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PART FIVE ARTS IN TIME 320

14 A
 ncient Mediterranean 18 A
 rts of Islam and
Worlds 321 of Africa 411
The Oldest Art 321 Arts of Islam 411
Mesopotamia 324 Architecture: Mosques and Palaces 412
Egypt 328 Book Arts 415
The Aegean 335 Arts of Daily Life 416
The Classical World: Greece Arts of Africa 417
and Rome 336 CROSSING CULTURES: Africa Looks Back 420
Greece 336
Rome 344
19 A
 rts of Asia: India, China,
THINKING ABOUT ART: Whose
Grave? 334 and Japan 426
THINKING ABOUT ART: The Marbles and Arts of India 427
the Museums 341 Indus Valley Civilization 427
Buddhism and Its Art 428
15 C
 hristianity and the Hinduism and Its Art 432
Jain Art 435
Formation of Europe 349
Mughal Art and Influence 435
The Rise of Christianity 349 Arts of China 436
Byzantium 353 The Formative Period: Shang to Qin 436
The Middle Ages in Europe 355 Confucianism and Daoism: Han and Six
The Early Middle Ages 355 Dynasties 437
The High Middle Ages 357 The Age of Buddhism: Tang 439
Toward the Renaissance 363 The Rise of Landscape Painting: Song 440
Scholars and Others: Yuan and Ming 442
16 The Renaissance 365 Arts of Japan 444
New Ideas and Influences: Asuka 446
The Early and High Renaissance Refinements of the Court: Heian 446
in Italy 367 Samurai Culture: Kamakura and
The Renaissance in the North 378 Muromachi 448
The Late Renaissance in Italy 385 Splendor and Silence: Momoyama 450
ARTISTS: Michelangelo 375 Art for Everyone: Edo 451
CROSSING CULTURES: The Early Buddha
17 T
 he 17th and Image 431
ARTISTS: Katsushika Hokusai 452
18th Centuries 388

The Baroque Era 388 20 A


 rts of the Pacific and
The 18th Century 401
Revolution 407 of the Americas 453
ARTISTS: Artemisia Gentileschi 392 Pacific Cultures 453
ARTISTS: Rembrandt van Rijn 399 The Americas 458
THINKING ABOUT ART: Mesoamerica 458
Academies 405 South and Central America 464
ARTISTS: Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun 408 North America 466

CONTENTS • vii
21 T
 he Modern World: Pop Art 507
Abstraction and Photorealism 509
1800–1945 471 Minimalism and After 511
Neoclassicism and Romanticism 472 Process Art 512
Realism 474 Installation 513
Manet and Impressionism 475 Body Art and Performance 513
Post-Impressionism 478 Land Art 514
Bridging the Atlantic: America in the Conceptual Art 514
19th Century 481 New Media: Video 516
Into the 20th Century: Reconsidering Craft 517
The Avant-Garde 483 Feminism and Feminist Art 517
Freeing Color: Fauvism and Art of the Eighties and Nineties:
Expressionism 483 Postmodernism 519
Shattering Form: Cubism 487 The Painterly Image 520
Futurism and Metaphysical Painting 490 Words and Images, Issues and Identities 522
World War I and After: Dada and New Media: The Digital
Surrealism 492 Realm 524
Between the Wars: Building New ARTISTS: Jackson Pollock 502
Societies 495 ARTISTS: Andy Warhol 508
THINKING ABOUT ART: Presenting the Past 479 THINKING ABOUT ART: The Guerrilla Girls 525
ARTISTS: Henri Matisse 485
ARTISTS: Pablo Picasso 488 23 O
 pening Up to
the World 528
22  rom Modern to
F
THINKING ABOUT ART:
Postmodern 500 Is It Over? 535
The New York School 501
Into the Sixties: Assemblage and
Happenings 504
Art of the Sixties and Seventies 507

Pronunciation Guide 540


Suggested Readings 543
Notes to the Text 546
Glossary 549
Photographic Credits 557
Index 562

viii • CONTENTS
LIST OF ESSAYS

Artists
Maya Lin 8 Olowe of Ise 273
Vincent van Gogh 11 Frank Lloyd Wright 307
Louise Bourgeois 31 Zaha Hadid 312
Robert Rauschenberg 64 Michelangelo 375
Yayoi Kusama 70 Artemisia Gentileschi 392
Georgia O’Keeffe 120 Rembrandt van Rijn 399
Leonardo da Vinci 143 Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun 408
Jacob Lawrence 163 Katsushika Hokusai 452
Käthe Kollwitz 181 Henri Matisse 485
Albrecht Dürer 186 Pablo Picasso 488
Christo and Jeanne-Claude 264 Jackson Pollock 502
María Martínez 267 Andy Warhol 508

Crossing Cultures
Japanese Prints 99 Export Arts 277
Paper 145 Africa Looks Back 420
Primitivism 256 The Early Buddha Image 431

Thinking About Art


Insiders and Whose Grave? 334
Outsiders 26 The Marbles and the
Aesthetics 47 Museums 341
Iconoclasm 54 Academies 405
Conservation 107 Presenting the Past 479
Points of View 125 The Guerrilla Girls 525
Censorship 211 Is It Over? 535

 ix
Move beyond first impressions.
See art in everyday life.

ART is part of our lives.


From the monuments in our communities, to the fashions
we wear and media images we take in, to the exhibits on display
in museums and galleries. It permeates our daily lives.
But why do we study art? How do we talk about art?

Living with Art helps students see art in everyday life by fostering
a greater understanding and appreciation of art and by equipping
them with the tools to analyze and talk about art.

x
Understand ART
SmartBook with NEW learning resources is the first and only adaptive reading and study experience that contextualizes
the contents of Living with Art based on what the individual student knows and doesn’t know. Enhanced by LearnSmart,
SmartBook is a proven resource in the Art Appreciation course, having been used by over 11,000 students nationwide
since it first launched with the tenth edition of Living with Art. SmartBook helps students understand art and optimizes
student study time by creating a personalized learning path for improved course performance and overall student success
in four stages:

Preview – Students start with a preview of each chapter and the corresponding key learning objectives. This preview
establishes a framework of the material in a student’s brain to help retain knowledge over time.
Read – While students read the material, they are guided to core topics where they should spend the most time
studying.
Practice – As students read the material, SmartBook presents them with questions to help identify what content they
know and what they don’t know.
Recharge – To ensure concept mastery and retention, students complete the Read and Practice steps until SmartBook
directs them to Recharge the important material they’re likely to forget.

 xi
Analyze ART
Connect Art delivers assessments, analytics, and resources—including SmartBook—that make Living with Art a rich digi-
tal experience. Featured activities that help students analyze art include:.

Guided Viewing Assignments, which feature links to Google


Art Project. Questions guide students through learning the pro-
cess of describing what they see, providing formal analysis of
various works of art, discussing their meanings, and ultimately
developing informed opinions.

Animations on Elements and Techniques and Art Technique


Videos with comprehension and analytical questions that provide
an engaging introduction to core concepts from each chapter to
bring students into the creative process.

Interactive Activities to challenge students to apply their newly


acquired vocabulary to new works of art, and to prepare them to
describe the art they encounter in their lives.

xii
Appreciate ART
Living with Art fosters each student’s unique path to “appreciation.”

Featured essays, such as Thinking about Art and Crossing Cultures, focus on social, historical, and global context, introduc-
ing issues of art in society over time—how art has been appreciated, interpreted, destroyed, categorized, displayed, fought
over, preserved, censored, owned, and studied.

Chapter 3 of Living with Art helps students appreciate some of the common themes of art. The following themes will be
explored in SmartBook’s learning resources, and can be incorporated into lectures and class discussion as appropriate:

Community and Politics in Art


Spirituality in Art
The Natural World in Art
Stories and Histories in Art
Life and Death in Art
Self-Expression in Art
The Human Figure in Art

NEW thematic worksheets help students to build their appreciation skills, individually or as a group, as they explore
a gallery or museum collection in person or online. The worksheets guide them in making connections between works
of art by choosing a theme, looking for works that reflect this theme, and supporting their selections with formal and
contextual details.

 xiii
The Eleventh Edition

Small but significant changes appear in almost every chapter, refreshing the illustra-
tion program and clarifying and enlivening the text.

