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The Riverside Art Series
LANDSEER
A COLLECTION OF FIFTEEN PICTURES
AND A PORTRAIT OF THE PAINTER
WITH INTRODUCTION AND
INTERPRETATION
BY
ESTELLE M. HURLL
BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
The Riverside Press, Cambridge
1901
COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO.
_Published November, 1901._
PREFACE
The wide popularity of Landseer has been chiefly due to the circulation of engravings after his works. This little book is, so far as I know, the first attempt to bring together a collection of his pictures made in the modern process of half tone, from photographs direct from the original paintings. It is hoped that they may give a fairly good idea of the range and character of his art.
ESTELLE M. HURLL.
NEW BEDFORD, MASS. September, 1901.
CONTENTS AND LIST OF PICTURES
PAGE
THE CONNOISSEURS. PAINTED BY LANDSEER. (_Frontispiece_) Picture from Engraving by Frank Cousins
INTRODUCTION
I. ON LANDSEER'S CHARACTER AS AN ARTIST vii
II. ON BOOKS OF REFERENCE x
III. HISTORICAL DIRECTORY OF THE PICTURES OF THIS COLLECTION x
IV. OUTLINE TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS IN LANDSEER'S LIFE xii
V. SOME OF LANDSEER'S CONTEMPORARIES xiii
I. KING CHARLES SPANIELS 1 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl
II. SHOEING 7 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl
III. SUSPENSE 13 Picture from Photograph of the original Painting
IV. THE MONARCH OF THE GLEN 19 Picture from Engraving by Thomas Landseer
V. THE TWA DOGS 25 Picture from Photograph of the original Painting
VI. DIGNITY AND IMPUDENCE 31 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl
VII. PEACE 37 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl
VIII. WAR 43 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl
IX. A DISTINGUISHED MEMBER OF THE HUMANE SOCIETY 49 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl
X. A NAUGHTY CHILD 55 Picture from Photograph of the original Painting
XI. THE SLEEPING BLOODHOUND 61 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl
XII. THE HUNTED STAG 67 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl
XIII. JACK IN OFFICE 73 Picture from Photograph of the original Painting
XIV. THE HIGHLAND SHEPHERD'S CHIEF MOURNER 79 Picture from Photograph of the original Painting
XV. A LION OF THE NELSON MONUMENT 85 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl
XVI. THE CONNOISSEURS 91
INTRODUCTION
I. ON LANDSEER'S CHARACTER AS AN ARTIST.
If the popularity of a painter were the measure of his artistic greatness, Sir Edwin Landseer's would be among the foremost of the world's great names. At the height of his career probably no other living painter was so familiar and so well beloved throughout the English-speaking world. There were many homes in England and America where his pictures were cherished possessions.
While popular opinion is never a safe basis for a critical estimate, it must be founded on reasons worth considering. In the case of Landseer there is no doubt that a large element in his success was his choice of subjects. The hearts of the people are quickly won by subjects with which they are familiar in everyday life. A universal love for animals, and especially for domestic pets, prepared a cordial welcome for the painter of the deer and the dog. His pictures supplied a real want among the class of people who know and care nothing about "art for art's sake."
The dramatic power with which Landseer handled his subjects was the deeper secret of his fame. He knew how to tell a story with a simple directness which has never been surpassed. With almost equal facility for humor and pathos, he alternated between such inimitable satire as the Jack in Office and such poignant tragedy as the Highland Shepherd's Chief Mourner. Before pictures like these, the keenest criticism must confirm the popular verdict. Poetic imagination is one of the most coveted of the artist's gifts, and Landseer's rich endowment commands universal admiration.
