This story well illustrates esoragoto. The Japanese are so accustomed to associate true color with what the sumi [the black so commonly used in Japan] stands for, that not only is fiction in this respect permissible but actually missed when not employed.
Esoragoto is a very good word for the Post-Impressionists to appropriate. We have no word in English and I know of none in French that is anywhere near its equivalent.
Impressionism is painting with a minimum of esoragoto; Post-Impressionism is painting with a maximum of esoragoto.
The pendulum in art and literature swings from less esoragoto to more—from realistic transcription with a minimum of self, to idealistic compositions with a maximum of self.
All the great art of the world is esoragoto.
The greatest paintings in the world are indoor not outdoor paintings—in-self not out-self.
All the great Italian paintings and frescoes are creations of the imagination. The portraits of Velasquez, Rembrandt, Hals are esoragoto. They are the sitters idealized by the genius of the artists. They are far removed from photographic realism.
Why are the portraits of the same man or woman painted by different artists so unlike? Because each is more or less esoragoto—more or less the reflection of the painter rather than the sitter.