Omaha daily bee., 1897-01-04
WOOD ENGRAVING.
Effect of the Rivalry Of New Photo
graphic Processes.

graphic Processes.
The new methods of producing illustrations
by various Photographic processes" says
the Baltimore sun are excellent in many re-
spects and are preferable perhaps to all the
old methods when cheapness rather than
quality is Insisted upon. Very fine effects are
secured, in fact, by process work" To the
great majority of people the pictures in the
better class of magazines are perfectly salts
factory, being vastly superior to the cheap
wood cuts which they dispace. But "as Il
fine art" wood engraving, according to Mr..
w. II. Gardrer-as quoted by the Popular
Science Monthly-stil holds the field and
has an assured future. 1t is, he holds
FAR and away" superior to any process "ln
its marvellous versatility of technique which
enables the engraver to translate not only
the value, but the very individual touch of
each artist from whose picture he may be
engraving. All processes dependant upon
photography are bound to go wrong in the
rendering of values" since photography
has not yet been brought to such state OF
perfection as to master the difficulties of
exact color translation. In fact photogra-
ply is utterly inadequate to the most simple
wash drawings in black and white" Wood
engraving in mechanical way has had ite
day. but as reproductive fine art 1t Is held
to be unapproachable. "It has not been
touched" says Mr.. Gardner, with enthusl-
asm, "and never will be touched by any
process yet invented"
The shortcomings of the photograph are
conceded and the process engraving" must
necessarily share its defects. There Is much
difference, of course, between a good photo
graph and a bad one-almost as much as
between a good wood cut and bad one.
| But of the best Photographic portrait one
often hears the remark made "a fine pic
| ture, but not a bit like him. dozen
| different photographs of the same person
half
each very unlike the other. Where colors
are to be reproduced. the results are still
| more false, owing to the fact that the sew
eral colors act upon the sensitive film with
widely different degrees Of intensity. More
over, the perspective sometimes goes wrong
| with the result that neither in values nor
| lines is the photograph to be trusted. An
| artists hand may correct some of its def
| ciencies but to the educated eye many still
remain.
Nothing" says Mr.. Gardner, docs or
ever can compare with the work done
through the sensitive medium of the eye
and hand of man. In fact, | consider wood
| engraving far better than any or all the re-
productive arts, as it stands quite alone in
its wonderful adaptablity, for any variety
of texture one likes can be produced on the
lockwood block. This can not be said for
either etching, mezzotint steel or copper,
great as the masters have been who have
| terials." Each OF these materials has its
merits, but wood is best. THE crowning
advantage" says the writer, "is that the
engraver is enabled to work in both black
| and white line. Nothing is out of the range
of imitation The skillful artist can render
differences in texture Flesh, silk, satin,
wood, steel glass, marble furs, atmos-
pheric effects and foliage of all kinds-al
these the wood engraver can faithfully rep
resent What is of like Importance, he can
render the difference between oil and water
colors. New and cheap processes have not,
therefore, displaced the artistic engraver,
though it may have taken work from the
less skilfu. This is what might have been
expected in view of the failure of photog-
raphy to oust the better class Of portrait
painters. No mechanical process can equal
the working of the human hand guided by
genius. Till the camera can feel and think,
as well as see, 1t must remain inferior to
man in the production Of frst-class works
of art.