Highlights of the Eleventh Edition


Chapter 7, Painting, features a new topic called Painting without Paint, which looks
at contemporary works that inscribe themselves in the tradition of painting but do
not use paint as a medium.
Yayoi Kusama is the subject of a new biographical Artists essay in Chapter 3,
Themes of Art. In the final chapter, Opening Up to the World, a new Thinking about
Art essay titled “Is It Over?” invites readers to ponder the ideas put forth by Hans
Belting and Arthur Danto about the beginning and possible end of the era of art.
In Chapter 13, Architecture, the section on Sustainability takes note of the
current interest in massive timber construction and organic building materials.
Sustained attention to contemporary art continues to be a hallmark of the text.
Artists appearing for the first time in this edition include Tara Donovan, Mark Grot-
jahn, Amy Sillman, Channing Hansen, Nicole Eisenman, Dario Robleto, Swoon, Olia
Lialina, Aram Bartholl, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Tomás Saraceno, Jeroen Verhoeven,
Merete Rasmussen, Marcus Amerman, Glenn Ligon, Nermine Hammam, Imran
Qureshi, Sopheap Pich, Kohei Nawa, Damián Ortega, and Thomas Demand.
A number of historical artists appear for the first time as well, including Sultan
Muhammad, Sonia Delaunay, Willem Kalf, Kaikei, John Frederick Kensett, Shen
Zhou, Petrus Christus, Lü Ji, and Edward Steichen.

The Revision in Detail


Chapter 2, What Is Art? The discussion of Leonardo’s Mona Lisa now clarifies why
scholars long suspected that the panel had been cut down. An endnote updates the
tale with the results of the 2004–05 examination of the painting at the Louvre. The
discussion of stylization has been expanded to juxtapose a Chinese porcelain bowl
and a Persian miniature painting, showing how the conventions for depicting clouds
and flames passed from one culture to the other. The painting, Sultan Muhammad’s
The Ascent of the Prophet Muhammad, also serves as an example of the slender but
important tradition within Islam of depicting the Prophet, a timely topic widely
ignored or misunderstood. Works by Sonia Delaunay and Tara Donovan refresh the
introduction to nonrepresentational art. Kara Walker’s much talked-about 2014 work
A Subtlety provides a spectacular introduction to installation. The topics in the section
“Art and Meaning” have been lightly revised and reorganized for pedagogical clarity:
the role of materials and techniques in suggesting meaning, formerly subsumed into
the discussion of form and content, is now presented as a separate topic. The terms
content and context have been fitted with more straightforward definitions that can
be committed to memory. Form and content are reinforced as paired terms.

xiv
Chapter 3, Themes of Art. Love Is Calling, a recent Infinity Mirrored Room by Yayoi
Kusama, is a new presence here, complemented by a biographical “Artists” essay that
introduces readers to Kusama’s life and work.

Chapter 4, The Visual Elements. The discussion of texture has been refreshed with
a still life by the 17th-century Dutch painter Willem Kalf and new works by Mona
Hatoum and Constantin Brancusi. John Frederick Kensett’s hushed, luminous Lake
George illustrates atmospheric perspective, answered by a section of Shen Zhou’s
handscroll Autumn Colors among Streams and Mountains. Richard Serra now autho-
rizes only black-and-white photographs of his work for reproduction. His Inside Out,
a monumental work from 2013, is illustrated with an image by his chosen photog-
rapher, Lorenz Kienzle.

Chapter 5, Principles of Design. A recent Infinity Net painting by Yayoi Kusama intro-
duces readers to one of her most famous recurring motifs.

Chapter 6, Drawing. New to the chapter are a radiant drawing in colored pencil by
Mark Grotjahn and a chilling work in cut paper by Mona Hatoum.

Chapter 7, Painting. Oil paint is now represented in its first decades of popularity
by A Goldsmith in His Shop, a richly detailed Early Netherlandish painting by Petrus
Christus. Amy Sillman’s Nut newly illustrates a contemporary approach to the
medium. A new section called “Painting Without Paint” brings together Mark Brad-
ford, shifted here from Chapter 6, and Channing Hansen, whose knit paintings were
a highlight of the recent “Made in LA” exhibition at the Hammer Museum.

Chapter 8, Prints. Sumida River, Late Autumn, by Motosugu Sugiyama, updates the
coverage of woodblock prints. Sugiyama uses traditional Japanese polychrome wood-
block techniques to depict aerial views of contemporary Tokyo. Other new presences
include Nicole Eisenman, Dario Robleto, and Caledonia Curry, better known as the
street artist Swoon, whose wheat-paste prints appear unexpectedly on urban walls.

Chapter 9, Camera and Computer Arts. One of the most celebrated images of the
Pictorialist movement, Edward Steichen’s Flatiron, is newly featured. The discussion
of Internet art has been updated with a recent work by Olia Lialina, one of the
pioneers of the medium. The term post-Internet art is introduced, illustrated by Map,
a thoughtful and accessible project by Aram Bartholl.

Chapter 10, Graphic Design. Universal Everything’s crowd-sourced installation 1000


Hands illustrates how today’s digital designers can be equally adept at working for
corporate clients and creating their own art for the public.

Chapter 11, Sculpture and Installation. Bas-relief is now illustrated by a substantial


detail from The Churning of the Sea of Milk at Angkor Wat. Kaikei’s carving of the
Shinto deity Hachiman introduces the idea of polychrome sculpture and illustrates
Japanese realism. The discussion of installation has been updated with recent works
by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov and Tomás Saraceno.

Chapter 12, Arts of Ritual and Daily Life. Jade is now illustrated by a cong, a char-
acteristic (though still mysterious) ritual object from the Neolithic Liangzhu culture
in China. An additional example of lacquer allows the chapter to present both the
Chinese tradition of carving and the Japanese tradition of inlay, illustrated in this
edition by a writing box decorated with motifs that allude to the Tale of Genji. The
section “Art, Craft, Design” has been updated with recent works in wood, ceramic,
glass, and resin by Jeroen Verhoeven, Merete Rasmussen, Marcus Amerman, and
WertelOberfell.

T he E leventh E dition • xv
Chapter 13, Architecture. The opening of the chapter has been revised to introduce
the basic concepts of loads, tension, compression, tensile strength, and compressive
strength, allowing for more satisfactory explanations of the structural systems that
follow. J. Mayer H. und Partner’s Metropol Parasol is a new presence in “Architecture
and Community,” providing as well an additional example of the possibilities opened
up by CAD/CAM technology. “Sustainability: Green Architecture” continues to track
recent directions. New to this edition are: LISI House, Team Austria’s winning entry
in the 2013 Solar Decathlon; Michael Green’s Wood Innovation and Design Center,
a showcase for the structural potential of mass timber; and The Living’s Hy-Fi, a
temporary structure made of lightweight, organic bricks.

Chapter 14, Ancient Mediterranean Worlds. Changes to this chapter are textual: the
discussion of the wall painting from the tomb of Nebamun has been enlivened with
details drawn from Richard Parkinson’s monograph The Painted Tomb Chapel of Neba-
mun. A review of the literature on the Parthenon laid to rest the popular claim that
the facade takes the proportions of a golden rectangle and points instead to an
organizing ratio of 9:4. Particularly helpful were Susan Woodford’s The Parthenon and
The Parthenon and Its Impact in Modern Times, edited by Panayotis Tournikiotis. A
lightly revised discussion of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius is indebted to
Raimund Wünsche’s “Der Kaiser zu Pferd,” in Marc Aurel; der Reiter auf dem Kapitol.

Chapter 15, Christianity and the Formation of Europe. The discussion of the mosaic
fragment depicting Christ as the Sun refers now to the Greek god Helios, worshiped
in Rome as Sol Invictus. Revisions to the discussion of Charlemagne and his chapel
at Aachen are indebted to Charles McClendon’s The Origins of Medieval Architecture:
Building in Europe, A.D. 600–900. A new image of Giotto’s Lamentation, taken after
the recent restoration, includes the decorative bands that Giotto devised to define
picture spaces on the chapel walls, enabling students to understand something of
the visual context of the scene and the larger organization of the fresco cycle.

Chapter 16, The Renaissance. The discussion of the Sistine ceiling has been revised
to touch on the earlier decoration under Sixtus IV and Michelangelo’s use of assis-
tants to accomplish his Herculean task, explicitly countering the “lone genius” model
still prevalent in popular culture. William Wallace’s essay “Michelangelo’s Assistants
in the Sistine Chapel” informed the changes.

