35 2 
LITERARY PAPERS 
to those who have seen it in southern France and Spain. The 
rich colored vault is apparently brought almost within reach. 
On gazing at it steadily, the eye becomes fatigued, and the 
sky is no longer blue, but of a leaden color. This can also be 
seen on examining the picture by gaslight; the sky, by arti¬ 
ficial light, loses its blue tone and assumes the dull, leaden 
hue. It may be noted that the skies of Monet are the most 
carefully painted of any parts of his pictures. 
Two little children stand on the flight of steps leading to 
the dwelling, in a diagonal line. The immediate impression 
conveyed by this scene is one of warmth and vitality. Rich 
tones of green, blue, red, and orange are used with wondrous 
skill. It is a midsummer scene; the vegetation is at its highest, 
the air sultry and heavy with heat. It is a picture of the pre¬ 
sent moment, and the only pause to check the joy which such 
a surrounding offers is the sky, by its depth suggestive of the 
impenetrability to human understanding of the termini of 
life. 
Everywhere is seen this theory of triangulation. It is the 
painter’s guide for composition. In these color idyls, draw¬ 
ing is scarcely present. The artist’s mind rests upon this sim¬ 
ple geometrical foundation, and his thoughts are turned into 
a perfect form, because true to nature. Frequently the pic¬ 
tures can be divided into several triangles; these triangles 
are formed by shadows, lights, clouds, fields, the sea, houses, 
or lines of trees, and are always significant of the underly¬ 
ing truths of life, which these painters have felt. In 123, “ Mail 
Post at Etretat,” the roll of the waves, the dip of the rock, 
and the direction in which the clouds are flying, are all ex¬ 
pressed in lines corresponding to the hypotenuse. The oblique 
parallelism of the picture is indicative of movement. Motion 
is suggested by every stroke of the knife. The sunlight is com¬ 
ing from the same direction as the lines run; and the shadow 
of the great rock upon the water is in motion. As the observer 
moves from one to the other side of the picture, the shadow 
seems to change its position. The effect is strange. The sea 
is shimmering in the sunlight and seems to be many fathoms 
deep. Its lovely transparency, which is finally lost in depth, 
