anxa 
 
 B9-B 
 
 14772 
 
 EXHIBITION OF PRINTS 
 
 (CLAGIIORN COLLECTION) 
 
 UNDER THE AUSPICES OP 
 
 Cl|£ pHtitsoltWittit ^Ciulcmu nf ll|e jjfltt 3\rts. 
 
 CRITICAL NOTICES 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM J. CLARK, Jr., 
 
 REPRINTED PROM “THE EVENING TELEGRAPH” OP PHILADELPHIA; 
 WITH THE 
 
 OPENING ADDRESS . 
 
 DELIVERED BY . 
 
 W. S. BAKER. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 RUE & JONES, BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS, 
 Nos. 100 and 108 South Third Street. 
 
 1815 . 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2018 with funding from 
 Getty Research Institute 
 
 https://archive.org/details/exhibitionofprin00clar_1 
 
EXHIBITION OF PRINTS 
 
 (CLAGrHORN COLLECTION) 
 
 CEITIOAL NOTICES 
 
 WILLIAM J. CLARK, Jr., 
 
 REPRINTED FROM “THE EVENING TELEGRAPH” OF PHILADELPHIA; 
 
 OPENING ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED BY 
 
 W. S. BAKER. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 RUE & JONES, BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS, 
 Nos. 106 and 108 South Third Street. 
 
 1815 . 
 
DIRECTORS 
 
 OF 
 
 eimaglcanra 
 
 JAMES L. CLAGHORN, President. 
 
 J. GILLINGHAM FELL, 
 ALFRED D. JESSUP, 
 FAIRMAN ROGERS, 
 EDWARD S. OLARKE, 
 HENRY C. GIBSON, 
 
 HENRY G. MORRIS, 
 MATTHEW BAIRD, 
 GEORGE S. PEPPER, 
 CLARENCE H. CLARK, 
 WILLIAM B. BEMENT. 
 
 JOHN SARTAIN, Secretary. 
 
 COMMITTEE. 
 
 JOHN SARTAIN, 
 
 E. S. CLARKE, 
 
 CLARENCE H. CLARK, 
 
 WM. B. BEMENT, 
 
 GEO. R. 
 
 W.S. BAKER, 
 
 OKAS. F. HASELTINE, 
 W. J. CLARK, Jr., 
 JOHN HUNEKER, 
 
 BON FI ELD. 
 
On the 21st of December, 1874, an exhibition of Engravings, Mezzotints 
 and Etchings was opened under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Academy 
 of the Fine Arts, in a structure adjoining the new Academy building in 
 course of erection at the south-west corner of Broad and Cherry Streets. 
 The exhibition is composed of over a thousand sheets, selected from the 
 large and valuable collection of Mr. James L. Claghorn, the President of 
 the Academy, for the purpose of illustrating the history of the art of en¬ 
 graving on metal from the earliest period to the present. The exhibition 
 is much the largest and most imposing of its kind that has ever been held 
 in America, the collection being especially rich in fine impressions from 
 plates executed by the early engravers. The criticisms herewith presented 
 appeared in the Evening Telegraph of Philadelphia, on December 
 22d, 26th and 29th, 1874, and January 2d, 8th, 18th, 19th and 26th, 1875, 
 having been written by Mr. Wm. J. Clarke, Jr., of the editorial staff of that 
 newspaper, and a member of the committee in charge of the exhibition. 
 With these criticisms is also given the address delivered by Mr. W. S. 
 Baker, also of the committee, at the opening of the exhibition. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen: —The labors of the Committee are virtually 
 at an end. This evening, privately, to-morrow, publicly, is opened, 
 under the auspices and for the benefit of “The Pennsylvania Academy 
 of the Fine Arts,” an exhibition of unusual occurrence—an exhibition 
 of engravings (the contribution of a single individual, the President of 
 the Academy), which for variety and extent, rareness of examples and 
 excellence of impressions, has never been equalled in this or any other 
 city of the Union. 
 
 It is the forerunner of what may be expected from that institution in 
 the time to come, which, in changing its material form, is about waking 
 up from the apparent lethargy of the last few years. The Directors are 
 naturally desirous of success—the Committee think it merits it. They 
 ask you, therefore, to supplement their efforts in that direction by the 
 weight of your presence, the enlistment of your sympathies, and the exer¬ 
 tion of your influence. 
 
 As a member of the Committee, I have been requested by the President 
 of the Academy to read a brief paper bearing on the art whose produc¬ 
 tions are here so profusely displayed. 
 
 I speak not as a critic, but rather as a lover, with a feeling of gratitude 
 towards those who, dead, have bequeathed us such a wealth of pleasure 
 and instruction; and to those who, living, are constantly adding to this 
 glorious heritage. 
 
 The proper appreciation and knowledge of an art can be acquired only 
 by the close observation and study of its monuments. Speaking thus in 
 its own natural language—far stronger than the words of the historian— 
 the careful eye of the student can discover all its different phases of origin 
 and development, trace its desires and purposes, and comprehend its fail¬ 
 ures and successes. And accurate perception of its aim, a correct under¬ 
 standing of its progress, a keen appreciation of its efforts to reach the 
 development of its higher qualities, becomes thus a realization—a tangible 
 essence; and the memory, fortified with the vivid impressions thus re¬ 
 ceived, gives to the mind the power of a sound judgment and a healthy 
 discrimination. 
 
— 6 — 
 
 Let us imagine for a moment that the history of modem painting 
 (Italian art) could thus he revealed to us; that on these walls we could 
 find grouped for our observation and study, the works of the representa¬ 
 tive masters of that school, from its revival in the thirteenth century to 
 its culmination and decline in the sixteenth. That we could trace its 
 progress from Giotto, breaking loose from the superstitious reverence of 
 ancient forms, then through the more natural representations of Masaccio, 
 and religious sentiment of Fra Angelico, to the perspective and light 
 and shade of De Vinci, and grandeur of style of Angelo, to its complete 
 development in the color of Titian and Veronese, and form and expression 
 in Raphael. Could this he the case, can we suppose any more complete, 
 more satisfactory history. The volume would lie before us for our own 
 perusal, and the knowledge thus obtained would be decided, comprehen¬ 
 sive and permanent. 
 
 We offer you just such an opportunity to become familiar with the art 
 of engraving, to inquire into its rise, its progress, and its efforts to a 
 perfect development of all its powers. On these wall, awaiting your 
 examination, hangs the history of the art. Here, suspended for more con¬ 
 venient reference, are the productions of the graver from the earliest of 
 material importance down to the present hour. You can trace its progress 
 from the stiff draperies, conventional forms, and exactness of imitation of 
 the early German, through the delicate drawing and finer feeling of the 
 Italian, to the perfect representation and finish of the later schools. The 
 volume is before you, one well worthy of perusal. It will reveal much 
 that is pleasant, much that is instructive. 
 
 I shall not weary you with the oft-told tale of the origin of the practice 
 of taking impressions from engraved metal plates, or retail the many 
 arguments, pro and con, as to the place or the individual. Suffice it to say, 
 that the art has been practiced from time immemorial; but it was not 
 until the middle of tbe fifteenth century,—some say in Italy, others in 
 Germany—that the first impressions from an engraved metal plate were 
 obtained. 
 
 What an important influence has this art exercised on the welfare of 
 mankind 1 In its early history, the interpreter to the people of the Mosaic 
 law; then the chronicler of shining virtues and heroric deeds in monu¬ 
 mental brass; and in its branch of wood engraving, the precursor, nay, 
 the very parent of printing. 
 
— 7 — 
 
 As “the especial hand-maiden of painting,’’ what do we not owe to it! 
 Through its translations, we are brought into contact with the pure minds 
 and earnest devotion of the early painters. Raphael speaks to us in tones 
 of sincere affection, Angelo imparts his grandeur of soul, and Titian 
 reveals the highest type of manhood; while, through its means as an 
 original vehicle of expression, Durer impresses with intensity of thought, 
 and Rembrandt holds us with his mysterious charm of concentrated effect. 
 
 The works of the early German engravers, like their paintings (with 
 a corresponding dexterity of process and accuracy of detail), bear the same 
 formal character and expression; and it is only when we closely observe 
 their intense earnestness of purpose and devotion to truth that we become 
 impressed with them. It is then we find that, offering no allurement to 
 the senses, no appeal to the merely beautiful, they speak in a language 
 that reaches the soul—universal, penetrating. These impressions are 
 beautifully conveyed in the following words, which, although written on 
 the works of the painters, may be equally applied to the labors of the 
 early engravers:— 
 
 “On entering the rooms, you are met by a set of still' figures, with 
 fixed gaze, rigid posture, long hands, and graceless drapery, with gold 
 skies behind their heads, and little, stiff sprigs at their feet, whom at first 
 sight you condemn as equally devoid of life, expression or truth. But 
 wait a while. A strange charm is coming over you. You feel that these 
 passionless figures are attracting you with a mysterious fascination—that 
 they are telling you in an language addressed, not to the organs of sense, 
 but to the perception of the spirit, that they were conceived, it is true, at 
 a period when art offered no blandishment to the eye, nor scarce materials 
 for the hand, but that which is her highest aim and object—that which 
 was especially committed to them, the idea —has been more safely pre¬ 
 served in their starch keeping than in the softer outline, freer touch, and 
 looser fold of a subsequent age. They tell you that they have none of the 
 pride of life, nor lust of the eye, to attract a roving gaze, or to fix a 
 careless mind, but that their faith is genuine, their love pure, and their 
 devotion intense; in short, that it is not their fault, but yours, if you are 
 of fouler eyes than to behold their deep meaning. 
 
 “They tell you also a valuable truth, viz: that spiritual beauties will 
 always overcome earthly defects. You see a virgin on a gold ground 
 holding a child no bigger than a doll, but you forget all considerations of 
 disproportion, in that angelic expression of maternal tenderness, which 
 gains upon you the longer you look. You come to an apostle standing by 
 
—8 
 
 a crucifixion. He is at least eight feet high, with hands in proportion; but 
 the truth is in him—the inspiration to preach it and the courage to die 
 for it. 
 
 “By this time, too, you begin to discover many technical beauties. 
 Though the trees in the background be like cabbages, and the figures in 
 the foreground like wooden images, yet there is more air in their skies, 
 and more blood in their veins, than in the whole Dusseldorf school put 
 together. The execution is exquisite, the colors tender, the shadows trans¬ 
 parent; while finished with a minutia which claims the eye, and even the 
 microscope, to the remotest corner, yet, by a certain artless straight¬ 
 forwardness of arrangement, concentrating the attention on the principal 
 part.” 
 
