Page 1031 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

is the expression of an official in Pilate and of pity in
Christ, seeing that one is the incarnation of the fleshly and
the other of the spiritual life. All this and much more
flashed into Mihailov’s thoughts.

‘Yes, and how that figure is done—what atmosphere!
One can walk round it,’ said Golenishtchev, unmistakably
betraying by this remark that he did not approve of the
meaning and idea of the figure.
‘Yes, there’s a wonderful mastery!’ said Vronsky. ‘How
those figures in the background stand out! There you have
technique,’ he said, addressing Golenishtchev, alluding to a
conversation between them about Vronsky’s despair of
attaining this technique.
‘Yes, yes, marvelous!’ Golenishtchev and Anna
assented. In spite of the excited condition in which he
was, the sentence about technique had sent a pang to
Mihailov’s heart, and looking angrily at Vronsky he
suddenly scowled. He had often heard this word
technique, and was utterly unable to understand what was
understood by it. He knew that by this term was
understood a mechanical facility for painting or drawing,
entirely apart from its subject. He had noticed often that
even in actual praise technique was opposed to essential
quality, as though one could paint well something that was

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