon ,battista   
,alberti4  ,illustration3 ,signorelli   
,,the ,,music ,,of ,,pan ,hanfstaengl   
,,cxliv  ,a word as to colour4 ,one can 
only give warnings against possible     
faults2 it is clearly impossible to     

teach colour by words1 even ever so     
little of it1 though it can be taught in
 a workshop1 at least partially4 ,well1 
,i should say1 be rather restrained than
 over-luxurious in colour1 or you weary 
the eye4 ,do not attempt                
over-refinements in colour1 but be frank
 and simple4 ,if you look at the pieces 
of colouring that most delight you in   
ornamental work1 as1 e4g4 a ,persian    
carpet1 or an illuminated book of the   
,middle ,ages1 and analyse its elements1
 you will1 if you are not used to the   
work1 be surprised at the simplicity of 
it1 the few tints used1 the modesty of  
the tints1 and therewithal the clearness
 and precision of all boundary lines4   
,in all fine flat colouring there are   
regular systems of dividing colour from 
colour4 ,above all1 don't attempt       
iridescent blendings of colour1 which   
look like decomposition4 ,they are about
 as much as possible the reverse of     
useful4  ,william ,morris4   ,,cxlv     
,after seeing all the fine pictures in  

,france1 ,italy1 and ,germany1 one must 
come to this conclusion--that colour1 if
 not the first1 is at least an essential
 quality in painting4 ,no master has as 
yet maintained his ground beyond his own
 time without it4 ,but in oil painting  
it is richness and depth alone that can 
do justice to the material4 ,upon this  
subject every prejudice with which ,i   
left home is1 if anything1 not only     
confirmed but increased4 ,what ,sir     
,joshua wrote1 and what our friend ,sir 
,george so often supported1 was right2  
and after seeing what ,i have seen1 ,i  
am not now to be talked out of it4      
,with us1 as you know1 every young      
exhibitor with pink1 white1 and blue1   
thinks himself a colourist like ,titian2
 than whom perhaps no painter is more   
misrepresented or misunderstood4 ,i saw 
myself at ,florence his famous ,venus   
upon an easel1 with ,kirkup and ,wallis 
by me4 ,this picture1 so often copied1  
and every copy a fresh mistake1 is1 what
 ,i expected it to be1 deep yet         

brilliant2 indescribable in its hues1   
yet simple beyond example in its        
execution and its colouring4 ,its flesh 
7,o how our friends at home would       
stare67 is a simple1 sober1 mixed-up    
tint1 and apparently1 like your skies1  
completed while wet4 ,no scratchings1 no
 hatchings1 no scumbling nor            
multiplicity of repetitions--no         
ultramarine lakes nor vermilions--not   
even a mark of the brush visible2 all   
seemed melted in the fat and glowing    
mass1 solid yet transparent1 giving the 
nearest approach to life that the       
painter's art has ever yet reached4     
,wilkie4   ,,cxlvi  ,in painting1 get   
the main tones first4 ,do not forget    
that white by itself should be used very
 sparingly2 to make anything of a       
beautiful colour1 accentuate the tones  
clearly1 lay them fresh and in facets2  
no compromise with ambiguous and false  
tones2 colour in nature is a mixture of 
single tones adapted to one another4    
,chasseriau4   ,,cxlvii  ,a thing to    

remember always3 avoid greenish tones4  
,chasseriau4   ,,cxlviii  ,one is a     
colourist by values1 by colour and      
light2 there are colourists who are     
luminarists as there are colourists pure
 and simple4 ,titian is a colourist but 
not a luminarist1 while ,correggio is a 
colourist and a luminarist4  ,the simple
 colourists are those who content       
themselves with representing the tones  
in their value and colour without       
troubling about the magic of light2 they
 also give to tones all their intensity4
  ,the luminarists1 as the word         
indicates1 make light the most important
 thing4 ,three names will make you      
understand2 ,rembrandt1 ,correggio1 and 
,claude ,lorraine4  ,claude1 taking the 
light of the sun for a starting-point1  
justifies his method by nature3 you know
 that he starts from a luminous point1  
and that point is the sun4 ,to make this
 brilliant you must make great          
sacrifices1 for you have no doubt       
remarked that we painters always begin  

with a half-tint2 as our paintings are  
not brightened by the light of the sun1 
and start with a half-tint1 it is       
necessary by the magic of tones to make 
this half-tint shine like a luminous    
thing4 ,you see that it is a difficult  
problem to solve2 how does ,claude do   
it8 ,he does not copy the exact tones of
 nature1 since beginning with a dull    
one1 he is obliged to make it luminous4 
,he transposes as in music2 he observes 
all things constituting light1 remarks  
that the rays prevent us from seizing   
the outline of a bright object1 that    
then the flame is enveloped by a bright 
halo2 then by a second one less vivid1  
and so on until the tones become dull   
and sombre4 ,in short1 to make myself   
understood1 his picture seen from       
distance represents a flame4  ,correggio
 also works in this way4 ,take for      
example his picture of ,antiope4  ,the  
woman1 enveloped in a panther skin1 is  
as bright as a flame4 ,the soft red tone
 forms the first halo1 then the light   

blue draperies with a slight greenish   
tint form the second halo4 ,the ,satyr  
has a value a few degrees below that of 
the draperies1 making it the third halo4
 ,when the bouquet is thus formed1      
,correggio surrounds it with beautiful  
dark leaves1 shading towards the        
extremities of the canvas4 ,these       
gradations are so well observed1 that if
 you put the picture at so great a      
distance that you cannot see the        
figures1 you will still have the        
representation of light4  ,couture4     
,,cxlix  ,painters who are not          
colourists make illuminations and not   
paintings4 ,painting1 properly          
speaking--unless one wants to produce a 
monochrome--implies the idea of colour  
as one of its fundamental elements1     
together with chiaroscuro1 proportion1  
and perspective4 ,proportion applies to 
sculpture as to painting4 ,perspective  
determines the outline2 chiaroscuro     
produces relief by the arrangement of   
shadow and light in relation to the     

background2 colour gives the appearance 
of life1 c4  ,the sculptor does not     
begin his work with an outline2 he      
builds up with his material a likeness  
of the object which1 rough at first1    
establishes from the beginning the      
essential conditions of relief and      
solidity4  ,colourists1 being those who 
unite all the qualities of painting1    
must1 in a single process and at first  
setting to work1 secure the conditions  
peculiar and essential to their art4    
,they have to mass with colour1 as the  
sculptor with clay1 marble1 or stone2   
their sketch1 like the sculptor's1 must 
show proportion1 perspective1 effect1   
and colour4  ,outline is as ideal and   
conventional in painting as in          
sculpture2 it should result naturally   
from the good arrangement of the        
essential parts4 ,the combined          
preparation of effect which implies     
perspective and colour will approach    
more or less the actual aspect of       
things1 according to the degree of the  

painter's skill2 but this foundation    
will contain potentially everything     
included in the final result4           
,delacroix4   ,,cl  ,i believe colour to
 be a quite indispensable quality in the
 highest art1 and that no picture ever  
belonged to the highest order without   
it2 while many1 by possessing it--as the
 works of ,titian--are raised certainly 
into the highest class1 though not to   
the very highest grade of that class1 in
 spite of the limited degree of their   
other great qualities4 ,perhaps the only
 exception which ,i should be inclined  
to admit exists in the works of         
,hogarth1 to which ,i should never dare 
to assign any but the very highest      
place1 though their colour is certainly 
not a prominent feature in them4 ,i must
 add1 however1 that ,hogarth's colour is
 seldom other than pleasing to myself1  
and that for my own part ,i should      
almost call him a colourist1 though not 
aiming at colour4 ,on the other hand1   
there are men who1 merely on account of 

bad colour1 prevent me from thoroughly  
enjoying their works1 though full of    
other qualities4 ,for instance1 ,wilkie 
or ,delaroche 7in nearly all his works1 
though the ,hemicycle is fine in        
colour74 ,from ,wilkie ,i would at any  
time prefer a thoroughly fine           
engraving--though of course he is in no 
respect even within hail of ,hogarth4   
,colour is the physiognomy of a picture2
 and1 like the shape of the human       
forehead1 it cannot be perfectly        
beautiful without proving goodness and  
greatness4 ,other qualities are in its  
life exercised2 but this is the body of 
its life1 by which we know and love it  
at first sight4  ,rossetti4   ,,cli  ,in
 regard to the different modes of       
painting the flesh1 ,i belief it is of  
little consequence which is pursued1 if 
you only keep the colours distinct2 too 
much mixing makes them muddy and        
destroys their brilliancy1 you know4    
,sir ,joshua was of opinion that the    
grey tints in the flesh of ,titian's    

pictures were obtained by scumbling cool
 tints over warm ones2 and others prefer
 commencing in a cool grey manner1 and  
leaving the greys for the middle tints1 
whilst they paint upon the lights with  
warmer colours1 also enriching the      
shadows with warmer and deeper colours  
too4 ,but for my own part1 ,i have      
always thought it a good way to consider
 the flesh as composed of different     
coloured network laid over each other1  
as is really the case in nature1 and may
 be seen by those who will take the     
pains to look carefully into it4        
,northcote4   ,,clii  ,the utmost beauty
 of colouring depends on the great      
principle of varying by all the means of
 varying1 and on the proper and artful  
union of that variety4  ,i am apt to    
believe that the not knowing nature's   
artful and intricate method of uniting  
colours for the production of the       
variegated composition1 or prime tint of
 flesh1 hath made colouring1 in the art 
of painting1 a kind of mystery in all   

ages2 insomuch1 that it may fairly be   
said1 out of the many thousands who have
 labour'd to attain it1 not above ten or
 twelve painters have happily succeeded 
therein2 ,correggio 7who lived in a     
country village1 and had nothing but the
 life to study after7 is said almost to 
have stood alone for this particular    
excellence4 ,guido1 who made beauty his 
chief aim1 was always at a loss about   
it4 ,poussin scarce ever obtained a     
glimpse of it1 as is manifest by his    
many different attempts3 indeed ,france 
hath not produced one remarkable good   
colourist4  ,rubens boldly1 and in a    
masterly manner1 kept his bloom tints   
bright1 separate1 and distinct1 but     
sometimes too much so for easel or      
cabinet pictures2 however1 his manner   
was admirably well calculated for great 
works1 to be seen at a considerable     
distance1 such as his celebrated ceiling
 at ,whitehall ,chapel3 which upon a    
nearer view will illustrate what ,i have
 advanc'd with regard to the separate   

brightness of the tints2 and shew1 what 
indeed is known to every painter1 that  
had the colours there seen so bright and
 separate been all smooth'd and         
absolutely blended together1 they would 
have produced a dirty grey instead of   
flesh-colour4 ,the difficulty then lies 
in bringing blue1 the third original    
colour1 into flesh1 on account of the   
vast variety introduced thereby2 and    
this omitted1 all the difficulty ceases2
 and a common sign-painter that lays his
 colours smooth1 instantly becomes1 in  
point of colouring1 a ,rubens1 a        
,titian1 or a ,correggio4  ,hogarth4    
,,cliii  ,,copy ,,on ,,canvas ,,in ,,oil
 ,,of ,,the ,,doria ,,correggio ,,in    
,,the ,,palazzo ,,pasqua  ,it seems     
painted in 7their7 juicy1 fat colour1   
the parts completed one after another   
upon the bare pannel1 the same as       
frescoes upon the flattened wall4       
,simplicity of tint and of colour       
prevails2 no staining or mottled        
varieties3 the flesh1 both in light and 

shadow1 is produced by one mixed up tint
 so melted that no mark of the brush is 
seen4 ,there is here no scratching or   
scumbling--no repetitions2 all seems    
prepared at once for the glaze1 which1  
simple as the painting is1 gives to it  
with fearless hand the richness and glow
 of ,correggio4 ,all imitations of this 
master are complicated compared to this1
 and how complicated and abstruse does  
it make all attempts of the present day 
to give similar effects in colouring6   
,here is one figure in outline upon the 
prepared board1 with even the           
finger-marks in colour of the painter   
himself4 ,here is the preparation of the
 figures painted up at once1 and1       
strange to say1 with solid and even     
sunny colours4 ,here are the heads of a 
woman and of a naked child1 completed   
with the full zest and tone of          
,correggio1 in texture fine1 and in     
expression rich and luxurious1 and as   
fine an example of his powers as any    
part to be found in his most celebrated 

