Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-10-16
"IF THOU HADST KNOWN.

The following is from the Wisconsin
Christian Advocate of Oct II, and re-
fers to painting in the M. E. church
of this city, donated by Walter Alex
ander, and will be interesting TO
readers of the Pilot:
On the wall of the Methodist church
at Wausau, there is large painting;
| Christ in the fore ground; dimly out
lined; Jerusalem in the right back
ground and the deep valley, with its
| shadows, lying between. Under the
painting are the words: "If thou hadst
| known" During the session OF the
conference this painting was several
times referred to- and probably all
who were present became interested
in it. Since in our home there is a
small etching of the painting. OBJ
| tanned in Marlborough, there is in my
mind more than mere passing in
terest in the artist and his work, and
| member of the conference has asked
that few words concerning this very
celebrated picture might we'll be here
in set down. The artist was William
B. Hole In his early manhood he
studied engineering in Edinborough,
but his bent was in another direction
and fortunately for the world. he fol-
lowed this bent He has covered a
very large field, but his pictures are
mostly either illustrating great events
in the history of Scotland, or scenes
IN the life of our Lord. OF this pic
ture in question, 7. l. Akin, an art
critic, says: IF thou hadst known"
painted in 1885, now in the Royal
Scottish Academys Diploma Collec-
ton, is one of his most successful
efforts. The wistful lon ing of
Christ is finely conceived and must
have cost him many a prayer" Mr..
Hole, perhaps as a result of his en-
cheering studies was very strong and
accurate as draughtsman. As
colorist he very largely used the soft,
subdued blues, grays, green's and
browns. The painting in the Wau-
sau church, copies accurately not only
the outline of the original, but is
also very true to it in it's quiet tones.
1t has been said of Mr.. Hole that he
knows the Christ and loves Him we'll
and brings us often to His feet.
The question was raised as to
whether the mural painting in the
Wausau church accurately depicted
scene in Palestine
None of the great masters of Chris
tian painting were true to Landscapes
in the Holy Land Their backgrounds
were always found in the lands where
they lived. The modern kodak tour
list brings back the black and white
forms of tree and plain and river and
temple, but the masters with canvass
and brush brought out the deeper
things in the divine human and the
holier aspirations in the merely HUI
man. Even whether the faces were
Dutch or Italian or Jewish made small
difference. Mr.. Hole in eff thou hadst
known" brings to the thoughtful be-
holder the divine love and longing
and pity and sorrow. These are eter-
nal. They ought to and sometime will
reach the heart of the world Whether
the background of such a conception
be Rib Hill of Wisconsin or Mounts
Zion and Moriah of the Holy Land,
is not important
1t may be, however, an interesting
thing to know that Mr.. Hole did spend
some time in Palestine While there
he painted thirty water colors of 1.-THE
Life of Jesus of Nazareth" These
have preserved the local color and the
contour of the land. j. S. DAVIS.
Milwaukee, Vic