FINE ARTS.
I3URNET'S ETCHINGS OF THE CARTOONS OF RAPHAEL.
IN noticing the Reverend R. CATTERNIOLCS Book Idle Cartoons, we re- gretted the want of faithful and spirited engravings of these sublime works, not being aware that the desideratum was actually begun to be supplied. JOHN BURNET, who is both painter and engraver, and whose treatises on painting prove that he has studied his art theoretically as well as practically, is following out his precepts by a series of illus- trative examples from the works of the great masters ; and he very properly commences with the Cartoons of RAPHAEL. The plates are
on a large scale, and engraved on steel, in a free and vigorous style,
so as to convey the spirit and meaning of the originals in a broad and effective manner ; and they arc published so cheap as to put them within the reach of the working classes—four shillings being the price
of a print that allows only a needful margin to a sheet of paper 34 by 24 inches.
This is the first attempt that has been made to give to the public at large a taste for really tine art, by making them familiar with the no- blest productions of the pencil. As the enterprise of an individual, it is highly honourable to him ; and it would be a reproach to the country if he should not be encouraged to proceed. It cannot be from motives of gain that an undertaking like this is begun; and its success will not only advance the cause of art in England, but benefit the moral and intellectual character of the masses. Pictures have never yet been sufficiently employed as a means of instruction : the mul- tiplication of good ones has hitherto been a costly process ; and the cheap prints intended for nurseries and infant schools have been so bad that they either puzzled children to make out their meaning, or ereited ludicrous ideas. But here we have really fine engravings, that the student may learn from, and the uninformed and the enlightened lover of pictures alike derive intellectual gratification of the highest kind.
It is not every chef-d'oeurre that is suited to popular understanding:- graceful composition, correct drawing, and powerful effect, are of little value in the eyes of the many, unless they combine to tell a story: the value of a picture in this point of view consists in its intelligibility—in its power of interesting the beholder, by the vividness with which the subject is brought before the eye. It is this, the rarest and the finest quality of art, that so eminently distinguishes the Cartoons of RA- PHAEL. The dramatic force with which every subject is presented to the mind, strikes one more than even the simple grandeur of the con- ception or the beauty of the design : it produces the effect of the ac- tual incident : you may suppose the painter to have witnessed the scene and drawn the characters and their expressions as they appeared, so strong is the impression of reality produced by the most refined art aiding a lofty and pure imagination. To take only the two Cartoons before us. In Paul Preaching at Athens, the Apostle stands like a tower, with hands lifted up, as if the fervour of his Mitt alone enabled him to sustain the weight of his great argument ; while the faces and attitudes of his hearers express their various characters and emotions in the most lively and impressive manner. The very folds of the mantles of the three sages before him bespeak their different sensations,—one shrouded in doubt, the other restless with disputatious impatience, and the third yieldingly dispas- sionate. How naturally the stern and frowning aspects of the more distant and casual bystanders are opposed to the animated looks and gestures of the group seated, who have entered into the spirit of the discourse, and are keenly discussing its doctrine ; and how beautifully the rapturous ardour of the man and woman in the foreground con- trasts with the ferocious glare of the three listeners behind the Apostle! Again, in Elymas the Sorcerer Struck Blind, the cull:um-like figure of Paul is stedfast with power, as in the first ; but, as if to denote the unpremeditated character of the act, he holds a book in one hand, while the other is extended with the upraised finger pointed towards the miser- able mum—whose doom may be read in the inspired indignation of the Apostle's countenance, no less legibly than in the blinded sense expressed in every feature, limb, and action of the stricken wretch. The instantaneousness of the event is also apparent in the horror and astonishment of the man who looks into the face of Elymas; the terror and rage of the woman appealing to the bystanders; and the awe of the Proconsul, which is mingled with feelings of pain and aversion. Thus the reflection (so to speak) of the miracle in the faces and ges-
tures of all around, is concentrated in one focus by the momentariness of the point of rime : the mandate has scarce gone forth from the lips of the Apostle, when it is fearfully executed, and calls forth the various feelings depicted in the persons present. This is dramatic painting,, to which is superadded the elevation and grandeur of epic dignity. The highest praise of the engravings is the fact that the impression here attempted to be conveyed to the reader, we have taken from the prints before us. Without comparing them with the originals, it is not possible to enter into a minute ex- amination of their merits or defects ; but, so far as our recollection of the Cartoons serves us, the character and expression of the heads are preserved with remarkable fidelity — certainly far greater than in ficseaoway's engravings, or in any others that we have seen. Mr. BURNET. indeed, seems to have caught the spirit of RM'HAEL, and
transfused it into these copies. The drawing is sufficiently accurate for the purpose of giving an idea of the figures ; though in some points, as well as in the tints, improvement is desirable. The roughness of the etching—which is a new and peculiar method—is not a material objection, however serious it may be deemed by those who are accus- tomed to regard executive means as of more importance than results, and whose admiration is limited to smoothness and finish. These prints are not to he looked at microscopically, but mentally. Their appearance is something like that of a sepia drawing heightened with touches of the reed pen—for they are printed in a brown ink. The effect of atmosphere arid space might be increased with advantage, even if the niaial perspective were carried further than its the origi- nals : and the same may be said of the details of form and colour- ing; for be it remembered,' that the Cartoons are not pictures, but tinted drawings made to work from, and grievously injured by time and Al-usage.
e cannot refrain from urgently recommending this noble un- dertaking to the support of every lover of art. The good to be effected by the diffusion of these works among the cottagers, the mechanics, and among the middle and higher classes also, is incalculable. Dr. ROWRING happily alluded to the Italian image-boys as the little missionaries of art : aNET has shown himself to be an apostle ; and in such a cause we hope he will find many disciples. We never anticipated that in this day engravings that will be pi ized above all others by artists and amateurs, would he circulated among the working classes.
We commend to Mr. BURNET'S attention the majestic picture of LEONARDO DA Vraca " The Last Supper." The engraving of it by RAPHAEL AIORGHEN, beautiful as is its execution, is not only feeble, but incorrect in the character and expression of the Disciples. An op- portunity is mow afforded by the cartoons of the heads in the possession of Messrs. Woormuno, (are not these treasures yet secured to the nation ?) for correcting the inaccuracies of the print : by comparing them with the Academy copy of the picture, an approximation to the spirit of the now defaced original ,nii:ht be attained.
Previous page