 Of this type are t'he .works of Martin Schongauer—the head of the 
 German School of Engraving—an example: “The Adoration of the 
 Kings,”—No. 1 of Catalogue—bearing out completely the words just 
 repeated. The sterling honesty of the period is expressed by the exact 
 drawing and patient handling of the graver, while the religious sentiment 
 is conveyed through the devotional character imparted to the heads and 
 attitudes of the different figures. 
 
 A little later in time comes Israel Yon Mencken, still more stiff and 
 defective in drawing, and more quaint in design, and we might at first 
 glance easily pass “The Death of the Virgin,”—No. 3. “But wait 
 a while ! A strange charm is coming over you.” The eye softens; the stiff 
 drawing passes away; the harsh folds of the drapery disappear; now the 
 heart warms up; the regularity of feature and sameness of expression are 
 clothed with spiritual character and truth, and we are touched, deeply 
 touched, with the earnestness of purpose and fulness of sincerity so 
 completely conveyed. 
 
 In art, as in history or in literature, there are always some names, the 
 mere mention of which at once arrest attention and increase expectancy- 
 In German art that name is Durer—Albrecht Durer, of Nurnberg, the 
 master engraver of his time—indeed, of any time. 
 
 The character of the man is written in his works. Simple, painstaking, 
 thoughtful, earnest and conscientious, he appeals not to the eye, but to the 
 mind. Marvellous in execution and accuracy of detail (he was the first to 
 carefully render the texture of substances), his engravings show the first 
 breaking away from the conventional forms of the previous period. 
 Origit^l in thought, feeling and execution, yet full of that same old devo¬ 
 tional intensity, so closely identified witli the early German mind and art. 
 
— 9 — 
 
 They interest, not merely from mechanical dexterity and close imitation 
 (although in these qualities wonderful enough), but from something above 
 and beyond all this; they are replete with earnest thought and deep 
 meaning, not always, however, easy to reach, yet still it is there. 
 
 Take for example the print called “The Knight Death and the Devil,” 
 dated 1513, No. 27 of Catalogue. At first sight, it appears to represent a 
 mounted knight clad in full armour passing through a close and dangerous 
 defile, beset by perils of no ordinary character. Is it simply this ? Is it 
 simply a perfectly finished picture of a man and horse, and an expression 
 of the fantastic element of his art ? Is it an exhibition of the handicraft of 
 an engraver? Not thus it must be read! Is it not rather an exponent 
 of the times ? The minds of men were being agitated ; thought was 
 disturbed ; the great question of the sixteenth century was looming up, 
 and we can imagine Durer brooding over the doubts and despairs arising 
 and distracting his soul, until they found expression in his art. It is the 
 type of a Christian hero filled with a strong sense of duty, fully resolved 
 on his course, his mind steadfastly fixed to the end, neither looking to the 
 right nor left, heeding not the wiles of the devil, nor dreading the terrors 
 of death. The stern visage, the firm seat, the determined grasp of the 
 bridle-hand, and the steady tramp of the horse, are all most significant 
 of the life of a true Christian knight—the Knight of the Reformation,—and 
 w T e cannot look at this print without entering into the feelings that con¬ 
 ceived it, and being carried back into those times so pregnant with 
 thought and the breaking away of the mists of superstition and the abuses 
 of the early church; and insensibly the grand old Lutheran Hymn—“Ein 
 feste Burg ist unser Gott ”—comes surging up into our minds and hearts. 
 
 All the works of. Durer bear the same character of excellence of 
 execution, depth of meaning and devotional feeling. His virgins are 
 motherly and tender, his saints are earnest in their self-denial, and his 
 cavaliers and ladies are just as earnest in their loves. 
 
 Hours could be profitably employed in speaking of Durer and his works, 
 but we must proceed with our rapid resume of the master spirits of the 
 burin, and turn for a while to those of Italy, in whose works we find a 
 closer attention to and appreciation of the graceful and the beautiful, with 
 a corresponding refining and softening tendency. 
 
 The parallel between the early Italian and German engravers may be 
 drawn as follows: The former are the exponents of the imagination, the 
 latter of the intellect—one oratory, the other philosophy. Beauty, grace 
 and refinement, united to purity of outline and drawing, and appropriate 
 
10 - 
 
 expression, designate the Italians, while the Germans, although stiff and 
 Gothic in drawing and disposition of draperies, and displaying little 
 knowledge of the human figure, reveal everywhere deep thought and 
 sincerity of purpose, appealing at once and strongly to the intellect. Each 
 powerful in their way—each characteristic of the different nationalities; 
 and the well-balanced judgment recognizes the importance of both without 
 any desire of combining them; for if such were possible, their respective 
 qualities would be destroyed, neither imagination nor intellect would be 
 satisfied. 
 
 That which in Schongauer is Gothic and dry, becomes in Mantegna— 
 the first Italian painter of note to engrave his own designs—classic and 
 statuesque, arising from top close an adherence to the antique. This, 
 while imparting grandeur, is just that departure from the truth of nature 
 which attracts us so strongly and with a certain home-like feeling in the 
 works of the former. 
 
 Mantegna is majestic rather than graceful, and imposes more by vigor 
 of drawing and peculiarity of execution (eminently' adapted to his style) 
 than by elegance of contour and beauty of expression. We must go a step 
 further to find the true exponent of Italian art—one whose wonderful 
 powers of adaptation place him on a level almost with the original 
 designer. It is Marc Antonio Raimondi, the head of the Roman School of 
 Engravers, termed by Cumberland “ The Prince of Engravers. ” 
 
 Raimondi’s sympathy with the elevated thought and refined expression 
 of Raphael, is so marked that it has given rise to the supposition that the 
 hand of that master corrected his outline and imparted some of his own in¬ 
 spiration to the plate. Born at Bologna, where he followed the craft of a 
 goldsmith, he journeyed to Rome, and his print of “ Lucretia Stabbing 
 Herself,” coming under the notice of Raphael, determined that artist to 
 secure his services. His style was formed ; his career was established. 
 His engravings, reproductions of drawings only, were from that time 
 made and printed under the advice and supervision of Raphael, and for 
 purity' of outline and intelligence of translation have rarely, if ever, been 
 equalled. Form and expressions, the elements of Italian art, first found 
 in him their fitting exponent on the metal. 
 
 Many' eminent engravers studied under him, of whom two—Agostino 
 Veneziano and Marco Da Ravenna—approached most nearly to the 
 master's style. Their merits are sufficiently' proved, in as much that 
 their works are sometimes taken for his. 
 
 Aerial perspective, hitherto neglected, now makes its appearance in the 
 
—11 
 
 productions of Lucas Van Leyden, the Dutch contemporary of Durer and 
 Marc Antonio. The tender handling of this distinguished engraver 
 peculiarly fitted him to give those delicate gradations of distance which 
 furnish ideas of space and air. He practiced the art at an early period of 
 life, one of his most important plates, the “ Ecce Homo,” No. 65 of Cata¬ 
 logue, being executed at the age of sixteen. Careful in drawing, exact in 
 his markings, his works are much prized; but from his delicate manner 
 of using the graver (the plates wearing early) good impressions are 
 extremely scarce, and in those only can his qualities be discerned. 
 
 A century later, Cornelius Blo'emart harmonizes the effect by an insen¬ 
 sible gradation from the lights to the darks, and the Flemish school under 
 Bolswert, guided by Rubens, inaugurates, by skilfully disposed strokes of 
 the graver, the rendering of color. And here it is interesting to note the 
 connection of the two painters, Raphael and Rubens, with the art of 
 engraving, and how fully they must have been aware of its future im¬ 
 portance and influence in extending and perpetuating a knowledge of 
 their works. 
 
 In each case what a remarkable triumvirate of translators. On the one 
 hand, Marc Antonio, Agostino Yeneziano and Marco Da Ravenna, in full 
 sympathy and accord with the head of the Roman school, anxious not to 
 display their talents, but to convey the art of the great master of form and 
 expression; while, on the other, Bolswert, Pontius and Yorsterman, fully 
 imbued with the vigor and color of the Flemish painter, are equally 
 solicitous in forgetting themselves while rendering the characteristics of 
 their master. 
 
 Thus their names come to us ; the former linked forever with that of 
 Raphael; the latter inseparably joined with that of Rubens. 
 
 Our chain is complete. The art of engraving is carried to its limits. 
 Durer gives us light and shade and variety of substances ; Leyden indi¬ 
 cates aerial perspective ; Marc Antonio style, drawing and expression; 
 Bloemart, harmony; and the Rubens’ school inaugurates a sense of color. 
 All succeeding work is but a choice of method, a successful carrying out 
 of these principles, by the individual taste and powers of expression of 
 its followers. 
 
 Now engraving becomes a profession ; its disciples, no longer authors, 
 are translators from one language ot art into another. In no sense can 
 their works be called copies. The true engraver, if left to his own predi¬ 
 lections—thoroughly prepared with all the minutia of his calling—repro¬ 
 duces that only with which he is in sympathy, the art which he feels, the 
 
— 12 
 
 works which impress him. He knows, with his painter, that art is not 
 imitation, hut the expression of a thought, of a sentiment; he seeks for the 
 idea, studies the style, and identifies himself with his original. 
 
 He translates that idea, renders that style, and loses himself in his 
 reproduction. The great work of the painter—single, exclusive—passing 
 through his hands, becomes the property of all; gentle and simple are 
 alike affected—cultivated and uncultivated equally impressed. 
 
 In the broad line and vigorous handling of Sharp, how admirably the 
 dignity of portraiture is carried out; while Nanteuil, in his own original 
 manner, conveys the more delicate indications of this branch of painting. 
 
 Then take the pride and panoply of representation as exhibited by the 
 French painters of the seventeenth century, w r hen engraving also took 
 upon itself all the “pomp and circumstance” of the time, and the imita¬ 
 tion of stuft's, the texture of substances, the polish and finish of the art, 
 may be said to have been carried to its utmost limits. 
 
 How consummate, in the works of Drevet (father and son), is the 
 rendering of laces, silks, furs and metals—all textures, in fact,—and given 
 with such exquisite taste and skill that the most fastidious eye rests on 
 them with delight and gratification. 
 
