,,modern ,,painting  ,by  ,,george      
,,moore        ,,to ,,sir ,,william     
,,eden1 ,,bart4  ,,of ,,all ,,my        
,,books1 ,,this ,,is ,,the ,,one ,,you  
,,like ,,best2 ,,its ,,subject ,,has    
,,been ,,the ,,subject ,,of ,,nearly    
,,all ,,our ,,conversations ,,in ,,the  
,,past1 ,,and ,i ,,suppose ,,will ,,be  
,,the ,,subject ,,of ,,many             
,,conversations ,,in ,,the ,,future2    
,,so1 ,,looking ,,back ,,and ,,forward1 
,i ,,dedicate ,,this ,,book ,,to ,,you4 
,g4 ,m4    ,the ,editor of ,the ,speaker
 allowed me to publish from time to time
 chapters of a book on art4 ,these      
chapters have been gathered from the    
mass of art journalism which had grown  
about them1 and ,i reprint them in the  
sequence originally intended4  ,g4 ,m4  
,,contents4   ,,whistler ,,chavannes1   
,,millet1 ,,and ,,manet ,,the ,,failure 
,,of ,,the ,,nineteenth ,,century       
,,artistic ,,education ,,in ,,france    
,,and ,,england ,,ingres ,,and ,,corot  
,,monet1 ,,sisley1 ,,pissaro1 ,,and     

,,the ,,decadence ,,our ,,academicians  
,,the ,,organisation ,,of ,,art ,,art   
,,and ,,science ,,royalty ,,in ,,art    
,,art ,,patrons ,,picture ,,dealers     
,,mr4 ,,burne-,,jones ,,and ,,the       
,,academy ,,the ,,alderman ,,in ,,art   
,,religiosity ,,in ,,art ,,the ,,camera 
,,in ,,art ,,the ,,new ,,english ,,art  
,,club ,a ,,great ,,artist ,,nationality
 ,,in ,,art ,,sex ,,in ,,art ,,mr4      
,,steer',s ,,exhibition ,,claude ,,monet
 ,,notes--   ,,mr4 ,,mark ,,fisher   ,a 
,,portrait ,,by ,,mr4 ,,sargent   ,,an  
,,orchid ,,by ,,mr4 ,,james   ,,the     
,,whistler ,,album   ,,ingres ,,some    
,,japanese ,,prints ,,new ,,art         
,,criticism ,,long ,,ago ,,in ,,italy   
,,whistler4   ,i have studied ,mr4      
,whistler and thought about him this    
many a year4 ,his character was for a   
long time incomprehensible to me2 it    
contained elements apparently so        
antagonistic1 so mutually destructive1  
that ,i had to confess my inability to  
bring him within any imaginable         

psychological laws1 and classed him as  
one of the enigmas of life4 ,but ,nature
 is never illogical2 she only seems so1 
because our sight is not sufficient to  
see into her intentions2 and with study 
my psychological difficulties dwindled1 
and now the man stands before me        
exquisitely understood1 a perfect piece 
of logic4 ,all that seemed discordant   
and discrepant in his nature has now    
become harmonious and inevitable2 the   
strangest and most erratic actions of   
his life now seem natural and           
consequential 7,i use the word in its   
grammatical sense7 contradictions are   
reconciled1 and looking at the man ,i   
see the pictures1 and looking at the    
pictures ,i see the man4  ,but at the   
outset the difficulties were enormous4  
,it was like a newly-discovered ,greek  
text1 without punctuation or capital    
letters4 ,here was a man capable of     
painting portraits1 perhaps not quite so
 full of grip as the best work done by  
,velasquez and ,hals1 only just falling 

short of these masters at the point     
where they were strongest1 but plainly  
exceeding them in graciousness of       
intention1 and subtle happiness of      
design1 who would lay down his palette  
and run to a newspaper office to polish 
the tail of an epigram which he was     
launching against an unfortunate critic 
who had failed to distinguish between an
 etching and a pen-and-ink drawing6     
,here was a man who1 though he had spent
 the afternoon painting like the        
greatest1 would spend his evenings in   
frantic disputes over dinner-tables     
about the ultimate ownership of a mild  
joke1 possibly good enough for ,punch1  
something that any one might have said1 
and that most of us having said it would
 have forgotten6 ,it will be conceded   
that such divagations are difficult to  
reconcile with the possession of        
artistic faculties of the highest order4
  ,the ,ten o'clock contained a good    
deal of brilliant writing1 sparkling and
 audacious epigram1 but amid all its    

glitter and go there are statements     
which1 coming from ,mr4 ,whistler1 are  
as astonishing as a denial of the       
rotundity of the earth would be in a    
pamphlet bearing the name of ,professor 
,huxley4 ,mr4 ,whistler is only serious 
in his art--a grave fault according to  
academicians1 who are serious in        
everything except their art4 ,a very    
boyish utterance is the statement that  
such a thing as an artistic period has  
never been known4  ,one rubbed one's    
eyes2 one said1 ,is this a joke1 and1 if
 so1 where is the point of it8 ,and     
then1 as if not content with so much    
mystification1 ,mr4 ,whistler assured   
his ten o'clock audience that there was 
no such thing as nationality in art1 and
 that you might as well speak of        
,english mathematics as of ,english art4
 ,we do not stop to inquire if such     
answers contain one grain of truth2 we  
know they do not--we stop to consider   
them because we know that the criticism 
of a creative artist never amounts to   

more than an ingenious defence of his   
own work--an ingenious exaltation of a  
weakness 7a weakness which perhaps none 
suspects but himself7 into a conspicuous
 merit4  ,mr4 ,whistler has shared his  
life equally between ,america1 ,france1 
and ,england4 ,he is the one solitary   
example of cosmopolitanism in art1 for  
there is nothing in his pictures to show
 that they come from the north1 the     
south1 the east1 or the west4 ,they are 
compounds of all that is great in       
,eastern and ,western culture4          
,conscious of this1 and fearing that it 
might be used as an argument against his
 art1 ,mr4 ,whistler threw over the     
entire history1 not only of art1 but of 
the world2 and declared boldly that art 
was1 like science1 not national1 but    
essentially cosmopolitan2 and then1     
becoming aware of the anomaly of his    
genius in his generation1 ,mr4 ,whistler
 undertook to explain away the anomaly  
by ignoring the fifth century ,b4,c4 in 
,athens1 the fifteenth century in       

,italy1 and the seventeenth in ,holland1
 and humbly submitting that artists     
never appeared in numbers like swallows1
 but singly like aerolites4 ,now our    
task is not to disprove these           
statements1 but to work out the         
relationship between the author of the  
,butterfly ,letters and the painter of  
the portrait of ,the ,mother1 ,lady     
,archibald ,campbell1 ,miss ,alexander1 
and the other forty-one masterpieces    
that were on exhibition in the ,goupil  
galleries4  ,there is1 however1 an      
intermediate step1 which is to point out
 the intimate relationship between the  
letter-writer and the physical man4     
,although there is no internal evidence 
to show that the pictures were not      
painted by a ,frenchman1 an ,italian1 an
 ,englishman1 or a ,westernised         
,japanese1 it would be impossible to    
read any one of the butterfly-signed    
letters without feeling that the author 
was a man of nerves rather than a man of
 muscle1 and1 while reading1 we should  

involuntarily picture him short and thin
 rather than tall and stalwart4 ,but    
what has physical condition got to do   
with painting8 ,a great deal4 ,the      
greatest painters1 ,i mean the very     
greatest--,michael ,angelo1 ,velasquez1 
and ,rubens--were gifted by ,nature with
 as full a measure of health as of      
genius4 ,their physical constitutions   
resembled more those of bulls than of   
men4 ,michael ,angelo lay on his back   
for three years painting the ,sistine   
,chapel4 ,rubens painted a life-size    
figure in a morning of pleasant work1   
and went out to ride in the afternoon4  
,but ,nature has dowered ,mr4 ,whistler 
with only genius4 ,his artistic         
perceptions are moreexquisite than      
,velasquez's4 ,he knows as much1        
possibly even a little more1 and yet the
 result is never quite equal4 ,why8 ,a  
question of health4 ,c'est un temprament
 de chatte4 ,he cannot pass from        
masterpiece to masterpiece like         
,velasquez4 ,the expenditure of         

nerve-force necessary to produce such a 
work as the portrait of ,lady ,archibald
 ,campbell or ,miss ,alexander exhausts 
him1 and he is obliged to wait till     
,nature recoups herself2 and these      
necessary intervals he has employed in  
writing letters signed ,butterfly to the
 papers1 quarrelling with ,oscar over a 
few mild jokes1 explaining his artistic 
existence1 at the expense of the entire 
artistic history of the world1          
collecting and classifying the          
stupidities of the daily and weekly     
press4  ,but the lesser side of a man of
 genius is instructive to study--indeed1
 it is necessary that we should study it
 if we would thoroughly understand his  
genius4 ,no man1 it has been very       
falsely said1 is a hero to his valet de 
chambre4 ,the very opposite is the      
truth4 ,man will bow the knee only to   
his own image and likeness4 ,the deeper 
the humanity1 the deeper the adoration2 
and from this law not even divinity is  
excepted4 ,all we adore is human1 and   

through knowledge of the flesh that     
grovels we may catch sight of the soul  
ascending towards the divine stars4     
,and so the contemplation of ,mr4       
,whistler1 the author of the ,butterfly 
,letters1 the defender of his little    
jokes against the plagiarising tongue1  
should stimulate rather than interrupt  
our prostrations4 ,i said that ,nature  
had dowered ,mr4 ,whistler with every   
gift except that of physical strength4  
,if ,mr4 ,whistler had the bull-like    
health of ,michael ,angelo1 ,rubens1 and
 ,hals1 the ,letters would never have   
been written4 ,they were the            
safety-valve by which his strained      
nerves found relief from the intolerable
 tension of the masterpiece4 ,he has not
 the bodily strength to pass from       
masterpiece to masterpiece1 as did the  
great ones of old time4 ,in the         
completed picture slight traces of his  
agony remain4 ,but painting is the most 
indiscreet of all the arts1 and here and
 there an omission or a feeble          

indication reveal the painter to us in  
moments of exasperated impotence4 ,to   
understand ,mr4 ,whistler's art you must
 understand his body4 ,i do not mean    
that ,mr4 ,whistler has suffered from   
bad health--his health has always been  
excellent2 all great artists have       
excellent health1 but his constitution  
is more nervous than robust4 ,he is even
 a strong man1 but he is lacking in     
weight4 ,were he six inches taller1 and 
his bulk proportionately increased1 his 
art would be different4 ,instead of     
having painted a dozen portraits1 every 
one--even the mother and ,miss          
,alexander1 which ,i personally take to 
be the two best--a little febrile in its
 extreme beauty1 whilst some1           
masterpieces though they be1 are clearly
 touched with weakness1 and marked with 
hysteria--,mr4 ,whistler would have     
painted a hundred portraits1 as strong1 
as vigorous1 as decisive1 and as easily 
accomplished as any by ,velasquez or    
,hals4 ,but if ,nature had willed him   

so1 ,i do not think we should have had  
the ,nocturnes1 which are clearly the   
outcome of a highly-strung1 bloodless   
nature whetted on the whetstone of its  
own weakness to an exasperated sense of 
volatile colour and evanescent light4   
,it is hardly possible to doubt that    
this is so when we look on these        
canvases1 where1 in all the stages of   
her repose1 the night dozes and dreams  
upon our river--a creole in ,nocturne   
#cd1 upon whose trembling eyelids the   
lustral moon is shining2 a quadroon in  
,nocturne #ag1 who turns herself out of 
the light anhungered and set upon some  
feast of dark slumber4 ,and for the sake
 of these gem-like pictures1 whose blue 
serenities are comparable to the white  
perfections of ,athenian marbles1 we    
should have done well to yield a        
littlestrength in portraiture1 if the   
distribution of ,mr4 ,whistler's genius 
had been left in our hands4 ,so ,nature 
has done her work well1 and we have no  
cause to regret the few pounds of flesh 

that she withheld4 ,a few pounds more of
 flesh and muscle1 and we should have   
had another ,velasquez2 but ,nature     
shrinks from repetition1 and at the last
 moment she said1 ,the world has had    
,velasquez1 another would be            
superfluous3 let there be ,jimmy        
,whistler4  ,in the ,nocturnes ,mr4     
,whistler stands alone1 withouta rival4 
,in portraits he is at his best when    
they are near to his ,nocturnes in      
intention1 when the theme lends itself  
to an imaginative and decorative        
treatment2 for instance1 as in the      
mother or ,miss ,alexander4 ,mr4        
,whistler is at his worst when he is    
frankly realistic4 ,i have seen pictures
 by ,mr4 ,henry ,moore that ,i like     
better than ,the ,blue ,wave4 ,nor does 
,mr4 ,whistler seem to me to reach his  
highest level in any one of the three   
portraits--,lady ,archibald ,campbell1  
,miss ,rose ,corder1 and the lady in the
 fur jacket4 ,i know that ,mr4 ,walter  
,sickert considers the portrait of ,lady

 ,archibald ,campbell to be ,mr4        
,whistler's finest portrait4 ,i submit1 
however1 that the attitude is theatrical
 and not very explicit4 ,it is a        
movement that has not been frankly      
observed1 nor is it a movement that has 
been frankly imagined4 ,it has none of  
the artless elegance of ,nature2 it is  
full of studio combinations2 and yet it 
is not a frankly decorative arrangement1
 as the portrait of the mother or ,miss 
,alexander4 ,when ,hals painted his     
,burgomasters1 he was careful to place  
them in definite and comprehensible     
surroundings4 ,he never left us in doubt
 either as to the time or the place2 and
 the same obligations of time and place1
 which ,hals never shirked1 seem to me  
to rest on the painter1 if he elects to 
paint his sitter in any attitude except 
one of conventional repose4  ,lady      
,archibald ,campbell is represented in  
violent movement1 looking backwards over
 her shoulder as she walks up the       
picture2 yet there is nothing to show   

that she is not standing on the low     
table on which the model poses1 and the 
few necessary indications are left out  
because they would interfere with the   
general harmony of his picture2 because1
 if the table on which she is standing  
were indicated1 the movement of         
outstretched arm would be               
incomprehensible4 ,the hand1 too1 is    
somewhat uncertain1 undetermined1 and a 
gesture is meaningless that the hand    
does not determine and complete4 ,i do  
not speak of the fingers of the right   
hand1 which are non-existent2 after a   
dozen attempts to paint the gloved hand1
 only an approximate result was         
obtained4 ,look at the ear1 and say that
 the painter's nerves did not give      
wayonce or twice4 ,and the likeness is  
vague and shadowy2 she is only fairly   
representative of her class4 ,we see    
fairly well that she is a lady du grand 
monde1 who is1 however1 not without     
knowledge of les environs du monde4 ,but
 she is hardly ,english--she might be a 

,french woman or an ,american4 ,she is a
 sort of hybrid4 ,miss ,rose ,corder and
 the lady in the fur jacket are equally 
cosmopolitan2 so1 too1 is ,miss         
,alexander4 ,only once has ,mr4         
,whistler expressed race1 and that was  
in his portrait of his mother4 ,then    
these three ladies--,miss ,corder1 ,lady
 ,archibald ,campbell1 and the lady in  
the fur jacket--wear the same           
complexion3 a pale yellow complexion1   
burnt and dried4 ,with this conventional
 tint he obtains unison and a totality  
of effect2 but he obtains this result at
 the expense of truth4 ,hals and        
,velasquez obtained the same result1    
without1 however1 resorting to such     
meretricious methods4  ,the portrait of 
the mother is1 as every one knows1 in   
the ,luxemburg2 but the engraving       
reminds us of the honour which ,france  
has done1 but which we failed to do1 to 
the great painter of the nineteenth     
century2 and after much hesitation and  
arguing with myself ,i feel sure that on

 the whole this picture is the painter's
 greatest work in portraiture4 ,we      
forget relations1 friends1 perhaps even 
our parents2 but that picture we never  
forget2 it is for ever with us1 in      
sickness and in health2 and in moments  
of extreme despair1 when life seems     
hopeless1 the strange magic of that     
picture springs into consciousness1 and 
we wonder by what strange wizard craft  
was accomplished the marvellous pattern 
on the black curtain that drops past the
 engraving on the wall4 ,we muse on the 
extraordinary beauty of that grey wall1 
on the black silhouette sitting so      
tranquilly1 on the large feet on a      
foot-stool1 on the hands crossed1 on the
 long black dress that fills the picture
 with such solemn harmony4 ,then mark   
the transition from grey to white1 and  
how le ton local is carried through the 
entire picture1 from the highest light  
to the deepest shadow4 ,note the        
tenderness of that white cap1 the white 
lace cuffs1 the certainty1 the choice1  

and think of anything if you can1 even  
in the best ,japanese work1 more        
beautiful1 more delicate1 subtle1       
illusive1 certain in its handicraft2 and
 if the lace cuffs are marvellous1 the  
delicate hands of a beautiful old age   
lying in a small lace handkerchief are  
little short of miraculous4 ,they are   
not drawn out in anatomical diagram1 but
 appear and disappear1 seen here on the 
black dress1 lost there in the small    
white handkerchief4 ,and when we study  
the faint1 subtle outline of the        
mother's face1 we seem to feel that     
there the painter has told the story of 
his soul more fully than elsewhere4     
,that soul1 strangely alive to all that 
is delicate and illusive in ,nature1    
found perhaps its fullest expression in 
that grave old ,puritan lady looking    
through the quiet refinement of her grey
 room1 sitting in solemn profile in all 
the quiet habit of her long life4       
,compared with later work1 the execution
 is tighter1 if ,i may be permitted an  

expression which will be understood in  
studios2 we are very far indeed from the
 admirable looseness of handling which  
is the charm of the portrait of ,miss   
,rose ,corder4 ,there every object is   
born unconsciously beneath the passing  
of the brush4 ,if not less certain1 the 
touch in the portrait of the mother is  
less prompt2 but the painter's vision is
 more sincere and more intense4 ,and to 
those who object to the artificiality of
 the arrangement1 ,i reply that if the  
old lady is sitting in a room           
artificially arranged1 ,lady ,archibald 
,campbell may be said to be walking     
through incomprehensible space4 ,but    
what really decides me to place this    
portrait above the others is the fact   
that while painting his mother's        
portrait he was unquestionably absorbed 
in his model2 and absorption in the     
model is perhaps the first quality in   
portrait-painting4  ,still1 for my own  
personal pleasure1 to satisfy the       
innermost cravings of my own soul1 ,i   

would choose to live with the portrait  
of ,miss ,alexander4 ,truly1 this       
picture seems to me the most beautiful  
in the world4 ,i know very well that it 
has not the profound beauty of the      
,infantes by ,velasquez in the ,louvre2 
but for pure magic of inspiration1 is it
 not more delightful8 ,just as          
,shelley's ,sensitive ,plant thrills the
 innermost sense like no other poem in  
the language1 the portrait of ,miss     
,alexander enchants with the harmony of 
colour1 with the melody of composition4 
,strangely original1 a rare and unique  
thing1 is this picture1 yet we know     
whence it came1 and may easily          
appreciate the influences that brought  
it into being4 ,exquisite and happy     
combination of the art of an entire     
nation and the genius of one man-the    
soul of ,japan incarnate in the body of 
the immortal ,spaniard4 ,it was ,japan  
that counselled the strange grace of the
 silhouette1 and it was that country1   
too1 that inspired in a dim1 far-off way

 those subtly sweet and magical passages
 from grey to green1 from green again to
 changing evanescent grey4 ,but a higher
 intelligence massed and impelled those 
chords of green and grey than ever      
manifested itself in ,japanese fan or   
screen2 the means are simpler1 the      
effect is greater1 and by the side of   
this picture the best ,japanese work    
seems only facile superficial           
improvisation4 ,in the picture itself   
there is really little of ,japan4 ,the  
painter merely understood all that      
,japan might teach4 ,he went to the very
 root1 appropriating only the innermost 
essence of its art4 ,we ,westerns had   
thought it sufficient to copy ,nature1  
but the ,japanese knew it was better to 
observe ,nature4 ,the whole art of      
,japan is selection1 and ,japan taught  
,mr4 ,whistler1 or impressed upon ,mr4  
,whistler1 the imperative necessity of  
selection4 ,no ,western artist of the   
present or of past time--no1 not        
,velasquez himself--ever selected from  

the model so tenderly as ,mr4 ,whistler2
 ,japan taught him to consider ,nature  
as a storehouse whence the artist may   
pick and choose1 combining the fragments
 of his choice into an exquisite whole4 
,sir ,john ,millais' art is the         
opposite2 there we find no selection2   
the model is copied--and sometimes only 
with sufficient technical skill4  ,but  
this picture is throughout a selection  
from the model2 nowhere has anything    
been copied brutally1 yet the reality of
 the girl is not sacrificed4  ,the      
picture represents a girl of ten or     
eleven4 ,she is dressed according to the
 fashion of twenty years ago--a starched
 muslin frock1 a small overskirt pale   
brown1 white stockings1 square-toed     
black shoes4 ,she stands1 her left foot 
advanced1 holding in her left hand a    
grey felt hat adorned with a long plume 
reaching nearly to the ground4 ,the wall
 behind her is grey with a black        
wainscot4 ,on the left1 far back in the 
picture1 on a low stool1 some grey-green

 drapery strikes the highest note of    
colour in the picture4 ,on the right1 in
 the foreground1 some tall daisies come 
into the picture1 and two butterflies   
flutter over the girl's blonde head4    
,this picture seems to exist principally
 in the seeing6 ,i mean that the        
execution is so strangely simple that   
the thought1 ,if ,i could only see the  
model like that1 ,i think ,icould do it 
myself1 comes spontaneously into the    
mind4 ,and this spontaneous thought is  
excellent criticism1 for three-parts of 
,mr4 ,whistler's art lies in the seeing2
 no one ever saw ,nature so             
artistically4 ,notice on the left the   
sharp line of the white frock cutting   
against the black wainscoting4 ,were    
that line taken away1 how much would the
 picture lose6 ,look at the leg that is 
advanced1 and tell me if you can detect 
the modelling4 ,there is modelling1 ,i  
know1 but there are no vulgar           
roundnesses4 ,apparently1 only a flat   
tint2 but there is on the bone a light1 

hardly discernible2 and this light is   
sufficient4 ,and the leg that is turned 
away1 the thick1 chubby ankle of the    
child1 how admirable in drawing2 and    
that touch of darker colour1 how it     
tells the exact form of the bone6 ,to   
indicate is the final accomplishment of 
the painter's art1 and ,i know no       
indication like that ankle bone4 ,and   
now passing from the feet to the face1  
notice1 ,i beg of you to notice--it is  
one of the points in the picture--that  
jaw bone4 ,the face is seen in          
three-quarter1 and to focus the interest
 in the face the painter has slightly   
insisted on the line of the jaw bone1   
which1 taken in conjunction with the    
line of the hair1 brings into prominence
 the oval of the face4 ,in ,nature that 
charming oval only appeared at moments4 
,the painter seized one of those        
moments1 and called it into our         
consciousness as a musician with certain
 finger will choose to give prominence  
to a certain note in a chord4  ,there   

must have been a day in ,mr4 ,whistler's
 life when the artists of ,japan        
convinced him once and for ever of the  
primary importance of selection4 ,in    
,velasquez1 too1 there is selection1 and
 very often it is in the same direction 
as ,mr4 ,whistler's1 but the selection  
is never1 ,i think1 so much insisted    
upon2 and sometimes in ,velasquez there 
is1 as in the portrait of the ,admiral  
in the ,national ,gallery1 hardly any   
selection--,i mean1 of course1 conscious
 selection4 ,velasquez sometimes        
brutally accepted ,nature for what she  
was worth2 this ,mr4 ,whistler never    
does4 ,but it was ,velasquez that gave  
consistency and strength to what in ,mr4
 ,whistler might have run into an art of
 trivial but exquisite decoration4      
,velasquez1 too1 had a voice in the     
composition of the palette generally1 so
 sober1 so grave4 ,the palette of       
,velasquez is the opposite of the       
palette of ,rubens2 the fantasy of      
,rubens' palette created the art of     

,watteau1 ,turner1 ,gainsborough2 it    
obtained throughout the eighteenth      
century in ,england and in ,france4     
,chardin was the one exception4 ,alone  
amid the eighteenth century painters he 
chose the palette of ,velasquez in      
preference to that of ,rubens1 and in   
the nineteenth century ,whistler too has
 chosen it4 ,it was ,velasquez who      
taught ,mr4 ,whistler that flowing1     
limpid execution4 ,in the painting of   
that blonde hair there is something more
 than a souvenir of the blonde hair of  
the ,infante in the salle carre in the  
,louvre4 ,there is also something of    
,velasquez in the black notes of the    
shoes4 ,those blacks--are they not      
perfectly observed8 ,how light and dry  
the colour is6 ,how heavy and shiny it  
would have become in other hands6       
,notice1 too1 that in the frock nowhere 
is there a single touch of pure white1  
and yet it is all white--a rich1        
luminous white that makes every other   
white in the gallery seem either chalky 

or dirty4 ,what an enchantment and a    
delight the handling is6 ,how flowing1  
how supple1 infinitely and beautifully  
sure1 the music of perfect              
accomplishment6 ,in the portrait of the 
mother the execution seems slower1      
hardly so spontaneous4 ,for this1 no    
doubt1 the subject is accountable4 ,but 
this little girl is the very finest     
flower1 and the culminating point of    
,mr4 ,whistler's art4 ,the eye travels  
over the canvas seeking a fault4 ,in    
vain2 nothing has been omitted that     
might have been included1 nothing has   
been included that might have been      
omitted4 ,there is much in ,velasquez   
that is stronger1 but nothing in this   
world ever seemed to me so perfect as   
this picture4  ,the portrait of ,carlyle
 has been painted about an arabesque    
similar1 ,i might almost say identical1 
to that of the portrait of the mother4  
,but as is usually the case1 the attempt
 to repeat a success has resulted a     
failure4 ,mr4 ,whistler has sought to   

vary the arabesque in the direction of  
greater naturalness4 ,he has broken the 
severity of the line1 which the lace    
handkerchief and the hands scarcely     
stayed in the first picture1 by placing 
the philosopher's hat upon his knees1 he
 has attenuated the symmetry of the     
picture-frames on the walls1 and has    
omitted the black curtain which drops   
through the earlier picture4 ,and all   
these alterations seemed to me like so  
many leaks through which the eternal    
something of the first design has run   
out4 ,a pattern like that of the egg and
 dart cannot be disturbed1 and ,columbus
 himself cannot rediscover ,america4    
,and1 turning from the arabesque to the 
painting1 we notice at once that the    
balance of colour1 held with such       
exquisite grace by the curtain on one   
side and the dress on the other1 is     
absent in the later work2 and if we     
examine the colours separately we cannot
 fail to apprehend the fact that the    
blacks in the later are not nearly so   

beautiful as those in the earlier       
picture4 ,the blacks of the             
philosopher's coat and rug are neither  
as rich1 not as rare1 nor as deep as the
 blacks of the mother's gown4 ,never    
have the vital differences and the      
beauty of this colour been brought out  
as in that gown and that curtain1 never 
even in ,hals1 who excels all other     
painters in this use of black4 ,mr4     
,whistler's failure with the first      
colour1 when we compare the two         
pictures1 is exceeded by his failure    
with the second colour4 ,we miss the    
beauty of those extraordinary and       
exquisite high notes--the cap and cuffs2
 and the place of the rich1 palpitating 
greys1 so tremulous in the background of
 the earlier picture1 is taken by an    
insignificant grey that hardly seems    
necessary or helpful to the coat and    
rug1 and is only just raised out of the 
commonplace by the dim yellow of two    
picture-frames4 ,it must be admitted1   
however1 that the yellow is perfectly   

successful2 it may be almost said to be 
what is most attractive in the picture4 
,the greys in chin1 beard1 and hair     
must1 however1 be admitted to be        
beautiful1 although they are not so full
 of charm as the greys in the portrait  
of ,miss ,alexander4  ,but if ,mr4      
,whistler had only failed in these      
matters1 he might have still produced a 
masterpiece4 ,but there is a graver     
criticism to be urged against the       
picture4 ,a portrait is an exact        
reflection of the painter's state of    
soul at the moment of sitting down to   
paint4 ,we read in the picture what he  
really desired2 for what he really      
desired is in the picture1 and his      
hesitations tell us what he only desired
 feebly4 ,every passing distraction1    
every weariness1 every loss of interest 
in the model1 all is written upon the   
canvas4 ,above all1 he tells us most    
plainly what he thought about his       
model--whether he was moved by love or  
contempt2 whether his moods were        

critical or reverential4 ,and what the  
canvas under consideration tells most   
plainly is that ,mr4 ,whistler never    
forgot his own personality in that of   
the ancient philosopher4 ,he came into  
the room as chirpy and anecdotal as     
usual1 in no way discountenanced or put 
about by the presence of his venerable  
and illustrious sitter4 ,he had heard   
that the ,chelsea sage wrote histories  
which were no doubt very learned1 but he
 felt no particular interest in the     
matter4 ,of reverence1 respect1 or      
intimate knowledge of ,carlyle there is 
no trace on the canvas2 and looked at   
from this side the picture may be said  
to be the most ,american of all ,mr4    
,whistler's works4 ,i am quite as big a 
man as you1 to put it bluntly1 was ,mr4 
,whistler's attitude of mind while      
painting ,carlyle4 ,i do not contest the
 truth of the opinion4 ,i merely submit 
that that is not the frame of mind in   
which great portraiture is done4  ,the  
drawing is large1 ample1 and vigorous1  

beautifully understood1 but not very    
profound or intimate3 the picture seems 
to have been accomplished easily1 and in
 excellent health and spirits4 ,the     
painting is in ,mr4 ,whistler's later   
and most characteristic manner4 ,for    
many years--for certainly twenty        
years--his manner has hardly varied at  
all4 ,he uses his colour very thin1 so  
thinly that it often hardly amounts to  
more than a glaze1 and painting is laid 
over painting1 like skin upon skin4     
,regarded merely as brushwork1 the face 
of the sage could hardly be surpassed2  
the modelling is that beautiful flat    
modelling1 of which none except ,mr4    
,whistler possesses the secrets4 ,what  
the painter saw he rendered with        
incomparable skill4 ,the vision of the  
rugged pensiveness of the old           
philosophers is as beautiful and as     
shallow as a page of ,de ,quincey4 ,we  
are carried away in a flow of exquisite 
eloquence1 but the painter has not told 
us one significant fact about his model1

 his nationality1 his temperament1 his  
rank1 his manner of life4 ,we learn in a
 general way that he was a thinker2 but 
it would have been impossible to draw   
the head at all and conceal so salient a
 characteristic4 ,mr4 ,whistler's       
portrait reveals certain general        
observations of life2 but has he given  
one single touch intimately             
characteristic of his model8  ,but if   
the portrait of ,carlyle1 when looked at
 from a certain side1 must be admitted  
to be not wholly satisfactory1 what     
shall be said of the portrait of ,lady  
,meux8 ,the dress is a luminous and     
harmonious piece of colouring1 the      
material has its weight and its texture 
and its character of fold2 but of the   
face it is difficult to say more than   
that it keeps its place in the picture4 
,very often the faces in ,mr4           
,whistler's portraits are the least     
interesting part of the picture2 his    
sitter's face does not seem to interest 
him more than the cuffs1 the carpet1 the

 butterfly1 which hovers about the      
screen4 ,after this admission1 it will  
seem to many that it is waste of time to
 consider further ,mr4 ,whistler's claim
 to portraiture4 ,this is not so4 ,mr4  
,whistler is a great portrait painter1  
though he cannot take measurements or   
follow an outline like ,holbein4  ,like 
most great painters1 he has known how to
 introduce harmonious variation into his
 style by taking from others just as    
much of their sense of beauty as his own
 nature might successfully assimilate4  
,i have spoken of his assimilation and  
combination of the art of ,velasquez1   
and the entire art of ,japan1 but a     
still more striking instance of the     
power of assimilation1 which1 strange as
 it may seem1 only the most original    
natures possess1 is to hand in the early
 but extremely beautiful picture1 ,la   
femme en blanc4 ,in the ,chelsea period 
of his life ,mr4 ,whistler saw a great  
deal of that singular man1 ,dante       
,gabriel ,rossetti4 ,intensely ,italian1

 though he had never seen ,italy2 and   
though writing no language but ours1    
still writing it with a strange hybrid  
grace1 bringing into it the rich and    
voluptuous colour and fragrance of the  
south1 expressing in picture and poem   
nothing but an uneasy haunting sense of 
,italy--opulence of women1 not of the   
south1 nor yet of the north1 ,italian   
celebration1 mystic altar linen1 and    
pomp of gold vestment and legendary     
pane4 ,of such hauntings ,rossetti's    
life and art were made4  ,his hold on   
poetic form was surer than his hold on  
pictorial form1 wherein his art is      
hardly more than poetic reminiscence of 
,italian missal and window pane4 ,yet   
even as a painter his attractiveness    
cannot be denied1 nor yet the influence 
he has exercised on ,english art4       
,though he took nothing from his        
contemporaries1 all took from him1 poets
 and painters alike4 ,not even ,mr4     
,whistler could refrain1 and in ,la     
femme en blanc he took from ,rossetti   

his manner of feeling and seeing4 ,the  
type of woman is the same--beauty of    
dreaming eyes and abundant hair4 ,and in
 this picture we find a poetic interest1
 a moral sense1 if ,i may so phrase it1 
nowhere else to be detected1 though you 
search ,mr4 ,whistler's work from end to
 end4 ,the woman stands idly dreaming by
 her mirror4 ,she is what is her image  
in the glass1 an appearance that has    
come1 and that will go leaving no more  
trace than her reflection on the glass  
when she herself has moved away4 ,she   
sees in her dream the world like passing
 shadows thrown on an illuminated cloth4
 ,she thinks of her soft1 white1 and    
opulent beauty which fills her white    
dress2 her chin is lifted1 and above her
 face shines the golden tumult of her   
hair4  ,the picture is one of the most  
perfect that ,mr4 ,whistler has painted2
 it is as perfect as the mother or ,miss
 ,alexander1 and though it has not the  
beautiful1 flowing1 supple execution of 
the symphony in white1 ,i prefer it for 

sake of its sheer perfection4 ,it is    
more perfect than the symphony in white1
 though there is nothing in it quite so 
extraordinary as the loving gaiety of   
the young girl's face4 ,the execution of
 that face is as flowing1 as            
spontaneous1 and as bright as the most  
beautiful day of ,may4 ,the white       
drapery clings like haze about the edge 
of the woods1 and the flesh tints are   
pearly and evanescent as dew1 and soft  
as the colour of a flowering mead4 ,but 
the kneeling figure is not so perfect1  
and that is why ,i reluctantly give my  
preference to the woman by the mirror4  
,turning again to this picture1 ,i would
 fain call attention to the azalias1    
which1 in irresponsible decorative      
fashion1 come into the right-hand       
corner4 ,the delicate flowers show      
bright and clear on the black-leaded    
fire-grate2 and it is in the painting of
 such detail that ,mr4 ,whistler exceeds
 all painters4 ,for purity of colour and
 the beauty of pattern1 these flowers   

are surely as beautiful as anything that
 man's hand has ever accomplished4  ,mr4
 ,whistler has never tried to be        
original4 ,he has never attempted to    
reproduce on canvas the discordant and  
discrepant extravagancies of ,nature as 
,m4 ,besnard and ,mr4 ,john ,sargent    
have done4 ,his style has always been   
marked by such extreme reserve that the 
critical must have sometimes inclined to
 reproach him with want of daring1 and  
ask themselves where was the innovator  
in this calculated reduction of tones1  
in these formal harmonies1 in this      
constant synthesis1 sought with far more
 disregard for superfluous detail than  
,hals1 for instance1 had ever dared to  
show4 ,the still more critical1 while   
admitting the beauty and the grace of   
this art1 must have often asked         
themselves what1 after all1 has this    
painter invented1 what new              
subject-matter has he introduced into   
art8  ,it was with the night that ,mr4  
,whistler set his seal and sign-manual  

upon art2 above all others he is surely 
the interpreter of the night4 ,until he 
came the night of the painter was as    
ugly and insignificant as any pitch     
barrel2 it was he who first transferred 
to canvas the blue transparent darkness 
which folds the world from sunset to    
sunrise4 ,the purple hollow1 and all the
 illusive distances of the gas-lit      
river1 are ,mr4 ,whistler's own4 ,it was
 not the unhabited night of lonely plain
 and desolate tarn that he chose to     
interpret1 but the difficult populous   
city night--the night of tall bridges   
and vast water rained through with      
lights red and grey1 the shores lined   
with the lamps of the watching city4    
,mr4 ,whistler's night is the vast blue 
and golden caravanry1 where the jaded   
and the hungry and the heavy-hearted lay
 down their burdens1 and the            
contemplative freed from the deceptive  
reality of the day understand humbly and
 pathetically the casualness of our     
habitation1 and the limitlessreality of 

a plan1 the intention of which we shall 
never know4 ,mr4 ,whistler's nights are 
the blue transparent darknesses which   
are half of the world's life4 ,sometimes
 he foregoes even the aid of earthly    
light1 and his picture is but luminous  
blue shadow1 delicately graduated1 as in
 the nocturne in ,m4 ,duret's           
collection--purple above and below1 a   
shadow in the middle of the picture--a  
little less and there would be nothing4 
,there is the celebrated nocturne in the
 shape of a ,t--one pier of the bridge  
and part of the arch1 the mystery of the
 barge1 and the figure guiding the barge
 in the current1 the strange luminosity 
of the fleeting river6 lines of lights1 
vague purple and illusive distance1 and 
all is so obviously beautiful that one  
pauses to consider how there could have 
been stupidity enough to deny it4 ,of   
less dramatic significance1 but of equal
 esthetic value1 is the nocturne known  
as the ,cremorne lights4 ,here the night
 is strangely pale2 one of those summer 

nights when a slight veil of darkness is
 drawn for an hour or more across the   
heavens4 ,another of quite extraordinary
 beauty1 even in a series of            
extraordinarily beautiful things1 is    
,night on the ,sea4 ,the waves curl     
white in the darkness1 and figures are  
seen as in dreams2 lights burn low1     
ships rock in the offing1 and beyond    
them1 lost in the night1 a vague sense  
of illimitable sea4  ,out of the night  
,mr4 ,whistler has gathered beauty as   
august as ,phidias took from ,greek     
youths4 ,nocturne ,,ii is the picture   
which ,professor ,ruskin declared to be 
equivalent to flinging a pot of paint in
 the face of the public4 ,but that black
 night1 filling the garden even to the  
sky's obliteration1 is not black paint  
but darkness4 ,the whirl of the ,st4    
,catherine wheel in the midst of this   
darkness amounts to a miracle1 and the  
exquisite drawing of the shower of      
falling fire would arouse envy in       
,rembrandt1 and prompt imitation4 ,the  

line of the watching crowd is only just 
indicated1 and yet the garden is        
crowded4 ,there is another nocturne in  
which rockets are rising and falling1   
and the drawing of these two showers of 
fire is so perfect1 that when you turn  
quickly towards the picture1 the sparks 
really do ascend and descend4  ,more    
than any other painter1 ,mr4 ,whistler's
 influence has made itself felt on      
,english art4 ,more than any other man1 
,mr4 ,whistler has helped to purge art  
of the vice of subject and belief that  
the mission of the artist is to copy    
nature4 ,mr4 ,whistler's method is more 
learned1 more co-ordinate than that of  
any other painter of our time2 all is   
preconceived from the first touch to the
 last1 nor has there ever been much     
change in the method1 the painting has  
grown looser1 but the method was always 
the same2 to have seen him paint at once
 is to have seen him paint at every     
moment of his life4 ,never did a man    
seem more admirably destined to found a 

school which should worthily carry on   
the tradition inherited from the old    
masters and represented only by him4    
,all the younger generation has accepted
 him as master1 and that my generation  
has not profited more than it has1 leads
 me to think1 however elegant1 refined1 
emotional1 educated it may be1 and      
anxious to achieve1 that it is lacking  
in creative force1 that it is1 in a     
word1 slightly too slight4              
,,chavannes1 ,,millet1 ,,and ,,manet4   
,of the great painters born before #ahdj
 only two now are living1 ,puvis de     
,chavannes and ,degas4 ,it is true to   
say of ,chavannes that he is the only   
man alive to whom a beautiful building  
might be given for decoration without   
fear that its beauty would be disgraced4
 ,he is the one man alive who can cover 
twenty feet of wall or vaulted roof with
 decoration that will neither deform the
 grandeur nor jar the greyness of the   
masonry4 ,mural decoration in his eyes  
is not merely a picture let into a wall1

 nor is it necessarily mural decoration 
even if it be painted on the wall       
itself3 it is mural decoration if it    
form part of the wall1 if it be1 if ,i  
may so express myself1 a variant of the 
stonework4 ,no other painter ever kept  
this end so strictly before his eyes4   
,for this end ,chavannes reduced his    
palette almost to a monochrome1 for this
 end he models in two flat tints1 for   
this end he draws in huge undisciplined 
masses4  ,let us examine his palette3   
many various greys1 some warmed with    
vermilion1 some with umber1 and many    
more that are mere mixtures of black and
 white1 large quantities of white1 for  
,chavannes paints in a high key1 wishing
 to disturb the colour of the           
surrounding stone as little as may be4  
,grey and blue are the natural colours  
of building stone2 when the subject will
 not admit of subterfuge1 he will       
introduce a shade of pale green1 as in  
his great decoration entitled ,summer2  
but grey is always the foundation of his

 palette1 and it fills the middle of the
 picture4 ,the blues are placed at the  
top and bottom1 and he works between    
them in successive greys4 ,the sky in   
the left-hand top corner is an          
ultramarine slightly broken with white2 
the blue gown at the bottom of the      
picture1 not quite in the middle of the 
picture1 a little on the right1 is also 
ultramarine1 and here the colour is used
 nearly in its first intensity4 ,and the
 colossal woman who wears the blue gown 
leans against some grey forest tree     
trunk1 and a great white primeval animal
 is what her forms and attitude suggest4
 ,there are some women about her1 and   
they lie and sit in disconnected groups 
like fragments fallen from a pediment4  
,nor is any attempt made to relate1 by  
the aid of vague look or gesture1 this  
group in the foreground to the human    
hordes engaged in building enclosures in
 the middle distance4 ,in ,chavannes the
 composition is always as disparate as  
an early tapestry1 and the drawing of   

the figures is almost as rude4 ,if ,i   
may be permitted a ,french phrase1 ,i   
will say un peu sommaire quite unlike   
the beautiful simplifications of        
,raphael or ,ingres1 or indeed any of   
the great masters4 ,they could simplify 
without becoming rudimentary2 ,chavannes
 cannot4  ,and now a passing word about 
the handicraft1 the manner of using the 
brush4 ,chavannes shares the modern     
belief-and only in this is he           
modern--that for the service of thought 
one instrument is as apt as another1 and
 that1 so long as that man's back--he   
who is pulling at the rope fastened at  
the tree's top branches--is filled in   
with two grey tints1 it matters not at  
all how the task is accomplished4 ,truly
 the brush has plastered that back as a 
trowel might1 and the result reminds one
 of stone and mortar1 as ,millet's      
execution reminds one of mud-pie making4
 ,the handicraft is as barbarous in     
,chavannes as it is in ,millet1 and we  
think of them more as great poets       

working in a not wholly sympathetic and1
 in their hands1 somewhat rebellious    
material4 ,chavannes is as an epic poet 
whose theme is the rude grandeur of the 
primeval world1 and who sang his rough  
narrative to a few chords struck on a   
sparely-stringed harp that his own hands
 have fashioned4 ,and is not ,millet a  
sort of ,french ,wordsworth who in a    
barbarous ,breton dialect has told us in
 infinitely touching strains of the     
noble submission of the peasant's lot1  
his unending labours and the melancholy 
solitude of the country4  ,as           
poet-painters1 none admires these great 
artists more than ,i1 but the moment we 
consider them as painters we have to    
compare the handicraft of the decoration
 entitled ,summer with that of ,francis 
the ,first meeting ,marie de ,medicis2  
we have to compare the handicraft of the
 ,sower and the ,angelus with that of   
,le ,bon ,bock and ,l'enfant  ,ppe2 and 
the moment we institute such comparison 
does not the inferiority of ,chavannes' 

and ,millet's handicraft become visible 
even to the least initiated in the art  
of painting1 and is not the conclusion  
forced upon us that however ,manet may  
be judged inferior to ,millet as a poet1
 as a painter he is easily his superior8
 ,and as ,millet's and ,chavannes'      
brush-work is deficient in beauty so is 
their drawing4 ,preferring decorative   
unity to completeness of drawing1       
,chavannes does not attempt more than   
some rudimentary indications4 ,millet   
seems even to have desired to omit      
technical beauty1 so that he might      
concentrate all thought on the poetic   
synthesis he was gathering from the     
earth4 ,degas1 on the contrary1 draws   
for the sake of the drawing-,the ,ballet
 ,girl1 ,the ,washerwoman1 ,the ,fat    
,housewife bathing herself1 is only a   
pretext for drawing2 and ,degas chose   
these extraordinary themes because the  
drawing of the ballet girl and the fat  
housewife is less known than that of the
 nymph and the ,spartan youth4 ,painters

 will understand what ,i mean by the    
drawing being less known1--that         
knowledge of form which sustains the    
artist like a crutch in his examination 
of the model1 and which as it were      
dictates to the eye what it must see4   
,so the ballet girl was ,degas'         
escapement from the thraldom of common  
knowledge4 ,the ballet girl was virgin  
soil4 ,in her meagre thwarted forms     
application could freely be made of the 
supple incisive drawing which bends to  
and flows with the character--that      
drawing of which ,ingres was the supreme
 patron1 and of which ,degas is the sole
 inheritor4  ,until a few years ago     
,chavannes never sold a picture4 ,millet
 lived his life in penury and obscurity1
 but thirty years of persistent ridicule
 having failed to destroy ,degas'       
genius1 some recognition has been       
extended to it4 ,the fate of all great  
artists in the nineteenth century is a  
score years of neglect and obloquy4     
,they may hardly hope for recognition   

before they are fifty2 some few cases   
point the other way1 but very few--the  
rule is thirty years of neglect and     
obloquy4 ,then a flag of truce will be  
held out to the recalcitrant artist who 
cannot be prevented from painting       
beautiful pictures4 ,come1 let us be    
friends2 let's kiss and make it up2 send
 a picture to the academy2 we'll hang it
 on the line1 and make you an           
academician the first vacancy that      
occurs4 ,to-day the academy would like  
to get ,mr4 ,whistler1 but ,mr4         
,whistler replies to the academy as     
,degas replied to the government        
official who wanted a picture for the   
,luxembourg4 ,non1 je ne veux pas tre   
conduit au poste par les sargents de    
ville d'aris4  ,to understand ,manet's  
genius1 the nineteenth century would    
have required ten years more than usual1
 for in ,manet there is nothing but good
 painting1 and there is nothing that the
 nineteenth century dislikes as much as 
good painting4 ,in ,whistler there is an

 exquisite and inveigling sense of      
beauty2 in ,degas there is an           
extraordinary acute criticism of life1  
and so the least brutal section of the  
public ended by pardoning ,whistler his 
brush-work1 and ,degas his beautiful    
drawing4 ,but in ,manet there is nothing
 but good painting1 and it is therefore 
possible that he might have lived till  
he was eighty without obtaining         
recognition4 ,death alone could         
accomplish the miracle of opening the   
public's eyes to his merits4 ,during his
 life the excuse given for the constant 
persecution waged against him by the    
authorities was his excessive           
originality4 ,but this was mere         
subterfuge2 what was really hated-what  
made him so unpopular-was the           
extraordinary beauty of his handling4   
,whatever he painted became             
beautiful--his hand was dowered with the
 gift of quality1 and there his art     
began and ended4 ,his painting of still 
life never has been exceeded1 and never 

will be4 ,i remember a pear that used to
 hang in his studio4 ,hals would have   
taken his hat off to it4  ,twenty years 
ago ,manet's name was a folly and a     
byword in the ,parisian studios4 ,the   
students of the ,beaux ,arts used to    
stand before his salon pictures and     
sincerely wonder how any one could paint
 like that2 the students were quite sure
 that it was done for a joke1 to attract
 attention2 and then1 not quite         
sincerely1 one would say1 ,but ,i'll    
undertake to paint you three pictures a 
week like that4 ,i say that the remark  
was never quite sincere1 for ,i never   
heard it made without some one          
answering1 ,i don't think you could2    
just come and look at it again--there's 
more in it than you think4 ,no doubt we 
thought ,manet very absurd1 but there   
was always something forced and         
artificial in our laughter and the      
ridicule we heaped upon him4  ,but about
 that time my opinions were changing2   
and it was a great event in my life when

 ,manet spoke to me in the cafe of the  
,nouvelle ,athene4 ,i knew it was       
,manet1 he had been pointed out to me1  
and ,i had admired the finely-cut face  
from whose prominent chin a closely-cut 
blonde beard came forward2 and the      
aquiline nose1 the clear grey eyes1 the 
decisive voice1 the remarkable          
comeliness of the well-knit figure1     
scrupulously but simply dressed1        
represented a personality curiously     
sympathetic4 ,on several occasions      
shyness had compelled me to abandon my  
determination to speak to him4 ,but once
 he had spoken ,i entered eagerly into  
conversation1 and next day ,i went to   
his studio4 ,it was quite a simple      
place4 ,manet expended his aestheticism 
on his canvases1 and not upon tapestries
 and inlaid cabinets4 ,there was very   
little in his studio except his         
pictures3 a sofa1 a rocking-chair1 a    
table for his paints1 and a marble table
 on iron supports1 such as one sees in  
cafs4 ,being a fresh-complexioned1      

fair-haired young man1 the type most    
suitable to ,manet's palette1 he at once
 asked me to sit4 ,his first intention  
was to paint me in a caf2 he had met me 
in a caf1 and he thought he could       
realise his impression of me in the     
first surrounding he had seen me in4    
,the portrait did not come right2       
ultimately it was destroyed2 but it gave
 me every opportunity of studying       
,manet's method of painting4 ,strictly  
speaking1 he had no method2 painting    
with him was a pure instinct4 ,painting 
was one of the ways his nature          
manifested itself4 ,that frank1         
fearless1 prompt nature manifested      
itself in everything that concerned     
him--in his large plain studio1 full of 
light as a conservatory2 in his simple1 
scrupulous clothes1 and yet with a touch
 of the dandy about them2 in decisive   
speech1 quick1 hearty1 and informed with
 a manly and sincere understanding of   
life4 ,never was an artist's inner      
nature in more direct conformity with   

his work4 ,there were no circumlocutions
 in ,manet's nature1 there were none in 
his art4  ,the colour of my hair never  
gave me a thought until ,manet began to 
paint it4 ,then the blonde gold that    
came up under his brush filled me with  
admiration1 and ,i was astonished when1 
a few days after1 ,i saw him scrape off 
the rough paint and prepare to start    
afresh4  ,are you going to get a new    
canvas8  ,no2 this will do very well4   
,but you can't paint yellow ochre on    
yellow ochre without getting it dirty8  
,yes1 ,i think ,i can4 ,you go and sit  
down4  ,half-an-hour after he had       
entirely repainted the hair1 and without
 losing anything of its brightness4 ,he 
painted it again and again2 every time  
it came out brighter and fresher1 and   
the painting never seemed to lose       
anything in quality4 ,that this portrait
 cost him infinite labour and was       
eventually destroyed matters nothing2 my
 point is merely that he could paint    
yellow over yellow without getting the  

colour muddy4 ,one day1 seeing that ,i  
was in difficulties with a black1 he    
took a brush from my hand1 and it seemed
 to have hardly touched the canvas when 
the ugly heaviness of my tiresome black 
began to disappear4 ,there came into it 
grey and shimmering lights1 the shadows 
filled up with air1 and silk seemed to  
float and rustle4 ,there was no         
method-there was no trick2 he merely    
painted4 ,my palette was the same to him
 as his own2 he did not prepare his     
palette2 his colour did not exist on his
 palette before he put it on the canvas2
 but working under the immediate        
dictation of his eye1 he snatched the   
tints instinctively1 without            
premeditation4 ,ah6 that marvellous     
hand1 those thick fingers holding the   
brush so firmly-somewhat heavily2 how   
malleable1 how obedient1 that most      
rebellious material1 oil-colour1 was to 
his touch4 ,he did with it what he      
liked4 ,i believe he could rub a picture
 over with ,prussian blue without       

experiencing any inconvenience2         
half-an-hour after the colour would be  
fine and beautiful4  ,and never did this
 mysterious power which produces what   
artists know as quality exist in greater
 abundance in any fingers than it did in
 the slow1 thick fingers of ,edouard    
,manet3 never since the world began2 not
 in ,velasquez1 not in ,hals1 not in    
,rubens1 not in ,titian4 ,as an artist  
,manet could not compare with the least 
among these illustrious painters2 but as
 a manipulator of oil-colour he never   
was and never will be excelled4 ,manet  
was born a painter as absolutely as any 
man that ever lived1 so absolutely that 
a very high and lucid intelligence never
 for a moment came between him and the  
desire to put anything into his picture 
except good painting4 ,i remember his   
saying to me1 ,i also tried to write1   
but ,i did not succeed2 ,i never could  
do anything but paint4 ,and what a      
splendid thing for an artist to be able 
to say4 ,the real meaning of his words  

did not reach me till years after2      
perhaps ,i even thought at the time that
 he was disappointed that he could not  
write4 ,i know now what was passing in  
his mind3 ,je ne me suis pas tromp de   
mtier4 ,how many of us can say as much8 
,go round a picture gallery1 and of how 
many pictures1 ancient or modern1 can   
you stand before and say1 ,voila un     
homme qui ne s'est pas tromp de mtier8  
,perhaps above all men of our generation
 ,manet made the least mistake in his   
choice of a trade4 ,let those who doubt 
go and look at the beautiful picture of 
,boulogne ,pier1 now on view in ,mr4    
,van ,wesselingh's gallery1 #bf ,old    
,bond ,street4 ,the wooden pier goes    
right across the canvas2 all the wood   
piers are drawn1 there is no attempt to 
hide or attenuate their regularity4 ,why
 should ,manet attenuate when he could  
fill the interspaces with the soft      
lapping of such exquisite blue          
sea-water4 ,above the piers there is the
 ugly yellow-painted rail4 ,but why     

alter the colour when he could keep it  
in such exquisite value8 ,on the canvas 
it is beautiful4 ,in the middle of the  
pier there is a mast and a sail which   
does duty for an awning2 perhaps it is  
only a marine decoration4 ,a few        
loungers are on the pier--men and women 
in grey clothes4 ,why introduce reds and
 blues when he was sure of being able to
 set the little figures in their places1
 to draw them so firmly1 and relieve the
 grey monotony with such beauty of      
execution8 ,it would be vain to invent  
when so exquisite an execution is always
 at hand to relieve and to transform4   
,mr4 ,whistler would have chosen to look
 at the pier from a more fanciful point 
of view4 ,degas would have taken an odd 
corner2 he would have cut the           
composition strangely1 and commented on 
the humanity of the pier4 ,but ,manet   
just painted it without circumlocutions 
of any kind4 ,the subject was void of   
pictorial relief4 ,there was not even a 
blue space in the sky1 nor yet a dark   

cloud4 ,he took it as it was--a white   
sky1 full of an inner radiance1 two     
sailing-boats floating in mist of heat1 
one in shadow1 the other in light4      
,vandervelde would seem trivial and     
precious beside painting so firm1 so    
manly1 so free from trick1 so           
beautifully logical1 and so unerring4   
,manet did not often paint sea-pieces4  
,he is best known and is most admired as
 a portrait-painter1 but from time to   
time he ventured to trust his painting  
to every kind of subject-,i know even a 
cattle-piece by ,manet--and his ,christ 
watched over by angels in the tomb is   
one of his finest works4 ,his ,christ is
 merely a rather fat model sitting with 
his back against a wall1 and two women  
with wings on either side of him4 ,there
 is no attempt to suggest a ,divine     
death or to express the ,kingdom of     
,heaven on the angels' faces4 ,but the  
legs of the man are as fine a piece of  
painting as has ever been accomplished4 
,in an exhibition of portraits now open 

in ,paris1 entitled ,cent               
,chefs-d',oeuvre1 ,manet has been paid  
the highest honour2 he himself would not
 demand a greater honour--his ,bon ,bock
 has been hung next to a celebrated     
portrait by ,hals4444  ,without seeing  
it1 ,i know that the ,hals is nobler1   
grander2 ,i know1 supposing the ,hals to
 be a good one1 that its flight is that 
of an eagle as compared with the flight 
of a hawk4 ,the comparison is           
exaggerated2 but1 then1 so are all      
comparisons4 ,i also know that ,hals    
does not tell us more about his old     
woman than ,manet tells us about the man
 who sits so gravely by his glass of    
foaming ale1 so clearly absorbed by it1 
so oblivious to all other joys but those
 that it brings him4 ,hals never placed 
any one more clearly in his favourite   
hour of the day1 the well-desired hour1 
looked forward to perhaps since the     
beginning of the afternoon4 ,in this    
marvellous portrait we read the age1 the
 rank1 the habits1 the limitations1     

physical and mental1 of the broad-faced 
man who sits so stolidly1 his fat hand  
clasping his glass of foaming ale4      
,nothing has been omitted4 ,we look at  
the picture1 and the man and his        
environment become part of our          
perception of life4 ,that stout1        
middle-aged man of fifty1 who works all 
day in some small business1 and goes    
every evening to his caf to drink beer1 
will abide with us for ever4 ,his       
appearance1 and his mode of life1 which 
his appearance so admirably expresses1  
can never become completely dissociated 
from our understanding of life4 ,for    
,manet's ,bon ,bock is one of the       
eternal types1 a permanent national     
conception1 as inherent in ,french life 
as ,polichinelle1 ,pierrot1 ,monsieur   
,prud'homme1 or the ,baron ,hulot4 ,i   
have not seen the portrait for fifteen  
or eighteen years1 and yet ,i see it as 
well as if it were hung on the wall     
opposite the table on which ,i am       
writing this page4 ,i can see that      

round1 flat face1 a little swollen with 
beer1 the small eyes1 the spare beard   
and moustaches4 ,his feet are not in the
 picture1 but ,i know how much he pays  
for his boots1 and how they fit him4    
,nor did ,hals ever paint better2 ,i    
mean that nowhere in ,hals will you find
 finer handling1 or a more direct       
luminous or simple expression of what   
the eye saw4 ,it has all the qualities  
,i have enumerated1 and yet it falls    
short of ,hals4 ,it has not the breadth 
and scope of the great ,dutchman4 ,there
 is a sense of effort1 on sent le       
souffle1 and in ,hals one never does4   
,it is more bound together1 it does not 
flow with the mighty and luminous ease  
of the chefs d'oeuvre at ,haarlem4  ,but
 is this ,manet's final achievement1 the
 last word he has to say8 ,i think not4 
,it was painted early in the sixties1   
probably about the same period as the   
,luxembourg picture1 when the effects of
 his ,spanish travel were wearing off1  
and ,paris was beginning to command his 

art4 ,manet used to say1 ,when ,degas   
was painting ,semiramis ,i was painting 
modern ,paris4 ,it would have been more 
true to have said modern ,spain4 ,for it
 was in ,spain that ,manet found his    
inspiration4 ,he had not been to        
,holland when he painted his ,spanish   
pictures4 ,velasquez clearly inspired   
them2 but there never was in his work   
any of the noble delicacies of the      
,spaniard2 it was always nearer to the  
plainer and more--forgive the           
phrase--yokel-like eloquence of ,hals4  
,the art of ,hals he seemed to have     
divined2 it seems to have come          
instinctively to him4  ,manet went to   
,spain after a few months spent in      
,couture's studio4 ,like all the great  
artists of our time1 he was             
self-educated--,whistler1 ,degas1       
,courbet1 ,corot1 and ,manet wasted     
little time in other men's studios4     
,soon after his return from ,spain1 by  
some piece of good luck1 ,manet was     
awarded une mention honorable at the    

