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diff --git a/42936.txt b/42936.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 143b676..0000000 --- a/42936.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8999 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Engraving: Its Origin, Processes, and -History, by Henri Delaborde - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Engraving: Its Origin, Processes, and History - -Author: Henri Delaborde - -Translator: R. A. M. Stevenson - -Release Date: June 13, 2013 [EBook #42936] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGRAVING *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Charlie Howard, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - THE FINE-ART LIBRARY. - - EDITED BY JOHN C. L. SPARKES, - - _Principal of the National Art Training School, South Kensington - Museum_. - - - - - ENGRAVING: - _ITS ORIGIN, PROCESSES, AND HISTORY._ - - BY - LE VICOMTE HENRI DELABORDE. - - TRANSLATED BY - R. A. M. STEVENSON. - - _With an Additional Chapter on English Engraving_, - - BY - WILLIAM WALKER. - - CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED: - _LONDON, PARIS, NEW YORK & MELBOURNE._ - 1886. - - [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] - - - - -EDITORIAL NOTE. - - -The author of "La Gravure," of which work the present volume is a -translation, has devoted so little attention to English Engraving, that -it has been thought advisable to supplement his somewhat inadequate -remarks by a special chapter dealing with this subject. - -In accordance with this view, Mr. William Walker has contributed an -account of the rise and progress of the British School of Engraving, -which, together with his Chronological Table of the better-known -English Engravers, will, we feel sure, add much to the value of the -Work in the eyes of English readers. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. THE PROCESSES OF EARLY ENGRAVING. THE BEGINNINGS OF - ENGRAVING IN RELIEF. XYLOGRAPHY AND PRINTING WITH - MOVABLE TYPE 1 - - - II. PLAYING CARDS. THE DOT MANNER 30 - - III. FIRST ATTEMPTS AT INTAGLIO ENGRAVING. THE NIELLI OF - THE FLORENTINE GOLDSMITHS. PRINTS BY THE ITALIAN AND - GERMAN PAINTER-ENGRAVERS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 49 - - IV. LINE ENGRAVING AND WOOD ENGRAVING IN GERMANY AND - ITALY IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 86 - - V. LINE ENGRAVING AND ETCHING IN THE LOW COUNTRIES, TO - THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 118 - - VI. THE BEGINNING OF LINE ENGRAVING AND ETCHING IN - FRANCE AND ENGLAND. FIRST ATTEMPTS AT MEZZOTINT. A - GLANCE AT ENGRAVING IN EUROPE BEFORE 1660 150 - - VII. FRENCH ENGRAVERS IN THE REIGN OF LOUIS XIV 178 - - VIII. ENGRAVING IN FRANCE AND IN OTHER EUROPEAN - COUNTRIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. NEW - PROCESSES: STIPPLE, CRAYON, COLOUR, AND AQUATINT 211 - - IX. ENGRAVING IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 248 - - A CHAPTER ON ENGLISH ENGRAVING 287 - - CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF ENGLISH ENGRAVERS 331 - - INDEX 343 - - - - -ENGRAVING. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - THE PROCESSES OF EARLY ENGRAVING. THE BEGINNINGS OF ENGRAVING - IN RELIEF. XYLOGRAPHY AND PRINTING WITH MOVABLE TYPE. - - -The nations of antiquity understood and practised engraving, that is -to say, the art of representing things by incised outlines on metal, -stone, or any other rigid substance. Setting aside even those relics of -antiquity in bone or flint which still retain traces of figures drawn -with a sharp-pointed tool, there may yet be found in the Bible and in -Homer accounts of several works executed by the aid of similar methods; -and the characters outlined on the precious stones adorning the -breastplate of the high-priest Aaron, or the scenes represented on the -armour of Achilles, might be quoted amongst the most ancient examples -of the art of engraving. The Egyptians, Greeks, and Etruscans have left -us specimens of goldsmith's work and fragments of all kinds, which, at -any rate, attest the practice of engraving in their countries. Finally, -every one is aware that metal seals and dies of engraved stone were in -common use amongst the Romans. - -Engraving, therefore, in the strict sense of the word, is no invention -due to modern civilisation. But many centuries elapsed before man -acquired the art of multiplying printed copies from a single original, -to which art the name of engraving has been extended, so that nowadays -the word signifies the operation of producing a print. - -Of engraving thus understood there are two important processes -or methods. By the one, strokes are drawn on a flat surface, and -afterwards laboriously converted by the engraver into ridges, -which, when coated with ink, are printed on the paper in virtue of -their projection. By the other, outlines, shadows, and half-tints -are represented by incisions intended to contain the colouring -matter; while those parts meant to come out white on paper are left -untouched. Wood-cutting, or engraving in relief, is an example of the -first method; while to the second belongs metal-work or copperplate -engraving, which we now call engraving with the burin, or line -engraving. - -In order to engrave in relief, a block, not less than an inch thick, -of hard, smooth wood, such as box or pear, is used. On this block -every detail of the design to be engraved is drawn with pen or pencil. -Then such places as are meant to come out white in the print are cut -away with a sharp tool. Thus, only those places that have been covered -beforehand by the pencil or the pen remain at the level of the surface -of the block; they only will be inked by the action of the roller; and -when the block is subjected to the action of the press, they only will -transfer the printing ink to the proof. - -This method, earlier than that of the incised line, led to engraving -"in camaieu," which was skilfully practised in Italy and Germany during -the sixteenth century. As in camaieu engraving those lines which define -the contours are left as ridges by the cutting away of the surrounding -surface, we may say that in this method (which the Italians call -"chiaroscuro") the usual processes of engraving in relief are employed. -But it is a further object of camaieu to produce on the paper flat -tints of various depths: that is to say, a scale of tones somewhat -similar to the effect of drawings washed in with Indian ink or sepia, -and touched up with white. Now such a chromatic progression can only -be arrived at by the co-operation of distinct processes. Therefore, -instead of printing from a single surface, separate blocks are employed -for the outlines, shadows, and lights, and a proof is taken by the -successive application of the paper to all these blocks, which are made -to correspond exactly by means of guiding marks. - -A third style of engraving in relief, the "early dot manner," was -practised for some time during the period of the Incunabuli, when the -art was, as the root of this Latin word shows, still "in its cradle." -By this method the work was no longer carried out on wood, but on -metal; and the engraver, instead of completely hollowing out those -parts destined to print light, merely pitted them with minute holes, -leaving their bulk in relief. He was content that these masses should -appear upon the paper black, relieved only by the sprinkling of white -dots resulting from the hollows. - -We just mention by way of note the process which produced those rare -specimens called "_empreintes en pate_." All specimens of this work are -anterior in date to the sixteenth century, and belong less strictly to -art than to industry, as the process only consisted in producing on -paper embossed designs strongly suggesting the appearance of ornaments -in embroidery or tapestry. To produce these inevitably coarse figures -a sort of half-liquid, blackish gum or paste was introduced into -the hollow portions of the block before printing. On the block thus -prepared was placed a sheet of paper, previously stained orange, red, -or light yellow, and the paste contained in the hollow places, when -lodged on the paper, became a kind of drawing in relief, something like -an impasto of dark colour. This was sometimes powdered with a fluffy or -metallic dust before the paste had time to harden. - -Though simple enough as regards the mere process, in practice line -engraving demands a peculiar dexterity. When the outlines of the -drawing that is to be copied have been traced and transferred to a -plate usually made of copper,[1] the metal is attacked with a sharp -tool, called the dry-point. Then the trenches thus marked out are -deepened, or fresh ones are made with the graver, which, owing to its -shape, produces an angular incision. The appearance of every object -represented in the original must be reproduced solely by these incised -lines: at different distances apart, or tending in various directions: -or by dots and cross-hatchings. - -Line engraving possesses no other resources. Moreover, in addition -to the difficulties resulting from the use of a refractory tool, we -must mention the unavoidable slowness of the work, and the frequent -impossibility of correcting faults without having recourse to such -drastic remedies as obtaining a fresh surface by re-levelling the plate -where the mistakes have been made. - -Etching by means of aquafortis, originally used by armourers in their -damascene work, is said to have been first applied to the execution -of plates in Germany towards the close of the fifteenth century. -Since then it has attracted a great many draughtsmen and painters, -as it requires only a short apprenticeship, and is the quickest kind -of engraving. Line engravers have not only frequently used etching -in beginning their plates, but have often employed it, not merely to -sketch in their subject, but actually in conjunction with the burin. -Many important works owe their existence to the mixture of the two -processes, among others the fine portraits of Jean Morin, and the -admirable "Batailles d'Alexandre," engraved by Gerard Audran, after -Lebrun. But at present we are only occupied with etching as practised -separately and within the limits of its own resources. - -The artist who makes use of this method has to scoop no laborious -furrows. He draws with the needle, on a copper plate covered with a -coating of varnish, suggestions of form as free as the strokes of pen -or pencil. At first these strokes only affect the surface of the copper -where the needle has freed the plate from varnish. But they become of -the necessary depth as soon as a certain quantity of corrosive fluid -has been poured on to the plate, which is surrounded by a sort of wax -rampart. For a length of time proportioned to the effect intended, the -acid is allowed to bite the exposed parts of the metal, and when the -plate is cleaned proofs can be struck off from it. - -With the exception of such few modifications as characterise prints in -the scraped or scratched manner, called "sgraffio," and in the stippled -manner, the methods of engraving just mentioned are all that have been -used in Europe from the end of the Middle Ages up to about the second -half of the seventeenth century. We need not, therefore, at present -mention more recent processes, such as mezzotint, aquatint, &c., each -of which we shall touch upon at its proper place in the history of the -art. Before proceeding with this history, let us try to recollect -the facts with which we have prefaced it; and, as chronological order -proscribes, to differentiate and classify the first productions of -relief engraving. - -However formal their differences of opinion on matters of detail, -technical writers hold as certain one general fact. They all agree in -recognising that the methods of relief engraving were practised with a -view to printing earlier than the method of intaglio. What interval, -however, separates the two discoveries? At what epoch are we to place -the invention of wood engraving? or if the process, as has been often -alleged, is of Asiatic origin, when was it brought into Europe? To -pretend to give a decisive answer to these questions would be, at -least, imprudent. Conjectures of every sort, and even the most dogmatic -assertions, are not wanting. But the learned have in vain evoked -testimony, interpreted passages, and drawn conclusions. They have gone -back to first causes, and questioned the most remote antiquity; they -have sometimes strangely forced the meaning of traditions, and have -too often confounded simple material accidents with the evidences -of conscious art properly so called. Yet the problem is as far from -solution as ever, and, indeed, the number and diversity of opinions -have up till now done little but render conviction more difficult and -doubt more excusable. - -Our authorities, for instance, are not justified in connecting the -succession of modern engravers with those men who, "even before the -Deluge, engraved on trees the history of their times, their sciences, -and their religion."[2] Nor is the mention by Plutarch of a certain -almost typographical trick of Agesilaus, King of Sparta, excuse enough -for those who have counted him among the precursors of Gutenberg. It is -by no means impossible that Agesilaus, in a sacrifice to the gods on -the eve of a decisive battle may have been clever enough to deceive his -soldiers, by imprinting on the liver of the victim the word "Victory," -already written in reverse on the palm of his hand. But in truth such -trickery only distantly concerns art; and if we are to consider the -Greek hero as the inventor of printing, we must also allow that it has -taken us as long as eighteen centuries to profit by his discovery. - -We shall therefore consider ourselves entitled to abandon all -speculations on the first cause of this discovery in favour of an -exclusive attention to such facts as mark an advance from the dim -foreshadowing of its future capabilities to the intelligent and -persevering practice of the perfected processes of the art. We shall -be content to inquire towards what epoch this new method, the heir of -popular favour, supplemented the old resources of the graphic arts -by the multiplication of engravings in the printing press. And we -may therefore spare ourselves the trouble of going back to doubtful -or remote information, to archaeological speculations, more or less -excused by certain passages in Cicero, Quintilian, and Petronius, or -by a frequently quoted phrase of Pliny on the books, ornamented with -figures, that belonged to Marcus Varro.[3] - -Moreover in examining the historical question from a comparatively -modern epoch only, we are not certain to find for ourselves, still -less to provide for others, perfectly satisfactory answers. Reduced -even to these terms, such a question is complicated enough to excuse -controversy, and vast enough to make room for a legendary as well as -a critical view of the case. Xylography, or block printing, which may -be called the art of stamping on paper designs and immovable letters -cut out on wood, preceded without doubt the invention of printing in -movable metal characters. Some specimens authentically dated, such as -the "St. Christopher" of 1423, and certain prints published in the -course of the following years, prove with undeniable authority the -priority of block printing. It remains to be seen if these specimens -are absolutely the first engraved in Europe; whether they illustrate -the beginning of the art, or only a step in its progress; whether, in -one word, they are types without precedent, or only chance survivals of -other and more ancient styles of wood engraving. - -Papillon, in support of the opinion that the earliest attempts took -place at Ravenna before the end of the thirteenth century, brings into -court a somewhat doubtful story. Two children of sixteen, the Cavaliere -Alberico Cunio and his twin sister Isabella, took it into their heads -in 1284 to carve on wood "with a little knife," and to print by some -process seemingly as simple a series of compositions on "the chivalrous -deeds of Alexander the Great." The relations and friends of the two -young engravers, Pope Honorius IV. amongst others, each received a -copy of their work. After this no more was heard of the discovery till -the day when Papillon miraculously came across evidences of it in -the library of "a Swiss officer in retirement at Bagneux." Papillon -unfortunately was satisfied with merely recording his discovery. It -never occurred to him to ensure more conclusive publicity, nor even -to inquire into the ultimate fate of the prints he only had seen. The -collection of "The Chivalrous Deeds of Alexander the Great" again -vanished, and this time not to reappear. It is more prudent, in default -of any means of verification, to withhold our belief in the precocious -ability of the Ravenna twins, their xylographic attempts, and the -assertions of their admirers, although competent judges, such as the -Abbe Zani,[4] and after him Emeric David, have not hesitated to admit -the authenticity of the whole story. - -[Illustration: FIG. 1.--THE ST. CHRISTOPHER OF 1423.] - -The learned Zani had, in truth, his own reasons for taking Papillon -at his word. Had the story tended to establish the pre-existence of -engraving in Germany, he would probably have investigated the matter -more closely, and with a less ready faith. But the glory of Italy was -directly at issue, and Zani, honest though he was, did not feel -inclined to receive with coldness, still less to reject, testimony -which, for lack of better, might console his national self-respect, -and somewhat help to avenge what the Italians called "German vanity." -Pride would have been a better word, for the pretensions of Germany -with regard to wood engraving are based on more serious titles and -far more explicit documents than the one discovered by Papillon, and -recklessly passed on by Zani. Heinecken and the other German writers on -the subject doubtless criticise in a slightly disdainful manner, and -with some excess of patriotic feeling. For all that, they defend their -opinions by documents, and not by mere traditions; and if all their -examples are not quite evidently German, those which are not should in -justice be attributed to Flanders, or to Holland, and by no means to -Italy. - -In this struggle of rival national claims the schools of the Low -Countries are entitled to their share of glory. It is quite possible -that their claims, so generally ignored towards the end of the last -century, should in the present day be accounted the most valid of all; -and that, in this obscure question of priority, the presumption may be -in favour of the country which supplied an art closely connected with -engraving with its first elements and its first examples. It would -be unbecoming in every way to pretend to enter here on a detailed -history of the origin of printing. The number of exhaustive works -on the subject, the explanations of M. Leon de Laborde, M. Auguste -Bernard, and more recently of M. Paeile, would render it a mere lesson -in repetition or a too easy parade of borrowed learning. Anyhow, the -discovery of printing with type is so intimately connected with the -printing of engravings, and the practical methods in both are so much -alike, that it is necessary to mention a few facts, and to compare a -few dates. We shall therefore, under correction, reduce to the limits -of a sketch the complete picture drawn by other hands. - -If printing be strictly understood to mean typography, or the art of -transferring written matter to paper by means of movable and raised -metal types, there can be no doubt that its discovery must date from -the day on which there was invented at Mayence the process of casting -characters in a mould previously stamped in the bottom by a steel die -bearing the type to be reproduced. - -Gutenberg, with whom the idea of this decisive improvement originated, -is in this sense the earliest printer. His "Letters of Indulgence" of -1454 and his "Bible" are the oldest examples of the art with which he -is for ever associated. In a general sense, however, and in a wider -meaning of the word, it may be said that printing was known before -Gutenberg's time, or at least before he published his typographical -masterpieces. People previously knew both how to print broadsides from -characters cut on a single block, and how to vary the arrangement of -the text by using, in place of an immovable row of letters, characters -existing as separate types, and capable of various combinations. On -this point we must trust to the testimony of one of Gutenberg's -workmen, Ulrich Zell, the first printer established in Cologne. Far -from attributing to his master the absolute invention of movable type, -he merely contrasts with the process known and practised in the Low -Countries before the second half of the fifteenth century "the far more -delicate process" of cast type "that was discovered later." And Ulrich -Zell adds, "the first step towards this invention was taken in 1440 in -the printing of the copies of Donatus,[5] which were printed before -this time in Holland (_ab illis atque ex illis_)." - -Now if these copies of Donatus were not printed by means of movable -type, why should they be mentioned rather than the many other works -equally fitted to give a hint to Gutenberg? Why, in going back to -the origin of the discovery, should his pupil say nothing of those -illustrated legends which were xylographically cut and sold in all -the Rhenish towns, and which the future inventor of printing must -have seen hundreds of times? For the attention of Gutenberg to have -been thus concentrated on a single object, there must have been some -peculiar merit and some stamp of real progress in the mode of execution -to distinguish the copies of Donatus printed at Haarlem from other -contemporary work. Laurence Coster--the name attributed to the inventor -of the process which Gutenberg improved--must have already made use of -a method more closely allied than any other to the improvements about -to follow, and destined to put a term to mere experiments. - -To suppose the contrary is to misunderstand the words of Ulrich Zell -and the influence which he attributes to the Dutch edition of Donatus, -from which Gutenberg derived "the first idea of his invention." It -is still more difficult to understand how, if the Donatuses are -block-printed, reversed letters are sometimes found in the fragmentary -specimens which survive. There is nothing the least extraordinary -in such a mistake when it can be explained by the carelessness of -a compositor of movable type, but such a mistake would really be -incredible on the part of a xylographic workman. What possible caprice -could have tempted him to engrave occasional letters upside down? One -could only suppose he erred, not from inadvertence, but with voluntary -infidelity and in calculated defiance of common sense. - -The discovery which has immortalised the name of Gutenberg should be -recognised and admired as the conclusion and crown of a series of -earlier attempts in printed type. Taking into account the inadequacy -of the movable type, whether of wood or of any other substance, first -employed by the Dutch, and the perfection of the earliest specimens -of German printing, it can and should be admitted that, before the -publication of the "Letters of Indulgence," the "Bible," and other -productions from the workshop of Gutenberg and his fellow-labourers, -attempts at genuine typography had been already pursued, and to a -certain extent rewarded with success. - -From the very confession of Ulrich Zell, a confession repeated by the -anonymous author of the "Chronicle of Cologne" printed in 1499,[6] the -first rude essay in the art (_prefiguratio_) was seen in the town of -Haarlem. We may, in short, conclude that the idea of combining designs -cut on wood with a separate letterpress in movable types, belongs in -all probability to Holland. - -One of the oldest collections of engravings with subject matter printed -by this process is the "Speculum Humanae Salvationis," mentioned by -Adrian Junius in his "Batavia"--written, it would seem, between the -years 1560 and 1570, but not published till 1588, many years after his -death. Therein it is expressly stated that the "Speculum" was printed -before 1442 by Lourens Janszoon Coster. It is true that Junius is -speaking of events which occurred more than a century before the time -to which he ascribes them: "on the testimony," as he says, "of very -aged men, who had received this tradition, as a burning torch passed -from hand to hand." And this belated narrative has appeared, and may -still appear, somewhat doubtful. We ourselves consider the doubt to be -exaggerated, but we shall not insist on that. The specimens survive -which gave rise to such legends and commentaries; and it is fitting -they should be questioned. - -Four editions of the "Speculum" are known, two in Dutch and two in -Latin. It must be understood that we only speak of the editions which -have no publishers' names, no dates, nor any sign of the place where -they were published: the "Speculum," a sort of Christian handbook, -much used in the Low Countries, having been frequently reprinted, with -due indication of names and places, during and after the last twenty -years of the fifteenth century. The oldest Dutch edition that is -dated, the one of 1483, printed by John Veldenaer, reproduces certain -engravings which had already embellished the four anonymous editions, -with the difference that the plates have been sawn in two to suit the -dimensions of a smaller volume. Hence, whatever conjectures may exist -as to the date of the first publication, we have, at least, a positive -fact: as the original plates only appear in a mutilated state in the -copies printed in 1483, it is evident that the four editions where they -appear entire are of earlier date. These questions remain:--first, -whether they are earlier, too, than the second half of the fifteenth -century--earlier, that is, than the time when Gutenberg gave to the -world the results of his labour? and second, whether they originated, -like the edition of Donatus, in a Dutch workshop? - -Doubt seems impossible on the last point. These four editions are all -printed with the same cuts, on the same paper made in Brabant, and -under the same typographical conditions, with the exception of some -slight differences in the characters of the two Dutch editions, and the -insertion of twenty leaves xylographically printed in one of the two -Latin editions. Is it, then, likely, or even possible, that these books -belong, as has been supposed, to Germany? - -[Illustration: FIG. 2.--THE HOLY VIRGIN AND THE INFANT JESUS. - -German Wood Engraving. (Fifteenth Century.)] - -The thing might, indeed, be possible, were it merely a question of -the copies in Latin; but the Dutch ones cannot be supposed to have -been published anywhere but in Holland; and the origin of the latter -once established, how are we to explain the typographical imperfection -of the work if not by ignorance of the process which Gutenberg was -to popularise? According to M. Paeile, a competent judge in such a -matter,[7] the letterpress of the Dutch "Speculum" is written in the -pure dialect of North Holland, as it was spoken in those parts towards -the end of the fourteenth century and the beginning of the fifteenth. -Armed, therefore, with but a few particulars as to printing and idiom, -it will not be too bold in us to fix the date of publication between -the first and second quarters of the fifteenth century. It may be added -that the costume of the figures is of the time of Philip the Good; -that the taste and style of the drawing suggests the influence of the -brothers Van Eyck; and that there is a decided contrast between the -typographical imperfection of the text and the excellent quality of the -plates. Art, and art already well on its way and confident of its -powers, is thus seen side by side with an industrial process still in -its infancy: a remarkable proof of the advances already accomplished in -wood engraving before printing had got beyond the rudimentary period. -For our present purpose, this is the chief point, the essential fact to -verify. - -[Illustration: FIG. 3.--ST. VERONICA. - -German Wood Engraving. (Fifteenth Century.)] - -[Illustration: FIG. 4.--ST. JOHN. - -Flemish Wood Engraving. (Fifteenth Century.)] - -The discovery of printing, therefore, is doubtless a result of the -example of relief engraving, and there is no doubt either that the -first attempts at printing with type originated in Holland. Whilst -Coster, or the predecessor of Gutenberg, whoever he was, was somewhat -feebly preparing the way for typographical industry, painting and the -arts of design generally had in the Low Countries attained a degree -of development which they had not before reached, except in Italy. -Amongst the German contemporaries of Hubert and John van Eyck, what -rival was there to compare with these two masters?--what teacher with -so notable an influence, or so fertile a teaching? Whilst, on the banks -of the Rhine, artists unworthy of the name and painters destitute of -talent were continuing the Gothic traditions and the formulae of their -predecessors, the school of Bruges was renewing, or rather founding, a -national art. By the beginning of the fifteenth century the revolution -was accomplished in this school, which was already distinguished by -the Van Eycks, and to which Memling was about to add fresh lustre. -Germany, too, in a few years was to glory in a like success; but the -movement did not set in till after the second half of the century. -Till then everything remained dead, everything betrayed an extreme -poverty of method and doctrine. If we judge the German art of the time -by such work, for instance, as the "St. Christopher," engraved in -1423, a single glance is sufficient to reveal the marked superiority -of the contemporary Flemings. It is, then, far from unnatural that, -at a time when painters, goldsmiths, and all other artists in Flanders -were so plainly superior in skill to their co-workers in Germany, the -Flemish engravers should likewise have led the van of progress, and -taken their places as the first in the history of their art. - -[Illustration: FIG. 5.--THE INFANT JESUS. - -Flemish Wood Engraving. (Fifteenth Century.)] - -[Illustration: FIG. 6.--JESUS, SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD. - -German Wood Engraving. (Fifteenth Century.)] - -[Illustration: FIG. 7.--THE CRUCIFIXION. - -German Wood Engraving. (Fifteenth Century.)] - -It may be said that the proofs are insufficient. Be it so. We shall -not look for them in the "Virgin" on wood, belonging to the Brussels -Library, and bearing the date 1418, as the authenticity of this date, -to our thinking perfectly genuine, has been disputed; nor shall we seek -for them in the anonymous examples which it seems to us but just to -ascribe to the old school of the Low Countries.[8] - -[Illustration: FIG. 8.--THE APOCALYPSE OF ST. JOHN. - -Dutch Wood Engraving. (Fifteenth Century.)] - -Up to now we are willing to admit that only Germany is in a position -to produce a piece of evidence beyond suspicion. With its imposing -date of 1423, its time-honoured rights, and official renown, the "St. -Christopher," now in the library of Lord Spencer, has privileges which -cannot be disputed or questioned. But it does not follow that the -wood-cuts of the "Speculum," of the "Biblia Pauperum," of the "Ars -Moriendi," and of similar undated publications, must be more recent. -Nor, because a dated German print has survived, must it therefore be -concluded that nothing was produced at that time except in Germany. It -should be particularly observed that the plates of the "Speculum" seem -well-nigh prodigies of pictorial skill and knowledge in comparison -with the "St. Christopher;" that their author must have served a long -apprenticeship in a good school; that, in short, no art begins with -such a piece of work, and that, even supposing these cuts did not -appear till after the German print, some time had doubtless elapsed -during which the progress they involve had been prepared and pursued. - -It is therefore reasonable to suppose that, from the first years of -the fifteenth century, the engravers of the Low Countries began, under -the influence of the Van Eycks, to be initiated into the conditions -of art, and that, like their countrymen the printers, they showed -the path which others were to clear and level. It must be remarked, -however, that in the beginning printing and wood engraving do not -always march on parallel lines--that they do not meet in like order -their successive periods of trial and advance. In Germany, up till -the time when Gutenberg attained the final stage, and popularised -the last secrets of the printing process, painters, draughtsmen, and -engravers were all helpless in a rut: from the author of the "St. -Christopher" to the engravers of thirty years later, they boast but the -roughest and coarsest of ideas and methods. Heinecken, the exaggerated -champion of the German cause as against the partisans of Coster, whom -he contemptuously calls "the beadle"[9]--Heinecken himself, speaking -of the first German books engraved on wooden tablets, is obliged to -admit that "when the drawing is examined with a connoisseur's eye, a -heavy and barbarous taste appears to reign throughout."[10] In Germany -the artistic part was to wait upon and follow the example of the -industrial: was to lag behind and to plod on in barbarism long after -the industrial revolution was accomplished at its side. And it was long -before the "wood-cutting" engravers acquired anything like the skill of -the printers employed by Gutenberg and by Fuest. - -In the Low Countries, on the other hand, the regeneration of art -preceded mechanical improvement. Even when the latter was in full -progress, nay, even when a grand discovery had revealed all the -capabilities and fixed the limits of printing, engraving was by no -means subordinated, as in Germany, to the advance of the new process, -but, on the contrary, had long since acquired a clearness and certainty -of execution which was still lacking in the works of the printers. The -"Speculum," as we have said, bears testimony to that sort of anomaly -between the mechanical imperfection of the Dutch printed texts of -the fifteenth century and the merit of the plates by which they were -accompanied. Other examples might be mentioned, but it is useless to -multiply evidence, and to insist on details. We shall have accomplished -enough if we have succeeded in accentuating some of the principal -features, and in summing up the essential characteristics of engraving, -at the time of the Incunabuli. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -PLAYING CARDS. THE DOT MANNER. - - -In our endeavour to prove the relative antiquity of wood engraving -in the Low Countries, we have intentionally rather deferred the -purely archaeological question, and have sought the first signs of -talent instead of the bold beginnings of the art. The origin of wood -engraving, materially considered, cannot be said to be confined to the -time and country of the pupils of Van Eyck. It was certainly in their -hands that it first began to show signs of being a real art, and give -promise for the future; but we have still to inquire how many years -it had been practised in Europe, through what phases it had already -passed, and to what uses it had been applied, before it took this start -and received this consecration. - -We treat this question of origin with some reserve, and must repeat -as our excuse that _savants_ have pushed their researches so far, -and unhappily with such conflicting results, and have found, or have -thought they found, in the accounts of travellers, or in ancient -official or historical documents, so many proofs and arguments in -support of different systems, that it becomes equally difficult to -accept or to finally reject their various conclusions. The prevailing -opinion, however, attributes to the makers of playing cards, if not the -discovery of wood engraving, at least its first practical application -in Europe. Many writers agree on the general principle, but agreement -ends when it comes to be question of the date and place of the earliest -attempts. Some pronounce in favour of the fourteenth century and -Germany; others plead for France, where they say cards were in use -from the beginning of the reign of Philip of Valois. Others again, -to support the claims of Italy, arm themselves with a passage quoted -by Tiraboschi from the "Trattato del Governo della Famiglia," a work -written, according to them, in 1299; and they suppose, besides, that -the commercial relations of Japan and China with Venice would have -introduced into that town before any other the use of cards and the art -of making them. - -Emeric David, one of the most recent authorities, carries things -with a still higher hand. He begins by setting aside all the -claimants--Germany with the Low Countries, France as well as Italy.[11] -Where playing cards were first used, or whether any particular -xylographic collection belongs or not to the first years of the -fifteenth century, are matters of extremely small importance in his -eyes. In the documents brought forward by competent experts as the most -ancient remains of wood engraving, he finds instead a testimony to -the uninterrupted practice of the art in Europe. For the real origin -the author of the "Discours sur la Gravure" does not hesitate to go -boldly back beyond the Christian era. Nor does he stop there; but sees -in the practice of the Greeks under the successors of Alexander a -mere continuance of the traditions of those Asiatic peoples who were -accustomed from time immemorial to print on textile fabrics by means of -wooden moulds. - -It would be too troublesome to discuss his facts or his conclusions; -so many examples borrowed from the poets, from the historians of -antiquity, and the Fathers of the Church, appear to sustain his perhaps -too comprehensive theory. The best and the shortest plan will be to -take it upon trust, and to admit on the authority of Homer, Herodotus, -Ezekiel, and St. Clement of Alexandria, that from the heroic ages till -the early days of Christianity, there has been no break in the practice -of printing upon various materials from wooden blocks. Still less need -we grudge the Middle Ages the possession of a secret already the common -property of so many centuries. - -But the printing of textiles does not imply the knowledge and practice -of engraving properly so called; and many centuries may have passed -without any attempt to use this merely industrial process for finer -ends, or to apply it to the purposes of art. Seals with letters cut in -relief were smeared with colour and impressed on vellum or paper long -before the invention of printing. The small stamps or patterns with -which the scribes and illuminators transferred the outlines of capital -letters to their manuscripts, might well have suggested the last -advance. And yet how many years and experiments were required to bring -it to perfection! Why may we not suppose that the art of engraving, -like the art of printing, in spite of early, partial, and analogous -discoveries, may have waited long for its hour of birth? And when -block printing was once brought from Asia into Europe, why may it not -have suffered the same fate as other inventions equally ingenious in -principle and equally limited in their earlier applications? Glass, for -instance, was well known by the nations of antiquity; but how long a -time elapsed before it was applied to windows? - -We have said that according to a generally received opinion we must -look upon playing cards as the oldest remains of xylography. But the -evidence on which this opinion is based has only a negative authority. -Because the old books in which cards are mentioned say nothing of -any other productions of wood engraving, it has been inferred that -such productions did not yet exist; but is it not allowable to ask -if the silence of writers in such a case absolutely establishes such -a negative? Might not this silence be explained by the nature of the -work, and of the subject treated, which was generally literary or -philosophical, and quite independent of questions of art? When speaking -of cards, whether to formally forbid or only to restrain their use, -the chroniclers and the moralists of the fourteenth century, or of the -beginning of the fifteenth, probably thought but little of the way -they were made. Their intention was to denounce a vice rather than to -describe an industrial process. Why, then, should they have troubled -about other works in which this process was employed, not only without -danger to religion and morality, but with a view of honouring both? -Pious pictures cut in wood by the hands of monks or artisans might -have been well known at this time, although contemporary authors may -have chosen to mention only cards; and, without pushing conjecture too -far, we may take the liberty of supposing that engravers first drew -their inspiration from the same source as illuminators, painters on -glass, and sculptors. Besides, we know well that art was then only the -naive expression of religion and the emblem of Christian thought. Why -should the cutters of xylographic figures have been an exception to the -general rule? and what strange freak would have led them to choose as -the subject of their first efforts a species of work so contrary to the -manners and traditions of all the schools? - -Setting aside written testimony, and consulting the engravings -themselves which have been handed down to us from former centuries, -we are entitled to say that the very oldest playing cards are, at the -most, contemporaneous with the "St. Christopher" of 1423 and the oldest -known wood-cuts, inasmuch as the engraving of these cards certainly -does not date back beyond the reign of Charles VII. That the Italian, -German, or French _tarocchi_ (ornamented chequers or cards) were in use -before that time is possible; but as none of these early _tarocchi_ -have survived, it cannot be known to what extent they represent the -progress of the art, and how far they may have served as models for -other xylographic works: even though it be true that relief engraving, -and not merely drawing with the pen, was the means first employed for -the making of the _tarocchi_ mentioned here and there in the chronicles. - -Such French cards as have come down to us would lead us to believe, -in any case, that the progress was slow enough, for they still reveal -an extraordinary want of experience both as to shape and effect, and -have all the timidity of an art still in its infancy. This must also -be said of works of the same kind executed in Germany in the fifteenth -century; except the cards, attributed to a contemporary of the Master -of 1466, and these are engraved on metal. In Italy alone, cards, or -rather the symbolical pieces known rightly or wrongly by the name of -_tarocchi_, possessed, from an artistic point of view, real importance -from the time when engraving on metal had begun to take the place of -wood-cutting. The artists initiated by Finiguerra into the secrets of -the new method displayed good taste, knowledge, and skill; and in such -less important work, as well as in that of a higher order, their talent -at last inaugurated an era of real progress and of fruitful enterprise. - -It is of no consequence, for the matter of that, whether wood engraving -was first applied to the making of pious pictures or to the manufacture -of cards. In any case the process is generally looked upon as the -oldest method of engraving, and as the first to give types to be -multiplied in proofs by printing. - -M. Leon de Laborde, one of the clearest and best informed writers -on the origins of engraving and typography, considers, on the other -hand, that engraving in relief on metal, rather than the xylographic -process, was the proximate cause of the discovery of printing. In a -work published in 1839, which unfortunately has yet to receive the -amplifications promised by the author,[12] M. de Laborde declares -that the first printed engravings must have been dotted ones: that -is, prints produced in the peculiar mode already touched upon, and in -which the black parts come out sprinkled with white dots. According to -him, engraving, or, to speak more exactly, the printing of engraved -work, must have been invented by goldsmiths rather than by draughtsmen -or illuminators. The former, by the nature of their craft, possessed -the tools and the necessary materials, and were therefore in a better -position than any one else to stumble upon the discovery of the -process, if not deliberately to invent it. As matter of fact, many of -those who worked in the Low Countries, or in the Rhenish provinces, -during the first years of the fifteenth century, printed works in -the early dot manner: in other words, engraved in relief on metal. -And those xylographic specimens which are usually looked upon as the -oldest examples of engraving, are in reality only the outcome of a -reformation, and the product of an art already modified. - -[Illustration: FIG. 9.--JESUS CHRIST CARRYING THE CROSS. - -Engraving in the Dot Manner (1406).] - -The opinion expressed some time ago by M. Leon de Laborde has recently -been supported by the discovery of two engravings, in the early dot -manner, belonging, we think, to the year 1406, and on which we have -ourselves published some remarks.[13] But our argument being only -founded on the similarity of certain external facts, so to speak, and -on the probability of certain calculations, it is not really possible -to attribute to these documents so secure a standing as to those whose -age is established by dates, and set practically beyond question. - -[Illustration: FIG. 10.--THE HOLY FACE. - -Engraving in the Dot Manner (1406).] - -Now, the oldest of the dated engravings in relief on metal is the "St. -Bernardino of Siena," wrongly called the "St. Bernard," belonging to -the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. This engraving in the dot manner -bears the date 1454. It is, therefore, later than the "St. Christopher" -engraved on wood, and later even, as we shall presently see, than the -first engraving in incised line, the "Pax," by Finiguerra, whose date -of printing is certain. Remembering these facts, the separation of the -oldest dotted prints from the first specimens of true engraving is only -permissible on the ground that they are works executed by a special -process. Considered from a purely artistic point of view, they offer -little interest. Their drawing, still ruder than that of the German -wood-cuts, exhibits an almost hieroglyphic unreality. Their general -effect is purely conventional; and, owing to the uniform depth of the -blacks, their insignificant modelling expresses neither the relief nor -the comparative depression of the forms. - -[Illustration: FIG. 11.--ST. BERNARDINO. - -Engraving in the Dot Manner (1454).] - -[Illustration: FIG. 12.--ST. CHRISTOPHER. - -Engraving in the Dot Manner. (Fifteenth Century.)] - -In short, we find in these early dotted prints nothing but perfect -falseness to nature, and all the mendacity inherent in feebleness of -taste and slavish conformity to system. - -How comes it that this sorry child's-play has appeared to deserve in -our day attention which is not always conceded to more serious work? -This might be better excused had these prints been investigated in -order to demonstrate the principles of the method followed afterwards -by the engravers of illustrations for books. The charming borders, for -instance, which adorn the "Books of Hours," printed in France at the -end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries, -would naturally suggest comparisons between the way in which many parts -are stippled, and the process of the early dotted engraving. But we -may surely term excessive the efforts of certain scholars to fix on -these defective attempts in a particular method of work the attention -of a public naturally attracted elsewhere. The fact is, however, that -in this matter, as well as in questions relating to the origin of wood -engraving and printing, national self-respect was at stake, and writers -sought in the narrow field of archaeology a victory over rival claims -which they might less easily have achieved on other grounds. - -[Illustration: FIG. 13.--JESUS ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. - -Engraving in the Dot Manner. (Fifteenth Century.)] - -Between the authors of the Low Countries and of Germany, long -accustomed to skirmishes of the kind, this new conflict might have -begun and continued without awaking much interest in other nations; -but, contrary to custom, these counterclaims originated neither in -Germany nor in the Low Countries. For the first time the name of France -was heard of in a dispute as to the origin of engraving; and though -there was but scant honour to be gained, the unforeseen rivalry did not -fail to give additional interest to the struggle, and, in France at -least, to meet with a measure of favour. - -The words "Bernhardinus Milnet," deciphered, or supposed to be -deciphered, at the bottom of an old dotted engraving, representing -"The Virgin and the Infant Jesus," were taken for the signature of a -French engraver, and the discovery was turned to further profit by the -assumption that the said "Bernard or Bernardin Milnet" engraved all -the prints of this particular class; although, even supposing these -to belong to a single school, they manifestly could not all belong -to a single epoch. The invention and monopoly of dotted engraving -once attributed to a single country, or rather to a single man, these -assertions continued to gain ground for some time, and were even -repeated in literary and historical works. A day, however, came when -they began to lose credit; and as doubts entered even the minds of his -countrymen, the supposed Bernard Milnet is now deprived of his name and -title, and is very properly regarded as an imaginary being. - -Does it follow from this, as M. Passavant[14] would have it, that -all these prints, naturalised for a little while in France, ought to -be restored to Germany? Their contradictory character with regard to -workmanship and style might cause one, with the most honest intentions, -to hesitate, though their intrinsic value is not such as to cause the -former country any great loss. - -[Illustration: FIG. 14.--ST. GEORGE. - -Engraving in the Dot Manner. (Fifteenth Century.)] - -[Illustration: FIG. 15.--ST. DOMINIC. - -Engraving in the Dot Manner. (Fifteenth Century.)] - -Indeed, it is difficult to conceive of anything less interesting, -except with regard to the particular nature of the process. The -outlines of the figures have none of that drawing, firm even to -stiffness, nor has the flow of the draperies that taste for abrupt -forms, which distinguished the productions of the German school from -its beginnings. The least feeble of these specimens, such as the "Saint -Barbara," in the Brussels Library, or the "St. George on Horseback," -preserved in the Print Department of the Bibliotheque Nationale in -Paris, do indeed occasionally suggest some similarity of origin or -manner with the school of Van Eyck. But it is unnecessary to debate -the point at greater length. Whether produced in France, in the Low -Countries, or in Germany, the dotted engravings of the fifteenth -century add so little lustre to the land which gave them birth, that no -scepticism as to their origin need lie very heavily on the conscience. -In the general history of the documents on the origin of engraving, -the dotted prints form a series distinguished by the method of their -execution from any other earlier or contemporary specimens of work; -the date mark 1454, borne by one among the number, gives us authentic -information as to the time of these strange experiments, these -curiosities of handicraft rather than of art. This is as much as we -need to bear in mind upon the subject, and quite enough to complete the -history of the elementary attempts which preceded or which co-existed -for a few years with the beginning of engraving by incised line in -Italy. - -We have now arrived at that decisive moment when engraving, endowed -with fresh resources, was practised for the first time by real masters. -Up to the present, the trifling ability and skill possessed by certain -wood-cutters and the peculiar methods of dotted engraving have been -the only means by which we could measure the efforts expended in the -search for new technical methods, or in their use when discovered. We -have now done with such hesitating and halting progress. The art of -printing from plates cut in intaglio had no sooner been discovered by, -or at least dignified by the practice of, a Florentine goldsmith, than -upon every side fresh talent was evoked. In Italy and Germany it was -a question of who should profit most and quickest by the advance. A -spirit of rivalry at once arose between the two schools; and fifteen -years had not elapsed since Italian art had given its note in the works -of the goldsmith engravers of the school of Finiguerra, before German -art had found an equally definite expression in the works of the Master -of 1466. But, before examining this simultaneous progress, we shall -have to say a few words on the historical part of the question, and to -return to the origin of the process of intaglio engraving, as we have -already done with the origin of engraving in relief. This part of our -subject must be briefly and finally disposed of; we may then altogether -abandon the uncertain ground of archaeological hypothesis. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - FIRST ATTEMPTS AT INTAGLIO ENGRAVING. THE NIELLI OF THE - FLORENTINE GOLDSMITHS. PRINTS BY THE ITALIAN AND GERMAN - PAINTER-ENGRAVERS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY - - -We have seen that Gutenberg's permanent improvements in the method of -printing resulted in the substitution, so far as written speech was -concerned, of a mode of reproduction almost infinitely fruitful, and -even rapid when compared to the slowness and the limited resources of -the xylographic method. Typography was destined to abolish the use of -block printing, and more particularly of caligraphy, which, till then, -had occupied so many pious and patient hands both in monasteries and in -schools. The art of printing from engravings worked similar mischief -to the illuminator's craft. Such were, before long, the natural -consequences of the progress made; and, we may add, such had been from -the first the chief object of these innovations. - -Perhaps this double revolution, so potent in its general effect and -in its influence on modern civilisation, may have appeared to those -engaged in it no more important than a purely industrial improvement. -Surely, for instance, we do no injustice to Gutenberg if we accept -with some reserve the vast political and philosophical ideas, and the -purposes of universal enfranchisement, with which he has been sometimes -credited? Probably the views of the inventor of printing reached -neither so far nor so high. He did not intend to figure as an apostle, -nor did he regard himself as devoted to a philanthropic mission, as we -should put it in the present day. He considered himself no more than a -workman with a happy thought, when he proposed to replace the lengthy -and costly labours of the copyist by a process so much cheaper and so -much more expeditious. - -A somewhat similar idea had already occurred to the xylographic -printers. Even the title of one of the first books published by them, -the "Biblia Pauperum," or "Bible for the Poor," proved their wish to -place within the reach of the masses an equivalent to those illuminated -manuscript copies which were only obtainable by the rich. One glance at -the ancient xylographic collections is enough to disclose the spirit -in which such work was undertaken, and the design with which it was -conceived. The new industry imitated in every particular the appearance -of those earlier works due to the pen of the scribe or to the brush of -the illuminator; and, perhaps, the printers themselves, speculating -on the want of discernment in the purchasing public, thought less of -exposing the secret of their method than of maintaining an illusion. - -In most of the xylographic books, indeed, the first page is quite -without ornamentation. There are neither chapter-headings nor -ornamental capitals; the blank space seems to await the hand of the -illuminator, who should step in to finish the work of the printer, and -complete the resemblance between the printed books and the manuscript. -Gutenberg followed; and even he, although less closely an imitator of -caligraphy, did not himself disdain at first to practise some deception -as to the nature of his method. It is said that the Bible he printed -at Mayence was sold as manuscript; and the letterpress is certainly -not accompanied by any technical explanation, or by any note of the -printer's name or the mode of fabrication. Not till somewhat later, -when he published the "Catholicon," did Gutenberg avow that he had -printed this book "without the help of reed, quill, or stylus, but -by means of a marvellous array of moulds and punches." Even in this -specimen of a process already settled and finally disclosed to the -public, the capital letters were left blank in the printing, and were -afterwards filled in with brush or pen. It was a farewell salutation -to the past, and the latest appearance of that old art which was now -doomed to pass away before the new, and to leave the field to the -products of the press. - -Did the inventor of the art of printing from plates cut in intaglio, -like the inventor of the art of typography, only wish at first to -extend to a larger public what had hitherto been reserved for the -favoured few? Was early engraving but a weapon turned against the -monopoly of the miniature painter? We might be tempted to think so, -from the number of manuscripts belonging to the second half of the -fifteenth century, in which coloured prints, surrounded by borders -also coloured, are set opposite a printed text, apparently in order to -imitate as nearly as possible the familiar aspect of illuminated books. -Next in turn came printed books with illustrations, and loose sheets -published separately for every-day use. The Italian engravers, even -before they began to adorn with the burin those works which have been -the most frequently illustrated--such, for instance, as the religious -handbooks and the poem of Dante--employed the new process from as early -as 1465, to assure their calendars a wider publicity. But let us return -to the time when engraving was yet in its early stages, and when--by -chance, by force of original genius, or by the mere completion of -what had been begun by other hands--a Florentine goldsmith, one Maso -Finiguerra, succeeded in fixing on paper the impression of a silver -plate on which lines had been engraved in intaglio and filled with -black. - -Finiguerra's great glory does not, however, lie in the solution of -the practical difficulty. Amongst the Italians none before him had -ever thought of trying to print from a work engraved in incised -line or intaglio on metal; and therefore, at least, in his own -country, he deserved the honours of priority. But the invention of -the process--that is, in the absolute and literal sense of its name, -the notion of reproducing burin work by printing--was certainly not -peculiar to Finiguerra. Unconscious of what was passing elsewhere, -he may have been the first in Florence to attempt this revolution in -art; but, beyond the frontiers of Italy, many had already employed -for the necessities of trade that method which it was his to turn -into a powerful instrument of art. His true glory consists in the -unexpected authority with which he inaugurated the movement. Although -it may be true that there are prints a few years older than any -Florentine niello--the German specimens of 1446, discovered but the -other day by M. Renouvier,[15] or the "Virgin" of 1451 described by -M. Passavant[16]--it cannot change the real date of the invention of -engraving; that date has been written by the hand of a man of talent, -the first engraver worthy of the name of artist. - -That Finiguerra was really the inventor of engraving, because he -dignified the new process by the striking ability with which he used -it, and proved his power where his contemporaries had only exhibited -their weakness, must be distinctly laid down, even at the risk of -scandalising some of the learned. He has the same right to celebrity -as Gutenberg, who, like him, was but the discoverer of a decisive -advance; the same right also as Nicolo Pisano and Giotto, the real -founders of the race of the Great Masters, and, truly speaking, the -first painter and the first sculptor who appeared in Italy, although -neither sculpture nor painting were even novelties at the moment of -their birth. As a mere question of date, the "Pax" of Florence may -not be the earliest example of engraving; be it so. But in which of -these earlier attempts, now so much acclaimed as arguments against -the accepted tradition, can we glean even the faintest promise of the -merits which distinguish that illustrious engraving? He who wrought it -is no usurper; his fame is a legitimate conquest. - -It is a singular coincidence that the discovery of printing and that of -the art of taking proofs on paper from a plate engraved in intaglio, -or, to speak more exactly, that the final improvements of both these -processes, should have sprung up almost simultaneously, one in Italy -and the other in Germany. There is only an interval of two years -between the time when Finiguerra printed his first engraving in 1452, -and the time when Gutenberg exhibited his first attempts at printing -in 1454. Till then, copies drawn, painted, or written by hand had been -the only efficient means of reproduction. None, even amongst those -most capable of original thought or action, considered it beneath them -to set forth the thought of others. Boccaccio and Petrarch exchanged -whole books of Livy or of Cicero which they had patiently transcribed, -and monkish or professional artists copied on the vellum of missals -the paintings which covered the walls or adorned the altars of their -churches. Such subjects as were engraved on wood were only designed -to stimulate the devotion of the pious. Both by their inadequate -execution, and the special use for which they were intended, they must -rank as industrial products rather than as works of art. - -Besides illumination and wood engraving, there was a process sometimes -used to copy certain originals, portraits or fancy subjects, but more -frequently employed by goldsmiths in the decoration of chalices, -reliquaries, and altar canons. This process was nothing but a special -application and combination of the resources belonging to the long -known arts of enamelling and chalcography, which last simply means -engraving on metal. The incised lines made by the graver in a plate -of silver, or of silver and gold combined, were filled with a mixture -of lead, silver, and copper, made more easily fusible by the addition -of a certain quantity of borax and sulphur. This blackish-coloured -mixture (_nigellum_, whence _niello_, _niellare_) left the unengraved -parts exposed, and, in cooling, became encrusted in the furrows where -it had been introduced. After this, the plate, when carefully polished, -presented to the eye the contrast of a design in dull black enamel -traced upon a field of shining metal. - -Towards the middle of the fifteenth century this kind of engraving -was much practised in Italy, especially in Florence, where the best -niellatori were to be found. One of them, Tomaso, or for short, Maso -Finiguerra, was, like many goldsmiths of his time, at once an engraver, -a designer, and a sculptor. The drawings attributed to him, his nielli, -and the bas-reliefs partly by him and partly by Antonio Pollajuolo, -would not, perhaps, have been enough to have preserved his memory: it -is his invention--in the degree we mentioned--of the art of printing -intaglio engravings, or rather of the art of engraving itself, that has -made him immortal. - -What, however, can seem more simple than this discovery? It is even -difficult to understand why it was not made before, when we remember -not only that the printing of blocks engraved in relief had been -practised since the beginning of the fifteenth century, but that the -niellatori themselves were in the habit of taking, first in clay and -then in sulphur, an impression and a counter-impression of their work -before applying the enamel. What should seem more simple than to have -taken a direct proof on a thin elastic body such as paper? But it is -always easy to criticise after the event, and to point out the road of -progress when the end has been attained. Who knows if to-day there is -not lying at our very hand some discovery which yet we never think of -grasping, and if our present blindness will not be the cause of similar -wonder to our successors? - -At any rate, Finiguerra had found the solution of the problem by 1452. -This was put beyond doubt on the day towards the close of the last -century (1797), when Zani discovered, in the Print-Room of the Paris -Library, a niello by Finiguerra printed on paper of indisputable date. - -[Illustration: FIG. 16.--FINIGUERRA. - -The "Pax" of the Baptistery of St. John at Florence.] - -This little print, or rather proof, taken before the plate was put in -niello, of a "Pax"[17] engraved by the Florentine goldsmith for the -Baptistery of St. John, represents the Coronation of the Virgin. It -measures only 130 millimetres by 87. As regards its size, therefore, -the "Coronation" is really only a vignette; but it is a vignette -handled with such knowledge and style, and informed with so deep a -feeling for beauty, that it would bear with perfect impunity the -ordeal of being enlarged a hundred times and transferred to a canvas -or a wall. Its claims as an archaeological specimen, and the value that -four centuries have added to this small piece of perishable paper, -must assuredly neither be forgotten nor misunderstood by any one. Yet -he would be ill-advised, on the other hand, who should regard this -masterpiece of art as a mere historical curiosity. - -[Illustration: FIG. 17.--ITALIAN NIELLO. - -(Fifteenth Century.)] - -[Illustration: FIG. 18. - -ITALIAN NIELLO. (Fifteenth Century.)] - -The rare merits which distinguish Finiguerra's "Coronation" are to be -seen, though much less conspicuously, in a certain number of works -attributed to the same origin. Other pieces engraved at the same time, -and printed under the same conditions by unknown Florentine workmen, -prove that the example given in 1452 had at once created imitators. It -must be remarked, however, that amongst such works, whether attributed -to Finiguerra or to other goldsmiths of the same time and country, -none belong to the class of engravings properly so called. In other -words they are only what we have agreed to call nielli: that is, -proofs on paper of plates designed to be afterwards enamelled, and -not impressions of plates specially and finally intended to be used -for printing. It would almost appear that the master and his first -followers failed to foresee all the results and benefits of this -discovery; that they looked upon it only as a surer test of work than -clay or sulphur casts, as a test process suitable to certain stages of -the labours of the goldsmith. In one word, from the time when he made -his first success till the end of his life, Finiguerra probably only -used the new process to forward his work as a niellatore, without its -ever occurring to him to employ it for its own sake, and in the spirit -of a real engraver. - -[Illustration: FIG. 19.--ITALIAN NIELLO. - -(Fifteenth Century.)] - -Florentine engravings of the fifteenth century, other than in niello, -or those at least whose origin and date are certain, are not only -later than Finiguerra's working days, but are even later than the -year of his death (1470). In Germany, from the very beginning, so -to speak, of the period of initiation, the Master of 1466 and his -disciples were multiplying impressions of their works, and profiting by -the full resources of the new process. In Florence, on the contrary, -there passed about twenty years during which the art seems to have -remained stationary and confined to the same narrow field of practice -as at first. You may visit the richest public or private collections -without meeting (with the exception of works in niello) any authentic -and official specimen of Florentine engraving of the time of which we -speak.[18] You may open books and catalogues, and find no mention of -any engraved subject that can be called a print earlier than those -attributed to Baccio Baldini, or to Botticelli, which only appeared -in the last quarter of the century. Yet it is impossible to find any -explanation of this sterility--of this extraordinary absence of a -school of engravers, in the exact acceptation of the word, outside of -the group of the niellatori. - -[Illustration: FIG 20.--BACCIO BALDINI. - -Illustration from the "Divina Commedia" of 1481.] - -Some years later, however, progress had led to emancipation. The art -of engraving, henceforth free, broke from its industrial servitude, -deserted the traditions of enamelling and chasing, and took -possession of its own domain. There are still to be remarked, of -course, a certain timidity and a certain lack of experience in the -handling of the tool, an execution at once summary and strangely -careful, a mixture of naive intentions and conventional modes of -expression. But the burin, though only able as yet imperfectly to treat -lines in mass and vary the values of shadows, has mastered the secret -of representing life with precision and elegance of outline, and can -render the facial expression of the most different types. Sacred and -mythological personages, sybils and prophets, madonnas and the gods -of Olympus, the men and women of the fifteenth century, all not only -reveal at the first glance their close pictorial relationship to the -general inclinations and habits of Florentine art of the fourteenth -century, but show us these tendencies continued and confirmed in a -fresh form. The delicacy which charms us in the bas-reliefs and the -pictures of the time; the aspiration, common to contemporary painters -and sculptors, of idealising and heightening the expression of external -facts; the love of rare, exquisite, and somewhat subtle expression, are -to be found in the works left by the painter-engravers who were the -immediate followers of Finiguerra, no less clearly than in the painted -and sculptured subjects on the walls of contemporary churches and -palaces. - -[Illustration: FIG. 21.--BACCIO BALDINI. - -Theseus and Ariadne.] - -Whatever we may suppose to have been the part due to Baccio Baldini, to -Botticelli, to Pollajuolo, or to anybody else; with whatever acuteness -we may discern, or think we discern, the inequalities of style and -the tricks of touch in different men; all their works display a -vigorous unity, which must be carefully taken into account, inasmuch as -it gives its character to the school. Though we should even succeed in -separately labelling with a proper name each one of the works which are -all really dependent on one another, the gain would be small. - -[Illustration: FIG. 22.--BACCIO BALDINI. - -The Prophet Baruch.] - -Provided that neither the qualities nor the meaning of the whole -movement be understood, we may, as regards the distribution of minor -parts, resign ourselves to doubt, and even ignorance, and console -ourselves for the mystery which enshrouds these nameless talents: and -this the more readily that we can with greater impartiality appreciate -their merits in the absence of biographical hypothesis and the -commentaries of the scholar. - -[Illustration: FIG. 23.--BACCIO BALDINI. - -The Sibyl of Cumae.] - -The prints due to the Florentine painter-engravers who followed -Finiguerra mark a transitional epoch between the first stage of Italian -engraving and the time when the art, having entered upon its period of -virility, used its powers with confidence, and showed itself equal to -any feat. The privileges of fruitfulness and success in this second -phase no longer, it is true, belong wholly to Florence. It would seem -that, after having again and again given birth to so much talent, -Florentine art, exhausted by rapid production, reposed and voluntarily -allowed the neighbouring schools to take her place. Even before the -appearance of Marc Antonio, the most important proofs of skill were -given outside of Tuscany; and if towards the beginning, or at the -beginning, of the sixteenth century, the numerous plates engraved by -Robetta still continued to sustain the reputation of the Florentine -school, such a result was owing far less to the individual talent of -the engraver, than to the charm and intrinsic value of his models. - -[Illustration: FIG. 24.--PRINT BELONGING TO THE SET ENTITLED "THE GAME -OF CARDS."] - -[Illustration: FIG. 25.--MANTEGNA. - -The Virgin and the Infant Jesus.] - -Of all the Italian engravers who, towards the end of the fifteenth -century, completed the popularisation in their country of the art whose -first secrets and examples were revealed and supplied by Florence, the -one most powerfully inspired and most skilful was certainly Andrea -Mantegna. We need not here recall the true position of this great -artist in the history of painting. Such of his pictures and decorative -paintings as still exist possess a world-wide fame; and, though his -engravings are less generally known, they deserve equal celebrity, and -would justify equal admiration. - -[Illustration: FIG. 26.--MANTEGNA. - -From the Print Representing a Battle of Sea-Gods.] - -The engraved work of Mantegna consists of only twenty plates, about -half of which are religious, and the remainder mythological or -historical. Though none of these engravings bears the signature or -initials of the Paduan master, their authenticity cannot be doubted. -It is abundantly manifest in certain marked characteristics of style -and workmanship; in the delicate yet strong precision of the drawing; -and in that somewhat rude elegance which was at the command of none of -his contemporaries in the same degree. Every part of them, even where -they savour of imperfection or of extravagance, bears witness to the -indomitable will and independent genius of a master. His touch imparts -a passionate and thrilling aspect even to the details of architectural -decoration and the smallest inanimate objects. One would suppose that, -after having studied each part of his subject with the eye of a man of -culture and a thinker, Mantegna, when he came to represent it on the -metal, forgot all but the burning impatience of his hand and the fever -of the struggle with his material. - -[Illustration: FIG. 27.--MANTEGNA. - -The Entombment.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 28.--MANTEGNA. - -Jesus Christ, St. Andrew, and St. Longinus.] - -And yet the handling alone of such works as the "Entombment" and the -"Triumph of Caesar" bears witness to the talent of an engraver already -more experienced than any of his Italian predecessors and more alive to -the real resources of his art. The burin in Mantegna's hand displays a -firmness that can no longer be called stiffness; and, while it hardly -as yet can be said to imitate painting, competes in boldness and -rapidity at least with the effect of chalk or the pen. Unlike the -Florentine engravers, with their timid sparse strokes which scarcely -served to mark the outlines, Mantegna works with masses of shadow -produced by means of closer graining, and seeks to express, or at any -rate to suggest, internal modelling, instead of contenting himself -with the mere outlines of the body. In a word, Mantegna as an engraver -never forgot his knowledge as a painter; and it is this, combined with -the rare vigour of his imagination, which assures him the first place -amongst the Italian masters before the time of Marc Antonio. - -[Illustration: FIG. 29.--MANTEGNA. - -From the Triumph of Julius Caesar.] - -Mantegna had soon many imitators. Some of them, as Mocetto, Jacopo -Francia, Nicoletto da Modena, and Jacopo de' Barbari, known as the -Master of the Caduceus, though profiting by his example, did not push -their docility so far as to sacrifice their own tastes and individual -sentiment. Others, as Zoan Andrea and Giovanni Antonio da Brescia, -whose work has been sometimes mistaken for that of Mantegna himself, -set themselves not only to make his manner their own, but to imitate -his engravings line for line. - -However strongly Mantegna's influence may have acted on the Italian -engravers of the fifteenth century, or the early years of the -sixteenth, it hardly seems to have extended beyond Lombardy, Venice, -and the small neighbouring states. It was neither in Florence nor -in Rome that the Paduan example principally excited the spirit of -imitation. The works it gave rise to belong nearly all of them to -artists formed under the master's very eyes, or in close proximity to -his teachings, whether the manner of the leader of the school appeared -in the efforts of pure copyists and imitators more or less adroit, or -whether it appeared in a much modified condition in the works of more -independent disciples. - -[Illustration: FIG. 30.--MOCETTO. - -Bacchus.] - -It was in Verona, Venice, Modena, and Bologna that the movement which -Mantegna started in art found its most brilliant continuation. As the -engravers, emboldened by experience, gradually tended to reconcile -something of their own inspirations and personal desires with the -doctrines transmitted to them, assuredly a certain amount of progress -was manifested and some improvements were introduced into the use or -the combination of means; but in spite of such partial divergences, -the general appearance of the works proves their common origin, and -testifies to the imprudence of the efforts sometimes made to split -into small isolated groups and infinite subdivisions what, in reality, -forms a complete whole, a genuine school. - -The same spirit of unity is again found to predominate in all the works -of the German engravers belonging to the second half of the fifteenth -century. With respect to purpose and style, there is certainly a great -difference between the early Italian engravings and those which mark -the beginning of the art in the towns of High and Low Germany. But -both have this in common: that certain fixed traditions once founded -remain for a time almost unchangeable; that certain fixed methods of -execution are held like articles of faith, and only modified with -an extreme respect for the time-honoured principles of early days. -The Master of 1466, and shortly after him, Martin Schongauer, had -scarcely shown themselves, before their example was followed, and -their teaching obediently practised, by a greater number of disciples -than had followed, or were destined to follow, in Italy the lead of -the contemporaries of Finiguerra or Mantegna. The influence exerted -by the latter had at least an equivalent in the ascendancy of Martin -Schongauer; while the Master of 1466, in the character of a founder, -which belongs to him, has almost the same importance in the history -of German engraving as the Florentine goldsmith in that of Italian -engraving. - -[Illustration: FIG. 31.--BATTISTA DEL PORTO, CALLED THE "MASTER OF THE -BIRD." - -St. Sebastian.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 32.--MARTIN SCHONGAUER. - -The Virgin and the Infant Jesus.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 33.--MARTIN SCHONGAUER. - -St. John the Evangelist.] - -The Master of 1466 may, indeed, be regarded as the Finiguerra of -Germany, because he was the first in his own country to raise to the -dignity of an art what had been only an industrial process in the -hands of talentless workmen. Like wood engraving, intaglio engraving, -such as we see it in German prints some years before the works of -the Master of 1466, had only succeeded in spreading abroad, in the -towns on the banks of the Rhine, productions of a rude or grotesque -symbolism, in which, notwithstanding recent attempts to exaggerate -their value, a want of technical experience was as evident as extreme -poverty of conception. These archaeological curiosities can have no -legitimate place amongst works of art, and we may without injustice -take still less account of them, as the rapid progress made by the -Master of 1466 throws their inferiority into greater relief. If the -anonymous artist called the Master of 1466 be the true founder of the -German school of engraving; if he show himself cleverer than any of -the Italian engravers of the period--from the point of view only of -practical execution, and the right handling of the tool--it does not -necessarily follow that he holds the same priority in talent as he -certainly holds in order of time before all other engravers of the -same age and country. One of these, Martin Schongauer, called also -"handsome Martin," or for short, "Martin Schon," may have a better -right to the highest place. Endowed with more imagination than the -Master of 1466, with a deeper feeling for truth and a clearer instinct -for beauty, he displays at least equal dexterity in the conduct of the -work and in the handling of the graver. Assuredly, if we compare Martin -Schongauer's prints with the beautiful Flemish or French engravings of -the seventeenth century, the combinations of lines which satisfied the -German engraver cannot fail to appear insufficient, or even archaically -simple; but if we compare them with the engraved work of all countries -in the fifteenth century, it will be acknowledged that, even as a -technical worker, the master of Colmar[19] exhibited a striking -superiority over all his contemporaries. Such plates as the "Flight -into Egypt," the "Death of the Virgin," the "Wise Virgins," and the -"Foolish Virgins," are distinguished above all by power and by grace -of expression; but to these ideal qualities there is added so much -firmness of drawing, and so much decision of handling, that, in spite -of all subsequent progress, they deserve to be numbered with those -which most honour the art of engraving. - -[Illustration: FIG. 34.--MARTIN SCHONGAUER. - -Jesus Betrayed by Judas.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 35.--MARTIN SCHONGAUER. - -The Entombment.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 36.--MARTIN SCHONGAUER. - -Figure from the set entitled "The Foolish Virgins."] - -Martin Schongauer, like the Master of 1466, at once raised up both -imitators and rivals in Munich, in Mecheln in Westphalia, in Nuremberg, -and in many other towns in the German States. His influence and -reputation extended even beyond the borders of Germany; and it was not -the artists of the Low Countries alone who sought to profit by his -example. In Florence young Michelangelo did not disdain to study, nor -even to copy him, for he painted a "Temptation of St. Anthony," after -Schongauer's engraving. Italian miniature painters and engravers, -Gherardo and Nicoletto da Modena, amongst others, reproduced many -of his prints. The very figures and ornamentation which decorate -the "Books of Hours," published by Simon Vostre and Hardouin at the -beginning of the sixteenth century, show that in the France of that -period a zeal for imitation of the master's manner was not always -restrained by the fear of actual plagiarism. But the influence of -Martin Schongauer on the progress of art and the talent of artists -was more extended and decided in Germany itself. Amongst those who -most obediently submitted to, and who best knew how to profit by, -that example, we need only mention Bartholomew Schoen, Franz von -Bocholt, Wenceslas of Olmuetz, Israel van Mechenen, Glockenton, and -lastly, the engraver with the monogram "B M," whose most important -work, the "Judgment of Solomon," was perhaps engraved from a picture -by Martin Schongauer, who like Mantegna, like Pollajuolo, and indeed -like the majority of early engravers, was not only a painter, but a -singularly good one. His painted pictures still belonging to the town -of Colmar, and, setting aside his rare talent as an engraver, even -the little "Death of the Virgin," which has been the property of the -London National Gallery since 1860, would be enough to establish his -reputation.[20] - -[Illustration: FIG. 37.--MARTIN SCHONGAUER. - -St. Anthony.] - -The importance of such an artist is in every respect that of the leader -of a school and a master in the strictest acceptation of the word. -Martin Schongauer in his own person, and through the talent he helped -to foster, did so much, and so greatly honoured his country, that it -is only just to regard him as one of the most glorious representatives -of national art, and to place his name beside those of Albert Duerer -and Holbein, as the three men in whom the essential qualities and -characteristics of the German genius have been most typically -represented. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -LINE ENGRAVING AND WOOD ENGRAVING IN GERMANY AND ITALY IN THE SIXTEENTH -CENTURY. - - -Thanks to the Master of 1466 and to Martin Schongauer, line engraving -in Germany was marked by brilliant and unexpected advances, whilst wood -engraving merely followed the humble traditions of early days. It is -true that the latter process was no longer exclusively applied to the -production of occasional unbound prints, or cheap religious pictures on -loose leaves, of which we have a specimen in the "Saint Christopher" -of 1423. In Germany, towards the end of the fifteenth century, the -custom had spread of "illustrating" (as we now call it) type-printed -books with wood engravings. To mention a few amongst many examples, we -have the "Casket of the True Riches of Salvation" ("Schatzbehalter"), -published at Nuremberg in 1491, and the "Chronicorum Liber" called the -"Nuremberg Chronicle," printed in the same town in 1493, both of which -contain numerous wood-cuts interpolated in the text. - -These cuts are not so bad as the earlier German work in the same -process, yet they are far from good. They scarcely hold out a -promise of the advance in skill made some years later by wood-cutters -under the influence of Albert Duerer, and if they are compared with -the illustrations which adorn Italian books of the same period--the -"Decameron" of 1492, for instance, and especially the "Hypnerotomachia -Poliphili" of 1499--they appear still worse. Though they are not of -much value in themselves, the prints which accompany the writings in -the "Casket" and the "Nuremberg Chronicle" deserve attention. They were -done from designs supplied by Albert Duerer's master, Michael Wolgemut; -and the gulf between the rather feeble talent of the older man, and the -profound knowledge and powerful originality of his illustrious pupil, -can thus be easily measured. - -Albert Duerer was the son of a Hungarian goldsmith established at -Nuremberg. He tells us himself how, at the age of fifteen, he left his -father's shop for Wolgemut's studio: not that he wished to free himself -from parental authority, but simply to hasten the time when he might -do his share towards satisfying the wants of a numerous family. "My -father," says Albert Duerer, in his autobiographical notes, "could only -supply himself, his wife, and children[21] with the strict necessaries -of life; and spent his life in great hardship and severe hard work. He -suffered in addition many adversities and troubles. Every one who knew -him spoke well of him, for he led a worthy Christian life, was patient -and gentle, at peace with every one, and always thankful to God. He -did not seek worldly pleasures, was a man of few words, kept little -company, and feared God. My dear father was very earnest about bringing -up his children in the fear of God, for it was his greatest desire -to lead them aright, so that they might be pleasing to God and man. -And his daily injunction to us was that we should love God, and deal -uprightly with our neighbour.... I felt at length more like an artist -than a goldsmith, and I begged my father to let me paint; but he was -displeased with the request, for he regretted the time I had lost in -learning his trade. However, he gave in to me, and on St. Andrew's Day, -1486, he apprenticed me to Master Michael." - -Albert Duerer's progress was indeed rapid, at least his progress in -engraving, for he drew with remarkable talent before he entered -Wolgemut's studio. The charming portrait of himself at the age of -thirteen, still preserved at Vienna in the Albertine Collection, -sufficiently proves that he required no lessons from his new master in -the skilful handling of a pencil: the teaching of his own mind had been -enough. But it was otherwise with engraving, where he had to advance -by way of experiment, and gain capacity from practice. And it was not -till about 1496, after many years of apprenticeship, that he ventured -to publish his first engraved work. His early works, moreover, are very -probably only copies from Wolgemut,[22] whereas the original works -which followed, though retaining something of the traditional manner, -bear nevertheless a stamp of independent feeling. Thus too, and at -nearly the same time, the genius of Perugino's gifted pupil began to -show itself under the borrowed forms of the only style permitted in the -school; and the obedient hand which portrayed the "Sposalizio" in the -manner and under the eyes of his master, in secret already obeyed the -mind of Raphael. - -Meanwhile Albert Duerer, whose fame had begun to spread beyond the -walls of Nuremberg, undertook a tour through Germany, and was absent -for four years; and when he returned to settle in his native town, he -married Agnes Frey, the daughter of a respectable and wealthy merchant -in Nuremberg. If we may believe report, the union was unhappy, and -darkened and shortened by cruel domestic troubles the life of the noble -artist. The story has often been told how his imperious and greedy -wife kept him continually at work, and how, as prints paid better -than pictures, she would not allow him to sacrifice the burin to the -brush. Dreading the reproaches and accusations of idleness to which -she gave vent on the smallest provocation, Duerer bent beneath the yoke -and rarely left his studio. One day, for instance, they relate that he -was discovered in the street by his wife, whom he believed to be at -the other end of the town, and was forced to return and to expiate -his momentary idleness by working far beyond his usual time. The poor -artist died at last of overwork and misery; and his hateful widow only -regretted his death because it set a term to his earnings. - -Such is the account in all the books that deal with Duerer, from the -work of the German Sandrart, in the seventeenth century, down to the -biographical dictionaries published in our own time by French writers; -such is the story which has served as text to so many denunciations -of this new Xantippe, and to so many elegies upon her victim. But the -facts of the case were not carefully examined. The result of Herr -Thausing's scrupulous investigation of the subject, and the authentic -testimony he has adduced, show, on the contrary, that Albert Duerer -and his wife lived on pretty good terms till his death; so that we -may banish as idle fables the torments which he was supposed to have -suffered, and the sorrows that were said to have shortened his life. - -The story so frequently repeated after Vasari, of Duerer's quarrels with -a certain forger of his works at Venice, where copies signed with his -monogram were publicly sold as originals, rests on a surer basis. The -said forger was a young man of no reputation who had conceived this -idea of commanding a sale for his works, and of thus quickly realising -a profit on the renown of Duerer and the simplicity of his customers. -It was not long, however, before the fraud was discovered, when he -tried, it is said, to turn it into a joke; but the German artist could -not be brought to see it in that light. It was a case in which his wife -was not concerned, and he could take his own part openly. He applied -at once to the Senate, denounced the fraud, and obtained a decree -condemning the offender thenceforth to affix to his plates no other -name than his own. This name, destined to become celebrated, was no -other than that of Marc Antonio Raimondi. - -In our own days the truth of this story has been more than once -doubted, at least in so far as the legal consequences are concerned, -for the forgery itself cannot be denied. The plates of the "Life of -the Virgin," engraved by Marc Antonio from Albert Duerer, and bearing -the monogram of the latter, are known to every one; but it has been -objected as an argument against the sentence that, in the state of -morals and legislation in the sixteenth century, to affix another -person's signature to these plates did not constitute a misdemeanour; -and that Marc Antonio, by appropriating the name and the works of -Albert Duerer, did no worse than many imitators of Martin Schongauer had -done before him, no worse, indeed, than was presently to be done with -regard to his own works by imitators as unscrupulous as himself. This -is quite true; but it is no less so that Albert Duerer's signature, so -deliberately added by Marc Antonio to the copies he engraved of the -"Life of the Virgin," is not to be found on the plates of the "History -of the Passion," engraved later on by Marc Antonio in imitation of the -German master. It is impossible not to suppose that in the meantime a -judgment of some sort was passed, obliging the copyist to appear under -his true colours. - -The just satisfaction accorded to the demands of Albert Duerer was -not, however, to preserve him from the injury afterwards done him by -imitators of another kind. Some Venetian painters followed the example -of Marc Antonio, and, adding insult to injury, energetically abused the -very man whose works they impudently copied. "If you saw these men," -wrote Duerer to his friend Pirkheimer, "you would take them for the best -people in the world. For my part, I can never help laughing at them -when they speak to me. They are quite aware that one knows all about -their knavery; but they don't care. You may be sure I was warned in -time not to eat and drink with them. There are painters in Venice who -copy my works, clamouring loudly the while that I am ruining art by -departing from the antique." - -[Illustration: FIG. 38.-HANS SEBALD BEHAM. - -The Jester and the Lovers.] - -Albert Duerer, however, found in the welcome he received from the most -celebrated Italian artists a compensation for the bad conduct to -which he was a victim. Old Giovanni Bellini himself overwhelmed his -young rival with praise, and begged for one of his works, for which -he declared himself "eager to pay well." Lastly, when Duerer was once -more in his own country, and might have considered himself forgotten -by the Italian painters, Raphael, the greatest of all, sent him as a -token of his admiration some proofs of plates that Marc Antonio had -just engraved under his own eye. What happened at Venice was nearly -happening at Nuremberg. The German engraver did not dream of copying -the works of his old imitator as a sort of _quid pro quo_; but, as he -really appreciated them at their true value, he did not hesitate to -show them to his pupils, and to recommend them to their imitation. -Aldegrever, Hans Schaueflein, Baldung Gruen, Hans Sebald Beham, indeed, -the greater part of the so-called "Little Masters," who were destined -all their lives to remain faithful to tradition, were content to admire -without any thought of imitation; but those who were younger and -less fixed simply took Albert Duerer at his word. Perhaps he scarcely -welcomed such excessive docility. But their master having thus almost -acknowledged a superior, these young men hurriedly left him to put -themselves under the guidance of the conqueror. The deserters were -numerous. Georg Pencz, Bartholomew Beham, and Jacob Binck, who had been -the first to cross the Alps, succeeded in copying Marc Antonio well -enough to cause several of the subjects they engraved to be mistaken -for his own. When in their turn, and in Rome itself, they had educated -German pupils, these latter returned to their own country to finish -the revolution already begun, by spreading still further the taste for -the Italian manner; so that the school of Duerer, the only one known in -Germany some years before, was, after the second generation, almost -entirely absorbed in that of the Italians. - -[Illustration: FIG 39. - -HANS SEBALD BEHAM. - -The Three Soldiers.] - -The engravings of Albert Duerer, even those produced in the full force -of his talents, for a long time obtained but little favour in France -and England. They now possess zealous admirers, and modern painting -now and then shows signs of being affected by this enthusiasm; it -is in the new German school, of which Cornelius and Kaulbach were -the chiefs, that the Nuremberg master seems to have exerted the most -important influence, and one which is, even in some respects, to be -regretted. It would, however, be unjust to Duerer to saddle him with the -burden of errors of which he was but the involuntary cause. However -exaggerated may have been the reaction produced by his followers three -centuries after his death, considered separately and apart from them, -he remains, nevertheless, an eminent artist and the greatest of all -his countrymen. Vasari considers that, as a painter and sculptor, "he -would have equalled the great masters of Italy, if he had been born -in Tuscany, and if the study of the antique had helped him to impart -to his figures as much beauty and elegance as they have truth and -delicacy;" as a mathematician he ranked among the first of his time in -Germany; as an engraver--and it is as such only that we can look upon -him here--he enormously advanced the progress of the art. No one before -him ever handled the burin with the same skill and vigour; no one ever -cut outlines on the metal with such absolute certainty, or so carefully -reproduced every detail of modelling. - -[Illustration: FIG. 40.--ALBERT DUeRER. - -Willibald Pirkheimer.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 41.--ALBERT DUeRER. - -The Holy Face.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 42.--ALBERT DUeRER. - -The Standard Bearer.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 43.--ALBERT DUeRER. - -The Ride.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 44.--ALBERT DUeRER. - -The Pommel of Maximilian's Sword.] - -The qualities which distinguished his talent and manner are found -to nearly the same extent in all his work. As examples, however, -peculiarly expressive of his delicate yet powerful talent, we -may mention the hunting "St. Hubert"--or, more probably, St. -Eustace--kneeling before a stag with a miraculous crucifix on its head, -the "St. Jerome in his Cell," the print called the "Knight and Death," -and lastly the subject known as "Melancholia," which should rather -be called "Reflection," but reflection in its gravest, darkest, one -might almost say its most despairing, attitude. This piece, which even -Vasari allows to be "incomparable," represents a woman seated, her head -resting on one hand, whilst she holds in the other a compass with which -she is trifling mechanically. As though to suggest the limitations and -nothingness of human knowledge, an hour-glass and various scientific -instruments are scattered about; whilst in the middle distance a child, -doubtless an image of youthful illusions, is attentively writing, and -contrasts in its serenity with the troubled countenance and despairing -attitude of the principal figure. Had Duerer only engraved this one -extraordinary plate, had he only produced this one work, as strikingly -original in execution as in intention, it would be enough to mark -his position for ever in the history of art, and to commend him to -everlasting honour. But there are many other works from the same -hand which might be also mentioned to confirm or to increase our -admiration. There are many, besides the "Melancholia," where the almost -savage energy of the style is allied to an extraordinary manipulative -delicacy in the expression of details. Sometimes, indeed, his energy -degenerates into violence and his precision into dryness; sometimes--as -a rule, in fact--the general effect is impaired by a too detailed -insistence on subordinate forms, while the beauty of these forms is at -least affected by the minute care with which they have been separately -studied and expressed. But these imperfections, or, if you like, these -faults, may be attributed in part to the tendencies and prejudices of -the period, and in part to that national taste for excessive analysis -which has been a characteristic of the German mind in every age. That -Duerer's merits, on the other hand, are entirely his own, may easily be -seen by comparing his works not only with those of former engravers, -but with those of foreign contemporary masters. Neither in Italy, nor -anywhere else, is it possible to find in the sixteenth century an -engraver of such original inspiration and possessing so much knowledge -and technical skill. Even Marc Antonio, superior though he may be in -sentiment and majesty of style, cannot dispossess Duerer of his lawful -renown, nor take from his art its peculiar virtue and authority. - -[Illustration: FIG. 45.--MARC ANTONIO. - -Lucretia. After Raphael.] - -Marc Antonio Raimondi was born at Bologna, where he studied in the -school of the painter-goldsmith Francesco Francia, and was still only -an unknown worker in niello, and the author of some rather indifferent -plates engraved from his own or his master's designs,[23] when a -journey to Venice and the careful study of Albert Duerer's engravings -showed him the inmost possibilities of an art of which he had till then -known little more than the mere mechanical processes. Unfortunately, as -we have seen, the young engraver was not content with copying these, -the best models of the day, for his own improvement, but, to secure -a double profit, pushed his imitation a step further, and copied the -signature with as much care as the style. - -Some years later he went to Rome, where Raphael, on the recommendation -of Giulio Romano, allowed him to engrave one of his own designs, the -"Lucretia." Other originals from Raphael's pencil were afterwards -reproduced by Marc Antonio with so much success that these fac-similes -of the ideas of the "divine Master" were soon in everybody's hands, and -the best judges, even Raphael himself, were fully satisfied. - -[Illustration: FIG. 46.--MARC ANTONIO. - -Poetry. After Raphael.] - -The nobility of feeling, and the purity of taste and execution, which -shine in these now classic plates have never been surpassed. These -are the qualities, and these only, which we must look for and admire -unreservedly; to seek for more, as to regret its absence, would be -superfluous. To complain of the absence of colour and of aerial -perspective would be as unjust as to expect from Rembrandt the style -and types of the Italian school. Rembrandt's prints are impregnated -with poetry in their tone and in the harmony of their effects; those -of Marc Antonio are models of beauty, as regards line and dignity of -form. The two great masters of Bologna and of Leyden, so opposed to -each other in the nature of their aspirations and the choice of their -methods, have yet, each in his own way, proved their case and carried -their point; and to each must be allotted his own peculiar share of -glory. - -It would be idle to point out with regret, as some have done, what is -lacking in the masterpieces of Marc Antonio, or to say that greater -freedom in rendering colour or in managing light and shade would have -lent them an additional charm.[24] Such qualities should be looked for -elsewhere than in subjects engraved--not, it must be remembered, from -pictures--but from pen or chalk drawings. In sixteenth century Italy -they could scarcely come from the burin of one of Raphael's pupils: -an epic burin, so to speak, and one contemptuous of qualities then -considered of secondary importance. Moreover, the hand of him who held -it was bold rather than skilful, vigorous rather than patient. To model -a body in shadow, he employed unevenly crossed or almost parallel -hatchings, drawn at different widths apart, and in subordination to -the larger feeling of the form and movement he wished to express. Then -lighter strokes led up to the half-light, and a few dots at unequal -distances bordered on the light. - -[Illustration: FIG. 47.--MARC ANTONIO. - -Apollo. After Raphael.] - -What could be simpler than such a method? Yet what more exact in its -results, and what more expressive in drawing? The exact crossing of -lines mattered little to Marc Antonio. What he was taken up with -and wanted to make visible was neither the manner nor the choice of -workmanship: that might be simple indeed, and he was satisfied if only -the beauty of a head or the general aspect of a figure were striking -at a first glance, if only the appearance of the whole was largely -rendered and well defined. Sometimes one outline is corrected by a -second, and these alterations, all the more interesting as we may -suspect that they were ordered by Raphael himself, prove both the -engraver's passion for correct drawing and his small regard for mere -niceties of craftsmanship. The time was yet distant when, in this same -Italy, the trifling search after common technicalities should take the -place of such wise views; when men should set to work to reproduce -the shadows of a face or a piece of drapery by lozenges containing -a semicircle, a little cross, or even something resembling a young -serpent; when engravers like Morghen and his followers should see, in -the reproduction of masterpieces of the brush, only an opportunity for -assembling groups of more or less complicated lines and parading their -dexterity, and should gain by these tricks the applause of all men and -the name of artists. - -[Illustration: FIG. 48.--MARC ANTONIO. - -Portrait of Raphael.] - -The school founded by Marc Antonio soon became the most numerous and -active of all. We have seen that the Germans themselves crowded to -Rome, and surrounded the master who had caused them to forget Albert -Duerer. Engravers came to learn or to perfect their knowledge in the -same school from every part of Italy. There were Marco da Ravenna, -Agostino Veniziano, Giovanni Caraglio da Verona, Il Vecchio da Parma, -and Bonasone da Bologna. Some years later came the family of the -Mantovani, a member of which, Diana Scultori, more often called Diana -Ghisi, presented perhaps the first example, so common afterwards, of a -female engraver. Many others, whose names and works have remained more -or less celebrated, descend from Marc Antonio, whether they received -his teaching directly or through his pupils. - -He, whilst so much talent was being developed under his influence, -continued the kind of work in which he had excelled from the beginning -of his stay in Rome, confining himself to the engraving of Raphael's -compositions: that is, as we have already said, of his drawings. It is -this which explains the difference, at first sight incomprehensible, -between certain prints by Marc Antonio and the same subjects as -painted by Raphael. The painter often submitted to the engraver pen -or pencil sketches of subjects which he afterwards altered with his -brush when transferring them to walls or panels: the "St. Cecilia," -the "Parnassus," the "Poetry," for instance, which are so unlike -in the copy and in what wrongly appears to have been the original. -Raphael often drew specially for engraving: as in the "Massacre of the -Innocents," the "Judgment of Paris" the "Plague of Phrygia," &c.; but -in either case Marc Antonio had but to find the means of faithfully -rendering given forms with the graver, without troubling himself about -those difficulties which the luminous or delicate qualities of colour -would certainly have introduced. - -Raphael's death, however, deprived the engraver of an influence which, -to the great advantage of his talent, he had obeyed submissively for -ten years. Marc Antonio would not continue to work from the drawings of -the master who could no longer superintend him; but he still continued -to honour him in the person of his favourite pupil, Giulio Romano, -to whom he attached himself, and whose works he reproduced almost -exclusively. - -[Illustration: FIG. 49.