146 



EOME AND FLOWERS 



IN THE CUL'M RY 

 From the painting by Henri LeroUe. 



have been as uninteresting (from this par- 

 ticular point of view) as a row of fence 

 posts. Then how peaceful and restful 

 that low, soft horizon seems. Its gentle 

 haziness is the more beautiful because it 

 comes in contrast with the strong, dark, 

 nearly upright lines of the tree trunks. 

 Imagine those trees all taken away. 

 Though the broad, open field might still 

 have charms of its own, would not the 

 big, vague, empty level seem a little dull 

 and insipid, like the taste of something 

 that lacks flavor? Is it not the contrast 

 of those vigorous upright lines against the 

 soft gray level of field and hills, that gives 

 the picture its "flavor," so to speak, and 

 makes our eyes find such satisfaction in 

 looking at it? And see how much those 

 graceful, down-slanting boughs, with the 

 lace-like foliage, add to the beauty, keep- 

 ing the contrast of level lines and upright 

 lines from seeming stiff or severe. 



We always want to hear some recogniz- 

 able accent in speech and in singing. It 

 is so with pictures. In this picture of 

 Lerolle's we fmd the strongest accent or 

 emphasis in the darkest spot, that is, in 

 the dignified figure of the shepherdess. 

 LeroUe put her just where she is because 

 he wanted our eyes to be attracted most 



of all to that part of the picture space. If 

 we look at her we practically take in the 

 whole picture at once. And see how beau- 

 tifully the diiferent degrees of lightness 

 and darkness in the picture vary from the 

 dark in her figure to the light in the sky. 

 It is like the way musical notes differ in 

 pitch as you run up or down a scale. 



There are a great many details in this 

 picture that are worth studying carefully 

 by ourselves. We shall discover more and 

 morfe interesting things in it the more we 

 look at it. For one thing, do you notice 

 that delicate, inconspicuous edge of light 

 around the dark figure of the woman? 

 Ten chances to one we had never noticed 

 this beautiful eSect in real life, and yet 

 it is often to be seen when a dark shape 

 comes against a lighter background. The 

 artist puts it into our heads to discover 

 such things for ourselves, and so makes us 

 ever after the richer in our power to see. 



No fixed rules can be given about how 

 to look at pictures. The best pictures are 

 as different as so many different people. 

 What we most admire in one may be not 

 at all a characteristic quality of another. 

 This is all the better for us, for it helps 

 us to realize the infinite variety of forms 

 through which beauty can speak to us. 