work4  ,wilkie4   ,,cliv  ,in a modern  
exhibition pictures lose by tone at     
first glance1 but in the ,louvre        
pictures gained1 and ,titian1           
,correggio1 ,rubens1 ,cuyp1 and         
,rembrandt combated everything by the   
depth of their tones2 and one still     
hopes that1 when toning is successfully 
done1 it will prevail4  ,you have now   
got your exhibition open in ,edinburgh3 
do you find tone and depth an advantage 
there or not8 ,painting bright and raw1 
if one can find in his heart to lower   
and glaze it afterwards1 is always      
satisfactory2 but unless strength can be
 combined with this1 it will never be   
the fashion in our days4  ,wilkie4      
,,clv  ,i went into the ,national       
,gallery and refreshed myself with a    
look at the pictures4 ,one impression ,i
 had was of how much more importance the
 tone of them is than the actual tint of
 any part of them4 ,i looked close into 
the separate colours and they were all  
very lovely in their quality--but the   

whole colour-effect of a picture then is
 not very great4 ,it is the entire      
result of the picture that is so        
wonderful4 ,i peered into the whites to 
see how they were made1 and it is       
astonishing how little white there would
 be in a white dress--none at all1 in   
fact--and yet it looks white4 ,i went   
again and looked at the ,van ,eyck1 and 
saw how clearly the like of it is not to
 be done by me4 ,but he had many        
advantages4 ,for one thing1 he had all  
his objects in front of him to paint    
from4 ,a nice1 clean1 neat floor of fair
 boards well scoured1 pretty little dogs
 and everything4 ,nothing to bother     
about but making good portraits--dresses
 and all else of exactly the right      
colour and shade of colour4 ,but the    
tone of it is simply marvellous1 and the
 beautiful colour each little object    
has1 and the skill of it all4 ,he       
permits himself extreme darkness though4
 ,it's all very well to say it's a      
purple dress--very dark brown is more   

the colour of it4 ,and the black1 no    
words can describe the blackness of it4 
,but the like of it is not for me to    
do--can't be--not to be thought of4  ,as
 ,i walked about there ,i thought if ,i 
had my life all over again1 what would  
,i best like to do in the way of making 
a new start once more2 it would be to   
try and paint more like the ,italian    
painters4 ,and that's rather happy for a
 man to feel in his last days--to find  
that he is still true to his first      
impulse1 and doesn't think he has wasted
 his life in wrong directions4          
,burne-,jones4   ,,clvi  ,all painting  
consists of sacrifices and parti-pris4  
,goya4   ,,clvii  ,in nature1 colour    
exists no more than line1--there is only
 light and shade4 ,give me a piece of   
charcoal1 and ,i will paint your        
portrait for you4  ,goya4   ,,clviii    
,it requires much more observation and  
study to arrive at perfection in the    
shadowing of a picture than in merely   
drawing the lines of it4 ,the proof of  

this is1 that the lines may be traced   
upon a veil or a flat glass placed      
between the eye and the object to be    
imitated4 ,but that cannot be of any use
 in shadowing1 on account of the        
infinite gradation of shades1 and the   
blending of them which does not allow of
 any precise termination2 and most      
frequently they are confused1 as will be
 demonstrated in another place4         
,leonardo4     ,,light ,,and ,,shade    
,,clix  ,forget not therefore that the  
principal part of ,painting or ,drawing 
after the life consisteth in the truth  
of the line1 as one sayeth in a place   
that he hath seen the picture of her    
,majesty in four lines very like1       
meaning by four lines but the plain     
lines1 as he might as well have said in 
one line1 but best in plain lines       
without shadowing2 for the line without 
shadow showeth all to a good ,judgement1
 but the shadow without line showeth    
nothing1 as1 for example1 though the    
shadow of a man against a white wall    

sheweth like a man1 yet it is not the   
shadow but the line of the shadow1 which
 is so true that it resembleth          
excellently well1 as drawn by that line 
about the shadow with a coal1 and when  
the shadow is gone it will resemble     
better than before1 and may1 if it be a 
fair face1 have sweet countenance even  
in the line2 for the line only giveth   
the countenance1 but both line and      
colour giveth the lively likeness1 and  
shadows shew the roundness and the      
effect or ,defect of the light wherein  
the picture was drawn4 ,this makes me to
 remember the words also and reasoning  
of her ,majesty when first ,i came in   
her highness' presence to draw1 who     
after shewing me how she noted great    
difference of shadowing in the works and
 ,diversity of ,drawers of sundry       
nations1 and that the ,italians who had 
the name to be cunningest and to ,draw  
best1 shadowed not4 ,requiring of me the
 reason of it1 seeing that best to shew 
oneself needeth no shadow of place but  

rather the open light1 to which ,i      
granted1 affirmed that shadows in       
pictures were indeed caused by the      
shadow of the place or coming in of the 
light at only one way into the place at 
some small or high window1 which many   
workmen covet to work in for ease to    
their sight1 and to give unto them a    
grosser line and a more apparent line to
 be deserved1 and maketh the work       
imborse well and show very well afar    
off1 which to ,limning work needeth not1
 because it is to be viewed of necessity
 in hand near unto the ,eye4 ,here her  
,majesty conceived the reason1 and      
therefore chose her place to sit in for 
that purpose in the open alley of a     
goodly garden1 where no tree was near   
nor any shadow at all1 save that as the 
,heaven is lighter than the earth1 so   
must that little shadow that was from   
the earth2 this her ,majesty's curious  
,demand hath greatly bettered my        
,judgement1 besides divers other like   
questions in ,art by her most excellent 

,majesty1 which to speak or write of    
were fitter for some better clerk4 ,this
 matter only of the light let me perfect
 that no wise man longer remain in      
,error of praising much shadows in      
pictures which are to be viewed in hand2
 great pictures high or far off ,require
 hard shadows to become the better then 
nearer in story work better than        
pictures of the life2 for beauty and    
good favour is like clear truth1 which  
is not shadowed with the light nor made 
to be obscured1 as a picture a little   
shadowed may be borne withal for the    
rounding of it1 but so greatly smutted  
or ,darkened as some use ,disgrace it1  
and in like truth ill told1 if a very   
well favoured woman show in a place     
where is great shadow1 yet showeth she  
lovely not because of the shadow but    
because of her sweet favour consisting  
in the line or proportion1 even that    
little which the light scarcely showeth 
greatly pleaseth1 proving the ,desire to
 see more4  ,nicholas ,hilliard4   ,,clx

  ,the lights cast from small windows   
also present a strong contrast of light 
and shadow1 more especially if the      
chamber lit by them is large2 and this  
is not good to use in painting4         
,leonardo4   ,,clxi  ,when you are      
drawing from nature the light should be 
from the north1 so that it may not vary2
 and if it is from the south keep the   
window covered with a curtain so that   
though the sun shine upon it all day    
long the light will undergo no change4  
,the elevation of the light should be   
such that each body casts a shadow on   
the ground which is of the same length  
as its height4  ,leonardo4   ,,clxii    
,above all let the figures that you     
paint have sufficient light and from    
above1 that is1 all living persons whom 
you paint1 for the people whom you see  
in the streets are all lighted from     
above2 and ,i would have you know that  
you have no acquaintance so intimate but
 that if the light fell on him from     
below you would find it difficult to    

recognise him4  ,leonardo4   ,,clxiii   
,if by accident it should happen1 that  
when drawing or copying in chapels1 or  
colouring in other unfavourable places1 
you cannot have the light on your left  
hand1 or in your usual manner1 be sure  
to give relief to your figures or design
 according to the arrangement of the    
windows which you find in these places1 
which have to give you light1 and thus  
accommodating yourself to the light on  
which side soever it may be1 give the   
proper lights and shadows4 ,or if it    
were to happen that the light should    
enter or shine right opposite or full in
 your face1 make your lights and shades 
accordingly2 or if the light should be  
favourable at a window larger than the  
others in the above-mentioned places1   
adopt always the best light1 and try to 
understand and follow it carefully1     
because1 wanting this1 your work would  
be without relief1 a foolish thing      
without mastery4  ,cennino ,cennini4    
,,clxiv  ,you have heard about ,merlin's

 magic art2 here in ,venice you may see 
that of ,titian1 ,giorgione1 and all the
 others4 ,in the ,palazzo ,barbarigo we 
went to the room which is said to have  
been ,titian's studio for some time4    
,the window faces the south1 and the sun
 is shining on the floor by two o'clock4
 ,this made us think1 whether you should
 not1 after all1 let the sun be there   
while you are painting4 ,a temperate    
sunlight in the room makes the lights   
golden1 and through the many1 crossing1 
warm reflections the shadows get clearer
 and more transparent4 ,but the         
difficulty is to know how to deal with  
such a shimmer2 it is easier to paint   
with the light coming from the north4   
,on the other hand1 you see that the    
,venetians never tried to render in     
painting the impression of real1 open   
sunlight4 ,their delicate sense of      
colour found a greater delight in       
looking at the fine fused tones and     
shades which are seen when the sunlight 
is only reflected under the clear blue  

sky and between the high palaces4       
,therefore1 you often think that you    
see1 for instance1 groups of gondoliers 
on the ,piazzetta in gay silvery notes1 
as in any painting by ,paolo ,veronese2 
and in the warm daylight in the great1  
gorgeous halls of the ,palazzo ,ducale  
there are still figures walking about in
 a colour as golden and fresh as if they
 were paintings by ,titian4  ,e4        
,lundgren4     ,,portraiture   ,,clxv   
,painting the face of a pretty young    
girl is like carving a portrait in      
silver4 ,there may be great elaboration1
 but no likeness will be forthcoming4   
,it is better to put the elaboration    
into the young lady's clothes1 and trust
 to a touch here and a stroke there to  
bring out her beauty as it really is4   
,ku ,k'ai-,chih 7,chinese1 fourth       
century74   ,,clxvi  ,portraiture may be
 great art4 ,there is a sense1 indeed1  
in which it is perhaps the greatest art 
of any4 ,and portraiture involves       
expression4 ,quite true1 but expression 

of what8 ,of a passion1 an emotion1 a   
mood8 ,certainly not4 ,paint a man or a 
woman with the damned pleasing          
expression1 or even the charmingly      
spontaneous so dear to the photographic 
artist1 and you see at once that the    
thing is a mask1 as silly as the old    
tragic and comic mask4 ,the only        
expression allowable in great           
portraiture is the expression of        
character and moral quality1 not of     
anything temporary1 fleeting1 and       
accidental4 ,apart from portraiture you 
don't want even so much1 or very seldom3
 in fact1 you only want types1 symbols1 
suggestions4 ,the moment you give what  
people call expression1 you destroy the 
typical character of heads and degrade  
them into portraits which stand for     
nothing4  ,burne-,jones4   ,,clxvii  ,it
 produces a magnificent effect to place 
whole figures and groups1 which are in  
shade1 against a light field4 ,the      
contrary1 i4e4 figures that are in light
 against a dark field1 cannot be so     

perfectly expressed1 because every      
illuminated figure1 with or without a   
side light1 will have some shade4 ,the  
nearest approach to this is when the    
object so treated happen to be very     
fair1 with other objects reflecting into
 their shades4       ,shade against     
shade is indefinite4 ,light and shade   
against shade      are mediate4 ,light  
against shade is perspicuous4 ,light and
 shade      against light is mediate4   
,light against light is indefinite or   
indistinct4  ,edward ,calvert4          
,,clxviii  ,most of the masters have had
 a way1 slavishly imitated by their     
schools and following1 of exaggerating  
the darkness of the backgrounds which   
they give their portraits4 ,they thought
 in this way to make the heads more     
interesting1 but this darkness of       
background1 in conjunction with faces   
lighted as we see them in nature1       
deprives these portraits of that        
character of simplicity which should be 
dominant in them4 ,this darkness places 