--MARC ANTONIO. - -The Three Doctors.] - -The connection of the two artists resulted in the publication of some -fine engravings, amongst others the "Hercules and Antaeus," but it -unfortunately terminated in a disgraceful business. Giulio Romano, -following the dissolute manners of the day, rather than the example -and traditions of the noble leader of the school, stooped to design -a series of boldly licentious subjects. Marc Antonio consented to -engrave them, and Pietro Aretino helped still further to degrade the -undertaking by composing an explanatory sonnet to be printed opposite -to each plate. The result was a book whose title is still infamous. -In publishing it the two artists took care not to sign their names. -They were, however, discovered by the boldness of the style and the -firmness of the line; for, surprising as it may seem, neither took -the trouble to alter his usual manner: they merely profaned it. Here, -assuredly, their wonted dignity of form and energy of workmanship -appear somewhat incongruous qualities.[25] The culprits were soon -discovered; and Clement VII. issued a warrant to pursue them, ordering, -at the same time, that every copy of the work should be destroyed. -Aretino fled to Venice, Giulio Romano to Mantua, and the only sufferer -was the engraver. He was imprisoned for several months, and only set -at liberty, thanks to frequent requests made by Giulio de' Medici and -the sculptor Baccio Bandinelli, from whose original, to prove his -gratitude, he executed the beautiful "Martyrdom of St. Lawrence," one -of the masterpieces of Italian engraving. - -The rest of Marc Antonio's life is only imperfectly known. It is said -that he was wounded and left for dead in the streets when Rome was -sacked by the Spanish under the Constable de Bourbon; that he was then -taken prisoner, and only recovered his liberty at the cost of a ransom -large enough to ruin him; and that he then took refuge at Bologna, -where it would appear he soon afterwards died: not, as has been -alleged, murdered by the lawful possessor of one of his plates, which -he had himself forged, but, so says Vasari, "nearly reduced to beggary" -("poco meno che mendico"), and at any rate completely forgotten. - -Marc Antonio's death did not bring with it the ruin of line engraving -in Italy. The numerous pupils he had educated, and in turn the pupils -of these, handed down to the beginning of the seventeenth century -the master's manner, and propagated his doctrines in neighbouring -countries. We have spoken of the revolution which their works produced -in German art; we shall presently see French art submitting in its turn -to Italian influences. Meanwhile, and even during Marc Antonio's life, -a particular sort of engraving was making rapid progress in Italy. -It consisted in the employment of a process, popularised by Ugo da -Carpi, for obtaining from several wooden blocks proofs of engravings in -camaieu: that is, as we explained at the beginning of this book, proofs -in two, three, or four tones, offering almost the same appearance as -drawings washed in with water-colour: a process which Ugo did not -really invent, but only improved from the first attempts made at -Augsburg in 1510 by Jobst Necker, which were destined to be still -further improved by Nicolo Vicentino, Andrea Andreani, Antonio da -Trento, and many others. - -A great number of pieces, executed in the same manner from Raphael and -Parmigiano, prove the skill of Ugo da Carpi, who unfortunately took -it into his head to introduce into painting even more radical changes -than those he had first promoted in engraving. He conceived the strange -idea of painting a whole picture with his finger, without once having -recourse to a brush, and, the proceeding appearing to him praiseworthy, -he perpetuated the recollection of it in a few proud words at the -bottom of the canvas. Michelangelo, to whom the picture was shown as a -remarkable curiosity, merely said that "the only remarkable thing about -it was the folly of the author." What would he have thought of Luca -Cambiaso, the Genoese, whose talent consisted in painting with both -hands at once? - -The practice of engraving in camaieu was not continued in Italy and -Germany beyond the last years of the sixteenth century. Even before -then wood engraving, properly so called, had reached a stage of -considerable importance in both countries; and it had distinguished -itself by decided enough progress to cause engraving in camaieu to lose -much of the favour with which at first it was welcomed. - -We said at the beginning of this chapter that a real regeneration in -wood engraving took place in Germany under the influence of Albert -Duerer. We have plates from the drawings of the master, engraved, if -not entirely by himself, at any rate to a certain extent with his -practical co-operation; we have others--for instance, the "Life of -the Virgin" and the "Passion," to which we have referred in speaking -of Marc Antonio's copies of them with the burin. But, in addition to -these, we have a number of wood engravings, earlier than the second -half of the sixteenth century, which prove the progress made in -the art at this time in Germany, and the ability with which it was -practised by the successors of Wolgemut. Wood engraving was no longer, -as in the time of Wolgemut, a mere mode of linear imitation, and only -fit to represent form by outlines; it was now capable of suggesting -modelling and effect, not of course with that finished delicacy and -freedom which can only be produced in true line engraving, but with an -energetic exactness quite, in accordance with the special conditions -and resources of the process. The "Triumphal Arch of the Emperor -Maximilian," by Hans Burgkmair and to some extent by Albert Duerer; -the "Theuerdannck," an allegorical history of the same prince by -Hans Schauefflein; the "Passion of Jesus Christ;" and the "Illustrium -Ducum Saxoniae Effigies," by Lucas Cranach, as well as many other -collections published at Nuremberg, Augsburg, Weimar, or Wittenberg, -deserve mention as remarkable examples of the peculiar skill of the -German artists of the time. Indeed, when, a little later, the "Dance -of Death," by Luetzelburger, from Holbein, made its appearance, this -masterpiece in wood engraving closed the period of progress which had -gone on in Germany from the beginning of the sixteenth century, and -marked in its general history the time when the art itself had told its -last secret, and attained perfection. - -[Illustration: FIG. 50.--LUeTZELBURGER. - -The Miser. After Holbein.] - -Whilst this regeneration in wood engraving was being accomplished in -Germany, the art continued to be practised in Italy, and especially in -Venice, with a feeling for composition, and that delicate reticence -of handling, of which the cuts in the "Hypnerotomachia Poliphili," -published before the end of the fifteenth century (1499), and in -other books printed some years later, are such striking examples. The -Italian wood engravers of the sixteenth century, however, did not -limit themselves so entirely to the national traditions as to stifle -altogether any attempt at innovation. They had already tried to -enliven even the execution of the illustrations intended to accompany -letterpress by more decided suggestions of light and shade and general -effect. This is the reason of the successful first appearance, and -the present value, of so many beautiful volumes from the printing -presses of Marcolini da Forli, Giolito da Ferrari and other printers -established at Venice. - -[Illustration: PROVER. XXI. - -FIG. 51.--LUeTZELBURGER. - -The Rich Sinner. After Holbein.] - -Little by little, however, the domain of wood engraving widened, or -rather the object which wood engravers set themselves to attain was -changed. Instead of confining themselves, as in the past, to the part -of commentators of authors and illustrators of books, they set to work, -like the line engravers, to publish, in larger dimensions than the size -of a book, prints reproducing separate drawings and sometimes even -pictures. The works of Titian specially served as models to skilful -wood engravers, some of whom, Domenico delle Greche and Nicolo Boldrini -amongst others, are said to have worked in the studio, even under the -master's own eye. According to the careful testimony of Ridolphi, -confirmed by Mariette, Titian gave more than mere advice. He seems, -more than once, to have sketched with his own hand on the wood the -designs to be reproduced by the wood engravers; and amongst the prints -thus begun by him, several "Virgins" in landscapes and a "Triumph of -Christ" may be mentioned: the last "a work," says Mariette, "drawn with -fine taste, in which the hatchings forming the outlines and shadows ... -produce a softness and mellowness understood by Titian alone." - -However brief the preceding observations on the progress of engraving -in the sixteenth century in Germany and Italy may appear, they will -perhaps be sufficient to indicate the reciprocal influence then -exercised by the engravers of both countries. Without ceasing to be -Italian in their real preferences, their tastes, and their innate love -of majesty of style, Marc Antonio and his disciples understood how to -improve their practical execution by Albert Duerer's example, exactly -as Duerer's pupils and their followers, while continuing to be German -as it were in spite of themselves, tried to become Italianised as best -they might. - -But it is time to speak of the school of the Low Countries, which -appeared to stand aloof, as much from the progress in Germany initiated -by Martin Schongauer and Albert Duerer, as from the more recent advance -in Italy. Apparently unaffected by external influences, it was content -to rely on its own powers, and to make use of its own resources, whilst -awaiting the time, now close at hand, when it should in its turn supply -example and teaching to those who had till then believed themselves to -be the teachers. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -LINE ENGRAVING AND ETCHING IN THE LOW COUNTRIES, TO THE SECOND HALF OF -THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. - - -The history of engraving in the Low Countries really dates but from the -early years of the sixteenth century: that is, from the appearance of -the prints of Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533). Before that time certain -line engravers, such as the so-called _Maitre aux Banderoles_, the -"Master of the Streamers," and those other anonymous artists of the -fifteenth century who composed the group called "the Dutch primitives," -had attempted to widen the domain of the art, till then confined to -the wood-cutters who were the contemporaries or successors of the -xylographists of the "Speculum Salvationis" and the "Biblia Pauperum." -But, whilst the German and Italian engravers were distinguishing -themselves by the brilliancy of their achievement, their contemporaries -in the Low Countries were producing works little fitted to compete with -those of the foreign masters. They only succeeded in showing themselves -more or less able artisans. Lucas van Leyden was the first to use -the burin artistically, or at least to handle it with a boldness and -knowledge never foreshadowed in the timid essays of his predecessors. - -[Illustration: FIG. 52.--ANONYMOUS ARTIST OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. - -Hercules and Omphale.] - -While still a child Lucas van Leyden had already attracted the -attention of his countrymen by his talent as a painter, and his sketch -in distemper, the "Story of St. Hubert"--done, it is alleged, at the -age of twelve--placed him at once amongst artists of repute. Some -years later the publication of his prints brought him to the first -rank. He maintained his place till the end of his life; and if, after -his death, the Dutch and Flemish engravers still further perfected the -art he had practised, they did but follow in his footsteps and draw -more abundantly from the source he had discovered. - -The principal feature of the works of Lucas van Leyden, and in general -of all those belonging to his school, is a keen feeling for the -phenomena of light. Albert Duerer, and even Marc Antonio, despised or -misunderstood this essential quality of art. In their works there is -hardly any gradation of tone to suggest atmospheric distance, and we -might mention engravings of theirs where objects consigned to the -background are almost as distinct as those in the foreground. It was -Lucas van Leyden who conceived the idea of perceptibly diminishing the -values according to their distance, of giving to the shadows more or -less of transparency or depth, as the case might be, and of endowing -the lights and half-lights with relatively greater force or delicacy. -Reasoning so valid--based as it was on the real appearances of -nature--was the principal cause of the young Dutch master's success. In -his numerous engravings, however, qualities of another order are added -to the merit of this innovation. The variety of facial expression, -the truth of attitude and gesture, are no less remarkable than the -harmony of effect, and the attempts at what we may venture to call -_naturalistic_ colour. - -[Illustration: FIG. 53.--LUCAS VAN LEYDEN. - -Adam and Eve driven from Paradise.] - -Considered only from the point of view of execution, the pieces -engraved by Lucas van Leyden are far from possessing the same largeness -of design and modelling, and the same simplicity of handling, which -the works of Marc Antonio exhibit, and, in a word, have none of that -masterly ease in the rendering of form which characterises the Italian -engraver. Nor do they exhibit the determination to pursue the truth -even in minute details, and to sternly insist on the portrayal of -such truth when recognised, which distinguishes the work of Albert -Duerer. They are to be specially praised for delicacy of handling, -and for the skilful application of the processes of engraving to the -picturesque representation of reality. Thus, instead of surrounding -with an invariably firm outline objects or bodies at a distance from -one another, instead of treating alike the contour of a figure in the -foreground, and that of a tree, or group of trees, in the background, -Lucas van Leyden altered his work to suit the degree of relative -clearness or uncertainty presented in nature by the forms of objects at -different distances from the eye. An unbroken line is his method for -giving the required boldness to such contours as, from the place they -occupy, must be strongly defined and dominate the rest. When, on the -contrary, he wishes to reproduce the half-veiled lines of a distant -landscape, and to imitate that tremulous and floating aspect assumed by -an object in proportion to its remoteness and the amount of intervening -atmosphere, he changes his touch; and, instead of bounding by a single -continuous line the object reproduced, employs a series of small broken -lines, superimposed in a horizontal or oblique direction; and thus, -instead of a dry definition of outline, he renders with deliberate -hesitation that floating quality which is to be observed in nature. - -[Illustration: FIG. 54.--LUCAS VAN LEYDEN. - -The Visitation.] - -Lucas van Leyden was the first amongst engravers who took into account -with any measure of success the assumed distances of his models, in -order to organise in their representation a varying value of tones and -a general gradation of force. This important change he introduced from -the beginning: that is to say, from 1508, the year of his first dated -print, "The Monk Sergius Killed by Mahomet" (which, by the way, might -be more appropriately entitled "Mahomet before the Body of a Hermit -Murdered by One of his Servants").[26] Here, as in the master's other -prints, the backgrounds are treated with so light a touch that their -distance can be felt; the handling becomes less energetic, the burin -ploughs the copper less heavily, as the objects recede from the front -of the composition. Moreover, every subordinate form is observed and -rendered with singular delicacy; every face and every detail of drapery -bear testimony, by the way they are engraved, to the clear insight of -the artist and his extraordinary skill of hand. His work is strictly -realistic, his style precise and clear rather than loftily inspired; -and we look almost in vain to him for taste, properly so called, the -feeling for the beautiful, in fact, the understanding of the ideal -conditions of art. - -[Illustration: FIG. 55.--LUCAS VAN LEYDEN. - -Pyramus and Thisbe.] - -This it is which constitutes the principal difference, and clearly -marks the distance, between the talent of Lucas van Leyden and that of -Mantegna, of Marc Antonio, or of any other Italian engraver of the -fifteenth or sixteenth centuries. Besides, neither the defects nor the -merits of the master are entirely the result of his inclinations or -his personal habits. The very spirit of Dutch art and the instinctive -preferences of the future school of the seventeenth century are to -be found in embryo in his works, which tend less to initiate us into -the mysteries of the invisible, than to place before us the faithful -image of what really exists. "It was the fate of Holland," as Eugene -Fromentin has well said,[27] "to like _ce qui ressemble_, to return -to it one day or other, to outlive all besides, and to survive and -be saved itself by portraiture." Taking the word in its widest -acceptation, Lucas van Leyden is already engraving "portraits." It is -by the careful imitation of living nature or still-life that he means -to interest us: even when his models are in themselves of little worth, -or, as is sometimes the case, are the reverse of beautiful. - -[Illustration: FIG. 56.--LUCAS VAN LEYDEN. - -Portrait of the Emperor Maximilian I.] - -In representing, for example, "David Calming the Fury of Saul," -with what simple good faith he makes use of the first type he comes -across--a stout clodhopper whom he has picked up in the street or -at the tavern! No more is wanted save a harp under his arm and a -slashed doublet on his body; just as in picturing the most tragical -scenes of the "Passion"--the "Ecce Homo," or the "Crucifixion"--he -thinks it enough to surround his Christ with the Jew peddlers or the -home-keeping citizens of his native town, without altering in any way -their appearance or their dress. What could be more contrary to the -traditions of Italian art and the principles which have governed it, -from Giotto down to Raphael? What less unusual in the history of Dutch -art? Later on Rembrandt himself was to work in the same way; but with -what mighty powers of invention! What a startling expression of the -inner meaning, the philosophy of a subject, is united in his fashion of -treatment with the realistic ideals of the national genius! In truth, -it is not merely the peculiar characteristic of an individual--the -indifference to, or aversion from, conventional beauty of form which -is apparent in this great master, so far-reaching in moral vision, so -pre-eminently sagacious and profound among painters of the soul; it -sums up and reveals the innate disposition and aesthetic temperament of -a whole race. - -In his brief career Lucas van Leyden had the happiness to see his -efforts rewarded and his credit universally established, and of this -authority and influence he ever made the noblest use. Looked upon as -a leader by the painters of his country; in friendly relations with -the German engravers, who, like Albert Duerer, sent him their works, or -came themselves to ask advice; possessing greater wealth than usually -fell to the share of the artists of his time; he never employed his -riches or his influence except in the interest of art, or of the men -who practised it. He refused no solicitant of merit, however slight. -The worthy master was careful to disguise his aid under pretext of -some advantage to himself: he was always requiring drawings of some -building or some artistic object, and thus he spared the self-respect -of the person whom he wished to help, and whom he entrusted with -the commission. More than once he went journeying through the Low -Countries to visit engravers and painters far inferior to himself, whom -he yet modestly called his rivals. He complimented them with words of -praise and encouragement; gave entertainments in their honour; and did -not leave them without exchanging his works for theirs, which were thus -paid for a hundred times over. - -It was in one of these journeys, that to Flushing, that Lucas van -Leyden was attacked with the disease which was destined to carry him to -the grave. Some people have attributed to poison the suddenness of the -attack; but of this there is no proof. Once back in his native town, he -lingered on some time, worn out and sinking, yet refusing to condemn -himself to idleness. Too feeble to rise, he yet continued to draw and -engrave in bed, remaining faithful till the end to the noble passion -of his life, to the art he had dignified, and to that nature which he -had questioned more closely, and, in certain respects, perhaps better -understood than any of his predecessors. It is said that a few hours -before his death he desired to be taken up to a terrace of his house, -that he might once more admire the setting sun; and there, absorbed -in silent contemplation, surrounded by friends and pupils, he for the -last time gazed on the place of his birth, and on that heaven from -which the light was fading, even as life was ebbing from his bosom. It -was a proper conclusion to so pure a life--to one, indeed, of the most -irreproachable careers in the history of art. Lucas van Leyden died at -thirty-eight, an age fatal to more than one great artist, and which -was scarcely attained by three men with whom he seems linked by a -similarity of genius, at least as regards early fertility and sincerity -of inspiration: Raphael, Lesueur, and Mozart. - -The impetus given by Lucas van Leyden to the art of engraving was -seconded, even during his life, by several Dutch artists who imitated -his method more or less successfully. Amongst others, Alart Claessen, -an anonymous engraver called the "Maitre a l'Ecrevisse," and Dirck -Star, or Van Staren, generally called the "Maitre a l'Etoile." The -movement did not slacken after the death of the leader of the school. -The engravers of the Low Countries, accentuating more and more the -qualities aimed at from the beginning, soon surpassed their German -rivals, and seemed alone to be gifted with the knack of dealing with -light. Cornelius Cort, who engraved several of Titian's works in Venice -in the great painter's studio, and the pupils he educated on his return -to Holland, began to exhibit a boldness of touch not to be so clearly -discovered in their predecessors; but this progress, real in some -respects, was not accomplished without injury to truthful study and the -exact interpretation of form, and certainly not without a deplorable -exaggeration in the use of means. - -The workmanship of Hendrik Goltzius, for instance, and still more -that of his pupil, Jan Mueller, is strained and feeble owing to their -affectation of ease. The constant use of bent and parallel lines -unreasonably prolonged imparts to the plates of these two engravers -an appearance at once dull and florid; they present something of the -same aspect as those caligraphical specimens of the present day, in -which the faces of Henri IV. or of Napoleon are drawn entirely with the -curves of a single stroke. Still, in spite of this extremely affected -workmanship, the prints of Goltzius, of Mueller, and even of Saenredam, -are characterised by a comparative intensity of tone, as well as by -singular skill in cutting the copper. This abuse of method, however, -had not yet become general in the schools of the Low Countries. Side -by side with the intemperate or daring craftsmen we have mentioned, -there were certain Flemish and Dutch engravers who imparted to their -work a delicacy and a reticence of expression better suited to the -traditions and the models bequeathed by Lucas van Leyden. These were -Nicolas van Bruyn at Antwerp, the brothers Wierix at Amsterdam, and -some few others, all of them disciples more or less faithful to the -old teaching, and apparently more or less hostile to the effort at -emancipation going on around them. When, however, Rubens took the -reins, individual resistance and impulse ceased, and all controversy -was at an end. Principles, method, and aim became the same for every -one. Both Dutch and Flemish engravers openly set themselves to -represent with the graver the infinite gradations of a painted canvas, -the delicacy and the daring, the nicest punctilio and the most summary -smearing, of the painter's brush. - -Never was the influence of a painter on engraving so direct or so -potent as that of Rubens. The great master had shown by his drawings -that it was possible to be as rich a colourist with black and white -alone as with all the resources of the palette. He made choice amongst -his pupils of those whom he believed to be capable of following his -example in this matter; he obliged them to lay aside the brush, almost -ordered them to become engravers, and so penetrated them with the -secret of his method, that he seems to have animated them with his own -inspiration. He assembled them in the vast house which he had built at -Antwerp, and which he turned into a college of artists of all sorts. -He made them sometimes labour beneath his eye; he carefully corrected -their work;[28] and in this way he taught them that comprehension of -effect which was specially his, and his own incomparable knowledge of -the right tones with which to lay in, or to support, a mass of light or -shadow. - -To recall the success of these efforts is to recall the names of -Vorsterman, Bolswert, Paul Pontius, and Soutman: men boldly scientific -in their art, who, at the first rush, carried to perfection that style -of engraving which renders before all the relative richness and varied -value of tones in a picture, and whose effects are identical in some -sort with those of the painting itself. It is obvious that, in spite -of its prodigious merits, this painting is not of so elevated a nature -as that of Leonardo da Vinci or Raphael; but is it therefore less true -that it is completely summed up, and its living image reflected, -in contemporary engraving? Actuated by an idea of colour and effect -analogous to that of Marc Antonio with regard to drawing, the Flemish -engravers resolutely subordinated accessories to the importance and -splendour of essentials; and in this way they succeeded in dissembling, -by means of the breadth of the whole, the execution of details and even -the laboriousness of the process. It would seem from the sparkling look -and brilliant handiwork of these plates, that the engravers had thrown -them off in a few hours of inspiration, so completely does their dash -banish all idea of the time spent upon them, all sense of patience -and toil. And yet these lights and shades, the sweep of the flesh, -the sheen and shimmer of the fabrics, are all the result of lines -laboriously ploughed; perhaps a thousand strokes have been needed to -imitate an effect due to a single glaze, or given by two touches of the -brush. - -The engravings of the Flemish school in Rubens' time are still -widely distributed. There are few people who have not had the -opportunity of admiring the "Thomiris," the "St. Roch Praying for the -Plague-Stricken," or the "Portrait of Rubens," by Pontius; the "Descent -from the Cross," by Vorsterman; the "Fall of the Damned," by Soutman; -and a hundred other pieces as beautiful, all engraved from the master -by his pupils. And who does not know that marvellous masterpiece, the -"Crown of Thorns," engraved by Bolswert from Van Dyck? and those other -masterpieces of Van Dyck himself--the etched portraits of artists or -amateurs, the painter's friends, from the two Breughels to Cornelis, -from Franz Snyders to Philip Le Roy? - -[Illustration: FIG. 57.--VAN DYCK. - -Etched by Himself.] - -The progress, however, by which the Flemish school of engraving had -distinguished itself, soon had an equivalent in the movement of reform -in Holland. Towards the end of the sixteenth century, and on from -the beginning of the seventeenth, the Dutch engravers, by dint of -insisting too strongly on the innovations of Lucas van Leyden, had -almost succeeded in causing scientific ease of handling to degenerate -into mere trickery, and spirit of design into inflation and turbulence. -Amongst the first, and with greater authority than any, Cornelius -Visscher set himself to stay the art of line engraving on its downward -course. - -[Illustration: FIG. 58.--CORNELIUS VISSCHER. - -The Seller of Ratsbane.] - -Most of the scenes represented by Visscher are assuredly not of a -nature greatly to interest the imagination, still less to touch the -heart. It would be somewhat difficult to be moved to any philosophical -or poetic thought by the contemplation of such work as the -"Frying-Pan," or the "Seller of Ratsbane;" but these, though the ideas -by which they are suggested are trivial or commonplace, are treated -with a deep feeling for truth, with admirable craftsmanship, and with -an amount of sincerity and boldness which makes up for the absence of -beauty, whether in thought or type. Considered only from the point of -view of execution, the plates of Visscher are masterpieces; are such -marvels, indeed, that they cannot be too carefully studied by all -engravers, whatever the style of their work. - -[Illustration: FIG. 59.--CORNELIUS VISSCHER. - -Giles Boutma.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 60.--PAUL POTTER. - -The Cow.] - -The same may be said in another order of art for those fine -portraits--of "Boccaccio," of "Pietro Aretino," and of -"Giorgione"--engraved by Cornelius Van Dalen, the best of Visscher's -pupils. It is also on the same ground, that, in spite of most notable -differences in handling, the plates engraved by Jonas Suyderhoef, after -Terburg and Theodore de Keyse, command the attention of artists and -amateurs. Finally, side by side with these works, in the execution -of which etching was only resorted to as a preparatory process, or -sometimes was not even used at all, a number of subjects entirely -engraved with the needle--etchings, to speak strictly--make up a -whole which is the more creditable to the Dutch school, inasmuch as -it would be impossible at any time to find the like in the schools of -other countries. French engraving had doubtless reason to be proud of -the masterpieces of Claude Lorraine, or the clever and witty etchings -of Callot and Israel Silvestre. In Italy after Parmigiano, Agostino -Carracci, and certain other contemporary Bolognese, in Spain, Ribera, -and afterwards Goya, acquired a legitimate renown as etchers. But -whatever may be the merit of their individual work, these artists are -unconnected in either of their native countries with any group wholly -devoted to work of the same kind: with any artistic family of common -origin, inclination, and belief. - -[Illustration: FIG. 61.--J. RUYSDAEL. - -The Little Cornfield.] - -Now the skilful Dutch etchers do not come singly, nor at long -intervals. They work in a body. It is within a few years, in fact -almost simultaneously, that Adrian Brauwer and Adrian van Ostade -publish their tavern scenes; Ruysdael and Jan Both their landscapes; -Paul Potter and Berghem, Adrian van de Velde, Marc de Bye, Karel du -Jardin, such a multitude of charming little subjects, their village -scenes and village people, their flocks in the fields, or their single -animals. Whilst emulating each other's talent, all are agreed to pursue -one and the same object, all are agreed as to the necessity of devotion -to the study of surrounding nature and everyday truth. - -Although the Dutch etchers display in the totality of their achievement -the same ideal and the same tendency, each keeps, if only in the matter -of workmanship, a certain distinction and character of his own. One, -however, stands out from the group with matchless splendour, with all -the superiority of genius over talent: that one is Rembrandt. - -[Illustration: FIG. 62.--REMBRANDT. - -Portrait of Himself: _Rembrandt Appuye_.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 63.--REMBRANDT. - -Faust.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 64.--REMBRANDT. - -Joseph's Coat brought to Jacob.] - -Pains and patience have been wasted on the secret of Rembrandt's method -of etching and printing; in trying to discover his tools and his manner -of using them, so as to achieve with him those contrasts of soft shadow -and radiant light. Vain quest of technical tricks where, really, there -is no more than a style born of imagination, and, like it, inspired -from above! It may be said that with Rembrandt, as with great musical -composers, the harmonic system is so closely allied to the melodic -idea, that analysis, if not impossible, is at least superfluous. It -sometimes happens--before a Correggio, for instance--that the charm -of the painting affects one in a manner abstract enough to produce -a sort of musical sensation. Though it does not appear that the art -of engraving could be endowed with a similar expansive force, yet -Rembrandt's etchings may almost be said to possess it. They give the -feeling of undefined aspirations rather than the limited likeness -of things; the spectator is touched by the mysterious meaning of -these passionate visions, rather than by the form in which they -are conveyed. The impression received is so keen that it stifles -any trivial wish to criticise, and certain details which would be -painful elsewhere are here not even displeasing, inasmuch as no one -would dream of requiring a mathematical explanation of the special -conditions of the subject, or of the skill of workmanship which the -artist has displayed Before the "Sacrifice of Abraham," the "Tobit," -the "Lazarus," and all the other soul-speaking masterpieces, who would -pause to consider the strangeness or the vulgarity of the personages -and their apparel? Only the critic, who, unwitting of the rest, -would begin by examining with a magnifying glass the _workmanship_ -of the ray of light which illumines the "Hundred Guilder Piece," the -"Annunciation," or the "Pilgrimage to Emmaus." - -[Illustration: FIG. 65.--REMBRANDT. - -Tobit's Blindness.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 66.--REMBRANDT. - -Jan Lutma.] - -Rembrandt's method is, so to speak, supersensuous. At times he lightly -touches his plate, and at times he attacks as at a venture; at others -he skims the surface and caresses it with an exquisite refinement, a -magical dexterity. In his lights he breaks the line of the contour, but -only to resume and boldly accentuate it in his shadows; or he reverses -the method, and in the one, as in the other case, succeeds infallibly -in fixing, satisfying, and convincing the attention. He uses engraver's -tools and methods as Bossuet uses words, subduing them to the needs -of his thought, and constraining them to express it, careless of fine -finish as of trivial subtlety. Like Bossuet, too, he composes out of -the most incongruous elements, out of the trivial and the lofty, the -commonplace and the heroic, a style invariably eloquent; and from the -mingling of these heterogeneous elements there springs an admirable -harmony of result. - -[Illustration: FIG. 67.--REMBRANDT. - -The Beggars.] - -The Flemish engravers formed by Rubens, and their Dutch contemporaries, -had no worthy successors. The revolution they accomplished in the -art was brief, and did not extend beyond the Low Countries. In -Italy, Dutch and Flemish engravings were naturally despised. It is -said--and it is easy to believe--that those accustomed to commune -with Raphael and Marc Antonio esteemed them fitting decorations "for -the walls of pothouses." In France and Germany, where Italian ideas -in art had reigned since the sixteenth century, they experienced at -first no better reception. When at length the consideration they -really deserved was accorded them, the superiority of France was -established, and her engravers could no longer be expected to descend -to imitation. The movement in the schools of the Low Countries, before -the second half of the seventeenth century, is thus, to speak truth, -a mere episode in the history of the art, and its masterpieces had -no lasting influence on engraving in general. For it to have been -otherwise, the engravers of other countries must have renounced, not -only the national traditions, but even the models they had at hand. The -method of Bolswert or of Pontius could only be usefully employed to -reproduce the works of Rubens and Van Dyck. The handling of Visscher -and of Suyderhoef was only suitable to such pictures as were painted in -Amsterdam and Leyden. - -[Illustration: FIG. 68.--REMBRANDT. - -The Pancake-maker.] - -And meanwhile, when the schools of the Low Countries were shining with -a lustre so brilliant and so transitory, what was doing in France? and -how in France was the great age of engraving inaugurated? - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - THE BEGINNING OF LINE ENGRAVING AND ETCHING IN FRANCE AND - ENGLAND. FIRST ATTEMPTS AT MEZZOTINT. A GLANCE AT ENGRAVING IN - EUROPE BEFORE 1660. - - -The French were unable to distinguish themselves early in the art of -engraving, as the conditions under which they laboured were different -from those which obtained in Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries: -the homes, all three of them, of schools of painting. From the -thirteenth century onwards, the architects and sculptors of France had -produced an unbroken succession of good things; but the origin of her -school of painting is not nearly so remote, nor has it such sustained -importance. Save for the unknown glass-painters of her cathedrals, for -the miniaturists who preceded and succeeded Jean Fouquet, and for the -artists in chalks whose work is touched with so peculiar a charm and so -delicate an originality, she can boast of no great painter before Jean -Cousin. And the art of engraving could scarcely have flourished when, -as yet, the art of painting had scarcely existed. - -[Illustration: FIG. 69.--NOEL GARNIER. - -Grotesques.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 70.--JEAN DUVET. - -The Power of Royalty.] - -Wood-cutting, it is true, was practised in France with a certain -success, as early as the beginning of the sixteenth century, and even -a little before that. The "Danses macabres"--those aids to morality -so popular in mediaeval times--the illustrated "Books of Hours," and -other compilations besides, printed with figures and tail-pieces, in -Lyons or Paris, give earnest of the unborn masterpieces of Geofroy -Tory, of Jean Cousin himself, and of sundry other draughtsmen and -wood-cutters of the reigns of Francois I. and Henri II. But, as -practised by goldsmiths, such as Jean Duvet and Etienne Delaune, and -by painters of the Fontainebleau school like Rene Boyvin and Geofroy -Dumonstier, line engraving and etching were still no more than a means -of popularising extravagant imitations of Italian work. The prints of -Nicolas Beatrizet, who had been the pupil of Agostino Musi at Rome, and -those of another engraver of Lorraine, whose name has been Italianised -into Niccolo della Casa, appear to have been produced with the one -object of deifying the spirit of sham, and converting French engravers -to that religion to which French painters had apostatised with so much -ill-fortune under the influence of the Italians brought in by Francis I. - -[Illustration: FIG. 71.--ETIENNE DELAUNE. - -Adam and Eve driven from Paradise.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 72.--ETIENNE DELAUNE. - -Mirror.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 73.--ANDROUET DU CERCEAU. - -Ornamented Vase.] - -During the whole of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth -centuries the French school of engraving had neither method nor bent of -its own; but meanwhile it was a whim of fashion that every one should -handle the burin or the point. From the days of Henri II. to those of -Louis XIII., craftsman or layman, everybody practised engraving. There -were goldsmiths like Pierre Woeiriot, painters like Claude Corneille -and Jean de Gourmont, architects like Androuet du Cerceau; there -were noblemen; there were even ladies--as, for instance, Georgette -de Montenay, who dedicated to Jeanne d'Albret a collection of mottoes -and emblems, partly, it was said, of her own engraving. All the world -and his wife, in fact, were gouging wood and scraping copper. It -must be repeated that the prints of this time are for the most part -borrowed--are copies feeble or stilted, or both, of foreign originals. -Not until after some years of thraldom could the French engravers shake -off the yoke of Italian art, create a special style, and constitute -themselves a school. The revolution was prepared by Thomas de Leu and -Leonard Gaultier, engravers of portraits and of historical subjects; -but the hero of the French school is Jacques Callot. - -There are certain names in the history of the arts which retain an -eternal odour of popularity; we remember them as those of men of -talent, who were also in some sort heroes of romance, and our interest -remains perennial. Jacques Callot is one of these. He is probably the -only French engraver[29] whose name is yet familiar to the general -public. That this is so is hardly the effect of his work, however -excellent: it is rather the result of his adventures; of his flight -from home in childhood; his wanderings with the gipsies; and the luck -he had--his good looks aiding--with the ladies of Rome, and even (it is -whispered) with the wife of Thomassin his master. - -[Illustration: FIG. 74.--THOMAS DE LEU. - -Henri IV.] - -We have said it is Callot's merit to have lifted the French school of -engraving out of the rut in which it dragged, and to have opened for -it a new path. He did not, however, accomplish the work with an entire -independence, nor without some leanings towards that Italy in which -he had been trained. After working in Florence under Canta-Gallina, -whose freedom of style and fantastic taste could not but prove -irresistible to the future artist of Franca Trippa and Fritellino, he -had been obliged to return to Nancy. Thence he escaped a second time, -and thither was a second time brought back by his eldest brother, who -had been despatched in pursuit. A third journey took him to Rome; and -there, whether glad to be rid of him or weary of debate, his family let -him remain. - -It is probable that during his expatriation,[30] Callot never so much -as dreamed of learning from the Old Masters; but he did not fail to -make a close study of certain contemporaries who were masters so -called. Paul V. was Pope; and the age of Raphael and Marc Antonio, -of Julius II. and Leo X., was for ever at an end. The enfeebling -eclecticism of the Carracci, and the profitless fecundity of Guido, had -given currency to all sorts of second-rate qualities, and in painting -had substituted prettiness for beauty. The result was an invasion of -frivolity, alike in manners and beliefs, which was destined to find its -least dubious expression in the works of Le Josepin, and later on in -those of an artist of kindred tastes with the Lorraine engraver--the -fantastical Salvator Rosa. When Callot settled in Rome in 1609, Le -Josepin had already reached the climax of fame and fortune; Salvator, -at an interval of nearly thirty years, was on the heels of his first -success. Coming, as he did, to take a place among the dexterous and the -eccentric, it seems that Callot could not have chosen a better time. It -was not long before he attracted attention; for when he left Rome for -Florence, where he produced some of his liveliest work, his name and -his capacity were already in repute. - -[Illustration: FIG. 75.--CALLOT. - -From the Set entitled "Balli di Sfessania."] - -At Florence his capacity was perfected under the influence of Giulio -Parigi; and, thanks to the favour of Duke Cosmo II., which he easily -obtained, his name soon became famous in the world of fashion as -among connoisseurs. Unlike his countrymen, Claude Lorraine and the -noble Poussin, who, some years later, were in this same Italy to live -laborious and thoughtful lives, Callot freely followed his peculiar -vein, and saw in art no more than a means of amusement, in the people -about him only subjects for caricature, and in imaginative and even -religious subjects but a pretext for grotesque invention. Like another -French satirist, Mathurin Regnier, who had preceded him in Rome, he -was addicted to vulgar types, to rags and deformities, even to the -stigmata of debauchery. Thus, the works of both these two men, whom we -may compare together, too often breathe a most dishonourable atmosphere -of vice. With a frankness which goes the length of impudence, they give -full play to their taste for degradation and vile reality; and yet -their vigour of expression does not always degenerate into cynicism, -nor is the truth of their pictures always shameless. The fact is, both -had the secret of saying exactly enough to express their thoughts, -even when these were bred by the most capricious fancy. They may be -reproached with not caring to raise the standard of their work; but -it is impossible to deny them the merit of having painted ugliness -of every kind firmly and with elegant precision, nor that of having -given, each in his own language, a definite and truly national form to -that art of satire which had been hardly so much as rough-hewn in the -caricatures and pamphlets of the League. - -[Illustration: FIG. 76.--J. CALLOT. - -From the Set entitled "Les Gentilshommes".] - -Etching, but little practised in Germany after the death of Duerer, -had found scarcely greater favour in Italy. As to the Dutch Little -Masters, spoken of in the preceding chapters, the time was not yet -come for most of their charming works. Claude Lorraine's etchings, now -so justly celebrated, were themselves of later date than Callot's. -The latter was, therefore, the real author of this class of work. In -his hand the needle acquired a lightness and boldness not presaged -in previous essays, which were at once coarse and careless. In his -suggestions of life in motion, he imitated the swift and lively gait -of the pencil, whilst his contours are touched with the severity of -the pen, if not of the burin itself. In a word, he gave his plates an -appearance of accuracy without destroying that look of improvisation -which is so necessary to work of the kind; in this way he decided the -nature and special conditions of etching. It was owing to his influence -that French art first attracted the attention of the Italians: Stefano -della Bella, Cantarini and even Canta-Gallina (who did not disdain to -copy the etchings of his old pupil), Castiglione the Genoese, and many -others, essayed, with more or less success, to appropriate the style -of the master of Nancy; and when he returned to establish himself in -France, where his reputation had preceded him, he found admirers, and -before long a still greater following of imitators. - -[Illustration: FIG. 77.--J. CALLOT. - -From the Set entitled "Les Gueux."] - -He was presented to Louis XIII., who at once commissioned him to -engrave the "Siege of La Rochelle," and received at Court with -remarkable favour, which was, however, withdrawn some years later, -when he was bold enough to oppose the will of Richelieu. After the -taking of Nancy (1633) from the Duke of Lorraine, Callot's sovereign, -the great Cardinal, to immortalise the event, ordered the engraver to -make it the subject of a companion print to that of the "Siege of La -Rochelle," which he had just finished; but he was revolted by the idea -of using his talents for the humiliation of his prince, and replied to -Richelieu's messenger, "that he would rather cut off his thumb than -obey." The reply was not of a kind to maintain him in the good graces -of the Cardinal, and Callot felt it. He took leave of the king, and -soon after retired to his native town, where he died at the age of -forty-three. - -Really introduced into France by Callot, etching had become the fashion -there. Abraham Bosse and Israel Silvestre helped to popularise it, -the latter by applying it to topography and architecture, the former -by using it for the illustration of religious and scientific books, -and the embellishment of the fans and other elegant knick-knacks then -selling in that "Galerie Dauphine du Palays" which is figured in one of -his prints, and from which a play of Corneille's derives its name. He -published besides an infinite number of subjects of all sorts: domestic -scenes, portraits, costumes, architectural ornaments, almost always -engraved from his own designs, and sometimes from those of the Norman -painter, Saint-Ygny. - -[Illustration: FIG. 78.--CLAUDE LORRAINE. - -"Le Bouvier."] - -Abraham Bosse is doubtless a second-rate man, but he is far from having -no merit at all. He is an intelligent, if not a very delicate observer, -who knows how to impart to his figures and to the general aspect of a -scene an appearance of reality which is not altogether the truth, but -which comes very near to having its charm. He certainly possesses the -instinct of correct drawing, in default of refined taste and feeling; -and finally, to take him simply as an engraver, he has much of the bold -and firm handling of Callot, with something already of that cheerful -and thoroughly French cleverness which was destined to be more and more -developed in the national school of engraving, and to reach perfection -in the second half of the seventeenth century. - -To Abraham Bosse are owing decided improvements in the construction of -printing-presses, the composition of varnishes, and all the practical -parts of the art; to him some technical studies are also due, the most -interesting of which, the "Traite des Manieres de Graver sur l'Airain -par le Moyen des Eaux-fortes," is, if not the first, at least one of -the first books on engraving published in France. We may add that the -works of Abraham Bosse, like those of all other etchers of his time, -show a continual tendency to imitate with the needle the work of the -graver: a tendency worth remarking, though blamable in some respects, -as its result is to deprive each class of work of its peculiar -character, and from etching in particular to remove its appearance of -freedom and ease. - -We have reached the moment when the French school of engraving entered -the path of progress, no more to depart from it, and when, after having -followed in the rear of foreign engravers, the French masters at -length began to make up with and almost to outdistance them. Before -proceeding, we must glance at the movement of those schools whose -beginnings we have already traced. - -[Illustration: FIG. 79.--CLAUDE LORRAINE. - -"Le Chevrier."] - -The line of really great Italian painters went out with the sixteenth -century. Domenichino, indeed, Annibale Carracci, and a few others, -glorified the century that followed; but their works, although full -of sentiment, skill, and ability, are quite as much affected by the -pernicious eclecticism of the period and by the general decline in -taste. After them all the arts declined. Sculpture and architecture -became more and more degraded under the influence of Bernini and -Borromini. Athirst for novelty of any kind, people had gradually come -to think the most extravagant fancies clever. To bring the straight -line into greater disrepute, statues and bas-reliefs were tortured as -by a hurricane; attitudes, draperies, and even immovable accessories -were all perturbed and wavering. The engravers were no better than -the painters, sculptors, and architects. By dint of exaggerating the -idealistic creed, they had fallen into mere insanity; and in the midst -of this degradation of art, they aimed at nothing save excitement -and novelty, so that their invention was only shown in irregular -or overlengthy lines, and their impetuosity in bad drawing. Daily -wandering further from the paths of the masters, the Italian engravers -at last attained, through the abuse of method, a complete oblivion of -the essential conditions of their art; so that with few exceptions, -till the end of the eighteenth century, nothing is to be found save -barren sleight-of-hand in the works of that very school, which, in the -days of Marc Antonio and his pupils, had been universally triumphant. - -[Illustration: FIG. 80.