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    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1926)",
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    "title": "ETCHING",
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    "verified_text": "no feature of recent art history has been more remarkable than the extended practice of original etching and its widening appreciation among print collectors and the public seeking decoration for its home walls. to compare the art’s present condition with that offered to the survey of sir etching frederick wedmore in the 11th edition of the encyclopadiu britannica is to realise that since 1911 etchers of importance have arisen who must be ranked with the masters, while the average standard of accomplishment is now so much higher, notwithstanding the great increase in the numbers practising the method, that changes in the comparative value of reputa- tions are inevitable. while, therefore, etchers already of world-wide repute, such as forain, bauer, zorn, brangwyn, bone and mcbey are now mentioned for the first time in these pages, there are names which must disappear, necessarily giving place to others of more representative distinction. since the volumes of the 11th edition were in the press, the three latest surviving pro- tagonists of the modern revival of original etching have died; sir francis seymour haden in 1o10, alphonse legros in 1911 and felix bracquemond in 10914. the influence of short—kven greater and farther reaching than haden’s has been the inlluence of his successor in the pres- idency of the royal society of painter-etchers and engravers, sir frank short, r.a., for, during his long direction of the famous engraving school of the royal college of art, he has trained two generations of british etchers in the tradition of rembrandt’s vital line, which he has held always as a sacred trust. a master of every method of the copperplate, with freshness of vision and sincerity of expression, short long ago added to the classics of the etcher’s art, to name only such beautiful and masterly plates as ‘‘ low tide and the evening star,” and “ a wintry blast on the stourbridge canal.” his revival of pure aquatint, in other words, tone-etching, as an in- dependent expressive medium, with rich and subtle development of its capacity for tonal gradation, has enlarged the scope of the etcher’s pictorial utterance. this service to graphic art was scarcely less important than short’s restoration of mezzotint to its purity of practice, first in his completion of j. m. w. turner’s liber studiorum, and further in his own poetic plates, exem- plifying its value for original landscape. sir d. ¥y. cameron, r.a., another veteran of the copper- plate, won a distinctive place among eminent etchers before he had established his fame as a painter. always attracted by the romantic aspects of architecture and landscape, he gradually found, through the just inspiration of the masters, a graciously distinctive style of his own to interpret with impressive chiaro- scuro the significant beauties of buildings of character, and the es- sential poetry of his native scenery of loch and mountain. there are masterpieces among cameron’s architectural plates too fami- liar to need naming here, yet, remembering the beauty of “‘ the meuse, ” ‘‘ ben ledi, ” ‘‘ ben lomond, ” “‘ strathearn, ”’ one may believe that in landscape he finds his most distinctively personal expression on copper as on canvas. work of brangwyn and bone-—another eminent painter who has made also a great reputation as an etcher is frank brangwyn, r.a., though he has characteristically taken his independent way with the method, adapting it with boldly bitten line to his pictorial designs, conceived deliberately on an unusually large scale for wall decoration rather than for the collector’s portfolio. extraordinarily varied in pictorial interest, many of brang- wyn’s etchings are monumental in design and vigour of draughts- manship, though the effect of their chiaroscuro often suffers from over-emphasis in the printing, muirhead bone has long been one of the most potent personalities in british etching, though it is with the dry-point rather than the etching-needle that he has expressed his linear mastery in the interpretation of architecture as an integral factor of social life. always he has had a sympathetic eye for landscape, but it is with buildings in every variety of aspect and condition that his keen vision and magnificent, searching draughtsmanship have been chiefly con- cerned, and whether the structures are shown in progress, in course of demolition or actually functioning, the vital accent of human interest is never missing. mc bey and other afasters—innately an etcher, with a viva- cious wizardry of line and originality of vision, james mcbey 1025 was already a master of his expression when, in 1911, he came from aberdeen to london and surprised and charmed the connoisseurs. with brilliant versatility, his progress has been extraordinary, and it may be traced through a succession of accepted masterpieces, such as ‘‘ ovation to the matador, ” “night in ely cathedral,” ““the torpedoed sussex,” ‘‘ dawn— camel patrol setting out, ” “ gale at port errol,” and certain venetian plates. in england we have now, indeed, as never before, a number of authentic etchers, producing plates of genuine, sometimes even masterly quality, distinguished by original design, with a wide range of pictorial interest. in these, while fresh architectural and landscape