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346 VENETIAN INDEX.
are painted with some care, while the shepherds and the cow
are alike slovenly; and the latter, which is in full sunshine, is
recognizable for a cow more by its size and that of its horns,
than by any care given to its form. It is interesting to contrast this slovenly and mean sketch with the ass's head in the
"Flight into Egypt," on which the painter exerted his full
power; as an effect of light, however, the work is, of course,
most interesting. One point in the treatment is especially
noticeable: there is a peacock in the rack beyond the cow; and
under other circumstances, one cannot doubt that Tintoret
would have liked a peacock in full color, and would have
painted it green and blue with great satisfaction. It is sacrificed to the light, however, and is painted in warm grey, with
a dim eye or two in the tail: this process is exactly analogous
to Turner's taking the colors out of the flags of his ships in
the "Gosport." Another striking point is the litter with
which the whole picture is filled in order more to confuse the
eye: there is straw sticking from the roof, straw all over the
hammock floor, and straw struggling hither and thither all
over the floor itself; and, to add to the confusion, the glory
around the head of the infant, instead of being united and
serene, is broken into little bits, and is like a glory of chopped
straw. But the most curious thing, after all, is the want of
delight in any of the principal figures, and the comparative
meanness and commonplaceness of even the folds of the drapery. It seems as if Tintoret had determined to make the
shepherds as uninteresting as possible; but one does not see
why their very clothes should be ill painted, and their disposition unpicturesque. I believe, however, though it never struck
me until I had examined this picture, that this is one of the
painter's fixed principles: he does not, with German sentimentality, make shepherds and peasants graceful or sublime, but
he purposely vulgarizes them, not by making their actions or
their faces boorish or disagreeable, but rather by painting them
ill, and composing their draperies tamely. As far as I recollect at present, the principle is universal with him; exactly in
proportion to the dignity of character is the beauty of the
painting. He will not put out his strength upon any man
belonging to the lower classes; and, in order to know what the
| Title | The stones of Venice - 3 |
| Creator | Ruskin, John |
| Publisher | J. Wiley |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | 1889 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000376 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 346 VENETIAN INDEX. are painted with some care, while the shepherds and the cow are alike slovenly; and the latter, which is in full sunshine, is recognizable for a cow more by its size and that of its horns, than by any care given to its form. It is interesting to contrast this slovenly and mean sketch with the ass's head in the "Flight into Egypt," on which the painter exerted his full power; as an effect of light, however, the work is, of course, most interesting. One point in the treatment is especially noticeable: there is a peacock in the rack beyond the cow; and under other circumstances, one cannot doubt that Tintoret would have liked a peacock in full color, and would have painted it green and blue with great satisfaction. It is sacrificed to the light, however, and is painted in warm grey, with a dim eye or two in the tail: this process is exactly analogous to Turner's taking the colors out of the flags of his ships in the "Gosport." Another striking point is the litter with which the whole picture is filled in order more to confuse the eye: there is straw sticking from the roof, straw all over the hammock floor, and straw struggling hither and thither all over the floor itself; and, to add to the confusion, the glory around the head of the infant, instead of being united and serene, is broken into little bits, and is like a glory of chopped straw. But the most curious thing, after all, is the want of delight in any of the principal figures, and the comparative meanness and commonplaceness of even the folds of the drapery. It seems as if Tintoret had determined to make the shepherds as uninteresting as possible; but one does not see why their very clothes should be ill painted, and their disposition unpicturesque. I believe, however, though it never struck me until I had examined this picture, that this is one of the painter's fixed principles: he does not, with German sentimentality, make shepherds and peasants graceful or sublime, but he purposely vulgarizes them, not by making their actions or their faces boorish or disagreeable, but rather by painting them ill, and composing their draperies tamely. As far as I recollect at present, the principle is universal with him; exactly in proportion to the dignity of character is the beauty of the painting. He will not put out his strength upon any man belonging to the lower classes; and, in order to know what the |
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