The early work of Raphael . sister-picture of two years ago. Here the painter has de-liberately concocted a double entente. His title may be taken, if you like,to refer to the sounds produced by the young fingers straying pensivelyover the keys ; but it may refer just as well to the chord of delicate pinkishtones in which most of the work is done. Her First Dance is anotherscene from the days of short waists and conspicuous ankles. A girl standsup to open a ball with a young buck whose self-satisfaction is fanned bythe too evident timidity of his partner. The room has not filled yet, and 64 TH
The early work of Raphael . sister-picture of two years ago. Here the painter has de-liberately concocted a double entente. His title may be taken, if you like,to refer to the sounds produced by the young fingers straying pensivelyover the keys ; but it may refer just as well to the chord of delicate pinkishtones in which most of the work is done. Her First Dance is anotherscene from the days of short waists and conspicuous ankles. A girl standsup to open a ball with a young buck whose self-satisfaction is fanned bythe too evident timidity of his partner. The room has not filled yet, and 64 THE ART OF WILLIAM QUILLER ORCHARDSON in its empty spaces the girl looks like a veritable Iphigenia, waitingfor the knife. The picture reads like a page from Miss Austen, whosedelicate literary workmanship is represented by the delightful colour andairy, silvery tone of Orchardsons painting. Hard Hit has technical affinities with Her First Dance. The amplespacing, the high key, the cool silvery tonality, the infinitely subtle. Her First permission of Messrs. Dowdeswell and Dowdeszvell, owners of the copyright. ?j contrasts of the one picture are repeated in the other. Both are full otlight, atmosphere, and tone. In spite of what the hasty critic might callempty spaces, there is no sense of paint. The broad surfaces of whitepanelled wall play all over with tone and colour. In spite of theirsuperficial baldness they are full of infinity, and not an inch degeneratesinto mere pigment. Imagine, too, the difficulty of painting all thosecards, so that they should seem neither too monotonous nor too various,so that they should at once look what they are, a multitude of squares of THE ART OF WILLIAM QUILLER ORCHARDSON 65 one colour, receiving the light at a hundred ever so slightly varied angles,and each affected, in its own degree and way by its own number of spotsof red or black, and fulfilling their proper functions in the scheme. Forthis part of the picture Orchardson used fi
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Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookde, booksubjectraphael14831520, bookyear1895
