In those days things happened just as they do now; the criticism is
almost invariably the work of beginners. A youth who has acquired a
smattering of learning, who has caught up the slang of the studios, and
pretends to have a system or to defend a paradox, is chosen to write an
account of the Salon. I was that youth, that novice. And after all, how
become a workman unless you work? how become expert if you do not study,
recognize your mistakes and repair them? Beneath our mistakes truth
lies hidden.
So I arrived at Brussels to exercise the trade of critic, and found
myself in the presence of two men who were then making a brilliant
debut as painters: De Keyser and Henri Leys. I hope I shall be forgiven
if I reproduce my criticism of the latter's 'Massacre of the Magistrates
of Louvain.'
"Imagine to yourself a small public square, such as might
have existed in Louvain in the fourteenth century; this
square filled with angry people demanding satisfaction for
the death of their chief, Gautier de Lendes, assassinated by
the nobles; the approach to the palace of justice crowded
with men armed to the teeth; at the top of the stairs the
city magistrates on their way to execution, some as calm as
if about to administer justice, others bewailing that the
people know not what they do; peasants awaiting them at the
foot of the stairs, dagger in hand, a smile upon their lips;
here and there fainting women, dead bodies being stripped,
dying men being tortured, and an inextricable confusion of
monks, burghers, soldiers, children and horses. Then if you
fancy this scene painted with the warmth and impetuosity of a
Tintoretto, or as Hugo would have written it, you will have
an idea of Leys's picture. It may not be prudent to trust an
enthusiastic criticism; but my opinion is shared by every
one. I may be rash in praising a young man whose wings may
melt in the sun; but when, as is the case with M. Leys, the
artist possesses exact knowledge of the times and manners,
when he has verve, dash, and deep feeling, he needs only to
moderate ardor by reflection, and to ripen inspiration by
study, in order to become great."
One must admit that the above was not a bad beginning for an
apprentice-connoisseur, and that I was fortunate in praising an unknown
artist destined to make a great reputation.... There is something more
real than reality in what passes in the soul of a great artist!
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