the objects intended to be thrown into  
relief in quite abnormal conditions4 ,is
 it natural that a face seen in light   
should stand out against a really dark  
background--that is to say1 one which   
receives no light8 ,ought not the light 
which falls on the figure to fall also  
on the wall1 or the tapestry against    
which the figure stands8 ,unless it     
should happen that the face stands out  
against drapery of an extremely dark    
tone--but this condition is very rare1  
or against the entrance of a cavern or  
cellar entirely deprived of daylight--a 
circumstance still rarer--the method    
cannot but appear factitious4  ,the     
chief charm in a portrait is simplicity4
 ,i do not count among true portraits   
those in which the aim has been to      
idealise the features of a famous man   
when the painter has to reconstruct the 
face from traditional likenesses2 there1
 invention rightly plays a part4 ,true  
portraits are those painted from        
contemporaries4 ,we like to see them on 

the canvas as we meet them in daily     
life1 even though they should be persons
 of eminence and fame4  ,delacroix4     
,,clxix  ,verestchagin says the         
old-fashioned way of setting a          
portrait-head against a dark ground is  
not only unnecessary1 but being usually 
untrue when a person is seen by         
daylight1 should be exploded as false   
and unreal4 ,but it is certain a light  
garish background behind a painted head 
will not permit that head to have the   
importance it should have in reality1   
when the actual facts1 solidity1        
movement1 play of light and shadow1     
personal knowledge of the individual or 
his history1 joined to the effects of   
different planes1 distances1 materials1 
c41 will combine to invest the reality  
with interests the most subtle and      
dexterous artistic contrivances cannot  
compete with1 and which certainly the   
artist cannot with reason be asked to   
resign4 ,a sense of the power of an     
autocrat1 from whose lips one might be  

awaiting consignment to a dungeon or    
death1 would be as much felt if he stood
 in front of the commonest wall-paper1  
in the commonest lodging-house1 in the  
meanest watering-place1 but no such     
impressions could be conveyed by the    
painter who depicted such surroundings4 
,lastly1 ,i must strongly dissent from  
the opinion recently expressed by some1 
that seems to imply that a              
portrait-picture need have no interest  
excepting in the figure1 and that the   
background had better be without any4   
,this may be a good principle for       
producing an effect on the walls of an  
exhibition-room1 where the surroundings 
are incongruous and inharmonious2 an    
intellectual or beautiful face should be
 more interesting than any accessories  
the artist could put into the           
background4 ,no amount of elaboration in
 the background could disturb the       
attention of any one looking at the     
portrait of ,julius the ,second by      
,raphael1 also in the ,tribune1 which ,i

 cannot help thinking is the finished   
portrait in the world4 ,a portrait is   
the most truly historical picture1 and  
this the most monumental and historical 
of portraits4 ,the longer one looks at  
it the more it demands attention4 ,a    
superficial picture is like a           
superficial character--it may do for an 
acquaintance1 but not for a friend4 ,one
 never gets to the end of things to     
interest and admire in many old         
portrait-pictures4  ,watts4             
,illustration3 ,j4 ,van ,eyck ,,portrait
 ,,of ,,the ,,artist',s ,,wife          
,bruckmann   ,,clxx  ,there is one point
 that has always forced itself upon me  
strongly in comparing the               
portrait-painting qualities of          
,rembrandt and ,velasquez4 ,in          
,rembrandt ,i see a delightful human    
sympathy between himself and his        
sitters2 he is always more interested in
 that part of them which conforms to    
some great central human type1 and is   
comparatively uninterested in those     

little distinctions which delight the   
caricaturist and are the essence of that
 much applauded quality1 the catching of
 a likeness4 ,i don't believe he was a  
very good catcher of likenesses1 but ,i 
am sure his rendering was the biggest   
and fullest side of that man--there is  
always a fine ironical appreciation of  
character moulded by circumstance2      
whereas in ,velasquez ,i find the other 
thing4  ,c4 ,w4 ,furse4   ,,clxxi  ,i   
have wished to oblige the beholder1 on  
looking at the portrait1 to think wholly
 of the face in front of him1 and       
nothing of the man who painted it4 ,and 
it is my opinion that the artist who    
paints portraits in this way need have  
no fear of the pitfall of mannerism     
either in treatment or touch4  ,watts4  
,,clxxii  ,let us 444 examine modern    
portraits4 ,i shut my eyes and think of 
those full lengths in the ,new ,gallery 
and the ,academy1 which ,i have not seen
 this year1 but whose every detail is   
familiar to me4 ,you will find that a   

uniform light stretches from their chins
 to their toes2 in all probability the  
background is a slab of grey into whose 
insensitive surface neither light nor   
air penetrates2 or perhaps that most    
offensive portrait-painter's property1 a
 sham room in which none of the         
furniture has been seen in its proper   
relation of light to the face1 but has  
been muzzed in with slippery            
insincerity1 and with an amiable hope   
that it may take its place behind the   
figure4 ,the face1 in all but one or two
 portraits1 will lack definition of     
plane--will be flat and flabby4 ,a white
 spot on the nose and high light on the 
forehead will serve for modelling2      
little or no attempt will have been made
 to get a light which will help the     
observer to concentrate on the head1 or 
give the head its full measure of       
rotundity--your eyes will wander        
aimlessly from cheek to chiffon1 from   
glinting satin to the pattern on the    
floor1 forgetful of the purpose of the  

portrait1 and only arrested by some dab 
of pink or mauve1 which will remind you 
that the artist is developing a somewhat
 irrelevant colour scheme4  ,for        
solidity1 for the realisation of the    
great constructive planes of things1 for
 that element of sculpture which exists 
in all good painting1 you will look in  
vain4 ,i am sure that in an average     
,academy there are not three real       
attempts to get the values--that is1 the
 inevitable relation of objects in light
 and shade that must exist under any    
circumstances--and not one attempt to   
contrive an artificial composition of   
light and shade which shall concentrate 
the attention of the spectator on the   
crucial point1 and shall introduce these
 delightful effects of dark things      
against light and light against dark1   
which lend such richness and variety of 
tone and such vitality of construction  
to ,titian1 ,rembrandt1 and ,reynolds4  
,if we turn for a moment to the         
,national ,gallery and look at          

,gainsborough's ,baillie ,family1 or    
,reynolds' ,three ,ladies decorating the
 ,term of ,hymen1 we see at once the    
difference2 in ,gainsborough's case the 
group is in a mellow flood of light1    
there are no strong shadows on any of   
the faces1 and none of the figures are  
used to cast shadows on other figures in
 the group2 and yet as you look you see 
the whole light of the picture          
culminating in the central head of the  
mother1 the sides and bottom of the     
picture fade off into artificial shadow1
 exquisitely used1 without which that   
glorious light would have been          
dissipated over the picture1 losing all 
its effectiveness and carrying power4   
,see how finely he has understood the   
reticent tones of the man behind1 and   
how admirably the loosely painted       
convention of landscape background is   
made to carry on the purely artificial  
arrangement of light and shade4 ,in the 
,reynolds the shadowed figure on the    
left1 and the shadows that flit across  

the skirts of the other two figures1 and
 the fine relief of the dark trees1 give
 a wonderful richness of design to a    
picture that is not in other respects of
 the highest interest4  ,c4 ,w4 ,furse4 
,,clxxiii  ,why have ,i not before now  
finished the miniature ,i promised to   
,mrs4 ,butts8 ,i answer ,i have not till
 now in any degree pleased myself1 and  
now ,i must entreat you to excuse       
faults1 for portrait painting is the    
direct contrary to designing and        
historical painting in every respect4   
,if you have not nature before you for  
every touch1 you cannot paint portrait2 
and if you have nature before you at    
all1 you cannot paint history4 ,it was  
,michael ,angelo's opinion and is mine4 
,blake4   ,,clxxiv  ,i often find myself
 wondering why people are so frequently 
dissatisfied with their portraits1 but  
,i think ,i have discovered the         
principal reason--they are not pleased  
with themselves1 and therefore cannot   
endure a faithful representation4 ,i    

find it is the same with myself4 ,i     
cannot bear any portraits of myself1    
except those of my own painting1 where  
,i have had the opportunity of coaxing  
them1 so as to suit my own feelings4    
,northcote4     ,,light ,,and ,,shade   
,,clxxv  ,don't be afraid of splendour  
of effect2 nothing is more brilliant1   
nothing more radiant than nature4       
,painting tends to become confused and  
to lose its power to strike hard4 ,make 
things monumental and yet real2 set down
 the lights and the shadows as in       
reality4 ,heads which are all in a      
half-tone flushed with colour from a    
strong sun2 heads in the light1 full of 
air and freshness2 these should be a    
delight to paint4  ,chasseriau4         
,,clxxvi  ,the first object of a painter
 is to make a simple flat surface appear
 like a relievo1 and some of its parts  
detached from the ground2 he who excels 
all others in that part of the art      
deserves the greatest praise4 ,this     
perfection of the art depends on the    

correct distribution of lights and      
shades called ,chiaro-scuro4 ,if the    
painter1 then1 avoids shadows1 he may be
 said to avoid the glory of the art1 and
 to render his work despicable to real  
connoisseurs1 for the sake of acquiring 
the esteem of vulgar and ignorant       
admirers of fine colours1 who never have
 any knowledge of relievo4  ,leonardo4  
,,clxxvii  ,chiaroscuro1 to use         
untechnical language and to speak of it 
as it is employed by all the schools1 is
 the art of making atmosphere visible   
and painting objects in an envelope of  
air4 ,its aim is to create all the      
picturesque accidents of the shadows1 of
 the half-tones and the light1 of relief
 and distance1 and to give in           
consequence more variety1 more unity of 
effect1 of caprice1 and of relative     
truth1 to forms as to colours4 ,the     
opposite conception is one more         
ingenuous and abstract1 a method by     
which one shows objects as they are1    
seen close1 the atmosphere being        

suppressed1 and in consequence without  
any perspective except the linear       
perspective1 which results from the     
diminution in the size of objects and   
their relation to the horizon4 ,when we 
talk of aeriel perspective we presuppose
 a certain amount of chiaroscuro4       
,fromentin4   ,,clxxviii  ,a painter    
must study his picture in every degree  
of light2 it is all little enough4 ,you 
know1 ,i suppose1 that this period of   
the day between daylight and darkness is
 called the painter's hour8 ,there is1  
however1 this inconvenience attending   
it1 which allowance must be made        
for--the reds look darker than by day1  
indeed almost black1 and the light blues
 turn white1 or nearly so4 ,this low1   
fading light also suggests many useful  
hints as to arrangement1 from the       
circumstance of the dashings of the     
brush in a picture but newly commenced1 
suggesting forms that were not          
originally intended1 but which often    
prove much finer ones4 ,ah1 sometimes ,i

 see something very beautiful in these  
forms2 but then ,i have such coaxing to 
do to get it fixed6--for when ,i draw   
near the canvas the vision is gone1 and 
,i have to go back and creep up to it   
again and again1 and1 at last1 to hold  
my brush at the utmost length of my arm 
before ,i can fix it1 so that ,i can    
avail myself of it the next day4 ,the   
way to paint a really fine picture is   
first to paint it in the mind1 to       
imagine it as strongly and distinctly as
 possible1 and then to sketch it while  
the impression is strong and vivid4     
,illustration3 ,puvis de ,chavannes     
,,hope  ,i have frequently shut myself  
up in a dark room for hours1 or even    
days1 when ,i have been endeavouring to 
imagine a scene ,i was about to paint1  
and have never stirred till ,i had got  
it clear in my mind2 then ,i have       
sketched it as quickly as ,i could1     
before the impression has left me4      
,northcote4     ,,decorative ,,art      
,,clxxix  ,decoration is the activity1  

the life of art1 its justification1 and 
its social utility4  ,bracquemond4      
,,clxxx  ,the true function of painting 
is to animate wall-spaces4 ,apart from  
this1 pictures should never be larger   
than one's hand4  ,puvis de ,chavannes4 
,,clxxxi  ,i want big things to do and  
vast spaces1 and for common people to   
see them and say ,oh6--only ,oh6        
,burne-,jones4   ,,clxxxii  ,i insist   
upon mural painting for three           
reasons--first1 because it is an        
exercise of art which demands the       
absolute knowledge only to be obtained  
by honest study1 the value of which no  
one can doubt1 whatever branch of art   
the student might choose to follow      
afterwards2 secondly1 because the       
practice would bring out that gravity   
and nobility deficient in the ,english  
school1 but not in the ,english         
character1 and which being latent might 
therefore be brought out2 and1 thirdly1 
for the sake of action upon the public  
mind4 ,for public improvement it is     

