第一章(2) It was not till four years after Strickland ' s death that Maurice Huret wrote that article in the Mercure de France which rescued the unknown painter from oblivion and blazed the trail which succeeding writers , with more or less docility , have followed .
For a long time no critic has enjoyed in France a more incontestable authority , and it was impossible not to be impressed by the claims he made ; they seemed extravagant ; but later judgments have confirmed his estimate , and the reputation of Charles Strickland is now firmly established on the lines which he laid down .
The rise of this reputation is one of the most romantic incidents in the history of art .
But I do not propose to deal with Charles Strickland ' s work except in so far as it touches upon his character .
I cannot agree with the painters who claim superciliously that the layman can understand nothing of painting , and that he can best show his appreciation of their works by silence and a cheque-book .
It is a grotesque misapprehension which sees in art no more than a craft comprehensible perfectly only to the craftsman : art is a manifestation of emotion , and emotion speaks a language that all may understand .
But I will allow that the critic who has not a practical knowledge of technique is seldom able to say anything on the subject of real value , and my ignorance of painting is extreme .
Fortunately , there is no need for me to risk the adventure , since my friend , Mr . Edward Leggatt , an able writer as well as an admirable painter , has exhaustively discussed Charles Strickland ' s work in a little book " A Modern Artist : Notes on the Work of Charles Strickland , " by Edward Leggatt , A . R . H . A . Martin Secker , 1917. which is a charming example of a style , for the most part , less happily cultivated in England than in France .
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