Letter R24 The Hague, c. 25 鈥?30 January 1883
Amice Rappard,
Now it is some days since I started looking through the Graphics.
If I were to write you about all that is beautiful in them, and if my description were not to be too superficial, I should really have to write a tome. I cannot refrain, however, from mentioning just a few sheets that are absolutely 鈥渉ors ligne.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> Take, for instance, Frank Hol鈥檚 鈥淭he Foundling.鈥?It represents some policemen in their waterproof capes who have picked up a baby exposed among the beams and planks of the Thames Embankment. Some inquisitive people are looking on, and in the background one sees the grey silhouette of the town through the mist. Then,
also by him, there is a burial 鈥?some people entering a churchyard 鈥?beautiful of sentiment; he calls this sheet 鈥淚 am the Resurrection and the life.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> There is another burial by Nash, but this time on shipboard. One sees the corpse near the railing, the sailors are standing by, and the captain is reading the liturgy.
You know Hol鈥檚 鈥淭hird Class Waiting Room鈥?from a small reproduction of it that I sent you last summer, but the Graphic contains the large one 鈥?infinitely more beautiful.
I have been interested before now in the work of C. Green, but I had no idea that he could do such splendid things as, for instance, 鈥淎 Bench in the Hospital,鈥?patients waiting for the doctor. By the same, 鈥淎 Quay at Liverpool鈥?and 鈥淟and once More,鈥?passengers coming ashore, and 鈥淗ere They Come,鈥?spectators at the Derby races (Buckmann has done the same scene under the same title, and his work is also very good). I did not know Gordon Thompson; he also has a "Spectators at the Derby," and there is 鈥淐lapham Road鈥?鈥?quite close to the spot where I used to live, incidentally. This sheet is incredibly clever; it resembles D眉rer or Matsys, for instance.
You know the work of Percy Macquoid 鈥?Heilbuth 鈥?Tissot 鈥?when you see it, it seems to be the non plus ultra of elegance and mild refined feeling. In a certain sense it really is the non plus ultra.
But compared with them, Pinwell and Fred. Walker are what the nightingale is to the lark. On a page of the Graphic called 鈥淭he Sisters,鈥?for instance, Pinwell draws two women in black in a dark room, a composition of the utmost simplicity, into which he has brought a serious sentiment that I can compare only with the full warble of the nightingale on a spring night. And then there are two more sketches by him in Byley鈥檚 Home; and, among other things by Fred. Walker, a splendid sheet, 鈥淭he Old Gate,鈥?and also 鈥淭he Harbor of Refuge.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> Herkomer has in them, among other things (I am not speaking of the sheets I had already), 鈥淒ivine Service鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> (pews in a church), 鈥淭reat to the Whitechapel Poor,鈥?鈥淟odginghouse St. Giles,鈥?鈥淭he Workhouse (women),鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> 鈥淐harcoal Burners,鈥?鈥淲irtshaus鈥?[Public House], 鈥淭he Cardinals Walk Rome,鈥?鈥淜egelbahn,鈥?鈥淐arnival Time,鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> 鈥淎nxious Times,鈥?鈥淭he Arrest of a Poacher,鈥?Then (without the large figures occurring in it) the very first sketch of 鈥淭he Last Muster,鈥?under the title, 鈥淪unday at Chelsea.鈥?In a later issue one can read about this sheet that, when Herkomer showed it for the first time, not one of the members of the Graphic board thought the drawing good, with only one exception 鈥?the manager, who published the sketch immediately and ordered a more elaborate drawing.
So you see, things may change in the world 鈥?for instance, later on the Graphic published a sheet representing the spectators looking at the ultimate painting of 鈥淭he Last Muster.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> You know Ridley鈥檚 鈥淢iner鈥檚 Head.鈥?Now I also have his 鈥淏oat Race Spectators鈥? I already had a 鈥淗ospital鈥?by him 鈥?both serious, elaborate drawings.
But something new by Ridley is a series of six or seven drawings, 鈥淢iners, Pits and Pitmen,鈥?which remind one of etchings of Whistler or Seymour Haden, or Stamland鈥檚 [Staniland鈥檚] 鈥淭he Rush to the Pit鈥檚 Mouth,鈥?also from the mining district.
Now a sheet that struck me particularly 鈥?Abbey鈥檚 鈥淐hristmas in Old Virginia,鈥?engraved by Swain. This drawing is evidently done wholly with the pen, like Caldecott鈥檚 and Barnard鈥檚, for example, but the figures are large.
Small has a superb drawing, 鈥淐laxton [Caxton] Showing Specimens of His Printing to the King.鈥?It makes one think of Leys; there are many beautiful things by Small in the Graphics, of course, but this one and the 鈥淧loughing Match鈥?are the most beautiful drawings of his I know.
His 鈥淎 Queue in Paris during the Siege鈥?is excellent, and so are several of his 鈥淟ondon Sketches鈥?and 鈥淚rish Sketches.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> Then Green has 鈥淭he Girl I Left behind Me,鈥?also uncommonly good 鈥?a group of soldiers returning from the war, and the meeting of one of them with the girl who has remained faithful to him. 鈥淚rish Churchyard鈥?is no less beautiful.
Boughton鈥檚 鈥淲aning of the Honeymoon.鈥?Nash鈥檚 鈥淟aborers鈥?Meeting鈥?and 鈥淟ifeboat鈥?and 鈥淪unday Evening at Sea.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> Gregory鈥檚 鈥淗ospital in Paris during the Siege.鈥?Buckmann鈥檚 鈥淗ampstead Heath.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> Fildes has a scene in a prison yard where policemen are holding a thief or a murderer whose picture they want to take. The fellow won鈥檛 submit to it and is struggling. In the opposite corner of the composition, the photographer and the spectators.
