El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-08-13

birds siRg of love and beauty; he en-
joys the ripping waves of the silvery
| rivers, and loves 10 watch Apollo try
ing to tear the veil Of clouds from the
earth's blushing face
! What mortal being is happier>thar
he? And since il is art that teaches
US to enjoy these pure pleasures, who
will deny the usefulness of art.
Intellectual Enjoyment.
But it is not a question of intellectual
| enjoyment alone. 1t IS something far
more. Art tells men the object of their
life. 1t explains the meaning of life
| reveals to them their destiny and con-
| sequently is useful to them.
When Titan painted a society, that
| was marvellously aristocTatic, and in
which everyone's face and gestures, nay
even dress, bore the imprint of intel
! ligence, authority and wealth. he showed
the Venitians the IDEAL he wanted them
to reach.
When Poussin painted landscapes in
which Reason seemed to rule, when
Puget made swell the muscles of his
heroes, when Vatican sheltered his
charming lovers in mysterious shadows,
when Houdon made Voltaire smile,
when Rude by chiselling his ''Marseil-
false" called young and old to the aid
of their country; the great French ar
fists each polished a facet of our great
national soul, one the order, one the
energy, one the elegance. one the he
rOism-all the joys of living-and in
spired and strengthened in their coun-
trymen the distinctive qualities of our
race.
Did not Puvis de Chavannes, the
greatest artist of our times. endeavor TO
give us all the gentle serenity we all
long for? His sublime landscapes in
which a sacred Nature seems to rock
loving and simple humanity to sleep at
her bosom, are they not admirable les
sons to all of us?
Artists amp Thinkers.
Artists and thinkers are like infinite
ly delicate and sonorous Tyres and the
vibrations drawn from them by each
epoch are prolonged and benefit all 9TH
er mortals
Undoubtedly the number of people
who are really able to appreciate a true
work of art is small and in the mu-
seums and even in the public squares
they are seen only by small number of
people, but the sentiments they express
nevertheless slowly find their way into
the hearts of the people. And besides
the men of genius. other artists spread
and make known the conceptions of
the masters. The authors are influence
ed by the painters as are these again
by the writers, and there is thus a con-
tinuous exchange of thoughts among
all the brains of the same generation.
1t Is like a spiritual stream which di-
vides itself into numerous cascades that
again unite and form the great ever
moving river, which represents the men
tai activity of an epoch.
One must not believe as has often been
said, that artists do nothing but reflect
the sentiments of their surroundings,
though even this would already be
something for it is no little thing to
hold before others a mirror in which
they may recognize themselves. Ar
lists, however, do more. They certainly
do draw on tfe common funds amassed
by tradition but they also add to this
treasure. They are very often pioneers
and guides.
Artists Ahead of Time
To prove this it is only necessary to
notice how many artists have been
ahead of their time, so that it has been
long before their ideas triumphed. Pous-
sin painted during Louis XIII many
masterpieces, the greatness of which
predicted the character Of the coming
regime Vatican. whose careless grace
was characteristic of the whole reign
of Louis XIV, did not live during the