DOI Heft:
No. 297 (December 1917)
DOI Artikel:Marriott, Charles: The recent work of Gilbert Bayes
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21264#0122
The Recent Work of Gilbert Bayes
it were taken for granted once for all that
nothing is too “ artistic ” for the ordinary
person if it is done in terms that he can
understand. In nine cases out of ten when a
work of art or literature is “ over the heads of
the public ” it is because the artist has been
too lazy, conceited, or incompetent to translate
his conception into intelligible terms ; and to
that extent the work is inartistic.
Broadly speaking, the difficulty of the public
is over the question of realistic representation.
The ordinary person likes to be able to see what
the work is all about; and the problem for the
artist is to let him see it without neglecting
design or violating the nature of the material
employed. A slight acquaintance with the
work of Mr. Bayes is enough to show that this
is a problem that he is
always considering, and
that his work owes a
great deal of its artistic
interest to the solutions
attempted, generally
with success.
In his case the prob-
lem is made all the
more difficult on the
technical side by the
fact that he is before
everything an illus-
trator. Lest the descrip-
tion be misunderstood,
illustration in art is only
a term of reproach
when the medium is
sacrificed in the pro-
cess. Most of the good
things in art, particu-
larly British art, from
illuminated missals and
stained - glass windows
to the paintings of Ford
Madox Brown, are in
fact illustrations ; and,
speaking generally, when
British art abandons
illustration it says
nothing at all. In sculp-
ture, of course, the task
of the illustrator is com-
plicated by the very
definite and even stub-
born character of his
106
materials. Unless he is to let down the busi-
ness of art to the level of waxworks he has
to reconcile intelligible representation with the
characteristic treatment of stone or bronze or
wood or plaster as the case may be. Leaving
out ideas as beyond his control, his rank as a
sculptor will depend upon the success of the
reconciliation.
The general character of the works reproduced
here is enough to show that Mr. Bayes is very
little concerned with abstract ideas. Even
when he attempts a symbolical figure he gives
it a local name or character. Thus, in Romance
he employs the accepted symbols of questing
knights, and in Destiny he relies on classical
allusion. All this is to the advantage of
intelligibility with no prejudice to art. The
'ARTEMIS” (BRONZE AND ENAMEL)
BY GILBERT BAYES
it were taken for granted once for all that
nothing is too “ artistic ” for the ordinary
person if it is done in terms that he can
understand. In nine cases out of ten when a
work of art or literature is “ over the heads of
the public ” it is because the artist has been
too lazy, conceited, or incompetent to translate
his conception into intelligible terms ; and to
that extent the work is inartistic.
Broadly speaking, the difficulty of the public
is over the question of realistic representation.
The ordinary person likes to be able to see what
the work is all about; and the problem for the
artist is to let him see it without neglecting
design or violating the nature of the material
employed. A slight acquaintance with the
work of Mr. Bayes is enough to show that this
is a problem that he is
always considering, and
that his work owes a
great deal of its artistic
interest to the solutions
attempted, generally
with success.
In his case the prob-
lem is made all the
more difficult on the
technical side by the
fact that he is before
everything an illus-
trator. Lest the descrip-
tion be misunderstood,
illustration in art is only
a term of reproach
when the medium is
sacrificed in the pro-
cess. Most of the good
things in art, particu-
larly British art, from
illuminated missals and
stained - glass windows
to the paintings of Ford
Madox Brown, are in
fact illustrations ; and,
speaking generally, when
British art abandons
illustration it says
nothing at all. In sculp-
ture, of course, the task
of the illustrator is com-
plicated by the very
definite and even stub-
born character of his
106
materials. Unless he is to let down the busi-
ness of art to the level of waxworks he has
to reconcile intelligible representation with the
characteristic treatment of stone or bronze or
wood or plaster as the case may be. Leaving
out ideas as beyond his control, his rank as a
sculptor will depend upon the success of the
reconciliation.
The general character of the works reproduced
here is enough to show that Mr. Bayes is very
little concerned with abstract ideas. Even
when he attempts a symbolical figure he gives
it a local name or character. Thus, in Romance
he employs the accepted symbols of questing
knights, and in Destiny he relies on classical
allusion. All this is to the advantage of
intelligibility with no prejudice to art. The
'ARTEMIS” (BRONZE AND ENAMEL)
BY GILBERT BAYES