THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



363 



immoral tone. It may be that our Puri- 

 tan instinct is shocked by the frequent 

 recurrence of the nude in the paintings 

 of France — as though the human body 

 were something abhorrent and never to 

 be admired among decent people. 



But French art is not immoral ; it is 

 simply frank. Undoubtedly most of the 

 money gained in Paris from salacious art 

 comes from foreign pockets; for if a 

 Frenchman seeks immorality he spends 

 no money on poor imitations. 



To judge French painting as it really 

 is, one has simply to look at such master- 

 pieces as Corot's "Matin," Lorrain's 

 "Village Fete," Millet's "Gleaners," Rosa 

 Bonheur's "Horse Fair," Jules Breton's 

 "Return of the Harvesters," and Monet's 

 "Cathedral of Rouen." The truthfulness, 

 the simple dignity, the exquisite finish, 

 of these painted stories from French life 

 are proof enough that French art is the 

 product of admirable skill and untiring 

 patience. 



the: debatable question of French 



MUSIC 



Many a French singer apparently has 

 the skill, but many an American loses his 

 patience trying to understand French 

 music. In these times it may be heresy 

 to say it, but French music seems to a 

 foreigner to lack the deep emotional and 

 ethical quality of the greater German 

 music ; nor has it that positive lyrical 

 quality found in Italian opera. 



There has indeed been considerable dis- 

 pute among critics as to whether there 

 is yet a distinctly national quality in 

 French music. There are large numbers 

 of charming old melodies, but these are 

 provincial, not national. 



There are, of course, approaches to 

 national airs in the "Noels," or ancient 

 Christmas songs, while "The Marseil- 

 laise" is and w T ill long remain not only 

 a national but an international expression 

 of love of freedom. But all this does not 

 prove the case for French music. 



In light opera these people have un- 

 doubtedly far surpassed the Germans and 

 the English, but in grand opera we may 

 find constantly cropping out the influence 

 of Italian and German masters. What 

 we Americans miss is the continued 

 melody, the completed lyrical composi- 



tion, that sings itself in one's ears for 

 days and perhaps months after one has 

 heard the opera. Then, too, to an Amer- 

 ican the French voice seems rather thin, 

 and even the French themselves will ad- 

 mit that only a few of their greatest sing- 

 ers have been native born. 



But it must be remembered that most 

 of the famous singers of the world have 

 looked upon Paris as "home" ; for here 

 was the birthplace of such masterly com- 

 positions as Bizet's "Carmen," Berlioz's 

 "Damnation of Faust," Thomas' "Mig- 

 non," Gounod's "Faust," Massenet's 

 "Manon," and Saint-Saens' "Samson and 

 Delilah." 



THE GLORIES OE THE ERENCII STAGE 



One may qualify one's remarks on the 

 music of the Frenchman, but who can 

 overstate the glories of the French stage? 

 "Most French people are born actors" ; 

 indeed, their histrionic ability probably 

 surpasses that of all other nations. 



Possessing exceptional mobility of fea- 

 ture, vigorous and dramatic gestures, a 

 language so exact as to be almost mathe- 

 matical, a natural clarity of expression, 

 they have in their very infancy those 

 characteristics for which actors in other 

 lands toil a lifetime. 



Then, too, Americans should bear in 

 mind the vast advantage the French actor 

 has in having, what America does not yet 

 possess, a national public interest in the 

 theater. In fact, the theater is part of 

 the life of the nation; it is considered a 

 branch of public instruction, under the 

 control of the national department of 

 education ; its leading representatives at 

 Paris — the Opera, the Opera Comique, 

 the Odeon, and the Comedie Frangaise — 

 receive a large annual support from gov- 

 ernment funds, just as, for instance, the 

 agricultural schools do in America. 



The result has been such world-famous 

 dramatists as Moliere, Racine, Corneille, 

 Sardou, and Rostand ; such masters of 

 acting as Alexandre and Constant Coque- 

 lin, Antoine, Mounet-Sully, and Sarah 

 Bernhardt. 



Just as histrionic ability is native to the 

 Frenchman, so one might also declare 

 that the scientific attitude is characteris- 

 tic of a great number of the French. The 

 average native has enormous curiosity; 



