His first efforts had been below mediocrity; his peasant eyes caught a clumsy, slovenly view of nature; his muddy, badly drawn, grimacing pictures, defied all criticism.
Ses premiers essais étaient restés au-dessous de la médiocrité; son oeil de paysan voyait gauchement et salement la nature; ses toiles, boueuses, mal bâties, grimaçantes, défiaient toute critique.