第 26 节
作者:这就是结局      更新:2021-02-19 18:30      字数:9322
  whimsical invention。
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  In referring to these masterpieces of Bewick's; it must not be forgotten
  that he had the aid of some clever assistants。              His younger brother John
  was not without talent; as is clear from his work for Somervile's 〃Chace;〃
  1796; and that highly edifying book; the 〃Blossoms of Morality。〃                     Many
  of the tail…pieces to the 〃Water Birds〃 were designed by Robert Johnson;
  who also did most of the illustrations to Bewick's 〃Fables〃 of 1818; which
  were engraved by Temple and Harvey; two other pupils。                     Another pupil
  was Charlton Nesbit; an excellent engraver; who was employed upon the
  〃Birds;〃 and did good work in Ackermann's 〃Religious Emblems〃 of 1808;
  and   the   second   series   of   Northcote's   〃Fables。〃     But   by   far   the   largest
  portion     of  the   tail…pieces   in  the   second    volume     of  the   〃Birds〃    was
  engraved   by   Luke   Clennell;   a   very   skilful   but   unfortunate   artist;    who
  ultimately became insane。          To him we owe the woodcuts; after Stothard's
  charming   sketches;   to   the   Rogers   volume   of   1810;   an   edition   preceding
  those   already   mentioned   as   illustrated   with   steel…   plates;   and   containing
  some of the artist's happiest pictures of children and amorini。                  Many of
  these little groups would make admirable designs for gems; if indeed they
  are not already derived from them; since one at least is an obvious copy of
  a   well…known   sardonyx(〃The   Marriage   of   Cupid   and   Psyche。〃)            This
  volume; generally known by the name of the 〃Firebrand〃 edition; is highly
  prized by collectors; and; as intelligent renderings of pen and ink; there is
  little better than these engravings of Clennell's。 {12} Finally; among others
  of Bewick's pupils; must be mentioned William Harvey; who survived to
  1866。     It has been already stated that he engraved part of the illustrations
  to   Bewick's     〃Fables;〃    but  his   best  known     block    is  the  large   one   of
  Haydon's      〃Death    of  Dentatus。〃     Soon    after  this  he  relinquished     wood…
  engraving in favour of design; and for a long period was one of the most
  fertile    and    popular     of   book…illustrators。       His     style;   however;      is
  unpleasantly      mannered;      and   it  is  sufficient   to  make     mention     of  his
  masterpiece;   the   〃Arabian       Nights〃   of   Lane;   the  illustrations   to  which;
  produced under the supervision of the translator; are said to be so accurate
  as to give the appropriate turbans for every hour of the day。                 They show
  considerable freedom of invention and a large fund of Orientalism。
  Harvey came to London in 1817; Clennell had preceded him by some
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  years; and Nesbit lived there for a considerable time。                What distinguishes
  these   pupils   of   Bewick   especially   is;   that   they   were   artists   as   well   as
  engravers; capable of producing the designs they engraved。                   The 〃London
  School〃      of   engravers;     on   the  contrary;    were    mostly     engravers;     who
  depended       upon    others   for  their   designs。    The     foremost     of  these   was
  Robert   Branston;   a   skilful   renderer   of   human   figures   and   indoor   scenes。
  He   worked   in   rivalry   with   Bewick   and   Nesbit;   but   he   excelled   neither;
  while he fell far behind the former。           John Thompson; one of the very best
  of modern English engravers on wood; was Branston's pupil。                       His range
  was of the widest; and he succeeded as well in engraving fishes and birds
  for    Yarrell   and   Walton's     〃Angler;〃    as   in  illustrations   to   Moliere    and
  〃Hudibras。〃       He  was;   besides;  a   clever  draughtsman;  though   he   worked
  chiefly     from   the   designs    of   Thurston     and   others。    One     of  the   most
  successful      of  his   illustrated   books    is  the  〃Vicar    of   Wakefield;〃     after
  Mulready;       whose    simplicity     and   homely     feeling    were    well   suited   to
