for the fun of hearing his sister speak in public, but when the diagrams of the various Madonna groups were explained, he observed at once their application to the arrangement of figures in photographs. An intelligent lad who has a definite motive like this can learn a great deal by placing iracing-paper over the photograph of a good composition, and outlining in pencil the strongest lines. I am confident that ingenious mothers and teachers can make a great deal of picture-posing or tableaux to show the children how much better the effect is when the figures are properly related. The boy taking the exact pose of Millet’s Sower, and the girl posing à la Lavinia must get some notion of the rhythmic flow of Sine in these masterpieces. Another chapter is given to the full explanation of this subject.
When the botanist analyzes a flower he must needs leave it in fragments, but the process once over, he ever after remembers the blossom in its entircty. The critical analysis of a picture would be a sad process if it were the end and object of our interest. Whatever we see in the beauty of its make-up should help us to enjoy it better as a whole. For the true work of art, like one of God’s flowers, is made first and foremost to delight the heart of man.
Rererence Books:—
M.S. Emery. How to Enjoy Pictures.
Joun C. Van Dyke. Art for Art’s Sake.
Charles H. Caffin. Guide to the Study of Pictures.
Joun Ruskin. Elements of Drawing.
Arthur W. Dow. Composition.
George Lansing Raymond. The Genesis of Art Form.
