DOI Heft:
No. 281 (August 1916)
DOI Artikel:West, W. K.: Some pastels by Mr. George Sheringham
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21262#0154
Some Pastels by George Sheringham
power, that is to say, which they have of stimu- delicate a motive and would have tempted him
lating imagination and of rousing an aesthetic to become unnecessarily sumptuous and forcible ;
emotion in the people who see them. To claim water-colour would have been too elusive and too
attention on the ground that they give evidence difficult to keep under precise control—too acci-
of laborious application, or that they are the out- dental in its behaviour to be entirely trustworthy,
come of long and careful preparation, is not their But with pastel he can keep touch with every
aim ; they are the spontaneous revelations of the detail from beginning to end ; he can define things
artist's ideas, impressions in which he has made precisely or suggest them daintily, and he can
apparent his own personal sentiment, and it is make his whole scheme of decoration intelligible
because they reveal how deeply this sentiment without having to commit himself too definitely to
is impressed upon his mind that they make so assertions of actual fact. In handling such a
convincing an appeal. motive pedantic reality would be as much mis-
In recording such spontaneous ideas it is obvious placed as the mere display of technical facility ;
that spontaneity in the medium chosen is essential, wisely he has chosen the medium which by its
And it is just this spontaneity that is the distin- subtlety and unobtrusiveness allows him to give
guishing quality of pastel when it is used as Mr. the full value to his artistic intentions without
Sheringham uses it. There is in his touch a itself insisting upon being noticed,
freshness that is very acceptable, a promptness that It is the same with his other pastel decorations ;
is extremely significant;
he neither fumbles _
nor hesitates; what lie jHpUdQPRH;: •
sets down has always ? f{ , w^^^w
just its right place in the ^jB';f.,:flr 'ImHjIHb^L^
scheme of his work and ' FI/ikm Jf^fcfflH|^C\
makes just its correct •' w ,t> \' Hr
contribution to the final uisftf*"* """^feSf I
result. There nothing ^^Ktr^J^^SS^k % <wr^»«w
superfluous, nothing that Wr> { 'SKw^MySKKIimF^ ^»
could be taken away ^ ^SmC' St wv>"j&>
without perceptibly de- j£, - • 1
creasing the meaning of /'^sMk :jjm¥ v '-iV ■.-r •
the design and diminish- L^Xj v ■ «y~L'*"^5l
ing the strength of the J}^J^"*~\ "-'
aesthetic message it is in- „ ■vfli^'^ jd£
tended to convey; and yet ^ ,
with all this economy of . ' ' , ?
statement the decorative BxSdfcjfcjfrjMillr^ W
Clearly, this complete- JP»\
ness of result would be . ■ '~; ' /' . .
impossible if the medium t M
did not respond fully to jj|
the demand that he makes
upon it. It is difficult, /j,
for instance, to imagine
how with any other paint- 1***^**' I * •»
ing process he could have
made so persuasive a . .yfldBjBfc "v j
fantasy like The Persian tj^
have been too ponderous 1
and too formal for so "at goldkr's green" by george sheringham
134
power, that is to say, which they have of stimu- delicate a motive and would have tempted him
lating imagination and of rousing an aesthetic to become unnecessarily sumptuous and forcible ;
emotion in the people who see them. To claim water-colour would have been too elusive and too
attention on the ground that they give evidence difficult to keep under precise control—too acci-
of laborious application, or that they are the out- dental in its behaviour to be entirely trustworthy,
come of long and careful preparation, is not their But with pastel he can keep touch with every
aim ; they are the spontaneous revelations of the detail from beginning to end ; he can define things
artist's ideas, impressions in which he has made precisely or suggest them daintily, and he can
apparent his own personal sentiment, and it is make his whole scheme of decoration intelligible
because they reveal how deeply this sentiment without having to commit himself too definitely to
is impressed upon his mind that they make so assertions of actual fact. In handling such a
convincing an appeal. motive pedantic reality would be as much mis-
In recording such spontaneous ideas it is obvious placed as the mere display of technical facility ;
that spontaneity in the medium chosen is essential, wisely he has chosen the medium which by its
And it is just this spontaneity that is the distin- subtlety and unobtrusiveness allows him to give
guishing quality of pastel when it is used as Mr. the full value to his artistic intentions without
Sheringham uses it. There is in his touch a itself insisting upon being noticed,
freshness that is very acceptable, a promptness that It is the same with his other pastel decorations ;
is extremely significant;
he neither fumbles _
nor hesitates; what lie jHpUdQPRH;: •
sets down has always ? f{ , w^^^w
just its right place in the ^jB';f.,:flr 'ImHjIHb^L^
scheme of his work and ' FI/ikm Jf^fcfflH|^C\
makes just its correct •' w ,t> \' Hr
contribution to the final uisftf*"* """^feSf I
result. There nothing ^^Ktr^J^^SS^k % <wr^»«w
superfluous, nothing that Wr> { 'SKw^MySKKIimF^ ^»
could be taken away ^ ^SmC' St wv>"j&>
without perceptibly de- j£, - • 1
creasing the meaning of /'^sMk :jjm¥ v '-iV ■.-r •
the design and diminish- L^Xj v ■ «y~L'*"^5l
ing the strength of the J}^J^"*~\ "-'
aesthetic message it is in- „ ■vfli^'^ jd£
tended to convey; and yet ^ ,
with all this economy of . ' ' , ?
statement the decorative BxSdfcjfcjfrjMillr^ W
Clearly, this complete- JP»\
ness of result would be . ■ '~; ' /' . .
impossible if the medium t M
did not respond fully to jj|
the demand that he makes
upon it. It is difficult, /j,
for instance, to imagine
how with any other paint- 1***^**' I * •»
ing process he could have
made so persuasive a . .yfldBjBfc "v j
fantasy like The Persian tj^
have been too ponderous 1
and too formal for so "at goldkr's green" by george sheringham
134