By some nearly unsearchable aesthetic rule of composition - the satisfying playfulness of perceptual relations - this would seem to be (to me) a perfect picture. We may imagine one who could move mountains (like a painter) choosing to put all of this together just as it is. The horizon, the reflecting "pool," the colorful shrubs in the foreground (almost a natural obligation for Horace), the balancing tree on the right, the delicate sky, the mystery of the creamy light on the distance shore - all of that too. We know from familiarity with 245 of Horace's slides that his gift for the picturesque had a lot to do with picking this subject. It may have been upset even ten yards to the left or right. While perfect this view is not sensational. That requires the stuff of spectacle, like a Matterhorn hanging high above it all, or a row of albino Cayugas flying north for the winter flying through it. Still we - or at least I - don't know where it is. (Click the Mouse TWICE to enlarge)
