The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-11-07

THIS and the attendant and just o..
servati0ns upon the correct use Of
wuter color ns n meiium almost pre-.
pare M to find Mr.. Cox adopting the
fashionable opinion Of the day. which
Is 80 thrilled by this perfection OF
workmanship in the Homer water
colnrs that II Is quite willing to ig-
lore the paintings In oil. But MI.
COx's second land soberer thought IL
wiser. He s,ys: 1T Is. however.
whether we like better Homer's water
colors or his oil paintings. since 1t Is
the same = man who produced both.
And, indeed. the difference between
his performance In the two mediums
IL n difference Of degree rather than
Of kinda difference Of relative EN-.
phasis only--the whole Homer being
after all necessary to account for any.
TIL ne he did"
Since this IL written upon the hnal
page 1t must be the Anal thought. 81
we may all say Amen" to IL.
These reversals, not Of opinion but
Of plan. mar Mr.. Cox's essay through.
out and explain. no doubt. the cooI-
ness Of the English reviewer who
after reading Mr.. Cox's well consid.
cred memoir" still doubt!ngly insists
TINT he must zee the pictures before
he will believe.
There Is n interesting cha pier In
which Homer's own belief that he was
a simple realist and nothing more IL
indicated at such length that you
think Mr.. Cox concurs implicitly in
the artists mistaken opinion Of him
self. You turn the page and the new
chapter begins. 1T Is Of course quite
impossible to accept such an estimate
as final: aud Homer Is rightly hailed
as an interpretive artist. But you can
nee how an Englishman would get
confused in such a maxe Of reasoning.
The book Is printed in a limited edi.
don. 1t Is valuable because Of its
enthusia sm. wish 80 much enthu.
Gasm about Homer might be presented
10 a wider public: and yet should
hesitate to toss Mr.. Cox's essay TO
the school children. With all its good
matter 1t contains much that Is per.
nicious.
Mr.. Cox being a workman himself
as well as a writer enlarges too much
upon workmanship, and IL he were
right mere workmanship would be the
whole Of art. Unfortunately for the
value OF Mr.. Cox's book. however. II
10 not.
Mr.. Cox Is shocked by the fact that
Homer turned bis back upon the
school instructors and as artist 'just
grew" like Topsy. Numbers Of times
hP tries to explain the emotions
reused in him by Homer In hard and
mechanical fashion. Listen to this:
I'm this ma stery Of design we have.
undoubtedly. that which gives Homer
his authoritative and magisterial ut
t~erance: that which constitutes him q
creator; that which transforms him
from an acute observer and a brilliant
reporter into a great and original ar
tist. A poor technician. an unequal
colorist. a powerful but unframed
draughtsman; his faults almost over
bear his merits were he not a designer
!. Of the frN rank. Because he is a de
signer Of the first rank he is fairly
certain to be permanently reckoned
master
What rot. One would he tempted
to call II criminal were IL not so evi
dent that Mr.. Cox has written in al
Innocence, quite unaware Of the enor
, nifty he has committed. You see al
over this proclamation the dry as dus
: professor explaining the beauties o.
the Venus de Milo with the aid Of !
pair Of calipers. One might just a.
! well say Shakespeare was great be
! cause he was al excellent gram
ma rian.
Homer designed well Of course. II,
also drew better and colored better
3 than Mr.. Cox thinks. for since b,
aroused his audience to the primeva
terrors by these II Is clea,
:. he perfectly expressed himself, expires
sion being the chief end OF art am
~ not skill in mechanics.