SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY IN ART 357 
“The Low Tide at Pourville,” by Claude Monet, shows 
the facility of this artist. The cloudy sky is reflected in the 
moist sands, and the eye is carried along the beach to the 
distant blue sea, which is painted with much distinctness. 
In many of Monet’s pictures, the middle or far distances 
are brought out with great force. It is a natural inclination 
of the mind, on viewing a scene, to gaze beyond the immediate 
foreground. Consequently, Monet’s foregrounds are usually 
indistinct, and especially in his highest psychological studies, 
where this indistinctness of foreground has a philosophical 
bearing. 
In point of fact, it is impossible to see clearly more than 
one object at a time; all surroundings are less distinct, or re¬ 
flect the color of the focal visual object. Monet’s “Cabin at 
Pourville,” No. 169, illustrates this statement. The central 
object of interest is a little shrimp-colored house. The atmo¬ 
spheric conditions doubtless influence the mind of the observer, 
but the tone most deeply impressed on the house is reflected 
on the entire scene, on the hill beyond, and even in the sky. 
The same idea is brought out in Renoir’s pictures, where the 
background, though often very indistinct, echoes the pre¬ 
vailing rich colors of the figure which occupy the foreground. 
Monet’s No. 168, “The Seine at Giverny,” is a picture 
which at once attracts attention. The view suggests calmness 
and purity. A delicious fragrance steals over the senses, and 
the delicate perfume of lilacs permeates the mind. The trans¬ 
parency and depth of the water are finely represented. The 
shadows of the trees growing along the banks are reflected 
in the water, and again carry out the theory of dissymmetry. 
For clearness and crispness of coloring, this picture is excelled 
by none in the collection. 
No. 108, “Scene at Port Villers,” carries out several of the 
originalities of Monet’s style. The canvas is covered by a thin 
layer of a pale-gray tint. In places there is apparently an 
absence of all color, and the canvas itself shows. The pre¬ 
vailing tones are pinkish grays. The last layers of color are 
laid on very heavily, and thus the scene is admirably repre¬ 
sented. The theory of triangulation and dissymmetry is clearly 
