. Benjamin West, his life and work; a monograph . t he feels,then it is a true work 01 arty He paints notfrom hearsay but from experience. The pas-sion he portrays first glows in his own every good book is the life blood of itsauthors spirit, so ought a painting to be. Ifa painting is to be called great it must bepainted according to the dictum of Horace, If you wish me to weep, your own heart mustfirst be wrung. While West broke awayfrom conventionality in matters of dress, thesubjects of his paintings had not become pas-sions of his own soul. But because West falls short when compar
. Benjamin West, his life and work; a monograph . t he feels,then it is a true work 01 arty He paints notfrom hearsay but from experience. The pas-sion he portrays first glows in his own every good book is the life blood of itsauthors spirit, so ought a painting to be. Ifa painting is to be called great it must bepainted according to the dictum of Horace, If you wish me to weep, your own heart mustfirst be wrung. While West broke awayfrom conventionality in matters of dress, thesubjects of his paintings had not become pas-sions of his own soul. But because West falls short when comparedwith the great world painters, this does notmean that he was not a good or even a greatpainter. He will be known in history as ahistorical painter. He did for historical paint-ing in his day what Watts has done for por-trait painting in ours, he made it a new and areal thing. Perhaps the first necessity in anygreat work of art is to have a great rare, good judgment always selected agreat theme for his paintings, and if the selec-. 00 z Z -H< Qi COZ z a. IVesis Greater Historical Scenes 97 tion of good themes would make a greatpainter, West would stand among the always selected, for his historical pictures,some crucial, epoch-making event in history,which men would always care to rememberand which his pictures would help to makevivid. To the truth of this statement a few olhis well known historical paintings bear ampletestimony. Among them should be mentioned his picture Penns treaty with the Indians, now in theold State House at Philadelphia. The picturecommemorates an event as beautiful as it isimportant in its consequences through all thehistory of the new colony in America. Voltairesaid, that the treaty which was concluded be-tween the Indians and William Penn was thefirst public contract which connected the oldand new worlds together. And, though notratified by oaths, is still the only treaty thathas never been broken. Another picture in point, is
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