Chapter 17, The 17th and 18th Centuries. The Palace of Versailles is now illustrated
with a view by Pierre-Denis Martin. Painted in 1722, it represents the palace as Louis
XIV left it after the completion of his fourth and final building campaign. A new
photograph of the Hall of Mirrors shows its appearance after the recent restoration
(especially noticeable in the ceiling paintings).

Chapter 19, Arts of Asia: India, China, and Japan. Lü Ji’s monumental bird-and-
flower painting Mandarin Ducks and Hollyhocks is a new presence here, exemplifying
the closely observed, decorative style favored by the Ming court. The shrine complex
at Ise is now illustrated by a stunning aerial photograph that captures both the latest
rebuilding nearing completion and the previous rebuilding still standing next to it,
not yet dismantled. A new illustration from the 12th-century Tale of Genji scrolls is
paired with a detail of the text, showing the exquisite decorated paper and liquid
calligraphy that distinguish this aristocratic production. The chapter now ends with
Hokusai’s beloved Great Wave at Kanagawa, one of Japan’s most enduring contribu-
tions to world visual culture.

Chapter 20, Arts of the Pacific and of the Americas. The survey of North America
now begins with an effigy pipe depicting a beaver. Carved from stone and set with
pearl eyes and bone teeth, it is one of the finest works to have come down to us
from the early cultures of the Eastern Woodlands. The chapter closes with a spec-
tacular four-headed Cannibal Bird mask from the Pacific Northwest.

xvi • THE ELEVENTH EDITION


Chapter 22, From Modern to Postmodern. Small changes complete this chapter’s
transformation to a historical chapter that follows art from the postwar years through
the 1990s. New to the chapter are Walter De Maria’s Lightning Field, Joseph Kosuth’s
Five Words in White Neon, Glenn Ligon’s Untitled (I Do Not Always Feel Colored), and
Olia Lialina’s iconic My Boyfriend Came Back from the War, a pioneer work of Inter-
net art from 1996. Bill Viola is now represented by The Greeting, perhaps his most
famous work of the 1990s. Jean-Michel Basquiat is now represented by Hollywood
Africans and David Wojnarowicz by Americans can’t deal with death.

Chapter 23, Opening Up to the World. This chapter has been thoroughly updated
with new artists and works. Artists appearing for the first time are Nermine Ham-
mam (Egypt), Imran Qureshi (Pakistan), Sopheap Pich (Cambodia), Kohei Nawa
(Japan), Damián Ortega (Mexico) and Thomas Demand (Germany). Yinka Shonibare
and Subodh Gupta are represented by more recent works. A new Thinking About
Art essay called “Is It Over?” invites students to ponder the ideas put forth by Arthur
Danto and Hans Belting about the era of art and the possible end of its unfolding
in history.

Supporting Resources
Instructors can access a database of images from select McGraw-Hill Education art
and humanities titles, including Living with Art. Connect Image Bank includes all
images for which McGraw-Hill Education has secured electronic permissions. Instruc-
tors can access a text’s images by browsing its chapters, style/period, medium, and
culture, or by searching on key terms.
Instructors can also search for images from other McGraw-Hill Education titles
included in the database. Images can be easily downloaded for use in presentations and
in PowerPoints. The download includes a text file with image captions and information.
You can access Connect Image Bank under the library tab on Connect Art.

Connect Insight
The first and only analytics tools of its kind, Connect Insight™ is a series of visual
data displays—each framed by an intuitive question—to provide at-a-glance information
regarding how a class is doing: How are my students doing? How is this student doing?
How is this assignment doing? How are my assignments doing? How is my section doing?
Instructors receive instant student performance matched with student activity,
view real-time analytics so instructors can take action early and keep struggling
students from falling behind, and are empowered with a more valuable and produc-
tive connection between themselves and their students with the transparency
Connect Insight™ provides in the learning process.

Tegrity
Capture lessons and lectures in a searchable format for use in traditional, hybrid,
“flipped classes,” and online courses by using Tegrity. Its personalized learning
features make study time efficient, and its affordability brings this benefit to
every student on campus. Patented search technology and real-time Learning
Management System (LMS) integrations make Tegrity the market-leading solution
and service.

McGraw-Hill Education’s Campus


MHE Campus (http://mhcampus.mhhe.com) provides faculty with true single sign-
on access to all of our McGraw-Hill Education’s course content, digital tools, and
other high-quality learning resources from any LMS. This innovative offering allows
for secure and deep integration, enabling seamless access for faculty and students
to any of McGraw-Hill Education’s course solutions, such as Connect® (all-digital
teaching and learning platform), Create (state-of-the-art custom-publishing tool), and
Tegrity (fully searchable lecture-capture service).

T he E leventh E dition • xvii


McGraw-Hill Education’s Create
Easily rearrange chapters, combine materials from other content sources, and quickly
upload content you have written, such as your course syllabus or teaching notes,
using McGraw-Hill Education’s Create. Find the content you need by searching
through thousands of leading McGraw-Hill Education’s textbooks. Arrange your
book to fit your teaching style. Create even allows you to personalize your book’s
appearance by selecting the cover and adding your name, school, and course infor-
mation. Order a Create book, and you will receive a complimentary print review
copy in 3 to 5 business days or a complimentary electronic review copy via email in
about an hour. Experience how McGraw-Hill Education empowers you to teach your
students your way. http://create.mheducation.com

Instructor Resources include an Instructor’s Manual, test banks, and lecture Power-
Point slides that can be accessed through Connect Art.

xviii • THE ELEVENTH EDITION


Acknowledgments

Connect Art, LearnSmart Suite, and Instructor Resources


Contributors and Subject-Matter Experts
Alex Scott Baine
Susan E. Dodge
Diana Lurz
Vicki Mayhan
Chris Narozny
Sarah Van Anden
Paige Wideman
Evan Wilson

Numerous reviewers have contributed to the growth and development of Living


with Art through various editions. We want to express our gratitude to those who
have offered valuable feedback on the eleventh edition and Connect Art:

Living with Art and Connect Art Reviewers


Alex Scott Baine, East Mississippi Community College
Rachel Bomze, Passaic County Community College
Stephen Cappelli, Alabama State University
John Caputo, University of Tampa
Joanne Carrubba, MiraCosta College
Cat Crotchett, Western Michigan University
Heea Crownfield, Beaufort County Community College
Kathleen Desmond, University of Central Missouri
Susan E. Dodge, Frostburg State University
Dustin Farmer, Seward County Community College
Melissa Hebert-Johnson, Black Hawk College
John Hope, South Plains College
Carolyn Jacobs, Central Piedmont Community College
Melissa Lovingood, North Iowa Area Community College, Mason City
Diana Lurz, Rogers State University
Jan Mainzer, Marist College
Vicki Mayhan, Richland College
Julie McArdle, Greenville Technical College
Robert Millard-Mendez, University of Southern Indiana
Cynthia Persinger, California University of Pennsylvania
Sylvia Ramachandran Skeen, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
Susan Ramos, Central Arizona College
Gilbert Rocha, Richland Community College
Lisa Rockford, Broward College
Sean Russell, College of Southern Nevada
Patti Shanks, University of Missouri, Columbia
Mary E. Shira, James Madison University
Lisa Spinks, East Mississippi Community College
Ivanhoe Tejeda, Harold Washington College
Paige Wideman, Northern Kentucky University
Kimberly Winkle, Tennessee Technological University

