Excerpt from How to Enjoy Pictures<br><br>The pictures Specially selected as texts for study have been arranged, not according to the dates Of their pro duction nor according to schools Of art, but according to subject, as evident at the first glance.<br><br>Photographs direct from nature are not here considered at all. The pleasure we take in them is more akin to the interest we feel in our immediate, visible surroundings than to the interest feel (or may feel) in photographs from works of ar Through studying reproductions Of artists' paintings, we come into touch not Simply with the reflected images of real things such as we see in the world about us, but with the thoughts and feelings, the joys, hopes, and aspirations, of some Of the great men who have looked at the world and lived in it. If we can gradually learn to look with their clearer eyes and to see the beauty which delighted their more appreciative souls, our own world becomes larger and lovelier through that experience.<br><br>It is, Of course, idle to suppose that one can become a competent judge of art Simply through studying photographs and other prints. But it is not in the least necessary for most of us to become judges and critics. What is heartily to be desired is that we shall all learn a larger measure of appreciation. We should study great pictures as we study great books, not for the purpose Of being able to pass learned criticisms upon them, but for the purpose Of appropriating and enjoying our Share Of whatever they have to give us.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.