Studio: international art (56.1912)

The Lay Figure

The lay figure: on the

POSSIBILITIES OF HISTORI-
CAL PAINTING.

“ It seems to me rather a pity that the old school
of historical painting should have died out,” said the
Art Critic. “ It was in its particular way by no
means uninteresting, and I am rather sorry it has
gone out of fashion.”

“ Good heavens ! you surely do not regret the
disappearance of the stuffy old historical pictures
that were in vogue a century or so ago,” cried the
Young Painter. “They always strike me as the
stupidest sort of art; they bore me to extinction.”

“ That does not necessarily prove that they are
bad,” laughed the Critic; “you are so easily bored
by everything that is not in the latest fashion. I
do think that the old historical pictures are rather
impressive in their solemn, grandiose way, and that
they have some qualities which quite deserve
respect.”

“ But you would not suggest that such a manner
of painting ought to be revived?” broke in the
Man with the Red Tie. “ It would be rather out
of keeping with the modern point of view.”

“ Possibly, but I am not sure that you can
claim infallibility for the modern point of view,”
replied the Critic. “Are we right in repudiating
everything that was admired a few generations ago?”
“ Of course you are,” declared the Young Painter.

“ Art must always be in relation to the age in which
it is produced and must reflect the spirit of its
time. To do things now in the way they were done
by our great-grandfathers would be quite ridiculous.”
“Ah, yes, there must always be an element of
affectation in attempts to revive the methods and
mannerisms of a previous age,” agreed the Critic;
“but all the same there is no reason why you
should not adapt ancient principles of art to the
needs of the present day, if these principles are
sound and worthy of respect. I do not see why
we should not handle historical painting as thought-
fully as our ancestors did, or why we should not
give to it the same sort of attention.”

“ Are you not forgetting that there is a great deal
of historical painting in the present day ? ” inquired
the Man with the Red Tie. “ Plenty of pictures
of contemporary history are produced every year.
What is the matter with them ? ”

“ Why, of course, historical painting is not dead,”
said the Young Painter. “ It has only changed its
character in obedience to the demands of the
moment. It is quite as seriously considered and
quite as efficiently treated as any of the old stuff.”

86

“ Well, do you really think it is ? ” asked the
Critic. “ I quite admit that the representation of
contemporary incident can be rightly reckoned as
historical painting, but I complain that it is not
taken seriously and not used to produce artistic
results of any permanent value.”

“ Oh, you are quite wrong ! ” objected the Young
Painter. “ What you call the representation of
contemporary incident is engaging the attention of
many of our cleverest artists, and is being treated
by them with brilliant power. They are producing
illustrations of the life of to-day which will be of
inestimable value to the historians of future
generations.”

“Illustrations, yes, you have hit it exactly,”
returned the Critic. “You have destroyed the his-
torical picture and have substituted for it an illustra-
tion, a vivid snapshot of something you have seen, a
thing admirably in place in the pages of an illustrated
newspaper, and yet quite unfit to be preserved as a
serious work of art. Against illustration, as illustra-
tion, I have certainly nothing to say, for in its right
place and under its right conditions it claims the
sincerest admiration, but when you transfer your
illustration to a ten-foot canvas you do not produce
a true historical painting.”

“ Now I am beginning to see your point,” com-
mented the Man with the Red Tie. “ You mean
that the illustrative manner is too slight and too
summary, and that it expresses merely shrewdness
of observation, not depth of thought.”

“ Precisely,” replied the Critic. “ The historical
painter has not merely to amuse his contemporaries •
he has to interest the art-lovers in the future. His
picture must not be an ephemeral thing, but a
permanent addition to the art of the world, and
it must have all the qualities which make for
permanence. Look at the Surrender of Breda,
by Velasquez; there is a picture which represents
the highest type of historical painting. It illustrates
an incident in history, of course, an incident that
Velasquez might possibly have seen, but it is re-
corded with all the thought and imagination that
the greatest historical painting demands. Such a
painting is a good deal more than a mere statement
of momentary facts ; it is a deeply considered com-
position in which realism is tempered with artistic
intelligence. It would always be a joy to us even
if we did not know what it was about.

“ That is all very well,” complained the Young
Painter; “but the modem public does not want
pictures like that.”

“Ah, that is quite another matter,” said the
Critic. The Lay Figure.