xix
Author
Acknowledgments
An edition of Living with Art is the work of many hands, and even more so now
that the text has taken its place as an element of a larger online learning environ-
ment. At McGraw-Hill Education, it has been a pleasure to find myself in the care
of two old acquaintances wearing new hats, Sarah Remington and Betty Chen, Brand
Manager and Senior Product Developer, respectively. They know the book well, hav-
ing worked on previous editions in other capacities, and are uniquely qualified to
shepherd its latest incarnation into the world. The vast digital offerings have taken
shape under the exacting attentions of Content Project Manager Sheila Frank and
Assessment Content Project Manager Jodi Banowetz. In editions past, gratitude
has flowed from New York to points west. With this edition, I gaze eastward across
the Atlantic to London, where the genial staff of Laurence King Publishing made
light work of the numerous and complex tasks of production. I’m grateful to Kara
Hattersley-Smith, the Editorial Manager there, and to Senior Editor Felicity Maunder,
unfailingly cheerful and seemingly unflappable. Images were gathered by Picture
Manager Julia Ruxton, who generously began fielding questions and dispensing
excellent advice even before our work had officially begun. She was assisted by
Picture Researcher Peter Kent. I’m grateful to, and also slightly in awe of, copyeditor
Carolyn Jones, who flagged small errors and inconsistencies in text now many edi-
tions old and more than once sent me into the stacks to track down definitive
information about things I thought I knew. Ian Hunt is responsible for refreshing
the book’s design and for introducing me to the term colorways. Production Manager
Simon Walsh oversaw the transformation of hundreds of digital files into a printed
book.
Researching new images and artists brought me into contact with numerous
people and often occasioned pleasant exchanges. It’s nice to feel a human tug at the
other end of an email inquiry. I’m grateful to Kristine Virsis and Karmimadeebora
McMillan at Swoon Studio, photographer Jaime Rojo at Brooklyn Street Art, photog-
rapher Jason Wyche, Liz Wall at the Denver Art Museum, Sindhu Mahadevan at
Michael Green Architecture in Vancouver, Sara at Plantagon in Stockholm, Daisuke
Ota at Kyodo News, and Anna Marcum at P.P.O.W. in New York for their help and
good humor.
This edition of Living with Art has profited greatly from privileges enjoyed at
Avery Library at Columbia University, thanks to whose magnificent collection, help-
ful librarians, blissful open stacks, and late hours I was finally able to investigate a
number of small questions that had long been gnawing at me. Debts carried over
from previous editions include those to Monica Visonà, Herbert Cole, Marylin Rhie,
David Damrosch, John Christ, Virginia Budney, and Terry Hobbs for matters African,
South Asian, Mesoamerican, American, sculptural, geometric, nautical, and zoolog-
ical, and to Stephen Shipps and Kathleen Desmond, who hover over Chapter 2,
friendly spirits and wise.

—Mark Getlein

xx
Letter from the Author

To the reader,

I’m about to disappear. There I am, below, walking off the page and into the book.
When next we meet, in the first chapter, you won’t recognize me, for “I” will not
appear. An impersonal authority will seem to be speaking, explaining ideas and
concepts, imparting information, directing your attention here and there, narrating
a history: first this happened, and then that. But you should know that there is
someone in particular behind the words, just as there is someone in particular read-
ing them.
I’m walking by a painting of dancers by Matisse. Before that, I’ve stopped to
look at a group of sculptures by Brancusi. Often it’s the other way around: I linger
for a long time before the painting and walk right by the sculptures without think-
ing much about them. The works are in the same museum, and I’ve known them
for most of my life. In a way, I think of them as mine—they belong to me because
of the hours I have spent looking at them, thinking about them, reading about the
artists who made them. Other works in the museum are not mine, at least not yet.
Oh, I recognize them on sight, and I know the names of the artists who made them.
But I haven’t given them the kind of sustained attention it takes to make them a
part of my inner world.
Is it perhaps that I don’t like them? Like anyone, I am attracted to some works
more than others, and I find myself in greater sympathy with some artists more than
others. Some works have a deeply personal meaning for me. Others do not, however
much I may admire them. But in truth, when looking at a work of art for the first
time, I no longer ask whether I like it or not. Instead, I try to understand what it is.
These are deep pleasures for me, and I would wish them for you: that through this
book you may learn to respond to art in ways that set like and dislike aside, and
that you may encounter works you find so compelling that you take the time to make
them your own.

1
Gelatin silver print, 113⁄4 × 93⁄8".
1.1 Brancusi’s studio. Reconstruction at the Musée National 1.2 Constantin Brancusi. Bird in Space. c. 1928–30.
d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, by the Renzo Piano
Building Workshop. 1992–96. Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou,
Paris

PART ONE

Introduction
1
Living with Art

O
ur simplest words are often the deepest in meaning: birth, kiss,
flight, dream. The sculptor Constantin Brancusi spent his life search-
ing for forms as simple and pure as those words—forms that seem
to have existed forever, outside of time. Born a peasant in a remote
village in Romania, he spent most of his adult life in Paris, where he lived in
a single small room adjoining a skylit studio. Upon his death in 1957, Brancusi
willed the contents of his studio to the French government, which eventually
re-created the studio itself in a museum (1.1).
Near the center of the photograph are two versions of an idea Brancusi
called Endless Column. Pulsing upward with great energy, the columns seem as
though they could go on forever. Perhaps they do go on forever, and we can
see only part of them. Directly in front of the white column, a sleek, horizon-
tal marble form looking something like a slender submarine seems to hover
over a disk-shaped base. Brancusi called it simply Fish. It does not depict any
particular fish but, rather, shows us the idea of something that moves swiftly
and freely through the water, the essence of a fish. To the left of the dark col-
umn, arching up in front of a patch of wall painted red, is a version of one of
Brancusi’s most famous works, Bird in Space. Here again the artist portrays not
a particular bird but, rather, the idea of flight, the feeling of soaring upward.
Brancusi said that the work represents “the soul liberated from matter.”1
A photograph by Brancusi shows another, more mysterious view of Bird
in Space (1.2). Light from a source we cannot see cuts across the work and falls
in a sharp diamond shape on the wall behind. The sculpture casts a shadow so
strong it seems to have a dark twin. Before it, lies a broken, discarded work.
The photograph might make you think of the birth of a bird from its shell, or
of a perfected work of art arising from numerous failed attempts, or indeed of
a soul newly liberated from its material prison.
Brancusi took many photographs of his work, and through them we can
see how his sculptures lived in his imagination even after they were finished.
He photographed them in varying conditions of light, in multiple locations and
combinations, from close up and far away. With each photograph they seem
to reveal a different mood, the way people we know reveal different sides of
themselves over time.
Living with art, Brancusi’s photographs show us, is making art live by
letting it engage our attention, our imagination, our intelligence. Few of us, of
course, can live with art the way Brancusi did. Yet we can choose to seek out
encounters with art, to make it a matter for thought and enjoyment, and to
let it live in our imagination.

3
You probably live already with more art than you think you do. Very
likely the walls of your home are decorated with posters, photographs, or even
paintings you chose because you find them beautiful or meaningful. Walking
around your community you probably pass by buildings that were designed for
visual appeal as well as to serve practical ends. If you ever pause for a moment
just to look at one of them, to take pleasure, for example, in its silhouette
against the sky, you have made the architect’s work live for a moment by
appreciating an effect that he or she prepared for you. We call such an experi-
ence an aesthetic experience. Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy concerned
with the feelings aroused in us by sensory experiences—experiences we have
through sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. Aesthetics concerns itself with
our responses to the natural world and to the world we make, especially the
world of art. What art is, how and why it affects us—these are some of the
issues that aesthetics addresses.
This book hopes to deepen your pleasure in the aesthetic experience
by broadening your understanding of one of the most basic and universal
of human activities, making art. Its subject is visual art, which is art that
addresses the sense of sight, as opposed to music or poetry, which are arts that
appeal to the ear. It focuses on the Western tradition, by which we mean art
as it has been understood and practiced in Europe and in cultures with their
roots in European thought, such as the United States. But it also reaches back
to consider works created well before Western ideas about art were in place
and across to other cultures that have very different traditions of art.

The Impulse for Art


No society that we know of, for as far back in human history as we have been
able to penetrate, has lived without some form of art. The impulse to make and
respond to art appears to be as deeply ingrained in us as the ability to learn
language, part of what sets us apart as humans. Where does the urge to make
art come from? What purposes does it serve? For answers, we might begin by
looking at some of the oldest works yet discovered, images and artifacts dating
from the Stone Age, near the beginning of the human experience.
Named for one of the explorers who discovered it in 1994, the Chauvet
cave is one of hundreds of caves in Europe whose walls are decorated with
images created during the Upper Paleolithic era, the latter part of the Old
Stone Age (1.3). A number of these caves were already known when the mar-
vels of Chauvet came to light, but the Chauvet cave created a sensation when
radiocarbon dating confirmed that at least some of the images on its walls had
been painted 32,000 years ago, thousands of years earlier than their accom-
plished style suggested.
The galleries and chambers of Chauvet teem with over three hundred
depictions of animals—lions, mammoths, rhinoceroses, cave bears, horses,
reindeer, red deer, aurochs, musk-oxen, bison, and others—as well as palm
prints and stenciled silhouettes of human hands. Evidence from this and other
Paleolithic sites tells us something of how the paintings were made. Charcoal,
naturally tinted red and yellow clays (ochres), and a black mineral called man-
ganese dioxide served as pigments. They were ground to a powder with stone
mortars, then mixed with a liquid that bound them into paint—blood, animal
fat, and calcium-rich cave water were some of the binders used. Paint was
applied to the cave walls with fingers and animal-hair brushes, or sprayed
from the mouth or through a hollow reed. Some images were engraved, or
scratched, into the rock; others were drawn with a chunk of rock or charcoal
held like a pencil. Deep in the interior of the caves, far from any natural
light or living areas, the images would have been created and viewed by the
flickering light of torches, or of stone lamps that may have burned animal fat
using moss wicks.

