Written for the LiveJournal community Watsons_Woes for their July Writing Prompts challenge. Amnesty prompt 04 was: Picture prompt: Books, Mug, Pipe, and Violin
_Artistic Omission_
Holmes and I were enjoying a leisurely stroll near Hyde Park when we encountered an art show of sorts on the pavement, no doubt put up by a dealer hoping for a few extra sales. We browsed the easels mostly with indifference; all of the works were by minor painters, names I'd never heard before. One painting caught my eye on account of the pipe and violin pictured, but something about it seemed wrong.
"The violin has no strings," I finally murmured.
"His model had strings," Holmes said, stopping beside me.
"How do you know?"
"The bridge would not be standing up if it didn't. The tension of the strings holds it in place." I pondered this, and Holmes added, "It would be difficult to show the strings clearly at that angle. The painter evidently preferred a clear picture more than an accurate one. He also neglected the holes in the top of the instrument."
"Why paint a violin if you're going to leave things out?"
Holmes couldn't answer that question to my satisfaction. I was left wondering if the violin was intentionally left unfinished-which seemed the properly artistic explanation-but what it was supposed to mean, I had no idea.