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in graphite: 52

heading in green ink: The Village of Becquigny

Rousseau set out to be a naturalist painter pure and simple, and Mr. Frick's most characteristic picture shows exactly how far he succeeded in realizing that aim. In this picture by Rousseau, ideas of formal composition, of delicate pattern-making, are ruthlessly repressed. The sky line cuts straight across the middle of the picture in a horizontal direction, while in a vertical direction the surface is bisected with equal formality by a straight road. It is viewed under an evening illumination which admits neither the tempestuous contrasts of Turner nor the romantic mystery of Corot. All is seen in a clear, almost merciless light, and what that light reveals to us is a straight street of ??, clumsy cottages, too trim[?] to even be picturesque,

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