4 • LIVING WITH ART


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the other; but they stand well-breathed on the summit, while their
comrades are panting at the halfway station. One must not swerve to
the right or left, but, setting his face toward duty, like Marcus Curtius
who rode to death in the Roman Forum, he must push forward, with
an honest ambition to reach the goal of success. It is not always the
boy of aristocratic birth, wealthy parentage or social standing that
wins the world’s laurels, but usually those boys who are
unfortunately situated, who hew their way in the world instead of
having it laid out and smoothed for them.
One of our Presidents, when asked what was his coat-of-arms,
remembering that he had been a chopper of wood in his youth,
replied, “A pair of shirt-sleeves.” Lord Tenterden was proud to point
out to his son the shop in which his father had shaved for a penny. A
French doctor once taunted Flechier, bishop of Nimes, who had been
a tallow-chandler in his youth, with the meanness of his origin, to
which Flechier replied, “If you had been born in the same condition
that I was, you would still have been a maker of candles.”
Where is the boy with nobility of soul and purpose, who, though
poor, is not tidy; who, being of humble origin, is not industrious;
who, ridiculed by others, is not kind; and who, cramped by
circumstances, is not heroic? That boy will rise to honor and fill an
important place in life. He, like other boys of this country, may be a
star rather than a flashing meteor in the realm of society.

ASPIRING BOYS.

From a farm to the Presidential chair seems a long distance, but


Abraham Lincoln traveled it, and left behind him a name and
reputation never to die. Andrew Johnson began life as a tailor and
subsequently rose to be the chief officer of the nation. George
Peabody was an apprentice in a country store, and ended as a
millionaire philanthropist. Cyrus W. Field was in early life a clerk,
but the world is indebted to him for the successful completion of the
Atlantic cable. Samuel F. B. Morse, from an artist, became the
inventor of the electric telegraph. Charles Dickens, the great novelist,
began life as a newspaper reporter. Levi P. Morton was a clerk, John
Wanamaker a messenger-boy, Lyman J. Gage a night-watchman and
James Whitcomb Riley a wandering sign-painter. The record,
instead of being in the tens, could be increased to thousands of
statesmen, governors, generals, business and professional men who
have risen from the farm, the shop, the store, to important offices
within the nation’s gift. There is no reason why a boy cannot make
his way in the world. He may not be President, or banker, or lawyer,
but he can fill an honorable position. He may be a master mechanic,
a model business man, a useful educator, if he is willing to begin at
the lowest round in the ladder, namely, neatness.
Boys are men of a smaller growth, and if they fail to cultivate self-
respect, it means the blighting of manhood, the ostracism of society,
and the closing of the gate of opportunities to success. Self-respect is
a robe with which every boy should clothe himself. It lies at the root
of all virtues. It begets a stability of character, is the sentinel of the
soul as the eyelid of the eye, and the corner-stone of all virtues.

NEATNESS SHOWS ITSELF BY CLEANLINESS.

There is no need in this day and country for a boy to go around


with dirty face and hands. It is injurious to health, unbecoming and
repulsive to any self-respecting person. On the other hand from
“The body’s purity, the mind
Receives a secret, sympathetic aid.”

When Isaac Hopper, the Quaker, met a boy with dirty face or
hands, he would stop him, and inquire if he ever studied chemistry.
The boy, with a wondering stare, would answer, “No.” “Well then, I
will teach thee how to perform a curious chemical experiment. Go
home, take a piece of soap, put it in water, and rub briskly on thy
hands and face. Thou hast no idea what a beautiful froth it will make,
and how much whiter thy skin will be. That’s a chemical experiment;
I advise thee to try it.” There is great virtue in soap and water
vigorously applied, which doubtless gave rise to the old adage,
“Cleanliness is next to godliness,” for virtue never dwells long with
filth. An eminent man said, “I believe there never was a person
scrupulously attentive to cleanliness who was a consummate villain.”
The singing birds are remarkable for the neatness and cleanliness
of their plumage. The gay and cheerful animals of the fields avoid
filth, and are usually of a clean appearance. The beauty and fragrance
of the flowers owe all to this characteristic, and so also does the boy
who is bright, intelligent, moral and ambitious. You will not find his
finger nails long, but carefully trimmed and devoid of dirt, his ears
and neck will be spotless, and his teeth clean and white like “drops of
snow in banks of pretty pink roses.”

NEATNESS IN DRESS.

Self-respect will also show itself in neatness of dress. “It has,” says
Barrington, “a moral effect upon the conduct of mankind. Let any
gentleman find himself with dirty boots, soiled neck-cloth, and a
general negligence of dress, he will, in all probability, find a
corresponding disposition by negligence of address.” To be tidy does
not mean to have costly attire. It is no mark of neatness for a boy to
deck his fingers with rings, to sport a gold-headed cane, to wear
flashy neck-wear, to have a bouquet of flowers on the lapel of his
coat, for while these are not unbecoming in themselves, they give the
impression of that sin which overthrew the angels, pride.
Dean Swift was an enemy of extravagance in dress, and
particularly of that destructive ostentation in the middle classes,
which led them to make an appearance above their condition in life.
Of his mode of reproving this folly in those persons for whom he had
an esteem, the following instance has been recorded:
When George Faulkner, the printer, returned from London, where
he had been soliciting subscriptions for his edition of the Dean’s
works, he went to pay his respects to him, dressed in a lace waistcoat,
a big wig and other fopperies. Swift received him with the same
ceremonies as if he had been a stranger. “And pray, sir,” said he,
“what can be your commands with me?” “I thought it was my duty,
sir,” replied George, “to wait on you immediately on my arrival from
London.” “Pray, sir, who are you?” “George Faulkner, the printer,
sir.” “You, George the printer! why, you are the most impudent
barefaced scoundrel of an impostor I have ever met! George Faulkner
is a plain sober citizen, and would never trick himself out in lace and
other fopperies. Get you gone, you rascal, I will immediately send
you to the house of correction.” Away went George as fast as he
could, and having changed his dress he returned to the deanery,
where he was received with the greatest cordiality. “My friend
George,” said the Dean, “I am glad to see you returned safe from
London. Why, there has been an impudent fellow just with me
dressed in lace waistcoat, and he would fain pass himself off for you,
but I soon sent him away with a flea in his ear.”
Dress is certainly an index to the mind. It shows the spirit and
internal quality of the soul, and “there cannot be a more evident
gross manifestation of a poor, degenerate breeding, than a rude,
unpolished, disordered and slovenly outside.” The boy that does not
polish his shoes, comb his hair, brush his clothes, is in all probability
morally affected. To consider such things matters of small
importance is a grave mistake, for they often prove to be hinges on
which the doors of opportunity swing.

THE BOY’S RECOMMENDATION.

Said a friend to a business man on coming into the office, “I should


like to know on what ground you selected that boy, who had not a
single recommendation.” “You are mistaken,” said the gentleman,
“he had a great many. He wiped his feet when he came in and closed
the door after him, showing that he was careful; he gave his seat
instantly to that lame old man, showing that he was thoughtful; he
took off his cap when he came in, and answered my questions
promptly, showing that he was gentlemanly; he waited quietly for his
turn, instead of pushing and crowding, showing that he was
honorable and orderly. When I talked to him I noticed that his
clothes were brushed, his hair in order, and when he wrote his name,
I noticed that his finger-nails were clean. Don’t you call those things
letters of recommendation? I do, and I would give more for what I
can tell about a boy by using my eyes ten minutes than all the letters
he can bring me.”
Be neat and clean in appearance, and not less so in habit. At home
never throw your hat in one chair and your coat in another. Have a
place for everything and put everything in its place. In school or at
work let the same principle govern you, for “what is worth doing is
worth doing well.” The boys now wanted are
“Boys of neatness, boys of will,
Boys of muscle, brain and power,
For to cope with anything
These are wanted every hour.”
CHAPTER II
Be Polite

INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER II

By Adolph Sutro.
Conduct is three-fourths of life.—Matthew Arnold.