conceptions are revealing their artistic supe- riority to the stale conventions of vision so long prevalent, aspects of human life and character are claiming a far more important share. this awakened consciousness among british etchers that human beings and their circumstances and activ- ities may be even more emotionally interesting as subjects for etching than, say, cathedral doorways and old barns is one of the most notable and promising signs of the present condition of the art in the country. no etcher is more distinctive in his treatment of the human subject than edmund blampied, who finds the happiest in- spiration for his superb drawing in vividly suggestive line in the life and labours of the jersey and nermandy peasants and their farm horses and cattle; e. s. lumsden finds his in scenes of native indian life, and some of his benares, rajputana and tibet plates bear the hallmark of a master. of etched por- traiture malcolm osborne, a.r.a., is a masterly exponent, while few of his best landscapes and architectural etchings are not invested with human interest. francis dodd also is most distinguished in his portraiture, while a style all his own marks gerald brockhurst’s strangely alluring studies of feminine personality. in several wonderfully characteristic etchings, of chicfly portrait interest, the art of augustus john, a.r.a., has ex- pressed its vitality and simplicity of conception in a line of singular purity. i. l. griggs, a.r.a., in exquisite etchings of elaborate accomplishment recalling somewhat the technical man- ner of samuel palmer, aims at an imaginative reconstruction of medieval england in its architectural aspect, as william walcot’s remarkable “ roman compositions,” with a very different technique and manner, revivify imperial rome. henry rush- bury’s brilliant architectural conceptions, on the other hand, depict with something of bone’s accent the actualitics of places. landscape etchers range far and wide, but the homely charm of english landscape with its bounty of trees has found no truer interpreter in latter days than w. p. robins. marine etching has been given a fresh impetus, with widened scope, by arthur briscoe’s authentic visions of nautical activities on the high seas. the etchings of walter sickert. a.r.a., george clausen, r.a., oliver hall, a.r.a. and e. j. sullivan, although but side issues of their lives’ work, are vet important enough to stand the test of time; while among the legion of contemporary british etchers are some notably sincere artists who show a * coming-on disposition ”’ which stirs hopes. french eiching—the outstanding personality in modern french etching is j. l. forain, and he is one of the world’s great etchers. whether depicting with dramatic irony scenes of parisian life, in the law courts, the cafe, the studio or interpreting with pathetic beauty the religious emotion of the lourdes pilgrimage or challenging rembrandt himself in his great human conceptions of christ’s tragedy, with his magically expressive line and vital draughtsmanship, forain has pro- duced unforgettable masterpieces. although auguste lepere won fame first as a wood engraver of excellence, his name in the story of french etching is of considerable importance. there was always a charming humanity about his work. with him in the orthodox school may be mentioned steinlen, besnard, beaufrere, beurdeley, roussel, bejot and auguste brouet; but the personalities of the zudependent group of modernists may perhaps be more safely left to the time test. 1026 other european etchers.—in the land of rembrandt there has been one great etcher since the supreme master, and he is marius a. j. bauer. he has found all his inspiration in the orient, turkey, egypt, palestine, india and always a rich imagination with a magnificent sense of design has directed his pictorial vision. his genius is seen as expressively in the vital- ity and spontaneity of his early small plates as in such great impressive compositions as ‘‘ the holy camel,” “ benares ” and ‘‘ elephants.’ in anders zorn, sweden gave a master- etcher to the world. his line was thoroughly individual, and happily adapted to his preoccupation with light in his vivid pictorial conceptions of the human physiognomy or figure, especially in his studies of nude bathers. his “ renan ” ranks with the great etched portraits of all time. etching. america.—in america, where interest in etching grows apace, the most distinctive personality is frank w. benson whose vital studies of water fowl in their native wilds, the great canadian rivers or the atlantic coast, in various aspects of flight chiefly, have given new motives to the art. the veteran joseph pennell was productive until his death, april 22 1926. herman j. webster has produced many accomplished plates. donald shaw maclaughlan, a masterly etcher, is increasing his reputation, while among the younger men of promise are notably john w. winkler, louis c. rosenberg, arthur w. heintzelman, ernest d. roth, and roi partridge. bibliography.—sir frank short, r.a., on the making of etch- ings, 3rd. ed. (1898); sir frederick wedmore, efchings (1911); a. m. hind, a short [history of fugraving and hitching, 3rd ed. (1923); malcolm c. salaman, the great painter-etchers from rembrandt to whistler (1913); the charm of the etcher’s art (1920) and modern masters of etching (studio monograph series, 1924, etc.); w. p. robins, etching craft (1922); e. s. lumsden, the art of etching (1925). (mee. s 2)",
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