356 LITERARY PAPERS 



For Monet's pictures are essentially harmonies of color-tones, 

 in distinction to Renoir's pictures, which are color discords. 



The color-scale of Monet's pictures is original, and essen- 

 tially calculated to produce upon the observer an intense psy- 

 chological impression. As the pitch is high or low, so his colors 

 vary in strength. Some of his most beautiful water and sea 

 effects are reached by combinations of pale Nile green, blue 

 and violet tints, of varying shades. 



Some of his views are bathed in an atmosphere of magic 

 grace and purity. The tone pitch is often taken from the visual 

 forms. In No. 131, "Cap D'Antifer," the prevailing tones 

 are violet and lilac colors. It is a late afternoon scene; the 

 cliff stands out with wonderful distinctness; along its rugged 

 edge runs the road, twisting and turning, but always true to 

 a parallelism with the coast-line, our line of dissymmetry. The 

 light through the picture follows the same line, though the 

 light is symmetrical with regard to the oblique line, for it is 

 equal in intensity on both sides, and it fades away equally 

 towards the right of the picture. 



To obtain their full effect, the pictures of the Impression- 

 ists should be studied in the light in which the scene was 

 painted; and this is a very important point to be remembered 

 in judging the works of these artists. A noticeable example of 

 this was a picture by Besnard, "By Candle Light." The light 

 of day detracts a great deal from the beauty of this painting. 



Not only does Monet excel in painting water in motion, 

 but also in representing it when at rest. No. 28, "Breaking 

 of Ice on the Seine," is an example. The middle distance is 

 the point to which the eye is attracted. We -feel how cold the 

 water must be. Its marvelous transparency and depth are 

 startling, and in contrast with the opacity of the blocks of 

 ice floating on its surface. It is like a silvered mirror, with 

 here and there the coating effaced. The foreground is rough, 

 and in blue, green, and gray tints. The picture is constructed 

 on the principle of dissymmetry, and the effects of distance, 

 depression, and rising ground are well portrayed. The valley, 

 between the lines of trees which follow the bend of the river 

 and the distant hills, is observable only after long study. 