necessary that works of sterling but    
simple excellence should be scattered   
abroad as widely as possible4 ,at       
present the public never see anything   
beautiful excepting in exhibition rooms1
 when the novelty of sight-seeing       
naturally disturbs the intellectual     
perceptions4 ,it is a melancholy fact   
that scarcely a single object amongst   
those that surround us has any          
pretension to real beauty1 or could be  
put simply into a picture with noble    
effect4 ,and as ,i believe the love of  
beauty to be inherent in the human mind1
 it follows that there must be some     
unfortunate influence at work2 to       
counteract this should be the object of 
a fine-art institution1 and ,i feel     
assured if really good things were      
scattered amongst the people1 it would  
not be long before satisfactory results 
exhibited themselves4  ,g4 ,f4 ,watts4  
,,clxxxiii  ,i have 444 gone for great  
masses of light and shade1 relieved     
against one another1 the only bright    

local colour being the blue of the      
workmens' coats and trousers4 ,i have   
intentionally avoided the whole business
 of flat decoration by making the things
 part of the walls1 as one is told is so
 important4 ,on the contrary1 ,i have   
treated them as pictures and have tried 
to make holes in the wall--that is1 as  
far as relief of strong light and shade 
goes2 in the figures ,i have struggled  
to keep a certain quality of            
bas-relief--that is1 ,i have avoided    
distant groups--and have woven my       
compositions as tightly as ,i can in the
 very foreground of the pictures1 as    
without this ,i felt they would lose    
their weight and dignity1 which does    
seem to me the essential business in a  
mural decoration1 and which makes ,puvis
 de ,chavannes a great decorator far    
more than his flat mimicry of fresco    
does4444 ,tintoretto1 in ,s4 ,rocco1 is 
my idea of the big way to decorate a    
building2 great clustered groups        
sculptured in light and shade filling   

with amazing ingenuity of design the    
architectural spaces at his disposal3 a 
far richer and more satisfying result to
 me than the flat and unprofitable stuff
 which of late years has been called    
decoration4444  ,above all1 ,i          
thoroughly disbelieve in the cant of    
mural decorations preserving the        
flatness of a wall4 ,i see no merit in  
it whatever4 ,let them be massive as    
sculpture1 but let every quality of     
value and colour lend them depth and    
vitality1 and ,i am sure the hall or    
room will be richer and nobler as a     
result4  ,c4 ,w4 ,furse4   ,,clxxxiv    
,people usually declare that landscape  
is an easy matter4 ,i think it a very   
difficult one4 ,for whenever you wish to
 produce a landscape1 it is necessary to
 carry about the details1 and work them 
out in the mind for some days before the
 brush may be applied4 ,just as in      
composition3 there is a period of bitter
 thought over the theme2 and until this 
is resolved1 you are in the thrall of   

bonds and gyves4 ,but when inspiration  
comes1 you break loose and are free4  ,a
 ,chinese ,painter 7about #acaj ,a4,d474
   ,,clxxxv  ,one word3 there are       
tendencies1 and it is these which are   
meant by schools4 ,landscape1 above all1
 cannot be considered from the point of 
view of a school4 ,of all artists the   
landscape painter is the one who is in  
most direct communion with nature1 with 
nature's very soul4  ,paul ,huet4       
,,clxxxvi  ,from what motives springs   
the love of high-minded men for         
landscapes8 ,in his very nature man     
loves to be in a garden with hills and  
streams1 whose water makes cheerful     
music as it glides among the stones4    
,what a delight does one derive from    
such sights as that of a fisherman      
engaging in his leisurely occupation in 
a sequestered nook1 or of a woodman     
felling a tree in a secluded spot1 or of
 mountain scenery with sporting monkeys 
and cranes6444 ,though impatient to     
enjoy a life amidst the luxuries of     

nature1 most people are debarred from   
indulging in such pleasures4 ,to meet   
this want artists have endeavoured to   
represent landscapes so that people may 
be able to behold the grandeur of nature
 without stepping out of their houses4  
,in this light1 painting affords        
pleasures of a nobler sort by removing  
from one the impatient desire of        
actually observing nature4  ,kuo ,hsi   
7,chinese1 eleventh century ,a4,d474    
,,landscape   ,,clxxxvii  ,landscape is 
a big thing1 and should be viewed from a
 distance in order to grasp the scheme  
of hill and stream4 ,the figures of men 
and women are small matters1 and may be 
spread out on the hand or on a table for
 examination1 when they will be taken in
 at a glance4 ,those who study          
flower-painting take a single stalk and 
put it into a deep hole1 and then       
examine it from above1 thus seeing it   
from all points of view4 ,those who     
study bamboo-painting take a stalk of   
bamboo1 and on a moonlight night project

 its shadow on to a piece of white silk 
on a wall2 the true form of the bamboo  
is thus brought out4 ,it is the same    
with landscape painting4 ,the artist    
must place himself in communion with his
 hills and streams1 and the secret of   
the scenery will be solved4444 ,hills   
without clouds look bare2 without water 
they are wanting in fascination2 without
 paths they are wanting in life2 without
 trees they are dead2 without           
depth-distance they are shallow2 without
 level-distance they are near2 and      
without height-distance they are low4   
,kuo ,hsi 7,chinese1 eleventh century   
,a4,d474   ,,clxxxviii  ,i have brushed 
up my ,cottage into a pretty look1 and  
my ,heath is almost safe1 but ,i must   
stand or fall by my ,house4 ,i had on   
,friday a long visit from ,m---- alone2 
but my pictures do not come into his    
rules or whims of the art1 and he said  
,i had lost my way4 ,i told him that ,i 
had perhaps other notions of art than   
picture admirers have in general4 ,i    

looked on pictures as things to be      
avoided1 connoisseurs looked on them as 
things to be imitated2 and that1 too1   
with such a deference and humbleness of 
submission1 amounting to a total        
prostration of mind and original        
feeling2 as must serve only to fill the 
world with abortions4 ,but he was very  
agreeable1 and ,i endured the visit1 ,i 
trust1 without the usual courtesies of  
life being violated4  ,what a sad thing 
it is that this lovely art is so wrested
 to its own destruction6 ,used only to  
blind our eyes1 and to prevent us from  
seeing the sun shine1 the fields bloom1 
the trees blossom1 and from hearing the 
foliage rustle2 while old--black--rubbed
 out and dirty canvases take the place  
of ,god's own works4 ,i long to see you4
 ,i love to cope with you1 like ,jaques1
 in my sullen moods1 for ,i am not fit  
for the present world of art4444 ,lady  
,morley was here yesterday4 ,on seeing  
the ,house1 she exclaimed1 ,how fresh1  
how dewy1 how exhilarating6 ,i told her 

half of this1 if ,i could think ,i      
deserved it1 was worth all the talk and 
cant about pictures in the world4       
,constable4   ,,clxxxix  ,a wood all    
powdered with sunshine1 all the tones of
 the trees illuminated and delicate1 the
 whole in a mist of sun1 and high lights
 only on the stems2 a delicious1 new1   
and rich effect4  ,chasseriau4   ,,cxc  
,the forests and their trees give superb
 strong tones in which violet           
predominates--above all1 in the         
shadows--and give value to the green    
tones of the grass4 ,the upright stems  
show bare with colours as of stones and 
of rocks--grey1 tawny1 flushed1 always  
very luminous 7like an agate7 in the    
reflections3 the whole takes a sombre   
colour which vies in vigour with the    
foreground4  ,a magnificent spectacle is
 that of mountains covered with ice and 
snow1 towards evening1 when the clouds  
roll up and hide their base4 ,the       
summits may stand out in places against 
the sky4 ,the blue background at such a 

time emphasises the warm gold colour of 
the shadows1 and the lower parts are    
lost in a deep and sinister grey4 ,we   
have seen this effect at ,kandersteg4   
,dutilleux4   ,,cxci  ,in your letter   
you wish me to give you my opinion of   
your picture4 ,i should have liked it   
better if you had made it more of a     
whole--that is1 the trees stronger1 the 
sky running from them in shadow up to   
the opposite corner2 that might have    
produced what1 ,i think1 it wanted1 and 
have made it much less a two-picture    
effect4444 ,i cannot let your sky go off
 without some observation4 ,i think the 
character of your clouds too affected1  
that is1 too much of some of our modern 
painters1 who mistake some of our great 
masters2 because they sometimes put in  
some of those round characters of       
clouds1 they must do the same2 but if   
you look at any of their skies1 they    
either assist in the composition or make
 some figure in the picture--nay1       
sometimes play the first fiddle4444     

,breadth must be attended to if you     
paint2 but a muscle1 give it breadth4   
,your doing the same by the sky1 making 
parts broad and of a good shape1 that   
they may come in with your composition1 
forming one grand plan of light and     
shade--this must always please a good   
eye and keep the attention of the       
spectator1 and give delight to every    
one4  ,trifles in nature must be        
overlooked that we may have our feelings
 raised by seeing the whole picture at a
 glance1 not knowing how or why we are  
so charmed4 ,i have written you a long  
rigmarole story about giving dignity to 
whatever you paint--,i fear so long that
 ,i should be scarcely able to          
understand what ,i mean myself4 ,you    
will1 ,i hope1 take the will for the    
deed4  ,old ,crome4   ,,cxcii  ,i am    
most anxious to get into my ,london     
painting-room1 for ,i do not consider   
myself at work unless ,i am before a    
six-foot canvas4 ,i have done a good    
deal of skying1 for ,i am determined to 

conquer all difficulties1 and that among
 the rest4 ,and now1 talking of skies1  
it is amusing to us to see how admirably
 you fight my battles2 you certainly    
take the best possible ground for       
getting your friend out of a scrape 7the
 example of the ,old ,masters74 ,that   
landscape painter who does not make his 
skies a very material part of his       
composition neglects to avail himself of
 one of his greatest aids4 ,sir ,joshua 
,reynolds1 speaking of the landscapes of
 ,titian1 of ,salvator1 and of ,claude1 
says3 ,even their skies seem to         
sympathise with their subjects4 ,i have 
often been advised to consider my sky as
 a white sheet thrown behind the        
objects4 ,certainly1 if the sky is      
obtrusive1 as mine are1 it is bad2 but  
if it is evaded1 as mine are not1 it is 
worse2 it must and always shall with me 
make an effectual part of the           
composition4 ,it will be difficult to   
name a class of landscape in which the  
sky is not the keynote1 the standard of 

scale1 and the chief organ of sentiment4
 ,you may conceive1 then1 what a white  
sheet would do for me1 impressed as ,i  
am with these notions1 and they cannot  
be erroneous4 ,the sky is the source of 
light in nature1 and governs everything2
 even our common observations on the    
weather of every day are altogether     
suggested by it4 ,the difficulty of     
skies in painting is very great1 both as
 to composition and execution2 because1 
with all their brilliancy1 they ought   
not to come forward1 or1 indeed1 be     
hardly thought of any more than extreme 
distances are2 but this does not apply  
to phenomena or accidental effects of   
sky1 because they always attract        
particularly4 ,i may say all this to    
you1 though you do not want to be told  
that ,i know very well what ,i am about1
 and that my skies have not been        
neglected1 though they have often failed
 in execution1 no doubt1 from an        
over-anxiety about them which will alone
 destroy that easy appearance which     

nature always has in all her movements4 
,constable4   ,,cxciii  ,he was looking 
at a seventy-four gun ship1 which lay in
 the shadow under ,saltash4 ,the ship   
seemed one dark mass4  ,i told you that 
would be the effect1 said ,turner1      
referring to some previous conversation4
 ,now1 as you perceive1 it is all shade6
  ,yes1 ,i perceive it2 and yet the     
ports are there4  ,we can only take what
 is visible--no matter what may be      
there4 ,there are people in the ship2 we
 don't see them through the planks4     
,turner4   ,,cxciv  ,looked out for     
landscapes this evening2 but although   
all around one is lovely1 how little of 
it will work up into a picture6 that is1
 without great additions and            
alterations1 which is a work of too much
 time to suit my purpose just now4 ,i   
want little subjects that will paint off
 at once4 ,how despairing it is to view 
the loveliness of nature towards sunset1
 and know the impossibility of imitating
 it6--at least in a satisfactory manner1

