Meissonier, his life and his art . tthough an occasional cry ofanguish escaped him in hisfamiliar outpourings, he didnot despair. The so-calledmodern theories of pleinair (out-door light) did notdisturb him ; he gave nobil-ity to their origin by tracingthem back to classic anti-quity. Was not the supe-rioritv of Greek art due tothis, he said, speaking ofsculpture, that the Greeksknew nothing of a preparedlight, but that with themeverything took place inbroad daylight, and wasmade to be seen in a blazeof sunshine . Outdoorlight, indeed ! he says else-where. Where is thenovelty of this idea ? Wh
Meissonier, his life and his art . tthough an occasional cry ofanguish escaped him in hisfamiliar outpourings, he didnot despair. The so-calledmodern theories of pleinair (out-door light) did notdisturb him ; he gave nobil-ity to their origin by tracingthem back to classic anti-quity. Was not the supe-rioritv of Greek art due tothis, he said, speaking ofsculpture, that the Greeksknew nothing of a preparedlight, but that with themeverything took place inbroad daylight, and wasmade to be seen in a blazeof sunshine . Outdoorlight, indeed ! he says else-where. Where is thenovelty of this idea ? Why,I was the first to paint it!Where is there more than in my pictures? As early as 1843, at Saint-Ismier, I was working inthe open air, in the sunshine. I do not think he ever appreciatedany honour so much as that of having been chosen to representFrench art in 1S89, as President of the Jury of the InternationalExhibition, and he was most zealous in his function. Whenthe schism took place which divided the annual exhibition into p. -^ COSTUME FOR LAventuriere.(Drawing from Mme. Augiers collection.) io6 MEISSONIER
Size: 1113px × 2246px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidmeissonierhislif00meis
