,light and ,shade--,geo4 ,inness ,pictorial ,composition and the ,critical ,judgment of ,pictures ,a ,handbook for ,students and ,lovers of ,art ,by ,h4 ,r4 ,poore ,new ,york and ,london ,g4 ,p4 ,putnam's ,sons #aijc ,it is with sincere pleasure that ,i dedicate this book to my first teacher1 ,peter ,moran1 as an acknowledgment to the interest he inspired in this important subject ,,preface ,this book has been prepared because1 although the student has been abundantly supplied with aids to decorative art1 there is little within his reach concerning pictorial composition4 ,i have added thereto hints on the critical judgment of pictures with the hope of simplifying to the many the means of knowing pictures1 prompted by the recollection of the topsyturviness of this question as it confronted my own mind a score of years ago4 ,i was then apt to strain at a ,corot hoping to discover in the employment of some unusual color or method the secret of its worth1 and to think of the old masters as a different order of beings from the rest of mankind4 ,let me trust that1 to a degree at least1 these pages may prove iconoclastic1 shattering the images created of superstitious reverence and allowing1 in their stead1 the result in art from whatever source to be substituted as something quite as worthy of this same homage4 ,the author acknowledges the courtesies of the publishers of ,scribners1 ,the ,century and ,munsey's magazines1 ,d4 ,appleton1 ,manzi1 ,joyant ,co41 and of the artists giving consent to the use of their pictures for this book4 ,acknowledgment is also made to ,f4 ,a4 ,beardsley1 ,h4 ,k4 ,freeman and ,l4 ,lord1 for sketches contributed thereto4 ,henry ,rankin ,poore ,orange1 ,n4 ,j41 ,feb4 #a1 #aijc4 ,,preface ,,to ,,second ,,edition ,the revision which the text of this book has undergone has clarified certain parts of it and simplified the original argument by a complete sequence of page references and an index4 ,the appendix reduces the contents to a working formula with the purpose of rendering practical the suggestions of the text4 ,in its present form it seeks to meet the requirements of the student who desires to proceed from the principles of formal and decorative composition into the range of pictorial construction4 ,h4 ,r4 ,p4 ,,preface ,,to ,,tenth ,,edition ,after twelve years ,pictorial ,composition continues with a steady demand4 ,through the ,english house it has become 8a standard0 in the ,british ,isles and finds a market in ,india and ,australia4 ,at the request of a few artists of ,holland it has been translated and will shortly be issued in ,dutch4 ,,contents ,preface ,,part ,i ,,chapter ,i - ,,introductory ,,chapter ,,ii - ,,the ,,scientific ,,sense ,,in ,,pictures ,,chapter ,,iii - ,,balance ,,balance ,,of ,,the ,,steelyard4 ,,postulates ,,vertical ,,and ,,horizontal ,,balance4 ,,the ,,natural ,,axis ,,apparent ,,or ,,formal ,,balance4 ,,balance ,,by ,,opposition ,,of ,,line4 ,,balance ,,by ,,opposition ,,of ,,spots4 ,,transition ,,of ,,line4 ,,balance ,,by ,,gradation ,,balance ,,of ,,principality ,,or ,,isolation ,,balance ,,of ,,cubical ,,space4 ,,chapter ,,iv - ,,evolving ,,the ,,picture ,,chapter ,v - ,,entrance ,,and ,,exit ,,getting ,,into ,,the ,,picture ,,getting ,,out ,,of ,,the ,,picture ,,chapter ,,vi - ,,the ,,circular ,,observation ,,of ,,pictures ,,circular ,,composition ,,reconstruction ,,for ,,circular ,,observation4 ,,chapter ,,vii - ,,angular ,,composition1 ,,the ,,line ,,of ,,beauty ,,and ,,the ,,rectangle ,,the ,,vertical ,,line ,,in ,,angular ,,composition ,,angular ,,composition ,,based ,,on ,,the ,,horizontal ,,the ,,line ,,of ,,beauty4 ,,the ,,rectangle ,,chapter ,,viii - ,,the ,,composition ,,of ,,one1 ,,two1 ,,three ,,and ,,more ,,units ,,the ,,figure ,,in ,,landscape ,,chapter ,,ix - ,,groups ,,chapter ,x - ,,light ,,and ,,shade ,,principality ,,by ,,emphasis1 ,,sacrifice1 ,,and ,,contrast4 ,,gradation ,,chapter ,,xi - ,,the ,,place ,,of ,,photography ,,in ,,fine ,,art ,,part ,,ii - ,,the ,,sthetics ,,of ,,composition ,,chapter ,,xii - ,,breadth ,,versus ,,detail ,,suggestiveness4 ,,mystery4 ,,simplicity4 ,,reserve4 ,,relief4 ,,finish4 ,,part ,,iii - ,,the ,,critical ,,judgement ,,of ,,pictures ,,chapter ,,xiv - ,,specific ,,qualities ,,and ,,faults ,,chapter ,,xv - ,,the ,,picture ,,sense ,,chapter ,,xvi - ,,color1 ,,harmony1 ,,tone ,,values4 ,,chapter ,,xvii - ,,envelopment ,,and ,,color ,,perspective ,,chapter ,,xviii - ,,the ,,bias ,,of ,,judgment ,,chapter ,,xix - ,,the ,,living ,,principle ,,appendix ,,illustrations ,light and ,shade--,geo4 ,inness ,fundamental ,forms of ,construction ,why ,art ,without ,composition is ,crippled3 ,the ,madonna of the ,veil--,raphael2 ,the ,last ,judgement--,michael ,angelo2 ,birth of the ,virgin ,mary--,durer2 ,the ,annunciation--,botticelli2 ,in ,central ,park2 ,the ,inn--,teniers ,three ,ideas in ,pictorial ,balance ,pines in ,winter 7,unbalance72 ,the ,connoisseurs--,fortuny 7,balance of the ,steelyards7 ,portrait of ,sara ,bernhardt--,clairin 7,balance ,across the ,natrual ,axis7 ,lady with ,muff--,photo ,a4 ,hewitt 7,steelyard in ,perspective7 ,lion in the ,desert--,gerome 7,balance of ,isolated ,measures72 ,salute to the ,wounded--,detaille 7,balance of ,equal ,measures7 ,indian and ,horse--,photo ,a4,c4 ,bode 7,oppposition of ,light and ,dark ,measures72 ,the ,cabaret--,l4 ,l'hermitte 7,opposition ,plus ,transition7 ,along the ,shore--,photo by ,george ,butler 7,transitional line72 ,pathless--,photo by ,a4 ,horsely ,hinton 7,transitional ,line7 ,hillside 7,graded ,light ,upon ,surfaces2 ,cloud ,shadows72 ,river ,fog 7,light ,graded by ,atmospheric ,density72 ,the ,chant 7,gradation through ,values of ,separated ,objects7 ,the ,view-,metre ,three ,pictures ,found with the ,view-,metre ,view ,taken with a ,wide ,angle ,lens ,photography ,nearing the ,pictorial ,the ,path of the ,surf--,photo 7,triangles ,occuring in the leading line72 ,the ,shepherdess--,millet 7,composition ,exhibiting a ,double ,exit7 ,circular ,observation--,the ,principle2 ,the ,slaying of the ,unpropitious ,messengers 7,triangular ,composition--,circular ,observation7 ,huntsman and ,hounds 7,triangle with ,circular ,attraction72 ,portrait of ,van der ,geest--,van ,dyck 7,a sphere within a ,circle7 ,marriage of ,bacchus and ,ariadne--,tintoretto 7,circle and ,radius72 ,endymion--,watts 7,the ,circle--,vertical ,plane7 ,the ,fight ,over the ,body of ,patroclus--,weirls2 #ahjg--,meissonier2 ,ville d',avray--,corot2 ,the ,circle in ,perspective ,the ,hermit--,gerard ,dow 7,rectangle in ,circle72 ,the ,forge of ,vulcan--,boucher 7,circular ,observation by ,suppression of ,sides and ,corners7 ,orpheus and ,eurydice--,corot 7,figures outside the natural line of the picture's composition72 ,the ,holy ,family--,andrea del ,sarto 7,the circle overbalanced7 ,the ,herder--,jaque ,alone--,jacques ,israels 7,constructive ,synthesis upon the ,vertical72 ,the ,dance--,carpeaux 7,the ,cross ,within the ,circle7 ,sketches from ,landscapes by ,henry ,ranger2 ,parity of ,horizonatals and ,verticals2 ,crossings of ,horizontals by ,spot ,diversion ,sketch from the ,book of ,truth--,claude ,lorrain 7,rectangle ,unbalanced72 ,the ,beautiful ,gate--,raphael 7,verticals ,destroying ,pictorial ,unity7 ,mother and ,child--,orchardson 7,horizontals opposed or ,covered72 ,stream in ,winter--,w4 ,e4 ,schofield 7,verticals and ,horizontals vs4 ,diagonal7 ,hogarth's ,line of ,beauty ,aesthetics of ,line2 ,the ,altar2 ,roman ,invasion--,f4 ,lamayer 7,vertical line in action2 dignified1 measured1 ponderous72 ,the ,flock--,p4 ,moran 7,the horizontal1 typifying quietude1 repose1 calm1 solemnity72 ,the curved line3 variety1 movement2 ,man with ,stone--,v4 ,spitzer 7,transitional ,line1 ,cohesion72 ,the ,dance--,rubens 7,the ellipse3 line of continuity and unity72 ,swallows--,from the ,strand 7,the diagonal3 line of action2 speed7 ,aesthetics of ,line1 ,continued1 ,where ,line is the motive and ,decoration is the ,impulse2 ,winter ,landscape--,after ,photograph 7,line of grace1 variety1 facile sequence72 ,line ,versus ,space 7,the same impulse with angular energy1 ,the line more attractive than the plane72 ,reconciliation--,glackens 7,composition governed by the decorative exterior line72 ,december--,after ,photograph 7,radial lines with strong focalization7 ,unity and its ,lack2 ,the ,lovers--,gussow2 ,the ,poulterers--,wallander ,return of ,royal ,hunting ,party--,isabey2 ,the ,night ,watch--,rembrandt ,departure for the ,chase--,cuyp 7,background ,compromising ,original ,structure72 ,repose of the ,reapers--,l4 ,l'hermite 7,the ,curvilinear ,line7 ,the ,decorative and ,pictorial ,group2 ,allegory of ,spring--,botticelli 7,separated concepts expressing separate ideas72 ,dutch ,fisher ,folk--,f4 ,v4 ,s4 7,separated concepts of one idea72 ,the ,cossack's ,reply--,repin 7,unity through a cumulative idea7 ,fundamental ,forms of ,chiaroscuro2 ,whistler's ,portrait of his ,mother2 ,moorland--,e4 ,yon2 ,charcoal ,study--,millet2 ,the ,arbor--,ferrier ,fundamental ,forms of ,chiaroscuro1 ,continued2 ,landscape--,geo4 ,inness2 ,the ,kitchen--,whistler2 ,st4 ,angela--,robt4 ,reid2 ,an ,annam ,tiger--,surrand2 ,the ,shrine--,orchardson2 ,monastic ,life--,f4 ,v4 ,du,mond ,a ,reversible ,effect of ,light and ,shade 7,the ,same ,subject ,vertically and ,horizontally ,presented7 ,spots and ,masses2 ,note-book sketches from ,rubens1 ,velasquez1 ,claude ,lorrain and ,murillo ,death of ,caesar--,gerome2 ,the ,travel of the ,soul--,after ,howard ,pyle ,bishop ,potter ,decorative ,evolving the ,pictorial2 ,the ,north ,river--,prendergast2 ,an ,intrusion--,bull2 ,landscape ,arrangement--,guerin ,stable ,interior--,a4 ,mauve 7,a simple picture containing all the principles of composition72 ,her ,last ,moorings--,from a ,photograph ,alice--,w4,m4 ,chase 7,verticals ,diverted72 ,lady ,archibald ,campbell--,whistler 7,verticals ,obliterated72 ,the ,crucifixion--,amie ,morot 7,verticals ,opposed7 ,,part ,i 8,the painter is a compound of a poet and a man of science40 --,hamerton 8,it is working within limits that the artist reveals himself40 --,goethe4 ,,chapter ,i - ,,introductory ,this volume is addressed to three classes of readers2 to the layman1 to the amateur photographer1 and to the professional artist4 ,to the latter it speaks more in the temper of the studio discussion than in the spirit didactic4 ,but1 emboldened by the friendliness the profession always exhibits toward any serious word in art1 the writer is moved to believe that the matters herein discussed may be found worthy of the artist's attention--perhaps of his question4 ,for that reason the tone here and there is argumentative4 ,the question of balance has never been reduced to a theory or stated as a set of principles which could be sustained by anything more than example1 which1 as a working basis must require reconstruction with every change of subject4 ,other forms of construction have been sifted down in a search for the governing principle1--a substitution for the 8rule and example40 ,to the student and the amateur1 therefore1 it must be said this is not a 8how-to-do0 book4 ,the number of these is legion1 especially in painting1 known to all students1 wherein the matter is didactic and usually set forth with little or no argument4 ,such volumes are published because of the great demand and are demanded because the student1 in his haste1 will not stop for principles1 and think it out4 ,he will have a rule for each case2 and when his direct question has been answered with a principle1 he still inquires1 8,well1 what shall ,i do here80 ,why preach the golden rule of harmony as an abstraction1 when inharmony is the concrete sin to be destroyed4 ,we reach the former by elimination4 ,whatever commandments this book contains1 therefore1 are the shalt nots4 ,as the problems to the maker of pictures by photography are the same as those of the painter and the especial ambition of the former's art is to be painter-like1 separations have been thought unnecessary in the address of the text4 ,it is the best wish of the author that photography1 following painting in her essential principles as she does1 may prove herself a well met companion along art's highway1--seekers together1 at arm's length1 and in defined limits1 of the same goal4 ,the mention of artists' names has been limited1 and a liberal allusion to many works avoided because to multiply them is both confusing and unnecessary4 ,to the art lover this book may be found of interest as containing the reasons in picture composition1 and through them an aid to critical judgment4 ,we adapt our education from quaint and curious sources4 ,it is the apt correlation of the arts which accounts for the acknowledgment by an ,english story writer that she got her style from ,ruskin's 8,principles of ,drawing02 and of a landscape painter that to sculpture he owed his discernment of the forest secrets1 by daily observing the long lines of statues in the corridor of the ,royal ,academy2 or by the composer of pictures to the composer of music2 or by the preacher that suggestions to discourse had come to him through the pictorial processes of the painter4 ,,chapter ,,ii - ,,the ,,scientific ,,sense ,,in ,,pictures ,the poet-philosopher ,emerson declared that he studied geology that he might better write poetry4 ,for a moment the two elements of the proposition stand aghast and defiant2 but only for a moment4 ,the poet1 who from the top looks down upon the whole horizon of things can never use the tone of authority if his gaze be a surface one4 ,he must know things in their depth in order that the glance may be sufficient4 ,the poet leaves his geology and botany1 his grammar and rhetoric on the shelf when he makes his word picture4 ,after he has expressed his thought however he may have occasion to call on the books of science1 the grammar and rhetoric and these may very seriously interfere with the spontaneous product4 ,so do the sentries posted on the boundary of the painter's art protect it from the liberties taken in the name of originality4 8,the progressive element in our art10 says the author of 8,the ,law of ,progress in ,art10 8is the scientific element4 4 4 4 ,artists will not be any more famous for being scientific1 but they are compelled to become scientific because they have embraced a profession which includes science4 ,what ,i desire to enforce is the great truth that within the art of painting there exists1 flourishes and advances a noble and glorious science which is essential and progressive40 8,any one who can learn to write can learn to draw20 and every one who can learn to draw should learn to compose pictures4 ,that all do not is in evidence in the work of the many accomplished draughtsmen who have delineated their ideas on canvas and paper from the time of the earliest masters to the present day1 wherein the ability to produce the details of form is manifest in all parts of the work1 but in the combination of those parts the first intention of their presence has lost force4 ,composition is the science of combination1 and the art of the world has progressed as do the processes of the kindergarten4 ,artists first received form2 then color2 the materials1 then the synthesis of the two4 ,notable examples of the world's great compositions may be pointed to in the work of the ,renaissance painters1 and such examples will be cited2 but the major portion of the art by which these exceptions were surrounded offers the same proportion of good to bad as the inverse ratio would to-day4 ,without turning to serious argument at this point1 a superficial one1 which will appeal to most art tourists1 whether professional or lay1 is found in the relief experienced in passing from the galleries of the old to those of the new art in ,europe1 in that one finds repose and experiences a relief of mental tension1 discovering with the latter the balance of line1 of mass and of color1 and that general simplicity so necessary to harmony1 which suggests that the weakness of the older art lay in the last of the three essentials of painting2 form1 color and composition4 ,the low-toned harmonies of time-mellowed color we would be loath to exchange for aught else1 except for that element of disturbance so vague and so difficult of definition1 namely1 lack of composition4 ,fundamental ,forms of ,construction ,in the single case of portrait composition of two figures 7more difficult than of one1 three or more7 it is worthy of note how far beyond the older are the later masters2 or in the case of the grouping of landscape elements1 or in the arrangement of figures or animals in landscape1 how a finer sense in such arrangement has come to art4 ,masterful composition of many figures however has never been surpassed in certain examples of ,michael ,angelo1 ,rubens1 ,corregio and the great ,venetians1 yet while we laud the successes of these men we should not forget their lapses nor the errors in composition of their contemporaries4 ,those readers who have been brought up in the creed and catechism of the old masters1 and swallowed them whole1 with no questions1 ,i beg will lay aside traditional prejudice1 and regarding every work with reference to neither name nor date1 challenge it only with the countersign 8good composition40 ,this will require an unsentimental view1 which need not and should not be an unsympathetic one1 but which would bare the subject of that which overzealous devotion has bestowed upon it1 a compound accumulation of centuries4 ,the most serious work yet written on composition1 ,burnet's 8,light and ,shade10 was penned at a time when the influence of old masters held undisputed sway4 ,the thought of that day in syllogism would run as follows3 ,the work of the ,old ,masters in its composition is beyond reproach4 ,botticelli1 ,raphael1 ,paul ,potter1 ,wouvermans1 ,cuyp1 ,domenichino1 ,drer1 ,teniers et al41 are ,old ,masters4 ,therefore1 we accept their works as models of good composition1 to be followed for all ages4 ,and under such a creed a work valuable from many points of view has been crippled by its free use of models1 which in some cases compromise the arguments of the author1 and in others1 if used by artists of the present day1 would only serve to administer a rebuke to their simple trust1 in that practical manner known to juries1 hanging committees and publishers4 ,why ,art ,without ,composition is ,crippled3 ,the ,madonna of the ,veil--,raphael2 ,the ,last ,judgement--,michael ,angelo2 ,birth of the ,virgin ,mary--,durer2 ,the ,annunciation--,botticelli2 ,in ,central ,park2 ,the ,inn--,teniers ,the slight advance made in the field of painting during the past three centuries has come through this channel1 and strange would it seem if the striving of this long period should show no improvement in any direction4 ,composition is the mortar of the wall1 as drawing and color are its rocks of defence4 ,without it the stones are of little value1 and are but separate integrals having no unity4 ,if the reader agrees with this1 then he agrees to throw out of the category of the picture all pictorial representations which show no composition4 ,this classification eliminates most of the illustrations of scientific work2 such illustrations as aim only at facts of incident1 space or topography1 photographic reproductions of groups wherein each individual is shown to be quite as important as every other1 and which1 therefore1 become a collection of separate pictures1 and such illustrations as are frequently met with in the daily papers1 where opportunities for picture-making have been diverted to show where the victim fell1 and where the murderer escaped1 or where the man drowned--usually designated by a star4 ,these are not pictures1 but perspective maps to locate events4 ,besides these1 in the field of painting1 are to be found now and then products of an artist's skill which1 though interesting in technique and color1 give little pleasure to a well-balanced mind1 destitute as they are of the simple principles which govern the universe of matter4 ,take from nature the principles of balance1 and you deprive it of harmony2 take from it harmony and you have chaos4 ,a picture may have as its component parts a man1 a horse1 a tree1 a fence1 a road and a mountain2 but these thrown together upon canvas do not make a picture2 and not1 indeed1 until they have been arranged or composed4 ,the argument1 therefore1 is that without composition1 there can be no picture2 that the composition of pictorial units into a whole is the picture4 ,simple as its principles are1 it is amazing1 one might almost say amusing1 to note how easily they eluded many artists of the earlier periods1 whose work technically is valuable1 and how the new school of ,impressionism or ,naturalism has assumed their non-importance4 ,that all ,impressionists do not agree with the following is evidenced by the good that comes to us with their mark1--8,opposed to the miserable law of composition1 symmetry1 balance1 arrangement of parts1 filling of space1 as though ,nature herself does not do that ten thousand times better in her own pretty way40 ,the assertion that composition is a part of ,nature's law1 that it is done by her and well done we are glad to hear in the same breath of invective that seeks to annihilate it4 ,when1 under this curse we take from our picture one by one the elements on which it is builded1 the result we would be able to present without offence to the author of 8,naturalistic ,painting10 ,mr4 ,francis ,bate4 8,the artist10 says ,mr4 ,whistler1 8is born to pick1 and choose1 and group with science these elements1 that the result may be beautiful--as the musician gathers his notes and forms his chords until he brings forth from chaos glorious harmony4 ,to say to the painter that ,nature is to be taken1 as she is1 is to say to the player that he may sit on the piano4 ,that ,nature is always right is an assertion artistically1 as untrue as it is one whose truth is universally taken for granted4 ,nature is very rarely right to such an extent1 even1 that it might almost be said that ,nature is usually wrong2 that is to say1 the condition of things that shall bring about the perfection of harmony worthy a picture is rare1 and not common at all40 ,between the life class1 with its model standing in academic pose and the pictured scene in which the model becomes a factor in the expression of an idea1 there is a great gulf fixed4 ,the precept of the ateliers is paint the figure2 if you can do that1 you can paint anything4 ,influenced by this half truth many a student1 with years of patient life school training behind him1 has sought to enter the picture-making stage with a single step4 ,he then discovers that what he had learned to do cleverly by means of routine practice1 was in reality the easiest thing to do in the manufacture of a picture1 and that sterner difficulties awaited him in his settlement of the figure into its surroundings--background and foreground47#a7 ,many portrait painters assert that it is the setting of the subject which gives them the most trouble4 ,the portraitist deals with but a single figure1 yet this1 in combination with its scanty support1 provokes this well-known comment4 ,the lay community cannot understand this4 ,it seems illogical4 ,it can only be comprehended by him who paints4 ,the figure is tangible and represents the known4 ,the background is a space opened into the unknown1 a place for the expressions of fancy4 ,it is the tone quality accompanying the song1 the subject's reliance for balance and contrast4 ,an inquiry into the statement that the accessories of the subject demand a higher degree of artistic skill than the painting of the subject itself1 and that on these accessories depend the carrying power of the subject1 leads directly to the principles of composition4 8,it must of necessity be10 says ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds1 8that even works of genius1 like every other effect1 as they must have their cause1 must also have their rules2 it cannot be by chance that excellencies are produced with any constancy or any certainty1 for this is not the nature of chance2 but the rules by which men of extraordinary parts1 and such as are called men of genius1 work1 are either such as they discover by their own peculiar observations1 or of such a nice texture as not easily to admit being expressed in words1 especially as artists are not very frequently skillful in that mode of communicating ideas4 ,unsubstantial1 however1 as these rules may seem1 and difficult as it may be to convey them in writing1 they are still seen and felt in the mind of the artist2 and he works from them with as much certainty as if they were embodied upon paper4 ,it is true these refined principles cannot always be made palpable1 as the more gross rules of art2 yet it does not follow but that the mind may be put in such a train that it still perceives by a kind of scientific sense that propriety which words1 particularly words of impractical writers1 such as we are1 can but very feebly suggest40 ,science has to do wholly with truth1 ,art with both truth and beauty2 but in arranging a precedence she puts beauty first4 ,our regard for the science of composition is acknowledged when1 after having enjoyed the painter's work from the art side alone1 the science of its structure begins to appear4 ,instead of the concealment of art by art it is the suppression of the science end of art that takes our cunning4 8,the picture which looks most like nature to the uninitiated10 says a clever writer1 8will probably show the most attention to the rules of the artist40 ,ten years ago the writer took part in an after-dinner discussion at the ,american ,art ,association of ,paris over the expression 8the rules of composition40 ,a number of artists joined in the debate1 all giving their opinion without premeditation4 ,some maintained that the principles of composition were nothing more than aesthetic taste and judgment1 applied by a painter of experience4 ,others1 with less beggary of the question1 affirmed that the principles were negative rather than positive4 ,they warned the artist rather than instructed him2 and1 if rules were to follow principles1 they were rules concerning what should not be done4 ,the epitome of the debate was that composition was like salt1 in the definition of the small boy1 who declared that salt is what makes things taste bad when you don't put any on4 ,three ,ideas in ,pictorial ,balance ,the ,classic ,scales--equal weights on even arms1 the controlling idea of decorative composition4 ,a later notion of balance--the ,steelyard1 a small weight on the long arm of the fulcrum1 admitting great range in the placement of balancing measures4 ,the ,scales or ,steelyard in perspective1 developing the notion of balance through the depth of a picture discoverable over a fulcrum or neutral space4 ,,chapter ,,iii - ,,balance ,of all pictorial principles none compares in importance with ,unity or ,balance4 8,why all this intense striving1 this struggle to a finish10 said ,george ,inness1 as1 at the end of a long day1 he flung himself exhausted upon his lounge1 8but an effort to obtain unity1 unity40 ,the observer of an artist at work will notice that he usually stands at his easel and views his picture at varied distances1 that he looks at it over his shoulder1 that he reverses it in a mirror1 that he turns it upside down at times1 that he develops it with dots or spots of color here and there1 points of accent carefully placed and oft-times changed4 ,what is the meaning of this thoughtful weighing of parts in the slowly-growing mosaic1 but that he labors under the restraint of a law which he feels compelled to obey and the breaking of which would cause anguish to his esthetic sense4 ,the law under which his striving proceeds is the fundamental one of balance1 and the critical artist obeys it whether he be the maker of vignettes for a newspaper1 or the painter who declares for color only1 or the man who tries hard to produce naivete by discarding composition4 ,the test to which the sensitive eye subjects every picture from whatsoever creed or camp it comes is balance or equipoise1 judgment being rendered without thought of the law4 ,after the picture has been left as finished1 why does an artist often feel impelled to create an accent on this side or weaken an obtrusive one on the other side of his canvas if not working under a law of balance8 ,let any picture be taken which has lived long enough before the public to be considered good by every one2 or take a dozen or more such and add others by artists who declare against composition and yet have produced good pictures2 subject all these to the following simple test3 ,find the actual centre of the picture and pass a vertical and horizontal line through it4 ,the vertical division is the more important1 as the natural balance is on the lateral sides of a central support4 ,it will be found that the actual centre of the canvas is also the actual pivot or centre of the picture1 and around such a point the various components group themselves1 pulling and hauling and warring in their claim for attention1 the satisfactory picture showing as much design of balance on one side of the centre as the other1 and the picture complete in balance displaying this equipoise above and below the horizontal line4 ,now1 in order that what seems at first glance an exclusive statement may be understood1 the reader should realize that every item of a picture has a certain positive power1 as though each object were a magnet of given potency4 ,each has attraction for the eye1 therefore each1 while obtaining attention for itself1 establishes proportional detraction for every other part4 ,on the principle of the steelyard1 the farther from the centre and more isolated an object is1 the greater its weight or attraction4 ,therefore1 in the balance of a picture it will be found that a very important object placed but a short distance from the centre may be balanced by a very small object on the other side of the centre and further removed from it4 ,the whole of the pictorial interest may be on one side of a picture and the other side be practically useless as far as picturesqueness or story-telling opportunity is concerned1 but which finds its reason for existing in the balance1 and that alone4 ,in the emptiness of the opposing half such a picture1 when completely in balance1 will have some bit of detail or accent which the eye in its circular1 symmetrical inspection will catch1 unconsciously1 and weave into its calculation of balance2 or if not an object or accent or line of attraction1 then some technical quality1 or spiritual quality1 such1 for example1 as a strong feeling of gloom1 or depth for penetration1 light or dark1 a place in fact1 for the eye to dwell upon as an important part in connection with the subject proper1 and recognized as such4 ,but1 the querist demands1 if all the subject is on one side of the centre and the other side depends for its existence on a balancing space or accent only1 why not cut it off8 ,do so4 ,then you will have the entire subject in one-half the space to be sure1 but its harmony or balance will depend on the equipoise when pivoted in the new centre4 ,,balance ,,of ,,the ,,steelyard4 ,let the reader make the test upon the 8,connoisseurs0 and cut away everything on the right beyond a line through the farther support of the mantel4 ,this will place the statue in the exact centre4 ,in this shape the picture composes well4 ,in re-adding this space however the centre is shifted leaving the statue and two figures hanging to one side but close to the pivot and demanding more balance in this added side4 ,now the space alone1 with very little in it1 has weight enough1 and just here the over-scientific enthusiast might err2 but the artist in this case from two other considerations has here placed a figure4 ,it opposes its vertical to the horizontal of the table1 and catches and turns the line of the shadow on the wall into the line of the rug4 ,an extended search in pictorial art gives warrant for a rule1 upon this principle1 namely3 where the subject is on one side of the centre it must exist close to the centre1 or1 in that degree in which it departs from the centre1 show positive anchorage to the other side4 ,pines in ,winter 7,unbalance72 ,the ,connoisseurs--,fortuny 7,balance of the ,steelyards7 ,it is not maintained that every good picture can show this complete balance2 but the claim is made that the striving on the part of its designer has been in the direction of this balance1 and that1 had it been secured1 the picture would have been that much better4 ,let this simple test be applied by elimination of overweighted parts or addition of items where needed1 on this principle1 and it will be found that the composition will always improve4 ,as a necessary caution it should be observed that the small balancing weight of the steelyard should not become a point causing divided interest4 ,it is easy to recognize a good composition2 to tell why it is good may be difficult2 to tell how it could be made better is what the art worker desires to know4 ,let the student when in doubt weight out his picture in the balances mindful that the principle of the steelyards covers the items in the depth as well as across the breadth of the picture4 ,,postulates ,every picture is a collection of units or items4 ,every unit has a given value4 ,the value of a unit depends on its attraction2 its attraction varies as to its placement4 ,an isolated unit near the edge has frequently more attraction than at the centre4 ,every part of the picture space has some attraction4 ,space having no detail may possess attraction by gradation and by association4 ,a unit of attraction in an otherwise empty space has more weight through isolation than the same when placed with other units4 ,a black unit on white or a white on black has more attraction than the same on gray4 ,the value of a black or white unit is proportioned to the size of space contrasting with it4 ,a unit in the foreground may have less weight than a like one in the distance4 ,two or more associated units may be reckoned as one and their united centre is the point on which they balance with others4 ,there is balance of ,line17#b7 of ,mass17#c7 of ,light and ,dark17#d7 of ,measure17#e7 which is secured upon a scale of attraction which each possesses4 ,many pictures exhibit these in combination4 ,the 8,lion of the ,desert10 by ,gerome shows three isolated spots and one line of attraction4 ,the trend of vision on leaving the lion is to the extreme right and thence back along the pathway of the dark distance into the picture to the group of trees4 ,across this is an oppositional balance from the bushes of the foreground to the mountains of the extreme distance4 ,the only line in the composition1 better seen in the painting than in the reproduction1 counts much in the balance over the centre4 ,the placement of the important item or subject1 has little to do with the balance scheme of a picture4 ,this is the starting point1 and balance is a consideration beyond this4 ,in every composition the eye should cross the central division at least once4 ,this initiates equipoise1 for in the survey of a picture the eye naturally shifts from the centre of interest1 which may be on one side1 to the other side of the canvas4 ,if there be something there to receive it1 the balance it seeks is gratified4 ,if it finds nothing1 the artist must create something1 with the conclusion that some element of the picture was lacking4 ,in the snow-scene the eye is attracted from the pine-trees to the houses on the left and rests there1 no attraction having been created to move it to the other half of the picture4 ,what is known as divided interest in a picture is nothing more than the doubt established by a false arrangement of balance1 too great an attraction being used where less weight was needed4 ,the artist must be the judge of the degree of satisfaction he allows this feeling1 but no one can ignore it and obtain unity4 ,the question of degree must have a caution placed before it2 for in an attempt to create a balance on the opposite side of the vertical the tendency is to use too heavy a weight4 ,the whole of the subject is sometimes made to take its place well on one side and another item would seem redundant4 ,two points will be noticed in all of such cases3 that the opposing half may either be cut off without damage1 or greatly elongated1 and in both forms the picture seems to survive47#f7 ,the fact becomes an argument for the theory of balance across a medial upright line2 in the first instance by shifting the line itself into the centre of the subject1 and in the second by securing more weight of space with which to balance the subject4 ,portrait of ,sara ,bernhardt--,clairin 7,balance ,across the ,natrual ,axis7 ,the portrait of ,sarah ,bernhardt1 an excellent composition from many points of view1 finds its most apparent balance on either side of the sinuous line of light through the centre exhibiting the axis1 which many pictures show in varying degrees4 ,the opposing corners are well balanced1 the plant over against the dog1 with a trifle too much importance left to the dog4 ,place the finger in observation over the head and forelegs of the dog1 taking this much off and the whole composition gains1 not only because the diagonal corners then balance1 but because the heads of both woman and dog are too important for the same side of the picture4 ,it would be perfectly possible in the more complete composition to have both heads as they are1 but this would demand more weight on the other side2 or a shifting of the whole picture very slightly toward the left side4 ,in the painting this is not felt1 as the head of the dog is so treated that it attracts but little1 though the object be in the close foreground4 ,this picture also balances on the horizontal and vertical lines4 ,here we have the dog and fan balancing the body and plant4 ,the balance across the diagonal of the figure1 by the opposition of the dog with the plant is very complete4 ,joined with the hanging lamp above1 this sinuous line effects a letter ,s or without the dog and leaf ,hogarth's line of beauty4 ,in the matter also of the weakening of the necessary foundation lines which support the figure 7the sofa71 and cut the picture in two1 this curving figure1 the pillow and the large leaf do excellent service4 ,when one fills a vase with flowers he aims at both unity and balance1 and if1 in either color combination1 or in massing and accent1 it lacks this1 the result is disturbing4 ,let the vase become a bowl and let the bowl be placed on its edge and made to resemble a frame1 entirely surrounding the bouquet2 his effort remains the same4 ,to be effective in a frame1 balance and unity are just as necessary4 ,the eye finds repose and delight in the perfect equipoise of elements1 brought into combination and bound together by the girdle of the frame4 ,a picture should be able to hang from its exact centre4 ,imperfect composition inflicts upon the beholder the duty of accommodating his head to the false angle of the picture4 ,pictures that stand the test of time do not demand astigmatic glasses4 ,we view them balanced1 and they repeat the countersign--8balanced40 ,after settling upon this as the great consideration in the subject of composition and reducing the principle to the above law1 ,i confess ,i had not the full courage of my conviction for a six month1 for now and then a picture would appear that at first glance seemed like an unruly colt1 to refuse to be harnessed to the theory and was in danger of kicking it to pieces4 ,after a number of such apparent exceptions and the ease with which they submitted to the test of absolute balance from the centre1 on the scheme of the steelyards1 ,i am now entirely convinced that what writers have termed the 8very vague subject of composition10 8the perplexing question of arrangement of parts10 etc41 yields to this simplest law1 and which1 in its directness and clearness1 affords the simplest of working rules4 ,those whose artistic freedom bids defiance to the slavery of rule1 as applied to an artistic product1 and who try to produce something that shall break all rules1 in the hope of being original1 spend the greater part of the time in but covering the surface so that the principle may not be too easily seen1 and the rest of the time in balancing the unbalanced4 ,as the balance of the figure dominates all other considerations in the statue or painting of the human form1 so does the equipoise of the picture1 or its balance of parts1 become the chief consideration in its composition4 ,the figure balances its weight over the point of support1 as the flying ,mercury on his toes1 the picture upon a fulcrum on which large and small masses hang with the same delicate adjustment4 ,in ,fortuny's 8,connoisseurs10 the two men looking at a picture close to the left of the centre form the subject4 ,the dark mass behind them stops off further penetration in this direction1 but the eye is drawn away into the light on the right and seeks the man carrying a portfolio4 ,at his distance1 together with the lighted objects he easily balances the important group on the other side of the centre4 ,indeed1 with the attractiveness of the clock1 vase1 plaque1 mantel and chest1 his face would have added a grain too much1 and this the artist happily avoided by covering it with the portfolio4 ,lady with ,muff--,photo ,a4 ,hewitt 7,steelyard in ,perspective7 ,in the portrait study of 8,lady with ,muff10 one first receives the impression that the figure has been carelessly placed and1 indeed1 it would go for a one-sided and thoughtless arrangement but for the little item1 almost lost in shadow1 on the left side4 ,this bit of detail enables the eye to penetrate the heavy shadow1 and is a good example of the value of the small weight on the long arm of the steelyard1 