Art Principles with Special Reference to Painting Together with Notes on the Illusions Produced by the Painter — Background and Themes

The Law of General Assent and Its Limits

Govett's central theoretical contribution is the 'Law of General Assent,' a criterion for aesthetic judgment that he claims survived scrutiny after his earlier publication. He presents it as a resolution to 'the apparent contradictions involved in the numerous suggested standards of art.' Yet the excerpts do not fully define this law; Govett acknowledges the book's incompleteness, noting that sections on illusions contain 'only a few suggestions and instances.' Readers should approach the law as a work-in-progress, not a settled formula. The preface suggests that Govett's ambition once extended to 'all the principles of painting,' but the final text is deliberately circumscribed. This tension between aspiration and limitation is itself a key feature of the work.

Illusions of Depth and Motion

Govett's most concrete analyses focus on how painters create spatial and kinetic illusions. He identifies Hobbema's method of placing 'strong sunlight from the back' as 'the only really first-class method' for near-ground depth, arguing that backlighting allows more 'signs' (trees, paths) to be used without obscuring the view. He contrasts this with Hobbema's earlier side-lit works, which were 'decidedly inferior.' For motion, Govett examines flowing water: a cascade over multiple ledges and rocks produces 'a series of progressive natural actions' that the eye can separate, generating an illusion of movement. He credits Everdingen and Jacob Ruysdael as pioneers in recognizing this principle. These passages are notable for their technical specificity and reliance on observable pictorial features.

A Candidly Incomplete Treatise

Throughout the excerpts, Govett repeatedly emphasizes the book's provisional nature. He describes it as 'put forward with much diffidence,' aware of its 'insufficiencies.' The war is cited as a principal obstacle, forcing him to 'curtail my ambition.' He even suggests that 'if one has something to say, it is better to say it incompletely than to run the risk of compulsory silence.' This self-deprecating frame is unusual in a theoretical work and shapes how readers should interpret the arguments. The notes, relegated to the end, are described as 'voluminous,' hinting at a larger evidentiary base not fully integrated into the main text. Govett's voice is that of a scholar who has spent 'many years' gathering materials but ultimately chose to publish a fragment rather than remain silent.

Govett's book rewards readers who attend to its technical passages rather than its overarching claims. The most valuable sections are those where he compares specific painterly strategies—Hobbema's backlighting versus side-lighting, or the segmentation of water flow—because these are grounded in observable works. The 'Law of General Assent' remains tantalizingly underdeveloped, but the illusion analyses offer concrete criteria for evaluating landscape painting. Approach the text as a collection of sharp observations embedded in an unfinished framework.

I sometimes think of Govett’s unfinished pages, that wartime honesty about gaps left unfilled, and then I wander over to The Bases of Design — Edition Insights, which feels like a patient friend picking up the dropped thread. Two quiet companions, each knowing the other’s struggle with incompletion, yet content in their shared, half-lit space.