The Art of Illustration Part 3

Why is not drawing in line with pen and ink taught in our own Government schools of art? The present system in schools seems to render the art of drawing of as little use to the student as possible, for he has no sooner mastered the preliminary stage of drawing in outline from the flat with a lead pencil, than he has chalk put into his hand, a material which he will seldom or never use in turning his knowledge of drawing to practical account. The readier method of pen and ink would be of great service as a preparatory stage to wood drawing, but unfortunately drawing is taught in most cases as though the student intended only to become a painter.

Since these lines were written, efforts have been made in some schools of art to give special training for ill.u.s.trators, and instruction is also given in wood engraving, which every draughtsman should learn; but up to the present time there has been no systematic teaching in drawing applicable to the various processes, for the reason that _the majority of art masters do not understand them_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "ON THE RIVIERA." (ELLEN MONTALBA.)]

The art of expression in line, or of expressing the effect of a picture or a landscape from Nature in a few leading lines (not necessarily outline) is little understood in this country; and if such study, as the _Athenaeum_ pointed out, is important for the wood draughtsman, how much more so in drawing for reproduction by photo-mechanical means? A few artists have the gift of expressing themselves in line, but the majority are strangely ignorant of the principles of this art and of the simple fac-simile processes by which drawing can now be reproduced. In the course of twenty years of editing the _Academy Notes_, some strange facts have come to the writer's notice as to the powerlessness of some painters to express the _motif_ of a picture in a few lines; also as to how far we are behind our continental neighbours in this respect.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "A LIGHT OF LAUGHING FLOWERS ALONG THE GRa.s.s IS SPREAD." (M. RIDLEY CORBET.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. V.

H. S. MARKS.

An example of line drawing and "the art of leaving out," by the well-known Royal Academician.

Mr. Marks and Sir John Gilbert (_see frontispiece_) were the first painters to explain the composition and leading lines of their pictures in the _Academy Notes_ in 1876. Mr. Marks suggests light and shade and the character of his picture in a few skilful lines. Sir John Gilbert's pen-and-ink drawing is also full of force and individuality. These drawings reproduce well by any of the processes.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: "A SELECT COMMITTEE." (FROM THE PAINTING BY H. S.

MARKS, R.A.)

(_Royal Academy, 1891._)]

It is interesting to note here the firmness of line and clearness of reproduction by the common process block; the result being more satisfactory than many drawings by professional ill.u.s.trators. The reason is not far to seek; the painter knows his picture and how to give the effect of it in black and white, in a few lines; and, in the case of Mr.

Corbet and Miss Montalba, they have made themselves acquainted with the best way of drawing for the Press. There are many other methods than pen-and-ink which draughtsmen use,--pencil, chalk, wash, grained paper, &c, but first as to line drawing, because _it is the only means by which certain results can be obtained_, and it is the one which, for practical reasons, should be first mastered. Line drawings are now reproduced on zinc blocks fitted for the type press at a cost of less than sixpence the square inch for large blocks; the processes of reproduction will be explained further on.

It cannot be sufficiently borne in mind--I am speaking now to students who are not intimate with the subject--that to produce with pure black lines the quality and effect of lines in which there is some gradation of tone, is no easy matter, especially to those accustomed to the wood engraver as the interpreter of their work. Sir John Tenniel, M. du Maurier, and Mr. Sambourne, not to mention others on the _Punch_ staff, have been accustomed to draw for wood engraving, and would probably still prefer this method to any other.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "THE ROSE QUEEN." (G. D. LESLIE, R.A.) (_From "Academy Notes," 1893._)]

But the young ill.u.s.trator has to learn the newer methods, and how to get his effects through direct photo-engraving. What may be done by process is demonstrated in the line drawings interspersed through these pages, also in the ill.u.s.trations which are appearing every day in our newspapers, magazines, and books--especially those which are well printed and on good paper. Mr. George Leslie's pretty line drawing from his picture, on the opposite page, is full of suggestion for ill.u.s.trative purposes.

But let us glance first at the ordinary hand-book teaching, and see how far it is useful to the ill.u.s.trator of to-day. The rules laid down as to the methods of line work, the direction of lines for the expression of certain textures, "cross-hatching," &c., are, if followed too closely, apt to lead to hardness and mannerism in the young artist, which he will with difficulty shake off. On these points, Mr. Robertson, the well-known painter and etcher, writing seven years ago, says well:--

"The mental properties of every line drawn with pen and ink should be original and personal ... this strong point is sure to be attained unconsciously, if an artist's work is simple and sincere, and _not the imitation of another man's style_."[7]

When the question arises as to what examples a beginner should copy who wishes to practise the art of pen-and-ink drawing, the difficulty will be to select from the great and varied stores of material that are everywhere to his hand. All steel and copper-plate engravings that have been executed in line, and all wood engravings, are within the possible range of pen-and-ink drawing. I hold, however, that much time should not be occupied in the imitatative copying of prints: only, indeed, so much as enables the student to learn with what arrangement of lines the different textures and qualities of objects may be best rendered.