which balances its opposing heavy weight4 ,this picture is trimmed a little too much on the top to balance across the horizontal line1 and1 indeed1 this balance is the least important1 and1 in some cases1 not desirable2 but the line of light following down from the face and across the muff and into the lap not only assists this balance1 but carries the eye into the left half1 and for that reason is very valuable in the lateral balance1 which is all important to the upright subject4 ,one other consideration regarding this picture1 in the matter of balance1 contains a principle3 ,the line of the figure curves in toward the flower and pot which become the radius of the whole inner contour4 ,this creates an elliptical line of observation1 which being the arc on this radius receives a pull toward its centre4 ,there is a modicum of balance in the mere weight of this empty space1 but when given force by its isolation1 plus the concession to its centripetal significance1 the small item does great service in settling the equilibrium of the picture4 ,the lines are precisely those of the ,rubens recently added to the ,metropolitan ,museum1 wherein the figures of ,mary1 her mother1 ,christ and ,john form the arc and the bending form of the monk its oppositional balance4 ,in proof of the fact that the half balance1 or that on either side of the vertical is sufficient in many subjects1 see such portraits in which the head alone is attractive1 the rest being suppressed in detail and light1 for the sake of this attraction4 ,it is rarely that figure art deals with balance over the horizontal central line in conjunction with balance over the vertical4 ,one may recall photographs of figures in which the positions on the field of the plate are very much to one side of the centre1 but which have the qualifying element in leading line or balance by an isolated measure that brings them within the requirements of unity4 ,the 8,brother and ,sister0 7#g7 by ,miss ,kasebier--the boy in sailor cap crowding up to the face and form of his younger sister1--owes much to the long1 strongly-relieved line of the boy's side and leg which draws the weight to the opposite side of the picture4 ,in imagination we may see the leg below the knee and know how far on the opposite side of the central vertical his point of support really is4 ,the movement in both figures originates from this side of the picture as the lines of the drapery show4 ,deprive such a composition of its balancing line and instead of a picture we would have but two figures on one side of a plate4 ,the significance of the horizontal balance is best understood in landscape1 with its extended perspective4 ,here the idea becomes reminiscent of our childhood's 8teeter40 ,conceiving a long space from foreground to distance1 occupied with varied degrees of interest1 it is apparent how easily one end may become too heavy for the other4 ,the tempering of such a chain of items until the equipoise is attained must be coordinate with the effort toward the lateral balance4 ,,vertical ,,and ,,horizontal ,,balance4 ,in the 8,salute to the ,wounded10by ,detaille1 complete and formal balance on both the vertical and horizontal line is shown4 ,the chief of staff is on one side of centre1 balanced by the officer on the other1 and the remaining members of staff balance the ,german infantry4 ,although the heads of prisoners are all above the horizontal line1 three-fourths of the body comes below--a just equivalent--and1 in the case of the horsemen1 the legs and bodies of the horses draw down the balance toward the bottom of the canvas1 specially aided by the two cuirassiers in the left corner4 ,in addition to this1 note the value of the placement of the gray horse and rider at left1 as a means of interrupting the necessary and objectionable line of feet across the canvas and leading the eye into the picture and toward the focus1 both by the curve to the left1 including the black horse1 and also by the direct jump across the picture1 through the white horse and toward the real subject--i4e41 the prisoners4 ,lion in the ,desert--,gerome 7,balance of ,isolated ,measures72 ,salute to the ,wounded--,detaille 7,balance of ,equal ,measures7 ,much has been written by way of suggestion in composition dealing with this picture or that to illustrate a thought which might have been simplified over the single idea of balance which contains the whole secret and which if once understood in all of its phases of possible change will establish procedure with a surety indeed gratifying to him who halts questioning the next step1 or not knowing positively that the one he has taken is correct4 ,these criticisms vaguely named 8confusion10 8stiffness10 8scattered quantity10 etc41 all lead in to the root1 unbalance1 and are to be corrected there4 ,balance is of importance according to the number of units to be composed4 ,much greater license may be taken in settling a single figure into its picture-space than when the composition involves many4 ,in fact the mind pays little heed to the consideration of balance until a complication of many units forces the necessity upon it4 ,the painter who esteems lightly the subject of composition is usually found to be the painter of simple subjects--portraits and non-discursive themes1 but though these may survive in antagonism to such principles their authors are demanding more from the technical quality of their work than is its mission to supply4 ,the first two main lines1 if they touch or cross1 start a composition4 ,after that it is necessary to work upon the picture as it hangs in the balances4 ,the inutility of considering composition in outline or in solid mass of tone as a safe first analysis of finished work is evident when we discover that not until we have brought the picture to the last stage of detail finish do we fully encompass balance4 ,the conception which looks acceptable to one's general idea in outline may finish all askew2 or the scheme of ,light and ,dark in one or two flat tones minus the balance of gradation will prove false as many times as faithful1 as it draws toward completion4 ,it is because of this that artists when composing roughly in the presence of nature seldom if ever produce note-book sketches which lack the unity of gradation4 ,it is the custom of some artists to paint important pictures from such data which1 put down hot when the impression is compulsory1 contain more of the essence of the subject than the faithful 8study0 done at leisure4 ,the possibilities of balanced arrangement being so extensive1 susceptible in fact of the most eccentric and fantastic composition1 it follows3 that its adaptability to all forms of presentation disarms argument against it4 ,in almost every case1 when the work of an accomplished painter fails to convince1 through that completeness which of all qualities stands first1 when1 after the last word has been said by him1 when1 nature1 in short1 has been satisfied and the work still continues in its feeble state of insurrection1 which many artists will confess it frequently requires years to quell1 it is sure proof that way back in the early construction of such a picture some element of unbalance had been allowed4 ,,the ,,natural ,,axis ,in varying degrees pictures express what may be termed a natural axis1 on which their components arrange themselves in balanced composition4 ,this axis is the visible or imaginary line which the eye accepts connecting the two most prominent measures or such a line which first arrests the attention4 ,if there be but one figure1 group or measure1 and there be an opening or point of attraction through the background diverting the vision from such to it1 then this line of direction becomes the axis4 ,the axis does not merely connect two points within the picture1 but pierces it1 and the near end of the shaft has much to do with this balance4 ,balance across the centre effects the unity of the picture in its limitations with its frame4 ,balance on the axis expresses the natural balance of the subject as we feel it in nature when it touches us personally and would connect our spirit with its own4 ,we discern the former more readily where the subject confronts us with little depth of background4 ,we get into the movement of the latter when the reach is far in1 and we feel the subject revolving on its pivot and stretching one arm toward us while the other penetrates the visible or the unknown distance4 ,balance constructed over this line will bring the worker to as unified a result as the use of the steelyard on the central vertical line4 ,in this method there is less restraint and when the axis is well marked it is best to take it4 ,not every subject develops it however4 ,it is easily felt in ,clairin's portrait of ,sarah ,bernhardt1 the 8,lady with ,muff10 8,the ,path of the ,surf10 and in the line of the horse1 ,indian1 and sunset4 ,when the axis is found1 its force should be modified by opposed lines or measures1 on one or both sides4 ,in these four examples good composition has been effected in proportion as such balance is indicated2 in the first by dog and palm1 in the second by flower-pot1 in the third by the light on the stubble and cloud in left hand corner1 and in the last by the rocks and open sea4 ,a further search among the accompanying illustrations would reveal it in the sweeping line of cuirassiers1 #ahjg balanced by the group about ,napoleon1 the line of the hulk and the light of the sky in 8,her ,last ,moorings10 the central curved line in 8,the ,body of ,patroclus0 the diagonal line through the arm of ,ariadne into the forearm of ,bacchus4 ,,apparent ,,or ,,formal ,,balance4 ,raphael is a covenient point at which to commence a study of composition4 ,his style was influenced by three considerations3 warning by the pitfalls of composition into which his predecessors had fallen2 confidence that the absolutely formal balance was safe2 and lack of experience to know that anything else was as good4 ,to these may be added the environment for which most of his works were produced4 ,his was an architectural plan of arrangement1 and this well suited both the dignity of his subject and the chaste conceptions of a well poised mind4 ,raphael1 therefore1 stands as the chief exponent of informal composition4 ,his plan was to place the figure of greatest importance in the centre4 ,this should have its support in balancing figures on either side2 an attempt then often observable was to weaken this set formality by other objects wherein1 though measure responded to measure1 there was a slight change in kind or degree1 the whole arrangement resembling that of an army in battle array2 with its centre1 flanks and skirmishers4 ,the balance of equal measures--seen in his 8,sistine ,madonna10 is conspicuous in most ecclesiastical pictures of that period1 notably the 8,last ,supper of ,leonardo0 in which two groups of three persons each are posed on either side of the pivotal figure4 ,this has become the standard arrangement for all classical balanced composition in pictorial decoration4 ,the doubling of objects on either side of a central figure not only gives to it importance1 but contributes to the composition that quietude1 symmetry and solemnity so compatible with religious feeling or decorative requirement4 ,the objection to this plan of balance is that it divides the picture into equal parts1 neither one having precedence1 and the subdivisions may be continued indefinitely4 ,for this reason it has no place in genre art4 ,its antiphonal responses belong to the temple4 ,a more objectionable form of balance on the centre is that in which the centre is of small importance4 ,this cuts the picture into halves without reason4 ,the 8,dutch ,peasants on the ,shore10 8,low ,tide10 and 8,the ,poulterers10 and ,david's 8,rape of the ,sabine ,women10 are examples4 ,these pictures present three degrees of formal balance4 ,in the first a lack of sequence impairs the picture's unity4 ,in the second1 though the objects are contiguous there is no subjective union1 and in ,david's composition the formality of the decorative structure is inapplicable to the theme4 ,the circular group of ,dagnan-,bouveret's 8,pardon in ,brittany10 where the peasants are squatted on the left in the foreground is a daring bit of balance1 finding its justification in the movement of interest toward the right in the background4 ,in all forms1 save the classic decoration it should be the artist's effort to conceal the balance over the centre4 ,in avoiding the equal divisions of the picture plane a practical plan of construction is based upon the strong points as opposed to the weak ones4 ,it assumes that the weak point is the centre1 and that in all types of composition where formality is not desired the centre is to be avoided4 ,any points equidistant from any two sides are also weak points4 ,the inequalities in distance should bear a mathematical ratio to each other as one and two-thirds1 two and three-fifths4 ,these points will be strongest and best adapted for the placement of objects which are distant from the boundary lines and the corners1 in degrees most varied4 ,if we take a canvas of ordinary proportion1 namely1 one whose length is equal to the hypothenuse on the square of its breadth1 as #bhcf or #ahbd and divide it into unequal divisions as three1 five or seven1 we will produce points on which good composition will result4 ,the reason for this is that the remaining two-thirds becomes a unit as has the one-third4 ,if the larger is given the precedence it carries the interest2 if not it must be sacrificed to the smaller division4 ,on this principle it may be seen that a figure could occupy a position in the centre if it tied itself in a positive way to that division which carried the remainder of the interest thus becoming unobjectionable as an element dividing the picture into equal parts4 ,the formula is always productive of excellent results4 7,see ,howard's 8,sketcher's ,manual407 ,this proportional division of the picture one may find in the best of ,claude ,lorraine's landscapes1 with him a favorite method of construction4 ,it suggests the pillars and span for a suspension trestle4 ,when1 as is invariably seen in ,claude's works the nearest one is in shadow1 the vision is projected from this through the space intervening to the distant and more attractive one4 ,a feeling of great depth is inseparable from this arrangement4 ,,balance ,,by ,,opposition ,,of ,,line4 ,a series of oppositional lines has more variety and is therefore more picturesque than the tangent its equivalent4 ,the simplest definition of picturesqueness is variety in unity4 ,the lines of the long road in perspective offer easy conduct for the eye1 but it finds a greater interest in threading its way over a track lost1 then found1 lost and found again4 ,in time we as surely arrive from a to z by one route as by the other1 but in one the journey has had the greater interest4 ,imagine a hillside and sky offered as a picture4 ,the hillside is without detail1 the sky a blank4 ,the first item introduced attracts the eye1 the second and third are joined with the first4 ,if they parallel the line of the hillside they do nothing toward the development of the picture but rather harm by introducing an element of monotony4 ,if1 however1 they are so placed in sky and land as to accomplish opposition to this line they help to send the eye on its travels4 ,no better example of this principle can be cited than ,mr4 ,alfred ,steiglitz's pictorial photograph of two ,dutch women on the shore4 ,the lines of ropes through the foreground connect with others in the middle distance leading tangentially to the house beyond4 ,to one who fences or has used the broad sword a feeling for oppositional line should come as second nature4 ,a long sweeping stroke must be parried or opposed frankly2 the riposte must also be parried4 ,a bout is a picturesque composition of two men and two minds in which unity of the whole and of the parts is preserved by the balance of opposed measures4 ,the analogy is appropriate4 ,the artist stands off brush in hand and fights his subject to a finish1 the force of one stroke neutralizing and parrying another4 ,this is as true of linear as color composition1 where the scheme is one producing harmony by opposition of colors4 ,indian and ,horse--,photo ,a4,c4 ,bode 7,oppposition of ,light and ,dark ,measures72 ,the ,cabaret--,l4 ,l'hermitte 7,opposition ,plus ,transition7 ,in the photograph of the ,indian and horse we have a subject full of fine quality4 ,the demonstration occurs in the sky at just the right place to serve as a balance for the heavy measures of the foreground and the interest is drawn back into the picture and to the upper left hand corner by the two cloud forms1 over which is sharply thrown a barricade of cloud which turns the vision back into the picture4 ,the simplicity of the three broad tones is appropriate to the sentiment of vastness which the picture contains4 ,the figure seated in revery before this expanse supplies the mental element to the subject1 the antithesis of which is the interest of the horse1 earthward4 ,each one has his way1 and in the choice by each is the definition of man and brute1 a separation which the pose of each figure indicates through physical disunion4 ,the space between them widens upon the horizon line4 ,to establish the necessary pictorial connection or at least a hint of it suggests three devices4 ,a lariat in a curving line might be slightly indicated through the grass3 the foreground might be cut so as to limit the range toward us2 or a broken line may be constructed diagonally from the horse's left foot by a few accents in the light of the stubble4 ,in the first1 the union is effected by transition of line2 in the last by opposition of the spot of the figure to the line of the horse's shoulder and leg extended by a line through the grass4 ,with the coalition of these two figures there would no longer be felt a procession of three items in a straight perspective line3 the horse1 the man1 and the distant river4 ,instead it would be the horse and owner over against the notion of prairie1 river1 and sky4 ,,balance ,,by ,,opposition ,,of ,,spots4 ,spots or accents are in the majority of cases equivalent to a line4 ,the eye follows the line more easily1 but the spot is a potent force of attraction and we take the artist's hint in his use of it1 often finding that its subtlety is worth more than the line's strength4 ,in the case of a simple hillside back-stopped by a dense mass of trees1 a flat and an upright plane are presented1 but until the vision is carried into and beyond the line of juncture the opposition of mere planes accomplishes little1 the only thing thus established being a strong effect of light and shade and not until the eye is coaxed into the sky so that there be established a union between the pathway or other object on the hill and the distance1 will balance by transition be effected4 ,this is one of the subtlest and most necessary principles in landscape composition4 ,the illustration herewith is of the simplest nature but the principle may be expanded indefinitely as it has to do both with lateral and perspective balance4 ,in the 8,death of ,csar10 the perspective line of the statues and the opposite curve in the floor are continued through the opposing mass of columns and wall to the court beyond1 a positive control of the distance by the foreground1 being thus secured4 ,,transition ,,of ,,line4 ,more effective than opposition1 as the cross bar is more effective for strength than the bar supported on only one side1 is ,transition1 or the same item carried across1 or delivered to another item which shall cross a line or space4 ,in the group of peasants in the ,cabaret note the use of lines of opposition and transition1 in the single figures and when taken in twos4 ,the laborer 7with shovel7 in his upper and lower extremities exhibits a large cross which becomes larger when we add the table on which his extended arm rests and the figure standing behind him4 ,the ascent of this vertical is stopped by the line of the mantel and then continued by the plate and picture4 ,so in minor parts of this group one may think out the rugged energy of its composition1 nor anywhere discover a single curved or flowing line4 ,nor does it require an experienced eye to note the pyramidal structure of the various parts4 ,in the action of the heads and bodies of the two central figures is another strong example of oppositional arrangement4 ,the heavily braced table is typical of the whole4 ,along the ,shore--,photo by ,george ,butler 7,transitional line72 ,pathless--,photo by ,a4 ,horsely ,hinton 7,transitional ,line7 ,in landscape the transitional line from land into sky is often impossible and objectionable4 ,the sentiment of the subject may deny any attempt at this union4 ,here the principle only1 should be hinted at4 ,in the case of a sunset sky where the clouds float as parallel bars above the horizon and thus show the character of a quiet and windless closing of day1 a transitional line such as a tree1 mast or spire may be unavailable4 ,oppositional spots or lines attracting the vision into the land and thus diverting it from the horizontals are the only recourse4 ,in the shore view the sun's rays create a series of lines which admirably unite with the curve of the wagon tracks4 ,the union of sky and land is thus effected and meanwhile the subject proper has its ruggedness associated with the graceful compass of these elements4 ,in fact transitional line is so powerful that unless it contains a part of the subject it should seldom be used4 ,in the 8,annunciation0 by ,botticelli the introduction of a long perspective line beyond the figures1 continuing the lines of the foreground1 railroads the vision right through the subject1 carrying it out of the picture4 ,if the attention is pinned perforce on the subject1 one feels the interruption and annoyance of this unnecessary landscape4 ,the whole ,italian school of the ,renaissance weakened the force of its portraits and figure pictures by these elaborate settings which they seemed helpless to govern4 ,in ,velasquez we frequently find the simplification of background which saves the entire interest for the subject2 but even he in his 8,spinners0 and to a lesser degree in some other compositions1 makes the same error4 ,in the greatest of ,rembrandt's portrait groups1 8,the ,syndics10 his problem involved the placement of six figures4 ,four are seated at the far side of a table looking toward us1 the fifth1 on the near side1 rises and looks toward us4 ,his head1 higher than those of the row of four1 breaks this line of formality2 but the depth and perspective of the picture is not secured until the figure standing in the background is added4 ,this produces from the foreground figure1 through one of the seated figures1 the transitional line which pulls the composition forward and backward and makes a circular composition of what was commenced upon a line sweeping across the entire canvas4 ,the hillside entitled 8,pathless10 by ,horsley ,hinton is a subject easily passed in nature as ordinary1 which has been however unified and made available through the understanding of this principle4 ,so much of an artist is its author that ,i can see him down on his knees cutting out the mass of blackberry stems so that the two or three required in the foreground should strike as lines across the demi-dark of the lower middle space4 ,the line of the hill had cut this off from the foreground and these attractive lines are as cords tying it on4 ,from the light rock in the lower centre the eye zigzags up to the line of hillside1 cutting the picture from one side to the other4 ,fortunately nature had supplied a remedy here in the trees which divert this line4 ,but this is insisted on in the parallelism of the distant mountains4 ,the artist1 however1 has the last word4 ,he has created a powerful diversion in the sky1 bringing down strong lines of light and a sense of illumination over the hill and into the foreground4 ,the subject1 unpromising in its original lines1 has thus been redeemed4 ,this sort of work is in advance of the public1 but should find its reward with the elect4 ,,balance ,,by ,,gradation ,gradation will be mentioned in another connection but as a force in balance it must be noticed here4 ,it matters not whither the tone grades1 from light to dark or the reverse1 the eye will be drawn to it very powerfully because it suggests motion4 ,gradation is the perspective of shade2 and perspective we recognize as one of the dynamic forces in art4 ,when the vision is delivered over to a space which contains no detail and nought but gradation1 the original impulse of the line is continued4 ,hillside 7,graded ,light ,upon ,surfaces2 ,cloud ,shadows72 ,river ,fog 7,light ,graded by ,atmospheric ,density72 ,the ,chant 7,gradation through ,values of ,separated ,objects7 ,gradation1 as an agent of light1 exhibits its loveliest effect and becomes one of the most interesting and useful elements of picture construction4 ,as a force in balance it may frequently replace detail when added items are unnecessary4 ,in 8,her ,last ,moorings0 the heavy timbers1 black and positive in the right foreground1 attract the eye and divide the interest4 ,the diversion from the hulk to the sky is easy and direct and forms the natural axis4 ,a substitution for the foreground item is a simple gradation1 balancing a like gradation in the sky4 ,the measure of light and dark when mixed is tonically the same as the gray of the gradation--but its attraction is weakened4 ,,balance ,,of ,,principality ,,or ,,isolation ,these qualities are not synonymous but so nearly so that they are mentioned together4 ,in discussing the principle of the steelyard it was stated that a small item could balance a very large one whose position in point of balance was closer to the fulcrum1 but to this point must be added the increase of weight and importance which isolation gives4 ,these considerations need not be mystifying4 ,in the charge to ,peter1 8,feed my sheep10 ,raphael has produced something quite at variance with his ordinary plan of construction4 ,christ occupies one side of the canvas1 the disciples following along the foreplane toward him4 ,here is an isolated figure the equivalent of a group4 ,the sleeping senator of ,gerome's picture effects a like purpose among the empty benches and pillars4 ,the main group is placed near the centre1 the small item at the extreme edge4 ,even ,csar in the foreground--covered by drapery and in half shadow--is less potent as an item of balance1 than this separate figure4 ,,balance ,,of ,,cubical ,,space4 ,finally the notion that the picture is a representation of depth as well as length and height develops the idea of balance in the chain of items from foreground to distance4 ,a pivotal space then will be found1 a neutral ground in the farther stretch from which may be created so much attraction as to upend the foreground1 or in the nether reach toward us there may be such attraction as to leave the distance without its weight in the convention of parts4 ,the group with insufficient attraction back of it topples toward us1 to be sustained within the harmonious circuit of the picture only by such items of attraction behind it as will recover a balance which their absence gave proof of4 ,this is a more subtle but none the less potent influence than the vertical and lateral balance and may best be apprehended negatively4 ,the 8aggressiveness0 of many foreground items which are in themselves essential as form and correct in value is caused by the lack of their balancing complements in the back planes of the picture4 ,balance is not of necessity dependent upon objects of attraction4 ,its essence lies in the movement from one part of the picture to another1 which the arrangement compels1 and this may often be stimulated by the intention or suggestion of motion in a given direction4 ,,chapter ,,iv - ,,evolving ,,the ,,picture ,the artist gets his picture from two sources4 ,he either goes forth and finds it1 or creates it4 ,if he creates it the work is deliberate1 and the artist assumes responsibility4 ,if he goes to nature1 he and nature form a partnership1 she supplying the material and he the experience4 ,in editing the material thus supplied1 the artist discovers how great is the disparity between art and nature1 and what a disproof nature herself is to the common notion that art is mirrored nature1 and that any part of her drawn or painted will make a picture4 ,the first stage of the art collector is that in which his admiration dwells on imitation such as the still-life painter gives him1 but soon his art sense craves an expression with thought in it1 the imitation1 brow-beaten into its proper place and the creative instinct of the artist visible4 ,in other words1 he seeks the constructive sense of the man who paints the picture4 8,the work of art is an appeal to another mind1 and it cannot draw out more than that mind contains4 ,but to enjoy is1 as it were1 to create2 to understand is a form of equality407#h7 ,with the horse before the cart and the artist holding the reins1 he gets a fresh start1 and is in a fair way to comprehend ,richard ,wagner's assertion that you cannot have art without the man4 ,in the same manner does the student usually develop4 ,with the book of nature before him he is eager to sit down anywhere and read1 attracted by each separate item of the vast pattern1 but he finds he has opened nature's dictionary and that to make poetry or even good prose he must put the separate words and phrases together4 ,after the first roll of films has been printed and brooded over1 the kodac person is apt to ask in a tone of injured and deceived innocence1 8,well1 what does make a picture80 ,he with others has supposed it possible to go to nature and1 taking nothing with him1 bring something back4 ,though one does not set out with the rules of composition1 he must at least present himself before nature with fixed notions of the few requirements which all pictures demand4 ,having looked at a counterfeit of her within four sides of a frame and learned to know why a limited section of her satisfied him by its completeness he approaches her out of doors with greater prospects of success than though he had not settled this point4 ,good art1 of the gallery1 is the best guide to a trip afield4 ,having seen what elements and what arrangements have proved available in the hands of other men1 the student will not go astray if he seek like forms in nature4 ,armed with defininite convictions he will see1 through her bewildering meshes the faithful lines he needs4 ,the star gazer with a quest for the constellations of the ,pleiades or the ,great ,bear1 must close his eyes to many irrelevant stars which do not fit the figure4 ,originality does not require the avoidance of principles used by others4 ,pictorial forms are world's property4 ,originality only demands 8the causing to pass into our own work a personal view of the world and of life407#i7 ,personality in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred is a graft4 ,the forms of artistic expression have been preempted long ago4 ,the men who had the first chances secured the truest forms of it and in a running glance through a miscellaneous collection of prints one's attention is invariably arrested by the force of the pictures by the older masters2 so dominating is the first impression that we concede the case upon the basis of effect before discovering the many obstacles and omissions counting against their greater efficiency4 ,but the essence is of the living sort4 ,with this conceded and the fact that nature's appeal is always strongest when made through association with man it is for us to cultivate these associations4 8,study nature attentively10 says ,reynolds1 8but always with the masters in your company2 consider them as models which you are to imitate1 and at the same time as rivals1 with whom you are to contend40 ,a wise teacher has said the quickest road to originality is through the absorption of other men's ideas4 ,before going forth therefore with a canvas or plate holder1 it behooves us first to know what art is4 ,certainly the most logical step from the study of constructive form is through the practical technique of work which we would emulate4 ,to copy interpretations of outdoor nature by others is commendable either at the experimental period1 when looking for a technique1 or as an appreciation4 ,besides this mental preparation1 the next best equipment for finding pictures is a ,claude ,lorraine glass1 because1 being a convex mirror1 it shows a reduced image of nature in a frame4 ,the frame is important not only because it designates the limitations of a picture1 but because it cuts it free from the abstracting details which surround it4 ,if one has not such a glass1 a series of small pasteboard frames will answer4 ,the margin should be wide enough to allow the eye to rest without disturbance upon the open space4 ,two rectangular pieces that may be pushed together from top or side is probably the most complete device4 ,the proportion of the frame is therefore adaptable to the subject and the picture may be cut off top1 bottom or sides as1 demanded4 ,the ,view-,metre ,three ,pictures ,found with the ,view-,metre ,many artists reduce all subjects to two or three sizes1 which they habitually paint4 ,the view-meter may in such cases be further simplified by using a stiff cardboard with such proportions cut out4 ,by having them all on a single board a subject may be more rapidly tested than by the device of the collapsible sides4 ,a light board1 the thickness of a cigar-box cover1 #de inches1 and easily carried in the pocket1 will enable one to land his subject in his canvas exactly as he wants it1 and avoid the grievance of reconstruction later4 ,by leaving a broad margin about the openings1 one obtains the impression of a picture in its mat or frame1 and may judge of it in nature as he will after regard it when completed and on exhibition4 ,view ,taken with a ,wide ,angle ,lens ,the accompanying photograph was produced by a revolving camera encompassing an area of #abj degrees4 ,as a composition it is not bad1 but unfortunate here and there4 ,it has a well-defined centre1 and the two sides balance well1 the left clogging the vision and thus giving way to the right1 which allows the eye to pass out of the picture on this side beyond the fountain and across the stretch of sunlight4 ,at a glance1 however1 one may see three complete pictures1 and with the aid of the view-meter a number of other combinations may be developed4 ,its construction is that of ,hobbema's 8,alley near ,middelharnes10 in the ,national ,gallery1 ,london1 of so pronounced formality that a number of such construction in a gallery1 would prove monotonous4 ,beginning on the left1 we may apply the view-meter first to exclude the unnecessary branch forms and sky space on the top2 second1 to cut away the tree on the right1 which1 in that it parallels the line of the margin1 is objectionable1 and is rendered unnecessary as a side for the picture by the two trees beyond in the middle plane2 and1 third1 to limit the extent of the picture on the bottom1 tending as it does to force the spectator back and away from the subject proper4 ,the interest is divided between the white building and rustic bridge and the pivot of this composition adjusts itself in line with the centre tree4 ,in the next picture the first tree on left of avenue is cut away for the same reason as in the previous arrangement1 and although one of a line of trees in perspective1 the trunk as an item is unserviceable1 as its branches start above the point where the top line occurs1 and can therefore render no assistance in destroying an absolute vertical as has been done in the left tree by the bifurcation1 and the first on the right by the encroaching masses of leaves4 ,the eye follows the receding lines of roadway beneath the canopy and is led out of the picture by the light above the hill4 ,the last arrangement is more formal than either of the others but gives us the good old form of composition frequently adopted by ,turner1 ,rousseau1 ,dupr1 and others1 namely of designing an encasement for the subject proper1 through which to view it4 ,for that reason after the arch overhead has been secured all else above is cut away as useless4 ,the print has been cut a little on the right1 as by this means the foreground tree is placed nearer that side and also because the extra space allowed too free an escapement of the eye through this portal1 the natural focus of course being the fountain where the eye should rest at once4 ,it has been cut on the bottom so as to exclude the line where the road and the grass meet--an especially bad line1 paralleling the bottom of the picture and line of shadow upon the grass4 ,this shadow is valuable as completing the encasement of the subject on the bottom and in starting the eye well into the picture toward its subject4 ,our natural vision always seeks the light4 ,shadows are the carum cushions from which the sight recoils in its quest for this4 ,letting the eye into the picture over a foreground of subdued interest1 or better still1 of no interest is one of the most time-honored articles of the picture-maker's creed4 ,if the reader will compare the first and last of these three compositions he will see how in this respect the first loses and the last gains4 ,the element of the shaded foreground in the first was cut out in preserving a better placement for the subject proper1 which lay beyond4 ,photography ,nearing the ,pictorial ,the photographer comes upon a group of cows4 8,trees1 cattle1 light and shade--a picture surely60 ,fearful of disturbing the cows he exposes at a distance1 then stalks them1 trying again with a different point of sight and1 having joined them and waited for their confidence1 makes the third attempt4 ,on developing1 the first one reveals the string-like line of road cutting the picture from end to end1 the cattle as isolated spots1 the tree dividing the sky space into almost equal parts4 ,in the second1 the lower branch of tree blocks the sky and on the other side there is a natural window1 opening an exit into the distance4 ,this is desirable but unfortunately the bending roadway on the right accomplishes the same purpose and so two exits are offered1 always objectionable4 ,with this out1 the value of the rock and foreground cow is also better appreciated as leading spots taking us to the natural focus1 the white cow lying close to the tree4 ,the rock in left corner having no influence in a leading line should be suppressed4 ,the cattle now swing into the picture from both sides and one of them opposes the horizontal of her back to the vertical of the tree1 thus easing the force of its descent4 ,in the last there is much more concentration4 ,the road does not parallel the bottom and though passing out of the picture the vision is brought back again along the distant line of trees4 ,the objection to this arrangement lies in the equal division of the subject by the tree-trunk4 ,the white cow focalizes the vision but the sky and the more graceful branches soon capture it4 ,the cow in the right foreground is only valuable as an oppositional measure to the line of cows stretching across the picture which it helps to divert1 otherwise she carries too much attraction to the side4 ,the best arrangement for the subject would have been the tree one-third from the left side1 the white cow touching its line1 one or two of those lying on the ground working toward the foreground in a zigzag1 little or no diversion from the distance on the left of tree4 ,the swing of the picture would then have been from the foreground to the focus1 the white cow and tree1 thence to the group under the tree and out through the sky4 ,this would have divided the picture-plane into thirds instead of halves1 bringing it into the form elsewhere recommended as being the arrangement of ,claude's best pictures4 ,,chapter ,v - ,,entrance ,,and ,,exit ,,getting ,,into ,,the ,,picture ,one reason that many pictures are passed in exhibitions is that the visitor lacks an invitation to enter4 ,others frankly greet one a long way off1 obliging the wanderer searching for compelling interest to acknowledge their cordiality1 aware of a gesture of welcome in something which he may later pause to analyse and at length apprehend4 ,it may appear in the freedom of an empty foreground1 which1 like a stage unadorned1 merely supports the action upon it2 or1 if this foreground be adorned then happily by items of slight interest leading to the subject2 or it may insist with such an emphatic demand for attention that the common places of receding perspective have been employed4 ,one spot or circumference there should be toward which through the suppression of other parts the eye is led at once4 ,when there1 even though the vision has passed far into the canvas1 one is at the focal point only1 the true goal of the pictorial intention4 ,any element which proves too attractive along this avenue of entrance is confusing to the sight and weakening to the impression4 ,one item after another1 in sequence1 the visitor should then be led to1 and1 having made the circuit and paid his respects to the company in the order of importance with that special care which prevails at a ,chinese court function1 the visitor should be shown the exit4 ,getting out of a picture is almost as important as getting into it1 but of this later4 ,if the artist1 in the composition of his picture1 cannot so arrange a reception for his guests1 he is not a successful host4 ,this disposal of the subject matter into which principality enters so acutely is more patent in the elaborate figure subject than in any other1 with the distinction between an assemblage of1 and a crowd of figures1 made plain4 ,the writer