 Then again, in the later Italian school, how Longhi, Morghen, Ander- 
 loni and Toschi, fully armed in all the resources of the art, throw into 
 their works the tenderness of Raphael and the soft graces of Correggio; 
 while the English, Strange, indicates the delicacy of flesh tints, and 
 Woollett enchants with his aerial perspective. 
 
 Many engravers, finding their prototypes, have given themselves almost 
 entirely to the translation of some particular painter. In this list may 
 be included the distinguished French engraver Desnoyers, baron by 
 virtue of his abilities. 
 
 The most esteemed works of this engraver are those after the Holy 
 Families of Raphael, and in his talent for translating the purity of ex¬ 
 pression and excellence of drawing of that master, he may not inaptly 
 be termed the modern Marc Antonio. 
 
 Ilis plate of “La Vierge de la Maison d’Albe,” engraved in 1827, 
 may be cited as a striking example of his powers, both as am engraver 
 and translator of the delicacy and refinement of the master. Fine in 
 drawing and natural in expression, the engraver, by a judicious man¬ 
 agement of line, has preserved all the breadth, simplicity and charm of 
 the original; and this work alone entitles him to be called a great artist. 
 
 My remarks have necessarily been restricted to line engraving, any con- 
 
—13 — 
 
 sideration of mezzotinto, many splendid examples of which are exhibited, 
 being out of the question; while the light, graceful and captivating branch 
 of etching practiced by many eminent painters, would form a subject 
 of itself. Specimens of all the important productions of the acid and point 
 are here for inspection, making one of the most interesting features of 
 the exhibition. 
 
 Rembrandt, the representative of the art, is largely presented in early 
 impressions and characteristic work; while Claude, Ostade, Potter,— 
 indeed, all the etchers of the different schools, including the French 
 painters of the day—are faithfully shown. 
 
 But I must pause. There is a limit to patience. ‘“The wonders of en¬ 
 graving” are before you. They will speak for themselves, in their own 
 natural language—quiet but impressive, silent but eloquent. 
 
 In closing, let me repeat the follow T ing graceful tribute (from the pen 
 of Charles Dudley Warner) to the cheering, educating and refining 
 influences of the art of engraving. The print referred to is in the col¬ 
 lection. The picture, “The Return of the Mayflower,” by George H. 
 Boughton, is owned by a gentleman of this city 
 
 “ The artist, in the retirement of his studio, finishes a charming, sug¬ 
 gestive, historical picture. It is purchased and hung in the library or 
 saloon where the privileged few can see it. I do not deny that the 
 average owner needs all the refining influence the picture can exert on 
 him, and that the picture is doing missionary work in his house ; but it 
 is nevertheless an example of an educating influence withdrawn and 
 appropriated to narrow uses. But the engraver comes, and by his mediat¬ 
 ing art transfers it to a thousand sheets, and scatters its sweet influence 
 far and abroad. All the world, in its toil, its hunger, its sordidness, pauses 
 a moment to look on it—that gray seacoast; the receding Mayflower ; the 
 two young pilgrims in the foreground regarding it with tender thoughts of 
 the far home. All the world looks on it, perhaps for a moment thought¬ 
 fully, perhaps tearfully, and is touched with the sentiment of it;—is 
 kindled into a glow of nobleness by the sight of that faith, and love, and 
 resolute devotion, which have tinged our early history with the faint 
 light of romance. So art is no longer the enjoyment of the few, but the 
 help and solace of the many.” 
 
CRITICAL NOTICES. 
 
 i. 
 
 The large structure on Broad Street, below Cherry, adjoining the new 
 Academy of the Fine Arts, in which the politicians were wont during 
 many seasons past tfi meet the always imminent crisis with furious 
 outpourings of verbal patriotism, has been dedicated to other and very 
 different uses. The genius of the line arts has driven the political 
 spouter from his platform, and the Wigwam has been transformed into a 
 gallery for the exhibition of the works of men whose silent influences are 
 perhaps more potent for the reason that they are silent, and that they 
 speak to the soul and to the intelligence through the medium of a 
 voiceless hut universal language. The Directors of the Academy of the 
 Fine Arts, having purchased the large lot adjoining their new building on 
 the south, it was determined to utilize the structure standing upon it for 
 the purpose of an exhibition which would be at once interesting, instruc 
 tive and of importance as a prelude to the formal dedication of the 
 magnificent edifice now approaching completion; an edifice which will be 
 both a fine art museum and a school for the thorough education of artists 
 superior to any in America. 
 
 Many of our readers will recollect the engravings exhibited at the Union 
 League last season. These were selected with care and judgment from 
 the large and valuable collection of Mr. James L. Claghorn, the Presi¬ 
 dent of the Academy of the Fine Arts, and they formed much the most 
 interesting feature of the exhibition held under the auspices of the League. 
 As the selection was a representative one, covering the whole history of 
 the engraver’s art, so far as was practicable within the space at command, 
 the display excited much enthusiasm, not only in this, but in other cities, 
 and its importance was fully acknowledged by those most competent to 
 judge of its merits. The works were afterwards exhibited in Boston and 
 in Brooklyn, and then in Cincinnati, -where they attracted a great deal of 
 attention; and so lively an interest appeared to be excited with regard to 
 them that it was determined to arrange a very much more elaborate dis¬ 
 play, which would be as complete in all its departments as a cai'eful selec¬ 
 tion from the treasures of a most valuable collection could possiblj - make 
 
— 15 — 
 
 it. The interior of the Wigwam was therefore arranged hy the construc¬ 
 tion of a number of large screens, by the introduction of lighting and’ 
 heating apparatus, and other alterations; and for several weeks a committee 
 of gentlemen, composed of Directors of the Academy of Fine Arts, and art 
 connoisseurs not connected with that institution, were busily engaged in 
 selecting the prints, and in hanging them in their appropriate places on 
 the walls. The exhibition opened with a private view on December 20, 
 1874, at which the prints were viewed by a large number of invited guests 
 —nearly two thousand persons being present—and a formal opening was 
 made hy the delivery of an address by Mr. W. S. Baker—a member of the 
 committee who has made a special study of engravings—in which the 
 artistic progress of the art was briefly but ably reviewed. 
 
 In some respects, engravings are better understood and appreciated than 
 any other class'of art works. Hundreds of people who cannot, or who 
 think they cannot, afford to buy original paintings, decorate their homes 
 with engravings; and it is one of the commonplaces of art culture that a 
 good engraving is far better worth having than a bad painting. Engrav¬ 
 ing, as a fine art—for it is a fine art—is, however, scarcely appreciated 
 at its true value. Apart altogether from the subjects, there are hun¬ 
 dreds of prints in the thousand or more in the exhibition now under re¬ 
 view, which are exceedingly interesting on account of their high techni¬ 
 cal qualities, or on account of the place which they hold in the history of 
 the art. This should be borne in mind by persons visiting the exhibition, 
 for no such opportunity as the present one has ever been offered in 
 America for the study of the different schools of engraving or for an 
 analysis of the styles of the individual artists. 
 
 The great importance of engravings, however, is in the fact that by 
 means of them we are able to study and enjoy the works of the great 
 masters; for, until the discovery of photography, it was only through the 
 engraved copies that a vast majority of us were able to know anything of 
 priceless masterpieces of ancient and modern art preserved with jealous 
 care in the museums and in the private collections of Europe. But pho¬ 
 tography, valuable as it is as a means of reproduction, cannot supercede 
 engraving; for a fine impression from a steel or copper plate has qualities 
 which are not to be found in the very best photographs. It is impossible 
 to overestimate the importance of an art like this, that finds its way 
 into every household, and that exerts so potent an influence on the educa¬ 
 tion of the taste of the masses. It would he simply an impossibility to get 
 together in this city, or in this countrjq a collection of paintings which 
 
— 16 — 
 
 would remotely approximate in completeness—or in its representative 
 character—to the collection of engravings which the public are now invited 
 to inspect. The exhibition is especially rich in very fine impressions from 
 some of the most celebrated plates executed by Albrecht Durer, Lucas 
 Van Leyden, Rembrandt, and other artists of the first rank, and this alone 
 entitles it to the consideration of connoisseurs. We recommend our 
 readers to visit this exhibition, in order that they may judge for themselves 
 of its character; and we promise that they will find abundant edification 
 and entertainment in the careful study of the many beautiful works 
 of which it is composed. It is proper we should state that, as the exhi¬ 
 bition is held under the auspices of the Academy of the Fine Arts, so the 
 proceeds will go into the treasury of that institution for the purpose of 
 aiding the speedy completion of the new building. This is a matter in 
 which all educated persons who can appreciate the value of art culture 
 and the refining and elevating influences which an Academy of the Fine 
 Arts must exert, are interested, and the exhibition should be liberally 
 patronized for this reason, if no other. 
 
 II. 
 
 The exhibition is very rich in fine impressions from plates by the early 
 masters. These quaint and often ugly prints are not likely to be as attrac¬ 
 tive to many persons as some of the impressions from elaborately-finished 
 plates by modern engravers. They are, however, in reality the most inter¬ 
 esting features of the exhibition, as those who study them carefully will 
 speedily discover. In the “Adoration of the Kings” and the “Christ 
 before the High Priest,” by Martin Schongauer, we see the engraver's 
 art in its infancy. It is a robust infancy, however; for crude as these 
 works may be, they are full of feeling and power, and they are a fitting 
 prelude to the manly work of Albrecht Durer in the latter part of the same 
 century. Both of these impressions from Scliongauer’s plates are good, 
 the first-named especially, being an early one in admirable condition. After 
 Schongauer, of the German school, come Israel Von Mencken and A. 
 Stockenden, the first represented by the “The Death of the Virgin” and 
 “ Judith with the Head of Holofernes ”—both very fine impressions—and 
 the second by “Christ before Pilate” and “La Descente aux Limbes.” 
 In all of these engravings we see talent of a high order struggling with 
 imperfect knowledge of what at the present day are considered the simplest 
 
-IT- 
 
 artistic principles. The drawing is crude, and there is little knowledge 
 of perspective'or of light and shade. The artists had not yet learned to 
 see nature except in her most superficial aspects, hut they had ideas, and 
 profound religious feelings, and repulsive as their work is at a first glance, 
 its evident sincerity speedily impresses the spectator, and he finds in the 
 quaint, ugly designs a peculiar charm that is absent from many of the 
 more finished works of the collection. These men put their souls into 
 their labor, and there is an inspiration in their treatment of religious 
 themes especially, that is irresistibly fascinating. 
 