 as one could do1 would it only remain  
so long enough4 ,then one feels the want
 of a life's study1 such as ,turner     
devoted to landscape2 and even then what
 a botch is any attempt to render it6   
,what wonderful effects ,i have seen    
this evening in the hay-fields6 ,the    
warmth of the uncut grass1 the greeny   
greyness of the unmade hay in furrows or
 tufts with lovely violet shadows1 and  
long shades of the trees thrown athwart 
all1 and melting away one tint into     
another imperceptibly2 and one moment   
more a cloud passes and all the magic is
 gone4 ,begin to-morrow morning1 all is 
changed3 the hay and the reapers are    
gone most likely2 the sun too1 or if    
not1 it is in quite the opposite        
quarter1 and all that was loveliest is  
all that is tamest now1 alas6 ,it is    
better to be a poet2 still better a mere
 lover of ,nature2 one who never dreams 
of possession4444  ,ford ,madox ,brown4 
,,cxcv  ,you should choose an old       
tumbledown wall and throw over it a     

piece of white silk4 ,then morning and  
evening you should gaze at it1 until at 
length you can see the ruin through the 
silk--its prominences1 its levels1 its  
zigzags1 and its cleavages1 storing them
 up in the mind and fixing them in the  
eye4 ,make the prominences your         
mountains1 the lower parts your water1  
the hollows your ravines1 the cracks    
your streams1 the lighter parts your    
nearer points1 the darker parts your    
more distant points4 ,get all these     
thoroughly into you1 and soon you will  
see men1 birds1 plants1 and trees1      
flying and moving among them4 ,you may  
then ply your brush according to your   
fancy1 and the result will be of heaven1
 not of men4  ,sung ,ti 7,chinese1      
eleventh century74   ,,cxcvi  ,by       
looking attentively at old and smeared  
walls1 or stones and veined marble of   
various colours1 you may fancy that you 
see in them several                     
compositions--landscapes1 battles1      
figures in quick motion1 strange        

countenances1 and dresses1 with an      
infinity of other objects4 ,by these    
confused lines the inventive genius is  
excited to new exertions4  ,leonardo4   
,,cxcvii  ,out by a quarter to eight to 
examine the river ,brent at ,hendon2 a  
mere brooklet1 running in most dainty   
sinuosity under overshadowing oaks and  
all manner of leafiness4 ,many beauties1
 and hard to choose amongst1 for ,i had 
determined to make a little picture of  
it4 ,however1 ,nature1 that at first    
sight appears so lovely1 is on          
consideration almost always incomplete2 
moreover1 there is no painting          
intertangled foliage without losing half
 its beauties4 ,if imitated exactly it  
can only be done as seen from one eye1  
and quite flat and confused therefore4  
,ford ,madox ,brown4   ,,cxcviii  ,to   
gaze upon the clouds of autumn1 a       
soaring exaltation in the soul2 to feel 
the spring breeze stirring wild exultant
 thoughts2--what is there in the        
possession of gold and jewels to compare

 with delights like these8 ,and then1 to
 unroll the portfolio and spread the    
silk1 and to transfer to it the glories 
of flood and fell1 the green forest1 the
 blowing winds1 the white water of the  
rushing cascade1 as with a turn of the  
hand a divine influence descends upon   
the scene4 ,these are the joys of       
painting4  ,wang ,wei 7,chinese1 fifth  
century74   ,,cxcix  ,in the room where 
,i am writing there are hanging up two  
beautiful small drawings by ,cozens3    
one1 a wood1 close1 and very solemn2 the
 other1 a view from ,vesuvius looking   
over ,portici--very lovely4 ,i borrowed 
them from my neighbour1 ,mr4 ,woodburn4 
,cozens was all poetry1 and your drawing
 is a lovely specimen4  ,constable4     
,c,x,c,i,xa  ,selection is the invention
 of the landscape painter4  ,fuseli4    
,,cc  ,don't imagine that ,i do not like
 ,corot's picture1 ,la ,prairie avec le 
fosse2 on the contrary we thought1      
,rousseau and ,i1 that it would be a    
pity to have one picture without the    

other1 each makes so lively an          
impression of its own4 ,you are         
perfectly right in liking the picture   
very much4 ,what particularly struck us 
in the other one was that it has in an  
especial degree the look of being done  
by some one who knew nothing about      
painting but who had done his best1     
filled with a great longing to paint4   
,in fact1 a spontaneous discovery of the
 art6 ,these are both very beautiful    
things4 ,we will talk about them1 for in
 writing one never gets to the end4     
,millet4   ,,cci  ,,to ,,rousseau  ,the 
day after ,i left you ,i went to see    
your exhibition4444 ,to-day ,i assure   
you that in spite of knowing your       
studies of ,auvergne and those earlier  
ones1 ,i was struck once more in seeing 
them all together by the fact that a    
force is a force from its first         
beginnings4  ,with the very earliest you
 show a freshness of vision which leaves
 no doubt as to the pleasure you took in
 seeing nature1 and one sees that she   

spoke directly to you1 and that you saw 
her through your own eyes4  ,your work  
is your own et non de l'aultruy1 as     
,montaigne says4 ,don't think ,i mean to
 go through everything of yours bit by  
bit1 down to the present moment4 ,i only
 wish to mention the starting point1    
which is the important thing1 because it
 shows that a man is born to his        
calling4  ,from the beginning you were  
the little oak which will grow into a   
big oak4 ,there6 ,i must tell you once  
more how much it moved me to see all    
this4  ,millet4   ,,ccii  ,i don't know 
if ,corot is not greater than           
,delacroix4 ,corot is the father of     
modern landscape4 ,there is no landscape
 painter of to-day who--knowingly or    
not--does not derive from him4 ,i have  
never seen a picture of ,corot's which  
was not beautiful1 or a line which did  
not mean something4  ,among modern      
painters it is ,corot who as a colourist
 has most in common with ,rembrandt4    
,the colour scheme is golden with the   

one and grey with the other throughout  
the whole harmony of tones4 ,in         
appearance their methods are the        
opposite of each other1 but the desired 
result is the same4 ,in a portrait by   
,rembrandt all details melt into shadow 
in order that the spectator's gaze may  
be concentrated on a single part1 often 
the eyes1 and this part is handled more 
caressingly than the rest4  ,corot1 on  
the other hand1 sacrifices the details  
which are in the light--the extremities 
of trees1 and so on--and brings us      
always to the spot which he has chosen  
for his main appeal to the spectator's  
eye4  ,dutilleux4   ,,cciii  ,landscape 
has taken refuge in the theatre2        
scene-painters alone understand its true
 character and can put it into practice 
with a happy result4 ,but ,corot8  ,oh  
that man's soul rebounds like a steel   
spring2 he is no mere landscape painter1
 but an artist--a real artist1 and rare 
and exceptional genius4  ,delacroix4    
,,cciv  ,,to ,,verwee  ,there is an     

,international ,exhibition at ,petit's  
now1 and ,i am showing some sea-pieces  
there with great success4 ,the          
exhibition is made up1 with one or two  
exceptions1 of young men4 ,they are very
 clever1 but all alike2 they follow a   
fashion--there is no more individuality4
 ,everybody paints1 everybody is clever4
  ,illustration3 ,raphael ,,the ,,mass  
,,of ,,bolsena 7,detail7 ,anderson  ,we 
shall end by adoring ,j4 ,dupre4 ,i     
don't always like him1 but he has       
individuality4  ,too many painters1 my  
dear fellow1 and too many exhibitions6  
,but you see1 at my age1 ,i'm not afraid
 of showing my pictures among the young 
men's sometimes4  ,yet ,i hate          
exhibitions2 one can hardly ever judge  
of a picture there4  ,alfred ,stevens4  
,,italian ,,masters   ,,ccv  ,there is  
something 444 in those deities of       
intellect in the ,sistine ,chapel that  
converts the noblest personages of      
,raphael's drama into the audience of   
,michael ,angelo1 before whom you know  

that1 equally with yourself1 they would 
stand silent and awe-struck4  ,lawrence4
   ,,ccvi  ,my only disagreement with   
you would be in the estimate of his     
comparative excellence in sculpture and 
painting4 ,he called himself sculptor1  
but we seldom gauge rightly our own     
strength and weakness4 ,the paintings in
 the ,sistine ,chapel are to my mind    
entirely beyond criticism or praise1 not
 merely with reference to design and    
execution1 but also for colour1 right   
noble and perfect in their place4 ,i was
 never more surprised than by this      
quality1 to which ,i do not think       
justice has ever been done2 nothing in  
his sculpture comes near to the         
perfection of his ,adam or the majesty  
of the ,dividing the ,light from        
,darkness2 his sculpture lacks the      
serene strength that is found in the    
,adam and many other figures in the     
great frescoes4 ,dominated by the fierce
 spirit of ,dante1 he was less          
influenced by the grave dignity of the  

,greek philosophy and art than might    
have been expected from the contemporary
 and possible pupil of ,poliziano4 ,in  
my estimate of him as a ,sculptor in    
comparison with him as ,painter1 ,i am  
likely to be in a minority of one6 but  
,i think that when he is thought of as a
 painter his earlier pictures are       
thought of1 and these certainly are     
unworthy of him1 but the ,prophets and  
,sibyls are the greatest things ever    
painted4 ,as a rule he certainly insists
 too much upon the anatomy2 some one    
said admirably1 ,learn anatomy1 and     
forget it2 ,michael ,angelo did the     
first and not the second1 and the fault 
of almost all his work is1 that it is   
too much an anatomical essay4 ,the      
,david is an example of this1 besides   
being very faulty in proportion1 with   
hands and feet that are monstrous4 ,it  
is1 ,i think1 altogether bad4 ,the      
hesitating pose is good1 and goes with  
the sullen expression of the face1 but  
is not that of the ardent heroic boy6   

,this seems presumptuous criticism2 and 
you might1 considering my aspirations   
and efforts1 say to me3 ,do better6 but 
,i am not ,michael ,angelo1 but ,i am a 
pupil of the greatest sculptor of all1  
,pheidias 7a master the great           
,florentine knew nothing of71 and1 so   
far1 feel a right to set up judgment on 
the technique only4  ,watts4   ,,ccvii  
,,italian ,,art ,,in ,,flanders  ,as to 
,italian art1 here at ,brussels there is
 nothing but a reminiscence of it4 ,it  
is an art which has been falsified by   
those who have tried to acclimatise it1 
and even the specimens of it which have 
passed into ,flanders lose by their new 
surroundings4 ,when in a part of the    
gallery which is least ,flemish1 one    
sees two portraits by ,tintoret1 not of 
the first rank1 sadly retouched1 but    
typical--one finds it difficult to      
understand them side by side with       
,memling1 ,martin de ,vos1 ,van ,orley1 
,rubens1 ,van ,dyck1 and even ,antonio  
,more4 ,it is the same with ,veronese4  