once called1 in company with a friend of the painter1 upon the late ,edmond ,yon1 the ,french landscapist4 ,we found him in his atelier1 and saw his completed picture1 about to be sent to the ,salon4 ,he shortly took us into an adjacent room1 where hung his studies1 and thence through his house into the garden1 showed us his view of the city1 commented on the few fruit trees1 the flowers1 as we made the circuit of the little plot1 and1 at the porte1 we found the servant with our hats4 ,it was a perfectly logically sequence4 ,we had come to the end2 and how complete6 8,he always does it so10 said the friend4 ,we had seen the man1 his picture1 his studies1 his house1 caught the inspiration of his view1 had made the circuit of the things which daily surrounded him1 and what more--nothing2 except the hats4 ,bon jour6 ,the new picture1 like any new acquaintance1 we are tempted to sound at once1 in a single glance1 judging of the great and apparent planes of character1 seeking the essential affinity4 ,if we pass favorably1 our enjoyment begins leisurely4 ,the picture we are to live with must possess qualities that will bear close scrutiny1 even to analysis4 ,if we are won1 there is a satisfaction in knowing why4 ,it must be remembered that the actual picture space in nature is that of a funnel1 its size varying according to the extent of distance represented4 ,the angle of sixty degrees which the eye commands may widen into miles4 ,the matter of equipoise or unity therefore applies to most extended areas and no part of this extent may escape from the calculation4 ,the objection of formal balance over the centre is that it produces a straddle1 as1 in hopscotch one lands with both feet on either side of a dividing line4 ,in all pictures of deep perspective the best mode of entrance is to triangulate in1 with a series of zigzags1 made easy through the habit of the eye to follow lines1 especially long and receding ones4 ,it is the long lines we seize upon in pinning the action of a figure1 and the long lines which stretch toward us are those which help most to get us into a picture4 ,the law here is that of perspective recession1 and1 it being the easiest of comprehension and the most effective in result1 is used extensively by the scene-painter for his drop-curtain and by the landscapist1 whose subject proper lies often in the middle distance--toward which he would make the eye travel4 ,when the opportunity of line is wanting an arrangement of receding spots1 or accents is an equivalent4 ,the same applies1 though in less apparent force1 to the portrait or foreground figure subject4 ,where the subject lies directly in the foreground1 the eye will find it at once1 but the care of the artist should even then be exercised to avoid lines which1 though they could not block1 might at least irritate one's direct vision of the subject4 ,conceive if you can1 for one could rarely find such an example in pictorial art1 of the forespace corrugated with lines paralleling the bottom line of a frame4 ,it would be as difficult for a bicyclist to propel his machine across a plowed field as for one to drive his eye over a foreground thus filled with distracting lines when the goal lay far beyond4 ,mr4 ,schilling1 in his well-known 8,spring ,ploughing10 has treated this problem with great discernment4 ,instead of a multiplicity of lines crossing the foreplane1 the barest suggestion suffices to designate plowed ground1 the absence of detail allowing greater force to the distant groups4 ,in the ,marine subject1 especially with the sea running toward us1 long lines are created across the foreground1 but with respect to these1 as may be noted in nature1 there is a breaking and interlacing of lines in the wave form so that the succession of such accents may lead tangentially from the direction of the wave4 ,a succession of horizontal lines is however the character of the marine subject4 ,when the eye is stopped by these it has found the subject4 ,only through the sky or by confronting these forms at an angle can the force of the horizontals be broken4 ,successful marines with the camera's lens pointed squarely at the sea have been produced1 but the best of them make use of the modifying lines of the surf1 or oppositional lines or gradations in the sky4 ,in a large canvas by ,alexander ,harrison1 its subject a group of bathers on the shore1 one single line1 the farthest reach of the sea1 proves an artist's estimate of the leading line4 ,on it the complete union of figures and ocean depended4 ,its presence there was simple nature1 its strong enforcement the touch of art4 ,the eye's willingness to follow long lines may however become dangerous in leading away from the subject and out of the picture4 ,what student cannot show studies 7done in his earliest period7 of an interesting fence or stone wall1 blocking up his foreground and leading the eye out of the picture8 ,it is possible to so cleverly treat a stone wall that it would serve us as an elevation from which to get a good jump into the picture4 ,here careful painting with the intent of putting the foreground out of focus1 could perhaps land the eye well over the obstruction1 and if so1 our consideration of the picture begins beyond this point4 ,if the observer could take such a barrier as easily as a cross country steeple-chaser his fences and stone walls1 there would be no objection1 but when the artist forces his guest to climb6--he is unreasonable4 ,for two years a prominent ,american landscape painter had constantly on his easel a very powerful composition4 ,the foreplane of trees1 with branches which interlaced at the top1 made1 with the addition of a stone wall below1 an encasement for the picture proper1 which lay beyond4 ,the lower line1 i4e41 the stone wall1 was in constant process of change1 obliterated by shadow or despoiled by natural dilapidation1 sometimes vine-grown4 ,in its several stages it showed always the most critical weighing of the part1 and a consummate dodging of the difficulties4 ,when finally exhibited1 however1 the wall had given way to a simple shadow and a pool of water4 ,the attempt to carry the eye over a cross-line in the foreground had been a long and conclusive one1 and its final abandonment an admonition on this point4 ,a barrier across the middle distance is almost as objectionable4 ,in the subject of a river embankment the eye comes abruptly against its upper line1 which is an accented one1 and from this dives off into the fathomless space of the sky1 no intermediate object giving a hint of anything existing between that and the horizon4 ,in order to use such a subject it would be necessary to oppose the horizontal of the bank by an item that would overlap and extend above it1 as a hay wagon with a figure on top of it or the sail of a boat1 and if possible to continue this transitional feeling in the sky by such cloud forms as would carry the eye up4 ,attraction in the sky would create a depth for penetration which the embankment blocked4 ,the ,path of the ,surf--,photo 7,triangles ,occuring in the leading line72 ,the ,shepherdess--,millet 7,composition ,exhibiting a ,double ,exit7 ,the 8,path of the ,surf0 is a splendid leading line ending most beautifully in a curve4 ,many readers will recall the notable picture by ,mr4 ,picknell1 now deceased1 of a white road in ,picardie4 ,here all the lines converged at the horizon4 ,the perspective was so true as to become fascinating1 a problem of very ordinary deception4 ,more subtle is ,turner's 8,approach to ,venice10 see ,fundamental ,forms1 in which the lines are substituted by spots--the gondolas--which1 in like manner1 bear us to the subject4 ,the graceful arch of the sky also presses us toward the subject4 ,one may readily use the placement of the spots and substitute cattle instead of gondolas and woods for the spired city2 or groups of figures1 sheep1 rocks1 etc4 ,the composition is fundamental1 and will accommodate many subjects4 ,,getting ,,out ,,of ,,the ,,picture ,this is important because necessary4 ,it is much better to pass out than to back out4 ,pictures show many awkward methods of exit4 ,in some there are too many chances to leave2 in others there are none4 ,pictures in which there is no opportunity for visual peripatetics require no such provision4 ,in the portrait we confront a personality1 and some painters plainly tell us by the blank space of the background that there shall be but one idea to the observer's mind4 ,in this event he has but to bow and withdraw4 ,but suppose the curtain of the background be drawn and a glimpse is disclosed of a landscape beyond4 ,this bit of attraction leads us toward it4 ,instead therefore of breaking off from the subject we are led away from it4 ,the associations with the subject are ofttimes interesting and appropriate and the great majority of portraits include them4 ,as soon therefore as we begin on any detail in the background we connect the portrait with the pictorial and the sitter becomes one of a number of elements in the scheme1 the fulcrum on which they balance4 ,a patch of sky1 besides creating an expansion in the diameter of the picture introduces color1 often valuable1 as noted later4 ,but more than this1 these sky spots in a dark background are air holes4 ,they enable us to breathe in the picture1 giving a decided sense of atmosphere4 ,when well subordinated they offer no distraction to the subject1 but give to the picture a depth4 ,when no other object is introduced1 a gradation is serviceable4 ,much may be thus suggested and besides the depth and air properties thus introduced1 such variety of surface excites visual motion4 ,the eye always follows the course of light from the shadow4 ,the artist may make use of this fact in balancing the picture and of leading the eye out where he will4 ,as the elaborate subject is often approached through a curve or zigzag1 in like manner it should be left1 though the natural finish of such a series should connect easily with its start4 ,the eye should never be permitted to leave the principal figure or object and go straight back and out through the centre4 ,if this is allowed the width of the picture is slighted4 ,therefore if the attraction of the natural exit is greater than other objects they exist in vain4 ,the exit should be so guarded that after the visitor has moved about and seen everything1 he comes upon it naturally4 ,for example conceive a subject--figures or cattle--with the principal object in the foreground4 ,from this the other objects1 all placed on the left side1 move in a half circle back and into the picture1 this circuit naturally leading to an opening in the trees or to a point of attraction in the sky or to a glimpse of distance4 ,if this be not of less interest than any object of the progression1 the unity of the picture disappears1 for from the principal object in the foreground the vision goes direct to the distance4 ,providing two or more exits is a common error of bad composition4 ,this is the main objection to the form of balance on the centre1 which produces two spaces of equal importance on either side4 ,in the drawing of the 8,shepherdess0 by ,millet the attraction of two alleys which the eye might take is largely regulated by the subordination of one of them by proportional size and a lowering of the tone of the sky4 ,at best1 however1 it is a case of divided interest1 though the deepest dark against the highest light helps to control the situation4 ,if for the balance of the pines in the snow scene a small tree on the right were added1 the objection would then be that from the central point of attraction1 the pines1 the vision would go in two directions1 toward the houses and the tree4 ,the visual lines connecting these two points would cross the first or principal object instead of leading from this to one and thence to the other as would not be the case if the added tree appeared in the extreme distance on the right4 ,under this arrangement there would be progression into the picture4 ,a still better arrangement would have been direct movement from the mass of trees to the houses placed on the right1 with the space now occupied by them left vacant4 ,,chapter ,,vi - ,,the ,,circular ,,observation ,,of ,,pictures ,the entrance into a picture and obstacles thereto1 as applied to landscape1 has already been considered1 from which it is evident that wisdom renders this as easy as possible for the vision1 not only negatively1 but through positive means as well4 ,an obstruction through which penetration must be forced1 diverting the attention1 is like the person who claims us when we are trying to listen to someone else4 ,when in nature we observe a scene that naturally fits a frame and we find ourselves gazing first at one object and then at another and returning again to the first1 we may be sure it will make a picture4 ,but when we are tempted to turn1 in the inspection of the whole horizon 7though this be circular observation71 it proves we have not found a picture4 ,our picture1 on canvas1 must fit an arc of sixty degrees4 ,the other thing is a panorama4 ,the principle is contained in the illustration of the athletes4 ,this picture has the fascination of a continuous performance and so in degree should every picture have4 ,in the foreground1 or figure subject the same principles apply4 ,the main point is to capture the observer's interest with the theme1 which to his mental processes shall unfold according to the artist's plan4 ,with twenty objects to present1 which one on the chessboard of your picture shall take precedence and which shall stand next in importance1 and which shall have a limited influence1 and which1 like the pawns1 shall serve as little more than the added thoughts in the game8 ,circular ,observation--,the ,principle2 ,the ,slaying of the ,unpropitious ,messengers 7,triangular ,composition--,circular ,observation7 ,in 8,the ,slaying of the ,unpropitious ,messengers10 a picture of great power and truly sublime in the simplicity of its dramatic expression1 the vision falls without hesitation on the figure of ,pharaoh1 easily passing over the three prostrate forms in the immediate foreground4 ,these might have diverted the attention and weakened the subject had not they been skillfully played for second place4 ,their backs have been turned1 their faces covered1 and1 though three to one1 the single figure reigns supreme4 ,note how they are made to guide the eye toward him and into the picture and discover in the other lines of the picture an intention toward the same end1 the staircase1 the river1 the mountain1 the angular contour of the portico behind tying with the nearer roof projection and making a broken stairway from the left-hand upper corner4 ,see1 again1 the lines of the canopy composing a special frame for the master figure4 ,suppose a reconstruction of this composition4 ,behold the slain messengers shaken into less recumbent and more tragic attitudes1 arranged along the foreplane of the picture2 let all the leading lines be reversed2 make them antagonistic to the principles upon which the picture was constructed4 ,the subject indeed will have been preserved and the story illustrated1 but the following points will be lost and nothing gained3 ,a central dominating point of interest2 the disparity between monarch and slave2 the sentiment of repose and quietude suggested by a starlit night and the coordination of recumbent lines2 the pathos of the lonely vigil1 with the gaze of the single figure strained and fixed upon1 the distant horizon whence he may expect the remnants of his shattered army4 ,the artist's first conception of this subject was doubtless that of a pyramid2 the head of ,pharaoh is the apex and the slaves the base and side lines4 ,the other lines were arranged in part to draw away from this apparent and very common form of composition4 ,one has but to look through a list of notable pictures to find evidence of the very frequent use of these concentric lines drawing the vision from the lower corners of the picture to an apex of the pyramid4 ,now1 herein lies the analogy between the simplest form of landscape construction and the foreground or figure subject4 ,the framework of both is the pyramid1 or what is termed the structure of physical stability4 ,in the landscape the pyramid lies on its side1 the apex receding4 ,it is the custom of some figure painters to construct entirely in pyramids1 the smaller items of the picture resolving themselves into minor pyramids4 ,in the single figure picture--the portrait1 standing or sitting--the pyramidal form annihilates the spaces on either side of the figure1 which1 paralleling both the sides and the frame1 would leave long quadrilaterals in place of diminishing segments4 ,whether the pyramid is in perspective or one described on the foreplane of a picture1 the principle is1 leading lines should carry the eye into the picture or toward the subject1 a point touched upon in the preceding chapter4 ,when reverie begins in a picture1 one's vision involuntarily makes a circuit of the items presented1 starting at the most interesting and widening in its review toward the circumference1 as ring follows ring when a stone is thrown into water4 ,the items of a picture may arrange themselves in elliptical form1 and the circuit may bend back into the picture2 or the form may be described on a vertical plane1 but the circuit should be there1 and if two circuits may be formed the reverie will continue that much longer4 ,the outer circuit finished1 the vision may return to the centre again4 ,if in a landscape1 for instance1 the interest of the sky dominates that of the land1 the vision will centre there and come out through the foreground1 and it is important that the eye have such a course marked out for it1 lest1 left to itself1 it slip away through the sides1 and the continuous chain of reverie be broken4 ,it is interesting to note in what cycles this great wheel of circular observation revolves1 directing the slow revolution of our gaze4 ,in one picture it takes us from the corner of the canvas to the extreme distance and thence in a circuit back2 in another it moves on a flat plane like an ellipse in perspective4 ,again1 first catching the eye in the centre1 it unfolds like a spiral4 ,much of a painter's attention is given to keeping his edges so well guarded that the vision in its circuit may be kept within the canvas4 ,a large proportion of the changes which all pictures pass through in process of construction is stimulated by this consideration--how to stop a wayward eye from getting too near the edge and escaping from the picture4 ,when every practical device has been tried1 as a last resource the centre may be strengthened4 ,in order to settle this point to the student's satisfaction no better proof could be suggested than that he paint in black and white a simple landscape motif1 with no attempt to create a focus1 with no suppression of the corners and no circuit of objects--a landscape in which ground and sky shall equally divide the interest4 ,he may produce a counterfeit of nature1 but the result will rise no higher in the scale of art than a raw print from the unqualified negative in photography4 ,the art begins at that point1 and consists in the production of unity1 in the establishment of a focus1 in the subordination of parts by the establishment of a scale of relative values1 and in a continuity of progression from one part to another4 ,the procedure will be somewhat as follows3 ,decision as to whether the sky or ground shall have right of way2 the production of a centre and a suppression of contiguous parts2 the feeling after lines which shall convey the eye away from the focal centre and lead it through the picture1 a groping for an item1 an accent1 or something that shall attract the eye away from the corner or side of the picture1 where1 in following the leading lines1 it may have been brought1 and back toward the focus again4 ,here then1 will have been described the circuit of which we speak4 ,in the suppression of the corners the same instinct for the elliptical line has been followed1 for the composition1 by avoiding them1 describes itself within the inner space4 ,huntsman and ,hounds 7,triangle with ,circular ,attraction72 ,portrait of ,van der ,geest--,van ,dyck 7,a sphere within a ,circle7 ,a composition in an oval or circle is much more easily realized than one occupying a rectangular space1 as the vexing item of the corners has been disposed of1 and the reason why these shapes are not popularly used is that hanging committees cannot dispose of them with other pictures4 ,the attempt in the majority of compositions1 however1 is to fit the picture proper to the fluent lines of the circle or oval4 ,in 8,huntsman and ,hounds10 a picture which is introduced because the writer is able to speak of points in its construction which these principles necessitated1 the pyramidal form of composition is apparent1 and around this a circuit is described by the hand1 arm1 crop1 spot on dog's side1 elbow of dog's foreleg1 line of light on the other dog's breast1 the light on table and chair in background--all being points which catch the eye and keep it moving in a circuit4 ,in the first arrangement of this composition a buffet occupied the space given to the indication of chair and table4 ,this did not assist sufficiently in diverting the awkward line from the left shoulder1 down the arm1 into the dog's head and out of the picture4 ,judgment here lay between filling the space with the dog's head1 which would have separated it too far from the man1 or striving to divert it as noted4 ,the space between this line and the side of the canvas was the difficult space of the picture4 ,there is always a rebellious member in every picture1 which continues unruly throughout its whole construction1 and this one did not settle itself until several arrangements of the part were tried4 ,in order to divert the precipitate line a persistence of horizontals was necessary--the table1 the chair and the shadow on the floor4 ,the shadows and the picture on the wall block the top and sides1 and the shadow from the fender indicated along the lower edge complete the circuit and weaken the succession of verticals in the legs of dog and man4 ,,circular ,,composition ,circular observation in pictures whose structure was apparently not circular leads to the consideration of circular composition1 or that class of pictures where the evident intention is to compose under the influence of circular observation--where the circle expresses the first thought in the composition4 ,this introduces us to the widest reaches of pictorial art1 for in this category lie the greatest of the world's pictures4 ,slight analysis is necessary to discover this arrangement in the majority of the strongest compositions which we encounter4 ,in the ,metropolitan and ,lenox ,galleries of ,new ,york1 the following pictures may be looked at for this form of structure1 showing the circle either in the vertical plane or in perspective4 ,auguste ,bonheur's large cattle-piece1 ,inness' 8,autumn ,oaks10 ,corot's 8,ville d',avray10 ,knaus' 8,madonna10 ,cabanel's kneeling female figure1 ,koybet's 8,card ,players10 8,jean d',arc10 by ,bastian ,lepage2 8,the ,baloon10 by ,julian ,dupr2 ,wylie's 8,death of the ,vendean ,chief10 ,leutze's 8,crossing of the ,delaware10 ,meissonier's 8#ahjg10 the three pictures of ,turner1 8,milton ,dictating to ,his ,daughters10 by ,munkacsy1 and ,knaus' 8,bow at a ,peasants' ,ball40 ,this list contains the most important works of these collections1 and others might easily be added4 ,the head by ,van ,dyck carries with it the repose which belongs to the completeness of the circle4 ,like ,saturn and his ring1 this sphere within the circle is typical of harmony in unity1 and for this reason1 though detached as we know it to be1 it has a greater completeness than though joined to a body4 ,it is on this general principle that all circular compositions are based--absorption of the attention within the circuit4 ,marriage of ,bacchus and ,ariadne--,tintoretto 7,circle and ,radius72 ,endymion--,watts 7,the ,circle--,vertical ,plane7 ,in ,tintoretto's 8,marriage of ,bacchus and ,ariadne10 the floating figure offers us a shock not quite relieved when we recall the epoch of its production or concede the customary license to mythology4 ,at a period in art when angels were employed through a composition as a stage manager would scatter supernumeraries--to fill gaps or create masses--in any posture which the conditions of the picture demanded1 it is not strange that the artist conceived this figure suspended from above in an arc of a circle1 if in these lines it served his purpose4 ,in this shape it completes a circuit in the figures1 fills the space which would otherwise open a wide escape for the vision1 and1 by the union of the three heads1 joins the figures in the centre of the canvas1 completing1 with the legs of ,ariadne1 five radial lines from this focus4 ,to the mind of a sixteenth century artist1 these reasons were more convincing than the objection to painting a hundred and forty pounds of recumbent flesh and blood1 with the support unseen4 ,to the modern artist such a conception would be well-nigh impossible1 though ,mr4 ,watts gives us much the same action4 ,here1 however1 the movement of the draperies supplies motion to the figure of ,selene1 and as a momentary action we know it to be possible4 ,were the interpretation of motion by hair and drapery impossible1 and the impression1 as in the ,tintoretto1 that of the suspended nude model1 it would be safe to say that no modern painter would have employed such a figure4 ,this touch of realism1 even among the transcendental painters1 denotes the clean-cut separations between the modern and mediaeval art sense4 ,while these two examples show the 8vortex0 arrangement with fluent outlines1 the portrait7#aj7 by ,mr4 ,whistler expresses the same principles in an outline almost rectangular1 but is to be placed in the same category as the other two4 ,the chair-back1 the curtain1 the framed etching1 are all formally placed with respect to the edges of the canvas1 and as we observe them in their order1 we return in a circuit to the head4 ,the circle in composition is discoverable in many pictures where there is no direct evidence that the intention was to compose thus1 but wherein analysis on these lines proves that1 led by unity1 balance and repose 7cardinal beacon-lights to the mind artistic71 the painter naturally did it4 ,it is of interest to review this picture through its simple evolution4 ,the head conceived in its pose1 the next line of interest is one from neck to feet4 ,this1 besides being the edge of the black mass of the body1 is the more apparent against the light gray wall and as a line is attractive in forming ,hogarth's 8,line of ,beauty40 ,but beautiful as it may be1 it commits an unlovely act in cutting a picture diagonally1 almost from corner to corner4 ,interruption of this is effected by the hands and increased by the handkerchief4 ,shortly below the knee this is diverted by the base-board and at the bottom squarely stopped by the solid rectangle of the stool4 ,suppose that the picture on the wall were missing2 not only would the long parallelogram of the curtain be unrelieved1 but the return of the line to the subject in the ensemble of the picture would be broken4 ,this1 therefore1 becomes the keystone of the composition4 ,other considerations besides its diversion from the curtain are1 its curtailing of wall space1 and1 by its close placement to the curtain1 its union therewith as a balance for head and body--in bulk of light and dark almost identical with them1 though less forcible in tonal value4 ,in ,wiertz's group about the body of ,patroclus1 though its contour is more decidedly circular 7and in the use of this term is always meant a line returning on itself71 it fails to prompt circular observation to the same extent as the foregoing4 ,the eye seesaws back and forth along the lines of the hammock arrangement of light1 and we are conscious of the extreme balance and the careful parcelling out of the units of force4 ,with all its evident abandon the method is painfully present1 as though the artist1 given so much ,greek1 was careful to add the same amount of ,trojan4 ,the level and plummet setting of the group exactly within the sides of the frame1 with no suggestion of anything else existing in the world1 puts it into the class of formal decoration1 with which old masterdom abounds1 and whence ,wiertz received the inspiration for most of his great compositions4 ,the ,fight ,over the ,body of ,patroclus--,weirls2 #ahjg--,meissonier2 ,ville d',avray--,corot2 ,the ,circle in ,perspective ,more studiable is the vortex arrangement of the 8#ahjg10 with its magnificent sweep of cavalry1 where the tumultuous energy of one part is augmented by fine antithesis of repose in another4 ,meissonier's composition was expanded after the first conception was nearly completed4 ,the visitor at the ,metropolitan ,museum may discover a horizontal line in the sky and a vertical one through the right end4 ,this slight ridge in the canvas shows the dimensions of the original thought4 ,the added space gave larger opportunity for the maneuvres of the cuirassiers1 and set ,napoleon to the left of the exact centre1 where1 by the importance of his figure1 he more justly serves as a balance for the heavier side of the picture4 ,as in the ,whistler portrait1 the keystone was the picture on the wall1 in this composition the group of mounted guardsmen on the left gives a circle's unity to it1 helps to join the middle distance with the foreground1 becomes the third point in the triangle1 which gives pyramidal solidity to the composition and is altogether quite as important to the picture as the right wing to an army4 ,corot was wont to rely on ,nature's gift as she bestowed it1 merely allowing his sensitive picture-sense to lead him where pictures were1 rather than upon any artful reconstruction of the facts of nature4 ,his 8,little ,music10 as he called it1 came for the most part ready-made for him1 and he simply caught it and wrote the score4 ,his art is less impressive for composite quality1 than1 for example1 that of ,mauve1 who1 in the same simple range of subject1 sought to produce a perfect composition every time4 ,in the 8,lake at ,ville d',avray10 we have one of ,corot's happiest subjects1 though not especially characteristic4 ,a considerable part of its charm lies in our opportunity to girdle it with our eye1 and in imagination from any point along its rim to view its circumference as a page from ,nature1 complete4 ,,reconstruction ,,for ,,circular ,,observation4 ,circular composition traceable in what has been first conceived as pyramidal or rectangular1 circular composition as the first intention1 expressed either on a vertical plane or in perspective1 i4e41 circular or elliptical--and composition made circular not by any arrangement of parts1 but by sacrifice and elimination of edges and corners are the three forms of composition which produce circular observation4 ,the value of the circle as a unifying and therefore as a simplifying agent cannot be overestimated1 especially in solving the problems which occur in composition where the circle has not been a part of the original scheme1 but where1 when applied1 it seems to bring a relief to confusion and disorder4 ,in many cases where all essential items are happily arranged1 but1 as a whole1 refuse to compose1 the addition of some element or the readjustment of a part which will produce circular observation1 will ofttimes prove the solution of the difficulty4 ,the ,hermit--,gerard ,dow 7,rectangle in ,circle72 ,the ,forge of ,vulcan--,boucher 7,circular ,observation by ,suppression of ,sides and ,corners7 ,just as progression in a straight line will soon carry us out of the picture1 will circular progression keep us within its bounds4 ,if then1 circular observation affords the best means of appreciation1 it follows that circular composition is the most telling form of presentation4 ,there are many subjects which naturally do not fall in these lines1 but which may ofttimes be reedited into this class4 ,this reediting means composition1 and two examples from a vast number are here given to show the working out of the problem4 ,in the 8,hermit10 by ,dow1 the figure1 book and hour glass compose in a simple left angle1 but the head becomes the centre to a circular composition by the presence of the arch above and the encircling shadow behind and beneath the arm4 ,the corners sacrifice their space to strengthen the centre and the vision is thus completely funneled upon the head4 ,in striking contrast to this is the composition by ,boucher4 ,here are the elements for two or three pictures thrown into one1 and in some respects well governed as a single composition4 ,conceive1 however1 this subject bereft of the darkened corners1 and the gradations which create a focus4 ,the figures would lie upon the canvas somewhat in the shape of a letter ,z1 devoid of essential coherence1 with the details in the foreground hopelessly exposed as padding4 ,another resort in order to secure a vortex1 or a centre bounded by a circle1 is to surround the head or figure with flying drapery1 branch forms1 a halo or any linear item which may serve both to cut out and to hem in4 ,it accomplishes something of what the hand does when held as a tunnel before the eye4 ,such a device offers ready aid to the decorator whose figures must often receive a close encasement1 fitted as they are into limited spaces1 when many an ungracious line in the subject is made to disappear through the accommodation of pliant drapery or of varied tree forms4 ,in this class of compositions especially must the background be made the complement of the subject4 ,what the subject fails to contain may there be supplied1 a sort of auxiliary opportunity4 ,the subject1 or most interesting part1 should lie either within the circuit or be the most important item of the circle4 ,it should never be outside the circle4 ,if it appears there1 the eye is thrown off of the elliptical track4 ,if the reader will compare the 8,lake at ,ville d',avray0 by ,corot with his 8,orpheus and ,eurydice10 the charm in the former may reveal itself more completely through the jar to which the latter subjects us4 ,the figures of the divine lyrist and his bride escaping out of one corner of the canvas do not enter at all into the linear scheme and in their anxiety to flee ,hades they are about to leave art and the spectator4 ,the picture is a strange counterpart of the ,apollo and ,daphne of ,giorgione at ,venice1 and since it is known of ,corot that he cared infinitely more for nature than art1 it is fair to suppose that he had never seen this picture either in the original or reproduction4 ,had he been governed by the feeling for unity which his works usually display this pitfall in the borders of plagiarism would not have snared him4 ,orpheus and ,eurydice--,corot 7,figures outside the natural line of the picture's composition72 ,the ,holy ,family--,andrea del ,sarto 7,the circle overbalanced7 ,the 8,holy ,family10 by ,andrea del ,sarto1 is a composition in which the good intention of the artist to make a complete line within the sides of the canvas seems a matter of greater concern than other principles of composition1 quite as important4 ,the ellipse of the three figures is beautifully carried out1 but it leaves one of them1 the most important1 in the least important place4 ,the whole composition sags in this direction1 the weight of ,joseph1 in half shadow1 being insufficient to recover the balance4 ,with these figures all well drawn and especially adapted in their contours to the organic lines of composition1 several rearrangements might be made1 as well as other arrangements1 with any one of the four figures omitted1 its place used for reserved space4 ,no better practice in linear and mass composition could be suggested than slight modification of parts by raising or lowering or spacing or by the reconstruction of the background1 of well known pictures in which the composition is confused4 ,a common mistake in the use of the circular form is that of making it too apparent4 ,a list of pictures might be made wherein the formal lines of construction are very much in evidence4 ,such could be well headed by ,raphael's 8,death of ,ananias10 where the formality of the arrangement is on a par with the strain and effort expressed in every one of its figures4 ,the curved peristyle of kneeling disciples offers a temptation to push the end man and await the result on the others1 more to witness a rearrangement than create any further commotion in the infant church4 ,the fact that this work is decorative rather than pictorial in intention cannot relieve the representation of an actual occurrence of the charge of being struck off in an oft-used and well worn mold4 ,compare with this ,rembrandt's famous circular composition1 8,christ ,healing the ,sick10 wherein though the weight on either side of ,christ is about evenly divided1 the formality of placement has been most carefully avoided1 and where the impression is merely that the ,healer is the centre of a body of people who surround him4 ,with the great principle of linear composition in mind1 namely1 that the vision travels in the path of least resistance1 no rule need be formulated and no further examples produced to prove that the various items of a composition are taken at their required value to the extent to which they adhere to and partake of the established plan of observation4 ,,chapter ,,vii - ,,angular ,,composition1 ,,the ,,line ,,of ,,beauty ,,and ,,the ,,rectangle ,the ,triangle4 ,in angular composition the return of the eye over its course1 as in circular observation1 is practically eliminated4 ,while the circle and ellipse offer a succession of items and events1 one the sequence of the other1 so that the vision concludes like a boomerang1 angular composition sends a shaft direct1 with no return4 ,here the pleasure of reverie through an endless chain must be exchanged for the stimulation of a shock1 for force by concentration1 for ruggedness at the expense of elegance4 ,pure triangular composition is a form rarely seen1 as1 in most cases where the lines of the triangle are detected as the first conception1 other lines or points have been added to destroy or modify them4 ,jacque has been successful in the management of what is considered a difficult form4 ,in the herder with cattle although we feel in the next moment the subject will have passed1 while it lasts the artist has kept the eye upon it by the use of dark figures at either end and a concentration of light in the centre2 also by the presence of the tree in the distance which turns the eye into the picture as it leaves the cow on the right4 ,the ,herder--,jaque ,another example more complete as a composition is his famous 8,shepherd and ,sheep107#aa7 in which the angle is formed by the dark dog at the extreme right1 the lines expanding through the figure of the shepherd and thence above into a group of trees and below along the edge of the flock4 ,in this example the base line runs into the picture by perspective and thence back into the picture to the trees4 ,the 8,departure for the ,chase10 by ,cuyp1 shows an unsuccessful use of this shape4 ,in 8,the ,path of the ,surf10 the main form--the surf--is a triangle and the two supporting spaces triangles4 ,such a construction is particularly stable1 as these focalize on the line of interest4 ,some artists construct most of their pictures in a series of related triangles4 ,the writer calling upon ,henry ,bacon found him painting a group of transatlantic travellers on a steamer's deck4 ,he pointed out a scheme of triangles which together formed one great triangle1 but said he was looking for the last point for the base of this4 ,a monthly magazine was suggested1 which1 laid open on its face1 proved le dernier clou4 ,,the ,,vertical ,,line ,,in ,,angular ,,composition ,when ,giotto was asked for his conception of a perfect building1 he produced a circle4 ,when ,michael ,angelo was appealed to1 he designated the cross4 ,on both bases may good architecture and good pictures be founded4 ,if the extremities of the ,greek cross be connected by arcs1 a circle will result1 and if the ,latin cross be so bounded we will have a kite-shape1 or ellipse4 ,the two designs are1 therefore1 not as dissimilar as may at first be supposed4 ,in both1 from the pictorial standpoint1 they are the framework by means of which the same given space may be filled4 ,the simple vertical line is monotonous4 ,its bisection produces balance2 a cross is the result4 ,again1 two crosses placed together1 the arms touching1 and three crosses in like position1 will represent the picture plan of the grouping so frequently used by ,raphael--a central figure balanced by one on either side1 the horizon joining them1 and behind this the balance repeated in trees and other figures4 ,pictorially1 the vertical line is much more important than any other4 ,it is the direction of gravity2 it represents man upright1 in distinction from the brutes2 it also can stand alone1 all other lines demanding supports4 ,of two equally forcible lines1 this would first be seen4 ,in composition1 therefore1 it has the right of way4 ,let us start with a subject represented by a vertical line--a tree or figure4 ,the directness1 rigidity1 isolation and unqualified force of such a line demands balance2 otherwise1 extension is the sole idea4 ,with the thought of a frame or sides of the picture comes the necessary horizontal line1 bisecting the vertical4 ,length and breadth have then been represented1 something in two dimensions started1 and the four sides of a frame necessitated4 ,in sculpture this consideration weighs nothing4 ,a statue is framed by all outdoors4 ,the vertical of a single figure pierces the unlimited sky1 and