 Of the Germans, next comes Albrecht Durer, a reverend name, which 
 cannot be mentioned with too much honor. We have in him one of the 
 finest artistic geniuses that ever lived, and as the opportunity afforded by 
 the present exhibition for a critical study of his works is a very rare one, 
 artists and lovers of art should avail themselves of it to the utmost. 
 
 The collection of prints by Durer numbers fifty-eight, and although we 
 miss some of his most celebrated and characteristic performances—the 
 ‘•Melancholy,” for instance—it is a very complete exposition of his various 
 styles and of his artistic progress. The sixteen small plates, representing 
 •“The Passion of our Lord,” are worthy of many hours study in them¬ 
 selves. These are all brilliant early impressions, and each plate is a perfect 
 jewel, both in design and execution. It is singular how like and yet how 
 unlike the figure of Christ in these prints is to that ideal which the works 
 of the Italian masters have succeeded in establishing. There is a sugges¬ 
 tion of the Christ of Raphael and Leonardo De Yinci in all of these plates, 
 but the figures, while not so gaunt and meagre as in the works of other * 
 
 early German artists, suggest more of our common humanity than do the 
 representations of Christ by the Italian artists. It is evident that the men 
 of the cold Horth, where life was a hard, severe struggle, and a constant 
 conflict with stern realities, read the New Testament story from a different 
 standpoint from that of the people born under the sunny skies of Italy. 
 
 They knew what the pangs of poverty were, and witli them Christ was the 
 poor man’s friend; and in attempting his representation they had no 
 thought of that graceful idealization by which the southern artists attempted 
 to suggest something superhuman—tliey only aimed at depicting a man 
 of sorrow and acquainted with grief. There is something profoundly 
 pathetic in some of Durer’s representations of Christ in this beautiful series 
 of plates, and it is impossible not to be impressed with the idea that the 
 German artist, severe and labored, with a crude, hard, unformed style, has 
 
 given his work a noble quality which we find lacking in that of his great 
 ‘2 
 
18 — 
 
 Italian contemporaries. These plates are among the most finely finished 
 of any that were engraved by the hand of Durer. The draperies are 
 hard and stiff, as in all of his works, but they are studied with astonishing 
 accuracy, and every fold in the texture of a garment is delineated with an 
 artistic fidelity that esteemed nothing that was to be done unimportant, or 
 of so little consequence that it could be slighted. Some of the figures are 
 exceedingly curious. Take, for instance, that of the High Priest in the 
 act of rending his garments. Here we have a stout well-fed fifteenth 
 century abbot or bishop delineated to the life. The expression of wrath, 
 indignation and astonishment in the face of this flabby old gentleman 
 would be absolutely comical, were not the subject so serious a one, or 
 were the artist less evidently in earnest. In the plate representing Pilate 
 washing his hands, the attendant who is holding the basin is a remarkable 
 bit of grotesque character-drawing. This spruce, well-clothed lackey, 
 with his huge chin, his sensual mouth, his little pug nose, full of the im¬ 
 portance of his position as a prominent figure for the moment on a great 
 public occasion, as well as of his importance as the personal attendant 
 of the great man of the day, is as striking a delineation as any in the 
 whole series. We would call especial attention to the exquisite manner 
 in which the hands of Pilate in this plate are drawn. Fine drawing in 
 the hands and feet is one of the tests of artistic excellence; and not only 
 are these particular hands beautifully drawn, but the action of washing 
 is expressed with singular refinement and delicacy. Indeed, in all of 
 Durer’s representations of the human figure, the hands and feet are deline¬ 
 ated with wonderful skill. This is a point which persons commencing to 
 * study his works will do well to notice with particularity. 
 
 Scarcely less interesting than the Passion plates, is the series of twenty 
 wood-cuts representing the “Life of the Virgin.” The female figures in 
 these cuts—especially those of the Virgin—are very quaint, but they are 
 nearly all very beautiful, and, like the representations of Christ to which 
 we have referred, they are even more suggestive than the more graceful 
 performances of artists who were Durer’s superiors in technique. There is 
 a peculiar charm about all of Durer’s Madonnas. Take, for example, the 
 beautiful little print of “The Virgin Crowned by an Angel,”—No. 14 
 of the Catalogue. Here the artist has taken for a model a plump, round- 
 faced, blue-eyed, flaxen-haired little Nuremberg damsel, 
 
 “ A creature not too bright or good 
 For human nature’s daily food 
 
 but he has contrived to express in the bright, happy face a virginal purity 
 
19 — 
 
 that is as lovely in its way as the awe and wonderment of the Italian 
 peasant girl balancing herself on the clouds, amidst a choir of cheru¬ 
 bim, between Pope Sixtus and Saint Barbara, in Raphael’s “ Sistine 
 Madonna.” 
 
 In concluding this very imperfect review of the works of Durer in the 
 exhibition, we would invite our readers to critically examine “The Knight 
 and Death,’’ No. 27; the ‘‘St. Hubert,” No. 20; and the “‘Great’ 
 Fortune,” No. 24. The first-named is one of Durer’s most famous works, 
 and this particular impression is a very brilliant one. The second is the 
 largest plate ever engraved by the artist, and it has a high reputation with 
 connoisseurs, both on account of the treatment of the subject and the 
 mechanical execution. The “• Great’ Fortune ” is a very peculiar and a 
 very characteristic performance, the landscape especially being elaborated 
 in Durer’s best manner. 
 
 Apart from their intrinsic merit, these plates are most interesting as 
 showing the efforts, in the face of enormous difficulties, of a great artistic 
 genius to give adequate expression to the ideas which crowded his brain. 
 It is plainly to be seen that Durer’s progress was slow, laborious and painful. 
 He had to originate his own methods, to discover for himself many of the 
 elementary principles of drawing, perspective, light and shade, and com¬ 
 position, and his whole career was a course of self-education in matters 
 that students of art of the present day are expected to learn before they 
 can be qualified to produce works that will be worthy of notice. What 
 enormous strides Durer made is indicated in his print of “ St. Jerome 
 Reading.” There is no impression from the original plate in this exhi¬ 
 bition, but there is a very admirable copy (No. Ill on the Catalogue), 
 executed by Jerome Wierix at the age of thirteen. In this the artist ad¬ 
 vanced at one step from mere outlines and suggestions of light and shade 
 to a complete composition, the chiaro-oscuro of which is all but perfect. It 
 is scarcely possible at the present day to appreciate the effort which was 
 needed to achieve such a result as this, or to properly credit the artist for 
 the amount of physical and intellectual labor bestowed upon the achieve¬ 
 ment. But the story of Durer’s life is the story of noble intellectual effort 
 in a noble cause, and his artistic life, as exemplified in his works, is full of 
 instruction not only for artists, but for all who wish to understand the 
 secret of success and enduring reputation in other things as well as 
 in art. 
 
— 20 — 
 
 III. 
 
 Apart altogether from any other consideration, the exhibition is interest¬ 
 ing on account of the opportunities it affords for comparing different 
 schools of art during their periods of development. In some respects, the 
 first efforts of the German and the Italian engravers are very curiously 
 alike, but it is apparent at a glance that different inspirations operated 
 in Germany and in Italy to produce the results we have before us. In 
 both countries art had its origin in religion, and the works of the artists 
 of the South, as well as of the North, are for the most part religious in 
 subject and are prompted by a profound religious sentiment. In Italy, 
 however, classic influences were at work at a time when the Germans 
 were laboring to express their own ideas in their own way, without 
 regard to what other men had done before them; and these influences, 
 it is plainly to be seen, were depressing in some particulars, while they 
 were stimulating in others. In the two plates by Andrea Mantegna, the 
 earliest Italian engraver represented in this exhibition,—“The Flagella¬ 
 tion ” and “The Combat of Marine Gods,”—the classic influence is 
 strongly marked. Certain technical qualities were apparently of more 
 importance to the artist than the sentiment to be expressed by his design. 
 His figure-drawing is simpler and bolder, his composition graceful and 
 more purely conventional, and his style of wielding the graver more firm 
 and vigoi'ous than in the contemporary German work. The same qualities 
 are observable in the two prints by Robetta—“The Adoration of the Kings’ ’ 
 and “ A Man Fastened to a Tree by Love.” These are both very quaint 
 and very characteristic works, the nude human figure evidently having an 
 attraction as an object of study for the Italian artist which it did not have 
 for the German; and badly drawn and queer as the nude figures in the 
 engravings by Mantegna and Robetta are, there is an appreciation of the 
 refinements of form which we do not find in the works of even so able a 
 man as Durer, although that great artist evidently understood the value of 
 the study of the nude, and labored hard to educate himself by means of it. 
 
 From Mantegna and Robetta to Marc Antonio Raimondi and his pupils, 
 —Marco da Ravenna and Agostino de Veneziano,—is a great advance, but 
 not so great a one as might at first be supposed. Marc Antonio improved 
 and perfected the art of engraving in many important particulars, but his 
 style was based upon that of his predecessors, and like theirs was indebted. 
 
— 21 — 
 
 for many of its most striking peculiarities, to the classic influences which 
 uever quite died out in Italy, and which aided so materially the artitstic 
 renaissance which culminated in the stupendous performances of Michael 
 Angelo and Raphael. Marc Antonio was a pupil of Raphael, and a large 
 proportion of the plates engraved by him are from drawings made by that 
 master. His plates, engraved from Raphael’s designs, are very interesting 
 as specimens of that artist’s style and as independent interpretations of it 
 by a man of kindred genius. Most of Marc Antonio’s engravings were 
 from rapid sketches made by Raphael for his use, the form and the distri¬ 
 bution of light and shade being scarcely more than indicated, and the 
 symmetrical elaboration of the design being left to the engraver. This 
 style of working was one of the customs of the time, the master artist pre¬ 
 paring the studies for his pictures, and then entrusting all but the most 
 delicate portions to pupils, who drew or painted immediately under his eye 
 and according to his direction. Among the nine engravings by Marc 
 Antonio, five are after Raphael, and they are all stamped unmistakably with 
 the impress of Raphael’s genius. No. 41 of the Catalogue, for instance, 
 which is not after Raphael, is decidedly Germanesque in treatment, 
 although it lacks much of that careful exactness and attention to detail 
 which is to be found in contemporary German work; and it is interesting 
 to compare it with the severe simplicity and the artistic refinement of 
 No. 89, “La Vierge a l’Escalier,” or No. 44, “The Two Sibyls with 
 the Zodiac.” There is some curious bad drawing in nearly all of these 
 plates, for which Raphael was probably quite as responsible as his engraver. 
 The sketches and studies of this great artist—a large number of which 
 have been reproduced by Braun’s autotype process—sometimes exhibit 
 queer crudities in drawing in spite of their general high order of excel¬ 
 lence, and the probabilities are that the engraver did not sufficiently refine 
 upon his originals. Apart, however, from the drawing, it is delightful to 
 notice how well the engraver understood his own particular art. with what 
 a sure and firm hand he guided his graver, and with rvhat simplicity of 
 method he achieved all he aimed at. With such results as were arrived at 
 by Marc Antonio’s genius, the rudiments of the art of engraving were 
 resolved into a system, and his successors had a comparatively easy task 
 before them in perfecting the different styles, which are represented by im¬ 
 mense numbers of modern works which compose the bulk of this ex¬ 
 hibition. 
 