The artist who is a story teller finds it one of the most difficult tasks to keep within proper limits. He is under a constant temptation to emphasize his point too strongly, to exaggerate his meaning in order to make it plain. That Landseer never fell into such error none would dare to claim. In interpreting the emotions of dumb animals he sometimes overdrew, or seemed to overdraw, their resemblance to human beings. Only those who have observed animals as closely as he--and how few they are--are competent to decide in this matter. When one thoroughly considers the question, the wonder is less that he sometimes made mistakes, than that he made so few. As a sympathetic critic has said: "Nothing short of the most exquisite perception of propriety on his part could have enabled him to give innumerable versions of the inner life of animals with so little of the exaggeration and fantasticalness which would have easily become repugnant to the common sense of Englishmen."[1]
[Footnote 1: Henrietta Keddie ("Sarah Tytler").]
Among Landseer's technical qualities the critic has highest praise for his drawing. He was a born draughtsman, as we see in the astonishing productions of his boyhood. He was besides a painstaking and faithful student in the youthful years when the foundations of good work must be laid. Another valuable quality was his artistic discrimination, that which a certain critic has called "the selective glance that discerns in a moment what are the lines of character and of life." Seizing these, he transferred them to his canvas in the decisive strokes which reproduce not merely the body but the vitality of the subject.
His dexterity in texture-painting was remarkable. The glossy coat of the bay mare, the soft long hair of the Newfoundland dog, the polished surface of metal, were rendered with consummate skill. There are marvellous tales of the rapidity of his workmanship. In the moment of inspiration his practised hand made the single telling brush stroke which produced the desired effect.
With apparently little systematic effort towards orderly composition, he often felt his way instinctively, as it were, to some admirable arrangements. He sometimes showed a feeling for pose almost plastic in quality, as when he painted A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society and The Sleeping Bloodhound. His sense of the picturesque is quite marked. He was fond of sparkle, and disposed very cleverly the points of bright light in his pictures.
Landseer's admirers are wont to regret that he devoted himself to so limited a range of subjects. The patronage of the rich absorbed much of his time in unimportant work,--time which might better have been spent in those works of creative imagination of which he showed himself capable. His pictures of deer subjects reveal an otherwise unsuspected power in landscape-painting which with cultivation might have led him into another field of success. In portrait-painting, too, his work was admirable, especially in the delineation of children.
It is idle to speculate upon what he might have been had he not been what he was. Much greater artists than he might well envy him his unique fame. To exceptional artistic ability he united a sympathetic imagination which divined some of the most precious secrets of common life. It was his peculiar glory that he touched the hearts of the people.
II. ON BOOKS OF REFERENCE.
In the year following Landseer's death (_i.e._, in 1874), a memoir of the painter was published by F. G. Stephens, made up in part of material previously issued by the writer on the Early Works of Landseer. A few years later (in 1880), this memoir served in turn, as the substantial material, revised and somewhat enlarged, for Stephens' biography of Landseer in the series "Great Artists." Besides Stephens, Cosmo Monkhouse has devoted valuable critical work to the art career of Landseer. Full of suggestive and illuminating comment is his large volume "The Works of Sir Edwin Landseer, with a History of his Art Life." The book is illustrated with forty-four engravings.
An interesting article on Landseer's art appeared in "The British Quarterly Review" soon after his death, and was reprinted in Littell's "Living Age," December 26, 1874. Some pleasant chapters on Landseer are to be found in Elbert Hubbard's "Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Painters." Comments on the artist's pictures and methods are scattered through the works of Ruskin and Hamerton.
A catalogue of Landseer's works was issued by Henry Graves, London, 1875.
III. HISTORICAL DIRECTORY OF THE PICTURES OF THIS COLLECTION.
_The Connoisseurs._ Painted in 1865. The property of King Edward VII.
1. _King Charles Spaniels._ Painted in 1832, according to the authority of F. G. Stephens. Monkhouse gives the date as 1845. In the National Gallery, London. Size: 2 ft. 3-1/2 in. by 2 ft. 11-1/2 in.
2. _Shoeing._ Exhibited in 1844. Bequeathed by Mr. Jacob Bell to the National Gallery, London, where it now hangs. Size: 4 ft. 8 in. by 3 ft. 8 in.
3. _Suspense._ Exhibited in 1834. In the South Kensington Museum, London. Size: 2 ft. 11-3/4 in. by 2 ft. 3-1/2 in.