,salon for his portrait of a toreador4  
,why this honour was conferred upon him 
it is difficult to guess4 ,it must have 
been the result of some special         
influence exerted at a special moment1  
for ever after--down to the year of his 
death--his pictures were considered as  
an excrescence on the annual exhibitions
 at the ,salon4 ,every year--down to the
 year of his death--the jury1 ,m4       
,bouguereau et ,cie41 lamented that they
 were powerless to reject these         
ridiculous pictures4 ,manet had been    
placed hors concours1 and they could do 
nothing4 ,they could do nothing except  
stand before his pictures and laugh4    
,oh1 ,i remember it all very well4 ,we  
were taught at the ,beaux-,arts to      
consider ,manet an absurd person or else
 an pateur1 who1 not being able to paint
 like ,m4 ,grme1 determined to astonish4
 ,i remember perfectly well the derision
 with which those chefs d'oeuvre1       
,yachting at ,argenteuil and ,le ,linge1
 were received4 ,they were in his last  

style--that bright1 clear painting in   
which violet shadows were beginning to  
take the place of the conventional brown
 shadows1 and the brush-work1 too1 was  
looser and more broken up2 in a word1   
these pictures were the germ from which 
has sprung a dozen different schools1   
all the impressionism and other isms of 
modern ,french art4 ,before these works1
 in which the real ,manet appeared for  
the first time1 no one had a good word  
to say4 ,to kill them more effectually1 
certain merits were even conceded to the
 ,bon ,bock and the ,luxembourg picture4
  ,the ,bon ,bock1 as we have seen1 at  
once challenges comparison with ,hals4  
,but in ,le ,linge no challenge is sent 
forth to any one2 it is ,manet1 all     
,manet1 and nothing but ,manet4 ,in this
 picture he expresses his love of the   
gaiety and pleasure of ,parisian life4  
,and this bright-faced1 simple-minded   
woman1 who stands in a garden crowded   
with the tallest sunflowers1 the great  
flower-crowns drooping above her1 her   

blue cotton dress rolled up to the      
elbows1 her hands plunged in a small    
wash-tub in which she is washing some   
small linen1 habit-shirts1              
pocket-handkerchiefs1 collars1 expresses
 the joy of homely life in the ,french  
suburb4 ,her home is one of good wine1  
excellent omelettes1 soft beds2 and the 
sheets1 if they are a little coarse1 are
 spotless1 and retain an odour of       
lavender-sweetened cupboards4 ,her      
little child1 about four years old1 is  
with his mother in the garden2 he has   
strayed into the foreground of the      
picture1 just in front of the wash-tub1 
and he holds a great sunflower in his   
tiny hand4 ,beside this picture of such 
bright and happy aspect1 the most       
perfect example of that genre known as  
la peinture claire1 invented by ,manet1 
and so infamously and absurdly practised
 by subsequent imitators--beside this   
picture so limpid1 so fresh1 so         
unaffected in its handling1 a ,courbet  
would seem heavy and dull1 a sort of    

mock old master2 a ,corot would seem    
ephemeral and cursive2 a ,whistler would
 seem thin2 beside this picture of such 
elegant and noble vision a ,stevens     
would certainly seem odiously common4   
,why does not ,liverpool or ,manchester 
buy one of these masterpieces8 ,if the  
blueness of the blouse frightens the    
administrators of these galleries1 ,i   
will ask them--and perhaps this would be
 the more practical project--to consider
 the purchase of ,manet's first and last
 historical picture1 the death of the   
unfortunate ,maximilian in ,mexico4     
,under a high wall1 over which some     
,mexicans are looking1 ,maximilian and  
two friends stand in front of the       
rifles4 ,the men have just fired1 and   
death clouds the unfortunate face4 ,on  
the right a man stands cocking his      
rifle4 ,look at the movement of the     
hand1 how well it draws back the hammer4
 ,the face is nearly in profile--how    
intent it is on the mechanism4 ,and is  
not the drawing of the legs1 the boots1 

the gaiters1 the arms lifting the heavy 
rifle with slow deliberation1 more      
massive1 firm1 and concise than any     
modern drawing8 ,how ample and how      
exempt from all trick1 and how well it  
says just what the painter wanted to    
say6 ,this picture1 too1 used to hang in
 his studio4 ,but the greater           
attractiveness of ,le ,linge prevented  
me from discerning its more solemn      
beauty4 ,but last ,may ,i came across it
 unexpectedly1 and after looking at it  
for some time the thought that came     
was--no one painted better1 no one will 
ever paint better4  ,the ,luxembourg    
picture1 although one of the most showy 
and the completest amongst ,manet's     
masterpieces1 is not1 in my opinion1    
either the most charming or the most    
interesting2 and yet it would be        
difficult to say that this of the many  
life-sized nudes that ,france has       
produced during the century is not the  
one we could least easily spare4        
,ingres' ,source compares not with      

things of this century1 but with the    
marbles of the fourth century ,b4,c4    
,cabanel's ,venus is a beautiful design1
 but its destruction would create no    
appreciable gap in the history of       
nineteenth century art4 ,the destruction
 of ,olympe would4  ,the picture is     
remarkable not only for the excellence  
of the execution1 but for a symbolic    
intention nowhere else to be found in   
,manet's works4 ,the angels on either   
side of his dead ,christ necessitated   
merely the addition of two pairs of     
wings--a convention which troubled him  
no more than the convention of taking   
off his hat on entering a church4 ,but  
in ,olympe we find ,manet departing from
 the individual to the universal4 ,the  
red-headed woman who used to dine at the
 ,ratmort does not lie on a modern bed  
but on the couch of all time2 and she   
raises herself from amongst her         
cushions1 setting forth her somewhat    
meagre nudity as arrogantly and with the
 same calm certitude of her sovereignty 

as the eternal ,venus for whose prey is 
the flesh of all men born4 ,the         
introduction of a bouquet bound up in   
large white paper does not prejudice the
 symbolic intention1 and the picture    
would do well for an illustration to    
some poem to be found in ,les fleurs du 
,mal4 ,it may be worth while to note    
here that ,baudelaire printed in his    
volume a quatrain inspired by one of    
,manet's ,spanish pictures4  ,but after 
this slight adventure into symbolism1   
,manet's eyes were closed to all but the
 visible world4 ,the visible world of   
,paris he saw henceforth--truly1        
frankly1 and fearlessly1 and more       
beautifully than any of his             
contemporaries4 ,never before was a     
great man's mind so strictly limited to 
the range of what his eyes saw4 ,nature 
wished it so1 and1 having discovered    
nature's wish1 ,manet joined his desire 
with ,nature's4 ,i remember his saying  
as he showed me some illustrations he   
had done for ,mallarme's translation of 

,edgar ,poe's poem1 ,you'll admit that  
it doesn't give you much idea 'of a     
kingdom by the sea4' ,the drawing       
represented the usual sea-side watering 
place--the beach with a nursemaid at    
full length2 children building sand     
castles1 and some small sails in the    
offing4  ,so ,manet was content to live 
by the sight1 and by the sight alone2 he
 was a painter1 and had neither time nor
 taste for such ideals as ,poe's magical
 ,annabel ,lee4 ,marvellous indeed must 
have been the eyes that could have      
persuaded such relinquishment4 ,how     
marvellous they were we understand      
easily when we look at ,olympe4 ,eyes   
that saw truly1 that saw beautifully and
 yet somewhat grossly4 ,there is much   
vigour in the seeing1 there is the      
exquisite handling of ,hals1 and there  
is the placing1 the setting forth of    
figures on the canvas1 which was as     
instinctively his as it was ,titian's4  
,hals and ,velasquez possessed all those
 qualities1 and something more4 ,they   

would not have been satisfied with that 
angular1 presumptuous1 and obvious      
drawing1 harsh in its exterior limits   
and hollow within--the head a sort of   
convulsive abridgment1 the hand void1   
and the fingers too1 if we seek their   
articulations4 ,an omission must not be 
mistaken for a simplification1 and for  
all his omissions ,manet strives to make
 amend by the tone4 ,it would be        
difficult to imagine a more beautiful   
syntheses than that pale yellow1 a      
beautiful golden sensation1 and the     
black woman1 the attendant of this light
 of love1 who comes to the couch with a 
large bouquet fresh from the boulevard1 
is certainly a piece of painting that   
,rubens and ,titian would stop to       
admire4  ,but when all has been said1 ,i
 prefer ,manet in the quieter and ,i    
think the more original mood in the     
portrait of his sister-in-law1 ,madame  
,morisot4 ,the portrait is in ,m4       
,duret's collection2 it hangs in a not  
too well lighted passage1 and if ,i did 

not spend six or ten minutes in         
admiration before this picture1 ,i      
should feel that some familiar pleasure 
had drifted out of my yearly visit to   
,paris4 ,never did a white dress play so
 important or indeed so charming a part 
in a picture4 ,the dress is the         
picture--this common white dress1 with  
black spots1 une robe a poix1 une petite
 confection de soixante cinq francs1 as 
the ,french would say2 and very far it  
is from all remembrance of the          
diaphanous1 fairy-like skirts of our    
eighteenth century ,english school1 but 
,i swear to you no less charming4 ,it is
 a very simple and yet a very beautiful 
reality4 ,a lady1 in white dress with   
black spots1 sitting on a red sofa1 a   
dark chocolate red1 in the subdued light
 of her own quiet1 prosaic ,french      
appartment1 le deuxime au dessus        
l'entre-sol4 ,the drawing is less       
angular1 less constipated than that of  
,olympe4 ,how well the woman's body is  
in the dress6 there is the bosom1 the   

waist1 the hips1 the knees1 and the     
white stockinged foot in the low shoe1  
coming from out the dress4 ,the drawing 
about the hips and bosom undulates and  
floats1 vague and yet precise1 in a     
manner that recalls ,harlem1 and it is  
not until we turn to the face that we   
come upon ominous spaces unaccounted    
for1 forms unexplained4 ,the head is so 
charming that it seems a pity to press  
our examination further4 ,but to        
understand ,manet's deficiency is to    
understand the abyss that separates     
modern from ancient art1 and the        
portrait of ,madame ,morisot explains   
them as well as another1 for the        
deficiency ,i wish to point out exists  
in ,manet's best portraits as well as in
 his worst4 ,the face in this picture is
 like the face in every picture by      
,manet4 ,three or four points are       
seized1 and the spaces between are left 
unaccounted for4 ,whistler has not the  
strength of ,velasquez2 ,manet is not as
 complete as ,hals4     ,,the ,,failure 

,,of ,,the ,,nineteenth ,,century4   ,in
 the seventeenth century were ,poussin  
and ,claude2 in the eighteenth ,watteau1
 ,boucher1 ,chardin1 and many lesser    
lights--,fragonard1 ,pater1 and         
,lancret4 ,but notwithstanding the      
austere grandeur of ,poussin and the    
beautiful1 if somewhat too reasonable   
poetry of ,claude1 the infinite         
perfection of ,watteau1 the charm of    
that small ,french ,velasquez ,chardin1 
and the fascinations and essentially    
,french genius of all this group        
7,poussin and ,claude were entirely     
,roman71 ,i think we must place         
,france's artistic period in the        
nineteenth century4  ,nineteenth century
 art began in ,france in the last years 
of the eighteenth century4 ,it began    
well1 for it began with its greatest    
painters--,ingres1 ,corot1 and          
,delacroix4 ,ingres was born in #aghj1  
,gericault in #agia1 ,corot in #agif1   
,delacroix in #agih1 ,diaz in #ahji1    
,dupr in #ahab1 ,rousseau in #ahab1     

,jacques in #ahac1 ,meissonier in #ahae1
 ,millet in #ahae1 ,troyon in #ahaf1    
,daubigny in #ahag1 ,courbet in #ahai1  
,fromentin in #ahbj1 ,monticelli in     
#ahbd1 ,puvis de ,chavannes in #ahbd1   
,cabanel in #ahbe1 ,hervier in #ahbg1   
,vollon in #ahcc1 ,manet in #ahcc1      
,degas in #ahcd4 ,with a little         
indulgence the list might be            
considerably enlarged4  ,the            
circumstances in which this artistic    
manifestation took place were identical 
with the circumstances which brought    
about every one of the great artistic   
epochs4 ,it came upon ,france as a      
consequence of huge national aspiration1
 when nationhood was desired and        
disaster had joined men together in     
struggle1 and sent them forth on        
reckless adventure4 ,it has been said   
that art is decay1 the pearl in the     
oyster2 but such belief seems at        
variance with any reading of history4   
,the ,greek sculptors came after        
,salamis and ,marathon2 the ,italian    

renaissance came when ,italy was        
distracted with revolution and was      
divided into opposing states4 ,great    
empires have not produced great men4    
,art came upon ,holland after heroic    
wars in which the ,dutchmen vehemently  
asserted their nationhood1 defending    
their country against the ,spaniard1    
even to the point of letting in the sea 
upon the invaders4 ,art came upon       
,england when ,england was most         
adventurous1 after the victories of     
,marlborough4 ,art came upon ,france    
after the great revolution1 after the   
victories of ,marengo and ,austerlitz1  
after the burning of ,moscow4 ,a unique 
moment of nationhood gave birth to a    
long list of great artists1 just as     
similar national enthusiasm gave birth  
to groups of great artists in ,england1 
in ,holland1 in ,florence1 in ,venice1  
in ,athens4  ,having determined the     
century of ,france's artistic period we 
will ask where we shall place it amongst
 the artist period of the past4         

,comparison with ,greece1 ,italy1 or    
,venice is manifestly impossible2 the   
names of ,rembrandt1 ,hals1 ,ruysdael1  
,peter de ,hoogh1 ,terburg1 and ,cuyp   
give us pause4 ,we remember the names of
 ,ingres1 ,delacroix1 ,corot1 ,millet1  
and ,degas4 ,even the divine name of    
,ingres cannot save the balance from    
sinking on the side of ,holland4 ,then  
we think of ,reynolds1 ,gainsborough1   
,romney1 ,wilson1 and ,morland1 and     
wonder how they compare with the        
,frenchmen4 ,the best brains were on the
 ,french side1 they had more pictorial  
talent1 and yet the school when taken as
 a whole is not so convincing as the    
,english4 ,why1 with better brains1 and 
certainly more passion and desire of    
achievement1 does the ,french school    
fall behind the ,english8 ,why1         
notwithstanding its extraordinary       
genius1 does it come last in merit as it
 comes last in time amongst the world's 
artistic epochs8 ,has the nineteenth    
century brought any new intention into  

art which did not exist before in       
,england1 ,holland1 or ,italy8 ,yes1 the
 nineteenth century has brought a new   
intention into art1 and ,i think that it
 is this very new intention that has    
caused the failure of the nineteenth    
century4 ,to explain myself1 ,i will    
have to go back to first principles4    
,in the beginning the beauty of man was 
the artist's single theme4 ,science had 
not then relegated man to his exact     
place in creation3 he reigned           
triumphant1 ,nature appearing1 if at    
all1 only as a kind of aureole4 ,the    
,egyptian1 the ,greek1 and the ,roman   
artists saw nothing1 and cared for      
nothing1 except man2 the representation 
of his beauty1 his power1 and his       
grandeur was their whole desire1 whether
 they carved or painted their intention1
 and ,i may say the result was the same4
 ,the painting of ,apelles could not    
have differed from the sculpture of     
,phidias2 painting was not then         
separated from her elder sister4 ,in the

 early ages there was but one art2 even 
in ,michael ,angelo's time the          
difference between painting and         
sculpture was so slight as to be hardly 
worth considering4 ,is it possible to   
regard the ,last ,judgment as anything  
else but a coloured bas-relief1 more    
complete and less perfect than the      
,greeks8 ,michael ,angelo's artistic    
outlook was the same as ,phidias'4 ,one 
chose the ,last ,judgment and the other 
,olympus1 but both subjects were looked 
at from the same point of view4 ,in each
 instance the question asked was--what  
opportunity do they afford for the      
display of marvellous human form8 ,and  
when ,michael ,angelo carved the ,moses 
and painted the ,st4 ,jerome he was as  
deaf and blind as any ,greek to all     
other consideration save the opulence   
and the magic of drapery1 the vehemence 
and the splendour of muscle4 ,nearly two
 thousand years had gone by and the     
artistic outlook had not changed at all2
 three hundred years have passed since  

,michael ,angelo1 and inthose three     
hundred years what revolution has not   
been effected8 ,how different our       
estheticism1 our aims1 our objects1 our 
desires1 our aspiration1 and how        
different our art6  ,after ,michael     
,angelo painting and sculpture became   
separate arts3 sculpture declined1 and  
colour filled the whole artistic        
horizon4 ,but this change was the only  
change2 the necessities of the new      
medium had to be considered2 but the    
,italian and ,venetian painters         
continued to view life and art from the 
same side4 ,michael ,angelo chose his   
subjects merely because of the          
opportunities they offered for the      
delineation of form1 ,titian1           
,tintoretto1 and ,veronese chose theirs 
merely for the opportunities they       
offered for the display of colour4 ,a   
new medium of expression had been       
discovered1 that was all4 ,the themes of
 their pictures were taken from the     
,bible1 if you will1 but the scenes they

 represented with so much pomp of colour
 were seen by them through the mystery  
of legend1 and the vision was again     
sublimated by naive belief and primitive
 aspiration4  ,the stories of the ,old  
and ,new ,testaments were not anecdotes2
 faith and ignorance had raised them    
above the anecdote1 and they had become 
epics1 whether by intensity of religious
 belief--as in the case of the monk of  
,fiesole--or by being given sublime     
artistic form--for paganism was not yet 
dead in the world to witness ,leonardo1 
,raphael1 and ,andrea del ,sarto4 ,to   
these painters ,biblical subjects were a
 mere pretext for representing man in   
all his attributes2 and when the same   
subjects were treated by the ,venetians1
 they were transformed in a pomp of     
colour1 and by an absence of all true   
colour and by contempt for history and  
chronology became epical and            
fantastical4 ,it is only necessary to   
examine any one of the works of the     
great ,venetians to see that they       

bestowed hardly a thought on the subject
 of their pictures4 ,when ,titian       
painted the ,entombment of ,christ1 what
 did he see8 ,a contrast--a white body1 
livid and dead1 carried by full-blooded1
 red-haired ,italians1 who wept1 and    
whose sorrow only served to make them   
more beautiful4 ,that is how he         
understood a subject4 ,the desire to be 
truthful was not very great1 nor was the
 desire to be new much more marked2 to  
be beautiful was the first and last     
letter of a creed of which we know very 
little to-day4  ,art died in ,italy1 and
 the subject had not yet appeared2 and  
at the end of the sixteenth century the 
first painters of the great ,dutch      
school were born1 and before #afej a new
 school1 entirely original1 having      
nothing in common with anything that had
 gone before1 had formulated its        
aestheticism and produced masterpieces4 
,in these masterpieces we find no       
suspicion of anything that might be     
called a subject2 the absence of subject

 is even more conspicuous in the        
,dutchmen than in the ,italians4 ,in the
 ,italian painters the subject passed   
unperceived in a pomp of colour or a    
,pagan apotheosis of humanity2 in the   
,dutchmen it is dispensed with          
altogether4 ,no longer do we read of    
miracles or martyrdoms1 but of the most 
ordinary incidents of everyday life4    
,turning over the first catalogue to    
hand of ,dutch pictures1 ,i read3 ,view 
of a ,plain1 with shepherd1 cows1 and   
sheep in the foreground2 ,the ,white    
,horse in the ,riding ,school2 ,a ,lady 
,playing the ,virginal2 ,peasants       
,drinking ,outside a ,tavern2 ,peasants 
,drinking in a ,tavern2 ,peasants       
,gambling ,outside a ,tavern2           
,brick-making in a ,landscape2 ,the     
,wind-mill2 ,the ,water-mill2 ,peasants 
,bringing ,home the ,hay4 ,and so on1   
and so on4 ,if we meet with a military  
skirmish1 we are not told where the     
skirmish took place1 nor what troops    
took part in the skirmish4 ,a ,skirmish 

in a ,rocky ,pass is all the information
 that is vouchsafed to us4 ,italian art 
is invention from end to end1 in ,dutch 
art no slightest trace of invention is  
to be found2 one art is purely          
imaginative1 the other is plainly       
realistic2 and yet1 at an essential     
point1 the two arts coincide2 in neither
 does the subject prevail2 and if ,dutch
 art is more truthful than ,italian art1
 it is because they were unimaginative1 
stay-at-home folk1 whose feet did not   
burn for foreign travel1 and whose only 
resource was1 therefore1 to reproduce   
the life around them1 and into that no  
element of curiosity could come4 ,for   
their whole country was known to them2  
even when they left their native town   
they still continued to paint what they 
had seen since they were little         
children4  ,and1 like ,italian1 ,dutch  
art died before the subject had         
appeared4 ,it was not until the end of  
the eighteenth century that the subject 
really began to make itself felt1 and1  

like the potato blight or phylloxera1 it
 soon became clear that it had come to  
stay4 ,i think ,greuze was the first to 
conceive a picture after the fashion of 
a scene in a play--,i mean those        
domestic dramas which he invented1 and  
in which the interest of the subject so 
clearly predominates--,the ,prodigal    
,son1 for instance4 ,in this picture we 
have the domestic drama exactly as a    
stage manager would set it forth4 ,the  
indignant father1 rising from table1    
prepares to anathematise the repentant  
son1 who stands on the threshold1 the   
weeping mother begs forgiveness for her 
son1 the elder girl advances shyly1 the 
younger children play with their toys1  
and the serving-girl drops the plate of 
meat which she is bringing in4 ,and ever
 since the subject has taken first place
 in the art of ,france1 ,england1 and   
,germany1 and in like measure as the    
subject made itself felt1 so did art    
decline4  ,for the last hundred years   
painters seem to have lived in libraries

 rather than in studios4 ,all           
literatures and all the sciences have   
been pressed into the service of        
painting1 and an ,academy catalogue is  
in itself a liberal education4 ,in it   
you can read choice extracts from the   
,bible1 from ,shakespeare1 from ,goethe1
 from ,dante4 ,you can dip into ,greek  
and ,latin literature1 history--ancient 
and modern--you can learn something of  
all mythologies-,pagan1 ,christian1 and 
,hindoo2 if your taste lies in the      
direction of ,icelandic legends1 you    
will not be disappointed in your        
sixpennyworth4 ,for the last hundred    
years the painter seems to have         
neglected nothing except to learn how to
 paint4  ,for more than a hundred years 
painting has been in service4 ,she has  
acted as a sort of handmaiden to        
literature1 her mission being to make   
clear to the casual and the unlettered  
what the lettered had already understood
 and enjoyed in a more subtle and more  
erudite form4 ,but to pass from the     

abstract to the concrete1 and1 so far as
 regards subject1 to make my meaning    
quite clear to every one1 ,i cannot do  
better than to ask my readers to recall 
,mr4 ,luke ,fildes' picture of ,the     
,doctor4 ,no better example could be    
selected of a picture in which the      
subject is the supreme interest4 ,true  
that ,mr4 ,fildes has not taken his     
subject from novel or poem2 in this     
picture he may have been said to have   
been his own librettist1 and perhaps for
 that very reason the subject is the one
 preponderating interest in the picture4
 ,he who doubts if this be so has only  
to ask himself if any critic thought of 
pointing to any special passage of      
colour in this picture1 of calling      
attention to the quality of the         
modelling or the ability of the drawing4
 ,no2 what attracted attention was the  
story4 ,would the child live or die8    
,did that dear1 good doctor entertain   
any hopes of the poor little thing's    
recovery8 ,and the poor parents1 how    

grieved they seemed6 ,perhaps it is     
their only child4 ,the picture is       
typical of contemporary art1 which is   
nearly all conceived in the same spirit1
 and can therefore have no enduring     
value4 ,and if by chance the ,english   
artist does occasionally escape from the
 vice of subject for subject's sake1 he 
almost invariably slips into what ,i may
 called the derivative vices--exactness 
of costume1 truth of effect and local   
colour4 ,to explain myself on this      
point1 ,i will ask the reader to recall 
any one of ,mr4 ,alma ,tadema's         
pictures2 it matters not a jot which is 
chosen4 ,that one1 for instance1 where1 
in a circular recess of white marble1   
,sappho reads to a ,greek poet1 or is it
 the young man who is reading to ,sappho
 and her maidens8 ,the interest of the  
picture is purely archaeological4       
,according to the very latest           
researches1 the ornament which ,greek   
women wore in their hair was of such a  
shape1 and ,mr4 ,tadema has reproduced  

the shape in his picture4 ,further      
researches are made1 and it is          
discovered that that ornament was not   
worn until a hundred years later4 ,the  
picture is therefore deprived of some of
 its interest1 and the researches of the
 next ten years may make it appear as   
old-fashioned as the ,greek pictures of 
the last two generations appear in our  
eyes to-day4 ,until then it is as       
interesting as a page of ,smith's       
,classical ,dictionary4 ,we look at it  
and we say1 ,how curious6 ,and that was 
how the ,greeks washed and dressed      
themselves6  ,when ,mr4 ,holman ,hunt   
conceived the idea of a picture of      
,christ earning ,his livelihood by the  
sweat of ,his brow1 it seemed to him to 
be quite necessary to go to ,jerusalem4 
,there he copied a carpenter's shop from
 nature1 and he filled it with ,arab    
tools and implements1 feeling sure that1
 the manners and customs having changed 
but little in the ,east1 it was to be   
surmised that such tools and implements 

must be nearly identical with those used
 eighteen centuries ago4 ,to dress the  
,virgin in sumptuous flowing robes1 as  
,raphael did1 was clearly incorrect2 the
 ,virgin was a poor woman1 and could not
 have worn more than a single garment1  
and the garment she wore probably       
resembled the dress of the ,arab women  
of the present day1 and so on and so on4
 ,through the window we see the very    
landscape that ,christ looked upon4     
,from the point of view of the art      
critic of the ,daily ,telegraph nothing 
could be better2 the various sites and  
prospects are explained and commented   
upon1 and the heart of middle-class     
,england beats in sympathetic response4 
,but the real picture-lover sees nothing
 save two geometrically drawn figures   
placed in the canvas like diagrams in a 
book of ,euclid4 ,and the picture being 
barren of artistic interest1 his        
attention is caught by the ,virgin's    
costume1 and the catalogue informs him  
that ,mr4 ,hunt's model was an ,arab    

woman in ,jerusalem1 whose dress in all 
probability resembled the dress the     
,virgin wore two thousand years ago4    
,the carpenter's shop he is assured is  
most probably an exact counterpart of   
the carpenter's shop in which ,christ   
worked4 ,how very curious6 how very     
curious6  ,curiosity in art has always  
been a corruptive influence1 and the art
 of our century is literally putrid with
 curiosity4 ,perhaps the desire of home 
was never so fixed and so real in any   
race as some would have us believe4 ,at 
all times there have been men whose feet
 itched for travel2 even in ,holland1   
the country above all others which gave 
currency to the belief in the           
stay-at-home instinct1 there were always
 adventurous spirits who yearned for    
strange skies and lands4 ,it was this   
desire of travel that destroyed the art 
of ,holland in the seventeenth century4 
,i can hardly imagine an article that   
would be more instructive and valuable  
than one dealing precisely with those   

,dutchmen who went to ,italy in quest of
 romance1 poetry1 and general artistic  
culture1 for travel has often had an    
injurious effect on art4 ,i do not say  
foreign travel1 ,i say any travel4 ,the 
length of the journey counts for        
nothing1 once the painter's inspiration 
springs from the novelty of the colour1 
or the character of the landscape1 or   
the interest that a strange costume     
suggests4 ,there are painters who have  
never been further than ,maidenhead1 and
 who bring back what ,i should call     
notes de voyage2 there are others who   
have travelled round the world and have 
produced general aspects bearing neither
 stamp nor certificate of mileage--in   
other words1 pictures4 ,there are1      
therefore1 two men who must not be      
confused one with the other1 the        
traveller that paints and the painter   
that travels4  ,every day we hear of a  
painter who has been to ,norway1 or to  
,brittany1 or to ,wales1 or to ,algeria1
 and has come back with sixty-five      

sketches1 which are now on view1 let us 
say1 at ,messrs4 ,dowdeswell's          
,galleries1 in ,new ,bond ,street1 the  
home of all such exhibitions4 ,the      
painter has been impressed by the       
savagery of fiords1 by the prettiness of
 blouses and sabots1 by the blue        
mountain in the distance and the purple 
mountain in the foreground1 by the      
narrow shade of the street1 and the     
solemnity of a burnous or the grace of a
 haik floating in the wind4 ,the painter
 brings back these sights and scenes as 
a child brings back shells from the     
shore--they seemed very strange and     
curious1 and1 therefore1 like the child1
 he brought back1 not the things        
themselves1 but the next best things1   
the most faithful sketches he could make
 of them4 ,to understand how impossible 
it is to paint pictures in a foreign    
country1 we have only to imagine a young
 ,english painter setting up his easel  
in1 let us say1 ,algeria4 ,there he     
finds himself confrontedwith a new      

world2 everything is different3 the     
costumes are strange1 the rhythm of the 
lines is different1 the effects are     
harsh and unknown to him2 at home the   
earth is dark and the sky is light1 in  
,algeria the everlasting blue must be   
darker than the white earth1 and the key
 of colour widely different from        
anything he has seen before4 ,selection 
is impossible1 he cannot distinguish    
between the important and the           
unimportant2 everything strikes him with
 equal vividness4 ,to change anything of
 this country1 so clear1 so precise1 so 
characteristic1 is to soften2 to        
alleviate what is too rude1 is to       
weaken2 to generalise1 is to disfigure4 
,so the artist is obliged to take       
,algiers in the lump2 in spite of       
himself he will find himself forced into
 a scrupulous exactitude1 nothing must  
be passed over1 and so his pictures are 
at best only the truth1 photographic    
truth and the naturalness of a          
fac-simile4  ,the sixty-five drawings   

which the painter will bring back and   
will exhibit in ,messrs4 ,dowdeswell's  
will be documentary evidence of the     
existence of ,algeria--of all that makes
 a country itself1 of exactly the things
 by which those who have been there know
 it1 of the things which will make it   
known to those who have not been there1 
the exact type of the inhabitants1 their
 costume1 their attitudes1 their ways1  
and manner of living4 ,once the painter 
accepts truth for aim and end1 it       
becomes impossible to set a limit upon  
his investigations4 ,we shall learn how 
this people dress1 ride1 and hunt2 we   
shall learn what arms they use--the     
painter will describe them as well as a 
pencil may describe--the harness of the 
horses he must know and understand2     
through dealing with so much novelty it 
becomes obligatory for the travelling   
painter to become explanatory and       
categorical4 ,and as the attraction of  
the unknown corresponds in most people  
to the immoral instinct of curiosity1   

the painter will find himself forced to 
attempt to do with paint and canvas what
 he could do much better in a written   
account4 ,his public will demand        
pictures composed after the manner of an
 inventory1 and the taste for           
ethnography will end by being confused  
with the sentiment of beauty4  ,amongst 
this collection of documents which      
causes the ,gallery to resound with     
foolish and vapid chatter there are two 
small pictures4 ,every one has passed by
 them1 but now an artist is examining   
them1 and they are evidently the only   
two things in the exhibition that       
interest him4 ,one is entitled ,sunset  
on the ,nile1 an impression of the      
melancholy of evening2 the other is     
entitled ,pilgrims1 a band of travellers
 passing up a sandy tract1 an impression
 of hot desert solitudes4  ,and now ,i  
will conclude with an anecdote taken    
from one to whom ,i owe much4 ,two      
painters were painting on the banks of  
the ,seine4 ,suddenly a shepherd passed 

driving before him a long flock of      
sheep1 silhouetting with supple movement
 upon the water whitening under a grey  
sky at the end of ,april4 ,the shepherd 
had his scrip on his back1 he wore the  
great felt hat and the gaiters of the   
herdsman1 two black dogs1 picturesque in
 form1 trotted at his heels1 for the    
flock was going in excellent order4 ,do 
you know1 cried one painter to the      
other1 that nothing is more interesting 
to paint than a shepherd on the banks of
 a river8 ,he did not say the ,seine--he
 said a river4     ,,artistic           
,,education ,,in ,,france ,,and         
,,england4   ,is the introduction of the
 subject into art the one and only cause
 for the defeat of the brilliant genius 
which the ,revolution and the victories 
of ,napoleoncalled into existence8 ,are 
there not other modern and special signs
 which distinguish the nineteenth       
century ,french schools from all the    
schools that preceded it8 ,i think there
 are4  ,throwing ourselves back in our  

chairs1 let us think of this ,french    
school in its ensemble4 ,what           
extraordinary variety6 ,what an absence 
of fixed principle6 curiosity1 fever1   
impatience1 hurry1 anxiety1 desire      
touching on hysteria4 ,an enormous      
expenditure of force1 but spent in so   
many different and contrary directions1 
that the sum-total of the result seems a
 little less than we had expected4      
,throwing ourselves back in our chairs1 
and closing our eyes a second time1 let 
us think of our eighteenth century      
,english school4 ,is it not like passing
 from the glare and vicarious holloaing 
of the street into a quiet1 grave       
assembly of well-bred men1 who are not  
afraid to let each other speak1 and know
 how to make themselves heard without   
shouting2 men who choose their words so 
well that they afford to speak without  
emphasis1 and in whose speech you find  
neither neologisms1 nor inversions1 nor 
grammatical extravagances1 nor          
calculated brutalities1 nor affected    

ignorance1 nor any faintest trace of    
pedantry8 ,what these men have to say is
 more or less interesting1 but they     
address us in the same language1 and    
however arbitrarily we may place them1  
though we hang a pig-stye by ,morland   
next to a duchess by ,gainsborough1 we  
are surprised by a pleasant air of      
family likeness in the execution4 ,we   
feel1 however differently these men see 
and think1 that they are content to     
express themselves in the same language4
 ,their work may be compared to various 
pieces of music played on an instrument 
which was common property2 they were    
satisfied with the instrument1 and      
preferred to compose new music for it   
than to experiment with the instrument  
itself4  ,it may be argued that in the  
lapse of a hundred years the numerous   
differences of method which characterise
 modern painting will disappear1 and    
that it will seem as uniform to the eyes
 of the twenty-first century as the     
painting of the eighteenth century seems

 in our eyes to-day4 ,i do not think    
this will be so4 ,and in proof of this  
opinion ,i will refer again to the      
differences of opinion regarding the    
first principles of painting and drawing
 which divided ,ingres and ,gricault4   
,differences regarding first principles 
never existed between the leaders of any
 other artistic movement4 ,not between  
,michael ,angelo and ,raphael1 not      
between ,veronese1 ,tintoretto1 ,titian1
 and ,rubens2 not between ,hals or any  
other ,dutchman1 except ,rembrandt1 born
 between #afjj and #afdj2 or between    
,van ,dyck and ,reynolds and            
,gainsborough4 ,nor must the difference 
between the methods of ,giotto and      
,titian cause any one to misunderstand  
my meaning4 ,the change that two        
centuries brought into art was a gradual
 change1 corresponding exactly to the   
ideas which the painter wished to       
express2 each method was sufficient to  
explain the ideas current at the time it
 was invented for that purpose2 it      

served that purpose and no more4        
,facilities for foreign travel1         
international exhibitions1 and          
cosmopolitanism have helped to keep     
artists of all countries in a ferment of
 uncertainty regarding even the first   
principles of their art4 ,but this is   
not all2 education has proved a vigorous
 and rapid solvent1 and has completed   
the disintegration of art4 ,a young man 
goes to the ,beaux ,arts2 he is taught  
how to measure the model with his       
pencil1 and how to determine the        
movement of the model with his          
plumb-line4 ,he is taught how to draw by
 the masses rather than by the          
character1 and the advantages of this   
teaching permit him1 if he is an        
intelligent fellow1 to produce at the   
end of two years' hard labour a         
measured1 angular1 constipated drawing1 
a sort of inferior photograph4 ,he is   
then set to painting1 and the           
instruction he receives amounts to      
this--that he must not rub the paint    

about with his brush as he rubbed the   
chalk with his paper stump4 ,after a    
long methodical study of the model1 an  
attempt is made to prepare a            
corresponding tone2 no medium must be   
used2 and when the1 large square brush  
is filled full of sticky1 clogging      
pigment it is drawn half an inch down   
and then half an inch across the canvas1
 and the painter must calculate how much
 he can finish at a sitting1 for this   
system does not admit of retouchings4   
,it is practised in all the ,french     
studios1 where it is known as la        
peinture au premier coup4  ,a clever    
young man1 a man of talent1 labours at  
art in the manner ,i have described from
 eight to ten hours a day1 and at the   
end of six or seven years his education 
is completed4 ,during the long while of 
his pupilage he has heard1 first learn  
your trade1 and then do what you like4  
,the time has arrived for him to do what
 he likes4 ,he already suspects that the
 mere imitation of ,,mm4 ,bouguereau and

 ,lefebvre will bring him neither fame  
nor money2 he soon finds that is so1 and
 it becomes clear to him he must do     
something different4 ,enticing vistas of
 possibilities open out before him1 but 
he is like a man whose limbs have been  
kept too long in splints--they are      
frozen2 and he at length understands the
 old and terrible truth3 as the twig is 
bent so will it grow4 ,the skin he would
 slough will not be sloughed2 he tries  
all the methods--robust executions1     
lymphatic executions1 sentimental and   
insipid executions1 painstaking         
executions1 cursive and impertinent     
executions4 ,through all these the      
,beaux ,arts student1 if he is          
intelligent enough to perceive the      
falseness and worthlessness of his      
primary education1 slowly works his way4
 ,he is like a vessel without ballast2  
he is like a blindfolded man who has    
missed his pavement2 he is blown from   
wave to wave2 he is confused with       
contradictory cries4 ,last year he was  

robust1 this year he is lymphatic2 he   
affects learning which he does not      
possess1 and then he assumes airs of    
ignorance1 equally unreal--a mild1      
sophisticated ignorance1 which he calls 
navet4 ,and these various execution she 
is never more than superficially        
acquainted with2 he does not practise   
any one long enough to extract what good
 there may be in it4  ,to set before the
 reader the full story of the ,french   
decadence1 ,i should have to relate the 
story of the great schism of some few   
years ago1 when the pedants remained at 
the ,salon under the headship of ,mr4   
,bouguereau1 and the experimentalists   
followed ,meissonier to the ,champs de  
,mars4,footnote3 ,see ,impressions and  
,opinions4,the authoritative name of    
,meissonier1 the genius of ,puvis de    
,chavannes1 and the interest of the     
exhibition of ,stevens' early work1     
sufficed for some years to disguise the 
progress and the tendency of the        
declension of ,french art2 and it was   

not until last year 7#ahib7 that it was 
impossible to doubt any longer that the 
great ,french renaissance of the        
beginning of the century had worn itself
 out1 that the last leaves were falling1
 and that probably a long period of     
winter rest was preparing4 ,french art  
has resolved itself into pedants and    
experimentalists6 ,the ,salon is now    
like to a library of ,latin verses      
composed by the ,eton and ,harrow       
masters and their pupils2 the ,champs de
 ,mars like a costume ball at ,elyse    
,montmartre4  ,in ,england it is        
customary for art to enter by a side    
door1 and the enormous subvention to the
 ,kensington ,schools would never have  
been voted by ,parliament if the bill   
had not been gilt with the usual utility
 gilding4 ,it was represented that the  
schools were intended for something much
 more serious than the mere painting of 
pictures1 which only rich people could  
buy3 the schools were primarily intended
 as schools of design1 wherein the sons 

and daughters of the people would be    
taught how to design wall-papers1       
patterns for lace1 curtains1 damask     
table-cloths1 etc4 ,the intention1 like 
many another1 was excellent2 but the    
fact remains that1 except for           
examination purposes1 the work done by  
,kensington students is useless4 ,a     
design for a piece of wall-paper1 for   
which a ,kensington student is awarded a
 medal1 is almost sure to prove abortive
 when put to a practical test4 ,the     
isolated pattern looks pretty enough on 
the two feet of white paper on which it 
is drawn2 but when the pattern is       
manifolded1 it is usually found that the
 designer has not taken into account the
 effect of the repetition4 ,that is the 
pitfall into which the ,kensington      
student usually falls2 he cannot make   
practical application of his knowledge1 
and at ,minton's factory all the designs
 drawn by ,kensington students have to  
be redrawn by those who understand the  
practical working out of the processes  

of reproduction and the quality of the  
material employed4 ,so complete is the  
failure of the ,kensington student1 that
 to plead a ,kensington education is    
considered to be an almost fatal        
objection against any one applying for  
work in any of our industrial centres4  
,five-and-twenty years ago the schools  
of art at ,south ,kensington were the   
most comical in the world2 they were the
 most complete parody on the            
,continental school of art possible to  
imagine4 ,they are no doubt the same    
to-day as they were five-and-twenty     
years ago--any way1 the educational     
result is the same4 ,the schools as ,i  
remember them were faultless in         
everything except the instruction       
dispensed there4 ,there were noble      
staircases1 the floors were covered with
 cocoa-nut matting1 the rooms admirably 
heated with hot-water pipes1 there were 
plaster casts and officials4 ,in the    
first room the students practised       
drawing from the flat4 ,engraved        

outlines of elaborate ornamentation were
 given them1 and these they drew with   
lead pencil1 measuring the spaces       
carefully with compasses4 ,in about six 
months or a year the student had learned
 to use his compass correctly1 and to   
produce a fine hard black-lead outline2 
the harder and finer the outline1 the   
more the drawing looked like a problem  
in a book of ,euclid1 the better the    
examiner was pleased1 and the more      
willing was he to send the student to   
the room upstairs1 where drawing was    
practised from the antique4  ,this was  
the room in which the wisdom of ,south  
,kensington attained a complete         
efflorescence4 ,i shall never forget the
 scenes ,i witnessed there4 ,having made
 choice of a cast1 the student proceeded
 to measure the number of heads2 he then
 measured the cast in every direction1  
and ascertained by means of a plumb-line
 exactly where the lines fell4 ,it      
wasmore like land-surveying than        
drawing1 and to accomplish this portion 

of his task took generally a fortnight1 
working six hours a week4 ,he then      
placed a sheet of tissue paper upon his 
drawing1 leaving only one small part    
uncovered1 and1 having reduced his chalk
 pencil to the finest possible point1 he
 proceeded to lay in a set of extremely 
fine lines4 ,these were crossed by a    
second set of lines1 and the two sets of
 lines were elaborately stippled1 every 
black spot being carefully picked out   
with bread4 ,with a patience truly      
sublime in its folly1 he continued the  
process all the way down the figure1    
accomplishing1 if he were truly         
industrious1 about an inch square in the
 course of an evening4 ,our admiration  
was generally directed to those who had 
spent the longest time on their         
drawings4 ,after three months' work a   
student began to be noticed2 at the end 
of four he became an important          
personage4 ,i remember one who had      
contrived to spend six months on his    
drawing4 ,he was a sort of demigod1 and 

we used to watch him anxious and alarmed
 lest he might not have the genius to   
devote still another month to it1 and   
our enthusiasm knew no bounds when we   
learned that1 a week before the drawings
 had to be sent in1 he had taken his    
drawing home and spent three whole days 
stippling it and picking out the black  
spots with bread4  ,the poor drawing had
 neither character nor consistency2 it  
looked like nothing under the sun1      
except a drawing done at ,kensington--a 
flat1 foolish thing1 but very soft and  
smooth4 ,but this was enough2 it was    
passed by the examiners1 and the student
 went into the ,life ,room to copy an   
,italian model as he had copied the     
,apollo ,belvedere4 ,once or twice a    
week a gentleman who painted tenth-rate 
pictures1 which were not always hung in 
the ,academy1 came round and passed     
casual remarks on the quality of the    
stippling4 ,there was a head-master who 
painted tenth-rate historical pictures1 
after the manner of a tenth-rate ,german

 painter in a provincial town1 in a vast
 studio upstairs1 which the ,state was  
good enough to provide him with1 and he 
occasionally walked through the studios2
 on an average1 ,i should say1 once a   
month4  ,the desire to organise art     
proceeded in ,france from a love of     
system1 and in ,england from a love of  
respectability4 ,to the ordinary mind   
there is something especially reassuring
 in medals1 crowns1 examinations1       
professors1 and titles2 and since the   
founding of the ,kensington ,schools we 
unfortunately hear no more of parents   
opposing their children's wishes to     
become artists4 ,the result of all these
 facilities for art study has been to   
swamp natural genius and to produce     
enormous quantities of vacuous little   
water colours and slimy little oil      
colours4 ,young men have been prevented 
from going to ,australia and ,canada and
 becoming rough farmers1 and young      
ladies from following them and becoming 
rough wives and themothers of healthy   

children4 ,instead of such natural      
emigration and extension of the race1   
febrile little pilgrimages have been    
organised to ,paris and ,grey1 whence   
astonishing methods and theories        
regarding the conditions1 under which   
painting alone can be accomplished1 have
 been brought back4 ,original           
,kensington stipple has been crossed    
with square brush-work1 and the mule has
 been bred in and in with open          
brush-work1 and fresh strains have been 
sought in the execution at the angle of 
forty-five2 art has become infinitely   
hybrid and definitely sterile4  ,must we
 then conclude that all education is an 
evil8 ,why exaggerate2 why outstrip the 
plain telling of the facts8 ,for those  
who are thinking of adopting art as a   
profession it is sufficient to know that
 the one irreparable evil is a bad      
primary education4 ,be sure that after  
five years of the ,beaux ,arts you      
cannot become a great painter4 ,be sure 
that after five years of ,kensington you

 can never become a painter at all4 ,if 
not at ,kensington nor at the ,beaux    
,arts1 where am ,i to obtain the        
education ,i stand in need of8 cries the
 embarrassed student4 ,i do not propose 
to answer that question directly4 ,how  
the masters of ,holland and ,flanders   
obtained their marvellous education is  
not known4 ,we neither know how they    
learned nor how they painted4 ,did the  
early masters paint first in monochrome1
 adding the colouring matter afterwards8
 ,much vain conjecturing has been       
expended in attempting to solve this    
question4 ,did ,ruysdale paint direct   
from nature or from drawings8           
,unfortunately on this question history 
has no single word to say4 ,we know that
 ,potter learned his trade in the fields
 in lonely communication with nature4   
,we know too that ,crome was a          
house-painter1 and practised painting   
from nature when his daily work was     
done4 ,nevertheless he attained as      
perfect a technique as any painter that 

ever lived4 ,morland1 too1 was          
self-taught3 he practised painting in   
the fields and farmyards and the country
 inns where he lived1 oftentimes paying 
for board and lodging with a picture4   
,did his art suffer from want of        
education8 ,is there any one who        
believes that ,morland would have done  
better work if he had spent three or    
four years stippling drawings from the  
antique at ,south ,kensington8  ,i will 
conclude these remarks1 far too cursive 
and incomplete1 with an anecdote which1 
,i think1 will cause the thoughtful to  
ponder4 ,some seven or eight years ago1 
,renoir1 a painter of rare talent and   
originality1 after twenty years of      
struggle with himself and poverty1      
succeeded in attaining a very distinct  
and personal expression of his          
individuality4 ,out of a hundred        
influences he had succeeded in          
extracting an art as beautiful as it was
 new4 ,his work was beginning to attract
 buyers4 ,for the first time in his life

 he had a little money in hand1 and he  
thought he would like a holiday4 ,long  
reading of novels leads the reader to   
suppose that he found his ruin in a     
period of riotous living1 the reaction  
induced by anxiety and over-work4 ,not  
at all4 ,he did what every wise friend  
would have advised him to do under the  
circumstances3 he went to ,venice to    
study ,tintoretto4 ,the magnificences of
 this master struck him through with the
 sense of his own insignificance2 he    
became aware of the fact that he could  
not draw like ,tintoretto2 and when he  
returned to ,paris he resolved to       
subject himself to two years of hard    
study in an art school4 ,for two years  
he laboured in the life class1 working  
on an average from seven to ten hours a 
day1 and in two years he had utterly    
destroyed every trace of the charming   
and delightful art which had taken him  
twenty years to build up4 ,i know of no 
more tragic story--do you8     ,,ingres 
,,and ,,corot4   ,of the thirty or more 

great artists who made the artistic     
movement at the beginning of the century
 in ,france1 five will1 ,i think1       
exercise a prolonged influence on the   
art of the future--,ingres1 ,corot1     
,millet1 ,manet1 and ,degas4  ,the      
omission of the name of ,delacroix will 
surprise many2 but though ,delacroix    
will engage the attention of artists as 
they walk through the ,louvre1 ,i do not
 think that they will turn to him for   
counsel in their difficulty1 or that    
they will learn from him any secrets of 
their craft4 ,in the great masters of   
pictorial composition--,michael ,angelo1
 ,veronese1 ,tintoretto1 and            
,rubens--the passion and tumult of the  
work resides solely in the conception2  
the execution is always calculated1 and 
the result is perfectly predetermined   
and accurately foreseen4 ,to explain    
myself ,i will tell an anecdote which is
 always told whenever ,delacroix's name 
is mentioned1 without1 however1 the true
 significance of the anecdote being     

perceived4 ,after seeing ,constable's   
pictures1 ,delacroix repainted one of   
his most important works from end to    
end4  ,of ,degas ,footnote3 ,see essay  
on ,degas ,in ,impressions and          
,opinions4 and ,manet ,i have spoken    
elsewhere4 ,millet seems to me to be a  
sort of nineteenth century ,greuze4 ,the
 subject-matter is different1 but at    
bottom the art of these two painters is 
more alike than is generally supposed4  
,neither was a painter in any true sense
 of the word1 and if the future learns  
anything from ,millet1 it will be how to
 separate the scene from the environment
 which absorbs it1 how to sacrifice the 
background1 how to suggest rather than  
to point out1 and how by a series of    
ellipses to lead the spectator to       
imagine what is not there4 ,the student 
may learn from ,millet that it was by   
sometimes servilely copying nature1     
sometimes by neglecting nature1 that the
 old masters succeeded in conveying not 
an illusion but an impression of life4  

