Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-31
THE NORTH WINDOW
By Leila MechIin.

In the drawing room at the Octagon
hang two beautiful steel engravings
executed over a hundred years ago
They are both by an engraver named
Gmeiln. One is a picture OF Tivoh
and bears the date 1908; the other is
or the Palazzo Falconieri, and is dated
1914. The latter is a copy of n paint
, ing by Nicholas Poussin; the name of
! the painter Of the former is not given.
POSSIBLY 1t is an original work by the
engraVer. Both bear the official seal
| of the Calcografia di Roma, which cor
responds in Italy to the CaliGraphie
du Louvre. These engravings, framed
with white mats and narrow gold
molding, bring to mind the charm
of this medium of graphic expression,
and recall the popularity of such
works century and less ago. The
picture Of Tivoli is peculiarly attrac-
tive-an accurate representation of
that most lovely place, not only as it
was in 1903, but as it is today. for
fortunately the Italians have guarded
jealousy this beautiful work of nature,
50 that it is now a delight to the eye
of the traveller as it was then, and
has been for countless years.
Line engraving on copper or steel
is a difficult art, and one which would
seem to lend itself but poorly to sub
tletieS of expression, and yet, when
employed by the skilled workman, the
results attained are astounding, as III
this instance. Here we have an elab-
crate scene not only accurately but
most artistically rendered and though
the picture is in black and white, 50
correct are the values that an impress
sion of color is given. This is true OF
IL. L. ID IL
auctions, and it is something that few
realize, hence the common belief that
little color applied, whether 1t he
good color or poor color, is an I'm
provement.
This is a day in which color holds
supreme place. Never in the history
Of our country, at least, has color been
more lavishly used. strong color more
richly employed. We are nothing to-
day if not colorful. This applies TO
dress. to house furnishings, even 10
our architecture, and in some III
stances to our sculpture, certainly 10
our painting. There is great deihaHd
for color, hence much poor color Is
seen in cheap printing, much poor
color is applied TO stereopicon SHOES
TO satisfy the uninitiated. Little does
the average person realize how mis-
leading this may be. good blach-
and-white reproduction, IN "hlch the
color values are accurately preserved
and set forth, will give a far truer IN
depreciation of great painting thah
an inaccurate color print.
Rut TO return TO the subject of steel
engravings 1t IS interesting TO con
slider, at this time particularly "ieh
interest has been focused on the WORMS
of the early American SllVerSlhltns'
that II was they who We're the first IN
America to produce engraVlngS on
metal: and yet how natural ana red-
sonahl. this was, for the silVersnlth,
wishing to embellish the object he had
made. engraved its surface. The next
step. naturally. was the engraving Oh
a plate and printing theretrom' IL was
the silyersmiths of Italy who did the
first engraving that was ever done
and their initial efforts took the form
of playing cards, II we remember
Alright.
The first copper plate engraver in
the colonies known to US today by
name was John Coney, born in 1863
and died in 1922, examples of whose
silver are to be seen in the exhibition
on view here at present in the Ma
tional Gallery of Art. 1t was he, II
will be remembered. who jocularly
took as his mark a little rabbit, or "a
Coney. and it was he who did the Mas
saChusetts bills of credit in 1Io2 and
1903. perhaps still earlier. Incidental
w, quite a number OF our early Amer
lean engravers, not only of colonial
days but of the days of the young Re
public, We're employed engraving
money.
Paul Revere. another famous silver
smith, was one of the earliest OF our
engraverS, and his print of the Boston
Massacre" done in 1710, hand colored.
is not only famous, but rare. bring
ing high prices today in changing
hands Doubtless Revere drew the
compositions that he executed, but
those who came after him for the
most part reproduced the work of 9th
erS: for instance. one Amos DoOllttla
did a set of four plates of the Mas
sacre" from drawings by Ralph Earle.
the we'll known portrait painter. There
are some, however. who say that Re
we're copied his Boston Massacre"
from a nezZotint engraving by Pei
ham. who was. it will be remembered,
the first to make mezzotints in this
country and the stepfather OF Copley.
x + X
Engraving was the one method of
pictorial representation, other than
painting and drawing, in those early
days, and naturally It was much re-
sorted to. Some of the engravings
were pathetically crude, a crudeness
which is more apparent, perhaps, i'll
portraiture than in subject themes.
So crude. indeed, was some of the
work that the publishers themselves
made apology and asked that "a
proper allowance" be made for the
weakness of the artist on the grounds
that he had obtained his knowledge in
this country.
There was a whole series OF illus
trative engravings made of the Rero-
lutionary War, beginning with Ed
ward Savage's large Signing of the
Declaration of Independence" in line
and stipple, which remained, however.
unfinished. and ending with Tanners
engraving of THE Surrender of Corn
wallis at Yorktown" from a drawing
by J. F. Renault. Savage was painter,
engraver and publisher. all in one,
and among his most famous prints are
his portrait of Franklin and his pic
ture of washington and His Fam
lily"
1t is rather sad to realize that as
the demand increased and quick pro-
duction became necessary, methods
were resorted to which could scarcely
conduce to merit. For instance, the
head of a portrait which had ceased
to sell would be removed and that
Of a popular hero put in its place.
A portrait of a learned LII. D. thus
disappeared and was replaced by the
head of Aesop. Quite naturally,
these heads do not fit on the Dor
rowed shoulders.
X !: * II
When the National Academy of