His Masterpiece, Emile Zola [read ebook pdf .TXT] 📗

Now Separated By A Sudden Crush,  Now Reunited By Another,  And

Ever Carried Along By The Stream. An Abomination Of Chaine's,  A

'Christ Pardoning The Woman Taken In Adultery,' Made Them Pause; It

Was A Group Of Dry Figures That Looked As If Cut Out Of Wood,  Very

Bony Of Build,  And Seemingly Painted With Mud. But Close By They

Admired A Very Fine Study Of A Woman,  Seen From Behind,  With Her Head

Turned Sideways. The Whole Show Was A Mixture Of The Best And The

Worst,  All Styles Were Mingled Together,  The Drivellers Of The

Historical School Elbowed The Young Lunatics Of Realism,  The Pure

Simpletons Were Lumped Together With Those Who Bragged About Their

Originality. A Dead Jezabel,  That Seemed To Have Rotted In The Cellars

Of The School Of Arts,  Was Exhibited Near A Lady In White,  The Very

Curious Conception Of A Future Great Artist*; Then A Huge Shepherd

Looking At The Sea,  A Weak Production,  Faced A Little Painting Of Some

Spaniards Playing At Rackets,  A Dash Of Light Of Splendid Intensity.

Nothing Execrable Was Wanting,  Neither Military Scenes Full Of Little

Leaden Soldiers,  Nor Wan Antiquity,  Nor The Middle Ages,  Smeared,  As

It Were,  With Bitumen. But From Amidst The Incoherent Ensemble,  And

Especially From The Landscapes,  All Of Which Were Painted In A

Sincere,  Correct Key,  And Also From The Portraits,  Most Of Which Were

Very Interesting In Respect To Workmanship,  There Came A Good Fresh

Scent Of Youth,  Bravery And Passion. If There Were Fewer Bad Pictures

In The Official Salon,  The Average There Was Assuredly More

Commonplace And Mediocre. Here One Found The Smell Of Battle,  Of

Cheerful Battle,  Given Jauntily At Daybreak,  When The Bugle Sounds,

And When One Marches To Meet The Enemy With The Certainty Of Beating

Him Before Sunset.

 

  * Edouard Manet.--Ed.

 

Claude,  Whose Spirits Had Revived Amidst That Martial Odour,  Grew

Animated And Pugnacious As He Listened To The Laughter Of The Public.

He Looked As Defiant,  Indeed,  As If He Had Heard Bullets Whizzing Past

Him. Sufficiently Discreet At The Entrance Of The Galleries,  The

Laughter Became More Boisterous,  More Unrestrained,  As They Advanced.

In The Third Room The Women Ceased Concealing Their Smiles Behind

Their Handkerchiefs,  While The Men Openly Held Their Sides The Better

To Ease Themselves. It Was The Contagious Hilarity Of People Who Had

Come To Amuse Themselves,  And Who Were Growing Gradually Excited,

Bursting Out At A Mere Trifle,  Diverted As Much By The Good Things As

Part 5 Pg 90

By The Bad. Folks Laughed Less Before Chaine's Christ Than Before The

Back View Of The Nude Woman,  Who Seemed To Them Very Comical Indeed.

The 'Lady In White' Also Stupefied People And Drew Them Together;

Folks Nudged Each Other And Went Into Hysterics Almost; There Was

Always A Grinning Group In Front Of It. Each Canvas Thus Had Its

Particular Kind Of Success; People Hailed Each Other From A Distance

To Point Out Something Funny,  And Witticisms Flew From Mouth To Mouth;

To Such A Degree Indeed That,  As Claude Entered The Fourth Gallery,

Lashed Into Fury By The Tempest Of Laughter That Was Raging There As

Well,  He All But Slapped The Face Of An Old Lady Whose Chuckles

Exasperated Him.

 

'What Idiots!' He Said,  Turning Towards His Friends. 'One Feels

Inclined To Throw A Lot Of Masterpieces At Their Heads.'

 

Sandoz Had Become Fiery Also,  And Fagerolles Continued Praising The

Most Dreadful Daubs,  Which Only Tended To Increase The Laughter,  While

Gagniere,  At Sea Amid The Hubbub,  Dragged On The Delighted Irma,  Whose

Skirts Somehow Wound Round The Legs Of All The Men.

