To tell the truth, when I first met Charles Strickland, I never noticed that there was anything unusual about this man, but today there are few people who do not recognize his greatness.I do not mean by greatness the greatness of the successful statesman or of the soldier who has done battle; Overshadowed.A retired prime minister is often found to have been nothing more than an orator;But the greatness of Charles Strickland was truly great.You may not like his art, but you can't help being interested in it anyway.His works make you restless and tighten your heartstrings.Gone are the days when Strickland was ridiculed and ridiculed, and it was no longer considered the eccentricity of some to defend him, or even to praise him.His flaws have become in the eyes of the world a necessary derivative of his virtues.His place in art history can go on for debate.Admirers' praise of him and detractors' slander of him may all be biased and willful, but one thing is indisputable, that is, he has genius.The most interesting thing in art, it seems to me, is the personality of the artist; and if the artist is endowed with a unique character, I can forgive him for a thousand faults.I expected Velázquez to be a better painter than El Greco, but seeing so much of him leaves us feeling a little dull in his paintings.But the Cretan painter's work has a sensual and tragic beauty, offering up the secrets of his soul as if as an eternal sacrifice.An artist—whether a painter, a poet, or a musician—decorates the world with his sublime or beautiful works, satisfying people's aesthetic consciousness, but this is not dissimilar to the human sexual instinct Every place has its rough and violent side.While dedicating his works to the world, the artist also presents his personal greatness before your eyes.Exploring the secrets of an artist has something of the fascination of reading a detective story.This mystery is very similar to nature, and the beauty is that it cannot find the answer.Strickland's most insignificant work gives you a vague glimpse of his strange, complex, tormented character; and it must be for this reason that those who dislike his paintings cannot be indifferent to him.It is also this that makes so many people full of curiosity and strong interest in his life and character.

It was not until four years after Strickland's death that Maurice Sherry wrote the article in the French Courier, saving the unknown painter from oblivion.This article of his was the first shot, and many writers who were timid to set a new standard followed in his footsteps.For a long time, no one in the French art critics has enjoyed a more indisputable authority than Xu Rui.It is impossible not to be impressed by the arguments advanced by Xurry, who seemed to have given Strickland a little too much praise, but the verdict of public opinion later confirmed the justice of his assessment; and Charles Sturt Rickland's reputation was unshakably established on the tone he set.Strickland's rise to fame is indeed one of the most romantic instances in the history of art.But I do not wish here to comment on the works of art of Charles Strickland, except in so far as they concern the character of the painter.I do not share the opinion of some painters who condescendingly believe that the layman does not understand painting at all, and that the best way for a layman to show his appreciation of art is to open his checkbook without saying a word.To be honest, it is a ridiculous misunderstanding to think of art as an artistic technique that only a skilled craftsman can fully understand.What is art?Art is the expression of emotion, and art uses a language that everyone can understand.But I also admit that art critics can seldom make comments of real value without a practical knowledge of technique; and I happen to be very ignorant about painting myself.Happily I need not run any risks in this respect, for my friend Mr. Edward Leggart, a master writer as well as an accomplished painter, has written a little book about Charles Si Trickland's work has been exhaustively explored; and the beauty of the book sets a model for us.It is a pity that this style of writing is far less fashionable in England today than it is in France.

Maurice Sherry sketches the life of Charles Strickland briefly in his famous essay;His passion for art was free from personal likes and dislikes, and the real purpose of his essay was to call the attention of thoughtful minds to a painter of singular genius.But Xu Rui is a veteran who is good at writing articles, and he will know that only articles that arouse readers' interest can more easily achieve their goals.Those who later came into contact with Strickland during his lifetime - some writers who had known him in London, some painters who had met him at the cafés of Montmartre - It was astonishing to discover that what they had seen at first as a failed painter, a painter who was no different from countless failed artists, turned out to be a real genius, and they missed it.From this time on, French and American magazines were flooded with articles of all sorts: this one a memory of Strickland, the other a review of his work.As a result, these articles added to Strickland's reputation and aroused, but failed to satisfy, readers' curiosity.The subject was so popular with readers that Weiterbrecht-Rothholz took the trouble to include a table of authoritative articles in one of his eloquent monographs.

It is human nature to create myths.If there is something surprising or puzzling in the lives of those who stand out, people cling to it hungrily, invent myths, and believe it with a verging on fanaticism.This can be said to be a protest of Romanticism against the ordinary and bleak life.Some small stories in the legend become the most reliable passport for the hero to lead to the realm of immortality.Sir Walter Raoley is forever cherished in people's memory because he spread his cloak on the ground for Queen Elizabeth to walk across, not because he brought the English name to many lands that were never discovered before. ; a cynical philosopher must laugh when he thinks of it.As for Charles Strickland, not many people knew him in his lifetime.He made many enemies, but few friends.No wonder, therefore, that those who wrote to him had to resort to a lively imagination to make up for the meager facts.It is clear that, though not much is known about Strickland's life, and enough Romantic men of letters have found plenty of perfunctory material in it, there were many grotesques in his life, and his There are many absurd and eccentric characters in his character, and there are many tragic and sad experiences in his fate.In time, out of this chain of events arose a myth, against which the wise historian would not rashly object.

