Studio: international art (51.1911)

Edward J. Detmold's Drawings and Etchings

as the Impressionists had so elaborated their first
principles that there seemed no room for a further
movement in this direction, until the Post-Impres-
sionists refuted such an assumption. The extreme
of Pre-Raphaelitism—Post-Pre-Raphaelitism—is of
many varieties, but we cannot doubt that one of
the varieties is the work produced by Mr. Edward
J. Detmold.

Mr. Detmold has excelled with the etching
needle; and this is what would be expected where
there is such an intention to confine beauty to that
intimacy of detail that can be surprised only with
the needle-pointed black-lead, or, better still, the
needle-point itself. All drawing that is worth any-
thing suggests that the line is caressed ; that it is
the result of an affectionate impulse : this may
come down to detail, or concern itself with the
sweep of ample form. It will assume, of course,
in these cases, a different style, for style has its
origin with the personal vision more than the
personal touch ; the touch only reflects : and if an
artist were deprived of his hand, it could not be
said that, though maimed, he had ceased to be an
artist. Nearly every principle carried to extreme
exposes the artist to some particular array of faults:
great penetration in regard to detailed form, it
would seem, must almost be bought at the expense
of that general view in which proportions are felt
and values weighed, and the spot where emphasis
should come into play discovered.

This remark indicates the nature of the faults of

Mr. Edward Detmold’s art. It is our task here
rather to follow him in his exploration into detail,
and to enjoy the sympathy with which in his own
style of emphasis he lays stress upon the character
of various surfaces. He discovers a touch for a
feather, and one for the scaly claw; he delights in
rendering the brightness of an animal’s eye, and he
is very intimate with its anatomical formation. He
is familiar with animal-life ; in this respect he is
too fine an artist to make the bad mistake that
Landseer made. It is slightly the fashion to
underrate Landseer, but if any man ever had an
intimate sympathy with animal-nature it was he;
his sympathy went out in particular to one kind of
animal, but it was not a narrow sympathy, though
it was specialization in the “ friend-of-man ” type of
animal, that led him to neglect emphasis upon
strictly animal traits; and in general, because he
was rather lazy, to dispense with the effort without
which the best artistic presentment is not arrived
at. In the place of emphasis on some magnificent
contour, or movement—in place of artistic emphasis
—he became wealthy by laying stress on the
maudlin sympathy which dogs and horses are sup-
posed to have with every tooth-ache of their
master. All lovers of animals sacrifice the truth
when they talk about animals, but for profound
insincerity Landseer, as an artist, will always
remain upon a pedestal by himself. The reaction
among animal painters has all been in favour of
the utmost deference to the animal-nature itself.

ILLUSTRATION TO ONE OF HANS ANDERSEN’S FAIRY TALES (WATER-COLOUR)

2go

BY EDWARD J. DETMOLD