Studio: international art (46.1909)

Japanese Colour Prints

PEN DRAWING: “A SHOP IN
BRITTANY” BY “KATE”

which attempts no record of the details of a
building, but aims rather at suggesting an effect of
sunlight. In this sketch the line is looser and
more careless, but the carelessness is intentional
and not a consequence of want of thought. As a
study of illumination this particular example de-
cidedly deserves to be noted—it shows one of the
ways in which pen work can be turned to excellent
account. In “ Voyageur’s ” note of a quaint bit in
a foreign street there is cleverness of execution
with, perhaps, a little too much disregard of reality
— the light and shade cannot quite be accounted
for—but the boldness and decision of the pen line
throughout are unquestionable, though the want of
reticence is open to criticism. Want of reticence
is not so much the fault of “ Doormat’s ” sketch of
a ruin as want of solid construction ; the vigorous
assertion of tone-contrasts is permissible in a
summary study of this character, but surer drawing
of the architectural lines would have made the
whole thing more convincing.

“ Black Spot’s ” ambition in attempting to record
54

the complex detail of Westminster Abbey is
justified by the result; the drawing is happy
enough in its general suggestion and it bears close
examination, but the distribution of the light and
shade is a little arbitrary. “ Pan’s ” less ambitious
effort is, however, not less successful; its simpler
manner and stronger line make the draughtsman’s
intentions thoroughly intelligible. The drawing,
too, gains in brilliancy by being restricted to a
limited range of tones. “ Devonia’s ” sketch of
The Beguinage, Bruges is well drawn in a summary
way, but -would have been improved by more
sensitiveness of handling; and “Smoke’s” drawing
of a cottage at Brookthorpe, Gloucestershire, suffers
also from insensitiveness of line, though as a piece
of skilfully conventionalised pen work it is far from
unsatisfactory. There are other examples, like
“Teddie’s” St. Catherine's Court, the sketch of
cottages by the sea by “ Mops,” and the neat
study of a half-timbered building, “Salwarpe Court,”
which show rightly directed effort; and there is a
clever little note of a Brittany shop by “ Kate,”
which illustrates well the use that can be made of
strong tone contrasts—though in this last example a
not entirely legitimate effect has been obtained by
mixing grey pencil tones with the black ink lines.

JAPANESE COLOUR PRINTS.—
V. “MAKING UP FOR THE
STAGE,” BY UTAMARO.

In an early number of The Studio (Vol. iv.,
p. 137) the late Mr. S. Bing wrote an appreciative
article upon Utamaro—one of the best known
of the Japanese eighteenth-century designers. In
illustration of that article there appeared a selec-
tion of his colour-prints, reproduced in “ half-tone ”
in the text. So much of the charm of these
colour-prints, whether by Utamaro or by his con-
temporaries, lies in the delicate combinations of
harmonising tints which distinguish them, that to
reproduce the prints otherwise than in facsimile is,
as we have always felt, to leave out their chief
attraction. In the example now presented to our
readers the subtle gradations of refined tones have
been carefully matched by our colour-printer, and
form in themselves a lesson in colour harmony.
The subject is an actor being made up for the stage.
The various accessories, the little pot of colour, the
mirror, the wig, the dress, cap and sword, all bear
mute witness of the occasion. The text which
appears in the blank space over the figures is a
play upon words in allusion to the piece to be
performed, and as such is untranslatable.