International studio (50.1913)

Emile A. Verpilleux

state of bliss. In this way, free from care, with
easy access to his professor, he was able to lay the
foundations of a sound practice, which by intelligent
application led him through various stages to
the new development in the art of wood-engraving.
His early work was expressed on accepted lines.
He produced prints in line and tone, which had
then fine qualities of colour and a certain decora-
tive harmony broadly and richly expressed but
without hint of the new vitality of colour vibration
so admirably characteristic of his latest achievement.
His return to London found him beset with the
usual difficulties—a round of visits to indifferent

can receive scant justice from a reproduction in
monochrome, and even a mechanical colour process
could give but a hint at its extraordinary charm
and subtlety. Its wonderful effect of atmosphere
obtained entirely by delicacy of colour values is
evident even in a black-and-white reproduction, but
the infinite variety and gradation of the tones of
colour in the sky, so harmoniously balanced from
the note of pure blue in the roof of the near tower
to the almost imperceptible tones of violet, green,
yellow, blue, and pink in the sky so intimately
related to produce a vibrating effect of colour
(through a whole gamut of colour tones) while

publishers and obdurate dealers formed a temporary
hiatus in his development, if it also induced him to
rely more on that special satisfaction which is only
to be derived from increasing intellectual and
artistic development, and which is often denied to
the too easily successful artist.
The encouragement of Mr. Joseph Pennell

retaining its sense of impalpable atmosphere, must
be seen in the original print to be at all realised.
These tones are all cut in the wood without any
trickery in printing or otherwise.
Strangely enough, in his use of oil-paint, the
qualities which so brilliantly distinguish his wood-
cuts are frequently absent or inadequately realised.

inspired him to new efforts and opened
the way to his showing his work at the
International Society’s Exhibition. His
work has also been seen on the walls of
the New English Art Club, and even the
Royal Academy has conde=cended to
find an occasional place for his prints in
that inadequate cul-de-sac known as the
“ Black-an d-White Room.” Latterly
Messrs. Colnaghi and Obach, with their
sense for high artistic excellence, have
acquired some of his colour blocks.
Mr. Verpilleux’ considerable work in
black and white (particularly those draw-
ings which adorn Mr. Temple Thurston’s
“City of Beautiful Nonsense”) and his
original colour illustrations for books and
magazines are well known and have
done much to raise the level of illustrative
work—“a consummation devoutly to be
wished ” in these days of commercial
motive.
His latest prints, on which his repu-
tation rests, comprise views of St. Paul's
Cathedral, St. Pancras Station, The
Tower Bridge (reproduced in The
Studio, May 1913), Interior of King’s
College Chapel, Cambridge, the last show-
ing his remarkable power of producing ex-
quisitecoloureffects by very simple means.
The Tower Bridge print probably
shows his unique qualities to the best
advantage. A work of art whose
main raison d'etre is colour expression

“PORTRAIT STUDY” (OIL) BY EMILE A. VERPILLEUX


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