The Project Gutenberg eBook ofLandseer

The Project Gutenberg eBook ofLandseerThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: LandseerAuthor: Estelle M. HurllRelease date: July 15, 2010 [eBook #33166]Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Andrew Chesley and theOnline Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net(This file was produced from images generously madeavailable by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LANDSEER ***

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: LandseerAuthor: Estelle M. HurllRelease date: July 15, 2010 [eBook #33166]Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Andrew Chesley and theOnline Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net(This file was produced from images generously madeavailable by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)

Title: Landseer

Author: Estelle M. Hurll

Release date: July 15, 2010 [eBook #33166]

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Andrew Chesley and theOnline Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net(This file was produced from images generously madeavailable by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LANDSEER ***

THE CONNOISSEURS Property of King Edward VIIFr. Hanfstaengl, photo. John Andrew & Son, Sc.THE CONNOISSEURSProperty of King Edward VII

Fr. Hanfstaengl, photo. John Andrew & Son, Sc.THE CONNOISSEURSProperty of King Edward VII

Seal

Published November, 1901.

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.

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]

[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.

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.

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.

Artists:—

Authors:—

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.

KING CHARLES SPANIELS National Gallery, LondonFr. Hanfstaengl, photo. John Andrew & Son, Sc.KING CHARLES SPANIELSNational Gallery, London

Fr. Hanfstaengl, photo. John Andrew & Son, Sc.KING CHARLES SPANIELSNational Gallery, London

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.

[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 crowdWhich 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.

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.

SHOEING National Gallery, LondonFr. Hanfstaengl, photo. John Andrew & Son, Sc.SHOEINGNational Gallery, London

Fr. Hanfstaengl, photo. John Andrew & Son, Sc.SHOEINGNational Gallery, London

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.

The donkey bends his head in a deprecating way below Betty's handsome neck, and the horse permits the companionship of an inferior with gentle tolerance. There is something very appealing about the donkey, a patient little beast of burden, meekly bearing his saddle. The bloodhound shows no little curiosity as to the shoeing process, as if it were something new to her. She sits on her haunches, thrusting her head forward, the long ears drooping, the sensitive nose sniffing the strange odors.

Among these dumb companions the blacksmith feels himself surrounded by friends. He is a lover of pets, as we see by the birdcage hanging in the window. His sturdy frame looks equal to the demands of his trade, which are in fact very laborious. It is grimy work, and only the roughest clothes can be worn. A big leather apron with a cut down the middle is, as it were, his badge of office. Our farrier does his work with conscientious earnestness, concentrating all his thought and energy upon each blow of the hammer. The task completed, he will take an honest pride in the good piece of work he has done for Betty.

It is interesting to know that old Betty's owner was Mr. Jacob Bell, an intimate friend and business adviser of Landseer.

A wounded knight has been brought home to his castle, and a line of blood-stains on the floor shows where he was carried through the hall to the room beyond. The family and servants press after, the door is closed, and the favorite hound is shut out in the hall alone. Only the meaningless murmur of voices, broken perhaps by the groans of his master, tells what is going on within. It is a moment of suspense, and the dog waits with drooping head, and eyes fixed mournfully on the barrier which separates him from the object of his devotion.[3]So alert is every sense that at the slightest touch upon the door he will spring forward and push his way in.

[3]A similar situation is described in the story ofBob, Son of Battle, where the shepherd dog waits in suspense outside the sickroom of his mistress.

It is some such story as this which the painter tells us in the picture called Suspense.[4]Every detail is full of meaning to the imagination. The heavy door, studded with great nails, calls to mind the old Norman castle; the gauntlets on the table and the plume on the floor suggest the armor of the mediæval knight. The picture is like an illustration for one of Scott's novels. Our knight may have been wounded, like Ivanhoe, in a tournament. The scene of the lists rises before us, the opposite lines of mounted knights charging upon each other with their lances, the shock of the meeting, the unhorsing of many, the blows of the battle axe upon helmet and coat of mail, and finally the entrance of the squires to bear their wounded masters to a place of safety.

[4]A pretty imaginary story is woven about the picture in Sarah Tytler's little book,Landseer's Dogs and their Stories.

The hound had no part in the sports of the tourney, but the scene of his glory was the chase. When the knight went forth for a day's hunting in the forest, the whole pack went with him, waking the woodland echoes with their baying. Some familiar verses tell of

"The deep-mouthed bloodhound's heavy bayResounding up the rocky way,And faint from farther distance borne,The echo of the hoof and horn."

