The Painter's Solitary Life in the Studio
Work alone; recognizing true talent; against the painter of a single specialty
Continuing Part Two, this page argues that the painter should be solitary so that bodily comforts do not spoil the mind's speculations. Company halves one's concentration, for one cannot serve two masters; if company is wanted at all, it should be fellow students of the art. Further chapters teach how to recognize a youth truly disposed to painting — the untalented never finish their work with shadows — and warn that a painter who does only one thing well, such as a nude or a head, deserves little praise, since anyone can master a single narrow specialty.
On this page
The painter should be solitary; one cannot serve two masters
So that the body's prosperity may not spoil the mind's, the painter or draughtsman should be solitary, above all when intent on his speculations. Alone you are wholly your own; with one companion you are half your own; with several, worse. One cannot serve two masters, doing badly the office of companion and worse the work of art.
How to know the youth suited to painting
Many men have desire and love for drawing but no natural disposition, and this is recognized in children who work without diligence and never finish their things with shadows.
Against the painter of a single specialty
That painter is not praiseworthy who does well only one thing, such as a nude, a head, draperies, animals, or landscapes, for there is no mind so dull that, turning always to a single subject and keeping it in practice, does not do it well.