4. _The Monarch of the Glen._ Painted in 1851. Catalogued by Graves as the property of Lord Fitzgerald in 1875.
5. _The Twa Dogs._ Signed E. L. 1822. In the South Kensington Museum, London. Size: 1 ft. 9 in. by 1 ft. 4-3/4 in.
6. _Dignity and Impudence._ Exhibited in 1839. Bequeathed by Mr. Jacob Bell to the National Gallery, London, where it now hangs. Size: 2 ft. 11-1/2 in. by 2 ft. 3-1/2 in.
7. _Peace._ Exhibited at the Royal Academy, in 1846. In the National Gallery, London. Size: 2 ft. 10 in. by 4 ft. 4 in.
8. _War._ Exhibited at the Royal Academy, in 1846. In the National Gallery, London. Size: 2 ft. 10 in. by 4 ft. 4 in.
9. _A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society._ Exhibited at the Royal Academy, in 1838. In the National Gallery, London. Size: 3 ft. 6-1/2 in. by 4 ft. 7 in.
10. _A Naughty Child._ Exhibited at the British Institution, in 1834. In the South Kensington Museum, London. Size: 1 ft. 3 in. by 11 in.
11. _The Sleeping Bloodhound._ Exhibited at the British Institution in 1835. Bequeathed by Mr. Jacob Bell to the National Gallery, London, where it now hangs. Size: 3 ft. 3 in. by 4 ft. 1 in.
12. _The Hunted Stag._ Exhibited at the Royal Academy, in 1833. In the National Gallery, London. Size: 2 ft. 3-1/2 in. by 2 ft. 11-1/2 in.
13. _Jack in Office._ Exhibited at the Royal Academy, in 1833. In the South Kensington Museum, London. Size: 2 ft. 2 in. by 1 ft. 7-3/4 in.
14. _The Highland Shepherd's Chief Mourner._ Exhibited at the Royal Academy, in 1837. In the South Kensington Museum, London. Size: 2 ft. by 1 ft. 6 in.
15. _A Lion of the Nelson Monument._ Commission received in 1859. Lions set up in Trafalgar Square, 1868.
IV. OUTLINE TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS IN LANDSEER'S LIFE.
1802. Landseer born in London. 1815. "Honorary Exhibitor" at Royal Academy, studies under Haydon. 1816. Admittance to Royal Academy as student. 1817. Portrait of Brutus exhibited. 1818. Fighting Dogs exhibited. 1822. Premium of L150 awarded by Directors of British Institution for Larder Invaded. 1824. First visit to Highlands and to Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford. Cat's-Paw exhibited. 1825. Removal to house in St. John's Wood, London. 1826. Associate of Royal Academy. 1830. Royal Academician. 1834. Landseer's highest level in art; Suspense exhibited. Highland Shepherd Dog rescuing Sheep from Snowdrift. 1837. Highland Shepherd's Chief Mourner. 1840. Travel on Continent. 1843. The Sanctuary. 1846. Peace; and War. The Stag at Bay. 1848. A Random Shot. 1850. Knighthood conferred. 1853. Gold medal from Paris Exhibition. 1859. Commission for lions of Nelson Monument. 1860. Flood in the Highlands. 1868. Lions placed in Trafalgar Square. 1869. The Swannery Invaded. 1873. Death, October 1. Funeral in St. Paul's, October 11.
V. SOME OF LANDSEER'S CONTEMPORARIES.
ARTISTS:--
Sir Charles Eastlake, 1793-1865 } C. R. Leslie, 1794-1859. } Henry Fuseli, 1741-1825. } William Mulready, 1786-1863. } Painters J. M. W. Turner, 1775-1851. } Benjamin West, 1738-1820. } Sir David Wilkie, 1785-1841. } John Gibson, sculptor, 1790-1866. Thomas Landseer, engraver, 1796-1880.