the only consideration to the artist is that the mass looks well from any point of view4 ,the group by ,carpeaux is a sample of plastic art unusually picturesque1 and would easily fit a frame1 because in it the vertical figure is supported by horizontals1 both of lines and in the idea of lateral movement4 ,it is1 therefore1 solid and complete and sets forth in its structure the thought of ,alexander the ,great when he had his artists represent1 in a design painted upon his equipments1 lasting power as a sword within a circuit4 ,this piece of sculpture is a cross within a cylinder1 but on a flat plane the principle is just as forcible1 as will further be shown in the picture by ,israels4 ,alone--,jacques ,israels 7,constructive ,synthesis upon the ,vertical72 ,the ,dance--,carpeaux 7,the ,cross ,within the ,circle7 8,the ,crucifixion10 by ,morot1 is more statuesque than picturesque1 and would gain in effect if seen unembarrassed by the limitations of a frame4 ,its strength in one situation is its weakness in another4 ,the presence of the frame creates three spaces1 one above the horizontal and one on either side of the vertical1 and these are empty4 ,therefore1 although the single thought of the dying ,saviour is sufficiently great to bear--nay1 even1 perhaps1 demand--isolation1 it unites itself with nothing else within our compass of vision1 and1 therefore1 cannot be said to compose with its frame4 ,the reader is now in a position to appreciate the simple mechanics which underlie the composition by ,israels4 ,in 8,alone0 the artist starts with the figure of the man--a vertical4 ,the next thought closely allied is the woman4 ,the two complete a cross4 ,from either end two more verticals are erected4 ,on the left another horizontal joins the vertical in the top of the table and unites it with another vertical1 the shutter1 and so on to the edge of the picture4 ,on the other side the basket top leads off from the vertical and thence down the side to the floor and to the edge of the picture by the lines of fagots4 ,the circuit1 which helps to keep the vision in the picture and serves to render more compact the subject proper1 is developed by the shelf1 weights of the clock1 basket1 cap1 items upon table1 shutter and bedpost4 ,for proof that the horizontal lines in this composition were all placed there for the relief of the verticals1 with the first of which the picture starts1 let us remove the table1 basket and bench and see how the arrangement becomes one of quadrangles1 paralleling instead of uniting with the sides4 ,in every case1 in the accompanying illustrations1 there has been an effort to reach out toward the sides and take hold there4 ,those that have established these points of contact most fully are the most stable and the most satisfying4 ,in the composition of the 8,beautiful ,gate10 by ,raphael1 the two pillars1 in that they span the whole distance from bottom to top1 destroy all chance for unity4 ,three pictures result instead of one--a triptych elaborately framed4 ,even with these verticals cutting the picture into sections1 had horizontals been introduced between them and in front1 or even behind1 some of the necessary unity of pictorial structure could have been secured4 ,what connection exists between these several parts is all subjective1 but not structural1 the impulse to exhibit the wonderful columns in their remarkable perfection of detail being a temptation to which the picture was sacrificed4 ,such an exhibition of the uncontrolled vertical produces an effect on a par with a football carried straight across the field and placed on the goal line without opposition4 ,all the strategy of the game is left out1 and although the play produces the required effect in the score1 a few repetitions of the procedure would soon clear the benches4 ,the interest to the spectators and players alike enters in when the touch-down is accomplished after a series of zigzags toward the outer line1 where force meeting force in a counter direction results in a tangent1 when the goal is reached by the subtlety of a diagonal4 ,a cushion carom is an artistic thing2 a set-up shot is the beginner's delight4 ,in the 8,allegory of ,spring10 by ,botticelli1 we have a sample of structure lacking both circular cohesion and the stability of the cross adhesion4 ,like separate figures and groups of a photographic collection1 it might be extended indefinitely on either side or cut into four separate panels4 ,the accessories of the figures offer no help of union4 ,besides the lack of structural unity1 no effort toward it appears in the conception of the subject4 ,each figure or group is sufficient unto itself1 and the whole represents a group of separate ideas4 ,this is not composition1 but addition4 ,but what of the single figure in standing portraiture1 when only the person is presented1 and no thought desired but that of personality1 when the outline stands relieved by spaces of nothingness8 ,though less apparent1 the principle of union with the sides still abides4 ,what is known as the lost and found outline is a recognition of this1 an effort of the background to become homogeneous with the vertical mass1 the line giving way that the surrounding tone may be let in4 ,such is the feeling with which many of the most subtle of ,whistler's full-lengths have been produced4 ,the portraits of ,carriere are still more striking examples of absolute dismissal of outline4 ,in the well-known portrait of 8,alice10 by ,mr4 ,chase1 where the crisp edges of a white dress are relieved against a dark ground1 such treatment is impossible4 ,here1 however1 the device of flying ribbons is a most clever one1 which1 besides giving the effect of motion1 causes an interruption in these clean-cut outlines1 as also in the formal spaces on either side4 ,the horizontal accent of dark through the centre of the canvas1 suggesting a grand piano in the dim recesses behind1 fulfills a like obligation from the linear as well as tonal standpoint4 ,,angular ,,composition ,,based ,,on ,,the ,,horizontal ,as the vertical may be termed the figure painters' line so the horizontal becomes the line of the landscape painter4 ,given these as the necessary first things1 the picture is made by building upon and around them4 ,the devices which aid the figure painter in disposing of one or many verticals have been briefly viewed4 ,a consideration of the horizontal will necessarily take us out of doors to earth and sky1 where nature constructs on surfaces which follow the horizon4 ,the problem in composition which each of these lines presents is the same and the principle governing the solution of each identical2 balance by equalization of forces4 ,given a line which coincides with but one side of the picture it becomes necessary for the poise of the quadrilateral to cross it with an opposing line4 ,the rectangular cross1 though more positive and effective1 is no more potential in securing this unity than the crossing of lines at a long angle4 ,a series of right angles will in time arrive at the same point as the tangent1 but less quickly4 ,each angle in such an ascent produces the parity of both horizontal and vertical4 ,the tangent expresses their synthesis4 ,in ,fortuny's 8,connoisseurs10 the right angle formed by the line of the mantel and the statue takes the eye to the same point as the tangent of the shadow4 ,again1 the principle allows the modification of any arm of the cross1 maintaining only the fact of the cross itself4 ,when a line passes through the first or necessary line of construction it has1 so to speak1 incorporated itself as a part of the picture1 and what it becomes thereafter is of no great importance4 ,if the reader will make simple line diagrams of but a few pictures1 this point will be made clear1 and it will be found that such diagrams which represent either the actual lines of direction or lines of suggestion from point to point or mass to mass will comfortably fill the quadrilateral of the frame as a linear design4 ,in all analyses of pictures the student should select the first or most commanding and necessary line of the conception4 ,having found this thread the whole composition will unravel and disclose a reason for each stitch4 ,let a horizontal base line be assumed and verticals erected therefrom1 without crossing it4 ,the reason why no picture results is because there is no cross4 ,such a design would suggest many of ,fra ,angelico's decorations of saints and angels2 or the plan of the better known decoration of 8,the ,prophets0 at the ,boston ,library by ,sargent4 ,these groups1 it must be remembered1 are not pictorial and are not compositions from the picture point of view4 ,their homogeneity depends not on interchange of line or upon other mechanics of composition1 but only upon the unity of associated ideas4 ,in instances1 however1 where some of the figures of these groups are joined by horizontal lines or masses which bisect these verticals the pictorial intention begins to be felt4 ,sketches from ,landscapes by ,henry ,ranger2 ,parity of ,horizonatals and ,verticals2 ,crossings of ,horizontals by ,spot ,diversion ,of the accompanying illustrations that of the view on the shore with overhanging clouds shows a most persistent lot of horizontals with nothing but the lighthouse and the masts of the vessels to serve for reactive lines4 ,at their great distance they would accomplish little to relieve this disparity of line were it not for the aid of the vertical pillar of cloud and the pull downward which the eye received in the pool below the shore4 ,the most troublesome line in this picture is the shore line1 but an effort is made here to break its monotony by two accents of bushes on either side4 ,what1 therefore1 would seem to be a composition 8going all one way10 displays1 after all1 a strong attempt toward the recognition of the principle of crossed lines4 ,the sketch shows the constructive lines of a picture by ,henry ,hanger1 and lacks the force of color by which these points are emphasized4 ,sketch from the ,book of ,truth--,claude ,lorrain 7,rectangle ,unbalanced72 ,the ,beautiful ,gate--,raphael 7,verticals ,destroying ,pictorial ,unity7 ,in the wood interior the stone wall is the damaging line4 ,not only does it parallel the bottom line1 always unfortunate1 but it cuts the picture in two from side to side4 ,above this the bottom line of the distant woods gives another paralleling line1 running the full length of the picture4 ,given the verticals together with these1 however1 their force becomes weakened until there ensues an almost perfect balance1 the crossing lines weighing out even4 ,the sketch from ,claude ,lorraine1 out of the 8,book of ,truth10 shows a great left angle composition of line not very satisfactory1 owing to its lack of weight for the long arm of the steelyard4 ,the principle1 however1 which this sketch exhibits is correct1 and its balance of composition would be easily effected by the addition of some small item of interest to the extreme left4 ,it is not1 however1 a commendable type of composition1 owing to the difficulty of obtaining a rational balance1 but when this is to be had in just its right force the plan of lines is excellent4 ,in the matter of measures1 were the whole composition pushed to the left we would at once feel a relief in the spaces4 ,but the impressionist queries why not take it as it stands6 ,so it might be taken1 and a most balanced picture painted from it2 but these considerations apply to the black and white1 without the alteration which color might effect4 ,mother and ,child--,orchardson 7,horizontals opposed or ,covered72 ,stream in ,winter--,w4 ,e4 ,schofield 7,verticals and ,horizontals vs4 ,diagonal7 ,no less aggravated a case of horizontals is the charming picture of mother and child by ,mr4 ,orchardson4 ,the long cane sofa and the recumbent baby are the two unaccommodating lines for which the mother's figure was especially posed4 ,howsoever unconscious may appear the renderings of this figure1 plus the fan1 the underlying structure of it conforms absolutely to the requirements of the unthinking half of the subject4 ,it is an instance of an unpromising start resulting with especial success through skillful playing to its awkward leads4 ,the principle of the diagonal being equivalent as a space filler to the crossed horizontal and vertical is shown by comparison of the wood interior with the winter landscape1 in which the foreground has been thus disposed of4 ,the force of a horizontal is more cleverly weakened by such a line because besides adding variety it accomplishes its intention with less effort4 ,as a warning of what may happen when these principles are neglected or overdone one glance at the equestrian picture by ,cuyp is sufficient4 ,his subject1 a man on horseback1 is an excellent cross of a horizontal and vertical in itself and simply required to be let alone and led away from4 ,the background destroys this and1 instead of being an aid to circular observation1 persists in adding a line to one in the subject which should have been parried1 and thus cuts the picture in two4 ,cuyp in this as in another similar picture had in mind light and shade rather than linear composition1 but even so1 the composition shows little intelligence4 ,no amount of after manipulation could condone so vicious a slaughter of space and line opportunities which the background1 with its reduplicating edge1 accomplishes4 ,study in that vast and changeful realm the sky offers a greater opportunity for selection than any other part of nature4 ,the sky is but one of two elements in every landscape and in the majority of cases it is the secondary element4 ,if the sky is to agree with an interesting landscape it must retire behind it4 ,if it causes divided interest1 its interest must be sacrificed4 ,drawings1 photographs and color studies of skies with the intention of combining them with landscape should be made in the range of secondary interest and with the calculation of their fitting to the linear scheme of landscape4 ,skies which move away from the horizon diagonally1 suggesting the oppositional feeling1 are more useful in an artist's portfolio than a series of clouds1 the bottoms of which parallel the horizon1 especially when these float isolated in the sky4 ,when the formal terrace of clouds entirely fills the sky space1 its massive structure is felt rather than the horizontal lines1 just as a series of closely paralleled lines becomes a flat tint4 ,,the ,,line ,,of ,,beauty4 ,the most elastic and variable of the fundamental forms of composition is the line of beauty1 the letter ,s1 or1 conceived more angularly1 the letter ,z4 ,this is one particularly adapted to upright arrangements and one largely used by the old masters4 ,we are able to trace this curvilinear feeling through at least one-third of the great figure compositions of the ,renaissance4 ,note the page of sketches in the chapter on ,light and ,shade4 ,though selected for this quality they show a strong feeling for the sweeping line of the letter ,s4 8,the ,descent from the ,cross10 a most marked example1 can well be considered one of the world's greatest compositions4 ,over and over again ,rubens has repeated this general form and always with great effect4 ,whether the line is traceable upon the vertical plane or carries the eye into the picture and forms itself into the graceful union of one object with another1 its great pictorial power is revealed to any who will look for it4 ,hogarth's ,line of ,beauty ,in ,hogarth's essay on 8,the ,line of ,beauty10 he sets forth a series of seven curves selecting ,no4 #d as the most perfect4 ,this is duplicated in nature by the line of a woman's back4 ,if two be joined side by side they produce the beautiful curve of a mouth and the cupid's bow4 ,horizontally1 the line becomes a very serviceable one in landscape4 ,as a vertical it recalls the upward sweep of a flame which1 ever moving1 is symbolic of activity and life4 ,to express this line both in the composition of the single figure and of many figures was the constant effort of ,michael ,angelo and1 through ,marcus de ,sciena1 his pupil1 it has been passed down to us4 ,by the master it was considered most important advice4 8,the greatest grace10 he asserts1 8that a picture can have is that it express life and motion1 as that of a flame of fire40 ,yet in the face of such a statement from the painter of the 8,last ,judgment0 it is difficult to reconcile the lack of it in this great picture4 ,the compound curve which this line contains is one of perfect balance1 traceable in the standing figure4 ,as an element of grace1 alone1 it affords the same delight as the interweaving curves of a dance or the fascination of coiling and waving smoke4 ,classic landscape1 in which many elements are introduced1 or any subject where scattered elements are to be swept together and controlled is dependent upon this principle4 ,an absolute line is not of course necessary1 but points of attraction1 which the eye easily follows1 is an equivalent4 ,many simple subjects owe their force and distinction entirely to a good introduction through a bold sweeping curved line4 ,thanks to the wagon track of the seashore1 which may be given any required curve1 the formality and frequent emptiness of this subject is made to yield itself into good composition4 ,when the subject rejects grace and demands a rugged form1 the sinuous flow of line may be exchanged for an abrupt and forcible zigzag4 ,in such an arrangement the eye is pulled sharply across spaces from one object to another1 the space itself containing little of interest4 ,in the short chapter on ,getting out of the ,picture1 the use of this zigzag line was emphasized4 ,the opportunity offered in the film-like cirrus clouds1 which so frequently lie as the background to the more positive forms of the cumulous1 for securing the oppositional feeling1 is one frequently adopted by sky painters4 ,besides strengthening the structure pictorially such arrangement frequently imparts great swing and movement in the lines of a sky1 carrying the eye away from the horizon4 ,when positive cloud motion is desired these oppositional masses may become very suggestive of wind1 different strata showing a contrasted action of air currents4 ,as an adjunct to any other form of composition this line may be profitably employed4 ,it plays second with graceful effect in the 8,path of the ,surf10 8,the ,lovers10 8,the ,stream in ,winter10 8,the ,chant10 8#ahjg10 and is traceable in many of the best compositions4 ,,the ,,rectangle ,the last of the great forms of composition is the rectangle1 but this always in connection with oppositional balance4 ,such a form attaches itself to two sides of the picture and the importance of a reacting measure is obvious4 ,in this lies the warrant for its use1 for without it unity is impossible4 ,of the six fundamental forms of composition this is the only one which is dependent1 all the others containing within themselves the element of balance4 ,the rectangle plus the isolated measure approaches the completeness of the cross and in the degree it lacks this completeness it develops opportunities for originality4 ,in the landscape by ,corot the letter ,l is plainly shown4 ,in the diagram of ,fundamental ,forms also1 the tree-mass1 cow and river bank in shadow serve as a sombre foil for the clump of trees upon the opposite shore which are bathed in the soft luminous haze of early morning4 ,this is the real attraction which1 grafted upon the heavy structure of the foreground affects us the more through the contrast4 ,in ,mr4 ,pettie's picture of 8,james ,,ii and the ,duke of ,monmouth10 we have the opposition of the two lines1 the attraction in the open space being the line of seats along the wall4 ,these1 in the dimly lighted interior1 are scarcely assertive enough to effect the diversion which the open structure demands4 ,in perspective this arrangement merges into the triangle which has already been discussed4 ,the 8,sheep and ,shepherd10 by ,jacque is constructed upon the ,l reversed and is an unusually strong example of a rare arrangement4 ,,line ,structural line1 or that which stands for the initial form of the picture and conjunctive line1 or that which joins itself naturally to such form are the two phases of line which engage the scientific study of the artist4 ,line for line's sake is an opportunity offered him quite apart from structural considerations4 ,line has a distinct aesthetic value no less than one contributive to picture mechanics4 ,thus pictures conceived in vertical lines bespeak dignity1 solemnity1 quietude2 pillars1 trees of straight shaft1 ascending smoke and other vertical forms all voice these and allied emotions4 ,with slightly less force does a series of horizontals affect us and with a kindred emotion4 ,but when the line slants and ceases to support itself1 or becomes curved1 movement is suggested and another set of emotions is evoked4 ,the diagonal typifies the quick darting lightning4 ,the vertical curved line is emblematic of the tongue of flame2 the horizontal curve1 of a gliding serpent4 ,in the circle and ellipse we feel the whirl and fascination of continuity4 ,the linear impulse in composition therefore plays a part in emotional art independent of the subject itself4 ,aesthetics of ,line2 ,the ,altar2 ,roman ,invasion--,f4 ,lamayer 7,vertical line in action2 dignified1 measured1 ponderous72 ,the ,flock--,p4 ,moran 7,the horizontal1 typifying quietude1 repose1 calm1 solemnity72 ,the curved line3 variety1 movement2 ,man with ,stone--,v4 ,spitzer 7,transitional ,line1 ,cohesion72 ,the ,dance--,rubens 7,the ellipse3 line of continuity and unity72 ,swallows--,from the ,strand 7,the diagonal3 line of action2 speed7 ,aesthetics of ,line1 ,continued1 ,where ,line is the motive and ,decoration is the ,impulse2 ,winter ,landscape--,after ,photograph 7,line of grace1 variety1 facile sequence72 ,line ,versus ,space 7,the same impulse with angular energy1 ,the line more attractive than the plane72 ,reconciliation--,glackens 7,composition governed by the decorative exterior line72 ,december--,after ,photograph 7,radial lines with strong focalization7 ,pictorial art owes a large and increasing debt to decorative art and no small part of this is its simple beauty of line4 ,it is rare however to find the painter governed in his first conception by any positive linear form4 ,the outlines of great compositions only hint of decorative structure and give no evidence that they were planned as linear designs4 ,the requirement of linear design that she beautifully fill a space is met by pictorial composition through the many correlative opportunities which in her broader range are open to her1 by which she adds to the fundamental forms of construction 7which often prove bad space fillers7 such items as connect their outlines with the encasement or frame4 ,with some ingenuity advocates of pure design as the basis of pictorial structure1 point out the similarity of certain compositions to formal1 ornamental design or type forms of plants1 flowers1 etc41 yet omit to state how many of the best compositions they reject in their search for the happy hit or to allow for the fact that in those which they cite1 cruel disturbance of the beautiful scheme could easily be wrought by slight reconstruction1 leaving the work quite as good4 ,the author's contention is directly opposed to the notion that pictorial art is dependent on the flat plan of the design1 which is only contributory1 but that its essence is known by an apprehension of balance through the depth of the picture4 ,pictorial art is not an art of two dimensions but of three4 ,,chapter ,,viii - ,,the ,,composition ,,of ,,one1 ,,two1 ,,three ,,and ,,more ,,units ,starting with a single idea represented by a single unit the coexistent thought must be the frame or canvas circumference4 ,supplying this we may then think of the unit as a matter of proportion4 ,when the amount of space allowed the unit has been decided1 the space between its circumference and the dimensions of the canvas1 or what may be called the surplus or contributing area is the only thing that remains to engage us4 ,let the unit be a standing figure1 or a portrait1 head and shoulders4 ,the unification of a unit1 enclosed in four sides1 with those sides can only be accomplished by either having the mass of the figure touch the sides of the canvas1 or stretch toward them with that intent4 ,according to the strength or number of such points of attachment will the unit be found to maintain a stable existence amid its surroundings4 ,in the case of the single figure standing within the frame where no chance of contact occurs1 the background should show an oppositional mass or line attaching at some point the vertical sides of the figure to the sides of the canvas4 ,an equivalent of such a line is a gradation1 often the shadow from the figure serving to effect this union4 ,if the shadow unites the outline with the background in such a tone as to subdue or destroy this outline1 the attachment becomes stronger and at the same time the positiveness of outline on the light side finds its contrast and balance in this area of mystery and envelopment4 ,a development by chiaroscuro is a necessity to the pictorial unity of the single figure4 ,in the portrait of ,olga ,nethersole 7see 8,the ,pose in ,portraiture071 the photographer presents the section of a figure2 not a picture4 ,the spaces in the background form no scheme with the figure and have not been used to relieve the lines of the skirt4 ,the sacrifice in half-tone of the lower part would have given prominence to the upper and more important part4 ,owing to the interest and attraction of the triplicated folds of the dress the vision is carried all the way to the lower edge1 where it is irritated by the sudden disappearance4 ,the picture has no conclusion4 ,it is simply cut off1 and so ended4 ,it is the opinion of some artists that the portrait having for its purpose the presentation of a personality should contain nothing else4 ,with the feeling that the background is something that should not be seen1 more art is often expended in painting a space with nothing in it than in putting something there that may not be seen4 ,in doing nothing with a background a space may be created that says a great deal that it should not4 ,there is nothing more difficult than the composition of two units especially when both are of equal prominence4 ,the principle of ,principality sets its face sternly against the attempt4 ,one must dominate1 either in size1 or attraction1 either by sentiment or action4 ,art can show distinguished examples of two figures of equal importance placed on the same canvas1 but pictorially they lack the essential of complete art1--unity4 ,the critical study of this problem by modern painters has secured in portraiture and genre much better solutions than can be found in the field of good painting up to the present4 ,we may look almost in vain through old masterdom and through the examples of the golden age of portraiture in ,england1 discovering but few successes of such combination in the works of ,gainsborough1 ,reynolds and others4 ,the foreplacement of one figure over another does not always mean prominence for it4 ,light1 as an element1 is stronger than place4 ,on this basis where honors are easy with the two subjects one may have precedence of place and one of lighting4 ,the difficulty in the arrangement of two is in their union4 ,if1 for instance1 they are opposed in sentiment as markedly as two fencers there yet must be a union secured in the background4 ,if placed in perspective1 perspective settles most of the difficulty4 ,unity and its ,lack2 ,the ,lovers--,gussow2 ,the ,poulterers--,wallander ,the accompanying pictures are examples at both ends of the scale4 8,the ,lovers10 in construction1 shows what all pictures demand1 the centripetal tendency4 ,all the elements consist4 ,as a picture it is complete2 another figure would spoil it for us and them4 ,not so the 8,poulterers02 persons could come and go in this picture without effecting it4 ,it is but a section at best4 ,one can imagine a long row of pickers1 or we could cut it through the centre and have two good studies4 ,there is no union4 ,the other contains principality1 transition of line1 balance of light and shade1 circular observation1 opposition of color values and the principle of sacrifice4 ,in ,mr4 ,orchardson's 8,mother and ,child0 the first place is given to the child in white2 the background carries the middle tint and the mother has been reserved in black4 ,greater sacrifice of one figure to another1 the mother to the child1 is seen in ,miss ,kasebier's picture of a nude infant held between the knees of the mother whose face is so abased as to be unseen2 or in ,john ,sargent's portrait of a boy seated and gazing toward us into space while his mother in the half-shadow of the background reads aloud4 ,the greatest contributing force to contrast is sacrifice4 ,the subject is known to be important by what is conceded to it4 ,the portrait of two gentlemen by ,eastman ,johnson is one of the most successful attempts at bringing two figures of equal importance on to one canvas4 ,they are in conversation1 the one talking and active1 the other listening and passive1 and the necessary contrast is thus created4 ,in the combination of three units the objection of formal balance disappears4 ,if one be opposed by two1 the force gained by the one through isolation commensurates the two4 ,in such arrangement the two may be united by overlapping so that though the sense and idea of two be present it is shown in one mass as a pictorial unit4 ,this general disposition1 experience shows to be the best4 ,two other good forms are two separated units joined by other items and opposed to one1 or the three joined either directly or by suggestion1 the units balanced like a triangle by opposition4 ,the ,madonna and ,st4 ,john with the ,infant ,christ is a sample of the first4 ,in the 8,connoisseurs0 by ,fortuny we have the second form1 and in the 8,huntsman and ,hounds0 the third4 ,a most original and commendable arrangement of three figures by ,w4 ,l4 ,hollinger appears in 8,the ,pose in ,portraiture10 the members of a trio1 violin1 cello and piano4 ,the pianist is designated by the suggestion of her action which is completed out of the picture4 ,in her position however she accomplishes the balancing of two figures against one4 ,,the ,,figure ,,in ,,landscape ,a writer on the use of the figure in out-of-door photography after leading the reader through many pages concludes by saying3 after all you had better leave them out4 ,in two works on photography from an ,english and ,american press the writer has seen this article quoted in full and therefore infers that the author has been taken seriously4 ,the relation of ,man to ,nature1 and the sentiment1 interchangeable1 proceeding from one to the other1 is a link binding the one to the dust from which he sprang and the other to the moods of man to which she makes so great an appeal4 ,it is a union of a tender nature to the real lover of the voiceless influences which surround him3 8,tears1 idle tears10 8,i know not what they mean10 8,rise in the heart and gather to the eyes0 8,in looking on the happy ,autumn fields40 ,can a sentiment so strong in fact1 be divorced in art8 ,it is the fulcrum on which the art of ,mauve and ,millet and ,walker lifts and turns us4 ,it is not necessary to mention other painters2 but to the case in point observe that at ,barbizon a photographer of artistic perceptions has for years followed in the footprints of ,millet4 ,if nature moves us directly she will move us through our own kind4 ,we feel the vastness of a scene by the presence of a lone figure4 ,the panoramic grandeur of the sky attracts us the more if it has also appealed to a figure in the picture4 ,but beyond this affinity in the subject there are sufficient reasons why the figure should be included4 ,the figure can be moved about as a knight in the game1 hither and yon as the fixed conditions of topography demand4 ,many a landscape which would be entirely useless without such an element is not only redeemed1 but is found to be particularly prepared and waiting for this keystone4 ,take for example a picture in which lines are paralleling one another in their recession from the foreground or where there is a monotony in any horizontal sequence4 ,the vertical of the figure means the balance of these4 ,the principle is one already noted1 action balancing action in contrary direction4 ,what of the nymphs of ,corot1 or the laveuses bending at the margin of the lake1 the plowman homeward plodding o'er the lea1 the shepherd on the distant moor1 the woodsman in the forest1 the farmer among his fields4 ,we associate our vision of the scene with theirs4 ,when as mere dots they are discerned1 the vastness of their surroundings is realized at their expense and the exclamation of the psalmist is ours3 8,what is man that thou art mindful of him40 ,the danger in the use of the figure is that it is so frequently lugged in4 ,the friends that happen to be along are often made to do4 ,there is no case where the fitness of things is more compulsory than in the association of figures with landscape4 ,the haymaker creates a sensation on ,broadway but no more so than ,dundreary crossing a plowed field in ,oxford ties4 ,as the poetry of a ,corot landscape invites the nymphs to come and the ruggedness of the ,barbizon plain befits the toiling peasants of ,millet1 so should our landscape determine the chord in humanity to be harmoniously played with it4 ,a fault in construction is frequently seen in the lack of simplicity of foreplane and background4 ,it must first be determined whether it is to be a landscape with figures or figures in landscape4 ,the half one and half another picture is a sure failure4 ,the most serviceable material one may collect in sketching are such positions which play second or third parts in composition2 cattle or other animals in back or three-quarter view which readily unite with and lead to their principals4 ,in the selection of the subject the main object has most of one's thought4 ,this however usually 8goes0 without thought1 asserting itself by its own interest4 ,figures which are less interesting than this and still less1 such as will combine with the subject proper1 are what the painter and illustrator long for4 ,as with the background1 those things which are not of sufficient interest to be worth while in themselves are1 owing to their lesser significance1 of the utmost importance to the composer4 ,note in the usual ,van ,marke cattle picture of five cows1 the diminishing interest in the other four1 or the degree of restraint expressed in most of the figures successfully introduced into landscape4 ,,chapter ,,ix - ,,groups ,in the statuesque group the outline is important because this is seen against the background of wall1 or sky1 and frequently in silhouette4 ,any fault in its contour as a mass is therefore emphasized4 ,this consideration applies pictorially to groups which are complete in themselves and have no incorporation with backgrounds1 such for instance as the photographic group of a number of people4 ,here personality is the first requirement1 but harmony of arrangement and picturesqueness may be united thereto4 ,the two best shapes are the oval and the pyramid4 ,in either of these outlines there is opportunity for a focal centre1 always important4 ,in forming such an arrangement the focus should be the first consideration1 item by item being added4 ,as the group approaches the outline it must be governed according to the form desired4 ,a more artistic combination of figures will be found to be a separation into a large and a small group1 the principal figure placed in either4 ,if in the former1 the figures of the smaller group must be sacrificed to this figure1 either in pose or lighting4 ,if the principal figure is in the smaller group or entirely separate1 this isolation will prove sufficient for the distinction4 ,where greater liberties may be taken and the intention is for a purely artistic composition1 the curvilinear ,s shape will be found a good line to build upon4 ,when this is too apparent a single oppositional figure will destroy its formality4 ,the possibilities of the single figure as a reserve1 kept to be placed at the last moment where something is necessary1 are worth noting4 ,if the group be too formal in outline1 lateral arrangement1 or expression1 the reserve may be played as a foil to create a diversion4 ,in all successful groups the principle of sacrifice must play havoc4 ,here the artist should expect to pay for his art scruples4 ,rembrandt was the first painter sacrificed to these instincts4 ,when the order to paint the 8,municipal ,guard0 came to him he saw in it an opportunity toward the pictorial4 ,knowing what this entailed he persevered1 despite the mutterings of his sitters1 the majority of whom were ill pleased with their respective positions4 ,when finally the canvas was finished1 full of mystery and suggestiveness and those subtle qualities1 such as before had never been seen in ,dutch art1 those for whom it had been executed expressed their opinion by giving an order for the same to a rival4 ,his picture is a collection of separate individuals1 each having an equal importance4 ,here was the sudden ending of ,rembrandt's career as a painter of portraits1 only one canvas of an important group being painted thereafter--the 8,syndics40 ,a certain reason in this popular criticism cannot be denied4 ,the composition is unnecessarily scattered and the placements arbitrary1 though through the radial lines of pikes and flag pole the scattered parts are drawn together4 ,the composition partakes of the confusion of the scene depicted1 yet in its measure of parts one can doubt not that the comparative values of his sitters have been considered4 ,the democracy of man in his freedom and equality is the despair of the artist who knows that the harmony of the universe is conditional on kingship and principalities and powers1 and the scale of things from the lowest to the highest4 ,says ,mr4 ,ruskin3 8,the great object of composition being always to secure unity--that is1 to make many things one whole--the first mode in which this can be effected is by determining that one feature shall be more important than all the rest and that others shall group with it in subordinate position40 ,principality may be secured either by attraction of light as in a white dress or by placing the figure as the focus of leading lines as are supplied by the architecture of a building1 or such lines as are happily created by surrounding figures which proceed toward the principal one1 or by including such a figure in the most important line4 ,again the figure for such a position may be the only one in a group which exhibits unconcern or absolute repose1 the others by expression or action acknowledging such sovereignty4 ,the summer time out-of-door group which is so frequently interesting only to 8friends10 in many cases affords opportunities for pictures attractive to all4 ,the average photographer is concerned only with his people2 the background is brought to mind when he sees the print4 ,although little or no interest may be found in the background it should be appropriate1 and should play a reserve part1 serving the chiaroscuro and therefore the illumination of the subject and creating an opportunity for the exit which always gives depth and an extended interest4 ,a mass of foliage with little penetration by the sky except in one or two places and at the side1 not the centre1 may always be found safe4 ,if the attraction is too great the group suffers4 ,appreciating the importance of his setting for groups the photographer must select these with three points in view2 simplicity1 uninterest and exit in background2 simplicity1 uninterest and leading line or balancing mass or spot 7if required7 in foreground4 ,when looking for backgrounds he may feel quite sure he has one if it is the sort of thing he would never dream of photographing on its own account4 ,besides being too interesting1 most backgrounds are inappropriate and distracting4 ,the frequent commendations and prizes accorded to good subjects having these faults and therefore devoid of unity tell how little even photographic judges and editors think on the appropriate and essential ensemble in composition4 ,with the background in unobjectionable evidence the photographer should rapidly address his posers a little lecture on compositional requirements and at the end ask for volunteers for the sacrificial parts1 at the same time reminding them that the back or side view is not only characteristic of the person but often very interesting4 ,he should maintain that a unity be evident in the group2 of intent1 of line1 and of gradation4 ,the first is subjective and must be felt by the posers4 ,the other two qualifications are for the artist's consideration4 ,at such a time his acquaintance with examples of pictorial art will come to his aid4 ,he must be quick to recognize the possibilities of his material which may be hurriedly swept into one of the forms which have justified confidence4 ,when a continuity of movement has been secured1 a revisionary glance must be given to determine if the whole is balanced2 background1 foreground and focus1 one playing into the other as the lines of a dance1 leading1 merging1 dissolving1 recurring4 ,mindful of the distractions of such occasions1 the wise man has done his thinking beforehand1 has counted his figures1 has noted the tones of clothing and has resolved on his focal light4 ,with this much he has a start and can begin to build at once4 ,his problem is that of the maker of a bouquet adding flower to flower around the centre4 ,to make a rough sketch from the models themselves posed and thought over1 with the opportunity for erasures