Produced by Marius Masi, Chris Curnow and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.
THE ART OF ILLUSTRATION.
[Illustration: "THE TRUMPETER." (SIR JOHN GILBERT, R.A.)
(_Drawn in pen and ink, from his picture in the Royal Academy, 1883._)
[Size of drawing, 5-1/2 by 4-3/4 in. Photo-zinc process.]]
The Art of Illustration.
BY
HENRY BLACKBURN,
_Editor of "Academy Notes," Cantor Lecturer on Illustration, &c._
WITH
NINETY-FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS.
SECOND EDITION.
LONDON:
W. H. ALLEN & CO., LIMITED,
13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W.
1896.
PRINTED BY
WYMAN AND SONS, LIMITED,
LONDON, W.C.
DEDICATED TO
SIR JOHN GILBERT, R.A.,
ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL PIONEERS
OF BOOK AND NEWSPAPER ILLUSTRATION.
[Illustration: (PEN-AND-INK DRAWING FROM HIS PICTURE, BY MR. CHARLES
COLLINS, 1892.)
[Photo-zinc process.]]
PREFACE.
The object of this book is to explain the modern systems of Book and
Newspaper Illustration, and especially the methods of drawing for what
is commonly called "process," on which so many artists are now engaged.
There is almost a revolution in illustration at the present time, and
both old and young--teachers and scholars--are in want of a handbook for
reference when turning to the new methods. The illustrator of to-day is
called upon suddenly to take the place of the wood engraver in
interpreting tone into line, and requires practical information which
this book is intended to supply.
The most important branch of illustration treated of is _line drawing_,
as it is practically out of reach of competition by the photographer,
and is, moreover, the kind of drawing most easily reproduced and printed
at the type press; but wash drawing, drawing upon grained papers, and
the modern appliances for reproduction, are all treated of.
The best instructors in drawing for process are, after all, the
_painters of pictures_ who know so well how to express themselves in
black and white, and to whom I owe many obligations. There is a wide
distinction between their treatment of "illustration" and the so-called
"pen-and-ink" artist.
The "genius" who strikes out a wonderful path of his own, whose
scratches and splashes appear in so many books and newspapers, is of the
"butterfly" order of being--a creation, so to speak, of the processes,
and is not to be emulated or imitated. There is no reason but custom
why, in drawing for process, a man's coat should be made to look like
straw, or the background (if there be a background) have the appearance
of fireworks. No ability on the part of the illustrator will make these
things tolerable in the near future. There is a reaction already, and
signs of a better and more sober treatment of illustration, which only
requires a _better understanding of the requirements and limitations of
the processes_, to make it equal to some of the best work of the past.
The modern illustrator has much to learn--more than he imagines--in
drawing for the processes. A study of examples by masters of line
drawing--such as Holbein, Menzell, Fortuny or Sandys--or of the best
work of the etchers, will not tell the student of to-day exactly what he
requires to know; for they are nearly all misleading as to the
principles upon which modern process work is based.
In painting we learn everything from the past--everything that it is
best to know. In engraving also, we learn from the past the best way to
interpret colour into line, but in drawing for the processes there is
practically no "past" to refer to; at the same time the advance of the
photographer into the domain of illustration renders it of vital
importance to artists to put forth their best work in black and white,
and it throws great responsibility upon art teachers to give a good
groundwork of education to the illustrator of the future. In all this,
education--_general education_--will take a wider part.
The ILLUSTRATIONS have been selected to show the possibilities of
"process" work in educated, capable hands, rather than any _tours de
force_ in drawing, or exploits of genius. They are all of modern work,
and are printed on the same sheets as the letterpress.
_All the Illustrations in this book have been reproduced by mechanical
processes, excepting nine_ (marked on the list), which are engraved on
wood.
Acknowledgments are due to the Council of the Society of Arts for
permission to reprint a portion of the Cantor Lectures on "Illustration"
from their Journal; to the Editors of the _National Review_ and the
_Nineteenth Century_, for permission to reprint several pages from
articles in those reviews; to the Editors and Publishers who have lent
illustrations; and above all, to the artists whose works adorn these
pages.
H. B.
123, VICTORIA STREET, WESTMINSTER.
_May, 1894._
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.--INTRODUCTORY 1
CHAPTER II.--ELEMENTARY ILLUSTRATION 15
Diagrams--Daily Illustrated Newspapers--Pictorial _v._ Verbal
Description.
CHAPTER III.--ARTISTIC ILLUSTRATIONS 40
Education of the Illustrator--Line Drawing for
Process--Sketching from Life--Examples of Line Drawing.
