American painting and its tradition : as represented by Inness, Wyant, Martin, Homer, La Farge, Whistler, Chase, Alexander, Sargent . eek or lines about theeyes or mouth or contractions of the lips orprotrusions of the brow or jaw that appeal tohim strongly because they are cast in shadowor thrown up sharply in relief of light. Thesesurface features he paints perhaps with more em-phasis than they possess in the original becausethey appeal to him emphatically, and presentlythe peculiar look that indicates the character ofthe man appears. What the look may indicate,or what kind or phase of chara
American painting and its tradition : as represented by Inness, Wyant, Martin, Homer, La Farge, Whistler, Chase, Alexander, Sargent . eek or lines about theeyes or mouth or contractions of the lips orprotrusions of the brow or jaw that appeal tohim strongly because they are cast in shadowor thrown up sharply in relief of light. Thesesurface features he paints perhaps with more em-phasis than they possess in the original becausethey appeal to him emphatically, and presentlythe peculiar look that indicates the character ofthe man appears. What the look may indicate,or what kind or phase of character may be readin or out of the look, the portrait-painter doesnot usually know or care. It is not his business toknow. He paints what he sees and has as littlediscernment of a character as of a mind. Hegives, perhaps without knowing their meaning,certain protrusions and recessions of the sur-face before him and lets the result tell whattale it may. In the production of tte portrait accurateobservation is more than half the battle. If apainter sees and knows his subject thoroughly,he will have little trouble in telling what he. Mrs, Pulitzer, hy John S, Sargent. JOHN S. SARGENT 257 sees and knows; and to say of Sargent that heobserves rightly and records truly is to statethe case in a sentence. Notliing in the physicalpresence escapes him. Tlic sliglit inclination of ahead, the shyness of a glance, the mobility of amouth, the uneasiness of a hand, the nervousstrain of a gesture are all turned to account inthe ultimate result. Every tone of color in itselfand in its relation to the other tones, every lightin its relation to its shadow and to the otherlights, every melting contour in contrast withevery accented contour, and every texture inrelation to every other texture—all are caughtwithin the angle of the painters focus. His portraits are the complete demonstrationof his observation. They may not be all thatcould be wished for in soul, but they are notlacking in physical li
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectamerica, bookyear1920
