New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-02-17

painter sees pictures everywhere LeOnardus
versatility causes us to see him. in the mindx
eve. as thinking Of a thousand different things
each for it's own sake. but always the artist in
him is cropping out in his writings. his geniu,
for form and color. for plastic and pictorial
charm. Take in illustration this note For thu
Shrine of Venus:
You should make steps on four sides by which
N ascend To a plateau formed by nature on ~
summit of rock, and let this rock be followed our
beneath by a great pOrIico. wherein water should
be falling into various basins OF granite and por-
a half circle. and let the water in these be Gun
tRu, the norS Iet there be axe w5 pe ssS
island in the centre, and on this have a thick and
snady "0 Dore down into vases sann AZ me 1b p
bases, and from these let there be lowing tiny
riyulets-
Reading this one is conscious. before all elsa
of LeOnardOs pictorial. inventive faculty; one
thinks of him as letting his fancy play about
the idea of shrine to the goddess. and creating
Just such a scheme as he himself might have
created for garden fete at the court Of
Moro In other words. Leonardo takes US in
this passage close to tangible things. and in
this il is thoroughly characteristic. Full Of
gnomic wisdom as he is. he is fuller of the
fruits of purely scientific experience There in
which Mr. McCurdy quotes once more. Leon
ard. ce frere italien de Faust" But it is easy
to carry the parallel too far The truth about
him is seized as you seize the fact that he had
among other things. a genius for common sense
Witness these lines. in Mr.. Earrings translation
on art and nature:
The painters work viii be Of little merit II be
takes the painting of others as his standard hut
he studies rom nature he viii produce good fruits:
Of he Ffr1re 0f he
after the Romans. who continued 70 initiate ons
another and whose 9rt consequently declined from
age 10 age After these came Ciotto the F1Orentine
who was born in the lonely mountains. inhabited
onIy bv goats aud similar animals. and he teins
drawn to his art by nature. began 70 draw On the
rocks the doings OF the goats of which he was ths
animals which he met with in the country: that
after long study he surpassed not only all the nas
tiers of his age but all those of many past centuries
After him art relapsed more. because all att
lists initiated the painted pictures. AMI thus from
/ Tou1aso the FIorentine called Aasaccio. proved
by his perfect work that they who set up for tnen
selves standard other than nature the mistress
OF all masters labor in vain Thus wish 70 Say
N - 80 - . ~ ~ ne yrorE,
Of nature are the grandchildren and not thA CHI
dren OF nature. the mistress Of good masters
abhor the supreme folly OF those who blame the
disciples of nature in defiance OF those maS'er'
who were themselves her pupils
The witchery OF Leonardo's style as an artist
the subtle haunting beauty that is best known
in the Mona Lisa" that is stamped upon all hi
OF WOMEN anu CuIluit-tr Has It's CouLr
terpart in the idealistic drift of his thought Tia
writings do nothing to minimize our belief n
the positively heaven-born inspiration aninat-
ing hts art But their chief value for the nod
ern student comes from the light they throw
upon Leonardo's unwearyins search after truth
II his eyes lifted TO the stars his feet were
set upon the solid earth That it Is that makes
this type Of universally akin 20 ourselves. and
one OF the most sympathetic. though one Of he
most bewildering. figures in the history If
genius