File:William Maris - Milking Time at Abcoude.jpg

Identifier: landscapefigurepai00sher (find matches)
Title: Landscape and figure painters of America
Year: 1917 (1910s)
Authors: Sherman, Frederic Fairchild, 1874-1940
Subjects: Landscape painting Figure painting
Publisher: New York : Privately printed
Contributing Library: Getty Research Institute
Digitizing Sponsor: Getty Research Institute

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Text Appearing Before Image:
Matthew Mariss peculiar distinction, andno artist could have a more real or abidingclaim to lasting fame. CHAPTER XI WILLIAM MARIS Bom 1844 Like his brothers, William Maris earlyshowed signs of ability, and was an indus-trious student. He chose for his special sub-jects the cattle in their haunts in the softmeadows of Holland, with their willow treesand lagoon-like shallow waters, or broad riversbordering them. In addition to this he paintshis favourite ducks in their cool, shadowy homesin the streams under the green trees, andsometimes he gives us views of the RiverMerwerde, with boats sailing on its watersand windmills built on its banks. Somepeople complain that in his later work thecattle are not carefully enough drawn. Thisis done with an object, and not from wantof knowledge or ability to draw them, forthese he undoubtedly has. He studied cattlefor years, in the most painstaking way, and ifhe wished to do so his pencil sketches abun-dantly prove that he could paint them with174
Text Appearing After Image:
WILLIAM MARIS 175 photographic accuracy. But that would de-stroy his object, which is to represent thelandscape as a whole, bathed in atmosphere,and to get this result sacrifices have to bemade. The lower truth of photographic accu-racy must be dispensed with, but the wholecharacter of the animals is always perfectly keptin view, and the way in which they are put inhis pictures shows absolute knowledge of theirforms and habits and perfect executive skill. There is in fact no deficiency in the draw-ing, but on the contrary, though details maybe wanting, the greatest attention is given torepresenting the essential features of the formsof the cattle, and the very weight of them asthey press down the grass. It is all veryboldly and skilfully done, and the real truthabout them, as they appear reflecting the lightand modified by the atmosphere and form-ing part of a country scene, is much bettershown in this way than by painstaking draw-ing of the anatomy. It is in short the truth ofthe imp

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