of revisions before leading them out of doors1 often proves economy of time4 ,it is a custom of continental painters to compose extensive groups and photograph them for study in arrangement4 ,the author has seen numerous compositions in photography in which artists have posed as characters of well-known paintings4 ,much can be learned of good grouping from the stage1 especially the ,french stage4 ,the best managers start with the picturesque in mind and are on the alert to produce well arranged pictures4 ,the plays of ,victorien ,sardou and the classic dramas of the state theatre are studies in the art of group arrangements4 ,it will be noticed in most groups that there is an active and a passive element1 that many figures in their reserve are required to play second to a few4 ,the active principle is represented by these to whom a single idea is delivered for expression4 ,return of ,royal ,hunting ,party--,isabey2 ,the ,night ,watch--,rembrandt ,in 8,the ,return of the ,hunting ,party0 the group of hounds1 huntsman and deer is such an element of reserve1 contrasting its repose with the bustle and activity of the visitors4 ,it is a diversion also for the long line stretching across the picture4 ,this is the more evident through the repetition of it in the line of the second-story and roof and below in the line of game which unnecessarily extends the group of hounds4 ,a relief for the insistent line of the figures could have been supplied by lighter drapery back of the table4 ,this then would have created a cross tone connecting the hounds in a curve with the upper centre panel4 ,it is a picture in five horizontal strips1 and is introduced for the warning it contains in its treatment of a group which is in itself a line4 ,the well-known 8,spanish ,marriage0 by ,fortuny also shows the reserve group1 but the contrast is more positive both in repose and color4 ,the main and more distant group is well centralized and there is a clever diminuendo expressed in its characters4 ,departure for the ,chase--,cuyp 7,background ,compromising ,original ,structure72 ,repose of the ,reapers--,l4 ,l'hermite 7,the ,curvilinear ,line7 ,in 8,the ,reapers0 this idea has apt illustration4 ,the figure in the foreground is in contrast with the remaining three1 both as an oppositional line and in his action1 the three being in repose4 ,the single figure1 though active1 does not attract as much as the child who receives importance from the attention of the two figures4 ,her position1 opposed to the two1 turns the interest back into the group4 ,in all the compositions by this master one is impressed by the grace and force of the arrangement4 ,a small portfolio of his charcoal reproductions or a few photographs of his pictures should be a part of the print collection of every artist4 ,no better designer of small groups ever lived4 ,with the amount of good art now coming from the camera it is strange that no groups of note have been produced47#ab7 ,in the field of pure portraiture the attempt may as well be abandoned4 ,the photographer can at best but mitigate conditions4 ,the picture group can only apply when sacrifice and subordination are possible4 ,a study of famous groups will settle this and other points mentioned1 beyond question4 ,in the religious group1 where the idea of adoration was paramount1 the principal figure was usually1 though not always1 given place in the upper part of the picture toward which by gestures1 leading lines or directed vision our attention is drawn at once4 ,note the figures which sacrifice to this effect in the 8,transfiguration10 8,the ,immaculate ,conception10 8,the ,sistine ,madonna10 8,the ,virgin ,enthroned10 8,the ,adoration of the ,magi10 and in fact all of the world famous compositions of the old religious art4 ,the ,decorative and ,pictorial ,group2 ,allegory of ,spring--,botticelli 7,separated concepts expressing separate ideas72 ,dutch ,fisher ,folk--,f4 ,v4 ,s4 7,separated concepts of one idea72 ,the ,cossack's ,reply--,repin 7,unity through a cumulative idea7 ,in one of the most famous of modern groups 8,the ,cossacks ,reply to the ,sultan of ,turkey10 by the greatest of ,russian painters ,elias ,repine1 the force given to the hilarious frenzy of the group by the occasional figure in repose is easily apparent4 ,the answer to a summons for surrender is being penned upon a rude table around which press close the barbaric leaders of the forces gathered in the distance4 ,some are lolling on wine casks1 others indifferently gaze at the fingers of the clerk as he carefully pens the document1 others smoke silently1 one is looking out of the picture as though unconcerned4 ,yet life and movement are instinct in every part1 for though the action is consigned to but a few1--these form a series of small climaxes through the entire circumference of the group and we feel in another moment that the passive expressions will in their turn be exchanged for the mad ribaldry of laughter which has seized their brethren4 ,the group is a triumph for several sthetic realities produced and heightened by contrast and subordination4 ,the principality of repose is well illustrated in the group of 8,the ,chant0 where the inaction of the woman dominates through its contrast with the effort expressed by the other members of the group4 ,there are three types of group composition2 first1 where the subject's interest is centred upon an object or idea within the picture as in 8,the ,cabaret0 or ,rembrandt's 8,doctors0 surrounding a dissecting table2 second1 where the attraction lies outside the picture as in the 8,syndics0 or the 8,night ,watch10 and third1 where absolute repose is expressed and the sentiment of reverie has dominated the group1 as in 8,the ,madonna of the ,chair10 and the ordinary family photograph4 ,the spiritual or sentimental quality of the theme should have first consideration and dictate the form of arrangement4 ,a unity between the idea and its form of expression constitutes the desideratum of refinement in composition4 ,,chapter ,x - ,,light ,,and ,,shade ,in this familiar term in art the importance of the two elements is suggested in their order4 ,the effort of the painter is ever in the direction of light4 ,this is his thought4 ,shade is a necessity to the expression of it4 ,chiaroscuro1--from the ,italian1 light obscure1 in its derivation1 gives a hint of the manufacture of a work of light and shade4 ,light is gained by sacrifice4 ,this is one of the first things a student grasps in the antique class4 ,given an empty outline he produces an effect of light by adding darks4 ,so do we get light in the composition of simple elements1 by sacrifice of some one or more1 or a mass of them1 to the demands of the lighter parts4 8,learn to think in shadows10 says ,ruskin4 ,rembrandt's art entire1 is the best case in point4 ,a low toned and much colored white may be made brilliant by dark opposition4 ,the gain to the color scheme lies in its power to exhibit great light and at the same time suggest fullness of color4 ,as we have discussed line and mass composition as balanced over the central vertical line1 so is the question of light and shade best comprehended1 as forces balancing1 over a broad middle tint4 ,the medium tint is the most important1 both for tone and color4 ,this commands the distribution of measures in both directions2 toward light and toward dark4 ,drawings in outline upon tinted paper take on a surprising finish with a few darks added for shadow and the high lights touched in with chalk or ,chinese white4 ,the method in opaque water color1 employed by ,f4 ,hopkinson ,smith and others1 of working over a tinted paper such as the general tone of the subject suggests1 has its warrant in the early art of the ,venetian painters4 ,if a blue day1 a blue gray paper is used2 if a mellow day1 a yellow paper4 ,in pictorial art the science of light and dark is not reducible to working formulae as in decoration1 where the measures of ,notan are governed on the principle of interchange4 ,through decoration we may touch more closely the hidden principles of light and shade in pictures than without the aid of this science1 and the artist of decorative knowledge will always prove able in 8effect0 in his pictorial work4 ,with that clear conception of the power of the light and the dark measure which is acquired in the practice of 8spotting0 and filling of spaces1 especially upon a middle tint1 the problem of bringing into prominence any item of the picture is simplified upon the decorative basis4 ,pictorially the light measure is more attractive than the dark1 but the dark in isolation is nearly as powerful4 ,with this simple notion in mind the artist proceeds upon his checker-board opposing force to force4 ,with him the work can never be as absorbing as to the decorator whose items are all of about the same value and of recurring kinds4 ,the subject dictates to the painter who must play more adroitly to secure an effect of light and shade by the use of devices such as nature offers4 ,as a matter of brilliancy of light1 with which painting is concerned1 the effect is greater when a small measure of light is opposed to a large measure of dark than when much light is opposed to little dark4 ,comparison between ,whistler's 8,woman in ,white10 a white gown relieved against a white ground1 the black of the picture being the woman's hair1 and any one of the manger scenes of the fifteenth century painters with their concentration of light will prove how much greater the sense of light is in the latter4 ,when much light and little dark produces great brilliancy it is usually by reason of a gradation in the light1 giving it a cumulative power1 as is seen in the sky or upon receding objects on a foggy day4 ,a small dark added1 intensifies the light1 not only by contrast of measure1 but in showing the high key of the light measures4 ,accents of dark produce such snappiness as is commended by the publisher who esteems the brilliancy which a rapid interchange of lights and darks always yields1 a sparkle1 running through the whole and easily printed4 ,the works of ,mr4 ,wenzell as a single example of this quality1 or of ,mr4 ,henry ,hutt1 in lighter key1 will be found to gain much of their force from a very few accents of dark4 ,on the other hand when the work deals with a medium tone and darks1 with few high lights1 these gain such importance as to control the important items4 ,the value of the middle tint1 when not used as the under tone of a picture is apparent as balancing and distributing the light and dark measures of objects4 ,when1 for instance1 these three degrees of tone are used1 if the black and white are brought together and the middle tone opposed a sense of harmony results4 ,the black and white if mixed would become a middle tone4 ,we feel the balance of measures without synthesis or inquiry4 ,many of the compositions of ,tolmouche of two and three female figures are thus disposed1 one figure having a gray dress and one a black dress and white waist1 or a black figure and white are placed together and opposed to a figure in gray4 ,in ,munkacsy's 8,milton ,dictating to ,his ,daughters10 the broad white collar of the poet contrasted with his black velvet suit1 is well balanced and distributed by the medium tones of the three dresses4 ,fundamental ,forms of ,chiaroscuro2 ,whistler's ,portrait of his ,mother2 ,moorland--,e4 ,yon2 ,charcoal ,study--,millet2 ,the ,arbor--,ferrier ,fundamental ,forms of ,chiaroscuro1 ,continued2 ,landscape--,geo4 ,inness2 ,the ,kitchen--,whistler2 ,st4 ,angela--,robt4 ,reid2 ,an ,annam ,tiger--,surrand2 ,the ,shrine--,orchardson2 ,monastic ,life--,f4 ,v4 ,du,mond ,an accent is forcible in proportion as its own unit of intensity is distributed over the space on which it is placed4 ,take for instance a picture in ,india ink of a misty morning wherein the whole landscape may be produced with a small drop of ink spread in light gradations upon ten by fourteen inches square4 ,an object in the foreground one by two inches in which the same measure of black is used will of course possess powerful attraction4 ,if1 however1 this measure be expanded the gain in bulk will be balanced by the loss in intensity4 ,less attraction for the object is given either by increasing the intensity of the surrounding tint or decreasing its extent4 ,in the two pictures by ,gerome of lions1 the one in the midst of the vast space of desert obtains its force from its dark isolated in a large area4 ,in the other picture the emerald green eyes of the lion are the attraction of the picture1 as points of light relieved by the great measures of dark of the lion1 together with the gloom of the cave4 ,the message of impressionism is light1 as the effort of the early painters was to secure light1 the quest of all the philosophies4 ,the impressionist calls upon every part of his work to speak of light1 the middle tint1 the high lights and the shadow all vibrating with it4 ,from the decorative point of view alone1 the picture1 as a surface containing the greatest amount of beauty of which the subject is capable is more beautiful when varied by many tones1 or by few1 in strong contrast1 than when this variety or contrast is wanting4 ,those decorative designs have the strongest appeal in which the balancing measures are all well defined4 ,there are schemes of much dark and little light1 or the reverse1 or an even division1 and in each case the balance of light and dark is sustained2 for when there is little dark its accenting power is enhanced and when little light is allowed1 it1 in the same manner1 gains in attraction4 ,but light and dark every work of art must have2 for to think of light without dark is impossible4 ,when1 therefore1 the artist begins a picture his first thought is what is to be the scheme of light and shade8 ,the direction or source of the light helps a decision4 ,the illumination of the subject is a study most easily proceeded with by induction1 from particular cases to general conclusions4 ,a ,reversible ,effect of ,light and ,shade 7,the ,same ,subject ,vertically and ,horizontally ,presented7 ,the effectiveness of the first of the two reversible photographs is as great as the last and the subject as picturesque though it be discovered that the first is the second placed on end4 ,it is able to satisfy us not only because of the happy coincidence that the leaves upon the bridge represent bark texture and the subdued light upon its near end creates the rotundity of the trunk or that a distant tree serves as the horizontal margin of a pool1 but because its light and shade is conceived upon the terms of balance expressing in either position one of the fundamental forms of light and shade and lineal construction1 that of the rectangle in either light or dark together with an oppositional measure--the light through the distant trees4 ,with the history of art and the world's gallery of painting spread out before us1 we may take a continuous view of the whole field4 ,leaving out the painters of the experimental era let us begin with the great masters of effect4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds tells us it was his habit in looking for the secrets of the masters of painting to make rough pencil notes of those pictures that attracted him by their power of effect as he passed from one gallery to another4 ,he found almost all of them revealed a broad middle tone which was divided again into half dark and half light tones1 and these1 added to the accents of light and dark made five distinct tones4 ,the ,venetian painters attracted him most and1 he says1 speaking of ,titian1 ,paul ,veronese and ,tintoret1 8they appeared to be the first painters who reduced to a system what was before practised without any fixed principle40 ,from these painters he declares ,rubens extracted his scheme of composition which was soon understood and adopted by his countrymen1 even to the minor painters of low life in the ,dutch school4 8,when ,i was in ,venice10 he says1 8the method ,i took to avail myself of their principle was this3 ,when ,i observed an extraordinary effect of light and shade in any picture ,i darkened every part of a page in my note-book in the same gradation of light and shade as the picture1 leaving the white paper untouched to represent light and this without any attention to the subject or the drawing of the figures4 ,a few trials of this kind will be sufficient to give the method of their conduct in the management of their lights4 ,after a few experiments ,i found the paper blotted nearly alike3 their general practice appeared to be to allow not above a quarter of the picture for light1 including in this portion both the principal and secondary lights2 another quarter to be as dark as possible and the remaining half kept in mezzo-tint or half shadow40 8,rubens appears to have admitted rather more light than a quarter and ,rembrandt much less1 scarce an eighth2 by this conduct ,rembrandt's light is extremely brilliant1 but it costs too much2 the rest of the picture is sacrificed to this one object4 ,that light will certainly appear the brightest which is surrounded with the greatest quantity of shade1 supposing equal skill in the artist40 8,by this means you may likewise remark the various forms and shapes of those lights as well as the objects on which they are flung2 whether a figure1 or the sky1 a white napkin1 animals1 or utensils1 often introduced for this purpose only4 ,it may be observed likewise1 what a portion is strongly relieved and how much is united with its ground2 for it is necessary that some part 7though a small one is sufficient7 should be sharp and cutting against its ground whether it be light on dark1 or dark on a light ground1 in order to give firmness and distinctness to the work4 ,if1 on the other hand1 it is relieved on every side1 it will appear as if inlaid on its ground40 8,such a blotted paper held at a distance from the eye would strike the spectator as something excellent for the disposition of the light and shadow though he does not distinguish whether it is history1 a portrait1 a landscape1 dead game1 or anything else2 for the same principles extend to every branch of art4 ,whether ,i have given an exact account or made a just division of the quantity of light admitted into the works of those painters is of no very great consequence2 let every person examine and judge for himself3 it will be sufficient if ,i have suggested a mode of examining pictures this way and one means at least of acquiring the principles on which they wrought40 ,the accompanying page of sketches has been produced in the spirit of this recommendation4 ,turning from examples of figure art1 to outdoor nature1 it will be found that these principles apply with equal force to landscape composition4 ,no better advice could be offered the beginner in landscape than to resolutely select and produce three1 four or five distinct and separate tones in every study4 ,the incoherency of beginner's work out of doors is largely due to its crumbling into a great number of petty planes1 a fault resulting from observation of detail instead of the larger shapes4 ,for this reason the choice of subjects having little or no detail should be insisted on3 sky and land1 a chance for organic line and a division of light and shade1 such as may be found in an open1 rolling country where the woodland is grouped for distant masses4 ,,principality ,,by ,,emphasis1 ,,sacrifice1 ,,and ,,contrast4 ,under the discussion of ,balance it was shown that a small measure often became the equivalent of a larger measure by reason of its particular placement4 ,the sacrifice of many measures to one1 also is often the wisest disposition of forces4 ,upon the stage1 spectacular arrangement is constructed almost entirely on this principle4 ,the greater the number of figures supporting1 or sacrificing to the central figure1 the greater its importance4 ,the sun setting over fields or through the woods though covering but a very limited measure of the picture is what we see and remember1 the remaining space serving this by subordination4 ,note how masters of landscape reach after such a point either by banking up abruptly about it as in the wood interior1 or by vast gradations toward it4 ,the muzzle of the cannon is the only place where the fire and smoke are seen1 but how much weight is necessitated back of this for the recoil1 and how much space must be reckoned on for the projectile of the gun4 ,a terrific explosion takes place2 but we do not realize its power until it is noted that sound reverberated and the earth trembled for miles around4 ,for its full realization the report of the quiet miles is important4 ,the lack of this support in the light and shade scheme1 whereby the principal object is made to occupy too much space is one of the commonest of faults in photography and illustration4 ,one familiar with woodland scenery knows well how often a subject is lost and found as the sun changes in its course4 ,at one moment a striking composition is present1 the highest light giving kingly distinction to one of the monarchs of the forest4 ,passing on to return in a few minutes one looks in vain for the subject4 ,he is sure of the particular spot1 but the king stands sullen in the shadow1 robbed of his golden mantle which is now divided to bedeck two or three striplings in the background4 ,for the painter the only recourse is to make a pencil note of the original scheme of light and shade and hold resolutely to it4 ,the photographer must patiently wait for it4 ,says ,reynolds3 8,every man that can paint at all can execute individual parts2 but to keep these parts in due subordination as relative to a whole1 requires a comprehensive view of art that more strongly implies genius than perhaps any quality whatever407#ac7 ,no more forcible examples of this truth may be had than the art of ,claude ,lorraine4 ,claude whose nature painting ,ruskin berates but whose composition is strong1 had two distinct arrangements1 both based on the principle of ,principality4 ,in the first he created sides for the centre which were darkened so that the light of the centre might gain by contrast4 ,it is the formal ,raphaelesque idea2 the other and much better one shows a division of the picture into thirds4 ,the first division is given to the largest mass but usually not the most important4 ,this1 if trees or a building1 is shadow covered1 reserving the more distant mass1 which is the most attractive1 to gain by the sacrifice of the foreground mass4 ,spots and ,masses2 ,note-book sketches from ,rubens1 ,velasquez1 ,claude ,lorrain and ,murillo ,the first of these forms was evidently most esteemed by ,claude1 for his greatest works are thus conceived3 8,cleopatra ,landing at ,tarsus10 8,the ,embarkation of the ,queen of ,sheba104 8,the ,flight into ,egypt10 8,st4 ,paul leaving ,ostia10 8,the ,seaport with the ,large ,tower0 and others4 ,in all of these the light proceeds toward us through an avenue which the sides create4 ,under this effect we receive the light as it comes to us4 ,in the other form the vision is carried into the picture by a series of mass attractions the balance being less apparent4 8,the ,landscape of the ,dresden ,gallery10 8,the ,marriage of ,isaac and ,rebecca10 8,the ,finding of ,moses10 8,egeria and ,her ,nymphs10 and 8,driving ,cattle to the ,meadows10 together with many etchings1 are based on the second form4 ,in all these about one third of the picture is put into shadow1 a great right angle being constructed of the vertical mass and the shadow which it casts1 generally across the entire foreground4 ,death of ,caesar--,gerome2 ,the ,travel of the ,soul--,after ,howard ,pyle ,in 8,the ,travel of the ,soul0 by ,howard ,pyle1 reproduced from the ,century ,magazine1 is remarkably expressed the fullness of quality resulting from these few principles4 ,the force of the light is increased first by juxtaposition with the deepest dark merging so gradually into the darkness behind as to become the end or culmination of the great gradation of the background4 ,as in many works by the older masters the source of light is conceived within the picture1 so by its issuance from the inward of the wing1 the valuable principle of radiation has resulted1 the light passing upward through the wan face behind to the crescent moon and below through the sleeve and long fold of the dress to the ground4 ,on the side it follows the arm disappearing through the fingers into the shadow4 ,beyond this circuit lies the great encasement of another gradation darkening toward the sides and corners4 ,this has been interrupted by the tree masses and sky of the upper side1 as the idea of radiation was changed on the left by the oppositional line of branch forms4 ,in the other pictures of this remarkable series may be found three distinct type forms of composition4 ,together they set forth the structure of the circle or ellipse1 the letter ,s or line of beauty1 the triangle1 and the cross4 ,the one before us discloses a triangle or letter ,v1 on which the figures compose1 within a triangle formed of the rock fracture and path4 ,it must be remembered that the effort of the artist is to secure light in the degree which his subject demands4 ,there are many degrees of light and they must not be confounded4 ,the light of a lantern is not sufficient illumination for an effect under gas and a window on the north side won't do to call sunlight into a room upon a posed figure4 ,the fault of many pictures is that the proprieties just here are violated4 ,some of the lowest toned interiors of ,israels are satisfactory when judged from the standpoint of light1 while out of door attempts in high key fail to suggest the fact of a sun in nature4 ,the fault is that the exact degree of illumination which the subject demands is not present4 ,there may be a greater feeling of light in a figure sitting in the shadow than in the same figure next to a window4 ,to the painter1 light and air are but degrees of the same idea4 ,if the figure seated in the shadow is well enveloped and relieved by the exact temper of reflected lights1 it takes its place in his scheme of brilliant lighting as much as any other part4 ,the purpose of shadow is first to produce light1 second to secure concentration1 third to dismiss space not required and incidentally to suggest air and relief by the gradation which every shadow must have4 ,the idea of ,notan1 or the ,light and ,dark combination of ,japanese art1 differs from this in its intent1 which is merely to set forth an agreeable interchange of light1 dark and medium toned spaces4 ,to the decorative intentions of the oriental artist natural fact is of small concern and the fact of shade produced by light is dismissed as are many other notions which are non-conformable to his purpose4 ,the great value of this concept1 however1 should be recognized1 and in formulating a scheme of light and shade for any picture its light and dark masses may be so arranged as to suggest much of the beauty which its flat translation by ,notan would yield4 ,the practice of laying out the flat light and dark scheme of every picture which is to be finished in full relief is therefore most helpful1 and directly in line with ,sir ,joshua's habit with the old masters4 ,it is not sufficient that pictures have lights and darks4 ,the balance here is quite as important as line and measure4 ,the proportion of light to dark depends on the importance required by certain parts of the picture4 ,effectiveness is given to that end of the scale which is reserved in small quantity4 ,the white spot attracts in the 8,dead ,warrior10 the dark spot in the 8,lion of the ,desert40 ,a comparison of the 8,night ,watch0 and the 8,landscape0 by ,inness will show that both are constructed on a medium tone on which strong relief is secured by contrasts of light and dark4 ,isolated spots occur through each contributing an energy opposed to the subtle gradations of the large spaces4 ,the rich depths of the background and the frequent opposition of shadow with light in the landscape are very typical of ,inness' art and we know that the 8,night ,watch0 contains the best thought and richest conclusions of the greatest master of light and shade4 ,the type forms in light and shade are less pronounced than those of linear construction1 though through all compositions of effect1 certain well defined schemes of chiaroscuro are traceable4 ,as soon as any one is selected it rests with the artist to vary its conventional structure and make it original4 ,lack of a well-defined scheme of light and dark however1 is ruinous to any pictorial or decorative undertaking4 ,the accompanying wood interiors are introduced in proof that light and shade rather than form is the pictorial element of greatest value4 ,in both pictures the principles of chiaroscuro are strongly expressed1 and we look closely before discovering that the first one is the second placed on end4 ,analysis of pictures into light1 dark1 and halftone develops the following forms4 ,,gradation ,light being the happy and positive side of art presentation1 any form or modification of it partakes of its quality4 ,the gradation bespeaks its tenderness1 and1 much as we may admire light's power1 this1 by its mere variety1 is more attractive4 ,we well endure the shadow if in it can be noticed a movement toward the light4 ,technically1 an ungraded shadow means mud4 ,one in which reflection plays a part speaks of the life of light and in it we feel that promise4 ,we know it to be on its travels1 glancing and refracting from every object which it touches4 ,the shadows which it cannot penetrate directly1 receive its gracious influence in this way and always under a subtler law which governs its direct shining--by gradation4 ,most good pictures are produced in the medium range and the ends of the scale are reserved for incisive duty4 ,a series of gradations in which the grace and flow of line and tone are made to serve the forcible stroke which we see1 presents a combination of subtlety and strength4 ,again the art of ,inness affords illustration4 ,there are three forms of this quality3 that in which light shows a gradual diminution of power1 as seen upon a wall near a window1 or in white smoke issuing from a funnel2 that in which the color or force of a group of objects weaken as they recede1 as may be observed in fog2 and that in which the arrangement secures1 in disconnected objects a regular succession of graded measures4 ,in each case the pictorial value of this element is apparent4 ,the landscape painter may avail himself of it as the figure painter does of his screen1 counting on the cloud shadow to temper and unite disjointed items of his picture4 ,he makes use of it where leading lines are wanting or are undesirable1 or to give an additional accent to light by such contrast or to introduce a note of dark by suppressing the tone of an isolated object4 ,gradation is the sweetening touch in art1 ofttimes making unity of discordant and unartful elements4 ,the vision will pierce the shadow to find the light beyond4 ,it will dwell longest on the lightest point and believe this more brilliant than it is if opposed by an accent of dark which is the lowest note in a dark gradation4 ,turner and ,claude often brought the highest light and deepest dark together in close opposition through a series of big gradations of objects1 the most light-giving device known in painting4 ,the introduction of a shadow through the foreground or middle distance1 over which the vision travels to the light beyond1 always gives great depth2 another of the devices in landscape painting frequently met with in the work of ,claude1 ,ruysdael1 ,corot1 ,vandevelde1 ,cuyp1 ,inness1 ,wyant1 ,ranger1 and all painters of landscape who attain light by the use of a graded scale of contrasts4 ,a cumulative gradation which suddenly stops has the same force in light and shade as a long line which suddenly changes into a short line of opposed direction4 ,they are both equivalent to a pause in music1 awakening an attention at such a point1 and only to be employed where there is something important to follow4 ,,equivalents ,it is the experience of all picture makers that under the limitations which special subjects impose they are often obliged to search for an equivalent with which to comply with the requirements of composition4 ,if1 for instance1 in the arrangement of a picture it is found necessary to move an object--a tree1 figure or other item of importance1 instead of obliteration and repainting1 the result is attained by creating an attraction on the side from which it is to be moved4 ,by so doing the range of the picture is increased and its space seems to take in more than its limits presupposed3 ,if an isolated tree standing against a mass of trees1 by opening the sky through that mass or by creating attraction of color or form therein1 the vision is led to the far side of the object to be moved1 which is thereby crowded out of its position in the balancing scheme4 ,an object upon a surface may frequently give place to a dark or light variation of the surface itself which becomes an equivalent of attraction4 ,several objects may be made to balance without rearrangement though the marginal proportions of the picture are altered4 ,the ship and moon compose as an upright1 but not in long shape without either the following line which indicates the ship's course2 or an object of attraction in the opposing half either in the distance or foreground1 much less being required in the latter than the former4 ,the equivalent therefore of the leading line is the object on the farther shore4 ,the necessity of either the one or the other is more clearly shown when the line from the boat swings in the opposite direction4 ,an object may be rendered less important by surrounding it with objects of its own kind and color4 ,an abrupt change in the direction of a line may have attraction equal to an object on that line4 ,with two spaces of equal size1 importance may be given to one of them by increasing its light2 by using leading lines toward it1 by placing an accent upon it1 by creating a gradation in it4 ,spots often become the equivalent of lines in their attractive value4 ,a series of oppositional lines has more picturesqueness than the tangent1 its equivalent4 ,a gradation may have the equivalent attraction of an object4 ,a line in its continuity is more attractive than a succession of isolated objects4 ,the attractive value of an object in the scale of balance may be weakened by moving it toward the centre or extending the picture on that side4 ,motion toward1 either in intention or by action1 is equivalent to balancing weight in that space of the picture to which the action is directed4 ,light is increased by deepening contiguous tones2 dark1 by heightening contiguous tones4 ,a still-life may be constructed on the same lines as any form on the vertical plane and many of the perspective plane of composition4 ,see ,fundamental ,forms4 ,,chapter ,,xi - ,,the ,,place ,,of ,,photography ,,in ,,fine ,,art ,since the time that photography laid its claim to be reckoned among the fine arts the attention of artists has been attracted first by the claim and thereafter1 with acknowledgments1 to the performance4 ,the art cry of the newly baptized had the vehement ring of faith and determination4 ,like the prophecy of the embryo premier it sounded3 8,my lords1 you will hear me yet40 ,the sustained interest of the 8,photographic ,salon0 and the utterance of its exhibitors in the language of art1 has long since obtained concession to the claim for associate membership4 ,to make this relationship complete became the effort of many writers of the photographic circle4 8,the whole point then10 writes ,prof4 ,p4 ,h4 ,emerson1 ,b4 ,a41 ,m4 ,d41 of ,england1 8is that what the painter strives to do is to render1 by any means in his power1 as true an impression of any picture which he wishes to express as possible4 ,a photographic artist strives for the same end and in two points only does he fall short of the painter--in color and in the ability to render so accurately the relative values1 although this is to a great extent compensated by the tone of the picture4 ,how then is photography superior to etching1 wood-cutting1 charcoal drawing8 ,the drawing of the lens is not to be equalled by any man4 ,there is ample room for selection1 judgment and posing1 and1 in a word1 in capable hands a finished photograph is a work of art4 ,thus we see that the art has at last found a scientific basis and can be rationally discussed1 and ,i think ,i am right in saying that ,i was the first to base the claims of photography as a fine art on these grounds and ,i venture to predict that the day will come when photographs will be admitted to hang on the walls of the ,royal ,academy40 ,since the appearance of the above which comes as close to the real reason in question as its logic might intimate1 but which is worth quoting from the prophecy which it contained1 there have been many expressions of opinions by photographers4 ,none1 however1 are more to the point than the following from the pen of ,mr4 ,f4 ,h4 ,wilson3 8,when1 fifty years ago1 the new baby1 photography1 was born1 ,science and ,art stood together over her cradle questioning what they might expect of her1 wondering what place she would take among their other children4 ,science soon found that she had come with her hands full of gifts and her bounty to astronomy1 microscopy and chemistry made her name blessed among these1 her elder sisters4 ,art1 always more conservative1 hung back4 ,but slowly jealous ,art who first frowned and called the rest of her brood around her1 away from the parvenue1 has let her come near1 has taken her hand1 and is looking her over with questioning eyes4 ,soon1 without doubt1 she will have her on her lap with the rest40 8,why has she been kept out so long8 ,almost from the beginning she claimed a place in the house beautiful of art4 ,in spite of rebuffs she knocked at its doors1 though the portrait painter and the critic flung stones at her from the house-top1 and the law itself stood at the threshold denying her entrance4 ,those early efforts were not untinctured with a fear that if she should get in she would run the establishment1 but the law long since owned her right1 and instead of the crashing boulders of artistic dislike and critical indignation the volleys they drop at her feet now are mere mossy pebbles flung by similarly mossy critics or artist-bigots4 ,still1 the world at large hears them rattle and does not give her the place and estimation she has won40 8,art began with the first touch of man to shape things toward his ideal1 be that ideal an agreeable composition1 or the loftiest conception of genius4 ,the higher it is the more it is art4 ,art is head-and-hand work and a creation deserves the name of art according to the quality and quantity of this expended on it4 ,simply sit down squarely before a thing and imitate it as an ox would if an ox could draw1 with no thought or intention save imitation and the result will cry from every line1 #8,i am not art but machine work1' though its technique be perfection4 ,toil over arrangement and meditate over view-point and light1 and though the result be the rudest1 it will bear the impress of thought and of art4 ,i tell you art begins when man with thought1 forming a standard of beauty1 commences to shape the raw material toward it4 ,in pure landscape1 where modification is limited1 it begins when the artist takes one standpoint in preference to another4 ,in figure composition1 where modification is infinite1 it begins with the first touch to bring the model into pose4 ,when he bends a twig or turns a fold of drapery the spirit of art has come and is stirring within him4 ,what matters the process6 ,surely it is time that this artistic bigotry was ended40 ,the kernel lies in the sentence 8when he bends a twig10 etc41 8the spirit of art has come40 ,in other words when he exhibits choice and preference1 when1 in short1 he composes4 ,recognizing that composition was the only portal through which the new candidate for art recognition could gain an entrance into the circle of ,art1 the single effort of the past photographer1 viz42 the striving for detail and sharpness of line1 has been relegated to its reasonable place4 ,a comprehension of composition was found to demand the knowledge of a score of things which then by necessity were rapidly discovered1 applied and installed4 ,composition means sacrifice1 gradation1 concentration1 accent1 obliteration1 replacement1 construction of things the plate does not have1 destruction of what it should not have4 ,supplied with such a magician's wand no effect was denied3 all things seemed possible4 ,gratified by recognition in a new realm the new associations should be strengthened4 ,whereas photography had been spanned by the simple compass of ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,a4 and their daughter1 in figures2 or topographical accuracies in landscape1 revellers in the new art talked of ,rembrandt and ,titian1 ,corot and ,diaz4 ,to do something which should put their art in touch with these1 their new-found brethren1 was the thing6 ,a noble ambition1 but only a mistaking of the effect for the cause4 ,these men composed4 ,the blurred outline1 the vacant shadow1 the suppressed corners1 the clipped edges4 ,this all means composition in the subduing of insistent outline1 in the exchange of breadth for detail1 in the centralization of light1 in the suppression of the unnecessary4 ,but no1 the employment of these devices of the painter from the photographer's point of view of composition is not sufficient4 ,photography is now busy complimenting every school of painting under the sun4 ,yesterday it was ,rembrandt's school4 ,now that is passed1 and ,carrire is better and to-morrow1 perchance1 it will be ,raphael or ,whistler or some ,japanese1 why not8 ,the one and only