 

But Of A Sudden Jory Stood Before Them. His Fair Handsome Face

Absolutely Beamed. He Cut His Way Through The Crowd,  Gesticulated,  And

Exulted,  As If Over A Personal Victory. And The Moment He Perceived

Claude,  He Shouted:

 

'Here You Are At Last! I Have Been Looking For You This Hour. A

Success,  Old Fellow,  Oh! A Success--'

 

'What Success?'

 

'Why,  The Success Of Your Picture. Come,  I Must Show It You. You'll

See,  It's Stunning.'

 

Claude Grew Pale. A Great Joy Choked Him,  While He Pretended To

Receive The News With Composure. Bongrand's Words Came Back To Him. He

Began To Believe That He Possessed Genius.

 

'Hallo,  How Are You?' Continued Jory,  Shaking Hands With The Others.

 

And,  Without More Ado,  He,  Fagerolles And Gagniere Surrounded Irma,

Who Smiled On Them In A Good-Natured Way.

 

'Perhaps You'll Tell Us Where The Picture Is,' Said Sandoz,

Impatiently. 'Take Us To It.'

 

Jory Assumed The Lead,  Followed By The Band. They Had To Fight Their

Way Into The Last Gallery. But Claude,  Who Brought Up The Rear,  Still

Heard The Laughter That Rose On The Air,  A Swelling Clamour,  The Roll

Of A Tide Near Its Full. And As He Finally Entered The Room,  He Beheld

A Vast,  Swarming,  Closely Packed Crowd Pressing Eagerly In Front Of

His Picture. All The Laughter Arose,  Spread,  And Ended There. And It

Was His Picture That Was Being Laughed At.

 

'Eh!' Repeated Jory,  Triumphantly,  'There's A Success For You.'

 

Gagniere,  Intimidated,  As Ashamed As If He Himself Had Been Slapped,

Muttered: 'Too Much Of A Success--I Should Prefer Something

Different.'

Part 5 Pg 91

'What A Fool You Are,' Replied Jory,  In A Burst Of Exalted Conviction.

'That's What I Call Success. Does It Matter A Curse If They Laugh? We

Have Made Our Mark; To-Morrow Every Paper Will Talk About Us.'

 

'The Idiots,' Was All That Sandoz Could Gasp,  Choking With Grief.

 

Fagerolles,  Disinterested And Dignified Like A Family Friend Following

A Funeral Procession,  Said Nothing. Irma Alone Remained Gay,  Thinking

It All Very Funny. And,  With A Caressing Gesture,  She Leant Against

The Shoulder Of The Derided Painter,  And Whispered Softly In His Ear:

'Don't Fret,  My Boy. It's All Humbug,  Be Merry All The Same.'

 

But Claude Did Not Stir. An Icy Chill Had Come Over Him. For A Moment

His Heart Had Almost Ceased To Beat,  So Cruel Had Been The

Disappointment And With His Eyes Enlarged,  Attracted And Fixed By A

Resistless Force,  He Looked At His Picture. He Was Surprised,  And

Scarcely Recognised It; It Certainly Was Not Such As It Had Seemed To

Be In His Studio. It Had Grown Yellow Beneath The Livid Light Of The

Linen Screens; It Seemed,  Moreover,  To Have Become Smaller; Coarser

And More Laboured Also; And Whether It Was The Effect Of The Light In

Which It Now Hung,  Or The Contrast Of The Works Beside It,  At All

Events He Now At The First Glance Saw All Its Defects,  After Having

Remained Blind To Them,  As It Were,  For Months. With A Few Strokes Of

The Brush He,  In Thought,  Altered The Whole Of It,  Deepened The

Distances,  Set A Badly Drawn Limb Right,  And Modified A Tone.

