Indian Sculpture and Painting, Illustrated by Typical Masterpieces, with an Explanation of their Motives and Ideals c12.110

c12.110

The interest of the picture is not, however, in the figures, which, though good in movement, are very weak in drawing, but in the composition and chiaroscuro of the landscape. The night is calm and serene, lighted only by the stars and by the glow of the hunter's lantern which flashes on the bodies of the frightened deer, and throws into relief the rocky ground over which they are wildly running in their efforts to escape. The upper part of the picture is simply but beautifully composed, with a broad, winding river, a thick clump of trees, and the star-lit sky; the dark, heavy foliage massed against the sky, and the silver-grey reflection on the water. Some stunted shrubs and a suggestion of a mountain stream fill up the foreground. The picture is painted in a very low key, but the colour is luminous and full of atmosphere; there is a beautiful sentiment in the whole composition, like Mozart's music in its limpid flowing harmony.