Chapter XII (14)

“No engraver who ever lived has so completely identified himself with painters he had to interpret as Professor Unger in the seventy-two plates which compose his ‘Works.’ He can adopt at will the most opposite styles, and work on each with ease, a fluency such as other men can only attain in one manner--their own--and after half a lifetime. Indeed, one would not be going far wrong to describe Professor Unger as an art critic of very uncommon insight, who explains the sentiment and execution of great painters with an etching needle instead of a pen.

“It has been said of engraving that it is an unintellectual occupation, because it is simply copyism; but such engraving as this is not unintellectual, for it proves a delicacy and keenness of understanding which are both rare among artists and critics. Unger has not the narrowness of the ordinary artist, for he can enter into the most opposite styles; nor has he the technical ignorance of the ordinary critic, for he can draw--I will not say like a great master, but like twenty different great masters.

“Mr. Vosmaer, the now well-known Dutch critic, who writes in English and French as well as in his own language, has much increased the interest in Unger’s etchings by accompanying them with a valuable biographic essay of his own, much superior to the ordinary ‘letter-press,’ which publishers in general appear to consider as a necessary companion to engraving.

“The seventy-two etchings before us are, on the whole, the most remarkable set of studies from old masters which has been issued by the enterprise of our modern publishers, and they can hardly fail to make fine work better appreciated both by artists and amateurs.

“A few words of praise are due to the spirited publisher, Mr. Sijthoff, of Leyden, for the manner in which these etchings of Unger have been published. They are printed on fine Dutch paper, and mounted (pasted by the upper edge only) on sufficiently good boards in such a manner as to enter into the most carefully arranged collections without further change. They are accompanied by a text printed with the greatest taste, on very fine Dutch paper. This series is printed in one class of proof only, and issued at a price that is most reasonable, and Mr. Sijthoff deserves our thanks for placing works of real art, thoroughly well got up, within the reach of cultivated people who have limited incomes.

“We recommend them strongly to all artists and lovers of art as a valuable means of art education and a source of enduring pleasure.”--HAMERTON in the _International Review_ for Jan., 1876.

Etchings after Frans Hals.

A Series of 20 beautifully executed Etchings. By WILLIAM
UNGER. With an Essay on the Life and Works of the artist, by
C. Vosmaer. Two parts, complete, royal folio. Impressions
on India paper, $25.00. Selected proofs, before letters, on
India paper, $40.00. Artist proofs on India paper, $60.00.
Or elegantly bound in half Levant morocco, extra, gilt top,
$15.00 additional to the above prices. Uniform with Unger’s
works.

“They who know the Dutch painter Hals only through the few portraits by him which have reached this country have but a slight comparative acquaintance with his works. ‘A stranger to all academical lore, to all literary co-operation,’ writes Mr. Vosmaer, ‘Frans Hals appeared merely as a portrait-painter, like most of the modern artists of his youth ... true to life, but also excelling by naturalness and masterly handling. Subsequently he portrayed the joyous popular life of the streets and the tavern; at last those phases of national social life, which have at once their image and memorial in the pictures of the arquebusiers and the civic governors.’”--_London Art Journal_, Aug. 1873.

_THE NEW FRENCH ART JOURNAL._

L’Art.

Revue Hebdomadaire Illustrée. (M. Eugène Véron et Chas.
Tardieu, rédacteurs.) Handsomely printed on heavy toned paper,
and illustrated with several hundred engravings on wood from
drawings and pictures by celebrated cotemporary artists,
examples of antique and modern sculpture, objects of Art
Industry in all branches, and a series of superbly executed
etchings by the best living etchers, executed expressly for
this work; being principally from the more noticeable pictures
exhibited in the Salons of Europe, carefully printed on
Holland paper. Forming four volumes a year. Royal folio (17½
× 12 in.) of about 500 pp. each, with nearly 200 woodcuts,
facsimiles, etc., and upwards of twenty etchings in each
volume. 4 vols., folio. Stitched, paper covers, uncut, $36.00.
In cloth, gilt top, uncut edges, $45.00. Handsomely bound
in half red morocco (Jansen style), gilt tops, uncut edges,
$65.00.

ANOTHER EDITION, printed throughout on heavy _Holland
paper_, in the most careful manner. The etchings in two
states, _Artist proof_ on _Japan paper_, and ordinary print on
Holland paper. The edition is _strictly limited to one hundred
copies, numbered_. Forming 4 thick volumes, folio. Price,
$125.00.

