7 H THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



retouche. These are quite ordinary examples to show how difficult it 

 is to reproduce an object correctly. 



But we come now to the worst point, that of color. Photography 

 gives the cold colors blue, violet, and green too light, and the 

 warm colors too dark. Take as an instance the photographs on sale 

 of " Sunset on the Ganges," by Hildebrandt. It represents a red 

 glowing sun. with clouds of chrome-yellow on an ultramarine sky. 

 But what becomes of all this in the photograph ? A black round 

 disk between black thunder-clouds. It looks like an eclipse at Aden. 

 The difficulty of representing Nature is still more patent when the 

 photographer attempts to grapple with higher artistic questions. Let 

 us take an example. There exists a pretty genre picture called "A 

 Mother's Love." A mother sits reading in an arm-chair ; her little 

 darling embraces her suddenly from behind, and, delightfully sur- 

 prised, she drops her hand with the book, turns to look at her little 

 pet, and offers her cheek to the little boy to kiss. 



A photographer was inspired with the idea of producing a similar 

 picture with the help of a living model. He found a comely maiden, 

 who agreed to personate the mother, and a good-looking boy was also 

 found. An arm-chair for the mother, a chair, and other suitable fur- 

 niture, were easily procured. The next point was the grouping. The 

 pseudo-mother was very accommodating to the requirements of the 

 photographer, and even assumed a look which, for want of a better, 

 might pass as the expression of a mother's love. But the- boy was 

 not of the same mind. He was by no means attracted by the pseudo- 

 mother he protested against coming near her, and a good cuff was 

 needed to make him take up the requisite position. Time was thus 

 lost. The mother began to feel uncomfortable in the irksome position, 

 straining her neck. The photograph was taken at last, and turned 

 out sharp and without spot or blemish. The models were dismissed, 

 to their great satisfaction. What was the result ? The boy was em- 

 bracing his mother with a face bearing evidence of the cuff he had 

 received, and with a look as if he would have liked to murder her; 

 and she regards him with an expression that seems to say, " Charles, 

 you are very unmannerly," and appears greatly annoyed that her 

 pleasant reading has been interrupted. Can it be said that a picture 

 of this kind correctly expresses the intention of the artist ? Does the 

 picture thus produced correspond accurately to the legend, "A Moth- 

 er's Love?" The untruthfulness of such a picture will be evident to 

 every one. 



Thousands of pictures of this class are offered for sale. About ten 

 years ago errors of this kind were committed by the thousand in 

 stereoscopic views, and if they meet with approval this must be re- 

 ferred exclusively to the bad taste of the public. But it may be said 

 in this case it is not the photographer who is guilty, but the unwill- 

 ing models. 