CHAPTER IV.--THE PROCESSES 102
"Photo zinco"--Gelatine Process--Grained Papers--Mechanical
Dots--"Half-tone" Process--Wash Drawing--Illustrations from
Photographs--_Sketch_, _Graphic_, &c.--Daniel Vierge.
CHAPTER V.--WOOD ENGRAVING 182
CHAPTER VI.--THE DECORATIVE PAGE 197
CHAPTER VII.--AUTHOR, ILLUSTRATOR, & PUBLISHER 211
STUDENTS' DRAWINGS 223
APPENDIX 233
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
[_The copyright of all pictures sketched in this book is strictly
reserved._]
PAGE
"The Trumpeter." Sir John Gilbert, R.A. (_Process_) vi
Swans. Charles Collins " ix
"Ashes of Roses." G. H. Boughton, A.R.A. " 5
"Badminton in the Studio." R. W. Macbeth, A.R.A. " 6
"A Son of Pan." William Padgett " 11
"Home by the Ferry." Edward Stott " 12
Man in Chain Armour. Lancelot Speed " 14
"Greeting." The Hon. Mrs. Boyle " 15
Diagrams (5) " 19-32
View above Blankenburg (_Wood_) 38
The Curvature of the World's Surface " 39
"Tiresome Dog." E. K. Johnson (_Process_) 43
"Frustrated." Walter Hunt " 44
"On the Riviera." Ellen Montalba " 46
"Landscape with Trees." M. R. Corbet " 47
"An Odd Volume." H. S. Marks, R.A. " 49
"A Select Committee." H. S. Marks, R.A. " 50
"The Rose Queen." G. D. Leslie, R.A. " 52
"Finding of the Infant St. George." C. M. Gere " 56
"A Ploughboy." G. Clausen " 59, 61
"Blowing Bubbles." C. E. Wilson " 65
"Cathedral, from Ox Body Lane." H. Railton " 69
"By Unfrequented Ways." W. H. Gore " 70, 71
"Adversity." Fred. Hall " 73, 75
"A Willowy Stream." Maud Naftel " 76
"Twins." Stanley Berkeley " 79
"The Dark Island." Alfred East " 80
"A Portrait." T. C. Gotch " 83
Sir John Tenniel. Edwin Ward " 87
The Rt. Hon. John Morley. Edwin Ward " 90
"Nothing venture, nothing have." E. P. Sanguinetti " 92, 93
"On the Terrace." E. A. Rowe " 94
"For the Squire." Sir John Millais, Bart., R.A. " 97
"The Stopped Key." H. S. Marks, R.A. " 100
Nymph and Cupid. Henry Holiday " 101
Illustration to "_The Blue Poetry Book_." L. Speed " 102
A Portrait. T. Blake Wirgman. " 103
"Forget Me Not." Henry Ryland " 105
"Baby's Own." G. Hillyard Swinstead " 107
"A Silent Pool." E. W. Waite " 108
"The Miller's Daughter." E. K. Johnson " 111
"The End of the Chapter." W. Rainey. " 112
"In the Pas de Calais." J. P. Beadle " 113
"Golden Days." F. Stuart Richardson " 114
"Twilight." Hume Nisbet " 115
"Le Dent du Geant." E. T. Compton " 116, 117
Landscape. A. M. Lindstrom " 119
Volendam. C. J. Watson " 123
"Old Woman and Grandchild." Hugh Cameron " 125
"An Arrest." Melton Prior " 127
"Sunrise in the Severn Valley." M. R. Corbet " 129
"The Adjutant's Love Story." H. R. Millar " 131
Illustrations from "_The Blue Poetry Book_." L. Speed " 134, 5, 7
"Seine Boats." Louis Grier " 138
"There is the Priory." W. H. Wollen " 139
From "_Andersen's Fairy Tales_." J. R. Weguelin " 141, 143
"Two's company, three's none." H. J. Walker " 147
Illustration from "_Black and White_." C. G. Manton " 149
"A Sunny Land." George Wetherbee " 150
Decorative Design. The late Randolph Caldecott " 151
Sketch in wash (part of picture) from "_Sketch_ " 155
"The Brook." Arnold Helcke " 157
From a Photograph from Life. By Mr. H. S.
Mendelssohn ("_Sketch_") " 161
From a Photograph from Life. By Messrs.
