DOI Heft:
No. 54 (September, 1897)
DOI Artikel:Baldry, Alfred Lys: Drawings by Mr. J. M. Swan, A.R.A.
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18389#0269
Drawings by /. M. Swan
make indisputable the fundamental contention, are
left untouched because by opening up other lines
of thought they would divert attention from what
it is his intention to demonstrate and define. This
habit of working has very markedly affected his
manner of handling, and has given a curious brevity
to his Style. He uses habitually the very smallest
number of touches that will express his meaning ;
but as every one must fulfil its exact function
nothing that he puts upon his paper or canvas is
in the smallest degree tentative or undecided.
Therefore his use of line is extremely sensitive.
By very subtle modulations and variations in
direction he will make a single line suggest not
only bone and muscle but something also of the
modelling of the furry coat. He will give in a few
strokes a complete summary of a complicated
movement, and will definitely explain the character
and momentary mood of the beast in what is actually
little more than an outline. Hardly any better
example of this economy of labour could be given
than the drawing of the seated lioness which is
among the illustrations to this article. There is
amazing accuracy in the twist of the body, and in
the lifting and poise of the head and neck, and
yet the whole thing has to all appearance been
completed in a few moments. And nothing in its
way could be more admirable than another of these
reproductions, the study of the head of the Polar
bear. It is more detailed, more- elaborate, but it
is expressed with a minimum of actual handling.
What touches there are have the right value and
are in the right places—that is all ; but they suffice
to assert in a manner that is almost perfect every
fact of the subject that is worth attention. The
firm solid mass of the skull, the huge muscles of
the jaws, the massive bony structure of the muzzle
and eye sockets, the heavy folding and creasing of
the skin round the cruel mouth, even the texture
of the close, thick fur, are all explained with such
consummate exactness that nothing seems to be
lacking. It is a tour-de-fo?'ce of simplicity, but how
wonderfully comprehensive it all is !
We may fairly reckon it a fortunate circumstance
that the admitted leader of the present day school
of animal painting in this country should be an
artist of such a type. By his example much can
be done to substitute a wholesome principle of
HEAD OF A POLAR BEAR
242
BY J. M. SWAN, A.K.A.
make indisputable the fundamental contention, are
left untouched because by opening up other lines
of thought they would divert attention from what
it is his intention to demonstrate and define. This
habit of working has very markedly affected his
manner of handling, and has given a curious brevity
to his Style. He uses habitually the very smallest
number of touches that will express his meaning ;
but as every one must fulfil its exact function
nothing that he puts upon his paper or canvas is
in the smallest degree tentative or undecided.
Therefore his use of line is extremely sensitive.
By very subtle modulations and variations in
direction he will make a single line suggest not
only bone and muscle but something also of the
modelling of the furry coat. He will give in a few
strokes a complete summary of a complicated
movement, and will definitely explain the character
and momentary mood of the beast in what is actually
little more than an outline. Hardly any better
example of this economy of labour could be given
than the drawing of the seated lioness which is
among the illustrations to this article. There is
amazing accuracy in the twist of the body, and in
the lifting and poise of the head and neck, and
yet the whole thing has to all appearance been
completed in a few moments. And nothing in its
way could be more admirable than another of these
reproductions, the study of the head of the Polar
bear. It is more detailed, more- elaborate, but it
is expressed with a minimum of actual handling.
What touches there are have the right value and
are in the right places—that is all ; but they suffice
to assert in a manner that is almost perfect every
fact of the subject that is worth attention. The
firm solid mass of the skull, the huge muscles of
the jaws, the massive bony structure of the muzzle
and eye sockets, the heavy folding and creasing of
the skin round the cruel mouth, even the texture
of the close, thick fur, are all explained with such
consummate exactness that nothing seems to be
lacking. It is a tour-de-fo?'ce of simplicity, but how
wonderfully comprehensive it all is !
We may fairly reckon it a fortunate circumstance
that the admitted leader of the present day school
of animal painting in this country should be an
artist of such a type. By his example much can
be done to substitute a wholesome principle of
HEAD OF A POLAR BEAR
242
BY J. M. SWAN, A.K.A.