_THE ENGRAVER'S TASK_--INARTISTIC WORK--CONSTRUCTIVE
ELEMENTS--OUTLINE--EXTRANEOUS MATTER--COMPOSITION--LIGHT
AND SHADE--EXPRESSION--PERSPECTIVE--EXECUTION
"The highest art is undoubtedly that which is simplest and
most perfect, which gives the experience of a lifetime by a
few lines and touches."
=The Engraver's Task.=--Engraving, by whatever process it may be
accomplished, is not by any means a secondary art. Even when it descends
to mere copying, which its commercial associations unfortunately
encourage, it requires for its effective execution exceptional skill,
unremitting patience, and a more than average degree of artistic
feeling. It is almost impossible to appreciate the true value of the
engraver's work without some consideration of the labour it entails.
Each one of the multitudinous lines of an engraving is cut with a
definite purpose and deliberate care, and may be operated upon again and
again to increase the depth or width in various places. Even the dots of
a stipple are not made in that aimless fashion which their appearance
might at first suggest. A mechanical effect is sedulously avoided,
consequently each dot must be cut with scrupulous care, and may require
two or three touches with the graver to produce the desired effect. The
proportionate reduction of pictures for engraving also demands exquisite
skill and accurate draughtsmanship in which the eye and hand of the
artist may be distinctly traced.
Thus, by a laborious yet picturesque and harmonious interpretation
of the artist's creations, the engraver renders their reproduction
possible, widens the sphere of their interest and influence, and in
many instances procures for them a world-wide reputation.
Such an art may be both erudite and comprehensive in its information,
for it is executed with a purposeful patience which omits nothing,
forgets nothing, and maintains a convincing directness of expression.
Outline, light and shade, variety of style and representation of
surfaces, are all within the engraver's control, and a vast diversity of
expression will be requisite for their realisation. It is quite within
his power also to interpret the artist's thoughts as well as imitate
his style, and this involves not only a judicious balancing of tone and
texture, but a knowledge of the principles of art embodied in the
picture--his copy.
=Inartistic Work.=--Owing to an insatiable craving for pictorial
illustration, there is an ever-growing tendency on the part of the
artist engraver to seek after sensational or entertaining effects which
are not artistic productions. Intensely interesting and attractive
they may be, and yet signally deficient in the true elements of fine
art. It is quite possible to make any art popular, however crude its
conception and manifestation may be, so long as its expression is
sufficiently striking or pleasing. Such products of the graver or
brush may be elaborate compositions and effective forms of pictorial
expression, inasmuch as they provide interesting information concerning
past or current events. They may even possess a certain value as
historical records, and yet not manifest that subtle power of suggestive
beauty and intensity of thought which are _prima facie_ evidences of
masterly genius and artistic power. When the energy and skill of
the artist are thus devoted to expressive delineation in place of
artistic completeness, he becomes satisfied with an inferior degree
of excellence, provided only that it pleases; and the result will
almost assuredly be an incomplete, if not vitiated, production.
In these days of invention and advancement, when the resources of
mankind are almost limitless, conditions of life favourable, and
opportunities for the acquirement of knowledge and skill always
abounding, there can surely be no valid excuse for this dead level
mediocrity in the engraver's art,--a result which might possibly arise
from the insiduous fever of display, of notoriety, and of commercialism
which is ever seeking fresh victims in this as in every other phase of
human life and effort.
=Constructive Elements.=--An engraving may be an imitative or
representative interpretation of a picture or drawing in _black_ and
_white_. In such an interpretation, whatever its character may be,
integrity of form is of paramount importance, and essential to the
attainment of any degree of excellence in engraving. It imparts to the
work a distinctive character, and endows it with that delicacy and
precision of execution for which engraving is so justly famous.