Character makes the man; character and politeness mark the perfect
man. The first is the diamond in the rough; the second the cut stone.
The former may attract the attention of a few, the latter discloses
hidden beauties and compels the admiration of all.
The “grand old name of gentleman” can only belong to him who
unites the qualities of gentleness and manliness, and politeness is
essentially gentleness.
The exercise of politeness benefits all, chiefly him who practises it,
and this is a sure road to success.
CHAPTER II
Be Polite.

William of Wickham, Bishop of Winchester, and founder of


Winchester and of New College, Oxford, was so convinced of the
value of manners that he had the phrase “Manners Make a Man,”
inscribed in several places upon the walls of those structures. “Good
manners,” said Emerson, “are made up of petty sacrifices.” Pleasant
expression and action, pleasing exterior and true kindness are gentle
delights which win the esteem of others and often contribute to one’s
advancement more than real merit. Coarseness and gruffness, loose
habits and “don’t-care” manners, never fail to lock doors and close
hearts. “You had better,” wrote Chesterfield to his son, “return a
dropped fan genteelly, than give a thousand pounds awkwardly;
better refuse a favor gracefully than grant it clumsily. All your Greek
can never advance you from secretary to envoy, or from envoy to
ambassador; but your address, your air, your manners, if good, may.”
These will give, as Emerson says, “The mastery of palaces and
fortunes wherever one goes without the trouble of earning or owning
them.”
Cultivation of politeness is like putting the finishing touch upon
the picture, it sets one off to the best advantage. Like a flower bed
encircling the lawn, it beautifies character. Like a lamp in a dark
room, it makes one’s presence cheerful. Nothing has greater
influence, and as Matthew Arnold said, “It is three-fourths of life.” As
honey on the skin is a protection from the sting of the bee, so
politeness will be a safeguard from the stings of the world. Doors will
open at its knock. Sunbeams will sparkle in its presence, and
everywhere, with everyone, it will act as a magic passport.

DEFINITION OF POLITENESS.

Politeness has been defined in various ways, but all meet at the
same point, like the spokes of a wheel which center in the hub. “It is
the art of showing, by external signs, the internal regard we have for
others.” “It is,” said Lord Chatham, “benevolence in little things,” as
the giving others the preference in every enjoyment at the table,
walking, sitting or standing. “It is a willingness to please and to be
pleased.” “It consists in treating others just as you love to be treated
yourself.” Henry IV, King of France, was once taken to task for
returning the salute of a poor man as he was passing through a
village. He replied, “Would you have your king exceeded in
politeness by one of his meanest subjects?” Because Nicholas I, Czar
of Russia, saw an officer of his household treat an old beggar woman
discourteously, he summoned him to his imperial presence. The
official was quite pleased. Nicholas soon undeceived him, and in the
presence of a dozen courtiers cut him to the quick with his indignant
reproof. “Enough!” he said, finally, “you will walk up and down that
corridor all night, and every time you turn you will say, in a loud
voice, ‘I am a puppy! I am a puppy!’”
“I treat him as well as he treats me,” said a boy to his mother. She
had just reproved him because he did not attempt to amuse or
entertain a boy friend who had gone home. “I often go in there and
he doesn’t notice me,” said the boy. “Do you enjoy that?” asked the
mother. “O! I don’t mind, I don’t stay long,” was the reply. “I should
call myself a very selfish person,” remarked the mother, “if friends
came to see me and I should pay no more attention to them.” “Well,
that’s different, you’re grown up,” answered the son. “Indeed!”
replied the mother, “then you really think that politeness and
courtesy are not needed among boys?” The boy thus pressed, said he
didn’t mean exactly that. His father, having overheard the
conversation, turned to him and said: “A boy or a man who measures
his treatment of others by their treatment of him, has no character of
his own. He will never be kind or generous. If he is ever to be a
gentleman, he will be so in spite of the boorishness of others. If he is
to be noble, no other boy’s meanness will change his nature.
Remember this, my son, you lower yourself every time you are guilty
of an unworthy action because someone else is. Be true to your best
self, and no boy can drag you down, nor will he want to.”
Years ago, when Queen Victoria began her reign, the famous Lord
John Russell was the minister in attendance upon her majesty at her
Scottish home. There came late one evening a messenger—a little old
man buried in a greatcoat—to the Aboyne telegraph office, and
delivered to the clerk a message from Lord John Russell to one of the
officials of the government in London. The message did not bear a
signature. On seeing this, the ill-mannered clerk flung it back to the
old man, and said, “Put your name to it; it’s a pity your master
doesn’t know how to send a telegram.” The name was added and the
message handed back. “Why, you can’t write either,” cried the
enraged clerk, after vainly trying to make out the signature; “here, let
me do it for you. What’s your name?” “My name,” said the little old
man, very deliberately, “is John Russell.” Through his impoliteness
that clerk lost his position.

POLITENESS A BADGE OF TRUE GENTILITY.

In some European countries the word gentleman stands for a titled


or wealthy man. When Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema was knighted a
lady expressed herself to his lordship thus: “O, dear Sir Lawrence, I
am awfully glad to hear of the honor you have received; I suppose
now that you have been knighted you’ll give up painting pictures and
live like a gentleman.” Many are they who have this idea of
gentlemanship. But in our land the real gentleman stands for such
personal qualities as honesty, truthfulness, gentleness and
gracefulness which characterize a boy or man. Such a gentleman
subjects his appetite, refines his taste, subdues his feelings and
controls his speech. When accidentally running against or passing
before another, it will be, “I beg your pardon.” “Please excuse me.”
When receiving a gift or extending a favor, it will be, “I thank you.”
Some boys are not careful in their expressions. “Sir,” said Doctor
Johnson, “A man has no more right to say a rude thing to another
than to knock him down.” A young man once accosted Zachariah
Fox, a Quaker, a rich merchant of Liverpool, with “Old chap, how do
you make all your money?” The Quaker replied, “By dealing in an
article that thou may’st deal in if thou wilt—civility.”
Monroe was so polite that he was called “A Gentleman of the Old
School.” Henry Clay was said to make the most engaging bow of any
gentleman of his day. Madison made it a point to touch his hat to
everyone who bowed to him, and the front part of it was always worn
threadbare in consequence of his lifting it. William Penn’s formal but
kindly politeness impressed even the Indians with whom he dealt, so
that they named him: “The Good-Big Chief.” James Russell Lowell
was as courteous to a beggar as to a lord, and was once observed
holding a long conversation in Italian with an organ-grinder whom
he questioned about scenes in Italy with which both were familiar.
“You should not have returned their salute,” said the master of
ceremonies, when Clement XIV bowed to the ambassadors who had
bowed in congratulating him on his election. “Oh, I beg your
pardon,” replied Clement, “I have not been pope long enough to
forget good manners.”
A number of years ago a company of workmen was standing before
a store in Oxford street, London, looking at some pictures. The
Honorable William E. Gladstone, who was then at the height of his
popularity, halted a moment to look at the artist’s work. One of the
workmen recognized him and stepping up, said, “Excuse me, Mr.
Gladstone, but I should like to shake hands with you.” “Why, of
course, I shall be glad to do so,” the Premier of England responded,
as he extended his hand not only to the man who had accosted him
but also to the little group of men who stood near, taking no notice of
soiled hands or garments. Then he directed their attention to a fine
engraving in the window, quietly pointing out not only its beauty, but
some special feature in its execution that constituted its charm. Then
raising his hat with a smile he bade the men “Good morning,” and
passed on his way up the street. No wonder that in later years his
fellow-countrymen called him “The Grand Old Man,” “The People’s
William.” He was a gentleman, exhibiting a lovely spirit of true
friendship and absolute equality.

POLITENESS SHOULD BE FIRST PRACTISED AT HOME.