 Marc Antonio’s pupils, Marco da Ravenna and Agostino de Veneziano, 
 engraved after his method, and in some particulars improved on his style. 
 
_ 22 _ 
 
 There are in the exhibition three prints by the first-named and eight by 
 the second, most of which are either after Raphael or after the antique. 
 The most interesting of the series is a large, elaborately finished and 
 finely executed plate by Agostino—Iso. 52 of the Catalogue—representing 
 four young men conducting a sorceress in triumphal procession on the 
 skeleton of a monstrous animal, called “Le Stregozza.” 
 
 In connection with these engravings by Marc Antonio and his pupils, 
 the visitor should examine the plates by Giulio Bonasone, after Titian and 
 Michael Angelo; those by Caraglio, after Titian and Jac. Yeronensis; the 
 heads of six Roman Emperors, by C. Reverdinus; and “The Fall of 
 Phaeton,” Ho. 89, after Michael Angelo, by Nicholas Beatrizet, all of 
 which are of the school of Marc Antonio. 
 
 Of the Hortliern engravers of the same period—the close of the fifteenth 
 and the beginning of the sixteenth century—the Dutchman, Lucas Yan 
 Leyden, was indisputably the greatest. There are nine impressions from 
 plates by this master in the exhibition, including his “Ecce Homo,” an 
 elaborate and beautiful work, engraved at the early age of sixteen. This 
 is a very quaint study of a Netherlandish town, with its homely, matter-of- 
 fact people introduced as the witnesses of a scene which the artist evidently 
 had not imagination or information enough to represent as occurring ex¬ 
 cept amidst surroundings such as he himself was accustomed to. In this he 
 but followed the usual custom of the Northern artists, who, with great sim¬ 
 plicity, took the New Testament story home to themselves, and saw types 
 of the old Scribes and Pharisees and other objectionable Judaeans in the 
 people around them. This plate is a really wonderful performance for a boy 
 of sixteen, and, after studying it, we are better prepared to appreciate the 
 great beauties of the other plates executed by Yan Leyden at a more mature 
 age. These, with four exceptions, are Scriptural subjects, and only one, 
 “Pyramus and Thisbe,” No. 67, is classic in its inspiration; and it is im¬ 
 possible to speak in too high terms of the exquisite manner in which they 
 are executed. “The Virgin Attended by Two Angels,” No. 63, is a very 
 coarse, homely Dutch frau, with scarcely a trace of the peculiar refined 
 sentiment which is observable in nearly all of Durer’s Madonnas, and the 
 angels were evidently fed upon pork and sauer-kraut rather than upon 
 more celestial viands. The simple earnestness of the work, however, 
 makes it respectable despite its coarseness, while as a specimen of delicate 
 manipulation, it is beyond all praise. It is worth while to notice, in com¬ 
 paring the Yan Leyden with the Durer series, to note how the Dutch 
 artist improves upon the drawing of the great German. There is just a 
 
— 28 
 
 trace of Durer’s stiffness in these draperies, but otherwise they are more 
 artistically disposed, are quite as exactly but more gracefully rendered, 
 and the prints indicate very clearly that the elementary principles of com¬ 
 position, light and shade and form, are beginning to be properly under¬ 
 stood. 
 
 Of the works of the German engravers from the beginning to the middle 
 of the sixteenth century, the exhibition contains a number of very fine 
 specimens. Some of them, like Van Leyden’s plates, show a marked ad¬ 
 vance in all technical points, while some of them are even more quaint 
 and primitive than the performances of Durer and his predecessors. A 
 most interesting example of this latter class of works is “The Baptism of 
 the Eunuch,” by Albert Claas. There is a great deal of admirable expres¬ 
 sion in the figures in this print, but the work is chiefly noteworthy on ac¬ 
 count of the odd manner in which the engraver has attempted to indicate 
 form and light and shade by means of a series of fine lines cut across 
 portions of the plate. Of the more finely-finished works—from a modern 
 point of view—we may mention the three by Hans Sebald Beham, ‘ ‘ The 
 Prodigal Son,” No. 69; “Patience,” No. 70, and “Victory,” No. 71; the 
 nine by George Pencz, Nos. 77 to 85, inclusive, representing “Thomiris, 
 Queen of the Scythians, with the Head of Cyrus;” “ Virginius Killing his 
 Daughter;” “The Rape of Amymome,” and the six “Triumphs” of 
 Petrarch; and the series of four, by Heinrich Aldegriver, representing the 
 story of Lot. The workmanship of these is marvellously fine, and they 
 will well repay the most careful study. 
 
 IV. 
 
 After the elementary principles of an art have been formulated, progress 
 must necessarily be rapid, for the artist is no longer hampered by the in¬ 
 adequacy of the means at his command for the expression of his ideas. 
 We accordingly find in the works of the engravers of the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries, as represented in the exhibition, qualities which 
 are lacking in those of the fifteenth, but the style of cutting is still very 
 simple, and the results aimed at are reached by the most direct means. 
 Take, for instance, “The Last Supper,” by Georgio Ghisi, after Lambertus 
 Lombardus, No. 97; “The School of Athens,” after Raphael, by Philip 
 Thomassen, No. 101; “St. Sulpitius; or, the Council,” by Nicholas Pitau, 
 
— 24 — 
 
 after J. B. de Champange, No. 102; “The Descent of the Holy Ghost, 
 after T. Zucarro; and “The Annunciation,” after Titian, by Cornelius 
 Cort, Nos. 103 and 104; and “The Virgin Weeping over the Dead Body 
 ot Christ;” and the series entitled “The Six Masterpieces,” Nos. 116 to- 
 122, inclusive, by Hendrich Goltzius, as specimens of the Italian, French, 
 German and Dutch schools of the middle of the sixteenth century. These 
 are very different in style, and the engravers evidently had different ends 
 in view as well as different degrees of executive skill. In all of them, 
 however, the effects desired are produced by the most direct methods pos¬ 
 sible, pure line work being used, the tones us well as the forms being ex¬ 
 pressed by variations in the contours and in the strength of the lines. 
 Only in the deepest shadows is there any cross-hatching, while in some of 
 the most brilliant of the prints there is none at all. The “St. Sulpitius” 
 of Pitau is a superb specimen of this severe style of cutting, but it is pro 
 bably surpassed, great as it is, in some of the liner elements of artistic 
 workmanship, by the plates cut by Goltzius. The six great prints repre¬ 
 senting “The Annunciation,” “The Visitation,” “ The Adoration of the- 
 Shepherds,” “The Circumcision,” “The Adoration of the Magi,” and 
 “ The Holy Family,” are really masteityieces in the best sense of the word. 
 This engraver professed to imitate the styles of other men, but his own in¬ 
 dividuality is unmistakably stamped upon his works, and in many respects 
 he surpasses those whom he pretends to accept as models. The print re¬ 
 presenting “The Virgin Weeping over the Dead Body of Christ” is in 
 imitation of Durer; but, as a comparison with the admirable collection of' 
 Durer’s prints, which forms such an important and valuable a feature of 
 the exhibition, will show at a glance, it has qualities which even the best 
 of Durer’s works lack. This exquisite engraving is one of the gems of the 
 exhibition. It is masterly in design, and there is a power and a pathos in 
 the two figures, the impression produced by which intensifies the more 
 closely the work is examined, while the superb simplicity of the engraver’s 
 method commands the most ardent admiration. The six “masterpieces ” 
 are unfortunately hung so high that it is not easy to give them the close 
 and critical examination they deserve; but this print is most advanta¬ 
 geously placed for study, and it will repay all the attention bestowed upon it. 
 
 Towards the close of the seventeenth century, we find some of the en¬ 
 gravers beginning to get away from the severe simplicity of the early days 
 of the art, and to use stipple work, especially for the purpose of expressing 
 flesh textures. Durer and other early engravers used stippling to some- 
 extent in their deep shadows, but that was different from the stippling 
 
25 
 
 upon such an engraving as “The Virgin, St. Jerome, and Mary Mag¬ 
 dalen,” “The ‘Great’ St. Jerome” and “The Crucifixion,” by Agostino 
 Carracci, just as that is something very different from the point-work of 
 modern engravers. The stippling of Carracci is merely a modification of 
 the line, and it undoubtedly expresses certain qualities of flesh texture 
 more perfectly than the pure line does. It is the method of a genuine 
 artist, and not that of a mere craftsman who is in search of the easiest, 
 rather than the best means of executing his task. 
 
 As under the influence and patronage of Raphael the Italian school of 
 engraving was organized with Marc Antonio Raimondi as its chief expo¬ 
 nent, so a century later a Flemish school arose under Rubens. There are 
 three impressions from plates by Lucas Vosterman, one by Boetius Bols- 
 wert, six by Schelte A. Bolswert, and four by Paulus Pontius, the pupils 
 of Rubens and the interpreters in metal of his designs. All of these engrav¬ 
 ings are either after Rubens or Van Dyck, and it is easily to be seen that 
 something more has been aimed at than the delineation of mere form or 
 the expression of ideas. The engravers have endeavored to at least sug¬ 
 gest the color-quality of Rubens’ painting, and the complex methods of 
 cutting adopted gives these prints a more modern appearance than those of 
 any of their predecessors. It is evident that with these men the art of en¬ 
 graving had nearly, if not quite, reached its highest development, and that 
 there was little, if anything, for their successors to learn, 
 
 The exhibition contains a large number of admirable works by famous 
 engravers of different nationalities of the period to which we are now re¬ 
 ferring—the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth 
 century. There are four impressions from plates by Jan Muller, the 
 Dutch engraver, two of which, portraits after Rubens, of Albert, Archduke 
 of Austria, and Isabella Clara Eugenia, his Archduchess, are particularly 
 noteworthy. The set of fourteen “Passion” prints, by J. De Gheyn, are 
 very fine, and should be compared with the similar series by Durer. 
 These are from designs by C. Vanmander, one of the most illustrious of 
 the Flemish predecessors of Rubens; and while there is a curious dispro¬ 
 portion in some of the figures—the artist’s idea on the subject of perspec¬ 
 tive evidently having been slightly vague,—they have certain technical 
 qualities, both as designs and as engravings, which are lacking in Durer’s 
 prints. Admirable, however, as these engravings are in sentiment, there 
 is a spirituality in Durer’s work which we do not find in them. Another 
 most interesting series is made up of six plates by Count Palatine H. Van 
 Goudt. The style of cutting in these is very original and very effective. 
 
