New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-03-07
LALANNE,S ETCHINGS.
MR.. KEPPEES FINE COLLECTION.

the best collection Of his work which has been placed
before our public The quality Of the impressions
declares itself at and there few plates which
cause suspicion that the printer has In any way
obscured the artists meaning There Is handful OF
trial proofs, but Lalanne unlike Haden has included
very few trial proofs in his catalogue. For this the
amateur will feel Of gratitude, even though
the connoisseur be disappointed. But the states
offer ample opportunity for connosseurship. We
say In general terms that the various states Of
the plates fully represented in this collection.
A few rare states and a few plates have been
contributed by Messrs s. p. Avery and Howard
Mansfield, but the character Of the collection it
to may be inferred from the fact that the
proofs are those which Lalanne himself selected for
exhibition IN London In 1856, the year OF the artists
death. These proofs purchased from Madame
Lalanne last year. and they appear now in an cx-
hbition which is, as we are told.
the fourth that Ia. been made Of the
collected etched work Of Laannc.' The others
we're held at Paris Bordeaux and Marseiles in the
lifetime Of the artist These details not Of large
consequence. but the presence Of this exhibition in
New-Yok instead q London to illustrate the
zeal Of collectors
From his first appearance at the Salon in 1852
nearly TO the time Of his death Lalanne a produc-
tive worker In several fields Of art lie a master
Of charcoal, and his Of the pencil far toward
redeemng this medium from the popular charge Of
weakness. lie understood engraving and drawing
upon the stone, well etching. As etcher
he master of frank, original expression, lie
able 10 adapt his art to purely Illustrative purpose.
and he posses the sympathetic quality which fitted
him for the translation Of the work Of others. some
Of these plates show that he could follow the very
technique Of Daubigny exactly one Of the imi
tatvc' school OF wood engravers, or he could sus-
gcst the firm modelling of Rousseau the delicate
gradatons # C)rot. Nevertheless, Laanne's work
a reproductive etcher has been surpassed by many
others, and 1t is original etcher that he has the
greatest claim upon interest With the crafts
manshp Of his art he thoroughly familiar. and
yet, compared with many later echers, he Of
the simplest and fnnkest Of artists. ~ rule lac
expressed himself in pure line and 1t is surprising TO
note the almost total absence Of adventOu aids from
his collection. Even dry point is employed but once
or twice. There Ia hint Of the engravers methods
in tho Of cross Matching in the shadows, but this
simply shows the artists preference for the use OF
the line rather than resort 10 artificial fiat tnts.
A. matter Of course he used retroussage whenever
there occasion for the softer effect obtained by
coaxg the ink out Of the bitten lines, but there are
many II these impressions which must have been
taken from plate wiped nearly clean, which allowed
the bare lines alone to tell IN the printing.
Lalanne IS classified as landscape echer, but this
complete collection of his works shows that his
preference really FOR the town rather than the
country. Like far more imaginative artist, CbarleI
Meryon. he loved the buildings of old Paris and like
Iladen and Whistler, no attracted 10 river
crowded with shipping and the life Of the QuayS. But
II except few shore pieces like The Black Cows"
and genuinely English pastoral landscape and few
other Views. shall find that unsophiscated. or I'M
umanlzcd nature. If the expression may be allowed.
rarely attracted him. At the outset are introduced
to cid Paris, to tho quaint old Rue des Marmousets."
where, according TO the ancient tale Of the Theatre dos
Antiquities dc Paris there once dwet murderors
pastry cook,' whose performance forbesr
10 orafa MA ia lin fra a
LalanneS simple but effective and even distinguished
drawing II shows the artists tact in selecting his
points Of interest his purely suggestive treatment OF
sky and a Characteristic use Of shadow. The two
etchings of houses in process OF demolition In the
Boulevard St German and the Rue dcs Ecoles exhibit
the refinement and accuracy Of the artists drawing.
and the straishtforwadness Of his method. The first
state Of the ST. German is a monotone, but In the
second the foreground shadows have been added TO
supply a contrast. In the Rue dcs Ecoes, As In the
Ruins No 40, We that the artist has obtained
his Swallowed foreground by strong cross hatching
conventional form for which some observers VIII pre-
fer less prominence. In the " Ecoles' we may note
that the upper shadow the left hall is abruptly ended
by a line drawn across a curiousy arbitrary and I'M
real device which IS not employed below. Yet II Is
unnecessary TO analyze work well known and so ad
mirabe a. those two fine illustrations OF direct
genuinely artistic etching. We see another phase Oh
| slannes art in the graceful tree drawing of the
Ncuillv and the still stronger Environs of Paris
Every amateur knows Mr. lamert"hs somewhat
qucruous comments upon thc.c Plates GUY 'ile eA
cult 10 find want OF woody qualtS IN thc ROBUST
the left rms plate Is followed ey me o b9
with its nnc Interpretation of architecture the Victor
Hugo series. wherein the study OF ,ne ,r S ace snow"
Ship. Of the st Scvcrn,' the large View OF Paris
from the rGssdsG T'@ + Sc 10 Df R %eSd
"A true English landscape and the " bordeaux ~ WIN
eeeue~
10 illustrate Lalanncs judgment IN dealing with Lend
scapc his truthful observation and his faculty OF s.H
inc unon thc essential facts Yet we find in Other
plates that this selection of essentials was hequentl
az companied by a dissemination 10 emphasize his
lcctions Unlike many Others he cared little for
strong contrasts, and the only contrast usual In MS
work is the indirect one between the dark foreground
pass over the Souvenirs OF segc.' which exhibit
cra unusually free studies of effect: They seem moro
even though they are less refined, but IL would De
hard to make full comparison. From Bordeaux we
pass 10 Holland. There can be no question Of tie
excellence of the drawing In the lIaailem but even
If the design is superior 10 Van ,'rsvesandes WORK
In certain elegance OF manner, II Is clear tla thc
latter artsts work has a more sympathetic quality
In the Tour de Montalban," crowded composition
there is c0nycntionahty of expression which Is very
different from Yam GIavcsande's best work: The
example Of direct interpretation. 1t sus
eests the question which we have already
is "a loss or gain. The pictorial instinct seems IN
have been less strong in him than in most Of his
his work Vet hi, refined but simple drawing and
his open attitude toward his work are delightful
that we may we'll hesitate TO ask for ANYTHING differ
cnt Ialannc the po'sessor OF style, and a
style is rare gift. II Is remark
should have been allowed rarely to predominant
over his theory Of etching as direct, rapid linear
art.
The crayOn and charcoal drawings which
hhitcd here are usually the memoranda OF an
artist who possessed the much talked of gift Of select
ing essentials in very marked degree. They arc
refined and artistic. In the true meaning of the
word but they would not he chosen illustrations 81
"A vigorous personality. And the impression which T.
left Is perhaps not an unjust one. Ialannc not
one of the vigorous personalities of modern art
lie was master of the means of expression. and his
personal manner in art was rarely devoid OF taste
cracc. dignity and finely artistic adjustment ~
means 10 ends. As ~ teacher Of etching and an
ponent Of the true gospel Of the art alannc will h.
eftIIx hut here have boon