What one is in the home is a fair criterion as to what he will be


away from home. The manner in which a person conducts himself in
the home determines largely his course and conduct in life. He who
is polite and kind to his parents, considering their wishes, and
heeding their advice and counsel, paves the way to future happiness
and success. But he who spurns paternal suggestions, speaks and
acts disrespectfully, is seldom respected and is always at a
disadvantage. When Prince Bismarck was a boy, he was rebuked by
his father for speaking of the King as Fritz. “Learn to speak
reverently of his Majesty,” said the old squire of Varzin, “and you will
grow accustomed to think of him with veneration.” Bismarck laid the
advice to heart and from that day profited by it.
The truly polite boy is not only respectful to his parents but also to
his sisters and brothers, always returning a pleasant “Thank you” for
any kindness received at their hands, and showing as much courtesy
to all at home as to those in the home of a neighbor. “A beautiful
form,” says an American essayist, “is better than a beautiful face, and
a beautiful behavior is better than a beautiful form; it gives a higher
pleasure than statues or pictures; it is the finest of the fine arts,” it
gives grace to one’s bearing and enables one to look on the bright and
beautiful side of things.

POLITENESS SHOULD BE ACCORDED ALL.

Politeness is a universal debt that each boy owes to every person.


The matter of caste, sex, position and intelligence have nothing
whatever to do with it. It should be the rule of conduct wherever and
in whatever society one may be, to practise politeness.
Charles V was renowned for his courtesy. When he passed John
Frederick, Elector of Saxony, he took off his hat and bowed to him,
though his prisoner, who had been taken by him in battle. The poet
Burns was one day walking in the street of Edinburgh when an
honest farmer saluted him, which salute he returned, when some one
rebuked him. Mr. Burns replied that it was not the greatcoat, the
scone bonnet or the saunders boot-hose that he spoke to, but the
man that was in them. Daniel Webster was once walking with a
friend in Washington when a colored man passing by bowed very low
to him. Mr. Webster promptly returned as deep an obeisance. “Do
you bow in that way to a darky?” asked his friend. “Would you have
me outdone in politeness by a negro?” replied the great statesman.

WHAT POLITENESS DID.

Mr. Winans, of Philadelphia, became independently rich through


his courteous manner. One day two strangers called on him. One was
a foreigner who had visited some larger establishments in the city,
but on their coming to Mr. Winans’, a third or fourth rate factory, he
took so much pains to show all its parts and workings, and was so
patient in his explanations and answers to their inquiries, that within
a year he was surprised by an invitation to transfer his labors to St.
Petersburg and manufacture locomotives for the Czar of Russia, He
went, accumulated a large fortune, and ultimately received from his
Russian workshops a hundred thousand dollars a year. Investing his
money in real estate he laid the foundation of one of the largest
private fortunes in Philadelphia; and all this was the result of civility.
It pays to cultivate politeness. To this day the Japanese people
revere the memory of General Grant. While visiting the emperor, he
was invited to cross the imperial foot bridge near the palace at
Tokyo, across which none but the blood royal had ever trod. General
Grant accepted the invitation and walked beside the Mikado until
they reached the center of the bridge. Then he stopped, profoundly
saluted the emperor, and said: “Your majesty, I have come so far to
show you that I was not insensible to the honor you would do me, but
I cannot violate your traditions. Let us return the way we came.”
Politeness serves one well. It is keener than sharpened steel. It is
more magnetic than loadstone and worth more than jewels. At home
or abroad, among young and aged, employers or teachers, inferiors
or superiors, this glorious characteristic is a diadem from which
sparkles a jewel, which is, as Chesterfield said: “The treatment of
others just as you love to be treated yourself.” In the words of One
greater than he, it is, “Do unto others as ye would they should do
unto you.” All other things being equal, the boy who adheres to these
mottoes is the one who succeeds. It makes him an acceptable
companion, wins friendship and creates popularity. “Give a poor boy
fine manners and accomplishments,” said Voltaire, “and he will
become the master of fortunes and palaces, while princes stand upon
their threshold to solicit his friendship.” Charles II. is described by
Macaulay as being “the grandest rascal and most popular man in
England.” Hume in giving the reason of this says, “He was the best
bred man alive.”
“What thou wilt,
Thou must rather enforce it with thy smile,
Than hew to it with thy sword.”
CHAPTER III
Be Truthful

INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER III

By Joshua Levering
Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side.
—Lowell.

It is related of Cyrus, that when asked what was the first thing he
learned, he replied, “To tell the truth.” Truthfulness is the foundation
stone of character. Without it, a life, as it is developed, becomes more
and more marred and falls short of its highest opportunity and
calling. All qualifications that go to make up noble manhood count
for naught, where there is not a persistent adherence to truthfulness.
Therefore be true to yourself and the nobler impulses and yearnings
of your heart by always speaking the truth, acting the truth, and
living the truth.
CHAPTER III
Be Truthful

While a vessel was crossing the English Channel, a gentleman stood


near the helmsman. It was a calm pleasant evening, and no one
expected a storm. The flapping of a sail as if the wind had suddenly
shifted, caught the ear of the officer on watch, and springing to the
wheel, he examined the compass. “You are half a point off the
course,” he sharply said to the man at the wheel. The deviation was
corrected, and the officer returned to his post. “It must be necessary
to steer very accurately,” said the observer, “if half a point is of so
much importance.” “Ah!” remarked the officer, “a half a point, sir, is
liable to bring us directly on the rocks.” What a lesson for every boy.
The half a point deviation from strict truthfulness strands one on the
rocks of falsehood.

WHAT IS A LIE?

The shortest definition of a lie is, “The intention to deceive.” It may


not be telling an out-and-out falsehood to conceal a crime, or to
shield one’s self, but telling it to mislead or deceive others. “The
essence of the thing,” said Dewey, “lies in the intention,” and if the
intention is to mislead, such, as Immanuel Kant says, “is forfeiture of
personal worth, a destruction of personal integrity.” As he contends,
“a lie is the abandonment, or, as it were, the annihilation of the
dignity of man.” It will undermine the noble instincts of any boy and
cause his character to collapse.

TELL THE TRUTH.

A story of Abraham Lincoln shows his love for truth. It was a


bright autumn evening, when Abraham, a great awkward boy of
sixteen or seventeen said to his mother, “I’m going to the woods to-
morrow. I’ve got a good job at Laird’s and as I shall be obliged to
start by day-break, I thought there might be some chores you wished
to have done.” “You are a good boy, Abram, always thinking of
helping me,” said his step-mother. “If I was your own mother you
could not be more kind, and God will reward you sometime. To-
morrow, I am going to wash, and I would be very thankful if you
would bring me a few buckets of water from the spring.” Back and
forth the tall boy hurried, until all the tubs and kettles about the
cabin were filled. Early next morning, when Abraham was ready to
start for the place where the rails were to be split, his little sister
Sally said, “Can’t I go, Abram?” “Just as mother says,” replied he,
pausing to give the little girl an opportunity to consult her mother.
The mother would not consent. No sooner had Abram started than
she determined to follow him, and at once cut across the field
intending to reach the ravine before him and give him a genuine
surprise by jumping out unannounced in the path as he came up. She
carried out her plan successfully, and when she heard his merry
whistle in the distance she climbed upon the bank to be ready to
make the spring for his shoulders when the proper moment arrived.
But the poor child had forgotten all about the sharp axe which he
carried, and although she gained her coveted seat on his broad
shoulders, her little bare foot received a gash from the cruel axe,
which changed her merry laugh into a bitter cry. “Why, Sally! How
did you get here?” was all the boy could say as he placed her tenderly
on the bank and began an examination of the wounded foot. Finding
it to be a deep cut, he gathered some broad plantain leaves which
grew near, and by their aid soon succeeded in staunching the flow of
blood. This accomplished, he tore the sleeve from his shirt, and in his
clumsy way bandaged the injured foot. Carrying her home, he learnt
the story of her disobedience. She would have been willing to evade
the truth in order to screen herself from her mother’s displeasure,
but honest, truthful Abraham would not permit this. “Tell the truth,
Sally, no matter what the consequences may be,” he insisted; “better
suffer punishment than lie about it. I don’t think mother will be hard
on you when she sees how sorely punished you are; but never tell a
lie to shield yourself, never.” Such was the course taken through life
by that boy who later became the honored President of these United
States.

WHITE AND BLACK LIES.