The dogs' delicate sense of smell enables them to track game with unerring precision. It seems impossible to exhaust their perseverance or their wind, and it is surely not their fault if a hunting-party returns unsuccessful.

While hunting brings out the more ferocious elements of the nature, the hound is on the other hand capable of an affectionate devotion which makes him a valued friend of man. The English country gentleman is a lover of dogs and horses, and knows how to appreciate their good qualities. Out of the many animals in his kennels one dog is usually a chosen favorite which becomes his master's inseparable companion. Such a favorite is the dog of our picture, and we like to fancy that the knight is worthy the love of so noble a creature.

SUSPENSE South Kensington Museum, LondonJohn Andrew & Son, Sc.SUSPENSESouth Kensington Museum, London

John Andrew & Son, Sc.SUSPENSESouth Kensington Museum, London

The hound is represented in his best and noblest aspect: all the forces of his being seem concentrated in loving anxiety. It is as if suffering brought out in the dog's nature those higher qualities by which he is allied to human beings. His countenance is intensely expressive yet thoroughly canine. Every line of the drawing brings out the dog's character,—the squat of the haunches, the position of the legs far apart, the rising of the hair on the crest of the back, the droop of the head, the flattening of the tail.

The broad collar with the ring is a symbol of his subjection. The privilege of man's friendship has cost the dog his freedom. To offset the hours of delightful companionship with his friendly master are the weary times when he must tug impotently at the chain which keeps him within the castle enclosure.

It has been said that Landseer looked upon most animals with the eyes of the artist, the poet, and the natural historian, but the dog alone he painted as a friend. Our picture is good evidence of the truth of the statement. Every resource of the painter's art was lavished upon his favorite subject with the loving care that one gives only to a friend.

The massive size of the dog is seen by comparing the figure with the height of the table and the door. The great creature practically fills the canvas. The pose is so finely conceived, the figure itself so admirably "modelled," to use the critic's phrase, that it seems almost like a work of sculpture. The light and shadow are carefully studied. The light seems to come from some source at the right, bringing out strongly the expressiveness of the dog's face. Landseer, we are told, was fond of introducing into his pictures a bit of sparkling metal. Here the reflected light on the gauntlets, like that on the spurs beside the King Charles Spaniels and on the helmet near the Sleeping Bloodhound, adds an effective touch to the composition.

Suspense has been a popular favorite among Landseer's works, and is one of the pictures referred to in the Memorial Verses published in "Punch" after the artist's death. This is the stanza describing it:—

"The lordly bloodhound with pricked ear,And scent suspicious, watches for his lordAt the locked door, from whose sill, trickling clear,The blood bespeaks surprise and treacherous sword."

An annual visit to the Scottish Highlands was one of Landseer's pleasures. It was here that he learned to know the habits of the deer, the subject of many of his noblest paintings. His first journey to this region was as a young man of twenty-two, in company with a friend and fellow painter, Leslie. An incident of the excursion was a visit to Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott. The painter and the novelist had much in common in their attachment to dogs, their fondness for vigorous out-of-door exercise, and their love of nature.

Landseer was deeply impressed with the rugged grandeur of the Highland scenery. Especially was his imagination stirred by the mountain solitudes, the haunt of the deer, which Scott had described in his poems. A favorite resort was the valley of Glencoe, a singularly wild and romantic spot where a long narrow ravine is shut in between almost perpendicular hills.

The painter first made the acquaintance of the deer after the ordinary manner of the sportsman. For sport in itself, however, he cared little or nothing; the great attraction of hunting was the chance to study the action of animals. His friends laughed at him for a poor shot, but his true weapon was the pencil, not the gun. One day, while deerstalking, just as a magnificent shot came his way, the gillies were astonished to have the painter thrust the gun into their hands, and hastily take out his sketch-book. It was the life and not the death of the animal in which he was chiefly interested.

The Monarch of the Glen seems to be a picture caught in just this way. The very life and character of the animal are transferred to the canvas as by a snap shot of the camera. The stag has heard some strange sound or scented some new danger, and, mounting a hill, looks abroad to see if all is well. The responsibility of the herd is his, and he has a tender care for the doe and the young deer. He must always be on the alert.

His attitude reminds one of Scott's "antlered monarch" in "The Lady of the Lake," which

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