International studio (35.1908)

The Recent Etchings of D. Y. Cameron


the appearance of the Belgian set he has executed
at least two etchings of the first importance.

1 NOTRE DAME, DINANT

_ , (By permission of Messrs. James Connell <2^ Sons)

Robin Hood’s Bay and The Five Sisters of York
(p. 92) have yet to be shown publicly in England,
though they have both been
exhibited in the United
States. And they show
that, high as Mr. Cameron
has already scaled, he is not
going to stop. If Notre
Dame, Dinant is an ad-
vance on St. Laumer, Blois,
so equally is The Five
Sisters an advance on Notre
Dame, Dinant. Splendid
as the latter is, it is out-
shone by the greater bril-
liance of the later plate.
The treatment of the fore-
ground is at once more
simple and more effective,
the towering height of the
cathedral is driven home
with awe-inspiring majesty,
its proportions pointed by
the blaze of light on the
group of figures below.
And if we allow our eyes
to rest on this group for
awhile, it is amazing how
substantial and alive each
tiny figure is. They are as
full of movement as the
windows above them are
full of colour. If we rest
our eyes on the windows
we shall in a little while see
greens and yellows and dark
reds projecting themselves
from the black and white
we know to be there. And
if we dream over the whole
we have entered into the
air and spaciousness of the
ancient minster. This plate
is not only a masterpiece,
but the finest impressions
yield the real picture magic,
the magic that is so rare
and inexplicable, that makes
the last canvases of Monti-
celli a bewildering joy and
mystery. To analyse this
magic is impossible. We
only know that it arises
from suggestion, that certain

BY D. Y. CAMERON

94