DOI issue:
No. 217 (April, 1911)
DOI article:Mr. Arthur Wardle's paintings and drawings of animal life
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20972#0222
Arthur JVardle
in broad generalisations,
to sum up characteris-
tics and suggest realities
without committing him-
self to any particularly
definite statement;
what he wants is to fill
in all the little details
which help, each in its
right degree, to make
convincing his presenta-
tion of an individuality
which has its very well-
defined place in the
scheme of creation.
Therefore he studies
animal life not only with
the eye of the artist but
with the mind of the
im^thur . . - naturalist as well; he
" puma on a tree " (pastel) by Arthur wardle appreciates to the ut-
most the picturesque-
ness of his subjects, but
fault—but the pretence was so transparent that he is quite as anxious to grasp the more subtle
it did not in the least conceal the poverty of matters which have to be taken into account
idea and the inefficiency of preparation upon if this picturesqueness is to be amplified into
which it was founded. the larger and truer beauty which is required
In Mr. Wardle's art there is certainly no in a really logical and significant work of
pretence; the honesty and serious purpose of art. To discover the exact meaning of these
his study are evident in everything he produces, subtleties he has given years of attention to
Nor does he trouble himself to drag in unneces- the beasts which provide him with the motives
sary and alien sentiment into any of his pic- for his pictures and he has striven consistently
tures; he finds far too
much that is interesting
in animal life, repre-
sented as it really is, to
be inclined to waste time
over matters that are
foreign to the spirit of
his practice. What fun-
damentally influences
him is the conviction
that all wild beasts have
personalities of their
own, that each one has
a character and a way
of behaving which in
a perfectly intelligible
way expresses its tem-
perament, and that this
character the artist who
really understands his
business has to find out
and explain. It would
not be sufficient to deal "a tiger" (pastel) by arthur wardle
200
in broad generalisations,
to sum up characteris-
tics and suggest realities
without committing him-
self to any particularly
definite statement;
what he wants is to fill
in all the little details
which help, each in its
right degree, to make
convincing his presenta-
tion of an individuality
which has its very well-
defined place in the
scheme of creation.
Therefore he studies
animal life not only with
the eye of the artist but
with the mind of the
im^thur . . - naturalist as well; he
" puma on a tree " (pastel) by Arthur wardle appreciates to the ut-
most the picturesque-
ness of his subjects, but
fault—but the pretence was so transparent that he is quite as anxious to grasp the more subtle
it did not in the least conceal the poverty of matters which have to be taken into account
idea and the inefficiency of preparation upon if this picturesqueness is to be amplified into
which it was founded. the larger and truer beauty which is required
In Mr. Wardle's art there is certainly no in a really logical and significant work of
pretence; the honesty and serious purpose of art. To discover the exact meaning of these
his study are evident in everything he produces, subtleties he has given years of attention to
Nor does he trouble himself to drag in unneces- the beasts which provide him with the motives
sary and alien sentiment into any of his pic- for his pictures and he has striven consistently
tures; he finds far too
much that is interesting
in animal life, repre-
sented as it really is, to
be inclined to waste time
over matters that are
foreign to the spirit of
his practice. What fun-
damentally influences
him is the conviction
that all wild beasts have
personalities of their
own, that each one has
a character and a way
of behaving which in
a perfectly intelligible
way expresses its tem-
perament, and that this
character the artist who
really understands his
business has to find out
and explain. It would
not be sufficient to deal "a tiger" (pastel) by arthur wardle
200