There are, roughly, two methods of obtaining effect with a pen--one by few lines, laid slowly, and the other by many lines, drawn with rapidity. If the intention is to see what effect may be obtained with comparatively few lines deliberately drawn, we may refer to the woodcuts after Albert Durer and Holbein, and the line engraving of Marc Antonio.

The engraved plates by Durer furnish excellent examples of work, with more and finer lines than his woodcuts [but many of the latter were not done by his hand]. "Some of the etchings of Rembrandt are examples of what may be fairly reproduced in pen and ink, but in them we find the effect to depend upon innumerable lines in all directions. In the matter of landscape the etched plates by Claude and Ruysdael are good examples for study, and in animal life the work of Paul Potter and Dujardin."

Thus, for style, for mastery of effect and management of line, we must go back to the old masters; to work produced generally in a reposeful life, to which the younger generation are strangers. But the mere copying of other men's lines is of little avail without mastering the principles of the art of line drawing. The skilful copies, the fac-similes of engravings and etchings drawn in pen and ink, which are the admiration of the young artist's friends, are of little or no value in deciding the apt.i.tude of the student. The following words are worth placing on the walls of every art school:--

"Proficiency in copying engravings in fac-simile, far from suggesting promise of distinction in the profession of art, plainly _marks a tendency to mechanical pursuits_, and is not likely to be acquired by anyone with much instinctive feeling for the arts of design." There is much truth and insight in this remark.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "THE FINDING OF THE INFANT ST. GEORGE." (CHARLES M.

GERE.) (_From his painting in the New Gallery, 1893._)]

In line work, as now understood, we are going back, in a measure, to the point of view of the missal writer and the illuminator, who, with no thought of the possibilities of reproduction, produced many of his decorative pages by management of line alone (I refer to the parts of his work in which the effect was produced by black and white). No amount of patience, thought, and labour was spared for this one copy. What would he have said if told that in centuries to come this line work would be revived in its integrity, with the possibility of the artist's own lines being reproduced 100,000 times, at the rate of several thousand an hour. And what would he have thought if told that, out of thousands of students in centuries to come, a few, a very few only, could produce a decorative page; and that few could be brought to realise that a work which was to be repeated, say a thousand times, was worthy of as much attention as his ancestors gave to a single copy!

On the principle that "everything worth doing is worth doing well," and on the a.s.sumption that the processes in common use--[I purposely omit mention here of the older systems of drawing on transfer paper, and drawing on waxed plates, without the aid of photography, which have been dealt with in previous books]--are worth all the care and artistic knowledge which can be bestowed upon them, we would press, upon young artists especially, the importance of study and experiment in this direction. As there is no question that "the handwork of the artist" can be seen more clearly through mechanical engraving than through wood engraving, it behoves him to do his best. And as we are subst.i.tuting process blocks for wood engraving in every direction, so we should take over some of the patience and care which were formerly given to book ill.u.s.trations.

We cannot live, easily, in the "cloistered silence of the past," but we can emulate the deliberate and thoughtful work of Mantegna, of Holbein, of Albert Durer, and the great men of the past, who, if they were alive to-day, would undoubtedly have preferred drawing for process to the labour of etching and engraving; and, if their work were to be reproduced by others, they would have perceived, what it does not require much insight in us to realise, that the individuality of the artist is better preserved, by making his own lines.

To do this successfully in these days, the artist must give his best and most deliberate (instead of his hurried and careless) drawings to the processes; founding his style, to a limited extent it may be, on old work, but preserving his own individuality.

But we must not slavishly copy sketches by the old masters, _which were never intended for reproduction_. We may learn from the study of them the power of line to express character, action, and effect, we may learn composition sometimes, but not often from a sketch.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "A PLOUGHBOY." (G. CLAUSEN.)]

As to copying the work of living artists, it should be remembered that the manner and the method of a line drawing is each artist's property, and the repet.i.tion of it by others is injurious to him. It would be an easy method indeed if the young artist, fresh from the schools, could, in a few weeks, imitate the mannerism, say of Sir John Gilbert, whose style is founded upon the labour of 50 years. There is no such royal road.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. VI.