  Goldsmith's   style。      Another      excellent    engraver   of    this  date   is  Samuel
  Williams。       There   is   an   edition   of   Thomson's   〃Seasons;〃   with   cuts   both
  drawn and engraved by him; which is well worthy of attention; and (like
  Thompson and Branston) he was very skilful in reproducing the designs of
  Cruikshank。       Some of his best work in this way is to be found in Clarke's
  〃Three Courses and a Dessert;〃 published by Vizetelly in 1830。
  From this time forth; however; one hears less of the engraver and more
  of the artist。     The establishment   of the 〃Penny Magazine〃 in 1832; and
  the   multifarious   publications   of   Charles   Knight;   gave   an   extraordinary
  impetus      to  wood…engraving。         Ten    years   later   came    〃Punch;〃     and   the
  〃Illustrated      London      News;〃     which     further    increased     its   popularity。
  Artists of eminence began to draw on or for the block; as they had drawn;
  and were still drawing; for the 〃Annuals。〃 In 1842…6 was issued the great
  〃Abbotsford〃 edition of the 〃Waverley Novels;〃 which; besides 120 plates;
  contained nearly  2000  wood…   engravings;   and   with   the   〃Book   of   British
  Ballads;〃     1843;    edited    by   Mr。   S。  C。   Hall;   arose   that   long   series   of
  illustrated   Christmas   books;   which   gradually   supplanted   the   〃Annuals;〃
  and made familiar the names of Gilbert; Birket Foster; Harrison Weir; John
  Absolon; and a crowd of others。            The poems of Longfellow; Montgomery;
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  Burns;     〃Barry     Cornwall;〃     Poe;    Miss    Ingelow;     were    all  successively
  〃illustrated。〃     Besides      these;   there   were   numerous      selections;    such   as
  Willmott's      〃Poets   of   the  Nineteenth     Century;〃     Wills's   〃Poets'   Wit   and
  Humour;〃   and   so   forth。      But   the   field   here   grows   too   wide   to   be   dealt
  with in detail; and it is impossible to do more than mention a few of the
  books most prominent for merit or originality。               Amongst these there is the
  〃Shakespeare〃 of Sir John Gilbert。             Regarded as an interpretative edition
  of the great dramatist; this is little more than a brilliant tour de force; but it
  is nevertheless infinitely superior to the earlier efforts of Kenny Meadows
  in   1843;   and   also   to   the   fancy   designs   of   Harvey   in   Knight's   〃Pictorial
  Shakespeare。〃        The 〃Illustrated Tennyson〃 of 1858 is also a remarkable
  production。       The Laureate; almost more than any other; requires a variety
  of illustrators; and here; for his idylls; he had Mulready and Millais; and
  for    his   romances      Rossetti     and   Holman       Hunt。    His    〃Princess〃     was
  afterwards      illustrated   by   Maclise;     and   his   〃Enoch     Arden〃     by   Arthur
  Hughes;   but   neither   of   these   can   be   said   to   be   wholly   adequate。    The
  〃Lalla Rookh〃 of John Tenniel; 1860; albeit somewhat stiff and cold; after
  this   artist's   fashion;   is   a   superb   collection   of   carefully   studied   oriental
  designs。     With these may be classed the illustrations to Aytoun's 〃Lays of
  the Scottish Cavaliers;〃 by Sir Noel Paton; which have the same finished
  qualities of composition and the same academic hardness。                     Several good
  editions of the 〃Pilgrim's Progress〃 have appeared;notably those of C。 H。
  Bennett;   J。   D。   Watson;   and   G。   H。   Thomas。      Other   books   are   Millais's
  〃Parables      of   our   Lord;〃    Leighton's     〃Romola;〃      Walker's    〃Philip〃    and
  〃Denis     Duval;〃     the  〃Don    Quixote;〃     〃Dante;〃     〃La   Fontaine〃    and    other
  works of Dore; Dalziel's 〃Arabian Nights;〃 Leighton's 〃Lyra Germanica〃
  and 〃Moral Emblems;〃 and the 〃Spiritual Conceits〃 of W。 Harry Rogers。
  These   are   some   only   of   the   number;   which   does   not   include   books   like
  Mrs。   Hugh   Blackburn's   〃British   Birds;〃   Wolf's   〃Wild   Animals;〃   Wise's
  〃New   Forest;〃   Linton's   〃Lake   Country;〃   Wood's   〃Natural   History;〃   and
  many more。        Nor does it take in the various illustrated periodicals which
  have   multiplied   so   freely   since;   in   1859;   〃Once   a   Week〃   first   began   to
  attract and train such younger draughtsmen a