A treatise on wood engravings : historical and practical . Fox and the Goat. The above cut is by no means one of the best in Croxall : it hasnot been selected as a specimen of the manner in which those cutsare executed, but as an instance of the closeness with which theEnglish wood-cuts have been copied from the French several of the cuts in Bewicks Fables of ./Esop and others, thearrangement and composition appear to have been suggested by thosein Croxall; but in every instance of this kind the modern artist hasmade the subject his own by the superior manner in which it istre
A treatise on wood engravings : historical and practical . Fox and the Goat. The above cut is by no means one of the best in Croxall : it hasnot been selected as a specimen of the manner in which those cutsare executed, but as an instance of the closeness with which theEnglish wood-cuts have been copied from the French several of the cuts in Bewicks Fables of ./Esop and others, thearrangement and composition appear to have been suggested by thosein Croxall; but in every instance of this kind the modern artist hasmade the subject his own by the superior manner in which it istreated: he restores to the animals their proper forms, represents themacting their parts as described in the fable, and frequently introducesan incident or sketch of landscape which gives to the whole subjecta natural character. The following copy of the Fox and Goat, in theFables of ^sop and others, 1818—1823, will serve to show how littlethe modern artist has borrowed in such instances from the cuts inCroxall, and how much has been supplied by himself. Between 1722 and 1724, Kirkall published by subscription twelvechiaro-scuros engraved by himself, chiefly after designs by old Italianmasters. In those chiaro-scuros the outlines and the darker parts ofthe figures are printed from copper-plates, and the sepia-coloured tintsafterwards impressed from wood-blocks ; though they possess consider-able merit, they are deficient in spirit, and will not bear a comparisonwith the chiaro-scuros executed by Ugo da Carpi and other early G G 2 452 REVIVAL OF WOOD ENGRAVING. Italian wood engravers. Most of them are too smooth, and want thehold outline and vigorous character which distinguish the ohlchiaro-scuros : what Kirkall gained in delicacy and precision by theintroduction of mezzotint,, he lost through the iuefiicient engravingof the wood-blocks. One of the largest of those chiaro-scuros is acopy of one of Ugo da Carpis—^neas carrying his father on hisshoulders—after a design by Eaf
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License: Licensed
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectwoodengraving, bookye