--ABRAHAM BOSSE. - -From the Set entitled "Le Jardin de la Noblesse Francaise."] - -After the Little Masters, inheritors of some of the genius, skill, and -renown of Albert Duerer, Germany had given birth to a fair number of -clever engravers, the majority of whom had left their country. Some -of them, indistinguishable to-day from the second generation of Marc -Antonio's disciples, had, as we said, abandoned the national style for -the Italian; others had settled in France or in the Low Countries. The -Thirty Years' War accomplished the ruin of German art, which before -long was represented only in Frankfort, where Matthew Merian of Basle, -and his pupils, with certain engravers from neighbouring countries, had -taken refuge. - -Whilst engraving was declining in Italy and Germany, the English school -was springing into being. Though at first of small importance, the -beginnings and early essays of the school are such as may hardly pass -without remark. - -For some time England had seemed to take little part in the progress of -the fine arts in Europe, except commercially, or as the hostess of many -famous artists, from Holbein to Van Dyck. There were a certain number -of picture-dealers and print-sellers in London, but under Charles I. -her only painters and engravers of merit were foreigners.[31] The -famous portrait painter, Sir Peter Lely, whom the English are proud -to own, was a German, as was Kneller, who inherited his reputation, -and, as was Hollar, an engraver of unrivalled talent.[32] And while -a few pupils of this last artist were doing their best to imitate his -example, the taste for line engraving and etching, which processes were -being slowly and painfully popularised by their efforts, was suddenly -changed into a passion for another method, in which the principal -success of the English school has since been won. - -Prince Rupert, so renowned for his courage and his romantic adventures, -had the fortunate chance to introduce to London the process of -engraving which is called mezzotint. In spite, however, of what has -been alleged, the honour of the invention is not his. Ludwig von -Siegen, a lieutenant-colonel in the service of the Landgrave of -Hesse-Cassel, had certainly discovered mezzotint before the end of -1642, for in the course of that year he published a print in this -style--the portrait of the Princess Amelia Elizabeth of Hesse--the -very first ever given to the public. Von Siegen for awhile refused to -divulge his secret. "There is not," he wrote to the Landgrave of Hesse -concerning this same portrait, "a single engraver, nor a single artist, -who knows how this work was done." - -And, indeed, no one succeeded in finding out, and it was only after -a silence of twelve years that Von Siegen consented to reveal his -mystery. Prince Rupert, then at Brussels, was the first initiated. He, -in his turn, chose for confidant the painter Wallerant Vaillant, who -apparently did not think himself bound to strict silence, for, soon -afterwards, a number of Flemish engravers attempted the process. Once -made public, no one troubled about the man who had invented it. He was, -in fact, so quickly and completely forgotten, that even in 1656 Von -Siegen was obliged to claim the title, which no one any longer dreamed -of giving him, and to sign his works: "Von Siegen, the first and true -inventor of this kind of engraving." It was still worse in London -when the plates engraved by Prince Rupert were exhibited, and when -the English artists had learnt how they could produce the like. They -set themselves to work without looking out for any other models, and -were much more taken up with their own results than the history of the -discovery, the whole honour of which was attributed to Rupert, the man -who in reality had only made it public. - -[Illustration: FIG. 81.--PRINCE RUPERT. - -Head of a Young Man (engraved in Mezzotint).] - -The talent of Rupert's first imitators, like that of the originator -himself, did not rise above mediocrity. Amongst their direct -successors, and the successors of these, there are few of much account; -but in the eighteenth century, when Sir Joshua Reynolds undertook, -like Rubens at Antwerp, to himself direct the work of engraving, the -number of good English mezzotint engravers became considerable. Earlom, -Ardell, Smith, Dickinson, Green, Watson, and many others deserving of -mention, greatly increased the resources of the process, by applying -it to the reproduction of the master's works. Mezzotint, at first -reserved for portraits, was used for subjects of every sort: flower -pieces, genre, even history; and step by step it attained to practical -perfection, of which, at the beginning of the present century, the -English still had the monopoly. - -The methods of mezzotint differ completely from those of line engraving -and etching. With the graver and the needle the shadows and half-tones -are made out on copper by means of incised lines and touches; with the -mezzotint tool, on the contrary, the lights are produced by scraping, -the shadows by leaving intact the corresponding portions of the plate. -Instead of offering a flat, smooth surface, like the plates in line -engraving, a mezzotint copper must be first grained by a steel tool -(called the "rocker"), shaped like a chisel, with a semicircular blade -which is bevelled and toothed. Sometimes (and this is generally the -case in the present day) the "rocking" of the surface, on which the -engraver is to work, is produced, not by a tool, but by a special -machine. - -When the drawing has been traced in the usual way on the prepared -plate, the grain produced by the rocker is rubbed down with the -burnisher wherever pure white or light tints are required. The parts -that are not flattened by the burnisher print as darks; and these darks -are all the deeper and more velvety as they result from the grain -itself--that is to say, from a general preparation specially adapted to -catch the ink--and are by no means composed, as in line engraving, of -furrows more or less crowded or cross-hatched. - -Mezzotint engraving has, in this respect, the advantage of other -processes; in all others it is decidedly inferior. The rough grain -produced on a plate by the rocker, and the mere scraping by which -it is obliterated or modified, are technical hindrances to decided -drawing: only with graver or point is it possible to make outlines of -perfect accuracy. Again, precision, delicacy of modelling, and perfect -finish in detail are impossible to the scraper. Mezzotint, in fine, -is suitable for the translation of pictures where the light is scarce -and concentrated, but is powerless to render work quiet in aspect and -smooth in effect. - -English engravers, then, had begun to rank as artists. Callot, and, -after him, other French engravers already remarkably skilful, had -succeeded in founding a school which was soon to be honoured by -the presence of true masters; Italy and Germany were deteriorating -steadily. Meanwhile, what was going on elsewhere? In Spain there -was a brilliant galaxy of painters, some of whom, like Ribera, have -left etchings; but there were few or no professional engravers. In -Switzerland, Jost Amman of Zurich (1539-1591) was succeeded by a -certain number of illustrator-engravers, heirs of his superficial -cleverness and of his commercial rather than artistic ideas: engravers, -by the way, who are commonly confounded with the German masters of the -same epoch. Lastly, the few Swedes or Poles who studied art, whether in -Flanders or Germany, never succeeded in popularising the taste for it -in their own countries; only for form's sake need they be mentioned. - -The first of the two great phases of the history of engraving ends -about the middle of the seventeenth century. We have seen that the -influence of Marc Antonio, though combated at first by the influence -of Albert Duerer, easily conquered, and prevailed without a rival in -Italy, Germany, and even France, until the appearance of Callot and -his contemporaries. Meanwhile, in the Low Countries the art presented -a physiognomy of its own, developed slowly, and ended by undergoing -a thorough, but brief, transformation under the authority of Rubens. -The Flemish school was soon to be absorbed in that of France, and the -second period, which may be termed the French, to begin in the history -of engraving. - -Were it permissible, on the authority of examples given elsewhere, -to compare a multitude of men separated by differences of epoch and -endowment, we might arrange the old engravers in the order adopted for -a group of much greater artists by the painters of the "Apotheosis of -Homer" and the "Hemicycle of the Palais des Beaux-Arts." Let us regard -them in our mind's eye as a master might figure them. In the centre is -Finiguerra, the father of the race; next to him, on the one side, are -the Master of 1466, Martin Schongauer, and Albert Duerer; on the other, -Mantegna and Marc Antonio, surrounded, like the three German masters, -by their disciples, amongst whom they maintain an attitude of command. -Between the two groups, but rather on the German side, is Lucas van -Leyden, first in place, as by right, among the Dutchmen. Below these -early masters, who wear upon their brows that expression of severity -which distinguishes their work, comes the excited crowd of daring -innovators, whose merit is in the spirit of their style--Bolswert, -Vorsterman, Pontius, Cornelius Visscher, Van Dalen, and their rivals. -Rembrandt muses apart, sombre, and as though shrouded in mystery. -Lastly, in the middle distance, are seen the merely clever engravers: -the Dutch Little Masters, Callot, Hollar, and Israel Silvestre. - -If, on the other hand, we must abandon this realm of fancy for the -regions of fact, we might sum up the results of past progress by -instancing a few prints of perfect beauty. Our own selection would be -Mantegna's "Entombment;" Marc Antonio's "Massacre of the Innocents;" -the "Death of the Virgin," by Martin Schongauer; Duerer's "Melancholia;" -the "Calvary" of Lucas van Leyden; Rembrandt's "Christ Healing the -Sick;" Bolswert's "Crown of Thorns;" the "Portrait of Rubens," by Paul -Pontius, or the "Gellius de Bouma" of Cornelius Visscher; and finally, -Callot's "Florentine Fair," or "Garden at Nancy," and the "Bouvier," -or, better still, the "Soleil Levant" of Claude Lorraine. Happy the -owner of this selection of masterpieces: the man who, better inspired -than the majority of his kind, has preferred a few gems to an overgrown -and unwieldy collection. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -FRENCH ENGRAVERS IN THE REIGN OF LOUIS XIV. - - -We have followed through all its stages the progress of the art of -engraving, from the time of its earliest more or less successful -attempts, to the time when a really important advance was accomplished. -However brilliant these early phases may have been, properly speaking -they include but the beginnings of the art. The epoch we are now to -traverse is that of its complete development and fullest perfection. - -We have seen that the schools of Italy and the Low Countries had, each -in its own direction, largely increased the resources of engraving, -without exhausting them. The quality of drawing would seem to have -been carried to an inimitable perfection in the works of Marc Antonio, -had not examples of a keener sense of form and an exactness even more -irreproachable been discovered in those of the French masters of the -seventeenth century. The engravings produced under the direct influence -of Rubens only remained the finest specimens of the science of colour -and effect until the appearance of the plates engraved in Paris by -Gerard Audran. Finally, though the older engravers had set themselves -the task of accentuating a certain kind of beauty, suitable to the -peculiar tastes and capacities of the schools to which they belonged, -none of them had sought, at least with any success, to present in one -whole all the different species of beauty inherent in the art. It was -reserved for the French engravers of the age of Louis XIV. to unite -in one supreme effort qualities which till then had seemed to exclude -each other. While they proved themselves draughtsmen as skilful and -colourists as good as the best of their predecessors, they excelled -them in their harmonious fusion of whatever qualities are appropriate -to engraving, as also in the elasticity of their theory and the -all-round capacity of their method. - -The works of the Louis XIII. engravers heralded this new departure, -and prepared the way for the real masters. As soon as, with a view -to securing a certain measure of independence, the French school -of painting had begun to free itself from the spirit of systematic -imitation, the art of line engraving proceeded resolutely along an open -path, and marked its course by still more significant improvements. To -say nothing of Thomas de Leu--who for that matter was not, perhaps, -born in France[33]--and nothing of Leonard Gaultier, who, like De Leu, -principally worked in the reign of Henri IV., Jean Morin, whose method, -at once so picturesque and so firm, was the result of a peculiar -combination of acid, dry-point, and the graver, Michel Lasne, Claud -Mellan--in spite of the somewhat pretentious ease and rather affected -skill of his handling--and other line engravers, variously capable, -each after his kind, are found to owe nothing to foreign example. -Their works already do more than hint at the new departure; but we are -approaching the period when distinguished engravers become so common in -the French school, that in this place we need only mention those whose -names are still of special importance. - -Robert Nanteuil, one of the most eminently distinguished, and, taking -them chronologically, one of the first, was destined for the bar, and -in his youthful tastes showed none of that irresistible tendency to -the arts which is the common symptom of great talent. Whilst studying -literature and science at Rheims, where he was born in 1626, he also -took up drawing and engraving, but with no idea of devoting himself -steadily to either. It seems, however, that after having merely dallied -in odd moments with the art which was one day to make him famous, he -very soon concluded that he had served a sufficient apprenticeship; -for at nineteen he set about engraving the frontispiece to his own -philosophical thesis. - -[Illustration: FIG. 82.--JEAN MORIN. - -Antoine Vitre. After Philippe de Champagne.] - -It was in those days the custom to ornament such writings with -figures and symbols appropriate to the candidate's position, or to -the subject of his argument. The most distinguished painters did not -disdain to design originals, and the frontispieces engraved from -Philippe de Champagne, Lesueur, and Lebrun, are not unworthy of the -talent and reputation of those great men. Nanteuil, in emulation, -was anxious not only to produce a masterpiece, but to invest it with -an appearance of grandeur as little fitted to his position as to his -slender acquaintance with the art. However that may have been, he -sustained his thesis to the satisfaction of the judges; and, albeit an -exceedingly bad one, his engraving was admired in the society which -he frequented.[34] Some verses addressed to ladies[35] still further -increased his reputation as a universal genius. Unfortunately, to all -these public successes were added others of a more purely personal -nature, which were soon noised abroad; and it would appear that, fresh -adventures having led to a vexatious scandal, Nanteuil, who shortly -before had married the sister of the engraver Regnesson, was compelled -to leave, almost in secrecy, a place where once he had none save -admirers and friends. By a fatal coincidence the fugitive's family was -ruined at the same time: it became imperative for him to live by his -own work, and to seek his fortune in the practice of draughtsmanship. - -Abandoning the law, he therefore set out for Paris, where he arrived -poor and unknown, but determined to succeed. The question was, -how without introductions to gain patrons? how to make profitable -acquaintances in the great city? After losing some days in quest of a -good opening, it is said that he hit upon a somewhat strange device. He -had brought with him from Rheims some crayon portraits, as specimens -of his ability; he chose one of these, and waited at the door of -the Sorbonne till the young divinity students came out of class. He -followed them into a neighbouring wine shop, where they were wont -to take their meals, and pretended to be looking for some one whose -portrait he had taken (he said) the week before. He knew neither the -name nor address of his sitter, but thought that if his fellow-students -would look at the drawing, they might be able and willing to help -him. It is superfluous to say that the original of the portrait was -not recognised; but the picture passed from hand to hand, and was -admired; the price was asked, the artist was careful to be moderate in -his demands, and some of the young men were so taken by the smallness -of the sum, that they offered to sit for their portraits. The first -finished and approved, other students in their turn wanted their -portraits for their families and friends. This gave the young artist -more remunerative work. His connection rapidly increased, and before -long he was entrusted with the reproduction, on copper, of drawings -commissioned by distinguished parliament men and persons of standing -at the Court. At last the king, whose portrait he afterwards engraved -in different sizes--as often as eleven times--gave him a number of -sittings, after which Nanteuil received a pension and the title of -Dessinateur du Cabinet.[36] - -Louis XIV. was not satisfied with thus rewarding a talent already -recognised as superior; he was also desirous of stimulating by general -measures the development of what he had himself declared a "liberal -art."[37] Engravers were privileged to exercise it without being -subjected to "any apprenticeship, or controlled by other laws than -those of their own genius;" and seven years later (1667) the royal -establishment at the Gobelins became virtually a school of engraving. -Whilst Lebrun, its first director-in-chief, assembled therein an army -of painters, draughtsmen, and even sculptors, and wrought from his own -designs the tapestries of the "Elements" and the "Saisons," Sebastien -Leclerc superintended the labours of a large body of native and foreign -engravers, entertained at the king's expense. - -One of these, Edelinck, had been summoned to France by Colbert. Born at -Antwerp in 1640, and a contemporary of the engravers trained by the -disciples of Rubens himself, he was distinguished, like them, by his -vigour of handling and knowledge of effect. Once settled in Paris, he -supplemented these Flemish characteristics with qualities distinctively -French, and was soon a foremost engraver of his time. Endowed with -singular insight and elasticity of mind, he readily assimilated, and -sometimes even improved upon, the style of those painters whom he -reproduced, and adopted a new sentiment with every new original. He -began, in France, with an engraving of Raphael's "Holy Family," the -so-called "Vierge de Francois I.," which is severe in aspect, and -altogether Italian in drawing; and he followed this up with plates of -the "Madeleine" of Lebrun, his "Christ aux Anges," and his "Famille de -Darius," all of them admirable reproductions, in which the defects of -the originals are modified, while their beauties are increased by the -use of methods which make their peculiar and essential characteristics -none the less conspicuous. In interpreting Lebrun, Edelinck altered -neither his significance nor his style; he only touched his work with -fresh truth and nature: as, when dealing with Rigaud, he converted that -artist's pomposity and flourish into a certain opulence and vigour. -When, on the contrary, he had to interpret a work stamped with calm and -reflective genius, his own bold and brilliant talent became impregnated -with serenity, and he could execute with a marvellous reticence such a -translation as that from Philippe de Champagne--the painter's portrait -of himself--a favourite, it is said, with the engraver, and one of the -masterpieces of the art. - -When Edelinck arrived in Paris, Nanteuil, his senior by some fifteen -years, had a studio at the Gobelins, close to the one where he himself -was installed. This seeming equality in the favour accorded to two men, -then so unequal in reputation and achievement, would be astonishing -unless we remember the object which brought them together, and the very -spirit of the institution. - -Things went on in the Gobelins almost as they did in Florence, in -the gardens of San Marco, under Lorenzo de' Medici. Artists of -repute worked side by side with beginners: not indeed together, but -near enough for the master continually to help the student, and for -the spirit of rivalry, the excitement of example, to keep alive a -universal continuity of effort. French art had been lately honoured -by three painters of the highest order--Poussin, Claude,[38] and -Lesueur; but the first two lived in retirement, and far from France; -whilst the third had died leaving no pupils, and, consequently, no -tradition. It seemed urgent, therefore, in order to perpetuate the -glory of the school, to gather together both men of mature talent -and men whose talent was yet young and unformed, and to impel them -all towards a common object on a common line of work. Colbert it was -who conceived and executed the plan, who assembled all the great -masters in painting, sculpture, and engraving, whose services he could -command, without omitting any younger men who might seem worthy of -encouragement. He quartered them all at the Gobelins, and put over them -the man best fitted to play the part of their organiser and supreme -director. "There was a pre-established harmony between Louis XIV. and -Lebrun," says M. Vitet,[39] "and when the painter died (1690), neither -he nor his master had as yet permitted any encroachment upon their -territory." Lebrun might have appropriated a famous saying of the king, -applied it to his own absolute supremacy, and said, with truth, that -he alone was French art. Everything connected with the art of design, -whether directly or indirectly, from statues and pictures for public -buildings down to furniture and gold plate, were all subject to his -authority, and were all moulded by his influence. It was an unfortunate -influence in some respects, for it made the painting and sculpture -of the epoch monotonously bombastic; but to engraving, under whose -auspices contemporary pictures were sometimes transformed into real -masterpieces, it cannot be said to have been unfavourable. - -[Illustration: FIG. 83.--JEAN PESNE. - -The Entombment. After Poussin.] - -When Lebrun was called to the government of the arts, the number of -practical engravers in France was already considerable. Jean Pesne, the -special interpreter of Poussin, had published several of those vigorous -prints which even now shed honour on the name of the engraver of the -"Evanouissement d'Esther," of the "Testament d'Eudamidas," and of the -"Sept Sacrements." Claudine Bouzonnet, surnamed Claudia Stella, who -by the force of her extraordinary gift has won her way to the highest -rank among female engravers, Etienne Baudet, and Gantrel--all these, -like Jean Pesne, applied themselves almost exclusively to the task of -reproducing the compositions of the noble painter of Les Andelys. On -the other hand, Francois de Poilly, Roullet, and Masson (the last so -celebrated for his portrait of Count d'Harcourt, and his "Pilgrims -of Emmaus," after Titian), and many others equally well known, had -won their spurs before they devoted themselves to the reproduction -of Lebrun. Finally, Nanteuil, who only engraved a few portraits from -originals by the director, was already widely known when Colbert -requested him to join, among the first, the brotherhood which he had -founded at the Gobelins. As soon as in his turn Edelinck was admitted, -he hastened to profit by the advice of the master whom it was his -privilege to be associated with; and, aided by Nanteuil's example, -and under Nanteuil's eye, he soon tried his hand in the production of -engraved portraits. - -No one indeed could be better fitted than Nanteuil to teach this -special art, in which he has had few rivals and no superior. Even now, -when we consider these admirable portraits of his, we are as certain -of the likeness as if we had known the sitters. Everybody's expression -is so clearly defined, the character of his physiognomy so accurately -portrayed, that it is impossible to doubt the absolute truth of the -representation. There is no touch of picturesque affectation in the -details; no exaggerated nicety of means; no trick, nor mannerism -of any sort; but always clear and limpid workmanship, and style -so reticent, so measured, that at first glance there is a certain -indescribable appearance of coldness, no hindrance to persons of taste, -but a pitfall to such eager and hasty judgments as, to be conquered, -must be carried by storm. Nanteuil's portraits come before us in all -the outward calm of nature; possibly they seem almost inartistic -because they make no parade of artifice; but, once examined with -attention, they discover that highest and rarest form of merit which is -concealed under an appearance of simplicity. - -If the "Turenne," the "President de Bellievre," the "Van Steenberghen" -(called the "Avocat de Hollande"), the "Pierre de Maridat," the -"Lamothe Le Vayer," the "Loret," and others, are masterpieces of -refinement in expression and drawing, they also prove, as regards -execution, the exquisite taste and the marvellous dexterity of the -engraver. But to discern the variety of method they display, and to -perceive that the handling is as sure and fertile as it is learned and -unpretentious, they must be closely studied. - -As a rule, Nanteuil employs in his half-lights dots arranged at varying -distances, according to the force of colouring required, in combination -with short strokes of exceeding fineness. Sometimes--as, for instance, -in the "Christine de Suede," altogether engraved in this manner--the -process suffices him not only to model such parts as verge upon his -lights, but even to construct the masses of his shadows. The "Edouard -Mole" is, on the contrary, in pure line. The soft silkiness of hair -he often expresses by free and flowing lines, some of which, breaking -away from the principal mass, are relieved against the background, -breaking the monotony of the workmanship, and suggesting movement -by their vagueness of contour. Often, too, certain loose lines, -either broken or continued without crossing in different directions, -admirably distinguish the natures of certain substances, and imitate -to perfection the soft richness of furs or the sheen of satin. Yet it -sometimes happens that in the master's hand the same method results in -the most opposite effects: a print, for instance, may exemplify in its -treatment of the textures of flesh a method applied elsewhere, and with -equal success, to the rendering of draperies. In a word, Nanteuil does -not appropriate any particular process to any predetermined purpose. -While judiciously subordinating each to propriety, he can, when he -pleases, make the most of all; and whatever path he follows, it always -appears that he has taken the best to reach his end. - -It was not only to the teaching of Nanteuil that Edelinck had recourse; -he still further improved his style by studying his countryman, Nicolas -Pitau (whom Colbert had also summoned from Antwerp to the Gobelins), -and afterwards by acquiring the secret of brilliant handling from -Francois de Poilly. To which of these engravers he was most indebted -is a point which cannot be exactly determined. After investing himself -with qualities from each, he did not imitate one more than another; he -found his inspiration in the examples of all three. - -Nanteuil and Edelinck, first united by their work, were soon fast -friends, in spite of the difference of their ages, and the still -greater difference of their tastes. The French engraver sent for his -wife from Rheims as soon as he found himself in a fair way to success -and fortune; but he had also in some degree returned to the habits -of his youth. A shining light in society, and as intimate with the -cultured set at Mlle. de Scudery's as with the devotees of pleasures -less strictly intellectual, his career of dissipation in the salons -and fashionable taverns of the day contrasts strangely with the sober -quality of his talent, and increases our surprise at the number of -works which he produced. Even his declining health did not change his -habits. Till the end he continued to divide his time between his work -and the world; and at his death, in 1678, at the age of fifty-two, he -left nothing, or almost nothing, to his wife, in spite of the large -sums he had made since he came to Paris. - -[Illustration: FIG. 84.--JEAN PESNE. - -Nicolas Poussin.] - -Edelinck's fate was very different. He lived in seclusion, given -over to his art and to the one ambition of becoming churchwarden -(_marguillier_) of his parish: a position refused him, it is said, -as reserved for tradesmen and official personages, and with which -he was only at length invested by the condescending interference of -the king. It was probably the only favour personally solicited by -Edelinck, but it was by no means the first he owed to the protection of -Louis XIV. Before the churchwardenship he held the title of "Premier -Dessinateur du Cabinet." Like Lebrun, like Mansart and Le Notre, he -was a Knight of St. Michael, and the Academy of Painting elected him -as one of its council. His old age, like the rest of his days, was -quiet and laborious; and when he died (1707) his two brothers and his -son Nicolas, who had all three been his pupils, inherited a fortune as -wisely husbanded as it had been honourably acquired. - -Edelinck survived the principal engravers of the reign of Louis XIV. -Francois de Poilly, Roullet, Masson, and Jean Pesne, had more or less -closely followed Nanteuil to the grave. At the Gobelins, once so rich -in ability of the first order, students had taken the place of masters, -and clever craftsmen succeeded to artists of genuine inspiration. -Van Schuppen had followed Nanteuil, as Mignard had Lebrun, from -necessity rather than right. And last of all, Gerard Audran, the most -distinguished engraver of the time--whom, for the sake of clearness in -our narrative, we have not yet mentioned--had died in 1703; and though -members of his family did honour to the name he had distinguished, none -of them were able to sustain the full weight of its glory. - -[Illustration: FIG. 85.--GERARD AUDRAN. - -"La Noblesse." After Raphael.] - -One would hardly venture to say that Gerard Audran was an engraver -of genius, because it does not seem permissible to apply the term to -one whose business it is to interpret the creations of others, and -subordinate himself to models he has not himself designed; yet how else -can one characterise a talent so full of life, so startling a capacity -for feeling, and a method at once so large, so unstudied, and so -original? Do not the plates of Gerard Audran bear witness to something -more than mere superficial skill? Do they not rather reveal qualities -more subtle--a something personal and living, which raises them to the -rank of imaginative work? Their real fault, perhaps--at least the fault -of those after Lebrun or Mignard--is that they are not reproductions -of a purer type of beauty. And even these masters are so far dignified -by the creative touch of their translator as almost to seem worthy of -unreserved admiration. We can understand the mistake of the Italians, -who thought, when they saw the "Batailles d'Alexandre," in black and -white, that France, too, had her Raphael, when, in reality, allowing -for difference of manner, she could only glory in another Marc Antonio. - -[Illustration: FIG. 86.--GERARD AUDRAN. - -"Navigation." After Raphael.] - -Gerard Audran was born in Lyons in 1640, and there obtained from his -father his first lessons in art. Afterwards he went to Paris, and -placed himself under the most famous masters of the day, by whose -aid he was soon introduced to Lebrun, and at once commissioned to -engrave one of Raphael's compositions. When Audran undertook the work, -he had not the picture before him, as Edelinck had when he engraved -the "Vierge de Francois I." His original was only a pencil copy -which Lebrun had brought back from Italy; hence no doubt the modern -character and the French style which are stamped on the engraving. -Feeling dissatisfied with his work, the young artist did not publish -it, but determined to study the Italians in Italy, to educate himself -directly from their works, and thenceforth to engrave only those -pictures of which he could judge at first-hand without the danger -of an intermediary. He set off therefore for Rome, and remained there -for three years, during which time he produced several copies painted -at the Vatican, many drawings from the antique, several plates after -Raphael, Domenichino, and the Carraccis, and the engraving of a ceiling -by Pietro da Cortona, which last he dedicated to Colbert. - -By this act of homage he acquitted himself of a debt of gratitude to -the minister who had favoured him ever since his arrival in Paris, and -who, at Lebrun's request, had supplied the means of his sojourn in -Italy. On Colbert's part it was only an act of justice to recall Audran -to France, and to entrust him with the engraving of the lately finished -series of the "Batailles d'Alexandre," for the great publication called -the "Cabinet du Roi." To the engraver, then twenty-seven years old, a -pension was granted, with a studio at the Gobelins, then the customary -reward of talents brilliantly displayed. It may be added that six years -(1672-1678) sufficed him to finish the stupendous task. - -Treated as a friend, and almost on an equal footing, by Lebrun, who for -no one else departed from the routine of his official supremacy, Audran -exerted over the king's chief painter a considerable, if a secret, -influence. In spite of all that has been said,[40] Lebrun was not the -kind of man to openly question his own infallibility, nor to advertise -his deference to the advice of an artist so much younger than himself, -his pupil, so to speak, and consequently without the authority of any -higher degree; yet he frequently consulted him, and took his advice, -in private. Also (and this is significant) when the engravings of -the "Batailles" appeared--engravings to a certain extent unfaithful, -inasmuch as they differed decidedly from the originals--the fact that -the painter made no complaint points to his recognition in Audran -of the right to correct, and to his implicit submission to Audran's -corrections. - -In this respect Lebrun conducted himself as a man of the world, and -one well able to understand the true interests of his reputation. -He had everything to gain by giving full liberty to an engraver by -whose perfect taste the blunders of his own were corrected, and who -harmonised his frequently harsh and heavy colouring, and strengthened -in modelling and design his often undecided expression of form. Thus -the plates of the "Batailles," in addition to the high quality of -the composition of the originals, present, alike in general aspect -and in detail, a decision which belongs to Audran alone. Force and -transparency of tone, largeness of effect, and, above all, a distinctly -marked feeling for characteristic truths, are conspicuous in them. -Not a single condition of art is imperfectly fulfilled. Marc Antonio -himself drew with no more certainty; the Flemings themselves had no -deeper knowledge of chiaroscuro; the French engravers, not excepting -even Edelinck,[41] have never treated historical engraving with such -ease and _maeestria_. In a word, none of the most famous engravers of -Europe have been, we believe, so richly endowed with all artistic -instincts, nor have better understood their use. - -The "Batailles d'Alexandre" finished, Audran engraved Lesueur's -"Martyre de Saint Protais;" several Poussins, amongst others the -"Pyrrhus Sauve," the "Femme Adultere," and the radiant "Triomphe de -la Verite," one of the most beautiful (if not the most beautiful) -historical engravings ever published; and, after Mignard, the "Peste -d'Egine," and the paintings in the cupola at Val-de-Grace. - -These several works, where elevation of taste and sentiment are no less -triumphantly manifest than in the "Batailles" themselves, are also -finished examples of engraving in the literal sense of the word. Audran -disdained to flaunt his skill, and to surprise the eye by technical -display, but he understood to the utmost all the secrets and resources -of the craft, and employed them with more ability than any competitor. -Associating engraving with etching, he deepened with powerful touches -of the burin those strokes of the needle which had merely served to -suggest outlines, masses of shadow, and half-tints. On occasion, short -strokes, free as a pencil's, and seemingly drawn at random, with dots -of different sizes, distributed with apparent carelessness, sufficed -for the modelling of his forms; at others, he proceeded by a consistent -system of cross-hatching. Here rough etching work is tumbled about -(so to speak) in wild disorder; there a contrary effect is produced -by nearly parallel furrows scooped in the metal with methodical -exactness; but everywhere the choice and progress of the tools are -based on conditions inherent in the nature of the several objects, and -their relative positions and distances. Audran did not try to attract -attention to any of the methods he employed; he made each heighten the -effect of the other, and combined them all without parade of ease, and -yet without confusion. - -So many admirable works secured for Audran a fame such as Edelinck, as -Nanteuil himself, had never obtained. The Academy of Painting, which -had welcomed him after the publication of his first plates, elected him -as one of its council in 1681. The school of engraving which he opened -grew larger than any other, and many of his pupils became notable even -in his company, and helped to increase the renown of the master who had -trained them.[42] - -Towards the close of his life Audran laid by the burin for the pen. -Following Albert Duerer's example, he proposed to put together, in the -form of treatises, his life-long observations on the art he had so -successfully practised. Unfortunately, this task was interrupted by -his death; and, excepting a "Recueil des Proportions du Corps Humain," -nothing is left us of those teachings which the greatest engraver, not -only of France, but perhaps of any school, had desired to hand on to -posterity. - -By their works, Nanteuil, Audran, and the other masters of the reign -of Louis XIV., had popularised historical and portrait engraving -in France. The taste for prints spread more and more, and amateurs -began to make collections. At first they confined themselves to real -masterpieces; after which they began to covet the complete achievement -of peculiar engravers. The mania for rare prints became fashionable; -and we learn from La Bruyere that, before the end of the century, -some amateurs had already come to prefer engravings "presque pas -tirees"--engravings "fitter to decorate the Petit-Pont or the Rue Neuve -on a holiday than to be hoarded in a collection"--to the most perfect -specimens of the art. Others were chiefly occupied with the bulk of -their collections, and treasured up confused heaps of all sorts of -plates, good, bad, and indifferent. Others there were who only cared -about such as did not exceed a certain size; and it is told of one -devotee of this faith that, inasmuch as he would harbour nothing in his -portfolios but round engravings of exactly the same circumference, he -was used to cut ruthlessly to his pattern whatever came into his hands. -We must add that, side by side with such maniacs, intelligent men -like the Abbe de Marolles and the Marquis de Beringhen increased their -collections to good purpose, and were content to bring together the -most important specimens of ancient engraving and such as best served -to illustrate the more modern progress of the art. - -In France, however, it was not only the best expressions of engraving -that were considered. On the heels of the great engravers there -followed a crowd of second-rate workmen. Besides history and portrait, -every variety of print was published: domestic scenes, architecture and -topography, costumes, fetes, and public celebrations. The engraving -of maps greatly improved under the direction of Adrian and Guillaume -Sanson, sons of the famous Geographer in Ordinary to Louis XIII. - -Jacques Gomboust, the king's Engineer in Ordinary for the "drawing -up of plans of towns," published, as early as 1652, a map of Paris -and its suburbs in nine sheets, much more exact and more carefully -engraved than those of former reigns. Fashion plates were multiplied -_ad infinitum_; and a periodical called _Le Mercure Galant_ steadily -produced new modes in apparel and personal ornaments. Certain -collections also, destined to perpetuate the remembrance of the events -of the reign, or the personal actions of the king, were published "by -order, and at the expense of His Majesty," with a luxury justified at -any rate by the importance of the artists participating in the work. -The very almanacs bear the stamp of talent, and are not unfrequently -inscribed with the names of celebrated engravers, such as Lepautre, -Francois Spierre, Chauveau, Sebastien Leclerc, and De Poilly. - -In the days of Henri IV. and Louis XIII. almanacs were printed on a -single sheet, with a border sometimes of allegorical figures, but, -more often, composed simply of the attributes of the seasons. It was -under Louis XIV. that they at first appeared on larger paper, and then -in several sheets, wherein were represented the most important events -of the year, or, it might be, some ceremony or court fete. In one is -pictured the Battle of Senef, or the signing of the Treaty of Nimeguen; -in another, perhaps, the king is represented dancing the Strasbourg -minuet, or offering a collation to ladies. Of course the majority of -these prints are valueless in point of execution, and are, moreover, -of an almost purely commercial character; but those which are poorest -from an artistic point of view are still worthy of interest, since they -afford indisputable information concerning the people and the habits -and manners of the time. - -Whilst many French artists were devoting themselves to the engraving of -subjects of manners or domestic scenes, or to the illustration of books -and almanacs, others were making satirical sketches of current events -and popular persons. The engraving of caricatures, though it only dates -from the middle of the seventeenth century, had been practised long -before in France and other countries. - -To say nothing of the "Danses macabres," a sort of religious, or at -any rate philosophical, satire, we might mention certain caricatures -published even before the Carracci in Italy; in the Low Countries -in the time of Jerome Bosch and Breughel; in Germany in the reign of -Maximilian II.; and finally in France, in the reign of Charles IX. But -all these are either as stupidly licentious as those afterwards made -upon Henri III. and his courtiers, or as heavily grotesque as those of -the time of the League, towards the end of the reign of Henri IV. - -When Louis XIII. came to the throne, the wit of the caricaturists -was little keener, if we may judge by the coarse pictorial _lazzi_ -inspired by the disgrace and death of the Marechal d'Ancre, and the -Dutch and Spanish prints designed in ridicule of the French; but some -years later, when Callot had introduced into the treatment of burlesque -a keenness and delicacy which it could hardly have been expected to -attain, the comic prints assumed under the burin of certain engravers -an appearance of greater ingenuity and less brutality. - -It is needless to remark that at the beginning of the reign of Louis -XIV.--indeed, during the whole time of the Fronde and the foreign -occupation of a part of French territory--it was Mazarin and the -Spaniards who came in for all the epigrams. In the caricatures of the -day the Spaniards were invariably represented with enormous ruffs, in -tatters superbly worn, and, to complete the allusion to their poverty, -with bunches of beetroot and onions at their belts. There is nothing -particularly comic, nor especially refined, in the execution of the -prints. In piquancy and truth, these jokes about Spanish manners and -Spanish food recall those presently to be made in England about -Frenchmen, who are there invariably represented as frog-eaters and -dancing-masters. Yet comparing the _facetiae_ of that period with the -exaggerated or obscene humours which preceded them, it seems as though -the domain of caricature were even then being opened up to worthy -precursors of the lively draughtsmen of the eighteenth and nineteenth -centuries: in fact, as though some Attic salt were already penetrating -to Boeotia. - -This advance is visible in the satires published towards the end of the -reign of Louis XIV. The "Procession Monacale," a set of twenty-four -engravings which appeared in Holland (where many Protestants had taken -refuge), attacked with considerable vigour the revocation of the Edict -of Nantes, and the principal persons who had participated in that -measure. Louvois, Mme. de Maintenon, and all the privy councillors -of Louis XIV., are represented under the cowl, and with significant -attributes. Even the king figures in this series of heroes of the New -League; he is in a monk's frock like the others, but a sun, in allusion -to his lofty device, serves for his face, and this hooded Phoebus bears -in his hand a torch to light himself through the surrounding darkness. -The prints that make up this set, as well as many more in the same -style, are designed and engraved with a certain amount of spirit. They -serve to prove that in the frivolous arts, as well as in the comic -literature of the day, the object was to make "decent folk" laugh, and -to keep joking within bounds. In a word, in comparison with former -caricatures, they are as the vaudevilles of the Italian comedy to the -farces once played on the boards of strolling theatres. - -Every sort of engraving being cultivated in France with more success -than anywhere else, under Louis XIV. the trade in prints became one of -the most flourishing branches of French industry. The great historical -plates, it is true--those at any rate which, like the "Batailles -d'Alexandre," were published at the king's cost--were chiefly sold in -France, and were not often exported, save as presents to sovereigns and -ambassadors. But portraits, domestic scenes, and fashion plates, were -shipped off in thousands, and flooded all parts of Europe. Before the -second half of the seventeenth century, the chief printsellers (for -the most part engravers themselves and publishers of their own works) -were established in Paris on the Quai de l'Horloge, or, like Abraham -Bosse, in the interior of the Palace. Rather later than this, the most -popular shops were to be found in the neighbourhood of the Church of -St. Severin. If we examine the prints then published in Paris, we may -count as many as thirty publishers living in the Rue St. Jacques alone, -and amongst the number are many famous names: as Gerard Audran, "at the -sign of the Two Golden Pillars;" Francois de Poilly, "at the sign of -St. Benedict," and so forth. - -Hence, we may mention, in passing, the mistake which attributes to -engravers of the greatest talent the production of bad plates, to -which they would never have put finger except to take proofs. For -instance, the words "_Gerard Audran excudit_," to be found at the -bottom of many such, do not mean that they were engraved by the master, -but only published by him. Often, too, pseudonyms--not always in the -best possible taste--concealed the name of the publisher and the place -of publication: a precaution easily understood, as it was generally -applied to obscenities, and particularly to those called "pieces a -surprise," which were then becoming common, and continued to increase -indefinitely during the following century. True art, however, is -but little concerned with such curiosities; and it is best to look -elsewhere for its manifestations. - -The superior merit of the engraving of the masters of the French -school had attracted numbers of foreign artists to Paris. Many took -root there, amongst them Van Schuppen and the Flemings commissioned -to engrave the "Victoires du Roi," painted by Van der Meulen; others, -having finished their course of study, returned to their own countries, -the missionaries of French doctrine and of French manner. The result -of this united influence was an almost exact similarity in all the -line engravings produced, by men of whatever nationality or from -whatever originals. Thus, the portraits engraved by the German Johann -Hainzelmann from Ulrich Mayer and Joachim Sandrart, scarcely differ -from those he had formerly engraved from French artists: the "Michel -Le Tellier," for instance, and the "President Dufour." The historical -plates published about the same time in Germany prove the same lively -zeal in imitation. In them art appears as, so to speak, a French -subject; and Gustave Ambling, Bartholomew Kilian,[43] and many more of -their countrymen--pupils, like these two, of Francois de Poilly--might -be classed amongst the engravers of the French school, if the style of -their work were the only thing to be considered. - -An examination of the prints published by Flemish and Dutch artists -later than the school of Rubens and Van Dalen, would justify a like -observation. We may fairly regard Van Schuppen only as a clever pupil -of Nanteuil, and Cornelius Vermeulen as an imitator, less successful, -but no less subservient. And when we turn to the Italian engravers of -the seventeenth century, we find that, as a rule, their work is marked -by so impersonal a physiognomy, is so much the outcome of certain -preconceived and rigid conventions, that one could almost believe them -inspired by the same mind, and done by the same hand. - -Whilst French influence reigned almost supreme in Germany and the Low -Countries, and Italian art became more and more the slave of routine, -English engraving had not yet begun to feel the influence of the -progress elsewhere achieved since the beginning of the century. The -time was, however, at hand when, in the reign of Louis XV., London -engravers who came to study in Paris should return to their own -country to practise successfully the lessons they had learned. We -must, therefore, presently turn to them; but, before speaking of the -pupils, we must briefly mention the achievements of the masters, and -narrate the story of French engraving in France after the death of the -excellent artists of the age of Louis XIV. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - ENGRAVING IN FRANCE AND IN OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES IN THE - EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. NEW PROCESSES: STIPPLE, CRAYON, COLOUR, AND - AQUATINT. - - -Morin, Nanteuil, Masson, and the other portrait engravers of the -period, in spite of the variety of their talent, left their immediate -successors a similar body of doctrine and a common tradition. Now -the works of the painter Rigaud, whose importance had considerably -increased towards the end of the reign of Louis XIV., made certain -modifications of this severe tradition necessary on the part of the -artists employed to engrave them. Portraits, for the most part bust -portraits, relieved against an almost naked background, were no longer -in fashion. To render a crowd of accessories which, while enriching -the composition, frequently encumbered it beyond measure, became the -problem in engraving. It was successfully solved by Pierre Drevet, his -son Pierre Imbert, and his nephew Claude Drevet, this last the author, -amongst other plates now much prized, of a "Guillaume de Vintimille" -and a "Count Zinzendorff." - -The first of these three engravers--at Lyons the pupil of Germain -Audran, and at Paris of Antoine Masson--engraved, with some few -exceptions, only portraits, the best known of which are a full-length -"Louis XIV.," "Louis XV. as a Child," "Cardinal Fleury," and "Count -Toulouse;" they attest an extreme skill of hand, and a keen perception -of the special characteristics of the originals. The second, the -similarity of whose Christian name has often caused him to be mistaken -for his father, showed himself from the first still more skilful and -more certain of his own powers. He was only twenty-six when he finished -his full-length "Bossuet," in which the precision of the handling, -the exactness and brilliancy of the burin work, seem to indicate a -talent already arrived at maturity. In this plate, indeed, and in some -others by the same engraver--as the "Cardinal Dubois," the "Adrienne -Lecouvreur," and others--there are parts, perhaps, that seem almost -worthy of Nanteuil himself. It is impossible to imitate with greater -nicety the richness of ermine, the delicacy of lace, and the polish -and brilliancy of gilding; but the subtle delicacy of physiognomy, the -elasticity of living flesh which animated the portraits of the earlier -masters, will here be looked for in vain. Such work is the outcome of -an art no longer supreme, albeit of a very high order still. - -As much may be said of the best historical plates engraved in France -under the Regency, and in the first years of Louis XV. The older -manner, it is true, was still perceptible, but it was beginning to -change, and was soon to be concealed more and more under a parade of -craftsmanship amusingly self-conscious, and an elegance refined to the -point of affectation. - -[Illustration: FIG. 87.