Engraving for Illustration Part 3

There is one notable etcher whose chequered career may well be regarded with interest, for it reveals a depth of artistic enthusiasm almost unparalleled in the art annals of this or any other country.

=Hollar.=--Wenceslaus Hollar was a Bohemian by birth, and came to England under the patronage of the Duke of Arundel in 1637. During a lifetime of peculiar misfortunes and vicissitudes, he etched something like 2700 plates. As an ardent Royalist, he was drawn into the civil war of 1643-44. He also pa.s.sed through the Great Plague and the Fire of London.

Difficulties and hards.h.i.+ps ever beset his path, yet his industry and fond attachment to art never flagged. The very fact that ever-recurring misfortunes and privations never impaired his power as a most remarkable and ingenious ill.u.s.trator is ample proof, if such be required, of his genius. Hollar's etchings are distinguished by an intense fidelity. They abound in historical interest of a reliable and fascinating kind, and though never showy they possess a wealth of artistic beauty and artistic expression. It is difficult to understand how an artist with Hollar's gigantic, productive energy should end his days in abject poverty.

Mezzotint engraving is the art of engraving on metal _in tones_. It dates back to about the middle of the seventeenth century. Its history is interesting if only for the fact that it has been developed chiefly in this country, the high degree of perfection to which it attained being chiefly due to English artists. So much so, indeed, that it has frequently been referred to as _la manaire Anglais_.

=Invention.=--The invention of Mezzotint engraving was the result of an every-day circ.u.mstance which attracted the attention of a soldier more thoughtful than his fellows. Ludwig von Sigen was a lieutenant-colonel in the army of the Landgrave of Hesse Ca.s.sel when he observed the corrosive action of moisture on the stock of a musket. The metal work had been ornamented with an engraved design, and the ground formed by corrosion in conjunction with the engraved lines suggested an idea from which von Sigen subsequently developed the mezzotint process. This story of von Sigen's discovery is regarded by some authorities with a suspicion of doubt, and a suggestion is made that his purpose was to invest this introduction of a new reproductive art with a romantic as well as an artistic interest. In any case, the gallant colonel's credit is maintained, and it is interesting to note that the principle of his invention remains still unchanged. The chief purpose of later developments was to facilitate the production of a perfectly even ground.

On the presentation of his first print to the Landgrave of Hesse, von Sigen declared, "There is not a single engraver, or a single artist, who knows how this work is done." About twelve years afterwards the inventor divulged his secret to Prince Rupert, by whom it was brought to England.

It is generally supposed that Prince Rupert carefully preserved the secret of this new process for some time, and then in a generous mood he imparted it to Vallerant Valliant, who fortunately for English art made his knowledge widespread.

When mezzotint engraving was first introduced into England, the famous artists, Reynolds and Gainsborough, had reached the summit of their fame. The time was indeed auspicious. Line engraving failed to give a faithful reproduction of the peculiar style of painting then so much admired, while mezzotint engraving, with its soft gradations and attractive qualities of expression, translated with a vivacity and facility that could not fail to please and satisfy.

Then, again, a somewhat abrupt change manifested itself in the pictorial art of this period. Representations of incidents and portraits of famous personages, which were in themselves interesting, took the place of the severely artistic productions of the past. The natural result was an intense interest, which embraced the art and the process by which it was popularised.

=Description.=--The mezzotint process of engraving may be described in a very few sentences.

The plate of metal is first covered with a ground or _tone_. To accomplish this, a tool with a serrated edge is pa.s.sed over the surface in various directions. The myriads of microscopic indentations thus produced const.i.tute a _tooth_ or roughness similar to the grain of a coa.r.s.e sandstone. This grain holds a certain proportion of printing ink, and gives a rich, velvety black impression. On such a ground the engraver works up his design, and, by the skilful use of sc.r.a.per and burnisher, obtains a series of tones or almost imperceptible gradations.

