DOI Heft:
No. 8 (November, 1893)
DOI Artikel:Etchings by Colonel Goff and Mr. Charles J. Watson
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17189#0053
Etchings by Col. Goff and Mr. C. J. Watson
E
TCHINGS BY COLONEL GOFF a.P™ f° considers himself a picture-lover
AND MR. CHARLES J. WATSON. J"* * -rta.nty that :t wdl fail to attract
J him—unless being told that it is a genuine Rem-
Of all the Arts wherein a special sec- brandt he brings his knowledge of a great reputa-
tion could be set apart for work executed tion to bolster up an otherwise faltering approval,
by artists for artists, etching may fairly claim to be In etching we have the art of omission carried
first. Not merely are the quali-
ties that arouse experts to en-
thusiasm in a Rembrandt ' first
state ' or a Whistler proof unat-
tractive to the general public,
but one doubts if to any collec-
tor or critic they appeal with
quite the same force as to a
fellow-artist who is master of
the needle. Of course in paint-
ing, literature, and music there
are' merely technical achieve-
ments that need almost as much
scholarship for their apprecia-
tion as for their production. In
etching, however, technique
alone is not enough—the vehicle
is so limited, its convention so
restricted, that the artist must
show his poetic gift—which is
perfect selection, as well as
mastery of his craft—which is
perfect execution. And even
to these he must impart the
peculiar individuality which is
at once the easiest thing to
recognise, and the hardest to
explain. Supposing these as-
sumptions are true, we need
not be surprised that the list
of such etchers is not very long
—and it would not be a hard
task to prepare a rough table of
their names, invidious though
it were to include modern
masters therein. All the same
one may claim that Colonel
\ „ _> ... , the fonte vecchio. from an etching by col. goff
Goff and Mr. C. J. Watson
would stand little risk of being struck off such a to its highest point. Never will you find a master
roll; and if the modern men were placed in pre- of this Art regret that he had not added more lines
cedence by merit, it would not be tedious reading to his plate, but often enough you may hear
to run down it until their names occurred. him wish that he had stayed his hand a few
To discuss the beauties of a fine proof of a fine minutes earlier. Etching is peculiarly an Art
etching demands listeners who are themselves requiring rapid decision and final self-criticism,
almost fanatics. You may place a drawing by Not herein can an added brush-mark replace a
Hokusai before a person of average taste, feeling first attempt; erasure and alteration to any con-
doubtful whether he will recognise its surpassing siderable extent are unknown. More than this,
merit, but you may show a superb Rembrandt to all work up to a certain stage is experimental and
II. No. 8.—November, 1893. 41
E
TCHINGS BY COLONEL GOFF a.P™ f° considers himself a picture-lover
AND MR. CHARLES J. WATSON. J"* * -rta.nty that :t wdl fail to attract
J him—unless being told that it is a genuine Rem-
Of all the Arts wherein a special sec- brandt he brings his knowledge of a great reputa-
tion could be set apart for work executed tion to bolster up an otherwise faltering approval,
by artists for artists, etching may fairly claim to be In etching we have the art of omission carried
first. Not merely are the quali-
ties that arouse experts to en-
thusiasm in a Rembrandt ' first
state ' or a Whistler proof unat-
tractive to the general public,
but one doubts if to any collec-
tor or critic they appeal with
quite the same force as to a
fellow-artist who is master of
the needle. Of course in paint-
ing, literature, and music there
are' merely technical achieve-
ments that need almost as much
scholarship for their apprecia-
tion as for their production. In
etching, however, technique
alone is not enough—the vehicle
is so limited, its convention so
restricted, that the artist must
show his poetic gift—which is
perfect selection, as well as
mastery of his craft—which is
perfect execution. And even
to these he must impart the
peculiar individuality which is
at once the easiest thing to
recognise, and the hardest to
explain. Supposing these as-
sumptions are true, we need
not be surprised that the list
of such etchers is not very long
—and it would not be a hard
task to prepare a rough table of
their names, invidious though
it were to include modern
masters therein. All the same
one may claim that Colonel
\ „ _> ... , the fonte vecchio. from an etching by col. goff
Goff and Mr. C. J. Watson
would stand little risk of being struck off such a to its highest point. Never will you find a master
roll; and if the modern men were placed in pre- of this Art regret that he had not added more lines
cedence by merit, it would not be tedious reading to his plate, but often enough you may hear
to run down it until their names occurred. him wish that he had stayed his hand a few
To discuss the beauties of a fine proof of a fine minutes earlier. Etching is peculiarly an Art
etching demands listeners who are themselves requiring rapid decision and final self-criticism,
almost fanatics. You may place a drawing by Not herein can an added brush-mark replace a
Hokusai before a person of average taste, feeling first attempt; erasure and alteration to any con-
doubtful whether he will recognise its surpassing siderable extent are unknown. More than this,
merit, but you may show a superb Rembrandt to all work up to a certain stage is experimental and
II. No. 8.—November, 1893. 41