BY JACQUEMART. PEN DRAWING. FROM THE “HISTORY OF FURNITURE.”
On the other hand, a few firms, like Goupils, are producing excellent colour work in the most expensive fashion, and good cheap prints as well. The printing of Guillaume for Dentu's "Le Bambou"—most of the illustrations are on wood—is to be commended, as it shows off the work of artists and engravers to perfection. While one notes clever paper-cover designs on many new books.
BY JACQUEMART. PEN DRAWING. FROM THE “HISTORY OF FURNITURE.”
BY MEISSONIER. FROM THE WOOD-ENGRAVING IN THE “CONTES REMOIS” BY LAVOIGNAL.
That bad or mediocre work is supreme in France at the present time is proven by the fact that two of the most artistic journals have ceased to appear; Goupil's "Les Lettres et les Arts," and Octave Uzanne's "L'Art et L'Idée." Neither of these magazines was very expensive to produce,—that is in comparison with many others. But it is a self-evident fact, to anyone who has studied illustration, that the art passes every few years through periods of great depression; in France, art of all sorts is at the present moment in the most disorganized and unsettled state, and illustration is in as bad a way as any other branch. Nor is it for lack of illustrators, but because some of the publishers and editors of the country—and France is not solitary and alone in this matter—are a set of money-grubbing, ignorant fools, who have been able temporarily to impress their contemptible view of art, or rather their miserable failure to understand it from any other standpoint than that of their money-bags, upon a sufficient number of gullible people to make a fairly good living for themselves out of the public ignorance. And as for the rest of the world, why what of it? It is true Steinlein rivals Gavarni, and Marold, engraved by Florian, equals in certain ways Meissonier, engraved by Orrinsmith;—but in the majority of cases politics sit on art, and the photograph glares from the pages of the édition de luxe.
To-day an attempt is also being made to revive wood-engraving in France, and almost all over the world, except in England—where nothing would be known of any revival, or improvement, until long years after the whole matter had been settled and pigeon-holed everywhere else—and in America, where every endeavour now is made to perfect process. But the reason for this revival in France, Germany, and the other countries of the Continent is not the advancement of the art of wood-engraving, or the benefit of the wood-engraver; it comes from the willingness of good wood-engravers to work very cheaply, simply to secure the chance of working at all, and also from the increase of the electrotype business. Although an enormous trade has been developed in the production of electrotypes from large wood-engravings for publication in different papers, I am informed that editors who wish to make use, at so much an inch, of the brains of other people, will not publish electros from process blocks, for some reason known to none but themselves, only buying clichés from wood blocks. However, it is quite possible that this revival of wood-engraving may encourage original work, and a new period of fine original engraving may be its result, little as those who are bringing this result about are interested in it.
BY GUSTAVE DORÉ. WOOD-ENGRAVING FROM “SPAIN” (CASSELL AND CO., LIMITED).