Studies in pictures; an introduction to the famous galleries . n the biographies of kings, but to-day we are beginning to think it means the sociologi-cal doings of all the people. Moreover, these domestic subjects offer abundantopportunity for the display of imagination and pic-torial poetry. It is true that the painters usually donot strive for those qualities. There is no greatimagination in Pietcr de Hoochs interiors (Plate21)) or Mcissoniers readers or Alfred Stevens fash-ionable women. The skill of the artist is predomi-nant, and an artistic feeling for light or color is aboutall there i
Studies in pictures; an introduction to the famous galleries . n the biographies of kings, but to-day we are beginning to think it means the sociologi-cal doings of all the people. Moreover, these domestic subjects offer abundantopportunity for the display of imagination and pic-torial poetry. It is true that the painters usually donot strive for those qualities. There is no greatimagination in Pietcr de Hoochs interiors (Plate21)) or Mcissoniers readers or Alfred Stevens fash-ionable women. The skill of the artist is predomi-nant, and an artistic feeling for light or color is aboutall there is to the picture. But the fisher-folk of Is-raels, the workers of Bonvin, or the children of Char-din or (!ainsborough are full of true poetry, and arequite as important contributions to art and life aspictures of more pretentious size. The value of sen-timent is not appraised i)y the extent of either verseor canvas. A single couplet by Burns or a singlespader or shepherdess by Millet is worth a volumeby Tupper, or a whole wall panel by Kaulbach Q < O XXX GENRE PAINTING 103 As for skill the genre painting requires just asmuch as any other painting, and is subject to justas severe criticism from the public. The mob thatsurges through the Louvre on Sundays may passuncriticised Coutures Eomans of the Decadence,because it knows little about the subject; but leta genre painting of a concierge sitting in a doorwayappear, and every shopkeeper and cabman in thethrong will be able to tell you whether it is true ornot. The genre is not to be despised because it issmall in scale or incidental in subject. And againlet me say that a picture should not be measured bysize, nor the remoteness of its subject from ourknowledge; but by the lifa-that-is kt-it and the lifewhich it is able to awaken in us. Of course this painting of familiar life is no newthing invented in modern times to please a fashion-able world. Indeed, it is very old. The ancientEgyptians pictured the every-da
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