,he is out of his element2 his colour is
 lifeless1 it smacks of the tempera     
painter2 his style seems frigid1 his    
magnificence unspontaneous and almost   
bombastic4 ,yet the picture is a superb 
piece1 in his finest manner2 a fragment 
of an allegorical triumph taken from a  
ceiling in the ,ducal ,palace1 and one  
of his best2 but ,rubens is close by1   
and that is enough to give the ,rubens  
of ,venice an accent which is not of    
this country4 ,which of the two is      
right8 ,and listening merely to the     
language so admirably spoken by the two 
men1 who shall decide between the       
correct and learned rhetoric of         
,venetian speech1 and the emphatic1     
warmly coloured1 grandiose incorrectness
 of the ,antwerp idiom8 ,at ,venice one 
leans to ,veronese2 in ,flanders one has
 a better ear for ,rubens4  ,italian art
 has this in common with all powerful   
traditions1 that it is at the same time 
very cosmopolitan because it has        
penetrated everywhere1 and very lofty   

because it has been self-sufficient4 ,it
 is at home1 in all ,europe1 except in  
two countries2 ,belgium1 the genius of  
which it has appreciably affected       
without ever dominating it2 and         
,holland1 which once made a show of     
consulting it but which has ended by    
passing it by2 so that1 while it is on  
neighbourly terms with ,spain1 while it 
is enthroned in ,france1 where1 at least
 in historical painting1 our best       
painters have been ,romans1 it          
encounters in ,flanders two or three    
men1 great men of a great race1 sprung  
from the soil1 who hold sway there and  
have no mind to share their empire with 
any other4  ,fromentin4   ,,ccviii  ,i  
am never tired of looking at ,titian's  
pictures2 they possess such extreme     
breadth1 which to me is so delightful a 
quality4 ,in my opinion there never     
will1 to the end of time1 arise a       
portrait-painter superior to ,titian4   
,next to him in this kind of excellence 
is ,raphael4 ,there is this difference  

between ,raphael and ,titian3 ,raphael1 
with all his excellence1 possessed the  
utmost gentleness2 it was as if he had  
said1 ,if another person can do better1 
,i have no objections4 ,but ,titian was 
a man who would keep down every one else
 to the uttermost2 he was determined    
that the art should come in and go out  
with himself2 the expression in all the 
portraits of him told as much4 ,when any
 stupendous work of antiquity remains   
with us--say1 a building or a           
bridge--the common people cannot account
 for it1 and they say it was erected by 
the devil4 ,now ,i feel this same thing 
in regard to the works of ,titian2--they
 seem to me as if painted by a devil1 or
 at any rate from inspiration2 ,i cannot
 account for them4  ,northcote4         
,,northern ,,masters   ,,ccix  ,raphael1
 to be plain with you--for ,i like to be
 candid and outspoken--does not please  
me at all4 ,in ,venice are found the    
good and the beautiful2 to their brush  
,i give the first place2 it is ,titian  

that bears the banner4  ,velasquez4     
,,ccx  ,perhaps some day the world will 
discover that ,rembrandt is a much      
greater painter than ,raphael4 ,i write 
this blasphemy--one to make the hair of 
the ,classicists stand on end--without  
definitely taking a side2 only ,i seem  
to find as ,i grow older that the most  
beautiful and most rare thing in the    
world is truth4  ,let us say1 if you    
will1 that ,rembrandt has not ,raphael's
 nobility4 ,yet perhaps this nobility   
which ,raphael manifests in his line is 
shown by ,rembrandt in the mysterious   
conception of his subjects1 in the      
profound naivete of his expressions and 
gestures4 ,however much one may prefer  
the majestic emphasis of ,raphael1 which
 answers perhaps to the grandeur        
inherent in certain subjects1 one might 
assert1 without being stoned by men of  
taste--,i mean men whose taste is real  
and sincere--that the great ,dutchman   
was more a born painter than the        
studious pupil of ,perugino4            

,delacroix4   ,,ccxi  ,rembrandt's      
principle was to extract from things one
 element among the rest1 or rather to   
abstract every element in order to      
concentrate on the seizure of one only4 
,thus in all his works he has set       
himself to analyse1 to distil2 or1 in   
better phrase1 has been metaphysician   
even more than poet4 ,reality never     
appealed to him by its general effects4 
,one might doubt1 from his way of       
treating human forms1 whether their     
envelope interested him4 ,he loved      
women1 and never saw them otherwise than
 unshapely2 he loved textures1 and did  
not imitate them2 but then1 if he       
ignored grace and beauty1 purity of line
 and the delicacy of the skin1 he       
expressed the nude body by suggestions  
of suppleness1 roundness1 elasticity1   
with a love of material substance1 a    
sense of the live being1 which enchant  
the practical painter4 ,he resolved     
everything into its component parts1    
colour as well as light1 so that1 by    

eliminating the complicated and         
condensing the scattered elements from a
 given scene1 he succeeded in drawing   
without outline1 in painting a portrait 
almost without strokes that show1 in    
colouring without colour1 in            
concentrating the light of the solar    
system into a sunbeam4 ,it would be     
impossible in a plastic art to carry the
 curiosity for the essential to an      
intenser pitch4 ,for physical beauty he 
substitutes expression of character2 for
 the imitation of things1 their almost  
complete transformation2 for studious   
scrutiny1 the speculation of the        
psychologist2 for precise observation1  
whether trained or natural1 the visions 
of a seer and apparitions of such       
vividness that he himself is deceived by
 them4 ,by virtue of this faculty of    
second sight1 of intuitions like those  
of a somnambulist1 he sees farther into 
the supernatural world than any one else
 whatever4 ,the life that he perceives  
in dream has a certain accent of the    

other world1 which makes real life seem 
pale and almost cold4 ,look at his      
,portrait of a ,woman in the ,louvre1   
two paces from ,titian's ,mistress4     
,compare the two women1 study closely   
the two pictures1 and you will          
understand the difference between the   
two brains4 ,rembrandt's ideal1 sought  
as in a dream with closed eyes1 is      
,light3 the nimbus around objects1 the  
phosphorescence that comes against a    
black background4 ,it is something      
fugitive and uncertain1 formed of       
lineaments scarce perceptible1 ready to 
disappear before the eye has fixed them1
 ephemeral and dazzling4 ,to arrest the 
vision1 to set it on the canvas1 to give
 it its shape and moulding1 to preserve 
the fragility of its texture1 to render 
its brilliance1 and yet achieve in the  
result a solid1 masculine1 substantial  
painting1 real beyond any other master's
 work1 and able to hold its own with a  
,rubens1 a ,titian1 a ,veronese1 a      
,giorgione1 a ,van ,dyck--this is       

,rembrandt's aim4 ,has he succeeded8    
,the testimony of the world answers for 
him4  ,fromentin4   ,,ccxii  ,the       
painting of ,flanders will generally    
satisfy any devout person more than the 
painting of ,italy1 which will never    
cause him to shed many tears2 this is   
not owing to the vigour and goodness of 
that painting1 but to the goodness of   
such devout person2 women will like it1 
especially very old ones or very young  
ones4 ,it will please likewise friars   
and nuns1 and also some noble persons   
who have no ear for true harmony4 ,they 
paint in ,flanders1 only to deceive the 
external eye1 things that gladden you   
and of which you cannot speak ill1 and  
saints and prophets4 ,their painting is 
of stuffs--bricks and mortar1 the grass 
of the fields1 the shadows of trees1 and
 bridges and rivers1 which they call    
landscapes1 and little figures here and 
there2 and all this1 although it may    
appear good to some eyes1 is in truth   
done without reasonableness or art1     

without symmetry or proportion1 without 
care in selecting or rejecting1 and     
finally1 without any substance or verve2
 and in spite of all this1 painting in  
some other parts is worse than it is in 
,flanders4 ,neither do ,i speak so badly
 of ,flemish painting because it is all 
bad1 but because it tries to do so many 
things at once 7each of which alone     
would suffice for a great work71 so that
 it does not do anything really well4   
,only works which are done in ,italy can
 be called true painting1 and therefore 
we call good painting ,italian2 for if  
it were done so well in another country1
 we should give it the name of that     
country or province4 ,as for the good   
painting of this country1 there is      
nothing more noble or devout2 for with  
wise persons nothing causes devotion to 
be remembered1 or to arise1 more than   
the difficulty of the perfection which  
unites itself with and joins ,god2      
because good painting is nothing else   
but a copy of the perfections of ,god   

and a reminder of ,his painting4        
,finally1 good painting is a music and a
 melody which intellect only can        
appreciate1 and with great difficulty4  
,this painting is so rare that few are  
capable of doing or attaining to it4    
,michael ,angelo4   ,,ccxiii  ,all      
,dutch painting is concave3 what ,i mean
 is that it is composed of curves       
described about a point determined by   
the pictorial interest2 circular shadows
 round a dominant light4 ,design1       
colouring1 and lighting fall into a     
concave scheme1 with a strongly defined 
base1 a retreating ceiling1 and corners 
rounded and converging on the centre2   
whence it follows that the painting is  
all depth1 and that it is far from the  
eye to the objects represented4 ,no type
 of painting leads with more certain    
directness from the foreground to the   
background1 from the frame to the       
horizon4 ,one can live in it1 walk in   
it1 see to the uttermost ends of it2 one
 is tempted to raise one's head to      

measure the distance of the sky4        
,everything conspires to this illusion3 
the exactness of the aerial perspective1
 the perfect harmony of colour and tones
 with the plane on which the object is  
placed4 ,the rendering of the heights of
 space1 of the envelope of atmosphere1  
of the distant effect1 which absorbs    
this school makes the painting of all   
other schools seem flat1 something laid 
upon the surface of the canvas4         
,fromentin4   ,,ccxiv  ,in ,van ,eyck   
there is more structure1 more muscle1   
more blood in the veins2 hence the      
impressive virility of his faces and the
 strong style of his pictures4          
,altogether he is a portrait-painter of 
,holbein's kin--exact1 shrewd1 and with 
a gift of penetration that is almost    
cruel4 ,he sees things with more perfect
 rightness than ,memling1 and also in a 
bigger and some summary way4 ,the       
sensations which the aspect of things   
evokes in him are more powerful2 his    
feeling for their colour is more        

intense2 his palette has a fullness1 a  
richness1 a distinctness1 which         
,memling's has not4 ,his colour schemes 
are of more even power1 better held     
together1 composed of values more       
cunningly found4 ,his whites are fatter1
 his purple richer1 and the indigo      
blue--that fine blue as of old ,japanese
 enamel1 which is peculiar to him--has  
more depth of dye1 more solidity of     
texture4 ,the splendour and the         
costliness of the precious things1 of   
which the superb fashions of his time   
were so lavish1 appealed to him more    
strongly4  ,fromentin4   ,,ccxv  ,van   
,eyck saw with his eyes1 ,memling begins
 to see with his soul4 ,the one had a   
good and a right vein of thought2 the   
other does not seem to think so much1   
but he has a heart which beats in a     
quite different way4 ,the one copied and
 imitated1 the other copies too and     
imitates1 but transfigures4 ,the former 
reproduced--without any preoccupation   
with the ideal types of humanity--above 

all1 the masculine types1 which passed  
before his eyes in every rank of the    
society of his time2 the latter         
contemplates nature in a reverie1       
translates her with imagination1 dwells 
upon everything which is most delicate  
and lovely in human forms1 and creates1 
above all1 in his type of woman a being 
exquisite and elect1 unknown before and 
lost with him4  ,fromentin   ,,ccxvi    
,,bruges1 #ahdi  ,this is a most        
stunning place1 immeasurably the best we
 have come to4 ,there is a quantity of  
first-rate architecture1 and very little
 or no ,rubens4  ,but by far the best of
 all are the miraculous works of        
,memling and ,van ,eyck4 ,the former is 
here in a strength that quite stunned   
us--and perhaps proves himself to have  
been a greater man even than the latter4
 ,in fact1 he was certainly so          
intellectually1 and quite equal in      
mechanical power4 ,his greatest         
production is a large triptych in the   
,hospital of ,st4 ,john1 representing in

 its three compartments3 firstly1 the   
,decollation of ,st4 ,john ,baptist2    
secondly1 the ,mystic ,marriage of ,st4 
,catherine to the ,infant ,saviour2 and 
thirdly1 the ,vision of ,st4 ,john      
,evangelist in ,patmos4 ,i shall not    
attempt any description2 ,i assure you  
that the perfection of character and    
even drawing1 the astounding finish1 the
 glory of colour1 and1 above all1 the   
pure religious sentiment and ecstatic   
poetry of these works is not to be      
conceived or described4 ,even in seeing 
them the mind is at first bewildered by 
such godlike completeness2 and only     
after some while has elapsed can at all 
analyse the causes of its awe and       
admiration2 and then finds these        
feelings so much increased by analysis  
that the last impression left is mainly 
one of utter shame at its own           
inferiority4  ,van ,eyck's picture at   
the ,gallery may give you some idea of  
the style adopted by ,memling in these  
great pictures2 but the effect of light 