— 26 - 
 
 Five of the engravings are strong efforts of light and shade, after A. 
 Elzheimer, viz:—“The ‘Little’ Tobit;” “The ‘Great’ Tobit; ” “The 
 Flight into Egypt;” “Ceres Changing Stellion into a Lizard;” and 
 “Jupiter and Mercury in the House of Philemon and Baucis.’’ ' The other 
 print, an “Aurora,” is an exquisite tone study. The six prints by Claude 
 Mellan, the Frenchman, are striking specimens of pure line work, and one 
 of them, “The Sudarium of St. Veronica,” No. 172, is a remarkable 
 artistic tour de force, it being executed by means of a single line. This of 
 course is chiefly interesting as a curiosity, but its artistic qualities command 
 our admiration as well. 
 
 During the period we have been considering, several etchers appeared; 
 but as etching is a distinct art from engraving, we will discuss them here¬ 
 after in connection with other practitioners in the same line. 
 
 V. 
 
 The works which we have thus far considered do not number one- 
 fourth of the entire collection, and yet they are the ones which should 
 receive special study, as they cover the period of the development of the 
 art, and because many of them are very rare impressions of the best per¬ 
 formances of famous men. The other engravings, while they do not call 
 for the same kind of comment, are nevertheless well worthy of the notice 
 of those who visit the exhibition, for they not only represent the progress 
 of the engraver’s art, during a period of more than two centuries, in 
 Europe and in America, but a large number of them are reproductions of 
 artistic masterpieces, and are exceedingly interesting on account of their 
 subjects, apart altogether from their technical qualities. Indeed, it can 
 scarcely be expected that many persons, except those who have made a 
 study of the art of engraving, can be greatly interested in the different 
 methods employed, although the enjoyment of intelligent visitors will be 
 greatly enhanced if they will take the trouble to make for themselves some 
 comparisons of the different styles. Take, for instance, the four prints, 
 Nos. 548, 640, 681 and 750. These are impressions—some of them very 
 fine ones—from engravings of the “Madonna di San Sisto,” of Raphael, in 
 the Dresden galleiy, by John G. Scliultze, Frederick Muller, Moritz 
 Steinla and George Nordheim. Although the numbers on them are scat¬ 
 tered in the Catalogue, the prints are grouped in such a manner that they 
 
— 27 - 
 
 can readily be examined together; and they should receive careful exami¬ 
 nation, if only for the sake of noting how greatly engravings, made by able 
 men, may vary in their interpretations of an original work. Each of the 
 engravers, in this instance, appears to have had a somewhat different aim, 
 and there is a wide difference in the style as well as in the quality of their 
 work. Another comparison of this kind may be made between No. 597, 
 “The Reading Magdalen,” of Correggio, engraved by Giuseppi Longhi, 
 and the same subject engraved by Frederick Knolle, No. 764. The 
 Italian engraver seems to have endeavored to reproduce the quality of the 
 original painting before it had become darkened by time, while the Ger¬ 
 man has evidently copied what he saw before him with great literalness. 
 Both are very beautiful, and that of Knolle is particularly interesting, as 
 there are six impressions from the plate, the landscapes in all being 
 finished, but showing the progress of the work on the figure from the 
 etched outline to the last touch of the graver. A glance at this series 
 of impressions will give some idea as to how fine an art line engraving is, 
 and how delicate is the manipulation required in order to obtain the bril¬ 
 liant results we have in a highly-finished plate. 
 
 As an example of exquisite finish, we would call particular attention to 
 No. 778, by Johann August Edward Mandel, one of the greatest of modern 
 German engravers. This is a portrait of Frederick Wilhelm, “ The Great 
 Elector,” and it was engraved expressly to illustrate the folio edition of 
 the works of Frederick the Great, prepared under the direction of the late 
 King of Prussia, for presentation to the crowned heads. There is no more 
 beautiful example of pure line engraving in the exhibition than this. 
 All of the impressions from Mandel’s plates—of which, in addition to the 
 portrait referred to, there are eleven—are, however, worthy of critical 
 inspection as admirable specimens of a very delicate yet bold and masterly 
 style of cutting. 
 
 In sitting down before a painting, for the purpose of reproducing it in 
 monochrome, the engraver is compelled to make a selection of certain 
 elements in it as best suited for reproduction, or at least a certain style of 
 reproduction, just as a painter, in endeavoring to put a bit of nature on 
 canvas, finds it impracticable to represent everything he sees, and must, of 
 necessity, concentrate his faculties upon certain elements of the scene 
 before him. In a majority of cases, engravers are content to give, as near 
 as possible, a transcript, in black and white, of the artist’s design; but 
 an engraver who is thoroughly imbued with the artistic spirit, will at least 
 attempt to suggest something of the handling and even of the color of 
 
his original. The difficulty of the engraver’s task is, of course, increased 
 in the case of an old painting which has deepened in tone, or which has 
 faded so that the original intention of the artist is hard to discover. The 
 question in such a case as this, is whether it is better to reproduce the work 
 as it is, only correcting the obvious defects of age, or to endeavor to recon¬ 
 struct the picture in imagination and engrave it as if fresh from the artist’s 
 hand. Of these different methods of looking at pictures for the purposes of 
 engraving, we have examples in the copies of “ The Sistine Madonna ” of 
 Raphael, and of “ The Reading Magdalen ” of Correggio, to which refer¬ 
 ence has already been made. As a specimen of a very successful rendering 
 ot the “quality ” of a painting—and by this we mean as close a transla¬ 
 tion into black and white of a work in color as can be made—the engraving 
 of “The Virgin and Infant Jesus,” after Bolticelli, by F. Gaillard, Mo. 
 836, is especially noteworthy. In this the engraver has evidently tried to 
 give us everything but the color, and he has certainly succeeded marvel¬ 
 lously in reproducing, not merely the archaic drawing and the sentiment 
 of the original work, but its tone and texture. 
 
 How an engraver of the highest accomplishments may sometimes fail in 
 reproducing that which is most valuable in a picture, is shown by Cala- 
 matta’s copy of the “Mona Lisa” of Leonardo De Vinci, Mo. 750. This 
 masterpiece of portraiture is in the Louvre, and is in remarkably good con¬ 
 dition for a work of its age, but portions of it have faded, and have been 
 otherwise damaged in tone, so that the task of interpreting it as it originally 
 appeared when freshly painted, must be a very difficult one. De Vinci 
 labored four years upon this picture, and then gave it up as unfinished, being 
 unable to express everything he wished upon the canvas; and it is, perhaps, 
 the greatest portrait that has ever been painted, the finest master of expres¬ 
 sion that ever lived having endeavored to reveal something of the soul of 
 the woman who sat for him, in his representation of her upon the canvas. 
 To catch the faint smile upon the face of the “Mona Lisa ” must be to 
 the engraver almost as much of a task as it was to the painter, and that 
 Calamatta has not succeeded in catching it, is proven by a comparison 
 between one of Braun’s autotypes from the original and this very beautiful 
 engraving. The face in Calamatta’s work is rounder and plumper, but 
 the peculiar smiling expression is not the same as in the autotype; and 
 in a work like this, where everything depends upon the expression, to lose 
 it is to lose everything. The engraving, however, reproduces details of 
 the drapery and background which the autotype gives in a very imperfect 
 fashion, owing to the faded condition of the painting, and it is for that 
 
29 — 
 
 V 
 
 reason, if no other, worthy of the regards of De Vinci’s admirers. There 
 are three other engravings by Calamatta in the exhibition—“La Vierge a 
 la Chaise,” after Raphael, No. 749; ‘‘The Vow of Louis XIII,” after 
 Ingres, No. 751; and ‘‘Francesca de Rimini,” after Ary Scheffer’s master¬ 
 piece. This last is a remarkably fine impression, being a brilliant artists’ 
 proof, with the engraver’s autograph. The picture from which this engrav¬ 
 ing was made we regard as the most sympathetic and most masterly 
 illustration of Dante’s text ever designed. 
 
 The modern engravings referred to in this notice have been, for the most 
 part, mentioned for the purpose of suggesting consideration of particular 
 points, but there are many others which are equally entitled to notice, 
 a full discussion of the merits of which would, however, demand 
 more space and a different treatment than is possible under the existing 
 circumstances. We would, however, invite attention to the admirable 
 series of portraits and other works by Robert Nanteuil, Nos. 268 to 280; 
 of Gerard Edelink, Nos. 293 to 310; of Peter Drevet, Nos. 317 to 326; of 
 Peter Imbert Drevet, Nos. 334 to 339,—the portrait of J. B. Bousset, 
 Bishop of Meaux, after Rigaud, in this series, is a superb engraving; the 
 set representing the Almighty, St. Mary, St. Joseph, Christ, and the 
 twelve Apostles, by Giovanni Marco Pitteri, after J. G. Piazetta, Nos. 342 
 to 357,—a very remarkable series of engravings, the heads being drawn 
 with great power, and engraved by single strokes running from top to 
 bottom ; the series by Jean George Wille, Nos. 388 to 422, many of which 
 are fine early impressions, and several being duplicates representing 
 different states of the plates; the series by Robert Strange, Nos. 437 to 
 450, of which the “Venus” and the ‘ ‘ Danae, ” after Titian, are admirable 
 examples of artistic engraving ; the series by William Wollett, Nos. 484 
 to 497 ; the series by William Sharp—the most masterly of the English 
 engravers—Nos. 528 to 540 ; the series by Raphael Morglien—one of the 
 greatest of modern engravers—Nos. 562 to 582 ; the series by Joseph 
 Theodore Richomme, Nos. 651 to 656; the series by Paul Toschi, Nos. 
 664 to 671; the series by Henriquel Dupont, Nos. 705 to 708—the “Mar¬ 
 riage of St. Catharine,” after Correggio, and the “Hemicycle” of the 
 Palace des Beaux Arts, after Delaroche—are splendid examples of the art 
 of engraving; and the series of engravings after Turner, by J. F. Will- 
 more, Nos. 732 to 736. 
 