The Reverend Robert Strickland was not such a sensible historian.He believes that there are many misunderstandings about his father's later life, and he publicly stated that he wrote this biography to "eliminate certain misunderstandings that have become circulated" and that these falsehoods have "caused great pain to the living".It was well known that the circulating anecdotes of Strickland's life contained much that would embarrass a respectable family.I couldn't help laughing when I read this biography, but I was also secretly glad that it was so boringly written.Pastor Strickland portrayed in his biography a considerate husband and a kind father, a gentleman with a kind character, a hard-working style and good conduct.Contemporary clergymen have learned an astonishing knack for dissimulation in the study of what is called biblical hermeneutics, but the Reverend Robert Strickland "explained" his father's career (these acts were Such ingenuity, which a dutiful son finds worth remembering, will surely lead him to eminence in the church when the time comes.I seem to have seen his muscular calf in the bishop's leather leggings.It was a dangerous, but perhaps brave, thing he did, for Strickland owes his fame in no small measure to a generally accepted legend.His art has so much fascination for many people, either because people hate his character or sympathize with his tragic death; while this biography of the son, which aims to cover up his father's shame, is not for his father's admirers. It's like pouring a basin of cold water on your head.Strickland's most important work, The Woman of Samaria, had been sold to a well-known collector nine months earlier.Due to the sudden death of the collector, the painting was auctioned again and was bought by Christie.It was evidently no coincidence that the sale, which took place at a time when the Vicar Strickland's biography was being published and was being discussed, was £235 lower than it had been nine months earlier for the famous painting.Strickland's personal authority and uniqueness would probably have been powerless to salvage the situation had it not been for the people's fondness for mythology, which made them sneer at a story that so disappointed their curiosity.As it happens, it didn't take long for Dr. Weitbrecht-Rothholz's article to appear, and the doubts and unease of art lovers were finally dispelled.

The historical school to which Dr. Weitbrecht-Rotholz belongs not only believes that "human nature is inherently evil", but also believes that it is far worse than people imagine; The historians of this school will certainly give the reader more pleasure than those dispiriting writers who make romantic characters into virtuous gentlemen.For a reader like myself, I would be very sorry if the relationship between Antony and Cleopatra was written as a mere economic alliance; The same impeccable monarchy of King George V required far more evidence than was at hand (which thankfully appears to be hard to come by).Dr. Weitbrecht-Rothholz's remarks on the naive biography of the Reverend Robert Strickland can hardly be read without feeling sympathetic to the unfortunate clergyman.Wherever the pastor did not speak out in order to preserve his decency, he was attacked as hypocrisy, where he profusely articulated passages he flatly called lies, and where the author kept silent on certain matters was simply dismissed by Weitbrecht-Roth. Holz dismissed it as betrayal.These flaws in the work, from the point of view of a biographer, should of course be criticized, but as the son of the protagonist of the biographer, it is also excusable; unfortunately, even the Anglo-Saxon nation also suffered , criticized by Dr. Weiterbrecht-Rothholz as smug, intimidating, pretentious, cunning and deceitful, and cooks unappetizing dishes.Speaking of my own opinion, I do not think that the Reverend Strickland was careful enough to refute a well-worn account of certain "unpleasant" incidents between his parents.In his biography, he cites a letter from Paris written by Charles Strickland, saying that his father called his wife "a wonderful woman", while Weiterbrecht-Rotholz Copy the original letter; it turns out that the original text quoted by Pastor Strickland is this: "Let God punish my wife! This woman is so amazing, I really want to send her to hell." At the height of the church's power They do not treat unwelcome facts in this way.

Dr. Weitbrecht-Rothholz was an ardent admirer of Charles Strickland, and he would have been in no danger had he wished to embellish Strickland.But his eyes were sharp enough to see through the despicable motives underlying some acts of innocence.He is both an art researcher and a psycho-pathologist.He knows a person's subconscious like the back of his hand.No one who has searched for the secrets of the mind has seen deeper meanings through ordinary things as he has.People who explore the secrets of the mind can see things that cannot be expressed in words, but psychopathologists see things that cannot be expressed at all.We are amazed to see how eagerly this learned writer seeks out every detail that discredits this hero.Every time he cites an instance of cruelty or meanness and selfishness in his hero, his heart grows more sympathetic to him.When he found some forgotten anecdote of his hero to mock the filial piety of the Reverend Robert Strickland, he exulted like an Inquisitor judging a heretic.The seriousness and diligence with which he wrote this article is also really surprising.Not a little thing escaped his attention, and if Charles Strickland left a laundry bill unpaid, it would be recorded in detail; Not a single detail of this debt has been omitted; the reader may be assured of that.