Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Twelve Great Paintings Personal Interpretations
Ruskin says great art is that which conveys to the mind Of the spectator, by any means whatsoever, the greatest number Of the greatest ideas, and he adds, to make his meaning unmistakable, I call an ideagreat in proportion as it is received by a higher faculty Of the mind, and as it more fully occupies, and in occupying exercises and exalts, the faculty by which it is received. We may quarrel with this phrase Ology, regret that Ruskin omitted feeling, and delight, and much besides, but if we will read thoughtfully that whole second chapter Of the first volume of Modern Painters, on Greatness in Art, we shall, in\the end, I think, be content to accept his definition as a fairly satisfactory test of greatness.
But inasmuch as what we get from a picture, as from a book, or from nature itself, depends largely upon what we bring to it, no two Of us will be affected by the masterpiece in the same way. Titian's Sacred and Profane Love may convey only a small number of small ideas to one mind, while it may convey a large number of lofty ideas to another. Hence it appears that he who explains an old master exposes himself! These self-revelations, however, are not without value.
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