Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-01-23
ART IN FACE MAKEUP
HENRY IRVING TELLS OF THE
MOST EFFECTIVE METHODS.

duce Great Effects.
TIC gain an interview with Henry Irving
requires a good deal of paUIence. How
ever one morning met him by chance AS
he 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 up. 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 it, the
more so as he seemed to be in a great hurry
and anxious to get rid of me.
4 few evenings later the stout janitor
grow ingly let me enter. The day before
had sent an appropriate present to his mas
ter including Il note reminding him of his
Gom Sc
At that time a revival OF the Merchant
Of Venice" was the attraction ut the Ly-
ceum
Entering the dressing room with its mir
roTs ,yardrobes, 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. mere boy, to
proceed in his work.
No 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 "A few set rules
the drawing of a Raphael or the coloring of
a Titan. Every Thespian must study
these hings for himself, as they cannot he
taught. The ordinary textbooks are value
less, nevertheless, might be able to give
you Few valuable hints"
WIGS AND Boards.
In tie meantime the little dresser had
combel the Shylock 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 rs not to
remove it again, pulled the poll" of the
wig downward with the other hand This
is the only right way to pat on Il 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-
smearel 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 O dark brown and mixed it with a
lighter shade, mot put up in braids as
very often sold at the wigmakeTs Good
wool if pulled should not tear even if
drawn Il long strips to the thinness of a
spiders web" Holding the wool in the
left hand lie 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 AMI upper lip.
Only a few dots, " Irving advised. they
are sufficient to attach beard" The eX-
treme thinness, which allowed the skin to
shine through, added vastly to it's natural
appearance.
And now the brows," calculated lrv.
ing
False browss" 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 Il 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 us any other part
EFFECT OF SIMPLE LINES.
And h. suggested few methods of dis
guises. To make an eye look obliquely a
short line with brown running down ut the
outside and up at the inside corner of the
eye is drawn. To enlarge an eye a 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 heigltens this effect. The eye of a
mailman is represented by n 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 vert cal 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
He hao 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 natural
wrinkle lie first drew sharp lines with a
olo" bliSn ~ inJO Iut COtIl-
plexion, powdered it with miniature puff
and labored on it until it looked more like
shadow than line.
THE WHOLE SECRET.
Wrinkles can only be drawn where the
face suggests wrinkles, otherwise the
makeup turns into a carcature The
whole secret of making up consists in
knowing what to leave out. A few dots
and lines with red or black at the eyebrows,
nostrils OF corners of the mouth are suffi-
cient to CT ange whole countenance.
In making up the actor always considers
beforehand the size and arrangement of
illumination Of the theater he is to play in.
The lighter the theater is the more careful
he has to lie.
"A makeup exactly suited for The large
stage of the Drury Lane would appear Il
frightful oaub in the Lyceum." remarked
Irving.
The actor has also to consider certain
central point of observation, and Irving ac-
complished this by introducing into his
dressing room an expedient, the discovery
Of which is credited to Charles Fechter.