,but of all nineteenth century painters 
,ingres and ,corot seem most sure of    
future life2 their claim upon the       
attention and the admiration of future  
artists seems the most securely founded4
 ,looked at from a certain side ,ingres 
seems for sheer perfection to challenge 
antiquity4 ,of ,michael ,angelo there   
can never be any question2 he stands    
alone in a solitude of greatness4       
,phidias himself is not so much alone4  
,for the art of ,apelles could not have 
differed from that of ,phidias2 and the 
intention of many a drawing by ,apelles 
must have been identical with that of   
,la ,source4 ,it is difficult to imagine
 what further beauty he may have        
introduced into a face1 or what further 
word he might have had to say on the    
beauty of a virgin body4  ,the legs     
alone suggest the possibility of        
censure4 ,ingres repainted the legs when
 the picture was finished and the model 
was not before him1 so the idea obtains 
among artists that the legs are what are

 least perfect in the picture4 ,in      
repainting the legs his object was      
omission of detail with a view to       
concentration of attention on the upper 
part of the figure4 ,it must not however
 be supposed that the legs are what is  
known among painters as empty2 they have
 been simplified2 their synthetic       
expression has been found2 and if the   
teaching at the ,beaux ,arts forbids the
 present generation to understand such  
drawing1 the fault lies with the state  
that permits the ,beaux ,arts1 and not  
with ,ingres1 whose genius was not      
crushed by it4 ,the suggestion that     
,ingres spoilt the legs of ,la ,source  
by repainting them when the model was   
not before him could come from nowhere  
but the ,beaux ,arts4  ,that ,ingres was
 not so great an artist as ,raphael ,i  
am aware4 ,that ,ingres' drawings show  
none of the dramatic inventiveness of   
,raphael's drawings is so obvious that  
,i must apologise for such a            
commonplace4 ,raphael's drawings were   

done with a different intention from    
,ingres'2 ,raphael's drawings were no   
more than rough memoranda1 and in no    
instance did he attempt to carry a      
drawing to the extreme limit that       
,ingres did4 ,ingres' drawing is one    
thing1 ,raphael's is another2 still ,i  
would ask if any one thinks that        
,raphael could have carried a drawing as
 far as ,ingres8 ,i would ask if any of 
,raphael's drawings are as beautiful1 as
 perfect1 or as instructive as ,ingres'4
 ,take1 for example1 the pencil drawing 
in the ,louvre1 the study for the       
odalisque3 who except a ,greek could    
have produced so perfect a drawing8 ,i  
can imagine ,apelles doing something    
like it1 but no one else4  ,when you go 
to the ,louvre examine that line of     
back1 return the next day and the next1 
and consider its infinite perfection    
before you conclude that my appreciation
 is exaggerated4 ,think of the learning 
and the love that were necessary for the
 accomplishment of such exquisite       

simplifications4 ,never did pencil      
follow an outline with such penetrating 
and unwearying passion1 or clasp and    
enfold it with such simple and          
sufficient modelling4 ,nowhere can you  
detect a starting-point or a measurement
 taken2 it seems to have grown as a     
beautiful tendril grows1 and every curve
 sways as mysteriously1 and the         
perfection seems as divine4 ,beside it  
,drer would seem crabbed and            
puzzle-headed2 ,holbein would seem      
angular and geometrical2 ,da ,vinci     
would seem vague3 and ,i hope that no   
critic by partial quotation will        
endeavour to prove me guilty of having  
said that ,ingres was a greater artist  
than ,da ,vinci4 ,i have not said any   
such thing2 ,i have merely striven by   
aid of comparison to bring before the   
reader some sense of the miraculous     
beauty of one of ,ingres' finest pencil 
drawings4  ,or let us choose the        
well-known drawing of the ,italian lady 
sitting in the ,louis ,,xv4 arm-chair1  

her long curved and jewelled hand lying 
in her lap and a coiffure of laces      
pinned down with a long jewelled        
hair-pin4 ,how her head-dress of large  
laces decorates the paper1 and the      
elaborate working out of the pattern1 is
 it not a miracle of handicraft8 ,how   
exquisite the black curls on the        
forehead1 and how they balance the dark 
eyes which are the depth and centre of  
the composition6 ,the necklace1 how well
 the stones are heaped1 how well they   
lie together6 ,how well their weight and
 beauty are expressed6 ,and the         
earrings1 how enticing in their         
intricate workmanship4 ,then the        
movement of the face1 how full it is of 
the indolent south1 and the oval of the 
face is composed to harmonise and       
enhance the lace head-dress2 and its    
outline1 though full of classical       
simplifications1 tells the character    
with ,holbein-like fidelity2 it falls   
away into a soft1 weak chin in which    
resides a soft sensual lassitude4 ,the  

black eyes are set like languid stars in
 the face1 and the flesh rounds off     
softly1 like a sky1 modelled with a     
little shadow1 part of the outline1 and 
expressing its beauty4 ,and then there  
are the marvels of the dress to         
consider3 the perfect and spontaneous   
creation of the glitter of the long silk
 arms1 and the muslin of the wrists1    
soft as foliage1 and then the hardness  
of the bodice stitched with jewellery   
and set so romantically on the almost   
epicene bosom4  ,it is the essentially  
,greek quality of perfection that brings
 ,corot and ,ingres together4 ,they are 
perfect1 as none other since the ,greek 
sculptors has been perfect4 ,other      
painters have desired beauty at         
intervals as passionately as they1 none 
save the ,greeks so continuously2 and   
the desire to be merely beautiful       
seemed1 if possible1 to absorb the art  
of ,corot even more completely than it  
did that of ,ingres4 ,among the numerous
 pictures1 sketches1 and drawings which 

he left you will find weakness1         
repetitions1 even commonplace1 but      
ugliness never4 ,an ugly set of lines is
 not to be found in ,corot2 the rhythm  
may sometimes be weak1 but his lines    
never run out of metre4 ,for the rhythm 
of line as well as of sound the artist  
must seek in his own soul2 he will never
 find it in the inchoate and discordant 
jumble which we call nature4  ,and1     
after all1 what is art but rhythm8      
,corot knew that art is nature made     
rhythmical1 and so he was never known to
 take out a six-foot canvas to copy     
nature on4 ,being an artist1 he         
preferred to observe nature1 and he lay 
down and dreamed his fields and trees1  
and he walked about in his landscape1   
selecting his point of view1 determining
 the rhythm of his lines4 ,that sense of
 rhythm which ,i have defined as art was
 remarkable in him even from his first  
pictures4 ,in the ,castle of ,st4       
,angelo1 ,rome1 for instance1 the       
placing of the buildings1 one low down1 

the other high up in the picture1 the   
bridge between1 and behind the bridge   
the dome of ,st4 ,peter's1 is as        
faultless a composition as his maturest 
work4 ,as faultless1 and yet not so     
exquisite4 ,for it took many long and   
pensive years to attain the more subtle 
and delicate rhythms of ,the ,lake in   
the collection of ,j4 ,s4 ,forbes1      
,esq41 or the landscape in the          
collection of ,g4 ,n4 ,stevens1 ,esq41  
or the ,ravine in the collection of ,sir
 ,john ,day4  ,corot's style changed2   
but it changed gradually1 as nature     
changes1 waxing like the moon from a    
thin1 pure crescent to a full circle of 
light4 ,guided by a perfect instinct1 he
 progressed1 fulfilling the course of   
his artistic destiny4 ,we notice change1
 but each change brings fuller beauty4  
,and through the long and beautiful year
 of ,corot's genius--full as the year   
itself of months and seasons--we notice 
that the change that comes over his art 
is always in the direction of purer and 

more spiritual beauty4 ,we find him more
 and more absorbed in the emotion that  
the landscape conveys1 more willing to  
sacrifice the superfluous and           
circumstantial for the sake of the      
immortal beauty of things4  ,look at the
 ,lac de ,garde and say if you can that 
the old ,greek melody is not audible in 
the line which bends and floats to the  
lake's edge1 in the massing and the     
placing of those trees1 in the fragile  
grace of the broken birch which sweeps  
the pale complexioned sky4 ,are we not  
looking into the heart of nature1 and do
 we not hear the silence that is the    
soul of evening8 ,in this1 his perfect  
period1 he is content to leave his      
foreground rubbed over with some        
expressive grey1 knowing well that the  
eye rests not there1 and upon his middle
 distance he will lavish his entire art1
 concentrating his picture on some one  
thing in which for him resides the true 
reality of the place2 be this the       
evening ripples on the lake or the      

shimmering of the willow leaves as the  
last light dies out of the sky4  ,i only
 saw ,corot once4 ,it was in some woods 
near ,paris1 where ,i had gone to paint1
 and ,i came across the old gentleman   
unexpectedly1 seated in front of his    
easel in a pleasant glade4 ,after       
admiring his work ,i ventured to say3   
,master1 what you are doing is lovely1  
but ,i cannot find your composition in  
the landscape before us4 ,he said3 ,my  
foreground is a long way ahead1 and sure
 enough1 nearly two hundred yards away1 
his picture rose out of the dimness of  
the dell1 stretching a little beyond the
 vista into the meadow4  ,the anecdote  
seems to me to be a real lesson in the  
art of painting1 for it shows us the    
painter in his very employment of       
nature1 and we divine easily the        
transposition in the tones and in the   
aspect of things that he was engaged in 
bringing into that picture4 ,and to     
speak of transpositions leads us        
inevitably into consideration of the    

great secret of ,corot's art1 his       
employment of what is known in studios  
as values4  ,by values is meant the     
amount of light and shadow contained in 
a tone4 ,the relation of a half-tint to 
the highest light1 which is represented 
by the white paper1 the relation of a   
shadow to the deepest black1 which is   
represented by the chalk pencil1 is easy
 enough to perceive in a drawing2 but   
when the work is in colour the values1  
although not less real1 are more        
difficult to estimate4 ,for a colour can
 be considered from two points of view3 
either as so much colouring matter1 or  
as so much light and shade4 ,violet1 for
 instance1 contains not only red and    
blue in proportions which may be        
indefinitely varied1 but also certain   
proportions of light and shade2 the     
former tending towards the highest      
light1 represented on the palette by    
flake white2 the latter tending towards 
the deepest dark1 represented on the    
palette by ivory black4  ,similar to a  

note in music1 no colour can be said to 
be in itself either false or true1 ugly 
or beautiful4 ,a note and a colour      
acquire beauty and ugliness according to
 their associations2 therefore to colour
 well depends1 in the first instance1 on
 the painter's knowledge and intimate   
sense of the laws of contrast and       
similitude4 ,but there is still another 
factor in the art of colouring well2    
for1 just as the musician obtains       
richness and novelty of expression by   
means of a distribution of sound through
 the instruments of the orchestra1 so   
does the painter obtain depth and       
richness through a judicious            
distribution of values4 ,if we were to  
disturb the distribution of values in   
the pictures of ,titian1 ,rubens1       
,veronese1 their colour would at once   
seem crude1 superficial1 without        
cohesion or rarity4 ,but some will aver 
that if the colour is right the values  
must be right too4 ,however plausible   
this theory may seem1 the practice of   

those who hold it amply demonstrates its
 untruth4 ,it is interesting and        
instructive to notice how those who seek
 the colour without regard for the      
values inherent in the colouring matter 
never succeed in producing more than a  
certain shallow superficial brilliancy2 
the colour of such painters is never    
rich or profound1 and although it may be
 beautiful1 it is always wanting in the 
element of romantic charm and mystery4  
,the colour is the melody1 the values   
are the orchestration of the melody2 and
 as the orchestration serves to enrich  
the melody1 so do the values enrich the 
colour4 ,and as melody may--nay1        
must--exist1 if the orchestration be    
really beautiful1 so colour must inhere 
wherever the values have been finely    
observed4 ,in ,rembrandt1 the colour is 
brown and a white faintly tinted with   
bitumen2 in ,claude1 the colour is blue1
 faintly flushed with yellow in the     
middle sky1 and yet none has denied the 
right of these painters to be considered

 colourists4 ,they painted with the     
values--that is to say1 with what       
remains on the palette when abstraction 
has been made of the colouring matter--a
 delicate neutral tint of infinite      
subtlety and charm2 and it is with this1
 the evanescent and impalpable soul of  
the vanished colours1 that the most     
beautiful pictures are painted4 ,corot1 
too1 is a conspicuous example of this   
mode of painting4 ,his right to stand   
among the world's colourists has never1 
so far as ,i know1 been seriously       
contested1 his pictures are almost void 
of colouring matter--a blending of grey 
and green1 and yet the result is of a   
richly coloured evening4  ,corot and    
,rembrandt1 as ,dutilleux pointed out1  
arrived at the same goal by absolutely  
different ends4 ,he saw clearly1        
although he could not express himself   
quite clearly1 that1 above all painters1
 ,rembrandt and ,corot excelled in that 
mode of pictorial expression known as   
values1 or shall ,i say chiaroscuro1 for

 in truth he who has said values has    
hinted chiaroscuro4 ,rembrandt told all 
that a golden ray falling through a     
darkened room awakens in a visionary    
brain2 ,corot told all that the grey    
light of morning and evening whispers in
 the pensive mind of the elegiac poet4  
,the story told was widely different1   
but the manner of telling was the same3 
one attenuated in the light1 the other  
attenuated in the shadow3 both          
sacrificed the corners with a view to   
fixing the attention on the one spot in 
which the soul of the picture lives4    
,all schools have not set great store on
 values1 although all schools have set  
great store on drawing and colour4      
,values seem to have come and gone in   
and out of painting like a fashion4 ,one
 generation hardly gives the matter a   
thought1 the succeeding generation finds
 the whole charm of its art in values4  
,it would be difficult to imagine a more
 interesting and instructive history    
than the history of values in painting4 

,it is far from my scheme to write such 
a history1 but ,i wish that such a      
history were written1 for then we should
 see clearly how unwise were they who   
neglected the principle1 and how much   
they lost4 ,i would only call attention 
to how the principle came to be         
reintroduced into ,french art in the    
beginning of this century4 ,it came from
 ,holland vi1 ,england through the      
pictures of ,turner and ,constable4 ,it 
was an ,anglo-,dutch influence that     
roused ,french art1 then slumbering in  
the pseudo-classicisms of the ,first    
,empire2 and1 half-awakened1 ,french art
 turned its eyes to ,holland for        
inspiration2 and values1 the foundation 
and corner-stone of ,dutch art1 became  
almost at a bound a first article of    
faith in the artistic creed4 ,in #ahcj  
values came upon ,france like a         
religion4 ,rembrandt was the new        
,messiah1 ,holland was the ,holy ,land1 
and disciples were busy dispensing the  
propaganda in every studio4  ,since the 

bad example of ,greuze1 literature had  
wound round every branch of painting    
until painting seemed to disappear in   
the parasite like an oak under a cloud  
of ivy4 ,the excess had been great--a   
reaction was inevitable--and ,rembrandt1
 with his ,biblical legends1 furnished  
the necessary transition4 ,but when a   
taste for painting had been reacquired1 
one after the other the ,dutch painters 
became the fashion4 ,it is almost       
unnecessary to point out the influence  
of ,hobbema on the art of ,rousseau4    
,corot was less affected by the         
,dutchmen1 or1 to speak more exactly1 he
 assimilated more completely what he had
 learnt from them than his rival was    
able to do4 ,moreover1 what he took from
 ,holland came to him through ,ruysdael 
rather than through ,hobbema4  ,the     
great morose dreamer1 contemplative and 
grave as ,wordsworth1 must have made    
more direct and intimate appeal to      
,corot's soul than the charm and the    
gaiety of ,hobbema's water-mills4 ,be   

this as it may1 it was ,holland that    
revived the long-forgotten science of   
values in the ,barbizon painters4 ,they 
sought their art in the direction of    
values1 and very easily ,corot took the 
lead as chief exponent of the new       
principle2 and he succeeded in applying 
the principle of values to landscape    
painting as fully as ,rembrandt had to  
figure painting4  ,but at the moment    
when the new means of expression seemed 
most distinctly established and         
understood1 it was put aside and lost   
sight of by a new generation of         
painters1 and1 curiously enough1 by the 
men who had most vigorously proclaimed  
the beauty and perfection of the art    
which was to be henceforth1 at least in 
practice1 their mission to repudiate4   
,for ,i take it that the art of the     
impressionists has nothing whatever in  
common with the art of ,corot4 ,true1   
that ,corot's aim was to render his     
impression of his subject1 no matter    
whether it was a landscape or a figure2 

in this aim he differed in no wise from 
,giotto and ,van ,eyck2 but we are not  
considering ,corot's aims but his means 
of expression1 and his means of         
expression were the very opposite to    
those employed by ,monet and the school 
of ,monet4 ,not with half-tints in which
 colour disappears are ,monet and his   
school concerned1 but with the brilliant
 vibration of colour in the full light1 
with open spaces where the light is     
reflected back and forward1 and nature  
is but a prism filled with dazzling and 
iridescent tints4  ,i remember once     
writing about one of ,monet's           
innumerable snow effects3 ,this picture 
is in his most radiant manner4 ,a line  
of snow-enchanted architecture passes   
through the picture--only poor houses   
with a single square church tower1 but  
they are beautiful as ,greek temples in 
the supernatural whiteness of the great 
immaculate snow4 ,below the village1 but
 not quite in the foreground1 a few     
yellow bushes1 bare and crippled by the 

frost1 and around and above a marvellous
 glitter in pale blue and pale rose     
tints4 ,i asked if the touch was not    
more precious than intimate2 and ,i     
spoke1 too1 of a shallow and brilliant  
appearance4 ,but if ,i had asked why the
 picture1 notwithstanding its           
incontestable merits1 was so much on the
 surface1 why it so irresistibly        
suggested un dcor de thtre1 why one did 
not enter into it as one does into a    
picture by ,wilson or ,corot1 my        
criticism would have gone to the root of
 the evil4 ,and the reason of this is   
because ,monet has never known how to   
organise and control his values4 ,the   
relation of a wall to the sky which he  
observes so finely seem as if           
deliberately contrived for the          
suppression of all atmosphere2 and we   
miss in ,monet the delicacy and the     
mystery which are the charm of ,corot4  
,the bath of air being withdrawn1 a     
landscape becomes a mosaic1 flat surface
 takes the place of round3 the next step

 is some form or other of               
pre-,raphaelitism4     ,,monet1         
,,sisley1 ,,pissaro1 ,,and ,,the        
,,decadence4   ,nature demands that     
children should devour their parents1   
and ,corot was hardly cold in his grave 
when his teaching came to be neglected  
and even denied4 ,values were abandoned 
and colour became the unique thought of 
the new school4  ,my first acquaintance 
with ,monet's painting was made in '#ge 
or '#gf--the year he exhibited his first
 steam-engine and his celebrated troop  
of life-size turkeys gobbling the tall  
grass in a meadow1 at the end of which  
stood1 high up in the picture1 a ,french
 chteau4 ,impressionism is a word that  
has lent itself to every kind of        
misinterpretation1 for in its exact     
sense all true painting is penetrated   
with impressionism1 but1 to use the word
 in its most modern sense--that is to   
say1 to signify the rapid noting of     
illusive appearance--,monet is the only 
painter to whom it may be reasonably    

applied4 ,i remember very well that     
sunlit meadow and the long coloured     
necks of the turkeys4 ,truly it may be  
said that1 for the space of one rapid   
glance1 the canvas radiates2 it throws  
its light in the face of the spectator  
as1 perhaps1 no canvas did before4 ,but 
if the eyes are not immediately averted 
the illusion passes1 and its place is   
taken by a somewhat incoherent and crude
 coloration4 ,then the merits of the    
picture strike you as having been       
obtained by excessive accomplishment in 
one-third of the handicraft and         
something like a formal protestation of 
the non-existence of the other          
two-thirds4 ,since that year ,i have    
seen ,monets by the score1 and have     
hardly observed any change or alteration
 in his manner of seeing or executing1  
or any development soever in his art4   
,at the end of the season he comes up   
from the country with thirty or forty   
landscapes1 all equally perfect1 all    
painted in precisely the same way1 and  

no one shows the slightest sign of      
hesitation1 and no one suggests the     
unattainable1 the beyond2 one and all   
reveal to us a man who is always sure of
 his effect1 and who is always in a     
hurry4 ,any corner of nature will do    
equally well for his purpose1 nor is he 
disposed to change the disposition of   
any line of tree or river or hill2 so   
long as a certain reverberation of      
colour is obtained all is well4 ,an     
unceasing production1 and an almost     
unvarying degree of excellence1 has     
placed ,monet at the head of the school2
 his pictures command high prices1 and  
nothing goes now with the erudite       
,american but ,monet's landscapes4 ,but 
does ,monet merit this excessive        
patronage1 and if so1 what are the      
qualities in his work that make it      
superior to ,sisley's and ,pissaro's8   
,sisley is less decorative1 less on the 
surface1 and though he follows ,monet in
 his pursuit of colour1 nature is1      
perhaps1 on account of his ,english     

origin1 something more to him than a    
brilliant appearance4 ,it has of course 
happened to ,monet to set his easel     
before the suburban aspect that ,sisley 
loves1 but he has always treated it     
rather in the decorative than in the    
meditative spirit4 ,he has never been   
touched by the humility of a lane's end1
 and the sentiment of the humble life   
that collects there has never appeared  
on his canvas4 ,yet ,sisley1 being more 
in sympathy with such nature1 has often 
been able to produce a superior though  
much less pretentious picture than the  
ordinary stereotyped ,monet4 ,but if    
,sisley is more meditative than ,monet1 
,pissaro is more meditative than either4
  ,monet had arrived at his style before
 ,i saw anything of his work2 of his    
earlier canvases ,i know nothing4       
,possibly he once painted in the ,corot 
manner2 it is hardly possible that he   
should not have done so4 ,however this  
may be1 ,pissaro did not rid himself for
 many years of the influence of ,corot4 

,his earliest pictures were all composed
 in pensive greys and violets1 and      
exhaled the weary sadnessof tilth and   
grange and scant orchard trees4 ,the    
pale road winds through meagre uplands1 
and through the blown and gnarled and   
shiftless fruit-trees the saddening     
silhouette of the town drifts across the
 land4 ,the violet spaces between the   
houses are the very saddest1 and the    
spare furrows are patiently drawn1 and  
so the execution is in harmony with and 
accentuates the unutterable monotony of 
the peasant's lot4 ,the sky1 too1 is    
vague and empty1 and out of its         
deathlike1 creamy hollow the first      
shadows are blown into the pallid face  
of a void evening4 ,the picture tells of
 the melancholy of ordinary life1 of our
 poor transitory tenements1 our         
miserable scrapings among the little    
mildew that has gathered on the surface 
of an insignificant planet4 ,i will not 
attempt to explain why the grey-toned   
and meditative ,pissaro should have     

consented to countenance--,i cannot say 
to lead 7for1 unlike every other chef   
d'cole1 ,pissaro imitated the disciples 
instead of the disciples imitating      
,pissaro7--the many fantastic           
revolutions in pictorial art which have 
agitated ,montmartre during the last    
dozen years4 ,the ,pissaro psychology ,i
 must leave to take care of itself1     
confining myself strictly to the        
narrative of these revolutions4         
,authority for the broken brushwork of  
,monet is to be found in ,manet's last  
pictures1 and ,i remember ,manet's reply
 when ,i questioned him about the pure  
violet shadows which1 just before his   
death1 he was beginning to introduce    
into his pictures4 ,one year one paints 
violet and people scream1 and the       
following year every one paints a great 
deal more violet4 ,if ,manet's answer   
throws no light whatever on the new     
principle1 it shows very clearly the    
direction1 if not the goal1 towards     
which his last style was moving4 ,but   

perhaps ,i am speaking too cautiously1  
for surely broken brushwork and violet  
shadows lead only to one possible       
goal--the prismatic colours4  ,manet    
died1 and this side--and this side      
only--of his art was taken up by ,monet1
 ,sisley1 and ,renoir4 ,or was it that  
,manet had begun to yield to an         
influence--that of ,monet1 ,sisley1 and 
,renoir--which was just beginning to    
make itself felt8 ,be this as it may1   
browns and blacks disappeared from the  
palettes of those who did not wish to be
 considered l'cole des beaux-arts1 et en
 plein4 ,venetian reds1 siennas1 and    
ochres were in process of abandonment1  
and the palette came to be composed very
 much in the following fashion3 violet1 
white1 blue1 white1 green1 white1 red1  
white1 yellow1 white1 orange1 white--the
 three primary and the three secondary  
colours1 with white placed between each1
 so as to keep everything as distinct as
 possible1 and avoid in the mixing all  
soiling of the tones4 ,monet1 ,sisley1  

and ,renoir contented themselves with   
the abolition of all blacks and browns1 
for they were but half-hearted          
reformers1 and it was clearly the duty  
of those who came after to rid the      
palette of all ochres1 siennas1         
,venetian1 ,indian1 and light reds4 ,the
 only red and yellow that any one who   
was not1 according to the expression of 
the new generation1 presque du ,louvre1 
could think of permitting on his palette
 were vermilion and cadmium4 ,the first 
of this new generation was ,seurat1     
,seurat begot ,signac1 ,signac begot    
,anquetin1 and ,anquetin has begotten   
quite a galaxy of lesser lights1 of whom
 ,i shall not speak in this article--of 
whom it is not probable that ,i shall   
ever speak4  ,it was in an exhibition   
held in ,rue ,lafitte in '#ha or '#hb   
that the new method1 which comprised two
 most radical reforms--an execution     
achieved entirely with the point of the 
brush and the division of the tones--was
 proclaimed4 ,or should ,i say          

reformation1 for the execution by a     
series of dots is implicit in the theory
 of the division of the tones8 ,how well
 ,i remember being attracted towards an 
end of the room1 which was filled with a
 series of most singular pictures4      
,there must have been at least ten      
pictures of yachts in full sail4 ,they  
were all drawn in profile1 they were all
 painted in the very clearest tints1    
white skies and white sails hardly      
relieved or explained with shadow1 and  
executed in a series of minute touches1 
like mosaic4 ,ten pictures of yachts all
 in profile1 all in full sail1 all      
unrelieved by any attempt at atmospheric
 effect1 all painted in a series of     
little dots6  ,great as was my          
wonderment1 it was tenfold increased on 
discovering that only five of these     
pictures were painted by the new man1   
,seurat1 whose name was unknown to me2  
the other five were painted by my old   
friend ,pissaro4 ,my first thought went 
for the printer2 my second for some     

fumisterie on the part of the hanging   
committee1 the intention of which       
escaped me4 ,the pictures were hung low1
 so ,i went down on my knees and        
examined the dotting in the pictures    
signed ,seurat1 and the dotting in those
 that were signed ,pissaro4 ,after a    
strict examination ,i was able to detect
 some differences1 and ,i began to      
recognise the well-known touch even     
through this most wild and most         
wonderful transformation4 ,yes1 owing to
 a long and intimate acquaintance with  
,pissaro and his work1 ,i could         
distinguish between him and ,seurat1 but
 to the ordinary visitor their pictures 
were identical4  ,many claims are put   
forward1 but the best founded is that of
 ,seurat2 and1 so far as my testimony   
may serve his greater honour and glory1 
,i do solemnly declare that ,i believe  
him to have been the original discoverer
 of the division of the tones4  ,a tone 
is a combination of colours4 ,in ,nature
 colours are separate2 they act and     

react one on the other1 and so create in
 the eye the illusion of a mixture of   
various colours-in other words1 of a    
tone4 ,but if the human eye can perform 
this prodigy when looking on colour as  
evolved through the spectacle of the    
world1 why should not the eye be able to
 perform the same prodigy when looking  
on colour as displayed over the surface 
of a canvas8 ,nature does not mix her   
colours to produce a tone2 and the      
reason of the marked discrepancy        
existing between ,nature and the ,louvre
 is owing to the fact that painters have
 hitherto deemed it a necessity to      
prepare a tone on the palette before    
placing it on the canvas2 whereas it is 
quite clear that the only logical and   
reasonable method is to first complete  
the analysis of the tone1 and then to   
place the colours which compose the tone
 in dots over the canvas1 varying the   
size of the dots and the distance       
between the dots according to the depth 
of colour desired by the painter4  ,if  

this be done truly--that is to say1 if  
the first analysis of the tones be a    
correct analysis--and if the spectator  
places himself at the right distance    
from the picture1 there will happen in  
his eyes exactly the same blending of   
colour as happens in them when they are 
looking upon ,nature4 ,an example will1 
,i think1 make my meaning clear4 ,we are
 in a club smoking-room4 ,the walls are 
a rich ochre4 ,three or four men sit    
between us and the wall1 and the blue   
smoke of their cigars fills the middle  
air4 ,in painting this scene it would be
 usual to prepare the tone on the       
palette1 and the preparation would be   
somewhat after this fashion3 ochre      
warmed with a little red--a pale violet 
tinted with lake for the smoke of the   
cigars4  ,but such a method of painting 
would seem to ,seurat and ,signac to be 
artless1 primitive1 unscientific1       
childish1 presque du ,louvre--above all1
 unscientific4 ,they would say1         
,decompose the tone4 ,that tone is      

composed of yellow1 white1 and violet   
turning towards lake2 and1 having       
satisfied themselves in what            
proportions1 they would dot their       
canvases over with pure yellow and pure 
white1 the interspaces being filled in  
with touches of lake and violet1        
numerous where the smoke is thickest1   
diminishing in number where the wreaths 
vanish into air4 ,or let us suppose that
 it is a blue slated roof that the      
dottist wishes to paint4 ,he first looks
 behind him1 to see what is the colour  
of the sky4 ,it is an orange sky4 ,he   
therefore represents the slates by means
 of blue dots intermixed with orange and
 white dots1 and--ah6 ,i am forgetting  
an important principle in the new       
method--the complementary colour which  
the eye imagines1 but does not see4     
,what is the complementary colour of    
blue1 grey1 and orange8 ,green4         
,therefore green must be introduced into
 the roof2 otherwise the harmony would  
be incomplete1 and therefore in a       

measure discordant4  ,needless to say   
that a sky painted in this way does not 
bear looking into4 ,close to the        
spectator it presents the appearance of 
a pard2 but when he reaches the proper  
distance there is no denying that the   
colours do in a measure unite and assume
 a tone more or less equivalent to the  
tone that would have been obtained by   
blending the colours on the palette4    
,but1 cry ,seurat and ,signac1 an       
infinitely purer and more beautiful tone
 than could have been obtained by any   
artificial blending of the colours on   
the palette--a tone that is the exact   
equivalent of one of ,nature's tones1   
for it has been obtained in exactly the 
same way4  ,truly a subject difficult to
 write about in ,english4 ,perhaps it is
 one that should not be attempted       
anywhere except in a studio with closed 
doors4 ,but if ,i did not make some     
attempt to explain this matter1 ,i      
should leave my tale of the decline and 
fall of ,french art in the nineteenth   

century incomplete4  ,roughly speaking1 
these new schools--the symbolists1 the  
decadents1 the dividers of tones1 the   
professors of the rhythm of             
gesture--date back about ten years4 ,for
 ten years the division of the tones has
 been the subject of discussion in the  
aesthetic circles of ,montmartre4 ,and  
when we penetrate further into the      
matter--or1 to be more exact1 as we     
ascend into the higher regions of ,la   
,butte--we find the elect1 who form so  
stout a phalanx against the             
,philistinism of the ,louvre1 themselves
 subdivided into numerous sections1 and 
distraught with internecine feuds       
concerning the principle of the art     
which they pursue with all the vehemence
 that ,veronese green and cadmium yellow
 are capable of4 ,from ten at night till
 two in the morning the brasseries of   
the ,butte are in session4 ,ah6 the     
interminable bocks and the reek of the  
cigars1 until at last a hesitating      
exodus begins4 ,an exhausted proprietor 

at the head of his waiters1 crazed with 
sleepiness1 eventually succeeds in      
driving these noctambulist apostles into
 the streets4  ,then the nervous        
lingering at the corner6 ,the           
disputants1 anxious and yet loth to     
part1 say goodbye1 each regretting that 
he had not urged some fresh argument--an
 argument which had just occurred to    
him1 and which1 he feels sure1 would    
have reduced his opponent to impotent   
silence4 ,sometimes the partings are    
stormy4 ,the question of the            
introduction of the complementary       
colours into the frames of the pictures 
is always a matter of strife1 and       
results in much nonconformity4 ,several 
are strongly in favour of carrying the  
complementary colours into the          
picture-frames4 ,if you admit1 says one1
 that to paint a blue roof with an      
orange sky shining on it you must       
introduce the complementary colour      
green--which the spectator does not see1
 but imagines--there is excellent reason

 why you should dot the frame all over  
with green1 for the picture and its     
frame are not two things1 but one thing4
 ,but1 cries his opponent1 there is a   
finality in all things2 if you carry    
your principle out to the bitter end1   
the walls as well as the frame should be
 dotted with the complementary colours1 
the staircases too1 the streets         
likewise2 and if we pursue the          
complementaries into the street1 who    
shall say where we are to stop8 ,why    
stop at all1 unless the neighbours      
protest that we are interfering with    
their complementaries8  ,the schools    
headed by ,signac and ,anquetin comprise
 numerous disciples and adherents4 ,they
 do not exhibit in the ,salon or in the 
,champ de ,mars2 but that is because    
they disdain to do so4 ,they hold       
exhibitions of their own1 and their     
picture-dealers trade only in their     
works and in those belonging to or      
legitimately connected with the new     
schools4  ,if ,i have succeeded in      

explaining the principle of coloration  
employed by these painters1 ,i must have
 excited some curiosity in the reader to
 see these scientifically-painted       
pictures4 ,to say that they are strange1
 absurd1 ridiculous1 conveys no         
sensation of their extravagances2 and ,i
 think that even an elaborate           
description would miss its mark4 ,for1  
in truth1 the pictures merit no such    
attention4 ,it is only needful to tell  
the reader that they fail most          
conspicuously at the very point where it
 was their mission to succeed4 ,instead 
of excelling in brilliancy of colour the
 pictures painted in the ordinary way1  
they present the most complete spectacle
 of discoloration possible to imagine4  
,yet ,signac is a man of talent1 and in 
an exhibition of pictures which ,i      
visited last ,may ,i saw a wide bay1 two
 rocky headlands extending far into the 
sea1 and this offing was filled with a  
multitude of gull-like sails4 ,there was
 in it a vibration of light1 such an    

effect as a mosaic composed of          
dim-coloured but highly polished stones 
might produce4 ,i can say no good word1 
however1 for his portrait of a gentleman
 holding his hat in one hand and a      
flower in the other4 ,this picture      
formulated a still newer                
aestheticism--the rhythm of gesture4    
,for1 according to ,signac1 the raising 
of the face and hands expresses joy1 the
 depression of the face and hands       
denotes sadness4 ,therefore1 to denote  
the melancholy temperament of his       
sitter1 ,signac represented him as being
 hardly able to lift his hat to his head
 or the flower to his button-hole4 ,the 
figure was painted1 as usual1 in dots of
 pure colour lifted from the palette    
with the point of the brush2 the        
complementary colours in duplicate bands
 curled up the background4 ,this was    
considered by the disciples to be an    
important innovation2 and the effect1 it
 is needless to say1 was gaudy1 if not  
neat4  ,a theory of ,anquetin's is that 

wherever the painter is painting1 his   
retina must still hold some sensation of
 the place he has left2 therefore there 
is in every scene not only the scene    
itself1 but remembrance of the scene    
that preceded it4 ,this is not quite    
clear1 is it8 ,no4 ,but ,i think ,i can 
make it clear4 ,he who walks out of a   
brilliantly lighted saloon--that is to  
say1 he who walks out of yellow--sees   
the other two primary colours1 red and  
blue2 in other words1 he sees violet4   
,therefore ,anquetin paints the street1 
and everything in it1 violet--boots1    
trousers1 hats1 coats1 lamp-posts1      
paving-stones1 and the tail of the cat  
disappearing under the porte cochre4    
,but if in my description of these      
schools ,i have conveyed the idea of    
stupidity or ignorance ,i have failed   
egregiously4 ,these young men are all   
highly intelligent and keenly alive to  
art1 and their doings are not more vain 
than the hundred and one artistic       
notions which have been undermining the 

art-sense of the ,french and ,english   
nations for the last twenty years4 ,what
 ,i have described is not more foolish  
than the stippling at ,south ,kensington
 or the drawing by the masses at        
,julien's4 ,the theory of the division  
of the tones is no more foolish than the
 theory of plein air or the theory of   
the square brushwork2 it is as foolish1 
but not a jot more foolish4  ,great art 
dreams1 imagines1 sees1 feels1          
expresses--reasons never4 ,it is only in
 times of woful decadence1 like the     
present1 that the bleating of the       
schools begins to be heard2 and         
although1 to the ignorant1 one method   
may seem less ridiculous than another1  
all methods--,i mean1 all methods that  
are not part and parcel of the pictorial
 intuition--are equally puerile and     
ridiculous4 ,the separation of the      
method of expression from the idea to be
 expressed is the sure sign of          
decadence4 ,france is now all decadence4
 ,in the ,champ de ,mars1 as in the     

,salon1 the man of the hour is he who   
has invented the last trick in subject  
or treatment4  ,france has produced     
great artists in quick succession4      
,think of all the great names1 beginning
 with ,ingres and ending with ,degas1   
and wonder if you can that ,france has  
at last entered on a period of artistic 
decadence4 ,for the last sixty years the
 work done in literary and pictorial art
 has been immense2 the soil has been    
worked along and across1 in every       
direction2 and for many a year nothing  
will come to us from ,france but the    
bleat of the scholiast4     ,,our       
,,academicians4   ,that nearly all      
artists dislike and despise the ,royal  
,academy is a matter of common          
knowledge4 ,whether with reason or      
without is a matter of opinion1 but the 
existence of an immense fund of hate and
 contempt of the ,academy is not denied4
 ,from ,glasgow to ,cornwall1 wherever a
 group of artists collects1 there hangs 
a gathering and a darkening sky of hate4

 ,true1 the position of the ,academy    
seems to be impregnable2 and even if    
these clouds should break into storm the
 ,academy would be as little affected as
 the rock of ,gibraltar by squall or    
tempest4 ,the ,academy has successfully 
resisted a ,royal ,commission1 and a    
crusade led by ,mr4 ,holman ,hunt in the
 columns of the ,times did not succeed  
in obtaining the slightest measure of   
reform4444 ,here ,i might consult       
,blue-books and official documents1 and 
tell the history of the ,academy2 but   
for the purpose of this article the     
elementary facts in every one's         
possession are all that are necessary4  
,we know that we owe the ,academy to the
 artistic instincts of ,george ,,iii4   
,it was he who sheltered it in ,somerset
 ,house1 and when ,somerset ,house was  
turned into public offices1 the ,academy
 was bidden to ,trafalgar ,square2 and  
when circumstances again compelled the  
authorities to ask the ,academy to move 
on1 the ,academy1 posing as a public    

body1 demanded a site1 and the ,academy 
was given one worth three hundred       
thousand pounds4 ,thereon the ,academy  
erected its present buildings1 and when 
they were completed the ,academy        
declared itself on the first opportunity
 to be no public body at all1 but a     
private enterprise4 ,then why the site1 
and why the ,royal charter8 ,mr4        
,colman1 ,mr4 ,pears1 ,mr4 ,reckitt are 
not given sites worth three hundred     
thousand pounds4 ,these questions have  
often been asked1 and to them the       
,academy has always an excellent answer4
 ,the site has been granted1 and we have
 erected buildings upon it worth a      
hundred thousand pounds2 get rid of us  
you cannot4  ,the position of the       
,academy is as impregnable as the rock  
of ,gibraltar2 it is as well advertised 
as the throne itself1 and the income    
derived from the sale of the catalogues 
alone is enormous4 ,then the ,academy   
has the handling of the ,chantrey       
,bequest ,funds1 which it does not fail 

to turn to its own advantage by buying  
pictures of ,academicians1 which do not 
sell in the open market1 at extravagant 
prices1 or purchasing pictures by future
 ,academicians1 and so fostering1       
strengthening1 and imposing on the      
public the standard of art which obtains
 in ,academic circles4 ,such1 in a few  
brief words1 is the institution which   
controls and in a large measure directs 
the art of this country4 ,but though ,i 
come with no project to obtain its      
dissolution1 it seems to me interesting 
to consider the causes of the hatred of 
the ,academy with which artistic        
,england is saturated1 oftentimes       
convulsed2 and it may be well to ask if 
any institution1 however impregnable1   
can continue to defy public opinion1 if 
any sovereignty1 however fortified by   
wealth and buttressed by prescription1  
can continue to ignore and outrage the  
opinions of its subjects8  ,the hatred  
of artistic ,england for the ,academy   
proceeds from the knowledge that the    

,academy is no true centre of art1 but a
 mere commercial enterprise protected   
and subventioned by ,government4 ,in    
recent years every shred of disguise has
 been cast off1 and it has become patent
 to every one that the ,academy is      
conducted on as purely commercial       
principles as any shop in the ,tottenham
 ,court ,road4 ,for it is impossible to 
suppose that ,mr4 ,orchardson and ,mr4  
,watts do not know that ,mr4 ,leader's  
landscapes are like tea-trays1 that ,mr4
 ,dicksee's figures are like bon-bon    
boxes1 and that ,mr4 ,herkomer's        
portraits are like ,german cigars4 ,but 
apparently the ,r4,a4's are merely      
concerned to follow the market1 and they
 elect the men whose pictures sell best 
in the ,city4 ,city men buy the         
productions of ,mr4 ,herkomer1 ,mr4     
,dicksee1 ,mr4 ,leader1 and ,mr4        
,goodall4 ,little harm would be done to 
art if the money thus expended meant no 
more than filling stockbrokers'         
drawing-rooms with bad pictures1 but the

 uncontrolled exercise of the           
stockbroker's taste in art means the    
election of a vast number of painters to
 the ,academy1 and election to the      
,academy means certain affixes1 ,r4,a4  
and ,a41 and these signs are meant to   
direct opinion4  ,for when the ordinary 
visitor thinks a picture very bad1 and  
finds ,r4,a4 or ,a4 after the painter's 
name1 he concludes that he must be      
mistaken1 and so a false standard of art
 is created in the public mind4 ,but    
though ,mr4 ,orchardson1 ,sir ,john     
,millais1 ,sir ,frederick ,leighton1 and
 ,mr4 ,watts have voted for the ,city   
merchants' nominees1 it would be a      
mistake to suppose that they did not    
know for whom they should have voted4   
,it is to be questioned if there be an  
,r4 ,a4 now alive who would dare to deny
 that ,mr4 ,whistler is a very great    
painter4 ,it was easy to say he was not 
in the old days when1 under the         
protection of ,mr4 ,ruskin1 the ,r4,a4s 
went in a body and gave evidence against

 him4 ,but now even ,mr4 ,jones1 ,r4,a41
 would not venture to repeat the opinion
 he expressed about one of the most     
beautiful of the nocturnes4 ,time1 it is
 true1 has silenced the foolish mouth of
 the ,r4,a41 but time has not otherwise 
altered him2 and there is as little     
chance to-day as there was twenty years 
ago of ,mr4 ,whistler being elected an  
,academician4  ,no difference exists    
even in ,academic circles as to the     
merits of ,mr4 ,albert ,moore's work4   
,many ,academicians will freely         
acknowledge that his non-election is a  
very grave scandal2 they will tell you  
that they have done everything to get   
him elected1 and have given up the task 
in despair4 ,mr4 ,whistler and ,mr4     
,albert ,moore1 the two greatest artists
 living in ,england1 will never be      
elected ,academicians2 and artistic     
,england is asked to acquiesce in this  
grave scandal1 and also in many minor   
scandals3 the election of ,mr4 ,dicksee 
in place of ,mr4 ,henry ,moore1 and ,mr4

 ,stanhope ,forbes in place of ,mr4     
,swan or ,mr4 ,john ,sargent6 ,no one   
thinks ,mr4 ,dicksee as capable an      
artist as ,mr4 ,henry ,moore1 and no one
 thinks ,mr4 ,stanhope ,forbes as great 
an artist as ,mr4 ,swan or ,mr4         
,sargent4 ,then why were they elected8  
,because the men who represent most     
emphatically the taste of the ,city have
 become so numerous of late years in the
 ,academy that they are able to keep out
 any one whose genius would throw a     
doubt on the commonplace ideal which    
they are interested in upholding4 ,mr4  
,alma ,tadema would not care to confer  
such a mark of esteem as the affix      
,r4,a4 on any painter practising an art 
which1 when understood1 would involve   
hatred of the copyplate antiquity which 
he supplies to the public4  ,this       
explanation seems incredible1 ,i admit1 
but no other explanation is possible1   
for ,i repeat that the ,academicians do 
not themselves deny the genius of the   
men they have chosen to ignore4 ,so we  

find the ,academy as a body working on  
exactly the same lines as the individual
 ,r4,a41 whose one ambition is to extend
 his connection1 please his customers1  
and frustrate competition2 and just as  
the capacity of the individual ,r4,a4   
declines when the incentive is money1 so
 does the corporate body lose its       
strength1 and its hold on the art       
instincts of the nation relaxes when its
 aim becomes merely mercenary           
enterprise4  ,if ,sir ,john ,millais1   
,sir ,frederick ,leighton1 ,mr4         
,orchardson1 ,mr4 ,hook1 and ,mr4 ,watts
 were to die tomorrow1 their places     
could be filled by men who are not and  
never will be in the ,academy2 but among
 the ,associates there is no name that  
does not suggest a long decline3 ,mr4   
,macbeth1 ,mr4 ,leader1 ,mr4 ,david     
,murray1 ,mr4 ,stanhope ,forbes1 ,mr4   
,j4 ,mac,whirter4 ,and are the coming   
,associates ,mr4 ,hacker1 ,mr4 ,shannon1
 ,mr4 ,solomon1 ,mr4 ,alfred ,east1 ,mr4
 ,bramley8 ,mr4 ,swan has been passed   

over so many times that his election is 
beginning to seem doubtful4 ,for very   
shame's sake the elder ,academicians may
 bring their influence and insist on his
 election2 but the ,city merchants'     
nominees are very strong1 and will not  
have him if they can help it4 ,they may 
yield to ,mr4 ,swan1 but no single inch 
further will it be possible to get them 
to go4 ,mr4 ,mouat ,loudan1 ,mr4        
,lavery1 ,mr4 ,mark ,fisher1 and ,mr4   
,peppercorn have no chance soever4 ,mr4 
,mouat ,loudan1 was rejected this year4 
,mr4 ,lavery's charming portrait of     
,lord ,mc,laren's daughters was still   
more shamefully treated2 it was skied4  
,mr4 ,mark ,fisher1 most certainly our  
greatest living landscape-painter1 had  
his picture refused2 and ,mr4 ,reid1 a  
man who has received medals in every    
capital in ,europe1 has had his         
principal picture hung just under the   
ceiling4  ,on varnishing-day ,mr4 ,reid 
challenged ,mr4 ,dicksee to give a      
reason for this disgraceful hanging2 he 

defied him to say that he thought the   
pictures underneath were better         
pictures2 and it is as impossible for me
 as it was for ,mr4 ,dicksee to deny    
that ,mr4 ,reid's picture is the best   
picture in ,room #f4 ,mr4 ,peppercorn1  
another well-known artist1 had his      
picture rejected4 ,it is now hanging in 
the ,goupil ,galleries4 ,i do not put it
 forward as a masterpiece1 but ,i do say
 that it deserved a place in any        
exhibition1 and if ,i had a friend on   
the ,hanging ,committee ,i would ask him
 to point to the landscapes on the      
,academy walls which he considers better
 than ,mr4 ,peppercorn's4  ,often a     
reactionary says1 ,name the good        
pictures that have been rejected2 where 
can ,i see them8 ,i want to see these   
masterpieces1 etc4 ,the reactionary has 
generally the best of the argument4 ,it 
is difficult to name the pictures that  
have been refused2 they are the unknown 
quantity4 ,moreover1 the pictures that  
are usually refused are tentative       

efforts1 and not mature work4 ,but this 
year the opponents of the ,academy are  
able to cite some very substantial facts
 in support of their position1 a        
portrait by our most promising          
portrait-painter and a landscape by the 
best landscape-painter alive in ,england
 having been rejected4 ,the picture of  
the farm-yard which ,mr4 ,fisher        
exhibited at the ,new ,english ,art     
,club last autumn would not be out of   
place in the ,national ,gallery4 ,i do  
not say that the rejected picture is as 
good--,i have not seen the rejected     
picture--but ,i do say that ,mr4 ,fisher
 could not paint as badly as nine-tenths
 of the landscapes hanging in the       
,academy if he tried4  ,the ,academy is 
sinking steadily2 never was it lower    
than this year2 next year a few fine    
works may crop up1 but they will be     
accidents1 and will not affect the      
general tendency of the exhibitions nor 
the direction in which the ,academy is  
striving to lead ,english art4 ,under   

the guidanceship of the ,academy        
,english art has lost all that charming 
navet and simplicity which was so long  
its distinguishing mark4 ,at an ,academy
 banquet1 anything but the most genial  
optimism would be out of place1 and yet 
,sir ,frederick ,leighton could not but 
allude to the disintegrating influence  
of ,french art4 ,true1 in the second    
part of the sentence he assured his     
listeners that the danger was more      
imaginary than real1 and he hoped that  
with wider knowledge1 etc4 ,but if no   
danger need be apprehended1 why did ,sir
 ,frederick trouble to raise the        
question8 ,and if he apprehended danger 
and would save us from it1 why did he   
choose to ask his friend ,m4 ,bouguereau
 to exhibit at the ,academy8  ,the      
allusion in ,sir ,frederick's speech to 
,french methods1 and the exhibition of a
 picture by ,m4 ,bouguereau in the      
,academy1 is strangely significant4 ,for
 is not ,m4 ,bouguereau the chief       
exponent of the art which ,sir          

