The greatest repose possible is necessary in a portrait, as a suggestion of action tends to draw the attention of the observer to it, thus impeding the impression of the whole upon his mind. The leading portraitists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries never erred in this matter, unless we except a single work by Titian--the portrait group of Paul III. and the Cardinals Farnese, where the last named has just arrived and is apparently in the act of bowing before completing his final step; but even here it may be fairly argued that a moment of rest between two parts of the final action is to be presumed. It was not an uncommon practice of Van Dyck to pose a subject arrested in the act of walking, or with one foot on the lowest step of a stairway as if about to ascend; but in each of these instances the head is turned, and it is obvious that the motion is temporarily stayed.[a] A similar pose was sometimes adopted by British artists of the eighteenth century with conspicuous success. If a portrait figure be painted in the act of walking on level ground, the feet must be together even if the moment represented be that between two steps in the action, because it is contrary to all experience for a man to rest while so walking, with one foot in front of the other. In a general composition the representation of a man walking with the feet separated is permissible, because it is part of a general action, and accessory in its nature, but in a portrait the beginning and end of the action depicted are usually unknown, and hence any action must be meaningless and disturbing to the observer.[b] [a] See Earl of Pembroke, Wilton Coll., Countess of Devonshire, Chatsworth, and Philip le Roy, Wallace Coll., all in England. [b] See Chase's Master Roland, private Coll., N. Y.; and Manet's Boy with a Sword, Met. Museum, N. Y. The French and English artists of the eighteenth century followed the practice of their predecessors in avoiding the exhibition of movement in their portraits, but occasionally they departed from the rule. In his fine portrait of Mrs. Thomas Raikes, Romney shows the lady playing a harpsichord, with the fingers apparently in motion; and in his group of the Ladies Spencer, one of them is fingering a harp. The result in each case is a stiff attitude which detracts from the beauty of the work. Van Dyck managed such a design in a much better way, for in his portrait of his wife with a cello, she holds the bow distinctly at rest.[a] Titian also, when representing a man at an organ, shows his hands stayed, while turning his head.[b] Reynolds moved aside once from the custom in respect of action,[c] and Raeburn seems also to have erred only on a single occasion.[d] [a] Munich Gallery. [b] Venus and the Organ Player, Prado. [c] Viscountess Crosbie, Tennant Coll., London. [d] Dr. Nathaniel Spens, Royal Co. of Archers, Edinburgh. CHAPTER XI EXPRESSION. PART VI--MISCELLANEOUS