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Etching in England

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TURNER.   “TWICKENHAM."

PREFACE.

I READ, the other day, in a note of Abraham Haywar to histranslation of “Faust,” how Schlegel wrote of Gœthe—to M. deRémusat,—“Il imait guère à donner des explications, et il jamaisvoulu faire des préfaces.” It would not be seemly, perhaps, that in thepresent volume of brief historical and critical record, I shouldendeavour to imitate so august a silence.

Twenty-seven years have passed since one of the most interesting andjudicial of English writers upon Fine Art published the book which didamongst us the service of popularising, in some degree at least, theknowledge of Etching. The craft of the aquafortist has, since then,become a medium of expression generally accepted, if not preciselyunderstood; and the half-educated young woman of our period, far fromconsidering the art of whose achievements I treat, as “a form of elegantpen-drawing,” (as she did in Mr. Hamerto{viii} first days), is likelyperhaps to hold—with “Carry,” in my own little story—that there is“nothing in the world so artistic as a very large etching.” The public,if it has not become properly instructed in the technique of Etching,has at least had the opportunity of becoming so. Hence I have conceivedit to be no part of my business to discourse much upon methods. For themthe reader may turn now, not only to Mr. Hamerton, but to Sir SeymourHaden, with his great practical experience, his native endowments, andhis finely trained taste; to Mr. Herkomer, with his frank andinteresting personal record; to M. Maxime Lalanne; to Mr. FrankShort—but the list is too long for me to attempt to exhaust it.

What is done here—and done I think for the first time—is to devote abook to the survey, not of good etched work generally, nor of all etchedwork—all popular etched work—wrought in England, but of such work ashas been wrought in England of the finer and truer kind. That has led tomany omissi