,frederick ventures to suggest may prove
 a disintegrating influence in our      
art8--has proven would be a more correct
 phrase4 ,let him who doubts compare the
 work of almost any of the elder        
,academicians with the work of those who
 practise the square brushwork of the   
,french school4 ,compare1 for instance1 
,sir ,frederick's ,garden of the        
,hesperides with ,mr4 ,solomon's        
,orpheus1 and then you will appreciate  
the gulf that separates the elder       
,academicians from the men already      
chosen and marked out for future        
,academicians4 ,and him whom this       
illustration does not convince ,i will  
ask to compare ,mr4 ,hacker's           
,annunciation with any picture by ,mr4  
,frith1 or ,mr4 ,faed1 ,i will even go  
so far as to say with any work by ,mr4  
,sidney ,cooper1 an octogenarian1 now   
nearer his ninetieth than his eightieth 
year4  ,it would have been better if    
,sir ,frederick had told the truth      
boldly at the ,academy banquet4 ,he     

knows that a hundred years will hardly  
suffice to repair the mischief done by  
this detestable ,french painting1 this  
mechanical drawing and modelling1 built 
up systematically1 and into which       
nothing of the artist's sensibility may 
enter4 ,sir ,frederick hinted the truth1
 and ,i do not think it will displease  
him that ,i should say boldly what he   
was minded but did not dare to say4 ,the
 high position he occupies did not allow
 him to go further than he did2 the     
society of which he is president is now 
irreparably committed to ,anglo-,french 
art1 and has1 by every recent election1 
bound itself to uphold and impose this  
false and foreign art upon the nation4  
,out of the vast array of portraits and 
subject-pictures painted in various     
styles and illustrating every degree of 
ignorance1 stupidity1 and false         
education1 one thing really comes home  
to the careful observer1 and that is1   
the steady obliteration of all ,english 
feeling and mode of thought4 ,the       

younger men practise an art purged of   
all nationality4 ,england lingers in the
 elder painters1 and though the         
representation is often inadequate1 the 
,english pictures are pleasanter than   
the mechanical art which has spread from
 ,paris all over ,europe1 blotting out  
in its progress all artistic expression 
of racial instincts and mental          
characteristics4 ,nothing1 for instance1
 can be more primitive1 more infantile  
in execution1 than ,mr4 ,leslie's ,rose 
,queen4 ,but it seems to me superficial 
criticism to pull it to pieces1 for     
after all it suggests a pleasant scene1 
a stairway full of girls in white       
muslin2 and who does not like pretty    
girls dressed in white muslin8 ,and ,mr4
 ,leslie spares us the boredom of odious
 and sterile ,french pedantry4  ,mr4    
,waterhouse's picture of ,circe         
,poisoning the ,sea is an excellent     
example of professional ,french         
painting4 ,the drawing is planned out   
geometrically1 the modelling is built up

 mechanically4 ,the brush1 filled with  
thick paint1 works like a trowel4 ,in   
the hands of the ,dutch and ,flemish    
artists the brush was in direct         
communication with the brain1 and moved 
slowly or rapidly1 changing from the    
broadest and most emphatic stroke to the
 most delicate and fluent touch         
according to the nature of the work4    
,but here all is square and heavy4 ,the 
colour scheme1 the blue dress and the   
green water--how theatrical1 how its    
richness reeks of the ,french studio6   
,how cosmopolitan and pedantic is this  
would-be romantic work6  ,but can we    
credit ,mr4 ,dicksee with any artistic  
intention in the picture he calls       
,leila1 hanging in the next room8 ,i    
think not4 ,mr4 ,dicksee probably       
thought that having painted what the    
critics would call somewhat sad subjects
 last year1 it would be well if he      
painted something distinctly gay this   
year4 ,a girl in a harem struck him as a
 subject that would please every one1   

especially if he gave her a pretty face1
 a pretty dress1 and posed her in a     
graceful attitude4 ,a nice bright       
crimson was just the colour for the     
dress1 the feet he might leave bare1 and
 it would be well to draw them from the 
plaster cast--a pair of pretty feet     
would be sure to find favour with the   
populace4 ,it is impossible to believe  
that ,mr4 ,dicksee was moved by any     
deeper thought or impression when he    
painted this picture4 ,the execution is 
not quite so childlike and bland as ,mr4
 ,leslie's2 it is heavier and more      
stodgy4 ,one is a cane chair from the   
,tottenham ,court ,road1 the other is a 
dining-room chair from the ,tottenham   
,court ,road4 ,in neither does any trace
 of ,french influence appear1 and both  
painters are ,city-elected              
,academicians4  ,a sudden thought4444   
,leader1 ,fildes1 ,david ,murray1 ,peter
 ,graham1 ,herkomer4444 ,then it is not 
the ,city that favours the ,french      
school1 but the ,academy itself6 ,and   

this shows how widely tastes may differ1
 yet remain equally sundered from good  
taste4 ,i believe the north and the     
south poles are equidistant from the    
equator4 ,looking at ,sir ,frederick    
,leighton's picture1 entitled ,at the   
,fountain1 ,i am forced to admit that1  
regarded as mere execution1 it is quite 
as intolerably bad as ,mr4 ,dicksee's   
,leila4 ,and yet it is not so bad a     
picture1 because ,sir ,frederick's mind 
is a higher and better-educated mind    
than ,mr4 ,dicksee's2 and therefore1    
however his hand may fail him1 there    
remains a certain habit of thought which
 always1 even when worn and frayed1     
preserves something of its original     
aristocracy4 ,the ,sea giving up its    
,dead is an unpleasant memory of        
,michael ,angelo4 ,but in ,the ,garden  
of the ,hesperides ,sir ,frederick is   
himself1 and nothing but himself4 ,and  
the picture is so incontestably the work
 of an artist that ,i cannot bring      
myself to inquire too closely into its  

shortcomings4 ,the merit of the picture 
is in the arabesque1 which is charming  
and original4 ,the maidens are not      
dancing1 but sitting round their tree4  
,on the right there is an olive1 in the 
middle the usual strawberry-cream1 and  
on the left a purple drapery4 ,the brown
 water in the foreground balances the   
white sky most happily1 and the faces of
 the women recall our best recollections
 of ,sir ,frederick's work4 ,in the next
 room--,room #c--,mr4 ,watts exhibits a 
very incoherent work entitled ,she shall
 be called ,woman4  ,the subject on     
which all of us are most nearly         
agreed--painters' critics and the       
general public--is the very great talent
 of ,mr4 ,g4 ,f4 ,watts4 ,even the      
,chelsea studios unite in praising him4 
,but were we ever sincere in our praise 
of him as we are sincere in our praise  
of ,degas1 ,whistler1 and ,manet8 ,and  
lately have we not begun to suspect our 
praise to-day is a mere clinging to     
youthful admirations which have no root 

in our present knowledge and            
aestheticisms8 ,perhaps the time has    
come to say what we do really think of  
,mr4 ,watts4 ,we think that his very    
earliest pictures show1 occasionally1   
the hand of a painter2 but for the last 
thirty years ,mr4 ,watts seems to have  
been undergoing transformation1 and we  
see him now as a sort of cross between  
an alchemist of old time and a book     
collector--his left hand fumbling among 
the reds and blues of the old masters1  
his right turning the pages of a dusty  
folio in search of texts for            
illustration2 a sort of a modern        
,veronese in treacle and gingerbread4   
,to judge him by what he exhibits this  
year would not be just4 ,we will select 
for criticism the celebrated portrait of
 ,mrs4 ,percy ,wyndham--in which he has 
obviously tried to realise all his      
artistic ideals4  ,the first thing that 
strikes me on looking on this picture is
 the too obvious intention of the       
painter to invent something that could  

not go out of fashion4 ,on sitting down 
to paint this picture the painter's mind
 seems to have been disturbed with all  
sorts of undetermined notions concerning
 the eternal ,beautiful1 and the formula
 discovered by the ,venetian for its    
complete presentation4 ,the ,venetians  
gave us the eternal ,beautiful as       
civilisation presents it4 ,why not      
select in modern life all that          
corresponds to the ,venetian formulae2  
why not profit by their experience in   
the selection ,i am called upon to make8
  ,so do ,i imagine the painter's       
desire1 and certainly the picture is    
from end to end its manifestation4      
,laurel leaves form a background for the
 head1 and a large flower-vase is in the
 right-hand corner1 and a balustrade is 
on the right2 and this ,anglo-,venetian 
lady is attired in a rich robe1 brown1  
with green shades1 and heavily          
embroidered2 her elbow is leaned on a   
pedestal in a manner that shows off the 
plenitudes of the forearm1 and for      

pensive dignity the hand is raised to   
the face4 ,it is a noble portrait1 and  
tells the story of a lifelong devotion  
to art1 and yet it is difficult to      
escape from the suspicion that we are   
not very much interested1 and that we   
find its compound beauty a little       
insipid4 ,in avoiding the fashion of his
 day ,mr4 ,watts seems to me to have    
slipped into an abstraction4 ,the mere  
leaving out every accent that marks a   
dress as belonging to a particular epoch
 does not save it from going out of     
fashion4 ,it is in the execution that   
the great artists annihilated the whim  
of temporary taste1 and made the hoops  
of old time beautiful1 however slim the 
season's fashions4 ,to be of all time   
the artist must begin by being of his   
own time2 and if he would find the      
eternal type he must seek it in his own 
parish4  ,the painters of old ,venice   
were entirely concerned with l'idee     
plastique1 but on this point the art of 
,mr4 ,watts is a repudiation of the art 

of his masters4 ,abstract conceptions   
have been this long while a constant    
source of pollution in his work4 ,here1 
even in his treatment of the complexion1
 he seems to have been impelled by some 
abstract conception rather than by a    
pictorial sense of harmony and contrast1
 and partly for this reason his         
synthesis is not beautiful1 like the    
conventional silver-grey which          
,velasquez used so often1 or the        
gold-brown skins of ,titian's women4    
,the hand tells what was passing in the 
mind1 and seeing that ugly shadow which 
marks the nose ,i know that the painter 
was not then engaged with the joy of    
purely material creation2 had he been he
 could not have rested satisfied with so
 ugly a statement of a beautiful fact4  
,and the forehead1 too1 where it comes  
into light1 where it turns into shadow2 
the cheek1 too1 with its jawbone1 and   
the evasive modelling under and below   
the eyes1 are summarily rendered1 and we
 think perforce of the supple1 flowing  

modelling1 so illusive1 apparent only in
 the result1 with which ,titian would   
have achieved that face4 ,manet1 an     
incomplete ,hals1 might have failed to  
join the planes1 and in his frankness   
left out what he had not sufficiently   
observed2 but he would have compensated 
us with a beautiful tone4  ,for an      
illustration of ,mr4 ,watts' drawing we 
will take the picture of ,love and      
,death1 perhaps the most pictorially    
significant of all ,mr4 ,watts' designs4
 ,the enormous figure of ,death advances
 impressively with right arm raised to  
force the door which a terrified ,love  
would keep closed against him4 ,the     
figure of ,death is draped in grey1 the 
colour that ,mr4 ,watts is most in      
sympathy with and manages best4 ,but the
 upper portion of the figure is vast1   
and the construction beneath the robe   
too little understood for it not to lack
 interest2 and in the raised arm and    
hand laid against the door1 where power 
and delicacy of line were indispensable 

for the pictorial beauty of the picture1
 we are vouchsafed no more than a rough 
statement of rudimentary fact4 ,love is 
thrown back against the door1 his right 
arm raised1 his right leg advanced in   
action of resistance to the intruder4   
,the movement is well conceived1 and we 
regret that so summary a line should    
have been thought sufficient expression4
 ,any one who has ever held a pencil in 
a school of art knows how a young body1 
from armpit to ankle-bone1 flows with   
lovely line4 ,any one who has been to   
the ,louvre knows the passion with which
 ,ingres would follow this line1        
simplifying it and drawing it closer    
until it surpassed all melody4 ,but in  
,mr4 ,watts' picture the boy's natural  
beauty is lost in a coarse and rough    
planing out that tells of an eye that   
saw vaguely and that wearied1 and in an 
execution full of uncertain touch and   
painful effort4 ,unless the painter is  
especially endowed with the instinct of 
anatomies1 the sentiment of proportion1 

and a passion for form1 the nude is a   
will-o'-the-wisp1 whose way leads where 
he may not follow4 ,no one suspects ,mr4
 ,watts of one of these qualifications2 
he appears even to think them of but    
slight value1 and his quest of the      
allegorical seems to be merely motived  
by an unfortunate desire to             
philosophise4  ,as a colourist ,mr4     
,watts is held in high esteem1 and it is
 as a colourist that his admirers       
consider his claim to the future to be  
best founded4 ,beautiful passages of    
colour are frequently to be met with in 
his work1 and yet it would be difficult 
to say what colour except grey he has   
shown any mastery over4 ,a painter may  
paint with an exceedingly reduced       
palette1 like ,chardin1 and yet be an   
exquisite colourist4 ,to colour well    
does not consist in the employment of   
bright colours1 but in the power of     
carrying the dominant note of colour    
through the entire picture1 through the 
shadows as well as the half-tints1 and  

,chardin's grey we find everywhere1 in  
the bloom of a peach as well as in a    
decanter of rich wine2 and how tender   
and persuasive it is6 ,mr4 ,watts' grey 
would seem coarse1 common1 uninteresting
 beside it4 ,reds and blues and yellows 
do not disappear from ,mr4 ,watts'      
palette as they do from ,rembrandt's2   
they are there1 but they are usually so 
dirtied that they appear like a         
monochrome4 ,can we point to any such   
fresh1 beautiful red as the scarf that  
the ,princesse des ,pays de la          
,porcelaine wears about that grey which 
would have broken ,chardin's heart with 
envy8 ,can we point to any blue in ,mr4 
,watts' as fresh and as beautiful as the
 blue carpet under the ,princess's feet8
  ,with what ,mr4 ,watts paints it is   
impossible to say4 ,on one side an      
unpleasant reddish brown1 scrubbed till 
it looks like a mud-washed rock2 on the 
other a crumbling grey1 like the rind of
 a ,stilton cheese4 ,the nude figure in 
the reeds--the picture purchased for the

 ,chantrey ,fund collection--will serve 
for illustration4 ,it is clearly the    
work of a man with something            
incontestably great in his soul1 but why
 should so beautiful a material as oil  
paint be transformed into a crumbly     
substance like--,i can think of nothing 
else but the rind of a ,stilton cheese4 
,mr4 ,watts and ,mr4 ,burne-,jones seem 
to have convinced themselves that       
imaginative work can only be expressed  
in wool-work and gum4 ,a strange theory1
 for which ,i find no authority1 even if
 ,i extend my inquiry as far back as    
,mantegna and ,botticelli4 ,true1 that  
the method of these painters is archaic1
 the lights are narrowed1 and the       
shadows broadened2 nevertheless1 their  
handling of oil colour is nearer to     
,titian's than either ,mr4 ,watts' or   
,mr4 ,burne-,jones'4  ,it is one of the 
platitudes of art criticism to call     
attention to the length of the necks of 
,rossetti's women1 and thereby to infer 
that the painter could not draw4 ,true1 

,rossetti was not a skilful draughtsman1
 but not because the necks of his women 
are too long4 ,the relation between good
 drawing and measurement is slight4 ,the
 first quality in drawing1 without which
 drawing does not exist1 is an          
individual seeing of the object4 ,this  
,rossetti most certainly had2 there his 
draughtsmanship began and ended4 ,but   
the question lies rather with handling  
than with drawing1 and ,rossetti        
sometimes handled paint very skilfully4 
,the face and hair of the half-length   
,venus surrounded with roses is         
excellent in quality2 the roses and the 
honeysuckle are quite beautiful in      
quality2 they are fresh and bright1 pure
 in colour1 as if they had just come    
from the garden4 ,the ,annunciation in  
the ,national ,gallery is a little      
sandy1 but it cannot be said to be bad  
in quality1 as ,mr4 ,watts' and ,mr4    
,jones' pictures are bad4 ,every        
,rossetti is at least clearly           
recognisable as an oil painting4  ,in   

the same room there is ,mr4             
,orchardson's picture of ,napoleon      
dictating the ,account of his           
,campaigns4 ,i gather from my notes the 
trace of the disappointment that this   
picture caused me4 ,two small figures in
 a large canvas4 ,the secretary sits on 
the right at a small table4 ,he looks   
up1 his face turned towards ,napoleon1  
who stands on the left in the middle of 
the picture1 looking down1 studying the 
maps with which the floor is strewn4 ,a 
great simplicity in the surroundings1   
and all the points of character insisted
 on1 with the view of awakening the     
spectator's curiosity4 ,from first to   
last a vicious desire to narrate an     
anecdote4 ,it is strange that a man of  
,mr4 ,orchardson's talent should        
participate so fully in the supreme vice
 of modern art which believes a picture 
to be the same thing as a scene in a    
play4 ,the whole picture conceived and  
executed in that pale yellow tint which 
seems to be the habitual colour of ,mr4 

,orchardson's mind4 ,a pity1 indeed it  
is that ,mr4 ,orchardson should waste   
very real talent in narratives1 for he  
is a great portrait painter4 ,i remember
 very well that beautiful portrait of   
his wife and child1 and will take this  
opportunity to recall it4 ,it is the    
finest thing he has done2 finer than the
 portrait of ,mr4 ,gilbey4 ,here1 in a  
few words1 is the subject of the        
picture4 ,an old-fashioned cane sofa    
stretches right across the canvas4 ,a   
lady in black is seated on the right2   
she bends forward1 her left arm leaning 
over the back of the sofa2 she holds in 
her hand a ,japanese hand-screen4 ,the  
fine and graceful ,english profile is   
modelled without vulgar roundness1 un   
beau modle  plat2 and the black hair is 
heavy and loose1 one lock slipping over 
the forehead4 ,the painter has told the 
exact character of the hair as he has   
told the character of the hand1 and the 
age of the hand and hair is evident4    
,she is a woman of five-and-thirty1 she 

is interested in her baby1 her first    
baby1 as a woman of that age would be4  
,the baby lies on a woollen rug and     
cushion1 just beneath the mother's eyes2
 the colour of both is a reddish yellow4
 ,he holds up his hands for the         
hand-screen that the mother waves about 
him4 ,the strip of background about the 
yellow cane-work is grey-green2 there is
 a vase of dried ferns and grasses on   
the left1 and the whole picture is      
filled and penetrated with the affection
 and charm of ,english home-life1 and   
without being disfigured with any touch 
of vulgar or commonplace sentimentality4
 ,the baby's face is somewhat hard2 it  
is1 perhaps1 the least satisfactory     
thing in the picture4 ,the picture is   
wanting in that totality which we find  
in the greatest masters--for instance1  
in that exquisite portrait of a mother  
and child by ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds1    
exhibited this year in the              
,guildhall--that beautiful portrait of  
the mother holding out her babe at      

arms'-length above her knee4  ,room #d  
is remarkable for ,stanhope ,forbes'    
picture of ,forging the ,anchor4 ,mr4   
,stanhope ,forbes is the last-elected   
,academician1 and the most prominent    
exponent of the art of ,bastien-,lepage4
 ,perhaps the most instructive article  
that could be written on the ,academy   
would be one in which the writer would  
confine his examination to this and ,mr4
 ,clausen's picture of ,mowers1         
comparing and contrasting the two       
pictures at every point1 showing where  
they diverge1 and tracing their artistic
 history back to its ultimate source4   
,but to do this thoroughly would be to  
write the history of the artistic       
movement in ,france and ,england for the
 last thirty years2 and ,i must limit   
myself to pointing out that ,mr4        
,clausen has gone back to first         
principles1 whereas ,mr4 ,stanhope      
,forbes still continues at the point    
where ,bastien-,lepage began to curtail1
 deform1 and degrade the original       

inspiration4 ,mr4 ,clausen1 ,i said1    
overcame the difficulty of the trousers 
by generalisation4 ,mr4 ,stanhope       
,forbes copied the trousers seam by     
seam1 patch by patch2 and the ugliness  
of the garment bores you in the picture1
 exactly as it would in nature4 ,and the
 same criticism applies equally well to 
the faces1 the hands1 the leather       
aprons1 the loose iron1 the hammers1 the
 pincers1 the smoked walls4 ,i should   
not be surprised to learn that ,mr4     
,stanhope ,forbes had had a forge built 
up in his studio1 and had copied it all 
as it stood4 ,a handful of dry facts    
instead of a passionate impression of   
life in its envelope of mystery and     
suggestion4  ,realism1 that is to say   
the desire to compete with nature1 to be
 nature1 is the disease from which art  
has suffered most in the last twenty    
years4 ,the disease is now at wane1 and 
when we happen upon a canvas of the     
period like ,labourers after ,dinner1 we
 cry out1 ,what madness6 were we ever as

 mad as that8 ,the impressionists have  
been often accused of a desire to       
dispense with the element of beauty1 but
 the accusation has always seemed to me 
to be quite groundless1 and even memory 
of a certain portrait by ,mr4 ,walter   
,sickert does not cause me to falter in 
this opinion4 ,until ,i saw ,mr4        
,clausen's ,labourers ,i did not fully  
realise how terrible a thing art becomes
 when divorced from beauty1 grace1      
mystery1 and suggestion4 ,it would be   
difficult to say where and how this     
picture differs from a photograph2 it   
seems to me to be little more than the  
vices of photography magnified4 ,having 
spoken so plainly1 it is necessary that 
,i should explain myself4  ,the subject 
of this picture is a group of field     
labourers finishing their mid-day dinner
 in the shade of some trees4 ,they are  
portrayed in a still even light1 exactly
 as they were2 the picture is one long  
explanation2 it is as clear as a        
newspaper1 and it reads like one4 ,we   

can tell how many months that man in the
 foreground has worn those dreadful     
hobnailed boots2 we can count the nails1
 and we notice that two or three are    
missing4 ,those disgusting corduroy     
trousers have hung about his legs for so
 many months2 all the ugliness of these 
labourers' faces and the solid          
earthiness of their lives are there2    
nothing has been omitted1 curtailed1 or 
exaggerated4 ,there is some psychology4 
,we see that the years have brought the 
old man cunning rather than wisdom4 ,the
 middle-aged man and the middle-aged    
woman live in mute stupidity--they have 
known nothing but the daily hardship of 
living1 and the vacuous face of their   
son tells how completely the life of his
 forefathers has descended upon him4    
,here there is neither the foolish      
gaiety of ,teniers' peasants nor the    
vicious animality of ,brouwers'2 and it 
is hardly necessary to say that the     
painter has seen nothing of the         
legendary patriarchal beauty and        

solemnity which lends so holy a charm to
 ,millet's ,breton folk4 ,mr4 ,clausen  
has seen nothing but the sordid and the 
mean1 and his execution in this picture 
is as sordid and as mean as his vision4 
,there is not a noble gesture expressive
 of weariness nor an attitude expressive
 of resignation4 ,mr4 ,clausen seems to 
have said1 ,i will go lower than the    
others2 ,i will seek my art in the mean 
and the meaningless4 ,but               
notwithstanding his very real talent1   
,mr4 ,clausen has not found art where   
art is not1 where art never has been    
found1 where art never will be found4   
,looking at this picture1 the ordinary  
man will say1 ,if such ugliness as that 
exists1 ,i don't want to see it4 ,why   
paint such subjects8 ,and at least the  
first part of this criticism seems to me
 to be quite incontrovertible4 ,i can   
imagine no valid reason for the         
portrayal of so much ugliness2 and1 what
 is more important1 ,i can find among   
the unquestioned masters no slightest   

precedent for the blank realism of this 
picture4 ,the ordinary man's aversion to
 such ugliness seems to me to be        
entirely right1 and ,i only join issue  
with him when he says1 ,why paint such  
subjects8 ,why not8 ,for all subjects   
contain elements of beauty2 ugliness    
does not exist for the eye that sees    
beautifully1 and meanness vanishes if   
the sensation is a noble one4 ,have not 
the very subjects which ,mr4 ,clausen   
sees so meanly1 and which he degrades   
below the level even of the photograph1 
been seen nobly1 and have they not been 
rendered incomparably touching1 even    
august1 by----,well1 the whole world    
knows by whom4 ,but it will be said that
 ,mr1 ,clausen painted these people as  
he saw them4 ,i dare say he did2 but if 
he could not see these field-folk       
differently1 he should have abstained   
from painting them4  ,the mission of art
 is not truth1 but beauty2 and ,i know  
of no great work--,i will go even       
further1 ,i know no even tolerable      

work--in literature or in painting in   
which the element of beauty does not    
inform the intention4 ,art is surely but
 a series of conventions which enable us
 to express our special sense of        
beauty--for beauty is everywhere1 and   
abounds in subtle manifestations4       
,things ugly in themselves become       
beautiful by association2 or perhaps ,i 
should say that they become picturesque4
 ,the slightest insistance in a line    
will redeem and make artistically       
interesting the ugliest face4 ,look at  
,degas' ballet-girls1 and say if1       
artistically1 they are not beautiful4 ,i
 defy you to say that they are mean4    
,again1 an alteration in the light and  
shade will create beautiful pictures    
among the meanest brick buildings that  
ever were run up by the jerry-builder4  
,see the violet suburb stretching into  
the golden sunset4 ,how exquisite it has
 become6 how full of suggestion and     
fairy tale6 ,a picturesque shadow will  
redeem the squalor of the meanest       

garret1 and the subdued light of the    
little kitchen where the red-petticoated
 housewife is sweeping must contrast so 
delicately with the white glare of the  
brick yard where the neighbour stands in
 parley1 leaning against the doorpost1  
that the humble life of the place is    
transformed and poetised4 ,this was the 
,,abc of ,dutch art2 it was the         
,dutchmen who first found out that with 
the poetising aid of light and shade the
 meanest and most commonplace incidents 
of every-day life could be made the     
subjects of pictures4  ,there are no    
merits in painting except technical     
merits2 and though my criticism of ,mr4 
,clausen's picture may at first sight   
seem to be a literary criticism1 it is  
in truth a strictly technical criticism4
 ,for ,mr4 ,clausen has neglected the   
admirable lessons which our ,dutch      
cousins taught us two hundred years ago2
 he has neglected to avail himself of   
those principles of chiaroscuro which   
they perfected1 and which would have    

enabled him to redeem the grossness1 the
 ugliness1 the meanness inherent in his 
subject4 ,i said that he had gone       
further1 in abject realism1 than a      
photograph4 ,i do not think ,i have     
exaggerated4 ,it is not probable that   
those peasants would look so ugly in a  
photograph as they do in his picture4   
,for had they been photographed1 the    
chances are that some shadow would have 
clothed1 would have hid1 something1 and 
a chance gleam might have concentrated  
the attention on some particular spot4  
,nine times out of ten the exposure of  
the plate would not have taken place in 
a moment of flat grey light4  ,but it is
 the theory of ,mr4 ,clausen and his    
school that it is right and proper to   
take a six-foot canvas into the open1   
and paint the entire picture from       
,nature4 ,but when the sun is shining1  
it is not possible to paint for more    
than an hour--an hour and a half at     
most4 ,at the end of that time the      
shadows have moved so much that the     

effect is wholly different4 ,but on a   
grey day it is possible to paint on the 
same picture for four or five hours4    
,hence the preference shown by this     
school for grey days4 ,then the whole   
subject is seen clearly1 like a         
newspaper2 and the artist1 if he is a   
realist1 copies every patch on the      
trousers1 and does not omit to tell us  
how many nails have fallen from the     
great clay-stained boots4               
,pre-,raphaelitism is only possible     
among august and beautiful things1 when 
the subjects of the pictures are        
,virgins and angels1 and the accessories
 are marbles1 agate columns1 ,persian   
carpets1 gold enwoven robes and         
vestments1 ivories1 engraven metals1    
pearls1 velvets and silks1 and when the 
object of the painter is to convey a    
sensation of the beauty of these        
materials by the luxury and beauty of   
the workmanship4 ,the common workaday   
world1 with accessories of tin pots and 
pans1 corduroy breeches and clay-pipes1 

can be only depicted by a series of     
ellipses through a mystery of light and 
shade4  ,beauty of some sort there must 
be in a work of art1 and the very       
conditions under which ,mr4 ,clausen    
painted precluded any beauty from       
entering into his picture4 ,but this    
year ,mr4 ,clausen seems to have shaken 
himself free from his early education1  
and he exhibits a picture1 conceived in 
an entirely different spirit1 in this   
,academy4 ,turning to my notes ,i find  
it thus described3 ,a small canvas      
containing three mowers in a flowering  
meadow4 ,two are mowing2 the third1 a   
little to the left1 sharpens his scythe4
 ,the sky is deep and lowering--a sultry
 summer day1 a little unpleasant in     
colour1 but true4 ,at the end of the    
meadow the trees gleam4 ,the earth is   
wrapped in a hot mist1 the result of the
 heat1 and through it the sun sheds a   
somewhat diffused and oven-like heat4   
,there are heavy clouds overhead1 for   
the gleam that passes over the three    

white shirts is transitory and          
uncertain4 ,the handling is woolly and  
unpleasant1 but handling can be         
overlooked when a canvas exhales a deep 
sensation of life4 ,the movement of     
mowing--,i should have said movements1  
for the men mow differently2 one is     
older than the other--is admirably      
expressed4 ,and the principal figure1   
though placed in the immediate          
foreground1 is in and not out of the    
atmosphere4 ,the difficulty of the      
trousers has been overcome by           
generalisation2 the garment has not been
 copied patch by patch4 ,the            
distribution of light is admirable2     
nowhere does it escape from the frame4  
,j4 ,f4 ,millet has painted many a worse
 picture4  ,mr4 ,solomon and ,mr4       
,hacker have both turned to mythology   
for the subjects of their pictures4 ,and
 the beautiful and touching legends of  
,orpheus1 and the ,annunciation1 have   
been treated by them with the           
indifference of our special artist1 who 

places the firemen on the right1 the    
pump on the left1 and the blazing house 
in the middle of the picture4 ,these    
pictures are therefore typical of a     
great deal of historical painting of our
 time2 and ,i speak of them because they
 give me an opportunity of pointing out 
that before deciding to treat a page of 
history or legend1 the painter should   
come to conclusions with himself        
regarding the goal which he desires to  
obtain4 ,there are but two4  ,either the
 legend passes unperceived in pomp of   
colour and wealth of design1 or the     
picture is a visible interpretation of  
the legend4 ,the ,venetians were able to
 disregard the legend1 but in centuries 
less richly endowed with pictorial      
genius painters are inclined to support 
their failing art with the psychological
 interest their imaginations draw from  
it4 ,but imaginative interpretation     
should not be confused with bald        
illustration4 ,the ,academicians cannot 
understand why1 if we praise ,dante     

seeing ,beatrice in a ,dream1 we should 
vilify ,mr4 ,fildes' ,doctor4 ,in both  
cases a story is told1 in neither case  
is the execution excellent4 ,why then   
should one be a picture and the other no
 more than a bald illustration8 ,the    
question is a vexed one1 and the only   
conclusion that we can draw seems to be 
that sentimentality pollutes1 the       
anecdote degrades1 wit altogether ruins2
 only great thought may enter into art4 
,rossetti is a painter we admire1 and we
 place him above ,mr4 ,fildes1 because  
his interpretations are more            
imaginative4 ,we condone his lack of    
pictorial power1 because he could think1
 and we appreciate his                  
,annunciation--the ,ecce ,ancilla       
,domini6 in the ,national ,gallery1     
principally because he has looked deep  
into the legend1 and revealed its true  
and human significance4  ,it is a small 
picture1 about three feet by two1 and is
 destitute of all technical             
accomplishment1 or even habit4 ,it is   

painted in white and blue1 and the      
streak of red in the foreground1 the red
 of a screen on which is embroidered the
 lily--emblem of purity--adds to the    
chill and coldness4 ,drawn up upon her  
white bed the ,virgin crouches1 silent  
with expectation1 listening to the      
mystic dream that has come upon her in  
the dim hush of dawn4 ,the large blue   
eyes gleam with some strange joy that is
 quickening in her4 ,the mouth and chin 
tell no tale1 but the eyes are deep     
pools of light1 and mirror the soul that
 is on fire within4 ,the red hair falls 
about her1 a symbol of the soul4 ,in the
 drawn-up knees1 faintly outlined       
beneath the white sheet1 the painter    
hints at her body's beauty4 ,one arm is 
cast forward1 the hand not clenched but 
stricken4 ,behind her a blue curtain    
hangs straight from iron rods set on    
either side of the bed4 ,above the      
curtain a lamp is burning dimly1        
blighted by the pallor of the dawn4 ,a  
dead1 faint sky--the faint ashen sky    

which precedes the first rose tint2 the 
circular window is filled with it1 and  
the paling blue of the sky's colour     
contrasts with the deep blue of the     
bed's curtain1 on which the ,virgin's   
red hair is painted4  ,the angel stands 
by the side of the white bed--,i should 
say floats1 his fair feet hanging out of
 a few pale flames4 ,white raiment      
clothes him1 falling in long folds1     
leaving the arms and feet bare2 in the  
right hand he holds a lily all in       
blossom2 the left hand is extended in   
rigid gesture of warning4 ,brown-gold   
hair grows thick about the angel's neck2
 the shadowed profile is outlined       
against the hard1 sad sky2 the          
expression of the face is deep and      
sphinx-like2 he has come1 it is clear1  
from vast realms of light1 where        
uncertainty and doubt are unknown4 ,the 
,dove passes by him towards the ,virgin4
 ,look upon her again1 crouching in her 
white bed1 her knees drawn to her bosom1
 her deep blue eyes--her dawn-tinted    

eyes--filled with ache1 dream1 and      
expectation4 ,the shadows of dawn are on
 wall and floor--strange1 blue          
shadows6--the ,virgin's shadow lies on  
the wall1 the angel's shadow falls      
across the coverlet4  ,here1 at least1  
there is drama1 and the highest form of 
drama--spiritual drama2 here1 at least1 
there is story1 and the highest form of 
story--symbol and suggestion4 ,rossetti 
has revealed the essence of this        
intensely human story--a story that1    
whenever we look below the surface1     
which is mediaeval and religious1 we    
recognise as a story of to-day1 of      
yesterday1 of all time4 ,a girl thralled
 by the mystery of conception awakes at 
morn in palpitations1 seeing visions4   
,mr4 ,hacker's telling of the legend is 
to ,rossetti's what a story in the      
,london ,journal is to a story by       
,balzac4 ,the ,virgin has apparently    
wandered outside the town4 ,she is      
dressed in a long white garment neither 
beautiful nor explicit3 is it a         

nightdress1 or a piece of conventional  
drapery8 ,on the right there is a long1 
silly tree1 which looks as if it had    
been evolved out of a ball of green wool
 with knitting-needles1 and above her   
floats an angel attired in a wisp of    
blue gauze4 ,rossetti1 we know1 was1 in 
the strict sense of the word1 hardly a  
painter at all1 but he had something to 
say2 and we can bear in painting1 as we 
can in literature1 with faulty          
expression1 if there is something behind
 it4 ,what is most intolerable in art is
 scholastic rodomontade4 ,and what else 
is ,mr4 ,hacker's execution8 ,in every  
transmission the method seems to        
degenerate1 and in this picture it seems
 to have touched bottom4 ,it has become 
loose1 all its original crispness is    
lost1 and1 complicated with la peinture 
claire1 it seems incapable of expressing
 anything whatsoever4 ,there is no      
variety of tone in that white sheet1    
there is nobody inside it1 and the angel
 is as insincere and frivolous as any   

sketch in a young lady's album4 ,the    
building at the back seems to have been 
painted with the scrapings of a dirty   
palette1 and the sky in the left-hand   
corner comes out of the picture4 ,i have
 only to add that the picture has been  
purchased out of the ,chantry ,bequest  
,fund1 and the purchase is considered to
 be equivalent to a formal declaration  
that ,mr4 ,hacker will be elected an    
,associate of the ,royal ,academy at the
 next election4  ,mr4 ,hacker's election
 to the ,academy--,i speak of this      
election as a foregone                  
conclusion--following as it does the    
election of ,mr4 ,stanhope ,forbes1     
makes it plain that the intention of the
 ,academy is to support to the full     
extent of its great power a method of   
painting which is foreign and unnatural 
to ,english art1 which1 in the opinion  
of a large body of artists--and it is   
valuable to know that their opinion is  
shared by the best and most original of 
the ,french artists--is disintegrating  

and destroying our ,english artistic    
tradition4 ,mr4 ,hacker's election1 and 
the three elections that will follow it1
 those of ,mr4 ,shannon1 ,mr4 ,alfred   
,east1 and ,mr4 ,bromley1 will be       
equivalent to an official declaration   
that those who desire to be ,english    
,academicians must adopt the ,french    
methods4 ,independent of the national   
disaster that these elections will      
inflict on art1 they will be moreover   
flagrant acts of injustice4 ,for ,i     
repeat1 among the forty ,academicians   
there is not one who considers these    
future ,academicians to be comparable to
 ,mr4 ,whistler1 ,mr4 ,albert ,moore1   
,mr4 ,swan1 or ,mr4 ,sargent4 ,no one   
holds such an opinion1 and yet there is 
no doubt which way the elections in the 
,academy will go4  ,the explanation of  
this incredible anomaly ,i have given1  
the explanation is not a noble one1 but 
that is not a matter for which ,i can be
 held responsible2 suffice it to say1   
that my explanation is the only possible

 explanation4 ,the ,academy is a private
 commercial enterprise1 and conducts its
 business on the lines which it         
considers the most advantageous2 its    
commercialism has become flagrant and   
undeniable4 ,if this is so--how the     
facts can otherwise be explained ,i     
cannot see--it is to be regretted that  
the ,academy got its beautiful site for 
nothing4 ,but regrets are vain4 ,the    
only thing to do now is to see that the 
,academy is no longer allowed to sail   
under false colours4 ,this article may  
awaken in the ,academy a sense that it  
is not well to persist in open and      
flagrant defiance of public opinion1 or 
it may serve to render the ,academicians
 even more stiff-necked than before4 ,in
 either case it will have accomplished  
its purpose4     ,,the ,,organisation   
,,of ,,art4   ,no fact is more painful  
to the modern mind than that men are not
 born with equal brains2 and every day  
we grow more and more determined to     
thwart ,nature's desire of inequality by

 public education4 ,whether everybody   
should be taught to read and write ,i   
leave to politicians--the matter is not 
important2 but that the nation should   
not be instructed in drawing1 music1    
painting1 and ,english literature ,i    
will never cease to maintain4           
,everything that has happened in        
,england for the last thirty years goes 
to prove that systematised education in 
art means artistic decadence4  ,to the  
ordinary mind there is something very   
reassuring in the words institutions1   
professors1 examinations1 medals1 and   
titles of all kinds4 ,all these things  
have been given of late years to art1   
and parents and guardians need no longer
 have any fear for those confided to    
their charge3 the art of painting has   
been recognised as a profession6 ,the   
principal institution where this        
profession is practised is called the   
,royal ,academy4 ,it owes its existence 
to the taste of a gentleman known as    
,george the ,third1 and it has been     

dowered by the ,state to the extent of  
at least three hundred thousand pounds4 
,professors from ,oxford1 even bishops1 
dine there4 ,the members of this        
institution put ,r4,a4 after their      
names2 the president has been made a    
baronet2 there was even a rumour that he
 was going to be made a lord1 and that  
he was not we must consider as another  
blow dealt against the dignity of art4  
,literature does not offer so much scope
 for organisation as painting2 but      
strenuous efforts are being made to     
organise it1 and1 by the aid of         
academies1 examinations1 and crowns1    
hopes are entertained that1 before long1
 it will be brought into line with the  
other professions4 ,and the journalists 
too are anxious to erect their craft to 
the dignity of a profession which shall 
confer upon its members certain social  
status like that of the barrister and   
lawyer4 ,entrance is to be strictly     
conditional2 no one is to have a right  
to practice without a diploma1 and      

members are to be entitled to certain   
letters after their names4 ,a movement  
is on foot to ,churton-,collinise       
,english literature at the universities1
 and every month ,mr4 ,walter ,besant   
raises a wail in the ,author that the   
peerage is not as open to three-volume  
novelists as it is to brewers4 ,he      
bewails the fact that no eminent man of 
letters1 with the exception of ,lord    
,tennyson1 has been made the enforced   
associate of brewers and politicians4   
,mr4 ,besant does not think that titles 
in these democratic days are foolish and
 absurd1 pitiful in the personality of  
those who own them by inheritance1      
grotesque in the personality of those on
 whom they have been conferred4 ,mr4    
,besant does not see that the desire of 
the baker1 the brewer1 the butcher1 and 
,i may add the three-volume novelist1 to
 be addressed by small tradesmen and    
lackeys as yer lordship1 raises a smile 
on the lips even of the most blas4  ,i  
am advocating an unpopular rgime ,i     

know1 for the majority believe that art 
is in ,queer ,street if new buildings   
are not being raised1 if official       
recognition of merits is not proclaimed1
 and if the newspapers do not teem with 
paragraphs concerning the homes of the  
,academicians4 ,the wailing and gnashing
 of teeth that were heard when an       
intelligent portion of the ,press       
induced ,mr4 ,tate to withdraw his offer
 to build a gallery and furnish it with 
pictures by ,messrs4 ,herkomer1 ,fildes1
 ,leader1 ,long1 are not forgotten4 ,it 
was not urged that the pictures were    
valuable pictures2 the merit or demerit 
of the pictures was not what interested1
 but the fact that a great deal of money
 was going to be spent1 and that titles1
 badges1 medals1 crowns1 would be given 
to those whose pictures were enshrined  
in the new temple of art4 ,the ,tate    
,gallery touched these folk as would an 
imposing review of troops1 a procession 
of judges1 or a coronation in           
,westminster ,abbey4 ,their senses were 

tickled by the prospect of a show1 their
 minds were stirred by some idea of     
organisation--something was about to be 
organised1 and nothing appeals so much  
to the vulgar mind as organisation4  ,an
 epoch is represented by a word1 and to 
organise represents the dominant idea of
 our civilisation4 ,to organise is to be
 respectable1 and as every one wants to 
be respectable1 every one dreams of new 
schemes of organisation4 ,soldiers1     
sailors1 policemen1 members of          
parliament1 independent voters1 clerks  
in the post office1 bus drivers1        
dockers1 every imaginable variety of    
worker1 domestic servants--it is        
difficult to think of any class that has
 not been organised of late years4      
,there is a gentleman in parliament who 
is anxious to do something in the way of
 social organisation for the gipsies4   
,the gipsies have not appealed to him2  
they have professed no desire to have   
their social status raised2 they have1  
,i believe1 disclaimed through their    

king1 whoever he may be1 all            
participation in the scheme of this     
benevolent gentleman4 ,nor does any     
sense of the absurdity of his endeavour 
blight the worthy gentleman's ardour4   
,how should it8 ,he1 like the other     
organisers1 is an unreasoning instrument
 in a great tendency of things4 ,to     
organise something--or1 put it          
differently1 to educate some one--is to 
day every man's ambition4 ,so long as it
 is not himself1 it matters no jot to   
him whom he educates4 ,the gipsy under  
the hedge1 the artist painting under a  
hill1 it matters not4 ,a technical      
school of instruction would enable the  
gipsy to harness his horse better than  
he does at present2 and the artist would
 paint much better if he were taught to 
stipple1 and examined by salaried       
professors in stipple1 and given prizes 
for stippling4 ,the general mind of our 
century is with education and           
organisation of every kind1 and from    
this terrible general mind art seems    

unable to escape4 ,art1 that poor little
 gipsy whose very condition of existence
 is freedom1 who owns no code of laws1  
who evades all regulations1 who groups  
himself under no standard1 who can live 
only in disastrous times1 when the      
world's attention is drawn to other     
things1 and allows him life in shelter  
of the hedges1 and dreams in sight of   
the stars1 finds himself forced into a  
uniform--poor little fellow1 how        
melancholy he looks on his high stool in
 the ,south ,kensington ,museum1 and    
notwithstanding the professors his hand 
drops from the drawing-board1 unable to 
accomplish the admired stipple4  ,but   
solemn members of parliament are certain
 that official recognition must be      
extended to art4 ,art is an educational 
influence1 and the ,kensington galleries
 are something more than agreeable      
places1 where sweethearts can murmur    
soft nothings under divine masterpieces4
 ,the utilitarian ,m4,p4 must find some 
justification for art2 he is not        

sensible enough to understand that art  
justifies its own existence1 that it is 
its own honour and glory2 and he        
nourishes a flimsy lie1 and votes that  
large sums of money shall be spent in   
endowing schools of art and founding    
picture galleries4 ,then there is       
another class--those who have fish to   
fry1 and to whom art seems a convenient 
frying-pan4 ,mr4 ,tate craves for a     
museum to be called ,tate's2 or1 if his 
princely gift gained him a title1 which 
it may1 the museum would be             
called--,what would be an appropriate   
name8 ,there are men too who have       
trifles to sell1 and they talk loudly of
 the glories of modern art1 and the     
necessity of a ,british ,luxembourg4    
,that ,france should have a ,luxembourg 
is natural enough2 that we should have  
one would be anomalous4 ,we are a       
free-trading country4 ,i pass over the  
failure of the ,luxembourg to recognise 
genius1 to save the artist of genius a  
struggle with insolent ignorance4 ,what 

did the ,luxembourg do for ,corot1      
,millet1 ,manet1 ,degas1 ,monet1        
,renoir1 ,sisley1 ,pissaro8 ,the        
,luxembourg chose rather to honour such 
pretentious mediocrities as ,bouguereau1
 ,jules ,lefebvre1 ,jules ,breton1 and  
their like4 ,what has our ,academy done 
to rescue struggling genius from poverty
 and obscurity8 ,did it save ,alfred    
,stevens1 the great sculptor of his     
generation1 from the task of designing  
fire-irons8 ,how often did the ,academy 
refuse ,cecil ,lawson's pictures8 ,when 
they did accept him1 was it not because 
he had become popular in spite of the   
,academy8 ,did not the ,academy refuse  
,mr4 ,whistler's portrait of his mother1
 and was it not hung at the last moment 
owing to a threat of one of the         
,academicians to resign if a place was  
not found for it8 ,place was found for  
it seven feet above the line4 ,has not  
the ,academy for the last               
five-and-twenty years lent the whole    
stress and authority of its name to     

crush ,mr4 ,whistler8 ,happily his      
genius was sufficient for the fight1 and
 it was not until he had conquered past 
all question that he left this country4 
,the record of the ,academy is a        
significant one4 ,but if it has         
exercised a vicious influence in art1   
its history is no worse than that of    
other academies4 ,here1 as elsewhere1   
the ,academy has tolerated genius when  
it was popular1 and when it was not     
popular it has trampled upon it4  ,we   
have ,free ,trade in literature1 why    
should we not have ,free ,trade in art8 
,why should not every artist go into the
 market without title or masquerade that
 blinds the public to the value of what 
he has to sell8 ,i would turn art       
adrift1 titleless1 ,r4,a4-less1 out into
 the street and field1 where1 under the 
light of his original stars1 the        
impassioned vagrant might dream once    
more1 and for the mere sake of his      
dreams4     ,,art ,,and ,,science4      
,mr4 ,goschen1 said a writer in a number

 of the ,speaker1 deserves credit for   
having successfully resisted the attempt
 to induce him to sacrifice the         
interests of science at ,south          
,kensington to those of art4 ,an        
excellent theme it seemed to me for an  
article2 but the object of the writer   
being praise of ,mr4 ,tate for his good 
intention1 the opportunity was missed of
 distinguishing between the false claims
 of art and the real claims of science  
to public patronage and protection4     
,true it is that to differentiate       
between art and science is like drawing 
distinctions between black and white2   
and in excuse ,i must plead the ordinary
 vagueness and weakness of the public   
mind1 its inability very often to       
differentiate between things the most   
opposed1 and a very general tendency to 
attempt to justify the existence of art 
on the grounds of utility--that is to   
say1 educational influences and the     
counter attraction that a picture       
gallery offers to the public-house on   

,bank ,holidays4 ,such reasoning is well
 enough at political meetings1 but it   
does not find acceptance among thinkers4
 ,it is merely the flower of foolish    
belief that nineteenth century wisdom is
 greater than the collective instinct of
 the ages2 that we are far in advance of
 our forefathers in religion1 in morals1
 and in art4 ,we are only in advance of 
our forefathers in science4 ,in art we  
have done little more than to spoil good
 canvas and marble1 and not content with
 such misdeeds1 we must needs insult art
 by attributing to her utilitarian ends 
and moral purposes4  ,modern puritanism 
dares not say abolish art2 so in thinly 
disguised speech it is pleaded that art 
is not nearly so useless as might easily
 be supposed2 and it is often seriously 
urged that art may be reconciled after  
all with the most approved principles of
 humanitarianism1 progress1 and         
religious belief4 ,such is still the    
attitude of many ,englishmen towards    
art4 ,but art needs none of these       

apologists1 even if we have to admit    
that the domestic utility of a ,terburg 
is not so easily defined as that of     
mixed pickles or umbrellas4 ,another    
serious indictment is that art appeals  
rather to the few than to the many4     
,true1 indeed2 and yet art is the very  
spirit and sense of the many4 ,yes2 and 
all that is most national in us1 all    
that is most sublime1 and all that is   
most imperishable4 ,the art of a nation 
is an epitome of the nation's           
intelligence and prosperity4 ,there is  
no such thing as cosmopolitanism in art8
 alas6 there is1 and what a pitiful     
thing that thing is4  ,unhappy is he who
 forgets the morals1 the manners1 the   
customs1 the material and spiritual life
 of his country6 ,england can do without
 any one of us1 but not one of us can do
 without ,england4 ,study the question  
in the present1 study it in the past1   
and you will find but one answer to your
 question--art is nationhood4 ,all the  
great artistic epochs have followed on  

times of national enthusiasm1 power1    
energy1 spiritual and corporal          
adventure4 ,when ,greece was divided    
into half-a-dozen ,states she produced  
her greatest art4 ,the same with ,italy2
 and ,holland1 after having rivalled    
,greece in heroic effort1 gave birth in 
the space of a single generation to     
between twenty and thirty great         
painters4 ,and did not our ,elizabethan 
drama follow close upon the defeat of   
the ,armada1 the discovery of ,america1 
and the ,reformation8 ,and did not      
,reynolds1 ,gainsborough1 and ,romney   
begin to paint almost immediately after 
the victories of ,marlborough8 ,to-day  
our empire is vast1 and as our empire   
grows so does our art lessen4           
,literature still survives1 though even 
there symptoms of decadence are visible4
 ,the ,roman1 the ,chinese1 and the     
,mahometan ,empires are not             
distinguished for their art4 ,but       
outside of the great ,chinese ,empire   
there lies a little ,state called       

,japan1 which1 without knowledge of     
,egypt or ,greece1 purely out of its own
 consciousness1 evolved an art strangely
 beautiful and wholly original4  ,and as
 we continue to examine the question we 
become aware that no further progress in
 art is possible2 that art reached its  
apogee two thousand five hundred years  
ago4 ,true that ,michael ,angelo in the 
figures of ,day and ,night1 in the      
,slave1 in the ,moses1 and in the ,last 
,judgment--which last should be classed 
as sculpture--stands very1 very close   
indeed to ,phidias2 his art is more     
complete and less perfect4 ,but three   
hundred years have gone since the death 
of ,michael ,angelo1 and to get another 
like him the world would have to be     
steeped in the darkness of another      
,middle ,age4 ,and1 passing on in our   
inquiry1 we notice that painting reached
 its height immediately after ,michael  
,angelo's death4 ,who shall rival the   
splendours1 the profusion of ,veronese1 
the opulence of ,tintoretto1 the        

richness of ,titian1 the pomp of        
,rubens8 ,or who shall challenge the    
technical beauty of ,velasquez or of    
,hals1 or the technical dexterity of    
,terburg1 or ,metzu1 or ,dow1 or ,adrian
 van ,ostade8 ,passing on once again1 we
 notice that art appears and disappears 
mysteriously like a ghost4 ,it comes    
unexpectedly upon a people1 and it goes 
in spite of artistic education1 ,state  
help1 picture dealers1 and annual       
exhibitions4 ,we notice1 too1 that art  
is wholly untransmissible2 nay1 more1   
the fact that art is with us to-day is  
proof that art will not be with us      
to-morrow4 ,art cannot be acquired1 nor 
can those who have art in their souls   
tell how it came there1 or how they     
practise it4 ,art cannot be repressed1  
encouraged1 or explained2 it is         
something that transcends our knowledge1
 even as the principle of life4  ,now ,i
 take it that science differs from art  
on all these points4 ,science is not    
national1 it is essentially             

cosmopolitan4 ,the science of one       
country is the same as that of another  
country4 ,it is impossible to tell by   
looking at it whether the phonograph was
 invented in ,england or ,america4      
,unlike art1 again1 science is          
essentially transmissible2 every        
discovery leads of necessity to another 
discovery1 and the fact that science is 
with us to-day proves that science will 
be still more with us to-morrow4        
,nothing can extinguish science except  
an invasion of barbarians1 and the      
barbarians that science has left alive  
would hardly suffice4 ,art has its      
limitations1 science has none4 ,it      
would1 however1 be vain to pursue our   
differentiation any further4 ,it must be
 clear that what are most opposed in    
this world are art and science2         
therefore--,i think ,i can say          
therefore--all the arguments ,i used to 
show that a ,british ,luxembourg would  
be prejudicial to the true interests of 
art may be used in favour of the        

endowment of a college of science at    
,south ,kensington4 ,why should not the 
humanitarianism of ,mr4 ,tate induce him
 to give his money to science instead of
 to art8 ,as well build a hothouse for  
swallows to winter in as a ,british     
,luxembourg2 but science is a good old  
barn-door fowl2 build her a hen-roost1  
and she will lay you eggs1 and golden   
eggs4 ,give your money to science1 for  
there is an evil side to every other    
kind of almsgiving4 ,it is well to save 
life1 but the world is already          
overstocked with life2 and in saving    
life one may be making the struggle for 
existence still more unendurable for    
those who come after4 ,but in giving    
your money to science you are           
accomplishing a definite good2 the      
results of science have always been     
beneficent4 ,science will alleviate the 
wants of the world more wisely than the 
kindest heart that ever beat under the  
robe of a ,sister of ,mercy2 the hands  
of science are the mercifulest in the   

end1 and it is science that will redeem 
man's hope of ,paradise4     ,,royalty  
,,in ,,art4   ,the subject is full of   
suggestion1 and though any adequate     
examination of it would lead me beyond  
the limits of this paper1 ,i think ,i   
may venture to lift its fringe4 ,to do  
so1 we must glance at its historic side4
 ,we know the interest that ,julius the 
,second took in the art of ,michael     
,angelo and ,raphael3 had it not been   
for the ,popes1 ,st4 ,peter's would not 
have been built1 nor would ,the ,last   
,judgment have been painted4 ,we know1  
too1 of ,philip the ,fourth's great love
 of the art of ,velasquez4 ,the ,court  
of ,frederick the ,great was a republic 
of art and letters2 and is it not       
indirectly to a ,bavarian monarch that  
we owe ,wagner's immortal               
chefs-d'oeuvre1 and hence the musical   
evolution of the century8 ,with these   
facts before us it would be puerile to  
deny that in the past ,royalty has lent 
invaluable assistance in the protection 

and development of art4 ,even if we turn
 to our own country we find at least one
 monarch who could distinguish a painter
 when he met one4 ,charles the ,second  
did not hesitate in the patronage he    
extended to ,vandyke1 and it is--as ,i  
have frequently pointed out--to the     
influence of ,vandyke that we owe all   
that is worthiest and valuable in       
,english art4 ,bearing these facts in   
mind--and it is impossible not to bear  
them in mind--it is difficult to go to  
the ,victorian ,exhibition and not ask3 
,does the present ,royal ,family        
exercise any influence on ,english art8 
,this is the question that the          
,victorian ,exhibition puts to us4      
,after fifty years of reign1 the ,queen 
throws down the gauntlet2 and speaking  
through the medium of the ,victorian    
,exhibition1 she says3 ,this is how ,i  
have understood art2 this is what ,i    
have done for art2 ,i countenance1 ,i   
court1 ,i challenge inquiry4  ,yes1     
truly the ,victorian ,exhibition is an  

object-lesson in ,royalty4 ,if all other
 records were destroyed1 the historian1 
five hundred years hence1 could         
reconstitute the psychological          
characteristics1 the mentality1 of the  
present reigning family from the        
pictures on exhibition there4 ,for in   
the art that it has chosen to patronise 
7a more united family on the subject of 
art it would be hard to imagine--nowhere
 can we detect the slightest difference 
of opinion71 the ,queen1 her spouse1 and
 her children appear to be singularly   
bourgeois3 a staid ,german family       
congenially and stupidly commonplace1   
accepting a little too seriously its    
mission of crowns and sceptres1 and     
accomplishing its duties1 grown out of  
date1 somewhat witlessly1 but with heavy
 dignity and forbearance4 ,waiving all  
racial characteristics1 the ,german     
bourgeois family mind appears plainly   
enough in all these family groups2 no   
other mind could have permitted the     
perpetration of so much stolid family   

placidity1 of so much frauism4 ,exhibit 
us in our family circle1 in our         
coronation robes1 in our wedding        
dresses1 let the likeness be correct and
 the colours bright--we leave the rest  
to you4 ,such seems to have been the    
,royal artistic edict issued in the     
beginning of the present reign4 ,in no  
instance has the choice fallen on a     
painter of talent2 but the middling from
 every country in ,europe seems to have 
found a ready welcome at the ,court of  
,queen ,victoria4 ,we find there        
middling ,germans1 middling ,italians1  
middling ,frenchmen--and all receiving  
money and honour from our ,queen4  ,the 
,queen and the ,prince ,consort do not  
seem to have been indifferent to art1   
but to have deliberately1 and with rare 
instinct1 always picked out what was    
most worthless2 and regarded in the     
light of documents1 these pictures are  
valuable2 for they tell plainly the real
 mind of the ,royal ,family4 ,we see at 
once that the family mind is wholly     

devoid of humour2 the very faintest     
sense of humour would have saved them   
from exhibiting themselves in so        
ridiculous a light4 ,the large picture  
of the ,queen and the ,prince ,consort  
surrounded with their children1 the     
,prince ,consort in knee-breeches1      
showing a finely-turned calf1 is        
sufficient to occasion the overthrow of 
a dynasty if humour were the prerogative
 of the many instead of being that of   
the few4 ,this masterpiece is signed1   
,by ,g4 ,belli1 after ,f4 ,winterhalter2
 and in this picture we get the         
mediocrity of ,italy and ,germany in    
quintessential strength4 ,these pictures
 also help us to realise the private    
life of our ,royal ,family4 ,it must    
have spent a great deal of time in being
 painted4 ,the family pictures are      
numberless1 and the family taste is     
visible upon them all4 ,and there must  
be some strange magnetism in the family 
to be able to transfuse so much of      
itself into the minds of so many        

painters4 ,so like is one picture to    
another1 that the ,exhibition seems to  
reveal the secret that for the last     
fifty years the family has done nothing 
but paint itself4 ,and in these days1   
when every one does a little painting1  
it is easy to imagine the family at work
 from morn to eve4 ,immediately after   
breakfast the easels are set up1 the    
,queen paints the ,princess ,louise1 the
 ,duke of ,edinburgh paints ,princess   
,beatrice1 the ,princess ,alice paints  
the ,prince of ,wales1 etc4 ,the easels 
are removed for lunch1 and the moment   
the meal is over work is resumed4       
,after having seen the ,victorian       
,exhibition1 ,i cannot imagine the      
,royal ,family in any other way2 ,i am  
convinced that is how they must have    
passed their lives for the last quarter 
of a century4 ,the names of ,g4 ,belli  
and ,f4 ,winterhalter are no more than  
flimsy make-believes4 ,and are there not
 excellent reasons for holding to this  
opinion8 ,has not the ,queen published1 

or rather surreptitiously issued1       
certain little collections of drawings8 
,has not the ,princess ,louise1 the     
artist of the family1 publicly exhibited
 sculpture8 ,the ,princess ,beatrice1   
has she not done something in the way of
 designing8 ,the ,duke of ,edinburgh1 he
 is a musician4 ,and it is in these     
little excursions into art that the     
family most truly manifests its         
bourgeois nature4 ,the sincerest        
bourgeois are those who scribble little 
poems and smudge little canvases in the 
intervals between an afternoon reception
 and a dinner-party4 ,the amateur artist
 is always the most inaccessible to     
ideas2 he is always the most fervid     
admirer of the commonplace4 ,a staid    
,german family dabbling in art in its   
leisure hours--the most inartistic1 the 
most ,philistine of all ,royal          
families--this is the lesson that the   
,victorian ,exhibition impresses upon   
us4  ,but why should not the ,royal     
,family decorate its palaces with bad   

art8 ,why should it not choose the most 
worthless portrait-painters of all      
countries8 ,dynasties have never been   
overthrown for failure in artistic      
taste4 ,i am aware how insignificant the
 matter must seem to the majority of    
readers1 and should not have raised the 
question1 but since the question has    
been raised1 and by her ,majesty1 ,i am 
well within my right in attempting a    
reply4 ,the ,victorian ,exhibition is a 
flagrant representation of a bourgeois1 
though a royal1 family4 ,from the       
beginning to the end the ,exhibition is 
this and nothing but this4 ,in the      
,entrance ,hall1 at the doorway1 we are 
confronted with the ,queen's chief      
artistic sin--,sir ,edgar ,boehm4       
,thirty years ago this mediocre ,german 
sculptor came to ,england4 ,the ,queen  
discovered him at once1 as if by        
instinct1 and she employed him on work  
that an artist would have shrunk        
from--namely1 statuettes in ,highland   
costume4 ,the ,german sculptor turned   

out this odious and ridiculous costume  
as fast as any ,scotch tailor4 ,he was  
then employed on busts1 and he did the  
entire ,royal ,family in marble4 ,again1
 it would be hard to give a reason why  
,royalty should not be allowed to       
possess bad sculpture4 ,the pity is that
 the private taste of ,royalty creates  
the public taste of the nation1 and the 
public result of the gracious interest  
that the ,queen was pleased to take in  
,mr4 ,edgar ,boehm1 is the disfigurement
 of ,london by several of the worst     
statues it is possible to conceive4 ,it 
is bad enough that we should have       
,german princes foisted upon us1 but    
,german statues are worse4 ,the ancient 
site of ,temple ,bar has been disfigured
 by ,boehm with statues of the ,queen   
and the ,prince of ,wales1 so stupidly  
conceived and so stupidly modelled that 
they look like figures out of a ,noah's 
,ark4 ,the finest site in ,london1 ,hyde
 ,park ,corner1 has been disfigured by  
,boehm with a statue of the ,duke of    