He removes just so much of the grain as may be required for the lighter tones, and by burnis.h.i.+ng or polis.h.i.+ng, after the sc.r.a.per has been used, secures the high lights. In one respect, at least, this form of reproductive art is peculiar, and unlike any other types of engraving.

The artist works from black to white, and produces, on the plate, the lights instead of the shadows.

=Artistic Qualities.=--Although capable of most charming effects, the mezzotint process never became a really serious menace to line engraving, with its firm and expressive outlines and peculiarly l.u.s.trous textures.

Yet it is not at all surprising that a process, offering the artistic qualities of reproduction which mezzotint possesses, should prove successful in the interpretation of such light and shade as, for example, Turner painted into his pictures. Turner was engaged upon the series of pictures for his _Liber Studiorum_ when he suddenly realised the value of mezzotint engraving. He consulted with Charles Turner, an eminent engraver, who afterwards executed twenty-three of the _Liber Studiorum_ plates, and eventually decided to adopt a combination of etching with mezzotint for the reproduction of that famous series of pictures. The leading or essential lines of each picture were etched, probably by Turner himself, and the mezzotint added by other engravers.

It is perhaps to some extent true that prints from mezzo plates lack somewhat in dignity of effect and fidelity of representation. They are suggestive rather than representative; yet, when the character of the work is suitable, this lack of dignity is more than compensated for by the soft and harmonious effects of light and shade already referred to.

The peculiar beauty and brilliancy of these effects, when artistically rendered, impart to the prints an alluring charm, which appeals to the inartistic as well as the accredited artistic eye.

The fact that Sir Joshua Reynolds, West, Romney, and other famous artists allowed their paintings to be reproduced by the mezzotint process, is sufficient proof of their appreciation of its power. It was, as already stated, to English engravers that mezzo engraving owed its development and fame as a reproductive art, and for very many years after its invention it was practised chiefly in England and Holland.

It is a remarkable fact that Germany, the birthplace of this art, had but a slight connection with its subsequent history; and equally remarkable that French engravers, who excelled in line engraving when mezzotint was at the zenith of its fame, should almost entirely neglect to appreciate its possibilities.

Another curious fact concerning mezzotint engraving is that it has ever been the art of the dilettanti. It was first of all invented by von Sigen, who followed the fine arts for pleasure rather than with any serious purpose. Prince Rupert brought it over to England with an enthusiastic, but certainly not a professional, interest, and at several periods of its history it has received encouragement and substantial help from like sources. One of the earliest and most ardent mezzo engravers in this country was Francis Place, a well-known Yorks.h.i.+re country squire. H. Lutterel was another such exponent of the art. He was the first engraver to make any decided improvement in laying the ground.

He evidently realised the importance of a good ground, and constructed a tool to ensure its evenness and regularity. Another Irishman, Captain Baillie, a retired cavalry officer, adopted a style of engraving similar to Rembrandt's, and copied some of that great artist's productions.

He was one of the most enlightened art critics of his time.

=A Modern Mezzo Engraver.=--A brief outline sketch of the life of Samuel Cousins, one of the most successful of modern mezzotint engravers, will form a fitting conclusion to this chapter.

Samuel Cousins was born in 1800. The story of his precociousness in artistic matters is certainly extraordinary. Sir Thomas Ackland, an enthusiastic patron of the fine arts, saw the boy Cousins standing before a picture dealer's window, and sketching with all the eagerness and verve of a born artist. Even while yet a child of eleven years his exceptional ability manifested itself, for he won the silver palette, presented by the Society of Arts, and again the silver medal when twelve years. His rapid progress, both as an artist and engraver, was undoubtedly due to the influence and encouragement of his patron and friend, Sir Thomas Ackland. He engraved about two hundred plates, including pictures by Reynolds, Lawrence, Landseer, and Millais.

Cousins died in 1887, after a most brilliant and purposeful career.

CHAPTER VI

_THE ENGRAVER'S TASK_--INARTISTIC WORK--CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS--OUTLINE--EXTRANEOUS MATTER--COMPOSITION--LIGHT AND SHADE--EXPRESSION--PERSPECTIVE--EXECUTION

"The highest art is undoubtedly that which is simplest and most perfect, which gives the experience of a lifetime by a few lines and touches."