--LAURENT CARS. - -"L'Avare." From Boucher's "Moliere."] - -The French engravers of the time of Louis XV. may be divided into two -distinct groups: the one submitting to the authority of Rigaud, and -partially preserving the tradition of the last century; the other, of -greater numerical importance, and in some respects of greater ability, -but, in imitation of Watteau and his followers, seeking success in -attractiveness of subject, grace of handling, and the expression of a -general prettiness, rather than in the faithful rendering of truth. - -As we know, the manners of the time were not calculated to discourage -a like tendency, which, indeed, grew more and more general amongst -artists during the whole course of the eighteenth century, until it -ended in a revolution, as radical in its way as the great political -one: namely, the exclusive worship of a somewhat barren simplicity and -of the antique narrowly understood. - -In 1750 (that is to say, almost at the very time of the birth of David, -the future reformer of the school) the public asked nothing more of -art than a passing amusement. The immediate successors of Lebrun -had brought the historical style into great disrepute. People had -wearied of the pompous parade of allegory, the tyranny of splendour, -the monotony of luxury; they took refuge in another extreme--in the -exaggeration of grace and all the coquetries of sentiment. Pastorals, -or would-be pastorals, and subjects for the most part mythological, -took the place of heroic actions and academical apotheoses. They had -not a whit more nature than these others, but they had at any rate -more interest for the mind, and greater charm for the eye. - -[Illustration: FIG. 88.--LAURENT CARS. - -"Le Depit Amoureux." From Boucher's "Moliere."] - -From the point of view of engraving alone, the prints published -in France at this time are for the most part models of spirit and -delicacy, as those of the Louis XIV. masters are of learned execution -and vigorous conception. Moreover, under the frivolous forms affected -by French engraving in the eighteenth century, something not -unfrequently survives of the masterly skill and science of the older -men. It is to be supposed that Laurent Cars remembered the example -of Gerard Audran, and, in his own way, succeeded in perpetuating it -when he engraved Lemoyne's "Hercule et Omphale," and "Delivrance -d'Andromede." Even when he was reproducing such fantasies as the "Fete -venitienne" of Watteau, or scenes of plain family life, like Chardin's -"Amusements de la Vie privee," and "La Serinette," he had the art of -supplementing from his own taste whatever strength and dignity his -originals might lack. Was it not, too, by appropriating the doctrine, -or at least the method, of Audran--his free alliance of the burin with -the needle--that Nicolas de Larmessin, Lebas, Lepicie, Aveline, Duflos, -Dupuis, and others, produced their charming transcripts of Pater, -Lancret, Boucher himself--in spite of his impertinences of manner and -his unpleasant falseness of colour--and, above all, Watteau, of all -the masters of the eighteenth century the best understood and the most -brilliantly interpretated by the engravers? A while later, Greuze had -the honour to occupy them most; and some among them, as Levasseur -and Flipart, did not fail to acquit themselves with ability of a task -rendered peculiarly difficult by the flaccid and laboured execution of -the originals. - -[Illustration: FIG. 89.--CHEDEL. - -"Arlequin Jaloux." After Watteau.] - -However summary our description of the progress of French engraving -during the whole of the reign of Louis XV., or the early years of -Louis XVI., it is scarcely possible not to mention, side by side -with historical and genre engraving, the countless illustrations--of -novels, fables, songs, and publications of every description--the -general aspect of which so strongly bears witness to the fertility and -grace of French art at that time. It is difficult to omit the names of -those agreeable engravers of dainty subjects, not seldom of their own -design: those _poetae minores_, the vaudevillists of the burin, who, -from the interpreters of Gravelot, Eisen, and Gabriel de St. Aubin to -Choffard, from Cochin to Moreau, have left us so much work steeped in -the richest, the most varied imagination, or informed by an exquisite -natural perception. Ready and ingenious above all others, delicate even -in their most capricious flights, witty before everything, they are -artists whose accomplishment, in spite of its appearance of frivolity, -is not to be matched for delicacy and science in the work of any other -epoch, or the school of any other country. - -[Illustration: FIG. 90.--COCHIN. - -"La Main Chaude." After De Troy.] - -Placed, in some sort, at an equal distance from the contemporary -historical engravers and the engravers of illustrations, and divided, -as it were, between the recollections of the past and the examples of -the present, Ficquet, and some years later, Augustin de St. Aubin, -produced the little portraits which are as popular now as then. The -portraits of Ficquet are prized above all; though those of St. Aubin, -in spite of their small size, exhibit a largeness and firmness of -modelling not to be found in work that is sometimes preferred to -them. What is more, Ficquet's plates are generally only reductions of -prints already published by other engravers, Nanteuil, Edelinck, and -the rest; whilst the portraits of St. Aubin have the merit of being -directly taken from original pictures or drawings. As a rule, however, -these portraits are relieved on a dead black ground, without gradation -or variety of effect; and it is probably to the somewhat harsh and -monotonous aspect thus produced that we must attribute the comparative -disfavour with which they are regarded. - -It is also permissible to suppose that Ficquet's almost microscopic -prints, like those of his imitators, Savart and Grateloup, owe much -of their popularity to their extreme finish. When the mind is not -exercised in discerning the essential parts of an art, the eye is apt -to look upon excessive neatness of workmanship as the certain evidence -of perfection. As people insensible to the charm of painting fall -confidingly into raptures over the pictures of Carlo Dolci, Gerard -Dow, and Denner, so, it maybe, certain admirers of Ficquet esteem his -talent in proportion to the exaggerated cleanness and carefulness of -his plates. Yet his real merit does not entirely rest on such secondary -considerations. Many of his small portraits, most of them intended as -illustrations, are remarkable for firm drawing and delicate facial -expression; and if the work were generally simpler and less crowded -with half-tints, it might be classed, as miniature in line, with -Petitot's enamels. - -[Illustration: FIG. 91.--AUGUSTIN DE ST. AUBIN. - -Rameau. After Caffieri.] - -The analogy, however, can only be supported with regard to their -talent; their dispositions differ in every point. The painter Petitot, -a fervent Calvinist, whose life presents a curious contrast with -the worldly character of his work, had the honour to attract the -attention of Bossuet, who, it is said, attempted to convert him. He was -imprisoned at For-l'Eveque after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, -and only quitted it to devote himself to solitude and study. Ficquet, -for his part, took no interest whatever in religious questions, and -gave up every spare moment to the pursuit of pleasure; he was, besides, -for ever short of money, and was perpetually hunted by his creditors, -who, weary of struggling, usually ended by installing him in their own -houses to finish a plate for them. - -It was in this way that he came to spend nearly two months at St. -Cyr, in the very heart of which community he engraved his "Mme. de -Maintenon," after Mignard. This portrait, paid for long previously to -the last farthing, made no progress whatever; and the Mother Superior, -having exhausted prayers and reproaches, and despairing of seeing it -finished, addressed herself to the metropolitan. From him she obtained -permission to introduce the artist into the convent, and to keep him -there till the accomplishment of his task. But things went on no -better. Ficquet, bored to death in his seclusion, simply slept out the -time, and never touched his graver. One day he sent for the Superior, -and told her that if he stayed at St. Cyr to all eternity, he could -not work in the solitude they had made for him; amusement he must and -would have, and in default of better, it must be the conversation of -the nuns; he added, in a word, that he refused to finish the portrait -unless some of them came every day to keep him company. His conditions -were accepted; and to encourage him still further, some of the pupils -accompanied the nuns, and played and sang to him in his room. At -length the long-expected plate was ready; but Ficquet, disgusted -with the work, destroyed it, and would only consent to begin again -on the promise of instant liberty and a still larger sum. By these -means the nuns of St. Cyr at last became possessed of the likeness of -their foundress, and the little "Mme. de Maintenon"--which is perhaps -Ficquet's masterpiece--made up to them for the strange exactions with -which they had had to comply. - -As the habit of employing etching in the execution of their works had -gained ground among artists, the temptation to have recourse to this -speedy process had vanquished one person after another, even those -who seemed least likely to yield, whether from their position in -society, or their former methods. There were soon as many amateur as -professional engravers; and learning the use of the needle well enough -to sketch a pastoral was soon as fashionable as turning a madrigal. -Among the first to set the example was the Regent; he engraved a set of -illustrations for an edition of "Daphnis et Chloe," and his initiative -was followed by crowds of all ranks: great lords like the Duc de -Chevreuse and the Marquis de Coigny; gentlemen of the gown, like the -President de Gravelle; financiers, scholars, and men of letters, like -Watelet, Count Caylus, and D'Argenville.[44] Court ladies and the wives -of plain citizens joined the throng; from the Duchesse de Luynes and -the Queen herself, to Mme. de Pompadour and Mme. Reboul (who afterwards -married the painter Vien), there were scores of women who amused -themselves by engraving, to say nothing of the many who made it a -profession. - -The drawback of such pastimes, innocent enough in themselves, was -that they degraded art into a frivolous amusement, and promulgated -a false view of its capabilities and real object. This is what very -generally happens when, on the strength of a certain degree of taste, -mistaken for talent, people aspire to compass, without reflection or -study, results only to be attained by knowledge and experience. The -authors of such hasty work think art easy, because they are ignorant -of its essentials; and the public, in its turn mistaken as to these, -accepts appearances for reality, becomes accustomed to the pretence of -merit, and loses all taste for true superiority. Every art may be thus -perverted; and in our own days, amateur water colours, statuettes, and -waltzes are as injurious to painting, sculpture, and music, as, in -former days, the amusement of print-making was to engraving. - -Moreover, it was not art only that these prints began to injure. -Prompted by gallantry, as understood by the younger Crebillon and -Voisenon when they wrote their experiences, they often presented to -the eyes of women scenes to the description of which they would not -have listened: as a certain lady is reported to have asked Baron de -Besenval, during the relation of an embarrassing adventure, to "draw -a picture-puzzle of what he couldn't tell her." Often, however, -engraving, as practised in the salons, appealed to quite another -order of passions and ideas. In support of the great cause of the -day--philosophy--all weapons seemed fair, and the needle was used to -disseminate the new evangel. When Mme. de Pompadour, in her little -engraving, the proofs of which were fought for by her courtiers, -attempted to show "The Genius of the Arts Protecting France," she set -no very dangerous example, and only proved one thing--that the said -Genius did not so carefully protect the kingdom as to exclude the -possibility of platitude. But when the _habitues_ of Mme. d'Epinay -and D'Holbach set themselves in their little prints to attack certain -so-called mental superstitions, they unconsciously opened the door to -people of a more radical turn of mind. Before the end of the century -prints a good deal more crudely energetic appeared on the same subject; -and the pothouse engravers, in their turn, illustrated the _Pere -Duchene_, as the drawing-room engravers had illustrated the "Essai sur -les Moeurs" and the "Encyclopedie." - -Although the engraving of illustrations, or at least "light" subjects, -was, in the eighteenth century, almost the only sort practised in -France, even by the most eminent artists, some of these imparted to -their productions a severer significance, and an appearance more in -harmony with that of former work. Several--pupils of Nicolas Henri -Tardieu, or of Dupuis--resisted with much constancy the encroachment of -the fashionable style, and passed on to their scholars of all nations -those teachings they had received in their youth. The Germans, Joseph -Wagner, Martin Preisler, Schmidt, John George Wille; the Italian, -Porporati; the Spaniards, Carmona and Pascal Moles; the Englishmen, -Strange, Ingram, Ryland, and others, came, at close intervals, for -instruction or improvement in this school. In Paris they published -plates of various degrees of excellence; but, in the greater part of -these, the nationality and personal sentiment of their authors are -obliterated in acquired habits of taste and handling. - -Wille's prints, for instance--those even which have most contributed -to his fame, "Paternal Instruction," after Terburg, or the "Dutchwoman -Knitting," after Mieris--might just as well, for anything one sees -to the contrary, have been the work of a French engraver of the same -period. They only differ from plates bearing the name of Beauvarlet or -of Daulle in a certain Teutonic excess of coldness in the handling; in -a somewhat staid, and, as it were, metallic stiffness of arrangement. -Carmona's "Francois Boucher," and his "Colin de Vermont," after Roslin, -and Porporati's "Tancrede et Clorinde," after Carle Vanloo, have -still less of the stamp of originality. - -[Illustration: FIG. 92.--PORPORATI. - -Susannah. After Santerre.] - -Finally, with the exception of Ryland, by reason of the particular -process he employed, and of which we shall presently have to -speak--and especially of Strange, who has his own peculiar mode of -feeling, and a sort of merit peculiar to himself--none of the English -engravers trained in the French school fail to show the signs of close -relationship. Engravers of more original talent must be looked for -neither amongst historical nor portrait engravers, nor even amongst -engravers of genre. For information as to the state of the art outside -of France, and apart from the French school, we must rather turn to -the illustrations of books and almanacs engraved by Chodowiecki at -Dantzic or Berlin, or to the vast plates from ancient Roman monuments -etched--not without a certain rhetorical emphasis--by Piranesi. - -As for other second or third rate foreign engravers of the period, -as for those _ragionevoli_ (as Vasari would have called them) whose -work, if undeserving of oblivion, is likewise undeserving of attentive -examination, we shall have done our part if we mention certain amongst -them: as J. Houbraken, who worked at Dordrecht; Domenichino Cunego, of -Rome; Weirotter, of Vienna; and Fernando Selma, of Madrid. - -Meanwhile, in France and other countries, by royal command, or at -the expense of rich amateurs, important series of prints were being -published in commemoration of public events, or in illustration of -famous collections of painting and sculpture. The first of the latter -order was the "Galerie de Versailles," begun by Charles Simoneau, -continued by Masse, and only finished in 1752 after twenty-eight -consecutive years of labour. It was speedily succeeded by the "Cabinet -de Crozat" and the "Peintures de l'Hotel Lambert;" and a little later -the example of France was followed by other countries, and one after -the other there appeared, in Italy, Germany, and England, the "Museo -Pio Clementino," the "Dresden Gallery," the catalogue of the Bruhl -collection, and the publications of Boydell--all such magnificent works -as do honour to the second half of the eighteenth century. Finally, -thanks to Vivares and Balechou, the engraving of landscape began to -rival historical engraving, to which it had before been considered -as merely accessory. The honour of having created it belongs to the -French. It is too often forgotten that they were the first to excel -in it, and that but for the practice of Vivares, England to whom the -merit of initiative is usually attributed might never have boasted of -Woollett and his pupils. - -Since Claude Lorraine and Gaspard Dughet, the French school had -produced few painters of pure landscape--none of first-rate ability. -The first to restore to the neglected art a something of its pristine -brilliance was Joseph Vernet. An observer, but one rather clever than -sincere, he is certainly wanting in the strength and gravity which -are characteristics of the great masters. In his work there is more -intelligence than deep feeling, and more elegance than true beauty. -Like the descriptive poetry of the time, it shows us Nature a trifle -too sleek and shiny, and a little over-emphasised; she is rather a -theme for discourse than a model to be lovingly studied as a source -of inspiration. Yet even where the truth is thus arbitrarily treated, -it retains under Vernet's brush sufficient charm, if not to move, at -least to interest and to please; so that the success of this brilliant -artist, and the influence he exerted on the French school and on public -taste, are easily understood. - -In the lofty position which his talent had won him, Joseph Vernet was -more capable than any other painter of giving a happy impulse to the -art of engraving; and, indeed, the landscape engravers formed by him -were masters of the genre. We have mentioned Balechou and Vivares. The -former, at first a pupil of Lepicie, began by engraving portraits, the -best known of which, a full-length of Augustus III., King of Poland, -brought upon its author the shame of a fitting punishment. Convicted -of having detained a certain number of the first proofs for his own -profit; Balechou was struck off the list of the Academie, and obliged -to retire to Arles, his native town, and thence to Avignon, where -he took to landscape engraving. There it was that he executed after -Joseph Vernet his "Baigneuses," his "Calme," and his "La Tempete." -In his latter years he returned to history, and executed after Carle -Vanloo his tiresome "Sainte Genevieve," which was once so loudly -vaunted, which even now is not unadmired, and which really might be a -masterpiece, if technical skill and excessive ease of handling were -all the art. Though, unlike Vivares, he did not teach the practice of -landscape in England, Balechou contributed enormously by his works -to the education of the English engravers; and the best of them, -Woollett, confessed that he produced his "Fishing" with a proof of the -Frenchman's "La Tempete" always before his eyes. - -As for Vivares, he engraved in Paris a number of plates after Joseph -Vernet and the Old Masters, and then, preceding De Loutherbourg and -many others of his nation, he migrated to London. He took with him a -new art, as Hollar had done a century before, and founded that school -of landscape engravers whose talents were destined to constitute, even -to our own time, the chief glory of English engraving. - -But before his pupils and imitators could take possession after him of -this vast domain, engraving in England had developed considerably, in -another direction, under the influence of two distinguished artists, -Hogarth and Reynolds, born at an interval of twenty-five years from -one another. The son of a printer's reader, who apprenticed him to a -goldsmith, William Hogarth spent almost all his youth in obscurity -and poverty. At twenty he was engraving business cards for London -tradesmen; some years later he was sign-painting, and was wearing -himself out in work entirely unworthy of him, when he forced the -attention of the public by the publication of a satirical print, the -heroes of which were well known and easily recognised. His success -being presently confirmed by other compositions of the same sort, he -profited by the fact to apply his talent to more serious work. He soon -acquired a reputation, enriched himself by marrying the daughter of Sir -James Thornhill, the king's painter, and remained till his death (1764) -one of the most eminent men of his country. - -Both as painter and engraver Hogarth was a deep student of art, on -which he has left some commendable writings; but he never succeeded -in fulfilling all its conditions. Extravagantly pre-occupied with the -philosophical significance with which he purposes to endow his work, -he does not always see when he has gone far enough in the exposition -of his idea: he darkens it with commentary; he becomes unintelligible -by sheer insistence on intelligibility. There are allegories of his in -which, still striving after ingenuity, he has piled detail upon detail -till the result is confusion worse confounded. - -But when no excess of analysis has decomposed his primary idea to -nothingness, by directing the attention elsewhere, Hogarth strikes -home, and compasses most powerful effects. His series of prints, in -which are storied the actions of one or more persons--his "Marriage a -la Mode," his "Rake's Progress," his "Harlot's Progress," his "Industry -and Idleness"--the last a sort of double biography representing the -different lives of two apprentices, one of whom becomes Lord Mayor of -London, whilst the other dies at Tyburn--all these engraved by himself, -partly in etching and partly in line, are, as regards the execution, by -no means irreproachable; are frequently, indeed, not even good: but in -expression and gesture they are nearly always of startling truth, while -the moral meaning, the innermost spirit of every scene, is felt and -rendered with the keenest sagacity. At the very time when the genius of -Richardson was working a like revolution in literature, Hogarth--and -herein lies his chief merit--was introducing domestic drama into -art. In England and elsewhere the painter-engraver and the novelist, -both creators of the style in which they worked, have had a crowd of -imitators; but they cannot be said to have met with rivals anywhere. - -The genius of Sir Joshua Reynolds is of a totally different order. In -the sense of consisting in the sentiment of effect and the masterly -arrangement of tones it is essentially _picturesque_, and presents -such a boldness of character as engravers could easily appreciate and -reproduce. There is no far-fetched significance, no accessories tending -to destroy the unity of the whole. On the contrary, the work proceeds -by synthesis; it is all largely schemed, and built up in masses where -the details are scarcely indicated. The expression lies not so much in -niceties of physiognomy as in the whole attitude of the sitters and the -characteristic pose and contour of the faces represented. The painter's -imagination is brilliant rather than delicate; sometimes, indeed, it -degenerates into bad taste and eccentricity. But far more frequently -it gives his attitudes an air of ease and originality, and the general -aspect of his portraits breathes a perfect dignity. The vigorous -contrasts, the freedom and wealth of colour which are their primary -characteristics, as they are those of Gainsborough's work likewise, -are qualities to whose translation the free and flowing stroke of the -graver is hardly fitted, but which mezzotint would naturally render -with ease and success. And, as we have said before, it is to the -influence of the famous painter that must be attributed the immense -extension of the latter process in England during the latter part of -the eighteenth century. - -The landscape and mezzotint engravers began, therefore, to vitalise -the English school: the former especially lent it real importance -by their talent. From 1760 or thereabouts Woollett published, after -Richard Wilson or after Claude, those admirable works which, on account -of their suave harmony of effect, their transparency of atmosphere, -and their variableness of colour, are less like engravings than -pictures.[45] Shortly afterwards he completed his fame by work of -another sort: the reproduction, first, of West's "Death of Wolfe," and -then of his "Battle of La Hogue," the American's best picture, and -the finest historical plate ever engraved in England. Lastly about -the same time, Robert Strange, a pupil of Philippe Le Bas, engraved -in line, after Correggio and Van Dyck, the "Saint Jerome" and the -"Charles I.;" as well as other prints after these masters, which are -quite as charming, and should, indeed, be unreservedly admired if the -correctness of their drawing were only equal to their elegance of -modelling and flexibility of tone. - -[Illustration: FIG. 93.--WOOLLETT. - -Landscape. After G. Smith.] - -So much progress accomplished in so few years attracted the attention -of statesmen and of the English Government. They saw it was time to -cease from paying tribute to the superiority of French engravers, and -to allow those talents to develop in London which had till then been -sent to school in Paris. George III. had just founded the Royal Academy -(Jan., 1769), with Reynolds for its first President. He determined -still further to strengthen the impulse of art by countenancing great -undertakings in engraving; and as he wished the country to reap as much -commercial benefit as honour in the matter, he granted bounties on the -exportation of English engravings, while the importation of French work -was taxed with enormous duties. - -In this way the progress of national art became a political question, -and every one hastened to second the king's views. Woollett's plates -had been largely subscribed for before publication, and the illustrated -editions of the travels of Cook and Sir Joseph Banks were taken up in -a few days. Finally, when it was proposed to engrave Copley's "Death -of Chatham," the subscription at once ran up to L3,600; and when, the -first proofs having been taken, the plate was returned to the engraver, -he made almost as much more in less than two years. Nor did the fever -of protection in any wise abate for that. On the contrary, it called -a number of talents into being, and attracted to London a crowd of -foreigners, all sure of the encouragement which began to fail them -elsewhere. Cipriani, Angelica Kauffmann, Catherine Prestel, the Swiss -Moser and his daughter, and a hundred other painters or engravers, came -in one after another to contribute to the success of the school and the -spread of English trade.[46] - -Amongst these adventurers there was one--the Florentine -Bartolozzi--whose works at once became the fashion, less, perhaps, -for any intrinsic merit than because of the novelty of his method. -The process called "stipple engraving" excluded the use of lines and -cross hatchings, and consisted in the arrangement of masses of dots -more or less delicate in themselves, and more or less close in order, -and designed in proportion to their relative distance or nearness, to -render nice gradations of tone, depth of shadow, and even completeness -of outline. - -Speaking exactly, this was but an application to the general execution -of a work of a process adopted long before by etchers and line -engravers as a means of partial execution. Jean Morin, Boulanger, -Gerard Audran himself, and many others, had habitually made use of -dots to supplement the work of the burin or the needle, or to effect -transitions between their lights and shadows, or the larger of their -outlines and subtler details of their modelling. Moreover, before their -time, Jan Lutma, a Dutch goldsmith, invented a method of "engraving in -dots," which, produced by means of his etching needle and aquafortis, -were deepened and enlarged with chisel and hammer: whence the name of -_opus mallei_ bestowed on his results. Bartolozzi, therefore, and the -English engravers who, like Ryland, made use of stippling, did but -revive and extend in their own way the boundaries of a method already -known. They displayed remarkable skill, it is true, but their work, -like the rest of its kind, displays a feebleness of form that is almost -inevitable, and is touched with a coldness inherent in the very nature -of the process. - -In stipple engraving, the burin and the dry point are used alternately, -according to the degree of vigour or delicacy required. The parts that -are to come light in proof are done with the dry-point; while those to -come dark are covered with dots ploughed deeper with the burin. Round -the edge of these, by the mere act of ploughing, there is raised a rim, -or rampart--technically called a "burr"--which the engraver, to regain -the ground thus lost, has to rub down with the burnisher. In this way -he goes on dotting and burnishing till he gets a close enough grain. - -Immensely successful during the last years of the eighteenth century, -stipple engraving soon went out of fashion, not only in France, where -it scarce survived the first attempts of Copia, but even in England, -where the example of Bartolozzi and Ryland had been followed with such -eager diligence. Such, too, somewhat later, was the fate of a somewhat -similar process--the "crayon engraving," of which Gilles Demarteau, -born in Liege, but bred and trained in Paris, may be considered, if -not the inventor, at least the most active, skilful, and popular -practitioner.[47] - -The object of crayon engraving is to imitate the effect of red or black -chalk on a coarse-grained paper, which, by the very roughness of its -surface, retains no more than an uneven, and as it were a disconnected, -impression of the strokes or hatchings laid upon it. In common with -stipple engraving, it renders the loose and broken lines of the -originals by substituting a mass of dots for the ordinary work of the -burin or the needle. It differs, however, from stipple engraving in -the method of working, and even in the nature of the tools employed. -The outlines are traced on the varnished copper with a toothed or -multi-pointed needle, while the inner hatchings are made either with -the needle in question, or with what is called a roulette, which is -a steel cylinder bristling with small, jagged teeth, and running on -a fixed axis. The roulette, which is provided with a handle, is so -directed that the teeth are brought to bear directly, and with more -or less effect, on the varnished copper. Then the plate is bitten in; -and when the aquafortis has done its part, the work, if necessary, is -resumed with the same tools on the bare metal. - -The first specimens of crayon engraving were presented in 1757 to -the Academie Royale de Peinture, which, an official document informs -us,[48] "highly approved of the method, as being well fitted to -perpetuate the designs of good masters, and multiply copies of the best -styles of drawings." For the reproduction of drawings, the new process -was certainly better than etching, at least as practised to that end -by the Count de Caylus and the Abbe de Saint-Non. The misfortune was, -that in the eighteenth century as in the first years of the nineteenth, -the crayon engravers appear to have thought far less of "perpetuating -the designs of good masters" than of suiting their choice of originals -to the prevailing fashion. As a matter of fact, however skilful they -were in execution, the only cause served by Demarteau's innumerable -fac-similes was that of the Bouchers and Fragonards, and of kindred -experts in "the most distinguished school of drawing." Reproduced by -engraving, the crayon studies of these persons became the ordinary -means of instruction in academies and public schools; and from the -first the popularity of these wretched models was such that, even after -the revolution effected in art by David, on through the Empire, and as -late as the Restoration, art students generally remained subject to the -regimen adopted for their predecessors in the days of Louis XV. and XVI. - -Then lithography made its appearance, and in no great while was -applied to the production of drawing-copies, once the monopoly of -crayon engraving. Nor was this the only quarter from which the method -of Francois and Demarteau was assailed. By degrees it fell out of use -for the production not only of drawing-copies, but of fac-similes of -drawings by the masters for artists and amateurs; or, if occasionally -practised, it was--as in the subjects engraved some thirty years -back from drawings in the Louvre and the Musee de Lille--with so -many modifications, and in combination with such a number of other -processes, as reduced it from supremacy to the rank, till worse should -befall, of a mere auxiliary. In our own time it has had its death-blow -in the advance of photography; and as, after all, its one object was -the presentation of an exact likeness, the absolute effigy, of its -original, the preference of a purely mechanical process of reproduction -is, if we consider the certainty of the results, no more than natural. -In proportion as, by its very nature, photography is powerless to take -the place of engraving, when the work to be reproduced, be it picture -or mural decoration, presupposes in the interpreter, in whatsoever -degree, the power of translating what is before him, just so far is it -capable of fulfilling the one condition imposed upon the copyist of a -drawing or an engraving--that of perfect fidelity in imitation. - -The object attempted by Francois, Demarteau, Bonnet, and others--the -production by engraving of a sort of optical illusion, the exact -fac-simile of a drawing--had been started before them by Jean -Christophe Leblond, an artist born of French parents at Frankfort, -who, moreover, had sought to extend to the imitation of colour -what his successors were content to restrict to the imitation of -monochrome. Very early in the eighteenth century, Leblond succeeded -in producing prints in several tints, by a method which he called -"pastel engraving," and to which custom has given the more general -name of "colour engraving." For the second half of this title, it -might, perhaps, have been better to use the word "printing." What is -called "colour engraving" is not really a special engraving process. -Its whole originality consists in the production of a single proof -from several plates (generally four), in the preparation of which the -rocker, the roulette, and sometimes even the burin, have been used. -From these plates, each inked with a single colour, the effect of which -is relieved or modified by the subsequent addition of those tints with -which the other three are covered, there results in the proof, by the -use of points of correspondence, an _ensemble_ in colour which is -similar in appearance to that of painting in pastel, in water-colour, -or in gouache. This was pretty much the process, and the results were -in some sort comparable with those obtained by chromo-lithography. The -older method had, however, the advantage of the other in that, by the -very variety of the preparation to which the plate was subjected, its -results were not so liable to present the appearance, either coarse or -dull, of common hand-tinted work. - -Some of Leblond's engravings, particularly a large, half-length -"Louis XV.," enable us to estimate to the full the capacities of his -invention. Leblond, indeed, must be counted an inventor, inasmuch as -it was his to discover a secret which, before him, had been only dimly -foreseen, or at most half-guessed. Still, the essays in the first years -of the seventeenth century of the Dutchman Lastmann, and a little later -of Seghers the Fleming, should not be completely overlooked; nor would -it be just to refuse recognition to the practical improvements made -in colour engraving, after Leblond, by Gautier Dagoty, in Paris, and -by Taylor, in London. In proportion to the relative importance of the -two discoveries, Leblond played the same part in the history of the -colour process as Daguerre in the history of heliography. They each -effected so great an advance as to close the period of groping and -darkness, and to some extent determine the course of progress. But it -does not follow, therefore, that they owed nothing to the attempts of -their predecessors; and if their claim to inventors' honours is fairly -established, it is because they solved a problem they were by no means -the first to attack. - -Leblond, indeed, got nothing from his discovery but the honour of -making it. He sought in vain to turn it to account in London, and -succeeded no better in Paris. In the latter city he lived for some -years in great distress, and in 1741 he died there, in the hospital. - -Some years after the invention of colour engraving, another sort of -engraving, or rather another sort of pictorial reproduction, the method -called "au lavis," was invented, and very skilfully used from the -outset, by Jean Baptiste Leprince; and in no great while the series of -innovations in the practice of the art, from the end of the seventeenth -century, was completed by the invention of aquatint. - -The first of these two processes is apparently of extreme simplicity. -The line once engraved and bitten in, as in ordinary etching, it -only consisted in brushing the plate with acid, as a draughtsman -washes in on paper with sepia or Indian ink. The preliminary work, -however, required a great deal of care and skill, and even a certain -amount of scientific knowledge. The particular quality of the -copper, the composition of the varnishes and acids, and many other -conditions impossible to discuss in detail, made the new process -somewhat difficult of employment; and before long the ardour of those -practitioners who had essayed to imitate Leprince's results was very -sensibly diminished. - -In spite of the value of these results, and the personal skill of the -inventor; in spite, too, of the technical explanations contained in -the "Plan du Traite de la Gravure au Lavis" presented by him (1750) to -the Academie Royale, it was evident that the French engravers thought -lightly of Leprince's discovery, and did not care to investigate -its capabilities. It only got a fresh start in France when, notably -modified and improved by the initiative of foreign engravers, it had -been transformed in London into what is known as aquatint engraving. -Then, however, in the hands of Debucourt,[49] and of Jazet later on, -it acquired a popularity all the greater that its productions, by -their very nature and quality, were more intimately in harmony with -the inspiration and style of fashionable art. Jazet, for instance, -contributed greatly to the triumph of aquatint in France, by applying -it, from the first years of the Restoration, to the interpretation -of the works of Horace Vernet. Such plates as "Le Bivouac du Colonel -Moncey," the "Barriere de Clichy," the "Soldat Laboureur," and many -others, were tolerated among Frenchmen for the sake of the associations -they awakened at least as much as for their artistic merit. - -It is possible that since then the engraver has reckoned a little too -much on the world-wide reputation of his painter; or it may be that he -has been somewhat too conscious of the advantages of a rapid and facile -method, and has sacrificed the ideal of delicacy and correctness to the -enhancement of a reputation for fertility. Certain it is that Jazet, -as is proved by his early engravings, and especially the "Barriere de -Clichy," was more capable than any one else of raising work in aquatint -to the level of art; and it is much to be regretted that his somewhat -careless ease should have hindered the full development of his talent. -It is still more to be regretted that, in spite of the laudable efforts -of Messrs. Prevost, Girard, and others to maintain the process in the -better way, it should have been dishonoured and deprived of all but a -purely commercial importance by the production of multitudes of plates, -whose only merit is their cheapness. If we consider the so-called -Biblical scenes done in aquatint for exportation, the heroines of -romance, the half-naked women described (by way of commentary) as -"Love," "Souvenir," "Pleasure," "Desire," and all the terms of the -erotic vocabulary, it is hard to say whether the intention or the -execution is the more unpleasant. What is certain is that such things -have nothing to do with art except as examples of its degradation and -destruction. That section of the public sensible of their charm is -certainly not that which is impressed by beauty, and it is useless to -care about winning its approbation; but when ugliness is everywhere -it is to be feared that everybody may grow used to the sight, and -forget to look elsewhere. The danger to which pure line engraving is -thus exposed by the deplorable exigencies of competition is not the -only one which threatens the art. A glance at its several phases since -1800 and at its present state is enough to show that the line of -talents has never once been interrupted; that those of to-day are every -whit as vigorous and accomplished as those of the past; but that for -opportunities of displaying their full power, and being appreciated at -their true worth they have not seldom to wait in vain. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -ENGRAVING IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. - - -At the beginning of the nineteenth century some of the most celebrated -artists of the French school of painting belonged, by the nature -of their talent as well as by the date of their chief successes, -to the ante-revolutionary period. Greuze, Fragonard, Moreau, Mme. -Vigee-Lebrun, Vien even, notwithstanding his intentions of reform, -Regnault and Vincent, in spite of their influence as professors on the -new generation--all seemed rather to recall the past than to herald the -future. One man, Louis David, personified the progress of the epoch. -His pictures, "Les Horaces," and the "Brutus," had appeared some years -before, and the approaching exhibition of "Les Sabines" was impatiently -expected. At this time the younger artists and the public unanimously -regarded David as the regenerator of national art and a master justly -supreme. Architecture, painting, furniture, even fashion in dress, were -all subjected to his absolute sway; everything was done in imitation of -the antique, as understood and interpreted by him. Under the pretexts -of pure beauty and a chaste style, nothing but a soulless body, a sort -of coloured statue, was represented on canvas; while sculpture became -no more than an imitation of Greek or Roman statuary. Since Lebrun, -indeed, no single influence had so completely tyrannised over French -taste. - -Engraving, though fated like the other arts to accept the dictatorship -of David, was at any rate the first to throw off his yoke. Before -the Restoration, whilst the painter of Marat, then painter to the -Emperor, was still in the fulness of his power, the great Italians, -whose pictures crowded the Louvre, had already been interpreted with -more respect for the memory of the old manner than submission to the -requirements of the newer style. - -The most talented of these new artists, Boucher-Desnoyers, when working -at his "Belle Jardiniere," after Raphael, or his "Vierge aux Rochers," -after Leonardo, probably thought much less of contemporary work than of -the French engravers of the seventeenth century; while on their part -Bervic and Tardieu, who had long before given proof of their power, -faithfully maintained the great traditions: the one in an austerity of -execution and a firmness of touch hereditary in his family, the other -in his scientific ease of handling. These three were of the race of -the older masters, and their work, unjustly forgotten some years later -during the rage for the English manner, deserves a better fate than to -be confounded with the cold and formal prints published in the France -of the First Empire. The engravings after David, by popularising his -work, obtained some success in their day, but have failed to secure a -lasting reputation. The fault, however, is not altogether with the -engravers: in spite of the apparent conscientiousness of the painter, -his real indecision of method must count for something in the mediocre -achievements of his interpreters. - -Free to impose his own system on all other artists, David might have -enforced his artistic authority on his contemporaries; and even if -it were beyond his power to restore the French school of engraving, -he might at least have regenerated its principles, and, combining -separate efforts under the synthesis of his own personal conception, -have breathed into it a fresh spirit of unity. This he never attempted; -and it is even hard to guess at what he expected from his engravers. -It might be supposed that his own fondness for precision of form would -have led him to require from them insistence as to the drawing, and not -much attention to colour and effect; yet most of the prints after his -pictures--amongst others those by Morel and Massard--are heavy in tone -and feeble in drawing. There is in them no trace either of the precise -manner of David, or of the large method of the old school; it is -therefore not in these commonplace works, and still less in the barren -engravings composing the great "Commission d'Egypte," that we must look -for signs of such talent as then existed in France. - -[Illustration: FIG. 94.--ALEXANDER TARDIEU. - -The Earl of Arundel. After Van Dyck.] - -The few painters who, like Regnault, were more or less independent -of David's influence, or, like Prud'hon, had ventured to create an -entirely original method, were admired by so small a public that their -pictures were not generally reproduced in engraving, and thus could -do little for the progress of the art. Some, however, of Prud'hon's -drawings and pictures met, under the Directory and the Empire, with -excellent interpreters in Copia and in Barthelemy Roger; while in the -last years of the eighteenth century Bervic's engraving of Regnault's -"Education d'Achille" had obtained at least as much success as the -original had won in the Salon of 1783. To give a companion to this -justly celebrated piece, Bervic soon after published his "Enlevement de -Dejanire," after Guido. This work, to which the judges of the Decennial -Competition awarded the prize in preference to any engraving published -in France from 1800 to 1810, by confirming the engraver's reputation, -caused his fellow-craftsmen to return once more to the old path of -progress. - -It must not, however, be supposed that Bervic did not himself diverge -somewhat from the way of the masters: it may even be said that he was -always more inclined to skirt it than to follow it resolutely. At the -outset he was not sufficiently alive to the perils of facility; and -later on he was apt to attach too much importance to certain quite -material qualities. Yet it must be added that he never went so far as -to entirely sacrifice essentials to accessories, and that more than -once--in his fine full-length of Louis XVI. for instance--he displayed -an ability all the more laudable as the original was by no means -inspiring. - -[Illustration: FIG. 95.