the first glance, before we have time
to apprehend its minor parts. The advocates of impressionism now claim
that it is the most reformatory movement in modern painting; it is
undeniably in full accord with the spirit of the time in putting aside
older methods and conventions and introducing a new manner of seeing and
representing Nature.

The differing phases of Painting in the nineteenth century have had their
effect upon that art as a whole. Each one has been important, not only in
the country of its special development, but in other lands, each
distinctive quality being modified by individual and national
characteristics.

* * * * *

In the early decades of the past century Sculpture was "classic" and
conventional rather than natural and sincere. A revolt against these
conditions produced such artists as Rodin, St. Gaudens, MacMonnies, and
many less famous men who have put life, spirit, and nature into their
art.

In Sculpture as in Painting many more subjects are treated than were
formerly thought suited to representation in marble and bronze, and a
large proportion of these recent _motifs_ demand a broad method of
treatment--a manner often called "unfinished" by those who approve only
the smooth polish of an antique Venus, and would limit sculpture to the
narrow class of subjects with which this smoothness harmonizes.

The best sculptors of the present treat the minor details of their
subjects in a sketchy, or, as some critics contend, in a rough imperfect
manner, while others find that this treatment of detail, combined with a
careful, comprehensive treatment of the important parts, emphasizes the
meaning and imparts strength to the whole, as no smoothness can do.

Although the highest possibilities in sculpture may not yet be reached,
it is animated with new spirit of life and nature. Nineteenth-century
aims and modes of expression have greatly enlarged its province. Like
Painting, Sculpture has become democratic. It glorifies Labor and all
that is comprised in the term "common, every-day life," while it also
commemorates noble and useful deeds with genuine sympathy and an
intelligent appreciation of the best to which humanity attains; at the
same time poetical fancies, myths, and legends are not neglected, but are
rendered with all possible delicacy and tenderness.

At present a great number of women are sculptors. The important
commissions which are given them in connecti