,wellington so bad1 so paltry1 so       
characteristically the work of a ,german
 mechanic1 that it is impossible to     
drive down the beautiful road without   
experiencing a sensation of discomfort  
and annoyance4 ,the original statue that
 was pulled down in the interests of    
,boehm was1 it is true1 bad ,english1   
but bad ,english suits the landscape    
better than cheap ,german4 ,and this    
disgraceful thing will remain1          
disfiguring the finest site in ,london1 
until1 perhaps1 some dynamiter blows the
 thing up1 ostensibly to serve the cause
 of ,ireland1 but really in the         
interests of art4 ,at the other end of  
the park we have the ,albert ,memorial4 
,we sympathise with the ,queen in her   
grief for the ,prince ,consort1 but we  
cannot help wishing that her grief were 
expressed more artistically4  ,a city so
 naturally beautiful as ,london can do  
without statues2 the question is not so 
much how to get good statues1 but how to
 protect ,london against bad statues4   

,if for the next twenty-five years we   
might celebrate the memory of each great
 man by the destruction of a statue we  
might undo a great part of the mischief 
for which ,royalty is mainly            
responsible4 ,i do not speak of ,boehm's
 ,jubilee coinage--the melting-pot will 
put that right one of these days--but   
his statues1 beyond some slight hope    
from the dynamiters1 will be always with
 us4 ,had he lived1 ,london would have  
disappeared under his statues2 at the   
time of his death they were popping up  
by twos and threes all over the town4   
,our lovely city is our inheritance2    
,london should be to the ,londoner what 
,athens is to the ,athenian4 ,what would
 the ,athenians have thought of         
,pericles if he had proposed the        
ornamentation of the city with ,persian 
sculpture8 ,boehm is dead1 but another  
,german will be with us before long1    
and1 under ,royal patronage1 will       
continue the odious disfigurement of our
 city4 ,if our ,royal ,family possessed 

any slight aesthetic sense its influence
 might be turned to the service of art2 
but as it has none1 it would be well for
 ,royalty to refrain4 ,art can take care
 of itself if left to the genius of the 
nation1 and freed from foreign control4 
,the ,prince of ,wales has never        
affected any artistic sympathies4 ,for  
this we are thankful3 we have nothing to
 reproach him with except the           
unfortunate ,roll-call incident4        
,royalty is to-day but a social         
figment--it has long ago ceased to      
control our politics4 ,would that       
,royalty would take another step and    
abandon its influence in art4     ,,art 
,,patrons4   ,the general art patron in 
,england is a brewer or distiller4      
,five-and-forty is the age at which he  
begins to make his taste felt in the art
 world1 and the cause of his collection 
is the following1 or an analogous       
reason4 ,after a heavy dinner1 when the 
smoke-cloud is blowing lustily1 ,brown  
says to ,smith3 ,i know you don't care  

for pictures1 so you wouldn't think that
 ,leader was worth fifteen hundred      
pounds2 well1 ,i paid all that1 and     
something more too1 at the last ,academy
 for it4 ,smith1 who has never heard of 
,leader1 turns slowly round on his      
chair1 and his brain1 stupefied with    
strong wine and tobacco1 gradually      
becomes aware of a village by a river   
bank seen in black silhouette upon a    
sunset sky4 ,wine and food have made him
 happily sentimental1 and he remembers  
having seen a village looking very like 
that village when he was paying his     
attentions to the eldest ,miss ,jones4  
,yes1 it was looking like that1 all     
quite sharp and clear on a yellow sky1  
and the trees were black and still just 
like those trees4 ,smith determines that
 he too shall possess a ,leader4 ,he may
 not be quite as big a man as ,brown1   
but he has been doing pretty well       
lately4444 ,there's no reason why he    
shouldn't have a ,leader4 ,so           
irredeemable mischief has been done at  

,brown's dinner-party3 another five or  
six thousand a year will henceforth     
exert its mighty influence in the       
service of bad art4  ,poor ,smith1 who  
never looked attentively at a picture   
before1 does not see that what inspires 
such unutterable memories of ,ethel     
,jones is but a magnified ,christmas    
card2 the dark trees do not suggest     
treacle to him1 nor the sunset sky the  
rich cream which he is beginning to feel
 he partook of too freely2 he does not  
see the thin drawing1 looking as if it  
had been laboriously scratched out with 
a nail1 nor yet the feeble handling     
which suggests a child and a pot of gum4
 ,but of technical achievement how      
should ,mr4 ,smith know anything8--that 
mysterious something1 different in every
 artist1 taking a thousand forms1 and   
yet always recognisable to the educated 
eye4 ,how should poor ,smith see        
anything in the picture except what ,mr4
 ,whistler wittily calls rather a       
foolish sunset8 ,to perceive ,mr4       

,leader's deficiency in technical       
accomplishment may seem easy to the     
young girl who has studied drawing for  
six months at ,south ,kensington2 but   
,smith is a stupid man who has          
money-grubbed for five-and-twenty years 
in the ,city2 and through the fumes of  
wine and tobacco he resolves to have a  
,leader4 ,he does not hesitate1 he      
consults no one--and why should he8 ,mr4
 ,leader put ,r4,a4 after his name--he  
charges fifteen hundred4 ,besides1 the  
village on the river bank with a sunset 
behind is obviously a beautiful         
thing4444 ,the mischief has been done1  
the irredeemable mischief has been      
achieved4 ,smith buys a ,leader1 and the
 ,leader begets a ,long1 the ,long      
begets a ,fildes1 the ,fildes begets a  
,dicksee1 the ,dicksee begets a         
,herkomer4  ,such is the genesis of ,mr4
 ,smith's collection1 and it is typical 
of a hundred now being formed in        
,london4 ,in ten years ,mr4 ,smith has  
laid out forty or fifty thousand pounds4

 ,he asks his friends if they don't like
 his collection quite as well as        
,brown's3 he urges that he can't see    
much difference himself4 ,nor is there  
much difference4 ,the same              
articles--that is to say1 identically   
similar articles--vulgarly painted      
sunsets1 vulgarly painted doctors1      
vulgarly painted babies1 vulgarly       
painted manor-houses with saddle-horses 
and a young lady hesitating on the      
steps1 have been acquired at or about   
the same prices4 ,the popular ,r4,a4s   
have appealed to popular sentiment1 and 
popular sentiment has responded2 and the
 ,city has paid the price4 ,but ,time is
 not at all a sentimental person3 he is 
quite unaffected by the ,adelphi reality
 of the doctor's face or the mawkish    
treacle of the village church2 and when 
the collection is sold at auction twenty
 years hence1 it will fetch about a     
fourth of the price that was paid4  ,mr4
 ,smith's artistic taste knows no       
change2 it was formed on ,mr4 ,brown's  

,leader1 and developing logically from  
it1 passing through ,long1 ,fildes1 and 
,dicksee1 it touches high-water mark at 
,hook4 ,the pretty blue sea and the     
brown fisher-folk call for popular      
admiration almost as imperatively as the
 sunset in the village churchyard2 and  
when an artist--for in his adventures   
among dealers ,mr4 ,smith met one or    
two--points out how much less like      
treacle ,mr4 ,hook is than ,mr4 ,leader1
 and how much more flowing and supple   
the drawing of the sea-shore is than the
 village seen against the sunset1 ,mr4  
,smith thinks he understands what is    
meant4 ,but remembering the fifteen     
hundred pounds he paid for the cream sky
 and the treacle trees1 he is quite sure
 that nothing could be better4  ,the    
ordinary perception of the artistic     
value of a picture does not arise above 
,mr4 ,smith's4 ,i have studied the      
artistic capacity of the ordinary mind  
long and diligently1 and ,i know my     
analysis of it is exact2 and if ,i do   

not exaggerate the artistic             
incapabilities of ,mr4 ,smith1 it must  
be admitted that the influence which his
 money permits him to exercise in the   
art world is an evil influence1 and is  
exercised persistently to the very great
 detriment of the real artist4 ,but it  
will be said that the moneyed man cannot
 be forbidden to buy the pictures that  
please him4 ,no1 but men should not be  
elected ,academicians merely because    
their pictures are bought by ,city men1 
and this is just what is done4 ,do not  
think that ,sir ,john ,millais is       
unaware that ,mr4 ,long's pictures1     
artistically considered1 are quite      
worthless4 ,do not think that ,mr4      
,orchardson does not turn in contempt   
from ,mr4 ,leader's tea-trays4 ,do not  
think that every artist1 however humble1
 however ignorant1 does not know that   
,mr4 ,goodall's portrait of ,mrs4       
,kettlewell stands quite beyond the     
range of criticism4 ,mr4 ,long1 ,mr4    
,leader1 and ,mr4 ,goodall were not     

elected ,academicians because the       
,academicians who voted for them        
approved of their pictures1 but because 
,mr4 ,smith and his like purchased their
 pictures2 and by electing these        
painters to ,academic honours the taste 
of ,mr4 ,smith receives official        
confirmation4  ,the public can          
distinguish very readily--far better    
than it gets credit for--between bad    
literature and good2 nor is the public  
deaf to good music1 but the public seems
 quite powerless to distinguish between 
good painting and bad4 ,no1 ,i am wrong2
 it distinguishes very well between bad 
painting and good1 only it invariably   
prefers the bad4 ,the language of speech
 we are always in progress of learning2 
and the language of music being similar 
to that of speech1 it becomes easier to 
hear that ,wagner is superior to        
,rossini than to see that ,whistler is  
better than ,leader4 ,of all languages  
none is so difficult1 so varying1 so    
complex1 so evanescent1 as that of      

paint2 and yet it is precisely the works
 written in this language that every one
 believes himself able to understand1   
and ready to purchase at the expense of 
a large part of his fortune4 ,if ,i     
could make such folk understand how     
illusory is their belief1 what a service
 ,i should render to art--if ,i could   
only make them understand that the      
original taste of man is always for the 
obvious and the commonplace1 and that it
 is only by great labour and care that  
man learns to understand as beautiful   
that which the uneducated eye considers 
ugly4  ,why will the art patron never   
take advice8 ,i should seek it if ,i    
bought pictures4 ,if ,degas were to tell
 me that a picture ,i had intended to   
buy was not a good one ,i should not buy
 it1 and if ,degas were to praise a     
picture in which ,i could see no merit  
,i should buy it and look at it until ,i
 did4 ,such confession will make me     
appear weak-minded to many2 but this is 
so1 because much instruction is         

necessary even to understand how        
infinitely more ,degas knows than any   
one else can possibly know4 ,the art    
patron never can understand as much     
about art as the artist1 but he can     
learn a good deal4 ,it is fifteen years 
since ,i went to ,degas's studio for the
 first time4 ,i looked at his portraits1
 at his marvellous ballet-girls1 at the 
washerwomen1 and understood nothing of  
what ,i saw4 ,my blindness to ,degas's  
merit alarmed me not a little1 and ,i   
said to ,manet--to whom ,i paid a visit 
in the course of the afternoon--,it is  
very odd1 ,manet1 ,i understand your    
work1 but for the life of me ,i cannot  
see the great merit you attribute to    
,degas4 ,to hear that some one has not  
understood your rival's work as well as 
he understands your own is sweet        
flattery1 and ,manet only murmured under
 his breath that it was very odd1 since 
there were astonishing things in ,degas4
  ,since those days ,i have learnt to   
understand ,degas2 but unfortunately ,i 

have not been able to transmit my       
knowledge to any one4 ,when important   
pictures by ,degas could be bought for a
 hundred and a hundred and fifty pounds 
apiece1 ,i tried hard to persuade some  
,city merchants to buy them4 ,they only 
laughed and told me they liked ,long    
better4 ,degas has gone up fifty per    
cent1 ,long has declined fifty per cent4
 ,whistler's can be bought to-day for   
comparatively small prices2 ,footnote3  
,this was written before the ,whistler  
boom4 in twenty years they will cost    
three times as much2 in twenty years    
,mr4 ,leader's pictures will probably   
not be worth half as much as they are   
to-day4 ,what ,i am saying is the merest
 commonplace1 what every artist knows2  
but go to an art patron--a ,city        
merchant--and ask him to pay five       
hundred for a ,degas1 and he will laugh 
at you2 he will say1 ,why1 ,i could get 
a ,dicksee or a ,leader for a thousand  
or two4     ,,picture ,,dealers4   ,in  
the eighteenth century1 and the         

centuries that preceded it1 artists were
 visited by their patrons1 who bought   
what the artist had to sell1 and        
commissioned him to paint what he was   
pleased to paint4 ,but in our time the  
artist is visited by a showily-dressed  
man1 who comes into the studio          
whistling1 his hat on the back of his   
head4 ,this is the ,west-,end dealer3 he
 throws himself into an arm-chair1 and  
if there is nothing on the easels that  
appeals to the uneducated eye1 the      
dealer lectures the artist on his folly 
in not considering the exigencies of    
public taste4 ,on public taste--that is 
to say1 on the uneducated eye--the      
dealer is a very fine authority4 ,his   
father was a dealer before him1 and the 
son was brought up on prices1 he lisped 
in prices1 and was taught to reverence  
prices4 ,he cannot see the pictures for 
prices1 and he lies back1 looking round 
distractedly1 not listening to the      
timid1 struggling artist who is         
foolishly venturing an explanation4     

,perhaps the public might come to his   
style of painting if he were to         
persevere4 ,the dealer stares at the    
ceiling1 and his lips recall his last   
evening at the music-hall4 ,if the      
public don't like it--why1 they don't   
like it1 and the sooner the artist comes
 round the better4 ,that is what he has 
to say on the subject1 and1 if sneers   
and sarcasm succeed in bringing the     
artist round to popular painting1 the   
dealer buys2 and when he begins to feel 
sure that the uneducated eye really     
hungers for the new man1 he speaks about
 getting up a boom in the newspapers4   
,the ,press is in truth the great dupe2 
the unpaid jackal that goes into the    
highways and byways for the dealer6 ,the
 stockbroker gets the ,bouguereau1 the  
,herkomer1 the ,alfred ,east1 and the   
,dagnan-,bouveret that his soul sighs   
for2 but the ,press gets nothing except 
unreadable copy1 and yet season after   
season the ,press falls into the snare4 
,it seems only necessary for a dealer to

 order an artist to frame the contents  
of his sketch-book1 and to design an    
invitation card--,scenes on the ,coast  
of ,denmark1 sketches made by ,mr4      
,so-and-so during the months of ,june1  
,july1 and ,august--to secure half a    
column of a goodly number of ,london and
 provincial papers--to put it plainly1  
an advertisement that ,reckitts or      
,pears or ,beecham could not get for    
hundreds of pounds4 ,one side of the    
invitation card is filled up with a     
specimen design1 usually such a futile  
little thing as we might expect to find 
in a young lady's sketch-book3          
,copenhagen at ,low ,tide1 ,copenhagen  
at ,high ,tide1 ,view of the ,cathedral 
from the ,mouth of the ,river1 ,the     
,hills of----as seen from off the       
,coast4 ,and this topography every art  
critic will chronicle1 and his          
chronicling will be printed free of     
charge amongst the leading columns of   
the paper4 ,nor is this the worst case4 
,the request to notice a collection of  

paintings and drawings made by the late 
,mr4 ,so-and-so seems even more         
flagrant1 for then there is no question 
of benefiting a young artist who stands 
in need of encouragement or recognition2
 the show is simply a dealer's          
exhibition of his ware4 ,true1 that the 
ware may be so rare and excellent that  
it becomes a matter of public interest2 
if so1 the critic is bound to notice the
 show4 ,but the ordinary show--a        
collection of works by a tenth-rate     
,french artist--why should the ,press   
advertise such wares gratis8 ,the public
 goes to theatres and to flower-shows   
and to race-courses1 but it does not go 
to these dealers' shows--the dealer's   
friends and acquaintances go on private 
view day1 and for the rest of the season
 the shop is quieter than the           
tobacconist's next door4  ,for the last 
month every paper ,i took up contained  
glowing accounts of ,messrs4 ,tooth     
,mac,lean's galleries 7picture dealers  
do not keep shops--they keep galleries71

 glowing accounts of a large and        
extensive assortment of                 
,dagnan-,bouveret1 ,bouguereau1 ,rosa   
,bonheur3 very nice things in their way1
 just such things as ,i would take      
,alderman ,samuelson to see4  ,these    
notices1 taken out in the form of       
legitimate advertisement1 would run into
 hundreds of pounds2 and ,i am quite at 
a loss to understand why the ,press     
abandons so large a part of its revenue4
 ,for if the ,press did not notice these
 exhibitions1 the dealers would be      
forced into the advertising columns1 and
 when a little notice was published of  
the ware1 it would be done as a little  
return--as a little encouragement for   
advertising1 on the same principle as   
ladies' papers publish visits to        
dressmakers4 ,the present system of     
noticing ,messrs ,tooth's and not       
noticing ,messrs4 ,pears' is to me      
wholly illogical2 and1 to use the word  
which makes every ,british heart beat   
quicker--unbusinesslike4 ,but with      

business ,i have nothing to do--my      
concern is with art2 and if the noticing
 of dealers' shows were not inimical to 
art1 ,i should not have a word to say   
against the practice4 ,messrs4 ,tooth   
,mac,lean trade in ,salon and ,academy  
pictures1 so the notices the ,press     
prints are the equivalent of a          
subvention granted by the ,press for the
 protection of this form of art4 ,if ,i 
were a statistician1 it would interest  
me to turn over the files of the        
newspapers for the last fifty years and 
calculate how much ,messrs4 ,agnew have 
had out of the ,press in the shape of   
free advertisement4 ,and when we think  
what sort of art this vast sum of money 
went to support1 we cease to wonder at  
the decline of public taste4  ,my       
quarrel is no more with ,messrs4 ,agnew 
than it is with ,messrs4 ,tooth         
,mac,lean2 my quarrel--,i should say1 my
 reprimand--is addressed to the         
,press--to the ,press that foolishly1   
unwittingly1 not knowing what it was    

doing1 threw such power into the hands  
of the dealers that our exhibitions are 
now little more than the tributaries of 
the ,bond ,street shop8 ,this statement 
will shock many2 but let them think1 and
 they will see it could not be          
otherwise4 ,messrs4 ,agnew have         
thousands and thousands of pounds       
invested in the ,academy--that is to    
say1 in the works of ,academicians4     
,when they buy the work of any one      
outside of the ,academy1 they talk very 
naturally of their new man to their     
friends the ,academicians1 and the      
,academicians are anxious to please     
their best customer4 ,it was in some    
such way that ,mr4 ,burne-,jones's      
election was decided4 ,for ,mr4         
,burne-,jones was held in no ,academic  
esteem4 ,his early pictures had been    
refused at ,burlington ,house1 and he   
resolved never to send there again4 ,for
 many years he remained firm in his     
determination4 ,in the meantime the     
public showed unmistakable signs of     

accepting ,mr4 ,jones1 whereupon        
,messrs4 ,agnew also accepted ,mr4      
,jones4 ,mr4 ,jones was popular2 he was 
better than popular1 he stood on the    
verge of popularity2 but there was      
nothing like making things              
safe--,jones's election to the ,academy 
would do that4 ,jones's scruples would  
have to be overcome2 he must exhibit    
once in the ,academy4 ,the ,academicians
 would be satisfied with that4 ,mr4     
,jones did exhibit in the ,academy2 he  
was elected on the strength of this one 
exhibit4 ,he has never exhibited since4 
,these are the facts3 confute them who  
may1 explain them who can4  ,it is true 
that the dealer cannot be got rid of--he
 is a vice inherent in our civilisation2
 but if the ,press withdrew its         
subvention1 his monopoly would be       
curtailed1 and art would be recruited by
 new talent1 at present submerged4 ,art 
would gradually withdraw from the       
bluster and boom of an arrogant         
commercialism1 and would attain her     

olden dignity--that of a quiet          
handicraft4 ,and in this great          
reformation only two classes would      
suffer--the art critics and the dealers4
 ,the newspaper proprietors would profit
 largely1 and the readers of newspapers 
would profit still more largely1 for    
they would no longer be bored by the    
publication of dealers' catalogues      
expanded with insignificant comment4    
,,mr4 ,,burne-,,jones ,,and ,,the       
,,academy4       ,to the ,editor of ,the
 ,speaker4      ,,sir1--,your art critic
 ,g4 ,m4 is in error on a matter of     
fact1     and as everybody knows the    
relationship between fact and theory1   
,i am afraid his little error vitiates  
the argument he propounds     with so   
much vigour4 ,it was after1 and not     
before1 his     election as an          
,associate that ,mr4 ,burne-,jones made 
his solitary     appearance as an       
exhibitor at the ,royal                 
,academy4--,yours truly1     etc41      
,r4 ,i4      ,sir1-,it has always been  

my rule not to enter into argument with 
my critics1 but in the instance of ,r4  
,i4 ,i find myself obliged     to break 
my rule4 ,r4 ,i4 thinks that the mistake
 ,i slipped into     regarding ,mr4     
,burne-,jones's election as an          
,associate vitiates the     argument    
which he says ,i propound with vigour4  
,i1 on the contrary1     think that the 
fact that ,mr4 ,burne-,jones was elected
 as an     ,associate before he had     
exhibited in the ,royal ,academy        
advances     my argument4 ,being in     
doubt as to the particular fact1 ,i     
unconsciously imagined the general fact1
 and when man's imagination             
intervenes it is always to soften1 to   
attenuate crudities which     only      
nature is capable of4      ,for twenty  
years1 possibly for more1 ,mr4          
,burne-,jones was a resolute            
opponent of the ,royal ,academy1 as     
resolute1 though not so truculent1      
an opponent as ,mr4 ,whistler4 ,when he 
became a popular painter ,mr4     ,agnew

 gave him a commission of fifteen       
thousand pounds--the largest1     ,i    
believe1 ever given--to paint four      
pictures1 the ,briar ,rose     series4  
,some time after--before he has         
exhibited in the ,academy--,mr4         
,jones is elected as an ,associate4 ,the
 ,academicians cannot plead that        
their eyes were suddenly opened to his  
genius4 ,if this miracle had            
happened they would not have left him an
 ,associate1 but would have     on the  
first vacancy elected him a full        
,academician4 ,how often have     they  
passed him over8 ,is ,mr4 ,jones the    
only instance of a man being     elected
 to the ,academy who had never exhibited
 there8 ,perhaps ,r4 ,i4     will tell  
us4 ,i do not know1 and have not time to
 hunt up records4      ,g4 ,m4     ,,the
 ,,alderman ,,in ,,art4   ,manchester   
and ,liverpool are rival cities4 ,they  
have matched themselves one against the 
other1 and the prize they are striving  
for is--,which shall be the great       

art-centre of the ,north of ,england4   
,the artistic rivalry of the two cities 
has become obvious of late years4       
,manchester bids against ,liverpool1    
,liverpool bids against ,manchester2 the
 results of the bidding are discussed1  
and so an interest in art is created4   
,it was ,manchester that first threw her
 strength into this artistic rivalry4   
,it began with the decorations which    
,manchester commissioned ,mr4 ,madox    
,brown to paint for the town hall4      
,manchester's choice of an artist was an
 excellent and an original one4 ,mr4    
,madox ,brown was not an ,academician2  
he was not known to the general public2 
he merely commanded the respect of his  
brother-artists4  ,the painting of these
 pictures was the work of years2 the    
placing of every one was duly chronicled
 in the press1 and it was understood in 
,london that ,manchester was entirely   
satisfied4 ,but lo6 on the placing in   
position of the last picture but one of 
the series an unseemly dispute was      

raised by some members of the           
,corporation1 and it was seriously      
debated in committee whether the best   
course to pursue would not be to pass a 
coat of whitewash over the offending    
picture4 ,it is impossible to comment   
adequately on such barbarous conduct2   
perhaps at no distant date it will be   
proposed to burn some part of ,mrs4     
,ryland's perfect gift--the ,althorp    
,library4 ,there may be some books in   
that library which do not meet with some
 councillor's entire approval4          
,barbarism on one side1 and princely    
generosity on the other1 combined to fix
 attention upon ,manchester1 and1 in    
common with a hundred others1 ,i found  
myself thinking on the relation of      
,manchester and ,liverpool to art1 and  
speculating on the direction that these 
new influences were taking4  ,there are 
two exhibitions now open in ,manchester 
and ,liverpool--the permanent and the   
annual4 ,the permanent collections must 
first occupy our attention1 for it is   

through them that we shall learn what   
sort and kind of artistic taste obtains 
in the ,north4 ,at first sight these    
collections present no trace of any     
distinct influence4 ,they seem to be    
simply miscellaneous purchases1 made    
from every artist whose name happens to 
be the fashion2 and considered as       
permanent illustrations of the various  
fashions that have prevailed in ,bond   
,street during the last ten years1 these
 collections are curious and perhaps    
valuable documents in the history of    
art4 ,but is there any real analogy     
between a dressmaker's shop and a       
picture gallery8 ,plumes are bought     
because they are very much worn just    
now1 but then plumes are not so         
expensive as pictures1 and it seems to  
be hardly worth while to buy pictures   
for the sake of the momentary fashion in
 painting which they represent4         
,manchester and ,liverpool have not1    
however1 grasped the essential fact that
 it is impossible to form an art gallery

 by sending to ,london for the latest   
fashions4 ,now and then the advice of   
some gentleman knowing more about art   
than his colleagues has found expression
 in the purchase of a work of art2 but  
the picture that hangs next to the      
fortuitous purchase tells how the taste 
of the cultured individual was overruled
 by the taste of the uncultured mass at 
the next meeting4 ,i could give many1   
but two instances must suffice to       
explain and to prove my point4 ,two     
years ago ,mr4 ,albert ,moore exhibited 
a very beautiful picture in the         
,academy--three women1 one sleeping and 
two sitting on a yellow couch1 in front 
of a starlit and moonlit sea4 ,in the   
same ,academy there was exhibited a     
picture by ,mr4 ,bartlett--a picture of 
some gondoliers rowing or punting or    
sculling 7,i am ignorant of the aquatic 
habits of the ,venetians7 for a prize4  
,the ,liverpool ,gallery has bought and 
hung these pictures side by side4 ,such 
divagations of taste make the visitor   

smile1 and he thinks perforce of the    
accounts of the stormy meetings of      
councillors that find their way into the
 papers4 ,artistic appreciation of these
 two pictures in the same individual is 
not possible4 ,what should we think of a
 man who said that he did not know which
 he preferred-a poem by ,tennyson1 or a 
story out of the ,london ,journal8      
,catholicity of taste does not mean an  
absolute abandonment of all             
discrimination2 and some thread of      
intellectual kinship must run through   
the many various manifestations of      
artistic temperament which go to form a 
collection of pictures4 ,things may be  
various without being discrepant4  ,the 
,manchester ,gallery has purchased      
,lawson's beautiful picture1 ,the       
,deserted ,garden2 likewise ,mr4        
,fildes' picture of a group of ,venetian
 girls sitting on steps1 the principal  
figure in a blue dress with an orange   
handkerchief round her neck1 the        
simple--,i may say child-like--scheme of

 colour beyond which ,mr4 ,fildes never 
seems to stray4 ,the ,lawson and the    
,fildes agree no better than do the     
,moore and the ,bartlett2 and the only  
thing that occurs to me is that the     
cities should toss up which should go   
for ,fildes and ,bartlett1 and which for
 ,lawson and ,moore4 ,by such division  
harmony would be attained1 and one city 
would be going the wrong road1 the other
 the right road2 at present both are    
going zigzag4  ,but notwithstanding the 
multifarious tastes displayed in these  
collections1 and the artistic chaos they
 represent1 we can1 when we examine them
 closely1 detect an influence which     
abides though it fluctuates1 and this   
influence is that of our discredited    
,academy4 ,the ,manchester and          
,liverpool collection are merely weak   
reflections of the ,chantrey ,fund      
collection4 ,now1 if the object of these
 cities be to adopt the standard of     
taste that obtains in ,burlington       
,house1 to abdicate their own taste--if 

they have any--and to fortify themselves
 against all chance of acquiring a taste
 in art1 it would clearly be better for 
the two corporations to hand over the   
task of acquiring pictures to the       
,academicians4 ,the responsibility will 
be gladly accepted1 and the trust will  
be administered with the same honesty   
and straightforwardness as has been     
displayed in the administration of the  
moneys which the unfortunate ,chantrey  
entrusted to the care of the            
,academicians4  ,the sowing of evil seed
 is an irreparable evil2 none can tell  
where the wind will carry it1 and       
unexpected crops are found far and wide4
 ,i had thought that the harm occasioned
 to art by the ,academy and its         
corollary1 the ,chantrey ,fund1 began   
and ended in ,london4 ,but in           
,manchester and ,liverpool ,i was       
speedily convinced of my mistake4 ,art  
in the provinces is little more than a  
reflection of the ,academy4 ,the        
majority of the pictures represent the  

taste of men who have no knowledge of   
art1 and who1 to disguise their         
ignorance1 follow the advice which the  
,academy gives to provincial ,england in
 the pictures it purchases under the    
terms--or1 rather1 under its own reading
 of the terms--of the ,chantrey ,bequest
 ,fund4 ,one of the first things ,i     
heard in ,manchester was that the       
committee had been fortunate enough to  
secure the nude figure which ,mr4       
,hacker exhibited this year in the      
,academy4 ,and on my failing to express 
unbounded admiration for the purchase1  
,i was asked if ,i was aware that the   
,academy had purchased ,the             
,annunciation for the ,chantrey ,bequest
 ,fund4 ,surely1 said a member of the   
committee1 you agree that our picture is
 the better of the two4 ,i answered3    
,poor ,mr4 ,chantrey's money always goes
 to buy the worst1 or as nearly as      
possible the worst1 picture the artist  
ever painted--the picture for which the 
artist would never be likely to find a  

purchaser4  ,last month the ,liverpool  
,county ,council assembled to discuss   
the purchase of two pictures recommended
 by the art committee--,summer1 by ,mr4 
,hornel2 and ,the ,higher ,alps1 by ,mr4
 ,stott1 of ,oldham4 ,the discussion    
that ensued is described by the         
,liverpool ,daily ,post as amusing4 ,it 
was ludicrous1 and those who do not care
 a snap of the fingers about art might  
think it amusing4 ,the joke was started 
by ,mr4 ,lynskey1 who declared that the 
two pictures in question were mere      
daubs4 ,mr4 ,lynskey did not think that 
the ,glasgow school of painting had yet 
been recognised by the public1 and until
 it had he did not see why the          
corporation should pay #ejj for these   
two productions1 merely for the sake of 
experimenting4 ,thereby we are to       
understand that in forming a collection 
of pictures it is the taste of the      
public that must be considered4 ,of     
course1 cry the aldermen2 we are here to
 supply the public with what it wants4  

,i repeat1 the corporations of          
,manchester and ,liverpool do not seem  
to have yet grasped the fact that there 
is no real analogy between a picture    
gallery and a dressmaker's shop4  ,the  
next speaker was ,mr4 ,burgess4 ,he     
could not imagine how any one could     
recommend the purchase of such pictures4
 ,the ,mr4 ,burgesses of twenty-five    
years ago could not understand how any  
one could buy ,corots4 ,mr4 ,smith asked
 if it were really a fact that the      
committee had bought the pictures4 ,he  
was assured that they would be bought   
only if the council approved of them2   
whereupon ,alderman ,samuelson declared 
that if that were so they would not be  
bought4 ,dr4 ,cummins compared the      
pictures to cattle in the parish pound1 
and it is reported that the remark      
caused much laughter4 ,then some one    
said--,i think it was ,mr4 ,smith--that 
the pictures had horrified him2         
whereupon there was more laughter4 ,then
 a member proposed that they should have

 the pictures brought in1 to which      
proposition a member objected1 amid much
 laughter4 ,then ,mr4 ,daughan suggested
 that the chairman and vice-chairman    
should explain the meaning of the       
pictures to the council4 ,more laughter 
and more ,county ,council humour4 ,the  
meeting was a typical meeting1 and it   
furnishes us with the typical           
councillor4  ,in the report of the      
meeting before me a certain alderman    
seems to have been as garrulous as he   
was irrepressible4 ,he not only spoke at
 greater length than the rest of the    
councillors put together1 but did not   
hesitate to frequently interrupt the    
members of the committee with remarks4  
,speaking of pictures by ,millais1      
,holman ,hunt1 and ,rossetti1 he        
said3--,we have had exhibitions1 and the
 works of these great artists were at   
various times closely scrutinised1 and  
they had borne the most careful scrutiny
 that could be directed to them4 ,now ,i
 defy you to take a number of pictures  

such as those in dispute1 and do the    
same with them4 ,no one could have      
spoken the words ,i have quoted who was 
not absolutely ignorant of the art of   
painting4 ,imagine the poor alderman    
going round1 magnifying-glass in hand1  
subjecting ,millais and ,holman ,hunt to
 the closest scrutiny4 ,and how easy it 
is to determine what was passing in his 
mind during the examination of the      
,glasgow school6 ,i can't see where this
 foot finishes2 the painter was not able
 to draw it1 so he covered it up with a 
shadow4 ,in the pictures of that fellow 
,guthrie the grass is merely a tint of  
green1 whereas in the ',shadow of the   
,cross' ,i can count all the shavings4  
,but we will not seek to penetrate      
further into this very alderman-like    
mind4 ,he declared that the ,glasgow    
school of painting was no more in       
comparison to what they recognised as a 
school of painting than a charity school
 was to the ,university of ,oxford4 ,i  
am sorry our alderman did not say what  

was the school of painting that he and  
his fellow-aldermen admired4 ,in the    
absence of any precise information on   
the point ,i will venture to suggest    
that the school they recognise is the   
school of ,bartlett and ,solomon4 ,the  
gallery possesses two large works by    
these masters--the ,gondoliers1 and the 
great picture of ,samson1 which fills an
 entire end of one room4 ,but what would
 be of still greater interest would be  
to hear our alderman explain what he    
meant by this astonishing               
sentence3--,the only motive of ,mr4     
,hornel's picture is a mode of art or   
rather artifice1 in introducing a number
 of colours with the idea of making them
 harmonise2 and this could be done1 and 
had been done1 by means of the          
palette-knife4  ,i have not the least   
idea what this means1 but ,i am none the
 less interested4 ,for1 although void of
 sense1 the alderman's words allow me to
 look down a long line of illustrious   
ancestry--,prud'homme1 ,chadband1       

,stiggins1 ,phillion1 the apothecary    
,homais in ,madame ,bovary4 ,after      
passing through numerous                
transformations1 an eternal idea at last
 incarnates itself in a final form4 ,how
 splendid our alderman is6 ,never did a 
corporation produce so fine a flower4   
,he is sententious1 he is artistic4 ,and
 how he lets fall from his thick lips   
those scraps of art-jargon which he     
picked up in the studio where he sat for
 his portrait6 ,he is moral2 he thinks  
that nude figures should not be         
sanctioned by the corporation2 he       
believes in the ,bank1 and proposes the 
,queen's health as if he were fulfilling
 an important duty2 he goes to the      
,academy1 and dictates the aestheticism 
of his native town4 ,there he is1 his   
hand in his white waistcoat1 in the pose
 chosen for the presentation portrait1  
at the moment when he delivered himself 
of his famous apophthegm1 ,when the nude
 comes into art1 art flies out of the   
window4  ,the alderman is the reef which

 for the last five-and-twenty years has 
done so much to ruin and to wreck every 
artistic movement which the enthusiasm  
and intelligence of individuals have set
 on foot4 ,the mere checking of the     
obstruction of the individual will not  
suffice2 other aldermen will            
arise--equally ignorant1 equally        
talkative1 equally obstructive4 ,and    
until the race is relegated to its      
proper function1 bimetallism and sewage1
 the incidents ,i have described will   
happen again and again4         99      
99       99       99       99  ,a       
marvellous accident that it should have 
come to be believed that a corporation  
could edit a picture gallery6 ,whence   
did the belief originate8 whence did it 
spring8 and in what fancied substance of
 fact did it catch root8 ,a             
tapeworm-like notion--come we know not  
whence1 nor how4 ,and it has thriven    
unobserved1 though signs of its presence
 stare plainly enough in the pallid face
 of the wretched gallery4 ,curious it is

 that it should have remained undetected
 so long2 curious1 indeed1 it is that   
straying thought should have led no one 
to remember that every great art        
collection of the world has grown out of
 an individual intelligence4            
,collections have been worthily         
continued1 but each successive growth   
has risen in obedience to the will of   
one supreme authority2 and that it      
should have ever come to be believed    
that twenty aldermen1 whose lives are   
mainly spent in considering bank-rates1 
bimetallism1 and sewage1 could collect  
pictures of permanent value is on the   
face of it as wild a folly as ever tried
 the strength of the strait waistcoats  
of ,hanwell or ,bedlam4 ,but as         
,manchester and ,liverpool enjoy as fair
 a measure of sanity as the rest of the 
kingdom1 we perforce must admit the     
theory of unconscious acceptation of a  
chance idea4  ,but ,i take it that what 
is essential in my argument is not to   
prove that aldermen know little about   

art1 but that twenty men1 wise or       
foolish1 ignorant or learned1 cannot    
edit a picture gallery4 ,proving the    
obvious is not an amusing task1 but it  
is sometimes a necessary task4 ,it may  
be thought1 too1 that ,i might be more  
brief2 the elderly maxim about brevity  
being the soul of wit may be flung in my
 teeth4 ,but lengthy discourse gives    
time for reflection1 and ,i am seriously
 anxious that my readers should consider
 the question which these articles      
introduce4 ,i believe it to be one of   
vital interest1 reaching down a long    
range of consequences2 and should these 
articles induce ,manchester and         
,liverpool to place their galleries in  
the care of competent art-directors1 ,i 
shall have rendered an incalculable     
service to ,english art4 ,i say         
competent art-directors1 and ,i mean by 
competent art-directors men who will    
deem their mission to be a repudiation  
of the ,anglo-,french art fostered by   
the ,academy--a return to a truer       

,english tradition1 and the giving to   
,manchester and ,liverpool individual   
artistic aspiration and tendency4  ,is  
the ambition of ,manchester and         
,liverpool limited to paltry imitations 
of the ,chantrey ,fund collection8 ,if  
they desire no more1 it would serve no  
purpose to disturb the corporations in  
their management of the galleries4 ,the 
corporations can do this better than any
 director4 ,but if ,manchester and      
,liverpool desire individual artistic   
life1 if they wish to collect art that  
will attract visitors and contribute to 
their renown1 they can only do this by  
the appointment of competent directors4 
,for assurance on this point we have    
only to think what ,sir ,frederick      
,burton has done for the ,national      
,gallery1 or what the late ,mr4 ,doyle  
did for ,dublin on the meagre grant of  
one thousand a year4 ,it is the man and 
not the amount of money spent that      
counts4 ,a born collector like the late 
,mr4 ,doyle can do more with a thousand 

a year than a corporation could do with 
a hundred thousand a year4  ,nothing is 
of worth except individual passion2 it  
is the one thing that achieves4 ,and ,i 
know of no more intense passion--and1 ,i
 will add1 no more beautiful            
passion--than the passion for collecting
 works of art4 ,of all passions it is   
the purest4 ,it matters little to the   
man possessed of it whether he collects 
for the ,state or for himself4 ,the     
gallery is his child1 and all his time  
and energy are given to the enrichment  
and service of his gallery4 ,the gallery
 is his one thought4 ,he will lie awake 
at night to better think out his plans  
for the capture of some treasure on     
which he has set his heart4 ,he will get
 up in the middle of the night1 and walk
 about the gallery1 considering some    
project for improved arrangements4 ,to  
realise the meaning of the passion for  
collecting1 it is necessary to have     
known a real collector1 and intimately1 
for collectors do not wear their hearts 

on their sleeve4 ,with the indifferent  
they are indifferent2 but they are quick
 to detect the one man or woman who     
sympathises1 who understands2 and they  
select with eagerness this one from the 
crowd4 ,but perhaps the collector never 
really reveals himself except to a      
fellow-collector1 and to appreciate the 
strength and humanity of the passion it 
is necessary to have seen ,duret and    
,goncourt explaining a new ,japanesery  
which one of them has just acquired4    
,the partial love which a corporation   
may feel for its collection is very     
different from the undivided strength of
 the collector's love of his gallery4   
,and even if we were to admit the       
possibility of an ideal corporation     
consisting of men perfectly conversant  
with art1 and animated with passion     
equal to the collector's passion1 the   
history of its labour would still be    
written in the words vexatious          
discussion and lost chances4 ,the rule  
that no picture is to be purchased until

 it has been seen and approved of by the
 corporation forbids all extraordinary  
chances1 and the unique and only moment 
is lost in foolish formulae4 ,the       
machinery is too cumbersome2 and chances
 of sale-rooms cannot be seized2 it is  
instinct and not reason that decides the
 collector1 and no dozen or twenty men  
can ever be got to immediately agree4   
,not long after my article on ,manet was
 published in the columns of the        
,speaker1 a member of the ,manchester   
art committee wrote asking where could  
the pictures be seen1 and if the owners 
would lend them for exhibition in the   
annual exhibition soon to open4 ,if they
 did1 perhaps the corporation might be  
induced to buy them for the permanent   
collection4 ,now ,i will ask my readers 
to imagine my bringing the pictures ,le 
,linge and ,l',enfant  l'pe over from   
,france1 and submitting them to the     
judgment of the ,manchester             
,corporation4 ,as well might ,i submit  
to them a ,velasquez or a ,gainsborough 

signed ,smith and ,jones6 ,it is the    
authority of the signature that induces 
acquiescence in the beauty of a portrait
 by ,gainsborough or ,velasquez2 without
 the signature the ordinary or          
drawing-room lady would prefer a        
portrait by ,mr4 ,shannon4 ,mr4 ,shannon
 is the fashion1 and the fashion1 being 
the essence and soul of the crowd1 is   
naturally popular with the crowd4  ,in  
my article on ,manet ,i referred to a   
beautiful picture of his--,boulogne     
,pier4 ,it was then on exhibition in    
,bond ,street4 ,i asked a friend to buy 
it4 ,you will not like the picture now1 
,i said2 but if you have any latent     
aesthetic feeling in you it will bring  
it out1 and you will like it in six     
months' time4 ,my friend would not buy  
the picture1 and the reason he gave was 
that he did not like it4 ,it did not    
seem to occur to him that his taste     
might advance1 and that the picture he  
was ignorant enough to like to-day he   
might be wise enough to loathe six years

 hence4  ,an early customer of ,sir     
,john ,millais said1 ,millais1 ,i'll    
give you five hundred pounds to paint me
 a picture1 and you shall paint me the  
picture you are minded to paint4 ,sir   
,john painted him one of the most       
beautiful pictures of modern times1 ,st4
 ,agnes' ,eve4 ,but the wisdom of the   
purchaser was only temporary4 ,when the 
picture came home he did not like it1   
his wife did not like it2 there was no  
colour in it2 it was all blue and green4
 ,briefly1 it was not a pleasant picture
 to live with2 and after trying the     
experiment for a few months this        
excellent gentleman decided to exchange 
the picture for a picture by--by        
whom8--by ,mr4 ,sidney ,cooper4 ,i      
wonder what he thinks of himself to-day4
 ,and his fate is the fate of the       
aldermen who buy pictures because they  
like them4  ,the administration of art1 
as it was pointed out in the ,manchester
 ,guardian1 is one of extreme           
difficulty1 and it is not easy to find a

 competent director2 but it seems to me 
to be easy to name many men who would do
 better in art-management than a        
corporation1 and embarrassingly         
difficult to name one who would do      
worse4 ,any one man can thread a needle 
better than twenty men4 ,should the     
needle prove brittle and the thread     
rotten1 the threader must resign4       
,though a task may be accomplished only 
by one man1 and though all differ as to 
how it should be accomplished1 yet1 when
 the task is well accomplished1 an      
appreciative unanimity seems to prevail 
regarding the result4 ,we all agree in  
praising ,sir ,frederick ,burton's      
administration2 and yet how easy it     
would be to cavil6 ,why has he not      
bought an ,ingres1 a ,corot1 a ,courbet1
 a ,troyon8 ,why has he showed such     
excessive partiality for squint-eyed    
,italian saints8 ,sir ,frederick ,burton
 would answer3 ,in collecting1 like in  
everything else1 you must choose a line4
 ,i chose to consider the ,national     

,gallery as a museum4 ,the question is  
whether ,i have collected well or badly 
from this point of view4 ,but a         
corporation cannot choose a line on     
which to collect2 it can do no more than
 indulge in miscellaneous purchases4    
,,religiosity ,,in ,,art4   ,one ,sunday
 morning1 more than twenty years ago1 ,i
 breakfasted with a great painter1 who  
was likewise a wit1 and the account he  
gave of a recent visit to the ,dor      
,gallery amused me very much4 ,on       
entering1 he noticed that next to the   
door there was a high desk1 so cunningly
 constructed both as regards height and 
inclination that all the discomforts of 
writing were removed2 and the brightness
 of the silver inkpot1 the arrangement  
of the numerous pens and the order-book 
on the desk1 all was so perfect that the
 fingers of the lettered and unlettered 
itched alike with desire of the         
caligraphic art4 ,by this desk loitered 
a large man of bland and commanding     
presence4 ,he wore a white waistcoat1   

and a massive gold chain1 with which he 
toyed while watching the guileless      
spectators or sought with soothing voice
 to entice one to display his           
handwriting in the order-book4 ,my      
friend1 who was small and thin1 almost  
succeeded in defeating the vigilance of 
the white-waistcoated and honey-voiced  
,cerberus2 but at the last moment1 as he
 was about to slip out1 he was stopped1 
and the following dialogue ensued3--    
,sir1 that is a very great picture4     
,yes1 it is indeed1 it is an immense    
picture4  ,sir1 ,i mean great in every  
sense of the word4  ,so do ,i2 it is    
nearly as broad as it is long4  ,i was  
alluding1 sir1 to the superior          
excellence of the picture1 and not to   
its dimensions4  ,oh6  ,may ,i ask1 sir1
 if you know what that picture          
represents8  ,i'm sorry1 but ,i can't   
tell you4  ,then1 sir1 ,i'll tell you4  
,that picture represents the point of   
culmination in the life of ,christ4     
,really2 may ,i ask who says so8  ,the  

dignitaries of the ,church say so4      
,pause1 during which my friend made an  
ineffectual attempt to get past4 ,the   
waistcoat1 however1 barred the way1 and 
then the bland and dulcet voice spoke   
again4  ,do you see that man copying the
 right-hand corner of the picture8 ,that
 gentleman says that the man who could  
paint that corner could paint anything4 
,oh6 and who is that gentleman8  ,that  
gentleman is employed to copy in the    
,national ,gallery4  ,oh6 by the ,state8
  ,no1 sir1 not by the ,state1 but he   
has permission to copy in the ,national 
,gallery4  ,a special permission granted
 to him by the ,state8  ,no1 sir1 but he
 has permission to copy in the ,national
 ,gallery4 ,in fact1 just as every one  
else has4 ,i am really very much        
obliged1 but ,i must be getting along4  
,sir1 won't you put down your name for a
 ten-guinea proof signed by the artist8 
,i'm very sorry1 but ,i really do not   
see my way to taking a ten-guinea       
subscription4  ,then1 perhaps1 you will 

take one at five--the same without the  
signature8  ,i really cannot4  ,you can 
have a numbered proof for #b1 #ajs4     
,no1 thank you2 you must excuse me4     
,you can have an ordinary proof for a   
guinea4  ,no1 thank you2 you must really
 allow me to pass4  ,then in the last   
moment the white waistcoat1 assuming a  
tone in which there was both despair and
 disdain1 said--,but you will have a    
year and a half before you need pay your
 guinea4  ,who does not know this man8  
,who has not suffered from his          
importunities8 ,twenty years ago he     
extolled the beauties of ,christ leaving
 the ,praetorium2 ten years later he    
lauded the merits of ,christ and ,diana2
 to-day he is busy advising the shilling
 public thronging the ,dowdeswell       
galleries to view ,mr4 ,herbert         
,schmalz's impressive picture of ,the   
,return from ,calvary4 ,i do not mean   
that the same gentleman who presided at 
the desk in the ,dor ,gallery now       
presides at the desk at #afj ,new ,bond 

,street4 ,the individual differs1 but   
the type remains unaltered4 ,the        
waistcoat1 the desk1 the pens and the   
silver inkstand1 such paraphernalia are 
as inseparable from him as the hammer is
 from the auctioneer4 ,all this ,i have 
on the authority of ,messrs4 ,dowdeswell
 themselves4 ,when engaging their       
canvasser1 they offered him a small     
table at the end of the room4 ,their    
ignorance of his art caused him to      
smile4 ,a table1 he said1 would         
necessitate sitting down to write1 and  
the great point in this business is to  
save the customer from all unnecessary  
trouble4 ,any other place in the room   
except next the door is out of the      
question4 ,i must have a nice desk      
there1 at which you can write standing  
up1 a lamp shedding a bright glow upon  
the paper1 a handsome silver inkstand1  
and a long1 evenly-balanced pen4 ,give  
me these things1 and leave the rest to  
me4  ,messrs4 ,dowdeswell hastened to   
comply with these requests4 ,i was in   

the gallery on ,monday1 and can testify 
to the pleasantness of the little       
installation1 to the dexterity with     
which customers were led there1 and to  
the grace with which the canvasser      
dipped the pen in the handsome silver   
inkstand4 ,the county squire1 the owner 
of racehorses1 the undergraduate1 and   
the ,brixton spinster1 are easily led by
 him to the commodious desk4 ,go and see
 the man1 and you will be led thither   
likewise4  ,it is a matter for wonder   
that more artists do not devote         
themselves to painting religious        
subjects4 ,there seems to be an almost  
limitless demand for work of this kind1 
and almost any amount of praise for it1 
no matter how badly it is executed4 ,the
 critic dares not turn the picture into 
ridicule however bad it may be1 for to  
do so would seem like turning a sacred  
subject into ridicule--so few           
distinguish between the subject and the 
picture4 ,he may hardly venture to      
depreciate the work1 for it would not   

seem quite right to depreciate the work 
of a man who had endeavoured to depict1 
however inadequately1 a sacred subject4 
,everything is in favour of the painter 
of religious subjects1 provided certain 
formalities are observed4 ,the canvasser
 and the arrangements of the desk are of
 course the first consideration1 but    
there are a number of minor observances1
 not one of which may be neglected4 ,the
 gallery must be thrown into deep       
twilight with a vivid light from above  
falling full on the picture4 ,there must
 be lines of chairs1 arranged as if for 
a devout congregation2 and if1 in excess
 of these1 the primary conditions of    
success1 one of the dignitaries of the  
,church can be induced to accept a      
little excursion into the perilous      
fields of art criticism1 all will go    
well with the show4  ,it would be       
unseemly for a critic to argue with a   
bishop concerning the merits of a       
religious picture--it would be          
irreverent1 anomalous1 and in execrable 

taste4 ,for it must be clear to every   
one that the best and truest critic of a
 religious picture is a bishop2 and it  
is still more clear that if the picture 
contains a view of ,jerusalem1 the one  
person who can speak authoritatively on 
the matter is the ,bishop of ,jerusalem4
 ,and it were indeed impossible to      
realise the essential nature of these   
truths better than ,messrs4 ,dowdeswell 
have done2 they have even ventured to   
extend the ordinary programme1 and have 
decreed a special matine in the         
interests of country parsons--truly an  
idea of genius4 ,if a fault may be found
 or forged with the arrangements1 it is 
that they did not enter into some       
contract with the railway authorities4  
,but this is hypercriticism2 they have  
done their work well1 and the matine1 as
 the order-book will testify1 was a     
splendid success4 ,the parsons came up  
from every part of the country1 and as  
,the ,return from ,calvary is the latest
 thing in religious art1 they think     

themselves bound to put their names down
 for proofs4 ,how could they refuse8    
,the canvasser dipped the pen in the ink
 for them1 and he has a knack of making 
a refusal seem so mean4  ,about ,mr4    
,schmalz's picture ,i have really no    
particular opinion4 ,i do not think it  
worse than any picture of the same kind 
by the late ,mr4 ,long4 ,nor do ,i think
 that it can be said to be very much    
inferior to the religious works with    
which ,mr4 ,goodall has achieved so wide
 a reputation4 ,on the whole ,i think ,i
 prefer ,mr4 ,goodall1 though ,i am not 
certain4 ,here is the picture3--,at the 
top of a flight of steps and about      
two-thirds of the way across the        
picture1 to the left1 so as not to      
interfere with the view of ,jerusalem1  
are three figures--as ,sir ,augustus    
,harris might have set them were he     
attempting a theatrical representation  
of the scene4 ,there is a dark man1 this
 is ,st4 ,john1 and over him a woman    
draped in white is weeping1 and behind  

her a woman with golden hair--the       
,magdalen--is likewise weeping4 ,two    
other figures are ascending the steps1  
but as they are low down in the picture 
they interfere hardly at all with the   
splendid view4 ,the dark sky is streaked
 with ,naples yellow1 and the pale      
colour serves to render distinct the    
three crosses planted upon ,calvary in  
the extreme distance4  ,in this world   
all is a question of temperament4 ,to   
the aesthetic temperament ,mr4          
,schmalz's picture will seem hardly more
 beautiful or attractive than a         
,salvationist hymn-book2 the unaesthetic
 temperament will1 on the other hand1 be
 profoundly moved1 the subject stands   
out clear and distinct1 and that class  
of mind1 overlooking all artistic       
shortcomings1 will lose itself in       
emotional consideration of the grandest 
of all the world's tragedies4 ,that ,mr4
 ,schmalz's picture is capable of       
exercising a profound effect on the     
uneducated mind there can be no doubt4  