There are many more beautiful compositions from America by Boyd Houghton, chiefly smaller ones, which might be etchings, but also larger sheets such as 鈥淧aris under the Red Flag,鈥?鈥淢ormon Tabernacle,鈥?鈥淐abin of Emigrant Ship鈥?鈥?they鈥檙e not like anything else. His details are emphasized surprisingly, and the aspect is something like an etching by 鈥?yes, by whom? 鈥?by Fortuny, or perhaps Whistler? Highly curious.
Edwin Edward鈥檚 鈥淭he Foundling,鈥?鈥淪ea Bathing,鈥?鈥淭he Meet,鈥?etc. Two drawings 鈥?I don鈥檛 know whose 鈥?of the Turko-Russian War, 鈥淥sman Pasha鈥?and 鈥淎n Old Battleground,鈥?which are remarkable in their realism.
Stock鈥檚 鈥淪ermon Time鈥?and 鈥淟ast Sacrament.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> Hodgson鈥檚 鈥淣avvies鈥?and 鈥淔ishing.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> Gow鈥檚 鈥淣o Surrender.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> Small鈥檚 鈥淪wan-Upping Game of Polo,鈥?鈥淏oat Race,鈥?鈥淨ueen鈥檚 Ladies Royal Academy,鈥?鈥淲alking Match.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> Green鈥檚 鈥淎n Artist,鈥?鈥淥ne Stone,鈥?鈥淥utsiders Betting.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> Well, in this matter it鈥檚 easy to start summing up, but to stop is something else 鈥?that is difficult; there is so much more, in fact there is no end of them. For I am speaking almost exclusively of the larger sheets; but, to mention a single example, among the small drawings there are illustrations of Victor Hugo鈥檚 Quatre-vingt-treize [Ninety-Three] by Herkomer, Green, Small 鈥?seldom has a book been illustrated like this one! 鈥?fortunately it is this book, for it is fully worth it.
But there is one volume missing from the collection, namely the first one. But I got very nice drawings from this volume at one time 鈥?among other things, Fildes鈥檚 鈥淎pplicants at a Casual Ward鈥?(from 鈥淗ome and the Homeless鈥? and his 鈥淭he Empty Chair鈥?(Dickens鈥檚 studio).
Write me again soon 鈥?for you are recovered now, aren鈥檛 you?
Ever yours, Vincent
I got two more volumes (1876) for good measure this week, but I took them anyway, because there are marvelous things in them; indeed I have them, but I want as many duplicates as I can find 鈥?e.g. Herkomer鈥檚 鈥淥ld Women鈥?鈥?there鈥檚 a masterpiece for you! Have you got it???
A beautiful 鈥淲oman鈥檚 Figure鈥?and 鈥淒uring the Reign of Terror鈥?by Percy Macquoid; also little sketches: 鈥淐ats鈥?鈥?鈥淐hinese鈥?鈥?鈥淢ackerel Fishing.鈥?p style="line-height:25px;text-indent:32px"> Finally a large drawing: a corner of a studio 鈥?a lay figure that has fallen over, draperies worried by two playful dogs. There is preciosity in it, but it does not quite satisfy me; I think it somewhat high falutin鈥?and over-refined.
There is another magnificent illustration by Fildes (for a novel): two men in a churchyard in the twilight.
You will understand why I am of two minds about the following question. If I cut out the sheets and mount them, they will show up better and I can arrange them according to the artists who did them. But then I mutilate the text, which is useful in many respects if one wants to look something up, for instance about exhibitions,
although the 鈥済eneral surveys鈥?of them are very superficial.
And besides, one damages the novels, as e.g. Quatre-vingt-treize by Hugo.
I鈥檇 also have to spend a lot on mounting board. But it is certain that the large sheets especially would show up infinitely better mounted than folded in half. And also one gets a better survey of the whole if one arranges them according to the artists.
But isn鈥檛 it queer that in an artistic town like The Hague a man like me should be the highest bidder at a book auction? One would think that other buyers would turn up 鈥?but no! I really did not expect to get them.
Before the auction the Jew spoke to me about them; I told him that I should very much like to have them, but that I could not afford to buy something like that. He told me afterward that he had bought them on speculation,
because there were hardly any bidders, and if I wanted to have them they were mine. That was quite a different matter, and my brother helped me buy them 鈥?dirt cheap 鈥?a guilder a volume.
However glad I am to have them, it makes me sad to think that so few take an interest in them. I think it鈥檚 wonderful to find such a treasure, but I would rather see so lively an interest in them that I should not be able to get hold of them for the time being.
Oh, Rappard 鈥?in many respect it鈥檚 like this 鈥?much that has great value nowadays is ignored and looked down upon as worthless rubbish, garbage, wastepaper.
Don鈥檛 you think there is something very dull about our times? Or am I imagining it? A certain absence of passion and warmth and cordiality 鈥?it鈥檚 true that the 鈥渄ealers鈥?and such fellows say, 鈥淭he desired change will come about in the nature of things鈥?(isn鈥檛 this statement highly satisfactory?), but personally I don鈥檛 see that 鈥渘ature of things鈥?so very clearly.
It isn鈥檛 unpleasant, after all, to study the Graphics; yet I can鈥檛 help thinking very selfishly while doing so, 鈥淲hat business is it of mine? I don鈥檛 intend to be bored, even if the times are dull.鈥?But one isn鈥檛 always selfish, and as soon as one isn鈥檛, one may grieve bitterly over it.