mere mechanical faculty paint anything if the lines of the subject were not revealed to him first. Besides, he saw that if it came to talking about technique, it was impossible to praise him for it. In all he had painted he saw faults that hurt his eyes, coming from want of care in taking off the veils - faults he could not correct now without spoiling the whole. And in almost all the figures and faces he saw, too, remnants of the veils not perfectly removed that spoiled the picture.

`One thing might be said, if you will allow me to make the remark...' observed Golenishchev.

`Oh, I shall be delighted, I beg of you to do so,' said Mikhailov with a forced smile.

`That is, you make Him the man-god, and not the God-man. But I know that was what you meant to do.'

`I cannot paint a Christ that is not in my heart,' said Mikhailov morosely.

`Yes; but in that case, if you will allow me to say what I think... Your picture is so fine that my observation cannot detract from it, and, besides, it is only my personal opinion. With you it is different. Your very motive is different. But let us take Ivanov. I imagine that if Christ is brought down to the level of an historical character, it would have been better for Ivanov to select some other historical subject, fresh, untouched.'

`But if this is the greatest subject presented to art?'

`If one looked one would find others. But the point is that art cannot suffer doubt and discussion. And before the picture of Ivanov the question arises for the believer and the unbeliever alike, ``Is it God, or is it not God?' and the unity of the impression is destroyed.'

`Why so? I think that, for educated people,' said Mikhailov, `the question cannot exist.'

Golenishchev did not agree with this, and confounded Mikhailov by his support of his first idea of the unity of the impression being essential to art.

Mikhailov was greatly perturbed, but he could say nothing in defense of his own idea.


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