DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68796#0189
chap, ii Beauty and Truth in Painting 169
‘ Better than I saw not who saw the truth ’ 1
of Dante, Shakespeare’s
‘ the cutter
Was as another nature, dumb,’ 2
and Tennyson’s
‘ Not less than truth designed,’ 3
are examples of the way in which every poet, unless, like
Robert Browning, he has a special insight into artistic
theory, will deal with the imitative arts.
§ 109. But those instructed in Art take a different view.
It may be taken as needing no demonstration that
every one now who has worked in art or received from
artists some instruction as to the aims and conditions of
their craft, will agree that beauty in works of art is of at
least as much importance as truth. All such understand
that a process of selection, omission, combination, must go
on before the picture or statue is evolved. They know
that Nature is not always or altogether beautiful, and that
an artist is not worthy of the name who in his choice is too
easily satisfied. They know that what is selected as
beautiful in nature must be made still more lovely by har-
monious surroundings, that what is characteristic must be
accentuated more clearly, what is not pleasing modified or
left out. A beautiful result is indeed the paramount aim of
the artist. Truth in itself may be a moral, but is not
necessarily an artistic virtue. Unless nature is made
obedient to the aesthetic purpose, unless beauty result from
the imitation of nature, such imitation is vain. Skill in
graphic delineation may of course be usefully employed in
1 Purgatorio, xii. 68. 2 Cy mb eline, Act IL Sc. 4.
3 Palace of A rt.
‘ Better than I saw not who saw the truth ’ 1
of Dante, Shakespeare’s
‘ the cutter
Was as another nature, dumb,’ 2
and Tennyson’s
‘ Not less than truth designed,’ 3
are examples of the way in which every poet, unless, like
Robert Browning, he has a special insight into artistic
theory, will deal with the imitative arts.
§ 109. But those instructed in Art take a different view.
It may be taken as needing no demonstration that
every one now who has worked in art or received from
artists some instruction as to the aims and conditions of
their craft, will agree that beauty in works of art is of at
least as much importance as truth. All such understand
that a process of selection, omission, combination, must go
on before the picture or statue is evolved. They know
that Nature is not always or altogether beautiful, and that
an artist is not worthy of the name who in his choice is too
easily satisfied. They know that what is selected as
beautiful in nature must be made still more lovely by har-
monious surroundings, that what is characteristic must be
accentuated more clearly, what is not pleasing modified or
left out. A beautiful result is indeed the paramount aim of
the artist. Truth in itself may be a moral, but is not
necessarily an artistic virtue. Unless nature is made
obedient to the aesthetic purpose, unless beauty result from
the imitation of nature, such imitation is vain. Skill in
graphic delineation may of course be usefully employed in
1 Purgatorio, xii. 68. 2 Cy mb eline, Act IL Sc. 4.
3 Palace of A rt.