30 — 
 
 VI. 
 
 The mezzotint method of executing a design upon a metal plate, like 
 etching, is a distinct art, and differs materially from engraving proper, by 
 which the surface of the steel or copper is cut into with a sharp instru¬ 
 ment. Tradition has it that this method was the invention of Prince 
 Rupert, who was induced to institute certain experiments by observing 
 the fine stippling caused by rust upon the polished surface of a musket 
 barrel. A Hessian officer named Ludwig Von Siegan, and Sir Christopher 
 Wren, the architect, have also been credited with having originated it. A 
 mezzotint plate is prepared for the hand of the operator by covering it 
 with innumerable fine dots by means of instruments called rockers, fitted 
 with fine-pointed teeth. The design is then executed by scraping away 
 this dotted surface to a greater or less degree, according to the strength of 
 the tone which it is desired to produce. It is usual in mezzotint work, as 
 in engraving proper, to make use of the etching process for securing the 
 outline, and sometimes for aiding in giving definiteness to the stronger 
 shadows. In fact, all three processes are not unfrequently combined in 
 the same plate, etching in particular being largely used by steel engravers 
 as a labor-saving expedient. But, while the etching and mezzotint pro¬ 
 cesses may occasionally be resorted to by engravers, they are, in their in¬ 
 tegrity, distinct arts, and the class of effects produced by them are very 
 different from those which result from the use of the graver. 
 
 Mezzotint has been so much used for cheap illustrations to books, and 
 for the production of cheap and inartistic designs, that it has rather fallen 
 into disrepute; but, like every other art, it has its strong points, and in the 
 hands of a master it is capable of realizing excellent results. Indeed, in 
 some particulars, it is much superior to steel engraving, as there is a depth 
 and richness of tone in a well-executed mezzotint such as is seldom to be 
 found in an impression from a plate cut with a point. What the qualities 
 of a fine mezzotint are in comparison with those of a steel engraving can 
 be exemplified by examining the copy of Correggio’s “Reading Mag¬ 
 dalen,” No. 607, by James Ward, with the impressions from the admirable 
 plates executed by Giuseppe Longhi, No. 597, and by Frederick Knolle, 
 No. 764. There is more brilliancy in the engraving, but the mezzotint 
 certainly suggests the qualities of a painting with greater accuracy, and 
 we have no doubt that it approximates more closely in several important 
 particulars to its original. 
 
— 31 — 
 
 The mezzotints in the exhibition are arranged by themselves on the 
 platform at the west end of the room, and, as the majority of the prints are 
 from plates executed by the most famous masters of the art, an admirable 
 opportunity is afforded for estimating the importance of a process which 
 has many sterling qualities to commend it to the consideration of the con¬ 
 noisseur. Nearly all of these plates are by English mezzotintists, the 
 process not having been practised to any great extent on the Continent; 
 indeed, there are only three prints by Continental artists, No. 504, 
 “The Two Sons of Rubens,” after Rubens; No. 595, “The Baptism 
 of Christ,” after Guido Reni, by Johann Peter Pichler, the German; and 
 No. 710, “A Dragoon of the Guard,” after Odier, by G. Maile, the French¬ 
 man. All of these, however, are works of great merit, the first-named 
 especially being a very beautiful print. The earliest mezzotint in the col¬ 
 lection is a portrait after Sir Godfrey Kneller, No. 315, by John Smith, 
 executed probably about the beginning of the eighteenth century. After 
 this come a couple by J. Simon, both after Raphael—“The Lame Man 
 Healed by Peter and John,” and “Paul Preaching at Athens.” The 
 finest specimens of the English mezzotint school, however, are to be found 
 among the works of Richard Earlom, William Pether, Valentine Green, 
 J. R. Smith, John Murphy, James Ward and Samuel Cousins. There 
 
 are eight prints by Earlom in the collection, all of which are noteworthy_ 
 
 “The Blacksmith’s Shop,” No. 455, is a peculiarly imposing perfonuance, 
 a singular effect of light and shade being rendered with the finest artistic 
 skill. The fruit and flower pieces, after Van Huysam, Nos. 456 and 457; 
 “A Concert of Birds,” after Mario da Fion, No. 459; and “The Royal 
 Academy of Art in London,” No. 460, after J. Zoffani—representing the 
 academicians posing a model in the life school in the early days of the 
 Academy—are works of great interest. Other notable prints are the “Eli 
 and Samuel,” after J. S. Copely, No. 503, by Valentine Green; “Ariadne 
 and Theseus,” after Fuseli, No. 514, by J. B. Smith; “ Jael and Sisera,” 
 No. 546, after James Northcote, and “ The Cyclops at the Forge,” No. 547, 
 after Luca Giordana, by John Murphy; “Ugolino and His Children,” No. 
 637, after Sir Joshua Reynolds; “The Strawberry Girl,” No. 739, after 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds, by Samuel Cousins; and “Charles Mathews in Five 
 Characters,” No. 877, after Harlowe, by Henry Meyer. The mezzotintists 
 appear to have had a great partiality for Rembrandt’s works, and there are 
 a number of very effective reproductions of pictures by that artist in the 
 
 collection, as, for instance, “The Centurion,” No. 606, by James Ward_ 
 
 the copy of Rubens’ “Diana and her Nymphs,” No. 605, by this mezzo- 
 
32 
 
 tintist, is an admirable work; “ The Shipbuilder and his Wife,” No. G12, 
 by C. H. Hodges; ‘‘The Tribute Money,” No 374, by James Macardell; 
 “An Old Woman Plucking a Fowl,” No. 451, by Richard Houston; 
 “Portrait of Rembrandt,” No. 454, by Richard Earlom; “Rembrandt’s 
 Father,” No. 463, by John Greenwood; “The Lord of the Vineyard,” 
 No. 475, and “The Jewish Rabbi,” No. 476, by William Pether. 
 
 This notice would not be complete without a special mention of the 
 works of our Philadelphia mezzotintist, Mr. John Sartain, an artist whose 
 best works will rank with the best that have been executed. Mr. Sartain 
 is represented by six plates, two of which—“Christ Rejected,” No. 872, 
 after Benjamin West’s well-known picture, and “The Iron Worker and 
 King Solomon,” No. 873, after Christian Schussele—are among the largest 
 he has engraved. There are, however, four portraits in the series—one of 
 the late Thomas Sully, one of Sir Thomas Lawrence, one of Mrs. Robert 
 Gilmore, and one of Robert Gilmore, after Sir Thomas Lawrence—which 
 are, we believe, regarded by Mr. Sartain as his finest performances, and 
 are certainly very beautiful. 
 
 VII. 
 
 The etchings form a very interesting portion of the exhibition, on 
 account of their numbers, their great merit, the distinguished names 
 attached to them, and the importance of etching as an accessory of the art 
 of engraving, and as an independent art. Before proceeding to discuss 
 the merits of these very beautiful works, it will be well for us to state, as 
 briefly as possible, the method by which the etchers produce their peculiar 
 •effects. As we have already explained, an engraving proper is made by 
 cutting away the surface of the steel or copper plate, while a mezzotint 
 effect is managed by scraping a prepared surface so as to produce a grada¬ 
 tion of tones. For etching purposes, a steel or copper plate is covered 
 with a varnish, of which asphaltum is a principal ingredient. The design 
 is sketched lightly upon this, and the artist then, with needles of various 
 degrees of fineness, scratches through the varnish, exposing the surface of 
 the metal wherever he draws a line. When the drawing is completed 
 the plate is immersed in a bath of diluted nitric acid, and the metal, 
 wherever exposed by the scratches of the needle through the varnish, 
 is “bitten” to various depths, according to the strength of the lines 
 
— 83 — 
 
 desired. There are various details of manipulation which must be learned 
 before an etcher can he considered as a master of his art; such as “slop¬ 
 ping out” the more delicate portions with varnish, and “rebiting” the 
 darker parts, “dry-pointing,” “burnishing,” etc.; but what we have 
 noted are the essential points. Etching, as has been stated, is much used 
 by steel engravers to secure their outlines, and in other portions of their 
 work; but it is, nevertheless, an art in itself, and the qualities of an impres¬ 
 sion from an etched plate are very different from those of an impression 
 from an engraved one. In many respects, engraving is a more complete 
 art than etching, but there is a depth and richness of tone, suggestions of 
 color, and a freedom of handling in an acid-bitten plate which we do not 
 find in one cut by the burin. 
 
 Engraving is a sort of accessory art to painting, and it is chiefly used to 
 give transcripts, in black and white, of paintings and drawings, modern 
 practitioners, especially, very seldom cutting designs of their owm, but 
 contenting themselves with copying those of other people. Etching, how 
 ever, has, from the earliest times, been largely used by original artists, 
 a,nd an impression from a fine plate, etched by Rembrandt, or Guido 
 Reni, or Claude Lorraine, or Fortuny, is practically the same thing as an 
 original drawing in black and white would be. In an engraving—except 
 when, as in the case of Durer, the artist engraves his own design— 
 another mind and another hand interposes between the original artist and 
 the spectator ; but in one of Rembrandt’s or one of Fortuny’s etchings we 
 are brought immediately in contact with the artist himself, and, beyond 
 everything else, it is because etching is an artist’s method that it is worthy 
 of consideration. 
 
 This beautiful art was, at one time, in great favor with artists, but it 
 gradually fell into disuse, and was, for a considerable period, scarcely 
 practised at all, except for the production of political caricatures and cheap 
 book illustrations. Of late, however, there has been an etching revival 
 which has already produced results of a most gratifying character, and 
 -which will, doubtless, continue to do so. Indeed, the modern school of 
 etching equals, and, in some respects, surpasses, in the quality of its 
 work, the best performances of former times, and the plates executed by 
 Fortuny, Unger, Flameng and Jacquemart, lose little or nothing in com¬ 
 parison with those of even such a master as Rembrandt. 
 
