keeping
If Walton is truly using this word in a painterly sense, then the meaning
is unusual, centered on the concept of harmony or proportion, thus not at
all equivalent to the action of "maintaining" one would expect without
the attached caveat. Here are its painterly connotations as represented
by the Oxford English Dictionary:
a. In Painting. orig. The maintenance of the proper relation between
the representations of nearer and more distant objects in a picture;
hence, in more general sense, "the proper subserviency of tone and
colour in every part of a picture, so that the general effect is
harmonious to the eye" (Fairholt); the maintenance of harmony of
composition.
- 1715 J. Richardson The. Painting 224 The Composition is not to be
justifyed . . . the Groups are too Regularly placed, and without any
Keeping in the Whole, that is, they appear too near of an Equal Strength.
- 1762 Goldsm. Cit. W. lv, [Parodying art slang] `What do you
think, sir, of that head in the corner, done in the manner of Grisoni?
There's the true keeping in it.
- 1768 W. Gilpin Upon Prints 20 Keeping then proportions a proper
degree of strength to the near and distant parts, in respect to each other.
- 1780 Johnson Let. to Mrs. Thrale 1 May, There is contour, and
keeping, and grace, and expression, and all the varieties of artificial
excellence.
- 1792 Resid. France (1797) I. 87 Some mixture of splendour and
clumsiness, and a want of what the painters call keeping.
- 1809 Mar. Edgeworth Absentee x, In Lady Clonbrony's mind, as in
some bad paintings, there was no keeping; all objects, great and
small, were upon the same level.
- 1859 Gullick & Timbs Paint. 172 The keeping and repose in
this cartoon are inimitable.
b. generally. Agreement, congruity, harmony.
- 1819 Hazlitt Eng. Com. Writers vi. (1869) 153 There is the
exquisite keeping in the character of Blifil, and the want of it in that of
Tom Jones.
- 1870 Lowell Study Wind. 406 For wit, fancy, invention, and
keeping, it [the Rape of the Lock] has never been surpassed.
c. Phr. IN OR OUT OF KEEPING WITH -- in or out of keeping (within)
or out of keeping (with): in or out of harmony or agreement (with).
- C. 1790 Imison Sch. Art II. 59 In what respect it is out of
keeping; that is, what parts are too light, and what too dark.
- 1806 F. Horner Let. in Life vii. (1849) 175 They were so in
keeping with the whole that the prevailing tone was..never interrupted.
- 1824 Miss Ferrier Inher. xlvii, To use an artist phrase, nothing
could be more in keeping with the day than the reception Miss S. met with.
- 1830 Blackw. Mag. XXVII. 310 It is in `fine keeping', as the
phrase is.
- 1841 Lever C. O'Malley iv. 24 His own costume of black coat,
leathers and tops, was in perfect keeping.
- 1841 Myers Cath. Th. iii. v. 14 Such an utterance of Truth would
. . . be out of keeping with our present condition in the flesh.
- 1878 Bosw. Smith Carthage 26 Indications . . . in thorough keeping
with the view we have taken.
