The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-09-29
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PICTURE THAT CAUSES DISCUSSION.
Among the items Of art in the Eagle ed
itoriaI rooms is q picture that has caused
more controversy than the AdmiralSchley
Inquiry. 1t is Jules Breton's Song OF the
lark" A French peasant girl stands in
pathway in a vegetable field with her
back towards the sun, which is red and
stands just above the horizon. She has
a sickle in her hand. She stands in the
attitude of listening to the singing of a
lark and the expression on her face-which
IS the face Of the lower class-is remarka-
bly, striking. Now, then, the controversy
IS whether the scene IS OF morning or
evening. Half the people who have seen
vt declare positively that the sun is about
90 set, while the other half insist that it
has just risen. The sun, which is a far
ing red, is the basis OF the controversy.
The evening advocates say that the tired
look on the peasant girls face indicates
that she is returning home after a
hard days work, while the morning advo-
Gates insist that her looks betray the
fact that she rose early and was still
half asleep when the notes of the lark
1eu upon her ear. They also say that the
lark sings only in the morning. The 9TH
ers say that the lark sings all day, and
that the evening notes are the most
charming. The girls back Is turned to-
wards a house in a ciump Of trees near
which are two immense strawstacks. 1t
IS argued from this circumstance that
she is leaving home and must be going
into the field. But" one disputant sug-
gested: 1T may not be morning at all;
It may be dinner time" II it is dinner
tiue-noonday dinner time" the other as
serted: What is the sun doing so near
the horizon?" Another calls attention to
the fact that as the pathway IS across the
pasture, while the house, the haystacks
and the trees are in the middle of the
upper end Of It, the fact that the young
lady's back is apparently turned toward
ii is no sign that she is going away from
g. Besides" this man suggested, THE
house may not be her house, but the
house of q neighbor." This makes the
other side weary. They argue that paint
ers do not borrow neighbours houses to
put in pictures that concern an individu-
a. AT this point a man comes in, saying
that in France farms are not more than
five acres in extent and that it may be
necessary to ring in a neighbours house
for the scene. This is proved absurd by
the fact Of the two big haystacks. No
five acres in all the world, the Nile val
ley nor Sumner county not excepted, are
capable Of raising two such stacks. IF The
girl is going home from work" another
man suggests Wouldn't she have some
vegetables or something else in her arms;
or wouldn't her clothing be more disar-
ranged than the picture represents" At
this point another calls attention to the
grip she has on the sickle, which stands
out boldly rs that the way a woman
tired after a days work would carry it?''
he asks isn't it more likely that It
would be hanging down by her side?
GAIN he asks, ITS it reasonable TO
suppose that a tired woman would be
walking as erect as she is?' No! That
woman is refreshed after a nights rest.
see how her shoulders are thrown back.
See how clean her feet are. Don't you see
that there is no grass or weeds between
her toes, as there would be in the case
Of woman working in the field all day."
The controversy is 50 far from settle
ment that the disputants are thinking Sc /
riously Of referring the matter to some /
great authority on art.