The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-01-05
ART in FACE MAKEUP.
Henry Irving Tells Of the Most
Effective Methods.
MATERIALS AND C0l0RS,
The Great Tragedian Chats I'm His Dress
ing Room About Stage Disguises-
simple Lines Produce Great Effects.

| requires "a good deal OF patience. How
ever. one morning met him by chance rs
lac was coming from the theater. intro
duced myself and quickly delivered my
petition. asking him TO allow me to be
| present some evening in his dressing room
while he was making zap. was convinced
that an actor like Irving could teach me
more of the art of making up in one hour
than was able TO pick up in months OF
| practical experience. ! made my request
SO urgent that he could not refuse il, the
more SO rs he seemed TO be in great hurry
and anxious To get rid of me.
A few evenings later the stout janitor
! growlingly let me enter The day before
| had sent an appropriate present TO his mas
ter including note reminding him of his
| promise.
At that time a revival Of the Merchant
| Of Venice" WAS the attraction at the Ly
| ceum.
Entering the dressing room with its mir
| rors, wardrobes, screens and toilet tables
on which wool, wigs, powder boxes, bottles
| OF all sizes and sticks of grease paint were
| lying in great disorder, found the actor
already dressed for his part, but his face
was not yet made up. He nodded TO me
| and beckoned his dresser. a mere boy, TO
| proceed in his work.
mo set rules can be laid down for making
up faces, began Irving seated comfortably
in an arm chair. "A painter might as well
try TO give to his pupils in few set rules
the drawing of IA Raphael or the coloring of
Titan. Every Thespian m st study
these things for himself, as they cannot be
taught. The ordinary textbooks are value
less nevertheless, might be able TO give
you few valuable hints"
WIGS AND BEARDs.
In the meantime the little dresser had
combed the Shy lock wig. and now handed
it to Irving, who seized it at the temples
and drew it down on his head and then
holding one hand on the part SO as not to
remove it again, pulled the poll" Of the
wig downward with the other hand. This
is the only right way TO put on wig.
''The object of making up is not to mask
the face, but to aid and emphasize its ex-
preston. This is the most important point
in our art and should never be lost sight
of" he resumed, undergoing the unpleas-
ant procedure of having his entire face be
smeared with cold cream and then care
fully wiped off with towel
"The best materials for boards is soft,
raw wool. like this" and he seized small
lump Of dark brown and mixed it with
lighter shade; mot put up in braids as
very often sold ut the wigmakers Good
wool If pulled should not tear even il
drawn in long strips TO the thinness Of
spiders web" Holding the wool in the
left hand he modelled it with the right
until it had the desired shape of II goatee
and slight mustache. Then the boy dipped
piece of white glue into water, held it
over the gaslight and applied it to Irving's
chin and upper lip
"Only few dots, !" Irving advised, "they
are sufficient to attach a beard" The ex.
treme thinness. which allowed the skin to
shine through, added vastly to its natural
appearance.
"And now the brows," calculated Irv:
ing.
False brows2" inquired doubtfully.
"They are as easily put on as postage
stamps on letter." the little dresser al
lowed himself to remark. You simply
daub them with a little spirit gum and
slap them in place"
Hush" said his master, with faint
smile. "To show you how far the change
of single feature Of face can alter its
expression let us consider the eyes; they
will do as well as any other part"
EFFECT OF SIMPLE LINES.
And he suggested few methods of dis
gulSeS 10 luNkc all tyc lOOh a
short line with brown running down at the
outside and up at the inside corner Of the
eye is drawn. To enlarge an eye brown
line is drawn along the upper eyelid. To
counterfeit eyes that have been weeping
rose color is used, for the expression of
grief light gray (antimony). Eyebrows
that begin near the root Of the nose and
slant upward imrart the cunning, diaboli-
cal expression of Mephistopheles. a
strong black dot at the inside corner Of the
eye heghtens this effect The eye of
madman is represented by red line under
the eye, also by reddening the space be-
tween the upper eyelid and brow.
Sternness, such as is desirable in Shy
lock, may be acquired instantly in drawing
two vertical lines between the eyes, By
far the best advice was that the color OF
the brow should always be darker than
that of the hair, and the color Of the hair
darker than that of the beard or mustache.
lie had now come to the drawing of
wrinkles. The two between the eyebrows,
as mentioned above and two from the nos
trils to the corners Of the mouth were nee.
essary. To counterpart exactly a natural
wrinkle he first drew sharp lines with
brown pencil, then rubbed it into the com.
plexion, powdered IL with miniature puff
aud labored on IL until 1T looked more like
a shadow than "a line.
THE WHOLE SECRET.
wrinkles can only be drawn where the
face suggests wrinkles, otherwise the
makeup turns into caricature. The
whole secret of making up consists in
knowing what to leave out. \ few dots
and lines with red or black ut the eyebrows,
nostrils or corners of the mouth are sufii.
cient TO change "a whole countenance.
In making up the actor always considers
beforehand the size and arrangement OF
illumination OF the theater he is 10 play in.
The lighter the theater is the more careful
he has 10 be-
"A makeup exactly suited for the large
stage OF the Drury Lane would appear
frightful daub IN the Lyceum," remarked
Irving
The actor has also 20 consider certain
central point OF observation and Irving ac.
complished this by introducing into his
dressing room an expedient, the discovery
of which il credited To Charles Fechter.
lle arranged electric lights on either side
e 4 -srIs.