Decidedly,  The Gentleman In The Velveteen Jacket Was Worth Nothing At

All,  He Was Altogether Pasty And Badly Seated; The Only Really Good

Bit Of Work About Him Was His Hand. In The Background The Two Little

Wrestlers--The Fair And The Dark One--Had Remained Too Sketchy,  And

Lacked Substance; They Were Amusing Only To An Artist's Eye. But He

Was Pleased With The Trees,  With The Sunny Glade; And The Nude Woman

--The Woman Lying On The Grass Appeared To Him Superior To His Own

Powers,  As If Some One Else Had Painted Her,  And As If He Had Never

Yet Beheld Her In Such Resplendency Of Life.

 

He Turned To Sandoz,  And Said Simply:

 

'They Do Right To Laugh; It's Incomplete. Never Mind,  The Woman Is All

Right! Bongrand Was Not Hoaxing Me.'

 

His Friend Wished To Take Him Away,  But He Became Obstinate,  And Drew

Nearer Instead. Now That He Had Judged His Work,  He Listened And

Looked At The Crowd. The Explosion Continued--Culminated In An

Ascending Scale Of Mad Laughter. No Sooner Had Visitors Crossed The

Threshold Than He Saw Their Jaws Part,  Their Eyes Grow Small,  Their

Entire Faces Expand; And He Heard The Tempestuous Puffing Of The Fat

Men,  The Rusty Grating Jeers Of The Lean Ones,  Amidst All The Shrill,

Flute-Like Laughter Of The Women. Opposite Him,  Against The

Hand-Rails,  Some Young Fellows Went Into Contortions,  As If Somebody

Had Been Tickling Them. One Lady Had Flung Herself On A Seat,  Stifling

And Trying To Regain Breath With Her Handkerchief Over Her Mouth.

Rumours Of This Picture,  Which Was So Very,  Very Funny,  Must Have Been

Spreading,  For There Was A Rush From The Four Corners Of The Salon,

Bands Of People Arrived,  Jostling Each Other,  And All Eagerness To

Share The Fun. 'Where Is It?' 'Over There.' 'Oh,  What A Joke!' And The

Witticisms Fell Thicker Than Elsewhere. It Was Especially The Subject

That Caused Merriment; People Failed To Understand It,  Thought It

Part 5 Pg 92

Insane,  Comical Enough To Make One Ill With Laughter. 'You See The

Lady Feels Too Hot,  While The Gentleman Has Put On His Velveteen

Jacket For Fear Of Catching Cold.' 'Not At All; She Is Already Blue;

The Gentleman Has Pulled Her Out Of A Pond,  And He Is Resting At A

Distance,  Holding His Nose.' 'I Tell You It's A Young Ladies' School

Out For A Ramble. Look At The Two Playing At Leap-Frog.' 'Hallo!

Washing Day; The Flesh Is Blue; The Trees Are Blue; He's Dipped His

Picture In The Blueing Tub!'

 

Those Who Did Not Laugh Flew Into A Rage: That Bluish Tinge,  That

Novel Rendering Of Light Seemed An Insult To Them. Some Old Gentlemen

Shook Their Sticks. Was Art To Be Outraged Like This? One Grave

Individual Went Away Very Wroth,  Saying To His Wife That He Did Not

Like Practical Jokes. But Another,  A Punctilious Little Man,  Having

Looked In The Catalogue For The Title Of The Work,  In Order To Tell

His Daughter,  Read Out The Words,  '_In The Open Air_,' Whereupon There

Came A Formidable Renewal Of The Clamour,  Hisses And Shouts,  And What

Not Else Besides. The Title Sped About; It Was Repeated,  Commented On.

'_In The Open Air_! Ah,  Yes,  The Open Air,  The Nude Woman In The Air,

Everything In The Air,  Tra La La Laire.' The Affair Was Becoming A

Scandal. The Crowd Still Increased. People's Faces Grew Red With

Congestion In The Growing Heat. Each Had The Stupidly Gaping Mouth Of

The Ignoramus Who Judges Painting,  And Between Them They Indulged In

All The Asinine Ideas,  All The Preposterous Reflections,  All The

Stupid Spiteful Jeers That The Sight Of An Original Work Can Possibly

Elicit From Bourgeois Imbecility.

 

At That Moment,  As A Last Blow,  Claude Beheld Dubuche Reappear,

Dragging The Margaillans Along. As