Meissonier, his life and his art . right ! By degrees he calmed down,looking at the picture, re-touching it here and there. Upon my word, I believe you areright! The next day Steinheil came back. All the background was scratched out,and Meissonier was painting it over again. 84 MEISSONIER ingenuity which is rather disconcerting at the first bhish, though onreflection it adds to our comprehension of his mind, it is no doubtbecause of its splendid regularity of form. To this imperious desirefor accuracy he was ready to sacrifice everything—his rest, his plea-sures, his most legitimate feelings o
Meissonier, his life and his art . right ! By degrees he calmed down,looking at the picture, re-touching it here and there. Upon my word, I believe you areright! The next day Steinheil came back. All the background was scratched out,and Meissonier was painting it over again. 84 MEISSONIER ingenuity which is rather disconcerting at the first bhish, though onreflection it adds to our comprehension of his mind, it is no doubtbecause of its splendid regularity of form. To this imperious desirefor accuracy he was ready to sacrifice everything—his rest, his plea-sures, his most legitimate feelings of impatience. Just before he sento^ Les Dragons for exhibition (1883), he had doubts as to the accuracyof the regimental number he had given them. He kept back thepicture until he had verified and changed it. He was the first tonotice that the action of the horse whose rider looks down at a corpse,in the foreground of Solferino, was not quite correct; but when he drewit, he had not yet mastered the horse. A badly fastened gaiter. DRAtioONS IN THE FOKEST. (Water-colour drawing.) offended his eye. He liked his bridles to look as if they could betaken hold of! No doubt, art should be so profound as to leave notrace of labour, but such traces cannot disappear until the illusion ofreality has been produced. His impeccable finish was the despair ofengravers. My dear confrere says Henriquel-Dupont in a letterto him, when an engraver examines a picture, the first thing he asks iswhat he will be able to suppress ; with you, I recognise at once that itis impossible to cut out anything ! Although by no means indifferent to criticism, Meissonier neveraccepted any praise but his own. He had to satisfy himself. Per- THE MASTER—THE MAN 85 fection, when he saw it in the works of the great masters, exerciseda sort of fascination over him. He followed earnestly after it in hisown works. He never sent one away without signing it, and neversigned one till he had finished it to the satisfaction
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