,while ,i was there a lady walked with  
stately tread into the next room1 and   
seeing there nothing more exciting than 
rural scenes drawn in water-colour1     
exclaimed1 ,trees1 mere trees6 what are 
trees after having had one's soul       
elevated8  ,that great artist ,henri    
,monnier devoted a long life to the     
study and the collection of the finest  
examples of human stupidity1 and        
marvellous as are some of the specimens 
preserved by him in his dialogues1 ,i   
hardly think that he succeeded in       
discovering a finer gem than the phrase 
overheard by me in the ,dowdeswell      
,galleries4 ,to appreciate the sublime  
height1 must we not know something of   
the miserable depth8 ,and the study of  
human stupidity is refreshing and       
salutary2 it helps us to understand     
ourselves1 to estimate ourselves1 and to
 force ourselves to look below the      
surface1 and so raise our ideas out of  
that mire of casual thought in which we 
are all too prone to lie4 ,for perfect  

culture1 the lady ,i met at the         
,dowdeswell ,galleries is as necessary  
as ,shakespeare4 ,is she not equally an 
exhortation to be wise8     ,,the       
,,camera ,,in ,,art4   ,it is certain   
that the introduction of ,japaneseries  
into this country has permanently       
increased our sense of colour2 is it    
therefore improbable that the invention 
of photography has modified1 if it has  
not occasioned any very definite        
alteration in our general perception of 
the external world8 ,it would be        
interesting to inquire into such        
recondite and illusive phenomena2 and ,i
 am surprised that no paper on so       
interesting a question has appeared in  
any of our art journals4 ,true1 so many 
papers are printed in our weekly and    
monthly press that it is impossible for 
any one to know all that has been       
written on any one subject2 but1 so far 
as ,i am aware1 no such paper has       
appeared1 and the absence of such a     
paper is1 ,i think1 a serious deficiency

 in our critical literature4  ,it is1   
however1 no part of my present purpose  
to attempt to supply this want4 ,i pass 
on to consider rapidly a matter less    
abstruse and of more practical interest1
 a growing habit among artists to avail 
themselves of the assistance of         
photographs in their work4 ,it will not 
be questioned that many artists of      
repute do use photographs to--well1 to  
put it briefly1 to save themselves      
trouble1 expense1 and1 in some cases1 to
 supplant defective education4 ,but the 
influence of photography on art is so   
vast a subject1 so multiple1 so         
intricate1 that ,i may do no more here  
than lift the very outer fringe4  ,it   
is1 however1 clear to almost everybody  
who has thought about art at all1 that  
the ever-changing colour and form of    
clouds1 the complex variety 7definite in
 its very indefiniteness7 of every      
populous street1 the evanescent delicacy
 of line and arial effect that the most 
common and prosaic suburb presents in   

certain lights1 are the very enchantment
 and despair of the artist2 and likewise
 every one who has for any short while  
reflected seriously on the problem of   
artistic work must know that the success
 of every evocative rendering of the    
exquisite externality of crowded or     
empty street1 of tumult or calm in      
cloud-land1 is the fruit of daily and   
hourly observation--observation filtered
 through years of thought1 and then     
fortified again in observation of       
,nature4  ,but such observation is the  
labour of a life2 and he who undertakes 
it must be prepared to see his skin     
brown and blister in the shine1 and feel
 his flesh pain him with icy chills in  
the biting north wind4 ,the great       
landscape painters suffered for the     
intolerable desire of ,art2 they were   
content to forego the life of           
drawing-rooms and clubs1 and live       
solitary lives in unceasing communion   
with ,art and ,nature4 ,but artists in  
these days are afraid of catching cold1 

and impatient of long and protracted    
studentship4 ,everything must be made   
easy1 comfortable1 and expeditious2 and 
so it comes to pass that many an artist 
seeks assistance from the camera4 ,a    
moment1 and it is done3 no wet feet2 no 
tiresome sojourn in the country when    
town is full of merry festivities2 and1 
above all1 hardly any failure--that is  
to say1 no failure that the ordinary    
public can detect1 nor1 indeed1 any     
failure that the artist's conscience    
will not get used to in time4  ,mr4     
,gregory is the most celebrated artist  
who is said to make habitual use of     
photography4 ,mr4 ,gregory has no warmer
 admirer than myself4 ,his picture of   
,dawn is the most fairly famous picture 
of our time4 ,but since that picture his
 art has declined4 ,it has lost all the 
noble synthetical life which comes of   
long observation and gradual            
assimilation of ,nature4 ,his picture of
 a yachtsman in this year's ,academy was
 as paltry1 as realistic as may be4     

,professor ,herkomer is another         
well-known artist who is said to use    
photography4 ,it is even said that he   
has his sitter photographed on to the   
canvas1 and the photographic foundation 
he then covers up with those dreadful   
browns and ochres which seem to         
constitute his palette4 ,report credits 
him with this method1 which it is       
possible he believes to be an advance on
 the laborious process of drawing from  
,nature1 to which1 in the absence of the
 ingenious instrument1 the ,old ,masters
 were perforce obliged to resort4 ,it   
will be said that what matter how the   
artists work--that it is with the       
result1 not the method1 with which we   
are concerned4 ,dismissing report from  
our ears1 surely we must recognise all  
the cheap realism of the camera in      
,professor ,herkomer's portraits2 and   
this is certainly their characteristic1 
although photography may have had       
nothing to do with their manufacture4   
,mr4 ,bartlett is another artist who1 it

 is said1 makes habitual use of         
photographs2 and surely in some of his  
boys bathing the photographic effects   
are visible enough4 ,but although very  
far from possessing the accomplishments 
of ,mr4 ,gregory1 ,mr4 ,bartlett has    
acquired some education1 and can draw1  
when occasion requires1 very well indeed
 from life4  ,mr4 ,mortimer ,menpes is  
the third artist of any notoriety that  
rumour has declared to be a disciple of 
the camera4 ,his case is the most       
flagrant1 for it is said that he rarely1
 if ever1 draws from ,nature1 and that  
his entire work is done from            
photographs4 ,be this as it may1 his    
friends have stated a hundred times in  
the ,press that he uses photography1 and
 it would seem that his work shows the  
mechanical aid more and more every day4 
,some years ago he went to ,japan1 and  
brought home a number of pictures which 
suited drawing-rooms1 and were soon     
sold4 ,i did not see the exhibition1 but
 ,i saw some pictures done by him at    

that time--one1 an especially good one1 
,i happened upon in the ,grosvenor      
,gallery4 ,this picture1 although       
superficial and betraying when you      
looked into it a radical want of        
knowledge1 was not lacking in charm4 ,in
 ,french studios there is a slang phrase
 which expresses the meretricious charm 
of this picture--c'est du chic2 and the 
meaning of this very expressive term is 
ignorance affecting airs of capacity4   
,now the whole of ,mr4 ,menpes' picture 
was comprised in this term4 ,the manner 
of the master who1 certain of the shape 
and value of the shadow under an eye1   
will let his hand run1 was reproduced2  
but the exact shape and value of the    
shadows were not to be gathered from the
 photograph1 and the result was a       
charming but a hollow mockery4  ,and    
then the colour-notes2 with what        
assurance they were dashed into the     
little pictures from ,japan1 and how    
dexterously the touch of the master who 
knows exactly what he wants was         

parodied6 ,at the first glance you were 
deceived2 at the second you saw that it 
was only such cursive taste and         
knowledge as a skilful photographer who 
had been allowed the run of a painter's 
studio for a few months might display4  
,nowhere was there any definite         
intention2 it was something that had    
been well committed to memory1 that had 
been well remembered1 but only          
half-understood4 ,everything            
floated--drawing1 values1 colours--for  
there was not sufficient knowledge to   
hold and determine the place of any one4
  ,since those days ,mr4 ,menpes has    
continued to draw from photographs1     
and--the base of his artistic education 
being deficient from the first--the     
result of his long abstention from      
,nature is apparent1 even to the least  
critical1 in the some hundred and       
seventy paintings1 etchings1 and what he
 calls diamond-points on ivory1 on      
exhibition at ,messrs4 ,dowdeswell's4   
,diamond-points on ivory may astonish   

the unthinking public1 but artists are  
interested in the drawing1 and not what 
the drawing is done upon4 ,besides the  
diamond-points1 there is quite          
sufficient matter in this exhibition to 
astonish visitors from ,peckham1        
,pentonville1 ,islington1 and perhaps   
,clapham1 but not ,bayswater--no1 not   
,bayswater4 ,there are frames in every  
sort of pattern--some are even adorned  
with gold tassels--and the walls have   
been especially prepared to receive     
them4  ,these pictures and etchings     
purport to be representations of ,india1
 ,burma1 and ,cashmire4 ,the            
diamond-points1 ,i believe1 purport to  
be diamond-points4 ,in some of the      
etchings there is the same ingenious    
touch of hand1 but anything more woful  
than the oil pictures cannot easily be  
imagined4 ,in truth1 they do not call   
for any serious criticism2 and were it  
not for the fact that they afforded an  
opportunity of making some              
remarks--which seemed to me to be worth 

making--about the influence of          
photography in modern art1 ,i should    
have left the public to find for itself 
the value of this attempt1 in the       
grandiloquent words of the catalogue1 to
 bring before my countrymen the         
aesthetic and artistic capabilities1 and
 the beauty in various forms1 that are  
to be found in our great ,indian        
,empire4 ,to criticise the pictures in  
detail is impossible2 but ,i will try to
 give an impression of the exhibition as
 a whole4 ,imagine a room hung with     
ordinary school slates1 imagine that all
 these slates have been gilt1 and that  
some have been adorned with gold tassels
 instead of the usual sponge1 and into  
each let there be introduced a dome1 a  
camel1 a palm-tree1 or any other        
conventional sign of the ,east4  ,on    
examining the paintings thus sumptuously
 encased you will notice that the       
painter has not been able to affect with
 the brush any slight air of capacity2  
the material betrays him at every point 

,the etchings are du chic2 but the      
paintings are merely abortive4 ,the     
handling consists in scrubbing the      
colour into the canvas1 attaining in    
this manner a texture which sometimes   
reminds you of wool1 sometimes of sand1 
sometimes of both4 ,the poor little bits
 of blue sky stick to the houses2 there 
is nowhere a breath of air1 a ray of    
light1 not even a conventionally        
graduated sky or distance2 there is not 
an angle1 or a pillar1 or a stairway    
finely observed2 there is not even any  
such eagerness in the delineation of an 
object as would show that the painter   
felt interest in his work2 every sketch 
tells the tale of a burden taken up and 
thankfully relinquished4 ,here we have  
white wall1 but it has neither depth nor
 consistency2 behind it a bit of sandy  
sky2 the ground is yellow1 and there is 
a violet shadow upon it4 ,but the colour
 of the ground does not show through the
 shadow4 ,look1 for example1 at ,no4    
#cf4 ,is it possible to believe that    

that red-brick sky was painted from     
,nature1 or that unhappy palm in a      
picture close by was copied as it raised
 its head over that wall8 ,the real     
scene would have stirred an emotion in  
the heart of the dullest member of the  
,stock ,exchange1 and1 however unskilful
 the brushwork1 if the man could hold a 
brush at all1 there would have been     
something to show that the man had been 
in the presence of ,nature4 ,there is no
 art so indiscreet as painting1 and the 
story of the painter's mind may be read 
in every picture4  ,but another word    
regarding these pictures would be waste 
of space and time4 ,let ,mr4 ,menpes put
 away his camera1 let him go out into   
the streets or the fields1 and there let
 him lose himself in the vastness and   
beauty of ,nature4 ,let him study humbly
 the hang of a branch or the surface of 
a wall1 striving to give to each their  
character4 ,let him try to render the   
mystery of a perspective in the blue    
evening or its harshness and violence in

 the early dawn4 ,there is no need to go
 to ,burma1 there is mystery and poetry 
wherever there is atmosphere4 ,in       
certain moments a backyard1 with its    
pump and a child leaning to drink1 will 
furnish sufficient motive for an        
exquisite picture2 the atmosphere of the
 evening hour will endow it with        
melancholy and tenderness4 ,but the     
insinuating poetry of chiaroscuro the   
camera is powerless to reproduce1 and it
 cannot be imagined2 ,nature is         
parsimonious of this her greatest gift1 
surrendering it slowly1 and only to     
those who love her best1 and whose      
hearts are pure of mercenary thought4   
,,the ,,new ,,english ,,art ,,club4     
,this1 the ninth season of the ,new     
,english ,art ,club1 has been marked by 
a decisive step4 ,the club has rejected 
two portraits of ,mr4 ,shannon4 ,so that
 the public may understand and          
appreciate the importance of this step1 
,i will sketch1  coups de crayon peu    
fondus1 the portrait of a lady as ,i    

imagine ,mr4 ,shannon might have painted
 her4 ,a woman of thirty1 an oval face1 
and a long white brow2 pale brown hair1 
tastefully arranged with flowers and a  
small plume4 ,the eyes large and tender1
 expressive of a soul that yearns and   
has been misunderstood4 ,the nose       
straight1 the nostrils well-defined1    
slightly dilated2 the mouth curled1 and 
very red4 ,the shoulders large1 white1  
and over-modelled1 with cream tints2 the
 arms soft and rounded2 diamond         
bracelets on the wrists2 diamonds on the
 emotional neck4 ,her dress is of the   
finest duchesse satin1 and it falls in  
heavy folds4 ,she holds a bouquet in her
 hands2 a pale green garden is behind   
her2 swans are moving gracefully through
 shadowy water1 whereon the moon shines 
peacefully4 ,add to this conception the 
marvellous square brushwork of the      
,french studio1 and you have the man    
born to paint ,english duchesses--to    
paint them as they see themselves1 as   
they would be seen by posterity2 and    

through ,mr4 ,shannon our duchesses     
realise all their aspirations1 present  
and posthumous4 ,the popularity of these
 pictures is undoubted2 wherever they   
hang1 and they hang everywhere1 except  
in the ,new ,english ,art ,club1 couples
 linger4 ,how charming1 how beautifully 
dressed1 how refined she looks6 and the 
wife who has not married a man  la      
hauteur de ses sentiments casts on him a
 withering glance1 which says1 ,why     
can't you afford to let me be painted by
 ,mr4 ,shannon8  ,we are here to realise
 our ideals1 and far is it from my      
desire to thwart any lady in her        
aspirations1 be they in white or violet 
satin1 with or without green gardens4   
,if ,i were on the hanging committee of 
the ,royal ,academy1 all the duchesses  
in the kingdom should be realised1 and  
then--,i would create more duchesses1   
and they1 too1 should be realised by    
,messrs4 ,shannon1 ,hacker1 and ,solomon
 les chefs de rayon de la peinture4 ,and
 when these painters arrived1 each with 

a van filled with new satin duchesses1  
,i would say1 ,go to ,mr4 ,agnew1 ask   
him what space he requires1 and anything
 over and above they shall have it4 ,i  
would convert the ,chantrey ,fund into  
white satin duchesses1 and build a      
museum opposite ,mr4 ,tate's for the    
blue4 ,i would do anything for these    
painters and their duchesses except hang
 them in the ,new ,english ,art ,club4  
,for it is entirely necessary that the  
public should never be left for a moment
 in doubt as to the intention of this   
club4 ,it is open to those who paint for
 the joy of painting2 and it is entirely
 disassociated from all commercialism4  
,muslin ballet-girl or satin duchess it 
matters no jot1 nothing counts with the 
jury but l'ide plastique3 comradeship1  
money gain or loss1 are waived4 ,the    
rejection of ,mr4 ,shannon's portraits  
will probably cost the club four guineas
 a year1 the amount of his subscription1
 and it will certainly lose to the club 
the visits of his numerous drawing-room 

following4 ,this is to be regretted--in 
a way4 ,the club must pay its expenses1 
but it were better that the club should 
cease than that its guiding principle   
should be infringed4  ,either we may or 
we may not have a gallery from which    
popular painting is excluded4 ,i think  
that we should2 but ,i know that        
,academicians and dealers are in favour 
of enforced prostitution in art4 ,that  
men should practise painting for the    
mere love of paint is wholly repugnant  
to every healthy-minded ,philistine4    
,the critic of the ,daily ,telegraph    
described the pictures in the present   
exhibition as things that no one would  
wish to possess2 he then pointed out    
that a great many were excellently well 
painted4 ,quite so4 ,i have always      
maintained that there is nothing that   
the average ,englishman--the reader of  
the ,daily ,telegraph--dislikes so much 
as good painting4 ,he regards it in the 
light of an offence1 and what makes it  
peculiarly irritating in his eyes is the

 difficulty of declaring it to be an    
immoral action2 he instinctively feels  
that it is immoral1 but somehow the     
crime seems to elude definition4  ,the  
,independent ,theatre was another humble
 endeavour which sorely tried the       
conscience of the average ,englishman4  
,that any one should wish to write plays
 that were not intended to please the   
public--that did not pay--was an        
unheard-of desire1 morbid and           
unwholesome as could well be1 and       
meriting the severest rebuke4 ,but the  
,independent ,theatre has somehow       
managed to struggle into a third year of
 life1 and the ,new ,english ,art ,club 
has opened its ninth exhibition2 so ,i  
suppose that the ,daily ,telegraph will 
have to make up its mind1 sorrowfully1  
of course1 and with regret1 that there  
are folk still in ,london who are not   
always ready to sell their talents to   
the highest bidder4  ,for painters and  
those who like painting1 the exhibitions
 at the ,new ,english ,art ,club are the

 most interesting in ,london4 ,we find  
there no anecdotes1 sentimental1        
religious1 or historical1 nor the       
conventional measuring and modelling    
which the ,academy delights to honour in
 the name of ,art4 ,at the ,new ,english
 ,art ,club1 from the first picture to  
the last1 we find artistic effort2 very 
often the effort is feeble1 but nowhere1
 try as persistently as you please1 will
 you find the loud stupidity of ordinary
 exhibitions of contemporary painting4  
,this is a plain statement of a plain   
truth--plain to artists and those few   
who possess the slightest knowledge of  
the art of painting1 or even any faint  
love of it4 ,but to the uncultivated1 to
 the ignorant1 and to the stupid the    
,new ,english ,art ,club is the very    
place where all the absurd and abortive 
attempts done in painting in the course 
of the year are exposed on view4 ,if ,i 
wished to test a man's taste and        
knowledge in the art of painting ,i     
would take him to the ,english ,art     

,club and listen for one or two minutes 
to what he had got to say4  ,immediately
 on entering the room1 before we see the
 pictures1 we know that they are good4  
,for a pleasant soft colour1 delicate   
and insinuating as an odour of flowers1 
pervades the room4 ,so we are glad to   
loiter in this vague sensation of       
delicate colour1 and we talk to our     
friends1 avoiding the pictures1 until   
gradually a pale-faced woman with arched
 eyebrows draws our eyes and fixes our  
thoughts4 ,it is a portrait by ,mr4     
,sargent1 one of the best he has        
painted4 ,by the side of a fine ,hals it
 might look small and thin1 but nothing 
short of a fine ,hals would affect its  
real beauty4 ,my admiration for ,mr4    
,sargent has often hesitated1 but this  
picture completely wins me4 ,it has all 
the qualities of ,mr4 ,sargent's best   
work2 and it has something more3 it is  
painted with that measure of calculation
 and reserve which is present in all    
work of the first order of merit4 ,i    

find the picture described with         
sufficient succinctness in my notes3 ,a 
half-length portrait of a woman1 in a   
dress of shot-silk--a sort of red       
violet1 the colour known as puce4 ,the  
face is pale1 the chin is prominent and 
pointed4 ,there were some ,japanese     
characteristics in the model1 and these 
have been selected4 ,the eyes are long1 
and their look is aslant2 the eyebrows  
are high and marked2 the dark hair grows
 round the pale forehead with wig-like  
abruptness1 and the painter has         
attempted no attenuation4 ,the          
carnations are wanting in depth of      
colour--they are somewhat chalky2 but   
what ,i admire so much is the exquisite 
selection1 besides the points           
mentioned--the shadowed outline1 so full
 of the form of her face1 and the       
markings about the eyes1 so like her2   
and the rendering is full of the beauty 
of incomparable skill4 ,the neck1 how   
well placed beneath the pointed chin6   
,how exact in width1 in length1 and how 

it corresponds with the ear2 and the    
jawbone is under the skin2 and the      
anatomies are all explicit--the         
collar-bone1 the hollow of the arm-pit1 
and the muscle of the arm1 the placing  
of the bosom1 its shape1 its size1 its  
weight4 ,mr4 ,sargent's drawing speaks  
without hesitation1 a beautiful1        
decisive eloquence1 the meaning never in
 excess of the expression1 nor is the   
expression ever redundant4  ,i said that
 we find in this portrait reserve not   
frequently to be met with in ,mr4       
,sargent's work4 ,what ,i first noticed 
in the picture was the admirable        
treatment of the hands4 ,they are upon  
her hips1 the palms turned out1 and so  
reduced is the tone that they are hardly
 distinguishable from the dress4 ,as the
 model sat the light must have often    
fallen on her hands1 and five years ago 
,mr4 ,sargent might have painted them in
 the light4 ,but the portrait tells us  
that he has learnt the last and most    
difficult lesson--how to omit4 ,any     

touch of light on those hands would     
rupture the totality and jeopardise the 
colour-harmony1 rare without suspicion  
of exaggeration or affectation4 ,in the 
background a beautiful chocolate        
balances and enforces the various shades
 of the shot-silk1 and with severity    
that is fortunate4 ,by aid of two red   
poppies1 worn in the bodice1 a final    
note in the chord is reached--a resonant
 and closing consonance2 a beautiful    
work1 certainly3 ,i should call it a    
perfect work were it not that the       
drawing is a little too obvious3 in     
places we can detect the manner2 it does
 not coule de source like the drawing of
 the very great masters4  ,except ,mr4  
,sargent1 no one in the ,new ,english   
,art ,club comes forward with a clearly 
formulated style2 everything is more or 
less tentative1 and ,i cannot entirely  
exempt from this criticism either ,mr4  
,steer1 ,mr4 ,clausen1 or ,mr4 ,walter  
,sickert4 ,but this criticism must not  
be understood as a reproach--surely this

 green field growing is more pleasing   
than the ,academy's barren stubble4 ,i  
claim no more for the ,new ,english ,art
 ,club than that it is the growing      
field4 ,say that the crop looks thin1   
and that the yield will prove below the 
average1 but do not deny that what      
harvest there may be the ,new ,english  
,art ,club will bring home4 ,so let us  
walk round this ,may field of the young 
generation and look into its future1    
though we know that the summer months   
will disprove for better or for worse4  
,mr4 ,bernard ,sickert1 the youngest    
member of this club1 a mere beginner1 a 
five- or six-year-old painter1 has made1
 from exhibition to exhibition1 constant
 and consistent progress1 and this year 
he comes forward with two landscapes1   
both seemingly conclusive of a true     
originality of vision1 and there is a   
certain ease of accomplishment in his   
work which tempts me to believe that a  
future is in store for him4 ,the        
differences of style in these two       

pictures do not affect my opinion1 for1 
on looking into the pictures1 the       
differences are more apparent than      
real--the palette has been composed     
differently1 but neither picture tells  
of any desire of a new outlook1 or even 
to radically change his mode of         
expression4 ,the eye which observed and 
remembered so sympathetically ,a ,spring
 ,evening1 over which a red moon rose   
like an apparition1 observed also the   
masts and the prows1 and the blue sea   
gay with the life of passing sail and   
flag1 and the green embaying land       
overlooking ,a ,regatta4  ,i hardly know
 which picture ,i prefer4 ,i saw first  
,a ,regatta1 and was struck by the      
beautiful drawing and painting of the   
line of boats1 their noses thrust right 
up into the fore water of the picture1 a
 little squadron advancing4 ,so well are
 these boats drawn that the unusual     
perspective 7the picture was probably   
painted from a window7 does not         
interrupt for a second our enjoyment4 ,a

 jetty on the right stretches into the  
blue sea water1 intense with signs of   
life1 and the little white sails glint  
in the blue bay1 and behind the high    
green hill the colours of a             
faintly-tinted evening fade slowly4 ,the
 picture is strangely complete1 and it  
would be difficult to divine any reason 
for disliking it1 even amongst the most 
ignorant4 ,a ,spring ,evening is neither
 so striking nor so immediately         
attractive2 its charm is none the less  
real4 ,an insinuating and gentle        
picture1 whose delicacy and simplicity  
,i like4  ,the painter has caught that  
passing and pathetic shudder of coming  
life which takes the end of a ,march day
 before the bud swells or a nest        
appears4 ,the faint chill twilight      
floats upon the field1 and the red moon 
mounts above the scrub-clad hillside    
into a rich grey sky1 beautifully       
graduated and full of the glamour of    
waning and strengthening light4 ,the    
slope of the field1 too--it is there the

 sheep are folded--is in admirable      
perspective4 ,on the left1 beyond the   
hurdles1 is a strip of green1 perhaps a 
little out of tone1 though ,i know such 
colour persists even in very receding   
lights2 and high up on the right the    
blue night is beginning to show4 ,the   
sheep are folded in a turnip field1 and 
the root-crop is being eaten down4  ,the
 month is surely ,march1 for the lambs  
are still long-legged--there one has    
dropped on its knees and is digging at  
the udder of the passive ewe with that  
ferocious little gluttony which we know 
so well2 another lamb relieves its ear's
 first itching with its hind hoof--you  
know the grotesque movement--and the    
field is full of the weird roaming of   
animal life1 the pathos of the          
unconscious1 the pity of transitory     
light4 ,a little umber and sienna1 a    
rich grey1 not a bit of drawing         
anywhere1 and still the wandering forms 
of sheep and lambs fully expressed1 one 
sheep even in its particular            

physiognomy4 ,truly a charming picture1 
spontaneous and simple1 and proving a   
painter possessed of a natural          
sentiment1 of values1 and willing to    
employ that now most neglected method of
 pictorial expression1 chiaroscuro4     
,neglected by ,mr4 ,steer1 who seems    
prepared to dispense with what is known 
as une atmosphre de tableau4 ,any one of
 his three pictures will serve as an    
example4 ,his portrait of a girl in blue
 ,i cannot praise1 not because ,i do not
 admire it1 but because ,mr4 ,mac,coll1 
the art critic of the ,spectator1 our   
ablest art critic1 himself a painter and
 a painter of talent1 has declared it to
 be superior to a ,romney4 ,i will quote
 his words3 ,the word masterpiece is not
 to be lightly used1 but when we stand  
before this picture it is difficult to  
think of any collection in which it     
would look amiss1 or fail to hold its   
own4 ,if we talk of ,english masters1   
,romney is the name that most naturally 
suggests itself1 because in the bright  

clear face and brown hair and large     
simplicity of presentment1 there is a   
good deal to recall that painter4 ,but  
,romney's colour would look cheap beside
 this1 and his drawing conventional in  
observation1 however big in style4  ,to 
go one better than this1 ,i should have 
to say the picture was as good as       
,velasquez1 and to simply endorse ,mr4  
,mac,coll's words would be a second-hand
 sort of criticism to which ,i am not   
accustomed4 ,besides1 to do so would be 
to express nothing of my own personal   
sensations in regard to this picture4   
,so ,i will say at once that ,i do not  
understand the introduction of ,romney's
 name into the argument4 ,if comparison 
there must be1 surely ,mr4 ,watts would 
furnish one more appropriate4 ,both in  
the seeing and in the execution the     
portrait seems nearer to ,mr4 ,watts    
than to ,romney4 ,of ,romney's gaiety   
there is no trace in ,mr4 ,steer's      
picture4  ,the girl sits in a light     
wooden arm-chair--her arm stretched in  

front of her1 the hands held between her
 knees--looking out of the picture      
somewhat stolidly4 ,the ,lady ,hamilton 
mood was an exaggerated mood1 but there 
is something of it in every portrait at 
all characteristic of our great         
eighteenth-century artist4 ,the portrait
 exhibited in this year's show of ,old  
,masters in the ,academy will do--the   
lady who walks forward1 her hands held  
in front of her bosom1 the fingers      
pressed together1 the white dress       
floating from the hips1 the white       
brought down with a yellow glaze4 ,i do 
not think that we find either that      
gaiety or those glazes in ,mr4 ,steer4  
,from many a ,romney the cleaner has    
removed an outer skin1 but ,i am not    
speaking of those pictures4  ,but if ,i 
see very little ,romney in ,steer's     
picture1 ,i am thankful that ,i see at  
least very rare distinction in the      
figuration of a beautiful and decorative
 ideal--a girl in blue sitting with her 
back to an open window1 full of the blue

 night1 and on the other side the grey  
blind1 yellowing slightly under the     
glare of the lamp4 ,i appreciate the    
very remarkable and beautiful compromise
 between portrait-painting and          
decoration4 ,i see rare distinction 7we 
must not be afraid of the word          
distinction in speaking of ,mr4 ,steer7 
in his choice of what to draw4 ,the     
colour scheme is well maintained1       
somewhat in the manner of ,mr4 ,watts1  
but neither the blue of the dress nor   
the blue of the night is intrinsically  
beautiful1 and we have only to think of 
the blues that ,whistler or ,manet would
 have found to understand how deficient 
they are4  ,the drawing of the face is  
neither a synthesis1 nor is it          
intimately characteristic of the model3 
it is simply rudimentary4 ,a round      
girlish face with a curled mouth and an 
ugly shadow which does not express the  
nose4 ,the shoulders are there1 that we 
are told1 but the anatomies are wanting1
 and the body is without its natural    

thickness4 ,nor is the drawing more     
explicit in its exterior lines than it  
is in its inner4 ,there is hardly an arm
 in that sleeve2 the elbow would be     
difficult to find1 and the construction 
of the waist and hips is uncertain2 the 
drawing does not speak like ,mr4        
,sargent's4 ,look across the room at his
 portrait of a lady in white satin and  
you will see there a shadow1 so exact1  
so precise1 so well understood1 that the
 width of the body is placed beyond     
doubt4  ,but the most radical fault in  
the portrait ,i have yet to point out2  
it is lacking in atmosphere4 ,there is  
none between us and the girl1 hardly any
 between the girl's head and the wall4  
,the lamp-light effect is conveyed by   
what ,mr4 ,mac,coll would perhaps call a
 symbol1 by the shadow of the girl's    
head4 ,we look in vain for transparent  
darknesses1 lights surrounded by        
shadows1 transposition of tones1 and the
 aspect of things2 the girl sits in a   
full diffused light1 and were it not for

 the shadow on the wall and the shadow  
cast by the nose1 she might be sitting  
in a conservatory4 ,speaking of another 
picture by ,mr4 ,steer1 ,boulogne       
,sands1 ,mr4 ,mac,coll says3 ,the       
children playing1 the holiday encampment
 of the bathers' tents1 the glint of    
people flaunting themselves like flags1 
the dazzle of sand and sea1 and over and
 through it all the chattering lights of
 noon4 ,i seize upon the phrase1 ,the   
people flaunting themselves like flags4 
,the simile is a pretty one1 and what   
suggested it to the writer is the       
detached colour in the picture2 and the 
colours are detached because there is no
 atmosphere to bind them together2 there
 are no attenuations1 transpositions of 
tone--in a word1 none of those          
combinations of light and shade which   
make une atmosphre de tableau4  ,and    
,mr4 ,steer's picture is merely an      
instance of a general tendency which for
 the last twenty years has widened the  
gulf between modern and ancient         

painting4 ,it was ,manet who first      
suggested la peinture claire1 and his   
suggestion has been developed by ,roll1 
,monet1 and others1 until oil-painting  
has become little more than a sheet of  
white paper slightly tinted4 ,values    
have been diverted from their original  
mission1 which was to build up une      
atmosphre de tableau1 and now every     
value and colour finely observed seem to
 have for mission the abolition of      
chiaroscuro4 ,without atmosphere        
painting becomes a mosaic1 and ,mr4     
,mac,coll seems prepared to defend this 
return to archaic formulas4 ,this is    
what he says3 ,the sky of the sea-beach1
 for example1 if it be taken as         
representing form and texture1 is       
ridiculous2 it is like something rough  
and chippy1 and if the suggestion gets  
too much in the way the method has      
overshot its mark4 ,its mark is to      
express by a symbol the vivid life in   
the sky-colour1 the sea-colour1 and the 
sand-colour1 and it is doubtful if the  

richness and subtlety of those colours  
can be conveyed in any other way4 ,here 
,i fail altogether to understand4 ,if   
the sky's beauty can be expressed by a  
symbol1 why cannot the beauty of men and
 women be expressed in the same way8    
,how the infinities of arial perspective
 can be expressed by a symbol1 ,i have  
no slightest notion2 nor do ,i think    
that ,mr4 ,mac,coll has4 ,in striving to
 excuse deficiencies in a painter whose 
very real and loyal talent we both      
admire1 he has allowed his pen to run   
into dangerous sophistries4 ,the matter 
of handling1 he continues1 is then a    
moot point--a question of temperament4  
,is this so8  ,that some men are born   
with a special aptitude for handling    
colour as other men are born with a     
special sense of proportions is         
undeniable2 but ,mr4 ,mac,coll's thought
 goes further than this barren          
platitude1 and if he means1 as ,i think 
he does1 that the faculty of handling is
 more instinctive than that of drawing1 

,i should like to point out to him that 
handling did not become a merely        
personal caprice until the present      
century4 ,a collection of ancient       
pictures does not present such endless  
experimentation with the material as a  
collection of modern pictures4 ,rubens1 
,hals1 ,velasquez1 and ,gainsborough do 
not contradict each other so violently  
regarding their use of the material as  
do ,watts1 ,leighton1 ,millais1 and     
,orchardson4  ,in the nineteenth century
 no one has made such beautiful use of  
the material as ,manet and ,whistler1   
and we find these two painters using it 
respectively exactly like ,hals and     
,velasquez4 ,it would therefore seem    
that those who excel in the use of paint
 are agreed as to the handling of it1   
just as all good dancers are agreed as  
to the step4 ,but1 though all good      
dancers dance the same step1 each brings
 into his practice of it an             
individuality of movement and sense of  
rhythm sufficient to prevent it from    

becoming mechanical4 ,the ancient       
painters relied on differences of       
feeling and seeing for originality      
rather than on eccentric handling of    
colour2 and all these extraordinary     
executions which we meet in every       
exhibition of modern pictures are in    
truth no more than frantic efforts      
either to escape from the thraldom of a 
bad primary education1 or attempts to   
disguise ignorance in fantastic         
formulas4 ,that which cannot be referred
 back to the classics is not right1 and 
,i at least know not where to look among
 the acknowledged masters for           
justification for ,mr4 ,steer's jagged  
brushwork4  ,mr4 ,walter ,sickert1 whose
 temperament is more irresponsible1 is  
nevertheless content within the         
traditions of oil-painting4 ,he exhibits
 two portraits1 both very clever and    
neither satisfactory1 for neither are   
carried beyond the salient lines of     
character4 ,nature has gifted ,mr4      
,sickert with a keen hatred of the      

commonplace2 his vision of life is at   
once complex and fragmentary1 his       
command on drawing slow and uncertain1  
his rendering therefore as spasmodic as 
a poem by ,browning4 ,he picks up the   
connecting links with difficulty1 and   
even his most complete work is full of  
omissions4 ,the defect--for it is a     
defect--is by no means so fatal in the  
art-value of a painting as the futile   
explanations so dearly beloved by the   
ignorant4 ,manet was to the end the     
victim of man's natural dislike of      
ellipses1 and ,mr4 ,walter ,sickert is  
suffering the same fate4 ,still1 even   
the most remote intelligence should be  
able to gather something of the merit of
 the portrait of ,miss ,minnie          
,cunningham4 ,how well she is in that   
long red frock--a vermilion silhouette  
on a rich brown background6 ,i should be
 still more pleased if the vermilion had
 been slightly broken with yellow ochre2
 but then1 at heart1 ,i am no more than 
un vieux classique4 ,the edges of the   

vermilion hat are lightened where it    
receives the glare of the foot-lights2  
and the face does not suffer from the   
red4 ,it is as light1 as pretty1 as     
suggestive as may be4 ,the thinness of  
the hand and wrist is well insisted     
upon1 and the trip of the legs1 just    
before she turns1 realises1 and in a    
manner ,i have not seen elsewhere1 the  
enigma of the artificial life of the    
stage4  ,the aestheticism of the        
,glasgow school1 of which we have heard 
so much lately1 is identical with that  
of the ,new ,english ,art ,club1 and the
 two societies are in a measure         
affiliated4 ,nearly all the members of  
the ,glasgow school are members of the  
,new ,english ,art ,club1 and it is     
regrettable that they do not unite and  
give us an exhibition that would fairly 
stare the ,academy out of countenance4  
,among the ,glasgow painters the most   
prominent and valid talent is ,mr4      
,guthrie's4 ,his achievements are more  
considerable and more personal2 and he  

seems to approach very near to a full   
expression of the pictorial aspirations 
of his generation4 ,years ago his name  
was made known to me by a portrait of   
singular beauty2 an oasis it was in a   
barren and bitter desert of ,salon      
pictures4 ,since then he has adopted a  
different and better method of painting2
 and an excellent example of his present
 style is his portrait of ,miss         
,spencer1 a lady in a mauve gown4 ,the  
slightness of the intention may be urged
 against the picture2 it is no more than
 a charming decoration faintly flushed  
with life4 ,but in his management of the
 mauve ,mr4 ,guthrie achieved quite a   
little triumph3 and the foreground1     
which is a very thin grey passed over a 
dark ground1 is delicious1 and the      
placing of the signature is in the right
 place4 ,most artists sign their        
pictures in the same place4 ,but the    
signature should take a different place 
in every picture1 for in every picture  
there is one and only one right place   

for the signature2 and the true artist  
never fails to find the place which his 
work has chosen and consecrated for his 
name4  ,i confess myself to be a natural
 and instinctive admirer of ,mr4        
,guthrie's talent4 ,his picture1        
,midsummer1 exhibited at ,liverpool1    
charmed me4 ,turning to my notes ,i find
 this description of it3 ,a garden in   
the summer's very moment of complete    
efflorescence2 a bower of limpid green1 
here and there interwoven with red      
flowers4 ,and three ladies are there    
with their tiny ,japanese tea-table4    
,one dress--that on the left--is white1 
like a lily1 drenched with green        
shadows2 the dress on the right is a    
purple1 beautiful as the depth of       
foxglove bells1 ,a delicate and yet a   
full sensation of the beauty of modern  
life1 from which all grossness has been 
omitted--a picture for which ,i think   
,corot would have had a good word to    
say4 ,in the same exhibition there was a
 pastel by ,mr4 ,guthrie1 which quite   

enchanted me with its natural1 almost   
nave1 grace4 ,turning to my notes ,i    
extract the following lines3 ,a lady    
seated on a light chair1 her body in    
profile1 her face turned towards the    
spectator2 she wears a dress with red   
stripes4 ,one hand hanging by her side1 
the other hand holding open a           
flame-coloured fan2 and it is this that 
makes the picture4 ,the feet laid one   
over the other4 ,the face1 a mere       
indication2 and for the hair1 charcoal1 
rubbed and then heightened by two or    
three touches of the rich black of      
pastel-chalk4 ,a delicate1 a precious   
thing1 rich in memories of ,watteau and 
,whistler1 of boudoir inspiration1 and  
whose destination is clearly the        
sitting-room of a dilettante bachelor4  
,mr4 ,henry1 another prominent member of
 the ,glasgow school1 exhibited a       
portrait of a lady in a straw hat--a    
rich and beautiful piece of painting1   
somewhat made up and over-modelled1     
still a piece of painting that one would

 like to possess4 ,mr4 ,hornell's       
celebrated ,midsummer1 the detestation  
of aldermen1 was there too4 ,imagine the
 picture cards1 the ten of diamonds1 and
 the eight of hearts shuffled rapidly   
upon a table covered with a ,persian    
tablecloth4 ,to ignore what are known as
 values seems to be the first principle 
of the ,glasgow school4 ,hence a crude  
and discordant coloration without depth 
or richness4 ,hence an absence of light 
and the mystery of arial perspective4   
,but ,i have spoken very fully on this  
subject elsewhere4  ,fifteen years ago  
it was customary to speak slightingly of
 the ,old ,masters1 and it was thought  
that their mistakes could be easily     
rectified4 ,their dark skies and black  
foregrounds hold their own against all  
,monet's cleverness1 and it has begun to
 be suspected that even if nature be    
industriously and accurately copied in  
the fields1 the result is not always a  
picture4 ,the palette gives the value of
 the grass and of the trees1 but1 alas1 

not of the sky-the sky is higher in tone
 than the palette can go2 the painter   
therefore gets a false value4 ,hence the
 tendency among the plein airists to    
leave out the sky or to do with as      
little sky as possible4 ,a little reef  
is sufficient to bring about a great    
shipwreck2 a generation has wasted half 
its life1 and the ,old ,masters are     
again becoming the fashion4 ,mr4 ,furse 
seems to be deeply impressed with the   
truth of the new aestheticism4 ,and he  
has succeeded within the limits of a    
tiny panel1 a slight but charming       
intention4 ,the ,great ,cloud rolls over
 a strip of lowland1 lowering in a vast 
imperial whiteness1 vague and shadowy as
 sleep or death4 ,ruysdael would have   
stopped for a moment to watch it4 ,but  
its lyrical lilt would trouble a mind   
that could only think in prose2 ,shelley
 would like it better1 and most         
certainly it would not fail to recall to
 his mind his own immortal verses--     
,i am the daughter of earth and water1  

,and the nursling of the sky2    ,i pass
 through the pores of ocean and shores1 
,i change1 but ,i cannot die4   ,what   
will become of our young artists and    
their aspirations is a tale that time   
will unfold gradually1 and for the      
larger part of its surprises we shall   
have to wait ten years4 ,in ten years   
many of these aesthetes will have become
 common ,academicians1 working for the  
villas and perambulators of numerous    
families4 ,many will have disappeared   
for ever1 some may be resurrected two   
generations hence1 may be raised from   
the dead like ,mr4 ,brabazon1 our modern
 ,lazarus--    ,lazare allait mourir une
 seconds fois1--  or perchance to sleep 
for ever in ,sir ,joshua's bosom4 ,that 
a place will be found there for ,mr4    
,brabazon is one of the articles of     
faith of the younger generation4 ,mr4   
,brabazon is described as an amateur1   
and the epithet is marvellously         
appropriate2 no one--not even the great 
masters--deserved it better4 ,the love  

of a long life is in those              
water-colours--they are all love2 out of
 love they have grown1 in its light they
 have flourished1 and they have been    
made lovely with love4  ,in a time of   
slushy ,david ,coxes1 ,mr4 ,brabazon's  
eyes were strangely his own4 ,even then 
he saw ,nature hardly explained at      
all--films of flowing colour transparent
 as rose-leaves1 the lake's blue1 and   
the white clouds curling above the line 
of hills--a sense of colour and a sense 
of distance1 that was all1 and he had   
the genius to remain within the         
limitations of his nature4 ,and1 with   
the persistency of true genius1 ,mr4    
,brabazon painted1 with a flowing brush1
 rose-leaf water-colours1 unmindful of  
the long indifference of two            
generations1 until it happened that the 
present generation1 with its love of    
slight things1 came upon this           
undiscovered genius4 ,it has hailed him 
as master1 and has dragged him into the 
popularity of a special exhibition of   

his work at the ,goupil ,galleries4 ,and
 it was inevitable that the present     
young men should discover ,mr4          
,brabazon3 for in discovering him1 they 
were discovering themselves--his art is 
no more than a curious anticipation of  
the artistic ideal of to-day4  ,the     
sketch he exhibits at the ,new ,english 
,art ,club is a singularly beautiful    
tint of rose1 spread with delicate grace
 over the paper4 ,a little less1 and    
there would be nothing2 but a little    
beauty has always seemed to me          
preferable to a great deal of ugliness4 
,and what is true about one is true     
about nearly all his drawings4 ,we find 
in them always an harmonious colour     
contrast1 and very rarely anything more4
 ,sometimes there are those evanescent  
gradations of colour which are the      
lordship and signature of the colourist1
 and when le ton local is carried       
through the picture1 through the deepest
 shadows as through the highest lights1 
when we find it persisting everywhere1  

as we do in ,no4 #ai1 ,lake ,maggiore1  
we feel in our souls the joy that comes 
of perfect beauty4 ,but too frequently  
,mr4 ,brabazon's colour is restricted to
 an effective contrast2 he often skips a
 great many notes1 touching the extremes
 of the octave with certainty and with  
grace4  ,but it is right that we should 
make a little fuss over ,mr4 ,brabazon2 
for though this work is slight1 it is an
 accomplishment--he has indubitably     
achieved a something1 however little    
that something may be2 and when art is  
disappearing in the destroying waters of
 civilisation1 we may catch at straws4  
,beyond colour--and even in colour his  
limitations are marked--,mr4 ,brabazon  
cannot go4 ,he entered ,st4 ,mark's1 and
 of the delicacy of ornamentation1 of   
the balance of the architecture1 he saw 
nothing2 neither the tracery of carven  
column nor the arial perspective of the 
groined arches4 ,it was his genius not  
to see these things--to leave out the   
drawing is better than to fumble with   

it1 and all his life he has done this2  
and though we may say that a            
water-colour with the drawing left out  
is a very slight thing1 we cannot fail  
to perceive that these sketches1 though 
less than sonnets or ballades1 or even  
rondeaus or rondels--at most they are   
triolets--are akin to the masters1      
however distant the relationship4  ,i   
have not told you about the very serious
 progress that ,mr4 ,george ,thompson   
has made since the last exhibition2 ,i  
have not described his two admirable    
pictures2 nor mentioned ,mr4 ,linder's  
landscape1 nor ,mr4 ,buxton ,knight's   
,haymaking ,meadows1 nor ,mr4           
,christie's pretty picture ,a ,may's    
,frolic1 nor ,mr4 ,mac,coll's ,donkey   
,race4 ,i have omitted much that it     
would have been a pleasure to praise2   
for my intention was not to write a     
guide to the exhibition1 but to         
interpret some of the characteristics of
 the young generation4  ,the ,new       
,english ,art ,club is very typical of  

this end of the century4 ,it is young1  
it is interesting1 it is intelligent1 it
 is emotional1 it is cosmopolitan--not  
the ,bouillon ,duval cosmopolitanism of 
the ,newlyn ,school1 but rather an      
agreeable assimilation of the           
,montmartre caf of fifteen years ago4   
,art has fallen in ,france1 and the ,new
 ,english seems to me like a seed blown 
over-sea from a ruined garden4 ,it has  
caught ,english root1 and already       
,english colour and fragrance are in the
 flower4 ,a frail flower2 but1 frail or 
strong1 it is all we have of art in the 
present generation4 ,it is slight1 and  
so most typical2 for1 surely1 no age was
 ever so slight in its art as ours8 ,as 
the century runs on it becomes more and 
more slight and more and more           
intelligent4 ,a sheet of ,whatman's     
faintly flushed with a rose-tint1 a few 
stray verses characterised with a few   
imperfect rhymes and a wrong accent1 are
 sufficient foundation for two          
considerable reputations4 ,the education

 of the younger generation is           
marvellous2 its brains are excellent2 it
 seems to be lacking in nothing except  
guts4 ,as education spreads guts        
disappear1 and that is the most serious 
word ,i have to say4  ,without thinking 
of those great times when men lived in  
the giddiness and the exultation of a   
constant creation--when a day was       
sufficient for ,rubens to paint the     
,kermesse thirteen days to paint the    
,mages1 even or eight to paint the      
,communion de ,st4 ,franois             
d',assise--and blotting from our mind   
the fabulous production of ,tintoretto  
and ,veronese1 let us merely remember   
that thirty years ago ,millais painted a
 beautiful picture every year until     
marriage and its consequences brought   
his art to a sudden close4 ,one year it 
was ,autumn ,leaves1 the following year 
it was ,st4 ,agnes' ,eve1 and behind    
these pictures there were at least ten  
masterpieces--,the ,orchard1 ,the       
,rainbow1 ,mariana in the ,moated       

,grange1 ,ophelia1 etc4 ,millais is far 
behind ,veronese and ,tintoretto in     
magnificent excellence and extraordinary
 rapidity of production2 but is not the 
,new ,english ,art ,club even as far    
behind the excellence and fertility of  
production of thirty years ago8     ,a  
,,great ,,artist4   ,we have heard the  
words great artist used so often and so 
carelessly that their tremendous        
significance escapes4 ,the present is a 
time when it is necessary to consider   
the meaning1 latent and manifest1 of the
 words1 for we are about to look on the 
drawings of the late ,charles ,keene4   
,in many the words evoke the idea of    
huge canvases in which historical       
incidents are depicted1 conquerors on   
black horses covered with gold          
trappings1 or else figures of ,christ1  
or else the agonies of martyrs4 ,the    
portrayal of angels is considered by the
 populace to be especially imaginative1 
and all who affect such subjects are at 
least in their day termed great artists4

 ,but the words are capable of a less   
vulgar interpretation4 ,to the select   
few the great artist is he who is most  
racy of his native soil1 he who has most
 persistently cultivated his talent in  
one direction1 and in one direction     
only1 he who has repeated himself most  
often1 he who has lived upon himself the
 most avidly4 ,in art1 eclecticism means
 loss of character1 and character is    
everything in art4 ,i do not mean by    
character personal idiosyncrasies2 ,i   
mean racial and territorial             
characteristics4 ,of personal           
idiosyncrasy we have enough and to      
spare4 ,indeed1 it has come to be       
accepted almost as an axiom that it does
 not matter much how badly you paint1   
provided you do not paint badly like    
anybody else4 ,but instead of noisy     
idiosyncrasy we want the calm of        
national character in our art4 ,a       
national character can only be acquired 
by remaining at home and saturating     
ourselves in the spirit of our land     

until it oozes from our pens and pencils
 in every slightest word1 in every      
slightest touch4 ,our lives should be   
one long sacrifice for this one         
thing--national character4 ,foreign     
travel should be eschewed1 we should    
turn our eyes from ,paris and ,rome and 
fix them on our own fields2 we should   
strive to remain ignorant1 making our   
lives mole-like1 burrowing only in our  
own parish soil4 ,there are no          
universities in art1 but there are      
village schools2 each of us should      
choose his master1 imitate him humbly1  
striving to continue the tradition4 ,and
 while labouring thus humbly1 rather as 
handicraftsmen than as artists1 our     
personality will gradually begin to     
appear in our work1 not the weak febrile
 idiosyncrasy which lights a few hours  
of the artist's youth1 but a steady     
flame nourished by the rich oil of      
excellent lessons4 ,if the work is good1
 very little personality is required4   
,are the individual temperaments of     

,terburg1 ,metzu1 and ,peter de ,hoogh  
very strikingly exhibited in their      
pictures8  ,the paragraph ,i have just  
written will seem like a digression to  
the careless reader1 but he who has read
 carefully1 or will take the trouble to 
glance back1 will not fail to see1 that 
although in appearance digressive1 it is
 a strict and accurate comment on       
,charles ,keene1 and the circumstances  
in which his art was produced4 ,charles 
,keene never sought after originality2  
on the contrary1 he began by humbly     
imitating ,john ,leech1 the inventor of 
the method4 ,his earliest drawings 7few 
if any of them are exhibited in the     
present collection7 were hardly         
distinguishable from ,leech's4 ,he      
continued the tradition humbly1 and     
originality stole upon him unawares4    
,charles ,keene was not an erudite1 he  
thought of very little except his own   
talent and the various aspects of       
,english life which he had the power of 
depicting2 but he knew thoroughly well  

the capacities of his talent1 the       
direction in which it could be          
developed1 and his whole life was       
devoted to its cultivation4 ,he affected
 neither a knowledge of literature nor  
of ,continental art2 he lived in        
,england and for ,england1 content to   
tell the story of his own country and   
the age he lived in2 in a word1 he      
worked and lived as did the ,dutchmen of
 #afcj4 ,he lived pure of all foreign   
influence2 no man's art was ever so     
purely ,english as ,keene's2 even the   
great ,dutchmen themselves were not more
 ,dutch than ,keene was ,english1 and   
the result is often hardly less         
surprising4 ,to look at some of these   
drawings and not think of the ,dutchmen 
is impossible1 for when we are most     
,english we are most ,dutch--our art    
came from ,holland4 ,these drawings are 
,dutch in the strange simplicity and    
directness of intention2 they are ,dutch
 in their oblivion to all interests     
except those of good drawing2 they are  