good sign which marks imitation is that it shows appreciation1 and this of the standards is a good thing4 ,let each have its turn4 ,their synthesis may be you4 ,but to a man of the professions or business whose time for study in these vast fields of the classics is so disproportionate to their extent and who1 though supplied with search warrants and summons1 still fails to make a capture1 how ineffectual and wearying this chase after ideals--subjective4 ,why not shorten your course8 ,why not produce ,rembrandts and ,corots because you apprehend the principles on which they work and anticipate a surprise in discovering1 as by chance1 that you have produced something which recalls them4 ,in this way and by these means there will be meaning in your claim of brotherhood4 ,one may scarcely call an estimate in art matters complete without an opinion from ,mr4 ,ruskin4 8,in art we look for a record of man's thought and power1 but photography gives that only in quite a secondary degree4 ,every touch of a great painting is instinct with feeling1 but howsoever carefully the objects of a picture be chosen and grouped by the photographer1 there his interference ends4 ,it is not a mere matter of color or no color1 but of ,invention and ,design1 of ,feeling and ,imagination4 ,photography is a matter of ingenuity3 ,art of genius40 ,on these lines however the philosopher of ,coniston hardly proves his case4 ,invention and design1 feeling and imagination1 are all a part of the photographer's suite4 ,he employs them all4 ,and these too are qualities the most artistic4 ,technique1 which is manual and not spiritual1 is the one point at which art and photography cannot coalesce4 ,to ,art's sentient finger-tips1 ,photography holds up only steel1 wood and glass4 ,art therefore holds the winning cards4 ,p4 ,g4 ,hamerton1 ,england's safest and surest critic of art1 writing a generation ago on the 8,relation between ,photography and ,painting10 says3 8,but all good painting1 however literal1 however pre-,raphaelite or topographic1 is full of human feeling and emotion4 ,if it has no other feeling in it than love or admiration for the place depicted1 that is much already1 quite enough to carry the picture out of the range of photography into the regions of real art40 8,and this is the reason why good painting cannot be based on photography4 ,i find photographic data of less value than hasty sketches4 ,the photograph renders the form truly1 no doubt1 as far as it goes1 but it by no means renders feelings and is therefore of no practical use 7save for reference7 to a painter who feels habitually and never works1 without emotion40 ,it is very much to be questioned if ,mr4 ,hamerton in the face of what has since been done with the camera by men who feel and are led by the emotional in art1 would claim a distinction to the painter and deny that the photographic product was unaffected by the emotional temperament4 ,a friend shows us a group of his pets1 either dogs1 horses or children1 done by an 8artist photographer40 ,we find it strongly composed1 evincing a clear knowledge of every point to be observed in extracting from the subject all the picturesqueness there was in it4 ,we notice a soft painter-like touch1 shadows not detailed--simply graded--aerial envelopment everywhere suggested4 ,it would be pedantry for the painter to correct the expression of his friend and suggest that the man who produced the picture was not an artist4 ,it is the product of a man who felt exactly as an artist would have felt2 an expression of views upon a subject entirely governed by the principles of art1 and the man who made it1 by that sympathy which he exhibits with those principles1 is my brother in art to a greater degree than the painter who1 with youthful arrogance1 throws these to the winds 8mistaking10 as has been cleverly said1 8the will-o'-the-wisp of eccentricity for the miracle working impulse of genius40 ,in whatsoever degree more of the man and less of the mechanics appear1 in that degree is the result a work of art4 ,the reliance of photography on composition has provoked an earnest search for its principles4 ,the photographer felt safe in going to the school of painting for these principles and accepted without question the best book written for painters1 that by ,john ,burnet1 penned more than a century ago at a time when the art of ,england was at a low imitative ebb1 and unduly influenced by imitation4 ,this has been abundantly quoted by photographic teachers and evidently accepted1 with little challenge1 as final4 ,the best things1 discoverable to the writer1 in the field of composition1 have been by the photographers themselves--the best things as well as the most inane2 but in the face of so many results that earnest workers with the camera produce and continue to put forth1 which cannot find a place in the categories of ,art1 it would seem that these preachments have been unheeded1 or were not sufficiently clear to afford practical guidance for whom they were intended4 ,mr4 ,p4 ,h4 ,robinson7#ad7;declares most strenuously for composition4 8,it is my contention10 he says1 8that one of the first things an artist should learn is the construction of a picture40 ,on a par with this is the opinion of ,mr4 ,arthur ,dow1 the artist1 who declares that 8art education should begin at composition40 ,it is for lack of this that the searcher for the picturesque so frequently returns empty handed4 ,,part ,,ii - ,,the ,,sthetics ,,of ,,composition ,,chapter ,,xii - ,,breadth ,,versus ,,detail ,subjectively the painter and the photographer stretch after the same goal4 ,technically they approach it from opposite directions4 ,the painter starts with a bare surface and creates detail1 the photographer is supplied therewith4 ,art lies somewhere between these starting points2 for art is a reflection of an idea and ideas may or may not have to do with detail4 ,according to the subject then is the matter of detail to serve us4 ,in the expression of character a certain amount of detail is indispensable2 by the painter to be produced1 by the photographer saved4 ,but detail is often so beautiful in itself6 and is not art a presentation of the beautiful1 pleads the photographer4 ,and the reply in the ,socratic method is3 8,look at the whole subject3 does the idea of it demand this detail80 ,the untutored mind always sees detail4 ,for this reason most education is inductive1 but though the process is inductive1 the goal is the eternal synthesis4 ,it is the reporter who gathers the facts3 the editor winnows therefrom the moral4 ,the artist must--in time--get on top and take this survey4 ,looking at any subject with eyes half closed enables him to see it without detail1 and later1 with eyes slowly opening1 admitting that much only which is necessary to character4 ,the expression of character by masses of black and white proves this4 ,bishop ,potter is unmistakable1 his features bounded by their shadows4 ,from such a start then it is a question of procedure cautiously to that point where the greatest character lies1 but beyond which point detail becomes unnecessary to character4 ,bishop ,potter ,the pen portrait of ,thackeray by ,robt4 ,blum is a careful delineation of the characteristic head of the novelist set on shoulders characteristically bent forward and the body characteristically tall4 ,what more can be told of ,thackeray's personality8 ,would the buttons and the wrinkles of the clothing help matters6 ,no1 as facts they would not1 and when art has to do only with character1 the simplest statement is the most forcible4 ,millet1 at one time1 was known as 8the man who painted peasants without wrinkles in their breeches40 ,not because wrinkles were too much for him1 nor because they were not thought worth while1 but because1 in his effort to prune his picture of the unessentials1 the wrinkles were brushed aside4 ,when1 however1 art has to do with filling an entire space with something1 and the clothing occupies a considerable part of it1 what shall be done8 ,this changes the details of the question4 ,yet all portraits that hit hard in exhibitions are those conceived in simplicity1 those in which the personality is what stops and holds us4 ,there are certain large organic lines of drapery which the character demands1 but beyond this point opinion divides authoritatively from the complete silence of obliteration to the tumultuous noisiness of 8the whole truth0 ,in the portraits by ,carrire all detail is swept away1 and the millinery artists are shocked4 ,simplicity should never compromise texture and quality4 ,this side of the truth cannot prove objectionable4 8,you have made my broadcloth look like two-fifty a yard and it really cost four10 was a criticism offered by a young lady who posed in a riding habit4 ,such practical criticism is frequently necessary to bring the artist down from the top height observatory where he is absorbed with 8the big things40 ,breath does not signify neglect of detail or neglect of finish2 it means simplification where unity had been threatened4 ,it is seeing the big side of small things1 if the small things cannot be ignored4 ,the lighting of a subject has much to do with its breadth4 ,a light may be selected that will chop such a well organized unit as the body into three or four separate sections1 or one that produces an equal division of light and shade--seldom good4 ,shadows are generally the hiding-places for mystery2 and mystery is ever charming4 ,none better than ,rembrandt knew the value of those vague spaces of nothingness1 in backgrounds1 and in the figure itself1 a sudden pitch from light and positiveness into conjecture4 ,we hear in photography much of the 8,rembrandt-esque effect10 which when produced1 proves to be just blackness4 ,there can be no shadow without light1 and ,rembrandt's effort was to obtain this1 rather than produce darkness4 ,the feeling of light may also be broadly expressed by a direct illumination4 ,here the shadow plays a very small part1 and the subject is presented in its outline4 ,under such an effect we lose variety but gain simplicity4 ,this brings us close to the region of two dimensions1 the realm of ,japanese art and mural decoration4 ,the portraits of ,manet1 the decorations of ,puvis de ,chavannes1 and the early ,italians1 display the quality of breadth because of the simplicity of lighting which these subjects received4 ,breadth in the treatment of the figure may be obtained by graded light4 ,if a shadow be produced at the bottom of the picture sufficiently strong to obliterate both the light and shade of detail1 and thence be made to weaken as it proceeds upward and finally give place to light1 where light is most needed1 great simplicity as well as the element of variety will be the result4 ,thus1 in the most effective treatment in mural decoration1 one sees only the grand forms1 the movement1 the intention1 those things which most befit the inner surface of the building being also those which bear the greater importance4 ,the fact is used as an argument for the assumption that painting should1 after all1 be an art of two dimensions1 length and breadth1 reserving thickness and its representation1 for sculpture4 ,this robs painting of the quality of natural aspect1 except under the single effect of absolutely direct lighting and ignores its development beyond the flatly colored representations of the ancient ,egyptians1 our ,american ,indians and the ,japanese1 a development inaugurated by the ,greeks and since adhered to by all occidental nations4 ,the student who goes to nature and sees mass only1 discarding all detail1 will run the chance of being a colorist as well as a painter of breadth1 two of the most important qualifications2 for if he refuses to be stopped by detail his intelligence will crystallize upon that other thing which attracts him4 ,he will think the harder upon the simple relations of tones and the exact color4 ,slowly dexterity will add a facility to his brush and he will1 while aiming at character1 through breadth1 unconsciously introduce characteristic detail4 ,this is the hope of the new method which is now being introduced into the system of public school instruction4 ,the scheme as developed by ,mr4 ,dow is decorative rather than naturalistic1 the aesthetic side with 8,beauty10 as the watchword being in greatest point4 ,the filling of spaces in agreeable and harmonious arrangement does not demand strict acknowledgment to natural aspect4 ,indeed this is denied in most cases where the limitations of decoration are enjoined4 ,with the first principle1 truth1 upon which all education rests1 as the basis of such study1 the nature part of this system will fall into its logical channels4 ,if nature's largeness and simplicity contributes to its value1 then nature should be consulted when she is large and simple4 ,studies of trees in gray silhouette1 should be made at twilight1 either of evening or early morning1 when the detail1 which is useless to the decorative scheme1 is not seen4 ,under such conditions no slight or sacrifice is necessitated4 ,nature then contributes her quantity directly and the student has no warrant in assuming to change her4 ,there are times also when the face of nature is so varied that the most fantastic schemes of ,notan7#ae7 are observed2 a harbor filled with sails and sea-gulls1 a crowd of people speckling the shore1 the houses of a village dotted over a hillside4 ,under a direct light these become legitimate subjects offered by nature herself to the scheme which1 however1 she only now and then honors4 ,the system therefore accompanies the student but part way and leaves him still knocking at the door of the complete naturalistic presentation of pictorial art1 a development which stretches into limitless possibilities by the use of the third dimension4 ,work in two dimensions by reason of its greater simplicity should naturally precede the complications involved in producing the completely modelled forms of nature1 and therein the argument for its use in the early stages of the student's development is a strong one4 ,,suggestiveness4 ,breadth1 so often accountable for mystery1 leads to suggestiveness4 ,it is at this point that graphic art touches hands with the invisible1--where the thing merges into the idea4 ,here we deliver over our little two by four affair with its specifications all marked1 into the keeping of larger hands which expand its possibilities4 ,if then ,imagination carries us beyond the limits of graphic art let us by all means employ it4 ,upon this phase of art the realist can but look with folded arms4 ,the dwellers in the charmed world of ,greek mythological fancy came on tiptoe to the borders only of the daily life of that age4 ,the still-life painter has to do with fact1 and for many other subjects also the fact alone is sufficient4 ,it is generally so in portraiture where rendition of externals is attempted1 but the portrait may suggest revery and reflection1 or1 by intimate accessory1 provoke a discursive movement in thought4 ,the realist is a man of drawing and how to do it1 of paint and putting it on1 of textures and technique2 he is a painter2 and stops with that4 ,but the maker of pictures would step to another point of sight4 ,he would so aim as to shoot over the hilltop4 ,he would hit something which he cannot see4 ,suggestion is both technical and subjective4 ,there is suggestion of detail1 of act and of fact4 ,in producing the effect1 instead of the detail1 of a bunch of grass or a mass of drapery1 we substitute suggestion for literalism4 ,fortuny1 as a figure painter1 was master of this art1 his wonderful arrangements of figures amongst drapery and in grasses bearing evidence4 ,here1 out of a fantastic crush of color1 will be brought to view a beautifully modelled hand and wrist which connect by the imagination only1 with the shoulder and body4 ,these however1 are ready to receive it and like other parts of the picture are but points of fact to give encouragement to the quest for the remainder4 ,the hide and seek of the subject1 the 8lost and found0 in the line1 the subsidizing of the imagination for tribute1 by his magic wand stroke were the artifices by which ,fortuny coquetted with nature and the public1 fascinating the art world of his day4 ,fortuny1 however1 never took us beyond the bounds of his picture4 ,it was his doctrine that avoidance of detail was artful2 that to carry the whole burden when imagination could be tricked into shouldering some of it was fool's drudgery4 ,millet1 who was his antipode as a clumsy handler of his tools1 declared himself fortunate in being able to suggest much more than he could paint4 ,in one of the competitions at the ,royal ,academy in ,england1 the prize was awarded to that rendering of the expression of ,grief which showed the face entirely covered1 the suggestion being declared stronger than the fact4 ,in the realm of suggestion however the landscape artist has much the wider range4 ,who has not experienced the fascination of a hilltop8 ,the hill may be uninteresting--on your side1--but there is another4 ,there is a path winding over it1 telling of the passing of few or many2 your feet have touched it and imagination has you in her train1 and you follow eagerly to the beck of her enchantment4 ,suppose the scene at twilight on one of the great plains of northern ,france where beets are the sole crop4 ,a group of carts and oxen shut out the background and no figures are seen4 ,if however against the sky are the silhouetted forms of two handfuls of beets1 the sight of a figure or even a part of him would seem unnecessary to a casual observer who wished to know if there was any one about4 ,these inanimate things moving through the air mean life4 ,the painter has created one figure and suggested the likelihood of others by these few touches4 ,herein we have the suggestion of a fact4 ,the suggestion of an act1 may further be developed by showing the figure1 having already finished with the handful1 bending to pick up others4 ,such a position would be an actual statement regarding the present act but a suggested one concerning the former1 the effect of which is still seen4 ,if then the figure were represented as performing something in any moment of time farther removed from that governing the position of the beets than natural action could control1 he has forced into his figure an accelerated action which ranges anywhere between the startling1 the amusing1 and the impossible4 ,the power of implied force or action by suggestion is the basis of the ,greek sculptured art of the highest period4 ,much of the argument of ,lessing's elaborate essay on the 8,laocoon0 is aimed at this point1 which is brought out in its completeness in his discussion of ,timomachus' treatment of the raving ,ajax4 8,ajax was not represented at the moment when1 raging among the herds he captures and slays goats and oxen1 mistaking them for men4 ,the master showed him sitting weary after these crazy deeds of heroism1 and meditating self-destruction4 ,that was really the raving ,ajax1 not because he is raving at the moment1 but because we see he has been raving and with what violence his present reaction of shame and despair vividly portrays4 ,we see the force of the tempest in the wrecks and the corpses with which it has strewn the beach40 ,in the photographic realm of the nude1 this quality is compulsory4 ,we don't want to have offered us so intimate a likeness of a nude figure that we ask1 8,who is she1 or he80 ,the general and not the particular suffices2 the type not the person4 ,the painter's art contains few stronger touches through this means than the incident of the sleeping senator in ,grme's 8,death of ,csar04 ,in the suggestion of an idea1 graphic and plastic art rise to the highest levels of poetry4 ,the picture or the poem then becomes the surface1 refracting the idea which stretches on into infinity4 ,the dying lion of ,lucerne1 mortally pierced by the shaft1 the wounded lion of ,paris1 striking under his forepaw the arrow meant for his destruction are symbols memorializing the ,swiss guard of ,louis ,,xvi1 and the unequal struggle of ,france against ,germany in '#gb4 ,at the death of ,lorenzo the arts languished and ,michel ,angelo's supine and hanging figures in his tomb are there to indicate it4 ,,mystery4 ,suggestion with its phantom guide-posts leads us through its varied mazes to the dwelling-place of mystery4 ,here the artist will do well to tarry and learn all the oracle may teach him4 ,the positive light of day passes to the twilight of the moon and stars4 ,what things may be seen and forms created out of the simple mystery of twilight6 ,its value by suggestion may be known technically to the artist1 for through the elimination of detail1 the work is sifted to its essence and we then see it in its bigness1 if it has any1 and if not we discover this lack4 ,when the studio light fails our best critic enters and discloses in a few moments what we have been looking for all day long4 ,there should be in most pictures an opportunity of saying that which shall be interpreted by each one according to his temperament1 a little place where each may delight in setting free his own imagination4 ,to account for the popularity of many pictures in both color and black and white on any other ground than that of mystery seems ofttimes impossible4 ,the strong appeal made to all classes by subjects containing mysterious suggestion is evidenced by the frequency of awards to such in photographic and other competitions4 ,the student of photography asks if blurred edges1 empty shadows and vaporous detail mean quality4 ,they certainly mean mystery1 which when applied to an appropriate subject signifies that the artist has joined his art with the imagination of the beholder4 ,he has therefore let it out at large usury4 ,a cottage near a wood may be a very ordinary subject at three in the afternoon1 but at eight in the evening1 seen in palpitating outline against the forest blackness or the low toned sky1 it becomes an element in a scheme of far larger dimensions4 ,the difference between the definite and indefinite article1 when coupled with that house1 is the difference in the quality of the art of which we speak4 ,mystery by deception is a misguided use of an art quality4 ,in photography one man delights in the etching point and cannot stop until he has made a net work all over his plate and led us to look at this instead of his picture1 which1 if good1 would have been let alone--a clever device of throwing dust into our eyes4 ,another produces what appears to be a pencil drawing1 and a very good imitation some of them are1 but at best a deception4 ,to make something look like something else is a perversion of a brilliant discovery in photographic processes1 which offers the means for securing unity 7and in this word lies every principle of composition7 by adding to or subtracting from the first product4 ,this may involve the destruction of two-thirds or three-fourths of the plate or it may demand many an accent subtly supplied before unity is satisfied1 before the subject is stripped of its non-essentials or before it may be regarded complete4 ,let such good work go on--and the other sort too1 if you will1 the stunts1 the summersaults and the hoop performances1 but in the dignity of photographic competitions give the deceptions1 the imitations of other things1 no standing or quarter4 ,no one will deny the interest there is in a sensitive1 flexible line and in the rendition of mass by line4 ,but photography is an art dealing with finished surfaces of perfect modelling1 and workers in this art should preserve the 8nature0 of their subject4 ,the man who feels line had better etch or use a pencil4 ,,simplicity4 ,breadth while fostering suggestiveness gives birth to simplicity2 a subjective quality4 ,when applied to pictorial art1 simplicity's first appeal is a mental one4 ,we are attracted by neither technique nor color1 nor things problematic to the painter2 but by his mental attitude toward his subject4 ,if we determine that the result has come of elimination1 that to produce it1 much has been thrown away and that the artist prefers what he has left at a sacrifice1 to what might have been1 acknowledgment for this condensation is coupled with respect4 ,there is however a type of simplicity1 the ,simple ,simon sort1 or an indisposition to undertake difficult things1 which leads to a selection of the easy subject in nature4 ,having found some modest bit of charm1 the ,simple ,simon turns and twists it to attenuation1 with the earnest declaration that there is no greater quality than simplicity2 but purposeful emptiness lifts its hands in vain for the baptismal sanctification of the poetic spirit4 ,where simplicity really serves the artist in his task is in those cases demanding the unification of many elements4 ,in painting1 ,rubens and ,turner thus wrought1 bringing harmony from an organ of three banks and a score of stops1 setting themselves the task of strong men4 ,whatsoever subject be projected1 the quality of principality takes precedence over all others4 ,this is the first step toward simplicity2 some one thought made chief2 therefore some one object in the composition of quantities and some one light in the scheme of chiaroscuro dominant4 ,with this determined1 the problem which follows is1 how shall principality be maintained and to what degree of sacrifice must all other objects be submitted4 ,in the rapid examination of many works of art1 those that appeal strongest will be found to be those in which the elements are simple1 or1 if complex1 are governed by this quality through principality4 ,,reserve4 ,another bifurcation of simplicity is ,reserve4 ,in the simple statement of the returning ,roman general3 8,i came1 ,i saw1 ,i conquered10 all that the senate desired to know was stated and it gained force by virtue of what was left unsaid4 ,anything else might have gratified the curiosity of his auditors1 but the man1 in holding this secret1 made himself an object of interest4 ,rembrandt has told us that the legitimate gamut of expression lies some distance between the deepest dark of our palette and its highest light4 ,expression through limitations is dignified1 a quality which the strain to fill all limits sacrifices4 ,it is the force quickly squandered by the young actor1 who 8overacts10 disturbing the balance of forces in the other parts4 ,upon the pivot of ,reserve the opposing creeds of the ,impressionists and ,tonists bear with most contention4 ,the former would lash their coursers of ,phoebus with unsparing hand from start to finish2 the latter prefer the 8,waiting ,race10 every atom of force governed and in control1 held for the opportunity1 when increasing strength is necessary4 ,it is the difference between aiming at the bull's-eye or the whole target4 ,the recent tendency of illustration to produce a result in three or four flat tones is another voice proclaiming for reserve4 ,the new movement in decorative art may rightly claim this acknowledgment to it4 ,in the work of ,jules ,gurin it is interesting to note how the bit and bridle of these two factors of breadth have been applied to every stroke1 now and then only1 detail being allowed its say1 and in but a still small voice4 ,with the large number of pictorial ideas now being recast in the decorative formula it is necessary to have a clear notion of the purpose and the limitations of decorative art1 that this new art may not be misunderstood nor confounded with the purely pictorial4 ,decorative ,evolving the ,pictorial2 ,the ,north ,river--,prendergast2 ,an ,intrusion--,bull2 ,landscape ,arrangement--,guerin ,decoration is essentially flat4 ,it represents length and breadth4 ,it applies primarily to the flat vertical plane4 ,it deals with the symbols of form1 with fact by suggestion1 with color in mass4 ,it substitutes light and dark for nature's light and shade4 ,conceptions evolved upon the flat vertical plane deal with pictorial data as material for heraldic quartering1 with natural fact as secondary to the happy adjustment of spaces4 ,nature to the decorative mind presents a variegated pattern from which to clip any shape which the color design demands4 ,the influence on pictorial art of the decorative tendency1 has brought much into the pictorial category which has never been classified4 ,the ,rose ,croix influence has witnessed its seed maturing into the art nouveau1 and what was nurtured under the forcing glass of decoration has suddenly been transplanted into the garden of pictorial art4 ,in consequence it would appear that the constitution of the latter required amendments as being scarce broad enough to accommodate the newer thing4 ,it is difficult1 for instance1 to reconcile the crowded and spotted surfaces in ,mr4 ,maurice ,prendergast's pictures1 to the requirements of the balanced conception4 ,it must be recognized however that their first claim for attraction is their color which is usually a harmony in red1 yellow and blue1 and when the crowds of people or buildings do not form balancing combinations they oft-times so fill the canvas as to leave excellent spaces1 more commanding through their isolation than the groups choking the limits of the canvas4 ,more often however these crowds may be found to hang most beautifully to a natural axis and to comply with all the principles of pictorial structure4 ,in his park scene1 showing several tiers of equestrians one above the other1 the chief charm is the idea of continuous movement which the scene conveys4 ,the detail1 wisely omitted1 if supplied would arrest the attention and a challenge on this basis would follow4 ,it would then be found that what we accepted as an impression of natural aspect we would demand more of as a finished picture4 ,it is because it is more decorative than pictorial and because its pictorial parts are rendered by suggestion1 that it makes so winning an appeal4 ,the quaint and fascinating concepts of ,mr4 ,bull in the range of animal delineation are all struck in the stamp of this newer mould1 and the list is a constantly increasing one of the illustrators whose work bears this sign4 ,,relief4 ,the popular notion concerning pictures is that they should stand out2 but as has been aptly said1 8they should stand in02 so stand as to keep their places within the frame and to keep the component parts in control4 ,a single object straining itself into prominence through the great relief it exhibits1 is just as objectionable as the one voice in a chorus heard above the rest4 ,it is a law of light that all objects of the same plane receive identically the same illuminations4 ,if then1 one seems favored1 it must be by suppression of the rest4 ,now and then this is necessary1 but that it occurs by this means and not by unnatural forcing must be evident4 ,it is not necessary for the artist to lift his sitter off the canvas by a forced light on the figure and an intense shadow separating him from the wall behind4 ,correggio knew so well to conserve breadth just here4 ,instead of this cheap and easy relief1 he almost invariably chose to offset the dark side with a darker tone in the background1 allowing the figure's shadow to melt inperceptibly into the back space4 ,breadth and softness was of course the result4 ,occasionally however a distinct attempt at relief may be witnessed in the work of good painters4 ,some of ,valesquez' standing portraits are expressive of the painter's joy in making them 8stand out40 ,in all these pictures however there are no other objects1 no items added to the background from which the figure is separated4 ,the subject simply stands in air4 ,in other words it is an entity and not a composition4 ,the process technically for the subduing of relief is flattening the shadows1 thus rendering the marked roundness of objects less pronounced4 ,the envelopment of air which all painting should express1--the detachment of one object from another1--goes as far toward the production of relief as is necessary4 ,,finish4 ,but the enquiry is naturally made1 8if deception is undesirable1 should the artist pause before he has brought his work to a complete finish80 ,finish is not dependent upon putting in everything which nature contains1 else would art not be a matter of selection4 ,finish1 though interpreted singularly by different artists as to degree1 is universally understood to mean the same thing4 ,finish is the expression of the true relations of objects or of the parts of one object4 ,when the true relations or values of shade and color are rendered the work is complete4 ,that ends it4 ,the student for the first year or so imagines his salvation depends on detail and prides himself on how much of it he can see4 ,the instructor insists on his looking at nature with his eyes half closed in the hope that he will take the big end of things4 ,there is war between them until the student capitulates1 after which the instructor tells him to go as he pleases knowing with this lesson learned he will not go wrong4 ,as a comprehensive example of finish without detail1 one may take the works of ,mauve which aim to represent nature as truly as possible in her exact tints4 ,no one can observe any picture ever painted by this master and not be drawn down close to the ground that he may walk on it or elevate his head into the air and breathe it or feel it possible to send a stone sailing into its liquid depths2 but finish6 when we look for it where or what is it8 ,at the ,stewart ,gallery the attendant was accustomed to offer the visitor a magnifying glass with which to examine the lustre of a horse's eye or the buckles upon ,napoleon's saddle1 in the 8,review of ,cuirassiers at the ,battle of ,friedland0 by ,meissonier4 ,these items are what interested the great detailist and they are perfect2 but with all the intense effort of six close years of labor the picture has less real finish than any work ever signed by ,mauve4 ,the big thing in finish has been missed and ,i doubt if any artist or connoisseur has ever come upon this picture1 now in the ,metropolitan ,museum1 without a slight gasp at the false relation of color existing between the green wheat1 the horses trampling through it and the sky above it4 ,the unity of these elements was the first step in finish and the artist with all his vast knowledge of little things never knew it4 ,if then1 perfect finish is a matter beyond detail1 it follows it must be looked for elsewhere than at this end of nature4 ,the average man soon takes the artist's intention and accepts the work on this basis1 thinking not of finish nor of its lack1 but of nature2 acknowledging through the suggestions of the picture that he has been touched by her4 8,during these moments10 says ,john ,la ,farge in his 8,considerations on ,painting10 8are not the spectators excusable who live for the moment a serene existence1 feeling as if they had made the work they admire80 ,the argument then is that the master painter is one who selects the subject1 takes precious care that its foundation quantities and qualities are furnished and then hands it over to any one to finish4 ,that it falls into sympathetic hands is his single solicitude4 8,it requires two men to paint a picture10 says ,mr4 ,hopkinson ,smith1 8one to work the brush and the other to kill the artist when he has finished his picture and doesn't know it40 ,,part ,,iii - ,,the ,,critical ,,judgement ,,of ,,pictures 8,with the critic all depends on the right application of his principles in particular cases4 ,and since there are fifty ingenuous critics to one of penetration1 it would be a wonder if the applications were in every case with the caution indispensable to an exact adjustment of the scales of art40--,lessing's ,laocon4 ,,chapter ,,xiii - ,,the ,,man ,,in ,,art 8,art is a middle quality between a thought and a thing--the union of that which is nature with that which is exclusively human407#af7 ,for the every-day critic much of the secret lies in the proposition art is nature1 with the man added2 nature seen through a temperament4 ,nature is apparent on the surface of pictures4 ,we see this side at a glance4 ,to find the man in it requires deeper sight4 ,if a painter of portraits1 has he painted the surface1 or the character8 ,has he gone halting after it1 or has he nailed it3 has he won with it finally8 ,is he a man whose natural refinement proved a true mirror in which his sitter was reflected or has the coarse and uneven grain of the artist become manifest in the false planes of the character presentation8 ,with respect to portraits less than other subjects1 can we expect to find them reflections of the artist's personality4 ,but some of the ablest1 while interpreting another's character1 frequently add somewhere in it their own4 ,the old masters rarely signed1 feeling that they wrote themselves all through their works4 ,the sure thing regarding the great portraitist is that he is a man of refinement4 ,this all history shows4 ,is our artist a genre painter3 then does his mind see small things to delight in them1 or to delight us--if this1 he is our servitor or little better1--does he go at the whole thing with the sincerity of an artistic purpose and somewhere place a veritable touch of genius1 or only represent one item after another until the whole catalogue of items is complete1 careful that he leave behind no just cause for reproach8 ,has the man dignified his subject and raised it to something above imitative art1 or does he clearly state in his treatment of it that imitation is the end of art8 ,is he a painter of historic incident2 then does he convince you that his data are accurate1 or allow you to conjecture that his details are makeshifts8 ,is the scene an inspiration or commonplace8 ,has he been able to put you into the atmosphere of a bygone day1 or do his figures look like models in hired costume and quite ready to resume their own clothes and modern life8 ,is he a painter of flowers2 then is he an artist or a botanist8 ,is he a marinist2 then1 as a landsman has he made you feel like one1 or has he painted for you water that can be walked on without faith8 ,has he shown you the dignity1 the vastness1 the tone1 and above all the movement of the sea8 ,is he a landscape painter8 ,then is he in a position to assert himself to a greater degree than they all8 ,the farther one may remove himself from his theme1 the less of its minutiae will he see4 ,the process of simplification is individual4 ,what he takes from nature he puts back out of himself4 ,the landscape painter becomes an interpreter of moods1 his own as well as nature's1 and in his selection of these he reveals himself4 ,does he show you the kingdoms of the world from some high mount1 or make you believe they may be found if you keep on moving through the air and over the ground such as he creates8 ,does he make you listen with him to the soft low music when nature is kindly and tender and lovable1 or is his stuff of that robust fibre which makes her companionable to him in her ruggedness and strength8 ,as the hidden forces of nature control man yet bend to his bidding--electricity1 air1 steam1 etc4--so do the open and obvious ones which the painter deals with4 ,they dictate all the conditions and yet somehow--he governs4 ,the different ways in which he does this gives to art its variety and enables us to form a scale of relative values4 ,the work of art which attracts us excites two emotions2 pleasure in the subject2 admiration for the artist4 ,exhibitions of strength and skill claim our interest not so much for the thing done1 which often perishes with the doing1 as for the doer4 ,the poet with a hidden longing to express or a story to tell1 who binds himself to the curious limitations of the ,italian sonnet1 in giving evidence of his powers1 excites greater admiration than though he had not assumed such conditions4 ,it is the personal element which has established photography and given it art character4 ,says ,j4 ,c4 ,van ,dyke1 8a picture is but an autobiographical statement2 it is the man and not the facts that may awaken our admiration2 for1 unless we feel his presence and know his genius the picture is nothing but a collection of incidents4 ,it is not the work but the worker1 not the mould but the moulder1 not the paint but the painter40 ,witness it in the work of ,michel ,angelo1 in both paint and marble4 ,how we feel the man of it in ,franz ,hals1 in ,rembrandt1 in ,rubens1 ,van ,dyck1 ,valasquez1 ,ribera and ,goya1 in ,watteau and ,teniers1 in ,millet and ,troyon1 in ,rousseau and ,rico1 in ,turner1 ,constable and ,gainsborough1 in ,fildes and ,holl1 in ,whistler1 in ,monet1 in ,rodin and ,barnard1 in ,inness1 in ,wyant and ,geo4 ,fuller4 ,like religion1 art is not a matter of surfaces4 ,its essence is to be spiritually discerned4 ,it is the spirit of the artist you must seek2--find the man4 ,back of the canvas that throbs1 the painter is hinted and hidden2 ,into the statue that breathes the soul of the sculptor is bidden2 ,under the joy that is felt lie the infinite issue of feeling2 ,crowning the glory revealed is the glory that crowns the revealing4 ,great are the symbols of being1 but that which is symboled is greater2 ,vast the create and beheld1 but vaster the inward creator2 ,back of the sound broods the silence1 back of the gift stands the giving2 ,back of the hand that receives thrill the sensitive nerves of receiving4 ,,chapter ,,xiv - ,,specific ,,qualities ,,and ,,faults ,if we recognize the manly qualities in a picture1 the work has at least a favorable introduction4 ,farther than this point it may not please us1 but if not1 it should remain a question of taste between the artist and yourself2 and1 concerning taste there is no disputing4 ,it is just at this point that the superficial critic errs4 ,dislike for the subject1 however ably expressed1 is never cause for condemnation4 ,the fair question to ask is1 what was the artist's intention8 ,its answer provokes your