METHOD FOR LEARNING

The closer the leaves of trees are to the ground, the larger and greener they are because they are better able to abundantly receive the sap that nourishes them. The branches higher up are the first to take on the russet or yellow color during the late season. This is not the same for plants with stems that renew every year, and whose leaves follow each other with a considerable time gap. The plant, being busy producing new ones to fill the stem as it rises, gradually abandons the lower ones, causing them to perish first. This effect is more noticeable in some plants than in others.

The underside of all leaves is a lighter green than the top and almost always has a silvery sheen. Thus, leaves agitated by strong winds can be distinguished from others by this color. But if observed from below, when penetrated by sunlight, their transparency appears so beautifully vivid that it is easily judged as unmatched by any other greens.

Among the elements that animate landscape paintings, the most essential are figures, animals, water, trees swayed by the wind, and the lightness of the brush.

Most of those who study landscapes from nature simply capture the general shape of trees and the main masses of light and shadow, finishing their designs later at home.

This superficial way of studying inevitably results in forming a style, namely a false habit different from nature, from which it is no longer possible to return once formed. One risks embellishing the...

Translation Notes:

- "maniere" is used in the context of forming a painting style or method.

- "sève" refers to sap, which is vital for leaf nourishment.

- "lumieres & d'ombres" refers to "lights and shadows," critical to capturing depth in art.