International studio (59.1916)

I Roodcuts by Charles Shannon, A.R.A.


gesture of the woman with her basket balances
so finely the stooping figure of the man. Two
delightful pastorals are The Apple Shower and
Fruit Pickers. The superb fluent composition
formed by the woman shaking the tree of the
former plate is well set off by the spontaneous and
perfect invention of the latter, where the man’s
natural action in placing the ladder balances
beautifully the woman’s waiting attitude.
This last is surely one of t-he most happily
inspired plates of the series. AA/ August
adequately expresses the sentiment of the
languor of mid-Summer, and The Garden
Plot, with its figures which so well fit the
composition, renders its appropriate tasks.
The print of The Sheaf Binders may be
placed side by side with that of The
Oven, but in itself the design is not
wholly successful; the action of the man
with the rake is a trifle awkward, and
though his figure balances the action of
the woman ingeniously, it seems, taken
by itself, somewhat ugly and ungainly.
The Oven is the only indoor subject, and
the spontaneity of its figures makes the
design a triumphant one. Autumn Leaves
and December form a fitting close to the
series. How finely expressed and con-
trasted are the actions of the man and
woman, and the sentiment of the season is
perfectly conveyed by the falling leaves.

In December the character of the last
month of the year is perfectly suggested
in the snowy landscape, the bare tree, and
the hooded figure entering the house. The
beauty of all these roundels is set off by
their appropriate colour scheme, which is
simple and harmonious. They are printed
in three tones, a dark greenish grey for the
shadows and sky, buff yellow for the half
tones, and white for the high lights.
A study of these woodcuts shows Mr.
Shannon’s wonderful comprehension of
the medium he has chosen to work in,
and also his extraordinary powers of in-
vention and design. What the fan shape
was to Charles Conder, so is the form of
the circle to Charles Shannon, and few, if
any, modern artists can surpass him in the
task of filling a tondo so perfectly. They
reveal further his complete knowledge of
the nude figure and his sense of finish both
in material and line: a knowledge only
equalled by that of the great masters.
Harmony, movement, and dignity of allure are the
qualities one finds in these figures without any com-
plication of modelling and very like the work of the
great Greek artists. Indeed looking at these ex-
quisite idylls it is quite easy to fancy them the work
of a Greek painter come to life again and practising
the fifteenth-century art of chiaroscuro printing.
Frank Gibson.


FRUIT PICKERS

2 14