which existed in the
scene. Those lines are what I considered the leading ones. Another
person might have thought other lines the leading ones, and his
representation might be equally true as far as it went; but which of
our representations went furthest would depend on our relative
degrees of knowledge and feeling about hills.

[12] Or the best photograph. The question of the exact relation of
value between photography and good topographical drawing, I hope to
examine in another place.

CHAPTER III.

OF TURNERIAN LIGHT.

Sec. 1. Having in the preceding chapter seen the grounds on which to
explain and justify Turner's _choice_ of facts, we proceed to examine
finally those modes of _representing_ them introduced by him;--modes so
utterly at variance with the received doctrines on the subject of art,
as to cause his works to be regarded with contempt, or severe blame, by
all reputed judges, at the period of their first appearance. And,
chiefly, I must confirm and farther illustrate the general statements
made respecting light and shade in the chapters on Truth of Tone,[13]
and on Infinity,[14] deduced from the great fact (Sec. 5. chapter on Truth
of Tone) that "nature surpasses us in power of obtaining light as much
as the sun surpasses white paper." I found that this part of the book
was not well understood, because people in general have no idea how much
the sun _does_ surpass white paper. In order to know this practically,
let the reader take a piece of pure white drawing-paper, and place it in
the position in which a drawing is usually seen. This is, properly,
upright (all drawings being supposed to be made on vertical planes), as
a picture is seen on a room wall. Also, the usual place in which
paintings or drawings are seen is at some distance from a window, with a
gentle side light falling upon them, front lights being unfavorable to
nearly all drawing. Therefore the highest light an artist can ordinarily
command for his work is that of white paint, or paper, under a gentle
side light.[15] But if we wished to get as much light as possible, and
to place the artist under the most favorable circumstances, we should
take the drawing near the window. Put therefore your white paper
upright, and take it to the window. Let _ac_, _cd_, be two sides of
your room, with a window at _bb_. Under ordinary circumstances your
picture would be hung at _e_, or in some such position on the wal