--BERVIC. - -"L'Education d'Achille." After Regnault.] - -From the engraving it is hard to suspect the mediocrity of Callet's -picture. This, now at Versailles, is insipidly coloured and loosely -and clumsily drawn; the print, on the contrary, is to be admired for -its solid appearance, and its easy yet unostentatious handling. Lace, -satin, velvet, all accessories, indeed, are treated with a largeness -of touch by no means at variance with delicacy, and the general tone -is harmoniously luminous. Here and there, however, is already visible -a certain artifice of manner which threatens to degenerate into an -unwise cultivation of fine line, and end in an abuse of skill. This, -indeed, is what happened. Bervic, henceforth, thought of little else -but dexterity, and ended in his "Laocoon," perhaps the best known of -all his works, by a display of common technical fireworks, to a certain -extent surprising, but by no means to be unreservedly admired. The care -with which he set himself to imitate the grain of marble by minute -workmanship is only trifling with his subject; and though a group -of statues cannot be treated in the same way as figures painted on -canvas, it was more important, and more desirable in every respect, to -reproduce the character and style of the original than to imitate the -substance in which it was wrought. - -Moreover, in the attempt so to interpret his model, Bervic has defeated -his own purpose. By a multitude of details, and an abuse of half-lights -intended to bring out the slightest accidents of form and modelling, he -has only succeeded in depriving the general aspect of brilliancy and -unity. - -Far removed, indeed, was such a method from that of the Old Masters, -and Bervic lived long enough to change his mind. "I have missed -the truth," he declared in his old age, "and if I could begin life -again, I should do nothing I have done." There he wronged himself. -As happens often in tardy repentances, he remembered past errors only -to exaggerate them; but we must be juster to the engraver of the -"Louis XVI." and "L'Education d'Achille" than he was to himself, and -not forget that much of his work should be excluded from the sweeping -condemnation which he launched upon the whole. - -Whilst Bervic was counted the greatest French engraver, Italy boasted -of a man, his inferior in reality, but whom, in the existing dearth -of talent, his countrymen agreed to thrust into the glorious eminence -of a master. Like Canova, his senior by a few years only, Raphael -Morghen had the good fortune to be born at the right time. Both -second-rate artists, they would have passed almost unnoticed in a more -favoured century; as it was, in the absence of contemporary rivals, -their compatriots accepted their accidental superiority as a proof of -absolute merit. Moreover, by merely submitting in some sort to the -dictates of opinion and of public taste, their popularity and success -were easily assured. The writings of Winckelmann and Raphael Mengs had -brought antique statues and Italian pictures of the sixteenth century -once more into favour; so that Canova, by imitating the former more or -less cleverly, and Morghen by engraving the latter, could neither of -them fail to please, and it is especially to their choice of subjects -that we must attribute the great reputation they both enjoyed. - -Morghen, the pupil and son-in-law of Volpato, whose weak engravings -from the "Stanze," in the Vatican, are known to every one, shared with -that feeble artist, and with Longhi, the privilege of reproducing -admirable paintings, which had either never been engraved, or not -since the time of the masters. This alone gives a certain value to his -plates, faulty as they are. Assuredly, for instance, the engraving of -Leonardo's "Last Supper" reproduces no more than the general lines of -the composition and the attitude of the figures. We look at it as we -might listen to an inferior actor reading verses from "Polyeucte" or -"Athalie," because the inspiration of the master is still to be felt, -in spite of the intermediary of expression; only the sort of beauty -inherent in the conception and arrangement of the original remains in -this piece of Morghen's. What can be said of the head of the Saviour, -like those of the Apostles, _restored_ by the engraver, and unillumined -by the faintest glimmer of sentiment? How is it possible, examining the -work in detail, not to be offended by the arrogance of the technique -and the display of mere mechanical facility, when one remembers the -incomparable accuracy of Leonardo and his perfection of style? - -But in thus substituting his own manner, and the caprices of his -individual taste, for the manner and the taste of the painter of -"The Last Supper," Morghen only treated this great master as he was -in the habit of treating others. Whether it was his lot to interpret -Raphael or Poussin, Andrea del Sarto or Correggio, he had but one -uniform method for the most conflicting types; and to his tricks of -hand he subjected, without remorse, the inspired grace or the noble -energy of whatever he copied. Once, however, it was given him to -entertain higher aspirations, and to study more conscientiously the -particular characteristics of the work he was to reproduce. It would be -impossible without deliberate injustice to avoid recognising merit in -his plate from Van Dyck's "Francesco de Moncada," as much on the score -of intelligent fidelity as of skilful execution. But, for his other -works, could one, without equal injustice, condone the inadequacy of -expression and drawing, the systematic contempt of all effort, the many -evidences of vain and self-confident ease which refuses to be humbled -even in the presence of genius? - -Morghen preserved till the end the brilliant reputation which his -extreme fertility and the complacent patriotism of the Italians had won -for him at the outset. Born in Naples, he settled in Florence, whither -he had been allured by the Grand Duke Ferdinand III., and where he -remained during the French occupation, and, much less resentful than -Alfieri, repulsed neither the homage nor the favour of the foreigner. -On the return of the Grand Duke, his old protector, he was still less -ready to yield to the Neapolitans, who coveted the honour of recalling -the renowned artist to his native country. When at length he died in -1833, all Italy was stirred at the news, and innumerable sonnets, the -usual expression of public regret or enthusiasm, celebrated "the -undying glory of the illustrious engraver of 'The Last Supper.'" - -Johann Godard Mueller, who early in life had had nearly as widespread -a recognition in Germany as Morghen in Italy, departed this world in -lonely misery three years before the Neapolitan. Beyond the walls -of Stuttgart, scarce any one remembered the existence or the brief -renown of the engraver of the "Madonna della Sedia" and the "Battle of -Bunker's Hill." For he had long ceased to trouble about his work or -his reputation, and lived only to mourn a son, who in 1816 died at the -very time when, in his turn, he was about to become one of the most -distinguished engravers of his country. - -From childhood this son, Christian Frederick Mueller, had been devoted -to his father's art. His first attempts were successful enough to -warrant his early admittance to the school of engraving recently -founded at Stuttgart by Duke Charles of Wurtemberg. We have seen that -during the second half of the eighteenth century many German engravers -came to Paris for training, and that many remained there. Expelled from -France, their adopted country, by the Revolution, they returned to -Germany, and the institution of a school of engraving in Stuttgart was -one result of their expulsion. But by 1802 many of the fugitives were -already back in Paris, and the studios, closed for ten years, once more -opened their doors to numerous pupils. Frederick Mueller, then barely -twenty, followed his father's example, and in his turn went to perfect -himself under French masters. - -Commended to the good offices of Wille, then past eighty, who felt it -an honour to have taught Johann Godard Mueller, and introduced by him, -the young man was soon in relation with Bervic, Tardieu, and Desnoyers; -and without constituting himself a thorough-going imitator of these -fine craftsmen, he yet borrowed enough from them to be considered, -if not their rival, at least one of their most faithful disciples. -The plates he engraved for the "Musee Francais," published by Laurent -and Robillard,[50] show laudable submission to the principles of the -masters and an already sound experience of art; but it is in the -"Madonna di San Sisto," in which he seems to have arrived at maturity, -that his talent may be fully measured. Before undertaking this plate, -the young engraver went to Italy to study other work by the "Divine -Painter," and to prepare himself for the interpretation of the picture -in the Dresden Gallery by drawing from the Vatican frescoes. On his -return to Germany, he at once applied himself to the task, and pursued -it with such ardour that, towards the end of 1815, that is in three -years, he had brought it to an end. The "Madonna di San Sisto" deserves -to rank with the finest line engravings of the beginning of the -century. It has long been popular; but renown came too slowly for the -engraver, and unhappily he lacked the patience to await its coming. - -When Mueller had finished his work, he determined to publish it himself, -hoping to gain not only honour but legitimate profit. He was exhausted -by hard work, but he trusted to meet with the reward which he felt to -be due to such continual effort, and to meet with it at once. Time -passed, however, and the young engraver, a prey to feverish anxiety, -began to rail at the indifference of his contemporaries. He had soon to -make arrangements with a publisher, that the fruit of his labours might -not be altogether lost. Several amateurs then bought proofs, but there -was as yet no general popularity for a print the appearance of which, -in the expectation of its author, should have had all the importance -of a public event. So many disappointments completed the ruin of his -health, and at last affected his reason. In a paroxysm of excitement, -Mueller stabbed himself with a burnisher. Shortly after his "Sistine -Madonna" obtained that great success which the poor artist had fondly -anticipated. The publisher grew rich upon the proofs; and the name of -the young engraver who had made too great haste to sell them was with -justice acclaimed throughout Europe. - -The works of Bervic, of Desnoyers, of Morghen and of Mueller, may be -said to represent the state of engraving in France, in Italy, and in -Germany during the early years of the nineteenth century. They show -that at that time the three schools professed the same doctrines, -or, at least, followed the same masters; but this seeming conformity -was not destined to be of long duration. The principles of art were -soon modified by the influence of new ideas, and the German engravers -(taking the lead in this change of aim) entered the path which they are -still following. - -At the time of Mueller's death, the influence of Goethe and Schiller -on German literature had begun to extend to the pictorial arts. -Passionate study of the Middle Ages took the place of the worship of -antiquity, and whilst the classical dictionary was still the only -gospel for French painters, those beyond the Rhine were already -drinking inspiration from Christian tradition and national legend. This -was a happy reaction in so far as it reinvested art with that ethereal -character which is indispensable to its higher developments; but, on -the other hand, rapidly degenerating into mere archaeology, the movement -ended by oppressing and imprisoning talent under invariable formulas. -A few years sufficed to reduce German art to such a condition that -asceticism became the established rule. Since then Overbeck, Cornelius, -and Kaulbach have added the weight of their authority and example, -and continued and perfected the tradition of their forerunners; and -this reformation has been as thorough in Germany as the far different -revolution accomplished by David in France. - -The German painters having thus laid aside a part of their material -resources, the German engravers have been obliged to confine themselves -to a translation of the ideal sentiment of their originals. In this -task it must be allowed they have perfectly succeeded. They reproduce -with singular completeness that generative thought, and religious, -philosophical, or literary imagination, which, far more than any -pictorial idea, inspires the German painter. - -Strictly speaking, they do not produce engravings: that is, they do -not produce works in which the burin has sought to render the value -of tone, colour, chiaroscuro, or any constituent of a picture save -composition and drawing; they are satisfied to cut in the copper, with -a precision frequently approaching dryness, the outlines of simple -forms; while, by way of concession to the true pictorial spirit, -they think it enough to throw in here and there a few suggestions of -modelling and light masses of shadow. Among the numerous specimens of -this extreme reticence of execution, it is sufficient to mention the -"Apostolical Scenes" engraved, after Overbeck, by Franz Keller, Ludy, -and Steinfensand; the plates after Cornelius, published at Carlsruhe -and Munich, by Schaeffer, Merz, and others; and lastly, Thaeter's big -"Battle of the Huns," after Kaulbach. - -Although subdivided into smaller classes, the modern German school is -composed--at least, in so far as historical painting and engraving -are concerned--of a group of kindred talents, inspired by abstract -reflection rather than the study of reality. Nevertheless this main -idea has not everywhere been carried out with the same logical rigour. -The Duesseldorf engravers, for instance, have not always confined -themselves, like those of Munich, to the representation of figures and -their accessories, as mere silhouettes, strengthened, if at all, by -the palest of shadows. Even more elastic principles have prevailed -elsewhere. Felsing of Darmstadt, Mendel of Berlin, and Steinla of -Dresden, have proved by their engravings after Fra Bartolommeo, -Raphael, and Holbein, that they have no notion of denying themselves -any of the methods used by the masters of engraving for imitating -in the highest perfection the relief and life of objects figured on -canvas. But these and other efforts must be considered exceptional. As -we have said, the dominant tendency of German art since the reform is -rather towards deliberate, even systematic, conception than spontaneous -expression of sentiment: it is, in fact, the mortification of the eye -for the intelligence. In a word, German engravers trust too much to -logic and analysis, and too little to their senses. It is only natural -that they should. The qualities lacking in their works are also lacking -in the pictures and drawings from which these are engraved. Still, -their main principle once admitted, we must allow that it could not -well be pushed to a more logical conclusion. In Germany, separate and -independent talents do not exist, as in Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, -and Russia. The end is the same for all, and is obtained by all in -nearly the same degree. In England, also, engraving, considered as a -whole, presents an incontestable unity; nevertheless, the difference -between the schools is great. A trifle hypochondriacal by dint of -privations and penance, German art is sustained by a feverish faith -which lends to it the animation of life; while in spite of its -flourishing looks, English art is really decayed in constitution. -Its health is only apparent, and the least study of its vital sources -compels the recognition of its frailty. - -It has frequently been said that the arts are the expression of -the moral tendency of a people. This is doubtless true; at all -events, it is true of those people for whom the arts have always -been a necessity--of Greece and Italy, for example, where they have -been as it were endemic. Where, however, art has been diffused by -contagion--as an epidemic--it may remain quite distinct from national -tendencies, or only represent a part of them, or even suggest the -presence of quite antagonistic influences. Strictly speaking, a -school of painting has only existed in England since the eighteenth -century; surely its characteristics, past and present, are in nowise a -spontaneous expression of national feeling? Are all its most important -achievements--the portraits of Reynolds, Gainsborough, Lawrence, and -the landscapes of Turner--inspired by that practical wisdom, that -spirit of order and love of exactness in everything, which characterise -the English equally in private and in public life? On the contrary, -the quest of spurious brilliancy and effect, exaggerated at the -expense of accurate form and precision of style, is the one tradition -of the English school of painting; and in spite of the inventive and -tasteful work produced in the first half of the century by artists like -Wilkie, Smirke, and Mulready, as of the more recent efforts of the -Pre-Raphaelites, it would seem as if the school were neither able nor -willing to change. - -The aesthetic formula accepted and used, from one generation to another, -by the English painters has influenced--and, perhaps naturally, with -still more authority--their compatriots the engravers. Just now English -engraving seems careless of further effort. It is as though its -innumerable products had nothing whatever to reveal to those who buy -them, and were bought from habit, and not from taste. - -It has been seen that George III. did his utmost to encourage line -engraving, and that the exportation of prints soon became a source of -revenue. How could the country neglect those wares which abroad were -made so heartily welcome? The aristocracy set the example. Men of -high social position thought it their duty to subscribe to important -publications. In imitation, or from patriotism, the middle class in -their turn sought to favour the growth of engraving; and when, some -years later, it became the fashion to illustrate "Keepsakes" and "Books -of Beauty" with steel engravings, their cheapness put them within -everybody's reach. People gradually took to having prints in their -houses, just as they harboured superfluities of other kinds; and, -the custom becoming more and more general, engravers could be almost -certain of the sale of any sort of work. This is still the case. In -London, every new print may reckon on a certain number of subscribers. -Hence the facility of production, and the constant mechanical -improvements tending to shorten the work; hence, too, unfortunately, -the family likeness and purely conventional charm of the English prints -of the last half-century. - -A glance at any recent aquatints and mezzotints or into a new book of -etchings, discovers nothing one does not seem to have seen a hundred -times before. There are the eternal conflicts of light and darkness, -the eternal contrasts between velvety and pearly textures. In its -needless formality, this trickery resembles that of uninspired and -styleless singers. A brief _piano_ passage is followed by a crashing -_forte_; the whole thing consists in abruptness of contrast, and -depends for success entirely upon surprise. In both cases this element -is soon exhausted by too frequent use. The novelty of their appearance -might at first impart a certain charm to English engravings; but the -unending repetition of the same effect has destroyed their principal -merit, and it is difficult to regard them with attention or interest. - -It would be unjust, however, to confine ourselves to the consideration -of the abuse of general methods, and to say nothing of individual -talents. England has produced some remarkable engravers since those -in mezzotint formed by Reynolds and the landscape artists who were -Woollett's pupils. Abraham Raimbach, for instance, was a fine workman, -and a better draughtsman than most of his compatriots; his plates -after Wilkie's "Blind Man's Buff," "The Rent-Day," and "The Village -Politicians," deserve to be classed amongst the most agreeable works -of modern engraving. Samuel William Reynolds, in his portraits -after many English painters, and his plates from Gericault, Horace -Vernet, and Paul Delaroche, and Samuel Cousins, in his engravings of -Lawrence's "Master Lambton," "Pius VII.," and "Lady Gower and her Son," -have succeeded in getting a good deal more from mezzotint than the -eighteenth century masters. - -In spite of the dissimilarity of their talents, Raimbach and Cousins -may yet be compared as the last English engravers who attempted to -invest their work with a character in conformity with the strict -conditions of the art. Since them the London craftsmen have practised -more or less skilfully an almost mechanical profession. They have -only produced either the thousands of engravings, which every year -proceed from the same source, or the prints that deal with still less -ambitious subjects--animals, attributes of the chase, and so forth--on -an absurdly large scale. They have, indeed, gone so far as to represent -life-size dogs, cats, and game. There is even a certain plate, after -Landseer, whose sole interest is a parrot on its perch, and which is -much larger than the plates that used to be engraved from the largest -compositions of the masters. To say the least, here are errors of taste -not to be redeemed by improvements in the manufacture of tools, nor -even by ingenious combinations of the different processes of engraving. -However skilful contemporary English engravers may be in some respects, -they cannot properly be said to produce works of art; because they -insist on technique to an inordinate degree, and in like measure reduce -almost to nothing the proportions of true art and sentiment. - -One might, with still greater reason, thus explain the mediocrity -of American prints in the present day. Few as they are, they do not -rivet attention as the manifestations of an art which, young and -inexperienced, is yet vital in its artlessness; on the contrary, they -are depressing as the products of an art fallen into the sluggishness -of old age. It is as though engraving in the United States had begun in -decay--or rather, it may be, negatively, with no tendency to change, -and no impulse to progress. Mostly mezzotints or aquatints, the prints -sold in New York and New Orleans suggest that their authors only wished -to appropriate as best they could the present fashions and methods of -English engraving. As for work in line, it is almost entirely confined -to the embellishment of bank notes and tradesmen's cards. Some of its -professors are not without technical knowledge and a sort of skill; and -if it were absolutely necessary to find a characteristic specimen of -American art it should, perhaps, be sought amongst works of this sort. -In any case, it is best to reserve a definitive opinion, and simply to -state what American engraving is, and must be, till a master arise by -whose influence and example it may be animated and renewed. - -If, after considering the condition of engraving at the beginning of -the present century, one should wish to become acquainted with its -subsequent phases, assuredly one has to admit the pre-eminence of -French talent. It may even be advanced that French engravers have -maintained, and do still maintain, almost unaided the art of engraving -within those limits from which it cannot deviate without the risk of -becoming, as in Germany, a language of pure conventionality, or, as in -England, the hackneyed expression of mere technical dexterity. - -Without doubt, evidences of broader and more serious talent were not -lacking even in that school which some years earlier seemed to have -gone to decay. After Volpato and Morghen, and in opposition to their -example, there were Italian engravers who worked to such purpose as to -redeem the honour of the school. The plates by Toschi and his pupils, -from pictures and frescoes by Correggio at Parma; Calamatta's "Voeu de -Louis Treize," after Ingres; Mercuri's "Moissonneurs," after Leopold -Robert, and many prints besides, either by the same artists or others -of their race, assuredly deserve to rank with the most important -achievements of French engraving in the first half of the nineteenth -century. But the years that have lapsed since their publication, -while barren for Italy, have brought a continued harvest to France. -After the engravers who made their appearance in the last years of -the Restoration their pupils became masters in turn; and, in spite of -adverse circumstances, the indifference of a section of the public, -and the increasing popularity of photography, their zeal seems no more -likely to diminish than the value of their work. - -Once, it is true, at the most brilliant period of English engraving, -the French school was not without a moment of hesitation on the part -of some, of disloyalty on that of others. During the First Empire, -the existence of the art movement in London in the last years of -the active rule of George III. and the beginning of the Regency was -unsuspected in France. The cessation of commercial relations between -the two countries left the French in such complete ignorance that, -until 1816, the only English prints they knew were those by Strange, -Ryland, and Woollett: those, in fact, published before the end of the -eighteenth century. And when, after the Restoration, English work first -came under the eyes of French engravers, the fascination of its novelty -dazzled them more than the splendour of its merit. - -Those who, like Tardieu and Desnoyers, were especially concerned -with loftiness of style and masculine vigour of execution, were but -little moved by such innovations, if we may judge by the nature of -their subsequent publications. The "Ruth and Boaz," engraved by the -former after Hersent, the divers "Madonnas" and the "Transfiguration," -engraved by the latter after Raphael, do not testify that their belief -in the excellence of the old French method was at all shaken. But -others, either younger or less stable of conviction, were soon seduced. -Like the English engravers, they attempted to unite all the different -processes of engraving in their plates; and they sought, to the -exclusion of all besides, the easiest way of work, piquancy of result, -and prettiness everywhere, even in history. These imitations became -more numerous by reason of their first success, till they threatened -the independence of French engraving, which had not been encroached -upon since the seventeenth century. - -The fever, however, soon cooled. A happy reaction set in soon after -1830, and continued during the following years; and infatuation having -everywhere been succeeded by reflection, the misleading qualities of -the English manner were finally recognised. The French school takes -counsel with none save itself, its past, and its traditions. To this -just confidence in its own resources are owing its present superiority -to, and independence of, other schools, and, what is more important -still, its place apart from that mechanical industry which, with its -spurious successes, its raids upon a territory not its own, and its -pretentious efforts to occupy the place of art, would seize upon those -privileges, which, do all it may, it can never hope to confiscate. - -Of all the engravers who have honoured our epoch not in France -alone, but also in other countries, the first in genius, as in the -general influence he has exerted for nearly half a century, is -certainly Henriquel--as he called himself in the early part of his -career--Henriquel-Dupont in the second half. But he too, it would seem, -had his hours of indecision. Perhaps, in some of his early works, -certain traces may be discovered of a leaning towards the English -manner, certain tendencies of doubtful orthodoxy; but, at any rate, -they have never developed into manifest errors: they have, at the most, -resulted in venial sins, which themselves have been abundantly atoned. - -[Illustration: FIG. 96.--HENRIQUEL. - -Cromwell (Etching). After Paul Delaroche.] - -Henriquel is a master in the widest acceptation of the word: a master, -too, of the stamp of those in the past of whom the French have the -greatest right to be proud. The masters of the seventeenth century have -scarcely left us plates at once so largely and so delicately treated, -as his "Hemicycle du Palais des Beaux-Arts," his "Moise Expose sur -le Nil," and his "Strafford," after Paul Delaroche; his admirable -sketch in etching of the "Pilgrims of Emmaus," after Veronese; and -the portrait of M. Bertin, after Ingres; and these are but a few. We -have, besides the Van Dyck, "Une Dame et sa Fille," engraved some -years before the "Abdication de Gustave Wasa," after Hersent, and the -"Marquis de Pastoret," after Paul Delaroche; the "Christ Consolateur," -engraved rather later, after Scheffer; and, among less important, -though certainly not less meritorious works, the portraits engraved -now with the scientific ease of the burin, now with the light and -delicate touch of the needle: the "Pasta," the botanist "Desfontaines," -"Desenne" the draughtsman, the "Brongniart," the "Tardieu," the "Carle -Vernet," the "Sauvageot," the "Scheffer," the "Mansard et Perrault," -the "Mirabeau a la Tribune," the "Rathier," and, latest of all, the -charming little "Pere Petetot." - -[Illustration: FIG. 97.--HENRIQUEL. - -The Marquis de Pastoret. After Paul Delaroche.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 98.--HENRIQUEL. - -Alexander Brongniart. After a Drawing by the Engraver.] - -In these--and in how many besides? for the work of the master does -not fall short of ninety pieces, besides lithographs and a great deal -in pastel and crayon--Henriquel proves himself not only a trained -draughtsman and finished executant, but, as it were, still more a -painter than any of his immediate predecessors. Bervic--whose pupil -he became, after some years in the studio of Pierre Guerin--was able -to teach him to overcome the practical difficulties of the art, but -the influence of the engraver of the "Laocoon" and the "Dejanire" went -no further than technical initiation. Even the example of Desnoyers, -however instructive in some respects, was not so obediently followed by -Henriquel as to cause any sacrifice of taste and natural sentiment. By -the clearness of his views, as much as by the elevation of his talent, -the engraver of the "Hemicycle" is connected with the past French -school and the masters who are its chief honour; but by the particular -form of expression he employs, by a something extremely unexpected -in his manner and extremely personal in his acceptance of tradition, -he stands to a certain extent apart from his predecessors, and may -be called an innovator, though he by no means advertises any such -pretension. As we have just remarked, his use of means is so versatile -that he paints with the graver or the needle, where just before him -others, even the most skilful--men like Laugier and Richomme--could -only engrave; and the influence he has exerted--whether by direct -teaching, or by his signed work--has had the effect of rejuvenating -engraving in France in more than one particular, and of awakening -talents, some of which, though plainly betraying their origin, have -none the less a weight and an importance of their own, and deserve an -honourable place in the history of contemporary art. - -[Illustration: FIG. 99.--HENRIQUEL. - -Alexander Tardieu. After a Drawing by Ingres.] - -Several of his most distinguished pupils are dead: Aristide Louis, -whose "Mignon," after Scheffer, won instant popularity; Jules Francois, -who is to be credited, among other fine plates, with a real masterpiece -in the "Militaire Offrant des Pieces d'Or a une Femme," after the -Terburg in the Louvre; and Rousseaux, perhaps the most gifted engraver -of his generation, whose works, few as they are, are yet enough to -immortalise him. Who knows, indeed, if some day the "Portrait d'Homme" -from the picture in the Louvre attributed to Francia, and the "Madame -de Sevigne" from Nanteuil's pastel, may not be sought for with the -eagerness now expended on the search for the old masters of engraving? - -The premature death of these accomplished craftsmen has certainly been -a loss to the French school. Fortunately, however, there remain many -others whose work is of a nature to uphold the ancient renown of French -art, and to defy comparison with the achievement of other countries. -Where, save in France could equivalents be found, for instance, of -the "Coronation of the Virgin," after Giovanni da Fiesole, and the -"Marriage of Saint Catherine," after Memling, by Alphonse Francois; -of the "Antiope," by Blanchard, after Correggio; of the "Vierge de la -Consolation," after Hebert, by Huot; of Danguin's "Titian's Mistress," -or Bertinot's "Portement de Croix," after Lesueur; of several other -plates, remarkable in different ways, and bearing the same or other -names? What rivalry need Gaillard fear, in the sort of engraving of -which he is really the inventor, and which he practises with such -extraordinary skill? Whether he produces after Van Eyck, Ingres, or -Rembrandt, such plates as the "Homme a l'OEillet," the "OEdipus," and the -"Pilgrims of Emmaus," or gives us, from his own drawings or paintings, -such portraits as his "Pius IX." and his "Dom Gueranger," he, in -every case, arrests the mind as well as surprises the eye, by the -inconceivable subtlety of his work. Even when translating the works of -others he shows himself boldly original. His methods are entirely his -own, and render imitation impossible because they are prompted by the -exceptional delicacy of his perceptions; but, with all the goodwill in -the world, it would be no less difficult to appropriate his keenness of -sentiment or to gain an equal degree of mental insight. - -In France, then, line engraving has representatives numerous enough, -and above all meritorious enough, to put to rout the apprehensions -of those who believe, or affect to believe, the art irretrievably -injured by the success of heliography. We have only to glance at the -feats accomplished in our own day in engraving of another kind, and -to examine those produced in France by contemporary French etchers, -to be reassured on this question also. Might we not, even, without -exaggeration, apply the term renaissance to the series of advances -effected in the branch of engraving formerly distinguished by Callot -and by Claude Lorraine? When, since the seventeenth century, has the -needle ever been handled in France by so many skilful artists, and -with so keen a feeling for effect and colour? But let none mistake the -drift of our praise. Of course, we do not allude here to the thousands -of careless sketches scrawled on the varnish, with a freedom to be -attributed to simple ignorance, far more than to real dash and spirit; -nor to those would-be "works of art," for which the skill of the -printer and the tricks of printing have done the most. To the dupes of -such blatant trickeries they shall be left. Still, it is only just to -acknowledge, in the etchings of the day, a singular familiarity with -the true conditions of the process, and generally a good knowledge -of pictorial effect, solid enough and sufficiently under control to -maintain a mean between pedantry and exaggerated ease. - -Many names would deserve mention, were we not confined to general -indications of the progress and the movement they represent. It is, -however, impossible to omit that of Jacquemart, the young master -recently deceased, who, in a kind of engraving he was the first to -attempt, gave proof of much ingenuity of taste and of original ability. -The plates of which his "Gemmes et Joyaux de la Couronne" is composed, -and his etchings of similar models--sculpture and goldsmith's work, -vases and bindings, enamels and cameos--all deserve to rank with -historical pieces of the highest order; even as the still-life painted -by Chardin a century ago still excites the same interest, and has a -right to the same attention, as the best pictures by contemporary -allegorical or portrait painters. - -The superiority of the French school, in whatever style, has, moreover, -been recently recognised and proclaimed in public. It has not been -forgotten that the jury entrusted with the awards at the International -Exhibition of 1878 unanimously decreed a principal share to the -engravers of France. Without injustice this share might perhaps have -been even greater if the jury, chiefly composed of Frenchmen, had -not thought right to take full account of the special conditions of -the competition, and the readiness with which the artists of other -countries had responded. - -[Illustration: FIG. 100.--JULES JACQUEMART. - -Henri III. After a Sixteenth Century Bronze.] - -Since then the position of art in Europe, and the relative importance -of talents in different countries of Europe, have not changed. If, -to understand the state of contemporary engraving, it be thought -desirable to confine our attention to the present moment, there can -be no doubt whatever that the most cursory examination of the works -representing the different processes of engraving must justify the -above observations. These we should wish briefly to recapitulate. - -We have said that etching has, within the last few years, returned so -much into favour, that probably at no other time have its products -been more numerous, or in more general demand. This is but fair; and -it is not in France only that the public taste for etched work, large -and small, is justified by the talent of the artists who publish it. -To quote a few names only among those to be commended, in different -degrees, for their many proofs of sentiment and skill, we have Unger in -Austria; Redlich and Massaloff in Russia; Gilli in Italy; and Seymour -Haden in England. By their talents they assist in the reform which -the French engravers began, and which they now pursue with increasing -authority and exceptional technical knowledge. - -[Illustration: FIG. 101.--JULES JACQUEMART. - -Tripod, by Gouthiere.] - -Mezzotint and aquatint have been not nearly so fortunate. The former -appears to have fallen, almost everywhere, into disuse. Even in -England, where, as soon as Von Siegen's invention was imported, a -school was founded to cultivate its resources--in England, where, from -Earlom to S. W. Reynolds and Cousins, mezzotint engravers so long -excelled--it is a mere chance if a few are still to be found supporting -the tradition. In other countries, France, Belgium, Germany, and Italy, -mezzotint is, to speak strictly, scarcely practised at all. It has -been replaced by aquatint, which itself, as we mentioned in a former -chapter, is only used for purely commercial requirements, except by -engravers of real talent in combination with the needle and the graver. - -Wood engraving has made, in certain respects, considerable progress -in the course of the last few years. In France and England it is -producing results that not only confirm its advances, but are as the -prophecy of still better things. Amongst recent prints, those of -Robert, for instance, do more than promise; they realise the hopes -which others only hold out. All the same, it is commonly the case with -wood engravers that, clever though they be, they are apt to deceive -themselves as to the special conditions of their art, and too often -to forget that it is not their province to imitate the appearance of -line engraving. Instead of attempting to copy the complicated results -of the graver, they should rather, in accordance with the nature of -the process at their disposal, be satisfied with rapid suggestions -of effect and modelling and a summary imitation of form and colour. -The illustrations after Holbein, by Luetzelburger and other Germans of -the sixteenth century, and the portraits and subjects cut on wood by -Italian artists, or by Frenchmen of the same epoch, as Geofroy Tory and -Salomon Bernard, are models to which the engravers of our own day would -do well to conform, instead of entering, under pretext of improvements, -upon attempted innovations as foreign to the true nature of the process -as to its objects and real resources. - -Though the practice of line engraving is more scientific in France -than anywhere else, it has nevertheless distinguished representatives -in other countries. Besides the French, the German, and the Italian -engravers we have mentioned, Weber, in Switzerland; De Kaiser, in -Holland; Biot and Franck, in Belgium; Jacobi, Sonnenleiter, and Klaus, -in Austria, are working manfully for the cause so well supported by -Henriquel and his followers. But everywhere the perseverance of zeal -and talent is unfortunately insufficient to overcome the prejudices -of the public, and its exaggerated confidence in the benefits of -mechanical discovery. - -Since the progress accomplished by science in the domain of -heliographic reproduction, since the advantages with regard to -material exactness that photography and the processes derived from it -have offered, or seem to offer, line engraving, of all the different -methods, is certainly the one that has suffered most from the supposed -rivalry. A mistake, all the more to be regretted as it seems to be -general, gave rise to the idea that it was all over with the art of -engraving, simply because, as mere copies, its products could not have -the infallible fidelity of photographic images, and that, however -painstaking and faithful the engraver's hand, it could never produce -that exact fac-simile, that ruthless imitation of the thing copied. - -Nothing could be truer than this, if the only object of line engraving -were to give us a literal copy, a brutal effigy of its original. But -is it necessary to mention again that, happily, it has also the task -of interpretation? Owing to the very limited field in which he works, -as it were in monochrome, the engraver is compelled to choose and to -combine the best means of rendering by analogy the various colours of -his original, to organise its general effect, and to bring out both the -character and the style, now by the simplification of certain details, -now by applying the principle of selection to certain others. We have -no longer here the stupid impartiality, or, if it be preferred, the -unreasoning veracity of a mechanical apparatus, but the deliberate use -of feeling, intelligence, and taste--of all those faculties, indeed, -which mould and enter into the talent of an artist. - -Now as long as there are men in the world capable of preferring idea to -matter, and the art which appeals to the mind to the fact which speaks -to the eyes, line engraving will retain its influence, however small -it may be supposed, however limited it may really be. In any case, -those who in these days, in spite of every obstacle, are determined to -pursue in their own way the work of such men as Edelinck and Nanteuil, -will have deserved recognition from their contemporaries, and will have -averted, so far as they could, the complete decay, if it must come, -of art properly so called, when sacrificed to the profit of chance -manufacture and mere technique. - - - - -A CHAPTER ON - -ENGLISH ENGRAVING. - -BY WILLIAM WALKER. - - -England appears at first only to have participated in the European -movement amongst the fine arts by the trade which it carried on in -foreign productions, and the hospitality and the patronage which it -gave to many celebrated artists. Thus the country was enriched with -foreign works, and examples were obtained, not perhaps worthy of being -slavishly followed, but at all events capable of stimulating native -talent. At the persuasion of Erasmus, Holbein, in 1526, came to try -his fortune in England, and was followed afterwards by Rubens and Van -Dyck, as well as De Bry, Vorsterman, and the indefatigable Hollar, the -latter an engraver unrivalled in his own style, and perhaps the most -unfortunate in worldly circumstances who ever practised the art. - -As early as 1483 wood-cuts were used for illustration in Caxton's -"Golden Legend," and subsequent printers adopted the same practice in -issuing their publications. In like manner, copperplate engravings -appeared first as illustrations for books, notably in one called "The -Birth of Mankind," dedicated to Queen Catherine, and published by -Thomas Raynalde in 1540, and in a translation of Vesalius' "Anatomy," -published in 1545 by Thomas Geminus, who not only did the literary -work, but copied the original wood-cuts on copper. In the middle of the -century, the Hogenbergs took advantage of the method for portraiture, -Francis engraving in 1555 a portrait of Queen Mary, and his brother -Remigius in 1573 one of Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, who -seems to have retained the engraver in his service. - -About the same period appeared William Rogers, who was born in London -in 1545, and may be considered as the earliest English engraver -worthy of mention. His series of portraits are of considerable merit, -especially a whole length, taken from a drawing by Isaac Oliver, of -Queen Elizabeth, standing with orb and sceptre, and clothed in a rich -embroidered and puffed dress. This print bears at the bottom the name -of the engraver, and was afterwards reduced in size all round, turning -the figure of the Queen into a three-quarter length, and cutting away -Rogers' name, which was not reinserted in the later publication. Both -sizes of the print are scarce, especially the original, and indeed for -a considerable time the reduced impression was considered anonymous, -until the appearance of the larger engraving and its comparison with -the smaller established the identity of the two. The elder Crispin de -Passe engraved a plate from the same drawing of smaller size, and with -different accessories in the background. - -De Passe, a native of Utrecht, and his family, William, Simon, and -a daughter Magdalen, came over to England at the beginning of the -seventeenth century, and engraved many prints of much interest in a -style peculiarly their own. Reginald Elstracke (born 1620) and Francis -Delaram flourished about the same period. - -But nothing was accomplished by any English engraver of great artistic -value, or which could be fairly compared with the work in other -countries, until the middle of the century. It was then that William -Faithorne, by his series of portraits, full of colour and executed in -a clear and brilliant style, freed England from this reproach. He may -be said to have inaugurated the era of English engravers, who, though -mostly surpassed by other nations in the line manner of engraving, have -no rivals in mezzotint. This style, which, when combined with bold -etching, may be called the culmination of the art, was taken up in this -country as soon as discovered, adopted by the English as their own, -and gradually brought by them to the fullest perfection. Faithorne was -a pupil of Sir Robert Peake, painter and engraver, and is said also -to have studied under Nanteuil, when driven through the troubles of -the first revolution to take refuge in France. His portraits of Mary, -Princess of Orange, the Countess of Exeter, Sir William Paston, Queen -Catherine of Braganza, Charles II., with long flowing black hair, -Thomas Killegrew, dramatist and court favourite, and the famous Marquis -of Worcester, one of the contributors to the invention of the steam -engine, rank high as engravings, and worthily take their place amidst -the achievements of other countries. - -Before treating of mezzotint and the new field which it opened out -to the engraver, it will be well to call attention to the coming of -Hollar to England, and his peculiar method of work, which consisted -mainly of etching, assisted by the point or fine graver. Wenceslaus -Hollar (born 1607) was forced early in life by the exigencies of those -warlike times to leave his native land--Bohemia--and to travel through -Germany, designing and engraving on his way, until, in 1636, he met at -Cologne with the Earl of Arundel, the English Ambassador to Ferdinand -II., who immediately took him into his employment, and on his return -from his mission brought him to England, where, with the exception of -the troubled years of the first revolution, Hollar resided for the -remainder of his life. - -Misfortune, however, which attended Hollar in youth, seemed relentless -throughout his entire career; after the restoration of Charles II., -he underwent the terrible experiences of the plague and of the fire -of London, and the times, hostile to every pursuit of art, reduced -Hollar to a state of indigence and distress from which, in spite of -persevering industry, he seems never to have been able to recover. -Sent to Africa in 1669 as the king's designer, to make drawings of -the fortifications and surroundings of the town of Tangiers, he meets -with Algerine corsairs on his way back, from which he escapes with -difficulty. On his return, it is only after delay and vexation that he -can obtain L100 from the impecunious king for his two years' labours -and expenses. He travels through England, making drawings and etchings -of abbeys, churches, ruins, and cathedrals, and ultimately dies at -Westminster (1677) in a state of extreme poverty and distress, his very -death-bed being disturbed by bailiffs, who threaten the seizure of the -last article of furniture he possessed, the bed upon which he is lying. -His body was laid in the churchyard of St. Margaret's, Westminster; -his name and works remain living and immortal. Hollar's prints amount -to considerably over two thousand, and embrace all kinds of subjects, -portraits, landscapes, architecture, costume, and animal and still-life -of varied character and quality. His treatment of the textures of hair, -feathers, or the bloom on butterflies and other insects, is simply -unrivalled. Besides his portraits, among other well-known and valued -prints, there are--after his own designs--the long bird's-eye view -of London in four parts, plans of the same city before and after the -great fire (1666), exterior and interior views of the old Cathedral of -St. Paul,[51] Westminster Hall, with its picturesque surroundings, the -Cathedrals of Lincoln, Southwell, Strasbourg, Antwerp, and York, sets -of butterflies, insects, costumes, muffs, and richly-wrought jewelled -vessels. - -In addition to these, he engraved a set of thirteen plates (1671) -on the various English ways of hunting, hawking, and fishing, after -Francis Barlow, painter and engraver, who flourished during the same -period, and excelled in the representation of animals, birds, and -fish. The latter artist has left a curious print--of which the only -known example is supposed to be that of the British Museum--entitled -"The Last Horse Race" (August 24, 1684), run before Charles II., at -Dorsett Ferry (? Datchett), near Windsor Castle. Hollar was the master -of Robert Gaywood, who in some measure imitates his style, and many of -whose plates are justly esteemed, such as the series of heads after -Van Dyck, the curious likeness of Cromwell, the large print of the -philosophers Democritus and Heraclitus, as opposing professors of -gaiety and gravity, and the plates of birds and animals after Barlow. - -In the meantime, the art of mezzotint had been invented, in the first -place, by Ludwig von Siegen, a lieutenant-colonel in the service of -the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, who used the method to execute a large -portrait, bearing the date 1642, of the Princess Amelia Elizabeth, the -dowager Landgravine of Hesse. The credit for the discovery has also -been ascribed to the well-known Prince Rupert,[52] nephew of Charles -I.; but the legend of the prince meeting with a soldier cleaning his -corroded gun, and thus conceiving the idea of engraving a copper plate, -rests on no sufficient foundation. It is, however, enough for this -romantic prince's undying renown, that, having acquired the secret of -producing the necessary ground by some means or other, most probably -from Von Siegen, he not only introduced the process into England, -but executed himself several remarkable engravings in the style, -one of which, known as "The Great Executioner" (dated 1658), after -Spagnoletto,[53] to distinguish it from a smaller plate containing the -head only of the same figure, remains to this day as a powerful and -wonderful example of the method. It is curious that, with the partial -exception of Germany, and a few isolated instances in other countries, -mezzotint should have been practically confined to England; the very -name is not recognised elsewhere. Germany uses the word "Schabkunst," -scraping art; the French, "La maniere noire," the black manner; and -Italy, "L'incisione a fumo," engraving in smoke or black,[54] - -Before the discovery of the new method, all engraving consisted of -an arrangement of lines varied occasionally by dots, which had to be -cut into the polished copperplate either directly by the graver or -indirectly by the use of acid. Untouched by either graver or acid, the -polished plate would thus, under the ordinary process of copperplate -printing (rubbing in the ink by a suitable dabber and then cleaning off -all the ink not held fast by in-dents), print white; mezzotint reverses -the process. The plate, instead of being polished when the engraver -commences his work, presents a close, fine, file-like surface, which, -if inked, wiped, and put under the heavy-pressure roller press, would -now print off a deep uniform surface of bloomy black; in place, -therefore, of putting in lines or dots to hold the ink, the engraver -has to scrape off the close file-like grain at the required parts, -bringing up his highest lights by means of a burnisher; the scraper and -burnisher, not the graver, are consequently the principal tools used in -executing mezzotint. In addition to the greater ease and rapidity with -which an engraving could be made by this process, the range of effect -or colour was immensely increased. All tones between pure white and the -deepest black were now capable of realisation, and it is easy to see -how greatly were enlarged the resources of the engraver, whose special -gift and claim as an original artist--a fact too often forgotten, or -rather not sufficiently recognised--consist in his power of translating -into various shades of black and white the numerous colours at the -disposal of the painter. - -The forming or laying the grained surface, technically called _ground_, -is necessarily of the utmost importance, and is effected by a tool -known amongst practical workers as "the rocker," called also "cradle," -or "berceau"--the French equivalent--from the peculiar rocking motion -given to it by the operator. The rocker is made of moderately thin -and carefully tempered steel about two inches broad, and might be -termed a stumpy, wide chisel were it not that it is curved (like a -cheese-cutter) and notched or serrated at the cutting edge, which -serration is caused by one side of the steel being indented into small -fluted ridges running parallel upwards to the handle by which the tool -is held, and somewhat presenting the appearance of a small-tooth-comb. -On the plain smooth side the rocker is ground level to the edge, like -other cutting tools, and sharpened on a stone or hone of suitable -quality. In laying the ground this instrument is held firmly in the -hand, the elbow resting on a convenient cushion, the serrated cutting -edge placed on the plate with a slight inclination, and a steady -rocking motion given to the tool, which slowly advances over the -surface of the copper or steel, forming on its way a narrow indented -path. Side by side with this path another is made until the whole -surface of the plate has been covered. The series of parallel paths -is then repeated at a certain angle over the previous ones, and so on -in regular progressive angular order until the required closeness of -texture has been produced; to do this it is necessary that the series -of parallel paths--technically called a _way_--should be repeated -in proper angular progression from sixty to a hundred times. As the -continual friction of the elbow against the cushion caused the laying -of a ground to become a severe and painful operation, particularly when -the use of steel instead of copper plates came into practice early in -the present century, a modification of this plan was introduced whereby -the tool was fixed at the fitting angle into one end of a long pole, -the other end being inserted loosely in a ring fixed on the board upon -which the plate was placed; the requisite rocking motion could then -be easily given by the hand, and much painful labour avoided. The -necessity for a good ground being so great, as the process became more -and more general in England, a race of professional ground-layers grew -up, who were paid at a certain rate per square inch for the surface -thus covered. Much controversy has taken place as to the means by which -Siegen, Prince Rupert, and the earlier mezzotinters produced their -grounds, but there is little doubt that it must have been accomplished -by some rude form of the present tool, and the curious appearance of -the grain--as seen in very early mezzotints--must have been caused -by the irregular crossings of the impressed layers, the necessity of -regular angular procedure throughout the plate, in order to obtain an -even tone, not having been recognised at first. - -Prince Rupert imparted the secret of the process to Wallerant Vaillant, -a native of Lisle, a portrait painter (born 1623, died 1677) who -practised the method with great success, working chiefly at Amsterdam, -and leaving to posterity many prints of considerable artistic merit. -Sir Christopher Wren is also credited with the execution of one of the -earliest mezzotints, a negro's head with a collar round the throat, but -there is no satisfactory authority for the various statements to this -effect, the only sound fact being that this early print is an extremely -interesting specimen of the process. The first English engraving -executed in this style _bearing a date_ is a portrait of Charles II. in -an oval frame (Giul. Sherwin, fecitt 1669), by William Sherwin, who, -there is some reason to believe, acquired his knowledge of the process -directly from Prince Rupert. Sherwin, born about 1650, engraved also in -line,[55] and is said to have had the distinction of engraver to the -king conferred on him by patent, an exceptional honour. - -Among the mezzotinters about this period, Abraham Blootelingh, born -at Amsterdam in 1634, and distinguished both as a line engraver -and etcher, came over to England in 1673, made use of the method -with admirable success, and is said to have effected considerable -improvement in the process of laying the ground; his life-size head of -the Duke of Monmouth, in an oval border or frame, is a masterpiece of -the art. But, with the above exceptions, the works left by the majority -of the early mezzotinters, both English and foreign, are more curious -to the student than satisfactory to the artistic eye. It was not until -the close of the century, when Isaac Beckett and John Smith had already -begun to issue their grand series of portraits after Kneller, Lely, -and other contemporary painters, that the full capabilities of the -invention were realised and the foundation laid for the steady and -uninterrupted progress of the art. John Smith's clear, bright, and -intelligent face ought to be well known to Englishmen both from his -own engraving and also from Kneller's admirable picture, from which -it was taken, so long to be seen hanging in the Rubens and Rembrandt -room of the National Gallery, and lately fittingly transferred to the -National Portrait Gallery. He was a pupil of Beckett and native of -Northamptonshire, and died at Northampton in 1742, where there is a -tablet to his memory in St. Peter's Church. - -When the eighteenth century opened, mezzotint had taken firm root -in England; Beckett and John Smith were in the plenitude of their -powers; Jean Simon, a Protestant refugee from France (born in Normandy, -1675), had taken refuge in England, and forsaking his original method -of line, had adopted that of mezzotint with great success, while G. -White was already giving the first indications of the advantages that -might be gained by the introduction of etching into the method. John -Faber, junior, was also establishing his reputation, not only by his -well-known portraits (which include the set of the Kit-cat Club[56] -and the Hampton Court beauties), but by many spirited fancy subjects -after Mercier, and above all by an admirable print after Frank Hals of -a man playing the guitar. Faber, the younger, was born in Holland in -1684, and brought to England when three years old by his father (also -an engraver in mezzotint, but completely overshadowed by his son); he -studied under Vanderbank, and was patronised by Kneller; his works -are peculiarly valuable as forming records of the painters--now so apt -to be carelessly passed by[57]--who lived between the time of Kneller -and the rise of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and all left work of value to -posterity. - -The modern sharp division between painters and engravers was unknown -in those days; the painter was only too glad to avail himself of the -talent of the engraver to make his paintings known, and in many cases -keep alive and hand down to after generations a name which otherwise -might have died out and been forgotten. Painters of the present age -ignore the engraver, and prefer the more tangible money results to -be obtained from treating with a publisher for the purchase of their -copyrights, adopting in this respect the teaching conveyed in the witty -speech of Sir Godfrey Kneller, who, when reproached for his preference, -to other branches of painting, of the lucrative one of portraiture, -replied: "Painters of history make the dead live and do not begin to -live themselves till they are dead; I paint the living and they make -me live." Kneller might, however, have defended his practice on higher -grounds, for portraiture, though often ignorantly decried, tests the -powers of a great artist to the uttermost, and bequeaths to posterity a -legacy of as valuable work as it is in the power of man to accomplish. -It is interesting to note here that copyright in works of art was first -obtained on the behalf of engraving; Hogarth, painter and engraver, -finding that so many of his prints--which, numerously distributed, -could easily be pirated--were being copied, boldly and successfully -asserted his rights in the courts of law, and was the means of -obtaining from Parliament a Copyright Act to defend property in art. - -To Faber succeeded Thomas Frye and James McArdell, who were both born -in the same city, Dublin, the birthplace of several other distinguished -engravers. The life of Frye was eventful; he came in early manhood to -London in the company of his fellow-townsman Stoppelaer, who by turns -became artist, actor, dramatic writer, and singer. Frye commenced by -painting and engraving portraits, and then took charge of the china -manufactory just established at Bow, from the ruins of which afterwards -arose those of Chelsea and Worcester; there he remained fifteen years, -and by his taste and skill improved the manufactures in material form -and ornamentation until, the business not succeeding and his health -being injured by the heat of the furnaces, he had to take a journey to -Wales to recruit, the expenses of which he paid by painting portraits, -ultimately returning to London with some money in his pocket. Frye now -took a house in Hatton Garden, where he painted miniatures, life-size -heads in oils and crayons, and in the space of about two years, 1760-2, -executed in mezzotint the remarkable and justly esteemed series of -life-size heads, which contain, among others, portraits of himself, -his wife, and his mother. These were his last productions, as he -died of a complication of diseases in 1762 at the age of fifty-two. -Frye was industrious, amiable, and generous in character, patient in -misfortune, and ingenious in accomplishing his objects; his likenesses -of George III. and Queen Charlotte were obtained by frequent visits to -the theatre, where it is said that the king and queen, on knowing his -purpose, used kindly to turn their heads towards the artist to help -him in his task; other portraits were perhaps accomplished more by the -exercise of imagination, as the fine ladies he would ask to sit were -wont to refuse with the excuse that they did not know in what company -they might find themselves placed. - -McArdell, the jovial companion of artists, the friend of Quin the -actor, of whom Sir Joshua Reynolds observed, that even if the colours -of his (Sir Joshua's) pictures faded his fame would be preserved by -McArdell's engravings, marks an epoch in the art; for he was the first -to use vigorous etching to increase the effect of mezzotint. He died -young, in June, 1765, in his thirty-seventh year, and was buried in -Hampstead Churchyard, where, according to Lysons, a short inscription -to his memory recorded the fact.