and colour is much less poetical in ,van
 ,eyck's2 partly owing to his being a   
more sober subject and an interior1 but 
partly also1 ,i believe1 to the         
intrinsic superiority of ,memling's     
intellect4 ,in the background of the    
first compartment there is a landscape  
more perfect in the abstract lofty      
feeling of nature than anything ,i have 
ever seen4 ,the visions of the third    
compartment are wonderfully mystic and  
poetical4  ,rossetti4   ,,ccxvii  ,,van 
,,dyck  ,van ,dyck completed ,rubens by 
adding to his achievement portraits     
absolutely worthy of his master's brush1
 better than ,rubens' own4 ,he created  
in his own country an art which was     
original1 and consequently he has his   
share in the creation of a new art4     
,besides this he did yet more3 he begot 
a whole school in a foreign country1 the
 ,english school--,reynolds1 ,lawrence1 
,gainsborough1 and ,i would add to them 
nearly all the genre painters who are   
faithful to the ,english tradition1 and 

the most powerful landscape painters    
issue directly from ,van ,dyck1 and     
indirectly from ,rubens through ,van    
,dyck4 ,these are high claims4 ,and so  
posterity1 always just in its instincts1
 gives ,van ,dyck a place apart between 
the men of the first and those of the   
second rank4 ,the world has never       
decided the exact precedence which ought
 to be his in the procession of the     
masters1 and since his death1 as during 
his life1 he seems to have held the     
privilege of being placed near the      
throne and of making a stately figure   
there4  ,fromentin4     ,,spanish       
,,painting   ,,ccxviii  ,,velasquez     
,what we are all trying to do with great
 labour1 he does at once4  ,reynolds4   
,,ccxix  ,saw again to-day the ,spanish 
school in the ,museum1--,velasquez1 a   
surprising fellow6 ,the ,hermits in a   
,rocky ,desert pleased me much2 also a  
,dark ,wood at ,nightfall4 ,he is       
,teniers on a large scale3 his handling 
is of the most sparkling kind1 owing    

much of its dazzling effect to the      
flatness of the ground it is placed     
upon4  ,the picture of ,children in     
,grotesque ,dresses1 in his             
painting-room1 is a surprising piece of 
handling4 ,still he would gain1 and     
indeed does gain1 when he glazes his    
pictures4 ,he makes no use of his       
ground2 lights and shadows are opaque4  
,chilliness and blackness are sometimes 
the result2 and often a cold blue or    
green prevails1 requiring all his       
brilliancy of touch and truth of effect 
to make tolerable4 ,velasquez1 however1 
may be said to be the origin of what is 
now doing in ,england4 ,his feeling they
 have caught almost without seeing his  
works2 which here seem to anticipate    
,reynolds1 ,romney1 ,raeburn1 ,jackson1 
and even ,sir ,thomas ,lawrence4        
,perhaps there is this difference3 he   
does at once what we do by repeated and 
repeated touches4  ,it may truly be     
said1 that wheresoever ,velasquez is    
admired1 the paintings of ,england must 

be acknowledged and admired with him4   
,wilkie4   ,,ccxx  ,,velasquez  ,never  
did any one think less of a style or    
attain it more consummately4 ,he was far
 too much occupied with the divining of 
the qualities of light and atmosphere   
that enveloped his subjects1 and with   
stating those truths in the most direct 
and poignant way to have time to spare  
on mere adornments and artifices that   
amuse us in the work of lesser men4     
,every stroke in ,velasquez means       
something1 records an observation4 ,you 
never see a splodge of light that       
entertains you for a moment and relapses
 into chic as you analyse it2 even the  
most elusive bits of painting like the  
sword-hilt in the ,admiral ,pulido are  
utterly just1 and observed as the light 
flickers and is lost over the steel     
shapes4 ,no one ever had the faculty of 
observing the true character of two     
diverse forms at the same time as he    
did4 ,if you look at any quilted sleeve 
you will feel the whole texture of the  

material and recognise its own shape1   
and yet under it and through it each    
nuance of muscle and arm-form reveals   
itself4 ,it is no light praise1 mind    
you1 when one says that every touch is  
the record of a tireless                
observation--you have only to look at a 
great ,sir ,joshua to see that quite    
half of every canvas is merely a recipe1
 a painted yawn in fact1 as the         
intensity of his vision relaxed2 but in 
a ,velasquez your attention is riveted  
by the passionate search of the master  
and his ceaseless absorption in the     
thing before him--and this is all the   
more astounding because the work is     
hardly ever conceived from a point of   
view of bravura2 there is nothing       
over-enthusiastic1 insincerely          
impetuous1 but a quiet suave dignity    
informing the whole1 and penetrating    
into the least detail of the canvas4    
,there is one quality ,velasquez never  
falters in2 from earliest days he is    
master of his medium2 he understands its

 every limitation1 realises exactly how 
far his palette is capable of rendering 
nature2 and so you are never disturbed  
in your appreciation of his pictures by 
a sense that he is battling against     
insuperable difficulties1 severely      
handicapped by an unsympathetic medium2 
but rather that here is the consummate  
workman who1 gladly recognising the     
measure of his freedom within the four  
walls of his limitations1 illustrates   
for you that fine old statement1 ,whose 
service is perfect freedom4  ,c4 ,w4    
,furse4   ,,ccxxi  ,,on ,,gainsborough  
,we must not forget1 whilst we are on   
this subject1 to make some remarks on   
his custom of painting by night1 which  
confirms what ,i have already           
mentioned1--his great affection to his  
art2 since he could not amuse himself in
 the evening by any other means so      
agreeable to himself4 ,i am indeed much 
inclined to believe that it is a        
practice very advantageous and improving
 to an artist3 for by this means he will

 acquire a new and a higher perception  
of what is great and beautiful in       
nature4 ,by candlelight not only objects
 appear more beautiful1 but from their  
being in a greater breadth of light and 
shadow1 as well as having a greater     
breadth and uniformity of colour1 nature
 appears in a higher style2 and even the
 flesh seems to take a higher and richer
 tone of colour4 ,judgment is to direct 
us in the use to be made of this method 
of study2 but the method itself is1 ,i  
am very sure1 advantageous4 ,i have     
often imagined that the two great       
colourists1 ,titian and ,correggio1     
though ,i do not know that they painted 
by night1 formed their high ideas of    
colouring from the effects of objects by
 this artificial light4  ,reynolds4     
,illustration3 ,gainsborough ,,the      
,,children ,,and ,,the ,,butterfly      
,mansell     ,,modern ,,painting        
,,ccxxii  ,,on ,,reynolds  ,damn him6   
how various he is6  ,gainsborough4      
,,ccxxiii  ,i shall take advantage of   

,sir ,john's#c mention of ,reynolds and 
,gainsborough to provoke some useful    
refutation1 by stating that it seems to 
me the latter is by no means the rival  
of the former2 though in this opinion ,i
 should expect to find myself in a      
minority of one4 ,reynolds knew little  
about the human structure1 ,gainsborough
 nothing at all2 ,reynolds was not      
remarkable for good drawing1            
,gainsborough was remarkable for bad2   
nor did the latter ever approach        
,reynolds in dignity1 colour1 or force  
of character1 as in the portraits of    
,john ,hunter and ,general ,heathfield  
for example4 ,it may be conceded that   
more refinement1 and perhaps more       
individuality1 is to be found in        
,gainsborough1 but his manner 7and both 
were mannerists7 was scratchy and thin1 
while that of ,reynolds was manly and   
rich4 ,neither ,reynolds nor            
,gainsborough was capable of anything   
ideal2 but the work of ,reynolds        
indicates thought and reading1 and ,i do

 not know of anything by ,gainsborough  
conveying a like suggestion4  ,watts4   
,footnote #c3 ,sir ,john ,millais4      
,,ccxxiv  ,i was thinking yesterday1 as 
,i got up1 about the special charm of   
the ,english school4 ,the little ,i saw 
of it has left me memories4 ,they have a
 real sensitiveness which triumphs over 
all the studies in concoction which     
appear here and there1 as in our dismal 
school2 with us that sensitiveness is   
the rarest thing3 everything has the    
look of being painted with clumsy tools1
 and what is worse1 by obtuse and vulgar
 minds4 ,take away ,meissonier1         
,decamps1 one or two others1 and some of
 the youthful pictures of ,ingres1 and  
all is tame1 nerveless1 without         
intention1 without fire4 ,one need only 
cast one's eye over that stupid1        
commonplace paper ,l',illustration1     
manufactured by pettifogging artists    
over here1 and compare it with the      
corresponding ,english publication to   
realise how wretchedly flat1 flabby1 and

 insipid is the character of most of our
 productions4 ,this supposed home of    
drawing shows really no trace of it1 and
 our most pretentious pictures show as  
little as any4 ,in these little ,english
 designs nearly every object is treated 
with the amount of interest it demands2 
landscapes1 sea-pieces1 costumes1       
incidents of war1 all these are         
delightful1 done with just the right    
touch1 and1 above all1 well drawn4444 ,i
 do not see among us any one to be      
compared with ,leslie1 ,grant1 and all  
those who derive partly from ,wilkie and
 partly from ,hogarth1 with a little of 
the suppleness and ease introduced by   
the school of forty years back1         
,lawrence and his comrades1 who shone by
 their elegance and lightness4          
,delacroix4   ,,ccxxv  ,,the ,,english  
,,school  ,i shall never care to see    
,london again4 ,i should not find there 
my old memories1 and1 above all1 ,i     
should not find the same men to enjoy   
with me what there is to be seen now4   

,perhaps ,i might find myself obliged to
 break a lance for ,reynolds1 or for    
that adorable ,gainsborough1 whom you   
are indeed right to love4 ,not that ,i  
am the opponent of the present movement 
in the painting of ,england4 ,i am even 
struck by the prodigious                
conscientiousness that these people can 
bring to bear even on work of the       
imagination2 it seems that in coming    
back to excessive detail they are more  
in their own element than when they     
imitated the ,italian painters and the  
,flemish colourists4 ,but what does the 
skin matter8 ,under this seeming        
transformation they are always ,english4
 ,thus instead of making imitations pure
 and simple of the primitive ,italians1 
as the fashion has been among us1 they  
mix with this imitation of the manner of
 the old schools an infinitely personal 
sentiment2 they put into it the interest
 which is generally missing in our cold 
imitations of the formulas and the style
 of schools which have had their day4 ,i

 am writing without pulling myself up1  
and saying everything that comes into my
 head4 ,perhaps the impressions ,i      
received at that former time might be a 
little modified to-day4 ,perhaps ,i     
should find in ,lawrence an exaggeration
 of methods and effects too closely     
reminiscent of the school of ,reynolds2 
but his amazing delicacy of drawing1 and
 the air of life he gives to his women1 
who seem almost to be talking with one1 
give him1 considered as a               
portrait-painter1 a certain superiority 
over ,van ,dyck1 whose admirable figures
 are immobile in their pose4 ,lustrous  
eyes and parted lips are admirably      
rendered by ,lawrence4 ,he welcomed me  
with much kindness2 he was a man of most
 charming manners1 except when you      
criticised his pictures4444 ,our school 
has need of a little new blood4 ,our    
school is old1 and the ,english school  
seems young4 ,they seem to seek after   
nature while we busy ourselves with     
imitating other pictures4 ,don't get me 

stoned by mentioning abroad these       
opinions1 which alas6 are mine4         
,delacroix4   ,,ccxxvi  ,there are only 
two occasions1 ,i conceive1 on which a  
foreign artist could with propriety be  
invited to execute a great national work
 in this country1 namely1 in default of 
our having any artist at all competent  
to such an undertaking1 or for the      
purpose of introducing a superior style 
of art1 to correct a vicious taste      
prevalent in the nation4 ,the           
consideration of the first parts of this
 statement ,i leave to those who have   
witnessed with what ability ,mr4        
,flaxman1 ,mr4 ,westmacott1 and the     
other candidates have designed their    
models1 and with respect to the style   
and good taste of the ,english school4  
,i dare1 and am proud1 to assert its    
superiority over any that has appeared  
in ,europe since the age of the         
,caracci4  ,hoppner4   ,,ccxxvii        
7,watts is7 the only man who understands
 great art4  ,alfred ,stevens4          