=The Engraver's Task.=--Engraving, by whatever process it may be accomplished, is not by any means a secondary art. Even when it descends to mere copying, which its commercial a.s.sociations unfortunately encourage, it requires for its effective execution exceptional skill, unremitting patience, and a more than average degree of artistic feeling. It is almost impossible to appreciate the true value of the engraver's work without some consideration of the labour it entails.

Each one of the mult.i.tudinous lines of an engraving is cut with a definite purpose and deliberate care, and may be operated upon again and again to increase the depth or width in various places. Even the dots of a stipple are not made in that aimless fas.h.i.+on which their appearance might at first suggest. A mechanical effect is sedulously avoided, consequently each dot must be cut with scrupulous care, and may require two or three touches with the graver to produce the desired effect. The proportionate reduction of pictures for engraving also demands exquisite skill and accurate draughtsmans.h.i.+p in which the eye and hand of the artist may be distinctly traced.

Thus, by a laborious yet picturesque and harmonious interpretation of the artist's creations, the engraver renders their reproduction possible, widens the sphere of their interest and influence, and in many instances procures for them a world-wide reputation.

Such an art may be both erudite and comprehensive in its information, for it is executed with a purposeful patience which omits nothing, forgets nothing, and maintains a convincing directness of expression.

Outline, light and shade, variety of style and representation of surfaces, are all within the engraver's control, and a vast diversity of expression will be requisite for their realisation. It is quite within his power also to interpret the artist's thoughts as well as imitate his style, and this involves not only a judicious balancing of tone and texture, but a knowledge of the principles of art embodied in the picture--his copy.

=Inartistic Work.=--Owing to an insatiable craving for pictorial ill.u.s.tration, there is an ever-growing tendency on the part of the artist engraver to seek after sensational or entertaining effects which are not artistic productions. Intensely interesting and attractive they may be, and yet signally deficient in the true elements of fine art. It is quite possible to make any art popular, however crude its conception and manifestation may be, so long as its expression is sufficiently striking or pleasing. Such products of the graver or brush may be elaborate compositions and effective forms of pictorial expression, inasmuch as they provide interesting information concerning past or current events. They may even possess a certain value as historical records, and yet not manifest that subtle power of suggestive beauty and intensity of thought which are _prima facie_ evidences of masterly genius and artistic power. When the energy and skill of the artist are thus devoted to expressive delineation in place of artistic completeness, he becomes satisfied with an inferior degree of excellence, provided only that it pleases; and the result will almost a.s.suredly be an incomplete, if not vitiated, production.

In these days of invention and advancement, when the resources of mankind are almost limitless, conditions of life favourable, and opportunities for the acquirement of knowledge and skill always abounding, there can surely be no valid excuse for this dead level mediocrity in the engraver's art,--a result which might possibly arise from the insiduous fever of display, of notoriety, and of commercialism which is ever seeking fresh victims in this as in every other phase of human life and effort.

=Constructive Elements.=--An engraving may be an imitative or representative interpretation of a picture or drawing in _black_ and _white_. In such an interpretation, whatever its character may be, integrity of form is of paramount importance, and essential to the attainment of any degree of excellence in engraving. It imparts to the work a distinctive character, and endows it with that delicacy and precision of execution for which engraving is so justly famous.

=Outline.=--In the early engravings the constructive element consisted almost entirely of pure outline, which was rarely monotonous, but frequently suggestive of form and character. Is it not almost marvellous, this suggestive power of outline, for is it not in reality but an imaginary boundary? An actual outline is a thing unknown in nature, and the very fact that it has its existence only in the imagination of the artist makes our reconciliation to it and our admiration of it the more wonderful. The astonis.h.i.+ng elasticity of the human imagination makes it quite easy to fill in the details of a picture if only the outline be sufficiently suggestive. The primary function of the outline is, of course, to represent; but its secondary or suggestive purpose is scarcely of less importance, and can only be fully realised when the imagination is so stimulated as to perceive more than is actually exhibited. The completeness and truthfulness of the outline must be an engraver's first point. An art critic once stated that "He had finished the picture who had finished the outline." To some extent such a statement may be perfectly true; but just as in elocution, or even in ordinary conversation, emphasis is requisite, so in pictorial art the emphasis of concise expression, modulation, and delicate or vigorous accentuation are equally necessary and effective.