challenge2 8,is it worth the expression60 ,if conceded1 the real judgment begins4 ,has he done it2 if not wholly--in what degree8 ,the question of degree will demand the patience of good judgment4 ,there may be much or little sanity in condemning a picture owing to a single fault4 ,it depends on the kind4 ,there are errors of selection1 of presentation 7technique7 of natural fact1 and of art principle4 ,we can excuse the first1 condone the second1 find small palliation for the third1 but he for whom art principles mean nothing1 is an art anarchist4 ,errors of selection are errors of judgment4 ,a man may choose a subject which is unprofitable and which refuses to yield fruit2 and yet in his effort at reediting its elements he may have shown great skill and knowledge and may have expended upon it his rarest gifts--fine technique and good color4 ,the critic must read between the lines and blame the judgment1 not the art4 ,feeble selection and weak composition will be more easily specified as faults than bad drawing and unworthy color4 ,to the profession1 the epithet 8commonplace0 weighs heavily against a work of art4 ,selection of what is fitting as an art subject means experience4 ,the 8ungrateful0 subject and bad composition are therefore likely to mark the nouveau in picture making--the student fresh from the atelier with accurate drawing and true color and who may be full of promise1 but who has become tangled with what the ,french term the soujet ingrat4 ,every artist has studies of this sort which contain sufficient truth to save them from being painted over as canvas1 and most painters know the place for such--the storeroom4 ,exhibition of studies is interesting as disclosing the means to an end1 and the public should discern between the intention of the 8study0 and of the picture4 ,herein lies the injustice of acquiring the posthumous effects of an artist and exposing for sale every scrap to be found4 ,the ravenous group of dealers which made descent upon the ,millet cottage at the death of that artist effected as clean a sweep as an army of ants in an ,indian bungalow4 ,in consequence we see in galleries throughout ,europe and this country many trifles in pastel which are not only incomplete but positively bad as color4 ,millet used but a few hard crayons for trials in color suggestion1 to be translated in oil4 ,some were failures in composition and in most the color is nothing more than any immature hand could produce with such restricted means4 ,to allow these to enter into any estimate of ,millet or to take them seriously as containing his own estimate of art1 or as intrinsically valuable1 is folly4 ,the faults of selection may also be open to difference of opinion4 8,who would want to paint you when no one wants to look at you80 said an old epigrammatist to a misshapen man4 8,not so10 says the artist2 8,i will paint you though people may not like to look at you and they will look at my portrait not for your sake but for my art1 and find it interesting40 ,the cult that declares for anything as a subject1 its value dependent upon that which the artist adds1 stands as a healthy balance to that band of literary painters which affected ,english art a generation ago1 the school of ,rossetti1 ,burne-,jones1 and ,maddox-,brown1 who strove to present ideas through art4 ,with them the idea was paramount1 and the technical in time dwindled1 the subject with its frequently ramified meaning1 proving to be beyond their art expression4 ,again1 the popular attempt to conceive in pictures that which the artist never expected us to find is as reprehensible in graphic as in musical art4 ,there is often no literary meaning whatever in some of the best examples of both4 ,harmony1 tone1 color and technique pure and simple are the full compass of the intention4 ,what this may suggest to the individual he is welcome to1 but the glib dictum of certain preachers on art as to hidden intentions would indicate that they had effected an agreement1 with the full confidence of the silent partner to exploit him4 ,beware of the gilt edged footnote1 or the art that depends upon it4 ,a writer of ordinary imagination and fluent ,english can put an aureole about any work of art he desires and much reputation is secured on this wise4 ,in the presentation of a subject through given pictorial elements1 the critic will know whether the most has been made of the opportunity4 ,if the composition prove satisfactory and the theme as presented still fails to move the critic1 he must shift from the scientific analysis to those qualities governing the artist subjectively4 ,he is lacking in 8temperament10 and without temperament who in art has a chance8 ,with years in the schools and a technique of mechanical perfection he lacks the divine fire and leaves us cold4 ,it is for the critic to say this1 and herein he becomes a teacher to public and artist4 ,the patron who agreed that a picture under discussion had every quality which the salesman mentioned and patiently heard him through but quietly remarked1 8,it hasn't that10 as he snapped his finger1 is the sort of a critic who does not need to know the names of things in art4 ,he felt a picture should have snap1 and if it did not1 it was lacking4 ,but beyond the presentation of a theme having in it the mark of genius1 is that of workmanlike technique4 ,the demand of the present age is for this4 ,if a subject is not painted it will scarce hold as art4 ,ideas1 composition1 even color and harmony plead in vain2 the spirit of the times sits thus in judgment4 ,the presentation also should be individual1 the unmistakable sign of distinction4 ,to be able to tell at a glance by this mark puts us on the footing of intimate acquaintance4 ,a difference exists between this and the well-known mannerisms of individuals4 ,the latter applies to special items in pictures1 the former to the individual style of expression4 ,an artist may have one way of seeing all trees1 or the similarity of one picture with another may be because there is only one sort of tree that interests him1 or one time of day when all trees attract his brush4 ,in the first case he is a mannerist1 in the other a worker in a chosen groove4 ,it cannot be denied that many artists making a success in a limited range of subject consent to stop1 and go no further1 under pressure of dealers or the public4 ,the demand for specialists has much more reason in science and mechanics than in art1 which is or should be a result of impulse47#ag7 ,corot declared he preferred the low sweet music of early dawn and to him there was enough variety in it to keep him employed as long as he could paint2 but the thralldom of an artist who follows in the groove of a bygone success because if he steps out of it the dealer frowns and will not handle his work1 is pitiable1 exposing to view year by year the remonitory canvas with such slight changes as newness demands4 ,it would be a healthier sign in art if the press and public would applaud new ventures when it was clear that an artist1 thereby1 was seeking to do better things and perhaps find himself in a newer vein4 ,but variety in art it is maintained need not come of variety in the individual but of a variety of individuals4 ,so ,van ,marke must paint cows1 and ,jacque sheep and ,wouvermanns must be told by the inevitable white horse1 and have the mere mention of the artist's name mean the same sort of picture every time4 ,this aids the simplification of a many-sided question4 ,the public1 as ,mr4 ,hamerton declares1 hates to burden itself with names2 to which might be added that it also hates to differentiate with any single name4 ,a good portraitist in ,england one year exhibited at the ,royal ,academy a wonderfully painted peacock4 ,the people raved and thereafter he was allowed to paint nothing else4 ,occasionally it is shown that this discrimination is without reason1 as many men rise above the restriction4 ,the ,gainsborough portrait and landscape are equally strong1 the works of painters in marble1 and sculptors who use color1 have proved a surprise to the critics and an argument against the 8specialty40 ,there are two degrees in the subversion of the natural fact4 ,if1 for example1 under the rule in physics1 the angle of incidence being equal to the angle of reflection1 it be found that a cloud in the sky will reflect into water too near the bottom of the picture1 a painter's license may move it higher in its vertical line2 but if the same cloud is made to reflect at an angle several degrees to right or left1 the artist breaks the simplest law of optics4 ,the painter's art at best is one of deception4 ,in the first case the lie was plausible4 ,in the second case any schoolboy could have 8told on0 the artist4 ,there are good painters who appear to know little and care less for physical fact4 ,their business is with the surface of the earth2 the whys and wherefores of the universe they ignore1 complacent in their ignorance until it leads them to place the evening star within the arc of the crescent moon1 when they are annoyed to be told that the moon does not grow from this shape to the full orb once a month4 ,but ofttimes1 though the artist may not flout the universe1 he shows his carelessness of natural fact and needs the snubbing4 ,it is in this range that the little critic walks triumphantly posing as a shrewd and a discerning one4 ,he holds up inconsistencies with his deft thumb and finger and cries1 8what a smart boy am ,i40 ,and yet in spite of him ,rubens1 for the sake of a better line in the foreground of one of his greatest compositions dares to reconstruct a horse with his head issuing from his hind quarters1 allowing the tail to serve as the mane1 and ,turner kept on drawing castles all wrong4 ,but these critics have their place4 ,even ,ruskin accepted this as a part of his work4 ,there are occasions1 as every artist will admit1 when the artless critic with his crude commonplaces is most welcome4 ,as to the violator of art principles1 his range in art must perforce be short1 his reward a smile of pity1 his finish suicide4 ,originality may find all the latitude it requires within the limits of ,art ,principles4 ,ruskin in his principles of drawing enumerates these as 8,principality1 i4e41 a chief object in a picture to which others point3 ,repetition1 the doubling of objects gives quietude3 ,symmetry develops solemnity1 but in landscape it must be balanced1 not formal4 ,continuity3 as in a succession of pillars or promontories or clouds involving change and relief1 or else it would be mere monotonous repetition4 ,curvature3 all beautiful objects are bounded by infinite curves1 that is to say1 of infinitely changing direction1 or else made up of an infinite number of subordinate curves4 ,radiation3 illustrated in leaves and boughs and in the structure of organic bodies4 ,contrast3 of shapes and substances and of general lines2 being the complement of the law of continuity1 contrast of light and shade not being enough4 ,interchange3 as in heraldic quartering4 ,consistency3 or breadth overriding petty contrast and giving the effect of aggregate color or form4 ,harmony3 art is an abstract and must be harmoniously abstracted1 keeping the relations of values40 ,with the above principles of composition ,mr4 ,ruskin aims to cover the field of architecture1 sculpture and painting1 and he declares there are doubtless others which he cannot define 8and these the most important and connected with the deepest powers of art4 ,the best part of every work of art is inexplicable4 ,it is good because it is good40 ,mr4 ,hamerton enumerates the duties of the critic as follows2 8to utter unpopular truths2 to instruct the public in the theoretical knowledge of art2 to defend true living artists against the malice of the ignorant2 to prevent false living artists from acquiring an influence injurious to the general interests of art2 to exalt the fame of dead artists whose example may be beneficial2 to weaken the fame of dead artists whose names have an injurious degree of authority2 to speak always with absolute sincerity2 to give expression to vicissitudes of opinion1 not fearing the imputation of inconsistency2 to make himself as thoroughly informed as his time and opportunities will allow1 about everything concerning the ,fine ,arts1 whether directly or indirectly2 to enlarge his own powers of sympathy2 to resist the formation of prejudices40 ,the above requirements are well stated for critics who1 by reason of the authority of their position as press writers1 are teachers of art4 ,as to the personnel and qualifications of this ,faculty of ,instruction1 investigation would prove embarrassing4 ,the shallowness of the average review of current exhibitions is no more surprising1 than that responsible editors of newspapers place such consignments in the hands of the all-around-reporter1 to whom a picture show is no more important than a fire or a function4 ,mr4 ,hamerton in his essay urges artists to write on art topics1 as their opinions are expert testimony1 a suggestion practically applied by a small group of daily papers in ,america4 ,says ,mr4 ,stillman1 8,no labor of any human worker is ever subjected to such degradation as is art to-day under the criticism of the daily paper40 ,probably no influence is more responsible for the apathy and distrust of the public regarding art than these reviews of exhibitions for the daily press4 ,the reader quotes as authoritative the dictum of a great journal1 seldom reflecting that this is the opinion of one man1 who1 with rarest exception1 is the least qualified of any writer on the staff to speak on his theme4 ,such is the value which the average manager puts upon the subject4 ,to review the picked efforts of a year1 of several hundred men1 a scant column is deemed sufficient4 ,howsoever honest may be the intention toward these1 the limitations render the task hopeless1 for all efforts to level the scales to a nicety may be foiled by the shears of the managing editor if perchance another petit larceny should require any part of the space4 ,so the critic gives it up1 mounts a pedestal1 waves whole walls1 aye galleries1 to oblivion1 and with the sumptuousness of a ,nero1 adopts the magnificent background1 in the light of which for a moment he shines resplendent1 as a gilded setting for his oracles4 ,,chapter ,,xv - ,,the ,,picture ,,sense 8,fortunate is he1 who at an early age knows what art is407#ah7 ,howsoever eloquent may be the artist in his work1 it is convincing only in that degree to which his audience is prepared to understand his language and comprehend his subject4 8,the artist hangs his brains upon the wall10 said the veteran salesman of the ,national ,academy1 and there they remain without explanation or defense4 ,the crowd as it passes1 enjoys or jeers1 as the ideas of this mute language are comprehended or confounded4 ,art requires no apology and asks none2 all she requests is that those who would affect her must know the principles upon which she works4 ,an age of altruism should be able to insure to the artist sufficient culture in his audience so that his language be understood and that his speech be not reckoned as an uncertain sound4 ,the public should form with him an industrial partnership1 not in the limited sense of giving and taking1 but of something founded on comprehensibility4 ,what proportion of the visitors to an annual exhibition can intelligently state the purpose of impressionism1 or distinguish between this and tonal art2 what proportion think of art only as it exploits a 8subject0 or 8tells a story02 how many look at but one class of pictures and have no interest in the rest2 how many go through the catalogue with a prayer-book fidelity1 and know nothing of it all when they come out6 ,how many know enough to hang the pictures in their own houses so that each picture is helped and none damaged8 ,could it be safely inferred that every collector of pictures knows and feels to the point of giving a reason for his choice of pictures1 or even reasonable advice to a friend who would also own pictures8 ,is not much of what is bought taken on the word of a reliable dealer and owned in the satisfaction of its being 8all right10 and perhaps 8safe10 as an investment8 ,is it unreasonable to ask the many sharers in the passing picture pleasures of a great city to make themselves intelligent in some other and more practical way than by contact1 gleaning only through a lifetime what should have been theirs without delay as a foundation and to exchange for the vague impression of pleasure1 defended in the simple comfort of knowing what one likes1 the enjoyment of sure authority and a reason for it4 ,the best of all means for acquiring art sense is association2 first1 with a personality2 second1 with the product4 ,the artist's safest method with the uninitiated is to use the speech which they understand4 ,in conversation1 artists1 as a rule1 talk freely1 and one may get deeper into art from a fortnight's sojourn with a group of artists than from all the treatises ever written on the philosophy of art4 ,the most successful collectors of pictures know this4 ,they study artists as well as pictures4 ,but on the other hand must it not also be conceded that acquaintance with fine examples of art is in a fair way of cultivating the keen and intelligent collector in the pictorial sense to a degree beyond that of those artists whose associations are altogether with their own works or with those who think with them1 who must of necessity believe most sincerely in themselves and who are thus obliged to operate in a groove1 and with consequent bias4 ,for this reason association should be varied4 ,no one has the whole truth4 ,music scores a point beyond painting1 in necessitating a personality4 ,we see the interpreter and this intimacy assists comprehension4 ,but howsoever potent is association with art and artist1 one may thus never get as closely in touch with art as by working with her4 ,the best and safest critic is of course one who has performed4 ,experts are those persons who have passed through every branch and know the entire 8business40 ,the years of toil to students who eventually never arrive are incidentally spent in gaining the knowledge to thus know pictures1 and though the success of accomplishment be denied1 their compensation lies in the lengthened reach of a new horizon which meantime has been opened to them4 ,whether the picture be found in nature and is to be rescued1 as is the bas-relief from its enveloping mould1 cut out of its surroundings by the four sides of the canvas and brought indoors with the same glow of triumph as the geologist feels in picking a turquoise out of a rock at which others had stared and found nothing2 or whether it be found1 as one of many in a collection of prints or paintings2 or whether the recognition be personal and asks the acceptance of something wrought by one's own hand--to know a picture when one sees it--this is art sense4 ,backed by a judgment presenting a defense to the protests of criticism1 it becomes art knowledge4 ,to find and preserve pictures out of the maze of nature is the labor of the artist3 to recognize them when found1 the privilege of the connoisseur4 ,the guileless prostrations which the many affect regarding art judgments evoke the same degree of pity as the assertion of the beggar that he needs money for a night's lodging when you and he know that one is awaiting him for the asking at the ,bureau of ,charities4 ,the many declare they know nothing about art1 the while having an all around culture in the humanities1 in literature1 poetry1 prose composition1 music1 sthetics1 etc4 ,the principles of all the arts being identical1 how simple would it be to apply those governing the arts which one knows to what is unknown4 ,the musician and poet make use of contrast1 light and shade1 gradation1 antithesis1 balance1 accent1 force by opposition1 isolation and omission1 rhythm1 tone-color1 climax1 and above all unity and harmony4 ,let the musician and him who knows literature challenge the work of art for a violation of any of these and the judgment which results may be accepted seriously2 and yet the essence lies beyond--with nature herself4 ,it is just here that the stock writer of the daily paper misses it4 ,he may have science enough1 but lacks the love1 the revelation through communion4 ,but1 with this omitted1 critical judgment is safer in the hands of a person of broad culture1 who knows nothing of the tools of painting and sculpture1 than when wielded by a half-educated student of art with his development all on one side4 ,ruskin warns us of young critics4 ,as a short cut1 the camera fills a place for the many who feel pictures and wish to create them1 but at small cost of time and effort4 ,a little art school for the public has the small black box become1 into which persons have been looking searchingly and thoughtfully for the past dozen years4 ,to those who have thus regarded it and exhibit work in competition1 revelations have come4 ,non-composition ruins their chances4 ,good composition is nine-tenths of the plot4 ,when this is conceded the whole significance of their art is deepened4 ,then and not until then does photography become allied with art1 for this is the only point at which brains may be mixed with the photographic product4 ,any one who has experienced a lantern slide exhibition of art1 where picture after picture follows rapidly and the crowd expresses judgment by applause1 will not long be in doubt what pictures make the strongest appeal4 ,the 8crowd0 applauds three types2 something recognized as familiar1 the 8happy hit10 especially of title1 and1 7not knowing why7 all pictures1 without regard to subject1 which express unity4 ,the first two classes are not a part of this argument1 but of the last1 the natural1 spontaneous attraction of the healthy mind by what is complete through unity contains such reason as cannot be ignored4 ,subjects of equal or greater interest which antagonize unity fall flat before this jury4 ,there is no opportunity more valuable to the amateur photographer than the lantern slide exhibition1 and the fact that even now no more than ten or twelve per cent4 of what is shown is pictorially good should provoke a search for the remedy4 ,for the student1 to fill the eye full of good compositions and to know why good1 is of equal value with the study of faulty composition to discover why bad4 ,the challenge of compositions neither good nor bad to discover wherein they could be improved is better practice than either4 ,this is the constant exercise of every artist1 the ejection of the sand grains from his easy running machinery4 ,before photography became a fashion it was the writer's privilege to meet a county physician who had cultivated for himself a critical picture sense4 ,the lines of his circuit lay among the pleasantest of pastoral scenes4 ,stimulated by their beauty it became his habit1 as he travelled1 to mark off the pictures of his route1 to note where two ran together1 to decide what details were unnecessary1 or where1 by leaving the highway and approaching or retiring he discovered new ones4 ,after a time he bought a ,claude ,lorraine glass4 ,it was shortly after this purchase that ,i met him4 ,his enthusiasm was delightful4 ,with this framing of his views his judgment grew sensitive and as he showed these mirrored pictures to friends who rode with him he was most particular at just what point he stopped his horse4 ,the man for whom picture galleries were a rarity1 talked as intelligently upon the fundamental structure of pictures as most artists4 8,i buy the pictures of ,mauve10 remarked a clergyman in ,paris1 8because he puts into them what ,i try to get into my sermons2 simplicity1 suggestiveness and logical sequence40 ,,chapter ,,xvi - ,,color1 ,,harmony1 ,,tone ,in viewing a picture exhibition the average man1 woman and child would be attracted by different aspects of it2 the man by the tone of the pictures1 the woman by their color1 the child almost wholly by the form or subject4 ,the distinction is of course epigrammatic1 but there is a basis for it in the daily associations of each of the three1 the man with the conventional appointments of his dress and his business equipment1 the woman with her gowns1 her house decorations and flowers1 the child with the world of imagination and fancy in which he dwells4 ,the distinction has much to do with the method and the degree of one's sthetic development4 ,that a picture must have a subject is the first pons asinorum to be crossed1 the child usually preferring to remain on the farther side4 ,the delight in color belongs to the lighter1 freer or more barbaric part of the race4 ,tone best fits the sobriety of man4 ,the distinction is the difference in preference for an oak leaf as it turns to bronze1 and a maple as it exchanges its greens for yellow and scarlet4 ,in the latter case two primaries are evolved from a secondary color and in the other a tertiary from a secondary4 ,in the case of the oak bronze there is more harmony1 for the three primaries are present4 ,in the case of the yellow and red1 there is contrast and effect1 but less harmony1 since but two primaries appear4 ,as the walls are studied that sort of color art is found to be most conspicuously prominent which is in the minority and probably one's unsophisticated choice1 from the point of view of color1 would be that which has the distinction of rarity1 as the red haired woman is at a premium in the ,south ,sea isles4 ,if1 however1 the tonal and the coloresque art were in even interchange1 the former would have much of its strength robbed1 to the degree of the excessive color of its neighbors4 ,if1 however1 the pictures of tone and of color1 instead of being hung together were placed apart1 it would be found that the former expressed the greater unity and presented a front of composure and dignity and that the varied color combinations would as likely quarrel among themselves as with their former neighbors4 ,that a just distinction may be had between tonal and coloresque and impressionist art1 the purpose of each must be stated4 ,the 8tonist0 aims primarily at unified color1 to secure which he elects a tone to be followed1 which shall dominate and modify every color of his subject4 ,this is accomplished by either painting into a thin glaze of color1 administered to the whole canvas so that every brushful partakes of some of it2 or by modifying the painting subsequently by transparent glazes of the same tone4 ,the conscientious impressionist1 on the contrary1 produces harmony by juxtapositions of pure color4 ,harmony results when the three primary colors are present either as red1 yellow and blue or as a combination of a secondary and primary3 green with red1 orange with blue or purple with yellow4 ,the impressionist goes farther1 knowing that the complementary of a color will tend to neutralize it1 supplying as it does the lacking element to unity1 he creates a vivid scheme of color on this basis4 ,in representing therefore a gray rock he knows that if red be introduced1 a little blue and yellow will kill it1 and the three colors together at a distance will produce gray4 ,instead1 therefore1 of mixing upon his palette three primaries to produce the tertiary gray1 he so places them on the canvas that at the proper distance 7though this consideration is of small concern to him7 the spectator will mix them--which he often does4 ,the advantage of this method of color presentation lies in the degree of purity which the pigment retains4 ,its disadvantage appears in its frequent distortion of fact and aspect of nature1 sacrificed to a scientific method of representation4 ,an estimate of impressionism is wholly contained in the reply to the question1 8,do you like impressions8 ,yes1 when they are good20 and in the right hands they are4 ,they are good only when the real intention of impressionism has been expressed1 when the synthesis of color has actually produced light and air1 and an impression of nature is quickened4 ,but the voice from the canvas more frequently cries 8nature be hanged--but this is impressionism40 ,the little people of impressionism finding it possible to represent more light than even nature shows in very many of her aspects1 delight in exhibiting the disparity existing between nature and1 forsooth1 impressionism4 ,thus we see attempts to 8knock out0 with these scientific brass knuckles all those who refuse to fight with them4 ,the rumpus grows out of the different attitudes in which nature is approached4 ,the one1 drawn by her beauty1 kneels to her1 touching her resplendent garments2 the other grasps her with the mailed hand1 bedecking her with a mantle of his own4 ,the knights wooing the same mistress are therefore lorn rivals4 ,for effect1 no one can deny that produced by the savage in war paint and feathers is more startling than the man wearing the conventional garb of civilization1 or that the stars and stripes have greater attraction than the modified tones of a gobelin tapestry or a ,persian rug4 ,we put the flag outside the building but the daily course of our lives is more easily spent with the tapestry and rug4 ,an 8impression07#ai7 among tonal pictures appears as foolish as a tonal picture among impressions and the sane conclusion is that the attempt to combine them should not be made4 ,the clear singing tones of the upper register are better rendered under this formula than by any other1 but the feeling of solidity and the tonal depth of nature are qualities which it compromises4 ,impressionism expresses frankly by the use of smaller methods what the tonists attain by larger and freer ones4 ,the individual must decide whether he prefers to tell the time as he watches the movement of the works or will take this for granted if he gets the result4 ,for charm in color no one will deny that in the works of old masters this is found in greater degree than in painting of more recent production1 and the reason is1 not because the pigments of the fourteenth century are better than ours1 but it is to be found in the alterative and refining influences of time and varnish1 which have crowned them with the glorious aureole of the centuries4 ,guided by this fact the modern school of tonists seeks to shorten the period between the date of production and this final desirable quality1 by setting in motion these factors at once4 ,they therefore paint with varnish as a medium1 multiplying the processes of glazing with pure color so that under a number of surfaces of varnish the same chemical action may be precipitated which in the earlier art came about with but few exceptions as a happening through the simple necessary acts of preservation4 ,the consequence of this adoption of kindred processes is that the tonal pictures and the old masters join hands naturally and can stand side by side in the gallery of the collector4 ,this1 though a wholly practical reason for the growing popularity of tonal art is one of the powerful considerations for the trend from that sort which is liable to create discord4 ,the simplest illustration of harmony1 and unity and tone may be had in nature herself1 for though these qualities have their scientific exposition1 the divisions of the color scale are not so easily comprehended by many people as the chart which may be conceived in extended landscape4 ,the sky1 inasmuch as it spreads itself over the earth and reflects its light upon it1 dictates the tone of the scene4 ,the surface of the lake reveals this fact beyond dispute1 for the water takes on any tone which the sky may have4 ,the sky's power of reflection is no less potent in the landscape4 ,reflection is observable in that degree in which the surface1 reflected upon1 is rough or smooth4 ,the absorbent surface allows the light to fall in and disappear and under this condition we see the true or local color4 ,note1 for example1 the effect of light on velvet or the hide of a cow in winter4 ,when the hair points toward the light the mass is rich and dark1 but when it turns away in any direction its polished surface reflects light1 which like the lake becomes a mirror to it4 ,light falling upon a meadow will influence it by its own color only in those places where the grass is turned at an angle from its rays4 ,from these few observations it becomes obvious that unity of tone is a simple matter when understood by the painter and that unity1 being a most important part of his color scheme1 may be increased by additions of objects bearing the desirable color which nature fails to supply in any particular subject4 ,thus if the day be one in which a warm mellow haze pervades the air1 those tones of the sky repeated upon the backs of cattle1 a roadway1 clothing1 or what not1 may effect a more positive tonality than the lesser items would give which also reflect it4 ,herein then is the principle of ,tonality3 ,that all parts of the picture should be bound together by the dominating color or colors of the picture4 ,with the indoor subject the consideration is equally strong4 ,let the scheme be one as coloresque as the ,venetian school took delight in1 vivid primaries in close juxtaposition 7see small reproduction in ,fundamental forms--,the ,cross74 ,the central figure1 that of ,st4 ,peter is clothed in dark blue with a yellow mantle4 ,the ,virgin's dress is deep red1 her mantle a blue1 lighter than that of ,peter's robe4 ,through the pillars is seen the blue sky of still lighter degree4 ,thus the sky enters the picture by graded approaches and focalizes upon the central figure4 ,in like manner do the light yellow clouds repeat their color in the side of the building1 in the yellow spot in the flag and the mantle of the central figure4 ,the red of the ,virgin's robe and the yellow mantle together form a combination of a yellow red in the flag1 the blue and red of the central figures become purple and garnet in the surplices of the kneeling churchmen and doges4 ,the repetition of a given color in different parts of the figure is pushed still further in the blue gray hair of the kneeling figures1 the red brown tunics of the monks and the yellow bands upon the draperies4 ,in the picture by ,henry ,ranger 7the crossing of horizontals effected without a line71 a canvas in which the color is particularly reserved and gray1 the tone is created by precisely the same means4 ,the cool gray and warm white clouds are reflected into the water and concentrated with greater force in the pool in the foreground1 the greens and drabs of the bushes being strikingly modified by both of the tones noted in the sky4 ,in landscape a cumulative force may be given the progress of the sky tones by the use of figures1 the blue or gray of the sky being brought down in stronger degree upon the clothing of the peasant1 his cart or farm utensils4 ,just here inharmony easily insinuates itself through the introduction of elements having no antiphonal connection4 ,fancy a single spot of red without its echo4 ,our sense of tonal harmony is unconsciously active when between two figures observed too far away for sight of their faces we quickly make our conclusions concerning their social station1 if one be arrayed in a hat trimmed with purple and green1 a garnet waist and a buff skirt1 while the other1 though dressed in strong colors expresses the principles of coloration herewith defined4 ,the purple and green hat may belong to her suit if their colors be repeated by modification1 in it2 or the garnet and buff become the foundation for unity if developed throughout the rest of the costume4 ,the purchaser of a picture may be sure of the tone of his new acquisition if he will hang it for a day or two upside down4 ,this is one of the simplest tests applied by artists1 and many things are revealed thereby4 ,form is lost and the only other thing remains--color4 ,harmony being dependent only on the interrelations of colors1 their degree or intensity are immaterial4 ,on this basis it is a matter of choice whether our preference be for the coloresque or the more sober art4 ,it must however be borne in mind that the danger lies in the direction of color4 ,inharmony is more frequently found here than in the picture of sober tone4 ,precisely the same palette is used to produce an autumnal scene on a blue day1 when the colors are vivid and the outline on objects is hard and the form pronounced1 as on an overcast day with leaden clouds and much of the life and color gone from the yellow and scarlet foliage4 ,the reason why chances for harmony in the first are less than in the second is that the synthetic union of the colors is not as obvious or as simple as in the latter1 in which to produce the gray sky1 red and yellow have been added to the blue1 and the sky tones are more apparently added to the bright hues by being mixed into dull colors upon the palette4 ,the circle of harmony is therefore more easily apparent to our observation4 ,it is for this reason that tonality is more easily understood when applied to the green and copper bronze of the oak tree against a cool gray sky than the red and yellow hillside and the blue sky4 ,,values4 ,another important consideration in an estimate of a picture is its truth of values4 ,the color may be correct and harmonious but the degree of its light and shade be faulty4 ,this is a consideration more important to the student than the connoisseur as but few pictures see the light of an exhibition which carry this fault4 ,it is the one most dwelt upon in the academies after the form in outline has been mastered4 ,on it depends the correctness of surface presentation4 ,if1 for instance1 the values of a face are false1 the character will be disturbed4 ,this point has been made evident to all in the retouching1 which many photographs receive4 ,likeness is so dependent on those surfaces connecting the features or upon the light and shade of the features1 that any tampering with them in a sensitive part is ruinous4 ,values represent the degree of light and shade which the picture demands1 the relations of one part to another on the scale assumed4 ,thus with the same light affecting various objects in a room1 if one be represented as though illumined by a different degree of light it is out of value2 or1 in a landscape1 if an object in the distance is too strong in either color or degree of light and shade for its particular place in perspective1 it is out of value4 ,there are therefore values of color and of chiaroscuro1 which may be illustrated in a piece of drapery4 ,a light pink silk will be out of value in its shadow if these are too dark for the degree of light represented1 and out of color value1 if1 instead of a salmon tone in the crease which a reflection from the opposing surface of the fold creates1 there be a purplish hue which properly belongs to the outer edge of the fold in shadow1 where1 from the sky or a cool reflecting surface near by1 it obtains this change of color by reflection4 ,the most objectionable form of false values is the isolated sort1 whereby the over accentuation of a part is made to impress itself unduly2 8to jump0 in the technical phraseology of the school4 ,the least objectionable and often permitted form is that where a large section is put out of its value with the intent of accenting the light of a contiguous part4 ,in landscape the whole foreground is frequently lowered in tone beyond the possibility of any cloud shadow1 for the sake of the light beyond1 which may be the color motif of the picture and which thereby is glorified4 ,,chapter ,,xvii - ,,envelopment ,,and ,,color ,,perspective ,allied to values is the idea of envelopment3 of a kindred notion to this is aerial perspective4 ,on these two depends the proper presentation of a figure in air4 ,if at any place on the contour of a figure the background seems to stick1 the detachment from its surroundings1 which every figure should have1 is wanting4 ,the reason for it is to be found in a false value which has deprived it of rotundity of envelopment4 ,the solid object which resists the attempt to put one's hand around it or to stretch beyond into the background1 lacks this quality4 ,a fine distinction must be here drawn between simple envelopment and relief1 which is a more positive and less important quality4 ,however flatly and in mass figures may be conceived1 the impression of aerial envelopment must be unmistakable4 ,here a nice adjustment of values or relative tones will accomplish it4 ,naturally1 the greater space between the spectator and an object1 the more air will be present4 ,to the painter the color of air is the color of the sky4 ,this then will be mixed with the local color of the object1 giving it atmosphere4 ,envelopment is unmistakably represented by the out of door ,dutch painters1 for in the low countries atmosphere is seen in its density1 and at very short range4 ,holland is therefore an ideal sketching ground for the painter and the best in the world for the student1 since the ideas of values and envelopment are ever present4 ,in this saturated air the minute particles of moisture which1 in the case of rain or fog can affect the obliteration of objects1 partially accomplishes it at all times1 with the result that objects seem to swim in atmosphere4 ,in such a landscape perspective of value and color is easily observed1 making positive the separation of objects4 ,the painter1 under these conditions1 is independent of linear perspective to give depth to his work1 which being one of the cheap devices of painting he avoids as much as possible4 ,it is because aerial perspective is paintable and the other sort is not that artists shun the clear altitudes of ,colorado where all the year one can see for eighty miles and1 on the ,atlantic border1 wait the summer through for the fuller atmosphere which the fall will bring1 that by its tender envelopment the vividness and detail which is characteristic of the ,american landscape may give place to what is serviceable to the