,,ccxxviii  ,there is only ,puvis de    
,chavannes who holds his place2 as for  
all the others1 one must gild their     
monuments4  ,meissonier4   ,,ccxxix     
,,prudhon  ,in short1 he has his own    
manner2 he is the ,boucher1 the ,watteau
 of our day4 ,we must let him do as he  
will2 it can do no harm at the present  
time1 and in the state the school is in4
 ,he deceives himself1 but it is not    
given to every one to deceive themselves
 like him2 his talent has a sure        
foundation4 ,what ,i cannot forgive him 
is that he always draws the same heads1 
the same arms1 and the same hands4 ,all 
his faces have the same expression1 and 
this expression is always the same      
grimace4 ,it is not thus we should      
envisage nature1 we who are disciples   
and admirers of the ancients4  ,l4      
,david4   ,,ccxxx  ,,on ,,delacroix     
,delacroix 7except in two pictures1     
which show a kind of savage genius7 is a
 perfect beast1 though almost worshipped
 here4  ,rossetti 7#ahdi74   ,,ccxxxi   

,delacroix is one of the mighty ones of 
the earth1 and ,ingres misses being so  
creditably4  ,rossetti 7#ahef74         
,,ccxxxii  ,,on ,,delacroix  ,must ,i   
say that ,i prefer ,delacroix with his  
exaggerations1 his mistakes1 his obvious
 falls1 because he belongs to no one but
 himself1 because he represents the     
spirit1 the time1 and the idiom of his  
time8 ,sickly1 too highly strung1       
perhaps1 since his art has the melodies 
of our generation1 since in the strained
 note of his lamentations as in his     
resounding triumphs1 there is always a  
gasp of the breath1 a cry1 a fever that 
are alike our own and his4  ,we are no  
longer in the ,olympian ,age1 like      
,raphael1 ,veronese1 and ,rubens2 and   
,delacroix's art is powerful1 as a voice
 from ,dante's ,inferno4  ,rousseau4    
,,ccxxxiii  ,a ,,delacroix ,,exhibition 
,feminine painting is invading us2 and  
if our time1 of which ,delacroix is the 
true representative1 has not dared      
enough1 what will the enervated art of  

the future be like8  ,only paintings are
 exhibited just now4 ,two rooms scarcely
 hold his riches2 and when one thinks   
that there are here but the elements of 
,delacroix's production1 one is         
bewildered4 ,what strikes one above all 
in his sketches is the note of nervous1 
contained intensity1 which during all   
his full career he never lost2 neither  
fashion nor the influence of others     
affected it2 never was there a more     
sincere note4 ,plenty of incorrectness1 
,i grant you1 but with a great feeling  
for drawing4 ,whatever one may say1 if  
drawing is an instrument of expression1 
,delacroix was a draughtsman4 ,a great  
style1 a marvellous invention1 passion  
expressed in form as well as in colour1 
,delacroix is typically the artist1 and 
not a professor of drawing who fills out
 weakness and mediocrity by rhetoric4   
,paul ,huet4   ,,ccxxxiv  ,,corot',s    
,,method ,,of ,,work  ,corot is a true  
artist4 ,one must see a painter in his  
home to have an idea of his merit4 ,i   

saw again there1 and with a quite new   
appreciation of them1 pictures which ,i 
had seen at the museum and only cared   
for moderately4 ,his great ,baptism of  
,christ is full of naive beauties2 his  
trees are superb4 ,i asked him about the
 tree ,i have to do in the ,orpheus4 ,he
 told me to walk straight ahead1 giving 
myself up to whatever might come in my  
way2 usually this is what he does4 ,he  
does not admit that taking infinite     
pains is lost labour4 ,titian1 ,raphael1
 ,rubens1 c41 worked easily4 ,they only 
attempted what they knew2 only their    
range was wider than that of the man    
who1 for instance1 only paints          
landscapes or flowers4 ,notwithstanding 
this facility1 labour too is            
indispensable4 ,corot broods much over  
things4 ,ideas come to him1 and he adds 
as he works4 ,it is the right way4      
,delacroix4   ,,ccxxxv  ,from the age of
 six1 ,i had the passion for drawing the
 forms of things4 ,by the age of fifty1 
,i had published an infinity of designs2

 but all that ,i produced before the age
 of seventy is of no account4 ,only when
 ,i was seventy-three had ,i got some   
sort of insight into the real structure 
of nature--animals1 plants1 trees1      
birds1 fish1 and insects4 ,consequently1
 at the age of eighty ,i shall have     
advanced still further2 at ninety1 ,i   
shall grasp the mystery of things2 at a 
hundred1 ,i shall be a marvel1 and at a 
hundred and ten every blot1 every line  
from my brush shall be alive6  ,hokusai4
   ,,ccxxxvi  ,it takes an artist fifty 
years to learn to do anything1 and fifty
 years to learn what not to do--and     
fifty years to sift and find what he    
simply desires to do--and #cjj years to 
do it1 and when it is done neither      
heaven nor earth much needs it nor heeds
 it4 ,well1 ,i'll peg away2 ,i can do   
nothing else1 and wouldn't if ,i could4 
,burne-,jones4   ,,ccxxxvii  ,if the    
,lord lets me live two years longer1 ,i 
think that ,i can paint something       
beautiful4  ,corot at #gg4     ,,ars    

,,longa   ,,ccxxxviii  ,if ,heaven would
 give me ten years more 444 if ,heaven  
would give me only five years more 444  
,i might become a really great painter4 
,hokusai4   ,,ccxxxix  ,i will have my  
,bed to be a ,bed of ,honour1 and cannot
 die in a better ,posture than with my  
,pencil in my ,hand4  ,lucas of ,leyden4
   ,,ccxl  ,adieu6 ,i go above to see if
 friend ,corot has found me new         
landscapes to paint4  ,daubigny 7on his 
death-bed74   ,,ccxli  ,leaving my brush
 in the city of the ,east1 ,i go to gaze
 on the divine landscapes of the        
,paradise of the ,west4  ,hiroshige 7on 
his death-bed74   ,,ccxlii  ,much will  
hereafter be written about subjects and 
refinements of painting4 ,sure am ,i    
that many notable men will arise1 all of
 whom will write both well and better   
about this art and will teach it better 
than ,i4 ,for ,i myself hold my art at a
 very mean value1 for ,i know what my   
faults are4 ,let every man therefore    
strive to better these my errors        

according to his powers4 ,would to ,god 
it were possible for me to see the work 
and art of the mighty masters to come1  
who are yet unborn1 for ,i know that ,i 
might be improved4 ,ah6 how often in my 
sleep do ,i behold great works of art   
and beautiful things1 the like whereof  
never appear to me awake1 but so soon as
 ,i awake even the remembrance of them  
leaveth me4 ,let none be ashamed to     
learn1 for a good work requireth good   
counsel4 ,nevertheless1 whosoever taketh
 counsel in the arts let him take it    
from one thoroughly versed in those     
matters1 who can prove what he saith    
with his hand4 ,howbeit any one may give
 thee counsel2 and when thou hast done a
 work pleasing to thyself1 it is good   
for thee to show it to dull men of      
little judgment that they may give their
 opinion of it4 ,as a rule1 they pick   
out the most faulty points1 whilst they 
entirely pass over the good4 ,if thou   
findest something they say true1 thou   
mayest thus better thy work4  ,duerer4  

,,ccxliii  ,i should be sorry if ,i had 
any earthly fame1 for whatever natural  
glory a man has is so much detracted    
from his spiritual glory4 ,i wish to do 
nothing for profit2 ,i want nothing2 ,i 
am quite happy4  ,blake4     ,,index    
,,of ,,artists   ,agatharcus1 #df       
,alberti ,leon ,battista1 #ea1 #adc     
,anon 7,chinese71 #ahd ,apelles1 #hg    
,blake1 #g1 #bf1 #ec1 #ig1 #abb1 #agc1  
#bdc ,bracquemond1 #bc1 #fa1 #fc1 #aae1 
#agi ,brown1 ,ford ,madox1 #hb1 #aid1   
#aig ,burne-,jones1 #ai1 #cf1 #aaf1     
#abg1 #aca1 #aee1 #aff1 #aha1 #bcf      
,calvert1 ,edward1 #be1 #da1 #gg1 #hj1  
#acg1 #afg ,cennini1 ,cennino1 #abf1    
#afc ,chasseriau1 #ic1 #adf1 #adg1 #age1
 #ahi ,constable1 #ha1 #ajd1 #ahh1 #aib1
 #aii ,corot1 #bh1 #ff1 #gc1 #gd1 #gf1  
#bcg ,crome1 #aia ,courbet1 #bj1 #ba    
,couture1 #adh  ,daubigny1 #bdj ,david1 
,louis1 #eg1 #bbi ,delacroix1 #ad1 #af1 
#bi1 #fj1 #he1 #hh1 #aad1 #abe1 #adi1   
#afh1 #bjc1 #baj1   #bbd1 #bbe1 #bcd    
,donatello1 #ajh ,duerer1 #e1 #di1 #ga1 

#bdb ,dutilleux1 #adb1 #aij1 #bjb ,dyce1
 #bd  ,eupompus1 #fg  ,fromentin1 #h1   
#ae1 #cj1 #agg1 #bjg1 #baa1 #bac1 #bad1 
#bae1 #bag ,furse1 #acb1 #acc1 #aci1    
#agj1 #agb1 #ahc1 #aig1 #bbj ,fuseli1   
#b1 #aci;,a1 #aii;,a  ,gainsborough1    
#ij1 #bbb ,goujon1 #dh ,goya1 #hi1 #aef1
 #aeg  ,hilliard1 #aei ,hiroshige1 #bda 
,hogarth1 #aah1 #abd1 #ada1 #aeb        
,hokusai1 #ajf1 #acd1 #ada1 #bce1 #bch  
,hoppner1 #bbf ,hsieh ,ho1 #aa1 #aag    
,huet1 #ahe1 #bcc  ,ingres1 #eb1 #fb1   
#aji1 #aaj1 #aaa1 #aab1 #aac1 #aai1     
#abj1 #abh  ,keene1 #fi ,klagmann1 #dd  
,ku ,k'ai-,chih1 #ab1 #afe ,kuo ,hsi1   
#ahf1 #ahg  ,lawrence1 #ei1 #bje        
,leighton1 #ajc ,leonardo1 #c1 #ej1 #ef1
 #fe1 #aba1 #abi1 #aeh1 #afj1 #afa1     
#afb1 #agf1 #aif ,lucas of ,leyden1 #bci
 ,lundgren1 ,e41 #afd  ,meissonier1 #bbh
 ,michael ,angelo1 #d1 #gi1 #ajg1 #abc1 
#bab ,millais1 #ie1 #ii ,millet1 #ce1   
#dg1 #ge1 #bjj1 #bja ,monticelli1 #aja  
,morris1 ,william1 #bg1 #ch1 #ci1 #dc1  
#acj1 #add  ,northcote1 #aea1 #agd1     

#agh1 #bjh  ,okio1 #gj  ,pasiteles1 #ach
 ,poussin1 ,n41 #ac ,preault1 #hc ,puvis
 de ,chavannes1 #gh1 #aje1 #ahj         
,raphael1 #ah ,rembrandt1 #ia1 #ib      
,reynolds1 #fh1 #gb1 #hd1 #bah1 #bba    
,rops1 #ca ,rossetti1 #f1 #i1 #aej1     
#baf1 #bcj1 #bca ,rousseau1 #cg1 #hf1   
#acf1 #bcb ,rubens1 #ee1 #eh1 #ih       
,shiba ,kokan1 #ace ,stevens1 ,a4 7the  
,belgian painter71 #a1 #bjd ,stevens1   
,a4 7the ,english sculptor71 #bbg ,sung 
,ti1 #aie  ,titian1 #de1 #adj ,turner1  
#aic  ,velasquez1 #bji  ,wang ,wei1 #aih
 ,watts1 #aj1 #ag1 #cd1 #dj1 #if1 #ajj1 
#ajb1 #afi1 #aga1 #ahb1 #bjf1 #bbc      
,whistler1 #cb1 #db1 #fd ,wiertz1 #bb1  
#cc1 #ed ,wilkie1 #id1 #ade1 #aec1 #aed1
 #bai  ,zeuxis1 #df    ,printed by      
,ballantyne1 ,hanson  ,co4  ,edinburgh  
,london