Much is said nowadays about degrees in lying. That is lying in a
small way. There is the so-called white lie of custom when a certain
article is slightly misrepresented to make a bargain; the white lie of
courtesy when one makes politeness the garb behind which he
deceives; the white lie of necessity, when one would evade the truth
by nodding the head, or giving a wrong impression. Some men, and
even great men, have maintained that this is sometimes a necessity,
but would it not be a fine moral precept to say, “You must speak the
truth generally, but you may utter a falsehood when it suits your
convenience?” Who ever licensed one thus? Justin Martyr said, “Is
life at stake? We would not live by telling a lie.” When Atillius
Regulus was a prisoner of the Carthaginians he was sent by that great
people to Rome with several ambassadors to arrange for peace, on
the understanding that if peace-terms were not agreed upon he was
to return to prison. He took the oath and swore to return. Arriving at
Rome he urged his countrymen to continue in war and not agree to
the exchange of prisoners. This meant to him the return to Carthage.
The senators and priests held that as his oath had been forced from
him he ought not to return. Then came the answer from Regulus
which has made him imperishable: “Have you resolved to dishonor
me? I am not ignorant that death and tortures are preparing for
me. But what are those to the shame of infamous action, or the
wounds of a guilty mind? Slave as I am to Carthage, I have still the
spirit of a Roman. I have sworn to return. It is my duty to return.
Let the gods take care of the rest.”
“One should never lie,” said Crispi, the great Italian statesman. “I
will not stain speech with a lie,” said Pindar. “The genuine lie is
hated by all gods and men,” said Plato. “That man has no fair glory,”
said Theognis, “in whose heart dwells a lie, and from whose mouth it
has once issued.” A lie is never justifiable, and to lie a little, is, as
Victor Hugo remarked, “not possible.” The person who lies tells the
whole lie, lying in the face of the fiend, and “Satan has two names,
Satan and lying.” Therefore
“Let falsehood be a stranger to thy lips;
Shame on the policy that first began
To tamper with the heart to hide its thoughts!
And doubly shame on that inglorious tongue
That sold its honesty and told a lie.”
WHAT LYING DOES.

Nothing so corrupts early simplicity, quickly destroys the nobler


instincts, and depraves the heart as falsehood. If a boy will lie about
one thing, can he be trusted in anything? If he is branded as a liar,
what teacher will respect him, what business man will engage him,
and what court will accept his testimony? “I have seldom known
anyone,” said Paley, “who deserted truth in trifles, who could be
trusted in matters of importance.” Oliver Wendell Holmes said: “Sin
has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all.” It destroys
confidence, establishes false relations among men, blights the bloom
of life, and saps the vital springs of existence. It is the progenitor of
all wrongs, oppressions, cruelties and crimes, and what boy is there
who dare do it when God prohibits it?

WHAT LYING BRINGS.

Like begets like, thus lies beget lies. Said Owen, “One lie must be
thatched over with another, or it will soon rain through.” Lying
brings misery. It troubles the conscience, destroys the peace of mind
and makes one suspicious of others. Because of this, Eugene Field,
when a young man, walked thirty miles to confess to his employer
and to ask forgiveness for an untruth he had told him. Lying brings
punishment, for “lying lips are an abomination unto the Lord.”
Because of this Elisha’s servant was struck with leprosy, Ananias and
Sapphira with death, and many others have had the seal of God’s
wrath placed upon them.
One day, as Archbishop Leighton was going from Glasgow to
Dumblane, a storm of lightning and thunder burst upon him. He was
observed, when at a considerable distance, by two men of bad
character. They had not the courage to rob him; but, wishing to
extort money from him, one said, “I will lie down by the wayside as if
I were dead, and you shall inform the archbishop that I was killed by
the lightning and beg money of him to bury me.” When the
Archbishop arrived, the wicked wretch told the fabricated story. The
Archbishop sympathized with the pretended survivor, gave him
money, and proceeded on his journey. But when the man returned to
his companion, he found him really lifeless. Immediately he began to
cry aloud: “Oh, Sir! he’s dead! Oh, Sir, he’s dead!” On this the
Archbishop discovered the fraud and turning to the living man said,
“It is a dangerous thing to trifle with the judgment of God.” How
much better and safer to speak the truth, for
“There is nothing so kingly as kindness,
And nothing so royal as truth.”

Truthfulness is the foundation of character. It is the basis of true


manhood. Its spirit pervades the closest relation and highest
intercourse, its law holds the planets in their course, and it is the
presiding principle of every true and noble life. A greater tribute
could not be paid to anyone than “his word is as good as his bond.”
No more worthy epitaph or eloquent remark could be uttered of
Colonel Huchurin, than when a friend, attesting the simplicity and
nobility of him, said: “He never professed the thing he intended not.”
No eulogy can surpass Xenocrates of Petrarch, who, standing before
an ecclesiastical tribunal where an oath had been required of others,
said, “As for you, Petrarch, your word is sufficient.”
An important conference was being held in the Executive Mansion
in Washington. A caller had sent in his card, but either the caller was
unwelcome or the time was quite unsuitable for his admission. One
of the persons turned to a servant and said, “Tell the person who sent
up the card that the President is not in.” “No,” said General Grant,
“tell him no such thing.” Then, turning to his friends, he remarked: “I
don’t lie myself, and I don’t want any of my servants to lie for me.”
A “Mental Photograph” book was once presented to Charles
Kingsley in which to write. One question was “What is your bête
noire?” “A lie,” he penned. In dedicating her delightful biography of
him his wife wrote:
“To the beloved memory
of
A righteous man

Who loved God and truth above all things.


A man of untarnished honor—
Loyal and chivalrous—gentle and strong—
Modest and humble—tender and true—
Pitiful to the weak—yearning after the erring—
Stern to all forms of wrong and oppression,
Yet most stern toward himself—
Who being angry yet sinned not.”

TRUTHFULNESS IS THE MOST HONORABLE AND SAFE


COURSE.

Truthfulness underlies all honest and faithful work, all social


confidence, all right fulfillment of relations and self-respect. It
regulates lives and improves and elevates those it characterizes. It is
one great secret of success in business, a magnet that draws
confidence and wields a power second to none in the universe. A
poor Persian boy was about to leave his mother’s home, to engage in
business in the city. Within the lining of his coat she sewed forty
golden dinars which she had saved during years of labor. Before the
boy started she cautioned him to beware of robbers as he went across
the desert, and as he left the home, she said: “Fear God, and never
tell a lie.” The boy started, and toward evening saw in the distance
the glittering minarets of the great city, but between the city and
himself he saw a cloud of dust. It came nearer. Presently he saw that
it was caused by a band of robbers. One of them approached him,
and unceremoniously inquired what valuables he had. The boy
answered with candor: “Forty golden dinars are sewed up in my
garments.” Discrediting the boy’s story he wheeled his horse around
and rode back to his companions. Soon another robber came and
said: “Boy, what have you got?” “Forty dinars sewed in my
garments,” he answered. The robber laughed and rode away. At last
the chief came and asked him what he had. The boy replied, “I have
already told two of your men that I have forty dinars sewed up in my
clothes.” The chief ordered his clothes torn open, and the money was
found. He was then asked what induced him to make such a
revelation. “Because,” said the boy, “I would not be false to my
mother, whom I solemnly promised never to tell a lie.” The robber
leaned upon his spear and after reflecting said, “Wait a moment.” He
mounted his horse and rode back to his comrades, but soon returned
dressed as a merchant. “Boy,” said he, “art thou so mindful of thy
mother, while I am insensible at my age of that duty I owe God? Give
me thy hand, that I may swear repentance on it.” He did so, and his
followers were struck with the scene. Said he, “I am a merchant. I
have a large business house in the city. I want you to come and live
with me to teach me about your God, and you will be rich, and your
mother some day shall come and live with us.” Then one of the
robbers turned to the chief and said, “You have been our leader in
guilt, be the same in the path of virtue.” And taking the boy’s hand,
they all promised to lead new lives.
Boys, speak only that which is true. You may do much good by it,
although you may never lead a band of robbers to God and honesty.
But—
“Nothing good shall ever perish,
Only the corrupt shall die;
Truth, which men and angels cherish,
Flourishes eternally.”

TRUTHFULNESS IS THE WINNING SIDE.

Good old Matthew Henry used to say, “Truth is mighty and will
prevail.” “Falsehood,” as one of the kings of Prussia said, “sometimes
does good for twenty-four hours, but like a battle well fought, right
comes off more than conqueror.” Falsehood is always defeated. It
shrinks at detection and in due time is compelled to confess. Truth is
sure and has a firm foundation because it is an attribute of God. And
“God and truth,” said Theodore Parker, “are always on the same
side.” Therefore
“Seize upon truth, where’er ’tis found,
Amongst your friends, amongst your foes,
On Christian or on heathen ground;
The flower’s divine where’er it grows.”

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