∵ N. B.--Payments to be made on delivery of each quarterly
volume.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

“Nowhere but in Paris could such a Review be produced every week as _L’Art_, so magnificent in every respect, paper, typography, illustrations, and above all, so many sided in its view of art, and so abundant and interesting in its information. It has now been brought to the fourth year of its life, with every sign of assured and increasing vigor, and we are glad to learn, from the report of the editor to the subscribers, that something more substantial than the _succès d’estime_ has rewarded the experiment of such a costly venture.... It is simply the cheapest and the best thing of its kind. M. Véron seems, at any rate, to have solved the problem of combining excellence with cheapness. We find, besides numerous little facsimiles of sketches, and autograph letters of eminent artists, musicians, and dramatists, no less than seventy fine etchings by such men as Flameng, Courtry, Desbrosses, Lançon, etc., and woodcuts of Claude’s and Turner’s pictures, with a series of very remarkable copies of the famous tapestries at Madrid, from the designs of Albrecht Dürer and Van Eyck, by Edmond Yon, Perrichon, and C. Maurand, as well as singularly fine examples of wood engraving. Supposing the reading matter of the Review were as ephemeral and trivial in its purpose as the cheapest of the cheap instead of being, as it is, rich and racy, with the native style of all French pens, thoughtful and often profoundly suggestive, and generally complete, in reference to detail, the two etchings by Flameng, from pictures by Frans Hals and Nicholas Maas, alone would be really most valuable and acceptable to the print-collector.... While _L’Art_ is conducted in this style the editor may feel quite secure that France will not lose that artistic supremacy she has long held.”--_London Times._

“It would be easy and pleasant to go on discoursing about the pictures in _L’Art_, a paper which is so full of good, sober, and just criticisms, trustworthy news about art, and designs not otherwise to be obtained by most people.”--_Saturday Review._

“The new volume of _L’Art_ sufficiently manifests the success of a very valuable and interesting publication.... There is no other journal in existence which so happily and skilfully combines the labors of artists and authors which does not subordinate art to letters, or letters to art, but permits them to go ‘hand in hand, not one before another.’... In brief, this grand folio volume of _L’Art_ abounds in matters of interest to all readers and students of æsthetic and cultivated taste.”--_The World_ (London).

“There is some monotony in praising each successive portion of a periodical as it appears with an absolutely equal cordiality; but the evenness of merit in _L’Art_ makes this uniformity of commendation a duty.”--_The Nation._

“America is so destitute of illustrated works which can at all compare with _L’Art_ that she cannot do better than study and enjoy this French publication. Certainly there is no other means by which so many valuable pictures can be obtained at so small a price.”--_The Christian Union._

“Sumptuous in paper and type, lavish in illustrations, and with critical and explanatory text of singular merit; the most famous of modern art journals.”--_N. Y. Times._

The Portfolio:

An Artistic Periodical, edited by PHILIP GILBERT HAMERTON.
Illustrated with Etchings, Autotypes, Woodcuts, Facsimiles,
Engravings, Heliogravures, etc. _Published monthly._

Subscription reduced to TEN DOLLARS per annum.

∴ _Sent, Postage free, to any part of the United States, on
receipt of the Subscription price._

“The chief intention of ‘The Portfolio’ is to supply to its subscribers, at a lower cost than would be possible without the certain sale of a regular periodical circulation, Works of Art of various kinds, but always such as are likely to interest a cultivated public; and to accompany them with literature by writers of proved ability, superior to mere letter-press, and more readable than pure criticism or cataloguing.” Among the artists who have furnished original etchings are Bracquemond, Lalanne, Rajon, Legros, and Leopold Flameng, who has given some noble specimens of his skill, especially in the reproduction of “The Laughing Portrait of Rembrandt,” in his particular province as a reviver of the works of that artist. The subjects in all cases are chosen for their worth and rarity, and in these respects the “Portfolio” fairly rivals its great contemporary, one of the noblest fine-art periodicals ever issued, the Parisian “Gazette des Beaux-Arts.” It has the same finish in execution in the minutest details of paper and print, and is in every way a _thoroughly artistic production_, far ahead in this way of anything of the class heretofore issued in England.

There are numerous single illustrations in the “Portfolio,” worth the price of the volume, suitable for framing.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

“Of the PORTFOLIO altogether it is to be said, that not only is it _the first periodical in the English language devoted to fine-art, but that it leads all others by a very great distance_, whatever the second and third of such publications may be taken to be.

