He rejects the notion of "genius", but thinks instead that what made him interesting is that he was genuinely fascinated with what he mocked.

There is the view, you know, that great artists chose to depict that which they knew existed, but could not grasp themselves. Auguste is an example. He was fascinated with the emotion of love and its outcroppings, but...... ah well.

Arthur, similarly, was exclusively fascinated with the upper class. It moved him to write as love moved Auguste to sculpt.

Just a thought from the grave...