,dutch in the beautiful quality of the  
workmanship4 ,examine the rich1 simple  
drawing of that long coat or the side of
 that cab1 and say if there is not      
something of the quality of a ,terburg4 
,terburg is simple as a page of         
seventeenth-century prose2 and in ,keene
 there is the same deep1 rich1 classic  
simplicity4 ,the material is different1 
but the feeling is the same4 ,i might1  
of course1 say ,jan ,steen2 and is it   
not certain that both ,terburg and      
,steen1 working under the same          
conditions1 would not have produced     
drawings very like ,keene's8 ,and now1  
looking through the material deep into  
the heart of the thing1 is it a paradox 
to say that ,no4 #bba is in feeling and 
quality of workmanship a ,dutch picture 
of the best time8 ,the scene depicted is
 the honeymoon4 ,the young wife sits by 
an open window full of sunlight1 and the
 curtains likewise are drenched in the  
pure white light4 ,how tranquil she is1 
how passive in her beautiful animal     

life6 ,no complex passion stirs in that 
flesh2 instinct drowses in her just as  
in an animal4 ,with what animal         
passivity she looks up in her husband's 
face6 ,look at that peaceful face1 that 
high forehead1 how clearly conceived and
 how complete is the rendering6 ,how    
slight the means1 how extraordinary the 
result6 ,the sunlight floods the sweet  
face so exquisitively stupid1 and her   
soul1 and the room1 and the very        
conditions of life of these people are  
revealed to us4  ,and now1 in a very    
rough and fragmentary fashion1 hardly   
attempting more than a hurried          
transcription of my notes1 ,i will call 
attention to some three or four drawings
 which especially arrested my attention4
 ,in ,no4 #aj we have a cab seen in     
wonderful perspective2 the hind wheel is
 the nearest point1 and in              
extraordinarily accurate proportion the 
vehicle and the animal attached to it go
 up the paper4 ,the cabman turns half   
round to address some observation to the

 fare1 an old gentleman1 who is about to
 step in4 ,the roof of the cab cuts the 
body of the cabman1 composing the       
picture in a most original and striking 
manner4 ,the panels of the cab are      
filled in with simple straight lines1   
but how beautifully graduated are these 
lines1 how much they are made to say6   
,above all1 the hesitating movement of  
the old gentleman--how the exact moment 
has been caught6 and the treatment of   
the long coat1 how broad1 how           
certain--how well the artist has said   
exactly what he wanted to say6 ,another 
very fine drawing is ,no4 #aa4 ,the fat 
farmer stands so thoroughly well in his 
daily habit2 the great stomach1 how well
 it is drawn1 and the short legs are    
part and parcel of the stomach4 ,the man
 is redolent of turnip-fields and       
rick-yards2 all the life of the fields  
is upon him4 ,and the long parson1      
clearly from the university1 how well he
 clasps his hands and how the very soul 
of the man is expressed in the gesture6 

,no4 #af is very wonderful4 ,what       
movement there is in the skirts of the  
fat woman1 and the legs of the vendor of
 penny toys6 ,are they not the very legs
 that the gutter breeds8  ,no4 #eb3 a   
big1 bluff artist1 deep-seated amid the 
ferns and grasses4 ,the big1 bearded    
man1 who thinks of nothing but his art1 
who lives in it1 who would not be thin  
because fat enables him to sit longer   
out of doors1 the man who will not even 
turn round on his camp-stool to see the 
woman who is speaking to him2 we have   
all known that man1 but to me that man  
never really existed until ,i looked on 
this drawing4 ,and the treatment of the 
trees that make the background6 ,a few  
touches of the pencil1 and how hot and  
alive the place is with sunlight6  ,but 
perhaps the most wonderful drawing in   
the entire collection is ,no4 #hi4      
,never did ,keene show greater mastery  
over his material4 ,in this drawing     
every line of the black-lead pencil is  
more eloquent than ,demosthenes' most   

eloquent period4 ,the roll and the lurch
 of the vessel1 the tumult of waves and 
wind1 the mental and physical condition 
of the passengers1 all are given as     
nothing in this world could give them   
except that magic pencil4 ,the figure1  
the man that the wind blows out of the  
picture1 his hat about to leave his     
head1 is not he really on board in a    
gale8 ,did a frock coat flap out in the 
wind so well before8 ,and do not the    
attitudes of the two women leaning over 
the side represent their suffering8 ,the
 man who is not sea-sick sits1 his legs 
stretched out1 his hands thrust into his
 pockets1 his face sunk on his breast1  
his hat crushed over his eyes4 ,his     
pea-jacket1 how well drawn6 and can we  
not distinguish the difference between  
its cloth and the cloth of the frock of 
the city merchant1 who watches with such
 a woful gaze the progress of the       
gathering wave8 ,the weight of the wave 
is indicated with a few straight lines1 
and1 strangely enough1 only very        

slightly varied are the lines which give
 the very sensation of the merchant's   
thin frock coat made in the shop of a   
fashionable tailor4  ,it has been said  
that ,keene could not draw a lady or a  
gentleman4 ,why not add that he was     
neither a tennis player nor a pigeon    
shot1 a waltzer nor an accomplished     
,french scholar8 ,the same terrible     
indictment has been preferred against   
,dickens1 and ,mr4 ,henry ,james says   
that ,balzac failed to prove he was a   
gentleman4 ,it might be well to remind  
,mr4 ,james that the artist who would   
avoid the fashion plate would do well to
 turn to the coster rather than the duke
 for inspiration4 ,keene's genius saved 
him from the drawing-room1 never        
allowing his gaze to wander from where  
,english characteristics may be gathered
 most plentifully--the middle and lower 
classes4  ,i find in my notes mention of
 other drawings quite as wonderful as   
those ,i have spoken of1 but space only 
remains to give some hint of ,keene's   

place among draughtsmen4 ,as a humorist 
he was certainly thin compared to       
,leech2 as a satirist he was certainly  
feeble compared to ,gavarni2 in         
dramatic1 not to say imaginative1       
qualities he cannot be spoken of in the 
same breath as ,cruikshank2 but as an   
artist was he not their superior8       
,,nationality ,,in ,,art4   ,in looking 
through a collection of ,reynolds1      
,gainsboroughs1 ,dobsons1 ,morlands1 we 
are moved by something more than the    
artistic beauty of the pictures4 ,seeing
 that peaceful farmyard by ,morland1 a  
dim remote life1 a haunting in the      
blood1 rises to the surface of the      
brain1 like a water-flower or weed      
brought by a sudden current into sight  
of the passing sky4 ,seeing that quiet  
man talking with his swineherd1 we are  
mysteriously attracted1 and are         
perplexed as by a memory2 we grow aware 
of his house and wife1 and though these 
things passed away more than a hundred  
years ago1 we know them all4 ,that other

 picture1 ,partridge ,shooting1 by      
,stubbs1 how familiar and how intimate  
it is to us6 and those days seem to go  
back and back into long ago1 beyond     
childhood into infancy4 ,the life of the
 picture goes back into the life that we
 heard from our father's1 our           
grandfather's lips1 a life of           
reminiscence and little legend1 the end 
of which passed like a wraith across the
 dawn of our lives4 ,for we need not be 
very old to remember the squire ramming 
the wads home and calling to the setter 
that is too eagerly pressing forward the
 pointer in the turnips4 ,a man of fifty
 can remember seeing the mail coach     
swing round the curve of the wide1      
smooth coach roads2 and a man of forty1 
going by road to the ,derby1 and the    
block which came seven miles from       
,epsom4 ,and so do these pictures take  
us to the heart of ,england1 to the     
heart of our life1 which is ,england1 to
 that great circumstance which preceded 
our birth1 and which gave not merely    

flesh and blood1 but the minds that are 
thinking now4 ,we have only to pass     
through a doorway to see sublimer works 
of art4 ,but though ,troyon and ,courbet
 were greater artists than ,morland1    
,morland whispers something that is     
beyond art1 beyond even our present     
life2 as a shell with the sound of the  
sea1 these canvases are murmurous with  
the under life4  ,that young lady so    
charmingly dressed in white1 she who    
holds a rose in her hand1 is ,miss      
,kitty ,calcraft1 by ,romney4 ,do we not
 seem to know her8 ,we ask when we met  
her1 and where we spoke to her2 and that
 mystic when and where seem more real   
than the moment of present life4 ,the   
present crowd of living folk fades from 
us1 and we half believe1 half know1 that
 she spoke to us one evening on that    
terrace overlooking those wide pasture  
lands4 ,we see the happy light of her   
eyes and hear the joy of her voice1 and 
they stir in us all the impulses of     
race1 of kith and kin4  ,romney is often

 crude1 but the worst that can be urged 
against this portrait is that it is     
superficial4 ,but what charm and grace  
there is in its superficiality6 ,romney 
was aware of the grace and charm of the 
young girl as she sat before him in her 
white dress3 he saw her as a flower2 and
 in fluent1 agreeable1 well-bred and    
cultivated speech he has talked to us   
about her4 ,the portrait has the charm  
of rare and exquisite conversation2 we  
float in a tide of sensation4 ,he was   
only aware of her white dress1 her      
pretty arm and hand laid on her soft    
lap4 ,but while we merely see ,kitty1 we
 perceive and think of ,gainsborough's  
portrait of ,miss ,willoughby4 ,we      
realise her in other circumstances1 away
 from the beautiful blue trees under    
which he has so happily placed her2 we  
can see her receiving visitors on the   
terrace1 or leaning over the balustrade 
looking down the valley1 wondering why  
life has come to her so sadly4 ,we see  
her in her eighteenth-century           

drawing-room amid ,chippendale and      
,adams furniture1 reading an old novel4 
,no one ever cared much about ,miss     
,willoughby4 ,there is little sensuous  
charm in her long narrow face1 in her   
hair falling in ringlets over her       
shoulders2 and we are sure that she     
often reflected on the bitterness of    
life4 ,but ,kitty never looked into the 
heart of things3 when life coincided    
with her desires1 she laughed and was   
glad2 when things1 to use her own words1
 went wrong1 she wept4 ,and in these two
 portraits we read the stories of the   
painters' souls4  ,but the question of  
nationality1 of country1 in art detains 
us4 ,beautiful beyond compare is the art
 of ,tourguenieff2 but how much more    
intimate1 how much deeper is the delight
 that a ,russian finds in his novels    
than ours6 ,however truly the purely    
artistic qualities may touch us--great  
art is universal--we miss our native    
land and our race in ,tourguenieff4 ,we 
find both in ,dickens1 in ,thackeray4   

,miss ,austen and ,fielding have little 
else2 and vague though ,fielding may be 
in form1 still his pages are ,england1  
and they whisper the life we inherited  
from long ago4 ,the superb ,rembrandt in
 the next room1 the ,gentleman with a   
,hawk1 lent by the ,duke of             
,westminster1 is a human revelation4 ,we
 only perceive in it the charm1 the     
adorableness1 the eternal adventure of  
youth2 nationality disappears in the    
universal4 ,this beautiful portrait was 
painted in #afdc1 a year after the      
,night-watch4 ,the date of the portrait 
of the ,lady with the ,fan is not given4
 ,they differ widely in style2 the      
portrait of the man is ten years in     
advance of the portrait of the woman2 it
 seems to approach very closely1 to     
touch on1 the great style which he      
attained in #affd1 the year when he     
painted the ,syndics4 ,of his early     
style1 thin1 crabbed1 and yellow1 there 
is hardly a trace in the portrait of the
 ,man with the ,hawk2 it is almost a    

complete emancipation1 yet it would be  
rash to say that the ,lady with the ,fan
 is an early work1 painted in the days  
of the ,lesson in ,anatomy4 ,in         
,rembrandt's work we find sudden        
advancements towards the grand final    
style1 and these are immediately        
followed by hasty returnings to the     
hard1 dry1 and essentially unromantic   
manner of #afcd4 ,the portrait of the   
,young ,man with the ,hawk was painted  
in middle life4 ,but if it contains     
something more than the suggestion of   
the qualities which twenty years later  
he developed and perfected for the      
admiration of all time1 if the immortal 
flower of ,rembrandt's genius was still 
unblown1 this is blossom prematurely    
breaking4 ,the young man is shown upon  
darkness like a vision3 the face is     
illuminated mysteriously1 the brush-work
 is large and firm1 the paint is        
substantial without being heavy1 the    
canvas is smoky1 an unnatural and yet a 
real atmosphere surrounds the head4 ,the

 black velvet cap strikes in sharp      
relief against the background1 which    
lightens to a grey-green about the head4
 ,the modelling of the face is          
extraordinarily large and simple1 and   
yet without omissions2 we have in this  
portrait a perfect example of the art of
 being precise without being small4 ,the
 young man is a young nobleman4 ,he     
stands before us looking at us1 and yet 
his eyes are not fixed2 his moustache is
 golden and frizzled2 his cheeks are    
coloured slightly2 but the picture is   
practically made of a few greys and     
greens1 and white1 slightly tinted with 
bitumen2 yet we do not feel1 or feel    
very little1 any lack of colouring      
matter4 ,rembrandt realised in the      
romantic young man his ideal of young   
masculine beauty4 ,truly a beautiful    
work1 neither the boyhood nor the       
manhood1 but the adolescence of         
,rembrandt's genius4  ,between the      
portrait of the ,lady with a ,fan and   
,sir ,joshua's portrait of ,miss        

,frances ,crewe it would be permissible 
to hesitate2 but to hesitate even for   
one instant between ,miss ,crewe and the
 ,young ,man with the ,hawk would be    
unpardonable4 ,sir ,joshua painted as he
 thought2 he had an instinctive sense of
 decoration and a deep and tender       
feeling for beauty2 he was especially   
sensible to the agreeable and gay aspect
 of things2 his eyes at once seize the  
pleasing and picturesque contour1 and   
his mind divined a charming and         
effective scheme of colour4 ,he saw     
character too2 all the surface          
characteristics of his model were plain 
to him1 and when he was so minded he    
painted with rare intelligence and      
insight4 ,he did not see deeply1 but he 
saw clearly4 ,gainsborough did not see  
so clearly1 nor was his hand as prompt  
to express his vision as ,sir ,joshua's2
 but ,gainsborough saw further1 for he  
felt more keenly and more profoundly4   
,but light indeed were their minds      
compared with ,rembrandt's4 ,rembrandt  

was a great visionary2 to him the       
outsides of things were symbols of      
elemental truths1 which he expressed in 
a form mighty as the truths themselves4 
,there is no question of comparison     
between him on one hand and ,reynolds   
and ,gainsborough on the other4 ,yet we 
should hesitate to destroy our ,reynolds
 and ,gainsboroughs1 to preserve any    
works of art1 however beautiful4 ,were  
we to keep what our reason told us was  
the greatest1 we should feel as one who 
surrendered ,england to save the rest of
 the world1 or as a parent who          
sacrificed his children to save a       
million men from the scaffold4     ,,sex
 ,,in ,,art4   ,woman's nature is more  
facile and fluent than man's4 ,women do 
things more easily than men1 but they do
 not penetrate below the surface1 and if
 they attempt to do so the attempt is   
but a clumsy masquerade in unbecoming   
costume4 ,in their own costume they have
 succeeded as queens1 courtesans1 and   
actresses1 but in the higher arts1 in   

painting1 in music1 and literature1     
their achievements are slight           
indeed--best when confined to the       
arrangements of themes invented by      
men--amiable transpositions suitable to 
boudoirs and fans4  ,i have heard that  
some women hold that the mission of     
their sex extends beyond the boudoir and
 the nursery4 ,it is certainly not      
within my province to discuss so        
important a question1 but ,i think it is
 clear that all that is best in woman's 
art is done within the limits ,i have   
mentioned4 ,this conclusion is well-nigh
 forced upon us when we consider what   
would mean the withdrawal of all that   
women have done in art4 ,the world would
 certainly be the poorer by some        
half-dozen charming novels1 by a few    
charming poems and sketches in oil and  
water-colour2 but it cannot be          
maintained1 at least not seriously1 that
 if these charming triflings were       
withdrawn there would remain any gap in 
the world's art to be filled up4 ,women 

have created nothing1 they have carried 
the art of men across their fans        
charmingly1 with exquisite taste1       
delicacy1 and subtlety of feeling1 and  
they have hideously and most mournfully 
parodied the art of men4 ,george ,eliot 
is one in whom sex seems to have        
hesitated1 and this unfortunate         
hesitation was afterwards intensified by
 unhappy circumstances4 ,she was one of 
those women who so entirely mistook her 
vocation as to attempt to think1 and    
really if she had assumed the dress and 
the duties of a policeman1 her failure  
could hardly have been more complete4   
,jane ,austen1 on the contrary1         
adventured in no such dismal masquerade2
 she was a nice maiden lady1 gifted with
 a bright clear intelligence1           
diversified with the charms of light wit
 and fancy1 and as she was content to be
 in art what she was in nature1 her     
books live1 while those of her ponderous
 rival are being very rapidly forgotten4
 ,romola and ,daniel ,deronda are dead  

beyond hope of resurrection2 ,the ,mill 
on the ,floss1 being more feminine1     
still lives1 even though its destiny is 
to be forgotten when ,pride and         
,prejudice is remembered4  ,sex is as   
important an element in a work of art as
 it is in life2 all art that lives is   
full of sex4 ,there is sex in ,pride and
 ,prejudice2 ,jane ,eyre and ,aurora    
,leigh are full of sex2 ,romola1 ,daniel
 ,deronda1 and ,adam ,bede are sexless1 
and therefore lifeless4 ,there is very  
little sex in ,george ,sand's works1 and
 they1 too1 have gone the way of sexless
 things4 ,when ,i say that all art that 
lives is full of sex1 ,i do not mean    
that the artist must have led a         
profligate life2 ,i mean1 indeed1 the   
very opposite4 ,george ,sand's life was 
notoriously profligate1 and her books   
tell the tale4 ,i mean by sex that      
concentrated essence of life which the  
great artist jealously reserves for his 
art1 and through which it pulsates4     
,shelley deserted his wife1 but his     

thoughts never wandered far from ,mary4 
,dante1 according to recent discoveries1
 led a profligate life1 while adoring   
,beatrice through interminable cantos4  
,so profligacy is clearly not the word  
,i want4 ,i think that gallantry        
expresses my meaning better4  ,the great
 artist and ,don ,juan are irreparably  
antagonistic2 one cannot contain the    
other4 ,notwithstanding all the novels  
that have been written to prove the     
contrary1 it is certain that woman      
occupies but a small place in the life  
of an artist4 ,she is never more than a 
charm1 a relaxation1 in his life2 and   
even when he strains her to his bosom1  
oceans are between them4 ,profligate1 ,i
 am afraid1 history proves the artist   
sometimes to have been1 but his         
profligacy is only ephemeral and        
circumstantial2 what is abiding in him  
is chastity of mind1 though not always  
of body2 his whole mind is given to his 
art1 and all vague philanderings and    
sentimental musings are unknown to him2 

the women he knows and perceives are    
only food for it1 and have no share in  
his mental life4 ,and it is just because
 man can raise himself above the        
sentimental cravings of natural         
affection that his art is so infinitely 
higher than woman's art4 ,man's love is 
from man's life a thing apart--you know 
the quotation from ,byron1 ,tis woman's 
whole existence4 ,the natural affections
 fill a woman's whole life1 and her art 
is only so much sighing and gossiping   
about them4 ,very delightful and        
charming gossiping it often is--full of 
a sweetness and tenderness which we     
could not well spare1 but always without
 force or dignity4  ,in her art woman is
 always in evening dress3 there are     
flowers in her hair1 and her fan waves  
to and fro1 and she wishes to sigh in   
the ear of him who sits beside her4 ,her
 mental nudeness is parallel with her   
low bodice1 it is that and nothing more4
 ,she will make no sacrifice for her    
art2 she will not tell the truth about  

herself as frankly as ,jean-,jacques1   
nor will she observe life from the      
outside with the grave impersonal vision
 of ,flaubert4 ,in music women have done
 nothing1 and in painting their         
achievement has been almost as slight4  
,it is only in the inferior art--the art
 of acting--that women approach men4 ,in
 that art it is not certain that they do
 not stand even higher4  ,whatever women
 have done in painting has been done in 
,france4 ,england produces countless    
thousands of lady artists2 twenty       
,englishwomen paint for one             
,frenchwoman1 but we have not yet       
succeeded in producing two that compare 
with ,madame ,lebrun and ,madame ,berthe
 ,morisot4 ,the only two ,englishwomen  
who have in painting come prominently   
before the public are ,angelica         
,kauffman and ,lady ,butler4 ,the       
first-named had the good fortune to live
 in the great age1 and though her work  
is individually feeble1 it is stamped   
with the charm of the tradition out of  

which it grew and was fashioned4        
,moreover1 she was content to remain a  
woman in her art4 ,she imitated ,sir    
,joshua ,reynolds to the best of her    
ability1 and did all in her power to    
induce him to marry her4 ,how she could 
have shown more wisdom it is difficult  
to see4 ,lady ,butler was not so        
fortunate1 either in the date of her    
birth1 in her selection of a master1 or 
her manner of imitating him4 ,angelica  
imitated as a woman should4 ,she carried
 the art of ,sir ,joshua across her fan2
 she arranged and adorned it with       
ribbons and sighs1 and was content with 
such modest achievement4  ,lady ,butler1
 however1 thought she could do more than
 to sentimentalise with ,de ,neuville's 
soldiers4 ,she adopted his method1 and  
from this same standpoint tried to do   
better2 her attitude towards him was the
 same as ,rosa ,bonheur's towards       
,troyon2 and the failure of ,lady       
,butler was even greater than ,rosa     
,bonheur's4 ,but perhaps the best       

instance ,i could select to show how    
impossible it is for women to do more   
than to accept the themes invented by   
men1 and to decorate and arrange them   
according to their pretty feminine      
fancies1 is the collection of ,lady     
,waterford's drawings now on exhibition 
at ,lady ,brownlow's house in ,carlton  
,house ,terrace4  ,lady ,waterford for  
many years--for more than a quarter of a
 century--has been spoken of as the one 
amateur of genius2 and the greatest     
artists vied with each other as to which
 should pay the most extravagant homage 
to her talent4 ,mr4 ,watts seems to have
 distanced all competitors in praise of 
her1 for in a letter of his quoted in   
the memoir prefixed to the catalogue1 he
 says that she has exceeded all the     
great ,venetian masters4 ,it was nice of
 ,mr4 ,watts to write such a letter2 it 
was very foolish of ,lady ,brownlow to  
print it in the catalogue1 for it serves
 no purpose except to draw attention to 
the obvious deficiencies of originality 

in ,lady ,waterford's drawings4 ,nearly 
all of them are remarkable for facile   
grouping2 and the colour is rich1       
somewhat heavy1 but generally           
harmonious2 the drawing is painfully    
conventional2 it would be impossible to 
find a hand1 an arm1 a face that has    
been tenderly observed and rendered with
 any personal feeling or passion4  ,the 
cartoons are not better than any        
mediocre student of the ,beaux-,arts    
could do--insipid parodies of the       
,venetian--whom she excels1 according to
 ,mr4 ,watts4 ,when ,lady ,waterford    
attempted no more than a decorative ring
 of children dancing in a richly        
coloured landscape1 or a group of       
harvesters seen against a rich          
decorative sky1 such a design as might  
be brought across a fan1 her talent is  
seen to best advantage2 it is a fluent  
and facile talent1 strangely unoriginal1
 but always sustained by taste acquired 
by long study of the ,venetians1 and by 
a superficial understanding of their    

genius4  ,many times superior to ,lady  
,waterford is ,miss ,armstrong--a lady  
in whose drawings of children we        
perceive just that light tenderness and 
fanciful imagination which is not of our
 sex4 ,perhaps memory betrays me2 it is 
a long while since ,i have seen ,miss   
,armstrong's pastels1 but my impression 
is that ,miss ,armstrong stands easily  
at the head of ,english lady            
artists--above ,mrs4 ,swynnerton1 whose 
resolute and distinguished talent was   
never more abundantly and strikingly    
manifested than in her picture entitled 
,midsummer1 now hanging in the ,new     
,gallery4 ,midsummer is a fine piece of 
intellectual painting1 but it proceeds  
merely from the brain2 there is hardly  
anything of the painter's nature in it2 
there are no surprising admissions in   
it2 the painter never stood back abashed
 and asked herself if she should have   
confessed so much1 if she should have   
told the world so much of what was      
passing in her intimate soul and flesh4 

,impersonality in art really means      
mediocrity4 ,if you have nothing to tell
 about yourself1 or if courage be       
lacking in you to tell the truth1 you   
are not an artist4 ,are women without   
souls1 or is it that they dare not      
reveal their souls unadorned with the   
laces and ribbons of convention8 ,their 
memoirs are a tissue of lies1           
suppressions1 and half-truths4 ,george  
,sand must fain suppress all mention of 
her ,italian journey with ,musset1 a    
true account of which would have been an
 immortal story2 but of hypocritical    
hare-hearted allusions ,rousseau and    
,casanova were not made2 in their       
memoirs women never get further than    
some slight fingering of laces2 and in  
their novels they are too subject to    
their own natures to attain the perfect 
and complete realisation of self1 which 
the so-called impersonal method alone   
affords4 ,women astonish us as much by  
their want of originality as they do by 
their extraordinary powers of           

assimilation4 ,i am thinking now of the 
ladies who marry painters1 and who1     
after a few years of married life1      
exhibit work identical in execution with
 that of their illustrious              
husbands--,mrs4 ,e4 ,m4 ,ward1 ,madame  
,fantin-,latour1 ,mrs4 ,swan1 ,mrs4     
,alma-,tadema4 ,how interesting these   
households must be6 ,immediately after  
breakfast husband and wife sit down at  
their easels4 ,let me mix a tone for    
you1 dear1 ,i think ,i would put that up
 a little higher1 etc4 ,in a word1 what 
,manet used to call la peinture  quatre 
mains4  ,nevertheless1 among these      
well-intentioned ladies we find one     
artist of rare excellence--,i mean      
,madame ,lebrun4 ,we all know her       
beautiful portrait of a woman walking   
forward1 her hands in a muff4 ,seeing   
the engraving from a distance we might  
take it for a ,romney2 but when we      
approach1 the quality of the painting   
visible through the engraving tells us  
that it belongs to the ,french school4  

,in design the portrait is strangely    
like a ,romney2 it is full of all that  
brightness and grace1 and that feminine 
refinement1 which is a distinguishing   
characteristic of his genius1 and which 
was especially impressed on my memory by
 the portrait of the lady in the white  
dress walking forward1 her hands in     
front of her1 the slight fingers pressed
 one against the other1 exhibited this  
year in the exhibition of ,old ,masters 
in the ,academy4  ,but if we deny that  
the portrait of the lady with the muff  
affords testimony as to the sex of the  
painter1 we must admit that none but a  
woman could have conceived the portrait 
which ,madame ,lebrun painted of herself
 and her little daughter4 ,the painting 
may be somewhat dry and hard1 it        
certainly betrays none of the fluid     
nervous tendernesses and graces of the  
female temperament2 but surely none but 
a woman and a mother could have designed
 that original and expressive           
composition2 it was a mother who found  

instinctively that touching and         
expressive movement--the mother's arms  
circled about her little daughter's     
waist1 the little girl leaning forward1 
her face resting on her mother's        
shoulder4 ,never before did artist      
epitomise in a gesture all the familiar 
affection and simple persuasive         
happiness of home2 the very atmosphere  
of an embrace is in this picture4 ,and  
in this picture the painter reveals     
herself to us in one of the intimate    
moments of her daily life1 the tender1  
wistful moment when a mother receives   
her growing girl in her arms1 the       
adolescent girl having run she knows not
 why to her mother4 ,these two          
portraits1 both in the ,louvre1 are1 ,i 
regret to say1 the only pictures of     
,madame ,lebrun that ,i am acquainted   
with4 ,but ,i doubt if my admiration    
would be increased by a wider knowledge 
of her work4 ,she seems to have said    
everything she had to say in these two  
pictures4  ,madame ,lebrun painted well1

 but she invented nothing1 she failed to
 make her own of any special manner of  
seeing and rendering things2 she failed 
to create a style4 ,only one woman did  
this1 and that woman is ,madame         
,morisot1 and her pictures are the only 
pictures painted by a woman that could  
not be destroyed without creating a     
blank1 a hiatus in the history of art4  
,true that the hiatus would be slight-- 
insignificant if you will--but the      
insignificant is sometimes dear to us2  
and though nightingales1 thrushes1 and  
skylarks were to sing in ,king's ,bench 
,walk1 ,i should miss the individual    
chirp of the pretty sparrow4  ,madame   
,morisot's note is perhaps as           
insignificant as a sparrow's1 but it is 
as unique and as individual a note4 ,she
 has created a style1 and has done so by
 investing her art with all her         
femininity2 her art is no dull parody of
 ours3 it is all womanhood--sweet and   
gracious1 tender and wistful womanhood4 
,her first pictures were painted under  

the influence of ,corot1 and two of     
these early works were hung in the      
exhibition of her works held the other  
day at ,goupil's1 ,boulevard            
,montmartre4 ,the more important was1 ,i
 remember1 a view of ,paris seen from a 
suburb--a green railing and two         
loitering nursemaids in the foreground1 
the middle of the picture filled with   
the city faintly seen and faintly       
glittering in the hour of the sun's     
decline1 between four and six4 ,it was  
no disagreeable or ridiculous parody of 
,corot2 it was ,corot feminised1 ,corot 
reflected in a woman's soul1 a woman's  
love of man's genius1 a lake-reflected  
moon4 ,but ,corot's influence did not   
endure4 ,through her sister's marriage  
,madame ,morisot came in contact with   
,manet1 and she was quick to recognise  
him as being the greatest artist that   
,france had produced since ,delacroix4  
,henceforth she never faltered in her   
allegiance to the genius of her great   
brother-in-law4 ,true1 that she         

attempted no more than to carry his art 
across her fan2 but how adorably she did
 this6 ,she got from him that handling  
out of which the colour flows joyous and
 bright as well-water1 the handling that
 was necessary for the realisation of   
that dream of hers1 a light world afloat
 in an irradiation--light trembling upon
 the shallows of artificial water1 where
 swans and aquatic birds are plunging1  
and light skiffs are moored2 light      
turning the summer trees to blue2 light 
sleeping a soft and lucid sleep in the  
underwoods2 light illumining the green  
summer of leaves where the diamond rain 
is still dripping2 light transforming   
into jewellery the happy flight of bees 
and butterflies4 ,her swans are not     
diagrams drawn upon the water1 their    
whiteness appears and disappears in the 
trembling of the light2 and the         
underwood1 how warm and quiet it is1 and
 penetrated with the life of the summer2
 and the yellow-painted skiff1 how happy
 and how real6 ,colours1 tints of faint 

green and mauve passed lightly1 a few   
branches indicated4 ,truly1 the art of  
,manet transport en ventail4  ,a brush  
that writes rather than paints1 that    
writes exquisite notes in the sweet     
seduction of a perfect epistolary style1
 notes written in a boudoir1 notes of   
invitation1 sometimes confessions of    
love1 the whole feminine heart trembling
 as a hurt bird trembles in a man's     
hand4 ,and here are yachts and blue     
water1 the water full of the blueness of
 the sky2 and the confusion of masts and
 rigging is perfectly indicated without 
tiresome explanation6 ,the colour is    
deep and rich1 for the values have been 
truly observed2 and the pink house on   
the left is an exquisite note4 ,no deep 
solutions1 an art afloat and adrift upon
 the canvas1 as a woman's life floats on
 the surface of life4 ,my sister-in-law 
would not have existed without me1 ,i   
remember ,manet saying to me in one of  
the long days we spent together in the  
,rue d',amsterdam4 ,true1 indeed1 that  

she would not have existed without him2 
and yet she has something that he has   
not--the charm of an exquisite feminine 
fancy1 the charm of her sex4 ,madame    
,morisot is the eighteenth century quick
 with the nineteenth2 she is the        
nineteenth turning her eyes regretfully 
looking back on the eighteenth4         
,chaplin parodied the eighteenth        
century2 in ,madame ,morisot something  
of its gracious spirit naturally        
resides2 she is eighteenth century      
especially in her drawings2 they are    
fluent and flowing2 nowhere do we detect
 a measurement taken1 they are free of  
tricks--that is to say of ignorance     
assuming airs of learning4 ,that red    
chalk drawing of a naked girl1 how      
simple1 loose1 and unaffected1 how      
purged of the odious erudition of the   
modern studio4 ,and her precious and    
natural remembrance of the great        
century1 with all its love of youth and 
the beauties of youthful lines1 is      
especially noticeable in the red chalk  

drawing of the girl wearing a bonnet1   
the veil falling and hiding her         
beautiful eyes4 ,as ,i stood lost in    
admiration of this drawing1 ,i heard a  
rough voice behind me3 ,c'est bien beau1
 n'est pas8 ,it was ,claude ,monet4     
,yes1 isn't it superb8 ,i answered4 ,i  
wonder how much they'll sell it for4    
,i'll soon find out that1 said ,monet1  
and turning to the attendant he asked   
the question4  ,pour vous1 sept cents   
cinquante francs4  ,c'est bien2 il est  
moi4  ,this anecdote will give a better 
idea of the value of ,berthe ,morisot   
than seventy columns of mine or any     
other man's criticism4     ,,mr4        
,,steer',s ,,exhibition4  #ahib4        
,before sitting down to paint a         
landscape the artist must make up his   
mind whether he is going to use the     
trees1 meadows1 streams1 and mountains  
before him as subject-matter for a      
decoration in the manner of the         
,japanese1 or whether he will take them 
as subject-matter for the expression of 

a human emotion in the manner of ,wilson
 and ,millet4 ,i offer no opinion which 
is the higher and which is the lower    
road2 they may be wide apart1 they may  
draw very close together1 they may      
overlap so that it is difficult to say  
along which the artist is going2 but1   
speaking roughly1 there are but two     
roads1 and it is necessary that the     
artist should choose between them4 ,but 
this point has been fully discussed     
elsewhere1 and ,i only allude to it here
 because ,i wish to assure my readers   
that ,mr4 ,steer's exhibition is not    
,folkestone at low tide and ,folkestone 
at high tide4  ,in all the criticisms ,i
 have seen of the present exhibition it 
has been admitted that ,mr4 ,steer takes
 a foremost place in what is known as   
the modern movement4 ,i also noticed    
that it was admitted that ,mr4 ,steer is
 a born artist4 ,the expression1 from   
constant use1 has lost its true         
significance2 yet to find another phrase
 that would express the idea more       

explicitly would be difficult2 the born 
artist1 meaning the man in whom feeling 
and expression are one4  ,the growth of 
a work of art is as inexplicable as that
 of a flower4 ,we know that there are   
men who feel deeply and who understand  
clearly what a work of art should be2   
but when they attempt to create1 their  
efforts are abortive4 ,their ideas1     
their desires1 their intentions1 their  
plans1 are excellent2 but the passage   
between the brain and the canvas1       
between the brain and the sheet of      
paper1 is full of shipwrecking reefs1   
and the intentions of these men do not  
correspond in the least with their      
execution4 ,noticing our blank faces1   
they explain their ideas in front of    
their works4 ,they meant this1 they     
meant that4 ,inwardly we answer1 ,all   
you say is most interesting2 but why    
didn't you put all that into your       
picture1 into your novel8  ,then ,mr4   
,steer is not an abortive genius1 for   
his ideas do not come to utter shipwreck

 in the perilous passage2 they often    
lose a spar or two1 they sometimes      
appear in a more or less dismantled     
condition1 but they retain their masts2 
they come in with some yards of canvas  
still set1 and the severest criticism   
that can be passed on them is1 ,with a  
little better luck that would have been 
a very fine thing indeed4 ,and not      
infrequently ,mr4 ,steer's pictures     
correspond very closely with the mental 
conception in which they originated2    
sometimes little or nothing has been    
lost as the idea passed from the brain  
to the canvas1 and it is on account of  
these pictures that we say that ,mr4    
,steer is a born artist4 ,this once     
granted1 the question arises3 is this   
born artist likewise a great            
artist--will he formulate his sensation1
 and give us a new manner of feeling and
 seeing1 or will he merely succeed in   
painting some beautiful pictures when   
circumstances and the mood of the moment
 combine in his favour8 ,this is a      

question which all who visit the        
exhibition of this artist's work1 now on
 view in the ,goupil ,galleries1 will   
ask themselves4 ,they will ask if this  
be the furthest limit to which he may   
go1 or if he will discover a style      
entirely his own which will enable him  
to convey all his sensation of life upon
 the canvas4  ,that ,mr4 ,steer's       
drawing does not suggest a future       
draughtsman seems to matter little1 for 
we remember that colour1 and not form1  
is the impulse that urges and inspires  
him4 ,mr4 ,steer draws well enough to   
take a high place if he can overcome    
more serious defects4 ,his greatest     
peril seems to me to be an              
uncontrollable desire to paint in the   
style of the last man whose work has    
interested him4 ,at one time it was only
 in his most unguarded moments that he  
could see a landscape otherwise than as 
,monet saw it2 a year or two later it   
was ,whistler who dictated certain      
schemes of colour1 certain harmonious   

arrangements of black2 and the most     
distressing symptom of all is that ,mr4 
,brabazon could not hold an exhibition  
of some very nice tints of rose and blue
 without inspiring ,mr4 ,steer to go and
 swish water-colour about in the same   
manner4 ,mr4 ,steer has the defect of   
his qualities2 his perceptions are nave3
 and just as he must have thought seven 
years ago that all modern               
landscape-painters must be more or less 
like ,monet1 he must have thought last  
summer that all modern water-colour must
 be more or less like ,mr4 ,brabazon4   
,this is doubly unfortunate1 because    
,mr4 ,steer is only good when he is     
,steer1 and nothing but ,steer4  ,how   
much we should borrow1 and how we should
 borrow1 are questions which will       
agitate artists for all time4 ,it is    
certain1 however1 that one of the most  
certain signs of genius is the power to 
take from others and to assimilate4 ,how
 much did ,rubens take from ,titian8    
,how much did ,mr4 ,whistler take from  

the ,japanese8 ,almost everything in    
,mr4 ,whistler already existed in art4  
,in the ,national ,gallery the white    
stocking in the ,philip reminds us of   
the white stockings in the portrait of  
,miss ,alexander4 ,in the ,british      
,museum we find the shadows that he     
transferred from ,rembrandt to his own  
etchings4 ,degas took his drawing from  
,ingres and his colour--that lovely     
brown6--from ,poussin4 ,but1            
notwithstanding their vast borrowings1  
,rubens is always ,rubens1 ,whistler is 
always ,whistler1 and ,degas is always  
,degas4 ,alexander took a good deal1    
too1 but he too remained always         
,alexander4 ,we must conquer what we    
take4 ,but what ,mr4 ,steer takes often 
conquers him2 he is often like one      
suffering from a weak digestion1 he     
cannot assimilate4 ,i must except1      
however1 that very beautiful picture1   
,two ,yachts lying off ,cowes4 ,under a 
deepening sky of mauve the yachts lie1  
their lights and rigging showing through

 the twilight4 ,we may say that this    
picture owes something to ,mr4          
,whistler2 but the debt is not          
distressing2 it does not strike the eye2
 it does not prevent us from seeing the 
picture--a very beautiful piece of      
decoration in a high key of colour--a   
picture which it would be difficult to  
find fault with4 ,it is without fault2  
the intention of the artist was a       
beautiful one1 and it has been          
completely rendered4 ,i like quite as   
well ,the ,casino1 ,boulogne1 the       
property1 ,i note with some interest1 of
 ,mr4 ,humphry ,ward1 art critic of the 
,times4 ,mr4 ,humphry ,ward must write  
conventional commonplace1 otherwise he  
could not remain art critic of the      
,times1 so it is pleasant to find that  
he is withal an excellent judge of a    
picture4 ,the picture1 ,i suppose1 in a 
very remote and distant way1 may be said
 to be in the style of ,wilson4 ,again a
 successful assimilation4 ,the buildings
 stand high up1 they are piled high up  

in the picture1 and a beautiful blue    
envelops sky1 sea1 and land4 ,nos4 #a   
and #b show ,mr4 ,steer at his best3    
that beautiful blue1 that beautiful     
mauve1 is the optimism of painting4     
,such colour is to the colourist what   
the drug is to the opium-eater3 nothing 
matters1 the world is behind us1 and we 
dream on and on1 lost in an infinity of 
suggestion4 ,this quality1 which1 for   
want of a better expression1 ,i call the
 optimism of painting1 is a peculiar    
characteristic of ,mr4 ,steer's work4   
,we find it again in ,children          
,paddling4 ,around the long breakwater  
the sea winds1 filling the estuary1 or  
perchance recedes1 for the incoming tide
 is noisier2 a delicious1 happy1 opium  
blue1 the blue of oblivion4444 ,paddling
 in the warm sea-water gives oblivion to
 those children4 ,they forget their     
little worries in the sensation of sea  
and sand1 as ,i forget mine in that     
dreamy blue which fades and deepens     
imperceptibly1 like a flower from the   

intense heart to the delicate edge of   
the petals4  ,the vague sea is drawn up 
behind the breakwater1 and out of it the
 broad sky ascends solemnly in curves   
like palms4 ,happy sensation of         
daylight2 a flower-like afternoon2      
little children paddling2 the world is  
behind them2 they are as flowers1 and   
are conscious only of the benedictive   
influences of sand and sea and sky4     
,the exhibition contains nearly every   
description of work3 full-length        
portraits in oil1 life-size heads1      
eight-inch panels1 and some half-dozen  
water-colours4 ,a little girl in a      
starched white frock is a charming      
picture1 and the large picture entitled 
,the ,sofa is a most distinguished piece
 of work1 full of true pictorial        
feeling4 ,mr4 ,steer is never common or 
vulgar2 he is distinguished even when he
 fails4 ,a ,girl in a ,large ,hat is a  
picture which became my property some   
three or four months ago4 ,since then ,i
 have seen it every day1 and ,i like it 

better and better4 ,that hat is so well 
placed in the canvas2 the expression of 
the face and body1 are they not perfect8
 ,what an air of resignation1 of        
pensiveness1 this picture exhales6 ,the 
jacket is done with a few touches1 but  
they are sufficient1 for they are in    
their right places4 ,and the colour6    
,hardly do you find any1 and yet there  
is an effect of colour which few        
painters could attain when they had     
exhausted all the resources of the      
palette4     ,,claude ,,monet4          
,whether the pictures in the ,royal     
,academy be bad or good1 the journalist 
must describe them4 ,the public goes to 
the ,academy1 and the journalist must   
follow the traffic1 like the omnibuses4 
,but the public1 the ,english public1   
does not go to the ,salon or to the     
,champ de ,mars4 ,why1 then1 should our 
newspapers waste space on the           
description of pictures which not one   
reader in fifty has seen or will see8 ,i
 suppose the demon of actuality is      

answerable for the wasted columns1 and  
the demon of habit for my yearly        
wanderings over deserts of cocoa-nut    
matting1 under tropical skylights1 in   
continual torment from glaring          
oil-paintings4 ,of the days ,i have     
spent in those exhibitions1 nothing     
remains but the memory of discomfort1   
and the sense of relief experienced on  
coming to a room in which there were no 
pictures4 ,ah1 the arm-chairs into which
 ,i slipped and the tapestries that     
rested my jaded eyes6 444 ,so this year 
,i resolved to break with habit and to  
visit neither the ,salon nor the ,champ 
de ,mars4 ,an art critic ,i am1 but     
surely independent of pictures--at      
least1 of modern pictures2 indeed1 they 
stand between me and the interesting    
article ninety times in a hundred4      
,only now and then do we meet a modern  
artist about whom we may rhapsodise1 or 
at whom we may curse3 ,claude ,monet is 
surely such an one4 ,so ,i pricked up my
 ears when ,i heard there was an        

exhibition of his work at ,durand       
,ruel's4 ,i felt ,i was on the trail of 
an interesting article1 and away ,i     
went4 ,the first time ,i pondered and   
argued with myself4 ,then ,i went with  
an intelligent lady1 and was garrulous1 
explanatory1 and theoretical2 she       
listened1 and said she would write out  
all ,i had said from her point of view4 
,the third time ,i went with two        
artists4 ,we were equally garrulous and 
argumentative1 and with the result that 
we three left the exhibition more than  
ever confirmed in the truth of our      
opinions4 ,i mention these facts1 not1  
as the ill-natured might suppose1       
because it pleases me to write about my 
own sayings and doings1 but because ,i  
believe my conduct to be typical of the 
conduct of hundreds of others in regard 
to the present exhibition in the ,rue   
,laffitte2 for1 let this be said in     
,monet's honour3 every day artists from 
every country in ,europe go there by    
themselves1 with their women friends1   

and with other artists1 and every day   
since the exhibition opened1 the        
galleries have been the scene of        
passionate discussion4  ,my own position
 regarding ,monet is a peculiar one1 and
 ,i give it for what it is worth4 ,it is
 about eighteen years since ,i first    
made the acquaintance of this remarkable
 man4 ,though at first shocked1 ,i was  
soon convinced of his talent1 and set   
myself about praising him as well as ,i 
knew how4 ,but my prophesying was       
answered by scoffs1 jeers1 supercilious 
smiles4 ,outside of the ,caf of the     
,nouvelle ,athnes1 ,monet was a         
laughing-stock4 ,manet was bad enough2  
but when it came to ,monet1 words were  
inadequate to express sufficient        
contempt4 ,a shrug of the shoulders or a
 pitying look1 which clearly meant1 ,art
 thou most of madman or simpleton1 or1  
maybe1 impudent charlatan who would     
attract attention to himself by         
professing admiration for such          
eccentricity8  ,it was thus eighteen    

years ago2 but revolution has changed   
depth to height1 and ,monet is now      
looked upon as the creator of the art of
 landscape painting2 before him nothing 
was1 after him nothing can be1 for he   
has said all things and made the advent 
of another painter impossible1          
inconceivable4 ,he who could never do a 
right thing can now do no wrong one4    
,canvases beside which the vaguest of   
,mr4 ,whistler's nocturnes are clear    
statements of plain fact1 lilac-coloured
 canvases void of design or tone1 or    
quality of paint1 are accepted by a     
complacent public1 and bought by        
,american millionaires for vast sums2   
and the early canvases about which      
,paris would not once tolerate a word of
 praise1 are now considered             
old-fashioned4 ,my personal concern in  
all this enthusiasm--the enthusiasm of  
the fashionable market-place--is that ,i
 once more find myself a dissident1 and 
a dissident in a very small minority4 ,i
 think of ,monet now as ,i thought of   

him eighteen years ago4 ,for no moment  
did it seem to me possible to think of  
him as an equal of ,corot or of ,millet4
 ,he seemed a painter of great talent1  
of exceptional dexterity of hand1 and of
 clear and rapid vision4 ,his vision    
seemed then somewhat impersonal2 the    
temper of his mind did not illuminate   
his pictures2 he was a marvellous       
mirror1 reproducing all the passing     
phenomena of ,nature2 and that was all4 
,and looking at his latest work1 his    
views of ,rouen ,cathedral1 it seems to 
me that he has merely continued to      
develop the qualities for which we first
 admired him--clearness of vision and a 
marvellous technical execution4 ,so     
extraordinary is this later execution   
that1 by comparison1 the earlier seems  
timid and weak4 ,his naturalism has     
expanded and strengthened3 mine has     
decayed and almost fallen from me4      
,monet's handicraft has grown like a    
weed2 it now overtops and chokes the    
idea2 it seems in these faades to exist 

by itself1 like a monstrous and         
unnatural ivy1 independent of support2  
and when expression outruns the thought1
 it ceases to charm4 ,we admire the     
marvellous mastery with which ,monet    
drew tower and portico3 see that tower  
lifted out of blue haze1 no delicacy of 
real perspective has been omitted2 see  
that portico bathed in sunlight and     
shadow1 no form of ornament has been    
slurred2 but we are fain of some        
personal sense of beauty1 we miss that  
rare delicacy of perception which       
delights us in ,mr4 ,whistler's ,venice1
 and in ,guardi's vision of cupolas1    
stairways1 roofs1 gondolas1 and         
waterways4 ,monet sees clearly1 and he  
sees truly1 but does he see beautifully8
 is his an enchanted vision8 ,and is not
 every picture that fails to move1 to   
transport1 to enchant1 a mistake8  ,a   
work of art is complete in itself4 ,but 
is any one of these pictures complete in
 itself8 ,is not the effect they produce
 dependent on the number1 and may not   

this set of pictures be compared to a   
set of scenes in a theatre1 the effect  
of which is attained by combination8    
,there is no foreground in them2 the    
cathedral is always in the first plane1 
directly1 under the eye of the          
spectator1 the wall running out of the  
picture4 ,the spectator says1 ,what     
extraordinary power was necessary to    
paint twelve views of that cathedral    
without once having recourse to the     
illusion of distance6 ,a feat no doubt  
it was2 and therein we perceive the     
artistic weakness of the pictures4 ,for 
art must not be confounded with the     
strong man in the fair who straddles1   
holding a full-grown woman on the palm  
of his hand4  ,then the question of the 
quality of paint4 ,manet's paint was    
beautiful as that of an old master2     
brilliant as an enamel1 smooth as an old
 ivory4 ,but the quality of paint in    
,monet is that of stone and mortar4 ,it 
would seem 7the thought is too monstrous
 to be entertained7 as if he had striven

 by thickness of paint and roughness of 
the handling to reproduce the very      
material quality of the stonework4 ,this
 would be realism  outrance4 ,i will not
 think that ,monet was haunted for a    
single instant by so shameful a thought4
 ,however this may be1 the fact remains 
that a trompe-l'oeil has been achieved1 
and four inches of any one of these     
pictures looked at separately would be  
mistaken by sight and touch for a piece 
of stonework4 ,in another picture1 in a 
haystack with the sun shining on it1 the
 trompe-l'oeil has again been as        
cleverly achieved as by the most cunning
 of scene-painters4 ,so the haystack is 
a popular delight4     ,,notes4   ,,mr4 
,,mark ,,fisher4  ,mark ,fisher is a    
nineteenth-century ,morland2 the        
disposition of mind and character of    
vision seem the same in both painters1  
the outlook almost identical3 the same  
affectionate interest in humble life1   
the same power of apprehending the      
pathos of work1 the same sympathy for   

the life that thinks not4 ,but beyond   
these qualities of mind common to both  
painters1 ,morland possessed a sense of 
beauty and grace which is absent in     
,mark ,fisher4 ,morland's pig-styes are 
more beautifully seen than ,mark ,fisher
 could see them4 ,but is the sense of   
beauty1 which was most certainly        
,morland's1 so inherent and independent 
a possession that we must regard it as  
his rather than the common inheritance  
of those who lived in his time8 ,surely 
,mark ,fisher would have seen more      
beautifully if he had lived in the      
eighteenth century8 ,or1 to put the case
 more clearly1 surely ,morland would    
have seen very much as ,mark ,fisher    
sees if he had lived in the nineteenth8 
,think of the work done by ,morland in  
the field and farmyard--it is in that   
work that he lives2 compare it with     
,mark ,fisher's1 subtracting1 of course1
 all that ,morland owed to his time1    
quality of paint1 and a certain easy    
sense of beauty1 and say if you can that

 both men do not stand on the same      
intellectual plane4  ,to tell the story 
of the life of the fields1 and to tell  
it sincerely1 without false sentiment1  
was their desire2 nor do we detect in   
either ,morland or ,mark ,fisher any    
pretence of seeing more in their        
subjects than is natural for them to    
see3 in ,jacques1 yes4 ,jacques tried to
 think profoundly1 like ,millet2 ,mark  
,fisher does not2 nor was ,morland      
influenced by the caustic mind of       
,hogarth to satirise the animalism of   
the boors he painted4 ,he saw rural life
 with the same kindly eyes as ,mark     
,fisher4 ,the difference between the two
 men is a difference of means1 of       
expression--,i mean the exterior        
envelope in which the work of the mind  
lives1 and which preserves and assures a
 long life to the painter4 ,on this     
point no comparison is possible between 
the eighteenth and nineteenth century   
painter4 ,we should seek in vain in     
,mark ,fisher for ,morland's beautiful  

smooth painting1 for his fluent and easy
 drawing1 the complete and easy vehicle 
of his vision of things4 ,mark ,fisher  
draws well1 but he often draws          
awkwardly2 he possesses the sentiment of
 proportion and the instinct of anatomy2
 we admire the sincerity and we         
recognise the truth1 but we miss the    
charm of that easy and perfect          
expression which was current in         
,morland's time4 ,mark ,fisher is a man 
who has something to say and who says it
 in a somewhat barbarous manner4 ,he    
dreams hardly at all1 his thoughts are  
ordinary1 and are only saved from       
commonplace by his absence of           
affectation4 ,he is not without         
sentiment1 but his sentiment is a little
 plain4 ,his hand is his worst enemy2   
the touch is seldom interesting or      
beautiful4  ,i said that ,morland saw   
nature with the same kindly eyes as     
,mark ,fisher4 ,i would have another    
word on that point4 ,mark ,fisher's     
painting is optimistic4 ,his skies are  

blue1 his sunlight dozes in the orchard1
 his chestnut trees are in bloom4 ,the  
melodrama of nature never appears in his
 pictures2 his lanes and fields reflect 
a gentle mind that has found happiness  
in observing the changes of the seasons4
 ,happy ,mark ,fisher6 ,an admirable    
painter1 the best1 the only             
landscape-painter of our time2 the one  
who continues the tradition of ,potter  
and ,morland1 and lives for his art1    
uninfluenced by the clamour of cliques4 
,a ,,portrait ,,by ,,mr4 ,,sargent4     
,mr4 ,sargent has painted the portrait  
of a beautiful woman and of a beautiful 
drawing-room2 the picture is full of    
technical accomplishment4 ,but is it a  
beautiful picture8  ,she is dressed in  
cherry-coloured velvet1 and she sits on 
the edge of a ,louis ,,xv4 sofa1 one arm
 by her side1 the other thrown a little 
behind her1 the hand leaning against the
 sofa4 ,behind her are pale yellow      
draperies1 and under her feet is an     
,aubasson carpet4 ,the drawing is swift1

 certain1 and complete4 ,the movement of
 the arm is so well rendered that we    
know the exact pressure of the long     
fingers that melt into a padded silken  
sofa4 ,but is the drawing distinguished1
 or subtle1 or refined8 or is it mere   
parade of knowledge and practice of     
hand8 ,the face charms us with its      
actuality2 but is there a touch         
intimately characteristic of the model8 
or is it merely a vivacious appearance8 
,but if the drawing when judged by the  
highest standard fails to satisfy us1   
what shall be said of the colour8 ,think
 of a cherry-coloured velvet filling    
half the picture--the pale cherry pink  
known as cerise--with mauve lights1 and 
behind it pale yellowish draperies and  
an ,aubasson carpet under the lady's    
feet4 ,of course this is very daring1   
but is it anything more8 ,is the colour 
deep and sonorous1 like ,alfred         
,stevens' red velvets2 or is it thin and
 harsh1 like ,duran8 ,has any attempt   
been made to compose the colour1 to     

carry it through the picture8 ,there are
 a few touches of red in the carpet1    
none in the draperies1 so the dress is  
practically a huge splash transferred   
from nature to the canvas4 ,and when we 
ask ourselves if the picture has style1 
is not the answer3 ,it is merely the    
apotheosis of fashionable painting8 ,it 
is what ,messrs4 ,shannon1 ,hacker1 and 
,solomon would like to do1 but what they
 cannot do4 ,mr4 ,sargent has realised  
their dreams for them2 he has told us   
what the new generation of ,academicians
 want1 he has revealed their souls'     
desire1 and it is--l'article de ,paris4 
,the portrait is therefore a prodigious 
success2 to use an expression which will
 be understood in the studios1 it knocks
 the walls silly2 you see nothing else  
in the gallery2 and it wins the         
suffrages of the artists and the public 
alike4 ,duran never drew so fluently as 
that1 nor was he ever capable of so     
pictorial an intention4 ,chaplin1 for it
 recalls ,chaplin1 was always heavier1  

more conventional2 above all1 less real4
 ,for it is very real1 and just the     
reality that ladies like1 reality       
without grossness2 in other words1      
without criticism4 ,so ,mr4 ,sargent    
gets his public1 as the saying goes1 all
 round4 ,he gets the ladies1 because it 
realises the ideal they have formed of  
themselves2 he gets the artists1 because
 it is the realisation of the pictorial 
ideals of the present day4  ,the picture
 has been described as marvellous1      
brilliant1 astonishing1 superb1 but no  
one has described it as beautiful4      
,whether because of the commonness of   
the epithet1 or because every one felt  
that beautiful was not the adjective    
that expressed the sensation the picture
 awoke in him1 ,i know not4 ,it is      
essentially a picture of the hour2 it   
fixes the idea of the moment and reminds
 one somewhat of a premire at the       
,vaudeville with ,sarah in a new part4  
,every one is on the qui vive4 ,the     
salle is alive with murmurs of          

approbation4 ,it is the joy of the      
passing hour1 the delirium of the       
sensual present4 ,the appeal is the same
 as that of food and drink and air and  
love4 ,but when painters are pursuing   
new ideals1 when all that constitutes   
the appearance of our day has changed1  
,i fear that many will turn with a      
shudder from its cold1 material         
accomplishment4   ,,an ,,orchid ,,by    
,,mr4 ,,james4  ,a ,kensington ,museum  
student would have drawn that flower    
carefully with a lead pencil2 it would  
be washed with colour and stippled until
 it reached the quality of wool1 which  
is so much admired in that art          
training-school2 and whenever the young 
lady was not satisfied with the turn her
 work was taking1 she would wash the    
displeasing portion out and start       
afresh4 ,the difference--there are other
 differences --but the difference we are
 concerned with between this            
hypothetical young person of ,kensington
 education and ,mr4 ,james1 is that the 

drawing which ,mr4 ,james exhibits is   
not a faithful record of all the        
difficulties that are met with in       
painting an orchid4 ,a hundred orchids  
preceded the orchid on the wall--some   
were good in colour and failed in       
drawing1 and vice vers4 ,others were    
excellent in drawing and colour1 but the
 backgrounds did not come out right4    
,all these were destroyed4 ,that mauve  
and grey orchid was probably not even   
sketched in with a lead pencil4 ,mr4    
,james desired an uninterrupted         
expression of its beauty3 to first      
sketch it with a pencil would be to lose
 something of his first vividness of    
impression4 ,it must flow straight out  
of the brush4 ,but to attain such       
fluency it was necessary to paint that  
orchid a hundred times before its form  
and colour were learnt sufficiently to  
admit of the expression of all the      
flower's beauty in one painting4 ,it is 
not that ,mr4 ,james has laboured less  
but ten times more than the ,kensington 

student4 ,but all the preliminary labour
 having been discarded1 it seems as     
simple and as slight a thing as may     
be--a flower in a glass1 the flower     
drawn only in its essentials1 the glass 
faintly indicated1 a flowing tint of    
mauve dissolving to grey1 the red heart 
of the flower for the centre of         
interest4 ,a decoration for where8 ,i   
imagine it in a boudoir whose walls are 
stretched and whose windows are         
curtained with grey silk4 ,from the     
ceiling hangs a chandelier1 cut         
glass--pure ,louis ,,xv4 ,the furniture 
that ,i see is modern2 but here and     
there a tabouret1 a guridon1 or a       
delicate tagre1 filled with tiny volumes
 of ,musset and two or three rare modern
 writers1 recall the eighteenth century4
 ,and who sits in this delicate boudoir 
perfumed with a faint scent1 a          
sachet-scented pocket-handkerchief8     
,surely one of ,sargent's ladies4       
,perhaps the lady in the shot-silk dress
 who sat on an eighteenth-century       

