the unseen world and other essays-第62章

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ly　seventy。　Even　those　who　are　not　connoisseurs　can　see　that　these　frescos　are　painted　by　rule；　that　the　artist；　having　stocked　his　memory　with　a　certain　set　of　forms；　is　making　use　of　them　to　fill　out　his　tableau；　that　he　wantonly　multiplies　queer　attitudes　and　ingenious　foreshortenings；　that　the　lively　invention；　the　grand　outburst　of　feeling；　the　perfect　truth；　by　which　his　earlier　works　are　distinguished；　have　disappeared；　and　that；　if　he　is　still　superior　to　all　others；　he　is　nevertheless　inferior　to　himself。　The　careers　of　Scott；　of　Goethe；　and　of　Voltaire　will　furnish　parallel　examples。　In　every　school　of　art；　too；　the　flourishing　period　is　followed　by　one　of　decline；　and　in　every　case　the　decline　is　due　to　a　failure　to　imitate　the　living　models。　In　painting；　we　have　the　exaggerated　foreshorteners　and　muscle…makers　who　copied　Michael　Angelo；　the　lovers　of　theatrical　decorations　who　succeeded　Titian　and　Giorgione　and　the　degenerate　boudoir…painters　who　followed　Claucle　and　Poussin。　In　literature；　we　have　the　versifiers；　epigrammatists；　and　rhetors　of　the　Latin　decadence；　the　sensual　and　declamatory　dramatists　who　represent　the　last　stages　of　old　English　comedy；　and　the　makers　of　sonnets　and　madrigals；　or　conceited　euphemists　of　the　Gongora　school；　in　the　decline　of　Italian　and　Spanish　poetry。　Briefly　it　may　be　said；　that　the　masters　copy　nature　and　the　pupils　copy　the　masters。　In　this　way　are　explained　the　constantly　recurring　phenomena　of　decline　in　art；　and　thus；　also；　it　is　seen　that　art　is　perfect　in　proportion　as　it　successfully　imitates　nature。

But　we　are　not　to　conclude　that　absolute　imitation　is　the　sole　and　entire　object　of　art。　Were　this　the　case；　the　finest　works　would　be　those　which　most　minutely　correspond　to　their　external　prototypes。　In　sculpture；　a　mould　taken　from　the　living　features　is　that　which　gives　the　most　faithful　representation　of　the　model；　but　a　well…moulded　bust　is　far　from　being　equal　to　a　good　statue。　Photography　is　in　many　respects　more　accurate　than　painting；　but　no　one　would　rank　a　photograph；　however　exquisitely　executed；　with　an　original　picture。　And　finally；　if　exact　imitation　were　the　supreme　object　of　art；　the　best　tragedy；　the　best　comedy；　and　the　best　drama　would　be　a　stenographic　report　of　the　proceedings　in　a　court　of　justice；　in　a　family　gathering；　in　a　popular　meeting；　in　the　Rump　Congress。　Even　the　works　of　artists　are　not　rated　in　proportion　to　their　minute　exactness。　Neither　in　painting　nor　in　any　other　art　do　we　give　the　precedence　to　that　which　deceives　the　eye　simply。　Every　one　remembers　how　Zeuxis　was　said　to　have　painted　grapes　so　faithfully　that　the　birds　came　and　pecked　at　them；　and　how；　Parrhasios；　his　rival；　surpassed　even　this　feat　by　painting　a　curtain　so　natural　in　its　appearance　that　Zeuxis　asked　him　to　pull　it　aside　and　show　the　picture　behind　it。　All　this　is　not　art；　but　mere　knack　and　trickery。　Perhaps　no　painter　was　ever　so　minute　as　Denner。　It　used　to　take　him　four　years　to　make　one　portrait。　He　would　omit　nothing；neither　the　bluish　lines　made　by　the　veins　under　the　skin；　nor　the　little　black　points　scattered　over　the　nose；　nor　the　bright　spots　in　the　eye　where　neighbouring　objects　are　reflected；　the　head　seems　to　start　out　from　the　canvas；　it　is　so　like　flesh　and　blood。　Yet　who　cares　for　Denner's　portraits？　And　who　would　not　give　ten　times　as　much　for　one　which　Van　Dyck　or　Tintoretto　might　have　painted　in　a　few　hours？　So　in　the　churches　of　Naples　and　Spain　we　find　statues　coloured　and　draped；　saints　clothed　in　real　coats；　with　their　skin　yellow　and　bloodless；　their　hands　bleeding；　and　their　feet　bruised；　and　beside　them　Madonnas　in　royal　habiliments；　in　gala　dresses　of　lustrous　silk；　adorned　with　diadems；　precious　necklaces；　bright　ribbons；　and　elegant　laces；　with　their　cheeks　rosy；　their　eyes　brilliant；　their　eyelashes　sweeping。　And　by　this　excess　of　literal　imitation；　there　is　awakened　a　feeling；　not　of　pleasure；　but　always　of　repugnance；　often　of　disgust；　and　sometimes　of　horror　So　in　literature；　the　ancient　Greek　theatre；　and　the　best　Spanish　and　English　dramatists；　alter　on　purpose　the　natural　current　of　human　speech；　and　make　their　characters　talk　under　all　the　restraints　of　rhyme　and　rhythm。　But　we　pronounce　this　departure　from　literal　truth　a　merit　and　not　a　defect。　We　consider　Goethe's　second　〃Iphigenie；〃　written　in　verse；　far　preferable　to　the　first　one　written　in　prose；　nay；　it　is　the　rhythm　or　metre　itself　which　communicates　to　the　work　its　incomparable　beauty。　In　a　review　of　Longfellow's　〃Dante；〃　published　last　year；　we　argued　this　very　point　in　one　of　its　special　applications；　the　artist　must　copy　his　original；　but　he　must　not　copy　it　too　literally。