Cameron & Smith ("_Studio_") " 165
From a Photograph from Life ("_Graphic_") (_Wood_) 169
"Proud Maisie." Lancelot Speed (_Process_) 173
From "_Pablo de Segovia_." Daniel Vierge " 177
Drinking Horn from "_Eric Bright Eyes_." L. Speed " 181
Heading from "_Grimm's Household Stories_." W. Crane (_Wood_) 182
Photograph from Life. "_The Century Magazine_" " 187
"Driving Home the Pigs." John Pedder (_Process_) 193
Joan of Arc's House at Rouen. Samuel Prout (_Wood_) 195
Heading from "_Grimm's Household Stories_." W. Crane " 197
Decorative Page. A. J. Gaskin (_Process_) 199
Decorative Page from "_The Six Swans_." W. Crane (_Wood_) 201
Title Page of "_The Hobby Horse_." Selwyn Image " 205
Viking Ship from "_Eric Bright Eyes_." L. Speed (_Process_) 208
"Scarlet Poppies." W. J. Muckley " 209
"Take Care." W. B. Baird " 222
Spanish Woman. Ina Bidder " 225
Children Reading. Estelle d'Avigdor " 227
Sketch from Life. G. C. Marks " 229
Bough of Common Furze. William French " 231
[Illustration]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
There are, broadly speaking, two kinds of engraving for illustration in
books, which are widely distinct--1. _intaglio_; 2. _relievo_. The first
comprises all engravings, etchings, and photogravures in which the lines
are cut or indented by acid or other means, into a steel or copper
plate--a system employed, with many variations of method, from the time
of Mantegna, Albert Duerer, Holbein and Rembrandt, to the French and
English etchers of the present day. Engravings thus produced are little
used in modern book illustration, as they cannot be printed easily on
the same page as the letterpress; these _planches a part_, as the French
term them, are costly to print and are suitable only for limited
editions.
In the second, or ordinary form of illustration, the lines or pictures
to be printed are left in relief; the design being generally made on
wood with a pencil, and the parts not drawn upon cut away. This was the
rudimentary and almost universal form of book-illustration, as practised
in the fifteenth century, as revived in England by Bewick in the
eighteenth, and continued to the present day. The blocks thus prepared
can be printed rapidly on ordinary printing-presses, and on _the same
page as the text_.
During the past few years so many processes have been put forward for
producing drawings in relief, for printing with the type, that it has
become a business in itself to test and understand them. The best known
process is still wood engraving, at least it is the best for the
fac-simile reproduction of drawings, as at present understood in
England, whether they be drawn direct upon the wood or transmitted by
photography. There is no process in relief which has the same certainty,
which gives the same colour and brightness, and by which gradation of
tone can be more truly rendered.
As to the relative value of the different photographic relief processes,
that can only be decided by experts. Speaking generally, I may say that
there are six or seven now in use, each of which is, I am informed, the
best, and all of which are adapted for printing in the same manner as a
wood-block.[1] Improvements in these processes are being made so rapidly
that what was best yesterday will not be the best to-morrow, and it is a
subject which is still little understood.
In the present book it is proposed to speak principally of the more
popular form of illustration (_relievo_); but the changes which are
taking place in all forms of engraving and illustration render it
necessary to say a few words first upon _intaglio_. We have heard much
of the "painter-etchers," and of the claims of the etchers to
recognition as original artists; and at the annual exhibition of the
Society of Painter-Etchers in London, we have seen examples in which the
effects produced in black and white seemed more allied to the painter's
art than to the engraver's. But we are considering engraving as a means
of interpreting the work of others, rather than as an original art.
The influence of photography is felt in nearly every department of
illustration. The new photo-mechanical methods of engraving, _without
the aid of the engraver_, have rendered drawing for fac-simile
reproduction of more importance than ever; and the wonderful invention
called _photogravure_, in which an engraving is made direct from an oil
painting, is almost superseding handwork.[2]
[Illustration: No. II.
"_Ashes of Roses_," by G. H. BOUGHTON, A.R.A.
This careful drawing, from the painting by Mr. Boughton, in the Royal
Academy, reproduced by the Dawson process, is interesting for variety
of treatment and indication of textures in pen and ink. It is like the
picture, but it has also the individuality of the draughtsman, as in
line engraving.
Size of drawing about 6-1/2 x 3-1/2 in.]
[Illustration: "BADMINTON IN THE STUDIO." (FROM THE PAINTING BY R. W.
MACBETH, A.R.A.)
(_Royal Academy, 1891._)]
The art of line-engraving is disappearing in England, giving way to the
"painter-etchers," the "dry-point" etchers and the "mezzotint
engravers," and, finally, to _photogravure_, a method of engraving which
is so extraordinary, and so little understood (although it has been in
constant use for more than ten years), that it may be worth while to
explain, in a few words, the method as practised by Messrs. Boussod,
Valadon & Co., successors to Goupil, of Paris.
