LITERARY PAPERS 
362 
what she sees. It is the end of the struggle of the human race; 
all work and thought have been of no avail; the fight is over 
and inorganic forces proclaim their victory. The scene is a 
striking reality. Nature is indifferent, and her aspects are 
meaningless, for what indications of the unavoidable end come 
from seeing that gay-flowered field ? It is a mockery, and that 
mind which has once felt the depth of the thoughts expressed 
in this painting, can only seek safety in forgetfulness. 
Monet does not offer any solution to the result to which 
his pictures lead. He is occupied in giving expression to the 
most serious truths of our life. He is recording the chronicles 
of modern thought. 
The pictures of Renoir and Sisley are of great interest, as 
offering solutions to the ideas that run through Monet’s 
pictures; or, if not solutions, at least those painters may be 
considered in the light of physicians, who are engaged in alle¬ 
viating human suffering, so that the patient may forget the 
incurableness of his malady. 
Renoir offers a course which so many of our day gladly 
follow. “The Breakfast at Bougival” and his studies of the 
nude clearly show the direction of his thought. The latter 
are void of expression. The idea of the immediate present in 
its sensual aspects is expressed by subject and treatment. The 
figures are prominently in the foreground. The coloring is 
rich and intense, and the backgrounds are indistinct, and 
echo the coloring of the objects of the foreground. He would 
teach us not to look into the distant, for all there is indiffer¬ 
ent; we can never outline the forms of the future. Life is im¬ 
penetrable, and why should we trouble ourselves with what 
will only result in failure and disappointment? Renoir has 
presented this side of the situation with a masterly hand, but 
the dangers of his teaching are great, and the character who 
hopes to forget, by these means, is utterly lost to himself and 
to others. 
Sisley’s pictures offer scenes of industry, home life, and the 
peace that results from leading an honorable and pure career. 
He sings the song of work. His pictures are beautiful, and 
if examined in this spirit, are powerful lessons. 