“We warmly commend it to the notice of all who would cultivate in themselves and their families an appreciation of the beautiful in nature and art. The illustrations are largely of sylvan scenery, and etchings from the finest paintings are given, with letter-press descriptions, and the best articles from the highest authorities, so that the monthly paper itself, an illustration of what is taught, becomes a complete magazine of the science of art. _We would regard the introduction of such a journal into the family as a good educator, while it will prove a source of exquisite pleasure to those who have already a taste for the beautiful._”--_N. Y. Observer._

“We look for the PORTFOLIO as for the only serial published, in which works of art of a certain kind and of peculiar merit are to be found. Etching is not as popular, perhaps, as it should be, but if anything is likely to bring its merits before the public, it is such examples as are to be had here. Their effect is striking, and in execution they are little short of perfect; at any rate they exhibit this kind of work in the highest degree of perfection to which it has attained.”--_N. Y. Daily Times._

“Mr. Hamerton’s PORTFOLIO is easily chief among English art periodicals, and has the advantage of being written by men who are not only familiar with the literature of art and the works of artists, but are artists by profession, and so know the feelings, aims, and technicalities of artists. The editor is probably better acquainted with continental artists and their work than most of the insular fellows, and his art theories and criticisms are proportionately more catholic and valuable. The PORTFOLIO, instead of being a magazine of current gossip about artists and their doings, is a work of permanent value, apart from its excellent illustrations, as a collection of able essays, critical, historical, technical, and personal, very free from narrowness and professional or national prejudice. It is the glory of the Portfolio that it is in a way cosmopolitan, free from the prejudices of nations and schools.”--_Atlantic Monthly._

“The Portfolio is very charming. An Art periodical far superior to anything which has hitherto appeared.”--_Guardian._

“From the first it has stood nearly alone as really ‘an artistic periodical.’ An hour spent over the Portfolio is one of refreshment, encouragement, and unalloyed delight.”--_Spectator._

“Of the Etchings the merits are unquestionable: indeed, the work is enriched with some of the finest examples. The literary part is generally worthy of praise for being scholarly, graceful, and interesting.”--_Athenæum._

“Dealing with artistic subjects generally, and always in a spirit of intelligence and refinement.”--_Graphic._

“To the portfolio is unanimously accorded the first place as an artistic periodical.”--_Cambridge Chronicle._

Back volumes for 1870, ’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76,
and ’77 may still be had on application. Any volume sold
separately. Price, in _blue cloth_, _gilt leaves_, $14.00 each.

Transcriber’s Note:

Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like this_. Those in bold are surrounded by equal signs, =like this=. Footnotes were renumbered sequentially and were moved to precede the index. Printing errors, such reversed order, or partially printed letters, diacriticals, and punctuation, were corrected. Final stops missing at the end of sentences and abbreviations were added. Except as noted below for Greek and Hebrew, misspelled words and irregular use of quotation marks were not changed. Footnote 608 has two anchors.

Τhree-column texts in the original were reformatted as blockquotes to improve display in handheld devices. The “pigpen” cipher is illustrated on lines 17308 through 17340.

In the index, punctuation was standardized and a few page number references were adjusted to match book pages. Some entries are not in alphabetical order; these were left as printed. Term indexed as “spirit-ancestor” does not appear in either Volume 1 or Volume 2.

Corrections to Greek:

TEXT:
line 4162, from Επὶ ὸπτομαι to Επι οπτομαι
line 9998, from καθολὶκὰ πνεὺματα to καθολικὰ πνεύματα
line 12258, from παλινθρομοῡσι to παλινδρομοῦσι
line 13192, from Ιαο to Ιαω
line 14205, from Υαχινθε to Υακινθε
line 15053, from αχοιμητω σροφαλιγγι to ακοιμητω στροφαλιγγι
FOOTNOTES:
FN [561] from γρωτογονος to πρωτογονος
INDEX:
line 33587, from ανθροπος to ανθροπως
line 37599, from Λογος Αληθης to Λόγος Αληθής
line 41224, from Λογος Αληθης to Λόγος Αληθής

Corrections to Hebrew:

TEXT:
line 7560, from חכטות to חכמות
line 8031, from בויצ to בויץ
line 9250, from בתר to כתר
line 9269, from תפא־ת to תפארת
line 9277, from שבינה to שכינה
line 9387, from שמ to שם
line 9433, from עולמ to עולם
line 9552, from חכמות־נסתדה to חכמות־נסתרה
line 11531, from אין to עין
line 11595, from עצחיומ to עצחיום
line 11652, from אפּוַימ to אפּוַים
line 13015, from וה to יה
line 13227, from יח to יה
line 20155, from קיך to קין
line 20218, from תבל to הבל
line 20226, from קיון to קינן
line 20245, from אוד to ארד
line 20248, from לםך to למך
line 21151, from יבת to יכח
FOOTNOTES:
[878] from כחכות עור to כתנות עור
[912] from הוי to חוי
INDEX:
line 34848, from יהוה אלהימ to יהוה אלהים