TREES IN MODERN PAINTING 255 



in 1782, and was a friend of John Crome and 

 his companions of the Norwich School, though 

 his art covered a wider range than theirs. 



It has been said, and I think justly, that 

 Cotman must not be looked upon merely as a 

 lesser Turner. Certainly it would not be right 

 to place him as high as Turner ; but on one 

 side of landscape painting he comes near at 

 least to equality. Turner's art was mainly 

 epic. This we have seen. It is the epic, the 

 dramatic quality in Turner's rendering of trees 

 that I have been trying to bring out. It is not 

 without significance that the frontispiece — the 

 one illustration — to Mr. Frazer's book. The 

 Golden Bough, in which the strange epic of 

 tree- worship is closely studied, is a reproduction 

 of an oil-painting by Turner, bearing the same 

 name as the book, and being a view of Lake 

 Nemi, almost encircled by the woods from 

 which comes out a nymph with the bough in 

 her hand. 



Landscape painting is usually lyrical, and 

 Cotman takes his place in the very forefront 

 of the painters who reflect the passing mood 

 of the landscape in which they find themselves, 

 be it grave or gay, without reflection upon the 



