ARH 156 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: The Horse Fair, Mainspring
Document Summary
Ross bonheur: the horse fair, 1853-1855, went to great lengths to record the anatomy of living horses, studied carcasses in slaughterhouses. The more beauty and artist can put into a work, the more valuable it will be. The colored engravings of the 18th century have once again won the plaudits of fashion. Monsieuer g. carries originality to the point of shyness: old man, obsessed by the throng of pictures which teemed his brain. The first step towards an understanding of his is to note at once that the mainspring of his genius is curiosity. An artist who was always, spiritually, in the condition of the convalescent. Consider him a man-child: never without the genius of childhood. The last to linger wherever there can be a glow of light, an echo of poetry; a quiver of life or a chord of music. Few men are gifted with the capacity of seeing, fewer possess the power of expression.
