TREES IN MODERN PAINTING 295 



and it has been said that he has lost much by 

 not keeping closer to reality. But grandeur, 

 not the grandiose — the distinction will be un- 

 derstood — is the mark of Watts' art. He 

 himself, in a conversation with Mrs. Barnett, 

 distinguished between reality and truth. "It 

 is difficult," he said, ''to explain in easy 

 terms the difference between truth and reality. 

 It might be said that there is a truth that has 

 to do with material things, and a truth that re- 

 lates to ideas and noble thoughts. The Psalmist 

 speaks truth when he says 'the little hills 

 clapped their hands' or 'the morning star 

 sang'. The hills have not hands, nor the 

 stars throats, but the Psalmist has forcibly 

 conveyed the thought that Nature rejoices and 

 has delight." So, seeking to express the inner 

 truth, and not the mere material reality, Watts 

 made great use of personification in his art. 

 He sought the same end also, in another way : 

 by presenting natural objects in great simplicity 

 of form and colour ; yet the form is always noble, 

 and the colour intense ; and it seems as if we saw 

 rather the spirit than the mere material sub- 

 stance of sky, cloud, mountain or tree. They 

 give a strange impression of energy, and we feel 



