264 TREES IN NATURE, MYTH & ART 



subject of a picture. The appearance of 

 nature under varying conditions of atmosphere 

 and light was Cox's main subject, and his 

 rendering of form went no further than was 

 necessary for the realisation of atmospheric 

 effect. '* He seems more intent," says Red- 

 grave, *' upon obtaining the exact tone and 

 colour of nature, than in defining /arm ; which 

 is gradually developed in his pictures by the 

 juxtaposition of hues and tints rather than 

 by drawing." Of Cox's foliage Ruskin says : 

 *' It is altogether exquisite in colour, and in 

 its impressions of coolness, shade and mass ; of 

 its drawing I cannot say anything, but that I 

 should be sorry to see it better". Ruskin 

 recognises here that work must have the 

 defects of its qualities, though he does not 

 always seem to do so. 



Interesting himself chiefly in the variations 

 of light on broad masses. Cox limits himself 

 almost entirely to such trees as the oak and 

 the beech and the elm. Occasionally one of 

 the lighter, more graceful trees, ash or birch, 

 is used as a foil to the heavy masses ; but 

 often it would be difficult to identify, in 

 either type, the particular tree intended. If 