,french sofa two years ago in the       
,academy1 her tiny1 plump1 curved white 
hand1 drawn as well in its interior as  
in exterior limits1 hanging over the    
gilt arm of the sofa4 ,but she sits now1
 in the boudoir ,i have imagined1 in a  
low arm-chair covered with grey silk2   
her feet lie one over the other on the  
long-haired rug2 the fire burns low in  
the grate1 and the soft spring sunlight 
laps through the lace curtains1 filling 
the room with a bland1 moody1           
retrospective atmosphere4 ,she sits     
facing ,mr4 ,james's water-colour4 ,she 
is looking at it1 she does not see it2  
her thoughts are far away1 and their    
importance is slight4   ,,the ,,whistler
 ,,album4  ,the photograph of the       
portrait of ,miss ,alexander is as      
suggestive of the colour as a pianoforte
 arrangement of ,tristan is of the      
orchestration4 ,the sounds of the       
different instruments come through the  
thin tinkle of the piano just as the    
colour of the blond hair1 the delicate  

passages of green-grey and green1 come  
through the black and white of the      
photograph4 ,truly a beautiful thing6   
,but ,before the ,mirror reflects       
perhaps a deeper beauty4 ,the influence 
of that strange man1 ,dante ,gabriel    
,rossetti1 is sufficiently plain in this
 picture4 ,he who could execute hardly  
at all in paint1 and whose verse is     
,italian1 though the author wrote and   
spoke no language but ,english1 foisted 
the character of his genius upon all the
 poetry and painting of his generation4 
,it is as present in this picture as it 
is in ,swinburne's first volume of      
,poems and ,ballads4 ,mr4 ,whistler took
 the type of woman and the sentiment of 
the picture from ,rossetti2 he saw that 
even in painting ,rossetti had something
 to say1 and1 lest an artistic thought  
should be lost to the world through     
inadequate expression1 he painted this  
picture4 ,he did not go on painting     
pictures in the ,rossetti sentiment1    
because he thought he had exhausted     

,rossetti in one picture4 ,in this he   
was possibly mistaken1 but the large1   
white1 indolent shoulders1 misshapen1   
almost grotesque in original ,rossettis1
 are here in beautiful prime and        
plenitude2 the line of the head and     
neck1 the hair falling over the stooped 
shoulder --a sensuous dream it is2 all  
her body's beauty1 to borrow a phrase   
from ,rossetti1 is in that white dress2 
and the beauty of the arm in its full   
white sleeve lies along the white       
chimney-piece1 the fingers languidly    
open3 two fallen over the edge1 two     
touching the blue vase4 ,note how       
beautiful is the placing of this figure 
in the picture2 how the golden head     
shines1 high up in the right-hand       
corner1 and the white dress and         
white-sleeved arms fill the picture with
 an exquisite music of proportion4 ,the 
dress cuts against the black grate1 and 
the angle of black is the very happiest2
 it is brightened with pink sprays of   
azaleas1 and they seem to whisper the   

very enchanted bloom of their life into 
the picture4 ,never did ,dutch or       
,japanese artist paint flowers like     
these4 ,and the fluent music of the     
painting seems only to enforce the      
languor and reverie which this canvas   
exhales3 the languor of white dress and 
gold hair2 languor and golden reverie   
float in the mirror like a sunset in    
placid waters4 ,the profile in full     
light is thrilled with grief of present 
hours2 the full face half lost in       
shadow1 far away--a ghost of a dead     
self--is dreaming with half-closed eyes1
 unmindful of what may be4 ,by her      
mirror1 gowned in white as if for       
dreams1 she watches life flowing past   
her1 and she knows of no use to make of 
it4   ,,ingres4  ,raphael was a great   
designer1 but there are a purity and a  
passion in ,ingres' line for the like of
 which we have to go back to the        
,greeks4 ,apelles could not have        
realised more exquisite simplifications1
 could not have dreamed into any of his 

lost works a purer soul of beauty than  
,ingres did into the head1 arms1 and    
torso of ,la ,source4 ,the line that    
floats about the muscles of an arm is   
illusive1 evanescent1 as an             
evening-tinted sky2 and none except the 
,greeks and ,ingres have attained such  
mystery of line3 not ,raphael1 not even 
,michael ,angelo in the romantic        
anatomies of his stupendous creations4  
,ingres was a ,frenchman animated by the
 soul of an ancient ,greek1 an ancient  
,greek who lost himself in ,japan4      
,there is as much mystery in ,ingres'   
line as in ,rembrandt's light and shade4
 ,the arms and wrists and hands of the  
lady seated among the blue cushions in  
the ,louvre are as illusive as any one  
of ,mr4 ,whistler's ,nocturnes4 ,the    
beautiful ,andromeda1 head and throat   
leaned back almost out of nature1 wild  
eyes and mass of heavy hair1 long white 
arms uplifted1 chained to the           
basalt1--how rare the simplifications1  
those arms1 that body1 the straight     

flanks and slender leg advancing1--are  
made of lines simple and beautiful as   
those which in the ,venus of ,milo      
realise the architectural beauty of     
woman4 ,we shrink from such comparison1 
for perforce we see that the grandeur of
 the ,venus is not in the ,andromeda3   
but in both is the same quality of      
beauty4 ,in the drawing for the         
odalisque1 in her long back1 wonderful  
as a stem of woodbine1 there is the very
 same love of form which a ,greek       
expressed with the benign ease of a god 
speaking his creation through the       
harmonious universe4  ,but the pure1    
unconscious love of form1 inherited from
 the ,greeks1 sometimes turned to       
passion in ,ingres3 not in ,la ,source1 
she is wholly ,greek2 but in the        
beautiful sinuous back of the odalisque 
we perceive some of the exasperation of 
nerves which betrays our century4 ,if   
,phidias' sketches had come down to us1 
the margin filled with his hesitations1 
we should know more of his intimate     

personality4 ,you notice1 my dear       
reader1 how intolerant ,i am of         
criticism of my idol1 how ,i repudiate  
any slight suggestion of imperfection1  
how ,i turn upon myself and defend my   
god4 ,before going to bed1 ,i often     
stand1 candle in hand1 before the ,roman
 lady and enumerate the adorable        
perfections of the drawing4 ,i am aware 
of my weakness1 ,i have pleaded guilty  
to an idolatrous worship1 but1 if ,i    
have expressed myself as ,i intended1 my
 great love will seem neither vain nor  
unreasonable4 ,for surely for quality of
 beautiful line this man stands nearer  
to the ,greeks than any other4          
,,some ,,japanese ,,prints4   ,ladies   
,under ,trees4 ,not ,japanese ladies    
walking under ,japanese trees--that is  
to say1 trees peculiar to ,japan1       
planted and fashioned according to the  
mode of ,japan--but merely ladies       
walking under trees4 ,true that the     
costumes are ,japanese1 the writing on  
the wall is in ,japanese characters1 the

 umbrellas and the idol on the tray are 
,japanese2 universality is not attained 
by the simple device of dressing the    
model in a sheet and eliminating all    
accessories that might betray time and  
country2 the great artist accepts the   
costume of his time and all the special 
signs of his time1 and merely by the    
lovely exercise of genius the mere      
accidents of a generation become the    
symbolic expression of universal        
sensation and lasting truths4 ,do not   
ask me how this transformation is       
effected2 it is the secret of every     
great artist1 a secret which he         
exercises unconsciously1 and which no   
critic has explained4  ,looking at this 
yard of coloured print1 ,i ask myself   
how it is that ever since art began no  
such admirable result has been obtained 
with means so slight4 ,a few outlines   
drawn with pen and ink or pencil1 and   
the interspaces filled in with two flat 
tints-a dark green1 and a grey verging  
on mauve4  ,the drawing of the figures  

is marvellously beautiful4 ,but why is  
it beautiful8 ,is it because of the     
individual character represented in the 
faces8 ,the faces are expressed by means
 of a formula1 and are as like one      
another as a row of eggs4 ,are the      
proportions of the figure correctly     
measured1 and are the anatomies well    
understood8 ,the figures are in the     
usual proportions so far as the number  
of heads is concerned3 they are all from
 six and a half to seven heads high2 but
 no motion of limbs happens under the   
draperies1 and the hands and feet1 like 
the faces1 are expressed by a set of    
arbitrary conventions4 ,it is not even  
easy to determine whether the posture of
 the woman on the right is intended for 
sitting or kneeling4 ,she holds a tray1 
on which is an idol1 and to provide     
sufficient balance for the composition  
the artist has placed a yellow umbrella 
in the idol's hand4 ,examine this design
 from end to end1 and nowhere will you  
find any desire to imitate nature4 ,with

 a line ,utamaro expresses all that he  
deems it necessary to express of a      
face's contour4 ,three or four          
conventional markings stand for eyes1   
mouth1 and ears2 no desire to convey the
 illusion of a rounded surface disturbed
 his mind for a moment2 the intention of
 the ,japanese artists was merely to    
decorate a surface with line and colour4
 ,it was no part of their scheme to     
compete with nature1 so it could not    
occur to them to cover one side of a    
face with shadow4 ,the ,japanese artists
 never thought to deceive2 the art of   
deception they left to their conjurers4 
,the ,japanese artist thought of        
harmony1 not of accuracy of line1 and of
 harmony1 not of truth of colour2 it was
 therefore impossible for him to        
entertain the idea of shading his       
drawings1 and had some one whispered the
 idea to him he would have answered3    
,the frame will always tell people that 
they are not looking at nature4 ,you    
would have it all heavy and black1 but  

,i want something light1 and bright1 and
 full of beauty4 ,see these lines1 are  
they not in themselves beautiful8 are   
they not sharp1 clear1 and flowing1     
according to the necessity of the       
composition8 ,are not the grey and the  
dark green sufficiently contrasted8 do  
they not bring to your eyes a sense of  
repose and unity8 ,look at the          
embroideries on the dresses1 are they   
not delicate8 do not the star-flowers   
come in the right place8 is not the     
yellow in harmony with the grey and the 
green8 ,and the blossoms on the trees1  
are they not touched in with the        
lightness of hand and delicacy of tone  
that you desire8 ,step back and see if  
the spots of colour and the effects of  
line become confused1 or if they still  
hold their places from a distance as    
well as close4444  ,ladies under trees1 
by ,utamaro6 ,that grey-green design    
alternated with pale yellow corresponds 
more nearly to a sonata by ,mozart than 
to anything else2 both are fine         

decorations1 musical and pictorial      
decorations1 expressing nothing more    
definite than that sense of beauty which
 haunts the world4 ,the fields give     
flowers1 and the hands of man works of  
art4  ,then this art is wholly          
irresponsible--it grows1 obeying no     
rules1 even as the flowers8  ,in        
obedience to the laws of some irregular 
metre so delicate and subtle that its   
structure escapes our analysis1 the     
flowers bloom in faultless1 flawless1   
and ever-varying variety4 ,we can only  
say these are beautiful because they are
 beautiful4444  ,that is begging the    
question4  ,he who attempts to go to the
 root of things always finds himself    
begging the question in the end4444     
,but you have to admit that a drawing   
that does not correspond to the object  
which the artist has set himself to copy
 cannot be well drawn4  ,that idea is   
the blight that has fallen on ,european 
art4 ,the goodness or the badness of a  
drawing exists independently of the     

thing copied4 ,we say--speaking of a    
branch1 of a cloud1 of a rock1 of a     
flower1 of a leaf--how beautifully      
drawn6 ,some clouds and some leaves are 
better drawn than others1 not on account
 of complexity or simplicity of form1   
but because they interpret an innate    
sense of harmony inherent in us4 ,and   
this natural drawing1 which exists      
sometimes irrespective of anatomies and 
proportions1 is always ,utamaro's4  ,i  
do not know how long ,i stood examining 
this beautiful drawing1 studying the    
grey and the green tint1 admiring the   
yellow flowers on the dresses1 wondering
 at the genius that placed the yellow   
umbrella in the idol's hand1 the black  
masses of hair above the faces1 so      
charmingly decorated with great yellow  
hair-pins4 ,i watched the beauty of the 
trees1 and was moved by the placing of  
the trees in the composition1 and ,i    
delighted in the delicate blossoms4 ,i  
was enchanted by all this bright and    
gracious paganism which ,western        

civilisation has already defaced1 and in
 a few years will have wholly destroyed4
  ,i might describe more prints1 and the
 pleasure they have given me2 ,i might  
pile epithet upon epithet2 ,i might say 
that the colour was as deep and as      
delicate as flower-bloom1 and every     
outline spontaneous1 and exquisite to   
the point of reminding me of the hopbine
 and ferns4 ,it would be well to say    
these things2 the praise would be       
appropriate to the occasion2 but rather 
am ,i minded to call the reader's       
attention to what seems to me to be an  
essential difference between the ,east  
and the ,west4  ,michael ,angelo and    
,velasquez1 however huge their strength 
in portraiture and decoration1 however  
sublime ,veronese and ,tintoretto in    
magnificent display of colour1 we must  
perforce admit to ,oriental art a       
refinement of thought and a delicacy of 
handicraft--the outcome of the original 
thought--which never was attained by    
,italy1 and which so transcends our     

grosser sense that it must for ever     
remain only half perceived and          
understood by us4     ,,the ,,new ,,art 
,,criticism4   ,before commenting on the
 very thoughtless utterances of two     
distinguished men1 ,i think ,i          
must--even at the risk of appearing to  
attach over-much importance to my       
criticisms--reprint what ,i said about  
,l',absinthe2 for in truth it was ,i who
 first meddled with the moral tap1 and  
am responsible for the overflow3--      
,look at the head of the old            
,bohemian--the engraver ,deboutin--a man
     whom ,i have known all my life1 and
 yet he never really existed for     me 
until ,i saw this picture4 ,there is the
 hat ,i have always known1     on the   
back of his head as ,i have always seen 
it1 and the wooden     pipe is held     
tight in his teeth as ,i have always    
seen him hold it4     ,how large1 how   
profound1 how simple the drawing6 ,how  
easily and     how naturally he lives in
 the pose1 the body bent forward1 the   

elbows on the table6 ,fine as the       
,orchardson undoubtedly is1 it seems    
fatigued and explanatory by the side of 
this wonderful rendering of     life2   
thin and restless--like ,dumas fils'    
dialogue when we compare     it with    
,ibsen's4 ,the woman that sits beside   
the artist was at the     ,elyse        
,montmartre until two in the morning1   
then she went to the     ratmort and had
 a soupe aux choux2 she lives in the    
,rue ,fontaine1 or perhaps the ,rue     
,breda2 she did not get up till         
half-past eleven2 then she tied a few   
soiled petticoats round her1     slipped
 on that peignoir1 thrust her feet into 
those loose morning     shoes1 and came 
down to the caf to have an absinthe     
before breakfast4     ,heavens6 what a  
slut6 ,a life of idleness and low vice  
is upon her     face2 we read there her 
whole life4 ,the tale is not a pleasant 
one1     but it is a lesson4 ,hogarth's 
view was larger1 wider1 but not so      
incisive1 so deep1 or so intense4 ,then 

how loose and general ,hogarth's        
composition would seem compared to this 
marvellous epitome1 this     essence of 
things6 ,that open space in front of the
 table1 into which     the skirt and the
 lean legs of the man come so well--how 
well the     point of view was selected6
 ,the beautiful1 dissonant rhythm of    
that     composition is like a page of  
,wagner--the figures crushed into the   
right of the canvas1 the left filled up 
with a fragment of marble     table     
running in sharp perspective into the   
foreground4 ,the newspaper     lies as  
it would lie across the space between   
the tables4 ,the colour1     almost a   
monochrome1 is very beautiful1 a deep1  
rich harmony4 ,more     marvellous work 
the world never saw1 and will never see 
again3 a maze     of assimilated        
influences1 strangely assimilated1 and  
eluding     definition--remembrances of 
,watteau and the ,dutch painters1 a good
     deal of ,ingres' spirit1 and1 in   
the vigour of the arabesque1 we may     

perhaps trace the influence of ,poussin4
 ,but these influences float            
evanescent on the canvas1 and the       
reading is difficult and                
contradictory4  ,i have written many a  
negligent phrase1 many a stupid phrase1 
but the italicised phrase is the first  
hypocritical phrase ,i ever wrote4 ,i   
plead guilty to the grave offence of    
having suggested that a work of art is  
more than a work of art4 ,the picture is
 only a work of art1 and therefore void 
of all ethical signification4 ,in       
writing the abominable phrase but it is 
a lesson ,i admitted as a truth the     
ridiculous contention that a work of art
 may influence a man's moral conduct2 ,i
 admitted as a truth the grotesque      
contention that to read ,mdlle4 de      
,maupin may cause a man to desert his   
wife1 whereas to read ,paradise ,lost   
may induce him to return to her4 ,in the
 abominable phrase which ,i plead guilty
 to having written1 ,i admitted the     
monstrous contention that our virtues   

and our vices originate not in our      
inherited natures1 but are found in the 
books we read and the pictures we look  
upon4 ,that art should be pure is quite 
another matter1 and the necessity of    
purity in art can be maintained for     
other than ethical reasons4 ,art--,i am 
speaking now of literature--owes a great
 deal to ethics1 but ethics owes nothing
 to art4 ,without morality the art of   
the novelist and the dramatist would    
cease4 ,so we are more deeply interested
 in the preservation of public morality 
than any other class--the clergy1 of    
course1 excepted4 ,to accuse us of      
indifference in this matter is absurd4  
,we must do our best to keep up a high  
standard of public morality2 our living 
depends upon it--and it would be        
difficult to suggest a more powerful    
reason for our advocacy4 ,nevertheless1 
by a curious irony of fate we must      
preserve--at least1 in our books--a     
distinctly impartial attitude on the    
very subject which most nearly concerns 

our pockets4  ,to remove these serious  
disabilities should be our serious aim4 
,it might be possible to enter into some
 arrangement with the bishops to allow  
us access to the pulpits4 ,mr4 ,so-and  
so's episcopal style--,i refer not only 
to this gentleman's writings1 but also  
to his style of figure1 which1 on       
account of the opportunities it offers  
for a display of calf1 could not fail to
 win their lordships' admiration--marks 
him as the proper head and spokesman of 
the deputation2 and his well-known      
sympathies for the pecuniary interests  
of authors would enable him to explain  
that not even their lordships' pockets  
were so gravely concerned in the        
maintenance of public morality as our   
own4  ,i have allowed my pen to wander  
somewhat from the subject in hand2 for  
before permitting myself to apologise   
for having hypocritically declared a    
great picture to be what it was not1 and
 could not be--a lesson--it was clearly 
incumbent on me to show that the moral  

question was the backbone of the art    
which ,i practise myself1 and that of   
all classes none are so necessarily     
moral as novelists4 ,i think ,i have    
done this beyond possibility of         
disproof1 or even of argument1 and may  
therefore be allowed to lament my       
hypocrisy with as many tears and groans 
as ,i deem sufficient for the due       
expiation of my sin4 ,confession eases  
the heart4 ,listen4 ,my description of  
,degas' picture seemed to me a little   
unconventional1 and to soothe the reader
 who is shocked by everything that lies 
outside his habitual thought1 and to    
dodge the reader who is always on the   
watch to introduce a discussion on that 
sterile subject1 morality in art1 to    
make things pleasant for everybody1 to  
tickle the ,philistine in his tenderest 
spot1 ,i told a little lie3 ,i suggested
 that some one had preached4 ,i ought to
 have known human nature better--what   
one dog does another dog will do1 and   
straight away preaching began--,zola and

 the drink question from ,mr4 ,richmond1
 sociology from ,mr4 ,crane4  ,but the  
picture is merely a work of art1 and has
 nothing to do with drink or sociology2 
and its title is not ,l' ,absinthe1 nor 
even ,un ,homme et une ,femme assis dans
 un ,caf1 as ,mr4 ,walter ,sickert      
suggests1 but simply ,au ,caf4 ,mr4     
,walter ,crane writes3 ,here is a study 
of human degradation1 male and female4  
,perhaps ,mr4 ,walter ,crane will feel  
inclined to apologise for his language  
when he learns that the man who sits    
tranquilly smoking his pipe is a        
portrait of the engraver ,deboutin1 a   
man of great talent and at least ,mr4   
,walter ,crane's equal as a writer and  
as a designer4 ,true that ,m4 ,deboutin 
does not dress as well as ,mr4 ,walter  
,crane1 but there are many young men in 
,pall ,mall who would consider ,mr4     
,crane's velvet coat1 red necktie1 and  
soft felt hat quite intolerable1 yet    
they would hardly be justified in       
speaking of a portrait of ,mr4 ,walter  

,crane as a study of human degradation4 
,let me assure ,mr4 ,walter ,crane that 
when he speaks of ,m4 ,deboutin's life  
as being degraded1 he is speaking on a  
subject of which he knows nothing4 ,m4  
,deboutin has lived a very noble life1  
in no way inferior to ,mr4 ,crane's2 his
 life has been entirely devoted to art  
and literature2 his etchings have been  
for many years the admiration of        
artistic ,paris1 and he has had a play  
in verse performed at the ,thtre        
,franais4  ,the picture represents ,m4  
,deboutin in the caf of the ,nouvelle   
,athnes ,he has come down from his      
studio for breakfast1 and he will return
 to his dry-points when he has finished 
his pipe4 ,i have known ,m4 ,deboutin a 
great number of years1 and a more sober 
man does not exist2 and ,mr4 ,crane's   
accusations of drunkenness might as well
 be made against ,mr4 ,bernard ,shaw4   
,when1 hypocritically1 ,i said the      
picture was a lesson1 ,i referred to the
 woman1 who happens to be sitting next  

to ,m4 ,deboutin4 ,mr4 ,crane1 ,mr4     
,richmond1 and others have jumped to the
 conclusion that ,m4 ,deboutin has come 
to the caf with the woman1 and that they
 are boozing together4 ,nothing can be  
farther from the truth4 ,deboutin always
 came to the caf alone1 as did ,manet1  
,degas1 ,duranty4 ,deboutin is thinking 
of his dry-points2 the woman is         
incapable of thought4 ,if questioned    
about her life she would probably       
answer1 je suis  la coule4 ,but there is
 no implication of drunkenness in the   
phrase4 ,in ,england this class of woman
 is constantly drunk1 in ,france hardly 
ever2 and the woman ,degas has painted  
is typical of her class1 and she wears  
the habitual expression of her class4   
,and the interest of the subject1 from  
,degas' point of view1 lies in this     
strange contrast--the man thinking of   
his dry-points1 the woman thinking1 as  
the phrase goes1 of nothing at all4 ,au 
,caf--that is the title of the picture4 
,how simple1 how significant6 ,and how  

the picture gains in meaning when the   
web of false melodrama that a couple of 
industrious spiders have woven about it 
is brushed aside6  ,i now turn to the   
more interesting1 and what ,i think will
 prove the more instructive1 part of my 
task--the analysis of the art criticism 
of ,mr4 ,richmond and ,mr4 ,crane4  ,mr4
 ,richmond says it is not painting at   
all4 ,we must understand therefore that 
the picture is void of all              
accomplishment--composition1 drawing1   
and handling4 ,we will take ,mr4        
,richmond's objections in their order4  
,the subject-matter out of which the    
artist extracted his composition was a  
man and woman seated in a caf furnished 
with marble tables4 ,the first          
difficulty the artist had to overcome   
was the symmetry of the lines of the    
tables4 ,not only are they exceedingly  
ugly from all ordinary points of view1  
but they cut the figures in two4 ,the   
simplest way out of the difficulty would
 be to place one figure on one side of a

 table1 the other on the other side1 and
 this composition might be balanced by a
 waiter seen in the distance4 ,that     
would be an ordinary arrangement of the 
subject4 ,but the ingenuity with which  
,degas selects his point of view is     
without parallel in the whole history of
 art4 ,and this picture is an excellent 
example4 ,one line of tables runs up the
 picture from left to right1 another    
line of tables1 indicated by three parts
 of one table1 strikes right across the 
foreground4 ,the triangle thus formed is
 filled by the woman's dress1 which is  
darker than the floor and lighter than  
the leather bench on which both figures 
are seated4 ,looking still more closely 
into the composition1 we find that it is
 made of several perspectives --the dark
 perspective of the bench1 the light    
perspective of the partition behind1 on 
which the light falls1 and the rapid    
perspective of the marble table in the  
foreground4 ,the man is high up on the  
right-hand corner1 the woman is in the  

middle of the picture1 and ,degas has   
been careful to place her in front of   
the opening between the tables1 for by  
so doing he was able to carry his       
half-tint right through the picture4    
,the empty space on the left1 so        
characteristic of ,degas's compositions1
 admirably balances the composition1 and
 it is only relieved by the stone       
matchbox1 and the newspaper thrown      
across the opening between the tables4  
,everywhere a perspective1 and these are
 combined with such strange art that the
 result is synthetic4 ,a beautiful      
dissonant rhythm1 always symphonic      
coulant longours de source2 an          
exasperated vehemence and a continual   
desire of novelty penetrated and        
informed by a severely classical        
spirit--that is my reading of this      
composition4  ,the qualities admired by 
this new school are certainly the       
mirrors of that side of the             
nineteenth-century development most     
opposed to fine painting1 or1 say1 fine 

craftsmanship4 ,hurry1 rush1 fashion1   
are the enemies of toil1 patience1 and  
seclusion1 without which no great works 
are produced4 ,hence the admiration for 
an art fully answering to a demand4 ,no 
doubt impressionism is an expression in 
painting of the deplorable side of      
modern life4  ,after forty years of the 
study of the best art of various schools
 that the galleries of ,europe display1 
,mr4 ,richmond mistakes ,degas for an   
impressionist 7,i use the word in its   
accepted sense72 he follows the lead of 
the ordinary art critic who includes    
,degas among the impressionists because 
,degas paints dancing lessons1 and      
because he has once or twice exhibited  
with ,monet and his followers4 ,the best
 way--possibly the only way--to obtain  
any notion of the depth of the abyss on 
which we stand will be by a plain       
statement of the facts4  ,when ,ingres  
fell down in the fit from which he never
 recovered1 it was ,degas who carried   
him out of his studio4 ,degas had then  

been working with ,ingres only a few    
months1 but that brief while convinced  
,ingres of his pupil's genius1 and it is
 known that he believed that it would be
 ,degas who would carry on the classical
 tradition of which he was a great      
exponent4 ,degas has done this1 not as  
,flandren tried to1 by reproducing the  
externality of the master's work1 but as
 only a man of genius could1 by the     
application of the method to new        
material4 ,degas's early pictures1 ,the 
,spartan ,youths and ,semiramis building
 the ,walls of ,babylon4 are pure       
,ingres4 ,to this day ,degas might be   
very fairly described as un petit       
,ingres4 ,do we not find ,ingres'       
penetrating and intense line in the thin
 straining limbs of ,degas's            
ballet-girls1 in the heavy shoulders of 
his laundresses bent over the ironing   
table1 and in the coarse forms of his   
housewives who sponge themselves in tin 
baths8 ,the vulgar1 who see nothing of a
 work of art but its external side1 will

 find it difficult to understand that   
the art of ,la ,source and of ,degas's  
cumbersome housewives is the same4 ,to  
the vulgar1 ,bouguereau and not ,degas  
is the interpreter of the classical     
tradition4  ',hurry1 rush1 fashion1 are 
the enemies of toil1 patience1 and      
seclusion1 without which no great works 
are produced4'  ,for the sake of his    
beloved drawing ,degas has for many     
years locked himself into his studio    
from early morning till late at night1  
refusing to open even to his most       
intimate friends4 ,coming across him one
 morning in a small caf1 where he went  
at midday to eat a cutlet1 ,i said1 ,my 
dear friend1 ,i haven't seen you for    
years2 when may ,i come8 ,the answer ,i 
received was3 ,you're an old friend1 and
 if you'll make an appointment ,i'll see
 you4 ,but ,i may as well tell you that 
for the last two years no one has been  
in my studio4 ,on the whole it is       
perhaps as well that ,i declined to make
 an appointment1 for another old friend 

who went1 and who stayed a little longer
 than he was expected to stay1 was      
thrown down the staircase4 ,and that    
staircase is spiral1 as steep as any    
ladder4 ,until he succeeded in realising
 his art ,degas's tongue was the terror 
of artistic ,paris2 his solitary days1  
the strain on the nerves that the       
invention and composition of his art1 so
 entirely new and original1 entailed1   
wrecked his temper1 and there were      
moments when his friends began to dread 
the end that his striving might bring   
about4 ,but with the realisation of his 
artistic ideal his real nature returned1
 and he is now full of kind words for   
the feeble1 and full of indulgence for  
the slightest artistic effort4  ,the    
story of these terrible years of        
striving is written plainly enough on   
every canvas signed by ,degas2 yet ,mr4 
,richmond imagines him skipping about   
airily from caf to caf1 dashing off     
little impressions4 ,in another letter  
,mr4 ,richmond says1 ',perfect          

craftsmanship1 such as was ,van ,eyck's1
 ,holbein's1 ,bellini's1 ,michael       
,angelo's1 becomes more valuable as time
 goes on4' ,it is interesting to hear   
that ,mr4 ,richmond admires ,holbein's  
craftsmanship1 but it will be still more
 interesting if he will explain how and 
why the head of the old ,bohemian in the
 picture entitled ,l',absinthe is       
inferior to ,holbein4 ,the art of       
,holbein1 as ,i understand it--and if ,i
 do not understand it rightly ,i shall  
be delighted to have my mistake         
explained to me--consists of            
measurements and the power of observing 
and following an outline with           
remorseless precision4 ,now ,degas in   
his early manner was frequently this4   
,his portrait of his father listening to
 ,pagan singing whilst he accompanied   
himself on the guitar is pure ,holbein4 
,whether it is worse or better than     
,holbein is a matter of individual      
opinion2 but to affect to admire        
,holbein and to decline to admire the   

portrait ,i speak of is--well1          
incomprehensible4 ,the portrait of      
,deboutin in the picture entitled       
,l',absinthe is a later work1 and is not
 quite so nearly in the manner of       
,holbein2 but it is quite nearly enough 
to allow me to ask ,mr4 ,richmond to    
explain how1 and why it is inferior to  
,holbein4 ,inferior is not the word ,i  
want1 for ,mr4 ,richmond holds ,holbein 
to be one of the greatest painters the  
world ever knew1 and ,degas to be hardly
 a painter at all4  ,for three weeks the
 pens of art critics1 painters1         
designers1 and engravers have been      
writing about this picture--about this  
rough ,bohemian who leans over the caf  
table with his wooden pipe fixed fast   
between his teeth1 with his large soft  
felt hat on the back of his head1 upheld
 there by a shock of bushy hair1 with   
his large battered face grown around    
with scanty1 unkempt beard1 illuminated 
by a fixed and concentrated eye which   
tells us that his thoughts are in       

pursuit of an idea--about one of the    
finest specimens of the art of this     
century--and what have they told us8    
,mr4 ,richmond mistakes the work for    
some hurried sketch--impressionism--and 
practically declares the painting to be 
worthless4 ,mr4 ,walter ,crane says it  
is only fit for a sociological museum or
 for an illustrated tract in a          
temperance propaganda2 he adds some     
remarks about a new ,adam and ,eve and a
 paradise of unnatural selection which  
escape my understanding4 ,an engraver   
said that the picture was a vulgar      
subject vulgarly painted4 ,another set  
of men said the picture was wonderful1  
extraordinary1 perfect1 complete1       
excellent4 ,but on neither side was any 
attempt made to explain why the picture 
was bad or why the picture was          
excellent4 ,the picture is excellent1   
but why is it excellent8 ,because the   
scene is like a real scene passing      
before your eyes8 ,because nothing has  
been omitted that might have been       

included1 because nothing has been      
included that might have been omitted8  
,because the painting is clear1 smooth1 
and limpid and pleasant to the eye8     
,because the colour is harmonious1 and  
though low in tone1 rich and strong8    
,because each face is drawn in its      
distinctive lines1 and each tells the   
tale of instincts and of race8 ,because 
the clothing is in its accustomed folds 
and is full of the individuality of the 
wearer8 ,we look on this picture and we 
ask ourselves how it is that amongst the
 tens and hundreds of thousands of men  
who have painted men and women in their 
daily occupations1 habits1 and          
surroundings1 no one has said so much in
 so small a space1 no one has expressed 
himself with that simplicity which draws
 all veils aside1 and allows us to look 
into the heart of nature4  ,where is the
 drawing visible except in the result8  
,how beautifully concise it is1 and yet 
it is large1 supple1 and true without   
excess of reality4 ,can you detect      

anywhere a measurement8 ,do you perceive
 a base1 a fixed point from which the   
artist calculated and compared his      
drawing8 ,that hat1 full of the         
ill-usage of the studio1 hanging on the 
shock of bushy hair1 the perspective of 
those shoulders1 and the round of the   
back1 determining the exact width and   
thickness of the body1 the movement of  
the arm leaning on the table1 and the   
arm perfectly in the sleeve1 and the ear
 and the shape of the neck hidden in the
 shadow of the hat and hair1 and the    
battered face1 sparely sown with an     
ill-kempt beard1 illuminated by a fixed 
look which tells us that his thoughts   
are in pursuit of an idea--this old     
,bohemian smoking his pipe1 does he not 
seem to have grown out of the canvas as 
naturally and mysteriously as a herb or 
plant8 ,by the side of this drawing do  
not all the drawings in the gallery of  
,english1 ,french1 ,belgian1 and        
,scandinavian seem either childish1     
ignorant-timed1 or presumptuous8 ,by the

 side of this picture do not all the    
other pictures in the gallery seem like 
little painted images8  ,compared with  
this drawing1 would not ,holbein seem a 
little geometrical8 ,again ,i ask if you
 can detect in any outline or accent a  
fixed point from whence the drawing was 
measured1 calculated1 and constructed4  
,in the drawing of all the other        
painters you trace the method and you   
take note of the knowledge through which
 the model has been seen and which has1 
as it were1 dictated to the eye what it 
should see4 ,but in ,degas the science  
of the drawing is hidden from us--a     
beautiful flexible drawing almost       
impersonal1 bending to and following the
 character1 as naturally as the banks   
follow the course of their river4  ,i   
stop1 although ,i have not said         
everything4 ,to complete my study of    
this picture we should have to examine  
that smooth1 clean1 supple painting of  
such delicate and yet such a compact    
tissue2 we should have to study that    

simple expressive modelling2 we should  
have to consider the resources of that  
palette1 reduced almost to a monochrome 
and yet so full of colour4 ,i stop1 for 
,i think ,i have said enough to rouse if
 not to fully awaken suspicion in ,mr4  
,richmond and ,mr4 ,crane of the        
profound science concealed in a picture 
about which ,i am afraid they have      
written somewhat thoughtlessly4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,in the midst of a somewhat foolish and 
ignorant argument regarding the morality
 and the craftsmanship of a masterpiece1
 the right of the new art criticism to  
adversely criticise the work of ,royal  
,academicians has been called into      
question4 ,i cull the following from the
 columns of the ,westminster ,gazette2--
  ',their words are practically the     
same2 their praise and blame are        
similarly inspired2 the means they      
employ to gain their object identical4  
,so much we can see for ourselves4 ,as  
for their object and their bona-fides1  

they concern me not4 ,it is what they   
do1 not what they are1 that is the      
question here4 ,what they do is to form 
a caucus in art criticism1 and owing to 
their vehemence and the limitation of   
their aim1 a caucus which is increasing 
in influence1 and1 to the best of my    
belief1 doing cruel injustice to many   
great artists1 and much injury to       
,english art4 ,it is for this reason1   
and this reason only1 that ,i have taken
 up my parable on the subject4 ,i have  
in vain endeavoured to induce those     
whose words would come with far greater 
authority than mine to do so4 ,i went   
personally to the presidents of the two 
greatest artistic bodies in the kingdom 
to ask them to speak or write on the    
subject1 but ,i found their view to be  
that such action would be misconstrued1 
and would in their position be          
unbecoming4'  ,the meaning of all this  
is that the ferret is in the hole and   
the rats have begun to squeak already4  
,soon they will come hopping out of ,st4

 ,john's ,wood ,avenue1 so make ready   
your sticks and stones4  ,in ,april     
#ahib ,i wrote3 ',the position of the   
,academy is as impregnable as           
,gibraltar4 ,but ,gibraltar itself was  
once captured by a small company of     
resolute men1 and if ever there exist in
 ,london six resolute art critics1 each 
capable of distinguishing between a bad 
picture and a good one1 each determined 
at all costs to tell the truth1 and if  
these six critics will keep in line1    
then1 and not till then1 some of the    
reforms so urgently needed1 and so often
 demanded from the ,academy1 will be    
granted4 ,i do not mean that these six  
critics will bring the ,academicians on 
their knees by writing fulminating      
articles on the ,academy4 ,such attacks 
were as idle as whistling for rain on   
the house-tops4 ,the ,academicians laugh
 at such attacks1 relying on the        
profound indifference of the public to  
artistic questions4 ,but there is       
another kind of attack which the        

,academicians may not ignore1 and that  
is true criticism4 ,if six newspapers   
were to tell the simple truth about the 
canvases which the ,academicians will   
exhibit next month1 the ,academicians   
would soon cry out for quarter and grant
 all necessary reforms4'  ,i have only  
now to withdraw the word reform4 ,the   
,academy cannot reform1 and must be     
destroyed4 ,the ,academy has tried to   
reform1 and has failed4 ,thirty years   
ago the pre-,raphaelite movement nearly 
succeeded in bringing about an effectual
 shipwreck4 ,but when ,mr4 ,holman ,hunt
 went to ,italy1 special terms were     
offered and accepted4 ,the election of  
,millais and ,watts saved the ,academy1 
and instead of the ,academy1 it was the 
genius of one of ,england's greatest    
painters that was destroyed4 ,ophelia1  
,autumn ,leaves1 and ,st4 ,agnes' ,eve  
are pictures that will hold their own in
 any gallery among pictures of every age
 and every country4 ,but fathomless is  
the abyss which separates them from ,sir

 ,john ,millais' academic work4  ,the   
,academy is a distinctly commercial     
enterprise4 ,has not ,sir ,john ,millais
 said1 in an interview1 that the hanging
 committee at ,burlington ,house selects
 the pictures that will draw the        
greatest number of shillings4 ,the      
,academy has been subventioned by the   
,state to the extent of three hundred   
thousand pounds1 and that money has been
 employed in arrogant commercialism4    
,the ,academy holds a hundred thousand  
pounds in trust1 left by ,mr4 ,chantry  
for the furtherance of art in this      
country2 and this money is spent on the 
purchase of pictures by impecunious     
,academicians1 and the collection formed
 with this money is one of the seven    
horrors of civilisation4 ,the ,academy  
has tolerated genius when it was        
popular1 it has trampled upon genius    
when it was unpopular2 and the business 
of the new art criticism is to rid art  
of the incubus4 ,the ,academy must be   
destroyed1 and when that is accomplished

 the other ,royal institutes will follow
 as a matter of course4 ,the object of  
the new art criticism is to give free   
trade to art4     ,,long ,,ago ,,in     
,,italy4   ,come to the ,new ,gallery4  
,we shall pass out of sight of flat     
dreary ,london1 drab-coloured streets   
full of overcoats1 silk hats1 dripping  
umbrellas1 omnibuses4 ,we shall pass out
 of sight of long perspectives of square
 houses lost in fine rain and grey mist4
 ,we shall enter an enchanted land1 a   
land of angels and aureoles2 of crimson 
and gold1 and purple raiment2 of        
beautiful youths crowned with flowers2  
of fabulous blue landscape and delicate 
architecture4 ,know ye the land8        
,botticelli is king there1 king of      
clasped hands and almond-eyed ,madonnas4
 ,it was he who conceived and designed  
that enigmatic ,virgin's face2 it was he
 who placed that long-fingered hand on  
the thigh of the ,infant ,god2 it was he
 who coiled that heavy hair about that  
triangle of neck and interwove it with  

pearls2 it was he who drew the graceful 
lace over the head-dress1 and painted it
 in such innumerable delicacy of fold   
that we wonder and are fain to believe  
that it is but the magic of an instant's
 hallucination4 ,know ye the land8      
,filippo ,lippi is prince there1 prince 
of angel youths1 fair hair crowned with 
fair flowers2 they stand round a tall   
throne with strings of coral and        
precious stones in their hands4 ,it was 
,filippo ,lippi who composed that       
palette of grey soft pearly pink2 it was
 he who placed that beautiful red in the
 right-hand corner1 and carried it with 
such enchanting harmony through the     
yellow raiment of the angel youth1      
echoing it in a subdued key in the      
vesture which the ,virgin wears under   
her blue garment1 and by means of the   
red coral which decorates the tall      
throne he carried it round the picture2 
it was he1 too1 who filled those angel  
eyes with passion such as awakens in    
heaven at the touch of wings1 at the    

sound of citherns and cintoles4  ,know  
ye the land where ,botticelli and       
,filippo ,lippi dreamed immortal dreams8
 ,know ye the land1 ,italy in the       
fifteenth century8 ,exquisite angel     
faces were their visions by day and     
night1 and their thoughts were mystic   
landscapes and fantastic architecture2  
aureoles1 roses1 pearls1 and rich       
embroideries were parcel of their       
habitual sense2 and the decoration of a 
surface with beautiful colour was their 
souls' desire4 ,of truth of effect and  
local colour they knew nothing1 and     
cared nothing4 ,beauty for beauty's sake
 was the first article of their faith4  
,they measured a profile with relentless
 accuracy1 and followed its outline     
unflinchingly1 their intention was no   
more than to produce a likeness of the  
lady who sat posing for her portrait1   
but some miracle saved them from base   
naturalism4 ,the humblest1 equally with 
the noblest dreamer1 was preserved from 
it2 and that their eyes naturally saw   

more beautifully than ours seems to be  
the only explanation4 ,ugliness must    
have always existed2 but ,florentine    
eyes did not see ugliness4 ,or did their
 eyes see it1 and did they disdain it8  
,do they owe their art to a wise        
festheticism1 or to a fortunate         
limitation of sight8 ,these are         
questions that none may answer1 but     
which rise up in our mind and perplex us
 when we enter the ,new ,gallery2 for   
verily it would seem1 from the dream    
pictures there1 that a time once existed
 upon earth when the world was fair as a
 garden1 and life was a happy           
aspiration4 ,in the fifteenth century   
the world seems to have been made of    
gold1 jewellery1 pictures1 embroidered  
stuffs1 statues1 and engraved weapons2  
in the fifteenth century the world seems
 to have been inhabited only by nobles  
and prelates2 and the only buildings    
that seem to have existed were palaces  
and cathedrals4 ,then ,art seemed for   
all men1 and life only for architecture1

 painting1 carving1 and engraving long  
rapiers2 and length of time for monks to
 illuminate great missals in the happy  
solitude of their cells1 and for nuns to
 weave embroideries and to stitch       
jewelled vestments4  ,the ,florentines  
loved their children as dearly as we do 
ours2 but in their pictures there is but
 the ,divine ,child4 ,they loved girls  
and gallantries as well as we do2 but in
 their pictures there are but the       
,virgin and a few saints4  ,history     
tells us that wars1 massacres1 and      
persecutions were frequent in the       
fifteenth century2 but in its art we    
learn no more of the political than we  
do of the domestic life of the century4 
,the ,virgin and ,child were sufficient 
inspiration for hundreds of painters4   
,now she is in full-face1 now in        
three-quarter face1 now in profile4 ,in 
this picture she wears a blue cloak1 in 
that picture she is clad in a grey4 ,she
 is alone with the ,child in a bower of 
tall roses1 or she is seated on a high  

throne4 ,perhaps the painter has varied 
the composition by the introduction of  
,st4 ,john leaning forward with clasped 
hands2 or maybe he has introduced a     
group of angels1 as ,filippo ,lippi has 
done4 ,the throne is sometimes high1    
sometimes low2 but such slight          
alteration is enough for a new picture4 
,and several generations of painters    
seem to have lived and died believing   
that their art was to all practical and 
artistic purposes limited to the        
continual variation of this theme4      
,among these painters ,botticelli was   
the incontestable master2 but about him 
crowd hundreds of pictures1 pictures    
rather than names4 ,imagine a number of 
workmen anxious to know how they should 
learn to paint well1 to paint with      
brilliancy1 with consistency1 with ease1
 and with lasting colours4 ,imagine a   
collection of gold ornaments1 jewels1   
and enamels1 in which we can detect the 
skill of the goldsmith1 of the painter  
of stained-glass1 of the engraver1 and  

of the illuminator of missals2 the      
inspiration is grave and monastic1 the  
destination a palace or a cathedral1 the
 effect dazzling2 and out of this       
miraculous handicraft ,filippo ,lippi is
 always distinct1 soft as the dawn1     
mysterious as a flower1 less vigorous   
but more illusive than ,botticelli1 and 
so strangely personal that while looking
 at him we are absorbed4  ,to           
differentiate between the crowd of      
workmen that surrounded ,filippo ,lippi 
and ,botticelli were impossible4 ,they  
painted beautiful things because they   
lived in an age in which ugliness hardly
 existed1 or was not as visible as it is
 now2 they were content to merge their  
personalities in an artistic formula2   
none sought to invent a personality     
which did not exist in himself4         
,employing without question a method of 
drawing and of painting that was common 
to all of them1 they worked in perfect  
sympathy1 almost in collaboration4      
,plagiarism was then a virtue2 they took

 from each other freely2 and the result 
is a collective rather than individual  
inspirations4 ,now and then genius      
breaks through1 as a storm breaks a     
spell of summer weather4 ,the ,virgin   
and ,child1 with ,st4 ,clare and ,st4   
,agatha1 lent by ,mrs4 ,austin and the  
trustees of the late ,j4 ,t4 ,austin1 is
 one of the most beautiful pictures ,i  
have ever seen4 ,the temperament of the 
painter1 his special manner of feeling  
and seeing1 is strangely1 almost        
audaciously1 affirmed in the mysterious 
sensuality of the angels' faces2 the    
painter lays bare a rare and remote     
corner of his soul2 something has been  
said that was never said before1 and    
never has been said so well since4 ,but 
if the expression given to these angels 
is distinctive1 it is extraordinarily   
enhanced by the beauty of the colour4   
,indeed1 the harmony of the             
colour-scheme is inseparable from the   
melodious expressiveness of the eyes4   
,look at the gesture of the hand on the 

right2 is not the association of ideas  
strangely intimate1 curious1 and        
profound8  ,but come and let us look at 
a real ,botticelli1 a work which        
convinces at the first glance by the    
extraordinary expressiveness of the     
drawing1 by the originality of the      
design1 by the miraculous handicraft2   
let us look at the ,virgin and ,child   
and ,st4 ,john1 lent by ,messrs4        
,colnaghi4  ,it is a panel some #cf by  
#be inches1 almost filled by a life-size
 three-quarter-length figure of the     
,virgin4 ,she is seated on the right1   
and holds the ,infant ,saviour in her   
arms4 ,in the foreground on the left    
there is a book and cushion1 behind     
which ,st4 ,john stands1 his hands      
clasped1 bearing a cross4 ,never was a  
head designed with more genius than that
 strange ,virgin1 ecstatic1 mysterious1 
sphinx-like2 with half-closed eyes1 she 
bends her face to meet her ,god's kiss4 
,in this picture ,botticelli sought to  
realise the awfulness of the ,christian 

mystery3 the ,mother leans to the kiss  
of her ,son--her ,son1 who is likewise  
her ,god1 and her brain is dim with its 
ecstasy4 ,she is perturbed and overcome2
 the kiss is in her brain1 and it       
trembles on her lips4 ,you who have not 
seen the picture will think that this   
description is but the tale of the      
writer who reads his fancies into the   
panel before him4 ,but the intention of 
the painter did not outstrip the power  
of expression which his fingers held4   
,he expressed what ,i say he expressed1 
and more perfectly1 more suggestively1  
than any words4 ,and how8 ,it will be   
imagined that it was by means of some   
illusive line that ,botticelli rendered 
the very touch and breath of this       
extraordinary kiss2 by that illusive    
line which ,degas employs in his        
expressions of the fugitive and the     
evanescent4 ,how great1 therefore1 is   
our surprise when we look into the      
picture to find that the mystery and    
ecstasy of this kiss are expressed by a 

hard1 firm1 dark line4  ,and the        
sensation of this strange ecstatic kiss 
pervades the entire composition2 it is  
embodied in the hand placed so          
reverently on the thigh of the ,infant  
,god and in the eyes of ,st4 ,john1 who 
watches the divine mystery which is     
being accomplished4 ,on ,st4 ,john's    
face there is earthly reverence and awe2
 on ,christ's face1 though it is drawn  
in rigid outline1 though it looks as if 
it were stamped out of iron1 there is   
universal love1 cloudlike and ineffable2
 and ,christ's knees are drawn close1   
and the hand of the ,virgin holds them  
close2 and through the hand come bits of
 draperies exquisitely designed4        
,indeed1 the distribution of line       
through the picture is as perfect as the
 distribution of colour2 the form of the
 blue cloak is as perfect as the colour1
 and the green cape falls from the      
shoulder1 satisfying both senses2 the   
crimson vesture which she wears         
underneath her cloak is extraordinarily 

pure1 and balances the crimson cloak    
which ,st4 ,john wears4 ,but these      
beauties are subordinate to the beauty  
of the ,virgin's head4 ,how grand it is 
in style6 ,how strange and enigmatic6   
,and in the design of that head         
,botticelli has displayed all his skill4
 ,the fair hair is covered with delicate
 gauze edged with lace1 and overcoming  
the difficulties of that most rebellious
 of all mediums--tempera6--his brush    
worked over the surface1 fulfilling his 
slightest thought1 realising all the    
transparency of gauze1 the intricacy of 
lace1 the brightness of crimson silk1   
the very gravity of the embossed binding
 of the book1 the sway and texture of   
every drapery1 the gold of the tall     
cross1 and the darker gold of the       
aureole high up in the picture1 set     
against a strip of ,florentine sky4