AUTHORS:--
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1809-1861. Robert Browning, 1812-1889. Lord Byron, 1788-1824. Charles Dickens, 1812-1870. George Eliot, 1819-1880. James Hogg, 1770-1835. Walter Savage Landor, 1775-1864. John Ruskin, 1819-1900. Sir Walter Scott, 1771-1832. Tennyson, 1809-1892. Thackeray, 1811-1863. Wordsworth, 1770-1850.
I
KING CHARLES SPANIELS
Edwin Henry Landseer was the most gifted member of a family of artists. His father was a well-known engraver, and his brother Thomas distinguished himself in the same profession. As soon as he could hold a pencil, the boy Edwin began to draw. The family were then living in the outskirts of London, and there were open fields near the house. Here the future animal--painter used to spend long afternoons sketching cows and sheep, and at the end of the day his father would criticise his work.
At an early age the young artist began to show a preference for the dog above other animals. A drawing of a foxhound made when he was five years old is still exhibited as a remarkable production. At the age of fourteen he became a pupil at the Royal Academy, "a bright lad with light curling hair, and a very gentle, graceful manner and much manliness withal." The following year all the critics were surprised when he exhibited an admirable portrait of a dog called Brutus. The painter Fuseli was at this time at the head of the Academy, and was very fond of his precocious pupil, whom he playfully called his "little dog boy," in reference to the Brutus.
It was by means of another dog picture that the artist took his next step towards fame. "The Fighting Dogs" was a remarkable work for a painter sixteen years old, and upon its exhibition in 1818 it was purchased by an English nobleman. This was the real beginning of Landseer's professional career, and from this time forward his success was assured.
It became a fashion among people of means to bring their dogs to Landseer for their portraits. He even counted royalty among his patrons, painting the favorite pets of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert.
The spaniels of our picture were the pets of a certain Mr. Vernon, who not unnaturally deemed the beautiful little creatures a worthy subject for a master's brush. This kind of dog, as its name implies, is supposed to have come originally from Spain. Both Stuart kings, Charles I. and Charles II., were specially fond of the breed, each having a favorite variety. One of the dukes of Marlborough was also a lover of spaniels, and imported into England the variety called, from his palace, the Blenheim. The difference of color between the King Charles and the Blenheim is seen in the picture, the former being black and tan, with a few white touches; the other white, with spots of liver color. Both have characteristic silky coats, round heads, big lustrous eyes set wide apart, and long ears hanging in folds.
The little dogs lie side by side on a table. The Blenheim has his paws over the edge, resting his nose comfortably upon them. The King Charles nestles upon the brim of a high-crowned hat ornamented with a long ostrich plume drooping over the brim. Such a hat was worn among the Cavaliers or king's party in the reign of Charles I.; hence the title of the Cavalier's Pets,[2] often given to the picture. The hat, it must be understood, serves an important artistic purpose in the composition, the height, from crown to feather tip, relieving the otherwise flat effect of the picture.
[Footnote 2: The idea suggested in this title is made the basis of an imaginary story woven about the picture in Sarah Tytler's little book, _Landseer's Dogs and their Stories_.]
The attention of the dogs seems attracted by some object across the room. It is the painter talking to them soothingly over his sketch: he has learned the secret of dog language. As his pencil moves rapidly over the paper, they watch him with wide eyes, full of wonder but with no fear. They are like spoiled children gazing at a visitor with an expression half wilful, half beseeching. The fresh ribbon bows they wear are evidence of the fond care bestowed upon them.
Though the spaniel is not of the highest order of canine intelligence, it is an affectionate and lovable pet often known to fame in distinguished company. Tradition has it that it was one of these little creatures which followed the unfortunate Mary Stuart to the executioner's block--
"The little dog that licked her hand, the last of all the crowd Which sunned themselves beneath her glance and round her footsteps bowed."
It is also supposed that Sir Isaac Newton's little dog Diamond was a spaniel, the mischief-maker who destroyed his master's priceless calculations, and drew from the philosopher the mild exclamation, "Diamond, Diamond, thou little knowest the mischief thou hast done." Again, it was a spaniel whom Elizabeth Barrett Browning cherished as the companion of weary hours of illness and confinement. The charming verses to Flush celebrate the dog's beauty and affection.