purposes of painting4 ,it is because of misunderstanding on this point that we of the ,western ,hemisphere may wrongly challenge foreign landscape1 judging it upon the natural aspect of our own country4 ,the untravelled ,american or he who has 8been there0 without seeing things1 is not aware that distinctly different conditions prevail in ,europe than with us1 especially above latitude #dj4 ,advantage in the paintability of subject therefore lies distinctly with the ,european artist1 and it may be because he has to labor against these odds that the ,american landscapist has forged to the front and is now leading his ,european brethren4 ,it must1 however1 be acknowledged that he acquired what he knows concerning landscape from the art and nature of ,europe--from ,impressionism with its important legacy of color1 which has been acknowledged in varying degree by all our painters1 and from the 8school of #ahcj10 on which is based the tonal movement of the present4 ,other than perspective of values1 no importance should be attached to that which1 with the inartistic mind1 is regarded so important a quality4 ,the art instruction which the common school of the past generation offered was based on perspective1 its problems1 susceptible of never ending circumventions1 being spread in an interminable maze before the student4 ,great respect for this 8lion in the path0 was a natural result and 8at least a two years' study0 of these problems was thought necessary before practical work in art could commence4 7,see ,appendix47 ,mr4 ,ruskin's fling at the perspective labyrinth would have been more authoritative than it proved1 had he not too often lessened our faith by the cry of wolf when it proved a false alarm4 ,there is a single truth which1 though simple1 was never known to ,oriental art1 namely2 that in every picture there must be a real or understood horizon--the level of the painter's eye1--that all lines above this will descend and all lines below will rise to it as they recede4 ,but upon aerial perspective depends the question of detail in the receding object and this to the painter is of first importance4 ,to temper a local color so that it shall settle itself to a nicety at any distance1 in the perspective scheme1 and to express the exact degree of shadow which a given color shall have under a given light and at a given distance are problems which absorb four-fifths of the painter's attention4 ,if the features of a man a hundred yards away be painted with the same fidelity as though he stood but ten yards distant the aerial balance is disturbed1 the man being brought nearer than his place on the perspective plan allows4 ,at a mile's range a tree to the painter is not an object expressing a combination of leaves and branches1 but a solid colored mass having its light and shade and perhaps perforated by the sky4 ,it is with natural aspect and not natural fact that the painter deals4 ,pre-,raphaelite art practised this phase of honesty1 which1 in our own day was revived in ,england4 ,in this later coterie of pre-,raphaelite brethren was but one painter1 the others1 men of varying artistic perceptions and impulses4 ,to the painter it in time became evident that he was out of place in this company and the commentary of his withdrawal proved more forcible than any to be made by an outsider4 ,when1 therefore1 judgment be applied to a work of painting it must be with a knowledge of natural aspect in mind1 not necessarily related1 even vaguely1 to the scene under consideration1 but such as has come by the absorption of nature's moods1 whereby1 with the cause given1 the effect may be known as a familiar sequence4 ,the public too should be sufficiently knowing to catch the code signals of each artist whereby these natural facts are symbolled4 ,herein has now been set forth1 as concisely as possible1 the few considerations which are ever present to the painter4 ,the connoisseur who would judge of his work1 either subjectively or technically1 must follow in his footprints and be careful to follow closely4 ,he must appreciate the differences in the creeds of workers in color and not apply the formulas of impressionism to works in tone4 ,he must not emphasize the importance of drawing in the work which clearly speaks of color and by its technique ignores all else2 nor expect the miracle of luscious1 translucent color in a work demanding the minute drawing of detail4 ,he can1 however1 be sure that the criteria of judgment which under all circumstances will apply are3 ,balanced and unified composition1 both of line and mass4 ,harmony of color1 expressed by the correlation of all colors throughout the picture4 ,tone1 or the unification of all colors upon the basis of a given hue4 ,values1 or the relation of the shades of an object to each other and the degree of relation between one object and another4 ,envelopment1 or the sense of air with which objects are surrounded4 ,with these five ideas in mind the critic of ,philistia may enter the gallery1 constituting himself a jury of one1 assured he is armed with every consideration which influenced the artist in his work and the art committee in its acceptance thereof4 ,judgment however does not end here4 ,these constitute the tables of the law1 and law finds its true interpretation only in the spirit of the living principle4 ,,chapter ,,xviii - ,,the ,,bias ,,of ,,judgment ,if discernment was ours to trace through the maze of fashion and experimental originality the living principle of true art1 the caprice of taste would have little to do with the comfort of our convictions or the worth of our investments4 ,fallacy has its short triumphs and the persuasive critic or the creator of art values may effect real value but for a day4 ,the limit of the credulity of the public1 which ,lincoln has immortalized1 is the basis of hope4 ,the public in time rights itself4 ,error in discerning this living principle in art is cause for the deepest contrition at the confessional of modern life4 ,unsigned and unrecognized works by modern masters have been rejected by juries to whom in haste the doors of the ,salon or ,society have been reopened with apologies4 ,the nation which assumes the highest degree of aesthetic perception turned its back on ,millet and ,corot and ,courbet and ,manet and ,puvis de ,chavannes1 rejecting their best1 and has honored yesterday what it spurns to-day4 ,the feverish delirium of the upper culture demands 8some new thing10 and ,athens1 ,paris1 ,london and ,new ,york concede it4 ,but what has lived8 ,what successive generations have believed in may be believed by us2 a thought expressed by the author of 8,modern ,painters0 in one magnificent sentence1 containing #aec words and too long for quotation4 ,the argument is based on the common sense of mankind4 ,it has however this objection4 ,judgment by such agreement is bound to be cumulative4 ,what is good in the beginning is better to-day1 still better to morrow1 then great1 then wonderful1 then divine4 ,this is the ,raphaelesque progression1 and if fifty persons were asked who was the greatest painter1 forty-nine would say ,raphael1 without discrimination4 ,the fiftieth might have observed what all painters know1 that ,raphael was not a great painter1 either as colorist or technician4 ,the opinion in this contention of ,velasquez that of all painters he studied at ,rome1 ,raphael pleased him least1 is a judgment of a colorist and a technician1 the more valuable because rendered before the ministrations of oil and granular secretion had enveloped his work in the mystery from which it speaks to us4 ,as a painter and draughtsman ,raphael is perhaps outclassed by ,bouguereau1 ,cabanel or ,lefevre of our own time1 and as a composer of either decorative or pictorial design he has had superiors4 ,but the work of ,raphael possesses the loving unction of real conviction and nothing to which he put his well trained hand failed of the baptism of genius4 ,through this mark1 therefore1 it will live forever4 ,nor should any work require more than this for continuous life4 ,each age should be distinctive4 ,the bias of judgment through the cumulative regard of successive centuries is what has created the popular disparity between the old and modern masters1 and it must not be forgotten that the harmony of color and its glowing quality is largely the gift of these centuries1 a fact made cruelly plain to those who have restored pictures and tampered with their secrets4 ,it will be a surprise to the average man in that realm of perfect truth which lies beyond1 to mark1 in the association of artists of all ages1 when the divisions of schools1 periods and petty formulas are forgotten1 that ,raphael will grasp the hand of ,abbott ,thayer1 saying to him in the never dying fervor of art enthusiasm and with the acknowledgment of limitations1 which is one of the signs of greatness2 8,o1 that ,i had had thy glorious quality of technical subtlety in place of the mechanical directness in which ,i labored60 and he in turn to be reminded that had he paused for this1 the span of his short life were measured long before he had accomplished half his work4 ,a kindred bias is the eventual acceptance of whatever is persisted in4 ,almost any form in which a technically good artist may express his idea will in time find acceptance4 ,it has the persuasion of the advertisement1 offering what we do not want4 ,in time we imagine we do4 ,duplications of ,cuyp's very puerile arrangement of parts1 as in the 8,departure for the ,chase0 to be found in others of his pictures1 work in our minds mitigation for those faults4 ,the belief in self has the singular magnetic potency of drawing and turning us4 ,a stronger magnet must then be the living principle4 ,we find it in unity4 ,originality compromises this at its peril4 ,and that discrimination against the prophet in his own country6 ,under its ban the native artist left his home and dwelt abroad2 but the expatriation which produced pictures of ,dutch and ,french peasants by native painters was in time condemned4 ,the good of the foreign experience lay in the medals which were brought back out of banishment4 ,these turned the tide of thoughtless prejudice1 and international competitions have kept it rising4 ,but the worth of the foreign signature is now of the lesser reckonings2 for with the same spirit in which the native artist would annihilate the tariff on foreign art1 have the best painters of ,europe declared 8there shall be no nationality in art02 for art is individual and submits to the government stamp only by courtesy4 ,happy that nation which1 when necessary1 can believe in its own1 not to exclusion1 from clannish pride1 but on the basis of that simple canon adopted by the world of sport2 8,let the best win40 ,the commonest bias to judgment is also the most vulgar--price4 ,the reply of the man of wealth to the statement that a recent purchase was an inferior example of an artist's work2 8,i paid ten thousand for it4 ,of course it's all right10 was considered final to the critic4 ,the man whose first judgment concerning an elaborate picture of roses was turned to surprise and wonder when told the price1 which in time led to respect and then purchase1 may find parallels in most of the collections of ,philistia4 8,the value of a picture is what some one will pay for it0 is a maxim of the creators of picture values and upon it the 8picture business0 has its working basis4 ,and so together with the good of foreign art have the ,meyer ,von ,bremens and the ,verbeckhovens1 the creations of the school of smiles and millinery1 and the failures and half successes of impressionism1 together with its good1 been cornered1 and unloaded upon the ingenuous collector4 ,the most insidious bias of judgment is that developed by the art historian1 the man who really knows4 ,serene and above the petty matters which concern the buyer of art and perplex the producer1 he pours forth his jeremiads upon the age and its art1 subjecting them to indefensible comparisons with the fifteenth century and deploring the materialism of modern times4 ,the argument is that out of the heart the mouth must speak2 can men gather figs from thistles3 is it reasonable to expect great art when men and messages are transported by steam and electricity1 in the face of ,emerson's contention that art is antagonistic to hurry8 ,the argument neglects the fact that this present complex life is such because it has added one by one these separate interests to those which it has received as an inheritance1 each of which in its own narrowing niche having been preserved under the guardianship of the specialist4 ,the art instinct has never died out2 but art1 which aforetime was the only thought of the humanists1 has been obliged to move up and become condensed4 ,but mark1 the priests who keep alive her fires can still show their ordination from the hands of the divine ,raphael4 ,the age may be unsympathetic1 but for those who will worship1 the fire burns4 ,whereas art was once uplifted by the joyous acclaim of the whole people1 she must now fight for space in a jostling competition4 ,but is it not more reasonable that the prophet lay aside his sackcloth and accept the conditions of the new era1 acknowledging that art has had its day in the sanctuary and has now come to adorn the home and that of necessity therefore the conditions of subject and of size must be altered8 ,the impulse which aforetime expressed itself in ideals is now satisfied to become reflective of the emotions4 ,the change which has restricted the range in the grander reaches of the ideal has resulted in the closer and more intimate friendship with nature4 ,the effort which was primarily ideal now turns its fervor into the quality of its means4 ,,chapter ,,xix - ,,the ,,living ,,principle ,if there be a basis of reliance for continuous life and consequent value1 a search for the living principle must be made in those works which the world will not let die4 ,and this labor will be aided by the exclusion of such as have had their day and passed4 ,although the verdict suggested in the fostering care of the people or in its lack1 may be wrong1 as future ages may show1 yet for us in our inquiry in the twentieth century this jury is our only court of appeal and its dictum must be final4 ,we command a view of the long line of art unfolding as a river flows1 in winding course from meagre sources1 and through untoward obstructions into a natural bed which awaits it1 now deep and swollen1 now slender1 now graceful1 now turbid1 here breaking into smaller threads stretching into opposed directions1 here again uniting and deepening1 and we mark in all of its variety of course and depth1 the narrow line of the channel4 ,a slender line there is touching hands through all generations from the painters of the twilight of ,art to the painters of the present who have seen all of its light and for whom too much of its brilliancy has proved bewildering4 ,the history of art is perforce full of the chronicles of unfruitful effort and the galleries as replete with unprofitable pictures4 ,our ardent though rapid quest will1 unaided by the catalogue1 discover for us the real1 and sift it free of the spurious if we have settled with ourselves what art is and what its purpose4 ,if we hold to the present popular notion that art is imitation1 the results will come out at variance with the popular opinion of five centuries4 ,if1 on the other hand1 we delegate to its proper place fidelity to the surface of nature1 we must of necessity seek still further for its essence4 ,this is subjective and not objective4 ,to make apparent a statement the edge of which strikes dull from much use in purely philosophical lingo1 let us take the case of a picture representing a laborer with his horse4 ,the idea for the expression of which the few elements of field1 man and beast1 are employed is ,toil4 ,whether then the man and beast be in actual labor or not1 the dominant idea in the artist's mind is that they are or have been laboring2 that that is what they stand for1 that idea to be presented in the strongest possible way4 8,the strongest possible way0 is the question to be debated4 ,individual artists interpret this as suits their temperament1 the jury therefore sits in judgment upon the temperament as the exponent of 8the strongest possible way40 ,with the idea of toil in mind one artist is moved to present its unadorned force1 careful not to weaken the conception by the addition of anything superfluous or extraneous to the idea4 ,its force is therefore ideal force and the presentation appeals to and moves us on this basis4 ,another will see in the subject of a landscape1 a man and a horse1 an opportunity presented of detail and of surfaces and will delight in expressing what he knows to do cleverly4 ,under this impulse the dexterity of his art is poured forth2 the long training of the workshop aids him4 ,he paints the horse and makes it look not only like a real horse1 but a particular one4 ,the bourgeois claps his hands exclaiming1 8,see it is unmistakably old ,dobbin1 the white spot on his fetlock is there and his tail ragged on the end2 and the laborer1 ,i know him at once4 ,how true to life with side whiskers and that ugly cut across the forehead and his hat with the hole in it4 ,the field too is all there1 the stones1 the weeds1 the rows of stubble1 nothing slighted4 ,and the action of the light too1 what a relief the figures possess1 how like colored photographs they stand out1 clear1 sharp and unmistakable40 ,a third artist1 without sacrificing the individual character of the horse will yet represent him in such a way that one feels first the idea1 of a laboring horse and afterward notes that he is a particular horse1 and in like manner with the man of the picture4 ,this artist's conception lies midway between the two extremes and in consequence expresses greater truth than either4 ,he poises himself on the magic line spanning the chasm between these opposing walls1 supported by the balancing pole of the real and ideal1 lightly gripped in the centre4 ,but to return to the first in the spirit of nature-love and truth to prove if it be worthy4 ,judged on this scale does it stand8 ,coordinately with the idea of toil1 does it violate the laws of the universe2 do the surfaces thereof reflect the light of day2 is the color probable2 is the action possible8 ,if under this scrutiny the work fails1 its acceptable idealistic expression cannot save it4 ,it is here that the idealist pleads in vain for the painters of the groping periods of art1 or for the pre-,raphaelites of the nineteenth century1 who in their spirit beg that we accept their unctuous will for the deed completely wrought4 ,when however they do fill the condition of natural aspect in its fundamental essence1 in its condition of non-violation of physical law1 when1 uncompromised by such discrepancy1 the presentment of the idea is complete and this alone engages us1 the work by virtue of its higher motive takes higher rank in the scale of art than that in which the idea has been delegated to a place second to the shell which encloses it4 ,it is the art which fulfills both requirements with the idea paramount that has survived in all ages4 ,the reverse order is not sustained by the history of art4 ,mark the line from the early masters to the present1 do you not find the description includes 8the idealists0 who could paint8 ,the list would be a long and involved one1 taking its start in ,italy with ,botticelli1 ,giotto1 ,fra ,angelico1 ,raphael1 ,leonardo da ,vinci1 ,michael ,angelo1 ,andrea del ,sarto1 ,fra ,bartolomeo1 ,titian1 ,giorgione1 and extending thence to our own time inclusive of ,millet1 ,corot1 ,watts1 ,turner1 ,blake1 ,rousseau1 ,mauve1 ,puvis de ,chavannes and ,ryder--men of all complexions in art1 and typical of many more quite as diverse in their subjects and modes of expression but who place the idea1 the motive1 the emotion1 the type1 before the thing depicted4 ,for them the letter of the law killeth1 but the spirit giveth life4 ,this of course raises issue with the naturalistic school--a school which believes in rendering ,nature as she is1 without rearrangement1 addition1 substraction or idealization2 a school presuming the artist to be a copyist1 and founded not on the principles of design1 but the love of nature4 ,says ,w4 ,j4 ,stillman in his impassioned polemic on 8,the ,revival of ,art03 8,the painter whose devotion to nature is such that he never leaves or varies from her1 may be1 and likely is1 a happier man than if he were a true artist444,to men of the other type1 the external image disturbs the ideal which is so complete that it admits no interference4 ,to them she may offer suggestions1 but lays down no law40 ,the complaint of ,turner that ,nature so frequently put him out contains for us what it should have expressed to ,ruskin1 the real attitude which he held toward nature1 but which ,ruskin in his enthusiastic love of nature did not1 or would not perceive4 ,what the master artist saw and utilized in nature were forms for his designs and sentiment for emotional expression4 ,yet the recorder of his labors followed after1 verifying his findings with near-sighted scrutiny1 lauding him with commendations for keen observation in noting rock fractures1 the bark of trees1 grass1 or the precise shape of clouds1 undismayed when his hero neglected all these if they interfered with his art4 ,the point of the argument as stated by the idealists can be understood only save through the element in our nature from which art draws its vitality4 ,its deduction is thus bluntly expressed2 8the nearest to nature1 the farther from art10 an apparent paradox paralleled by the epigram1 8the nearer the church1 the farther from ,god40 ,both of them1 out of their hollow clamor1 echo back a startling truth3 ,not form1 but spirit4 ,thus did ,rembrandt work for the spirit of the man and the art to be got from the waiting subject4 ,thus did ,millet reveal in his representation of a single toiler the type of all labor4 ,thus did ,corot stop1 when he had produced the spirit of the morning1 knowing well his nymphs would have vanished if the mystery of their hiding-places was entirely laid bare1 nor ever come to him again had he exposed the full truth of form and feature4 ,it is the touch of poesy which has glorified these works and those of their kind1 the spring of the unwritten law yielding preeminence to the emotional arts4 ,impulse is the life of it3 it dies when short tethered by specific limitations4 ,on this basis the way seems opened to settle the changeful formulas of taste2 why the rejection of what for the moment has held the pinnacle of popular favor2 why1 for instance1 the waning of interest in the detailists of the brilliant ,french-,spanish ,school1 the school of ,fortuny1 ,madrazzo1 ,villegas1 ,rico1 or of the work of ,meissonier1 who as a detailist eclipsed them all4 ,a simple analysis of their work in toto will prove that their best pictures are those in which a sentiment has dominated and in which breadth and largeness of effect is strongest4 ,thus ,meissonier's 8,return of ,napoleon from ,moscow10 is a better picture than his 8,napoleon ,,iii surrounded by his staff in ,sicily10 which latter is only a marvellous achievement at painting detail in the smallest possible size1 and lacks entirely the forceful composition of mass and light and shade of the former4 ,thus does the 8,spanish ,marriage0 of ,fortuny outclass his 8,academicians ,choosing a ,model10 which besides lacking the reserve force of the former has its source in flippant imagination2 and so may the many other shifts of time and tide in the graphic arts be measured and chronicled upon the basis of the emotions and the formative touch of the poetic1 upon the sequence of the artist's regard for the ideal and the real1 and the degree of his approach toward either4 ,the concensus of the ages regarding finish1 dexterity1 cleverness1 and chic is that in the scale of art they weigh less than the simple breadth of effect which they so frequently interrupt4 ,the school of ,teniers with all of its detail was preservative of this4 ,it is on the question of detail and the careful anxiety concerning the surface that the art instinct avoids science1 refusing her microscope in preference for the unaided impression of normal sight4 ,the living art of the ages is that in which the painter is seen to be greater than his theme1 in which we acknowledge the power first1 and afterward the product4 ,it is the unfettered mode allowing the greatest individualism of expression2 it is1 in short1 the man end of it which lives1 for his is the immortal life4 ,,appendix ,the argument of the book is here reduced to a working basis4 ,the ,concept ,the first point settled in the making of a picture after the subject has germinated1 is the shape into which the items of the concept are to be edited2 the second is the arrangement of those items within the proscribed limits2 the third is the defining of the dark and light masses4 ,this consideration forces the question whence the light1 together with its answer1 hence the shadow4 ,the ,procedure ,the detail of the direction of light and the action of the shadows cuts the pictorial intention clear of the decorative design4 ,design is a good basis1 its simplicity yielding favorably to the settlement of spaces and the construction of lines1 but its chief purpose ends when it has cleared the field of little things and reduced the first conception1 which usually comes as a bundle of items1 to a broad and dignified foundation into which these little things are set4 ,design ,a severe1 space-filling design in three tones or four will place the student in a position of confidence to proceed with detail which1 until the design has settled well into its four sides1 should be persistently excluded4 ,it may1 however1 be found that the essence of certain subjects lies in a small item of detail4 ,this1 when known1 must be allowed for in the design4 ,line ,of first importance in composition is the notion of ,light and ,dark1 to which ,line is second4 ,in the tone design line is but the edge of the masses4 ,line as the basis of the form of the design is reduced to a few forms which with modifications become the framework for all pictorial structure4 7,see ,fundamental ,forms47 ,line as an element of beauty sufficient of itself to become subjective is rare1 an exception in pictorial art4 7,see ,line7 ,the sthetics of ,line must be comprehended and felt in its symbolism4 ,the form into which lines may lead the subject should have the full knowledge of the composer4 ,the ,vertical ,the uplift of the simple vertical is spiritual as well as mechanical4 ,it may carry the thought to higher levels or may support therewith an opposed line4 ,in either case its strength is majestic and in so far as this line dominates does the picture receive its quality4 ,the ,horizontal ,a group of pines or the columns of the ,greek or ,egyptian temple alike induce solemnity1 quietude and dignity4 ,the horizontal is a line less commanding than the vertical with its upright strength1 the symbol of repose1 serenity1 and reserved motion4 ,the ,diagonal ,the diagonal being an unsupported line naturally suggests instability1 change1 motion1 transit4 ,its purpose frequently is to connect the stabler forms of the composition or lead therefrom4 ,the curvilinear line is the basis of variety and graceful movement4 ,as an adjunct1 it assists the sequence of parts4 ,in the latter capacity it is of great importance to the composer4 ,it is of course the basis of the circle as well as the important notion of circular construction and observation4 ,given the subject and means of expression the final labor is the restraint or enforcement of parts in the degree of their importance4 ,this requires ingenuity and knowledge and frequently demands a reconstruction of the original scheme4 ,principality and ,sacrifice ,the most absolute and the most important idea in the production of art is ,principality1 that one object or idea shall be supreme4 ,its correlative idea contains in it the hardships of composition1 namely1 ,sacrifice4 ,this forces a graded scale of importance or attraction throughout the entire work4 ,the idea has complete exposition in the vase or baluster in which the commanding lines of the body find both support and extension through the lesser associated parts4 ,these stand as types of complete art revealing the uncompromising principles of domination and subordination4 ,stable ,interior--,a4 ,mauve 7,a simple picture containing all the principles of composition72 ,her ,last ,moorings--,from a ,photograph ,in the picture1 complete in its chiaroscuro1 these principles are as easily apprehended as with the more tangible line and space of the solid form4 ,the 8,cow in a ,stable10 by ,mauve1 contains by his management of this rude and simple subject all the possibilities opened to and demanded by compositions involving many elements4 ,it might stand as the light and dark scheme for some of the allegories of ,rubens1 ,wiertz or ,correggio1 or for many genre interiors1 or for an 8arrangement0 of flowers4 ,when once the importance of this principle is realized many of the pitfalls into which beginners are so prone to fall are covered1 and that forever4 ,time and regrets are both saved to the student who will pause for the absorption of the few principles on which all the arts are founded4 ,this idea may seem to disturb the notion of balance across the centre1 especially when the object which receives our first consideration occupies one side of the picture4 ,a study of the postulates together with the principle of the steelyard and the knowledge of picture balance will clear any apprehension of conflict4 ,the ,dominant ,idea ,above and beyond the object which dominates all others is the idea which dominates the picture4 ,such may be light1 gloom1 space1 action1 passion1 repose1 communion1 humor1 or whatever has stimulated and therefore must govern the composition4 ,if with the sentiment of ,repose as subjective1 the principal object expresses action1 there must necessarily be conflict between the idea and the reality4 ,action1 however1 may very appropriately be introduced into a conception of repose1 its contrast heightening this emotion2 the creeping baby1 the frolicking kitten1 the swinging pendulum1 the distant toilers observed by a nearer group at rest4 ,the point where a counter emotion weakens and where it strengthens the idea is determined on a scale of degree1 many necessary parts taking precedence thereto before the opposed sentiment shall attract us4 ,these ideas1 correlative to their principal1 have also their scale of attraction1 and only in the formal arrangement of allegory and decoration may two units be allowed the same degree of attraction4 ,this is one of the most frequent forms in which weak composition develops1 leaving the mind uncertain as to the sequence1 and the eye wavering between the equal claims of separated parts4 ,the neglect of leading lines1 or of forcing a logical procedure from part to part1 so that no part may escape the continuous inspection of all1 produces decomposition4 ,the avoidance of inharmony must of course yield harmony4 ,harmony ,harmony1 therefore1 though a necessary principle in all art1 does not push herself to the front as does ,principality4 ,she follows naturally1 if allowed to4 ,the ,must ,be's and ,may ,be's of ,composition ,of the other principles1 ,consistency or breadth1 ,continuity and its complement1 ,contrast1 associate themselves in greater or less degree with ,principality and ,harmony1 which are the must be's2 while ,repetition1 ,radiation1 ,curvature and ,interchange are reckoned as the may be's of composition4 ,perspective ,the basis of all plane presentation is founded on perspective1 an absolute science giving absolute satisfaction to all who would have it4 ,knowing that a figure must be of a certain height if it occupy a given space is often a shorter road to the fact even though it demand a perspective working plan than feeling for it with the best of artistic intentions4 ,one may feel all around the spot before finding it1 and meanwhile the scientist has been saving his temper4 ,in all compositions demanding architectural environment or many figures1 perspective becomes essential1 at least as a time saver4 ,yet if the science never existed such art as embraces many figures and architecture could find adequate expression at the hands of the discerning artist4 ,the science of perspective does no more than acquaint the artist with any given angle4 ,his knowledge of cause and effect in the universe1 with an added art instinct1 are equipment sufficient to obtain this4 ,no part of art expression commands more of the mysterious reverence of the atechnic than perspective4 ,it is that universal art term that includes very much to many people4 ,when1 after writing a thorough treatise on the subject1 ,mr4 ,ruskin remarked the essence of the whole thing can be known in twenty minutes1 it was doubtless in rebuke of the unqualified suppositions of the artless public4 ,balance ,the conception of balance clearly understood in the length1 the height and the depth of a picture contains the whole truth of pictorial composition4 ,the elements which war against unity and which we seek to extract1 reveal themselves as the disturbers of balance and are to be found when the principles of balance are put into motion4 ,does divided interest vex us1 the foreground absorbing so much interest that the background1 where the real subject may lie1 struggles in vain for its right2 then we may know that the balance through the depth of the picture has been disturbed4 ,does the middle distance attract us too much in passing to the distance where the real subject may lie2 then we may know that its attachment to the foreground or its sacrifice to the background is insufficient and that its shift in the right direction will restore balance4 ,do we feel that one side of the picture attracts our entire attention and the other side plays no part in the pictorial scheme1 then we may know that the items of the lateral balance are wanting4 ,it is rare to find apart from formality a composition which develops to a finish in an orderly procedure4 ,once separated from the even balance the picture becomes a sequence of compromises1 the conciliation of each new element by the reconstruction of what is already there or the introduction of the added item which unity necessitates4 ,the argument reminds the picture maker that he is in like case with the voyageur who loads his canoe1 sensible of the exquisite poise which his craft demands4 ,along its keelson he lays the items of his draught1 careful for instance that his light and bulky blanket on one side is balanced by the smaller items of heavier weight in opposed position4 ,the bow under its load may be almost submerged and the onlooker ventures a warning4 ,but again balance is restored when the seat at the other end is occupied as a final act in the calculation47#bj7 ,the degree of attraction of objects in the balanced scheme must be a matter of individual decision as are many other applied principles in temperamental art4 ,color representing the natural aspect of objects1 color containing 8tone10 and color containing tone quality or 8tonal quality10 are three aspects of color to be met with in accepted art4 ,color ,as with the sentiment of the art idea1 whether it incline toward the real or the ideal1 so the distinction applies between what is reflective only of nature and what is reflective also of the artist's temperament4 ,it is a simple proposition in the scale of value and it works as truly when applied to color as to the art concept3 the more of the man the better the art4 ,were it not so the color-photograph would have preeminence4 ,the first degree in the scale of color is represented by that sort which applied to canvas to imitate a surface seems satisfying to the artist as nature-color4 ,the second degree is that in which the color is made to harmonize with all other colors of the picture on the basis of a given hue4 ,this tonal harmony may fail to reveal itself in many subjects in nature or in such arrangements of objects as the still-life painter might and often does collect1 and is therefore clearly a quality with which the artist endows his work4 ,such painters as ,whistler and his following see to it that this tonality inheres in all subjects which may be governed in the composition of color 7such as his 8arrangements0 in the studio71 so that the production of this harmony results naturally by following the subject4 ,tone ,the color key is given in that selected hue which influences to a greater or less degree all the colors1 even when these make violent departures in the scheme of harmony4 ,solicitous only of the quality of unified color1 the majority of these painters 7though this frequently does not include ,mr4 ,whistler himself7 concern themselves wholly with that thought1 employing their pigment so directly that the vibration of color is sacrificed4 ,the production of this vibration is by agreement on the part of all great colorists impossible through impasted color or that applied flatly to the surface1 which they declare cannot be as powerful1 as significant or as beautiful as that which vibrates1 either by reason of the juxtaposition of color plainly seen1 as with the impressionists1 or of its broken tone1 or by virtue of the influence of a transparent glaze of color which enables two colors to be seen at once4 ,the last method is that of ,titian1 the second in combination with the last that of ,rembrandt in his latest and best period1 the first that of ,monet1 which contains the principle of coloration in its scientific analysis4 ,the chasm between these men is not known in any such degree as a superficial notion of their respective arts might presuppose4 ,the real disparity in color presentation exists between all such painters and those who paint directly on white canvas1 neglecting the influence of the undertone and the enrichment which enters into color by glazes 7transparent color74 ,such painters may be able to represent most faithfully the true tints of ,nature but not the true impression1 for ,nature is always expressive of that depth and strength which lies far in and which the painter of 8quality0 insists to render4 ,to him it is that something containing the last word of a thorough statement1 and without it the statement is a surface one4 ,technically1 it may mean the labor of many repaintings1 of color glazes1 and of procedure from one process to another1 so that the first statement on the canvas becomes the general but not the final dictum4 ,through these the work takes on that unctuousness of depth and strength by which one experiences the same thrill as through the deep reverberations of a musical tone from many instruments1 simple tone being producible by one instrument4 ,practically1 it is the pulsation of color in every part of the picture felt by either the play of one color through another or by such broken color as may be administered by a single brush stroke loaded with several colors or by a single color so dragged across another as to leave some of the under color existent4 ,quality ,such technique produces the highest tonal quality4 ,it cannot be supposed that ,rembrandt glazed and repainted on his portraits for a lesser reason than to supply them with a quality which direct painting denied1 nor that ,frank ,holl1 of our own times1 employed a like method for the sake of being like ,rembrandt4 ,natural ,color2 ,tonal ,color1 representing nature2 and ,tonality plus 8,quality0 7the last a vague term denoting depth and fullness of color7 are three grades represented1 the first by ,meissonier in his 8#ahjg01 a picture devoid of tone2 the second by the portraits of ,alice1 by ,chase1 and ,lady ,archibald ,campbell1 by ,whistler2 and the last or tonal quality1 by the later works of ,george ,fuller and ,albert ,ryder4 ,under these specified classes the lists of names in art are now lengthening and shortening1 the indications of our present art pointing to a revival of the color quality of a former age4 ,alice--,w4,m4 ,chase 7,verticals ,diverted72 ,lady ,archibald ,campbell--,whistler 7,verticals ,obliterated72 ,the ,crucifixion--,amie ,morot 7,verticals ,opposed7 ,don'ts ,it was stated in the introduction that the commandments of this book would be the 8must nots10 yet for him who apprehends principles1 commandments do not exist4 ,a few conclusions from the foregoing arguments may1 however1 be of service to beginners in the practice of composition4 ,structures to be avoided are3-- ,those in which the lines all run one way without opposition3 ,those especially in which the bottom of the frame is paralleled3 ,those in which the perspective of a line or the edge of a mass happens to be a vertical3 ,those in which an opposing plane or attractive mass barricades the entrance of the picture3 ,those in which two masses in different planes happen to be the same size3 ,those in which objects of equal interest occur in the same picture3 ,those in which an object awkwardly prolongs a line3 ,those in which the line of the background duplicates the lines of the subject3 ,those in which the picture is cut by lines too long continued in any direction3 ,those in which radial lines fail to lead to a focal object3 ,those in which the items of a picture fail to present a natural sequence3 ,those in which the subject proper is not dignified by a conspicuous placement or is swamped by too attractive surroundings3 ,those in which the most energetic forms of construction are not allied to the principal but to secondary parts of the picture3 ,those formal compositions in which greater interest is shown at the sides than in the centre3 ,those in which the aesthetic principle of the constructive form is antagonistic to the sentiment of the subject4