"_A Ploughboy_," by GEORGE CLAUSEN.

An excellent example of sketching in line. The original drawing was 7-3/4 5-3/4 in. I have reproduced Mr. Clausen's artistic sketch of his picture in two sizes in order to compare results. The small block on page 59 (printed in _Grosvenor Notes_, 1888) appears to be the most suitable reduction for this drawing. The results are worth comparing by anyone studying process work. The first block was made by the gelatine process; the one opposite by the ordinary zinc process. (_See Appendix._)

To return to ill.u.s.tration. The education of the ill.u.s.trator in these days means much more than mere art training. The tendency of editors of magazines and newspapers is to employ those who can write as well as draw. This may not be a very hopeful sign from an art point of view, but it is a condition of things which we have to face. Much as we may desire to see a good artist and a good _raconteur_ in one man, the combination will always be rare; those editors who seek for it are often tempted to accept inferior art for the sake of the story. I mention this as one of the influences affecting the quality of ill.u.s.trations of an ephemeral or topical kind, which should not be overlooked.

In sketches of society the education and standing of the artist has much to do with his success. M. du Maurier's work in _Punch_ may be taken as an example of what I mean, combining excellent art with knowledge of society. His clever followers and imitators lack something which cannot be learned in an art school.

It should be understood that, in drawing for reproduction by any of the mechanical processes (either in wash or in line, but especially the latter), there is more strain on the artist than when his work was engraved on wood, and the knowledge of this has left drawing for process princ.i.p.ally in the hands of the younger men. They will be older by the end of the century, but not as old then as some of our best and experienced ill.u.s.trators who keep to wood engraving.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. VII.

"_Blowing Bubbles_," by C. E. WILSON.

This is an excellent example of drawing--and of treatment of textures and surfaces--for process reproduction. The few pen touches on the drapery have come out with great fidelity, the double lines marking the paving stones being the only part giving any trouble to the maker of the gelatine relief block. The skilful management of the parts in light shows again "the art of leaving out."]

I am touching now upon a difficult and delicate part of the subject, and must endeavour to make my meaning clear. The ill.u.s.trations in _Punch_ have, until lately, all been engraved on wood (the elder artists on the staff not taking kindly to the processes), and the style and manner of line we see in its pages is due in great measure to the influence of the wood engraver.[8]

This refers to fac-simile work, but the engraver, as we know, also interprets wash into clean lines, helps out the timid and often unsteady draughtsman, and in little matters puts his drawing right.

The wood engraver was apprenticed to his art, and after long and laborious teaching, mastered the mechanical difficulties. If he had the artistic sense he soon developed into a master-engraver and ill.u.s.trator, and from crude and often weak and inartistic drawings produced ill.u.s.trations full of tone, quality, and beauty. From very slight material handed to him by the publisher, the wood engraver would evolve (from his inner consciousness, so to speak) an elaborate and graceful series of ill.u.s.trations, drawn on the wood block by artists in his own employ, who had special training, and knew exactly how to produce the effects required. The system often involved much care and research for details of costume, architecture, and the like, and, if not very high art, was at least well paid for, and appreciated by the public. I am speaking of the average ill.u.s.trated book, say of twenty years ago, when it was not an uncommon thing to spend 500 or 600 on the engravings.

Let us hope that the highest kind of wood engraving will always find a home in England.

n.o.body knows--n.o.body ever will know--how much the engraver has done for the artist in years past. "For good or evil,"--it may be said; but I am thinking now only of the good, of occasions when the engraver has had to interpret the artist's meaning, and sometimes, it must be confessed, to come to the rescue and perfect imperfect work.

[Ill.u.s.tration: No. VIII.

Ill.u.s.tration to "_Dreamland in History_," by Dr. Gloucester. (London: Isbister & Co.) Drawn by HERBERT RAILTON.

Example of brilliancy and simplicity of treatment in line drawing for process. There is no ill.u.s.tration in this book which shows better the scope and variety of common process work. Mr. Railton has studied his process, and brought to it a knowledge of architecture and sense of the picturesque. This ill.u.s.tration is reduced considerably from the original drawing.]

The artist who draws for reproduction by chemical and mechanical means is thrown upon his own resources. He cannot say to the acid, "Make these lines a little sharper," or to the sun's rays, "Give a little more light"; and so--as we cannot often have good wood engraving, as it is not always cheap enough or rapid enough for our needs--we draw on paper what we want reproduced, and resort to one of the photographic processes described in this book.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "BY UNFREQUENTED WAYS." (W. H. GORE.)]