Pictorial Shakespeare, 1880-1890 - eTheses Repository - University ...

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Artist (1087), but the emotional power of Pater's v/riting
hus an intellects.a rigour of its own and a sonce of personal
involvement .vliich vVilde and Helen Faucit share.
Finally, in defence of the »ei{ lities, it en be alleged
thrt the timidity and academism of ' Iraa-Tadema, :,Ioore and
Lei/nton, revealed by comparison wit x ,-hiotler or their French
contemporaries, arc not as important r s the cchievement of
the ort-e -iticr;. A new flourishing of art-journal ism was
a^-con ".nied by the rejection of narrative and ;n understanding
of the abr:tr ct values of colour, space and form. The artirt's
material hr.d its own significance. The career? 1 could rive the
accurate representation of reality after v.hicli the artict had
striven for so long, and, by its ^susceptibility to meni^alr.tion,
had >.hovm the chimoric;\l nature of that aim. Hot only
r'it". photogrt.nhy render a certain kind of .renting redundant
(notably Pith's docuj .cnt^xy c;.nvases): it drew attention to
the vr-luGL- of colour and form anc the significance of the
artist's choice in the art it was widely believed to supercocle.
It could hardly be maintained that the art critics of the period
offered a systeraatic*aesthetic f but they cannot be denied to
have ;:cco;::o;.ated in their view of art many new ideas. ,:.o.:' -
times the old and the new co—exist in a bewildering v/;,y. Thus
an article in g;.io K.';. L-:asi_nr _of \^t_ on tae experi ;o-?ts of
fM.ybric'-;e and others vvitli iriLtantrmeous plioto r r -;!iy combines
the rejection of the no-..-attained ; bility to r.ee t;iings as
uhey are v-itli the conservative regard for r^n old convention.
The \.Titer is :v?; ,r to endorsir.-~: Irnre: ..ionism:
Tlie function of pictures is to revive a :rl
iiito?i:.7ify former impressions; a.m ; I a;:.,trt,
•without fe;-r of contradiction, t;:at neither
^rey's nor .itill tan's cli.^;'\rruas of /jr.lloriinf;
h >r; es, treated never so Ucilfully, v/o^'ld
rovivG recoil actions oi1 the t happy dt:y soont
^•fc • o" . 2o IT Hoi""-OS • :i t i'ul?. gr.llo r ~ -'O'. T
extended. To tr.'.o 1 ver of art ivTueinj-"; -o tTi..
, ,-j T .
-i „ r-nr. -', , - J. JL _L t-J *-/C - J~ '.. i . -^ r"\
That c.rt liec in interpretation rnt?:r thr^n rc-ircaoutntion
w.-. s est;-.b"Lichf»r» d'n-ing the 'ei^htiec: Clive tioll'c _,j/t,
published in 1314, h s few r-r a"ionts tJu :t v o^ld lv-ve been
entirely u-^' ; - n.ilitir to the v ell-ini'orncd re-(lor of three
cieci'/ies before. 3ell's • dr.iir.- .tion for irinitivo Art v: • c not