=Extraneous Matter.=--In other words, an artist's ideas may be decisively portrayed in outline, yet for lack of suitable extraneous matter appear both crude and impoverished. The amount of characteristic form expressed by constructive elements in the drawing, other than the outlines, is strikingly ill.u.s.trated in old German portrait engravings. They are simply overflowing with details of the most minute description. Nor can such details be regarded as altogether superfluous, for they each help to _build up_ the character of the picture. In portrait engraving a mere likeness may easily be portrayed by a simple outline. Not so, however, with character. Considerable amplification will be necessary to show that; and this, perhaps, is the most difficult task of the engraver--to introduce a satisfactory amount of essential detail without detracting in any way from a pleasing general effect in the picture.

=Composition.=--In its broadest sense composition in graphic art refers to the putting together or combination of the various details into a pleasing and effective picture. It may comprise--(1) the choice of a subject; (2) the most effective moment of its representation; (3) the choice of such circ.u.mstantial matter as will best intensify the interest of the picture, and enhance its artistic value. Nor is one part much less important than another, for interest in the subject must necessarily be influenced by effective grouping, and the choice of harmonious surrounding for both. It is in this that the _finesse_ of the artist becomes available, and, by clever contrasts and agreeable combinations, enables him to emphasise the expressive power of his pictorial art.

=Light and Shade.=--The importance of light and shade in the composition of a picture is a fact too well established to require much further recognition here. If skilfully arranged and distributed it may in some measure compensate for any lack of cohesion in the design, and thus become a redeeming feature in what would otherwise prove to be an ineffective composition.

It is chiefly by a dexterous arrangement of light and shade that the artist engraver can produce a faithful and intelligible translation of his subject. It adds considerably to the force and vigour of pictures, and produces effects which please the eye and successfully appeal to the imagination.

There are, of course, other qualities and conditions which materially affect the engraver and his work, and these will now be briefly indicated.

=Expression.=--"Expression is the representation of an object agreeably to its nature and character, and the use or office it is intended to have in the work." It is, in fact, the very essence of a picture. Without it there can be no character, no emotion, and therefore no faithful delineation.

=Perspective.=--Linear perspective in engraving represents the position or magnitude of the lines or contour of objects portrayed, and suggests their diminution in proportion to their distance from the eye.

Aerial perspective, on the other hand, represents the diminution of colour value of each object as it recedes from the eye. It is, in reality, a degradation of tone, suggesting the relative distances of objects. Either may be the direct product of light and shade as well as of accurate drawing.

=Execution.=--The execution of an engraving admits of almost any degree of variety--the display of individual skill, and knowledge of technique.

Execution, as the term implies, is the direct result of individual dexterity; the ability to interpret colour, tone, and texture of a picture by an arrangement of lines of varying depth and fineness; the ability also to imitate, or even create, pictorial expression.

The work of the engraver, like many other phases of reproductive art, is a fruitful source of mannerisms; yet even these will produce excellent results if they create innovations which will be afterwards approved and recognised as healthy, independent, and entirely original methods.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 4.--Modern Wood Engraving.

"An interpretation of tone and texture by an arrangement of lines."

_Block supplied by the London Electrotype Agency Ltd., from the "Religious Tract Society."_]

CHAPTER VII

_PHOTO "PROCESS" ENGRAVING_--A PROGRESSIVE PROCESS--COMMERCIAL AND ARTISTIC FEATURES--"LINE" PROCESS--"HALF TONE"--ARTISTIC RESTORATION--TRI-CHROMATOGRAPHY--PHOTOGRAVURE