Auguste Lep©·re [electronic resource] . d tofritter away his admirable technique upontechnicalities undertaken for their ownsake, and his work in etching as in paintingis the work of an intellect concerned withthe problems of rhythm and harmony, color,tone and form, which assail artists in everyfield. As an etcher he received his initiationfrom Bracquemond, the most robust oftemperaments and at the same time themost fastidious of technicians. Lepere hasbeen worthy of his teaching. From the firsthe has sought to render his impression, re-corded by a vision singularly prompt andsynthetic, with p
Auguste Lep©·re [electronic resource] . d tofritter away his admirable technique upontechnicalities undertaken for their ownsake, and his work in etching as in paintingis the work of an intellect concerned withthe problems of rhythm and harmony, color,tone and form, which assail artists in everyfield. As an etcher he received his initiationfrom Bracquemond, the most robust oftemperaments and at the same time themost fastidious of technicians. Lepere hasbeen worthy of his teaching. From the firsthe has sought to render his impression, re-corded by a vision singularly prompt andsynthetic, with precise care, patiently as-sembling all the complex virtues of hismethod to the task. To his slightest platehe has brought conscience and sincerity, andalso a quality without which all the moralgifts with which human nature may be en-dowed would have availed him nothing asan artist: the rare capacity, that is, for re-taining the freshness of his vision through-out a slow process of translation. In one phrase is summed up the essential 9. LEglise de Jouy-le-Moutier aim of the engraver who treats his art withrespect, whether he uses it for purposes ofreproduction or for original work: Not toimitate. To express. Lepere has followed his own doctrine toits logical conclusion. Never servile, evenin his most faithful portraiture of a naturethat enchants him, he works with a pleni-tude of science, but also with unweariedfreshness of inspiration and a sympatheticfeeling for the character of his subject, lO whether it is a curve of the river nearNotre Dame where horses come down todrink, or a poor mans hut with climbingvines in bloom, or the wide marshes of theVendee. With the passage of time hisvision has grown larger and calmer, his in-terpretations magisterial; but in his mostclassic moments he does not forget to infuseinto his composition a strong feeling forthis intimate characterization. He is a truecreator, living not only above but in his con-ception. He is at once serene and mo
Size: 1600px × 1561px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorcaryelisabethluther18, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910