The history of our picture illustrates Landseer's remarkable facility of workmanship. After making the first sketch at Mr. Vernon's house in Pall Mall, the painter was for a long time too busy to do any further work upon it. One day artist and patron chanced to meet upon the street, and the former was reminded of his promise. The sketch was taken out and, two days later, the finished painting was delivered to the owner. The picture lost nothing, however, by the haste with which it was executed. A competent critic (Cosmo Monkhouse) has said that Landseer never excelled it as a piece of painting. Much praise has been bestowed upon the few dexterous strokes which have so perfectly reproduced the texture of the plume on the hat. Even in the black and white reproduction we can appreciate some of the best points of the picture.
II
SHOEING
At the blacksmith's shop the bay mare Betty is being fitted to new shoes. Already the fore feet are nicely shod and the blacksmith now has the near hind foot in hand. The other occupants of the place are a small donkey and the bloodhound Laura.
Betty is a sensible horse and enjoys the shoeing process. When the time comes around for her regular visit to the forge, she walks off of her own accord and unattended to the familiar spot. No halter is necessary to keep her standing; in fact, she would not tolerate such an indignity. She takes her place by the window as if perfectly at home.
Blacksmith and horse are old friends who understand each other well. The man has won the animal's confidence by the care he has taken to fit the shoes comfortably. Though a plain, rough fellow, he is of a kindly nature and knows his business thoroughly.
The shop is a quaint little place such as one finds in English villages. The thick masonry of the walls shows how old the building is; the floor is paved with large blocks of stone. Between the anvil and the forge there is only space enough for the horse to stand. Yet all the necessary tools are at hand, and a good blacksmith may shoe a horse as well here as in the most elaborate city establishment.
At this stage of the process the preparations are all over. The old shoes were first removed and the feet pared and filed. New shoes were chosen as near the right size as possible, and one by one shaped for each foot. Holding the shoe in his long tongs, the blacksmith thrusts it into the fire, while he fans the flames with the bellows. Thence it is transferred, a glowing red crescent, to the anvil. Now the workman swings his hammer upon it with ringing strokes, the sparks fly out in a shower, and the soft metal is shaped at will. The shoe may be made a little broader or a little longer, as the case may be; bent a trifle here or there, to accommodate the foot to be fitted. The steel toe calk is welded in, the ends are bent to form the heels, the holes for nails are punctured, the shoe taking an occasional plunge into the flames during these processes.
Now there must be a preliminary trying-on. The shoe still hot is held to the foot for which it is intended, and the air is filled with the fumes of burning hoof. Yet the horse does not flinch, for the thick hoof is a perfect protection for the sensitive parts of the foot. If the careful blacksmith is not quite satisfied with the fit, there must be more hammering on the anvil, and another trying on. When the shoe is satisfactory, it is thrust hissing into a barrel of cold water, and, cooled and hardened, is ready to be nailed on.
It is at this point in the story that we come upon Betty. The farrier, after the approved method of his trade, holds the foot firmly between his knees, and bends to his task. The nails, long and flat, are in the tool-box on the floor beside him. A few firm blows of the hammer drive each one into place, first on one side, then on the other; the projecting points are twisted off every time, and finally, all the rough ends are filed smoothly on the outside of the hoof. Betty is at last fully shod and will step complacently home.
Our painter has arranged the four figures of the picture in a sort of circular composition, so that we may see each one in a characteristic pose. The bay mare is, of course, the chief attraction, a fine high-bred creature, with straight legs, arching neck, and gentle face marked on the forehead with a pure white star. Landseer exerted his utmost skill in reproducing the texture of the glossy hide. Its beautiful sheen is more striking by contrast with the shaggy hair of the donkey. It was a clever thought to place this plebeian little beast beside the aristocratic, high-spirited horse.