=Outline.=--In the early engravings the constructive element consisted
almost entirely of pure outline, which was rarely monotonous, but
frequently suggestive of form and character. Is it not almost
marvellous, this suggestive power of outline, for is it not in reality
but an imaginary boundary? An actual outline is a thing unknown in
nature, and the very fact that it has its existence only in the
imagination of the artist makes our reconciliation to it and our
admiration of it the more wonderful. The astonishing elasticity of the
human imagination makes it quite easy to fill in the details of a
picture if only the outline be sufficiently suggestive. The primary
function of the outline is, of course, to represent; but its secondary
or suggestive purpose is scarcely of less importance, and can only be
fully realised when the imagination is so stimulated as to perceive more
than is actually exhibited. The completeness and truthfulness of the
outline must be an engraver's first point. An art critic once stated
that "He had finished the picture who had finished the outline." To some
extent such a statement may be perfectly true; but just as in elocution,
or even in ordinary conversation, emphasis is requisite, so in pictorial
art the emphasis of concise expression, modulation, and delicate or
vigorous accentuation are equally necessary and effective.
=Extraneous Matter.=--In other words, an artist's ideas may be decisively
portrayed in outline, yet for lack of suitable extraneous matter appear
both crude and impoverished. The amount of characteristic form expressed
by constructive elements in the drawing, other than the outlines, is
strikingly illustrated in old German portrait engravings. They are
simply overflowing with details of the most minute description. Nor can
such details be regarded as altogether superfluous, for they each help
to _build up_ the character of the picture. In portrait engraving a mere
likeness may easily be portrayed by a simple outline. Not so, however,
with character. Considerable amplification will be necessary to show
that; and this, perhaps, is the most difficult task of the engraver--to
introduce a satisfactory amount of essential detail without detracting
in any way from a pleasing general effect in the picture.
=Composition.=--In its broadest sense composition in graphic art refers
to the putting together or combination of the various details into a
pleasing and effective picture. It may comprise--(1) the choice of a
subject; (2) the most effective moment of its representation; (3) the
choice of such circumstantial matter as will best intensify the
interest of the picture, and enhance its artistic value. Nor is one
part much less important than another, for interest in the subject must
necessarily be influenced by effective grouping, and the choice of
harmonious surrounding for both. It is in this that the _finesse_ of
the artist becomes available, and, by clever contrasts and agreeable
combinations, enables him to emphasise the expressive power of his
pictorial art.
=Light and Shade.=--The importance of light and shade in the composition
of a picture is a fact too well established to require much further
recognition here. If skilfully arranged and distributed it may in some
measure compensate for any lack of cohesion in the design, and thus
become a redeeming feature in what would otherwise prove to be an
ineffective composition.
It is chiefly by a dexterous arrangement of light and shade that the
artist engraver can produce a faithful and intelligible translation of
his subject. It adds considerably to the force and vigour of pictures,
and produces effects which please the eye and successfully appeal to
the imagination.
There are, of course, other qualities and conditions which materially
affect the engraver and his work, and these will now be briefly
indicated.
=Expression.=--"Expression is the representation of an object agreeably
to its nature and character, and the use or office it is intended to
have in the work." It is, in fact, the very essence of a picture. Without
it there can be no character, no emotion, and therefore no faithful
delineation.
=Perspective.=--Linear perspective in engraving represents the position
or magnitude of the lines or contour of objects portrayed, and suggests
their diminution in proportion to their distance from the eye.
Aerial perspective, on the other hand, represents the diminution of
colour value of each object as it recedes from the eye. It is, in
reality, a degradation of tone, suggesting the relative distances of
objects. Either may be the direct product of light and shade as well
as of accurate drawing.
=Execution.=--The execution of an engraving admits of almost any degree
of variety--the display of individual skill, and knowledge of technique.
Execution, as the term implies, is the direct result of individual
dexterity; the ability to interpret colour, tone, and texture of a
picture by an arrangement of lines of varying depth and fineness; the
ability also to imitate, or even create, pictorial expression.
The work of the engraver, like many other phases of reproductive art, is
a fruitful source of mannerisms; yet even these will produce excellent
results if they create innovations which will be afterwards approved and
recognised as healthy, independent, and entirely original methods.
[Illustration: Fig. 4.--Modern Wood Engraving.
"An interpretation of tone and texture by an arrangement of lines."
_Block supplied by the London Electrotype Agency Ltd., from the
"Religious Tract Society."_]