[58] - -McArdell's immediate successors were numerous, and of striking power -and originality in the exercise of their art; the more important -of them were Richard Houston, John Greenwood, Edward Fisher, John -Spilsbury, Valentine Green, William Pether, Richard Brookshaw, John -Blackmore, John Dixon, John Jones, Robert Laurie, and the two Watsons, -James and Thomas, who were closely followed, in point of time, by -William Dickinson, James Walker,[59] John Dean, John Young, the popular -J. R. Smith (John Raphael), and perhaps the greatest of them all as an -engraver, Richard Earlom. Many of these also practised in stipple, but -their finer works in mezzotint completely overshadow these productions. -It may be added that even the paintings of Sir Joshua Reynolds would -hardly have been appreciated as thoroughly both in England and other -countries, were it not for the admirable renderings of his pictures -by the famous band of engravers practising during his lifetime. -Gainsborough has undoubtedly suffered in this respect, for, unlike -Wright of Derby, Hoppner, Opie, Morland, and Lawrence, few important -mezzotints have been executed after his pictures; and were the art to -revive and the engravers to be found, a mine of wealth would be waiting -to reward with its treasures well-directed labour. - -Earlom was born in 1743, and at his death in 1822 had reached his -eightieth year; when fourteen years old he gained a premium from -the Society of Arts, and attracted attention by making copies of -Cipriani's pictures on the Lord Mayor's state carriage; this led -to his becoming the painter's pupil and to his acquiring a thorough -knowledge of drawing. The Boydells employed him to make drawings and -engravings from the Houghton collection, and throughout his long life -he continued to exercise unremittingly his laborious profession; his -plates are numerous and of great excellence, while his skilful use of -etching gives effect and variety to the many textures represented. -Earlom engraved after various masters ancient and modern, and perhaps -first showed the world the wide range of subjects which the style was -capable of effectively representing, such as--to mention only a few of -the more important plates--Correggio's "Repose in Egypt," Rubens' "Son -and Nurse," Van Dyck's "Duke of Arembergh on Horseback," Vanderwerff's -"Bathsheba bringing Abishag to David," the "Fish, Game, Vegetable, and -Fruit Markets," after Snyders and Long John,[60] Van Huysum's fruit and -flower pieces, Zoffany's terribly realistic representation of a "Scene -in the French Revolution on the 10th of May, 1793," and his "Life -School at the Royal Academy," Wright of Derby's "Blacksmith's Shop" and -"Iron Forge," and the six plates after Hogarth, "Marriage a la Mode." - -The renown acquired by the works of English mezzotinters gradually -attracted the notice of other nations--particularly Germany--where -the style had almost died out, and many foreign engravers came to -this country, amongst others, J. G. Haid and the Viennese Jacobe, who -not only executed valuable works in England, but were the cause of a -partial renewal of the method in their own countries. The Austrian -Pichler (born 1765, died 1806) finished in pure mezzotint many plates -of exceptional merit, while his fruit and flower pieces after Van -Huysum rival the masterpieces of Earlom after the same painter. - -During the same period the English school had been making rapid strides -in the other branches of copperplate engraving, line, stipple, and -etching. Line, which to this day is considered by many as the highest -style of the art, and which most certainly is well fitted to render -the human form with grace and purity of outline and detail, has -notwithstanding to overcome the difficulty of adequately expressing -the various shades of colour and texture, and above all of realising -the due effects of atmosphere and distance, a serious matter where -the accessories are of importance or where landscape enters largely -into the composition of the picture. It is, therefore, not surprising -that, with mezzotint at hand with its wide range of capabilities, there -should be comparatively few English engravers of eminence devoting -themselves to line. - -Hogarth, who was born in 1697, and began life as an engraver of arms -and cyphers, naturally employed the method of line to give expression -to his bold and vigorous designs, and in this was assisted by Luke -Sullivan, who had been a pupil of Thomas Major. Major (born 1720) had -spent some years in Paris engraving after Berghem, Wouvermans, and -others; he was an artist of skill, and lived to a considerable age, -holding for forty years the office of seal engraver to the king, and -being the first _associate_[61] engraver elected by the Royal Academy. - -In the year 1730, Vivares, who was a Frenchman by birth, and who, in -spite of natural artistic talents, had been apprenticed to a tailor, -came to England at the age of eighteen and studied under Chatelain, -an artist of French Protestant parentage, but born in London. Vivares -soon surpassed his master, acquired great renown for his many fine -plates of landscape and sea-scenes, and became a member of the Society -of Artists; he lived for thirty years in Great Newport Street, and was -buried in Paddington Churchyard in the year 1780. - -It is, however, from the pre-eminent excellence of the line engravings -of Strange, Woollett, and Sharp that the right of England to a place -in the hierarchy of the art has been conceded by other nations. Sir -Robert Strange, descended from an ancient Scottish family, was born at -Orkney in 1721, and served an apprenticeship of six years to Richard -Cooper of Edinburgh. In this city Strange started as an engraver on his -own account; when the civil war broke out he joined the side of the -Pretender, engraved a half-length portrait of him, and was appointed -engraver to this prince; after the battle of Culloden, in which he is -said to have taken part, Strange escaped to Paris, and had there the -advantage of studying under Le Bas. In 1751 he returned to England, -and established himself in London, where his talents were readily -recognised and appreciated. On the accession of George III., Strange -refused the commission to engrave whole-length portraits of the king -and his Prime Minister, Lord Bute, thereby giving great offence, which, -together with the remembrance of his former adventures, made Strange -think it prudent to leave the country for a time; therefore, to turn -to good account even such untoward circumstances, he determined to -increase the knowledge of his art by travelling through the continent. -In Italy he produced some of his finest engravings after Titian, -Raphael, Correggio, Domenichino, Guido, and Van Dyck; his talent -was everywhere acknowledged; he was elected member of the Academies -of Rome, Florence, Bologna, Parma, and Paris; and, on his return to -London, by his engraving after West of the apotheosis of the king's -three children, who had died in infancy, he regained the royal favour -and received the distinction of knighthood. Sir Robert Strange was a -member of the Incorporated Society of Artists, but was very hostile -to the Royal Academy, deeply and justly resenting their exclusion of -engravers from full membership. During the later part of his life he -lived in Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, where he died in -1792. He was buried in St. Paul's Churchyard, Covent Garden. - -Strange had chiefly devoted himself to classical subjects and the -delineation of the human form, Woollett, on the other hand, took -up the branches of landscape and history, and by his skill of touch -and persistently intelligent labour produced such results as were -sufficient to call forth ungrudging praise from all competent judges, -not only in his own country, but abroad. Among Woollett's most -celebrated plates are the "Fishery," the "Battle of La Hogue," and the -"Death of General Wolfe." In the printing of the last plate an accident -occurred after a few proofs had been taken; a printer in careless -fun taking up a hammer, cried out, "General Wolfe seems dying, I'll -finish him;" saying this, he suited action to word, and unintentionally -brought the hammer down on the face of the general, thus destroying by -the freak of a moment the work of days of patient labour. It is said -that Woollett cried on hearing the news; the painter, his art once -learnt, fired by imagination, can by rapid strokes of his brush give -effect to his will, while the engraver only attains his end by months -of unremitting and trustful toil. - -Woollett was born at Maidstone in 1735, and was apprenticed to John -Tinney, who is now best known as having been the master of three -distinguished pupils, Anthony Walker, John Browne, and Woollett -himself. Anthony Walker engraved the well-known "Law and Physic" after -Ostade, and the figures in the print of "Niobe," Woollett's first work -of importance. He was the brother of the William Walker who greatly -increased the effect of etching by re-biting, and it is said that -Woollett, when making use of the process, was wont to exclaim, "Thank -you, William Walker."[62] Woollett lived in London all his life in the -neighbourhood of Rathbone Place, where, when he had finished a plate, -he used to celebrate the event by firing a cannon from the roof of his -house; he died in 1785, and a tablet[63] was placed to his memory in -the cloisters of Westminster Abbey. - -William Sharp was the son of a gunmaker in the Minories, where he was -born in 1749, and afterwards apprenticed to Barak Longmate, a notable -heraldic engraver, with whom Sharp's first essay as an apprentice was -engraving pewter pots. Sharp completed the plate of West's "Landing -of Charles II.," left unfinished by Woollett at his death, while many -will know one of his finest works, the "Doctors of the Church," after -Guido. Although he never left England, his prints were celebrated -throughout Europe; he was elected honorary member of the Imperial -Academy at Vienna and of the Royal Academy at Munich, but like -Woollett, Strange, and Hall, was not recognised by the English Royal -Academy. His religious and political views were peculiar, and being -considered a dangerous character, he was summoned before the Privy -Council, where at length, annoyed by repeated and, as he considered, -irrelevant questions, Sharp is said to have deliberately pulled out -of his pocket a prospectus of his engraving of the celebrated Polish -general and patriot Kosciusko, and handing it to the council, requested -their names as subscribers; this and his frank manner relieved him from -the unpleasant predicament in which he found himself placed. Sharp also -engraved a portrait of Richard Brothers--a fanatic whose prophecies and -writings excited attention at the time--with the title of "Prince of -the Hebrews," and wrote underneath: "Fully believing this to be the man -whom God has appointed, I engrave his likeness." Though successful and -industrious in his art, Sharp died in comparative poverty in the year -1824 at Chiswick. - -Among other distinguished men who worked in line during this period -must be mentioned James Heath, Anker Smith, John Keyse Sherwin, Francis -Legat, Thomas Morris--a pupil of Woollett's--who engraved the fine -views of the Monument, seen from Fish Street Hill, and St. Paul's -Cathedral from Ludgate Hill, and lastly the unfortunate William Wynne -Ryland, who engraved the portraits of George III. and Lord Bute, which -Strange had refused to undertake, and who, though of greater eminence -in line, is credited with bringing into notice in England the stipple -manner of engraving. Ryland finally ended an adventurous career by -being hanged for forging two bills on the East India Company, and by -his death--notwithstanding all efforts to obtain a reprieve--justified -words used in relation to the event: "Popes and monarchs have pardoned -men who had committed crimes of the deepest dye--even murder--in -consideration of their talents as artists; but Ryland lived in England, -the land of trade and commerce, and had committed an offence against -the laws of money, the god of its idolatry." Nor during the history -of this period ought the names of Thomas Worlidge, David Deuchar, and -the ingenious Captain Baillie to be omitted; Worlidge in the early -part, and Deuchar at the close of the century, etched each in his own -style with precision and effect, while William Baillie, an Irishman and -retired cavalry officer (born 1723, died 1810), etched and worked in -mezzotint with equal happiness and success. - -William Blake (born 1757), poet, engraver, and painter, stands alone. -In engraving--the laborious art by which he was content to live--he has -executed admirable works, apart from his own peculiar methods, both in -line, as shown in the portrait of Lavater, and in stipple, as in the -"Industrious Cottager," after Morland; as poet and painter he has left -songs and designs which, if soaring higher than men can follow, or even -his own powers of hand and mind sufficiently express, remain for ever -to arouse the wonder and excite the imagination of posterity. Though -he lived in poverty, and oppressed with cares, he was always cheerful -and beloved by all who knew him intimately; he was ever at work while -life lasted, and died in 1827, as he had lived, a righteous and happy -man. He was laid in Bunhill Fields burying-ground, but the spot where -he was buried is marked by no tombstone, nor can it now be actually -identified; but who that has looked at the portrait engraved by Jeens -from Linnell's wondrous miniature can ever forget the face of the poet, -engraver, and painter, William Blake? - -Before speaking of the branch of engraving known by the name of -stipple, it would be well to say a few words as to the mode of printing -in colour, so prevalent at one time, and of the connection which the -works of Kirkall had in relation to the method. Edward Kirkall, born at -Sheffield in the year 1722, published a set of plates, in the printing -of which he made use both of mezzotint and etching on copperplate -combined with wood blocks (that is to say, one printing was from a -copperplate, the remainder from wood blocks), in order to give variety -of colour to a set of chiaroscuros and other engravings which he -executed at that time. His plan differed from that of Leblond in that -he used only one copperplate printing, the other tints being given by -wood blocks; the results were interesting and effective, partaking -more of the character of chiaroscuros, the name he himself gave to -them. Apart from the failure of Leblond to realise his ingenious idea -that, by the consecutive and proper superposition of three layers of -primitive colours, every shade of colour might be produced in the -print, there still remained another fatal defect in the process: all -his colours were impressed by copperplate printing, that is, he made -use of three plates successively printed one after the other on the -same sheet of paper. Now a person who can realise the heavy pressure -under which a copperplate has to pass so as to force it into the damp -paper, in order that the paper should extract the ink from the grain -in which it is held, will be able to see that the second and third -printing--no matter how accurate the register--must crush the grain or -burr given to the paper by the previous printing and thus destroy the -beauty of the engraver's work. Notwithstanding the really remarkable -results produced by Leblond, this fatal imperfection mars all the -engravings he has left executed in this manner. The copperplates which -were printed in colour and carried to such perfection, particularly -in England, about the close of the eighteenth century, were printed -from one plate, generally executed in stipple, and the various tints -or colours carefully rubbed in by the printer, who used for this -purpose a sort of stump instead of the ordinary dabber. Whatever -artistic harmony in colour might be produced was therefore partially -the work, and to the credit of the printer; the printed impressions -were in addition generally touched up afterwards, and in some cases -almost entirely coloured by hand. Every impression printed in colours -necessarily varies; some are really exquisite in their delicacy of -tone and assemblage of shades, while others are contemptible in their -staring vulgarity. Kirkall engraved an elaborate ornamental form on -which to give a receipt to his subscribers for these engravings; one -of which, running thus, "Receipt from Sir Hans Sloane of one guinea -as part payment for twelve prints in chiaroscuro which he (Kirkall) -promises to deliver when finished on payment of one guinea more," can -be seen at the British Museum, and will give some idea of the moderate -remuneration artists of those days were content to receive for their -valuable labour. - -The rise of stipple as a separate style took place in the middle of -the eighteenth century, and although the coming of Bartolozzi to -England gave it so great an impetus, it is necessary to point out that -the works of the school which goes by his name by no means show the -capabilities of the method. The aim of Bartolozzi and his followers was -essentially prettiness; to this all their efforts tended, and for this -stipple was a convenient medium. The very printing in red, recently so -popular, is barbarous in its ineffectiveness, plates so printed being -deprived of a great part of their proper ranges of light and shade. The -more serious work in this method was accomplished by other engravers, -of whom may be specially mentioned Thomas Gaugain, Anthony Cardon, -Caroline Watson, and, later on in the present century, William Walker, -who carried the style to the highest point ever reached or likely to be -reached. Engraving in stipple--that is, putting dots into the plate in -place of lines--was, however, no new invention; from early times line -engravers had placed dots in the interstices of their crossed lines to -give solidity and greater effect. Ottavio Leoni, a Roman painter, had -used the method freely in a set of plates of distinguished artists, -which he engraved in the years 1621-5, executing the heads, with the -exception of the hair, entirely in stipple; and early in the century -French engravers made use of the same means to give effect to many -of their flesh textures. The crayon style of engraving introduced by -Demarteau, and the feeble English manner known as chalk, which had only -a limited reign, are but modifications of the style. - -Francesco Bartolozzi, the life-long friend of Cipriani (born in 1725 at -Florence), was educated in engraving at Venice by Joseph Wagner, and -like Cipriani, who had preceded him, came over to England in 1764. His -reputation was already established there; he was appointed engraver to -the king with a salary of L300 a year, became one of the first forty -full members of the Royal Academy (1768), and was the only engraver -admitted to the honour down to the year 1855. Bartolozzi remained in -England for thirty-eight years, continuously producing his innumerable -and well-known plates; at length, in 1802, seduced by the offer of a -house, pension, and a knighthood, he went, at the age of seventy-seven, -to Lisbon, where he died in 1815, having reached his ninety-first year, -and working at his profession to the last. John Ogborn, Cheesman, -Thomas Ryder, Chapman, Agar, T. Burke, and the delightful P. W. -Tomkins--who, with the late C. H. Jeens, may be called the miniaturist -of engravers--were all followers more or less of his school. An -admirable draughtsman and perfect master of the graver, Bartolozzi was -in addition able to infuse a certain grace and beauty into the trivial -work by which he is best known; but he has done work of a higher stamp, -and some of his line engravings, such as "Clytie," the "Death of Dido," -the portraits of Lord Thurlow and Martin van Juchen in full armour -(worthy of the graver of Pontius or De Jode), make all who care for the -art regret that so talented an artist gave the greater part of his time -and attention to producing prints which, though graceful and pleasing, -charm but for the moment and leave no permanent impression. - -This, the Augustan era of English engraving, saw also the rise of the -talented and genial Thomas Bewick (born 1753, died 1828), who made -the domain of natural history his own, and in addition to executing -some interesting copper plates, has by his exquisite wood-cuts after -his own drawings entitled England to claim her place amongst the -greatest artists in that form of engraving. The Boydells, too, had -established their celebrated firm; both were engravers, John in line, -and Josiah, his nephew (a pupil of Earlom), in mezzotint. John Boydell -was born in 1719, and established himself first (in 1752) at the sign -of the "Unicorn," corner of Queen Street, Cheapside, afterwards at 90 -Cheapside, and finally took additional premises in Pall Mall for the -Shakespeare Gallery. Josiah was born in 1752, succeeded on his uncle's -death (1804) to the business, and died in 1817. A great proportion of -the best prints of this period will be found to bear the addresses of -these famous publishers and engravers. - -The last years of the eighteenth and the commencement of the present -century witnessed the death of many of the famous engravers already -mentioned. It was now that the Birmingham school of line arose, and, -urged by the influence of J. M. W. Turner, executed their delicate -line engravings after that famous painter. William Radelyffe was the -founder of this school, and was followed by his son Edward, Robert -Brandard, J. T. Willmore, E. Goodall, R. Wallis, William Miller, and -others. Sharp, Anker Smith, James Heath, Earlom, Dickinson, Young, -and J. R. Smith still remained for a time, but much of their best -work was already done. William Ward, apprenticed to J. R. Smith, his -brother James, the noted animal painter, Charles Turner and Samuel -William Reynolds had also appeared to carry on and bring to its fullest -development the great British school of mezzotint. William Ward, born -in 1766, by his series of engravings after George Morland--whose sister -he married--has made the names of the painter and engraver almost -indissoluble, each having contributed to the immortality of the other. -James, the painter and Royal Academician, born in 1769, studied under -his brother, with whom he served an apprenticeship of nearly nine -years; his plates of "Cornelius the Centurion" after Rembrandt, Sir -Joshua's "Mrs. Billington as St. Cecilia," and the studies after nature -of heads and feet of ducks, ducklings, geese, and calves, are among -the finest works executed in the method. James lived to a great age, -dying in 1859 in his ninety-first year, having survived his brother and -also a nephew, William James Ward. The last-named was likewise a good -mezzotint engraver, but unfortunately died in the prime of life in the -year 1840. - -Charles Turner was born in the same year as S. W. Reynolds (1773), and -survived the latter by more than twenty years; his prints are very -numerous, and comprise a great variety of subjects. The large upright -mezzotint of Sir Joshua's group of the Marlborough family, with the -two younger children in front, one holding a mask, the other shrinking -back in fright, is deservedly well known, as is also his fine rendering -of "The Shipwreck" after J. M. W. Turner, published in 1807. Other -characteristic prints which may be mentioned are "Black and Red Game," -after Elmer; "Pheasants," after Barenger; the portraits of "Alexandra, -Empress of Russia," after Monier; "Lord Newton," after Raeburn; and a -marvellous life-size head of Salvator Rosa's "St. Francis," engraved -in 1805. Turner lived till the year 1857, when he died at his house in -Warren Street, Fitzroy Square, at the age of eighty-three. - -Samuel William Reynolds, one of the most gifted men who ever applied -themselves to the engraver's art, studied mezzotint under C. H. Hodges; -he commenced his comparatively short career both as painter and -engraver, and exhibited for several years at the British Institution. -Endowed with singular powers of fascination, Reynolds seems to have -attracted and kept fast the friendship of all with whom he became -acquainted, irrespective of their particular social surroundings. -Samuel Whitbread, the distinguished Member of Parliament, of old Drury -Lane Theatre renown, was his intimate and kindest friend; Sheridan -and Edmund Kean played at Pope Joan with his daughters, and the very -printer of his plates fifty years after Reynolds' death would grow -bright when recalling his memory, saying, "He was the prince of -engravers." He gave lessons in drawing to the daughters of George III., -who wished to make him their equerry, and afterwards an important post -with a salary of L900 a year was offered him, but both these offers -were refused. - -It is from the technical skill and firm daring which Reynolds displayed -in his prints, and the intelligent use he made of the means at his -command, that his name as an engraver remains pre-eminent; the -"Falconer," "Vulture and Snake," "Heron and Spaniel," and "Leopards" -after Northcote; the "Duchess of Bedford" after Hoppner; the "regal" -whole-length of the unfortunate Princess Charlotte; the large and -exquisitely finished etching from Rembrandt's famous picture of "The -Mill;" and the "Land Storm"--known also as the "Mail Coach in a -Storm"--after George Morland, are but a few of the many prints which -show the power and versatility of the engraver. In the last-named print -(published 1798), where the resources of mezzotint and etching combined -have been used to fullest purpose, the familiar identity of the painter -has been almost hidden under the massive effects of light and shade -shown in the landscape, where amidst lightning flash and rushing wind -the terror-stricken horses are seen dashing madly onward. - -When Reynolds went to Paris in 1826, artists there were astonished -at his paintings and the effects that he produced. Sixdeniers and -Maile studied with him, and several plates bear their combined -names; unfortunately both these engravers, excellent as they were -as mezzotinters, chiefly engraved after painters whose productions -partook of a frivolous and somewhat free character. Reynolds, -however, left more permanent marks of his stay in the French capital -by executing there the large plates of Gericault's "Wreck of the -Medusa," Horace Vernet's "Mazeppa," and the masterly representations -of Charlet's characteristic types, the "Village Barber" and the "Rag -Picker." In the last two the technical handling is so free that it -would almost seem as if the scraper had been used with the same -facility as chalk on paper. In reference to this there is a story -extant that Reynolds once scraped a large whole-length portrait in a -day and a night; the story is true, but it is also true that it is one -of his worst plates. - -Shortly before his death Reynolds was greatly struck with Constable's -picture of "The Lock," and resolved to engrave it at his own cost; -writing to Constable on the arrival of the picture, he says:--"I -have been before your picture for the last hour. It is no doubt -the best of your works true to nature, seen and arranged with a -professor's taste and judgment. The execution shows in every part a -hand of experience; masterly without rudeness, and complete without -littleness; the colouring is sweet, fresh, and healthy; bright not -gaudy, but deep and clear. Take it for all in all, since the days of -Gainsborough and Wilson no landscape has been painted with so much -truth and originality, so much art, so little artifice." But he did -not live to fulfil his intention, for while still full of hope and -high purpose for the future, Reynolds was suddenly stricken with -paralysis, and died at his house in Bayswater in the year 1835. -This sudden ending was the cause of his son--likewise named Samuel -William--forsaking painting to finish some of his father's plates, and -ultimately continuing with success the practice of mezzotint on his -own account. Reynolds' daughter Elizabeth, who married the stipple -engraver William Walker--though chiefly known by her miniatures and -other paintings--also engraved in early life.[64] Although there are -no authentic records of the pedigree, S. W. Reynolds always asserted -his collateral relationship to Sir Joshua Reynolds, and his son often -mentioned that his father, when quite a youth, called on Sir Joshua, -who, during the conversation that ensued, remarked to Reynolds, "Then -you are my cousin." - -Other engravers of eminence that flourished during this period are, -in line, the Bromleys, John Landseer and his sons, Charles Heath, -William B. Cooke and his brother George,[65] John Burnet (celebrated -as painter, engraver, and author), Richard Golding, and John Scott; -in stipple, William Bond, Thomas Woolnoth, and James Hopwood; in -mezzotint, Henry Dawe, William Say, Henry Meyer, George Clint, and his -pupil Thomas Lupton, who, for his introduction of soft steel instead of -copper as the medium for mezzotint engraving, received in 1822 the gold -Isis medal from the Society of Arts. - -The method of stipple was meanwhile slowly dying out, but, as often -happens when some particular art seems about to expire, this was the -very time when the capabilities of the style were shown in the highest -perfection. William Walker, born in Musselburgh in the year 1791, -served an apprenticeship to three engravers, Mitchell, Stewart, and -Thomas Woolnoth, and choosing stipple as his method of interpretation, -in his portraits of Sir Walter Scott, Raeburn, and the Earl of -Hopetoun, justified his choice by executing the finest works that -were ever accomplished in the style. He astonished the mezzotinters -of the period--who told him that, do what he could, he would never -make stipple equal mezzotint in colour[66]--by the amount of force, -colour, and effect which he was able to give to these plates. It is -needless to say that such work as this could only be accomplished at -the expense of intense energy and persevering labour, qualities which -were the essential characteristics of the Scotch engraver. Later on, -when settled in London, and more particularly after the introduction -of steel in place of copper, Walker chiefly practised mezzotint, in -which, however, he made use of his previous experience, etching his -subject first in stipple before laying the mezzotint ground. His plate -of Burns, engraved in mezzotint by himself and Mr. Cousins, owes a -great part of its renown to Walker's power of rendering likeness; in -regard to this, the painter Alexander Nasmyth remarked, on seeing -the finished print, "that all he could say was that it seemed to him -a better likeness of the poet than his own picture." This particular -quality of fidelity in likeness Walker carried out in all his after -historical works; for this purpose no trouble was too much, no labour -too severe; the engraving of the "Distinguished Men of Science -assembled at the Royal Institution in 1807-8," which occupied a period -of six years of unceasing research and labour, is a striking instance. -This was practically his last plate. He died at the age of seventy-six, -in the year 1867, at his house in Margaret Street, Cavendish Square, -and was buried at Brompton Cemetery. - -The death of Reynolds in 1835 seems to mark roughly the closing period -of English engraving as a great art; two of his most renowned pupils -were, however, still in the fulness of power, David Lucas and the -present Mr. Samuel Cousins, R.A.[67] Of Mr. Cousins, it is sufficient -to relate that Reynolds, happening one day to be in the town of Exeter, -saw some drawings in a shop window which caught his eye, and on going -inside he learnt that they were by a lad of the name of Cousins, which -incident led to Reynolds taking the youth to London and keeping him -as his apprentice. Mr. Cousins' artistic genius, steady perseverance, -and sterling integrity in all that he undertook, brought their full -results, as shown in the fine series of mezzotint engravings so widely -known and highly appreciated, and his name may indeed be said to close -worthily the long line of great British mezzotinters. - -David Lucas was born in the year 1802, and had the good fortune to meet -in early life with Constable, between whom and Lucas was formed that -intimate connection of painter and engraver which in earlier times had -led to such great results. Failing Reynolds, Constable had applied to -Lucas to be his engraver, and between them was completed the beautiful -mezzotint series of English landscape; Constable bore the expense -and was ever in counsel with the engraver, going into the minutest -details, thinking no trouble too much to produce a good result, down -to the printing of the plates, which they often did themselves, Lucas -having had a press erected at his house for the purpose. The execution -of this series led to Lucas undertaking the large plate of "The -Cornfield" at his own risk, and afterwards the companion picture of -"The Lock"--referred to before--finally culminating in his production -of the superb engraving of Salisbury Cathedral as seen from the -meadows, to which Constable himself gave the name of "The Rainbow."[68] -During all this period constant intercourse and correspondence took -place between the painter and engraver. At one time, Constable writes, -"Although much admired, Salisbury is still too heavy; the sentiment of -the picture is that of solemnity not gaiety, yet it must be bright, -clear, alive, fresh, and all the front seen." At another, "The bow is -a grand whole, provided it is clear and tender; how I wish I could -scratch and tear away with your tools on the steel, but I can't do it, -and your quiet way is I know the best and only way." At length comes, -"Dear Lucas, the print is a noble and beautiful thing entirely improved -and entirely made perfect; the bow is noble, it is startling, unique." -So hand-in-hand they worked on, the painter upbearing his helpmate the -engraver, each aiding the other, little noticed by the public at the -time, but slowly building up an imperishable fame. David Lucas died in -1881 in his eightieth year. - -In the middle of the century, inartistic mixture of styles, mechanical -means replacing true work, exigencies of copyright, and above all the -complete severance of the engraver not only from the painter but also -from his only rightful patron the public, had worked its sure result. -Some good men survived, such as Lewis, Atkinson, Doo, Robinson, J. H. -Watt, R. Graves, J. Posselwhite, Lumb Stocks, Henry Cousins,[69] W. -Giller, J. R. Jackson, and a few others; but no young school had been -forming to replace those dying out, and everything presaged the gradual -extinction of engraving as one of the great arts. Has this lowest -point been reached? Perhaps, as with the beautiful art of miniature -painting, which for a time on the advent of photography seemed gone for -ever, yet still like some stream was only running on in hidden course -underground to appear again and reach daylight, so may it happen with -engraving. - -Within the last few years two engravers have produced prints worthy of -any period of the art, the late C. H. Jeens and the present Mr. W. H. -Sherborne. Some of the stipple miniature book illustrations which Jeens -executed for Messrs. Macmillan and others, such as the gem medallions -of Plato and Socrates, "Love and Death," Woolner's "Beautiful Lady," -the portraits of Allan Ramsay, Charles Young, Mr. Ruskin's two Aunts, -and above all William Blake, are engraved with the tender feeling and -fine touch of the true artist. Mr. Sherborne, born in 1832, probably -little known except by the few, originally a chaser and designer for -jewellers and pupil of Pietro Gerometti, the Roman cameo engraver and -medallist, in 1872, fired by hope and love of the art, forsook his own -branch to follow that of engraving. Like all true artists, his mode of -execution is his own. Apollo, exhibited at the Royal Academy, 1881, -the head of Mr. Seymour Haden, the portraits of Phelps the Chelsea -Waterman or Mrs. James Builth, and the interiors of Westminster Abbey, -seen at the Painter-Etchers' Exhibition in the summer of 1885, are -works that will last, and are good examples of the engraver's powers, -causing regret that Mr. Sherborne had not earlier turned his attention -to an art the beauty of which he so truly feels. While engraving as a -whole was decaying, one branch, that of etching, has been undergoing -a revival, and the names of Mr. Seymour Haden, Mr. Philip Hamerton, -and Mr. Whistler are world-known. They and their school have confined -themselves to producing their own designs, while others, like Mr. David -Law, Mr. Macbeth, and the Messrs. Slocombe, also translate the works of -painters. But, whether as a vehicle for conveying an original design -or translating that of another artist, etching is strictly limited in -its powers; it bears the same relation to the full art of engraving -as sketching or drawing does to that of perfect painting; suggestive, -capable of exhibiting broad effects of light and shade, or indicative -of the idiosyncrasy of the etcher, it is, of its very nature, -incomplete, and acts but as herald to proclaim the greater results to -be obtained by following out the art to its proper goal. - -The great impetus which Bewick's genius gave to the art of wood -engraving at the commencement of the present century was carried -onwards by his distinguished pupils Luke Clennell, Charlton Nesbitt, -and William Harvey, the latter of whom, in 1821, cut the large block -of the death of Dentatus (15 in. x 11-1/4 in.) from the picture of the -erratic genius B. R. Haydon, under whom he was at that time studying -drawing. Robert Branston, John Thompson and his brother Charles,[70] -Jackson, and W. J. Linton, are names of equal renown; in fact, -during the first half of the century, England may be said to have -been supreme in the art. Gradually, however, the various mechanical -processes for facilitating the commercial extension of the art such -as electrotyping,[71] photography, &c., brought here, too, their -deteriorating effects, causing the engraver to become less of an artist -and more of a mechanic. In delicacy of work and elaboration of detail, -American artists now stand first among wood engravers; but they attempt -too much with the means at their command, and try to produce upon the -comparatively soft material, wood, the delicate fineness of line which -can only be realised in perfection on metal. The extreme closeness of -the lines, combined with the exigencies of rapid surface printing, dull -more or less the minute interstices which ought to show pure white; -effect is lost, and, notwithstanding the excellence of the workmanship, -the result becomes monotonous and wearying rather than pleasurable to -the satiated eye. In etching also America takes high rank; in addition -to Mr. Whistler, the names of Messrs. J. Gadsby Chapman, Gifford, -Duveneck, F. S. Church, Pennell, Stephen Parrish, and Mr. and Mrs. -Moran, are well known in Europe. - -In the complete styles of engraving, stipple, line, and mezzotint, -although American engravers are little known out of their own -country--a large enough field, however, in which to exercise their -talents--some good work has also been done; in stipple, by David Edwin, -Ion. B. Forrest, Gimbrede, and C. Tiebout; in mezzotint, by Charles -Wilson Peale, A. H. Ritchie, and John Sartain, who, after having worked -under the direction of William Young Ottley, went from London to -America in 1830 at the age of twenty-two; and in line, by Asher Brown -Durand; Joseph Andrews; the Smillies; and Charles Burt, who is said to -have been the actual engraver of the fine plate of Leonardo's "Last -Supper," copied from Morghen's print of the same subject, and bearing -the name of A. L. Dick as engraver. The lives of these and others not -mentioned were often eventful and picturesque, and would repay study. -Some leaving England, Scotland, or Ireland in early life to settle in -the land of their adoption, had to struggle with difficulties, often -teach themselves, make their own tools, like John Cheney, or like -Charles Wilson Peale, turn their hands to whatever duty might present -itself. Peale was a captain of volunteers, dentist, lecturer on natural -history, saddler, watchmaker, silversmith, painter in oil, crayons, or -in miniature on ivory, modeller in clay and wax, engraver in mezzotint, -and to crown all, as his son was wont to say, a mild, benevolent, and -good man. Many also devoted their talents to bank-note engraving, a -branch of the art highly cultivated in the United States, in which the -skill of the inventor and mechanic has been united with the grace and -genius of the artist. As engravers in this particular style may be -specially mentioned W. E. Marshall, J. W. Casilear, M. J. Danforth, -Gideon Fairman, and Jacob Perkins, the latter of whom, with Fairman and -the ingenious Asa Spencer, came over to England in 1818 to compete for -the premium of L20,000 offered by the Bank of England for a bank-note -which could not be counterfeited. Although not successful, the Bank -allowed them the sum of L5,000 in consideration of their ingenuity and -the trouble and expense which they had incurred in the matter. While -Asa Spencer is to be credited with inventing the method of applying the -geometric lathe[72] to engraving the involved patterns on banknotes, -Perkins has the honour of introducing the process of transfer by means -of steel rollers. The portrait or other design is engraved in the usual -manner on a die plate, which is then hardened; a soft steel roller or -cylinder is now rolled over the die with great pressure by means of a -powerful machine, causing the cylinder to take off in its course the -impression of the design in relief; this roller is now hardened in its -turn, and by the use of similar means made to impress another soft -steel die; by repeating this process, any requisite number of plates -can thus be reproduced the exact fac-similes of the original engraved -die plate. Owing to the mechanical necessity that only a small surface -of the roller should press on the die at a given moment, the diameter -of the cylinder requires to be small, so that several of these dies, -and consequently of the rollers, will be required to complete the -entire plate from which the ultimate printing of the note is effected. - -Finally it may be well to conclude this brief account of the British -school of engraving by calling attention to the considerations which -ought to govern buyers of engravings; buy only that which gives -real personal satisfaction, distrust a seller's inducements, in -price be ruled by the amount that can be justly afforded, reject -alluring thoughts of future money gain (or be prepared to pay the -sure penalty--destruction of natural artistic feeling and hope of -further cultivation), and ever bear in mind the words of Constable -to his engraver: "Tone, tone, my dear Lucas, is the most seductive -and inviting quality a picture or print can possess; it is the first -thing seen, and like a flower, invites to the examination of the plant -itself."[73] - - * * * * * - -*** The writer of the Chapter on English Engraving desires to -acknowledge the facilities kindly placed at his disposal by Mr. Sidney -Colvin, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, and to -express his recognition of the valuable aid afforded him by Mr. F. M. -O'Donoghue, of the same department. - - - - -CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE - -OF THE MORE IMPORTANT ENGRAVERS BELONGING TO THE BRITISH SCHOOL OF -ENGRAVING. - - - _Foreign Engravers practising in England are marked with an asterisk._ - - b. stands for born; d., died; fl., flourished; c., about. - -16th Cent. - - RAYNALDE, Thomas. Published in 1540 a book called "The - Birth of Mankind," illustrated by - copperplate engravings. - - GEMINUS, Thomas. Published in 1545 a translation of - "Vesalius' Anatomy," written and - illustrated with copperplates - engraved by himself. - - *HOGENBERG, Francis. Engraved in line a portrait of Queen - Mary I. of England, bearing date 1555. - (There are doubts as to the - correctness of this date.) - - *HOGENBERG, Remigius. Engraved in line portrait of Matthew - (Brother of above.) Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, - bearing date 1573. - - ROGERS, William. b. London c. 1545. Engraved in line a - fine whole-length portrait of Queen - Elizabeth, afterwards republished and - reduced in size. - - -17th Cent. - - *DE PASSE, Crispin. b. Utrecht c. 1560. Line. Engraved and - drew from life. - - *DE PASSE, Magdalen. b. Utrecht 1583. Line. - (Daughter of above.) - - *DE PASSE, William. b. Utrecht c. 1590; fl. 1620-27. Line. - (Son of above.) - - *DE PASSE, Simon. b. Utrecht 1591; d. c. 1644. Line. His - (Son of above.) earliest work in England dated 1613. - - DELARAM, Francis. fl. c. 1620. Line. - - ELSTRACKE, Reginald. fl. c. 1620. Line. - - PEAKE, Sir Robert. b. c. 1592; d. 1645. Line. Also painted - portraits in miniature. Master of - engraver Faithorne and painter Dobson. - - *HOLLAR, Wenceslaus. b. Prague 1607; d. London 1677. Etcher, - finishing, when necessary, with fine - graver. - - *LOMBART, Peter. b. Paris 1612; came to England c. 1653, - remaining for considerable number of - years; d. Paris. Line. Engraved series - of twelve portraits called "The - Countesses." - - FAITHORNE, William. b. London 1616; d. London 1691. Line. - (Pupil of Sir Robert - Peake.) - - *VANDERBANK, Peter. b. Paris; of Dutch extraction; came to - (Pupil of De Poilly.) England c. 1674; d. Bradfield 1697. - Line. - - BARLOW, Francis. b. Lincolnshire 1626; d. London 1702. - Etcher, line engraver, and animal - painter. - - GAYWOOD, Robert. b. c. 1630; d. c. 1711. Etcher and line - (Pupil of Hollar.) engraver, chiefly of animal subjects. - - *LOGGAN, David. b. Dantzic c. 1630; d. London 1693. - (Pupil of Simon de Line. Portrait and architectural - Passe.) engraver and painter. - - RUPERT, Prince. b. 1619; d. 1682. Introduced mezzotint - into England, and engraved some fine - prints in the method, which were - probably executed abroad. - - SHERWIN, William. b. c. 1650; d. c. 1714. Engraved - portrait of Charles II. 1669, the - earliest dated print in mezzotint - authentically engraved in England. - - OLIVER, John. b. 1616; d. 1701. Glass painter; also - (Nephew and pupil engraved in mezzotint. - of Peter Oliver, - miniature painter - and etcher.) - - PLACE, Francis. b. c. 1640; d. 1728. Mezzotint, line, - etching. - - { fl. 1670. A good many early mezzotint - { prints bear these two names, but only - { as publishers (_excudit_ not - TOMPSON, Richard. { _sculpsit_), and there is great doubt - BROWNE, Alexander. { if any were actually engraved by them. - { Browne wrote the "Ars Pictoria" in - { 1669, in which "The Manner or Way of - { Mezo Tinto" is described; published by - { himself, Tompson, and another. - - *BLOOTELINGH, Abraham. b. Amsterdam 1634; d. c. 1695. Line and - (Pupil of Cornelius mezzotint. Came to England for a few - Visscher.) years 1673. - - *VALCK, Gerard. b. Amsterdam c. 1626; d. c. 1720. - (Pupil of Mezzotint and line. Accompanied - Blootelingh.) Blootelingh to England, not leaving - until after 1680. - - WHITE, Robert. b. London 1645; d. London 1704. Line. - (Pupil of David Portrait draughtsman from life. - Loggan.) - - *VANDERVAART, John. b. Haarlem 1647; d. London 1721. - Mezzotinter and painter. Came to - England 1674. - - *VAN SOMER, Paul. b. Amsterdam 1649; d. London 1694. - (Pupil of John Van Mezzotint. - Somer, probably - his brother.) - - FAITHORNE, William, b. London 1656; d. London 1686. - junr. (Son of Mezzotint. - William - Faithorne.) - - LUTTRELL, E. b. Dublin c. 1650; d. c. 1710. - (Said to have Mezzotinter and crayon portraitist. - learnt method of - mezzotint from - Blois, ground - layer to - Blootelingh.) - - BECKETT, Isaac. b. Kent 1653; d. 1719. Mezzotint. Prints - (Attracted by all dated between 1681-88. - Luttrell's works, - learnt the method of - mezzotint from Lloyd, - a printseller, who is - said to have obtained - the secret from - Blois, ground layer - to Blootelingh.) - - SMITH, John. b. Daventry 1652; d. Northampton 1742. - (Pupil of Beckett Mezzotint. - and Vandervaart.) - - WILLIAMS, R. b. Wales. Mezzotint. Prints dated - c. 1680 to 1704. - - *DORIGNY, Sir Nicholas. b. Paris 1657; d. Paris 1746. Line. - Settled in London 1711-24. Knighted by - George I. for his set of Raphael's - cartoons. - - LENS, Bernard. b. London 1659; d. 1725. Mezzotint. - - *GRIBELIN, Simon. b. Blois 1661; d. England 1733. Line. - Came to England 1680; engraved first - complete set of Raphael's cartoons. - - LUMLEY, George. b. York latter part of 17th century. - (Friend of Francis Mezzotint. - Place.) - - WHITE, George. b. 1671; d. 1731-2. Mezzotint. - (Son and pupil of Introduced slight etching into the - Robert White.) method. Engraved also in line, and - painted portraits. - - -18th Cent. - - *SIMON, John b. Normandy 1675; d. London c. 1755. - (or Jean). First engraved in line, then came to - England and devoted himself to - mezzotint. - - VERTUE, George. b. London 1684; d. London 1756. Line; - antiquary, wrote notes on the history - of arts and artists in England. - Manuscripts now in the British Museum. - - *VAN BLEECK, Peter. b. Flanders; d. 1764. Came to England - 1723 Mezzotint. - - *FABER, John, sen. b. Holland; d. Bristol 1721. Mezzotint; - also miniature painter. Came to - England in 1687 with his son. - - *FABER, John, jun. b. Holland 1684; d. London 1746. - (Son and pupil of Mezzotint. Amongst others, engraved - above.) Kit Cat Club and Hampton Court - Beauties. - - HOGARTH, William. b. St. Bees, Durham, 1697; d. London - (First apprenticed 1764. Line engraver and painter. - to silversmith.) - - SULLIVAN, Luke. b. co. Louth, Ireland, 1705; d. London - 1771. Line. Assistant to Hogarth, and - engraved some of his pictures. - - *BARON, Bernard. b. Paris c. 1700; d. London 1762. Line. - (Pupil of Tardieu, Came to England in 1712. Employed by - the French engraver.) Hogarth. - - WORLIDGE, Thomas. b. 1700; d. Hammersmith 1766. Etcher and - portrait painter. Chiefly resided at - Bath. - - BICKHAM, George. d. 1769. Line and etching, draughtsman. - Published "The Universal Penman;" - father of George, also an engraver and - draughtsman. - - *RAVENET, Francois Simon, b. Paris 1706; d. Hampstead Road 1774. - A.E. Line. Came to England a little before - (Pupil of Le Bas.) 1745, and settled in London. - - FRYE, Thomas. b. near Dublin 1710; d. London 1760. - Mezzotinter and portrait painter, - chiefly lifesize. - - BROOKS, John. b. Ireland; d. London. Line and - mezzotint. Master of McArdell and R. - Houston. Left Dublin c. 1747, and set - up a china manufactory at Battersea. - - McARDELL, James. b. Dublin c. 1729; d. London 1765. - (Pupil of John Brooks, Mezzotint. First made use of deep - Dublin.) etching to give effect to the method. - - *CANOT, Peter b. France 1710; d. London 1777. Line; - Charles, A.E. chiefly sea views. Came to England - 1740, where he remained for the rest - of his life. - - CHATELAINE, John Baptiste b. London 1710; d. London 1771. Line and - Claude. draughtsman. Of French Protestant - parentage. Master of Vivares, for whom - also he worked later on. - - *VIVARES, Francis. b. France 1709; d. London 1780. Line; - (Pupil of Chatelaine.) landscape engraver. Came to London at - the age of eighteen. - - TINNEY, John. d. 1761. Practised in London 1740-50, in - line and mezzotint; chiefly known as - master of Woollett, Anthony Walker, - and John Browne. - - MAJOR, Thomas, A.E. b. 1720; d. London 1799. Line. First - Associate engraver of the Royal - Academy. - - COOPER, Richard. b. Yorkshire; d. Edinburgh 1764. Line - and mezzotint. Practised in Edinburgh - in 1730, and was the master of Strange. - - STRANGE, Sir Robert. b. Pomona, Orkney, 1721; d. London 1792. - (Pupil of Richard Line. - Cooper, of - Edinburgh.) - - HOUSTON, Richard. b. Ireland 1721; d. London 1775. - (Pupil of John Brooks, Mezzotint. - of Dublin.) - - BAILLIE, William, b. Ireland 1723; d. 1810. Etching and - Captain. mezzotint. Came to London 1741. Some - years in the army. - - *BARTOLOZZI, Francis, b. Florence 1725; d. Lisbon 1815. - R.A. Stipple and line. Came to England - (Pupil of Joseph 1764, remaining here till 1802. - Wagner, of Venice.) - - OGBORNE, John. b. London c. 1725; d. c. 1795. Stipple - (Pupil of Bartolozzi.) and line. - - WALKER, Anthony. b. Salisbury 1726; d. London 1765. Line - (Pupil of Tinney.) and etching. - - WALKER, William. b. Thirsk 1729; d. Clerkenwell 1793. - (Pupil of his Line; introduced the process of - brother Anthony.) rebiting into the practice of etching. - - *CUNEGO, Domenico. b. Verona 1727; d. Rome 1794. Line. Came - to England and engraved some plates - for the Boydells. - - GREENWOOD, John. b. Boston, America, 1729; d. Margate - 1792. Mezzotint, etching, and painter. - Afterwards became an auctioneer. - - SPILSBURY, John. b. 1730; d. London 1795. Mezzotint. - Portrait painter. Gained premiums for - mezzotint 1761 and 1763 from Society - of Arts; also printseller. - - DAWE, Philip. d. c. 1802. Mezzotint and painter, said - to have worked under Hogarth. Was a - pupil of the painter Henry Morland. - - BASIRE, James. b. 1730; d. London 1802. Line. His - (Pupil of Richd. father Isaac, his son James, and his - Dalton, a grandson James, were also engravers. - draughtsman and - engraver of - moderate note.) - - TAYLOR, Isaac. b. Worcester 1730; d. 1807. Line. His - son Isaac was also an engraver. - - FISHER, Edward. b. Ireland 1730; d. London c. 1785. - Mezzotint. - - FINLAYSON, John. b. c. 1730; d. c. 1776. Mezzotint. - Resided in London. Gained premiums - from Society of Arts 1764 and 1773. - - *HAID, Johann Gottfried. b. Wurtemburg 1730; d. 1776. Mezzotint. - (Pupil of his father, Came to England when young, and worked - J. Jacob Haid.) for Boydell, afterwards returning to - Germany. His father, Johann Jacob, and - his brother, Johann Elias, were also - good mezzotinters. - - *JACOBE, Johann. b. Vienna 1733; d. 1797. Came to London - to learn mezzotint, engraved some fine - plates, 1779-80, and then returned to - Vienna. - - PETHER, William. b. Carlisle 1731; d. 1821. Mezzotint. - (Pupil of Thomas Frye.) Painter in oil and miniature - draughtsman. - - WOOLLETT, William. b. Maidstone 1735; d. London 1785. Line. - (Pupil of Tinney.) - - WATTS, John. Mezzotint. Engraved in London 1770-86; - also a printseller. - - BROOKSHAW, Richard. b. 1736; d. c. 1804. Mezzotint. Went to - Paris about 1772, where his works were - greatly esteemed. - - PURCELL, Richard. b. Dublin c. 1736; d. London c. 1766. - (Pupil of John Brooks.) Mezzotint. Came to London c. 1755. - Also worked under the names of C. - Corbutt and (probably) H. Fowler. - - PHILLIPS, Charles. b. 1737. Mezzotint. Worked chiefly after - the old masters. - - RYLAND, William Wynne. b. London 1738; d. London 1783. Line and - (Pupil of Ravenet.) stipple; also a printseller. Visited - Paris c. 1760, and is said to have - studied under Le Bas. Was hanged for - forgery. - - GREEN, Valentine, A.E. b. near Birmingham 1739; d. London 1813. - Mezzotint. Engraved over twenty plates - from Duesseldorf Gallery. - - HALL, John. b. near Colchester 1739; d. London 1797. - (Pupil of Ravenet.) Line. - - BLACKMORE, Thomas. b. London c. 1740; d. c. 1780. Mezzotint. - Engravings bear date about 1769-71. - - DIXON, John. b. Dublin c. 1740; d. early 19th century. - Mezzotint. Practised in London, - studied in Dublin under the painter F. - West, a draughtsman of great power. - - LAURIE, Robert. b. London 1740; d. c. 1804. Mezzotint; - also printseller. Gained premium - Society of Arts 1771, and one in 1776 - for facilitating printing by mezzotint - in colours. Spells his name Lowry, - Lowery, Lowrie, Lawrie, and finally - Laurie. - - OKEY, Samuel. fl. 1765-70. Mezzotint. Awarded premiums - by Society of Arts in 1765 and 1767. - Went to America in 1771, and settled - at Rhode Island. - - WATSON, James. b. Ireland 1740; d. London 1790. - Mezzotint. Father of Caroline Watson. - - BROWNE, John, A.E. b. Essex 1741; d. Walworth 1801. Line. - (Pupil of Tinney and Landscape engraver. - Woollett.) - - WATSON, Thomas. b. London 1743; d. Bristol 1781. - (Apprenticed to Mezzotint and stipple. Engraved - engraver on plate.) "Windsor Beauties" after Lely; has - been stated to be the brother of James - W., but no relation; partner with - Dickinson as printseller. - - *TASSAERT, Philip J. b. Antwerp; d. London 1803. Mezzotint, - also line. Came to England very young. - Assistant to T. Hudson the painter. - - BYRNE, William. b. London 1743; d. London 1805. Line. - (Pupil of his uncle, a Landscape engraver. His son John and - heraldic engraver, daughters Letitia and Elizabeth also - then of Aliamet and engraved, and helped him in his plates. - of Wille, at Paris.) - - EARLOM, Richard. b. London 1743; d. London 1822. - Mezzotint and stipple. Used etching - with vigorous effect. Engraved a few - plates under name of H. Birche; some - time a pupil of Cipriani. - - DUNKARTON, Robert. b. London 1744; d. early part of 19th - (Pupil of Pether.) century. Mezzotint. Engravings bear - dates 1770-1811. - - COOK, Thomas. b. c. 1744; d. c. 1818. Line. Engraved - (Pupil of Ravenet.) amongst others Hogarth's works under - title "Hogarth Restored." - - DICKINSON, William. b. London 1746; d. Paris 1823. Mezzotint - and stipple. Awarded premium Society - of Arts 1767. For some time partner - with Thomas Watson as printseller. - - TOWNLEY, Charles. b. London 1746. Mezzotint and stipple, - also miniature painter. Worked at - Berlin 1786-92, then returned to - London. - - RYDER, Thomas. b. 1746; d. 1810. Stipple. His son - (Pupil of Basire.) Thomas also engraved. - - WALKER, James. b. 1748; d. London 1808. Mezzotint. In - (Pupil of Val. Green.) 1784 went to St. Petersburg, became - engraver to Empress of Russia, and - returned to England in 1802. - - MURPHY, John. b. Ireland 1748; d after 1820. Mezzotint - and stipple. - - *GAUGAIN, Thomas. b. Abbeville 1748; d. beginning 19th - (Pupil of Houston.) century. Stipple. Came very young to - London. - - HOLLOWAY, Thomas. b. London 1748; d. 1727. Line. Known - chiefly from his series of Raphael's - cartoons. - - COLLYER, Joseph, A.E. b. London 1748; d. 1827. Line and - (Pupil of Anthony stipple. - Walker.) - - SHARP, William. b. London 1749; d. Chiswick 1824. Line. - (Pupil of Barak - Longmate, engraver - on plate.) - - SHERWIN, John Keyse. b. Sussex 1749; d. London 1790. Line, - (Pupil of Bartolozzi.) stipple, and painter. - - BURKE, Thomas. b. Dublin; d. London 1815. Stipple and - (Pupil of Dixon.) mezzotint. - - STRUTT, Joseph. b. Essex 1749; d. London 1802. Stipple. - (Pupil of W. Wynne Author of "Dictionary of Engravers," - Ryland.) "Sports and Pastimes of the English," - &c. - - DOUGHTY, William. b. York; d. Lisbon 1782. Mezzotinter, - also portrait painter. Engravings - mostly dated 1779. Was a pupil of Sir - Joshua Reynolds. Sailed for Bengal - 1780, but, captured by French and - Spanish squadrons, was taken instead - to Lisbon. - - HUDSON, Henry. b. London; d. abroad; fl. 1782-92. - Mezzotint. - - DEAN, John. b. c. 1750; d. London 1798. Mezzotint. - (Pupil of Valentine Prints dated 1776-89 at three - Green.) addresses in Soho, at the last of - which a fire destroyed nearly all - his plates and stock. - - JONES, John. d. 1797. Mezzotint and stipple. Father - of George Jones (b. 1786), R.A., the - painter. - - PARKER, James. b. 1750; d. London 1805. Line. Joined - (Pupil of Basire.) Willaim Blake in keeping a print shop - in 1784. - - SIMON, Peter J. b. c. 1750; d. c. 1810. Stipple. - - *FACIUS, George } b. Ratisbon c. 1750. Stipple. Came to - Sigmund. } London in 1766 at the request of - *FACIUS, John }Brothers. Boydell. - Gottlieb. } - - MORRIS, Thomas. b. c. 1750; fl. 1795. Line. Engraved - (Pupil of Woollett.) Views of St. Paul's and the Monument. - - MIDDIMAN, Samuel. b. 1750; d. London 1831. Line. - (Pupil of Byrne.) Landscape engraver. - - SAUNDERS, J. fl. 1772-74. Mezzotint. - - *MARCHI, Giuseppe b. Rome 1752; d. London 1808. - Filippo Liberati. Mezzotint. Brought to England 1769 - by Sir J. Reynolds, who employed - him as an assistant. - - SMITH, John Raphael. b. Derby 1752; d. Doncaster 1812. - Mezzotint and stipple. Painter in - miniature and crayons and printseller. - Father of Emma Smith the engraver. - - BEWICK, Thomas. b. Northumberland 1753; d. Gateshead - (Pupil of Beilby, an 1828. Wood engraver; also copperplate. - engraver at His brother John was likewise a wood - Newcastle.) engraver. - - NUTTER, William. b. 1754; d. London 1802. Stipple. - (Pupil of J. R. Smith.) - - YOUNG, John. b. 1755; d. London 1825. Mezzotint. - (Pupil of J. R. Smith.) Published catalogues with etchings - of the Grosvenor (1820), Leigh Court - (1822), Angerstein (1823), and - Stafford (1826) Galleries. - - GROZER, Joseph. fl. 1786-97. Mezzotint. - - POLLARD, Robert. b. Newcastle-on-Tyne 1755; d. 1838. - (Pupil of a Etching, aquatint, and painter; last - silversmith.) surviving member of Incorporated - Society of Artists; in 1836 gave over - to Royal Academy the papers of the - Society. - - LEGAT, Francis. b. Scotland 1755; d. London 1869. Line. - Studied under Alex. Runciman, the - Edinburgh painter. - - GILLRAY, James. b. Lanarkshire 1720; d. London 1815. - (Pupil of heraldic Etcher and line. Caricaturist. - engraver.) - - HEATH, James, A.E. b. London 1757; d. London 1834. Line. - (Pupil of Collyer.) Father of Charles Heath. - - BLAKE, William. b. Broad Street, Golden Square, London, - (Pupil of Basire.) 1757; d. Fountain Court, Strand; - 2nd of the name. buried Bunhill Fields, 1827. Line, - stipple, and etching. Poet and painter. - - HAWARD, Francis, A.E. b. 1759; d. London c. 1797. Mezzotint - and stipple. - - THEW, Robert. b. Yorkshire 1758; d. Herts 1802. - Stipple. - - SMITH, Anker, A.E. b. London 1759; d. London 1819. Line. - (Pupil of James Taylor, - who was brother and - uncle respectively of - the two Isaac - Taylors, engravers of - some note.) - - SHEPPEARD, George. b. c. 1760; fl. 1794. Mezzotint and - stipple. - - TOMKINS, P. W. b. London 1760; d. 1840. Stipple. - (Pupil of Bartolozzi.) Designer. - - PARK, Thomas. b. 1760; d. Hampstead 1835. Mezzotint. - Author. - - CHEESEMAN, Thomas. b. 1760; d. after 1820. Stipple. - (Pupil of Bartolozzi.) Draughtsman. - - WATSON, Caroline. b. London 1760; d. Pimlico 1814. Stipple. - (Daughter of James - Watson.) - - JUDKINS, Elizabeth. fl. 1772-75. Mezzotint. Engraved "Mrs. - (Said to be pupil of Abingdon" and "Careful Shepherdess," - James Watson.) amongst others, after Sir J. Reynolds. - - KEATING, George. b. Ireland 1762; fl. London 1784-97. - (Pupil of William Mezzotint. Stipple. - Dickinson.) - - *RAMBERG, John Henry. b. Hanover 1763; d. c. 1840. Aquatint, - etching, stipple. Painter. Came early - in life to England, but is said to - have died at Hanover. - - *SCHIAVONETTI, Luigi. b. Bassano 1765; d. Brompton 1810. Line, - stipple. Draughtsman. Came to England - in 1790, and joined Bartolozzi. - - KNIGHT, Charles. fl. latter part of 18th century. Stipple. - - SUMMERFIELD, John. d. Buckinghamshire 1817. Line. - (Pupil of Bartolozzi.) - - SKELTON, William. b. London 1763; d. Pimlico 1848. Line. - (Pupil of Basire and - Sharp.) - - NUGENT, Thomas. b. Drogheda; fl. end of 18th century. - Stipple. - - DUPONT, Gainsborough. b. 1767; d. London 1797. Mezzotint. - Painter. Nephew and pupil of Thomas - Gainsborough. - - BROMLEY, William, A.E. b. Isle of Wight 1769; d. 1842. Line. - (Pupil of Wooding, a Father of John Charles, and James - line engraver in Bromley, the mezzotint engravers. - London.) - - WARREN, Charles. b. London 1767; d. Wandsworth 1823. - Line. Perfected a process of engraving - on steel plates tried by Raimbach. - Awarded gold medal Society of Arts. - - WARD, William, A.E. b. London 1766; d. London 1826. - (Pupil of J. R. Smith.) Mezzotint. Married sister of George - Morland, father of William Ward, - junior. - - -19th Cent. - - WARD, James, R.A. b. London 1769; d. 1855. Mezzotint. - (Nine years pupil of Animal painter. - his brother William, - J. R. Smith.) - - LANDSEER, John, A.E. b. Lincoln 1769; d. 1852. Line. Father - (Pupil of William of the painters Charles and Sir Edwin, - Byrne.) R.A.'s, and of the engraver Thomas. - - SAY, William. b. near Norwich 1768; d. London 1834. - (Pupil of James Ward.) Mezzotint. Engraved first successful - mezzotint on steel. - - COOPER, Robert. fl. early part of 19th century. Stipple. - - HODGES, Charles Howard. b. England; d. Amsterdam 1837. Mezzotint - and painter. Went to Holland c. 1794. - - *CARDON, Anthony. b. Brussels 1773; d. London 1813. - (Pupil of Stipple. Came to England in 1790. - Schiavonetti.) - - GODBY, James. fl. beginning 19th century. Stipple. - - SMITH, Benjamin. d. London 1833. Stipple. - (Pupil of Bartolozzi.) - - CLINT, George, A.R.A. b. London 1770; d. Kensington 1854. - Mezzotint; also portrait and miniature - painter. - - REYNOLDS, Samuel Wm. b. 1773; d. Bayswater 1835. Mezzotint, - (Pupil of Hodges.) portrait, and water-colour painter. - Father of Elizabeth, mezzotint - engraver and miniature painter, and - Samuel William, mezzotint engraver - and portrait painter. - - TURNER, Charles, A.E. b. Woodstock 1773; d. London 1857. - Mezzotint and stipple. - - SCOTT, John. b. Newcastle-on-Tyne 1774; d. Chelsea - (Pupil of Pollard.) 1828. Line, animal engraver. - - SCRIVEN, Edward. b. Alcester 1775; d. London 1841. - (Pupil of Thew.) Stipple. - - RAIMBACH, Abraham. b. London 1776; d. Greenwich 1843. - (Pupil of J. Hall.) Line. - - NOBLE, George. fl. beginning of 19th century. Line. - - ENGLEHEART, Francis. b. London 1775; d. 1849. Line. - (Pupil of Collyer.) - - NESBITT, Charlton. b. near Durham 1775; d. Brompton 1838. - (Pupil of Beilby and Wood engraver. - Bewick.) - - BRANSTON, Robert. b. Lynn 1778; d. Brompton 1827. Wood - (Pupil of his father, a engraver. - copperplate engraver.) - - CLENNELL, Luke. b. near Morpeth 1781; - (Pupil of Bewick.) d. Newcastle-on-Tyne 1840. Wood - engraver, water-colour, and miniature - painter. - - COOKE, William b. 1778; d. 1855. Line. Brother of - Bernard. (Pupil of George and uncle of E. W. Cooke, R.A. - Angus, an engraver in - line of some note.) - - COOKE, George. b. London 1781; d. Barnes 1834. Line. - (Pupil of Basire.) Brother of Wm. Bernard, and father of - E. W. Cooke, R.A. - - LEWIS, Frederick b. London 1779; d. Enfield 1856. Stipple - Christian. or chalk; water-colour painter. - Father of J. F. Lewis, R.A., and C. G. - Lewis the engraver. - - DAWE, George, R.A. b. London 1781; d. 1829. Mezzotint; - (Son and pupil of painter. Brother of Henry. Painted - Philip Dawe.) in Russia for the Emperor 1819-28. - - DAWE, Henry. b. London 1790; d. Windsor 1845. - (Son and pupil of Mezzotint and painter. - Philip Dawe.) - - PYE, John. b. Birmingham 1782; d. London 1874. - (Pupil of James Heath.) Line and stipple. Landscape engraver. - - WEDGWOOD, John Taylor. b. 1783; d. London 1856. Line. - - MEYER, Henry. b. London c. 1783; d. 1847. Mezzotint; - (Pupil of Bartolozzi.) and stipple. Nephew of J. Hoppner, - R.A. - - LE KEUX, John } b. London 1783; d. 1846. { Line, - }Brothers. { architectural, - LE KEUX, Henry } b. London 1787; d. 1868. { and landscape - (Pupils of Basire.) { engravers. - - ARMSTRONG, Cosmo. fl. early part of 19th century. Line. - - RADCLYFFE, William. b. Birmingham 1782; d. Birmingham 1855. - Line, landscape engraver; practised in - Birmingham all his life. Father of - Edward, landscape engraver. - - BURNET, John, F.R.S. b. Edinburgh 1784; d. Stoke Newington - 1868. Line and mezzotint. Painter and - author. - - HEATH, Charles. b. 1785; d. 1848. Line; excelled in - (Son of James Heath.) small plates. - - GOLDING, Richard. b. London 1785; d. Lambeth 1865. Line. - (Pupil of J. Parker.) - - WOOLNOTH, Thomas. b. 1785; d. c. 1854. Stipple and line. - Small theatrical portraits and - architectural views. - - THOMPSON, John. b. London 1785; d. London 1866. Wood - (Pupil of Branston.) engraver. Brother of Charles and - Charles Thurston. - - ROMNEY, John. b. 1786; d. Chester 1863. Line. - - THOMPSON, Charles. b. London 1791; d. near Paris 1843. Wood - (Pupil of Bewick engraver; better known in Paris, where - and Branston.) he went in 1816, and introduced the - practice of cutting out the end of the - wood, then unknown abroad. - - BOND, William. fl. beginning of 19th century. Stipple. - - CHAPMAN, J. fl. beginning of 19th century. Stipple. - (Pupil of Bartolozzi.) - - WEBB, J. b. c. 1790; d. 1832. Line. Engraver of - animals. - - FINDEN, Wm. } Brothers. b. 1788; d. 1852. { Stipple and line. - FINDEN, E. F. } b. 1792; d. 1857. { Landscape and - (Pupils of J. Mitan, an { book illustrators. - engraver of some - note.) - - WALKER, William. b. Midlothian 1791; d. London 1867. - (Pupil of Thomas Stipple and mezzotint. Married - Woolnoth, and Elizabeth, daughter of S. W. - Mitchell and Reynolds. - Stewart, two - engravers of - moderate note.) - - LUPTON, Thomas Goff. b. Clerkenwell 1791; d. 1873. Mezzotint. - (Pupil of Clint.) Established the use of steel in place - of copper in mezzo engraving. Received - for this gold Isis medal from Society - of Arts in 1822. - - LINNELL, John. b. 1792; d. c. 1880. Mezzotint; painter. - - CRUIKSHANK, George. b. London 1792; d. London 1878. Etcher - (Son of Isaac, also and caricaturist. - caricaturist and - engraver.) - - WORTHINGTON, Wm. H. b. c. 1795; d. 1826. Line. Worked in - London. - - GOODALL, Edward. b. Leeds 1795; d. London 1870. Line. - Engraved after J. M. W. Turner, - through whose influence he became an - engraver. Was self-taught. - - LANDSEER, Thomas, A.E. b. c. 1795; d. 1880. Line. Brother of - (Son and pupil of Sir Edwin. - John Landseer, A.E.) - - HOPWOOD, James. b. 1795. Stipple. - (Son of James; also - an engraver, - self-taught, but - helped by Heath.) - - ROLLS, Charles. fl. early part of 19th century. Line. - - BROMLEY, John b. Chelsea 1795; d. 1839. Mezzzotint. - Charles. (Son of His son Frederick was also an engraver. - Wm. Bromley, A.E.) - - HARVEY, William. b. Newcastle-on-Tyne 1796; d. Richmond - (Pupil of Thomas 1866. Wood engraver and designer. Cut - Bewick and B. R. one of the largest English wood-cuts. - Haydon.) - - ROBINSON, John. b. Bolton 1796; d. Petworth 1871. Line. - Henry, R.A. (Pupil of - James Heath.) - - GRAVES, Robert, A.E. b. London 1798; d. Highgate 1873. Line. - (Pupil of John Romney.) - - WATT, James Henry. b. London 1799; d. 1867. Line. - (Pupil of Charles - Heath.) - - BROMLEY, James. b. 1800; d. 1838. Mezzotint. - (Son of William - Bromley, A.E.) - - WARD, William, junior. b. c. 1800; d. 1840. Mezzotint. - (Son of William Ward, - A.E.) - - WILLMORE, James b. Erdington, Staffordshire, 1800; - Tibbetts, A.E. d. London 1863. Line. Engraved after - (Seven years pupil J. M. W. Turner. - of W. Radclyffe, and - three years of C. - Heath.) - - RADDON, W. fl. 1830. Line. - - HODGETTS, J. fl. 1830. Mezzotint. - - JACKSON, John. b. Ovingham 1801; d. 1848. Wood - (Pupil of Bewick engraver. Published with Chatto "A - and Harvey.) Treatise on Wood Engraving," 1838. - - GIBBON, Benjamin b. 1802; d. London 1851. Line. - Phelps. (Pupil of - J. H. Robinson and - Scriven). - - SHENTON, Henry b. Winchester 1803; d. London 1866. - Chawner. (Pupil of Line. - Charles Warren.) - - GILLER, W. fl. 1835. Mezzotint. - - BRANDARD, Robert. b. Birmingham 1805; d. 1852. Line, - (Pupil of E. Goodall.) landscape engraver. Came to London - 1824. Engraved after J. M. W. Turner. - - LEWIS, Charles George. b. 1807; d. 1880. Line, etching. - - LUCAS, John. b. London 1807; d. London 1874. - (Pupil of S. W. Mezzotint; portrait painter. - Reynolds.) - - RADCLYFFE, Edward. b. Birmingham 1809; d. London 1863. - (Son and pupil of Line. - William Radclyffe.) - - JOUBERT, Jean b. 1810; d. 1884. Line. - Ferdinand. - - ZOBEL, George. b. c. 1815; d. London 1881. Mezzotint. - - JEENS, Charles Henry. b. 1817; d. 1879. Stipple. Miniature - book illustrations. - - JACKSON, John b. Portsmouth 1819; d. Southsea 1877. - Richardson. (Pupil of Mezzotint and line. - R. Graves, A.E.) - - COUSINS, Henry. fl. 1840. Mezzotint. - (Brother of Saml. - Cousins, R.A.) - - WARD, George fl. 1840. Mezzotint. - Raphael. (Son - of James Ward.) - - -There are still living three engravers eminently representative of the -old schools:-- - - DOO, George, R.A., F.R.S. b. c. 1800. Line. - - POSSELWHITE, J. Stipple. - - COUSINS, Samuel, R.A. b. 1801. Mezzotint. The present T. L. - Atkinson was a pupil of Cousins. - - - - - FOOTNOTES: - - - [1] At the present day line engravers sometimes work on steel plates, - as they are capable of supplying without damage a much greater number - of proofs than can be printed from copper plates. It more frequently - happens that a copper plate is coated with steel before being submitted - to the action of the press, in order to preserve it, and to increase - the number of copies without taking off the edge of the workmanship. - That is to say, that by means of "electrotyping" a thin coat of metal - is superimposed, which, since it considerably increases the power of - endurance, increases the productiveness of the plate and the number of - proofs that can be taken. - - [2] Papillon, "Traite de la Gravure en Bois," 1766, vol. i., ch. 1. - - [3] Pliny, "Hist. Nat.," xxxv., c. 2. - - [4] "Materiali per servire alla Storia dell' Incisione," &c., p. 83 and - following. - - [5] That is the "Treatises on Latin Syntax" by AElius Donatus, a - grammarian of the fourth century. In the Middle Ages these treatises - were much used in schools. - - [6] Published by John Koelhoff under the name of "Cronica van der - hilliger Stat van Coellen," p. 31 and after. - - [7] "Essai historique et critique sur l'Invention de l'Imprimerie." - Lille, 1859. - - [8] This, at any rate, is what we feel tempted to do as regards the - "Biblia Pauperum," a book containing xylographic illustrations, whose - date has been variously estimated, and which we are disposed to believe - even older than the first edition of the "Speculum." Heinecken, as - usual, claims for Germany the production of this precious collection, - which Ottley, with more appearance of reason, regards as the work of an - artist of the Low Countries, who worked about 1420. In this way Germany - would only have the right to claim the plates added in the German - editions published forty years later, and which are far less perfect in - point of style and arrangement than those of the original edition. - - [9] The Dutch word _coster_ means churchwarden, or beadle. - - [10] "Idee generale d'une Collection d'Estampes, 1771," p. 305. - - [11] "Discours Historique sur la Gravure." Paris, 1808. - - [12] See in "L'Artiste," 1839, an article entitled "La plus ancienne - Gravure du Cabinet des Estampes de la Bibliotheque royale est-elle - ancienne?" - - [13] "Notice sur deux Estampes de 1406, et sur les Commencements de la - Gravure en Crible." "Gazette des Beaux-arts," t. I^{er}, 2^e periode, - 1869. - - [14] "Le Peintre-Graveur," Leipzig, 1860, vol. i., p. 84. - - [15] "Une Passion de 1446. Suite de Gravures au Burin, les premieres - avec Date." Montpellier, 1857. - - [16] "Archiv fuer die Zeichnenden Kuenste," 1858. - - [17] The "Pax" is a metal plate which, at high mass and during the - singing of the "Agnus Dei," the officiating priest gives to be kissed - by the clergy and the devout, addressing to each of them these words: - "Pax tecum." The "Pax" made by Finiguerra for the Baptistery of St. - John has been removed from thence to the Uffizi, where it still is. - - [18] It is useless to adduce the fine "Profile of a Woman," discovered - a few years ago at Bologna, and now the property of the Berlin Museum, - as an argument against the poverty we are trying to prove. This very - important document is not only of uncertain date, but, as we have - remarked elsewhere, the nature of its execution and style forbid one to - look upon it as the work of any Florentine artist. - - [19] Martin Schongauer was born at Colmar, in which town his father - had settled as a goldsmith; there he passed the greatest part of his - life, and there he died in 1488. Vasari sometimes speaks of him as - "Antwerp Martin," or "Martin the Fleming." This is easily explained: a - German or Flemish artist would be all one in the eyes of a Tuscan of - the fifteenth century, as strangers were all barbarians to the ancient - Romans. - - [20] This is by no means universally admitted to be a genuine work by - Martin Schongauer. - - [21] He had no fewer than eighteen children; Albert was the third. - - [22] Herr Moriz Thausing has treated this question exhaustively in his - important work on Albert Duerer. - - [23] The oldest known dated engraving by Marc Antonio, the "Pyramus and - Thisbe," bears the date of 1505. If Marc Antonio, as we have reason to - think, was born about 1480, he must have been already over twenty when - he published this extremely commonplace print. - - [24] Michael Huber ("Manuel des Curieux et des Amateurs de l'Art," t. - iii.) says, word for word: "All that is wanted in these prints is a - richer handling and that general aspect which we admire in the subjects - engraved from Rubens." One might as well say that Petrarch's style - would be improved by being Ariosto's. - - [25] Agostino Caracci, who deserves to be numbered amongst the - cleverest engravers of the end of the sixteenth century, did not - blush to devote his talents to a similar publication, serious in - style, but of most obscene intention. The Bolognese artist, like his - celebrated countryman, seems to have wished to display at once his - science and his shamelessness. The one only serves to make the other - more inexcusable, and it is even still more difficult to tolerate this - austere immodesty than the licentiousness, without aesthetic pretension, - which characterises the little French prints sold under the rose in the - eighteenth century. - - [26] Passavant: "Le Peintre-Graveur," iii. 5. - - [27] "Les Maitres d'Autrefois," p. 165. - - [28] In the National Library at Paris a collection of over a hundred - trial proofs, retouched by Rubens himself, exists to bear witness - to the careful attention with which he overlooked the work of his - engravers. - - [29] At the time of Callot's birth Lorraine was not yet French - territory; but as it was during his life that Nancy was taken by the - king's army, we have a right to include him among French artists. - - [30] He was in all twelve years in Italy: three in Rome, and nine in - Florence. - - [31] William Faithorne, the first line engraver worth mentioning in - the history of English art, did not even begin to be known till after - Charles I. After the king's fall, Faithorne, who was a Royalist, went - to France, where, under Nanteuil, he perfected himself in his art, and - did not finally settle in England till near the end of 1650. - - [32] Hollar is not merely one of the most distinguished of German - engravers. There are few artists in any country who have handled the - needle with so much skill and intelligence; there is probably none who - has so greatly excelled in rendering the details of apparel and of the - daintiest objects. His achievement numbers more than 2,000 prints, - which, in spite of their small size, and the generally trifling nature - of the subjects, deserve to be classed amongst the most remarkable - etched work of the seventeenth century. - - [33] His first plates are sometimes signed "De Leeuw," sometimes - "Tomaes de Leu," which has led many writers--M. Robert-Dumesnil among - them--to suppose that he migrated to Paris from a town in Flanders. - - [34] It represents a "Holy Family," with this inscription on a stone, - to the right: "R. Nanteuil Philosophiae Auditor Sculpebat Rhemis An^o - dni 1645." - - [35] These flights were not Nanteuil's last. There is extant a sort of - petition in verse, which he one day presented to Louis XIV. to excuse - himself for not having finished in time a portrait ordered by the king. - These rhymes, quoted by the Abbe Lambert in his "Histoire Litteraire du - Regne de Louis XIV.," and some others composed by Nanteuil in praise of - Mlle. de Scudery, are not such to make us regret that he did not more - frequently lay aside the graver for the pen. - - [36] The greater part of Nanteuil's drawings are in three crayons, - made out in places with light tints in pastel. The colour is sober - and delicate, and offers a good deal of resemblance to the charming - French crayons of the sixteenth century. Nanteuil doubtless produced - many portraits which he never engraved, but he engraved very few - that he had not previously produced. It must also be remarked, that - in his achievement, which is composed of more than two hundred and - thirty pieces, there are not more than eighteen subject pictures or - illustrations. It is worthy, too, of special note that there are only - eight portraits in which the hands are seen, and in six of these only - one hand is shown. - - [37] "Edit de Saint Jean-de-Luz," 1660. - - [38] Claude, it is true, was still alive in 1667; but after his second - installation in Rome (1627), he never saw France again. - - [39] Vitet: "Eustache Lesueur." - - [40] It is said that Lebrun one day proclaimed that Audran had - "improved his pictures." It is possible he may have said, "that he - had not spoilt them." Such an expression in the mouth of such a man - is quite modest enough; but it is difficult to imagine Lebrun so far - humbling himself in public. - - [41] We said that Edelinck was born at Antwerp; but as he was very - young when he took up his abode in France, and as he never returned - to his native country, we may be allowed to include him in the French - school with as much right as his countryman, Philippe de Champaigne. - - [42] Amongst Audran's most distinguished scholars, we need only mention - the following names: Gaspard Duchange; Dorigny, summoned to London by - Queen Anne; Louis Desplaces; and Nicolas Henri Tardieu, founder of a - family of clever engravers, the last of whom died in 1844, worthy of - the name he bore. - - [43] Engraver of the "Assumption" of Philippe de Champaigne. He must - not be confused with another Bartholomew Kilian, his ancestor, and the - head of a family in which there are no less than twenty engravers. - - [44] Some of these little unpretentious amateur prints are not without - charm; some even show a certain amount of talent in the execution, and - the portraits drawn and engraved by Carmontelle, the author of the - "Proverbes," deserve, amongst others, to be mentioned on that account. - - [45] In his landscapes, Woollett makes use of etching, line, and the - dry-point, all three. Philippe Le Bas was the first to make use of - dry-point to render the misty tones of distances and the clearness of - skies. This mode of engraving, improved by Vivares, was carried to its - highest perfection by Woollett. Certain English artists of the same - period tried to apply the process of mezzotint to landscape engraving; - but the landscapes engraved in this way by Watson and Brookshaw, after - the German Kobell, will not bear comparison with Woollett's. - - [46] In a work dedicated to Pitt, "On the Origin of Trade and its - History to the Present Times" (London, 1790), we read that the prints - exported from England at that time were, as compared with those - imported from France, in the proportion of "five hundred to one by the - most exact computation," and that the trade in English engravings, far - from being restricted to one or two countries, extended all over Europe. - - [47] The credit of the invention is really due to Jean Charles - Francois, born at Nancy in 1717. But the application that Francois made - of his discovery was--if we consider the improvements introduced soon - afterwards by Demarteau--still so incomplete that it seems only fair to - attribute to the latter a principal share in the original success. - - [48] "Lettre de Cochin, Secretaire perpetuel de l'Academie, au Sieur - Francois," 26th November, 1757. - - [49] Before giving himself up almost exclusively to the practice of - aquatint, Debucourt produced a large number of engravings in colour: - "Le Jardin" and "La Galerie de Bois au Palais Royal," the "Promenade - aux Tuileries," "L'Escalade," and so forth. We know the ardour, verging - on mania, with which these prints, albeit of little value from an - artistic point of view, are now collected. - - [50] This important publication contains, in four sections, the most - remarkable pictures and sculptures of the Louvre, as it existed after - Napoleon had enriched it with masterpieces from every school. Begun in - 1802, it was continued till 1811. - - [51] This fine cathedral, burnt with so many other churches in the - great fire, was 690 feet in length, 130 feet broad, and 520 feet high - at the top of the spire. - - [52] The tear-shaped pieces of glass (Lachrimae Vitreae), which resist - hard blows applied at the thick end, yet fly to pieces the moment a - fragment is broken off the fine end, were first brought to England by - Prince Rupert, and are called popularly "Prince Rupert's drops." - - [53] This print represents a tall, powerful-looking man, standing with - naked sword in one hand, and holding up in the other the head of St. - John the Baptist. - - [54] Other names given to mezzotint out of England are: Schwarzkunst, - black art; La maniere anglaise, L'incisione a foggia nera, engraving in - black fashion or manner. - - [55] This engraver must not be confused with John Keyse Sherwin, whose - line engravings produced a century later are well known. - - [56] This Club was instituted in 1703, the year after the accession - of Queen Anne, to promote the Protestant succession, the members - meeting at the "Cat and Fiddle" in Shire Lane, Fleet Street, kept - by Christopher Kat, from whom it took the name. The particular size - known amongst artists as Kit-cat, just below the waist and not quite - three-quarter length, also acquired its name from this series of - portraits, which were painted their particular length to suit the walls - of Tonson's villa at Barn Elms. - - [57] John Riley, Jonathan Richardson, Michael Dahl, John Closterman, - John Vanderbank, and Thomas Hudson. - - [58] The date of McArdell's birth is often erroneously given as 1710 - instead of 1728-9 according to the above authority. - - [59] James Walker must not be confused either with Anthony and his - brother William, or with the stipple and mezzotint engraver William - Walker of the present century. James Walker's prints are not numerous, - a great number of his plates and prints having been lost from the - foundering of the vessel which was bringing them back to England - from Russia, where Walker had lived for seventeen years, having been - appointed in 1784 engraver to the Empress Catherine. - - [60] A painter more generally known as Langen Jan, born at Munster in - 1610, the correct name being John or Johann van Bockhorst; the name, - however, appears as above in the engraving. - - [61] On the foundation of the Royal Academy in 1768, Bartolozzi, to the - exclusion of Strange and Woollett, was admitted one of the first forty - members with full membership; all engravers afterwards up to the year - 1855 could only be elected as associate members. - - [62] This engraver was in no way related to the better-known stipple - and historical engraver of the same name who flourished in the present - century. - - [63] Woollett was buried in Old St. Pancras Churchyard; on a plain - tombstone which marks the spot were found one day written in pencil the - two lines-- - - "Here Woollett rests, expecting to be sav'd, - He graved well, but is not well engrav'd." - -Shortly afterwards a subscription was raised, to which Benjamin -West and John Boydell contributed, for the purpose of erecting the -above-mentioned tablet which now stands in the West Cloister. - -[64] Opie painted a life-size head of S. W. Reynolds, and of his -daughter Elizabeth as "Red Riding Hood" (exhibited at the winter -exhibition of the Royal Academy, 1876); this portrait of herself -Elizabeth engraved in mezzotint at the age of fourteen. - -[65] Father of the late E. W. Cooke, R.A. - -[66] Walker engraved the portrait of Raeburn with the special purpose -of proving the contrary. - -[67] John Lucas, the well-known portrait painter and also engraver in -mezzotint, was likewise a pupil of Reynolds. - -[68] The plate of Salisbury Cathedral was engraved at Constable's -expense and published in 1837 by Messrs. Hodgson, Graves and Co., for -the painter. After his sudden death in the same year it was sold at -Foster's, Pall Mall, in 1838, and bought in for eighty guineas, hardly -the price of two proofs at the present time. - -Through the kindness of Mr. Algernon Graves, the writer has had access -to many manuscript notes written by David Lucas. - -[69] Brother of Samuel Cousins, R.A. - -[70] Better known in France, where he settled in 1816, he died in -the neighbourhood of Paris in 1843, and introduced there the mode of -cutting on the end of the grain instead of with the grain as was before -the practice. - -[71] First introduced in 1840, although not in general practice until -some years later. - -[72] On the principle of that which is known as "engine turning," as -seen on the back of watch-cases. - -[73] It is also necessary to point out that no impression damaged from -course of time or printed from a worn-out plate can give any idea of -the original engraving as a work of art. Other things being equal, -proofs are prima facie likely to be the best impressions, but a good -print (that is a later impression), if in good condition, is far more -valuable than a damaged or rubbed proof, however early the state may -be. - - - - -INDEX. - - - PAGE - - Agesilaus, King of Sparta, 8 - - Agostino, Veniziano, 106 - - Aldegrever, 93 - - Ambling, Gustave, 209 - - Amman, Jost, 175 - - Andrea, Zoan, 74 - - Andreani, Andrea, 111 - - Andrews, J., 328 - - Antonio da Brescia, Giovanni, 74 - - Ardell, 172, 300, 301 - - Aretino, Pietro, 109, 110, 136 - - D'Argenville, 224 - - Atkinson, 324 - - Aveline, 216 - - Audran, Gerard, 6, 178, 194-202, 207, 211, 216, 237 - - - Baillie, Will, 310 - - Baldini, Baccio, 60-65 - - Balechou, 229-231 - - Barbari, Jacopo de', 74 - - Barlow, F., 291, 292 - - Bartolozzi, 237-239, 305, 313, 314 - - Battista del Porto, 77 - - Baudet, Etienne, 189 - - Beatrizet, Nicolas, 151 - - Beauvarlet, 226 - - Beckett, Isaac, 297, 298 - - Beham, Bartholomew, 93, 94 - - Beham, Hans Sebald, 93, 94 - - Bella, Stefano della, 162 - - Berghem, 139 - - Bernard, Auguste, 12 - - Bernhardinus, Milnet, 44 - - Bernini, 168 - - Bertinot, 278 - - Bervic, 249, 252-255, 259, 260, 274 - - Bewick, 315, 326 - - Binck, Jacob, 94 - - Biot, 285 - - Blackmore, 302 - - Blake, W., 310, 311 - - Blanchard, 278 - - Blootelingh, Abraham, 297 - - "B M", 85 - - Bochelt, Franz von, 84 - - Boldrini, Nicolo, 116 - - Bolswert, 132, 133, 149, 177 - - Bonasone, da Bologna, 106 - - Bonnet, 242 - - Bonzonnet, Claudine, 189 - - Borromini, 168 - - Bosse, Abraham, 164, 166, 169, 207 - - Both, Jan, 139 - - Botticelli, 60, 62 - - Boulanger, 237 - - Boydell, 315 - - Boyvin, Rene, 151 - - Branston, R., 326 - - Brauwer, Adrian, 139 - - Breughels, 134 - - Bromley, 320 - - Brookshaw, 234, 302 - - Browne, John, 307 - - Bruyn, Nicolas van, 131 - - Burgkmair, Hans, 113 - - Burke, 314 - - Burnet, John, 320 - - Burt, 328 - - - Calamatta, 269 - - Callot, Jacques, 138, 156-166, 175-177, 205 - - Canta-Gallina, 158, 162 - - Cantarini, 162 - - Caracci, Agostino, 110, 138, 158 - - Caracci, Annibale, 168 - - Caraglio, Giovanni, da Verona, 106 - - Cardon, Anthony, 313 - - Carmona, 226 - - Carmontelle, 224 - - Carpi, Ugo da, 111, 112 - - Cars, Laurent, 213-216 - - Casilear, 329 - - Caylus, Count, 224, 240 - - Cerceau, du, Adrian, 155 - - Chapman, 327 - - Chauveau, 204 - - Chedel, 217 - - Cheesman, 314 - - Cheney, 328 - - Chevreuse, Duc de, 224 - - Chodowiecki, 228 - - Church, 327 - - Cipriani, 237 - - Claessens, Alart, 130 - - Clennell, 326 - - Clint, George, 320 - - Cochin, 218, 219, 240 - - Coigny, Marquis de, 224 - - Cooke, George William, 320 - - Copia, 252 - - Corneille, Claude, 153 - - Cornelis, 134 - - Cornelius, 94 - - Cort, Cornelius, 130 - - Cortona, da, Pietro, 198 - - Coster, Laurence, 14, 16, 22, 28 - - Cousin, 150, 151 - - Cousins, Henry, 324 - - Cousins, Samuel, 266, 267, 322 - - Cranach, Lucas, 113 - - Cunego, Domenichino, 228 - - Cunio, Cavaliere Alberico, 9 - - - Dagoty, Gautier, 243 - - Danforth, 329 - - Danguin, 278 - - Daulle, 226 - - David, Emeric, 10, 31 - - David, Louis, 248, 250 - - Dawe, Henry, 320 - - Dean, John, 302 - - De Bry, 287 - - Debucourt, 245 - - De Kaiser, 285 - - Delaram, Francois, 289 - - Delaune, Etienne, 151, 153, 154 - - De Leu, Thomas, 156, 157, 179 - - Demarteau, Gilles, 239-242 - - De Passe, Crispin, 288 - - De Passe, Magdalen, 288 - - De Passe, Simon, 288 - - Desnoyers, Boucher, 249, 259, 260, 270, 274 - - Desplaces, Louis, 201 - - Deuchar, David, 310 - - Dick, 328 - - Dickinson, 172, 302 - - Dienecker, Jost., 111 - - Dixon, John, 302 - - Domenichino, 168 - - Doo, 324 - - Dorigny, 201 - - Drevet, Claude, 211 - - Drevet, Imbert, 211 - - Drevet, Pierre, 211 - - Duchange, Gaspard, 201 - - Duflos, 216 - - Du Jardin, Karel, 140 - - Dumonstier, Geofroy, 151 - - Dupuis, 216, 226 - - Durand, 328 - - Duerer, Albert, 17, 87-95, 97-100, 102, 106, 112, 113, 116, 120, 122, - 128, 176, 177 - - Duveneck, 327 - - Duvet, Jean, 151, 152 - - - Earlom, 172, 302, 303 - - Edelinck, 184-186, 189, 191-196, 200, 220 - - Edwin, David, 328 - - Elstracke, Reginald, 289 - - - Faber, John, senior, 298, 299 - - Faber, John, junior, 298, 299 - - Fairman, 329 - - Faithorne, Will, 170, 289 - - Felsing, 263 - - Finiguerra, 35, 38, 47, 52-56, 62, 76 - - Fiquet, 218, 220, 222, 223 - - Fisher, Edward, 301 - - Flipart, 217 - - Forrest, J. B., 328 - - Francia, Francesco, 102 - - Francia, Jacopo, 74 - - Franck, 285 - - Francois, Alphonse, 278 - - Francois, Jean Charles, 239-242 - - Francois, Jules, 276 - - Frye, Thomas, 300, 301 - - Fuest, 29 - - - Gaillard, 278 - - Gantrel, 189 - - Garnier, Noel, 151 - - Gaugain, Thomas, 313 - - Gaultier, Leonard, 156, 179 - - Gaywood, R., 292 - - Geminus, Thomas, 288 - - Gherardo da Modena, 82 - - Ghisi, Diana, 106 - - Gifford, 327 - - Giller, William, 324 - - Gilli, 282 - - Gimbrede, 328 - - Giolito da Ferrari, 115 - - Giotto, 53 - - Girard, 246 - - Glockenton, 85 - - Golding, Richard, 320 - - Goltzius, Hendrik, 130, 131 - - Gomboust, Jacques, 203 - - Gourmont, Jean de, 153 - - Goya, 139 - - Grateloup, 220 - - Gravelle, de, President, 224 - - Graves, Robert, 324 - - Greche, Domenico delle, 116 - - Green, Valentine, 172, 302 - - Greenwood, John, 301 - - Greuze, 216 - - Gruen, Baldung, 93 - - Gutenburg, 8, 13-15, 17, 18, 28, 35, 47, 49, 51, 53, 54, 60, 76-78, - 82, 86, 176 - - - Haden, Seymour, 282, 325, 326 - - Haid, 304 - - Hainzelmann, Johann, 208 - - Hamerton, 326 - - Hardouin, 82 - - Harvey, Will, 326 - - Heath, Charles, 320, 329 - - Heath, James, 309, 315 - - Henriquel-Dupont, 271-277 - - Hogarth, William, 231-233, 300, 304 - - Hogenberg, Francois, 288 - - Hogenberg, Remigius, 288 - - Hollar, 170, 171, 177, 287, 290-292 - - Hopwood, James, 320 - - Houbraken, J., 228 - - Houston, Richard, 301 - - Huot, 278 - - - Il Vecchio da Parma, 106 - - Ingram, 226 - - - Jackson, 324, 326 - - Jacobe, 304 - - Jacobi, 285 - - Jacquemart, 280-283 - - Jazet, 245, 246 - - Jeens, C. H., 314 - - Jeens, J. H., 325 - - Jones, John, 302 - - - Kauffmann, Angelica, 237 - - Kaulbach, 94 - - Keller, Franz, 262 - - Kilian, Bartholomew, 209 - - Kirkall, Edw., 311-313 - - Klaus, 285 - - Kobell, 234 - - - Laborde, Leon, 12, 36-38 - - Landseer, John, 320 - - Larmessin, Nicolas de, 216 - - Lasne, Michel, 180 - - Lastman, 243 - - Laugier, 276 - - Law, David, 326 - - Lawrie, Robert, 302 - - Le Bas, 216, 234 - - Leblond, J. Christophe, 242, 243, 311, 312 - - Lebrun, 184, 187, 189, 194, 196, 198, 199 - - Leclerc, Sebastien, 184, 204 - - Legat, F., 309 - - Le Josephin, 158 - - Lepautre, 204 - - Lepicie, 216, 230 - - Leprince, J. B., 244 - - Le Roy, Philip, 134 - - Levasseur, 217 - - Lewis, 324 - - Leyden, Lucas van, 118-131, 134, 176 - - Linton, 326 - - Longhi, 256 - - Lorraine, Claude, 138, 160, 162, 165, 167, 177 - - Louis, Aristide, 276 - - Loutherbourg, 231 - - Lucas, David, 322-324 - - Lucas, John, 322 - - Ludy, 262 - - Lupton, Thomas, 320 - - Lutma, Jan, 238 - - Luetzelburger, 113-115 - - Luynes, Duchess of, 224 - - - "Maitre a l'Ecrevisse", 130 - - "Maitre a l'Etoile", 130 - - Major, Thomas, 304 - - Mantegna, Andrea, 68-74, 85, 124, 176, 177 - - Mantovani, 106 - - Marc Antonio, Raimondi, 66, 73, 91, 92, 100-113, 120, 122, 124, 133, - 176-178 - - Marc de Bye, 140 - - Marco da Ravenna, 106 - - Marcolini da Forli, 115 - - Marshall, 329 - - Massaloff, 282 - - Massard, 250 - - Masse, 229 - - Masson, 189, 194, 211 - - "Master of the Bird", 77 - - "Master of the Caduceus", 74 - - "Master of Colmar", 76 - - "Master of Nuremberg", 94 - - "Master of the Streamers", 118 - - "Master of 1466", 49, 51, 53, 76-78, 82, 86 - - "Masters, The Little", 93, 162, 169, 177 - - Mechenen, Israel van, 84 - - Mellan, Claude, 180 - - Memling, 22 - - Mendel, 263 - - Mercuri, 269 - - Merian, Matthew, 170 - - Merz, 262 - - Meyer, Henry, 320 - - Mignard, 194, 196 - - Mocetto, 74, 75 - - Moles, Pascal, 226 - - Montenay, Georgette de, 156 - - Moran, 327 - - Morel, 250 - - Morghen, 106, 255-258, 260, 269 - - Morin, Jean, 6, 179, 181, 211, 237 - - Morris, Thomas, 309 - - Moser, 237 - - Mueller, Christian Fred, 258-261 - - Mueller, Jan, 130, 131 - - Mueller, John Godard, 258, 259 - - Musi, Agostino, 151 - - - Nanteuil, Robert, 180-184, 186, 189-192, 194, 202, 209, 211, 220 - - Nesbitt, 326 - - Niccolo della Casa, 152 - - Niccolo, of Pisa, 53 - - Nicoletto da Modena, 74, 82 - - - Ogborn, John, 314 - - Ostade, Adrian van, 139 - - Ottley, 328 - - - Parrish, Stephen, 327 - - Peale, Charles Wilson, 328 - - Pencz, Georg, 93 - - Pennell, 327 - - Perkins, 329 - - Pesne, Jean, 187-189, 193, 194 - - Pether, William, 302 - - Petitot, 220, 222 - - Pichler, 304 - - Pitau, Nicolas, 191 - - Poilly, Francois de, 189, 191, 194, 204, 207, 209 - - Pollajuolo, Antonio, 55, 62, 85 - - Pompadour, Mme. de, 224, 225 - - Pontius, Paul, 132, 133, 149, 177 - - Porporati, 226, 227 - - Posselwhite, 324 - - Potter, Paul, 138, 139 - - Poussin, 160 - - Preisler, Martin, 226 - - Prestel, Katherine, 237 - - Prevost, 246 - - - Raimbach, Abraham, 266, 267 - - Raimondi (see Marc Antonio). - - Raphael, 101-108 - - Reboul, Mme., 224 - - Redlich, 282 - - Regent, The Prince, of France, 223 - - Regnesson, 182 - - Regnier, Mathurin, 160 - - Rembrandt, 104, 128, 140-148, 177 - - Reynolds, Sir J., 172, 231, 233 - - Reynolds, Samuel, 266, 267, 317-322 - - Ribera, 139, 175 - - Richomme, 276 - - Rigaud, 211, 214 - - Ritchie, 328 - - Robert, 284 - - Robetta, 67 - - Robinson, 324 - - Roger, Barthelemy, 252 - - Rogers, William, 288 - - Romano, Giulio, 102, 108-110 - - Rosa, Salvator, 159 - - Roullet, 189, 194 - - Rousseaux, 276 - - Rubens, 131-133, 176, 178 - - Rupert, Prince, 171-173, 292, 296 - - Ruysdael, J., 139 - - Ryder, Thomas, 314 - - Ryland, 226, 228, 238, 239, 270, 309, 310 - - - St. Aubin, Augustin, 218-221 - - St. Non, Abbe de, 240 - - Saint-Ygny, 164 - - Sanson, Adrien, 203 - - Sanson, Guillaume, 203 - - Sartain, John, 328 - - Savart, 220 - - Say, William, 320 - - Schaeffer, 262 - - Schaueflein, Hans, 93, 113 - - Schmidt, 226 - - Schoen, Bartholomew, 84 - - Schongauer, Martin, 76, 78-86, 91, 117, 176, 177 - - Scott, John, 320 - - Scultori, Diana (see Ghisi). - - Seghers, 243 - - Selma, Fernando, 228 - - Sharp, William, 305, 308, 309, 315 - - Sherborne, W. H., 325 - - Sherwin, John Keyse, 297, 309 - - Sherwin, William, 296, 297 - - Silvestre, Israel, 138, 164, 177 - - Simon, Jean, 298 - - Simoneau, Charles, 229 - - Slocombe, 326 - - Smillies, 328 - - Smith, Anker, 309, 316 - - Smith, Beckett, 297, 298 - - Smith, John, 297, 298 - - Smith, J. R., 172, 302 - - Snyders, Franz, 134 - - Sonnenleiter, 285 - - Soutman, 132, 133 - - Spencer, Asa, 329 - - Spierre, Francois, 204 - - Spilsbury, John, 302 - - Star, Dirck (see Van Staren). - - Steinfensand, 262 - - Steinla, 263 - - Stella, Claudine (see Bonzonnet). - - Strange, Robert, 226, 228, 234, 270, 305-307 - - Sullivan, Luke, 304, 305 - - Suyderhoef, Jonas, 136, 149 - - - Tardieu, Alexandre, 249, 251, 259, 270 - - Tardieu, Nicolas Henri, 201, 226 - - Taylor, 243 - - Thaeter, 262 - - Thompson, Charles, 326 - - Thompson, John, 326 - - Tiebout, C., 328 - - Tinney, John, 307 - - Titian, 116 - - Tomkins, P. W., 314 - - Toschi, 269 - - Tory, Geofroy, 151 - - Trento, Antonio da, 111 - - Turner, Charles, 316, 317 - - - Unger, 282 - - - Vaillant, Wallerant, 172, 296 - - Van Dalen, Cornelius, 136, 177 - - Van Dyck, 133, 134 - - Van Eyck, 18, 22, 28 - - Van Schuppen, 194, 208, 209 - - Van Staren, Dirck, 130 - - Velde, Adrian van de, 140 - - Veldenaer, John, 17 - - Vermeulen, Cornelius, 209 - - Vicentino, Nicolo, 111 - - Vissher, Cornelius, 135-137, 149, 177 - - Vivares, 229-231, 305 - - Volpato, 255, 269 - - Von Siegen, Ludwig, 171, 172, 292, 296 - - Vorsterman, 132, 133, 177, 287 - - Vostre, Simon, 82 - - - Wagner, Joseph, 226 - - Walker, Anthony, 302, 307 - - Walker, James, 302 - - Walker, William, 302, 308, 313, 321, 322 - - Ward, William, 316 - - Watelet, 224 - - Watson, Caroline, 313 - - Watson, James, 172, 302 - - Watson, Thomas, 172, 302 - - Watt, J. H., 324 - - Watteau, 214 - - Weber, 285 - - Wenceslas, of Olmuetz, 84 - - Weirotter, 228 - - Whistler, 326, 327 - - White, G., 298 - - Wierix, 131 - - Wille, John George, 226, 259 - - Woeiriot, Pierre, 153 - - Wolgemut, Michael, 87-89, 113 - - Woollett, 229, 231, 234, 236, 270, 305, 307, 308 - - Woolnoth, Thomas, 320, 321 - - Worlidge, Thomas, 310 - - Wren, Sir Ch., 296 - - - Young, John, 302 - - - Zell, Ulric, 14-16 - - -PRINTED BY CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, LONDON, E.C. - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - - -Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant -preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected. - -Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. - -When necessary, illustrations were moved so as to not interrupt the -flow of text. - -Footnotes were moved to the end of the book, just before the Index. - -Table of Contents lists "A CHAPTER ON ENGLISH ENGRAVING" as being on -page 278, but it is on page 287. 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