New-York tribune., 1919-03-16
Reflections on the
Art of Pen Draauing

emulous disciple of the Englishman we
have cited. But the special trait Of
Beardsley was his quick, assimilativo
habit, and governing this was morbid
impulse which ultimately set the dis
tinctivc seal upon everything that he
did. Artistically speaking, tho seeds Of
decadence were in him and they pro-
duced abundant fruit. His taste was
more French than English, the taste
of Baudelairc. Mallarm6, Verlaine and
the like. When he illustrated the
"Morte d'Arthur" he turned the sylvan
sweetness of a Mallory into strange ex-
otto perfume, exchanging the airs Of
the wildwood for the sitting odors of
the hothouse. He won notable sue
cess with designs for the "Salome" of
Oscar Wilde. He tended naturally to
what was singular and macahre. Per-
haps the i'll health which carried him
off untimely had something to do with
the morbidity in his art. In any case,
the morbidity is there.
1t would have faded out, perhaps,
leaving him amid the wreckage of the
curious "renaissance" in which he
shared, and to-day only a name in
some books of reference, if he hadn't
been, beyond all peradventure, an
artist and a miraculous technician.
Whistler once told me what he thought
of him. "Well, he strikes me as one of
those men standing about in the mar
ket place because no man hath hired
them" But Whistler got over that.
Discussion of Beardsley may begin
with dubieties about the unhealthy core
of his work. 1t can only end with joy
Gus recognition Of the fact that he
knew how to draw. He was touched by
what has been called the great anti
septic style. Where he got it is not
altogether clear. His line was the bet
ter for his contact with the art of Bot
ticelli, of whom, we may note in pass
ing, he once drew charming ideal por-
trait. 1t owed much, too, to the in
fiuence of the Japanese print, and it
was from the East that he got some of
the decorative inspiration which dis
tinguishes him. But when all is said
the essential originality of Beardsley
remains unchallenged. Put aside all
question of the Italian and Oriental
influence in his work, ignore--as hav-
ing nothing to do with his technique
the decadent strain in his tempera-
ment, and there is left nothing more
nor less than a great body of extraor-
dinarily brilliant craftsmanship. 1t is
because he knew his craft that he sur
wives, not because he had a bizarre
fancy and poured forth flood of half
amusing, half terrifying fantasticali-
ties. He knows how to do with his
firm, supple line precisely what he
wants to do. He can define form and
draperies with simplicity that is su-
perb. That the simplicity which be-
longs to great art was one of his prin-
c1pal technical resources we only fail
to see at once because his designs are
SO overaid by his grotesoue and NOR
bid humor, by the decorative complex
ity always coming in to obscure his
best characteristic. There is draw
ing in the Evans collection which We
have known hitherto as vienette for
the "Morte d'Arthur," but which is
listed IN the present catalogue as "pip-
ing Down the Valley Wild" II drawinp
for Blake. The truth Is that the dues-
tioh Of tho text for II hardly matters,
One delights purely In tho solid blacks.
tho play Of line in 1t that discloses }ust
Il master Of the pen.
Selling upon this outstanding merit
OF beardsley's, his virtuosity as a
craftsman, we fall to thinking upon
more than one reference that his art
has to the art Of our own time. II
the vogue Of pen draughtmanship has
declined has it not been for the rea-
son that the genius of the art. as
Beardsley, for one, exemplified it, has
unaccountably died out? Material con-
ditions accelerated the collapse. The
half-tone came in and the wood cut
went out. The camera wrought havoc
in the ranks of the artists Of the pen.
Some of the latter remain and improve
their chance-when they can get it.
The magazines still harbor pen draw
ings, and Of late especially there has
been something like mild revival of
the lightly touched sketch. Only re-
Gently in the pages of The Tribune
some admirable examples appeared
But in the large sense pen drawing
has been under a cloud. The rare
innovators like Verge and Beardsley
have gone. There is nothing visible to
match the once rich and potent move
rnent which we had in this country
for example when the late Alexander
w. Drake was in the heyday of his
editorial career and the pen was not
only accepted as an illustrators in
strument but was devotedly encour-
aged. Will the movement ever come
back? The half-tone cannot stop it
II personalities having the originality
and strength of a Beardsley arise once
more. In the mean time this exhibi-
tion Of him contains a lesson that
bears heavily upon tho whole subject
HIS name is one to conjure with not
only when we w0uld anpoal ~ Lo