E-text prepared by Delphine Lettau, Julia Neufeld,
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
()
The Quiver 2/1900
(By permission of Messrs. Henry Graves and Co., Pall Mall, S. W.)
THE LOST PIECE OF MONEY.
(By the late Sir John E. Millais, P.R.A.)
PICTORIAL SERMONS.
(By permission of William Coltart, Esq.)
JOSEPH INTRODUCING JACOB TO PHARAOH.
(By Sir Edward J. Poynter, P.R.A.)
With truth and beauty asthe objects of his art,the painter, whateverbe the subject he isendeavouring to depict,becomes a guide andhelpmeet to his fellow-men.His art is "twiceblessed," blessing "himthat gives and him thattakes." The contemplationof a beautiful andpure work of art acts asa charm upon the mind oppressed withcare and trouble. A landscape on canvas,reflecting the sunshine of the countryside,suggesting its freedom of atmosphere,its "fair quiet and sweet rest,"when seen in the midst of the toil andgrime of a great city, is a sedative tothe jaded nerves of the busy worker; itreminds him of the glories of naturewhich lie outside the boundaries of theman-made wilderness of houses, andbrings him for the moment into closecommune with Nature herself. A glimpseof blue sea, of clear running stream, orsome sweet pastoral scene, carries with ita breath of fresh air, invigorating andrefreshing, to those who gaze upon itsbrightness through the murky atmosphereof the city streets.
The painter, indeed, has a power whichcompetes closely with the eloquence of thepreacher, or the soothing rhythm of thepoet; it raises the man who approacheshis work with a receptive heart fromhis own petty self, enlarges his sympathiesand his hopes, calms his troubles,and sends him back refreshed and invigoratedto his struggle with the caresand troubles of his daily life.
A great picture is not so much one thatdisplays the technical skill of the painteras his power to appeal to the emotionsof those who look at it. Truth is at alltimes simple, and he who would expoundit, either in sermon, poem, or picture,must do so in language which can bereadily understood of the people. This[388]does not make his task any the lighter,for any straining after effects of simplicitybetrays his own lack of truth;simplicity must be spontaneous—from theheart.
Judging a picture, then, by this standardof simplicity and truth, we lookfirst of all for these qualities; we lookto see if the artist is sincere in his representationof the scene he presents to us.If we find this to be so, then we receivethe work as a contribution to the truthwe are seeking. Some painters forceus to recognise their skill as colourists,as draughtsmen, as archæologists—theyhave insisted upon their accuracy inthese respects, but oftentimes at thes