The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-13
AN EXHIBITION or FINE PRINTS.

Both 10 the collector and to those who
can follow in their favored footsteps only
a. students few depart men,s Of art oher
more reasonable graf sicat ion than that OF
prints. II is one In which the beginning
Of acquaintance. no matter how or why
il has been started. will be pretty sure to
end in ripe and continued friendship. For,
besides The central motive Of appreciation
Of given print because Of its intrinsic
power or beauty Of expression and because
Of it, skill Of handicraft, there are 80 many
oflshoots Of collateral interest, which spring
from the actual existence of the print itself
as well as from its innumerable relations
with the other arts. with history and with
humanity, that II il justly pc pular. 1t
had its origin in a desire to reach the
people. and ia it, first manifestations reaches
them always in way most hatteriirY TO
their taste
One Of the conspicuous features Of art cul-
ture in this country is the constantly increas-
ing in'cros; taken in etching and engraving
10y students and collectors. And it is an
interest that spreads by contagion. For
the one man who will walk into a print
sellers gallery and ask TO he shown an
example there are hundreds who have
10 Ice eniiccd by an exhibition; but II II
out Of these hundreds, thus brought into
contact with the Vaccination OF PRINTS,
hat he ranks Of the connosseurs are being
continually recruited. Accordingly. on ones
own behalf and that Of others, one vel
comes these periodical displays.
An"N iultiou ot TVS kind lsln progress IN
the Keep lGa!lcry.S th "A showing OF master
piece "a Tie ART a thgiaNlng duflhE ne
seventeenth and II ghie,nth Centuries,w hich.
with ~" hundred years preceding them,
.|.ta Al "a A
attempt has been made to render 1t COM
pl.tcly II prc-citdiiNr; hut in its We ry variety
and iuCOmplct.uess IL j. perhaps the more
provocative "A judi iCious assortment OF
samples to whct the taste and prompt
fuller Indulgence. Roughly speaking, the
seventeenth century is the great period OF
engraved portraiture, while the following
one is CONSPICUOUS for its Interpretation by
IA line of painted pictures. Here is al once
n distinction, CHEERING two very different
ivenLe- of cLoicc, tina, the individual viii
follow Accord ~ 90 us terrperament.
The lus're Of tho Grand Monarch's court
attracting a. it did the men Of esprit in all
branches of the art, brought to Versailles
the Dutchman Edeliuck. Contemporary
with him were the famous engravers, Nan
tcuil and Mason. followed by the elder
and The younger Drcvet. These with their
turin have concentrated the great men Of
their dav, those whose fame is still green
and others whose memory but for these
portraits has passed away. As well in
the severe SIM licity Of the earlier work
as in the pTodigallty Of accessory which
a later taste demanded, these portraits
are documents Of extraordinary human
interest hv reason of the vital qualities
Of their rendprings of faces, while they
remain monument 10 the courage and
skill Of the engrav"rs. who could from
81 difficult an art extract such abundance
Of aesthetic charm With an adaptahility
Of sympathetic comprehension, fully as
remarkable a the assurance of their hand,
they cssayed the most varied and difficult
ELECTS. and for the most part with just
appreciation Of means to end that renders
their achievements perpetual source OF
enjoyment.
A similar fluency Of purpose and method
characterizes the Interpreters of the
eighteenth century; those who multiplied
the work of the French painters, or who,
like Raphael Morchen and Longhi, did
the same service for the masterpieces of
the Italian Il naissance. And. like all true
Interpreters. they created out of their
reverence for the work Of others separate
work Of art of their own. Far from being
mere copies or documentary records, their
prints have an independent artistic value,
preserving the vital spirit of the original,
but rsincarriating Il In a bodily present
mrnt. distinct in kind and capable OF
grOu-ing distinct emotions.