New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-01-27

process, but leaning still on an old one.
The next figure in the catalogue, the
celebrated Prince Rupert, another SOL
der who turned amateur Of art, makes
tremendous stride in the perfectng
Of the technique of mezzotint He was
not much more original than his friend
Won Siegen, who initiated him into the
secrets of the scraper, but he evidently
had more of an aesthetic flair more
painter-like instinct. He made about
a dozen plates, seven of which are in
renowned of them all is "The Great
Executioner," landmark in the his
tory of the subject not only because Of
it's date but because of its intrinsic
splendor. Later men achieved subtle
ties Of which Rupert hardly dreamed.
They refined infinitely, upon his color
scheme, if we may SO describe the play
Of tone in a mczzotint. But none of
the later men ever surpassed "The
Great Executioner" in sheer power and
scraper of this plate may easily have
got a lot of his success out of the
nature Of his subject. With painting
by 10 Spagnoletto one could hardly 60
wrong in the matter of vivid light and
shade. But Rupert was born tech
nician, rs other plates of his clearly
reveal, and in this one he played the
part of an inspired virtuoso. 1t hangs
over the mantelpiecc in the Grolicr
Clubs new hall, more or less isolated.
There in its proud position it atfirms
the whole glory of mezzotint, that
suavity Of which we have spoken and
its velvet sumptuosity of tone.
From Won Siegen and Prince Rupert
this exhibition takes US in the most
helpfully systematic manner through
the various we'll defined stages of the
DEVELOPMENT of mezzotint. The Elem
ings and Dutchmen come first, men like
Wallerant valiant, Abraham Blootc-
ling, Jan Verkolje and the Van Somers,
with a prodigiously able Frenchman
straying into the company, Isaac Sar-
rabat, engravcr of the superb "AleX
andre Boudan," and it is obvious that
some of these earlier Contincntals-
notably Blooteling- amongst the
| indispensable founders of the art.
Blooteling's "Mary, Princess Of Or
angc," after Lcly, is positively
cleaning production, a masterpiece {
ever there was one. But it is instructive
| to note how these men gravtatc to
London and how, presently, mezzotint
becomes almost entirely a British prop
crty. This was, perhaps, to be expect
ed. The school of painting that needed
it most was in course Of development
in England. Just as the French paint
crs of the eighteenth century promoted
the growth of q marvellous school of
native cngravers, so across the Chan
mel the great group of masters in por-
traiturc was endowed with a school of
reproductive artists worthy of its
genius. That school was soon brought
to high pitch Of perfection. There
were minor, mediocre men, of course
in the period dominated by Blooteling
but men of ripper talents duly appeared
men like John Smith, who engraved the
portraits painted by Kncllcr, and by
the time Reynolds and the rest were
we'll established they had in McArdell
Houston, Edward Fisher, James Wat
son, Thomas Watson and John Jones
to name solely those who figure in the
first section Of the Grolier show-a
galaxy Of interpreters only to be
characterized as impeccablc. They were
rot, we repeat, creative artists. 1t was
rot the business of any one of them
to develop a style The important
thing, as mezzotint found itself in this
period, was to exhibit the style Of, the
painter, and with what consummatc art
did they do that!
We have spoken of the mczzotinter's
suavity, of the exquisite nuanccs OF
tone which are his special achievement
in the field of engraving. There i.
something very bland about all these
prints at the Grolcr, a gently insnuat
ing charm. But there is also kline
of power at the bottom of it, the powel
of a craft perfectly understood ant
exercised with ease, with strength ane
with really profound skill. In an
tcipaton of the spring exhibition
space is now given to one Of the mczzo
tinters then to be illustrated at length
Charles Turner, who was born in III
and lived until 1857. A single plate
of his is now displayed, that afte1
Reynoldss painting Of George, Fiftl
Duke of Marlborough, and Family
This is one of Sir Joshua's parade