DOI Heft:
Nr. 240 (February, 1917)
DOI Artikel:Gibson, Frank: British artists in the war zone: Muirhead Bone and James McBey
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43463#0309
British Artists in the. IVar Zone
“the crucifix, Boulogne”
(Messrs. Colnaghi 6° ObachJ
ETCHING BY JAMES MCBEY
at hand: that is the etching called The Sussex.
This is one of the largest plates he has hitherto
executed. And there is a tragic grandeur about it
which haunts one. The ill-fated packet-boat is
shown occupying the centre of the composition,
lying stranded but upright on the beach ; the
steep side of her hull illuminated by the rays of
the setting sun which is sinking into the low bank
of mist on the horizon. Her wrecked and crushed-
in bows present a mass of shadow from which the
eye is led most skilfully to the crowd of fishwives,
their men-folk, and other onlookers who gaze
curiously at her, and who are silhouetted against
a large liner going out to sea. It is a splendidly
designed plate, and the main masses of the com-
position are beautifully placed. But the chief
merit of the work is the way the artist has succeeded
in rendering the pathos of the scene. It was
clearly a spectacle that profoundly stirred him,
and he has communicated his emotion to us most
perfectly in this plate. This etching is certainly a
landmark in the progress of Mr. McBey’s art and
makes one feel sure of the promise of greater
things to come.
That none of the other etchings have this
dramatic quality quite so strongly may be owing to
the nature of their subjects, but the fair prospect
of the magnificent old city of Rouen spread out
before him has inspired the artist to execute this
large and ambitious plate. And it must be admitted
with a great measure of success. Such a theme
would try the powers to the utmost of any
etcher, and Mr. McBey has come through the
ordeal triumphantly. Quai Gambetta, Boulogne,
shows the artist’s instinct for design and certainty
in placing his subject perfectly upon the plate.
Of the two plates, The Crucifix, Boulogne, and
The Seine at Rouen, the former is remarkable for
its fine rendering of a sky covered with dense
masses of shining clouds, and the play of light over
hill-side, town, and river, very simply and directly
drawn on the copper; the latter, for the effect of
calm afternoon light on a broad river, where its
sentiment is so perfectly given. All these etchings
show that Mr. McBey advances in his art. He has
style, the pictorial intention in his work always
stands out, and he has much freshness of obser-
vation. Frank Gibson.
i85
“the crucifix, Boulogne”
(Messrs. Colnaghi 6° ObachJ
ETCHING BY JAMES MCBEY
at hand: that is the etching called The Sussex.
This is one of the largest plates he has hitherto
executed. And there is a tragic grandeur about it
which haunts one. The ill-fated packet-boat is
shown occupying the centre of the composition,
lying stranded but upright on the beach ; the
steep side of her hull illuminated by the rays of
the setting sun which is sinking into the low bank
of mist on the horizon. Her wrecked and crushed-
in bows present a mass of shadow from which the
eye is led most skilfully to the crowd of fishwives,
their men-folk, and other onlookers who gaze
curiously at her, and who are silhouetted against
a large liner going out to sea. It is a splendidly
designed plate, and the main masses of the com-
position are beautifully placed. But the chief
merit of the work is the way the artist has succeeded
in rendering the pathos of the scene. It was
clearly a spectacle that profoundly stirred him,
and he has communicated his emotion to us most
perfectly in this plate. This etching is certainly a
landmark in the progress of Mr. McBey’s art and
makes one feel sure of the promise of greater
things to come.
That none of the other etchings have this
dramatic quality quite so strongly may be owing to
the nature of their subjects, but the fair prospect
of the magnificent old city of Rouen spread out
before him has inspired the artist to execute this
large and ambitious plate. And it must be admitted
with a great measure of success. Such a theme
would try the powers to the utmost of any
etcher, and Mr. McBey has come through the
ordeal triumphantly. Quai Gambetta, Boulogne,
shows the artist’s instinct for design and certainty
in placing his subject perfectly upon the plate.
Of the two plates, The Crucifix, Boulogne, and
The Seine at Rouen, the former is remarkable for
its fine rendering of a sky covered with dense
masses of shining clouds, and the play of light over
hill-side, town, and river, very simply and directly
drawn on the copper; the latter, for the effect of
calm afternoon light on a broad river, where its
sentiment is so perfectly given. All these etchings
show that Mr. McBey advances in his art. He has
style, the pictorial intention in his work always
stands out, and he has much freshness of obser-
vation. Frank Gibson.
i85