DOI issue:
No. 114 (September, 1902)
DOI article:Studio-talk
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19876#0306
Studio- Talk
CASKET PRESENTED TO LORD ROBERTS BY THE MERCHANT TAYLORS' COMPANY BY GEORGE FRAMPTON, R.A.
(From a photograph by Augustus Littleton, Esq.)
to put in every hair. " Even a photograph could
not do it." After Ruskin had gone, the lady was
asked what she thought of him. " He is a gentle-
man," she answered, " an educated gentleman ; but
he is a theorist. He sees nature with a little eye—
tout a fait comme un oiseau." This remark gives
neat expression to a quite common belief. Yet
Ruskin's sketches prove, again and again, that the
belief is in great measure a misconception of the
truth. Ruskin, no doubt, set the greatest store
by the discipline of minute work, and said that
" the test of an artist's ' morality' is his manage-
ment of the dry-point." But Turner, recollecting
his own early studies, might have said the same
thing; and there can be no doubt that Ruskin,
as well as Turner, could rise through long stages of
laborious detail to an ample vision of the beauties
of external nature. The sketch reproduced this
month is an example of this, and none will say
that this rapid impression of a damp and cloudy
day near Venice has anything in keeping with
Rosa Bonheur's criticism.
Mrs. William De Morgan's new picture, Victory
Crowning a Warrior, shows considerable pro-
gress ; it is the best work she has yet produced.
The eagle, it is true, being dangerously close to
the beautiful figure of Victory, is troublesome in
the composition; but, when this defect is set
294
aside, the subject and its treatment are charm-
ing, and form welcome additions to that which
is most heartfelt and pleasing in the traditions
left us by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Mr. Briton Riviere's exhibition of studies at the
Fine Art Society had a twofold interest—it was
exceedingly entertaining to that portion of the
public that prefers animals to art, and it was no
less entertaining to those who take pleasure in the
dexterity of a master's hand. The studies were
not all equally fine, but many among them were
remarkably truthful in observation, alert in char-
acter, and good in quick, nervous drawing.
One of the supplemental plates this month is a
reproduction in facsimile of a portrait by Mr. E.
Borough Johnson, and its excellence should appeal
to that increasing public that loves good lead-
pencil work.
Mr. George Frampton, R.A., is always fortunate
in the skill with which he unites strength with
elegance. The presence of these two qualities is
plainly seen in one of his most recent productions,
a beautiful casket presented to Field-Marshal
Earl Roberts. Admirable in proportion, and
beautiful in workmanship, it is among the best
pieces of metal-work he has yet produced.
CASKET PRESENTED TO LORD ROBERTS BY THE MERCHANT TAYLORS' COMPANY BY GEORGE FRAMPTON, R.A.
(From a photograph by Augustus Littleton, Esq.)
to put in every hair. " Even a photograph could
not do it." After Ruskin had gone, the lady was
asked what she thought of him. " He is a gentle-
man," she answered, " an educated gentleman ; but
he is a theorist. He sees nature with a little eye—
tout a fait comme un oiseau." This remark gives
neat expression to a quite common belief. Yet
Ruskin's sketches prove, again and again, that the
belief is in great measure a misconception of the
truth. Ruskin, no doubt, set the greatest store
by the discipline of minute work, and said that
" the test of an artist's ' morality' is his manage-
ment of the dry-point." But Turner, recollecting
his own early studies, might have said the same
thing; and there can be no doubt that Ruskin,
as well as Turner, could rise through long stages of
laborious detail to an ample vision of the beauties
of external nature. The sketch reproduced this
month is an example of this, and none will say
that this rapid impression of a damp and cloudy
day near Venice has anything in keeping with
Rosa Bonheur's criticism.
Mrs. William De Morgan's new picture, Victory
Crowning a Warrior, shows considerable pro-
gress ; it is the best work she has yet produced.
The eagle, it is true, being dangerously close to
the beautiful figure of Victory, is troublesome in
the composition; but, when this defect is set
294
aside, the subject and its treatment are charm-
ing, and form welcome additions to that which
is most heartfelt and pleasing in the traditions
left us by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Mr. Briton Riviere's exhibition of studies at the
Fine Art Society had a twofold interest—it was
exceedingly entertaining to that portion of the
public that prefers animals to art, and it was no
less entertaining to those who take pleasure in the
dexterity of a master's hand. The studies were
not all equally fine, but many among them were
remarkably truthful in observation, alert in char-
acter, and good in quick, nervous drawing.
One of the supplemental plates this month is a
reproduction in facsimile of a portrait by Mr. E.
Borough Johnson, and its excellence should appeal
to that increasing public that loves good lead-
pencil work.
Mr. George Frampton, R.A., is always fortunate
in the skill with which he unites strength with
elegance. The presence of these two qualities is
plainly seen in one of his most recent productions,
a beautiful casket presented to Field-Marshal
Earl Roberts. Admirable in proportion, and
beautiful in workmanship, it is among the best
pieces of metal-work he has yet produced.