III.

TRANSFIGURATION.

FOREWORD.

Madam Chairman and Ladies of the Club.

It seems to me that out of respect to yourselves, I am due you a few words of apology before attempting to read to you an article on this greatest of all paintings; for if there is one subject more than another, of which I know almost less than nothing, it is that of painting. But when I gave my name to your worthy secretary, as an applicant for membership to this Club, I promised to serve in this capacity whenever called upon; for I naturally supposed that I could always read up on any subject, and give you in a condensed form the views of those who do know; but imagine my surprise and disappointment, when on going to every bookstore in town and to several friends, I was unable to secure a line. Finally at our Public Library I found Stearns' Midsummer of Art, which I had in my possession about twenty minutes, during which time I made the notes from which you will see I have quoted very fully; also the words of Lyman Abott' which Mrs. Hale kindly read to me over the phone.

But I do know the precious Bible story, and perhaps by calling your attention to these pen pictures of the inspired writers, you will be able to catch a glimpse of the wonderful con

ception that Raphael has so beautifully immortalized in his own art. But if after all you regard my very best effort as a failure, I beg of you to at least respect my motto, which is that: "Not failure, but low aim, is crime."

Written by request of The El Paso Woman's Club, Nov. 8, 1910.

The Transfiguration.

If it be true that "man is the noblest work of God," there is in all history no scene to parallel in its transcendent glory that of the transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Hermon, in the presence of Peter, James and John the three disciples, who by their closer walk with, and greater love for, their divine Leader, were better prepared to appreciate the awe-inspiring scene, which was here revealed to them alone, and which so overwhelmed them with its grandeur that, strong men as they were, they fell on their faces to the ground, and were "sore afraid." It is said that visitors to the tomb of Napoleon are permitted to speak only in whispers; while travelers tell us that when for the first time in the presence of the towering Matterhorn, our own Grand Canon, and other scenes of like nature, they are so overcome with admiration and awe that they are simply appalled and speechless; but there are on record only two instances where this feeling of speechless joy and reverence remained throughout the coming years. The vision given to Paul of Paradise, which inspired and enabled him to bear greater trials than those ever voluntarily

borne by any other man, so powerfully affected him, that it was only after fourteen years, that he seems to have been able to speak of it at all, and then only in those few words in which he declares that the things which he saw and heard were unspeakable and not lawful for man to utter; and of the transfiguration, the only accounts given are couched in the fewest words possible. Peter and John make only one mention in their writings, of "the honor and glory" which as eye witnesses they beheld when with Jesus in the holy mount. Realizing this truth with all the intensity of his soul as only an artist can and must do, to hope to have the slightest claim to success, it is not surprising that Raphael only, by many considered the greatest artist of all time, has ever attempted to portray on canvas or in colors this scene, that savors not of the earth, but is altogether spiritual and heavenly.

This creation of Raphael, undertaken only after his hand and eye had been skilled in painting a great number of Madonnas, and what is known as his Bible, consisting of fifty-two scenes from this precious Book, is not only his greatest, but also his last work, and is said to have been painted on tavola, comprised of five pieces of wood between four and five inches thick, and that the wood is apparently of white poplar. It is thought by connoiseurs that this work comes as nearly being an inspiration as it is possible for a material portrayal of an immaterial theme to be. This spiritual conception is said to be symbolized by the mild radiance which is suffused about the Saviour's form, but

we are told in the few words of Scripture devoted to this sublime subject, that "the face of Jesus did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light," and as "no fuller on earth can white them."

Mr. Frank Preston Stearns says that Raphael has painted Christ not as a man, but as a spirit hovering in the air, and that the drawing of the drapery of Moses, with the tables of the law, and Elijah with the scroll of prophecy shows that they float in the air by a volition that can accomplish whatever it desires, and thinks that only an imagination trained in the science of truth could have done this. He says of the lower portion of this picture that it seems more studied and to have required more effort; that the faces are bright and interesting, and some of the attitudes, especially of the women in the foreground, are very fine; but there would seem to be rather too much elegance for such company, that a little strong realism would not be out of place here. He thinks it was well to give the epileptic boy a strong physique, for thus he appeals more strongly to our sympathy, but there is no reason why the grace of a St. Cecilia should have been wasted upon him; that the parti-colored effect of the draperies may have arisen from the necessity of bestowing all the chiaroscuro on the upper portion when an effect of distance was required without the perspective, so that only this device remained for separating the figures from one another; but he thinks it also corresponds with the idea of the perplexity occasioned by the disappearance of the Saviour. "It is well to state here, how

ever, that the heavy coloring was not the work of Raphael at all, but of Julio Romano, since this part of the picture was unfinished at Raphael's sudden death in 1520." To one unversed in art the great difficulty seems to be that the artist has attempted to portray as one scene a panoramic view, not only divided by great distance, but also in point of time, if not by the darkness of evening followed by the glare of the morning sunlight; because we are told that it was on the next day when they were come down from the mountain that the multitude were gathered about the afflicted boy, and the solitary figure in the left of the picture would seem to represent Jesus as seen alone after the bright cloud had lifted, for the scriptures say that suddenly when they had looked around, they saw no man but Jesus only, who came and touched them and said: "Arise, and be not afraid."

But it is safe to say that Raphael has given to the vision "all that genius, industry and earnest contemplation could give." Lyman Abbott says if it be true as critics say, that to tell a story is proof, not of a picture's merit, but rather the reverse, this great painting is open to criticism, for it certainly does tell a gloriously beautiful and fascinating story, one before which he stood spell-bound and the only one, the meaning of which he still retained; but he adds that it does not relate the facts as they ever did or could have happened, meaning, no doubt, that the glories of this scene transcended any powers of the imagination of man to depict.

There are said to be eight or nine exist