Studio: international art (7.1896)

The Chromo-Xylographs of Henri Riviere

BRETON LANDSCAPE. " FUNERAL AT TRESTRAON " FROM A CHROMO-XYLOGRAPH BY H. RIVIERE

strange contrasts of scenery; now flat and desert level of photography, and becomes hard and vul-

plains, with calvaries silhouetted on the horizon ; gar; devoted rather to realism of the better sort,

now fertile banks, with crops and trees right to the broadly grasped and expressed, and seeking only to

water's edge; and now, again, the coast-side, with portray such parts of a subject as will endow it

its splendid pink rocks standing erect and recalling, with a character or a special attribute, and that in

even under these grey skies, the shores of the a form at once precise and clear.

Mediterranean and the climate of the South ! It is worth while to pause a moment to consider

Brittany! That is M. Henri Riviere's chosen M.Henri Riviere's method. A born artist must

spot. Every year, during the four or five months needs, if he would give adequate expression to the

of clement weather, he retires there alone, bent on thoughts and the dreams within him, be possessed

transferring to his canvas the infinite and quite of a special instrument, properly adapted to his

particular fascination of this beautiful region. But manner of seeing and feeling; and if he has not

to appreciate him properly the reader ought to see invented an altogether new medium, at least he

for himself M. Riviere's series of studies in colours has, by taking one already in existence, and adapt-

of Breton Landscapes, on which he has been en- ing it to the requirements of his art, made it his,

gaged for several years past. Thus only can he by his own special handling of it.

get an idea of the richness, the variety and the Thus, M. Henri Riviere has altered and protected

originality of this artist's work. It is indeed a de- and adopted to his own style the process of

lightful thing to be conducted by the hand of a chromo-xylography, in which he now excels. The

real artist among his works, and to be able to ac- patient, delicate work demanded by this method is

company him confidently, and breathe in the fresh well known, as are the difficulties of joining and

and invigorating odours they exhale. Through the infinite care required in the engraving of each

the medium of his productions we see him ever block in order to obtain strict accuracy of line and

devoted to the characteristics of things, ever aim- colour. The work begins with a set of tracings

ing at free, pure draughtsmanship; bound fast to taken from the complete original drawing; one

realism, but not, as some understand the word, to tracing to each block, of course, and one for each

absolute realism, whereby art is reduced to the colour employed, without counting other blocks,

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