DOI Heft:
No. 88 (July, 1900)
DOI Artikel:Khnopff, Fernand: Francois Maréchal, a Liége etcher
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19785#0126
Francois Marshal
designs in which the substance, the "volume," is vision of things; there was, in fact, a want of
skilfully suggested, while the contour is rough and harmony between the workmanship and the style,
awkward. Thus the dominant passion of the When things were at this stage he began to study
engraver was plainly visible in his work, the ob- engraving with the help and guidance of M.
stinate striving after the faultless technique he Rassenfosse, whose great talent is equalled only by
must attain at any price. his generous and fraternal spirit. To the young
M. Marechal first studied oil-painting, regularly engraver the new method came as a revelation of
attending the classes at the Liege Academy of Fine himself. Full of enthusiasm he abandoned paint-
Arts, and not without success, for he won a prize ing to devote himself wholly to the engraving in
for an historical subject; he also devoted himself to which he delighted. His keenness for work,
landscape. In all he did there was evidence of always great, became quite extraordinary. He
undoubted hard work and a desire to succeed ; produced plates literally in heaps, and thus in a
but after all it was only experimental, for the short time succeeded in acquiring remarkable
" process " he had chosen was not adapted to his sureness of touch.
The danger was that this very
dexterity—which was only a means
to an end—might be regarded by
I. .. the artist as the ultimate aim of
• ! } . \a~\ . his labour; that he might waste
i-. /f-X, Y ^v/tPsnT^; his ability on mere feats of skill.
A/ ''-^3. Khmg/KmkBf^^ Happily the crisis was of short
duration. The period of manual
exercise was succeeded by one of
intellectual work. He read, and
watched and pondered, and then,
when face to face with nature, he
realised that he was equipped to
understand and to depict it.
The works by M. Marechal,
reproduced here, show how he loves
—one may almost say adores —
these varied and interesting regions
around Liege, with their long per-
HHHKbb'IH '.aHBHin'l'''- spectives of tall chimneys, and their
ImpM 9HBp^ •.' ' \w' sBHy:- "Id deserted roads, lit only by some
■^Mf,,' 1y^JHVJ|H& A word more to conclude. Mare-
ps*m»sbs chsd had become accustomed to
' ' •'. jhj Hp. ••' engrave direct from nature, and the
;' M$'- ..jq^HSP^r^WBl public at first failed to recognise the
; • ." Liege scenes, naturally reversed in
\'\ ;v pfr& ' the printing, and refused to buy
plates which to their eyes repre-
sented nothing! Connoisseurs,
however, were not slow to see
that, although the faithfulness of
the " view" might suffer some-
what thereby, the engraving gained
V ' greatly in point of suppleness and
life.
HHBHHkt Francois Marechal is to-day in
the plenitude of his powers, the
"an old pathway, suburbs of liege" possessor of honest original talent,
from an etching by f. marechal and, I feel sure, will again and
104
designs in which the substance, the "volume," is vision of things; there was, in fact, a want of
skilfully suggested, while the contour is rough and harmony between the workmanship and the style,
awkward. Thus the dominant passion of the When things were at this stage he began to study
engraver was plainly visible in his work, the ob- engraving with the help and guidance of M.
stinate striving after the faultless technique he Rassenfosse, whose great talent is equalled only by
must attain at any price. his generous and fraternal spirit. To the young
M. Marechal first studied oil-painting, regularly engraver the new method came as a revelation of
attending the classes at the Liege Academy of Fine himself. Full of enthusiasm he abandoned paint-
Arts, and not without success, for he won a prize ing to devote himself wholly to the engraving in
for an historical subject; he also devoted himself to which he delighted. His keenness for work,
landscape. In all he did there was evidence of always great, became quite extraordinary. He
undoubted hard work and a desire to succeed ; produced plates literally in heaps, and thus in a
but after all it was only experimental, for the short time succeeded in acquiring remarkable
" process " he had chosen was not adapted to his sureness of touch.
The danger was that this very
dexterity—which was only a means
to an end—might be regarded by
I. .. the artist as the ultimate aim of
• ! } . \a~\ . his labour; that he might waste
i-. /f-X, Y ^v/tPsnT^; his ability on mere feats of skill.
A/ ''-^3. Khmg/KmkBf^^ Happily the crisis was of short
duration. The period of manual
exercise was succeeded by one of
intellectual work. He read, and
watched and pondered, and then,
when face to face with nature, he
realised that he was equipped to
understand and to depict it.
The works by M. Marechal,
reproduced here, show how he loves
—one may almost say adores —
these varied and interesting regions
around Liege, with their long per-
HHHKbb'IH '.aHBHin'l'''- spectives of tall chimneys, and their
ImpM 9HBp^ •.' ' \w' sBHy:- "Id deserted roads, lit only by some
■^Mf,,' 1y^JHVJ|H& A word more to conclude. Mare-
ps*m»sbs chsd had become accustomed to
' ' •'. jhj Hp. ••' engrave direct from nature, and the
;' M$'- ..jq^HSP^r^WBl public at first failed to recognise the
; • ." Liege scenes, naturally reversed in
\'\ ;v pfr& ' the printing, and refused to buy
plates which to their eyes repre-
sented nothing! Connoisseurs,
however, were not slow to see
that, although the faithfulness of
the " view" might suffer some-
what thereby, the engraving gained
V ' greatly in point of suppleness and
life.
HHBHHkt Francois Marechal is to-day in
the plenitude of his powers, the
"an old pathway, suburbs of liege" possessor of honest original talent,
from an etching by f. marechal and, I feel sure, will again and
104