XVI
The first merit of a picture is to feast the eyes. I don’t mean that the intellectual element is not also necessary; it is as with fine poetry... all the intellect in the world won’t prevent it from being bad if it grates harshly on the ear. We talk of having an ear; so it is not every eye which is fitted to enjoy the subtleties of painting. Many people have a false eye or an indolent eye; they can see objects literally, but the exquisite is beyond them.
Delacroix.