 - The earliest etching in the exhibition is by Durer—No. 18, “Christ in 
 the Garden.” There are two by Annibal Carracci—“ The Penitent Mag¬ 
 dalen” and “Holy Family,” Nos. 123 and 124. Then come six by Guido 
 
— 34 — 
 
 Ileni, of which we would call particular attention to the charming sketch 
 of a “Holy Family,’’ No. 145, of which two impressions are shown, and 
 No. 147, a “Madonna and Child.” With this last is a copy, by Mattoli, 
 and the difference between the design, as it came from the artist’s hand and 
 as it was reproduced by the copyist, is very marked, and will serve to 
 illustrate what we have said about the value of etching as a method by 
 which artists may be able to speak directly to their public. Four etchings, 
 by Claude Lorraine, Nos. 168 to 171, give us something more than hints of 
 the charming qualities which distinguish the paintings of that fine artist; 
 but these, like the others mentioned, and the others of this period in the 
 exhibition which we have not space to comment upon, are scarcely more 
 than sketches and studies, interesting for their suggestiveness and because 
 they are original works, but doing little more than hinting at the possi¬ 
 bilities of the aquafortis process. It is not until we come to the works 
 of Rembrandt Van Ryn that we discover what the possibilities of that 
 process really are. The collection is rich in wrnrks by Rembrandt, the 
 number of designs being very large, and many of them being early and 
 brilliant impressions from some of his most important plates. Next to 
 the Durer series, these Rembrandts constitute the most imposing feature 
 of the exhibition. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 The exhibition affords unusal opportunities for the study of the works 
 of the greatest master of chiaro-oscuro that ever lived, Rembrandt Van 
 Ryn. There are no less than thirty impressions from plates etched by 
 Rembrandt himself, many of them being his most famous works, whilst 
 scattered through the exhibition are numerous copies, by the different pro¬ 
 cesses of engraving, mezzotinting and etching, of his performances with 
 the brush as well as with the etching needle. Some of these copies are them¬ 
 selves very remarkable works. Leopold Flameng’s copy—No. 824—of the 
 etching of ‘'Christ Healing the Sick,” No. 194, known as the Hundred 
 Guilder Piece, is astonishingly close to the original in every respect, not 
 only the texture but all the little accidents of handling being imitated with 
 really wonderful skill. Flameng’s etching from Rembrandt’s painting of 
 “Le Ronde de Nuit,” No. 825, is another great performance, and it might 
 readily pass for an original by Rembrandt himself. This is Flameng e 
 
- 35 - 
 
 last work, and it undoubtedly gives him the very first place among the 
 living etchers. 
 
 Herman Grimm is usually such an appreciative critic that it is rather 
 surprising to find him, in summing up the merits of the master artists, in 
 the concluding chapter of his “Life of Michael Angelo,” dwelling so 
 strongly as he does upon Rembrandt’s realism, without giving him credit 
 for intellectual and poetical qualities which place him far above the mere 
 copyists of nature. Rembrandt undoubtedly is intensely real, and his bits 
 of landscape, the figures which are introduced in his compositions and liis 
 interiors are accurate copies of the aspects of nature, the humanity and the 
 domestic apparatus that met his eye from day to day. His figures have an 
 astonishing vitality; they are as unpoetical, as unsentimental, and as real 
 as it is possible to make representations of men and women on canvas or 
 on copper. But did Rembrandt’s merits as an artist stop here, he would be 
 no greater than a dozen other men who might be named. The fact is that 
 this Dutchman had the faculty of expressing sentiment by means of chiaro- 
 oscuro to a greater degree than any other artist who ever lived. Some of 
 Fortuny’s etchings in this exhibition will compare most favorably with 
 Rembrandt’s best studies of light and shade; but while Fortuny’s work is 
 much superior to the Dutch etcher’s in many important particulars, it 
 lacks just that peculiar poetical feeling which gives Rembrandt’s works 
 such a singular charm. Let us take, for instance, the smaller of the 
 two etchings representing “The Descent from the Cross,” No. 198. This 
 is a much less elaborate and much less imposing composition than the 
 larger one on the same subject, No. 197, but to our fancy it is marked by 
 even finer qualities. There is a lurid light on the group surrounding the 
 cross, and upon the limp body being removed from it, which diffuses 
 itself in a marvellous gradation of tones over the bier covered with a 
 winding sheet and the other objects in the foreground, and which ex¬ 
 presses in a singular manner the whole sentiment of the scene. We forget 
 about the stout Dutchmen who figure as the actors, and are impressed only 
 by the profound pathos of the situation as revealed to us in the masterly 
 management of the chiaro-oscuro. This plate is executed'in a very bold 
 and sketchy manner, and it is therefore an even better example than some 
 more elaborately finished ones of Rembrandt’s powers as a master of 
 chiaro-oscuro and of tone, and of his command of the etching process. 
 
 The large “Descent from the Cross ” and “The Ecce Homo,” Nos. 197 
 and 195, are among the largest and most celebrated of the plates etched by 
 Rembrandt. These two great compositions are well worthy of all the 
 
36 — 
 
 study that can he given to them. The sky in the last-named is a superb 
 piece of work, executed with great freedom by means of broad, sweeping, 
 vigorous lines crossing each other in every direction. Otne of the most in¬ 
 teresting of these etchings, however, is “The Angels’ Appearing to the 
 Shepherds,” No. 187—interesting both as a conception of the subject and 
 as a bit of technique. There is just a sufficient suggestion of similarity in 
 composition between this work and Durer's Great’ Fortune,” No. 24, 
 to make a comparison between them interesting. There is no light and 
 shade worth speaking of in the “Fortune,” but there is a multitude of 
 detail in the landscape, every object being picked out with the greatest 
 minuteness, but with a rather amusing ignorance both of linear and aerial 
 perspective. Rembrandt’s work is full of detail also, but effect is the first 
 thing considered, and detail is subordinated to it. There is a sudden burst 
 of intense light in the sky, and a stout and very Dutch angel stands upon 
 the edge of a cloud speaking to the affrighted shepherds, who, with their 
 cattle, are scattering with great precipitation in all directions. As a repre¬ 
 sentation of the scene described by the sacred chroniclers, the composition 
 is grotesque to the verge of absurdity. So far as the figures, whether 
 celestial or human, are concerned, we see scarcely a trace of the profound 
 religious feeling which is observable in the crudest and hardest of Durer’s 
 works, but as a study of the effect of a brilliant and overpowering light 
 suddenly illuminating a night landscape, it is a great performance, and is 
 justly ranked as one of Rembrandt’s most, admirable works. Anything 
 like an adequate discussion of the merits of this imposing series of etchings 
 would be impossible in a series of articles like this, and we must be content 
 with a mere mention of the charming landscape sketches, the life-like 
 portraits, and the other works grouped upon the Rembrandt screen. 
 
 We can do no more than call attention to the etchings of Winceslaus 
 Hollar, Nos. 212 to 216; of Jan Both, Nos. 223 to 226; of Adrian Van 
 Ostade, Nos. 227 to 234; of David Teniers, Nos. 237 and 238, and of the 
 other early practitioners; for the works of the modern etchers demand a 
 particular consideration, especially in view of the importance which etch¬ 
 ing as a fine art is beginning again to assume. 
 
 Fortuny, who died in Rome a few weeks ago, was not only a great 
 painter, but he was by all odds the greatest original etcher of our time, 
 and one of the greatest that has evef lived. The five impressions from 
 Fortuny’s plates in this exhibition give a much better idea of his peculiar 
 powers than do any of the paintings by him that have yet been seen in 
 this city. The two plates, “The Dead Arab,” No. 848, and “Tire Burial 
 
— 87 — 
 
 of the Arab,” No. 849—apparently studies of the same subject—suggest 
 Rembrandt by their powerful chiaro-oscuro, but they are very far indeed 
 from being imitations of that master, Fortuny’s style being as different 
 as possible from that of Rembrandt. These two plates are executed 
 with great boldness, and apparently in the most sketchy manner. The 
 figures, however, are drawn with consummate skill, and the variotts tex-i 
 tures are indicated in a masterly manner. How fine and delicate a work¬ 
 man Fortuny was, when delicacy was required, is shown in “ The Arabs 
 Resting,” No. 850, and “ The Arab Family,” No. 851. The most charming 
 work of the whole series, to our fancy, is, however, the etching of a shep¬ 
 herd boy, entitled “Arcadia,” a study from the nude, full of vitality and 
 full of all the peculiar sentiment suggested by its title. 
 
 After Fortuny’s, the most imposing of the original modern etchings is 
 “ Caterina Cornaro Receiving the Congratulations of Venice on her Ascend- 
 ing the Throne of Cyprus,” No. 844, a very elaborate composition, some¬ 
 what in the style of Paul Veronese, by W. Unger. This superb work, and 
 the copy of Rubens’ picture entitled “ The Altar of St. Ildefonso,” by the 
 same etcher, are especially worthy of being compared with the engravings 
 as evidences of the superiority of the etching process for the representation 
 of textures and tones, and for suggestions of color. 
 
 Of several of Leopold Flameng’s works we have already spoken. There 
 are in the exhibition, in all, ten plates by him, of which the one entitled 
 “ Sauvee,” No. 822, representing Christ descending into a Parisian thieves’ 
 den, is the largest and the most remarkable as an original performance. 
 Flameng, however, is seen at his best as the interpreter of other men’s 
 designs, and his copies from Rembrandt, Fromentin, Meissonier, Schreyer, 
 Greuze and Ingres are all admirable specimens of what a thoroughly 
 accomplished etcher can do. Jules F. Jacquemart, who, like Flameng, is 
 a professional etcher of great skill, is represented by four plates, Nos. 
 816 to 819; while artist-etchers like Meyer Von Bremen, B. E. Jacques, 
 Andreas Achenbach, George Cruikshank, E. Meissonier, J. J. Veyrassat, 
 J. B. C. Corot and C. F. Daubigny contribute one or more subjects each, 
 all of which will repay inspection. 
 
 In concluding our critical notices of this exhibition, we desire again to 
 call attention to its importance as the most complete and extensive affair of 
 the kind that has ever been arranged in this country. No such opportunity 
 has. up to this time, ever before been offered for studying the development 
 of the art of engraving, or of inspecting so many important works by some 
 of the greatest artists; and no person who is at all interested in the fine 
 
- 38 - 
 
 arts can fail to find pleasure and profit in frequent visits. The exhibition 
 will remain open for a number of weeks, and it ought to he the most liber¬ 
 ally patronized, both because of its intrinsic merit, and because the profits 
 will be devoted to the building fund of the new Academy of the Fine Arts, 
 which is now rapidly approaching completion, and which, it is hoped, will 
 be ready for a grand exhibition by next fall. 
 
9i^lmZim. RESEARCH INSTITUTE 
 
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