In the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1882, Sir Frederick Leighton's
picture called "Wedded" will be remembered by many visitors. This
picture was purchased for Australia, and had to be sent from England
within a few weeks of the closing of the exhibition. There was no time
to make an engraving, or even an etching satisfactorily, and so the
picture was sent to Messrs. Goupil, who in a few weeks produced the
_photogravure_, as it is called, which we see in the printsellers'
windows to this day. The operation is roughly as follows:--First, a
photograph is taken direct from the picture; then a carbon print is
taken from the negative upon glass, which rests upon the surface in
delicate relief. From this print a cast is taken in reverse in copper,
by placing the glass in a galvanic bath, the deposit of copper upon the
glass taking the impression of the picture as certainly as snow takes
the pattern of the ground upon which it falls. Thus--omitting details,
and certain "secrets" of the process--it may be seen how modern science
has superseded much of the engraver's work, and how a mechanical process
can produce in a few days that which formerly took years.
What the permanent art-estimate of "photo-engraving" may be, as a
substitute for hand-work, is a question for the collectors of engravings
and etchings. In the meantime, it is well that the public should know
what a _photogravure_ is, as distinct from an engraving. The system of
mechanical engraving, in the reproduction of pictures, is spreading
rapidly over the world; but it should be observed that these
reproductions are not uniformly successful. One painter's method of
handling lends itself more readily than that of another to mechanical
engraving. Thus the work of the President of the Royal Academy would
reproduce better than that of Mr. G. F. Watts or Mr. Orchardson. That
the actual marks of the brush, the very texture of the painting, can be
transferred to copper and steel, and multiplied _ad infinitum_ by this
beautiful process, is a fact to which many English artists are keenly
alive. The process has its limits, of course, and _photogravure_ has at
present to be assisted to a considerable extent by the engraver. But
enough has been done in the last few years to prove that photography
will henceforth take up the painter's handiwork as he leaves it, and
thus the importance of thoroughness and completeness on the part of the
painter has to be more than ever insisted upon by the publishers of
"engravings."
A word may be useful here to explain that the coloured "photogravures,"
reproducing the washes of colour in a painting or water-colour drawing,
of which we see so many in Paris, are not coloured by hand in the
ordinary way, but are produced complete, at one impression, from the
printing-press. The colours are laid upon the plate, one by one, by the
printer, by a system of stencilling; and thus an almost perfect
fac-simile of a picture can be reproduced in pure colour, if the
original is simple and broad in treatment.
[Illustration: No. III.
"_A Son of Pan_," by WILLIAM PADGETT.
Example of outline drawing, put in solidly with a brush. If this had
been done with pencil or autographic chalk, much of the feeling and
expression of the original would have been lost. The drawing has
suffered slightly in reproduction, where (as in the shadows on the
neck and hands) the lines were pale in the original.
Size of drawing 11-1/2 x 6-1/2 in. Zinc process.]
[Illustration: "HOME BY THE FERRY." (FROM THE PAINTING BY EDWARD
STOTT.)
(_Royal Academy, 1891._)]
One other point of interest and importance to collectors of engravings
and etchings should be mentioned. Within the last few years, an
invention for coating the surface of engraved plates with a film of
steel (which can be renewed as often as necessary) renders the surface
practically indestructible; and it is now possible to print a thousand
impressions from a copper plate without injury or loss of quality. These
modern inventions are no secrets, they have been described repeatedly in
technical journals and in lectures, notably in those delivered during
the past few years at the Society of Arts, and published in the
_Journal_. But the majority of the public, and even many collectors of
prints and etchings, are ignorant of the number of copies which can now
be taken without deterioration from one plate.
It is necessary to the art amateur that he should know something of
these things, if only to explain why it is that scratching on a copper
plate has come so much into vogue in England lately, and why there has
been such a remarkable revival of the art of Duerer at the end of this
century. The reason for the movement will be better understood when it
is explained that by the process just referred to, of "steeling" the
surface of plates, the "burr," as it is called, and the most delicate
lines of the engraver are preserved intact for a much larger number of
impressions than formerly. The taste for etchings and the higher forms
of the reproductive arts is still spreading rapidly, but the fact
remains that etchings and _editions de luxe_ do not reach one person in
a thousand in any civilised community. It is only by means of wood
engravings, and the cheaper and simpler forms of process illustration,
that the public is appealed to pictorially through the press.
[Illustration: LINE PROCESS BLOCK.]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] All the illustrations in this book are produced by mechanical
processes excepting those marked in the List of Illustrations; and
all are printed simultaneously with the letterpress. For description
of processes, see _Appendix_.
[2] One of the last and best examples of pure line-engraving was by
M. Joubert, from a painting by E. J. Poynter, R.A., called
"Atalanta's Race," exhibited in the Royal Academy, 1876. The
engraving of this picture was nearly three years in M. Joubert's
hands--a tardy process in these days.
[Illustration: "GREETING." (BY THE HON. MRS. BOYLE.)]