New-York tribune., 1896-12-09
EARLY ENGLISH PRINTS.
THE COLORED ENGRAvINGs OF BARro.
LOZZI AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES

THE COLORED ENGRAvINGs OF BARro.
LOZZI AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES.
1t Is now two or hree years since the revival OF
interest in colored pints abroad began to make It.
self felt in this country and urged the dealers to
create and supply demand which discerning ANA.
teurs quick to foster During the interval
knowledge Of the subject has been increased: col.
lecors have helped to tisengage the works Of Bar
tolozzi Valentine Green's. w. Reynolds and others
from the trivial enthuaasms Of fashion, and "a
give them places In hoaored portfolios. To-day
when exhibition OF suca prints Is opened, it fixes
itself at upon high plane Of artistic interest
az witness the display Of over a hundred impres.
sions at the Wunderlich Gallery which has Just
been arranged and offered fer public inspection.
The colored engravings of the latter decades Of
the eighteenth century are rsmarkable for several
reasons To begin with, they were the fruit of an
artistic movement which, il 1t Of less magni.
tude and universal Importance than that of the
etchers has proved itself TO be IN the present cen.
tury. hardly less individual. The engravers
who worked in color well as IN stipple and line
produced effects unlike those attained by any other
form of art Their works form as separate and a.
striking a group the works OF the old German
wood engravers the early Dutch etchers Fur.
thermore these artists cultivated certain special
ideas which place them among the most graciously
amusing exemplars OF modern pictorial art. They
almost invariably graceful in fact. glance
the beautiful prints In the present collection
made by J. r. Smith and w. Ward. after the bu-
collie studies OF George Morland. will show once
that even the subjects OF the cowyard and the pR.
gerry were exploited in a happy vein Of sturdy b,h
at the same time fastidous taste. Nothing strenu.
GUS nothing Iepusive. ever handled by these
charming engravcrs. They reproduced often the
pathetic and sentimental compositions which were
In favor century ago but the worst tragedy OF
Angelica Kaufman was apt to be an innocuous AZ
fair and there Is not one OF many prints shown
at the Wunderllch Gallery which hints OF gloomy
feeling or perverted ingenuity. On the contrary,
the prevailing air Is Of serene, dyllic happi-
ness and the emotional significance Of the art sci.
dom travels far from the keys Of rural childhood,
rural domesticty. feminine beauty I'm its most
composed mood. One realizes in looking over the
pictures, and In recalling the innumerable others
which TREY follow. that the school they represent
dedicated peculiarly TO an ideal OF sweetness
and we-bred manner There is no other episode
In the history of graphic art which stands more
definitely than this one for suavity. elegance.
beauty that is at scnsuous and refined. One Is
sensible OF no grea, Intellectual power behind these
works Their authors incapable Of imagina-
tive flights. and they had IN the portra!ture of Sir
Joshua, Lawrence. Romney and the rest an In.
spiration which for all its and exquisite quail
tiles was calculated TO involve them In too pro-
found subteties of feeling Observe any Of tho
portraits OF women in this exhibition. the Mrs.
Stanhope' engraved by Caroline Watson after
Reynolds. or Stodart's print from Cosways group
OF The Fair Stepmother-Ladies OF the Lotus
Family There Is no great depth TO either Of these
performances. But II will be remembered that
there was great depth to the subjects. that the
Of tho late eighteenth century was never db.
tlrguished FOR intellectual reach. 1t was chiefly
beautiful and these colored engravings enforce the
idea.
The are the more eloquent because they have
been selected with notable discretion. There 10
much that Is Of minor character in the collection;
the numerous liiile ovals representing scenes ana
types OF childhood and infancy belong TO the light.
and least pretentious province OF the engravee
but these very ephemerae have oveliness wnicn
promises TO preserve them far longer ,ha9 az so:s was
hard l. interpreted with consummate sympathy BY
Nutter in the First Bite" and Just Breechd."
@nsTavsr after @' The cake in Danger by john
Russell: there two small fragments OF similar
character by Bartolozz which for sheer tenderness
and gentle fun are little masterpieces Prints lke
these however. occupy subordinate position ,sda -
the show The works which ccme into the immedi.
ate foreground are SUCH large engravngs aftsr s,r
y ] sr % s
the Hon. Adam Duncan or the two eaborats
sna hs PromeDaSs Sy in ST. James which
were engraved by 7. Gaugain and +, ID. Soiron re-
sbls dignity and T. solid qualities Scattered among
them and those other prints In similar styles Win
which the walls ar" nuns' 'n'i' ar t,tu'', ~. -.
,rations OF what can only be- called the adorable
ouaintness Of the last century No other express
sion more Justly conveys the Impression 10 be de-
rived from such a work the "Narcissus OF
Rowlan ndson In c. Graham's "ngravifg or from
Coswav's Mrs Tichclr' in the sipple plate by
John Condo or from that group called "Narcissa
ard Miss Williams. Find ye Miniature Picture,
pied by G Knight These are some OF the capital
examples in the collection. There are many other
nrnts enualv fine and indeed the average Is ex
captionaily high There is nothing more decorative
than these coored prints. This fact II Is taat
hns made them fashionable. They still permit the
applcatio OF the last cpthet. and their appear
ance at the present time Is obviously intended 10
he onp,rtune but they far more than decorative
and are Intended TO be much more than Christmas
gifts. They really among the permanent Treas
tires OF modern reproductive art.