What　then　must　he　copy？　He　must　copy；　says　Taine；　the　mutual　relations　and　interdependences　of　the　parts　of　his　model。　And　more　than　this；　he　must　render　the　essential　characteristic　of　the　objectthat　characteristic　upon　which　all　the　minor　qualities　dependas　salient　and　conspicuous　as　possible。　He　must　put　into　the　background　the　traits　which　conceal　it；　and　bring　into　the　foreground　the　traits　which　manifest　it。　If　he　is　sculpturing　a　group　like　the　Laocoon；　he　must　strike　upon　the　supreme　moment；　that　in　which　the　whole　tragedy　reveals　itself；　and　he　must　pass　over　those　insignificant　details　of　position　and　movement　which　serve　only　to　distract　our　attention　and　weaken　our　emotions　by　dividing　them。　If　he　is　writing　a　drama；　he　must　not　attempt　to　give　us　the　complete　biography　of　his　character；　he　must　depict　only　those　situations　which　stand　in　direct　subordination　to　the　grand　climax　or　denoument。　As　a　final　result；　therefore。　Taine　concludes　that　a　work　of　art　is　a　concrete　representation　of　the　relations　existing　between　the　parts　of　an　object；　with　the　intent　to　bring　the　essential　or　dominating　character　thereof　into　prominence。

We　should　overrun　our　limits　if　we　were　to　follow　out　the　admirable　discussion　in　which　M。　Taine　extends　this　definition　to　architecture　and　music。　These　closely　allied　arts　are　distinguished　from　poetry；　painting；　and　sculpture；　by　appealing　far　less　directly　to　the　intelligence；　and　far　more　exclusively　to　the　emotions。　Yet　these　arts　likewise　aim；　by　bringing　into　prominence　certain　relations　of　symmetry　in　form　as　perceived　by　the　eye；　or　in　aerial　vibrations　as　perceived　by　the　ear；　to　excite　in　us　the　states　of　feeling　with　which　these　species　of　symmetry　are　by　subtle　laws　of　association　connected。　They；　too；　imitate；　not　literally；　but　under　the　guidance　of　a　predominating　sentiment　or　emotion；　relations　which　really　exist　among　the　phenomena　of　nature。　And　here；　too；　we　estimate　excellence；　not　in　proportion　to　the　direct；　but　to　the　indirect　imitation。　A　Gothic　cathedral　is　not；　as　has　been　supposed；　directly　imitated　from　the　towering　vegetation　of　Northern　forests；　but　it　may　well　be　the　expression　of　the　dim　sentiment　of　an　unseen；　all…pervading　Power；　generated　by　centuries　of　primeval　life　amid　such　forests。　So　the　sounds　which　in　a　symphony　of　Beethoven　are　woven　into　a　web　of　such　amazing　complexity　may　exist　in　different　combinations　in　nature；　but　when　a　musician　steps　out　of　his　way　to　imitate　the　crowing　of　cocks　or　the　roar　of　the　tempest；　we　regard　his　achievement　merely　as　a　graceful　conceit。　Art　is；　therefore；　an　imitation　of　nature；　but　it　is　an　intellectual　and　not　a　mechanical　imitation；　and　the　performances　of　the　camera　and　the　music…box　are　not　to　be　classed　with　those　of　the　violinist's　bow　or　the　sculptor's　chisel。

And　lastly；　in　distinguishing　art　from　science；　Taine　remarks；　that　in　disengaging　from　their　complexity　the；　causes　which　are　at　work　in　nature；　and　the　fundamental　laws　according　to　which　they　work；　science　describes　them　in　abstract　formulas　conveyed　in　technical　language。　But　art　reveals　these　operative　causes　and　these　dominant　laws；　not　in　arid　definitions；　inaccessible　to　most　people；　intelligible　only　to　specially　instructed　men；　but　in　a　concrete　symbol；　addressing　itself　not　only　to　the　understanding；　but　still　more　to　the　sentiments　of　the　ordinary　man。　Art　has；　therefore；　this　peculiarity；　that　it　is　at　once　elevated　and　popular；　that　it　manifests　that　which　is　often　most　recondite；　and　that　it　manifest