Light and Water. By Sir Montagu Pollock. (G. Bell and
Sons. 10s. 6d. net.)—Sir Montagu Pollock has given us a book which is clearly the outcome of many years of loving study of natural beauty. It is an excellent supplement to the well-known chapters of the first volume of "Modern Painters "in which Ruskin has discussed "The Truth of Water." The sub-title accurately describes it as "a study of refiexion and colour in river, lake and sea." The book is intended primarily for the use of the artist and art student, to give them "an elementary acquaintance from the scientific-side with the subject of the reflexions and colours seen in water," and it may be commended to all who believe that the true and full enjoyment of Nature is increased by a close examina- lion of her methods, and a comprehension in detail of the way in which she gets some of her most charming effects. The true artist, indeed, is always guided by his eye, and paints what he sees whether he understands it or not; but, just as he calls in anatomy to aid him in reproducing the curves of the human figure, so he may demand of other branches of science that they should help him to comprehend the principles underlying natural forms. Starting with the simple law of reflexion, that the incident ray goes off again at the same angle to the surface at which it arrived, Sir Montagu Pollock has laboriously traced the meaning of the remarkable reflexions and the changing colour so often to be seen in the surface of (1) still and (2) rippled water. He has illustrated his results with many delightful photographs and charming word-pictures, and his book is a valuable addition to the library of what may be called scientific aesthetics.
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