Identifier: fiftyyearsofmode00phyt (find matches)
Title: Fifty years of modern painting, Corot to Sargent
Year: 1908 (1900s)
Authors: Phythian, John Ernest, 1858-
Subjects: Painting Painting
Publisher: London, G. Richards
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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an mosaic, representing theflight of Darius at the battle of Issus, and understood itssignificance, his art could not have become what it did.Could he have had the mosaic in his mind when, near theend of his life, he stood before Delacroixs Dantes Bark, hewould have known that picture to be more in the spirit,and even according to the letter, of Roman painting thanhis own Horatii or Rape of the Sabines. Delacroix knewthis : at least, as a protest against Davids cold, sculptur-esque treatment of subjects taken from ancient history, hepainted them himself with more realistic truth of actionand expression, remembering that the people of classicaldays did once really live. The classical movement was in agreat degree ignorant superstition—one might almost call itgrovelling superstition. We call to mind that in England—it had not been without protest against his so doing—Sir Benjamin West had given to the soldiery in his Death ofGeneral Wolfe their actual English uniforms, and not the
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LA SOURCE J. D. INGRES THE IMPRESSIONISTS AND THEIR ALIIES 57 military costume of the Romans. In architecture andsculpture, as well as in painting, what have we not had tosuffer, what do we not still suffer, through our artists for-getting that if art is to be living it must chiefly live in thepresent; and, if it deal with the past, must deal with it ina living way, must make it live again! Delacroix did not easily carry the day against classicism.It found a fresh and vigorous recruit in Ingres, a pupil ofDavid, who again put draughtsmanship before colour andmovement. He was eighteen years older than Delacroix,but was a man of much stronger physique, and outlived theyounger painter by four years. Born in 1780, he liveduntil 1867, thus reaching the long count of eighty-sevenyears. He was strenuously, bitterly opposed to Delacroix,whose election to the Institute drew from him the remark,£Tow the wolf is in the sheepfold. Truly, it is hardlya less unpleasant thing to introduce new art t

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