An example of perfection in our very imperfect world (art)

Everybody has something he wants to get "right".

It may just be a matter of finding the right belt to match a certain dress,or nothing more impressive than the worry over the right proportion of say,pudding and cream one one's plate.In every such case,however trivial,we may feel that the shade too much or too little upsets the balance and that there is only one relationship which is as it should be.

When it is a matter of matching forms or arranging colours an artist must always be "fussy"" or rather fastidious to the extreme.

He may see differences in shades and texture which we should hardly notice.

   He has, on his canvas,perhaps hundrends of shades and forms which he must balance till they look "right".

A patch of green may suddenly look too yellow because it was brought into too close proximity with a strong blue-he may feel that all is spoiled,that there is a jarring note of the picture and that he must begin it all over again.He may suffer agonies over this problem.

He may ponder about it in sleepeless nights,he may stand in frond of his picture all day trying to add a touch of colour here or there and rubbing it out again,though you and i might not have noticed the difference anyway

but once he has succeeded we all feel that he has achieved something  which is right,an example of perfection in our very imperfect world.

 

the Virgin in the meadow

 

Raphael tried different positions of the mother's head to answer the movement of the child.What he tried again and again to get was the right balance between the figures,the right relationship which would make the most harmonious whole.

It is fascinating to watch an artist thus striving to achieve the right balance,but if were to ask him why he did this or changed that,he might not be able to tell us.He does not follow any fixed rules.

He just feels his way.

As there are no rules to tell us when a picture or a statue is right it is usually impossible to explain in words exactly why we feel that it is a great work of art.We begin to develop a feeling for the kind of harmony each generation of artists has tried to achieve.

The old proverb that you cannot argue about matters of taste may well be true,but that should not conceal the fact that taste can develop.

This is again a matter of common experience which everybody can test in a modest field.

But if they have the leisure,will and opportunity to search out such refinements as there may be,they may develop into true "connoiseurs" who can distinguish exactly what type and mixture they prefer,and their greater knowledge is bound to add to their enjoyment of the choicest blends.

Admittedly,taste in art is something infinitely more complex thn taste in food and drink.It is not only a matter of discovering various subtle flavours,it is something more serious and more important.

After all,the great masters have given their all in these works,they have suffered for them sweated blood over them,and the least they have a right to ask of us is what we try to understand waht they wanted to do.

text

from the book indicated below

The photos and the texts on this blog are sourced from books and by various sites from the internet (apart from the ones taken by me). Original source is always mentioned. If you feel your photorights have been violated or they have been presented in a negative way, please send me mail. I´ll remove them from my blog immediately.

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