His Precocious Talent—Studies Anatomy—Enters the Royal Academy Schools—Gains a "Travelling Studentship"—Elected a Royal Academician—Declines the Presidency—Introduced to Dickens—A Lifelong Friendship—"Master Humphrey's Clock"—Maclise Essays an Illustration—"The Chimes"—A Reading by Dickens and a Sketch by Maclise—His Original Drawings—"The Cricket on the Hearth"—An Unpublished Letter from Maclise—"The Battle of Life"—Dickens's Appreciation of Maclise's Illustrations—The Artist's Correspondence with Forster Respecting his Designs—His Anxiety Concerning the Engraving—An Indignant Letter—"Little Dirty Scratches"—Maclise Dispenses with the Living Model—Dickens's Relations with the Artist—A Memorable Trip—Picture of the Waterfall at St. Nighton's Cave—A Portrait of Dickens—An Interesting Pencil-Drawing—Death of "Grip"—The Raven Immortalised by Maclise—A Letter of Sympathy—The Artist's Declining Health—His Death a Severe Shock to Dickens—The Novelist's Tribute to his Memory.
Among a host of intimate friends, none was more beloved by Dickens than the warm-hearted Irish artist, Daniel Maclise, whose fine genius and handsome person charmed all who knew him. Maclise was the son of a Scotch soldier quartered at Cork, and was born in that city on January 25, 1811, being thus the novelist's senior by about a year. As a child he exhibited great facility in executing caricatures, and was soon enabled to support himself by the sale of his sketches. It was at first intended that he should adopt the surgical profession, with which object he studied anatomy under Dr. Woodroffe, but, like John Leech, he did not take kindly to the science of healing, preferring (as did Leech) the more congenial pursuit of Art. Accordingly, in 1827, Maclise entered the Royal Academy Schools, where he made such rapid progress, that two years later his work was admitted to the Exhibition of the Royal Academy. Although, in 1831, the fortunate young painter received the gold medal entitling him to the "Travelling Studentship," he elected to remain in England, having already visited Paris and studied at the Louvre and the Luxembourg. Achieving success after success as a painter of Shakesperian scenes, portraits, &c., he became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1836, and attained full honours in 1840. In 1866 he was offered the Presidency, but, as did Sir Edwin Landseer during the previous year, he declined that distinction.
Master Humphrey's Clock, 1840-41.It was in the year of his election as Associate that Maclise was introduced by Forster to Charles Dickens, and we learn that the tastes and pursuits of the three friends were so congenial that thenceforth they were inseparable,—this affectionate intercourse being maintained without interruption for nearly thirty years. When, in 1840, Dickens contemplated the publication of "Master Humphrey's Clock," it was his intention to endeavour to secure the valuable co-operation of Maclise as an illustrator of that work, in conjunction with George Cattermole. Forster states that there seems to have been a desire on Maclise's part to try his hand at an illustration, but he did not remember that it bore other fruit than "a very pleasant day at Jack Straw's Castle, where Dickens read one of the later numbers to us." That Maclise's wish was actually realised, however, is proved by the fact that in the fifty-fifth chapter of "The Old Curiosity Shop" there is a design by him representing Little Nell and the Sexton. Why this should have been his only contribution to the pages of "Master Humphrey's Clock" has never been explained, but it is not improbable that the artist was too busily occupied with his paintings just at this time, and therefore unable to devote serious attention to black-and-white work.
Plate LI
"THE TOWER OF THE CHIMES"
AND
"THE SPIRIT OF THE CHIMES"
Facsimiles of the Original Drawings for "The Chimes" by
D. MACLISE, R. A.
The Chimes, 1845.Maclise had been much engaged in book-illustration (sometimes signing himself "Alfred Croquis") when, in 1844, it was proposed that he should provide designs for Dickens's second Christmas Book, "The Chimes." This little story was written in Italy, and, during Dickens's absence, the necessary arrangements respecting the illustrations were made by Forster. It may be incidentally mentioned that, eager to try the effect of the story, the novelist journeyed to England for the express purpose of reading it aloud to his friends at Forster's residence in Lincoln's Inn Fields, the memorable incident being depicted by Maclise in an amusing pencil-sketch, afterwards reproduced for Forster's biography. Maclise became responsible for the frontispiece and decorative title-page of "The Chimes," both of these fanciful designs gracefully portraying elves and fairies, spirits of the bells, and allegorical figures typifying Love, Life, and Death. The original drawings, now in South Kensington Museum, were delicately executed in pencil, and engraved on steel by F. P. Becker. With reference to these illustrations, the artist wrote:—